Chapter 17:

Dawn trudged through the Sunnydale cemetery following Spike, with Buffy bringing up the rear. She was

in the middle, where both Spike and Buffy could protect her.

This is exactly why I left in the first place. I was sick of being protected.

Spike paused.

"I'm picking up something. Humans. One demon."

Buffy replied, "lead the way."

Spike nodded and started tracking the scent. The demon was quite a strong one. But that didn't really

matter, they were just on a recon mission anyway. Buffy wanted to know what was after dawn.

The plan was to sneak up and have a look, then go home a figure out a plan.

The graveyard was wet with dew, as always, and Spike was surprised Dawn wasn't slipping like she

usually did. In fact, she was walking so quietly that even Spike could only just hear her passing.

when did she get so stealthy!??! Are her slayer genes finally kicking in or something?

Spike noticed a new scent.

"three vamps incoming."

Buffy pulled out a stake at the ready.

Dawn did the same.

Spike just continued leading the way through the gravestones.

Sure enough three figures appeared from behind a mausoleum.

Dawn flinched slightly.

They were three guys, a blonde quarter-back looking one, a skinny geeky one and a tall guy, all smelly and

still in the suits they were buried in.

Spike sighed, " oh great, newbies."

The three foundlings looked over at him. "Who you calling a newbie!?" The tall one ran at him and met a

fist to the head. He flew through the air and landed on a grave stone.

Buffy looked at spike, "I'll take blondie, you take his little friend."

She ran at the confused looking guy and kicked him in the head.

Spike let the geeky guy punch him a few times then started bashing him, obviously enjoying himself.

Buffy meanwhile was likewise taking care of the other vamp.

Dawn yawned at sat down on a gravestone.

it's cold! I wish buffy and spike would stop playing with these guys. I wanna hurry up so I can go home.

Just then Buffy's blonde friend went poof, quickly followed by Spike's.

Dawn rolled her eyes, "nice work. Shall we?"

At that moment however she felt strong hands on her throat.

the third guy! I forgot about him!

Buffy and spike looked up at the tall guy behind dawn in shock.

"dawn!" Buffy started towards her sister, but the vamp made gnashing movements with his teeth,

"come any nearer and she gets a love bite."

Dawn could smell the sickly sweet smell of decay in the vampire putrid breath. ew!

Spike growled at let his vamp face out. "That girl has my sworn protection. Hurt her and I'll not only kill

you, I'll do it with holy water and sunlight."

The hands around her throat faltered, "Who are you?"

oh god! How pathetic! This guy doesn't even recognize Spike and buffy!

Dawn spoke, "that's spike, William the Bloody." She felt the hands around her throat tighten slightly. ahh

he's heard of them at least she continued, " but I'm sure you've heard of him. And the girl is my sister,

the slayer. They're gonna kill you no matter what you do."

Buffy nodded, "let her go and I'll just stake you. If not, I'll let spike play with you."

Spike growled and sneered, exposing his long fangs, looking very 'william the bloody' with his vamp face

on and his eyes burning with hatred.

Dawn felt the hands around her throat tighten. She couldn't breath anymore, let alone speak.

oh god. I'm going to die like this. Killed by a weak foundling. With buffy and spike watching!

The voices around her, the vampire, Spike and Buffy, all loud and threatening failed to make sense to her

and she felt her vision going dim. I'm never going to see Connor again… I'm going to die a virgin!

Dawn frowned at this last thought. I'm pathetic even when I'm suffocating.

She looked towards Spike and Buffy, but large spots floated in her vision, obscuring them.

Her head was aching in dull deep throbs. this is it. I'm about to die. I can't even see anymore...

Suddenly she sensed something, it felt like Connor. She could her dim voices, but they weren't those of

Buffy and Spike.

Then she noticed a slight tingling in her belly.

connor?

The tingling grew.

huh?

Se felt a surge of energy and power run through her.

what's happening?

Her vision had cleared. The spots were gone. Her head stopped pounding.

She froze for a moment then decided to kill the vamp behind her.

She suddenly stood up, felt the hands on her tighten even more, but didn't really feel them, then let go with

a high kick, backwards and up behind her head, whacking the vamp in the head with a hard boot heel.

The vamp stumbled and fell away from Dawn.

She took a deep breath of the cool night air then punched the vamp in the face. To her utter shock he flew

backwards, breaking through a mausoleum wall.

Dawn followed him, pulled out a stake and dusted him.

She walked back out side to see Spike and Buffy's disbelieving faces.

Spike squinted at her, "niblet? Are you okay? You're not possessed right?"

Dawn shook her head. "I dunno what just happened… ?it was.. weird.."

Buffy nodded, open-mouthed, "I'll say! You went all jackie chan slayer-style on that vamp!"

Dawn felt herself blush.

Spike was circling her, staring at her, "something's different. You don't smell the same. I noticed it in LA.

You still smell of that boy."

Buffy cocked her head, "you can still smell Connor on her?"

Spike shrugged, "it's like that. I don't know what else it could be."

Dawn put her hands on her hips, "hey! Maybe all the training I did with him has paid off! And it's not my

fault you have a hyperactive sense of smell! I do shower after all!"

Buffy raised an eyebrow, "you actually did real training? Not just the nookie-training?"

Dawn slapped her lightly on the arm, "yes!"

Spike hung back, looking disturbed, "something still doesn't make sense."

Dawn shrugged, "Spike! Geez! I did some training! Just lead us to the bloody cult already!"

Spike and Buffy returned to their positions and spike started through the graveyard again.

Dawn found herself lost in deep thought. She's felt Connor.. and someone else. It had almost seemed like

Angel. Then that power had run threw her. She tensed a fist, felt a surge of power there. She knew she

could punch threw a brick wall if she wanted to.

It's still there! I'm strong! Oh my god!.. this is truly weird!.. I have to ring Connor and tell him about

this.

******

Buffy followed her little sister through the graveyard, noticing as Spike had done earlier the sudden ease of

her movement. The power that was suggested simply by the way dawn held herself.

She suddenly wondered if looking at Dawn was like looking at her.

The way she punched that guy. That was about the same kind of strength punch I can *sometimes* throw.

Maybe she's finally awoken some of the inherited slayer gene she must have. Or maybe it has something

to do with her being the Key..

She paused in thought as she carefully jumped over an empty open grave. Dawn whispered in front of her,

"I hate those things! I have nightmares I'll fall into one…"

"don't worry Dawnie, you're not alone there. Open graves are gross."

Dawn's head bobbed in agreement and Buffy returned to her previous trail of thought.

Spike is convinced it has something to do with Connor. I'm not so sure though/ I think Spike's just

majorly over-reacting in that department…but it is weird that he can still smell him.. maybe it's just his

paranoia though…

Spike stopped and raised a hand.

"we're here."

Dawn stood next to Spike, "and where exactly is here?"

Spike pointed at a largest family crypt in front of them.

"they're in there."

He turned back to Buffy, "Now Buff, just a quick look right? I don't like bringing the niblet out here, right

into the hands of the people who are meant to be after her."

Buffy nodded, "right."

Dawn sighed, "hey! I can look after myself thank you very much!"

Spike rolled his eyes, forgetting for a moment her display earlier, "sure bit."

Dawn growled and slapped him across the face. "Don't treat me like a child!"

Spike held a hand to his face. It came away bloody. He looked at his hand in disbelief. "Niblet. That

*hurt*."

Buffy inspected his face. His nose and upper lip wee bleeding.

Dawn held her hand to her mouth, "oh my god Spike! I'm so sorry! I don't know how I could have.. I

didn't mean to hit you hard.."

Buffy looked worried, "Dawnie. When I train with Spike, *I* have difficulty making him bleed. And you

just did it by accident. That can't be because of normal training."

Spike wiped the blood from his face, "look, we'll figure this out later, niblet, in the meantime, don't whack

Poor old Spike anymore okay?"

Dawn blushed into the darkness and nodded. "I'm sorry spike."

He shook his head, "Forget it."

Buffy leant up and kissed him on the cheek. "Comm'on babe, let's go be sneaky and what not."

She lead the way towards the crypt, which they could now see was lit with candles.

The door wasn't locked.

Buffy slowly opened the door.

The small room was empty save for four stone coffins rising from the ground. Candles were lit in the

corners of the room.

Dawn observed the obvious, "it stinks in here. It stinks rreeaaalll bad…"

Spike nodded, "yep, that's the demon's scent. And a few less supernatural smells…"

Buffy started opening each coffin.

The first two held ordinary wooden coffins within. The third one was empty (not unusual in Sunnydale

cemetery, chances are Buffy had dusted it's occupant.) Spike slid the last lid off. Stairs.

Buffy looked at spike, "okay, I'll go down, you stay here with Dawn."

Spike shook his head, "I'll go down. I can sense things you can't."

Dawn piped in, "here's an idea, how bought we *all* go, seeing as how I'm not completely defenseless and

all.."

Buffy shook her head. "no Dawnie, if they weren't actually trying to catch you, maybe, but seeing as how

you're their main target, you are not going down there. Off you go Spike. Be quick."

He nodded and silently got into the coffin and started down.

Dawn sighed and sat down on a nearby Coffin.

******

Spike headed down the dark staircase, noticing that it branched of into several tunnels at the bottom.

this is good. Less likely I'm going to walk straight into the main room.

He kept to the gloom and followed the scent of the demon.

The passage went of for ever. It was nearly half an hour later that Spike sensed the demon to be close.

okay, now to take a peek then leave…

He paused at the corner of the tunnel and listened. He heard voices, but they weren't coming towards him,

they must be facing the other side of the room. He waited, checking that there wasn't anyone else in the

next chamber, then slowly, as not to attract attention with sudden movement, poked his head around the

corner.

It was as he had expected. Lots of blood, lot's of bodies. An altar, monks, and a great big ugly demon.

Spike checked no one had seen him. Then he set about memorizing the scene before him.

okay. Dead people, both innocents and monks. Okay, so the demon punished his followers. What else?

Altar, covered in dried blood with a big old book on it. Obviously that was their holy book thing.

The demon. … ugly…. Big, strong… hairy.. horns.. smelly.. wearing a robe? Looks like priest's

costume…and no tail, how unique…

As Spike was taking in the details of the Demon he noticed something. His nose. Or rather the flat slits that

he used as a nose. It was quivering. He can smell me.

Spike slid slowly back against the wall and cursed quietly, "oh bloody hell."

Then he turned and ran.

******

Buffy had struggled through almost and hour and a half of dawn gushing about Connor when Spike's head

appeared.

"Okay. Run now."

Dawn and buffy jumped up. Spike quickly put the lid back on the coffin. Then turned and herded them

from the chamber. "running… quickly now!"

Buffy broke into a jog , "so, it went that well Spike?"