Part 6
“HOLD.”
Willow held her hands palm upward and began to raise them. A young man in his early twenties began to rise and be suspended in mid-air. He tried to move his arms and failed. Panicking he tried to kick out at the dark haired vampire that stood near him but found himself unable to. God why was he so stupid? He had hoped to capture the witch that had Ethan and Gwendolyn all excited. It would have assured his rise in the ranks of Ethan's army. His fellow wizards had warned him that he was no match for the witch that had allied herself with Rupert. But did he listen, nooooooo, he thought the rumors were nothing but tales to keep the weaker wizards from going after the witch. Now look at him, he was trapped, unable to move and a brassed off vampire was coming his way.
William watched from the shadows. This Willow had been here a week and he grudgingly admitted that she was a help in the war with Ethan. It burned in his stomach like holy water to see that Dru and the others were taking a liking to this Willow. He somehow felt it would be disloyal to the memory of HIS Willow to warm up to this one. Every time she showed a mannerism that was so like his Willow he would retreat further.
“Well, well. It seems one of Ethan's lapdogs bit off more than he could chew.”
Dru put on a small smile as she joined Darla, “Mmmm, now that you mention chew I am feeling quite peckish.”
Darla reached up and trailed a nail down his cheek drawing a thin line of blood. Inhaling the smell like it was wine of the finest vintage she murmured, “Mmm, fear with magick. Quite the intoxicating combination.”
Willow grinned over at the two vampires. Besides Rupert she had become quite close to Dru and Darla of this world. Who would have thought that of all the people of this world that she met she would have become friends the quickest with were Darla and Druscilla? Certainly not her. Of course it helped that they were nothing like her Dru and Darla.
“Should we take him back and try to get answers as to why he came after me or do you guys just wanna have a snack? I don't care either way.” Willow tried to sound bored. Of course she wasn't going to let Dru and Darla kill him but he didn't have to know that.
She smiled inwardly as the man turned a sickly shade of green.
Darla dropped out of game face and smiled at Willow, “I keep telling Dru you would make a marvelous vampire.”
Willow shuddered as VampWillow came to mind, “Trust me when I say not only no but heck no to vampire me.”
Dru seemed to be considering her question, “As much as I'm feeling hungry right now I think we should try for answers. Of course if he doesn't talk we can always eat him later.”
Darla slipped her hand through Dru's arm, “Brilliant. Wonder how well Ethan has trained him to withstand pain?” Darla looked fondly over at Willow, “Oh you should have heard the last one that Dru tortured. It was hours before he screamed but it was well worth the wait.”
Willow cocked her head to the side as she contemplated how to get him back to Rupert's place. “Well I could work the mind control thing on him and make him follow us willingly or turn him into an animal and bring him along but what's the fun in that?”
William decided it was time to join in the game, “Here now. How ‘bout I knock him unconscious while he can't move and carry him back?”
“Oooh, lovey that would be great. It'd save Willow's strength for later.”
The man blinked a few times did she say Willow? He thought Ethan had killed Willow three years ago. It was before he joined Ethan but he thought he remembered she died along with the Slayer. Must be a different Willow. He didn't think the other one was this powerful and it wasn't that unusual of a name.
William hit the man and watched satisfied as his head slumped forward.
“Release.”
William quickly grabbed him before he hit the ground with Willow's release command. “Do you think Ethan or Gwendolyn sent him out to find out about the witch or do you think he worked on his own?”
Darla smiled calculatingly at William, “Just one of the many questions he'll have to answer for us.”
Willow quietly followed them back to Rupert's store. It had been a week since she arrived through the mirror and William was no closer to trusting her than when she first got there. Not that she expected him to welcome her with open arms but he still called her ‘the witch' or ‘witch'. He never called her by Willow or Red, which were his pet names for his Willow. It seemed William was just as loyally obsessive as her Spike. But she did think he would have warmed up to her by now, at least a little. He was polite enough more for Dru's sake than anything else. For the sake of the group they would get along. Willow had stopped trying to earn his trust when she realized he wasn't going to give it no matter what. They were like divorced parents that got together for the sake of the children. Politely distant.
The tinkle of the store bell brought Willow out of her musings as Dru held open the door for William. Thank god for Rupert. He had become her lifeline here. He was so much like her Giles and yet not. If she was destined to stay in this reality she was grateful for his friendship.
“Rupert.” Darla sing-songed as they all entered the store. “Look what Willow caught.”
She knew that mentioning Willow would bring Rupert out quicker. She smiled as she watched the Wizard's eyes light up when he saw Willow. Her three hundred plus years as a predator allowed her to know and read humans well. What had started out as the need to help a fellow magick user had turned into Rupert's growing feelings toward the woman. She doubted even Rupert realized that his feelings were changing.
William dumped the body unceremoniously on the research table.
“Hey, watch the books.” Rupert admonished as he rushed to move an ancient text out of the way of the man's head.
“Who's this?”
“Dunno. He attacked Willow. She magicked him. Dru and Darla scared him. I hit him.”
Dru giggled. “Leave it to my William to boil it down to its basest parts.”
“He attacked you! Are you all right?”
Darla smirked and winked at Dru as Rupert rushed over to Willow.
“She's fine, Rupert. He only lobbed a weak energy blast at her, which she deflected easily enough. I think he angered Dru and I more than Willow. She held him in suspension while Dru and I had some fun and then William offered to hit him to make it easier carrying him back.”
They looked over at the door as Faith and Tara returned from patrolling. Faith looked over at the unconscious man and then back at the others, “Well, it seems you guys had a busier night than we did. Only dispatched two vamps and Tara scared the crap out of a wanna be on Ethan's side.”
Tara gave a shy smile, “Just a simple illusion magick and he thought he was being attacked by dragons.”
Faith smiled back at her girlfriend. “Looked real, too. She took the Nazgul from Lord of the Rings movie and made it go after this guy.” Faith started laughing. “You should have seen him, G. He was running and screaming down main street yelling for everyone to hide. People were looking at him like he was crazy and Tara had this innocent look on her face the whole time. Priceless. So who's the guy asleep on the table?”
“One of Ethan's flunkies but until he wakes up we don't know who he is or why he attacked Willow.”
“If you're gonna torture him, can I watch? It was so cool the last time.” Faith looked over at William with pleading eyes.
William smiled over at Faith. She would make a fine vampire some day. Might do it himself when the time comes.
Tara looked over at Giles and they both rolled their eyes at Faith's question.
“Might even let you help if you're a good Slayer.”
Faith was practically bouncing with excitement. “Really?”
“Faith.” Rupert's voice took the excitement out of Faith.
Faith looked over at Rupert dreading seeing the disappointment.
“If you make him bleed you'll have to clean it up.”
Willow blinked. If she needed any proof that there was more Ripper in this Rupert than hers she had just heard it.
The man slowly came awake just in time to hear Giles admonish Faith about cleaning the blood. Oh god what had he gotten himself into?
Part 7
James had been a particularly tough interrogation. Ethan hadn't put him in the position he was in for nothing. It took quite some time but in the end he did tell them what they wanted to know.
Willow had seen aspects of her Spike and Faith as she had watched them question James. She even saw aspects of Giles as Rupert questioned him. She remembered her Giles quietly talking about killing Ben and knowing that Buffy didn't have what it took to do ‘everything necessary' in the battle.
She slightly jumped at the feel of a hand on her shoulder.
“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.”
“You didn't. I was just lost in my thoughts.”
“Thinking of your home?”
Willow smiled slightly up at Rupert. “Actually I was thinking about what we learned from James.”
Rupert winced at that. He had been particularly rough with Ethan's wizard when he disclosed that he had gone after Willow to ‘earn his stripes' so to speak.
Faith had smirked at him when he drew blood and told him that she wasn't cleaning it up. He hoped Willow wouldn't think badly about him.
“I'm sorry. Normally interrogations don't get that intense.”
Willow smiled, it was sweet actually the way he blushed and wouldn't meet her eyes.
She gently laid a hand on his arm until he looked at her. “You forget I killed a man with my magick and almost destroyed the world. I'm thinking what I saw was pretty tame compared to that and bonus we got the information we needed.”
Rupert smiled at her. She had a way about her that put you at ease. She knew the right things to say to make you feel comfortable. Wesley said that his Willow had that same ability. She had been here just a short amount of time but already it felt like she was part of the group. Except for William of course. Rupert thought that it was more out of habit than actually not liking Willow. He had no doubts that Willow would worm her way into William's heart like she had the others. The only two he wasn't sure about were Xander and Jesse. From what little Willow had told him and from what Wesley said those three were immensely close. It seemed that was a truth in both realities.
Angel had gone to LA to tell Xander and Jesse the news in person. It had been a stroke of good luck, if you can call it that, when Xander called and asked for Angel's help with a particularly hard to kill demon.
Angel had decided that it would be better to tell the news in person and it would be best coming from him rather than William. Though William was closer to the three of them Angel didn't want Xander and Jesse to be biased against this Willow.
Willow was getting nervous with as quiet as Rupert had gotten. She had hoped to put him at ease but maybe she just put her foot in it. When the silence stretched she softly asked, “A penny for them.”
“W-what? Oh sorry. Now it's my turn to be lost in thought. I was just thinking about Angel.”
“Worried about the Zalanes demon?”
“No, I was worried about you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Xander and Jesse.”
“Oh. I keep telling myself that they're not my Jesse and Xander. I know here” Willow pointed to her head, “that if they don't like me it's because I'm not their Wills but” Willow pointed to her heart, “here I'm not sure what I'll do and how I'll feel if they're like William.”
Giles sat next to her and gently put his arm around her. It was instinctual and felt right. He smiled slightly when Willow didn't pull away. “I can't promise you that everything will be okay but I can promise you that I'll do everything I can to make it all right.”
Willow smiled slightly as she put her head on Rupert's shoulder. Just like her Giles he had the ability to make everything seem better. She could sit like this forever with her head resting on Giles' shoulder and all her worries not such a burden. She was starting to see Rupert and not see Giles. It was like being with an identical twin. The same but not. Of course the little tinglies she got when he sometimes looked her way was another indication that this wasn't her Giles.
Oh sure she'd had a crush on Giles in high school and truth be told a little after but Giles had never given her tinglies. Well okay that time she saw him singing at the Espresso Pump had given her tinglies but that didn't count. He was all sexy and singing and stuff.
The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted their silence. Rupert really hated having to get up and seriously considered letting the machine take over. As much as he would like to he didn't. He reluctantly stood up and smiled an apology at Willow.
“Hello?”
“Rupert? Is the witch with you?”
Giles furrowed his brow. First, why was William calling and second, why did he care where Willow was?
“Yes, she's right here. Did you want to talk to her?”
Willow creased her forehead in thought. Who would be calling for her? Certainly not Dru or Darla they usually just showed up or they finalized their plans when patrolling. Faith and Tara though friendly were uncomfortable around her not that she blamed them she was a little uncomfortable around them as well.
“No Dru just wanted to make sure she was there. She and Darla are on their way over. Word on the street is that Ethan is coming to Sunnyhell for a visit. I think it might have to do with a certain red head. I think he wants to see for himself what she's capable of. The word is that he's ‘inspecting' the troops.”
Rupert's mind was whirling with this new information. Ethan usually stayed away from the trenches and sent the ‘cannon fodder' to do the recon. He'd never heard of him ‘inspecting' the troops. Usually he sent a high-ranking wizard for that.
Rupert began to pace and talk to William, “He wouldn't risk himself going against you and the other vampires. True his magick is powerful but he's too much of a self-preservationist. Why isn't he sending some lackey or Gwendolyn for that matter?”
“Dunno I'm just the messenger. You want more information talk to Dru and Darla when they get there.” William practically growled. It had taken a lot of convincing on Dru's part to even get him to call. He'd done what he said he'd do and the soddin' wizard was asking him questions like William cared.
Mumbling thanks and hanging up Rupert tried to calm his racing heart and his anger but he knew this news was NOT good. He knew Ethan almost as well as he knew himself which is one of the reasons the coven entrusted him with the mirror and guarding the Hellmouth.
If Gwendolyn was coming as well Ethan very well might pit the two of them together to see how matched they were. Oh he wouldn't sacrifice Gwen . . . yet but it would give him a good indication of the power of Willow.
He would have felt her power and heard about her helping him but he wouldn't know what she was capable of and Rupert doubted he would trust anyone to tell him the truth.
If it had been Ethan that was sent to report on a powerful witch, that no one knew about until recently, to his superior he would not tell everything he found out.
DAMN this was definitely a complication.
“So? Good news?”
Rupert was brought out of his thoughts by Willow's question. He saw the worried look but the slight smile.
“That was William. Darla and Dru are on their way over. It seems Ethan is coming for a visit. He believes Ethan wants to see what you're capable of in person and I agree.”
Willow looked scared but determined. “Rupert, I have only done small spells here. I haven't done anything that would tap into the heavy stuff because my connection to the Earth's energies is more intense here. I can control it but if he wants to see what I'm really capable of I'm not sure I can control that.”
Willow started to pace, “I mean what if he sets up a trap or whatever to gauge how I handle it and what I can do and then I get all dark and veiney and evil. Trust me when I say it is not pretty. What if I go to the edge and can't come back? Oh god, maybe I should just leave. I mean I seem to be adding more complications than helping. Maybe I should take my chances at the next reality.”
Rupert watched in semi-fascination as she got more and more agitated the more she thought about what could happen. And there was NO WAY he was letting her go to another reality. One, maybe it would be worse but more importantly he didn't think he could let her go.
God, where had that thought come from? Sure she was pretty and he was attracted to her. You'd have to be dead not to be but she certainly didn't need his feelings on top of everything else. Plus, she'd had a girlfriend. Not like she was looking for a male.
When Willow paced close to Rupert he put out his hand to stop her and drew her into his embrace. At first she stood there stiffly and then she relaxed and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
“You're not going anywhere. What if the next reality is worse than this one? At least with this one it's the devil you know. I have faith that you can pull yourself back from any edge you'd find yourself and lastly as a last resort if you really did go over the edge and you couldn't come back I promise to bind your powers.”
Willow smiled into his chest.
Rupert put a finger under her chin and raised her gaze to his, “I don't really relish doing it but I will do it.”
“Thanks, Rupert.”
“Besides I'd like to see you kick Ethan's ass.”
Part 8
‘I'd like to see you kick Ethan's ass.' Willow mocked to herself as she got up shakily from the blow Gwendolyn just delivered.
Well if Ethan was watching her fight with Gwendolyn he was getting to see her powers in action. Or should she say lack of powers in action. Gwendolyn was strong but not as strong as Willow. Willow just couldn't seem to get the hang of the Earth's energies here. Sure for simple spells she could but the serious stuff that she needed to fight Ethan's second in command she wasn't having an easy time of it.
Dru and Darla were busy with their own fights. She wasn't so sure that William would have helped if he hadn't been busy alongside Dru. Ethan had come into town guns blazing as it were. He sent demons to attack Dru, Darla and William. Gwendolyn came to take on her and Ethan did a surprise attack on the mirror. Rupert had no doubt that it was a stalling tactic since it was a halfhearted illusion to keep him busy. But it did work in that Rupert wasn't there to help Willow either.
Wesley, Tara and Faith had their hands full with the local vampire community. It was a full frontal assault from all sides.
Willow dove to avoid a fireball that Gwendolyn sent in her direction. Damn it when this was over if she was standing Rupert was going to teach her how to harness this reality's energies to match her power. She had a bone to pick with Gwendolyn in this reality and from hers.
Ethan watched from the shadows. This was the powerful witch he'd heard about? He had no doubt because he could feel her power. Had in fact felt her power cross-country, but she wasn't doing well in her battle with Gwendolyn. Maybe she was playing cat and mouse with her and waiting to use her more powerful magick later. It was what he would have done. Never show your enemy your true power until it was too late.
Willow was getting frustrated with herself and her situation. She hadn't wanted to tap into the dark magick not knowing if she could stop it or how it would work in this reality. But she was seriously getting her ass kicked by Gwendolyn.
Well if she couldn't fight her she would just teleport her out like she had done with Glory. Not too dark a magick, she thought she could handle it. Plus she noticed that Dru, Darla and William were winning in their battle. They could go back to the magick shop and regroup.
Willow threw an energy blast toward Gwendolyn and smiled when it hit her mark. It didn't do much damage but it did get her attention. While Gwendolyn was distracted Willow mumbled her spell.
Gwendolyn felt a slight tingling in her body as the park began to fade in front of her. One minute she was hit with an energy blast and the next she was out of town.
Willow sunk to her knees breathing hard as she watched Gwendolyn fade from view. She hoped she teleported her far enough away and not just a block or two over. On the upside no nosebleed or headache from the spell.
Ethan smiled in the darkness as he saw Gwendolyn fade from the park. Excellent maneuver on the witch's part. She had passed his test. He'd seen her abilities albeit not all of them and saw her fighting skills. All in all a successful mission. With a small wave of his arm he teleported back to his room.
~~~~
Willow sighed in relief as they finally made it to the Magic Box. She hadn't been sure she could make it but with Dru on one side and Darla on the other they'd made it. All she wanted was to sleep for a few days and she'd be good as new.
“Willow!”
Rupert rushed to her side and Darla smiled as she relinquished her hold on Willow.
Rupert desperately looked over Willow trying to find any wounds.
“I'm okay, Rupert. Just winded. Not as in tune with the Earth's energies as I need to be.”
“She sent the wicked bitch of the west to a place far, far away.” Darla ran her hand softly down Willow's hair as they placed her in a chair.
“You teleported Gwendolyn?”
“Yeah, she was kicking my butt so I thought if I can't beat her send her away so I can regroup.” Willow looked up at Rupert with tired eyes, “I need you to help me to harness the energies of this reality. I can't seem to make a connection when I need the ‘heavy hitter' stuff.”
Rupert wasn't surprised. With what Willow had told him about her not being properly trained and her being a little nervous about the Dark Vein-y Willow making a reappearance she wasn't letting herself connect. The energy was there for her to tap into she just was blocking it herself and not realizing it.
“As soon as you're rested Tara and I will work with you. Angel called, he, Xander and Jesse were able to defeat the Zalanes demon. They'll be here in a few hours.”
That brought Willow's head up. Sure she wanted to see Xan and Jesse but not now. She was feeling like crap and she wasn't sure she could take their rejection on top of everything else.
“Don't they have to be in LA? I mean, it's great they want to come and help and all but what about Ethan's emissary there?”
Rupert noticed the quiet panic in her eyes. He knew she was both dreading and looking forward to seeing her childhood friends but Rupert felt the fear of not knowing would be worse than the actual reaction.
He kneeled quietly near Willow and gently took her hand. “They want to be here, Willow. Angel especially and Xander and Jesse want to help in anyway they can. They have people that can continue the battle in their absence.”
He absently rubbed circles on the back of her hand as he talked, “Xander and Jesse would like to meet you.”
Willow took a deep breath and looked at Rupert, “I know and I know we can use all the help we can get especially when I don't seem to be able to tap into what I need. It's just . . .”
“I know but wouldn't it be better to get it over with?”
She sighed and gave a nod. She wasn't sure which would be better keeping her mind occupied until they got there or going upstairs to her room and resting her body until they got there.
Dru saw the way her shoulders slumped and her tired eyes, “Come on lovey, let's get you upstairs and rested.”
“I'll carry Willow.”
Four pairs of eyes stared at William. One, he'd offered to do something nice for Willow and two he'd called her Willow and not witch. Dru and Darla smiled. They knew sooner or later William would accept Willow. She would never take their Willow's place but it was a step for William.
Willow smiled shyly up at him, “Thanks. I didn't think I'd make it up the stairs.”
William reached down and lifted Willow into his arms. He hadn't been able to help himself from volunteering to help her. When he'd heard her tired and discouraged voice he saw his Willow sitting there with her head bowed.
For the first time he allowed himself to see her as the others saw her. Not as an imposter but like a twin sister. Someone that was like his Willow but was her own person. Not that he was getting soft toward her or anything but he was giving her that chance she asked for.
William gently laid her on her bed. “All set?”
Willow nodded, “Thanks, William.”
William awkwardly patted her shoulder, “It'll work out all right.”
A tear slowly escaped Willow's eye. She must be in worse shape than she thought if William was trying to comfort her about the upcoming reunion.
She whispered so soft his preternatural hearing barely caught it, “I hope so.”
Part 9
Willow blearily blinked her eyes and saw Xander sitting in a chair next to her bed. “Hey, Xan. You would not believe the dream I just had.”
Before Willow could continue she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head. Jesse? Jesse! Willow closed her eyes as her brain finally kicked in gear.
With her eyes still shut she sighed and whispered, “Sorry. I'm sorry.”
Xander looked over at his best friend Jesse and winced. God could this have gone any worse? Well, yeah it could have but he didn't want to dwell on that. What should they do? He had so many conflicting emotions. Angel had tried to prepare them but could you really be prepared to see someone who was your best friend but not?
Jesse looked at Willow with panicked eyes and then looked at Xander. He mouthed, “What do we do?”
Xander's eyes got huge, “Like I know?!”
Neither one noticed Willow watching them. She couldn't help but smile. They were so her Xander and Jesse no matter the reality. She couldn't take her eyes off Jesse. So this is what he would have looked like if he hadn't been turned.
No matter that this wasn't their Willow her reaction to them proved that this was another Xander and Jesse's Willow. Xander's head hurt with that thought. When all else failed fall back on what you know.
Xander cleared his throat and looked down to see Willow smiling at Jesse and him. He couldn't help but smile back, “So? Am I some studly high wizard in your reality?”
Jesse took his cue from Xander and fell into the easy relationship of the three musketeers of his childhood. “Pfft. Please why would you be that in her reality when you're not even that in this reality?”
“Hey I am SO the studly wizard. Okay maybe not a high wizard but hello Rupert put ME in charge of LA.”
“HA! You just think you're in charge of LA. Rupert really put me in there to watch your back ‘cause most of your spells go wonky.”
“Wonky? WONKY! My spells do not go wonky. They just have decidedly different minds of their own.”
Rupert relaxed in his room when he was greeted with laughter. Willow's laughter mixed in with Xander and Jesse's floated through the walls. They had insisted on seeing Willow alone with no interference and he had reluctantly agreed. Their reunion should be private but he had paced nervously in his room next to hers. He had been determined to interrupt if he had heard crying or shouts or very awkward silence.
Rupert went downstairs to let Dru and Darla know that everything would be all right. And to give Willow a chance to connect with Xander and Jesse.
~~~~
Willow snuck a peak at Xander and Jesse. They had made her feel comfortable and welcome right from the beginning. She hoped it was a truth in all realities that she, Jesse and Xander were best friends. She couldn't imagine a life without at least one of them in it.
Jesse caught her looking at him again. Angel and Wesley had told him that in her reality he had been turned by Darla and staked. He had shuddered at that thought. He couldn't imagine life as a non-souled vampire. He had made Angel and Xander promise that if he ever did get turned they would give him his soul.
Jesse smiled over at Willow and winked. He had wanted to put her at ease. With his and Xander's antics she had finally really relaxed. She had been so tense when she first woke up and now she was genuinely laughing at Xander. ‘Course that was easy to do. Xander was very good at easing a tense situation through humor.
Xander noticed her nervous picking at the blanket that covered her.
“Do you want us to leave so you can get more rest?”
Willow shook her head no, “I'm fine. I-I just want to thank you for making this potentially awkward situation less of one.”
Jesse looked at Xander and smiled with an evil glint in his eye. “You know what I think this calls for, Xander?”
“I'm with ya, buddy.”
They simultaneously jumped on Willow on the bed, “GROUP HUG!!!!”
Rupert took the stairs two at a time when he heard Willow's squeal. If they hurt her in any way he would . . . The thought died as he slammed open the door and saw Xander and Jesse helplessly tickling Willow.
“What?!?”
Xander and Jesse tried to look innocent. “You know it's a very interesting fact that our Willow and your Willow are ticklish in the same exact spots. What are the odds, huh?”
Rupert's heart had calmed down from a triple beat to a double beat got kicked back up to a triple beat with Jesse's very innocent phrase of your Willow.
A light bulb seemed to go on over Rupert's head at that phrase. His Willow. When had he begun to think of her that way? Sure he'd been attracted but he thought he'd put a rein on those emotions. Shit he was falling even further under her spell. Great, just great. Another complication Willow needed on top of everything else. He hoped she didn't notice his change of feelings for her. He didn't want her to feel awkward around him.
Willow cocked her head as she looked at Rupert. He seemed to have a shell-shocked look on his face.
“Is everything all right?”
Rupert nodded absently and smiled at Willow, “Y-yes, everything's fine. I just heard your scream and came up to make sure you were all right.”
Willow disentangled herself from Jesse and Xander and went to put her hand on Rupert's arm, “I am so sorry, Rupert. I didn't mean to worry you.”
Jesse looked from Rupert to Willow to Rupert again. Well, well that's interesting, he thought and nudged Xander. Xander looked over at Jesse who was waggling his eyebrows at him.
“What?” Xander mouthed to Jesse.
Jesse motioned for him to look at Willow.
Xander's eyes got wide and then a slow smile spread across his face. Sooo, someone had feelings for Willow. He mentally rubbed his palms together in anticipation of meddling and teasing. His two specialties.
Rupert looked up and caught the look between Xander and Jesse and mentally groaned. Great. Well he could divert their attention.
“Well, since you two seem to have excess energy why don't you go patrol with Faith and Wesley?”
Jesse smiled at Rupert. He thought patrolling was gonna deter them? Rupert was sadly mistaken. It would give them alone time to develop a plan while also including Faith in their discussions.
“What about Tara?” Willow asked.
“If you're up to it she's downstairs ready to help me with your training.”
It had gotten easier for Willow to be around Faith and Tara since she'd arrived in this reality. She had come to see the differences in them and even though she was attracted to Tara she didn't get the butterfly feelings in her stomach that her Tara gave her.
She glanced over at Rupert and felt the butterflies. Great, just great. Another complication in her life. Rupert certainly didn't see her in that way and she wasn't going to explore the tentative feelings she had for him and ruin the only true friendship she had here.
Part 10
Willow sighed in frustration, as yet another spell didn't work. Why was she having such a hard time connecting here? This was a reality were magick was the norm, it should be easier for her not harder. She could do the easy ones but the ones that called for her to use the energy in this reality were hard for her to do. She could do them but it was like when she was first learning magick after Jenny died. She had no control and they weren't strong.
Rupert watched as Willow's frustration grew. They were trying an illusion spell that should be extremely easy for her but she just wasn't getting it to work. Oh the illusion was there but instead of it looking solid and real it was whispy and looked ghostlike. She wasn't allowing herself to connect. This type of spell was for advanced wizards and someone with Willow's capability should be able to do it quite easily.
Tara sighed as she watched Willow struggle. She felt her power and knew she was quite powerful but she didn't seem to want to tap into that same power. She smiled as she got an idea, “H-how about we do one together?”
Tara thought that if Willow thought she was helping her to create an illusion she would feel more comfortable tapping into her power.
“Okay.”
Tara held her hand up for Willow to grasp and wondered at the flash of sadness she saw in Willow's eyes.
Seeing Tara's hand Willow flashed back to when The Gentlemen were after them and her Tara had held out her hand. Willow shook off her sadness and grasped Tara's hand.
“Close your eyes and just feel the Earth's energies. Don't try anything.”
Willow felt a connection like she always did just not strongly. She felt a small tug on her power and knew Tara had begun.
“Okay, Willow visualize in your mind what you want to create. Picture it like it is in front of you.”
When Tara saw the beginning form of a kitten she slowly pulled her magick away. Letting Willow take over. She left a tendril so Willow could feel her magickal presence but this was all Willow.
“Open your eyes and continue.”
Willow opened her eyes and saw Tara smiling at her. She glanced down and saw a whispy form of a kitten.
“You ready to make the illusion more solid?”
Willow nodded and hoped together they could do it. Tara saw her hesitation and pushed just a little bit more of her magick toward Willow. Willow felt her connection to Tara and the Earth get stronger. She used it to solidify the kitten.
Rupert smiled as for the first time that evening Willow's illusion became solid. “Excellent, Willow. Do you think you can try movement?”
Willow visualized Miss Kitty Fantastico and smiled when she saw the kitten begin to walk and explore. Tara still held Willow's hand but she had pulled her magick away when she felt Willow connect harder with the energy around her. Willow was doing this all on her own though she didn't know it.
Rupert bent down to pet the kitten that was rubbing against his leg. “Very good, Willow. She feels like a real kitten.”
“I couldn't have done it without Tara.”
“W-well, I just helped a little. It was mostly you though.” Tara replied honestly.
Before Willow could answer her Rupert interrupted, “Do you feel up to trying again on your own?”
The kitten disappeared with a pop. “O-okay.”
Tara smiled encouragingly as she released Willow's hand. “You can do it, Willow. You have a lot of power I can feel it. I know you're special.”
Willow smiled wistfully, Tara had unconsciously mimicked her Tara after their confrontation with the Gentlemen. It seemed that Tara no matter where would think she was more special than she really was.
Willow straightened her shoulders. She could do this. Willow looked over at Rupert who smiled encouragingly and winked at her.
“Try something larger than a kitten and something you're comfortable with visualizing. It can be something real or some fantasy creature.”
Okay, she could choose anything that she wanted fantasy or real. A slow smile spread across her face. What better to conjure in a world where magick was reality?
Rupert and Tara watched in curiosity as a gray shape began to take form and grow. They were very curious as to what Willow would conjure.
Rupert began to smile as the shape began to solidify and they could tell what she was conjuring. Smiling, Willow looked over at Rupert and Tara. She had done it. It was solid and larger than Miss Kitty Fantastico and it looked like it had stepped out of her favorite childhood story.
Willow reached over, as it was waist high, and stroked the mane of Aslan the lion from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis.
“Brilliant, Willow. Nicely done.” Rupert said as he walked over to Willow's side.
Aslan regally lowered his head and Rupert stopped to give him a formal bow as well. When he straightened he had a twinkle in his eye. “I would like you to take it one step further if you feel comfortable enough to do it.”
Willow looked nervously at Rupert, “No promises. What's the one step?”
“Well since you conjured an animal that can speak, can you try to give him speech?”
“How?”
“Like you conjured him up. Visualize him speaking and give him voice. Try to connect with the illusion. Put yourself in Aslan's body, sort of an astral projection but not really.”
Willow looked over to where Tara had her hand in Aslan's mane. Tara smiled back at Willow, “Go ahead. It's not that hard to do. It took me months to be able to do something large like this and a fantasy creature at that.”
Willow nodded and concentrated. She vaguely heard the tinkle of the bell over the door. She was visualizing herself in Aslan. A smile spread across her face as she saw a close-up of Tara's waist. In her mind's eye she turned Aslan's head and looked up at Tara.
Rupert saw with delight that Willow had connected with the illusion. He felt her hold on the energy around them getting stronger.
“It is an honor to meet such a kind and beautiful witch as yourself, Tara.”
Tara burst out in a broad smile and gave a small curtsey, “It is an honor to meet you as well, Aslan.”
“Rupert! You back here?”
Darla opened the door and saw a large lion standing next to Tara. Since no one seemed to be panicking and Willow had a look of concentration on her face she figured this was an illusion that Willow was controlling.
She warily watched it as the lion slowly approached her. It seemed to have a regal bearing befitting the king of beasts. The lion stopped just in front of Darla and bowed its head. He looked back up, “A friend of Willow's is a true friend of Narnia. You are most welcome in my kingdom.”
“Hey now, he's not gonna start singing and askin' to see the Wizard is he?” Spike asked from the doorway.
Willow giggled which caused Aslan to giggle.
Willow pulled back from the illusion and watched as Aslan slowly faded.
“That's the Lion from the Wizard of Oz, Spike. That was Aslan.”
Spike rolled his eyes like that meant anything to him.
Rupert came up beside Willow and pulled her into a hug. “That was excellent. You were able to do that your first time. After you feel comfortable enough doing it and you're not concentrating so hard we'll try illusions that only your intended subject can see.”
Willow stepped back because it felt so good and it was too tempting to be held in Rupert's arms. She didn't want him to see her changing feelings. “Like what Tara did when she conjured up a Nazgul?”
“Exactly. She only wanted Faith and the wanna be to see it and so they were the only ones that saw it.”