Simple Choices
by rebelrsr
Chapter 15
[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: Big alterations ahead for the remainder of S4, starting with "The I in Team." Eh, who am I kidding? This is really AU now.
A/N: Thanks to the best beta crew: Ivy, Malea, Zigpal, and Zenithar. There would be no writing without you guys.
Shaky hand pressed to her lips, Buffy stared wide-eyed as Willow ran from the room. The sharp report of the closing door jerked her back to awareness. Moving automatically to the bed and climbing under the comforter, Buffy didn't know what to think. Her mind whirled with images she doubted were real. Lips and body tingling from the kiss, she tossed and turned, trying to reconcile what she knew about her best friend and the unexpected emotions flooding her mind. Finally, though, her body simply gave in to its need for rest, and she drifted to sleep...
... "Hey! I didn't think you'd come," Willow grinned, showing all her teeth. "I saved you a seat."
Buffy dropped into the chair with a tired sigh. "Thanks. I don't think I ever remember the Bronze being so crowded before. What's going on? Some big frat thing?"
A small hand smacked her on the arm. "No, Buff. When did you get so Forgetful Buffy? I mean, we just talked about this an hour ago." Worried green eyes peered at her. "You didn't run in to any vamps on the way here, did you?"
Frowning, Buffy tried to remember. "Um, not that I know of." She waited a couple of minutes, examining the crowd. "I really don't know why we're here, Will."
"The Dingoes are back in town." Willow spoke slowly, exaggerating each word and then broke into a manic grin as she continued, "and I think Oz is going to propose."
Buffy chuckled. "Nice one, Will." She tossed back some of the drink Willow had gotten for her.
"You...you don't think he'll propose?" Willow gazed at Buffy, eyes slowly filling with tears. "We just talked about this and you said of course he would propose." Her voice turned shrill and picked up volume. "I don't want to be here if he's not going to. I mean, big with the awkward and I really want him to-"
"Will, breathe." Buffy grabbed the frantic redhead by the hand. "I'm sorry. Wow. We really talked about this? Why don't I remember that?" Anger snaked through her as she absently stroked Willow's hand.
Willow started to answer when Oz wrapped his arms around her from behind and Buffy's hazel eyes narrowed at his action. "Hey. If I'd know you were going to be here, sweetie, I'd have dressed up." His lips twitched in his trademark semi-smile. "Buff. You keeping my girl company?"
"You know me, Oz. Will's my number one priority." Buffy smiled, but a headache began to pound behind her eyes as she unwound her fingers from Willow's.
"Sweet." Pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's flushed cheek, he murmured, "You wanna dance, Willow? The next set doesn't start for a while." Willow nodded enthusiastically, and they headed to the floor, hand in hand.
Watching them, Buffy rubbed a hand against her temple. The lighting in the Bronze flickered, and then came back on almost immediately. Now everything had an orange cast to it. Buffy shrugged at the suddenly dim club and glanced back to her friends. They made a cute couple, but watching them pulled a growl from deep inside. Unexplained rage burned through her. Confused, angry, and afraid, she jumped from her seat. She had to leave, right now.
Stumbling through the throng of people, cold sweat slicking her skin, Buffy felt the anger pulse and throb. The orange hue deepened. She needed Willow. No way could she make it home alone like this. The vamps would be all over her. Altering course, she shoved people out of her way, desperate to find her friend. Relief temporarily overwhelmed the anger when she spotted the familiar red head. "Will!" she called out urgently.
Oz and Willow didn't hear her. They were too wrapped up in each other, gazing into each other's eyes and swaying to the bluesy ballad. Another, louder growl, burst from Buffy's lips, earning her looks from the couples nearby. Unable to control herself, she grabbed Oz by the back of his shirt, throwing him away from Willow. "Keep your hands off!" Her voice emanated from her chest.
"Buffy! What...Leave Oz alone." Willow pulled at Buffy's arm. "Are you OK?"
Spinning around, Buffy stared hard at her friend. Willow was pale, but she wasn't going away. "He was touching you."
A hand waved in her face. "Hello! Earth to Buffy. Oz is my boyfriend. That's allowed; it's even expected." Willow frowned. "You don't look so good. Do you need to sit down?"
Buffy shook her head again. Thoughts jumbled up inside and she couldn't focus on anything. "No, he can't...I..."
"Willow, maybe we'd better go." Oz sidled up to Willow.
It was too much for Buffy. Wrenching Willow out of Oz's arms, she shoved the redhead behind her and faced off with the musician. "I said to keep your hands off." The people clustered around them faded. She saw only Oz, and the need to hurt him, kill him roared through her. That need to kill saved the werewolf's life. Recoiling from Oz, Buffy sprinted for the door, running, fleeing the hate and bloodlust in her veins...
Bolting upright, panting, Buffy stared around the room. Not the Bronze...No Oz...As her heart rate slowly returned to normal, Buffy remembered she was in the safe house. She tossed off the blankets and slid from the bed. She needed to know what was going on.
***
Willow paused just outside the door and scrubbed at her eyes. She couldn't go into the living room crying. Too many questions, and no possible way to answer them. Trying to take a deep breath hurt. Her stomach churned. Willow dropped her head for just a minute, giving in to the confusion and pain. Buffy didn't remember. Didn't remember the kiss at the Bronze, admitting she wanted to try a relationship. A bitter smile twisted Willow's lips. Not the first time she'd been wrong about love. Xander, Malcolm, Oz...Buffy.
She'd deal later. Now, the Scoobies needed her help with Adam. Forcing reluctant feet to move, she plodded into the living room. "Any news?"
"Well, we have a list of demons Professor Walsh might have used to make Adam," Xander offered. "Only twenty five names long and still adding more."
"That seems like a lot," Willow groused, dropping to the floor next to her old friend. "I can't believe I couldn't get the information from the computers." She sighed, standing back up. "You guys keep up the strategy session. I'm going to set up in the kitchen and keep hacking."
Giles shook his head. "That seems to be a poor use of your talents, my dear."
"I'm not exactly an expert in the arcane, Giles," Willow snapped. Then waving an apologetic hand at the older man, "Sorry. Besides the Great Demon List, what are we looking for?"
No one spoke.
Throwing her hands in the air, Willow half shouted, "This is like the Ascension all over again. We need a better way, guys. I am so not sitting here going through every magical book ever written, hoping something will just jump out at me." Green eyes snapping, she glared at Tara. "Did you get anything from Adam when you felt him during the spell?"
Flushing at the harsh tone, Tara shook her head rapidly. "N-no."
"Why not?" At Tara's confused look, Willow tried again. "Why didn't you feel anything? He traced your signature, Tara. He had to at least touch you in order to do that."
"I don't...I don't know." The blonde witch ducked her head, hair cascading in front of her face. "When he re-reached for me, I just pu-pulled back."
"Perhaps we could recreate the tracking spell?" Giles interrupted quietly. Everyone looked at him and he smiled slightly. "What I mean is, there must be a way to magically allow Tara to experience the situation again." He looked at Tara. "My dear, without the external distractions, you might be able to tell us more about Adam and his abilities."
Still looking unsure, Tara nodded. "Mr. Giles, do you have a spell in mind?"
"Well, ah..." Looking sheepish, Giles mumbled, "No."
"Nice, G-man. Get us all wound up and ready to go, and then tell us you don't have a fricken clue." Faith yawned. "You got more spell books for us or can we catch some sleep?"
Xander stood up and stretched. "You must have forgotten, Faith. Scoobies don't sleep until after the bad guy's dead." He held out a hand to the grumpy Slayer. "Come on, let's take a walk into the kitchen. Drinks for all."
Two dimples peeked out. "I don't know, Xan. You aren't afraid I'll steal your 'Doughnut Getting Guy' title?" Taking his hand, Faith let him pull her off the couch.
"There are two things horribly wrong with that, Faith." Xander slung an arm around Faith's shoulders. "One, in your current weakened condition, I might be able to take you. And, two, you so could never be the 'Doughnut Getting Guy.'"
"I'll give you number two," Faith allowed, before reaching out and grabbing Xander around the waist and picking him up. "But number one...not happening." She dropped him back to the floor.
"Right. OK, good point." Straightening his clothes, Xander followed a laughing Faith into the kitchen.
Willow watched them go with a small smile. "Tara, do you have any idea where we can look for the spell we need?"
"Not really. It would need to be fairly complex." Tara shrugged. "It might be simpler to skip the books and try writing one."
"You know, that didn't really work out the last time we tried it." Running a hand through her hair, Willow leaned back into the couch, stretching. "But, it's a lot more exciting than days of pouring through the spell books."
"It worked, Willow. We just didn't expect Adam to fight back." Tara chewed on her lip. "What if we used Harptos' Vicis Regeneration as a base and build from there?"
"Isn't that simply a visual recreation of an event?" Giles unhooked his glasses and cleaned the lenses with a handkerchief.
"Like watching a movie, yeah," Willow agreed, bouncing slightly where she sat. Faith and Xander came back, laden with drinks, and she absently mumbled a thanks. "So, that gives us the visual; how do we get the full emotional effect as well?"
"Hypnotism?" Xander volunteered. He blushed and grinned when the three magic experts looked at him. "I know. Shut up, Xander."
"It's not without merit," Giles opined.
"Really?" Faith looked dubious. "Wow. Things have so changed. The X-man with an idea." She moved quickly out of the way when Xander lunged for her.
Tara giggled at their antics, but quickly sobered when both Giles and Willow frowned at the two brunette Scoobies. "If we try hypnotism, how will that help with the recreation?"
Willow scrunched her nose, thinking hard. "It won't really be hypnotism. We'll put you into a trance and then trigger the memory." She looked up at Giles. "If this works, then maybe you guys should do it to me, too. I was right up against Adam, and I borrowed a little of his energy."
Taking a sip of the tea Xander had handed him, Giles nodded. "Indeed. However, are we quite sure we have enough in the way of planning to even attempt the spell?"
"I'm sure I can do the Vicus spell," Tara said. She hesitated. "The trance, though... Willow, can you show us how it will work?"
"Sure." Willow stood up. "If it works the way I think, it'll be like triggering Xander's soldier memories. The images will play out for us all to watch, but you'll actually experience the feelings from the thing with Adam." Frowning, she looked at the other Scoobies. "But, it may need some fine tuning. Any volunteers to help me out?"
"Count me out," Faith was quick to say. "No way am I gonna be some kind of lab rat."
A quiet voice in the corner said, "I'll do it."