ff:shadowwalker 6/?

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: Shadowwalker
Chapter Six: Dream Quest
Rating: PG-13 now, later? 
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own it all 
Summary: Buffy died but it's not the end. 
Thanks: Cheryl Hill and Sammy my Koala
Note: Spoilers for Gift. I couldn't deal with Buffy being dead. And this
idea was bouncing in my head for a while. Hope it's not too disjointed. And
Yoshi I really did write this before our chat on Sat.

Dream Quest
Buffy ran through the forest. A huge redwood forest whose trees seemed to
touch the heavens. The bases of the trees seemed as large as city blocks,
like fortresses standing in her way. Keeping her locked in an endless maze
of the forest. 

And there was nothing outside the forest. No place for her to go, to run to.
All was the forest. And she was but a humble forest dwelling creature,
caught in the endless cycle of nature. And she was pissed as hell.

"NO DAMN IT!" Buffy screamed into the growing shadows of the trees. "NO!"
And with that she punched the nearest tree. The sound of breaking wood
echoed around the forest then stopped. "Damn it, that hurt." Buffy said
pulling back her hand and shaking it. 

Undaunted, she looked at her fist and began to stare at it. Smiling she held
it out until it stared to glow. Then her second hand started to glow. Grey
light began to dance over her fingers and spark, as the light ran up her
arms and out of her eyes. Then she turned and shot the light out of her
fingers at the trees. Wood began to explode everywhere it met the light.
Splinters of wood flying all around the forest. Buffy continued exploding
tree after tree until nothing but splintered trees stood for miles. 

"And that is better." Buffy said turning a circle. Then she shot more gray
light out of her hands and zapped the closest pile of lumber into even
smaller splinters. Then into a fire. Not a large fire, just a small
fireplace sized fire. Then she aimed her hands at a fallen tree trunk not as
splintered as most of them and turned it into a bench of sorts. She then
walked over to the bench and sat down. 

"You can come out Will, I am finished tearing up the forest." Buffy said
willing her bench and fire closer together. 

"You had to destroy the whole forest to get a seat by the fire. One tree
wasn't enough?" Willow said floating across the broken forest in a magic
bubble towards Buffy.

"I was pissed." Buffy said crossing her arms and staring at the fire.

"So I noticed." Willow said landing near Buffy and walking over to the newly
formed bench. 

"I hate it here." Buffy said pouting.

"Well as you can see you can make a few changes. Personally I would have
gone for a few pillows and a throw rug. But total destruction is
interesting." Willow replied sitting down beside Buffy. 

"Just watch." Buffy said still pouting. A rumble sounded through the forest
and the trees began to grow from the ground pushing the debris out of their
way. Willow put her magic bubble up and easily covered the two of them, the
bench and small fire. The trees just grew around them until there was
nothing but the maze of forest.

"Well at least you have a nice bench and fire place out of everything."
Willow said happily patting the bench. 

"You always were a little too cheerful." Buffy said turning and looking at
her friend but she smiled for the first time. 

"I thought you loved that about me?" Willow said smiling back.

"Not always." Buffy replied smiling then her face took on a serious
expression. "Why are you here with me? The three of you. I know you are
really here, where ever here is?" Buffy said staring at her friends.

"I am your spirit, Giles your mind, Xander your heart, just as you are
ours." Willow stopped talking and picked up one of Buffy's hands and lightly
traced it with her own. 

"Mantus, I remember. But you are still alive. I died. You shouldn't be
here." Buffy said quickly. 

"This version of me is basically dead, Buffy. It's the part Willow Rosenberg
I gave to you. When we shared our souls we made a few little exchanges. In
that way part of you never died. And I don't mean in the memory of others
hearts kind of way. Part of you never died. It is living in Willow, Giles
and Xander. It will live past them soon. Because unlike you, they are not
immortal. But they will live on in you. Literally. See me living in you,
dead person that you are." Willow said in her babble like fashion. 

"Well that made everything perfectly clear." Buffy said pouting again. 

"As much as I enjoyed our chat I have to go soon." Willow said suddenly
looking around the forest.

"I am going to wake up soon then?" Buffy asked.

"Soon enough. Buffy about that little spell." Willow said carefully.

"So you cast it." Buffy said evenly in a statement.

"You know me two lesbians in love. Beside you are the one in charge of us so
don't play innocent on me. You had to know what I was doing." Willow said
letting her green eyes flash. 

"That's just it Willow I have no control yet. Maybe never. I have no idea
what you three are up to much less the others. I haven't even met the others
yet. I think she is still in control here, the first slayer, Willow. I can't
find her either and I have been looking."

"Destroying the forest even. I know Buffy. You will find her. Just work on
healing first. Everything will come together in the end." Willow said before
she faded out of view. 

Then Buffy saw the sun start to rise in the forest and felt her body slowly
move out of the dreamworld. 

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
(((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

"I feel so sleazy. Like some evil person in a comic book." Willow said
sitting in Giles car staring at the all girls Catholic High School.

"Why honey?" Tara asked though she understood what Willow was feeling. She
knew her lover needed to voice her feelings. 

"Come on two lesbians sitting outside an all girls school waiting to pick up
a girl against her parent wishes. Hank Summers is an asshole." Willow said
in frustration. Tara only laughed. 

When Hank Summers had finally shown up, about a week after Buffy's funeral
he had laid down the law to the Scoobies. He never wanted them to see Dawn
again. Legally there was nothing any of them could do. Dawn was his daughter
on paper. 

Dawn had managed to send Willow a few emails from school but that was about
the only contact they still had with the girl. And the emails were not often
sent or received. Dawn said she had to sneak them out at school under the
watchful eye of the sisters. 

The school bell rang and the girls began to leave the school through the
front door and move toward the busses. Willow and Tara got out of the car
and moved over to the sidewalk. Both wearing sunglasses and looking like
they had seen too many James Bond movies. 

Dawn was talking with two other girls as she came out of the door. "Dawn!"
Willow screamed waving her hand and motioning her over to them. Dawn looked
up and smiled, then ran over and hugged Willow with all her might dropping
her books on her way over. Her two friends had followed her. Then Dawn
turned and hugged Tara just as hard. Tears were in her eyes. She had missed
her family since Buffy had died. 

"I missed you so much." Dawn said pulling away.

"We missed you two!" Tara said hugging her back and wiping the tears out of
her own eyes. 

"We plan on getting you in trouble." Willow said pointing at Giles
convertible. He had left it in Willow's care. 

"Is that Giles car?" Dawn asked. 

"Yeah, Dawn we need to get out of here for a while. I need to talk to you."
Willow said seriously as she picked up Dawns books and started moving to the
car. "Your dad told your school not to let you see us so we need to move."
Willow said seriously. Willow had hacked in to school computer and found
Hank's letter explaining to the school that Dawn was never to see them. He
had listed them by name and included photos. Buffy's photos Willow thought
bitterly. Hank had taken everything of Buffy's when he came for Dawn. 

"Yeah Dad blames you for Buffy's death. He thinks I am like a nut case."
Dawn said as she moved toward the car.

"Dawn you can't just leave like that." Her friend Martha called out. 

"Martha, Tammy just pretend you didn't see anything. It's important, ok?
Everything will be ok. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Dawn said and then
smiled at her friends before she jumped in the back seat of the car. 

"They will call your dad in about ten minutes right?" Tara whispered in
question to Dawn.

"Five." Dawn answered. Tara began to chant quickly joined by Willow. Dawn
could see the magic flow from the two witches to her two friends. Then her
friends just started walking away talking with each other like nothing had
happened.

"Cool. I have to learn magic." Dawn said pulling out her sunglasses and
putting them on.

"Seatbelt first." Willow said starting up the engine. 


(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Dawn slurped on her shake sitting in the old style diner in down town LA.
They were about two blocks from Dawn's school. 

"So was the shake good?" Willow asked nervously. She still wasn't
comfortable with kidnapping or any crime. It of course had not stopped her
over the years but normally all her crimes were for the greater good of
humanity. Well most of them anyway. 

"Willow you and Tara are not here because the shakes are good, so what's
up?" Dawn asked looking at her two friends. 

"There is something we wanted to ask you?" Tara said carefully looking at
Dawn.

"So ask?"

"It not that easy?" Willow said nervously moving her straw around her
untouched shake.

"It's about Buffy." Dawn said quietly. It had to be about Buffy, she
thought. "I told you everything she said to me before she died." Dawn said
as the tears fell down her cheeks. Her sister's death still hurt her to the
core. She had told them everything Buffy said. She knew Buffy wanted them to
understand as well. Even if she didn't really understand why her sister gave
her life to save her. 

Tara and Willow both moved around the table and hugged her. Pulling her
close to each other. Tara kissed the top of her head and wiped away her
tears. "Sh, we know you did honey. It's ok." Tara whispered as Willow just
held her from the other side. 

After several minutes they all pulled away and returned to their chairs. "So
what did you want to ask me?" Dawn replied. 

"We wanted to know if you have been having any dreams?" Tara said frankly
looking at Dawn. She didn't want Willow lost in babble mode so she had
decided to just get to the point. 

"What do you mean dreams?" Dawn asked in an angry tone.

"Buffy being ......" Tara just couldn't finish the sentences.

"Rejected by heaven and hell." Dawn finished for her. 

After another long silence Willow asked, "So you have had the dreams?"

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Nada jumped a little closer to Cordelia as she passed another demon coming
out of the club they were about to enter. 

"Honey it's ok, this is a neutral zone." Cordelia said pulling the girl in
closer. The seer reminded herself that outside of her mother and a few
relatives Nada had never really been around demons before. Her reaction was
to be expected. In fact it wasn't that different from her own first reaction
to coming to Cartas the first time. 

"This way ladies." Angel said holding the door open for both girls. Gunn and
Wesley trailed into the club behind the two lovers. 

"What can I get you to drink?" Wesley asked the two women. Their plan was
simple get the girl's liquor and get them to sing. And they were being
almost obvious about it. 

"Fine I'll have a Sea Breeze." Cordelia replied and then turned to Nada. 

"A coke would be great." The girl said. 

"Wouldn't you like to try a real drink, put hair on your chest?" Gunn
quickly replied.

"Ewe" Cordelia said looking at him like he had lost his mind. "She'll have a
coke." 

"Yeah not a good picture." Nada said then whispered in Cordelia ear. "What
is wrong with your friends?"

"They want us to sing." Cordelia answered holding Nada's hand and pulling
her toward a table. The three men just stood there looking at each other.

"Lorne, come meet my new girlfriend." Cordelia called out as she moved to
the table waving at Lorne who had just come to stand beside the three men. 

"So what do you think?" Angel quickly asked. 

"Do you own any color besides black? Variety is the spice of life. Maybe you
could go with a dark color other than black." Lorne said fingering the side
of Angels' black shirt. 

"About them?" Gunn said angrily. The three of them were not dealing with the
situation well. The more time that passed by the more desperate they became
over Cordelia. 

"I won't know anything until they sing. And if you think you're fooling
either of them you're kidding yourself. I have seen you calmer going into
Armageddon." Lorne replied then moved toward Cordelia.

"Lorne this is my girlfriend Nada, Nada Lorne. So can I have a drink first
or should we just get on stage and get it over with?" Cordelia replied to
the green demon. 

"Oh I would make them sweat through at least two drinks. That way I make
some money off this deal." He replied with a smile. In truth he was worried.
He could see the answer already he just didn't want to tell any of them the
truth just yet. Truth was a fragile word. And it wasn't always for the best.
They were happy why complicate things. 

Three drinks later Cordelia dragged Nada up on stage. "Love will keep us
together spilling from the speakers." Cordelia still sang as well as she had
at her sophomore talent show. Only slightly better than Angel. Nada could
actually carry a tune but that was it. 

The song finished the two woman made it back over to the table with four
grim faced men doing their best false smiles. "Honey it's my turn to buy the
next round. Would you be a dear and go order for everyone." Cordelia said
handing Nada a large bill. 

"Sure." Nada said and moved off toward the bar. 

"Ok wipe those silly smiles off your faces. Before you tell me I am only in
love with her because of some stupid spell, I need to tell you I know.
Second when she gets back over here those smiles will be back on your faces
and she is never going to know about this, am I clear?" Cordelia threatened
them. The look on her face said it all. 

"You knew?" Angel asked.

"Not at first but I am a seer. Duh." Cordelia answered. "Look I don't want
her feelings hurt ever. I love her." The last part she whispered.

"How do you know that isn't the spell talking girl?" Gunn replied still not
understanding any of this. 

"I don't have to know, tell them Lorne. You must know, I can see it I am
pretty sure you can too." Cordelia said almost pleading with the demon.

"The spell can't make you love someone, it just can move you closer
together. There is no such thing as a real love spell." Lorne replied. 

"Still we need to get it removed. If you love her afterward then so be it."
Wesley said softly.

"Fine but I want Will to do it. I trust her." Cordelia replied. "But we are
not telling her ever." She added.

"I don't know that Willow can remove the spell?" Angel replied wondering
where Cordelia would get a notion that the witch could remove the spell. 

"She can." Cordelia said softly then seeing Nada moving over with a tray of
drinks said, "And then I saw the cutest blue pair of shoes to go with my
dress." 

All four men laughed painfully. 







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