Title: Utopia found and lost 6/?

Author: Hendiadys (hendiadys146@yahoo.com)

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: We don't own anything except a crappy computer and a weird fantasy

Spoilers: For all seasons; the story starts right at the end of Chosen

Summary: Dawn and Spike share a common destiny.

Feedback: Always appreciated!

Special thanks: To our beta Hazmat

A/N: Thanks to Claire Starling for your kind review. I hope you'll like this part, too.

Chapter 6

It was past midnight when they passed the gates of Pacantia. Spike regretted that he couldn't see his surroundings very well due to the darkness. But as soon as they entered the town, small lamps seemed to have lit themselves and Spike looked around in awe.

There were huge beautiful trees and wonderful flowers everywhere, a small fountain was quietly burbling and he was instantly reminded of his thirst, but he didn't care. Never had he seen such a lovely place before. When he looked straight ahead, he could see the first houses looming in the distance, all painted in bright, friendly colours and with little front gardens.

"Do you like it?" Archie asked serenely. "Tonight we'll stay at the Blooming Calas, it's an inn fifteen minutes from here, where we can rest and talk."

Talk. Can I tell them everything that has happened to me? Okay, they've been quite friendly to me, but who knows what they are really like, and Richard still looks rather dangerous. And what kind of demon has a name like 'Richard' anyway? Spike could imagine people calling their teddy bears or pets 'Richard', but 'Richard, the scaly, hideous demon' sounded plainly wrong.

Spike shook his thoughts off and reminded himself that they didn't carry any weapons. And anyway, if they had wanted to kill him, they could have done it as soon as they had seen him. He merely nodded and kept on following the gang of humans and demons.

It wasn't hard to see which house the Blooming Calas was, since there was a huge wooden sign that was intricately adorned with beautiful flowers and winding letters.  When Kevin knocked, a friendly-looking woman with dark hair opened the door and greeted them with a smile. "Come on in! There still has to be some food in the kitchen," she said, letting them all come in when she hurried into the kitchen. Spike wondered if the woman already knew his entourage or if all people here were that nice, but when he heard the word "food", he didn't think about anything else.

The four newcomers took their seats at a round wooden table near the window, looking exhausted and hungry. The dark haired woman returned again, carrying four jugs of what looked like beer on a tray and some slices of bread in a small basket. "I'll get you more immediately, I just have to warm everything up!" The only response she got were the noises of drinking and the devouring of bread, when they all tucked in. It was funny to see the two demons eat, especially Sammy with his tentacles around his mouth, but of course Spike remained silent. Another funny thing was that he already felt no more hunger, being satisfied merely by bread and beer. He didn't miss the blood.

When they had finished, Archie belched and looked at Spike rather curiously.

Here it comes.

"Now that we are all full and happy, we'd like to know how you've come here."

"Er,… to be honest, I don't know myself. The only thing I know is that this isn't the place where I used to be." Spike was well aware that this sounded stupid. The others didn't interrupt him, but stared at him peculiarly. Spike wished he knew what to say. But what good was it to lie to them?

"Okay, first up: I come from a world where demons and vampires aren't much accepted by humans. Well, admittedly, they are hunted and killed."

Richard and Sammy made outraged and protesting noises, but Kevin motioned to them to remain quiet. "I'm sure you won't believe me now, but I used to be a vampire myself. And now I'm not, and I really don't know why. Against my true demon nature, I helped the Slayer - that's the girl that fights evil demons and other nasties - and her friends, which is really a long story, and by doing so, I was killed and ended up with the Oracles."

He paused and took a look around at their dumbfounded and quizzical faces.

"Why did you help a girl that kills demons?" Sammy asked, not without distrust.

"As I said, that's a long story and rather intimate," Spike responded.

"Oooh, intimate…..I think I understand now," drawled Kevin.

Archie rolled his eyes. "What did these Oracles say to you?"

"They said something about a new life that is given to me, a life that I have once lead. I guess they didn't lie to me about that…"

Archie looked thoughtful. "Very interesting. But I don't know what this could mean. But I do know someone who might be able to help you there."

Spike merely stared at him expectantly.

"You see, there's a man in Pacantia who is considered to be a wise man. Nobody still alive remembers his real name; he goes by 'Shaman' nowadays. He's a very talented healer and his advice is said to be always very helpful and his predictions accurate," Archie replied to Spike's unuttered question.

Spike, however, didn't look impressed. "But how can this medicine man of yours help me with this bloody prophecy?" The others stared incredulously at him, unable to believe that a newcomer would dare to be so disrespectful. Seeing their expressions, Spike conceded, "I'm not saying this shaman-stuff is a load of rubbish. Believe me, I've had my share of experiences with all kinds of mojo and I know that it exists. But I've learned with the years that it never really turns out the way it should. People rarely use magic to help others, but rather for their own profit," he added sheepishly, memories of the ritual to restore Drusilla's health surging up in his mind.

Archie still looked a bit offended at Spike's outburst and his politeness sounded somewhat forced when he said, "Shaman had already been head of the Town Council when I was born and still is, even if only unofficially. With his help, many riots and small rebellions in Pacantia have been quelled and he has always contributed to the fact that life is uniquely peaceful in this town. Furthermore," he added with a glance at his brother, "he's our ancestor."

That last statement made Spike want to bang his head against the nearest wall. I really put my foot in it this time, he thought. I should know better than to speak my mind openly with people I hardly know. Then he reconsidered. Hell, no, I don't know better! I've never been the type to think before I speak!

"I'm sorry," he said in an apologetic tone which sounded strange to his own ears. "Like I've told you before, I'm not exactly the expert when it comes to polite conversation between humans. My human life ended more than a century ago." He looked at Sammy and Richard, hoping for solidarity.

With a look of pity for Spike on his face, Richard addressed Archie. "Don't be too hard on him, mate – he's probably too tired to think clearly." Spike nodded in assent, then realized how stupid that must look, and contented himself with listening to what else the demon had to say to Spike's defence. He felt just a little bit ashamed for having made fun of poor Richard a while ago. That big bloke turns out to be alright after all, he admitted to himself.

"And I don't have to remind you," Richard continued, "that some of us don't trust Shaman the way you and Kevin do. There's been a whole lot of suspicions concerning him in the last few years…"

Archie interrupted him, furiously. "How dare you? If it weren't for Shaman, the five of us wouldn't sit at this table now, eating and drinking peacefully. And you," he seethed, pointing at both of the demons, "wouldn't even be allowed to crawl out of your holes during daytime!"

He was obviously about to add even more insults to his tirade, but Sammy prevented him from doing so by standing up and slamming his enormous fist on the table, making it shake. "That's enough!" he roared. And, without a word, he stormed out of the inn. After a last furious and disappointed look at Archie, Richard followed him.

"What was that all about?" Spike asked, confused.

Archie was still so angry that he couldn't seem to answer. In his stead, Kevin said, "I suggest we all go to sleep now." His determined voice kept Spike from making further inquiries.

After the two men had left the inn, the dark-haired woman – who was actually the landlady and told Spike her name was Agatha – led him to a small, but comfortable looking room. As soon as Agatha had shut the door behind herself, Spike launched himself onto the spacious bed and fell asleep shortly after.

~*~

Finally, Dawn managed to shake Ken awake. "What? What's the… Oh no!" He lifted his head and took a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe away the almost dried blood from his face.

"Why were you bleeding? Does this happen to you often? Ken, you smudged the book!" Dawn said hysterically, which earned her a pretty angry look from Ken.

"Do you think I wanted that to happen? And, no, I usually don't bleed when I fall asleep on a book, thanks for your concern!" he spat.

Dawn's brows furrowed. Didn't he understand that this book was the only chance to get information about former events? And it was no good when the entries couldn't be deciphered anymore. But she knew that it was unfair to hold something against him that he had absolutely no control over. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry, are you hurt?"

Meeting her eyes, he saw genuine concern in them and he felt his anger subside. "No, I'm fine." He got up and went into the bathroom to wipe off the rest of the blood, leaving Dawn alone.

She picked up her notepad again and studied it thoughtfully. At first, the never ending war; many creatures and people were killed… then the change, because of 'him'… the inhabitants seemed to live their lives in peace again; nobody remembered the events except the author of this book…The book!

Leaning over the table, she retrieved the volume carefully and stared in shock at the pages.

There was no blood on them.

She leafed through the book over and over again, but there was no evidence that there had ever been blood on the pages, no traces or smears. Dawn couldn't believe her eyes. That's impossible! "Ken! Ken, I need to show you something, hurry!" Dawn called.

He was there in an instant. "What's the matter?" he asked. She showed him the now clean book. "At first I start to bleed for no real reason at all and now it has all vanished!

Dawn, I think it'd be best if we don't touch it anymore. You can't be sure what other effects it might have," he said in a lowered and strange voice; it was a voice of foreboding she was inexplicably familiar with. At any rate he had a point. Ancient books like this one could be enchanted in some way.

"Do you think it is enchanted?" she said aloud, revealing her thoughts. "I don't know

much about magic, but I believe it exists. I can't really explain…"

"Magic does exist, or how do you reckon 'he' managed to change everything from carnage to peace? But talking about magic, there is someone who is said to have magical abilities. His name is Shaman. It's hard to get to speak to him, so I've heard at least. But we can try, right?"

Dawn nodded. Again she felt a strong feeling of gratitude surging up in herself; gratitude not only for having met Ken, who was willing to help her although he didn't know much about her, but rather gratitude for some kind of higher power which had led her to him. As she still seemed to suffer from amnesia and couldn't rely on her knowledge and experience to make decisions, she had so far judged the situation by some sort of gut feeling. And it seemed that these decisions had been right until now – that couldn't be a coincidence. If someone had asked Dawn to explain this gut feeling, she couldn't have answered. It just felt like… destiny.

Tbc…

Please review and tell us what you think!

And just a quick poll: Would you prefer Spike and Dawn to become involved romantically later on or to stay friends? We haven't made up our minds about that yet.