Disclaimer: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel" and all characters from the shows are the property of Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and the UPN and WB Television Networks. The Cthulhu Mythos material is loosely based on the "Call of Cthulhu" role-playing game (copyright Chaosium Inc.) and the book "Encyclopedia Cthulhiana" by Daniel Harms. The character of Melissa Johnson is my own invention.
Monday December 2, 2002, Early Morning: Summers' Residence Buffy enters her room and sees what appears to be her mom. Joyce says sadly "You're losing her." Buffy asks "Losing who?" Joyce replies "Losing Willow. She's turning away from you. From all of you. You do know what happened tonight?" Buffy says "We drove back an avatar of Nyarlathotep. Willow led the ritual." Joyce explains "Something else happened. A demon rose in Los Angeles with the power to blot out the sun. Willow destroyed him as an afterthought. From a hundred miles away. Just to burn off some of the energy she channeled." Buffy remarks "That would be a good thing." Joyce nods. "Yes, but all the power she absorbed. It's changing her. Making her less human." Buffy shakes her head. "Giles said..." Joyce interrupts. "Giles sees her as a useful weapon. The Watchers are trained to be ruthless. That's why he could kill Ben." Buffy looks startled. Joyce pauses a moment and then continues. "You didn't know that? I'd have thought he would tell you." She pauses again. "I have to tell you this. Giles isn't close enough to Willow to see the danger. You have to watch Willow. Watch her and maybe stop her. You're the only one who can." Buffy begins "Tara..." Joyce says firmly "She's too blinded by love. You're the only one who can see what's happening. It's all up to you." Buffy protests "She's still Willow. She's still my best friend." Joyce replies "Maybe. For now." She vanishes. Monday December 2, Early Morning: Summers' Residence Tara is in her and Willow's room. She senses something behind her. She turns around and sees what appears to be her mom. Her mom says firmly "I need to talk to you alone." She pauses. "Willow is dangerous. She's attracted to the darkness. Just like last year." Tara protests. "She's b-better now. She's learned to control her powers." Her mom replies "Tainted power. Dark magic. And she almost completely lost control tonight." Tara explains "That was only because she needed to channel so much energy. She's usually fine." Her mom responds "Maybe." She pauses. "She used blood magic to bring you back." Tara says "D-Dawn agreed to it and Willow only needed a little of her blood." Her mom continues "But Willow had help, didn't she? Do you know everything he did? Do you really even know everything that Willow did?" She pauses. "A life for a life. A death for a death." She vanishes. Tara stares uncertainly after her. Monday December 2, Early Morning: Summers' Residence Willow is having a snack in the kitchen. She hears something outside. She opens the door and sees what appears to be Drusilla. Drusilla tells her "The darkness. It draws me. So much darkness. It pours from you." Willow shakes her head. "That's not true." Drusilla continues "Pours from you. Soon it will swallow you and everyone around you." Willow stares at her. Then she senses a motion to her left and glances toward it. When she glances back, Drusilla has vanished. Willow says quietly "It's not true. It's not." Monday December 2, Morning: Summers' Residence Willow and Tara are in the kitchen. Tara asks, in a concerned tone, "Are you sure you're all right? You looked a bit drained last night." Willow replies "I'm fine." She pauses. "See." She floats a pan onto the stove. "In fact." She smiles and opens the refrigerator door magically and then floats two eggs and a stick of butter over to the stove. She notices Tara's look of disapproval and her smile fades. "Just a demonstration." Monday December 2, Morning: Giles' Residence Buffy and Giles are in the living room. Buffy says "I'm worried about Glory. With everything else that's going on, the last thing we need is for her to make another appearance." Giles says firmly "Don't worry. She won't be back. I'm sure of it." Buffy studies him for a moment and then nods. "What about Willow? Is she going to be all right?" Giles reassures her. "She'll be fine. Don't worry about it." He pauses. "That reminds me. Alkindi mentioned something about your new sword. He said that one of its powers is defending against magical attack. He also promised to send us whatever information he can find once he gets home." He pauses again. "Quentin's leaving too, although he said he had some business to take care of before he returned to England." Monday December 2, Morning: Spike's Crypt Willow walks in and sees Spike. She asks "Spike, do you know if Drusilla is back in town? I thought I saw her last night." Spike shakes his head. "Don't think she is, Red." He pauses. "But I'll ask around if it'll make you feel better." Monday December 2, Morning: Melissa Johnson's Residence Tara and Melissa are sitting in the living room. Tara asks hesitantly "Did you ever find out anything more about the ritual Willow used to bring me back?" Melissa shakes her head. "There isn't much written about the Arawn's Cauldron ritual. It seems to be from ancient oral traditions, which appear to be lost. I think there were several variations but there isn't much detail on any of them." Monday December 2, Night: Magic Box Melissa, Giles, Anya, Tara, Willow, Xander, Buffy, Spike, and Dawn are meeting in the back room. Giles explains "A police officer was attacked yesterday by a large creature. It appears to have come out of one of the tunnels. I talked to his partner in the hospital. He was mostly incoherent but what he could describe sounded like a shoggoth." Buffy asks "So what does this shoggoth look like and how do we kill it?" Giles replies "A huge black mass of protoplasmic bubbles fifteen feet in diameter. It usually gets longer and narrower when it's moving. It kills by crushing its victim or by engulfing it and tearing it apart. It's almost invulnerable to physical weapons or magic that mimics such weapons. Even your sword will be of little use since a shoggoth has no vital organs to hit. Fire and electricity do more damage, but it has some resistance even to them." Buffy considers. "We set a trap for it. Set up something to ignite when the shoggoth passes. Then shoot flaming arrows from cover." Melissa replies "We have to be able to locate it. We've rigged up magical tracking devices that can be implanted using a crossbow." She glances at Giles. "Two teams of three each?" Giles nods. "Each team will start searching in the tunnels near where the officer was killed. Don't try to fight the shoggoth. Just find it, implant the tracking device and run to the nearest exit." Monday December 2, Night: Tunnels beneath Sunnydale Buffy, Willow, and Xander are walking cautiously through a tunnel. Xander is carrying a crossbow. Buffy hears something and then sees a shoggoth approaching. Xander fires the crossbow, implanting the tracking device. The three of them then run away but soon see six Harbingers in front of them. The Harbingers draw their knives and slowly advance. Xander loads the crossbow and fires, dropping a Harbinger. Buffy draws her sword and charges. Willow turns around and takes a few steps toward the advancing shoggoth. She points her hand toward it, says "Ignite," and the shoggoth bursts into flames. Willow watches for a few moments and then turns back around. Meanwhile, Buffy slashes one Harbinger, then a second. A third Harbinger tries to flank Buffy but Xander shoots it with a crossbow bolt. Buffy slashes a fourth Harbinger and the remaining one runs. Buffy turns around and walks back toward the others. She stares at the flaming shoggoth. Xander remarks "That looks impressive." Buffy nods uncertainly. Tuesday December 3, Night: UC Sunnydale, Porter Dorm Willow and Tara enter a party and walk through the room. Suddenly Tara stops. "I felt something go off. Like a magical trigger." They carefully make their way through the crowd and see smoke coming from the corner of the room. Willow reaches for Tara's hand and says "Shift." The crowd disappears and Tara looks startled. A creature that looks like a green hairless dog appears in the corner. It's covered in what looks like blue pus. Willow sends a blast at the creature and it drops. She again says "Shift," the creature disappears and the crowd returns. Tara stares at Willow. "I ... I think we should go." Tuesday December 3, Night: Summers' Residence Willow and Tara are in their room. Willow tells her "Say it. You've been wanting to say something all the way home." Tara says hesitantly "I'm a little worried about what you've been doing lately." Willow replies "Fire was the best way to deal with the shoggoth. And did you really want me to fight a Hound of Tindalos in a crowded room? No one was hurt. Most of them won't even have noticed that anything happened." Tara continues "What if something had gone wrong?" Willow responds "It didn't." She pauses. "Don't you trust me?" She pauses again. "You don't trust me." Tara shakes her head. "It's not that. It's just... I just... I'm worried that you might be getting reckless again." Willow asks angrily "So the last few months don't mean anything?" Tara responds "They mean a lot." She pauses. "Willow, I..." Willow interrupts "Forget it. Just forget it." Tara's expression changes. "Willow, aren't you coming to bed?" Willow asks, in a puzzled tone, "You're not still upset?" Tara replies "Upset about what?" Willow pauses. She gets a horrified expression on her face. "T-Tara, you do remember our argument?" Tara's eyes widen. "What did you do?" Willow answers quietly "I don't know." She pauses. "We were arguing. You were worried I was getting reckless with magic. I got upset and..." She pauses again. "I said 'forget it' and that must have... I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't do it on purpose. Please believe me. Please?" Tara considers. "All right. I believe you. But we'd b-better tell the others about this." Willow nods. "M-Maybe it would be safer if I slept downstairs tonight." Tara shakes her head. "If you're going to cast something you could do it just as easily from downstairs." She smiles. "Besides, I'd miss you." Wednesday December 4, Afternoon: Magic Box Melissa, Giles, Willow, Tara, Buffy, and Dawn are in the back room. Willow relates the events of the previous night. Melissa comments "Unconscious spellcasting. Interesting." Giles remarks "It could be an aftereffect of the ritual Sunday night. Willow did absorb a great deal of power." Buffy studies Giles for a moment, then asks Melissa "What about the shields you taught us? Shouldn't they have stopped this?" Melissa says "Perhaps." She concentrates on Willow and Tara. "Tara, you seem to have left an open channel between you and Willow. You need to shield that channel." She pauses. "I'll also try to work with Willow on controlling her new powers." She pauses again. "You said someone summoned a Hound of Tindalos?" Willow nods. "I think it was a test. To see what we were capable of." Wednesday December 4, Night: Summers' Residence Tara is in the living room. She sees what appears to be her mom. Her mom tells her "It's started." Tara replies "It was an accident." Her mom asks "Like last year?" Tara responds "This is d-different. She told me as soon as she realized what happened." Her mom says firmly "Maybe it was an accident. This time. But how do you know she told you everything? Or that it won't happen again?" She vanishes. Wednesday December 4, Night: Magic Box Willow is in the back room preparing to leave when she sees what appears to be Veruca. Veruca says, in an approving tone, "I'm impressed. I always used to wonder what Oz saw in you. It turns out you're more of a wolf than he ever was." She grins. "Mess with Tara's mind and tell her it was an accident. You even got her to believe it." Willow protests "It's the truth." Veruca nods. "Right. Stick to that story. It worked once, it might even work the next time." Willow says firmly "There isn't going to be a next time." Veruca responds "You're a predator. Just like me. You just use magic instead of claws and teeth." She vanishes. Wednesday December 4, Night Buffy is patrolling in a cemetery when she sees what appears to be her mom. Joyce says sadly "I didn't want to be right about Willow." Buffy responds "She didn't do it on purpose." Joyce continues "Maybe. But it's only the start. Why do you think your new sword chose you?" Buffy answers "Because it's a weapon against demons and I live on the Hellmouth." Joyce says firmly "That's only part of it. I know you don't want to hear this but it's the truth. When the time comes, you may need the sword to stop Willow." She vanishes and Buffy stares after her. Wednesday December 4, Night: Near Spike's Crypt Willow is walking cautiously and sees Spike. She explains "I was looking for you. Have you heard anything about Drusilla?" Spike responds "No. If she's in town, she's keeping a low profile. Doesn't sound like her." He pauses. "So why are you really here?" Willow says "I told you why." Spike grins. "Right. You went wandering around in the middle of the night just to ask me about Drusilla." Willow says "I did." She pauses for a few moments. "All right. When I saw Drusilla she said darkness was going to swallow me. Then tonight I saw Veruca and she said I was a predator." She pauses again. "I needed a walk to clear my head." Spike shakes his head. "I'll never understand you lot. You say you're all best friends but you never tell each other anything important." Willow protests "That's not true." Spike grins. "Right. So how did Buffy react to the news?" He pauses. "Xander then. Giles? At least tell me you told Tara." Willow stares at him for a moment. "I'd better go." She turns and leaves. Wednesday December 4, Night: Summers' Residence Willow and Tara are in their room. Willow says hesitantly "We need to talk." She pauses. "That night we came home after the ritual, I thought I saw Drusilla. She said my darkness was going to swallow me and everyone around me. Then earlier tonight I thought I saw Veruca. She said I was a predator like her except that I use magic instead of claws and teeth." She pauses. "I should have told you this before. I don't know why I didn't." Tara smiles. "I understand." She pauses. "I thought I saw my mom. She warned me about you. Said your power was t-tainted." She pauses again. "I should have told you. I just didn't want you to think I still didn't trust you." Willow squeezes Tara's hand. "Sometimes I don't trust me." She pauses. "That's why I was so upset last night. I got scared. And I kind of overcompensated." Tara nods. "I was scared too. I didn't believe her but I still started looking for signs she was right." She pauses and her eyes widen. "Th-That was the reason for the Hound. To remind me of last year so we'd have an argument." She pauses again. "You were probably right about the Hound. And about the shoggoth." Willow nods. "Thanks. But you weren't wrong either. I wasn't being careful enough." She winces. "I'm so sorry for what I did." She pauses and continues hesitantly "Tara, what if it really was your mom? What if she was right about me? What if all of them were right?" Tara squeezes Willow's hand. "It doesn't matter who it was. She was wrong about you. And so were the others." Thursday December 5, Afternoon: Magic Box Melissa, Giles, Xander, Dawn, Buffy, Willow and Tara are in the back room. Willow and Tara tell the others about their ghostly visitors. Buffy hesitates and then tells about her own visitor. Giles considers a moment. "Sounds like the First is trying to throw us off-balance." Xander responds "But it didn't work. We're alerted now." Willow says quietly "Didn't it work? I hurt Tara." Xander reassures her. "So you learn how to control your powers better and everything's fine again." Giles replies "It's not quite that simple. But all things considered, we didn't come out too badly this time." He pauses. "One other thing. Quentin called. He said he was sending reinforcements." Monday December 9, Evening: Summers' Residence Buffy answers the door and sees Faith standing there. Faith grins. "Hi, Buffy. Quentin arranged for my release from prison. Don't ask me how." She pauses. "So can I come in?" Buffy responds "Uh, sure." Faith walks into the living room. "Got out last Friday but I stopped off in L.A." She pauses. "Angel says hello." She pauses again and looks around. "Looks pretty much the same. Except I see you have some wicked new furniture." Buffy rolls her eyes. "Quentin did say he was sending reinforcements." She pauses. "I suppose I'd better get you caught up on what's been happening."