"Daughter of Rosenberg..."
Summary: One year after the events of "Groom of Rosenberg" Buffy the Rosenberg Monster and her honey have returned to ask a special favor of their creators Rosenberg and Praetorius...While Tara faces the more or less Big Bad...
Disclaimer: Would Joss want his name associated with this? I think not...But anyway all BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...Though his brother Mort gets nothing...
Archived at the Cicelyverse page of the Buffy Rebecca verse,
(After long delay, the continuation…)
Part XXIX...
\A grim, lip-pursed Dawn sitting beside Jonathan in his car as they drove away from Sunnydale General, ostensibly to begin "negotiations" with Buffy and William…
"I won't trust his word as far as I can throw him." Dawn, fuming. "You know he's just going to use us to get his hands on Buffy and Will."
"Yeah…Jonathan nodded. "After all, it's his job…Duty thing…And he believes it's protecting Buffy's soul I'm sure."
"Bullshit. He doesn't give a damn about Buffy's soul or Will's." Dawn, firmly. "They played Cicely for a fool in 1880 and now he's staying true to Watcher form."
"Dawn, I think he means well…According to his lights. And he didn't know Cicely…"
"Mother trusted him and he's betrayed her every step of the way…Never told her about Cicely or Dad…And I would bet you everything I can earn in my false life's future that he knew what and who I was. That bastard!" she slammed a hand on the dashboard.
Sorry…She looked sheepishly at Jon's stare and the broken glove compartment door…
"I'll pay for it if we can't fix it, Jon. But you understand…I coulda had my parents back safe years ago…" she sighed. "We coulda had a life together."
"Or, you might still be waiting in Heaven to be summoned…" he noted.
"Not Giles' doing either way. We can't let him get Mom and Dad, Jon." She insisted.
"Sooner or later…Especially with the chances Buffy takes…" he sighed. "By the way I gotta tell ya… It still throws me…You calling William the Bloody, Spike…Dad."
"William Walthrop is not Spike." Dawn, sternly. "Though Spike was remarkable for a vampire demon, thanks to my father's remarkably staunch soul." Arch look. "And, sure ,as to them being caught sooner or later…She loves them all so much…And they're taking advantage. I tellya…I could go the Evil route I'm so angry."
Ummn…"That's not to say I'm mad at you, Jon…" she noted, a bit anxiously. "I get that it throws one to have a vampire's daughter for a fiancée. But you've been great about things…And I don't forget it must be jarring…The energy key/false human thing…"she eyed his face. "Just remember, whatever I am, I love you."
"And that's the one that throws me most of all…" he smiled to her slight frown… "I mean, thank you, thank God or whatever Power That Is…But…"
She sighed… Not the age gap… "Jon, I'm…"
"I mean…You're really a little old for me. Human, you're over one hundred thirty if we go from 1880. And energy key wise…Lord knows." Grin…
"Very funny…" she eyed his grin. "Some guys would be grateful a mature and beautiful woman loves them…" sniff.
"And I am, Dawn…Amelia…Ms. Walthrop-Summers." Smile.
"But are you really sure you want me…?" he shrugged. "Me?"
"You're good and brave and you overcame your darker side…Plus my mother thinks very highly of you." She grinned.
"Ah, an arranged marriage…" he nodded.
"Lucky for you, I'm British-born…We do things that way." arch smile.
"God, yes…But as to the rest…I'm a human who betrayed his ethics and the Slayer who's protected his miserable life all these years…I've got no cause to be all high-and-mighty as to your dad or anything else on your side." he sighed. "Anyway, careful…" he cautioned, mock solemn.
"Round here, talk about joining the Evil team gets you an instant visit from some demon lord like D'Hoffryn with a sell-your-soul bargain rate deal." He smiled at her wanly.
"Yeah, yeah…I know…It's ok. See? We're even…We've both had our flirt with the Dark Side." She patted his arm. "But, Jon, we gotta find some way to keep him from finding them…"
"We could talk to Faith…She worships Buffy. Literally." He suggested.
"But she also tries to do it the way Buffy would…" Dawn sighed. "And Buffy would follow Giles' lead, even if she didn't approve, unless her one hundred plus years dead husband were involved…And maybe even then. Jon, we gotta get them to leave Sunnydale, for good."
"And you know that means…" she eyed him.
"I'm about ready to see new places…" he smiled at her. "And whatever else I am, I'm a good enough computer whiz to get a job in most places that function in the 21st century."
"I think you'd've make a great Tom Edison type in the 19th or 18th…And will be the next Gates or Jobs in the 21st." she beamed. "But…" she looked in the rear view mirror… Hmmn…No obvious pursuit…
"You know Faith and Giles are tailing us or having us tailed…" Dawn looked back through the rear window. Still nothing…Obvious.
"I would, in his shoes…" Jonathan nodded. "I mean that would only be logical…" he eyed her look.
"I guess…But what do we do? Can you like, shake em?"
He stared…"If you mean like Steve McQueen…Or Gene Hackman…?"
"Who?"
"Vin Diesel…" he tried. "Fast and Furious…"
"Oh, yeah…Yeah, exactly…"
"No." firmly. "I'm not a stunt driver and I wouldn't risk you. Besides…" shrug to her miffed…If you really loved me…Look. "Giles wouldn't be so obvious."
"You mean he's using magics to track us…"
"Most likely…Though given he's got a tracker concealed on my car…" smiling nod to her look. ",,,I'd say he's hedging his bets. But I might have a couple of things…Uh…" apologetic look… "…from my darker days…"
"Great…Cool… What you got?" she asked. "And tell me you disabled the tracker…?"
"Well…You might find this pretty dark. And the tracker's in control mode for when we want to send them off. I figured it was best to let them think they had us."
"How…Dark? You wanna turn us into rats? Couldn't we be birds or cats?"
"No, not that sort of thing…" he put up a hand. "But it involves delving into Warren's creepiness, if you're ok with it."
"Oh, don't tell me you revived him. Or there's a clone of him running around…" she sighed, shaking head.
"No, but he left something behind…Which we can use…With a little occult adjust…If you don't find it too creepy."
"You're freakin' me a little, sweetheart…" grin. "And I hope that 'sweetheart' freaked you a bit."
"Oh, yeah…In the best possible way…" he nodded. "Can you bear a little more freakin'?"
"Freak on, fiancée…" she beamed, taking his free arm.
"First, though, as to the tracker. I say we take a nice long drive, while I explain, then have it continue on a scenic tour of Sunnydale."
"Good enough…" nod.
"Maybe get a little dinner…"
"That'll drive em crazy." Grin…
"And pick out your engagement ring…"
Whoa…
"Of course, I'd like to ask you properly, after dinner…Unless the freak level's getting too high." He glanced at her.
"Oh, no…I mean, yes. It's yes, though you can ask properly and all…" she noted, anxiously, beaming at end.
I knew he'd get round to doing it right. Gotta see if I can get a camera photo for Mother…
….
"Jesus…" Dawn blinked, staring… "I can't believe it."
"Jesus." Her voice repeating in the room, a rather long-neglected warehouse storeroom to which Jonathan had driven them… "I can't believe it."
"Mears made a me-bot?" Dawn shook head, staring at her twin, a blank-faced Dawn in a slightly dated pink and brown jacket outfit. A bit dusty with the passing of months as well, Jon apologized, brushing the robot off…
Hmmn…That never did look good on me, I tole Mom, as in Joyce mom…Never suggestin' I'd forget you as my mom as much as Mother, Mom…
I really oughta work that one out sometime. Joyce-Mom, Buffy-Cicely-Mother, maybe?
"Mears made a me-bot…?" the robot repeated, in Dawn's voice, still blank look.
"He thought he'd need to complete the set of Summers' girls once he got the Buffybot back from William that time." Jonathan explained, a bit sheepishly as he reviewed files running on a small screen of the robot's portable controller/programmer, an admittedly rather elegantly small hand unit, Dawn noted. "He never intended to let Will keep her, just train her to be a good enough Buffy copy to fool your friends. Then he seizes and holds or kills the Slayer and rules Sunnydale with his own Buffy. Neat plan in its slimy way…Sorry." Jonathan put up a hand. "I just couldn't destroy it. I did think it might come in handy for you and Buffy someday, though to be honest, I can still appreciate his tech wizardry, just as I admire Willow's resurrection skills and Andrew Praetorius' cloning ability. It's the nerd in me."
"It's ok…" she frowned, eyeing Dawn-bot. "It's ok." The robot repeated in her tone a bit less blankly.
"Is she improving?" Dawn looked at Jonathan.
"Learning circuits…The more she hears her original, the better…"
"Well, I need a mo. Can you…?" Dawn eyed Jonathan. Who nodded and turned to the robot as it repeated "Can you…"
"Dawn-bot, authorization code Kirk-Omega-Trelaine…Shut down."
The robot froze…
"He never quite got her ready before the Buffy-bot was destroyed and then he kept her here, in storage, just in case he ever needed a spy or worse in your ranks... I am sorry I didn't tell you and Buffy or Giles but it was a bit awkward and I was waiting for the right moment, then Glory, and after that things were busy. And I had to keep with Warren and his body parts business, my little atonement spy job for Giles and Willow, till Willow got a little crazed with bringing Buffy back anyway she could."
"No, it's ok. I'm glad you didn't tell Giles, for sure." Nod as she walked round the immobile robot, viewing at all angles. "You don't think she's too short…I am older now."
"She was designed to make a few changes based on probable growth/aging curves. We might need to adjust a bit but she looks pretty darned on the money."
"She's pretty lame…Can you jazz her up a bit?" Dawn frowned. "Right now she couldn't fool Glory. And can she take a shower? She's filthy. Which is good for you, boy." Stern look at the anxious Jon, then wan smile.
"I just left her as is and checked the battery unit every year…I swear." Return smile.
"Good." Firm nod.
"Actually it's you who can jazz her…We'll need to fill out her memories with data from you. Stuff you and the guys know and your personality, just enough to fool Faith and Giles for a while while you go meet Buffy and Will."
"Hmmn…" Come to think of it I bet I could do a better job on her than that jerk Mears or even Willow with Buffybot…
"But if she's an android or whatever, and I'm the human/energy key, won't magics tell us apart?" Dawn noted.
"Not with the right aural cover…At least not the sort of stuff Giles would have to use to keep me from catching on to the trace." Jonathan smiled. "He may not think much of me but he knows I can detect a strong aura or heavy magics. Besides, he might expect me to find the tracker or even try to throw him off with simple magics but he won't be expecting this."
She eyed him, frowning…
"We gotta work on that self-esteem, Levinson. Dawn Amelia Walthrop Summers-Levinson needs her guy to think well of himself. Without losing his charm and becoming an overbearing Angel of an arsehole, natch."
("What?" Angelus glared. "That foul imp of Heaven…Wait…? Dru? You did say the child's not truly human, eh? Did that freak of occult and human nature actually say that? Or are you employing 'creative license' here?"
"Sir." Spike sternly addressed Angelus, startling them all. "Miserable human or occult being as she may be…You are speaking of my daughter, if Dru's visions are correct."
"Oh, this is just too much…" Darla chuckled as Angelus glared at Spike.
"Well, Father…" Dru began…)
…
The things I've had to stoop to to maintain my position on the Council and at Wolfram Hart, Wesley sighed as he waited in car near the Doublemeat Palace where Clem worked. A shift change due soon and Clem listed on the day shift roster he'd managed to scan early that morning when stopping by for coffee.
This definitely being the lowest. Glamming a woman's form to fool a transformant demon…Not even a true evil type, just some poor schnook who must've pissed off someone powerful a while back. A rather decent type by what he'd seen. He eyed himself in the rear view mirror, a young serious-looking blonde Englishwoman in suit.
Worst of all, I had to wear real heels, a blouse, and makeup, he sighed.
Still, I must say, he eyed him/herself again…
Not too shabby, at that. Smiling at her/himself.
Clem emerged, in overcoat, hat carefully pulled down…
Ah, my "quarry"…Poor sot…Well, lets pray he's either not heading right to them or If we must torment poor Buffy and William, we go quickly to them and get it over with.
Of course, I could try to warn them Angel is on their trail…And a bit in Ahab mode these days over that lost arm. On the other hand, Giles was not sure Buffy wasn't dangerous, perhaps even in the grip of Demonity since her resurrection/conversion when he contacted us to get Angel to come and see her that first time. And one does never know how these things will work out…Meddling with the Dark Forces usually not being wise or successful.
Well, Angel said surveillance and surveillance is a Watcher's prime duty. Perhaps if they seem all right when I can get in close I can consider matters. He/she emerged from the car, adjusting hair and suit briefly.
Lord, don't let me have to pee anytime soon…
….