Chapter 29: Tensions
Disclaimer: No ownership. I'm just perpetually on my knees before the altar of Jossverse. :P.
Rating: I think I'm boring everyone to death repeating the same thing each time. See the first fourteen chapters if you haven't, yet :)
Summary: This is the summary of the last couple of chapters and anything important I thought needed to be added. :D.
AU from the ending of Season 4. The timeline has been skewed because of Cassandra and Daniel's appearance, which means that Faith awakes a year later than she should have with less confusion. Although the bodyswap takes place, she chooses to go to Angel willingly, parting on fairly good terms with Buffy. Spike helped save Buffy when he realized it wasn't Buffy coming on to him, but Riley didn't, and slept with her. Big verbal fight between Riley, Buffy, and Spike, ending with Buffy storming out, Riley attempting (and then giving up) following her, and Spike who has become rather confused as of late as to his feelings about her following her and looking after her. Not is all emotional angst, however, as there are glimpses of a new Big Bad arising. Such a Big Bad that the Council has gotten rather worried and is thinking of making contact with Buffy again. Two new characters of Frederick, Travers' nephew, and Elspeth, Travers' daughter, added. Elspeth thinks of Buffy as a person, Frederick as an old-fashioned Council person would. Buffy has also revealed some interesting thoughts about Spike as she struggles to deal with her confusion, resulting in an intriguing conversation with Willow. Cassandra, Dawn, and Daniel have also started vaguely discussing what they'd seen the previous night.
A/N (Thank-you very much to kim and charity for your reviews. Yes, Quentin has never been nice. Perhaps there's a reason I might have already hinted at:P. (man, I'm horrible at hints). And yes, I tend to think Buffy gets very hesitant about these situations because she doesn't really know how to deal with them. I'm also glad you like this fic, Charity. blushes. I'll try to get these out faster, I've just been very busy for the past week, but everything is settled now. And yes, I've got a few story ideas up my sleeve, but these won't happen until I finish this one. Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews, people. . They make a poor writer happy. :D
Now onto our regularly scheduled chapter. (Phew, took some time, didn't it: ) ) Enjoy!)
8 8 8
"He, she, it!" Dawn threw up her hands in frustration, and I knew how she felt. "Just… whatever. That's not the point. The point is that… it spoke of it before, remember?"
"Next time we're forced to take a little detour into yah-yah land," I said dryly, "We'll need to figure out a name."
Cass sat cross-legged, leaning against her bed as she fidgeted anxiously, her eyes following me as I paced. in her room, while Dawn bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, tense with unburned energy. I looked around at the walls, almost smiling through my confusion. Giles had reluctantly allowed her to 'brighten' up his former storage room a bit, when I'd nabbed the guest one, so in a typical Cassie fashion, she'd gone all out. The walls were a dreamy, light turquoise wave, with glistening glitter she had painstakingly mixed in. Despite the calming effect this had, however, we were all agitated. The midnight ritual had scared Cass, scared Dawn when we recounted it. And yeah.
It'd scared me.
I know, I know. It wasn't a macho thing, really. It wasn't. Serious. It's just… this time I couldn't even use the excuse that that was the first supernatural thing I'd seen in Sunnydale. I'd seen Kraggy, Spike in gameface, and a few other things since. But nothing could compare to this. Nothing.
On… from where… where we used to be, I remember watching the news. The wars… hell, they're still here now. On this one. I guess… this is so similar to the Earth I know I wonder sometimes if we ever left. The only thing that seems different is the supernatural stuff. Which makes the place very different, but the same stupid humans are still invading places for no apparent reason other than money, and bombs were still blowing up, and landmines were still wrecking the lives of innocents, and all the media ate it up. Well, I used to, in some ways I still do, think that those were the worst images I've seen in my life. But last night…
A waking nightmare.
Even those images on the news… bloody and mangled, you could always block out. After a while, you either became desensitised or just buried your head in the sand by turning the thing off, and losing yourself in the darkness of your living room, where no-one could see you shake. At least I did. Not that there was really anyone around to see me at those times, but you know.
But this. That… ritual. I couldn't. I couldn't begin to explain it. It's worse than the shivers down your spine during a horror movie, it was like all the blood in my veins had screamed out in protest. I know I'm not a good guy. Not one of those fancy heroes who'll sacrifice everything to reach their goals, not one of those compassionate ones who always find a way to make everything better. Heck, even though I try to be sometimes, I'm not one of those brave, dependable stereotypes either. It's harder than it looks. Especially when your heart has fallen out of your chest and is lying on the grass before you, beating out the shock and utter revulsion and fear that is enveloping you.
Am I making any sense? I don't know. I'd be surprised if I was. I'd be surprised if you even understood a little bit of what I was feeling. Okay, I admit it. I'm sheltered. Very sheltered. Brian used to joke and say I'd been living under a rock before I met him, and even then my view only widened fractionally. Of course, then there was that whole fiasco and Brian abandoned the gentle teasing and go full on…
I'm babbling.
God, I'm being like Cass, and babbling.
And I used to pride myself on being the stable one.
Cass broke through my thoughts at that instant, and my feet which had been unconsciously pacing all the while tripped on the edge of the carpet and sent me sprawling into Cass' lap. She squeaked to a stop.
"So should we… aah! Daniel!"
"Sorry!" I scrambled up, blushing. "Just… tripped. You were saying?"
In truth, I was kinda grateful for the reprieve. I often accuse Cass of thinking too much. Hypocrite. Me, that is. A hypocrite. Not her. Me. I'm a hypocrite… why am I bothering with this line of thought?
Cass straightened again, and blushed slightly. "Um… I was just saying, should we tell someone? Giles? Buffy? Spike? Willow or Tara? Xander or Anya?"
"I guess… Spike first," I said dubiously. "He's going to be the one who'll trust us the most. Then maybe Giles and Buffy."
"We could tell Willow and Tara as well, right?" Cass mused. "They'd understand… they might even be feeling the Hellmouth's disturbances. Buffy definitely would be. Slayer senses and…"
"We don't tell anyone," Dawn stated flatly.
It was the finality in her voice that got me, and Cass as well, by the looks of it. Just pure and utter determination. If I'd learnt one thing about Dawn when I'd got here, it was that she was determined. To the point of insanity sometimes, but hey, I admired that, in a way.
"But why?" Cass queried, surprised.
Dawn stopped staring out the window and stepped purposefully before us. Sometimes, I wondered if she ever really acknowledged she was the 'leader' of our little group, or if she just took control when she had to.
"Because we need to look at this further," her face lit up. "Come on, guys. This is the first chance we've had to investigate things ourselves… at the very least, we should try to find some leads before we hand it over to them."
I sighed. "And if we get ourselves killed? We're kind of out of our league here, Dawn. This is Buffy's realm."
I really should have noticed Cass gesturing frantically in an effort to make me shut up. Well, noticed before I finished the sentence. Dawn's eyes narrowed into slits.
"I've known almost as long as she has. This is my realm too…"
You'd think I'd have realized, I'm supposed to be the observant one. And a fifteen year old teenager almost frothing at the mouth barely two meters from where I was standing who was one of my best friends… kinda hard to miss. And yet still… Oh, I knew why she was angry. At least, partially. I won't be so arrogant as to say I understood her after only half a year or so. But my mouth…
And my fear…
"Yeah, you've known of it," I cut her off. "But it's different to that. Come on, you're not an idiot." I gestured around us. "We can't fight demons and stop apocalypses. We're not equipped to do this, Dawn. We're three fifteen-year-old kids."
"What the hell is age, anyway?" she demanded angrily. "Why does it have to command everything we do? Okay, fine. Maybe we can't fight demons. I didn't say we were going to. But can't we just investigate this ourselves before handing it over?"
"Cass," I swung to her. "Come on, this is ridiculous. Don't tell me you think we can do this." Somewhere, my eyes pleaded with her.
She shook her head slowly, and I felt relief flood through me so strongly I leaned against the table, but then it vanished, replaced by dread.
"I saw what you saw last night as well, Dan. And yeah, we can't fight against that. But all Dawn's suggesting is that we research a little. It can't harm us. And then, when we do tell them, they won't brush it off because we'll have the facts."
Dawn looked smugly at me. Cassie's eyes stared trustingly into mine.
"Just research?" I tried to save myself. "I thought you wanted to go investigate the Hellmouth."
Dawn snorted, and looked at her watch. "Anyway, I need to go. Mum said that I had to be home by five tonight… don't know why."
"See you."
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
"Flowers?" Willow asked, a raised eyebrow.
I watched as Buffy stirred the coffee in her cup, seeming mesmerized in the small whirlpool it created. My heart reached out to her. After the lecture, all three of us had agreed on a slow wind-down before returning to real life. I knew Willow wanted to do the best-friend supporting deal… and… and I wanted to be there for Buffy too. I empathized with the deep radiating hurt Buffy was attempting to hide. I could feel it coming off her in waves as we sat there, sipping the hot and bittersweet milk that was our way of connecting silently. A liquid bond that tried to soothe our nerves. I felt slightly left out, as always. That was to be expected though. We all know people in different ways. I knew aspects of Willow Buffy would never see… I blushed at the thought. And better never see, I smirked inwardly. But then, Buffy and Willow had been best friends since her first arrival in Sunnydale, and that was quite a long time to be best friends.
Buffy exhaled. "Yeah. Flowers. It kind of figures, doesn't it?" she added, somewhat bitterly. Not acidly. The anger was directed both ways, and so was the guilt, in her mind. "I think I scared him last night, and he's too scared to meet me face to face at the moment."
"What h-happened?" I asked, trepidation in my voice. What could have been so bad to make an ex-soldier afraid?
Buffy shrugged, but a monument of sorrowing pain seemed to weigh her down. "I kinda beat up some vampires before staking them, but it's what I usually do anyway…"
Unease steeped her for a moment. "And after he left, Spike came along."
My ears would have pricked if I'd been Miss. Kitty Fantastic. "Spike? He followed you, then?"
"He was acting all kinda weird…" she looked far away, fingering the sleeve of her denim jacket before taking another sip. "Seemed like he was worried, but not so much with the brutal vamp-slaying as with me. He offered me his precious coat…" she trickled off, and laughed this time. "But you've already heard it in the big exposition, haven't you, Will?"
Willow chuckled. "I think it's kinda cute."
"Will!" Buffy looked shocked. "We're talking about Spike, here!"
"Okay, cute in an I'm-the-Slayer-of-Slayers-and-I'm-coming-after-you-as-well-with-my-80s-look-and-bleached-blonde-hair kinda way."
"Evil," Buffy shuddered and gulped some of her coffee. "You forgot evil."
"I-I… I think that's almost questionable these days," I offered. "He's helping so much with everything."
"We've been through this so many times," Buffy sighed. "And we've said 'we need to enjoin' again so many times as well."
"Well, we do," Willow perked up. "I…" she hesitated and glanced at me. "Sorry, baby."
"It's okay," I half-smiled. "I can understand, kind of. M-m-magickal bonds are very important. A-and it looks like it could be very useful as well."
"It's not just that," Willow's eyes took on the faraway look that I identified with her. I loved that look… loved every part of her. "It's almost as if it's meant to be like that… oh, I'm not explaining that very well, am I?"
"Don't worry, Will," Buffy laughed. "I couldn't have said it much better. And it's strange… Spike's been able to initiate it a few times with just us. Maybe I should try…"
She was cut off by her mobile bleeping. "Hang on a second," Buffy frowned. "Sorry guys."
She flicked it open gracefully and moved it up to nestle next to her ear. "Hello? Buffy Summers here… Oh, hey Giles."
Willow shot a curious glance at me, and leaned in closer in an effort to listen in.
Buffy laughed uneasily. "Giles, you say that when… WHAT! The…?"
Instantly, her face grew grave and intent as Giles reeled off a stream of information that was just inaudible. Willow and I shared a worried glance as she turned away slightly, and slipped effortlessly into Slayer mode. It was strange to watch. An instant, unconscious relaxation of some muscles, the contraction of others, and her body shifted almost imperceptibly into one ready for an apocalypse. I still marvelled at it.
"Got it. See you in ten."
She snapped it shut and looked at us grimly. "Sorry guys, we have to meet Giles at his apartment now. Call Anya and Xander. Something's come up."
8 8 8
When Dawn had left, I moved over to him. He was like a stone sculpture now. I knew he didn't even realize his brow was furrowed and he looked as if he wanted to bolt.
"Hey, Dan."
He startled out of his reverie, and the lines smoothed away slightly. "Sorry… what?"
I couldn't laugh, not when he had that look on his face. "I'm afraid as well, you know."
He shook slightly. "I'm not afraid."
I shrugged, and wrapped my arms around myself. Suddenly, it seemed a lot colder in the room. The tension from the almost-fight still crackled almost visibly. "Well I am. We've got every right to be afraid, you know. It's scary, what we saw."
He swallowed. "You always could see through me, huh?"
I laughed softly. "Hardly. You're one who could always read people. What's up?"
He looked back at me, strangely now. Swallowed again, dry mouth rasping.
"You know. It was just that feeling. That smell. I shouldn't be scared, I know I shouldn't. Not by just the smell. But that knife, whoever was holding it. God, Cass. It was so evil. Couldn't you feel it?"
"Yeah," I said as stoically as I could without shuddering at the memory. "Yeah, I could."
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