New Horizons: Chapter Fifty-Six
The Continuance
By Annie
2002-07-16
Dawn knocked carefully on the door to Willow's room, where Torah was residing.
No answer.
"Torah?" she called.
No answer.
She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, gently pushing the door open and popping her head through the slot she looked around. The curtains were closed and the room lay in a shadowy gloom. She stepped inside.
"Torah, are you in here?" she asked as she made her way around the bed to walk into the bathroom. "Torah?"
Empty.
Weird, she thought as she walked back to the door and took another look around the room before stepping outside, not noticing the small bulging of the curtains and thus not the window standing open behind it.
"Torah wasn't in her room," Dawn said as she entered the kitchen where Giles was making a pot of tea.
"Did she tell you she was leaving?" he asked and Dawn shook her head, leaning against the breakfast table and watching the familiarity of his hands filling the pot with water.
"I've missed you," she said silently and he turned to her with a smile.
"And I you," he stated and she smiled back. "Did Torah leave a note or anything like that?" he then asked and Dawn shook her head again.
"She just got back in so I don't get why she had to leave again and especially why she left without so much as a word," she answered and Giles nodded, putting the pot on and turning to the teen with a thoughtful expression.
"Strange indeed," he mumbled and then a very sleepy vampire entered the kitchen. "Well, good afternoon," Giles now added and Spike glared at him before making his way past him to the fridge to get some blood.
Dawn smiled widely at Spike's heavy eyelids and when he turned around with a jar of blood in one hand he couldn't help but smile back.
"Good afternoon," she mimicked Giles and Spike huffed, still smiling, as he brought out a cup and filled it with the liquid.
"Good afternoon, niblet," he murmured and then he turned to the Watcher. "And to you too, doctor Doolittle," he added with a small courtesy of the head and Giles raised his eyebrows as Spike smirked a little and shoved the cup in the microwave.
Buffy walked into the kitchen and came to stand by Dawn's side.
"He's not behaving," Dawn whispered loud enough for everybody to hear, safe to say Spike would have heard it no matter how low she tried to make it.
"Oh, he ISN'T, is he?" he now asked before Buffy had a chance to respond just as the microwave started beeping and he opened the door, bringing out his cup and then closed it again with a bang. "Ever heard of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, Lil'Bit?" he asked now as he sipped his breakfast and Dawn smiled brightly.
"Yep, but I don't think any side of Buffy's bed is the wrong side for you," she answered coyly and three pairs of eyes widened a little as Dawn giggled, shaking her head. "You're so funny, Spikey," she added as she skipped around the breakfast table and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Giles smiled a little as he moved to stand beside Buffy, bending down to talk in a lowered voice he said:
"Torah's gone missing."
Buffy turned her head to look up at him, worriedly, and he raised a hand, shaking his head slightly.
"I don't mean that kind of missing, she just left...Don't you think that is rather strange?" he asked and Buffy shrugged, shaking her head.
"If she wants to leave the house she can, she's not our prisoner," she answered simply. "Besides, we have larger fish to worry about, fish that actually bite," she added with a meaningful look and Giles nodded.
"I just think it would be wise to keep an eye on her," he murmured and now Spike spoke up.
"I already am," he stated calmly, rinsing his cup out and opening the dishwasher to put it in, straightening his back he added: "No need to worry."
Giles smiled a little at that, nodding, and Spike found himself smiling back.
The front door opened and the four missing Scoobs walked inside.
"The cavalry is here!" Xander yelled as they filed into the kitchen, him last, and Buffy nodded, smiling.
"So what kind of nasty are we up against this time?" Tara asked silently and Buffy turned to her, smile fading.
"The really, really bad kind," she answered, glancing at Spike who was looking at her intensely.
"Yeah," he now agreed, looking around at all of them. "The REALLY, really bloody awful kind."
***
"I can't believe that this is happening!" Torah screamed, tipping over the table in the middle of the room and sending the three humans scurrying into a corner each, eyes growing as they watched the aggravated demoness demolish their hide-out.
"First of all, we still don't know what you're talking about..." Warren began, taking a step forward and then quickly stepping back as two eyes filled with anger were turned his way.
"No, that's right, you don't, because you're just a pack of meaningless, useless, disgusting little humans!" she yelled and kicked the now tipped over table, sending it sliding into the wall facing her and shattering into splinters.
"I object to that!" Andrew squeaked from his corner, but she ignored him as she turned to Warren again.
"They are trying to STEAL my game, that's what they're doing!" she exclaimed, her hands clenched into tight little fists and she bit her lower lip hard as she tried to breathe steadily.
"Who?" Warren asked carefully and Torah sighed deeply as she sunk down on the floor, crossing her legs and then gently floating up into the air.
"The Legacy," she answered, seemingly having calmed down and Warren took a trying step forward.
When she didn't go ballistic again he made his way up to her, keeping a safe distance of two yards but facing her nonetheless.
"Right..." Andrew said, nodding and nervously following Warren's example. "What's that?" he then added and Jonathan, coming to join the others, shook his head a little.
"You are such a cliché, Andy," he murmured and Andrew turned his head to his friend with a questioning and annoyed glare, Jonathan only shrugging and both returning their attention to Torah as she began speaking again.
"The Legacy are an ancient...myth, I thought. Turns out they're as real as this Goddamn prophecy I'm suddenly up against!" she grumbled. "Well, the short version is that they're a band of eight demon's who seek to master the Child, something I've never understood the meaning of until now... Oh, right. Buffy and Spike are going to have a daughter together, forgot to mention that," she then finished.
The Trio did a double-take, staring at her with eyes growing and Torah looked at them rather amusedly. They looked like their heads were about to explode. Oh, how she wished they would! Of course, the shock at this disclosure soon wore out and made way for, in Warren's case, glee. Andrew obviously tried to copy the marvelling and triumphant expression on his friend's face but hardly came close to it and Jonathan just looked from one to the other, still not really comprehending.
"A child?" Warren asked and then he suddenly started laughing. "This is PERFECT!" he exclaimed and Torah watched him with growing impatience.
"Shut your mouth and stop that hacking noice!" she interrupted his moment and he grew quiet again, an idiotic smile still covering his face though.
"So these demons are coming to Sunnydale?" Jonathan asked and Torah turned her gaze at him, a small smile beginning to play on her lips as she shook her head slowly.
"Not really, my dear. You see, they're already here," she answered and Jonathan blinked.
"And they want the baby?" Andrew asked, Torah now nodding. "Is it already born? 'Cause then I have to say that that was MUCH faster than say Scully or that baby in Men In Black that looks like a squid, even though THAT came out FAST!"
He shut himself up when Warren hit him hard in his side with one elbow; whining silently.
"I must say," Torah said, "that when it comes to pathetic charachters you boys take the cake." She shook her head a little as she stretched her legs out and then put her feet down on the ground, standing straight.
"Thank you," Warren said, in lack of anything better to say, and Torah smiled again.
"Oh, you're more than welcome," she answered and then she laughed briefly before once more growing absolutely serious. "Of COURSE the child isn't born yet, you fool! But the Legacy will ruin this plan of mine and I HATE it when something RUINS one of my plans. I get so ANGRY!" she now stated and the Trio took a simultaneous step back. "Well..." she grumbled. "Maybe I can use them... After all, I am their queen, am I not?"
The three humans nodded in silence as she brought out the necklace containing her husband.
"Karatka," she whispered. "Wanna come out and play with me?"
***
Buffy stretched as she walked into the kitchen from the livingroom, where the others were still gathered reading through the stacks of books that Giles and Willow had brought over from the Magic Box.
Buffy brought a glass out of a cupboard and filled it with water, gulping it down she looked outside through the windows and noticed that the day had given way for dusk and she was a little surprised by the discovery since she hadn't thought that they had been researching for that long... She turned her head as she brought the glass from her lips and looked at the clock on the wall showing the time to be closing in on eight thirty and this surprised her even more.
Willow entered the kitchen and Buffy turned her eyes on her friend who looked tired.
"Where the heck did the day go?" Buffy asked, putting her glass down, and Willow smiled a little, shrugging.
"Good question... I bet one of the books has some kind of curse on it so it just sucks the minutes away, into it..." she grumbled and Buffy smiled a little back, nodding.
"I bet," she agreed and Willow leaned a little against the counter as she stopped in front of her friend.
"I wrote the letter," Willow now said and Buffy's eyes enlarged just slightly as she looked away. "I mean, me and Tara wrote it, actually. I hope you didn't mind that I told her," she added quickly and Buffy shook her head.
"Of course not," she answered. "But... did you send it?" she then asked hesitantly and Willow smiled a little.
"I can't remember," she answered and Buffy looked up at her with a smile back. "We'll just have to see, right? If there's an answer I guess I did," Willow continued, " and if there isn't then either he's a complete jerk or the letter got lost and then...we'll send another one," she finished, but at that Buffy shook her head again.
"No, one is enough. If it doesn't reach him then there's a reason for it," she stated and Willow observed her for a moment, then nodded her agreement.
"All right," she said. "It's your decision."
Buffy smiled a little, reaching out and grabbing her friends hand gratefully.
"I love you, Wills," she said warmly and Willow looked at her before smiling and taking a step forward, embracing her.
"I love you too, Buff," she said and Buffy held her close, happy that they had known each other so long, that they had been through so much and feeling strong in the knowledge that her friends would never buckle even a moment as they were standing at her side.
"You know," she said silently, "I don't know where I would be right now if it weren't for you and Xander. Thank you so much."
Willow smiled, nodding with her chin resting on Buffy's right shoulder.
"We're the ones who should thank you," she said and Buffy laughed a little at that.
"Hey, can anyone join?" Xander's voice asked behind them as he and Anya entered the kitchen and the Slayer and the Wicca both looked up at him before reaching out an arm each for him to join them and he hesitated a moment, looking at the two of them and then he smiled as he stepped into their embrace.
"Friends for life," Buffy said and they all gently put their heads together.
"And death," Xander added solemny and Willow nodded.
"Yes," she said. "Friends through anything."
"For better or worse?" Spike's voice asked carefully behind them and Buffy smiled, the three's heads still bowed in their little circle and then Xander said:
"Exactly. For better or worse."
"For better or worse," Buffy and Willow said in one voice.
Suddenly the sound of breaking glass was heard from the living room and the high-pitched scream of Dawn soon followed.
The five in the kitchen spun and turned around as they all in one body moved in through the doorway from the kitchen to the living room.
"They're here," Giles said as he threw a crossbow to Spike and then handed Buffy her axe, the rest of the Gang quickly grabbing a weapon of choice out of the large wooden chest as they turned to the window behind the couch which had been smashed.
"They have Dawn..." Giles then added and Buffy stared at him for a moment before not hesitating as she ran through the living room and threw herself out of the now gaping hole of the former window.
"Buffy!" Spike screamed before running after her.
***
She hit the ground with her right shoulder first, her hip following and in one swift motion she rolled on the ground, put her right foot down and was on her feet. She quickly concluded that she was alone and she felt like she couldn't breathe as she suddenly heard a scream to her left.
Dawn.
Her head spun in that direction and she could see the shadows of a tight crowd disappearing down the street.
"Let's go," Spike's voice sounded from beside her and she looked up at him, meeting his gaze and then she nodded.
They ran swiftly, but as they rounded the corner of the curb there was nothing and no one disturbing the now darkened street but them.
"Dammit," Buffy growled. "That was so stupid, how could I let her be taken like that again?!" she exclaimed and Spike took a gentle hold on her shoulders and then he said:
"This is NOT your fault... They only grabbed her for leverage, Buffy. They'll make contact and when they do..."
"You'll rip our bloody throats out? Was that what you were going to say, Mr. Spike?" a voice sounded from behind him and he let go of Buffy as he spun around, staring into the crazed and subtly glowing eyes of one of the minions.
"Bloody right, you peice of...!"
"Spike," Buffy interrupted, placing a hand on his arm and the minion smiled an evil smile at the sight, Buffy ignored it and took a step forward to stand next to the vamp as she met the eyes of the minion. "I want my sister unharmed and brought back to me this instant, do you understand?!" she screamed and Spike grabbed her when she was about to lunge at the demon. "You bring her back, you Goddamn devil, or I'll kill you all!"
There was a low sound, almost resembling the purring of a large cat, and Buffy stared in disgust, stopping her struggle against Spike's arms as she realized the demon was laughing.
"Of course, but you see what we want isn't your sister, it's your unborn daughter, and so we are supposing you shall find some way to kill us whether we bring your sister back or not...after we take your child from you, that is," he said gently and Buffy felt her heart sink in her chest before she ground her teeth together, the hatred rising in her chest for this creature.
"That will never happen," she said and the low purr was heard again.
"That will never happen," Spike repeated, his voice hard enough to cut through metal and the minion stopped laughing, the glow in his eyes growing into a deeper color red as he looked intently from one to the other.
"Of course it will," he said calmly.
"Where is my sister, you bastard?" Buffy asked, voice stale and her gaze sharp, but the minion didn't seem to mind.
"Safe," he answered and Spike took a step forward.
"You listen to me..."
"No," the demon interrupted, disappearing into thin air and then materializing right in front of the vamp. "YOU listen to ME," he then said gently. "Your sister is safe until the baby is born, not later than after the child has taken its first unsteady little breath are you to bring her to us and then your sister will be free to go. We shall be in touch with the location, naturally. Is that a deal?"
Buffy shook her head slowly, mostly in disbelief, but also simply because she couldn't make that choice, she couldn't choose between her sister or her child.
Spike tried to keep a level head, but the scale was tipping over and before he knew it he reached out a hand and was about to grab a hold on the demon's throat. It vapored before he had a chance and they were once more alone on the street.
"How are we going to win this one, honey?" Buffy asked bitterly and Spike turned to her with a regretful but understanding look on his face, reaching out a hand to take hers.
***
Dawn felt a gush of pain run from her head and out into her neck, spreading long claws down her spine and she snapped her eyes open with a wimper.
She was in a small and dusty compartment, not much bigger than a closet, and the pain gave way for an overwhelming fear.
The dancing demon incident must have been the last time I got to use the upper hand of a my-sister-bails-me-out-as-always card, she thought, noticing that her hands and feet were both bound, her arms pulled tight behind her back.
"So, did you bring her or is this a party of eight?" a voice asked outside the closed door of the compartment and she tried to struggle herself up to a seated postition.
"Yes, we have brought her, my king, she is in there," a darker voice answered and in a moment the door flew open, Dawn squinting in the painfully sharp light from a lightbulb attatched to a cord in the ceiling.
Two hard hands grabbed her arms and pulled her to a standing position.
"Why, she's just a young girl," the man before her said. "How old is your sister, child?"
Dawn glared up at him, his brown eyes were almost black and tiny fangs showed at the corners of his mouth as he smiled a little at her. His face was handsome and the edges were surprisingly soft, they didn't go very well with the harsh expression in his gaze.
"Are you mute?" he asked.
"She is not, sire," one of the minions answered for her, sounding very proud that he could bring such information to his king, which obviously was what this man was.
The king turned to his subject, raising one hand and hitting him hard on the chin, the other demon hardly flinching, but looking quite surprised at this action.
"I was not talking to you, Crever," the king then said before turning his eyes back at Dawn. "I was talking to you, pretty," he then said, reaching back and grabbing a firm hold of a handful of Dawn's long hair. "Tell me, how old is your sister, child?"
Dawn hesitated a moment and then she said:
"Old enough to cut your head off and wear it as a garment before she puts it up on her wall."
The king stared at her and then he threw his head back and started laughing. He stopped just as quickly though and turned his dark eyes back at her.
"Quite the temper," he mumbled as he bent down and put his face close to hers as he added: "You should be careful with that...sometimes a temper such as your own makes for not so pleasant situations."
Dawn smiled a little.
"Really? Then maybe I should give you the same advice. You see, this temper I have I got from my sister and she's probably not in the best of moods right now so maybe you should watch your back or YOU might find yourself in a VERY unpleasant situation," she stated in a low voice and the king let her go with a growl, taking a step back and staring at the young human who dared to defy him.
"You are a foolish child," he murmured.
"And you are an idiot for a demon," she retorted coldly.
"I can smell the fear on you, sapien," he whispered and this made Dawn's mouth close as her heart tried to steady its beating. "Ah, there's nothing you can do about it, you see... I've already sensed it."
He smiled a little, signing for one of the three others in the room to bring forth a chair, which the demon did without a sound and then he pressed Dawn down on it.
"Yeah, I'm scared," she said even more defiantly. "So what?"
"So what?" the king asked and she nodded. "What is the age of your sister, child. Tell me, or I'll let one of my followers here make you scream so loud that you'll make yourself deaf."
Dawn looked away from him, drawing a small breath as her eyes fell upon a low table filled with shining little knives.
"She's twenty-two," she answered and the king nodded.
"Good, I'm glad you've come to your senses. Twenty-two, you say? My, my, she's older than most Slayers I've known of...fascinating. She must be very good."
"Scared?" Dawn asked, turning her eyes on the king again and he chuckled, shaking his head.
"I am immortal, child, in the truest sense. I cannot die. So am I scared? Of course not."
Dawn looked at him and then she huffed, looking away.
"Even demons get scared," she said silently. "I've seen it with my own two eyes..."
"The vampire?" the king said and Dawn's head shot up as she stared at him, then realizing he must be able to read her mind. "He's afraid now, is he? Of loosing his love: Buffy. Loosing his baby. Of loosing...his life?"
Dawn closed her eyes and concentrated on seeing nothing at all.
The king merely smiled as he turned around and walked out of the room to go tell the news to his queen.
The Continuance
By Annie
2002-07-16
Dawn knocked carefully on the door to Willow's room, where Torah was residing.
No answer.
"Torah?" she called.
No answer.
She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, gently pushing the door open and popping her head through the slot she looked around. The curtains were closed and the room lay in a shadowy gloom. She stepped inside.
"Torah, are you in here?" she asked as she made her way around the bed to walk into the bathroom. "Torah?"
Empty.
Weird, she thought as she walked back to the door and took another look around the room before stepping outside, not noticing the small bulging of the curtains and thus not the window standing open behind it.
"Torah wasn't in her room," Dawn said as she entered the kitchen where Giles was making a pot of tea.
"Did she tell you she was leaving?" he asked and Dawn shook her head, leaning against the breakfast table and watching the familiarity of his hands filling the pot with water.
"I've missed you," she said silently and he turned to her with a smile.
"And I you," he stated and she smiled back. "Did Torah leave a note or anything like that?" he then asked and Dawn shook her head again.
"She just got back in so I don't get why she had to leave again and especially why she left without so much as a word," she answered and Giles nodded, putting the pot on and turning to the teen with a thoughtful expression.
"Strange indeed," he mumbled and then a very sleepy vampire entered the kitchen. "Well, good afternoon," Giles now added and Spike glared at him before making his way past him to the fridge to get some blood.
Dawn smiled widely at Spike's heavy eyelids and when he turned around with a jar of blood in one hand he couldn't help but smile back.
"Good afternoon," she mimicked Giles and Spike huffed, still smiling, as he brought out a cup and filled it with the liquid.
"Good afternoon, niblet," he murmured and then he turned to the Watcher. "And to you too, doctor Doolittle," he added with a small courtesy of the head and Giles raised his eyebrows as Spike smirked a little and shoved the cup in the microwave.
Buffy walked into the kitchen and came to stand by Dawn's side.
"He's not behaving," Dawn whispered loud enough for everybody to hear, safe to say Spike would have heard it no matter how low she tried to make it.
"Oh, he ISN'T, is he?" he now asked before Buffy had a chance to respond just as the microwave started beeping and he opened the door, bringing out his cup and then closed it again with a bang. "Ever heard of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, Lil'Bit?" he asked now as he sipped his breakfast and Dawn smiled brightly.
"Yep, but I don't think any side of Buffy's bed is the wrong side for you," she answered coyly and three pairs of eyes widened a little as Dawn giggled, shaking her head. "You're so funny, Spikey," she added as she skipped around the breakfast table and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Giles smiled a little as he moved to stand beside Buffy, bending down to talk in a lowered voice he said:
"Torah's gone missing."
Buffy turned her head to look up at him, worriedly, and he raised a hand, shaking his head slightly.
"I don't mean that kind of missing, she just left...Don't you think that is rather strange?" he asked and Buffy shrugged, shaking her head.
"If she wants to leave the house she can, she's not our prisoner," she answered simply. "Besides, we have larger fish to worry about, fish that actually bite," she added with a meaningful look and Giles nodded.
"I just think it would be wise to keep an eye on her," he murmured and now Spike spoke up.
"I already am," he stated calmly, rinsing his cup out and opening the dishwasher to put it in, straightening his back he added: "No need to worry."
Giles smiled a little at that, nodding, and Spike found himself smiling back.
The front door opened and the four missing Scoobs walked inside.
"The cavalry is here!" Xander yelled as they filed into the kitchen, him last, and Buffy nodded, smiling.
"So what kind of nasty are we up against this time?" Tara asked silently and Buffy turned to her, smile fading.
"The really, really bad kind," she answered, glancing at Spike who was looking at her intensely.
"Yeah," he now agreed, looking around at all of them. "The REALLY, really bloody awful kind."
***
"I can't believe that this is happening!" Torah screamed, tipping over the table in the middle of the room and sending the three humans scurrying into a corner each, eyes growing as they watched the aggravated demoness demolish their hide-out.
"First of all, we still don't know what you're talking about..." Warren began, taking a step forward and then quickly stepping back as two eyes filled with anger were turned his way.
"No, that's right, you don't, because you're just a pack of meaningless, useless, disgusting little humans!" she yelled and kicked the now tipped over table, sending it sliding into the wall facing her and shattering into splinters.
"I object to that!" Andrew squeaked from his corner, but she ignored him as she turned to Warren again.
"They are trying to STEAL my game, that's what they're doing!" she exclaimed, her hands clenched into tight little fists and she bit her lower lip hard as she tried to breathe steadily.
"Who?" Warren asked carefully and Torah sighed deeply as she sunk down on the floor, crossing her legs and then gently floating up into the air.
"The Legacy," she answered, seemingly having calmed down and Warren took a trying step forward.
When she didn't go ballistic again he made his way up to her, keeping a safe distance of two yards but facing her nonetheless.
"Right..." Andrew said, nodding and nervously following Warren's example. "What's that?" he then added and Jonathan, coming to join the others, shook his head a little.
"You are such a cliché, Andy," he murmured and Andrew turned his head to his friend with a questioning and annoyed glare, Jonathan only shrugging and both returning their attention to Torah as she began speaking again.
"The Legacy are an ancient...myth, I thought. Turns out they're as real as this Goddamn prophecy I'm suddenly up against!" she grumbled. "Well, the short version is that they're a band of eight demon's who seek to master the Child, something I've never understood the meaning of until now... Oh, right. Buffy and Spike are going to have a daughter together, forgot to mention that," she then finished.
The Trio did a double-take, staring at her with eyes growing and Torah looked at them rather amusedly. They looked like their heads were about to explode. Oh, how she wished they would! Of course, the shock at this disclosure soon wore out and made way for, in Warren's case, glee. Andrew obviously tried to copy the marvelling and triumphant expression on his friend's face but hardly came close to it and Jonathan just looked from one to the other, still not really comprehending.
"A child?" Warren asked and then he suddenly started laughing. "This is PERFECT!" he exclaimed and Torah watched him with growing impatience.
"Shut your mouth and stop that hacking noice!" she interrupted his moment and he grew quiet again, an idiotic smile still covering his face though.
"So these demons are coming to Sunnydale?" Jonathan asked and Torah turned her gaze at him, a small smile beginning to play on her lips as she shook her head slowly.
"Not really, my dear. You see, they're already here," she answered and Jonathan blinked.
"And they want the baby?" Andrew asked, Torah now nodding. "Is it already born? 'Cause then I have to say that that was MUCH faster than say Scully or that baby in Men In Black that looks like a squid, even though THAT came out FAST!"
He shut himself up when Warren hit him hard in his side with one elbow; whining silently.
"I must say," Torah said, "that when it comes to pathetic charachters you boys take the cake." She shook her head a little as she stretched her legs out and then put her feet down on the ground, standing straight.
"Thank you," Warren said, in lack of anything better to say, and Torah smiled again.
"Oh, you're more than welcome," she answered and then she laughed briefly before once more growing absolutely serious. "Of COURSE the child isn't born yet, you fool! But the Legacy will ruin this plan of mine and I HATE it when something RUINS one of my plans. I get so ANGRY!" she now stated and the Trio took a simultaneous step back. "Well..." she grumbled. "Maybe I can use them... After all, I am their queen, am I not?"
The three humans nodded in silence as she brought out the necklace containing her husband.
"Karatka," she whispered. "Wanna come out and play with me?"
***
Buffy stretched as she walked into the kitchen from the livingroom, where the others were still gathered reading through the stacks of books that Giles and Willow had brought over from the Magic Box.
Buffy brought a glass out of a cupboard and filled it with water, gulping it down she looked outside through the windows and noticed that the day had given way for dusk and she was a little surprised by the discovery since she hadn't thought that they had been researching for that long... She turned her head as she brought the glass from her lips and looked at the clock on the wall showing the time to be closing in on eight thirty and this surprised her even more.
Willow entered the kitchen and Buffy turned her eyes on her friend who looked tired.
"Where the heck did the day go?" Buffy asked, putting her glass down, and Willow smiled a little, shrugging.
"Good question... I bet one of the books has some kind of curse on it so it just sucks the minutes away, into it..." she grumbled and Buffy smiled a little back, nodding.
"I bet," she agreed and Willow leaned a little against the counter as she stopped in front of her friend.
"I wrote the letter," Willow now said and Buffy's eyes enlarged just slightly as she looked away. "I mean, me and Tara wrote it, actually. I hope you didn't mind that I told her," she added quickly and Buffy shook her head.
"Of course not," she answered. "But... did you send it?" she then asked hesitantly and Willow smiled a little.
"I can't remember," she answered and Buffy looked up at her with a smile back. "We'll just have to see, right? If there's an answer I guess I did," Willow continued, " and if there isn't then either he's a complete jerk or the letter got lost and then...we'll send another one," she finished, but at that Buffy shook her head again.
"No, one is enough. If it doesn't reach him then there's a reason for it," she stated and Willow observed her for a moment, then nodded her agreement.
"All right," she said. "It's your decision."
Buffy smiled a little, reaching out and grabbing her friends hand gratefully.
"I love you, Wills," she said warmly and Willow looked at her before smiling and taking a step forward, embracing her.
"I love you too, Buff," she said and Buffy held her close, happy that they had known each other so long, that they had been through so much and feeling strong in the knowledge that her friends would never buckle even a moment as they were standing at her side.
"You know," she said silently, "I don't know where I would be right now if it weren't for you and Xander. Thank you so much."
Willow smiled, nodding with her chin resting on Buffy's right shoulder.
"We're the ones who should thank you," she said and Buffy laughed a little at that.
"Hey, can anyone join?" Xander's voice asked behind them as he and Anya entered the kitchen and the Slayer and the Wicca both looked up at him before reaching out an arm each for him to join them and he hesitated a moment, looking at the two of them and then he smiled as he stepped into their embrace.
"Friends for life," Buffy said and they all gently put their heads together.
"And death," Xander added solemny and Willow nodded.
"Yes," she said. "Friends through anything."
"For better or worse?" Spike's voice asked carefully behind them and Buffy smiled, the three's heads still bowed in their little circle and then Xander said:
"Exactly. For better or worse."
"For better or worse," Buffy and Willow said in one voice.
Suddenly the sound of breaking glass was heard from the living room and the high-pitched scream of Dawn soon followed.
The five in the kitchen spun and turned around as they all in one body moved in through the doorway from the kitchen to the living room.
"They're here," Giles said as he threw a crossbow to Spike and then handed Buffy her axe, the rest of the Gang quickly grabbing a weapon of choice out of the large wooden chest as they turned to the window behind the couch which had been smashed.
"They have Dawn..." Giles then added and Buffy stared at him for a moment before not hesitating as she ran through the living room and threw herself out of the now gaping hole of the former window.
"Buffy!" Spike screamed before running after her.
***
She hit the ground with her right shoulder first, her hip following and in one swift motion she rolled on the ground, put her right foot down and was on her feet. She quickly concluded that she was alone and she felt like she couldn't breathe as she suddenly heard a scream to her left.
Dawn.
Her head spun in that direction and she could see the shadows of a tight crowd disappearing down the street.
"Let's go," Spike's voice sounded from beside her and she looked up at him, meeting his gaze and then she nodded.
They ran swiftly, but as they rounded the corner of the curb there was nothing and no one disturbing the now darkened street but them.
"Dammit," Buffy growled. "That was so stupid, how could I let her be taken like that again?!" she exclaimed and Spike took a gentle hold on her shoulders and then he said:
"This is NOT your fault... They only grabbed her for leverage, Buffy. They'll make contact and when they do..."
"You'll rip our bloody throats out? Was that what you were going to say, Mr. Spike?" a voice sounded from behind him and he let go of Buffy as he spun around, staring into the crazed and subtly glowing eyes of one of the minions.
"Bloody right, you peice of...!"
"Spike," Buffy interrupted, placing a hand on his arm and the minion smiled an evil smile at the sight, Buffy ignored it and took a step forward to stand next to the vamp as she met the eyes of the minion. "I want my sister unharmed and brought back to me this instant, do you understand?!" she screamed and Spike grabbed her when she was about to lunge at the demon. "You bring her back, you Goddamn devil, or I'll kill you all!"
There was a low sound, almost resembling the purring of a large cat, and Buffy stared in disgust, stopping her struggle against Spike's arms as she realized the demon was laughing.
"Of course, but you see what we want isn't your sister, it's your unborn daughter, and so we are supposing you shall find some way to kill us whether we bring your sister back or not...after we take your child from you, that is," he said gently and Buffy felt her heart sink in her chest before she ground her teeth together, the hatred rising in her chest for this creature.
"That will never happen," she said and the low purr was heard again.
"That will never happen," Spike repeated, his voice hard enough to cut through metal and the minion stopped laughing, the glow in his eyes growing into a deeper color red as he looked intently from one to the other.
"Of course it will," he said calmly.
"Where is my sister, you bastard?" Buffy asked, voice stale and her gaze sharp, but the minion didn't seem to mind.
"Safe," he answered and Spike took a step forward.
"You listen to me..."
"No," the demon interrupted, disappearing into thin air and then materializing right in front of the vamp. "YOU listen to ME," he then said gently. "Your sister is safe until the baby is born, not later than after the child has taken its first unsteady little breath are you to bring her to us and then your sister will be free to go. We shall be in touch with the location, naturally. Is that a deal?"
Buffy shook her head slowly, mostly in disbelief, but also simply because she couldn't make that choice, she couldn't choose between her sister or her child.
Spike tried to keep a level head, but the scale was tipping over and before he knew it he reached out a hand and was about to grab a hold on the demon's throat. It vapored before he had a chance and they were once more alone on the street.
"How are we going to win this one, honey?" Buffy asked bitterly and Spike turned to her with a regretful but understanding look on his face, reaching out a hand to take hers.
***
Dawn felt a gush of pain run from her head and out into her neck, spreading long claws down her spine and she snapped her eyes open with a wimper.
She was in a small and dusty compartment, not much bigger than a closet, and the pain gave way for an overwhelming fear.
The dancing demon incident must have been the last time I got to use the upper hand of a my-sister-bails-me-out-as-always card, she thought, noticing that her hands and feet were both bound, her arms pulled tight behind her back.
"So, did you bring her or is this a party of eight?" a voice asked outside the closed door of the compartment and she tried to struggle herself up to a seated postition.
"Yes, we have brought her, my king, she is in there," a darker voice answered and in a moment the door flew open, Dawn squinting in the painfully sharp light from a lightbulb attatched to a cord in the ceiling.
Two hard hands grabbed her arms and pulled her to a standing position.
"Why, she's just a young girl," the man before her said. "How old is your sister, child?"
Dawn glared up at him, his brown eyes were almost black and tiny fangs showed at the corners of his mouth as he smiled a little at her. His face was handsome and the edges were surprisingly soft, they didn't go very well with the harsh expression in his gaze.
"Are you mute?" he asked.
"She is not, sire," one of the minions answered for her, sounding very proud that he could bring such information to his king, which obviously was what this man was.
The king turned to his subject, raising one hand and hitting him hard on the chin, the other demon hardly flinching, but looking quite surprised at this action.
"I was not talking to you, Crever," the king then said before turning his eyes back at Dawn. "I was talking to you, pretty," he then said, reaching back and grabbing a firm hold of a handful of Dawn's long hair. "Tell me, how old is your sister, child?"
Dawn hesitated a moment and then she said:
"Old enough to cut your head off and wear it as a garment before she puts it up on her wall."
The king stared at her and then he threw his head back and started laughing. He stopped just as quickly though and turned his dark eyes back at her.
"Quite the temper," he mumbled as he bent down and put his face close to hers as he added: "You should be careful with that...sometimes a temper such as your own makes for not so pleasant situations."
Dawn smiled a little.
"Really? Then maybe I should give you the same advice. You see, this temper I have I got from my sister and she's probably not in the best of moods right now so maybe you should watch your back or YOU might find yourself in a VERY unpleasant situation," she stated in a low voice and the king let her go with a growl, taking a step back and staring at the young human who dared to defy him.
"You are a foolish child," he murmured.
"And you are an idiot for a demon," she retorted coldly.
"I can smell the fear on you, sapien," he whispered and this made Dawn's mouth close as her heart tried to steady its beating. "Ah, there's nothing you can do about it, you see... I've already sensed it."
He smiled a little, signing for one of the three others in the room to bring forth a chair, which the demon did without a sound and then he pressed Dawn down on it.
"Yeah, I'm scared," she said even more defiantly. "So what?"
"So what?" the king asked and she nodded. "What is the age of your sister, child. Tell me, or I'll let one of my followers here make you scream so loud that you'll make yourself deaf."
Dawn looked away from him, drawing a small breath as her eyes fell upon a low table filled with shining little knives.
"She's twenty-two," she answered and the king nodded.
"Good, I'm glad you've come to your senses. Twenty-two, you say? My, my, she's older than most Slayers I've known of...fascinating. She must be very good."
"Scared?" Dawn asked, turning her eyes on the king again and he chuckled, shaking his head.
"I am immortal, child, in the truest sense. I cannot die. So am I scared? Of course not."
Dawn looked at him and then she huffed, looking away.
"Even demons get scared," she said silently. "I've seen it with my own two eyes..."
"The vampire?" the king said and Dawn's head shot up as she stared at him, then realizing he must be able to read her mind. "He's afraid now, is he? Of loosing his love: Buffy. Loosing his baby. Of loosing...his life?"
Dawn closed her eyes and concentrated on seeing nothing at all.
The king merely smiled as he turned around and walked out of the room to go tell the news to his queen.