"Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and Hell breaths out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on."
--William Shakespeare
"Hamlet"
James Marsters voice over; "Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Defenders of the Night;"
That night, before entering the stone sleep at sunrise, Goliath made a silent vow; should he ever encounter this Slayer, or any other Slayer in the future, he would do all he could to aid her in her cause. No one shouldhave to shoulder such a burden alone.
And as long as there was breath in Goliath's body, the Slayer never would.
--A Prelude in Five Parts
<<>>
Buffy narrowed her eyes as she looked toward the skies where Demona had vanished. "You and Xanatos weren't kidding, Goliath," she breathed. "She's one mean mother."
"Over a millennium of blaming humanity for her own actions," Goliath answered sadly, "has burnt the love out her heart, and now all that is left is the hatred. And she will strike again, Buffy, and soon."
"Then I'd better be ready for her," Buffy spoke with quiet determination.
"We will be ready for her," Goliath corrected Buffy. "As long as her threat remains, you may count on my assistance."
"Well then," Buffy smiled, as she offered her hand to Goliath, "Welcome to the Scooby Gang." Goliath shook Buffy's hand, sealing the pact.
She had a new threat to contend with, but now Buffy also had a new ally.
<<>>
Tara gulped hard, gazing upon the woman who stood before her. Not since she encountered the insane Glory had she known such fear in her soul, but she kept a stranglehold on that fear. She had to know. "Who-who are you?" she stammered.
The older brunette regarded her warmly, with a motherly affection. "Iam Morgan Lafayette, child. A priestess of the Goddess."
<<>>
Willow became aware of tears welling in her eyes and trickling down her cheek. And while she was saddened by the realization that she had lost her love, she did not despair. For she knew with an absolute clarity that it was right. She felt a closure she had lacked when Oz had left her. A chapter of her life had ended, but a new one was about to begin.
"Goodbye, Tara," she whispered to the night.
<<>>
With his left hand, he reached behind Spike's other ear, and this time, produced a small object for Spike to inspect.
Spike's eyes widened as he looked at the small microchip in the magician's hand. "You had this lodged in your brain stem for nearly three years,haven't you?"
Spike's jaw dropped at the implications. If this was true...
"What do you want?" Spike asked.
"What do I want?" the magician laughed, his ominous chuckle echoing past the alley.
"I want you to be true to your nature!"
--Encounter
Chapter One
You're My Best Friend
"Buffy! Willow!" Dawn shouted from the kitchen. "Breakfast!"
Willow emerged from her bedroom and stepped lightly down the stairs, asking"Dawn, you still borrowing my clogs?"
"Uh, try my closet, left-hand side, next to my CD collection," Dawn offered. "But first, sit down and eat something."
"Something smells good," Willow announced as she sat at the kitchen counter. Dawn was happily monitoring the fry pan, using a pair of tongs to flip something over. Willow was relieved to see that Dawn wasn't trying to use her fingers for that purpose; in the short time that Willow had been living under Buffy's roof, Dawn had developed a reputation for being a dare-devil chef. It had taken some conniving on Buffy's part, along with some burnt fingertips, to convince Dawn that spatulas were indeed NOT for wimps.
"French waffles," Dawn explained. When Willow flashed her a dubious look, Dawn explained; "It's something Janine showed me the last time I sleptover at her place. They're frozen waffles, dipped in egg mix, and pan fried like French toast." Dawn removed the cooked waffle from the pan, transferred it to a plate and placed it in front of Willow. The red haired witch noticed that Dawn had already set out a stick of margarine and a bottle of pancake syrup, and helped herself.
"So," Dawn asked anxiously as Willow sampled her first bite, "what's the verdict?"
Willow smiled, saying, "Hey, this is pretty good. There's hope for you yet, Iron Chef." Dawn dimpled warmly, enjoying the praise.
"If breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Buffy grumbled as sheemerged from the shower, wearing a thick terry-cloth robe and patting her hair dry with a towel, "why couldn't they give us some incentive to eat it? Like say, having it later in the day, when more people are up?"
"And a good morning to you, Grumpasaurus," Willow greeted her friend as shedragged herself down the stairs. Dawn had finished a second waffle, which she served to her sister. The scent of cinnamon and nutmeg did much to silence Buffy's half-asleep mutterings, and one taste of Dawn's creation led to Buffy smiling generously. "Good stuff, Dawn. My compliments."
"Thanks, Buffy," Dawn answered as she served her own waffle and joined the others at the counter. As Buffy passed her the syrup, Dawn turned to Willow and asked, "Oh, I just thought of something. You have Tara's email addy? I wanted to invite her over for Thanksgiving. I knowit's not your favorite holiday, Willow, but I thought that you two would like to be together for the long weekend."
"Thanks, Dawn," Willow answered. As Buffy glanced over to her friend,she couldn't help but note that her voice was tinged with a gentle sadnessall of a sudden. "But you won't be able to reach Tara now."
"Oh, is she cramming for midterms?" Dawn quizzed through a mouthful of waffle.
"She's not at Berkeley anymore."
The simplicity of Willow's statement shocked Buffy more than what she said. Buffy put down her fork and stared hard at her friend. "Not atBerkeley? Did she transfer or something?"
"No," Willow said simply as she poured herself a glass of orange juice, "she's just gone now. And we, well, we kinda split up."
Buffy sat slack jawed at Willow's announcement. She instinctively reached her hand to Willow's shoulder. "Oh my God, Willow, I'm so sorry. When did this happen?"
"It was while you were talking with Mr. Xanatos and Goliath," Willow said in a conversational tone that unnerved Buffy. "She contacted me, told me what was happening and we said goodbye. No big deal."
"No, Willow," Buffy argued, "this is a big deal. The woman you love just left you. Deals don't get any bigger than that. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Like I said, Buffy," Willow answered, raising her voice slightly, "it's not that big a deal. I'm okay, Buffy. Really." Washing downthe last bite of her waffle with the remains of her juice glass, Willow grabbed her book bag, and headed for the door. "Well, guys, I'm gonna locate my clogs, then I gotta go chase my diploma. You need a lift to school, Dawnie?"
"Uh," Dawn started, as shocked as Buffy by Willow's announcement. "No, Buffy's taking me. You sure you're okay, Willow?"
"I'm fine," Willow said in a slightly annoyed voice, smiling for their benefit. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. G'bye all." She ducked into Dawn's room, emerged quickly with her clogs and rushed out the back door. As she closed the door behind her, the latch of thedoor bolt was the only sound to pass through the breakfast nook.
Buffy's mind raced at a thousand miles a second, attempting to process the information of the last few minutes. Tara was gone, and Willow didn'teven seem to miss her. Something strange was going on, that Buffy was sure of. Something that didn't make sense. Something Hellmouthy.
"Dawnie," Buffy asked, "would Janine's folks let you sleep over at her place tonight?"
"Well," Dawn answered, "it's a Friday, so no school tomorrow, so they should be cool."
"Good," Buffy answered as she reached for the phone. "I'll square things with Janice's parents."
Dawn regarded her sister with a thoughtful _expression_. "You gonna be late out tonight?"
"Yeah," Buffy answered quietly. "I'm long overdue to visit an old friend…"