Disclaimer: Any character that you've seen on the show is owned by Joss, not me.
Colleen
The new slayer
Jordan
Psychic who receives The Visions
Holly
Half Sellar Demon
Dawn
The Key
Aaron
Currently exploring magicks
*****
Colleen was panicked. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have left Mike out of her sight? She knew that Kaoryn was right there and she knew that Kaoryn was trying to hurt her. She should have never turned her back on Mike. If anything happened to Mike Colleen didn't know what she would do.
Holly was panicked. In all her life she had never been more scared then she was in that moment. She had never spoken a word about her feelings to anyone and she had no intention of ever letting anyone know. The only person who had an idea of what Holly felt was her mother, and she had already done everything she would do about Holly's feelings. Holly knew that she wouldn't let anything happen to Mike, and if something ever did happen to Mike she would make whoever hurt him pay.
The two heroines searched the residential street they were on. Mike had only been gone for at most a minute and he couldn't be that far away. The problem was that most likely he had been grabbed by a vampire. A minute is all a vampire needs. As the seconds ticked on and on Colleen and Holly bother became more and more worried. The only difference between the two was Holly hid it a lot more than Colleen.
Holly ran in between two houses and that's when she felt it. It came over her in a wave. She was suddenly just aware of Mike's presence and shifted into her demon form instantly. She looked around the corner of the house on saw two forms in the shadows.
"Colleen!" Holly after she had pulled Kaoryn away from Mike, "Colleen over here!" Holly began to fight Kaoryn with every ounce of fury in her being. Every punch and every kick cried out with the pain that had suddenly overcome her heart. She picked Kaoryn up off of the ground to begin hitting her again but Colleen came from around the corner and dropkicked Kaoryn to the ground. Colleen was immediately on top of her delivering blows to her face.
Holly turned her attention towards Mike. As she approached him she saw the way that his eyes slowly opened and closed. When she noticed the large wound on his neck she felt a new rush of emotions over taking her. Collapsing to her knees in front of Mike she returned to her human form. She touched the wound on Mike's neck and watched the way that blood seemed to pour from it much too slowly. She looked at Mike's mouth and noticed the small traces of blood on his lips. She gasped, realizing what had happened. She tentatively touched Mike's neck and held her breath, fighting with all the strength in her being to stop the tears from forming. She waited for what seemed like years and she felt it. It was weak but it was there. Mike still had a pulse.
"Colleen get over here quick," Holly said trying to control the emotion in her voice.
"Let me just take care of this first," Colleen said as she punched Kaoryn hard in the face again. She reached back for her stake.
"Colleen you need to get over here," Holly said.
Something in Holly's voice made Colleen turn around and look over at Mike. As she realized the extent of how badly Mike was hurt Kaoryn pushed Colleen off of her and ran away into the night. Colleen didn't even think of going after her. She slowly hobbled over to Mike and collapsed at his side.
"Mike," Colleen said, "Mike wake up." Colleen touched Mike's face. She watched the way that his eyes closed and that it didn't even seem like he was breathing. As she continued to speak her voice became more and more desperate. "Mike, Mike! Wake up Mike. Please you have to wake up. Mike, wake up. Wake up."
"Colleen I need your cell phone," Holly said quietly. Colleen pulled the phone out of her jacket and handed it to Holly. She never took her eyes off Mike. Holly dialed 911. "Yes it's an emergency," Holly said after the operator picked up. "My friend was bit." She paused. "It was dark. I think it was a dog," Holly lied. "We are on Lexington Road. I can't see the house numbers, but it's right after the intersection with Cambridge." Holly paused. "Okay. Please hurry."
"An ambulance is on the way," Holly told Colleen. "I'm going to go wait by the road for the ambulance." Colleen didn't answer. Holly walked over to the road and then remembered that they still had to stop Gunner. She called Aaron's cell phone. The store was only about a two minute run away from where they were.
"Aaron," Holly said after Aaron picked up. "Get to the corner of Lexington and Cambridge now." Holly hung up before Aaron had a chance to ask any questions.
Holly could do nothing now but wait at the corner for either the ambulance or Aaron to arrive. She looked back at Mike. Colleen knelt over him trying to hold him to life. Holly went back to staring at the corner. She didn't know how much time had passed but eventually Aaron came running from the Magic Box.
"What's going on?" Aaron gasped between breaths.
"It's Mike," Holly told him. "He's been hurt."
"What happened?" Aaron asked.
"Kaoryn," Holly told him. "He's over there with Holly. I'm going to go to try to find Dawn and Jordan. You have to wait here for the ambulance."
"Is he okay?" Aaron asked.
Holly paused. "He doesn't look good." Holly handed Aaron Colleen's cell phone and began to walk in the direction of downtown.
"Wait," Aaron called out to Holly. She stopped in the middle of the road and Aaron jogged over to meet her. "Here," Aaron said handing her his backpack. "I tried to write good notes. I found some stuff about this oracle. The Magic Box has a pretty extensive Hellmouth library. It's a pretty easy ritual to open the portal. You guys should be able to do it with this stuff."
"Thanks," Holly said as she put the backpack on and then got back to a jog.
"Call if you need any help," Aaron yelled after Holly. She waved back to him but didn't stop.
Aaron looked back to where Colleen was looking after Mike. Aaron wanted to tell her that he was here but he didn't want to miss the ambulance if it was as bad as Holly had told him. Aaron was only there for about two minutes before the ambulance got to the corner. Aaron flagged them down.
"Where is he at?" the taller of the two paramedics asked as both of them got out of the car.
"Over here," Aaron said as they quickly began to move towards Mike.
"Did you see where the animal went?" the other paramedic asked.
"No," Aaron answered quickly. The three of them were quickly by Mike's side.
"Miss," the first paramedic said to Colleen, "you need to step away from him."
Colleen stared up at him in confusion.
"It's okay Colleen," Aaron said as he put a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and stood up next to him. The paramedics quickly began to examine Mike.
"He's fading," the said as they put him on the stretcher they brought with them. "When need to get him to the hospital fast."
Colleen, Aaron, and the paramedics with Mike moved towards the ambulance. Colleen began to try to get into the ambulance when Aaron stopped her.
"Wait," Aaron said to her. "We have a Gunner problem." Colleen looked back to the ambulance with desperation. "I'll make sure he's okay," Aaron told her as he handed her her cell phone. "Call the others and see where they're at."
"Take care of him," Colleen said to Aaron. "And tell him I love him."
"I will," Aaron said as he climbed into the back of the ambulance. "Good luck." The paramedics shut the door and Aaron looked back at Colleen. She stood in the same spot until the ambulance was out of sight. Aaron hoped that she would be okay. For the first time Aaron looked at how badly Mike was hurt.
"Come on Mike," Aaron said quietly, "You have to pull through."
*****
"That was Colleen," Dawn said as she hung up her phone. "She's on her way."
"Is Holly with her?" Jordan asked. They were both sitting on the edge of the roof of a building that overlooked the alley where the portal would open.
Dawn shook her head. "She didn't say," Dawn told him. "She sounded upset. I think something might have happened."
"What with the vampire that used to be her mother?" Jordan said. "How many ways could that go wrong?"
"I just wish they would get here," Dawn said. "I don't think we're going to be much of a threat against Gunner if he gets here first."
"We're about to find out," Jordan said as he noticed the vampires entering the alley.
"Great," Dawn said. "What should we do?"
"Just sit and wait," Jordan said. "Hopefully we might be able to figure out how to open the portal."
Jordan and Dawn peered down at Gunner. They were surprised when they saw that he had another half dozen vampires with him.
"How come you failed to mention the cadre of vampires?" Dawn asked Jordan.
"Hey have you ever had a vision?" Jordan asked Dawn. "They're not exactly the most clearly informative way of communication. They kind of flash in and out."
"Make excuses later," Dawn said. "Listen for now."
Jordan and Dawn leaned over a little bit to try to hear what was being said. They watched as Gunner said a few words that they couldn't hear and threw a powder into the air. The air began to shimmer and then became translucent. One by one the vampires walked through the portal. Dawn began to climb down the fire escape.
"What are you doing?" Jordan asked with a quiet urgency.
"What if Aaron couldn't figure out how to open the portal?" Dawn asked Jordan. "If we just let it close then Gunner is just going to find the Key."
Jordan debated this for a second. Dawn watched him to see his result for the first second but when he didn't say anything she just kept moving down. Jordan sighed and followed her, hoping that he had made the right decision. They timed their decent so that they didn't hit the ground till the last vampire was entering the portal. When she did go through the portal Dawn and Jordan ran towards the shimmering air. Dawn jumped in first. Jordan didn't hesitate and prayed that they were doing the right thing. After they had disappeared through the portal the translucent area slowly returned to normal.
*****
Aaron got out of the ambulance and rushed into the hospital with the paramedics. They were joined by other doctors who immediately began to diagnose Mike and told the nurses to get different things that they would need. Aaron had heard some of the things that they were saying on T.V. before but he really wasn't paying attention. He was just trying to make sure that Mike was okay.
"You have to wait here," a doctor told him as they wheeled Mike through some doors. "You can't go any further."
"Okay," Aaron said as the doctor disappeared through the doors.
"Excuse me sir," a nurse said to Aaron. "Are you related to the patient?"
"No," Aaron said. "I'm just a friend."
"Do you have his insurance information," the nurse asked.
"Not in a physical sense," Aaron told the nurse. She didn't look very amused by his comment. "I'm going to go call his dad." Aaron walked over to the pay phone and reached into his pockets. He didn't have any change and he didn't want to go talk to that nurse again. When the Indiana Jones theme song started to play Aaron remembered that he had his cell phone.
"Not too dumb," Aaron said before he answered his phone. "Hello?"
*****
Colleen hung up her phone. She couldn't help it. She had to make sure that Mike was okay. She next tried calling Dawn. Dawn's phone didn't even ring. It just went straight to voicemail. Colleen wasn't sure why Dawn would have turned her phone off. Colleen turned into the alley to see Holly reading over Aaron's instructions and holding a jar of some kind of powder.
"Is this where the portal is?" Colleen asked. Holly nodded and continued to read Aaron's notes. "Where are Jordan and Dawn?" Colleen asked.
"They aren't here," Holly said.
"Any sign that Gunner has been here?" Colleen asked. "Any sign of a fight?"
"Nope," Holly said.
"Can you open this portal?" Colleen asked.
"Yes," Holly answered.
"Then open it," Colleen said. "I'm in the mood to vent some frustrations."
Holly didn't voice it but she wanted nothing more to vent some frustration too. Holly took a handful of the powder out of the jar and chanted a few phrases in Latin. After she finished she threw the powder into the air which began to shimmer. As the portal reopened Holly repacked the items into Aaron's backpack.
"So do we just walk through it?" Colleen asked.
"I guess so," Holly said.
"Here we go," Colleen said. She walked through the portal and disappeared. Holly took a deep breath before she followed.
*****
"Mike I wish I knew your dad's cell phone number," Aaron said to Mike. Mike lay on the bed asleep. The doctor's had managed to stabilize him but he had lost a lot of blood. He needed a few more transfusions. Right now he was just resting. Aaron didn't think that he should be alone. Aaron also found it hard to go five minutes without talking.
"The doctors say you're going to be okay," Aaron told Mike. "They said there was something strange in your blood. They think that it might be some kind of disease or something. I don't know what happened but I'm thinking that Kaoryn might have tried to vamp you." Aaron paused for a moment as he thought about what he had just said.
"If that's true I think that you'll probably die pretty soon," Aaron said. He tried to talk quietly so his voice wouldn't crack to the emotion. "I've read up on the whole vamping process. The vamp blood is like a poison. It'll infect your body until it kills you, unless you're already dead. Except instead of dying, your soul just enters the ether, and a demon-soul, a daemon, will enter your body."
Aaron looked at Mike. He saw the slow way that Mike breathed in and out. Aaron hoped for the best but he knew the reality of the situation. "If you become a vampire your soul will basically be in limbo. You're not going to be able to move on until the demon is killed." Aaron looked at the guy who had not been a friend until very recently. "I promise you that I'll let you move on."
Aaron stayed at Mike's side. He looked from the remote on the table up to the television. He thought about turning it on for a moment but decided against it. He wished he had brought a book and looked around for any magazines that were in the room. Coming up empty handed he decided that he would just keep an eye on the monitors that were keeping Mike alive.
*****
The realm that Jordan and Dawn had been transported to was nothing more than a cave. Well, at least the only part that they had seen was a cave. The cave should have been pitch black except for some reason the walls illuminated in a soft blue-white light. Jordan and Dawn followed the vampires from far enough behind that they didn't notice them. They walked along the cave until they came to a small pool at the end of the cave.
"So this is the Oracle?" Gunner said looking down into the pool. "Doesn't look that impressive to me. Ah well, better just do what I came here for." Gunner reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white stone. He dropped the stone into the pool which became the same white color. A ghostly figure of a woman rose from the pool.
"Do you seek enlightenment?" The Oracle asked Gunner.
"Why as a matter of fact I do," Gunner replied to the Oracle.
"Do you have a sacrifice?" The Oracle asked.
"Theo," Gunner called out to a vampire. Dawn and Jordan watched as a vampire moved from the back of the group to the front. "Do you have the sacrifice?" The vampire named Theo shrugged. "Theo, Theo, Theo," Gunner said. "You need to be more responsible. How are you going to make this up to me?" Gunner asked Theo. He scratched his head thinking of a way. "Oh I know!" Gunner pushed Theo into the pool. Theo's screamed for a few seconds but soon there was no sound to be heard.
"What would you like to know?" The Oracle asked.
"Where is the Key?" Gunner asked. His voice sounded as if it was the most important thing in the world.
The Oracle slowly began to disappear leaving the chamber with one echoing word. "Drink."
Gunner look satisfied. He got on his hands and knees in front of the pool and looked deep within it. All his months of searching for the Key were about to pay off. He slowly began to lower his head towards the pool.
"Sorry Gunner," Colleen said as she threw Gunner back towards the back of the chamber. "Three second rule."
Holly, in her demon form, started to fight two of the other five vampires while Colleen fought Gunner. Jordan and Dawn came out of their hiding spot and took on one vampire. With the close quarters of the chamber the fight was a little difficult. Gunner managed to get closer to the pool again but Jordan spotted him and threw him back with a telekinetic shove.
"Drink the water!" Jordan shouted to Colleen. "It'll tell you who the Key is."
Colleen lowered herself towards the pool but Gunner was there again to stop her. They went back to their fight. Dawn breathed a sigh of relief that Gunner didn't learn the truth. The fight continued. Dan and Jordan managed to dust one vamp and Holly took out two. As soon as the fight was starting to look like it was going their way Holly found herself pushed up hard against the wall.
"I leave you with one simple task Gunner," Kaoryn said to her partner, "And you can't even take care of it."
The two remaining vampires held Holly in place as Kaoryn managed to grab Colleen from behind. She looked over to where Jordan and Dawn were standing.
"Make one move and she dies," Kaoryn told them. Dawn and Jordan reluctantly stood still. "Now drink."
Gunner lowered his face to the pool and it disappeared beneath the waters. Kaoryn grinned. Holly and Colleen struggled against their attackers. Dawn was more terrified then she had ever been in her entire life. No one noticed the way that Jordan concentrated on a stake that was forgotten in the corner. As soon as Gunner lifted his head from the water he looked over at Jordan and Dawn with a confused look. His lips mouthed the word "you" but no sound escaped through his lips. Suddenly, his face shifted into an expression of annoyance.
"Oh shit," Gunner said as he felt himself turn to dust from the stake that was in his back.
Jordan's eyes suddenly went wide. He tried to read Gunner's mind but apparently vampires were immune to telepathy. However, his mind was filled with a scream of desperation. The moment that Gunner had looked over at them Dawn's most primal fear had over powered Jordan. Jordan couldn't understand it. How could Dawn be the Key?
Kaoryn looked around the room confused. She noticed the way that the stake remained to hover in the air and the look of concentration on his face. "Psychic," she said to herself as she pieced it together. Then it dawned on her. "You know!"
Colleen capitalized on Kaoryn's distraction and freed herself. She fought against the demon who had stolen her mother away while Holly fought back against her two vampires that were holding her. There was a fury in Colleen's fighting that no one had ever seen before. The fury though soon became sloppy and Kaoryn was able to get away. Colleen chased after her. Kaoryn reached into her pocket and pulled out a pinch of the dust and threw it on the wall at the end of the chamber. She disappeared through the wall but it became solid before Colleen could get to it. Colleen looked around for the backpack and unzipped it as quickly as she could. She disappeared through a portal but she would not be in time to stop Kaoryn.
Holly managed to dust the last of the two vamps and shifted back into her human form. She looked over at Jordan. "You know," she questioned him.
Jordan slowly shook his head. "You can't read a vampire's mind."
Dawn had never before felt as much relief as she did in that moment.
"Then why did Kaoryn think you did?" Holly asked.
"Maybe she thought that I could read the Oracle," Jordan suggested. "Or maybe she thought that since I was the psychic of the group I would know where the Key was."
Holly seemed to buy Jordan's answer. Dawn would have accepted any answer.
Jordan had absolutely no idea what to do.
*****
Colleen knocked on Mike's hospital room door. Aaron saw her and gave her a smile as he left the room. Mike lay on the bed. He was awake.
"Can I hug you?" Colleen asked.
"There are a lot of tubes," Mike said. His voice was so unemotional. It was the first time that Mike had sounded like this.
"Are you okay?" Colleen asked.
"Yeah," Mike said. There was a silence. Colleen began to walk towards Mike. "Wait," Mike told her. "Stop." There was a pause that pulled on Colleen's heart. Mike sighed. "I need some time. I need some time apart."
Colleen couldn't speak. She couldn't think. She had been having doubts about her relationship but she never thought about breaking up. "I'm sorry," Colleen offered.
"I knew the risks that being close to you ran," Mike told Colleen. Colleen wanted to cry from the way that Mike used the past tense.
"I love you," Colleen offered. She said it, and she meant it, and in her mind she believed it.
"I know you do," Mike told her. He turned away from her.
Colleen left the room. She saw Aaron in the lobby. She walked towards him slowly as the world spun out of control. Aaron saw the emotion in her face and stood up and met her against the wall of the lobby. Colleen hugged Aaron and for the first time since she had become the Slayer Colleen really cried. It was different then the few tears that she shed over her mother. Colleen let out all the emotion that had built up over the last few months out on Aaron's shoulder.
Aaron didn't offer a smart aleck response or a snide comment. He held his friend and told her that everything was going to be okay.
*****
Kaoryn returned to the lair of her master. She saw her sitting on her expensive red couch. She walked up to her and kneeled in front of her.
"I think that I have found a new lead on where to find your Key," Kaoryn told the woman in front of her.
"Fabulous," Glory said with a smirk.
Author's Note: Wow, what an ending huh? Don't worry, I'll explain everything, including why Glory hasn't just told Kaoryn that Dawn is the Key. Everything is going to be revealed in time. In the mean time though keep the reviews coming. Maybe I'll get into the double digits. There's a lot of stuff that happened in this chapter that should be commented on. I want to know what you think.