three wishes - 3

December 24, 2012
10:05 am
    Willow tucked the light blanket around Xander's chin and then sat down in the chair next to the bed.
She was weary, but she knew that the worst was still to come.  Sighing, she layed down on the bed
and curled up next to her husband.  She nestled her head against his shoulder and quickly drifted off to
sleep.
    When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the middle of a vast field with nothing else in sight.
"What in the world?" she said aloud only to hear her voice echo strangely.  "What's going on here?" she
shouted.  "Is anybody here?  Anybody?" she yelled again, beginning to panic.  Then she saw clouds
forming on the edge of the horizon.  As the clouds approached she stood rooted to the spot.  A strong
wind whipped her long red hair behind her and carried leaves and other things towars her.  Above the
sound of the wind, Willow also heard another sound that filled her with dread.  Someone or something
was calling out for her.
    The voice, or rather mixture of voices, was not calling her name however.  "Slayer," the voices
sang.  "Oh, Slayer!  Where are you?"  Then the voices became frustrated.  "Dammit little girl!  Come to
us now!"
    At this Willow's mind reeled.  "Little girl?  What are they talking about?"  She continued to stare at the
swirling mass of clouds and then noticed something.  They weren't clouds at all, but rather a twisting
group of demons.  Now that they were closer she could make out that they were the ones calling out for
the Slayer.  Then the mass suddenly changed direction, turning and making its way away from Willow.
She looked around in confusion and then saw the reason for the sudden shift.  To the right of Willow's
spot, her daughter stood in a daze.  Realizing what was about to happen Willow screamed.
    And then her eyes snapped open and she was back in her hotel room.  Xander stood next to the bed
looking down on her worriedly.  Ignoring him for the moment, Willow scrambled out of bed and headed
for the room her daughter was sharing with Melissa.  "Melly!" she screamed as she ripped open the
door.  The room was deceptively tranquil when she entered the room, but she found the four-year-old
tossing and turning on her bed.  Melissa was trying to wake her to no avail.
    "No," the little girl cried.  "I don't want to go with you!  Leave me alone!" she cried in her sleep.
    Willow ran to the bed and shook her daughter.  "Melly!" she screamed, panicking.  "Wake up
sweetie.  It's Mommy.  Wake up.  Please sweetheart," she said as she started to cry.  "Wake up."
    Melly opened her eyes and looked sleepily around the room.  "Mommy?" she asked dazedly as
Willow faintly heard a last frustrated howl from the demons.
    Sobbing, she pulled her daughter into her arms and rocked her back and forth.  "It's okay sweetie,"
she reassured Melly, who had also started to cry.  "I won't let them hurt you.  I love you way too much to
let them hurt you.  Okay?" she asked, lifting her daughter's chin to look into her face.
    The girl sniffled and then smiled bravely.  "Okay Mommy," she agreed.  "But why were those bad
things trying to hurt me?"
    "I don't know, angel," Willow sighed.  "That's what we need to find out.  Can you be really brave and
stay in here with Aunt Rachel while the rest of us try to figure everything out?"
    "Mmm-hmm," Melly muttered and gave her mother a quick hug.  "I'm not going back to sleep,
though."
    "That's probably a good idea," Willow agreed.  "Okay," she said, turning to Rachel, who had entered
to find out what the ruckus was.  "Is that all right with you?"
    "Sure," Rachel smiled softly.  "It'll be fun, right sweetie?  We can play cards or something," she said,
sitting down next to Melly.
    "Yeah," Melly agreed, smiling happily.  "I'll be okay Mommy," she assured her mother, smiling at
Willow as she left the room and closed the door.
    "What's going on?" Xander asked his wife as they re-entered their own room.
    "He's trying to get Melissa," Willow said softly.  "Why is he trying to get Melissa?" she added
frantically.
    "Wil, hold on," Xander interrupted.  "How do you know he's trying to get her?  And is he Lestat?  Is
that who you're talking about?"
    "Yes," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek.  Then she turned to her Watcher, who had entered
the room when Willow was talking to Melly.  "Why, Giles?  Why is he doing this?" she asked,
instinctively turning to the person who had guided her through the most harrowing years of her life.
    "I don't know, Willow," he answered.  "Why don't you try starting from the beginning.  Xander said that
you were having a nightmare and then you ran into Melissa's room.  What were you dreaming about?"
    "It was so confusing," she said dazedly.  "I was standing in the middle of a field and these demons
were calling for me..." her voice trailed off.  Then she paused for a few moments, going through the
events of the dream in her mind.  Suddenly she realised what had actually happened and looked up at
her friends.  "They weren't looking for me, though," she explained in a rush.  "I figured that out when I
saw Melissa on the other side of the field.  Oh God, they thought she was the Slayer!  That's what they
meant by 'little girl'!" she exclaimed, confusing the group of people around her.  "Lestat doesn't know
that I'm the Slayer!  That could be an advantage, right?"
    "Ordinarily, yes," a voice came from the doorway opening onto the hall.
    They all whirled to see a man with long blond hair standing there grinning evilly.  "Except that now I
do know, so that doesn't really apply.  You must be the little red-haired woman from David's dream."
    "Lestat," Melissa breathed, hastily grabbing a stake from the pile on the table and holding it at the
ready.
    "Ah, hello.  It seems you have me at a disadvantage.  You know my name, but I don't know yours.
Oh well, it doesn't really matter since you'll be dead tomorrow.  Don't worry.  I won't try to kill any of
you.  I would hate for you to miss the show tomorrow night.  I just stopped by to apologize for what the
boys tried to do to your little girl, ma'am," he said, nodding at Willow.  "I didn't authorize that and they've
been dealt with.  I guess I'll see you all tomorrow."
    "I'll be looking forward to it," Willow answered, her eyes flashing.  "Just don't make plans for your
demons just yet.  They won't be taking over any time soon."
    "We'll see about that.  You're clever.  I'll grant you that.  You must be if you were able to keep me
from finding out about this sooner.  But it's going to take a lot more than cleverness to stop me
tomorrow.  So, Slayer, prepare to die tomorrow," he concluded, then smiled at Willow as she stood
pointing an icy glare at him.  Then he turned and left the room, passing as silently as he had come.
    Once he was out of sight, Willow sagged into the nearest chair sobbing.  "I can't do this," she said in a
shaking voice.  "Buffy and Melissa are strong.  They handled this, but I can't.  I'm scared Xander," she
admitted, allowing him to wrap his arms around her.
    "I know sweetheart.  You'll be okay, though.  Nobody's going to let him kill you.  Besides, you're
stronger than the rest of us put together," he added, with a quirky smile.  "You can handle anything.
You're just scared because you're smart.  You'd have to be an idiot not to be scared right now."
    "Are you scared right now?" she asked, looking up at him.
    "Nope.  So, what does that say about me?"
    "Only that you're an idiot," she smiled.  "But we all knew that already."
    "Oh, I see.  That's how it's gonna be.  You're gonna insult me right to my face now.  Well then, if that's
how it is, you're...you're...a girl!" Xander joked.
    "Wow, there's a snappy comeback," Buffy joined in the teasing.
    "What can I say?" he shrugged his shoulders at his old friend.  "I'm just naturally witty."
    "Mmm-hmm.  Whatever you say Xand," Buffy laughed.
    "All right guys," Willow laughed.  "Thanks for making me feel better.  I believe him when he says he
won't hurt us today, so we'd better get some sleep while we still have a chance.  Tomorrow night's
gonna come sooner than we think."

*****
December 25, 2012
5:00 pm
    Xander stared out the window at the sinking sun, his soul filled with a sense of dread.  He wanted
more than anything to be able to stop the sun in its tracks, but he knew that was impossible.  He closed
his eyes and prayed once again that his wife would live through the night.  He knew that he should pray
for the Hellmouths to be closed as well but he couldn't bring himself to care.  All that mattered was for
Willow to be okay.
    He heard a soft sound coming from behind him and turned to look down at his sleeping daughter.
He smoothed back her hair and tucked the blanket a little more tightly around her.  Smiling, he thought
of the day he and his friends had spent with Melissa.  "She wasn't even upset about not having a lot of
presents," he thought proudly.  "She was just happy that it was her birthday and Christmas at the same
time."
    Then he turned his attention back to the darkening sky outside the window.  "Please let her be okay,"
he whispered.  "It would be great if she saved the world too, but just let her live."  Then he sighed and
sat down for a long night of anxious waiting.

*****
December 25, 2012
7:10 pm
    Lestat stood in his apartment, making his final preparations to leave.  He went over the ritual one last
time to make sure it was firmly planted in his mind and then placed all the necessary materials in a
bag.  Satisfied that he was ready, he walked out the door and headed for the plaza.

*****
7:13 pm
    Melissa looked around carefully, searching for any sign of vampires nearby.  They had set up a
system to keep any vampires occupied and only allow one in at a time to fight Willow.  That way she
could complete the ritual and they could all go home.  While the system sounded good in principle,
Melissa was uncertain of whether it would actually work.  Deciding not to worry about it at the moment,
she settled back on her haunches and waited for someone to show up.

*****
7:24 pm
    Lestat turned at the sound of his flunkies returning.
    "We found the Slayer, Master," one of them informed him.
    "Good," Lestat smiled wickedly.  "Now go kill her.  Just make sure you don't get yourselves killed.  I
would not be pleased if you helped her beat me.  And make sure you get that man I told you about.
He'll be the perfect one to complete the ritual.  A Watcher opening the Hellmouth.  Rather poetic I think."

    "Master," the vampire in the lead spoke up.  "You saw her earlier, didn't you?  Why didn't you kill her
then?"
    "You dare question my actions?" Lestat asked in a dangerous voice.
    "N-no, Master, of course not.  I would never presume...I was just wondering," the vampire
whimpered.
    "If you must know, it wouldn't be honorable to kill her before the night of the ritual.  What kind of
opponent would I be if I tried to kill her before the real battle began?  Besides," he added, his voice
taking on a slightly injured tone.  "She was in a room surrounded by Slayers and her Watcher.  Even I
am not strong enough to face three Slayers.  Now, go.  Kill her and bring back the Watcher," Lesat
ordered.
    "Yes, Master," the two in the lead said in unison and bowed to Lestat.
    "Oh, just go already," he said, annoyed.  "I'm sick of all of you blubbering all the time."
    He watched as the group of vampires scurried away and shook his head.  "Why do they all have to
be so weak?" he wondered to himself.  "Even Louis wasn't that pathetic.  Well, I guess I'd better get to
work.  I have a lot of people to kill and not much time to do it in," he decided as he quietly worked his
way into the crowd and toward the stage at the front.

*****
7:32 pm
    Buffy turned at a sound coming from the trees to her right.  She looked over to see a small group of
vampires heading toward her position.  "Show time," she muttered to Angel, who sat next to her.  He
looked in the direction she pointed and nodded, readying to take them on.  He cast out quickly with his
mind to alert Pandora that the fighting was about to begin and then turned his attention back to the task
at hand.
    They met the vampires head-on, careful to keep them alive long enough to send them to Willow, who
stood in the center of the perimeter they had set up.  Buffy and Angel allowed one vampire through to
the center and then closed ranks again, carefully watching their backs while they fought the other
vampires in the group.  Willow fought the vampire for several minutes before she had the opportunity to
stake him.  When she did so, Nick, who had insisted on helping but had no real talent when it came to
vampire slaying, gathered the dust into a container.
    Each pair on the perimeter experienced the same ease in their fights with the attacking vampires to
the point that Willow began to grow suspicious.  "This is too easy," she said aloud while fighting the
latest vampire.  She had already killed six of them and was beginning to wonder why it was not more
difficult.
    "You're right," the vampire she was fighting agreed and whistled to his companions who quickly
broke off their fights and backed off.  Then, with blinding speed, they grabbed Giles and bore him away,
leaving Willow and her friends staring in bewilderment.
    "What in the world?" Melissa exclaimed.
    "I don't know.  It doesn't really matter, though," Willow answered.  "They have Giles and I still need to
kill four more vampires.  I suggest we follow them so we can get him back and I can complete the
ritual."
    And with that she followed quickly after the retreating vampires, her friends soon trailing dazedly
behind her.  They were not sure what was going on, but they were all fairly sure that it was not good.

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