Disclaimer: Joss & Co. owns all these people, demons, creatures, etc. You know the drill.

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Chapter Eight - Homing

Buffybot put Willow down gently on the grass, her electronic brain working harder than it ever had before, but still coming up blank. She had no information in her databanks to account for the girl's strange system failure. Her programming only contained things she should do for Spike if he malfunctioned, and getting the girl out of the sunlight had had no real effect. Buffybot frowned. She wanted to take Willow and return to Spike. Spike was smart and would know what to do. He surely would know what kind of service Willow required. But she wasn't supposed to let Willow see her; Spike would be angry if he saw Willow at his crypt and knew she had brought her there. Finding Warren seemed still the best option to Buffybot, but she hadn't had any success. She was moving more than a bit sluggishly now, the drain on her batteries happening even faster from carrying her best friend around. Willow occasionally struggled against her, not seeming to even recognize her anymore. Buffybot knew she couldn't continue this way and made a decision.

"Willow, I am sorry, but I must leave you here. I must find Warren. I will bring him to you. He will know what kind of service you require," she said, awaiting a reply. Receiving none, she pivoted sharply and left the frightened, whimpering girl huddled in a ball, a tree shading her from the late afternoon sun. Buffybot trudged on, beginning to stagger slightly but valiantly determined to help Willow and herself. Unfortunately she only got a few hundred feet before her systems began to fail, her battery too low for her to continue functioning. Her optic sensors went first, and she stumbled, falling head down a sewer trench. Buffybot landed hard, shattering her shoulder joint and rolling several times before finally coming to a stop. Unable to move, she lay there, blinking more and more slowly, until her power drained completely.

"I'm sorry, Spike...I luuuuuuuuuuuuu..." The whirring of the bot stopped a moment later, and Buffybot lay with her eyes open and unseeing, whatever hope she held in her heart awaiting rescue to be rekindled.

Meanwhile, Willow had clasped her hands around her knees and had begun rocking herself compulsively. She no longer knew where or even who she was; her mind knew only of Tara and the silver lady. Her love and her...Willow frowned. She didn`t know who or what the lady was to her. She didn't know why the lady wanted Willow so badly, but she knew she was in danger now that she was alone. The silver lady wanted to make her do bad things, like attack people like she'd attacked Anya. Deep down there was still some part of Willow that was actually Willow, though she no longer knew her name as such; that Willowy part of her cried out against this evil, against hurting anyone. But it was weak and growing weaker and she knew that the silver lady could make her do anything, bad things...and she was powerless to stop her. That small part of her was slipping further and further away; soon there would be nothing of her left. She moaned as Ostara appeared before her, smiling down.

"Don't...d-don't..." Willow stammered.

"Dear child, I'm not going to hurt you...it's going to be alright. Your little attack on Anyanka has created just the distraction I needed to keep the others from helping her or themselves...at least until it's too late. You will help me still...but you're not really dressed for distraction, are you? Come," she commanded, and Willow stood, her eyes darting about anxiously. After a moment the redhead began to giggle, and Ostara briefly joined in her laughter. "Oh, you are sinking fast, dear child. It is quite a glorious coincidence, but one of which I am prepared to take full advantage. You will keep them all occupied...and Cas will do the rest."

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"Giles!" Xander yelled, practically yanking Amy off her feet as he dragged her into the Magic Box. Several customers backed away from them as he barreled over to the register.

"Xander, stop scaring the customers!" Anya admonished, then stared at the twitchy blonde stranger her ex was holding hands with curiously. The girl's face was grimy and her hair matted, and she was wearing a long patchwork skirt and a pink tank top that didn't seem to fit her quite right. Anya pursed her lips with distaste, then considered her for a moment longer, puzzled. The outfit seemed oddly familiar.

"Anya, where's Giles?" Xander asked desperately. Anya shrugged, lowering her voice and hoping he'd follow her lead.

"Dawn called. He left. I guess he went to get her from wherever she is," Anya said. To her surprise, rather than be excited that Dawn had been found, Xander slammed his fist down on the counter in frustration.

"Damn!" he half-yelled, causing more customers to move further away from him. The girl had started to wring her hands in her still-knotted hair.

"Xander?" the recently deratted Amy sniffed, clearly frightened out of her mind, and he immediately went to soothe her, patting her arm comfortingly as he pointed to Anya.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be alright. This is Anya, she's my friend. She won't hurt you, I promise." Seeing Cas emerge from the back, he pointed. "And that's another friend, Cas. They're going to help us help Will."

"Xander, who-?" Anya began, but he cut her off urgently.

"Where's Tara? Has she gone to the-"

"I'm right here," Tara said as she ran breathlessly into the Magic Box, stopping with concern when she saw Amy. She looked at the girl suspiciously. "Those are Willow's clothes," she said immediately, and Anya hit herself on the head.

"I knew it! I knew that outfit looked familiar...who are you?" Anya demanded. Amy shrunk against Xander's arm.

"Don't yell at her," Xander commanded. "It's Amy."

"Amy...the rat Amy? But how-" Anya stammered.

"Willow did it," Amy whispered. "She changed me back...and then she...she..."

"She went a little nuts," Xander offered, the words feeling strange and bitter in his mouth.

"Yeah," Amy said, "but she warned me first...and she told me why." Amy looked at Tara, recognizing her from the picture Willow had showed her frantically during those last lucid seconds. "She wanted you to know..."

"It's happening because of that spell she did," Tara said. "The spell to try to help me. She couldn't reverse it, and now I'm fine and she's losing her mind."

"That's right," Amy nodded, "but that's not what she told me to tell you. I mean, she told me to tell you that, but she wanted me to tell you she loves you so much. And she's really sorry. And she understands that she has to be stopped. And you should d-do what's necessary." Xander gaped at Amy for a moment. She hadn't told him that part, and it hit him like a fist to his stomach.

"What does that mean?" Xander asked, and they all looked at him. They had never heard that voice from him before, strained and shaking with emotion.

"It means," Tara said, as tear began to course down her cheeks, "she might become more violent...she doesn't want to hurt anyone, so she wants us to...to..."

"We aren't going to hurt Will," Xander said in that same strange voice. "I don't care what she might do...Tara, there has to be a way to help her get her mind back, right. The spell can be reversed, Willow just didn't find it. So we research. We find it."

"Xander-" Tara began gently, but he talked over her, his eyes manic.

"We have two witches here, right? You and Amy, you can cast the spell to save her. Tara, I know you love her...you have to do this." His eyes were so bright and intense they seemed to burn into Tara's flesh. She had to look away.

"I can't, Xander...I went to see someone who knows about this kind of magick. He told me...there's nothing I can do to save Willow. There's nothing Amy can do, either."

"That's what Willow said," Amy said softly, cringing when Xander pulled violently away from her and swept books off the table, startling them all with the sudden violence. He looked back at them, shaking his head, and Anya knew she'd never seen him that lost, not even after Buffy`s death.

"No," Xander moaned, and Tara started to cry in earnest, partially for his pain and partially for her own realization. "It can't be true. Willow's not...I won't accept that. I'll never accept that."

"Xander..." Anya began firmly.

"No!" Xander screamed, and they all took a shocked step back. Undaunted by his emotional outburst, Tara came to him, pulling him into a hug. As soon as her arms enfolded him he broke down in huge, shuddering sobs, He leaned heavily on Tara, as his own legs no longer seemed capable of holding him, and the two of them wept on each other's shoulders for a few moments. Anya, Amy and Cas watched with tear-filled eyes as well, while white-faced customers left the shop unnoticed. Finally Tara spoke, the words as rough was if they were being ripped out of her soul.

"There...might be...a way. But if there is it...it's not me or Amy that can h-help Willow now. Xander, it's you." Xander pulled back in surprise, blinking in confusion and more than a little wariness.

"Me? But I don't do magic...in fact, magic and Xander are two great tastes that taste really, really bad together. Xander plus spells equals major disaster."

"I get it, Xander. But Willow doesn't need a spellcaster. Willow needs someone who really loves her...and who she loves, too."

"Then you-" Xander began, and Tara took his face in both of her hands, needing to look in his eyes when she explained, needing for him to know that she understood.

"Someone she loves more than me."

The statement stood there for a few moments, filling the room with its own unexpected shifts of emotion. Xander shook his head automatically, but Tara could see that small glimmer of hope in his eyes. She wondered at how something as simple as that look could simultaneously give her a real reason to be optimistic and crush her heart forever.

"She doesn't," Xander said firmly, but Tara nodded, choking down the rest of her tears.

"Yes. She does. She can't help it, Xander. She always has, she always will love you best." Tara released Xander and he sat down, dazed. Anya suddenly turned away, her own memories of accusing Willow of the same thing ringing through her mind. Tara continued, "The thing is, she really doesn't know that she does. That's why she told Amy there was no hope...but I know better. I've seen it in her eyes, in your eyes, so many times."

"You know I never...that we never..." Xander began miserably, his eyes moving quickly from Tara's to Anya's. Both women nodded.

"I know," Tara said, almost smiling. "It meant a lot, you know. For you to accept me, and let me love her."

"I know, too. I always knew it, Xander. I accused her of wanting to break us up, of still having feelings for you, remember? I always thought she was a bit too glib...but I always knew how you felt. I mean, a girl knows."

"Anya, I...I don't know what to say..."

"Just don't deny it anymore," Anya offered, her lip trembling slightly. Cas took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. He didn't really understand what was happening here, exactly, but he knew it was hard for Anya. He frowned as something seemed to whistle past his ear, and moved away for a moment, behind the calendar. Cas was listening intently, but no longer to his friends but to something quite different.

"I won't. I can't. Not anymore." Xander looked squarely at Tara, all the love he had for Willow shining in his eyes. "I've been afraid, and I've been hurt, and I haven't wanted to...I thought what Willow needed was for me to put my feelings away and pretend that I didn't...I mean, she made it clear that you were the one she wanted to be with, not me. But I can't do that anymore. Not when Willow needs me to love her, then...just tell me what I have to do."

Tara nodded and began the explanation. Engrossed in hearing it, not even Anya noticed Cas vanish. He popped up again in the back of the shop, startled not by who was waiting for him there but by how she had summoned him.

"What...Mistress?" he asked, confused. Ostara smiled coldly at him.

"Yes, Cas. I needed you here. It is almost time for you to perform that one small service."

"Oh. Good," he said distractedly, worried that Anya would notice he was no longer beside her. "What do you need me to do?"

"This..." Ostara hissed, touching his forehead. Images flooded Cas' mind and he recoiled in revulsion.

"No..." he moaned. "I can't...I won't!"

"You can. You will. You have no choice." Ostara stated calmly. And a moment later Cas realized to his horror that she was right.

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"Stop!"

Buffy's scream made Giles reflexively slam on the brakes, almost throwing Dawn into the front seat. The Slayer was out of the car and running before he could catch his breath.

"Buffy!" Dawn screamed out the window as Giles pulled over. By the time the other two had gotten out of the car, there was no sign of the Slayer anywhere. Dawn looked at Giles desperately.

"Where did she go?"

"I'm not sure...she must have seen something. It's after dark, perhaps...a vampire?"

"You think she went off to go slaying?" Dawn asked incredulously. Giles shrugged, his face concerned but thoughtful.

"I think she's still not quite herself. There's no telling...still, I'm certain she'll return to the shop when she's ready, Dawn."

"I think we should look for her," the teen said, becoming more distraught by the second. "She probably needs help." As if to punctuate her point, they both heard a yell and sounds of a struggle in the darkness. Giles grabbed crosses and stakes from his glove compartment and the two took off towards the sounds.

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