"I'm glad Buffy's all right," Tara said, snuggling closer to Willow in their bed. Willow nodded, barely moving her head.
"I can't believe Giles lied to me," Willow said after a silent moment. Tara frowned.
"I don't think he was doing it to hurt you. He just didn't want you to worry. He knows it was wrong, now."
"I just thought...you know, that they had more confidence in me, I guess."
"It's not that he doesn't believe in you, Will. He does. It's just...he thought you'd get scared. And...maybe he's right?"
"Maybe. But now we don't have the book. How are we supposed to get it back?" Willow sighed, feeling the exhaustion from the night's events finally beginning to catch up with her.
"Buffy, Angel, Spike and Faith are working on that. They'll figure it out. It's what they do. Now go to sleep," Tara said, kissing Willow's forehead. Willow nodded, then drifted into what she hoped would be a dreamless sleep. No such luck.
*~*~*
Willow found herself in a completely white space. The atmosphere was that of a room...only it didn't end. That was certainly interesting. She turned and saw Tara wearing a long taupe gown, standing next to a window. Willow's face fell.
"Oh. Another dream?"
Tara nodded, her face the picture of seriousness.
"Can I not explode this time?" Willow asked weakly. Tara's laugh rang out through the room, echoing slightly. Then she smiled at Willow.
"I'm here to show you your future," Tara told her. Willow quirked an eyebrow at her lover's form.
"Like a horoscope or something?" Another smile from Tara.
"No. Just a picture. A glimpse." She gestured to the window. Willow stepped forward and looked out. She saw a strange scene. She was looking at Sunnydale. It was night time. And there were people all over the place. Happy, smiling people. Then she saw Buffy. A bit older, her hair cut into a short bob. She was sitting next to Angel, and the entire Scooby gang and the gang from L.A. were spread out around them. They were having a picnic. Spike was cuddling with Faith, and an older Dawn was lounging with a boy Willow didn't recognize. All of them were older. Even Spike and Angel looked older, though Willow couldn't figure out why. And nobody was patrolling. No one was looking around in the shadows. Everyone was just relaxed. And there was another young person there. Willow didn't recognize the man, but he couldn't have been older than twenty.
"Is this what will happen? Is that guy the child? The one that will save the world?" Willow asked Tara. Tara smiled.
"This is what could happen. If you retrieve the book, and you manage to cast the spell to bind your soul to the Key, the Chosen, the Champion and She Who Is Twice Called. The binding will create the soul that will inhabit the Savior, and he in turn will be the light in the dark world."
"Well. That was cryptic." Willow sighed. "So what would happen if we didn't get the book, or if we didn't get it in time?"
"Do you really want to see?"
Willow simply nodded. The scene outside the window changed. Willow looked on in horror. Vampires were everywhere. Demons of all species and sizes were running rampant, walking around in the middle of everything. There were very few humans. Those that Willow saw were on leashes. The leashes were being carried by the demons. The humans appeared to be the subservient group.
"B...But Buffy...she'd never let this...her and Faith and Angel, and Spike...they'd all stop it."
"Do you want to see?"
"Yes," Willow said weakly. The scene outside the window changed. Angel and Spike were chained up, obviously unfed. There were scars in the shapes of crosses along their bodies, and holy water pooled at their feet so that they had to pull themselves up. Both were straining, struggling to maintain their strength. Buffy and Faith were laid out on slabs of concrete about thirty feet in front of the vampires, chained down, unable to move. Their shrieks of horror cut through the din of the scene, as several vampires plunged wooden stakes into their limbs again and again. Willow turned away, horrified and sick. Tears glossed her eyes and she looked at Tara.
"This is what will happen?"
"There's a choice here. A fork in the road. You can go two ways. This is what could happen if you don't get the book. Do you see now?"
"Yes. I'll get it. I'll get it back."
"Good. Use your powers. You are strong enough, Willow. But don't rely on your power. Use it. Don't take it for granted. Or your fate will be even worse than that of your friends."
Willow shot up in bed, panting harshly. Tara immediately opened her eyes, looking up at the redhead with concern.
"Willow? Everything okay?"
Willow suddenly broke into tears, the memories of her friends and their screams of pain too much for her to handle. "We have to get the book back, Tara. It can't wait till morning. We have to call Giles now."
"Did you have another dream, Baby?"
"Yes, I did. I saw what's going to happen if we don't find the book, and if we don't cast the binding spell. We have to get it."
"What did you see, Willow?"
Willow looked her lover straight in the eye, and her voice became stronger, the tears hardly evident in it as she spoke the truth of what she had seen in her dream.
"Hell."