information and disclaimers in part one =20
=20
information and disclaimers in part one =20
Dreams? (3/11)=20
Note: < > indicates thoughts *** indicates flashbacks
=20
Giles had been, as it turned out over the following month and half, =
justifiably worried about the side effects of trapping Willow's powers. =
She could sleep now. For the past six weeks she had been able to sleep =
without difficulty. Willow's emotional control and attention span were =
another matter entirely. =20
=20
Her abilities, an integral part of who she was, had been tightly bound =
in the back of her mind as she slept. While it effectively blocked the =
intense dreams she had been having, she couldn't use magic at all =
without extreme pain. She had tried once, without thinking. Willow had =
ended up unconscious on the rug, and she had a migraine for three days. =
Angel had refused to leave her side for almost a week.=20
=20
Willow's powers constantly buzzed in the back of her mind, grating on =
her nerves and distracting her from whatever she was doing; her nerves =
were completely shredded within a few weeks. She broke into tears for =
no apparent reason. Her temper was short, and she would yell, then =
burst into tears. Willow had registered for a full schedule of classes =
in November, but only a week into the spring term she had been forced to =
drop all but one history class. With her inability to concentrate she =
couldn't handle more than that. Her closest friends took turns hovering =
over her. They tried to keep her busy; activity was the only thing that =
was keeping her somewhat sane.
=20
As the weeks went by it had quickly become apparent to the rest of them =
that Angel was a huge part of Willow's mental stability -- her emotional =
anchor. They knew and understood each other far better than anyone =
else had suspected. Angel was very open with Willow. Willow knew about =
parts of his past, ranging from his childhood to the Angelus years, that =
he had always kept from Buffy. The only time they spent apart was when =
she was asleep, studying, or in class. Buffy had at first fumed with =
jealousy over the strong friendship the witch and the vampire shared. =
<Why is he so attached to her? She not his best friend, she's mine --- =
and why is he interested in her in the first place?! > She reflected on =
neither the validity nor the maturity of her thoughts. Only the =
Slayer's worry over a rapidly weakening Willow had forced her to keep =
her mouth shut. Xander had been a bit more vocal in his disapproval, =
but Willow's second bout of uncontrollable sobbing had been enough to =
convince him to keep his mouth shut as well. Both of them had chosen to =
simply make sure that whenever possible one of them was with the almost =
inseparable pair. Buffy and Xander never actually talked about it -- =
they just did it. =20
=20
Angel noticed what they were doing, but he did nothing beyond an =
occasional pointed glare. He knew that a noisy confrontation would =
happen as soon as the binding spell was lifted and Willow got her =
strength back. Willow, focused on ignoring the persistent buzzing the =
back of her head, didn't notice. It somewhat assuaged Angel's =
irritation at the unwanted company that everyone, except occasionally =
for the Watcher, was completely excluded from their prolonged =
conversations. Angel simply ignored the others and firmly told himself =
that Willow saw him as a friend. < Yes, we're friends. She's the best =
friend I've had in centuries --- bright, intelligent, interesting, =
caring, beautiful . . . > Angel cut off his train of thought right =
there. <She's my friend, and I won't lose her. >
=20
Angel had moved back into the mansion after the migraine incident. =
Before that it had just been weekends helping Giles research and staying =
for long talks on anything but magic with Willow. The detective agency =
was basically shut down, although he still had the property -- Cordelia =
was staying there and doing bit parts in commercials. Willow spent =
almost every free moment with Angel. He taught her every card game he =
had learned over the centuries, and her chessboard always had a game =
in-progress on it. Mostly, they just talked for hours; he was, in fact, =
the only one she could hold a prolonged conversation with without =
repeated emotional breakdowns.=20
=20
<Goddess! Stupid piece of junk! This is not "guaranteed waterproof" =
behavior!! > Willow glared at her water-damaged watch and walked faster. =
She'd dropped it in the sink yesterday, and it had seemed to be =
unharmed. It had stopped, unnoticed, while she was studying at the =
Sunnydale U. library. Instead of going home while the sun was still =
well up in the sky she was trying to speed walk to her temporary =
lodgings through a cloudy twilight that was turning to night far faster =
than was comfortable. Giles had insisted that she stay in his guest =
room, her home for almost six weeks, until the binding spell could be =
lifted; he wanted to keep an eye on her. When she finally woke from the =
deep sleep that the strange dream had brought on, she discovered that =
all of her belongings had already been moved --- even her computer. =
None of their research had told them anything that would explain what =
had happened to her.
=20
It was beginning to rain, and Willow gave up on walking and ran the =
final block to Giles' apartment. The windows were dark, and his car =
wasn't there. <Oh, that's right.=20
Mansion, research. > She walked to the door and reached inside her =
pocket for her key, letting her book-bag slide to the ground. Then she =
froze -- the key wasn't in her pocket. It wasn't in her book-bag =
either. Willow kicked the front door and fought the strong urge to have =
hysterics. The pitch of the buzzing in her head seemed to increase a =
couple of notches as a feeling of panic twisted her stomach. <Oh, this =
is not good. Definitely not good. More in the extremely, horribly bad =
and awful category. I won't have hysterics. I won't cry. I won't have =
hysterics. I won't cry. > Willow grabbed the stake and cross she =
always carried and took off running through the rainy night towards the =
mansion. Two blocks away she slipped and fell, spraining her ankle. =
She gave in and began to cry. In the bushes along the sidewalk -- =
something moved.
=20
"Out so late?" Willow raised her head. She was cornered by two =
fledgling vampires. Hungry looking fledgling vampires. <But then they =
always look hungry don't they. Acckk!! >=20
=20
The rental car appeared to be in perfectly good condition. However, =
appearances proved to be deceiving, and about forty-five minutes after =
leaving the airport Cassandra saw smoke coming out the engine. "Oh, =
this is just wonderful. Goddess!" She pulled over, swearing in =
several languages. She'd seen a payphone not too far back. <I should =
have stayed in Sacramento a couple more days. It was dry there. > =
Without the Goddess given pull to guide her directly to her student =
Cassandra had been forced to spend the past six weeks wandering =
aimlessly around North America. Cassandra only had the hunch that the =
girl was in the U.S. and that she had to go west. It was better than =
nothing, but she had been looking without success for weeks. She kept =
in contact with Joe Damson. He hadn't found anything of interest until =
a couple of days ago. In passing a recent visitor to Sunnydale, having =
a drink in Joe's bar at the time, had drunkenly told Joe about a girl =
who he'd seen fighting in a graveyard. Joe was pretty sure it was =
nothing, but it gave Cassandra a destination to check out.
=20
As she walked, the rain slowly faded from her perception. Instead the =
peculiar feel of this ordinary-looking town filled her senses. It was =
an oddly familiar sensation. Even through she had never been there =
before, something about this place was familiar. =20
=20
*** Plague was everywhere you turned in the little village. Few still =
lived, and those who did stayed huddled in their homes. Cassandra did =
the best she could to help them, but nothing seemed to work. She left =
the village, following reports of problems in a neighboring town. =
Plague was overtaking this larger town as well. However, that was not =
what kept people huddled behind doors. There were reports of demons, =
vampires, and other evils running loose. At first she rejected the =
tales, ascribing it to fear of the plague, but every day she spent in =
the town made her aware of a sense of evil. Then a vampire killed her. =
Before she escaped the town she heard one of the vampires say the word =
"Hellmouth" with greed and awe in his voice. She never forgot the word. =
*** =20
=20
Cassandra shook herself, bringing her mind back to the present. That =
was definitely not one of her favorite memories. Rain was running down =
her face and dripping off her hair. It took a minute for the sound that =
had broken into her memories to register; it was a woman screaming. =
Cassandra drew her sword and turned. Suddenly for a brief moment the =
connection between Cassandra and the young women the Goddesses had =
chosen as her student, missing for the past weeks, flared into life. =
<She's close! Goddess, is she the one screaming?! > The screams abruptly =
stopped. She ran in the direction of the now silent screams. =20
=20
Willow didn't think she had ever been quite this frightened before. It =
fact, she was sure of it. She pushed to her knees, stomach knotting and =
trembling uncontrollably. She tried to find her stake, < Oh no, I lost =
it when I tripped! > The larger of the two vampires began to reach for =
her; panic overwhelmed the already terrified Willow -- she completely =
forgot the limits placed on her magic. Blindly she gathered the magic =
bound inside herself and threw it at the advancing vampire. It whipped =
out perfectly, turning the vampire into a glob of wet ashes. Then the =
magic Willow had sent out to defend herself flung itself back at her, =
obeying the binding spell. <Whoops! Maybe that wasn't a goo. . .! > It =
slammed into her, sending her down into deep unconsciousness. The =
slender witch pitched forward to land in a heap on the concrete =20
=20
"Good, more for me," the remaining fledgling grinned. Not a =
particularly attractive expression on a vampire in full game face. =
Attention fixed on his now helpless meal, he never saw the glistening =
sword that came through the rain to slice cleanly through his neck --- =
he turned to ash.=20
=20
Cassandra knelt by the crumpled figure she had just saved and gently =
turned the girl onto her side. <This is a young one. Is she alive? > =
She reached out and felt for a pulse; it was there, slow but steady. =
Cassandra touched the girl's head, gently reaching out to her new =
student's mind. <Blocked? Oh, a binding spell. That's what kept the =
link closed. I wonder who thought of that. > It wasn't easy, but she =
managed to delicately brush across Willow's awareness -- calling her =
back.
=20
<Ewwuooh, the world's sideways. > Willow squeezed her eye's shut again, =
trying to block out the disorientation and pain. She tried to sit up, =
discovering in the process that none of her muscles wanted to cooperate. =
<I must have knocked myself out again, head hurts, I'm still on the =
sidewalk --- Head really hurts. > A weight pressed softly against her =
temple, somehow soothing away the screaming pain. For a moment she =
relaxed into the unfamiliar touch, simply happy the pain was gone.
=20
Then she remembered that second fledgling. Willow tried frantically to =
stand and face her companion, forgetting her ankle; the offended joint =
collapsed under her instantly. Cassandra caught her, looping her free =
arm around the young woman's waist. It was at this point that Willow =
saw the sword, and her eyes jerked to her rescuer's face. Her green =
eyes went very wide and her jaw dropped.
=20
"It's y-you! You're real!!" Willow stammered.
=20
<She knows me? Neither of the others I was sent to recognized me! =
Goddess, we have a lot to talk about. > "Yes, I'm real." Cassandra =
smiled gently at the wobbly young witch, "Can you walk if help you?"
=20
Willow nodded, "Yeah, I think so."
=20
They stood for a moment studying each other's face. "Where to?" =
Cassandra prodded, a small grin dancing across her face. Willow =
blushed, ducking her head, "Um, that way." She pointed in the direction =
of the mansion. They took off with Willow leaning heavily on Cassandra. =
The Immortal kept her sword arm free, scanning for trouble as they made =
their slow way to safety. By the time they made it to the mansion both =
of them were completely soaked. Willow's ankle was throbbing as if she =
had broken it.
=20
It took a moment for the door to be answered, and then Angel swung open =
the door. He looked at the stranger on his doorstep with confusion. =
Then he saw Willow collapsed against the wall. Cassandra found herself =
pinned against the doorframe and sword-less, with a very pissed, =
game-faced, vampire holding her throat. <Interesting friends the child =
has, > she thought as she tried to breathe.=20
=20
Willow threw herself to her feet, lurching to grab Angel around the =
shoulders, holding him back. "Angel, No! Stop! She saved my life --- =
it's the woman I saw in my dreams!" When he failed to respond she =
pulled his head around to face he. "Angel let her go!" Willow looked =
at his game face and changed tactics, "I'm wet and my ankle is hurt." =
She accompanied this statement with a look that would have done an =
injured, wet kitten proud. The fact that water was running off her nose =
didn't hurt. < Nothing wrong with this one's mind at least, > Cassandra =
thought with amusement as the vampire released her. Angel scooped the =
redhead off of her feet, concern covering his face, and carried her =
inside. The door closed behind him. Cassandra stared at the closed =
door for a moment, torn between anger at being disarmed and left outside =
and laughter at the child's tactics. She rescued her sword from its =
resting-place in the bushes, tucked it into its hiding place, and opened =
the door to follow them in.=20
=20
Willow told Angel that she was just fine repeatedly as he swept her past =
a startled Giles and deposited her in a chair in front of the fire. He =
wrapped her in a blanket and checked her over for major injuries. She =
looked at his face, <He gets so upset when he's worried, > and said to =
him, "you're still, um, grrr." Angel looked startled, then =
embarrassed. Quickly, he took control of his anger over her bedraggled =
appearance and slipped his human face back on, "Sorry." A look of =
concern filled his eyes. "Are you ok? What happened?"
=20
"My watch broke. I lost my key. It rained. I sprained my ankle. Got =
jumped by two fledglings. Knocked myself out using magic. The lady =
from my dreams," Willow pointed to Cassandra, "took care of the second =
vamp and helped me get here." She smiled reassuringly at her friends. =
"I'm okay, the only part of me that's hurt is my ankle."
=20
Giles looked puzzled, "How is it that you are conscious after using =
magic?"
=20
"I revived her," Cassandra stated. "It didn't seem like a good idea to =
wait in the rain until she woke up on her own. I take it you placed the =
binding spell on her?"
=20
"You know about the binding spell?"
=20
"Yes, it cut off the contact between us. Why did you do it?
=20
"The dreams were draining her. And she got caught up in some sort of =
lightning storm --- indoors. We worried for her safety." Giles wasn't =
sure whether to trust this woman, but she seemed to already be aware of =
a number of things -- like magic and vampires. The unusual situation =
didn't seem to bother the mystery woman at all.
=20
Angel definitely wasn't ready to trust her, "What contact between you?"=20
=20
Cassandra regarded the vampire calmly. She managed to look quite regal =
despite the water dripping off of her, which was why Giles had answered =
her question without thinking about it. "I'm a witch, like her. On =
two previous occasions I have been drawn to a student." <Let's just let =
them think those students were witches. > "Both times I had dreams about =
the person and felt a pull to the area they lived in. This time I only =
felt the pull. " She turned to Willow, who had fallen into a half doze =
despite her fascination with the woman standing in front of her, "You =
recognized me when I found you outside. These dreams he mentioned," =
Cassandra pointed at Giles, " Were they about me?"
=20
"Yes, they were very vivid. I don't know how I knew you were real but I =
did." Willow murmured, looking interested. =20
=20
"The Hellmouth must have scrambled the pull somehow; you got part and I =
got part." Cassandra looked thoughtful, considering how she was going =
to train this girl, and how she was going to get past the child's =
overprotective vampire. <How on earth did the child become friends with =
a vampire? Only on a Hellmouth; they tend to make events go very =
strangely. >=20
=20
Giles jumped on one part of what she had said, " You know about the =
Hellmouth! How?!"
=20
"I've been at one before; the area felt familiar. "=20
=20
"You can feel the Hellmouth?" Giles stuttered.
=20
Angel cut in, wanting to get the conversation back to the woman's =
identity, "First, who are you? Second, Will's dreams were in different =
time periods, so what are you?" His face said that if she didn't tell =
the truth, or if she posed a threat to Willow, he would dispose of her =
quickly.
=20
"My name is Cassandra. As for what I am . . ." here she paused, <Better =
to just tell them. Strange things happen on Hellmouths so they need to =
know what to expect around me. Plus, they know what she saw in her =
dreams. The secret's already been lost. > She continued, not showing =
the debate running through her head, "I am an Immortal. I'm not the =
only one, although there aren't that many of us. We don't know why, but =
after our first death we wake up and never age after that. We are alive. =
Immortals can die, but we don't stay dead most of the time."
=20
"Most of the time?" Giles queried, "Then what can kill you -- =
permanently I mean?" The Watcher looked fascinated.
=20
"Just decapitation. That is part of the Game." Cassandra noticed that =
this wasn't enough of an explanation to satisfy either man. The little =
redhead had waken up enough to look curious as well, <I'll need to tell =
her about this at some point anyway. > She spoke before Angel could. =
"We don't know want the purpose of the Game is; we just know that it is. =
In the end there can be only one Immortal. When one Immortal kills =
another the victor takes the power and memories of the slain in a =
Quickening. It looks like a lightening storm. We shared one through =
the link." Cassandra nodded towards Willow.
=20
"Do you have to fight?" asked Willow, leaning forward.
=20
"Some of us try to avoid it; I do, but others seek out the power =
actively. We call them headhunters. If you are challenged you =
generally have no choice but to fight if you wish to live. Going to =
holy ground helps; fighting is forbidden for us there, but that is only =
a temporary respite."
=20
"Is that why you carry a sword?"=20
=20
"Yes."=20
=20
Angel moved to stand between Cassandra and Willow. He didn't like how =
easily Willow trusted this woman. "What do you want with Willow?" His =
voice was firm.
=20
<So that's her name. > "I just am just here to train her. The =
Goddesses pulled me to her so I could do so."=20
=20
Angel opened his mouth to question her further when the door slammed =
open and Buffy and Xander came barreling into the room, escaping the =
rain.
=20
"Hey G-man," Xander flung himself on the couch, oblivious to the tension =
in the room.=20
=20
Buffy chimed in, "The rain is keeping the vamps at home, and . . . " At =
this point the Slayer noticed that there was a stranger in the room, " =
Um, . . . who are you?"
=20
Willow quickly introduced Cassandra to her friends, explaining that she =
was here to teach her magic. Neither was really willing to extend =
immediate trust to Cassandra, especially after she gave a quick recap of =
what she had already told to Willow, Giles and Angel. Willow insisted =
that she already knew a lot about Cassandra from her dreams and truly =
believed that the Immortal could be trusted. Cassandra thought, <it =
may be a good thing that she had the dreams; otherwise, her friends =
would have driven me out of town. > After several reassurances from =
Willow, the humans in the room seemed willing to accept Cassandra for =
the time being. =20
=20
Angel, on the other hand, wasn't feeling quite so trusting. <If Willow =
spends any time with this woman --- I'm going to be there too! > He =
would have interrogated Cassandra further but Willow chose that moment =
to yawn until her jaw popped. Giles stood and looked out the door.
=20
"The rain has let up. I believe we should all go get some sleep and =
continue this discussion in the morning." He turned to Cassandra; "Do =
you have anyplace to stay?"
=20
"Yes, I have hotel reservations. My car broke down, though."
=20
"We can pick up your things and drop you off on our way." At this, the =
group dispersed. Willow attempted to hobble to the door, but Angel =
firmly wrapped her back up in the blanket and carried her to the car. =
When they dropped Cassandra off, Giles promised to come pick her up the =
next day around nine.
to be continued . . .
