FF: Shadowwalker 9/? NEW!

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: Shadowwalker
Chapter Nine: Giles Finds a Three-Eyed Demon, Then What?
Rating: R 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. 
Spoiler Notes: I began this story the summer after season five. So I never
had season 6 in mind when it was written. 


Giles Finds a Three-Eyed Demon, Then What?

Willow just sat in the kitchen staring at her lemonade. Tara had checked on
her several times but left her to stare. That was not a good sign. Not for
the first time in her life Willow wondered what Buffy must have felt when
she had finally realized the full scope of her powers. Then shaking her head
she realized she was thinking of the wrong slayer. What must Faith have felt
when she realized the scope of her own power. 

That wasn't a good thought. Faith's power had driven her insane. Now she sat
in her jail cell staring off in to space, wondering if she could ever be
redeemed for the sins she committed with her powers. Willow shuddered as she
remembered the last time that she and Buffy had gone to see Faith. She had
gone along with Buffy as moral support. She hadn't meant to actually see
Faith. She still hated Faith. She always had. From the minute she had laid
eyes on her. It was a kind of jealous reaction at the time that she didn't
understand. But she hadn't really understood her own sexuality at that time.
Sure she felt it, but the words had not been in her vocabulary. The words:
gay, lesbian, dyke, had come to her slowly, floating on the back of her
mind. Then one day she was with Tara and instead of words in the back of her
mind, she had seen the word lesbian, and thought yes I am. It had been a
relief to suddenly have a word to label feelings she had felt all her life. 

And now she realized she hated Faith because she was a rival for Buffy's
affection. Even now, as much as she loved Tara, her soulmate, a part of her
was still in love with Buffy. She could still feel a pearl of Buffy inside
her. And it was pure love that seemed to float near the part of her that she
knew was Buffy's sprit. It was part of her now, when they had merged to
fight off Adam, their souls had touched and mixed. It was something she
never regretted. 

Willow sighed to herself. This was getting her nowhere. Still there were
things she needed to do. There were actions she could take. And hopefully
the dream would could to her soon. Getting up she went into the living room.
Tara was holding one of Madelyn's sons in her arms, rocking him. She looked
so natural holding the small child, Willow smiled and said, "Maybe we can
have a child someday of our own."

"We could try," Tara said dryly with a smile of her own. 

"No I mean it, we could adopt or there are other ways. Xander might ...
there are ways." Willow said firmly.

"I never really thought about having children before, but it's not a bad
idea," Tara smiled back, kissing the little boy on the head as she rocked
him. 

"Tara you are my soulmate, I know you tolerate the Buffy parts of my life,
but you are my soulmate, I want you with me, forever," Willow said with so
much conviction the three adults in the room actually sat back in their
chairs, as the Witch stared at her lover. Willows eyes actually glowed green
for a second then black and green again. 

"Oh," Tara replied still staring at Willow's eyes as they glowed bright
green. They sparkled beautifully as she stared at Tara.

"I think my dear, your lover just asked to marry you." Madelyn said, as she
watched the exchange between the witches. 

"Honey, you don't even have to ask, I told you once that I was yours. I
still am," Tara replied as she stood up handing Josh his brother, and walked
over to Willow. They kissed shyly, but the passion filled the room. Not an
erotic passion, but a love that spoke of a lifetime together. They stayed
together for several seconds just holding each other when Willow pulled back
a little. 

"I need your help with some things. First I need to go and see Faith in
jail. I don't want to make the same mistakes she made. I need you to help me
with that. I need you to help me not turn evil, maybe not turn evil, but not
do evil. My powers are growing; I don't even know it most of the time. It's
Buffy, it has to do with the part of Buffy I shared with her from the
joining spell. It triggered something. But that isn't what the dream is
about. It's in there, part of it. Giles and Xander must have Buffy parts
that are growing too." Willow's eyes turned black again as she spoke to
Tara, but the blond witch just held her lover and listened.

"Madelyn can we hire your services again? My friends will need to see you
too? We will pay of course, but I at least want to see you again?" Willow
asked, eyes still black as she pulled Tara closer to her. 

"Your friends will find their own way to me, but yes you can see me. But I
prefer to meet you somewhere other than at my house. You are dangerous, you
know this, I don't want to do readings for you near the children. I will
give you my phone number and we can arrange meetings." Madelyn replied
quietly. 

When Madelyn had said "you are dangerous", Willow caught herself and turned
her eyes back to their natural color. The red-haired witch wondered how long
before the black was her natural color. 

Madelyn then stopped and turned her head, "One of your friends has found his
way to me already."
She placed her son on the floor, and stared toward the door, she was about a
foot away when the doorbell rang. 

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Giles and Kate stood on the porch nervously. He had spotted the car with his
plates in the street as they slowed to look for the address. Kate had
already put her hand on the butt of her 45. They were ready to bust the door
in if it wasn't answered soon. They were both ready for the worst. 

Madelyn opened the door in her human form, the third eye closed tight. "Mr.
Giles, you are welcome in my home, as is your friend, but not with a loaded
gun. If you will ask your friend to please remove the bullets and put them
in her pocket you both may come in. 

Before Giles could respond, Willow standing beside Madelyn said, "It's ok
Giles, she has her children here, and if there is trouble, I'm here. But I
don't think there will be trouble." 

"It will be alright, really" Tara said from beside Willow.

"Take the bullets out and put them in your pocket Kate." Giles said after a
minute. He could hear the children playing inside. 

"Your call boss." Kate said as she pulled the magazine free of the gun and
put it in her pocket. It would only take a second to put it back in. And she
left a bullet in the clip. 

"The one in the gun too, Ms Lockley. I think my husband knew you at the
23rd" Madelyn said.

"Your husbands a cop?" Kate asked, taking the bullet out of the chamber. 

"Adam Romanoff was my husband. He was a good man." Madelyn said sadly as she
held the door open for Giles and Kate. 
"Good cop. Sorry about ... He really was a good cop." Kate said as she
entered the living room. The two small boys were playing on the floor, while
a teenage boy sat on the couch watching them and the people in the house
carefully. 

"This is my son Josh, and the little one is Jonah, and the mad Lego maniac
is Thomas." Madelyn said in way of introduction. 

"Josh everything should be fine, but if there is trouble take the boys to
your Uncle Martin's house." Madelyn said leading the group into the kitchen.


"I charge one hundred dollars for a reading normally, I have given Willow a
reading already today. But somehow I don't think you're here for a reading
Mr. Giles." Madelyn replied pointing at the table for the group to sit down.


"Are you a...?"

"Three-eyed demon." Madelyn said changing into her normal form and opening
the refrigerator. She pulled out the pitcher of lemonade and then some
glasses from the cabinet. 

"I thought it was wiser to open the door in human form, I could feel Kate,
and her weapon at the door. I do hate being shot." Madelyn explained as she
poured them all a glass of lemonade. 

"And you're a redemptionist?" Giles asked carefully. 

"I was actually born after that time period. I am not that old, well in the
terms you are talking about. But I follow the redemption path. I work for
the Powers That Be when they call me. Mostly I am just like you. Raising my
children, paying the bills. I do readings for people. It pays the bills just
barely. Three of my children have jobs and help out. We wouldn't make it
without their help. My husband left us his pension, but it's not that much,
the children miss their father. And yes he was human, I can hear your
thoughts when they are directed at me." Madelyn replied before drinking her
own lemonade. 

"How do we know you work for the Powers?" Giles asked bluntly.

"How do I know you work for them either?" Madelyn shot back

"I am hear about a prophecy. Can you help me?" Giles asked

"Depends on what the prophecy is? There are so many." Madelyn asked evenly.

"What do you know about the Shadowwalker?" Giles asked. 

"That is a difficult question. The Shadowwalker will come; She will have
been a slayer in her human life. Which is why the counsel has you looking
into it. The counsel knows more than they are telling you, but you must be
used to that. Pompous bunch, I really couldn't work for them myself."
Madelyn replied taking another drink.

"The counsel didn't tell me anything about it." Giles replied with anger.

"Well they should have. They have files and seers. They know as much as I
do...So it was your dream that sent you here with the prophecy?" Madelyn
asked. 

"What do you know of my dream?" Giles said jumping up and griping the demon
around the throat. He was in full Ripper mode. 

Tara's hand was over the top of his, gently pulling his fingers back. "Giles
the children are in the next room, children with very human little souls.
She isn't evil. I feel it." Tara whispered as she pulled his fingers loose. 

"We are all having the dream, Xander and Anya too." Willow replied. 

"I see." Giles said, a little disappointed he wasn't alone in his visions.
He still felt guilt over Buffy's death. 

"So Buffy is coming back as the Shadowwalker." Giles stated. 

"A slayer will be rejected by heaven and hell. She will be your
Shadowwalker. Yes, the prophecy is true. But it's not that simple. It never
is. The when and where are never given out. You know how prophecies work,
Mr. Giles. This isn't about prophecy anyway, this is about guilt, guilt you
need to let go of. She was a slayer, a great slayer, but slayers always die,
as do all humans. She died so others may live. It was her destiny. Her gift
to the world. Don't take that away from her greatness because you feel you
failed her, she would be the first to tell you how wrong that belief is. Mr.
Giles your visions are about the future, not the past. Let go of the past,
and deal with your dreams." Madelyn replied as she finished her drink and
rubbed her neck. 

"By the way I charge double when I am bruised. And I take cheques." Madelyn
replied, getting up from the table. 

"Wait!" Giles yelled though he didn't move. He reached into her pocket and
pulled out his wallet. "Wolfram and Hart has her sister. Why?"

Giles pulled out three hundred dollars and tossed the large bills on the
table. Madelyn picked them up and held the money in her hands. "She is not
really her sister, she is still the key. Evil would see her as a weapon,
though they don't understand how to use her as such. I think they think of
her as a nuclear weapon, something to stockpile against the enemy. They
can't really use her as Glory tried to, that would end their 'factor floor',
always hated that term. And the key will have power of her own. She was
modeled after Buffy Summers, her DNA. The one called Dawn Summer's future is
not set. Like all humans. But she is part of the dream. She will have to
find her own pathway here. She is not in danger now, but you can not trust
Wolfram and Hart. For the present she is safer there. But only for now." 

"I will give you both my phone number. I do not wish to meet with you in my
home. It is not safe for the children. If I tell you something you do not
wish to hear, well I don't want the children to see." Madelyn said, as she
pulled her collar down just enough to let Giles see the bruises forming
around her neck. 

"I am sorry." Giles replied. He didn't often feel bad about beating up on
demons, but this time he really knew he was wrong. 

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The tired shoppers piled into the living room. They had picked up pizza and
maternity clothes. As they piled into the room Cordelia got a strong feeling
something was wrong.

"Where is Madelyn?" Buffy asked as she rolled into the living room. She
could feel the wrongness covering her. 

"She had a lot of visitors today. One of them got a little rough." Josh
whispered. 

Buffy frowned as she speed out of the room in her wheelchair. Buffy was
banging into walls as she tried to speed down the hall to Madelyn's bedroom.


"I am all right Buffy, it was nothing." Madelyn said coming out of her room
where she had gone to take a nap.

"You are not all right, I feel it, let me see." She demanded trying to pull
herself up in the hall. After several tries she fell out of her wheelchair
and began to crawl toward Madelyn. 

"Buffy I am fine." The demon said bending down and finally sitting on the
floor in front of Buffy.

"Let me see what he did to you." Buffy stated with anger.

"He didn't mean to hurt me. Powerful magic was involved, people get heated."
Madelyn replied as Buffy crawled up into her lap and pulled her shirt collar
down.

"Giles still should not have done that." Buffy said putting her hand on
Madelyn's neck. Her hand started to glow and Madelyn felt the bruise soften
and disappear. 

"I never said it was your Mr. Giles." Madelyn said carefully.

"I can smell them. Giles, Willow and Tara, and someone else. I know her
smell, on Angel. Someone Angel knows. He shouldn't have hurt you." Buffy
said this time kissing Madelyn's shoulder. She was awkwardly-still in the
demon's lap stretched out on the floor holding herself up with her arms. 

"He loved you very much. Like a father. He blames himself for your death,
and the pain of your loss is still inside him. I understand why he is like
this. I was the same when Adam died. And I am a demon. Watchers are trained
to treat all demons as evil. It's part of his nature. It's more surprising
that he can change that nature. He apologized. I didn't expect that of a
watcher." Madelyn said pulling Buffy over and into her arms holding her like
she might one of her children.

"He will be angry when he finds out I know all about you and did not tell
him. He will think I lied to him, and in a way I did. He is close to the
truth; so close he can not see it. But they must come to the truth in their
own way or not at all. Their rules not mine." Madelyn said the last part
pointing at the ceiling with one finger. 

"Their rules at times, suck." Buffy stated and they both laughed. "Cordy,
Nada can you two get me back in my chair?" Buffy said without even looking
up at them. They were both in the hall. 






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