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He’d never really considered before now that he led a boring life. He’d attended the proper schools. He’d completed his studies at University. He’d toured the continent twice. He’d been regularly attending meetings at the club. He’d written journals full of poetry. He’d tried, in his own way, to court Cecily. And yet, compared to the last two days, he’d hardly lived at all. Not that he hadn’t wanted to, of course. He’d hoped one day to take his wife and family to every continent on the globe. He was fascinated with Africa and, if he were honest, the Americas. He wished now, again, that he could remember the century’s worth of things he’d done as an evil creature. Which, as always, also made him glad he could not recall his past deeds. Many of the things he’d read had turned his stomach. And yet while it had answered many questions, it had also raised many more. It would seem that he wasn’t the only person confused about the creature he’d become. It appeared that even in the realm of evil creatures he’d been somewhat of an enigma. Yet, even considering the murderous wanderings of his evil self, the last two days would certainly be classified as unprecedented.

He’d been transported from his home to this future world. Found out that he’d loved and lost the darkly beautiful, but evil, creature who turn him into one of her kind, loved again and done something apparently so unspeakable that his love had wished death upon him. Which was certainly fitting given that he’d been an evil monster for over a century. He’d suffered significant injury thrice in two days. He’d found the lady of his dreams, a warrior of great beauty and skill. He’d learned they’d been in love, been intimate, and that he had hurt her deeply. Despite his knowledge of his evil doings as an evil being, he still didn’t understand how he could have done such a thing. Even the things he’d read suggested it was not in his nature even as an evil being. He’d learned that evil beings truly existed and that not all demonic beings were evil, though he wasn’t quite sure how that worked. He’d met vampires and been mortally wounded. He’d experienced modern medicine with machines he couldn’t understand. He’d tried to help Miss Buffy when a villainous coward had shot her with a pistol and then made his escape. He’d been certain she would die, only to see her mortal wound healed through magic. He’d seen Miss Willow’s appearance transformed and discovered Miss Tara had been murdered by the same cowardly villain who’d shot Miss Buffy. He’d spared grief for the young lady who was kind to him. He’d been a passenger in a horseless carriage. He’d seen a quaint but peculiar shop that dealt in items of magical nature, and apparently, Miss Anya was the proprietor of the said shop. He’d met a demon with unfortunate large amounts of grotesque skin and learned his evil self had befriended the beast. He’d eaten some rather odd things these American’s and demons considered food, though he was rather dubious it contained actual food. He’d traveled to the lair of a warlock with Miss Dawn and the demon, Clem, in search of Miss Willow after she’d vanished into the night air and they’d found her. Unfortunately, that didn’t appear to be a fortuitous event.

“No, please,” Miss Willow seemed indignant at something Miss Dawn had said. “You’re telling me you don’t remember? You used to be some mystic ball of energy. Maybe that’s why you’re crying all the time, Dawny. ‘Cuz you don’t belong here. Neither of you belongs.” She was looking pointedly at him now.

“Wanna go back? End the pain? You’ll both be happier. I’ll be happier,” She scoffed. “We’ll all be a lot happier without listening to you two constantly whining.”

“Willow, stop,” Miss Dawn replied to her.

“Mom! Buffy! Tara! Waaa!” Miss Willow teased Miss Dawn viciously.

“And you!” She directed her venomous words toward him. “Buffy’s used up chew toy. Always moping and trying to get someone, anyone, to pay attention to you. Trying to get Buffy to love you,” Miss Willow’s words cut sharply. “Buffy did the world a favor getting rid of you. Too bad Anya couldn’t go through with it. That must have been some really great sex you two had. Too bad now you’re just useless little Willy. Can’t cope. Can’t adapt. Can’t take a hint. Ready to cry without your mommy…”

“Willow…” Miss Dawn interrupted Miss Willow’s vile tongue.



“Time for you to go back to being a little energy ball,” Miss Willow focused on Miss Dawn. “And time for you,” she looked at him, “to go back to being dead. No more tears for you two!”

“I think you need to get away from them,” Miss Buffy was suddenly amongst them.

“I wasn’t going to hurt them… buzzkill.”

Miss Buffy and Miss Willow held a tersely worded conversation regarding the nature of magic, good versus evil, and Miss Willow’s true nature. Miss Willow seemed to hold her previous self in some contempt, a feeling he could well understand at the moment. Yet, she seemed to waver as she spoke of Miss Tara and her obvious love for her, and of the anger in her grief-stricken heart.

“I know this hurts bad, Willow. You aren’t the only one who’s lost someone you…” Miss Buffy paused and shook her head a moment as if to clear her thoughts. “You aren’t the only one who’s lost someone. But, Willow, if you let loose with the Magicks now, it’ll never end!”

“Promise?” Miss Willow seemed to relish the thought.

“You don’t want that,” Miss Buffy replied, seeming quite certain.

“Why not?” Miss Willow rejected her assertion.

“Because you’ll lose everything! Your friends, your self, Willow, if you let this control you then the world goes away and all of us with it! There’s so much to live for, Will, there’s too much…”

“Oh Please, this is your pitch?” Miss Willow interrupted Miss Buffy’s plea. “Buffy, you hate it here as much as I do! I’m just more honest about it.”

“That’s not true!” Miss Buffy’s retort seemed less than fully convicted.

“You’re trying to sell me on the world? The one where you lie to your friends when you’re not trying to kill them, and you screw a vampire just to feel,” Miss Willow pointed to him, “And insane asylums are the comfy alternative? This world? Buffy, it’s me! I know you were happier when you were in the ground. The only time you were ever at peace in your whole life is when you were dead.” Miss Willow asserted. “Until Willow brought you back.”

At some point, he noted that the room seemed to start spinning around them as Miss Willow continued talking. The air around them seemed muddled and thin, and then everything came to an abrupt halt. He felt his legs buckle beneath him as he fought to remain conscious, and then to regain his bearings.

“Sorry, it can be kind of a rough trip if you’re not, you know… me,” Miss Willow gloated, as she stood over Miss Buffy, Miss Dawn, and himself.

The shop. They were somehow back in the shop named simply enough, “The Magic Box”. And based on the reactions of everyone present, he gathered the next few moments may make the last two days seem rather dull.





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