The Aster has Risen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ************************************************************* "Unduneo!" " I call thee!" Willow chanted as Tara undertowed in english. "Vitae! Vitae! Vitae!" "Life Life Life!" Green light flashed around Willow and for a moment unearthly screams echoed into the night. Tara slumped down still in a weakened state from Glory stealing her mind. "Tara, baby are you alright?" Willow asked concern etched into her features. Tara looked up. "I'm fine but did it work? Will we see Dawnie ever again?" Willow looked at the ground,almost shamefully. "I don't know baby....I don't know" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************* Dawn awoke. She shivered. What was happening to her. Then she remembered the demons. They all were after her,chasing her,blaming her.The air was thin and Dawn was starting to choke. She had to get out. Everything was soft like satin. everything but the roof. It was hard......wooden. She clawed at it to no avail. She was screaming now. Finally she managed to claw a hole into the cealing. Only to be greeted by soil,moist darkness. Her arms were sore and bleeding yet she knew she had to escape. Finally she pulled herself from the wreckage of her own grave to hear a familiar voice. "Well,Well,Well, we have a vampire, What shall we do with you?" Dawn's head flew up happy to hear that voice......."Spike?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************* Spike carefully prowled the cemetary. After Dawn's death the Slayer had been in no condition to fight the forces of Darkness. Dawn. It still hurt to think about it. He could have saved her but he had failed. A faint stirring brought two vampires to Spike's attention. Swiftly and silently like the predator he was he struck. The first vampire ended up with the stake through his heart whilst Spike decapitated the other. As Spike cleaned the rapidly drying blood of the vampire from his sword he heard a faint whimpering. He assumed the noise was comming from the vampire's prey. He went to investigate and check for injuries. What assualted his vision though was no victim but a grave............... Dawn's grave. Spike could see the soil moving with the motion of something's hand. He rose his sword ready to strike whatever dared disturb Dawn's final resting place. Finally a figure managed to claw its way out of the damp ground. "Well,well,well" Spike said "We have a vampire, now what shall we do with you?" He postioned his sword ready to kill whatever it was. Suddenly the head jerked up. "Spike??" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
********************************************************************* Spike's sword clattered to the ground. "N-nibblet?" Dawn stated to cry from the pain from various cuts and bruises on her body and from relief. "Spike!" Then she saw his sword and started to quake. "No Spike, please don't send me back! No don't send me to hell! please Spike. No I can't do it again..." Spike was speechless. Hell? Nibblet had been sent to hell? Who had done that? What god was there if his little bit had been sent to lucifer's dungeon? The scent of her blood overtook his scenses and he finally noticed her injuries. None were fatal but he recognised that these wounds had come from her own coffin. It was always emotionally scarring to rise from ones own grave as he himself knew. "Its okay Nibblet. I won't hurt you, your safe with me, come sweetbit I'll take you home" Dawn started to rock on the spot, dirty and cold. "The demons whispered of the Slayer, and how she herself had sent them there. They looked at me as if the would eat me if they could. They wanted to hurt anyone the Slayer loved, who better than her sister? They told me I belonged there......in hell. That the key was made for evil by evil. I didn't believe them and they hurt me for it. It hurts!!!!" She wept and Spike held her close. His anger was rising to a level of no control. Questions with no answers spun around in his mind. How was Nibblet alive? Why did she go to hell? Who could he kill for her revenge? Dawn hugged Spike closer. "I love you" she whispered innocently. Spike was shocked. Then he realised it was probably her delirium. "Me too pet, Come now lets get you dry, don't want you to get sick and die again" The mention of Dawn dying again shook him. None the less he shrugged it off and headed of towards the Summer's home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************* Dawn snuggled deeper into Spike's embrace.She felt safe here. As if she wasn't just a freak. "Spike, I don't know.....I'm not sure I wanna see Buffy yet. I can't, she'll get mad at you. Maybe I can get cleaned up first?" Spike nodded out of a small sense of self preservation and to comply with Dawn's wishes. After battling 4 vampires before entering the crypt, Spike lay Dawn on his comfortable chair. "I hope you appreciate this bit, thats my only good chair." Dawn tiredly looked up at him. "Sorry" she grumbled. Spike frowned. "I'm just playing with ya Nibblet, I'm glad your back to be bloody honest. The Slayer's gone la de da and there's been no normal brat pack to look after the bloody 'dale.Its all been up to me and some of those big nasties pack a hell of a punch." He rubbed his neck to enphisize his point. Dawn looked at him sympathy in her eyes. "I'm sorry to be so much trouble" she said and the sympathy was overtaken by sadness. Tears were evident in her topaz blue eyes. "I just couldn't let her die! It was my job to close the gates, not her's. She's the Slayer she slays. I'm the key. I open hell and close it." She started sobbing uncontrollablly. Spike shifted uncomfortably. "Nibblet. Its okay. I mean Red's been helping Buffy through it and Wonder-boy started being nice to me, even The great Ponce came and stayed with Buffy. He even helped a bit,No need to cry" Spike finally stroked Dawn's hair to find she was already asleep.He gently kissed her forehead."Sleep bit." He was just glad she was alive. The End.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ************************************************************* "Unduneo!" " I call thee!" Willow chanted as Tara undertowed in english. "Vitae! Vitae! Vitae!" "Life Life Life!" Green light flashed around Willow and for a moment unearthly screams echoed into the night. Tara slumped down still in a weakened state from Glory stealing her mind. "Tara, baby are you alright?" Willow asked concern etched into her features. Tara looked up. "I'm fine but did it work? Will we see Dawnie ever again?" Willow looked at the ground,almost shamefully. "I don't know baby....I don't know" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************* Dawn awoke. She shivered. What was happening to her. Then she remembered the demons. They all were after her,chasing her,blaming her.The air was thin and Dawn was starting to choke. She had to get out. Everything was soft like satin. everything but the roof. It was hard......wooden. She clawed at it to no avail. She was screaming now. Finally she managed to claw a hole into the cealing. Only to be greeted by soil,moist darkness. Her arms were sore and bleeding yet she knew she had to escape. Finally she pulled herself from the wreckage of her own grave to hear a familiar voice. "Well,Well,Well, we have a vampire, What shall we do with you?" Dawn's head flew up happy to hear that voice......."Spike?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************* Spike carefully prowled the cemetary. After Dawn's death the Slayer had been in no condition to fight the forces of Darkness. Dawn. It still hurt to think about it. He could have saved her but he had failed. A faint stirring brought two vampires to Spike's attention. Swiftly and silently like the predator he was he struck. The first vampire ended up with the stake through his heart whilst Spike decapitated the other. As Spike cleaned the rapidly drying blood of the vampire from his sword he heard a faint whimpering. He assumed the noise was comming from the vampire's prey. He went to investigate and check for injuries. What assualted his vision though was no victim but a grave............... Dawn's grave. Spike could see the soil moving with the motion of something's hand. He rose his sword ready to strike whatever dared disturb Dawn's final resting place. Finally a figure managed to claw its way out of the damp ground. "Well,well,well" Spike said "We have a vampire, now what shall we do with you?" He postioned his sword ready to kill whatever it was. Suddenly the head jerked up. "Spike??" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
********************************************************************* Spike's sword clattered to the ground. "N-nibblet?" Dawn stated to cry from the pain from various cuts and bruises on her body and from relief. "Spike!" Then she saw his sword and started to quake. "No Spike, please don't send me back! No don't send me to hell! please Spike. No I can't do it again..." Spike was speechless. Hell? Nibblet had been sent to hell? Who had done that? What god was there if his little bit had been sent to lucifer's dungeon? The scent of her blood overtook his scenses and he finally noticed her injuries. None were fatal but he recognised that these wounds had come from her own coffin. It was always emotionally scarring to rise from ones own grave as he himself knew. "Its okay Nibblet. I won't hurt you, your safe with me, come sweetbit I'll take you home" Dawn started to rock on the spot, dirty and cold. "The demons whispered of the Slayer, and how she herself had sent them there. They looked at me as if the would eat me if they could. They wanted to hurt anyone the Slayer loved, who better than her sister? They told me I belonged there......in hell. That the key was made for evil by evil. I didn't believe them and they hurt me for it. It hurts!!!!" She wept and Spike held her close. His anger was rising to a level of no control. Questions with no answers spun around in his mind. How was Nibblet alive? Why did she go to hell? Who could he kill for her revenge? Dawn hugged Spike closer. "I love you" she whispered innocently. Spike was shocked. Then he realised it was probably her delirium. "Me too pet, Come now lets get you dry, don't want you to get sick and die again" The mention of Dawn dying again shook him. None the less he shrugged it off and headed of towards the Summer's home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************* Dawn snuggled deeper into Spike's embrace.She felt safe here. As if she wasn't just a freak. "Spike, I don't know.....I'm not sure I wanna see Buffy yet. I can't, she'll get mad at you. Maybe I can get cleaned up first?" Spike nodded out of a small sense of self preservation and to comply with Dawn's wishes. After battling 4 vampires before entering the crypt, Spike lay Dawn on his comfortable chair. "I hope you appreciate this bit, thats my only good chair." Dawn tiredly looked up at him. "Sorry" she grumbled. Spike frowned. "I'm just playing with ya Nibblet, I'm glad your back to be bloody honest. The Slayer's gone la de da and there's been no normal brat pack to look after the bloody 'dale.Its all been up to me and some of those big nasties pack a hell of a punch." He rubbed his neck to enphisize his point. Dawn looked at him sympathy in her eyes. "I'm sorry to be so much trouble" she said and the sympathy was overtaken by sadness. Tears were evident in her topaz blue eyes. "I just couldn't let her die! It was my job to close the gates, not her's. She's the Slayer she slays. I'm the key. I open hell and close it." She started sobbing uncontrollablly. Spike shifted uncomfortably. "Nibblet. Its okay. I mean Red's been helping Buffy through it and Wonder-boy started being nice to me, even The great Ponce came and stayed with Buffy. He even helped a bit,No need to cry" Spike finally stroked Dawn's hair to find she was already asleep.He gently kissed her forehead."Sleep bit." He was just glad she was alive. The End.
