Residual Effects
Dec. 13th, 2009 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmk418Title: Residual Effects
Characters: Willow & Andrew, cameos by Giles and Ethan
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2970
Prompt: What if Willow goes off with one of the other Scoobies after the fall of Sunnydale?
Summary: The effects of Warren’s presence have stayed long after Amy’s spell ended. Can Andrew provide the help that Willow needs to free herself once and for all?
Written for the Which Witch Ficathon at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
whichwillow
Somewhere between the Sunnydale crater and Cleveland, Giles had been hit in the head. It was the only reasonable explanation for this madness. “You want me to what?” Willow asked.
“Train Andrew in magic.”
“I’ll buy him a deck of cards. Maybe a top hat and a stuffed rabbit, because anything else is a cosmically bad idea. Who knows what he could conjure up?”
“The monkeys during the school play were rather inspired.”
“He’s not competent.”
“On the contrary, he’s fluent in sixteen demon languages, apt at summoning demons from any dimension, and borderline capable with minor transformation spells. He needs to learn how to harness and direct his magical energy with a guiding force to keep him away from the darker magicks.”
“And you think I’m the role model of the decade in that regard? Have you completely forgotten dark-haired vein-y Willow? Hey! Maybe we can send him to the Coven.”
“I think you two could be good for each other. And I think with everything you’ve been through, you can also serve as a cautionary tale for what happens when the magic takes over. You can see the signs and point him away from danger,” said Giles, ignoring the Coven suggestion completely.
“And if I refuse?”
“Think of this as paying it forward. Someone helped you once, now it’s your turn to help someone else. Besides, much of your magical energy will be tapped out for a while. This will give you time to recharge.”
“Where will we work? The walls in this fixer-upper are practically falling in. A little stray magic and they could be non-existent.”
“Funny. That’s just what Faith said about errant blows coming from her trainees. I know of a place near Akron that will suit the two of you nicely. It’s close enough to reach you if you run into trouble, but far enough away that you won’t feed off the mystical energy of the Hellmouth.”
“Fine. We’ll go. But I’m not happy about it.” Willow stated, stalking off.
When it came down to it, Andrew wasn’t particularly happy about the recent turn of events, either. “Did Mister Giles talk to you?”
“Yes, he did.” Kennedy had left for South America that morning, eager to go on her first assignment as a Slayer. They both knew it was ‘goodbye’. That was fine with Willow – coming away from the ruins of Sunnydale made her realize that she might be better off on her own for a while.
Andrew’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “There’s one thing I have to ask. You’re not going to kill me, are you?”
“Andrew, if I haven’t killed you yet, I seriously doubt I’m going to.”
Andrew nodded. “Fair enough.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Willow stared wide-eyed at the man who answered the door. “You… how? Does Giles know you escaped?”
Ethan Rayne grinned at her. “Know? Of course, Ripper knows I’m here. However, I feel I must correct your information. I have not escaped. The Initiative managed to restrict my magic to the confines of these four walls. It’s dreadfully dull. I needed a challenge. Perhaps…” he eyed Andrew speculatively.
Willow stepped between the two of them. “Don’t even think about it, buddy.”
Ethan smiled. “The mother tigress appears. How nice.”
“Willow,” Andrew hissed between his teeth. “Who is this guy?”
“Bad news,” said Willow as Ethan said, “Ethan Rayne, at your service.”
Ethan extended a hand. Andrew looked at Willow and did not take it.
“Such distrust in the younger generation nowadays. You ever want to learn a little Chaos magic, boy, just knock on my door. Second door off the stairs on the left. Shall I show you where you’ll be staying?”
Ethan showed them both the guest room. “Both of us?” asked Willow.
“There is the sofa downstairs, but I thought you’d be against leaving the young lad alone in my home. Of course, if you’re inclined, there’s always my room.”
“Pass.”
“I think, that in your current state of mind,” he touched Willow on the forehead, “that you will be more comfortable and sleep much better in this room.”
Willow stared at Ethan a long moment before the realization set in. Ethan was able to see what the others had missed the past five months. “You’re right,” she said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Andrew alone in the house with you.”
She shut the door to the guest bedroom and stood with her back against it. She could hear Ethan on the other side of the door. “Good night, Willow. You should let him out once in a while. It’s got to be hard mixed up with all that goodness.”
“What does he mean?” Andrew whispered. “I’m not bad anymore. I don’t mind.”
“It’s all right, Andrew. Ethan just likes to hear himself talk.”
“I’m not sure he should be around when I learn magic.”
“He’s fairly harmless. He’s not going to target you until he’s done playing with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I hope so. We’ll work on some defensive magic so you can help yourself.”
“Can I crucio him?”
“We’re not in Harry Potter.”
“So…” he said, looking at the twin bed.
Willow tossed him a blanket and a pillow. “You’re on the floor. Just be glad it’s summer.”
Andrew settled on the floor. Willow stretched out on the bed, clicking off the lamp on the nightstand. The room was plunged in darkness. “’Night, Andrew.”
“’Night, Willow.”
The dream came as it had every night for the past five months. Variations on a theme. Memories on top of memories. His and hers, mixed and matched.
That’s the best part, Tara says with a smile.
Coming into the backyard, seeing Buffy and Xander embracing.
Feeling Tara’s body enveloping yours. Her lips, so soft.
Feeling the rage course through his body. Such rage. Hearing his thoughts – I have to stop her - at that moment.
The gun, cold iron in his hand. Shooting, Buffy falls, he turns.
Tara twines her hand in your hair.
The gun goes off again. A window cracks.
Your shirt, she says.
“Willow?” Andrew’s voice penetrated her nightmare. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s over. Go back to sleep.”
Willow waited until she was sure Andrew had gone back to sleep, before allowing herself to drift further into slumber. It was a mistake, because as soon as she closed her eyes, Warren’s greatest hits were playing once again.
This time was his grand finale. The amateur magic tricks that wouldn’t work despite his hope. She saw herself black-haired and vein-y binding him to the tree, saw the bullet in her hand, felt the tightness of the ropes and the first pain of the bullet entering his flesh, drifting and drifting as a result of her uncontrolled madness.
She screamed in her sleep for it to stop and then felt everything go still as Andrew touched her. “Andrew?”
Dragging the sheet from the floor with him, Andrew laid down on top of the covers next to Willow. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“What are you doing?”
“Warren. He used to have nightmares. This helped him. I thought it might help you too.”
“Oh,” said Willow. “Just don’t try anything, mister.”
“I won’t.”
Willow listened to his steady breathing and closed her eyes. She drifted into sleep, and for the first time in five months, she didn’t dream.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“Close your eyes,” Willow whispered. “Reach out with your mind. Reach out until you connect with the energy of the earth. Now, in that energy, find a line. Follow it.”
“Follow it where?” Andrew asked, opening his eyes.
“Damn it. You’re new at this. You really need to close your eyes in order to focus.”
“Don’t I need to see where I’m going?”
“Physically, you’re here. You’re always going to be here.”
“What if I follow the line like you say and I get lost?”
“Physically, you’re here.”
“What if my mind goes away and I don’t know anything anymore?”
“Then I will be very sad,” Willow said, rolling her eyes.
Andrew opened his eyes again. “Really?”
Willow gave an exasperated sigh. “Here. I should be able to do this much.” She took his hands. “Close your eyes.”
“This feels familiar somehow,” he whispered. “Like the time, when Jonathan… Warren?”
“Shhh.” Willow felt a brush of magic against her mind.
As she reached for it, Andrew stammered. “But, but, but… you got rid of him, right? You don’t look like him anymore. You don’t talk like him anymore.”
“Damn it, Andrew!” Willow lost her tenuous hold on the magic.
“Well, maybe you do talk like him. Just not in his voice. So how…?”
“Memories, feelings, impressions. He trusts you. Trusted you. More than anybody else in his life. That’s why the nightmares have stopped. When the spell first activated, he didn’t get calm until you touched me.”
“You didn’t seem it.”
“I had a killer in my head and you feeling me up. It didn’t make for the calm.”
“So afterwards, why didn’t you tell anybody about him still being there?”
“We had an apocalypse to avert and I wasn’t sure if it was really him or just the First messing with my head.”
“Stupid First Evil. I hate that guy.”
“Well, it’s good that we managed to vanquish it.”
“Is that what you’re going to do to Warren?”
“There’s nothing left to vanquish. And what’s left, I don’t know how to free myself of without releasing evil on the rest of the world.”
“Warren wasn’t…”
“Andrew, please. I have the memories. I know what he was capable of.”
“I was going to say ‘entirely evil’. You’ve seen some of his good points too.”
“That’s not what wakes me up screaming at 2 a.m..”
“Maybe I can help. Talk to him.”
“I sincerely doubt that he’s going to get out of my head just because you ask nicely.”
“There is a simple transference spell that could be conducted,” said Ethan. “Your memories, or rather, this Warren’s memories could be transferred into Andrew.”
“I always wondered what he thought…”
“There,” said Ethan, pleased with himself. “It’s settled.”
“No, it’s not,” Willow argued.
“Afraid the boy’s image of you will shatter when he sees you for the murderer that you are?”
“He’s aware that I killed Warren.”
“I don’t mind. Actually, I want to do it,” said Andrew.
“Not-negotiable,” answered Willow.
“But…”
“Not! Negotiable,” she said again.
“Fine,” Andrew pouted.
“Shall we try to find the line again? Or should I just tell Giles you gave up and I had to leave you here with Ethan?”
Ethan smiled.
“Hey! I think I met you before. You sold me a ghost costume for Halloween. It sucked. I had to wait ‘til other kids walked up to a door and then nobody gave me any candy. Worst Halloween ever. That costume sucked.”
“I could make it up to you. I believe I have some chocolate bars around here.”
“No!” exclaimed Willow. “No chocolate!”
“I doubt it would have any effect,” Ethan said smoothly.
Andrew looked from Willow to Ethan then back to Willow. “Let’s just try the line thing again. I’m ready.”
“Don’t mess with anything.” Willow warned Ethan.
“I wouldn’t dream of getting in the way of Andrew’s magical education. I’m here to help.”
“Is that what you told Giles before you turned him into a Fyarl?”
“You turned Giles into a Fyarl demon? Cool! I can speak Fyarl. And Mfash’nik. And Klingon.”
“Lovely,” said Ethan.
Willow grabbed both of Andrew’s hands. “Let’s go.” She closed her eyes and grabbed on to the magic line. She heard a sharply indrawn breath from Andrew. “Go ahead. I’ve got you. Wait. Where did you…? Andrew?” Oh crap, she thought. He really did get lost in there.
“Warren?” Andrew yelled and he heard the name echo in his mind. “Warren? Where are you?” he yelled again.
“Oh, for Janus’ sake, shut him up,” Ethan groused.
Willow slapped Andrew across the face, drawing him out of it. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s not like before.” She grabbed Andrew’s arms roughly. “Do you understand?”
“So, he’s really gone?”
“Yes. Like I told you, it’s just the residual things. He’s not coming back.”
“Oh.”
“I thought you knew that.”
“Can I… I just want to be alone for awhile.”
“Okay.” Willow watched Andrew retreat to their room.
“Well played,” said Ethan. “You managed to build a boy up and bring him down in a matter of minutes. Janus would be proud.”
“You…”
“Hush. It was a compliment. Maybe you’ll feel better once your magical reserves are up to snuff. If I can be of any assistance, do let me know.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“What if we transferred Warren’s memories to something else?”
“Like what?”
“A robot.”
Willow closed her eyes on the image of Warren – or rather the robot disguised as Warren – disembarking the bus. “Bad idea,” she whispered. “What about a diary?”
“Warren didn’t like talking about his life. I don’t think a diary would be his thing.”
“Well, it’s not like he’s going to read it or anything.”
“I know what we could do!” Andrew said excitedly. “And it’s totally Warren. Flash drive.”
Willow considered it. “I’ve had a little trouble in the past with possessed computers. I really don’t think that…”
“You said yourself that he wasn’t an active spirit. It would just be moving parts of the memory from one spot to another, like from one drive to another on a computer.”
“No offense, Andrew, but I really think you should be further along in your magical training before I even consider letting you play inside my brain to do this. I don’t want to wind up like one of Glory’s minions, thank you.”
“Maybe that Ethan guy can help us out, like he suggested.”
“No! Ethan is bad news. I don’t know why Giles trusts him as much as he does.”
“Because everybody needs somebody they can count on,” said Andrew. “It’s not just you counting on me to be able to help you with this. So tell me again how to get started.”
“Close your eyes. Now, very gently, reach out with your mind until you feel the mystical energy radiating from the earth…”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It took three months to get Andrew up to speed magically. In Willow’s opinion, he was a fairly quick study, but even the basics took time.
It was another month of research and getting together the logistics to do the spell. Ethan had been valuable in that regard. He enjoyed the challenge of trying to do something than demon summoning and chaos magic. “If this works, perhaps you’ll put in a good word for me with the camouflage crew,” he said. Willow made no promises either way.
“This is it?” Ethan asked, looking over the flash drive. “You’re going to put the contents of a man’s life on this?”
“Yes,” said Andrew.
“Not all,” amended Willow.
“Each memory will be coded. Anything with evil potential will be removed.”
“We had a debate on which was the best Star Wars around the time of Episode One. I want that memory intact,” Andrew said.
“If you were part of the debate, you already have the memory,” Ethan reasoned.
“Yeah, but I think Warren just didn’t want to admit I was right about Jedi.”
Ethan looked at Willow. “Tell me he isn’t serious.”
“Unfortunately, he is. Are you ready?”
Ethan nodded. Willow was using both he and Andrew to keep her grounded as she began the process of extracting Warren’s memories from her own and guiding them to the tiny storage space. Memory after memory selected, transferred into computer language and then sent down the magical link to the flash drive.
It was a long, arduous process and every day they would check that they hadn’t exceeded the memory. Willow coded everything – okay, iffy, and NWiH (for No Way in Hell) and the date. Inane Trio discussions were left unaltered, but things about Freeze Rays, Invisible Slayers, robots, and Warren’s misogynistic views of women were instantly deleted.
The most difficult point for Willow was unraveling Warren’s memories of his final hours from hers. Her mind was consumed with such hate for him that it took over. “So much hate,” she whispered over and over again as tears streamed down her cheeks. Andrew and Ethan looked on, unable to do anything that would break her concentration.
Finally it was done. Willow slumped back in her chair. “I need a nap,” she said.
“Don’t you want to clean up the drive?” Andrew asked.
She looked over at Ethan. “Guess I’d better,” she said.
A few keystrokes and it was all over. She disconnected the flash drive from the computer and handed it to Andrew. “He wanted you to have this.”
“Thank you, Willow.”
“I’m serious about that nap, guys. Get the hell out,” she said, sinking down onto the couch.
“You don’t need me?” Andrew asked.
“I shouldn’t at this point. But thanks.”
“Sure,” said Andrew, disappearing up to his room.
Willow slept alone, peacefully, for the first time in ages.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A week later, Willow and Andrew began the journey back to Cleveland. Andrew hugged Ethan on the way out. “If you ever desire any supplemental training, Andrew, you know where I am.”
“He won’t,” said Willow. “Thanks for letting us stay this long.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. And if there’s ever anything that you desire…” he gave her a slightly leering grin.
“I’ll go visit my ex-girlfriend in South America.”
“Touché. Drive safely.”
Ethan waved as the car pulled away from the curb. He walked back into the house and sat at the computer. He double-clicked a folder which read “Cricket Statistics” and within were hundreds of files, each marked NWiH and a date.
His magical powers might have been limited to the house, but there was no telling what chaos he could create on the Internet.
Characters: Willow & Andrew, cameos by Giles and Ethan
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2970
Prompt: What if Willow goes off with one of the other Scoobies after the fall of Sunnydale?
Summary: The effects of Warren’s presence have stayed long after Amy’s spell ended. Can Andrew provide the help that Willow needs to free herself once and for all?
Written for the Which Witch Ficathon at
whichwillowSomewhere between the Sunnydale crater and Cleveland, Giles had been hit in the head. It was the only reasonable explanation for this madness. “You want me to what?” Willow asked.
“Train Andrew in magic.”
“I’ll buy him a deck of cards. Maybe a top hat and a stuffed rabbit, because anything else is a cosmically bad idea. Who knows what he could conjure up?”
“The monkeys during the school play were rather inspired.”
“He’s not competent.”
“On the contrary, he’s fluent in sixteen demon languages, apt at summoning demons from any dimension, and borderline capable with minor transformation spells. He needs to learn how to harness and direct his magical energy with a guiding force to keep him away from the darker magicks.”
“And you think I’m the role model of the decade in that regard? Have you completely forgotten dark-haired vein-y Willow? Hey! Maybe we can send him to the Coven.”
“I think you two could be good for each other. And I think with everything you’ve been through, you can also serve as a cautionary tale for what happens when the magic takes over. You can see the signs and point him away from danger,” said Giles, ignoring the Coven suggestion completely.
“And if I refuse?”
“Think of this as paying it forward. Someone helped you once, now it’s your turn to help someone else. Besides, much of your magical energy will be tapped out for a while. This will give you time to recharge.”
“Where will we work? The walls in this fixer-upper are practically falling in. A little stray magic and they could be non-existent.”
“Funny. That’s just what Faith said about errant blows coming from her trainees. I know of a place near Akron that will suit the two of you nicely. It’s close enough to reach you if you run into trouble, but far enough away that you won’t feed off the mystical energy of the Hellmouth.”
“Fine. We’ll go. But I’m not happy about it.” Willow stated, stalking off.
When it came down to it, Andrew wasn’t particularly happy about the recent turn of events, either. “Did Mister Giles talk to you?”
“Yes, he did.” Kennedy had left for South America that morning, eager to go on her first assignment as a Slayer. They both knew it was ‘goodbye’. That was fine with Willow – coming away from the ruins of Sunnydale made her realize that she might be better off on her own for a while.
Andrew’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “There’s one thing I have to ask. You’re not going to kill me, are you?”
“Andrew, if I haven’t killed you yet, I seriously doubt I’m going to.”
Andrew nodded. “Fair enough.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Willow stared wide-eyed at the man who answered the door. “You… how? Does Giles know you escaped?”
Ethan Rayne grinned at her. “Know? Of course, Ripper knows I’m here. However, I feel I must correct your information. I have not escaped. The Initiative managed to restrict my magic to the confines of these four walls. It’s dreadfully dull. I needed a challenge. Perhaps…” he eyed Andrew speculatively.
Willow stepped between the two of them. “Don’t even think about it, buddy.”
Ethan smiled. “The mother tigress appears. How nice.”
“Willow,” Andrew hissed between his teeth. “Who is this guy?”
“Bad news,” said Willow as Ethan said, “Ethan Rayne, at your service.”
Ethan extended a hand. Andrew looked at Willow and did not take it.
“Such distrust in the younger generation nowadays. You ever want to learn a little Chaos magic, boy, just knock on my door. Second door off the stairs on the left. Shall I show you where you’ll be staying?”
Ethan showed them both the guest room. “Both of us?” asked Willow.
“There is the sofa downstairs, but I thought you’d be against leaving the young lad alone in my home. Of course, if you’re inclined, there’s always my room.”
“Pass.”
“I think, that in your current state of mind,” he touched Willow on the forehead, “that you will be more comfortable and sleep much better in this room.”
Willow stared at Ethan a long moment before the realization set in. Ethan was able to see what the others had missed the past five months. “You’re right,” she said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Andrew alone in the house with you.”
She shut the door to the guest bedroom and stood with her back against it. She could hear Ethan on the other side of the door. “Good night, Willow. You should let him out once in a while. It’s got to be hard mixed up with all that goodness.”
“What does he mean?” Andrew whispered. “I’m not bad anymore. I don’t mind.”
“It’s all right, Andrew. Ethan just likes to hear himself talk.”
“I’m not sure he should be around when I learn magic.”
“He’s fairly harmless. He’s not going to target you until he’s done playing with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I hope so. We’ll work on some defensive magic so you can help yourself.”
“Can I crucio him?”
“We’re not in Harry Potter.”
“So…” he said, looking at the twin bed.
Willow tossed him a blanket and a pillow. “You’re on the floor. Just be glad it’s summer.”
Andrew settled on the floor. Willow stretched out on the bed, clicking off the lamp on the nightstand. The room was plunged in darkness. “’Night, Andrew.”
“’Night, Willow.”
The dream came as it had every night for the past five months. Variations on a theme. Memories on top of memories. His and hers, mixed and matched.
That’s the best part, Tara says with a smile.
Coming into the backyard, seeing Buffy and Xander embracing.
Feeling Tara’s body enveloping yours. Her lips, so soft.
Feeling the rage course through his body. Such rage. Hearing his thoughts – I have to stop her - at that moment.
The gun, cold iron in his hand. Shooting, Buffy falls, he turns.
Tara twines her hand in your hair.
The gun goes off again. A window cracks.
Your shirt, she says.
“Willow?” Andrew’s voice penetrated her nightmare. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s over. Go back to sleep.”
Willow waited until she was sure Andrew had gone back to sleep, before allowing herself to drift further into slumber. It was a mistake, because as soon as she closed her eyes, Warren’s greatest hits were playing once again.
This time was his grand finale. The amateur magic tricks that wouldn’t work despite his hope. She saw herself black-haired and vein-y binding him to the tree, saw the bullet in her hand, felt the tightness of the ropes and the first pain of the bullet entering his flesh, drifting and drifting as a result of her uncontrolled madness.
She screamed in her sleep for it to stop and then felt everything go still as Andrew touched her. “Andrew?”
Dragging the sheet from the floor with him, Andrew laid down on top of the covers next to Willow. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“What are you doing?”
“Warren. He used to have nightmares. This helped him. I thought it might help you too.”
“Oh,” said Willow. “Just don’t try anything, mister.”
“I won’t.”
Willow listened to his steady breathing and closed her eyes. She drifted into sleep, and for the first time in five months, she didn’t dream.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“Close your eyes,” Willow whispered. “Reach out with your mind. Reach out until you connect with the energy of the earth. Now, in that energy, find a line. Follow it.”
“Follow it where?” Andrew asked, opening his eyes.
“Damn it. You’re new at this. You really need to close your eyes in order to focus.”
“Don’t I need to see where I’m going?”
“Physically, you’re here. You’re always going to be here.”
“What if I follow the line like you say and I get lost?”
“Physically, you’re here.”
“What if my mind goes away and I don’t know anything anymore?”
“Then I will be very sad,” Willow said, rolling her eyes.
Andrew opened his eyes again. “Really?”
Willow gave an exasperated sigh. “Here. I should be able to do this much.” She took his hands. “Close your eyes.”
“This feels familiar somehow,” he whispered. “Like the time, when Jonathan… Warren?”
“Shhh.” Willow felt a brush of magic against her mind.
As she reached for it, Andrew stammered. “But, but, but… you got rid of him, right? You don’t look like him anymore. You don’t talk like him anymore.”
“Damn it, Andrew!” Willow lost her tenuous hold on the magic.
“Well, maybe you do talk like him. Just not in his voice. So how…?”
“Memories, feelings, impressions. He trusts you. Trusted you. More than anybody else in his life. That’s why the nightmares have stopped. When the spell first activated, he didn’t get calm until you touched me.”
“You didn’t seem it.”
“I had a killer in my head and you feeling me up. It didn’t make for the calm.”
“So afterwards, why didn’t you tell anybody about him still being there?”
“We had an apocalypse to avert and I wasn’t sure if it was really him or just the First messing with my head.”
“Stupid First Evil. I hate that guy.”
“Well, it’s good that we managed to vanquish it.”
“Is that what you’re going to do to Warren?”
“There’s nothing left to vanquish. And what’s left, I don’t know how to free myself of without releasing evil on the rest of the world.”
“Warren wasn’t…”
“Andrew, please. I have the memories. I know what he was capable of.”
“I was going to say ‘entirely evil’. You’ve seen some of his good points too.”
“That’s not what wakes me up screaming at 2 a.m..”
“Maybe I can help. Talk to him.”
“I sincerely doubt that he’s going to get out of my head just because you ask nicely.”
“There is a simple transference spell that could be conducted,” said Ethan. “Your memories, or rather, this Warren’s memories could be transferred into Andrew.”
“I always wondered what he thought…”
“There,” said Ethan, pleased with himself. “It’s settled.”
“No, it’s not,” Willow argued.
“Afraid the boy’s image of you will shatter when he sees you for the murderer that you are?”
“He’s aware that I killed Warren.”
“I don’t mind. Actually, I want to do it,” said Andrew.
“Not-negotiable,” answered Willow.
“But…”
“Not! Negotiable,” she said again.
“Fine,” Andrew pouted.
“Shall we try to find the line again? Or should I just tell Giles you gave up and I had to leave you here with Ethan?”
Ethan smiled.
“Hey! I think I met you before. You sold me a ghost costume for Halloween. It sucked. I had to wait ‘til other kids walked up to a door and then nobody gave me any candy. Worst Halloween ever. That costume sucked.”
“I could make it up to you. I believe I have some chocolate bars around here.”
“No!” exclaimed Willow. “No chocolate!”
“I doubt it would have any effect,” Ethan said smoothly.
Andrew looked from Willow to Ethan then back to Willow. “Let’s just try the line thing again. I’m ready.”
“Don’t mess with anything.” Willow warned Ethan.
“I wouldn’t dream of getting in the way of Andrew’s magical education. I’m here to help.”
“Is that what you told Giles before you turned him into a Fyarl?”
“You turned Giles into a Fyarl demon? Cool! I can speak Fyarl. And Mfash’nik. And Klingon.”
“Lovely,” said Ethan.
Willow grabbed both of Andrew’s hands. “Let’s go.” She closed her eyes and grabbed on to the magic line. She heard a sharply indrawn breath from Andrew. “Go ahead. I’ve got you. Wait. Where did you…? Andrew?” Oh crap, she thought. He really did get lost in there.
“Warren?” Andrew yelled and he heard the name echo in his mind. “Warren? Where are you?” he yelled again.
“Oh, for Janus’ sake, shut him up,” Ethan groused.
Willow slapped Andrew across the face, drawing him out of it. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s not like before.” She grabbed Andrew’s arms roughly. “Do you understand?”
“So, he’s really gone?”
“Yes. Like I told you, it’s just the residual things. He’s not coming back.”
“Oh.”
“I thought you knew that.”
“Can I… I just want to be alone for awhile.”
“Okay.” Willow watched Andrew retreat to their room.
“Well played,” said Ethan. “You managed to build a boy up and bring him down in a matter of minutes. Janus would be proud.”
“You…”
“Hush. It was a compliment. Maybe you’ll feel better once your magical reserves are up to snuff. If I can be of any assistance, do let me know.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“What if we transferred Warren’s memories to something else?”
“Like what?”
“A robot.”
Willow closed her eyes on the image of Warren – or rather the robot disguised as Warren – disembarking the bus. “Bad idea,” she whispered. “What about a diary?”
“Warren didn’t like talking about his life. I don’t think a diary would be his thing.”
“Well, it’s not like he’s going to read it or anything.”
“I know what we could do!” Andrew said excitedly. “And it’s totally Warren. Flash drive.”
Willow considered it. “I’ve had a little trouble in the past with possessed computers. I really don’t think that…”
“You said yourself that he wasn’t an active spirit. It would just be moving parts of the memory from one spot to another, like from one drive to another on a computer.”
“No offense, Andrew, but I really think you should be further along in your magical training before I even consider letting you play inside my brain to do this. I don’t want to wind up like one of Glory’s minions, thank you.”
“Maybe that Ethan guy can help us out, like he suggested.”
“No! Ethan is bad news. I don’t know why Giles trusts him as much as he does.”
“Because everybody needs somebody they can count on,” said Andrew. “It’s not just you counting on me to be able to help you with this. So tell me again how to get started.”
“Close your eyes. Now, very gently, reach out with your mind until you feel the mystical energy radiating from the earth…”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It took three months to get Andrew up to speed magically. In Willow’s opinion, he was a fairly quick study, but even the basics took time.
It was another month of research and getting together the logistics to do the spell. Ethan had been valuable in that regard. He enjoyed the challenge of trying to do something than demon summoning and chaos magic. “If this works, perhaps you’ll put in a good word for me with the camouflage crew,” he said. Willow made no promises either way.
“This is it?” Ethan asked, looking over the flash drive. “You’re going to put the contents of a man’s life on this?”
“Yes,” said Andrew.
“Not all,” amended Willow.
“Each memory will be coded. Anything with evil potential will be removed.”
“We had a debate on which was the best Star Wars around the time of Episode One. I want that memory intact,” Andrew said.
“If you were part of the debate, you already have the memory,” Ethan reasoned.
“Yeah, but I think Warren just didn’t want to admit I was right about Jedi.”
Ethan looked at Willow. “Tell me he isn’t serious.”
“Unfortunately, he is. Are you ready?”
Ethan nodded. Willow was using both he and Andrew to keep her grounded as she began the process of extracting Warren’s memories from her own and guiding them to the tiny storage space. Memory after memory selected, transferred into computer language and then sent down the magical link to the flash drive.
It was a long, arduous process and every day they would check that they hadn’t exceeded the memory. Willow coded everything – okay, iffy, and NWiH (for No Way in Hell) and the date. Inane Trio discussions were left unaltered, but things about Freeze Rays, Invisible Slayers, robots, and Warren’s misogynistic views of women were instantly deleted.
The most difficult point for Willow was unraveling Warren’s memories of his final hours from hers. Her mind was consumed with such hate for him that it took over. “So much hate,” she whispered over and over again as tears streamed down her cheeks. Andrew and Ethan looked on, unable to do anything that would break her concentration.
Finally it was done. Willow slumped back in her chair. “I need a nap,” she said.
“Don’t you want to clean up the drive?” Andrew asked.
She looked over at Ethan. “Guess I’d better,” she said.
A few keystrokes and it was all over. She disconnected the flash drive from the computer and handed it to Andrew. “He wanted you to have this.”
“Thank you, Willow.”
“I’m serious about that nap, guys. Get the hell out,” she said, sinking down onto the couch.
“You don’t need me?” Andrew asked.
“I shouldn’t at this point. But thanks.”
“Sure,” said Andrew, disappearing up to his room.
Willow slept alone, peacefully, for the first time in ages.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A week later, Willow and Andrew began the journey back to Cleveland. Andrew hugged Ethan on the way out. “If you ever desire any supplemental training, Andrew, you know where I am.”
“He won’t,” said Willow. “Thanks for letting us stay this long.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. And if there’s ever anything that you desire…” he gave her a slightly leering grin.
“I’ll go visit my ex-girlfriend in South America.”
“Touché. Drive safely.”
Ethan waved as the car pulled away from the curb. He walked back into the house and sat at the computer. He double-clicked a folder which read “Cricket Statistics” and within were hundreds of files, each marked NWiH and a date.
His magical powers might have been limited to the house, but there was no telling what chaos he could create on the Internet.
