Chapter 7 – Finding the Pieces
Ah, the pitter patter of clompy teenage girly feet, potentials are up and moving. Back to bed. Then the basement door creaked open. Or not… Dawn came prancing down the stairs. "Morning Spike!"
"Hey little bit," he replied as he begrudgingly sat up "What's up? Why the early wake-up?"
"Well unless you wanna become a part of the potential training slash info session I suggest you go hide elsewhere."
"Kinda sunny out nibblet" the vampire said as he stretched on his cot, and threw his t-shirt on. "Where ya spect I go?"
"Well Buffy's out for her morning run, so her rooms free, I pulled the shades for ya."
"Kay then, thanks for the warning little bit," Spike sauntered toward the stairs, dressed in black as usual.
"No problem, I think the potentials are a little afraid of you, since they wanted me to come down and move ya."
"Glad ta know someone's still afraid of me."
"Well they're easily scared, everything trying to kill um and all."
"Thanks," he said half-heartedly as he donned his leather jacket "You think they'd be more scared if I tried to eat one?"
"Yeah, but then Buffy would get all pissy," Dawn suggested "You don't wanna make her mad at you after last night."
"What's that now?"
"Nothing."
"Big sis tell you something I should know?"
"No, I haven't even had a chance to talk to her since the spell. She ran off to patrol with you in such a hurry."
"So what'chya gettin' at?"
"It's just, I still think you got a shot since like every dimension practically screamed that you two should be together," she finally blurted.
"Thank you! That's what I was trying to bloody tell her!" Spike blurted back.
"I mean, isn't that why she pulled you away to go patrolling so quick?"
"Kinda what I thought at first too." He replied sourly "But once I brought that point up, she almost bolted on me."
"Hmm, well that's what I saw yesterday. And havin you around permanently, kind of awesome in my mind."
"Love you too little bit." Spike said sweetly and kissed the young woman's forehead. "Just gotta figure out how to make me mortal but still strong enough to fight by the slayers side, then were golden."
"That's her big hang up, you're gonna out live her?"
"More or less, she don't wanna re-live the love & loss drama of Mr. Broody."
"Oh," there was a moment of silence followed by the door creaking open, and five different eyes peeking down to see if Dawn had woken Spike yet. "Oh, remember I'm kicking you out." She reminded with a little smile. With that the duo ascended the stairs. Dawn then ushered the potentials down into the basement, and Spike snuck past the mob up the stairs into Buffy's room.
After he closed the door behind him Spike took a long sniff of the room. God, Buffy… your scent is intoxicating in here. Then out of curiosity, he stepped up to the bed and looked under it by the nightstand, sure enough he saw the same box from the pheromone happy dimension. So that wasn't so far fetched. He opened it up just to see; yup same one. He chuckled to himself as he put the box back in it's hiding place. Then he laid down on the bed and placed his coat over himself like a blanket and drifted back to sleep.
When Buffy returned from her morning jog the house seemed so quiet. "Hello?" she called out.
"In here Buffy," Willow hollered from the kitchen, Buffy finished kicking off her shoes and passed a small mountain of books on the dining table on her way to the kitchen where Dawn & Willow were sitting at the island drinking some tea.
"Brain break?" Buffy asked
"Pretty much," Dawn agreed "We've been at it since you left."
"Where's everyone else?"
"They're doing that weapons demo with Xander & Anya, and I think Andrew is trying to help." Dawn explained "Looked rainy so Xander didn't wanna do it outside, or in the living room where breakable things live."
"So they're all downstairs?"
"Yup."
"So how's my little ball of sunshine coming?"
"Still workin' on it." Willow underwhelmingly stated "I've kinda been working on this for 2 years on and off, and now that I'm focusing on it, with help even," she drifted as her head gently plopped against the counter.
"Hence the tea," Dawn said as she rubbed the frustrated which's back.
"So what's the hold up with it? Maybe a fresh Buffy brain can help."
Face still smooshed against the counter Willow replied "Well I can make light, no problem," she pulled her head up and faced her friend by the stove. "Thing is it's not true sunlight so it won't make vamps go poof, maybe just blind um. It has to be an actual sun to dust um."
"Making the school building and the ground above the cavern disappear impossible?" Buffy asked as she crossed the kitchen to the fridge.
"Maybe could, but it'd be slow and loud, providing the army plenty of time to kill us or run for cover." Willow responded.
"So making a giant skylight won't work…" Buffy thought taking a big gulp from the water she grabbed from the fridge.
Willow was deep in thought, then her eyes grew wide. "Hey, what if we went to that dimension you saw Dawnie and asked other dimension Willow how to do the spell?"
"Maybe, but isn't interdimensional travel kinda dangerous? Like no guarantees back to your own?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, but that spell is seeming like our best chance at beating the uber-vamps back without killing me or Spike in the process. I mean you said Willow was whipped out but not dead, right?"
"Yeah," she replied, still unsure about wanting to send anyone dimension jumping. "What about a dimensional skylight?" Dawn pondered out loud.
"What's that Dawnie?" Buffy asked.
"Well we looked at a bunch of dimensions, what about actually opening a portal to a really sunny one, not to go there but to just let the sun shine through and dust the whole army. I'd be like shooting evil fish in a barrel. And the handful that may get away we can kick their ass!"
"Ya know, that may work. I'd have to be a dimension where the sun effects vampires the same way."
"So make it one we saw, then we know the same basic rules apply."
"Like that one on with the beach house seems like I'd be super sunny." Buffy offered.
"Yeah like that!" Dawn was getting very excited about her newest idea. "Alright back to the books Willow." She sprang up from her chair "How to open the door to a dimension without needing to kill a shiny key. Cause I'd rather not die too."
"Okay, lets go." Then the three of them cracked open a few books and got into research mode.
Xander joined the ladies in the dining room some time later, placing plates of freshly made spaghetti in front of each lady. Then took a seat himself among the books. "So now all the ladies should know the difference between a mace and an ax and how to use um best." He proudly announced.
"Thanks Xander," Buffy said as she raised her plate to him "on both counts," then shoved a fork full of spaghetti in her mouth.
"So what did my lovely ladies research dig up? A sunshine prescription for all the nasty vamps?"
"Almost," Dawn mumbled as she finished a mouthful "Trying to see how long we can expose another dimension's sun since we can't seem to figure out how to create our own."
"Oh, so open up a window and let the sun shine in. I like it. Can you do it Wil?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out, every portal I've seen is just kind of a colorful blob, you don't exactly see where you're going." Willow pointed out "So we want between a window and a door, a door you can actually go though and interact with it, but a window you can see everything, like we did yesterday."
"Gotch'ya, So you need a sliding door? Or a screen door?" Xander offered.
"Pretty much, thing is it seems to be more work or impossible cause nobody seems to have tried it, not so far at least." Dawn supplied.
Plate nearly empty Buffy inquired to Xander "So, any connections between my close calls?"
"Oh, um," Xander pulled out a list from his pocket and looked it over briefly. "Well the thread I saw was us honestly your friends, if you didn't have us in most of your close calls you would have been dead a long time ago. And as much as it pains me to say it, Spike's included in that group, especially after he started helping incessantly."
"Okay, so what are the forces keeping us all together? How could a guardian be manipulating things?" Buffy inquired further.
"Well like Ethan said in the other dimension, after Spike got his chip that led to you getting a lot more help and he has saved your life a few times." Dawn chimed in, Xander didn't like the answer but he agreed with the girl's point.
"Do the guardians know their guardians?" Willow asked.
"I believe so," Xander supposed "That's how Ethan made it sound, like they're purpose for living was to be a guardian for a specific person or thing."
"Well if they didn't then I would say Spike was a guardian, he never actually killed her when he was evil and he has protected her since he got that chip, and now a soul." Willow suggested.
"You think Wil?" Buffy asked setting her fork down on an empty plate.
"Right up until he tried to rape you." Xander couldn't help but intervene.
"Xander!" Dawn looked shocked.
"It's okay Dawn, you all know it happened, and Spike's truly sorry he did it. It's of the past." The group got quiet, thinking about that eerie incident. "Well I can think of any person or demon we know that may be a guardian for me or us, so we go with plan B."
"Which is?" Xander asked.
"Bait, put me in imminent danger and see who or what intervenes to save me then question them on the FIRST."
"So how do we safely put you in danger?" Willow asked.
"Make it seem like Spike turned on me? He's got the chip out, he could hurt me if he wanted to, or if the FIRST seemed to trigger him again."
"But if the guardians are this world manipulating force of good, won't they know it's an act?" Dawn inquired.
"Maybe, but if the blows are real they may have to get too close to find out." Buffy continued.
"So our two super people will be all laid up and bruised when the act is done, then the FIRST can swoop in and kill us all." Xander presented.
"Anything else where I'm in real danger may be a worse ending, and we need info now." The group was silent, not coming up with a better way to draw the silent puppet masters out. "Look I'll run it by Spike, if he thinks it's a bad idea or it won't even work we'll think of something else."
"I suppose, see if the honorary guardian would even be onboard, and we'll go from there." Willow granted. The group nodded in some agreement. Then continued their dimensional research.
"Great. Where's Andrew and Anya at?" Buffy asked "Didn't you say they heard something in their demon chasing yesterday?"
"Oh, yup, we would have filled ya in but you know way easier from the horse's mouth" Dawn said before she shoveled the last dollop of spaghetti into her mouth.
"They were in the kitchen serving lunch, probably cleaning up now." Xander inserted.
"Well then hand me your plates and I'll give them a hand cleaning up while they fill me in." Buffy gathered up everyone's sauce covered plates and headed for the kitchen. Just as Xander thought the duo was washing and drying the tall stack of dished from the lunch for 30+ fighters. "Hey guys" she announced as she added her plates to their pile. "So the demons gonna be helpful to our fight for good?"
"Not very, but we more or less confirmed that the guardian business Xander saw is a real thing." Anya started.
"That's reassuring, I'd hate to be trying to find something that didn't actually exist." Buffy said relieved as she started to put the dry pots away.
"Yeah, you mention the name and demons are all like 'ughh, those guys always foil my evil plans'." Andrew elaborated.
"Really, that's what they said?" she looked to Anya for confirmation or denial.
"More or less, got a few stories of how a guardian had messed up their plans. Like this one demon, was gonna by demon eggs from Spike back when he was evil, but the guardian tipped off Riley, so you and Riley killed all the demon eggs before they got to market."
"I remember them. You guy's chat with Willy?" Buffy asked.
"Of course, but he wasn't super helpful like he can be." Anya explained.
"Hmm. Any other stories with juicy details?" Andrew and Anya went on to share a few more, 'the slayer foiled my plan' stories, but nothing seemed to connect. By the time the dishes were dried and away it was just past three. "Well thanks for your work you guys, demon wise and household. If you think there's some more places to hit up, still got a few hours before sunset; otherwise they're researching dimensional portals and sunlight in the other room."
"I'm up for tryin to squeeze some more info out of a demon, You in?"
"You got enough bribe money to squeeze more info?" Anya asked.
"Yeah, I'm good, lots left from my evil villain days, see I'm using it for the side of good so you know that's good and repenty right?" Andrew looked to Buffy for assurance.
Wanting to leave the conversation she simply replied "Sure Andrew. I think I'm gonna try to take a nap before sunset and all the nasties come out. Thanks again guys." They all exited the kitchen to the dining room Andrew went to grab Anya and his coat while she paused by the research group with Buffy.
"Me and the nerdy one are gonna go chat up some more demons."
"You think there's more to figure out?" Willow asked.
"Won't know until we try, and it's not like we got to everywhere on our list before."
"Okay, makes sense." Dawn replied "Buffy what should the potentials be doing? You gonna lead them in some training stuff?"
"Nope, sounds way too exhausting right now, Buffy's brain and body need a brief break before the sun sets again. Dawn you wanna tell Kennedy to lead a workout for the girls? They could do for something less strenuous than yesterday. And keep it to the backyard, just in case."
"Sure thing," She popped up out of her seat and headed for the living room, she loved bossing the wanna-bes around.
"And I'm off for a nap, if I sleep much past sunset come wake me." Buffy announced, then after receiving a few nods from her friends she headed up the stairs.