Disclaimer : Nothing's mine, sadly.

First of all, I haven't forgotten you. But you know, there's this thing called holydays. Ok, I didn't leave but others did so I have to work more and cat sit.

Second of all, I wanted to answer to some reviews. There's not much chapter left and I'm suddenly filled with doubts about this work. Some of you had pointed out the fact that I rush things a lot, didn't take time to show how Buffy and Torchwood learnt to work together or why her relationship with the Scoobies is the way it is. Yes, I have skipped large amount of time because I didn't feel like writing day by day. I write a lot by instinct. Most of the time, I don't know where I'm going. I let my fingers do the work. I also write what I want to read. I'm not saying all that because I have been hurt by the review! I just wanted to answer and shared with you how I feel, how I work these details.

Other point: I have never said that Buffy will never forgive the Scoobies and I'm sorry if it feels that way. I have just said (or wanted to say) that there is a lot of work to do before they arrive to the point of friendship.

Right now, I don't know if I'm pleased or not with this fic. I'm not sure I could have done something else. Maybe it's just a bad day...

One good news : in September 2011, I will finally set foot in the USA! My friends and I have finally stopped a date for our trip, so in a little more than one year, I'll be flying to New York ^^

With that, I'll let you with that chapter.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Before the Storm

He wondered how they had gotten to this point. How the fragile, scary-smart and shy redhead had become the frighteningly overpowered witch kneeling on the floor with black eyes black and blood pouring out of her mouth. How the funny boy with his goofy smile had become the one-eyed disillusioned man who laid bleeding on the floor. Whatever had happened, it led them to this very moment. Rushing headlong into a fight absolutely sure of their ability to win.

Because they had been doing this and only this for so many years. They had so much power at their disposal that it didn't even cross their minds that they could've been wrong. That they could lose. Dawn had warned them, had wanted them to wait, to work with Torchwood. But no, they were above that. They didn't even think that anything could go wrong. They should have known better. After all, these men had been able to capture and immobilise Buffy. Dawn had told them that whatever was happening had taken a lifetime or more to set in motion. This was not the work of amateurs.

They had been ready to for them. Especially the great witch that was Willow. Giles had seen the signs and had understood it was a trap too late.

Giles looked up at the warlock in front of him. He was tall and scrawny. He wore a dark suit which gave him an air of authority and disdainfulness. His hair was long and grey, and fell smoothly to his shoulders, curling slightly at the end. His emaciated face offered a perfect mask of scorn. His skin was so pale you could clearly see the veins underneath the skin. His pale white lips formed a cruel smile. He grabbed the Watcher by the throat and lifted him into the air with inhuman strength.

"So foolish! And yet, you acted exactly how we thought. Do you really think that we hadn't seen your intervention coming? I have been planning all this for so long. This should have happened years ago but your little Slayer changed everything. She killed the Master and survived against all odds. So I watched her, I watched all of you. And how amazing it was. You have so much power! You changed the world. And now I'm going to change it too. Look at your witch."

The blood pouring out of her mouth was a stark contrast to her pale skin. She shook violently as two witches standing above her started chanting.

"She's linked to the Earth. In all my years, I have never seen a Wiccan able to draw that much power. But she succeeded. And she will be my final sacrifice, the final ingredient in my plan. She will watch you die in front of her, desperate and yet unable to do anything to help you. She will revolt and do as every Wiccan does, she will call power from the core of the Earth. And I will use it, I will add the life forces I have been collecting for so long, right inside this little rift. It will be enough because your Willow will be the link. Her magic is part of everything. The First will be free to walk Earth, the Old Ones will be welcome again and the world will revert back to what it once was: a paradise for real gods, long before humanity polluted it."

Hopelessness clung to Giles' heart as he understood what he was being told. They had fallen so quickly and so easily into their trap. Their enemy had planned everything down to the exact moment. The three of them had all been so sure of their abilities. They had thought that there wasn't anything they couldn't stop. He looked at the sorcerer and understood that yes, as Dawn had said before, it was the plan of a lifetime.

"You stopped hiding your crimes now, but you started all of this years ago," he choked out.

"Two decades! I have been collecting life forces all around the world for two decades. I never stayed long in one place, spacing the collecting so your Council wouldn't understand what was happening. I was always far away from the Slayer. Yours gave me another decade and the final ingredient. You can't stop me. Whatever you may think of to stop me, rest assured that I have thought of it first. I have been patient and I had time to envisage every action you could take, every thought you could make. You will always be too late. Nothing can stop me."

Hopelessness changed into despair as the Watcher understood that the warlock was right. How could they win? He had had time to think of everything. However, as something hard collided with his head and darkness claimed him, he thought briefly that no, he hadn't thought of everything and at this point, it could be the only thing that might actually save them... If only Torchwood had the guts to use it.

When Buffy woke up again, she felt a lot better. She was alone and used the fact to get up. Her muscles protested and her injuries throbbed. Her bandages certainly weren't helping. She made her way to Jack's bathroom — it being the closest — and wondered where everyone was. She stripped herself of clothes and slowly took off her bandages. They were dirty, caked with dried blood. She threw them into the trash. She turned on the water and stepped into the shower.

The warm water was a curse and a gift at the same time. She could feel the worst injuries protesting, burning, sending signals of pain throughout her body. She also realised that most of the wounds were well on their way to being healed. She stared down at the dirty reddish-brown water swirling around the drain. She stayed there, motionless, until the water turned clear. Her sensitive ears picked up sounds outside of the bathroom. Her friends were back. She grabbed the soap and finally began to wash up. She groaned when it came into contact with the wounds on her back, still partially open and raw. She quickly rinsed herself off and got out, grabbing the towel on the counter.

When she was dry, she stood naked in front of the mirror. Her skin resembled parchment. Scars were everywhere. but Owen had been right. She could tell that most of them would be completely gone with time. She turned and tried to look at her back in the mirror. There, the wounds were still puffy and red. They were on most of her upper back and there would be no hiding them. She would have to learn to live with them.

She put her clothes on, ran a hand through her hair — she would have to ask for a brush later — and left the room. Jack sat at his desk, feet up, hands crossed over his chest and eyes closed.

"My doctor nearly threw a tantrum because his patient had disappeared."

She smiled. "I should go and calm him down then."

Warm blue eyes looked at her, filled with concern, actually making her shiver. He put his feet back on the floor and walked to her. He carefully laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, you should."

They left the office and a very angry Owen made a beeline for her, muttering under his breath. He asked question after question so fast that she had difficulty following him. She finally had enough and grabbed his wandering hands, squeezing them to get his attention.

"Stop that!"

He took a deep breath and she said. "I have one problem though."

"What?"

Her stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly and Owen smiled. They made their way to the kitchen where Dawn and Ianto were setting the table. Which consisted of opening all the take-away food boxes they had brought and putting them on the table. She was surprised to see them so at ease with each other when they had barely talked to each other from what she remembered. Her little sister looked up when they entered and smiled warmly at Buffy. She hugged her and the Slayer hugged her back. They didn't let go of each other as the Key put her arm around her older sister's waist and guided her to the table.

"I know how much you need to eat so I grabbed a little of everything you like and threw in a bit of everything else we could find."

The amount of food present was indecent and it made her mouth water just looking at it. She grabbed a hamburger, the first thing with reach, and devoured it. She grabbed a can of Coke, drank and went back to solid food. She forgot everything for a moment, just eating whatever she could get her hands on. The hunger was the only thing she could think of. After so long in a coma, her body needed solid food. She briefly wondered if Faith had been this ravenous when she woke up from her much longer coma.

When she finally stopped, catching the last drops of her soda and moaning in satisfaction, she finally looked around at those gathered. Gwen and Tosh were there. The former cop looked a little ill — seeing her eat after a fight could do that to some people — but she smiled at her. The computer genius looked down when Buffy looked at her.

"You do realize that your stomach should have burst after all that?" Owen asked.

"Believe me, it would take more food than this for me to explode."

Gwen told her that Andy and Rhys wanted to see her as soon as possible now that she was awake. Jack complained about the two men, telling Buffy that he had tried to keep them out but they had been so persistent that he had finally let them in. However, Owen had kept them out ever since she had woken up, assuring them that she would call them. It had been the only way to get rid of them. Hearing that affected Buffy in a strange way and no one knew what to do when the Slayer burst into tears. Dawn hugged her, stroking her hair.

"Hey, don't cry. It's going to be okay."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's silly, really."

And it was. She was crying because she had woken up with a clear mind. Everywhere she looked, she could see the warmth in the eyes of those watching her. The kindness in the voices that talked to her. And she could hear the affection in the words that were spoken. People cared about her — about Buffy — and it felt so wonderful that she couldn't help but cry.

She wiped away her tears and tried to calm down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jack said.

Ianto began to clear the table and Dawn left Buffy to help him. He assured her that he would be fine but Dawn insisted on helping. The Slayer looked at them work together. Never once did they disturb each other. They made a perfect team, working with and around each other in perfect harmony.

"Okay, that's weird," Buffy said.

"What?" Jack asked.

They were all waiting for her to explain. She looked at Dawn and Ianto.

"Last time I checked, you two never talked to each other. And now, you're a perfect team? I thought that Ianto was shagging Jack and Dawn was fighting with herself about if she should get married."

The Welsh man turned a nice shade of red and straightened his tie. Luckily for him, Dawn was used to her sister's bluntness.

"Ianto is still 'shagging' Jack. As for me, I'm not fighting anymore. I'm so marrying Derek as soon as I can."

"Feeling ready to jump in then?"

"More than ready. I mean, I went to Hell and back. Life is short, and ours is brutal, so if I can lighten it up with Derek, I'm going to. I'm going to be his wife and maybe even the mother of his children — but not right now! — and I will spend all the time I can being happy with him."

Buffy stood up to hug her sister.

"I'm so happy for you, Dawnie. But before you marry that guy, I have to meet him."

"All right. I know that whatever you tell him you won't scare him away. I was actually hoping you'd be my maid of honour."

"On one condition."

The Key sent a knowing smile at her sister. "You'll be able to choose the dresses with me."

"Okay, I'd be honoured to be your maid of honour."

They hugged again and Dawn asked, "Do you think that Giles will agree to give me away?"

Buffy's eyes got bright again as she struggled with her emotions. "I'm sure he will be proud to. Speaking of him, where is he? Where's the gang?"

She looked around expectantly and Owen shrugged. No one seemed to know so she turned towards her sister. Her blood froze. She knew that look too well.

"Dawn, where are they?"

Her voice was low, calm and serious. There was something in her tone that bothered her friends because it didn't sound like good news.

"I tried to stop them but they were being so stubborn. Giles went with them to try to knock some sense into their thick heads."

Jack stepped in. "Where did they go?"

The Slayer looked up at him. His face was expressionless but there was a hint of anger dancing in his eyes. If there was one thing that he hated, it was being stabbed in the back. And it really felt like it here. Those people were here to help them, to work with them, not to cut them out of the loop. A tense silence fell in the Hub as no one dared to talk with an angry Jack on hand. Even the Slayer kept quiet, relieved for once to not be the one in charge, to not be the one who needed to get mad.

To her benefit, Dawn didn't even try to protect the Scoobies or lie for them.

"I have no idea. Willow thought that she could find the bad-guys and stop them."

"How?"

"Magic."

"You didn't stay to find out?"

"No, because they were wrong! We argued, okay? I told them that they had no right to do this without you but they didn't listen. So I left. Giles stayed, even if he did think they were mistaken."

"You should have told me," Jack said.

This angered Dawn. "I was thinking of my sister! She had just woken up; sorry it kind of slipped my mind."

"Give me your cell," Buffy ordered.

Her sister obeyed immediately, handing over the device. The blonde grabbed it and dialled a number. No answer. She tried another one. No answer. She tried one last number. Putting the phone down, she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Anger bubbled up inside of her. Anger at their stupidity, at the worry she felt because of them. Anger at their ego. The Slayer rose up inside of her, unhappy.

"I can't believe they did this!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry Buffy," Dawn whispered.

The Slayer hit the table, leaving behind an imprint of her tiny fist. Jack looked at the damage briefly before turning to Tosh.

"Try tracking them through their cells and keep an eye on your computers. I have a bad feeling about this. From now on, we consider them in enemy hands. Buffy, I want to see you sleeping."

"Wait, what?"

"I know that there's no way you'll be keeping out of this fight. However, you're still hurt so your priority now is to eat and rest. Your mission is to heal. Owen, help her."

"How the Hell am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, you're the doctor." He looked around the room and asked, "What are you still doing here? Let's get to work people!"

Tosh left the room, followed by Owen guiding an unhappy Buffy. Jack glared at Dawn.

"My office. Now."

She swallowed her retort and obeyed, wondering when her rebellious spirit had abandoned her. He closed the door behind him, locking them in. She had fought demons since her teenage years. She had survived Angelus, Glory and the First. Jack wasn't scarier than them. No, he was just as scary as any of them. It freaked her out because, unlike the others, he had a soul.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared right back at him.

"This is where you yell at me, right?" she said insolently.

The best defence was a good offence, wasn't it?

"Don't play that game with me. You should have told me about this immediately."

"I'm sorry, okay? What do you want me to do? Beg for your forgiveness? Because I won't."

"No, you're too proud for that. Just like your sister. But you are the one who knew what they were up to," Jack said. "What do you think they need your friends for?"

"Why do you think I know?"

He sat up straight in his chair and looked at her, a cold smile on his face.

"Am I supposed to believe that you all didn't meet outside the Hub? That you didn't work this case on your own? I want you to tell me everything. All of it. Have you found a way to stop them?"

She sighed and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "Willow thought that she would be strong enough to handle them, to stop them and free the life forces without causing any damage."

"And you?"

"I think she missed several important points in this case."

"Like?"

"The level of preparation these guys have put into this. With the Scoobies being MIA, I would bet that the baddies saw them coming and were ready for them. I'm almost sure that they were counting on it, like how they were ready for Buffy. I think that they have several plans. And back-up plans. And back-up plans for the back-up plans. They've been patient and they've taken their time. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been watching us for a while."

"Plan of a lifetime, huh?"

"Yep."

"Did you tell the Scoobies that?"

"Of course. You have to understand, we're the good guys. We've been winning for so long that I think we've all forgotten we can still lose occasionally. No matter what the losses have been, in the end, we've always won."

"Some win," he replied sarcastically.

"Isn't it?"

"Do you think we can stop them?"

She quieted suddenly and chewed on her lower lip. He saw her hesitation and leaned forward.

"Dawn, if you know anything, you have to tell me. We're all on the same side here. We're all trying to keep our dear world the way it is."

He could see the hesitation in her big blue eyes. It suddenly disappeared, replaced by fear and resignation. She began to explain. "Giles and I came up with this theory." She paused. He let her take her time with it. "Basically, really really basically, what they want to do is open a two-way portal between here and Hell. The life forces, the Rift, the magic, that's just the fuel — their energy source."

"You make it sound simple. We've seen that we won't be able to stop them if they begin their ritual. With Willow gone, stopping it isn't even a possibility for us. We have no way to fight these guys and they have our best weapon against them."

"No, they don't. They don't even know that we still have it."

"We do?"

"There's one thing, only one thing, that can open and close portals to anywhere and everywhere. One thing so powerful that it could overpower anything else, including their portal. We let them open it, and then we intervene and close it. That way, they will have used up all their collected energy and would be completely drained because of the ritual. We win, they lose."

"It could be dangerous for your friends. There's a big chance that we won't arrive in time to save them."

"We talked, we argued, I warned them. They knew the risks better than anyone else."

"Okay. So what is this secret weapon of yours?"

"Me."

¤ ¤ tbc ¤ ¤