The Future is NOW:
Dawn remembered screaming until she couldn't scream anymore. And she sobbed non-stop during the trip out. All emotion drained from her battered body.
Dawn remembered the huge shadow creature come, and flew all of them out of the cave.
Dawn remembered landing on a clearing surrounded by freed shadows, thanking the Slayer for freeing their realm. And telling them that in order to return, they might need the key's blood to return back to their world now that the shadow master with them had perished. But, the shadow matron said, is not all that the key can do. If and when Dawn's powers would reveal themselves to her – she would indeed become a force to be reckoned with.
Dawn remembered Tara wipe the blood from her wounds and say the spell that brought them back home, saying that that was the last thing Larry told the blond witch. Tara said the shadowguard must have somehow known what Chad was up to.
But Dawn couldn't remember much of what happened in the days that followed. Her grief over what happened swallowed her whole.
Until tonight, that is. She and her sister had their first REAL conversation since Buffy came back from the dead.
Dawn knew everything now. She must have blocked that part from memory and denied it until she was able to face it. Chad was gone – and yet again, like the death of her sister – it was because of her. How can someone do something so selfless for someone he barely even knew? She asked her sister, and even Buffy didn't know the answer. They talked just about everything they had in them; Spike, Willow's obsession with dark magic, Xander and Anya, Tara, about heaven, love, life, the nerdy trio, and mostly about each other's hopes and dreams. They shed some tears, laughed, and became sisters again.
And the stars shone above them.
There was light everywhere. Chad was surrounded by light. And in this place of light, he saw a figure approach him.
"Greetings." The glowing figure said. "I'm sorry for the dramatics, but I hope your travel here was safe."
"Where am I?" Chad asked.
"Somewhere in between reality, you could say." The figure looked him over, satisfied that he came out of it almost completely unscathed. "I've been keeping an eye on you, and decided now was not the time for you to die yet."
"Who are you?"
"A friend." The glowing figure replied, amusement showing in its voice.
"Am I dead?" Chad asked.
He placed his palm on Chad's chest and said; "No. You still have a full life ahead of you, as a human. Please don't waste it. If you're lucky, I'll come visit you sometime in the future." And then pushed him backwards.
Chad felt like he was falling as the light engulfed him; taking away what little consciousness he had as he struggled to ask one final question that bothered him more than the being's crack about his human life.
"What are you?"
"…….Cosmic………" Was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.
Meanwhile, a dark patch opened up a few miles beyond the Initiative caves in Sunnydale, unceremoniously dumping a body unto the ground. The figure lay there, unmoving.
Chad woke up close to dawn's early light, looking around wildly for any sign of enemies - a sense of paranoia seeping into his barely conscious mind.
"Relax, boss." Moe said, appearing beside him. "We made it out in time. Though I never thought that old windbag would lend a hand when you called him up at Vash-shar."
"What? Who? Where? What the hell was that that I summoned?!"
"That, my esteemed leader, was a Shadow Dragon." Larry explained, thinking of the huge shadow that delivered them to the Shadow Castle as the rest of his stooges nodded at their boss in confirmation and disbelief. "They are extremely quite rare, and only one of them is that large. What saved our ass was the King's own Shadow Dragon."
"But I thought there wasn't a Shadow King around anymore for over a thousand centuries?" Chad asked, rather astounded by the events he remembered.
"Maybe." Curly spoke, a smug grin on his face.
"Don't tell me I'm the Shadow King." Chad said.
"We won't." Moe answered, smiling with the rest of his shadowguards.
"Whatever you say, boss." Larry, Curly, and Shemp added.
"I AM NOT THE SHADOW KING!" he yelled, glaring at them. "I CAN'T BE!"
"You're the boss." Their smile stayed.
"Liars!" the young man said, "ARGH! I give up!"
"What matters is that we're alive." Shemp said as he helped Chad up. Taking in their boss's bedraggled appearance, it looked as if a cartoon bomb blew up on him and covered him in black soot. He almost looked like a dark shadow himself!
"The problem now is," Shemp continued. "The Slayer and her pals think you're dead."
"Dawn!" Chad's mind suddenly focused, worried about the girl. Turning to Moe, he asked; "How? Did she make it out all right? Do you know they're all right?"
"Yeah," Moe answered. "Spike's shadow sent me his all clear before we were blown sky high."
"So who the hell was that other guy?" Chad asked.
"What 'other' guy?" Moe asked, wondering what was up.
"I was in a place where it was all lights and stuff. Sure you guys had to have been with me! You're my shadows for crying out loud!"
"Boss," Shemp said, "The last thing we remember was that the islet blew up with us on it, and then we found us waking up here. Whatever happened to you in between, we don't know."
"He said he was a friend." Chad murmured.
"And whoever he is probably is." Curly answered.
Chad thought long about it and shook his head. For every new thing that happened to him, it only brings out more questions than answers.
"What now?" Curly asked.
"We get out of Dodge for a while. Maybe follow that yonder star straight on till next morning." Chad said, making a snap decision. "If they all believe I'm dead, I guess that works for me for now."
"What about Dawn?" Larry spoke, never one to leave things unfinished. "We know you have feelings for her."
"Then when the time comes, I'll return." The young shadow master replied. He turned around and headed in the direction of his hotel, fighting the overwhelming feeling of sadness. "C'mon stooges, I gotta get cleaned and then we head out. And if I have the guts, maybe I'll drop by her place."
The Emperor Shadows groaned as they're reminded of their new names, the stood and followed their master.
"At least I hope none of them back home ever heard our new names." Shemp mumbled.
"You think?!" Curly asked, all innocence.
"Oh Gods!"
After saying goodnight to her sister and going to her own room, Dawn couldn't sleep. It felt too much like the night Chad first slept in the house. She turned her stereo CD player on and placed a disc in. Of all the CD's her mom cherished, this was the one she liked best. Soft piano music played into the night as the song she chose came on.
Take my hand
We'll walk a while,
We'll talk a while
Feel my love,
Always there beside you
Be the one
I know you'll tell me everything
You are the one
I cherish more than anything
She didn't know what to call the feelings she felt these past few days being with the young man whom only knew by his first name. Chad may have been just a stranger, but he was an old soul deep down, one she knew was just like hers - in so many ways like hers. And the way she felt so secure when he held her when she fell – as if the world could fade away for all she cared, she felt safe – and maybe even loved.
I love you more than you'll ever know
I love you more than you'll ever see
More than my heart could ever show
I love you more than you'll ever know
Had she fallen for him that fast? Was it really "love"? - She doesn't know. But what she did know was that somehow; it made her feel complete as a human. "I wish Chad was here," she thought. "Maybe then I could find out exactly why I feel this way."
Think of me
And know that I'll believe in you
There'll always be
This precious time together
With every tear
A love so strong
No words could ever say
A love to last forever
She thought back to the night they first met, how he saved her life. Dawn realized he was like Buffy, something of a hero. And the conversations they shared – he was also like Spike, he didn't treat her like a child.
I love you more than you'll ever know
I love you more than you'll ever see
More than my heart could ever show
I love you more than you'll ever know
She remembered the early morning moments she spent with him, waking him up from a nightmare. She blushed as she realized that they must've both dozed off for a few minutes after that - just holding each other in a close, comfortable embrace.
Take my hand
We'll walk a while,
We'll talk a while
Feel my love,
Always there beside you
Be the one
I know you'll tell me everything
You are the one
I cherish more than anything
Tears flowed once more as she closed her eyes, remembering his first and last kiss. She moaned into her pillow, the pain of loss starting again. She was told that she could have brought a piece of her powers to the fore if she had only knew how, but she didn't know how and so she wasn't able to save him in time! Instead he saved her, and everyone else there with them. She remembered what Spike said – something she didn't fully understand until now – "Love makes you do funny things," the blond vampire said, after Buffy's funeral. "It makes you do things you never thought possible. Even before you know its love – you'd still do it. 'Coz in the end, it seems right.""
Something caught her eye near her windowsill. She frowned, why would there be a flower in her room? – Let alone a rose half-hidden in shadow.
Intrigued, she stood to get a closer look at it and gasped – she couldn't see the rose, but there was definitely a shadow of one there. Reaching out in wonder, she felt that the shadow had a semblance of being real and tangible. It was a shadow rose. There was no one outside, but she knew. She didn't question it, she just knew. And in the past few days in which she shed her tears, a smile shone through.
I love you more than you'll ever know
I love you more than you'll ever see
More than my heart could ever show
I love you more than you'll ever know
In the other room, Buffy listened in to the song her sister played. She thought of Spike, she thought of her fears, she thought of her denials, she thought of her loneliness, she thought of her friends and family, she thought of Dawn, and she thought of herself.
Maybe someday, she won't have to be afraid and alone anymore.
Chad passed by the town church on the way out of town and went inside, muttering a prayer to keep his newfound friends safe till his return. He could've rapped on the window and talked to her, but he chickened out at the last minute – leaving something for her to remember him by instead. He'd return, he swore to himself. When he was ready, even if he didn't find out exactly who he was, he'd still come back. His being some sort of Shadow King was too preposterous. He chuckled at the irony of it all; he never wanted to get involved – but he did anyways, and in doing so – he found a place where he knew he would fit right in. Maybe someday, after he'd stop running – he'd come back to Dawn and to Sunnydale to stay. Besides, that creep Sardo was still out there.
He lit a candle on the way out.
TBC