Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All non-original characters herein belong to persons such as Joss Whedon,
Mutant Enemy, UPN, WB, etc, etc, etc, rather than me, myself and I. No compensation is
received by me, only the pleasure I take in writing it.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse http://mysticmuse.net
Please ask if you wish to archive and I will say "Yes!"
Feedback: Feedback is the only compensation fan fiction authors get. So pay up!
Spoilers: Season 7 Same Time, Same Place
Author's Notes: A special thanks goes to CN Winters for her permission to use the Red Oyster Bar. Enjoy her most
excellent stories located at: CN's Caldron
Warning: Parts of this story contains scenes of extreme violence. Please do not read if you are underage or
could possibly be disturbed by it. You have been warned!
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Summary: Willow returns to Sunnydale from England and dreams of Tara with unexpected results.
Willow watched as the zombie-vampires ignored her and went for Tara and Anya. The vampire and the vengeance demon quickly assessed the situation and immediately covered each other's backs as the first of the undead reached for them. Willow rummaged in her backpack and pulled out a stake.
"Tara!" she called and Tara caught the stake as Willow tossed it to her.
"Thanks Sweetie!" Tara called and staked the vamp she was fighting off.
"Hey!" Anya protested as she threw a punch at a vampire who was trying to grab her neck. "What about me?"
Willow ran to a wooden chair propped next to the refrigerator and smashed it against the wall. Picking up two of the shattered legs, she used both to stake a pair of vampires who were trying to reach the fighting demons and then handed one to Anya.
Tara cursed as one of the vampires slashed at her with long, filthy claws. Willow saw dark blood well from Tara's chest through the tear in her blouse.
"Oh gods!" Willow whispered to herself. She looked to the crypt door and saw that more of the creatures were pouring in and the small space was quickly filling up, hampering their efforts to fight.
Clouds of stinking dust began to pile up in the crypt as the three women fought the vampires and still the tide did not stop.
"Willow!" Tara cried. "Do something!"
"Yes, Willow!" Anya echoed. "Now, please!" Anya looked like she was in better shape than Tara, but both appeared to be weakening.
Willow thought quickly as she staked another vampire, but as soon as the dust cleared the space was filled with another. Finally, an idea formed in her head.
Looking towards the entrance, she saw that the stream was beginning to taper off and only a few more entered the crypt. She pulled a packet of powder from her pocket and muttered an incantation. "Tara!" she called. "Get below! Now!"
Tara nodded and staked another vamp. Pushing her way through the crowd, she ran for the opening in the ground and dove in headfirst. With a mental push Willow sealed the opening with the slab. "Anya, duck," she called and the vengeance demon dropped to the floor and covered her head with her arms. Before the vampires could reach for Anya, she tossed the powder into the air and cried, "lumière du soleil!"
The crypt was instantly filled with a bright white light. The vampires filling the crypt didn't even make any expression as they were instantly turned to dust. Two more vampires entered the crypt and were instantly destroyed. Willow held a hand over her eyes and made her way to the opening. Peering out, she saw that the cemetery was peaceful.
"Éteignez," Willow intoned and the light in the crypt returned to normal.
Willow went over to help Anya to her feet. "You okay?" she asked.
"Nice trick," Anya said, dusting off her clothes. "Thanks for the warning."
"No problem," Willow said, looking around at the mess.
"Why weren't they attacking you?" Anya said, looking at the redhead.
Willow sighed. "I'm not sure, exactly," she explained. "I think it's because I created them."
"What? Are you crazy as well as evil now, Willow?" Anya said. "Ok, I can understand Tara, you're probably missing the orgasms at the very least, but what use could you have for these things?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "I didn't do it on purpose, Anya. I think the spell that made a vampire from Tara's body somehow opened a portal that's allowing other corpses to rise as vampires."
"Tara is not like these vampires," Anya said. "And she smells better!"
"I know," Willow replied. "But I think that since the spell was focused on Tara, she rose as a normal vampire, the only exception being that her sire is human."
Anya nodded. "And these other vampires were just caught up in the energy of your spell. Since you're also their sire, they didn't attack you, but they were seeking you out."
Willow nodded. "Buffy said the other night they were all headed towards the northwest. That's the direction where Tara's family lived."
"Well, it could be a portal or just excess energy." Anya thought a moment and then let her eyes look at Willow from head to toe. "I don't think anyone's realized just how powerful you've become, Willow, not even you."
"Believe me," Willow sighed. "I scare even myself. I never intended to bring her back, Anya."
"She's back now, Willow," Anya pointed out. "And you have to take responsibility for her just like you have to take responsibility for your other children."
"Can you help me research this?" she asked. "It's getting worse and I need to stop it before someone gets hurt."
"Not now," Anya said. "I have to head out on a vengeance call. Come by my apartment tomorrow, I've got a few books you managed not to destroy. We'll find something."
"Thanks, Anya," Willow said, the sincerity evident in her voice.
"You are welcome, Willow," Anya said and vanished in a twinkle of light.
Downstairs, Willow found Tara sitting on the bed resting against the wall.
"Hey," Willow said, softly.
"Hey," Tara said back. "All clear?"
"All clear," Willow answered. She set down her pack and pulled out a bottle of water and her small first aid kit. Using a dampened end of her bandana, Willow began to clean up Tara's wounds.
"That hurt, baby?" she asked in a small voice.
"Not really," Tara smiled. "Just stings a bit."
"I'm sorry," Willow said, feeling guilty. "Anya promised to help me find a way to stop them."
"Might be a portal funneling the demonic energy from another dimension," Tara said, thinking.
"That's what I thought, smarty-pants." Willow spread ointment over the wicked scratch on Tara's face. She winced as Tara pulled back from the pain. "Anya said it might be just excess energy left over from the spell that made you."
"Could be," Tara said and then smiled at Willow. "The kroka demon was right. You have graduated to sorceress, my love. Congratulations."
Willow gave her a wry smile. "I don't think UC Sunnydale has a degree for that, do you?"
Tara laughed. "No, probably not, but maybe Giles can send you one from England. You and Anya meeting at the Magic Box?"
Willow shook her head. "The shop hasn't quite recovered yet from my last visit. Her apartment."
"Okay," Tara said. "I'll lend a hand."
Willow noticed that Tara's blouse was torn in several places and pulled it up to look for more wounds. Tara stopped her by placing her hands on Willow's.
"I'm not hurt, Willow," she said. "I'm hungry. Let's go hunt."
"No," she said, a worm of fear crawling through her gut. "I can't, Tara."
Tara smiled into Willow's eyes and gently squeezed the redhead's hands. "You can. I know you can."
"Tara…" Willow began, but stopped as Tara opened herself up to Willow's senses through the connection they shared. Willow was filled with Tara's hunger and her vision clouded red with desire.
"Oh gods, please Tara. Don't do this to me," Willow begged.
"It's okay, Willow," Tara said and stood up, guiding Willow to her feet. She moved to the armoire and quickly removed her torn blouse and replacing it with a fresh shirt. She led Willow up the stairs and grabbed both their jackets.
"Come on, sweetie," she said as Willow dumbly followed her, Tara's hunger blinding her to all sensibility. "This is going to be fun!"
Two figures made their way through the darkened streets of Sunnydale. Willow noted they were in what passed for the city's red light district where vampires and demons blended easily with drug dealers, prostitutes and their pimps. Willow, giving in to the hunger filling her senses, was amused at Tara's easy confidence as she sought out her prey – human Tara would have rushed to her destination, not even stopping to look around. Willow, of course, was intimately familiar with the area from her visits to Rack.
As if reading her mind, Tara asked, "That magic dealer still around, Willow? I'd like to talk to him about daring to touch what's mine."
Willow smirked at the low growl in Tara's voice. "Afraid not, Baby. Rack couldn't handle a little taste of his own medicine. Of course, I really didn't give him a choice on how much he willing to give."
"Gods," Tara mused. "What I wouldn't give to have been there. I'll bet it was delicious. How about rat girl? You do her, too?"
Willow shook her head, her attention drawn to an arguing couple a half a block away. A skinny, greasy man dressed in black jeans, pointy-toed boots and a dirty black and white shirt unbuttoned to reveal a gone to gray wife-beater underneath was holding tight to the arm of an equally thin girl no more than seventeen years old. She was clad only in a thin cotton dress that barely reached the tops of her thighs and a pair of pink stilettos. Willow could see the outlines of her erect nipples through the thin cotton and guessed it was caused by the cold night and not from the attentions of the man.
Tara followed Willow's gaze and gave a little smirk as the man pushed the girl into an alley off of the street. She slipped her hand into Willow's and said, "Let's go."
Tara took her time leading Willow into the alley. For Willow, the journey seemed to take forever, the narrow opening of the alley looming larger and larger in her sight as if it was a doorway into hell. Part of Willow's mind screamed at her to stop this madness, stake Tara now and try to gather up the shreds of her former life, but Willow knew she was way beyond stopping now. Not after Warren, not after Tara's family. With Tara's hunger pulsating inside her and enflaming her desire, Willow knew she wanted this to happen. And it would.
The vampire and the sorceress moved into the alley and Willow heard the sound of flesh striking flesh, the noise muted as if it were being played underwater. She watched as the girl fell to the ground at the man's feet, blood pouring down her chin from her split lip. Willow breathed a small sigh of relief. At least he had just made it a little bit easier for her.
"Get up, you lazy bitch!" he growled at the girl, and lifted her to her feet and slammed her against the wall. The girl cried out as the rough texture of the bricks of the building cut through her thin dress.
"Let her go," Willow said, her voice soft, yet commanding.
The man turned to Willow and Tara, a snarl on his face as he assessed the potential threat. Dismissing the newcomers, he replied, "Go away, little girls. This is none of your business."
Tara laughed. "Only partly right, scum. She's not our business. You are."
The man roughly pushed the girl back to the ground as he turned towards Willow and Tara. "And what business can you two dykes possibly have with me?" he sneered.
As the vampire approached the man, Tara morphed into her demon face. "Oh, maybe dinner?" she growled and reached for the man before he could even scream.
Willow closed her eyes and leaned up against the brick wall as Tara's fangs attached to the man's jugular and began sucking with a greedy passion. Willow, her breathing erratic, pushed down the sensation of nausea that followed Tara's first taste of blood and instead concentrated on the desire building within her lover with each luscious drop. After a moment, Willow was able to smile. Tara was right; it was similar to a five-course meal at a posh restaurant.
While Tara finished draining the man, Willow gained enough self-control to finally check on the girl still weeping on the ground. Willow laid a hand on the girl's shoulder and shook her gently to get her attention.
"Hey," she said softly. "You okay?"
The girl finally turned her reddened eyes towards Willow. Willow scowled at the darkening bruise swelling up on the girl's cheek.
"I don't…" she began in a squeaky voice. "Where's Bobby?"
Willow glanced over her shoulder and saw Tara roll the man's body into a garbage dumpster and drop the lid down with a crash. The girl jumped at the sound.
"Don't worry about Bobby," Willow assured the girl. "He won't bother you again. Do you have anywhere to go?"
"No," the girl said. "Bobby said if I was good enough he'd let me stay with him, but I don't know where he lives."
Willow dug into her pocket and pulled out some bills. "Here," she said, handing the girl the money. "This should be enough to get you out of town. Trust me when I tell you that if you stay here, you'll end up dead or worse."
"But where would I go?" the girl asked, clutching the bills awkwardly in her hand as if she was unused to the feel of currency.
"Go to L.A.," Willow told her, helping the girl to her feet. "Head for a place called Angel Investigations and tell Angel that Red sent you. He'll help you."
Willow walked over to Tara who was leaning up against the dumpster, one boot resting against the cold metal and both arms crossed over her chest. Together they watched as the girl hurried from the alley. "Think she'll make it?" Willow asked Tara.
Tara shrugged, not caring one way or the other. "Are you done being the Good Samaritan? The night's still young and I want to play."
Willow had only been to the Red Oyster, Sunnydale's closest approximation to a gay bar a couple of times and then only after Tara had left her. The first time was not long after Tara left, but before she quit using the magic. The club was darker than the Bronze, the music loud and sultry. It was as if the entire atmosphere encouraged secret rendezvous'. Willow, trying to pretend Tara's departure was only temporary, left after only a few minutes.
Tara pulled Willow through the unadorned entrance, through the darkened hallway and onto the dance floor. Wrapping herself around Willow, Tara pressed her lips against the pulse in Willow's neck, gently sucking the spot until Willow moaned in desire. Willow pulled Tara close, their bodies moving in time to the provocative song playing from the sound system. Tara, warm and flushed with the fresh hot blood coursing through her veins, allowed her hands to travel down Willow's back, until they reached the soft swell of Willow's behind.
"Why did we never come here before?" Tara asked, releasing Willow's skin with a small nip. "It's more private than the Bronze and the music's better."
Willow quirked one eyebrow upwards as she smirked at her lover. "And how often did I ask you to go with me?"
Tara chuckled. "You've been here before, haven't you? Without me?"
Willow nodded, a small blush appearing on her face that Tara's senses noted even in the dim light.
"Meet anyone?" she asked Willow, a half smirk on her lips.
Willow nodded again, remembering the encounter. It was on her second visit that a beautiful black haired woman approached her as Willow was heading down the dim passageway after using the restroom. Willow, her heart aching for Tara, first danced with the woman and then allowed herself to be led to one of the private rooms in the back of the club. After that, Willow didn't return while she was trying to kick her dark magic addiction.
Willow related the story and then awkwardly began to apologize before Tara interrupted her with a finger on the lips. "Don't be sorry, Willow. Don't ever be sorry for wanting that, from me or anyone else. Next to blood, sex is the most important ingredient of life. Without blood and without sex, there is no life. Enjoy it, Willow. Revel in it." Tara pulled Willow's head close to her own and whispered in the redhead's ear, "Experience it."
Tara released Willow and slowly walked off the dance floor, a predator stalking her prey. Willow stood there, not moving, as she watched Tara move up to a blonde standing by the wall. Willow realized through their connection that the woman had been watching them as they danced and Tara had been aware of it. Tara leaned in and after a brief exchange of words guided the woman to where Willow was standing.
Tara's eyes were sparkling as she said, "Jen, this is Willow."
Willow tilted her head to one side and took a long look up and down the blonde's petite body, the obvious resemblance to the Slayer quickening her pulse with desire. Willow's sense of time seemed to slow as the music segued into another even more provocative and erotic rhythm. Moving behind the blonde, she placed a gentle hand on the other woman's waist and lightly brushed her body against the other's as she moved around again to her front. Jen's eyes closed as Willow stepped closer, tightening her grip around the woman's waist as her other arm encircled it.
"Jen," Willow whispered into her ear, her warm breath tickling the blonde hair. She could feel the woman shiver at the contact. "Are you ready for the most dangerous night of your life?"
Jen nodded as she rested her arms on Willow's shoulders and they began moving to the music together. Willow, her eyes closed, could feel Tara moving around them both as they danced, touching and stroking each woman until Jen moaned in pleasure, pulling Willow's head closer as Willow nibbled on her earlobe.
"I want you," Jen whispered and Willow laughed softly in her ear. Willow raised her head to look into Tara's eyes. The vampire was standing behind Jen and smiled at the blonde's statement.
"Come with us," Tara whispered in Jen's other ear.
The vampire led the way through the club past the swaying couples on the dance floor to a dark room where couples swayed to music of a different tune. Tara's sharp eyes picked out a spot in the corner and pressed her back to the wall as she turned around to the other two, her eyes peeking darkly through her loose hair and a wicked grin shining on her face in the dim light.
Willow took Jen by the shoulders and turned the woman around, pressing the blonde's back against Tara as she moved in and claimed the woman by the lips, her weight pushing Jen into Tara's hard softness, her body moving sensuously over the blonde's. After a few minutes, Willow finally broke the kiss and leaned her torso back while pressing her hips forward, slowly grinding, firm and insistent. With quick fingers, Willow unbuttoned Jen's blouse, revealing a dark silk bra that Willow pushed out of her way as she took a nipple in her mouth, one hand moving behind the blonde to caress Tara's cheek.
When she felt Tara's hands move past the woman's hips to the opening of her pants Willow gave her lover more room as the vampire slowly pushed the jeans and undergarment down. Willow could feel the woman's damp desire on her own thigh even through the thick fabric of her jeans as she moved in again, hardening the muscles in her leg and pushing inwards and upwards until the girl gasped in pleasure.
Willow moved one hand between their bodies, allowing her fingers to tease their way past damp curls. She let go of Jen's nipple and looked up into Tara's eyes, wanting to see the desire and need flaring at her through the darkness. She wanted to see how this made Tara feel and she let out a little moan as she felt the vampire's hunger for blood building again. As she ran her fingers through the girl's wetness that came out to meet her, Willow whispered in the woman's ear, "She won't hurt you. Don't panic. Just relax."
Jen sighed her submission, unable to speak past the sensations riding through her body like a wave. As Willow plunged her fingers deep inside, Tara sank her fangs into the woman's neck. Jen gasped at the dual shock of pleasure and pain and threw back her head against Tara's shoulder and pulled Willow closer, her hips moving rhythmically to match Willow's thrusts.
As Tara drank, Willow could feel the woman's accelerated heartbeat pulse through her, quickening as she approached orgasm. Willow pressed her palm against Jen's center as she continued to move, her fingers rubbing over ridged muscles that were beginning to tighten around her. Willow moved her other hand through Tara's hair in a caress, prepared to pull the vampire away if she lost control, but trusting Tara to keep the promise she made to Jen. Then she lost herself in Tara as the vampire threw open the connection between them and Willow was drowning in the vampire's own sea of emotions.
Willow felt the intimate contact Tara had with the woman pressed between them, a contact more intimate than her own as she rode Jen through her climax. Tara was drinking, not only the woman's blood, but also she was consuming her life, her pleasure, her desire. Willow's hips ground tightly against Jen as her own orgasm ripped through her body and Willow could feel Tara's pleasure matching her own.
Willow waited until her breathing slowed, her head weakly resting against Jen's shoulder. Willow could feel Jen's pulse through her fingers still inside the woman and was reassured at the strong beat. After another moment, she looked up into Tara's eyes. The vampire, a small drop of blood trickling down her chin, was grinning at her. Willow leaned forward and licked Tara clean before moving in for a searing kiss.
A moan from Jen interrupted the kiss and Willow slowly moved back, disengaging their bodies. Willow helped Jen straighten her clothing before giving the woman a deep kiss. Tara once again pressed in from behind and crossed both arms around the woman in an intimate hug as she whispered, "Go home now. Remember this night with pleasure as if it were only a dream."
Willow's skin crackled pleasurably with the release of Tara's magic as Jen moved away from the couple in a daze and disappeared into the club. Willow slid her arm around her lover and leaned against the vampire. "Let's go, Baby," she said. "I feel the need to have you all to myself right now."
Tara nodded her agreement and they left the club.
Anya spun the yellowing book towards Willow and pointed to the page. "Well, there's your spell, Willow. Seems simple enough for someone of your skill level."
Willow pushed her own book aside and quickly read through the spell. Tara read over Willow's shoulder. The three had spent the morning and most of the afternoon pouring over books with Willow occasionally making a foray onto the Internet to cross check a reference.
"I can't do this spell." Willow dismissed, pushing the book away. "We'll have to find something else."
Tara looked at her in confusion. "Why can't you do it?"
Willow looked back at her. "It's dark magic, Tara. I can't do dark magic."
Anya looked stunned and Tara let out a short bark of laughter. "What the hell kind of magic caused this mess in the first place? Because I'm sure it wasn't a simple Tinkerbell spell."
"It was dark magic," Willow agreed. "But it was an accident. If I do this spell, I'd be calling on the dark forces deliberately. I can't risk it, Tara."
"You have to, Willow," Anya said. "We've been searching all day and this is the best we've come up with. You're the only one experienced enough to cast this spell. Tara can't do it…she might be a demon now, but I don't think she has the power needed to close this portal." She turned to Tara. "No offense."
"None taken," Tara shrugged. "She's right, Willow," Tara added. "Most of my spells were for protection and healing. You were the only one of us who dared to explore the dark arts. It's going to take a while before I can cast a spell of this level. You have to do it."
"I can't!" Willow said, her voice rising in anger as she stood up from the table and paced into the living room. "And I can't believe you're doing this to me, Tara. You were the one who faced down Anya and the others when they wanted me to do magic at that party."
Tara gave Anya a wry smile, "See how quickly she forgets?"
Willow rolled her eyes, "Ok, fine! You're evil now, I'm evil now, Anya's evil now, we're all evil now, but that doesn't mean that we have to give in to it. If I cast this spell, I'll be tempted to do another spell and then another until we'll have yet another apocalypse on our hands. Did you forget the last one we faced, Anya? You were there – was it that much fun watching the world end?"
"No, it wasn't fun!" Anya shot back. "You ruined my livelihood in the process! But think for a moment Willow. Use that great brain of yours. The main reason you lost control before was because Tara died. She was your control, Willow. Before you met her, your spells only worked half the time, but afterwards you were able to finally gain control and your power grew. When Glory took her mind you lost that control and embraced the dark and after she was back you continued to grow in power until even she couldn't control you anymore. How you managed to beat it, I'll never know, but you did and that should prove to you that you could master it now and not bring on another apocalypse."
Willow looked at Tara who stood near the vengeance demon, a half-smirk on her face. "And now I'm back, Willow. As fun as it would be to watch, I don't think you'll lose control again. In fact, you've done a damn fine job of it since I've been back, no matter how much I've tempted you."
Willow walked over the window and peered through the blinds. She looked out at the peaceful street in front of Anya's apartment and wondered when this nightmare would end.
"Look Willow," Anya said, waving a map she pulled from the table. Willow had retrieved the recent disturbed graves reports from the Sunnydale P.D.'s computer and marked the locations on the map. The reports originated from the cemetery Tara had been buried in and seemed to be moving outward to the cemeteries closest to it in an ever-widening circle. "Pretty soon all of the cemeteries in Sunnydale will be coughing up zombie vampires. Do you really think it'll stop after Sunnydale is free of corpses?"
Willow sighed, "No."
"No," Anya emphasized. "I doubt it will, either. It'll keep spreading outward until eventually you won't need to lose yourself into the black magic to cause an apocalypse. It'll happen just fine without you since you've already brought it on."
Tara walked over to Willow and laid a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "You need to do this, Willow."
Willow turned form the window and looked into her lover's eyes. "Tara…I'm afraid," she whispered.
Tara nodded, "I know you are. But I'll be there and I'll help you."
A knock on the door startled all three women. Tara quickly moved to the bedroom and gently closed the door. Anya opened the front door to reveal a haggard-looking Xander.
Xander stepped into the apartment and looked first at Anya and then at Willow.
"Willow," he said. "I've been looking for you all day."
Willow felt her stomach drop with fear. "What's wrong?"
"Dawn got hurt last night. Buffy's with her at the hospital."
"What happened?" Anya asked. "Is Dawn alright?"
Xander nodded, "She'll be alright, thank goodness. Got kicked down by one of those creepy vamps and knocked her head on a tombstone. She was unconscious for a long while and has a pretty good concussion. They're holding her for observation."
"Oh god," Willow whispered, her worst fear realized.
Anya looked at Willow, a stern expression on her face. "Well Willow, does this change your mind?"
Xander looked between the two women. "What? What's going on?"
Willow filled her lungs with air and turned to her friend, "We've been working on this all day, Xander. We have a solution. It's not easy, but I can do it."
"Well good," he said. "Buffy will be happy to hear that. Let's go."
"Xander, wait for me downstairs, please," Willow said. "I just need to talk with Anya for a minute."
Xander looked confused and slightly hurt, but he nodded and left the apartment.
Tara came out of the bedroom, her heightened hearing picking up the conversation. She looked at Willow with concern. "Are you okay, Sweetie?"
Willow nodded, "Dawn will be fine, we've all taken more than a few lumps in our day. I'm just sorry she got hurt again because of me. You two are right, I need to close the portal tonight. Anya, can you gather the supplies and meet us at Tara's grave? I'll need your help holding the circle."
"Sure, if I don't get called away for vengeance, but if I do I'll make sure to have the supplies there."
"Thank you," Willow said and turned to Tara. "Tara, I want you to go to the crypt and stay there. No hunting tonight. There's plenty of blood for you in the fridge. Watch television, read a book, do your hair, anything, but stay in. Don't come out until I get you."
"What?" Tara protested. "I will not! Willow, you need me."
"Maybe, but we can't risk it. If you're there, you could get pulled into the portal when it closes and goddess knows where or in what kind of dimension you'd end up in."
"She's right, Tara," Anya said. "Besides, if Buffy's there, she'll stake you."
Tara ignored Anya and looked into Willow's eyes, "Willow, I want…I need to be there for you. This is dangerous. If I'm not there to protect you…"
"Tara, no." Willow was firm. "Stay in the crypt. I'll do this without you."
Tara was about to protest further, but stopped when she saw the look in Willow's face. Her face darkened in anger and she stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
Willow closed her eyes for a moment and then thanked Anya again.
"It's okay, Willow," she said, laying a comforting hand on Willow's arm. "Go help Buffy and Dawn."
Willow nodded and left the apartment, closing the door softly behind her.
By the time Xander and Willow reached the hospital, Buffy and Dawn were nearly ready to leave. Dawn, a stark white bandage covering part of her head, was eager to get home; like all of the Scoobies, she hated the hospital. Willow explained the spell in cryptic detail to the Slayer on the drive back to the Summers house.
"So I just need to keep the vamps away from you and Anya while you cast the spell? That's it?" Buffy asked, trying to formulate the plan in her mind.
"In a nutshell," Willow replied, studying the spell from the book she had taken from Anya's.
"What makes you think they'll go for you and Anya?"
Willow tried to think quickly. "Uh…they'll probably zoom in on the energy we'll raise to close the portal and try to stop it."
Buffy looked skeptical, but nodded as Xander pulled into the driveway. "Alright. Xander I need you to stay with Dawn tonight, make sure she stays safe."
"Buffy, I can take care of myself!" Dawn protested, trying to look indignant, but wincing through the pain in her head.
The Slayer took a deep breath in an obvious attempt to control herself. "I know you can, Dawn, but the doctor said you need to sleep tonight and you can't protect yourself while you're sleeping."
The teenager frowned at her sister's explanation, trying to find someway to protest, but couldn't since Buffy had just complimented her. She nodded then watched in amusement as Xander jumped out of the car to open her door and give her a gallant hand to help her from the car.
"My lady," he said and Dawn giggled.
"Willow, I think you should get a couple of hours rest before we head out. You look tired. I'm going to try to find Spike and see if he's lucid enough to lend a hand."
Willow nodded and turned to enter the house, feeling the exhaustion wash over her as she slowly made her way up the stairs to her room.
The cemetery was silent as Willow made her way alone past the empty graves to where the soft whisper of candlelight glowed in the darkness. Anya had already begun the preparations. A nine-foot diameter circle of woven cords surrounded Tara's headstone and a small white altar cloth was laid out in front. Two candles, one silver and one gold, cast the engraved letters of Tara's name in flickering light.
"You can come in," Anya said. "It's not cast yet."
Willow stepped forward and knelt before the altar where she would close the portal. She traced the words on the stone with one hand and felt grief for her lost lover. She thought of what was waiting for her in a crypt, the vampire who had struggled into existence beneath this cold stone and Willow's heart wept again for all that they had lost. It was time to let Tara go, time to bury her again and accept the existence of the demon that wore her face. Willow knew what she felt for the vampire was as diametrically different than what she had felt for Tara, but it was just as strong and could not be denied.
"Where's Buffy?" Anya asked, interrupting Willow's reverie.
"We ran into a group of vamps on the way here. Spike's with her and Buffy told me to go on. The vamps will lead them here so we need to get started."
Anya agreed and began to cast the circle as Willow closed her eyes and began to meditate, reaching inside herself to draw upon her power. She could feel the Earth beneath her feet, clean and pure, but also tinged with darkness and danger, especially this close to the Hellmouth where the evil was stirring from below.
She expanded her senses even further and felt her mind shift into another place. Opening her eyes, she saw the world was tinged a vibrant red. Willow recognized the color from her dream. Willow looked around the circle and could see Anya kneeling in the quarter opposite from the headstone, chanting in concentration as she maintained the circle.
Willow looked beyond the headstone and saw the source of her problems. There, outlined with bright fire was the portal. As Willow watched, a black wisp of vapor sped out of the portal and into her world seeking a corpse to animate. It was time to close the door.
Willow began the incantation, feeling the power rise up in her. She knew without having to look that her eyes had turned black. The forces she needed to call on to close the portal were the same as those she had called on to open it. Only this time, she had to willingly allow the darkness inside her and as much as it sickened her, to Willow it also was a drug. She could feel it rushing through her veins, bulging them outward with a surge of power. Willow could feel the magic in every cell of her body, she could feel it moving through her, feeding her and consuming her.
Willow faced the portal and thrust both hands towards it, vermilion energy bursting forth and hitting it with a surge of power. Willow felt the heat on her skin as her hair blew in the backrush. As her power poured through the door, it began to tighten, to shrink in on itself. More wisps rushed through the opening, frantically seeking entrance. Willow grinned at their efforts.
Willow chanted the arcane words, pouring more into the spell, calling upon energies she hadn't tapped into since she stood on Kingman's Bluff. She realized that when she had opened the portal, she had tapped into the Slayer's borrowed power and for the first time since beginning the spell, she was fearful she might not be strong enough to finish. Dimly through the scarlet haze she could hear the sounds of fighting and realized that her children had reached her.
Willow tapped the last of her inner strength and was dismayed to see the portal still open. Desperately, she reached to the Earth below her and felt for the darkness breeding there. Throwing back her head, feeling her throat contract from the force of the scream that burst from it, she felt her spirit dive into the blackness, felt the evil reaching for her, trying to claim her. With only the force of her will to support her, Willow claimed the blackness for herself, reached for it, turned it and made it her own.
With a final burst of power, Willow flung the tapped energy into the portal, sealing it shut with a blast that radiated outward. Only Willow remained standing and she looked around, realizing she was back completely within her reality. She saw that everything outside the circle was toppled over, tombstones and trees alike. Probing her senses outward, she could tell that the damage did not extend beyond the cemetery. She saw the Slayer and Spike picking themselves up off the ground and looking around in confusion. Willow realized that with the last of her power she had destroyed the remaining zombie vampires.
"Nice work, Willow," Anya said as she stood up and opened the circle. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be leaving." With a wave of her arms, the vengeance demon teleported away.
Willow slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Buffy kneeled in front of her friend, dismayed to see her friend's black hair, something she had hoped never to have to see again.
"Willow?"
The sorceress's head hung down, her hands lying limply in her lap, her breathing ragged. "Willow!" Buffy said more sharply.
"Buffy…" Willow began. "You should have…"
"What Willow?" Buffy asked, taking Willow's damp, cold hands in her own "What should I have done?"
"Killed…me."
Buffy's hands tightened in shock, but Willow didn't even flinch as her bones ground together. Buffy realized what she was doing and let up the pressure, but didn't release Willow's hands.
"Why, Willow?" she asked.
Willow took a deep breath, her strength slowly returning. "Evil, Buffy. I'm evil."
Buffy released one hand to tilt Willow's head up to face her. Buffy was relieved to see the familiar green eyes, the veins already fading from her face and her hair changing. "Willow, you've done evil things, but you're not evil. You just need to control the black magic…"
"No! Not black, not white. It just is. It's me. I am the magic, Buffy. And I'm evil. I did this."
Buffy looked at her in confusion. "What?"
"This," Willow waved her hand at the destruction surrounding them. "I caused this. The zombie-vamps. I did something…I didn't mean to do it, but I did…and it opened the portal, it allowed them to be. I created them."
Buffy tried to think past the confusion in her brain. "That's why they were moving towards you. You're their…" She stopped as a cold ball of fear filled her gut.
Willow nodded and completed Buffy's train of thought. "Sire. I'm their sire."
Buffy sat there, stunned, Willow's revelation cutting through her soul. Even the world of the undead had its rules of order, and the siring of vampires was one of those fundamental rules. Only evil begets evil. And these zombie-vamps, however unusual, were clearly evil. And if Willow was so powerful that she was able to transcend the natural and supernatural laws…Buffy feared to complete the thought and grasped at a straw.
"Willow, you said you did something to open the portal. What did you do?"
Buffy saw the despair in Willow's eyes replaced with fear.
"Buffy, I didn't mean to. It just happened! Please! Please don't hurt…" Willow stopped, her throat closing with terror.
"Willow, I'm not going to hurt you. Tell me what you did." Buffy demanded, but Willow just shook her head.
"Not me," Willow shook her head. "Don't hurt…"
Buffy interrupted her friend by giving her a rough shake by the shoulders. "Willow! What did you do?"
The redhead slumped forward again, tears breaking through her fear as she sobbed against her friend. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry!"
Buffy hugged her tightly. "Just tell me, Willow," Buffy repeated, softly. "Just tell me what you did."
"She sired me," a familiar voice said from the darkness. Buffy looked up as a figure strolled toward the kneeling pair. Willow stiffened in her arms and Buffy could feel goosebumps crawl their way down her back as her Slayer senses kicked in.
"Oh god," Buffy whispered. "Tara?"
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