After the three girls had dragged the bodies down into the seller and dumped them into a large freezer, they quickly dressed and were out the door. Once out in front of the house, they found a large circle of burnt grass on the front lawn. Buffy examined the mark and discovered a set of foot prints leading away from the circle and toward the house. None of them was sure what the circle meant, but they were sure it had something to do with this evening's intrusion. They left the house and began making their way down the dark streets of Sunnydale on foot. It was more than an hour before the sun would begin to lighten the eastern sky and the cool air of the night chilled them in their haste.
They traveled the streets briskly, but remained at the walk. Conversation was light and nothing more than necessary. Willow still seemed a little spooked over her near kidnapping and often followed Buffy and Dawn while staring at the sidewalk before them. Dawn was happy to be out and about with her friends. It wasn't often that she was allowed to participate with the Scoobies in their activities and Dawn was secretly grateful for the circumstances.
Buffy, however, was distracted. It was hard concentrating on the path to the Magic Shop. As she walked, every so often the sweet chiming of the dagger's music was creep into her head and begin pulling her in a different direction. Buffy knew this pull was the dagger sensing a vampire and trying to draw Buffy toward the prey. It was difficult for her to resist. She could feel the music seeping under her skin and through her blood. It craved for action….sharp, decisive action. The music flowed through her mind and sung of her rewards for succumbing to the daggers wishes. The memory of her lying on floor of that small storeroom writhing in pleasure flashed through her head. Her legs ached from the memory of only a few hours ago. She could be there again, awash in the rapture of her reward. All she had to do was follow the pull of the dagger and partake in the dance of battle she already knew she enjoyed.
Buffy stopped suddenly and grasped her head between her hands. The dagger still sat in the palm of her right hand and the warm handle of the weapon now pressed against the side of her head. It throbbed with power. All she had to do was let go and follow the dagger's command. It would be so easy…and so sweet…
"Buffy?"
The voice was Willow's.
The cool night air rushed back in and Buffy sharply lifted her head. Before her stood Willow and Dawn. They had the look of concern wrinkling their brows.
The chiming of the music died off but did not retreat. It lulled her with ideas from the back of her mind.
"Are you alright?" Willow asked.
"What?" Buffy heard herself respond. She then shook her head and looked back up at her friend.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine. I…I just thought I heard something.
"Is that why you yelled?" Dawn asked.
Yelled?
"What?"
"You screamed and grabbed your head. I thought something was happening to you." Dawn explained.
"Oh."
Buffy was confused. She didn't remember screaming.
"I'm okay." Buffy finally responded. "I'm just…tired."
"Uh…okay." Dawn said, not looking convinced.
Buffy then gave a weak smile and continued past her friends and down the street.
Finally reaching the street the Magic Shop resided on, the Buffy, Willow, and Dawn made their way down the wide sidewalk toward the shop. Once within site of the store, Buffy stopped the girls with a harsh word and pulled them back into a dark doorway.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
"Someone's in the shop." Buffy answered still looking down the sidewalk toward the store.
Looking toward the store's entrance, Willow saw that the lights were on.
"Maybe it's Anya." Willow suggested.
"This early?" Buffy asked. "I don't think so."
"Well, what do we do?" Dawn asked.
"I guess we'll just have to see who it is?" Buffy answered.
Stepping quietly from the shadows, the three girls made their way cautiously toward the shop's front door.
Buffy was worried that the long haired man that had escaped back at their house had found his way here. Thinking back on the encounter, Buffy knew there was something different about him. She had felt it when she had first seen him. Buffy was almost certain that the man was a witch. She had felt that vibe of latent power that she usually felt with Willow or Tara, only it had been different, more structured.
Feeling the ever-warm handle of the jagged blade in her hand, Buffy was reassured that she could handle whatever this new witch might send at her. She no longer heard gentle chiming of the blade's song in her head, however. Its absence was unsettling.
Reaching the shop's front door, Buffy found that it was still broken from the previous night's mysterious break-in. Buffy quietly nudged the door open. Peeking through the crack, Buffy at first saw nothing but the far counter and its register. All the lights were on, however nothing looked out of place. Then, entering from the stores back room, Buffy spotted Anya. She wore a large shirt and a pair of sweat pants. Her hair was a mess. Anya didn't look frightened or upset but she did look busy with something. Releasing a sigh of relief, Buffy realized that Anya was just here unordinarily late. Jumping to her feet, Buffy swung the door open and stepped inside.
Anya jumped, startled by Buffy's sudden entrance.
"Its okay," Buffy called behind her to Dawn and Willow. "It's just Anya."
"What are you doing here?" Anya asked indignantly as Willow and Dawn stepped past Buffy and into the store.
"We should ask you the same thing," Willow responded.
Buffy followed into the store and closed the door behind her. As she turned to address Anya, she felt the familiar chiming begin echoing again in the back of her mind. Able now recognize the senses of her weapon, Buffy realized that the dagger was excited about something.
"Who else is here?" she asked Anya as she scanned the front room.
Anya opened her mouth, about to answer. She stopped short of speaking, however, and glanced down at the weapon in Buffy's hand. Instead of answering Buffy, Anya turned her head toward the door to the back room.
"Xander!" she called out.
Moments later Xander walked in from the back room. He was wearing his normal jeans and grey shirt. His hair was also unkempt like Anya's and he looked as hurriedly dress as she did.
"Buffy." He mumbled upon seeing her, his eyes widening slightly.
"What's going on her? Why are you guys here so early." Buffy asked, crossing the room yet keeping an eye on the door to the back room.
"Well, Spike woke us." He answered.
"Spike?" Buffy asked, startled.
The chiming in her head grew in strength. She recalled her attack on Spike from only a few hours ago and images of his frightened face flashed before her. Last she had seen him, Spike was falling into the darkness below the bridge just after she had pushed him over the side.
"Yeah, he stopped by, banging on our door. He looked pretty beat up." Xander looked down from Buffy's eyes to the dagger in her right hand.
"He said you did it." Xander stated, looking back up towards her.
Buffy stood there, looking at Xander. He seemed tense and a bit nervous. Buffy had seen him glance down at her weapon. Anya had done the same only moments before.
Are they after my weapon? Buffy thought. Why would they be after it? They had no idea of its power.
"Spike also said that he was the one that broke in," he nodded toward the shop's front door, "and left the dagger here."
Buffy just watched him, muscles tense. The chiming flowed through her thoughts, raising questions and ideas that she didn't want to acknowledge. She loved her friends. They had been through a lot together and had saved each other more often then she could count.
The room had grown quiet. Everyone felt a tension rising between Buffy and Xander. She seemed locked in place, wound up like an animal waiting to pounce.
Her constant, level stare on Xander was beginning to make him uncomfortable. Beads of sweat began forming on his brow.
"He said that there was something…odd about that dagger." He swallowed. "Something dangerous."
"Really?" Buffy answered, still not looking away from him.
They did know! Buffy thought.
Her mind was becoming frantic. She didn't believe that her friends would try and take the weapon from her. But the worry that they might try began to grow. She didn't want to hurt them, but she needed this dagger. It was hers and made her a better slayer than she had ever been. If they tried to take it, she was afraid she might have to hurt them.
"Yes, he said that it almost killed him." Xander spoke.
No one moved. All eyes watched Buffy as she stood in the middle of the shop, weapon in her hand. Her muscles stood clenched. Her breathing had quickened and began to grow more labored.
"She attacked me with it!" Dawn suddenly whispered from behind Buffy.
Buffy's head snapped around toward Dawn.
"What?" Willow asked, confused.
Dawn began to slowly back away from Buffy's hard gaze.
"R-Right before those guys tried to grab you…she…she attacked me with the knife."
"I didn't attack you!" Buffy yelled, causing Dawn to flinch. "You came into my room. I thought you were trying to steal my…."
"Your what?" Xander asked, as he inched forward toward the Slayer.
"Well…you shouldn't have been in there!" Buffy shouted at Dawn.
"Look, Buffy," Xander spoke calmly as he slowly continued to inch toward Buffy, "just put the dagger down and we'll talk about it."
Buffy looked over at Xander then turned toward Willow.
"I'd never hurt her." She stated toward Willow, almost pleading. "You know that, right?"
Willow stood confused, she wasn't certain what was happening but she felt that something was wrong. She remembered the look on Buffy's face as she had left the previous evening with that dagger in hand. It had only been a moment or two after Buffy had collapsed while training with the weapon. Willow hadn't felt good about letting Buffy leave with the weapon, but she trusted Buffy when she said she was okay. Now she regretted that decision.
Willow also recalled Buffy's odd behavior on their way over her tonight. When Buffy had screamed, Willow had felt a tortured pain in her friends voice.
"Of course," Willow finally answered, "but maybe you should listen to Xander."
Buffy looked stricken, as if Willow had just physically hit her.
Then, dropping her eyes to the ground, Buffy seemed to sigh and relax her muscles.
"I should have killed Spike. Then he wouldn't have reached you guys."
"But you didn't," Xander stated, "and that's good, surprisingly."
"Yeah, he's healing pretty quickly from the fall." Anya spoke, gesturing to the door to the back room behind Xander.
The chiming in Buffy's head suddenly rose to a deafening crescendo, the weapon began to again to assert is will over her. Buffy now knew that Spike, a vampire, was nearby and the dagger wanted him slain. The shift in sound stung her eyes and she bent over clutching her head in pain. In her anguish, Buffy cried out.
"Buffy!" Willow shouted.
Willow ran forward to her friend and crouched next to her. She reached to comfort Buffy when she suddenly flew backwards and slammed against a bookcase of bottles on a nearby wall. Buffy's arm extended from her side from where she had tossed the young witch. Still grasping her head in pain with her right hand, Xander leapt forward and tried snatching the dagger from the Slayers hand. Buffy reacted with surprising swiftness and lashed out at him with the dagger hilt. The metal pommel cracked Xander square above his forehead and he collapsed backwards onto the floor.
Buffy heard Dawn scream and Anya shout Xander's name. She ignored them, however, she knew that prey was close. She could almost smell it.
Glancing only momentarily at her friends now limp form on the floor, Buffy turned and almost flew across the room toward the door to the shop's back room and disappeared through the opening.
In the back room, Spike had been laying on a small couch. He had taken several injuries when landing at the bottom of the canyon Buffy had pushed him into. After crawling back up to the street, he had found that Buffy was gone. He had been certain that she had attacked him only because of the dagger she had been holding. He knew it was dangerous when he had left it at the shop. He had expected them to realize it too, but apparently he had been mistaken. Still, he didn't expect the Slayer to come after him with it. He had then hobbled his way over to Xander and Anya's place and sat at their front door for an hour banging until they finally woke up. After hearing his story, Xander didn't believe Spike. Anya, however, told both of them about Buffy's collapsed after training with the weapon. Still not completely convinced, Xander agreed to go with Spike and Anya to the Magic Shop so Anya could do a bit more research about the weapon.
Now, however, Spike sat in the back of the store room behind a desk. He had heard Buffy's voice outside and then listened as the situation spiraled out of control. Still weakened and limping from his previous encounter with the Slayer, Spike hobbled to the back of the store and to hopefully a safer location.
He then heard the shouts from the other room and the crashing as something large and wooden was broken. Watching the door to the front room from behind the desk, Spike ducked his head back down when he saw Buffy charge into the room with the knife held up before her. He had seen her eyes and they were filled with rage. Spike knew what she was here for; he supposed the dagger had found a way to kill him after all.
Richard slipped his house key into the lock and unlocked the deadbolt to his front door. It had been more than a day since he had been home and he was weary from travel. Jerry had warned him not to return home. He said that the Initiative might have people waiting for him there. Richard didn't care at the moment.
He had spent his journey home in stunned silence. The world didn't seem so clear to him anymore and everything seemed to be rushing forward as if in a dream. Richard suspected that he was slipping into denial and that he was drowning out his own emotions to keep himself from simply collapsing in fear. Thank goodness for the logic of self delusion.
Fumbling with the rest of the locks, Richard finally swung the door inward. A cool rush of air drifted past him from the darkness before him. He stepped into his small living room and flipped the light switch to his right. Richard expected the light across the room to come on, but instead the light seemed to be coming from the floor. As his eyes adjusted, Richard scanned the room in emotionless silence.
Everything was trashed. His bookcases were empty and their contents were spread across the floor. The drawers of the desk next to the front door had been removed and their contents dumped out. The cushions of his couch had been torn to pieces and their innards thrown about the room. The curtains of the far windows had been torn from the wall and swung loosely from the window sills. Papers lay everywhere and his hanging pictures had been stripped from the walls and smashed. Glass lay everywhere glittering in the dim light.
After a moment, Richard closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. He closed his eyes and tried to wish the world away. He didn't even want to look at the rest of the rooms in his apartment. He knew that everything he had would have been broken or smashed like he had seen here. There was really no reason for him to stay.
He had lost control. He had become a puppet. Not even that, he was an automaton. A valueless pawn to be maneuvered then discarded when he had served his usefulness. He felt empty.
With his eyes closed, images of the security tape he had seen earlier flashed through his mind. Richard opened his eyes against the gruesome sights. He couldn't close his eyes without thinking of the violent mystery he had unleashed upon the world. Having made up his mind not long after talking to Jerry, Richard believed that the deaths of his team members were solely his own fault. He should have known. He should have not let himself become distracted with the knife and Jerry's request and he should have continued to research the remains. Richard felt that he would have found something, he was certain.
Not that it mattered now. They were dead and he probably would be soon.
But he wasn't yet.
Richard quickly left his apartment and hurried down stairs to his car. As he left, the door to his apartment hung open and unsecured. Richard hadn't bothered to lock it; he didn't expect to be back.
Xander woke to find Anya leaning over him. There was a sharp pain above his eye and a warm sensation running down his neck. His head swam with pain and the dim light of the store seared his eyes. He couldn't remember exactly why he was lying on the floor or where his pain came from, but he had this anxious feeling in his gut, as if he needed do something and quickly.
He saw that Anya was saying something, or, at least, that her lips were moving. But he couldn't make out the words through the pain in his head. Turning his neck to the side, Xander saw Dawn shaking the form of Willow lying on the pile of a broken bookcase. Willow wasn't responding and this seemed to agitate Dawn. Xander remembered that it was late after midnight. He wondered what Dawn was doing here so late. Buffy would be upset if she knew.
With the thought of Buffy, Xander's memory came flooding back to him. Jerking his head back up towards Anya, his head cleared enough for him to understand her.
"Xander?" she was calling. "Are you okay?"
She sounded concerned and a look of worry had filled her eyes.
"Yeah?" he responded, sitting up on his elbow.
With the movement, the pain in his head swelled anew.
"Check on Willow." He said, gripping his forehead with his other hand.
As Anya stood to and stepped toward Willow's still unresponsive form. A large crash came from the backroom. They all heard Buffy yelling, but the sound was unintelligible. She just seemed to be shouting out of rage.
Slowly rising to his feet, Xander made his way to the doorway into the backroom. He found Buffy tossing furniture left and right as she frantically search for something. In her hand was her newly found dagger which she now used to chop effortlessly through items in her path. Xander realized that she must be searching for Spike. Scanning through the rubble, Xander found the couch he had left Spike laying on before coming out into the front room. Its frame was smashed and torn, but there was no blood.
Watching Buffy as she continued to tear through the items in the store room, Xander tried to think of a way to get the dagger away from her. In her present state, he didn't see how he could to that.
Finally reaching the back of the room, Buffy reached to overturn a large wooden desk when Spike sudden launched out from behind the desk toward Buffy. His left hand caught her right wrist while his right caught her by the throat. Catching Buffy off-guard, Spike was able to push her backwards and they both tumbled over the broken furniture. They landed together on the concrete floor. Obviously still in weakened over their last fight, Spike lost his grip on Buffy's throat. He held fast to her right wrist, however, with all his strength. Finally reacting, Buffy struck the vampire on the bridge of his nose with her left palm and then grabbed him by the collar of his tell-tale leather overcoat. With a jerk of her arm, she sent Spike flying across the room and crashing into the wall. She jumped to her feat and was about to leap over the rubble and towards the fallen vampire when she heard Xander shout out behind her.
"No, Buffy!"
Turning towards him, she sneered upon seeing him. She reached down and grabbed a broken desk lying before her. Whipping her arm in his direction, Xander saw her lift the desk off the ground and send it spiraling through the air at him. Jumping back from the doorway, Xander was saved from the flying desk as it struck the doorframe and then fell to the ground. Kicking the desk, Xander moved it from the door and was about to step into the room when he felt and hand on his shoulder. Turning, Xander found Willow behind him. She looked recovered from her fall though a single thin streak of blood ran down the left side of her face, past her ear.
Stepping back from the doorway, Xander let Willow move up in front of him.
Inside the room, Buffy had made her way over to Spike and had him against the wall and lifted off the floor with her left hand. Spike eyes had rolled back into his head and he didn't seemed to be responding to Buffy's grip. The Slayer stood holding the lax form the vampire up before her. She didn't move for several moments and just starred at his face. The look in her eyes flashed from rage to confusion and back again. Finally, a look of anger washed over her face and she lifted the dagger in her hand above her head.
Before she could strike, however, Willow, still standing at the door way, lifted her hand toward Buffy.
"Hold." She spoke softly.
Buffy didn't move. She stood frozen with the dagger held above her head.
"Go get Spike." Willow said over her shoulder towards Xander.
Scooting past Willow and into the store room, Xander made his way over the mess covering the room's floor. He cautiously approached the Slayer and the unconscious vampire she held before her.
"Hurry," Willow pleaded, "she's breaking through somehow."
Xander reached up and pulled Spike out from before Buffy. He then dragged him back to the door and out of the store room. As he left, Willow continued to watch Buffy.
Willow felt something working its way against her holding spell. It wasn't Buffy herself. She was trapped by the spell and unable to move. Willow felt something probing against the magic of her spell. It was searching for the cracks in her wall and trying to worm its way through the binding. It was strong and persistent. Even as Willow tried to shift the spell to cover the cracks that the unknown force was probing through, it followed her shifting. Willow couldn't keep it under control and it quickly broke through her magic. Finally feeling the magic release, Buffy jerked forward and thrust the dagger down and into the stone wall in front of her.
Shouting in anger, Buffy turned to look at Willow then pulled the dagger from the wall. With speed Willow couldn't believe, Buffy leapt across the rubble she had created and crashed past Willow into the front room. Willow fell backward into the room from the force of Buffy pushing past her.
Catching up to Xander as he was dragging Spike across the floor, Buffy shouted in anger and pounced on the prone vampire. Xander released his hold on Spike and fell backward away from Buffy as she rushed toward him. As he backed off from Spike's body, Buffy didn't pursue and turned back to the vampire. She was startled to find Dawn lying across his body. Her eyes were filled with tears and she stared up at Buffy.
"No, Buffy." She said, choking on her tears.
Growling in anger, Buffy rushed forward and grasped Dawn by her hair. With a startled shout, Dawn reached up and clawed her sister on the face. Buffy yelped in pain and dropped Dawn to the floor. She hunched forward and covered her face with her hands. Dawn lay on the ground on her back by her sister. She watched Buffy with a look of mixed fear and anger.
Buffy suddenly whirled about and grabbed her sister by her jacket collar. She lifted her up and slammed her back against a bookcase. Dawn squealed in pain. Behind Buffy, Willow jumped to her feet and screamed at her friend.
"Buffy, stop! You're hurting her!"
Buffy raised the dagger in her hand up between her and Dawn. The blade came up and stopped just under Dawn's chin. Squirming in her sister's grip, Dawn froze when she felt the dagger's tip on her flesh.
"Buffy, please." She pleaded.
"I…will….kill….them all." Buffy stammered.
Dawn's eyes focused on her sisters. Buffy's voice didn't sound like hers. The tone was low and calm. It was still Buffy's voice, but those words were not hers.
"I am the instrument of my own revenge." Buffy spoke. Her voice was strong and spoken slow. It reminded Dawn of how her grandmother spoke, slowly and intricately like she had all the time in the world to express her idea.
"Buffy, please." Dawn pleaded again. "The dagger is hurting you. You're not making any sense."
Buffy watched the scene before her completely detached from she was perceiving. She felt she was watching everything from the back of her mind, like a replay of her memories. She had no conscious control over herself and was acting as if in a play where her role was already lined out before her. She knew her face was stretched with anger and that she was shouting in rage. As much as the hate raged about her mind, she stayed quiet in a calm center.
Right now, Buffy watched the frightened form of Dawn pleading before her on the screen of her minds eye. Buffy understood why Dawn would be afraid. After all, Buffy knew she had only moments before attacked Spike and Xander. Earlier, she had thrown Willow into a bookcase and had knocked Xander unconscious. Buffy assumed that Dawn believed that her sister was currently capable of harming her. Buffy wasn't sure either way but willing to do what was asked of her. She listened quietly inside her mind. Soon the chiming returned, and with it was the almost alive presence of her weapon. It whispered to her, prompted her to act in a certain manner. At first Buffy had been against some of the ideas the chiming was suggesting, but soon it had begun to make more sense and Buffy realized that the dagger's instructions were probably for the best. Attacking her friends had been strange. Buffy kept thinking that she cared for these people too much to try and hurt them, but the dagger reminded her of the vampire nearby and Buffy then realized that this was necessary to destroy the abomination.
Buffy knew that Dawn was smart, though. And so were the rest of her friends. Buffy suddenly felt confused. They had been fighting evil together for years now and she had never known them blatantly work to shield evil from her. Now, however, they were all risking their lives to save the monstrous terror that lay unconscious on the floor.
Monstrous terror?
The description seemed off. Buffy saw herself drop Dawn to the ground and turn to the leather clad form of the vampric demon. As she starred at him, she felt the dagger's rage grow. It recognized the creature before it and seethed with hatred. She felt its persistent urging and the deafening song urging that she destroy the creature. Buffy agreed, the evil terror should be killed. Again, though, Buffy couldn't feel danger from this creature. As if she knew that it couldn't hurt anyone, even if it wanted to. Buffy saw herself look about the room. These human's didn't seem fearful of being in the same room with this killer.
There's something in his head.
The thought came unexpected and from some far recess of her mind.
Yes a chip.
She remembered, this particular vampire had a chip implanted in his head that stopped him from hurting humans. Buffy believed that she used to know a vampire with the same odd property. What was his name?
Spike!
Memories of the previous evening rushed back to her. She saw herself attacking Spike on the bridge and then pushing him over the edge so that she would not be able to kill him. Spike wasn't an enemy, he was a friend. A lover, even.
The dagger's rage rose anew. Buffy saw herself take a step toward the fallen demon. Suddenly, the form of Willow was in front of her, blocking the way to her target. The dagger's rage flickered and dimmed. It wasn't upset at the humans. The weapon's rage only targeted the vampire. However, the dagger was not against going through the human to reach the vampire. Buffy saw her left hand lift to push Willow out of her way.
Willow's image shimmered and shifted before her. After a moment, the shimmering passed and Buffy did not at first recognize what she saw. It looked like Willow, but the black form-fitting clothes and red died hair was a startling change.
It's the vampire Willow from that alternate reality.
The dagger's anger flared. The ringing chime swelled to a deafening level and the whispering became a roar of shouts.
The dagger demanded the death of the wretched vampire before her.
"But," Buffy thought, "that's not a vampire. it's…Willow."
Buffy watched herself as she stepped up to Willow and raised the dagger up above her head to strike. In another instant, Buffy would see herself cut through Willow's skin and bone to pierce her heart. The blow would kill her friend and Buffy knew she would be the cause.
In her mind, Buffy screamed against what she was seeing. Reaching forward from the black depths she had been watching from, Buffy grasped desperately at control of her limbs. She felt herself rush forward back into reality. The feeling of her clenched brow and her heavy breathing slammed into her senses. She felt the warm handle on her dagger and the painful clenching of her forearm. She was again in control of her body. Relaxing slightly, Buffy took a step back from Willow while lowering her hand and the dagger slightly.
Still disorientated, Buffy was caught unaware as the seething rage and deafening chiming of the weapon flooded back into her mind. The sudden onset of the dagger's will was like a blow to her head and Buffy's sight reeled with the force. With persistent strength, the weapon tried to re-assert its control over her. Her vision blurred and the dagger became heavy as it tried to force its way down and into the chest of her friend. Buffy felt herself losing grip on reality and sliding back into the prison that had been her mind.
Just as she was losing control, Buffy's own anger flared and she heard herself shout.
"No!! Back off!!"
With that shout, Buffy envision herself forcing the chiming out of her head and back into the dagger. In an instant, the music was gone. The dagger's overtake of her mind receded and its rage died. Buffy felt the weapon hang in her hand. Its anger and desire to destroy remained contained within itself.
Collapsing to the cool floor in exhaustion, Buffy saw the image of Willow shimmer back into her original clothes just before everything went black.
They traveled the streets briskly, but remained at the walk. Conversation was light and nothing more than necessary. Willow still seemed a little spooked over her near kidnapping and often followed Buffy and Dawn while staring at the sidewalk before them. Dawn was happy to be out and about with her friends. It wasn't often that she was allowed to participate with the Scoobies in their activities and Dawn was secretly grateful for the circumstances.
Buffy, however, was distracted. It was hard concentrating on the path to the Magic Shop. As she walked, every so often the sweet chiming of the dagger's music was creep into her head and begin pulling her in a different direction. Buffy knew this pull was the dagger sensing a vampire and trying to draw Buffy toward the prey. It was difficult for her to resist. She could feel the music seeping under her skin and through her blood. It craved for action….sharp, decisive action. The music flowed through her mind and sung of her rewards for succumbing to the daggers wishes. The memory of her lying on floor of that small storeroom writhing in pleasure flashed through her head. Her legs ached from the memory of only a few hours ago. She could be there again, awash in the rapture of her reward. All she had to do was follow the pull of the dagger and partake in the dance of battle she already knew she enjoyed.
Buffy stopped suddenly and grasped her head between her hands. The dagger still sat in the palm of her right hand and the warm handle of the weapon now pressed against the side of her head. It throbbed with power. All she had to do was let go and follow the dagger's command. It would be so easy…and so sweet…
"Buffy?"
The voice was Willow's.
The cool night air rushed back in and Buffy sharply lifted her head. Before her stood Willow and Dawn. They had the look of concern wrinkling their brows.
The chiming of the music died off but did not retreat. It lulled her with ideas from the back of her mind.
"Are you alright?" Willow asked.
"What?" Buffy heard herself respond. She then shook her head and looked back up at her friend.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine. I…I just thought I heard something.
"Is that why you yelled?" Dawn asked.
Yelled?
"What?"
"You screamed and grabbed your head. I thought something was happening to you." Dawn explained.
"Oh."
Buffy was confused. She didn't remember screaming.
"I'm okay." Buffy finally responded. "I'm just…tired."
"Uh…okay." Dawn said, not looking convinced.
Buffy then gave a weak smile and continued past her friends and down the street.
Finally reaching the street the Magic Shop resided on, the Buffy, Willow, and Dawn made their way down the wide sidewalk toward the shop. Once within site of the store, Buffy stopped the girls with a harsh word and pulled them back into a dark doorway.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
"Someone's in the shop." Buffy answered still looking down the sidewalk toward the store.
Looking toward the store's entrance, Willow saw that the lights were on.
"Maybe it's Anya." Willow suggested.
"This early?" Buffy asked. "I don't think so."
"Well, what do we do?" Dawn asked.
"I guess we'll just have to see who it is?" Buffy answered.
Stepping quietly from the shadows, the three girls made their way cautiously toward the shop's front door.
Buffy was worried that the long haired man that had escaped back at their house had found his way here. Thinking back on the encounter, Buffy knew there was something different about him. She had felt it when she had first seen him. Buffy was almost certain that the man was a witch. She had felt that vibe of latent power that she usually felt with Willow or Tara, only it had been different, more structured.
Feeling the ever-warm handle of the jagged blade in her hand, Buffy was reassured that she could handle whatever this new witch might send at her. She no longer heard gentle chiming of the blade's song in her head, however. Its absence was unsettling.
Reaching the shop's front door, Buffy found that it was still broken from the previous night's mysterious break-in. Buffy quietly nudged the door open. Peeking through the crack, Buffy at first saw nothing but the far counter and its register. All the lights were on, however nothing looked out of place. Then, entering from the stores back room, Buffy spotted Anya. She wore a large shirt and a pair of sweat pants. Her hair was a mess. Anya didn't look frightened or upset but she did look busy with something. Releasing a sigh of relief, Buffy realized that Anya was just here unordinarily late. Jumping to her feet, Buffy swung the door open and stepped inside.
Anya jumped, startled by Buffy's sudden entrance.
"Its okay," Buffy called behind her to Dawn and Willow. "It's just Anya."
"What are you doing here?" Anya asked indignantly as Willow and Dawn stepped past Buffy and into the store.
"We should ask you the same thing," Willow responded.
Buffy followed into the store and closed the door behind her. As she turned to address Anya, she felt the familiar chiming begin echoing again in the back of her mind. Able now recognize the senses of her weapon, Buffy realized that the dagger was excited about something.
"Who else is here?" she asked Anya as she scanned the front room.
Anya opened her mouth, about to answer. She stopped short of speaking, however, and glanced down at the weapon in Buffy's hand. Instead of answering Buffy, Anya turned her head toward the door to the back room.
"Xander!" she called out.
Moments later Xander walked in from the back room. He was wearing his normal jeans and grey shirt. His hair was also unkempt like Anya's and he looked as hurriedly dress as she did.
"Buffy." He mumbled upon seeing her, his eyes widening slightly.
"What's going on her? Why are you guys here so early." Buffy asked, crossing the room yet keeping an eye on the door to the back room.
"Well, Spike woke us." He answered.
"Spike?" Buffy asked, startled.
The chiming in her head grew in strength. She recalled her attack on Spike from only a few hours ago and images of his frightened face flashed before her. Last she had seen him, Spike was falling into the darkness below the bridge just after she had pushed him over the side.
"Yeah, he stopped by, banging on our door. He looked pretty beat up." Xander looked down from Buffy's eyes to the dagger in her right hand.
"He said you did it." Xander stated, looking back up towards her.
Buffy stood there, looking at Xander. He seemed tense and a bit nervous. Buffy had seen him glance down at her weapon. Anya had done the same only moments before.
Are they after my weapon? Buffy thought. Why would they be after it? They had no idea of its power.
"Spike also said that he was the one that broke in," he nodded toward the shop's front door, "and left the dagger here."
Buffy just watched him, muscles tense. The chiming flowed through her thoughts, raising questions and ideas that she didn't want to acknowledge. She loved her friends. They had been through a lot together and had saved each other more often then she could count.
The room had grown quiet. Everyone felt a tension rising between Buffy and Xander. She seemed locked in place, wound up like an animal waiting to pounce.
Her constant, level stare on Xander was beginning to make him uncomfortable. Beads of sweat began forming on his brow.
"He said that there was something…odd about that dagger." He swallowed. "Something dangerous."
"Really?" Buffy answered, still not looking away from him.
They did know! Buffy thought.
Her mind was becoming frantic. She didn't believe that her friends would try and take the weapon from her. But the worry that they might try began to grow. She didn't want to hurt them, but she needed this dagger. It was hers and made her a better slayer than she had ever been. If they tried to take it, she was afraid she might have to hurt them.
"Yes, he said that it almost killed him." Xander spoke.
No one moved. All eyes watched Buffy as she stood in the middle of the shop, weapon in her hand. Her muscles stood clenched. Her breathing had quickened and began to grow more labored.
"She attacked me with it!" Dawn suddenly whispered from behind Buffy.
Buffy's head snapped around toward Dawn.
"What?" Willow asked, confused.
Dawn began to slowly back away from Buffy's hard gaze.
"R-Right before those guys tried to grab you…she…she attacked me with the knife."
"I didn't attack you!" Buffy yelled, causing Dawn to flinch. "You came into my room. I thought you were trying to steal my…."
"Your what?" Xander asked, as he inched forward toward the Slayer.
"Well…you shouldn't have been in there!" Buffy shouted at Dawn.
"Look, Buffy," Xander spoke calmly as he slowly continued to inch toward Buffy, "just put the dagger down and we'll talk about it."
Buffy looked over at Xander then turned toward Willow.
"I'd never hurt her." She stated toward Willow, almost pleading. "You know that, right?"
Willow stood confused, she wasn't certain what was happening but she felt that something was wrong. She remembered the look on Buffy's face as she had left the previous evening with that dagger in hand. It had only been a moment or two after Buffy had collapsed while training with the weapon. Willow hadn't felt good about letting Buffy leave with the weapon, but she trusted Buffy when she said she was okay. Now she regretted that decision.
Willow also recalled Buffy's odd behavior on their way over her tonight. When Buffy had screamed, Willow had felt a tortured pain in her friends voice.
"Of course," Willow finally answered, "but maybe you should listen to Xander."
Buffy looked stricken, as if Willow had just physically hit her.
Then, dropping her eyes to the ground, Buffy seemed to sigh and relax her muscles.
"I should have killed Spike. Then he wouldn't have reached you guys."
"But you didn't," Xander stated, "and that's good, surprisingly."
"Yeah, he's healing pretty quickly from the fall." Anya spoke, gesturing to the door to the back room behind Xander.
The chiming in Buffy's head suddenly rose to a deafening crescendo, the weapon began to again to assert is will over her. Buffy now knew that Spike, a vampire, was nearby and the dagger wanted him slain. The shift in sound stung her eyes and she bent over clutching her head in pain. In her anguish, Buffy cried out.
"Buffy!" Willow shouted.
Willow ran forward to her friend and crouched next to her. She reached to comfort Buffy when she suddenly flew backwards and slammed against a bookcase of bottles on a nearby wall. Buffy's arm extended from her side from where she had tossed the young witch. Still grasping her head in pain with her right hand, Xander leapt forward and tried snatching the dagger from the Slayers hand. Buffy reacted with surprising swiftness and lashed out at him with the dagger hilt. The metal pommel cracked Xander square above his forehead and he collapsed backwards onto the floor.
Buffy heard Dawn scream and Anya shout Xander's name. She ignored them, however, she knew that prey was close. She could almost smell it.
Glancing only momentarily at her friends now limp form on the floor, Buffy turned and almost flew across the room toward the door to the shop's back room and disappeared through the opening.
In the back room, Spike had been laying on a small couch. He had taken several injuries when landing at the bottom of the canyon Buffy had pushed him into. After crawling back up to the street, he had found that Buffy was gone. He had been certain that she had attacked him only because of the dagger she had been holding. He knew it was dangerous when he had left it at the shop. He had expected them to realize it too, but apparently he had been mistaken. Still, he didn't expect the Slayer to come after him with it. He had then hobbled his way over to Xander and Anya's place and sat at their front door for an hour banging until they finally woke up. After hearing his story, Xander didn't believe Spike. Anya, however, told both of them about Buffy's collapsed after training with the weapon. Still not completely convinced, Xander agreed to go with Spike and Anya to the Magic Shop so Anya could do a bit more research about the weapon.
Now, however, Spike sat in the back of the store room behind a desk. He had heard Buffy's voice outside and then listened as the situation spiraled out of control. Still weakened and limping from his previous encounter with the Slayer, Spike hobbled to the back of the store and to hopefully a safer location.
He then heard the shouts from the other room and the crashing as something large and wooden was broken. Watching the door to the front room from behind the desk, Spike ducked his head back down when he saw Buffy charge into the room with the knife held up before her. He had seen her eyes and they were filled with rage. Spike knew what she was here for; he supposed the dagger had found a way to kill him after all.
Richard slipped his house key into the lock and unlocked the deadbolt to his front door. It had been more than a day since he had been home and he was weary from travel. Jerry had warned him not to return home. He said that the Initiative might have people waiting for him there. Richard didn't care at the moment.
He had spent his journey home in stunned silence. The world didn't seem so clear to him anymore and everything seemed to be rushing forward as if in a dream. Richard suspected that he was slipping into denial and that he was drowning out his own emotions to keep himself from simply collapsing in fear. Thank goodness for the logic of self delusion.
Fumbling with the rest of the locks, Richard finally swung the door inward. A cool rush of air drifted past him from the darkness before him. He stepped into his small living room and flipped the light switch to his right. Richard expected the light across the room to come on, but instead the light seemed to be coming from the floor. As his eyes adjusted, Richard scanned the room in emotionless silence.
Everything was trashed. His bookcases were empty and their contents were spread across the floor. The drawers of the desk next to the front door had been removed and their contents dumped out. The cushions of his couch had been torn to pieces and their innards thrown about the room. The curtains of the far windows had been torn from the wall and swung loosely from the window sills. Papers lay everywhere and his hanging pictures had been stripped from the walls and smashed. Glass lay everywhere glittering in the dim light.
After a moment, Richard closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. He closed his eyes and tried to wish the world away. He didn't even want to look at the rest of the rooms in his apartment. He knew that everything he had would have been broken or smashed like he had seen here. There was really no reason for him to stay.
He had lost control. He had become a puppet. Not even that, he was an automaton. A valueless pawn to be maneuvered then discarded when he had served his usefulness. He felt empty.
With his eyes closed, images of the security tape he had seen earlier flashed through his mind. Richard opened his eyes against the gruesome sights. He couldn't close his eyes without thinking of the violent mystery he had unleashed upon the world. Having made up his mind not long after talking to Jerry, Richard believed that the deaths of his team members were solely his own fault. He should have known. He should have not let himself become distracted with the knife and Jerry's request and he should have continued to research the remains. Richard felt that he would have found something, he was certain.
Not that it mattered now. They were dead and he probably would be soon.
But he wasn't yet.
Richard quickly left his apartment and hurried down stairs to his car. As he left, the door to his apartment hung open and unsecured. Richard hadn't bothered to lock it; he didn't expect to be back.
Xander woke to find Anya leaning over him. There was a sharp pain above his eye and a warm sensation running down his neck. His head swam with pain and the dim light of the store seared his eyes. He couldn't remember exactly why he was lying on the floor or where his pain came from, but he had this anxious feeling in his gut, as if he needed do something and quickly.
He saw that Anya was saying something, or, at least, that her lips were moving. But he couldn't make out the words through the pain in his head. Turning his neck to the side, Xander saw Dawn shaking the form of Willow lying on the pile of a broken bookcase. Willow wasn't responding and this seemed to agitate Dawn. Xander remembered that it was late after midnight. He wondered what Dawn was doing here so late. Buffy would be upset if she knew.
With the thought of Buffy, Xander's memory came flooding back to him. Jerking his head back up towards Anya, his head cleared enough for him to understand her.
"Xander?" she was calling. "Are you okay?"
She sounded concerned and a look of worry had filled her eyes.
"Yeah?" he responded, sitting up on his elbow.
With the movement, the pain in his head swelled anew.
"Check on Willow." He said, gripping his forehead with his other hand.
As Anya stood to and stepped toward Willow's still unresponsive form. A large crash came from the backroom. They all heard Buffy yelling, but the sound was unintelligible. She just seemed to be shouting out of rage.
Slowly rising to his feet, Xander made his way to the doorway into the backroom. He found Buffy tossing furniture left and right as she frantically search for something. In her hand was her newly found dagger which she now used to chop effortlessly through items in her path. Xander realized that she must be searching for Spike. Scanning through the rubble, Xander found the couch he had left Spike laying on before coming out into the front room. Its frame was smashed and torn, but there was no blood.
Watching Buffy as she continued to tear through the items in the store room, Xander tried to think of a way to get the dagger away from her. In her present state, he didn't see how he could to that.
Finally reaching the back of the room, Buffy reached to overturn a large wooden desk when Spike sudden launched out from behind the desk toward Buffy. His left hand caught her right wrist while his right caught her by the throat. Catching Buffy off-guard, Spike was able to push her backwards and they both tumbled over the broken furniture. They landed together on the concrete floor. Obviously still in weakened over their last fight, Spike lost his grip on Buffy's throat. He held fast to her right wrist, however, with all his strength. Finally reacting, Buffy struck the vampire on the bridge of his nose with her left palm and then grabbed him by the collar of his tell-tale leather overcoat. With a jerk of her arm, she sent Spike flying across the room and crashing into the wall. She jumped to her feat and was about to leap over the rubble and towards the fallen vampire when she heard Xander shout out behind her.
"No, Buffy!"
Turning towards him, she sneered upon seeing him. She reached down and grabbed a broken desk lying before her. Whipping her arm in his direction, Xander saw her lift the desk off the ground and send it spiraling through the air at him. Jumping back from the doorway, Xander was saved from the flying desk as it struck the doorframe and then fell to the ground. Kicking the desk, Xander moved it from the door and was about to step into the room when he felt and hand on his shoulder. Turning, Xander found Willow behind him. She looked recovered from her fall though a single thin streak of blood ran down the left side of her face, past her ear.
Stepping back from the doorway, Xander let Willow move up in front of him.
Inside the room, Buffy had made her way over to Spike and had him against the wall and lifted off the floor with her left hand. Spike eyes had rolled back into his head and he didn't seemed to be responding to Buffy's grip. The Slayer stood holding the lax form the vampire up before her. She didn't move for several moments and just starred at his face. The look in her eyes flashed from rage to confusion and back again. Finally, a look of anger washed over her face and she lifted the dagger in her hand above her head.
Before she could strike, however, Willow, still standing at the door way, lifted her hand toward Buffy.
"Hold." She spoke softly.
Buffy didn't move. She stood frozen with the dagger held above her head.
"Go get Spike." Willow said over her shoulder towards Xander.
Scooting past Willow and into the store room, Xander made his way over the mess covering the room's floor. He cautiously approached the Slayer and the unconscious vampire she held before her.
"Hurry," Willow pleaded, "she's breaking through somehow."
Xander reached up and pulled Spike out from before Buffy. He then dragged him back to the door and out of the store room. As he left, Willow continued to watch Buffy.
Willow felt something working its way against her holding spell. It wasn't Buffy herself. She was trapped by the spell and unable to move. Willow felt something probing against the magic of her spell. It was searching for the cracks in her wall and trying to worm its way through the binding. It was strong and persistent. Even as Willow tried to shift the spell to cover the cracks that the unknown force was probing through, it followed her shifting. Willow couldn't keep it under control and it quickly broke through her magic. Finally feeling the magic release, Buffy jerked forward and thrust the dagger down and into the stone wall in front of her.
Shouting in anger, Buffy turned to look at Willow then pulled the dagger from the wall. With speed Willow couldn't believe, Buffy leapt across the rubble she had created and crashed past Willow into the front room. Willow fell backward into the room from the force of Buffy pushing past her.
Catching up to Xander as he was dragging Spike across the floor, Buffy shouted in anger and pounced on the prone vampire. Xander released his hold on Spike and fell backward away from Buffy as she rushed toward him. As he backed off from Spike's body, Buffy didn't pursue and turned back to the vampire. She was startled to find Dawn lying across his body. Her eyes were filled with tears and she stared up at Buffy.
"No, Buffy." She said, choking on her tears.
Growling in anger, Buffy rushed forward and grasped Dawn by her hair. With a startled shout, Dawn reached up and clawed her sister on the face. Buffy yelped in pain and dropped Dawn to the floor. She hunched forward and covered her face with her hands. Dawn lay on the ground on her back by her sister. She watched Buffy with a look of mixed fear and anger.
Buffy suddenly whirled about and grabbed her sister by her jacket collar. She lifted her up and slammed her back against a bookcase. Dawn squealed in pain. Behind Buffy, Willow jumped to her feet and screamed at her friend.
"Buffy, stop! You're hurting her!"
Buffy raised the dagger in her hand up between her and Dawn. The blade came up and stopped just under Dawn's chin. Squirming in her sister's grip, Dawn froze when she felt the dagger's tip on her flesh.
"Buffy, please." She pleaded.
"I…will….kill….them all." Buffy stammered.
Dawn's eyes focused on her sisters. Buffy's voice didn't sound like hers. The tone was low and calm. It was still Buffy's voice, but those words were not hers.
"I am the instrument of my own revenge." Buffy spoke. Her voice was strong and spoken slow. It reminded Dawn of how her grandmother spoke, slowly and intricately like she had all the time in the world to express her idea.
"Buffy, please." Dawn pleaded again. "The dagger is hurting you. You're not making any sense."
Buffy watched the scene before her completely detached from she was perceiving. She felt she was watching everything from the back of her mind, like a replay of her memories. She had no conscious control over herself and was acting as if in a play where her role was already lined out before her. She knew her face was stretched with anger and that she was shouting in rage. As much as the hate raged about her mind, she stayed quiet in a calm center.
Right now, Buffy watched the frightened form of Dawn pleading before her on the screen of her minds eye. Buffy understood why Dawn would be afraid. After all, Buffy knew she had only moments before attacked Spike and Xander. Earlier, she had thrown Willow into a bookcase and had knocked Xander unconscious. Buffy assumed that Dawn believed that her sister was currently capable of harming her. Buffy wasn't sure either way but willing to do what was asked of her. She listened quietly inside her mind. Soon the chiming returned, and with it was the almost alive presence of her weapon. It whispered to her, prompted her to act in a certain manner. At first Buffy had been against some of the ideas the chiming was suggesting, but soon it had begun to make more sense and Buffy realized that the dagger's instructions were probably for the best. Attacking her friends had been strange. Buffy kept thinking that she cared for these people too much to try and hurt them, but the dagger reminded her of the vampire nearby and Buffy then realized that this was necessary to destroy the abomination.
Buffy knew that Dawn was smart, though. And so were the rest of her friends. Buffy suddenly felt confused. They had been fighting evil together for years now and she had never known them blatantly work to shield evil from her. Now, however, they were all risking their lives to save the monstrous terror that lay unconscious on the floor.
Monstrous terror?
The description seemed off. Buffy saw herself drop Dawn to the ground and turn to the leather clad form of the vampric demon. As she starred at him, she felt the dagger's rage grow. It recognized the creature before it and seethed with hatred. She felt its persistent urging and the deafening song urging that she destroy the creature. Buffy agreed, the evil terror should be killed. Again, though, Buffy couldn't feel danger from this creature. As if she knew that it couldn't hurt anyone, even if it wanted to. Buffy saw herself look about the room. These human's didn't seem fearful of being in the same room with this killer.
There's something in his head.
The thought came unexpected and from some far recess of her mind.
Yes a chip.
She remembered, this particular vampire had a chip implanted in his head that stopped him from hurting humans. Buffy believed that she used to know a vampire with the same odd property. What was his name?
Spike!
Memories of the previous evening rushed back to her. She saw herself attacking Spike on the bridge and then pushing him over the edge so that she would not be able to kill him. Spike wasn't an enemy, he was a friend. A lover, even.
The dagger's rage rose anew. Buffy saw herself take a step toward the fallen demon. Suddenly, the form of Willow was in front of her, blocking the way to her target. The dagger's rage flickered and dimmed. It wasn't upset at the humans. The weapon's rage only targeted the vampire. However, the dagger was not against going through the human to reach the vampire. Buffy saw her left hand lift to push Willow out of her way.
Willow's image shimmered and shifted before her. After a moment, the shimmering passed and Buffy did not at first recognize what she saw. It looked like Willow, but the black form-fitting clothes and red died hair was a startling change.
It's the vampire Willow from that alternate reality.
The dagger's anger flared. The ringing chime swelled to a deafening level and the whispering became a roar of shouts.
The dagger demanded the death of the wretched vampire before her.
"But," Buffy thought, "that's not a vampire. it's…Willow."
Buffy watched herself as she stepped up to Willow and raised the dagger up above her head to strike. In another instant, Buffy would see herself cut through Willow's skin and bone to pierce her heart. The blow would kill her friend and Buffy knew she would be the cause.
In her mind, Buffy screamed against what she was seeing. Reaching forward from the black depths she had been watching from, Buffy grasped desperately at control of her limbs. She felt herself rush forward back into reality. The feeling of her clenched brow and her heavy breathing slammed into her senses. She felt the warm handle on her dagger and the painful clenching of her forearm. She was again in control of her body. Relaxing slightly, Buffy took a step back from Willow while lowering her hand and the dagger slightly.
Still disorientated, Buffy was caught unaware as the seething rage and deafening chiming of the weapon flooded back into her mind. The sudden onset of the dagger's will was like a blow to her head and Buffy's sight reeled with the force. With persistent strength, the weapon tried to re-assert its control over her. Her vision blurred and the dagger became heavy as it tried to force its way down and into the chest of her friend. Buffy felt herself losing grip on reality and sliding back into the prison that had been her mind.
Just as she was losing control, Buffy's own anger flared and she heard herself shout.
"No!! Back off!!"
With that shout, Buffy envision herself forcing the chiming out of her head and back into the dagger. In an instant, the music was gone. The dagger's overtake of her mind receded and its rage died. Buffy felt the weapon hang in her hand. Its anger and desire to destroy remained contained within itself.
Collapsing to the cool floor in exhaustion, Buffy saw the image of Willow shimmer back into her original clothes just before everything went black.