Chapter 2
Dawn Summers left her friend Lisa's house just after sunset. She knew it wasn't entirely smart to walk around Sunnydale after dark, but it was only four blocks to her house, and besides, if Dawn wanted to pass Honors English and Lisa wanted to pass Algebra I, they needed to study together. That, at least, was what Dawn would say to Buffy when she got home, leaving out the part about how Dawn and Lisa had talked about boys for roughly twice the amount of time they'd spent studying.
A few driveways later, Dawn caught a familiar smell: cigarette smoke.
"Spike?" she called warily.
The blond vampire melted out of the shadows, exhaling a cloud of smoke. " 'Lo, Little Bit."
Dawn couldn't keep herself from grinning. In general, she disapproved of pet names now that she was a mature fifteen-year-old (as Xander had learned the last time he'd dared to call her "Dawnster"). However, a vampire having one for her was entirely too cool. How many other girls at her school could say that?
Spike fell into step beside her. "I haven't seen you around much lately," said Dawn.
"Yeah, well, I ain't much for company these days," the vampire said. "I patrol with your sis a bit. Other than that, I keep to myself."
"Oh. Did she-did she ask you to walk me home tonight?" A bit of Dawn's hurt leaked through the words. She wondered lately if Spike had only watched over her because of his promise to Buffy. Since Buffy had returned, he'd all but withdrawn from Dawn's life.
Spike picked up on the unspoken question. "Nope. I was just out, saw you, thought I'd keep an eye on you. Normally, you're all surrounded by Scoobies."
"Still sore at them for keeping the resurrection thing a secret?" Spike's sound of disgust confirmed Dawn's guess. "I guess I can see that." She'd been a little miffed herself at first, but understood that they hadn't wanted to raise her hopes in case the spell hadn't worked.
"Yeah, well, they do their thing, I do mine." The vampire took another drag on his cigarette. "So what about you? Why are you out past sundown?"
"Studying," Dawn said, indicating her backpack.
"Studying?"
Dawn caught Spike's shrewd glance. "Seriously. Studying math and English. And maybe talking about boys a little." Another glance. "Or maybe a lot."
Spike chuckled. "Some lucky lad caught your eye?"
"I think Matt Alvarez likes me. He's okay, but my friend Janice? She says upperclassmen are where the real action is."
"You watch yourself with older boys and action," Spike cautioned. "Boys that age, only one thing on their hormone-soaked little minds."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "You sound just like Buffy when you say that. I even mention boys and she starts to hyperventilate."
"Yeah, well, she just doesn't want you repeating her own disastrous love life, Bit. She's likely to lock you in a convent before she'll let that happen, and with good reason. Of course, if I were you, I wouldn't take any relationship advice from someone who dated Angel."
"Thanks," Dawn said dryly. "Who do I ask about stuff, then? Willow?"
"Oh, please!" Spike gave the girl an incredulous look. "Asking for advice about boys from a woman who gave up on men and joined the comfortable-shoe set?"
"Okay, you've got a point. Xander's a guy, so he's kinda out, and besides, have you ever seen the look he gives guys who get, like, within ten feet of me? He's like Mr. Slayer."
"Aside from which, he's involved with a former vengeance demon who, by the way, looks like she's about to drop-kick him." Spike chuckled maliciously. "That'd be amusing."
"Anya's always bitching about something," Dawn said dismissively. "So who do you think I should talk to about my hypothetical future love life?"
"Easy," said Spike. "Me."
"You? As in - you?"
"Hey, I kept it together with Dru for 120 years, and she was completely bonkers. Tell me that isn't commitment."
Dawn sighed. "I'm just looking for a date, not 120 years. I'm not a vampire." A thought struck her. "Hey, when you were human, what were you like?"
Spike took another drag before answering. "Oh, I was a bad boy, all right. No one your sis would've approved of. Well, not for you, at least."
Before Dawn could reply, a car screeched to a halt in front of them. The passenger-side door opened, and out stepped a huge being dressed in a long, brown coat of some suede-like animal hide. The demon's skin was dark gray, with deep cracks in the places where an aging human might sport wrinkles. The creature stepped forward towards them. From Dawn's perspective, it appeared to tower at least eighteen inches above Spike.
"I'll take the girl," it boomed in a deeper-than-human voice.
"Run home," Spike growled at Dawn out of the side of his mouth. She turned and started to dash up the street.
"Sch'sek demon, eh?" Spike said to the large humanoid, casually circling to the left as Dawn ran off to the right. "What brought you down from the frozen parts? Maybe a trip to the outlet mall, buy a jacket that doesn't smell like dead goat?"
The demon's only response was a guttural "RRRRAAAAAAGH!" as it charged Spike.
Spike's face morphed into its other-than-human shape. Nonetheless, the vampire tried to maintain his control. His chances in combat against a Sch'sek were about as good as his chances of getting Buffy to dance the can- can for him, but all he needed was to keep it busy while Dawn got away.
The demon snapped its right arm out straight, and suddenly six feet of what looked like steel cable extended from its wrist. It whipped the cable horizontally at Spike, who leaped back to avoid it. The creature swung again with its left arm, extending a second length of cable as it did so, and caught Spike around the ankle. The demon yanked its arm back sharply and threw the vampire to the ground.
Spike tried to roll away and get to his feet. The moment he lifted himself up on his hands and knees, the Sch'sek's cable-whip hit him hard across the back. The impact knocked Spike back onto his stomach; the welt stung so badly that his entire back went numb.
The vampire tried to roll over so he could see the next strike coming. He did, right before it hit him across the ribs, breaking several of them. Spike rolled into a ball as the Sch'sek lashed him again and again. By the time the creature was finished, Spike was unconscious. Trickles of blood leaked from every ugly laceration.
All of this took place in the time it took Dawn to run less than a block. Before she even reached the next street, a tall, slim, blond form unfolded itself from the car. "Stop," it said, very softly.
And Dawn did.
Coolly, the blond woman tossed down the cigarette she'd been smoking and crushed it under her heel. Then she returned her attention to Dawn, who was frozen in place.
"Come here, Dawn," she said. Stiffly, the girl turned and walked mechanically to where the woman was standing. The blond stepped aside, indicating the open car door. "Get in."
Eyes wide and unfocused, yet reflecting deep horror, Dawn obeyed. The blond woman fastened a seatbelt around her. "We don't want you hurt, after all. You're going to make us all very rich." She got in beside Dawn and tossed an irritated glance out the door. "Kogue!" The demon turned his gaze away from Spike's body, which was now hanging by its neck from one of Kogue's wrist cables. "You've had your fun; either stake it or drop it. It's time to go."
Spike's limp body fell to the ground as the demon released him. Kogue climbed into the passenger-side seat, and the vampire in the driver's seat shifted the car into gear.
In the back seat, Dawn still sat perfectly still, spine straight. Only her eyes moved as the blond woman leaned in toward her.
"Hello, Dawn. My name is Nicole D'Armand," she said. Her voice held an accent Dawn thought must be French. "You find your current state uncomfortable, no? I suggest you remember the sensation, because this is what will happen anytime you refuse to do as you're told."
Dawn slumped as she was released from whatever had held her. "Wh-who are you? What do you want? What did you do to Spike?"
"Spike?" Nicole's blue eyes narrowed. "The vampire. Yes, Mr. Kogue had a little fun with him. Actually, we most likely saved you from being a vampire's dinner . . . but no, we didn't, did we?" The woman paused, examining Dawn's face. "You know him. He's your friend, your . . . protector. How very interesting."
"Should we go back and kill him?" asked Kogue from the front.
"No," said Nicole firmly. "It isn't worth the risk. The Slayer will realize her sister is gone soon, and we can't afford to be seen by her. The vampire is of no importance."
"My sister--" began Dawn, but she was cut off by Nicole.
"Will never know where you are. And neither will you, cherie. Time for you to sleep. Sleep, and do not awaken until I tell you to."
The questions that filled Dawn's mind drifted away as her eyelids shut, and her head fell backward as the car continued on, driving out of Sunnydale.
***
"Buffy, you're gonna wear a hole in the carpet," said Willow, looking up from her iBook. "Why with the pacing?"
"She should be back," said Buffy, glancing out the window again. "She said she'd be back before dark. And it's dinnertime."
"Xander hasn't even gotten back with the pizza," Willow pointed out. "Dawn probably just got caught up in the studying, you know? All that math and English, she just lost track of time."
"I think you're mistaking Dawn for you, honey," said Tara, coming into the living room and depositing a cup of hot chocolate by her lover's elbow. The witches shared a smile.
Buffy abruptly turned from the window and grabbed up her coat. "I'm going to go find her. She shouldn't be out past dark."
A worried frown appeared between Willow's eyes. "Um, Buffy? Maybe you could just call over to her friend's house and find out if she's left yet."
Buffy paused, coat in hand. "I guess." Tossing the coat over the back of a chair, she went into the kitchen to find the phone.
Willow and Tara shared another look, this one tinged with uncertainty and even a little fear. Since Buffy's return, the Slayer had shown little emotion except where Dawn was concerned. It seemed to the witches that she'd built her new life around Dawn, slaying, and very little else.
"Pizza!" announced Xander, entering the house. "Fully loaded, my friends, and wha-?" Buffy practically bowled him over on her way out of the house.
"Buffy, wait!" cried Willow.
The Slayer turned, face pale. "Mrs. Nichols said Dawn left twenty minutes ago. She should be back. I'm finding her."
Xander hastily set the pizza down. "Waitasec, Buff. You may need backup." Buffy paused long enough to let him catch up. "Where we headed?"
"To the Nichols place," said Buffy. "If something happened, it happened on the way back from there. Where's Anya?"
"She and Giles are working late at the Magic Box. Something about inventory."
Two blocks passed in near-silence. Then Buffy spotted a dark lump lying on the ground ahead of them.
To be more specific: a dark, leather-covered lump with a white head.
"Spike!" the Slayer gasped, and ran to the vampire's body. Turning him over, she saw that his clothes were torn nearly to shreds, exposing long, angry red welts all over his torso and legs. Here and there, blood trickled from splits in his skin, and he had something that looked like rope burn all around his neck. It was the worst he'd looked since he'd been beaten by Glory.
"Buffy," said Xander. The Slayer looked at her friend, who pointed toward another object lying on the ground: Dawn's backpack.
Spike's blue eyes fluttered open. "Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes connected with the vampire's as he lifted his head painfully from the ground. He looked around briefly, then back at the Slayer.
"Where's Dawn?" they both asked.
Dawn Summers left her friend Lisa's house just after sunset. She knew it wasn't entirely smart to walk around Sunnydale after dark, but it was only four blocks to her house, and besides, if Dawn wanted to pass Honors English and Lisa wanted to pass Algebra I, they needed to study together. That, at least, was what Dawn would say to Buffy when she got home, leaving out the part about how Dawn and Lisa had talked about boys for roughly twice the amount of time they'd spent studying.
A few driveways later, Dawn caught a familiar smell: cigarette smoke.
"Spike?" she called warily.
The blond vampire melted out of the shadows, exhaling a cloud of smoke. " 'Lo, Little Bit."
Dawn couldn't keep herself from grinning. In general, she disapproved of pet names now that she was a mature fifteen-year-old (as Xander had learned the last time he'd dared to call her "Dawnster"). However, a vampire having one for her was entirely too cool. How many other girls at her school could say that?
Spike fell into step beside her. "I haven't seen you around much lately," said Dawn.
"Yeah, well, I ain't much for company these days," the vampire said. "I patrol with your sis a bit. Other than that, I keep to myself."
"Oh. Did she-did she ask you to walk me home tonight?" A bit of Dawn's hurt leaked through the words. She wondered lately if Spike had only watched over her because of his promise to Buffy. Since Buffy had returned, he'd all but withdrawn from Dawn's life.
Spike picked up on the unspoken question. "Nope. I was just out, saw you, thought I'd keep an eye on you. Normally, you're all surrounded by Scoobies."
"Still sore at them for keeping the resurrection thing a secret?" Spike's sound of disgust confirmed Dawn's guess. "I guess I can see that." She'd been a little miffed herself at first, but understood that they hadn't wanted to raise her hopes in case the spell hadn't worked.
"Yeah, well, they do their thing, I do mine." The vampire took another drag on his cigarette. "So what about you? Why are you out past sundown?"
"Studying," Dawn said, indicating her backpack.
"Studying?"
Dawn caught Spike's shrewd glance. "Seriously. Studying math and English. And maybe talking about boys a little." Another glance. "Or maybe a lot."
Spike chuckled. "Some lucky lad caught your eye?"
"I think Matt Alvarez likes me. He's okay, but my friend Janice? She says upperclassmen are where the real action is."
"You watch yourself with older boys and action," Spike cautioned. "Boys that age, only one thing on their hormone-soaked little minds."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "You sound just like Buffy when you say that. I even mention boys and she starts to hyperventilate."
"Yeah, well, she just doesn't want you repeating her own disastrous love life, Bit. She's likely to lock you in a convent before she'll let that happen, and with good reason. Of course, if I were you, I wouldn't take any relationship advice from someone who dated Angel."
"Thanks," Dawn said dryly. "Who do I ask about stuff, then? Willow?"
"Oh, please!" Spike gave the girl an incredulous look. "Asking for advice about boys from a woman who gave up on men and joined the comfortable-shoe set?"
"Okay, you've got a point. Xander's a guy, so he's kinda out, and besides, have you ever seen the look he gives guys who get, like, within ten feet of me? He's like Mr. Slayer."
"Aside from which, he's involved with a former vengeance demon who, by the way, looks like she's about to drop-kick him." Spike chuckled maliciously. "That'd be amusing."
"Anya's always bitching about something," Dawn said dismissively. "So who do you think I should talk to about my hypothetical future love life?"
"Easy," said Spike. "Me."
"You? As in - you?"
"Hey, I kept it together with Dru for 120 years, and she was completely bonkers. Tell me that isn't commitment."
Dawn sighed. "I'm just looking for a date, not 120 years. I'm not a vampire." A thought struck her. "Hey, when you were human, what were you like?"
Spike took another drag before answering. "Oh, I was a bad boy, all right. No one your sis would've approved of. Well, not for you, at least."
Before Dawn could reply, a car screeched to a halt in front of them. The passenger-side door opened, and out stepped a huge being dressed in a long, brown coat of some suede-like animal hide. The demon's skin was dark gray, with deep cracks in the places where an aging human might sport wrinkles. The creature stepped forward towards them. From Dawn's perspective, it appeared to tower at least eighteen inches above Spike.
"I'll take the girl," it boomed in a deeper-than-human voice.
"Run home," Spike growled at Dawn out of the side of his mouth. She turned and started to dash up the street.
"Sch'sek demon, eh?" Spike said to the large humanoid, casually circling to the left as Dawn ran off to the right. "What brought you down from the frozen parts? Maybe a trip to the outlet mall, buy a jacket that doesn't smell like dead goat?"
The demon's only response was a guttural "RRRRAAAAAAGH!" as it charged Spike.
Spike's face morphed into its other-than-human shape. Nonetheless, the vampire tried to maintain his control. His chances in combat against a Sch'sek were about as good as his chances of getting Buffy to dance the can- can for him, but all he needed was to keep it busy while Dawn got away.
The demon snapped its right arm out straight, and suddenly six feet of what looked like steel cable extended from its wrist. It whipped the cable horizontally at Spike, who leaped back to avoid it. The creature swung again with its left arm, extending a second length of cable as it did so, and caught Spike around the ankle. The demon yanked its arm back sharply and threw the vampire to the ground.
Spike tried to roll away and get to his feet. The moment he lifted himself up on his hands and knees, the Sch'sek's cable-whip hit him hard across the back. The impact knocked Spike back onto his stomach; the welt stung so badly that his entire back went numb.
The vampire tried to roll over so he could see the next strike coming. He did, right before it hit him across the ribs, breaking several of them. Spike rolled into a ball as the Sch'sek lashed him again and again. By the time the creature was finished, Spike was unconscious. Trickles of blood leaked from every ugly laceration.
All of this took place in the time it took Dawn to run less than a block. Before she even reached the next street, a tall, slim, blond form unfolded itself from the car. "Stop," it said, very softly.
And Dawn did.
Coolly, the blond woman tossed down the cigarette she'd been smoking and crushed it under her heel. Then she returned her attention to Dawn, who was frozen in place.
"Come here, Dawn," she said. Stiffly, the girl turned and walked mechanically to where the woman was standing. The blond stepped aside, indicating the open car door. "Get in."
Eyes wide and unfocused, yet reflecting deep horror, Dawn obeyed. The blond woman fastened a seatbelt around her. "We don't want you hurt, after all. You're going to make us all very rich." She got in beside Dawn and tossed an irritated glance out the door. "Kogue!" The demon turned his gaze away from Spike's body, which was now hanging by its neck from one of Kogue's wrist cables. "You've had your fun; either stake it or drop it. It's time to go."
Spike's limp body fell to the ground as the demon released him. Kogue climbed into the passenger-side seat, and the vampire in the driver's seat shifted the car into gear.
In the back seat, Dawn still sat perfectly still, spine straight. Only her eyes moved as the blond woman leaned in toward her.
"Hello, Dawn. My name is Nicole D'Armand," she said. Her voice held an accent Dawn thought must be French. "You find your current state uncomfortable, no? I suggest you remember the sensation, because this is what will happen anytime you refuse to do as you're told."
Dawn slumped as she was released from whatever had held her. "Wh-who are you? What do you want? What did you do to Spike?"
"Spike?" Nicole's blue eyes narrowed. "The vampire. Yes, Mr. Kogue had a little fun with him. Actually, we most likely saved you from being a vampire's dinner . . . but no, we didn't, did we?" The woman paused, examining Dawn's face. "You know him. He's your friend, your . . . protector. How very interesting."
"Should we go back and kill him?" asked Kogue from the front.
"No," said Nicole firmly. "It isn't worth the risk. The Slayer will realize her sister is gone soon, and we can't afford to be seen by her. The vampire is of no importance."
"My sister--" began Dawn, but she was cut off by Nicole.
"Will never know where you are. And neither will you, cherie. Time for you to sleep. Sleep, and do not awaken until I tell you to."
The questions that filled Dawn's mind drifted away as her eyelids shut, and her head fell backward as the car continued on, driving out of Sunnydale.
***
"Buffy, you're gonna wear a hole in the carpet," said Willow, looking up from her iBook. "Why with the pacing?"
"She should be back," said Buffy, glancing out the window again. "She said she'd be back before dark. And it's dinnertime."
"Xander hasn't even gotten back with the pizza," Willow pointed out. "Dawn probably just got caught up in the studying, you know? All that math and English, she just lost track of time."
"I think you're mistaking Dawn for you, honey," said Tara, coming into the living room and depositing a cup of hot chocolate by her lover's elbow. The witches shared a smile.
Buffy abruptly turned from the window and grabbed up her coat. "I'm going to go find her. She shouldn't be out past dark."
A worried frown appeared between Willow's eyes. "Um, Buffy? Maybe you could just call over to her friend's house and find out if she's left yet."
Buffy paused, coat in hand. "I guess." Tossing the coat over the back of a chair, she went into the kitchen to find the phone.
Willow and Tara shared another look, this one tinged with uncertainty and even a little fear. Since Buffy's return, the Slayer had shown little emotion except where Dawn was concerned. It seemed to the witches that she'd built her new life around Dawn, slaying, and very little else.
"Pizza!" announced Xander, entering the house. "Fully loaded, my friends, and wha-?" Buffy practically bowled him over on her way out of the house.
"Buffy, wait!" cried Willow.
The Slayer turned, face pale. "Mrs. Nichols said Dawn left twenty minutes ago. She should be back. I'm finding her."
Xander hastily set the pizza down. "Waitasec, Buff. You may need backup." Buffy paused long enough to let him catch up. "Where we headed?"
"To the Nichols place," said Buffy. "If something happened, it happened on the way back from there. Where's Anya?"
"She and Giles are working late at the Magic Box. Something about inventory."
Two blocks passed in near-silence. Then Buffy spotted a dark lump lying on the ground ahead of them.
To be more specific: a dark, leather-covered lump with a white head.
"Spike!" the Slayer gasped, and ran to the vampire's body. Turning him over, she saw that his clothes were torn nearly to shreds, exposing long, angry red welts all over his torso and legs. Here and there, blood trickled from splits in his skin, and he had something that looked like rope burn all around his neck. It was the worst he'd looked since he'd been beaten by Glory.
"Buffy," said Xander. The Slayer looked at her friend, who pointed toward another object lying on the ground: Dawn's backpack.
Spike's blue eyes fluttered open. "Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes connected with the vampire's as he lifted his head painfully from the ground. He looked around briefly, then back at the Slayer.
"Where's Dawn?" they both asked.
