Willow was in the middle of the field again. Only this time it wasn’t the same field. This one had a lake, and trees. And this time she was sitting on a blanket, not standing, although she was still wearing that white dress.
She looked over and noticed that Giles and Tara were sitting next to her.
“Hey! What are you guys doing here? I thought I was supposed to do this alone?” Willow said, slightly confused. “Not that I’m not happy to see you!”
“We aren’t your Giles and Tara. We’re just manifesting ourselves that way to seem more recognizable to you,” said Tara.
“You see, in order to find what it is that you’re looking for, you’re going to need knowledge and heart. To you, Giles and Tara signify knowledge and heart respectively,” Giles added.
“Oh. Okay. So are you going to tell me what I have to do?”
“You already know,” Tara told her.
“Oh. Right. That whole thing where I have to ask questions and then I find out why I had that dream.” Willow sighed heavily. “So do I ask you guys?”
“That could be the wisest course of action for the moment,” Giles replied.
“For someone who isn’t Giles, you sure do sound a lot like him,” Willow said under her breath. “Okay, then. Why did I have that dream?”
“Because it was sent to you,” Tara said.
“By who?”
“By the Powers That Be,” Giles replied. They were taking turns answering her, it seemed.
“Why did they send me the dream?”
“Because you have to be prepared.”
“Is my dream going to come true?”
“Only if you let it.”
“Why would I blow up?”
“Because someone wants to get rid of you.”
“Get rid of me? But I’m innocent! Big honkin’ innocent girl, here! Why would they want to get rid of me?”
“Because of what you are.”
“But I’m just me. What is it about me that this person wants to get rid of?”
“Your power.”
“My power? You mean, my magic?”
“Yes and no.”
“Well, that was cryptic. What do you mean?”
“You have to find out for yourself.”
“What CAN you tell me?”
“That you must look at your background. And heed the words of the Kahimi.”
“The Kahimi? You mean the vampire that helped us bring Buffy back? Which words?”
“She told you something. You can’t remember it here. But you will when you awaken.”
“So when I wake up, I’ll remember what she said, and I’ll know what the dream meant?”
“Not exactly. You won’t remember this dream, at all. You’ll wake up remembering only that the Kahimi said those words to you, and you’ll find the truth on your own.”
“How do you know I’ll find it?”
“Because it is written.”
“Another prophecy?”
“Only one of many.”
“Great. Just great. I mean, it isn’t enough that I have to explode, but it has to be prophesized? Why do I have to have a prophecy? I’m not the Slayer, or the Champion, or the Twice Called, or the Key. I’m just a witch.”
“You are more than that. You are the Power.”
“The who?”
“I’m afraid your time is up, here.”
“I’m the who? The Power? What does that mean?”
Suddenly, though, both Giles and Tara had vanished, and the field they’d been sitting in began to be pelted by a heavy downpour.
“Not again!” Willow groaned, running into the little shack that appeared to her left.
Tara was not inside this time, though. Instead, Angel, Buffy, Faith and Dawn sat in a circle, surrounded by candles. They were all chanting some foreign language in unison, their voices carrying strongly on the wind.
“Guys?” Willow asked them gently. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you, Willow,” Buffy said, turning to face her.
“For me?” Willow squeaked.
“You need to do the spell, Willow. Before he gets here,” Dawn piped up.
“What spell?”
“The binding spell,” Faith said.
“Hey, no, I saw The Craft, and I know what happens when you do a binding spell. Bad things. You think you bind someone, but they aren’t bound. I’m not doing any binding spells.”
“You have to do it, Willow,” Angel told her. “Quickly.”
“We’re running out of time!” Buffy yelled.
“Do it now!” Faith screamed over the suddenly howling winds.
“It’s too late,” Dawn said, calmly, and suddenly all was quiet. Then Willow was in nothingness again, and she knew what was about to happen. Before she could do anything, though, her body suddenly shattered into millions of tiny fragments.
Willow jumped up, her body shaking in a cold sweat. Her friends had crowded around her.
“Are you okay, Will?” Xander asked.
“Sweetie?” Tara gently took her hand. Willow took a deep breath.
“What do you remember from your dream? Did you find out why you had it?” Wesley asked.
“No,” Willow said miserably. “But I had another one.”
“Was it the same one?” Buffy asked.
“No. It was a little different. I don’t really remember it. All I know is that Buffy, Angel, Dawn and Faith were sitting in a circle, chanting something. And then you guys kept telling me that I needed to do a spell, and that it was too late, and then suddenly I exploded. Again.” The last words were said sullenly.
“So the spell didn’t really work?” Giles said, disappointed.
“No, I guess not. But I just remembered something.”
“What is it?” Angel asked her.
“The Kahimi. When she was here a year ago, she said that I had a strong line of witches in my family.”
“So?” Cordelia replied.
“Well, when she said that, I checked out my family, and NONE of them had any powers. Not a single one had even performed a glamour, or floated a pencil, or anything.”
“I’m not understanding what this has to do with anything,” Buffy said.
“Well, I’m just saying, Why did I suddenly think of this now? Maybe it’s related?”
“Perhaps we should look a little more into the origin of magic, then?” Wesley said excitedly. Gunn glanced at him before turning to the rest of the group.
“Angel, can you get in touch with the Kahimi and find out what she meant, maybe?”
“No, she’s on a sabbatical. Has been since she left here. She’s decided no one is to contact until she contacts them. Something about waiting for a prophecy.”
“A prophecy?” Xander said sullenly. “Another one?”
“Prophecy?” Willow echoed, deep in thought. “I think we should look into that. I think there might have been something in my dream…”
“Right, then. We’ll start researching any prophecies that are coming to pass any time soon, and researching perhaps Willow’s power and its origins,” Giles said.
“Angel and I will go pay a visit to Willy,” Buffy said. Angel smiled.
“We haven’t seen Willy in ages,” he told her. She leaned up and kissed him, then turned back to the group.
“Spike, I want you and Faith to go around and check out the local demon haunts and find out what you can about any prophecies or bad things coming to Sunnydale.”
“But…” both Faith and Spike protested in unison.
“No ‘but’s. You two can get along for a few minutes. You can beat stuff up together. It’ll be a real bonding experience,” Buffy told them. The rest of you, research. We’ve got Angel’s cell if you need anything, and Faith will take hers. Any questions?”
No one said anything, so Buffy and Angel turned to leave the shop. “I love it when you take charge,” Angel said, leaning down to speak in her ear. She wrapped her small hand in his, and they strode out together.
Faith and Spike stared at each other for a moment. Then Faith turned on one heel and left the shop as well, and Spike, after a moment, growled lightly and followed her. Dawn watched this exchange, and as soon as the two had left the premises, let out a chuckle.
The rest of the gang sat down and began to research.