Title: Everything Changes
Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)
Rated: R
Pairing: W/Edward
Summary: Something's going wrong in Sunnydale.
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS stuff doesn't belong to me - it belongs to Joss and Co. Anita Blake and cast belong to Laurell K Hamilton.
Distribution: Sunnydale Connection - all others please ask.

~*~Part One~*~

It had been three years since Willow left Sunnydale when she got the ill-fated email that would send her back to the town she had come to despise. The world outside of Sunnydale's border was so much more fun than her stuffy little town. And, while there were monsters all over the place, the ones in Sunnydale were just downright cruel. They were the fringe of society, the lawbreakers and deviants. She had thought she knew about the world, thought that it wasn't that different from where she came from. But she had been wrong.

Very wrong.

Within two months of leaving Sunnydale for the plush programming job she had been offered in Tucson, Willow had discovered up close and personal the reality of everything. There were items on television everyday over vampire rights, rights for the furry, and other such silliness. She didn't think it was silly for any bad reason like believing werewolves, vampires, even zombies didn't deserve rights. No - she thought it was silly because shouldn't they have always had rights? Sure, there were the ones living back in Sunnydale, that were so twisted by the demonic energy of the Hellmouth that they couldn't function rationally. Those poor creatures needed to just be put out of the misery. The ones outside of all of that, though, they deserved to be treated like normal human beings. Sure, they were dead or diseased - but hadn't they all been human at some point? And didn't all human beings deserve the same rights?

That was one of the reasons she had left her first employer after only two months of working there. They were off the wall vampire fanatics - but not in the 'let's all be friends' type of way. No, these people wanted to see all vampires eradicated from the face of the earth. Willow just didn't think that was right.

She had found another employer easily, this one a much better match to her own personal views and experiences. The company was owned by an alpha werewolf and specialized in programs for small to medium businesses. Anything from sale software to customer databases. They did it all. He didn't tolerate anyone on his staff that expressed any of the views her former employer had. And for that she was grateful. Work there was fun, laid back, and offered her more than enough money to take care of all of her needs and wants. After two years she had discovered someplace she really fit in.

And then the emails started.

The first one she disregarded as an overly paranoid attempt on Xander's part to her back to Sunnydale. The second one she took a little more seriously. It spoke of Buffy. But not the Buffy as she had once known her. A Buffy that had, instead, been warped and twisted by something Xander couldn't put a name on. She had become cold, cruel. And he had a sneaking suspicion that she was behind some of the latest murders that had ran rampant through the small town.

But he had no proof.

And so she had written back to him, nervously, letting him know that if he could give her one scrap of proof that Buffy had somehow gone bad, she would be on the first plane out. She would ride in to his rescue and try to figure out what had happened if only he could tell her that he knew for absolute sure that Buffy had flipped out.

It was the third email she got that sent her into a state of near panic.

It wasn't from Xander, though.

** Willow,

I know it's been at least a month since I had a chance to write to you last. How's everything going over there? Me and Ri are good. Touring the country, fighting evil and righting wrongs - you know, the typical husband/wife thing. Anyone new in your life? Someone special that Ri and I can double date with you on next time we're in town?

Have you heard anything from back home lately? I know you and Xander still keep in contact. Has he said anything about, well, anything odd going on? We've had rumors, some reports sorta, of some bad things happening.

Bad things involving Buffy.

Which brings me to the real reason for my email. Ri and I need a favor. We have a contact we need to send in to investigate these rumors. But he needs an 'in' with the locals, something to make him not stand out quite as bad as he would otherwise. We were wondering if you could be that 'in'.

Send me an email if it's cool with you and a good time to call. If you don't feel comfortably with it, just tell me to scram, I'll understand. Really, I will.

Let me know, Will.

Love,
Riley and Sam***

Willow just stared at the email in shock, her mind whirling at a million miles a second. Sam had heard rumors about the things going on in Sunnydale? Maybe Xander wasn't nuts, after all. But, if that was the case, it meant Buffy had crossed the line; meant that there may be no redemption for one of her best friends.

She sighed, closing her email program. It was lunchtime. She'd think about Sam's request for her to be what amounted to a spy against Buffy and get back to her after she ate. If what Xander had hinted to her was true, Buffy would need to be stopped. The Slayer would need to be neutralized. There had always been the chance that this would happen; that the mystical energies of the Hellmouth would corrupt her the same way it did other supernatural creatures.

And who better to take care of it all than her?

~*~Part Two~*~

Willow glanced at her phone, at her computer screen. Phone. Computer screen. Phone again. She sighed, putting her head down into her hands. Sam would be calling any minute now and they'd go over exactly what it was that she wanted Willow to do. Whatever plan it was they had come up with to get their agent into Sunnydale.

On a deeper level, one that she didn't care to truly admit to for the most part, Willow was bothered by the fact that she was going back to Sunnydale not to just visit her friends, but to aid the government with spying on Buffy. She owed it to everyone to do it, though. If Buffy had gone rogue it was for everyone's best benefit that they dealt with it now. Contained her and kept her away from the general public. It all made perfect, logical sense.

But, damn, it hurt.

Despite the fact that she hadn't spoken to Buffy since the day she left Sunnydale, oh so many years before, she still felt a type of allegiance to the perky blonde. The woman had, after all, saved her life on more than one occasion. Was it really fair of her to do this? To go there and plot against her?

'Stop it.' She ordered herself. 'If Buffy has gone bad it could be very bad. And poor Xander still has to live there with her! You need to do it at least for him.'

And that was what had convinced her in the end. The fact that Xander had to live in Sunnydale with Buffy. If she had truly gone astray wouldn't he eventually end up getting hurt - or worse? She didn't even have to think about it for a second to know she'd never be able to forgive herself if Xander got hurt because she didn't act.

So, after her lunch break, she had calmly come back to her desk, opened up her email and answered Sam that she would be glad to help her out if she thought there was truly a need. She had given the older woman her phone number. Sam had responded back as quickly as though she were sitting right at her computer, waiting for Willow to get back to her. She would call at two.

Right about now.

The gods that lord over coincidence must have been reading Willow's mind because the phone rang at that moment. The noise was sudden and made her jump; startling her out of the train of thoughts she had been in previously. She licked her lips and placed a hand on the receiver, taking a deep breath before picking up.

"Hello?"

"May I please speak with Willow Rosenberg?"

The red head laughed softly. "It's me Sam."

"Thought so. Couldn't be too sure, though."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence and Willow could almost picture Sam sitting there, a thoughtful look on her face as though she really wanted to take back her request. That was just the type of person Sam was.

"Come on, Sam." Willow chuckled. "Out with it. We both know why you called."

"I know. I know."

There was a sound like a deep breath being taken in and released and Willow smiled. "I wouldn't have agreed to do it if I didn't mean it, Sam. Stop feeling so guilty. Picture my resolve face and know I mean it."

That got a laugh.

"Fine. I know. You didn't have to agree. But you're a civilian. Well, Ted is too. But that's beside the point. He's - different."

"Ted?" Willow asked, her forehead scrunching up in confusion. She didn't remember any emails concerning a 'Ted'.

"The guy we're sending in to investigate the rumors about Buffy."

"Ah." The red head sighed. "Tell me what's going on, Sam. I need to know. Xander wrote something the other day… but I thought he was being paranoid. What happened and why do you think it was Buffy?"

"There have been bodies turning up around town." Sam began, her words halting, as though she were afraid that she would say something to offend Willow. "At first they were just the bad sort of demon, the kind we were happy to see get torn to itty bitty pieces - even if it literally was itty bitty pieces, mind you. Some of the bodies we found were mutilated almost beyond recognition. They looked like they had been tortured."

The other woman stopped speaking and Willow waited patiently for her to continue. It was hard for the other woman, she could tell, to discuss this. Which led the witch to wonder what was coming next. Her eyes roamed over the cubicle she called her workspace - over the small figurines, mostly of strong-looking supernatural women, that she had begun to collect. They were lined up on one side of her desk, staring at her. Was it just her imagination or did they look more sad tonight?

Finally Sam began to speak again.

"A few weeks of that went by and then it stopped. We thought whoever was doing it got tired of it." She laughed and the sound was harsh. "If only that were the case. It seems by that time there weren't any more 'bad' demons left in Sunnyhell. They all fled for their lives. That's when the 'good' demons started turning up. They were chopped up even worse than the last set and it was apparent to those of us who looked over their bodies that a good majority of it had been done before they were killed. Whoever did this tortured them to death."

This time when Sam paused Willow couldn't wait. She could hear her heart thudding in her ears, the pressure almost painful. "And --?" The quiet prompt seemed like little more than a whisper to her own hearing.

"And then they found George. And Lisa. And Tony. And five others that we still haven't been able to get identification on because they were torn up too badly."

"Damn." Willow whispered.

"Yeah. You can say that again. These were human beings, Willow. They didn't deserve this. It extends past that, though. The killer has been murdering any lycanthropes it catches in Sunnydale. Hanging their skins out on the 'Welcome' sign at the edge of town."

"What? But - a lycanthrope skin would look just like a human one when they die."

"I know." Sam sighed. "Which makes it all the worse, I suppose."

Willow sat in silence for a moment, trying to digest the information she had been given. There was one thought that was burning in the back of her mind though. A question that she had to have answered. "What makes you think it was Buffy?"

"There was a witness to just one of the attacks. They didn't get a good look at the attacker but they saw enough to know it was a blonde haired girl with unusual strength."

The red head felt as though her heart had been torn out, stomped on, and then put into a blender to be diced into so much puree. She wanted to scream, cry, and wail about the inhumanity of the attacks. But she didn't. Instead she could only think of one thing to say.

"Fuck."

Same laughed, the same bitter sound that Willow had already heard once that night. "You can say that again."

So she did - repetitively for the next ten minutes. Until she had gotten it out of her system. It was too much to hope that the little outbursts would make her feel better. Because they didn't.

Yep - far too much to hope.

~*~Part Three~*~

Sam and Riley were quick about getting to her once she agreed. If Willow hadn't known better she would have even thought that the wedded duo were waiting in some nearby city for her to make her decision.

But they wouldn't do anything like that - would they?

Less than twenty-four hours after she had spoken with Sam she was meeting with them at her apartment. She had already spoken with her boss and arrange to work from the road while she dealt with 'an emergency back home'. It was the truth, as much as it was. There was an emergency, and it was back home. He didn't need to know that she was going to investigate one of her former best friends for murder, did he?

Willow opened the door of her apartment, giving Sam and Riley a bright smile.

"Hey guys!"

There was much hugging between the three of them. For Willow it felt good just to be held. It had been too long since she had been in the presence of her true friends. So long since she had ventured out for a life on her own and left everything she knew behind. It felt good just to see them again, to know that they were still her friends and still cared for her.

Pulling back from Riley's last embrace, she saw the man they had brought with them. He was standing in the hallway still, a quiet look on his face. His hair was blonde and she could see already that his eyes were blue, though they held an odd darkness to them that she just couldn't place. It was something that she had seen somewhere else before, a quiet cold that filled the soul to the brim and left little for anything else. Sam had said that he was a special agent; Willow was guessing that that wasn't the only thing he was.

"You must be Ted." She smiled brightly, venturing to the doorway.

He looked over her head and she turned to see that Riley and Sam were both looking at him, as if waiting to see what he would do. Sam nodded ever so slightly. It was puzzling to Willow and she didn't like the feeling that she was being left in the dark about something. But there wasn't much she could do. So much of what her two friends did for a living was top-secret hush-hush type stuff. Asking the wrong questions could get her, and them, into trouble.

And she didn't want that.

"And you must be Willow." He replied at last, flashing her a smile. His voice was quietly charming with a slight drawl to it. A good old boy.

"Yep." She murmured, refusing to blush at the calm, appraising way he was looking at her. It was like she was being sized up. "That would be me. Come in?"

"Thanks." Again the smile. The one that didn't quite make it to his eyes. Did his eyes ever show any emotion? Was there any warmth to be found in their cold depths? Or was he made of ice like some walking snow man - a creature best not to touch or get too close to lest you freeze yourself to death.

She led him into the living room, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the door had shut firmly behind her. No matter what neighborhood she lived in, the red head still found herself just as paranoid about things as she ever had been in Sunnydale.

"So - "

Her gaze jumped from Riley to Sam to Ted, watching as they each looked at each other as if to ask - 'who gets to start'? Apparently Sam was chosen as the token orator because she cleared her throat and looked towards Willow expectantly.

"Sam -" Willow snickered. "I already said I'd help you out. Stop looking like you're going to have a heart attack just sitting here talking with me. Tell me what's going to happen. I take it we're leaving tomorrow, right?"

Sam nodded, glancing at Riley for confirmation. "Plane leaves mid-morning. You'll be in Sunnydale before Noon."

"Good." Willow smiled. "That'll give us a chance to settle into a hotel and stuff before I get to do the whole reunion thing." She grimaced at the statement.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Wills." Riley reminded her. "I know how hard it was for you to leave and not look back."

The red head nodded. Yes, it had been hard. To leave her loved ones behind and make a better life for herself. But she had done it and she was strong enough to go there, do what needed to be done, and leave again.

"I know, Ri. You're not forcing me to do anything. I want to do this, I want to help."

"And if she did it?" Ted prodded.

She looked over at him, into his cold eyes, and answered him with all the detachment she could muster. "Then she'll need to be dealt with."

"And how does one deal with a rogue Slayer?"

It was another penetrating question. Something she hadn't wanted to really think of until that moment. How would they deal with Buffy if she had gone bad? Magic was an option, though Willow didn't know of any spells that could permanently contain Buffy's powers. And it would take no less than permanent containment for Buffy to be able to go through a human legal system. Not even the government's holding facilities would be able to hold her for very long if she still had her powers.

That really left only one option and it was one that chilled her to the bone. If it had to be done, she wanted to be there, be the one to do it.

"Death." She said finally, hoping her voice didn't sound shaky. "Death is the only way to deal with a rogue Slayer."

Ted nodded, sitting back with a small smile on his face. He was going to like this girl.

"You and Ted will be going in as boyfriend and girlfriend." Sam continued, acting as though she hadn't noticed the exchange between her friend and associate. She didn't want to find out how Willow would react if she found out what Ted really was. Ted, or Edward as he was truly named, was nothing short of an assassin. He would go, look into things, and if there were a problem to be dealt with like there so obviously was - he would take care of it.

"Boyfriend?" Willow asked, a smile on her lips. "They're never going to believe we're dating."

Riley snickered. "Then I guess you two better get close really quick. This could go bad if Buffy figures out we sent someone to check up on her."

Willow nodded, retreating into her own thoughts. Ted wasn't a bad looking man. She could get close to him for the sake of all of this.

But could she get -that- close to him in less than twenty-four hours and still make it look convincing?

~*~Part Four~*~

"So…"

"So…?"

"Hmmm." Willow sighed, her eyes darting around the room; looking at anything except the chair in front of her. She was still sitting across the room from Ted, the man with the odd cold eyes. The one that she was supposed to be 'dating' for her trip to Sunnydale. The trip to Sunnydale that was being made solely for the purpose of finding out whether or not Buffy had lost her marbles once and for all. How in the Hell was she going to pull this off? If Buffy had gone bad she was going to see through the charade right away. There was no way they were going to be able to convince the Slayer that they were anything other than two people who had only known each other for a few hours.

"You know," Edward smirked. "This whole 'getting to know each other' bit might work better if you actually spoke."

"It's not like you're talking much either." She snapped.

He sighed, shaking his head and closing his eyes. He took back what he had initially thought about liking her. Once Sam and Riley had left she had closed up like a clam, becoming as cold and unresponsive as a piece of stone. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. He could always go in by himself, think up some asinine story and hope it stuck long enough for him to find out what was going on in the town.

On second thought, that wouldn't work.

Everything he had read on the town and been told by both Riley and Sam indicated that it was small, almost too small to even have things like a shopping mall or college. Everyone knew everyone. It was the type of place he hated. A little southwester blurb in the middle of nowhere. Not close enough to Los Angeles or San Diego to call either of the major cities 'close'. He had seen pictures of the residential neighborhoods and it brought pictures of kids playing in front yards to his mind. White picket fences and all those myths about what made a perfect home.

Except there were no kids playing out front.

Not in this city.

The place where your every nightmare had a chance of coming true and eating you for breakfast. Children and adults alike were locked up tight as money in a bank during the night, during the day. Didn't matter if the sun was right overhead or not. They were indoors; it didn't necessarily make them safe from the things that roamed their streets, but it made them at least feel secure. There were always things that could come inside and get you, though. Snatch you out of your bed or just kill you where you lay.

Not a place to raise children.

Or to live for that matter, children or not.

He had wondered at first why he had never heard of Sunnydale before when Sam and Riley had first approached him. After all, a place like that, so chock full of supernatural goodness, would have made for prime hunting grounds. And, they had explained, it was for that reason that Sunnydale wasn't high on the list of vacationing spots. Travel agents didn't know about it. Just getting a plane flight there took effort. There was currently only one airline that would even fly into it. Such were the ways in the Mouth of Hell.

Mouth of Hell.

Sounded like a fun place to visit.

"So - "

"We're back to that again?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She opened her eyes wide, their green color growing bright with irritation.

"Now you look here, Ted." She spat out his name, sliding to the edge of the couch and leaning forward. "You could try not to be so sarcastic. This is hard for me, you know. Buffy is, was, my friend. If she's gone bad, containing her will be the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

He nodded slowly. Okay. So he was being difficult. That was just his nature. And she was reacting so adorably to it, too. He particularly liked the way her pale skin took on that pink flush. Okay, so she wanted to get to know him. Peachy. It -was- necessary for their mission, after all. But that didn't mean he had to make it easy on her. The more he frustrated her, the angrier she got. And he could tell already she was going to be a firecracker once she got going.

"What would you like to talk about then?"

She looked at him for a long minute, her eyes slowly going from hard to somewhere close to normal.

"Well. I don't know." She admitted, sighing. "Are we going to be able to do this?"

He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well that wasn't the resounding vote of confidence I was looking for."

"Sorry." The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. "Don't worry. Just treat me how you treated your last boyfriend."

"He cheated on me." She deadpanned. "Do you really want me to treat you like I'd treat him? May not be healthy for you."

"But I like it rough, sweetie."

That got a full-fledged blush out of Willow. She closed her eyes, counting to ten slowly and hoping that the feeling would fade. When it didn't she risked a peek at Ted and noticed that he was smiling outright now. Damn infuriating man.

"I didn't need to know that, you know."

"Oh, but you do." Edward grinned. "You need to know everything about what I like. And vice versa. Or else how can we act like we are dating?"

Willow opened her eyes, finding herself sighing in frustration for what could only be the twentieth time since they had started the entire conversation. She nodded slowly, mentally fortifying herself for the sharing session they were about to have. But that still didn't prepare her for his next question.

"So - how do you like it in bed?"

~*~Part Five~*~

The next day dawned entirely too soon for Willow. Before she knew it she was on a plane, crossing the decidedly too-short distance between herself and the city she had tried so hard to put behind her. In all truth she had never wanted to come back here. She had wanted to stay in her own city, make a life for herself away from the tragedy the Hellmouth always seemed to bring. Xander would come visit her, Buffy would write the polite letters she seemed to think were expected, but Willow herself would just stay away.

And now… this.

She looked at Ted discretely out of the corner of her eye, wondering how this ever was going to work. It seemed like such a bad idea in the light of day, with only another hour between herself and Sunnydale. There was no way in Hell Buffy was going to think that she had been going out with Ted for any length of time. Ted just wasn't her type. He was, well, handsome. Sure, it was handsome in a rugged, cold type of way, but he was handsome.

Now, that wasn't to say that Oz had been ugly. No, Oz had been adorable, cute even. But he wasn't handsome. He was like a little kid, adorable to a fault.

Yeah, Buffy was gonna see right through this.

She sighed.

"What's wrong?"

Willow arched an eyebrow at the question posed to her by her new 'boyfriend'.

"Wrong? What could be wrong? I'm heading off to set up one of my former best friends. And I'm caught in the middle of a plan which doesn't have an ice cube's chance in Hell of actually working. What could be wrong?"

Edward smirked.

"You're thinking about it too much. Keep thinking that its not going to work and it won't."

She laughed.

He frowned. She wasn't supposed to laugh when he was giving her helpful advice. In fact, she was supposed to take the advice and calm down like a good little sidekick. But she wasn't. She was laughing.

And it was cute, he had to admit.

"Okay. New tactic. Let's get to know each other some more. Quiz time."

Willow shook her head.

"Oh, no, Mister. No more 'getting to know you time'. That involved you doing your best to embarrass me. Goddess. I've never met someone who liked making me blush quite as much as you do."

He hid a smile at that. So she knew what he had been trying to do with his questions. No big deal. Didn't mean that it made it any less easy to bring out that adorable little tinge of red on her pale skin. But that wasn't what he had meant.

"No new questions, promise." Edward flashed her a smile. "Just want to go over the old ones."

"I am -not- discussing those things on a plane!" She hissed.

Now Edward couldn't avoid chuckling.

"You really have a one-track mind, don't you? Not -those- questions. You didn't even answer those for me, remember?"

Willow flushed, feeling a blush spread across her features. Damn him! This was all a game to him. Why couldn't she be that nonchalant about it? Oh for that gift!

"What I was talking about," Edward continued. "Were those little things we found out about each other. I'll start. What's my favorite color."

Ah ha! That was easy enough.

"Red." She answered immediately. A little of the tension left her body. So, for once, he didn't seem to be trying to get the better of her. She could handle that. "Mine?"

"Green. Your turn. Ask me a question."

She thought for a moment and then, "Favorite movie."

He shook his head, smiling ever so slightly. He remembered this one mostly for the story she had told along with it, the tale of herself and her friends Xander and Jesse watching it every night one summer during their childhood. They had had what he had never had - a normal upbringing. And for that he felt a little jealousy. Not much, but a little. "Goonies. Mine?"

That brought her up short. Had she ever gotten an answer to that question the night before? She bit her lip and launched her memories back to the night before, momentarily blocking out the man sitting next to her in her search for the answer.

Edward watched the red head, his eyes locked on her teeth as she chewed lightly on her lower lip, sucking the pink length in and out of her mouth. It was sensual, but not in a deliberate way. If she knew how to be purposefully sensual he would hang up his gun forever. Sure, she might have an idea, but he knew without even asking around that she had never put her womanly wiles to use. She was the one that was always seduced, never the seducer. No, the things she did that were sexy were just about as innocent as gestures of that nature could be.

And that just made them all the more intoxicating.

He knew that he was getting to attached to her. She was just a girl, after all. Just another sidekick to go off on an assignment with. If she knew who he was, and what he really was, she'd never speak to him again. Did she know that people such as him existed? That there were assassins in the world that made their living killing other people for money?

Did she have any idea she was sitting next to Death?

Anita knew and considered him a friend. But she was far different from Willow. She was, in her own way, a psychopath just like he was. The red head sitting next to him? He doubted she knew what a psychopath was outside of the textbook definition. She would run screaming in the other direction if she knew how easily he would kill the Slayer if he found out she had turned rogue. He'd make it sporting, of course. Set her loose with her weapon of choice and then hunt her like an animal. She was the ultimate sport. A creature that was born solely to kill and slay. Just like him.

Yeah, he thought wryly, better to not fall for Willow.

She would never be able to handle who he really was.

~*~Part Six~*~

The plane touched down on time, an amazing feat for an airline, Willow knew. Somehow, though, she thought it was Fate's way of jerking her chain. Why would the plane arrive on time when all she wanted was for it to be late? The later it arrived the less time she'd have to spend with Xander and Buffy. For today, at least.

She pulled her bag from the overhead compartment and set off down the aisle of the nearly deserted plane, not stopping to see if Ted was behind her. He'd catch up, probably with some sort of annoying look on his face. The kind that made her not know whether to slap him or kiss him.

Kiss him?

Her jumbled thoughts ran headlong into each other with that stumbling block of a stray thought. Since when had she wanted to kiss Ted? She frowned, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, and continued sulkily down the ramp towards the gate. Only when she was halfway there did she turn around and look for her 'boyfriend', noting that he was no more than a few feet behind her. He had a smug look on his face. Great. Just the type of look she had been hoping -not- to see from him.

"You ready to do this, Red?"

She raised an eyebrow at the nickname but didn't comment on it.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I guess."

"Good enough."

He took her hand, then, and led her out of the ramp and into the lobby area of the Sunnydale airport. She saw Xander first and gave a little squeal of happiness. Despite the reason she was there, she was still happy to see him. She threw her arms around his neck, holding him tight. Her eyes shut with happiness and she allowed herself to just breathe in the scent of his aftershave.

"Good to see you, too." He mumbled into her hair.

"Willow."

The red head took a deep breath, even if only mentally, and steeled herself for the next person she needed to greet. Buffy. When she had left Sunnydale they had barely been speaking, hardly been friendly. That was due, in part, to the reason she had left. Over use of magic and almost getting Dawn killed. Dawn, who was now happily living with her father, far away from the Hellmouth and all of the bad memories it contained. Buffy had always seemed strained after that when she was around Willow, as though it was all she could do to be civil.

"It's so good to see you again, Wills."

Buffy was hugging her before Willow could even think to put any space between the two of them. She wrapped her arms around the blonde, trying to put on a good show; a show worthy of an academy award. Fighting back the knowledge she had of the events that had been taking place in Sunnydale within the recent weeks, Willow forced herself to look as pleasant as possible.

"Buffy. You look well."

Okay. It sounded stiff. Formal. She knew that. But it wasn't as though the blonde and herself were on the greatest of terms to begin with. They had had their falling out before she even left Sunnydale the first time. That was one of the reasons that this stood a chance of working in the first place. If things seemed a little off it could all be attributed to the bad blood they had experienced between them in the past.

"So do you." Buffy smiled. Was it just Willow, or did the smile seem completely faked, as though the Slayer was trying a little too hard to make things 'normal' between them and make it so that there was little, if no reason at all, to think that anything was amiss in Sunnydale.

"Who's your friend?" Xander asked.

Willow turned, noting that Xander's eyes were practically glued to Ted. The blonde haired man was, for his part, just standing there with a completely neutral smile on his face. She knew he'd have something to say later. There was a little glint in his eyes that she already recognized; it meant he had seen something interesting. Was it the same thing she noticed? That Buffy seemed to be staging her actions very well? Or was it something totally different altogether? She'd be sure to ask when they got to their hotel.

"This is Ted." Willow smiled. "My boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Xander murmured. His eyes glazed over in thought and then he shook his head. Whether or not he remembered Willow mentioning a boyfriend it didn't matter. She was here to visit and he was going to make her stay as pleasant as possible. "It's nice to meet you Ted. I'm Xander."

"Pleasure's all mine." Edward drawled, his tone as friendly as could be. Gone was the calculating agent that Willow had known during their get to know each other time and in his place was a good old boy. The type of man that might hang out in one of Sunnydale's bars or clubs. "Willow's mentioned you."

Xander smiled at that.

"Did she mention me as well?" Buffy simpered, gliding up to Edward and holding out her hand. She gave him a winning smile. This wasn't faked, it was pure Buffy. The Buffy that Willow had known right before she left. The one that was willing to do anything to make herself look good in the eyes of others; even if they were a friend's boyfriend.

"I'm sure she did." Edward smirked, shaking her hand. "Buffy, right?"

"The one and only."

Now, Willow wasn't known for fits of jealousy, even when the feelings she felt toward someone were real. But the way Buffy was acting was just downright uncalled for. Whether or not Ted was really her boyfriend, she wasn't just going to stand there and let the blonde flirt outright with him.

"Well." Willow smiled coldly. "Nice to know some things never change." Her eyes were hard. "Xander. You gonna be driving us to the hotel? Ted and I could use a little rest and quality time together. If you know what I mean. That plane ride was so nerve wracking. Bumps and jumps." She linked her arms through Ted's and brushed her body up against his. A silent warning to Buffy: mine, stay away.

"Sure thing." Xander nodded. He hadn't missed Buffy's flirting nor the dangerous look in Willow's eyes. Those two needed to be separated before something bad happened. And he needed some time away from Buffy to speak in private with Willow. To see if maybe she noticed the same things he had been noticing and if she had any theories on the deaths that he had emailed her about. Buffy had driven herself to the airport, so there was no reason why they couldn't part ways right at that moment for all he cared.

The look in her eyes when he turned to her was as cold as ice, something he had grown slowly used to over the past weeks, months. Gone were the eyes that used to sparkle with blue sunshine and in their place were eyes that he recognized but hadn't quite been able to place yet. It was like looking into something that was emotionless, cold, and dead. She had a quiet smile on her lips and there was no doubt in his mind that she knew he didn't want to be around her. He hadn't wanted her to be here today when he picked up Ted and Willow, but she had shown up at the last minute anyway, insisting on following him to the airport to greet her 'friend' properly. Was this properly? Practically jumping Willow's boyfriend right there in front of the sweet red head?

And what about that boyfriend? Xander knew for a fact that Willow had never mentioned dating anyone. But he wasn't going to mention that in front of Buffy. It would give her even more of a reason to act like a dog in heat around him or, at the worst, a reason to be paranoid.

And he didn't want to give her any reason to unleash her now famous paranoia on any of them. He had already dealt with it enough in recent times.

"We'll all come by later to talk and reminisce." He assured the Slayer, leading Willow and Ted away from her as fast as he could without it seeming forced or hurried.

"We just need to get our bags from the luggage claim." Willow murmured. She had noticed Xander's own eagerness to get away from Buffy and filed it away for later, when they were all alone in his car or at the hotel. Xander had always been one of Buffy's loyal protectors and now he couldn't get away from her quick enough it appeared. A quick glance at Ted confirmed that he was wondering the same thing that she was.

What had changed?

~*~Part Eleven~*~

That afternoon was spent researching, with Willow finding things just as Xander had said – there was little to nothing on the internet or any of the groups she belonged to relating to a demon called Meczyara. It was frustrating to know the demon’s name, to know that it probably had something to do with what was happening to Buffy, and not be able to locate even the smallest scrap of information on it. What ever this demon was, it was something awful, she was sure; something so bad that it had never been committed to paper and pen. Probably information was spread by word of mouth. But who would know about it was the question she couldn’t figure out.

The little information she had been able to find indicated that Meczyara was not the type of demon, it was the name of one particular demon. In other words, there were no others like this one. It was one of a kind, unique. That made it all the more dangerous, in Willow’s mind. One of a kind entities didn’t tend to die very easily, if nothing else their taint lingered on in spirit, defiling the place where it was killed or harming the soul of the one that did the destroying.

And Buffy had killed this demon, according to Xander. That gave her all the reason in the world to suspect that the demon’s taint lingered on, most likely within Buffy’s body.

But what had the demon been in the first place? Had it been beneficial and somehow Xander and Buffy hadn’t realized it? That was totally possible considering there was no information on the demon, its habits or its weaknesses. Without information anything was possible.

And so, she was working blindly. Emails had been sent to all of the contacts she could think of and now it was just a waiting game.

When evening came it was time for them to again put in an appearance at Xander’s house. Anya was cooking. This was, in itself, a reason to be nervous, but Buffy would be there as well and the prospect of seeing her again brought all manner of nervous butterflies to parade and dance around Willow’s stomach. Facing the blonde would be more difficult now that they had actually caught her in the act. Okay, so it was true that she hadn’t actually seen the Slayer kill anyone, but catching her standing over a dead body with glowing eyes was just as bad.

Willow gave Xander a weak smile when he opened the door. She kissed his cheek, leading Ted into the living room and settling down on the couch. The smile she gave Buffy was thin, dangerous. They weren’t on good terms and there was no real reason to act like it other than not wanting to see Anya and Xander get hurt if things turned ugly. She didn’t worry about herself or Ted, but those two would be sitting ducks if Buffy decided to turn sour.

"Surprised you came back." The blonde sneered, ignoring Willow’s false smile and cutting straight to the chase.

"Xander and Anya are my friends." The witch reminded Buffy, her own eyes cool and calm. "So why don’t we just try to be pleasant, okay?"

The blonde snorted, rolling her eyes. She looked towards the kitchen, where Xander and Anya were in the process of finishing up dinner. Something Italian in nature, by the smell of the house.

"Pleasant. Right." Buffy said finally, her eyes roving over Willow’s boyfriend with a hungry look. Was it the fact that they were both killers? Was that what was drawing Buffy to him with such a passion? Or was it that the blonde just wanted to upset and hurt her former friend in every way she knew possible, including making moves on her boyfriend.

"So, Ted." The blonde drawled, leaning forward so that her shirt fell open enough to expose the curves of her breasts. She smiled at him. "Tell me about yourself."

Edward raised an eyebrow. It was unbelievable the way this woman went from hot to cold so quickly. While he could assume that some of it was due to whatever mystical mess she had gotten herself into, he found himself wondering how much of it was just her actual personality. Willow had mentioned more than once to him that she and the blonde had been on bad terms before she had moved away. If even a fraction of what he was seeing from the Slayer was what her true personality was like, he didn’t blame the red head one bit. He even found himself feeling a bit bad for her, despite his best attempts to remain utterly detached from the entire situation.

"What do you want to know?" He asked quietly, not giving her the pleasure of any type of emotion. His voice was as cold and dead as his eyes.

"How long have you and my little Wills been dating?" She cooed, fluttering her eyelashes at him. And then, "If the two of you are really dating at all, that is. Somehow, I doubt it. I think Willow just convinced you to come along so she wouldn’t look like a total loser in front of her friends. But, come on, we both know that that’s all she’ll ever be. You can drop the act, if you want."

That just made Edward mad, and so he reacted like any boyfriend should do.

"Just acting?" He asked coldly. "Right." He leaned towards Willow, catching her trembling lips with his own. The kiss was meant to prove to Buffy that they weren’t acting; to keep their cover from being blown by the incredible rudeness of this blonde, but he quickly found that there was something more behind it, something between him and the red head that he had been trying to deny for days.

Feeling.

Her tongue flickered over his lips, seeking entry to his mouth. He granted it with a small smirk, their tongues meeting, probing and warring with each other as the simple kiss became more heated. When they pulled apart it was with surprise in both of their eyes, and desire.

Willow didn’t want to be here anymore, and it wasn’t just because of Buffy. She wanted to be back in the hotel, with Ted, doing a little more than the kissing they had just engaged in. She saw shock in his eyes, disbelief. Had he not meant to fall for her just as she had been determined not to do with him? Of course he had. He was a hitman. Having someone you cared about in his line of business would mean unequivocal heartache at some point. She’d be in danger from someone seeking revenge on him if they were together.

But, at that moment, looking in his eyes, she didn’t care.

~*~*~

They were quiet on the way back to the hotel, both of them thinking the same thing.

What were they going to do?

She had serious qualms about caring for someone in the line of work Ted was in and he had very real fears about caring for anyone. It was dangerous not only to her, but to him as well. Caring made you weak. And weakness would get you killed.

He was Death – he wasn’t supposed to be worrying about getting killed.

Willow flipped on the light switch, the room flooding with dim, artificial light. She sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at Ted with wide, green eyes. ‘What now’ was the only question running through her mind and she was desperate for an answer to it. He seemed off his game, more distant than usual, and she could only guess that it was because of her, because of the feelings he was sharing with her.

All that thinking couldn’t be good, Goddess only knew how much it annoyed –her- to think that much or that hard. To hell with his occupation or with thinking things out until they were worn down and dulled in the mind. She wanted instant action to go with the attraction she was feeling. Stress needed to be dealt with as did the feelings she was having for him.

So she did the only thing she could think of, something she had wanted to do since they had kissed so passionately in Xander’s apartment earlier that evening.

She jumped him.

The pounce, for lack of better name, caught Edward off guard and he found himself falling backwards onto the bed, his hands coming up around the red head instinctively. Her mouth was on his and gone was the petite little flower he had thought her to be. She was rough and just a touch dangerous. She wanted him, and knew he wanted her, and she was determined to have her way with him before the night was over, it seemed. He groaned as her small body moved against his.

This was bad; very, very bad.

But, Edward thought with his last coherent brain cell, it felt so, so good.

~*~Part Twelve~*~

The phone ringing the next morning woke Willow. She stretched, the small aches in her muscles bringing a smile to her face. It was the kind of aching one got after a night of really passionate sex. The kind that made your body tingle from head to toe, all the muscles spasming with repeated, orgasmic release. Her hands touched cool cloth next to her, the ringing of the phone still in the back of her mind. Ted wasn’t in bed with her. She could hear the shower running and assumed that he’d gotten up to get clean. Shame, she would have liked to shower with him. A nice, long shower with lots of touching and –

She sighed, reaching for the phone as it rang for the fifth time. The only person that had the phone number the room was Xander. He’d better have a damn good reason for disturbing her at only – she glanced at the clock, nine in the morning.

"Hello?"

"H-Hello?"

Willow raised an eyebrow. This wasn’t Xander. It was a woman. Was probably a wrong number. Great. She had been woken up for a wrong number. Oh well. She’d hang up with the confused person and jump Ted in the shower; the morning didn’t have to be a total waste.

"Can I help you?" The red head sighed, trying to sound polite. The sound of the shower was like a siren’s song, enticing her to just drop the phone back into the cradle and hop in the shower; to do dirty, sexy things with the blonde haired man that was already in there. Soapy water, steam, all the perfect components for some equally steamy sex. And wasn’t that just the thing a woman needed first things in the morning?

"Is Ted there?"

Willow sat up straight, her mouth working in silent confusion. There was a woman, on her hotel room phone, asking for Ted. The same Ted she had just spent doing the most intimate of cuddling with the night before.

"Ted’s in the shower right now. Who’s this?" She couldn’t help it. Her voice was suspicious, cautious.

"A friend. Who’re you?"

"More than just a friend." The witch smirked into the phone. The cold hand of jealousy was gripping her heart, making her a little more evil than she might have otherwise been. Was this the part where she found out Ted had a family behind her back?

"Can I leave a message for him? He asked for my help with something."

Then it dawned on Willow and she couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed for jumping right into the waiting arms of jealousy. "Did he ask you for help with the Meczyara demon?"

There was a pause and then, "Yes. How did you know?"

"Because I’ve been working on the same thing. He and I are doing this together."

"Ah."

Just that one word, but it told Willow a lot. This wasn’t Ted’s wife or even girlfriend. She was just an associate of his. A wife or girlfriend would be acting much more upset, if not flat out irate, than this woman was acting. The person on the other end of the line seemed more confused than anything, as though she truly wasn’t expecting to have another woman answer the phone. Maybe she wasn’t. Ted didn’t strike her as the type to give out all the details of his cases to people, even if they were ‘friends’.

"Let’s start over." Willow sighed, forcing a smile into her voice. "I’m Willow. Ted and I are in my hometown trying to handle a case."

"Fair enough." The other woman began. Willow could almost imagine her nodding on the other end of the line, like she herself may do in the same situation. "I’m Anita. Ted and I have done a lot of – cases – together in the past."

The way Anita said ‘cases’ made Willow wonder if she was in the same line of work as good old Ted. But to ask if the woman was an assassin would be rude and would also give away what Ted was. If Anita didn’t know, Willow certainly didn’t want to be the one to tell her.

"So – you find anything out about the Meczyara? And, please say yes, because I’m at the end of my rope here. Nothing on the internet and none of my contacts have gotten back to me yet."

"You have email." It wasn’t a question, more of a statement.

"Of course." Willow grinned. "Laptop is all hooked up and ready to receive. Got something you can send to me?"

Anita sighed into the phone. "Yeah. What’s your email? I’ll send it right over."

"Wccnhottie24@email.com. " Willow recited from memory, turning on her laptop. It powered up almost immediately. She’d need to get off the phone to use her modem.

"Got it." Anita replied after a moment of writing. "You should get the file in a minute or two. This thing is bad, Willow. Tell Ted that if he needs help he knows my number."

Willow nodded. "Will do. Was nice talking to you."

"You too."

They hung up, Willow connecting the phone line to her laptop. She waited for it to connect; praying that the answers they needed would be in the email Anita was sending to her.

~*~Part Thirteen~*~

Edward toweled off, his mind still reeling under the events of the night before. He had slept with her. With the red head that he had sworn to himself he wasn’t going to get involved with. In the space of one night, one explosive night of hot sex, she had caused him to consummate the feelings he had been trying so hard to disavow in his mind and heart. She had thrown himself at him –

‘Yeah, right. She blinked her cute little eyes and hopped in my lap and I was a goner.’ He thought, the sarcasm all too tangible despite the sentiment being only in his head.

So, she had offered herself to him and he had taken her up on it, without another thought to the consequences or what came after.

But now was the ‘after’.

And what the fuck was he going to do?

The idea of parting ways with the red head, never to see her again, didn’t sit well with him. She was someone special, someone that maybe he should take that chance with. He was still a man, after all. He still had needs of the heart and the body.

"Death has needs. Who would’ve guessed?" He muttered, pulling on his jeans. He ran a comb through his hair, staring into his own eyes in the foggy bathroom mirror.

So – she was special. But that didn’t change who or what he was. Death. An assassin. The best of the best; or so he liked to believe. He had people gunning for him all the time, on matters of revenge or just competition. Hell, he couldn’t count the number of times contracts had been put out on his own head by families of those he had killed. It was the nature of his job and there wasn’t a damn thing that could be done about it.

Which meant she would be in constant danger if she were ever targeted as his ‘woman’. And that was almost guaranteed to happen, no matter how good he was at keeping their relationship hidden from the prying eyes of the ‘public’. Someone would hurt her just to get to him, to knock him off of his game. It was what he would do in the same position. What any good assassin would do.

Sounds of movement in the other room caught his attention. He sighed. They had at least another day together before he had to make this decision. If he was lucky maybe she’d do something awful and he’d lose all feelings for her.

He knew already that that wasn’t going to happen, though. The room lights were on when he opened the bathroom door, steam preceding him into the room. He rounded the corner, noting that Willow was on the bed, laptop open.

"Your friend called while you were in the shower."

Edward arched an eyebrow. "Friend?"

"Anita?"

"Ah. Did she have any information?" He noticed that there didn’t appear to be any jealousy coming from the witch and he wondered what she and Anita had spoken about. Knowing Anita, nothing too intrusive. She knew better than to give away details about his life and work, even if Willow knew no such thing.

"Yep." Willow chirped, looking up from her screen. Her eyes trailed over his bare chest. There were still a few drops of water from the shower on him and she felt a sudden urge to lick them off of his skin. A flush crept across her face and Ted chuckled.

"Work first." He smirked. "Play later."

"Play." She snorted, muttering to herself good-naturedly. "Last night was more tiring than anything we’ve done so far concerning Buffy and he calls it ‘play’."

"What would you call it, darlin’?"

Willow flushed. "Hot, naked, steamy, passionate sex? Tiring and messy just the way it’s supposed to be?"

Edward chuckled, sitting on the bed next to her. "So – what’d Anita have to say?"

Back on neutral, totally non-sexual, ground, Willow felt the heat drain from her face and body.

"She emailed me some information concerning that name Xander gave us. I was just looking it over now."

He nodded, leaning back into the pillows to let her do her work. Her green eyes flashed from side to side as she read with seemingly the speed of thought. He could almost see her thinking as she read, putting the pieces of their little puzzle together. Well, at least he –hoped- she was putting all the pieces together. He had an itching to hunt a Slayer or, at the least, a demon.

"Oh. OH!" Willow exclaimed, bouncing up and down in her seat.

"The way you’re bouncing up and down and screaming – you sure you were just reading demon-stuff and not some good smut?" Edward leered, bringing another blush to her face.

"Shush!" The red head smirked, hitting him with a pillow. "This is it! The information we needed on Meczyara."

She cuddled up closer to him on the bed, pulling her laptop with him. Her finger pointed along the text as she summed it up for him.

"It says here that Meczyara is a Huntress demon. Her spirit inhabits whatever poor woman is nearest when she is killed. Thus, she can’t really be ‘killed’. Not like that, anyway. So – basically, Buffy can’t help herself. The demon is in her, making her kill those people."

Edward sighed, watching as his chance to hunt an actual Slayer went flying out of the window.

Willow plowed on, ignoring the disappointed groan from the man next to her.

"Anita even found the spell to rid Buffy of the demon and bind it forever. Yay!" She leaned over, kissing her companion soundly on the lips. "All we need to do is get Buffy all trussed up so we can do the spell. And then, poof, no more demon. We’re gonna bind it to some inanimate object so that it never hurts another woman."

"Sounds great." Edward forced a neutral look on his face, a neutral expression to his tone. He didn’t feel neutral inside, though. This was more than just disappointing, it was frustrating – nearly as frustrating as sitting next to a completely naked red head who kept rubbing up against him.

Willow nodded. She shut her laptop and hopped off the bed. Her nakedness either didn’t bother her or was the least on her mind as she practically bounded up and down next to the bed, eyes alight with fierce happiness. "Let me shower and then we can go get her. The ingredients for the spell are simple, the Magic Box will have them."

Edward watched her disappear into the bathroom, his eyes following the pale curves of her body until he couldn’t see them any longer. He sighed, the disappointment of losing his hunt coupled with the problems with his attachment to Willow all forcing their way to the front of his mind.

What was he going to do?

~*~Part Fourteen~*~

~*~The Night Before~*~

Xander pulled his t-shirt over his head, throwing it down onto the floor. The room was dark, a nearly full moon showing through the bedroom window, casting a silvery glow on everything. Including Anya. She looked so peaceful as she slept, so much without a care in the world. Luck didn’t begin to explain how he had managed to keep her in his life for so long.

Leaning over, the dark haired man placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He breathed in the scent of her skin, still fresh and sweet from the shower she had taken only a few short hours before. Spooning up behind her, he closed his eyes, an armd raped casually over her side.

And then the night shattered.

He heard a crash, loud and breaking in the quietness of the apartment complex.

"Wha-?"

Xander slapped a hand over Anya’s mouth, his eyes wide with fear. His heart was pounding in his ears, in his throat. He could almost taste the resounding beat of it in his mouth.

"Xaaaaaannnnndeeeerrr…."

The couple in the bed stilled, even their breathing stopping for one long moment as they fought to make sense of what they had just heard. That voice, so achingly familiar. But how? Why?

"Might as well come out here, Xan. I’d hate to have to come back and get the two of you. Things might get…ugly."

"What’s going on?" Anya hissed, sliding to the edge of the bed as Xander did the same. She knew who was waiting for her in their living room, not a doubt in her mind as to who the mysterious intruder’s identity was. But the question remained –

Why had Buffy broken into their apartment?

"I don’t know." Xander murmured. He looked around for a weapon; anything that would give him a little protection against a Slayer that had seemingly lost her mind. Seeing nothing, he walked slowly out of the room. From the hallway he could see Buffy, lounging without a care in the world on his sofa, facing him. The door was broken off of its hinges, splintered and fractured from the force of her blow. He was amazed the police hadn’t been called by one of his neighbors yet. Probably best that they hadn’t, there was no telling what Buffy might do to someone that tried to stop her at this point.

"So nice of you two to join me." Buffy sneered, standing up and pacing towards the couple. She stopped, no more than a foot from Xander, peering around his shoulder. "Scared, Anya?"

"N-No." The former vengeance demon stuttered. She didn’t like this, feeling helpless. If only for that moment she could have her powers back. Then she’d show the Slayer a thing or two about pain and terror.

"Sure you aren’t." The blonde smirked. Then her attention turned back to Xander. "You’re not my friend anymore, Xan… You’ve been thinking evil things. Saying evil things about me, behind my back. Is that the way friends act?"

Xander opened his mouth to speak, only to be silenced by a single finger, laid across his lips by Buffy.

"Shhh." She whispered. "Don’t deny it. Won’t do you any good."

"Buff –"

"I SAID ‘SHHH’!" The Slayer shrieked, her hand whipping out. She connected with Xander’s temple, closed hand, and her former friend toppled to the ground in a heap.

"You got anything to say?" Buffy smirked at Anya, waiting for the woman to say something, anything, to give her an excuse to lay her out just as she had just done to Xander. But the woman wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of even one ill-thought comment. "Oh well."

Anya never saw the fist, but she felt the pain; and then – nothing.

~*~*~

~*~Present~*~

Edward watched as Willow slammed the phone down in its cradle for what had to be the hundreth time that hour. She had been calling nonstop, over and over again, trying to reach Xander and Anya since that morning when she had gotten the email from Anya. Even when they were supposed to be home from work, they weren’t. And the Magic Box hadn’t been open all day, as far as the red head had been able to discern.

"We should go over there." Willow whispered, her voice tight with the need not to feel at that moment. Worrying over Xander and Anya before there was a good reason to worry wouldn’t do her, or them, any good. The supplies she needed for the spell had been gathered from local shops, none of which were as good as the Magic Box in her opinion, and she was all set to go. But she needed Anya’s help for this.

"Okay." Edward stood in one smooth motion, grabbing his leather duster from the back of the chair he had been sitting in. He saw Willow’s eyes wander appreciatively over his body, still very much lusting for him despite the situation they were about to go race head-on to meet. A feeling in his gut told him that Xander and Anya were –not- okay. There were too many strange coincidences for them to just be fine and off somewhere together. Too many weird things happened in this town for that to be the case.

Including one deranged Slayer wandering the streets, playing Huntress for some demon that had taken up residence in her body.

The ride to her friends’ apartment was made in silence, with the witch clutching her bag of ingredients as though it was a shield between herself and the outside world. If her friends were dead it would break her. He knew that without talking to her about it or watching her think it over. She wasn’t hardened to death the way he was, and those two meant the world to her. Hopefully, for her sake, there wouldn’t be anything too grisly waiting for them at the apartment.

She was out of the car before he had even put it in park, running up the sidewalk and into the building. He went after her, wanting to be the one to walk in the door first. If he could save her from having to see something awful, he wanted to do it. If he could keep a little of that fiery innocence alive for even a few minutes longer he needed to.

The hallway was deserted when he stepped up to the second floor. His blue eyes flew immediately to the door that he had entered numerous times over the course of his visit to the sleepy little town. There was no door there, now. What remained of it was lying in broken pieces on the ground, a few shards still attached to the hinges that hung loosely in the doorframe. Beyond that, in the apartment, he could hear Willow calling for her friends.

Edward stepped into the room, his hand under his jacket and on the handle of his gun. There was no one in the living room. No blood or signs of a struggle. And, from the confused look on the face of the witch that was just now joining him from the back, there was none of that to be found there either.

"What – " Willow began, then paused. She shook her head, her eyes misting over with worry and genuine fear. She licked her lips and began again, unknowingly echoing the words Anya had spoken the night before. "What’s going on?"

Edward thought it over in his mind. What would have had the strength to knock the door off of its hinges and then take the residents of the apartment from their bed without any sign of a struggle?

"Buffy." He said finally. "That paranoia of hers must have gotten to her."

Willow nodded. She took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. "We need to find her. She wouldn’t have taken them to her home, that would be too obvious. I’ll do another locating spell… And then…"

Edward’s lips flattened out into a thin, cold smile. "And then we do what we need to."

~*~*~

The locating spell led them out of the city, towards the hilly, mountainous region that looked over Sunnydale. Willow watched with wonder as her partner deftly crept up on the cave the spell had indicated, making no noise. She supposed that that was what it took in his line of work.

He was an assassin, after all.

That reminder hit her like a punch to the stomach and she paused, catching her breath. She had fallen for someone that was, more than likely, not always fighting on the side of the just and right. He went where the money was. And, despite knowing that, she couldn’t seem to stop those feelings that were coursing through her body each and every time they spoke, kissed, or even when she was just watching him move, like now. He was graceful, strong, and athletic.

He turned back towards her, motioning with his hand for her to join him on the narrow ledge outside of the cave. She scrambled up, doing her best to imitate his own silent movements. It took her a little longer than it had taken him, but in the end she pulled herself up next to him, panting ever so slightly.

She turned, her breath catching in her throat, and looked in the cave.

Ears. Heads. Hair. Hands. The list of body parts went on and on. And they were all here, nailed in some way or another to the cave walls. Past a bend in the cavern tunnel a fire was glowing, the flickering light extending out to illuminate the parts closest to it. Not all were human. In fact, most were clearly demonic in origin.

"Trophies." She whispered, her eyes darting to Ted’s for confirmation. He nodded and she felt bile rise in the back of her throat. This was worse than bad. It was the epitome of evil and it caused the highest feelings of revulsion to soar through her body. One way or another this had to stop. It was vile.

She turned to Ted, desperation on her face and a plan in her mind.

~*~Part Fifteen~*~

Willow poked her head around the bend in the cavern, staring in disgusted amazement. The trophies, apparently, didn’t stop at the beginning of the cave. From the little she could see they encircled the entire room. Sadness coursed through her for the loss of so many lives. Not all of those demons had been bad. Some were probably quite helpful, if not absolutely benevolent. She swallowed hard, ignoring the smell of decay around her.

‘This smell will take forever to get out of my hair.’ She seethed, pissed at the demon inhabiting Buffy’s body for yet another reason now. Turning her attention back to the cave, Willow took in the little details.

In the center of the cave was a fire and, next to that fire, she could see Xander and Anya tied and gagged. There were a few small mini-caves in the walls of this main cavern, but nothing that indicated that the system went any further on than this. Good. That would leave Buffy nowhere to run to except out the main tunnel and into Ted’s waiting arms. Now all she had to do was set her friends free and get Buffy all nice and tied up in those chains she had enhanced before leaving the hotel room. Then they could do the spell and everything could go back to normal.

Or, what passed for normal in Sunnydale, anyway.

She could hear someone speaking now. Buffy. She was taunting Xander and Anya; teasing them for their inability to protect themselves, for being weak in the large chain of life. She was a Huntress, she told them. She was the top of the food chain, the best of the best. And they were her prey. She would run them through the woods, make them beg for their lives, and then she would slaughter them like the weaklings they were.

"Stop this." Willow interrupted, when the teasing got too much to bear, when the petty scheming and disgusting machinations became too much to listen to any further. She stepped into the cave, past the safety of the tunnel where Ted lurked, waiting to do his part.

"Willow!" Buffy clapped, laughing gleefully. "So glad you could join us. I was just explaining to Xander and Anya how worthless they are and now you’re here to join in the festivity of being a loser. How marvelous. You can run scared – Just. Like. Them."

"This isn’t you, Buffy." Willow pled with her former friend, careful to keep the fire between herself and the Slayer. She knew that this meant she was also staying in Ted’s way. If she could only get the blonde to circle around; with her back to the tunnel. This couldn’t come down to a one-on-one brawl between herself and Buffy. It would end badly if that was the case. There was no way she could match strength with a Slayer.

"Isn’t me?" Buffy asked, tilting her head to the side in an expression of mock curiosity. There was a glow behind her eyes that spoiled the effect, though; the tainted glow of the demon that lurked within her. "Whaddya mean by that, Wills?"

Willow shuddered. The way Buffy said that one word, her name, was tasteless and disgusting. It conjured up feelings of wet, slimy things in the darkness.

"You’re possessed, Buffy." Willow began again, trying to shake off the creepy crawlies that were running in little imaginary lines all over her skin. Maybe it was Buffy. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was in a room full of decaying body parts. Whatever the case, Willow wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible. "There’s a demon – "

"Meczyara." Buffy finished for her. "The Huntress. The Great Goddess of all that is good and nummy. And she’s making me do horrible, bad, bad evil things." She giggled. "I know all this. You came to stop me, I presume?"

Willow nodded, letting her magic build. The fight was about to begin.

"Then let’s do this." The Slayer sneered.

~*~*~

Edward peered around the corner of the tunnel, watching as his red head went head on with the Slayer. He knew if the blonde managed to get her hands on Willow it would all be over, but so far the little witch was holding her off with some rather showy displays of magic.

It couldn’t last forever, though.

He tested the weight of the chains in his hands. How in the hell was he supposed to get these around the Slayer? It had all sounded great at first, when Willow had told him her plan, but now, under the harsh light of reality, everything was falling apart. He sighed, making a decision and reaching into his jacket and coming out with a gun. It wasn’t his normal one. No, this had been made especially for special circumstances.

Circumstances such as these.

The fight was raging on in the main cavern, Willow weakening as the moments ticked by.

He put the gun up, taking aim.

~*~*~

Willow lost her concentration when the shot went off, echoing through the cave. She looked towards the tunnel in time to see Ted duck back around the corner. The heavy hand of dread alit on her heart as she turned her eyes back to Buffy.

But the Slayer was still standing, still alive. And she was looking towards the tunnel in confusion. That’s the only reason Willow saw what she did. A mini-syringe, sticking out from Buffy’s shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief. Just a tranquilizer. Not an actual bullet.

‘Gotta remember to thank Ted for that.’ She thought.

"Your little boyfriend out there, Wills?" Now the Slayer’s speech was heavy, slurred, and when her eyes turned to Willow they weren’t nearly as sharp. Definitely dull. Just another minute and then –

Buffy fell forward, her face hitting the dirty cave floor and sending a cloud of dust into the air. Willow rushed forward, hearing the clanking of chains as Ted ran down the hall. In less than a minute they had the Slayer trussed up, hands and feet. Only then could Willow breathe a sigh of relief and look towards her friends, still bound on the floor. They were awake and wide-eyed, a definitely good sign. She pulled the gags from their mouths, starting on the knotted ropes with her hands.

"Is she…"

"Still alive." Willow answered Xander’s question before he could finish it. She tore at the knots in frustration, growling under her breath. A soft chuckle from Ted snapped her out of her anger and she turned to him, grabbing at the knife he was proffering. "Thanks."

"Anytime, Red."

"I have a spell to fix this." She began again, this time speaking directly to Anya. "But I need your help. Feel up to it?"

The former vengeance demon nodded, rubbing at her wrists and ankles. Her eyes were haunted by things Willow understood completely. It wasn’t everyday that a trusted friend tied you up and brought you to a cave filled with decaying remains.

"Okay…" Willow sighed, taking the bag Edward had brought with him. She began to lay out the ingredients, looking into Anya’s eyes. "This is how it goes."

~*~*~

Meczyara was mad.

Furious.

And more than a little irritated.

She screamed within the confines of her host’s body, watching as the little witch began to chant, oil flinging from her fingertips. It hurt. Burned, though it left no mark on the skin of her host. It hurt on the inside, where she was anchored.

She didn’t want to let go.

"I. Will. Not. Be. Cast. Out." She howled through the clenched teeth of her host.

"Don’t think you have a choice in that one, Mec." The one known as Xander quipped, a smirking grin on his face. She would have loved to rip those lips off and feast on them.

But, as the chanting grew, and an idol was forced under her hand, she knew her days of feasting were over. Her life forced began to ebb into the idol, weakening her power over her host.

And, with her last ounce of power, she screamed.

~*~Part Sixteen~*~

Willow looked around Sunnydale’s airport, thinking how good it felt to be leaving at last. This wasn’t her home anymore. Never would be again, if she had anything to say about it. But that made visiting all the easier – at the end of the day she didn’t live here anymore and could leave. She could go back to her cute little apartment that she had decorated all by herself, using tips taught on cable television. Back to her job where she was appreciated and paid all too well, had benefits and bonuses. She didn’t have to stay here.

That was the only thing that made visiting possible.

And so she had promised to visit when she had parted ways with Xander and Anya that morning. She had hugged them, tears in everyone’s eyes, and told them that she’d come back for the holidays, or sooner if her job permitted. They were her friends and the time for hiding from them simply because of where they lived was over. Sunnydale couldn’t keep her. It had no magical powers to hold her in place and trap her. Not like it had when she was younger. She was grown now, with powers and a mind of her own. Never again would she be caught under the will of the Hellmouth.

Or the Slayer.

Buffy was broken, as far as anyone could tell. She had sent letters off to the only people on the Watcher’s Council that she still knew, begging for them to send someone to help her – anyone so long as she didn’t have to face things on her own.

So far, they hadn’t responded.

Willow felt pity for the Slayer on many levels. She had to deal with the memories and images of those she had killed and, in many cases, tortured, for the rest of her life. She was staying with Xander and Anya for the time being, until she could get her wits about her again. That was good. There would be very little point in having saved her if she was just left on her own to pine herself to death.

According to Xander, the blonde was hardly sleeping, and when she did it was fitful, full of nightmares. Willow couldn’t do anything to stop those anymore than she could make the sun not shine. Those were horrors that Buffy was going to need to deal with in her own time. Maybe if they had still been friends it would have been possible for Willow to hang around a little longer, try to help her work through these things.

But they had stopped being friends a long time before this happened and there really was no going back.

The red head sighed, glancing around the airport. Ted was here, somewhere, wandering around in search of a pre-flight snack. They hadn’t really spoken about what was going to happen after this was over, even now when it was so close to ending. She was getting on her flight to go home and he was getting on his – to presumably go wherever it was that he called ‘home’. Though, she admitted, for all she knew he was rushing off to another job. Did men like him have homes? Did they have families? Wives and children?

And, if those things were possible, where would she fit in?

If at all.

~*~*~

Edward took a sip of the soda in his hand, watching Willow from the food stand. She didn’t notice him, though he knew she was probably wondering where he was by now. He couldn’t bring himself to go back to where she was sitting without a decision, though. It wasn’t fair to him, or her, and for once he actually cared that that was the case. He *wanted* to be fair to her, to give her what she deserved.

And he wasn’t so sure that that was him.

He knew that if he closed his eyes he could picture her lying there, on their hotel room bed, blissfully naked. The memories were still tangible enough for him to remember sight, sound, even the taste of their lovemaking. But those memories would fade, and with them the longing and desire. In a year or two he might not even be able to recall what was so special about her.

Though he doubted that very seriously.

She was special, in more ways than one, and had touched him in a way no other woman had ever been able to do. Even Anita, who was his soulmate in so many ways, couldn’t bring him the pleasure that this little slip of a woman gave to him just by being nearby. It was sappy and too romantic for the likes of him, but it was the truth.

‘Just walk away.’ He told himself. ‘Get on your plane and never look back. She deserves better than you can give her. Much better.’

But he’d always been a selfish man, and that wasn’t about to change now. He tossed the remainder of his drink in a nearby trashcan and began the walk back to her, his decision made.

~*~*~

"Ted…" Willow smiled in greeting as her companion joined her.

"Edward."

Willow blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

"My name is Edward."

She sat up a little straighter, her brain working furiously to digest this new information. His name wasn’t Ted. Never had been. He was Edward.

"I see…" She murmured, understanding at last that he was letting her in, showing her who he really was.

"Do you?" His cold blue eyes latched onto hers, searching for the understanding she was claiming to have.

"No. Not totally." She offered, the barest of smiles on her lips. "But I’d like to."

Edward nodded, reaching out to grab hold of her hand. He traced a thumb over the back of it, admiring the pale prettiness of her skin.

"You guessed what I was from the beginning, Willow. I can’t promise this will be all picnics and roses."

She nodded, never having expected that in the first place. She didn’t want to think about his job, though. In this instance blissful ignorance could possibly be her friend, though she knew one day they would talk on it in detail.

"I lived in Sunnydale most of my life, Edward." She said finally. "I never really thought my life was going to be filled with sunny happy days. I’m not that kind of girl."

He nodded, leaning over to kiss her lips gently. She may not be that type of girl, but he deserved those type of things, and he’d give it to her the best he could. He reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a plain white piece of paper. It already had his cell phone number on it, scribbled there this morning before they left the hotel, as though he had made up his mind subconsciously long before he had actively even tried to decide.

"This is my number. Call me in a couple days."

Willow nodded, swallowing hard. She fingered the piece of paper for a moment, committing the number to memory in case she lost it, and then shoved it into her laptop case. She stood with him as he grabbed his bag, his eyes darting to his watch. It was time for him to be boarding according to the loudspeaker.

Their lips met for a final time, the kiss leaving Willow burning on the inside. It affected him, too, though she didn’t know how amazing that was. To her he had never been Death. Just Ted. Just a man. And now, as Edward, he was still just a man. They didn’t say goodbye, there was no need to. They’d see each other again, probably pretty soon by that gleam in her lover’s eye.

She watched him go, smiling to herself. If someone had told her, so many years ago, that she would leave Sunnydale, come back to fight some hellacious demon, and fall head over heels for a real life assassin she never would have believed them. But, here she was and all that had happened, and more. That was just the way life was, she supposed.

Everything always changing, growing.

And getting better each and every day.