All was black and nothing could be seen. From somewhere, Dawn's voice could be heard calling her sister's name.
Dawn: Buffy? Buffy?! Buffy!!
The first thing Buffy saw as she opened her eyes was Dawn flicking her awake on the forehead.
Dawn: Hey! We need to go shopping for back-to-school stuff.
Buffy: Flicking; not best way to wake me up. And isn't it too early? Don't stores open at
10?
Dawn: It's 2 in the afternoon.
Buffy: Oh… okay. Give me 5.
Dawn uncomfortably raised her hand.
Buffy: Not-- 5 minutes, Dawn.
Dawn: I, I knew that.
Dawn got out of the room. Buffy laid there for awhile and then talked to herself.
Buffy: A dream…?
Buffy raised herself to sit on her bed. She felt a terrible headache and then rubbed her forehead.
Buffy: Ow… no.
Buffy got out of bed and next she and Dawn wandered the town together, carrying a few bags of stores along with them. The sunny Sunnydale temperature made no exception that day, in fact, it was sunnier and hotter than usual. The Summers Sisters seemed they had everything they had for Dawn's school supplies, but the kid sis wanted way more.
Dawn: And a new backpack too.
Buffy: Money, Dawn, money.
Dawn: Ok, but if I get ridiculed because my bag is passé, I'll have you to blame for it.
Buffy: I am ready to be your blame-target. Like it'd be something new. Slight pause
You kids these days still say "passé"?
Dawn: Oh! I want something else too. Don't worry; money uninvolved. I want to see
Xander. Poor guy has been working under the sun like this all summer. All hot and sweaty with his muscles shining…
Buffy looked at her sister surprised with a crooked smile.
Dawn: Oh…hum
Buffy: Let's forget that! Oh… you go. I think I'm gonna retreat to our humble abode and
Scooby-out some info about something.
Dawn: Oh, ok. Will you be ok… with Spike I mean?
Buffy: Considering he's still there, yes I will.
Her door unlocked and from it came in Buffy. She looked around the living room first. No sign of Spike. Buffy cried his name hoping he would answer back. But no response. She then decided to head upstairs where she proceeded directly through to Willow's and Tara's old room. When Buffy pushed the door open, something blocked it from opening entirely. She reached behind and grabbed a box full of books that had tumbled down. The box piles in the room were counted by the dozens. The remains of the Magic Box. As the Slayer made her way through what was once a bedroom, she took 2 or 3 boxes and left the room with them. She passed the 2nd floor corridor again and noticed her room was darker than normal; curtains pulled, no light. Complete darkness. She put down her research supplies and proceeded in. She expected to see her ex-lover Spike, but the room was empty. She approached her cupboard. Tenderly, she looked upon the pictures that were inserted on the sides of her mirror. Buffy approached her fingers to caress Willow's smiling face on one photograph. She sighed and arranged her hair in the mirror. When she was satisfied of her looks, she turned around and boom! He was there. Standing. Like a statue; soul-less. But it was actually his soul that was the reason of his sorrow. The irony. Causing no reflection in the mirror, Buffy did not see Spike. Overwhelming melancholy clouded the Slayer's senses as well. She was angry at him and contained it scarcely even though she knew of his recent predicaments. She pushed him on the chest, but not of a fierce push, yet Spike lost balance and fell sitting on the bed.
Buffy: Hey! Don't do that! You think you can just sneak up on me like that!?
Spike was, again, silent.
Buffy: Again with the silence! I get you got the remorse button way pushed down, but
simmer down on the hush-y-ness, alright?
Spike: You clearly can't understand can you?
Buffy: I got involved way too many times in the vicious circle of guilt. So spare me.
Spike: Oh! You didn't save one girl, or you came in late to save another guy? That's not
the same. Buffy… I killed people. I killed… thousands!! I enjoyed horror, and suffering. I took lives. You think of one death, how it can affect so much. Like Tara… One death almost caused the world to end! And I killed thousands… I… bloody hell!!!
And Spike let the tears flow. The poor man… so traumatized. All this because of himself. For the first time since he came back, Buffy felt somewhat close to what he was feeling. She sat next to him and was nearly crying herself, the tears welling up. He was falling apart and Buffy warmly wrapped her arm around him. His head then literally fell on her lap. The sight of them the way they were was heart-wrenching.
Back from the emotionally filled moment upstairs, Buffy looked discouraged as it appeared hours rummaging through the boxes, though only half an hour passed in reality. From the living room's sofa, the house looked empty to her. It made her sad for a moment. Every little thing in that house could be linked to something awful that had happened one time or another. As she focused on what was before her, her vision blurred from the sides. And then, the haze took all over her eyesight. The phone rang and Buffy jumped back to reality, her daydreaming moments cut clean. She picked up the receptor and the voice of an older man was heard on the other side, not crisp, but still authoritary. The English gentleman on the line made Buffy's day complete sense.
Buffy: Hello. Giles!! How's London?
Giles: It's far. And rainy. It's London.
Buffy: And… how is she doing?
Giles: She is persevering. Which is good.
Buffy: W-i-t-c-h is good?
Giles: No, no. The other "witch." How is everything in Sunnydale? I wouldn't want
things to get carried away the way they did before.
Buffy: Two big news. All non-threatening… I think. One of which is our Passions-fan is
back. And he came with extra. He got soul-ed. Slight pause You still there?
Giles: Yes, I--How did he-- Gypsies?
Buffy: No. Not them again. Call it a demonic African genie who granted him a wish.
Giles: Spike wished for his soul back? Spike?!
Buffy: I think they pulled a Survivor on him. You know… the whole double-crossing
thing. It's all very unsure.
Giles: I bet he must feel terrible. I somehow feel sorry… yet lacking of care. But what
was the other thing you--Oh I'll have to get back to you on that. I'll call again this week? Say hi to everyone for me.
Buffy: Oh. Ok. Yes. Yes, I will. Bye.
As soon as she hung up, Spike, from the living room, fixed and almost mesmerized by the Summers family pictures, tentatively asked Buffy a question that burned his lips for quite a while now.
Spike: Does he know? Do they... know? About the r--
Buffy: Why else Dawn would be mad at you? Spike, I--
Spike: Please-- Call me William.
Buffy nodded and was about to again enter the realm of sympathy for the vampire. But the door slammed open and shocked the compassion right out of her. An impressive figure stormed in; Xander was in a mad fury
Xander: Where is he!? Where is Spike!?!
Buffy: Care to say "hi" first? Maybe followed by a "how are you?" Well since you ask
I'm doing quite well.
Xander: You can't calm me down. Where is--
Xander saw him. He saw Spike. Or William one might say. Nevertheless, Xander had targeted him like a homing missile.
Xander: You son of a bitch! You still came back after what you did! I'm gonna--
And William was lifted from the ground by Xander who gripped him by the neckline of his shirt. The Bloody didn't retaliate as much as Xander would have anticipated, and hoped, for it would have been easier to stake him.
William: Ease up! Let me go!
Xander: Really? You'd want that wouldn't you?
Buffy: Xander, let him go.
Buffy forced Xander to let go of William and Buffy's best-friend looked at her in awe, betrayed.
Xander: You're taking his side?!
Buffy: No, no! I'm not taking anyone's side!
William massaged his neck, hurt from Xander's grasp. And so the attacker rebelled against Buffy and went straight for Spike again. He dragged him to the opened entrance door. The sun was positively present and the sunshine had entered the Summers house. William was hauled dangerously near it by the second. And so he became bathed by it. The sun rays pierced through his skin like razors. The stench of burnt was caused by the boiling of the skin after it ignited. Buffy pushed Xander and William rushed back in. The words were few, but the tension was undeniable.
Buffy: This isn't Spike, Xander! Well not really.
Xander: Spikebot?! You're telling me this is some kind of a Spikebot?!
Buffy: Ok, the next one who talks will get some serious Slayer ass-kicking! Silence
Spike is no longer Spike. He is kind of William, as in "with a soul." Not that I don't enjoy explaining that story more times a day then there are calories in box of Lucky Charms, but I have some research to do. So you wanna help?
Living on the Hellmouth made the Scoobies indifferent to some weird occurrences. And Spike having a soul was among those for Xander. For his blond friend's sake, he decided to put the idea of the vampire he loved to hate having nearly raped Buffy on hiatus. However, his anger towards him hadn't the least bit dissipated and he wasn't nearly close to let that go.
Xander: Yeah… sure. What'd you need to research on?
Xander, Buffy and William trailed to the living room as Buffy cleared up the object of her attention.
Buffy: I know there's not so much of em, but I need to check up on the Watchers' Diaries
for a gal. Name's Morrigan.
Something lit up in William's eyes.
Xander: Must be special if she's in those.
Buffy: She was strong. Like… Glory-multiplied-by-ten strong.
Xander: Bad Nezzla'khan flashback; broken noses hurt.
The Slayer noticed that thing that glowed in The Bloody's eyes.
Buffy: What is it now?
William: I knew a Morrigan once. If they're all the same, they're bad news.
Xander: I think we got enough of those already. Channel 5 at 6 is going hyperactive
working on their one hour bulletin on a pasty molester back in good ol'
Sunnydale.
William: I know what I did was wrong! I know that now!! So-- So sod off.
Xander: You want me to force you into a perfect suntan again!?
Buffy: Slayer ass-kicking! Silence again
Xander: Description on the Morrigan girl?
Buffy: A tad higher than me. Very calm and serene looking. Silver long hair, wearing a
zoo of leather. The shy ones… always doing dominatrix. She was so enthralling and well-informed on Slayerism. She reminded me of the Prince of Darkness.
Xander: Master-err … Dracula?
Buffy: Boy, he really had you whipped, didn't he?
William: Morrigan Grimes. I know her. If she's here, something bad is up.
Buffy: If you know something, tell us.
Xander: Yeah c'mon now Willy; bare your soul to us.
William: Her mother turned dark witch soon after Morrigan was born, much like Willow
when-- And her father was a Watcher. And also a gypsy. He was buried in his work and she was gone to evil's side so the kid was shipped to her relatives of gypsy kinfolk. They raised her more than her real parents ever did. They taught her everything about their heritage and their loathe for vampires. When the clan had been wiped out and news that her mother had died, her father brought her into the Council. He basically trained her to become like him; cold, mean and overly into work. She was about 7 years old then. Well she became the youngest Watcher in the history of the Council at the age of 19. Remarkable student they said. She was all like her father. The day after she had ascended to her new role, her father was murdered and so did his charge when they fell into a trap. Another Slayer was about to be called and the council made their worse mistake ever; they chose Morrigan. Her first strike was when she refused to have a Watcher, considering she would be her own. But she indeed got one, much to her dislike. She came in touch with her dark side when she deliberately let her Watcher be killed. It only went downhill from there. She then completely disowned the Council and became a wandering ticking time bomb. Fighting for what they believed in, the Council was relentless and kept on sending Morrigan a Watcher. But the bodies piled up. A Watcher genocide. One night, Morrigan decided to take care of no less than The Master. She was perhaps a rover, but she was still a Slayer. He didn't kill her though, but nor did she. He saw something in her… and our big bad Brethren guru had recently risen from the void of time. Aurelius had been back for a while somehow, and he gave Morrigan the purest blood he could find; his. And so she became a vampire as strong as The Master. Even more so since she was the Slayer. And she has been around a little more than I. This is why she's bad news.
Buffy: Wow. Thanks. Might help me banging her against the wall next time I knock
into her.
William: Do me a favor and don't. She is worse than everything you have ever been up
against.
Xander: So she is a purely sired watcher-slayer-gypsy thing? I say that Morrigan girl
has some serious baggage.
Buffy: She probably even has her own luggage-carrier.
Xander: What did she want with you?
Buffy: She wanted to see what a "contemporary Slayer" was like. She wanted to fight
me. And she did.
Xander: Good results?
Buffy: For her, yes. For me, ouch.
William: If she fought you and you're not dead, this means she held back.
A beeping sound gets Xander's attention. He takes his beeper from his belt and looks at the number.
Xander: 733. Code Red; out of something. I'd bet on drywall. The guys need me.
Buffy: Up and away, constructor-man! Realized her joke sucked I need some rest. Hey
did you happen to see Dawn today?
Xander: Today? No. Alright well, call me if you need me. Bye.
Buffy followed Xander to the door. He kissed Buffy good-bye on the cheek before glancing loathingly at William. And the door closed shut.
The door reopens and the sun has set. The town is now emerged in the darkness of the night. Buffy came in. Some lights were left on, but no sign of anyone at home.
Buffy: Dawn, are you there?
Buffy looked in the living room and saw the Diaries all scrambled on the coffee table, just as she left it before going out God knows where. Thirsty, she went right pass the living room and into the kitchen. Once there, Buffy circled the counter and faced the armoires. She raised herself on tipsy toes to reach a Scooby Doo's Daphne glass, turned around, got the milk out of the fridge, poured herself a glass on the counter, and, alas, drank. And the surprise made her spit and choke. Something caught her off-guard and made her startle. William. He stood right across her. She regained her calm and her dislike for him after the short-lived commotion.
Buffy: Do that again and you'll end up in my ever handy Dustbuster.
William: Maybe that's what I want… at least what I deserve.
Short silence
Buffy: How long you think of taking my roof as your own personal squatting lot?
William: I know why you're mad at me. I am at Spike, too. He was somebody else,
Buffy. Some thing else. The opposite of me… Of all people, I hoped you could maybe understand.
Buffy: It's hard! Put yourself in my place! We can't forget in a matter of days what you
did for so many years as Mr. Hyde.
William: You did it for Ange--
Buffy: With time, yes. And you can't seriously relate to him, can you!? He was-- You
were-- White and black. Love and exploit. Things that are worlds apart from each
other.
Again with the silence
Buffy: Sigh of desperation Did you see Dawn this afternoon?
William: No.
Buffy: Ok, well I'm going out on patrol, if you see her… tell her I'm mad. 'Going to see
Xander'. Yeah right.
Buffy stored the milk back, put her glass in the sink and went out by the backdoor. William stood there for a while, unable to think properly. He moved at last and dragged the cadaver that is his body out the front door. A few moments after the door closed, the phone rang. And rang. And rang. The answering machine caught on.
Buffy on machine: You've reached the Summers' residence. We're not here, so get a life.
Beep
Giles: Buffy! It's me. The Council has reached me with horrible news. Well… they never
contact me if it's not awful anyway. They have been robbed of a powerful magic relic. They are led to believe the thief has gone to you. You have to be on your guard. Whatever you do; stay at home, and don't patrol! You hear me? She is a sired Slayer. Yes, very unusual, but she is to be feared. As long as you're in the house, you'll be safe. Please, Buffy--
A feminine hand with dark nail polish caressed the phone receptor. She picked it up and stuck it to her ear. And a peaceful voice sang through her full lips, carrying a conversation doomed from the start.
Morrigan: Hi.
Giles: Hum… hello. May I speak to Buffy, please?
Morrigan: No.
Giles: Who--who are you?
Morrigan: Will you be adorable and tell the Council that they're wrong; everything they
do is wrong. Home, sweet, Summers home.
Giles: Morrigan? You better not have--
And slowly she put the receptor back to where it was, hanging up on Giles. Stone hard, her nails clang against the answering machine. Then, by a swift and strong pull from the wall , she disconnected it in a snap. Her always unpredictable mood surprised again going from rage to serenity when gently she tucked the wires at the back of the entrance cupboard, so there would be no visible sign of aggression against the device. The camera moved toward the opening door letting in Dawn. She walked right pass where Morrigan was, but no sign of Morrigan. Her stealth and speed surely made her escape from the Slayer's sister. The young one went to the same cupboard Morrigan was in front of. She shuffled through the letters and publicities she had just picked up. One caught her utmost attention.
Dawn: Hmm, free carpet cleaning with 5 gallons of carpet cleaner. That's a done deal!
She dropped the papers on the table and something grabbed her curiosity. She frowned and bend to look closer at the answering machine. Normally, a light would indicate it was in proper use. So no light was indeed non-functioning answering machine behavior. As the camera followed Dawn's bending over the machine, Morrigan could be seen standing in the shadows of the living room, all the more lifeless and inflexible. Dawn sensed something and glanced at her back. No one. She swore she felt someone was watching her, eyes burning her back… The ringing pierced the silence of the house once more and Dawn jumped at the sound of it. She picked it up, the Englishman again.
Dawn: Hello.
Giles: Dawn!? Get out of the house! Get out of the house, right now!
She had learned from past mistakes to always do what Giles tells you to do. She let the receptor fall to the floor. Turning quickly to the door, Morrigan stood in front of her, as an obstacle to Dawn's freedom. Dawn was about to run by the dining room and escape by the backdoor. Morrigan, somehow, convinced Dawn otherwise as soon she spoke her first sentence.
Morrigan: No, Dawn. Please, wait.
Dawn: You know my name. Who are you?
Morrigan: I only came here to find a Diary. I don't want to do you any harm.
Dawn: Why didn't you ask for it instead?
Morrigan: You can say that… it's not in my nature to ask.
Dawn was cautious and attentive to Morrigan's movements as she came to pick up the receptor on the carpet. She pushed a button on the base and put the handset where it belonged. The phone was set on speaker function.
Morrigan: Giles, say hi to Dawn. Tell her I'm not mad.
Giles: You're not; you're bloody mad!!
Morrigan: Watchers simply don't like me, Dawn. But I'm one of the good guys.
Giles: The necklace is too strong for you, Morrigan.
Morrigan: Giles, you and I both know the Council is worst than vampires, or demons.
Maybe they need to be shaken up a little. But I don't know. I'm not as
interested in-- (...)This is boring.
She hung up on Giles yet another time. Dawn didn't know what to think.
Morrigan: Where are his Diaries. Giles' Watcher's Diaries.
Dawn was stunned into silence
Morrigan: I'm getting impatient!
And she grabbed Dawn's arm who was trying her best to get free, but, of course, to no avail. She threw Dawn all the way onto the coffee table which crashed on impact. The next second, Morrigan crawled slowly on top of Dawn.
Morrigan: Please tell me. I don't want to come down to harm a kid. I hate killing
children. (...) Oh!
She saw that Dawn laid on the Diaries, all out and about. She took Dawn into her arms and comfortably laid her down on the arm-chair. She finally found the book she wanted. Before leaving, Morrigan leaned over Dawn who was hurt from the crash, and closed her eyes as she softly kissed her on the forehead. She also ghastly whispered two simple words to Dawn previous to her departure.
'Never die.'