Finding Her Way Home
by rebelrsr
Chapter 13
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers, etc.: "Dopplegangland," "Something Blue" and everything after "The Gift."
A/N: Character thoughts are enclosed by **. Flashbacks are enclosed by //. Thanks to Zenithar and Zigpal for the beta and encouragement! I couldn't do it without you.
Archiving: By permission only.
Willow felt the power explode from her. But, instead of a wave of wild energy, the magic formed a narrow band that traveled across the courtyard. The energy beam stayed low, hugging the ground. Even as she tried to pull back on the magic, the redhead knew it was a lost cause. Most of the temporary barrier had disintegrated, leaving nothing to rebuild the wall.
The redhead panicked when even more mystical energy flowed out of the reservoir. She didn't know how to stop this. Wind began to blow around her, gently at first. It quickly built to near gale force. Trees bent under its power. Gravel jumped out of the pathways, breaking windows in the house and pelting the blonde. Gathering her will, the witch decided to divert the power rather than halt it. Drawing on some of the energy still swirling in her reservoir, Willow shaped a shield like the one she'd used with Drew. However, this protection wasn't for her. Stretching to her limits, the redhead placed the barrier around her friend.
Dimly, she could see Buffy straighten from her hunched over position. The gravel bounced harmlessly off the glowing blue wall. Now, she just needed to do something about the cord of power still stretched along the pathways. Before she could come up with a good solution, though, the trail of energy erupted into flames. Unlike fire built with wood and matches, this conflagration burned far hotter. Waist-high flames of pure energy and rage burned in the courtyard. Concentrating, Willow poured more energy into the shield. Unfortunately, the barrier kept the fire from reaching the Slayer, but did nothing for the heat. Already, the blonde was sweating and her skin looked sunburned.
Suddenly, the redhead had an idea. Drawing more magic from the blue pool inside, she poured it onto the flames reaching for her friend. The fire responded eagerly to the surge in power. Leaping higher, the flames glowed. Blue slowly burned into pure white. The smell of smoldering rock choked the witch. She added more power. The bank of stored energy was emptying. If this didn't work soon, there would be nothing left inside. The air rippled from the heat, and Willow closed her eyes against the glare. It was now or never. She halted the energy feed she'd established with the power cord. Reaching instead for the wind still billowing in the courtyard, she sucked the power from the air. Bit by bit, the rush of air died down. The redhead aided its demise by looping the power back into the fire. Even after the wind had calmed completely, she kept siphoning off energy from the air. She broke the link with the power cord and fed the energy back into her reservoir. Deprived of its fuel, the magical fire dropped in intensity. Long minutes passed before only occasionally flickering embers remained.
Willow released the shield protecting Buffy and closed off the conduit refilling her energy pool. With an inaudible sigh, her astral form fled back to its human host.
Back inside her body, she slumped forward. The practice shield had long disappeared. Drew was nowhere in sight. The witch had no idea how much time had passed. She needed to get to Buffy, make sure she was OK, but she couldn't muster the strength to stand. Whimpering, she allowed herself to slide to the ground before dropping into darkness.
***
Buffy heard someone scream her name. She whipped toward the sound but didn't see anything. Her Slayer senses tingled with an unfamiliar rhythm. "Dorian, go," she said forcefully.
"What?" the well muscled redhead asked.
"Something's wrong. I can feel it." The blonde let her enhanced senses reach out, seeking the source of her unease. Without warning, the wind began to blow until it roared around the two girls. "Damn it, Dorian! Get out of here! Find Jennifer!"
Willow's sister sprinted away, and Buffy relaxed slightly. The wind continued to increase in speed until bits of gravel and other debris jumped off the ground. The particles stung the Slayers face and arms. Instinctively, she doubled over, trying to cover her eyes. The storm raged unabated for several minutes. Even huddled with arms crossed over her face, the blonde had cuts liberally sprinkled on her exposed flesh. Suddenly, the debris stopped flying. Buffy looked up, and then slowly stood upright. The wind continued to hurl pellets, but something blocked access to the Slayer. The pieces slammed against the blue barrier before dropping to the ground.
*What the hell is going on here?* the Slayer thought. She waited, tensed, for the next strike. It wasn't long in coming. The air around her seemed to thicken and blue flames shot from the ground. Whatever it was keeping the rocks from hitting her also kept the flames at bay, but the heat scorched her. Breathing shallowly to avoid inhaling the blistering air, Buffy prayed the flames would die down before she burned to death.
Rather than dying, though, the flames leapt higher. They towered over the diminutive blonde, glowing white. Finally, just when the Slayer was sure she would die for a third time, the flames dropped to the ground. Buffy shivered in the sudden chill. The barrier disappeared. Hesitantly, she moved from her position. The courtyard was a disaster. Shrubs and plants had been ripped from the ground and lay littered around the space. The gravel now resembled solid pavement. Intense heat from the magical fire had fused the individual pieces into a solid mass.
No longer fearing for her own safety, Buffy's thoughts turned toward her friend. What if the magical strike had been meant for Willow? Using every bit of her Slayer speed, the blonde raced off in the direction Dorian had taken. She rounded the side of the house and checked her stride. A vast expanse of field stretched in front of here. Cursing, she stilled her ragged breathing and worked to restore a steady heartbeat. Finally, her mind and body calmed. She let her senses flow out. *There,* Buffy turned to the left. *Willow...and two — no, three other people.*
She took off again, using more stealth and less speed. A small barn stood at the back of the house. Creeping up to the partially opened door, the Slayer listened intently.
"Mama, is she OK?" a voice asked.
There was a brief silence, then a tired sigh. "I think so, Drew. She seems to have drained and then refilled her magical stores. Kirstan, can you carry her inside?"
No one answered the query. Thinking she had simply missed the reply, Buffy slowly moved closer to the opening. Before she could look inside, a strong hand grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling her away. "Jenny, get the girls back in the house!" her attacker shouted.
This time, Buffy didn't wait for a response from inside. Lashing out with her elbow, she caught the woman behind her in the chin. Amazingly, the tall brunette didn't go down. Furious, the Slayer went after the other woman with everything she had. In a blur of punches and kicks, she moved the fighter backward. In a recess of her mind, Buffy noted she'd rarely faced such a skilled opponent. Even among the undead, few could match her Slayer skills for long. Finally, the blonde landed a solid kick to the brunette's stomach and the fighter went down hard.
Rather than moving in for the kill, Buffy placed a booted foot on the downed woman's throat. "I don't even care what all that was about. Where's Willow?"
Breathing hard, the brunette said, "I can't tell you that."
"Wrong answer." The Slayer put more pressure on her foot. "You get one more chance. Where's my friend?"
"Buffy, you can't see her right now." The Slayer recoiled slightly. "Look, I'm Kirstan. Willow's my daughter. Can you let me up, and I'll explain?"
Not fully trusting her captive, Buffy nonetheless stepped back. "Talk," she ordered brusquely.
"First, do you know what happened to Willow?" Kirstan asked as she sat up.
"Yeah. Something happened when she did the resurrection spell. She opened a gateway into Heaven and a big Evil came through before it closed." Buff stopped, struggling to maintain her composure. Tears burned the back of her eyes and her throat ached. "The evil thing did something to her magic and it started to grow. We — I — thought she was addicted to magic."
The brunette held up a hand. "OK. You've got the gist of it." Slowly, the older woman stood up. "Damn. It's been a long time since I've fought an active Slayer."
Buffy wasn't in the mood to discuss the merits of fighting someone of her talents. "Look, you still haven't told me why I can't see Willow."
"Willow's magic is out of control. It responds to her emotions. A stray thought or desire, and the power tries to fulfill the need," Kirstan replied. "Jenny thinks it best to keep her away from people until we can get a handle on the power, find a way to restore her barriers."
All the pieces came together for the Slayer. "The magical attack earlier, it was meant for me."
"We think so." The brunette eyed the suddenly pale girl.
It was all too much. Spinning away, Buffy drove her fist through the side of the barn. The red-painted wood splintered under the blow. Violently ripping her damaged hand from the hole, the Slayer dropped to her knees. Silently begging God or the PTB to end the pain, she drove her hands into the barn over and over.
"Buffy, stop!" Kirstan grabbed the distraught blonde by the shoulders. But the young girl ignored her. Finally, the ex-Slayer wrapped both arms around Buffy and yanked her away from the barn. Holding tightly to the girl, Kirstan moved them both inside the barn. Jennifer and the girls were gone. Dropping onto one of the mats, she slowly released Buffy.
"Want to tell me what's wrong, sweetie?" The ex-Slayer had a feeling the shattered girl in her arms was an important part of her daughter's life. Nearly all of Willow's major magical meltdowns occurred because of Buffy.
"It's all my fault," came a heartbreaking whisper. "She started doing magic to help me." Dead hazel eyes lifted. "They should have left me in the grave. Nothing good has happened since they brought me back."
Responding to the blonde's obvious pain, Kirstan pulled the girl back into her arms, rocking ever so slightly. "Hey, Willow doesn't see it that way. She's talked about you a lot since she got here. She told this great story about some alternate version of herself."
The Slayer smiled sadly. "Yeah. That day so sucked."
Confused, the brunette asked, "Why? When Willow told the story, she made it sound really funny — once we got passed the whole Vampire Willow idea."
Tears ran unchecked down Buffy's face. "I thought it was the worst thing that could happen. My best friend dead and turned. I was wrong." She fell silent, and Kirsten waited her out. Finally, the blonde continued, "I wanted..." She stopped. "It doesn't matter what I wanted. Will's my best friend and because of me, she's hyped up on some kind of magic overload. You should just let her kill me."