Eyes of the Soul

Title: Eyes Of The Soul

Author: Jennifer

Copyright (c) 2002 by Jennifer Johnson
Feedback: jennpurr@yahoo.com or truthotheart@aol.com Please, give me feedback. Good or bad. Feel freetelltell me what you think. Or just post it here.
Disclaimers: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. This is solely for my entertainment. Please do not copyright this story.
F/F romance: If the idea of a same sex relationship bothers you, please do not read this story.
Pairings: W/T eventually, X/A
Spoilers: Season 6. This is set after Seeing Red, but Tara never dies at the hands of Warren. The rest is just my own creativity. Oh, and Giles never left.
Summary: Tara is missing, or so the Scoobies think. What will happen when they find her?
Rating: R. Angst, violence, and adult content (eventually) ;)
My Thanks: To Sam (Blue77) and Danie. Thanks for being my betas and for helping me out with all the suggestions. You truly are gifted for writing, both of you. I hope you continue to do so. ;) And Danie, don't forget the catnip. ;)
Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at writing Buffy fan fiction, so please tell me what you think. I usually write fan fiction for ER. I apologize for the heavy subject of W/T angst in this story, especially after what has happened to Tara. These thoughts have been floating around in my brain lately and I just wanted to see if I could turn them into a story. Willow and Tara WILL have a happy ending, if that helps. Let's just hope we get that on the show. Some of the inspiration for this came from "Unexpected Consequences." Lisa's a genius. Thanks for your story Lisa. :)

Eyes Of The Soul: Chapter 3/?
By: Jennifer

Willow let out a frustrated sigh. She had been researching through the books Giles had given her for hours now and still hadn't found anything useful to help break the spell around Tara. Most references referred to dark magic incantations. This was an obvious no go. Willow would not use dark magic, no matter what the cost. She made a promise, to herself and to Tara that she would never tap into it again.

"Willow... most of the references you ought to stay away from. I wouldn't suggest trying them."

Looking up the redhead met the worried eyes of Giles. "I know... I'm not going to."

"Good," he said, as he went back to reading. "Although, there is one thing that we might have overlooked. Look here." He handed the book over to Willow. "Of course, this would only work if we actually knew where Tara was physically."

Taking the book from the watcher, she read over the paragraph he had indicated.

"You have a good day." Anya said cheerfully, as she handed a customer her purchase and sent her on her way. After securing her money, she went over to where Giles and Willow were commandeering the research table. "Find anything?"

"I believe we have, " he" he said with a smile.

"Oh... phone." Anya rushed over to the beckoning phone.

"Giles, is it really this simple?" Willow looked up from her book. "It is, isn't it?"

Giles removed his glasses and started wiping the lenses. "It is. We just have to find Tara now."

"...But... now we're back to the beginning. How am I supposed to find her?"

Somewhat defeated, Giles stood to his feet and walked over, kneeling in front of Willow. "There has to be a way. We will find it. Maybe you should try the guiding spell again?"

"I guess, but it didn't work before."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. Maybe this time try doing it alone. The fact that Buffy was doing it with you last time, may have caused some interference of some sort." He squeezed her knee. "I will keep watch over you the whole time, if you like. If you don't want to do this alone?"

Willow looked up into the soft green eyes of the watcher. "I can do it. I'll do it here, so you guys are around. I just... need this to work, Giles. I need Tara back."

"We'll get her back." Giles gave Willow a half hug as he stood to his feet. "I suggest we wait till sundown this time. Perhaps a change in the time of day will help."

The redhead gave him a nod and stretched. She let her mind wander back to the book in front of her. She would keep looking. Maybe she could find another way to make the spell work.

*****

Tara's expressive blue eyes were patiently staring into Amy's, as she paced in the cage. Walking from side to side with a passive expression, her eyes pleaded with the other witch. She hated being locked in this cage.

Ever since Amy had kidnapped her and locked her up, she had tried to guilt the witch into letting her go. Tara would look at her with such sadness in her eyes or she would refuse to eat when the other girl offered her food.

The hard thing was keeping her feral form under control. Tara was not an aggressive person by nature. She could never hurt another person willingly. Most of her human senses were with her in this form, but Tara found herself feeling threatened more times then not by the witch. When this came into play, the feral form took over.

Amy had found herself several times, mere inches from bodily harm. If she stood too close to the cage when Tara was in a foul disposition, she would strike out at Amy. The former rat had the lacerations to prove it. The Jaguar's razor sharp claws had clipped her flesh on more than one occasion.


As Tara's powerful paws padded the cement back and forth, she thought back to the day when Amy kidnapped her.

Tara had been walking to Buffy's house from the library on campus. The sun had just gone down, so she was in a hurry to get to the Slayer's. As she approached the house, from a few driveways away, something had suddenly hit her. It hadn't been a physical object, but a mystical blow.

When it collided with her body, she had fallen to the ground unconscious. The mystical power packing enough punch to shock her motionless; when she had come to, she was in a cage. Amy had magicically teleported her there.

Tara's voice had sobbed and called out desperately to be released from the cage, but to no avail. Her magic wouldn't work on the cage. It was magically bound.

Amy quickly had grown tired of her cries and ultimately changed her form, so she could no longer cry out. Her magic was useless as well, in this state.

Amy's reasoning for holding Tara was to get back at Willow. She hated that the redhead had given up magic; and for what, to please her girlfriend? 'No one leaves me out in the cold like that,' the blonde had vowed.

The witch hadn't seen Willow yet.

The idea of stopping by the Magic Box or Buffy's house had popped into her mind a few times. 'Maybe I'll pay Willow a visit soon,' Amy had told herself.


Tara's thoughts returned to the present, as she stopped pacing and stood still, staring Amy down. Her eyes willing a challenge, or was it more of a plea? Her ears lie flat against her head; body somewhat low to the ground, tail tucked.

"If I let you out, you better come back on time or I'll deliver another care package to you." Amy's care package would be a magical shock that would leave Tara yowling in pain. This she did not want.

The black cat stood silent briefly, watching the other witch. As Amy stepped closer to the cage, Tara expectantly jumped up against the bars of the prison, her paws gripping tightly to the steel before dropping back to the floor.

As Amy opened the door, her eyes challenged the feline to behave.

It was a look Tara knew well. If she showed aggression towards the other girl, she would be zapped with magic and locked back up.

So, Tara was calm. She hesitantly stepped to the cage door. Locking her blue eyes with Amy, she cautiously ran out of the cage and over to the door at the back of the room.

"Don't disappoint me now, Tara," the witch said, as she magic'd the door open from her position beside the cage.

Tara let out a grateful roar, before taking off running up the steps leading to the ground level.

She ran in the shadows as to not be seen. It had become a routine with her. She could tell by the appearance of the sky that it was nearing 8 P.M. Buffy should be on patrol by now.

So, Tara set off to do what she normally did when Amy let her out. She would watch over Buffy, hoping Willow would be with her tonight. At least this way, she could catch a glimpse of her beloved.

One thing she wouldn't do was cross Amy, for fear of her life. Tara knew what she might do and she didn't want to find herself in that position.

Taking off towards the cemetery, the bushes would be her cover. This way she could watch over Buffy and Willow, if she was there, and not be seen. Tara knew if Willow or Buffy saw her, they would run away. This is what she didn't want.

If the situation prevailed, then Tara would leave her confinement in the bushes and help, but if not, she would just protect from a distance.

*****

"Come on, Alex. Time to wakey, wakey. Time to slay. That means Mr. Pointy has a date with you." Buffy was perched on a fresh grave's head stone, waiting for its resident to rise, as she twirled her stake in her right hand.

Alex was only 20. He had been walking home from a football game when a vamp attacked him.

"Don't people know it's not safe to walk the streets of Sunnydale at night?" She looked down under her feet at the fresh dirt. "I guess not."

Just then, the dirt under her feet started to shift. She jumped off the gravestone and stood expectantly in front of it.

As Alex rose from the fresh ground beneath him, he looked around confused.

Buffy didn't give him the chance to fully rise. She sunk the stake in his chest and watched as his ashes showered the soil. "Come on guys. You're making this slaying gig too easy."

She wasn't complaining though. Buffy enjoyed an easy night when the vamps didn't give her problems.

It was pretty quite tonight. This was her first kill and quite possibly her only slaying for the night. That would be fine. Willow wasn't there to keep her company, so she was kind of bummed anyway.

Willow had been coming with her on patrol for the past few nights and she was quickly becoming accustomed to having the other girl with her. Buffy had racked her brain trying to come up with something to say to her best friend when she did eventually go back home. She was coming up short. She knew the first question to her would be, 'Did you find her?' What was she to say to her?


Buffy was unaware of the eyes following her every move from the bushes nearby.

Tara was doing her duty to watch over her friend.

Tara and Buffy's reverie was interrupted by a deep male voice. "The Slayer!"

Buffy quickly turned around on her feet and saw five vampires approaching.

They sprouted out as if they were going to surround her.

"You guys picked the wrong night." She grabbed another stake from her jacket and twirled it around. "Wanna party boys? Take your best shot."

All at once they surrounded her.

Buffy fought them off to the best of her ability, staking one quickly. He appeared to be the new comer to the group. Not very smart, but the others pounced on her. She was ultimately overpowered.

Two of the vamps pushed her to the ground as the other two kicked and attacked her.

Buffy tried to take her power back. She managed to yank an arm free and punch one of the vamps near her face.

He doubled back, holding his nose, blood flowing from it.

"Grab her!" one of them yelled.

The two vampires holding her down gripped her arms and yanked her up off the ground.

Buffy let out a yelp when a fist met her stomach. It was a hard blow. She retaliated by kicking him and sending him flying. The other vamp in front of her charged, but she lifted her legs up off the ground and kicked him, sending him stumbling back.

He quickly recovered and charged at her again, this time catching her off guard as she was trying to break free of the grip on her arms. He quickly took her to the ground and the other two started attacking as well.

The one, who took her down, squirmed his way up to her neck and was about to sink his fangs in her flesh when a fierce growl from behind caught his attention.

Whipping his head around, he saw something approaching from the shadows. He looked down at the Slayer and quickly stood to his feet. He kicked Buffy in the ribs as he stood, but then spun around to focus on the approaching form.
is eis eyes grew big as he realized what it was. Just then another growl found his ears and he started to back up.

The vampire Buffy had sent flying, tried to attack the approaching newcomer, but failed. He was pounced on, with a fatal blow to the neck, which severed it from the spine. He was turned to dust.

When the other vamps made eye contact with the newcomer, they suddenly became petrified.

Tara went low to the ground, ears lying back, fangs barred. She let out a deathly growl and charged a few steps forward before stopping. Her pupils were very large.

She hissed at the vampires, before charging a few more steps forward. Tara swung one of her front paws in front of her at a lightening fast speed as another growl penetrated the air.

The two vamps holding Buffy looked at each other, before dropping their grip on the blonde and taking off running in the other direction.

Buffy stumbled to the side, petrified of what was before her. She didn't know what to do, so she just stood still, staring at the large pissed off cat.

The remaining vampire stood still, staring the cat down.

Tara's eyes locked with the vampire as she hissed at him. She stood perfectly still willing him to move. When he didn't, she charged forward again, her front paw shot out and her nails clipped him on the leg.

He doubled over with pain and she saw her opportunity. Tara pounced the vampire and her fangs clamped down on his neck with a deathly grip.

He quickly turned to dust.

Buffy had attempted to back away from the scene, but had tripped and fell.

Tara sneezed, the vamp dust having filled her nostrils. Once she regained her composure, she looked over at Buffy. She was terrified. Tara had never seen her this way. She couldn't blame her though. If it had been herself, she would have been just as petrified.

Turning her body towards the Slayer, Tara hung her head low to the ground. Her ears lying back as she slowly trotted forward. She crept lower to the ground with each step as she finally approached Buffy, showing her submission.

Buffy closed her eyes and fell onto her back. 'Oh God, what do I do? It's gonna kill me. I know it is. It's gonna...'

Her thoughts were cut short when the cat looked down at her. Its nose, mere inches from her face. The cat's eyes were soft, but the ears were now standing tall. That's when she heard a noise. It was a soft fluttery noise that almost sounded like a fan.

'No... that's a purring sound, it's purring at me!' Buffy froze when the cat lowered its head and its nose touched hers.

Tara nuzzled Buffy's face, her soft fur playing with the skin on the blonde's cheek. 'Buffy, you're safe now,' she said in her thoughts. When she pulled away from the slayers face, she moved back a little, but leaned down toward her chest.

Tara's teeth hooked onto Buffy's shirt and she started pulling back.

The slayer was confused, but she quickly figured out the cat was trying to help her sit up. When she did, the feline rubbed against her arms and chest, almost knocking her over again with it's full body weight.

The cat's nature once again took over her behavior.

Without thinking, Buffy lifted a hand up and petted the soft fur of the cat.

Tara purred as Buffy scratched her ears. She pulled back a little and looked into the blonde's eyes. Tara's eyes were full of love and affection.

Buffy reached up again to pet Tara's ears, which made her purr loudly again with satisfaction.

Pulling her head back somewhat, her long sandpapery tongue found the Slayer's skin of her hand and she affectionately gave it a lick. Stepping forward she looked at her friend and stood still briefly, before leaning forward and nuzzling her neck once.

Then, without warning, she pulled back, purred once more and ran off in the other direction.

This left Buffy very confused when watched the feline run off. Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest. "WOW!"

Climbing to her feet, she let her eyes scan in the direction where Tara had ran off in. Noticing the feline was gone, she quickly ran the other way to go home. She was still confused.

'Why didn't that cat try to eat me?' This was her only thought.

*****

The back door opened just as Giles was pouring himself a cup of tea. Startled, he turned to find himself meeting the eyes of Buffy. "Are you quite alright?" He said, noticing the bruise on her left cheek.

"I'm fine, Giles. Just battle wounds." She smiled at the older man.

"Wounds? Were you hurt elsewhere?" he asked, concerned, as he approached her.

"It's nothing. I got kicked a few times. I'm fine. How are things here?" Buffy tried to change the subject.

"Oh, things are fine. Willow and Dawn are asleep." Giles noticed her flinch somewhat at the mention of the redhead. "Buffy, is everything alright? Did you find, Tara?" He motioned for her to sit with him at the island.

Buffy sat down and shook her head. Her features were fallen.

"Are you alright, Buffy?" Giles questioned, concerned.

She was about to speak, but was interrupted by another voice joining in on the conversation.

"What's goin' on?" Willow asked from the doorway. She was awoken by voices and wanted to see what the commotion was about. "Buffy!" The redhead ran over to the slayer when she caught site of her and pulled her into a hug. "Did you find her?" She pulled away from her friend.

Buffy just stared back at Willow. She didn't know what to say. She just looked away from her friend's questioning eyes and stepped back.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" She could see the emotions playing out on the other girl's face.

"I didn't find her," Buffy looked at the hacker apologetically.

"No! We have to find her," her voice whimpered as tears started forming in her eyes.

Giles cleared his throat. "I'll just leave you two alone," he as as he left the kitchen.

Buffy met Willow's eyes with her own. They were filled with tears and confusion. She knew she was the cause of that and it made her sick to her stomach. Willow had shed enough tears over the past few weeks. Buffy didn't want to be the cause of anymore.

"Buffy?" Willow took a tentative step to her friend.

Seeing her approach, she wrapped her arms around Willow. "I'm sorry, Will. I'm sorry I didn't find her."

"Its not your fault," the redhead returned the embrace, soft sobs racking her body.

Buffy held her for a few moments, letting her grieve. She wished there was more that she could do.

When Willow finally started to pull away, she brought a hand up to her face and wiped away her tears.

Buffy's eyes suddenly went wide as she remembered something. "OH... Giles!" She ran into the living room, pulling Willow along with her.

Giles was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, reading a book. He saw the two women approach and he smiled. "Are you two quite alright?"

Squeezing Willow's shoulder, "We're ok. Do you have a minute for Watcher talk?" Buffy sat on the couch next to him.

"Oh... yes, Buffy. What's the matter?" He said in an alarmed tone, fully prepared to accept whatever news she was about to enlighten him with.

"Well, I'm not sure. Tonight on patrol, there was this cat, this huge cat. It attacked."

Willow sat next to Buffy. "It attacked you?" her voice full of fear and worry.

"No, not me. It attacked the vampires. It... protected me."

"Dear lord," Giles said concerned. "You're quite positive?"

Looking at her Watcher, "Yeah. It killed two of the vamps and ran the other two off. Then, I thought it was going to eat me or something, but it... it purred at me," Buffy said in awe.

"It purred at you? Like a little kitty?" Willow was smiling now.

"That is rather odd." Giles was dumbfounded. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Giles, what could this mean? That thing was huge. It easily could have killed me, with its teeth alone, but it didn't. The cat just rubbed up against me, licked my hand, and then ran off. Oh..." She turned to Willow, "It purred at me again, before it ran away."

"That is strange. I'm not sure what this means. And there was no sign that it wanted to or would harm you?" he asked, questioningly.

"Nope. It was nice to me. I think it was protecting me, but why would a huge cat protect me?" Buffy looked at Giles in question.

"I don't know. Perhaps we should do some research and see if anything like this is referenced. It is rather peculiar. The fact that it didn't attack you and protected you, would suggest that it favored you. And you've never seen the cat before?"

The slayer shook her head. "Never."

"What did it look like?" Willow asked curiously.

"It was black, but I could see lighter patches on its body. Like le sqe squares of lighter colored hair. The eyes were blue."

"Sounds lovely," Giles smiled.

"Blue? Is that normal? Don't cats usually have green eyes? Its eyes should be green. All the large cats have yellow, or green eyes. I've never seen blue before," Willow said indignantly. "Oh... maybe it's possessed!" She shook her head up and down.

"Willow, I'm sure there's an explanation. We'll do research tomorrow and see if we can't find anything. This is the Hellmouth. It is quite possible that might have something to do with it. Maybe we can find something out tomorrow. In the mean time, I suggest you rest. It's late. We can talk about this more in the morning." He spoke in a protective father mode.

Buffy yawned as if on cue. "I am kinda tired."

"Then you should rest. Tomorrow we'll try to get to the bottom of this," Giles promised.

Standing, Willow and Buffy both headed for the stairs. "Goodnight, Giles," they said in unison.

"Goodnight, Buffy. Willow. Have a restful sleep." He smiled warmly at them.


Once upstairs, Willow paused at the top. "Buffy?"

Turning towards her, "Yeah?"

"Thanks." She smiled.

"For what?" Buffy arched an eyebrow.

"Trying to help me find her."

Buffy gave Willow a hug. "I'll continue to help you until we DO find her. Goodnight, Wills."

"Night, Buff." As she pulled away, Willow took hold of Buffy's hand and gave it a loving squeeze. "See you tomorrow." She let her hand drop from the slayers and stepped to her door.

The redhead gave her one last smile before closing her door behind her.

The blonde watched her friend until she was out of sight before walking into her own room and closing the door.

*****


End of part 3