Recombination

A/N: Companion piece to last chapter. Willows POV


Willow smiled slightly as she chanted; the magic she was using was chaotic at best but a sweet relief after the magic she’d just used to entice the Bringers, that had been twisted and dark almost tempting, to move towards the magic box. She could feel Dawn’s arm at her elbow fully prepared to catch her if she fainted. Willow knew she wouldn’t fall. The magic she was using was immensely powerful chaos magic but it wasn’t ‘wrong’ magic. It was a form of the dark arts but nature at its very worst and best could be chaotic and so the chaos magic harmonized with her own. She chanted harder feeling the change in the air. As the energies shifted leaving her slightly light headed, she pushed at them and in an instant coated the nearby Bringers with an invisible signature. An immense beacon to attract the creature that had tried to enslave Willow and Xander, something Willow doubted the greedy bastard would be able to resist.

She gasped as she swayed slightly stepping away from the magic and smiled. Instead of the creature chasing after anymore of them she’d just handed it the equivalent of a fine four-course meal, one she doubted the creature would resist. She took in a deep breath and straightened up as Dawn hurriedly let down the shutters on the magic box. Through the slats Willow could just make out the shadows of the Bringers at the end of the road as they slowly made their way towards the small group, she murmured a quick word and all the lights extinguished. She felt Dawn jump slightly next to her and heard the potentials strangled gasps but she kept her eyes focused on the Bringers.

After a long moment she turned back to the potentials satisfied that slow as they were the Bringers were coming closer. Her eyes surveyed each one in turn as she spoke ,“When this kicks off you’re going to need to stay calm. There’s no way in or out of this place than this room. The other exits are boarded up and warded tightly. When it starts we need to keep any Bringers that still remain out of the backroom. Remember you may only be potentials but you’ve got a slayer and a watcher in there that need you, not to mention a 1000 year old demon who will be pretty pissed off if we damage her shop too much.”

Willow could see the potentials were afraid; she’d been through the ‘we’re not slayers or trained talk’ three times already. But despite the slight tremble in their arms as they gripped Giles’ weapons she could see the true possibility in them, the reason why they were potential slayers shone through as they gripped the weapons tighter trying to band closer together. The Witch smiled slightly and turned to Dawn who was gripping her axe tightly looking every inch the slayer’s sister. Willow could see she was scared to, not just for all of them but for Xander and Connor and what they would be attempting. She saw Dawn swallow hard as the Bringers drew nearer removing knives from their holders and held out her hand startling the girl.

No words were needed, in fact the whole magic box was eerily silent though whether that was because they were too on edge or because Andrew had been tossed bound and gagged into the back room when he had complained about being frog marched to the Magic Box, she wasn’t sure. She took the small mobile from Dawn and keyed in a number.

“It’s time.”

The instant the words left her mouth the Bringers stopped dead and stared, focusing in an eerie tandem on Willow through the crack in the shutters. Trembling slightly she flipped the phone shut and handed it to Dawn who absently put it in her pocket.

Willow felt the energy crackle outside the shop as the Bringers stepped closer and smiled slightly.

***********

The creature vibrated with intensity that surprised itself, it took a quick audit of itself shaking happily as it noted the older teenagers were beginning to fall under its power. It began to search outside of itself for the source of the deep vibration and as the intense feeling came again it almost shivered in pleasure as it anticipated what its incredible meal would taste like when it found it.

It swept the town ignoring the First’s hideaways, not wanting to get on the creatures’ bad side by interfering and …the creature stilled hungrily fixed on the pulsating mass of energy teasing it from the middle of the town. It was too centered on the mass of power to actually look properly at it, too greedy and fixated on its simple need to consume and devour the power that it dove straight in latching on the delectable psyches in front of it.

So consumed with the need to pleasure itself by devouring the powerful energy it ignored the contents of the mind. Feeling the minds corrupted and focused on one thing he pushed away the focus leaving them vulnerable and alone as it feasted on their terror.

*********

Willow held herself poised and ready to use the magic she held. She almost cheered as she watched the first Bringer go down, clawing at its own mind as it rolled towards the magic shop before coming to a slow halt its gaze blank and body still. Before the other Bringers had a chance to contemplate what had happened they were hit. Some clawed at their heads leaving bloody gouges, others screamed silently and tried to run. The end result was the same; they dropped like flies as the creature gorged itself.

Willow shivered slightly as she felt the raw powerful energy of the First scream through her mind and into the magic’s in front of her. As the two powers clashed, the sky lit up in a bright red flash and an unearthly scream shattered the quiet, it built to an amazing crescendo and Willow pushed her finger into her ears as she tried to drown out the noise. It sounded like nails scraped along blackboards and metal on metal and it wouldn’t stop.

The Bringer closest to the window exploded in a shower of blood and still the scream continued; Willow felt tears run down her face as the ground shook angrily beneath them. The scream tailored off to a quavering wail and then stopped. Shakily Willow pulled the fingers from her ears seeing blood specks coating the tips from where she’d pushed in so hard. Still trembling she laid her hand on Dawn’s arm, the young girl was trying not to cry too much herself as she pulled her own fingers out and took a shaky step towards Willow. The sound of slow clapping hit both of their ears and they turned together and stared at the Potentials behind them who were also looking pained and scared.

“Well isn’t this sweet.”

Willow winced as a cold tremble started in her back, not so much due to the pain the voice produced to her sore ear but to the mockingly familiar voce. She bit her lip placing the voice in an instant, every part of her body screamed for it to be a trick but in a flash the First appeared before her in all its fury. Willow involuntarily took a step back, the intensity she could feel emanating from the First was bad enough but the cruel, angry look it wore on her friend’s body was too much.

She heard Dawn half swallow a sob beside her, as she to looked the First up and down from his tousled dark hair to his black trainers. Willow tried to find her voice and started chanting a serenity and calm spell inside her head to keep her from breaking down as she looked at the creature using the body of her oldest friend. She drew in a shaky breath, “What have you done to Xander?”

The thing wearing Xanders body smirked mockingly at her and she felt herself faltering, frantically she mentally chanted the spell again and kept her eyes focused on the First as it answered.

“Wils I’m hurt, don’t you like?” The First ran its hands down Xander’s body. It smirked slightly. “Must hurt like a bitch not to know right? Not to be able to do anything, to wonder if this is from now or from earlier? If you were really that bad a friend not to realize what he’d been through or,” it licked its lips. “You were an even worse friend to send him to his death.”

Willow shook her head her breath hitching slightly; she ignored Dawn’s sobs and the potentials’ as they gathered together. “No you’re wrong, you can’t be taking him you can’t be…” She swallowed hard fighting back the tears. “Xander’s not dead.”

The First smiled wildly. “Is, was, what difference does it make? You’ll all be joining him soon.” It stepped up close to Willow and she stared into its eyes. Despite looking like Xander, it felt nothing like him and the malevolent evil that emanated from the familiar brown orbs caused her to stumble back a step.

The First laughed again, a harsh bitter sound that echoed around the room as it looked at each of the potentials, Dawn and then finally back at Willow in amusement. “So you destroyed my toy, point to you.” It centered its gaze on Willow. “I won’t forget that Witch I’m going to enjoy playing with you, once my baby’s done of course.” A slow smile spread over its face and it looked past Willow.

Although she knew not to turn her back on an enemy she felt compelled to slowly turn around, mid turn she froze and instinctively grabbed Dawn’s arm yanking her back from the window. She felt all their eyes move to stare at the huge creature in the middle of the street, which let out a screech of anger.

The First still wearing Xander’s form smirked. “You can’t imagine how much fun I’m having with Spike, Wils. For a once evil vampire I’m quite disappointed all I had to do was wear this body a few times and he was all but clawing his way out of his own mind.” It laughed. “Even the slayer’s one didn’t have that much of an effect, or his weird-ass vampire family.” It smirked again. “Oh Spike moaned when I whispered things to him as Drusilla and cursed when I appeared as the master, but in this body he was putty in my hands.”

Willow tried not to listen to the First, she wanted to step back and then run far, far away. She chanted a small spell; her eyes flashing slightly black as a barrier encircled the magic box. She couldn’t let that thing, whatever it was, into the shop. Buffy, Giles and Anya were still defenseless and Xander….she swallowed hard ignoring all the little comments from behind her.

“Then again it’s not that hard for him is it? A look here, a few pouts there and the sweet smile he wears when he’s begging Spike to take him.” It grinned at the potentials that recoiled moving closer to the backroom. “You really have no idea how long I’ve been watching you.”

Willow continued ignoring it, her eyes flashing from green to black as she fought to keep control of the magic’s. The Turok-han screeched in anger and clawed at the shield that flickered slightly.

“All the things I’ve seen, all the things you’ve done. Messing with magic, letting it hurt you, hurt your friends, even kill them…” It paused. “What you wanted to do to them, what you planned, I saw it all.” It stepped closer to Willow, if it had been able to really have Xander’s body it would have been pressed up against her back. A tear slid down Willow’s cheeks as her mind briefly slipped into the memories the First was bringing up. The barrier flickered again.

“All the things you kept to yourself and tried to hide, everything you knew they’d never forgive, everything…”

“Stop it.” The voice was cold and controlled and snapped Willow’s mind back into focus, the barrier coming up full power.

The First smirked and opened its mouth.

“Don’t you dare.” Dawn stepped towards it again, her voice a little less controlled. “Leave Willow alone, don’t you dare touch Spike again and do not wear that around us anymore. You aren’t him so stop trying to be, you’re nothing but a cheap fake.”

The First stared at her, a slightly surprised expression on its face, which quickly changed into a leer.

“Dawn. So nice to see you. How ‘bout a hug for the Xan man?”

Dawn wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes, she grew a little more confident at the First ridiculous attempts to be Xander, “I never turn down hugs from Xander but you’re just a cheap knock off.” She said as she stared it down.

The First smirked, it had underestimated this one from the beginning but now it would enjoy the fact that its pet would in a matter of minutes, rip her apart from limb to limb. “Dawnie, I’m hurt.” It pouted as it sent a blast of power at Willow that caused her to stagger and fall to the ground, her nose bloody and the barrier down. As it saw the horror and terror replace Dawn’s confidence the First grinned. It opened its mouth to leave with some wildly profound and amazing comment, most likely on power, and it froze. It narrowed Xander’s eyes and cursed wildly using all of Xander’s most colourful euphemisms as it realized it no longer held the souled vampire, or the other souled vampire’s brat. In a bright flash it disappeared, shaking buildings around the school. Its rage intent as it sought out where its prisoners had been taken.

Willow felt a hand pull her roughly up and backwards as she sought to regain her footing. Backed up as far as they could without smacking into the potentials, both she and Dawn stared up at the evil creature as it towered about them. It smiled down its eyes lighting up in macabre pleasure at their terror. As it screeched and reached down Willow felt the girls tense and ready around her and frantically tried to gather enough magic for another shield. As the Turok-han’s claws reached for her throat she heard a fast whizzing sound rush by her ear and heard the creature’s screech of anger before she saw the axe protruding from its chest.

She made to turn and felt gentle hands push Dawn and her apart as a dainty surprisingly powerful foot kicked out hitting the Turok-han between the eyes.

“Guess what? I feel better.” Buffy smiled coldly as she faced down the uber vampire.