A/N: Because Buffy wasn't known to the Council prior to being called it was just accepted that the Buffy arriving in Sunnydale with Joyce was the real Buffy. After all it's obvious the council doesn't give a crap about her home life so why would they have checked as long as she was slaying. As for how she knew to go to the Hellmouth – let's just say a little push came in the form of a prophetic dream. I don't really have time to go into it for purposes of the story but thought that would be logical.

A/N: Words for memory spell found at http/ The ingredients for the spell are my own. FYI – I have no knowledge of magic.

A/N4: No stupid Buffybot.

CHAPTER FOUR – Truth Revealed

Buffy came slowly awake to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She gently disentangled herself from Spike's arms and flipped open the phone. Sleepily she mumbled, "Hello."

"Bella, It's Duncan. I wanted to let you know we're just passing the Sunnydale city limits."

"Ummm. Good, you'll probably be here in about 15 minutes. Are Methos and Amanda with you?"

"Yes, and neither are at their best. Apparently lack of sleep makes them exceptionally rude."

In the background she heard both Amanda and Methos grumbling at Duncan's statement. "Did you tell 'Manda that Spike is here?"

"Yes, and she wanted me to tell you that she's forgiven you for Prague and to get you to ask Spike if he has any leads on expensive trinkets."

"Tell her she'll have to wait for expensive trinkets after we take care of the First. Spike's at the mansion with me and as soon as you guys get here I want to do the spell and then I'll give you all the details about what's been happening here."

"Okay, love see you in a few minutes," Duncan said as he hung up the phone.

Bella turned to wake Spike only to look into his twinkling blue eyes.

"Amanda, eh pet."

"Yes, and no you may not help her with her 'expensive trinkets' until after this is over. It's bad enough I have to deal with her and Methos – as old as they are they still act like children – but, I'm not dealing with you two scheming to rob some museum or private collection."

"Yes, luv."

Buffy quickly walked across the room and grabbed clean clothes out of her duffle bag. "I'm going to jump in the shower – can you go downstairs and wait for them. I should be down in 20 so they won't have to wait long."

Spike grumbled, "Bloody slayer's lapdog is what I am," as he walked down the stairs to wait for the new arrivals.

True to her word Buffy descended the stairs 20 minutes later to a waiting Spike, Duncan, Methos and Amanda. As she walked down the stairs she looked into Duncan's soft brown eyes and felt her breath catch in her throat. As their gazes locked it seemed as if time stopped and her heart began to race. She hadn't seen him in almost five years and she'd always thought him handsome but for some reason it's as if she was seeing him for the first time. She walked gracefully toward him and as she approached he pulled her into his arms for a comforting embrace.

Softly she said, "I'm so glad you're here."

As Duncan held her in his arms he felt his own heart race and he was surprised that no one in the room - well except the damn Vampire – could hear it. Bella was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her hair an exquisite honey color - long and gently curling down her back. It was all he could do not to run his hands through it. In all the time they'd spent together theirs had never been a romantic relationship. He'd been with Tessa and then Bella's ill-fated relationship with Angel. The only thing he could think was maybe now.

As he gently released her from his embrace she turned to Methos and Amanda keeping hold of Duncan's hand.

"Methos, Amanda – welcome to Sunnydale – I'd say you're in for a lovely time but then I don't think that's allowed on the hellmouth."

"The boy scout said you'd fill us in when we got here," said Methos.

"And I will but first I need your help to cast a spell. I think someone has used magic to change my memories and this spell should tell us whether or not anyone has cast a spell on me and free the repressed memories."

"Do you have the ingredients for the casting?" said Amanda quickly getting down to business. Outside of Bella she probably had the most experience with magic of anyone in the room.

"Yes, I've always kept this place pretty well stocked with basic magical ingredients. The Scoobies don't know I'm a practitioner so I had to have someplace private I could cast if necessary. Come into the kitchen we can get the ingredients and cast the spell in there."

Bella began to lay out the necessary ingredients for the spell. Amanda moved to assist her by placing the required herbs into the mortar and crushing them with the pestle. Bella walked to the far side of the kitchen and began to pour a circle with white salt. Amanda joined her as Bella stepped into the circle and sprinkled the crushed herbs over her. Both women began to chant:

We call the past to meet the present,

that the future may be bright.

Then Bella chanted alone:

I bring myself forth from the dark,

and hold me to the light.

Let not the past control my present,

let not my future be dark as night.

I meet and greet me with open arms,

and move back into the light.

And again both women chanted:

We call the past to meet the present,

That the future may be bright.

So mote it be.

At the conclusion of the chant a soft white light emanated from the circle and Bella's head snapped back and her eyes opened wide. It appeared as if she saw something no one else could. Several moments passed and suddenly Bella cried, "NO!" in a voice choked with sobs. The white light suddenly disappeared and Bella's sobs filled the silence of the room.

Amanda stepped forward and broke the circle followed quickly by Duncan who took Bella into his arms. As he held her and stroked her back Bella looked up with anger in her eyes. The first person she looked to was Spike.

"They did it. They killed her."

Several voices were heard at once:

Spike, "Bloody hell, why?"

Amanda and Methos, "Killed who?"

Joined by Duncan's soft Scottish burr, "Oh, love I am so sorry."

Duncan slowly turned and carried Bella into the living room and was followed by the others. He sat on the sofa holding her in his arms. Bella took deep breaths trying to compose herself. She knew that she had to explain what she saw but couldn't quite comprehend what the people who claimed to love her – love Dawn did to her.

Shakily she began to speak. "I've been having dreams about Dawn's death since not long after she died. At first they were vague but in the last few months they've become quite specific. So specific that the dreams felt more real than what I thought had actually happened. Spike and Duncan know most of the story about Dawn but I should explain what happened for Amanda and Methos."

Quietly she began to speak of her sister Dawn. A sister who she, an immortal, wasn't supposed to have. A sister created from her blood and gifted to her to protect by an order of monks. Her sister who had existed for millennia as a mystical key. A key that a god named Glorificus needed to return to the dimension she'd been exiled from. The monks had placed Dawn in her and Joyce's life not realizing that Joyce was not her mother.

She'd woken up with memories of being raised with a sister. Unfortunately for the monks the conflict had her questioning almost immediately Dawn's presence. After rescuing one of the monk's from Glory Dawn's presence was explained. Bella then went to Giles and told him the identity of the key. Over the next few weeks Dawn's identity was revealed to Joyce and the rest of the Scoobies.

Bella and the Scoobies continued to battle Glory. Spike was captured and beaten. During all of this Joyce had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and ultimately died as a result of complications from the surgery to remove the tumor. The entire group was at a loss on what to do. Only weeks after Joyce's death Dawn disappeared from the house. Bella and Spike searched Sunnydale with no luck.

As Buffy began to tell of Dawn's disappearance she began to cry again. After several moments of broken sobs she was able to catch her breath and began speaking again.

"It's at this point that the memories I have of the event differ from what I've been dreaming and what the spell revealed as true." Bella, stopped speaking again and reached out and took Spike's hand. Dawn had been precious to both of them and it was the two of them who'd felt her loss the deepest. It had been her death that had led to a romantic relationship between the two of them and ultimately Spike seeking his soul. Though their romance hadn't lasted their friendship was stronger than it had ever been. They were family – united by the death of Dawn – in a way they'd never been before.

"About a week before Dawn disappeared I began to notice that Giles, Willow, and Xander would stop speaking as I walked into the room. When I questioned them they said I was imagining things or that they were just discussing option on dealing with Glory and didn't want to worry me. Since I was grieving for Joyce and trying to deal with Dawn's grief as well I let it go and didn't question them to closely. But then Spike mentioned something about how they were acting stranger than normal around him as well. I wrote it off as their dislike of him. It was the next day that Dawn disappeared. Spike and I spent two days searching for Dawn. Finally a few hours before sunrise on the second day we found her in a crypt in Sunnydale Cemetery."

Bella quietly spoke of the broken bottle lying on the ground next to her sister and the note clutched in her hand.

"I realize now that it was the spell. We didn't find her in the crypt. Spike and I walked in on Giles and Xander holding Dawn down on the floor of the training room at the Magic Box while Willow held a cloth to her mouth. As we came into the room I saw Dawn struggling and then suddenly go limp. It was at that moment that a green light burst from her and into me and I fell to the ground. While Spike was trying to help me Willow and Giles cast a binding spell to hold us in place and then used a spell to alter our memories of the event."

As Bella stopped speaking everyone in the room became conscious of the sobs racking Spike's body and the tears streaming down his cheeks. Bella gently removed herself from Duncan's embrace and took Spike into her arms and held him while he cried again for the girl he'd thought of as sister and now knew was murdered by the people she'd called family.