Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures where the First is involved. In order to prevent the end of the world, Buffy asks Willow to do a spell that's supposed to fix everything, and Spike goes along for the ride.
Rating: PG-13
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Willow had never even heard of a scrying bowl. She’d mostly been focused on spells with more power, like conjuring and controlling the elements. Besides, from everything she’d heard, what Tara was doing took a lot of natural talent. Willow had power, but little ability to read Tarot cards, or palms. It seemed that she wasn’t in tune with the elements.
At that moment, however, she had to admit to being just a little bit jealous, because Tara was providing an invaluable service.
Willow sat next to Xander where they had crowded together on the couch, Anya on his other side. The center of the room had been cleared, and Tara sat cross-legged with the bowl in front of her. Giles, Buffy, and Spike were watching from the edge of the room with interest.
Tara poured water into the bowl from a pitcher set aside for that purpose. She murmured something in a low voice. Willow couldn’t catch the words, but she saw Tara pass her hand over the bowl three times before bending over it and peering into the water.
No one spoke; it seemed that everyone was holding their breaths.
Finally, Tara spoke. “I see a dark-haired girl in a hospital bed.”
“Faith,” Buffy said. “What else?”
“She’s waking up.” Tara frowned. “I can’t see what happens after that.”
“What does that mean?” Spike asked.
Tara shook her head. “P-probably that a-anything c-could happen.”
“What about the Initiative?” Buffy asked. “Do you see anything? Like a giant demon cyborg?”
Tara frowned in concentration. “No, I—wait.” Her face drained of color, and she looked up at Buffy. “Does he have a skewer in his arm?”
Buffy nodded. “Why?”
“You’re going to need to watch out for that,” she hedged, looking back down into the water.
“Did you see him kill Buffy?” Willow asked immediately, feeling a little freaked out at the idea.
Tara hesitated. “Just because I see it in the bowl doesn’t mean that’s what is going to happen.”
“But it means that there’s a danger.” Spike’s tone was grim. “We’ll have to get to him first.”
“Can you see any way to do that?” Buffy asked, looking a little pale herself.
Tara shook her head. “No, I—” She stopped, then frowned. “You’re going to need the other girl. Faith?”
Willow’s eyes widened. “Buffy’s supposed to get Faith to help her with the Initiative? She’s evil!”
“No, she’s not,” Buffy said quietly. “At least, she isn’t always. Tara, do you see anything with my mom?”
Tara was quiet for a moment, and then she smiled. “I see her holding a baby.”
Buffy’s eyes went wide with alarm. “A baby?”
“I don’t know whose,” Tara was quick to say, “but your mom looks happy.”
Spike nodded, as though satisfied. “Think Joyce is goin’ to be alright, luv.”
Tara straightened, beginning to rise shakily. “That’s all I can see right now.”
Spike was at her side immediately. “You did fine, pet. Better than we could have hoped for.”
Willow got up so that Tara could take her spot on the couch. “Did you really see Buffy…” She couldn’t even finish the sentence.
Tara sighed. “It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen.”
“But it means that it could.” Buffy rubbed her forehead tiredly.
“It’s not gonna happen,” Spike insisted. “We’ll take him out first, even if it means we have to sneak into the labs and rip Adam limb from limb.”
“Enough,” Giles said, stepping in. “We know what we have to watch for now.”
Willow frowned, wondering how they were going to watch for it when they didn’t know when or where Adam would strike. She eyed the scrying bowl speculatively. She’d have to do some research, but Willow thought that there might be a way to build a better mousetrap.
~~~~~
“But what baby?” Buffy asked.
Spike stared at her. “Luv, aren’t there bigger things to worry about? Like how we’re going to bring Faith over to our side, or how we’re goin’ to make sure you aren’t killed?”
Buffy shrugged. “I’ve died before. After a while, it’s hard to get excited about it. I want to know what baby Tara saw, because that’s just weird. When would Mom have a baby to hold?”
“Babysitting for a friend?” Spike suggested. “That’s not a problem. Faith is.”
Buffy sighed. In truth, she hadn’t wanted to think about Faith, or dying at Adam’s hands. “Fine. Faith should be waking up any day now. What would you suggest we do?”
“Station someone at the hospital,” Spike said. “Intercept her when she wakes up, an’ somehow convince her that she’ll be better off on our side.”
Buffy shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s going to work, Spike. After the last time, I’m not sure that Faith can be reached. Not by me, anyway, and not right now.”
“Why not?” he asked. “If she knows what’s coming, that she’ll end up in jail if she doesn’t go along with it?”
Buffy shook her head. She’d seen Faith’s future, and so she knew that the other Slayer had one, that she could be something other than the bad girl they’d all believed her. Not to overlook the fact that she’d taken a walk on the wild side, and had burned plenty of bridges.
But she vividly remembered this Faith, the one who had been so intent on taking over her life, from the inside out. Faith had been willing to destroy her, and willing to throw her to the wolves.
And that reminded her…
“We’ll have to be on the lookout for the Council goons,” Buffy said. “They grabbed me the last time, and they would have shot me if I hadn’t stopped them.”
Spike nodded. “We’ll just have to get to Faith first, that’s all. How much time do you think we have?”
“I don’t know,” Buffy admitted. “A few weeks ago, I probably could have given you a time frame, but the Gentlemen switched locations, and Ethan Rayne hasn’t shown up yet. I was sure he’d have approached Giles by now.”
Spike frowned in thought. “I’ll see what I can do at the hospital. Maybe I can pay someone off to notify us when she starts wakin’ up. That would be better than one of us havin’ to stay there constantly.”
“Much better,” Buffy agreed. She glanced around the cemetery. “You ready to call it a night? It’s dead out here. No pun intended.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah. Might as well. I had plans anyway.”
“Oh?” Buffy often liked Spike’s plans these days, so she was interested in hearing what he had in mind. “What’s that?”
“You think your mum would mind if you stayed at my place tonight?” he asked, not bothering to answer her question.
“I doubt it. She seems to have gotten used to the idea of the two of us together. Why?”
“Because what I had planned is going to take all night.”
~~~~~
Giles checked his watch as he walked out of the Espresso Pump. He’d had a very nice conversation with the proprietor where it had come out that he sang and played the guitar. They had been discussing their musical pasts, and she had suggested that he perform some night.
It was an intriguing idea, one he had promised to think about. In truth, Giles was beginning to wish for some employment other than trying to figure out how to best help Spike and Buffy. While he felt the need to be free for meetings like the one they’d had the day before, Giles also wanted something more to do with his time. He’d been rather bored of late.
“Ripper!”
The corners of Giles’ lips tilted upwards. Buffy had warned him that Ethan would be coming to town, and a scuffle was just what he needed.
Of course, after he got done beating the information out of Ethan, there really was no way he could allow the man to go free. Rayne would be sure to cause trouble, and Giles wasn’t sure what he’d done the first time around.
“Ethan.” Not wanting to put Rayne on edge, Giles grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him back into a nearby alley. “I didn’t think you’d have the nerve to show your face around here again.”
“I have information!” Ethan replied quickly, holding up his hands in protest. “Information that you’re going to need.”
Giles slammed him back against the wall. “I doubt it.”
“It’s about the Initiative.” Ethan looked at him hopefully. “I’ve heard that you’ve been having trouble with that lot.”
Giles released him reluctantly. “What of it?”
“I told you, Ripper. I have information that could help. Surely you don’t want to miss out on a chance to protect your Slayer.”
As always, Ethan knew exactly the right buttons to push, and Giles nodded. “Fine.” Remembering what Buffy said, he added, “But why don’t we go back to my place? I don’t want to be overheard.”
Giles didn’t think that the Initiative was so well informed that they would hear of a conversation between two middle-aged Englishmen, but it was better safe than sorry. Besides, it would be much easier to keep Rayne at his apartment afterwards. He’d get exactly what he needed out of Ethan, and then he would tie him up and call Buffy.
Nothing could be simpler.
~~~~~
As a rule, Joyce didn’t like phone calls in the middle of the night; they rarely meant good news, and since finding out that Buffy was the Slayer, she feared them even more. Even knowing that Buffy was safely in bed just down the hall couldn’t stifle the thick wave of fear she felt upon being startled out of a deep sleep. “Hello?”
“Joyce? It’s Rupert. I need to speak with Buffy.”
She frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine,” he replied, sounding rather tense. “But an old friend just came into town, and I need to be sure that he doesn’t present a threat.”
“I’ll wake her up,” Joyce replied. She rose, taking the cordless phone with her into Buffy’s room. She shook her daughter awake, whispering, “Buffy, it’s Mr. Giles.”
Buffy stirred sleepily and reached for the phone, her eyes still closed. “Got it, Mom,” she murmured. “Giles?” she asked, yawning into the mouthpiece.
Joyce couldn’t hear what Giles said, but her daughter’s reaction was immediate. “Don’t let him out of your sight,” she ordered. “I’m going to call Spike, and we’ll be over there as soon as possible.” There was a pause, and then Buffy said, “Of course it’s necessary, Giles. You don’t know what happened the last time, and Spike and I will need to deal with him somehow. I can’t turn him over to the Initiative this time.”
Buffy disconnected, then immediately dialed Spike’s number.
Joyce belatedly realized that she’d been eavesdropping, and that she probably should leave the room, but she didn’t see the point. If Buffy was going to leave, Joyce wanted to know about it. She was awake now, and it made no sense to go back to bed before she was sure she could stay there.
Her daughter’s conversation with Spike was brief. She simply told him that Giles had called and that she needed a ride to his apartment. Once she’d hung up, Buffy looked at her. “I’m sorry we woke you, Mom.”
“What was that all about?” Joyce asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
“Do you remember the band candy?”
Joyce colored slightly, grateful for the dim light of the room. “How could I forget?”
“It was the guy responsible for that,” Buffy explained. “Last time around, Ethan turned Giles into a demon, which caused all sorts of problems. This time, Giles tied Rayne up, but we need to figure out what to do with him.”
Joyce nodded. “Well, good luck, sweetheart. You’ll call me tomorrow and let me know how it turns out?”
“Sure thing,” Buffy promised.
Joyce went back to bed, although she lay sleepless for a long time, wondering what was to come, and how many other problems they would have that couldn’t be solved quite so easily.
~~~~~
“This is really unnecessary.” Ethan struggled against the ropes that held him. “I came to you in friendship, Ripper.”
Spike snorted. “You came to turn him into a Fyarl demon, an’ you didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.”
Rayne’s eyes narrowed. “And what is your business with all of this, hmm? You’re a vampire; you ought to be killing the Slayer.”
“Never did do what I was told,” Spike responded cheerfully. “Don’t see why I should start now.” He looked at Giles. “I would still vote for dumping him in the desert.”
Giles frowned thoughtfully. “It’s an idea.”
“Rupert!” Ethan protested. “You can’t do that! You’re supposed to be one of the good guys.”
Giles shrugged. “Perhaps, but as you insist on reminding me, I’m still Ripper deep down.” He looked at Buffy. “What would you suggest?”
Buffy shrugged. “The desert sounds like a plan. I mean, he keeps coming back, and the third time is the charm. Or maybe it should be three strikes and he’s out.”
“Wait!” Ethan said rather desperately. “I haven’t told you everything about the Initiative.”
Giles smiled grimly. “And why am I not surprised?”
“The woman in charge has heard rumors of the Slayer,” Ethan said, clearly anxious to give them enough information to convince them not to dump him in the desert—or something equally unpleasant. Spike could think of any number of possibilities.
“And where would she have heard these rumors?” Giles demanded. “From you?”
“No!” Ethan replied, his voice indicating hurt at the accusation. “Vampires and demons know who the Slayer is in this town. The word is that she believes the rumors to be more than myth.”
“So what?” Buffy asked, pretending nonchalance. “I don’t think it matters what rumors she’s heard.”
“And when she sends a platoon of soldiers after you?” Ethan asked rather smugly for someone who was tied up. “You might want to think about getting out of town, Miss Summers.”
“I don’t think I need your advice,” Buffy retorted. She turned to Spike. “Would you like to eat him now? Because I think that would be allowed under the circumstances.”
Spike let his face shift, grinning at the magician evilly. “My pleasure.”
“Just a moment,” Giles cautioned, playing the good cop. “He might have more to say.”
Ethan nodded. “I do, as a matter of fact. The entire demon world is afraid of something called ‘314.’”
“Too bad we already know what that is,” Spike sneered. At a nearly imperceptible nod from Giles, he backhanded the man, causing Ethan to slump unconscious in his bonds. “What are we going to do with him?”
Giles sighed. “I honestly don’t know. What did you do the last time?”
“Nothing,” Buffy admitted. “The Initiative took him, but I wouldn’t entrust my worst enemy to them, so that’s out of the question.”
“Why not put him on a freight train?” Spike suggested. “We dump him in an empty car, an’ he might get picked up by security—or not. Up to him, an’ he’ll know we’re ready for him the next time he comes around.”
Giles thought for a moment. “That’s not a bad idea,” he admitted. “It might be enough of a deterrent that he won’t come back again.”
Buffy nodded. “Sounds good to me. What are we going to do about the Initiative, Giles? If they’re really that interested in me, that doesn’t make me feel very good.”
“I’ll place a call to the Council,” Giles said. “Perhaps they’ll have a suggestion.”
She nodded. “I guess there isn’t much else we can do.”
“It’s too bad we can’t do what Adam did,” Spike commented. “Seal off the entrances, an’ set the demons loose. If they had to fight it out, the soldiers might not be so keen on startin’ the operation out again.”
Buffy swallowed, looking almost sick as she said, “Why couldn’t we?”
Giles frowned. “What are you saying?”
“That’s what Adam did,” Buffy pointed out. “He released the demons, and let the soldiers and them kill each other. He wanted the body parts that he was going to get at the end of things, but we might be able to do the same thing.”
“How?” Spike asked. “That would take…” He trailed off, realizing where this was going. “You think Red could hack it?”
“I think it’s a possibility.” Her expression was miserable. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Giles pulled his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t a decision that we have to make tonight. I think we ought to try and find another solution first.”
Buffy nodded unhappily. “I agree, but I don’t know how else we can shut it down, Giles.”
“We’ll see.” He looked at Ethan Rayne’s unconscious form. “Are you both going to take care of him, or just Spike?”
Spike shrugged. “It’s up to Buffy.”
“I’ll go with you,” Buffy said. “We probably better stick together until the Initiative is taken care of.”
“Agreed,” Giles said. “I’ll see both of you tomorrow. We’ll need to discuss Faith’s situation more in depth. She may not be easy to persuade.”
Buffy nodded. “Let’s hope that she’ll listen to reason.”
Spike didn’t say anything, but he had a few ideas to get Faith to listen—particularly if joining up with them was the only choice she had.
~~~~~
Willow took a deep breath, hoping that she wasn’t making a huge mistake. She knew that she’d promised Spike and Buffy that she would ask them before doing another spell, but this one was just to see the future, not to control anyone or anything.
The spell was a little different than the one Tara had used. It required conjuring a spirit, which would then create scenes out of the incense smoke. At least in theory that’s what would happen. Willow had never tried anything like this before.
She took a deep breath and began the incantation, keeping her mind focused on the task at hand, and what she most wanted to know. Willow still felt as though Buffy was holding back on her, and she wanted to see more of her own future.
Of course, if she came up with any useful information for the rest of the group, she would share, but Willow wanted to know what would happen with her and Oz, and if she should take him back. Maybe that decision would just lead to more heartache along the way.
The incense swirled up and around her, and Willow peered into the smoke, trying to tell if the spell was working. She could feel the power crackling around her, and she started to panic just a little. Willow was half-tempted to end the spell before it was completed, afraid that it would spiral out of her control.
Just as she was ready to end it, Willow could see figures form in the smoke. She saw Oz walking away from her, and she recognized the scene as one she’d already experienced. It shifted to show her saying goodbye to Oz, and then her kissing Tara.
Willow almost lost her concentration at that point. She was going to fall in love with Tara?
She watched as she got deeper and deeper into magic, as she performed spell after spell with disastrous consequences. Willow saw herself resurrect Buffy, and transform Amy from a rat, and go crazy with spells at the Bronze. She watched as a young girl got hurt because of her and could tell that it was a betrayal.
Finally, she watched as Tara died in her arms, and she killed Tara’s murderer by skinning him alive, nearly ending the world out of pain and grief.
Willow lost control at that point, and a strong wind rushed through the room, dissipating the smoke, and whipping her hair around her face. With tears streaming down her face, she spoke the words to end the spell.
“Willow? What’s going on here?”
She could hear the suspicion in Buffy’s voice, and Willow understood it now. It was clear why Buffy had hesitated to trust her at least with information about the future. Instinctively, Willow knew that what she’d seen represented the road she had traveled, the one Buffy had walked with her.
Willow still didn’t know what her future held, or whether she ought to try again with Oz. What she did know was that she was capable of great destruction.
“Buffy—I can explain,” Willow said quickly.
Buffy shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it. Willow, how could you?”
“I just needed to know how things with Oz were going to turn out!” she cried. “I knew you weren’t telling me everything, and I needed to know!”
Buffy stopped, suspicion melting away to reveal concern. “What did you see?”
“Me.” Willow swallowed. “I saw what I was going to do. What I did.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I saw me—with Tara, and the magic, and killing that guy. I saw it all.”
“Oh, Will.” Buffy knelt on the floor next to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t want you to know. Most of the time, I don’t want to know.”
Willow felt the tears flow down her cheeks. “What am I going to do, Buffy? I don’t know how not to be that person. I just don’t.”
Buffy wrapped her up in a hug. “You won’t. I promise. We’ll figure it out.”
Willow couldn’t quite believe her, not after what she’d seen.
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