Chapter 9:

This had to be a dream, maybe it was a nightmare send to him by some kind of powerful being he had pissed off, it didn't really matter as long as it wasn't real. Xander felt certain he could deal with a disturbing dream like this, after all he was a man and his imagination could take him anywhere without his consent. However, when several minutes later he could still feel the body sprawled over him he had to reluctantly admit to himself that it probably wasn't a dream.

Once again opening his eyes he looked down again, hoping against hope that it wasn't who he thought it was. But there on his chest dashing his hopes and looking perfectly content was a very naked Dawn. Denial proved to be a powerful tool as he tried to convince himself that she must have just fallen asleep after they had been talking things over. It wasn't powerful enough though since after having lived with Anya for a long time he was intimately aware of just what caused his muscles to ache like this.

He really needed to remember what had happened to make them end up in this situation. Realizing he was staring at the girl, no young woman, who currently shared his bed he quickly turned to look around the room, trying to find something that would make him remember what had happened during the previous night.

When he looked at the door this wish was fulfilled in more detail then he was comfortable with. Those memories caused his face to turn as white as chalk while his body reacted in a predictable manner. As fast as he could without waking up Dawn he looked at other places in the room, but whenever he looked somewhere he remembered what had happened there and it wasn't long before he realized the danger he was in. Danger caused by a protective older sister who was more then capable of doing him harm. "She's going to carve my heart out with a spoon."

As he whispered this he noticed the young woman on his chest waking up. Unlike him however, she didn't appear to have any trouble recognizing her current situation, and the smug smile on her face attested to the fact that she was more then happy with the location she found herself in. Xander couldn't face her yet however, so once again he turned his head away from her and to the side, in another attempt to figure out what had caused this situation to happen.

Delving through his memories of the previous day he reached his last clear memory, one that didn't in any way figure a friend of his with whom he was participating in more then friendly behavior. He could remember how the three of them had been talking before Torala had started about Dawn's knife, he could vaguely recall something about a temple and some kind of device, but it all became hazy after she mentioned something about protection for him. He just knew that magic was somehow involved in this, the details eluded him at the moment, but he was confident they would return once he was able to think about them without any distractions.

Thinking about distractions focused his mind back to the soft body that had molded itself to his and he realized Dawn was trying to continue where they had left off before falling asleep. Realizing this he took hold of her wandering hands and spoke to her in a voice he only now realized was hoarse. "Dawn, stop that, it's the spell talking not you."

As she turned her eyes to him he could see the lust warring with confusion. "But the spell stopped working hours ago."

. . . .

It had been difficult to convince Dawn that they really shouldn't resume their actions of the previous night, but in the end he had managed it. Standing under a very cold shower he tried to rid his mind of how the beautiful young woman had left his room.

In his attempt to do so he focused on the happy fact that for the first time in a long time she had not been wearing or carrying that cursed knife. This however didn't help since it also made him remember about the lack of anything else she wore. And while he had never before noticed how beautiful she was when angry he had gotten a taste of her temper when he had send her away.

Knowing that he should probably have handled that situation better didn't really help his mood either. He was pretty certain she would make it difficult for him to make it up to her, but their friendship was far too important to be destroyed over some stupid spell. After she had stormed out of his room, naked, no! Don't think about that! After she left, much better Xander, he hadn't been able to go back to sleep and stayed awake until he finally figured he should just get up and take this shower.

So now here he was, finally trying to get rid of the cobwebs in his mind that inhibited his thinking. But there was something else he had noticed, something he had noticed about his friend's body. There were scars, most of her front had been covered in scars. Scars that he believed to be caused by a knife and which were probably the reason she now always covered her body.

Where had they come from? It must have hurt terribly when she was cut there and he didn't even want to think about the state she must have been in after it had happened. With so many wounds it was almost a miracle she had survived. Someone must have really wanted to hurt her, but who could it have been?

Realization hit him then, he couldn't be certain and he'd have to ask Dawn, but the most logical explanation would have been the Faithful. It would explain certain things, hell, it would even explain why Buffy had killed some of them. The one thing about that theory that bothered him the most however was which knife they would have probably used to cut into her. And why would she have wanted to keep the knife if it had just moments before been used to cut her open? But he realized it was unlikely he'd ever get an answer to that question.

He was shivering when he finally left the shower and quickly dressed to regain some warmth. He didn't want to think about the scars anymore though, and focused on other things. He was hungry, briefly toying with the idea of skipping breakfast he decided in the end that avoiding Dawn would only cause him more problems. And besides he was hoping to find their host at the breakfast table.

Thinking about Torala made his blood boil in anger, causing the last vestiges of cold in his body to evaporate, that was one woman who had a lot of explaining to do. He knew that he had to control his temper, but it was hard to do so as memories of the night assaulted him together with the realization that one of his most precious friendships might have been destroyed.

And that was what he needed to concentrate on first. His friendship with Dawn was far too important to be the victim of some meddling old woman that couldn't stop messing with every mind she encountered. He needed to fix that friendship, realizing this however was one thing; actually doing it was a completely different story. Dejected because of this whole messed up situation he sank down onto his bed, at least until the memories called up by the sweet-smelling perfume clinging to the sheets quickly made him get up again.

It was only then that he remembered the entire conversation before…it… happened and he realized that his friendship with Dawn wasn't the most important thing after all. This insight shocked him out of the mild panic he had been since waking up and he tried to collect his thoughts. Getting Dawn sane again was the first order of business, their friendship came second and only after that would he take his revenge on that woman. Happy that had been sorted out Xander decided he might as well face the music and headed for the dining room so he would be able to get something to eat.

. . . .

The moment he stepped into the room however, all his plans evaporated in a single instant. Dawn had already arrived and, if the sudden drop in temperature hadn't already done the job, the expression on her face made it clear what she thought of him. "Dawn." Xander started, but he stopped when she held up a warning finger.

"Not a word." The venom that went into those words would probably be enough to poison a small country and informed him that regaining their friendship would be even more difficult then he had imagined.

"But…"

"No, I don't want to hear any excuses, apologies, or anything else about last night, let alone this morning." Xander had to suppress a wince at the tone of that biting comment, it seemed as if he had been right about not having handled it well but he had not expected this level of animosity.

Silently he made his way to the table where he spent the next minutes trying to get some food past the lump in his throat. The oppressive atmosphere that was caused by Dawn's temper didn't fill him with a lot of confidence either and he really hoped Torala would show up soon.

When that finally happened the sorceress walked into the room with a carefree smile on her face and actually had the gal to ask them if they had a pleasant night. Xander, who at that time had been sipping his hot tea, choked on the scalding liquid when he heard this, burning his mouth in the process. "How do you think our night was?" He asked her, the anger in his voice lessened by the fact that his tongue hurt like hell.

"The two of you seemed to be in a good mood before you retired to your bed last night."

"Last night wasn't bad, it was the morning that messed everything up, didn't it Xander?" It seemed like Dawn had decided to enter the conversation and wanted to have witnesses for their next fight.

"Oh dear, I wasn't quite certain about the consequences and had not expected this to happen. But it does not matter as everything else happened as expected and the night's purpose was fulfilled."

Xander didn't like the sound of that. "Really? Then I hope that purpose was worth it because I hate it when people mess with my mind."

"It was worth the emotional problems that now exist between the two of you. I would have preferred if they had not been there, but what is done is done."

He noticed Dawn rolling her eyes at the irritating way of talking the sorceress had before she asked what he wanted to know as well. "And what exactly was this purpose?"

"I thought that would be obvious," a surprised Torala said. "The spell was meant to create a bond between the two of you that would shield Xander from your knife. It can now no longer force you to attack him."

The slow grin that appeared on the young woman's face did nothing to alleviate Xander's nervousness, nor did the angry flashing eyes she turned on him. "Oh, trust me, I don't need the knife to convince me to do that."

. . . .

It was several hours later that the three of them were talking about what Xander had subconsciously started referring to as the upcoming mission. At the request of Torala, Dawn was keeping her anger in check so the planning could go reasonably smooth. Torala would remain behind so only the two of them would actually go into the temple, and the sorceress had warned them that it would be best if they made sure they had enough weapons on them.

When she had shown them the weapons chamber, which for some unexplained reason she refused to call an armory, his chin almost hit the floor in surprise, and even Dawn had stopped her acerbic comments for a while. Even having seen some of the strange things in the house he hadn't expected the room to be like that. Xander had always believed that an armory was a cramped and rather small room completely filled with weapons, but maybe that was why she didn't call it an armory.

The doors had been unassuming and had not given away anything about what could have been found behind it, although the fact that it was a double door should have triggered something. He didn't know how he would ever be able to accurately describe the room if anyone ever asked. The first thing he noticed was its size.

It was more like a giant ballroom than anything else, at least if you didn't pay any attention to the weapons that seemed to cover every part of the wall. There had been several other doors in the room as well, and when he had asked about them the sorceress had told him they led to practice areas. And indeed, when he later peeked into them he saw rooms ranging from something akin to a martial arts dojo to a shooting range.

Torala had offered them the chance to practice with guns but, realizing that in the short time until they had to go to the temple neither of them would become a proficient enough shot, they had gone for some kind of modern looking crossbows. Xander had stared at a particular crossbow for a while, but the giant apparatus was so strange he had not even contemplated actually using it. The sorceress had later explained to him that he would never have been able to load it all by himself anyway, and since it shot a huge amount of bolts at one time carrying the ammunition would have been difficult as well.

Dawn had initially claimed not to need any melee weapons besides her knife, but in the end she had been convinced to take a short-sword as well. As the sword was created of some kind of metal he had never heard of Xander had at first doubted the wisdom of taking it. After a short, but very to the point, demonstration however he had been convinced and taken one for himself as well. Despite the urging of their host, he had only taken a couple of knives, with silver crosses inlaid in them, to complement the sword before leaving the room with a wistful look.

Even now he could hardly concentrate on some of the things that were being said and instead thought of all those weapons that he would have loved to take with him. His memories of that time at Halloween had completely left him by now, however he did understand it would be suicide to bring along too many weapons, especially if he didn't know how to properly handle them.

He focused back to the ongoing conversation just in time to hear the end of Dawn's latest question. "…step in and I can make the choice?"

"Indeed, but I believe that by now the sun must have risen at the temple so it would be best of you were to go there now."

They knew where to go, what they needed to do once they got there, and what the opposition would likely be. So Xander had no problem agreeing to that and neither did Dawn although, for a moment, he thought he could see a flicker of apprehension in her eyes.

. . . .

It was cold and Xander cursed whatever monk had come up with the ridiculous idea to build a temple in the middle of these mountains. He couldn't imagine why people believed freezing their butts off would be better for praying then someplace warm where they could visit the beach. Hurrying to the temple he didn't notice any of the demons Torala had warned them might be outside, but didn't exactly mind since he wasn't dressed for a fight in the snow anyway.

Together they crashed through the gilded doors that protected the entrance and aimed their crossbows at everything they could see. No targets presented themselves however, and they took a moment to catch their breath. Inside the temple it was as warm as the sorceress had assured them and he was glad they weren't wearing any of the thick and constricting clothing he had thought they would need. Instead they wore the skintight suits that they had been told would lessen the impact of any blows and give some protection against knives as well. But while their effectiveness still needed to be proven, looking at Dawn, he realized they were more then a little distracting.

Dragging his mind out of the gutter and back to the situation at hand he continued scanning his surroundings, this time looking for the particular design that indicated the passage they needed to take.

It was Dawn who found it and still taking care to look everywhere they walked in the indicated direction. While the lack of humans, and particularly their blood, meant it was impossible for vampires to survive here for long, Torala had informed them that it was highly likely that several kinds of demons inhabited the temple. In Xander's experience this meant that there probably were even more and so he made sure that nothing could approach them unnoticed. They had been walking for maybe five minutes when he first smelled it.

"Wow, what's that smell?" Dawn asked him after she had noticed it as well.

"I don't think we really want to know, but I think we'll find out soon enough."

"One of the traps?"

He only nodded and wondered why anyone would put traps inside their temple, wasn't that kind of thing only supposed to happen in movies? But they were there and according to the sorceress they had 'ended the life of many an explorer'. The two of them continued carefully until they reached a section of the floor that looked a little off.

Stopping a couple of feet in front of it, Xander had no trouble identifying it as the source of the stench that had been their companion for the last couple of minutes. Deciding not to risk walking over it, he picked up a piece of rock and pitched it in the middle of the short section.

Half expecting weapons to appear in order to slice, dice, smash, or even burn the rock he was rather surprised to see it fall it through the floor.

"What the?" Xander exclaimed at the same time he heard Dawn's surprised. "How?"

Looking at each other in confusion, Xander decided to try another rock. Watching this one fall through as well he then tried the different ends of what now appeared to be a hole and discovered that it was only about a yard wide and that it should be safe to jump over. When they were safely on the other side he then put his crossbow on the ground for a moment while he grabbed his sword.

"Xander? What're you doing?"

"We don't know how we're going to leave this place and if we're being followed I don't want to run the risk that we forget to jump." And with those words he took his sword and used it, like Torala had done only hours ago, to carve some grooves into both walls and the floor. Finally satisfied with his work he stepped back and admired his work for a moment. "That should do it."

After this brief stop they continued down the passageway to find what he had decided to refer to as the great and mystical secret chamber that was supposed to hold the mystical artifact which had no name. Slightly smiling at his own, admittedly weak, joke he did his best not to imagine what it was that had caused the smell. Actually doing so proved more difficult than he had anticipated, and he was also aware he wasn't the only one to have trouble forgetting the pit. He couldn't help but notice how Dawn was reacting to the shadows cast by the torches as if she believed them to be alive.

Dawn. She had actually managed to put aside her feelings while they were in here and he was more then happy with that, if only he could do the same. He looked at the young woman in front of him and almost without him noticing it, his gaze dropped slowly down her back admiring the clearly defined curves, until he suddenly snapped his head back to where it belonged and was once again on the lookout for anything that could pose a danger to them.

After half an hour of careful exploration they had encountered only one other trap, but no demons yet. When they had found a room at the end of the tunnel he had at first believed they had arrived, it was only after he noticed it was empty and had several exits that he understood it wasn't what they were looking for.

His sword had once again served as a decorating tool to indicate where they came from before they continued. It was a good thing that all that time watching movies had not gone to waste after all.

But now they had finally encountered what they had been expecting since their arrival here, demons. At first he hadn't noticed them and had believed Dawn had just reacted to shadows again, until he suddenly noticed they weren't shadows.

The black wraithlike creatures didn't make a sound when they attacked but Xander aimed his crossbow and let his first bolt fly. Adrenaline flooded his body and for a moment he almost believed he could see the bolt flying to the demon and piercing its heart. By then however he had shifted his aim to the next target and pulled the trigger again, once more the bolt flew true, but by then the eerily silent attackers had almost reached them.

Letting go of the crossbow he drew one of the knives he had fastened at his hips and stabbed the closest before reaching for his sword. During the entire fight the demons still hadn't uttered a single syllable, for a moment he wondered if they actually were capable of speaking before his attention was drawn to something he really didn't like.

They were getting back up; the three demons he had believed to have killed were standing up from the floor, although the last one was slower in doing so than those he had shot with the crossbow.

"Dawn!"

"I see it, they're getting back up." A horrific scream interrupted her before she continued, sounding a little shaky. "At least my knife works on them."

By now he stood back-to-back with Dawn and he wearily watched the demons as they closed in. There had to be a way for him to kill them, if he had to rely on that thing to save him he didn't know if he could stand it. On the other hand, he thought while deflecting the claws of one of the things, if it got him out of there alive he would at least be able to live with it. He struck again with the knife he was now holding in his left hand, this time penetrating the throat of the demon in front of him. When it went down Xander felt a momentary surge of happiness, he had found a way to kill them.

Unfortunately he still had several more in front of him and he knew it would only be a question of time before they overwhelmed him. He ducked another strike, but he had momentarily forgotten that Dawn was standing behind him and the demon took advantage of this by striking her. Xander could hear his friend groan in pain before she staggered forward, and with horror in his eyes he saw her trip over one of the demons she had killed. As she went down the other demons fell upon her.

It seemed as if the demons had realized that she was the only real danger and even those who had before faced him now did their best to kill the young woman. This left him uncovered however and he was certain that soon they would find out he had figured out a way to kill them as well. Moving in the direction of the piled up demons he could hear another shriek, indicating Dawn was still able to use her knife despite her current situation. He prepared himself to cut some throats when he was suddenly attacked from behind.

The silent attacker had used its claws to try and carve a piece out of his back, but as he felt the suit take the worst of the damage he let himself fall forward and dive into a roll. Quickly turning around his eye widened in shock as he noticed that it was the same demon that he had 'killed' moments before. There was still a slight silvery line on his throat that indicated the spot his knife had entered.

His shock at the sight lasted only a moment, but in that time the shadowy creature had managed to close the distance once again and swung at him with his claws. This time however Xander was prepared and he lifted the knife in his left hand to block the strike while making his own move with his sword.

The claw was intercepted but the strike was so hard that it jarred him, costing him as his own sword then didn't hit what he had aimed for, and only carved into the beings chest instead of cutting through its neck. Frustrated by his need to help Dawn, who he could still hear fighting behind him, he went on the attack. Both his weapons flashed towards the demon who didn't try to duck as he had expected but instead caught both weapons in its hands.

Trying to yank his weapons free he couldn't help but try and see his opponents face, but all he could see was a black outline. Realizing his current action was costing him precious time, he let go of the weapons and reached for his only remaining knife. Which he never reached as another of the creatures had blindsided him and struck the side of his face hard enough for him to fly through the air until he crashed against the wall.

Sliding down to the floor despair started to overcome him, until he remembered.

. . . .

Xander had just been pulled into this latest of paintings and was actually looking forward to find out what had happened here. Even awake the painting had intrigued him, as it was one of those rare ones that depicted a scene with demons. When the sensations hit him though, he lost his need for knowledge. The stench of blood and rotting flesh was actually strong enough to overpower the smell, if not the heat, that came from the buildings that seemed to be burning everywhere.

The demon army had only just passed through this part of the city and there were few survivors, most of whom were crying over the loss of those dear to them. He wanted to warn them, tell them to flee, as the demons would return, once they had dealt with the opposition in the rest of the city. But from previous experience he knew this to be useless, he was here only to observe and not to interfere, even if he screamed as loud as he could, nobody would hear or even see him.

So he continued, following the carnage the demons had left behind in order to reach some part of this city they hadn't reached yet. If only for his own peace of mind he needed there to be someone that remembered who these people had been before this catastrophe happened to them. He ran as fast as he could and only stopped when a little girl, no more then 6 years old suddenly spoke to him.

"Are you an angel?"

"You can see me?"

The only indication she could was a slight nod, before she asked her question. "Can you help my mommy and daddy?"

For the first time Xander looked at the bodies the girl had been crying over. It wasn't hard to see that even had the two people had access to the most modern hospital they wouldn't have stood a chance. But for the first time since he had entered the tunnel he had a chance to do something worthwhile, so he forced a slight smile on his face before once again focusing on the little girl.

"Your mommy and daddy are in heaven now." The girl appeared a little confused and for a moment he wondered if perhaps the child had a religion without a heaven. "But there is a way to make them happier in the afterlife, I'll need your help for that though, will you help me?"

The forceful way she nodded her assent gave him hope that she would be able to do this. "You have to run as fast as you can, away from the demons and find another town to life in. You'll have to leave your mommy and daddy but if you make sure that the demons will not get you, they will be very happy, okay?"

The girl didn't seem to like having to leave her parents behind and while he could understand that he believed her life to be more important. In the end it came down to using her believe that he was angel to convince her to leave.

As he watched her run towards the gates of the city, Xander felt like he had finally accomplished something worthwhile in these dreams. And it didn't matter to him that he wouldn't remember it when he woke up. With a far lighter heart he turned back to his destination and once again started to run.

Running through the battle, which was still going on, once again soured his mood however. And it was only when he had left the sounds of battle far behind that he dared to open his eyes again. The first time he had encountered a similar scene he had decided that he should see what was going on, to honor those who fell before the demonic horde. By now however he realized that it wouldn't help those brave people if he stayed to watch how they were slaughtered, the only thing that happened because of it was that the sight would sicken him and he'd throw up.

"It is my duty to stand with them." That sounded like a girl and Xander moved to see who had spoken like that. Passing a corner he saw a teenaged girl and an older man having a heated discussion.

"It is not your duty to get killed in a useless act, these people are doomed and there is nothing you can do about it."

"How can you say that? You are my guide, you have taught me what it means to be a Slayer and now you say I shouldn't do my duty? I may die if I go and stand there, but I will not die uselessly."

"Oh my dear friend, I know it is selfish, but there is nothing you can do and I would prefer it if you survived this day."

The girl understood this sentiment but obviously had another opinion about this all and Xander almost had to choke back a tear at her next words. "My life is unimportant, if I fall today another will be Chosen and she will take up my duties. But my actions here may save the life of many innocents and what is one small life compared to that?"

"It is your life and to me that is the most important one." The man had tears streaming down his face, but appeared determined when he spoke. "But if it is the will of the gods for you to die here today, I will not let you do so alone for I will stand next to you and the bards will one day sing of how we protected the people of this fair city."

"Yes," the girl smiled at that, obviously trying to comfort her companion, "people will always remember us and what we did for them."

At this Xander couldn't stop from almost begging, while like the man he could taste the saltiness of his own tears, he whispered. "Tell me your names, please say your names and I will remember you for as long as I live."

His wish however went unanswered as the girl continued speaking. "So, do you have any good advice to give before we fight?"

Her companion seemed to think for a moment before answering. "Yes, did you notice the shadowy creatures?" As she told him that she did he continued. "They are most difficult to kill if you do not know how, for they must be hit in the stomach with a silver weapon."

"Well, it's a good thing I've got one of those, isn't it?" And she showed him the knife before turning to the battle and grimly stating her last words. "Now my dear friend, we will go and teach them that it is not wise to anger a Slayer and her guide."

This time Xander followed the two of them to the battle and stayed to watch, until he saw both of these brave souls fall before the overwhelming horde. And while he did so he had no intention of stopping the teardrops that continued to roll down his face.

. . . .

He regained consciousness and saw the shadowy creatures approaching while in his mind he could still see the courageous Slayer as she was torn apart by several of these demons. As anger coursed through his entire body, making him forget about his own injuries, he vowed that this time the good guys would win. With a shout of anger and grief he took hold of his last knife, and jumping to his feet he stormed the two demons before shoving his knife into the first of the two.

When he later tried to remember the fight all he got were flashes, flashes as he ripped his knife out of the first demon that fell to his anger and used it to stab the other one. Flashes as he bent down and grabbed the second knife with his free hand before jumping on top of the pile covering Dawn and, still screaming, rammed his knives everywhere he could, until in the end he had reached the bloody body of his dear friend. Flashes as his anger intensified at this and the demons ran away from him, flashes from his pursuit until the demons suddenly disappeared. Until he finally he returned to the blood-soaked body of his friend.

"Dawn." The word was forced out of his hoarse throat as he fell to his knees beside her. "You can't be dead, you can't be, I can't let you be dead. That would mean I've failed you and I have already failed too many others, I can't have failed you as well."

It wasn't until he could taste his salty tears that he realized he was crying, but even then it only barely registered in his mind. All his focus was on the motionless young woman who lay in front of him, willing her to be alive. Finally he had gathered the courage he needed and he moved a shaky hand to her throat in order to check her pulse. The moment he felt the first heartbeat a feeling of relieve coursed through his body, momentarily banishing all bad thoughts.

"You're alive." Despite feeling like the happiest man on the planet the words only came out as a whisper, before he frowned. "But you are too heavily wounded for us to go on. I'll carry you and we'll return to Torala, we can come back here another time."

Dawn's hand suddenly moved to stop him from rising and he heard her mumbling something, but couldn't understand what she was saying. "What? I didn't quite get that."

He bent over so that his ear was hovering only inches above her mouth and could feel her warm breath as she repeated her earlier words, words that caused Xander to sit up in shock before he answered her. "You can't be serious, Torala said you could only do it when you were healthy."

Once again a mumbling answered him, but this time he could understand her words. "Doesn't know everything, only chance, we go on."

He cursed at her stubbornness but he had known Dawn long enough that there was no chance he could make her turn back. If he'd try to force her he was pretty certain that this time she wouldn't stop at knocking him unconscious before trying again, without his help. Submitting to the inevitable he agreed with her command and helped her stand up.

"Wow, dizzy." The young woman said when she was finally upright, although Xander had to keep her from swaying on her feet.

"Yeah well, I wonder how that is possible with you looking as if you need to spend a couple of weeks in intensive care."

"No sarcasm please, I feel bad enough. But we need to go on so help me get my weapons and we'll move."

Helping gathering her weapons and collecting his own Xander wondered when she had taken command of this mission.

. . . .

"Wow." They had stumbled through the rest of the temple, luckily not encountering anything dangerous, until they had finally reached this room. There was no doubt in his mind that they had reached their destination, but it wasn't like anything he had expected.

"It's so big." He could only nod in agreement with Dawn's observation, it was big, a lot bigger then he had imagined.

"You know what you have to do?"

"I have to go in and then everything will happen by itself, I hope."

Still uncertain that this was the right thing to do he helped her walk to the artifact, now he at least understood why no one had ever found a name for it. As he looked it over it seemed to him to be made of crystal or maybe even diamond, but for all he knew it was of some kind of material he had never heard of. The only thing he knew for certain was that he could see through it, which of course would be useful as he would be able to see if Dawn got into trouble.

It wasn't until they were mere feet from the artifact that he realized something important. "Uh, how are you supposed to get into this thing?"

Both of them looked to the sides but couldn't spot anything that looked like a door, and looking up didn't help them either as all they could see there was the crystal that kept reaching upwards. "I'm not sure."

Frowning, Xander moved the two of them closer but even when he ran his hands over the smooth and surprisingly warm material he couldn't discover anything that would allow them entrance.

"Xander? What's that noise?"

Turning to his friend he wondered what she was talking about, until he too heard it. His eye widening in realization he tried to come up with the best way to deal with this extra problem. "I think our shadowy friends have called in reinforcements and unlike them, these aren't into the silent thing." He tried to determine where the sound was coming from but the acoustics of the chamber messed up any chance he had to do so.

"You go and prepare while I try to find a way to get inside this thing." Then noticing how torn he was between preparing their defenses and making sure she would get safely inside the artifact she made it a command. "Do it!"

He was already halfway to the entrance through which they had come into the room before he realized she had again commanded him and he had followed. There was something not entirely right about that, but he would think about it later, now he had to find out where the sounds were coming from.

Standing in the doorway he listened hard trying to determine if this was where the demons were coming from, and when he heard what might possibly be called singing, he cursed loudly. Moving quickly to the other entrance he confirmed that as he had feared, demons were coming from there as well.

"Dawn! They are coming in from everywhere, we have to leave now or we'll be to…" Turning around his words petered out as he noticed the young woman had found a way to enter the construction after all, and was now floating above the floor. He swallowed hard when he looked from her to the entrances and back, before whispering. "This is not good."

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Post-fic comments: Cliffhanger :-). Next part once they've finished working on the site. I hope that once again you enjoyed the story and there's no reason to be shy about sending feedback.

By the way, for those of you interested, the crossbow Xander was looking at but didn't take along is one based on the one Detritus carries in the Discworld novels. Torala likes those books almost as much as I do :-)