You've written another wonderful chapter! My interest is really perked now in figuring out if Tara and Angel are the ghosts in Willow and Buffy's house or if it's they who have died and Angel and Tara are the lone survivors. Either way, I'm enjoying the friendship between Angel and Tara. Angel is cool to stay with Tara! I really like him in your fanfic - I think he's a great guy for hanging around and helping Tara both in finding books to figure out what to do next and also in being there as her friend... Great update!
CNQ: I like the Tara - Angel banter; I always enjoy fic writers (nad, at times, the "novelizationalists" like Chris Golden) exploring interactions we saw never or rarely on screen (it's something I do a lot myself!) and, well , this is truly, given how they were shown, a believeable kind of relationship for them.
Angie; Not to specualte too much on the plot, but if you ever read any of the DC Comics Justice League - Justice Society team-ups (well, depending on what stage the DC Universe was in at the time) that might give you an idea of how I think
she plans on explaining this. Or the Spock-with-a-beard episode of the original Star Trek. At least, it's the only explanation which I can dream up for this, altho I can bet she's got some surprises for all of us.
I agree with you - I imagine she's got a ton of stuff in store for us in this fic and I'm excited to see where it will go! Dang it I missed the Spock thing! Ugh! I hadn't thought of the Justice League - that would be awesome!!
It's no biggie, I just got confused by this: Or the Spock-with-a-beard episode of the original Star Trek. I thought maybe it was an episode I'd missed on Star Trek or on Buffy/DC Comics which would be entirely possible... I'm looking forward to what comes next too!
Another rainbow, another tingle. The second call was louder and more insistent. More needed to be done. There were preparations that still needed to be made.
She remembered the instructions from the Great Ones and smiled.
She was tired of waiting.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
More Weirdness
Willow was confused. ‘Not that that’s news lately,’ she thought, ‘but Tara and Angel?’ There was something very different about this dream. Willow couldn’t hear them as she’d always heard Tara, despite seeing their lips move; also, they didn’t seem to know she was there. ‘What is this?’ She watched as they grabbed what looked like plastic grocery bags then suddenly found herself in a basement. ‘Buffy’s, I assume.’ A black and white cat came out from under one of the cots as Tara and Angel came down the stairs. Miss Kitty Fantastico? ‘But the crossbow accident . . . ’ Willow thought. Miss Kitty sat in front of Willow and stared at her. “Can you see me?” Willow asked, crouching down. In response, Miss Kitty meowed without sound or yawned, Willow couldn’t tell which. She then batted at Willow, her paw passing right through Willow’s knee. Tara walked over and, without even noticing Willow’s presence, picked up Miss Kitty. Tara carried Miss Kitty on one arm with the cat’s head and front paws over Tara’s shoulder. Miss Kitty stared at Willow and if a cat could look puzzled Miss Kitty Fantastico certainly did.
Willow awoke, still exhausted but not feeling quite so cotton candy brained. It was five am. Two more hours of sleep. 'Not much, but at least I should be able to function today,' she thought. She looked at Kennedy and felt a twinge of guilt. 'She really is wonderful and I will miss her. She’s a sweet girl, just not the right girl,' Willow thought as a wave of longing threatened to overtake her. Tara. It always came back to Tara.
Willow gently slid out of the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping slayer. She knew she was done sleeping for the morning and didn’t want to wake Kennedy. She walked into the bathroom and freshened up, replacing her pajamas with a pair of blue jeans and a fuzzy blue sweater with a bright yellow chicken on the front. She quietly padded out of the bathroom and through the bedroom, sneakers - found after a brief search - in hand, to greet the dawning of a new day. She walked down the hall to the stairs, sitting down on the top step to put her shoes on. Usually, she didn't bother with shoes but Xander had insisted that when she was walking in or around the construction area that she have something on her feet. Apparently, there were too many things to get hurt on. She didn't like shoes, preferring to feel the Earth's energy unfettered through her bare feet. Besides, since Tara's death, no one had been able to keep track of her shoes. She smiled as she thought of Tara's uncanny ability to always know where Willow had left her shoes.
Wandering downstairs and into the kitchen, she grabbed a muffin and a can of flip-top tuna before going outside. She walked through the construction and up a hill to her favorite spot beneath a tall ash tree. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, she opened the can of tuna and set it on the far side of the tree, out of view from the house windows. She ate the muffin and waited for daylight to break. As the sun started creeping over the horizon, Willow closed her eyes, hands resting on her knees with her palms up. She took several deep breaths to clear some of the cobwebs that still clouded her brain and began to pray:
“Theia, Daughter of Heaven and Earth
Mother of Helios, Eos and Selene
allow me to walk in your light
following the path of love, peace and humanity
Eos, Goddess of the Dawn,
hear my prayer
please watch over those that I love
wherever they may be
Hecate, Goddess of the Underworld
I pray to you for guidance at the coming crossroads
Please show me what I need to know
Theia, Eos, Hecate
I invoke you three
in order that I may make the right decisions
that my loved ones be protected
and that I may realize my true purpose
My obeisance to you all”
Willow opened her eyes and watched the sunrise, feeling more at peace than she had for more than a week. She still had much to think about – to puzzle through – but, in that moment, she knew the answers would be forthcoming when she needed them.
She watched the sun climb a little higher in the sky then stood up, puzzled that the cat hadn’t come to eat, and walked back toward the house. She wanted to talk to Giles about her early morning dream before Buffy woke up. She didn’t know if she should tell Buffy about the weirdness of Angel and Tara. ‘What was that all about?’ she wondered. As much good as the sleep had done, Willow was still so tired. Seeing Tara in every dream had reawakened the ache of longing Will had felt when Tara died. Kennedy had provided comfort. For awhile, anyway. But the dreams had brought the ache back with a vengeance. Every breath was painful, her legs were weak and it felt like losing Tara all over again. Relief was also part of the equation as she realized her feelings of vengeance hadn't returned. Her dark side wasn't re-emerging and she didn't feel like seeking revenge. It was pure grief now, complete and unrelenting.
As she walked back through the construction site, she saw Xander and headed toward him. She waited for him to finish with what he was writing, still in awe at the adult her childhood friend had become.
“Hey Will. You’re up early. Did you get any rest?” he asked.
“Some, “she replied. “I’m still really tired but some of the fog has lifted from my brain. I had another nightmare last night around two. Same thing, but . . . ” she trailed off, not sure if she should talk about Kennedy and uncertain what to say about the weirdness of the second dream. She decided to skip the Kennedy part since it really wasn't relevant and started in about the second dream. “I had a . . . a dream. Different from the others. Tara didn’t know I was there and Angel was there and they were, you know, talking and stuff but I couldn’t hear them, just see their lips move. Almost like I was watching through a window and they were in Buffy’s house and had groceries and they started downstairs but somehow I got there first and saw them walking down the stairs and the basement looked like Angel and Tara were living down there. There were two beds and some shelves of food and stuff and books were all over the place. Oh! And here’s the weird part . . . okay, so it’s all weird but . . . Miss Kitty Fantastico was there and I swear she could see me. She sat right in front of me and meowed. Well, she opened her mouth and it looked like a meow but it could have been a yawn but I think it was a meow. Then Tara picked her up and she hung over Tara’s shoulder looking at me. Then I woke up.” Willow finished talking and looked at Xander. “And well, I don’t know if I should tell Buffy or . . . so I was looking for Giles and I saw you first . . . ” she trailed off, knowing she was babbling and wondering if anything she had just said had made any kind of sense at all.
Xander looked at her. “Take a breath, Will. Wow. Okay. Well, we know two things: one, you had two more dreams, the first like all the rest, the second almost like you were watching a silent movie. Right?” Willow nodded, so Xander continued. “Second, we don’t know why it was different or why it would matter to Buffy one way or the other. So we find Giles and we start research mode to see if you’re cursed or bewitched or . . . ” Willow smiled and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Okay, maybe not the right word,” he relented, “but you know what I’m saying. Before we go looking for the weird, let’s rule out the less weird.”
“You’re right. Let’s go find Giles. Uh, if you can leave, that is?”
“Yeah. I just finished writing up the day’s assignments for the guys. They won’t be here until seven and I’ve got my cell phone if there’s a problem. I’m just overseeing. I don’t actually have to be here for the actual work part,” Xander tapped his eye-patch and smiled at her, “the guys get kind of nervous when they see me with actual tools; nail-guns, saws, yanno - dangery things. Oh, and hey, one of my guys caught that stray cat yesterday and took it to his sister at the coven on his way home last night.”
“Anna, right? Good. They’ve been wanting one to help keep the mouse population under control,” Willow said, smiling at him as they walked off toward the house in search of Giles. One mystery solved, anyway. She was relieved Xander had understood her ramblings and hoped Giles would be able to help.
They walked into the kitchen and found Giles and Dawn having breakfast, deeply engrossed in conversation. “No, I think you’re quite right. Alphabetical order with cross-referencing for related demons or demons sharing some of the same properties.” Giles looked up as Willow and Xander came into the kitchen. “Oh, hello, you two. Willow, you’re up early. Sleep alright? Feeling any better?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice.
“Yes, uh, fine,” Willow said, not sure if Dawn knew about the Taramares and not wanting to worry her if she didn't. There would be time later to fill her in on the situation if need be.
Dawn looked up from her breakfast and a look Willow couldn’t read went across her face. Standing abruptly, she dropped her breakfast dishes in the sink and turned to go. As she left she tossed back over her shoulder, “I’ll be in the library when you’re done Giles.”
Willow looked at Giles who was gaping after the youngest Summers. “What was that all about?” she asked.
“I don’t rightly know. She was perfectly alright a moment ago,” he responded.
Xander cleared his throat. Both Willow and Giles turned to look at him. “Uh . . . Dawn and I had a, uh, difference of opinion yesterday. I guess she’s still upset. But we have more pressing problems,” he said easily. It wasn't quite smooth enough, however, not to arouse Willow's suspicions.
“Oh? Such as?” Giles asked.
Willow looked at Xander for a moment. What could Xander and Dawn possibly have disagreed on badly enough for Dawn to be that angry? Dawn and Xander had been thick as thieves lately. She raised an eyebrow in question at him but he refused to meet her gaze, so she let it go and turned to Giles. She and Xander could talk later. She sat down and began filling Giles in on the events of the past couple of days.
“And you say you don’t think this is all a product of a guilty conscience?” Giles asked.
Willow shook her head. “No. I really don’t. I don’t feel guilty Giles. I’m sorry I hurt Kennedy but this . . . this is something different.”
Giles nodded. “A spell of some sort, perhaps?”
“That’s what I was thinking but who? Why? What kind? And . . . oh, wait, I didn’t tell you about last night, uh, this morning’s dream.” She told him about Angel and Tara and about Miss Kitty’s seeming perception of her. She also told him about her hesitancy to tell Buffy about it, but that Xander didn’t think it was that big a deal. Again, she felt that almost overwhelming longing. Talking about it just served to remind her of all she'd lost.
“Well, that is interesting. Tara, I can understand you dreaming of her. But Angel? No sense there. Although I quite agree with Xander, appalling as that sounds, there’s no reason not to tell Buffy,” Giles said thoughtfully.
“Tell Buffy what?” Buffy asked as she walked into the kitchen on the heels of Giles’ statement.
“I had another dream this morning,” Willow said as her friend got some orange juice from the refrigerator and popped a bagel into the toaster.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me? You told me about the others.” Buffy looked puzzled.
“This one was different.” For the third time that morning, she related the story of Tara and Angel and Miss Kitty. She watched as her friend fought back the tears. Angel had been presumed dead less than a month ago. Willow hurt for her friend. She knew the pain of losing someone you loved and how easily the wound was reopened with each fresh reminder.
“Okay, added weirdness. So what are we thinking?” Buffy asked, pulling herself together.
“Well, a spell or enchantment of some sort is the obvious answer. There are, however, more questions posed by that answer, I’m afraid,” Giles said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his handkerchief.
Buffy nodded. “Okay, this needs to stop. It’s gone from an inconvenience for Will to an interesting puzzle to let’s-figure-out-what- the-hell-is-going-on. Something could be seriously wrong. If we were still in Sunnydale this would probably make some sort of weird sense. But we’re not and it doesn’t even make that. So what’s the plan?”
“Research, of course. We’ll check the library - see if there are any spells that do . . . well . . . whatever is being done to Willow. Willow, whilst we’re in the library, perhaps you should go to the coven and see if they have any information that may point us in a particular direction,” Giles said as he stood up. He rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher along with Dawn’s. Willow watched Xander. He looked scared? But why would he be scared of Dawn? As if he sensed her gaze, Xander looked at Willow. Clapping his hands together he said, with obviously fake enthusiasm, “Okay, research mode. Oh boy! It’s been so long, I wonder if I’ll remember how to pretend I’m actually looking at anything I understand.” He grinned his lopsided grin. “Willow, to the coven. The rest of us, the library calls.”
Willow watched their retreating backs and promised herself that she’d Sherlock out Xander’s problem once she’d solved her own. The feeling of peace she'd had earlier had been replaced with sadness and just a twinge of panic. Sighing deeply, she headed to the coven to, hopefully, get some answers.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Next Week: Buffy Thoughts
Willow? I got so lost...
I found you...I will always find you
This is great!!! I loved the whole chapter - you do a nice job of writing Jossverse! I was able to imagine Willow saying those things to Xander and Buffy's remark in the kitchen. Giles as well - very believable! I was sad for Willow about Tara and for Buffy about Angel. I believe now that Angel and Tara are dead, as well as Miss Kitty. What I'm looking forward to now is what Buffy thinks about all of this...I think that will be very interesting! Great update!
I see my previous comment confused everybody, so I'll expand on it by saying another example could be the transition on Dark Shadows from the Judah Zachary Arc to the Bramwell Collins Arc. I'd imagine that makes it worse for everybody :-).
But confusing people is only my fourth favorite sport. My real number-one favorite sport is nitpicking so I'll do that now. I'll grant the show didn't have lot of shots of Willow walking around on the grass but she was generally shown as a Slippers Club person around the house so depiciting her as a Barefoot Girl type isn't really canon. But hey, it works in context of the chapter, and I'm sure there's some other critter around who'll enjoy that can of tuna food.
And yes, it was a very good chapter; it moved things forward a lot, especially from Willow's own perspective.
DaddyCatALSO wrote: I'll grant the show didn't have lot of shots of Willow walking around on the grass but she was generally shown as a Slippers Club person around the house so depiciting her as a Barefoot Girl type isn't really canon.
And yes, it was a very good chapter; it moved things forward a lot, especially from Willow's own perspective.
I actually, oddly enough, got the thought about her being barefoot from one of the Amber Benson/Chris Golden comic collaborations. "WannaBlessedBe". And there might be a thing or two later... but, : I'm gonna leave that alone.
I am glad you liked the chapter and felt it moved things along for Willow. Thanx!!
Willow? I got so lost...
I found you...I will always find you
This moved me to check out my copy of "Wanna Blessed Be;" not happily, it's even by Buffyverse standards a harsh story. But I noticed what you meant; I figure every ritual has its appropriate costume, amongst other things.
I was once asking at another board on suggestions for the color gown Willow would wear as Woman of Honor at Buffy's wedding; one poster suggested a sky-clad ceremony with Willow in auburn body paint...I think I'll stick with pink, tho, .
Well, the right shade *can* work, but I was looking at the wrong notes. I actually have a mint green for Willow's gown, cut more modestly that That Dress she was photgraphed in at a rpemiere a couple years ago. As Best Man Wesley would wear a hsirt one shade lighter and (if cummerbunds are used in dyalight weddings) a cummerbund one shade darker.
I had Dawn as Representing the Bride's Family originally in sky-blue but I'm thinking a rum beige would work better. Connor's shirt coordianted of course. Jennie's dress as Honorary Mother of the Bride would be a medium blue.
As the actual Bridesmaids I roiginally ahd Tara and Anya in lavendar but that would create problems with decent shirts for Gunn and Lorne so perhaps a sunshine yellow would be better. As Groom's Lamplighters Cordelia and Fred would be in pastel orange, deeper than peach but lighter than tangerine, or maybe since the pink is freed up they should be in that instead, or maybe they'd do best in the lavendar after all. Xander and Oz will do fine in their shirts with any of those choices.
Off-topic I know, but 40 chapters I guess we've some room!
Altho strictly speaking, Willow wouldn't be her trademark bottle red in that scene because (like Anya, Jenny, and Fred) she's got "one in the chute" as they say in rodeo country so she'd be her natural deep-wine color from Season 1.
This is a good chapter for Willow, and I don't know that rememebering her words (as I emntioned a coupel chapters back) from "The Gift" is really "rushing," since she wouldn't be able to take action right away, plus even remembering wouldn't tell her exactly what her dreams are trying to say, since those meanings are never simple.
Unless you were dropping a clue to us that Willow's remembering that she once said "I'll always find you," doesn't happen until much later and is itself a trigger for a major plot point..................
Buffy glanced at the clock as she heard Willow slip out of the room next door and quietly pad down the hall. Buffy sighed when she saw the time. It was five am and Willow was already moving around. She and Xander had decided last night after they left Willow's room that Buffy would take the first shift of “Willow watch”. She had been awake for two hours; since she heard Willow and Kennedy’s muted conversation. She was glad she didn’t require a lot of sleep; Will’s problem could require lack of sleep.
She waited a few moments then slipped into the hall just in time to see Willow heading downstairs. Buffy debated on whether or not she should let Willow know she was up. She decided to check the kitchen and go from there. The back door was closing as Buffy reached the kitchen so she headed to the atrium to see where Will was headed before approaching her. As she looked out the atrium windows, she saw Willow heading for what the gang had affectionately dubbed ‘Willow’s Tree’. She watched as Will sat under the tree and figured that Willow didn't want company. Idly, Buffy thought that maybe she, Xander and Willow should come up with a plan on how to tell when Will needed a friend and when she needed alone time. Maybe they could have it for all of them, not just Will. It was a distinct possibility that, even after their "babysitting" conversation from last night, Willow just needed quiet time and really didn't need or want to be babysat. It was probably a way overdue conversation, but perhaps it would allow all of them more quiet time when needed. Buffy sighed as she settled in to wait for Willow to return to the house.
She thought about Willow’s dreams. She wasn’t entirely convinced that these weren’t dreams borne of Willow feeling she betrayed Tara with someone she didn’t love, but there was no doubt they had Willow seriously wigged. She wondered if Willow ought to talk to more than just Giles or the coven about it. Maybe she needed some professional help.
Buffy hadn’t had a chance to broach the idea to Giles yesterday; she had meant to do it after dinner but discussing Cleveland with Faith had taken longer than she thought it would. Giles had been talking to Buffy about possibly going to Cleveland to help out with the Hellmouth there. After much debate and not a little whining, Buffy had made it very clear that she didn’t want to go. She was feeling very much been-there-done-that-got-the-t-shirt about it. She knew Giles was right. She should go. She was just so tired. She had been The Slayer for so long. Now that she wasn’t the only slayer, she wanted to spend some time being Buffy Summers instead of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She loved that she could spend the day with Willow and Xander. She loved that she could hang out with Dawn.
When Faith came to her and said she was getting restless and wanted to go to Cleveland, Buffy hadn’t thought twice and offered to bow out of the duty. She and Faith had talked and decided that Faith would get in touch with Vi and Rona to see if they wanted to get off “slayer retrieval” and get back to slaying. Buffy had suggested that Faith ask Kennedy to go too. Faith had seemed surprised but Buffy covered by saying she thought Kennedy was getting twitchy sitting around. Giles had already sent two watchers to Cleveland to help in whatever way they could. Robin was in Cleveland and had been seeking out and training new slayers there. Buffy had no doubt that Robin was a big part of the reason that Faith was so antsy to go and she was more than happy to send Faith off.
By the time she and Faith had finished their conversation, Xander was looking for her to tell her about Willow’s latest dream and the two of them had headed up to talk to Will. Then she and Xander had talked trying to figure out the best way to help Willow. By the time they’d come up with their ‘Willow watch’ plan, Giles was in bed and snoring loud enough to rattle the windows.
Buffy sighed as she watched the sunrise. She noticed Xander in the middle of the construction site, looking at blueprints and making notes. Smiling, she marveled at the self-assured young man he had become from the self-deprecating boy he had been. ‘Now he just needs to figure out what to do about Dawn,’ she thought.
“Yo, B, been looking all over for you,” Faith said, startling Buffy from her reverie.
“Hey, Faith. What’s the what?”
“Talked to Vi last night and she and Rona are in. Kennedy said she’d think about it but she’s going to have to think quick. I talked to Robin last night, too. He said sooner rather than later. Something big is brewing and he needs some help so I’m heading out today. I called Vi again and she said she and Rona’ll meet me in New York and we’ll go on to Cleveland together from there.”
“Wow. That’s quick. But hey, if you’re cool with it . . . ”
“Five by five, B. Tired of sitting around here, yanno? I need to be moving . . . kicking ass and taking no names.” Faith’s actions underscored her words; her whole body seemed to be in perpetual motion. She was rolling her shoulders and neck and her feet seemed to have taken on a life of their own.
“Coolness. Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Yeah . . . ship some of my ‘special’ weapons to Robin’s place. I can’t take ‘em on the plane. Andrew’s got the private plane in Zimbabwe or something, picking up new slayers, so I'm gonna have to go commercial. Don’t wanna risk that exoneration that the Watcher’s Council swung for me.”
“No big – leave me the address and a list and I’ll get them out.”
“Cool. Here’s the info where you can send the stuff and reach all of us for now – Robin’s apartment,” Faith said, handing Buffy a slip of paper with a slightly wolfish grin. “I’m gonna go pack up and rattle K’s cage. Flight’s at six tomorrow morning. I wanna be gone for London by four this afternoon.”
Buffy nodded. “Ok. I'll go find Giles and let him know to put the watchers on call and get your flights arranged. Catch me before you go.”
“Will do,” she said, heading out.
Buffy shook her head, amazed at how far she and Faith had come. She looked out the window and saw Angel walking across the grass. Stunned, she shook her head and blinked. No Angel. Weird wishful thinking. Buffy puzzled on it for a moment, let it go and headed back into the kitchen – she was hungry and had seen Willow and Xander headed that way.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Although I quite agree with Xander, appalling as that sounds, there’s no reason not to tell Buffy.”
“Tell Buffy what?” she asked, walking into the kitchen on the heels of Giles’ statement.
“I had another dream this morning,” Willow said as Buffy poured herself some orange juice and popped a bagel into the toaster.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me? You told me about the others?” Buffy asked, wondering what the problem was.
“This one was different.”
Buffy listened as Willow related the story of her latest dreams. A dream about Tara and Angel. Angel again. Two thoughts of him in ten minutes. Weird. Buffy struggled to keep control. Angel had gone missing and was presumed dead almost a month ago. Last week she had received a letter from a lawyer in L.A. that Angel had written. An “if I don't survive” letter that had left almost as many questions as it had answered. She missed him terribly, even though they hadn’t seen each other in over a year. She had always believed that one day they’d be able to work it out and be together. After she was done baking. She took a deep breath, not wanting to think about their conversation before the big battle with the First. She still felt like cookie dough, unfinished, and a part of her felt that without Angel she would never be done. 'Now Will's dreaming about Angel, too,' she thought. “Okay, added weirdness. So what are we thinking?” she asked, pulling herself together.
“Well, a spell or enchantment of some sort is the obvious answer. There are, however, more questions posed by that answer, I’m afraid.” Giles said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his handkerchief.
Buffy nodded and discounted her therapy theory; if Giles thought so, then it wasn’t just Will's problem. “Okay, this needs to stop. It’s gone from an inconvenience for Will to an interesting puzzle to let’s-figure-out-what- the-hell-is-going-on. Something could be seriously wrong. If we were still in Sunnydale this would probably make some sort of weird sense. But we’re not and it doesn’t even make that. So what’s the plan?”
“Research, of course. We’ll check the library - see if there are any spells that do . . . well . . . whatever is being done to Willow. Willow, whilst we’re in the library, perhaps you should go to the coven and see if they have any information that may point us in a particular direction,” Giles said as he stood up. He rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher along with some others that were in the sink.
Buffy saw a look pass from Willow to Xander. ‘I wonder what that’s about,’ she thought.
Xander clapped his hands together and said, with what was obviously fake enthusiasm, “Okay, research mode. Oh boy! It’s been so long, I wonder if I’ll remember how to pretend I’m actually looking at anything I understand.” He grinned his lopsided grin. “Willow, to the coven. The rest of us, the library calls.”
Buffy grinned and headed toward the library with Giles and Xander. Yeah, this is where she belonged – not Cleveland.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Next Week: Dawn's Theory
Willow? I got so lost...
I found you...I will always find you
There's got to be a way to bring Angel back to Buffy! She's right, they are meant to be together and I like how you tie in the "cookie-dough" comment with the present. That gives me hope that somehow Angel will reappear and that he and Buffy will get back together again.... I look forward to Dawn's Theory along with what Giles and the Scoobies come up with research wise...Great update!
I wondered that too, but since Tara had been with Willow before, I didn't know if she'd get with Angel...but that would be cool too! I'm just hopeful for whatever comes!
Dawn heard them coming and took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm and aloof. Her displays of this morning and yesterday weren't going to convince Xander that she was grown up enough to make the choice to stay here with him and raise a family of little Scoobies. ‘He just makes me so mad!’ she thought. “Buffy’s kid sister,” she muttered then took another deep breath.
As Giles, Buffy and Xander entered the library, Dawn forced herself not to look up.
“Oh, I see. So it was you who suggested Faith ask Kennedy to accompany her to Cleveland,” Giles was saying.
“Well, yeah. I mean, you know I didn’t want to go. Faith said she wanted to go. She was getting all twitchy sitting around. Plus, Robin’s already there. And I figured, hey, ask Kennedy. That sort of gives her and Will the break without the drama of still having to live together and see each other every day.”
“Makes perfect sense. I consulted the Codex and the Hellmouth in Cleveland is going to become very active in the next three or four months, the more slayers, the better,” he said, “I just wish the Tiberius Manifesto was still in existence, it would definitely give us more information on what to expect.”
“What? There was a Codex moment and I missed it?” Xander said in mock consternation, winking at Dawn who pointedly ignored him.
Giles quirked an eyebrow at the horrible pun then continued as if Xander hadn't spoken. “Dawn, whatever you’re doing, stop. We need to start looking into some spell and witchcraft books,” Giles said.
Dawn looked up and caught Xander's eye. She felt the color start to rise in her cheeks but she made herself continue to ignore him and focus on Giles. “Ok. What are we looking for?”
“We’re not sure, exactly. Willow is having . . .” Giles stopped and looked at Buffy. “It is appropriate to tell Dawn all of this, correct? I supposed I should have asked before I started, but now that she’s an adult, I really never think about these things anymore.”
Dawn smirked, feeling vindicated. At least Giles saw her as an adult.
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Willow’s been having these dreams, only not dreams. They’re more than that . . . ”
Dawn was so focused on ignoring Xander that she only half listened to Buffy’s explanation of Willow’s Taramares. “Wait,” she said as she half heard something that made no sense. “Miss Kitty . . . but . . . I mean . . .” Dawn stammered thinking about the crossbow incident.
“We know. That’s why we’re in research mode. Maybe they’re dreams, maybe not. Maybe a spell, maybe not.”
“So we’re looking for spells that cause . . . what? Hallucinations? Oh, wait. Did she get stung by that demon - the Glarghk Ghul Kashma’nik? You know, the one that made Buffy think this wasn’t the real world.” Exasperated at the blank stares she was getting, Dawn continued, “when she tried to kill us all . . . ”and was rewarded as they all finally nodded in recognition.
Buffy looked puzzled. “Will didn’t say anything but maybe we should have asked.”
“I should think she’d have mentioned it if that were the case.” Giles said. “However, Buffy’s hallucinations happened whilst she was awake. Willow’s are only occurring when she sleeps.”
“Okay, so we’re researching spells. What else? I mean, there has to be a bunch of things it could be, right?” Dawn paused, uncertain if she should voice the thought that had jumped to the front of her brain. It was too fantastic to seriously consider.
Buffy looked at her sister. “What is it, Dawn? If you’ve got a theory let’s hear it,” she coaxed. “Remember, you were right about Gnarl.” Buffy smiled at her.
Encouraged, Dawn nodded. “It’s just that . . . Tara and Willow always knew how to find each other, you know?”
“Tinkerbell!” Xander exclaimed.
Buffy, Giles and Dawn all gaped at him.
“No. I mean, when we brought Buffy back but we didn’t know it. Will, Tara, Anya and me . . . we got separated. Will and I got lost. And this lightning buggy looking thing came and guided us out of the woods. Willow said it was Tara.”
“Right, ” Buffy said, “but that’s when they were both alive. Tara’s dead.”
“Sure. Here. Now. But how many times did Anya tell us about alternate realities?” Dawn felt herself getting excited as she warmed to the topic. She stood up and started pacing. “Jonathan, remember? And the world without shrimp and the thousands of hell dimensions and the troll dimension. Okay. So Tara and Willow have this amazing bond, right? What if . . . ” Dawn paused, trying to collect her thoughts. “What if Tara is in another dimension?”
They all looked at each other. “You know, we didn’t really think about it as being real. We just assumed
. . . well, I guess that makes as much sense as Willow’s imagination or conscience or whatever.” Buffy sighed.
“Right then,” Giles said. “We’re looking for spells that could be aimed at harming Willow but we need to widen our search to include trans-dimensional spells. Perhaps Dawn is right. Perhaps Tara is trying to reach Willow. Or, maybe she’s trying to reach someone and Willow is simply picking up the transmission.” Giles looked thoughtful. “What Goddesses did Willow say Tara was invoking? Juno and Iris? Maybe start there. Who they are – more than what is commonly known by any average twelve year old? What are they the Goddesses of, specifically? Dawn . . . ”
“I’m on it.” Dawn said, sitting at one of the computer terminals while Xander, Buffy and Giles sat at the war table and started sifting through books; discarding some, reading others. Dawn had chosen the computer because it was safer if she wasn't anywhere near Xander. Once or twice, she glanced at him and felt conflicting waves of emotion. She was angry, but she loved him. She knew this wasn’t a silly schoolgirl crush. She loved working with Giles. She loved the atmosphere here. She was with Buffy, not to mention Willow and Giles. And Xander. She didn’t want to travel, didn’t really want to go to school. She liked being “Watcher Junior”. And, even though she wasn’t a slayer, Buffy had agreed that she could train once the facility was open. How could she convince him that this was her home, too? ‘Hey,’ she thought. “Hey! I found something,” Dawn said as the computer started spitting out information on both Juno and Iris. “Juno - Juno, Roman Queen of the Gods, protector of Rome, namesake of the month of June, Moon Goddess, Chosen Guardian of Women, comes to their aid in seasons of distress, protectress of the weak or needful. Iris - Goddess of 1000 names, messenger of Zeus and Hera, advisor to humans, daughter of the Titans, served a similar function to Hermes, the herald or messenger of the gods. Less well-known information is that she rides a rainbow instead of a chariot, her soul was separated from her body at death, and she provides a bridge between the earthly and the spiritual. She’s also Goddess of the Rainbow. She was the messenger between women and goddesses and she travels on golden wings with the speed of the wind.”
“Well. That would certainly seem to point to Tara reaching out, wouldn’t it?” Giles said. “But we still don’t know if it’s actually Tara or something or someone affecting Willow.”
Dawn sighed as she stood up and stretched. “I’m going to get some water. Anyone else want anything?”
“Coke, please,” Buffy said.
“Water for me as well, thank you, Dawn.”
“Xander? Anything for you?”
“Thanks, Dawnie, I’m good,” he said, smiling at her.
She felt her stomach do a back flip. ‘Calm and aloof,’ she thought. “Okay. Be right back,” she said. She could hear Giles behind her as she walked out of the library, “You realize we’re blind here. I hope the coven has some answers for Willow that will help at least point us in the right direction.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Next Week: Willow & The Coven
Willow? I got so lost...
I found you...I will always find you
My interest is really perked now in figuring out if Tara and Angel are the ghosts in Willow and Buffy's house or if it's they who have died and Angel and Tara are the lone survivors. Either way, I'm enjoying the friendship between Angel and Tara. Angel is cool to stay with Tara! I really like him in your fanfic - I think he's a great guy for hanging around and helping Tara both in finding books to figure out what to do next and also in being there as her friend...
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by saying another example could be the transition on Dark Shadows from the Judah Zachary Arc to the Bramwell Collins Arc. I'd imagine that makes it worse for everybody :-).