5. Understood
"No," said Dawn. "I am Dawn Summers. I may have been the Key for a while, but that's over, and now I'm a normal human." She gritted her teeth. "Okay, maybe I can slay vampires, too. But I am a person."
The demon burst out laughing. "Oh, look at me, I'm Dawn, I'm real! I'm real! Don't leave me, I'm real!" She leaned over. "Are you sure you're real, Dawn?"
The demon raised its claws - and Dawn suddenly found her arms, head and legs connected to marionette wires.
"I'm not so sure you're real," said the Demon. "Maybe you're just a little puppet."
"I am! I am real! I'm sure of it!" shouted Dawn. Dawn felt a strange sensation - and saw that her nose had grown six inches from her face.
The demon laughed. "You lie. Dishonesty is strictly punished by the Sunnydale School Board, Miss Summers. You're not sure at all. That's why you've been such a clingy and whiny little brat. You're afraid that one day all your friends and family will leave you, and they'll forget all about you, and you'll go back to being a mindless ball of green energy."
"No! It's not true!" yelled Dawn. Dawn's nose grew another six inches, and small leaves appeared on the end.
The demon laughed louder. "You don't learn, do you Dawn? I say you're not real. I say one day you'll just disappear. No one will love you, Dawnie. No one will even remember you. No one will be left to think about Dawn the puppet, Dawn the robot, Dawnie the whiny, clingy, fake green energy ball."
Dawn sobbed. In that instant, she could feel her mind beginning to dissolve, and she saw her arms begin to glow green.
"No!" screamed Good Willow, for once. "Don't believe her, Dawn. You are real! You do have a soul! You are human! I'm so sorry, Dawn..." and with that, Good Willow returned to her weeping.
Dawn snapped out of her despair. The wires were gone, and her nose was back to normal.
The demon doubled over, but soon recovered. "Well, once again, you and Miss Masochist have managed to exceed my expectations. Bother. Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to tell you the truth, Dawnie. The first part is - yes, you're real. A human soul and the whole bit. But do you really want to know the second part, Dawnie? The truth about who you really are? Because, little girl, the second you know the truth is the second you'll want Oblivion. Just like me."
Dawn took a deep breath. "You're wrong. I don't care what my ancestry is. The only thing that matters is that I'm human. I've already won. Now seal off that corrupt magical essence thing and let us go."
The demon laughed. "We'll see how much you've won in a few seconds, little girl. And now, let's have another Story Time. Once, a long time ago, but in a land not too far from here, there was a group of 'holy clerics' who secretly lived in sin. Their sin was that they craved power - not to use, but to admire. One day, several hundred years ago, they acquired the most beautiful and most awesome power of all - the Key. By the way, Dawnie, the Key has a real name, but it's in an arcane demonic language, and the mere whisper of it would shatter your eardrums. But I digress. Anyway, for hundreds of years they stood in awe of the Key and its emerald-shining, magical coolness. Then, one day, a big bad hell goddess showed up, and wanted to use the Key for something other than a kinetic installation. Instead, the goddess just wanted to go home. Unfortunately, besides dressing badly, this big bad hell goddess was as sharp as a marble, and the only way she knew how to use the Key might have destroyed the universe. The clerics couldn't help her use the Key correctly, because they were art collectors, not real magicians. So, the clerics, who collectively were sharp as several marbles, rubbed some blues and greens and sparklies together and got the brilliant idea to have the Slayer protect the Key. Wanting the Slayer to protect the Key with her life, they decided to turn her into a sister - none other than little Dawnie Summers."
Dawn burst in. "Like I didn't know this already."
"Yeah, you know that part of the story. But here comes the good part - for me. Are you sure you want me to continue?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, PLEASE!"
"As you wish. To make the Key into a real person, the clerics, being a bunch of art critics, couldn't just build a SisterBot. No, they needed to make her a real person. To do that, they needed the DNA of two people, which they then combined, with the power of the Key, to make you. Think of yourself as a magical test-tube baby, but made in a big ball of green energy rather than a test tube."
"Yeah, great, so it's weird, but I'm real, so what?"
"Who do you think your 'parents' are, Dawnie?"
"Mom and Dad. Who else?"
The demon leaned over, as if moving in for the kill. "You are, like, so wrong."
"Huh?"
"They wanted a sister with a little strength, some abilities beyond the norm in case things got messy, which they did. Too bad you didn't start using them until a month ago. Anyway, your real mother is not Joyce Summers. Instead..."
"Buffy," Dawn whispered.
"That's right. Super Buffy is your real mom. Kind of explains the whole maternal thing, don't you think?"
Dawn nodded.
"But wait, it gets better. Your other parent isn't your Dad. I mean, he was out of the country. And since this is magical mojo, they didn't even need a male to be the other donor."
Dawn's mind reeled as she began to realize what the Demon meant.
"That's right, Dawnie. Very good. The clerics used the DNA of Buffy's best friend, Willow Rosenberg. I am your other parent, Dawn."
Dawn gasped. A flood of thoughts and emotions filled her mind.
"And now, you know. And we have just about come to the end of our school day. Your homework is canceled, since you won't be around for it anyway. I'm sure you're going to beg me to turn you back into a green energy ball. I can't wait."
"Because, you sweet little girl, how could anyone in their right mind want to be based on me?"
The demon gave a smile. Not a grin of triumph, but a sad smile of total defeat. In it, and in her eyes, Dawn saw the depths of the demon's self loathing. [No,] thought Dawn, [Willow's self loathing.]
And the young Miss Summers understood. She thought for a few seconds, then spoke, softly at first, but growing ever stronger.
"No. You're wrong. You're not an evil thing. You're Willow. I love you, Willow. Just as strongly as Xander did when he reminded you about the yellow, I mean blue, crayon..."
The demon let out a terrible roar. Dawn flew out of her seat and crashed into the wall. She doubled over in pain as a sheet of masonry blasted by the impact fell on her. [Disbelieve,] she barely managed to think. The masonry and most of the pain was gone.
Giles slowly, agonizingly crawled over to her and whispered in her ear. "Dawn... I understand now. The impact of what happened split her mind into two pieces, one all conscience and love, and one all wretchedness and hate."
[You just figured out that Willow's mind was split into two pieces? Really, Giles? Duh. Clearly we have some clueless people with us today,] thought Dawn.
"The bad piece can't possibly feel love," continued Giles. "Your only hope is with the good Willow."
Dawn's heart sank. "Are you sure? I think I'm so close to reaching the demonic piece..."
The demon let out another terrible roar. Dawn barely managed to disbelieve a half-wall of masonry crashing down on her.
"Yes, I'm sure," said Giles.
Dawn looked over at the stone table and her heart sank. "You want me to try to reach the crying, whiny Willow with the knife in her chest? But she's useless - she hardly seems to know we're here. I mean, okay, I've been too whiny and clingy myself, but, God, Giles..."
Giles cut her off. "The good Willow is consumed with guilt and sorrow over what's happened, Dawn. She has no real strength of her own, since inner strength and courage come from transforming the darker parts of ones psyche."
Dawn's eyes grew wide. "Like that Star Trek episode?" whispered Dawn.
Giles thought for a second, then remembered. "Yes, Dawn. 'The Enemy Within.' Just like that."
"But we don't have a transporter beam to put them back together," whined Dawn.
Giles managed to smile at that. "No, Dawn. You have to get the Good Willow to draw on the power of the evil Willow, and eventually get the good one to drain the bad one altogether. That should put Willow back together."
"But how? Can't you help?"
"No, Dawn. You're the only who can do it. You're - you heard them, you're her daughter, Dawn. I'm not - she either sees me as a surrogate father or a first crush, which isn't going to be enough of a connection. Children have certain powers over their parents. Use them mercilessly. Now go."
Dawn looked over and saw Demonic Willow writing on the board: "LESSON THE SIXTH AND FINAL: YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME. WE ARE ALL ABOUT TO DIE. ISN'T THAT NICE? DISCUSS."
Dawn quietly got up, and walked over to the stone table. She crawled onto the table, lay down next to the still weeping Willow, and put her arms around her.
The demon Willow looked at her. "Ah, how adorable. The two of you will die all cuddly together," she sneered. Other than that, the demon paid no attention to Dawn and Good Willow.
"Hey, it's me," whispered Dawn.
Willow interrupted her tears to look at Dawn. "Hi, Dawnie. What are you still doing here?" she said.
"You know perfectly well," said Dawn.
Willow sobbed. "I know, Dawn. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry, I'm so evil..." she whispered, and began sobbing again.
[Uh, uh. Not this time,] thought Dawn.
"No. Get up. You have to rescue us. You have to fix the bad-emotions essence thing."
"Oh, Dawnie, I can't. I'm powerless, I'm evil, I'm bad, I'm past all hope..."
"Uh. Oh. Whine. Help me. Wah!" Dawn sneered. "You're worse than I ever was. You're pathetic. You're just lying here feeling sorry for yourself with a rock through your chest, and meanwhile we're all suffering and dying here. Get up and help us."
"Oh, I am, I am so pathetic, and evil, Dawnie. I so don't deserve to have a daughter like you..." She drifted off again.
Dawn had an idea. "You're right. You don't. Because I know the truth. You don't love me. You hate me."
Good Willow's eyes flew open. "No. That's not true, Dawnie. I love you."
"Bullshit. If you loved me you wouldn't be whining about how miserable you are. You'd be saving us. I say it again. You... hate... me."
"No!" Good Willow yelled. The demon bent over slightly, and seemed to be greatly surprised. "I love you, Dawn! I love you so much!"
[Now we're getting somewhere,] thought Dawn. "No. I don't believe you. If you really loved me - not just said you did - you'd be all over that ugly thing. You'd kick every square inch of its hairy ass. No, you hate me. And you hate Giles, and Buffy, and Xander, ... and you even hate Tara..."
"Watch your mouth, Dawn!" Good Willow threw herself up from table, breaking the ropes. [She finally looks pissed,] thought Dawn. The demon doubled over in pain.
"Oh yeah, getting all maternal now are we? Hmm? You love me, prove it. Prove it now. Get up."
Good Willow glared at her. But she sat up. Slowly, agonizingly, but she sat up.
"You love me? You love us? Well, we've all got to live if you're going to love us. Now, start with pulling that knife out of your chest. It's blasphemous, and you know it."
Good Willow slowly pulled the knife out of her chest. Dawn gasped to see it covered with blood. But, the now knife-free witch waved her hands, and the blood was gone.
"Now. Drain the Bad Willow."
"I... can't."
"No cant's. Do it, or we all die. And you prove that you put your own self-pity over your love for us."
Good Willow gasped, loudly. She slowly raised her hand towards the demon. The demon dropped to the floor, but not before raising its claws. Deep gashes appeared on Willow's face and neck, and Willow collapsed on the table.
"It... hurts..." gasped Good Willow.
"Yes it does. But sometimes life sucks. Do it."
Good Willow stood up again, and raised her hand towards the demon. The demon raised its claws again, and black blood began oozing out of Good Willow's gashes. Good Willow cried out, but remained standing. The demon began writhing.
"That's it, that's it! You've got to want it. Want it more than anything."
The demon rolled over and slowly spoke. "You... cannot defeat me. I'm still incredibly powerful. I will have my revenge. I will destroy you... all..."
Giles sat up, pain spell ebbing from his body. "Why, demon? The thing you want most of all is your own oblivion. And now we're giving it to you."
"But," the demon trailed off, "I can't let you defeat me."
"Why?" asked Giles. "What do you care about us? What do you care about anything beyond your own destruction? Why wait around a second longer than you have to?"
The demon seemed to think for a second, then let out a final whisper. "Thank you, Mr. Giles. You always were... like a father to me."
The demon began to visibly waver. Dawn looked back towards Good Willow, whose eyes were now glowing a brilliant emerald green. Good Willow briefly turned towards Giles, staring at him without expression for a few seconds. She turned her head towards Dawn, and did the same. The witch then slowly turned her head towards the now-translucent demon. The demon let out a last feeble howl.
Good Willow dropped her head, staring at her own body. She brought one of her hands up to her chest, and began slowly rubbing her breastbone, just as the demon had done. Dawn felt her heart rising in her chest.
[Please, Willow, finish it,] thought Dawn. [I love you, it's okay - but please...]
Good Willow's hand dropped, and she snapped her head forward.
"Bored now," said the witch.
There was a massive blast. Chalkboard, table, desks, walls, and whole world suddenly turned to dust, then went white. Then there was nothing.
* * *
To be continued in Chapter 6.
"No," said Dawn. "I am Dawn Summers. I may have been the Key for a while, but that's over, and now I'm a normal human." She gritted her teeth. "Okay, maybe I can slay vampires, too. But I am a person."
The demon burst out laughing. "Oh, look at me, I'm Dawn, I'm real! I'm real! Don't leave me, I'm real!" She leaned over. "Are you sure you're real, Dawn?"
The demon raised its claws - and Dawn suddenly found her arms, head and legs connected to marionette wires.
"I'm not so sure you're real," said the Demon. "Maybe you're just a little puppet."
"I am! I am real! I'm sure of it!" shouted Dawn. Dawn felt a strange sensation - and saw that her nose had grown six inches from her face.
The demon laughed. "You lie. Dishonesty is strictly punished by the Sunnydale School Board, Miss Summers. You're not sure at all. That's why you've been such a clingy and whiny little brat. You're afraid that one day all your friends and family will leave you, and they'll forget all about you, and you'll go back to being a mindless ball of green energy."
"No! It's not true!" yelled Dawn. Dawn's nose grew another six inches, and small leaves appeared on the end.
The demon laughed louder. "You don't learn, do you Dawn? I say you're not real. I say one day you'll just disappear. No one will love you, Dawnie. No one will even remember you. No one will be left to think about Dawn the puppet, Dawn the robot, Dawnie the whiny, clingy, fake green energy ball."
Dawn sobbed. In that instant, she could feel her mind beginning to dissolve, and she saw her arms begin to glow green.
"No!" screamed Good Willow, for once. "Don't believe her, Dawn. You are real! You do have a soul! You are human! I'm so sorry, Dawn..." and with that, Good Willow returned to her weeping.
Dawn snapped out of her despair. The wires were gone, and her nose was back to normal.
The demon doubled over, but soon recovered. "Well, once again, you and Miss Masochist have managed to exceed my expectations. Bother. Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to tell you the truth, Dawnie. The first part is - yes, you're real. A human soul and the whole bit. But do you really want to know the second part, Dawnie? The truth about who you really are? Because, little girl, the second you know the truth is the second you'll want Oblivion. Just like me."
Dawn took a deep breath. "You're wrong. I don't care what my ancestry is. The only thing that matters is that I'm human. I've already won. Now seal off that corrupt magical essence thing and let us go."
The demon laughed. "We'll see how much you've won in a few seconds, little girl. And now, let's have another Story Time. Once, a long time ago, but in a land not too far from here, there was a group of 'holy clerics' who secretly lived in sin. Their sin was that they craved power - not to use, but to admire. One day, several hundred years ago, they acquired the most beautiful and most awesome power of all - the Key. By the way, Dawnie, the Key has a real name, but it's in an arcane demonic language, and the mere whisper of it would shatter your eardrums. But I digress. Anyway, for hundreds of years they stood in awe of the Key and its emerald-shining, magical coolness. Then, one day, a big bad hell goddess showed up, and wanted to use the Key for something other than a kinetic installation. Instead, the goddess just wanted to go home. Unfortunately, besides dressing badly, this big bad hell goddess was as sharp as a marble, and the only way she knew how to use the Key might have destroyed the universe. The clerics couldn't help her use the Key correctly, because they were art collectors, not real magicians. So, the clerics, who collectively were sharp as several marbles, rubbed some blues and greens and sparklies together and got the brilliant idea to have the Slayer protect the Key. Wanting the Slayer to protect the Key with her life, they decided to turn her into a sister - none other than little Dawnie Summers."
Dawn burst in. "Like I didn't know this already."
"Yeah, you know that part of the story. But here comes the good part - for me. Are you sure you want me to continue?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, PLEASE!"
"As you wish. To make the Key into a real person, the clerics, being a bunch of art critics, couldn't just build a SisterBot. No, they needed to make her a real person. To do that, they needed the DNA of two people, which they then combined, with the power of the Key, to make you. Think of yourself as a magical test-tube baby, but made in a big ball of green energy rather than a test tube."
"Yeah, great, so it's weird, but I'm real, so what?"
"Who do you think your 'parents' are, Dawnie?"
"Mom and Dad. Who else?"
The demon leaned over, as if moving in for the kill. "You are, like, so wrong."
"Huh?"
"They wanted a sister with a little strength, some abilities beyond the norm in case things got messy, which they did. Too bad you didn't start using them until a month ago. Anyway, your real mother is not Joyce Summers. Instead..."
"Buffy," Dawn whispered.
"That's right. Super Buffy is your real mom. Kind of explains the whole maternal thing, don't you think?"
Dawn nodded.
"But wait, it gets better. Your other parent isn't your Dad. I mean, he was out of the country. And since this is magical mojo, they didn't even need a male to be the other donor."
Dawn's mind reeled as she began to realize what the Demon meant.
"That's right, Dawnie. Very good. The clerics used the DNA of Buffy's best friend, Willow Rosenberg. I am your other parent, Dawn."
Dawn gasped. A flood of thoughts and emotions filled her mind.
"And now, you know. And we have just about come to the end of our school day. Your homework is canceled, since you won't be around for it anyway. I'm sure you're going to beg me to turn you back into a green energy ball. I can't wait."
"Because, you sweet little girl, how could anyone in their right mind want to be based on me?"
The demon gave a smile. Not a grin of triumph, but a sad smile of total defeat. In it, and in her eyes, Dawn saw the depths of the demon's self loathing. [No,] thought Dawn, [Willow's self loathing.]
And the young Miss Summers understood. She thought for a few seconds, then spoke, softly at first, but growing ever stronger.
"No. You're wrong. You're not an evil thing. You're Willow. I love you, Willow. Just as strongly as Xander did when he reminded you about the yellow, I mean blue, crayon..."
The demon let out a terrible roar. Dawn flew out of her seat and crashed into the wall. She doubled over in pain as a sheet of masonry blasted by the impact fell on her. [Disbelieve,] she barely managed to think. The masonry and most of the pain was gone.
Giles slowly, agonizingly crawled over to her and whispered in her ear. "Dawn... I understand now. The impact of what happened split her mind into two pieces, one all conscience and love, and one all wretchedness and hate."
[You just figured out that Willow's mind was split into two pieces? Really, Giles? Duh. Clearly we have some clueless people with us today,] thought Dawn.
"The bad piece can't possibly feel love," continued Giles. "Your only hope is with the good Willow."
Dawn's heart sank. "Are you sure? I think I'm so close to reaching the demonic piece..."
The demon let out another terrible roar. Dawn barely managed to disbelieve a half-wall of masonry crashing down on her.
"Yes, I'm sure," said Giles.
Dawn looked over at the stone table and her heart sank. "You want me to try to reach the crying, whiny Willow with the knife in her chest? But she's useless - she hardly seems to know we're here. I mean, okay, I've been too whiny and clingy myself, but, God, Giles..."
Giles cut her off. "The good Willow is consumed with guilt and sorrow over what's happened, Dawn. She has no real strength of her own, since inner strength and courage come from transforming the darker parts of ones psyche."
Dawn's eyes grew wide. "Like that Star Trek episode?" whispered Dawn.
Giles thought for a second, then remembered. "Yes, Dawn. 'The Enemy Within.' Just like that."
"But we don't have a transporter beam to put them back together," whined Dawn.
Giles managed to smile at that. "No, Dawn. You have to get the Good Willow to draw on the power of the evil Willow, and eventually get the good one to drain the bad one altogether. That should put Willow back together."
"But how? Can't you help?"
"No, Dawn. You're the only who can do it. You're - you heard them, you're her daughter, Dawn. I'm not - she either sees me as a surrogate father or a first crush, which isn't going to be enough of a connection. Children have certain powers over their parents. Use them mercilessly. Now go."
Dawn looked over and saw Demonic Willow writing on the board: "LESSON THE SIXTH AND FINAL: YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME. WE ARE ALL ABOUT TO DIE. ISN'T THAT NICE? DISCUSS."
Dawn quietly got up, and walked over to the stone table. She crawled onto the table, lay down next to the still weeping Willow, and put her arms around her.
The demon Willow looked at her. "Ah, how adorable. The two of you will die all cuddly together," she sneered. Other than that, the demon paid no attention to Dawn and Good Willow.
"Hey, it's me," whispered Dawn.
Willow interrupted her tears to look at Dawn. "Hi, Dawnie. What are you still doing here?" she said.
"You know perfectly well," said Dawn.
Willow sobbed. "I know, Dawn. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry, I'm so evil..." she whispered, and began sobbing again.
[Uh, uh. Not this time,] thought Dawn.
"No. Get up. You have to rescue us. You have to fix the bad-emotions essence thing."
"Oh, Dawnie, I can't. I'm powerless, I'm evil, I'm bad, I'm past all hope..."
"Uh. Oh. Whine. Help me. Wah!" Dawn sneered. "You're worse than I ever was. You're pathetic. You're just lying here feeling sorry for yourself with a rock through your chest, and meanwhile we're all suffering and dying here. Get up and help us."
"Oh, I am, I am so pathetic, and evil, Dawnie. I so don't deserve to have a daughter like you..." She drifted off again.
Dawn had an idea. "You're right. You don't. Because I know the truth. You don't love me. You hate me."
Good Willow's eyes flew open. "No. That's not true, Dawnie. I love you."
"Bullshit. If you loved me you wouldn't be whining about how miserable you are. You'd be saving us. I say it again. You... hate... me."
"No!" Good Willow yelled. The demon bent over slightly, and seemed to be greatly surprised. "I love you, Dawn! I love you so much!"
[Now we're getting somewhere,] thought Dawn. "No. I don't believe you. If you really loved me - not just said you did - you'd be all over that ugly thing. You'd kick every square inch of its hairy ass. No, you hate me. And you hate Giles, and Buffy, and Xander, ... and you even hate Tara..."
"Watch your mouth, Dawn!" Good Willow threw herself up from table, breaking the ropes. [She finally looks pissed,] thought Dawn. The demon doubled over in pain.
"Oh yeah, getting all maternal now are we? Hmm? You love me, prove it. Prove it now. Get up."
Good Willow glared at her. But she sat up. Slowly, agonizingly, but she sat up.
"You love me? You love us? Well, we've all got to live if you're going to love us. Now, start with pulling that knife out of your chest. It's blasphemous, and you know it."
Good Willow slowly pulled the knife out of her chest. Dawn gasped to see it covered with blood. But, the now knife-free witch waved her hands, and the blood was gone.
"Now. Drain the Bad Willow."
"I... can't."
"No cant's. Do it, or we all die. And you prove that you put your own self-pity over your love for us."
Good Willow gasped, loudly. She slowly raised her hand towards the demon. The demon dropped to the floor, but not before raising its claws. Deep gashes appeared on Willow's face and neck, and Willow collapsed on the table.
"It... hurts..." gasped Good Willow.
"Yes it does. But sometimes life sucks. Do it."
Good Willow stood up again, and raised her hand towards the demon. The demon raised its claws again, and black blood began oozing out of Good Willow's gashes. Good Willow cried out, but remained standing. The demon began writhing.
"That's it, that's it! You've got to want it. Want it more than anything."
The demon rolled over and slowly spoke. "You... cannot defeat me. I'm still incredibly powerful. I will have my revenge. I will destroy you... all..."
Giles sat up, pain spell ebbing from his body. "Why, demon? The thing you want most of all is your own oblivion. And now we're giving it to you."
"But," the demon trailed off, "I can't let you defeat me."
"Why?" asked Giles. "What do you care about us? What do you care about anything beyond your own destruction? Why wait around a second longer than you have to?"
The demon seemed to think for a second, then let out a final whisper. "Thank you, Mr. Giles. You always were... like a father to me."
The demon began to visibly waver. Dawn looked back towards Good Willow, whose eyes were now glowing a brilliant emerald green. Good Willow briefly turned towards Giles, staring at him without expression for a few seconds. She turned her head towards Dawn, and did the same. The witch then slowly turned her head towards the now-translucent demon. The demon let out a last feeble howl.
Good Willow dropped her head, staring at her own body. She brought one of her hands up to her chest, and began slowly rubbing her breastbone, just as the demon had done. Dawn felt her heart rising in her chest.
[Please, Willow, finish it,] thought Dawn. [I love you, it's okay - but please...]
Good Willow's hand dropped, and she snapped her head forward.
"Bored now," said the witch.
There was a massive blast. Chalkboard, table, desks, walls, and whole world suddenly turned to dust, then went white. Then there was nothing.
* * *
To be continued in Chapter 6.