Heroes and Lovers
by als
Heroes and Lovers
[reviews]
Chapter 1 — A Fate Decided
Something felt very wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what. Of course, the throbbing in her head and the desert that seemed to have moved into her mouth and throat weren't really helping with her concentration. She felt something cold, rough and unyielding beneath her, like she was lying on a stone surface. Her eyelids felt heavy, almost sticky and despite the fact that she had no idea where she was, she was reluctant to open them yet. She opened her mouth slightly, drew a deep, ragged breath and exhaled slowly, the cool air burning her throat, which felt raw and sore. In that moment clarity descended on Willow. She hadn't been breathing...she didn't need to breathe...
In a rush, the night's events exploded into her mind. She'd left the party early, after trying to help Riley with Buffy. Oh God, Spike had come back, and he'd been in her dorm room! He was going to...no, he had, he'd bitten her, bled her. Spike had killed her! A brief rush of panic tried to fill Willow, but it was strange, sort of surreal and distant from her. More like a memory of a feeling then something she actually felt. She was dead, yet she wasn't. That could only mean one thing. Spike must have turned her.
But something didn't feel right. She didn't feel...evil. She thought about all the things she'd seen vampires do and she got major wiggins. She didn't want to do any of that...but if she really was a vampire... then why not? And how come? What was going on? None of this made any sense...
"Good, you're awake. I was startin' to think I was sittin' with the wrong corpse," came a man's voice with a heavy New York accent. "If you stayed dead much longer...well, let's just say I wouldn't have had much hope for you ever waking' up."
Opening her eyes and sitting up slowly, Willow looked around. She was lying on top of a sarcophagus in a crypt. Looking over she saw a man, or at least something looked like a man, leaning against the wall of the crypt opposite her. There was something about him, his presence felt different, almost creepy. She blinked her eyes a few times trying to focus and spoke, "You're not human...or at least I don't think...I mean-I don't know..."
The man half-smiled and shook his head slightly as he spoke, "I know things are confusing right now Willow. The Powers that Be really pulled a number on you and things are gonna be hard for a while. My name's Whistler, they sent me to help you through this."
"Help me through wh...The Powers? But I'm not alive, and I'm not sure what I am 'cause I don't feel evil, but I should cause I think I'm a vampire and I-I don't want to be some evil daemony thing...I'd rather die then hurt people." She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes at the thought, 'I'm vampire, oh God, no, please no...' It was just too much to accept. She broke down, sobbing tearfully.
"Hey, easy kiddo, you've been through a lot already and everything is coming at you way too fast right now, but there's a lot more going on here then you know." Whistler walked over and sat next to Willow, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Just take this all a step at a time and it'll be okay."
The hand on her shoulder was warm and comforting. A strange sense of peace crept over her, as though something were draining away her fear and doubt, leaving a sense of serene calm in its place. Slowly her sobs faded and her tears stopped. He spoke again, "And vampires, the kind you know about, they don't cry. Not like that. Not ever."
She looked him in the eye, confused. "Then what am I Whistler? And why?" Whistler held her gaze for a moment. Then he took his hand from her shoulder and dropped it to his side as he spoke.
"You ever wonder why you were able to give Angel back his soul, Willow?" He stood up and moved away a little. "It was a gypsy curse and a very powerful curse at that. A full-blooded gypsy witch would've been hard pressed to cast that spell these days. Ms. Calendar couldn't have done it and neither could Giles, even though he was quite the sorcerer in his day. But you did. Not a drop of gypsy blood anywhere in you, but you cast the spell and it worked. Why is that?"
"What? But the spell, it wasn't that difficult, it..." The confusion in her voice was obvious.
"Willow, trust me. That ritual may not have been complicated, but to make it work took power, and a lot of it." Whistler grinned at her, "I was in Sunnydale at the time, and you surprised me when you succeeded." His face grew serious, "There was something special about you, something deep and powerful. That spell touched it and started to change you."
"Special? Me...no...I'm-I'm not special, I'm just Willow, just...just...me."
Whistler shook his head slightly, "You were on your way to becoming one of the most powerful witches this planet has ever seen Willow. You just hadn't gotten there yet. Now you're something...else. The spell you used to save Angel? It changed you because you performed it for all the right reasons. For you, that curse wasn't an act of vengeance it was an act of love. You loved Buffy enough to give her Angel back in spite of everything Angelus did to you and your friends. In spite of how much you wanted her to be yours." Whistler's smile seemed sad as he watched her. "That kind of love changes everything."
"But...what am I? And what do I do now?" Willow's voice was barely a whisper as the tears welled up in her eyes again as she thought of Buffy, and the effect her death would have on her best friend.
"There's a lot of evil in this world Willow, a lot of pain and grief and suffering. Demon-kind exists all over the place and most of them would be happy to pull the earth right down into the depths of a hell-dimension and throw a big party afterwards. And humankind ain't exactly helping a lot either. They're too busy with their own little lives, too willing to sacrifice principles for power. By and large, they can't fight this battle, can't face the darkness." He paused and looked her in the eye before continuing, "So the Powers call champions. People like the Slayer and your friend Angel. People like you. The champions stand against the evil and the world keeps turning."
"But what has that got to do with me? I fought the good fight, I helped the Slayer, I was a good person..." she swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "Wasn't I?"
"That's why I'm here." Whistler reached out and gently raised Willow's chin. "Spike drained you and fed you his blood, tried to make you his childe. But it didn't work out that way. Instead, here we are. The human girl that you were died tonight and there's nothing that can change that now, but you don't have to become a monster. The Powers are willing to intervene. They'll make you one of their champions. You won't be human, strictly speaking, but you won't be a blood-sucking monster either. You'll be something different and powerful."
"Why? Why are they offering this to me?"
"Do the reasons really matter? You once told the Slayer that this was a good fight; that fighting evil and helping people was worth doing and you wanted in. I'm offering you a way to get back in that fight, if that's what you really want." Whistler shrugged, "'Course, if you don't want it, the Powers ain't gonna force the issue. They'll let your soul go on to its final rest, no harm done."
"And what will I have to do for them? What's the catch?"
"No catch Willow. You just keep doin' what you've been doing, help the Slayer, keep the Hellmouth closed. Fight the good fight."
"That's it? Nothing else?"
"That's it kid."
She didn't hesitate, "It's still a good fight and I still want in. What do I have to do?"
Whistler held his hand out to her. "Just take my hand; the Powers that Be will take care of the rest.
Willow grasped his hand and a blindingly brilliant white light surged up around them, washing her into unconsciousness once more.