As a person who really never liked Warren, this chapter was sort of fun to write. It also deals with other  painful issues. If you're a Warren-hater, this chapter is definitely dedicated to you.

This chapter deserves an R rating for pain, torture and mutilation of a less-than-loved character. I'm not going  to change the story rating, but this chapter is sort of heavy on violence and language. Our beloved goddess makes  a return trip (I'm actually really liking this character). Tara holds on to Willow in the only way she can, with  her love. And Xander returns at last. Not to mention a surprise ending.

This chapter is really long. Some might think it could have been divided into a two-parter but I am aiming for 31  chapters and in order to do that, this chapter has to be a double-length. The crossover becomes more evident here  as Harry and the others finally get their say. And Anya meets her own bitter end.

With only five chapters to go after this, it's been a hell of a ride. I'm also considering writing a bit of a  supplement (like Aude Separe was to the Slayers Crusade) to glide over such details like the fall of Voldemort  and the British gang's life in and after their seventh year. Career decisions, matchmaking, the whole enchilada.  Of course, I'll ask you first if that's what you would like. This means a third project, which I totally don't  mind. After this fic is over, all that's really left is "Dance".

So, in this chapter once again, you have been warned. Violent character(s) death. Very dark. If you don't like to  read of this or else can't stand to see your favorite characters get tortured, then, well, go bye bye. If you're  not of age, this probably isn't for you. However, if you can tolerate it enough, feel free to stick around. I'm  not a big fan of writing violence, but this is a good type of violence.

In case you aren't reading it, a nice summary will be provided next chapter to get you caught up. But in short,  here's a little taste: Dawn has powers; Warren gets butchered, literally; Willow continues to weaken to the point  of death; Xander returns with a surprise.

Here we go!

- - - - -

Chapter 27

Goddess

- - - - -

Four Hours Before

Hermione sat up, brushing the leaves and dirt from her clothes. Groaning, she got to her knees, stretching her  arms and legs to make sure she hadn't broken anything. Next to her, another figure was slowly moving. Hermione  recognized her immediately as the woman she'd run into. A battle axe lay between them, half buried in all the  leaves scattered from the fall.

She slowly stood up, watching in relief as the other woman did the same, a hand on her head. "What happened?"  Faith asked, slowly stretching her arms.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault," Hermione apologized.

"Apologize later," Faith said, finally snapping back to attention. "Run now."

Hermione heard voices above them and turned in that direction, her eyes narrowed. "Can I borrow that?" she asked  Faith of the bloody battle axe now in Faith's red hands.

Faith handed it over to her. "Sure."

"Your hands are bloody," Hermione said softly, taking the axe in her hands. "You should probably go."

"You're probably right," Faith agreed. Without another word, she took off toward the road. Hermione quickly  climbed the hill and found herself behind someone that Tara was confronting. She walked as quietly as she dared  until she was directly behind him.

"You think I'm gonna tell you little scoobies how the hell to get to the Ministry?" He was taunting Tara now,  almost as though he were enjoying the torture.

"I'd start talking if I were you," Hermione snapped. The man turned on his heel and glared at her, but there was  a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

"A friend," Hermione replied coldly. She glanced at the axe in her hands and decided to give it to someone who  knew how to use it. "Tara, catch!"

Tara caught the axe easily and lifted it, holding it to the boy's neck. "Now..." she said, her pretty face  twisting into a hard look, "start talking."

The boy just started laughing, almost hysterically. Hermione found herself growing impatient and reached into her  cargo pants pocket and withdrew her wand. "Now," she ordered, her voice solid as she held the wand at the back of  his neck. "Before I do something we'll both regret."

The boy was really pinned now, glancing from Tara to Hermione. "W-What do you wanna know?" he asked casually.

"Where in the hell is the American Ministry?" Tara asked through gritted teeth.

Warren started laughing again, but it was a forced, nervous cackle. "Colorado," he finally said. "Definitely  Colorado."

"That's a start," Tara said, pulling the axe back slightly.

"I thought so," said Warren. Knowing that he would catch both women off their guards, he threw his rifle at Tara,  taking her completely by surprise. Turning to face Hermione, he found her eyes open in surprise. But he then  realized how much he'd underestimated her when she suddenly cried out, "Stupify!"

Warren found himself flat on his back with a wand pointed right between his eyes.

"Now you're going to tell us exactly how to get there," Hermione said in a smooth voice, "or I'll start using  curses I know will kill you."

He let out a nervous chuckle and held up his hands in surrender. "Just follow the interstate to the first exit  past a small town with a silo..."

"Shut up," a different voice said, kicking him hard on the underside of the ribs.

Tara recovered and set the gun aside, clapping her hands together. "Bind him," she snapped, her eyes glowing an  eerie shade of blue.

Warren was magically dragged from being flat on his back to being tied to a tree. "Old tricks die hard, you  bitch," he said to Tara, his eyes glittering with hate.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about," Tara replied, standing next to Hermione. "She is."

Hermione gave him a look of triumph. "Us witches carry a lot of fire," she said proudly.

"And us Slayers can make you bleed," Buffy said, stepping out from behind a tree. "You have been warned though. I  want to know what they did to Willow."

Tara let out a tiny whimper and turned her dark eyes back to Warren. "What in the hell did you do to her?"

Warren just started laughing again.

"Dumb move," Hermione said quietly as Buffy hit him hard across the face. As his neck snapped back and forth, the  laughter died from his lips.

"Go to Hell," he said, his eyes locking onto hers.

"Been there, done that," Buffy replied, lifting her arm to hit him again. "It's almost dark and when it is, I'm  going to set two vampires on you. You know what they can do to a little half-man like you?"

For the first time ever, there was fear in his eyes.

"Just tell me where I need to go to get my sister back," Buffy said, slowly lowering her arm.

"She's in Colorado," Warren seethed. "And if Willow is weak, it means the spell already worked. It means that  Dawn is already under their control."

Buffy hit him again. This time, her eyes were on fire. "Tell me how to get there." He didn't move or even flinch  as she hit him again. "Tell me, damn it!"

"Buffy," Hermione said, laying a hand on the Slayer's trembling arm. "I'll take care of this."

"How?" Buffy asked in surprise, glancing at the younger woman.

"This," Hermione said, removing a vial of veritaserum from her pocket. "I always carry it in the case of an  emergency."

"Use it," Buffy said, her eyes glowing with rage. "And maybe then we'll finally get some answers."

- - - - -

Present Hour

Dawn opened her eyes and looked around. The white room was dark except for a small candle burning brightly near  her bed. She moved her hand toward the small flame, her mind reaching out to it. Almost instantly, the flame grew  even brighter until it danced from the candle to the palm of her hand, burning as a perfect, little fire ball.

"Beautiful," she whispered, letting the flames dance a bit.

"I see you finally have your mojo up and running," a voice said from the corner. Dawn smiled at Amy in greeting  as Amy walked further into the room. "Just imagine... soon your mojo will be completely visible. No more dancing  flames... it'll be more like a big burning planet."

Dawn's eyes were wide as she regarded Amy. "You... you want me to use my magic for good, right?"

"Oh, no, Dawnie," Amy said softly. "Your magic isn't for good anymore. It was a gift given to you by someone  you've known for a long time, to restore your key energy and cause the worlds around us to bleed into one  another. An army will raise and you will control it. And Earth will be doomed."

Dawn looked back at the flames. "I... It was so much simpler back then," she finally said, setting the flames  back on the candle. "I don't know if... if I can do this. Why would you restore my key energy?"

"Can you think of a more perfect scenario to take over the world?" Amy asked with a hearty sigh. "You call the  armies of doom, we control them to destroy all of the good in the world, and we rule it."

"What about my family?" Dawn asked, her voice still very quiet.

"You mean your sister?" Amy asked, waving her hand as though casting the thought aside. "She'll be one of the  first casualties of war, being the Chosen leader and all. She'd probably sacrifice herself to save the world.  Again."

"She would," Dawn replied, glancing down at her hands again. The green energy was arcing from hand to hand. It  was a pleasant yet unusual sensation as she lifted one hand, gazing as green energy bounced and was reabsorbed.  "But that's assuming that you expect me to kill her. Then again, I figured you might suggest that." She turned  her glowy eyes upon Amy. "Do you think I'm that big of an idiot?"

Amy took a step back, immediately noticing the look in Dawn's eyes. "Not at all..."

"I will not kill my sister," Dawn said, her voice still full of deadly quiet and calm, but there was a force  behind it that Amy knew was more than the key energy. The girl was still speaking from the heart. "I won't take  any life and if you expect me to, I will destroy everything here."

"That's not the way it's supposed to work," Amy said, continuing to backpedal.

"Where is my daughter?" Dawn asked, her voice dropping to a shrill bit above a whisper. "Where is Draco? I demand  they be brought to me at once."

"You... demand?" Amy asked with a quick, sharp laugh. "Oh, my, this is rich."

"Do. It."

"Or what?" Amy asked with a petty shrug. "Or you'll pull a rabbit out of your hat?"

"Stop talking," Dawn said, waving her hand. Amy quickly waved the spell away.

"I still have power over you," Amy said with her evil grin.

"Not for long," Dawn said, her eyes lighting up with the green energy once again. "Once all of my powers are  restored, not even you can hold me back. And it'll be hell on Earth before I do anything to hurt my sister."

"You'll be surprised what powers a circle of Warlocks can bring," Amy pointed out as she turned toward the door.  "As for the girl and the Brit, they're still alive, but being held captive until the Slayer arrives."

"You've set a trap," Dawn realized.

Amy's cold grin said it all. "You're a hell of a lot smarter than I thought, Dawnie."

Dawn watched as she retreated, locking the door behind her.

"I told you to never call me Dawnie," she hissed, turning her eyes back to the flame and reaching for it. This  time, the flame was extinguished with a simple thought. She only wished she could it do it to those that were a  threat to Draco and Joy.

- - - - -

Three Hours Before

Soft footsteps sounded over the uneven ground.

Panting, Warren glanced up, glaring at the Witch towering above him. "Wh-What was that?"

"A truth potion," Hermione replied, sounding almost bored. "Followed by a few other well-placed curses once you  decided to get a little violent with us."

"You have some major women issues," Tara agreed from behind her.

As the two women continued interrogating Warren, Buffy wandered back to the van to check up on Willow. She was  still inside, resting peacefully. Melanie and Giles were both inside, looking in on her as well. They both  glanced up as Buffy entered, and their expressions were one in the same.

"How is she?" Buffy asked.

"I'm afraid that for now, it's only a matter of time," Giles replied softly, beckoning Melanie to exit the van  and moving quickly after her.

Buffy knelt down beside Willow, who slowly opened her eyes to greet her visitor. "There... there you are," Willow  whispered, pain evident in every breath she took.

"I'm here," Buffy said gently, running her hand through Willow's hair. "How are you feeling?"

Willow tried for a chuckle, but the effort caused even more pain. Closing her eyes, she managed to choke out,  "The pain is lessening now."

Buffy was glad Willow's eyes were closed so that her best friend couldn't see the shock and the tears. "You  know... I bet Xander's going to be pissed he's not here."

A brief smile flickered over Willow's lips. "Xander," she breathed, her eyes slowly opening. "It'll be too long  until I... until I see him again..."

Buffy brushed the tears hastily aside and tried for humor, but her voice was breaking down. "It might not be so  long, with the apocalypse and all..."

"Buffy?" Willow asked softly. "Please... no tears. You don't need to cry. Every life has an end and for some  reason... mine is now. I'm not afraid anymore. I just wish..."

"What do you wish?" Buffy asked after Willow paused.

"I just wish I could see you save the world one last time," Willow replied, a tear trickling out the corner of  her eye. Blinking, her voice became even more jagged. "I want to see Dawnie all grown up and beautiful. I want to  tell Tara how much I love her, even though... things have been more than complex. I want to be there when Xander  becomes a Dad. I want to see the girls, how powerful they'll become. And I want to see you happy and loved and  complete."

"No matter where you are, Wil," Buffy said gently, reaching and holding Willow's hand, "I know you'll be watching  over us."

"I just... have so much left to see and do," Willow said sadly. "But I guess that's what you said... the hardest  part of life is living it."

"It always is the catch," Buffy said, gently setting Willow's hands back down on her stomach. There were raised  voices on the other side of the metallic wall and she knew she should probably check it out. "Stay with us, Wil."

Rising, she left the van to see Giles and Faith arguing loudly on the other side. Faith was listing directions to  the American Ministry given by Warren under the Veritaserum. Giles was listening and the other Watchers were  gathering. As soon as Faith stopped talking, Buffy took her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"We have the directions?" Buffy asked Faith urgently.

"We do," Faith said, handing Buffy the notepad Giles had given her. "From both the air and the ground. Giles just  sent one of the Watchers to get us a private charter."

"Good," Buffy said, thinking quickly. "Very good. We'll bring the Slayers, the Watchers and the rest of the gang  over on the flight. But I think we should have a chopper."

"Like in the movies?" Faith asked suddenly, a smile breaking out on her face. "Brilliant!"

"That way we can keep a close eye on our prisoners," Buffy said in an undertone. "We'll take both Anya and Warren  with us."

"And two aformentioned vampires?" Faith asked lightly.

Buffy nodded. "Go tell Giles the plan. If he argues, inform him he'll be joining the rats in the cargo hold. We  need to get there and we need to be speedy about it. Willow's dying and if anything happens to her..."

Faith put a gentle hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I'll take of it, B. We should go and wrestle out anything we can  from the chump."

"And we will," Buffy agreed as the two women headed their separate ways.

On the hill, Warren had managed to stand up again, rather weakly. Both Tara and Hermione were standing in front  of him. Hermione still held a wand and was still looking rather bored. "What else do you want from me?" he  demanded in a bold tone.

Tara took a step forward, throwing Warren slightly off guard. "I want you to be able to look me in the eye and  tell me you didn't enjoy killing me. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you haven't enjoyed every  single moment of torturing Willow. I want you to tell me that you wanted to help us instead of work for the  American Ministry. Lastly, I know better than to trust a cold-hearted bastard like you. I want you to suffer and  to feel pain, like I did. You may have had your skin removed but when we're through here, you'll lose a lot more  than just your skin."

The look in Warren's eyes was afraid as he dropped his gaze to the ground. "I... I..."

Over the top of Hermione's shoulder, Warren could see both Slayers approaching with three more figures, all with  wands. A sudden flutter of anxiety nailed his insides. His eyes widened. "What is this?" he asked in a shaking  voice.

"Normally I wouldn't condone torture," Buffy said coldly, stepping in front of Tara, "but in your case, after  what I have seen... that you're capable of something far beyond murder, you deserve it. I taught my class the  best." Warren suddenly noticed the tip of a wand give a little flicker and he felt something like heat soaring up  his legs. "What you feel right now is pain, isn't it? It's what some humans would call being on fire. It spreads  and it burns until there's nothing left except the demon underneath. It's consuming you, consuming your greed,  your lust, your desires until all that's left is ashes."

"Please, God..." Warren gasped as he fell back to his knees. "Make it stop..."

There was another flicker of a wand and Warren screamed, the sound reverberating through the woods.

"This sensation hurts worse, doesn't it?" Buffy asked softly. He could barely see her through the haze of red.  "It's what it feels like to have your organs boil. As your blood super heats, all of your organs will implode,  giving you certain death..."

Warren could no longer speak. All he could do was pant and wheeze, although the thoughts streaming through his  head were murder.

"It gets worse, doesn't it?" Buffy asked, her voice full of forced sympathy. "This is what it feels like to have  lost control over every part of your body. This is the real torture." She turned and nodded at the boy to her  right, who aimed his wand for the spot between Warren's eyes.

"Crucio."

It was beyond pain. It was far beyond anything Willow had even done to him, and he could still feel that. As his  body lay on the ground and twitched, his screamed echoing loudly around them, Buffy stood, her arms crossed, a  sense of justification brimming in her eyes.

After several long minutes, Buffy held up her hand and Harry pulled up his wand. Warren lay on the ground,  sobbing and gasping for breath.

Faith and Buffy both walked over and forced Warren to sit up.

"You're a killer, Warren. A cold-blooded killer who just sentenced my sister to die," Buffy said, her voice full  of even more hate than before. "I would have so pleasure in killing you... but I'm a Slayer. We're not  murderers."

"Could... have... fooled... me..." Warren gasped, his eyes full of intense loathing as he glared at Buffy.  "You... have... no... power... over..."

"Again," Faith ordered as both she and Buffy stepped away. As Warren started screaming again, the two Slayers  glanced at each other. The question was clear in both of their eyes.

What would they do with Warren now?

- - - - -

Present Hour

The room where Draco had been locked was tiny and foul smelling. He glanced around, trying to figure out how much  time had passed since he'd been knocked unconscious. He felt the small swelling at the base of his neck and  winced.

The attack must have happened when Draco had been leaving the room he and Dawn had been in.

As his thoughts were brought back in a haze, he half wondered where Dawn was.

If those sons of bitches had hurt her, they were dead.

Of this, he was certain.

On the other side of the compound, Dawn was pacing the small laboratory room, her eyes scanning inside the walls  to see the Witches and Wizards who were waiting for her to make an entrance. The only reason they could see her  were the security cameras.

She sighed, feeling resigned. It was now or never.

She lifted her hand and the door to the lab flew open. She walked easily through it, ignoring the looks of  surprise on those she passed. She finally stopped when she reached a large golden hall. Directly in front of her  was Lilah Morgan, the woman who had brought her here to begin with.

She marched over to Lilah, who had her arms crossed, a smug look on her face.

"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn... I'm glad to see you're awake."

"Yeah, I am," Dawn said coldly.

"Come with me," Lilah said, turning on her heel and leading the way toward a long corridor at the end of the even  larger room. "We have some portals to play with."

- - - - -

Two Hours Before

A long line of vans approached the small, private airport about twenty miles from their last location. Buffy and  Giles got out to talk to the man who met them at the security gate. After being waved in, the line of vehicles  moved and parked.

A large group of people started walking toward a medium-sized charter. On the roof of the small airport was a  helicopter pad.

Since it was well after dark, two vampires exited the lead van and took up a large box, shaped as a coffin.  Moving to the airport, they easily made it to the top of the installation.

Less than an hour before, Warren had finally given up. He had been beaten into submission by the two Slayers and  whoever the bitches were that kept zapping him with their magic charms. But it had been Andrew who threw the  final punch. After a long, boring Star Wars spiel, Andrew had given him a choice. Either join them or be  destroyed. Warren hadn't given it a second thought.

Which was why Faith was carrying a small url full of his ashes. A simple incendo spell had reduced him to  nothing. The only thing that remained was a clear blue glass card which Buffy wore around her neck.

One other surprise awaited them at the airport. As the Slayers and Watchers boarded the plane, they were greeted  by Irina. The moment her eyes had fallen on Willow, she realized she'd have to step in.

As Buffy and Faith boarded the helicopter with Warren's remains and Anya's unconscious form wrapped inside a  coffin, there had been a lot of tension in the air.

On the plane, as is took off into the deepening night, the tension was also growing. Tara was forced to wait  behind a curtain as Irina looked over Willow. After what seemed like days, Irina stepped out. Tara was shocked to  see that she was smiling.

"What did you do?" Tara asked suddenly. From behind her, she saw both Hermione and Ginny were both rising and  moving closer to the Witch and the Goddess.

"She's going to live," Irina replied softly as she gently tugged the curtain open. Willow lay on a seat inside,  peacefully asleep. The color had returned to her face and her breathing was more natural.

"Oh my God!" Tara cried out, falling onto her knees beside Willow. "Willow? Willow?"

Willow's eyes opened and focused on Tara's face. "I knew you'd find me..."

"I will always find you," Tara sniffled as she pulled Willow upwards into a crushing hug. "I never thought I'd  see you alive--"

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," Willow said, holding onto Tara tightly. "And here I was all worried  that I'd never get to say 'I love you'."

Tara pulled back slightly, joy shining in her eyes. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that  again."

"Never leave me again?" Willow asked with a lopsided smile. Tears were quickly filling her eyes. Tara leaned over  and began to kiss them away, one at a time, her heart filling with joy.

"I promise, I promise," Tara whispered as she kissed Willow softly.

Hermione pulled Ginny away from the women with a quick look at Irina, who seemed pleased that Willow was going to  survive.

It would be a wonderful surprise for Buffy when they arrived in Colorado, that was for certain.

- - - - -

Eight Hours Later

The helicopter landed with a hard landing. The four inside quickly left the small aircraft with the coffin and  the urn. As the chopper lifted away again, Buffy turned sharp eyes onto a door that looked like it had been drawn  with crayons onto the side of the mountain.

"Here goes nothing," she said softly, pulling the card from around her neck and moving to the door.

"Buffy!" It was a voice from behind her. She turned and suddenly gasped.

It was Xander.

"Xander?" she cried out, throwing her arms around him, relief flooding her senses. "What are you doing... how did  you get... how?"

"We got an owl in South Padre," he explained as he lead her over to the edge of the pavilion. "See... not only  did we get the owl, but the crusade."

As Buffy glanced down, her heart suddenly stopped. On the large ledge underneath the helicopter pad, there were  hundreds of faces staring up at them, lead by Cho, who quickly joined them on the platform.

"You came back and you brought a Crusade?" Buffy echoed weakly as Faith ran over to their spot and glanced down,  a huge grin splitting her face.

"Wicked!"

"The Ministry of Magic sends its kindest regards," another male voice said as Percy Weasley joined them on the  platform. "Not to mention the cavalry."

"This is unbelievable," Buffy whispered, glancing down again, tears flooding her vision.

They were really there, no matter how many times she pinched herself or blinked. They were really going to risk  their lives to save Dawn.

"What are your orders?" Buffy asked, turning to Percy.

"To assist you," he replied bluntly. "But our orders are also to bring down this threat to the stability of the  magical world."

"We were afraid you were going to say that," Angel said from behind them.

There was a slight humming sound, marking the approach of the charter jet.

"This is it," Buffy said, turning to Faith. "This is what we've been training these girls for. This is really  it."

"It's going to be okay, B. Just take a few deep breaths," Faith advised.

"I think we're going to need more than that," Percy said, handing the Slayers a large file folder. "This is  information about what would happen if the Key were to ever be reactivated. Apparently it would drain the life's  energy from a Witch. And it would call thousands of demons from other dimensions to it."

"Dawn," Buffy whispered.

Inside the complex, Dawn stood over a portal that had been etched with gold and silver threads onto the cold  concrete floor.

"I'm not going to do this," Dawn said softly.

"You're going to do what we tell you to do," Lilah said sarcastically from behind her. "Or else we're going to  kill your boyfriend. And your daughter."

Dawn closed her eyes, seeing red. She had an incredible longing to suddenly kill this irritating woman, but held  back. "God, please forgive me for what I'm about to do. I really have no choice. I'm not going to sacrifice their  lives for this. This is my choice. I choose to be the Goddess they've asked me to be."

- - - - -

To be continued.

See? There were TWO happy moments and a violent torture/death in this chapter!

Chapter 28 - the battle really begins!