Categories > TV > Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Choices of Life
Dreams. It's what Willow used to have. Even in her darkened state, she could remember dreaming of things she wanted. The future that she was going to have with Tara no matter what evil happened to come along. She had thought that there was only one thing that could tear the two of them apart. That was the unfortunate demise of either of them.
In a way, she supposed that it was true that she had died. The soul that was inside of her was still there. But it was so far buried that no one, not even Tara, could reach it now. She wanted it that way. That way it was pretty much useless for anyone to try and reach her. Though, she knew that the scoobies would try.
The dream haunted her. She had thought that she was beyond fear. That she was beyond thoughts of being defeated. And beyond the concept of having to look for forgiveness. That showed weakness. And weakness was one thing that she refused to accept in herself or any of the members of the coven that she was slowly assembling.
There was an unusual group of witches gathered around her. They varied in power. Of course, none of them could even hope to match her power. And that was good to keep all of them in line. They worked so well when they feared for their lives. Otherwise, they would not care to do her bidding. Especially since her plan now was to get her children back.
World domination was her ultimate goal. But that would have to wait. It would have to wait until she had her family back by her side. Well, at least most of her family by her side. After all, there didn't seem to be a chance in hell that Tara would ever forgive her or stand by her side ever again.
Of course, that dream had told her otherwise. It had referred to the fact that there was forgiveness still in the young blond's heart. And that she would forever and for always love her. Even after watching her kill her own father, Tara still loved her. Not the part of her that had killed, but the part of her that had never been tainted by the darkside.
Willow thought about this for a moment. Though she was now evil through and through, there was still something about the thought of Tara forgiving her that was so appealing. There was a part of her that would throw everything out the window just to be with her again. But that was the weak part of her. The part that she would no longer let control her.
The dark haired witch turned back to her coven. Each was preparing their own version of an antiprotection spell. Though Willow had more power, she had failed to break through any of the spells that Tara had put around herself, the babies, and the scoobies. She would have her revenge before too long.
"How goes things?" Willow's sharp voice startled the others. She rarely spoke to them other then to give them orders. "I want to get my children back. Sooner then later ladies."
The strongest of the witches stood up and cautiously approached Willow. "We've all come up with a spell. The only problem, none of us has the power to actually make the spell work. But if one can get the power, one of them will be able to break through the barriers."
"They'd better." Willow turned her back for a moment. Though she was still the strongest of them, she was feeling a little down. Having tried so many times and so hard to break through Tara's protection had drained her. "Prepare the spells. I have an errand to run. I put you in charge, Elizabeth." She started to go. "But don't let that go to your head. After all, your head is easily removable."
Each of the witches swallowed hard as they watched Willow saunter out the door. Elizabeth turned to the group. "We have got to make sure that one of these works. And not just for my sake. I have a feeling that any one of us could be her next victim." There were silent nods of agreement as the group got back to their spells, fear being their motivation.
Willow was in the part of town that her good side never would have gone to. There might have been an emergency that she would have, but only in the case of death. But now, she was the one that creatures feared as she walked by. That feeling was quite intoxicating. If she were not careful, it could go to her head.
This was also an area that Buffy and Faith would patrol. She was not afraid of them, but to run into them ought to be quite interesting. But nothing would deter her from where she had to go. She needed an endless supply of power. There was one place that she had heard of from a very cooperative demon named Clem.
There was a human at the door. But then its eyelids opened sideways and the witch knew that it was some kind of demon or perhaps even an alien. It did not matter as long as it let her through. The creature nodded its head and move aside so that she could enter. Now that was a smart being.
There was something going on in the back. Some kind of fight of some kind. Willow ignored it and went to the bar. There was a familiar guy standing there. She had never gone to Willy's before, but knew enough about him to know the weasily guy when she saw him. Instead of looking at her, he was looking at what was going on in the back.
"You really should pay attention to your customers." Willy's face was pushed toward her by an invisible force. "Now, I've heard that you can get me the information that I want. If you can, maybe I can see to it that you get your old bar back. That's what you want, now isn't it?"
Willy was visibly shaking at this point. "You know that I do. But now, might not be the best time for that." His gaze kept going back to the ruckus that Willow had ignored earlier. "A couple of your old friends are here. And they are doing their thing."
Willow's eyes grew even darker for a moment. She turned toward the back of the room. Two vampires were hurled next to her. Her eyes never left the back of the room. Buffy and Faith emerged side by side from the crowd. "Well, well, if it isn't the dogooders I used to hang out with. What do you two want? Looking for me, I suppose."
"You suppose right." Buffy was the first to move toward her. "This has got to stop Willow. We know that you want to, deep down. In fact, we've got a proposition for you if you are willing to listen to reason."
"Reason?" Willow's laugh enveloped the entire bar. "You see, there is no reasoning with me. Well, not like how you would like there to be. Instead, there is only what I want. When I want it. And where I want it."
"Where do you want it then?" Faith came at Willow, her fist leading the way. She managed to connect a blow. Willow stood up and brushed herself off like she had never been hurt at all. "Gonna take a bit more force."
Willow waved her hand, but Faith just stood there. "I see that my ex is at it again. Well now. Two slayers that are into the magicks. This could get interesting. Too bad she isn't here. She'd be the one that might just be able to take me on."
"I thought so too." Willow's eyes widened at the sound of Tara's voice. She looked around and could not see her. "You see, I am here. But I'm also not here. If that makes sense. To you, I'm sure it does."
"I know the tricks." Willow tried to sense where Tara was coming from. Something was blocking her. Her girl was good, that was for sure. "I know how to get around them. It just might take me a bit."
"You don't have that amount of time." Tara appeared in front of her and touched her gently on the neck. "Time for sleep, my love. We'll deal with you the best way we can." She watched as Willow sunk to the ground. The blond witch turned to the two slayers. "It's safe, for now. But we need to hurry to get her back to the restraints."
"You got it." Faith nodded to Buffy. Both slayers picked up the downed witch.
It didn't take long to get back to the basement of The Magic Box. Xander, Anya, Giles, the twins, and Althena were already there. Spike was up in the office watching out for any signs of trouble. He felt like he should be with Buffy, but she had insisted that she and Faith would be better suited for this.
The slayers carried the witch to a specially prepared spot. Tara nodded as they laid her down on the bed. As soon as the slayers were clear, an invisible barrier shot up. Sighing heavily, the blond witch turned toward the others. "I know we agreed that you'd all be here. But I have to talk to her first."
"But what about me?" Xander shrugged his shoulders. "I thought you said that I would be the one that brought her back. Not that I want to step on anyone's toes. After all, I'm the one that's used to just getting the donuts. I'd be happy just getting the donuts instead of being the one that has to be the one to save the world."
"Breath." Anya put her arm around his shoulder. "Xander, you have to start breathing or you'll start hyperventilating. And then you could pass out. And then you could die. And I just got back to you. I don't want you dying. Please don't die yet Xander."
Xander smiled at Anya's little rant. "I won't be dying. Not today anyways."
"Don't count on it." Everyone turned to see a very much awake Willow. "You'll all die as soon as I can figure out how you rigged this thing." The evil witch ran her hand up and down the barrier. "Very nice. There doesn't seem to be a way around it. But give me time."
Tara looked at the others. Her look said it all and they took off. When they were alone, she turned back to the thing that had taken over her lovers body. "You don't have that much time. I know you had the dream." Willow tried not to, but could not help flinching. "Think of the life that you will be leaving your children to lead. Alexander will die trying to kill you. And your own daughter will be the one that does kill you. Think about that for a moment."
Willow turned her back on the blond. "Please. That dream was nothing. It did not mean that my kids would turn out that way. You know as well as I do, dreams and predicting the future are not that easy. There are too many variables to contend with. Like I don't think that the dream would have guessed that you and the others would have the guts to pull this." She turned around quickly. "Or had the smarts to."
It was meant to be a dig at Tara, but she only smiled sadly at her. "I think you mean that I had the power. You always did underestimate just how much power I had. It's true that you've always had more power then me. But using your power wisely does not mean that it makes you weak. In fact, it makes you stronger. Just look how I have you caged up now."
"So?" Willow waved her hand. A dozen lightening bolts bounced around the magickally formed jail cell. "I can keep doing this for hours on end and not lose much of my powers. And when I get out, I'll just remind you of how powerful I am and how much in control I am."
Tara's smile brightened a bit. "You were never in control. From the first day that we met, I was the one in control. Do you think that little sparkage that went from my hand to yours was just one of those things? I meant for it to happen. I'd been watching you walk around the campus. I was drawn to you from the very beginning."
"So?" Willow flung herself back on the bed. "You were a little lust bunny back then, putting the moves on me right from the start. Is that supposed to impress me somehow? Really, now. I don't think so. You were not in control."
"Who was the one that sent the first letter?" Tara came closer to the barrier. "Who was the one that talked to who first in class?" She put her hand on the barrier. "I was the one that caused you to make the choices you did. At least, I gave you a gentle nudge in the direction that I wanted you to go in."
Willow stood up and came face to face with her former everything. "Those are just minor things. You never controlled me. You never controlled my powers. It was always me that was in charge. You are so weak and feeble."
"I may have stuttered when we first met because I was so shy, but I always have been the one in control." Tara's blue eyes held those green ones locked in place. "I was the strong one. I survived my family. It's true that I needed you to help sever the final ties, but I was the one that got out. And I was the one that made the choice to live my life the way I wanted. Even if I was scared to death. You may be the most powerful wiccan magickally that ever lived, but I am the most powerful wiccan in this room."
"Ha!" Willow crossed her arms across her chest. "The magick is the power. Without it, no wiccan is anything. They might as well not exist without their powers. I am, and will always be, the most powerful wiccan."
"No." Tara's eyes got sad. "You forget the reason you first wanted to become a witch. It started out so that you could help Buffy, in more then just the computer way. You felt that you didn't contribute. Then, you felt the power that came along with magicks. And that's what turned you into what you are. Because you could not distinguish between the good and bad. No matter how hard you fought to."
"I don't want to fight it." Willow turned her back on Tara. "I like who I am. And I hope that I always stay this way. Whether you or any of the other scoobies like it. You can all just go to hell as far as I'm concerned."
"I'm already there." This made Willow turn around quickly. "I'm without the woman I love more then anything in the world. She died. I'm now left alone to raise two young wonderful kids." Willow started to say something, but Tara held up her hand. "I want you to know something. I forgive you. I forgive you for everything you have done and will do. It's not my Willow anymore. All you are, is an empty shell. The soul is gone. And I mourn for the woman that I fell in love with."
Willow just stood there and watched her walk out. There was so much of her that was screaming for her to go after her. But that was the weak side that she had buried so deep. No one could get to her. If Tara could not get to her, then who in the world could possibly get to her? No one, that's who.
Xander cautiously made his way toward his best friend. He held a protective charm that Tara had given him. He eyed the dark haired version of his friend cautiously. She looked up at him with an evil smile on her face. "Hey Will. Got a sec?"
"For you Xander, I've got an eternity." She smiled evilly. "I'm just thinking of how best to make you suffer for eternity. You still want to chat? Cause if you do, I'm thinking of skinning you one strip at a time."
Xander only shrugged his shoulders. "Go for it." Willow's eyes widened. "I just want you to know something. We all still love you, no matter what. You can kill us all and kill everything in the world, but we still love the Willow that was there before. So go ahead, do your worst?"
"Oh I will!" Willow's hands bashed against the barrier. It crashed down like glass smashing. She took off and jumped on Xander. She sat across his chest, her hands on his neck. "Or maybe I'll just suffocate you instead? Which option do you like better?" The laughter that escaped her would have chilled the master himself to the bone.
In a way, she supposed that it was true that she had died. The soul that was inside of her was still there. But it was so far buried that no one, not even Tara, could reach it now. She wanted it that way. That way it was pretty much useless for anyone to try and reach her. Though, she knew that the scoobies would try.
The dream haunted her. She had thought that she was beyond fear. That she was beyond thoughts of being defeated. And beyond the concept of having to look for forgiveness. That showed weakness. And weakness was one thing that she refused to accept in herself or any of the members of the coven that she was slowly assembling.
There was an unusual group of witches gathered around her. They varied in power. Of course, none of them could even hope to match her power. And that was good to keep all of them in line. They worked so well when they feared for their lives. Otherwise, they would not care to do her bidding. Especially since her plan now was to get her children back.
World domination was her ultimate goal. But that would have to wait. It would have to wait until she had her family back by her side. Well, at least most of her family by her side. After all, there didn't seem to be a chance in hell that Tara would ever forgive her or stand by her side ever again.
Of course, that dream had told her otherwise. It had referred to the fact that there was forgiveness still in the young blond's heart. And that she would forever and for always love her. Even after watching her kill her own father, Tara still loved her. Not the part of her that had killed, but the part of her that had never been tainted by the darkside.
Willow thought about this for a moment. Though she was now evil through and through, there was still something about the thought of Tara forgiving her that was so appealing. There was a part of her that would throw everything out the window just to be with her again. But that was the weak part of her. The part that she would no longer let control her.
The dark haired witch turned back to her coven. Each was preparing their own version of an antiprotection spell. Though Willow had more power, she had failed to break through any of the spells that Tara had put around herself, the babies, and the scoobies. She would have her revenge before too long.
"How goes things?" Willow's sharp voice startled the others. She rarely spoke to them other then to give them orders. "I want to get my children back. Sooner then later ladies."
The strongest of the witches stood up and cautiously approached Willow. "We've all come up with a spell. The only problem, none of us has the power to actually make the spell work. But if one can get the power, one of them will be able to break through the barriers."
"They'd better." Willow turned her back for a moment. Though she was still the strongest of them, she was feeling a little down. Having tried so many times and so hard to break through Tara's protection had drained her. "Prepare the spells. I have an errand to run. I put you in charge, Elizabeth." She started to go. "But don't let that go to your head. After all, your head is easily removable."
Each of the witches swallowed hard as they watched Willow saunter out the door. Elizabeth turned to the group. "We have got to make sure that one of these works. And not just for my sake. I have a feeling that any one of us could be her next victim." There were silent nods of agreement as the group got back to their spells, fear being their motivation.
Willow was in the part of town that her good side never would have gone to. There might have been an emergency that she would have, but only in the case of death. But now, she was the one that creatures feared as she walked by. That feeling was quite intoxicating. If she were not careful, it could go to her head.
This was also an area that Buffy and Faith would patrol. She was not afraid of them, but to run into them ought to be quite interesting. But nothing would deter her from where she had to go. She needed an endless supply of power. There was one place that she had heard of from a very cooperative demon named Clem.
There was a human at the door. But then its eyelids opened sideways and the witch knew that it was some kind of demon or perhaps even an alien. It did not matter as long as it let her through. The creature nodded its head and move aside so that she could enter. Now that was a smart being.
There was something going on in the back. Some kind of fight of some kind. Willow ignored it and went to the bar. There was a familiar guy standing there. She had never gone to Willy's before, but knew enough about him to know the weasily guy when she saw him. Instead of looking at her, he was looking at what was going on in the back.
"You really should pay attention to your customers." Willy's face was pushed toward her by an invisible force. "Now, I've heard that you can get me the information that I want. If you can, maybe I can see to it that you get your old bar back. That's what you want, now isn't it?"
Willy was visibly shaking at this point. "You know that I do. But now, might not be the best time for that." His gaze kept going back to the ruckus that Willow had ignored earlier. "A couple of your old friends are here. And they are doing their thing."
Willow's eyes grew even darker for a moment. She turned toward the back of the room. Two vampires were hurled next to her. Her eyes never left the back of the room. Buffy and Faith emerged side by side from the crowd. "Well, well, if it isn't the dogooders I used to hang out with. What do you two want? Looking for me, I suppose."
"You suppose right." Buffy was the first to move toward her. "This has got to stop Willow. We know that you want to, deep down. In fact, we've got a proposition for you if you are willing to listen to reason."
"Reason?" Willow's laugh enveloped the entire bar. "You see, there is no reasoning with me. Well, not like how you would like there to be. Instead, there is only what I want. When I want it. And where I want it."
"Where do you want it then?" Faith came at Willow, her fist leading the way. She managed to connect a blow. Willow stood up and brushed herself off like she had never been hurt at all. "Gonna take a bit more force."
Willow waved her hand, but Faith just stood there. "I see that my ex is at it again. Well now. Two slayers that are into the magicks. This could get interesting. Too bad she isn't here. She'd be the one that might just be able to take me on."
"I thought so too." Willow's eyes widened at the sound of Tara's voice. She looked around and could not see her. "You see, I am here. But I'm also not here. If that makes sense. To you, I'm sure it does."
"I know the tricks." Willow tried to sense where Tara was coming from. Something was blocking her. Her girl was good, that was for sure. "I know how to get around them. It just might take me a bit."
"You don't have that amount of time." Tara appeared in front of her and touched her gently on the neck. "Time for sleep, my love. We'll deal with you the best way we can." She watched as Willow sunk to the ground. The blond witch turned to the two slayers. "It's safe, for now. But we need to hurry to get her back to the restraints."
"You got it." Faith nodded to Buffy. Both slayers picked up the downed witch.
It didn't take long to get back to the basement of The Magic Box. Xander, Anya, Giles, the twins, and Althena were already there. Spike was up in the office watching out for any signs of trouble. He felt like he should be with Buffy, but she had insisted that she and Faith would be better suited for this.
The slayers carried the witch to a specially prepared spot. Tara nodded as they laid her down on the bed. As soon as the slayers were clear, an invisible barrier shot up. Sighing heavily, the blond witch turned toward the others. "I know we agreed that you'd all be here. But I have to talk to her first."
"But what about me?" Xander shrugged his shoulders. "I thought you said that I would be the one that brought her back. Not that I want to step on anyone's toes. After all, I'm the one that's used to just getting the donuts. I'd be happy just getting the donuts instead of being the one that has to be the one to save the world."
"Breath." Anya put her arm around his shoulder. "Xander, you have to start breathing or you'll start hyperventilating. And then you could pass out. And then you could die. And I just got back to you. I don't want you dying. Please don't die yet Xander."
Xander smiled at Anya's little rant. "I won't be dying. Not today anyways."
"Don't count on it." Everyone turned to see a very much awake Willow. "You'll all die as soon as I can figure out how you rigged this thing." The evil witch ran her hand up and down the barrier. "Very nice. There doesn't seem to be a way around it. But give me time."
Tara looked at the others. Her look said it all and they took off. When they were alone, she turned back to the thing that had taken over her lovers body. "You don't have that much time. I know you had the dream." Willow tried not to, but could not help flinching. "Think of the life that you will be leaving your children to lead. Alexander will die trying to kill you. And your own daughter will be the one that does kill you. Think about that for a moment."
Willow turned her back on the blond. "Please. That dream was nothing. It did not mean that my kids would turn out that way. You know as well as I do, dreams and predicting the future are not that easy. There are too many variables to contend with. Like I don't think that the dream would have guessed that you and the others would have the guts to pull this." She turned around quickly. "Or had the smarts to."
It was meant to be a dig at Tara, but she only smiled sadly at her. "I think you mean that I had the power. You always did underestimate just how much power I had. It's true that you've always had more power then me. But using your power wisely does not mean that it makes you weak. In fact, it makes you stronger. Just look how I have you caged up now."
"So?" Willow waved her hand. A dozen lightening bolts bounced around the magickally formed jail cell. "I can keep doing this for hours on end and not lose much of my powers. And when I get out, I'll just remind you of how powerful I am and how much in control I am."
Tara's smile brightened a bit. "You were never in control. From the first day that we met, I was the one in control. Do you think that little sparkage that went from my hand to yours was just one of those things? I meant for it to happen. I'd been watching you walk around the campus. I was drawn to you from the very beginning."
"So?" Willow flung herself back on the bed. "You were a little lust bunny back then, putting the moves on me right from the start. Is that supposed to impress me somehow? Really, now. I don't think so. You were not in control."
"Who was the one that sent the first letter?" Tara came closer to the barrier. "Who was the one that talked to who first in class?" She put her hand on the barrier. "I was the one that caused you to make the choices you did. At least, I gave you a gentle nudge in the direction that I wanted you to go in."
Willow stood up and came face to face with her former everything. "Those are just minor things. You never controlled me. You never controlled my powers. It was always me that was in charge. You are so weak and feeble."
"I may have stuttered when we first met because I was so shy, but I always have been the one in control." Tara's blue eyes held those green ones locked in place. "I was the strong one. I survived my family. It's true that I needed you to help sever the final ties, but I was the one that got out. And I was the one that made the choice to live my life the way I wanted. Even if I was scared to death. You may be the most powerful wiccan magickally that ever lived, but I am the most powerful wiccan in this room."
"Ha!" Willow crossed her arms across her chest. "The magick is the power. Without it, no wiccan is anything. They might as well not exist without their powers. I am, and will always be, the most powerful wiccan."
"No." Tara's eyes got sad. "You forget the reason you first wanted to become a witch. It started out so that you could help Buffy, in more then just the computer way. You felt that you didn't contribute. Then, you felt the power that came along with magicks. And that's what turned you into what you are. Because you could not distinguish between the good and bad. No matter how hard you fought to."
"I don't want to fight it." Willow turned her back on Tara. "I like who I am. And I hope that I always stay this way. Whether you or any of the other scoobies like it. You can all just go to hell as far as I'm concerned."
"I'm already there." This made Willow turn around quickly. "I'm without the woman I love more then anything in the world. She died. I'm now left alone to raise two young wonderful kids." Willow started to say something, but Tara held up her hand. "I want you to know something. I forgive you. I forgive you for everything you have done and will do. It's not my Willow anymore. All you are, is an empty shell. The soul is gone. And I mourn for the woman that I fell in love with."
Willow just stood there and watched her walk out. There was so much of her that was screaming for her to go after her. But that was the weak side that she had buried so deep. No one could get to her. If Tara could not get to her, then who in the world could possibly get to her? No one, that's who.
Xander cautiously made his way toward his best friend. He held a protective charm that Tara had given him. He eyed the dark haired version of his friend cautiously. She looked up at him with an evil smile on her face. "Hey Will. Got a sec?"
"For you Xander, I've got an eternity." She smiled evilly. "I'm just thinking of how best to make you suffer for eternity. You still want to chat? Cause if you do, I'm thinking of skinning you one strip at a time."
Xander only shrugged his shoulders. "Go for it." Willow's eyes widened. "I just want you to know something. We all still love you, no matter what. You can kill us all and kill everything in the world, but we still love the Willow that was there before. So go ahead, do your worst?"
"Oh I will!" Willow's hands bashed against the barrier. It crashed down like glass smashing. She took off and jumped on Xander. She sat across his chest, her hands on his neck. "Or maybe I'll just suffocate you instead? Which option do you like better?" The laughter that escaped her would have chilled the master himself to the bone.
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