A/N: Thanks again to those who reviewed, especially to Claire Starling, who's the most supportive reader one could wish for!

Finally, the mysterious history of Pacantia is revealed, and things should get a little less confusing for you guys … enjoy!

Chapter 8

Spike was running. The coat Agatha had supplied for him billowing behind him, his feet were hitting the pavement in very quick succession, the sound echoing in the narrow alley he was passing through at that moment. In the quiet morning atmosphere, the rhythm of his feet and his own laboured breathing seemed very loud to his own ears. Sweat was running down his face and he had a stitch in his side. But he didn't care. There was just one thought, one wish coursing through his veins straight into his heart, making it hurt in a new and strange way, different from all the various heartaches he'd had before: Save Dawn – again.

~*~

"You're surely wondering why the people who know what really happened in Pacantia a century ago don't try to flee or rebel against their fate, or give up hope to be freed one day. Well, although there's only few of us, the belief in the coming of a saviour has given us the necessary strength to continue living under the tyranny of Shaman. Who is this saviour, you ask? Didn't you figure it out yet? Well, dear, it's you. Or rather, you're one half of it. No, I don't know if your counterpart has arrived here yet or who he or she actually is. While we have quite a lot of information about your past – and that's why I knew, for instance, that you smoked – there's almost nothing in our lore about the other half of Pacantia's saviour. Only one single sentence has been handed down through the generations that refers to it: 'His power is like a treasure that has yet to be unlocked by a key.' William, dear, what's wrong?"

~*~

He had known at once. One word had sufficed to give him an explanation for everything that had been going on since his second death. Now all the pieces were gradually falling into place. You will find your counterpart, the Oracles had said. He had completely neglected this part of the prophecy until now.

He didn't know if it happened because of the shock caused by this huge epiphany, or for other more mystical reasons, but as soon as Agatha had uttered her revelation, he had had some sort of seizure. He'd dropped down to the floor, clutching his head in his hands as a wave of acute pain, the like of which he'd never experienced before, not even remotely comparable to the torture of the chip, had flooded his brain, causing his muscles to twitch uncontrollably. Then, all of a sudden, he'd relaxed, the pain having receded to a more tolerable dull ache, and in his mind's eye there'd been a brief, but very intense flash of a horrible scene: A tall man in blue robes, shooting two jets of light at a younger man and – Dawn.

Although he'd never had a vision before, he'd felt at once that this must have been one. Everything afterwards passed in a blur because of the lingering pain in his head; he remembered that Agatha had been worried sick because of his seizure, and had tried to get him to lie down. But he'd refused stubbornly and had left the inn in a hurry.

~*~

The stitch in his side was slowly becoming unbearable. For the first time since he'd become human, he wished for some of his supernatural strength and stamina to come back. But the thought of Dawn being in danger kept him going. He didn't even need to pause to think about where he was heading because his feet seemed to know the way. It was as if he was pulled by invisible strings; he felt that even if he wanted to stop running, he couldn't have.

After what seemed an eternity, he spotted a huge building in the distance. Finally, he had reached his destination: Shaman's Mansion.

And now I'm going to kill this bastard and rip him to pieces.

~*~

When Dawn awoke, the only thing she remembered at first was the sudden pain, caused by what had seemed like a bolt of lightning. Slowly she opened her weary eyes.

After her blurred vision had cleared, she realized that she was in a dungeon. Dark and dank, like a medieval prison. Metal bars separated her from the hallway and she could see that there were further cells, but apparently there were no other prisoners.

Turning her head, she saw Ken lying on his back on the cold stone floor, his head pillowed on his bag, unmoving. He looked very worn out and pale and Dawn feared the worst.

Panicked, she got up and knelt beside him, hoping that he was all right. Very gently, she laid a hand on his shoulder and called his name, but he didn't seem to hear her.

Oh God, please, let him wake up!

As though her hurried prayer had been answered, Ken stirred, furrowing his brows and moaning something unintelligible, but that was enough for Dawn to feel relieved.

Once again, she addressed him.

"Ken, oh my God, Ken, can you hear me? It's alright, you're gonna be okay!" she tried to soothe him, although she wasn't sure at all whether that was true or not.

Finally, he opened his eyes. Seeing Dawn's pretty face and realizing that she wasn't dead, he feebly smiled. In this particular moment, it seemed to be the most beautiful smile Dawn had ever seen.

"Joan, you're okay, thank God," he whispered. Dawn returned his smile, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out. Ken was about to get up, but Dawn gently pushed him back. "You better stay put, maybe you're hurt worse than meets the eye." He nodded and reached for her hand, squeezing it with a small amount of pressure. His hand was ice cold, making Dawn shudder.

"Joan, I couldn't have borne the thought of losing you. I know I've known you only for a short time, but…" Seeing Dawn's shocked face, he faltered. "I didn't mean to rush you…"

"No, silly, your nose has started bleeding again!" Confused, Ken touched his nose with his fingertips. They came away bloody.

Looking at him hard, the bag under his head suddenly struck her eyes. She narrowed them in suspicion. "Ken, what's in that bag?"

Dawn's reproachful tone bewildered him, when slowly realization dawned. She knows about the book.

As though his thoughts had betrayed him, she already knew the answer to her question. But she had another one. "Why did you bring it with you? You know what happened the last time your head was near that stupid book! Do you want to die?!" Dawn realized that she wasn't making sense, but Ken's carelessness made her furious. She yanked his bag away from him and opened it forcefully, tossing the big volume into a corner, where it landed with a thud.

But before Ken had the chance to react to Dawn's wrath, they heard a door creak at the end of the hallway and approaching footsteps. Immediately, she positioned herself in front of the book in order to hide it with her body.

Then, looking up, the two prisoners saw the tall man who had inflicted pain on them without mercy.

"Well, well, are we awake now…" Shaman drawled.

~*~

He looked complacently down onto Dawn and Ken, who didn't know what to say. "I reckon you wonder why I didn't kill you at once." Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "The truth is, you are much more useful alive."

Dawn and Ken looked at each other quizzically.

"You will live in Pacantia the way everyone else lives here - peacefully and without the slightest idea why all the different creatures are getting along so well."

At last, Ken found his voice again. "Why? How…how do you…"

"Since you won't remember anything as soon as I'm done with you anyway, I will tell you my story.

"Over a hundred years ago, demons and humans were living together, but not as peacefully as they are now. Then I got married to Askaria, a vengeance demon who I loved despite knowing what she was. We decided that all the miscellaneous races and peoples ought to live together without disturbances and riots, ignoring the differences of all the kinds that existed there. I already was a powerful wizard, so I was able to found Pacantia with my wife.

"For a certain time, everything went the way we had planned it, but my spell must have had flaws, for soon a great war started. A war between demons and humans. A war that never should have happened. I could have redone the spell, if my wife hadn't betrayed like the two-faced harlot that she is. She left me to fight on the side of the demons and the only thing I could think of was revenge.

"I didn't want anyone to know how I've changed my plans. Since I couldn't bear what she had done to me and what had become of my dream of Pacantia, I cursed them all with oblivion and transferred the town to another dimension, where I could start again.

A new and what seemed flawless Pacantia was born. My dream has at last come true, and I can control every inhabitant with the new spell I created. Never will they try to escape from this peaceful place, for I have created a perfect town and everyone complies to me, as they don't have their own free will and are not aware of it. But my revenge isn't fulfilled yet and my personal Utopia will persist as long as I wish."

After hearing what Shaman had just told them, Dawn could almost fathom why he had done that. He had been betrayed, left and hurt, but that definitely didn't justify his deeds. Ken, though, looked aggravatedly at Shaman.

"How can you be so naive to believe that this would work? You're manipulating every Pacantian, robbing their free will, and all that because your wife had betrayed you?

You're pathetic!" Ken spat.

"We will see who is pathetic, when you don't remember anymore what has happened," Shaman replied coldly. "I will start with the young lady who is capable to destroy what I have created."

Dawn's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

But she never got an answer. Shaman lifted his right hand, smiling cruelly. Once again, his fingers were surrounded by crackling energy that illuminated the dark cell. "Oh no, please…" Ken tried to get up to protect Dawn, but he was too weak and the effort was too much.

Dawn backed further away into the corner, not breaking eye contact with Shaman, when she could feel the book with her fingertips. Ready for what was to come, she tightened her grip on the leather cover.

Just as Shaman shot a bolt of lightning in her direction, she lifted the volume and held it poised in front of her head, where the energy penetrated first the book and then her head.

But she didn't faint like the last time. In the background she could hear Shaman's curses and Ken's pleadings to stop.

Suddenly, her head began to spin. Random images flashed by in her mind's eye, images that she slowly seemed to recognize. The young blonde woman from her dream, ramming a wooden stick into a monster that exploded into dust. A man with shocking white-blonde hair and a leather duster, fighting against other demons. A red-headed girl that let things float in front of her, smiling sweetly. Another man with brown hair, holding a pretty woman in his arms and looking pleased. Dawn, we are going to get married!!

Dawn. She wasn't Joan. Her name was Dawn. Slowly, she remembered all the names of the people that she had just seen in her vision.

Bang!

The door to the dungeon was flung open again, but far more violently than before. A man with a determined and furious face came striding swiftly toward them.

"Spike!" Dawn exclaimed. Spike turned his head and, in spite of the vision he had had, could barely believe his eyes.

Tbc....

Next time: Finally, our two heroes are united again… or are they?