From: "Ryan Kinkor" kinkorknight@earthlink.net
Subject: FIC: Harsh Legacy: Brand New Day (Part 4)
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2002 3:32 PM
CONTINUED FROM PART THREE
Part Four: Shaking the World Up
Giles stammered a little at the direct, and odd, question. "He's not my
vampire. He hangs around us, but I'm not responsible for anything he..." He
paused. "Who are you, exactly?"
"Valmont," the man replied, without further explanation.
After a few awkward seconds, Giles said, "Do you think you could add
more information than that?"
Valmont made a perplexed look. "I thought that my name would have been
enough. You are the Watcher Rupert Giles, correct?"
"Yes, I am. Spike, who is this?"
Spike shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. He's not a vampire, and he
smells human. Strong bastard, though."
Valmont released his grip on Spike's neck. Spike immediately moved out
from in-between Giles and Valmont, letting the two men size each other up.
Valmont spoke first. "The other Watchers said that you'd be my liaison to
the Council. I assumed that meant they'd already informed you of my
coming."
Giles' face scrunched up in obvious confusion. "No. And before I get
even more confused, could you explain who you are and what this is all
about?"
Valmont cleared his throat. He hadn't expected this kind of reception.
"I'm hesitant to fully explain myself when your Watcher comrades haven't
even let you know that I was around. I think that's an issue you should take
up with them. But in a nutshell, I'm your surrogate Slayer."
Spike's and Giles' reactions were both instantaneous and simultaneous:
"WHAT!?"
"I'm not a Slayer," Valmont quickly added. "But the Council asked me to
come to Sunnydale and pull some demon-killing duty. They seem worried that
having a Slayer absent for as long as they're projecting could be, well, a
bad thing. They want me to watch the Hellmouth for a time. Apparently, the
last few years have had a lot of end-of-the-world stuff going on around this
place. Guess they were worried it would keep up."
"I'm very sure," Giles replied, "that if something as drastic as
recruiting outside help was going on, I would have been the first to have
been told. As such, how do you expect me to take you at face value?"
"A suspicious mind," said Valmont. "I can respect that. If you don't
believe me, call your Watcher pals and use my name. I'm sure your...
ignorance was simply a miscalculation on their part. I'll return tomorrow
and we can get up to speed."
"Valmont, was it?" Giles asked.
"Yes. Mr. Valmont is also appropriate. It's technically my last name,
but I prefer to called by it." He looked over at Spike. "Before I forget,
will you confirm that Spike here is harmless?"
Giles looked at Spike, who was giving him a pleading look. Giles was
somewhat tempted to put Spike on the spot, but.... no. "Harmless isn't a
word I'd use with Spike, but he can't hurt humans. At least, not right now."
Valmont regarded Spike. "Okay. You can stay intact. But I'm around now,
Spike, and I'll be watching you." With a nod to Giles, he did an about-face
and walked off into the night.
"What a pisser," Spike said when Valmont had disappeared from his sight.
"The guy's brand new and he's already acting like he's the Chosen One." He
turned to face Giles. "Sorry about that. If it's any conciliation, he
spoiled my evening as well." Without any other comments, Spike sauntered
off.
Giles was left standing in his doorway, his head racing. Was what
Valmont said true? And if so, why hadn't the Council notified him ahead of
time? He resisted an urge to pick up the phone and call London, since it was
late and he had other things to attend to. But the whole meeting had left
him baffled, and he was hoping that Valmont was only some new Big Bad or
some great pretender. It would make things simpler.
********
"Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you here, Willow?" said Dawn.
"What were you doing?"
Willow and Dawn had stopped hugging, Willow sitting on the bed next to
Dawn. She felt guilty, since she had in many ways violated Dawn's privacy
with her dream spell. But only the honest truth would serve them now. "I was
doing a mind-walking spell on you. You know, to see what your dreams were
like."
Dawn didn't respond at first. Then she said, "I guess I had everyone
pretty worried, didn't I?" She didn't seem mad, but Willow could tell that
Dawn wasn't all that happy with her at the moment.
"I'm sorry, Dawnie," said Willow in a quiet voice. "It's just that I
felt like you were pulling away from us. I was trying to do the substitute
sister thing, and I may have gone too far."
Dawn brighten a little and said, "But you remember all of it, don't you?
You saw her. I remember having the cemetery dream over and over. That was
hard enough. But I can't remember ever having that desert dream."
"Well, maybe you were having it, but you just don't remember it?" said
Willow.
"It felt so real. I'm sure that if I had dreamt it before, it would have
stayed with me." She looked at Willow with eyes that begged for an answer.
"What does it all mean?"
Willow avoided Dawn's gaze. She didn't have the answer Dawn needed.
"I'll try to find out. I have some books on dream interpretation, though I
think I should steer clear of Freudian metaphors this time around." She took
Dawn's hand and said, 'But there's one thing I do know. You aren't to blame
for her death. You need to believe that."
Tears began to well up in Dawn's eyes. "How can I? Buffy died for me.
There's no way around it."
Willow gently grabbed Dawn's head with both hands and made Dawn look
into her eyes. "Yes, there is a way around it. Glory was the one at fault,
the whole fault. And Buffy died for all of us, not just you. If you want to
shoulder the blame, then I have to shoulder it, too. And my shoulders get
pretty tired. They're all twig-like and small." She smiled at Dawn, and Dawn
gave a smile back. Willow wasn't sure Dawn believed her, but it was a start.
They hugged again, and then Willow help tuck Dawn back into bed. "You
get some real sleep now. I think the dreams won't come again tonight." *I
hope they don't,* she thought to herself. She said goodnight and left Dawn's
room.
As she was coming back into the living room, Giles was closing the front
door and turning around. He seemed rattled for some unapparent reason.
"Willow," said Giles, "how did it all go? Is Dawn okay?"
"I might have made some progress with her, but..." Willow paused. "It
went weird on me. I mean, dreams are pretty weird at the best of times, but
this was different."
"Different?" Giles looked very tired all of a sudden. "How so?"
"Hard to explain when you're exhausted. I think we should discuss it
tomorrow."
Giles nodded. "Yes, today's been entirely too long. You need any
bedding?"
"I'll just camp out on the couch."
"Okay. Goodnight, then." And Giles went to his room.
Willow grabbed a blanket and curled up on one of Giles' couches. But
despite her fatigue, sleep didn't come quickly. Her mind was digesting
Dawn's dream. There was a riddle in that dream, and riddles were something
Willow couldn't resist wrapping herself around.
********
"Wow, did you get any sleep last night?" said Tara, noticing Willow's
apparent grogginess as she came through their apartment door.
Instead of answering, Willow smiled and hugged Tara. She went to the
kitchen and started boiling a kettle of water. She needed some tea to wake
her up. She also grabbed a bagel and started munching on it, despite the
fact that it hadn't been toasted.
"You know, I've heard those are better warm." Tara joked. She was
waiting patiently for Willow to spill the beans, but she didn't want to push
her.
"Right now, I'm just nibbling because my stomach says I need something
to nibble. But it doesn't really care about the particulars." Willow grabbed
a mug and a tea bag and sat on a stool, waiting for the kettle's whistle to
blow.
Tara sat down on another stool near Willow and looked at her with a
*Well?* expression on her face. Willow finally gave in. "The spell went
okay, at least until the end. I'm not sure how it went wrong, but she ended
up seeing me in her dream." Willow told Tara about the dream in detail,
trying to remember as much as she could through her sleepy mind. She had
already rehashed it to Giles, but she had been a little more awake at the
time.
Tara listened with great interest. When Willow stopped to pour some hot
water, she said, "So what did Giles think of it? Did he have any insights?"
"I think his specialty is demonology, not psychology. And I think he was
distracted by something else. I never asked him who was at the door last
night so late, but I think he wanted to get to the shop so he could phone
someone about it. He mostly agreed that it was a weird dream and that
Dawn had issues to work out and such." Willow smiled and continued. "At the
very least, Dawn slept the rest of the night without any problems. We were
all relieved about that."
Tara nodded, then said, "You should get in a nap. If you'll forgive the
cliché, you look dead on your feet."
Willow shook her head and said, "Can't. I've got stuff to research. I
could use your help, if you're not too busy."
Tara smiled. "That's me, places to go and people to see. I can get some
books from the library."
"I think the books we have here and at the Magic Box will do. I just
need... need a moment to... collect my thoughts...." Willow seemed to fading
as she spoke.
Gently, Tara led her to their living room couch, which Willow
practically collapsed on. She was sound asleep in seconds. Tara laid a
blanket over her, then headed to the bookshelf to collect some research
material. While Willow hadn't told her exactly what she was planning on
researching, Tara had a good idea what to look for. Besides, Willow's
description of the void in the desert dream had sparked Tara's memory. She
had read something similar once, and she hoped it wouldn't be too hard to
stumble onto it again.
********
"Yes, I would appreciate any more information you could supply... No,
try calling me at my home address...Well, I doubt that....Yes, well, thank
you for finally telling me what I should have known days ago."
Giles hung up the phone, feeling very cross and uncomfortable. He had
been on the phone for half a hour trying to get in touch with someone in the
Watchers Council who knew anything about the man who called himself Valmont.
And at times, he had gotten irate about the run-around game the Council was
playing with him. He was hoping that he hadn't raised his voice too much, as
the Magic Box was open for business and...
"Everything okay back here?" questioned Anya as she came to the back of
the store. "You were getting a little loud. I had to assure a few customers
that you weren't doing a chant or anything. People come to these types of
stores with a few stereotypes..."
"I'm all right, Anya," interrupted Giles, "though I do apologize for my
volume." He looked around and saw that the store was quiet right now. It was
as good a time as any to tell her. "Anya, I'm letting everyone know as I see
them, so feel free to tell the others if you happen to meet them before I
do. But it seems that we have a new protector in town."
Anya smiled. "Oh, good. See, I knew that a Slayer would pop up and put
our minds at..."
Giles interrupted again. "It's not a Slayer."
Anya, confused, said, "Oh. If it's not a Slayer, then who and what is
our new protector?"
"The 'what,' I don't know anything about," Giles explained. "They won't
tell me. But the 'who' is a man named Valmont. The Council recruited him a
few days ago. This isn't the first time he's worked for them, but he's kept
a very low profile. He's basically considered Black Ops for the Black Ops."
Anya, a little concerned, said, "He's not anti-ex-demon, is he?"
"All I know is that he's been used in the past to either get Slayers who
were captured by some evil force out of harm's way, or to replace them in
some hot spot if one dies and another had to be called. They hire him
sparingly, since the Council doesn't like to use outside help, and he rarely
accepts missions. He's only worked for the Council five times in the last
fifty years. This is his sixth mission."
"Fifty years?" Anya said with astonishment. "He must be a old
man by now. Unless he's a vampire or a demon."
"He's not a vampire or a demon, and he's not an old man. I've seen him."
"Really? When?"
"Last night, briefly. He's already begun patrolling around the city. And
he looked about your age. But the Council is considering all the pertinent
data on Valmont as classified. Thankfully, I'm pulling a few favors and
getting access to the files. They should reach me in a few days, maybe a
week."
Anya tried to be cheery again. "Well, I guess we can all sleep better
knowing someone's on patrol who knows what they're doing. And someone who
probably can tell the difference between a good ex-demon and a bad current
demon, I hope. But at least you have someone to watch over again."
Giles was shaking his head. "No, he doesn't need, nor want, a Watcher.
All I'm supposed to do is just be the link between him and the Council."
"Oh," said Anya. Lacking any more cheery thoughts, Anya headed back to
the front of the store and picked up a feather duster, attempting to clean
some of the magical knickknacks in the display cases.
Giles still sat at his office desk, staring at nothing in particular.
Thanks to his round of phone calls with the Council, his worst fears had
been realized. Not about the mysterious Valmont, but about his own role in
the Council. The word had gotten out that he was being replaced, and so the
bureaucracy hadn't bothered to inform him of the plan for Valmont's
deployment. That could only mean that he really was being reassigned. Worse,
it meant that his place in the Council was low enough that he doubted they
would give him anything worthwhile to do. Giles wasn't prone to paranoia,
but he was starting to feel like someone in the Council was trying to
undermine him.
He would have to tell everyone soon. He would have to tell Dawn that he
was leaving, and he had to hope that she would be able to cope with it.
Especially if it meant having to go into a foster home.
********
"Damn."
Willow had just awakened and glanced at her watch. It was noon, and she
had been asleep for four hours. She looked around and saw Tara sitting in
the middle of their living room, a bunch of books encircling her. She had
been focused on reading the open one in front of her, but she turned around
to face Willow upon hearing the sound of her voice. "Hey, sleepy head," she
said. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to zonk out all day."
Willow shrugged off the last of her sleepiness. She had to admit, she
felt more alert now. Still... "I guess I needed it. But Tara, I really
wanted to get moving on the research while the details are still bubbling in
my head."
Tara smiled, stood up, and handed Willow the book she had been focused
on. "Perhaps you won't be too mad at me. I went and started the research for
you. And look at what I found."
Willow took the book from Tara. It was a tome about dimensions and their
relation to Earth. It wasn't really dream interpretation, but Tara's smile
convinced her that perhaps there was something to know. She began to read
the chapter that Tara had bookmarked. After a time, Willow started becoming
more and more excited as she read. Tara sat patiently next to Willow.
When she was done, Willow looked up at Tara with amazement on her face.
"My God, Tara. I mean, I was up all night trying to figure this one out. And
you just come across the answer like it was a walk in the park. I'm a little
jealous right now."
"The only reason why I remembered where to look," replied Tara, "was
because my mom used to deal with this kind of thing. I watched her do a
projection once. And I snuck a look at her book while she was in the middle
of the spell."
Willow stood up and paced excitedly. "But this explains so much now.
It... it... well, okay, it doesn't fill in the whole picture, but it's a big
puzzle piece."
"I know," said Tara. "I was hoping to find Dawn's connection in
all this, but there's not much written on the Key in the usual books."
Willow was quiet for a moment. Then she looked at Tara and said, "Want
to do a field trip?"
********
The warehouse was slated for demolition. That much was obvious from the
warning signs posted around the perimeter fence. But no one was attempting
to enforce the edict as Willow and Tara went through the fence gate and into
the front door of the warehouse ground floor. They had both brought
flashlights in case parts of the building were too dark to navigate in, but
with the collapsed roof and the noon day sun they had ample light to work
with. Willow had her school backpack with her, carrying a few odds and ends
for potential spell use.
"Okay, tell me again why going into a half-crumbled, condemned building
is a good idea," said Tara, who followed Willow around debris piles of wood
and plaster, trying not to bump into the walls and bring anything else
toppling down.
Willow found a clear spot on the floor that was mostly unmarked by any
trash or large dust piles. She took out a piece of chalk from her backpack
and began to draw a magic sign for a finding spell she wanted to try. As she
drew, she said, "This is the warehouse where Buffy first met Glory. It was
also the hiding place of that monk guy who Buffy saved from Glory, at least
until he died soon after she saved him. Buffy said she had searched the
place not long after their fight, but she was looking for signs of Glory at
the time. And with the place as messed up as this, I don't think anyone
would have much luck finding anything, unless you need plaster pieces or
wood chips."
She finished the drawing and took out a packet of powder, which was
composed of dried honeybee husks ground to dust. It was the material part of
the spell she was about to use. "So I was thinking that if I was on the run
from Glory, I'd either destroy all the important documents that could help
her find the Key, or I'd take them with me. Or maybe both. I'm hoping this
monk may have been someone who'd hate to destroy the written word, kinda
like me."
Willow opened the packet of powder and sprinkled it on the drawing,
saying the words, "Maltus! Forca! Acartez!" With Willow's last words, the
drawing glowed blue for a few seconds, then vanished as if wiped away by a
wind storm. Willow closed her eyes and started walking, as if in a trance.
Tara had seen finding spells in action before, so she wisely kept her
distance from Willow. Disturbing Willow during the spell would probably
disrupt the trance and ruin the magic.
Finding spells were usually iffy, at best. To find the material
possessions of someone, you needed something that was held or owned by that
person. The person's aura tended to rub off on the object, so the idea was
that one could use the person's trace aura to find either other trace auras
or the person (and the source aura) itself. The only object the monk had
come into contact with, and that Willow had access to, was the Dagon
Sphere. The Sphere itself had been crushed in their final battle with Glory,
but Tara had picked up the pieces afterwards in order to avoid embarrassing
questions from the authorities. She had planned on tossing them, but even
the pieces of the sphere had radiated magic energy. So she had saved them
for possible use in talismans or other magic trinkets. Willow was lucky Tara
had been such a pack rat, because in Willow's left hand was a piece of the
Dagon Sphere.
Willow walked in the thrall of the spell for several minutes, deftly
avoiding the crumbled parts of the building and not tripping even once. She
walked to the other end of the warehouse, where a group of wooden crates had
once been stacked. Now, they were a pile of shattered wood and nails, the
result of a large chuck of the roof falling on them. Willow went around the
pile and stopped on a metal grate. It was apparently designed as an
emergency sewer in case of a liquid spill in the warehouse proper, as the
ground sloped around the grate to allow liquid to flow down into it.
Willow's eyes went
open as her feet touched the grate. She then reached down and yanked at it.
It was heavy, but it was loose.
Tara was at her side in a few seconds, and together the two of them
forced the grate off its slot. The sewer was a hole in the ground, and it
was all but empty. The *but* was a small box hanging by a short rope,
attached to the side of the sewer by a rusty nail. Willow grabbed the rope
and pulled it up to her. The box came into her hands a few moments later.
The box itself was a simple wooden thing, but Willow figured that a monk
would know better than to put anything important in a fancy box. Hiding
secrets in plain sight was often the best way to keep them secret.
Willow placed the box on the ground and opened it. Inside was a pile of
papers and what appeared to be a journal. Willow looked over the papers
while
Tara perused the journal. Tara frowned at Willow after a minute and said,
"This is all written in Latin. I know a few words, but nowhere near enough
to translate this."
Willow was frowning also at first as she rummaged through the paper
pile, but she began to smile as she neared the end of the stack. "Looks like
they made translations in most of the major world languages." She held up
a part of the document pile. "This part's in English."
********
Tara and Willow sat on their living room floor, surrounded by books and
papers, both feeling stunned and amazed. It was getting close to 5:00pm, and
they had been hitting the research hard and heavy. And they had finally
pieced it all together. Or at least as together as they might get. And there
had been a lot to piece.
"My God, is this true?" Willow said. "I mean, I wanted to think it could
be done, but I never really..." She trailed off. Hope. She was feeling hope
again, and it was an amazing feeling. She didn't want to believe it, because
she felt like as soon as she gave in to the hope, someone would materialize
out of the ozone and tell her it was a big joke.
"I've read the same stuff you have," responded Tara. "I know we only
have that dream to go on, but it all makes sense. And the spells are there."
She gazed into Willow's eyes with her own sincere orbs. "I'm willing to try
this, if you want to. It scares the crap out of me, but I'm willing to."
Willow never thought of herself as leadership material. She's always
relied on Buffy or Giles or someone else to get them through the horrors
they'd endured. Now, the others were starting to look to her for decision
and strength. Even Buffy, at the end, respected her abilities enough to ask
her to take on a god. But this time, it wasn't her call to make.
"We need to get the others together," she said. "This is a family
affair. I can't decide for us. They have to know what's going on." Willow
got up and headed for the door. "I have to talk to Giles about this. Call
the others and have them meet here in a hour. I'll bring Giles with me."
"What about Spike? He doesn't have a phone in his crypt."
"He should still be with Dawn. And if he isn't, get someone to go by his
place." Willow grabbed the monk's journal and put it in her book bag. "Giles
will probably want to see this."
As Willow opened the front door, Tara asked, "Willow, do we want to do
this?"
Willow turned to look at Tara, whose eyes held fear and hope swimming
together in a mix of turmoil. Willow could only imagine what her own eyes
must look like right now. "No," she said, "I think we *need* to do this."
And she went out the door.
********
CONTINUED IN PART FIVE
Subject: FIC: Harsh Legacy: Brand New Day (Part 4)
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2002 3:32 PM
CONTINUED FROM PART THREE
Part Four: Shaking the World Up
Giles stammered a little at the direct, and odd, question. "He's not my
vampire. He hangs around us, but I'm not responsible for anything he..." He
paused. "Who are you, exactly?"
"Valmont," the man replied, without further explanation.
After a few awkward seconds, Giles said, "Do you think you could add
more information than that?"
Valmont made a perplexed look. "I thought that my name would have been
enough. You are the Watcher Rupert Giles, correct?"
"Yes, I am. Spike, who is this?"
Spike shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. He's not a vampire, and he
smells human. Strong bastard, though."
Valmont released his grip on Spike's neck. Spike immediately moved out
from in-between Giles and Valmont, letting the two men size each other up.
Valmont spoke first. "The other Watchers said that you'd be my liaison to
the Council. I assumed that meant they'd already informed you of my
coming."
Giles' face scrunched up in obvious confusion. "No. And before I get
even more confused, could you explain who you are and what this is all
about?"
Valmont cleared his throat. He hadn't expected this kind of reception.
"I'm hesitant to fully explain myself when your Watcher comrades haven't
even let you know that I was around. I think that's an issue you should take
up with them. But in a nutshell, I'm your surrogate Slayer."
Spike's and Giles' reactions were both instantaneous and simultaneous:
"WHAT!?"
"I'm not a Slayer," Valmont quickly added. "But the Council asked me to
come to Sunnydale and pull some demon-killing duty. They seem worried that
having a Slayer absent for as long as they're projecting could be, well, a
bad thing. They want me to watch the Hellmouth for a time. Apparently, the
last few years have had a lot of end-of-the-world stuff going on around this
place. Guess they were worried it would keep up."
"I'm very sure," Giles replied, "that if something as drastic as
recruiting outside help was going on, I would have been the first to have
been told. As such, how do you expect me to take you at face value?"
"A suspicious mind," said Valmont. "I can respect that. If you don't
believe me, call your Watcher pals and use my name. I'm sure your...
ignorance was simply a miscalculation on their part. I'll return tomorrow
and we can get up to speed."
"Valmont, was it?" Giles asked.
"Yes. Mr. Valmont is also appropriate. It's technically my last name,
but I prefer to called by it." He looked over at Spike. "Before I forget,
will you confirm that Spike here is harmless?"
Giles looked at Spike, who was giving him a pleading look. Giles was
somewhat tempted to put Spike on the spot, but.... no. "Harmless isn't a
word I'd use with Spike, but he can't hurt humans. At least, not right now."
Valmont regarded Spike. "Okay. You can stay intact. But I'm around now,
Spike, and I'll be watching you." With a nod to Giles, he did an about-face
and walked off into the night.
"What a pisser," Spike said when Valmont had disappeared from his sight.
"The guy's brand new and he's already acting like he's the Chosen One." He
turned to face Giles. "Sorry about that. If it's any conciliation, he
spoiled my evening as well." Without any other comments, Spike sauntered
off.
Giles was left standing in his doorway, his head racing. Was what
Valmont said true? And if so, why hadn't the Council notified him ahead of
time? He resisted an urge to pick up the phone and call London, since it was
late and he had other things to attend to. But the whole meeting had left
him baffled, and he was hoping that Valmont was only some new Big Bad or
some great pretender. It would make things simpler.
********
"Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you here, Willow?" said Dawn.
"What were you doing?"
Willow and Dawn had stopped hugging, Willow sitting on the bed next to
Dawn. She felt guilty, since she had in many ways violated Dawn's privacy
with her dream spell. But only the honest truth would serve them now. "I was
doing a mind-walking spell on you. You know, to see what your dreams were
like."
Dawn didn't respond at first. Then she said, "I guess I had everyone
pretty worried, didn't I?" She didn't seem mad, but Willow could tell that
Dawn wasn't all that happy with her at the moment.
"I'm sorry, Dawnie," said Willow in a quiet voice. "It's just that I
felt like you were pulling away from us. I was trying to do the substitute
sister thing, and I may have gone too far."
Dawn brighten a little and said, "But you remember all of it, don't you?
You saw her. I remember having the cemetery dream over and over. That was
hard enough. But I can't remember ever having that desert dream."
"Well, maybe you were having it, but you just don't remember it?" said
Willow.
"It felt so real. I'm sure that if I had dreamt it before, it would have
stayed with me." She looked at Willow with eyes that begged for an answer.
"What does it all mean?"
Willow avoided Dawn's gaze. She didn't have the answer Dawn needed.
"I'll try to find out. I have some books on dream interpretation, though I
think I should steer clear of Freudian metaphors this time around." She took
Dawn's hand and said, 'But there's one thing I do know. You aren't to blame
for her death. You need to believe that."
Tears began to well up in Dawn's eyes. "How can I? Buffy died for me.
There's no way around it."
Willow gently grabbed Dawn's head with both hands and made Dawn look
into her eyes. "Yes, there is a way around it. Glory was the one at fault,
the whole fault. And Buffy died for all of us, not just you. If you want to
shoulder the blame, then I have to shoulder it, too. And my shoulders get
pretty tired. They're all twig-like and small." She smiled at Dawn, and Dawn
gave a smile back. Willow wasn't sure Dawn believed her, but it was a start.
They hugged again, and then Willow help tuck Dawn back into bed. "You
get some real sleep now. I think the dreams won't come again tonight." *I
hope they don't,* she thought to herself. She said goodnight and left Dawn's
room.
As she was coming back into the living room, Giles was closing the front
door and turning around. He seemed rattled for some unapparent reason.
"Willow," said Giles, "how did it all go? Is Dawn okay?"
"I might have made some progress with her, but..." Willow paused. "It
went weird on me. I mean, dreams are pretty weird at the best of times, but
this was different."
"Different?" Giles looked very tired all of a sudden. "How so?"
"Hard to explain when you're exhausted. I think we should discuss it
tomorrow."
Giles nodded. "Yes, today's been entirely too long. You need any
bedding?"
"I'll just camp out on the couch."
"Okay. Goodnight, then." And Giles went to his room.
Willow grabbed a blanket and curled up on one of Giles' couches. But
despite her fatigue, sleep didn't come quickly. Her mind was digesting
Dawn's dream. There was a riddle in that dream, and riddles were something
Willow couldn't resist wrapping herself around.
********
"Wow, did you get any sleep last night?" said Tara, noticing Willow's
apparent grogginess as she came through their apartment door.
Instead of answering, Willow smiled and hugged Tara. She went to the
kitchen and started boiling a kettle of water. She needed some tea to wake
her up. She also grabbed a bagel and started munching on it, despite the
fact that it hadn't been toasted.
"You know, I've heard those are better warm." Tara joked. She was
waiting patiently for Willow to spill the beans, but she didn't want to push
her.
"Right now, I'm just nibbling because my stomach says I need something
to nibble. But it doesn't really care about the particulars." Willow grabbed
a mug and a tea bag and sat on a stool, waiting for the kettle's whistle to
blow.
Tara sat down on another stool near Willow and looked at her with a
*Well?* expression on her face. Willow finally gave in. "The spell went
okay, at least until the end. I'm not sure how it went wrong, but she ended
up seeing me in her dream." Willow told Tara about the dream in detail,
trying to remember as much as she could through her sleepy mind. She had
already rehashed it to Giles, but she had been a little more awake at the
time.
Tara listened with great interest. When Willow stopped to pour some hot
water, she said, "So what did Giles think of it? Did he have any insights?"
"I think his specialty is demonology, not psychology. And I think he was
distracted by something else. I never asked him who was at the door last
night so late, but I think he wanted to get to the shop so he could phone
someone about it. He mostly agreed that it was a weird dream and that
Dawn had issues to work out and such." Willow smiled and continued. "At the
very least, Dawn slept the rest of the night without any problems. We were
all relieved about that."
Tara nodded, then said, "You should get in a nap. If you'll forgive the
cliché, you look dead on your feet."
Willow shook her head and said, "Can't. I've got stuff to research. I
could use your help, if you're not too busy."
Tara smiled. "That's me, places to go and people to see. I can get some
books from the library."
"I think the books we have here and at the Magic Box will do. I just
need... need a moment to... collect my thoughts...." Willow seemed to fading
as she spoke.
Gently, Tara led her to their living room couch, which Willow
practically collapsed on. She was sound asleep in seconds. Tara laid a
blanket over her, then headed to the bookshelf to collect some research
material. While Willow hadn't told her exactly what she was planning on
researching, Tara had a good idea what to look for. Besides, Willow's
description of the void in the desert dream had sparked Tara's memory. She
had read something similar once, and she hoped it wouldn't be too hard to
stumble onto it again.
********
"Yes, I would appreciate any more information you could supply... No,
try calling me at my home address...Well, I doubt that....Yes, well, thank
you for finally telling me what I should have known days ago."
Giles hung up the phone, feeling very cross and uncomfortable. He had
been on the phone for half a hour trying to get in touch with someone in the
Watchers Council who knew anything about the man who called himself Valmont.
And at times, he had gotten irate about the run-around game the Council was
playing with him. He was hoping that he hadn't raised his voice too much, as
the Magic Box was open for business and...
"Everything okay back here?" questioned Anya as she came to the back of
the store. "You were getting a little loud. I had to assure a few customers
that you weren't doing a chant or anything. People come to these types of
stores with a few stereotypes..."
"I'm all right, Anya," interrupted Giles, "though I do apologize for my
volume." He looked around and saw that the store was quiet right now. It was
as good a time as any to tell her. "Anya, I'm letting everyone know as I see
them, so feel free to tell the others if you happen to meet them before I
do. But it seems that we have a new protector in town."
Anya smiled. "Oh, good. See, I knew that a Slayer would pop up and put
our minds at..."
Giles interrupted again. "It's not a Slayer."
Anya, confused, said, "Oh. If it's not a Slayer, then who and what is
our new protector?"
"The 'what,' I don't know anything about," Giles explained. "They won't
tell me. But the 'who' is a man named Valmont. The Council recruited him a
few days ago. This isn't the first time he's worked for them, but he's kept
a very low profile. He's basically considered Black Ops for the Black Ops."
Anya, a little concerned, said, "He's not anti-ex-demon, is he?"
"All I know is that he's been used in the past to either get Slayers who
were captured by some evil force out of harm's way, or to replace them in
some hot spot if one dies and another had to be called. They hire him
sparingly, since the Council doesn't like to use outside help, and he rarely
accepts missions. He's only worked for the Council five times in the last
fifty years. This is his sixth mission."
"Fifty years?" Anya said with astonishment. "He must be a old
man by now. Unless he's a vampire or a demon."
"He's not a vampire or a demon, and he's not an old man. I've seen him."
"Really? When?"
"Last night, briefly. He's already begun patrolling around the city. And
he looked about your age. But the Council is considering all the pertinent
data on Valmont as classified. Thankfully, I'm pulling a few favors and
getting access to the files. They should reach me in a few days, maybe a
week."
Anya tried to be cheery again. "Well, I guess we can all sleep better
knowing someone's on patrol who knows what they're doing. And someone who
probably can tell the difference between a good ex-demon and a bad current
demon, I hope. But at least you have someone to watch over again."
Giles was shaking his head. "No, he doesn't need, nor want, a Watcher.
All I'm supposed to do is just be the link between him and the Council."
"Oh," said Anya. Lacking any more cheery thoughts, Anya headed back to
the front of the store and picked up a feather duster, attempting to clean
some of the magical knickknacks in the display cases.
Giles still sat at his office desk, staring at nothing in particular.
Thanks to his round of phone calls with the Council, his worst fears had
been realized. Not about the mysterious Valmont, but about his own role in
the Council. The word had gotten out that he was being replaced, and so the
bureaucracy hadn't bothered to inform him of the plan for Valmont's
deployment. That could only mean that he really was being reassigned. Worse,
it meant that his place in the Council was low enough that he doubted they
would give him anything worthwhile to do. Giles wasn't prone to paranoia,
but he was starting to feel like someone in the Council was trying to
undermine him.
He would have to tell everyone soon. He would have to tell Dawn that he
was leaving, and he had to hope that she would be able to cope with it.
Especially if it meant having to go into a foster home.
********
"Damn."
Willow had just awakened and glanced at her watch. It was noon, and she
had been asleep for four hours. She looked around and saw Tara sitting in
the middle of their living room, a bunch of books encircling her. She had
been focused on reading the open one in front of her, but she turned around
to face Willow upon hearing the sound of her voice. "Hey, sleepy head," she
said. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to zonk out all day."
Willow shrugged off the last of her sleepiness. She had to admit, she
felt more alert now. Still... "I guess I needed it. But Tara, I really
wanted to get moving on the research while the details are still bubbling in
my head."
Tara smiled, stood up, and handed Willow the book she had been focused
on. "Perhaps you won't be too mad at me. I went and started the research for
you. And look at what I found."
Willow took the book from Tara. It was a tome about dimensions and their
relation to Earth. It wasn't really dream interpretation, but Tara's smile
convinced her that perhaps there was something to know. She began to read
the chapter that Tara had bookmarked. After a time, Willow started becoming
more and more excited as she read. Tara sat patiently next to Willow.
When she was done, Willow looked up at Tara with amazement on her face.
"My God, Tara. I mean, I was up all night trying to figure this one out. And
you just come across the answer like it was a walk in the park. I'm a little
jealous right now."
"The only reason why I remembered where to look," replied Tara, "was
because my mom used to deal with this kind of thing. I watched her do a
projection once. And I snuck a look at her book while she was in the middle
of the spell."
Willow stood up and paced excitedly. "But this explains so much now.
It... it... well, okay, it doesn't fill in the whole picture, but it's a big
puzzle piece."
"I know," said Tara. "I was hoping to find Dawn's connection in
all this, but there's not much written on the Key in the usual books."
Willow was quiet for a moment. Then she looked at Tara and said, "Want
to do a field trip?"
********
The warehouse was slated for demolition. That much was obvious from the
warning signs posted around the perimeter fence. But no one was attempting
to enforce the edict as Willow and Tara went through the fence gate and into
the front door of the warehouse ground floor. They had both brought
flashlights in case parts of the building were too dark to navigate in, but
with the collapsed roof and the noon day sun they had ample light to work
with. Willow had her school backpack with her, carrying a few odds and ends
for potential spell use.
"Okay, tell me again why going into a half-crumbled, condemned building
is a good idea," said Tara, who followed Willow around debris piles of wood
and plaster, trying not to bump into the walls and bring anything else
toppling down.
Willow found a clear spot on the floor that was mostly unmarked by any
trash or large dust piles. She took out a piece of chalk from her backpack
and began to draw a magic sign for a finding spell she wanted to try. As she
drew, she said, "This is the warehouse where Buffy first met Glory. It was
also the hiding place of that monk guy who Buffy saved from Glory, at least
until he died soon after she saved him. Buffy said she had searched the
place not long after their fight, but she was looking for signs of Glory at
the time. And with the place as messed up as this, I don't think anyone
would have much luck finding anything, unless you need plaster pieces or
wood chips."
She finished the drawing and took out a packet of powder, which was
composed of dried honeybee husks ground to dust. It was the material part of
the spell she was about to use. "So I was thinking that if I was on the run
from Glory, I'd either destroy all the important documents that could help
her find the Key, or I'd take them with me. Or maybe both. I'm hoping this
monk may have been someone who'd hate to destroy the written word, kinda
like me."
Willow opened the packet of powder and sprinkled it on the drawing,
saying the words, "Maltus! Forca! Acartez!" With Willow's last words, the
drawing glowed blue for a few seconds, then vanished as if wiped away by a
wind storm. Willow closed her eyes and started walking, as if in a trance.
Tara had seen finding spells in action before, so she wisely kept her
distance from Willow. Disturbing Willow during the spell would probably
disrupt the trance and ruin the magic.
Finding spells were usually iffy, at best. To find the material
possessions of someone, you needed something that was held or owned by that
person. The person's aura tended to rub off on the object, so the idea was
that one could use the person's trace aura to find either other trace auras
or the person (and the source aura) itself. The only object the monk had
come into contact with, and that Willow had access to, was the Dagon
Sphere. The Sphere itself had been crushed in their final battle with Glory,
but Tara had picked up the pieces afterwards in order to avoid embarrassing
questions from the authorities. She had planned on tossing them, but even
the pieces of the sphere had radiated magic energy. So she had saved them
for possible use in talismans or other magic trinkets. Willow was lucky Tara
had been such a pack rat, because in Willow's left hand was a piece of the
Dagon Sphere.
Willow walked in the thrall of the spell for several minutes, deftly
avoiding the crumbled parts of the building and not tripping even once. She
walked to the other end of the warehouse, where a group of wooden crates had
once been stacked. Now, they were a pile of shattered wood and nails, the
result of a large chuck of the roof falling on them. Willow went around the
pile and stopped on a metal grate. It was apparently designed as an
emergency sewer in case of a liquid spill in the warehouse proper, as the
ground sloped around the grate to allow liquid to flow down into it.
Willow's eyes went
open as her feet touched the grate. She then reached down and yanked at it.
It was heavy, but it was loose.
Tara was at her side in a few seconds, and together the two of them
forced the grate off its slot. The sewer was a hole in the ground, and it
was all but empty. The *but* was a small box hanging by a short rope,
attached to the side of the sewer by a rusty nail. Willow grabbed the rope
and pulled it up to her. The box came into her hands a few moments later.
The box itself was a simple wooden thing, but Willow figured that a monk
would know better than to put anything important in a fancy box. Hiding
secrets in plain sight was often the best way to keep them secret.
Willow placed the box on the ground and opened it. Inside was a pile of
papers and what appeared to be a journal. Willow looked over the papers
while
Tara perused the journal. Tara frowned at Willow after a minute and said,
"This is all written in Latin. I know a few words, but nowhere near enough
to translate this."
Willow was frowning also at first as she rummaged through the paper
pile, but she began to smile as she neared the end of the stack. "Looks like
they made translations in most of the major world languages." She held up
a part of the document pile. "This part's in English."
********
Tara and Willow sat on their living room floor, surrounded by books and
papers, both feeling stunned and amazed. It was getting close to 5:00pm, and
they had been hitting the research hard and heavy. And they had finally
pieced it all together. Or at least as together as they might get. And there
had been a lot to piece.
"My God, is this true?" Willow said. "I mean, I wanted to think it could
be done, but I never really..." She trailed off. Hope. She was feeling hope
again, and it was an amazing feeling. She didn't want to believe it, because
she felt like as soon as she gave in to the hope, someone would materialize
out of the ozone and tell her it was a big joke.
"I've read the same stuff you have," responded Tara. "I know we only
have that dream to go on, but it all makes sense. And the spells are there."
She gazed into Willow's eyes with her own sincere orbs. "I'm willing to try
this, if you want to. It scares the crap out of me, but I'm willing to."
Willow never thought of herself as leadership material. She's always
relied on Buffy or Giles or someone else to get them through the horrors
they'd endured. Now, the others were starting to look to her for decision
and strength. Even Buffy, at the end, respected her abilities enough to ask
her to take on a god. But this time, it wasn't her call to make.
"We need to get the others together," she said. "This is a family
affair. I can't decide for us. They have to know what's going on." Willow
got up and headed for the door. "I have to talk to Giles about this. Call
the others and have them meet here in a hour. I'll bring Giles with me."
"What about Spike? He doesn't have a phone in his crypt."
"He should still be with Dawn. And if he isn't, get someone to go by his
place." Willow grabbed the monk's journal and put it in her book bag. "Giles
will probably want to see this."
As Willow opened the front door, Tara asked, "Willow, do we want to do
this?"
Willow turned to look at Tara, whose eyes held fear and hope swimming
together in a mix of turmoil. Willow could only imagine what her own eyes
must look like right now. "No," she said, "I think we *need* to do this."
And she went out the door.
********
CONTINUED IN PART FIVE