Chapter V
As the sun set, Willow walked up to Buffy's house. She ran most of the way back here, and even in her excited state, was now tired from the exertion. In one hand she carried her new Bible. With the other she reached out to open the door.
Avery Callison came up behind Willow and tapped her on the shoulder. She screamed in surprise and fright. She whipped around, full arm slapping Avery. He stumbled back and fell on his backside with a thump.
The front door was yanked open, Xander looking around wildly. He saw Willow standing in the doorway and a young man sprawled on the porch, a hand-shaped red mark appearing on his cheek. Xander grabbed Willow and pulled her into the house.
"I have a letter to deliver to Buffy Summers," Avery explained to them. "Is she home?"
"Why don't you just give it to us, and we'll make sure she gets it," Xander said.
"I have to hand deliver it," he responded. "He was kind of persuasive about that point."
"Who was?" Willow asked.
"This big and scary dude."
Xander and Willow looked at each other. Then they turned to Avery.
Bane looked over the room, surveying it. Dawn looked over Bane, considering. She bit her bottom lip, weighing her options. Finally she spoke.
"You called me a woman."
"Pardon?" Bane asked without looking at her.
"Before you killed that vampire woman, Isabel, you said no one was to hurt me. You called me a woman."
"So I did." His attention was still on the surrounding room.
"What about me being a little girl? Change your mind?"
"Not really, no."
"Then what?"
"While I have no emotions and never have for my entire existence, I know how to manipulate them," Bane answered. He stopped his scrutiny of the room and turned his attention to Dawn. "Calling you a child seemed to be a certain way of making you angry. Angry humans are usually not clear thinking."
"So you really don't think I'm a little girl?"
"Of course not. How could I?"
"That's almost a compliment," she said with a smile.
"All the evidence informs me that you are indeed a woman. Even if you are a young one."
"What evidence?"
"The line and curve of your body," Bane replied. Dawn blushed. He continued, "Your facial structure. And your scent pronounces that you bleed. That speaks of your status as a woman."
"Bleed?" Dawn asked rhetorically. She thought about it a moment. Then the answer struck her. She blushed again, "That's so gross."
"That is life," Bane said with a shrug.
Buffy and the other three Slayers arrived home just minutes after Avery startled Willow. Vi, Kennedy, and Faith filed past the young man. Buffy stayed in the doorway when he asked for her. Avery held out his shaking hand, giving her the envelope.
"I was told to give this to you."
"By who?" Buffy asked as she opened the envelope.
"A big guy. I don't know his name. But he was very scary," Avery said. "He stuffed me in a big chest last night. When he let me out, I saw Dawn in a big cage."
Buffy's head snapped up from the letter. Avery took a step back.
"She's alive."
"Thanks, uh…"
"Avery. I go to school with Dawn. I was going to ask her out, but got kidnapped instead."
"Thanks, Avery. You can go home now."
"Dawn's going to be all right, isn't she?"
"She will be now."
Avery nodded and spun on his heel. He jumped off the porch and sprinted as fast as he could down the street. Buffy closed the door and headed for the living room.
"So, what was that all about?" Kennedy asked.
"Bane sent that kid with this letter."
"What's it say?" Faith asked.
Buffy looked down.
Slayer.
The Mistress is located within an abandoned hospital building on Belmont Street, as are her minions. This is where Dawn is.
Come tonight if you want Dawn to live.
The Mistress shall be on the ground floor in the center of the building.
Come by yourself or with your friends, it matters not.
Remember her weakness Is. 3414.
Buffy finished reading it out loud.
"Well that certainly helps us find her, eh?" Xander said.
"Oh!" Willow exclaimed. "I know what Is. thirty-four fourteen means! It's Isaiah 34:14." She pulled out her new Bible and read, "'And there shall the beasts of the desert meet with the jackals, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; the Lilith also shall settle there, and find for herself a place of rest."
"Lilith?" Vi asked.
"How do we know that?" Faith asked.
"Because Lilith is the demon of Jewish myth who fed off young children. Originally, anyway. I forgot all about hearing about it until today."
"It makes sense," Kennedy said.
"Or it doesn't," Xander replied. "Especially to us over here in camp skeptical."
"All myth is rooted in some truth," Buffy said. "We've seen that plenty of times."
"Lilith was obviously named after the vampire Lord who was a woman, lived in the desert, and fed on children. See?" Willow explained.
"Okay, so her name's Lilith," Faith said. "Big deal."
"It is a big deal," Vi said. "The first note said that to kill her we had to trap her with her name."
"Trap her how?" Kennedy asked.
"And let's not forget that this letter came from Bane, the guy who was created to kill all you," Xander said.
"And it looks like the other letter was from him, too," Faith said.
"And that note with all these boxes," Vi added.
Buffy reached out and grabbed the other two letters that were on the coffee table. She examined all three. She handed them to Willow.
"These look like the same handwriting," Buffy said.
"Yeah, they do," Willow agreed.
"So, is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Vi asked. "I mean, he is trying to kill us."
"I don't think so," Faith said. "If he was trying to kill us, we'd be dead by now."
"But why give us all these books?" Vi asked.
"For more information to use against the Mistress," Buffy answered. "But why?"
"So we could get her name," Willow said.
"But what then?" Kennedy asked.
"He wants us to kill her," Xander said suddenly.
"What?" Buffy asked. Everyone turned to look at Xander.
"The Mistress, he wants us to kill her for him," Xander explained. "The clues about her name, kidnapping Dawn, telling us where to find them both. He wants us to kill her."
"But why?" Kennedy asked.
"Because he can't." Buffy said with a flash of clarity. "Willow, in those books we got today, did any of what you find tell you who created Bane?"
"Yeah, it was…" she trailed off. Then in a small voice she said, "Lilith."
"So he can't kill his creator," Kennedy said.
"But we can," Vi said. "Then we can kill him."
"Unless it's just an elaborate trap," Faith said.
"But why would he lure you there when he can obviously just knock you out and bring you where he wants you?" Willow asked.
"So what's the plan, then?" Xander asked.
Buffy looked around the room, weighing her options. She turned back to her friends.
"Trap or no trap, we need to get Dawn. And if that means killing this Lilith to do it, I'm all for it," she said. "So here's what we're going to do."
With the last of the holy water and garlic mix Bane was painting the doorjamb to the room Dawn's cage was in. She watched as he finished up.
He came into the room and handed her the bucket. She took the pail, her hand brushing his as she did. They each felt a matching surge of energy crackle between them at the touch.
Bane let go of the bucket's handle and stepped back, shock plain on his features. Dawn wore a matching expression. After a few moments, Bane schooled his features.
"I have blocked the entrance, but this is for any contigency that may occur," he told her.
She looked down and saw that there was almost an entire gallon left. The smell this close to her face, now that those haunting blue eyes no longer distracted her was over-powering. She grimaced with disgust and put the bucket in a corner.
She turned and saw Bane standing halfway to the exit. She sighed in frustration. Then she sighed in confusion at the frustration. None of what just happened made any sense. She decided to break the silence and get some answers.
"If you don't have any emotions, why did you vow to keep me from harm?"
"I wished to let you know I am serious. Giving a solemn vow is the only way I know how to accomplish such a feat."
"I get that," she replied. "But a vow is usually only good if it means something deep and emotional to the person giving it. It's the only way vows are any good."
"True."
"Then why'd you give me a vow?" Dawn asked. She stepped closer to the bars of her cage, "Do you feel emotions, now?"
"I have never felt emotions in five thousand years."
"But do you now?"
Bane closed the gap between them in a flash. The only things separating them were the silver cylinders. Dawn craned her neck to look him in the eye. She really wished he had a human face right at that moment, it would make looking at him a little easier. So she stared into his eyes.
"I know not what is happening to me," he whispered. "I have read works on the human psyche and on human emotion. I can see the signs within myself."
"Is it scary?" Dawn asked in a whisper.
"Frightening." He smiled. "And whatever is happening to me will not allow me to harm you in any way. And grief over your sister's death would be harmful to you. That is why I did not kill her when I had the chance the other night, and why I am doing all this."
"All this?" Dawn asked. She was losing herself in those eyes. No one should have eyes like that. The shuddering sensation began again in the base of her spine and began to climb. She enjoyed every moment of it.
"My original plan was to kill Buffy Summers, then while the Mistress rejoiced, kill the Mistress. But upon seeing you, I re-evaluated my plan. Something about you prohibited me from killing the Slayer."
Dawn dropped her eyes from Bane's. Something about her, something freakish, probably. Whatever her jumbled up feelings were, he obviously was not reacting to her for the same reasons she was to him.
"I know what it is," she whispered hoarsely.
"You do? What is it?" he asked.
"It's 'cause I'm the Key, right?"
"The what?"
"The mystical Key? You know the ball of energy that unlocks dimensional portals? I'm it, made flesh. Me."
"I have not the first idea what a mystical key is. It is you, Dawn Summers, that made me stop and change my tactics."
"So it was just me? Not that other thing?" Dawn looked up at him hopefully.
"Just you."
"Thanks. That's the sweetest thing I've ever been told."
"You are most assuredly welcome, Dawn."
"Better watch it, Charles," she said with a smile. "Before long you'll be polite and have too much power over me."
"Then we shall have power over each other, shall we not?"
"I guess so."
Silence descended as they stared into each other's eyes. The shivers began again for Dawn, this time growing with such intensity that she grabbed hold of the cage to steady herself. Her knees grew weak and she leaned all her weight on the bars of the cage. It was not fear she felt, but she could not quite place the sensation, either. Whatever it was, she liked it.
Suddenly, Bane broke eye contact. He looked around as though searching for a sound. He looked down at Dawn.
"You sister and the other Slayers approach. When they arrive to rescue you, give them the key underneath your cot. You cannot reach the lock from within, but they can from without."
Dawn turned and walked to the cot. She pulled the mattress up and sure enough, taped to the underside, was a key. She looked up, a triumphant look upon her face. When she turned, it melted.
Bane was gone.
Dawn sat on the cot, thinking. Whatever just happened between them was weird. But she liked it. Maybe she liked Bane, which was ridiculous. Whatever it was, it would probably never happen again after tonight. After tonight, things would be different.
Outside the Marcincko Mental Hospital stood Buffy, Faith, Kennedy, Vi, Xander, Willow, and Fr. McMillan. All but the priest looked more than a little apprehensive. He stood with a smile splitting his features.
"What are you so happy about, Father?" Faith asked.
"I always smile before going into battle," he replied. "The next step I take, I'll let out a little giggle."
"Giggle?" Kennedy asked.
"Then I'll get to business," McMillan continued. "You'll wonder what happened to me. It's always the same."
"Well, get ready to go through your mood swings," Buffy said. "'Cause we're going in. Everyone ready?"
Buffy hefted the Slayer's Scythe. She was nominated to have it, since it was Dawn they were coming for. Xander had his broadsword, Willow her short sword. Vi and Kennedy each had a battle-ax. Faith was using her twin long-bladed daggers tonight. Each Slayer also had a few stakes in her waistband. Fr. McMillan had a five-gallon sprayer. It was the kind exterminators used to spray houses. It was full of holy water.
"Let's go," Buffy said.
They entered the hospital. Fr. McMillan giggled once before his face became a stoney mask of determination.
Just inside the doorway, they stopped. On the floor was a plain white envelope with Buffy's name on it. The handwriting matched the lettering from the earlier notes. Buffy scooped it up, tore it open, and read.
Slayer.
Dawn is in the rear of the basement. The stairs are to the left.
The hall that leads to the Mistress is straight ahead. Kill her first or all will be for naught.
"What's the play, now, B?" Faith asked.
"Willow, Xander, Father, go get Dawn," Buffy said. "We'll take care of the Mistress."
Everyone nodded. Xander gave Faith a peck on the cheek. She grabbed his face with both hands and gave him a passionate kiss. He pulled back and grinned at her.
"See you in a bit," he said.
Kennedy and Willow hugged. Then the redhead turned and she joined the two men. They began descending the stairs.
The four Slayers looked at each other. Then they looked down the hall that ran straight. Without a word, the four female warriors hefted their weapons and strode down the hallway.
The walk to the rear-most room in the basement was uneventful. Xander and Willow entered, while McMillan covered the entrance. They saw Dawn sitting on the cot, a look of deep concentration on her features. They sprang forward.
"Dawnie!" Willow exclaimed.
Dawn looked up. She smiled and rushed to the bars, "Willow! Xander!"
"Let's get you out of here," Xander said. "Just need some keys."
"Here it is," Dawn said. She held out the key so it was upright in her grasp. "Bane left it taped to the mattress so you could get me out."
"He did?" Willow asked. "Why?"
"Don't ask. It's a long story."
Xander shrugged as he grabbed the key and stuck it in the lock.
The four Slayers entered the Mistress' throne room. As soon as their eyes became accustomed to the darkness, they knew they were in trouble. In the center of the room was a dais with a large ornate throne. On this throne sat the ugliest vampire any of them ever laid eyes upon.
Her entire body was deathly pale, almost translucent. Her hands were claws with rough scales and tipped with hooked talons. From her waist down was a tail. The ridges just above her eyes veered up to points, like horns and were situated just above her eye sockets. She smiled and they saw her canines were three inches long and her other teeth almost non-existent.
She was not why they were in trouble.
Between them and the hideous creature were twenty vampires. To the four young women, who spent the past few weeks fighting incredibly powerful vampires, their Slayer's sense told them this group was comprised of all Master vampires.
Just to cap things off, Bane stood on the dais by the throne. This far away, they were immune from his fearful affects. But if he got involved, things would go from messy to lethal quickly.
"Shit," Faith said.
"Indeed," the monstrosity on the throne agreed. "I don't know how you found me, but it doesn't matter. All of you may be brave and extremely foolish, but I only want one of you dead, tonight. Which one of you is Buffy Summers?"
Buffy stepped forward, "You know, I've seen some ugly in my time, but you get the award. Hands down. I mean, the whole horned ridges and super long teeth, not to mention the tail instead of legs. You're Janet Reno to the ninety millionth power."
"Ah, mocking me. I'd forgotten how pathetic humans trying to look brave can be."
The Mistress closed her eyes and concentrated. Her features became human. She opened her eyes and looked at the shocked Slayers.
"Better?"
"Not really," Kennedy said. "You're still evil. But it is easier on the eyes."
"I don't see why you don't do that more often, blend in with the people," Vi said. "Oh wait, the tail."
"I'm tired of this useless banter," the Mistress stated. "Kill them."
The Master vampires surged at the humans. The Slayers leapt forward, breaking the wave of death from washing over them.
Faith kicked out, sending one flying. With her left hand, she stabbed an opponent through the arm. When they were screaming in pain, she lopped off their head. They exploded into dust. Then three vampires rushed her, tackling her to the ground.
Vi swung her ax, taking a head. As the dust exploded, she twirled around, trying to see every threat. She was grabbed from behind and lifted off the ground. She shifted her grip on her ax handle and brought the end into the vampire holding her. He grunted in pain but did not let up. Instead, her captor began squeezing. Her vision began to blur. Soon Vi felt herself losing consciousness.
Kennedy was doing better than the other two. She dusted three vampires and turned to face her fourth. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. This is what being a Slayer was all about! She was going to kick some serious undead butt here tonight! She gripped the ax and stepped forward to meet her enemy.
Just as she was tensing to swing her ax, her right hand went numb. Her forearm and hand spasmed. Her fingers released the ax, and it fell to the floor. She lost all feeling from her elbow down to the tips of her fingers. Her entire arm was a useless dead weight.
Her opponent seized the opportunity and lunged forward. He grabbed her around the throat and threw her into a wall. She bounced off and came back with a front kick. He blocked and threw a punch. Kennedy blocked with her left hand. The vampire spun on his heel and drove his elbow into the side of her head. She stumbled and fell to her knees from the blow.
The vampire stepped forward and began pummeling Kennedy. For every two punches she was able to block with her left hand, one slipped through. Before long she was a bleeding and bruised mess.
Buffy had the largest crowd around her. Sensing the power of the weapon she held, more vampires congregated around her. More might die, but she was the greatest threat to them. As such, Buffy was surrounded by ten vampires.
One jumped close to her. She moved to engage. The vampire attacked and parried, another attacked her blind side. She spun, trying to get the dirty player, only to have him dodge away and the original vampire got in a blow.
Buffy was staggered by the impact. She recovered as fast as she could, but not fast enough. A female vampire dove for her legs as a male grabbed her wrists. Buffy vied for control of her weapon until she was knocked off her feet. She landed on her back with a bone-jarring thud. Ten demonic faces leered down at her.
This might be the last chance she had. She did not know what the effect would be, but she needed to try. She took a deep breath.
"Lilith!"
McMillan led the way to the stairs. The nozzle to his sprayer swept back and forth as his eyes scanned ahead. So far, they went unchallenged as they rescued Dawn. That did not mean they would not be, though.
Dawn and Willow came behind him. Acting as rear guard was Xander. They moved as quickly and quietly as they could.
They neared the stairwell when Dawn let out a yelp of pain. She stumbled and collided with Willow. The older woman held her up as the two men closed in on them.
"You okay, Dawn?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. Just a flash of pain. I'm a little dizzy, but otherwise, fine."
"You sure?" Xander asked.
"Yeah. Let's get out of here."
McMillan nodded and turned.
The entire throne room was still. When Buffy said the Mistress' name, it materialized above her head. The letters were physical and solid. They hovered over the blonde Slayer a few moments, then shot straight as an arrow to the Mistress. The word knocked down all in its path.
When it reached the Mistress, it stopped. It quivered for a second then wrapped itself around her. The word spiraled up, binding her like a rope. She tried to move but found herself unable to. She looked in horror at her name trapping her. She looked at Buffy. Then she looked at Bane.
"It was you," she accused, "You gave her my name."
"Yes. You were correct to fear me all these long centuries."
"But the oracle said the Slayer on the hellmouth with the name of the season would be my undoing."
Buffy beheaded the nearest vampire. And just as suddenly as the room stopped, it started up again. This time, however, the Slayers had the psychological advantage. Soon, they were standing close to the throne, back-to-back-to-back in a box formation, fighting off the Mistress' children and dusting vampires more often than not.
"She was your undoing," Bane said. "If you had not been so driven to destroy her, I would not have had the freedom to advance this far. Now she has spoken your name and made you defenseless." He pulled out a stake tipped with silver, "One of my weaknesses is silver. I use it now to purge the world of you."
"I can't order you to not kill me, can I?"
"Not anymore. Your grip on me is gone. I am free."
Bane looked over and saw the Slayers were now standing in a line before the throne, facing the remaining dozen or so vampires. With a quick movement, he stepped forward, grabbed Faith, disarmed her, slapped his own stake into her hand, and drew her back with him to the Mistress' throne.
"I need your strength to do this," he explained to Faith.
"You kill me and a part of you dies, too," the Mistress told him.
"I know, Lilith."
The Mistress became rigid as the power of her name spoken by her creation hit her. Bane grabbed Faith's wrist and forced her to plunge the stake into the Mistress' heart.
The Mistress let out a blood-curdling scream.
Halfway up the stairs, Dawn slumped against the wall, eyes closed. At her feet, the stairs began to glow white. Energy crackled around her body. She was lifted off her feet. With a sudden jerk, her eyes snapped open, her head flew back, and blue energy shot out of her mouth.
The blue bar of energy evaporated everything between it and the Mistress. Luckily for everyone involved, that was only the floor and walls between the basement and the throne room.
The Mistress absorbed the energy. With another earsplitting scream, she convulsed. Soon, green energy began to spread out from her in a sphere. It enveloped Bane and, because she was still clasped by the behemoth, Faith. The bubble of green energy rippled, then punched with violence through the ceiling, all the way to the roof, destroying all in it's path.
When the green energy was gone, the Mistress crumbled to dust. Bane let go of Faith. She stumbled away and would have fallen if Vi had not caught her and held her up.
The remaining children of the Mistress were in pain. They felt something tear, something vital to them, from inside. With violent shaking, they crumbled to ash, their connection to the Mistress too strong for them to resist. All of them were piles of dust but Cedric. He fled.
The floor below the dais began to shake. Bane looked up and saw the Slayers leaving the room. He took a step to follow.
The dais fell through the floor. Bane fell with it, a look of surprise on his face. The ceiling crumbled, the green energy having made it unstable. It buried the hole made by the falling dais.
Outside the four bruised and bleeding Slayers met up with their four companions. Willow, Xander, McMillan, and Dawn were unharmed. Dawn, however was still unconscious. Buffy rushed to her side.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"I don't know," Willow said. "We were coming up the stairs when this energy shot out of her. She passed out after that."
"It was weird," Xander said.
"She's out but alive," McMillan said. "She'll be all right."
"Thank God," Buffy breathed.
There was a thunderous crash behind them as more of the hospital above the throne room collapsed. Xander stood and moved to his girlfriend.
"You okay?"
"Five by five."
Xander turned a level stare on her. She shrugged.
"I got caught in that energy wave coming off the Mistress."
"That green light that shot into the sky?" he asked.
"Yeah. But I feel fine. A little tired, but fine."
"Okay," he said. Raising his voice he motioned toward the building, "You four sure did a hell of a lot of damage. I hope it was worth it."
"Yeah, what did you guys do?" Willow asked. She was helping Kennedy clean herself up.
"We didn't do anything except stay alive," Vi said. "Buffy did it."
"I didn't do anything. All I did was say her name."
"That's it?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. Bane killed her," Buffy stated.
"Well, Bane, using my hand," Faith corrected.
"How?" Dawn asked. She was awake and her voice was a croak.
"You know what? Let's talk about it after we get home, I'm too tired to stand here and narrate," Faith said.
"Good idea."
Xander and Fr. McMillan gathered Dawn between them and they headed for Buffy's house.
The next morning saw everyone but Fr. McMillan in Buffy's living room. By some stroke of fortune, or misfortune depending on who's opinion was given, Giles arrived just they took off to go retrieve Dawn last night. He was filled in on the details of the past few days and was astounded by the sheer volume of books delivered to Buffy. When Willow told him about the Mistress' name, he berated himself for a fool.
"Of course! Ancient vampire names often end up in legends. I should have realized it!"
"Don't worry, Giles," Faith said. "We got the info in time. Nothing knowing it sooner could have done, anyway."
"Quite right," he said. "Now, just what exactly happened with all this energy?"
"It killed the Mistress." Vi said.
"And Bane too." Buffy said.
"Hm," Giles said. "I wonder what it could have been." He reached for one of the books stacked in the living room.
Everyone groaned. There was no way they were doing this so soon after beating the Mistress. Giles would want to research every possible explanation until he knew exactly why it had gone down the way it did. Some things never changed.
"Giles, can we wait until tomorrow?" Willow asked. "We're all tired."
"Especially those of us who are Slayers," Kennedy added. "We had a rough night last night." Her bruising was down, but still bad.
"I suppose ridding the world of the oldest and most powerful vampire in existence merits a day off," he said with a smile.
"Great!" Buffy exclaimed. "Who's for some malling?"
Now it was Giles turn to groan.
"Dawn, you okay?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.
Dawn turned back to look out the window. She did not know why, but at the thought of Bane's death, she felt hollow. Then she would get a feeling of certainty that he was not dead. She could not explain it. And she did not want to share it. Not yet.
Daylight filtered into the Mistress' throne room. Shining through the hole punched there last night, it illuminated better than the now forgotten lone lamp in the far away corner.
Dust motes fluttered in the air. All was silent and still.
The rubble pile that was once the Mistress' throne began to move. The debris shifted and a ghostly white hand burst through. Soon the rest of the body was free and standing on solid flooring that hopefully would not fall out.
Bane stood panting slightly. He raised his head. Sunlight hit him in the face. A quick burst of green energy surged through him. He let out a scream, then collapsed. After what seemed an eternity, he stood again. That sudden wave of energy changed him.
He was shorter. Still tall, just not towering. And he was still massive, if not a walking mountain. But now his facial ridges were gone.
He rolled his shoulders and winced in pain. He put his left hand on his right shoulder. When he brought his hand back, he saw it was bloody.
"Blood?" he asked. His voice was still coarse and gravelly. "Red blood? My blood?"
He moved his shoulder again. Another wince rewarded his actions.
"Pain. This would be pain."
He looked around and noticed the unusual lighting of the room. He looked up and saw the sun. He cringed and held up his arms to shield himself.
After a minute and nothing happening, he stood straight. Realization kicked in and he smiled. His teeth were straight and white.
"Freedom," he sighed.
16