The Mercy Seat (part 8)
I think the most entertaining part of writing this is seeing everyone's theories of what is going on. Thanks to everyone who's been commenting and feedbacking!
Previous parts can be found here
Willow smiled up at Xander, forcing herself not to wince at how thin, tired, and wild he looked, standing in the doorway of the Hole's bathroom. He stared back at her, a look of barely contained terror crossing his face.
She lifted her hand, preparing the transportation spell that would take them both back to the council's building in London. "Everything's going to be okay." She forced back the memory of the girls' bodies in the diner, of the numerous slayers that had died over the years. There was no way Xander could have killed them. Xander didn't do things like that.
She spoke the first syllables of the spell, then dodged backward as Xander cried out wordlessly and swung a wooden staff at her head.
"Xander!" She stepped back again, the magic crackling readily around them both, trying to gain enough distance from the wild swinging of that staff to complete the spell. "It's me, Willow!"
There was no sign that he understood as he lunged out of the bathroom, staff still swinging. Willow noticed that pointed end of the wood was dark and glistening with blood and felt panic start to well up within her. She reached out with her mind, hoping to calm her friend down.
//Evildoyouhastobecouldn'tdemonsgonelivetoolongthiswayhelpusstopthemhersaveherunderstandhelpusc ouldn'tsavedemonsawayevilstopherloveyoukilledshekilledfuncouldn'tevilunderstand*stop*. . . //
Willow flinched and withdrew from the rapid, garbled screaming that echoed through his mind. She gasped, her mind reeling, as the staff struck her on the temple.
The magic around them whirled and screamed for her attention. She had to finish the spell or disperse the magic soon, but Xander kept coming, his face twisted up with fury and terror. She jumped back several feet, murmuring the familiar phrases of power. Just a few more seconds and they'd be in London. And she and Giles could figure out what was wrong with him.
Xander spun the top end of the staff into the gravel, then twisted it sharply, sending a rain of rocks down on Willow. Most of them missed, but one glanced off her forehead. She bit her lip, refusing to redirect the magic into a shield. Xander's actions were barely controlled, wild gestures with little skill but a lot of determination backing them up. She dodged to the left and shouted out the final phrase of the spell.
Xander froze, his eyes wide, and then seemed to dissolve as a gust of wind kicked up dust and sand around them. When it settled, he was gone.
Willow stood in the parking lot, staring at the space where he'd been standing. She panicked for a moment, before realizing that the dissolving effect was a regular part of the spell, and that Xander had been sent somewhere else.
But she was still there, not in the council headquarters, and she had no idea where the screwed up spell would have sent him.
Willow took a deep breath and pressed a hand to the slightly bloody scratch on her forehead. "That . . . didn't go as planned."
<--{8}-->
Previous parts can be found here
Willow smiled up at Xander, forcing herself not to wince at how thin, tired, and wild he looked, standing in the doorway of the Hole's bathroom. He stared back at her, a look of barely contained terror crossing his face.
She lifted her hand, preparing the transportation spell that would take them both back to the council's building in London. "Everything's going to be okay." She forced back the memory of the girls' bodies in the diner, of the numerous slayers that had died over the years. There was no way Xander could have killed them. Xander didn't do things like that.
She spoke the first syllables of the spell, then dodged backward as Xander cried out wordlessly and swung a wooden staff at her head.
"Xander!" She stepped back again, the magic crackling readily around them both, trying to gain enough distance from the wild swinging of that staff to complete the spell. "It's me, Willow!"
There was no sign that he understood as he lunged out of the bathroom, staff still swinging. Willow noticed that pointed end of the wood was dark and glistening with blood and felt panic start to well up within her. She reached out with her mind, hoping to calm her friend down.
//Evildoyouhastobecouldn'tdemonsgonelivetoolongthiswayhelpusstopthemhersaveherunderstandhelpusc ouldn'tsavedemonsawayevilstopherloveyoukilledshekilledfuncouldn'tevilunderstand*stop*. . . //
Willow flinched and withdrew from the rapid, garbled screaming that echoed through his mind. She gasped, her mind reeling, as the staff struck her on the temple.
The magic around them whirled and screamed for her attention. She had to finish the spell or disperse the magic soon, but Xander kept coming, his face twisted up with fury and terror. She jumped back several feet, murmuring the familiar phrases of power. Just a few more seconds and they'd be in London. And she and Giles could figure out what was wrong with him.
Xander spun the top end of the staff into the gravel, then twisted it sharply, sending a rain of rocks down on Willow. Most of them missed, but one glanced off her forehead. She bit her lip, refusing to redirect the magic into a shield. Xander's actions were barely controlled, wild gestures with little skill but a lot of determination backing them up. She dodged to the left and shouted out the final phrase of the spell.
Xander froze, his eyes wide, and then seemed to dissolve as a gust of wind kicked up dust and sand around them. When it settled, he was gone.
Willow stood in the parking lot, staring at the space where he'd been standing. She panicked for a moment, before realizing that the dissolving effect was a regular part of the spell, and that Xander had been sent somewhere else.
But she was still there, not in the council headquarters, and she had no idea where the screwed up spell would have sent him.
Willow took a deep breath and pressed a hand to the slightly bloody scratch on her forehead. "That . . . didn't go as planned."
<--{8}-->