Chapters 5 and 6

[halfbloodme]

Chapter Five

Tara awoke shortly after Willow had made her shocking discovery. As she sat up once more, she glanced at her lover with two adoring eyes. The look on Willow’s face was enough to shake the remaining sleepiness from Tara. She raced to Willow’s side and looked over her frozen girlfriend’s shoulder. There on the screen, for the world to see was the most recent entry on the Le Brun family tree - Willow Rosenburg. Tara’s hand reached her mouth in record speed. The shy blond, normally afraid of her own shadow, needed only a few seconds to pause before her brain went into overdrive. She kissed her still statue-like other half on the cheek and walked out of the dining room, across the hallway and into the living room. Dawn sat watching cartoons on television, Giles was sat in an armchair, books surrounding him.
“Dawn, honey, could you ring the Magic Box and tell Anya to close up early and come here please? Get her to call the others as well, okay?” The look on Tara’s face stopped the tenacious teenager from asking any questions and she headed through to the kitchen to make the phone call.
“Tara what is it?” Giles looked up from his studies.
“Willow’s found the name of the descendant. Perhaps you should come through to the dining room.” He put down his book and followed her back through to the other room where Willow sat, still frozen in horror.

*

Within half an hour, Dawn had disappeared out of the house in search of Spike, with strict instructions to stay with him until dark then come back to the house with him. She hadn’t been happy with the idea of missing out on the information at hand but had not felt like arguing with the usually gentle Tara, who had had a look of determination in her eyes that rivalled Willow’s resolved face. Shortly after Buffy’s little sister had stomped out of the house, said sister turned up with Anya and Xander.
“What’s the sitch? I had to tell the manager I had major cramps coming on so she’d let me go.” Buffy smiled with relish at the impact this information had on the two men present.
“I had to lock up just as rush time was starting, this better be good.” Anya pouted.
“Rush time? I severely doubt that, the Magic Box is only ever overloaded at Halloween.” Giles stared in disbelief at his business partner.
“When you lot finally shut up, Tara can tell us what we’re all doing back here and why Will is doing an impression of that painting with the bloke screaming.” Xander’s voice cut through the air like a knife.
“Thanks, Xander. Well... the th-thing is....” Some of Tara’s resolve seemed to be leaving her. She, like Willow, could not face telling the group. Instead she gently lifted her lover’s hands from the keyboard and turned the laptop around. The rest of the Scoobies stared at the screen. Each had to do a double take as they read what was in front of them.
“So maybe Will does have a bit of the Slayer in her after all.” Buffy remarked as Giles wiped his glasses on his shirt and Xander and Anya started doing their own impressions of ‘The Scream’.

*

It took the three moving Scoobies half an hour to bring round the other half of the team. Buffy only barely resisted the temptation to rouse Anya by slapping her, looks from both Giles and Tara put a stop to that idea. Instead she walked over to Xander and began to talk to him in a calm voice, reminding him of everything they had ever faced together as a team. Her ace in the pack being his demonic hyena possession, one mention of him eating the school mascot was enough to bring him back with the need to defend himself. After trying to talk to Anya, Giles quickly decided that the easiest way to bring her back to the world of the living was to wave money under her nose. The smell of the crisp bank notes under her nose had the desired affect almost instantaneously. Willow was the hardest to bring back round. Having been in a state of shock the longest, it took as much control and calmness as Tara could muster to talk her beloved girlfriend out of her catatonic state.
“Baby, it’s me, Tara. Can you hear me? Look, it’s okay, we can face this together. You aren’t alone in this. The prophecy said we’d do it together and I would never leave you to do it alone. Sweetie, talk to me. Please Willow, say something. You’re not on your own, we’re all going to figure out how to do this. Let me in Baby, please.” Half an hour of talking in this manner persuaded the flame haired Wiccan out of her .
“I don’t see how we’re gonna do this, Tara. I mean, he knows. I’m sure he does. They focused on you in the fight to get you out of the way. They know I’m the descendant of the Slayer. I don’t know how but they do.” Willow looked into her girlfriend’s eyes, searching for reassurance.
“He doesn’t know, Honey. He can’t know. He only had the basics of the prophecy.” Tara put her arms around the now shaking Willow.
“Tara’s right, Willow. Cara did say that he only had the summary of the prophecy.” Giles tried to comfort his young friend.
“But... Giles, he followed them, her descendants, my ancestors, he followed them. He tracked them down. They moved to America to escape him! They changed their religion to escape being caught! Estelle was a devout Christian, her family became Jewish to avoid capture yet still retain some semblance of their old belief system! If my grandparents knew anything, they didn’t tell my mom, that’s for sure. She wouldn’t have freaked out so much when she.... wait, maybe that’s why she freaked when she found out I was using Magick.” Willow stared at him with a look of dawning realisation.
“That may be so, but it is, at the moment, irrelevant. Willow we have to look at the task at hand. If you don’t concentrate we may very well find ourselves in a worse situation than any of us can imagine.” Giles flinched slightly as he spoke. He hated being so businesslike when Willow sat there close to tears, but somebody had to be.

*

Dawn got back to the house shortly after nightfall with Spike in tow. She was less than amused to find a note from her sister which read:

“Gone to Magic Box. Stay here. Tell Spike his usual O-neg’s in the refrigerator and I’ll pay him when I get home. Not sure what time that’ll be. Finish your homework. Dinner’s in the micorwave.
Buffy”

“Looks like it’s just you and me, Squit.” Spike had read the message over her shoulder.
“No offence Spike but I’m getting fed up with being suck here with you whilst they get all the adventure.” Dawn looked at him with an air of teenage exasperation.
“None taken, Love. Looks like I’m gonna have to cancel my card game. Your bloody sister has no consideration for other people’s plans.” He took off his jacket and flung it on the back of the sofa.
“Well she can get stuffed if she thinks I’m doing my homework.”
“That’s the spirit! How ‘bout you get the cards and I teach you how to play poker?” Spike slumped into the nearest armchair and slung his feet onto the coffee table.
“Whatever.” Dawn went to fetch the cards from the sideboard.

*

“What are we doing here? We’ve been through these books and all the ones at the house. There was nothing we could use in them the first time, what says there’s gonna be something in them now?” Anya slammed down an ancient volume on the table, causing the others to jump.
“We’re looking for any references we can find to the descendents of previous Slayers. Perhaps Willow is not alone in having a prophecy which connects her to her ancestor’s killer.” Giles looked across the table at the ex-vengeance demon with an air of exasperation.
“Not that these books have a reference index or anything.” Xander looked as frustrated as his fiance.
“Xander’s got a point Giles. I mean this all seems like a huge waste of time. No offence Will.” Buffy looked at her friend as she spoke.
“None taken. I’ve been through these books like fifty times and haven’t found anything, and there’s nothing on the net.” Willow looked ready to collapse. It hadn’t quite sunken in that she was the descendant of a Slayer.
“We c...can’t give up.” Tara spoke for the first time since they had reached the Magic Box. The blond Wiccan had been processing everything in her head and now, a slight glimmer of hope shone from her eyes.
“Perhaps... perhaps Cara was right. The key to defeating Le Feuvre doesn’t lie in the books, th... that’s obvious. Perhaps it lies in Willow’s b... blood.” This news hit the ears of the others like a cacophany of trumpets. Each one stared at her waiting for her to continue. Instead Willow picked up the thread of Tara’s thoughts.
“If we can create a spell that incorporates a drop of my blood, calling forth the spirit of Estelle, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll be strong enough to fight him.” She reached under the table for Tara’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“The only thing is, I haven’t come across one we could adapt. I mean, we’ve called on the strength of the first Slayer before, but I’d have to harness this power on my own. I’d need an anchor and I don’t know if...” Willow couldn’t bring herself to say what she was thinking. She was all too aware that if the strength of her ancestor proved to great for her to handle her friends would be standing around her graveside in a matter of weeks. Willow looked at her girlfriend and squeezed her hand once more.
“We’d... we’d better start writing the spell. You guys had better patrol. It’s starting to get dark.” Tara nodded towards the window at the front of the store. Twilight came in through the glass, invading the space as fog rises in a cemetery.
“Ok, we’ll check on Le Feuvre and his buddies. Giles, stay here with Tara and Willow and help them with that spell. We’ll check in with you guys in a couple of hours.” Buffy led Xander and Anya out into the back room to gather weapons, leaving the two Wiccans and the ex-Watcher to work on the spell.
Chapter Six

Anya collapsed on top of the grave of some poor unfortunate soul called Ada Rogers. The three scoobies had been trawling the graveyards for three hours and so far there was no sign off the vampire gang. They had dusted a few of Sunnydale's local vampires after torturing them a little to see if they could gain any information, but their search was proving futile and Anya was ready to call it a night. She complained loudly as her back slammed into the gravestone.
“Go home then, but you're going alone.” Buffy looked at Anya with a scowl of contempt. It was obvious that they Slayer was not in the mood to put up with Anya's annoyance, she was carrying enough frustration of her own.
“I didn't say I was going to go home.” Anya glared back at the young woman in front of her.
“The why the complaining? We need to track down Le Feuvre sooner rather than later and if you can't keep up with the pace then I suggest you go now. Some of us actually want to live!” Buffy's temper was rising.
“I'm staying.” Anya became indignant.
“Fine just stop whinging.” Buffy stomped across the cemetery, leaving the silent Xander to pick up his fiancé.

*

Back at the Magic Box, Giles, Tara and Willow were attempting to piece together a spell, which would enable Willow to summon the strength of her ancestor. So far they weren't getting very far, each idea they had had involved using too much of Willow's blood to guarantee her safety or involved mixing it with some highly rare and toxic substance whilst it was still in her body, which would help her to draw upon Estelle's spirit, but would kill her about thirty seconds into the battle. Giles kept habitually wiping his glasses as each plan was met with disappointing answers. Tara was nervously screwing her nose up occasionally, resembling a rabbit at times. Willow was quiet, every once in a while letting out a sigh of annoyance. With each passing minute the trio became more and more anxious. The passing minutes seemed like hours and each hour felt like a week. The steadying darkness engulfed the street outside, fighting with the streetlamps in a never-ending battle that neither side would win.
As the clock behind the counter stuck four, Willow's head shot up and she cracked a tired but triumphant smile.
“Wh…what is it Baby?” The sudden movement of her girlfriend had startled Tara.
“Why didn't I see it before? It's so simple! Of course the spell can be done without spilling a single drop of my blood!” Giles looked up quizzically as the redheaded Wiccan made her exclamation.
“Willow, are you sure?” He looked at with curiosity.
“Yes, it's been staring us in the face the whole time. We've been looking to invoke Estelle's spirit when we should have been looking at how to evoke the dormant Slayer blood within my own body! Oh I am such an idiot sometimes!” Willow grinned at her friend and her lover. She had finally come across the answer she was seeking; all they needed to do was to write the evocation.

*

As the sun rose over Sunnydale, the Scoobies reconvened at the Summers house. Dawn had gone to bed and Spike lay on the couch, in front of the television. He had the television remote in one hand and a half finished bag of blood in the other. His eyes were shut and Buffy was almost convinced he was breathing as she removed the items from his hand and covered him with a blanket. She would wake him later. After turning the box off, she headed to the kitchen to join the others for a much-needed cup of coffee and some food.
“There was no sign of them. We looked in every graveyard, checked the demon bars, and not a sighting. They're keeping themselves well hidden Giles.” Xander looked at the older man with an expression of hopelessness.
“Well they won't have gone back to their headquarters. It's too risky for them now that we know where it is. They're not your usual airhead vampires.” Buffy spoke up as she entered the room.
“Buffy's right I'm afraid. They'll probably have found a way to block the locator spell as well by now.” Giles frowned and removed his glassed, putting them on the table momentarily as he fished in his pocket for a handkerchief with which to wipe his brow.
“You said you checked a…all the demon bars and cemeteries? What about the old High School?” Tara looked up at the three who had been patrolling.
“No. Why would we?” Anya snapped at the blond Witch.
“Because that's where things attracted by the Hellmouth tend to lurk. Oh my God - how stupid was I not to think of it?” Buffy hit herself on the head as she realised her mistake.
“Well why don't we go now? We can kill them all whilst they sleep.” Xander looked at the others for support.
“Because, my over-zealous young friend, we're not sure they are there and we all need some rest before we face them.” Giles placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose.
“Fine, I'll go and check the school, you guys get some shut eye. I'll wake you when I get back. And Giles don't you dare tell me I need sleep - I'm far too wired!” And with that Buffy swept out of the room at Slayer speed.

*

Willow and Tara awoke to Buffy bursting into their bedroom. The sleeping Wiccans had fallen asleep curled up in each other's arms. The current Slayer had a look of enthusiasm on her face that she only got when a plan was coming together. That look was enough to push the pair into movement. They shot out of bed and rushed to pull on some clothing as Buffy went to wake the others. As Willow pulled on her pants she shot Tara a look of trepidation.
“I'll be with you the whole way Sweetheart. I won't let them take you from me.” Tara pulled on her sweatshirt and rushed to her girlfriend's side to give her a hug.
“I know, Baby. But what if I'm wrong, what if it doesn't work? Then they'll come round and we won't be strong enough to beat them.” Willow's doubts surfaced as she stood there in her lover's embrace.
“It will work. You're not wrong. I know it.” Tara's faith in her other half shone through. She repressed any doubts she may have and forced herself to focus on being positive. If she was going to be acting as an anchor for Willow she would need to steer clear of negativity.
“Where would I be without you?” Willow kissed her beloved and began to search for her shoes.

*

Xander and Anya had fallen asleep in Buffy's room, both lay on Buffy's bed, on top of the sheets, still fully clothed. Buffy shook them awake and Xander, like his two friends jumped out of bed. Anya needed some persuading to move, and Buffy decided to leave that to Xander as she raced downstairs to wake Giles.
When she got there, she discovered the ex-Watcher had already been woken by the disturbance of her teenage sister. Dawn and Spike were watching cartoons on the television and Giles sat in the armchair with a large mug of tea.
“Giles, they're there.” She looked at him with a face that said it all.
“Who's where?” Dawn stared at her sister.
“It doesn't matter, Dawn. You stay here with Spike, the rest of us are going out for a while.” Buffy's tone implied she was not in the mood for resistance and Dawn remained silent for once as Buffy headed for the weapons chest.
The others joined them momentarily and soon they were all on their way to the shell of the High School all of the Scoobies except Tara had attended in one form or another.

*
The trip had once again been a silent affair, each Scooby had been focused on the task at hand, not one of them was sure what to expect. They had never had a situation quite like this one to hand. The silence conveyed the inner anticipation and anxieties that each held. The plan was to kill as many vamps as possible, as always, but the main difference this time was that Willow would be the one to kill the head honcho. It was a plan that Buffy had problems with, she didn't like the idea of putting her best friend directly in the firing line, but she also knew that she had no choice. Willow constantly went over the evocation in her head. She couldn't afford to get one thing wrong if this was to succeed. As she prepared herself physically and mentally, she ran through the list of things she had placed in her bag. Five white church candles to place around the perimeter of the circle, incense to ward off negativity and her athame to draw the circle. It was all in the backpack slung across her shoulder, together with a stake that was going to be aimed directly at Le Feuvre's heart. All she could do now was pray that the other vamps didn't wake until she had completed her task. Once Le Feuvre had been slain, the magick protecting the group would die with him and the others would be sitting ducks for Buffy and the others. The school was deathly quiet. There was no sign of the vampire group. Buffy nodded to the others to follow her as she silently stalked across the deserted grounds.
The group made their way to where the library had once stood. The two doors were barely hanging by their hinges and the gang were careful not to knock them to the ground. The Hellmouth lay directly below them as they stood in the middle of the room. Sleeping vampires lay around the room. Le Feuvre lay on top of the miraculously untouched library desk, the only one who looked as if his slumber was comfortable. The other vampires had had to contort themselves into positions where the risk of self-staking was minimized. Parts of the room were covered in the splinters and shards that had once been bookcases.
Willow and Tara silently set to work, emptying Willow's backpack and forming the circle within which to perform the evocation. They had to ensure that the sleeping head vampire was within the circle boundaries and so their circle was larger than they would have liked, but it had to be done. It was awkward trying to make sure the other vampires were not within the circle limits, but the girls succeeded and the other scoobies stood around the perimeter, ready to attack any waking vampires who tried to stop the magick that was about to take place. Willow walked around the circle three times, drawing it with her athame, Tara following her on her first circuit, placing the candles as markers. On the second time round, Tara lit the wicks. As Willow completed the circle for the third time, she bent down and gently tapped the floor, uttering the words, “As above, so below”. The circle was sealed. She and Tara moved to the centre, Tara placed the stake in front of Willow's feet and the pair knelt facing each other and held hands. From where Willow sat, she could clearly see the unconscious Le Feuvre over Tara's right shoulder. She took three deep breaths and felt Tara's hands squeeze her own. It was time. The pair closed their eyes and Willow began her whispered chant.

“I am one with that inside.
I am part of her as she is of me.
I am Wiccan, I am part Slayer.
I am her descendant
I possess the dormant skills.
The power is within, I call upon it now.
I am!
I am the Witch and the Slayer
The girl and the woman.
The fight is in me I feel it there.
I am ever ready to accept my fate
And I do so now.
I am the past, the present and the future of my family line!”

As she whispered the last few words, a brilliant white light filled the room and those who had stood watching saw a change in their friend. The glow extinguished the candles and Willow seemed to become taller. She let go of Tara's hands and with a speed they had only seen present in Buffy's reactions, Willow picked up the stake, moved to Le Feuvre's side and pressed it deep into his chest as the other vampires woke. Le Feuvre let out a scream of pain and was turned into dust.

*

As the sun set over the small town of Sunnydale, Willow and Tara sat on the bench outside the Summers house, waiting for the rest of the Scoobies to return. Tara had closed the circle and escorted her exhausted girlfriend out of the school and away from the ensuing fight, safe in the knowledge that Buffy and the others would now be able to despatch of the rest of the Vampire group now that the protective magick had died with the killer of Willow's ancestor. The two snuggled together and watched as the lights went on in the neighbourhood houses and listened as Dawn cheered triumphantly after beating Spike at cards. Once again disaster had been averted and the two Witches could rest - that is until the next big bad came to the Hellmouth.