FF: Rewrite Season 6 = 13/15 - B/F W/T - R

["carrkjar" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Rewrite Season 6, part 13
Ashes to Ashes

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Acknowledgments: Note: Plot collaborated on by Hunter Ash and Dark 
Gremlin 
Suggestions from many people and many boards. A special "thank you" 
to them.
 
Another special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick 
(pisces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) for her transcripts.  

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. No harm intended.  
The character of Maggie Doyle belongs to whoever created ER and I'm 
just borrowing the absent character.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same and opposite gender. If this offends or 
is illegal for you, then please leave. Come back when you are older, 
have an open mind, moved, or changed your laws. 

Spoilers: In my universe here, Season 6 is happening again! Starting 
with Bargaining and taking off from there. Things will be different 
here.  

Rating: R (US), 15 (UK), MA (Aus) Pairings: W/T, X/An, B/?

Summary: What happens to Willow now that Tara is dead? Things aren't 
as they seem but the consequences could be permanent for Witch and 
Slayers alike.

* * *

Buffy couldn't believe it, she had felt Tara die. She had actually 
felt and seen Tara's life line, her soul, leave her body and 
disconnect from her and Dawn. The Slayer also felt Willow trying to 
follow her lover, unwilling to let go.

Even now Buffy wasn't sure if Willow wouldn't just give up and die.  
The witch didn't seem to hear them as she lay curled in Buffy's bed, 
staring at nothing.

Dawn was crying endlessly and Giles looked older than she had ever 
seen him as they sat in the living room, wondering what to do and how 
to strike back against Ethan and Spike.

"Buffy?" Riley asked softly as the Slayer walked down the stairs 
towards the living room. "I'm sorry, I can have a strike team 
standing by, whatever you need."

"Thank you, Riley," Buffy said politely, not really registering his 
words.

Anya moved to answer the phone when Buffy merely stared at its 
ringing.

"Hello?" she answered softly and her eyes widened.

"Buffy! It's Faith!"

Buffy grabbed the phone before Anya had finished Faith's name.

"Faith? Where?" Buffy demanded.

"Angel's old mansion!" Faith gasped. "Hurry, B! Get here before dark!"

Buffy hung up the phone and dashed for the stairs. "Grab weapons! 
I'll get Willow! Angel's mansion!"

The Slayer threw the door to her room open.

"Willow!" she shouted and then stopped suddenly, looking at an empty 
bed and an open window.

"Damn," Buffy muttered and dashed back down the stairs. "Willow's 
gone!"

"Where the hell would she go?" Anya complained.  

"Revenge," Xander said solemnly. "Can she do it?"

"Do you mean, can she get her magical energy back?" Giles questioned 
the question. "Yes, she can. Probably not from the most ethical of 
sorcerers either. If the question is whether Willow is capable of 
revenge, well, she did go after Glory when Tara was hurt."

"Okay, let's get to Faith and then we'll find Willow," Buffy growled, 
heading for the door.

"She might actually find Ethan and Spike for us," Anya said, trying 
for a positive note in her voice.

"Yeah, but do we stop Will?" Xander asked as they headed for the cars.

Giles frowned. "Revenge through magic is not a nice path to start 
down on and Ethan is human."

"I'm tired of messing with him!" Buffy complained. "If he killed 
Tara I'm not sure my ethics are going to hold up, Giles."

* * *

Faith was waiting in the main room of the mansion, her back against a 
wall when the gang rushed in, weapons drawn and ready for a fight.

The brunette Slayer didn't even look up as they entered, she 
continued staring at the body she had placed in the shackles.  

"Oh my God, Tara," Giles muttered and started towards the chains.

"Don't get near her, Giles," Faith growled. "It's getting dark."

Giles nodded and moved a little slower and lifted Tara's head to one 
side and then the other, finding the fang marks and the traces of 
blood around his young Wiccan's mouth he knew would be there. The 
Englishman felt for a pulse, knowing he wouldn't find one.

"Is she?" Buffy asked as she knelt beside Faith, quickly examining 
the other Slayer.

"Something's not right," Giles muttered. The former sorcerer 
muttered something and made some gestures, forming a symbol on Tara's 
forehead with her own blood. Xander caught Giles as he stumbled 
back.  

"Tara's not dead," he announced with a tired smile. "I think she put 
herself into something like a suspended state. It keeps her soul from 
being separated from her body and the body from final death."

"What does that mean? Is she turned or not?" Riley demanded, pulling 
a stake out of his trouser leg pocket.

"Don't even think about it, Riley!" Buffy growled and stepped in 
front of him.

"Stake her before she wakes up!" Riley snapped.

"I'll ram that up a very uncomfortable place if you don't back off," 
Buffy threatened.

"She wouldn't want to be a vamp, B," Faith said softly.

"Well, that's the problem," Giles said, stepping between Tara and the 
others. "She's not a vampire but she's not alive either. I?I don't 
know how to bring her out of it. I need Willow for this."

"To do what?" Riley demanded. "To give a vampire a soul, like that 
vampire you dated?"

"It was more than dating, Riley," Buffy complained.  

"What's the point?" Riley snapped. "Have a vampire who feels guilt 
and can't kill anyone or even be happy?"

"We could do the spell without the 'get happy lose soul' bit," Xander 
suggested.

"Tara is our best friend and Willow's mate," Buffy growled. "I don't 
want to do this without her opinion!"

"Where the hell is she then?" Xander grumbled as Buffy examined 
Faith's ripped and bleeding hands and wrists.

* * *

"Hey, aren't you a little young, human and naïve to be in a place 
like this?" Willie squeaked as a very distraught red-head approached 
the bar.

"I need answers and you usually have them for a friend of mine," 
Willow said softly, flashing a folded twenty dollar bill in her palm.

"Who would that be?" Willie asked, leaning forward and keeping his 
voice low.

"The Slayer," Willow said softly.  

Willie quickly looked around to check that no one else heard the 
young woman.  

"What do you want and it'd better not be dangerous or the Slayer will 
have my head!" Willie hissed.

"I need a major magic boost: high level, quick, and I'm not picky," 
Willow whispered.

Willie stepped back and looked at the young woman in front of him.  
He was accustomed to hearing the strangest requests from his patrons. 
Patrons who ranged from humans to demons and Willie knew them all.  
The bar owner also knew how to read people, demons, vampires and 
werewolves. Willie, being human, needed that skill to stay alive in 
the world of demons and darkness. The girl in front of him was 
barely hanging onto sanity by a thread and Willie knew it.

"Go home to the Slayer," Willie advised. "Do whatever you need to do 
to grieve but don't go through with this."

"Do I have to make a general announcement to the whole damned bar 
what I'm looking for?" Willow hissed.

Willie knew that would only get the girl killed and probably right in 
front of him in his bar. That would bring the Slayer down on his 
neck and Willie didn't want a pissed off Slayer down on him.

"Quiet!" Willie growled. "Look, the only ones who will give you what 
you want deal in either cash or service, sometimes both. You're gonna 
get yourself hurt or killed!"

"Do I look like I care?" Willow growled back. "Well, I don't! As 
long as I take someone with me!"

"Oh man, oh man!" Willie whined. "The Slayer's gonna kill me!"

"Shut up and tell me!" Willow demanded, shoving the twenty into 
Willie's shirt pocket.

Willie hesitated and then looked around the bar. "Hey, Rack! You 
free for a minute?"

Willow glanced sideways and watched as the man Willie had yelled at 
came over from a table in the corner. The man was tall, husky built 
and had one eye covered with a leather eye patch.

Rack's hair hung down over his face, almost hiding the eye patch 
until he turned to appraise the girl in front of Willie.  

Willow wasn't surprised that he was dressed all in black; that was 
pretty typical for demon bars, even down to the leather pants. She 
could feel the energy dancing off of him.

Rack looked down at Willow and smiled.

"Hello, Strawberry," the sorcerer said softly. "You've played with 
power."

"I want it back!" Willow hissed, her eyes flashing.

"There's a price," Rack whispered, leaning over the girl.

"I want enough for revenge," Willow whispered back.  

"High price, Strawberry," Rack smiled, wrapping an arm around her 
shoulder. "Who died?"

"My mate," Willow clenched her jaw, fighting back the tears.

"Then revenge is a good reason and a reduced price," Rack smiled and 
turned Willow towards the door. "Come with me and we'll get you set 
up."

* * *

"How long can she stay like this?" Buffy demanded as the sun began to 
set on the horizon. It was really eerie to look at Tara. She looked 
dead, Buffy's Slayer senses told the woman that she was dead but 
Giles said there was hope.  

"I don't know," Giles admitted. "I'm guessing not much longer before 
we lose her soul and the body dies."

"And she's turned into a vamp," Riley growled as Sam put a 
restraining hand on his arm.

"Very likely," Giles nodded.

Buffy turned away and collapsed against the wall next to Faith.

"Buffy, I'm sorry," Faith said softly.  

"Don't be, you knew it was a long shot," Buffy growled, glancing back 
at the body of her best friend's lover, someone Buffy had become very 
close to. "I?are we doing the right thing?"

"I don't know, B," Faith admitted. "I wouldn't want to be a vamp, 
even with a soul. I don't know how Angel does it."

"Where the hell is Will? God, we can't lose her too!" Buffy 
whimpered. 

* * *

Willow frowned as Rack stood in front of an alley. She could feel 
the energy humming and looked around but couldn't locate the source.

The sorcerer waved his hand causing a doorway to appear and the door 
opened.

Willow smiled. The dislocation shielding spell wasn't low level.

Rack motioned her inside and Willow crossed the threshold and 
shivered. The place reeked of stale cigarettes, cheap alcohol and 
something the red head couldn't quite place.  

The sorcerer walked up behind her and placed his hands on her 
shoulders. Willow tried not to wince as he moved closer.

"You sure, Strawberry? You've only tasted power, what you're asking 
for can send a young thing like you over an edge you don't even want 
to look at," Rack whispered, nuzzling her neck.

Willow couldn't stand it and pulled away.

"Sorry, wrong gender for me," Willow muttered. "No offense."

"None taken," Rack smiled. "Just think about this next step."

"How much?" Willow demanded.

"How far will you fall?" Rack asked with a smirk.  

"How much money for the magic?" Willow demanded and accepted it when 
Rack moved closer, taking her hand and pulling her down onto a sofa.

"You've got enough, just sit back and relax," Rack cooed, running his 
fingers through her hair. "You'll have enough to send anyone you 
want to hell."

"Painfully," Willow whispered, closing her eyes.

Rack's eyes lit up with delight.

"More than enough to send yourself to hell, Strawberry," Rack 
promised. "Get ready for the roller coaster."

Willow nodded, accepting the magic and the touch.

* * *

Xander's head dropped forward as he held a sleeping Anya in his arms.

Giles was curled up against the opposite wall from Buffy, Faith and 
Dawn, while Riley and Sam kept watch, waiting for Ethan or Spike to 
return for Tara.

Buffy knew Spike probably would be back for Tara as she attacked 
Faith. Anything to hurt the Scooby Gang.

The blonde Slayer remembered how he tried to attack Willow when he 
had escaped from the Initiative, only to discover he was chipped. He 
had gone to the room she shared with Willow. Anything to hurt her, 
the Slayer knew.

Riley glanced over at the Slayer with a snarl. He wanted to be the 
one she turned to when she was hurting this bad but she was holding 
Faith in one arm and Dawn in the other. It should be him and Sam 
taking care of her, he growled.

He should be in charge and in control.

* * *

Willow stumbled from Rack's hidden dive and leaned against the alley 
wall for support. She was tempted to release a couple of lightning 
bolts or something to drain some of it off, it was so hard to hold 
onto it. It felt like she was standing too close to a static machine 
at a Science Fair.

Willow sighed and extended her psychic senses. She knew Spike well 
enough and Ethan had touched her during the spell to bring Buffy 
back. The witch knew she could find both of them.

The hacker's magic black eyes snapped open suddenly.

"Tara?"

* * *

"Giles!" Buffy snapped after another hour of waiting. "They're not 
coming and we're running out of time! What do we do to save her?"

"I can't," Giles protested. "I don't know."

"Rupert, you have to," a voice insisted, stopping Buffy's tears 
instantly as she looked up into her mother's face.

"Mom?" she whispered.

"Mrs. S?" Faith asked softly.

"Willow is mentally out of reach right now, to save Tara's soul, you 
must move quickly," Joyce spirit insisted.  

"Where's Willow?" Buffy demanded, jumping to her feet.

"Beyond reason right now," Joyce said sadly. "You have to bring 
Tara's soul back if you hope to save Willow."

"Giles?" Buffy whimpered.

"I don't have that level of skills!" Giles complained.

"Ripper does," Joyce spirit said calmly.

"I'm not Ripper!" Giles snapped.  

"Giles, please, if you can bring her back," Buffy begged. "I can't 
lose both of them."

"I can't give into Ripper!" Giles protested. "Don't you see? That's 
what Ethan wants! There?there's a large difference between Giles and 
Ripper. I don't even remember most of what Ripper would. I can't! You 
might not get Giles back!"

"Tara used the last of her magic to tap into the connection the four 
girls have, that's why her life line faded," Joyce said calmly. "Use 
that connection and the Slayer and Key strength to bring back her 
life."

"But Willow isn't here," Xander protested.

"I'm here." 

"Willow!" Dawn cried out excitedly and ran to the red-head standing 
in the doorway heading to the kitchen area. 

"I came in the back," Willow said softly, standing in the shadows as 
she hugged Dawn.

"Willow?" Buffy asked softly, getting to her feet.

"B, something's wrong," Faith said softly.

"Willow?" Xander asked, standing up and reaching back to help Anya to 
her feet.

Dawn pulled back from hugging Willow with a puzzled look.

"You okay?" Dawn squeaked.

Willow stepped into the light and Buffy felt Faith's hand tighten in 
hers, never having seen Willow's eyes totally blackened with magic 
before.  

Buffy had once before, when Glory had hurt Tara and Willow had been 
bent on revenge.

"We have to hurry," Willow said softly, moving over to her lover's 
body and caressing Tara's cheek lovingly. "She can't hold on much 
longer."

"How? What?" Giles questioned.

"I got a magic boost and felt Tara's soul wasn't gone," Willow 
explained. "I followed it here."

"Will," Buffy said slowly, approaching her friend. "What did you do?"

"Took a short cut," Willow snapped, her eyes flashing angrily at 
Buffy before turning back to Tara, her face softening. "Let's do 
this, Giles, she doesn't have much time before the cord fades 
totally."

"I can't, Willow," Giles said softly. "I can't let Ripper out like 
that, not with magic. Ethan will win."

"He won't be around to win," Willow said firmly.

"She's crossed that line I warned you about," Riley growled, his hand 
resting on his stun gun.

Willow turned with a growl, an energy bolt hitting the soldier in the 
center of his chest. 

Sam rushed over to check her dazed husband and quickly held him back 
from attacking Willow again. 

"We're in this mess because of your damned paranoia and desire to 
hurt Buffy!" Willow shouted. "If I wasn't in hiding, Ethan wouldn't 
have grabbed Tara and Dawn!"

"Will!" Buffy shouted, putting herself between Riley and the enraged 
witch.

Willow clenched her fist and glared at her best friend but turned 
back to Tara.

"Giles, either help me or get out of here!" Willow snapped.

"Willow, you don't have the strength to bring her back without their 
help," Joyce said softly, almost fading from sight.

"I can," Willow said firmly.

"Only if you exchange your life for hers," Joyce countered.

"If that's what it takes," Willow growled, unlocking the chains and 
lowering Tara's body to the floor.

"Giles?' Buffy asked softly.

Giles shook his head, looking miserable. "If you, Faith and Dawn are 
willing."

"Me?" Faith stammered.

"You are a Slayer," Giles pointed out and sat down near Willow as she 
cradled Tara's body in her arms, tears streaking her face.

Faith immediately raised her hand and Buffy pulled the dark Slayer up 
to her feet and wrapped an arm around Faith's waist as the dark 
Slayer wrapped hers around Buffy's shoulder. Together they worked 
their way to sit near Willow and Tara, beginning to form a circle 
around them with Giles.

Dawn rushed over and sat opposite her sister.

"I don't think Dawn should be involved in this," Riley 
protested. "This could be dangerous."

"Shut up, Riley!" Dawn snapped as Xander and Anya sat down.

Riley glared at the teenager but stayed next to Sam and closed his 
mouth. 

"Xander, Anya?" Giles questioned.

"We're in this too!" Xander said firmly. "You can use our energy to 
help."

Anya nodded. "You guys accepted me and don't hold my past against 
me. That means you're friends and friends help in times of crisis."

Giles smiled and nodded gratefully.

"How can we help, Mr. Giles?" Sam asked softly.

"Just keep an eye out for Ethan and Spike and keep Riley calm, 
please."

"How do we do this, guys?" Buffy asked softly as Willow rocked Tara's 
body.

"Willow? Joyce?"

"Ripper knows who and how to invoke," Joyce advised and faded from 
sight.

"I can't just summon the bastard!" Giles protested.

"Giles, please," Buffy begged.

Giles stood up and walked over to a wall and leaned his head against 
it.  

Buffy got up and followed him. "Come on, Giles! Time to kick it in!" 
she snapped.

"Back off, Buffy!" Giles snapped. "You're asking me to turn into 
something like Angeleus!"

"If it'll save Willow and Tara, I'll chance bringing my Giles back," 
Buffy said firmly.

"You want Ripper? You won't like it!" Giles growled.

Buffy narrowed her eyes and reached out and shoved the ex-Watcher 
against the wall, hard.

"Come on!" she dared her Watcher.

Giles growled and closed his eyes, letting images of Tara hanging in 
the chains run through his mind; letting his mind absorb the sound of 
Willow's tears; the sight of Willow with magic black eyes.  

Buffy hit him twice, low in the back, getting another growl out of 
him.

Giles remembered Ethan and Spike. The blonde vampire taunting them, 
the sorcerer draining Willow and Tara.  

He could see Spike tormenting Tara as he drained her and shouted in 
anger, spinning around as he attempted to backhand his Slayer.

Buffy ducked and dashed back to her place in the circle as Giles 
glared at them.

Ripper took Giles' glasses off and turned back to the wall, raising 
his hands and beginning an invocation in ancient Latin.

Buffy and the others felt their hair standing up on the back of their 
necks as the lanterns they brought in dimmed and an eerie yellow glow 
surrounded them.

It felt like an hour that the Englishman chanted and gestured but 
Buffy knew it was probably closer to a half hour. It was still a 
very long time to sit on the cold floor as Willow held Tara in her 
arms.

Ripper turned suddenly and thrust his hands towards the group with a 
shout.

Buffy felt her body jerk and heard Anya scream and Faith's hand 
tighten in hers.

The Slayer whimpered and tried to open her eyes. It felt like 
something was being ripped from her with a welding torch.

"Dawn?!" Buffy screamed, she could hear Dawn's higher pitched scream 
above everyone else's.

The blonde Slayer opened her eyes and saw everyone in the same 
contorted position of having their heads thrown back and arms 
outstretched, as if they were being crucified.  

The murky yellow energy lines were all flowing into Willow and Tara.

Anya moaned and fell over unconscious followed by a weakened Faith.

Willow placed Tara's body on the floor and slowly got to her feet, 
taking in all the energy Giles was forcing from the Slayers, Key and 
friends.

Buffy whimpered, seeing Willow's blackened eyes watching them.

The red-haired witch raised her arms slowly, pulling in the energy 
and then pointed them at Tara, shouting something in Latin ? severing 
the energy flow and throwing it at Tara's body.

Buffy, Dawn and Xander fell back, unconscious.

* * *

"What do you mean something went wrong and the witch isn't dead?" 
Spike shouted as Ethan leaned back in his chair, the black mirror he 
had been scrying into falling away from his hands onto the table.

"Just what I said you idiot vampire!" Ethan shouted back. "You left 
the witch alive and they saved her life!"

"No way! I've been doing this for centuries! I know when someone is 
dead and turned!" Spike yelled.

"Maybe when those brats overloaded that chip of yours they fried some 
more of your brain cells!" Ethan yelled.

Ethan lifted a cross in Spike's face as the vampire launched himself 
at the sorcerer.

"Damn, you Wanker!" Spike shouted and grabbed a chair, smashing it 
against the wall. "So what's your brilliant plan now?"

"Keep it simple," Ethan muttered. "Kill them all but bring Giles to 
me."

"And why should I do that?" Spike demanded. "I wanted to do that 
from the start!"

"Shut up and just go kill them," Ethan growled.  

Spike slammed his hand down on the table and started for the door.

"Just beware of Willow," Ethan said softly.

"What now?" Spike demanded. "You drained her of the magic."

"She got it back and she's totally brassed off at both of us," Ethan 
smirked.

"Bugger!" Spike complained and slammed out the door.

* * *

Xander moaned, it felt like he had attempted to ride a very angry 
bull and had paid for it, twice. The young man rolled over and 
brushed Anya's hair out of her face. 

"An? Anya?" he whispered and tried to sit up.

Anya frowned as she began to move and regain consciousness. Xander 
sighed with relief and looked around slowly for his friends, his 
family.

Buffy was beginning to stir along with Faith but Dawn was still 
unconscious along with Tara.

Xander frowned and sat up, trying to figure what was out of place and 
he whimpered.

"Willow? Giles?" he muttered.

Buffy moaned, rolled over and opened her eyes as she got to her knees.

"Riley?!" Buffy snapped, jumping to her feet and running over to the 
soldier as he groaned. The blonde Slayer hesitated, taking in the 
sight of Riley pinned to the wall with his own military knives, one 
through each wrist.  

Sam was unconscious at his feet.

"Riley!" Buffy cried and pulled one of the daggers out and then the 
other, catching the man in her arms and lowering him to the floor 
next to Sam.  

Xander helped Anya sit up and then sat Dawn up as she struggled to 
wake up.

"Xander, take off your shirt and rip it into bandages," Buffy 
snapped.  

Xander nodded and moved to obey as Faith whimpered and looked around, 
clutching her injured wrists and hands to her chest.

"B?" she called.

"I don't know," Buffy growled. "Willow and Giles are missing and 
Riley was pinned to the damned wall!"

"Willow," Riley whispered through gritted teeth. "She and Giles are 
going after Ethan and Spike. I told them to leave it to a strike 
team, that we'd put Ethan back in a cell and stake Spike this time."

"You idiot! What happened?" Xander shouted.

Buffy took the strips of Xander's shirt and began wrapping them 
around Riley's wrists with a frown.

"I did my job!" Riley snapped. "I tried to stop them from going out 
to kill a human!"

"You pulled a knife on Giles and Willow?" Buffy demanded and saw the 
answer in Riley's eyes. "Oh God, they've both gone over the edge."

"Willow just looked at me and my knives were ripped out of my hand 
and turned in mid-air, facing me," Riley said softly, a little awe in 
his voice. "Then I was pinned to the wall like a bug."

"That's what Glory was about to do when Willow faced her with 
daggers," Buffy muttered.  

Buffy remembered very well the sight of the Hell Goddess about to 
crucify her best friend. They had barely saved Willow and slowed 
Glory down from following them.

"What do we do, Buff?" Xander asked as Faith crawled over to them and 
Dawn checked Sam.

"Riley's right, we can't let them kill Ethan," Buffy frowned.

"Who says?" Xander grumbled. "In case somebody didn't notice, Spike 
and Ethan just tried to kill Tara and they hurt Willow and Faith 
really bad!"

"Ethan deserves to be in jail, he's human," Buffy protested 
automatically.

"Yeah, right," Xander growled as Faith frowned. "Captain America's 
group did a fine job keeping him locked up. He only turned Giles into 
a demon last time, a demon you almost killed!"

"You're saying we should step aside and let Willow kill someone?" 
Buffy countered.

"Oh God," Xander whispered. "Not, Will. I could kill Ethan but not 
Will."

"Guys, something's wrong with Tara!" Anya yelled, interrupting them.

Buffy left Riley to look after a shaken Sam to rush over to Tara's 
side.

"What's wrong?" Buffy demanded.

"I don't know," Anya whimpered. "Her energy is wrong."

"She's right, B," Faith said softly. "Something is weird. I can 
sense you and Dawn and I think Willow. Tara's energy is different."

"Mom!" Buffy shouted and Joyce appeared next to Tara.  

The blonde Slayer felt her heart begin beating faster when she saw 
her mother's saddened face as her mother took Tara into her arms and 
stroked her hair.

"Mom? What happened?"

"Something that is going to test all of you, test your love and 
friendship," Joyce said softly as the others gathered around, 
including Riley and Sam. "The only way to save Tara was to use 
Ripper."

"Okay, I brought Ripper out, what happened?" Buffy snapped.

"Ripper was a sorcerer, Buffy," Joyce began explaining. "He didn't 
work very many positive spells or workings."

Buffy sat down on the floor next to Tara and pulled the injured Faith 
and Dawn into her arms on either side.

"You told us to use Ripper!" Xander complained. "What did he do to 
Tara?"

"He and Willow harnessed the unique energy of the Slayers and Dawn as 
the Key and channeled it into Tara," Joyce frowned as she pondered 
how to explain. "It was something like rewiring a stereo into 
becoming a transmitter, only in this case it's the reverse."

"Go on," Buffy nodded, putting the question of Faith in her arms, on 
a back mental burner.

"Tara was about to be turned into a vampire," Joyce said softly. "To 
counter that and keep her soul, Willow and Giles rewired her into a 
different kind of vampire. One that doesn't require blood or enough 
energy to kill."

"Vampire? What type of vampire?" Riley demanded, his hands hanging 
uselessly in front of him.

"A psychic vampire, something like a succubus without the sex," Joyce 
explained. "She'll have to feed on a person's energy to stay alive."

"You should have let her die!" Riley growled.

"Drop dead, Finn," Xander snapped.  

"Mom?" Buffy whispered, watching Tara.

"She's not evil, Buffy," Joyce assured her daughter. "She's still 
Tara."

"But?" Xander questioned.

"The trauma of having Tara changed so drastically and nearly killed 
sent Willow over the edge. She wants revenge, not justice," Joyce 
answered, laying Tara back down on the floor as the blonde witch 
began to stir.

"Is Tara dangerous?" Xander asked with a frown as Anya wrapped her 
arms around his waist.

"No, as long as she isn't close to dying again," Joyce smiled and 
stood up. "The best choice would be those she's now connected with."

"Me, Dawn and Willow?" Buffy asked.

"And Faith now," Joyce said, beginning to fade. "Keep the connection 
strong and there'll be no difference with Tara. Now find Willow and 
Giles and get them back."

"Mom! Wait! Where do we find them?" Buffy demanded but Joyce's spirit 
was gone.

"Damnit!" Faith muttered. "I can't lift a stake or walk, soldier boy 
over there is out of action and his girlfriend still looks shook up. 
I'm usually up for any fight but I gotta tell you that Red looked 
pretty intimidating."

"I saw her hold off a Hell God," Buffy nodded.  

"I'm calling in a Strike Team," Riley announced. "They can take 
Tara, Willow, Giles and Ethan into temporary custody. Once Willow and 
Giles are themselves again, they'll be released."

"And Tara?" Buffy demanded, jumping to her feet to look up into 
Riley's eyes.

"She'll need to be observed and studied until we're sure she's not a 
danger," Riley said firmly. "Your ghost friend said she was a new 
type of Hostile. We need to study that."

"Over my dead body, Sgt. Rock," Xander growled and Anya nodded.

"Joyce Mom said she wasn't dangerous, that's good enough," Anya 
snapped.

"Not for the government," Riley shook his head, his jaw set firm.

"You're not taking Tara," Buffy said just as firmly.

"You can't stop us, Buffy," Riley said softly. "We know how to deal 
with you and your friends this time."

"Ry?" Sam asked softly, her face troubled. "We need to find Willow 
and Giles before they do something they can't live with. That should 
be our first concern."

"Our first concern is always the mission parameters," Riley 
nodded. "Eliminate the threat of Willow Rosenberg and anyone else in 
Sunnydale I feel is a threat."

"Take him to the hospital, Sam," Buffy said softly, her voice a 
growl. "Keep him there and take away the goddamn cell phone. You 
won't like it if you come after Tara, Willow or Giles!"

"Empty threat, killer," Riley smirked. "You can't hurt humans, 
remember?"

Buffy's hand snapped up, breaking Riley's nose and sending the 
soldier flying backwards, landing on his tailbone.

"Slayers don't KILL humans, jerk," Buffy corrected. "Nothing in the 
rules about hurting them when called for. Stay away from us, all of 
us!"

Buffy ignored everyone staring at her in amazement as she helped 
Faith to her feet.  

Riley held his bleeding nose and glared at his former girlfriend, his 
eyes narrowing as Buffy gently wrapped her arms around Faith's waist.

Sam pulled out her cell phone as Buffy turned away.