FIC: The Ash Chronicles Book Two: The Methos Story (5/5)

["Julie Burnham" <kerothyn@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here's the rest. Mandatory shout-out to the BWG at UIS.

----

Methos turned to look at the area around him. The forest was full of cedar 
trees. And now, another was growing. Life comes from death, that much 
Methos was certain. And in the violence of being born, something must die. 
Too many died for these trees. Carolyn, Jacinta, Willow several times 
over.... Some were people Methos never met. He fell backwards into the 
piles of leaves, arms outstretched. "I forfeit the game," he called out. 
"If there's any immortal that can hear me, you can kill me. I'm Methos!"

All around him, hidden by trees, men with swords stood, each waiting for his 
chance, and each falling shortly after the last as a petite woman 
soundlessly cut off their heads one by one.

Methos heard thunder in the distance, but his eyes stayed closed. He had 
seen that the weather was overcast. He didn't need to check to see if a 
storm was brewing. He just wanted it all to end.

Ash slugged her way out of the dense ring of trees and fell onto Methos's 
body as the Quickening began. They both jerked when the first bolt hit Ash 
and then traveled to Methos. His eyes blew open as pleasure tore through 
his body, then closed again upon seeing Ash's familiar figure on his, 
protecting him.

When it was all over, Ash rolled over onto another pile of leaves, leaving 
Methos breathless, gasping for air. Ash smirked. "I get that kind of 
reaction a lot."

"I'm sure you do," he replied. His eyes opened again as he could feel 
someone hovering over him, waiting for him to react.

"The day after you give the supposed greatest love of your life her funeral, 
you're getting hot and sweaty with an older woman?"

Willow came up behind him, and he turned to face her. In one hand, she held 
an apple and a short sword. With the other, she held up three fingers. 
"Read between the lines, Dawson. Ash doesn't fuck her friends. She saves 
them." She cut a slice of the apple with her sword and handed it to Ash, 
who gobbled it hungrily. "How many?" she asked.

"Two, three dozen. I think. You can count up the bodies later."

Willow's cloak billowed around her as she checked the perimeter and counted 
up the heads. "Looks like about twenty seven." She cut a slice of apple 
for herself, then watched as Ash snatched it from her.

"Thanks," the tired woman said. Willow looked at her with her patented 
Resolve Face (TM). "You know I'm immune to that."

"So? What's your point?"

"That was my point." Willow looked frustrated and stalked off back to the 
house. "What?" Ash asked.

"You stole her food. And she had a knife in her hand. Be glad she didn't 
use it to take out somebody," Methos explained.

"Would she really do that?" Dawson asked.

"Quite possibly. And you're the best target. Be happy she didn't. The 
last time Ash got her really mad, she killed off her father. Granted, he 
was an abusive jerk--"

"And I wanted to do it myself!" Ash complained. "Stupid lines...." She 
stood up and tried to follow her sister, but she could barely walk. After a 
few steps, she fell down again. "Okay, I guess I'm staying here, then."

"What did you expect after that?" Methos asked. "We just got Quickened by 
twenty seven immortals. That was... wow," he commented.

"Yeah. Wow. Only twenty seven that could hear your death wish?" She 
rolled over and smacked him upside the head. "That was pretty stupid, 
little boy."

Dawson, sensing the good parts of the show were probably over, followed 
Willow back to the house. He was just sneaking up behind her when her short 
sword shot out of her cloak and sliced up part of his arm. "I knew it was 
you," she said, turning to face him. "That was a warning. Don't sneak up 
on me ever again. Next time it won't be a warning."

His hand was at the bleeding portion of his arm. "You're not even in the 
game. Why are you so protective of yourself?"

"You're not in the game either, Dawson. You just watch how it's played. 
You're like someone watching 'Survivor.' And I'm protective of my head so 
that Ash doesn't go berserk and kill everyone in sight. And she's got good 
vision. She doesn't let her friends get hurt if she can help it. Even if 
you weren't sneaking up on me to kill me, you could have been. My body 
knows this." She opened the door and went through, closing it before Dawson 
could enter. Up in her room, she stripped and fell onto her bed. She was 
asleep almost immediately.

Outside, Ash was crawling to her plane. She pulled herself up by her arms, 
still exhausted from the massive Quickening of which Methos had only felt 
the aftershocks. Once in the plane, she quickly and as quietly as possible 
took off. She broke plates all over Ohio, though, when she broke the sound 
barrier. An hour later, she landed on the football field at UC Sunnydale. 
Five minutes after that, she found herself knocking on the door of Stevenson 
214. Buffy opened the door to find her best friend's sister in a very 
rigidly set mode of operation. "If you're going to come, come now," was all 
that the older woman said.

Buffy grabbed a bag from her bed and followed without comment. Her Watcher, 
however, was harder to convince when they reached his apartment. In the 
end, Ash had to drag him out the door while he protested. It wasn't his 
fault, she knew. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as they took off 
back to Pennsylvania.

Ash landed in her own backyard with nary a bump. Giles was cleaning his 
glasses when they disembarked. Buffy walked directly into the house and 
went up the stairs to find Willow. She opened her door and saw her lying on 
her bed completely naked, not even covered by a sheet. The breath caught in 
Buffy's throat and she walked over to the bed and laid down next to her 
love. Willow curled her body around the newcomer's and Buffy found she 
falling into the same dreamland that was holding the redhead hostage.

When Willow awoke the next morning, the first thing she was aware of was 
that there was someone else in the bed with her. She opened one eye the 
slightest bit and gathered that it was Buffy. "May I touch you?" the blonde 
asked her.

Willow smiled as they kissed, then Buffy watched as she fell prostrate on 
the bed beside her. Her arms and legs were both spread out as if to say, 
"Do what you will to me. I give myself to you." The blonde began by 
running her hands down Willow's sides as she had dreamed of doing a hundred 
times before. Immediately a pool of wetness began forming between Willow's 
legs.

Outside her door, Ash was awakened when her sister cried out in climax for 
the first time as Willow Rosenberg.

The two new lovers were brought out of their reverie as they heard several 
loud thuds hitting one of the walls of Willow's room. It seemed to be 
coming from Methos's room, but Willow really couldn't be sure, and really, 
she wasn't paying that much attention anyway.

Back outside the door, Methos tripped over Ash's newly awakened body, and he 
landed next to her. "Can't those two get a room?"

"They're in one," she told him.

"Oh. Well, do they have to be so noisy about it?"

"It's their first time together. Give 'em a break." Ash could feel herself 
start to lose a bit of her control as she rolled over and tumbled down the 
stairs. She crawled into the living room where Giles was attempting to 
sleep on the couch. She kissed him to wake him and started stripping him, 
leaving a trail of tweed that led into her bedroom.

Dawson knocked on the door about an hour later and was astonished to find an 
older man naked next to the really young-looking immortal Ash. Willow and 
Buffy were right behind him. It was a study in contrasts to see their two 
reactions, for while Willow simply smirked as her sister added yet another 
notch to her bedpost, Buffy grimaced at her Watcher seeing some action. 
"Ewww!" was all that she could coherently say before her lover swatted her 
lightly with her hand.

Dawson closed the door as Ash slowly opened her eyes. Five minutes later, 
she opened the door and kissed Dawson chastely on the cheek while Giles 
continued to sleep. Dawson looked down. "I'm sorry," he murmured, and 
enveloped his old friend in hug.

Willow and Buffy inclined their heads to each other and "Awwww"-ed in unison 
on the couch in the kitchen before the redhead pronounced, "This situation 
calls for a toast. Dear, should I Bless everyone?" Ash nodded. "Okay, I 
know prescriptions for everyone except Buffy," she kissed her cheek, "and 
Dawson. We're letting Giles sleep, right?" Ash nodded again. Buffy looked 
a bit puzzled at her "prescription" for getting "Blessed." Willow 
explained, "Traditionally, we toast noteworthy situations with Irish Coffee, 
which are also called God's Blessings. Your prescription is however you 
want your Irish Coffee made. Ash takes hers heavy with the Bushmill's. I 
take mine with just the coffee and whipped cream. After we're done 
drinking, someone makes a toast and then throws his or her glass at the 
fireplace. Anyone who agrees with the toast is welcome to join in the 
throwing." Willow started the Blessings as Dawson mulled over his 
prescription. She had a feeling she knew what Buffy's would be; after the 
Cave Slayer incident, she was avoiding alcohol like, well, the plague 
actually. And Willow had a comparison. Dawson was a mystery to her. When 
nothing was forthcoming from the Immortal Watcher, she just decided to not 
Bless him. It was his loss. She drank deeply from her glass, then walked 
to the center of the kitchen, just in front of the fireplace. "To old 
friends who've just met. And to all those who weren't so lucky." Glass hit 
the fireplace like a grenade attack. Buffy stepped up behind her and laid a 
hand on her shoulder as a tear ran down Willow's cheek. Ash followed her 
lead and put a hand on Willow's other shoulder as she collapsed into the 
arms of half of the people she loved most. "My two best girls... the ones I 
can always count on," she whispered. "Don't ever leave me." Methos was at 
her side quickly and he almost missed the visual exchange by Willow's "two 
best girls." They both seemed to say that they were tolerating each other 
only for Willow. He had to smile at that. Dawson looked over at the group 
hug and knew he shouldn't disturb them.

A voice came from behind them. "Did I miss anything?" Giles asked, tying 
the robe's sash around his waist. He was surprised to find that the only 
replies consisted of Dawson's laughter and Ash's glare. "What?" he asked.

"Anybody up for a game of poker?" Ash asked. "We're waiting for another 
shipment of fuel, or we'd be leaving now."

Methos glanced to the upper left, then smirked. "Sure. I'm in." He and 
Ash sat down around a table, then both gestured to the two Watchers to sit 
down and ante up. Having a combined total of twelve thousand years of 
immortality glaring at them might have given them a bit of encouragement to 
comply. He took a deck of worn cards out of a drawer, then started 
shuffling. "Five card stud, joker's wild, and the sky's the limit."

Shortly after that, the two Watchers both folded. Willow and Buffy chuckled 
as they left the table pretty much simultaneously. The next hand proved to 
be Ash's undoing as the older immortal folded and stood up as Methos 
shuffled the cards, chanting.

"mirror mirror glowing red
who has come to take my head?
mirror mirror glowing red
who will be the next one dead?"

Ash was already starting to get annoyed, but mostly she just put up with his 
almost comical interlude. He continued chanting.

"mirror mirror glowing white
who will come to me tonight?
mirror mirror glowing white
who's the next i have to fight?"

Ash gave up and started walking out the door, but she heard the first part 
of his last verse.

"mirror mirror glowing blue
tell me mirror is it true?"

Ash was gone before she could hear the end of the chant. Methos put the 
cards down and picked up a picture of Carolyn.

"mirror mirror glowing blue
why'd i fall in love with you?"

A tear fell down his cheek onto the picture. "I always knew you liked my 
nose." He smiled.

An hour later found the entire group gathered in the living room, planning 
strategy. Ash was sitting backwards on a chair across from Methos who was 
on the couch. Willow was sitting in a plush chair with Buffy perched on its 
arm. The two Watchers had seemingly teamed up and were both standing 
against the wall. "Just as long as we're not traveling by candlelight. You 
know how bad my luck is with candles," Methos was saying to Ash, who looked 
innocent.

(end long hand copy in journal... need more paper)

"It wasn't her fault," Willow said. "Yeah she tipped the candle over, 
but--"

"What?!" Methos exclaimed. He turned to look at Ash.

"Hey, you promised not to tell!" she complained to her sister.

"So it's true? You burned my house down and blamed someone else?"

"Well it wasn't my fault. And he was there. I got rid of him in the 
process. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Not when it results in my house burning down," Methos replied. He got up 
and reached for a sword off the wall by the couch. Ash immediately grabbed 
another sword as they approached each other.

"Um, guys? Can we, uh, not do this now? Because there are two people here 
who've never seen a Quickening, and I've got stuff upstairs I'd like to 
keep. I won't have either of you kill the other if it means my laptop gets 
destroyed. Or Mr. Gordo. Buffy would be quite upset. Wouldn't you?"

"So you're fine with him killing me as long as your laptop's safe?" Ash 
asked.

"My laptop and Mr. Gordo," she answered.

Ash gave her sister a look, then took off running while Methos chased her 
around the living room. "You seem a decent person," he was saying. "I hate 
to kill you."

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die," Ash replied.

Methos swung his sword, barely ripping Ash's shirt. She turned around and 
they fought. The choreography of their sword dance really wasn't important, 
and as such, shall not be discussed in this medium. Suffice it to say, they 
ended up swords crossed, each unwilling to back down, and each a pretty even 
match for the other. Willow jumped up and grabbed the intersection of the 
swords and pushed them down. "Okay you two. Settle down. Do I have to 
send you two to your rooms for naptime?" Willow looked stern, her Resolve 
Face (TM) visible. Buffy started laughing. Soon the two Watchers were 
joining in.

The two immortals put their swords down, and Methos offered his arm to Ash. 
She grasped it above his wrist, and he did the same with her. "Don't burn 
any of my houses down again, all right?" he asked.

"Yes daddy," Ash said in a little girl voice, which caused the 
just-recovering audience to once again start laughing.

Methos tried to hide his amusement. "I've never been your daddy."

"And I'm older than you. Don't you tell me what to do." Ash started to 
lift her sword but Willow took it out of her hand before she could do 
anything. "Hey!" she protested.

"How many times must I tell you? Not in the castle!" Willow said, 
referencing a short-lived show called "Covington Cross". "Now shake hands 
and make up, or I'm going to have to do something wretched."

"What, would you turn me into a newt?" Ash asked.

"You'd get better," Willow replied.

"Um, guys?" Buffy interrupted. "I think I hear someone knocking on the 
door."

Indeed, there was someone at the door. Ash opened it to find a rather stout 
young fellow holding a very large container that was threatening to topple 
him over. Buffy looked gobsmacked. "Hi Jimmy," Ash greeted the man.

"Fuck you, Jade," was all he said.

"You've already done that!" Willow went out to get Ash's Big Book O' Names, 
and sure enough, he was in there. "You can set it down in the usual place, 
Jims."

"You're gonna make me go all the way to the hangar carrying this?"

"What, you wanna borrow my anti-gravity lift? I don't got one." She 
pointed. "That's why I pay you the big bucks. Go. Fill the big one up. 
We'll be there shortly," she told Jimmy as everyone herded upstairs to grab 
their bags.

Giles looked vaguely puzzled, like always. "The weather will be somewhat 
warmer in Greece, correct?" Ash nodded. "Don't you think the clothes we 
have now might be a bit much?"

"Credit cards are wonderful things," Ash told him. "Stolen credit cards are 
even better." Ash looked around her. "I needed some new clothes anyway." 
She looked at the British Watcher who was, by now, again wearing a tweed 
suit. "And I've got to get you out of that tweed!"

Willow called down from the stairs. "I thought you did that earlier."

"Willow," he warned, "be careful of I won't let you watch Buffy's sparring 
sessions anymore. And I'll tell Xander Buffy's got a crush on him."

"That's not plying nice," Buffy protested. "He's incessant. Remember him 
and Cordy? Or him and Anya. It was annoying just to watch him then."

"Indeed. It is a potent encouragement, is it not?"

"Quite," Willow answered.

"Can we, I don't know, go sometime before that little blue rabbit there 
takes my head?" She started to walk out the door. "Anybody who is coming, 
get out here now or you're staying Stateside."

Willow came bounding down the stairs, mockingly grasping Ash's arm. "Don't 
leave me!"

Then Buffy came downstairs doing the same thing to Willow, throwing their 
bags on the couch. "Here we are, the princesses of the Universe," she 
announced, causing Ash an enormous fit of laughter.

Methos trudged downstairs, duffel bag in hand. "I'm ready whenever you 
are."

"Where's Joe?" Ash asked.

"He's doing a handstand up in my room," Willow said while Buffy giggled. 
"Involuntarily."

Ash buried her head in her hands. "What did you do?" Buffy started humming 
the jingle to the Finesse commercial ("Witchcraft") and Will glared at her 
girlfriend. "Put him down, Will," Ash told her sister as Dawson came 
downstairs on his hands. Willow murmured something as he was on the next to 
last step and came crashing down.

"Sorry," she said.

"You could have waited until he was all the way downstairs."

"He could've taken the elevator," Willow pointed out.

Buffy walked over to the man on the floor and started poking him. "Are you 
dead?" she asked. He groaned as Methos gave him a hand up.

"Here. I'll get your bag," Willow said as a suitcase came floating down the 
stairs and landing at Ash's feet.

Ash glared at her. "Fine. You can get all the bags if you're gonna be that 
way." The bags began to levitate. "Are we going now?" There was a chorus 
of agreement, and they set out for the hangar. Ash smiled when she saw her 
friends' jaws collectively drop at the sight of her larger plane. "C'mon. 
We should be all ready to go now." She inclined her head as she opened the 
door.

Willow inclined hers at her sister. "Lead on, Horatio. Lead us to the end 
of this madness."

"I remember a thousand Julys when we would toast on the blood of our enemies 
like vampires. The madness stays with us," Ash said. Methos looked down at 
the ground, unable to meet Ash's steady gaze. "What's wrong, old friend? 
Hitting too close to home? Have you thought you'd have risen above that by 
now?"

He barely looked up at her through the corner of his eye. "I had hoped."

"Death remains Death," she told him before boarding the craft. "We cannot 
change our natures, even if there are those who dull our edges." Her gaze 
caressed Willow's cheek and the younger sister leaned into the look. 
Everyone dropped into the plush couches as Ash headed to the cockpit.

"Will," Methos whispered, and she was at his side. "Talk with me for a 
moment?" he asked. His eyes looked like a child who'd just been punished by 
his mother. Willow looked over at Buffy questioningly. Buffy nodded. Will 
put her hand on Methos's shoulder and bade him continue. "I'm getting 
concerned about Ash."

Willow nodded. "She's like I'm not here part of the time."

"Exactly."

"She's reminding you of yourself a few thousand years ago. That's why you 
connect so well. That and you've gotten what very few people have ever 
gotten - a second shot at her. She's got very few repeat customers." 
Willow grew quiet and solemn. "She thinks that everything that goes wrong 
around her is her fault. She won't accept that I've done stuff too. She 
still thinks Pompeii was either her fault or the Powers That Be getting mad 
at you two," Willow whispered so the rest of the group couldn't hear.

"It was you?" Methos looked shocked.

"I knew you couldn't be allowed to kill each other. That was about the only 
magic I could use to stop you. She doesn't believe me. She doesn't want me 
to be guilty."

"It doesn't help that you died then."

"I couldn't tell her in time before her guilt festered. When I tried to 
tell her, she pretty much blew me off. She was already insane." Willow 
looked down. "So if she's moody, ever, it's nothing you did. The girl's 
got issues."

?After this long, we all have issues. The two of you seem to have more 
because of how long you?ve lived.?

?Exactly,? Willow told him. ?I have issues with dying. I don?t like it. 
Never have. It can be painful.?

?Was it? Last time, I mean?? the old man asked. ?You just sort of slipped 
out of our fingers. Ash was at your bedside the entire time.? His voice 
dropped to a whisper. ?She was crying the entire time. I didn?t know she 
had tear ducts.? He looked down. ?She kept saying, over and over, that she 
was sorry, that she was wrong, that she?d never do that to you again. She 
wouldn?t tell me what she meant.? He wiped a tear away from Willow?s cheek.

?The fight before was more painful than actually dying last time. I said 
some stupid things, she said some stupid things, she went away, and I got 
sick. I-,? she stumbled over her own words. ?It was kinda like I lost my 
will to live. We were farther apart than ever before, physically and 
emotionally. She was? is my reason d?être.? She stole a glance at Buffy. 
?Don?t get me wrong. I love Buffy. But I can deal with being apart from 
her for a while. In the past, she?s died, I?ve died, but it?s not quite as 
urgent as Ash. With her, I couldn?t live without her. I?m not sure if 
anyone could.?

?I know. She?s irreplaceable. She?s saved all of our lives more times than 
I can count.?

Willow felt a jolt as she remembered a few more things that weren?t in the 
initial data dump when she woke up of times near and far when she hadn?t 
been able to protect herself from her enemies, when she?d been treated like 
chattel, property of whomever could hold onto her, and Ash hadn?t gotten 
there in time. There was always pain, each and every time one of the 
bastards got his way with her. She never numbed to it; it was just a 
constant pain, a pain she carried with her all her lives, and some of the 
wounds were extremely old, almost as old as she herself was. ?Papa,? she 
whispered under her breath, half-sad, half angry to the man who had raised 
her and her sister as his own children, the man who had told them stories 
about where they were from.

Methos recognized what she was remembering and held her and rocked her as 
tears streamed down her face in twin tracks. ?Shh, shh,? Methos calmed her. 
?He?s not here. No one?s going to hurt you again. No one?s going to hurt 
you again. No one?s going to hurt you again.? He looked up and met Buffy?s 
gaze before leading her eyes to Willow?s crumpled figure. She was at her 
side quickly, making circular motions on the redhead?s back. She fell out 
of Methos?s arms and into Buffy?s, in the process falling off the couch and 
rolling onto the floor. ?Do you want me to get Ash?? Methos asked.

Willow shook her head no. ?I?m okay, really. And she?s flying. There?s 
nothing she could really do anyway.? She tried to fake a smile. ?See, 
better already.?

Methos looked at her sternly. ?Knowing your sister, there?s a bed on here 
somewhere. I want you to find it and for you and Buffy to take a nap 
together on the way. I think she?s what you need right now.? He kissed her 
cheek. ?You?ll be all right. You?ve survived this much,? he whispered.

In the cockpit, Ash turned her attention back to flying the plane. Someone 
had to fly the thing, and she wasn?t going to let Methos anywhere near the 
controls. He was busy anyway. Nothing she could think of was an adequate 
thanks to the man she?d known for so many millennia, and she knew that she 
could never give him the one thing he desired from her ? her love, for while 
she loved him as a friend, she would never be in love with him.

The plane touched down in a darkened field just after the sun had set upon 
one of Ash?s oldest homes. They weren?t far from civilization, but they 
also weren?t in the middle of a bustling metropolis. A car was waiting at 
the edge of the field with its lights steadily burning. ?I think someone 
knew we were coming,? Methos remarked, biting the head off of a gummy bear.

?I was expecting him. He can?t really be trusted, but he?s decent,? Ash 
said as the group began walking to the car. She opened the door when they 
got there. ?Hi Falafel,? she said scooting in. ?I brought some friends.? 
The others tried to squeeze into the back seats. ?That?s Methos, Willow, my 
sister, Buffy, Giles, and Dawson.?

?Taco?? Falafel asked. Ash stared at him. ?Where to??

?Athenian Grand Hilton. Everybody remember where we parked.?

?As long as you don?t cloak your plane, we should be okay,? Willow told her 
sister. ?And you are not Billy Shatner.?

?Thank goodness,? Methos replied under his breath as the car sped off.

*

The hotel wasn?t exactly tucked away in the middle of no-where. Rather, it 
was situated on one of the busiest corners of the tourist district in 
Athens, just overlooking some spectacular ruins of the Acropolis. Willow 
walked over to Ash who was standing by the window of her suite, and the 
younger girl rested a hand on her sister?s shoulder. ?Remember when that 
place was new??

?Ha,? Ash responded. ?I can remember when it was being built.?

?Well it wasn?t built in a day, love.? She looked down. ?Remember 
Cecrops?? Her sister nodded. ?Thanks. You didn?t have to do that, you 
know.?

?You were just about to wake up. I wasn?t about to lose you then!?

?You saved him.? It was a simple declaration, but one that had never before 
been spoken aloud.

?I didn?t have a choice. I had to save you. And you wouldn?t have let me 
get away with anything less.?

?You wouldn?t have let yourself get away with anything less. You may fool 
the others, but you cannot fool me. I haven?t known you this long to know 
you so well. We?re old souls. Get over it.? She kissed Ash?s cheek and 
left her sister alone again, pondering the darkened palace that had once 
been her home.

Ash opened her window and whispered an argument she?d made long before. ?A 
soul like hers should never be allowed to leave this place. She?s a light 
to all mankind.? As Ash looked down, she could see her light hurrying 
across the street to the crumbling structure near the theater, illuminating 
everything in her path, even the shadows. She turned her head and walked 
out the door of her suite and went down to the lobby.

Down in the bar, Ash saw the familiar shape of the back of Methos?s head. 
It was a fuzzy head, rather like an overgrown peach. She concentrated and 
recognized the other shape as one of her old friends, Cassandra. She 
watched as the other immortal woman cautiously laid a hand on Methos?s 
shoulder and whispered something in his ear before she got up and left the 
room with a slight glance up as she passed Ash. Ash could feel a slight 
tremor of magical power emanating from the woman. ?She says she had nothing 
to do with it,? Methos said before turning to face his old friend and foe. 
?She didn?t know anything about it until after it happened. Seems like you 
were right. I hate when that happens.? He sipped his drink slowly. ?She 
told me where he was, though. I think she?s expecting me to do something 
drastic. I?ve calmed down since the last time we spent any real time 
together.? Ash raised an eyebrow at him. ?But not that much.? He pushed 
himself up from the bar and walked out. ?She told me he was at the Theater 
of Dionysis.? He put on his trench coat and walked away.

Across the street, Willow watched as Cassandra entered the old theater. ?So 
you?re my stalker,? she said without a glance in the redhead?s direction. 
?Methos told me what you did. Why?? Her Watcher started to shake with her 
sword so close to his throat.

?Will you promise not to kill me if I tell you?? he asked simply. She 
nodded. ?I?ve spent all my years studying you people, envying you. And the 
Methos waltzed in and spent ten years as a Watcher, working on his own damn 
Chronicles, and stole the only hope of immortality any of us had. Those 
that knew of the crystal that is. He stole my chance for a future. I stole 
the one thing he really held precious in this world. And I knew he?d blame 
you.? Cassie?s sword came closer, drawing a few drops of blood. ?You said 
you wouldn?t kill me!? he protested.

?This isn?t killing you,? she told him.

?Can I go now?? he asked.

?No,? Methos said, walking towards them and glancing at Willow momentarily. 
?You wanted to get to me. Here I am.? He held out his arms. ?What?s the 
matter, you can kill a sick woman but you can?t face your true enemy in 
battle?? By now Cassie?s sword had lowered and Methos?s had taken its 
place. The old man?s gaze was fixed firmly on the face of his very mortal 
opponent.

Willow saw the Watcher slowly lift a gun out of his holster and bring it up 
to level with Methos?s chest. She saw his fingers curl around the trigger 
and start to squeeze. She panicked, causing a powerful surge of magical 
energy to radiate from her diminutive form. She stood in awe, looking at 
the scene before her eyes. Cassandra stood, still looking at her Watcher. 
Methos calmly held his sword at the watcher?s throat. The Watcher?s finger 
was still poised over the trigger on his gun. And the bullet hung in 
mid-air scant inches away from Methos?s chest. Willow rushed over and 
gingerly grasped the projectile out of the way and took the gun from 
Cassandra?s Watcher. Time re-started, and the Watcher was surprised to find 
that his gun was no longer in his hands. Methos shook his head at the brief 
burst of knowledge Willow sent him, and his face hardened unimaginably as 
Ash came close to the battle. ?You killed the woman I loved more than 
anything in the world. If your life is the most valuable thing to you, then 
that,? he promised, ?is what I shall extract from you.? He sliced, and the 
dead head of Guy Dumas rolled at his feet as the now-dead body crumbled 
before him like a vampire being dusted. Methos walked away followed closely 
by Ash and Willow, and shortly behind them, Cassandra. His face returned to 
normal. ?Anyone up for a spot of tea?? He looked back at Willow. ?Someone 
needs to push fluids and rest of she?ll get a reaction headache for that 
stunt she pulled back there.?

Ash glanced over at Willow. ?What?? the redhead asked.

?What kind of crazy stunt did you pull this time?? her sister asked.

?I didn?t mean to stop time. Honest.?

?Oh, just like you said you didn?t mean to make that volcano erupt. It 
wasn?t your fault, honey.?

?It wasn?t yours. I flashed. That?s all. You were in no shape to do that 
kind of damage, and the Powers That Be had nothing to do with it.? A roll 
of thunder echoed her sentiment. ?Let?s get inside before it starts to 
pour.?

?You might want to change that shirt if you?re planning on not telling 
Blondie.?

Willow looked down at her stained shirt. ?Let?s go.? They all started 
running back to the hotel. She kept running through the lobby and into the 
elevator, onto her floor and into the room she was sharing with Buffy. ?Hi 
honey, I?m home.? She pulled the Slayer into a big hug, hoping she wouldn?t 
notice the sticky red liquid now congealing on her clothing. Buffy looked 
up quizzically. ?I?m fine. I was just? getting some fresh air.?

?Was it Immortal business?? Buffy asked calmly.

Willow nodded. ?Methos avenged Carolyn?s murder.?

?I think I?m taking all this rather well, don?t you think?? Buffy asked. 
?About your past I mean. You said before that all your life had been 
leading you to me. Do you still think your whole life has been leading to 
me? All your lives? I have to know.?

Willow looked away for a second before re-focusing her gaze on Buffy. ?I 
don?t know. You?re pretty special.?

?But I can?t compare to Ash.?

?Ash is? Ash. She?ll fuck anything willing, except her friends, me 
especially. There?s no contest. You?re the one I want to be with. There?s 
no question. I love you. I always have loved you and I always will love 
you. Even if you don?t remember me loving you before. It has happened and 
it will happen as long as I keep coming back. I?m not here solely for Ash. 
I?m also here because of you. Because I love you.? Tears ran down Willow?s 
cheek as Buffy slowly slid a hand under Will?s shirt and stripped her of the 
offending material.
----

::Janet Jackson quote - "Is that the end?"::

___________________________________________________________
Get a sneak preview of the new MSN: http://preview.msn.com/