Victims
by Salix
Leaving For Battle Is Never Easy
[reviews]
The Halliwells and the scooby gang were sitting in the Summers' residence, spread out across the living room. Dawn had taken Amber outside to play like Buffy had asked her to do and the blonde was a little upset at this point. The Halliwells had scried to try and locate the demons that are after the girl. They found many different places where evil is hanging out, but this is Sunnydale, there's a lot of evil. There was one particular place that kept coming up though. An old abandoned house on the outskirts of the town. The sisters had Leo orb them over to the place this morning and they found at least fifty of those demons sleeping there. And that was only half of it.
Giles found a prophecy in some old text (don't ya just love the prophecies?) saying that Amber is the kid that is destined to become this super-being. But only if she is raised right and if she can survive this attack. The demons know that she's special. They just don't know how special which is good because if they did then they would be attacking almost nonstop by now. It's going to be hard, they're not doubting that, but it can be done. They just need to come up with some creative ideas of how to kill the demons. They only thing that can kill them is the crush wolfsbane root, and they have plenty of that, and Anya is going to order some more as soon as she gets back to the store when this meeting is over.
"Oh, I know. How about you get one of your swords or axes, and put glue on the edges and then sprinkle the powder onto the glue and let it dry. That way you can decapitate them, it'll just take a little longer and they'll be in excruciating pain," the ex-demon suggested and everyone got really grossed out looks on their faces.
"That sounds just disgusting enough to work," Xander said and smiled at his girlfriend. He was trying to lighten the mood a little bit because Buffy and Willow seemed so tense, and for a really good reason too: if one of those demons could beat her to a bloody pulp, what could fifty of them do? Willow was scared for Buffy, but all Buffy would allow herself to worry about was Amber. Because if one of those demons could beat her to a bloody pulp, what could fifty of them do to a three-year-old? It was too sickening to think about so she tried to focus on a solution while her slayer half got prepared. Buffy could hear it, and feel it. She was getting a little bit of a power surge as the slayer got pumped up and ready to go.
"I can do that. I'll have to buy more, later though, 'cause I don't think anything will be able to get the glue off of my weapons. Are you three going along? Because if you are I need you focused," she said to the sisters and they became very serious as well.
"Yeah we're going. Just give us as much of the stuff as you can. I'll have Leo go get some more from some shops in San Francisco. Phoebe, I'm sure you can work on a potion that'll work just as well," Prue said and Phoebe nodded her head. Piper called for Leo and he took the youngest Halliwell back to the Manor to try and come up with some type of wolfsbane based potion that'll kill those demons, while he went to the local herbal shops for more of the stuff. She was about to stand up to go get some weapons and try out Anya's idea but Willow stood up as well and grabbed onto her hand.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, upstairs?" she asked and Buffy followed her up the stairs and into her bedroom. Willow let go of her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed. She was tense and being a little quiet, that's never a good sign. "Buffy, do you think you could let the sisters handle this one?" Buffy was confused. Surely Willow wasn't asking what she thinks she's asking. Is she?
"What are you talking about?" she asked and sat down next to Willow. The last thing she's going to do is be a coward and sit back while other people risk their lives fighting for something that Buffy should be fighting for. She's lucky the sisters are helping her. There's no way she's going to just leave this on their shoulders.
"Buffy you can't fight against those demons. Look at what that one did to you. You were so beat up that no one could hardly recognize you. If Leo hadn't healed you you'd still be in really bad shape. Imagine what fifty of those things will do if you try to fight them. Please Buffy, please just sit this one out. The sisters have been fighting demons for a long time, and they have magic on their side. Please, just stay." Buffy couldn't believe her ears. Willow was really asking her to be a coward.
"No Willow I can't. I can't just stay here. I won't. I have to fight. There's too much at risk if I don't." Willow looked a little confused. The Halliwells have been fighting demons for a couple years now, they can figure this out one their own. Buffy doesn't have to be the leader every time.
"But Buffy-" Buffy stood up and took on a defensive posture. Her muscles were tense and her eyes were hard. There was no way she was going to let Willow try to talk her out of fighting.
"If they fail Amber will die." Her tone was stern, and Willow could see that the edges of her eyes were turning a little yellow. The slayer herself was starting to come forward. If Willow isn't careful she might be faced up against the primal power herself. And it's hard to talk to the slayer. Her grammar isn't very good. "I have to go and fight those demons, and they are going to help me. I can't fight them alone. I need their help. If I die then they have to finish what I couldn't kill. But if I just sit here and wait for them to come to us, then Amber will die because no one else is as strong as they are. When they work together they're stronger then me. Their magic is almost as old as the power of the slayer. If we all work together then we have a chance, but if we don't then we might as well drain that little girl's magic ourselves!"
She hadn't meant to raise her voice at Willow, but she had. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm herself down. She could feel the slayer half of her trying to take over. The power was starting to come to the surface and if she didn't control it now then it would take control, and she really doesn't want that to happen. She watched as Willow stood up and walked over to the window so Buffy wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. She always worries when Buffy goes out on patrol because she knows that one night something bigger and stronger and faster will come along and she won't come home. And now that thing is here, not just one of them but fifty, and she isn't backing down. She's just going to run head first into a suicide mission like it's just another night's patrol.
"Willow, please," her voice was low and soft. She walked up to the redhead and wrapped her arms around the thin waist from behind. She rested her chin on the soft shoulder. She could see the tears running down the pretty face, and she didn't like it one bit. She hates it when Willow cries, but even worst, she hates it when she's the reason that Willow cries. "Please, sweetie, I have to do this. She's just a baby. She doesn't understand any of this. She doesn't understand that her mom died trying to protect her, that at any minute some demon could come crashing in her and take her and do only God knows what with her. She doesn't understand how special she is, what she's meant to do. She's just so young, and it isn't fair that those things are preying on her like she's just some prize or something. I have to do this Willow, try to understand." They were quiet for a few minutes as they watched a late morning breeze rustle the branches on the trees outside. Willow finally broke the silence.
"We could do that ya know. Take her powers from her. Then they wouldn't have a reason to come after to her." She sounded like she was getting an idea, like there was more to it then just that so Buffy let her talk, even though she knew she couldn't take the girl's powers from her. They were already bound, if they take them then her destiny would be screwed and who knows what'll happen then? "I know what you're thinking, at least I think I know what you're thinking. I know this spell, this potion, it'll strip her powers completely. If we do that then her powers will be released into the ether. And if I can get my hands on a virtrum situla then all we have to do is open it at the exact moment that her powers are released from her body and then seal the jar as soon as they're in there. That way all we have to do it find a safe place to put it and if she ever wants her powers back when she's older then all she has to do is open the jar, release the powers and then recite the incantation." She was talking a little too fast again.
"Willow, baby, breathe." She gave her a little kiss on the cheek and Willow smiled. She turned around in Buffy's arms and started to kiss her softly on the lips. The kiss deepened and soon their tongues were joined together in a slow, sensual dance. Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow's hips and started to back up towards the bed. She sat down and pulled Willow into her lap without breaking away from a second. She started to scoot up the bed, Willow crawling towards her, and she laid down in the middle of the bed and Willow was leaning over her. They started to kiss again, this time a little more intense, and Buffy pressed one of her legs in between Willow's, getting a low moan out of the redhead when her thigh pressed against the redhead's needy sex.
"Buffy, Buffy." Xander said as he knocked on the door and then slowly opened it. "Everyone took a vote and apparently I am expendable 'cause they sent me up here. We need you downstairs." They got up from the bed and cast him evil glares as they walked passed him. They walked into the living room and noticed that Phoebe was already back. She had a backpack next to her, and it looked a little stuffed. Buffy hoped that her potion would work and that she had brought plenty. She sat down in the empty chair and pulled Willow into her lap. They're going to be leaving soon so she wants to get in as much contact as possible before she goes off on this mission. They chances of her coming back are pretty slim. She's not stupid. She knows that she's probably going to die. But she has to try.
"Ok, I tested the potion at home, it seems to work just fine. Only takes a minute or two for them to die, and they're in too much pain to focus on anything else. The screaming might be a problem though. I brought a little over a hundred vials, so hopefully that'll be enough," Phoebe informed them and then opened up the bag and some of the vials spill out. What was inside the tiny bottles was a bright yellow liquid and Buffy was a little entranced by it. She picked up one of the vials, and rolled it around in her hand, watching as the liquid moved with the motion.
"Ok, this is good. I think Anya's idea might work. As long as we get enough of the powder on the edges of the weapons it should kill them. Hopefully I'll be able to get that crap off afterwards, because I really don't have the money to replace my weapons." Xander and Anya decided to volunteer to modify the weapons. Well, Xander volunteer and he made Anya do it too. He knew by the look on Willow's face that she was having a hard time dealing with this and he didn't want them to have to focus on anything else. He even went as far as getting everyone else's attention and motioning towards the kitchen so that the two could be left alone.
"I really don't want you to go," Willow said and rested her head on Buffy's shoulder. She was afraid, afraid for Buffy and also afraid for herself. Buffy was right, if they failed then those demons would come after Amber and she knows that she isn't going to just let a bunch of demons take a little girl, so she'll fight if she has to, and she'll probably die in the process. Sure, over the years she's been apart of many scary battles. Being best friends with the slayer will expose you to that kind of stuff. But this is different. All of those other times she's always had hope. She always knew that Buffy would win, that the good guys would kick ass, but now she isn't so sure. She's seen what happened when Buffy went up against that one demon. Hell, she's the one that cleaned her up. And now she's going to be facing at least fifty of those things. She honestly doesn't think that Buffy is going to survive.
"I know you don't, but I have to go," she said and placed a small kiss on the top of Willow's head. She wrapped her arms a little tighter around her. She was scared to. All of this was starting to remind her of when she fought the Master. Knowing that she's going to die but fighting anyway. Now she has a chance though, because the sisters are helping her. This isn't something that was foreseen. She wants to do this. She has to do this. There's no other way around it. She can't let Amber die. She wants her to be able to grow up and experience life before she becomes that great super-being. She wants Amber to know what it's like to be normal, because ever since Buffy became the slayer that's all she's ever wanted to be: a normal girl.
They looked over towards the dining room when they heard very loud stomping. They saw a very pissed off Anya stomping towards the front door. She opened it and then slammed it closed. All the while Xander was at her heels begging her to come back. Buffy scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion. They had been fine like five minutes ago, what the hell happened? Then again, Anya can get upset with him very easy so it isn't that surprising. She stood up, taking Willow with her very easily and gently set the other girl down. She held onto her hand and led her into the kitchen.
"What the hell was that all about?" she asked the sisters and the two younger ones looked over at Prue with these looks that said 'go on, tell her' but all Prue did was look sheepish. They continued to put the glue and then powder on a couple of knives, just in case the larger weapons break, Giles was going over the text again, wanting to quadruple check that Amber is the right girl and Buffy isn't doing this for no good reason.
Buffy dropped the subject. She didn't really want to talk about it right now. She looked out the window and saw Dawn and Amber running around the backyard. Cooper was in his handsome new sky blue collar and leash and Amber held onto it as the puppy ran around with them. She smiled sadly at the sight, knowing that this could be the last time she'll ever see them again. She felt this tight constriction in her chest, like something was wrapping around her lungs, making it harder for her to breathe, and she knew she was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Are you gonna say goodbye to her?" Willow asked and wrapped her arms around Buffy from behind. She too was watching the three play outside. They looked like they've known each other forever, like it wasn't just a couple of days ago that Amber came into their lives. She was treating Dawn the way a little kid would treat their older sister, and Buffy was glad that Dawn had that now. Being a big sister is mostly a pain in the ass, but there are moments, like the one she's watching, when everything between you and the other is just right. And all of the fighting and jealousy and competition for your parents' attention just goes away.
"No, not to Amber. I don't want to upset her, she won't be able to understand. Will you do me a favor? Will you go outside and sent Dawn in please, tell her I need to talk to her?" she sounded so sad that it almost broke Willow's heart. She gave Buffy a reassuring kiss on the cheek and went out into the backyard. She put on a fake smile and dug up some false enthusiasm and acted like everything was ok. She acted like four people might not die tonight at the hands of pure evil. Buffy watched as Willow talked to Dawn for a couple of seconds and then Dawn nodded her head and made her way into the house.
She became a little concerned and nervous when she saw how upset Buffy was. She could tell that her sister was trying to hold it in. She was trying to be strong. She always has. Even when she was little she always thought that she needed to be strong, that she needed to protect Dawn from everything bad that might have been happening at the time. Whether it was trying to break it to her easily when their goldfish died when Dawn was four, or when their dad left them.
She followed Buffy out of the room and sat down on the living room couch next to her. She was getting more anxious by the minute and the fact that Buffy's being so quiet isn't helping at all. She was a little surprised when Buffy unexpectantly wrapped her arms around her in a huge hug. Dawn hugged her back and she could feel the tears drip off of Buffy's chin and land on her neck. Now she was on the verge of freaking out. If Buffy didn't explain soon she might start to panic. They pulled back at the same time and Buffy quickly wiped the tears away from her eyes, not wanting Dawn to see.
"Look Dawnie, I don't want to upset you, but I need to tell you this. I need you to be strong for me, ok?" She waited and continued after Dawn nodded her head. "These demons that I have to go fight, they're strong Dawn, they're stronger then me. The sisters are very powerful and we have that potion and the herb stuff, and the weapons, but I don't know if it's going to be enough. I might not make it. Shh, sweetie, it's ok." She gently brushed the tears away from Dawn's eyes and hugged her sister again.
"How, how is it ok?" she could barely understand her, her voice was so full of emotion that was fighting against the large lump in her throat. "You're telling me that you might die and you expect it to be ok?" Buffy started to run her fingers through the long brown hair. She knew that Dawn would be upset. She just hoped that she'd be able to handle it. She doesn't want to scare Dawn by breaking down in front of her.
"No, sweetie, I don't expect it to be ok. But you have to be strong. If I don't come back...promise me that you'll take care of Mom, ok?" She felt Dawn nod her head, and she tried to keep her composure. "Help Willow take care of Amber, ok? She really seems to like you." Dawn pulled back and Buffy saw nothing but anger in those big blue eyes. It scared her a little, she's never seen her sister that anger before. Not even after the time she ripped Dawn's knew Barbie doll to pieces right in front of her eyes. Nope, this took anger to a whole new level, for the first time in her life Dawn is completely pissed off.
"This is all her fault. If you had never found her none of this would be happening." Her voice was low and deeper then normal. Buffy could understand her anger though. If the situation were reversed she might think that same thing. But the baby is an innocent in all of this and Buffy doesn't want Dawn thinking that it's her fault, because it's not.
"No, Dawnie, it's not her fault. She's just a baby. You can't blame her. If I hadn't found her she'd be dead, and those demons would have had enough power to take over not just all of the other demons, but the world. We have to keep her safe Dawn because if a demon ever gets a hold of her power, before she learns how to control it and how to defend herself, then we're all dead." She was surprised that she was able to keep her composure up and glad that she didn't break down in front of Dawn. The teenager has never seen her cry before, at least not after that one time when they first moved to Sunnydale. Buffy had been very upset, and thought that she was home alone, but Dawn came home from the park early and caught Buffy, and ever since then Buffy hasn't cried inside of the house. She makes sure that she's alone.
They hugged again, Dawn broke down a little bit and let her unshed tears fall on Buffy's neck and shoulder. The blonde looked up towards the dining room and saw the three sisters standing in the living room doorway. The backpack containing all of the potions was at Phoebe's feet, the younger sisters stood on either side of Prue, their arms were wrapped tightly around her and they had tears in their eyes. Buffy watched Prue nod her head once, and she knew that it was time to go. Well, it was now or never. She pulled back and brushed Dawn's tears away with her thumbs and then leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the younger girl's forehead. When she pulled back she saw that Dawn wasn't breathing and her eyes were watering up really badly. She jumped up from the couch and took off up the stairs and ran into her bedroom and slammed the door.
Buffy stood up and walked into the kitchen. She started to gather up the weapons and she noticed that Willow was watching her through the window. She saw the redhead say something to Amber and then run into the house. Willow started to reach for a weapon and every time she would Buffy would grab it before Willow could touch it. The hacker looked at her with some anger, and Buffy just looked back with determination in her eyes. There was no way in hell she was going to put Willow in danger.
"Willow, you can't go, you have to stay here." She saw this little spark in Willow's eyes start to grow brighter. She could sense her tense up and she knew that this was probably going to lead to a fight. But she didn't care. She wasn't going to let Willow die. She had put her in danger plenty of times in the past, if she could prevent it this one time then she going to.
"Like hell. I'm going Buffy, and you can't stop me. This is my decision." She was wearing her resolve face, but Buffy wasn't going to let her go. If she had to knock Willow unconscious then she would. She would make it up to her when she survives this. She shook her head no. She wouldn't allow it. Her mind was made up.
"No Willow. I'm not going to let you just walk into danger. Besides you need to stay here and take care of Amber." Willow looked over at Giles and was about to speak but Buffy beat her to it. "No offense," she said to Giles and then looked back to Willow. "But Giles is too old to take care of a three-year-old. He won't be able to keep up with her. And I need someone here in case one of those demons gets passed us. I need you to be able to get her to a safe place. Leo is your white-lighter too, so if that demon alarm goes off then call him and have him take you to a safe place."
Again Willow was about to speak, but Buffy cut her off, not with words, but with her lips. She wrapped her arms around Willow's back, her hands rested on the redhead's shoulder blades and she pulled her close. She ran her tongue along Willow's bottom lip and she was granted entrance. Her tongue softly explored the cavern of Willow's mouth and she could taste her lover's tears. They were both too aware of the fact that this might be their last kiss, ever. They pulled back when the need for oxygen became too great, and Willow couldn't handle it. She turned around and stepped away from Buffy. She covered her face with her hands and wept. Giles couldn't stand to see one of his 'children' suffer, and he wrapped his arms around Willow, and she hugged him back, needing the comfort from her surrogate father.
Buffy turned around and looked at the three witches. Their eyes were averted, obviously they didn't want to leave the room, not really knowing where to go, but they wanted to give them some form of privacy. They all looked at her and then she walked towards the front door. They followed, Phoebe held the backpack on her shoulders and Prue picked up one of the swords, liking the feel of the smooth metal in her hands. Piper was going to be a little less violent about it. She wasn't sure if her freezing ability would work since these are upper level demons, but she would try, and if it did work then it would make things for them so much easier. Buffy stopped at the front door, and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.
"Where are you going?" she heard the tiny voice ask. She whipped around and saw Amber standing in the dinging room doorway. She looked sad and tears were starting to brim her eyes. /Oh fuck, how am I going to get out of this?/ "Are you gonna go fight that bad man? Is that why you have your fighting stuff?" /Should I lie to her, tell her that I'll be back in a little while? I don't know what to do!/ She walked up to her and bent down on one knee so that she was eye level with the girl.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go fight the bad guys. But don't worry, I'll be ok," she told her, and tried her best to keep her tone light. She saw Amber's eyes fill with even more tears and they started to leak out and run down her cheeks. Her bottom lip started to quiver and she shook her head no. Buffy could feel herself about to start crying too. First Dawn, then Willow and now this, she doesn't know how much more she can take. She's just glad her mom isn't home right now to see this because then she might not be able to keep it all in.
"No. He'll hurt you again. Don't go, please." She lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Buffy's neck. She was sobbing and it was heartbreaking to hear. How did she get passed Willow and Giles? Or did they send her in here, to try and get her to stay? No, they wouldn't do that. Even if they wanted her to stay she knew that they wouldn't sink that low.
"Baby, I have to go. If I don't then a lot of bad stuff could happen. I have to go and stop them before they can hurt anyone else." The little girl was crying too hard to respond in a verbal way. She did, however, wrap her arms tighter around Buffy's neck and pull herself up a little bit she that she could wrap her legs around Buffy's waist. She was clinging on as if her life depended on it. Buffy stood up when she saw Willow walk into the room. She still looked upset, but she was putting on a brave face. She reached over and gently started to pull on Amber as Buffy disentangled the girl's limbs from her body. Amber was screaming the entire time and was fighting against Willow's touch. She started to kick and tried to push the redhead away, but Willow had a firm hold on her. Buffy's eyes were full of tears by now and she leaned over really quick and gave Willow on last kiss on the lips before she fled from the house, the sisters followed closely behind as they walked down the stone pathway that lead to the sidewalk.
"God, is it like that every time you have to fight something?" Piper asked as she dabbed the tears away from her eyes with her shirtsleeve. Buffy took a couple of deep breaths. She knew that if she didn't calm down now then she would have to give full control over to the slayer, otherwise she'd be too emotional for the battle. She was starting to think that maybe giving over control was a great idea.
"No. My friends usually help me no matter what I say, but I can't let them help this time. These things are too strong." Her last thought before she gave over full control to the slayer was: /God, I wish Faith didn't go all crazy so she could be here to help./
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Is this going to be the final battle for our hero? Will I bring Faith back just in the nick of time? You'll just have to stick around to find out.