Notes: Hey thanks for the patience and the reading. This chapter also
includes quotes from the first part of the bargaining episode.
* * * * * *
Dawn awoke to the smell of delicious food the next morning. Having Willow around was so great because she cooked a lot. With her around, breakfast was the best meal of the day.
"Hey Willow," she said when she got down to the kitchen.
"Hey Dawnie. Eat up; it's a big day!"
Dawn rolled her eyes slightly. "Oh really? Why's that?"
"No reason."
Willow gave Dawn a huge grin, which made Dawn slightly uncomfortable. She was getting the feeling Willow was hiding something from her, and she was never into surprises. Buffy hadn't been either, but that had never stopped them with the incessant surprise parties…
"So Willow," Dawn said as she reached for a warm roll out of the basket, "I was wondering if you'd like to do some hang-time tonight?"
"Oh, Dawnie…I so would, but I've got something super-important tonight…maybe tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure…" Dawn said as she quickly stuffed the last bit of bread in her mouth and stormed out the door.
Willow sighed and went to take Dawn's plate, when she noticed she hadn't even touched the waffle. She usually ate her waffles up right away like the little Dawn-monster she was…
Willow shook it off and scraped the waffles into the garbage. If Dawn didn't want to eat, she couldn't make her.
* * *
Dawn was pissed. Nobody ever spent time with her. Other things were too important…and Spike only spent time with her because he felt guilty about not being able to defeat Doc. Last year, everyone had loved her and cared so much about her…especially Buffy. Now she was worthless. God, she missed her so much, needed her. If Buffy was still alive, everything would be okay…
* * *
Dawn came home later that night. She wasn't exactly sure why she was coming home at all, but apparently that was her sacred duty. Why couldn't she be something cool, like a slayer? They had all the fun…the only problem was that they tended to die…
She walked into the house, hoping to make it straight to her bedroom, but no, it just didn't happen tonight.
"Hey, bit."
"Spike, what are you doing here?" Dawn didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. Spike was awesome, but wasn't he sick of her? He probably thought of her as an annoying little brat he had to watch whenever the rest of the scoobs were interested in having lives.
"Everyone's out. But I'm in. We can watch the telly or play a game…"
"I'm tired; I'm going to bed."
"Bit, It's 8 p.m. No teenage girl goes to bed that early! Trust me, I know…"
"Well you can do whatever you want. I'm going to bed." She said firmly, struggling to force her tears away as she ran up the stairs to her room.
Spike followed to find Dawn collapsed on her bed.
"Bit, is something wrong? I may not seem like the talk-to type, but I'm here, so you might as well."
"Nothing. Nothing is wrong."
The way Dawn was breathing heavy and short made Spike think she was lying.
"Bit…"
"Spike, please!" Dawn cried. "Please just go away!!"
Spike understood that this was no longer a want but a need. "Alright, Bit. But I'm downstairs if you need me."
He kissed the top of her head. "Sweet dreams," he whispered.
Spike went downstairs and turned the TV on. 'Too bad Passions isn't on 24 hours…' he thought to himself.
* * *
"Does everybody have their candles?" Willow asked.
"Mine won't stay lit," Anya whined. "It keeps going out!"
"Well, make it stay. It has to!"
Tara helped Anya light her candle, and all the scoobs looked at each other. They were ready to do this.
"Ok, let's do this. Start the circle."
Willow, Anya, Xander, and Tara all gathered in a circle around Buffy's grave and the urn of Osiris.
Xander willed his unstable hands to stop shaking. 'Gotta stay calm, gotta stay calm…' he kept chanting in his head.
Willow began to mix spell ingredients into the urn, and took a deep breath when she was done.
"Osiris," she chanted. "Keeper of the gate, master of
all fate, hear us."
Xander and Anya looked at each other. They were really doing this…they couldn't stop now…
Willow took the blood from the urn and spread it over her face in an Indian-like fashion. Xander and Anya got more nervous, but Tara trusted her. She concentrated on the task, the big picture.
Willow poured the contents of the urn on the ground in the Wiccan design the book had instructed her to do. She so badly wanted this spell to work.
"Before time and after, before knowing and nothing..."
Tara looked at her lover and attempted to give her strength by looking at her and supporting her.
"Accept our offering. Know our prayer..."
Deep cuts began to form all along Willow's arms. She kept chanting, but everyone could hear the pain in her voice.
"Willow!" Xander cried.
"No," Tara said quickly. "She told me... She'd be tested.
This is what's supposed to happen…"
"Osiris! Here lies the warrior of the people! Let her cross over!"
More 'tests' came. Something was inside of Willow, causing bumps to form under her skin and flow around like something…evil.
"She needs help!" Xander cried nervously. He didn't want Willow to die. There had been enough losses for the year…for a lifetime.
"Xander," Tara said. "She's strong. She said not to stop, no matter what. If anything b-b-breaks the cycle now - it-s over-"
'I'd rather it be over than lose Willow,' Xander thought to himself.
All of a sudden a loud noise was heard by everyone.
"Oh God," Anya said. "What's that noise?"
"Not part of the spell, I take it," Xander said nervously.
"N-n-no," said Tara. "I don't know what's happening…"
"Run!" said a voice.
Meanwhile, Willow was still conducting the spell, enduring the horrible tests that the gods had put upon her…
None of the scoobs wanted to run until a motorcycle ran over the urn of Osiris. All of a sudden, the tests were undone, and Willow collapsed to the ground.
The scoobs finally ran away from the bikers that had appeared out of nowhere; Xander lifted Willow and carried her to a spot that seemed safe.
Willow awoke moments later.
"Did it work?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
Willow felt like her world was falling apart…she had failed. Everything went black.
Xander tried to shake Willow back to consciousness, but no such luck. They couldn't do this again…there was only one urn…they lost their chance at having Buffy around…thank God Dawnie didn't know about it…
* * *
Dawn decided it was time to go downstairs after about 3 hours of lying on her bed alone. She slowly walked down the steps, unsure if Spike was even still there.
He was.
"Bit!" He exclaimed when he saw her. "It's been a sad excuse for a party with you gone and all…"
Dawn smiled. Spike loved to give compliments. Or tease. Or kill. 'Okay, maybe a new subject in the mind-realm would be good right now,' she thought to herself.
"Willow and Tara still not back?" she asked.
"Nope. I wonder what's out there…"
"Maybe we should help them!" Dawn said, getting excited at the prospect of being able to help them out and also get out of the house at the same time.
"I'm sure the new slayer'll help them just fine…"
"What?" Dawn asked. "New slayer? When the hell did this happen?"
"I dunno…a day or two ago – they didn't tell you?
"No, they didn't tell me." Dawn said angrily. "I'm not surprised, but I really didn't think that was classified information!"
Dawn ran up the stairs. Fuck Willow, fuck Xander, fuck Tara, and fuck Spike!! Hell, why not fuck Buffy for dying! 'I'm sure no one would have minded if I had died instead of Buffy,' she thought to herself. 'Hell, she's the slayer. Apparently I'm just a little pain in the butt everyone has to deal with…"
Dawn took out a bag and threw as much stuff as she possibly could into it. 'At least Buffy taught me one useful thing,' she thought to herself as she climbed out the window.
Dawn took one last look around her room. There was nothing left in that house that she ever wanted to see again…she made her way down the tree and began her journey to a place that she could actually call home…
* * * * * *
Dawn awoke to the smell of delicious food the next morning. Having Willow around was so great because she cooked a lot. With her around, breakfast was the best meal of the day.
"Hey Willow," she said when she got down to the kitchen.
"Hey Dawnie. Eat up; it's a big day!"
Dawn rolled her eyes slightly. "Oh really? Why's that?"
"No reason."
Willow gave Dawn a huge grin, which made Dawn slightly uncomfortable. She was getting the feeling Willow was hiding something from her, and she was never into surprises. Buffy hadn't been either, but that had never stopped them with the incessant surprise parties…
"So Willow," Dawn said as she reached for a warm roll out of the basket, "I was wondering if you'd like to do some hang-time tonight?"
"Oh, Dawnie…I so would, but I've got something super-important tonight…maybe tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure…" Dawn said as she quickly stuffed the last bit of bread in her mouth and stormed out the door.
Willow sighed and went to take Dawn's plate, when she noticed she hadn't even touched the waffle. She usually ate her waffles up right away like the little Dawn-monster she was…
Willow shook it off and scraped the waffles into the garbage. If Dawn didn't want to eat, she couldn't make her.
* * *
Dawn was pissed. Nobody ever spent time with her. Other things were too important…and Spike only spent time with her because he felt guilty about not being able to defeat Doc. Last year, everyone had loved her and cared so much about her…especially Buffy. Now she was worthless. God, she missed her so much, needed her. If Buffy was still alive, everything would be okay…
* * *
Dawn came home later that night. She wasn't exactly sure why she was coming home at all, but apparently that was her sacred duty. Why couldn't she be something cool, like a slayer? They had all the fun…the only problem was that they tended to die…
She walked into the house, hoping to make it straight to her bedroom, but no, it just didn't happen tonight.
"Hey, bit."
"Spike, what are you doing here?" Dawn didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. Spike was awesome, but wasn't he sick of her? He probably thought of her as an annoying little brat he had to watch whenever the rest of the scoobs were interested in having lives.
"Everyone's out. But I'm in. We can watch the telly or play a game…"
"I'm tired; I'm going to bed."
"Bit, It's 8 p.m. No teenage girl goes to bed that early! Trust me, I know…"
"Well you can do whatever you want. I'm going to bed." She said firmly, struggling to force her tears away as she ran up the stairs to her room.
Spike followed to find Dawn collapsed on her bed.
"Bit, is something wrong? I may not seem like the talk-to type, but I'm here, so you might as well."
"Nothing. Nothing is wrong."
The way Dawn was breathing heavy and short made Spike think she was lying.
"Bit…"
"Spike, please!" Dawn cried. "Please just go away!!"
Spike understood that this was no longer a want but a need. "Alright, Bit. But I'm downstairs if you need me."
He kissed the top of her head. "Sweet dreams," he whispered.
Spike went downstairs and turned the TV on. 'Too bad Passions isn't on 24 hours…' he thought to himself.
* * *
"Does everybody have their candles?" Willow asked.
"Mine won't stay lit," Anya whined. "It keeps going out!"
"Well, make it stay. It has to!"
Tara helped Anya light her candle, and all the scoobs looked at each other. They were ready to do this.
"Ok, let's do this. Start the circle."
Willow, Anya, Xander, and Tara all gathered in a circle around Buffy's grave and the urn of Osiris.
Xander willed his unstable hands to stop shaking. 'Gotta stay calm, gotta stay calm…' he kept chanting in his head.
Willow began to mix spell ingredients into the urn, and took a deep breath when she was done.
"Osiris," she chanted. "Keeper of the gate, master of
all fate, hear us."
Xander and Anya looked at each other. They were really doing this…they couldn't stop now…
Willow took the blood from the urn and spread it over her face in an Indian-like fashion. Xander and Anya got more nervous, but Tara trusted her. She concentrated on the task, the big picture.
Willow poured the contents of the urn on the ground in the Wiccan design the book had instructed her to do. She so badly wanted this spell to work.
"Before time and after, before knowing and nothing..."
Tara looked at her lover and attempted to give her strength by looking at her and supporting her.
"Accept our offering. Know our prayer..."
Deep cuts began to form all along Willow's arms. She kept chanting, but everyone could hear the pain in her voice.
"Willow!" Xander cried.
"No," Tara said quickly. "She told me... She'd be tested.
This is what's supposed to happen…"
"Osiris! Here lies the warrior of the people! Let her cross over!"
More 'tests' came. Something was inside of Willow, causing bumps to form under her skin and flow around like something…evil.
"She needs help!" Xander cried nervously. He didn't want Willow to die. There had been enough losses for the year…for a lifetime.
"Xander," Tara said. "She's strong. She said not to stop, no matter what. If anything b-b-breaks the cycle now - it-s over-"
'I'd rather it be over than lose Willow,' Xander thought to himself.
All of a sudden a loud noise was heard by everyone.
"Oh God," Anya said. "What's that noise?"
"Not part of the spell, I take it," Xander said nervously.
"N-n-no," said Tara. "I don't know what's happening…"
"Run!" said a voice.
Meanwhile, Willow was still conducting the spell, enduring the horrible tests that the gods had put upon her…
None of the scoobs wanted to run until a motorcycle ran over the urn of Osiris. All of a sudden, the tests were undone, and Willow collapsed to the ground.
The scoobs finally ran away from the bikers that had appeared out of nowhere; Xander lifted Willow and carried her to a spot that seemed safe.
Willow awoke moments later.
"Did it work?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
Willow felt like her world was falling apart…she had failed. Everything went black.
Xander tried to shake Willow back to consciousness, but no such luck. They couldn't do this again…there was only one urn…they lost their chance at having Buffy around…thank God Dawnie didn't know about it…
* * *
Dawn decided it was time to go downstairs after about 3 hours of lying on her bed alone. She slowly walked down the steps, unsure if Spike was even still there.
He was.
"Bit!" He exclaimed when he saw her. "It's been a sad excuse for a party with you gone and all…"
Dawn smiled. Spike loved to give compliments. Or tease. Or kill. 'Okay, maybe a new subject in the mind-realm would be good right now,' she thought to herself.
"Willow and Tara still not back?" she asked.
"Nope. I wonder what's out there…"
"Maybe we should help them!" Dawn said, getting excited at the prospect of being able to help them out and also get out of the house at the same time.
"I'm sure the new slayer'll help them just fine…"
"What?" Dawn asked. "New slayer? When the hell did this happen?"
"I dunno…a day or two ago – they didn't tell you?
"No, they didn't tell me." Dawn said angrily. "I'm not surprised, but I really didn't think that was classified information!"
Dawn ran up the stairs. Fuck Willow, fuck Xander, fuck Tara, and fuck Spike!! Hell, why not fuck Buffy for dying! 'I'm sure no one would have minded if I had died instead of Buffy,' she thought to herself. 'Hell, she's the slayer. Apparently I'm just a little pain in the butt everyone has to deal with…"
Dawn took out a bag and threw as much stuff as she possibly could into it. 'At least Buffy taught me one useful thing,' she thought to herself as she climbed out the window.
Dawn took one last look around her room. There was nothing left in that house that she ever wanted to see again…she made her way down the tree and began her journey to a place that she could actually call home…