Chapter 4: End of World Tour

            Sophie was slumped over Dawn's bed. She wasn't sure how long ago Riley had left but she felt that she might actually be able to sleep. It would have been much easier if the Sergeant wasn't always staring at her. They're was something weird about Tanner but she was to tired to worry about it. She knew it was close, her mind began to drift into waking dreams. She was back at the school in her own bed with Xander holding her. But they were over quickly and she realized she was still kidnapped. Just as she felt herself fall back into the dream world a voice snapped her out if it.

            "Ev?" Dawn called out softy.

            "No, Dawn, it's Sophie." She said raising her head.

            "Oh." She said, her eyes still closed. "I had the strangest dream…" she opened her eyes. "Oh my god." She started to get up quickly and take in all of her surroundings but Sophie held her back. Dawn looked down at her bound arms. "Oh."

            "It's okay, Dawnie." She said, and did her best to have her lay back down. Sgt. Tanner knocked on the door and told the other guards that Dawn had woke up.  Dawn laid back down in the bed. "How are you feeling?"

            "I feel like I have the flu or something." Dawn felt her own head. "I think I'm warm but it can't tell."

Sophie tried to feel Dawn's head as well but was not able to with her bindings. "It's normal to have a temperature with what we gave you." Sophie said giving her a smile to make her feel safe.

"I…I remember someone being here." Dawn said confused. "Someone I knew…" She was talking mostly to herself.

"Riley Finn."

"Yeah," she said distantly, then she focus and turned to Sophie, "He was here!"

"Yeah." Sophie told her what had happened. Everything that she knew, even about Bridget.

Dawn just stayed quiet for a few moments. "Why her and not me?"

"I don't know." Sophie said honestly. "It could have been many factors. Bridget is-was older, you were in better shape…"

"Could it be that I've been exposed to it before?"

"It's possible… Exposed to the serum when?" Sophie was shocked.

"Remember…" Dawn said quietly. "I was made out of Buffy's blood." She whispered. "After her eighteenth birthday."

"Oh, well that's never happened before."  Sophie said frankly.

After a short period of time, they were escorted back to the cell block. Because of her good behavior in the infirmary, Sophie was once again allowed to visit with the girls. The Slayers where in much better spirits. Having Dawn coming back healthy and full of hope that Buffy would find them in no time, seemed to bring a new hope to the otherwise depressed girls.

However Rhona was absent from the group as well as a few others. Just as everyone was becoming settled, Johansson and a couple of guards came in. Sophie was ordered back to her cell and was locked in. When they stopped at Dawn's cell, Sophie felt her heart sink.

"What do you want?" Dawn quipped. "Here to let me go?" She stood in the middle of her cell with her arms crossed across her chest.

"No, Miss Summers, we are here to inform you that we no longer you believe you're a Slayer." Johansson said in a way to jovial tone.

"Anyone here could have told you that." She huffed. "So what now? You'd have to let me go now."

"Oh, we were considering it but that was when we found out something else about you that made you much more interesting to us." He opened the door and the guards when in to grab her arms. Dawn tired to fight them off, managing to kick one of the guards in the balls and punch the other in the eye. The Slayers where cheering her on. With all of her struggling, it didn't matter because she was out numbered. She was dragged out kicking and screaming.

---

Willow didn't sleep at all.  She lay in her bed reading a James Patterson novel.  She hoped to fall asleep, but found that she couldn't.  Willow sighed and pulled the covers off and pulled on her robe.  Underneath the robe, she wore a long nightgown, a pale pearl color.  She remembered when her bedtime fashion was rubber ducky pajamas, which wasn't too long ago.  Willow wanted to dress more adult, she was a serious woman now.  Her mousy days were over, no more shy little Willow.  Willow walked out into the hall. The staff hall was silent as she barefooted down the stairs and into the foyer.  She looked around to make sure no one spotted her.  She wanted to be alone.

            Willow opened the front door and stepped outside.  It was three am and the night air was cool, but not cold.  The snow had melted, but she knew more was to come.  Willow heard a faint cough and looked around.  She walked down the cement steps and saw Evan smoking a cigarette sitting on a canopied swing bench. 

            "Evan?"  Willow called out to her quietly. 

Evan quickly threw her cigarette away, without putting it out.  She turned to Willow.  "Oh, hey Willow."

            Willow cautiously looked at her.  "Were you smoking?" she took a seat next to her.

            Evan laughed.  "Are you kidding?  Of course not!  Bad, . . . bad thing to do." She muttered.

            Willow smiled, "Hon, I'm a Witch, you can't fool a witch."  Evan blinked at her confused.  "Okay, okay, you got me, I saw the smoke before I sat down."

            "I'm sorry, I just—It helps ease my headaches." Evan replied looking down at the floor. 

"Hey, I have no problem with your decision to smoke, your seventeen right?" Willow asked.             

Evan smiled, "Actually, I'm 19."  She took out another cigarette from her purse. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Oh, not at all.  Hey you're legal too." Willow smirked at the younger brunette.

Evan playfully rolled her eyes at her and shook her head. 

"Crap, I swear, I didn't mean it like that." Willow nervously played with her hands.  After a silent awkward moment, Willow said.  "So, tell me more about your headaches?"

Evan looked up at her teacher.  "They are pretty bad.  Sometimes the pain is so bad, I can't feel anything else going on around me.  Sometimes, I'll even get a huge bloody nose."  She dragged on her cigarette. 

Willow, interested asked her another question.  "I wonder if you are actually a seer from the powers that be?"  she hesitated, then said to herself, "I thought there was already one?" 

"I really have no idea, all I know is that they hurt, and it sucks."  Evan replied, she massaged her temples.            

"Its probably because you are just human, I had a friend who had visions, she almost—" she stopped herself.  She didn't want to scare her.  "Well, her case is different then yours."

"Where is she now?" Evan asked.  "Maybe she can teach me how to control them?"

"I don't think that's possible . . ." Willow sighed.  She thought of Cordelia.

"How come, is she—, Oh God, is she dead?"

"Oh no, she's, well, in a coma?" Willow said afraid of Evan's reaction.  Evan's eyes watered as she stared at Willow.  Evan quickly got up and walked away from Willow.  "Wait! She's not in a coma because—."  It was too late, Evan had already left. 

Willow sighed and fell back in the swing, which swung fast as she slumped in it.  "Just great, another gift, effecting a normal human being."  She fell asleep. 

            Dawn slowly approached, and Willow awoke.  She remembered where she was, outside.  She made her way into the building and was almost trampled by Xander and Pike.  "Where have you been?" Xander asked.

            Willow sighed, "Very long, interesting night.  Going to get dressed and get packed." She said as she darted up the stairs.  Xander and Pike entered the dinning hall, which they saw everyone was ready to go.   Pike didn't see Buffy in sight though.  Pike walked over to Giles who was speaking to Fiona. 

            "Giles, where's Buffy?"  he asked.  Giles looked around the room, slayer's talking amongst themselves. 

            "I haven't seen her all morning." He said, also concerned. 

            "When I woke up, she wasn't in the bedroom, I thought maybe she would have been with Willow or something." Pike wrestled his duffle bag over his shoulder.

            "Buffy's been rather strange as of late, off by herself a lot," Giles hesitated, "Or with you."

            A few minutes later Willow came down the stairs carrying a large heavy bag, and almost fell into Faith who was holding a very long sword.  Faith smiled at the Wiccan as Robin came up behind the girls, and guided Faith outside. 

            Faith called from outside, "Hey everyone! Buffy is pulling up with the bus!"

            Everyone slowly made their way outside, and saw Buffy sitting in the driver's seat.  She had been ready for quite sometime. 

            Faith and Robin entered the bus followed by Willow and Xander, then the rest of the team.  Pike was last to get on. 

            Buffy let Jenny take the wheel and Buffy went to sit with Pike in the first three-seater.  The engine roared up and they left the mansion's premises.

            "When did you go out to the bus?" Pike asked Buffy.

            "Around four thirty or so.  Couldn't sleep, decided to get ready and get on the bus.  I was able to sleep in here." She said.  Buffy sighed and opened her classic slay-bag she carried and took out the locater.  "I sure hope this helps."

            She leaned onto Pikes shoulder as she looked around the bus. Her mind flashed to their long drive to New York. Well not really New York, they weren't sure where they were going at first. The bus had been overfilled with everybody's stuff and reeked of victory and morning. Now it was thick with tension. They didn't know what to expect. She just knew she needed to save Dawn.  She felt even a little selfish that she didn't care as much about the other girls, but she couldn't help it. 

Buffy looked around at her soldiers. She saw Willow testing her power, levitating one of Xander's weapons. Xander seemed amused. Evan was still asleep, slumped over Matt's shoulder. Giles was staring out the window, distant.   Fiona seemed to playing mayor with 'Sisterhood Slayers'. Buffy closed her eyes and snuggled into Pike some more. Maybe if she wished real hard this wouldn't be happening.

********

Dawn was led through many corridors she would never remember. She tried counting the turns and doors but they were all the same and she quickly lost count. They stopped in front of a set of lab doors. "Small Lab 6". They entered they're key cards and codes and the doors opened. It was a small lab, like it was named. Unlike the separate cells in the Slayer block, this had 4 clear cells lining the walls. The cells were darkened now and she could see who was inside them. It must be nighttime, Dawn thought distantly. She was distracted when she realized the lab space was in the middle of the room.

She felt sick when she realized she would see what they do to the others in the cells. She was lead to one of the middle cells. She stumbled in the dark to find the cot. By the time she got herself in a comfortable sitting spot, she called out into the darkness. "Is anyone else here?" She said trying to look at the equipment in the lab space. She didn't want to think about what that was there for. "Anyone?" she asked again hoping.

"Dawn?" a surprising voice answered.

---

"Riley," Sam stopped Riley walking past her in the hallway.  Riley turned to her. 

"What is it?" he said, his tone low, disgusted with himself.   Sam could see sweat dripping off of his brow.

"General Lee wants to see you.  He says it's urgent." She tilted her head down towards the grown, refraining from looking at her husband in the face.

Riley hesitated, then slowly, without saying a word, walked away from her.  He stopped in front of the main entrance to the cellblocks.  He wanted so badly to go in there and let them all go.  He'd be a dead man, if he ever did so much as put a finger on the security desk.

He continued to the office, where his boss, General Lee hid from the entire operation.  Riley slowly knocked on the door, a faint "Come in," welcomed him.  Riley opened the door; General Lee's chair was turned, his back facing Riley. 

"You wanted to see me Sir?" Riley stood straight, just like he's always been taught.  He knew this wasn't going to be good.

"Yes Agent Finn," he turned.  Lee had jet-black hair, not a stray of gray in his pin-straight hair, even though he was well past fifty.  The Korean General stood, and Riley saluted him.  "I've been hearing some disturbing news about your position in this operation, Agent.  Your are somewhat attached to these human-hybrids?"

Riley closed his eyes, "Slayers, Sir."

"Ah yes, the Slayer, or now it seems, slayers.  They are incredible aren't they?"  Lee said.  His eyes looked corrupt.

Riley didn't answer; he just stared at his Predecessor.  His nose flared, what he wouldn't give, just to reach over the desk he was standing behind, and strangle him.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know, word is, is that you used to work for one." He laughed.  "The one that gave us all that trouble in our prior operation.  I guess that cute little blonde was right, though, we can't control wild animals.  But we can control easily manipulative teenage girls." Lee smiled. 

Riley snapped and pulled a gun and pointed it at the Generals face.  "Stop this now."   Lee continued to smirk.

"Ah hem," Lee cleared his throat.  "Look behind you."

Riley slowly turned, gun still in position.  Then, he suddenly dropped the gun to the floor.  What he saw almost made him cry. His sister.  Carolyn Finn stood, her brown hair, tied in a pony-tail.  She was about fourteen years old.  Her face pale, eyes full of death.  She had been here for a few weeks.  Completely brainwashed. 

"She's--she's a slayer?" Riley stuttered, gasping at what he was seeing.

"Surprise." Lee replied, then clapped his hands. Carolyn Finn somersaulted in the air and kicked her older brother in the back, causing him to fall face first.  Riley turned to his sister, standing above him. 

            She didn't say a word, she grabbed his shirt and threw him into a filing cabinet.  Riley stumbled to get up.  He couldn't fight his own sister.  Carolyn punched him in the face hard.  Riley felt the bruise with his hands, and noticed his face was drenched in tears. 

            "Alright!" he cried to Lee.  "Alright!  Stop this!"

            Lee came up behind Carolyn and placed his hand on her shoulder.  She walked out of the room silently.  "I can stop this.  Well, for Little Ms Finn anyway." 

            "Do it," Riley said, his eyes swollen and red. 

            "Under one condition,"  There was a long pause, Riley waiting for an answer.  "You must continue here, and do what you are told.  And I mean everything."  Lee stated clearly.  "And then, your sister will be released."

            "If I don't?"  Riley asked.  Afraid to hear the answer.

            "She will die, so will that 'Key', then so will you."  Lee crossed his arms.  He had him.  Riley just nodded his head.

End Chapter Four.