Title: Hurricane, Chapter 7: Eye of the Hurricane Author: Sandy S. E-mail: ssoennin@juno.com Rating: R Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Joss and UPN. Spoilers: Set a few years after season 6 Dedication: For Thia...who is a new and dear friend and whose creativity inspires me! :o) Summary: Dawn, a lot of blood, a disappearance, a search. Buffy's worst nightmare comes true. Buffy's POV. Buffy, Angel, Dawn, Xander, Anya, and Willow are flying to Alaska to rescue Spike. Okay, this is an explanatory chapter....

Eye of the Hurricane

"No season now for calm familiar talk."

-Alexander Pope, from The Iliad of Homer



Dawn, Willow, Angel, Anya, and I remained quiet with exhaustion on the way from Texas to California. We'd stopped in Los Angeles to pick up Xander in Garrek's private jet, which was housed at the tiny southeast Texas airport. Surprisingly, Garrek had a human pilot on the payroll. Angel had threatened him with death unless he took us to Alaska. Somehow, I believed that the pilot was supposed to take us there anyway.

The jet was large with a few separate rooms furnished with sleeping accommodations. No traces of magick or technological espionage were found. Willow was the first to race to a room for sleep, and despite my slayer strength and my curiosity about what Angel knew about Garrek, I wasn't complaining. We all needed to rest before we could even discuss the events that had been occurring, much less rescue Spike.

Dawn and I were paired together in one room, Xander and Anya in another, and Willow was already fast asleep in a third. Angel remained awake in the main seating area, and Dawn had yet to join me because she was completing her before bedtime ritual. Lying back against the soft mattress and thick pillow, I relished the cool dryness of the air conditioner and the sweet clean scent of the bed linens after the damp humidity of the southern states. Of course, I'd probably be sick of the cold by the time we departed Alaska. Determined to not think about anything important, I shut my eyes, curling into the fetal position on my side. My back remained tender from the two fairly adjacent fights.

An untold number of minutes later, Dawn entered the room and sank heavily beneath the sheets next to me. I sensed her positioning her body facing me. I didn't say a word but wasn't shocked when Dawn whispered to me.

"Buffy?"

"Ummm."

"Are you awake?"

I slitted my eyes at her. "Yea."

Watching me in the dim light of the nightlight, Dawn stated, "I need to talk with you about something."

"Sure. By the way, how's your ankle?"

"Much better but still a little sore. I guess I didn't sprain it after all. It just sorta felt like it. Anya made me an ice pack to use later after we get some sleep."

"Umm. Makes sense." I opened my eyes wider and tucked my left hand under my cheek. "What'd you want to talk with me about?"

"Daniel."

Ah, I was wondering if she'd come to me about Daniel being a vampire, planning her kidnap, and being dusted. I'd let her tell me, though, and wouldn't put words in her mouth. "What about him?"

"It finally hit me that he's gone. While I was brushing my teeth. I guess, I didn't fully realize what happened until I had a moment to myself."

Funny how revelations like that come at the oddest moments. "Yea?"

Her voice took on a somber tone. "Well, I know he was a vampire and all...meaning he was evil...and he did things for his own selfish gain. But, he was my friend, too. I mean, even though he hurt me really badly in our friendship, I still cared about him."

"Just because he changed and started doing horrible things doesn't mean you can turn off your feelings or ignore the relationship you had in the past with him," I reminded her and myself. A memory of the feelings I retained for Angel after he lost his soul and began stalking me and hurting my friends flashed through my mind. "And it doesn't make it any easier to see him die in front of you."

"I guess." She paused. "It was pretty horrible, huh? Kidnapping me to gain respect from Garrek. Making it look like Spike did something terrible to me."

"But, you know, Daniel will never do that to anyone again."

Dawn didn't respond for a few minutes. Then, she asked, "Buffy, why are people always coming up with sick ways to kidnap me or hurt me? I mean, first Wright and now Daniel. Is there something wrong with me?"

My reaction was swift. "No, no, Dawnie. Nothing's wrong with you. Something really traumatic happened to each of them and influenced their behavior. I mean, Wright's parents were turned by vampires, and he had to kill them himself. He sorta went looney. And Daniel's sister was always sick, which put a lot of pressure on him. Then, he got turned, which wasn't his fault. Actually, neither of them were at fault for their situation. But, the bottom line is that each of them chose to react the way they did in the circumstances, and you just happened to be standing in their path." Our conversation echoed traces of the recent conversation I'd had with Willow during our trip to New Orleans.

We smiled at each other in the darkness.

Forcing her voice to sound brighter, Dawn noted, "I'm never talking to another boy again."

I snorted lightly. "Uh, huh. We'll see how long that one lasts after we get back home, and the phone starts ringing."

She giggled and then, sobered, "I'm really worried about Spike."

Tears filled my eyes as my stomach dropped in renewed anxiety. "Me, too."

"What do you think whoever it is wants from him? With us?"

"I don't know, Dawnie. I sure hope Angel has a clue."

Protectively, my sister patted my shoulder. "Angel will know. And we'll rescue Spike, and it'll all be okay."

"Yea." I tried not to be too defeated.

"Don't worry, I'll bet he's okay...no matter what they're doing to him. He knows we love him and are coming for him. It'll get him through whatever they toss at him."

"I hope so," I murmured, tucking a strand of Dawn's long straight hair behind her ear.

"I know so."

Silence fell, and my eyelids filled with lead until I couldn't keep them open any longer. On the edge of my dreams, I heard Dawn's voice again as if from the end of a tunnel.

"You know what Daniel told me before Garrek staked him?"

My answer was a tad slow. "Mmm. What?"

Almost inaudibly, she said, "He told me that the human inside of him loved me and cherished our friendship in the past. He said he was sorry for hurting me."

Taken aback, I didn't know quite what to say.

Dawn didn't wait. "Do you think that could be possible? That he could have a human piece inside that felt remorse?"

Scanning over my jumbled thoughts and personal theories about Spike, Angel, and other vampires, I came to a moderately firm conclusion. "I don't honestly know. And, I don't know if I'll ever know the answer to that one."

"I never got to talk with him about the whole Amalia thing. We never fixed things between us." She hesitated. "I-I lost a friend." Tears spread thin salty tracks over her skin, probably burning the wound on her eye and cheek.

Letting her pour out her grief, I ran my hand over her soft hair. "Yea, Dawnie, that you did."

* * *

Dawn and I were the last to arrive at the meeting in the main seating area. The chairs were arranged in a circle, and Willow sat with her legs and feet underneath her, her short hair pulled into a ponytail, and a mug of steaming coffee cupped in her hands. His hair slightly mussed as if he'd been running his fingers through the brown locks nervously, Angel leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of him. He peered up at me as I followed Dawn into the room, silently telegraphing me the remnant of the connection that would always remain between us. Xander lounged back in his chair, studying his breakfast burrito intently before taking each bite. Despite his collected demeanor, I could see the tightness in his jaw. Anya leaned against his shoulder, picking at her own burrito.

Dawn grabbed a large burrito and two cups of orange juice off the serving cart and plopped down next to Anya, graciously leaving me the seat next to Willow. She tore the burrito in half and handed me a portion along with a cup of juice, which I took gratefully. After a few seconds, I found everyone watching me expectantly.

"So," I began, "I thought we'd start with what Angel knows and then branch off to tell what we've each learned about the situation. Hopefully, it'll all be less confusing that way."

Angel cleared his throat.

Xander sighed and sat up. "Time for Angel's melodramatic storytelling time," he muttered, half out of the habit of picking on Angel and half trying to be silly and falling flat. Angel glared at him, but Anya was curious. "Is that bad?"

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, Xander grumbled, "No." After a moment, he added, "I wish Spike was here. He'd understand."

Dawn and I exchanged knowing looks. Spike would understand all right. He and Xander would be egging each other on, especially with Angel present, and nothing would ever get done.

Wisely, everyone ignored Xander's last comment, and Angel began, "Years before Spike or Dru ever came on the scene, Darla and I were part of the Master's court."

I shuddered slightly at the mention of the Master, the ancient vampire who had briefly killed me during the first year I lived in Sunnydale. Willow must have noticed because she patted my arm.

"During that time, I sired my first vampire...Garrek. He was an American senator visiting England, and his name was different then. He was independently wealthy, and he was attractive as a first childe because he was hungry for power and money. I observed him for a time before approaching him on the last day of his trip. He had an entourage with him but lacked the finesse to control them well. I didn't want to sire a childe who would take over my position in the Master and Darla's eyes and figured I could control him."

Angel took a deep, unnecessary breath, and no one interrupted him. "I'll never forget the night I sired him. He had gone to dinner with a couple of members of Parliament and was returning to his hotel with his bodyguards. I waited for him in the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, and the guards ducked in to check out the elevator, I knocked one man out and snapped the other's neck. I didn't give Garrek a choice. I just drank from his trembling body. His blood was infiltrated with alcohol, which gave me an extra giddy feeling."

I had a hard time picturing Angel giddy.

"I sired him by the time we reached his floor. After drinking of one of his guards, I dragged the senator unconscious to his hotel room. Darla waited for me in the tiny living room. His entourage huddled terrified in the corner of the bedroom suite. When he woke up hours later, he was starving. We fed him the members of his office, including his mistress. When he had his fill, Darla and I ate. There was one child, a ten-year-old boy, among his group, whom we saved for last. Darla wanted the boy, but when she pulled him close, Garrek reached up a hand to stop her."

"Really?" Anya commented in surprise.

Angel nodded. "Yes. At first, Darla was angry, but she saw the desperation in Garrek's eyes and decided to humor him. Imagine her amusement when Garrek said that the boy was his son. He explained to Darla and me that he wanted to raise his son and then turn him when he got old enough. Darla was intrigued, so she forgo eating the child, and we took Garrek and his son to the Master."

Xander was chewing with his mouth partly agape. "What happened then?"

"The Master was a little annoyed at having a human child in his court, but when Darla explained Garrek's plan, the Master asked to see the boy. When he saw the child, he was immediately drawn to the possibilities. The Master decided that he wanted to raise the child himself...as kind of a protégé. He told Garrek that he could visit his son as often as he wanted but that he would not be allowed to raise his son. Garrek agreed to be trained in the dark magicks and to let the Master train his son with the understanding that one day, his son would be a vampire of great power and influence."

"Sounds sorta similar to the Master turning the Anointed One," Willow interrupted, referring to the child vampire that led me to the Master in Sunnydale.

"Yea," Angel acknowledged. "The Master likely turned the Anointed One so quickly because he wanted a sire's influence over him. He never had that with Garrek's son, and Garrek's son eventually rebelled."

"Did Garrek's son have a name?" I asked.

"That's the thing. The Master never gave him a name and never allowed the name his human parents gave him to be spoken. He told the boy that he would be given a great and powerful name when he became a vampire. The Master didn't coddle the boy. He made him work for everything...food, clothing, shelter, affection. Frequently, he tortured the boy so that he would know real pain and would know what he was inflicting on others in the future. At the same time, the Master taught the boy everything that he knew about manipulating others...humans, vampires, and other types of demon. He even taught the boy to manipulate his own father. Funny thing is that the child grew to hate the Master for the pain he put him through. And he used the Master's own tricks against him. He formed a rebellion within the court. Garrek became his second in command, and together, they defeated the Master and left the court. Darla and I were gone by that time, traveling on our own. We heard about it through the demon world while we were in Egypt."

"What happened to Garrek's relationship with you?" Dawn's expression said that she was drinking in every detail of the story.

"Although Garrek remained connected to me as my childe, he was mostly trained by the Wicca vampires in our group. We never had much of a sire- childe relationship, but I maintained some power over him. Really, no matter how well he gained a grasp of the dark magicks, he never was a powerful vampire. I suppose his power-hungry nature made him weak. He and his son disappeared for several years after the coup. Darla was angry, and at the time, I was furious that my childe would do something like to the Master. Out of the blue, Garrek approached Darla and I after I'd sired Drusilla and Dru had sired Spike. It was before the Boxer Rebellion...before I was cursed with a soul."

"So, that's what Spike meant when he said he had some theories about what's going on," I said in an effort to make sense of my short conversation with Spike. "He must have met Garrek before."

"That's probably what he meant." Angel continued, "He came to us quite unexpectedly, asking questions about the Master and such. He said he wanted back in the Master's good graces. Darla strung him to the wall and spent several hours with Dru, torturing him. After Darla felt he'd endured enough, she let him join us. Spike never trusted him. Dru said it was because he was jealous, but it turned out Spike was right. Garrek was with us for four months before we woke in the middle of the day with the house where we were staying burning to the ground around us. We barely escaped with our lives. Garrek was nowhere to be found. We confirmed through the demon world that he had pumped us for information on the Master because his son was looking for him."

"Did the son ever take a name?" Dawn wondered aloud.

"He's taken many names. He changes it often...for safety's sake."

"*Changes* his name?" Xander pointed out. "A vampire who changes his name. Hmm."

"Actually, he's not a vampire."

"Does that mean this *human* guy is still alive?"

"Yes."

"But, how? How can he possibly be alive?" Xander was incredulous. So was I.

"Plenty of ways," Anya responded. "It's fairly easy, actually."

Angel confirmed Anya's answer, "The way the son does it is through magicks. In essence, Garrek keeps his son alive. He channels the magicks he gains through various rituals through himself and passes the strength and power onto his son."

"That explains the K-whatever-they're-called demon ritual with the men that Willow, Spike, and I freed," I realized. "And the ritual he was performing on Dawn."

Willow seemed to be concentrating because she had the fingers of one hand to her temple. "So, does that mean his son can do magicks as well?"

"No. Garrek's son is only kept alive and less vulnerable to attack with the magicks. He has no ability to use the magicks to cast spells."

"Why wasn't the son ever turned like Garrek wanted him to be?" I asked.

Angel glanced at me. "Because his son didn't wish to be a vampire."

"Oh." I thought for a moment. "Since Garrek's technically no longer undead but really dead, does that mean that his son is vulnerable?"

Angel was certain. "Yes. Garrek was likely his main and most powerful source."

"Why 'most powerful'?" Xander queried.

"Because of the bond between father and son," Angel said with conviction.

I felt confused. "What evidence do you have that Spike's with Garrek's son in Alaska?"

"Simple. That's where Garrek's son has been."

"What?!" I slid to the edge of my seat, not believing what Angel was saying. "You mean to tell me that he's been somewhere in Alaska all this time and no one ever did anything about it?"

"Yes. In Anchorage, to be exact."

Dawn piped up, "How come you didn't say anything sooner?"

Angel was resigned. "Because I made a deal with Garrek and his son after I gained my soul and moved to the United States. We actually met a few times after I started helping you in Sunnydale, Buffy. I would leave them alone as long as they kept to themselves and didn't make any grandiose plans to conquer the world or do anything else equally venomous. And I wasn't sure at first whether Garrek and his son were involved in this latest vampire scheme."

"How did you figure it out?" I demanded.

"Well, after I spoke with Willow on the phone about what happened with Dawn and Spike..."

I spun to fix a steely glare on Willow. "You called Angel? I thought we agreed it would stay among the Sunnydale gang until we had more information."

Without hesitation, Willow met my gaze head on. "You were so distraught that I didn't figure you were thinking straight. I wanted Angel to maybe investigate the house...to see if there was anything we missed. So, he came to Sunnydale while we went to Louisiana. That's how he knew where to find us in Texas...."

Angel took over, "And I simply walked into the house and knew." He caught my questioning expression. "I smelled Garrek as soon as I walked into the house...and some other unfamiliar humans."

Dawn frowned and then, realized something, "They had other teenagers working for them. I didn't remember before, but it's clearer now. I invited the two guys in from school, and they had Garrek with them, so I technically invited him, too...." She trailed off, turning to me.

"And Daniel," I finished for her.

"I didn't sense magicks," Willow inserted.

Angel nodded again. "You wouldn't. Garrek's an extremely talented and powerful warlock. He can hide his magicks trail easily. But, he can't hide his trace from his sire."

"Okay, I understand about the blood, but how did they get Spike and his car to Oklahoma so fast?" Xander inquired, raising his hand to his lips.

"Well, it wasn't magicks," Willow contemplated. "So, probably, a plane."

"And they went to all that trouble to what? Get Buffy out of Sunnydale?"

"Yep," Dawn upheld, throwing away her empty orange juice cup. "So they could take over Sunnydale. And to get the energy from me for Garrek's son."

"Still doesn't explain the dusted vamps in the mansion," Anya pointed out.

"Or the female vampire who was with Spike and injected him with that needle...except that she's obviously working for the bad guys," I added.

"What's the point of all this? I mean, what's the end result they're looking for?" Dawn crossed her arms.

Anya spoke automatically, "Why money and power, of course!"

Angel's voice was quiet, "That's true of Garrek but not his son."

I narrowed my eyes. "What does his son want?"

"He just enjoys the ride...the outcome of the manipulation. It's what the Master taught him. And, he's probably expecting us."

end chapter seven