Willow walked on. She passed familiar landmarks, but her brain failed to process the information. The voice in her head droned on and on, urging her forward, telling her the direction to take. She knew nothing. She had no idea how long she had been walking, where she had come from, or where she was heading. Suddenly the voice stopped, as did Willow. She stood in front of a warehouse, blinking.
"Where the hell am I?" She muttered, looking around.
"You're home." A voice answered her, the voice from her nightmares.
"What?" Willow spun round, searching for the source of the voice. When she saw it, she had to fight the urge to scream. The figure was hideous. She could think of no other word to describe it. Well, repulsive and disgusting fit the bill as well, but then she realised that she was babbling internally, so she settled for hideous. He, or rather it, was a mass of scars and wounds, some old, some new, all of them red.
"Come." The figure beckoned her forward. "You're home now."
"No thanks. I...er...I already have a home." Willow began to back away.
"This is your home." The voice was insistent, and eerily inside her head once more.
"This is my home." Willow repeated, her feet once again moving under the direction of the voice. She entered the warehouse, and made her way to the middle of the floor space.
"Good." The voice released her again, and she looked around herself in an attempt to find her bearings.
"Why are you doing this?" Willow's brave face was beginning to crumble, and she could hear the tears behind her words.
"We belong together." The figure moved closer to her and she took an involuntary step back.
"Who are you?" Willow summoned enough courage to demand the answer.
"Johann. Know that I am your soulmate."
"You're not." Willow squared her shoulders. "I have a soul mate."
"The watcher?" Willow nodded. "He's a distraction. I planned on letting our love mature, but he got in the way. I had to act." Johann reached out a hand and touched her cheek.
"I don't love you." Willow ducked away from his touch.
"You do. You just need to admit it." He bent his head and placed a hard kiss on her lips. Willow pulled away, furiously wiping at her mouth with her hand. "The child will draw us closer."
Willow froze. "The child?"
"Our child." Johann smiled down at her.
"We are not having a child." Willow shook her head, denying what he said.
"Of course we shall. It will seal our love." Johann patted her affectionately. "You're just tired. Shall I put you to sleep?"
"No...I'm not tired." Willow protested.
"Come. You must sleep." Johann propelled Willow through a door and into a makeshift bedroom.
"Why me?" Willow remained standing.
"Your power. You have so many possibilities, my love." Johann placed a hand on her back and guided her to the bed.
"I'm not powerful." Willow insisted. "I only do small spells, and I usually get those wrong."
"Your enthusiasm and my skill will make us a force to be reckoned with."
"Please, I just want to go home." Willow felt her eyes begin to close. "Rupert." She mumbled as oblivion claimed her.
"Home is where the heart is." Johann stroked her face as she slept, vowing to make her his.
Part 7
As Willow slept unwillingly, watched by Johann, the rest of the the gang had congregated at Giles's apartment. Xander and Anya were huddled together over a book, Anya for once remaining quiet. Buffy was staring at Giles with concern as he paced the room, glasses in hand, searching his mind for a flash of inspiration.
"You say you looked in all the usual spots?" Giles came to a halt beside Buffy, repeating the question for what seemed like the tenth time.
"Yes. We checked all the places where evil gathers, didn't we?" Buffy appealed to Riley.
"All the places we know." Riley qualified.
"No unusual activity?" Giles continued probing.
"We've been over this." Buffy turned and grabbed a book off the table. "Think I'll try the academic approach."
"You really should play to your strengths." Anya advised, no longer able to keep quiet.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked indignantly, shifting the weight of the book in her hands.
"Calm down." Riley placed a hand on her arm.
"Tell the little ex-demon over there." Buffy shot Anya a venomous look that Anya more than equalled herself.
"All of you just shut up!" Giles's voice cut through the animosity in the room.
"Sorry." Buffy had the decency to look sheepish.
"What?" Anya looked at Xander as he elbowed her in the ribs. "Oh...sorry." She offered, somewhat belatedly.
"Can we just concentrate on finding Willow?" Giles asked in an exasperated tone.
"G-man's right." Xander piped up from his spot on the sofa.
Giles chose to ignore Xander. "We should review what we know."
"Okay." Buffy placed the book back on the table and sat down. "Willow's been having nightmares?"
"A nightmare. I don't think there were others." Giles frowned as he tried to remember the details. "She heard a voice."
"What did it say?" Xander asked.
"She said she couldn't make it out." Giles thumped the table. "She just didn't want to say." He realised, a sound halfway between a sigh and a strangled sob leaving his lips.
"Giles." Buffy moved closer, but he held up a hand to stop her.
"She fainted, today." He continued, breathing deeply to calm himself.
"That was yesterday." Buffy pointed at the clock. It was one in the morning.
"Yesterday, then. She pulled away from me and she fainted." Giles resumed his pacing. "Riley saw her in a trance?" Giles looked towards Riley for confirmation.
"That's right." Riley nodded and reached for Buffy's trembling hand.
"A trance?" Anya broke into the conversation.
"Pay attention, Anya." Buffy admonished with a tight smile.
"Did you say a trance?" Anya persisted, untangling herself from Xander and sitting forward.
"Do you know something?" Giles crossed the floor and stood before her.
"Nightmares and a trance." Anya spoke softly. "I hope I'm wrong."
"What?" Everyone in the room crowded around Anya.
"Anya, please." Giles pleaded with her to tell what she knew.
"It sounds like Johann."
Part 8
"Johann?" Giles shouted the name. "Who the hell is Johann?"
"He's a sorcerer." Anya relaxed slightly as she felt Xander's arm slip around her shoulders to offer support.
"You've met him before?" Giles paced in front of her, attempting to keep himself calm, at least for the time being.
Anya nodded. "Over a hundred years ago." She shivered. "Not an experience I'd like to repeat."
"Why does he want Willow?" Giles had a sinking feeling that he already knew the answer.
"I'd say her power." Giles nodded, that was the conclusion he had reached.
"What happened when you met him?" Xander usually preferred avoiding the details of his girlfriend's demon existence, but he made an exception for Willow.
"He had a wife." They all looked at her, surprised. "He wasn't a powerful sorcerer, then." Anya explained.
"Go on." Giles urged. He was anxious to find out about this sorcerer, before he killed him.
"He left her, for a witch." Anya continued her tale. "His wife wanted me to curse him. I did. He's covered in scars, now." She spoke with pride, before remembering just exactly where she was.
"How do you know he's the one who has Willow?" Giles asked.
"The witch he left his wife for...she left him." Anya closed her eyes for a moment. "She had no choice. He brought her back. He controlled her."
"Bloody hell." Giles swore and punched his fist into the wall.
"Now we know what it is, how do I kill it?" Buffy addressed her question to both Anya and Giles.
"Anya?" Giles deferred to her.
"As far as I know, once you get past the magic, it's pretty easy." Anya shrugged her shoulders. "I was only meant to scar him. Her actual words were 'make him repulsive'. I did a good job."
"How do we get past the magic?" Buffy asked again.
"Distraction." Giles grabbed a book from the bookshelf.
"Distraction? Wouldn't another witch be good?" Xander asked.
"I plan on creating a little bang." Giles's face convinced Xander that the distraction would be powerful.
"Hello?" Buffy waved a hand in front of Giles's face. "Don't we have to find Willow first?"
"I've been thinking about that." Riley's voice made them all jump. He had been silent for a while. "That warehouse with the new door?" He paused and looked at Buffy. She nodded. "Why would an abandoned warehouse need a new door? I'm thinking if it got a new occupant."
"Let's go." Giles's voice held a steel they had never heard before, and one by one they trooped out of the door.
Part 9
Willow opened her eyes slowly. Her head was pounding, and she felt sick to her stomach. It took her a moment to remember where she was. When she did, tears rolled down her face, and fear seemed to paralyse her body.
"Are you well rested?" Johann's voice cut through her fear, causing her to focus. She closed her eyes again in an attempt to feign sleep. "You must wake now, my love." Johann's hand caressed her face.
"I'm awake." Willow scrambled to sit up and move away from his touch.
"We will be very busy today." Johann informed her, stepping away from the bed and moving back to his ingredients.
"Are we going shopping? You could do with some new furniture." Willow was attempting to imitate Buffy. Grimacing, she had to admit that her witty repartee suffered somewhat under stress.
"We won't be in Sunnydale much longer." Johann informed her, smiling.
"We won't?" Willow could hear the fear in her voice and knew that she had to get herself under control.
"This town is not a good place to bring up children." He informed her.
"Children?" Willow took a deep breath. That hadn't been a dream.
"Our first child will be conceived today."
"Today? Shouldn't we get to know each other first?" Willow was beginning to clutch at straws.
"I've been searching for you all my life. Soon I will know you more intimately." Johann added cloves into the mixture.
"I need some time to catch up." Willow persisted. "I...er...I haven't been searching."
"We'll have a lifetime together." Johann smiled, pleased that she seemed to be resigned to the situation. "I'm 127 years old. Together we can live forever." Johann poured the thick liquid he had been mixing into a glass.
"Forever? As in immortal?" Willow thought that perhaps she could annoy him into letting her go. It was a long shot, but at this point she was willing to try anything.
"We won't die naturally." Johann informed her. Her chattiness had disarmed him, and he began to tell her about their future limitations. "We could still die if someone breached our magickal defences."
"Oh." Willow filed the information away in her brain.
"You must drink this." Johann held the glass out to her. "It will make the child stronger."
"I don't think I can." Willow confessed. The smell alone turned her stomach.
"You can drink it after, if you prefer."
"After? After what? Oh..." Willow blanched as she realised what came next.
"Come, my love. We must make our child." Johann pushed her down onto the bed.
"No!" Willow used all her strength to push him off her. She succeeded in removing his weight from her body. She used his momentary shock to leap from the bed.
"It must be now!" Johann screamed and ran at her.
An explosion rocked the warehouse. Willow flung herself to the floor, survival instincts kicking in. She looked up and thought she saw Rupert striding into the room. Shaking her head to clear her vision, she watched the light fade as she lapsed into unconsciousness.
Part 10
Giles charged into the building seconds after the explosion got rid of the door. He searched the smoke, looking for Willow, but he couldn't see her. He did, however, see Johann, who had already seen him.
"Watcher." Johann's voice was cold.
"Where is Willow?" Giles took in the sight before him. Anya was right to be proud. Johann was indeed repulsive.
"Your grand entrance knocked her out." Johann motioned to Willow's prostrate body. "Literally."
"Willow." Giles choked back a sob. He felt rather than heard Buffy come up behind him. "Take care of Willow." He ordered without turning to look at her.
"But Giles..." Buffy stopped, mid-protest as he turned and looked at her. The look in his eyes was one of utter determination. "I'll go." She spun on her heel and ran to Willow's side.
"You were wrong to come here, watcher." Johann held out his hands and began to chant.
"What about me?" Anya asked from behind Giles. "Are you pleased to see me?"
"Anyanka." Anya's intervention had the desired reaction. Johann stopped his chanting, and turned to face her.
"I did a really good job." Anya commented.
"You..." Johann was interrupted as Giles's fist crashed into his face. The surprise movement caught him off guard. Giles continued to lay into him, his fists pounding into Johann.
"You shouldn't interfere." Johann recovered slightly and began to fight back. He had no time to formulate his magick, so he too relied on his fists.
"It's you who interfered." Giles gave in to the anger, allowing Ripper to slip to the surface. He concentrated on causing maximum damage, going for the eyes in an effort to blind Johann. He beat him down onto the floor, and continued to punch and kick long after Johann had given up.
"Giles." Xander's voice failed to reach him above the anger that roared through his veins and pounded in his ears. "Giles!" Xander shouted louder, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder.
"What?" Giles snapped as his head whipped round.
"He's had enough." Xander pulled Giles away. "Go get Willow. Buffy can finish him off." Xander could see that Giles was about to protest, so he gave him a nudge in the right direction. Giles looked towards Willow for the first time since the fight began, and he thought his heart would break. Buffy was cradling her head in her lap, stroking her hair. She looked so small and fragile, and he had to swallow the lump in his throat. He crossed the room slowly, and sank to his knees by her side.
"She just woke up." Buffy informed him. "I'll just go...and...you know...break his neck." Giles nodded at her, not trusting himself to speak, and took her place cradling Willow's head.
"Rupert?" Willow's voice was quiet.
"I'm here." He confirmed.
"I was scared." She confessed, looking up at him.
"You're safe now." Giles gently pushed her hair out of her eyes and leaned down to kiss her.
"Is he..." Willow couldn't finish the question.
"He's been taken care of." Giles confirmed.
"Good." Willow attempted to get up.
"You shouldn't move." Giles admonished.
"I'm fine. Really." Willow persisted, but she allowed him to put his arms around her and help her up. "I want to go home."
"We'll go now." Giles lifted her up into his arms, ignoring both her and his body's protests.
The journey home had been done in silence. After dropping off Xander and Anya, and practically forcing Buffy to go with Riley and leave Willow in his care, Giles had driven to his apartment quickly, anxious to get Willow inside.
"I can walk." Willow protested when he went to pick her up again.
"I just want to hold you." Giles confessed as he cradled her against his chest.
"I want you to hold me..." Willow clung to his shirt and began to sob.
"It's alright, I've got you now." He whispered into her hair as he fought to unlock the door and get her inside. He pushed the door shut behind them and headed for the couch. He sat down rather heavily, still holding her tight. He stroked her hair as he whispered words of comfort.
"I'm sorry." Willow hiccuped, fighting to control her tears.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Giles held her tighter. "He didn't...he didn't...do anything, did he?"
"No." Giles felt the relief flood through him. "He was going to, and then there was the explosion."
"Ah. A little magick of my own." Giles informed her.
"You did that? With magick?" Willow looked at him with awe.
"I have some talents in that direction." Giles allowed.
"You certainly bewitched me." Willow told him, attempting a smile.
"That was the plan. Wouldn't do to have me enchanted by you, and you unaffected by my charms." Giles kissed her forehead tenderly.
"I'm tired." Willow yawned to prove her point.
"Let's go to bed, then." Giles set her on her feet for a moment before again sweeping her up into his arms.
"This is getting to be a habit." Willow admonished, this time with a less forced smile.
"I'm practicising." Giles told her, manoeuvering them both up the stairs. "For our honeymoon."
"Honeymoon?" Willow stared at him in shock.
"After the last 24 hours, I don't plan on letting you out of my sight." Giles set her down on the bed. "That should prove to be easier if we are married."
"That's a proposal?" Willow hadn't taken her eyes off him since he had mentioned the word 'honeymoon'.
"No. This is a proposal." He got down on bended knee in front of her. "Willow Rosenberg, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Giles brought her hand to his lips and kissed it reverently. "Will you let me love you forever?"
"Yes." Willow began to sob again, her happiness overwhelming her. Giles enveloped her in his arms and hugged her.
"I love you." He whispered into her hair.
"I love you too." She replied, hugging him back with all her strength
Sequel: A Marriage Made on a Hellmouth