Buffybot in Tabula Rasa
PAIRING: None
RATING: PG-13
FEEDBACK: Very welcome, to [email protected]
BETA: Miss Murchison - thanks!
SETTING: This fic is set during the events of 'Tabula Rasa' in BtVS Series 6, when the Scoobies temporarily lose their memories. I've twiddled with the time sequence in the episode a tiny bit, but just call it artistic licence.
DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to Joss. I’m borrowing, and I promise to put them all back in reasonably good condition, and only slightly used.
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Buffybot Behind Bars!, but it can perfectly well be read as a stand-alone.
SCENE: A house in Sunnydale
Chapter Seventeen
“What happened?” asked Xander, "Didn't it work?"
Willow blinked, her eyelashes powdered with green rock. After a moment, Tara let go of Willow's hand and rose to her feet, brushing green flecks from herself.
“I’m afraid it did work,” said Giles heavily.
“You!” cried Anya, pointing at Willow, “You set the spell! You’re the Evil Sorcerer!”
"Then why ....?" said Spike. And then a slow grin spread across his face. "Oh, I get it now!"
"More than I do," muttered Buffy, staring at Willow.
"Oooh!" Everyone looked over at the Buffybot, who was bouncing up and down on the spot with excitement. "I get it too, I get it too!" she said.
"Score one for our dippy little tin soldier," said Spike. He looked across at Willow, "How bloody inept does an Evil Sorcerer - or Sorceress," - Spike bowed ironically - "have to be, to cast a forgetting spell and catch herself in it, as well!"
"Hee, hee, hee!" said Buffybot. "It's really very funny, when you think about it!"
"Hilarious," muttered Giles, picking at the dried demon goo that still bespattered his jacket.
"Right, well it's obvious what to do next," said Anya confidently. "We cut off her head, and the spell is broken." She lifted her shiny axe from the table, and stared at Willow critically, "Actually we should probably burn her corpse to ashes and douse them in holy water too, just to be on the safe side. And sacrifice a goat."
Buffybot's eyes went round, and she took a step between Anya and Willow.
"There's no need for anything quite so ... drastic," said Giles. "Willow here just needs to break the spell ..."
"Except," said Tara, speaking quietly and distinctly. "We can't trust her to do that, can we? Given what's she done already." She looked hard at Willow, "And don't you all wonder what it is that she wanted us to forget?"
Buffy moved closer to the guilty witch, sword drawn, and stared down at her in an unfriendly fashion. "That's a very good question, Tara."
"Yeah," said Spike, coming up to stand by Buffy, twirling his stake in his hand, "and don't forget she could have got us all killed while we were milling around like confused sheep earlier."
Anya sighed with exasperation, "Well of course we can't trust her," she said, "She's probably some kind of evil demon or something!"
"Willow's really very nice," offered Buffybot tentatively. "Isn't she, Jonathan?" Jonathan looked up and shrugged, half heartedly.
"She doesn't look very evil," said Dawn doubtfully. And indeed Willow, who was blushing and twisting her hands in her lap, looked a lot more like a naughty schoolgirl than an Evil Villain.
"I don't know if she's evil or not," said Tara. Willow's blush deepened to a dusky red. Tara drew a breath, "but, parts of my memory are coming back." She looked around the room at the puzzled and angry and anxious faces around her. "More than for any of you, I think. And this book is mine." Tara pulled out a large volume from the bookshelf and turned. "I am going to use it to banish magic from this house," she said calmly, "by Earth Magic, so there may be a tiny earthquake - nothing to worry about."
"Gosh!" said the Buffybot, impressed.
"Nothing to worry about?" said Xander, staring at the walls around them. "You're making an earthquake, and we're all in a house that could crash down on our heads, and there's nothing to worry about?"
"Just a little one," said Tara. She glanced over at Buffy and Dawn. "But you may want to move the ornaments." She looked down at Willow, who was still examining her own feet. "Let's find out what just what your terrible secret is, shall we?" she said.
..............
Buffybot stood in the basement. Tara's spell had indeed caused an earthquake - a little physical one, just a rumbling underfoot, but also a huge angry emotional one. And then - and then everyone was really unhappy. Buffy was angry with Giles, and Spike was angry with Buffy, and Anya was angry with Xander for some reason, though Buffybot couldn't quite work out why. And now Tara was leaving, and that made Dawn angry with Tara. And, of course, absolutely everyone was angry with Willow.
As the voices had grown louder, Buffybot had spotted Jonathan creeping out of the front door - and for a moment she had been sorely tempted to join him - she was sure he would have liked the company! But still, he was moving very fast, and she didn't want to slow him down, with her silly leg. She didn't want to stay in the living room, though. All in all, Buffybot thought she preferred the basement right now.
Xander’s beautiful rabbit hutch sat on the workbench in front of her, and, spotting a half chewed carrot that had fallen through the bars on to the floor, she scooped it up, and stepped up to peer through the mesh. No bunnies were visible in the living quarters of the hutch, so opened the door to the sleeping quarters and peered inside. Then she sighed a big sigh, put down her carrot, reached in her hand, and drew out one white, and one red and blue striped sneaker. No sneaker bunnies. No magic.
She felt very sad.
There was a footstep on the stairs, and she looked up. It was Tara.
"Oh." Tara hesitated. "I was looking for a packing case."
Buffybot looked at the hutch. "I guess you could have this, Tara. The bunnies are gone."
Tara looked at the spanking new rabbit hutch, and the sneakers dangling from Buffybot's fingers. "Oh dear. I'm sorry, Lara - but they weren't real you know - just made of fairy dust, and illusion, and a little bit of life borrowed from somewhere."
"My name's Buffybot," said Buffybot sadly. "I only pretended it was Lara - that wasn't real either."
"Your name is what you want it to be. Look," Tara fumbled in her pocket and handed over two crumpled $10 bills. "Buy yourself some real bunnies, Lara," she said, "or guinea pigs, maybe - they're friendlier." She managed a little grin, "But please get two the same sex, huh? This basement could be overrun real fast." And after poking about half-heartedly in the corner of the room for a box, Tara left.
Buffybot looked after her, trembling with shock. $20!!! She'd never had $20 before - or any dollars! Only coins for the phone, in case she got arrested again! $20!!! She was rich! She could buy rabbits and guinea pigs! She consulted her internal clock - it was still too early for the pet store to be open, but she intended to be standing on the doorstep all bright and ready with her $20 right on the stroke of 10.00am - Yessir! Meanwhile she had 102 pages of information about the biology, evolution, and behaviour of Oryclolagus cuniculus (bunnies) and Cavia porcellus (piggies) in her Encyclopaedia!
She pulled herself up on the workbench beside her rabbit hutch and settled down for some serious reading.
The End
Don't worry, Buffybot, there are two more stories about you!
Feedback is very welcome!
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