Chapter 20

The room is dimly lit; curtains open to reveal two characters sitting at a table with a tea set before them. One is a man the other is a doll the size of a young girl. The man picked up his cup and toasted with the doll. She smiled and he listened as a voice spoke to him from no where.

"Miss Edith thanks you for coming to tea."

He nodded his head and took a sip. As he placed the cup down he saw that there was blood in it.

"What is your name so that Miss Edith can tell her mummy?"

"Devon, except I don't know how I got here. I was a witch. No, I was with a, two witches." But he doesn't sound so sure.

A woman enters and kneels next to Devon; she pushes her long hair away from her face and smiles.

"May I take a seat?" She asks her voice is the same as the one from earlier.

"Of course," Devon tells her as she sits next to him.

"You're not a witch."

"No, I am supposed to be looking for someone."

"Well, you found me does that suit you?"

"I guess it should."

"Good," she leaned over and kissed him.

Spike entered the basement to see Drusilla hunched over the wolf as he screamed in pain.

"I found them like this an hour ago." He turned to see Xander in the shadows.

"So why didn't you pull them apart!"

"She told me not to. She's tormenting the wolf and whoever tried to mentally help him."

"Well, looks like we got a two for one deal."

"Master wants you and I down at the factory. What about Dru?"

"Willow will watch her."

"The old factory."

"Huh?" Jenny turned around from the book she was studying to Devon's still form. His eyes were still closed, but his lips were moving.

"Have to go for tea, the old factory and me." He whispered.

Jenny ran from the room, down the steps and into the dining room where Faith and Buffy were setting up a battle plan with their watchers.

"Jenny, what's wrong?" Giles asked.

"So stupid, Devon said." She spoke in between gasps.

Giles moved toward her.

"The tea factory outside town, that's where the master will be."

"How?" Buffy asked.

"Devon told me, I think he can hear what's going on around Oz."

"Or he tapped into her." Wesley added.

"Well, then that's what we'll have to do. Buffy will go to the Bronze and I'll go to the factory." Faith spoke.

Buffy glanced at Faith in worry. Before she could voice her fear, Faith cell rang.

She had every right to be mad. Her sister hadn't talked to her in over a month. And, now, she is getting on a plane, because big sis finally needs her.

"Nervous?" Ben asked.

"Pissed."

"Never mind, she has a good reason."

"What?"

"I have no idea; I was just trying to be helpful."

She laid her head back. "Wake me when we land." She spoke as she buckled herself in.

A figure ran through the cemetery chasing hunting searching. She tackled a vampire and they fought. Behind her scenes began playing out, the girl drowning. The woman was kissing a vampire, later fighting the same vampire. The vampire was then sucked into a portal. Next soldiers appeared; one stood out and kissed the woman. But he soon faded, a new vampire with bleached blonde hair appeared. Then Dracula appeared and faded. Suddenly the woman was hugging her. "It's Summers blood."

"No!" She tried to jump up, but the seatbelt kept her firmly in place.

"Dawn?"

"Ben, where are we?"

"On the airplane, we have an hour to go. What happened?" He asked as he waved for a flight attendant.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, can I get a diet coke with ice for my sister?"

Ben rubbed Dawn's arm, "did you have a vision?"

She nodded her head.

The flight attendant returned with the drink which Dawn took and thanked her.

"Why are we going to California, to (she lowered her voice) the other Hellmouth?"

"Your sister said she needed you to help the other slayer."

"Do you know anything else?"

He lowered his eyes.

"Ben?"

"I'm technically not supposed to tell you, but if you're supposed to help her then I think you should know." He leaned forward into his laptop bag and pulled out a manila folder. He handed it to her. "This is the information on the slayer."

Dawn opened the folder and began to read the files.

"Summers? Buffy Summers."

"It's Summers blood."

"I need someone to drive me to the airport at 3." Faith spoke as she closed the phone.

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"Reinforcements," Faith simply replied.

"I can take you," Wesley spoke.

"You sure?"

He nodded his head.

Angel entered the room. "I want to help, I'm sick of hiding out here."

"You are helping by staying here and protecting Devon, Jenny and Buffy's mom." Faith told him. "Tonight Larry, Hank and Amy are going with me to the factory to scope things out, while Owen, Jonathan, Buffy, Giles and Nancy go to the factory for Oz."

Larry and Jonathan entered the room at hearing their names.

"So weapons all around?" Jonathan asked.

Faith nodded her head.

Larry smiled.

Faith crinkled her brow confused, "what?"

"They have a blow torch that they have been wanting to try out." Giles spoke.

"Oh, yes, weapons," Faith replied. She moved over closer to Angel. "How's Tara?"

"She wants to go with tonight; I told her it would be better if she just stayed."

"Does she sound rational?"

"I won't let her go, unless I'm allowed to go."

"I can't risk it, I need you to stay and protect my sister." She whispered.

"She has something to do with Buffy right?"

"Yeah, and she's going to hate me for it."

"Bitch."

"Dawn!"

"Well, she is, what did she expect me to just go there and suddenly fix this girl's problems. I'm not a doctor or a witch, or even a witch doctor."

"I think she wants you to help by just being there."

"Everyone please buckle your seat belts we will be landing shortly. Thank you for flying…"

"Well, here goes." Ben sighed. "Sunny hellmouthy California."

"Yippee," Dawn sarcastically commented. She grasped Ben's hand as the plane began its descent. "I hate this part," she muttered between clenched teeth.

Ben smiled and gripped her hand back.

As Dawn grabbed her last piece of luggage from the carousel, a police officer came toward her with a sniffing dog.

"Abscondoolfacio," Dawn muttered as she waved her hand over her bag.

When the dog got to her, he sniffed and then continued on his way.

"I saw that," Dawn jumped, but then glared when she saw Ben behind her smirking.

She playfully slapped his shoulder, "You scared the crap out of me."

He grabbed one of her bags and they started toward the main exit to look for Faith. "You're getting better."

"Oh, that was easy, just obscuring the scent of the herbs in the bag. You never know what's contraband and what's not."

"Good point, I think I see your sister."

Dawn looked up to see Faith standing with her watcher Wesley and another man. He looked so, oh god!

Faith ran up and hugged her sister. "I'm sorry for ruining your weekend."

"Why did you bring a vampire?" Dawn asked as her sister released her.

People nearby turned to stare.

"Oh, no, Faith, don't tell me you…" Ben trailed off.

"Oh, no no no," she gestured at the man by her side, "this is Angel, he's a good vampire."

"Yeah, right!" Both Dawn and Ben replied.

Before dusk Buffy led her group out, Giles drove Oz's van.

"So," she spoke looking over at Giles.

"Indeed."

"Do you regret not getting to be my watcher?" She asked slowly.

"Yes, I do. If I had known…"

She cut him off. "Don't worry about it. You would have been a great watcher."

"Really?"

"Yup, so is Quentin Travers a prick in this world too."

Giles smiled. "Oh, yes, you know he actually sent his version of a SWAT team in here."

"Didn't work, huh?"

"Well, as you can see no. I suspect the master had his fun, Travers then gave up and left the town in my hands."

"How long ago was that?"

"Two years ago."

"He waited that long."

"He didn't believe this was an actual problem until after Kendra's death."

Buffy shook her head.

"Slayer's coming," Dru sang as she stepped away from Oz.

"What?" Xander asked.

She pointed up as there was a loud bang from above.

"Anybody home!" They heard a man yell.

Xander flew up the stairs in time to see the few fledges left behind go up in flames from a blow torch. Spike appeared from the shadows and Willow was standing on a pool table with a cue in her hand. There standing before them was the slayer, the great Buffy. She was flanked by three men and a woman, white hats. Willow jumped down from the table and began to twirl the cue.

"Welcome to our home, you're here for the dog right?" She asked.

Owen, Jonathan, Buffy, Giles and Nancy stood strong with Buffy in front. Buffy held a cross bow, which she let the bolt fly at Spike. He effortlessly caught it.

He laughed, "the mighty Buffy thinks she can kill me…"

Buffy cut him off, "William the Bloody with a cross bow, no, but it was worth a try, wasn't it, luv?" She smirked as Spike growled. Spike ran to her, but she wasn't about to let him catch her surprised so she ran forward and punched him. He caught her fist and swung at her. She smirked, "so it is a dance then."

"Wot?"

"You all read me so well right?" She asked and she kicked him in the crouch. He went down and Buffy used him for balance to flip over and meet Xander face to face.

"But the thing is," she kicked Spike in the back of the head as she ducked under Xander's punch and fired at Willow.

The others took the distraction and ran for the basement.

"I know you all as well."

Willow flipped off the table and swung the cue at Buffy, who flipped backward over Xander. Xander got the cue to the face as Spike leaped to his feet.

"Well, three to one." Willow spoke. "Better odds."

Buffy smirked, "but for who?" She pulled a bottle of hair spray from her back pocket.

"Oh, right, like…" Willow replied, but was interrupted by Buffy spraying her. She screamed.

Buffy spun spraying the three and then flipped out of the circle. She landed behind Willow; she grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her. Buffy then kicked up the cue from the floor and used it to knock Xander and Spike's feet out from under them. As they landed on their backs, Buffy moved out of grasp. "Like my keen fashion sense can't save me? See back in LA before the Looney Tunes episode, I killed a master vamp. You've all heard of Lothos, right?"

Giles entered the basement first before him Drusilla was sitting in the cage with a very naked Oz and a porcelain doll.

"Miss Edith did ask for company this evening." Drusilla spoke as she turned to the rescuers.

Giles glared at her as he rushed farther into the basement with cross held up.

Dru hissed and drew closer to Oz. Oz looked up through a swollen right eye. He was very bloody, bite, burn and knife marks everywhere.

"Shouldn't have come," he spoke in a broken voice.

Dru stood and left the cage she stared at Giles.

"Don't look," Oz spoke.

"Won't need to," Owen spoke as he rushed in and punched Dru.

"Hsst, bad boy," Dru spoke as she grabbed Owen by the neck; she pulled him to her like a shield. He struggled as she licked his neck. "Tastes like honey, mummy, used to like honey, but she's molded ash." She threw Owen into the cage with Oz and slammed the door closed. Owen ran to the door, but it was locked. Giles took the distraction to tackle Dru. He wrestled her on the floor and ripped the key from the chain around her neck. He had just tossed it to Jonathan behind him, when Dru threw him off.

They heard multiple screams from above.

"Spike?" Dru asked distracted, but not distracted enough to grab Giles by the neck and hold him up. "Mummy sa…" she exploded into ash.

"Mommy says play times over," Nancy spoke as she lowered the stake. "Come on let's get the hell out of here."

Jonathan had the cage door unlocked as Nancy helped Giles off the floor. Owen unchained Oz, took his shirt off and wrapped it around Oz's hips to cover him up some.

"Nancy, Jonathan, get Oz back to the van." Giles ordered. "Owen, get Buffy, we'll meet you there."

"And what will you do?" Owen asked.

Giles pulled out the bottle of liquor from his jacket pocket. "Tara, wanted this place burned down."

Buffy fought off the three vamps using the pool cue. 'May not be Friar Tuck,' she thought, 'but that training did come in handy.' She had tried to stake them each several times, but they were too quick.

"Fire!" She heard Owen yell, just as she smelled the smoke. "Hey, Idol," Owen yelled.

Spike glared and turned. Owen threw a doll at him. Spike hadn't anticipated it so the doll hit the floor at his feet and shattered. Spike recognized it and screamed in morning. Buffy used the distraction to run. She and Owen fled with Giles behind them. They leaped into the van; Jonathan slammed the door closed as Nancy slammed on the gas. Nancy looked back out the back windows and saw Willow, Xander and Spike flee the Bronze as fire burst out the door behind them.

"And then there were three," she whispered as she turned back to the road ahead.

(Once again, Allen Pitt is my savior, I can't believe I was such an idiot, I really should know better.)