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Series: Tireseus
Title: The Cycle Chapter: Two Rating: PG-16 Pairing: Willow/Buffy Spoilers: Season two. Timeline: This is the summer after Tireseus, it's been three months. Beta Readers: Scotty Welles Shadow Mage Dark Gremlin Summary: A spell sends Willow's life spiraling out of control, and no matter what she does things only get more and more complicated. Disclaimer: So not mine <><><><><><><> Will nervously rang the door bell. Tonight was the night, tonight he was going to tell Buffy the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Not because Jenny had been urging him to, or because of Giles' deep concern over both of them, but because his conscience was slowly eating away at him, leaving a dark pool of guilt. He stood up straight as the door swung open. "Can we ta...oomph!" Buffy dragged him into the living room before he could protest. "Mom, this is William, the guy I was telling you about." 'Oh, this is not good. Not good at all.' He wiped his sweating hands on his shorts and held one out. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Miss Summers, Buffy has told me so much about you." Joyce frowned at him, closely studying him before taking his hand. "So you're the mysterious William that has my daughter in such a good mood." "Yes, ma'am." Joyce leaned back, keeping her eyes on him. "Buffy, could you run to the grocery store for me? I forgot to get another box of brown sugar for the spaghetti sauce." "But Mom, we were..." Buffy trailed off at the stern face that she received. "Right. The store. I can do that. Come on..." She reached for William, intending to bring him along. "Oh, I'm sure that William wouldn't mind keeping me company until you get back. Would you?" Will shook his head hard. "No, ma'am, of course not." He shot Buffy a pleading look, but the Slayer simply gave him a quick peck and left. 'She left me. She left me alone with...with...her mother! Oh goddess oh goddess oh...' "So, Willow...how exactly did you end up like that?" "It's a long stor--" He snapped his head up with wide eyes. "Then I suggest you start talking." The voice of his friend's mother was only slightly above permafrost. William sat beside her numbly. "Yes ma'am." 'How do mothers always know these things?' <><><><><><><> Joyce stood up and refilled their cups of tea, then resumed her place at the kitchen table. "So let me get this straight," she said slowly. "My daughter's best friend is a witch, and the two of you spend your free time...slaying vampires?" "That's right." "You were turned into a man when a demon tricked you, in an effort to steal your powers..." "Uh-huh." "Until a gypsy computer teacher turned you back into a female." "Right so far." "But a cheerleader cast a spell that changed you back..." "Yup." "...and my daughter, who thinks she's in love with you, has no idea who you really are." "But wait, the worst is yet to come!" William said, like the announcer on the old 'Batman' cliffhangers. Joyce's cool eyes leveled him, completely unamused. "Yes ma'am," he mumbled into his cup. "And you're planning on telling her the truth tonight?" "Yes ma'am." There was a long silence. Joyce sighed. "Well at least it explains a lot," she said. "It's so hard raising kids today and trying to keep them out of trouble..." "Who's in trouble?" said the one voice William really didn't want to hear just yet. Joyce looked up at Buffy as she placed the box of brown sugar up. "Elizabeth Anne Summers, just when were you planning to tell me about your dabbling in the Occult?" Buffy gaped at her then shot a panicked accusing look at him. "Dabbling what?" "Don't try to play innocent with me, young lady! I refuse to be kept in the dark anymore. Mr. Giles may be your so-called 'Watcher', but I am still your mother, and I have a right to know what is going on in my daughter's life. Especially when that life is putting you in danger." Buffy glared at William, making him scoot down in his chair. "And don't you blame this on Will, I'm the one that forced him to tell me what was going on." Will stood up. "I should leave so you can talk." He paused beside Buffy and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." He sighed and started to leave. "Thank you." A hand gently stopped him. "It's not your fault, Will. This talk has been coming for a long time." "I'll say," Joyce added in a flat tone. Buffy kissed him for a moment, then let him leave. His guilt loomed worse than before. <><><><><><><> He turned onto his back, wearing only a tank top and a pair of boxers, keeping his eyes closed in hope of falling back to sleep. It wasn't just the adjustment to the different body masses that kept him awake. A soft knock was heard at the door, and then it opened quietly. "Are you awake?" "Yeah. Come in." The bed's edge dipped sharply with the smell of English lilacs and nature, alerting him to Jenny's presence. "Did you tell her?" He groaned and flipped over to bury his head in his pillow. "Dnn't wnn tlk'bt it," he replied, almost inaudibly. The soft-feathered heaven was ripped from his possession. "Will?!" "I told her mother." Jenny's eyes bulged. "You told her mother?!" she repeated. "Told her what, exactly?" He finally rolled back over and opened his eyes. "Everything. Buffy, Giles, you, me. Everything. I didn't mean to, but she knew it was me, and sent Buffy out so she could talk to me. And she was so understanding, and all my guilt was just pounding for release and forgiveness. And she believed me when I told her about the demon and spell, and then she wanted to know how Buffy and the others were involved and then everything just came pouring out." Jenny dropped the pillow on the floor and covered her eyes with the same hand. "Remind me to speak to your guidance counselor," she moaned. "He shouldn't recommend any careers with the CIA. Or anything involving confidential information at all." "Will you stop it, I feel bad enough." Jenny winced in sympathy. "I know, I'm sorry," she said. "But I think we should keep you away from Giles until he calms down." "Ohh, I didn't even think of how he'll react..." She stood up and patted his knee. "In the meantime, get dressed in something comfortable and we'll get started." "Huh? Started doing what?" "That's the good news," Jenny told him. "We think that your shifts in gender are controllable. You may have to spend time as both William and Willow, but at least you'll be able to control when they occur." "Great. Then I can choose which fate is worse. Willow's or William's." The gypsy woman smiled tolerantly. "Look on the bright side, at least Xander hasn't found out about all of this..." <><><><><><><> "What do you MEAN that Willow is William?! She's a she and not a he, and he is a he and not a she, so she can't be a he who's a she!" Xander pronounced with a proud stance. Cordy rolled her eyes. "Oh, get with it. They look identical, the same hair color, and Willow has a habit of disappearing and reappearing whenever William's around. Then there's the little fact that I saw her change in front of me, duh!" "So? Just because one of your screwed-up spells backfired doesn't mean she's a he. I know her, I've been naked with her..." He shifted. "...when I was five, that is...and I've seen the evidence. And she is completely and totally female." "Oh, really? Well, I've seen the 'evidence' too, and I can assure you she is all man." Cordy winked at him and sauntered off. Xander's mind was hurting worse than the night he tried to cram for that history exam. Unwilling to believe anything the cheerleader said, but concerned about his friend, he did the only thing he could. He made a run for Jenny's house. <><><><><><><> "...remember what your female body felt like. That's it, concentrate... Now imagine your body changing." Jenny sat across from the meditating man and smiled as the contours of his body blurred shifted into Willow's. Her red-haired protégée opened her eyes and smiled happily. "Yay, I'm me again! Although, technically I was always me, just a different me, but my normal me is back. Yay me!" "Excellent job, now try it again." Willow stopped in the middle of her happy dance and stared at her with wide eyes. "What? But I'm already Willow, why do I need to try again? There's nothing to try, is there?" "You need to practice changing into both forms." Willow plopped down across from her. "Why?" "We have no idea when your new...talent could come in handy, and the more you practice, the easier it will be." She smiled. "Think of it as having the ultimate secret identity. Who would ever suspect that Clark Kent is Wonder Woman?" "Um...that's even creepier, Jenny." "Just humor me." Willow pouted as she closed her eyes and went back through the exercise, her body morphing back into the male form... A high pitched scream shattered their concentration, sending both women scrambling to their feet in confusion and alarm. Xander was bonelessly leaning against the wall, his eyes glazed over in terror and his knees shaking. "Xander I can explain." She...no, he took a step toward him, but stopped as he moved away letting out another scream. "Stay back!" He yanked a cross out of his pocket and held it out. "What have you done with my Willow? Give her back or I'll stake you!" William sighed and closed his eyes, reverting back to 'her' natural form. Jenny was right, it seemed to be easier each time. "Will...? Wh...? No, no no no no no no." Xander leaped forward holding the cross closer. "Bad, bad demon..." Willow held out her hand and the cross flew into it. Each change also seemed to bring slight increases in her other magical abilities. Absently, she tossed it onto the nearby sofa and walked over to a petrified Xander. "I'm sorry," she said as she slapped him across the face. Immediately he pouted, with tears in his eyes. "Hey, that hurt." Xander glared at her pitifully as she pushed him back into a recliner. "I was turned into William by the evil demon Buffy killed three months ago, and yesterday Cordy did a summoning spell which left me with the ability to shift between forms, and no, Buffy has no idea." "Oh." Xander rubbed the side of his face. "Did you have to slap me so hard?" "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked. "Cordy told me." She groaned and covered her face. "I'm going to KILL her! No, that's too good for her. I'm going to torture her and leave her with all her fingernails broken and cracked. Then I'm going to give her a buzz cut that will..." "Can I help?" Xander interjected, brightening a little. Jenny muttered under her breath about cheerleaders and big mouths. "Stop right there," she instructed. "I'm the responsible adult here. So if anybody's going to kill her, it's going to be me." They laughed a little, anger fading. Jenny returned their smiles, glad to have brought things to a more sensible level. "Right now, I'm more concerned about who else she's told." Willow watched Jenny storm into her study, towards the phone. "Why didn't you tell me?" Xander asked, his tone hurt. "It's...complicated." "Because of Buffy?" She nodded and leaned against his chair. "I don't know what to do." "Trust her. She's your best friend, and will be no matter what." "You really think so?" "Yeah. Sure, it'll take a little time for her to adjust, but, y'know. That's life, right?" She hugged him tightly. "Thank you." " I signed the release waiver, so feel free to put things in my slot anytime." - Charles Angels. Odo: Madam Ambassodor, I'm not like you. Every sixteen hours I revert to a liqiud. Lwaxana Troi: I can swim. - DS9: The Forsaken. 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