The bus hit another bump and Willow grimaced, her brown hair falling into her eyes. The young woman dressed in jeans and a older blouse, a battered jacket thrown over it, looked oddly out of place sitting at the window seat, her home and the people she had known swiftly receding behind her. She wished she wasn't going, in many ways, but she also knew, somehow, that she had to. 'And,' Willow thought to herself mournfully, 'it's easier than staying behind and dealing with the mess I helped make.' Breaking up with Kennedy had been one of the hardest things that Willow had ever done, but she couldn't bring herself to use the girl that way any more. Despite all of the time that had passed Willow wasn't over her dead lover Tara, not really, and she couldn't be with Kennedy when her heart still belonged to someone else. 'Not to mention my crying out Tara's name during a moment of passion,' Willow felt herself blushing with embarrassment. Even then Kennedy had been willing to stay with Willow, apparently convinced it was merely a slip of the tongue, but Willow knew better. As gently as possible Willow broke up with her, filling the Summers household with arguments and crying for days, then finally falling to sulky silence. Giles had suspected she was just running away when she revealed her plans to him, and in a way she wondered if he was right. "I'm not sure this is the best time to go," Giles said to her gently as the two of them had stood out on the porch. He looked tired, the English Watcher who had helped guide them all in one way or another, and older. Obviously Buffy's death and all that had come after it were weighing on him, and she felt guilty adding to it. "I don't know if it would ever be the time to go," Willow answered honestly, putting her hand on the sun warmed wooden railing, "there would almost always be something going on to keep me here another few days or weeks." She sighed, "But I have powers, maybe more than I realize, and I think with that comes a responsibility to use them to help." "You could always help here," Giles said quietly. "There's you, Xander, Faith and all of the young Slayers here," Willow said to him evenly, "I'm not really needed here, and you know it." She smiled at him as she added gently, "And you know I'm not going to be gone for good." "How will you support yourself?" Giles finally asked her, more than a hint of concern for the young lady in his voice. "I've saved quite a bit," Willow said honestly, "along with my college money. My parents aren't happy with how I'm choosing to spend it, but..." Giles made a face, well aware of the non-relationship that she had with her parents. "The Council still retains a great deal of resources," he said with a slight smile, "I believe I can suggest they help fund someone of your unique skills." "Are you sure?" Willow looked up at him in surprise. "I want to," he said firmly, Giles smiled a bit sadly, "It's the least I can do for someone who meant so much to Buffy." "Then thank you,", Willow said as she stepped forward to hug Giles gently, the sting of tears in the corner of her eyes. A bump rattled Willow, making her reach out to grab the seat ahead of her. With a soft sigh she sat back, looking out into the darkness. Faith hadn't really been bothered one way or another, the dark haired Slayer looking on with a certain amusement as the drama played out. Willow still had mixed feelings about her, she still remembered Faith's employment with the Mayor of Sunnydale, but she knew Giles and the others could keep an eye on her. Willow rubbed at her eyes tiredly, thinking of a more painful parting. Poor Dawnie had been so upset with her, the younger girl both crying and angry when she got the news, and she had refused to talk to her when Willow left. That rejection had hurt, even though she knew that the girl would get over it, eventually. 'At least Xander was cheerful,' Willow thought. Alexander Harris had been her friend for almost as long as she could remember, and he had realized she was leaving long before anyone else. Even as she had been crafting a enchanted eye to replace the natural one he lost they had talked about it, helping her figure out what she wanted to do and why. "So you're going to become Zatanna?" Xander asked, his eyepatch giving him a pirate look. "Huh?" Willow blinked. "Scarlet Witch? Enchantress?" Xander offered, then shook his head, "You really need to start reading comics again, or you'll miss the pop culture references." "I'd better not be having a comic book life," Willow said feelingly, "I'd look terrible in one of those skin tight outfits." Xander laughed softly, leaning forward in his seat as he studied Willow, hair falling forward a bit. He looked better, still grieving for Anya's loss but recovering, slowly but surely. "So what will you be doing?" he asked curiously. "Hit the road," Willow said honestly. She smiled wryly, "I've noticed that after my training with the British coven I can sense evil forces, somewhat. Once I know I'm going in the right direction I can find them, and hopefully stop them." "Without backup?" Xander raised an eyebrow. "I'll manage," Willow answered, "and there's always back up around, really." She smiled slightly, "All those awakened Slayers, for one." "Point," Xander nodded. He smiled wryly, "I almost wish I could join you, but I've got the job and such." Willow smiled wryly, putting the sphere she was holding down on the table before stretching tiredly. "Did you ever think of all the Scoobies you'd end up being the first one to find a life out in the real world?" she asked. "Not really," Xander admitted. They sat there in the silence for a moment, "So have you told your parents about all this?" "You know them," Willow sighed, "A phone conversation, lots of agreeable sounds and the general sense that they still think I'm just going through a phase." "And how many years have you been going through this phase?" Xander asked impishly. Willow sighed, "They'll see the light eventually." Back on the bus Willow tried to get a crick out of her neck without disturbing the man snoring in the seat next to her. 'Remind me to try out a airplane next time,' she thought, 'it has got to be better than this.' Buying a bus ticket seemed like a good idea at the time, as well as oddly fitting, considering Buffy had done much the same, years back. The bus swung into a turn then coasted to a stop as the driver announced, "Los Angeles bus depot, everyone out." A few minutes later and Willow was sitting on a nearby bench, her two bags sitting by her feet as the sun began to rise of the city. The air was relatively clear, a breeze pushing the smog away, and there were already horns honking and people moving off in the distance. "Hey toots, new in town?" the warm male voice said from nearby. Willow frowned, looking over then brightened suddenly as she recognized him, "Lorne!" The green skinned demon smiled back, a bit surprised but pleased when she stepped up to hug him. "Well that's quite the hello." Lorne laughed. He gestured to a convertible parked nearby, "Let me take you to our new digs." "So you've really taken over Wolfram and Hart?" Willow asked as they drove, the sun shining down on them. Oddly Lorne didn't seem to draw many glances, it appeared the people of LA were used to seeing things like him. "More like they gave it us much like Eve gave Adam the apple," Lorne remarked as they scooted through traffic, "but we're refusing temptation so far." "Sounds fun," Willow smiled wryly. It wasn't long before they reached the law offices, a massive building that Lorne cheerfully led her into, up an elevator and over to the chairman's office. She took in the blonde vampire sitting at the reception desk in surprise, "Harmony?" She beamed, bouncing up off her chair to hug Willow just a second too long to be comfortable. "I bet you're here to see Angel," Harmony smiled, "I'll see if he's free." A short conversation on the phone and she waved Willow in, "Go on! I'll catch up with you later." The office clearly had started out as that of a traditional executive, but Angel had already put his stamp on it, weapons hanging on the wall and a Spartan elegance to the place. Angel himself stood up as soon as she entered, his eyes sorrowful as he welcomed her. "It's good to see you," he said. "I'm sorry," Willow was honest as she said, "I wish there had been something more I could do for Buffy." Angel closed his eyes a moment, then opened them to meet her gaze without accusation. "I heard about what you did, awakening the Slayers," he said, "you more than had your hands full." Quietly Willow sketched in what had happened then, as well as giving a rough summary of what she was planning. "I'm just passing through," she said, "but I wanted to see you in person." "Thank you," Angel said gravely. He paused, then dug through folders on top of his desk, "I was wondering... we have a situation, a magician that seems to be knocking off his business rivals. Care to give us a hand?" 'Guess this is going to happen to me a lot,' Willow thought even as she grabbed her tool kit, filled with implements and ingredients for doing magic. "What can I do to help?" End, File One
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