And Then There Was Two (Part 1/?)

[weryvcb@xxxxxxxxx]

Author: Christine
Title: And Then There Was Two
Pairing: B/W
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, yada yada yada...
Author's note: Feedback = good. I really do appreciate feedback. 
Please, feel free to express how you feel about this story. Insults 
and completeley unconstructive critisism is welcome. 



"God, do I love my life," Buffy grumbled, making a
quick jab 
and turning the very obnoxious vampire in front of her into a cloud 
of dust. "Its Saturday night, but do I go to the huge Alpha Zeta 
party or just hang out with my friends and watch a movie? No, of 
course not! I get to go to the graveyard and stick sharp pointy 
wooden stakes into the hearts of people that should be dead but just 
didn't quite make it. And I'm cold." Buffy quickly
scanned the area 
around her. The sky was clear, showing a million stars, beckoning 
Buffy to stop and admire, but Buffy was oblivious to the world, 
enveloped in self-pity. She glanced at her watch, saw that it was 1 
AM, and gratefully considered it time to turn in. Unconsciously, her 
pace quickened. It would be nice to be back in the dorms, in the room 
that she shared with her best friend in the whole world. All she 
wanted was for that redhead to sit down next to her and throw her 
arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be all 
right. Suddenly she stopped, instinctively sensing that something was 
watching her, following her. She turned around, but she saw 
nothing. "Buffy the Slayer, I presume." Buffy glanced down
and found 
herself staring at a foot tall little dwarf looking creature with 
large blue eyes, a long gray beard, a faded silver toga, holding a 
little red ball about the size of a marble. "This is for
you," it 
said, holing out his hand. "You must fight evil, from the past,
the 
present, and on into the future. Only you can stop what is to come. 
Buffy, letting out a nervous giggle in response to this comical 
creature, unable to grasp the weirdness of it all, "great, now
I'm 
talking to a prophetic dwarf wearing a toga." "You must go
soon," it 
said, "to stop what will be. Find Yimaen, and destroy him before
he 
gains control of time."
Tentatively, Buffy bent down and picked up the little red marble from 
the outstretched hand. Suddenly, the dwarf seemed to shatter into 
silver light, and disappear into the darkness. "I don't know
whether 
to be wigged out or laugh. I'll have to talk this over with Giles
in 
the morning," Buffy thought.

*	*	* *	*	*	*	*
	
Willow stared down at the pages in front of her, but the words 
all seemed to slur together. She was concerned about Buffy, and 
rightfully so. Angel had come into town, and Riley basically went 
jealousy crazy and attacked Angel. Buffy and Riley had a huge fight, 
and Buffy and Angel had a huge fight, and now nobody was talking. 
Well, it was her job to cheer Buffy up, and she was going to do it, 
one way or another. She heard the faint sound of metal clinking 
against metal, and her lops curled into a smile as the door opened 
and her blonde friend walked in. Willow's face instantly changed
into 
a look of concern. Buffy looked tired, a kind of exhaustion that only 
seems to come when everything seems to crash together and go wrong, 
and there doesn't seem like there is any way to fix it. She was 
shivering, and seemed unusually pale. 
"My god Buffy, it's almost freezing outside, how long were
you on 
patrol?" Buffy's only answer was a weak smile. She slowly
removed her 
jacket and threw it on a chair, watching it slowly slide off. Without 
even thinking, Willow got up, grabbed Buffy around the waist, and 
literally pulled her onto her bed, books and papers tipping over and 
cascading onto the floor. Willow reached down and yanked up the 
comforter, and wrapped her arms around Buffy, resting her head in 
Buffy's golden hair. "That's better. You are staying put
until you've 
reached normal body temperature. Buffy smiled ever so slightly and 
turned over, laying her arm across Willow's abdomen and resting
her 
head on Willow's shoulder, suddenly encompassed with warmth, 
breathing her in like a delightful fragrance. She felt her
friend's 
silky red hair against her cheek, and suddenly everything was 
ok. "So, Will, how was your day, talk to Bob?" her smile
turning into 
a grin at reference to the guy who had been staling her best friend, 
at Willow's dismay. She could almost feel her friend blush. 
"If he doesn't stop waiting for me after Trig, I'm going
to 
set you on him." 
"Mmm, anything for you," she mumbled, starting to sink into 
sleep. All her troubles had faded away, except for the warm body that 
she was so delightfully snuggled against.
"Don't bring it up, don't bring it up, " Willow
instructed 
herself. "So, what's up with Riley?"
"I have a sinking feeling that it's over."
"How come?"
"Don't get me wrong, I love him, but more in a friendly,
good 
guy, brother kind of way."
"No fireworks?"
"Completely totally firework free. You know you are the only 
one for me," Buffy teased and playfully reached up and kissed the 
hacker on the cheek, before setting her head back down. Willow knew 
she should feel bad that it wasn't working out, but she could
help 
but to be happy. She liked having her beautiful blond friend all to 
herself.

*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	
	
Giles slowly took off his glasses, and began to wipe them 
against his shirttail, before examining them, making sure they were 
clean, and then putting them back on again. Buffy had just finished 
telling him about the experience she had had in the Graveyard.
"May I 
see the object in question, please?" Buffy relinquished the red 
marble thing to Giles, who began to study it, and came to the 
conclusion, almost instantaneously, that he had no idea what it 
was. "Well it may be some kind of weapon, or serve some purpose,
or 
hold some kind of power, or?." He said, trailing off.
"Research time?"
"Unfortunately, that seems to be the next logical step."
"I'll call Xander and Willow. Here goes another weekend."
"Now Buffy, you know its important that we get to the bottom 
of this." Buffy stared at him with a face of complete 
melancholy. "I'll order pizza."
"With extra cheese?"


*	*	* * * * * *


"I'm so sick of staring at these old books. This is all 
Buffy's fault. Do we have to go through this every time she sees
a 
marble-toting midget?" Anya complained.
"Don't worry guys, we are still working on that whole how-to-
say-what thing." Xander lamented.
Buffy sighed. They had looked all day for anything or anyone 
named Yimaen, or anything about the dwarf, but there was nothing, no 
mention at all. "Let's call it a night. It's 10 PM,
we've been at it 
all day." Xander and Anya stared intently at each other, and then 
left, barely stopping to say their goodbyes.
"I wonder what they are in a big hurry for," Willow stated 
with a smirk, knowing exactly why they were in a hurry. Willow picked 
up the red ball and rolled it around her palms. She was stumped. 
Buffy was supposed to fight evil in the future, and she would fight 
evil in the future. What was so special about that? The dwarf said 
that she was going to go somewhere soon, talk about ominous. Poor 
Buffy, she thought. What a hard job, to fight all this evil, to take 
care of everything. Deep in thought, Willow accidentally let the 
marble slip through her fingers and crash onto the hard wood floor. 
The ball bounced once, then rolled to a stop. Willow picked it up, 
but it was already to late. As the two girls stared on in fear, light 
poured from the little crack in the ball. The crack widened and the 
ball split in half, and for a few seconds, all the girls could see 
was white light, and then they were standing in Giles's study
once 
again. "Wow," Buffy said, "are you okay?" Willow was
pale and was 
staring past her. Buffy turned around but didn't see anything. 
"The books, that we were researching with, they're gone."
Buffy 
called to Giles, knowing that he would be able to help. Buffy could 
hear Giles coming down the stairs, and she saw him enter the room, 
and then stop. "Willow, is that you. But how, how?" 
"Now I'm seriously wigged out," Buffy said. Giles looked
older, not 
geriatric older, but his hair was speckled with gray, and he had a 
slight beard. "What's the date?"
"January 7th."
"The year"
"2005."
"I think, we, umm, just went forward in time 5 years to
the 
day." All of a sudden, Giles walked over to Willow, and pulled
her 
into a hug. Sobs rattled his frame, and he cried, for all that had 
gone wrong. An astonished Willow tried to comfort him, telling him 
that everything was going to be okay. Giles slowly let go of Willow, 
reached for a handkerchief, and dried his eyes, then looked back to 
confront Willow. "You don't understand. You're dead,
you've died. 
Three months ago, you were on patrol with Buffy, and vampires 
ambushed you. She tried to protect you, but her efforts were to no 
avail. She survived, but you were bit, and she, she had to stake you, 
she had no choice!" 
Buffy and Willow were stunned by this awful truth, shocked at what 
the future had brought, but relieved that they could still change it. 
"Where is Buffy now?" Willow asked. 
"She is in L.A now. After Willow died, she quit slaying, and she 
moved away. Let me give you the address. Why have you come here?"
"We aren't really sure. Something to do with killing Yimaen,
probably 
some kind of demon."
"Yimaen? I don't know who or what that is, but go see Buffy,
maybe 
she can help."


*	*	*	*	*	* *


"This is going to be weird, I'm going to see my future self.
Excited?"
"Very." Buffy and Willow were taking the elevator to the 11th
floor, 
Buffy's apartment. Giles had lent them his car, and they had set
off 
almost immediately, without a phone call. "I wonder what she is
going 
to do when she sees us?" Willow wondered. Buffy laughed
nervously. 
Even after all that they had been through, time travel was still some 
major shit. 
Buffy knocked on the door, and they waited. Soon the door opened and 
there stood a dazzling blonde woman in a long black coat. Her hair 
had grown out some, but 5 years had only enhanced her look. For a 
minute, nobody spoke, Buffy and Willow staring at older Buffy, and 
older Buffy staring at Willow. Finally, somebody spoke.
"Whoa-, what the hell??"
"We accidentally traveled through time to stop something evil 
from happening." Buffy said, trying to get right to the point,
and 
avoid confusion. The older Buffy was barely listening; she had moved 
forward and was standing close to Willow. 
"Willow, my sweet Willow," she sighed, and swept her into a 
hug, unable to let go, burying her head in Willow's shoulder,
trying 
to get as close as possible, as if to keep her from ever leaving her 
again. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I tried to save you,
but there 
were too many, I couldn't, and then you were bit," she
sobbed, "and I 
had to, I had to?." 
"It's okay, I'm here, we can stop it from happening
again'" 
Willow said, trying to comfort her friend, startled, but deeply 
affected. 
"I love you, Will. I love you with everything in me, and 
everything I do was for you. You were my root, the only reason that I 
could go on, giving my strength, giving me life. I need you to 
understand, how much you mean to me, how much you always meant to me. 
Without you, I couldn't, I can't?."
Willow gasped, amazed by the amount of emotion evident in her 
voice, and she ran her hand through this woman's hair, and it was
so 
different, but so familiar, and she knew that it was Buffy.
"Buffy, 
shhh, don't cry. It's ok. I love you too, you're a part
of me, you 
always will be," wanting to say how she felt but at a loss for
words.
Aware of the very touched, slightly stunned girl beside them, 
the embrace ended, and they turned to face Buffy. 
"We all need to talk," Willow said.


*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*


"Yimaen, you say, I've heard of him. I saved Marvin, a demon
that 
runs a little club in downtown, and he knew Yimaen, a pretty cocky 
grotto demon. . A Grotto demon tries to bring about anarchy and 
chaos, and destroy humanity, pretty usual. What's the big
deal?"
"The dwarf said something about Yimaen trying to take control 
of time, and that being a real bitch. What does that mean, take 
control of time?"
"Wait, I got it." Willow said, "Maybe he means take
control 
of time travel. Think about it. If a demon learned how to time travel 
at any time, they could go back in the past, change things around, 
and could practically destroy everything. That's why we were sent 
here! We must have been meant to stop him from doing that."
"Go Will! So basically, all we have to do is find the one 
named Yimaen and kill him."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Me and, well, Buffy will go talk to Marvin, you should go to 
the library and see what you can find in demon mythology."
"K."

*	*	*	*	*	* *


"So, what's my life been like," Buffy asked with a smirk
to 
the older Buffy, curious to learn what the future brought.
"You became a social worker, if you want to know."
"A social worker!" Buffy exclaimed, wondering why out of the 
thousand of things she could have done, she chose that.
"It's a good job, and I like to help people. Battered wives, 
abused children, someone has to take care of them." Older Buffy 
explained.  
"That's reasonable, but I haven't lost hope of becoming
a 
diva. I could do a duet with Celien Dion, people would throw
roses?."
"Have you heard yourself sing? You couldn't stay on beat if
it was 
for your life," the older Buffy interrupted, trying to choke back
a 
giggle. 
"If that was anyone but myself telling me that, there would be a 
problem. So, anyways, what's my love life been like for the past
few 
years, did things with Riley ever pick up?"
"Come on, we all knew that was doomed from the start, too 
country, too cornbread. He never really understood me, he was just 
kind of there, just to pass the time."
"Oh well. Nice body, though."
"Most definitely." 
"So who, who have I fallen into it with?"  
The older Buffy didn't respond and the two girls were silent for
a 
moment as they made their way through the streets, the setting sun 
sending out brilliant streaks of pink which sliced across the blue. A 
slight tension grew between them, about all the things that they knew 
about each other, and the things that they didn't want to bring
up. 
Buffy didn't know why, but something was urging her to talk about
it, 
forcing her.
"What was up with that whole Willow thing? When you saw her, 
you said some things that were pretty intense. I mean, you give me 
strength, you're everything?"
"I loved her, but I waited too long, far too long to tell 
her, and I lost my chance."
"Wait, hold up, I've told Willow that I love her, she's
my 
best friend?"
"You know what I mean, don't pretend you don't. "
Buffy was 
confused, and then she was stunned by what the older girl's words 
implied, and her heart jumped as it all hit her. She remembered lying 
next to Willow in bed, her soft supple body pressed up against her 
own. "What am I thinking," she whispered to herself,
"it's Willow". 
But in her heart, she realized that it was more then that, and that 
it always was. The way her emerald eyes seemed to twinkle and burn 
with an intensity that scared her, because it made her feel things 
that she never had before. And the way sparks seemed to fly and 
warmth coursed through her every time Willow was near, and how 
sometimes she could barely constrain herself from kissing her soft, 
tender lips and running her hands through her wild red hair, aching 
to hold her?."Oh my god."


*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*


The library was large and quiet, and her boots clinked 
against the marble floors and echoed throughout the room, as she 
walked over to the section about demon mythology. "This could be
a 
long night," she muttered, as the bookshelves before her seemed
to 
grow until there was no end, and they simply reached on for forever. 
She couldn't stop thinking about the older Buffy, the words she
said, 
the way that they made her feel. She blushed at the thought, and the 
ends of her mouth twitched into a smile, as she scanned the shelves, 
looking for anything that could help her. She knew Buffy didn't
feel 
that way, that she had just been relieved to find her still alive, 
but it was nice to daydream, nice to think about what it would be 
like if it was real and if Buffy did love her with such intensity. 
What it would be like to hold her in her arms and feel her, to stare 
into her deep hazel eyes, to kiss her sweet tender lips and feel like 
Buffy belonged to her? Guiltily, Willow looked around. She
shouldn't 
think like that. It was wrong. Buffy was her best friend, like a 
sister. "If only she knew," Willow shuddered at the thought,
"she'd 
never speak to me again. I've constrained my feelings for years,
I 
can definitely do it now. She will never find out how I feel."
After 
a few hours of looking through the libraries recourses, she found 
nothing. There was no mention of time travel at all. She silently 
hoped that Buffy would have better luck. 

"Interesting place," Buffy said as they made the descent into
a 
little brick building, and knocked on the door and entered, without 
waiting for a reply. There was a bar with a few demon's lined
against 
it, drinking beer and god knows what. "Karaoke?" she said in 
disbelief, as she turned and saw a large, slimy grotesque demon 
singing along to Jewel, "Who will saaave your soul, from those
lies 
that you told, boyy?" it wailed, in an almost recognizable
melody, 
receiving catcalls from all around the room. The room was dim but 
tacky, the chairs bright pink and the tables a sickly green. 
"If you want to get a head start on that big singing career 
of yours?." Older Buffy teased.
"Let's find Marvin, Buffy said, cutting her off. Scanning
the 
room, she saw a short and stumpy creature stare over at her and
it's 
eyes turn wide in fright, then trying to look inconspicuous, and 
scurrying away. 
Older Buffy glanced at what caught her younger self's 
attention and sighed. "That's him," she said, and already
they were 
moving forward in unison to apprehend him, following him into a 
little room behind the bar and barging in even after his ill-fated 
attempts to lock the door.
"Now, what's this Marvin, I thought we were friends,"
Older 
Buffy said as she grabbed him by his collar and pushed him against 
the wall, suspending him in midair. "Tell me, what would you run
away 
from your old pal Buffy," she taunted, seeing him squirm under
her 
incriminating glance. 
"There's two of you," it whispered, confused.
"Which is going to make it even easier to kick your ass," 
Buffy said, stepping forward. "You better spill, and I mean 
everything, or there is going to be hell to pay, and you're going
to 
pay. Got it?" Marvin squirmed and tried to get away, but older 
Buffy's grip was too strong and his efforts were useless.
"I'll talk, I'll talk," it screamed in a whiny,
high-pitched 
voice, deathly afraid of the blonde haired woman that had him pinned 
and the fire he could see in her eyes. 
"Tell us what you know about Yimaen."
"Okay, okay! Three days ago, Yimaen came across a little 
dwarf thing in the cemetery and killed him, but that was only after 
he got a hold of some sort of sand script, something about time 
travel. You see, there is a war being waged, between heaven and hell, 
and right now, neither side is safe. Heaven has always had control of 
time, giving them the ability to watch over people and make sure that 
everything goes as planned. They are careful not to abuse it, to 
leave most things as they found them and to not mess up the order of 
things. But hell wants this power for themselves. With it, they could 
destroy the earth. Xelin, the dwarf guy, was sent to earth with the 
sand script to protect it, because right now earth is the only place 
where it might have been safe. But now it's fallen into the wrong 
hands, and Yimaen wants it all to himself. He's sure that with
it's 
power he can replace Lucipher and become the ruler of the
underworld."
"Well, what's the catch?"
"Two things. First of all, it's in sand script, which was 
written practically at the beginning of civilization, way B. C. Only 
about three people in the world can translate it. Second of all, only 
those with a pure heart can read the sand script and use it, and a 
demon's heart is anything but pure. Unfortunately, if Yimaen 
sacrifices one with a pure heart in a place with much power, then he 
will be able to use it, and the world in it's entirety won't
be safe 
anymore, and heaven will be destroyed, and everything will become 
cloaked in eternal darkness."
"Is that it?" Older Buffy asked, gripping her hand even 
harder.
"Yes, I swear, that's all I know!"
"Ok, here's my number," she said, handing him a card.
"And if 
you here anything, call me. Let's go Buffy." The older Buffy
let go 
of his shirt, and the little demon crumpled to the floor. The two 
girls walked out, satisfied with the information. 
"There are only three people who can translate it, so let's 
find out who they are and get to them first. How are we going to do 
that?"
"Let's not forget our favorite little hacker," Buffy
said 
with an affectionate grin.   


*	*	*	*	*	*


"Wow," Willow said for the third time, after hearing the 
story that Buffy had told her. We have had to save the world, and now 
we have to save heaven? Us? I'm scared. This time, I'm truly
scared. 
What if he knows how to read sand script, what if there is a big 
computer, and he has it, and they can just scan it and read it and 
then he will go back in time and I won't exist and you won't
exist?" 
Buffy sighed. Definitely Babble-mode. 
"Willow, it's going to be okay," she said, sitting down
next 
to her. Willow smelled like flowers and vanilla. Buffy quickly got up 
and took a step back. " Think you will be able to find anything
on 
the internet?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll go use her computer, shouldn't take
me 
long, where's your computer?" she asked older Buffy. 
"Come with me, I'll show you how to boot it up, things have 
changed," Older Buffy said, leaving the room with Willow. Fifteen 
minutes later, Willow returned triumphant, her eyes shining. 
"I got it. The first two are in India, and the third studied 
with them, but he now lives in, coincidence I think not, L.A, at 3456 
Grane Drive. Damn I'm good," she remarked. 
"Well, what are we going to do?"
	
TBC...