The Immortal Slayer - Chapter 10
Willow's body rotated as she floated mid-air, ten feet off the ground. To everyone's relief she had stopped rising and was now quiet. She looked like a limp rag doll, body arched with arms and legs hanging lifeless. There almost appeared to be an invisible string attached to her abdomen, and she was simply suspended from it.Everyone was watching her, afraid of what might happen, and how she might change.
In the air, Willow's body stopped rotating and she was abruptly released. The transformation was complete and she was now immortal. Everyone ran for her, all knowing they'd be too late to keep her from hitting the ground. As the magic holding her body dissipated, Willow began falling. With only mere seconds before she hit the ground, Willow rolled and tucked her body into a ball.
She then landed gracefully, crouched like a cat waiting to pounce.
The gang had stopped short when they saw her moving in the air, now they formed a semi-circle around her, faces filled with confusion and worry. Seeing Willow in an attack position Xander was slightly confused. "Willow?" He asked hesitantly, "Are you okay?"
Keeping her head low, Willow looked up so her long hair framed her face. "Willow?" she asked back.
Xander turned pale with shock, "Yes. You're Willow. You know you're Willow, you've always been Willow, you'll always be Willow…" Out of fear Xander babbled, not even realizing what he was saying.
"I am not Willow." Eyes glinting, she slowly stood and surveyed the small group in front of her. The boy was nothing more than a bumbling fool in her mind. The girl, she was a slayer. One of her chosen ones. The man was the girl's watcher, also handpicked, whenever the council didn't screw it up at least. The other male, he was a vampire. Curious, she sprang into action.
In a blur she ran past Buffy and tackled Angel, a stake lightly denting the skin above his heart. "You have a soul." She said, betraying no emotion. "Very well, I will keep an eye on you." She warned as she got up. That explained the vampire.
Walking over to Buffy she handed her the stake. "This is yours."
Buffy simply stared at her, and then looked over at the rest of the group as she took back her stake.
"Where can I stay tonight?" she asked the man she knew was the watcher.
"Umm, well, I suppose..." Giles started, before Angel interrupted "You can stay with me." Angel knew the others would be uncomfortable around her for a while, and he wanted to talk to her. He needed to find out some more about this, to find out what happened to Willow. She was a totally different person now. Angel then remembered a thought he had had about Willow during the ritual. 'She sounds like she's dying.' Now Angel thought that in a way, maybe she had.
A hardness set into Willow's face as the new entity contemplated the vampire's offer. She didn't know what unlikely connection he had to this group of people, or to the girl whose body she now inhabited. She looked back to the watcher, trying to decide the best course of action.
"Angel, do you really think that's wise? With Willow having been attacked there once already, I believe she would be safer staying with me, or Buffy perhaps." Giles didn't want to endanger the girl any more than necessary.
"So I've been expected, all the more reason to follow the vampire. Let's go," she said, walking off. Angel quickly followed after her, throwing Buffy a determined look. Somehow he would get her to talk.
Buffy looked over at Giles, trying to adjust to Willow, or rather Willow's absence, as the Immortal Slayer. "Giles, Is that really what Angel meant? It seems worse somehow. I know he said she would lose her memory, but I thought it would…I don't know…be different."
"I wish I knew what to tell you Buffy, but I don't. We need to get prepared for the Dark Goddess to emerge now that the ritual is complete."
The figure hidden in the shadows fought the urge to laugh out loud. "I'm already here," she thought, before leaving the cemetery to commence her own preparations.
"Hold up" Xander said, walking closer to Buffy. "What exactly did you mean 'is this really what Angel meant'? What did Angel tell you?" Xander drilled, looking Buffy dead in the eyes.
Buffy winced at the hurt she saw in Xander's eyes. No one had told him about what Angel had said. "Angel told Giles, and me, that Willow would lose her memory during the ritual in order to be able to deal with absorbing all the memories of past slayers. Unfortunately he was right. He also said she would regain her memories, but he didn't know when."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Xander demanded, looking over at Giles and then back to Buffy.
"Xander, I…we didn't think…I didn't…I'm sorry Xander." Buffy replied, knowing she should have told him.
Xander sighed, his face softening. "It's okay Buffy. So, now we wait for the Dark Goddess. Is there anything we can do?"
"I suggest we all go home and get some sleep. We'll need to be in full research mode tomorrow. Angel will take care of Willow…or whoever she is. Tomorrow we can meet back up with them and see what's going on." Giles said, as they started walking away from the cemetery.
***
At the end of the ritual Willow couldn't understand what was going on. She tried to force her thoughts through, tried to make herself be heard, but she couldn't do it. Vaguely she thought she saw Buffy, Xander, and Giles. But she wasn't sure. Suddenly she felt her body moving, but didn't know why. Then she saw Angel. She knew it was Angel, but she couldn't communicate with him. Something was controlling her. Controlling her mind as well as her body. Unable to fight any longer, Willow allowed herself to collapse and let whatever was controlling her take over. Her last thoughts were wondering whether or not the ritual had worked.