The Price 1/? Buffy/Willow G

[amyroberts27@xxxxxxxxxxx]

TITLE: The Price
AUTHOR: Amy Roberts 
EMAIL ADDRESS: Amyroberts27@xxxxxxxxxxx
DISBUTION STATEMENT: Ask permission, please. 
SPOILER WARNING: Fourth Season
RATING: G 
CONTENT WARNING: None yet.
Feedback: PLEASE don't make me beg!  
SUMMARY: Early fourth season and the girl meet an old friend walking 
home from a party.
Notes: This hasn't been BETA read. If someone wants to play reader 
just drop me an email. I do not own a computer; thus I have to use 
friends, my mother's and the school so this is written as I find 
computer time. I have the story plotted out so that should make it 
go faster. 
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Buffy & Co. Joss Whedon and the WB do. No 
copyright infringement intended. 

Part 1/?

"So, Will, what did you think about Riley?" My roommate asked as we 
walked home from the party at Lowell House. Tonight had been Buffy's 
and Riley's third official date. I could tell that she was trying as 
hard as she could to return his feelings for her.... And failing.

The specter of Angel hung over her like a ghost. I still couldn't 
believe that she had slept with that Parker creep, she had been, and 
still is, so naïve. That's why I love her so much.... Oops, did I 
say love, no I meant love as in a sisterly way...not in a gay way.

Buffy had to pick that exact moment to put her arm through mine and I 
immediately got chills. The warning bells sounding loud and clear 
about Buffy closeness-Buffy closeness is not a good thing when you 
are trying to make sure your best friend never, ever, finds out that 
you are in love with her!  

Did I say in love... No, I meant... oh, all right already, I have to 
admit it, that I'm in love with my best friend. My beautiful, 
strong, extremely intelligent and at the same time completely and 
totally dense best friend!

She shakes my arm to get my attention, "Will, what do you think?" I 
look down at her confused because I'd lost the topic of the 
conversation. Buffy closeness does that to me.

"Huh?" I grunt hoping that she doesn't realize that I'm staring at 
her eyes. See they change color all the time, green when she was 
around Angel, yellow when she's slaying, and brown when she's 
hurting. Right now they're green and I can't believe it's because of 
Riley.... Nah.

Buffy and I are just past the old Sunnydale high football field when 
six vamps jump us. Thus letting me off the hook in the conversation.

"Stay back, stay out of it." She orders me as she runs down the hill 
taking the six vamps with her. I have no problem obeying her in this 
situation; she's the slayer and I'm not. It's taken Buffy most of 
the first semester of college to realize that while my magic isn't an 
offensive weapon yet, it's great at defense.

I quickly say the words to a protection spell just to discourage any 
other vamps in the area. But, they all seem to be concentrating on 
Buffy so I just stand back to watch the show.  

Oh, did I say that I was in love with her?  

Oh, god, I mean goddess, one of the things that I totally enjoy is 
just watching her move, dance, fight, walking; she's beauty in 
motion. Yes, I guess I do have it bad.  

The six, oops again, I mean four, now three vamps are giving her a 
workout. There will be bruises and cuts and ouch, oh yeah a very bad 
cut. Where did that knife come from? Three, two, one...

She smiles up at me from across the overgrown field. The two knife 
cuts on her right arm showing black against the white of her blouse.  
I dismiss the protection shield and start picking my way slowly down 
to where Buffy is standing. Hey, I don't have slayer night vision or 
ordination so it takes me a few moments to get to her.

"Will?" she breathe's out as I trot up to where she's standing, her 
back to me. The full moon comes out from behind a cloud and lights 
up the field as if its day. "Will?" she questions, again gasping for 
air, her face pale, with a faint shine as sweat breaks out on it.  
Wow, those vamps really did give her a workout I think as I watch her 
trying to catch her breath.  

"Will something's wrong." She whispers to me, in the moonlight her 
eyes start to glaze, oh did I mention that when she has a concussion 
her eyes turn black? No, I guess not, I don't like to remember those 
times. When I've had to sit by her bed waking her up every two hours 
to make sure that this isn't the one time that her slayer healing 
doesn't work. When I've had to wake her up and she would be so groggy 
and incoherent that it would frighten me right down to my bones.

I can't lose her.

Her eyes are truly the judge of all things Buffy. And her eyes are 
slowly changing to black now, only I can't tell why. I don't see any 
blood from her getting whacked on her head.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" I ask uselessly. Okay, now I'm worried. I 
reach for her injured arm to see how bad the cuts are, and I'm 
relieved to find the blood already clotting.

"Wills," she starts then pauses as if out of air. "Willow I feel 
really strange," my friend tells me as her confused expression turns 
to one of panic. The next thing I know is that I'm catching an 
unconscious slayer in my arms.

I gently lower her to the ground.  

I don't panic; I won't panic! I chant to myself to remember my best 
friend is a slayer, I found out quickly that even when she gets hurt 
or knocked out she always bounces back. I repeat the bounce back 
part-she's never failed to heal....

After nearly an entire semester of being the sole person to tend her 
slayer injuries I've developed a method. So I swallow my fear that 
this might be THE one time and start examining the obvious injures-
the cuts down her arm.

I tear her blouse away from the blood encrusted wounds and find out 
that my original diagnosis was right: while they are deep and will 
need stitching, they aren't really that bad. Or let me correct that 
statement: for Buffy they aren't that bad.

I reach up to feel her forehead to see if she's running a fever.  
Then I hear a voice that makes my blood run cold.

"Nice of that Bitch to finally make my party," the venomous voice 
sounds from about 50 fifty feet away. I dread looking up, but I 
do. "I'd been waiting for her for over a week." I stand up to meet 
the treat and place myself between Buffy and Mrs. Madison, Amy's 
mother.

Mrs. Madison strides toward us and I immediately throw everything I 
have into a shield. This gives the evil warlock pause and she stops.

"Well, this is certainly new," she smiles at me and that smile 
conveys so much hate, so much just blind vengeful hate that I know 
Buffy and I might not make it out of this one. To prove her point, 
with a wave of her hand she sends a red bolt of energy towards us-it 
hits my shield-no more shield. 

"Well, that was easy," the warlock gloats.  

"Poor little slayer, and poor little witch!" She laughs. "Do you 
have any idea how long I have waited and plotted my revenge?" Mrs. 
Madison calmly asks. I notice she comes no closer; maybe if she got 
close enough I could hit her or something?  

"Do you?!" the sorceress screams. Gee, lady, have issues with sanity 
or what? I think about my last thought again and then realize what 
in the name of god, oh man I'm a Witch remember? I mean what in the 
name of the Goddess am I saying? This is the woman that nearly 
killed Buffy over the cheerleading squad! Of course she has issues 
with sanity.

"Cool, so you want revenge? You know you can't beat her," I tell her 
defiantly. Then glance down at the sprawled form of my best friend, 
the slayer, savior. "Come on Buffy wake up, " I whisper under my 
breath, hoping against hope she regains consciousness in time.

"Enough of this prattle, the drug on the knife won't work for long." 
Ah, so the vamps were just a set-up for the main event? Damn! That 
means....

"I am going to send her to the darkest of hells!" Mrs. Madison 
shouts, did I mention the insane part? Let's not neglect insane and 
on one major power trip. This is not a good combination for the good 
guys. "The greatest warrior the light has ever known will spend 
eternity being tortured in the dark!" Goddess, can we say TNT? Mrs. 
Madison knows drama.

"My darkest lord and master..." she shouts and lifts her hands high 
over her head-Then out of the clear night sky--energy arcs towards 
her and between her raised hands. As a novice witch I am stunned to 
realize just how much raw power Mrs. Madison is channeling without 
any preparation.

My knees go weak; there is no way a novice witch, like me, can 
possibly hope to turn back an attack of this magnitude.  

I hear a strong voice, "you know I have to stop you." We're saved, I 
think, as I look around for the source, only to realize I said it. I 
said it, what in the world was I thinking?  

Then a soft moan by my feet draws my attention away from my impending 
doom and the chanting warlock-the thought of grabbing Buffy and 
trying to run for it briefly crosses my mind. Even if I could lift 
her I wouldn't be able to get very far before the ritual was over. I 
see the love of my life blinking her eyes open.

"Then you will go with her," Mrs. evil sorceress quietly tells me.  
And those words, that confidence, crushes any hope I have into dust.  
Mrs. ES, evil sorceress, starts her chanting again and more power 
than I thought possible collects around her, and runs through her-she 
is going to have one bad reaction headache after she fries us....

"Willow, what's going on?" Buffy tries to sit-up and falls back to 
the ground. I kneel down and help her sit up--better access for 
hugging-for saying good bye. My secret love looks at me, pale and 
groggy, and so incredibly gorgeous, now I'm the one that can't 
breathe.

"God this is so unfair!" I scream to the heavens! I've had enough of 
this crap! I am not going to let my best friend die or get condemned 
to some God awful demon hell! Not now! Not ever.

"Goddess, this is your warrior, your fighter, and you aren't going to 
protect her!" I crush my best friend to me. "God you chose her, she 
did not choose you and you are going to let her be condemned like 
this, like this!" I release her and gently lay her back down on the 
ground. Buffy looks up at me like I'm the one ready for the asylum 
but I don't care.

I plant my feet as I rise up screaming and ranting-to who or what I 
don't know-I don't care. I guess I'm having an insane TNT moment, 
too!

"To the dark place you go!" Mrs. Madison picks right then to release 
her attack and a strange thing happens-time slows down.  

I feel an ancient power that my head. Words form: "There will be a 
price, she is greatly needed in another place."

"I'll pay it, I love her more than I love anything, she is my soul, 
my life!" I shout at the invisible authority.

"You need only to love." It commands.

"My love is all I have," I answer.

Strength, I am strong all of a sudden.  

Blue light surges through me, and the voice tells me simply, "break 
water." 

As if that is the cue, times speeds up and I barely have a chance to 
bring my outstretched arms together-immediately the blue energy 
lights the V my arms form and cascades out - to meet the red from 
Mrs. Madison. The point of blue hits the red, and Mrs. Madison's 
attack flows around it just like the ocean splits when it hits a 
jetty.

But, just like the ocean waves break and crash against the jetty, so 
does the bright red power, splashing us with acid. Burning us with 
each drop until Buffy is whimpering at my feet and my arms want to 
drop and flinch away. Then it happens, Mrs. Madison realizes that if 
she angels her attack a fraction of an inch higher the red acid will 
flow over my protections.

The blast slams into my chest flinging me off my feet and I land on 
top of Buffy. All I can see is red as the agony engulfs us both-I 
hear screams and realize that they are coming from my mouth-I have 
never dream of such pain.

At last it stops and I feel a sensation of falling-we hit together 
tangled up limbs and arms-and I welcome the blessed darkness of 
sleep....

*****