Buffy, Willow and Xander were enjoying a night of doing nothing, watching movies and pigging out. It was the perfect way to unwind after a major showdown. They had used the enjoining spell to defeat Adam and shutdown the Initiative. Several soldiers and most of the scientists had lost their lives in the final battle. They decided to focus on rebonding with one another, ignoring recent events. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't keep their eyes open. Each fell into a dream state filled with their worst nightmares.
Buffy found herself in the desert with the First Slayer, who had Tara standing beside her. The tribal woman wore animal skins with her hair pulled back in dreadlocks. White symbols marked her body and face, standing out against her ebony skin. She bent low, weaving back and forth, as she circled Buffy. Her dark eyes held a feral gleam as she examined her prey. Buffy turned, keeping the strange woman in range, unsure what to expect. Without uttering a word, she returned to the place she started, like she had found the small blonde beneath her.
Tara placed a hand on the First Slayer's shoulder then said, "You are weak. You work with insignificant beings."
"Hey, who are you to say who is or isn't important?" Buffy glared at the hostile woman.
"I'm the beginning, the one from which the power flows. From me, you became who you are. We are meant to be alone. Fight alone, die alone. You do not understand your place in life, your destiny - to kill evil, true evil."
"Hey, I fight evil all the time. I just kicked evil's ass with the help of those insignificant beings. You're the one who doesn't know anything, especially, about me. My friends give me strength.
Tara spoke once more. "You will do as you are meant to."
"Do you people take a course in cryptic? If you have something to say, spit it out; otherwise, I'm going back to my life. The one with friends…" Buffy started to turn around to leave.
She didn't sense the feral woman move toward her, and ended up tackled to the ground pinned down by the Slayer. "You will listen to me or you will die!" Her sharp teeth flashed at the small blonde beneath her. Sineya didn't know how to get this daughter to understand her place, her role, her destiny. Frustration grew into a living, breathing animal, trying to burst from her chest. "You called on me and my line. It awakened another, pure evil. You must lay it to rest or die."
Buffy pushed the large, angry woman off her, leaping to her feet. "We needed your help to kick Adam's ass. Now, you're telling me, I have to do it again, what else is new? If this is the Slayer Dreams Version 2.0, I'll keep the original version. I prefer mine to just confuse and scare me, rather than try to beat the crap out of me. Thanks bunches." She turned once more to walk away.
Tara called after her. "You think you know…who you are…what you are. You have no idea what you will become. Remember, to get home you must follow the setting sun. Look to the skies, daughter."
Buffy looked at the blonde witch, standing beside Sineya, before they simply - disappeared. "Okay, Buffy, it's time to wake up." Nothing happened; she stood surrounded by sand. She looked down to find her Yummy Sushi pajamas replace by a long, dark cape. On further inspection, Buffy found a desert ensemble, right down to knee-high, leather boots, with weapons included: a gun, several knives and a scimitar underneath the robe. Drawing the sharply curved sword, she admired the design on the blade, which brought the matching designs on her hands to her attention. The symbols gave her a bad feeling. It suddenly dawned on her where she had seen them before. They matched the ones those decorating the First Slayer's body. Buffy had assumed they were like the war paint Native Americans wore. She wasn't so sure anymore.
The intricately detailed patterns wrapped around her wrists and followed along her knuckles in smaller detail. She closed her fists around the scimitar and saw the marks glow as her skin stretched tightly across her bones. Putting the sword away, she aligned her hands recreating a pattern she didn't understand. She knew the symbols were significant and hoped she could decipher. Pushing up her sleeves, relief swept over her when she realized the symbols stopped at her hands.
She looked around to see nothing but sand. Tara's words came back to her - follow the sun. She started walking east as her mind played over her dream wondering why the First Slayer chose Tara as her spokesperson.
Tara ran through the streets of Sunnydale, hoping to find Giles at home, and that he could tell her where Buffy and the others were. She should have known better, prepared better, especially after meeting Buffy. Her family tried to warn her how her duty must always come first. Tara just wanted a normal girl's life for a little while. She realized she had come to Sunnydale because fate had pushed her here.
Giles woke from a strange dream to hear knocking at the door. He moved to open it, unsure why he felt fear race down his spine. Opening the door, he hid his surprise at seeing Tara standing there. "Tara, what's the matter? Has something happened to Willow or - Buffy?" Giles' pale green eyes studied the normally shy blonde's face.
"Mr. Giles, where are they? I don't have time to explain, but I have to get to Buffy. NOW!"
"They're at Buffy's house watching movies and, as they say, pigging out. Let me grab my keys and I'll drive you over. You can explain in the car." Giles noticed Tara moving differently. It was subtle, but not to a trained Watcher. The young woman who hardly spoke when others were around, moved with her back ramrod straight and a distinct air about her. A controlled danger with magic flavoring the air around her.
"Who are you?" Ripper demanded a response and didn't care what he had to do to get it.
"Mr. Giles, I know you want an explanation, but it's urgent we get to Buffy immediately." Tara sighed, seeing his eyes harden further. She shut her eyes and removed her glamour, causing Giles to gasp. There on her face were the delicate markings of her lineage.
"You're a Medjai, but how? They aren't indigenous to this area. I’d heard they joined other tribes or are extinct altogether."
"Mr. Giles, please, we have to hurry."
Tara moved swiftly to the little red car and got in. He rushed to the car suddenly more frightened for Buffy than ever before.
Willow and Xander woke up gasping for air. They looked at each other then started talking.
"Great googly moogly, Willow. I had the wildest dream. There was this man who kept offering me…"
"Cheese," Willow finished for him. She looked around the living room. The tape they were watching was over, leaving static playing on the TV. Chairs and pillows lay strewn around the room as if someone had struggled on the ground. "Buffy! Where are you? Was your dream freaky like ours?" She walked into the kitchen, but didn't find anyone. Mrs. Summers was out of town, so Willow ventured upstairs, only to rush back down when Xander screamed Buffy's name, as someone pounded on the door.
"Buffy, open the door," Giles screamed, uncaring that it was after two in the morning.
Willow opened the door and threw herself into the Watcher's arms. "Giles, thank goodness you're here. Hurry, it's Buffy." She pulled him inside the house, not noticing Tara following him.
Xander found Buffy's body behind the couch; at first, he thought she was still sleeping, until he couldn't wake her. The only sign of life was her shallow breathing. Giles pushed him aside to perform his own inspection, before turning to stare at Tara. Willow finally noticed her lover, only to gasp and step away. Xander put his arm around his childhood friend, glaring at the blonde witch suspiciously.
"Xander, you and Willow do stand out of the way. Tara isn't going to hurt Buffy or anyone else, she may be the only person who can help."
"What do you mean help? What's wrong with Buffy? Why won't she wake up and why's the tattooed lady the only one who can help?"
"For once Xander, do shut up. Tara, please can you help her?" Giles pleaded with her to help his Slayer.
Tara ignored Willow's reaction, although it broke her heart. She had her duty to attend, hurt feelings and explanations would come later. What was important was to seeing whether she could save Buffy. Tara's lips moved in a prayer enfolded in a spell. "Let those who watch over your humble servant see, so we may hear, to hear so we may know. Guard us and those who walk the path."
A golden glow leaped from her hands to Buffy, quickly covering the Slayer in an amber light. Tara paled at what she saw - the markings on Buffy's hands and wrists. She carefully picked up the prone hands, folding them into tiny fists and aligning them on Buffy's chest. The light flared higher absorbing straight into the symbols, creating a glow under Buffy's skin.
"Dear lord, Tara does that say what I believe it does? It can't be. It's only a myth. No one has ever found documented truth to the tale." Giles practically ripped his glasses from his face. His handkerchief appeared as he rubbed furiously at the small lenses. Giles muttered under his breath, pacing in the overcrowded area.
"What is it, Giles? What's happening to Buffy?" Willow begged for an explanation, her eyes wide with fear.
"Mr. Giles, could you move Buffy to her bed; she'll be more comfortable. Once she's settled, I'll explain." Her hands swept from her face to the small body on the floor.
Giles picked Buffy up, carrying her up the stairs, with Willow close on his heels. She threw looks over her shoulder at her, err, lover. Willow couldn't handle the information overload. She chose to concentrate on finding a way to help Buffy. Everything else could wait until my best friend gets better, if she ever gets better. Nope, I'm not going to think about it, I’m pulling a Scarlet. I'll think about it tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe, oh poop, who knows when. Her feet hurried to catch up to Giles as she did something she hardly ever did. She tried to put her overactive brain on hold.
Buffy continued walking through the burning sand. She wanted to remove the cape, except she knew it protected her from the sun. It hadn't taken her long to realize she needed the extra protection. The heat and constant walking was wearing down her Slayer constitution, still she pushed herself to keep going. Several hours later, the mirages started. First, an oasis then Angel, Giles and the list went on until Buffy no longer believed anything she saw.
Something told her this was more than a dream, and she was on her own. Even if the ultimate battle rested solely on her shoulder, she had worked as part of team for research and strategy sessions. Sharing her burden with her friends made them more bearable. She wondered if she had lost something in doing so, a vital Slayer part she needed if she ever wanted to wake up again. Buffy reviewed her life since she became a Slayer. She knew above all else, her friends and family helped her. They provided her a reason to live, a reason to fight. She refused to believe what Chaka Kan or anyone else had to say about it.
She rolled her eyes when the latest mirage materialized. It was a man riding a black horse. "Come on, I mean if you're going to offer me mirages at least 'try' to fool me." Buffy grumbled as she kept walking. A sound drew her eyes skyward where a bird flew overhead. She shielded her eyes, trying to see where it came from, hoping it might give her a direction to take. "Look to the skies," she mumbled to herself then inexplicably placed an arm out at her side. "Here birdie, birdie, birdie." Buffy almost fell over in shock when the regal bird flew directly at her. It landed gently on her outstretched arm. Golden falcon eyes peered into the Slayer's green ones as they instantly bonded.
Giles and Willow returned to the living room, sitting down to wait for Tara's explanation. Xander leaned against the wall glaring at her, placing the full blame for what was happening to Buffy at the blonde witch's feet.
"I have to go back a little so you can understand. For untold centuries, my people have guarded against the darkest of evils. An ancestor helped destroy it when it awakened."
"Tara, I don't understand, you never spoke about your family before," Willow said in hurt-filled voice. She couldn't help thinking she didn't know Tara at all. How could you love someone you don't even know? Was this Tara with the strange marking and tough attitude the same woman who cherished her so tenderly?
"I'll get there in a minute. My ancestor led the Medjai and the warriors still try to emulate him. Since the time of the pharaohs, my people have watched and guarded against this evil. We also watched and protected another - the Slayer Line."
"What, the Medjai protected the Slayers? But there's no evidence of this." Giles couldn't wrap his mind around what he had heard so far, and there was much more to learn.
"No one knows about us unless we wish them to." Her blue eyes glanced at Willow apologetically before she continued. "Slowly our focus shifted to watching the Slayers. Several years ago, a scroll prophesying the return of the evil and a warrior who could stop him, only the warrior wasn't one we would recognize or understand. I've trained since childhood to watch the Slayers. Neither the Council nor the Medjai knew about Buffy's status as a Potential. Merrick only found her through a seer he was visiting in LA. The danger she faced in LA happened quickly and he only had enough time to contact the Council before he died. The tribe found out through other contacts, which took much longer."
"How did you know Merrick?" Giles was almost afraid to hear the response.
"He was my grandfather."
Silence met her response. Giles knew how much Buffy had admired her first Watcher. He had mixed emotions about another group tracking the Slayer. "Why are you watching Slayers? Is a Slayer the warrior?"
"After meeting a Slayer, my ancestor believed so. She helped him, saying their meeting was fate and would keep repeating itself." Tara smiled softly. She had found the story of the two great warriors romantic.
"What does this have to do with Buffy?" Xander stepped away from the wall to stand over Tara, trying to intimidate the answers from her.
She looked him in the eye, her tattoos stood out against her fair skin then she did something unTara-like, she laughed in his face. "I'm sorry, Xander, but once a fully trained Medjai warrior has breathed down your neck, not much else is intimidating. Another part of the prophecy revealed itself tonight."
"What did it say?" Giles wasn't sure he wanted to know, but until he did, there was no way for him to help Buffy.
A golden light comes from the land of sun bringing the answer and the riddle.
The past becomes present until the present becomes past.
Souls intertwine until only one remains.
An intertwined soul opens Hell's door and finds release.
"Can I just say a big huh? What does it mean?" Xander looked from Giles to Tara and back again.
Tara stared straight into Giles eyes until he nodded in understanding. "I'm afraid Buffy can't wake until her soul fulfills the prophecy. What evil are we talking about, Tara?"
"Imohetep," she whispered, but the name resounded throughout the room.
Willow leaped to her feet. "That's impossible. I remember studying him when you dated Impata, Xander. Imohetep was one of the most powerful and evil sorcerers in Egyptian history. They used his name as a curse. The Pharaoh condemned him to a living death. If he woke up, did his powers continue to grow?" The redheaded witch paced furiously, mumbling under her breath, while her brilliant mind whirled with the implications.
"Be still, Willow," Tara softly ordered. "Buffy is the Chosen One, not the rote the Watchers use. I mean by 'The Chosen One', she’s done the unexpected since the beginning. My grandfather said he had never met a Potential or Slayer with as much natural talent and ability as Buffy."
"That's real nice. So, where’s her soul right now?" Xander asked, not liking the story he was hearing.
"Egypt about seventy-five years ago. The Elders believe it was Buffy who helped stop Imohetep before and she went back to do it again."
"That sounds like the sense that's not. Why would she have to go back and do it again if she already kicked demon butt?"
"She can't repeat what happened before; she has to change the outcome if she hopes to ever return."
"What happens to her here while her soul is there?"
Tara sighed heavily. "Show me to Buffy's room."
They trudged upstairs and Willow pointed to Buffy's bedroom. Tara moved to the bedside unsurprised to see the changes had already started. The skin surrounding the glowing symbols had small fissures with a golden substance leaking from them.
"These will continue to grow until they cover her entire body. She must return before it happens or she’ll die."
"What!" Xander and Willow screamed.
Giles tentatively touched the veined cracks, which felt hard to the touch. "Is that amber?"
"Yes, if for some reason she can't resolve the puzzle to destroy Imohetep, she'll die and take him with her. There was no other way to ensure he didn't return to power."
"So, it's all right if Buffy dies, as long as she takes some guy who's already dead with her? You got yourself a prize there, Willow. If she dies, you're going to join her. She was your friend, which is something special. Buffy puts the people she cares about first; too bad the same can't be said about you."
Xander pushed Giles out of his way, storming from the room. Willow stared at Tara, unsure what to think about her lover, before she followed him. Giles took a seat beside his Slayer's bed. Tara pulled a chair up to join him in his vigil.
"There are certain herbs and oils I'll need from my apartment. They’ll help to ease her breathing and slow the progress. I'll watch over her and use what prayers and spells I can to guide her. Please understand, Mr. Giles, I believe in Buffy as a Slayer and a person. She'll discover a way to stop Imohetep. The prophecies were safeguards in case anyone found a way for him to return. My ancestor said the Slayer who helped him wanted to ensure it didn't happen. She feared they hadn't destroyed him properly the first time. Years later, Imohetep did return; my ancestor still lived and with some help, successfully returned him to Hell, but it was close. I believe it was only a matter of time until Buffy grew into her Slayer strength before this occurred." She gave him a shy smile, sharing her own fears with him.
Giles nodded as he placed a shaking hand on Buffy's forehead, brushing the hair away from her face. He ignored the tears that fell down his cheeks as he silently prayed for her safe return. His thoughts went out to Joyce. How could he tell her when she returned she might lose her daughter, their daughter, to her duty?
Ardeth Bay watched the small figure walking across the desert sands. He shook his head, wondering what evil stirred the air to drive so many across his path. The seers foretold of a visitor from the outside who held the key to the evil's destruction. Surely, this small waif wasn't the one they meant.
He threw Horus into the air, watching the falcon fly toward the stranger. His friend circled the small head, before diving straight for an outstretched arm. Ardeth Bay watched in amazement as the finicky bird landed gently on a slender arm. Kicking Kemwar's (the dark one) side, he galloped toward the strange pair.
Buffy cooed to the lovely falcon, forgetting about the surrounding heat and sand. The amber eyes appeared familiar, yet she knew she’d never seen let alone held a real falcon. Her new friend tilted its head to the side staring deep into her eyes as if it wanted to tell her something important. Something she needed to understand. The vibrating sands alerted her to approaching company. Buffy looked up to find her 'mirage' standing several feet away on a black stallion.
She stared up at the sky, wondering what this unusual place planned to drop on her next. Her hand absently caressed the bird's head as she lowered her lashes to stare at mirage man. She admitted he was dreamy, wearing desert chic with large sword and the guns strapped across his chest, riding a big black horse. The tattoos across his high-cheek bones brought attention to his dark eyes, and gave him a dangerous edge. She widened her stance unsure what to expect.
"Greetings," Ardeth Bay said, smiling which showed off his bright, white teeth.
Buffy raised large green eyes to stare at him then glanced down into the amber-lit ones. She whispered softly to the falcon. "What do you think, should we speak to him? Or, should I just keep on walking?" Horus turned to stare at his master, before turning back to Buffy. He nuzzled her hand with his beak, feeling a bond with the stranger. Slayer and falcon remained frozen in time as the Medjai warrior watched.
Ardeth Bay didn't know what to think. He hadn't expected to find a woman, a small man or boy perhaps, but a woman - no. Horus' behavior was even stranger. He and his winged friend were inseparable since he had raised the falcon from a fledgling. Horus always returned to him whenever he drew near. For his friend to chose to stay with this woman, rather than return to him, she must indeed be someone special.
Buffy fell into the golden eyes, seeing the desert below her from a great height. A sense of freedom and soft air swept over her body as she flew over the endless landscape. In the distance, a structure peeked out from the sand. Her body plummeted toward it. Decayed pillars stood before a ruined temple. A foreboding evil encompassed the area. It surrounded her, shooting through her as she tried to back away from its stench. She stiffened as she started to fall into its darkness. The sand shifted, transforming into a giant mouth, which opened wide to catch her. It waited to engulf her in its sharp, snapping teeth. She screamed as she scrambled to fly away, but her wings no longer caught the air as she continued to fall.
Ardeth Bay watched as the woman's body moved as she continued through her waking vision. He dismounted from Kemwar, approaching on silent feet. He reached her in time to catch her before she hit the hot sand. Horus cawed, landing on his shoulder. His amber eyes never leaving the unconscious woman. The Medjai warrior stared at the woman's face surprised at her youth. She had warrior eyes, which had witnessed many battles. He hadn't noticed her age until seeing her in repose. Walking over to his faithful steed, he carefully mounted and rode back toward camp.