Chapter 5
The day arrives.
Willow says she has to go and do some preparations. I do some of my own. It’s good to go into an important ritual cleansed. I shower while some smudging supplies are burning in a bowl: cedar chips and lavender, then, I do some meditation to center myself envisioning the white light covering and protecting me. I call up The Magic Box and suggest, at least, that portion of things to prepare. Anya seems perplexed but curious, Xander a bit dismissive of the whole idea, but I did my part and they can always use the moonlight before we start.
The day seems to drag.
Dawn is at school, and then going to Janice’s but coming back, this evening. I suggest having Spike to watch her while Willow and I are out “on patrol” with Xander and Anya but she made a big to-do, over breakfast, about the fact she’s in high school now and surely she can be left alone for a few hours considering Buffy, Willow and Xander were out on patrol at her age.
In the end we relent telling her no wild parties, that Janice is the only one allowed over, and order her a pizza with anchovies, and no trying magic.
“You spoil the fun.” She says, after the no wild parties or magic comment, but relents at the promise of pizza.
Considering she nearly summoned her mother, undead, a few months ago the point stands. I give her a hug as we leave. Buffy Bot freshly repaired from a run in yesterday is out on patrol, and we are off to the cemetery so we can be there in time to dig out the coffin before the ritual time. Xander has taken some shovels from the construction site for us to use.
Three of us dig, while Willow sets up for the ritual nearby, and then she levitates the coffin out of the hole and we fill the hole in, again, as best we can given there’s now a coffin missing from the hole. At least the Sunnydale cemeteries and graveyards are used to their grave sites being torn up and “vandalized”.
We start the spell or rather we pledge, hold hands in the circle-square and Willow begins the spell. She’s anointed herself with something in a darker color, ground up fruit, maybe, and cuts down one of her fingers to add her blood to the mix, before taking my hand once more. It’s once she gets to the second part of the incantations that things start to get really strange and more than a little terrifying.
She’d warned me there was a test to come but I hadn’t expected bulges under her skin, roving around as she screams and moans. Stopping will make things worse. Stopping will make things worse.
“Tara!” Xander demands, threatening to pull away.
I grip tighter, “Don’t. Stopping will make it worse for her. She’s strong. She can do this.” She can. Please.
Take from me if you need. I will her to understand, that she can. She glances at me wary but also grateful but the leech like bumps have disappeared and now she starts retching, and I see it, and grip her hand as tightly as possible as a bulge appears in her throat and stomach, quickly followed by a snake’s head protruding out of her mouth.
I’m aware of the power building, the sound of revving I didn’t expect, the energy around us is vibrating, as the snake slithers out of Willow and then out of the circle, under our clasped hands, between Xander and Anya who, understandably, flinches away from the giant reptile.
Willow pants and continues her plea to Osiris for the soul of the warrior.
Then, I realize, the revving is nothing to do with the spell. It’s approaching motorcycles, and a lot of them, as well as hooting and hollering, and faintly Buffy Bot’s voice.
Willow presses on as cuts appear and disappear from her body. The motorcycles are closing in and I have to yank Willow towards the center of the circle so she doesn’t get mown down. Our hands are still clasped together but only for a moment as we have to break the circle to avoid the bikers who are closing in trying to corral Buffy Bot into a circle between them. Xander helps me haul Willow to her feet as the coffin gets turned over on top of the urn and I hear the sound of ceramic breaking.
We have to run.
Willow is in tears and I know I’m close. I want to run back for the coffin but, thankfully, in a way, the bikers are more concerned with Buffy Bot than a dead body.
“I have to return to my primary user.” She’s repeating. She must be damaged again. So, these demon bikers know the Slayer is not real and must have chased her into the center of town from wherever she was.
Great.
“Did it work?” Willow gasps out.
“I don’t think so.” Xander supplies.
“We can try next full moon?” Anya suggests, as we cross the street to cut down one of the nearby alleyso.
“The urn is gone.” Willow whimpers, “There’s no—”
“It was probably the last one in existence.” I explain still trying not to cry, and Buffy’s body…what if they do something to her—hopefully Buffy Bot ran away from the cemetery before any of them noticed or ran over her. Hopefully they don’t eat dead flesh or necrophilia, brain, why did you have to go there?
As it is we run-walk right into another problem: bike-less bikers at both ends of the alleyway surrounding us and Willow completely drained.
“Stay back!” Anya commands.
The demon in front of her just laughs, “Or what Little Mama? You’re going to stake me?” He nods to the two sticking out of her pants pocket, “You even know where my heart is?”
Another one snickers, “You even strong enough to get through his hide?”
“I’ll get through your hide.” Another directs at Willow, licking his lips in what is probably supposed to be a seductive way.
I grip Willow’s hand. Maybe together we can pierce their hide with something or throw them back like we moved the vending machine when we first met.
But someone jumps into the space between our two groups and punches one of them in the mouth, knocking them back into the wall, kicks another and he collides with a friend, then she—it is she—and is it? She’s moving so fast, attacking demons it’s hard to make out but surely it has to be Buffy there’s no one else it could be—and Buffy Bot is nowhere to be seen and was wearing a white outfit and this is a purple and black.
“Buffy?” Xander breathes.
“I knew it worked.” Willow musters, “I knew I felt her.”
“Is she going to attack us?” Anya questions, which is a good point.
Feral. From a Hell dimension. She’s avoided us so far, though.
“I think she can tell the difference—” I put in. I’ve pulled Willow back towards the wall away from the carnage. Buffy has broken at least two necks, and others who aren’t damaged are getting out of the way, running. I hear bikes revving again.
“Buffy?” Willow asks, cautiously.
She whirls around, breathing hard, face full of danger, but then blinks and takes a step closer, “Buh—” she mouths.
“Yes.” Willow says, more enthusiastically, taking a step towards Buffy, “You’re Buffy. Buffy Sum—”
Something has Buffy, bolting, running in the opposite direction to the demons. I realize we’re all just staring after her when Xander remarks, “We should probably follow—”
Anya looks at Willow, “We’ll need to go fast.”
“Tara take Willow home.” Xander suggests, “Anya and I will go after Buffy.”
Both Willow and I hesitate.
“The longer we debate the further away she gets.” Anya points out.
I agree. Willow hedges but Xander and Anya are already running off in Buffy’s wake.