BRAVE EYES

Title: BRAVE EYES

Author: psimetis

E-mail: psimetis@hotmail.com

Rating: NC-17

6B/6C









* * *



‘SUN, too’



or



‘Willow is Respectable’







Angel lost his soul.



Apparently there was a mix up in communications. Only Jenny and her coven knew about the exact ramifications of the curse. Jenny was reluctant to talk to Giles, given their personal history, but she tried to tell him about the situation. Amy tried to tell Faith, who would then tell Buffy, since Amy refused to talk to that rapist. Faith couldn’t find Buffy, or maybe she was still mad at the other Slayer and didn’t try hard enough. Giles failed to run into Buffy as well. Tara tried to speak to Angel, since he had no answering machine, and also, she did have his cell phone. She never managed to catch him.



Due to these crossed signals, somehow Buffy and Angel ended up the only ones who had no idea what could potentially happen between them. Meanwhile, Dru mysteriously gathered parts for something called ‘The Judge’, and Jenny took a sudden emergency leave from her teacher’s position and disappeared.



Amy took up the responsibility of the Orb of Thesulah, and the coven waited.



It was really hard to tell at first if Angel had his moment of perfect happiness with Buffy once everyone finally found out that he and Buffy had slept together. Angelus was a pretty good actor. While the coven hesitated, a pro-active Faith duked it out with a protective Buffy. Angelus secretly rejoined with his childer, Drusilla and Spike, and plotted for the end of the world. Finally Angelus tipped his evil hand with a pre-emptive strike against Giles, Amy, Tara, and Faith.



Angelus fought with Giles at the school and the Watcher took a hard tumble and broke his neck. He survived, while Buffy managed to chase Angelus away.



Both Amy and Tara were attacked separately by Spike’s minions. Amy ended up in the hospital after she attempted the big soul spell. The Orb was smashed. Willow killed all the minions who tried to attack Tara. Dru went after Faith, and the second Slayer nearly died at the vampiress’ hand, her throat slashed.



Buffy finally decided to get it together and go after Angelus.



Willow hid Tara in the Magic Box, left Jonathan to protect her, and took Andrew with her to find Angelus.



And Tara retrieved the second Orb of Thesulah out of the Magic Box safe and sat down to perform the ancient Rom spell.



“YOU DUMB FUCK!!” Willow screamed in the mansion courtyard. She stared blindly down at Angelus/who was now Angel, having sucker-caned him in the back of his thick head when he’d been trying to fight the Slayer. Now Willow aimed a hard kick for his balls. “THIS IS FOR DISOWNING ME AND STOPPING THE WILLOW SUPPORT!!”



Spike winced hard from where he stood by his wheelchair. The little blind childe scored a direct goal with her kick and instantaneously rendered the Poofter a falsetto. The Slayer known as Buffy merely stood dumbly, her sword hanging uselessly in her hand now that the threat of Angelus sucking their world into hell--via the statue of Acathla--had passed. Dru merely hid in the shadows, hands pressed to her mouth as her eyes sparkled with malevolent glee.



“And this is for FUCKING THE SLAYER!” Willow screamed some more, and readied her other foot with a kick.



“Now L’il Red,” Spike cautioned, unable to witness even Angelus being thus further unmanned, but then the blind childe did another crazy thing; she leapt suddenly for the surprised Buffy and clocked the blonde Slayer a righteous one right on the jaw. The Slayer went down in a heap. It was a brill’ move of deception by the l’il blind Red. Spike wished he’d placed bets on this fight.



“And you....” the red devil was now saying to him.



Even for Spike it was enough drama for the day. Dru could probably take the young one on if he went down before Red’s ire--weak as he still was--but he more preferred for himself and Princess to be entirely intact while leaving this rotten town.



“Dru,” he called out to his love. His Black Queen sailed forward to take his beckoning hand, giving the childe a wide berth even as she smiled toothily at the l’il Red. Spike gave her a kiss and then turned his smirking attention to the childe. Not that she could see his patented evil smirk, anyway.



“The Big Bad likes your stones,” he drawled. “Ever you Turn your pretty witch, look us up. Dru’ll love having l’il sisters to play with.”



Dru gnashed her teeth playfully in Willow’s direction. “Rar rarrar,” she growled. “And we’ll have Grandmummy and her Perfect Girl to tea.”



And with that, Puppy’s irritating progeny disappeared into the night, leaving a disgusted and sort of less angry Willow standing amongst the bodies of the unconscious bitch Slayer, her unconscious Puppy, a really ooky rock giving off huge inky vibes, and a terrified Andrew hiding behind the garden wall.



Andrew took Willow home, and Tara, having survived a minion attack on the Magic Box, kissed her hand better where the vampire had busted it against the Slayer’s stupid jaw.



* * *



Tara actually did not curse Angelus with a soul again, it was Jenny who had done the deed. The others in the coven didn’t really think Tara could do it because it was a Rom curse, and Tara was probably too goody a country earth witch to pull off that kind of black magic. So Jenny went into hiding, Amy played the most obvious decoy with a fake Orb, and Tara played the second decoy, with a real Orb. Jenny had another real Orb, but a bellhop at the Hilton actually dropped it by accident, leaving Jenny to hurry back to Sunnydale and finally do the real spell with the back up. It had been a close call, because the last of Spike’s minions had come for Tara at the Magic Box while Willow was on her Angelus warpath.



After Willow was through cussing the rest of the coven out for endangering Tara--not a fair accusation, but she was a demon--Willow soberly realized that going after Angelus had not been very smart of her.



She may have gotten the chance to kick him in the nuts, but not at the cost of almost losing Tara.



Such a realization made Willow broody for many sober days.



* * *



In the aftermath of the ‘Angelus’ incident, Giles and Faith recuperated in the hospital, Buffy ran away (good riddance, thought Willow), and a very sad Puppy took up the task of Slaying, since there was noone else who could do it. It was winter now, and though the ‘Willow support’ from Puppy resumed, Willow herself was restless, wishing there was more she could do to help her witch live better.



* * *



“Willow!” Debbie Cho called to the vampire as she entered the laundry room.



“Rarrr,” Willow growled, still sullen about not being able to exact vengeance on the girl who nearly got her crippled again. If she thought about it, the vampire would have been horrified to realize that she didn’t know exactly what was stopping her from breaking Debbie’s neck and draining her dry. However, Willow was too busy making sure she was putting just the right amount of color fast into the wash to think about such things. Thankfully.



“Don’t worry, I don’t want detergent,” Debbie assured, as she set her laundry basket next to the machine Willow was loading. “Me and a bunch of girls now do Costco together. We buy bulk and divide the stuff among us and it works out really well. You and Tara can join us.”



Willow said nothing.



“Anyway,” Debbie continued, being the sort of girl who liked to get to her own point. “I wanted to ask you if you wouldn’t mind escorting me to and from some evening classes that I’ve got, like you do for Tara? Even though you’re blind, you’ve really gotten to know the whole campus really well. I know you know how to fight, and I can pay you a really small escort fee, or trade you some goods maybe?”



Willow looked up slowly, a predatory gleam in her blind, green eyes, and she smiled sweetly.



* * *



When Tara came home from a late night in the library--Willow walking her home, of course--she found six new rolls of toilet paper, three boxes of Kleenex, two pads of 200 ct. single sheets of typing paper, a twelve pack of Bic pens, a six pack of highlighters, and one box of her preferred brand of feminine protection, all stacked neatly on her bed. Then Willow showed her some money the vampire had spread out on her desk and asked if they really were seven dollars. Tara affirmed that yes they were.



And this was what Willow had made in one night of escorting Debbie and some of her friends to and from their evening and night classes.



After Willow had explained what she did exactly, by ‘escorting’ girls (Tara had to make certain, thanks to their awkward discussion about Willow thinking ‘whoring’ would be a good idea), Tara was completely encouraging and supportive. She took the vampire’s first honestly made dollar, placed it in a handmade pouch with a crystal and appropriate herbs, and buried it beneath the next new moon.



“For good magic for your venture,” Tara had smiled to her when the ritual was done, and Willow kissed her happily.



* * *



“I have this much,” Willow said, spreading her hard earned money on the sales counter of the Magic Box. Michael, Jonathan, and Andrew leaned over curiously.



“That can easily buy you the best crystals we have,” Michael said.



“I thought you bought Tara a really expensive box of pastels and a pad of that good art paper,” Amy remarked, from where she sat at a table, eating an apple. It was nearing holiday time, and Willow was already buying Tara gifts.



“I did, but I wanna get her something, y’know, nice too,” the vampire explained self-consciously, holding her cane. Michael and Jonathan gave each other sly looks while Andrew just looked perplexed. He hadn’t started dating, like the other guys, so he didn’t get it.



“Crystals, just seem so, work related? You could think about a semi precious stone,” Michael suggested. “Set in silver.”



“I’ve been to the shops, their stuff don’t do anything for me,” Willow said, almost miserably. Debbie had taken Willow to the jewelry shops in the mall, to no avail. Willow had found none of the jewelry pieces offered within her price range to be special; they just felt empty.



“Didn’t do anything for you, how?” Jonathan asked curiously.



“They didn’t talk to me,” Willow gave, and she passed her palm suddenly over the glass of the counter, causing all the crystals to suddenly jump in succession beneath her passing palm. “Not like these can. But Michael is right, crystals aren’t special enough. Now the amber though, they’re nice. They’re warm and they sing.” And Willow passed her hand over where the golden resins lay beneath the display case. They responded physically to her pass as well. It was Andrew’s turn to share a look with Jonathan--one of surprise and realization.



“They sing just like my Tara,” Willow added with a smile. “But...they got little dead things in them. That doesn’t exactly say, ‘I love you’.”



“You can sense the dead insects in the--” Andrew exclaimed.



“Amber’s great,” Amy interrupted around a mouthful of apple. “’S the fifth element, so ’s perfect bind between the four--earth, fire, air, water. It represents life. It strengthens spells, ’specially for positive witches. I can’t use ‘em,” Amy added sadly. “I’m a dark witch.”



“I want amber for my witch,” Willow growled, liking the new gift option immensely. She struck the glass counter with her palm. The boys jumped.



“You break that, you pay for it,” Anyanka said sourly from where she had suddenly orbed into the room. The boys jumped again--Andrew with his trademark girlie shriek. Amy hastily chucked her apple into the trash, since eating was not allowed in the Magic Box. Anyanka merely ignored everyone and sat down wearily with her copy of Izvesta. Apparently she was having a bad day of vengeancing.



“Anyanka, when you’re in the Baltics, can you buy me some real amber?” Willow suddenly asked. She gathered up the bills she had spread on the counter. “I got money.”



Anyanka looked over the top of her Russian newspaper and frowned at the blind fledgling. “That’s hardly a very vampire-like offer. Why don’t you go steal some? You could tell with your magic-nose whether it’s real or that awful machine made stuff.”



“It’s for Tara, it shouldn’t be stolen,” Willow frowned back at her.



“Hm,” Anyanka then hummed, and she looked up at the Box’s ceiling, as if reminiscing. “Amber for a natural witch. That’s quite a perfect choice for a gift. It’s been way too long since you humans honored real pagan ways. Come here,” she suddenly bade the vampire, holding out her hand from where she sat. “And bring your money. I’ll take you myself and you can pick.”



“Hold out your hand, Will,” Amy coached, as Willow slowly approached where Anyanka sat. “She has her hand out for you.”



And when Willow took it, she and Anyanka were gone.



A second later, they were back again.



“That felt like when I went to that other universe!” Willow exclaimed excitedly, as the others in the Box blinked in surprise. “I never want to go there again,” Willow then growled warningly at Anyanka. She wasn’t sure if this demon remembered, or knew, about the Anyanka who lost her powers in the other reality. Willow had to immediately dismiss such thoughts from her mind because trying to keep straight the relationship factors of both realities was a tad mind boggling.



“I don’t blame you,” Anyanka agreed. “Be thankful for the reality you live in.” The vengeance demon resumed reading her paper, having never left her seat, or so it appeared. She smiled thoughtfully behind the shield of the newspaper however, as she eavesdropped. The young vampire was showing off her acquisition of a bright, beautifully tumbled, honey amber necklace she’d purchased from a trusted dealer in Lithuania. Anyanka was very pleased with this reality. She was thankful for it every day.



While Michael was carefully gift wrapping the necklace for Willow, Jonathan carefully approached the vampire. Andrew trailed behind him, excitedly holding a large book to himself.



“Willow?” Jonathan began. “We were wondering if you might be interested in something...”



* * *



“We’re tomb raiders!” Andrew exclaimed in glee, as more rock gave way beneath his pick ax. “We’re total Indiana Jones’ers!”



“Is that why you’re wearing that stupid hat?” Amy sniped crossly, trying to wipe the dust from her sweating face. “Are we any closer?” She asked for the tenth time that afternoon.



“Shhhh,” Willow ordered, her hands flat against the rock they were trying to penetrate. They were somewhere under Sunnydale, searching for a lost tomb Andrew had found reference to in an equally old tome. They needed Willow, Andrew had said, for her magic-nose--the tomb supposedly had magical artifacts sealed within it, and her ability would lead them exactly to said artifacts. Willow was only willing to go along with this expedition because Jonathan and Andrew promised her a percentage of whatever they found. Not that she was going to keep to that percentage share--not when maybe she could take the boys’ supposed share too.



“Tiny explosive here,” she indicated against the rock. “And maybe more will come down. But make it small or you’ll destroy the artifacts,” Willow then growled warningly at Andrew. The last time he played with his illegally obtained explosives, he nearly killed Willow.



The four scurried to safety, there was a small boom and rock tumble, and after the dust had settled, Amy did her heavy lifting act, clearing the debris with magic.



After five days of magic-aided excavation, the ancient tomb seal of Amara revealed itself to Jonathan’s searching lamp.



“We’re <i>total</i> Lara Croft’ers,” Andrew whispered in awe, as he stared up at the seal.



* * *



The next afternoon in the Magic Box, Michael was carefully cleaning and polishing several precious metal artifacts, while his coven friends looked on. Many more artifacts rested in boxes stored in the backroom. The ones on the table were identified by Willow as definitely magical. Andrew couldn’t keep his hands off the gauntlets, while Jonathan kept fingering the armlets, holding them up to the light critically. Willow merely sat sucking on a ring she had claimed from the treasure and had immediately slipped onto her finger. She practically had no interest in the rest of the loot; apparently the ring had a mystical resonance that totally appealed to the vampire, hence her sucking on it. Amy thought that was very weird, but said nothing.



“Jenny’s coming over after her teachers’ meeting, and then we can figure out what these exactly are,” Amy informed everyone, and then she reached over to smack Andrew’s hands.



“You narc!” Andrew accused, incensed that their coven head had been told about the find. “You’re just getting back at us because Jonathan and I are getting the larger share!”



“You’re not getting anything until Jenny and Anyanka take a look at this stuff. If you’d done you’re research better, we’d know what we had here. It squicks me out to think what you guys would do if these were like--” Amy made a frustrated gesture as she tried to think in ‘comic book’ talk. “Invisibility bracelets or whatever.”



Andrew eagerly tried to slip on the gauntlets. This time Jonathan smacked him, and they got into a scuffle.



“Willow’s wearing one of the treasures!” Andrew cried out defensively as he finally shoved Jonathan away.



Willow pulled the ring out of her mouth. “I’m a vampire. I’m immune to its soul sucking evilness.”



The others suddenly gave the treasure on the table a wide berth.



“Kidding,” Willow said with a cute smile. “I should tell you though, I feel vamps coming up from the basement sewer access. They should be breaking through the lock on the trap door anytime now.”



While Jonathan and Andrew panicked about how to hide the treasure, Amy turned to Willow suspiciously.



“These vamps aren’t your secret minions, are they?” she asked, her dark power like a pulsing sheen around the dark haired witch. The vibrations gave Willow naughty goosebumps.



“Nope,” Willow replied with a smile, practically gnawing on her ring prize in anticipation. It was so nice to still be considered evil. She knew that if she did anything the coven didn’t like, Jenny and Amy wouldn’t hesitate to have her staked. If Willow were more bored, she’d welcome the challenge, but what that would do to Tara was something Willow didn’t like to consider. Besides, her evil boss days were over. She’d had her spotlight moment in that ‘other-verse’. Right on cue, several minions burst through the basement door entrance, the master vampire signature of Spike following closely behind them.



And Willow, due to the huge jump in excitement in the air, accidentally sucked in the gem from the ring.



“Awk,” she said, and thumped at her slender chest when it didn’t go down properly.



“God, Spike, you’re back in town again?” Amy huffed.



“That’s right Hazel, and thanks for doing all the hard work,” Spike sneered, as he prowled into a position where everyone in the room could see--well, except for the blind childe--who the Big Bad was here. “Now hand over my treasure and die like good little witches.”



“What’s a bunch of gold crap to you?” Jonathan suddenly shot off from where he was trying to look aggressive--and easily failing. “You’re vampires! You don’t need this stuff!”



Spike gave the small, young man a deadly look. “Shows how much you don’t know. Tell you what,” he then declared with an insincere grin, going into ‘playful’ mode. “Just hand over the ring that came with the loot and I’ll let you have the rest.”



“It’s ours!” Andrew cried, greed obviously having taken what little good sense he had. That earned him a Spike-smirk with utterly no good intentions.



“Have it your way then. Take--”



And Willow’s cane suddenly cracked into the Big Bad’s platinum blond head.



Pandemonium, of course, ensued. Spike found himself tumbling in the feral-like grasp of the Poof’s adopted childe, and getting his head thumped repeatedly and embarrassingly into the wood floor for good measure. If he weren’t currently seeing stars he would’ve found the abuse a bit sexy, actually.



“Is this what you want?” L’il Red growled down at him, flashing a ring upon a finger of her clenched fist. Spike expected her to play ‘imprint the ring’ on Spike’s face, but instead, the childe pulled the ring off and shoved it into his mouth.



“Take it!” she snarled. “What does it do anyway?”



Spike quickly pushed Red off him, springing to his feet. He spat the ring out and slipped it on with a satisfyingly evil smirk.



“I’ll show you,” he taunted, and promptly ran out of the store.



Perplexed, Willow listened as Spike burst into flames in the afternoon sun and howled madly in pain. Then she smelled his stenchy, burnt, carcass self as he stumbled back in and collapsed in a sorry heap upon the floor.



His minions were so shocked by their boss’ actions, the rest of the coven managed to stake them easily.



Willow went to Spike’s smoldering body and pulled the ring messily off his crispy finger. While she was pensively washing it off in the back washroom, she felt Puppy rapidly approach from within the sewers, obviously distraught from feeling Spike’s near demise through their familial bond.



Puppy would probably arrive in time to protect his grandchilde from being staked by the bickering Jonathan and Andrew, though if Willow had to make a bet, Amy was probably ready to incant a fire spell on Spike right then, despite it being indoors and inside a vengeance demon’s store.



Willow hid until Puppy made his appearance, and then slipped quietly into the sewers to go home.



* * *



“Oh baby, it’s beautiful,” Tara breathed, looking down at the ring Willow had given her. They were seated on a bench along one of the campus pathways. It was well shaded, but Tara was surprised when she’d found Willow waiting for her there. The sun was still up, and Tara wasn’t sure how Willow had gotten to the spot safely.



“It’s just a trinket,” Willow said to her self-consciously. “From the treasure hunting thing. I-It’s not like an important ring or anything, cos the stone is missing. See?” She held Tara’s hand that held the ring to emphasize. “J-Just a silly present. I want to get you something better, later.”



Tara kissed her, making Willow happy.



“But it feels like it should be a magic ring,” Tara then said, looking at it in her palm. “Was the magic in the stone?”



“Yes,” her vampire acknowledged. “I swallowed it.”



Tara became concerned. “Will? A-Are you okay?”



“I’m good,” Willow breathed. “Real good....I want to show you something.” She stood up. There was such seriousness and expectation in her sweet face, Tara held her breath in anticipation. She watched Willow step slowly back, precariously close to where shade ended and the evening light began.



“Will,” she cautioned in alarm, rising to her feet.



“No,” her lover assured, hands out to halt Tara’s approach. “It’s okay. Just watch. It’ll be...okay.”



And Willow stepped back, directly into the light.



And she didn’t burn up.



The first time since her death, sun shone fully upon Willow’s body, warming her flesh, her hair. At such fiery touch, her dead lungs began to work rapidly, because the natural panic of being a vampire in the sun was playing havoc with her instincts. She felt the blinding brightness of its radiation but could see nothing but blackness. She could feel light’s encompassing presence but she could not see it. She was here now, in her witch’s realm of the living, and she was not burning up.



And Tara thought she was witnessing a miracle. She saw the setting sun shining bright around her vampire and thought for a split second that she saw a human girl, made vulnerable and humble by the presence of light. Willow’s bright, green eyes no longer gleamed in the dim of darkness but held the shine of true illumination, as if she had sight--as if she were alive again. Tara leapt forward, taking her desperately in her arms and found she couldn’t breath; she couldn’t breath at all.



“It’s okay. See, I’m okay,” Willow comforted quickly, realizing what a shock this must be for her witch, who was practically crushing her.



“That was some stone I ate,” she joked.





* * *