FIC: Willowverses (3/?)

[PChazzman@xxxxxxx]

TITLE:  Willowverses (3/?)
AUTHOR: Chazzman
E-MAIL: PChazzman@xxxxxxx  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to Joss and the WB network. Please don't sue. 
SPOILERS: BTVS though Season 6/Angel through Season 3. 
SUMMERY: During the end of 'Doppelgangland' Anya tries once more to regain her necklace.  But the Fates are not happy with her tampering with the tapestry of the multiverse.
RATED: PG
DISTRIBUTION: Just ask me, please...
FEEDBACK: Is very welcome.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks once again for all the wonderful feedback.  Hopefully you will be so kind after finishing this part.


Willowverses

Chap 3: The Eaters of Reality 

The door was open when they reached the apartment.  Buffy moved forward cautiously holding a large knife in front of her.  At the bottom of the stairs lay Giles in a crumpled heap, a crossbow bolt embedded in his stomach.  Buffy moved further into the apartment, cautiously searching out the rest of the apartment in case any attackers were still present. 

"Giles," gasped Larry, Oz and Willow. 

"He's still alive," said Larry as he checked for a pulse.

"We need call an ambulance to get him to a hospital," said Willow.  She hesitated when she saw the looks directed at her by Oz and Larry. "What?"

"No ambulances after dusk," said Larry.  

"Oh."

"Well whoever did this is gone.  Looks like they ransacked the place," said Buffy as she came down the stairs.  "How is he?"  

"Well with the amount of blood he's losing, I'd say 'Not good'," said Larry.  "I know it's not a good thing to move him but if I can stabilize the wound maybe we can drive him to the hospital."  Larry began hunting though the medical supplies scattered about the floor around Giles.

"At this point... it really does not matter," murmured Giles weakly.

"Giles, who did this?" asked Oz.

"A girl... never seen her before... don't know why."

"Anya" growled Willow. "She's after her necklace."

At sound of her voice, Giles' eyes opened in alarm and he lifted his head to stare in fear at Willow.

"It's OK Giles. She's human," said Larry quickly as he continued to work on stanching the blood flow from the wound.

Giles stared shock for a moment before Willow's previous words registered. "Necklace... I smashed it... Anyanka's power source... to change... the world back... way it should be... Better."

"What is he talking about?" Buffy asked.

"Giles, where did you break the necklace?" asked Willow gently.

"M-M-My desk."

Buffy and Willow moved over to examine the desk.  

"Nothing here," Buffy said as they sifted through the clutter.

"She took it," Willow decided.  "Or rather the pieces."

"Well it's busted now. What's the big deal?"

"If she took it, then there must be something bad that she plans to do with it," declared Willow.  "The question is where would she take it?"

Oz came up, "Larry thinks we can move him to his car to get him to the hospital.  Giles said his keys were on the desk."

They searched again through the books and papers and around the floor but found nothing.

"Check his clothes pockets," suggested Buffy.  

After several minutes of fruitless searching, Willow finally voiced her suspicion. "She took them."

"But his car is still outside.  Why would she take his keys?" asked Willow.

"Who cares? We need a car to get Giles to a hospital, now!" snapped Oz.

"Maybe a neighbor?" suggested Willow.

"Not after dusk," said Oz bitterly.

"Bring him outside. I'll see if I can hot wire it," said Buffy as she pulled out her knife and headed outside.  

Larry and Oz carefully lifted Giles up and moved him outside where Buffy made short work of hot wiring Giles' car.  Unfortunately, because of its size they could not all fit in it. 

"You two take him to the hospital. I'm gonna keep an eye our mystery girl," ordered Buffy.  She watched as they drove off, then stood perfectly still concentrating, listening with her Slayer senses, trying to locate what had been nagging at her ever since the battle earlier.  The feeling was vague but growing steadily stronger.  Slowly she tuned out the sounds of the wind, insects, distant traffic and all other identifiable noises.  After a while she slowly raised her gaze up towards the sky over head.

Inside Giles' apartment, Willow sat at the desk trying to think.  She knew she was overlooking something.  Her gaze fell on one of the books on Giles' desk.  A yellow sticky marking the location of some passage that he had been researching.  * Research... Books... Library... Keys... Hellmouth! *

Willow leapt up and dashed outside.  "Buffy!  I know where she is. The library.  It's over the Hellmouth.  That's why she took the keys.  Buffy?"

Buffy looked at Willow with a strange _expression_ of fear, worry and sorrow. 

"What's wrong?" Willow asked, afraid to hear the answer but needing to all the same.

"I..." Buffy started to speak but stopped.  She then pointed her finger up to the sky. 

Willow looked up in trepidation to see- nothing.  It took a second to register and then she gasped in horror.  

The stars were almost all gone.

****

Anya smiled as she found the right key to open the school door. Grabbing the bag of supplies she had ransacked from Giles' apartment, she ran down the hallway to the library and the Hellmouth.  She didn't need a watch to tell that time was running out.

****

"It was all for nothing," muttered Buffy as Willow saw another star vanish.

"Huh?"

"Three fucking years of death; Mom, Dad, Merrick, Andrea... all for nothing."

Willow could see the Slayer was in shock.  She shook her gently, and called to her, "Buffy, it wasn't for nothing.  If you're anything like the Buffy of my universe, giving up is not in your nature.  And I'm not talking about your Slayer nature."  She pulled Buffy back to the apartment and looked around for some weapons.

"We're going to die," Buffy said numbly as she watched Willow move about the apartment trying out and dropping different weapons before she settled on a staff. 

"Maybe," said Willow as she took a practice swing with the staff. "It's not like this isn't the first time we've faced the end of the world.  Come on.  Don't breakdown on me now."

"It is for me."

"Well, trust me. They aren't everything that they are advertised to be.  Now, we have to get to the library and stop Anya."

"Why?"

"I don't know exactly, I just know that Anya's connected to this, and now she's trying to get away."

"Fine. Might as well go out with a bang.  One last slayage, what's this Anya-demon like."

"She's not a demon.  She's human. At least at the moment."

"What?" Buffy stopped and folded her arms across her chest. "You want me to slay a human?"

Willow saw that Buffy would need some convincing.  "Look. She's an evil, manipulative, skanky-ho, who lies and tricks people into doing things they shouldn't."

"Yep sounds human to me," said Buffy, apparently unconvinced.

"She shot Giles!" Willow shouted in exasperation.

"Sure of that are you?  Couldn't have been..." she stopped as she saw Willow's face.  "Alright, alright. I'll come."

*****

Anya knelt on the floor, looked over her supplies and took a calming breath.  There would be no room for error.  She only had one shot at this.  If she didn't escape from this universe before the Eaters got here...  She shook her head to clear her mind.  Took another breath, and began her spell. 

****

"There it is," said Willow as the school came into sight.  She was about to run forward when she realized that Buffy wasn't beside her.  She turned to see Buffy several yards back stumbling slowly forward with her arms wrapped about herself as if for warmth.  Willow dropped her staff, ran back to the Slayer and reached out to help steady her when Buffy suddenly lurched forward.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Willow asked with concern.

"S-s-s-s-so c-c-c-cold.  F-f-feeling tired.  Weak," the slayer managed to stammer out.  Willow looked at her in alarm as she felt Buffy's forehead.  

"Oh god, you're like ice." Willow helped Buffy over to a bench in front of the school, and wrapped her arms about the Slayer.  After several minute the hardest chills seemed to have passed, and Buffy was able to focus on Willow.

"Leave me," she told the earnest looking red-head.

"What?"

"Go. Kill the bad guy. Girl.  Whatever.  Stop whatever."

"I can't just leave you here like this."

"I don't think it's going to matter in a little while.  Just let me stay here."

Willow stared at the shivering girl for a minute before standing up, and taking off her sweater.  She slipped the sweater over Buffy's head and pulled it down covering her shivering arms and torso.  

"I'll be right back," Willow promised.

Buffy looked up to watch Willow wearing only a bra, a short skirt, white nylons and tennis shoes, bend down, pick up her staff and head determinedly off towards the high school.

"Go get her, Gabby," she muttered softly

****

"Release ME!" roared D'Hoffren as he pounded at the invisible walls of the containment spell into which Anya had summoned him.

"Fix my amulet first.  I want my powers back and you are going to give them to me," Anya said in a determined voice.

"No!  You cannot force me-"

"You will do it, or you will stay in that containment circle until the Eater's of Reality get here," growled Anya. "And don't waste time trying to test the circle, I made certain it was perfect.  You're not getting out unless I let you out.  There's the necklace, fix IT!" 

"The second they break this circle, I escape."

"I'm thinking you're not going to be fast enough.  So if you would stop stalling and fix my necklace now, we can both get out of this universe with plenty of time."

Suddenly, a loud crack was heard, and Anya staggered and clutched at the back of her head.

"I'm thinking - time's up!" declared Willow as she stepped forward, and swung her staff again and caught Anya across her forehead stunning her. "That was for Giles."

Willow turned to look at D'Hoffren, "You. You can get people out of this universe."

D'Hoffren stared at Willow for several seconds.

"Not as many as you want," he finally said.

"How many?" Willow asked with a sinking feeling.

"One," he said firmly. Then he looked up as if hearing something. "But we need to hurry."

Willow stood for several seconds torn over what to do.  Finally, she stepped forward and drew a foot across the line of sand forming the containment circle.  "Get out of here."

D'Hoffren arched an eyebrow in surprise. "You are staying?"

"I'm not going anywhere without Buffy."

"Pity. You have such potential. Oh well." In a flash, he vanished.

"NO!" screamed Anya in anguish as she awoke just in time to see her last hope disappear.  She sat up clutching her head and glared at Willow, "You idiot!  He was our only chance to get out of this universe.  You let him go!"

Willow walked into the center of the pentagram and picked up the broken necklace.  She held it up and looked it over.

"This is what this whole thing has been about.  But what I don't understand is what's the connection to the stars disappearing?"

"You understand nothing.  That was what kept this universe operating.  This universe is dead.  You just don't know it yet.  The Eaters of Reality are coming and anyone left here won't even be history.  They just won't be. Including us.  You've killed us, you fool," Anya sank back to the ground holding her head in her hands and sobbing.  "All I wanted was my power back."

Willow stared at the sobbing girl for a moment then threw the broken necklace at Anya's feet. She turned and walked out of the library, but not before calling out over her shoulder.  

"Choke on it."

*****

Buffy stirred as she felt a weight settle next to her on the bench.  She opened her eyes to she Willow sitting next to her.

"Did you stop the baddie?"

"Yeah. She isn't going anywhere," sighed Willow. "How are you doing?"

"Well the chilly-shakes stopped.  Now I just feel totally numb. And I don't seem to have any strength."

Willow moved to feel Buffy's forehead, then wrapped her arms about her.  Buffy slumped down, leaning her head against Willow's shoulder.

"Is it true?" Buffy asked softly.

"What?" 

"Your world... Jeeves said something about this world supposedly being a better place."

Willow spoke without hesitation, "In my world, you're my best friend. So yeah, I'd say it's better."

Willow looked up.  She could not see any more stars.

"I have friends? And you all know I'm the Slayer?" Buffy said it slowly, as if trying to understand the concept. 

"Yes, You saved us when you first moved to Sunnydale with your mom."

"Mom?"

"Yeah, she found out last summer."

"Oh," Buffy said quietly and then was silent.

"What is it?" Willow could feel the sadness radiating off of the Slayer.

"When I first found out about vampires, I tried to tell my parents.  They put me into an asylum.  The Watchers got me out, and I haven't seen my Mom or Dad since."

Willow gasped in shock. "Oh Buffy... I... I'm so sorry... I-"

"Yeah well, doesn't really matter now anymore does it?  I've always known I would die young.  Still... it would have been nice to have had some friends."

"I know it doesn't mean much at this point, but you could consider me a friend."

Buffy let out a cynical snicker, "I don't know.  Can I trust you?"

"Till the end of the world," replied Willow with a grin.

They both laughed wryly for a moment.  Looking up, they watched as the moon began to dim.  

"There goes the sun," Willow said dispassionately.  She knew she should be panicking right now but for some reason she felt exceedingly calm.

"Willow?"

"Yes, Buffy?"

"I'm sorry you're stuck here with what's about to happen and all, but I'm kinda glad that you're here, too.  If you know what I mean."

Willow smiled and hugged the slayer.  "I wouldn't have it any other way."

They began to hear a low buzzing noise, like an approaching swarm of locusts.

Willow heard Buffy let out a small gasp of pain before whispering, "I can feel it all dying."

Willow hugged Buffy tighter, and looked out over Buffy's shoulder.  

"I love you Buffy Summers," she whispered fiercely as she saw a wave of darkness come rushing towards them.

*****

"And?!" 

"What?"

"Don't you give me that 'Little-Miss-Innocent' look.  What happened next?" demanded a very irritated Buffy as she sat in bed with a grinning Willow.

"Sorry, not tonight.  That's a tale for another night.  Now it's time for all good little Slayers to get some sleep."

Buffy saw Willow's resolve face come out.

"Aargh!!!" Buffy flung herself back into her pillows.  "You can't leave the story there.  It's... It's... it's just plain evil."  She looked back at Willow, her lower lip protruding as she pouted.

For a minute, Buffy's pouting lip warred against Willow's resolve face.

"Not gonna happen, Buffy.  But I won't leave you hanging completely.  Let's just say that when I woke up. I was in paradise."

****

TBC...