Children of the Earth (9/10) Part 2 -- **The Buffyverse Fanfic Board**

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Date Posted: 22:21:36 08/08/02 Thu
Author: WillowX
Author Host/IP: AC9DEEA4.ipt.aol.com / 172.157.238.164
Subject: Children of the Earth (9/10) Part 2

Have you ever gone snorkeling in the middle of the ocean?

I did once, with my parents. We were on vacation in the Grand Cayman Islands. This was way before I became a Slayer�way before my parents got divorced�way before my father left or my mother became sick. Back when my life was easy. Back when it was ok for me to be happy.

I was fourteen years old. We took a charter boat far out into the ocean. The water was bright blue and even from on board the boat you can see clear to the bottom of the ocean floor, the multitude of fishes and sea animals that lived there.

I remembered swimming in the water. The day was hot and the ocean was warm. It surrounded my body�the warmth�it engulfed me. At one point in the snorkeling trip I turned over and let my life jacket do the rest. I floated effortlessly in the middle of the sea. As if I belonged there. My face peaked out of the water as the rest of my body floated weightlessly just below the surface. The only sounds I could hear were that of my own breathing and the muffled hum of the ocean surrounding me.

I floated like that, deep in my own happy thoughts, for what seemed like hours but was really only minutes. When I opened my eyes again I could barely see the boat any longer. I had floated a good 200 yards away from the boat�from my family�from my safety. The current had carried me there. I was alone in an ocean of vast depths and thousands of creatures.

Afraid, I began my breathless struggle to return to the boat. The harder I paddled the stonger the water currents became. The life jacket that once aided me in my swim was now impeding my return to safety. The clear blue salty water that had initially relaxed me, now blinded and drowned me. I thought I was lost.

Exhausted from the exercise and sick from all the seawater I had inadvertently swallowed, I felt the urge to stop moving and just sink. Sink deep. To get lost in the darkness of the waves�in the unknown creepy world that is the ocean. That�s when I saw the boat approaching�with my mother sitting at the bow anxiously waving at me. I could hear her sweet voice echo over the water. Dawn was only eight years old. She was standing next to mom, holding her hand, crying. Worried something had happened to me. Worried she had lost her sister. Worried about me.

The lesson? Never close your eyes when you�re happy, everything can float away from you in a matter of seconds and you might find yourself alone, in a dark world.

I closed my eyes once after that day. It was during my senior year in High School. Right when Angel came back from Hell. I was so happy. The world had been good to me again. We had been given another chance. I closed my eyes to enjoy it�..and as sure as the sun rises every day�.the ocean sweep me away with its current. But this time, instead of lost minutes at sea, it was lost years of life...lost happiness. I lost my father, my boyfriend, my mother, and, finally, I lost myself.

I died�and returned to a very dark world. A world where the bad guys were good and the good guys were bad. A world where I couldn�t feel, couldn�t think, and couldn�t bear to live any longer.

Luckily, before I closed my eyes and allowed myself to sink, I gave the horizon one last look. That�s when I saw it. The boat circling to pick me up. My salvation�my rescue� and sitting at the bow was Willow.

My Best Friend.

My Lover.

My Other Half.

�Are you ready?� Hope�s voice interrupted my train of thought. I was sitting in the yard on the bench. The sun was setting already. Sunset was the worst part. It was my work whistle.

�Yes. I�m ready for the fight.� I said sure of myself.

�That�s not what I asked.� Hope said softly in her cryptic speech again. �Are you ready for what you will become�for what you will have to do?� She finished pointedly. I stared at her confused and she continued, �You think you know ... what's to come ... what you are. You haven't even begun.�

I looked at her puzzled as those questions resonated in my ears. They were familiar. I had heard them before. They were filled with all sorts of underlying issues.

�What do you mean?� I asked confused.

�You will be faced with a harsh decision today. But it will be something that only you will be able to do. The fate of the world will hang on you. It is your destiny. This is why you are the chosen one.� She said.

�Great. Thanks Hope. How about you stab me in the eye with a needle before I leave? Let�s get the full range of pain in here.� I said sarcastically and she chuckled a bit.

�I�m tired.� She said softly. It was the first time I actually heard Hope speak of how she felt. Somehow �tired� threw me.

�Tired?�

�Yes. Tired of my struggle. Tired of being alone.� She looked at me sadly. That�s when it dawned on me. She was joined with her other half, her soul mate, but was forced to separate on her own. She made that decision. What a painful decision that must have been.

�The world is an ugly place little one. Take it from me I�ve been around a long time. Evil is strong.� She sighed deeply and turned to stare aimlessly into the sunset. �Sometimes it�s just overwhelming. It�s moments like that when you have to stop, breathe, and think. Concentrate on the things that bring you joy, the things that make you happy. For me it was the sound of laughter coming from a small child�s heart.� She turned and smiled warmly. �Or watching a couple in love�the feeling�so overwhelming�LOVE.� Her eyes swelled with tears. �Or waking up before dawn to watch the sunrise and enjoy the uncertainty the world feels at the sight of a new day. The world is ugly, but humanity is beautiful�concentrate on that.� She finished.

I sat in silence next to her. We gazed at the sunset for a while. A thousand questions were running through my head. Part of me felt tired. I, like Hope, was also tired of the struggle. It seemed like it would never end. Why is it always so hard to be happy? But then I thought of Willow. Her face shinned bright in my memory. Her beautiful green eyes. Her gorgeous skin. The way her hair smelled while we slept. The way her hands felt as they roamed my body. The way her lips tasted when they touched mine. Suddenly�the world made sense. The struggle had a renewed purpose. She was the trophy I was fighting for. Her undying love.

�And there it is� so overwhelming.� Hope exclaimed softly.

�What?� I asked.

�The Love.� She said with a small smile. I smiled back at her and exhaled softly. She had read my mind again.

Thank God I wasn�t having naughty naked Willow thoughts.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

�So you and Buffy are Children of the Earth?� Tara asked confused.

�Uh huh and Hope and Methos are Children of the Moon.� I explained.

�Weird.� She conceded.

�Tell me about it. One day I�m fighting my powers and the next day I�m trying to develop them as much as I can. I feel like a yo-yo.� I said with a smile. Tara smiled back at me. It was nice to sit and talk with her. I needed it. It was nice to see her smile. I needed that too.

�I�m sorry.� I whispered.

�For what?� She asked.

�For making you a part of all this. For putting your life in danger day after day. It�s all my fault and you don�t deserve it. You deserve to live a long and healthy life�without the threat of death around every corner.� I explained softly as tears swelled in my eyes.

She leaned forward and cupped my face with her hands. �Willow� even if I knew that I would die tomorrow I wouldn�t change a single thing about my life. I would do everything exactly the same if it meant that we�d have what we had�even if it was just for a short while.� She said with her eyes near tears. �Exactly the same.� She whispered with a husky breath as she wiped the tears from my face with her thumbs.

I leaned forward and hugged her softly. It was nice to hold her in my arms. Not in a sexual way, of course, but definitely in a loving way. Although I was no longer IN love with her�I still loved her, just in a different way.

�So what�s going to happen tonight?� She asked as we released each other�s embrace.

�I�m not sure. I don�t know when Methos will appear or what he will do. Hope insists that I should continue developing my power. She said that I�ll require all of my strength and skill to defeat him.� I explained.

�What about Dawn?� Tara asked confused.

�Buffy is going to do that. She�s taking Faith and Xander. I foresee no danger for them and I can still sense Dawn. She is very scared but she�s alive. In any case, if anything should arise, Buffy and I are connected now, I�d feel it right away and teleport there in an instant.�

�Sounds like a plan.� Tara said nodding slowly.

�One last thing I forgot.� I said as I leaned forward and placed my hand over her heart. Her body was engulfed in light and her eyes flashed brightly. She lasted like that for a few seconds until I retreated my hand.

�What was that?� She asked startled.

�Power. I gave you some. I want you to be able to defend yourself. Use it wisely.� I explained.

I watched as she sat back slowly. I can feel her body humming with strength. I�m not worried though. Tara can handle it. Her soul is pure.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You know that feeling you get when you visit your old school? It�s nothing at all how you remember it and for a moment you wonder how you spent so much time there without noticing that the water fountains were made for midgets, the walls were the color of vomit, and the halls smelled like old cafeteria food.

This is how I feel now.

I hadn�t been to this place since that day. I tried my best to forget about it. To forget about him. To forget about what we did here. But the moment I walked in the smell of the building brought it all back in floods. What was I thinking?

�You had sex with Spike in this dump?� Faith asked vulgarly.

�Um�yes�but it had walls then.� I said in my defense. I was concentrated and wasn�t about to start giving Faith any explanations. Besides�she was right. This place is a dump. I can�t believe I took my clothes off here.

�What did I say about the Spike Sex Talk? I said there wasn�t to be ANY Spike Sex Talk. That�s what I said. I remember. I said �I�ll come along if there is no Spike Sex Talk�. And here we are�and all I hear is Spike Sex Talk.� Xander said pissed off.

�Chill Xander. I�m sick of it already. Willow�s my lover and even she took it better than you did.� I jabbed at him.

�What did I say about the Willow Sex Talk? Hmmm? Huh? I said there was to be�� He was about to start his whole rant again replacing the word Spike for Willow but Faith interrupted him.

�Yeah�let�s talk about you and Jessica Rabbit �The Amazing Sex Duo�!! Seven hundred and thirty times? Ha! She doesn�t even believe that one.� Faith said with a smirk.

�Hey!� Xander said insulted.

�Guys�can we save the argument for another time when we are not in mortal danger?� I asked sarcastically. I turn slowly and mutter under my breath �Goobers!�

We stood around in silence for a few minutes, watching our surroundings closely, expecting the attack at any minute. My body was sore from all the tension. I felt as if I�ve been at battle for days. And my mind�well my mind was deep in thought. Hope�s words to me earlier this afternoon still lingered. What's to come? What am I? What decision do I have to make?

�What time is it?� Faith asked.

�A quarter past midnight.� Xander provided.

�We�ve been here a half hour already.� I whispered. Something didn�t seem right.

�Looks like your vamp is late for a date, either that or this place is booby trapped.� Faith interjected.

�There aren�t signs of anything Buffy. Look at the floors. They are covered with dust and dirt. Nobody has walked on these floors in months. The only footsteps here are ours.� Xander concluded.

Just then I felt a sharp pain rip through my heart. Something had gone desperately wrong. I doubled over in agony with a loud groan. My vision blurred and a bright light appeared in my minds eye. I screamed in fear when I saw it. Oh God no. No no no no!!

�Buffy what�s wrong?� Xander screamed as he rushed to my side. I could barely breathe the pain was so great. Oh God no.

�This was a decoy. A trap.� I whispered in between gasps.

�What�s wrong? What is she talking about?� Faith asked confused.

I felt my body tremble in Xander�s arms. The pain was devastating. How could this be? How did I not see it? How could I be so stupid?

�Buffy! Buffy! You�re freaking me out! Buffy talk to me!� Xander screamed.

I laid my head on the floor and screamed with all my might.

�WILLOW!�

To be concluded in Chapter 10 �Nowhere But Here�

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