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• The Quest (Schism)

• Author name: Gymim
• Email address: Gymim@yahoo.com
• Website: http://www.oocities.org/gymim
• Feedback: Woot Woot! Please shoot any feedback my way an tell me what ya think (without trying to hurt my feelings please eheheh =))!!!! Gymim@yahoo.com
• Spoilers: The last part of Season six is in here and some of Seven, although skewed in the Schism Universe kinda way.  This story is set in the late Sixth early Seventh season time line kinda, so it’s written with the idea that you already know the general idea of where the characters are at this point in the time line.  You can also see the Schism Universe’s timeline at http://www.oocities.org/gymim/fiction/history.htm)

• Rating: PG-13

• Pairing: W/T

• Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Willow, Tara, Xander, Giles, Spike and all other characters who have appeared in the syndicated series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, together with the names, titles and back story are the sole copyright property of Joss Whedon, Fox and Mutant Enemy.  Plus, all song quotes and lyrics are owned by people that aren’t the author. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea, and the story itself are the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way, but feel free to distribute!  (Please don’t change content though, that would make me a sad panda.)

• Summary: This is the second section in the Schism Universe.  You can read the main Schism fiction at http://www.oocities.org/gymim/fiction/htmlver1.htm.  This story is set in an alt. universe where Buffy died fighting the Master and Willow became the Slayer. The events that happen in the story all take place in the equivalent of late sixth season early seventh season.

• Note: To make any real sense of this, it’s a good idea that you’ve read the main Schism story and have also seen the end of season 6 of Buffy.

 

 

Chapter 1 – Effects In Motion

(“We will make it through somehow” Nine Inch Nails – We’re In This Together)

 

                Willow glanced at her pocket watch: 9:45pm.  The Slayer brought her gaze up to view the large cement warehouse that stood like a solid imposing figure in the dark, stark in contrast to the other buildings that seemed to be keeping their distance.  The redhead sighed as she stuffed her watch back into her coat pocket and turned around to the open van behind her.

                “How are you two feeling,” Willow asked of Giles and Dawn who were both sitting in separate office roll chairs inside the van.

                “This is sooo cool,” Dawn interjected before Giles could give any type of proper response.  The Englishman turned and eyed Dawn wearily, to which the young brunet quieted down.

                “This is the first time we have attempted using this equipment against real opposition, so I don’t feel I need to warn you of how careful you need to be,” Giles said in a whispered tone, keeping his voice obfuscated from the environment looming around everyone.  Xander stood near the van, pulling his coat a little tighter.

                “You just did Giles,” Willow grinned.  “Don’t worry, me and Dawn have been working on this for a while and you’ve been there for all the tests, everything will work.”  Willow beamed another bright smile, “Trust me.”

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                Willow clapped the chalk bag in her hand as she stared at the pommel horse in the Magic Box’s training room, then craned her neck left, then right, popping joints and loosening up.  Closing her eyes, Willow inhaled and exhaled deeply, letting her mind clear out, clear out her cares, worries, and Tara.  It had been over a month since Tara had left and at first Willow had wanted to chase after her, to track her down and find her, but Tara had written that she wanted to be alone.  She had also written that she’d be back, and every morning, in that time after Willow’s shower but before she left for work on her bicycle, the redhead watched the door, not intensely, only with half a glance, but she always watched, hoping that at any moment, her friend would open the door, her face smiling, her arms open, telling Willow that she loved her.  Willow still watched.  But right now the Slayer was trying to let that flow out of her, if just for the moment.  Closing her eyes, Willow concentrated as she let a part of her psyche drift across the pommel horse, along its exterior, its base, its handles.  Willow took another breath in as she let a piece of herself connect with the equipment that her mind was racing around, lifting the pommel horse up off the ground a little and keeping it steady in place, suspended just a little over a foot off the floor.  Little by little, Willow began raising herself up in the air, concentrating on holding the pommel horse stable while she guided her body up to the handles.  Reaching out, she wrapped her hands around the grips and opened her eyes up while gently lifting her legs to form an “L” shape with her body, her muscles running through her work out as she kept her mind focused on the pommel horse’s steadiness as it hanged in the air.  Willow let her body begin moving, carefully at first, cautiously, but then gradually picking up speed and tempo, her limbs flying about as she deftly changed positions, keeping herself in constant motion as her hands let go then re-gripped the handles.

                “Hey Dawn,” Willow said as she continued picking up speed, swinging her body around as she changed hands on the grips yet again.

                “How did you hear me come in?” Dawn asked as she took a bite from her muffin.  Willow smiled.

                “Awareness of one’s environment is key to concentration.  How can one ignore what’s around them if they don’t know what’s there?”  Dawn paused for a moment and lifted what was left of her muffin in her hand up to eye level, seemingly ignoring Willow’s comment.  Gradually, the muffin began drifting upward tenuously hanging in the air an inch above Dawn’s opened palm as the brunet stared intensely at it.  “Good job Dawn!” Willow exclaimed in between deep breaths.  Willow could start to feel the sweat pouring out of her skin as she forced herself to keep in motion. “I didn’t even know you were still practicing.”  Dawn smiled

                “Yeah, it’s pretty cool hu?” the redhead’s little sister said in a distracted voice as she concentrated as hard as she could on the muffin.

                “Willow,” Giles said as he opened the door to the training area.  At that, Dawn lost her hard won concentration and the muffin landed softly back down into her hand causing the younger sister to give a frustrated whine as she turned to Giles, the Englishman giving only a confused look back.

                “Giles!” Dawn let out.

                “What?” was the man’s response in a questioning tone.  Dawn turned around to see Willow still moving about faster than ever, not losing a bit of her stride, or height off the ground for that matter, at Giles’s intrusion.

                “How come Giles didn’t distract *you*?” Dawn asked in a perturbed tone.  Willow smiled again.

                “Like I said Dawn, awareness of what’s around.”  Willow sensed her breaths becoming more and more ragged as her body began loosing more and more energy while keeping the pommel horse suspended above the ground.  “I think only one thing could distract me right now,” the redhead said in a low voice as she cocked her head to one side as a familiar smell drifted past her.

                “Willow?” came a soft voice from the doorway that Giles had left open.  Tara’s voice.  The Slayer got kinda fuzzy about this part because the pommel horse suddenly went in one direction while the Willow’s body went in a distinct opposite one.  In the back corner, the equipment that Willow had just been using was upside down, joined with an attack dummy and rack of weapons that it had hit as it had flown back in the room.  Willow, on the other hand, had ended up somewhere near Tara’s feet, face up, staring at the blonde, who was now looking down at her.

                “Hey,” Willow smiled softly.  Tara’s startled look at the events that just occurred faded to a soft smirk.

                “Hey,” Tara responded back.  The blonde reached her hand down towards the Slayer, helping Willow up.

                “What’s going on in here!?” came Anya’s voice as she walked into the room with a stomp.  “Willow!”  The Slayer paused for a moment, keeping her gaze on her friend who had been gone far too long for Willow.  Standing, ignoring Anya’s high pitched voice, the redhead looked at Tara, hoping any moment she would hear ‘I love you’ spill out from her own lips.  Willow’s face contorted into desperate frustration as she tried to churn the words up, to force them out over a dry tongue and cracked lips. 

                ‘Please Tara, please see what I’m trying to say.  God, please help me Tara…  You know I’ve always needed your help for this stuff,’ Willow berated to herself in her head.  The redhead knew that the silence was getting awkward, she saw it in Tara’s face and her nervous expression but Willow couldn’t stop.  She felt caught, she didn’t know what to do, everything seemed out of her grasp, far away, filling the back of her head up with fear.

                “Willow!” Anya said again.  The Slayer broke from her stare to look at the shop keeper.  “I don’t know what this uncomfortable silence is all about but I don’t care.  Your noisy outburst was very disruptive and you should be more quiet.”  Anya turned to look back out at the Magic box floor.  “See what you’ve done, the customers are all gone now.  Next time, don’t throw your exercise equipment across the room.”  Anya proceeded to leave the room in a huff and head back out onto the floor, tidying things up in a busybody manner, Willow mumbling ‘sorry,’ under her breath.  Turning back to her friend, Willow could see the half grin on the blonde’s face at the situation and Willow couldn’t help but return the grin back but quickly turned away before she started up another awkward stare.

                “When did you get back,” Willow asked as she started heading to the back of the room to pick up the pommel horse and set it back upright.  Willow heard Tara clear her throat slightly.

                “Just now,” her friend replied.  Willow hefted the equipment up and carried back into the center of the room, letting it hit the floor with a dull thump, belaying its’ extreme weight.  Willow took her forearm and wiped the sweat off her head and turned back to Tara.

                “You need help moving anything back into your room?” Willow asked, already feeling that the answer was going to be more complicated than she wanted to hear.

                “I kinda wanted to ta, talk about that,” Tara said, her eyes dropping down to the blue mat floor.

                “Your not moving back, are you?” Willow asked, her voice mixed with accusation and panic.

                “I wa, was kinda hoping we could talk about this in private,” Tara said in an almost whisper.  Willow ran a hand through her hair as she felt her shoulder muscles tense up.

                “Giles,” Willow said turning her gaze to the Englishman.  “What did you need?”  Giles hesitated for a moment before responding.

                “I was going to mention some possible leads on our band of three but I’m sure it can wait till later.  It isn’t too terribly important.”  Willow’s smile back to Giles showed a face that almost looked like it was set in defeat.  Giles turned and, while ushering Dawn out, gave a ‘Welcome back,’ to Tara, then closed the door behind him.

                Willow let out a breath as she lightly jumped up on the pommel horse that now stood erect, sitting in between the handles, looking down at her open hands now on her lap, avoiding her friend’s eyes.

                “Willow I…  Please don’t be angry with me,” Tara began.

                “I’m not,” was Willow’s quiet response.

                “Willow I just nee---“ Tara started but was interrupted by her friend.

                “Please don’t go.”  Willow looked up to the blonde.  “Please don’t leave me.”

                “Don’t ask me to do that Willow.  You don’t know how hard this is for me,” Tara said in a beseeching tone.

                “I love you,” Willow said softly.

                “Willow…  I, I love you too I just---“ Tara began before being cut off by her friend again.

                “You’re wearing perfume, that kind you get from that small shop her in town.  You don’t normally wear any at all, just on rare occasions.”  Willow smiled to herself.  “You think it’s too ostentatious.”  The Slayer looked up into the blonde’s eyes.  “Those tenny runners are the ones you bought when you and I went shopping about a month ago.  I remember how sad you looked after we had gotten to the store and it looked like they had sold out of them.  It ripped me up inside.  It amazed me how horrible I felt just because you had that sad look on your face.  Or how happy I was when the lady at the desk told you she had one more pair in back.  I couldn’t stop beaming as you looked wide eyed at the shoes while putting them on.”  Willow paused for a moment and moved toward Tara.  “You didn’t use your normal shampoo today, you smell different with out it.  Even when I wasn’t sleeping in your bed I knew when you got up, when you went to sleep.  Even if you lied about being happy when you were really feeling bad, I knew it.  I could feel it.  For a long time I just…  I just thought…  We’re best friends, that’s just how best friends are right?  I kept thinking that.  I kept thinking that for too long.”

                “Willow I know you care about me---,” Tara started to say.

                “I care about you because I love you Tara.  Because I’m in love with you.”  Willow leaned forward with all the courage she could muster in herself, more courage than she thought she had ever dredged up in herself before, and kissed her friend.  “Please don’t go,” Willow asked as she drew back from Tara slightly.  For a moment the two looked at each other in silence, then Tara abruptly pulled her friend into her arms, hugging her as hard as she could with Willow hugging back, and Willow began to feel everything that was dragging in her life, holding her down by the throat, slide off as Tara said ‘I love you,’ back.

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                “Ok Dawn, throw the switch and see how the feed is coming in,” Willow said, her back to the van as she peered out across the dimly lit lot they were in.

                “I don’t think it’s working,” said Giles’s voice from inside the van.

                “Are you getting anything?” Willow asked, turning her head from side to side.

                “Barley,” Dawn’s voice said.

                “Ok, then at least it’s up and working.  Give me a sec,” Willow said.  The redhead closed her eyes and softly began chanting for a moment, then opened her eyes up again, a soft green glow spilling out from them.  “How about now?” Willow asked.

                “We got visual,” Dawn replied.  “I get to say ‘we got visual’,” Dawn said excitedly to Giles. 

                “I’m greatly excited for you,” Giles replied dryly, unable to hide his exasperation at all the computer equipment that he felt lost around.  Willow turned her head slowly again, giving Giles and Dawn a chance to see if everything was working out alright.

                “So what’s all the fancy stuff for Will?” Xander asked with confusion in his voice, pointing to the two people in the van watching the monitor that was displaying everything Willow was looking at.  The redhead grinned.

                “Dawn and I came up with it a little while ago,” Willow said, turning to look at Xander.  “The contacts I have on relay what they see into a kind of signal, magic of course.”

                “Of course,” Xander replied.

                “The signal is received by that box sitting on top of the computer in the van,” Xander looked at a small brown wood-like box, about six inches squared that had wires extending out from the back of it.  “Which than translates the signal it receives from magic into something the computer that it is sitting on can read.  The computer, in turn, out puts that signal to the monitor and also records everything displayed onto a separate hard drive for play back later.  Unfortunately it doesn’t pick up visuals very well in the dark but my night vision trick here seems to overlap onto the contacts.”

                “Does your watch shoot lasers too?” Xander asked in an excited tone.  Willow frowned.  “Come on Will, it’s a joke.”  Willow rolled her eyes.  “The name is Willow, James Willow, license to slay,” Willow’s friend said, affecting a British accent.  Willow turned around and started rummaging in the van for her sword.  “Listen Willow, I’m sorry I couldn’t help out with all this stuff until now.  I’ve been so busy with work and everything…  I know it’s no excuse.  I should have been here with you guys, helping making all this,” Xander turned and looked again at the inside of the van with what seemed like a million blinking lights and the florescent glow of monitors.  “Stuff.”  Willow looked at her friend.

                “It’s ok Xander.  It’s alright to deal with personal life stuff.  No one expects you to be on-duty-guy twenty four seven.  You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”  Willow smiled, then turned back to the Giles and Dawn in the van.  “Ok,” Willow said putting her small earpiece in.  “If you guys see anything I miss, just give me a holler on the communication equipment.”

                “Do we have code words?” Xander asked.  Everyone gave him a look that made Xander shrink a little.

                “Why would we need code words Xander?” Dawn asked in a befuddled tone.

                “Everyone needs code words.  I want to be Xander Prime!” Xander said excitedly.

                “What?” Willow said, trying her hardest not to attempt to comprehend what her friend was going on about.  “Listen Xander---“

                “Xander Prime,” the young man interrupted.

                “Xander Prime…” Willow said slowly.  “I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the van while these two,” Willow pointed to Giles and Dawn, “concentrate on the equipment.  If anything nasty comes up while they aren’t looking, poke the bad guys a lot with something sharp.”

                “On it,” Xander said.  Willow let out a breath as she turned back to the building they had all arrived at.

                “Willow?” Dawn said in a hushed tone.  The redhead spun around to face her sister.  “You think there’s gunna be something in there that will help Tara?”

                “I’ve got a feeling the answer is going to be in there.  I’m just afraid of what that answer is going to be.”  Willow leaned forward and hugged her sister.  “Ok all, wish me luck.”

                “Good luck,” came back in unison from the Slayers friends, and then she turned and was off.  The building she was approaching was over forty stories tall and from the almost vacant lot around, gave the impression of stillness, vacancy.

                “If it’s in here Tara, I’ll find it,” Willow whispered to herself.

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                “Why?” Tara asked confused.  Willow took another drink from her cola.

                “I think he was afraid maybe?  Scared?  I think that Xander believes that after marriage, everything turns bad and I mean, who can blame him with his parents as the model for marriage to grow up with,” Willow said.

                “What happened to Anya?” the blonde asked still lost.

                “She was in tears, rambling more so than usual.  I don’t know what’s going to happen.  When Xander left Anya at the alter, I think he left a piece of himself you know?  He seems hollow now.  I never really got what he saw in Anya but I know he loved her and now…  I just feel so bad for both of them.”  Willow’s face looked just as saddened as the tone in her voice as she relayed the entire story of Xander’s and Anya’s wedding to Tara.  The Slayer and her friend had been catching up over lunch at a local deli, just talking about anything, everything that they had done over the past month, laughing and smiling most of the time, until Willow had brought up Anya and Xander.

                “Maybe they’ll work things out,” Tara offered.

                “Maybe.  I don’t know.  Love is a tricky thing.”  Willow reached her hand across the table and laid it on top of Tara’s, smiling warmly at her.  “I’ve missed you a lot Tara.  Thank you for coming back to me.”  Her friend smiled shyly back.

                “I’ll always come back to you Willow,” Tara said, her face turning serious as she looked at her friend.

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                Willow shook the memory from her mind as she quietly made her way through the service entrance of the building, adjusting the book bag she had with her to fit better.  The redhead moved forward, listening into her earpiece as Dawn recited directions to Willow.

                “Ok, you’re gunna want to take the first right you come to and head down that hallway until you reach the end.  On the left should be a stair well, just follow that up to the 32nd floor,” came Willow’s little sister’s voice.  The Slayer groaned.

                “Why again am I not taking the elevator?” Willow asked.

                “Because being in a metal box controlled by the building and its’ owners could be disastrous if they see you.  Just head up the stairs and hope no one is there.”  Dawn’s face gave a consternated look as she watched a side monitor that had the buildings blue prints on it.

                “You two have the camera’s looping back yet?” Willow asked as she approached the stairwell door.”

                “From my understanding, yes,” came Giles’s voice.  Willow tensed up slightly, stopping herself from opening the door she was now at.

                “Your understanding?  Either you do or you don’t guys, which one is it?” Willow asked in a hushed tone that was thick with stress.

                “Yeah Will, they have their previous five minutes running back on loop.  Go ahead,” Dawn said, scowling at Giles.  The Englishman gave a brief hurt look then sat down in his chair, watching the screen that was showing Willow’s viewpoint.

                As the redhead gingerly opened up the stairwell door, she leaned her head in slowly, trying hard to get as much of the view in as possible.

                “Ok, I’m heading into the stairwell now,” Willow said softly as she stepped out onto the metal railed platform that connected onto the stairs which seemed to spiral upward with neat 90 degree turns at four corners of the walls.  The feel of the cold metal bled through into the Slayer’s shoes as she walked, adding to her already unpleasant feeling of wondering if at any moment one of the doors she was near too would open up, revealing her presence in the building.  Willow hated the position she was in, alone and totally vulnerable to an entire building full of people and thing’s who probably wouldn’t take to kindly to someone who was here to steal a book, let alone the fact of her just being the Slayer.  Willow made a silent prayer in her head again, hoping that the information that she had researched on the book she was after, and the information Willy ‘The Snitch’ had provided were both reliable.  It wouldn’t pay to go through all this, and possibly mark herself as a target to some powerful unfriendly people, for nothing. 

                Willow crested onto the platform of the 32nd story, staring hard at the metal door with its small, rectangular piece of glass, and it’s shiny metal handle.  Taking a deep silent breath, the redhead laid her hand on the lever, slowly opened the door, and stepped out onto the smooth, plush, beige carpet.  Willow took a breath in of the clean, almost antiseptic air around her as she peered down the spotless hallway she now stood in.  Wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans, she closed her eyes briefly and began whispering.

                “Ok, I’m going left, correct?” Willow asked

                “Right,” Dawn said in confirmation.

                “Right?” Willow asked back in a confused tone.  “I’m going right?”  Willow’s face bunched up slightly as a feeling of panic started to set in.

                “ No no no no no, left is right,” Dawn said urgently, trying to correct the mistake.

                “My left or your left Dawn?  What the hell is going on?” Willow said in a hushed frustration.

                “Go to your left Willow,” came Giles’s cool tone.  Dawn gave a slight whimper at her guilt for mucking up the directions.

                “Thanks,” Willow said lowly as she started heading down the hallway, the doors standing in soldier like formation at exact distances, each one presenting an option to any passerby.  Willow quickly walked forward, glancing at each door as she passed it, eyeing room numbers and keypads, stopping short at a door to her left.  Willow Pulled out a small laptop from her book bag she was carrying and opened it up.

                “Why don’t you just use magic to open the door?” Dawn asked.  Willow pursed her lips together for a moment, ignoring her sisters comment as she pulled a small credit card sized device out from one of the pouches on her pack and strung a computer cable ribbon between the laptop and the card.

                “Because Dawn,” the Slayer said quietly as she slipped the card into the door slider that controlled the locking mechanism.  “The less magic I use, the less noticeable I am.  I think the people in here might have some form of magic detection and I’m trying to go as low profile as possible.”

                “Kinda like an undercover cop,” Xander inputted in, who was now listening in on a spare old clunky headset.  Inside the building, 32 floors up, Willow started working on opening the door and chuckled lightly under her breathe.

                “Yes Xander, just like and undercover cop,” the redhead said.

                “Only without the gun,” Xander responded as he turned to look at Dawn.  “Or the badge,” he said, this time turning his gaze to Giles.  “Or being a cop…”  Xander turned away from the two sets of glaring eyes from in the van and began watching the parking lot again.  “I was only just saying…” the young man said under his breath.

                “I’m in,” came Willow’s voice as she opened up the door to look at the small room.

                “Oh my,” Giles whispered as he watched the monitor.  He and Willow both felt a slight sinking sensation as the Slayer walked into the room.  Everyone had expected the book to be protected by trip lasers and spells and demons and…  Well anything but this.  “There must be thousands of books in there,” Giles said to no one in particular.  Willow groaned.  Bookcases littered the room, some in a uniform pattern, others at odd angles, all crammed in.  The floor was barley even seeable as almost every square inch was covered in bound literature.  Willow walked over to the first bookshelf she came across and began looking through the titles, then quickly moved to the next book shelf, then another, then another.

                “Giles, there’s no pattern to the way these books are placed.  It’s like someone just threw them all in one room.  Hell, this might not even be the room.”  Willow sat down in defeat, landing on a pile of books that slide out from under her.  Reaching out with her hand she picked up one of the books next to her and opened it up.  “How to create newt,” Willow spoke as she read the first spell of the book, the summarily tossed it aside.  “This is going to take forever Giles.  Someone is going to find me here before I get done looking through all of these.  Anyone got any suggestions?”  Willow listened to the quiet in her earpiece as she picked up another book, ‘How to create friends and destroy your enemies’.  Willow tossed the book aside as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.  Standing up, the redhead started making her way around to the back of the room, hoping maybe there was be some method to the chaos in the back area.  Stepping over a pile of books stacked to one side, Willow caught her foot on a book and tumbled over, almost tipping a book case onto its side.

                “Willow, are you alright?” the Slayer heard Giles ask.  Willow dusted herself off as she stood back up.

                “Yeah, I’m fine, just klutzy I guess.”  Willow began walking farther back again when Dawn spoke.

                “Hey Will, turn around again,” Dawn said, peering at the monitor in front of her.  Willow turned around and looked back across the path of books she had just come across.  “Down and to your left,” Dawn said.  Willow moved her head in the direction her sister had said and noticed her watch, which had apparently fallen out of her coat.

                “Good eyes Dawny,” the redhead said as she bent down and scooped up her watch, which had come open, and closed it.  As Willow pushed the watch back into her pocket she felt herself freeze as she looked at the book cover that the watch had been laying on.  Willow reached her hand out and gripped the old book that was laying there, mixed in with all the other tombs on the ground, and brought it close to her.

                “That’s it!,” Dawn exclaimed.

                “That’s it,” Willow gave in a whispered echo to her sister’s words.  Quickly, the Slayer moved to the exit, gripping the book tightly in her hand.  “Ok, I’m coming back out again,” Willow said as she began heading down the hallway she was just in a little bit ago, walking towards the stairwell exit.  Images began flickering through Willow’s mind as she felt the reassuring tomb’s weight in her hand.  Images of Tara, of the past.

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                Tara raced up the stairwell, rushing towards the loud commotion that had started coming from the bathroom.  Gripping the railing for support, the blonde reeled around the stairwell and onto the main upstairs hallway and stopped short, seeing Spike strewn across the ground with splinters of the bathroom door strewn about.  Tara turned her head slightly and watched Willow, who was in her bathrobe, move next to the vampire, tower over him as she glared coldly into Spike’s face, causing him to unconsciously shrink back from her stare.

                “Get out Spike,” Willow said in a flat tone.  Spike, still on his back looking up with a face full of fear, began crawling backwards and away from the redhead, stumbling over his own hands he was using to drag himself.

                “Willow I’m---“ Spike began.

                “Get out!” Willow yelled.  Tara gave a startled look as her friend turned her head to glare to her.  “Tara, get the stuff ready for an un-invite spell.”  Tara complied, rushing down stairs to get what things she had on hand, wondering what was going on.  The blonde began fumbling through some of the candles she had in the living room that decorated one of the book cases and promptly turned around from the noise of the shuffling down the stairwell and saw Willow hauling Spike around by the back of his shirt neck, dragging him like a rag-doll.  The redhead dropped the vampire the door and kept her eyes locked on him.

                “Willow I didn’t---,” Spike started to say.

                “Save it,” Willow said, cutting him off.  “I can’t believe I trusted you.  I can’t believe I actually forgot what you are.  What you’ll always be.  I could never love you Spike but for a while I gave you my respect but you’ve lost that now.”  Willow paused for a moment, letting the vampire get to his feet.  “Get out and don’t come back Spike,” the Slayer said, to which Spike turned with his head low, opened the door, and walked out.  Willow moved to the armchair in the living room and slumped down into it, pulling her bathrobe tighter around her for warmth.  After a moment the redhead looked up to her friend with a frown on her face, heightened by the look in her eyes.

                “What happened?” Tara asked, moving next to her friend and putting her hand on Willow’s shoulder.  Willow smiled slightly and brought her own hand up to lay atop of her friend’s, looking into her Tara’s eyes for a long moment.

                “You know I love you don’t you?” Willow asked.  Tara smiled warmly.

                “Yes,” Tara replied.  “I love you too.”  Tara bent down on one knee and brought Willow’s hand up to her face and brushed her cheek against it.  “Are you alright?” Tara asked.

                “Spike tried to rape me,” Willow said in a plain voice, her face placid, but Tara could see something in her eyes that she couldn’t quit label.

                “Willow I, I’m so sorry,” Tara said emphatically.  Abruptly, Willow’s face lost any expression it held as she stood up quickly, letting go of her friend’s hand.  “Willow are you going to be ok?” Tara asked as she stood up.

                “Listen, I can’t deal with this right now, I’ve got too much stuff to do.”  Willow took in a big breath and exhaled loudly.  “I’ve got to get dressed, I still have Warren to deal with and you need to get that spell going.  There has got to be some way find where Warren is at,” Willow said, starting to turn away to head upstairs.

                “Willow don’t,” Tara said, grabbing a hold of the redhead’s arm.

                “Tara, I’ve got work to do,” Willow said, looking into her friends eyes, almost pleading.

                “Willow, don’t bury this under being the Slayer,” Tara said.  Willow paused for a moment as Tara gently wrapped her arms around her friend.  Suddenly Willow felt herself gripping Tara back, holding her tight..

                “Tara, I just…” Willow said as she hugged her friend close to her.  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

                “You don’t have to be sorry Willow,” Tara whispered as she kissed Willow softly on the side of her cheek.  “I love you baby.”

                “I should have known better,” the redhead said in a choked sob.  “It was my fault, I should have known.  How come I didn’t know Tara?” Willow whispered as she began weeping into her friend’s shoulder.  “Why didn’t I know better?  I always know better…”

                “Willow,” Tara said, pulling her friend back, looking her in the eyes.  “I know why you blame yourself.  I know you do it so you can quantify things, feel some sort of control over things, but you can’t do that this time.  You can’t blame yourself for this.  You can’t do that, not with this.  If you do, you’re going to hurt yourself.”  Willow felt a panic in her, swirling around her body while Tara gently lead her over to the couch and sat down, pulling Willow close to her as she wrapped her arms around her friend.  “I’ll be here with you all night.”  The Slayer felt her friend’s arms tighten slightly around her, holding her solidly.  “You don’t have to worry about anything tonight honey, I’ve got you.”  Willow leaned back into her friend’s embrace, feeling safer then she could remember ever feeling before.

                “I love you,” Willow whispered out.

                “That’s what all you Slayer’s say,” Tara replied with a grin as she kissed her friend between her shoulder and neck.  “I love you too.”

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                Willow felt the arrow tear into her left shoulder as she opened up the stairwell, still in the hallway.  The redhead’s body lurched forward slightly from the momentum of the projectile, causing her to stumble through the half open door into the stairwell and almost losing her grip on the book she was still holding.  Willow turned around to look through the glass set in the door as she closed it, seeing five green skinned figures dressed in black uniforms running down the hallway, two of them toting crossbows.  Quickly turning, the Slayer began running down the stairs as fast as she could while reaching with her free hand behind her to snap the back end of the arrow off. 

                “Willow, what’s going on in there?” came the Giles’s worried voice as Willow paused at the next floor down, gritted her teeth, and slowly began pulling the front part of the arrow that was still in her out, biting back the noises she wanted to make.

                “Company,” the Slayer said as the door a floor above opened, the sound of hostility coming out of it as demons began pouring down after Willow, causing her to drop the bloody arrow shaft in her hand and running again.  Giles, Dawn, and Xander who was now studying the monitor with the events unfolding, felt a sense of helplessness as they watched, transfixed, unable to do anything to help.

                As Willow approached the 25th floor she stopped short, hearing the door from the floor below her open up with what seemed like the sound of eight or more bodies coming up to meet her.  Willow turned to the door that she was now next to and tried the handle, finding it locked.

                “Ok,” Willow said in a mumbled as she took a step back.  “The hard way then.”  Slamming her good shoulder into the door, Willow brought all her strength and weight to bear, throwing the door from its hinges and onto the other side of the hallway she now had access too.  The redhead stepped in quickly and turned right, breaking into a dead run trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the assailants in pursuit.

                “I’ve got this one, check this out,” Willow heard vaguely after she had gotten half way down the hallway.  Turning, she watched as a knife blade slid into her lower left leg, sinking in all the way to the hilt.  Willow let out a low grunt and staggered to the door she was near and gripped the handle for support as her leg began to throb, and felt the door knob twist over, opening up into an empty office room she fell into.  The room itself was decorated in Plaques and Degrees with a large oak wood desk sitting in the back corner, offering a sense of sturdy reassurance to the atmosphere.  Papers and pens were neatly stacked on the buff and lacquered table, giving a feeling of comforting neatness and conformity.  To one side sat a mug with the words ‘You don’t have to be a Demon to work here, but it helps’.  The redhead got to her feet and limped all the way in as fast as she could and shutting the door, cursing at the fact that there was no door lock.

                “They’d just break the door down anyways,” Willow mumbled.

                “Willow I---,” Dawn started to say.

                “Not now!” Willow gritted as she hobbled over to the oak table in the room and pulled the chair out.  Willow dropped the book in her hand to the floor as she started to hear the footsteps outside trample closer and gripped the back end of the table, tipping it onto it’s front side, feeling all the weight of the old oak sit in her wounded shoulder and leg.  Willow backed up slightly from the desk and just as the door handle started to turn, she ran her body into the desk, slamming it and her body up to the door, keeping her alone for a few more moments.

                “Willow, that table won’t hold them off for long,” Giles said quickly as he saw the picture of the table jutted up against the door.

                “Thanks,” Willow replied with thick biting sarcasm as she turned around and desperately began scanning the room for something, anything, that would help her situation.

                “Dawn, I need those camera’s back online.  I have to know how many demons I’m dealing with and where they are, I don’t care if they can see me back,” Willow said.

                “On it,” Dawn called as she whirled around, swiveling her chair 180 degrees and rolling it up to a computer directly across from where she was facing a moment ago and pulling up a series of menu’s dealing with the buildings security.

                “What are you gunna do?” Dawn asked concerned.

                “I’m not sure yet,” Willow replied, drawing her sword out.

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                Tara walked up behind Willow in the back yard, stopping short next to her.

                “What cha doin?” the blonde asked, leaning slightly forward to emulate the same position the redhead was affecting.

                “Watering the flowers silly,” Willow said as she turned her head, keeping her body in its still arched position, to look at her friend, smiling.  It was warm outside and Willow liked that.  Liked being outside, being near her flowers, being near to Tara.  The redhead took a slight sidestep closer to her friend, closing the space between the two so they were touching.  “What are you doing?” Willow asked back.

                “Watching you water the flowers,” Tara sad in a coy matter of fact voice, grinning.  The blonde quickly kissed Willow on the side of her cheek, making the redhead blush profusely, to which Willow transferred the watering container she was using into her other hand, and wrapped her free arm around Tara’s waist, holding her closer and putting down the watering container.  “I like the cover-alls,” Tara said, the two of them straightening up.  Willow and Tara turned to each other, their arms wrapping around the other’s waist.

                “I bet you say that to all the Slayers,” Willow said, moving her head slightly closer to Tara’s.

                “Only the one’s I’m in love with,” Tara whispered back before brushing her lips up against Willow’s, kissing her softly.  Willow ran her hand up the small of her friend’s back as she lost herself in the moment, caught in the warmness of the afternoon, in the smell of the flowers and earth, in the feel of the Tara’s lips.  After a moment, the two stopped and looked at each other a moment, giving each other a knowing smirk.

                “I know it’s only been a few days since you got back and all, and I…  I know I’ve been busy with the trio, but I was kinda wondering.  Now that Jonathan and Andrew are in jail and Warren is pretty much by himself, I was wondering if you wanted to take a break with me and go out tonight…  Maybe dinner…  Some candles…” Willow said, then she leaned in closer to Tara’s ear.  “And maybe some private time afterwards,” the redhead said in a soft whisper.

                “I’ve been wondering when you were going to ask me that ever since we talked in the Magic Box,” Tara said back as she started moving her hands around on her friend’s backside.

                “Hey!” Willow said back in a startled laugh at Tara and where her hands were traversing.  “Wait just one second, I’m not that kinda girl.  I need to be romanced first.”  Quickly Willow backed up and lightly started jogging away from Tara, causing the blonde to start after her, laughing loudly as she playfully tried to catch up to the redhead.  After a few seconds of running around the yard, Tara grabbed a-hold of Willow’s hand, pulling her back close, completely oblivious to the back gate that had just opened and the figure standing in it.

                “I’m in love with you Willow Rosenburg,” Tara said as the pulled back from each other.  Willow’s response was cut short as she turned her head and moved a little further away from Tara, listening to a desperate Warren, his voice carrying an almost righteous anger in it.  Tara didn’t make out much of what was being said, she could only seem to focus in on the gun he was waving about until finally the sound of the gunshot woke her up out of her stupor, the gun wielding man running off.  When she turned her head back to Willow she saw her friend laying on the ground with a stain of red leaking over her white shirt and cover-alls.

                “Willow?” Tara said in a confused voice as she kneeled down next to her friend.  “Honey, are you ok?”  Tara tried to fight through the haze in her brain to understand what was going on but everything felt blurry.  She was crying but she wasn’t sure why for a second, then it all cut through her, everything coming into a crisp focus as she watched Willow’s gunshot wound leak more blood out onto the grass below her, staining it shiny crimson.  Tara felt her friend’s hand lift up just enough to grab her own as Willow gave a soft smile.

                “I love you so much Tara, I so glad I know that now,” Willow said in a quiet voice.  Tara reached her hands out and gripped Willow’s shoulder’s as the back door to the house slammed open, Xander running out.

                “What happened?” Xander asked as he ran up to Tara, then he caught a glimpse of Willow.  “Oh God,” the young man said in a hushed voice as he looked at his friend laying in her shirt that was slowly staining with blood.  “I…  I’ll get 911,” Xander said, then turned and raced for the phone.

                “Willow,” Tara said, leaning her head down close to her friend.  “This is getting to be a bad habit,” the blonde stifled out, wiping a hand across her face to clear away her tears.  “You can’t keep trying to leave me.  I might start thinking you don’t like me.”  Tara watched Willow give out a choked cough of a laugh, causing her chest to convulse slightly.  “Lay still honey, the ambulance will be here shortly.”

                “Tell Dawny I love her,” Willow said with a soft smile as her grip loosened around Tara’s hand.

                “Shhhh, hush Willow, don’t talk,” Tara said, holding her friend’s hand tighter.  The blonde watched as her breathing slowed down, became shallower, watched her friend’s eyes loose focus, watched the person she loved start to die and she new that when she left she wasn’t ever coming back again.  Then Tara did the only thing that she could think of.

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                “Where the hell did she go!?” A tall orange skinned demon bellowed out at the six figures in the room.  “She was in this room less then a minute ago and you lost her?”  The angry man stepped forward and drew out his knife that he kept sheathed under his pressed black jacket, placing it squarely into the throat of the green Sarkoth next to him.  “You’re in charge now, I expect our young intruder dealt with in the same manner,” the man said in a grumble as he walked next to the figure who had just taken his predecessors spot.

                “Yes sir,” the new commanding Sarkoth said to the cold gentleman that was exiting the room they thought they had trapped the Slayer in.  “Tear this room apart, she has to be here somewhere,” the demon yelled.

                “Willow found herself in another room, directly one story below where she had just been a moment ago.  The Slayer hoped that the tipped over the filing cabinet and covering the hole that she had made would give her enough time to get some distance between her and her enemies.  Willow hobbled to the door, tightly gripping her book close to her, and slowly tried to gain a glimpse out into the hallway.

                “Dawn, have you got the cameras back up yet?” Willow said lowly.

                “Yeah,” Dawn replied.  “But as soon as you make any public move in that building they’re gunna be on you.”

                “That’s fine, just tell me how crowded the 24th floor is,” Willow requested.  Dawn dragged the mouse over to the camera networks laying on the 24th floor, bringing up a host of images laid out neatly on her screen showing four rows of five separate pictures.

                “You’re pretty much all clear.  I can’t tell precisely which room you’re in now but there are two free roaming guards on that floor,” Dawn said as she pointed to Giles to try and pull up the next floor below’s camera views on an adjacent monitor.

                “Ok, I think I can handle that.” Willow replied.  As the redhead was just about to open the door to look out into the hallway she saw something on the filing cabenint in this room catch her eye.

                “Willow,” said.  “Everything alright?” the brunet asked, wondering why her sister wasn’t moving or commenting.

                “Yeah,” Willow said as she wrapped another round of duct tape around the book that was now tapped to her stomach.  After about half the roll of duct tape was gone, Willow set it back on the filing cabinet.  Slowly, the Slayer opened the room door and peered out into the main hall, quickly looking for any hostile figures.  With a sigh of relief, the redhead stepped out seeing no one near her.

                “Ok, I got you, but then that means so do they.  I don’t know quit how you want to get down, but you have an elevator at the end of your hall and a separate stairwell than the one you’ve been taking in the opposite direction of the elevator,” Dawn relayed.  Xander peered into the van, wondering what her friend was going to do next.

                “Why don’t you just keep cutting a hole through the floors Will?” Xander asked.

                “I can’t keep doing that forever, it takes a lot out of me, especially when I’m hurt,” Willow said into her mouth piece as she began moving towards the elevator.  “Besides, it would take too long, they’d eventually catch up to me.”

                “Willow, you better hurry, they’ve found your exit tunnel you made and I’m seeing a bunch coming out of the room you just exited from,” Dawn said in a strained voice as she watched over a dozen figures start to pour out into the hallway towards her sister.


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