(Fifteenth in the Paradise Series)
Name: Bitch Willow
Email Address: bitch_willow@willowymail.zzn.com
Classification:
Rating: PG-14, about the same as the show. Only with more swearing.
Disclaimer: The characters are owned by all those crazy people, like Mutant Enemy and Fox and Joss Whedon, and a whole lot of other people, I’m sure. The songs are by Veruca Salt. (In order: ‘One Last Time,’ ‘Sound of the Bell,’ ‘Shutterbug,’ ‘Straight,’ ‘Stoneface,’ ‘Shutterbug’ again, ‘Volcano Girls,’ ‘Stoneface’ again, and ‘Benjamin.’) They are also the reason for the title. I just figured: hey, Veruca and all… Bow down to their majesty.
Summary: The rest of WAH in my world. Spike and Willow do a spell. Veruca finds them.
Author’s Note: Rather dark, I’m afraid.
I wind you up, then I wait here for the melancholy
I give you up, while you sit here in all your glory
I never thought you would
I never knew you could
But now you’re gone,
And I don’t think I care…
Spike whirled into the science lab, pulling the door shut behind him. “Got it,” he announced, holding the canvas bag above his head.
Willow turned to him, her eyes firm. “Good. We’re doing this.”
Spike nodded soundlessly, handing her the bag. However, he turned her face towards him, tilting her chin up to look into her eyes. “Are you sure, pet?” he asked intensely. “Because once you do this, there’s no going back. He’s gone. No love. Not for you, not for anyone.”
She pulled her face away. “I know. I researched the spell. Besides, that’ll make it easier.”
She began to unpack the bag Spike had given her, and he hovered behind, wondering what the hell she meant. Finally, he asked. “What does that mean?”
Willow looked up at him, her eyes nearly empty from pain. “You know. If he hates me, it’ll be easier for me to hate him back.” She turned quickly away, busying herself with emptying the bag.
He turned towards her, a wary look on his face. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “You know—when you love someone, and they hurt you…it’s easier. To feel nothing rather than…all this pain. Because they betrayed you. Because they hurt you.”
An epiphany. Spike understood all at once, likened it to the last couple of times with Dru. He nodded slowly. “Yeh, pet. I get it.”
She had stopped going through the bag and was now simply looking at her hands, at the herbs in them.
“I have to do this,” she said quietly.
Spike lit a candle.
***
Message on the answering machine of William F. Bloody
“Hi, Spike? This is Buffy. look, have you seen Willow around? Something happened. I mean, she’s missing. No, don’t worry! I’m sure she just needs time alone, but still…if you see her, call me? I’m at Giles.” (slightly lower) “She found Oz with that singer Veruca. If you want to tear his throat out, feel free.” (sigh) “No, I don’t mean that. But you can maim him…if you want. If I don’t find him first…” BEEP
***
And this is everything I have loved
Yeah, I have loved
Break my heart
Willow was chanting over her potion. At least, that’s what Spike thought it was. He didn’t really know much about witches, but he figured, if anything could be considered a potion, this was it. She was throwing things into a bottle over a Bunsen burner, weird things like eyes an’ stuff.
Next to her hand was a picture of the wolf.
Spike growled in a low voice. He wanted to rip the bastard’s bloody eyes out.
Willow looked up at him oddly. “What was that?”
< Bloody hell! Just fuckin’ scare her when she’s already freaked and harrowed. Asshole. > He cleared his throat. “Uh, nothing pet. Do you need me to…”
She shook her head. “No, I’m good. But you might want to back away a bit.” She smiled at him, and he backed up slowly to a safe distance, keeping his worried eyes on her all the time. She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. Really.” She looked grimly at the potion in the makeshift cauldron. “Let’s go.”
She lit a match.
***
Message on the answering machine of William F. Bloody
“Spike? Buffy again. Oz is with me.” (whispered) “I guess that we can forget what I said about maiming earlier; he feels really bad.” (heard in the background) “What?” “Nothing, Oz. Anyway, this Veruca chick, she’s bad news. Remember how we told you about Faith? Well, think that, except…you know, a werewolf. Who wants Oz.” (worried) “The sun’s almost down. Find her, Spike. Before Veruca does.” (A rustling sound as the phone is handed to Oz) “Hi, Spike? Oz. Just…tell her I’m sorry. Find her.” BEEP
***
Its freezing in Bristol
There’s love on the telly
A girl grinning at me
She’s doing the shimmy
Spike stared. He couldn’t help it. His little redhead was just a maelstrom of untapped power. And now that it was released, her pain and love and anger fueling it, objects floated above her head as if held by tiny strings. Her voice rose to a shriek, caught in the winds of magic surrounding her in a reddish hurricane.
“I conjure thee by Barabbas, by Satanas, and the devil. As thou art burning, let Oz and Veruca's deceitful hearts be broken! This way. I conjure thee by the Saracen queen, and the name of hell. Let them find no love or solace. Let them find no peace as well. Let this image seal his fate: not to love, only hate!” She grabbed up the photograph lying next to her hand…
And burst into tears. Instantly, Spike was at her side as the wind died down and the objects landed all around her. She collapsed onto the floor as he held her.
She was crying too hard for him to make out the words well, but he heard her mumble into his shoulder, “I love him so much, Spike. It fucking hurts.”
He shut his own eyes, blocking out the photo in her hand. Red tears ached their way down his face. “I know, baby. I know.”
“I should have known that you wouldn’t be able to go through with your little hex.”
And she’s cool and she’s skinny
And she’s a fool for the last living rock king
They jumped out of each other’s arms to see a blond girl Spike could recognize as Veruca in the doorway. She was smirking, and Spike could already smell the other wolf on her. < Oz. >
Willow stood up, warning Spike away from her with a look. He got the feeling that if he got involved in this fight, Willow would stake him herself. He’d seen her resolve face before.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she held her head high. “And why did you think that?”
Veruca looked down her nose at the other girl, practically snarling. < Uh, when does the moon rise? > Spike found himself wondering. “You don’t have the teeth.”
Willow’s laugh was humorless, her voice surprisingly strong, although still grim. “You don’t know what I have.”
The other girl shrugged demurely. “I know what you love.” She rolled her neck like an animal, stretching the bones, preparing herself for the change. “I have his scent on me right now.” Her voice was…in ecstacy.
Willow tried to control her shudders of pain, only her grimace giving her away.
“I understand.” Veruca actually sounded sorry that she had to do this. “I understand that you have to keep what’s yours.” Her eyes were sympathetic, level with the other girl’s. Even playing field.
They shared a look for a few long minutes, then Willow nodded bitterly. Veruca was a wolf, so was Oz. they were made to be together, it was just nature.
She raised her hands with a sigh, a blue-black light glowing between them, the light of space.
Didn’t mean she was giving up without a fight.
***
Is this the weekend?
Is that your girlfriend?
She’s green and innocent
You smoke her like she’s incense
You smile you smile you smile
Stay straight for me
Buffy sighed in frustration. It was the middle of nowhere, and she could see nothing but woods. She turned to Oz with a snarl. “If you’re trying to trick me…”
The pain in his eyes was enough to make her halt. “Why would I do that?” he asked her. She didn’t know how to respond. She got the distinct feeling that he wasn’t referring to tricking her. He seemed to be speaking more to himself. Then he looked back up at the Slayer. “No, I wouldn’t do that. I’ve hurt Willow enough.”
“You certainly have,” she said almost without thinking. She looked at him, downcast, out of the corner of her eye. “Look, I’m sorry, Oz. We just need…we just need to find her.”
“I don’t think she’s here. And the moons almost up.” Oz shivered. Not a bad shiver.
Buffy grimaced at that. With all that had happened, with Oz at his most wolfy, all her instincts were crying kill. But this was Oz. Not an animal.
Not an animal.
A snaky goddess got my man now
That kind of love don’t understand him
And when I swallow my gum
You never react
I can’t get you to crack
Not one fucking smile
Veruca flew across the room, yelping all the way.
Then she stood up. “Bitch,” she threw at the other girl.
“Look who’s talking,” Willow mocked.
Spike glanced worriedly at his watch. Sunlight was fading outside; he could feel it in his bones, his blood. Soon enough, the moon would be up at the bitch would be a…well, bitch.
Veruca stalked over to the redhead. “Look, honey. You aren’t gonna win this. Oz is mi—” She was cut off as another burst of magic hit her in the stomach. She was weakening, her strength waning fast, but Spike knew that as soon as the sun was down, the wounds given her would be mere scratches.
“Willow, knock her out or I will,” he warned in a low voice. “Sunlight’s gonna be over real quick.”
Willow turned around to speak to him, and Veruca hit her in the back of the head with the Bunsen burner. The scalding water ran down her back, making her scream. The werewolf grinned beatifically over Willow’s prone body.
“I really do understand, you know. Sometimes you have to fight hard, to keep what’s yours. Sometimes…you have to kill.” She cocked her head, then swallowed a grin. “Well, how about that. Suns almost down.”
Spike stared in horror at his little redhead, lying on her stomach, shaking. Then he looked back up at the blond girl. That’s when he realized, she wasn’t just a wild creature, fighting for her territory.
She was fucking crazy.
Before he could make a move towards her and rip her bleedin’ throat out, Willow stood up again, wearily. The back of her shirt had ridden up, and Spike could see angry red blisters forming on her usually pale flesh. Veruca punched her in the face.
Its her thrill
Its her wonder
Its her will
Its her way home
She’s right where she always wanted to be
She can’t change…
“Don’t touch her again,” a voice warned from the doorway.
All three of them looked up at the same time; Spike with a rolling of yellow eyes, Veruca with a languid grin, and Willow with a look of burning hope in her eyes that not even this could extinguish.
Oz walked further into the room, looking at the redhead on the ground with the pleading stare of a kicked dog in his eye. She avoided his gaze and let Spike possessively help her up.
Veruca laughed and stepped closer to the other wolf. Spike could see the air practically ignite between the two of them. Oz hated her: that was clear. But he wanted her too.
Maybe more.
“Come stop me. I like it rough, remember?” Veruca stretched again, exalting in the feel of the moon rising.
Oz did his best to ignore her and her charms, even as she approached him. Even as her wolf cried out to him. “You wanna hurt me, hurt me. You leave her out of this.” He threw another painfilled glance at the redhead in Spike’s arms.
The angry female started to growl. “How can I? She’s the reason you’re living in cages. She’s blinding you. When she’s gone, you’ll be able to admit what you are.” She came close to Oz, then moved away again, teasing him with her scent. Circling him.
Oz shook his head, and Spike was fascinated to see coarse reddish fur sprouting on his face and hands. His teeth elongated and his eyes yellowed. Spike raised a hand to his own fang-filled mouth. < Is that what I look like? > He’d seen other vampires change before, of course, but seeing himself in this…animal…
He was jerked out of his horror by Oz’s voice, now low and distorted by his new teeth. “You don’t wanna find out what I am.”
Veruca, already sprouting a fine ash-blond covering of fur, circled him, hissing more like a cat than a wolf. “You’re an animal. Animals kill.”
Too true.
Oz looked over at the vampire holding his now-observant girlfriend, then back at the other wolf. Clarity shone in his eyes. “You’re right. We kill.”
He struck without warning, his claws buried in Veruca’s upper arms before she could even tell what had happened. Spike felt Willow gasp and shake in his arms, and looked down to see the witch watching with wide, tear-filled eyes.
Oz, still half-human, forced Veruca to the floor, and the two werewolves rolled, each trying to get the upper hand—or the upper claw, as it was. Veruca was doing her fair share of damage as she rolled on top of Oz.
She pinned his arms above his head. “Come on, baby. Give it to me.”
Buffy ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Oz had taken off while she was checking behind a tree. He’d been acting edgy, jumpy, as if he smelled something and didn’t’ want to tell her. Something like Willow.
Or Veruca.
< Dammit. > She grit her teeth and ran faster, holding the tranquilizer gun close to her chest. < If that bitch gets to her before Oz does…or before I do… > She shook the tears out of her eyes. Nothing would happen to Willow. She was…Willow. Everyone needed her.
Buffy needed her.
And whether he realized it or not at the moment, Oz needed her. She needed to move her ass.
***
(Leave me lying here cause I don’t wanna go)
Tell me tell me what you really want from me
You’ve gotta let me know
I’m falling off and I need you terribly
One down and one to go…
Willow and Spike watched in startled fascination as the two musicians, now completely under the control of the moon, attempted to tear each other apart. “Please win, Oz,” Willow whispered softly. “But please don’t kill her.
Spike sighed unnecessarily. The little girl didn’t get it—when it came to animals, especially supernatural ones, it was kill or be killed.
Made him wonder if she could ever understand him.
He shook that thought off as a yelp sounded from across the room. The two werewolves had dragged each other behind one of the tables, and he hadn’t been able to see them. He could see them now.
Oz had ripped Veruca’s throat out.
Or, at least, Oz-wolf had ripped Veruca-wolf’s throat out, although Willow would never see it that way. All she saw was her boyfriend, covered in fur and crouching above a corpse. He was rubbing his muzzle in he blood, licking it up. Spike could feel his own face changing.
Willow got up as the hungry wolf turned back towards them. < Of course, > Spike thought frantically. < He wouldn’t eat Veruca, she’s dead. Besides, she’s another wolf, so he would see it as a betrayal to his kind. And he wouldn’t eat me, I’m dead flesh. But Willow…Willow’s alive. And she’s not his kind. >
Spike grabbed her out of the way in the nick of time; only an instant before Oz got to the spot Willow has been. “No you don’t, Dog-boy,” Spike snarled, throwing Willow behind him. the two circled each other, growling and baring their respective fangs.
Spike already knew that if it came down to killing Oz to protect Willow, he was gonna do it. She might hate him for awhile, but at least she’d be alive to hate him. Besides, he wasn’t sure that he could live without her anymore.
The Oz-wolf was getting low to the ground—ready to strike, he could already tell. He stood on his toes, ready to catch the bastard if he so much as batted a paw at Willow.
< Willow! > He looked behind him to make sure she was alright. She was cowering behind a lab desk, her eyes wide and full of horror. He couldn’t tell whether he terrified her now, or Oz did.
He didn’t want to know.
While he was distracted, the reddish wolf had launched himself at the vampire, attaching his fangs to his unbeating jugular.
“Gahhh!” Spike yelled and threw Oz across the room.
“No!” Willow screamed. Oz was lying still, his neck at an odd angle. Spike tried to hold her back but she brushed off his hand, walking dispassionately over to her boyfriend’s body. She knelt a safe distance away from him and put out a hand, letting him smell her, if he still could. “Oz?” she asked in a whimpering voice.
The werewolf got up with a snarl and launched himself at the frightened girl. Then he slumped to the ground, a dart in his back.
Buffy smiled widely behind him, gun in hand. “Sorry I’m la—”
Oz was up again, and had knocked her to the ground. She threw him to the side. “Dammit. Gotta learn to save those witty quips until I’m sure the bad thing is really knocked out,” she grumbled. Oz lunged again and she kicked him in the face, then threw him again. “Trying not to kill him here,” she said frantically over her shoulder as she pinned Oz to the floor. “Anyone wanna help out with the gun right about now?”
Oz took advantage of her distraction and pushed her to the floor, then took off running. At Spike. Apparently he had gotten a whiff of his girlfriend on the vamp, and he wasn’t happy about it.
Spike tried to get the werewolf off, but even with the dart in him, he was either too strong or too determined. He was going to have his head torn off. The werewolf’s claws approached his neck, scratching lightly.
Swallow hard until you
I’ll be the one to thrill you
I’ll be the first to kill you
And if you won’t die, I will…
He fell over as Willow sent another dart flying into his back. Then another. Then another, all while crying and sobbing and swearing. “You bastard. You can’t just let this be easy, can you?” She raised the gun for another shot, but Spike hurriedly got up and tilted the gun’s barrel.
He whispered into her ear: “If you shoot him again, it’ll kill him.” His tone was neither for or against it, and he let her choose for herself.
She dropped the weapon with a sigh and a moan, then collapsed to the floor. Spike knelt down next to her, mumbling into her hair. “I know, baby. I know.” His arms were wrapped around her, his eyes shut tightly but still tears dripped slowly down his face. For his love. For his Willow.
Buffy stared at the two, then down at the wolf by her feet. He was breathing. He would live.
He would live.
Take me away
I know I could use the rest
I want to clear up this mess
I need a few days with my good sense
I need a few
Good
Days…
THE END
Next one soon, I swear.