Sealed With a Kiss: Part 6
by Anya
Willow rested Ms. Calendar's head in her lap, the others clustered around. Buffy kneeled down beside the young hacker, picking up Ms. Calendar's hand. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...oh God...it's my fault!" The Slayer whispered repeatedly.

Angel gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, crouching low beside her. Willow couldn't hear what he was saying to her, but he led her away from the hurt teacher, speaking in a steady soft voice.

A scrap of cloth was passed to her, soaked in Giles' ever present water bottle. Willow wiped the blood away, then used the cloth as a compact to stop further bleeding. Probing around the hurt area for any sign of extensive damage, and then gently checking Ms. Calendar's neck. "I don't think anything is broken..but.."

Buffy still looked close to tears, shouldering the blame for this accident entirely upon herself. "What are we going to do? We needed Ms. Calendar..and because of me, now she can't protect the Seal!" Her voice bordered on hysterical, surprising everyone in the room. Buffy always seemed so self-composed and calm.

Willow sighed heavily, closing her eyes in attempt to find inner peace. From the moment she saw the falling rock, Willow knew Ms. Calendar was going to be hurt. She knew Ms. Calendar wouldn't be able to work with the Seal. Just like that horrible snake monster, it was a repeated part of her nightmares.

Only, now, Willow wasn't sure that those nightly episodes of pure terror were nightmares. Four aspects of those nightmares had already happened, albeit, the end result of one was different. The stone hidden in the niche, the cut on Buffy's arm, the monster that Giles called a Beithir, and Ms. Calendar was hurt. If these nightmares were true to form...the Seal would rupture soon and thousands of demons would pour forth.

A cold shiver went down her spine. Willow opened her eyes again, and looked at Giles. The Watcher was upset, but hiding it well in deference to his Slayer. Buffy's hysterics were probably more unnerving for him than for everyone else present.

"Buffy, this was meant to happen, I'm afraid. I'm just not sure what happens next." Giles began soothingly.

"Meant to happen? How is someone getting hurt because of ME meant to happen?" Buffy exploded. She shook off Angel's restraining hand and stalked over to Giles.

Giles didn't move, he simply stood very firm. "What I mean is that the prophecy had a line in it: 'The Crone shall pass her burden to the Maiden', and I'm afraid it meant Ms. Calendar as the Crone."

"Oh, that'll go over well when _she_ hears that!" Xander muttered quietly. The gangly slayerette stood a few feet away from Giles, watching Buffy's tirade with stunned eyes.

Buffy seemed to mull Giles words over. "Fine. So the burden was the job of watching the Seal?" At Giles nod, Buffy frowned. "Okay. Then I'll do it. I'm a maiden. I'll protect the Seal, since I'm the one that KO'D Ms. Calendar, it should be my responsibility to fix things." She crossed her arms, and set her jaw firmly.

"No." Giles said simply. It was to his credit that he didn't cringe from the furious look the Slayer gave him. "You can't protect the Seal. You are needed to fight whatever individual is attacking the Seal."

Buffy shrugged, fully intending to pass that burden onto Angel. Half turned towards the vampire, she gestured to him with a dismissive wave.

"I can't do it alone." Angel spoke before Buffy could. "And no, as helpful as Xander, Giles and Willow are, they don't have your strength. They can't make up the difference for you."

Willow watched Buffy's fist close and open in aggravation. The muscle's in her jaw trembled, making Willow silently ache for her pain. Buffy had such a tremendous responsibility already, there was no way fate or destiny could ask more from her...could it?

Looking past Buffy, Willow's gaze settled onto the Seal. On first impression, it seemed so strong, so overwhelming, but that, Willow realized, was a human reaction to being in the presence of something so sacred and powerful. In actual fact, as she watched the flames flicker, it was weak. The picture in the catacombs had shown a solid blue streak, not two differing types of blue. A deep blue flame at the bottom, and a ghostly film of blue in a pillar.

'The Crone passes her burden to the Maiden'...if that didn't mean Buffy. Willow's eyes snapped wide and she stared in shock at the Seal. If it wasn't Buffy, and Ms. Calendar was the Crone...then SHE was the one who was supposed to guard the Seal.

The idea stunned her, fascinated her, and still terrified her. All that research in the library hadn't prepared her for this, listening to Ms. Calendar speak to Giles hadn't taught her enough, she didn't know how to protect the Seal, beyond willpower.

*Who am I kidding? I don't have the kind of willpower to do this!* Willow felt her mouth go dry. "I can't do this!" She whispered to herself.

Drawing back deep inside herself, Willow looked up, meeting Giles' eyes for the first time. *He knows!* she realized, astonished. There was sympathy, and confidence in that gaze, infusing Willow with the Watcher's own secure trust in her abilities.

Willow gave a tiny shake of her head, tilting it towards Buffy. Relief swept through her as Giles nodded his agreement. He wouldn't say anything to the others. Shoulders slumping, Willow looked down once more at the unconscious Ms. Calendar. Her breathing was even, put she still wasn't stirring. That was worrisome.

"Buffy, let's drop this for now. What are we going to do about her?" Xander asked, pointing to Ms. Calendar. "She can't come with us like that."

Giles walked closer to Willow and Ms. Calendar. "No. You are quite right." Bending down, he carefully gathered Ms. Calendar into his arms, moving to a far corner of the chamber. Passing his burden to Angel, Giles shrugged his jacket off, folding it up into quarters. Using that as a pillow, he reclaimed Ms. Calendar and set her down with the utmost attention.

Riffling through one of the three backpacks, Willow found a small rough wool blanket. Passing it to Xander, he in turn gave it to Giles.

Buffy watched none of this. Instead she stalked closer to the Seal, glaring at it balefully. Her back was rigid, fists clenched to either side of her body.

Giles studied her for a moment before mustering the courage to tackle Buffy's anger. Moving purposefully, he stood to the one side of her, attempting to make the Slayer see reason.

Willow watched their little battle. Buffy's arms swung all over the place as they spoke more with hands than words. A small smile twisted onto her face before she let her eyes sit on the Seal again. Her sight became unfocused as she watched the flames dance. Deep within a feeling rose, the urge to dance with those giddy little imps of fire.

Breathing slowing, the fires soothed her, lulled her, enchanted her...called her. Staring deeply into those fires, she could almost feel the Power... Would it hurt to walk into those flames?

Above her, Xander exchanged a dark look with Angel, before glancing down at Willow. Still kneeling, her body was partially turned towards Buffy and Giles' little pantomime. She stared in horrifying fascination at the glowing Seal. Moving towards her, Xander crouched down, following her exact line of sight.

The Seal was the only 'thing' holding the Hellmouth closed. A fragile thing of beauty it radiated it's small blue fires steadily. "Lo and Behold, the Seal shall Shudder and Power Leaks," Xander whispered softly. Willow jumped, startled, her body falling backwards somewhat. Xander reached out, griping her elbow to steady her. Unsaid, they both knew if that seal broke.... Willow whimpered softly.

"Hey, you okay?" Xander murmured softly. Catching her wrist, he raised her bandaged hand to inspect it. The make-shift bandages seemed secure, and his tender probing didn't seem to cause any discomfort. Carefully, he slipped an arm around her tiny little waist, helping her stand, before leading her away from the others. Willow's secrecy was getting out of hand. He knew by the little crease on her forehead that something was bothering her, just as he knew by the set of her mouth that she wasn't about to tell him all about it.

But just because she wasn't _inclined_ to tell him all about it, didn't mean he wasn't going to go fish for it.

"Why don't you tell Uncle Xander all about what's bothering you? Hmm?" He intentionally kept a teasing note into his voice. Most times, people didn't expect him to be serious, a perception Xander tried very hard to maintain. It came in handy, sometimes.

Willow shook her head earnestly in negative, plastering a false smile on her face. "I can't." She looked away from her childhood friend, ashamed of her lack of confidence in herself.

"Why not," Xander whispered, the devil's advocate. "Don't you trust me?" It was emotional blackmail, and Xander had no hesitation in using it.

Willow rounded on him, fury in her eyes. "How dare you even THINK that! I have never had any lack of trust in you! Never!"

It was a side of Willow rarely seen. She could spit fire and brimstone as well as anyone he'd ever known, better than some, he conceded, since she did it so rarely. "Prove it. Tell me what's going on." It was, for their friendship, a dangerous gambit but Xander played it anyway. He'd apologize later for doing this to her.

A silent war waged inside Willow, ending as her body slumped. Thinking she was going to pass out on him, Xander grabbed both her shoulders bracing her.

"It's those nightmares. Everything in those nightmares is coming true.." She breathed it so softly Xander almost didn't hear her speak at all.

"Tell me about them. What happened in them?" He urged in an equally quiet voice. Buffy and Giles still raged on. Sparks should have been flying from her swinging limbs, as the passion of her arguments could overcome the implacable logic Giles brought to bear against her.

"I saw Ms. Calendar's wounds, in my dreams. And of you blind, from the lightening..and Buffy's cut. I knew that stone and that scroll was hidden there...I knew how to use that stone... I saw all of that in my dreams." Willow rubbed the palm of her hand across her forehead.

"You all died." Willow continued in a flat voice. Xander's head jerked back, stunned eyes wide. "Again, and again. Every night. You died. In the first dream, you were devoured entirely by that _thing_ in the catacombs. It blinded you and then swooped down and ate you. Whole."

Xander swallowed hard. He opened his mouth to speak, but Willow kept right on talking. Her eyes were distant, seeing everything as she told it.

"You were eaten every time you died. The worst was this monster...it looked like a giant lobster, carrion crawler kind of thing. It was hideous. It had tentacles coming out of it's mouth, and claws for hands. It grabbed you with those tentacles, something was holding me back..I couldn't help you..and you froze. You couldn't move, or struggle. You just screamed, again, and again."

She took a deep shuddering breath. "And then it ate you. A bit at a time. You screamed the entire time." Her body convulsed once in disgust. Shaking her head as if it would chase the memories away, she looked at Buffy and Giles. Buffy had calmed down, and Giles was speaking to her earnestly.

A sadness crept into her eyes, and her voice. "Buffy was killed by something she thought safe. There was this small dark tunnel..and she was walking ahead." Willow paused, gathering her thoughts. "It looked like a rabbit. A big one. And, Buffy went right up to it, saying something like 'Oh, look. A bunny.'" Eyes closed, Willow's face twisted into a pained grimace. "It was like straight out of Monty Python or something. Except the rabbit was the size of very large dog. That bunny bit her head right off. It was awful. Blood was everywhere, and then it lapped it right up."

Xander tightened his grip, shaking her softly. "Willow, stop. Stop! Look at me." He waited until her eyes were clear, "It was your nightmare. It hasn't happened, and if we're smart, it won't happen."

"There was more." She moaned softly.

"Oh God. How much more?" Xander felt the hair at the back of his neck rising.

"Lots. Everyone died. Everyone. You, me, my family, yours...everyone." Willow whispered tightly. "And all because Ms. Calendar got knocked out."

Xander started violently. First looking at Ms. Calendar, still unconscious with Angel standing guard nearby, and then at the Seal. "Because the Seal wasn't protected"

Willow nodded, glad that their discussion was hidden from Buffy's eyes. This would have upset her more than anything. "Yes."

"It ain't going to happen." Xander said firmly. "I have no intention of dying, so it ain't going to happen." On purpose, he reached down and tugged a lock of her hair. " I got it, I'll stay here. You go beat up the bad guys."

Willow's eyes went wide with disbelief. "How do you know this isn't where it all happened?"

Xander frowned. "Okay, without descriptions..did it happen here?"

"No, I died here. You died somewhere else, but I was still there." That confused Willow for a moment.

"Great. Uh. Did you happen to get eaten?" Xander asked rather callously.

Willow blinked twice."No. Actually. They didn't hurt me much. They always cut off my head as fast as they could. Like there was some sort of rush to get me out of the way."

Xander just stared at her. "Y'know. I can't believe we're having this conversation..but while we're having it, I think I want to say, that your nightmares are biased. How come you get the easy way out?"

The question was so preposterous and sadistic, that Willow laughed at the inanity of it all. It was a giggle just a inch short of insanity, but a laugh all the same.

Xander leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Just remember, Willow. Right now it's all too insane. And if you can keep one step ahead, we'll beat the bad guys."

Instinctively, Willow hugged her friend. Xander didn't often show this side of his personality, he was far more content to be their clown. But when he did let his caring side show, it never failed to amaze her.

"Uh..guys?" Buffy called from across the floor. She was still standing beside the Seal. Her face was once again composed into an impassive mask, and her body language was relaxed.

Buffy turned her blond head to look at Angel. The dark haired vampire frowned shaking his head in a quick 'no' with a jerk of his chin to indicate the Seal. It still made him uncomfortable, and short of an emergency, he wasn't going near it. It amazed him that the Master could have stayed in such near proximity to it for so long, and still want possession of the Hellmouth.

Buffy smiled ruefully at him, before turning her attention to the three standing around her. "I think Giles has successfully proved his point. I'm not staying here, and we'll have to leave the Seal unguarded." At Willow's wide-eyed look, Buffy amended her statement. "If Ms. Calendar wakes up, then she can work on the Seal, otherwise, I don't know what choice we have."

Willow turned to look at Giles, amazed that Buffy hadn't realized that there was another person present who could be the "Maiden", and it wasn't Xander. Surely by now they had realized that the prophecy meant that she was going to be the one to hold the Seal. Astonished, she silently questioned Giles. The Watcher, however, didn't give an indication of his thoughts.

"So, what are WE going to do?" Willow asked, dismayed to hear a frightened note in her voice.

"We're going to find our bad guys."

Wandering around the perimeter of the Seal idly toying with a fancy raised flagstone with an engraved pattern on it, Xander looked up and grinned. "Oh goody. I was getting bored."

Giles watched the boy with a bemused face. "Xander, I wouldn't do that. That's a power glyph."

"A what?"

Willow rolled her eyes, " A glyph. Or a special marking denoting a sign of power. In this case protection. It might hurt you if you keep kicking at it."

"How do you know it's protective?" Xander asked, suddenly suspicious. Willow gave the Seal a funny look, then shrugged.

"I just do." the hacker replied.

It bothered at Xander, this preoccupation for the Seal. Almost as if Willow was listening to it. Frowning, he absently pushed at the flagstone again.

*THUMP* His heel was thrown back, tossing him a good four feet backwards. Hitting the ground with a thud, the air whooshed out of his lungs painfully.

Buffy and Willow ran to his side, helping him up. "We told you so, Xander." Buffy admonished. "You can't just keep poking at things, or you're going to get seriously hurt one of these days!"

Willow winced visibly, quickly moving away and back towards the Seal. This time, both Buffy and Xander watched. "What did I say?" Buffy mumbled.

"Y'know how Willow said she hasn't been having nightmares?" Xander asked, being very careful to keep his voice low. He didn't particularly want Willow to hear him.

Buffy nodded blankly. "She lied." Xander said quickly. "She's been dreaming our deaths for the past week. And we ain't been dying pretty."

"Oh?" The blonde tossed him a funny look. "But they're just dreams."

Xander shook his head. "Then why did she dream of that snake thing? And of you getting cut? And of a lot more gruesome things." He shrugged. "I don't think something was sending her nightmares, anymore. I didn't want to say it to her, but I think they're supposed to be warnings."

Buffy frowned, throwing a look over her shoulder, she jerked her head at Giles. Curious, the Watcher gave up his examination of the Seal and joined them.

"Tell him what you told me." She instructed Xander tersely. Moving away, she trained her sight on Willow. The girl stood so close to the Seal. Her hand raised contemplatively against the glowing column of blue light.

Buffy took a few quick steps to her. "Willow, don't touch it. We don't know what it will do to you." Her words seemed to jar her friend out of a daze.

Willow took a sudden jerky step backwards, moving away from the Seal. "I didn't realize I was so close!"

A moan from across the room caught the girl's attentions, and they spun around to see Ms. Calendar struggling to sit up, Angel helping her.

"Lo and Behold, the Crone awakes!" Xander said sardonically.

Squinting, and her head pounding, Ms. Calendar shot the boy an acid look. "What do you mean _Crone_!" Standing, she wavered unsteadily. Buffy moved suddenly to help the woman.

Xander paled suddenly. Spinning on heel, he pointed to Giles. "He said that you were the prophecy's Crone. I just repeated him"

Giles glowered at Xander. "Do we not have more important matters to discuss than translations Mr. Harris ?" he commented vaguely.

Willow nearly laughed. The look on both males' faces was priceless. But even more joyful was that Ms. Calendar was awake, and alright. She could protect the Seal!

Tension drained right out of her body. Willow felt her entire back slump in relief, forcing her to take a step backwards. A gentle light suddenly flashed all around her, consuming her senses. Looking up, she saw Ms. Calendar's face. The teacher's eyes were wide with shock and, although strangely Willow couldn't hear the older woman she saw her mouth Willow's name before blue flames consumed her vision.

*********End Part 6************


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