What The Future Brings
The only witness was a newly made vampire called Pricilla. She had only risen that night and was still trying to find someone to feed on. The experience she was about to have as a victim would make her question her new urges and have an existential crisis which would only be resolved when she tried to explain the problem to another vampire who would subsequently pull off her head. The other vampire was called the Master and would be killed by the slayer less than a year later himself.
Pricilla didn't yet know any of this. She had woken up in some bushes with immense strength, greatly enhanced senses and a feeling of predatory bloodlust. She was at the edge of town in the warehouse district walking quickly towards the more populated areas. The idea of killing someone was giving her an almost sexual thrill. Fantasies of blood washing down her throat filled her head.
She felt the electricity before it appeared. Her hair tingled and the air felt tight. She hadn't yet realised that she was only breathing through habit. Arcs of electricity appeared out of thin air in front of her, she was thrown backwards as one hit her in the side, singing her leather jacket. She saw the electricity take on the form of a sphere, cutting into the road. Then the electricity and the sphere was gone and in its place was a naked women. She was calmly crouched on the ground and steam rose off her body.
The woman stood up and looked around. She was a quite short and slim with curly blonde hair. Normally a vampire like Pricilla would have been able to smell that the woman wasn't alive but now her nostrils were full of the odour of burnt leather. She got to her feet and sauntered towards her prey.
The woman turned to look at Pricilla with a wide smile, completely unselfconscious about her nudity. "Hello. Could you tell me where the Bronze is please?"
Pricilla could see the pulse throbbing in her victim's neck. She felt her face transform, it felt good, it felt right. She bared her teeth at her intended prey. "Why go to the Bronze when you can party here?"
I need to go there to find someone. I'll also need your clothes please." She gave the vampire another bright smile.
Pricilla wanted to play more but the hunger was too much. She went for the throat only to be met with a fist. It was like being punched by a brick wall. She flew backwards into the metal side of a warehouse. She shook her head to clear it, snarling. "You'll pay for that, bitch." She was still carrying the gun that had been on her when she was attacked by a vampire the night before. She pulled it out and let off a round into the woman's chest.
The blonde jerked as the bullet hit her but kept moving closer. There was a hole in the skin revealing metal underneath. Pricilla pointed the gun again but it was snatched from her grasp and she was punched again. Then again. Each time Pricilla tried to move she received another blow that was like an iron bar to the face. "Stop! Please!"
The woman stopped hitting her. "Could I please have your clothes now?" Pricilla nodded and stripped off. Soon she was naked and shivering. The woman dressed in her leathers and boots. "And which direction is the Bronze?" She checked the gun and then stuck it in her belt.
"That way." Mumbled Pricilla through broken teeth, pointing.
"Thank you. You've been most helpful."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Buffy." She gave the battered vampire another cheery smile and walked off towards the Bronze.
Across town similar electricity was trashing the inside of a magic shop called The imaginary mongoose. There were no witnesses but the following morning the owner of the magic shop would see the destruction that had been wreaked and decide to retire. He would sell the shop to someone who didn't even understand the name and would mainly sell crystal balls and new age books.
A sphere of energy formed, cutting into a display of Tarot cards and then it vanished. It too left a naked women in its wake but this one was far from calm. She moaned in agony and thrashed about in the smooth dip cut into the floor by the sphere. If there had been a witness they would have seen a women in her early twenties with short brown hair and scars across her body. Her name was Dawn.
With a groan she pulled herself to her feet, she grabbed at the table with the Tarot display on it but it now only had three legs and toppled over. Dawn ignored it and staggered to the counter. She took in her surroundings and smiled. "Exact spot." The pain was fading now and she started to move.
She grabbed some ritualistic robes from a rack and then started gathering spell ingredients. She moved quickly and efficiently. There was a distinct sense of urgency about her. She put them all in a bag and then said a simple spell to open the till. The notes went in the sack too.
She was about to leave when she noticed a drawer under the till that had a label stuck to it saying 'magic wand'. Dawn opened the drawer. Inside was a .357 magnum. "Just like the one Harry Potter had."
She put it in the bag too along with the extra ammunition then started jogging towards the Bronze, pausing only to smash the window of a clothes shop and steal something better to wear than a robe.
Willow finished the last of her coke and came to the conclusion that if Xander was going to show up he'd have done so by now. She had sat alone and ignored at the edge of the crowd all night. At one point she had noticed Cordelia coming towards her and just when Willow was bracing herself for a vicious verbal slap she realised that her enemy had walked right past her without giving her a glance. The whole night had left Willow with a feeling of worthlessness.
She was about to leave when she noticed that someone was watching her. A brown haired woman kept looking at her intensely in-between scanning the room. Willow suddenly wasn't in a hurry to leave. Not because she liked this attention, her skin was crawling with the feeling of being watched, but because she felt safer with a crowd about.
The woman kept disappearing in the crowd and then appearing closer to her. Willow found herself watching the women. She had lived in Sunnydale all her life and she knew that a lot of bad shit went down. Even if she would never describe it like that. People said that there were gangs and serial killers all over the place. Willow had too good an imagination not to be scared by the possibilities.
She wondered if her parents were home yet from their conference. If they were they could come pick her up. They wouldn't be happy about it but she could probably persuade her Mom to do it. She made her way to the phone near the bar but was distracted when she heard a scream of pain by the door. The bouncer, despite his height and weightlifter build, was having his wrist bent backwards by a petite blonde woman. As Willow watched his wrist snapped and he fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Willow couldn't believe what the blonde had done. Not only was she small and pretty she looked bright and cheerful. Willow saw her scan the room methodically and then there eyes met and Willow could see the recognition.
"This isn't good."
The blonde marched towards her. "Hello. You're Willow. You're my best friend. You like computers but are not yet gay. I am afraid I have to kill you now. I'm very sorry." She pulled a gun from the waistband of her jeans and pointed it at Willow.
The redhead was too shocked to move but she was knocked to the floor before the Buffybot fired.
"Get down." The woman who had been watching her so intensely was now standing over her and she was holding a very large handgun. Without hesitation she fired point blank at the blonde. The impact of the bullet made her jerk back but she didn't fall down. Willow knew enough about bullet wounds to know that there should be a hole and lots of blood. The woman obviously wasn't wearing armour but she'd just shrugged off a point blank gunshot. Another bullet pushed her back again. Willow watched as her rescuer unloaded her gun into the other woman's chest. The blonde finally fell backwards.
Dawn emptied out the spent cartridges and started to hurriedly reload. As she snapped the cylinder back in place the Buffybot's foot kicked upwards, knocking the gun from her hand. Dawn dodged backwards as the Buffybot kicked out again. The robot stood up and smiled sadly. "Dawn, you're my sister and I love you. I'm terribly sorry I have to do this." She moved like lightning, a fist connecting with Dawn's ribs and throwing her backwards.
Willow made a run for it. She glanced back as she reached the door and saw the Buffybot was chasing after her. She gave an involuntary squeak of terror and bolted. Too slowly. She felt hands grab her from behind and throw her forwards. There was a moment of terrified motion and then she hit the windscreen of a car, one of her feet smashing through it. Dazed and bruised she rolled off it onto the ground. The shadow of her attacker fell over her and she scrambled back. The robot advanced impassively.
Willow felt herself back into a wall. She got to her feet. She didn't have anywhere else to run. Before the Buffybot could raise her hand to strike Willow saw the car coming. It skidded to a halt near them. Willow saw the brown haired woman at the wheel. She threw some sand towards Willow's attacker shouting "Trepalre." As she did. The blonde was thrown backwards but was on her feet and running back towards them almost immediately.
"Come with me if you want to live." Willow got into the car and slammed the door shut. Dawn shifted gears and shot forward. For a moment Willow almost calmed down but then the back windscreen shattered. The robot was holding onto the back of the car and trying to clamber forward. Dawn didn't even flinch. "Hold the wheel."
She didn't wait for Willow to answer and just opened her door and swung herself out so she was facing backwards. Willow grabbed the wheel, trying to hold it steady. Dawn took a moment to aim the magnum and shot the robot in the forehead. It was thrown backwards by the force and lost it's grip on the car. Dawn slid back into the car and accelerated, leaving the Buffybot behind them.
The car raced along the dark streets. Willow huddled back in her seat glancing fearfully at the older woman, afraid of what she was going to do to her. "What do you want from me?"
"I only want to protect you. I promise I'll explain everything once we're in a safe place."
Willow started to shake. "That woman, she was trying to kill me."
"Yeah."
"But I haven't done anything. I never do anything. I'm not a doing thing kind of person."
"But you will." Dawn smiled, her tone gentling. "It's very important that you live. You're very important."
The words didn't make sense to Willow so they washed right over her. Her mind was still reeling from all that she had seen. "I saw you shoot her. How could that woman get up after...?"
"It's not a woman. It's a machine called a Buffybot. It was designed for... well it was changed into a killing machine. Under the skin there's a hyper-alloy combat chassis, micro processor control, fully armoured, very tough."
"They can't make things like that yet."
"You'd think so wouldn't you? The Buffybot was made by an evil genius in about five years time. Few years after that some of your enemies got hold of it and they rebuilt it for the sole purpose of sending it back to kill you before you were powerful."
Willow grabbed for door handle. Dawn pushed her back into her seat. The teenager screamed. "Let me go, please!"
Dawn slammed on the brakes and when the car was motionless she turned to face the terrified teenager. She looked in Willow's eyes as she spoke. "Listen and understand. The Buffybot is out there. It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever! Until you are dead."
There was a moment as Willow let this sink in, then in a small voice she asked. "Can you stop it?"
Dawn paused, then decided she couldn't lie. "I don't know. On my own... I don't know."
Dawn pulled the car into a space and got out. Willow followed her lead. The house they were in front of was dark, Willow noticed there were no curtains in the windows.
"This is where I'll live when I get to Sunnydale in a few months." A momentary confusion crossed Dawn's face. "Kind of. It's complicated. Anyway I know it's empty now." She reached into her bag and pulled out some herbs. A small incantation later and the door opened. "Keys are so passe."
Willow watched, wide eyed. "That was amazing, how did you do that?"
"It's just a simple spell that you taught me."
"Spell? Like magic? But I don't know any magic. I once let Xander try to saw me in half and after that I swore off getting involved in the dark arts ever again."
Dawn gestured to Willow to sit, the place was unfurnished but there was carpet. Willow sat cross-legged, her back to the wall and watched Dawn check the different exits. "We're safe here for the moment."
"Strange, I don't feel very safe. I tend not to when I have blonde killing machines trying to kill me."
"Don't worry." Dawn said gently, sitting down beside Willow. "I'll protect you."
Willow looked into Dawn's eyes as she spoke and saw something in there. It wasn't something she had ever seen before when someone looked at her but it seemed to have an intensity that was exciting even as it was frightening. "Oh... Oh!" She moved slightly away from Dawn. "The robot thing..."
"The Buffybot."
"It said that I wasn't gay yet. In the future, you and me?"
"We're a couple. Don't worry though, you're too young for me as you are now."
"But I'm not... I mean I like Xander, I like boys. Haven't really had any dates with any yet but I'm certain that I..."
"It's ok. I get the picture. You're straight. My mistake. Must have been someone else I was in bed with last night."
Willow blushed. "Maybe you shouldn't be telling me any of this. It can't be good for me to know my future anyway. Even though I don't believe you."
"Doesn't matter. When I'm sure you're safe I'll have to wipe your memory anyway to make sure that the future happens. So anything you want to know about your future."
"How can you be from the future? It's impossible. I'm sure I read that in a New Scientist, that it was theoretically impossible."
"It's strange hearing you talk so much about science. The time I come from you're such a powerful witch, you've used your magic to change the world. You've travelled to different dimensions, slain powerful demons, you even..." Dawn stopped as she took in the wide-eyed expression on Willow's face. For the first time she really saw the Willow of this time. Younger than she would have been able to imagine, innocent, shy, she wearing a sensible dress and white tights. Dawn had seen the transformation from this girl to the confidant and powerful Willow that she loved but it was still strange seeing her like this. "Sorry. I shouldn't drop this on you all at once. You should get some rest."
"Are you sure you've got the right person? I think you've made a mistake."
"No mistake. Is it really that hard for you to realise you have the potential for greatness?"
"Truthfully? Yes."
Dawn smiled. "Then you'll just have to trust me."
"You really came back in time?"
"Uh huh. You sent me back in the same machine that the Buffybot was sent in."
"What's it like to go through time?"
Dawn struggled for the words. "It's... white light. Pain. Kind of like being born I guess."
"Why you? Why didn't I come back myself if I'm so powerful?"
"Even you can't break the rules that badly. Nobody can come back to a time that they exist in." Dawn saw the question Willow was about to ask. "I'm a special case. It's a little complicated."
"When are you from?"
"About ten years from now."
"Ten years. That's all? Within ten years I'll be a witch with a girlfriend?"
"Sooner." Dawn couldn't tell if Willow was happy or not with the idea. Mostly she seemed flabbergasted. "You should get some rest. We need to get moving early tomorrow. I want to get you further away from Sunnydale while I work out how to deal with the Buffybot."
"I can't just leave town. It's a school night. I've got a book report to give in tomorrow and besides my parents will probably notice that I'm missing."
Dawn saw the realisation as it hit Willow. "Wait..."
"My parents! That thing will find out where I live and go there. She could kill them!"
Dawn kept her voice low and calming. "Listen. It already knew where you lived. It will have gone there straight away from the Bronze because it's where you were most likely to go."
"You knew?" Willow shouted. "We've got to go there. Now."
"It's too dangerous. I have to keep you safe."
"I don't care. I'm not going to hide while my parents are murdered." She moved forward towards Dawn.
"You're too important to risk."
Dawn didn't realise until too late what Willow was doing. The redhead had slipped her hand into the bag and pulled out the magnum. "I... I'm sorry." She said, the gun wavering dangerously. "I'm going. Stay where you are."
Dawn didn't believe that Willow would try to shoot her but she might try for a warning shot and with Willow's marksmanship a warning shot could accidentally go straight through Dawn's head. She stayed still as Willow edged out the door.
Willow rushed in the front door of her house. "Mom! Dad!" She knew that she should be stealthy but in the run to her house she had worked herself into a panic imagining finding her parents dead. The house was silent. She saw that there was a flashing light on the answering machine and pressed the play button. Her Mom's voice filled the silence.
"Willow? Are you there? Never mind. I just wanted to let you know that we'll be coming back tomorrow from the conference, not tonight. The planes are all delayed in New York so we're taking the opportunity to see the museum of modern art tomorrow. I'll call again when I know what time we'll be getting in."
Willow slowly calmed down as her Mom's message played. They weren't in danger. Her heartbeat almost returned to normal before she heard a shotgun being readied. The Buffybot was standing in the doorway to the living room. She pointed the shotgun at Willow and the redhead snapped out of her fear in time to dive through the door to the kitchen. She realised that she was holding a gun herself and pointed it at the doorway, her hands were slippery with sweat and she was shaking.
The Buffybot walked into the kitchen. Willow pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Half-panicked she fumbled at the safety. She jerked to the side, barely dodging a shotgun blast. The robot tried to pump another shell into the chamber but something jammed. Willow took the lucky break; she shoved the gun into the Buffybot's face and pulled the trigger. The recoil almost knocked the gun from her hands but the robot flew backwards. Half the skin had been shredded from its face, showing the steel underneath. One eye was now a glowing red dot. It started to get to its feet. Willow shot it five more times. It seemed to be stunned rather than hurt but it gave Willow some time. She paused in the kitchen to turn on the gas from the hobs and then rushed out the door as the robot got to its feet. She stood on the front lawn and saw the robot through the window. It pointed its shotgun at her. Willow threw herself to the ground as it pulled the trigger. A fireball blew out the windows as shot ignited the gas.
Dawn pulled up in the car in time to see it. She rushed out and grabbed Willow's arm, dragging her back towards the car.
"It's ok." The redhead protested. "I treated it to a barbeque, Willow style."
"Yeah, and I think it's pissed off now." She pointed to the house and the smile fell from Willow's face as she saw a burning figure walking out the front door. It was shedding charred flesh leaving only its robotic form underneath. Dawn pushed Willow into the car and then ran round to the driver's side. The 'bot started to run towards them. They peeled out, tyres screeching in protest.
The robot ran out into the road, narrowly avoiding being hit by a truck, which skidded to a halt. The 'bot opened the drivers side and pulled out the guy behind the wheel, tossing him onto the road. She got in. The passenger, a young man called Kevin, just stared at her. There were a few remnants of charred flesh on her but she didn't look remotely human anymore. She fixed him with the red dots that were her eyes. "Get out."
He got out.
She shoved her foot onto the accelerator. The car with her target in wasn't too far ahead and the truck she had stolen was fast.
"With any luck we can lose her." Dawn called to Willow, swerving the car round a corner at breakneck speed.
Willow was about to answer when the truck rammed into the back of their car, jerking them in their seats. "Do you have a plan B?"
The car was jolted by another ram. "Whatever happens you have to escape. Don't worry about me, just run."
"I can't just leave you to be killed." Willow earnestly shouted back as the car was battered again.
The truck levelled with them and rammed into their side. Dawn wrestled with the wheel but couldn't stop the car being pushed to the side. Too late she saw the tree in front of them, she slammed on the breaks but they had too much momentum and hit it with a deafening crash. The windscreen shattered and the front of the car buckled.
Dawn passed out for only a couple of seconds. Willow was shaking her and telling her something but she couldn't understand the words. Her vision swam briefly and then became clear. She looked around and saw the truck stopped up the road. As she watched the door opened and the metallic form of the Buffybot emerged.
Memory of what was going on hit her and she started struggling to free herself from the car. Willow ran round to the driver's door and opened it. Dawn took Willow's hand and tried to get out. Pain flared up in her leg and she collapsed. Half crawling, half being pulled she got out. One of her legs had a jagged piece of metal sticking through it.
Dawn grabbed Willow's hand. "Run. Now." Willow started to protest but Dawn interrupted "Don't! Just go. There's no time for anything else. If you want to live then you have to run. Please!"
She could see Willow's torment at the decision but the redhead turned and ran.
Dawn watched her for a moment and then reached back into the car. She found the magnum and started to reload it when a metallic hand grabbed the barrel and ripped it from her grip. Dawn looked up defiantly, expecting a quick death but the robot simply ignored her and continued walking after Willow. There was a stiffness in its gait that hadn't been there before, making Dawn wonder how much the fire had damaged the Buffybot after all. The robot obviously considered her useless and unable to defend Willow now that she was injured. Dawn started crawling towards the truck. Buffybot had badly misjudged her.
Willow sprinted down the road. Justifications for why she had left Dawn scrolling through her mind. Didn't matter which excuse she used, every reason was logical and objectively the right thing to do and Willow still hated herself for running. She glanced backwards and ducked, a bullet smacked into the brick wall beside her. She looked around her. If she continued up the road then she would be wide open to being shot. The only option was the house that she was opposite. A bullet grazed her neck as she ran towards the house. The following day she would look curiously at the mark from the bullet and despite not remembering anything that had happened she would feel an inexplicable terror and would avoid thinking about it.
The house was dark and there was no car in the driveway. Willow hoped that nobody was home and that she wouldn't be forced to blow up this house too. She realised that she had deliberately caused a gas explosion in her own home and for a moment she thought that none of this could be real. Surely Willow Rosenberg could never be in a situation like this. She was boring. She wasn't the kind of person interesting things happened too or who would do anything as exciting as fight a robot from the future by trying to incinerate it. She made a snap decision to worry about surviving now and work out whether it was real or not later when it wouldn't matter so much.
She needed to get inside; there might be something she could use. Around the side of the house was a kitchen door that was partly glass. Grabbing a rock she smashed a hole and unlocked the door. She sneaked to the living room and peered out of the window.
Next to her the front door burst open, the red glow of the Buffybot's eyes bright against the shadows outside. Willow fled back into the kitchen. She expected a bullet in the back at any moment. Luckily Dawn had only loaded three bullets into the gun before the robot had snatched it or Willow would have been killed there and then. As it was the Buffybot could only follow Willow, trying to get close enough to crush her throat.
Willow went through the first door she came too and found herself in the garage. She stabbed at the automatic garage door opener and it started to slowly creak open at a glacial pace. Willow stumbled over to the tool bench trying to find something to defend herself with. The Buffybot appeared in the doorway and started to walk towards Willow. The teenager grabbed a large hammer and threw it at the robot. It bounced off Buffybot's head making it pause for a second. Trying to seize every second of life Willow started throwing everything to hand. Wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, the Buffybot slowly moved forward through the rain of metal.
It was close enough that Willow could smell the remnants of the burnt hair and flesh. She scrabbled for anything to throw but no more was in reach. A metal hand grabbed her neck and for an excruciatingly long second she could feel as the pressure from the fingers increased. She gave a whimper of terror and then the garage was flooded with light. The truck that the 'bot had stolen, driven by Dawn cannoned into the bot, crushing it back against the wall. Willow felt the metal hand ripped away from her neck and collapsed forward. Dawn's insistent voice penetrated her consciousness.
"Willow. You've got to finish it."
Willow turned to see Dawn in the truck. The older woman nodded towards the Buffybot. It was pinned against the wall and jerking spasmodically. It looked distinctly the worse for wear but it was also quite clearly still active. Willow searched around the garage looking for something suitable. A sledgehammer leant near the door and she hefted it. It was heavy but she could manage it.
Hesitantly she approached the twitching robot assassin. It stared at her with its glowing red eyes and Willow knew that it was calculating how to kill her once it got free. Pushing aside her reticence she swung the hammer into its head. And again, and again. The metal dented and she could hear the sound of the microchips inside its head being crushed. And again, and again. The lights that were its eyes dimmed. And again and again. The more rational parts of her mind were bemoaning that the robot could tell her so much about advanced science. The parts of her mind that didn't like being hunted down told her to keep hitting it.
"It's dead. You can stop now." Dawn said gently as Willow kept smashing the sledgehammer into the robot's skull. Willow started and looked at the hammer and the robot as if she hadn't even noticed what she was doing.
"I just wanted to make sure. I've seen a few films in my time. These monsters always seem to be dead and then they come back. She saw how much damage she had done, the steel skull was totally caved in. "Ok. I'm sure."
Willow opened the truck's door and Dawn almost fell out. Willow caught her and propped her back up. "How badly are you hurt?" Willow asked, brushing Dawn's hair out of her eyes and looking her over for more injuries.
"I'll live. My mission here is completed so I'll be summoned back to the present. Future. My present, your future. Time travel really messes with my grammar."
"How long before you have to go back?" Willow felt a sharp stab of loss, she hadn't even got a chance to have a proper conversation with Dawn.
"Not long. I have to erase your memory first. It's really up to you, in the future you will remember this and summon me back at the right time."
"Do you have to erase my memory? I promise I'll be good and act as if I was totally ignorant."
Dawn could see the pleading in Willow's eyes. It hurt her to have to say no. "It wouldn't work. You can't pretend you don't know and too much depends on you not changing your actions."
"Then you better do it..." Willow blushed. "...Because I like the look of my future."
Dawn smiled at this, Willow's words hit her right in the heart. God but she loved this girl even though she was so different from the Willow who was her lover. She stroked the teenager's cheek and softly kissed her. Willow let out a slight gasp at the light touch of Dawn's lips. "Close your eyes. Whispered the older girl.
Willow dutifully closed her eyes and she heard a few whispered words and smelt a burning herb.
When Willow opened her eyes she was alone. Her memories were still there but were quickly fading. She realised this was so she could get away from the smashed up house. She quickly walked out into the street and towards her house. Her memories of the last few hours grew fainter even as she tried to hold onto the memory of Dawn's face and the sensation of those soft lips against hers. But she couldn't keep them, the faded into nothing leaving Willow with only a feeling that the future would bring joy and love.
Dawn's journey to the future was without pain and she arrived clothed and healed. Willow was waiting for her and she almost pounced on the redheaded witch. She hungrily kissed her lover and then gazed adoringly into her eyes.
"I succeeded, Mistress."
"You did well." Willow purred, possessively grabbing Dawn. "Everything happened as it was supposed to."
"Could she do it again, could Fred send back something else to kill you?"
"Don't worry. I smashed her time machine and then I smashed her mind. Later today I'll rebuild her personality into something more to my liking. Besides there was never any chance that she could succeed. The past can't be changed."
"Surely..." Dawn began, only to be interrupted by her Mistress.
"Did you know that Warren lived in the house that you left the Buffybot at? He was home that night and when he came down to investigate all the destruction he found the robot woman and he got it out of the wreckage and took it to study himself. That was the only reason he was able to develop the robot women in the first place."
Dawn tried to work out the implications. "I don't understand."
"You don't have to. All you need to know is that things can't be changed. I rule this world and nobody can change that."
Dawn gazed adoringly into the black eyes of the dark witch and tried to imagine any other existence that would bring her this much joy. "I love you, Mistress."