Chapter Eight
Joyce smiled as they all sat down for Thanksgiving dinner. Buffy did the honors and began carving the fat, golden turkey. Dawn smiled warmly as she surveyed the wondrous thing that was the spread. Doylies, she mused, candlesticks, the good china, the silverware. It all seemed too good, too perfect to be true.
"Smells good," Xander commented as he watched Buffy using the large carving knife.
"Yes, it all looks delicious," Giles smiled affectionately at Mrs. Summers.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without your help," Joyce replied, graciously. "I'm so lucky to have such wonderful daughters..."
The table, the room, the smiles, all dissolved into a deep, yawning darkness.
"If you need anything, you can find me in deepest thoughts." The voice was no more than a whisper.
Grab my knee and look at me and try to tell me I'll be home soon,
Safe in my bed and unstoned. I'm tired of me this way...
As Dawn's eyes opened, her first thought, groggy as it may have been, was that she had to stop passing out all the time. The music was her next perception, and within seconds, she was back to being fully awake. She was in fact getting quite adept at regaining consciousness.
With this discovery. She realized that the last memory she had was of plummeting off a two hundred foot cliff into the Atlantic ocean. She started and quickly looked around her. She recognized the place as the airport terminal in New Orleans. She was seated squarely between two large goons in black suits looking very unhappily at anyone passing them by who so much as glanced at the young woman. "Excuse me," she asked of one of them, "uh..." the question washed away in her mind. Where am I: New Orleans. How did I get here: teleported. Do you work for Angel: Yes. What do I do now: we don't know. The questions answered themselves as they arose in her mind. "Thank you," she said at last.
The goons looked to her, then to each other and nodded. "You can contact us again at this number," the one handed her a business card. On it was printed a stylized spread wing and the cell phone number of the goon service. They stood and walked away, melding into the black suits of the New Orleans travelers.
Dawn was just sliding the card into her purse, which somehow had managed to return to her lap, when she heard a familiar voice above the din.
"Buffy?" Dawn stood, realizing immediately how dead she was.
"Dawn!" There was very little indication that her older sister was relieved to see her. As Buffy, Spike, Xander, Giles and Willow surrounded the sixteen year old, she suddenly felt very sheepish and embarrassed. Her whole 'quest' seemed like a stupid teenaged prank.
"Yeah, that's right!" Buffy was nodding, trying to let as much anger and annoyance onto her face as she could, "you should feel stupid!"
"What were you thinking?" Xander put in.
"Y- you could have been kidnaped by demons or eaten my vampires, or- or- eaten by demons and kidnaped by vampires!" Willow looked very distressed.
"Or you could have been run over by a good old fashioned car!" Xander threw in.
"Totally irresponsible behavior," Giles was saying.
Spike, meanwhile, was standing on the outskirts of the group, looking very much like he didn't know any of them.
"I just don't know what you were thinking," Xander emphasized.
"-or -or a diseased llama," Willow continued, "or you could have been-"
"Will," Buffy stopped her, "I got it," and Willow stopped.
Dawn kept her eyes on the ground and tried not to insert any unnecessary I know's or you're right's.
Finally, when the group was all yelled out, Buffy grabbed Dawn and hugged her tight. She held her there for a long moment then seized her shoulders and demanded, "Now give me my credit card, we're buying plane tickets back to Los Angles."
"I'm not leaving," Dawn answered simply, realizing with no joy that her purpose here, whatever it may be, was not finished.
"What do you mean you're not leaving?" Buffy demanded, angrily.
"Here's your credit card," Dawn handed the plastic to her sister, "sorry, I charged so much on it. I'll pay you back."
"What'd'you mean you're not leaving?" Buffy demanded again, jamming the card angrily into her pocket.
"Buffy," Dawn explained, trying to keep her tone rational, "I didn't come here for some stupid teenage... thing. There's something very important I need to do," the explanation sounded dodgy at best, "and you can't be around for it."
Buffy was silent for a moment, appearing as though she was seriously considering her sister's words. Then she roughly grabbed Dawn's arm and started back towards the lines of people. "We're going now, and we'll discuss this at home."
"I'm not going anywhere," Dawn argued, struggling against her sister's superhuman grip.
"We're going home, and that's the end of it," Buffy said, no amusement in her voice. The rest of the group looked very much like they supported her.
Dawn managed to break free of Buffy's iron grip, only to stand her ground. "Buffy, the only way you're going to get me on that plane is if I'm unconscious." She regretted those words for the six seconds after she said them, and the two minutes after she woke up on the plane that it took her to shake off the chloroform.
There were no words for the anger she felt as the plane made its way above the cloud deck back to Los Angeles. She didn't say one word even as they drove from the airport to the motel that had been signed in Buffy's name. It was early morning when Buffy and Giles had decided that it would be better for everyone to get a good day's sleep before the next evening's journey back to Sunnydale.
Dawn was already asleep, the blinds were drawn and Willow was watching the door, to ensure she did not decide to sneak back to New Orleans.
Buffy, in the adjacent room with Xander, Giles and Spike, were discussing what sort of demonic possession might have overtaken the littlest Summers, when the door opened a crack and a man wearing a balaclava strode in.
Buffy jumped to her feet, seizing her crossbow and the others did likewise, ready to take on this new foe. The figure, however, backed up hastily, removing his sun-blocking apparel.
"Angel?" The exclamation was unanimous.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded of the astonished group.
Buffy was speechless. "Wha- what are we doing here?" She stammered. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you answer my calls?" She lowered her crossbow absently, the others taking their cue from her.
"I didn't want you involved," her former lover explained. He pocketed his balaclava and closed the motel room door behind him. "This is none of your business."
"Like hell it isn't!" Buffy shouted, then lowered her voice, suddenly mindful of her sister sleeping in the other room. "You're responsible for her rampaging around America, obliterating oracles?"
"No," he snapped back at her, "well, yeah, the- No," he said finally. "I had no idea she was coming until she was here."
"They have things called phones. You call me, you tell me where she is, I come get her," Buffy hissed angrily. "That's how this works."
"That's not how this works," he countered. "You can't help her with this."
"With what?" Buffy raised her voice again. "I am this close-" she began, then realized she had nothing to add. "This close," she finished, keeping the anger.
"Dawn is a Specter," Angel announced suddenly, as if to put an end to the conversation.
There was silence for two long minutes.
"A what?" Xander asked, finally.
"Good question," Buffy turned to Giles.
"Ah- a Specter," Giles was caught off guard. "A Specter is classified as any being that is not evil but does not have a soul, to speak of."
"Dawn thinks she doesn't have a soul?" Buffy demanded, confused. "Where would she get a crazy idea like tha-" she whirled on Spike. "You!"
The blond haired vampire suddenly entered the conversation, looking very defensive. "Hey, don't look at me like that. She was all ready to go bustin' her butt lookin' for the damn thing the minute she chained me up-"
"Dawn chained you up?" Angel asked, a slight bit of amusement tainting the seriousness of his eyes.
"While I was sleepin'," the other vamp quickly added. "I didn't tell her anything but the truth."
Buffy's mind was racing through the events leading up to Dawn's disappearance. She recalled the emotional night that her sister had been killed, albeit temporarily, by the spider demon. "It was my fault," the Slayer said softly.
Everyone stopped, dropping their accusing glares from Spike. "How so?" Angel asked.
"That night-" she began, "after we brought her back, she... she asked about where I went when I died," Buffy's tone became self accusing. "Why didn't I see it?" She sat down heavily on the bed. "She wanted to know what Heaven was like. I am such a knob."
"It's not your fault," Giles sat down beside her.
"Buffy, he's right," Willow was standing at the door, having been drawn by the raised voices. "That night, Dawn was doing all kinds of research about the soul and Specters, and I might have accidentally let her see some stuff that might have been pretty convincing."
"The point is," Xander concluded, "the Dawnster thinks she doesn't have a soul. We need to convince her otherwise... Right?"
"See, that's the problem," Angel argued. "She's right. She is a Specter. She was conjured, not born. That's what she's looking for. That's why you have to leave."
"How do you know all of this?" Buffy asked at last, looking up at him from her place beside Giles on the bed.
"I've done my own research," Angel replied a little weakly. "And I know some people."
"People or demons?" Buffy asked quickly.
"People," Angel assured her. "And demons," he added. "But good demons: Specters."
"Tell me you're not leaving her in the hands of these demon friends of yours," Giles began.
"His name is Loki," the vampire soothed, "and he's not a demon, he's a Specter."
"You handed my sixteen year old sister over to a demon," fury was rising in Buffy's voice, and her eyes. She stood from the bed, retrieving the crossbow. "Tell me where he is, and if I find out he's done anything to her in any way-"
"Buffy!" Willow called from outside. The redhead dashed back into their room. "Dawn's gone. She climbed out the window."
Buffy's anger nearly exploded. She pointed to Xander, Spike and Giles. "You three, go and find her," she glared menacingly at Angel. "You're coming with me."
Spike led the others, including Willow, down the street, Dawn's scent leading him. There were no words between them as they strode towards the cemetery, but at once the three humans gripped their weapons.
Angel led Buffy at a slower pace, resentful that she held him almost at crossbow point. "Buffy, you know I would never let anything happen to Dawn. She's like my little sister."
"According to you, she's no one's sister," Buffy snapped. They walked across the terrace towards the high iron fence that surrounded the cemetery everywhere but the gate. She stopped, shaking her head. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!" She sounded almost hurt. "You didn't trust me to know what was best for her?"
"It's not about trust," Angel consoled. "No one but vampires and Specters can understand what it's like... to be empty that way."
"So you let her freak us all out, and then hand her over to some creep who also has no soul? How's that helping?" The hurt was gone, replaced with straight anger.
"Loki is a good man," it was Angel's turn to feel hurt. "He helps people like Dawn. It's what he does." He stopped, making her turn. "And for the record, I'm a little annoyed that you don't trust me. After all we've been through-"
"I don't trust anyone when it comes to Dawn's safety," Buffy interrupted firmly. "And obviously I am right not to."
"Give Loki a chance," Angel defended. "He's the safest person on the planet who can help her."
"Tell me where he is," Buffy countered, "and when I meet him, I can decide that for myself."
"I don't think he'd appreciate that," Angel muttered, then added. "I have no way of knowing where he is. He can teleport."
"You said he was human," Buffy frowned, scrambling up the fence.
"Willow's human," Angel countered.
"Point taken," Buffy waited as Angel jumped down off the fence. "Well, if Dawn wants to see this guy again, I'll be there with her to meet him. It's as simple as that." She motioned Angel to continue forward, among the tombs.
"I don't think either of them will appreciate that," Angel muttered.
"Well, that's just too bad," Buffy snapped. "It's my job to protect her. I will not hand her over to some creep who can teleport her who knows where without even meeting him." She rounded a large crypt after Angel to find a man standing beside the vampire.
"Then I believe introductions are in order," the man said. "I am Loki."
"Dawn!" Willow shouted into the night as they wandered among the tombstones.
"Will you stop that," Spike snapped. "She's running away from you. I don't think letting her know you're here is the best idea."
"You haven't lost her, have you?" Xander asked, after Spike had stopped for a moment.
"Course not," he replied. "I know exactly where she is."
"Well?" Giles demanded, glancing back around them, the axe held at the ready.
"I'm trying to decide if I want to lead you to her. She's got one hell of a case for getting the bloody hell away from you people."
"Think of it this way," Giles said calmly. He brought the axe blade to Spike's neck. He blinked, the threat clear.
"Alright, easy," Spike frowned. "Just seein' if she's through runnin', that's all." He took a step back away from the weapon's steel edge and pointed to a crypt to the left. "She's down there, and I bet she knows we're here."
"Dawn!" Willow called, running to the door of the crypt. She slipped through the double doors and hurried down the shallow steps to the main chamber. It was dark, but Willow could see that the chamber was little more than a landing to a flight of stone stairs spiraling down into some basement far below, wrapped in darkness. She looked over the edge of the stairs, cautiously, considering there was no railing, and peered down the central open column to the blackness below. Her eyes then caught sight of the figure sitting on the stairs, staring at the far wall.
"Dawn!" Willow started towards her.
"Go away," Dawn mumbled. Willow stopped.
"Dawn we're all worried about you," she tried but got no response. "Y- you shouldn't believe all that stuff about Specters a- and souls and that.." she began again, sounding very unconvincing in her own ears.
"Just leave me alone. I want to be alone."
Willow, relatively certain that there was no other way out of the crypt than the way she had come in, sighed. "Alright. I'll be outside if you need me."
Dawn brought her knees up to her chest and laid her head across them.
Willow started to leave but then, on an instinct she walked down the few steps and sat beside Dawn. There was no indication at first that Dawn noticed her, so she put an arm around her shoulders. "You know we all love you, right?" There was nothing but sincerity in her voice now.
"It's not about that..." Dawn answered, her face obscured by her long brown hair. "I love you guys too," she said, an edge of desperation in her voice, as if it were very important that Willow understand this.
Will stroked the girl's hair and brushed the strands away from her face. In the dim light she could see that Dawn had been crying. "Why didn't you come to us? Why did you run away?"
Dawn shrugged. "I don't know. It was just a feeling I had. Of where I had to go."
There wasn't much that could be said to that, Willow decided. "Okay, sweetie, I'll be outside if you need me."
Dawn nodded. "Thanks." She wiped her eye and gave a weak smile.
Willow made her way back outside to where the others were waiting. She noted that it was nearly morning. Spike was looking edgy.
"Well?" Xander prompted. "Is she alright?"
"She wants a little alone time," Willow answered. "We should wait till Buffy gets here." But Spike was already heading towards the crypt entrance.
"Spike," Willow warned.
"The bloody sun's comin' up," the vampire explained. "You don't want to me to get toasty, do you?" And with that he entered.
He found his way easily in the darkness. "Hey, nibblet," he said casually, appearing interested in the stonework of the walls. "Nice pad you got here," he said.
She managed a small chuckle.
"These steps taken?" he asked, standing near her. She shook her head, saying nothing.
He sat, exhaling and staring with her at the grim wall on the other side.
"You're Loki?" Buffy demanded, her crossbow ready. There was nothing even remotely suspicious about him. That made Buffy very wary. He wore light brown khakis with a white silk shirt, which in itself was evil, but other than that, his brown eyes, his scruffy blond hair and his shadow of a beard made him look like a struggling interior decorator. Buffy guessed his age to be forty one, maybe forty two.
"And you're Buffy Summers," Loki extended a hand. "Your reputation precedes you."
Buffy did not take the proffered hand, but did lower the crossbow. "What exactly do you want with my sister?" Her tone didn't have the same threatening undertones she had tried to include, but his shirt was just so distracting.
Loki took a breath. "Only that she allow me to help her find what she's looking for."
"And what exactly is she looking for?" Buffy inquired.
"Her immortal soul," there was a hint of amusement in the corners of Loki's eyes, enough for Buffy to pick up on.
"Something funny?" She asked, her grip tightening on her weapon.
Angel stepped forward, separating them with his tall form. "No, there's nothing funny," the vampire replied. "Well, we're introduced, now Buffy we should get going-"
"What exactly do you know about Dawn's soul?" Buffy ignored Angel and sidestepped his attempts to shield Loki from her.
"I know everything about Dawn-" Loki began, but Angel interrupted him.
"It's getting late," Angel glanced at the sky, "we should all get inside-"
"How do you know everything about my sister?" Buffy demanded, raising her weapon, circumventing Angel's desperate attempts to intervene.
Over Angel's protests, Loki answered simply, the amusement always present in his eyes. "I created her."
Buffy froze. Angel dropped his hands to his sides and sighed loudly. He glared with irritation at the man beside him. "Yeah, it was a nice harmless little secret we had once..."
"You made my sister?" Buffy had lost all feeling in her trigger finger, in all her fingers, so she lowered her weapon as a precaution. There was a fuzz of confusion settling on her mind. This was a monk of Dagon? But he was so... ordinary. Buffy opened her mouth to ask a question, but there was no single one which materialized on her lips. "Wha..?" Was all she managed.
"I was introduced to the Order of Dagon some years back when I was studying inter-dimensional travel, searching for my own soul," he explained. "It came to my attention that there was a way for any old person to travel freely between the realms, so I studied with the monks at their monastery, for six years. They encouraged my interest," he dropped his gaze sadly, "but they never allowed me to use the Key. It was their sacred duty to protect and keep it from the hands of any who would use it, good or otherwise." He looked back up at Buffy, who still had a sort of vague shocked look on her face. "Then, about two years ago, it came to the Order's attention that a hellgod was about, in this realm, looking to get back, searching for the Key. I offered to help the monks and they allowed me access, for the first time," his eyes lit up, "it-" he stopped for a moment, "it was beautiful." He sighed. "So I obtained everything I needed, including your DNA, and created... her." He finished.
"You altered our memories?" Buffy asked, astonished.
"Not quite," he winced, trying to explain, "it was more like I altered history. Altering everyone's memories would have been risky, and difficult. So I just fiddled with the time line a bit."
"And now, coincidentally, you're back to... what? Check up on her?" Buffy was now looking alternately between Angel and Loki.
"No. I'm here to correct what I overlooked then," he said, the amusement leaving him. "I am a Specter," he said confidently. "And one thing about Specters is that we cannot create anything with a soul. Dawn-" he stopped and dropped his gaze again. "Dawn is my daughter."
Buffy raised her eyebrows. What could she say to that? "Does she know?" She asked.
Loki shook his head. "No, and it will stay that way. She will find her soul like anyone else, and then be fully human. I'm just the middle man."
Buffy took a breath, resolved now, calm. Anger bubbled up again and she turned on Angel. "You were just going to keep this from me?" She demanded.
"I- we-" he stammered, backing away.
"I asked him not to tell," Loki intervened. "I didn't want any of you involved. I feel like this is sort of... my project. I started this, and I have to finish this. It is important that she not know of my role in her life. I thought that the fewer people who knew the truth, the less likely it would be that she find out."
This seemed to satisfy the slayer. "So why did you tell me?" She asked, calmly.
"When I looked at you," Loki said at last, "I knew you were her sister. You deserved to know."
Dawn and Spike stood in the basement of the crypt, the darkness all around them. Dawn couldn't pin point what made her choose this crypt, this basement, but she strode forward, to one particular enclave, holding one particular member of this very wealthy, very dead family.
Above the niche upon which lay the dusty bones, was carved,
Winnie Lyleton
1851 - 1923
Stark and silent, and oft to pray,
In deepest thoughts, our lady lay.
In deepest thoughts. The phrase dragged itself up from her dream. Slowly, with Spike standing near, she dropped to her knees and peered inside the enclave, past the flattened rib cage, covered in filamentous, dried flesh. At the very back of the shelf, something glinted.
Dawn squinted and reached for it. Her arm was too short. Carefully, to a sound of confusion from Spike, she drew her whole upper body into the niche, coughing slightly at the dust. She grimaced as she reached past the corpse, careful not to touch it, stretching her arm to reach the glinting thing.
In deepest thoughts, our lady lay. Dawn's fingers brushed the smooth surface of whatever it was and there was a little jolt of energy. Not unpleasant, but unexpected. Dawn took a deep breath and lunged at it, her fingers closing around what she determined to be an orb of some kind, about the size of a golf ball, made of something like glass. The electricity of the thing stabbed into the muscles of her hand almost immediately, making it impossible to drop it. She ground her teeth, trying to get herself out of the enclave, when a mind-numbing pulse of energy shot through her arm.
Spike's eyes widened as Dawn disappeared in a flash of opalescent light.