CHAPTER 11: A White Moon Calls

CHAPTER RATING: T

CHAPTER PAIRING: Giles/Dru, Spike/Buffy, Tara/Willow

TIMELINE/SPOILERS: Post-TV Series AU; takes place immediately after my story "A Midwest Monster of the Highest Grade"

DISCLAIMERS: All BtVS characters are the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions.

CHAPTER CREDITS: some lyrics from "This Shining Shining World" by Current 93

CHAPTER NOTES: Almost there! (But, of course, it's never easy!) Also, finally some answers!

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With the exception of Giles, who was too busy concentrating on Drusilla, the witches in the room all gave a collective gasp, and it wasn't because of what Dru said. They felt the hellmouth surge. Willow was shaking from it, and it was all Tara could do to keep her still. Dawn cuddled close to both of them, not only so that could happen, but also because she could sense the fear. Something somewhere just happened. Something monumentally bad.

Buffy jumped up. "What is it? Where is it?"

Spike was at her side as well. His stress level had been at breaking point for what seemed like months now. Enough was enough!

"The hellmouth," Madame Polina replied. So, she really was right. But it wasn't something she could gloat about. It felt darker than she had expected. A darkness that could pull the moon from the sky. Now was the time to formulate those back-up plans.

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The old houngan involuntarily shed a few tears. That had hurt. And it had cost him quite a bit more than he was ready for. Instead of the hellmouth restoring his power, it fed from him. While he had finally managed to summon a Ghede loa, his control of it was waning as the hours went on. This vampire had obviously been strong in life…well, undeath, so the loa came forth as the feared Baron Kriminel. And whatever the vampire brought with him was so laden with evil that it made the Baron Kriminel manifestation increase in strength. Papa Jean hadn't had enough power to properly contain it in the final stages of the ritual, and now it was a shadowy approximation, along with the loa's fabled horses. All Papa Jean could do now was hope that the morning sun would burn the magic out, and perhaps himself with it.

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"You can't just go running into the night to a hellmouth we're not even familiar with," Giles exclaimed. He realized that he was really pushing it with this group now that he'd been estranged, but after all the work he and Dru had done on this whole prophecy mess, he didn't want to take any chances.

Spike was about to protest, but Buffy beat him to it. "Giles, we've got to contain it. Whatever it is. Anyway, Spike knows all about this hellmouth."

The vampire nodded angrily, even though it was mostly a lie. He knew where it was, and he had been there before, but nothing of any major consequence ended up coming out of it. No apocalypse. Just noise and ugly beasties passing through for vacation or some shit.

Drusilla was whimpering now, and Spike tried his best to hold back a growl when he saw Giles take her into his arms. "Fine," the watcher relented. "Just… be careful." He tried to bury his concern.

Buffy and Spike gathered any resources together that Madame Polina could provide, and with as many blessings as they could get from a room full of witches, they snuck out into the night.

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"So, what are we supposed to do? Just sit here?"

Dawn was getting antsy. Every person in Madame Polina's living room right then was powerful beyond belief. What were they waiting for? Buffy and Spike couldn't be the only ones capable of saving the world!

The girl's voice was panicked and had a shrillness that, unlike the others, Drusilla wasn't used to. It brought the vampire back to the present.

Drusilla reached for the girl from where she sat with Giles, as if to beckon her forward. In her sing-songy way, she said "Come, I shall show you where the stars give birth and sleep. And all around you is the warm bluegreen breath of heavens."

When the others looked at the vampire strangely, she sang again, though softer: "Do not fear." She had been able to hold onto her sanity so well recently, but ever since the hellmouth surged, she felt her grip loosen. It was clear they weren't understanding her, so she tried again. But, this time, she tried with Giles.

The watcher heard Drusilla's voice in his head. She was begging him to bring forth the prophecy. The young girl needed to know the truth.

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"Do you think we're being dumb?" Buffy asked as she and Spike headed for the hellmouth. "Giles thinks we're being dumb. He's just not saying it." She kicked at a rock that was in her path as they walked.

"Yeah, I think we're being dumb. We're being dumb trying to catch public transportation there," Spike grumbled in response. They'd never make it at this rate.

"Well, what are we supposed to do, steal a car?"

Spike looked over at her and raised his eyebrows as if to say uh, yeah.

A groan slipped from Buffy. "Haven't you broken enough laws lately?"

"There isn't a bus that'll take us to the hellmouth. The closest we could get is maybe three miles. And at this hour, I'll be dust by the time we get there."

The lovers bickered for a while until Spike got a better idea. He pulled out his cell phone and hoped he could cash in another favor.

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"Giles, this is crazy talk," Willow replied. "No offense," she added, speaking towards Drusilla.

Dawn was captivated by what was unfolding before her. She wanted it to be true, no matter how weird, because for once, it made her life make sense.

"It's…one interpretation, yes." Giles didn't know how to explain what he was feeling. All this time spent with Drusilla had made a slow believer out of him. He could admit now that he had erred in parts of his translation of the prophecy. What Drusilla had come up with was hard for him to digest as well, but he found no reason, as much as he tried, that would disprove it.

"So, what does this mean? That Dawn is not really Buffy's sister?" Tara was trying to follow along and make connections. If what Drusilla was saying was true, Dawn was somehow a product of Buffy and Spike, long before either had a connection. The Thrice-Born, as Drusilla called it.

"One who is, one who was, one who shall be," Drusilla echoed.

"Buffy, Spike, and me," Dawn said pensively. "Maybe that's why Spike always… you know… tried to take care of me? I figured it was cuz he had a crush on Buffy." She made a face for a moment before getting serious again. "Wow, does that mean he's like…my dad?"

Giles frowned, but Dru seemed to get excited. She smiled and reached for the girl again, this time managing to stroke soft brown hair. "Your light is their light." This meant more to Dru than the others, but she didn't mind.

"But, am I a person?"

There was always a tenderness in Giles, even when he failed to give it power. But hearing her say this reminded him of those early days in her arrival. "Of course you're a person. You're just… a bit more special than we…" Giles looked around at the motley collection of beings in the room. "Err, than some of us are."

He tried to give her a comforting smile. The prophecy as it regarded Dawn wasn't quite reassuring to him. As Dru had explained during one of their late night translation sessions, it seemed to indicate that, because of her connection to Spike, Dawn had some sort of eternity about her. Both she and Buffy had, thanks to the vampire.

Dru's eyes settled on Tara then. "And you are what binds them. The Eternal."

"Tara? But how? She wasn't even…"

Willow was cut off by a wiggle of Drusilla's fingers. "It happened as it had to happen. You are the catalyst, the Eternal. It is fate that you walk between worlds."

The vampire could feel the madness starting to overtake her again, so she silenced herself and rested her head on the watcher's shoulder.

It was taking some time for Madame Polina to put all of this mess together, particularly since she wasn't familiar with the history of any of them save Giles and Willow. But she was the one who figured out the forms Tara was taking. If the young witch had been the catalyst, then it was no surprise that she manifested as solid around those three.

But, that still didn't answer the burning question they all had: to what end was all of this?

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