Part 16
Faith knocked on Willow's door, “Willow? Amy's here.”
Willow's eyes widened as she rushed to open the door. “Amy?”
“Yeah the Council's representative. She's downstairs with G and Wes discussing Council business. But G sent me up to get you, Jesse and Tara, seems the magick forensic team found something last night.”
Of course. Amy was a very common name and what were the odds that it was the Amy that she knew.
Faith knocked once before opening the door, “Brought ‘em.”
Rupert looked up and smiled as Jesse, Faith and Tara came into the room, “Thank you, Faith.” He stood up when Willow came in, “Willow, I'd like to introduce you to Amy. She's the Wizarding Council's representative to the West Coast.”
Amy turned and smiled. “It's nice to finally meet you, Willow. The Council has been abuzz about you since Rupert told us of your arrival.”
Willow slowly released the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding and smiled at Amy. This was her friend Amy, the Amy of her childhood. Not the Amy that became the badass Wicca and introduced her to Rack.
“Thanks it's nice to meet you too.”
Amy indicated for Jesse, Willow, Faith and Tara to take a seat.
“I was just waiting for you before continuing. As I told Rupert and Wesley it seems there is an escalation of activity around the World's Hellmouths. Ethan's army is stepping up its activity worldwide but primarily at the Hellmouths. The curious thing is that it seems Sunnydale is the exception.”
Willow wrinkled her brow, “I thought this was Ethan's main target. This Hellmouth and the mirror.”
Amy nodded, “There is a theory that he is using the stepped up activities as a diversion from his plans here. The forensics team found evidence early this morning that backs up that theory. We were lucky that the team sent out Samantha. She's one of the best there is in the field of magickal forensics. Since the attack happened here and with the mirror's safety in question she was called in. Sam found a trace of an extremely rare and outlawed magickal hallucinogen. Normally it would activate with the heat from the explosion and then dissipate leaving no traces of it at the scene. In the rare instance that it didn't activate or dissipate very few forensic specialists would be able to identify it.”
Rupert squeezed the bridge of his nose, “O'lortha.”
The others turned their gaze to Rupert as he spoke the single word. “O'lortha?”
Rupert nodded, “To put it in simple terms the victim becomes a sociopath and has no moral compass. You don't care about right and wrong only about satisfying your own needs.”
Willow mumbled, “Want. Take. Have.”
Rupert turned to her, “Exactly. Did they have this in your world?”
Willow shook her head, “If we did I didn't know about it. No, that just reminded me of someone in my world.” She studiously avoided Faith's eyes.
From the way Willow was avoiding looking at her and remembering how Willow described her counterpart Faith knew that she was talking about her. She thanked the fates once again for having Rupert, Tara and her friends in her life. She could have easily ended up like Willow's Faith without them.
Tara reached over and gave her girlfriend's hand a squeeze. She felt her stiffen when Willow answered Rupert. Faith softly squeezed her hand in acknowledgment and asked, “So you're saying that this O'lortha didn't become activated right? None of us were affected?”
Amy nodded, “That's correct. From what Sam could determine at the scene only a small amount was found, like an unexploded bomb.”
“How can you be so sure that there wasn't more? You said the heat would activate it. Are you sure more weren't activated?” Wesley asked.
Amy looked at each one in the eye, “Samantha believes she found the only sample but have any of you felt different from last night? O'lortha is fairly quick acting but it could be delayed as much as twelve hours.”
“Would we notice it?” Jesse asked, “I mean in ourselves. Wouldn't we think our behavior was normal?”
“Actually you'd have a slight headache when it first activates. It probably wouldn't be noticed or you'd think it was due to stress given this situation. The others would definitely notice it.” Amy answered him.
The others thought about the behaviors of the others. One by one they contemplated the possibilities of infection. “What about if someone was severely injured would the O'lortha still be effective?” Willow asked as she thought about Xander. Would he be struggling against the demon as well as the magickal drug?
“I'm guessing your thinking about your friend Xander.” Amy shook her head no to answer Willow's question. “Once the body shuts down the drug dissipates. It's another of the reasons why it's so hard to detect in a body.”
“I assume like any other hallucinogen that it would eventually wear off so why bother with it?” Willow asked.
“Imagine using an innocent to rob a bank or commit murder for hire but when it's over they don't remember anything. In the case of Ethan we suspect you were his target.”
Willow stiffened. Oh god just the thought of unleashing Dark Vein-y Willow on this world caused her stomach to do flip flops and her skin to go clammy.
“B-but even it if had succeeded wouldn't it have worn off? I wouldn't be much of a sociopathic slave then.”
Rupert slipped his arm around Willow's shoulder hoping to give her comfort while Amy answered her question, “Not if he continued to give it to you for weeks until it became permanent.”
“P-permanent?” Tara asked with wide eyes.
“Well, not really permanent, it's only that you no longer care. You don't need the O'lortha anymore, you become what you were while under the influence. A sort of permanent Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde only the Mr. Hyde takes up residence.”
Willow shuddered. “You said it was very rare? Is it so rare that Ethan would have a hard time getting it?”
Rupert answered, “No. Anyone else yes it would be very difficult but Ethan would probably be able to get it easier.” He continued in a softer voice, “He brought it when we performed the Eyghon ritual, said a friend got it for him.”
Willow looked at him curiously, “You needed it for the ritual?” She couldn't remember Giles talking about drug use even magickal ones in the ritual for Eyghon.
Rupert nodded, “Ethan thought it would enhance the ritual. We only used a little but it was enough to originally not care when it went bad. It took hold of Ethan more firmly than it did with me. I've always thought it was what led Ethan on the path that he's on now.”
Amy concurred. “When people have that tendency it doesn't take that long for the O'lortha to take hold and become a permanent part of their personality.”
“So does this mean Ethan is stepping up his activities here?” Jesse asked.
“We believe so but more in a covert fashion. The other attacks worldwide have been open warfare and Gwendolyn and Ethan have both been conspicuously absent from those attacks. Yet they remain with their fingers in the situation in Sunnydale even though there haven't been any attacks here.”
“So we need to take them out before they take us out.” Faith snarled and began to pace. “So far we've been holding off Ethan's attacks we haven't attacked him. I think we need to bring the battle to him instead of waiting.”
Rupert opened his mouth and Faith cut him off, “I know you don't agree with me but…”
Rupert interrupted Faith, “Actually I was going to say you're quite right.”
“Really?” Tara could almost see the excitement coursing through her girlfriend's body at the thought of bringing the battle to Ethan and Gwendolyn.
Part 17
Jesse and Willow were shifting their weight nervously waiting for Xander. Dru and Darla had come to get them to let them know that Xander was ready to see them now.
Giles, Wesley and Faith were the first to see him. The front line of defense so to speak. They were reminders of his humanity but not as close to him as Jesse. Rupert had assured her everything would be fine and that Xander was mostly himself with aspects of the demon.
They were going to go patrol tonight as a group. Normally they broke up into smaller units but Wesley felt they should work as a cohesive team. First to see how Xander fought as a vampire/wizard and secondly to prepare for taking the fight to Ethan as a team.
Xander's eyes turned yellow for a brief moment when he caught sight of Jesse. This was harder than the struggle he had when he first saw Wesley. He felt his demon rise with all the memories of his childhood. He performed the mental exercises that William and Angel told him to do when he felt his demon rise. His eyes turned back to their warm chocolate brown with his demon calmed down.
Willow watched in horrified fascination as Xander's eyes went from chocolate brown to yellow and back to brown as he looked at Jesse.
“Hey, Xan.” Jesse said tentatively as he approached his best friend.
“Jesse.” Xander stepped forward and pulled Jesse into a hug.
“H-how are you, Xander?” Willow asked.
“I feel good, stronger than I've ever felt before.”
Willow winced at the words that Xander had unknowingly parroted. Her Xander had told her Jesse had said the same things to him when he first saw that Jesse was a vampire down in the tunnels with Buffy. Maybe it was a vampire thing but it still brought back uncomfortable memories.
Xander cocked his head to the side. He heard Willow's heartbeat accelerate at his words. “What's wrong?”
Willow forced a smile, “Nothing. It's just that what you said brought back memories for me. Just feeling a little gloomy I guess.”
Xander smiled his goofy grin and that caused Willow to truly smile. “Nope, No gloomy thoughts tonight. Come on, let's go try my new vamp powers.” In sotto voice Xander mocked, “From the shadows of the night lurks the latest superhero. With the strength and agility of a vampire and the magick of an ancient mage comes XANMAN!”
Willow giggled and Jesse snorted, “More like Hong Kong Fooey.”
Xander ignored Jesse and turned to the others in the room. “So we ready to see what I can do?”
Rupert had watched Xander perform some easy magick exercises earlier to judge the level of his abilities now. He and Wesley had been surprised to see that the demon had actually increased Xander's abilities. He still wasn't a first class wizard but he was stronger than he had been as a mortal.
This had been Xander's first true test of fighting the demon with his soul in wanting to kill anything that reminded him of his humanity. William had watched the struggle and the mental exercises that Xander had done to keep his demon calm and was impressed with his ability.
Faith opened the door to Angel's villa and stuck her head in, “So we goin' or what?”
They all filed out but Rupert hung back to be with Willow. He had seen her try to smile for Xander and even giggle but he could see that it hadn't reached her eyes. “You okay?”
Willow slipped her hand through Rupert's arm and laid her head on his shoulder. It was nice to have the comfortable feeling of Giles and the butterfly tingles that Rupert inspired all in one man. “Yeah I'm okay. It's just that when Jesse was turned in my world he told Xander that he felt stronger and more confident. Xander's words brought back some painful memories but I'll be okay.”
Rupert brought Willow's fingers up to his lips for a kiss, “He is stronger and more confident but as you saw he also is the same goofy Xander under it all.”
Willow smiled, “I know, it's just that every once in awhile my world comes back in bits and pieces.”
Rupert stiffened but then forced himself to relax. He dreaded the day that a way was found back to her world. She had said that Xander wouldn't give up looking for a way and Merlin hinted that he might succeed. He would let her make that decision on her own. He wouldn't be the cause of her staying or leaving. He didn't want her to have any regrets whatever the outcome.
Willow felt Rupert stiffen at her words and knew it was because of her reference to her world. She still missed her friends in Sunnydale and she could admit she even missed Anya. She knew that they could and probably would continue their lives without her. They did it the summer she spent with Giles in England and they did it when Buffy died in the battle with Glory before she was brought back. Life and death would go on without her but she still missed them.
Willow tilted her head to look up at Rupert, “Does it bother you when I talk about my Sunnydale?”
“No.” At Willow's look he smiled sadly, “Well, a little. It just reminds me how brief our time together might be.”
Willow smiled sadly at him, “Even if I was from here, Rupert our time together might be brief. If there was nothing else I learned from my life in Sunnydale it was that life is short and you never know what tomorrow might bring.”
Xander had turned around to see the deep conversation between Rupert and Willow, “Hey! I thought I said no gloomy thoughts.”
Willow smiled at Xander and then turned back to Rupert, “See, a prime example of you never know what tomorrow will bring.”
William and Angel stopped and tilted their heads to listen to the sounds of the night.
“What's up?” Jesse asked.
Faith held up her hand for silence. She was getting Slayer tinglies. “Something's nearby.”
Out of the darkness a voice said, “Very good, Slayer.”
Faith spun on her heels and Willow gasped.
Willow turned to Rupert, “Please tell me she's evil and not one of the good guys.”
Rupert looked at her curiously. He could practically see the tension vibrating off of her. “As a matter of fact she is. She's one of the elite of Ethan's army.”
“Veruca, what brings you to Sunnydale? Last I heard you were Ethan's lapdog in the East.” Faith asked as she got in fighter stance.
Veruca smirked, “Felt like a vacation. You know check out Disneyland, see the Pacific.”
Xander, Angel, William, Darla and Dru spread out but kept Wesley, Tara, Rupert, Willow and Jesse in the center. They felt the others before they heard the growls from the darkness.
At Veruca's silent signal the other members of the pack melted out of the shadows.
Willow looked up into the night sky and was relieved to see it wasn't a full moon. Just as that thought flittered through her mind she watched in horror as one of the wolves began to turn.
“What?!? It's not a full moon! How can they turn?” Willow asked.
“Don't need a full moon, witch. You must be the one that Ethan wants.” A voice behind her said.
Willow closed her eyes and shook her head no. NONONONONONONONO, that could not be Oz. Oh god, she couldn't face an evil Oz. Willow slowly turned around and saw a smirking Oz and Veruca.
Part 18
Dru growled and let her demonic visage come forth as she moved closer to Willow. She didn't take her eyes off of the weres that were surrounding them.
Veruca stalked closer, “So you're the powerful witch that has Gwendolyn all lathered up. You don't look all that impressive to me.”
“Oh I don't know, baby. She looks impressive to me.” Oz slowly looked up and down Willow's body. Oz sniffed the air as he moved to stand next to Veruca, never taking his eyes off of Willow. “Can't you feel the power coming off her?”
Willow shuddered as memories of Oz and Veruca came flooding back. Oz mesmerized by Veruca on stage, Oz and Veruca sharing a table, Oz and Veruca in the cage, Veruca changing into her wolf form and Oz ripping her throat played constantly in her mind's eye.
Xander moved closer to Willow when he felt her heartbeat accelerate at Oz's words. Rupert let his shields drop and power pour forth. The weres that were closest to him began to whine as they felt his oppressive power.
Veruca's attention switched from Willow to Rupert as she felt his power filter the air. A small smile quirked her lips, “Mmmm, I feel HIS power though.”
Faith edged a little closer and reached for her knife. NO ONE was going to mess with her watcher, especially Ethan's trained puppies. Not that Rupert couldn't wipe the floor with them with his power alone but her natural instincts to protect kicked in.
Oz's glance slowly left Willow and turned to Faith, “Ooh, the Slayer wants to play.”
The weres surrounding them turned and inched closer but not too close as Rupert's power began to strengthen around them.
Xander kept shifting his weight from foot to foot. His demon was warring with the pack mentality of his Hyena Spirit that had always remained in the back of his consciousness since high school. He felt a prickling on the edges of his mind that was growing stronger.
A slight smirk marked Rupert's features just before the weres heard the growling behind them. They spun around to see dozens of hyenas' eyes glowing in the darkness.
They moved as one as they came out of the shadows surrounding the weres as they began to encircle their prey. A feral smile spread across Xander's face as he let the Hyena Spirit meld with his demon.
Some of the weres shifted their weight side to side anxious for the battle to begin while others whined softly. Though the weres were bigger than the hyenas they weren't as deadly.
Veruca called out to her pack, “Hold! It's an illusion.”
Rupert's smile widened, “Care to test how real they feel?”
One of Veruca's pack didn't wait for her answer but instead attacked the nearest hyena. He swiped his massive paw and hit the hyena in the shoulder sending it flying into a nearby wall. The other weres howled in triumph.
Oz smiled at Rupert, “Not much of an illusion if one can be batted around that easily.”
Rupert only smiled in response.
The high-pitched ‘laughter' of the hyena grew louder as they circled and subtly moved their prey away from Rupert and the others. Veruca snarled as a hyena nipped at her heel.
“Did ya feel the bite of the illusion, puppy?” Faith smirked at Veruca.
Willow watched curiously as Oz and Veruca began to shift. It was so different from when her Oz changed. There was no bending over in pain as the body changed from its human form to animal. Their hands began slowly to elongate and their body hair grew longer making their change graceful in a horrific way.
Before anyone noticed, one of the weres broke away from the pack and rushed Tara who was standing the closest. Faith yelled a warning but she was too far away to protect her lover. Darla's face turned to her demon and she leapt at the wolf, intercepting its attack on Tara.
Their battle became a danse macabre as the two struggled for dominance. In the middle of the fight there was a guttural growl that Willow couldn't tell if it came from Darla's demon or the werewolf. The growl was followed by a whine as Darla's demon drank deeply from the wolf.
Darla slowly stood and delicately wiped the blood from her lips. “Not as good as purely human but the power of the wolf makes up for it.”
There was a howl of rage from Oz as he fought his way through the hyenas that were herding he and Veruca away from their pack. As if Oz's howl was a battle cry the weres began to fight the hyenas.
Wesley cupped his hands as a ball of energy began to form between them. When the ball reached the size of a softball he lobbed it at the nearest cluster of wolves. One of the wolves howled in pain when the energy exploded on impact.
“Good one, Wes.” Jesse smiled at him as he threw his own energy ball.
Angel, Darla, Dru, William and Xander moved as one. They became the predators they are as they stalked their prey and isolated Oz and Veruca further. Sensing that Xander was the weakest of the vampires Veruca attacked.
Willow reacted without thought when she saw Veruca lunge for Xander. “Vincire!”
Veruca was halted mid-lunge as green energy flew out of Willow's hands and wrapped itself around Veruca as it created a band.
Xander blinked a few times in surprise and turned to look at Willow. Only a high level wizard could perform binding spells against wereanimals. A smile spread across his features as he realized that Willow wasn't aware of the power that she was wielding. “Thanks.”
Oz, in wolf form, looked at his surroundings and saw that the vampires enclosed him, the witch had bound Veruca and his pack was losing their battle. He raised his muzzle and howled in frustration. The weres stopped in their fight with the illusions and turned to their leader.
With just a thought Rupert let the illusions dissolve and moved to stand next to Willow. He placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered for her to release Veruca.
When the werewolf was released Rupert swung his arm in an arc and threw her body into a nearby wall. As her unconscious body slid to the ground she slowly returned to her human form.
Oz growled and leapt forward intent on getting to his injured mate. He swiped his claws at William who had blocked his path. William grabbed his injured arm and lashed out with his leg.
Oz stumbled from the impact of William's kick but he continued his beeline path to Veruca. The pack closed ranks around their alphas as Oz bent down to pick up his mate.
Gwendolyn watched the scene below for a few more minutes before turning from the edge of the rooftop. She had seen all she needed to see. Willow was no longer a threat to her position as Ethan's second in command. She had watched Rupert and his followers fight as a well orchestrated team. There was trust that the others would be there and she doubted that Willow would turn her back on Rupert and join Ethan.
Tara laid her hand on Faith's arm as she made a move to follow the retreating animals.
Faith turned to Tara, “What? We're just gonna let them walk?”
Rupert nodded, “We've learned what we needed to know and so have they.”
“And that would be?”
“Ethan has upped the ante and we've risen to his raise in the stakes.”
Part 19
Rupert stopped in the doorway that led into the courtyard and just drank in the sight of the late afternoon sun glinting off Willow's hair. It had been days since the night of the explosion and the new direction that their relationship had taken. He missed the quiet evenings of laughter and conversation that they had when she stayed in his apartment over the shop. Willow's laughter at something that Jesse said caused his own lips to turn upward.
Darla silently stood behind Rupert as he watched Willow. “Why don't Angel and I take the others out for patrol tonight. Give you and Willow the night off?”
Rupert turned toward the sound of Darla's voice. “As much as I would love some quiet time with Willow I don't think now is the time to indulge in it. Maybe when the battle with Ethan is over with or at least not as intense.”
“As someone that has lived for centuries, take my advice. Grab happiness wherever you can find it. You might not get another chance at it.”
“I'm afraid that Ethan will use my growing feelings for Willow against me or her. He has in the past. I don't want my feelings for her to get her hurt.”
Darla laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed in comfort. “Rupert, Ethan would be after Willow even if she had never come to us. Her power alone guarantees that he would have gone after her. If not to recruit her then definitely to defeat her. Can you honestly say that if something happened to Willow tomorrow you wouldn't be just as devastated if it happened later, after you had developed deeper feelings?”
He turned back to look at Willow. He was silent for so long that Darla thought he wasn't going to answer her. Finally in a soft voice he said, “No, no I can't.”
Darla leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “Then grab what happiness you can now. You know there are no guarantees in life. If she goes back to her reality or something happens in this one at least you'll have the times you spent together as wonderful memories.”
A noise to her left caused Willow to turn in that direction. Her heart and stomach fluttered at the expression on Rupert's face. She would always love Tara but Rupert had burrowed his way into another part of her heart and she was very much afraid that with very little effort she could fall in love with him.
Faith nudged Xander as she noticed the look that passed between her Watcher and Willow. Xander's smile widened and he mouthed, ‘Time for Plan B.' to Jesse.
“Oh good you're all here.” Wesley said as he moved into the courtyard breaking the spell between Rupert and Willow.
“I just got off the phone with Amy and the Wizarding Council. It seems when they received word of Oz and Veruca's attack they dispatched the DSN.”
Silence greeted Wesley's announcement. Willow looked at the others curiously, “Okay what am I missing here? Who are the DSN and why don't you look happy about the news?”
“The DSN are an elite force of shapeshifters. During the last Wizards' War they were called into action at the very end. They helped us defeat Ethan the first time. Generally they are called in during grim situations.”
Willow looked confused, “I didn't think we were in a grim situation.”
A muscle ticked in Angel's jaw, “We didn't either. What else did the Council say, Wes?”
Wesley rubbed his tired eyes. “Amy told me that their sources inside Ethan's army told them that Gwendolyn managed to convince Ethan that he wouldn't be able to count on Willow changing sides. He's decided to make an all out frontal assault on the Hellmouth and the mirror.”
“Should we move the timetable up on our plans?” Jesse turned to Rupert.
“No, we'll continue according to the plan. We have time as Ethan will have to change his to reflect the new information from Gwendolyn. Contrary to what it appears Ethan is a very methodical planner and strategist. It's one of the things that make him so dangerous. He has a well thought out and strategized plan for every contingency. He doesn't let emotion get in the way of his goal.” Rupert turned to Wesley, “Did Amy give you a time as to when the DSN will arrive?”
“They were being summoned from all over so she didn't think they'd get here for a couple of days.”
“All right then. I suggest we continue to train, make sweeps, see what the demon community is saying and grab as much rest as we can. When the DSN arrive we'll begin our attack.”
Darla smiled at Rupert and winked at Dru, “Good idea. William, Angel, Dru and I will go down to Clem's bar and see what we can find out.”
“Yeah and Jesse, Faith, Tara and I will do a sweep plus check out what my magick can do. Kinda got interrupted last time.”
“Very well, Rupert, Willow and I...” Wesley began but Xander interrupted.
“Wes, why don't you come with us? I'm the only vampiric wizard that I know of and I bet the Council would love a report from you telling them all about my new amazing abilities.”
Wesley had no idea what they were up to but that there was something he had no doubts. He glanced back over at Rupert who gave a small nod. “Right. Let's go see what your amazing abilities can do. See you later Rupert.”
Willow raised her eyebrows at everyone's abrupt departure and turned to see a slightly blushing Rupert. “Well, I guess that just leaves you and me. So training?”
“I was rather hoping for relaxing instead.” Rupert slipped his arm around Willow's waist and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before he led her inside.
“I can do relaxing. In fact I kinda like relaxing. But before we get to the relaxing part can I ask you a question?”
“Always.”
“Does Ethan have anyone like the shapeshifters in his army?”
“You mean actual shapeshifters or someone that can change their appearance?”
“Either one.”
“Change their appearance? Sure there are glamour spells that Wizards can do but another Wizard would be able to tell one is being used so they're not used on other Wizards. But there are the fey folk that have glamour that no one can tell and there are some dark fairies that side with Ethan.”
“So what's the difference between fey glamour and your shapeshifters.”
“The magick of the fey is just that magick but the shapeshifters can actually change their shape to another person. No one can tell the difference between a shifter and the original person. Weres swear they smell like the original person not the shifter and Wizards and Witches can't detect their differences.”
“So how come Ethan doesn't have any, not that I'm complaining.”
“When the Wizarding world first split into factions our side sent an emissary to the shifters to join us in the fight. Unfortunately one of the dark Wizards had arrived there first to coerce them to join them. But fortunately for us they refused. The Wizard in a fit of anger later returned with more of his colleagues and killed some of the shifters. They've been enemies ever since. No shifter will ever aid a Wizard or Witch that practices dark magick.”
Willow snuggled into Rupert's embrace on the couch and looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye, “Okay can we get to the relaxing part now?”
Rupert didn't answer, instead he slowly lowered his lips to Willow's allowing her enough time to pull back if she wanted. Much to his delight she met him half way and threaded her fingers through his hair.
It was a gentle kiss that made the butterflies in Willow's stomach dance. He pulled his head back and looked deep into her green eyes while caressing her cheek, “Are you sure? I know it's been a hard time for you since your Tara's death.”
Willow closed her eyes and tried to get her thoughts together. “I had begun to slowly move on since Tara's death. I'd even begun to date some and had a disastrous rebound relationship. No one had ever touched my heart since Tara and I just thought no one ever would.” Willow didn't look away from Rupert's penetrating gaze and continued, “Until I came here. At first it was because you reminded me of my Giles. Well not the tingling in my stomach part. Then I got to like you for you and I didn't want to mess up the one deep friendship I had here. The night of the explosion I realized how close I had come to losing you and I had sworn after Tara's death that I would never let those I care about go a day without them knowing how much I cared. I care for you deeply Rupert Giles. In fact, I'm very close to falling in love with you.”
Rupert beamed at Willow. “I'm very close to falling in love with you, too.”
This time the kiss exploded and a soft moan escaped as Willow tried to get closer. Their hands and lips explored each other, learning each other. Rupert thought that he could get addicted to the little sounds that Willow made whenever he hit just the right spot. Willow loved the moans that she could elicit from Rupert when she hit just the right area.
Part 20
Willow slowly awoke to the strange sensation of lying against a hard male body. It took a moment for her sleepy brain to process the events of the previous night, but once the memories returned so did her smile. With her eyes still closed her lips quirked into a smile and she snuggled deeper into Rupert's embrace. A warm hand softly caressed her back and Rupert placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“Mmmmm, this is nice.” Willow mumbled as she opened her eyes.
Rupert smiled down into her sleepy face, “What?”
“Being lazy with you. What are the odds that we can spend the day here?”
Rupert opened his mouth to answer when a knock sounded on his door. “Rupert? I'm sorry to wake you but Amy, Robert and Stacy from the Council are on their way here. They need to speak with all of us.”
“They couldn't wait a couple of hours?” Rupert mumbled into Willow's neck. “Right. We'll be right there, Wes.”
He turned twinkling eyes to Willow, “Rain check on the all day in bed?”
She placed soft kisses along his jaw before softly nipping at his earlobe. “You betcha.”
Before Rupert could pull her closer she rolled out of bed and looked at him over her shoulder, “Wanna conserve water?”
A very Ripper-like smile spread across his features as he stalked his way to the bathroom. He didn't have to be asked twice.
~~~~~
Faith looked up at the sound of the door opening and winked at Rupert as he and Willow entered. “So what did you two kids do last night while we were out patrolling?”
Some things were a constant in all realities, Willow thought. She just smiled, “Talked about the Shapeshifters. I had a lot of questions and Rupert was nice enough to answer them for me.”
“Damn, Red. I thought for sure I'd get you to at least blush.”
Tara shyly smiled at Willow and gently kicked Faith's ankle who turned wide innocent eyes at Tara, “What?”
Jesse covered a laugh with a cough and Wesley just rolled his eyes at the others.
Rupert narrowed his eyes at Faith and then turned to Wes, “Speaking of Shapeshifters is that what the Council wants to talk about?”
“Amy didn't go into specifics but my guess is yes and also about Ethan's plans. I gathered that their informant had more to say.”
“Can they trust whoever this informant is?” Willow asked. “I mean it seems that Ethan is very particular who he has close to him.”
“Oh he is very particular some would say paranoid and yes the informant can be trusted. He's one of ours and volunteered to go undercover and rise through the ranks.”
“Wizard?”
Wes nodded, “Very powerful. Not as powerful as Gwendolyn or you but very powerful in his own right.” He glanced at his watch, “They should be here shortly.”
Giles turned to Jesse, “How did Xander do last night? Is his magick very different from before?”
Jesse nodded, “Very. It's much more powerful and he has better concentration. Wes thinks that over time he'll become a high level wizard. And as much as I love Xan he never would have made it that far before. His concentration never was the best.”
“How does it affect his vampiric abilities?”
“Angel says that his ability to jump great distances and climb buildings is above that of a new childe but his hearing and vision isn't any different.”
“Makes sense. When I went all Darth Willow I could harness the elements more securely than when I was just Mojo Willow. I felt more solidly connected to everything. I bet his demon heightens his senses.”
The ringing of the doorbell interrupted their conversation. “That should be Amy and the others.” Wesley went to escort them in.
Willow wondered if any of the Watchers Council members were Wizard Council members in this reality. Not that she had met that many of them but she was just curious to see if there were any similarities.
A distinguished older gentleman and an older woman followed Amy and Wes into the room. Neither looked familiar to Willow but that didn't mean they weren't Watchers in her world.
Amy smiled at Willow, “Willow, I'd like for you to meet Robert and Stacy. They've been very anxious to meet you.”
Robert held out his hand for Willow to shake, “It's very nice to finally meet you Miss Rosenberg. I would love to discuss what you're world is like.”
Stacy smiled at Willow as she held out her hand, “Don't mind him. He did his thesis paper on inter-dimensional travel and its applications. He'll talk your ear off if you let him.”
Willow turned to Stacy and shook her hand. As soon as their hands connected Stacy's eyes glazed over and her spine stiffened. Robert yelled Stacy's name and when there was no response he reached down and pried their hands apart.
“What happened?” Willow asked anxiously.
Stacy's eyes began to clear and she came back to herself. Her eyes filled with tears and she rapidly blinked them away. “I'm so sorry, Willow. That hasn't happened to me in a very long time. Your aura must be as strong as your magick. I'm an Empathic witch in that I feel others' emotions. My shields normally block unsolicited readings. I haven't had that happen since I first developed my shields.”
“Are you all right?”
She nodded and raised a shaking hand to her chest to calm her racing heart. “I'm fine. It was just unexpected.”
“Should I leave? Is it too much?”
“No! As long as I don't touch you until I strengthen my shields I'll be fine.”
Willow leaned in so no one could overhear them, “You didn't see flashes of events did you?”
“No, nothing like that. I just feel your emotions, past and present.”
“That's good, I wouldn't want you to have to suffer through my dark period. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.”
Stacy just smiled shakily. She couldn't bring herself to tell Willow it was worse experiencing the emotions without the knowledge of what the emotions were linked to. She had felt deep love, deep hate, anger, and loss. The only thing that saved Stacy from collapsing earlier was the happiness and love that were at Willow's surface. Willow's aura was very draining to her.
“Right. So what's the urgency that brought the Council here on a personal visit instead of a phone call?” Rupert asked. “Why send the DSN to Sunnydale?”
“Well, you don't waste time on small talk do you, Mr. Giles?” Stacy replied. “Very well, we'll get down to business. Our informant in Ethan's army has relayed to us that he plans on pushing his timetable forward. He's going to do a full frontal assault on Sunnydale, Los Angeles and assorted Hellmouths around the world. Ethan, of course is going to concentrate his efforts here. He's going to go after the mirror and I'm sorry to say you, Willow. Since Gwendolyn made it clear that you probably wouldn't desert Rupert he's decided to put a magickal hit on you. The DSN are going to assist in disturbing Ethan's plans and protecting Willow.”
Rupert reached over and pulled Willow into his embrace.
Faith narrowed her eyes at the Council. She hadn't gotten real close to Willow but she did like her and she could tell that Giles was falling for her. No WAY was she going to let the Bitch from Hell and Ethan ruin that. “How are they going to help protect Willow? The Shapeshifters don't have any combat skills other than shifting.”
“Ah, but if there are three or four or more Willows how will Ethan or the others know which one is the original?”