Doesn't Anyone Stay Dead Around Here?
Chapter 8
Buffy heard the phone ringing through the haze of sleep. She decided to ignore it and pulled a pillow over her head. A minute later, Willow knocked on her door and stuck her head into the room.
"Buffy?"
"Hrmmph." Buffy's grunt of acknowledgement was muffled as she kept her head under the pillow.
"Buffy, it's Giles."
Buffy sighed, and pulled the pillow off her head and stuck her hand out for the phone.
Willow gave her the phone and tiptoed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. It was six o'clock in the morning and Willow had heard Buffy come in three short hours before. Willow knew from experience that a sleep-deprived slayer equaled a cranky slayer.
Buffy put the phone to her ear and quietly asked, "Giles?"
"I'm sorry to ring you so early, Buffy," he said, "but I have some rather unsettling news."
"The Master needs not only Dawn's blood, but Willow and Xander's too to open a portal and suck the world into hell and the only way to stop it is to kill everyone I've ever know, with exceptionally slow and painful deaths for anyone who's ever been my lover?"
"I see Willow was correct that you are in need of more sleep."
"I'm sorry, Giles," Buffy apologized. "I am tired, but that's not an excuse."
"No, it's not," Giles agreed. "I did wait until this morning to ring, but I fear waiting longer. You may sleep after you save the world."
"Ah, Giles, I'll bet you say that to all the Slayers. So, what's the news?"
"I have completed my translations, and it seems that the Master's ascension, as it were, is scheduled for tonight."
Buffy sat up, suddenly wide-awake. "Two questions. One, you don't mean ascension as in giant snake ascension, right?"
"No, no giant snakes."
"Good. Two, tonight?"
"Yes."
"Not that I doubt you, Giles, but I thought prophecies were of the vague about exact dates?"
"Generally, yes, they are," Giles replied. "However, one of the versions of this prophecy contains some obscure astronomical references. Based on my research, I have determined that they point to tonight as the date for the Master to rise."
"Well, if that's the case," Buffy said, rising from the bed, "I guess we start preparing early today. I'll get everyone at the Magic Box and we'll give you a call. Xander will have to work, but I think Willow only has one class today."
"Right, then. It's too late for me to fly over in time, so I'll continue researching here and see what else I can find."
"Talk to you later, Giles. Thanks for the info." Buffy hung up the phone and threw one last longing glance at the comfort of her bed before turning to face the day.
***
"Dawn."
Dawn looked up from her math notebook when her teacher spoke. The woman held out a pink slip of paper, a pass to be excused from class. Dawn sighed and took it from her. *If this is for the Counseling office…* Dawn thought, idly entertaining thoughts of the vengeance she would like to inflict on that demon friend of Anya's who had trapped everyone in the house on Buffy's birthday. She looked at the slip. Nope, no counseling today; the slip summoned her to the Attendance office.
Dawn gathered her books and vainly tried to remember what she had done recently that could get her in trouble with the Attendance office. She had been pretty responsible about attending class and completing her homework since the heart to heart she and Buffy had after that horrible party. While it had only been a few days, Dawn was sure that all her previous transgressions had already been caught.
She walked into the Attendance office and tried her best to look innocent, even though she was no stranger there.
"Hello, Dawn," the secretary said, looking up from her desk. She held out a clipboard and said, "Sign here."
"Why?" Dawn asked.
"Your father's here, honey. He already signed you out, but I need your signature, too."
"Dad's here? Really? Where?" Dawn looked around excitedly.
"He said it was a family emergency. He's going to pull the car around front and asked to have you go on out when you got here." The woman smiled sympathetically. "I hope everything's okay."
Dawn turned and left the office hurriedly. An emergency? She fervently hoped it wasn't Buffy. *It probably isn't,* Dawn rationalized. As often as Buffy had been hurt – heck, even killed – in the past, and as likely as Dawn knew it was that someday she would be greeted with news of her sister's third death, she also knew it wasn't likely to occur in the middle of the day. Not to mention that her father would be the last person to know if something had happened to Buffy.
So what then was this emergency? *He probably married his bloody trull of a secretary* Dawn decided, smiling when she realized she had incorporated some of Spike's vocabulary into her own. *Probably better not let Buffy hear me say that, though!*
She saw a small, red sports car parked at the curb in front of the school. As she approached, she recognized Hank Summers sitting in the driver's seat.
"Dad!" she exclaimed, surprised to see the man who had been conspicuously absent from her and Buffy's lives for the past few years.
"Hi, honey!" He smiled at her. "Get in."
As Dawn buckled herself in, she asked, "What's going on? The secretary said it was an emergency."
Hank laughed. "I just wanted to see you while I was in town. I only told them that so they'd let you out."
Dawn was delighted to have her father all to herself, but she rolled her eyes at his lie. *His lies of convenience and Buffy's Slayer-related lying as role models, and they wonder where I get it!*
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"I have a surprise to show you, honey," he answered. "How's school going?"
Dawn rattled on about her classes and the most recent gossip about her classmates as Hank drove. Shortly, he pulled up in front of a house near the blackened remains that had once been Sunnydale High and stopped the car.
"Why are we here?" Dawn interrupted her report to ask.
"I told you, it's a surprise." He answered, coming around the car to open Dawn's door.
"Okay."
Dawn nearly skipped up the walk to the house, Hank following her closely. When she reached the front door she paused and looked back at the man accompanying her. He smiled and gestured for her to go on in.
Dawn opened the door and stepped across the threshold, peering into the darkened interior. As she waited for her eyes to adjust, Hank followed her in and closed the door. Dawn saw a familiar figure across the room, sitting in a chair. She stepped closer.
"Spike?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.
The figure struggled to overcome the drugs still pumping though his system and raised his head. His eyes widened when he saw her.
"Nibblet!" he whispered hoarsely, "get out!"
Suddenly Dawn was grabbed from behind and a foul smelling cloth shoved in front of her face. She struggled to escape Hank's grasp, but he was too strong. The chloroform overwhelmed her and she passed out. Hank lowered her onto the couch and quickly bound her hand and foot. He then pulled at a chain around his neck, breaking it and removing a small leather pouch from inside his shirt. Once the chain broke, his appearance wavered and then changed, revealing his true self.
tbc
Chapter 8
Buffy heard the phone ringing through the haze of sleep. She decided to ignore it and pulled a pillow over her head. A minute later, Willow knocked on her door and stuck her head into the room.
"Buffy?"
"Hrmmph." Buffy's grunt of acknowledgement was muffled as she kept her head under the pillow.
"Buffy, it's Giles."
Buffy sighed, and pulled the pillow off her head and stuck her hand out for the phone.
Willow gave her the phone and tiptoed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. It was six o'clock in the morning and Willow had heard Buffy come in three short hours before. Willow knew from experience that a sleep-deprived slayer equaled a cranky slayer.
Buffy put the phone to her ear and quietly asked, "Giles?"
"I'm sorry to ring you so early, Buffy," he said, "but I have some rather unsettling news."
"The Master needs not only Dawn's blood, but Willow and Xander's too to open a portal and suck the world into hell and the only way to stop it is to kill everyone I've ever know, with exceptionally slow and painful deaths for anyone who's ever been my lover?"
"I see Willow was correct that you are in need of more sleep."
"I'm sorry, Giles," Buffy apologized. "I am tired, but that's not an excuse."
"No, it's not," Giles agreed. "I did wait until this morning to ring, but I fear waiting longer. You may sleep after you save the world."
"Ah, Giles, I'll bet you say that to all the Slayers. So, what's the news?"
"I have completed my translations, and it seems that the Master's ascension, as it were, is scheduled for tonight."
Buffy sat up, suddenly wide-awake. "Two questions. One, you don't mean ascension as in giant snake ascension, right?"
"No, no giant snakes."
"Good. Two, tonight?"
"Yes."
"Not that I doubt you, Giles, but I thought prophecies were of the vague about exact dates?"
"Generally, yes, they are," Giles replied. "However, one of the versions of this prophecy contains some obscure astronomical references. Based on my research, I have determined that they point to tonight as the date for the Master to rise."
"Well, if that's the case," Buffy said, rising from the bed, "I guess we start preparing early today. I'll get everyone at the Magic Box and we'll give you a call. Xander will have to work, but I think Willow only has one class today."
"Right, then. It's too late for me to fly over in time, so I'll continue researching here and see what else I can find."
"Talk to you later, Giles. Thanks for the info." Buffy hung up the phone and threw one last longing glance at the comfort of her bed before turning to face the day.
***
"Dawn."
Dawn looked up from her math notebook when her teacher spoke. The woman held out a pink slip of paper, a pass to be excused from class. Dawn sighed and took it from her. *If this is for the Counseling office…* Dawn thought, idly entertaining thoughts of the vengeance she would like to inflict on that demon friend of Anya's who had trapped everyone in the house on Buffy's birthday. She looked at the slip. Nope, no counseling today; the slip summoned her to the Attendance office.
Dawn gathered her books and vainly tried to remember what she had done recently that could get her in trouble with the Attendance office. She had been pretty responsible about attending class and completing her homework since the heart to heart she and Buffy had after that horrible party. While it had only been a few days, Dawn was sure that all her previous transgressions had already been caught.
She walked into the Attendance office and tried her best to look innocent, even though she was no stranger there.
"Hello, Dawn," the secretary said, looking up from her desk. She held out a clipboard and said, "Sign here."
"Why?" Dawn asked.
"Your father's here, honey. He already signed you out, but I need your signature, too."
"Dad's here? Really? Where?" Dawn looked around excitedly.
"He said it was a family emergency. He's going to pull the car around front and asked to have you go on out when you got here." The woman smiled sympathetically. "I hope everything's okay."
Dawn turned and left the office hurriedly. An emergency? She fervently hoped it wasn't Buffy. *It probably isn't,* Dawn rationalized. As often as Buffy had been hurt – heck, even killed – in the past, and as likely as Dawn knew it was that someday she would be greeted with news of her sister's third death, she also knew it wasn't likely to occur in the middle of the day. Not to mention that her father would be the last person to know if something had happened to Buffy.
So what then was this emergency? *He probably married his bloody trull of a secretary* Dawn decided, smiling when she realized she had incorporated some of Spike's vocabulary into her own. *Probably better not let Buffy hear me say that, though!*
She saw a small, red sports car parked at the curb in front of the school. As she approached, she recognized Hank Summers sitting in the driver's seat.
"Dad!" she exclaimed, surprised to see the man who had been conspicuously absent from her and Buffy's lives for the past few years.
"Hi, honey!" He smiled at her. "Get in."
As Dawn buckled herself in, she asked, "What's going on? The secretary said it was an emergency."
Hank laughed. "I just wanted to see you while I was in town. I only told them that so they'd let you out."
Dawn was delighted to have her father all to herself, but she rolled her eyes at his lie. *His lies of convenience and Buffy's Slayer-related lying as role models, and they wonder where I get it!*
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"I have a surprise to show you, honey," he answered. "How's school going?"
Dawn rattled on about her classes and the most recent gossip about her classmates as Hank drove. Shortly, he pulled up in front of a house near the blackened remains that had once been Sunnydale High and stopped the car.
"Why are we here?" Dawn interrupted her report to ask.
"I told you, it's a surprise." He answered, coming around the car to open Dawn's door.
"Okay."
Dawn nearly skipped up the walk to the house, Hank following her closely. When she reached the front door she paused and looked back at the man accompanying her. He smiled and gestured for her to go on in.
Dawn opened the door and stepped across the threshold, peering into the darkened interior. As she waited for her eyes to adjust, Hank followed her in and closed the door. Dawn saw a familiar figure across the room, sitting in a chair. She stepped closer.
"Spike?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.
The figure struggled to overcome the drugs still pumping though his system and raised his head. His eyes widened when he saw her.
"Nibblet!" he whispered hoarsely, "get out!"
Suddenly Dawn was grabbed from behind and a foul smelling cloth shoved in front of her face. She struggled to escape Hank's grasp, but he was too strong. The chloroform overwhelmed her and she passed out. Hank lowered her onto the couch and quickly bound her hand and foot. He then pulled at a chain around his neck, breaking it and removing a small leather pouch from inside his shirt. Once the chain broke, his appearance wavered and then changed, revealing his true self.
tbc