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Willow was so loving just lying in Tara's arms. After what had happened the night before, she felt she deserved this alone time with her girlfriend. She had done it. She had finally been able to control herself. Even though there was one thing that did have her worried. And that was that she did it subconsciously. And that meant she still had a lot of things to learn.
Willow could tell by the tenseness of her girlfriend's body that there was something wrong. Perhaps she was dreaming. But what was she dreaming that would make her this tense? A little moan escaped Tara. And there was one thing she said. 'I'm so sorry Willow.'
Tara was in her old dorm room. The one that she and Willow had practically been living in before school had ended and they had left for England. The room that they had first made love in. It was that special to her. It was full of a lot of good memories of her and Willow. She regretted the fact that she and Willow would be living somewhere else. But they could build special memories there as well. Anywhere would be special as long as the two of them were always together.
She walked over to where a tiny mirror had been placed. It was after she and Willow had gotten together. There had been no need for a mirror before. She hadn't felt beautiful. She hadn't felt like anything special. Willow made her feel like the most special person in the world.
Tara felt familiar arms wrap around her. A familiar head was leaning against her shoulder. The embrace felt so wonderful. She closed her eyes to savor every second. It was like they had always been together. It was like they would always be together. For the first time in her young life, Tara felt truly happy. And she had the red head to thank for it. The love that the red head felt for her bathed her in beauty. It bathed her in a shining light. She was actually somebody when her everything was around.
That's when she opened her eyes again. There was something staring at her. It was so hideous looking. She couldn't believe her eyes. The skin was an orange and scaly looking. It was simply disgusting to look at. The eyes were red as a fire engine. And the teeth were that of a cobra. A snakelike tongue even darted out of the mouth. It looked like it was tasting the air. And what it tasted was oh so sweet.
That's when the embrace went limp around her waist. The head quickly moved away. She turned to see a look she never thought she'd see on Willow's face. It was a cross between out and out fear and disgust. The red head kept slowly walking back away from her. Finally, Tara looked down at her own hands. That's when she saw. She saw what was making her girl look at her like she was a monster. She was a monster.
Willow finally stopped backing up. "Tara? Is that really you? Oh, Goddess. What happened?"
Tara swallowed hard. She felt the tongue do it's little dance. Again, she could taste the sweetness of the girl so close to her. The one that meant everything to her. What was happening? Was this the curse that her father had told her about? Her mother never looked like this. What was going on?
"Tara?" Willow finally took a tentative step towards her girlfriend. The sight that had so revolted her at first was now worrying her. In fact, her face was now more concerned than anything else. "It is you?" She had a half smile. "I know it's you. And you know what?" She took a big step towards her formerly human looking girlfriend. "I still love you. We can deal with this. I dealt with a werewolf after all."
Something seemed to snap inside of Tara. It was like this switch was thrown and she was now angrier than she had ever felt. Was it this new way she was? Or was it the mention of Willow's ex. She smiled an evil smile. She knew in an instant what it was. And she was angry. How dare Willow even think of mentioning anything to do with Oz. He had no place in her life. He never again would have a place in her life. Only she had a place in her life. In an instant, Tara was springing.
She sprang onto Willow. Her clawlike hands were tearing and there was blood everywhere. And Tara kept clawing. She could feel the blood. She could taste it. It was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted. It was the taste of her sweet innocent girl. And that made it that more juicy.
More juicy? Tara stopped suddenly. She looked down at what was left of Willow. She couldn't even recognize the girl. There was no reminders of the sweet girl that had loved her. Loved her despite the fact that there was demon inside of her.
Tears started flowing. She stood up quickly. She wanted to shout. She wanted to scream. But she couldn't seem to find her voice. Her gaze couldn't leave the sight of what was left of her girlfriend. She had killed her. And there was nothing she could do to bring her back.
Finally, she collapsed to the floor. She began sobbing uncontrollably. There was so much pain. Pain that she, her demon self, had caused. And there was no taking it back. Finally, she found her voice again. She practically whispered four tiny words. Words that didn't even begin to cover how she felt. "I'm so sorry Willow." Tears kept flowing. Shaking from the revulsion and the hatred for herself, she shouted the phrase again.
Her eyes fluttered open to find the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Willow was smiling at the blonde. One of her big Willow smiles. There was so much love there. What had happened? She looked around the room and realized it had all been a dream. But what kind of a dream had it been. Was it just a dream of her fears? Or could it have been a dream of things to come. Or at the very least, a dream of what could come.
Tears began forming in the corner of the blonde's eyes. She couldn't even fathom what she had done. What her demon side had done. She had extinguished the light. The power. The one thing that meant everything to her. The most beautiful, woman inside and out, in the world. It made her sick to her stomach at just the simple thought of it.
"Tara." Willow whispered. She didn't know what the girl had dreamed of. But what she had said, coupled with the tears, and she could only assume that it had something to do with her. But what? "Baby, what's wrong. Why are you sorry?"
More tears fell. "Willow." She breathed a little. She needed time to compose herself. What she had done was beyond her belief. She'd actually seen herself kill the woman that she loved more than her own life. Although killing wasn't the exact word. It was like she had slaughtered her and enjoyed every second of it. She swallowed hard. Her throat felt so dry all of a sudden. "I dreamed I kill..." She started to choke on the word. "Killed you." She barely managed to finish.
Her voice was so quiet that Willow had trouble hearing what she had said. She couldn't have said what she thought she had, could she? That would be impossible. She had to make sure. "What do you mean, killed me?" She asked softly. She didn't want to press her girlfriend. The pain was too much already for the other girl to handle.
Sighing deeply, Tara managed to keep going. "I-I suddenly was a demon. A-and you were there. I-I don't know what came over me. Y-you mentioned d-dealing with Oz being a werewolf. I-I really just l-lost it."
Willow's eyes widened. This was a dream about Tara becoming a demon. And when she had become a demon, she had killed her. That seemed all too familiar. Like the dream that she had about losing control. Her stomach grew sick as she remembered how the first person she had killed in her dream was Tara. She knew how the blonde was feeling. And it hurt her just as much.
"Baby, you haven't done anything." She gently place a hand on her cheek. "We will deal if and when things come to you being a demon. I know how you feel." Tara looked at her, a little bit of disbelief in her eyes. "Remember my dream? The one that said I was going to destroy the world if I didn't learn control. Well, the first person I killed was you." Tara's eyes widened. "So I sorta do know how you feel. Not exactly, 'cause it's different for you. And I was able to stop my dream from coming true. We can work this all out. I promise. We will be able to work it all out. I won't lose you. You mean too much to me, baby."
Tara still had tears falling down her cheeks. But she was feeling a little better. "Goddess, Willow, what if I do kill you? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. We have got to figure out what is going on. Am I really going to become a demon? And if I do, will I really kill you?"
Willow kissed Tara on the lips. It was the only reassurance she could give her. She simply wasn't sure what was going to happen. And she wasn't sure if they really could deal with what was going to come.
And Willow and Tara didn't know the half of what is yet to come. Still in those caverns, Riley sat watching all the monitors. One of them was tuned into Willow's room in her old house where the two girls were now. Both her parents were out of town and the two girls had yet to move into their new apartment off campus. And that suited Riley just fine. He hadn't had a chance to set up the cameras in their new apartment.
He also listened as well as watched. He could hear every word that was said. And he couldn't help but smiling to himself. Tara and Willow had no way of knowing. Neither of them had any way of knowing. He was controlling their lives. He had implanted the dream in Tara's mind.
It was all part of the master plan he had going. Thanks to a little tip from a certain Mr. Maclay. The old fool had thought that Riley and his army buddies could help his little girl. Even after all the bad things that the man had done to his little girl over the years, he had still tried to help her so that she wouldn't become the demon everyone knew that she would someday become. The demon she really was going to become. And that was just funny to Riley.
Because he and the initiative had wanted Tara. They knew that she was more than just a powerful witch from the moment that they had come across her. She held such power. And it did in fact come from her demon side.
But her demon side was harmless. Harmless unless properly manipulated. And he was the perfect one to do the manipulating. After all, he had been Professor Walsh's TA for how long? He had to learn something from the good doctor, now didn't he?
He laughed to himself as he listened to Willow try and comfort her girlfriend. There was no getting around her destiny. She was going to become a demon. But she was going to become not the demon of her dreams. In fact, her outer appearance would hardly change at all.
But she would be able to transform. And in that new form, she would be even more powerful than the slayer. If he could learn to control Tara, he could use her to take out Buffy. He himself had tried with Adam. But the girl was simply more powerful than any slayer had ever been in history.
He should know. He had been programmed with every single slayer that had ever existed. Before Professor Walsh died, she had spoon fed him all the information he would need to take over the world. And he wanted to take over not only the human world, but also the demon world. And to do that, he needed to strike fear into every demon that surrounded him.
Riley smiled to himself as he watched the two lovers comforting one another. They had no idea what was in store for them. He walked over to where bars formed a cell along a deep cave opening. Lying on the floor unconscious was his double. The one that had been the first to contact the slayer.
But it was him now that was in control. Professor Walsh had not only built the ultimate human/demon hybrid, she had also built the perfect robot. After all, the good late doctor was a brilliant woman. And she had to cover all her bases. But it seemed that both of her creations had some minor if not major flaws in them. Both wanted world domination. And Adam was gone. But Riley was not.
The lookalike stirred. He slowly opened his eyes. Those eyes widened when they took in what they saw. A double that looked exactly like him. "What the hell are you?"
Riley smiled at his human counterpart. "I'm the end of the world as you and everyone knows it."