Stolen Innocence
Part Three
Posted: April 30, 2004
Author's notes: Ok, summery has been changed, but it doesn't change the story. And this chapter...I just love. Trying to live up a bit to Gidget's awesome challenge, and I hope I did it justice, but we'll see! Please review. I need my candy.
And in this chapter, I've done A LOT of Kennedy bashing lately. The girl just pissed me off like no other can. So she's sorta repenting in this chapter, and will probably not show up very much in the rest of the story all together, but I won't bash her. I solemnly swear. At least until I feel like bashing her!
Oh, and with all the judging I've done, if there is ANY error in this, a punctuation mark out of place, please tell me. I've been so freaked out and nit-picking everyone else's stories, I'd feel really horrible if my story wasn't punctuation-ly correct!
Reader's Responses:
Willow Fireheart: OMG!!! My student teacher said the exact same thing! I told her I was having problems finding a place in Australia, and she said Ayers Rock. And are you reading my mind? Because I'm almost totally done with writing the fight scene, and you're starting to be right on the money, which is freaking me out! And no more looking forward to, except for the nester chapter, cuz this one's here, lol!
BAShipper: Ok, not even going to go there...you love cliffhangers?! And to your Q, you'll find out in this chapter! I love WRITING cliffies, hate reading them...don't know how you guys manage...I'm an evil cliffhanger person!
GidgetGirl: I'm glad you think it's good so far. In this chapter, Ash is almost pure, undiluted Dawn. The last part anyway. Then she takes on a mind of her own. As usual. I just can't keep these kids in line1 lol. And just let me say, read your Mother's little Capitalists stories, since I'm judging at Barefoot Awards, I feel SO bad for Xander for having to put up with both of them...
And I'm gonna try to think up something to change the summery. And we will, much farther along, the part that I'm writing now, to the sorta freakiness of it all. Dawn gets to be the youngest sister again, in her own mind, for a short while. But we'll get there in time.
Hopefully that works!!!
And that's it for reviews right now!!!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Be careful." Angel said as they waited to board the private jet.
"Careful's her middle name." She said, bumping the blond slayer with her hip.
"You're the exact opposite, so that works!" Dawn said in a fake cheery voice. Dull daggers were sent her way, but she just smiled innocently.
"Miss? You're flight's ready."
"Ok, here we go." Buffy said, grabbing her things. Giles had chartered the plane, and made sure they could bring weapons aboard. On impulse, Dawn dropped her things and threw her arms around Angel.
"We're going to bring her back. I promise." She told him, more for her benefit than his.
He went with it and put his arms around her. "I have no doubt."
Dawn slowly let him go, grabbed her stuff, and joined the two older women. They all waved goodbye, and then they got on the place.
"What are you up to?" She asked Dawn once Buffy was out of hearing, talking to the pilot.
"They need each other. Watching Buffy these two years...she's depressed, even if she won't admit it. She's resigned that she's going to be alone for the rest of her life. She'll pick up the book he gave her senior year, and stare off into space for five minutes with this semi-dreamy look on her face, before sighing and putting it away. No yelling at me to put my things away after I'm done, no yelling at me for leaving things around the apartment. She doesn't say anything. And according to Nina, Angel's not much better."
"Nina?"
"She's this chic Buffy knew from Hemery. She was also my old babysitter. She became a werewolf two years ago, and Angel saved from murdering her family, and now she locks herself up at Wolfram and Hart during those three nights. But she has this crush on Angel, so she hangs around a lot. He sometimes takes her to breakfast after the full moon. But she says that he tries too hard to be happy when he's with her. A girl can tell those things. She knows something's weighing on his mind. She asked if I knew, but I couldn't do that to her. It would hurt her too much."
"Well, what can I do to help? I owe your sister. And Angel."
"We have to get Ashleigh. We're staying with Angel until we figure out why they took her, why they need her."
"And with you mucking up the works..."
"It takes a long time going through law firm back files." She said innocently.
"So that means we have to get the kid."
"Yeah. Easier said then done." They sat in their seats as Buffy came back, and the plane started taxiing down the runway.
~ * ~
They stopped just long enough in Cleveland to pick up Amanda and Kennedy. The takeoff was made in an uncomfortable silence, there were so many things to say, and yet no one was comfortable saying them, even Kennedy.
So instead Amanda babbled about her own little sister, and how much of a pain she had been. After she had moved into the Summer's House, she had lost track of her parents, and was pretty much fine with that.
"I hope it'll be different this time," Buffy said thoughtfully, "I've already got a sister of the annoying variety. Isn't there something about the more distance between ages, the better the relationship between siblings? I'm 20 years older than her, for God's sake."
"I wouldn't be surprised if I found out one day that I had a half brother or sister. Dad ditched us when I was real little, and he wasn't that good a guy." The brunette mused.
"So, uh, how's Willow?" Kennedy turned to Buffy.
"She's good, as far as I know."
"I'm really sorry about the way I acted..."
"Hey, no big. It was a huge change in your life, and power tends to do that to you, it wasn't the first time I'd seen it happed. And Will moped, she did some soul searching, and now she's off looking for an old friend in this monastery or someplace."
"And...How I treated you, before...I'm sorry."
Buffy sighed, "Deep down, I thought myself to be the best. I was the best, because I was the slayer. And by dieing twice, I felt that that made me the most qualified for the job. You kept me on my toes, is all."
"So, uh, what's the plan?" Amanda asked.
~ * ~
The blond and the four brunettes crouched under the window.
"So how is this going to work again?" Dawn asked, more from nerves than anything. Buffy sighed.
"You, Amanda and Kennedy distract them, while Faith and I get Ashleigh."
"How are you gonna get her to go with you?"
"Hopefully, I can convince her I'm her sister, and she'll come with us."
"And if you can't?"
Faith was the one to speak up, "Want. Take. Have."
~ * ~
While the guards were busy helping Amanda, who was 'blind' and couldn't find her way, Buffy and Faith snuck in the back. Dawn snuck into the records room, and took Ashleigh's file, and radioed the room number to her sister. While they were finding that, Kennedy was to come in, and demand to see her brother, whose name Dawn also found for her. When Buffy and Faith found the room, Faith whistled at the room.
The little girl scrambled off the bed. She wore nothing but a long white night gown. "You're here to rescue me." She said, smiling up at the visitors in her room.
"Uh...yeah, we are. How'd you know that?" The girl took Buffy aback.
"I saw it. I was supposed to tell them, but I didn't. And that makes me bad, so they punished me." She said, staring at the floor. "But I still wouldn't tell." She whispered.
"Well, they won't punish you anymore. Do you have any clothes, or anything you'd like to take with you?" Buffy knelt down by the child. She shook her head.
"We're not allowed to own things. It makes us forget about our task."
"And what would that be?" Buffy asked sweetly.
"Something big. It's a secret. They'll hurt me if I tell you."
"I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise." Buffy held out her hand, and the girl took it.
"No. You won't. You're strong." She said, agreeing to Buffy's statement.
"B, we should really go..." The little radio earpiece was squawking in her ear as Kennedy demanded to see her brother, and Amanda wandered about the compound, still blind.
"Don't worry, Ashleigh, we're going to keep you safe, but you have to trust us, ok?" The girl nodded silently, and Buffy led her off.
"Hey! What are you doing with that child?!" A doctor-looking guy called from the end of the hall.
"Run, B!" Faith growled, as she turned to confront the guy. One quick blow to his kidney, and he was out cold. Faith grinned, knowing that the kidney was one of two ways to knock someone else, the more painful one at that. But then she wiped the smirk off her face, as she raced after Buffy and the kid.
They made it outside, but Ashleigh stumbled, so Faith scooped her up as they ran away from the House of Terrors.
Before they knew it, they were on the plane, and safely thousands of feet in the air. Well, as safe as you could be while flying. Ashleigh sat primly in the very front seat, facing the back of the place. Dawn sat facing her. Buffy sat in the middle of the plane, by the window, to get the best reception, as she called first Giles, and then Angel, to let them know they had her, but she also had a big secret that she wouldn't tell. Faith, Kennedy and Amanda sat in the way back, Faith resting, with her eyes closed, Kennedy listening to her CD player, and Amanda reading a book.
"You're special, too." Ashleigh said, looking at Dawn.
"Wh-what?"
"Don't try to de-ny it. You're like me. Special. Different. We're both needed for something big. But your time has passed. You're just a key without a lock now." She said, her head titled to one side, and Dawn's eyes widened. "But me...my time's coming. Soon. And I'm scared."
"H-h-how did you- wha-what the?!"
"I told you, we're special. It's your red water, but they also want my mind. In my head. Cuz I sees things."
"Red water?" she muttered, "oh! Blood. Yeah, Glory wanted my blood. But what do you mean, they want your mind?"
"I can't tell you." She whispered, frightened.
"I'm not going to hurt you, and we won't let them hurt you either. I promise."
"Promises, promises. They don't mean anything."
"I'm serious, Ashleigh. Faith, Buffy and I will protect you, and Angel too."
"An angel?"
"Sort of. Not really but...Why do they want your mind, Ashleigh? And what do they want it for?"
"I can't tell you. I told you that."
"No one's going to hurt you."
"I can't. Stop it, leave me alone." She began to get defensive.
"We really need to know, Ashleigh, so we can keep you safe."
"LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" she screeched, and Dawn jumped back, stumbling back towards Buffy. Faith was on alert instantly, and both Kennedy and Amanda dropped what they were doing, but Buffy just laughed.
"Now you know what it's like to be on the receiving end, don't you?" She asked her sister, who just glared at her.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Part Three
Posted: April 30, 2004
Author's notes: Ok, summery has been changed, but it doesn't change the story. And this chapter...I just love. Trying to live up a bit to Gidget's awesome challenge, and I hope I did it justice, but we'll see! Please review. I need my candy.
And in this chapter, I've done A LOT of Kennedy bashing lately. The girl just pissed me off like no other can. So she's sorta repenting in this chapter, and will probably not show up very much in the rest of the story all together, but I won't bash her. I solemnly swear. At least until I feel like bashing her!
Oh, and with all the judging I've done, if there is ANY error in this, a punctuation mark out of place, please tell me. I've been so freaked out and nit-picking everyone else's stories, I'd feel really horrible if my story wasn't punctuation-ly correct!
Reader's Responses:
Willow Fireheart: OMG!!! My student teacher said the exact same thing! I told her I was having problems finding a place in Australia, and she said Ayers Rock. And are you reading my mind? Because I'm almost totally done with writing the fight scene, and you're starting to be right on the money, which is freaking me out! And no more looking forward to, except for the nester chapter, cuz this one's here, lol!
BAShipper: Ok, not even going to go there...you love cliffhangers?! And to your Q, you'll find out in this chapter! I love WRITING cliffies, hate reading them...don't know how you guys manage...I'm an evil cliffhanger person!
GidgetGirl: I'm glad you think it's good so far. In this chapter, Ash is almost pure, undiluted Dawn. The last part anyway. Then she takes on a mind of her own. As usual. I just can't keep these kids in line1 lol. And just let me say, read your Mother's little Capitalists stories, since I'm judging at Barefoot Awards, I feel SO bad for Xander for having to put up with both of them...
And I'm gonna try to think up something to change the summery. And we will, much farther along, the part that I'm writing now, to the sorta freakiness of it all. Dawn gets to be the youngest sister again, in her own mind, for a short while. But we'll get there in time.
Hopefully that works!!!
And that's it for reviews right now!!!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Be careful." Angel said as they waited to board the private jet.
"Careful's her middle name." She said, bumping the blond slayer with her hip.
"You're the exact opposite, so that works!" Dawn said in a fake cheery voice. Dull daggers were sent her way, but she just smiled innocently.
"Miss? You're flight's ready."
"Ok, here we go." Buffy said, grabbing her things. Giles had chartered the plane, and made sure they could bring weapons aboard. On impulse, Dawn dropped her things and threw her arms around Angel.
"We're going to bring her back. I promise." She told him, more for her benefit than his.
He went with it and put his arms around her. "I have no doubt."
Dawn slowly let him go, grabbed her stuff, and joined the two older women. They all waved goodbye, and then they got on the place.
"What are you up to?" She asked Dawn once Buffy was out of hearing, talking to the pilot.
"They need each other. Watching Buffy these two years...she's depressed, even if she won't admit it. She's resigned that she's going to be alone for the rest of her life. She'll pick up the book he gave her senior year, and stare off into space for five minutes with this semi-dreamy look on her face, before sighing and putting it away. No yelling at me to put my things away after I'm done, no yelling at me for leaving things around the apartment. She doesn't say anything. And according to Nina, Angel's not much better."
"Nina?"
"She's this chic Buffy knew from Hemery. She was also my old babysitter. She became a werewolf two years ago, and Angel saved from murdering her family, and now she locks herself up at Wolfram and Hart during those three nights. But she has this crush on Angel, so she hangs around a lot. He sometimes takes her to breakfast after the full moon. But she says that he tries too hard to be happy when he's with her. A girl can tell those things. She knows something's weighing on his mind. She asked if I knew, but I couldn't do that to her. It would hurt her too much."
"Well, what can I do to help? I owe your sister. And Angel."
"We have to get Ashleigh. We're staying with Angel until we figure out why they took her, why they need her."
"And with you mucking up the works..."
"It takes a long time going through law firm back files." She said innocently.
"So that means we have to get the kid."
"Yeah. Easier said then done." They sat in their seats as Buffy came back, and the plane started taxiing down the runway.
~ * ~
They stopped just long enough in Cleveland to pick up Amanda and Kennedy. The takeoff was made in an uncomfortable silence, there were so many things to say, and yet no one was comfortable saying them, even Kennedy.
So instead Amanda babbled about her own little sister, and how much of a pain she had been. After she had moved into the Summer's House, she had lost track of her parents, and was pretty much fine with that.
"I hope it'll be different this time," Buffy said thoughtfully, "I've already got a sister of the annoying variety. Isn't there something about the more distance between ages, the better the relationship between siblings? I'm 20 years older than her, for God's sake."
"I wouldn't be surprised if I found out one day that I had a half brother or sister. Dad ditched us when I was real little, and he wasn't that good a guy." The brunette mused.
"So, uh, how's Willow?" Kennedy turned to Buffy.
"She's good, as far as I know."
"I'm really sorry about the way I acted..."
"Hey, no big. It was a huge change in your life, and power tends to do that to you, it wasn't the first time I'd seen it happed. And Will moped, she did some soul searching, and now she's off looking for an old friend in this monastery or someplace."
"And...How I treated you, before...I'm sorry."
Buffy sighed, "Deep down, I thought myself to be the best. I was the best, because I was the slayer. And by dieing twice, I felt that that made me the most qualified for the job. You kept me on my toes, is all."
"So, uh, what's the plan?" Amanda asked.
~ * ~
The blond and the four brunettes crouched under the window.
"So how is this going to work again?" Dawn asked, more from nerves than anything. Buffy sighed.
"You, Amanda and Kennedy distract them, while Faith and I get Ashleigh."
"How are you gonna get her to go with you?"
"Hopefully, I can convince her I'm her sister, and she'll come with us."
"And if you can't?"
Faith was the one to speak up, "Want. Take. Have."
~ * ~
While the guards were busy helping Amanda, who was 'blind' and couldn't find her way, Buffy and Faith snuck in the back. Dawn snuck into the records room, and took Ashleigh's file, and radioed the room number to her sister. While they were finding that, Kennedy was to come in, and demand to see her brother, whose name Dawn also found for her. When Buffy and Faith found the room, Faith whistled at the room.
The little girl scrambled off the bed. She wore nothing but a long white night gown. "You're here to rescue me." She said, smiling up at the visitors in her room.
"Uh...yeah, we are. How'd you know that?" The girl took Buffy aback.
"I saw it. I was supposed to tell them, but I didn't. And that makes me bad, so they punished me." She said, staring at the floor. "But I still wouldn't tell." She whispered.
"Well, they won't punish you anymore. Do you have any clothes, or anything you'd like to take with you?" Buffy knelt down by the child. She shook her head.
"We're not allowed to own things. It makes us forget about our task."
"And what would that be?" Buffy asked sweetly.
"Something big. It's a secret. They'll hurt me if I tell you."
"I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise." Buffy held out her hand, and the girl took it.
"No. You won't. You're strong." She said, agreeing to Buffy's statement.
"B, we should really go..." The little radio earpiece was squawking in her ear as Kennedy demanded to see her brother, and Amanda wandered about the compound, still blind.
"Don't worry, Ashleigh, we're going to keep you safe, but you have to trust us, ok?" The girl nodded silently, and Buffy led her off.
"Hey! What are you doing with that child?!" A doctor-looking guy called from the end of the hall.
"Run, B!" Faith growled, as she turned to confront the guy. One quick blow to his kidney, and he was out cold. Faith grinned, knowing that the kidney was one of two ways to knock someone else, the more painful one at that. But then she wiped the smirk off her face, as she raced after Buffy and the kid.
They made it outside, but Ashleigh stumbled, so Faith scooped her up as they ran away from the House of Terrors.
Before they knew it, they were on the plane, and safely thousands of feet in the air. Well, as safe as you could be while flying. Ashleigh sat primly in the very front seat, facing the back of the place. Dawn sat facing her. Buffy sat in the middle of the plane, by the window, to get the best reception, as she called first Giles, and then Angel, to let them know they had her, but she also had a big secret that she wouldn't tell. Faith, Kennedy and Amanda sat in the way back, Faith resting, with her eyes closed, Kennedy listening to her CD player, and Amanda reading a book.
"You're special, too." Ashleigh said, looking at Dawn.
"Wh-what?"
"Don't try to de-ny it. You're like me. Special. Different. We're both needed for something big. But your time has passed. You're just a key without a lock now." She said, her head titled to one side, and Dawn's eyes widened. "But me...my time's coming. Soon. And I'm scared."
"H-h-how did you- wha-what the?!"
"I told you, we're special. It's your red water, but they also want my mind. In my head. Cuz I sees things."
"Red water?" she muttered, "oh! Blood. Yeah, Glory wanted my blood. But what do you mean, they want your mind?"
"I can't tell you." She whispered, frightened.
"I'm not going to hurt you, and we won't let them hurt you either. I promise."
"Promises, promises. They don't mean anything."
"I'm serious, Ashleigh. Faith, Buffy and I will protect you, and Angel too."
"An angel?"
"Sort of. Not really but...Why do they want your mind, Ashleigh? And what do they want it for?"
"I can't tell you. I told you that."
"No one's going to hurt you."
"I can't. Stop it, leave me alone." She began to get defensive.
"We really need to know, Ashleigh, so we can keep you safe."
"LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" she screeched, and Dawn jumped back, stumbling back towards Buffy. Faith was on alert instantly, and both Kennedy and Amanda dropped what they were doing, but Buffy just laughed.
"Now you know what it's like to be on the receiving end, don't you?" She asked her sister, who just glared at her.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~