Chapter Two: A Phantom Arose

Buffy gaped at the woman standing in front of her in total silence. She sank into the nearest chair as Giles stepped forward, glasses coming off as he said delicately, "Joyce Summers had no other daughters."

"I didn't say I was Joyce's," Luna replied easily. "Although, can't deny I wish I was." She looked at the people around her and said, "Hank had an affair seventeen years ago. The woman got pregnant, Hank got scared, and left." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Paid my mom child support every other month but when she died, I stopped getting the checks."

"You're lying," Buffy whispered. "My father wouldn't...he didn't..."

"Abandon his kid," Luna finished for her as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I would say that I'm kidding or that I wish I was wrong but I've got proof." She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, she tossed it onto the table and after some hesitation, Xander picked it up.

"Tests are all conclusive," he read aloud. "Hank Summers is 95.5 the father of Baby Summers."

Luna uncrossed her arms and said quietly, "Look, I know that you don't have to believe me..."

"We're not your sisters," Buffy said sharply. "You could've forged that or-"

"You can't forge DNA test results," Luna retorted. "Or birth certificates. Or the checks he sent each month. I know this is shocking and hard Buffy but I'm not the bad guy all right? I just wanted to meet you. You and Dawn."

"You can't possibly be my sister," Buffy insisted as she got to her feet. "Or Dawn's. There's no way."

"Why?" Luna tilted her head to the side. "Because Dawn's the Key?"

Immediately, Buffy attacked and everyone let out cries of alarm. Luna caught Buffy with ease, her body moving smoothly, the short skirt flaring out as brilliant silver light poured out of her left hand, keeping the Slayer in place against the wall. She snapped her head to look behind her as the others rushed forward, Willow's eyes turning black. Her right hand lifted, the same silver light pouring out of it and causing the other's to stop in their tracks.

"Don't bother," she said lowly. "I'll knock all of you out before you can even blink." She cracked her neck from side to side as Buffy struggled, her mouth open in a silent scream of anger. "I didn't want it to be like this," she added. "I really didn't. I wanted to explain. Make you understand."

She inhaled and exhaled out of her nose as she said, "I'll let you go Buffy but you can't attack me. Not you or Spike or Willow. I can break everybody else's necks with a snap of my fingers. They won't die but they'll be in a lot of pain."

She turned her head to meet Giles' eyes and her lips pulled back to reveal white teeth, a mockery of a smile. "I told you who I am," she said. "Now, sit and I'll you what I am."

- -

Giles picked up the cup of tea Anya had prepared and studied the young woman sitting across from him and the others. After letting them go from whatever magic it was she held, Luna had sat down in the nearest chair and waited. Hesitation had filled him but he sat down as well, motioning for the others to follow suit. Anya had immediately put on a pot of hot water in the coffee maker, preparing tea for everyone while Luna waited.

As soon as everyone was settled, Luna had begun her tale. She told them of a power that was bigger than anything in the universe, of how that power had been dormant for millions of years, and how she had been chosen to be the wielder of it.

"I have been called many things in the past," the young woman said. "Demon, Satan's Spawn. Witch. But the truth is, this power I hold has no name. No form. It's inside of me but it's also me. I control it and I manipulate it. It isn't good nor is it evil. It's balanced."

"Giles?" Buffy turned wide eyes to her Watcher. Giles sighed wearily, rubbing his temples as he said, "I have never heard of such a power. Rumors of things other than vampires and demons have been heard but there's not a basis of fact or concrete evidence."

"Just because you can't see it," Luna said. "Doesn't mean it isn't there." She held out her hands, spreading them out and said, "I was four when I first Saw. I saw Merrick approaching Buffy at Hemery. I saw him die and Buffy do what she needed to do..."

"Stop," Buffy ordered her voice trembling but Luna merely looked at her with sympathy written in her eyes. "I saw it all, Buffy," Luna whispered. "I felt it. Every single moment of your life, I dreamt it. I wrote it down. I didn't want to forget that. Any of it." She got to her feet, hands waving in the air as she spoke, sadness tinging her voice.

"When Dawn appeared, I knew who she was. What she was," she continued. "I knew she wasn't completely human or completely yours either. I knew she was a part of me and I knew I had to find you both. I had to protect you both..."

"Enough," Buffy said throwing her chair back. "I've heard enough. Dawn. We're going home."

"Buffy," Dawn began but Buffy cut her off with a shrill, "We're going home!" as she spun to face her younger sister. "Now."

Dawn hurriedly got her things together and followed Buffy out of the Magic Box. Luna stood stiffly and her shoulders sagged as the door slammed shut behind them. She bowed her head, lips pressing together in a thin line before straightening. She looked at the others gathered and said, "If you want to find evidence of this power, look inside the Codex. There should be a prophecy."

Then, she turned and walked out.

- -

Buffy finished staking the vampire, her hazel eyes hard with anger and pain. She didn't pause as the dust settled, merely walked briskly through the cemetery. Spike stepped out of the shadows and exhaled the smoke from his cigarette as he trotted after the blonde warrior. Silently, he watched her stake two vampires with ease and finally spoke up, saying, "Just let it out Slayer. S'not healthy to hold any emotions in."

"I don't need emotional lessons from you Spike," Buffy snapped as she spun to face him. "You have no emotions worth anything."

Irritation flickered across the Cockney vamp's face and he said, "Right. Evil, soulless thing. You know, I don't know your father and I don't particularly want too considering he abandoned you and Dawn as soon as your Mum was in the ground."

"He had business," Buffy began but Spike snorted as he tossed his cigarette on the grass, crushing it beneath his foot. "Business?" he repeated with a sneer. "Right. I don't suppose that had anything to do with the redhead waiting in his car? I'd sure like to do business with her myself."

"You're disgusting," Buffy hissed and Spike snorted as he looked up at the dark sky, stretching his neck from side to side. "I'm disgusting," he said. "But he's not for leaving a fabulous woman like your Mum and leaving you to take care of the Bit all on your own? I'm disgusting because I actually give a bloody damn about what happens to the two of you?"

"Excuse me?" Buffy snapped. "You're a vampire! You don't have a soul so that caring crap isn't true!"

"And you're so bloody narrow-minded," Spike growled as he stepped forward till he was nose to nose with her. "That you've pushed away everyone who even got close enough to make you care. Angelus couldn't love you without a soul so that means all vampires are evil, unemotional creatures right?" He snorted. "Newsflash love: Angelus was a mean, sadistic, selfish bastard as a human and he's a mean, sadistic, selfish bastard as a demon. It just so happens that you made him feel love which he thinks of as a weakness."

He straightened. "And as for my caring about you and the Bit?" he said. "Yeah, I care. For some reason, I respect you Slayer. I respect the fact you've lasted this long and you've danced with many a Big Bad. I respect that. I get it." He narrowed his eyes at her. "But what I absolutely fuckin' hate about you is that you put too much stock into normalcy. Soldier Boy left because you are stronger than he is and he knows it. It had nothin' to do with you."

He turned and strolled away, his coat flapping behind him. "Just 'cause you're the Slayer," his voice carried in the wind. "Doesn't mean you can go around and think the world revolves around you. 'Cause really? You are nothing but a stupid, scared little girl."

As soon as Spike disappeared from sight, Buffy let out a tiny gasp of pain and sank to the ground. Tears spilled down her face as she wept bitterly and from the shadows, Luna shook her head and vanished in a flash of light.

- -

The next day, Dawn paused as she saw Luna standing in front of the Magic Box. A cigarette dangled from her fingers as she blew smoke into the air. Her head was thrown back as she sat on the sidewalk, knees against her chest. She brought the cigarette to her lips and left it there as she studied the people across the street. Hesitating, Dawn stepped forward and Luna said, "How was school?" without turning to look at her.

"Fine," she said warily remembering Buffy's warning that Luna was unstable and she shouldn't speak to her. Luna dropped the cigarette and crushed it with her shoe, saying, "That Nathan guy ask you out yet?"

Dawn's eyes widened and she said, "How did you-?"

"Kind of a mind reader," Luna tapped her forehead as she turned to look at her slightly, hazel eyes glittering in the sunlight. "You're thinking about him twenty-four seven and it's distracting."

"You can read my mind?" Dawn squeaked.

"I can read everyone's mind," Luna jerked her chin towards a couple sitting at a table across the street at a small café. "That guy's thinking of proposing and the girl? She's been pregnant for four weeks and doesn't know how to tell him." A smile twisted her lips. "He'll marry her and they'll have twins."

"You don't know that," Dawn said and Luna laughed as she looked up at her. "Wrong," she said as she blew smoke rings into the air. "I do know that. I know lots of things Dawn. Tons of things that'll come to pass and that I can't stop. But the things I can stop? I'll do my best to make sure that they don't come to pass."

Dawn swallowed and hugged her books to her chest tightly as she said hesitantly, "Are you really my sister?"

"Bet your ass," Luna replied as she got up, dropping the cigarette and crushing it beneath her foot. "I know exactly when you were made and how you were made." She turned and looked at her with sympathy. "Do you want to know?"

Dawn's breath caught as she realized what Luna was asking her. No one had asked her if she wanted to know her origins; no one had even mentioned it and Dawn had slowly been wondering if anyone would ever ask if she wanted to know...

"Yes," she said before she could stop herself. "Yes, I want to know. Who I am. What I am."

A slow smile spread across Luna's face and she said, "Good. Take my hand." She held out her right hand and Dawn placed hers inside. There was a flash of silver and green light, and the two girls were gone.

- -

Buffy entered the Magic Box and went towards the back as she called, "Is Dawn here yet?"

"No," Anya frowned as the Slayer stopped in her tracks. Turning slowly, she said, "What do you mean no?"

"She didn't come here at all today," Anya replied surprised. "I thought she'd gone home..."

"Where could she be?" Buffy asked frantically. "Oh God, what if Glory has her? What if something happened?"

"Maybe she's at Spike's?" Anya suggested as the door flew open and Xander came with Willow and Tara. A smoking blanket pushed past the three and Spike tossed it to the ground, stomping out the small fire. He grimaced and paused as he realized Buffy was staring at him with horror and Anya with a frown of concern.

"Wot?"

"Dawn's not with you?" Buffy asked slowly a sinking feeling in her stomach. Spike shook his head and said, "Haven't seen her since yesterday. Why?"

"Oh God," Buffy whispered as panic began to fill her.

- -

Dawn was everywhere.

She could feel it, all of it. Time and Space and Love and Hate. Everything in this world was in her. She could hear languages of all kinds, lost and found, old and new, floating around her. She could feel Luna inside her and could hear her thoughts...

She could feel Buffy and her power, steeped in darkness and in light.

Spike and his power, thrumming steadily beneath the chip.

All of it.

She was everywhere.

She was everything.

She was the Key.

And Glory...

Glory was there.

And Dawn grew afraid.

- -

The sudden explosion rocked everyone off their feet, Buffy flying back towards the training room, Anya thrown against the walls behind her. Spike flew into a nearby bookcase and it fell on top of him as the other three were thrown out the window, glass dissolving into sparkling shimmers of light.

In the middle of the shop, stood Dawn. Her eyes glowed bright green and her hair flared out in a wave of molten bronze. Beside her, Luna stood, eyes pure silver and electrical arcs crackled around her body, molding itself to her shape. The two young women held hands tightly as they glowed and suddenly, Dawn let out a primal scream that blew out the remaining glass into shards.

As sudden as the scream began it stopped and Dawn slumped forward into Luna's arms. The older girl staggered and sank to the ground, her eyes fluttering shut as the light surrounding her vanished into a shimmer of silver.

They both fell to the ground in a heap, arms and legs tangled.

- -

Buffy glanced over at Dawn and Luna, her hazel eyes filled with worry and irritation. She turned to face Giles who had been downstairs during the entire thing and said, "What did she do to Dawn?"

"We won't know until one or both of them wake up," Giles said wearily as he looked over at the two unconscious young girls. Dawn was curled up to Luna's side, no one having been able to remove her. Each time someone tried, green light would flicker around the youngest Summers girl and Luna's hands would glow silver.

He sighed and said, "Honestly, if we could just find any information about this power Luna wields..."

"Did you look in everything?" Buffy asked and Spike frowned as he rubbed the back of his neck. He cracked his neck from side to side and exhaled, saying, "I'll be back in a bit. Think I'll patrol before the night gets any later."

Buffy started, guilt filling her as she realized she hadn't thought of patrolling. "I'll come with you," she offered but Spike waved her off. "S'all right Slayer," he said as he walked towards the front of the store. "I'm going by the butcher's anyway so don't worry about it."

Buffy hesitated but nodded. "Thanks Spike," she said and the vampire paused long enough to look back at her. Something flickered in his eyes and Buffy wondered to herself why she'd never really noticed the rich color of them.

"No problem Slayer," he said breaking the spell, and disappeared from her sight.

Leaving the Magic Box, Spike paused long enough to light a cigarette. As soon as he rounded the corner, three brown robed figures scurried after him. Inside, the Slayer and Giles kept discussing what could have happened.

Luna's eyes snapped open, shining completely silver as her back arched, mouth opening in a silent scream. Buffy gasped in shock at the sight and watched as her alleged sister stayed that way for a few seconds before falling unconscious once more. As soon as she was lying down again, Dawn's eyes fluttered open and she winced as she sat up, saying, "Oh...wow. That hurts..."

"Dawn!" Buffy hurried over to her and Giles left the room, reappearing with aspirin and water. "Here," he said handing them to the girl as Luna groaned and rolled onto her side, her eyes fluttering open. He immediately handed the other girl aspirin and Luna took them with a quiet, "Thanks..." as she swallowed them dry.

Dawn winced at the sight and held out the water but Luna waved her off as she got onto her knees, shaking her head, and said, "Hell, that's going to ring for a few hours..."

"What the hell did you do?" Buffy asked icily and Luna glanced at her for a moment before sighing. She closed her eyes and said wearily, "I'd rather wait until tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

"Too bad," Buffy said. "My friends are in the hospital and Dawn was almost killed-"

A harsh laugh split through the air as Luna said, "Killed? Not even close. That was just a wake up call what I did."

"And what was that?" Giles asked carefully as he removed his glasses and peered at the girl. "Because it looked like Dawn was in pain."

"She wasn't," Luna said shortly narrowing her gaze at the Watcher. "Believe me on that. She just learned what she is."

"Excuse me?" Buffy said and Dawn sighed wearily as she waved her hand. "Hello? Standing right here," the youngest Summers said. "And is perfectly fine. No pain other than a mild headache. And for some reason, I really want some cheese." She looked confused for a moment before shrugging. "But I'm fine. I promise."

Buffy eyed Luna warily before turning to look at Dawn. "You sure?"

"Did I not just say so?" came the exasperated reply.

"What do you mean she learned what she is?" Buffy demanded after studying her sister for a moment. She spun to look at Luna and watched as Luna sighed before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She paused long enough to light one and blew the smoke out into the air, saying, "Okay. Let's see if I can explain..."

She gathered herself together, ignoring Buffy's impatient tapping of her foot and finally said, "Fuck it." before reaching out and grabbing Buffy's hand, then Dawn's. Her eyes glowed silver briefly, Dawn's glowing green, and Buffy's flickered red before she yanked her hand out of Luna's and stumbled back with a pained gasp.

"What-?" the Slayer managed and Luna calmly let go of Dawn's hand as she looked at her sister. The Seer let her lips curl upwards slightly, revealing her teeth as she said, "Yeah. Dawn's called the Key for many reasons. But the main thing is, she opens portals to anywhere or anyplace."

Giles frowned and said, "And Glory is after her because she can open portals to her home world, I suspect. A dimension of hell?"

"Got it in one," Luna retorted as she brought her cigarette to her lips. "I'm tired. I'll see you all tomorrow." Before anyone could stop her, the young woman had vanished in a flash of silver light. Buffy stared at where Luna had stood, her face slightly pale as she blinked slowly. Dawn hesitated as she looked at Buffy before crouching down to look at her.

"Buffy?" she asked her voice trembling with hesitancy. "Are you okay?"

Buffy blinked as she looked at Dawn before whispering, "Oh Dawn. I'm so sorry."

A tiny smile lit Dawn's face and she said, "It's okay. Let's go home."

The Slayer nodded and rose to her feet as she looked over at her Watcher. Quietly, she said, "I'm going home. If the others ask, I'll talk to them tomorrow..."

"I'll take you both home," Giles offered as he followed them to the front. Grabbing his keys, he added, "Go wait in the car for me..." as he handed them to Buffy, who smiled in thanks. As soon as the two went outside, he immediately set to locking up the Magic Box as best as he could, considering the window was blown out and so was the front door. Anya had insisted on taking the money before going to the hospital to be treated so he didn't need to make a stop at the bank...

Taking the trash to the dumpster behind the Magic Box, he frowned as he saw something lying in the alley. A glint of silver that had him crouching down and picking it up. The lighter was expensive, he could tell by the craftsmanship and he knew that he'd seen it somewhere before...

"Giles?" Buffy's voice startled him and he turned to look at his Slayer. She frowned at him and said, "What is it?"

"Have you seen this before?" he asked as he held out the lighter. Buffy's eyes widened as she stared at it for a moment before saying softly, "Yeah. It's Spike's lighter. Where did you find-?"

"It was here," Giles frowned deeply. "In the alley."

Suddenly, a growl sounded throughout the alley, causing both of them to freeze. Buffy was staring behind him, her eyes wide with sudden fear and he began to turn, gasping as he stared into a pair of red eyes. The monstrosity wore an outfit made out of leather and had no hair, its body moving in a crouch over the ground, similar to a large jungle cat. It's skin was pale, completely white and evil poured off of it in waves.

"Giles," Buffy breathed. "Move back, behind me..."

He began to move but stopped as the creature snarled, revealing pointed yellow teeth as it stared at them. It had no nose, just two slits in its face and evil poured off of it in waves...

It attacked.

Buffy let out a cry and Giles shouted, throwing his hands up to defend himself when a bright crackle of electricity arched through the air, driving back the creature. He blinked as Luna appeared above him, her eyes glittering silver as she said grimly, "All right. Payback's a bitch, you animal..." as she landed lightly in front of him. The young woman grinned wolfishly as the monster snarled at her, swiping with a claw. She curled her fingers up in front of her and said, "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..."

And she lunged forward, the light pouring out of her brightly, causing Giles to close his eyes as he turned to look at his Slayer. He could hear snarls and Luna's grunts as she fought the creature, could feel his heart slamming rapidly into his ribcage as he heard a howl of pain, and then...

Silence.

When he opened his eyes, he watched the creature dissolve into a pile of dust, slowly and carefully. Luna stood behind the pile, smoke curling from her hands as she blinked at him and Buffy, her skin glowing bright silver. Then, her knees crumbled beneath her as she fainted, the silver light vanishing from her skin.

Next, Chapter Three: The Centre of my Sinful Earth...