Repost FF Children of the Earth (10/10) Part 1

["Willow X" <willowxbvsb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry guys ... I'm reposting Chapter 10 in two parts so it will be easier to 
read.

Thanks

WillowX

Title: Children of the Earth, Chapter 10 of 10
Author: WillowX
Feedback: Here?s your last chance. If you read the whole story please drop 
me a line and tell me if you liked it. willowxbvsb@xxxxxxxxxxx
Rating: NC-17
Classification/Pairing: B/W romance
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox.
Summary: This chapter actually begins before the last section of Chapter 
9 just so you see what was happening to Willow while Buffy was off trying to 
save Dawn. Seeing as how it has been a while since I last posted, I 
prepared a small review of details and foreshadowing from previous Chapters 
that will culminate in this one. Enjoy.

In previous Chapters??


Chapter 4

?You?re not listening again. You must learn to listen? listening will be the 
key. I said YOUR spell will be successful.? Willow sat in shocked silence 
for a few minutes as Hope fully appreciated the expression on her face. She 
smiled broadly, leaned in really close, and whispered, ?Why do you think it 
hurts so much? Why do you suppose you?ve endeavored down this path? Why does 
her death cause you so much pain? I saw it the minute you walked up to me 
outside. There is a great tear running down the center of you.? She 
explained.

?I?m ?her soul mate?? Willow asked cautiously, her voice barely above a 
whisper.

?That you are.? Hope finished.

Chapter 7

?Yes?that?s right little one. The Slayers come from a long line of Children 
of the Earth. It was only fitting. They were the God?s favorites. Choosing 
one of them, generation after generation, and returning her powers with the 
purpose of defending the Earth against evil, made sense.? Hope explained?now 
that got Buffy?s attention.

?But you said the Children of the Earth had both strength and mystical 
powers.? Willow stated.

?Good?you were listening.? Hope said with a smile. ?That is correct my 
child. You too are of a long line of Children of the Earth. You see?the 
spell you performed was not really a resurrection spell?but more of a soul 
joining spell. It just so happens that one of the requirements was that one 
of the parties had to have died a physical death by mystical forces. When 
you die, your soul remains in a state of peaceful suspension, in a place 
that is warm and loving. There you wait for the death of your soul mate so 
that you can both be re-born again in the same cycle of life and time. You 
called on Osiris to return her soul to you?the very God that separated you 
both in the first place.? Hope finished with another smile.

Chapter 8

*~*

?That is correct my child. Methos performed that spell centuries ago ?? Hope 
looked at Willow with a steady gaze as if expecting her to figure it out any 
minute. ?He used it to resurrect me! I am of the Children of the Moon?and 
Methos is my other half.? Hope finished with distinct sadness in her eyes.

*~*

?Tell the Slayer if she wants to get the little bint back to meet me 
tomorrow at midnight at our love nest.? Spike chuckled evilly right before 
he walked out, banging Dawn?s body against the doorways as he made his exit.

Chapter 9

?But?her powers?they?ve grown. I can feel it. It?s in the air that 
surrounds us. She is strong. She will surely sense you coming.? Amy said 
referring to Willow.

?Yes?that is true. But I will shield their vision. They will not see the 
evil approaching.? Methos finished with yet another evil smile.

*~*

?Power. I gave you some. I want you to be able to defend yourself. Use it 
wisely.? Willow explained and watched as Tara sat back slowly. She could 
feel Tara?s body humming with strength but she wasn?t worried though. Tara 
could handle it. Her soul was pure.

*~*

?What time is it?? Faith asked.

?A quarter past midnight.? Xander provided.

?We?ve been here a half hour already.? Buffy whispered. Something didn?t 
seem right.

?Looks like your vamp is late for a date, either that or this place is booby 
trapped.? Faith interjected.

?There aren?t signs of anything Buffy. Look at the floors. They are covered 
with dust and dirt. Nobody has walked on these floors in months. The only 
footsteps here are ours.? Xander concluded.

Just then Buffy felt a sharp pain rip through her heart. Something had gone 
desperately wrong. She doubled over in agony with a loud groan. Her vision 
blurred and a bright light appeared in her minds eye. She screamed in fear 
when she saw it. Oh God no. No no no no!!

?Buffy what?s wrong?? Xander screamed as he rushed to her side. Buffy could 
barely breathe the pain was so great. Oh God no.

?This was a decoy. A trap.? She whispered in between gasps.

?What?s wrong? What is she talking about?? Faith asked confused.

Buffy felt her body tremble in Xander?s arms. The pain was devastating. How 
could this be? How did she not see it? How could she be so stupid?

?Buffy! Buffy! You?re freaking me out! Buffy talk to me!? Xander screamed.

She laid her head on the floor and screamed with all her might.

?WILLOW!?


Chapter 10
Nowhere But Here

Here I am ? alone ? in the dark ? sitting on my bed. The bed that used to 
belong to Joyce, that later belonged to Tara and I, but that now ? belongs 
to me and Buffy. This is our bed. Buffy and I are a ?we?. Two months ago 
I sat here wondering if she?d ever speak to me again and now I sit here 
waiting for her to get home ? waiting to hold her in my arms again.

I should be training. I should be preparing for the battle that?s to come, 
but I can?t concentrate right now. I can?t move. I can only think of 
her?of Buffy. In a few minutes it will be midnight and her own battle to 
save Dawn will begin. She?s ok now though. I can sense her. I can feel 
what she?s feeling and I know that she?s safe. As a matter of fact, it?s 
kind of cute, she?s actually missing me right now. The thought of that 
alone makes me smile.

Hope disappeared a few minutes after Buffy left. She didn?t say where she 
was going, just that she had to go. That it was something of great 
importance. I tried inviting myself to the fieldtrip but there was no use, 
she insisted it was something she had to do herself. Her abrupt departure 
concerned me a bit and when she left she was shielding her thoughts from me. 
She hadn?t done that since she arrived and I didn?t find her unexpected 
secrecy very comforting. Suddenly I got very suspicious. I don?t like 
being suspicious ... I?m not generally a suspicious person. Well ... at 
least I try not to be. Ok Ok so there was that one time I was suspicious of 
Oz and Veruca. But...HEY... I wasn?t being the ?jealous girlfriend?, I was 
being the ?diligent Scooby?... she was evil! Ok Ok so I got a little 
suspicious of Faith...but I can?t help it... Faith?s got that whole ?let?s 
get naked? attitude ... I mean ... Have you seen the way she looks at Buffy 
sometimes? ?B this and B that? ... And ... and ... ugghhh head ranting is 
sooo not user friendly. I?m getting tummy rumblings already. What was I 
talking about again?

Hope! Right! Suddenly it became very important for me to find out as much 
as possible about Methos and Hope. Something wasn?t sitting right with me. 
I remembered having seen a book at the Magic Box that mentioned Methos back 
when I was researching the resurrection spell. I asked Tara and Anya to get 
it for me. I?m hoping it will shed some light on our current situation.

After Anya and Tara left it occurred to me that I was alone in the house. 
For the first time in a long time fear consumed me like a burning fire. 
Actually, it was a strange feeling. My head kept telling me I had nothing 
to be afraid of. It reminded me that I am a Sorceress, that I have power, 
that I can sense evil approaching. What could I have to fear?

My heart, however, was having a severe case of the wiggins.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The room was dark except for the dim glow of lighted candles and the smoky 
smell of burning incense filled the air. I closed my eyes momentarily to 
absorb my surroundings. Instantly, a rush fluttered through my body as I 
felt the evil in the room dance around me ? it was invigorating.

?Are you ready to begin Amy?? Methos asked as he looked at me from across 
the smoke of the burning incense. We were sitting on the floor facing each 
other surrounded by an army of candles. My nerve endings were tickling and 
Methos knew it.

?Yes. I am ready.? I responded. Methos carefully opened a wooden box that 
was sitting between us on the floor. Once the lid had been uncovered a 
bright red light shone from within. His face slowly contorted into an evil 
grin.

?This is the Orb of Gehasi.? He explained. My eyes widened in shock.

?Gehasi? The Gehasi?? I asked astounded.

?Yes. The Harvester of Mystical Energy himself. Legend has it that the 
Harvester roamed the Earth stripping witches and sorceresses of their 
powers. He hated women but, more importantly, he hated women with 
authority. In his lifetime he hunted thousands of witches and eviscerate 
their power? storing it here.? He finished as he held the Orb up for me to 
see. A chill ran down my spine.

?Let us begin.? He instructed and I nodded in agreement. This was way 
cool.

?All powerful Lords of the underworld hear my plea
Cover the eyes of the Sorceress so that she can no longer see
Strip her of her strength
Strip her of her power
Make her weak this very hour.?

The Orb of Gehasi began to glow bright red. I stared at the center of it as 
we chanted in unison and, for a second, it seemed as if it incased an ocean 
of blood. For a moment my mind wondered as to how much power that orb, the 
size of a mere baseball, contained. How many lives has it ruined? How many 
witches fell powerless to its hold? And now, thousands of years after its 
creation, it will bring forth the end of the world. The birth of the age of 
evil ... Armageddon.

Yes. This was invigorating indeed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

?I?ve checked the house Boss, she?s the only one home. If we want to attack 
we have to do it now while the others are away.? The vampire explained to 
Spike. We were kneeling in the bushes on the side of my house. Spike had 
my hands and legs tied and he had gagged me with a dirty cloth.

?Did you hear that Nibblette?? Spike hissed into my ear. ?Your sister IS 
as stupid as I always said she was.? He finished evilly.

My body was exhausted from fear. Every single part of me ached. I had no 
idea it was possible to hurt so much. My nose was stuffed from crying and 
it was getting harder and harder for me to breathe through the gag. I?d 
been holding back the urge to vomit for hours. Every breath of air I took 
tasted like blood.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Janice. She woke up about an hour 
ago. The look of anguish on her face was heartbreaking. I might just be a 
teenager but I know what fear looks like. I?ve seen it plenty of times. 
I?ve seen it in Buffy?s eyes. I?ve seen it in Willow?s eyes. I?ve even 
seen it in my own. Janice?s fear, however, is different. She has no idea 
what?s going on, what she?s up against, why they took her. She must be 
wondering what she did to deserve this. Little does she know that the only 
thing she did wrong was choose her friends poorly.

?It?s time to get this circus started then.? Spike said happily. He grabbed 
my hair again and dragged me roughly along the ground as he walked towards 
the back of the house. His demon face grinning proudly.

?Do you know what the best part about the last two years has been?? He 
growled harshly as he walked. All I could do was whimper in response.

?All the knowledge I acquired.? He said with a smile and then chuckled. 
?You see Niblette, now I know how it works. The group. The team. The 
Scooby Gang.? He finished sarcastically and stopped walking when he reached 
the steps to back porch. I couldn?t see Janice but I knew she was somewhere 
behind me. I could hear her muffled crying. Before I had a chance to turn 
to look for her Spike started up his big bad speech again.

?I studied you all from the inside out. I know how you react. For example, 
you see this door here?? He asked as he pointed at the kitchen door. 
?Ordinarily I would be able to walk in without a problem. But you see? your 
sister?s new bitch probably put a bit of the mojo on it.? He chuckled 
again. ?A ?de-invite? I think you call it.? He paused for a moment to 
finish chuckling and then removed the gag that was covering my mouth.

?So now?? He said with threatening eyes, ?I need a Key to get in.? He 
whispered evilly into my face. With one forceful swing he threw my body 
hard against the door. I felt as my bones crushed against the wood and 
glass. The door broke open and the next thing I felt was my head hitting 
the hard kitchen floor. There was hot blood running all over my face, 
covering my eyes so that I couldn?t see. I was panting fiercely against the 
kitchen floor.

?DAWN! OH DAWNIE! LOOKY LOOKY HERE!? Spike singsonged from outside. I 
turned slowly wiping the blood from my eyes and that?s when I saw it. Spike 
was holding Janice. The look on her face. Oh my god?the look on her face.

?Invite me in!? He growled. My heart was pounding vigorously. The 
thumping was so hard I could hardly hear anything else around me.

?Stop it Spike! Stop! She has nothing to do with this! I?m the one you 
want!? I managed to get out through labored breaths.

Spike swung his head backward in a hearty chuckle. ?You?re the one I want? 
You?re the one I want? When are you going to get it? You?re the one nobody 
wants!? With that said he snapped Janice?s arm like a dry twig. I heard 
her muffled holler as her eyes squinted in pain.

?Invite me in or I?ll drink her.? He threatened as he stood at the doorway 
of the kitchen. I couldn?t think. Janice?s eyes were beginning to roll 
back into her head. I hesitated for two seconds and Spike quickly pulled 
her head to the side and sunk his teeth into her. I watched in horror as 
her body went into convulsions from fear.

?OK. Spike stop!!!! Ok.? I screamed through tears. He lifted his head 
slowly as blood dripped from his mouth. Janice was still moving. She was 
still alive.

?Come in Spike. Come in. Come in.? I said as my voice trailed off softly 
between tears. I didn?t want to think anymore I was so exhausted. I 
couldn?t even feel my legs. The smell of blood on me was sickening and I no 
longer had the strength to continue. Just then I heard a familiar voice 
call from behind me.

?DAWN!?

I rolled over slowly and saw Willow. She was shocked to see me and I too 
was shocked to see her. All this time it was Buffy I thought he was after. 
All this time I was expecting him to get a good ass kicking

What have I done? What have I done to Willow?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I sharpened my senses to find evil and roamed the streets of Sunnydale at 
night searching for the moving door. As I walked over the bodies of the 
junkies lying scattered over the floor I knew it was true. Only one person 
could be responsible for this.

?Rack?? I asked confused as I walked into the back room. I was surprised 
to have heard his name mentioned earlier. But I didn?t believe it. I 
couldn?t believe it. Why hadn?t I sensed him before? He turned slowly at 
the sound of my voice and glared in my direction.

?Hope.? He said with a cynical hiss. My chest tightened. It was him...but 
why?

?I thought you were dead.? I exclaimed.

?Correction ? you?d hoped I was dead. Wishing something would happen 
doesn?t automatically make it true.? He responded in a lazy voice.

?That?s not true. I never wished for your death. I would never?? I began 
to explain but he interrupted harshly.

?Don?t patronize me! I know what happened. I don?t need you explaining it 
to me. I was there? remember?? He said with anger dripping from his eyes. 
Of course I remembered. How could I possibly forget? It was one of the 
worst days of my life.

?I still have the scar you gave me as parting gift.? He said as he traced 
his finger over his right eye.

?Your father did that to you!? I countered and his anger increased.

?DON?T YOU DARE!? He threatened.

We stood breathlessly observing each other for a few minutes. What happened 
to him? His features emanated evil. His intentions were all evil. There 
was no good in him. He looked at me, smiled broadly at what I had mentally 
concluded and then proceeded to speak.

?So what is this Mother? Did you come here to assess my intentions? Read 
my mind? Well?go ahead. I wouldn?t want to disappoint you.? He said 
sarcastically and opened his mind to me.

I closed my eyes in pain as all the evil thoughts in his head flooded out 
like a violent river. He was, indeed, very disappointing. The longer I let 
his thoughts invade me the more pain ripped through my soul. Just when I 
thought it couldn?t get any worse I gasped and opened my eyes in agony.

?You?re going to open the Hellmouth!!? I stammered and he smiled broadly in 
response.

?Have you any idea what consequences your actions will bring?? I asked in a 
disciplinary tone.

?Have you?? He asked in response. His question surprised me to say the 
least.

?Well?have you Mother? Have you any idea what consequences YOUR actions 
will bring? Are you willing to take that step? Is the red head really that 
important to you?? He asked.

I stood before my son for the first time in centuries. Nothing about him 
was familiar. Nothing about him was good. He wasn?t even the shell of the 
person I held in my arms such a long time ago. I blamed myself for him. I 
blamed myself for everything that had happened. For not being strong. For 
not doing the right thing. ?Is the red head really that important to me?? 
He had asked.

Yes. She was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When I heard the crashing sound of something breaking I was sure it was 
coming from outside, perhaps the wind blowing a tree against the door, but 
then? I heard the screaming. This was not the wind blowing. I ran out of 
my room, down the hall, and down the stairs. The faster I ran the louder 
the screams became. It sounded like Dawn crying. But?it couldn?t be. I 
made a sharp left turn at the bottom of the stairs and went into the dinning 
room. That?s when I saw it, Dawn on the floor?bleeding. I ran to her as 
quickly as possible.

?DAWN!? I screamed.

Her clothes were filthy and stained with blood. She rolled over slowly and 
I watched as the blood dripped from her forehead. When she finally saw me 
her expression was fear. Intense fear.

?I?m sorry.? She whispered through tears. I couldn?t understand what was 
happening. The door was broken but there was no one there. Had Dawn 
escaped? Did something happen to Buffy? How did she get here?

?Dawnie!! Oh My God Dawnie! What happened to you? What happened?? I 
screamed as I ran to kneel next to her body. She was going into shock. I 
couldn?t understand a word she was saying.

I was leaning over her body trying to help her when all of a sudden I felt 
it ? a strong hand gripped the back of my neck, lifted my body straight up 
in the air, and flung me against the kitchen counter. My vision blurred for 
a moment from the bang of my head against the hard surface. When I focused 
again I wish I hadn?t. Spike?s bloody mouth was an inch away from mine.

?Well well well. Just the Witch I wanted to see.? He growled into my 
mouth.

?GET OUT!? I threatened through gritted teeth.

?Make me!? Spike said with a harsh growl.

I closed my eyes and called on the wind. Nothing!

I called on the water. Nothing!

I called on the Earth. Nothing!

I was powerless before Spike and he knew it. He gripped my neck and 
squeezed slowly. I watched in horror as his eyes gleamed with excitement. 
He finally had me exactly where he wanted.

Leaning in closer he whispered in my ear. ?So your girlfriend hates 
vampires, huh??? Do you think she?ll hate you? I?ll tell you what?if 
you?re a good little Witch I?ll help you hunt her down and kill her later.? 
He said happily as if that was the part he was most looking forward 
too?watching me kill Buffy later. I struggled for him to release me. 
Kicking and twisting and pulling at his hand around my neck.

?Now now now,? he said in a disciplinary tone, ?we can?t have none of that, 
now can we?? He said and strengthened his grip around my neck. I could 
hardly breathe now. The more I struggled the harder he squeezed. Oxygen. 
I need oxygen. With the last bit of strength I had left in me I 
concentrated on calling Buffy. I closed my eyes one last time and called on 
Buffy with all my might................

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We stood around in silence for a few minutes, watching our surroundings 
closely, expecting the attack at any minute. My body was sore from all the 
tension. I felt as if I?ve been at battle for days. And my mind?well my 
mind was deep in thought. Hope?s words to me earlier this afternoon still 
lingered. What's to come? What am I? What decision do I have to make?

?What time is it?? Faith asked.

?A quarter past midnight.? Xander provided.

?We?ve been here a half hour already.? I whispered. Something didn?t seem 
right.

?Looks like your vamp is late for a date, either that or this place is booby 
trapped.? Faith interjected.

?There aren?t signs of anything Buffy. Look at the floors. They are 
covered with dust and dirt. Nobody has walked on these floors in months. 
The only footsteps here are ours.? Xander concluded.

Just then I felt a sharp pain rip through my heart. Something had gone 
desperately wrong. I doubled over in agony with a loud groan. My vision 
blurred and a bright light appeared in my minds eye. I screamed in fear 
when I saw it. Oh God no. No no no no!!

?Buffy what?s wrong?? Xander screamed as he rushed to my side. I could 
barely breathe the pain was so great. Oh God no.

?This was a decoy. A trap.? I whispered in between gasps.

?What?s wrong? What is she talking about?? Faith asked confused.

I felt my body tremble in Xander?s arms. The pain was devastating. How 
could this be? How did I not see it? How could I be so stupid?

?Buffy! Buffy! You?re freaking me out! Buffy talk to me!? Xander 
screamed.

I laid my head on the floor and screamed with all my might.

?WILLOW!?

?Willow what? What?s wrong Buffy? What?s wrong?? Xander repeated 
hysterically. I opened my eyes to look at Xander just in time to see the 
vampire that was stalking us from the skylight.

?Xander? behind you!? I managed to squeal out in pain.

One by one they dropped in on us from the ceiling. The first two found 
themselves face to face with Faith, the Kung Fu Slayer. She wasn?t kidding 
about all the training she underwent with the Council. They were dusted 
just as the next four dropped in. Xander stood and joined Faith with the 
Crossbow. I watched paralyzed in pain as they battled. For every vamp 
Faith and Xander dusted, three more appeared in its place. We were 
surrounded by them and Faith was loosing strength.

?B? Can you move?? She screamed over her shoulder as she cornered two vamps 
against a wall.

?Mmm Hmmm.? I groaned. The pain had been subsiding slowly.

?Then it?s time to go!? Faith concluded. ?Xander grab Buffy and let?s 
dip.?

Xander ran towards me. He was tired and sweaty. His left hand was bleeding 
from a vamp bite but he didn?t stop. With one swift move he flung me over 
his shoulder while Faith held off the other vamps. Once outside Xander laid 
my body on the floor and dropped the weapons bag next to me. He searched 
through it for a few seconds until he pulled out what looked like a water 
gun.

?What?s that?? I asked as I stood slowly. The pain had significantly 
minimized now.

?My secret weapon?the Super Soaker!? Xander responded in awe. I couldn?t 
believe what I was hearing. He had lost his mind. He squeezed the trigger 
slowly and drenched the first vamp. I watched in amazement as the vamp 
started emanating smoke. Suddenly it started making sense.

Xander continued soaking the vamps, forcing them back into the building. 
They were crouched on the floor covering their faces in agony. He turned to 
me with a proud grin. ?What do you think?? He screamed.

?I?m guessing Holy Water.? I responded.

Faith stopped, fished a lighter out of her pocket, and lit it. Holding the 
lighter out for me to see she finished my sentence ?and gasoline!? She said 
with a proud smile as she threw the lighter into the building. The building 
burst into flames. Xander and Faith gave each other a high five and I 
wondered if I had stepped into another dimension by mistake.

?Wuuuuu Huuuuuuu!!! I told you it would work.? Xander cheered.

?Who?s idea was that?? I asked astounded at the mere simplicity of it.

?The Holy Water Gun was mine and the gasoline was Faith.? Xander explained.

?Of course the little Pyro of the family.? I said with a smirk.

?What happened to you in there B?? Faith asked. The battle had distracted 
me but when she asked the question the memory of what happened fell on me 
like a ton of bricks.

?Spike has Willow. I saw him through her eyes.?

?What do you mean you saw him?? Xander asked confused.

?Willow and I are connected?um?it?s a thing. The last thing I saw was Spike 
and then I lost contact with her. I can?t feel her.? I stammered out 
afraid.

?What do you mean you can?t feel her?? Xander asked.

?All of a sudden I lost her and it?s as if I lost myself. The pain was 
overwhelming.?

?Is she ?? Faith began to ask and Xander interrupted ?NO! She?s not. 
Don?t even say it. Don?t even say it Faith!? He warned emphatically.

?I don?t know? I don?t know? I can?t feel her? I can?t ?.? I repeated to 
myself out loud.

?What about Dawn?? Xander asked.

?This was obviously a trap. Spike had no intention of returning Dawn and 
from the number of vamps that stormed in here I?d say his intention was to 
kill you.? Faith concluded.

?No??his intention is to make me suffer.? I corrected sourly. ?If he 
wanted me dead he would do it himself.? Just as the words were exiting my 
mouth a pack of six vampires turned the left corner of the alley and were 
walking towards us. I looked towards the right and another six appeared. 
They were walking slowly as if teasing us with their presence. I didn?t 
know what to do. I just didn?t know. Dawn was gone. Willow was gone. 
We?re surrounded. I just couldn?t?. I couldn?t take it anymore. I kneeled 
on the floor holding my head in exhaustion. The world was spinning out of 
control. I had lost her. She was gone. My Willow was gone.

?Oh God Willow?? I moaned as the flood of tears took over.

?Hey! Hey! She?s not dead! Get up!? Xander said. ?GET UP!!? He 
screamed with all his might. ?What?s wrong with you? Snap out of it! We 
need you NOW!? He said as he pulled my arm until I was standing again.

Grabbing my shoulders harshly he turned my body and looked deep into my 
eyes. His gaze was intense and piercing, concerned and angry at the same 
time. Like I had let him down. ?What would Willow say if she saw you like 
this?? He asked.

His words resonated in my ears. He was right. Willow would probably kick 
the shit out of me if she saw me like this. Giving up. Defeated. At the 
very least she?d give me her ?Resolve Face?.

?Umm?guys?these dudes are getting closer. Can we save the nervous breakdown 
for a time when we?re not in mortal danger?? Faith said shadowing my 
sarcastic remark from earlier in the evening. I looked at Xander 
helplessly. What am I supposed to do?

?Run.? He whispered. I looked at him confused. ?Run! Go!! Faith and I 
will do the rest! Go save your family.? He said sternly.

I turned and climbed onto the dumpster that was a few feet away. From there 
I used a nearby fire escape to climb up the side of the building. I didn?t 
look down until I had reached the top of the building. When I turned to 
give my friends one last look I noticed a vampire following me up the side 
of the building. He looked up at me just as I was looking at him and 
growled. At that moment, right before my eyes, he suddenly turned to dust. 
When the cloud of dust dissipated I saw Xander standing on the ground below 
holding the crossbow still aiming in my direction. I nodded at him in 
gratitude and he smiled. There stood a good man.

I moved as fast as I could catapulting from rooftop to rooftop. As soon as 
I had cleared a few and was sure I wasn?t being followed I climbed down and 
looked for the main road, the one that ran through the center of Sunnydale. 
It was the fastest way home.

I ran with the speed and agility of a panther, as if I was running for my 
life?for Dawn?s? for Willow?s. My heart was pounding and sweat was pouring 
down my face in huge droplets. Visions of Spike plagued my mind. I 
wondered if he was enjoying this. If he was enjoying causing me pain. 
Images of our night together haunted me. The way he looked at me. The way 
he touched me. The harshness of the act. The sense of worthlessness 
afterward. I felt sick all over again.

Slowly what was once fear turned to anger and anger quickly turned to rage. 
I hated him? I hated him with all my might? and tonight he will pay for all 
the pain he?s caused me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The sound of tires screeching made my whole body goose bump. Ugghh?I really 
really really hated that sound. My eyes were sealed tightly in fear as I 
felt the gusts of wind coming through the windows blowing my long blonde 
hair around the car. My fingernails were gripping the seat as I opened my 
left eye slowly and cautiously?afraid of what I would see. What in the 
world possessed Willow to send me somewhere in a CAR with ANYA driving?

?I thought you said you?ve driven before.? I asked frightened.

?Yes. I have?? Anya said with a nervous smile ?once!? She finished.

My eyes bugged out of my head!

?Don?t look so afraid Tara? I already know that the left pedal makes it stop 
abruptly.? She said as she slammed her foot on the floor of the car to 
demonstrate. The engine revved thunderously and we accelerated with a jump.

?Your left!! YOUR left Anya!! Not the pedal?s left!!? I added with a 
scream.

?Oh. Right. Of course.? She said as she smiled broadly. She had a sort 
of maniacal suicidal look on her face.

?Anya, close the windows I can?t read the book with the pages all blowy.? I 
instructed trying my best to hide the fear in my voice. Anya nodded at my 
request and flipped a switch on the driver?s side door ? all the car doors 
unlocked at once!

?Ok. Forget the reading. I can read when we get home.? If we get home! ?IF 
we get home? would be a more accurate statement.

I found the books that Willow wanted from the Magic Box. We would have been 
home sooner except that Anya made me fill out an IOU card seeing as how I 
didn?t have any money on me. She actually keeps a shoebox full of IOUs from 
all of us?sometimes I just wonder about her.

?Would you like to hear ??? Anya began to ask but I couldn?t make out the 
ending of the question over the sound of the wind roaring.

?WHAT?? I screamed.

?Music! As in a melody, rhythm, tune, song?you know, for your auditory 
pleasure.? She finished with a crazy smile and head bob.

?What are you a book of synonyms often including related, contrasting words, 
and antonyms?? I asked with a pinch of sarcasm. Hey?I can too be 
sarcastic. I was making fun of her literal matter of speech. You get it? 
Sheesh ... that was a bigger bomb than my insect refection joke.

Anya blinked at me blankly for a few minutes. I shook my head and turned to 
face the road again. Suddenly I got a glimpse of someone. A woman?running 
towards us on the road and Anya was swerving the car in that direction.

?ANYA WATCH IT!!!? I screamed pointing in the direction of the pedestrian.

Anya hit the break pedal, the correct one this time, and gripped the 
steering wheel with both hands as if preparing for the impact. I flinched 
again at the sound of the tires screeching against the pavement. We were 
too close. There was no way we wouldn?t hit her. Just as I had mentally 
concluded this? the woman jumped, ran over the hood of the car, onto the 
roof, and down the back. I turned to watch her land safely on the ground. 
Once the car had stopped completely, Anya and I hurried out to check on her. 
She was kneeling behind the car on the exact same spot where she had 
landed. It looked like?

?Buffy?? I asked softly. Buffy stood and turned around. Her eyes were 
filled with rage and she was panting fiercely with her chest expanding and 
contracting at an exaggerated rate.

?You nearly ran me over you idiot!? She screamed at Anya.

?And you nearly put a Slayer size dent in my boyfriend?s car!? Anya said 
defending herself.

?Buffy...? I began to say.

?Where?s Willow?? She barked harshly cutting me off.

?We left her at the house.? Anya responded.

?You left her alone? What were you thinking?? Buffy barked at her.

?After you left, Hope disappeared, and Willow became suspicious of her. She 
sent us to the Magic Box to get some books about Methos she had seen there.? 
I explained.

?Where?s Xander?? Anya asked afraid.

?He?s with Faith.? Buffy responded.

?FAITH! Ah! You were supposed to be with them. You?re the lesbian 
chaperone! I can?t believe you left my Xander with that hussy! I?? Anya 
was about to keep going but the look on Buffy?s eyes stopped her. Something 
wasn?t right.

?What?s wrong Buffy? What happened? Where?s Dawn?? I asked cautiously.

?I don?t know. Spike never showed up and I?ve lost contact with Willow.? 
She responded.

?Then there?s no time to waste. We should get to the house as soon as 
possible.? I concluded.

?I?m driving.? Anya chimed.

?Not a chance!? Buffy said as she took the keys from Anya. Anya stood 
still blinking blindly again. She was about to protest when I shook my head 
pointing at Buffy with my lips.

?Ok then. I got shotgun!? Anya announced instead.

The three of us got into the car again. I sat in the back seat and reached 
for the seat belt. This was going to be a bumpy ride.

?Anya?? Buffy asked with a scary look on her face and Anya looked at her 
attentively. ?Maybe not today?maybe not tomorrow?but when this is all over, 
I?m gonna hide a bunny somewhere where you least expect it?I promise!?

Anya?s eyes bugged out of her head. Deciding that perhaps silence was the 
best way to go she turned slowly. Who says that threats don?t work?

Continued in Part 2 of Chapter 10






_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. 
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus