From: "Ryan Kinkor" kinkorknight@earthlink.net
Subject: FIC: Harsh Legacy: Brand New Day (Part 9)
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2002 3:33 PM
CONTINUED FROM PART EIGHT
Part Nine: The Day Awakens
For the first few minutes, Willow and Buffy walked in silence across the
desert. Willow was following her connection to Dawn, which was acting like a
mental compass and pointing her back to the portal home. She had thought
about simply retracing her footprints, but they had completely disappeared
on her. Since the sand wasn't real but a mental illusion, and since they
weren't walking but floating along in a void, it made sense that footprints
wouldn't keep around here.
Every few steps Willow looked over her shoulder to make sure Buffy was
behind her. It wasn't out of fear that Buffy would wander off, but more out
of some irrational belief that if she wasn't watching, Buffy would just
disappear on her. She still half-expected someone to show up out of nowhere,
tell her this was all a dream, and take Buffy away.
But Buffy was still there, still walking with her. She seemed less
distant now, more her old self, though her voice was very detached
and spacey.
"Willow, how long have... how long have I been gone?" asked Buffy.
Willow didn't really want to answer. She didn't even want to talk. Truth
was, she wanted to tell Buffy everything, how much they had missed her, what
had gone on in her absence. But it would break her control on her emotions,
and she needed to stay cool now.
"Not long," Willow responded.
"Is everyone... everyone all right? Is Dawn okay?"
"They're all waiting for you back home."
"But how... how can I go back? I knew what I was doing. It... was my
gift to... all of you. My body..."
Willow stopped and turned to Buffy. "Buffy, you're going back. I have it
all ready. This is my gift to you. We'll have all the time in the world to
talk when this is over, I promise. Just stay with me, ok?"
Buffy nodded her head and they resumed their walking. Shortly after,
Willow heard the comforting buzz of Dawn's voice in her ear.
"Willow? Tara's starting the second spell. Is she... she's still there
with you, right?"
"She's still with me. We coming your way. Probably be a few minutes."
"Willow?" It was Buffy. "Who... are you talking to?"
Willow had forgotten that Dawn could only be heard by her, and vice
versa. To Buffy, she must look like she's talking to the sand. "Dawn's with
me. I can talk to her. She's holding the portal open."
Buffy's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "She's here? Can she hear me?"
"No, but she will when we get there."
Not too far up ahead of them, a blue glow started to emerge. It was
coming off the top of a sand dune. Willow could make out a slight shimmering
effect. *That has to be the portal,* she thought. And Anya had been right.
The spell Tara was using was visible here, through the portal itself. Wow,
what it must look like...
"Willow," said Dawn, "the gate's glowering. It's... beautiful. But I'm
not sure what it means."
"It means that the magic Tara is using is working," Willow reassured.
"And it's showing up like a lighthouse over here." *Like a lighthouse,*
thought Willow, *or a Fourth of July.*
The thought made Willow start jogging. "Buffy, pick up the pace." Buffy
did, and the two of them jogged as fast as the sand allowed them, over one
dune and down another. At the rate they were going, they should reach Dawn
and the portal in another minute or...
In the sky above the glowing gate, a series of soft white flashes began.
The flashes grew stronger for a few seconds, then receded. In their place
was a swirling black cloud. It looked like a globe of darkness, about the
size of a SUV. But it wasn't a rain cloud. Willow knew that much. It was a
Voxnork, a soulcatcher.
As they watched, three more series of flashes took place in the sky
above the portal. And three more Voxnorks teleported into the Plane. Dawn
began screaming, and since she was still connected to Willow, it was right
in her ear.
"Dawn! Stop screaming!"
"Willow! They're all around me! What are they?!"
"Dawn? Is Dawn in trouble?" asked Buffy, sounding more like her old self
this time.
As the two of them watched, the globes began to circle the portal like
wolves around a herd of buffalo. One of the globes launched itself at Dawn,
but as it hit the portal's perimeter, it was shocked by some sort of energy
surge. The globe retreated. Another one made an attempt, but received the
same treatment. They couldn't go through, which meant that Dawn was safe.
Then the Voxnorks finally got it into their heads, or whatever they had
to think with, that they couldn't attack Dawn. But they could go after other
prey that was less protected. The globes peeled off and headed toward Willow
and Buffy. At the rate they were going, they'd be upon them in less than
thirty seconds.
Buffy realized that they were now the globes' new targets. "Willow! We
have to run!"
"No!" Willow stood her ground and began a series of hand motions.
"They're faster than us. Stay close to me, Buffy!"
Willow finished her hand waving and waited for the globes to approach.
It didn't take long. The things must have been famished or bored, because
they were bearing down on Willow and Buffy like hungry lions. Buffy was
ready to bolt, but she knew enough about Willow's abilities not to leave her
side.
When the globes were a second away from pouncing, Willow clapped her
hands. A massive energy wave emitted from her hands and swept out towards
the Voxnorks. It hit them and carried them along like a tidal wave,
electricity coursing around them. Willow was glad she had come with a few
protection spells readied.
"Buffy, run! The wave will only last for a few seconds." Without further
prodding, Buffy sprinted toward the portal, with Willow right after her.
Dawn was yelling at them to hurry.
They had crossed half the remaining distance when the wave spell ended
and the Voxnorks were freed. The wave had flung them past the portal and
quite a distance away. Willow was sure that they wouldn't recover quickly
enough to come back at them before she and Buffy reached the portal. And the
fact that the portal was no longer glowing blue meant that the revival spell
was finished. It was time to get Buffy home.
Half a dozen teleport flashes changed Willow's optimistic tune. Right
before them, another six Voxnorks warped in. *They must have sensed my wave
spell and had come to investigate,* thought Willow. There wasn't time
for another wave, so Willow shouted three magic words and wrote a circle in
the air with her right hand. A magic bubble formed around Willow and Buffy,
a bubble made of magic force rather than soap. The globes immediately
pounded themselves against the force field, but they were unable to
penetrate it.
They were safe for the moment, but things weren't good. The other four
Voxnorks had recovered and were joining their pals in the siege. Off in the
distance, another group of flashes meant that more Voxnorks were arriving,
attracted to all the magic play. Willow was preparing to use the wave again
when she felt a tremor inside her. It signaled that the projection spell was
ending. Her spell use had weakened her, and thus shortened the length of the
projection spell. If she used another wave, it would probably completely
shut down the projection spell, trapping her and Buffy in the Astral Plane.
And leaving them at the mercy of the Voxnorks.
Willow's mind raced frantically, but she was out of options. They
couldn't run with the field up, and they were too far away to make it to the
portal before the Voxnork had them. She couldn't use magic, and they
couldn't run. Despair hit Willow hard. She had come so far, only to be
inadvertently delivering Buffy and herself into Hell. But, at least, Buffy
wouldn't be alone now.
********
Dawn watched in horror as Willow and Buffy were surrounded by the dark
globes. More were coming, and it looked like Willow couldn't use another one
of those energy wave spells for some reason. Dawn couldn't do anything. She
screamed at the globes to leave them alone, but if the globes even heard
her, they certainly didn't care to even acknowledge her.
Fleeing with terror, Dawn fled back to Earth, crying out that Willow and
Buffy were in danger, begging Tara or Giles or someone to help. She managed
to get a lot of frightened stares, but no suggestions. Tara was too drained
to try a Astral Projection herself, and neither Giles or Anya knew the
spell. They could only sit helpless as Dawn cried out for help.
Dawn hadn't completely left the Astral Plane, though. She was the Key,
and while that usually didn't mean much on Earth, as only her human side
presented itself, it mattered a lot in the Plane. This was where the Key had
been cultivated. This was its home turf. And while the Key had never been
sentient before Dawn was created, it was now.
The monks could never have envisioned what they had achieved. People
rarely understood the long-term implications of their actions. True, Dawn
was a normal human girl, a remarkable thing by itself. But the Key, the
energy that harbored within Dawn, had also begun to think. It could only
manifest itself in the Plane, where it had the strength to do so. And it had
drawn from Dawn's mind its knowledge, its emotions, and its morals. It was
ancient in its own right, and it had spoken to Willow last night during
their mind bonding. It had led Dawn and Willow to Buffy, their lost loved
one. And it refused to let a bunch of scavenging souls take away the lives
of the ones it had come to love.
Instead of Dawn's ghostly form, a cloud of flowing energy materialized
in the portal. It had a greenish hue to it, though at times it took on every
color in the spectrum of light. A blazing bolt of energy lanced out from the
cloud and struck one of the Voxnorks. The globe twisted and writhed in the
energy stream, then shrank to nothing as its essence was warped out of the
Astral Plane. More bolts shot out, picking off the Voxnorks one by one,
until only a few remained, fleeing from the scene.
Willow and Buffy stood within their protective field, amazed and awed at
the cloud that was the source of their salvation. Willow wasn't sure what
had happened, but she was sure that Dawn had just saved her butt somehow.
Not wasting their good fortune, Willow lowered the field and they sprinted
toward the portal. As they ran, a veritable army of teleport flashes
occurred, and a massive force of Voxnorks warped in. Immediately, the Key
cloud fired off blast after blast of energy, mowing down the Voxnorks as
they came. But there were too many. It wouldn't be able to hold them off
forever.
"Run ahead of me, Buffy. You have to go through first," cried Willow.
Buffy ducked a globe that almost dive-bombed her, which was promptly blasted
away by the Key cloud. She leaped into the portal and, in a flash of blue
light, disappeared. Willow, tailed by two globes, managed to jump through a
second later. Instead of crashing into the portal, the globes found nothing.
The portal had closed the instant Willow had crossed it. The remaining
Voxnorks, deprived of their prize, teleported glumly back to their own
hellish dimension.
********
A brilliant flash of light filled the living room, bowling everyone
over. When the flash had receded and the afterimage in their retinas had
faded, the group noticed three new things about the room.
One: Dawn's eyes were open and she was aware of the room again, and of
the cut on her left thumb.
Two: Willow's eyes were open, and she was slowly regaining her bearings.
Three: Buffy's eyes...
Buffy sat up. She had gotten her arms out of the wrappings and was
exploring her face, as if it was new to her. She was breathing rapidly, not
from exertion but from lack of habit. She looked around the room wide-eyed,
as if she had just been delivered into a torture chamber.
The whole group was tense. No one wanted to say anything. No one dared
to suggest anything.
Valmont rose from his seat. He was on his guard, ready to spring if he
had to.
Willow crawled weakly to Buffy's side. She was ready to collapse, but
she had to know.
Dawn was kneeling next to Buffy, her mouth gaping.
Buffy stopped looking around the room and regarded Dawn and Willow. She
was starting to breathe normally now, and the panicked look in her eyes was
fading. "Dawn.... Willow," she said, as if it was a memory.
Willow gently took Buffy's right hand and felt for a pulse at the wrist.
Willow found one, a strong one. Tears were forming in her eyes, and this
time she didn't try to force them back.
"She's alive," Willow said, weakly but happily.
Tears began to run down Buffy's cheek. "Dawn, Willow," she said again as
she started to sob.
"Buffy!" Dawn threw her arms around Buffy and began sobbing as well.
Willow did the same, adding her sobs to the mix. Buffy, as weak as she was,
managed to hug them back without crushing them.
Tara, Xander, and Anya also crawled over and joined in the group hug,
crying tears of relief and tears of joy.
Spike was a little too proud to join in the group hug. But he was
alternatively laughing and crying. "Damn," he managed to say.
Giles wanted to join in, but part of him felt guilty about how he had
threatened to destroy this wonderful moment. Eventually, he wandered over
and added his weight to the group.
The only one not crying was Valmont. He was sitting on his chair in a
state of shock. He had seen enough disasters happen that he had been all but
certain that this time would be no different. And yet, here was the
exception. He was at a loss.
Perhaps it was the moment. Perhaps it was the love or the emotion
filling the room. Perhaps it was some other reason. But for the first time
in many, many years, he smiled. And it didn't kill him to do it.
********
Valmont sat on Giles' front step, staring off into the night that would
soon be turning into day. He wasn't exactly sure why he was still hanging
around the place. He had told himself that he was just doing guard duty, in
case the Slayer's return wasn't as benign as it had seemed. But that was
just an excuse. He didn't want to admit the real reason why he was still
around.
They had moved Buffy and the group over to Giles' home, since Willow's
place was currently too messy for everyone to get comfortable in.
Valmont had traveled back with Giles, since he had pretty much blown first
impressions with everyone else. Not that he was out to make friends or
anything. He was only doing his job, after all.
The front door opened. "What the hell happened tonight, Giles?" he said
to the man coming out the door.
Giles didn't bother to ask how Valmont had known that it was him. He sat
down of the front step besides Valmont and said, "I believe the best term
for it would be... a miracle."
Valmont laughed. "I thought miracles ended back in the 60s."
"Perhaps they're making a comeback."
"Friggen. I haven't seen many miracles, you know. Most of the time, it's
the opposite."
"Same here."
Valmont was silent for a moment. "We almost stopped it, didn't we?"
"I'm not sure if we could have stopped it, Valmont."
"Oh, I could have stopped it, all right. And that makes me feel
really guilty."
"You're not alone there, Valmont."
Valmont sighed. "I remembered what it was like to pull a leap of faith
out of your hat and fly into the night with it. I actually believed in
things, once."
Giles looked at Valmont. "And you don't now?"
"This is what I do. It's what I know. I stopped caring long ago... I got
old. I'm an old dog with a bag of old tricks."
Giles smiled. "Then maybe our job wasn't to stop a miracle, but to learn
from it. A couple of old dogs learning some new tricks."
"They're not new tricks, though. They're just old ones that I've
forgotten." Valmont paused, then said, "I thought you'd be asleep about
now."
Giles shook his head. "Too much to think about. What happened tonight is
unprecedented. A Slayer, Buffy, reborn. The Council is going to go mad. I
suspect that they will want me to come to London and give them a full
report. There's going to be a lot of tough questions...."
"You want me to stay longer, don't you?" said Valmont with a sly look.
"Afraid I'll head for the hills now that your Slayer is back?"
Giles gave him an earnest expression. "That's what you've done in the
past,
correct?"
Valmont frowned. "Yes, that's what I've done in the past. Damn, I hate
being predictable."
"I'm sure the Council will release you from your mission..."
"Hey, they don't release me from anything! I'm self-employed."
"Whatever. Buffy has gone through something that I doubt any of us do,
or will ever, understand. Her life here ended and she will need time to
readjust and pick up the pieces. I don't think she will be ready to resume
her role as Slayer for some time."
"I'm wouldn't be so sure about that. Slayers are stubborn creatures.
When in doubt, they fall back on their Slayer instincts and bounce back
pretty quickly."
"Regardless, if you would remain here, I would greatly appreciate it. I
could compensate..."
"Giles, I've never taken these jobs for the money."
They were silent. Valmont wanted to head back to his cabin, where he
knew he could find some semblance of peace again. But something nagged at
him. His dream about the funeral. He knew now who all the mourners had been.
He had even recognized Spike as the figure in the shade of trees, risking a
fiery death to mourn a Slayer. Was he here to witness a miracle? No, there
had to be more. The miracle might be a first step, but there was more.
Somebody was calling him out of retirement. Which meant only big
and bad things were around the corner. As usual.
"I'll be around, Giles," Valmont said.
Giles smiled. "Tomorrow night, we'll talk more. And perhaps you can let
me in on some of your history. You are still a mystery to all of us, you
know."
"Everyone loves a mystery. I'm not so loveable, though."
Giles was going to say more, but then the sun peeked over the horizon,
spreading orange light across the city. In Sunnydale, sunrise was the safety
point, when all the monsters fled to the dark and people could roam free
again. To Valmont and Giles, it meant a little more this time, much like
little kids who had never seen a sunrise. It was something they had lost
before, and had regained. It was a sense of wonder.
"Look at that," said Giles.
********
Giles went back inside. Valmont had taken off, promising to come around
again in the evening. Giles wanted to get some sleep, but he had to do
something
first.
He was trying to be as quiet as he could, maneuvering through his living
room that had become a makeshift bed chamber. Willow and Tara were asleep on
one couch, Anya and Xander on another. Spike was snoring on Giles' reading
chair. No one had wanted to leave, and after all the spell play that had
gone on over the evening, they had been too worn out to make it home.
Willow had been fast asleep before they had gotten to his house. The
amount of magic she had dished out last night was astonishing. Giles had to
admit to himself that it worried him how someone so young in the magic ways
could perform such feats. But she had forged a miracle with her power and
her courage, and Giles doubted that he could ever be afraid of someone with
that much compassion in her heart.
He went to Dawn's bedroom and softly opened the door. He had to check,
because part of him still felt like it was all some great dream that would
tear him up inside when it ended. He had to check.
Dawn and Buffy were sleeping in the same bed. Dawn was resting her head
on Buffy's stomach. Giles hadn't seen Dawn sleep so peacefully in months.
Buffy was wearing one of his nightshirts, and she had her hand on Dawn's
head.
No, the Universe wasn't fair. But sometimes, it tried to make amends.
"Hey, Giles," came a soft voice.
Buffy. She wasn't asleep. She was looking at him, a weak smile on her
face.
Trying not to make any noise, Giles went over to Buffy's side of the bed
and knelt down. "How are you, Buffy?"
She looked tired and a little sad, but her eyes still showed their same
brilliance. It was Buffy, no doubt. "I feel like I've been asleep forever,"
she said, "and I'm waking from some bad dream. Except I know I wasn't
asleep."
She reached out her hand towards Giles' hand on her bed. He took it. It
was warm. Alive.
"Tell me it's real," she said, trying not to start sobbing again."Tell
me it's over."
"It's real, Buffy," he said, trying not to cry himself. "It's over.
You're home."
********
Feedback: kinkorknight@earthlink.net
Subject: FIC: Harsh Legacy: Brand New Day (Part 9)
Date: Saturday, October 26, 2002 3:33 PM
CONTINUED FROM PART EIGHT
Part Nine: The Day Awakens
For the first few minutes, Willow and Buffy walked in silence across the
desert. Willow was following her connection to Dawn, which was acting like a
mental compass and pointing her back to the portal home. She had thought
about simply retracing her footprints, but they had completely disappeared
on her. Since the sand wasn't real but a mental illusion, and since they
weren't walking but floating along in a void, it made sense that footprints
wouldn't keep around here.
Every few steps Willow looked over her shoulder to make sure Buffy was
behind her. It wasn't out of fear that Buffy would wander off, but more out
of some irrational belief that if she wasn't watching, Buffy would just
disappear on her. She still half-expected someone to show up out of nowhere,
tell her this was all a dream, and take Buffy away.
But Buffy was still there, still walking with her. She seemed less
distant now, more her old self, though her voice was very detached
and spacey.
"Willow, how long have... how long have I been gone?" asked Buffy.
Willow didn't really want to answer. She didn't even want to talk. Truth
was, she wanted to tell Buffy everything, how much they had missed her, what
had gone on in her absence. But it would break her control on her emotions,
and she needed to stay cool now.
"Not long," Willow responded.
"Is everyone... everyone all right? Is Dawn okay?"
"They're all waiting for you back home."
"But how... how can I go back? I knew what I was doing. It... was my
gift to... all of you. My body..."
Willow stopped and turned to Buffy. "Buffy, you're going back. I have it
all ready. This is my gift to you. We'll have all the time in the world to
talk when this is over, I promise. Just stay with me, ok?"
Buffy nodded her head and they resumed their walking. Shortly after,
Willow heard the comforting buzz of Dawn's voice in her ear.
"Willow? Tara's starting the second spell. Is she... she's still there
with you, right?"
"She's still with me. We coming your way. Probably be a few minutes."
"Willow?" It was Buffy. "Who... are you talking to?"
Willow had forgotten that Dawn could only be heard by her, and vice
versa. To Buffy, she must look like she's talking to the sand. "Dawn's with
me. I can talk to her. She's holding the portal open."
Buffy's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "She's here? Can she hear me?"
"No, but she will when we get there."
Not too far up ahead of them, a blue glow started to emerge. It was
coming off the top of a sand dune. Willow could make out a slight shimmering
effect. *That has to be the portal,* she thought. And Anya had been right.
The spell Tara was using was visible here, through the portal itself. Wow,
what it must look like...
"Willow," said Dawn, "the gate's glowering. It's... beautiful. But I'm
not sure what it means."
"It means that the magic Tara is using is working," Willow reassured.
"And it's showing up like a lighthouse over here." *Like a lighthouse,*
thought Willow, *or a Fourth of July.*
The thought made Willow start jogging. "Buffy, pick up the pace." Buffy
did, and the two of them jogged as fast as the sand allowed them, over one
dune and down another. At the rate they were going, they should reach Dawn
and the portal in another minute or...
In the sky above the glowing gate, a series of soft white flashes began.
The flashes grew stronger for a few seconds, then receded. In their place
was a swirling black cloud. It looked like a globe of darkness, about the
size of a SUV. But it wasn't a rain cloud. Willow knew that much. It was a
Voxnork, a soulcatcher.
As they watched, three more series of flashes took place in the sky
above the portal. And three more Voxnorks teleported into the Plane. Dawn
began screaming, and since she was still connected to Willow, it was right
in her ear.
"Dawn! Stop screaming!"
"Willow! They're all around me! What are they?!"
"Dawn? Is Dawn in trouble?" asked Buffy, sounding more like her old self
this time.
As the two of them watched, the globes began to circle the portal like
wolves around a herd of buffalo. One of the globes launched itself at Dawn,
but as it hit the portal's perimeter, it was shocked by some sort of energy
surge. The globe retreated. Another one made an attempt, but received the
same treatment. They couldn't go through, which meant that Dawn was safe.
Then the Voxnorks finally got it into their heads, or whatever they had
to think with, that they couldn't attack Dawn. But they could go after other
prey that was less protected. The globes peeled off and headed toward Willow
and Buffy. At the rate they were going, they'd be upon them in less than
thirty seconds.
Buffy realized that they were now the globes' new targets. "Willow! We
have to run!"
"No!" Willow stood her ground and began a series of hand motions.
"They're faster than us. Stay close to me, Buffy!"
Willow finished her hand waving and waited for the globes to approach.
It didn't take long. The things must have been famished or bored, because
they were bearing down on Willow and Buffy like hungry lions. Buffy was
ready to bolt, but she knew enough about Willow's abilities not to leave her
side.
When the globes were a second away from pouncing, Willow clapped her
hands. A massive energy wave emitted from her hands and swept out towards
the Voxnorks. It hit them and carried them along like a tidal wave,
electricity coursing around them. Willow was glad she had come with a few
protection spells readied.
"Buffy, run! The wave will only last for a few seconds." Without further
prodding, Buffy sprinted toward the portal, with Willow right after her.
Dawn was yelling at them to hurry.
They had crossed half the remaining distance when the wave spell ended
and the Voxnorks were freed. The wave had flung them past the portal and
quite a distance away. Willow was sure that they wouldn't recover quickly
enough to come back at them before she and Buffy reached the portal. And the
fact that the portal was no longer glowing blue meant that the revival spell
was finished. It was time to get Buffy home.
Half a dozen teleport flashes changed Willow's optimistic tune. Right
before them, another six Voxnorks warped in. *They must have sensed my wave
spell and had come to investigate,* thought Willow. There wasn't time
for another wave, so Willow shouted three magic words and wrote a circle in
the air with her right hand. A magic bubble formed around Willow and Buffy,
a bubble made of magic force rather than soap. The globes immediately
pounded themselves against the force field, but they were unable to
penetrate it.
They were safe for the moment, but things weren't good. The other four
Voxnorks had recovered and were joining their pals in the siege. Off in the
distance, another group of flashes meant that more Voxnorks were arriving,
attracted to all the magic play. Willow was preparing to use the wave again
when she felt a tremor inside her. It signaled that the projection spell was
ending. Her spell use had weakened her, and thus shortened the length of the
projection spell. If she used another wave, it would probably completely
shut down the projection spell, trapping her and Buffy in the Astral Plane.
And leaving them at the mercy of the Voxnorks.
Willow's mind raced frantically, but she was out of options. They
couldn't run with the field up, and they were too far away to make it to the
portal before the Voxnork had them. She couldn't use magic, and they
couldn't run. Despair hit Willow hard. She had come so far, only to be
inadvertently delivering Buffy and herself into Hell. But, at least, Buffy
wouldn't be alone now.
********
Dawn watched in horror as Willow and Buffy were surrounded by the dark
globes. More were coming, and it looked like Willow couldn't use another one
of those energy wave spells for some reason. Dawn couldn't do anything. She
screamed at the globes to leave them alone, but if the globes even heard
her, they certainly didn't care to even acknowledge her.
Fleeing with terror, Dawn fled back to Earth, crying out that Willow and
Buffy were in danger, begging Tara or Giles or someone to help. She managed
to get a lot of frightened stares, but no suggestions. Tara was too drained
to try a Astral Projection herself, and neither Giles or Anya knew the
spell. They could only sit helpless as Dawn cried out for help.
Dawn hadn't completely left the Astral Plane, though. She was the Key,
and while that usually didn't mean much on Earth, as only her human side
presented itself, it mattered a lot in the Plane. This was where the Key had
been cultivated. This was its home turf. And while the Key had never been
sentient before Dawn was created, it was now.
The monks could never have envisioned what they had achieved. People
rarely understood the long-term implications of their actions. True, Dawn
was a normal human girl, a remarkable thing by itself. But the Key, the
energy that harbored within Dawn, had also begun to think. It could only
manifest itself in the Plane, where it had the strength to do so. And it had
drawn from Dawn's mind its knowledge, its emotions, and its morals. It was
ancient in its own right, and it had spoken to Willow last night during
their mind bonding. It had led Dawn and Willow to Buffy, their lost loved
one. And it refused to let a bunch of scavenging souls take away the lives
of the ones it had come to love.
Instead of Dawn's ghostly form, a cloud of flowing energy materialized
in the portal. It had a greenish hue to it, though at times it took on every
color in the spectrum of light. A blazing bolt of energy lanced out from the
cloud and struck one of the Voxnorks. The globe twisted and writhed in the
energy stream, then shrank to nothing as its essence was warped out of the
Astral Plane. More bolts shot out, picking off the Voxnorks one by one,
until only a few remained, fleeing from the scene.
Willow and Buffy stood within their protective field, amazed and awed at
the cloud that was the source of their salvation. Willow wasn't sure what
had happened, but she was sure that Dawn had just saved her butt somehow.
Not wasting their good fortune, Willow lowered the field and they sprinted
toward the portal. As they ran, a veritable army of teleport flashes
occurred, and a massive force of Voxnorks warped in. Immediately, the Key
cloud fired off blast after blast of energy, mowing down the Voxnorks as
they came. But there were too many. It wouldn't be able to hold them off
forever.
"Run ahead of me, Buffy. You have to go through first," cried Willow.
Buffy ducked a globe that almost dive-bombed her, which was promptly blasted
away by the Key cloud. She leaped into the portal and, in a flash of blue
light, disappeared. Willow, tailed by two globes, managed to jump through a
second later. Instead of crashing into the portal, the globes found nothing.
The portal had closed the instant Willow had crossed it. The remaining
Voxnorks, deprived of their prize, teleported glumly back to their own
hellish dimension.
********
A brilliant flash of light filled the living room, bowling everyone
over. When the flash had receded and the afterimage in their retinas had
faded, the group noticed three new things about the room.
One: Dawn's eyes were open and she was aware of the room again, and of
the cut on her left thumb.
Two: Willow's eyes were open, and she was slowly regaining her bearings.
Three: Buffy's eyes...
Buffy sat up. She had gotten her arms out of the wrappings and was
exploring her face, as if it was new to her. She was breathing rapidly, not
from exertion but from lack of habit. She looked around the room wide-eyed,
as if she had just been delivered into a torture chamber.
The whole group was tense. No one wanted to say anything. No one dared
to suggest anything.
Valmont rose from his seat. He was on his guard, ready to spring if he
had to.
Willow crawled weakly to Buffy's side. She was ready to collapse, but
she had to know.
Dawn was kneeling next to Buffy, her mouth gaping.
Buffy stopped looking around the room and regarded Dawn and Willow. She
was starting to breathe normally now, and the panicked look in her eyes was
fading. "Dawn.... Willow," she said, as if it was a memory.
Willow gently took Buffy's right hand and felt for a pulse at the wrist.
Willow found one, a strong one. Tears were forming in her eyes, and this
time she didn't try to force them back.
"She's alive," Willow said, weakly but happily.
Tears began to run down Buffy's cheek. "Dawn, Willow," she said again as
she started to sob.
"Buffy!" Dawn threw her arms around Buffy and began sobbing as well.
Willow did the same, adding her sobs to the mix. Buffy, as weak as she was,
managed to hug them back without crushing them.
Tara, Xander, and Anya also crawled over and joined in the group hug,
crying tears of relief and tears of joy.
Spike was a little too proud to join in the group hug. But he was
alternatively laughing and crying. "Damn," he managed to say.
Giles wanted to join in, but part of him felt guilty about how he had
threatened to destroy this wonderful moment. Eventually, he wandered over
and added his weight to the group.
The only one not crying was Valmont. He was sitting on his chair in a
state of shock. He had seen enough disasters happen that he had been all but
certain that this time would be no different. And yet, here was the
exception. He was at a loss.
Perhaps it was the moment. Perhaps it was the love or the emotion
filling the room. Perhaps it was some other reason. But for the first time
in many, many years, he smiled. And it didn't kill him to do it.
********
Valmont sat on Giles' front step, staring off into the night that would
soon be turning into day. He wasn't exactly sure why he was still hanging
around the place. He had told himself that he was just doing guard duty, in
case the Slayer's return wasn't as benign as it had seemed. But that was
just an excuse. He didn't want to admit the real reason why he was still
around.
They had moved Buffy and the group over to Giles' home, since Willow's
place was currently too messy for everyone to get comfortable in.
Valmont had traveled back with Giles, since he had pretty much blown first
impressions with everyone else. Not that he was out to make friends or
anything. He was only doing his job, after all.
The front door opened. "What the hell happened tonight, Giles?" he said
to the man coming out the door.
Giles didn't bother to ask how Valmont had known that it was him. He sat
down of the front step besides Valmont and said, "I believe the best term
for it would be... a miracle."
Valmont laughed. "I thought miracles ended back in the 60s."
"Perhaps they're making a comeback."
"Friggen. I haven't seen many miracles, you know. Most of the time, it's
the opposite."
"Same here."
Valmont was silent for a moment. "We almost stopped it, didn't we?"
"I'm not sure if we could have stopped it, Valmont."
"Oh, I could have stopped it, all right. And that makes me feel
really guilty."
"You're not alone there, Valmont."
Valmont sighed. "I remembered what it was like to pull a leap of faith
out of your hat and fly into the night with it. I actually believed in
things, once."
Giles looked at Valmont. "And you don't now?"
"This is what I do. It's what I know. I stopped caring long ago... I got
old. I'm an old dog with a bag of old tricks."
Giles smiled. "Then maybe our job wasn't to stop a miracle, but to learn
from it. A couple of old dogs learning some new tricks."
"They're not new tricks, though. They're just old ones that I've
forgotten." Valmont paused, then said, "I thought you'd be asleep about
now."
Giles shook his head. "Too much to think about. What happened tonight is
unprecedented. A Slayer, Buffy, reborn. The Council is going to go mad. I
suspect that they will want me to come to London and give them a full
report. There's going to be a lot of tough questions...."
"You want me to stay longer, don't you?" said Valmont with a sly look.
"Afraid I'll head for the hills now that your Slayer is back?"
Giles gave him an earnest expression. "That's what you've done in the
past,
correct?"
Valmont frowned. "Yes, that's what I've done in the past. Damn, I hate
being predictable."
"I'm sure the Council will release you from your mission..."
"Hey, they don't release me from anything! I'm self-employed."
"Whatever. Buffy has gone through something that I doubt any of us do,
or will ever, understand. Her life here ended and she will need time to
readjust and pick up the pieces. I don't think she will be ready to resume
her role as Slayer for some time."
"I'm wouldn't be so sure about that. Slayers are stubborn creatures.
When in doubt, they fall back on their Slayer instincts and bounce back
pretty quickly."
"Regardless, if you would remain here, I would greatly appreciate it. I
could compensate..."
"Giles, I've never taken these jobs for the money."
They were silent. Valmont wanted to head back to his cabin, where he
knew he could find some semblance of peace again. But something nagged at
him. His dream about the funeral. He knew now who all the mourners had been.
He had even recognized Spike as the figure in the shade of trees, risking a
fiery death to mourn a Slayer. Was he here to witness a miracle? No, there
had to be more. The miracle might be a first step, but there was more.
Somebody was calling him out of retirement. Which meant only big
and bad things were around the corner. As usual.
"I'll be around, Giles," Valmont said.
Giles smiled. "Tomorrow night, we'll talk more. And perhaps you can let
me in on some of your history. You are still a mystery to all of us, you
know."
"Everyone loves a mystery. I'm not so loveable, though."
Giles was going to say more, but then the sun peeked over the horizon,
spreading orange light across the city. In Sunnydale, sunrise was the safety
point, when all the monsters fled to the dark and people could roam free
again. To Valmont and Giles, it meant a little more this time, much like
little kids who had never seen a sunrise. It was something they had lost
before, and had regained. It was a sense of wonder.
"Look at that," said Giles.
********
Giles went back inside. Valmont had taken off, promising to come around
again in the evening. Giles wanted to get some sleep, but he had to do
something
first.
He was trying to be as quiet as he could, maneuvering through his living
room that had become a makeshift bed chamber. Willow and Tara were asleep on
one couch, Anya and Xander on another. Spike was snoring on Giles' reading
chair. No one had wanted to leave, and after all the spell play that had
gone on over the evening, they had been too worn out to make it home.
Willow had been fast asleep before they had gotten to his house. The
amount of magic she had dished out last night was astonishing. Giles had to
admit to himself that it worried him how someone so young in the magic ways
could perform such feats. But she had forged a miracle with her power and
her courage, and Giles doubted that he could ever be afraid of someone with
that much compassion in her heart.
He went to Dawn's bedroom and softly opened the door. He had to check,
because part of him still felt like it was all some great dream that would
tear him up inside when it ended. He had to check.
Dawn and Buffy were sleeping in the same bed. Dawn was resting her head
on Buffy's stomach. Giles hadn't seen Dawn sleep so peacefully in months.
Buffy was wearing one of his nightshirts, and she had her hand on Dawn's
head.
No, the Universe wasn't fair. But sometimes, it tried to make amends.
"Hey, Giles," came a soft voice.
Buffy. She wasn't asleep. She was looking at him, a weak smile on her
face.
Trying not to make any noise, Giles went over to Buffy's side of the bed
and knelt down. "How are you, Buffy?"
She looked tired and a little sad, but her eyes still showed their same
brilliance. It was Buffy, no doubt. "I feel like I've been asleep forever,"
she said, "and I'm waking from some bad dream. Except I know I wasn't
asleep."
She reached out her hand towards Giles' hand on her bed. He took it. It
was warm. Alive.
"Tell me it's real," she said, trying not to start sobbing again."Tell
me it's over."
"It's real, Buffy," he said, trying not to cry himself. "It's over.
You're home."
********
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