Hello Nurse! I'm back, with a brand new chapter of my favorite posted story! And in record time!

I have been noticing a certain aspect of my story has remained that same- that would be the reviews. I really enjoy feedback, and I don't want to have to force my friends to give me reviews. They do that anyway.

So please, if you read this, just post a little something about what you liked, didn't like, what jumped out at you, general questions about what I'm going to do, things like that. I really would appreciate it if you could!

Now read!

(echo)

(echo)

Restoration

Chapter 3

When Cassandra arrived the next day, Willow was out getting groceries.
Dawn answered the door and screamed with happiness. Cassandra would

have covered her ears, but they were currently holding her things.

"Cass! My gosh, it's been, what, like, forever!" She gave Cassandra the
bear hugof the century.

Cassandra giggled and set her stuff down in the living room. "Only
about a year, ten months and nine days, but who's counting?"

"I don't know, but they'd better say hello to me," Buffy cut in.

"Hiya, Buff," Cassandra said, giving Buffy a big hug. When they broke
apart, Cassandra had on a sympathetic smile. "So sorry to hear about
Joyce. I wish I could have come for the funeral, but I was in the
clutches of a majorly contagious epidemic- I really hate finals."

Buffy nodded. "It's okay. You would have come if you could."

Cassandra cocked her head, looking at Buffy in a peculiar way. "Oh,
yeah, how was the dying? That must have been a blast."

The Slayer was taken aback that Cassandra would know about something
like that. But of course, Willow had neglected to tell them that her
baby cousin was a telepathic witch. Well, they'd known about the witch
part, but the rest was still unknown.

Dawn, as usual, cut the awkward moment short. "You must see my room,
Cass," She begged. "I swear, it has undergone a total makeover since
last time."

"You? Do a total makeover," Cassandra laughed, "This I have to see."
And the two teens rushed upstairs.

Buffy stayed by the front door, confused. She was sure that Willow had
told her of all the people she'd informed of her death. Her younger
cousin hadn't been on the list.

'Oh well,' Buffy thought, shaking her head, 'She must have told her on
the phone yesterday. Maybe Dawn told her.'

As Buffy turned to go back, Willow stepped through the door.

"Hey, Buff, did Cassandra get here yet? It's after three."

"Yeah, she just got here. She's grown a lot." Buffy added. "What is
she, fifteen?"

Willow smiled. "No, she's a year younger than Dawnie, remember? I can
still see her when she was little, trying to get me to read to her.
Last time I saw her she was trying to get me to teach her how to make a
pencil dance by itself." Willow looked very wistful. "And now she's on
to conjuring. She even told me that she'd done a protection spell. She
was worried that it might backfire."

"She's like a smaller version of you," Buffy commented, "Only less with
the magic, less shy, longer hair, and she doesn't stay out all night."
Buffy gave a playful frown in Willow's direction.

"Don't forget, Buff, you stayed out all that night too."

Buffy cringed at the thought of the other night. Spike had called her,
wanting to meet her for some weird reason of his. She'd blown him off,
but he'd caught up with her when she'd left the magic box and gotten
her to punch him. He'd punched her back. His computer chip, the one put
in him so that he couldn't harm anyone, had apparently decided that
Buffy wasn't as human as before she'd died. So they ended up sparring
themselves into an abandoned building. Then, Buffy had kissed him. The
next morning, yesterday, she'd woken up in the basement of that
building, which had fallen down. Naked, as it happened. She'd had sex
with Spike. He rubbed it in her face, and she left to go home. Tara had
stayed with Dawn all night, since neither Buffy or Willow had come
home.

Willow set the groceries down on the dining room table. "Must have been
one hell of a night for you, Buff. You came home all bruised. Was it a
vamp you were fighting?"

At that point, the girls came back down. Willow went back outside,
calling after Buffy, "I forgot the peanut butter in the car!"

"What's up with her," Dawn asked.

Buffy frowned. "No idea. You'd think she'd want to say hi."

"You'd think," Cassandra said.

Suddenly, through the back door, a wrinkly red-skinned demon burst in,
holding a ball of fire. It pinned Buffy to the wall by the door,
looking at her sinisterly.

"Where is the Key, Slayer?" It asked. Cassandra grabbed Dawn and
practically flew up the stairs with her. They ran into Dawn's room and
shut the doors, sliding the dresser across one of them, then wedged a
chair under the knob of the other. Then Cassandra sat down in the
middle of the floor, cross-legged.

"Sit down, Dawn, and grab my hands." She said, calmly but hurried.

"How did you know I was the Key, Cass," Dawn questioned.

"No time to talk, Dawnie, just sit down. Once I do this, I'll answer
your question." Dawn obeyed, scared that her friend had changed so
quickly. They clasped hands, and sand poured out of the air above them,
diverted by an invisible dome, and formed a circle around them. A light
came from the sand and became a dome of its own, glowing a bright blue.
Cassandra slumped a bit, breathing as though relieved. She released
Dawn's hands.

"How, Cass? How did you know? About me?"

Cassandra paused, knowing that Dawn would be scared if she told her
that she was telepathic, and that she had read both her and Buffy's
mind in that instant the demon had said what it had said. It was only
the natural reaction to something like that. So she went with the
simply intuitive response. "Well, the demon said The Key, and I'm not a
Key or anything. Sounds mystical or something. Besides, when he said
that, assuming it was a 'he', Buffy looked at you. Like she was scared
for you. But, being pinned to the wall as she was, she couldn't protect
you. So I did," She added, gesturing to the dome above them.

"Oh," Dawn stated.

Downstairs, the demon still had Buffy in a hold, and she was starting
to lose her vision. "I won't let you hurt Dawn," she said, much more
bravely than she felt.

"You misunderstand, slayer. I do not want the Key of Worlds."

Willow came in through the front door, peanut butter in hand. She
dropped it when she saw the demon that had her friend hanging above the
floor and yelled a word in latin. The demon let go of Buffy and she
slid to the floor as he writhed. Before he could blow up, assuming that
was what was going to happen, the demon ran back out the back door.
Buffy coughed heavily, and took very deep breaths. Willow helped the
Chosen to stand up.

"What happened, Buffy? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Buffy choked out. "He came in, asking for the key.
Cassandra and Dawn ran upstairs. I think they barricaded the doors. I
don't know."

"He wanted Dawn? Why?

Buffy shook her head. "No. Not Dawn. He called Dawn the Key of Worlds.
I think he was talking about somebody else. He didn't even look at
Dawn, or Cass. He just went straight for me." Buffy sat down at the
table, still catching her breath.

"I'll get you some water," Willow offered, and started for the kitchen.

Suddenly, a scream came from upstairs. It was clearly Dawn's voice.

"Oh my god," Buffy breathed, getting up.

"No," Willow ordered. "You're weak from the choking. I'll take care of
him." With that, she ran upstairs.

The demon was indeed in Dawn's room, having seemingly come through the
window. Cassandra dome force field was holding strong as he threw
fireballs at it. Both girls were sitting on the floor. Dawn had her
arms over her head, and Cassandra was whispering words under her
breath, either to strengthen the field or to kill the demon. The
younger was staring directly at the demon, hatred and anger and power
like Willow had never seen on her little cousin's face.

The demon saw Willow, and figured he needed to get it over with, so he
made an extra-large fireball and threw it at Cassandra and Dawn.

As Willow watched, Dawn looked up, and the fireball broke through the
field. Dawn, in a truly uncharacteristic heroic fashion, tossed
Cassandra aside and took the blow, which was smaller than it would have
been, if not for the blue dome. Cass knocked her head on the bed frame,
and Dawn flew back into the wall and hit her head. Willow screamed, and
Buffy appeared in the doorway, shocked. She fell to the floor, crying,
in denial of what she'd seen. Neither she nor Willow saw the still
Cassandra begin to glow the softest hue of blue.

Hikari: I will plan onposting the next chapter rather soon, but if I don't, you people had better get me some feedback. My therapist isn't exactly helpful with this... She keeps on threatening to smash the non-reviewers with her meat tenderizer- and she said something about donut torture...

Kimori: Hello readers! I am Kimori, Hii-chan's therapist! She has been feeling lonely, so I gave her some hallucinogenic pills. At least she can have friends that keep her company in her head-

Hikari: - if I ever take them. I told you that they are strictly for math class and study hall.

Kimori: Right... I guess I forgot about that... Well, anyway, readers, please review for Hikari's story! Otherwise, my great big smasher of the animal flesh may become hungry for you!

Hikari: Ignore her. Just review, please.