"Spirits of earth and air. Help me part the veil of time. Help me see what has gone before," Dawn chanted, burning the spell components in a sacred bowl. "Lift the mist of memory so that I may see clearly."

She was in Spike's old crypt, having skipped school in order to cast her spell. The crypt was the safest place she knew of where it was doubtful that anyone would come looking for her, least of all in broad daylight. Carefully, she had charted the Sacred Circle and weaved the Magick, and as the components burned and the words were spoken, a weariness settled upon her and she closed her eyes. She breathed and felt her spirit fly with her breath, rising above her cross-legged figure on the stone floor, up into the Ether.

Show me what I want to see.'

And she was there in a monastery watching three monks chanting in a circle. There was great danger and they had to hurry, but they were focused on their task. In the center of their circle was a glowing sphere that pulsed with power, and as she watched the monks began to give the sphere form.

The spell had been a year in the planning. Once the decision to send The Key to the Slayer had been made, careful preparations were put into motion. Details and items from the Slayer's life had been collected and weaved into the fabric of the spell. Dawn saw it all from her vantage point, meticulously memorizing every detail: the words, the incense that burned, the items in the Circle. Made from the Slayer's blood- gathered from bloodstained clothing stolen from the house- and drawn from her DNA, the monks had forged a sister. They used the power of the Key to give the body life, constructing the mortal coil around the Key, and calling forth a Soul from the Ether to inhabit it.

After the form was created and the Soul Called, the second step of the spell was to send the form to the Slayer and rebuild the fabric of memory to include the new sister. The monks were deeply embroiled in this task when the Beast interrupted them. They would have liked to have been more thorough, made their spell more foolproof, but they ran out of time. In one last desperate burst, they sent their creation out into the hands of the Slayer, and succumbed to the wrath of Glory.

Coming back to present day, Dawn opened her eyes gifted not only with the knowledge she sought, but with a new awareness of herself. She was so much more than anyone knew or suspected. She was The Key, and within her teenage body pulsed a magic source of infinite breadth and depth. It was a power source the likes of which Willow and Tara had never dreamed of, with knowledge of millennia of Magick, and she could draw upon it to recreate the monks' spell.

Her job would be easier than theirs because she already knew the form she wanted to create. The trickiest part of the spell would be Calling Buffy's Soul back from the Beyond to inhabit the body. But she had time to plan and carefully cast the spells. No Glory loomed wrathful and hideous on the horizon, no Knights were laying siege to the doors. She could take care and do it right. She could bring her sister back, not back from the dead, but reborn from Dawn's own blood.

It took her weeks to prepare, weeks of clandestine research, gathering of components, and careful planning. There were days when she was certain she was going to be found out, only to talk her way out of the situation with a gift for obfuscation that surprised even herself. As the days passed and the time grew closer, she was amazed at how easily she could manipulate them, even Spike. They had no idea, or if they did know she was up to something, she was sure that they had no idea of the magnitude of her plans. She misbehaved just enough to throw them off the scent, using what she had learned from her vampire protector to keep them from discovering her secrets.

Finally, after nearly a month of preparation, she had gathered all of the necessary components and was ready to cast her spells. She chose a night when Xander and Anya were to be her babysitters while Spike went on patrol. It was too dangerous to spellcast when Willow and Tara were there because they were sure to feel the Magick. If they discovered her too soon, all of her careful plans would be ruined. Neither Xander nor Anya had any Talent, and if she begged off to do homework in her room, they would not think twice- and they would probably have sex on the couch like they usually did when she went upstairs. That was fine with her because it meant that they would be distracted.

She had also engineered it so Spike would be gone most of the night, Slaying. She'd hated to hurt him, even if he was unaware that she was the cause of his pain, but she had needed him out of the house. Over the past two days, she had carefully cultivated Buffy's memory with Spike. She had left articles of Buffy's clothing where she knew he would find them. She used Buffy's soap, shampoo and perfume to invoke the memory of Buffy's scent. She played Buffy's favorite music and used her favorite phrases in off-handed, seemingly innocent ways. By the time 48 hours had passed, Dawn knew Spike was nearly out of his mind with missing Buffy. She knew he tried to hide his black moods from her, thought he had hidden his vicious Slays from her eyes and ears, but she knew about them. She knew how he killed when he got a certain look in his eyes, and he had left the house with Death on his face and woe befall any demon who crossed his path tonight. He would not be back until well after midnight, which was just what she needed. She kissed him on the cheek and told him to be careful just before he went out. He had smiled softly and pet her hair, then slipped out the door. He had no idea what she was up to, and she hoped that she would have a surprise waiting for him that would make all of the pain he had been going through the last three months go away.

She dawdled with Xander and Anya for an hour or so, then begged off to do her homework upstairs. She waited until she heard the tell-tale sound of pleasures being shared before beginning her spells. She drew the circle and lit the candles, chanting softly. In the center of the circle was a picture of her sister, surrounded by things that had once belonged to her: intimate, personal things. Strands of Buffy's hair taken from her hairbrush were entwined with some of Dawn's own hair and placed directly on the picture of Buffy. Dawn spit upon them and dropped five drops of blood from her finger on top. The components assembled, she sat back and began to recite the incantations, reaching into herself to access the power and knowledge of The Key.

Time crawled by as she weaved her spell, drawing on her power source to build her form. It was slow going and tiresome, but eventually a shape began to mold from the items within the Circle. Guided by the memory and the DNA imprints, Dawn rebuilt her sister's body cell by cell, part by part until the complete form of Buffy Summers lay waiting for her Soul. It lay motionless in the center of the Circle, naked and exact in every detail, down to the bite scars on her neck.

The first half of her task was complete, and Dawn nearly sobbed with happiness and triumph at the sight of it. It had taken longer than she had thought it would, and more energy, but there was still much left to do. The clock read well after midnight and she knew Spike would be home soon. She had to hurry and cast the Calling spell to bring Buffy's Soul back from the Beyond before the vampire returned. The spell was a variant of the one the Gypsies had used to curse Angel with his soul, only this spell was not a curse in any sense of the word. It was a restorative spell once used by mystic healers centuries ago, and the knowledge of it had been supplied to her by The Key. Reaching for the Thessulan Orb she had taken from the Magic Shop, she began the second spell.

This one was easier and did not tax her energy as much. That was good because she was fast becoming exhausted. The words fell off her lips as she burned the components and waved her hand over the sacred bowl. The Power built and a gust of wind blew in from the window that suddenly opened itself of its own accord. The Thessulan Orb glowed and pulsed with light, increasing in brightness until it was almost blinding, and Dawn's voice grew louder and louder until she was shouting, trying to drown out the wind. Then, just as the Power reached its apex, the Orb shattered and the body in the center of the Circle jerked and drew breath, the eyes flying open in sudden shock.

The release caused a backlash of Power that slammed Dawn down, knocking the breath out of her. She gave a startled cry as her back hit the floor, just as Buffy Summers' body sat up and screamed.