FIC: Opposites Attract III (2/2)

"Tara! Buffy told you -" Willow started saying as they chased after the blonde witch.

She was scared. Buffy wasn't back yet, and she should have been. Tara had gotten up without a word, and started heading into the woods.

"I know what she said. But it's after two. Lunch was o-over a long time ago."

They knew she was right.

"Do you at least know where you're going?"

"I think so."

"You think so?" Amy asked incredulously. She had thought to grab the magick supplies, and was carrying them on her back.

"I'll find my way. You should stay b-behind. I won't let her get hurt." Tara swore.

"No way." Willow said. She regarded her friend thoughtfully. "You love her, huh?"

"You didn't think I did?"

"I didn't know...what I thought, I guess. We're not around you guys much. But it's good that you both...that's great."

"When we get out of here, that's gonna change." Amy said. "The 'not hanging' thing."

Tara stopped, turned and smiled. She could still see the camp.

"Last chance to go back."

They held their arms out, and Tara began leading.

***

Buffy sat Indian style with her hands on her knees. She breathed deeply.In and out. In and out. In and out. There was an amazing feeling that came over her every time she meditated. It was something she'd never quite known before. It was peace. Like this, with nothing distracting her, she was at peace with herself and everything around her.

It was the opposite when she slayed, or even went through everyday activities. She was constantly in a state of motion, her brain always at work.

Granted, the middle of the woods with an unknown beasty lurking about, wasn't exactly the best place to find peace, but it was what she felt like she hadto do. She inhaled deeply again and concentrated. She could almost 'see' her surroundings. There was no way to describe it. It was almost like that silly training activity Giles had her do one time. Hit him with a ball without looking. She did, right on his head, if she remembered correctly, but if anyone had asked her *how* she did it, she really couldn't explain.

***

"I think we're lost."

Tara looked back at Amy. "We're not lost."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. That's all."

"That was kind of parental. Like when your parents say, 'Because I said so, that's why'. Like they don't want you to know what's really going on, and that's really annoying sometimes...you know? Or when your mom..."

"Amy." Willow put her hand on her shoulder. "Leave the nervous babble tome. Okay? We're fine, really, honest! Right Tara?"

The blonde witch paused a moment, and looked at her surroundings. "I think we're lost."

"We're not lost. We can't be lost." Willow responded reassuringly.

"That's it. We're officially lost. Do you think there are bears in these woods? Cause, bears? Not tops on my list for mingling. Uh uh, no way." Amy was adamant.

Tara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tried to concentrate on where they were, where Buffy was, and if Buffy was okay. She opened her eyes and turned around.

"This way." She pointed.

The other two wiccans had no choice but to follow.

***

'You simply...are.'

"What's that supposed to mean?"

'It means, you exist. Simply that. You serve a purpose, you do a job, and you have a destiny and a higher purpose. All the slayers before couldn't achieve that. You will.'

"How can I do something that no one's ever done before?"

'Because you can.'

"Oh, great. Now the slayers in my head are beginning to sound like my mother."

Buffy stopped her inner banter for a moment and listened. There was something close...very close...so close it was going to...

"Ow!"

After she flipped whatever it was that was behind her, over her head andin front of her onto its back, Buffy opened her eyes.

"Tara!" She scrambled over to the blonde. "Are you okay?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'okay.'"

Buffy helped her up. "Nothing broken?"

"Nope. How about you?"

"Fine. Just doing a 'Luke Skywalker meditation' deal. Only without that Obi-Wok guy. Or Soda." She smirked. "Whoa. I didn't realize it was so dark."

"Uh, Buffy?" Willow asked.

The slayer saw that the other girls had come along.

"I know their names, Will. I was joking."

"Oh. Good. I just wasn't sure, cause with IHOP this morning you didn't know..." She trailed off. "No danger?"

The shrieking began again.

"Stop bitching and face me!" Buffy yelled into the dark. She turned to her girlfriend. "So, how was your day?"

"Pretty okay. Except for the 'missing you' part. Hours and hours of waiting. I'm not good at that." Tara said, still sighing in relief that Buffy was okay.

"Yeah. Sorry I missed lunch. Experienced a case of 'getting lost.'" She leaned back into Tara, and she felt arms go around her waist. "But thanks for the rescue."

"Don't mention it."

"We had that problem." Amy chipped in. "Getting lost."

"But only for about a half hour." Willow added.

"Who's keeping track?" Amy coughed. "Forty-four minutes and thirty-eight seconds." She smiled. "Anyway, why don't we go? This thing, whatever it is, obviously doesn't like us, and I'm beginning to miss my comforter."

"I'm right here." The redhead pouted.

"The one on my bed."

"Oh." Amy's arms went around her neck.

"I'd love to, but I have to take this thing out. I can't let it run loose." Buffy said. "What if it attacks some other campers that come here after us?"

"Who cares about -?" Three sets of eyes stared at Amy. "Never mind. God,that was mean, wasn't it? Must be forest insanity setting in."

"We'll be outta here soon, we just need to find it first. Then kill it."

The witches' faces lit up.

"Spell!" They echoed.

***

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, now tell me how you *really* feel." She stepped back a few paces. "If you don't mind, I think I'll sit this one out."

"But why?" Tara looked back at her.

"Spelling's not my gig, it's yours. I slay, you do spells."

"But...I slay. I slay pretty well thank you very much." Willow pouted. "Well, the times I'm not getting captured and hurt and stuff. And you can so spell. I've seen your sentences. High quality."

"Yeah, Buffy, come on." Amy added.

"Pleeeeeaaassssseeee?" Tara whined.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Okay, but I don't know what I could..." She couldn't finish her sentence, because the three witches decided it was group hug time. Buffy laughed. "Okay, okay. You need me to do a spell, I need to breathe. I think we can make an even trade here, don't you?"

Willow and Amy backed away. "Sorry." They echoed.

"I'm not." Tara kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

"Yeah, well...consider it payback. For the vamp that shot me, and you dusted. Even though I could never pay you back for that, by the way, least I can dois try." Buffy leaned in for what was supposed to be a small peck, but it turned into a little more than they bargained for.

"Uh, guys?" Willow interrupted. "Spell, home, kissing. In that order, ifyou don't mind."

"Sorry." Buffy smiled at her. "So. What's the wha--uh, I mean...what arewe doing?"

'Great, not only am I thinking about Faith, I'm starting to talk like her.' She shook her head.

"You okay?" Tara asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, fine." She smiled. "So?" Willow frowned and Buffy caught it. "What?"

"You're doing it again, but we can talk about that back at camp. And believe me when I say we'll talk. Got it?" She shook her finger at Buffy and closedoff any further discussion for later. "Now, what we need is a guiding spell, or, hmmm, maybe a light spell first, that way we won't trip over branches and stuff, or..."

"How about a simple tracking spell?" Amy knew that look in Willow's eye.If she let her go any further, they'd be trying different spells all night. "Iknow it's kinda tough to track something when you don't know what it looks like,but we can do a demon tracking spell."

"If we do a demon tracking spell, more than half the woods is going to light up." The three witches looked at Buffy quizzically. "Initiative caves. Remember?"

"Right. Initiative." Willow said, recalling. "I kinda blocked them out. Like a bad plotline from a TV show. Hey! That's it! The caves, we passed them right before we got here. If we can get back to them, then you can do the slayer thing and, you know, scout them out."

"Tinkerbell spell?" Tara asked.

Now Buffy was confused. There was another shriek, only this time it was closer, and followed by what sounded like demonic laughter.

Willow looked around. "Uh, that was really..."

"Creepy." Tara finished.

"Now it's mocking me!" Buffy's eyes narrowed as she looked at her surroundings. "Sure, mock me all you want, you...thing. Just wait until I get my hands on you, then we'll see who's doing a little demonic chuckle then."

"Yeah, I'd say forest insanity has firmly set in." Amy looked at Willow. "Let's do a spell, quick, find it," She pointed to Buffy, "and slay it. Andthen we all go home for snuggles. What do ya say?"

"I'm in." Buffy nodded.

"Me too." Tara and Willow agreed.

***

The three of them sat around an impromptu campfire. There were various herbs sprinkled around them in a big circle and they all sat on the 'corners' of the circle in the lotus position.

Buffy looked over at Tara and whispered. "What do I do?"

"Just concentrate."

"Oh." She paused a moment then looked at her again. "On what?"

Tara smiled. "Your center. Everyone has a center, you know, the place where they're at peace? Concentrate on finding that and the rest will fall into place. Trust me."

"I do."

"We call upon the forces of nature." Willow began. "Wind at our backs, earth under our feet..."

"...water in the sky, fire here before us." Amy picked up the spell, and reached out for everyone to grasp hands. "Give us eyes to see the dark force at work in our midst. Show us the danger..."

"Lead us to the demon who wishes to cause harm." Tara took over.

Buffy heard the words, but didn't really hear them. All she could hear were the voices in her head. The voices of the past slayers.

'You know what you are.'

'You know who you are to become.'

'You can do it alone, but the road is smoother with peace in your life.'

'Find peace, sister. Slay your own demons, then the world's.'

'Easier said than done.' Buffy told them silently.

'We didn't say it would be easy.'

'Don't start getting sarcastic with -'

She couldn't hear anything now. Nothing. She felt herself rising, walking. Her vision was clearer; it was like she had a guide showing her where to go. Several guides, actually. Everything had a golden tint to it, and she knew her friends were following her.

***

"I was right." Willow said to Amy and Tara quietly as Buffy entered the cave. "It's in there."

"Um, how did she do that thing with her eyes?" Amy asked. "That wasn't part of the spell."

"The slayers must have used our spell to figure out where the demon was,and are helping Buffy get to it." Tara figured out.

"Slayers?"

"Couldn't you feel them?"

"Something felt different. I guess that was it." She shrugged.

"Wait, is it like the enjoining spell we did?" Willow asked.

"Kind of." Tara nodded. "Except she's not drawing on us. Only on the energies of the passed slayers. She's strong enough to handle it now. She's got the ability to do magick, and when she tapped into you during the spell, your magick unlocked hers. And it's on a whole nother level from ours."

"Uh...neat." She bit her lip, shocked by the new information. "How do you know all this?"

"Long story. For later." She couldn't see her girlfriend anymore. "We should follow her. It's like a maze in there, and we might...lose her."

"How are we going to see?" Amy questioned. "We don't have eyes that act as flashlights."

"Tinkerbell?" The redhead looked hopeful.

"Okay, okay." Tara smiled.

***

Buffy came to a stop. She was deep within the caves. The thing was making its home here, probably even before the Initiative came. Adam kept it at bay most likely. Power was coursing through her, magick, strength...power. The demon-beast was all around her, but it felt the power too, and was keeping its distance. No matter, she'd seek it out.

That's when everything got really bright. Buffy could see; the light shewas using was just bright enough. But the extra luminescence clashed with hers,and she felt a sharp pain in her eyes. It was like somebody turned on a light after she'd been in the dark for hours. It broke off the flow of the other slayers' energies, and everything was normal again.

She nearly collapsed because of the abrupt end, and the beast blindsided her, taking advantage. She flewinto the cave wall, and fell to the floor. The impact jarred loose a stalagmite above her, and it nearly entered her back, but she rolled out of the way in the nick of time. Getting up, she caught a glimpse of it before it vanished from her view.

Fast.

The three witches came running in.

"Get out of here!" She warned them.

But it was too late. It showed itself, going in between the girls and the slayer. It was on all fours, its supernatural muscles rippling under its hairless skin, which looked to be a muted red color. Its teeth were endlessand very sharp looking. It had a snout like a bull, with two black horns risingout of his head. It had five fingers and toes, all in the shape of claws, and along tail that was currently whipping around wildly.

"Say 'hello' to the stereotypical hellbeast." Buffy remarked. "What is this? The Devil's pet?"

"Just in case it is, maybe you shouldn't make fun of it." Willow said toher from the other side of the creature.

"But it's so unoriginal! If it breathes fire, I'm going to be very disappointed in the forces of darkness."

"Can you really kill something that comes directly from Hell?" Amy wondered.

"Only one way to -"

Before Buffy could finish, they felt the full force of its shriek. It appeared annoyed with the visitors. Its mouth opened wide, and a black tongue swirled around inside. Putting their hands over their ears, the girls watched as the cave walls shook, and dust rained down.

During the confusion, the creature used its tail to grab Tara off the ground, and bring her in front of its jaws.

"Tara!" Buffy yelled. She tried to run, but was having trouble keeping her footing.

The blonde witch felt as if she was being crushed. Both Buffy and Willowwere making their way to the creature, but it swatted at them with both its arms, getting up on its hind legs to balance itself. The slayer and the redhead rolled back, their efforts for nothing. The creature then slammed its front end back down, making it feel like they were experiencing an earthquake.

Tara was surprisingly calm, as she spoke silent words to herself. She managed to yank her arm free, and when she did, she blew on her palm sending what looked like crystallized dust into her captor's face. It was enough of a distraction, because the beast released its grip, and she landed on the cave floor.

With a menacing growl, a green mist began to envelop everything. Buffy, trying to get to Tara by crawling on her hands and knees, lost sight of her. Then her eyes began to close.

***

"Uh, my head." Buffy opened her eyes slowly to find that she was in the middle of the woods. She sat up, a bit too quickly. "Uh, my...everything." She picked some leaves out of her hair and looked around. She immediately spotted Willow. "Will?" She crawled over to the redhead. "Will, come on. This is notime for a nap."

"Buffy? What happened?" She sat up. "And did you get the number of that train that hit us?"

"You okay? No broken bones or anything?"

"Yeah, but...where's Amy? And Tara?"

***

"Tara. Get up. Come on."

"Wha...what happened?"

"Good question. I think that hell beast hit us with some really powerfulmojo and knocked us out. Can you get up?"

Tara nodded and rose to her feet. She looked around. "We're still in the caves. But where's Buffy and Willow?"

"We must have gotten separated in the hail of magick." Amy stretched. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere."

Tara stood still and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened them and looked back at Amy. "I can't feel her." She whispered.

***

"Buffy, this is insane. If they're looking for us, and we're moving, then they could have already been someplace we've already been to and missed us totally cause we're not where we're supposed to be."

The Slayer turned to her. "Uh, I pick C."

"What?"

"You know how you take those state tests every year and have to fill in the annoying little circles? Well, whenever I didn't understand the question, I'd always put down C."

"This is no time to be joking around, Buffy." The redhead pouted. "They could be anywhere. And so could we."

"I know, Will. I'm sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood. Let's just keep walking. We're bound to get outta here at one point. Either that or run into something vaguely familiar. It's not like Breakers Woods is as big as the Appalachians. Ya know?"

"Okay. I'll trust the Slayer instinct this time."

Willow walked silently beside her for awhile. It occurred to her that this was the first time they'd been alone in a long time. "So...how have you been?"

Buffy smirked at her. "Fine. And you? What's up, Will? We see each other every day. You know how I am."

"Not really, Buffy. I mean, we've both had new stuff in our lives and we haven't been alone much. At all even. At least since Amy and I got together."

The Slayer thought for a few moments then stopped in her tracks. "You know, you're right. We haven't spent any time alone. And we swore we wouldn't do that again. I'm a horrible friend. Yet again."

Willow chuckled. "I didn't say that to make you feel bad. It's just something I noticed, is all. No big. We have time to fix it."

"So. You and Amy..." Buffy stumbled over her words.

"It's great. The way she makes me feel...it's warm fuzzies all over. ButI'm sure it's like that with you and Tara. She loves you so much."

"Tara's...I haven't met anyone like her before. I felt the same way whenI met you. If I was as open minded then as I am now, maybe..."

"Awww, Buffy..." Willow blushed.

The slayer cleared her throat. "But you became my best friend, and I love that."

"Me too."

"She's just the best thing that could've happened to me. Tara. After that first kiss, I knew I loved her. It was immediate. And the only other personwho ever made me feel that way was Angel. But it's different with her. Can't explain really."

"You don't have to. She's lucky she has someone as great as you. And vice versa. You know, it's funny how things happen. If it wasn't for Tara, I never would have thought about Amy in *that* way, but I'm glad we're...what we are. Super glad."

"And if it wasn't for you going off with your parents or her making dream appearances, I would never -" She stopped herself. "I mean -"

"She told me." Willow smiled in reassurance, and gave her friend a hug. "It's okay."

Buffy sighed in relief, and grinned. She didn't want to embarrass her friend, but this was exactly what best friends talked about. "Have you...I mean, did you, um...with Amy?"

Willow blushed again. "Uh, I mean, we um, that is to say I haven't really, you know technically...why are you asking me this?"

The slayer shrugged. "Just to keep the conversation moving, I guess."

"How about you?" Willow smirked when she saw Buffy pale. "Two can play that game, you know."

"Look." Buffy pointed ahead of them to the caves. "Looks like we found our way after all." She smiled at Willow and ran ahead.

"Buffy, wait...and that's not fair! You never answered my question!"

The beast charged out of the mouth.

"You could try asking him." Buffy suggested. "They say sex is the work of the Devil, right?"

"So is that a yes?"

"Bushes! Dive!" They did, and the creature missed them. "And no, it's not!"

"You haven't?"

"I didn't say that! I said it was a no to the yes!"

"But...now I'm scared *and* confused."

"That was the plan."

***

Amy and Tara were walking around the caves trying to find their way out.So far, they weren't having any luck. "These caves must go on forever. We're never gonna get out of here." Amy pouted and sat down on a nearby rock.

Tara sat down next to her. "We'll rest for awhile, then we can go that way. I don't think we've been there yet."

"You sure?" Amy shook her head. "They all look the same to me."

"I'm sure." Tara smiled at her. "We'll be fine."

Amy looked at her for a few moments and chose her next words carefully. "Tara, about you and Willow, I mean, when you guys were together...never mind."

"You can ask me. Anything."

"Well, I was wondering...how much, you know, really powerful magic you guys did. I mean, I know Will has really improved over these past two years, andI know that's in part cause of you."

"Willow's great, at spells and stuff. She really knows what she's doing when she focuses, but, she's not confident enough sometimes and that's mostly why her spells go into a downward spiral." Tara shrugged. "We never really did anything that big. We did contact the nether realms once, and that was...wow. Just, so powerful."

Amy nodded. "Yeah, I can imagine. I guess I'm asking because I don't want to scare her. You know? I've been practicing for a really long time and I tendto go the distance when trying something new. I just don't want to chase her off."

"Buffy and I talked about this one time. Willow and I, the spells we did, they tended to be small. Ya know? And the bigger they got, the more intensethey got. We just couldn't seem to achieve a balance with them sometimes. She's a light practitioner and so am I, but with you, I think it may work out better all around. You're kind of like the ying to her yang."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. We just seem to...know how to get that balance. It wasn't like that before."

"Maybe you just weren't ready for each other."

Amy nodded. "Yeah. Maybe."

Both girls jumped when they heard the hell beast roar again. This time it came from right behind them. Or in front of them. They couldn't tell.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Amy turned to Tara.

"Run?"

Amy nodded. "Run!"

***

"Is there a reason you decided to get on its back?" Willow yelled up to her friend.

"I'm trying out for the rodeo." Buffy snapped, holding onto the horns asthe creature bucked erratically. "I'm all up for ideas here!"

"First, I think..." The fading blonde was thrown into Willow. "You should get off."

"Sorry." They untangled themselves, breathing heavily. "What am I supposed to do? I'm weaponless."

"Debate the better type of brimstone to use for interior decorating in Hell?"

"You have too many thoughts."

"Why does everyone always say that?" She looked up at their attacker; it wasn't paying attention to them. "That's rude. Don't you think that's rude? We're here, playing the good, tired victims, and it gets bored."

Buffy pointed. A layer of ice was forming over its body. It was frozen in place. Amy and Tara jogged over.

"We kick ass." Amy said. "I'll never have to drink warm soda again."

"You're not dead!" Willow crushed her in a hug. She looked at Tara and Buffy. "Why not hugging?"

"Oh, probably cause the ice is melting off his super hot skin and we're royally screwed." Buffy looked at her girlfriend. "But I'm very relieved you're not hurt, don't get me wrong."

"Ditto." Tara said. "What are our options?"

"Spells. I don't know what could help, though."

"We could send it back to where it came from." Willow said.

"How?"

"Haven't thought that far ahead."

'Let us assist you. We need your friends. And we need the one who has gone astray.'

'Why her?'

'She's one of us. Her energy is essential, as is the mystical prowess ofthe witches.'

'Kind of impossible.' Buffy told the voices.

'Just say you will accept her help, and we'll do the rest. She wants to,but you don't have much time.'

Tara was staring at her, and she sighed, nodding. She was getting an oddlook from her too. What Buffy didn't realize was that as she was "talking" to the spirits, her face was practically changing shape. Contorting, so with everynew voice, she took on the visage of that person.

'Fine. Let's do it. I accept. And tell her I'm sorry.'

'You will tell her that yourself.'

'Getting pushy, aren't you?'

"Ready?" Buffy asked out loud.

"What for?" Amy inquired.

"You'll see. I hope."

***

Buffy closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths. She knew what to do, and how to do it; the voices of the slayers took care of that.

"Slayers of the past, I plead for your assistance. Help me and my friends in our hour of need." Suddenly, she opened her eyes and threw back her head. "Help us help ourselves."

A bright light appeared out of nowhere. Buffy shielded her eyes from the brightness, but as quickly as it came, it went, and in its place, a beautiful amulet was floating in mid air.

***

"You'd think she'd lend a hand here!" Amy yelled after she threw anothertree branch at the hell beast.

"She'll come through." Willow responded from behind a tree. She and Tarawere levitating rocks at the beast in between Amy's swings at it. They were all a fair distance from it, and their attempts seemed to keep it at bay for now.

***

Buffy walked up to the amulet, and it slowly floated down to her hand. She enclosed it in her palm and sighed deep.

'Trust us, Slayer.'

'I'm afraid. The power I feel...it's overwhelming.'

'Drink in the power. It is the strength of generations flowing through your veins, pumping blood into your heart. You know what you are, now use it.'

Buffy opened her eyes and immediately charged the beast. She jumped and planted both of her feet square in its broad chest. The beast flew back and crashed into the wall of the cave twenty feet back.

"That was, uh..." Amy was crouching behind a bush, beside Tara and Willow.

"Yeah." Willow looked at the slayer, amazed.

Buffy ran up to them. "You guys okay?" The three witches nodded. "Good. Now come on, let's finish this thing off." She ran towards the beast with the witches trailing behind. "Make a circle around the outside of it."

The four of them each got on a side of the creature, and Buffy held the amulet above her head. They began speaking words, but had no idea where they were coming from.

"Hetan, primal beast of the Underworld, before you is the Amulet of Limhas, the creation of the first watcher on Earth. He and his charge took it upon themselves to cast the remaining pure remnants of the Old World into their new prison, but you eliminated her and escaped confinement.

"Many of us have met the same fate. We were foolish and did not have the proper preparation. Thousands of years have passed however, and the Chosen One has. Along with the wiccans, united together by powerful bonds of love and friendship, they stand ready to finish it. Your time on this plane is now ended. Be gone!"

The amulet started to glow purple, and shake in Buffy's hand. She pulledher arm back, looked up at the sky, and threw it hard. A whirlwind formed in the late night, early morning sky, volatile and powerful. Leaves were blowing, trees were blowing, and there was fear in the beast's blood red eyes.

'Anchor yourself. Quickly!'

The girls had to grab onto to something, to keep the force from pulling them upwards. The frightened Hetan extended its tail in desperation, and hooked it around a tree trunk, the one Amy was holding onto. The roots were ripped right from the ground, and Amy found herself rising.

"Buffy! She's -" Willow yelled.

"Help!" Amy screamed.

Buffy scaled the tree she was using, and walked out to the end of the highest branch. Her foot slipped, and she felt Willow and Tara helping keep her there. She sat down with her legs on either side of the branch, and turned upside down, using her feet to anchor herself to the branch. She reached her arm out, and grabbed Amy's ankle, just before it was out of her reach.

"Don't let go!"

"I got you!"

They all watched the creature get sucked into the whirlwind, shrieking the entire time. After a minute, the vortex vanished, and the tree dwellers fell into the arms of their others. Well, more like they all collapsed into a big heap.

"Who wants marshmallows?" Willow asked.

She was answered with groans.

***

By the time they got back to the campsite, day was breaking. The partners in the two couples were leaning on each other, and giving one another the motivation to keep moving. Buffy was examining the amulet, holding it in her hand. It had dropped from the sky a minute or two after she and Amy had dropped from the tree.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Tara asked her.

Buffy attempted a shrug. It caused pain. "Ow. Uh...maybe Giles can use anew paperweight."

"You think it's useless now?"

"Honestly, Tara? Beats the hell out of me." She started to giggle. "I really hate Hell. Though I am supposed to be a good guy, so I guess that works out pretty well."

"That was rough."

"Arguably the roughest thing we've ever faced." Willow said. "As a group, anyway."

"Couldn't have done it without ya." Buffy thanked them.

"Anytime." Amy said with a hiss. Something hurt. A lot of somethings. "Any time that's far from now."

They were tired, achy, disheveled, their hair was straggly with a leaf or two sticking to it, they had cuts and bruises, and their clothes were torn. Butthey were alive. And that was always a cause for celebration. Once the painful feelings left their bodies.

Tara gave her girlfriend a kiss. It was a wonderful distraction.

"That was nice." The next one was longer, and there was more exploring. "Even nicer."

"So glad it's over." Tara said, touching her lips.

"Almost." The slayer whispered.

"They *so* have, Wills." Amy said, getting a look of determination.

Willow almost fainted. She had this strong urge to want to be in the dorm, alone with Amy. She had never wanted that so badly before. But for now, they were about to follow their friends' example. However, Giles decided at that moment to come running up to them.

"Thank God I found you!" He was out of breath. "Anya, Xander and I were going through the possible books we could sell in the shop, and we came across a reference to an ancient beast that has inhabited these woods for quite some time."

"Huh. You don't say?" Buffy said nonchalantly.

"Yes, and it's from the depths of Hell itself. Very inhospitable to anyone or anything that enters its territory. Extremely protective."

"Really? So it's dangerous?" Amy asked.

"Absolutely. The sooner we leave the better. A creature as strong as it's described to be, won't be easily defeated."

"Good thing you didn't get here too late then. Who knows what coulda happened?" Willow was hiding the sarcasm from her voice surprisingly well.

"Thanks, Mr. Giles." Tara said. "I'm sure we'll be safe now."

"Really, it was no..." It was then that he got a good look at them. "Say, what happened to you?"

"Mean family of squirrels." The redhead told him. "They could've had rabies."

Buffy tossed him the amulet, and the four of them walked past him, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"What's this?" Giles questioned. "Buffy? Girls?"

***

"What brings you here, girlfriend?"

It had been two weeks since the forest adventure, and it took all of those two weeks for Buffy to be able to build up her courage to come all this way, and do what she was currently doing. She stared at the person on the other sideof the glass, and made sure she speaking directly into the provided telephone.

"The cheery atmosphere." The other girl grinned. "What else, Faith? You."

"Don't go makin' me feel special, B. That's out of character for ya." Faith hadn't lost her edge that was for sure. Buffy felt the sting, some of it she deserved. "What do you want?"

"Good question. No clue what the answer is, but good question."

The honesty and softness in Buffy's eyes caused Faith's _expression_ to soften a little.

"I don't have all day. The guards are hardasses. So pick a starting point."

"You doing okay?"

"Considering I'm in jail...could be worse. Five by five for the most part."

"I'm glad." They were quiet for several moments, studying each other, wondering if the other was truly sincere. "It's your turn. Ask away."

"Angel know you're here?"

"Nope." Buffy hardly showed any reaction.

Faith nodded; there was something sad about that. They couldn't even talk anymore? But then she recalled something. It had been bugging her.

"Hey, something weird happen to you a couple weeks ago? Cause I remember feelin' wicked strange. I know the food around here doesn't have a good track record, but I don't think that was it."

"Actually," Buffy coughed, "funny story. Well, not funny 'ha ha'..."

They both smiled slightly, and the first step in the healing process forthe two slayers, was now in full swing. Standing by the door, Tara smiled as well.