Thanks for the catch. I've fixed that mistake.
Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.
The next day came without any incidents. Angel's group took over patrol, with Xander and Anya. It was a relatively normal patrol. The only difference were the demons and vampires seemed much more animalistic than normal, giving credence to Ethan's theory.
Spike, however, was getting worse. He raged and screamed and hit the concrete wall continually, but he never tried getting out of the cage. There was a discussion about whether to feed him or not, but when Dawn pushed a blood packet through the bars he pushed it right back. They decided to follow his lead and not give him any blood until he actually asked for it. It was also decided someone would stay with him at all times. Spike was grateful when he was in his right mind, and furious the rest of the time.
Once again Dawn came right home after school. Her family was in the living room, being entertained by the twins. She glanced at them as she went by. "Anything?" she asked as she put her backpack down by the door in the library. Giles looked up from the pile of books he was surrounded by.
"It seems Ethan is correct," he said solemnly. Ethan smirked from his seat. "Tara and Willow have just confirmed there is a spell over the whole of Sunnydale." Dawn glanced over in the corner. Willow and Tara were curled up on the floor, various books spread out before them but it was obvious they were sleeping. "It is a very powerful spell and took a lot of energy to confirm," he explained.
"Right," Dawn said, pulling a book towards her. "So we're trying to figure out which spell?"
"Oh no," Ethan said. "We know the spell, or rather the nature of the spell." Giles glared at him.
"As Ethan suggested yesterday, the spell brings out the true demonic nature of the demons in Sunnydale," Wesley explained. "Knowing the exact spell won't help with this, since that is the natural way of things."
"The damage from the spell is done," Giles told her. "The demons are reminded of their own true demonic selves. That can't be undone."
"But they were demons before," Dawn argued, "and they chose to adapt to human ways of living."
"Yes, and I hope they will return to that way of thinking once the spell is removed."
"But don't we need to know the spell in order to remove it?" Dawn asked. Giles shook his head. "Okay, I'm confused."
"You are correct," Ethan contradicted his old friend. Giles glared at him again, but he just smirked. "If we were trying to stop the spell we would need to know which spell it was."
"If?" Dawn asked, turning back to Giles. "We aren't trying to break the spell?"
"Ethan," Giles glared one more time. "Do stop helping." Ethan smirked then turned his attention back to the book he was reading. Giles turned to Dawn.
"Okay, I'm really confused now," she said. "You are trying to help Spike right?"
"I never thought I would say this, but yes I am trying to help Spike." He pulled Dawn into a chair. "The problem is the spell that was cast was not inherently evil. It did not make demons more aggressive, simply reminded them of what they really are. If we tried to counter it, we would be forcing our beliefs onto the demonic population here."
"Which would be wrong, making us the bad guys," Dawn sighed. "You know this was much easier when everything was black and white."
"Tell me about it," Giles said, turning back to his book. "Explains why the Council has never changed though. Too much of a bloody headache."
"I would hate for them to be inconvenienced by doing the right thing," Wesley said without looking up. Dawn giggled.
"So if we're not trying to break the spell what are we doing?" she asked, turning serious again.
"We're trying to figure out how to stop the spell naturally," Wesley explained. "The spell may be benign, but it is still affecting the demonic members of the community. It's still pressuring them to go kill, specifically your sister."
"Think of it like a demon's conscience," Giles told her. "They have a constant presence telling them to kill. Hopefully if we remove that constant presence, they will go back to their peaceful ways and we can co-exist once more."
"And if not?" Dawn asked.
"My team is ready to do what is necessary," Wesley said, looking up. "Not that I want it to come to that."
"Wouldn't want that," Dawn said, glancing back at her backpack. "Do you need help?" Giles smiled at her, seeing where she was looking.
"I've got all the help I can handle right now," he said slyly. "You should focus on your schoolwork."
"Thanks," she said, standing up and grabbing her bag. "Not that I don't want to help you, but I have this really big project due that I really need to work on plus the SAT's are coming up soon." Giles sighed.
"Graduating with honors is not going to get your mother to agree," he said. She smirked.
"But it can't hurt. I'll be in the dining room if you need me." He nodded and she left the library to the Englishmen.
"Agree to what?" Wesley asked curiously.
"Backpacking through Europe after graduation," Giles told him.
"Oh what fun that could be," Ethan leaned back in his chair, his imagination taking off. "Think of the chaos you could cause. Show up wherever you want, no schedules or appointments, just chaos. Then just leave for the next city and do it again."
"We have enough chaos here at the moment," Giles said. Ethan sighed, but began researching again.
"Dawn?" Dawn looked up at the sound of her name. Andrew was in the kitchen, frantically waving her over. She sighed, saved her paper, and came over.
"Andrew," she replied.
"Dinner is almost ready," he told her, "but I had a small incident with the dinner rolls. Do you think you could run to the store and grab some more?"
"Why can't you go?" Dawn asked grumpily.
"Someone needs to stay and watch over dinner," he said. "Plus, if I go, I'd have to go past them." He shuddered as if that was the scariest thing he had ever done.
"Fine," Dawn rolled her eyes but agreed. "I'll brave my family and go to the store." Andrew gave her a hug before turning back to the stove. She grabbed her purse and headed into the hallway.
"Dawn?" her dad asked when he saw her reaching for her coat and keys.
"Dad?" she replied, walking into the living room. She reached over and tickled Alex.
"Are you going somewhere?" he asked, twitching subconsciously.
"Just running to the store," she told them. "It will only take a few minutes."
"But it's almost dark," her aunt piped up, looking over to the window.
"I'll be fine," she said. Her dad and aunt looked uncomfortably at her.
"Oh for God's sake Hank," her grandmother suddenly said. "She's just running to the store. It's not like she's going to be fighting for her life."
"We don't say things like that around here Grandma," Dawn said, trying to control her anger. She turned back to her dad. "I'll be fine. I've lived here almost ten years now remember."
"Right," Hank said, reaching out to his sister for reassurance. She grabbed his hand and held tightly. Dawn watched them for a second before leaving the house.
"The way they baby her," Irene shook her head. "It's a wonder these children aren't hers and Joyce is just taking responsibility."
"Now Irene," Steven said. "That's unfair. Dawn is a good kid." His wife huffed.
"I don't know how," she said snidely. "Nothing but negative influences here. With all these young adults barging into this house at all hours of the day. All of them living here, isolated, away from the town. Who knows what they do when we aren't here." She glanced over at her son. "Why you couldn't have taken the children is a mystery to me. You are much more fit to be a parent than Joyce ever was."
"Mom," Nancy defended her ex sister-in-law. "Joyce did the best she could. And you know the firm Hank joined wouldn't allow for him to have the children. Traveling around the world, never knowing where you were going to be from one week to the next. That's not any way to raise children." Her mother huffed again, but Hank didn't even notice. He was too busy staring out the window into the rapidly darkening night. He didn't even jump when the door opened unexpectedly.
"Is it time for dinner?" Xander asked as he and Anya entered the house.
"Almost," Andrew said as he went back to the kitchen. Xander and Anya went to wait in the living room, Anya possessively scooping up the children and settling them in her lap. Irene stared at her for a minute before sighing loudly and looking around the room with interest.
"Joyce certainly does have eclectic tastes," she murmured. "I expected something more stylized from an art dealer. Those paintings there," she said, pointing to the far wall. Everyone followed her finger.
"We got her those," Anya immediately spoke up. "They're from our honeymoon."
"They are lovely," she finished, forcing the false cheerfulness out of her mouth. "But they really don't go with anything else in the room. Especially those colored crystals by the door."
"Colored crystals?" Xander asked, looking between the paintings and Dawn's grandmother.
"To be honest they are the only things I would allow inside my own home," Irene kept talking. "How she was able to find pieces in those shades of red and green are beyond me."
"Red and green?" Anya asked, looking instinctively to where the Pythian Seeing crystals were kept. Xander followed her gaze before jumping to his feet.
"Giles!" he called up the stairs as he rushed out. Anya put the babies on the ground and followed him. They looked around outside before they heard a scream coming from the front gate. "Dawn!" he called as they took off in that direction.
"Xander!" she called back. They could see a fight breaking out and ran faster. Xander grabbed some rocks and threw them as he ran. It was enough to distract the vampires long enough for Dawn to get past the property line.
"Dawn!" Anya yelled as they got near the gate. She pulled Dawn into her arms, backing away from the threat while Xander confidently stood in front of them. No demons had ever been able to breach the wards on their property line.
"Drusilla," Dawn gasped as she tried to catch her breath.
"What?" Xander asked, only to jump back as Drusilla turned to face them for the first time. "Drusilla."
"Little girl," the crazy vampire said. "You forgot your bread." She held a shopping bag in her outstretched hand.
"I think we'll be fine without it," Dawn said as she massaged her neck.
"Are you okay?" Anya asked, checking her for damage.
"Fine," she said, shrugging out of Anya's hold. "The shirts ruined but I'm okay." She turned to glare at the vampire. "They jumped me when I put in the code."
"They?" Xander asked. Drusilla giggled.
"I brought Grandmother with me," she sang. "The pixies told me family is important. Especially at the birth of a new Childe."
"Grandmother?" Xander asked, glancing behind him for a moment before turning back to the vampire. "Childe?" He spoke to Drusilla, but she had started dancing underneath the stars.
"If you figure out what she's saying let me know." A second figure approached the gate.
"Darla!" Xander hissed. "Are you behind this?" She laughed.
"I'm just along for the ride." She took a step forward, putting her hand up and pushing against the invisible barrier. "Never thought I would miss Spike, but that was before I had to put up with all her ramblings myself. How he was able to do it for over a century is a mystery to me."
"So you're here for Spike?" Dawn asked, fire shining in her eyes. "Well you can't have him. And you can't come in and take him by force, so you might as well crawl back to whatever rock you've been living under before we come after you with stakes."
"With pleasure," Darla said as she turned away. "Come on Dru." Drusilla stopped dancing and walked up to the barrier.
"My black prince," she said, reaching a hand out. "He has returned. But you'll try to steal him away again. Make him dance in the sunlight instead of the shadows."
"Dru," Xander spoke loudly. "I don't know what you're talking about, but you can't get in so you might as well just go away." She focused on him, her eyes changing from madness to evil. He took an involuntary step back.
"Never tell me what to do," she snarled as she took one step forward past the barrier. "Only daddy can tell me what to do."
"How did you get past the barrier?" Dawn asked as she and Anya pulled Xander further away from the crazy vampire. Darla rushed the gate, only to get knocked down while Dru laughed.
"My Childe lets me in," she said, the madness returning to her eyes. "My Childe welcomes me." She lunged at them, only to be pushed back when a crossbow bolt sunk into her arm.
"There's plenty more where that came from," Gunn said as a large group ran to their aid. Gunn had already reloaded and sent another bolt flying. Dru snarled, but backed away. She shot one more look toward the house before fleeing into the night, Darla right behind her.
"Dawn?" Giles asked, pushing his way through the group and grabbing her arms. He looked her over thoroughly.
"I'm okay," she said but didn't pull away from his grasp. Once he was satisfied he gave her a quick hug and released her.
"Was Drusilla inside the property line?" Wesley asked as the group started backing slowly away.
"Yep," Xander confirmed. "But Darla couldn't get in. Dru kept saying her Childe invited her. Any ideas G-man?"
"Spike is in the house," he said after a few minutes. "If his true demonic nature is overpowering his more human one, it's possible he called to her as his Sire. But he shouldn't have been able to get her past the barrier."
"But will she be able to get past the threshold into our home?" Anya asked. "Or should we be sleeping with a stake under our pillow?" Giles shook his head.
"I don't know," he admitted. "This situation has never happened before. Until we figure out how she managed to breach the perimeter we have no way of knowing how to undo it."
"So sleepover at Casa de Summers," Xander said. Anya nodded enthusiastically. They reached the door and entered the safety of the house. Giles fastened the deadbolt and several latches behind them. Hank gasped as they entered the living room.
"What happened?" he demanded, staring at Dawn in terror.
"Nothing," she brushed off his concern. "I just had a clumsy moment and tripped." She turned to Andrew who had come out of the kitchen. "The store was out of bread."
"Oh," he said, understanding filling his eyes. "I guess we really don't need bread. Dinner is ready," he announced, glancing between them and the secured front door.
"I'm just gonna go change," Dawn said, pulling at the scraps her shirt had been turned into. She ran up the stairs as Ethan approached with the witches behind him.
"Did somebody say dinner?" he asked, ignoring the strained people around him.
"Right," Giles said, pointing to the dining room. "Shall we?" Ethan took the lead, followed by the Summers family and Angel's group, leaving the Scoobies in the hallway.
"What happened?" Willow demanded. The whole group headed into the living room to get the children. This also gave them the chance to talk quietly without their visitors hearing.
"Drusilla," Anya said simply.
"She found a way past the barrier," Xander finished as he picked up Alex. Tara had already grabbed Billy.
"How?" Willow asked. Xander shrugged.
"That's the million-dollar question," he said, positioning Alex more securely on his side. "All we know is she almost got Dawn and she definitely was beyond the property line."
"I guess we're going to have a research party," Tara said quietly. "Besides the one we're already doing." Xander nodded.
"I, for one, will not be sleeping soundly until I know how Dru beat our defenses."
"First things first," Dawn said as she joined them once more. "We have to get through another awkward dinner with my grandparents."