Heaven Tagged (BtVS/SPN)
4 Mar 2010 15:26![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skylar0graceTitle: Heaven Tagged.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Complete.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Buffy has been brought back from Heaven and she has more than one hitch-hiker. One of them goes by the name of Mary Winchester and she needs to speak to her family. Can Buffy help her?
Spoilers: Pre ‘Supernatural’ and Season 1-6 of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.
Disclaimer: ‘Supernatural’ and all related characters are copyright Eric Kripke, Kripke Enterprises & The CW Network. No infringement intended. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and all related characters are copyright Joss Whedon and ME. No infringement intended.
Notes: Based on a challenge issued by Phoenix.
Dawn walked over to where Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya were researching. Across from them sat Buffy, staring into space and Dawn shot a worried glance in her direction before looking over Willow’s shoulder.
“What's the list?”
“Possible hitchhikers,” Anya said off-handedly.
“Demons that might have come out of Hell at the same time Buffy did.”
“‘Skaggmore demons, Trellbane demons, Skitterers, Large and Small Bone-Eaters’ ... If we get to pick, I say we go with the Small Bone-Eaters.”
“Well, that just means they prefer to eat things with small bones, like you.”
“That's just what we have so far,” Willow said, “Five species of demons that have been known to move transdimensionally. Two of them may be invisible in this dimension, and, uh, two others can perform spells to alter perception.”
“Well, that's four. What's the other one like?”
Tara’s face scrunched up. “Uh, like the others, only dripping with viscous fluid.”
“Eww.”
“So, should we concentrate on how to kill those, or should we try to find more?”
“I'm not sure,” Willow began, “Maybe ... maybe some of us can, uh, keep going finding more, and the others—”
“I miss Giles,” Buffy said suddenly.
“Oh. He's coming back, I talked to him.” Willow gave her a small smile, “I know I'm a kind of poor substitute, but until then, we'll get it done.”
Everybody looked at Buffy expectantly and she felt the same overwhelmed feeling that she’d been felling since she got back. “I think I should patrol.”
A hurt look crossed Willow’s face. “Well, I know we'll find something soon.”
“Yeah.”
Buffy paused before heading awkwardly to the door.
“Uh, do you want us to go with you?”
“We can do that.”
Buffy squashed down the panic rising in her chest. “No. I-I need to go. Sorry.”
“You should go,” Dawn agreed as Buffy walked out the door, the belling jingling as the door closed. “I'll be safe here with the others. Don't worry about me.” Her eyes briefly flashed a greyish-white before she smiled maniacally.
~
Buffy distractedly walked through the cemetery. She had been seeing the smudge all day and the last time she had seen it, she could have sworn it was a person. She saw a small blur out of the corner of her eye and dropped into a fighting stance. The smudge of smoke appeared again but this time it thinned out until Buffy could see the form of a beautiful woman.
She looked to Buffy and smiled a warm smile, the type her Mum used to give her. She stepped forward and instead of her muscles tensing, Buffy’s relaxed. She wasn’t sure who the woman was but she was certain she didn’t want to harm her. The woman began speaking and Buffy frowned. Either the woman couldn’t speak or Buffy was deaf. An owl hooted nearby and Buffy let out a deep breath. At least she wasn’t deaf.
The woman began moving closer, her hands waving around as she tried to get Buffy to understand her. Buffy shook her head.
“I can’t hear you.”
The woman stopped and looked at something behind her. Buffy looked but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The woman looked back once before turning and disappearing. Buffy blinked and when she opened her eyes again, there was still no one there. She frowned again, hoping that like the pictures, it was related to this demon and not to her going crazy. Then again, she was in the cemetery.
~
“I found one of those 24-hour places for coffee,” Anya said. “Remember that bookstore? Well they became one of those books-and-coffee places, and now they're just coffee. It's like evolution, only without the getting-better part.”
Anya walked past Dawn to the table where everyone was still researching. “Uh, coffee, coffee, coffee, um, hot chocolate for Dawn.” She turned to Dawn “You're too young for coffee.”
Dawn turned around, her eyes glowing white as she glared at them. “Idiot.”
“You can have my coffee,” Anya said in a weak voice.
Dawn’s voice held a low harsh tone. “All of you did it. You stupid children. Did you think the blood wouldn't reach you? I smell the death on you. Look at what you've done!”
Dawn opened her mouth and flames shot out towards the table. Everyone ducked and the books on the top of the piles caught on fire. Dawn collapsed to the ground and Xander jumped up.
“Fire! Fire! Fire!” He grabbed a cushion from one of the chairs and began stamping out the flames as the others rush to Dawn.
“Dawn!”
“Oh my god, oh my god.”
Xander stamped out the last of the flames and Willow and Tara helped Dawn sit up.
“That was it,” Willow said. “Li-like Buffy, with fire.”
None of them saw the bulge under the floor move away from them towards the door.
“Is she okay?” Xander asked.
Anya turned to Xander with a concerned look on her face. “Did I look like that? I hope I didn't look like that.”
“No, I'm sure you looked really glamorous cutting up your face,” Willow snapped.
“What ... what is it? What's happening?” Dawn asked as she tried to sit up.
“You'll be okay,” Willow reassured.
“I bet you'll experience some dry-mouth.” Everyone looked at her. “Fire,” she clarified.
“Was it ... did the demon thing have me?”
“It's okay. It's okay.”
“Yeah. It's gone.”
“Yes, but where did it go?” Anya said looking around. “I mean, evil things have plans. They have things to do.”
~
Xander looked out of the blinds of the Magic shop. “It's getting light out. Buffy's probably on her way home from patrolling.”
Tara glanced across to him. “I like sunrise better when I'm getting up early than when I'm staying up late, you know? It's like ... I'm seeing it from the wrong side.”
Xander looked as though he was wrestling with himself and Tara tilted her head to the side. “Hey, Tara,” he said finally, “this is probably crazy ... but Spike got me to thinking. This spell we did ... it's having consequences, isn't it? I mean ... it sure seems like it. And I was just wondering ... did you know that this might happen?”
“No!”
“Do you think ... could someone have known?”
“Willow is a talented witch, and she would never do anything to hurt anyone.”
Xander raised his hands as though in defence. “I know, I know, huh? Backing off quickly, hands in the air.” He sighed. “I just meant-”
“Thaumogenesis!” Willow shouted as her head shot up from the counter. Anya and Dawn, who were asleep at the table, jerked awake at her shout.
“She's possessed!” Anya declared.
“Thaumogenesis.” Willow said again as she held up a book.
Dawn turned to Anya. “You're right.”
Xander and Tara walked over to Willow and she frowned at the accusation.
“I'm not possessed. I-I think I figured it out. This demon, i-it's not a demon we let out. It's, it's a demon that we made.”
Xander looked surprised. “We made a demon? Bad us.”
“Thaumogenesis is when doing a spell actually creates a being. In this case it was like, a, a side-effect, I guess. Like a price.”
“What?” Dawn asked confused. Willow took a deep breath.
“Think of it like, the world doesn't like you getting something for free, and we asked for this huge gift. Buffy. A-and so the world said, 'fine, but if you have that, you have to take this too.' And it made the demon.”
“Well, technically, that's not a price. That's a gift with purchase,” Anya said smiling.
Dawn looked back to Willow. “Um, but, if we made the demon, how come we can't see it? I mean, all we see is us. Doing stuff.”
“Well, I, I think it's out of phase with this dimension. Like, its consciousness is here, but, but its body is caught in the ether between existing and not existing.”
“It doesn't have a body, so it's borrowing ours. I-it borrowed Dawn and Anya...”
“Or, or it's manifesting copies of them, like, like it did when Buffy came at us...”
“It's using them to do stuff. To scare us, attack us.”
“So we need to uncreate it, right?” Xander cut in. “We need to send it the rest of the way out of our world.”
“Uh-huh. Except that ... it's linked to the spell. So, if we sent it away ... it would be like the spell doesn't exist. Like it never happened.”
“Like it never brought Buffy back,” Dawn whispered.
Willow looked to her sadly and nodded. Dawn stood angrily and rounded on Willow, her hands on her hips as she spoke. “You can't do that. You can't think for a second that you're going to do that.”
“Dawn- ”
“If you think you can give her back to me and then take her away again? No. That's worse than if you'd never brought her back. You can't mess with people's lives this way!”
“Dawn, we're not going to do it that way,” Willow said.
Dawn turned around to the others behind her. “How can you let her do this? How can you even talk about letting her go?”
“Honey, you're not listening. She said we will find another way.”
“We will,” Xander said confidently.
“Then do it!” Dawn yelled.
Willow looked back up from her book with a smile. “Wait. Wait. Dawn. Everybody hold on.”
“What?” Anya asked. “Why are you smiling? That's inappropriate.”
“Because it's temporary.”
“What is?” Xander asked.
“The demon. I-it's gonna dissipate. The only way for it to survive on this plane is if it were to kill the subject of the original spell.”
“It would live if it killed Buffy?”
“That's not gonna- ”
Xander lifted his head and his now white eyes blazoned in satisfaction. “Thanks for the tip.”
He collapsed to the floor and a small bulge moved unnoticed across the floor towards the wall.
~
Buffy opened the door and walked in placing her keys on the table and started up the stairs. Behind her, a white mist slowly coalesced into a vaguely human shape, reaching out its arms toward Buffy as it moved up the stairs after her.
Buffy opened the door to her darkened bedroom and paused to look at the pictures on the wall again. The faces were still normal and Buffy felt a small relief knowing it was linked to the demon.
“You don't belong here,” a voice whispered from behind her.
Buffy turned to see a demon-mist floating in the door. She threw out a punch but her fist went straight through it. A tendril shot out and hit her, sending her flying back into the furniture behind her. She recovered her balance and turned back around trying to see the mist again. It slowly formed near her and Buffy lashed out again. It disappeared and reformed behind her. She turned around and punched but her hand went straight through it.
The demon hit her again and sent her tumbling into the hallway, head first into the wall. Behind it, a woman appeared and grabbed hold of the demon. There was a small struggle before both disappeared. Buffy looked back into her room and saw nothing. She frowned and walked back into her room. A couple of minutes after she began searching her room the voice whispered again.
“Did they tell you, you belonged here? Did they say this was your home again?”
The mist began forming behind Buffy again.
“Were you offered pretty lies, little girl?”
It swirled around her and wrapped around her waist. It tightened its grip until it was crushing her.
“Or did they even give you a choice?”
~
Xander drove angrily down the street.
“Xander! Drive faster!” Dawn scolded from the backseat.
“I can't!”
“I could drive faster and I can't drive!” Dawn yelled.
“She's right, you're like a snail,” Anya said frustratedly, “A snail who's driving a car very slowly. Come on, give it the lead foot! We've got to help Buffy with that demon you sent after her!”
Xander gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I did not send the demon, I was possessed. The demon used me to eavesdrop on our conversation.”
“Great, so now what? We have to talk in some sort of anti-demon secret code?”
Xander briefly looked across at her, sarcasm written all over his face. “Ood-gay idea-yay, An-yay.”
“Stop talking wrong in Pig Latin and drive! Buffy's in trouble!” Dawn yelled.
“It's okay, Dawnie. Willow and Tara are doing a spell.”
“You sure it won't send Buffy back?”
“No, of course not. It's just that she can't fight this thing if it's all ... misty, so they make it more solid, so Buffy can kick its fully embodied ass.”
“You sure it'll work?”
~
Willow and Tara sat on the floor of the Magic Box with candles lit all around them.
“Child of words, hear thy makers. Child of words, we entreat. With our actions did we make thee, to our voices wilt thou bend.”
~
Buffy struggled in the demon’s grip, air rapidly becoming an issue. A blurry figure appeared behind them and gripped the demon. It tried to shake out of the grasp, Buffy subsequently getting tossed around. The figure pulled again and both the demon and figure disappeared as Buffy was swung to the side. She hit her bed and automatically rolled across it and dropped off the other side onto the floor. Buffy looked up from her position on the floor and saw the demon becoming more solid.
~
“With our potions thou took motive, with our motions came to pass. We rescind no past devotions, give thee substance, give thee mass.”
~
Buffy reached under her bed and pulled out a battle-axe. She slowly stood as the demon taunted her.
“You're the one who's barely here. Set on this earth like a bubble.”
Buffy swung her axe at it but it passed straight through it. Behind her, in the corner of her room, a figured appeared again. The woman became more visible but she looked tired.
“You won't even disturb the air when you go.”
Xander, Anya, and Dawn rushed in Buffy’s bedroom door. Buffy looked toward them quickly.
“Go! Take Dawn out of here!”
~
Willow closed her eyes whilst Tara chanted. Her head tilted back slowly.
“Child of words, hear thy makers. Child of words, we en...treat...”
Tara trailed off as she noticed Willow, a haze of golden light gathering around her. She pulled her hands out of Tara's and her eyes snapped open, the black orbs seeing nothing and everything.
“Solid.”
~
The demon suddenly became fully solid. It looked like the rotting corpse of a woman and Buffy wondered if it was the woman from the cemetery. Buffy tried to hit it with the axe but the demon grabbed the axe handle. They struggled over it for a moment before the demon let go and hit Buffy, making her drop the axe. Buffy took the blow and squared off against the demon. From the corner of the room the woman remained unnoticed. She saw Buffy stand and she smiled a soft smile. She turned around and vanished.
The demon hit Buffy again and Buffy fell to the ground. She grabbed the now in reach axe and jumped up from the floor, swinging as she did. The axe connected with its neck and the head came cleanly off, bouncing across the floor of her bedroom. Dawn quickly turned away, grabbing onto Xander for support as Buffy looked back down at the body. She’d just killed a demon trying to kill her and she still felt empty.
“That's probably the sort of thing I'm not supposed to see, right?” Dawn asked.
~
Buffy walked softly down the stairs the next morning. Nobody else was awake yet and she wanted a few moments to herself. She turned on the coffee machine and listened to the hiss as she sat down and waited. When the green light flicked on, she stood and grabbed a coffee mug.
“Morning Buffy,” Dawn said as she entered the kitchen. She gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before setting up breakfast. Buffy kept her back to her as she made the coffee, taking a deep breath before she had to face her sister.
“You have to help me.”
“Help you with what?” Buffy asked as she turned around. Dawn’s hand was frozen midway to her mouth as she frowned in confusion. Standing slightly behind Dawn was the woman from the cemetery. She smiled softly.
“You have to help me,” she asked again. Dawn put down her spoonful of cereal and looked behind her. She turned back to Buffy.
‘What is it Buffy?”
Buffy looked back to Dawn. “You don’t see her?”
Dawn frowned and looked behind herself again. She twisted slightly in her chair and looked back at Buffy. “See who?”
“Never mind,” Buffy said as she shook her head and averted her eyes.
Throughout breakfast, the woman remained in the back of the room. A couple of times she spoke but she only repeated the same phrase. Buffy did her best to ignore her but she remained persistent and Buffy was beginning to wonder if she really was going crazy. No one else seemed to be able to see the woman.
“Please, I need your help,” she asked again.
Buffy groaned and walked upstairs. She went into her bedroom and sat on the bed. She saw the woman reappear at the foot of her bed and before she could get any more information out of her, Willow entered.
“Buffy, are you alright?”
Buffy pointed to the woman. “There’s something here.”
Willow looked around alarmed. “Another demon?”
“She doesn’t look like a demon.”
“She?”
Buffy shrugged. “It’s a blonde woman.”
Willow stood and walked out of the room. The woman stepped forward but Willow came rushing back in and passed straight through her. She placed some candles on the floor and began lighting them. As Willow did her spell, Buffy watched as the woman sat before her.
“I need your help.”
“How?”
“Please-”
She suddenly winced in pain and a small green light shot through her. Buffy glanced back at Willow and saw her head bowed in concentration. Her lips continued to move and the woman gasped in pain, her fists clenching and knuckles white.
“Stop!” Buffy shouted.
Willow continued to chant and the light shot through the woman again. She gasped and fell forward panting heavily as Willow looked up. Buffy reached out to comfort the woman but her hands passed right through her. Willow looked up at Buffy unconcerned.
“I can’t tell you much; just that something is attached to you. I’m gonna do some research into it okay. Is there anything you need?”
Buffy just looked at her with an open mouth. How could she be so callous? Didn’t she hear the pain the woman was in, didn’t she feel it? Willow picked up her things and walked out of the room. Buffy followed her and shut the door. She turned around and the woman looked up at her.
“Please,” she asked, “I need your help.”
“What can I do?”
“I need to see my family; I need to tell them…”
She began sobbing and Buffy looked over at her. For the first time since coming back she felt compassion. The woman looked over her shoulder and looked back at Buffy.
“I’ll be back. Don’t forget.”
She turned and disappeared. Buffy sat quietly just thinking about everything. This was all becoming too much; it was too much to carry. She’d carried the weight of the world on her shoulders for six years. She’d died and been brought back twice and the knowledge of what she had just left behind was suffocating her.
Willow knocked on the door and entered slowly. She sat on the end of Buffy’s bed and Tara gave her a soft smile as she stood behind Willow.
“I think it’s a spirit Buffy. I don’t know what she wants but I’m looking into ways to send her back.”
“It will be okay Buffy,” Tara said softly.
Buffy looked up at them expressionless.
“I’ve found some information about Hunters.”
“Like Cain?” Buffy asked.
“Sort of. These are more Hunters than mercenaries. They track down and kill things to keep people safe, usually just spirits and the odd vampire or werewolf. I read about a place called the Roadhouse. Supposedly Hunters go through there so I was thinking I might head out there and find out how to get rid of your spirit.”
Buffy remained silent, lost in thought. Maybe this is what she needed, to be away from her heavy load while she settled back into things. She’d rather do it on her own but if she had to have Willow there then she would have to cope with it.
“Can I come with you?”
Willow’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “You want to come with me?” Willow looked up at Tara before her gaze was set on Buffy again. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone Buffy. It could be a couple of weeks.” Buffy looked down at her hands. “What about Dawn?” Willow asked finally.
“I can take care of Dawn,” Tara offered. Buffy glanced up at her and gave her a thankful look.
Willow’s eyes darted to the left and right and then back again as she tried to put everything together. Buffy had been different since she’d gotten back but Willow had assumed that she’d need time to adjust to not being tortured in hell. She didn’t know what it would have been like but Angel was so wild when he came back. Buffy had said he was like an animal. Buffy had been gone almost as long as Angel so what sort of things had she had to deal with? Maybe going on a road trip with her best friend, taking time out from the hustle and bustle of life, would help.
“Okay,” Willow agreed. “We can leave in a couple of days—”
“No!” Willow and Tara looked startled and Buffy took a breath. “I just mean, we should leave now, get on the road while we still have daylight and try to get there as quickly as possible.”
“What about Dawn? Don’t you want to say goodbye?”
Buffy blinked and thought how to best answer that. “We won’t be gone long so it will be fine if I don’t.”
Willow shot a look at Tara. “Okay,” she told Buffy, “I’ll just pack a bag and we’ll go.”
Willow and Tara stood and left the room and Buffy stared down at her hands. She hoped she was doing the right thing. The woman appeared at the foot of Buffy’s bag as she packed her bag.
“Are we going somewhere?”
Buffy looked up at her. “Yeah, my friend is trying to find a way to get rid of you.” Buffy paused. “She won’t be able to will she?”
The woman shrugged sadly. “I don’t think so.”
Buffy stuffed a couple of singlet tops in her bag. She’d actually lost weight since she died and some of her clothing was too big now. She added some long sleeved tops and her leather jacket before zipping it up. She looked up at the woman.
“Where is your family?”
“I don’t know,” she said sadly. “It has been a long time since I died but I know they don’t live in our house anymore. That was in Kansas.”
“So, do you think they’re still in Kansas or have they jumped states?”
The woman sat down on the bed sadly. “I don’t know.”
Buffy placed her bag next to her door and on top of her weapons bag. She wasn’t sure if they’d run into trouble but she wanted to be prepared.
“What is your name?” Buffy asked.
The woman smiled. “Mary.”
“Well, Mary, I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.”
Mary laughed a soft laugh. “I know. I’m honoured to meet you actually. I came from a family of Hunters but we’d always thought you were a myth.”
“You were myth-taken,” Buffy said softly. The last time she’d said it, it had been with more mirth. It had been when she’d actually felt alive.
“I know where you were--” Mary said.
“Are the family you want to see Hunters?”
Mary decided to let her deflect. “I hope not. I never told my husband about any of it. I didn’t want to raise my boys in that life. My parents were killed because they followed it.” Buffy nodded. “It’s a lonely life and a dangerous one. Unfortunately even I couldn’t escape it.”
There was a soft knock on the door and Willow entered. “Ready Buff?”
Buffy cast a quick look back at Mary before nodding and picking up her bags with ease. She followed Willow silently down the stairs and onto the front lawn. Tara was putting Willow’s bag into the boot of Buffy’s dark blue 4WD and stepped aside to allow Buffy access. She put her bags neatly beside Willow’s and put on her dark sunglasses. Buffy glanced back at her house. She’d left town after she’d died the first time. She’d left town after she’d killed Angel. Maybe she really would be back.
Buffy climbed into the passenger seat and watched as Mary materialised on the back-seat. Buffy turned her face away as Willow and Tara said goodbye and Willow walked round to the driver’s side of the car.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Complete.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Buffy has been brought back from Heaven and she has more than one hitch-hiker. One of them goes by the name of Mary Winchester and she needs to speak to her family. Can Buffy help her?
Spoilers: Pre ‘Supernatural’ and Season 1-6 of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.
Disclaimer: ‘Supernatural’ and all related characters are copyright Eric Kripke, Kripke Enterprises & The CW Network. No infringement intended. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and all related characters are copyright Joss Whedon and ME. No infringement intended.
Notes: Based on a challenge issued by Phoenix.
Dawn walked over to where Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya were researching. Across from them sat Buffy, staring into space and Dawn shot a worried glance in her direction before looking over Willow’s shoulder.
“What's the list?”
“Possible hitchhikers,” Anya said off-handedly.
“Demons that might have come out of Hell at the same time Buffy did.”
“‘Skaggmore demons, Trellbane demons, Skitterers, Large and Small Bone-Eaters’ ... If we get to pick, I say we go with the Small Bone-Eaters.”
“Well, that just means they prefer to eat things with small bones, like you.”
“That's just what we have so far,” Willow said, “Five species of demons that have been known to move transdimensionally. Two of them may be invisible in this dimension, and, uh, two others can perform spells to alter perception.”
“Well, that's four. What's the other one like?”
Tara’s face scrunched up. “Uh, like the others, only dripping with viscous fluid.”
“Eww.”
“So, should we concentrate on how to kill those, or should we try to find more?”
“I'm not sure,” Willow began, “Maybe ... maybe some of us can, uh, keep going finding more, and the others—”
“I miss Giles,” Buffy said suddenly.
“Oh. He's coming back, I talked to him.” Willow gave her a small smile, “I know I'm a kind of poor substitute, but until then, we'll get it done.”
Everybody looked at Buffy expectantly and she felt the same overwhelmed feeling that she’d been felling since she got back. “I think I should patrol.”
A hurt look crossed Willow’s face. “Well, I know we'll find something soon.”
“Yeah.”
Buffy paused before heading awkwardly to the door.
“Uh, do you want us to go with you?”
“We can do that.”
Buffy squashed down the panic rising in her chest. “No. I-I need to go. Sorry.”
“You should go,” Dawn agreed as Buffy walked out the door, the belling jingling as the door closed. “I'll be safe here with the others. Don't worry about me.” Her eyes briefly flashed a greyish-white before she smiled maniacally.
~
Buffy distractedly walked through the cemetery. She had been seeing the smudge all day and the last time she had seen it, she could have sworn it was a person. She saw a small blur out of the corner of her eye and dropped into a fighting stance. The smudge of smoke appeared again but this time it thinned out until Buffy could see the form of a beautiful woman.
She looked to Buffy and smiled a warm smile, the type her Mum used to give her. She stepped forward and instead of her muscles tensing, Buffy’s relaxed. She wasn’t sure who the woman was but she was certain she didn’t want to harm her. The woman began speaking and Buffy frowned. Either the woman couldn’t speak or Buffy was deaf. An owl hooted nearby and Buffy let out a deep breath. At least she wasn’t deaf.
The woman began moving closer, her hands waving around as she tried to get Buffy to understand her. Buffy shook her head.
“I can’t hear you.”
The woman stopped and looked at something behind her. Buffy looked but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The woman looked back once before turning and disappearing. Buffy blinked and when she opened her eyes again, there was still no one there. She frowned again, hoping that like the pictures, it was related to this demon and not to her going crazy. Then again, she was in the cemetery.
~
“I found one of those 24-hour places for coffee,” Anya said. “Remember that bookstore? Well they became one of those books-and-coffee places, and now they're just coffee. It's like evolution, only without the getting-better part.”
Anya walked past Dawn to the table where everyone was still researching. “Uh, coffee, coffee, coffee, um, hot chocolate for Dawn.” She turned to Dawn “You're too young for coffee.”
Dawn turned around, her eyes glowing white as she glared at them. “Idiot.”
“You can have my coffee,” Anya said in a weak voice.
Dawn’s voice held a low harsh tone. “All of you did it. You stupid children. Did you think the blood wouldn't reach you? I smell the death on you. Look at what you've done!”
Dawn opened her mouth and flames shot out towards the table. Everyone ducked and the books on the top of the piles caught on fire. Dawn collapsed to the ground and Xander jumped up.
“Fire! Fire! Fire!” He grabbed a cushion from one of the chairs and began stamping out the flames as the others rush to Dawn.
“Dawn!”
“Oh my god, oh my god.”
Xander stamped out the last of the flames and Willow and Tara helped Dawn sit up.
“That was it,” Willow said. “Li-like Buffy, with fire.”
None of them saw the bulge under the floor move away from them towards the door.
“Is she okay?” Xander asked.
Anya turned to Xander with a concerned look on her face. “Did I look like that? I hope I didn't look like that.”
“No, I'm sure you looked really glamorous cutting up your face,” Willow snapped.
“What ... what is it? What's happening?” Dawn asked as she tried to sit up.
“You'll be okay,” Willow reassured.
“I bet you'll experience some dry-mouth.” Everyone looked at her. “Fire,” she clarified.
“Was it ... did the demon thing have me?”
“It's okay. It's okay.”
“Yeah. It's gone.”
“Yes, but where did it go?” Anya said looking around. “I mean, evil things have plans. They have things to do.”
~
Xander looked out of the blinds of the Magic shop. “It's getting light out. Buffy's probably on her way home from patrolling.”
Tara glanced across to him. “I like sunrise better when I'm getting up early than when I'm staying up late, you know? It's like ... I'm seeing it from the wrong side.”
Xander looked as though he was wrestling with himself and Tara tilted her head to the side. “Hey, Tara,” he said finally, “this is probably crazy ... but Spike got me to thinking. This spell we did ... it's having consequences, isn't it? I mean ... it sure seems like it. And I was just wondering ... did you know that this might happen?”
“No!”
“Do you think ... could someone have known?”
“Willow is a talented witch, and she would never do anything to hurt anyone.”
Xander raised his hands as though in defence. “I know, I know, huh? Backing off quickly, hands in the air.” He sighed. “I just meant-”
“Thaumogenesis!” Willow shouted as her head shot up from the counter. Anya and Dawn, who were asleep at the table, jerked awake at her shout.
“She's possessed!” Anya declared.
“Thaumogenesis.” Willow said again as she held up a book.
Dawn turned to Anya. “You're right.”
Xander and Tara walked over to Willow and she frowned at the accusation.
“I'm not possessed. I-I think I figured it out. This demon, i-it's not a demon we let out. It's, it's a demon that we made.”
Xander looked surprised. “We made a demon? Bad us.”
“Thaumogenesis is when doing a spell actually creates a being. In this case it was like, a, a side-effect, I guess. Like a price.”
“What?” Dawn asked confused. Willow took a deep breath.
“Think of it like, the world doesn't like you getting something for free, and we asked for this huge gift. Buffy. A-and so the world said, 'fine, but if you have that, you have to take this too.' And it made the demon.”
“Well, technically, that's not a price. That's a gift with purchase,” Anya said smiling.
Dawn looked back to Willow. “Um, but, if we made the demon, how come we can't see it? I mean, all we see is us. Doing stuff.”
“Well, I, I think it's out of phase with this dimension. Like, its consciousness is here, but, but its body is caught in the ether between existing and not existing.”
“It doesn't have a body, so it's borrowing ours. I-it borrowed Dawn and Anya...”
“Or, or it's manifesting copies of them, like, like it did when Buffy came at us...”
“It's using them to do stuff. To scare us, attack us.”
“So we need to uncreate it, right?” Xander cut in. “We need to send it the rest of the way out of our world.”
“Uh-huh. Except that ... it's linked to the spell. So, if we sent it away ... it would be like the spell doesn't exist. Like it never happened.”
“Like it never brought Buffy back,” Dawn whispered.
Willow looked to her sadly and nodded. Dawn stood angrily and rounded on Willow, her hands on her hips as she spoke. “You can't do that. You can't think for a second that you're going to do that.”
“Dawn- ”
“If you think you can give her back to me and then take her away again? No. That's worse than if you'd never brought her back. You can't mess with people's lives this way!”
“Dawn, we're not going to do it that way,” Willow said.
Dawn turned around to the others behind her. “How can you let her do this? How can you even talk about letting her go?”
“Honey, you're not listening. She said we will find another way.”
“We will,” Xander said confidently.
“Then do it!” Dawn yelled.
Willow looked back up from her book with a smile. “Wait. Wait. Dawn. Everybody hold on.”
“What?” Anya asked. “Why are you smiling? That's inappropriate.”
“Because it's temporary.”
“What is?” Xander asked.
“The demon. I-it's gonna dissipate. The only way for it to survive on this plane is if it were to kill the subject of the original spell.”
“It would live if it killed Buffy?”
“That's not gonna- ”
Xander lifted his head and his now white eyes blazoned in satisfaction. “Thanks for the tip.”
He collapsed to the floor and a small bulge moved unnoticed across the floor towards the wall.
~
Buffy opened the door and walked in placing her keys on the table and started up the stairs. Behind her, a white mist slowly coalesced into a vaguely human shape, reaching out its arms toward Buffy as it moved up the stairs after her.
Buffy opened the door to her darkened bedroom and paused to look at the pictures on the wall again. The faces were still normal and Buffy felt a small relief knowing it was linked to the demon.
“You don't belong here,” a voice whispered from behind her.
Buffy turned to see a demon-mist floating in the door. She threw out a punch but her fist went straight through it. A tendril shot out and hit her, sending her flying back into the furniture behind her. She recovered her balance and turned back around trying to see the mist again. It slowly formed near her and Buffy lashed out again. It disappeared and reformed behind her. She turned around and punched but her hand went straight through it.
The demon hit her again and sent her tumbling into the hallway, head first into the wall. Behind it, a woman appeared and grabbed hold of the demon. There was a small struggle before both disappeared. Buffy looked back into her room and saw nothing. She frowned and walked back into her room. A couple of minutes after she began searching her room the voice whispered again.
“Did they tell you, you belonged here? Did they say this was your home again?”
The mist began forming behind Buffy again.
“Were you offered pretty lies, little girl?”
It swirled around her and wrapped around her waist. It tightened its grip until it was crushing her.
“Or did they even give you a choice?”
~
Xander drove angrily down the street.
“Xander! Drive faster!” Dawn scolded from the backseat.
“I can't!”
“I could drive faster and I can't drive!” Dawn yelled.
“She's right, you're like a snail,” Anya said frustratedly, “A snail who's driving a car very slowly. Come on, give it the lead foot! We've got to help Buffy with that demon you sent after her!”
Xander gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I did not send the demon, I was possessed. The demon used me to eavesdrop on our conversation.”
“Great, so now what? We have to talk in some sort of anti-demon secret code?”
Xander briefly looked across at her, sarcasm written all over his face. “Ood-gay idea-yay, An-yay.”
“Stop talking wrong in Pig Latin and drive! Buffy's in trouble!” Dawn yelled.
“It's okay, Dawnie. Willow and Tara are doing a spell.”
“You sure it won't send Buffy back?”
“No, of course not. It's just that she can't fight this thing if it's all ... misty, so they make it more solid, so Buffy can kick its fully embodied ass.”
“You sure it'll work?”
~
Willow and Tara sat on the floor of the Magic Box with candles lit all around them.
“Child of words, hear thy makers. Child of words, we entreat. With our actions did we make thee, to our voices wilt thou bend.”
~
Buffy struggled in the demon’s grip, air rapidly becoming an issue. A blurry figure appeared behind them and gripped the demon. It tried to shake out of the grasp, Buffy subsequently getting tossed around. The figure pulled again and both the demon and figure disappeared as Buffy was swung to the side. She hit her bed and automatically rolled across it and dropped off the other side onto the floor. Buffy looked up from her position on the floor and saw the demon becoming more solid.
~
“With our potions thou took motive, with our motions came to pass. We rescind no past devotions, give thee substance, give thee mass.”
~
Buffy reached under her bed and pulled out a battle-axe. She slowly stood as the demon taunted her.
“You're the one who's barely here. Set on this earth like a bubble.”
Buffy swung her axe at it but it passed straight through it. Behind her, in the corner of her room, a figured appeared again. The woman became more visible but she looked tired.
“You won't even disturb the air when you go.”
Xander, Anya, and Dawn rushed in Buffy’s bedroom door. Buffy looked toward them quickly.
“Go! Take Dawn out of here!”
~
Willow closed her eyes whilst Tara chanted. Her head tilted back slowly.
“Child of words, hear thy makers. Child of words, we en...treat...”
Tara trailed off as she noticed Willow, a haze of golden light gathering around her. She pulled her hands out of Tara's and her eyes snapped open, the black orbs seeing nothing and everything.
“Solid.”
~
The demon suddenly became fully solid. It looked like the rotting corpse of a woman and Buffy wondered if it was the woman from the cemetery. Buffy tried to hit it with the axe but the demon grabbed the axe handle. They struggled over it for a moment before the demon let go and hit Buffy, making her drop the axe. Buffy took the blow and squared off against the demon. From the corner of the room the woman remained unnoticed. She saw Buffy stand and she smiled a soft smile. She turned around and vanished.
The demon hit Buffy again and Buffy fell to the ground. She grabbed the now in reach axe and jumped up from the floor, swinging as she did. The axe connected with its neck and the head came cleanly off, bouncing across the floor of her bedroom. Dawn quickly turned away, grabbing onto Xander for support as Buffy looked back down at the body. She’d just killed a demon trying to kill her and she still felt empty.
“That's probably the sort of thing I'm not supposed to see, right?” Dawn asked.
~
Buffy walked softly down the stairs the next morning. Nobody else was awake yet and she wanted a few moments to herself. She turned on the coffee machine and listened to the hiss as she sat down and waited. When the green light flicked on, she stood and grabbed a coffee mug.
“Morning Buffy,” Dawn said as she entered the kitchen. She gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before setting up breakfast. Buffy kept her back to her as she made the coffee, taking a deep breath before she had to face her sister.
“You have to help me.”
“Help you with what?” Buffy asked as she turned around. Dawn’s hand was frozen midway to her mouth as she frowned in confusion. Standing slightly behind Dawn was the woman from the cemetery. She smiled softly.
“You have to help me,” she asked again. Dawn put down her spoonful of cereal and looked behind her. She turned back to Buffy.
‘What is it Buffy?”
Buffy looked back to Dawn. “You don’t see her?”
Dawn frowned and looked behind herself again. She twisted slightly in her chair and looked back at Buffy. “See who?”
“Never mind,” Buffy said as she shook her head and averted her eyes.
Throughout breakfast, the woman remained in the back of the room. A couple of times she spoke but she only repeated the same phrase. Buffy did her best to ignore her but she remained persistent and Buffy was beginning to wonder if she really was going crazy. No one else seemed to be able to see the woman.
“Please, I need your help,” she asked again.
Buffy groaned and walked upstairs. She went into her bedroom and sat on the bed. She saw the woman reappear at the foot of her bed and before she could get any more information out of her, Willow entered.
“Buffy, are you alright?”
Buffy pointed to the woman. “There’s something here.”
Willow looked around alarmed. “Another demon?”
“She doesn’t look like a demon.”
“She?”
Buffy shrugged. “It’s a blonde woman.”
Willow stood and walked out of the room. The woman stepped forward but Willow came rushing back in and passed straight through her. She placed some candles on the floor and began lighting them. As Willow did her spell, Buffy watched as the woman sat before her.
“I need your help.”
“How?”
“Please-”
She suddenly winced in pain and a small green light shot through her. Buffy glanced back at Willow and saw her head bowed in concentration. Her lips continued to move and the woman gasped in pain, her fists clenching and knuckles white.
“Stop!” Buffy shouted.
Willow continued to chant and the light shot through the woman again. She gasped and fell forward panting heavily as Willow looked up. Buffy reached out to comfort the woman but her hands passed right through her. Willow looked up at Buffy unconcerned.
“I can’t tell you much; just that something is attached to you. I’m gonna do some research into it okay. Is there anything you need?”
Buffy just looked at her with an open mouth. How could she be so callous? Didn’t she hear the pain the woman was in, didn’t she feel it? Willow picked up her things and walked out of the room. Buffy followed her and shut the door. She turned around and the woman looked up at her.
“Please,” she asked, “I need your help.”
“What can I do?”
“I need to see my family; I need to tell them…”
She began sobbing and Buffy looked over at her. For the first time since coming back she felt compassion. The woman looked over her shoulder and looked back at Buffy.
“I’ll be back. Don’t forget.”
She turned and disappeared. Buffy sat quietly just thinking about everything. This was all becoming too much; it was too much to carry. She’d carried the weight of the world on her shoulders for six years. She’d died and been brought back twice and the knowledge of what she had just left behind was suffocating her.
Willow knocked on the door and entered slowly. She sat on the end of Buffy’s bed and Tara gave her a soft smile as she stood behind Willow.
“I think it’s a spirit Buffy. I don’t know what she wants but I’m looking into ways to send her back.”
“It will be okay Buffy,” Tara said softly.
Buffy looked up at them expressionless.
“I’ve found some information about Hunters.”
“Like Cain?” Buffy asked.
“Sort of. These are more Hunters than mercenaries. They track down and kill things to keep people safe, usually just spirits and the odd vampire or werewolf. I read about a place called the Roadhouse. Supposedly Hunters go through there so I was thinking I might head out there and find out how to get rid of your spirit.”
Buffy remained silent, lost in thought. Maybe this is what she needed, to be away from her heavy load while she settled back into things. She’d rather do it on her own but if she had to have Willow there then she would have to cope with it.
“Can I come with you?”
Willow’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “You want to come with me?” Willow looked up at Tara before her gaze was set on Buffy again. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone Buffy. It could be a couple of weeks.” Buffy looked down at her hands. “What about Dawn?” Willow asked finally.
“I can take care of Dawn,” Tara offered. Buffy glanced up at her and gave her a thankful look.
Willow’s eyes darted to the left and right and then back again as she tried to put everything together. Buffy had been different since she’d gotten back but Willow had assumed that she’d need time to adjust to not being tortured in hell. She didn’t know what it would have been like but Angel was so wild when he came back. Buffy had said he was like an animal. Buffy had been gone almost as long as Angel so what sort of things had she had to deal with? Maybe going on a road trip with her best friend, taking time out from the hustle and bustle of life, would help.
“Okay,” Willow agreed. “We can leave in a couple of days—”
“No!” Willow and Tara looked startled and Buffy took a breath. “I just mean, we should leave now, get on the road while we still have daylight and try to get there as quickly as possible.”
“What about Dawn? Don’t you want to say goodbye?”
Buffy blinked and thought how to best answer that. “We won’t be gone long so it will be fine if I don’t.”
Willow shot a look at Tara. “Okay,” she told Buffy, “I’ll just pack a bag and we’ll go.”
Willow and Tara stood and left the room and Buffy stared down at her hands. She hoped she was doing the right thing. The woman appeared at the foot of Buffy’s bag as she packed her bag.
“Are we going somewhere?”
Buffy looked up at her. “Yeah, my friend is trying to find a way to get rid of you.” Buffy paused. “She won’t be able to will she?”
The woman shrugged sadly. “I don’t think so.”
Buffy stuffed a couple of singlet tops in her bag. She’d actually lost weight since she died and some of her clothing was too big now. She added some long sleeved tops and her leather jacket before zipping it up. She looked up at the woman.
“Where is your family?”
“I don’t know,” she said sadly. “It has been a long time since I died but I know they don’t live in our house anymore. That was in Kansas.”
“So, do you think they’re still in Kansas or have they jumped states?”
The woman sat down on the bed sadly. “I don’t know.”
Buffy placed her bag next to her door and on top of her weapons bag. She wasn’t sure if they’d run into trouble but she wanted to be prepared.
“What is your name?” Buffy asked.
The woman smiled. “Mary.”
“Well, Mary, I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.”
Mary laughed a soft laugh. “I know. I’m honoured to meet you actually. I came from a family of Hunters but we’d always thought you were a myth.”
“You were myth-taken,” Buffy said softly. The last time she’d said it, it had been with more mirth. It had been when she’d actually felt alive.
“I know where you were--” Mary said.
“Are the family you want to see Hunters?”
Mary decided to let her deflect. “I hope not. I never told my husband about any of it. I didn’t want to raise my boys in that life. My parents were killed because they followed it.” Buffy nodded. “It’s a lonely life and a dangerous one. Unfortunately even I couldn’t escape it.”
There was a soft knock on the door and Willow entered. “Ready Buff?”
Buffy cast a quick look back at Mary before nodding and picking up her bags with ease. She followed Willow silently down the stairs and onto the front lawn. Tara was putting Willow’s bag into the boot of Buffy’s dark blue 4WD and stepped aside to allow Buffy access. She put her bags neatly beside Willow’s and put on her dark sunglasses. Buffy glanced back at her house. She’d left town after she’d died the first time. She’d left town after she’d killed Angel. Maybe she really would be back.
Buffy climbed into the passenger seat and watched as Mary materialised on the back-seat. Buffy turned her face away as Willow and Tara said goodbye and Willow walked round to the driver’s side of the car.
