A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER. ENJOY.


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They moved like slow motioned characters in movies. Each step, each move slower than normal pace. Their voices blurred in the thickness of the atmosphere and all Dawn could hear was the echo of their words.

Buffy was sitting in front of her whose image and voice was distorted by the brightness and thickness of the room.

All Dawn saw were the outlines of those around her and their distant faded voices.


It felt surreal, as if she was in some dream. This wasn't how she remembered home. Everything wasn't white and sterile and people didn't come out as gray outlines.

Dawn turned her head to the little girl beside her, a questioning look on her face.

The child nodded without doubt. She was the only person Dawn could see clearly.

"Dawn?" Buffy's concerned voice finally pierced through the thickness of the atmosphere.

Dawn turned her head back to her sister and blinked as if trying to adjust her eyes to the room. No change.

"Dawn?" Buffy said again, her voice heightening as anticipation grew.

"Are you real?"

Buffy looked surprised, Dawn could tell even with the lack of clarity in her vision. "Of course. What's wrong?" Buffy replied, her voice softening.

The brunette said nothing but she looked up when she finally noticed that someone was standing behind Buffy.

Blinking, trying desperately to see clearly, Dawn stared at the figure. She could sense something shift in the room.

Tension. Everyone was nervous. More nervous than they were earlier.

"Dawn, tell me what's wrong." Buffy pressed, her hand now clutching Dawn's.  She winced from the contact.  She didn't like being touched.

"It's bright." With that reply, there was shuffling and the room suddenly dimmed and Dawn blinked again.

Better.

Her gaze settled on Buffy's face. She looked the same and Dawn turned to the little girl again.

The child smiled at her and a sense of calm settled on Dawn.

"You're crying." Dawn croaked as her aching fingers touched the tears on Buffy's face.

"I was so worried." Buffy whispered but she didn't move to hug her sister.  She didn't want to inflict Dawn any more pain but abruptly hugging her.

 
Suddenly the calm was gone and Dawn felt a rush of emotions overwhelm her. "You waited. All this time, you waited for me."

Confusion appeared on Buffy's face. "Why would I stop waiting?" She asked, puzzled.

   
"I'm sorry."

"I know you are, Dawnie, but it doesn't matter anymore. You're home." Buffy said, caressing Dawn's cheek.  The other girl visibly winced again. 

"But I'm sorry for what's going to happen." Dawn clarified, looking guilty.

Buffy frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"More will be coming."

"More what, Dawn? What do you mean?"

"I let loose an army of demons."

"What?" Buffy gasped.

"Bloody hell." Someone muttered and Dawn suddenly remembered that there was someone behind Buffy. She lifted her head slowly and then she gasped when she saw him.

With trembling legs she stood up, her eyes filled with tears. And then she walked up to him and wrapped her small arms around him.

"When I was there, I prayed that you were alive so that Buffy wouldn't be alone. And someone listened." She whispered brokenly as Spike gently hugged her, as if afraid to crush her.

Her words made him feel guilty and Spike cleared his throat uncomfortably. He made no indication of acknowledging Dawn's words or denying them. "It's alright, Bit. No need to cry."

But she cried harder anyway as her arms tightened around him. "I missed you so much. I missed all of you." She whispered.

"Me too."

Spike wished it was Buffy who said those words instead of the younger Summers girl. As much as he loved Dawn, he couldn't help but want Buffy instead to be in his arms and saying those words.

The words were so little and to many people they meant just as less but to Spike it was enough to make him happy. Just because someone cared enough to miss him.

Buffy watched the scene between her baby sister, who didn't seem so little anymore and Spike who she had loved all along but denied it anyway.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

Spike released Dawn from his embrace and helped her back down on the seat so that she would be facing Buffy again, who seemed left out for a moment.

Spike cleared his throat. "You girls need to catch up. I'll be around." He refrained from looking at Buffy who was watching him from the corner of her eyes.

Dawn nodded tiredly, noticing the discomfort between Spike and Buffy.

"We should tell Angel what you just told me." Buffy declared.

Dawn frowned slightly. Even in her weakened and confused state, she knew that something was off. "Why?" She asked softly.

Buffy twitched her lips slightly. "I know you're a little confused, Dawn, but this place is Angel's. These people work for him and well, it's their job to do some investigating and demon killing. Don't you remember? I told you this in the beginning."

"That was ages ago." Dawn moved her gaze to the other people around them, who she hadn't really paid attention to earlier. Even in the dim room they were working diligently and some of them were just standing, watching Buffy and Dawn and scribbling down notes.

In the far corner, Dawn saw Angel. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him, a serious look on his face.

She noted he looked professional and somehow, seeing him brought past memories of mafia movies. Dawn smiled slightly at his direction, although the sad look in her eyes never faded.

Dawn noticed Angel was surrounded by a group of people who she didn't recognize except for Wesley who was perched on a stool with a small reading lamp beside him, engrossed on a book.

Her gaze lingered on the man with the gun and Dawn frowned slightly.

"I almost forgot about Angel." Dawn finally spoke again as she turned to Buffy. "I haven't seen him in so long.  So long.  Everything's so different."

"Not really." Buffy replied. "Well, maybe except for Angel going all out on the investigating thing." She smiled a little. Buffy had the urge to mention Spike's new humanity but she didn't.

Now wasn't the time.

"There's something else you should know."

"Dawnie, it can wait. Get some sleep and then we'll talk again." Buffy urged but Dawn's hand was suddenly on Buffy's wrist, her grip almost frightening tight.

"No, it can't." Dawn insisted, her voice hard with determination. "You need to know."

"Okay but you're resting after."

Dawn nodded absently as her gaze went to the little girl who had found her way to Connor's lap again. Her lips curved into a thin solemn smile as she watched the little girl sit peacefully with the young teenage boy who seemed just as content. "I named her Chayse Elizabeth Summers."

Buffy sat in confused silence as she tried to make sense of what Dawn was saying.

"I was afraid that she would become what they intended her to be. And a part of me still is but I know that there is some good in her because she's a part of me and I am a part of you. And you're made of pure goodness."

"Dawnie, you're not making any sense."

Dawn sniffled and let out a heavy sigh. "Chayse is mine, Buffy. She's mine and they were going to take her away. They gave her to me just to take her away."

"Dawn, it's alright. No one's going to take her from you."

"You're not listening!" Dawn said impatiently, her voice shrill. "You're not getting it."

"Dawn, please-"

"No, listen! Listen.  This is important." Dawn hissed, her eyes flashing with something dark and dangerous. "Chayse is my daughter. She is made from my flesh and blood."

She settled back down on her seat as she watched Buffy's shocked expression. Dawn wanted to apologize but she knew that she would do more damage if she did. There was no point for apologies and Dawn knew that she wasn't sorry.

Her expression held no guilt but there was sadness in her eyes as she continued to watch Buffy.

"I'm sorry." Buffy whispered as she let out an exasperated sigh. "Get some rest, Dawnie. Chayse should too." She watched the little girl on Connor's lap and finally Buffy saw a younger version of Dawn.

Well, at least Chayse resembled the child that Buffy saw in the false memories that monks created for Dawn's childhood.

Dawn nodded silently. She hadn't anticipated this kind of reaction from Buffy. She was expecting an outburst, maybe some tears but Buffy was completely placid, her eyes slightly distant.

"Ok." Dawn replied.

"She's very beautiful, like you." Buffy declared. "I'm going to tell Angel and everyone else what's going on. They look about to burst from the suspense. I'll check on you in a while." She offered Dawn a small smile as she hugged her again. "Good to have you back."

Dawn watched as Buffy exited the room, Angel and company in tow. She suspected that they already knew what she was going to say but Buffy was just using them as an excuse to leave.

She took a quick glance at Chayse who was still with the boy whose name or affiliation Dawn didn't know.

But it didn't matter. At least not that very moment.

She didn't move to introduce herself to the teenager. She laid back on the bed to rest, like Buffy suggested and closed her eyes, hoping that she had enough energy and will for what was to come.


************************************************************************


"Buffy, are you alright?" Angel asked worriedly as the door closed behind them and they were finally out of earshot.

Wesley, Fred, Lilah, and Gunn who had followed them into the hallway also waited for her answers. Their expressions were a mixture of curiosity, shock and disbelief. And they waited for her to confirm what they just heard.

"Something's very wrong with her. She thinks the little girl is her daughter." Buffy confided. "And I believe her. But how is it possible? Dawn is barely seventeen and Chayse-"

"Chayse?" Gunn interrupted.  Angel shifted uncomfortably, wondering what her connection to Cordelia Chayse was. 

"That's her name." Buffy clarified. "But she looks four."

"Since Dawn is the Key is essentially timeless, there is a possibility that wherever she was, time did not affect her physical form." Wesley explained.

"Or the child's growth could have been accelerated by some sort of magic." Fred added.

"Right."

"Buffy, did Dawn say anything about an oncoming war, maybe an apocalypse?" Wesley asked.

"She said that she let army of demons loose."

"Why and how?" Gunn asked incredulously.

"She didn't say." Buffy replied absently as she wrapped her arms around her body as if cold.

"The tempest will rise and the Guardian will walk the earth. The joining will be created and the nameless will be sheltered. An army shall emerge from the pit of doom and chaos will begin." Wesley read from the book he had been holding on to for quite some time now. "There's more but I haven't deciphered them yet."

"How do you even know you're remotely right about anything?" Gunn asked indignantly. "The language is three thousand years old and what does what you read have anything to do with Buffy's sister?"

"The language is only one thousand years old and-"

"Like it makes a difference." Gunn shot back.

"And this has everything to do with Dawn." Wesley pressed; his expression cool and held back as he met Gunn's cold criticism.

Buffy watched him with slight pride and admiration. Wesley finally grew a backbone and got contacts. She smiled slightly despite the bickering.

Angel cleared his throat. "Guys." He said. He had kept his silence long enough.

"I'm going to figure out what this whole thing means. It might be of some great help to discovering what happened to Dawn. And the child as well." Wesley redirected his attention to Buffy who was nodding silently.

"Wes, why don't you and Fred work on this together? You two might find what this is all about quicker if you mix science and magic." Angel suggested solemnly.

Wesley and Fred nodded quietly as they returned to the science lab. "And Buffy, there's a chance Dawn might be the guardian." Wesley warned her just as the door shut close.

"Gunn, I want you and some men around the sight where the portal opened. Look inconspicuous." Angel declared.

"On it already." Gunn nodded as he readjusted the gun in his arms and walked away.

"Lilah-"

She held up a folded in her hands. Angel knew exactly what was in it.

"Buffy, I'll see you in a minute. I have some paperwork to deal with." Angel declared and Buffy hesitantly returned to the other room.

Once she was out of earshot, Angel took the paper from Lilah who was looking mighty pleased and amused. "We just got it in. It's not a hundred percent but who's perfect anyway?"

Angel flipped the pages in the folder. "Are you sure about this?"

Lilah crossed her arms in front of her and shrugged. "Like I said, it's not a hundred percent but it's close enough."

"Chayse can help Cordelia wake up. This is amazing." Angel whispered.

"Well, we could have figured it out by just witnessing what happened in there." Lilah declared casually. "The child's power is overwhelming. Our mystics say that's she made of old energy. They don't exactly know what she is. But since she's the Key's child, it's understandable."

"What's the catch?"

"The problem is we don't know how to get her to wake up Cordelia. And then there's the third element."

"Third element?"

"The demon that appeared during the Dawn's remedial. No one knows how and why it appeared and it might be a problem if we try the same procedure with Cordelia." Lilah explained.

"Have a dozen researchers and mystics on it, already. I don't want things to get more wrong than they already are. And send Lorne up here as soon as possible. I want him to get a reading of the child." Angel declared firmly.

"Right, boss." Lilah smiled as she moved to leave him.

Angel nodded absently.

Soon, Cordelia was going to be cured and he wondered whether that was a good idea. She could open a whole Pandora's Box and cause more chaos than they could handle.

Sighing, Angel brushed the thought of and focused instead in getting back his Seer.


~*~


A/N: I KNOW. I SUCK. I PROMISED SPUFFY MOMENTS AND THERE'S BARELY ANY IN THIS CHAPTER. SORRY GUYS. I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME DAWN MOMENTS INTO THERE AND TO MAKE THE MYSTERY MORE CONFUSING. ANYWAY, HOPED YOU LIKED IT.

IM DEFINITELY PUTTING MAJOR SPUFFY MOMENTS IN THE NEXT CHAPTERS. I FEEL LIKE IM DEPRIVING YOU GUYS.

ANYWAY, REVIEW ALREADY. ILL THINK OF IT AS A GRAD PRESENT FROM ALL YOU NICE PEOPLE. THAT'S RIGHT I'M GRADUATING AND I WAS NICE ENOUGH TO UPDATE TODAY.

DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT GIVING YOU GUYS THE GUILT TRIP.

ANYWAY, BACK TO THE BUFFY UNIVERSE. NICOLE, I'M SURE YOU'RE ALREADY MORE CONFUSED WITH THE MYSTERY THAT IS THIS STORY. GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FIGURE STUFF OUT. HEHEHE.

THANKS FOR READING GUYS.