Title: A New Dawn
Author: Blaze
E-mail: I do not own any of the characters you recognise.
Authors note: This story it a jumble of cannon time line and AU. Things happen at different times and not necessarily as they do on the show.
I started writing this ages ago and it's taken my awhile. It would probably still be in limbo if it weren't for my Beta Ayleen (BEST BETA EVER!). You should all thank her a lot that this fic is readable! If you've read my old stuff you'd know what I mean.
My inspiration is from a film that stared Brittany Murphy and Kirsten Dunst, I can't remember the name of the movie though sorry.
Summary: Buffy, Angel, Their daughter, Time travel, Drusilla, Demons…….
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Yessss please.
PrologueThe day she was born was the happiest day in either of their lives. With everything that had happened to them throughout the years they thought this would never happen. To hold the tiny bundle in their arms was the biggest reward they could have ever asked for.
That was then.
Buffy watched her daughter walk up the path towards their house and sighed. Dawn was three hours late home, this was nothing unusual for their fifteen year old. Dawn had been a lovely child, the apple of her parents' eyes, until a year ago. Then she'd made friends with the wrong people and her life had started spinning out of control. First it had been coming home late, matched with skipping school. Next it was her attitude and her clothes. Dawn's behaviour was getting worse and Buffy and Angel didn't know what to do.
Dawn walked through the door and slammed it shut before yelling "I'm home." She casually walked past Buffy and into the kitchen, pulling out a bag of chips from the cupboard.
Buffy followed her and folded her arms across her chest.
"Dawn this has got to stop!" Buffy said, looking defeated.
"Sure whatever mom, just because I'm not a goody-goody like you were", Dawn said sarcastically and she rolled her eyes.
She pushed past Buffy and went up to her bedroom with her mother following closely behind her.
Dawn closed the door in her mother's face, but Buffy opened it and walked right in.
"We can't take this anymore, Dawn. You're breaking your father's heart. We've decided that you need to get away for a while, we're sending you to live with Willow for the summer" Buffy told her with such sadness in her eyes.
Dawn's face dropped in horror and she threw her hairbrush on the floor and advanced on Buffy.
"NO, There is no way I'm going," she yelled.
Buffy saw the aggression on her daughter's face and remembered a time when they could settle arguments with a chat and a hug.
"You have no say in the matter, young lady! You are leaving at the end of the week."
Dawn threw her hand in her mother's direction, intending to hit her in the face, but Buffy was quicker and caught her arm and held it awkwardly in front of her daughter. She took hold of Dawn's other arm just in case she hit out with that one too. Buffy's heart broke as she looked into her daughter's eyes and saw a stranger looking back at her. Dawn struggled and Buffy held on tighter, which caused Dawn to moan in pain.
Buffy was about to let go when she saw the pain on her daughter's face. Dawn felt the grip on her arm loosen and stepped back and kicked at her mother's leg. Buffy moved out of the way which caused Dawn to lose her balance and she fell back on the floor hitting her head.
"Dawn what happened to you?" Buffy asked and bent down next to her daughter who was holding her head in pain. Which was when Buffy noticed a mark on her daughter's neck.
Buffy's eyes narrowed and she stood up in anger.
"What is that?" She demanded to know pointing at the mark that was an inch below a purplish bruise that looked suspiciously like a hicky.
"Mom, chill! Its not even real," Dawn protested and got up off the floor rubbing the back of her head.
"Dawn," Buffy warned. "Tell me."
"It's a temporary tat, I'm going to have a real one done on Saturday. Which means I'm part of the gang, and you can throw me out - I'll have people who care about me to stay with." Dawn said and smirked.
"What gang?" Buffy asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Night walkers, they're vampires and I'm going to be one of them. I'll be powerful and people will respect me."
Buffy's eyes widened in horror.
"This isn't possible," Buffy shook her head and backed up out of her daughter's room. "There's none left."
Dawn looked at her mother as if she was crazy and then slammed the door in her face.
Buffy managed to shake herself out of her daze and locked her daughter's door from the outside so she couldn't leave.
She picked up the phone and dialled Angel's cell phone. All she managed to say was: 'come home' before the phone clattered to the floor.
When Angel arrived home four hours later he found Buffy sitting on the couch in the living room.
"Buffy," he spoke and dropped to his knees in front of her.
She looked at him then leaned forward and grabbed hold of him, hugging him tight to her, almost crushing him.
She stayed like that for some time before calming down enough to let go. He moved to sit next to her and took her hands while she explained what had happened with Dawn.
"But that's impossible," Angel protested. "We killed them all sixteen years ago."
"Angel, I know that, but what if we missed one, what if there was a spell and someone accidentally turned themselves into one. What if..." she rambled.
"Buffy it isn't possible, the amulet killed every vampire on the planet. There is no way we missed one, and even if some idiot did somehow turn themselves they, would have been ash in seconds. The amulet would have reactivated and killed it", he reassured her.
"Angel, you know as well as me anything is possible," Buffy stated.
"You said she was going to have a tattoo to be part of the gang? Does that sound like normal vampire behaviour to you?"
"Well, no. But Angel, if there are no vampires, what is happening to our baby?" her voice was trembling and he could see tears form in her eyes. "If she was under a thrall I could forgive everything she's been doing and we could break the spell and have her back but if it's just some run of the mill gang… I can't handle the thought that she would act like this on her own accord."
"I'll speak to her," Angel told his wife and kissed her hands before putting them onto her lap and leaving the couch.
He walked up the stairs with a heavy heart and unlocked the door. He didn't knock he just twisted the handle and walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
It was dark, but he could see a suitcase on the floor, bulging at its seams, and her desk draws were open and clothes were all over the floor. Dawn was laid on the bed, still in her clothes and on top of the covers. He figured she'd fallen asleep while packing.
He pulled a chair out from under her desk, placed it next to her bed, and sat down. He clapped his hands twice and the lights came on. Dawn's eyes snapped open and she sat up in bed, and her gaze landed on her father.
She'd never seen him like this before - he looked so calm on the outside, but his eyes told a different story. They had this look about them that she couldn't describe but it scared her and he was unnaturally calm and it unnerved her a little. She didn't let it show and put a cocky smirk on her face.
"You look like Faith when you smile like that," He told her, his calm voice startling her.
"What can I do for you, dad? I'm kinda in the middle of something," She told him and sat up and crossed her legs, finishing her packing.
"I came to talk to you about this vampire cult you want to join," he sat back in the chair and looked her in the eye.
"Dad, I'm so not in the mood for a lecture! And you won't have to put up with me after today - I'm leaving."
"How about we make a deal? You listen to what I have to say, and then you can decide whether you still want to leave or not. If you want to leave I'll even drive you wherever you want to go."
Angel's expression shifted to a look of concentration and his eyes seemed to glaze over as he began his story. Dawn felt a chill run up her spine and rubbed her arms to get rid of the goose bumps.
"When your mother was in high school she lived in a place called Sunnydale. Now, that wasn't your average suburban town. Under the ground was what is known as a hellmouth. Now that is not a good thing to live on top of, as you could probably guess by the name. All sorts of evil things lived there, the biggest problem being the vampires.
There was always a new big bad in town, but at one point there was a female vampire named Drusilla. Now that was one crazy undead woman and she had a grudge against Sunnydale and one group of its inhabitants in particular. That group had had run-ins with her before, but this time it was different, this time she'd snapped.
The group of friends was having a small get-together and Drusilla burned down the building they were in. One of them was badly injured, and was in hospital for three months. She murdered one of the girls' parents and after the fire she sent a new demon attack against them every night for two weeks. Eventually the group was battered and bruised and losing the battle. On the night they were going to take the fight to her doorstep she set a trap for them, and managed to capture three of them, a boy and two girls. First she tortured the boy while she made the other two watch. By the time he died he no longer had any toes, fingers or eyelids. His whole body had been horribly burnt and his tongue had been cut out to silence his screams. He died three days after being captured.
Next she chose the youngest girl, but before she could torture the brunette in new and unusual ways the rest of the group found them and managed to rescue them. The eldest girl was weak from lack of food and was also emotionally drained, and besides Drusilla had been drugging her to keep her sedated and she'd also been drinking her blood every now and again. The girl also had big clumps of her blond hair missing as the vampire had ripped it out in fits of rage.
They were almost clear, they'd made it within five minutes of the safe house when vampires attacked. The group fought but the vampires were only interested in re-capturing the eldest girl. While the others were fighting the young girl who had been captured hid the eldest so no one could see her and performed a glamour spell on herself. She took off running, and before she was out of sight she yelled something and everyone turned and looked at her. The vampires immediately took chase.
Three nights later the elder of the two girls was awake and almost completely healed and ready for a fight. They stormed Drusilla's new lair, she managed to dust her and the group rejoiced. They searched the place high and low, and finally the girl found a room on the top floor and entered. On the bed was the young one, and she was so happy to find her she rushed to her side. But the young girl's eyes opened and the blond knew right then that something was wrong. The brunette sat up in the bed and started taunting the other girl. Telling her it was all her fault this happened.
"And that's when I said, I'm sorry, I love you Dawn!" A voice spoke from the doorway. "And then I plunged a stake right through her heart and watched her burst into ash right before my eyes." Buffy's eyes were glistening with tears.
"The boy who was burned was Xander, The girl whose parents were murdered was Willow. In the demon attacks Giles lost his eye. The boy who was tortured to death was Oz, and she turned your auntie and your mother had to kill her."
"Is this the type of thing you want to be?" Buffy whispered.
Dawn looked at both her parents like they were crazy, "you think some made up story is going to make me change my mind?" she demanded to know and got off her bed throwing the last few items into her suit case. "Nice touch there adding the bits about people's injuries! Blaming Xander's burns on that woman almost makes it more believable! But I do realise that vampires aren't actually real! I'm not stupid! I know holy water can't burn people or mirrors not show something standing in front of them. Lie to me all you like! I'm still leaving!" Dawn zipped up her suitcase and pushed past her father, but before she could get through the door Willow appeared.
"Let her see," she spoke, her eyes turning black.
Dawn's eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp. She almost crashed to the ground, but Angel caught her and laid her on her bed.
The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was that her head hurt. It felt like she'd been hit on the head with a hammer. She opened her eyes and was glad to find it still dark out because she knew for sure that if the sun had been shining it would have hurt like hell. She pushed herself up and leaned over to put her bedside lamp on. Her eyes stung in protest and she blinked a few times to get used to the light.
What she saw confused her, the bedside cabinet was white with butterfly stickers all over it. The cabinet that should have been there had been painted black three weeks ago. Anger surged within her as she realised her mom must have bought her a new one.
She threw back the covers and got out of the bed and that's when she noticed the carpet. In her room the floor was wooden. This caused her to pause and she looked around the room.
"Where the hell am I?" she demanded to know but of course no one was listening.
She scratched her head trying to think of the last thing she remembered and touched the sore spot at the back of her head where she'd banged it. She'd been arguing with her mom and then her dad had given her a lecture. Just as she was about to bolt Willow had entered the room and that's when it all went blank.
Dawn walked to the doorway and pulled open the door, stepping tentatively into the hallway. The house was quiet. She tiptoed down the corridor towards the stairs but heard a noise outside. She tiptoed back towards the room she'd been in and looked out of the window. She saw a figure in black walking away from the house and someone with blond hair walked past her window. Dawn opened the window enough so she could lean out and saw the blond climbing a tree. Dawn frowned as she realised who it was.
Dawn walked back out of the room and down the hall towards the room she was sure the window was in. The door opened and her mom stepped out.
"God Dawn!" Buffy gasped placing a hand over her heart. "You trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Sorry mom," She replied sarcastically.
Buffy looked down at herself: "I fell asleep in my clothes." Buffy defended quickly.
Dawn frowned, "Sure whatever. What do I care if you climb in the window? It's weird, but why would I care?" Dawn asked.
"What - you saw?" Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Don't tell mom, please. I'll let you borrow that blue sweater you like." She begged, her eyes pleading.
Before Dawn could reply the door at the end of the hallway opened and a lady stepped out, tying her robe in the process.
"Girls, what's going on?" The lady asked and flipped on the switch so they were all illuminated in light.
"Sorry if we woke you mom. I was going to the bathroom, I fell asleep in my clothes and felt all icky so was going to get washed up," Buffy explained, the lie rolling off her tongue like she was used to it.
"Uh uh," Joyce nodded believing her. "What about you Dawnie?"
Dawn looked with wide eyes from one woman to the other, "I was thirsty, I was going to get a glass of water…" She mumbled, totally aghast.
"I'll get it, Dawnie. I'm going down anyway. You get back to bed."
They both watched as Joyce left their view. Dawn was completely struck dumb, trying to process what was going on. The lady looked so much like the photos she'd seen of her grandma; but she died before Dawn was born, so it just wasn't possible that it was her.
"Thank you so much for covering," Buffy said and hugged Dawn. "You're the best little sister in the world."
Dawn didn't reciprocate the hug but stood there dumbfounded. She had no idea what was going on, maybe it was some kind of weird trick her parents were playing on her because of the fight they'd had earlier? There was no way it could be what it seemed - that was just ridiculous!
Buffy let go and looked at her sister. "What's up?" she asked suddenly concerned.
"Erm," Dawn stuttered. "Why?"
"First you cover for me, which I totally appreciate but totally don't get. You normally can't wait to get me in trouble. And second… you look terrible."
Dawn tried to think of something to say but could only come up with the excuse she used on her mom whenever she was in trouble.
"I think I'm sick," she answered trying to look miserable.
Buffy looked at her a few seconds before shrugging and heading towards the bathroom leaving Dawn standing there. Dawn heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly went back to the room she was in and laid down pretending to be asleep. Joyce quietly placed the glass of water on the table, leaned over, switched off the lamp and left the room closing the door behind her.
Dawn sat up in bed the minute Joyce left the room, trying to process what was going on. She couldn't come up with a single excuse for what was happening that was grounded in reality. She riffled though some of the draws and found some diaries. Dawn flipped though them but found nothing interesting - just some crap about the person feeling like she didn't belong. She flopped back on the bed and covered her eyes with her arm.
Dawn felt worn out physically and emotionally, her mind was busy with thought. The last thing she remembered before finally falling asleep was: "I hope it's a dream… I'll wake up soon…"
