Chapter 25: Back in Action

The next day

April 24th, 2004

Dawn stood in front of the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her hair, which was gently curled and partially fastened back, while the rest hung over her shoulders. She took a step back, giving her appearance one final critique. The new red dress she'd bought after school fit like it was made for her, clinging to all the right places. Her necklace and bracelet that Connor had given her for their first Christmas and her last birthday, respectively, added just enough pizzazz to the outfit. Satisfied, she stepped into her kitten heels and picked up her sweater and bag from the dresser, making sure she had her cell phone and key before leaving the bedroom.

Buffy was sitting on the couch perusing the newspaper while Faith watched tv, and they both looked up when Dawn entered the room. Faith let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. "Lookin' good."

It took Buffy slightly longer to come up with a suitable reaction. "Wow. You look…gorgeous."

Dawn beamed. "Thank you."

"Do you know where Connor's taking you?" Buffy asked.

"No, he was actually pretty cryptic about it. I think he might have another surprise up his sleeve." Dawn thought she noticed Faith raise an eyebrow, looking almost knowing for a second, but it passed so quick that she dismissed it.

"Well, have fun. Be home by midnight," Buffy said unwaveringly.

Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Don't worry. Enjoy your night." They both called out their goodbyes as Dawn headed for the door, glancing at the clock on the way out. It was ten of seven, so she had plenty of time for the quick walk to Connor's place.

She descended the stairs and stepped out into the night. She could tell that the seasons were starting to change; for the first night in months she was comfortable without needing to put her jacket on. Breathing in the clear night air as the final traces of sunlight left the sky, she wondered with excitement what Connor had in store for her tonight. Lost in thought, she rounded the corner, and before she knew what was happening a hand had clamped over her mouth, suppressing her scream.

Connor straightened the collar of his shirt for what had to be the thirtieth time, before checking for at least the hundredth time that the ring box was secure in the pocket of his pants. He stared into the mirror and cleared his throat before beginning his well-rehearsed speech once more.

"Dawn…I didn't know what love was before I met you." He paused for effect. "As soon as I saw you that day in the hotel, I knew that you were unlike any other girl I'd met. This past year and a half with you has been the best time of my life. I know we've had our ups and downs, but we survived. I promised you before that I would always be honest and faithful to you." He paused, figuring that at this point he would remove the ring box from his pocket and get down on one knee. "Dawn Summers, will you marry me?" He felt a little chill as he spoke the words, and laughed nervously. He couldn't believe this was really happening. Tonight was going to be the most important night of his life so far.

Satisfied that he was prepared, he glanced at the clock for the first time in a while and blinked in surprise when he realized it was already seven. She would be here any second. He made one final attempt at flattening his hair before sitting down on the couch in an attempt to calm his nerves, waiting for the knock at the door.

At 7:05, he ran through his speech again. He had told her to dress up, and he knew that with Dawn that could easily be a multi-hour process. She was probably just curling her hair.

At 7:10 he began to get almost annoyed with her. If she kept this up, they were going to be late for their 7:30 reservation.

At 7:15, he first felt a wave of panic. Her apartment was only a five minute walk. All thoughts of missed reservations went out the window as he began to genuinely fear that something was wrong.

By 7:20, he was sure he had paced a new groove in the floor, and he could feel his heart pounding oddly in his chest. Something was wrong. Dawn had never been this late before. The part of his mind that remained rational reminded him that she was probably just getting herself ready, and that she'd probably had to deal with an interrogation from Buffy before she could leave. With a start he remembered his cell phone. He was still so unused to this technology that he had completely forgotten that he could simply call her to find out where she was! He dug it out of his jacket pocket and frantically pressed the number one, his heart sinking more with every ring until it finally clicked to voicemail.

At 7:24 he could no longer take it, and he dialed her apartment, praying that it would be her voice that answered, having overslept from a nap or had some mishap while getting ready. His hopes sank when Buffy answered.

"Is Dawn there?" he blurted without saying hello. All thoughts of pleasantries were gone at the moment, overtaken by a fierce need to just know that she was okay.

"Isn't she with you?" Buffy asked, and as he heard a note of panic in her voice the sense of dread that had been steadily growing over the past ten minutes suddenly consumed him to the point where he could think of nothing else.

He close his eyes for half a second, trying to remain focused. "Just tell me, what time did she leave?"

"Over a half an hour ago. Connor, she should have been there a long time ago." Buffy was half-yelling at him now.

"Well she's not! Look, did she mention anything that she might have stopped for on the way, an errand or something?"

"No, no. Did you try her cell phone?"

"Of course I did, she didn't answer," he said shortly. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm coming over." Before Buffy could protest he hung up the phone and glanced wildly around the room. In a split second decision he tore off his collared shirt and dress pants, pulling on the t-shirt, jacket, and jeans he had worn to work, not realizing until he heard the soft thump that the box containing Dawn's engagement ring was still in the pocket of his discarded pants. Torn, he extracted it from the pocket and put it in his jeans before running out the door.

Three minutes later Connor banged on the door of the apartment with such ferocity that it made both Buffy and Faith jump. Buffy rushed to the door, flinging it open and allowing her sister's boyfriend to storm inside. He started to open his mouth but Buffy beat him to it.

"What the hell were you thinking, having her walk to your place in the dark, alone?" Buffy demanded harshly.

"Don't you go there, it was her idea, and she never would have suggested it if she hadn't known that you would give me a hard time!" Connor shot back.

"HEY!" Faith shouted, causing them both to abandon the argument and stare at her, Connor realizing for the first time that she was even in the room. "Knock it off, you two! Getting at each other's throats is not going to help us find Dawn!" Her eyes were blazing, and Connor realized that she was scared, too. An icy silence filled the room.

"Okay, first we should retrace the steps between here and your place, maybe we'll find some clue as to who- as to where she might have gone," Buffy stammered. All of a sudden, as if she'd forgotten something very important, she darted for her bedroom, and they heard the sounds of her rummaging like she was looking for something.

"We should call her friends, maybe one of them knows something," Faith suggested, heading for the phone.

Connor nodded, pulling out his own cell phone and desperately dialing Dawn for the tenth time in as many minutes. "Come on, pick up, pick up," he muttered, but once again all he got was her voicemail.

Buffy emerged from the bedroom, carrying a large black duffel bag. She set it down on the couch and began pulling things from it. When Connor saw her start a small pile of stakes, crossbows, and other various weapons, he knew that she was thinking the exact same thing he was. "You don't think that humans had anything to do with this either," Connor stated.

Buffy shook her head, continuing to rummage through the bag, robotically sorting the weapons into two piles. "It's the only thing that makes sense. But I don't understand it, other than the occasional run-of-the-mill vampire, I've hardly seen anything around here in months."

"Hi Amelia, it's Faith. We were just wondering if you've seen Dawn tonight?" Connor turned to watch as Faith spoke on the phone. She shook her head at him to let him know that Amelia had not seen her. He strode toward her, holding his hand out for the receiver, which she gave to him without question.

"Amelia, it's Connor. Look, do you remember Dawn mentioning anything that she had to do before our date tonight, or just anything out of the ordinary? Do you remember seeing anyone strange hanging around?" he asked, his voice surprisingly steady.

"No, no, I haven't. All she said was that you had some big date tonight, she was really excited about it. Connor, what's going on? Did something happen to Dawn?" Amelia asked fearfully.

"We don't know. But she's missing." His insides churned at the word.

"Missing? What do you mean, missing?" Amelia asked, her voice rising an octave.

"We don't know. Look, I'll keep you updated-"

"Have you called the police?" she demanded.

Connor paused for a second. If he and Buffy were right, the police would not be much help. "We're going to take care of it. Just please, if you hear from Dawn, will you call me?" He rattled off his cell phone number.

"Of course. Look, I want to help! Dawn's my best friend. Please tell me what I can do!"

Connor hesitated. Involving Amelia, who was still virtually in the dark about any and all supernatural happenings, would make the situation even more complicated, which was the last thing they needed right now. "I know, but right now the best thing to do is just sit tight." He hung up before she could object. He spun around to face Buffy, who was transferring the smaller pile of weapons into a smaller black shoulder bag. "Do you have a plan?"

Buffy tossed a stake to Faith, who swiftly caught it and stuffed it inside her jacket. "I don't know. Like you said, first we retrace Dawn's steps and hopefully find some clue as to what might have happened. And if we don't, I'll find every vampire or demon I can and beat them senseless until we find one who knows something." The no-nonsense manner in which she seamlessly switched back into her warrior leader position gave Connor flashbacks to their final days in Sunnydale. He hadn't seen this side of Buffy since, but then again, there had been no need for it.

"B, think about this. If someone took her as bait for you, they're gonna have to contact you somehow," Faith interjected. "That has to be it. Why else would they just snatch her off the street? The only thing about Dawn that the undead could possibly be interested in is the fact that she's your sister."

Buffy nodded. "It certainly wouldn't be the first time." She tossed a stake to Connor, who wrapped his fingers around it with a death grip.

"So that means someone has to stay here, in case they try to contact you," Connor said impatiently. He turned to Faith.

"Nuh-uh. No way I am playing phone duty when there is demon ass to be kicked. I can fight, I need to be out there with B," Faith said stubbornly.

"What, you think I'm staying?" For a second Connor became so frustrated that he considered just abandoning them and going to find Dawn on his own. Then inspiration struck. "Amelia. She wanted to help, we can call her, have her come over and sit by the phone. We don't need to tell her anything," he added quickly at the looks on their faces. "Just that someone should stay here in case Dawn tries to call."

"Would she be in danger?" Faith asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No. If they were going to come here they wouldn't have bothered taking Dawn off the street. They want me to come to them. Make the call," she added to Connor. "Faith will stay here until Amelia arrives. No buts," she threatened as Faith opened her mouth to protest. "We can't waste anymore time sitting here. As soon as she comes you can catch up." Faith clamped her lips shut, nodding grudgingly.

Amelia answered on the first ring and Connor quickly explained what they needed her to do. Grateful to have something to do to help, she said she would be there as quick as she could. "Let's go," Connor said to Buffy, half-running for the door.

The two of them walked the dark streets between their two apartments in tense silence. The already existing animosity between them seemed to have been magnified by their fear, yet they were somehow united by their common goal. Connor was moving as fast as he could without transitioning to an all-out jog, but Buffy of course had no trouble keeping up, and even moved ahead of him at times as they scoured every corner of each alley they passed, desperate for some sort of clue. They had only just rounded the first corner when they found it.

Out of the corner of his eye Connor spotted something black lying on the ground, half hidden underneath a dumpster. His heart gave a lurch as he realized what it was. Stooping to pick it up he held it out for Buffy to see and watched as the slayer's eyes widened. "This is her sweater," he hissed.

"She was carrying it when she left. She must have dropped it when…" she stopped herself, deciding instead to check the rest of the area. It was impossible to see any signs of a struggle on the concrete; if it had not been for the sweater they would have had no indication that anything out of the ordinary had happened here. "Well how does this help us? There's no trail, they could have taken her any- what are you doing?"

Connor had turned suddenly and had his chin raised, a peculiar, focused expression on his face. "I think they went this way," he said, pointing down the street to the left, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Buffy stared at him with a combination of awe and utter confusion. "You did not just smell her."

"Little perk of being the miracle child of two vampires," he said wryly, already taking off down the street in the direction of her scent. Buffy followed a moment later, after thinking that somehow Connor always managed to surprise her. In that way he was a lot like his father. She hurried after him down the street, her bag of weapons pressed tightly to her side.

Dawn stirred, her mind fuzzy as she blinked her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was in an awkward position, and she couldn't move. With a jolt she realized that her arms, which were raised, were held in place by shackles that bound her wrists. As her vision slowly came into focus, she saw that she was sitting on a concrete floor. She was relieved to see that she was still wearing the red dress, and even her shoes were still on her feet. Her ankles were crudely tied together with a thick rope. She struggled to get her balance and stand, but she couldn't prop herself up enough.

I was walking to Connor's, and someone grabbed me, she remembered. After that she couldn't remember anything, but she must have been knocked out. A ripple of fear went through her as she wondered how long she'd been unconscious.

Where am I? She squinted into the dark. It appeared that she was in a vast, empty room with high ceilings, the only windows up very high. It seemed like some sort of warehouse.

Connor will know something's wrong when I don't show up. He'll find me. Her mind raced wildly as she tried to figure out who possibly could have taken her. There was only one explanation: vampires. It shocked her slightly after so many months of relative peace to be thrust back into this dark world again.

Trying to ignore the pounding of her head, she wriggled her arms, wincing as the tight metal of the shackles chafed her wrists. She managed to grab hold of the metal chain with her fingers and used the leverage to haul herself to her feet, teetering in her heels, her ankles tied together at an unnatural angle. She tested the strength of her bonds, giving the shackles an experimental tug, but it became quickly obvious that they weren't going anywhere.

They must want Buffy, and I'm the bait. She felt a slight twinge of annoyance at this thought.

She heard footsteps and stiffened, watching as a figure emerged from the shadows. Sure enough it was a tall vampire with long blonde hair that he wore back in a ponytail, his face contorted evilly. "Well whaddya know, she's awake," he said with cool indifference.

She glared at him. "What the hell do you want?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Feisty. Relax, babe."

Repulsed by the term of endearment, she continued to stare defiantly. "Don't think I haven't seen this before. I know you just want my sister, and trust me, she'll be here, and then you'll all be sorry you ever laid a finger on me."

There was a loud creak as a door opened, and a stream of light hit Dawn's face as three more figures entered the building from the far end, hundreds of feet away, slowly making their way towards her. "She's awake," growled the blonde.

A slightly shorter vampire in a leather jacket that Dawn immediately took to be the leader by the way the others walked slightly behind him approached her, giving her a once-over. "I can see that." He turned to the others. "The ritual will take place at midnight. Everything has been arranged."

Her stomach turned over a little at the mention of the word ritual, flashes of a tall tower invading her mind. She didn't like rituals. "Hello? Forget about me over here, your hostage?" she said more boldly than she felt. "Might be nice if you let me in on the plan."

Much to her annoyance, the four vampires howled with laughter. One of the lackeys approached her, sneering at her outfit. "Nice dress. Got a hot date tonight?" He reached out and hooked a long, dirty finger under the strap of her dress, snapping it against her skin as he laughed. She closed her eyes briefly as he touched her, repulsed.

"What do you want from me?" she asked firmly, her patience beginning to wear thin.

"Your blood," the vampire replied, surprisingly candid.

Dawn felt a chill as the awful sense of déjà vu overwhelmed her once more. Unsure how to respond, she settled for looking defiant, despite the fact that the situation appeared to be growing more desperate by the second.

The leader looked at the others, shrugging. "We may as well tell her. She won't live long enough to tell anyone." He looked at her. "We're doing a ritual to raise the demon Condannare. He's extremely powerful, powerful enough to bring our race back to dominance in this world." The other vampire smiled with glee.

"And you need a sacrifice for the ritual," Dawn finished for him, trying to prevent her voice from shaking. "Where does the fact that I'm Buffy Summers's sister come in?"

The four of them laughed. "What better way to stick it to the bitch who created a super race of slayers to try to drive our kind to extinction than to use her own sister's blood to raise the demon who will even the score?" snarled the one who had touched her.

"Don't call my sister that," she hissed, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. Buffy's not coming. I'm not bait, this isn't a trap they're waiting for her to walk into. They don't want her to know about this until after I'm already dead. And by her calculations, she had less than four hours to go until midnight, possibly much less, considering she had no idea how long she had been unconscious. For the first time, she started to feel truly scared.

"She still thinks Buffy is going to ride to the rescue," mocked the blonde vampire, saying her sister's name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

She will, Dawn told herself. Connor too. They won't let anything happen to me. But at the same time she had to wonder. She had no idea where she was. Sure, it appeared to be a warehouse of some kind, but there were probably hundreds of buildings like this in Rome. And- oh God- how did she know she was even in Rome anymore?

"So just sit tight, babe," said the blonde, smirking. "If you're real good, we might even make sure there's enough of you left for your sister to bury." With that the four of them turned and walked away, leaving Dawn to stand unsteadily in her awkward position, hoping against hope that Buffy and Connor would find her in time.

"So? Anything?" Buffy asked impatiently as she continued to follow Connor down the street. They'd been following the "trail" for over fifteen minutes now, with no signs of anything suspicious. And as far as she was concerned, every minute was precious.

He shot her an annoyed look. "I'm doing the best that I can. Do you have a better idea?"

"Can you still…you know. Smell her?" Buffy asked warily.

He paused. "Not exactly. I think they might have taken her in a car. The trail sort of went dead."

She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at him. "So then where the hell are you going?"

"I just have a hunch! I feel like we should be going this way. And we know they started off in this direction."

"A hunch? You're following a hunch when my sister is missing?"

"Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe we have a connection? Maybe we can feel each other?" Connor demanded.

Before Buffy could come back with a retort, her cell phone buzzed, causing them both to jump. Glaring at Connor, she answered it. "Hello?" She paused, looking up at the nearest street sign, and rattling off the address before hanging up. "Faith. She's going to catch up with us. Amelia's there." She closed her eyes for a second. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just frustrated. We don't have any clues. Dawn could be anywhere."

He nodded. "I know. I'd just rather go somewhere than stand around and mope about how we don't have any leads."

"I know. I would rather feel like we're doing something too," Buffy agreed. She made a frustrated noise. "We'll keep walking on this road until Faith shows up, but if we don't find anything, I think we need to approach this another way."

"Fine by me," Connor said, losing more faith in his tracking skills with each minute that passed without a sign of Dawn. As they continued to walk he kept up his silent pleas. Dawn, where are you? I need a sign. Even though it went against everything he believed in, at the moment his connection was Dawn was the best asset he had, and he wasn't about to give up on it.

About five minutes later they heard the sounds of quick footsteps approaching behind them, instinctively drawing weapons before realizing that it was just Faith…and Gina.

"What is she doing here?" Buffy asked fiercely upon seeing the junior slayer who had run up beside Faith, dressed all in black with a determined look on her face.

"Look, I'm sorry. Amelia called her and she showed up as I was leaving and insisted on coming. But is it really so bad to have her around? She is a slayer, after all," Faith argued.

"She is standing right here," Gina said in her thick accent. "And my friend is missing, I will not do nothing! I want to fight."

Buffy, Faith, and Connor shared a look before coming to some sort of silent agreement that Gina could stay. "Just remember that I can't waste time protecting you. Dawn is my first priority," Buffy stated.

Gina did not look phased. "You have trained me well. I do not need protection."

Shaking her head slightly, Buffy turned to Faith. "We've just been walking this way because Connor…felt something. But we're getting nowhere so I think it's time we try a different approach. Gina and I will go to the cemetery, find some local vamps and see if anyone knows anything about Dawn. You and Connor keep looking."

"Looking for what? A needle in a haystack? Do you have any clues?" Faith asked.

Connor held out the black scrap of Dawn's sweater. "It was in the alley where she was taken. I caught her scent going this way, but I lost the trail." He chose to ignore the way Faith and Gina's eyebrows went up as he described this peculiar talent of his.

"Maybe they took her in a car," Faith suggested. "Would explain why the, uh, scent went cold."

"Well that just complicates things more, because who knows how far they could have gotten in a car by now," Connor said, his voice edged with panic.

"Too bad Willow isn't here, she could work some of her witchy mojo and locate Dawn," Faith commented.

Buffy's eyes snapped up. "A locator spell. I never thought I'd say this but…good idea, Faith."

Faith smirked. "Thanks, but it's not like we can do one. We don't have any supplies, and we wouldn't know where to start anyway."

"I don't like magic," Connor half-growled.

"Well do you have a better idea?" Buffy demanded. "Look, I could get Willow on the phone, she could tell you what to do and you and Connor could get the supplies and perform the spell. There has to be a magic shop somewhere in this city."

Faith glanced at Connor. "But you really think we'd be able to make it work? We're not witches."

"It's worth a try. It's better than wasting time wandering around, and Gina and I will still try to get information out of some of the locals. I think you should do it." Buffy handed Faith her cell phone. "Willow's on speed dial." She turned her attention to Connor. "I know you don't like magic, but it saved our butts in Sunnydale more times than I can count." She grabbed Gina and started to walk away. "First one to find out anything will call." Faith nodded in agreement, watching as the two slayers disappeared into the night.

Faith and Connor looked at each other. "Well, guess it's time for our best Willow impersonations," Faith said with a smirk as she held the cell phone up to her ear.

TBC!

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