Chapter 24:

Cordy, Angel and Connor found gunn and fred in buffy's kitchen.

Gunn had his arms wrapped around her and was tickling her.

Fred was letting out little high pitched squeals.

(AN: yes.. the kitchen is possessed by a tickling demon..)

Angel rolled his eyes. "I take it you two did search the ground floor?"

Fred blushed and readjusted her glasses, "um.. sure did Angel!.. didn't we charles?"

Gunn muttered something about overreaction and then gave Connor a wave, "Connor! Not dead I see?"

Connor raised an eyebrow, "why would I be dead?"

Cordy snorted and started searching buffy's cupboards for coffee, "Oh, ask your overprotective father, he

was convinced you'd all been taken to some underground lair in the middle of the night."

Angel sat down and looked slightly embarrassed, "hey! I was mildly concerned, not over-protective!"

Cordy, now in the process of making coffee gave a little laugh, "Angel! You made us drive all the way

from L.A at 4am in the morning! If that's 'mildly concerned' I'd hate to think what you'd be like if you

Really thought Connor was in danger."

Angel started to reply but was cut off by Fred giving a scream.

Gunn turned towards her, "baby!? What's wrong?!"

The woman just pointed mutely at the kitchen door, her eyes wide.

Everyone in the room turned and looked out into the living room.

Spike was in there.

He still hadn't put any clothes on.

He smirked and gave a little wave.

Before anyone could say anything however, a loud thumping announced someone on the stairs.

Buffy came down them running, holding a pair of Spike's leather pants in her outstretched hands, "please

Spike! I know Angel upset you, but please! PUT SOME PANTS ON!"

The vampire leant against the door frame, looking utterly relaxed, "nope, this is my house, and I'm quite

comfortable in what I'm wearing right now." He looked into the kitchen, "morning all, lovely day isn't it?"

Cordy, after managing to close her jaw, picked up a teatowel and threw it at his lower regions.

Snapped out of stunned horror, everyone else made a series of 'ew's and assorted noises of disgust.

Buffy huffed and marched after Spike in the kitchen, "Look Spike! You've made your point! I'm sure

Angel will knock the next time he breaks into out house and walks into our bedroom! Now, please! Put

some pants on!"

Spike shrugged and headed for the fridge for his breakfast.

Buffy sighed, "SPIKE!! PANTS! NOW!!"

The vampire ignored her.

Connor got an idea and grabbed the pants off a startled buffy, and followed Spike, focusing very hard on

the back of his head.

"Hey Spike, Do you really want Dawn to see you naked?"

Spike paused, the thought of horrifying his niblet ticking over in his mind.

Connor tossed the pants at him and Spike shrugged and put them on, "I s'pose not."

Just as Spike was doing up his fly and everyone in the room was letting out a collective sigh of relief,

Dawn's voice came screaming from upstairs.

"CONNOR!!"

Everyone froze, and before anyone could say anything, Connor had vanished upstairs.

Fred looked slightly dizzy, "Woah! Where'd he go?"

Gunn shrugged, "super speed I guess…man, that girl has him wrapped around her little finger!"

Buffy frowned at him and she and Spike quickly ran upstairs.

Cordy shook her head and dragged Angel off after Buffy.

Gunn turned to Fred and shrugged, "what did I say?"

******

Connor heard the real horror in Dawn's voice, and ran to her room as fast as he could.

What greeted him was worse then he had feared.

A fierce wind was swirling around her room, ripping at the curtains and pulling the furniture around.

Connor appeared just in time to watch Dawn vanish down a portal at the foot of her bed, pulled by two of

the monks in brown robes.

Her eyes, wide with terror, locked onto his for a split second and she mouthed something, then she was

gone.

Connor made to follow her, but with a flash of blinding light, the portal closed.

He looked around the room blankly, as if he expected to see Dawn hiding in the corner or something, but

he knew what had just happened.

The Destroyer, completely oblivious of the devastation of Dawn's room around him, the bed thrown up

against the wall, her clothes and belongings scattered everywhere, knelt down on the carpet where she had

vanished.

His face paled with shock and disbelief.

I failed her… I swore I would not let them take her… but I have.. she is gone! Our son will be sent to

hell…

That last thought brought memories of his own 'childhood' fresh into his thoughts.

He felt his heart beat pick up at the realization that Dawn and his son would probably live though exactly

the same things.

Oh god.. not that.. anything but that..

He thought back to his dream of their son. It hadn't just been a dream then…

It had been a vision. His son really would be raised just as he had. In Quar-toth.

And then be sacrificed.

It has come true… Dawn is in Quar-toth… that means the rest of that dream will come true…everyone

will die… it is too late.. I should have told them.. I should have warned them..

Tears pricked his eyes and he let them fall, a huge pain welling up inside of him. He felt as if his very heart

was being burnt form his body.

He suddenly felt a strange calm settle over him. He didn't realise, but his eyes were blanked out by milky

white. He spoke quietly to himself but didn't hear his own words, "They will die then. As will the others."

The strange feeling of calm spread and Connor felt his grip on awareness slipping.

He could feel others in the room..

Suddenly spike's hands were on his shoulder's, shaking him violently.

He dimly heard the vampire speaking, asking what he meant, what had happened, where was his niblet?

But Connor couldn't form any words to reply.

What could he say?

******

Cordy sat in the backseat of the car, Connor leaning silently against her shoulder.

He hadn't spoken all day.

Cordy and Angel had followed Buffy and Spike upstairs. They'd had arrived in Dawn's room to find

Connor kneeling on the ground, his eyes a clouded white.

All he would say was "They're gone. Everyone will die."

Then he was silent. His eyes returned to normal, but he seemed to be in a daze of some sort.

Cordy frowned as she concentrated on remembering every tiny detail of the morning.

When he saw Connor's eyes, Angel suddenly stiffened beside me…then he looked at my eyes… does that

mean anything?

She shook her head, that could mean anything. She focused on remembering again.

Connor hadn't told them what had happened to Dawn, although Fred later added that her room looked as

though there'd been a portal in it.

Buffy had grown so angry and upset, she'd started to cry with frustration and lashed out at Connor. Who

still didn't react.

When Lorne finally emerged from the car around lunch, he'd been devastated to learn what had happened,

and cordy could tell the demon was now blaming himself.

Angel was worried his son had been affected by some spell of something, and just as over protective as

he'd been the night before, had insisted on taking him home, 'where he'd feel better'.

So they'd left Sunnydale.

Left Buffy and Spike in hysterics, both arming themselves and planning to go back to the underground lair

they'd found and look for Dawn.

Cordy sighed, this was never supposed to happen this way,

How could they take Dawn like that!? Angel, Connor, Buffy and Spike were all there!.. I never thought

they'd wait till she was being guarded by everyone! I mean, that's basically all the big names in anti-

evil..Surely they would have taken her when she was alone!?

But there was no logic to explain what had happened ever since Dawn had arrived at the Hyperion a month

before.

Cordy sighed again and looked down at Connor.

His wide eyes reflected the light of the city lights as he blandly looked out of a scratch in the paint window.

Up front Angel suddenly broke the silence, pulling Cordelia out of her reverie.

"Cordy, there's some thing I need to speak to you about... I think Connor had a vision this morning."

Cordy gasped, "how!?"

Angel continued, "Cordy, whenever you have a vision your eyes turn white. Connor's did when he said that

everyone was going to die."

Lorne's head snapped up, "what?! His eyes turned white? Why didn't anyone mention this?"

"I was the only one that noticed… and knew what it meant. I didn't think Buffy and Spike would

appreciate hearing a premonition involving dying when Dawn's been taken."

The demon frowned. "Don't you think we should have hung around and helped them look for her?"

Fred shook her head, "No. Dawn isn't in Sunnydale. She isn't even in this world. I know that there was a

portal in her room. The most we can help is to try and find out where she got sent… and figure out a way to

get her back.."

Lorne nodded then glanced across the back seat at Cordy, meeting her eyes for a second.

"Angel, there's some other stuff we should probably tell you.. About Dawn and Connor."

******

AN: My computer had a total moron attack… I couldn't get my net working..

L *satanat cries about her internet deprival * L

I think Kazaa contaminated it… damn you addictive downloading!!

(I only recently discovered the video clips.. hee hee..)

*satanat shakes a fist at kazza*

(meanwhile I probably fucked it up myself…dum de dum..)

so yeah.. I don't know when it will be working Properly again..

but I'll try and update like normal…