Chapter 6

"What the hell?" Cordelia cursed as she jumped away from the falling corpse.

"Jezus!" The boy, Ryan her mind automatically supplied, exclaimed as he too jumped away. In fact, the only two who seemed to remain calm were Dawn herself, and strangely enough Amanda. Although, now that she thought about it, the latter had probably seen weird things in her life before and had been able to control her reaction.

"What did you do that for?" Cordelia then screamed at Dawn, shock once again overruling any fear she might feel of the girl.

"I remembered."

Oh great, she was back to the short answer thing. "What? I mean I didn't like he was going to bail out, but I don't think someone like him would be capable of helping me anyway."

Dawn barely moved her head, but to Cordelia it was an obvious disagreement with her statement. "He could."

"What do you mean, he could? He was useless, all he seemed to want to do was get out of here. I can't believe he'll survive long in the Game."

"Useless, like me?"

Wrinkling her head, Cordelia considered that statement. During the night they'd spent more time talking, and she had learned that this Dawn didn't really say anything that she didn't consider important. So for her to compare the man on the floor to herself... "Okay, explain."

Before Dawn had a chance to explain though, Amanda spoke up. "Callie? Would you mind explaining to me why you have a little girl carrying a silenced gun in your house? Not that I don't want to know why she shot Adam, but, unless I'm really out of touch with this day and age, I don't remember most girls to be capable of an action like that."

"She's a bit different. I didn't know about that myself until yesterday," she answered her teacher, although she never took her eyes off the little girl.

"I gathered the different part. What is she? A Slayer?"

Once again that strange little smile appeared on Dawn's face, and this time Cordelia understood it at least a little. It seemed like everybody's first thought was about her being the Slayer. "No, that's her sister. Dawn was the recipient of a rather unfortunate spell that turned her into an assassin."

"Oh yeah. That really clears things up. I mean that kind of thing happens daily, doesn't it?" Ryan spoke up, momentarily drawing Cordelia's attention. Not for long though, as she decided there were more important things she needed to know.

"Dawn? Why?"

"I recognized him."

"Yes, you've mentioned that before. From where? And why would that bother you?"

"He's in one of Giles' books."

"What? You mean he's a demon?" Taking a step away from the body, she suddenly frowned. "No, that doesn't make sense. I could feel him. He's Immortal."

"He's more."

"Really? Why's that?"

"He has my name."

"Your name? What are you talking about?"

"'And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him'" Dawn quoted, and while Cordelia recognized the words, she didn't understand their significance.

Out of the corner of her eye she did see Amanda suddenly blanch though, and when she looked at him even Ryan seemed to understand. "Mandy?" she demanded.

"That was a long time ago. He's changed now."

A long time ago? It was suddenly becoming very clear what her teacher was talking about, and she really didn't like it. "Dawn?"

"I told you the Four Horsemen were immortal." And so she had. From what she now knew of Dawn it was obvious that the girl had recognized the man and had immediately acted on that knowledge.

"Why did you bring him?" This time Cordelia's question was aimed at Amanda. She was really fond of her teacher, but bringing someone like this with her went a bit far.

"He's a friend. He stopped being Death a long time ago, and actually helped Duncan kill the other three."

"Duncan? You mean that MacLeod you're so fond off?"

Amanda only nodded, still appearing perfectly calm. Something Ryan clearly wasn't. "Is she gonna shoot us too now? Because Adam's our friend?"

"She has a name, and can probably answer your question better than I," Cordelia answered, not really interested in having a discussion about this.

"Right. Okay. Sure. Dawn, right?"

Once again Dawn used only the slightest of movements to indicate that she'd heard him. Even while she did so though, Cordelia couldn't help but notice the way she kept her eyes on everybody in the room. Even her. Knowing that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were members of her kind had probably managed to ruin what little trust had been restored between them.

"Okay. Ehm, are you gonna kill us?"

"Do you want me to?"

Even Cordelia was surprised by that answer, maybe even more so as she knew Dawn better than the other two. This was the kind of answer she'd have expected from the old Dawn, the one she'd known only two days ago, not that of the remorseless killer who had shown herself since the slave had shown up.

"Ah, no. Not particularly actually. I prefer to stay alive."

"Excellent. You say you trust this man? The one who called himself Death?"

"Yes, of course. I've known him for years."

"If he misbehaves, tries to hurt anyone I care about, I will kill both of you."

"What? Why?" Ryan wanted to know, his earlier relief once again dashed to pieces.

Aside from lowering her gun so that it was no longer pointing at the corpse however, Dawn only shrugged before answering. "Security."

"Security?"

"You'll stop him from doing anything now. Why did he want to leave?"

The sudden change of subject was a bit fast, but Cordelia didn't need long to come up with the reason. "He's afraid of the Hellmouth."

"Your reason for coming here."

"Yes."

"Why? He's old. Don't you get more powerful the older you are?"

"Not really," Amanda explained. "While Quickenings supposedly enhance your strength, it's hard to test as they always make you feel better. And age in itself doesn't really do anything. You have more experience to draw on, probably more training, but aside from that not much."

"Interesting. How old is he? He's over four thousand years old, that's when the Horsemen first appeared. He must have gained a lot of Quickenings in that time."

"I don't think it's my place to say."

"Okay, I'll just ask him then. How old are you?"

Was this Adam really awake again? And how did Dawn come up with the four thousand thing? There couldn't actually be anyone that old, could there? Except... she remembered Amanda telling her once about the mythical Methos. Cordelia had always disregarded that as a fantasy, but what if this man was the oldest man alive?

"Stop pretending. I know you're awake." Nothing happened for a moment and letting out a sigh, Dawn raised her gun again. "I hate wasting bullets, and Cordelia wouldn't appreciate it if I ruined her carpet. So the next time I pull the trigger it will be painful."

"Oh alright already," Pierson said while getting back to his feet and dusting himself off. "You are quite a character you know that? I haven't seen anyone like you for... well it must be close to a millennium actually."

"How nice. The question?"

"Oh right. I'm a little over four thou-"

The sentence was broken by the sound of a bullet being fired and Pierson falling to the ground again. This time alive, but by the way he held his leg it obviously hurt. "Don't lie."

Several curses were uttered in a language that Cordelia didn't recognize, but guessed was pretty old, before he finally answered the question. "Alright. I'm not entirely sure. Probably five thousand, it was rather hard to tell at the time."

"You're Methos," Cordelia whispered in awe. Even now that it was confirmed she could hardly believe it. This man had done the one thing she actually cared about more than anything else. He'd lived. Staying alive for so long.

"Yeah, quite a disappointment isn't it?" Ryan spoke up.

"Disappointment?" Cordelia asked while turning to face him.

"Yeah, you hear all these stories about the guy and in the end all you find as a beer-guzzling, grouchy old man."

She blinked at that. Who cared how he acted? Who cared about what he'd done? There was only one thing that was important. "He survived."

"Yeah, well if that's his biggest achievement..."

"It's the only achievement that counts. How old are you? You act like you're still pretty young. Thirty?"

"Not quite. Why?"

"Then you can't understand yet. Once you've lived through enough you'll find out why survival is not only the most important thing, but the hardest as well."

Even Amanda appeared surprised that she thought about survival like that. "You've grown up. When we met in that forest, I never imagined you'd actually grow up to understand something like that."

Cordelia only shrugged. "Like I said, it takes almost dying a couple of times to appreciate what you've got."

"Wonderful," Pierson, no Methos, interrupted. "I'm glad to hear that someone as young as you appreciates the important things in life. Now, if you'd happen to have some beer that I could drink while waiting for the taxi I'm going to call, it would be perfect."

"You really want to leave?"

"This is Sunnydale right? Founded by some kind of psychotic with a wish to turn into a demon? Lying on top of that road they say is paved with good intentions? Damn right I'm getting out of here. The occasional vampire I don't mind all that much, but when they start coming in larger numbers and are accompanied by other demons." He shook his head. "No thank you."

"But I could really use your help. Even if its only tactics, you don't have to fight if you don't want to. Someone as experienced as you must know a lot about how to do things like this. And you don't have to worry about vampires and demons, Buffy keeps the town clean."

"Buffy? Who's that?"

"The Slayer."

"A Slayer called Buffy? What kind of parents would inflict such a name on a child?"

It was probably the strange look on Dawn's face that made him turn his attention to her. "She's my sister."

The ancient never missed a beat as he continued. "It does have a certain ring to it though. Something... I'm not sure, but it has a certain allure."

"Good save," Cordelia heard Amanda whisper. Well, at least this proved that Methos hadn't yet been awake when she'd explained Dawn's relation to the Slayer.

"Okay, I'm getting really confused here," Ryan suddenly spoke up, reminding Cordelia he was here as well. "What's all this suddenly about vampires, demons, and hell? Is that like Ahriman, something nobody has bothered to tell me about?"

"Ahriman?" The harsh tone in Dawn's voice made it clear that she knew what Ryan was talking about. "He's awake?"

"Not anymore, Mac took care of him."

"Good."

"I have to agree with that," Richie answered, "but that doesn't really answer my question."

The silence that fell, showed Cordelia that it would fall to her to explain this bit so she started it with the words all the Scoobies used when this task fell to them.. "Giles would have been so much better for this. Anyway the world is older than most people believe, and didn't start as a paradise either."

"Ehm, is this going to be about evolution? Because I already know about that. Besides it helps when you know someone who predates the bible, and actually stars in it."

"Talking about me. Can I use that telephone now?" Methos once again spoke up.

Cordelia wanted another shot at convincing him to stay, after all she was sure she'd succeed sooner or later, but Dawn already pointed out where the telephone was. The girl even supplied the number of the company!

"Dawn? Why? He can help."

"He's a possible danger."

Right. So, because he was dangerous, Dawn didn't want him here. Whatever happened to the old adage of keeping your enemies closer?

Well, at least Amanda and the young Immortal didn't seem to plan on leaving. And judging from the way Ryan had acted earlier it should at least be possible to keep him interested in staying here for a while.

"The line is dead," Methos said once he'd limped over to the telephone and picked it up.

Hearing that Cordelia wanted to scream in denial, that just wasn't possible, but then Dawn whispered a couple of strange words. "They're coming."

x.x.x

While the words in themselves sounded just a bit too much like they came from a cheesy movie, Methos remained as silent as the others. After all, he had no doubt that the little girl was right in her assumption. His leg didn't hurt much any more, and he had no doubt that even the twinges of pain he felt right now would disappear quickly. Realizing there could be more to this, he looked around to see if the electricity was cut off as well, but didn't see anything that would tell one way or the other.

A nearly silent clicking sound caught his attention then, and looking at the little girl, Dawn he reminded himself, he saw her give a slight nod. So, he'd been right. Not that he knew what they'd achieve with it, but still...

He did wonder how long it would be before whoever it was showed up. They might still be able to get out. "We've got to get out of here."

Most of the others only looked at him in confusion, but it was once again Dawn who spoke up. "Agreed. This is not the best place for a fight."

"Yeah, I have to say I like that idea," Callidora—or should he call her Cordelia?—agreed as well. Not that that was any particular surprise, Methos hadn't expected that she'd want another fight to take place in her own house.

"Let's go then," he said. He had no intention of wasting another minute and walking over to the front door—which he now noticed wasn't exactly in the best shape anymore—he opened it to step outside. Or that was his intention. In actuality he stepped back when a bullet impacted on the frame of the door, and he realized this wasn't going to work. Turning around he threw the door closed behind him, while calmly looking at the others. "Not this way."

The younger ones were still freaking out, well except for Dawn, but Amanda had regained her composure. "Back door?"

"If that's safe."

"It's not." Why did that kid always have to say these annoying things? It was bad enough that she went around killing people—well not so much people in general as people called Methos—but did she have to act so... so... annoying?

But he didn't feel like going into a discussion about the subject either. "Let's try it anyway."

Dawn only shrugged, probably not caring if something happened to him. In fact, she would probably even prefer it. He barely knew anything about her right now, but what he did know wasn't something he was very happy about.

She seemed fiercely loyal to her friends, and she believed him to be a threat to them. Which, he admitted, made a lot of sense. After all, he was who she believed him to be, and the only people vouching for him were his friends, more people she didn't know. All in all, it made for quite an interesting time. Just like the Chinese curse.

Having reached the living room with the broken window, which made him idly wonder why it hadn't been fixed yet, he looked over his shoulder at the others.

Amanda and Richie were standing fairly close to him, probably in case somebody would try to shoot him again. That way they'd be able to quickly drag him to safety. Cordelia was standing a bit further away, looking as if she wasn't quite sure what to do. It was obvious to Methos that she admired him, maybe even having something of a light crush, although that might just be vanity speaking.

The crush wasn't the only thing influencing her though, the other thing was the little girl. A little girl he was starting to have his suspicions about. Nowadays there weren't many people with skills like that at such an early age, but there had been. Oh yes, there had been.

Ruthlessly suppressing a shiver at the memories of people like the little girl, he directed his thoughts back to the task at hand, and after taking a deep breath started walking forwards. If somebody would try to stop them from leaving the house he would find out soon enough. Five steps until he could step through the window. Four. Three. His heart was hammering wildly in his chest, but he didn't falter and took the next step. Two. One.

While he attempted to remain cool and quiet, Methos felt as if he was going to start sweating like a pig any time now. Nevertheless, he raised his foot and lifted it over the broken glass, putting it down on the grass outside. He hadn't been shot! That was a good thing, but he didn't for a moment believe he was out of it. Not until he was sitting in his apartment back in Seacouver would he think that.

Not wasting any more time in the unsafe garden than absolutely necessary he started running to the other side. During the mad rush he remained calm enough to consider what options were left to him. The first order of business was getting away from this town. He would have once again cursed his stupidity in not asking Amanda where exactly they were going, but knew this was neither the time nor the place for that. Instead he focused on getting out of here.

Presumably the streets were safe enough during the day, which meant they should be able to walk until they found some form of motorized transport. Unless their mysterious sniper, or whoever it was that hired him, stopped them. No, the sniper was at the front of the house. Finally having reached the end of the ridiculously large garden, he took a moment to catch his breath. Good, step one completed.

Looking behind him, he watched the others as they started following him now that it was obviously safe. All of them, except Dawn that is. Unfortunately in her case he couldn't be sure why that was. Did she suspect a trap? And if so, who did she suspect was behind it? For all he knew, she still believed him the biggest danger. Methos snorted at that delusional thought.

There was no way that she'd consider him anything else than a major threat. Considering he believed the same thing about her, that didn't really bother him though. Well, he wasn't happy about it, but he could admonish Amanda's student about picking better friends later. Now, all that he wanted was to get safely out of this town.

"Why didn't they cover this?" Amanda hissed once she'd reached him, not bothering to hide her surprise at the apparent stupidity of their enemy.

If there actually was an enemy. No, he shook his head in denial of that thought. The shot at the front door was enough proof that someone wanted to hurt them. Well, he conceded, proof that someone didn't want them to leave through the front. After all, they had been effectively herded in this direction. Something he really hated, and which was the main reason he hadn't yet opened the small gate that led to the streets behind.

"You don't know?" What? Oh, the head shaking thing.

"Because something else is waiting for us," he answered her question this time, not bothering to correct her assumption.

"This is a trap?" Richie demanded. "Then why did we walk into it?"

"We know it's there, so it'll have lost most of its use. And besides," Methos shrugged, "it's not like we've got a lot of choice in the matter. It was this or wait for them to get us."

"And you figured a running battle in the streets of Sunnydale is a better idea?" Cordelia hissed at him, although he had no idea what she was so worried about. If this place was like any other Hellmouth, the people living here wouldn't remember anything strange that happened anyway. Although, now that he thought about it... the last time he'd been on a Hellmouth nobody had been stupid enough to actually build a town on top of it.

Still, he needed to answer the woman. "Yes, unless you'd prefer your house to be messed up even more?"

Hah! That shut her up, and with more than a great deal of satisfaction he tried to see where the little killer was. They might not trust each other very much, but he preferred her with them if they had to fight. Dawn was nowhere to see though. "Where's your friend?"

"What do you mean? Isn't she?" Cordelia asked before turning around to look at the house, a house that appeared completely empty of life. Great, she had left them to fend for themselves. It didn't fit with his earlier ideas about how she was so protective of her friend, but he'd wasted too much time already anyway.

Opening the gate however, he was greeted by a sight that didn't sit well with him. That didn't sit well with him at all.

"Oh man," Methos heard Richie moan from beside him, but the only thing he paid attention to were the three men standing far enough away that he couldn't be sure they were Immortals.

Well, the swords they were holding gave it away, but he didn't feel a buzz yet. The moment he had that thought however, all three of them stepped forwards and he could feel their buzzes. Great, bloody show offs, and how long would they have needed to find out the exact place they needed to stand?

"I think we might want to go back inside," he said calmly.

Richie nodded so vigorously that he could actually hear the swish of the boy's clothes. "You know old man, for once I have to agree with you."

"I don't think it'll do much good though," Methos added. "But at least we'll be able to face them in the garden. Unless of course, your house happens to have another exit you forgot to mention?"

The last part was directed at Cordelia, but even before she shook her head to deny that statement he'd known it was unlikely. "Only the garage, but that opens up at the front as well. And as there's only one car in it, it won't help us all."

"Only one?" He'd have thought that with her acting the rich little snobby cheerleader girl wannabe that she'd have her own car.

"Only my father's, I mean Anthony's, car. Mine is still at the school with four flats, and I don't know where the others are." Great.

Oh well, couldn't be helped. Methos watched the steady approach of the three men for another few seconds before turning around and walking into the garden. Now he would need to fight, and for that he'd prefer to have a slight warming up. Amanda was so going to pay for getting him in this situation. He didn't know how that would happen, but there was no doubt in his mind that he'd come up with something suitable.

Taking out his Ivanhoe, he slipped out of the long coat he used to hide it, and threw it over a bush. He ignored the angry voice of Cordelia telling him not to do that, instead opting to focus on preparing for the coming battle. Calmly he swung the sword around in a complicated pattern of which the only use was to loosen his limbs.

He had no idea who the Immortals were, but from their ridiculous theatrics he figured they were more show than anything else. Of course, they could very well be so showy because they were good. Until he saw them fight there was no way to tell which was the case. Focused completely on his warm-up, Methos nonetheless knew exactly what was happening around him.

Richie and Amanda had started doing something similar, while Cordelia was only holding her sword mumbling incoherently about it all being unfair. Had his life not been in danger he might have spared some of his concentration to tell her off, but now wasn't the time for that. No, now was the time to feel the sun beating down on him, to learn where the shadows were in this garden and where the glare of the sun would block his sight.

It was important to know where he could use the reflection of his blade to achieve a similar affect, and how this would influence his fighting style. He needed to ensure his body was warmed up enough for there to be a good blood flow and no chance of sudden cramps. That was what he focused on, until the three Immortals stepped into the garden.

"Good, you haven't tried to escape," the apparent leader said while trying to judge their skill levels. Of course, Methos had stopped his movement the moment they arrived, with Amanda and Richie following his example.

"Who are you?" Amanda demanded. She obviously didn't know who they were, although she probably had the same idea he had. "Why did you come here?"

"Oh, Amanda, Amanda. Don't tell me you don't remember. You are the reason we're here. Well, we decided to enjoy the Quickenings of your friends too, but that was just a bonus."

A quick glance to the side showed him that Amanda was still confused, but she tried again. "Okay, and what if I don't remember? I'm pretty sure I would've remembered a good looking man like you."

Methos felt like groaning out loud, this was not the time to start flirting. Obviously the Immortals felt the same. "Don't try that on me, you don't really believe I'll fall for that a second time do you?"

A second time? So the man had actually met Amanda before. Which really begged the question of why she didn't remember him. She was good with names and faces, that was after all an important skill for her work as a thief. Not that he believed she would remember everybody she encountered, but the fact was that no Immortal quickly forgot another.

"I don't remember you," Amanda admitted as the frustration she felt at this inability started to show on her face. "When was this?"

Remaining silent Methos studied the men before him, Amanda had probably met the Immortal while he was a pre-Immortal and she too young to recognize the buzz for what it was. So he didn't intend to spend more than half of his attention on that conversation, while most of it was focused on figuring the weaknesses of these men.

Unless they were tactical idiots they would leave Cordelia for last, which meant that he'd have to fight either of the men flanking the leader. While he didn't think that was a sign of tactical genius either, it was obvious that the leader would be fighting Amanda. The man on the left was a stocky blond, carrying a gladius of all things.

That was almost like bringing a knife to a gunfight in his opinion, but if the wielder was good enough even a short weapon like that could pose a serious threat to his life. Judging by the man's posture, he appeared relaxed. The bright eyes that were scanning him and his companions, were enough to put Methos on his guard however and he promised himself not to underestimate this man.

The other man was taller and carried a longer weapon as well. A simple two-handed broadsword that Methos had always believed to be too unwieldy to use himself. That was surprising though, he really had figured that the short man would have gone for the power approach, while the dark-skinned man he was looking at now would have worked on his speed.

Not that it really mattered to him, after all he had survived for millennia already and had no intention of losing his head to a couple of upstarts. Throughout this Amanda was still claiming that she didn't remember the leader. Not that it helped them in any way as it only served to anger the man.

"Fine. I Challenge you," the man finally bit out, no longer wanting to put off his revenge. Revenge for what was still a bit unclear to Methos, but then again Immortals didn't really need a reason to Challenge another.

Amanda shrugged, and went into a ready position. Alright, Methos thought, this was the moment. Both of the other two opponents looked eager as well, but before he was going to fight he wanted the answer to a rather important question. "Just wondering, but if we win will your sniper let us go?"

The predatory smile he received as an answer didn't do anything to ease his mind. Great, these people really wanted Amanda dead. At least they played by the rules while they were still alive. Snipers were of a later concern: right now his first order of business was the broadsword and the man wielding it. The sight still didn't work for him though, broadswords were a European invention, to be used by those walking tanks called knights. It just didn't suit the man facing him now.

Nothing to do about it though. Before his fight started he spared one last look at Richie who was facing the short blond man, and Amanda who would have to deal with the Russian. Taking a deep breath he then slipped into the mindset required for a brutal fight and prepared for the attack.

x.x.x

"Hey Dawn," Jane greeted when she opened the door for Dawn.

"Hi, is Sara here yet?"

Jane only shook her head to show that wasn't the case, before she turned around and led Dawn into the house. "No, but she'll probably be here soon."

The fact that her friend hadn't arrived yet immediately set Dawn on edge, but she tried to calm herself with the knowledge that it was unlikely anything had happened. The Order hadn't even sent anyone to talk to her yet, so they wouldn't do anything to Sara, would they?

No they wouldn't. She was sure of it, at least that's what she tried to tell herself. If only that tiny niggling feeling of doubt didn't try to convince her otherwise. Focus on other things Dawn, focus. Walking into the living room she saw Jane's parents and greeted them. "Hi mister Nielson, mrs Nielson."

"Hello Dawn, you're up early."

"Oh no, I usually get up long before this." In fact, she had done so today as well. Getting up at six and then going for a run. The only problem with that right now was that she had to take care to avoid any vampires out late for a snack. Of course, they were one of the reasons she brought her gun along on those runs, so if something happened she didn't doubt she'd be able to handle it.

"Really? Maybe you should teach Jane how to do that."

"Thanks mom," Jane said sarcastically, "that really makes me feel loved."

"You're welcome, dear," the woman smiled back.

The expression of sudden outrage on Jane's face was enough to make Dawn crack a smile, something her friend noticed. "And you! You call yourself a friend? First making me get up at the crack of dawn, no pun intended thank you very much, and then laughing at me."

Had Dawn believed even for a single moment that Jane was serious about this, she would have handled the situation differently. As it was though, the whole getting up early thing her friend had with her parents was a battle that had been raging for years. Some of the stories Sara had told her about the particular fights that happened were quite amusing as well.

Apparently there had been an entire week, in the middle of the summer vacation, that Jane's father had woken her up by drenching her with water. At half past six in the morning. Luckily Jane was a very stubborn girl and she never allowed behavior like that to interfere with her sleep. Or at least she didn't get up earlier out of her own volition. In fact, the week after that she'd stayed in bed until well past noon.

While that was not something she planned to do again, apparently the lack of food and overabundance of boredom had put a stop to it, there were many things her friend could still do to win that fight. Things that Dawn was actually looking forward to witness. How could she have even considered walking out on her friends? Oh wait, Jane wanted an answer.

"Hey, if I can't laugh at you, who can?"

"That's not a very good argument, you know. If you want to convince me of something I'd really prefer it if you did a better job of it."

Rolling her eyes to show her friend what she thought of that, Dawn tried again. "Oh come on, it's not like you've never had any weak arguments either. I mean, just look at the way you try to convince Sara and me to watch a certain show or read a book."

"I never use weak arguments for that," Jane frowned.

"Of course you do, you only say that they are good."

"They are! So that's not a weak argument, it's the best one possible."

"But you never give any reasons," Dawn tried again, enjoying this moment of normalcy.

"I don't have to, if I like it it's obviously a good show or book."

Letting out a short laugh, Dawn shook her head. "Oh no, it doesn't work like that."

"Sure it does, and besides you're only this recalcitrant because we didn't give you your Xander for Christmas."

"Recalcitrant? You know people don't actually use that word when speaking, don't you?" Dawn asked before she caught up with the rest of the sentence. "And uh... you were going to give me Xander?"

"Xander, is that the same Xander who?" Jane's father suddenly interrupted.

"Yes dad, Dawnie here has had a crush on him for months"

"Hey, you don't have to tell everybody about that," Dawn hissed.

Quickly putting her hand in front of her mouth, Jane mockingly said. "Oops, I slipped and now my parents know that you've already got your wedding planned. Or actually, from what you told me the wedding ni-"

Okay, this had gone a bit too far and Dawn had quickly put her hand over the one already covering Jane's mouth. "Nah nah nah nah nah, nobody's hearing your nonsense."

A quick glance at the parental units however showed them smiling, and obviously aware of what her friend had been trying to say. Letting go of Jane she therefore only sighed. "And I thought it was bad when Buffy started reading my diary last night."

"Buffy read your diary? Why did she do that?"

"I went to the library yesterday to thank Xander for saving you. I still can't believe he never told me, or even Buffy. Anyway, she saw that and wanted an explanation."

"So she read your diary? What kind of logic is that? Oh, but how did you thank him? Did you give him a kiss? Tell me girl, you obviously enjoyed it."

Disappointedly shaking her head, Dawn had to admit she hadn't kissed the boy she loved. "He was standing, I couldn't reach his face. He really should be smaller you know, or I should be taller that would work too. I hugged him, arms around his middle and enjoying the experience."

"So, you only used the fact that he saved me as an excuse to cop a feel?"

"I did not! I was very sincere in wanting to thank him, it's just that I didn't want to waste the opportunity."

"Yeah yeah, anyway what was so bad about Buffy reading your diary then?"

Okay, she shouldn't have said that. Especially in front of her friend's parents. On the other hand, she had no intention of lying to her either, so she whispered in Jane's ear whose eyes went wide after that.

"Really? " Dawn only nodded in confirmation. "Wow, but why did you write those dreams down? You have wet dreams about a friend of your sister, who you know reads your diary, and you still put them in there."

The way Jane's parents were trying to hide their smiles was bad enough for her to feel like sinking through the floor in shame, but the look on Jane's face that clearly told her that she had no clue what was so special clinched it.

Hanging her head in shame she therefore didn't speak until Sara arrived. If it hadn't been so important that she talked to her friends, she might have actually gone home. How could Jane do this to her?

….…

"Oh come on Dawn, it's not that bad is it?" Sara tried, once Jane had explained the situation to her. "It's not like adults gossip all the time."

An angry glare was all the answer she thought her friend deserved, so Dawn kept quiet. Jane on the other hand tried to make up her earlier blunder. "Really Dawn, I'm sorry. I simply wasn't thinking."

"You were the first time," she grudgingly answered. There was no point in her friend not understanding why she was angry.

"Well yeah, but that was simply teasing. Mom and dad knew that, and would have accepted it as such."

Empathically shaking her head, Dawn denied that idea. "No they didn't. I could see it in their faces, but then you had to confirm it out loud for them anyway. It's bad enough that Buffy asked questions about how to do certain things. Who knows what your parents will say the next time they speak to mom."

"They won't say anything about this will they?" Now Sara was starting to look a bit nervous as well. It was hard to believe she could really think that though.

Once again pacing through Jane's room, she started to explain the facts of life to her friends. "People gossip. Men, women, young, and old. It doesn't matter, it's like they can't stop. Of course, it's very useful while planning a mission as there are enough ways to get information out of people if you're just willing to go far enough."

"Far enough?" Sara squeaked. "You mean torture?"

What? "No, of course not." Even if she had she would never have admitted that out loud after seeing the looks on her friends' faces. "I meant seducing people."

"Hold on, you don't mind talking about seducing people, but you're embarrassed because I happened to mention your lewd dreams."

"Lewd?" Sara asked. "Did somebody give you one of those word-a-day calendars for Christmas or something? People don't talk like that you know."

"Of course they do, just because the average Baywatch look-a-like doesn't even understand what it means doesn't make the word redundant."

"They write words like that in newspapers and sleazy novels, Jane," Sara sighed. "Don't try to make more of it than there is."

"I'm not making more of it than there is. They are perfectly fine members of the English language, and I intend to use them like that. It's my new year's resolution."

"What? To act like a snob?"

Dawn didn't say anything to this though, her anger and embarrassment were starting to fade as she realized they were useless emotions. Hadn't she come here to save her friends? Nevertheless, that didn't mean she couldn't make her disagreement clear without using any words.

"A snob?" Jane screeched. "I'm not acting like a snob, just because I want to use better language. And you, what's your problem with it?"

The last part was directed at her, so Dawn actually chose to answer. "Those resolutions are ridiculous. Why do you waste your time with them?"

"A waste of time now, eh? You didn't say so last year. If I remember correctly you made a promise to have Robert give you a kiss. Although I can't remember that actually happening."

"Of course it didn't. That was just a silly little crush I got over within weeks."

"What? You have a crush? If I remember correctly you were claiming that he was the love of your life, not unlike the way you talk about Xander right now."

That didn't sit well with her. "That was nothing like what's between Xander and me, how can you even compare the two of them?"

"Well, I don't really see the difference. Both of them are boys, although your Xander is older and a hero for saving Jane," Sara started to tear her argument down. "In the end though, it's basically the same. From one day to the next you're in love with him and don't care about any other boy. And as always, it's one-sided. Why don't you try again when he returns your feelings? Personally I'm getting a bit sick of constantly hearing Xander this, Xander that."

Dawn was crushed. A quick look at Jane showed her that her other friend held similar thoughts on the subject, but how could they? She barely mentioned Xander. And after Kirika had taken over it became even less. No, they had to be mistaken. "I don't talk about him that much."

"Dawn, every single time we watch television and we sigh over a great looking guy, you tell us that Xander looks better."

"Well, he does! That doesn't mean I talk about him the whole time though." The mention of television reminded her that she still had to find more information about the whole Immortal thing. With the possible exception of that Richie boy, she didn't know any of the people who'd arrived to help Cordelia, but that didn't say much.

"I wasn't finished," Sara interrupted her interruption. "It doesn't matter if it's some guy on television or the Eiffel tower. Either Xander looks better, is better, or would make it better."

That was a bit exaggerated, Dawn thought, while allowing this small distraction to once again turn her mind away from her dreams. "I'm not that bad."

"Yes you are. Hold on, Jane do you have that notebook here?"

"Which one?"

"The one with the counting," Sara explained.

A thoughtful expression briefly crossed Jane's face, before it cleared up and she dove for her schoolbag. "Got it right here, I think." A lot of muttering and flying objects followed, before she suddenly came up for air while holding the mentioned notebook.

Sara immediately took it and skimmed through it, obviously looking for something. "Aha! Here it is, what do you say of this?"

Looking at the page Dawn immediately saw what Sara was talking about. They had noted how often she'd mentioned Xander! She wasn't really happy about it, because while she believed it had happened honestly, she could tell that she'd mentioned him about twenty times during that day. "Alright, but that's not too much over the course of a day, is it?"

"Ah Dawn?" Jane said after taking her own look, probably trying to determine which day they were speaking off. "That's only during math."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Do you understand what we're talkin' about now?" Sara asked.

She did, but that didn't mean she wanted this conversation to continue. A smooth transition to the reason she'd come here was out of the question, but that didn't mean she couldn't change the subject anyway. "I understand. Now, the reason I've come here is actually more important than that."

"More important than your silly little crush?" Jane teased.

It's not a crush! Dawn felt like screaming it out, but controlled herself. "Considering that people are thinking about trying to kill you, I'd say so yes."

This stopped all signs of teasing as her friends suddenly blanched. "Kill us?" Sara squeaked.

"I've told you about the Order of Teraka, haven't I?" Dawn asked.

Both of her friends nodded that she had indeed done so. "You did. They're the ones who tried to kill your sister a while ago and then tried to do the same to you when you were in LA right?"

Right, in LA where she'd brutally massacred a whole lot of people. The thought still served to make her a bit queasy, but she couldn't show that to her friends. They didn't know what she'd done there, and they never should find out about it. "Yes. I got a letter from them yesterday."

"Ah Dawn? Yesterday was the first of January, mail doesn't exactly get delivered."

"Hush, I want to know about the killing us thing. I don't care if mail is delivered or not," Sara admonished their friend.

Jane seemed to deflate a little as she was reminded of that little fact. "Oh yeah."

Looking at the white faces of her friends, Dawn was once again reminded of why exactly she hadn't wanted them involved. Her life wasn't made for friends, they were always in danger. Even only thinking about that reminded her of someone else who'd been her, or rather Kirika's, friend. He had been killed in the streets of Paris by someone hunting Mireille. It wasn't really her memory, but she could still remember the smell of his blood when she crouched over him and the screeching sound as the car containing the murderer fled from the scene.

And now the only two real friends she had in this world had been put in danger by her as well. Closing her eyes for a moment she tried to stave of the feeling of impending doom that was slowly encroaching upon her. Maybe she should have left them yesterday after all. Maybe this wouldn't have happened then. No, she realized when opening her eyes and spearing her friends with them. The threat would have come anyway, the only difference was that she wouldn't have been able to explain everything this easy to Sara and Jane.

But nothing would happen to them. She would make sure of that. This life was hers, and she was the only one who would control what was going to happen. No two-bit wannabe assassin losers would make that choice. And once their negotiator arrived she would make that clear to them. If they looked at any of her friends wrong, they would die. If they said their names in a way she considered threatening, they would die. If they thought she was bluffing... they were stupid.

"Dawn? Are you gonna continue?" Sara suddenly asked, bringing Dawn back from the bleakness of her thoughts.

"Yes," she whispered, adopting Kirika's speech patterns. "The Terakans sent me a letter. A promise and a warning. Carrot and stick."

"What kind of letter?"

Instead of answering verbally, Dawn took the piece of paper from her pocket and handed it over to her friends, so that they could examine it.

While they were doing so, she studied their faces. Despite the fact that they tried to hide their reactions, she could still easily recognize when they reached certain parts of the short letter. Fortunately she had painted the Order as the most evil of organizations, which helped them accept her actions.

If only they knew what she really was. In the show she, no Kirika and Mireille, had been the heroes. The people who the viewer was rooting for. She remembered how all of that had happened. Remembered it with the clarity that came with her now nearly perfect memory. Yes, they could be seen as the good guys, or girls, but even in the show the darkness they really were shone through occasionally.

She might not be pure evil, but at the moment she couldn't reach more than a dark gray either. Something her friends would undoubtedly find out one day, and when they did their reactions to her wouldn't be nearly as positive.

"Do you have the pictures here as well?" Jane asked after she'd finished reading the letter for a second time. "I have a feeling they're pretty important to understand this. Because obviously they fear you'll kill their emissary, so their precautions must be pretty good."

Dawn looked in her friend's eyes, until she discovered the glimmer of fear and knowledge that she knew would be there. She knew. It was after all pretty obvious, and the photos would only serve as a confirmation. Handing them over, she continued watching Jane's face. Upon seeing the pictures her friend only closed her eyes for a few moments, before looking up at her again.

"No, the emissary won't come to any harm, and he will go home with the knowledge that nothing will stop me if they make true on those threats," Dawn stated carefully. She didn't want there to be any doubt in her friends minds about this. "Nothing will change that, not even embarrassing me in front of your parents."

The light teasing served its goal as both her friends offered a wan smile. "So, you forgive me then?"

"I didn't say that," she replied to Jane's attempt to lighten the mood even further. "I just won't let any harm come to you because of it."

Seeing their faces fall again, Dawn cursed herself for once again ruining the mood. She should have simply played along, not caring about anything else but cheering up her friends. Not knowing how to make up for her faux pas she kept quiet; immersing the room in silence while each of them thought about the consequences of this letter.

Except that wasn't what she was thinking off. There was something else on her mind right now as she once again turned to her dreams. Last night hadn't been the best where it came to progress in the dream, in fact she almost considered it a regression. The first couple of attacks she and Cordelia had been able to withstand, and she had figured that the presence of her friend's teacher would ensure the situation got even better.

No, not her friend. She was in the real world now, and here Cordelia was not her friend. Instead she was a Xander stealer. Alright, that wasn't something she could really blame anyone for; if she had the chance she'd do the same. Back to the dream then. When Cordelia had gone downstairs to open the door she had been awake.

It had been quite a revelation actually, she had never suspected that Cordelia would make people wait at the unopened door while doing her hair. Dawn hadn't needed long to get dressed. Putting on her own pants and only borrowing a shirt from Cordelia she had quickly followed the other down. And when the woman suddenly froze, she had recognized the buzz for what it was. Immortals. One, two, or even more wasn't something she could tell from Cordelia's reaction, but she didn't care either.

While Cordelia grabbed her sword Dawn faded into the shadows of the stairway, after disengaging the safety on her gun. Aside from a single gun and some spare clips, she had dumped the weapons she'd collected yesterday with their owners. She didn't have any immediate use for the weapons, and without any idea on how they'd been obtained getting rid of them had been the safest course of action.

She wasn't thinking about that though. Instead, while holding the weapon in her right hand, she focused on not being seen and prepared herself for the action she hoped wouldn't happen. She might hope that was the case, but if she had a choice in the matter there was no way that she'd ever stake her life on something that silly.

She'd relaxed when it became obvious that Cordelia's teacher was one of the people who'd arrived, although she didn't show herself. When the group had then passed her, she had been half-surprised that these observant people hadn't discovered her. Obviously the man's loud complaining about being on the Hellmouth had been enough to distract them though.

Of course, once she'd remembered where she'd seen the man before, she hadn't hesitated in showing herself. Now if only she could remember in which book she'd seen his picture! It was nice that she knew about it in the dream, but if she did she could look it up in the real world it would be a good step in solving the riddle of whether or not Immortals existed here as well. Oh, and incidentally if one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was still running around.

"So, what do we do?" Jane asked, being the first to break the silence.

"Are we in a lot of danger?" Sara added.

"I know of only two times that the Order failed to achieve their mission," Dawn told them.

That didn't seem to sit well with Sara. "And they've existed for like several thousand years right? That's not a lot then."

"Two times aside from the ones where you were involved, or total?" Jane asked after thinking it through a bit further.

"Total. And if they try to see if the third time's the charm, they'll be out of luck as well."

"Good," Sara nodded. Despite her bravado however, it was clear to Dawn that her friend was terrified. A problem that needed to be solved.

"The only danger right now concerns this emissary, once I've talked to him the two of you should be safe again."

"Until they want something from you again."

"No," Dawn shook her head purposefully, "I'll make it clear that this isn't acceptable."

"Except that won't work until you've spoken to the emissary, of which you don't know when it'll happen."

"True, but I doubt it'll be very long."

"Right," Sara nodded before turning to Jane. "How about a slumber party? I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather have Dawn with me when the assassins come calling."

"You know Sara, I think you just hit the nail on the head. That's an excellent solution, what do you think Dawn?"

She didn't know. Her friends knew about her, they had even been present during one of her dream episodes, but there was still something about sharing a bed with somebody else than Mireille. Or even sharing a room for that matter. On the other hand, she countered, she had to get over that fear sooner or later and she'd slept in this room yesterday as well.

And that was such a great experience that she really wanted to do it again. However, Sara's argument about keeping the two of them safe was a valid one. Reluctantly Dawn nodded her head in agreement, hoping that she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life.

Right, as if anything she did here could possibly worsen her track record. Watching her friends break out in relieved smiles Dawn wondered about them. They knew who and what she was, but despite that knowledge they were more than happy to have her stay over. Why? She was an assassin, not a hero. Buffy was the hero. No! Not that again. She was getting pretty sick of constantly comparing herself to her sister.

Yes, the other girl was the better person. Anyone doubting that should be shot on principle. There was also the fact that sooner or later they would be facing each other in a fight, a fight that she had no intention of winning. Being responsible for the death of her sister seemed like one of the worst things that could happen, and she would do anything in her power to prevent that from happening.

"Hold on, I'll go ask mom if it's alright for you two to stay here," Jane interrupted her musings.

"You do that girl," Sara answered while playfully shooing her friend out of the room. Dawn watched the girl go, before her attention was brought back to Sara as her friend spoke up. "How are you doing?"

"What?"

Sara shrugged a bit uncomfortably. "Well, I know that Jane isn't really concerned with the whole emotional stuff, focusing more on the how and why, but this can't be easy on you."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Dawn allowed a smile to come to her face. This was one of the things she liked about Sara, the fact that she was so sensitive to other people's feelings. At least if she allowed herself to show it. It was how the three of them had become friends. When arriving in Sunnydale she hadn't known anyone here, causing her to feel incredibly lonely.

Those first couple of days before she went to school had been terrible in that regard, and when she arrived at school it didn't seem to be looking up. The usual groups had already been formed, leaving her with no idea of who she could join. The popular kids, who looked like the kind Buffy always hang around with before she torched that gym, or maybe the geeks? Not that she considered either of those groups a real option, but they were the extreme ends of the spectrum.

Dawn had always preferred to stay out of the way of the more extreme groups, opting to remain in the safe and easy middle. Simply being who she was, and never worrying about how she was supposed to act. Unfortunately, she didn't know which group that was here, and first impressions were always important. Especially in a school.

Her problems had been solved when she had been approached by Sara, who then introduced her to Jane. The three of them had quickly become friends, and Dawn had been able to enjoy her time at school. While completely different in some regards, her newfound friends were far more similar than she'd expected, something she didn't really discover until later.

"You constantly amaze me Sara," she smiled. "And I keep wondering why you aren't ruling the school, nobody would stand in your way."

"Rule the school?" her friend laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. You can't rule a school, no matter what those cheerleader wannabes think. No, that's not for me. Besides, do you have any idea how my parents would have reacted if I'd started acting like Chase?"

"Cordelia isn't really that bad you know."

"In your dreams maybe," Sara laughed, before sobering. "Oh right, that's probably what you were thinking about right?"

"Among others," Dawn answered, before quickly trying to steer the topic away from the direction she really didn't want to discuss right now. "But despite the way she stole Xander from me, she isn't that bad."

Really. At least that's what she was trying to tell herself. Cordelia was alright, even Kirika had respected her during Halloween. There was no reason to believe differently, although Sara remained skeptical. "Really? Because, you know, I rather doubt that. I've known her for practically my entire life and I've always thought of her as useless. And remember, that's me speaking, Jane is even worse."

"Why haven't you ever told me this before?" Dawn asked.

"When would we have told you? I mean you barely knew the girl. I don't think you've ever spoken to her before Halloween, right?"

This was a point Dawn had to agree with. "True. I've only seen her, and Buffy never mentioned her either."

"Right, and after that you never mentioned you've suddenly become friends."

"Well, not friends exactly..." Dawn hedged, understanding what Sara was trying to say. "Okay, so you didn't really know I've spoken to her a couple of times until we discussed the dreams."

"Right, the dreams," Sara spoke up again. "Has anything happened there?"

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Maybe later."

Judging by Sara's quick agreement, the girl was obviously still trying to get her in a better mood. "Right. So, just wondering, what kind of training are you doing? I know about the martial arts stuff, but I don't even really understand why it's necessary."

Okay, this was a safe subject. "I was possessed by Kirika's spirit during Halloween, and because of the spell I received some of her physical characteristics as well. Of course, when the spell ended I kept the memories, spirit, whatever you want to call it, but I completely lost the physical stuff. It's like I know how to react to things, but I just don't have the training to do it."

"Ri-i-ight," Sara drawled. "Aside from the weird stuff, what you're saying is that it's like you read in a book how to do karate, but never actually went through the wax-on, wax-off phase?"

"Sorta, it's a bit more complicated than that, but yeah."

"Okay, I can deal with that. Still, does that mean you're training with weapons as well? Knives aren't that hard to find."

Dawn hesitated for the tiniest of fractions, but the sudden widening of Sara's eyes told her that it was probably too long anyway. "Yeah, I've done some training with knives."

"But not just knives, did you? You've got a gun."

"What's this about a gun, I hear?" Jane asked while walking back into the room, causing Dawn to quickly look around to see if her friend's parents were around as well.

When that wasn't the case, she once more focused back on her friends, where Sara provided Jane with a quick rundown of their conversation. "Anyway, I think she's got a gun."

"Well yeah, that makes sense, doesn't it? What with the things she did in LA and all? Where did you get it though?" This last part was directed at Dawn. "Dad won't even let me touch his, in fact he used to hide it somewhere I couldn't find it when I was younger."

"He stopped hiding it?" Sara asked surprised.

"Nah, at least he doesn't think so. I discovered it a while back, and as he doesn't know that he hasn't moved it again."

"Makes sense, but that still doesn't tell us where Dawn got hers."

As the two expectant faces turned towards her, she wasn't sure how she could get out of this. She didn't want to lie to them again, which basically left only one option. And it wasn't as if it was something they weren't allowed to hear anyway. "I got it in LA."

"Really? Did you find a weapons dealer there? One that actually sold to kids?"

"Eventually he did, and Dave led me to him."

"Dave?" her friends asked in chorus, making her curse herself for that little slip. Knowing how they'd react to a boy was the main reason she'd edited him out when she'd originally told them about the events in LA.

"Yes, he's a boy that tried to roll me. Once we'd established that wasn't gonna happen he helped me find what I needed."

"Is he cute?" Sara asked, while Jane went for the question she believed more important.

"Is he single?"

"Probably, to both questions."

That obviously didn't sit well with her friends. "Probably? What kind of judgment is that? How can someone be probably cute? Either he is, or he isn't."

"I didn't really pay attention to him in that regard."

Sara sighed heavily at hearing that. "Dawn, Dawn, Dawn. You've obviously got a lot to learn. It doesn't matter if you're in love, married, engaged, dating, or whatever. There is no excuse whatsoever for not checking out any guy who cames within reach. Do you really believe men don't look? I mean, are you planning on staying single for long once you dump Xander? Or will you move on to the next one?"

"I won't dump Xander. He's my soulmate."

Once again Jane rolled her eyes, she obviously hadn't changed her mind about soulmates. "Right. Anyway, whether or not he is your soulmate doesn't matter. You can't spend the rest of your life wondering how another man would kiss. And besides, we've had this discussion before, you never stay with a single victim for long."

"Victim?" Dawn asked indignantly, "Xander's no victim."

"Yeah, because he's dating someone, right? If he'd been single you'd probably be trying to find ways to get him to notice you."

"Maybe. But that's not the point," Dawn countered feebly. Why did they keep denigrating her relationship with Xander? He would marry her; no matter what they might believe.

Dawn spent an additional half hour trying to convince them that she was right, but by the time they went over to Sara's place she still hadn't succeeded. The three of them had enough experience with slumber parties to know exactly what to bring so it didn't take very long to grab what little Sara would need, and they were off to the next stop.

Walking through the park that would lead them to Dawn's house, the three of them were interrupted by a sight that Dawn had been both expecting and dreading. A single man was standing in the park when they crossed it. And noticing the three of them of them he started approaching, something that caused Jane to almost start panicking until Dawn calmed her down with words that shouldn't have that effect.

"It's only a Terakan. Don't worry."


Allen Pitt: Thank you for the review. I hadn"t even thought about what Dawn could do in return to Buffy... You offered an interesting possibility though. Well, you know by now that Dawn had a different reason for shooting Methos, but that doesn"t mean you weren"t right about one thing. If this Dawn was an Immortal, the Game wouldn"t last long anymore.

Darklight: Once again, thank you for this review. I already answered it in the group, but couldn"t say much at the time as it would have spoiled this chapter. So you see that, considering the information Dawn had, shooting Methos in the head wasn"t really that strange. A simple matter of protecting the people she cares about.