Puzzle Pieces

A/N:
I originally stated in chapter one that Dawn was on summer break, because it made it easier to deal with her graduate classes. However, after finding an excellent post about the SPN Timeline I've decided to follow that instead (up until a certain point, anyways). So I've edited the previous chapter and currently the timeline is set in November, not the summer

Also, this story goes out to curiouslywombat. I used to be a Dawn-hater (thanks to whiny teenage moments) until her stories made me realize how awesome of a character the Dawnster is :)

A couple days had passed since the Winchesters' last visit and Dawn was having lunch with Vi, one of the activated slayers from Sunnydale and one of the few she was actually friends with. Vi was quiet but spunky, just the sort of type of person Dawn found herself usually befriending. After being in Buffy's shadow for years and only hanging around her sister's friends, Dawn had been eager to make her own once they relocated to Ohio. The activated slayers had spread across the globe but Vi was one of the few originals that had come to Cleveland. They were the same age – and both had peculiar extracurricular activities – so it made sense that they should be roommates at Case Western together. Since then, experiencing the ordeals of sharing a small box of a room and fighting evil, they both had become extremely close.

Eying the purple bruise over Vi's right wrist, Dawn asked, "How was patrol last night?"

Vi shrugged. "Man, sometimes I don't know how Buffy did it, guarding a hellmouth all on her own. We have seven slayers here – including Faith and sometimes Buffy, depending on her travels – and things are still crazy. See this?" she asked as she gestured towards her bruise. "Nasty vamp practically broke my wrist when I tried to stake him."

Dawn made a face. "That sucks, dude. You get him?"

Vi smiled then, a slow dangerous smile that revealed the predator within. "Oh yeah. Shoved him right onto a fence post."

Laughing, Dawn shook her head. "You do have a fondness for odd weapons."

Grinning, Vi shrugged. "Hey, your sis taught me to use my surroundings. Besides, last night was tame. Remember when I staked those two vamps with chopsticks at Yum-Yum? I thought our waitress was going to faint!"

"Oh, I remember," Dawn chuckled. "Thanks to you now we had to find a new Chinese buffet!"

Vi rolled her eyes. "So I overheard Xander last night talking to Buffy. Still no sign of the Colt or Lucifer?"

Dawn shook her head. "Nope. We know Lucifer has possessed some poor bastard but he's been laying low. Colt's still missing and our resources are running dry. Apparently the demons we're used to don't talk much with the Hell-kind."

Grimacing, Vi responded, "Wow, who woulda thought there'd be castes among demons with the non-corporeal thinking they're too good for the other, usually slimier, ones."

"Good thing too. Can you imagine what life would be like if they teamed up?"

Vi's face paled slightly. "Shit. Dawn, don't even say that out loud. You know what our luck is like!"

Snorting, Dawn held up a hand to pacify her. "Okay, I'm sorry. You're right. I take it back."

Suddenly her cell phone began ringing and she glanced at the Caller ID. "Oh, hold on a sec. It's Bobby." As the primary researcher in Cleveland on all things paranormal, Dawn had a good relationship with the well-read hunter that the Winchesters had introduced her to. It was fairly common that they called each other with questions on monsters.

"Hey Bobby, what's up?"

"You heard from either of the boys lately?"

Dawn frowned and shot Vi a worried look. "No…What's the what?"

Bobby made a 'hmmph' sound and continued speaking. "Haven't heard from them for a couple days – we've been checking in with each other often since you-know-what and those idjits haven't been answering their phones – in fact, they're not even turned on! Not to mention, Castiel can't get a hold of them either."

Sitting straight up, Dawn nibbled her lip nervously. "Where were they last? I haven't talked to them since they visited."

"I know they were around your neck of the woods. Said they were gonna check out something in Wellington? That's what I told Castiel, but that damn angel hasn't reported back yet on what's going on."

"Wellington…Ohio?" Vi gave her a curious look and mouthed 'that's near here' with a gesture towards the south.

"Yup."

"Okay, well Vi – you remember her, red hair? – she said that's nearby. We'll go check it out."

"Hmm, well be careful. Hopefully with a vampire slayer you won't have much of a problem," Bobby responded.

"Hope so. See ya Bobby."

"Bye."

Dawn clicked the phone shut and sighed. This wouldn't be the first time she's helped the boys…okay, and maybe they had also done their share of helping, like saving her several times from the some of the various kidnapping episodes that seemed to plague her life. Seriously, was there like a sign over her head or something?

"So, I'm guessing a road trip?" Vi asked with a devious smile. "Preferably one where I get to kill a baddie?"

"The boys are AWOL, so is Cas, and Bobby's worried. Looks like our little damsels in distress need some help," Dawn smirked.

After getting onto Interstate 90 West the two girls only had a forty minute drive down to Wellington due to Dawn's inclination for speeding thanks to, she guessed, her Buffy-genes. Of course, getting there was easy. Finding the brothers would be the problem.

Dawn and Vi started off in the most likely spot – the police station. Thanks to the Winchesters, the Watchers' Council had learned the duplicitous art of cons. They tried to avoid any and all authority figures whenever possible but some of them used fake IDs as a back-up in case they got caught in a tricky situation. Dawn and Vi had grabbed some clothes on the way and now were wearing smart power suits that just screamed 'Look at me, I'm damn important!'

"So you're saying these two agents were here just two days ago?" Dawn asked the police officer as she showed him a picture of Sam and Dean that she had printed off.

"Yes," he answered with furrowed brows. "Agents Hasselhoff and Stallone. They were here about the bear attack."

"Bear attack? What happened?" Dawn inquired.

The older man shrugged. "Bill Randolph got killed by a bear in his home."

Dawn exchanged a glance with Vi. "Uh huh. Well, have you seen Agents Hasselhoff and Stallone since?"

"No. They questioned Kathy, Bill's wife – er, widow – and went on their way. What's all about, anyway?"

Vi gave the man a sweet, innocent smile. She really knew how to play all southern Texan belle when she needed to, even if she didn't have an accent. "Don't you worry Office Manley. Just some internal Bureau business, it's nothing important. Thank you for talking with us."

Officer Manley smiled at her. "Of course, Agent Spears." He nodded at Dawn. "And you, too, Agent Anderson."

On their way out of the station, Vi giggled to herself. "Anderson. Makes me laugh every time."

Dawn glanced down at her small breasts and laughed at the mental comparison to her 'namesake' Pamela Anderson. "What can I say? It was Dean who got the stupid badge for me and he picked the name."

"Wishful thinking on his part, I bet," Vi smirked.

"Ew, like I would ever get with Dean. He's got nice lips and that whole 'bad boy' thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had gonorrhea or something, thanks to his male slutty ways."

Vi let out a peal of laughter. "I know! Why are the hot ones so dirty?" she mock-pouted. "Still, aren't you due for some male satisfaction? It's been three years since your last boyfriend."

Dawn rolled her eyes as she got into her Volkswagen Jetta – it was small so it couldn't hide a lot of weapons but it was also easy to hide when tracking someone. "I think I have the Buffy curse – it's hard to find a guy once you know about what goes bump in the night."

"True," Vi acquiesced. "What about Sam though?"

"Hello? He's got all sorts of baggage – even if it is wrapped up in a, mmm, very nice package," Dawn licked her lips.

"Why are all the pretty ones also damaged?" Vi mused. "Just once I'd like to find one that was cute and normal."

"Yes, because you are loads of normal yourself," Dawn shot back in a friendly tone.

Vi smacked her playfully. "By the way, so what now? How are we gonna find the boys?"

"Hmm." Dawn stared off into space as she waited for a light to turn green. "The town isn't that big. We could just drive until we see the Impala."

"That sounds like fun," Vi commented dryly.

"Do you have a better plan?"

"You could do a location spell."

Dawn hesitated. "You know I don't practice that much."

"Because of what happened before?"

Jaw clenched, Dawn nodded. Vi sighed and gestured out the window. "Look, there's a Visitor's Bureau. We can just stop in and get a map, that might help. And maybe, if our luck sucks you can use the map for a location spell. Okay?"

Dawn nodded reluctantly, knowing that Vi really wanted her to make things easier for them. Too bad Dawn wasn't about to do any more spells anytime soon.

It was almost dinner time and Dawn could sense Vi's frustration. Vi was a friend of the boys as well after working some cases with them, although she wasn't as close as Dawn was. Clearly she wanted to find them as quick as possible and thought magic would be the best help they could get.

Times like now Dawn could understand how Willow must have felt the night of Buffy's twenty-second birthday party when Anya urged the recovering magic addict to do a spell that would free them from the house. Not that she was an addict or anything…she just…well…it was complicated.

"Dawn, we've been all over this town," Vi began in a careful tone. "Maybe we should reconsider—"

"Vi, please. Let's just try the outer part of the city first, okay? You and I both know how monsters like to shack up in isolated locations."

Vi shifted in her seat restlessly but she didn't say anything, instead she just nodded.

An hour passed before they spotted a black vehicle by an abandoned warehouse. "Figures."

"Yeah, this just screams 'Twilight Zone'," Vi muttered as she eyed the Impala and empty surroundings. "So, how do you want to play this? Go in there cavalry-style or sneaky-ninja style?"

"Well, we don't know what we're dealing with so we should be sneaky. Still, I only see one door – oddly enough. So I guess sneaky-ninja style while plowing through the front door?"

Vi shrugged. "Works for me."

Grabbing some gear from the trunk, they suited up. No matter how much the boys talked about their guns, Dawn and pretty much everyone associated with the Council refused to use one. Instead, Dawn strapped a sword to her back, a hunting knife to her outer thigh, and put on a pair of brass knuckles – not that she was helpful in hand-to-hand when it came to demons but it was easier to at least try to hurt them with a punch. Vi outfitted herself with similar weapons but chose five shuriken – ninja stars – instead of brass knuckles.

Dawn smirked and Vi gave her a raised eyebrow. "What?" she asked cautiously.

"You, being all ninja-like."

Vi grinned. "I already know how to scale some buildings."

"Okay, Spidey," Dawn rolled her eyes. "Ready?"

"As ever."

They approached the building cautiously and were just about to open the door when it was flung open. Sam, Dean, and then Castiel walked out; past them Dawn could see a giant empty room with the sprinklers on…and was that a man standing in a ring of fire?

"Uh, hey guys," Dawn smiled sheepishly, feeling stupid that they were decked out to kill but apparently their help wouldn't be needed.

The brothers gave her and Vi curious looks. Castiel didn't even look at them, instead his eyes were on the ground and he looked highly disturbed.

"What are you two doing here?" Dean asked.

Dawn raised a brass-knuckled fist into the air. "We're here to rescue you!" They gave her and Vi a funny look. "Sorta," she added.

"Kinda late," Sam commented as he glanced at the closed door behind them. "We just got out."

"How'd you know?" Dean inquired.

"Bobby. Said you two, plus Cas, fell off the radar. Vi and I figured this was pretty close so we came to check it out." Dawn gave them apprehensive looks – Castiel was especially looking worse for wear. "What the heck happened?"

"Let's just say TV rots your brains," Dean answered them evasively. "Listen, we're gonna head back to the motel and sleep until probably tomorrow – I'm frickin' exhausted. We'll just tell you about it later, okay?"

Dawn and Vi shared a look that said it all – they hadn't driven around for hours just to get sent home without an explanation. However, both Dean and Sam did look exhausted so they decided to play nice…for a bit.

"Sure, just give us a call," Vi nodded.

Dean nodded and started walking to the car but Sam gave them a second look. "Hey, you guys should head back. Don't, um, look around or anything. Okay?"

Dawn pursed her lips in annoyance. She hated how perceptive Sam could be – he knew her too well. "Yeah, yeah, sure thing. See ya guys." Dawn gestured for Vi to start walking back to her and got into the Jetta, but as soon as the Winchesters pulled away they got out of the car.

"Not look around my ass," Dawn snorted. She glanced at Vi as they started walking back to the warehouse. "Does Sam even realize who he was talking to?"

"Don't go in there," Castiel warned her right before she ran into him. Tearing her eyes away from Vi, she looked up at the angel with a puzzled look – she hadn't even realized he was still here!

"And why not?" Dawn inquired in a petulant tone.

"Because there's a very irate and powerful creature in there that you don't want to find," he stated. His blue eyes were dark; they made her think of an angry sea storm and she was the fragile boat caught among its waves.

"What? Dean and Sam can face it and we're not good enough?" Dawn snapped in irritation. Castiel never even talked to her, no matter how much she tried, and the moment he did it was to order her around like a child!

Castiel sighed and grabbed her arm and then Vi's. Dawn knew, she just knew after hearing Dean's stories, that she was about to get angel-snapped somewhere. Deftly she tore herself out of his grasp and ran for the door.

"Dawn!" Castiel shouted but she ignored him.

She flung open the door and saw that the sprinklers were still on full blast and the ring of fire around the man was starting to sputter. The man in question wasn't remarkable looking, but rather average. In his thirties, he sported brown hair, jeans, a maroon shirt, and a tan jacket. His amber eyes were hardened and he gave her a defiant look.

"What? One more of you hunters want to have a go?" he snarled. "Bad news for you is I'll be free soon."

Dawn wiped the raining water from her eyes and gave the creature a careful look. She felt Castiel and Vi come up behind her but she ignored them for the moment. "Why didn't Dean and Sam just kill you and not just capture you?" she questioned in confusion. Clearly this guy was the cause of their captivity and she was honestly surprised that they didn't slay him, whatever he was.

The trapped man laughed wildly. "Geez Castiel, you are slumming with the dumbest humans. Like those ass hats could kill me."

Raising her sword slightly, Dawn shot him a furious glare. "I'm dumb? I'm not the one who is trapped."

The man gave her an icy look and sneered.

"Dawn, please go. Now," Castiel begged suddenly, touching her arm again. Within a second he was flung away and the once-trapped man was right up in her personal space.

"Who's the dumb one now?" he smirked. "It's all fun and games to taunt the zoo animals but nothing good happens when they escape from their cages."

Dawn placed the tip of her blade into the man's side and Vi was suddenly there with her blade to his back. "You're in my personal bubble. Also, you hurt our friend. Not cool."

He started laughing and rolled his eyes. Snapping his fingers, Vi suddenly joined Castiel on the opposite side of the warehouse. Dawn's eyes widened in fear – just what was this thing? – and she thrust her sword into his side.

Or, she tried to. Suddenly her prized sword, a birthday gift from Spike, was nothing more than crumpled aluminum. Gasping, she backed away from the creature. "What are you?"

His smiled was replaced by a sinister expression as he pressed her against the cold wall. The sprinklers rained down on them and Dawn shivered from the cool droplets falling on her skin. "You know? I'm really getting tired of that question today."

"Okay then. What's your favorite color?" she cracked weakly.

The man gave her a surprised look and then he started laughing. "I already like you better than Dean, and a heck of a lot better than Sam. What's your name, hunter? Maybe I'll be nice and not kill you today."

Dawn raised her chin defiantly – since she couldn't move much else with this guy pressing against her – and gave him a cool look. "I'm not a hunter, I work for the Watchers' Council."

He snorted. "That's not a name. And no, I'm not very afraid of your bag of dicks council."

"Dawn," she hissed. "Now let me go," she ordered gruffly as she caught his eye.

The amusement died as their eyes met. The amber softened into honey as he gave her an incredulous look. Suddenly Dawn could hear singing, but not in any language she had ever heard before, and she found herself transported into a new – or perhaps old? - memory. Earth sparkled below her feet like beautiful blue and green jewel and many voices sang in harmony of its beauty as they drifted among the stars.

"He's not wrong," she said quietly, in that same strange language the singing was in, as she laid down next to one she knew so well.

"That does not make him right," he reminded her.

"Michael is not right for constantly reprimanding him."

"If he does not then Lucifer will eventually step too far out of bounds. And then what will happen?"

She was silent. "Lucifer will not do anything wrong. He only looks out for all of us and your Father. His intentions are pure."

He wrapped himself comfortingly around her. "I hope you're right."

The man in front of her jerked back and released her in the process, her vision fading in the process. Dawn looked around the warehouse wildly and noticed that the other man appeared frightened, as if he had just seen a ghost, and Dawn was trying to make sense of what she had just seen.

"I think the right question today is who are you?" he asked cautiously with raised brows.

A/N:
Mad thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. As always, I appreciate your feedback :)