Chapter 6: Shadow
November 20, 2000 – Monday
Summers Home
"Hey Mom, I put together that grocery list for you..." Buffy started as she walked into her mother's bedroom. She immediately noticed that Joyce was packing an overnight bag.
"Oh. Great. Thanks, hon," Joyce replied.
"Are you okay?" Buffy wondered.
Joyce nodded. She didn't want to worry either of her daughters, especially given who they both were. "Fine. Have you seen my conditioner?" she asked.
"Look under the sink?" Buffy suggested.
Joyce pointed at Buffy as if to say good point. She walked into her bathroom and emerged a second later with a bottle of conditioner.
"Where you going?" Buffy asked.
Joyce sighed; she really didn't want them worrying especially if it might be nothing. But she knew also if she didn't tell they would worry for a different reason. She moved to her bed and sat down. "You might want to call your sister," she said as she motioned for Buffy to join her.
"Dawn," Buffy called back out the door. "Can you come to mom's room. There is something she needs to tell us both." She then moved next to her mother and sat down as they waited for her sister.
It was only a small moment before Dawn walked into the room and Joyce patted the bed next to her, opposite of Buffy, and Dawn sat down.
"Okay. I'd love to put this off, but..." Joyce said as she took a deep breath. "You know that nothing I've been dealing with, the past couple of weeks?" She asked as Dawn and Buffy nodded. "It might not be nothing."
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"I'm staying overnight at the hospital for observation," Joyce answered. "I'm getting a cat scan."
Dawn and Buffy looked at each other stunned at the revelation that their mother could potentially have a medical condition.
"It's only one day," Joyce went on when neither of her daughters said anything. "And they say if there is anything it's still very early if they didn't see it before. I'm going to be fine."
"We know you will," Dawn said before looking at her sister again. "Don't we, Buffy?"
"Dawn's right," Buffy agreed.
Joyce looked at her daughters and smiled at them, loving them for the support they were offering.
Buffy and Dawn glanced at each other as realization sank in, that if it wasn't nothing, they could potentially lose their mother. They looked back at Joyce forcing themselves to smile.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn stepped out onto the back porch where she found Buffy sitting. "You feel as terrible as I do," she said as she sat down next to Buffy.
"Yeah," Buffy replied as she laid her head on Dawn's shoulder. "What are we going to do, Dawnie?"
"I don't know," Dawn replied as she wiped tears from her eyes.
It was at that moment they heard a branch snap and the sisters looked up and saw Spike towering over them, shotgun in hand.
"What is it now?" Buffy growled.
Dawn slowly stood up as she reached behind her back for her morpher. "She asked you, what is it?"
Spike looked at the sisters and noticed they were in obvious pain. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Get out of here," Dawn spat with venom laced her in voice. With the revelation of her mother going into the hospital coupled with Spike's appearance. She knew if she morphed, Spike would not see another day ever again.
"Is there something I can do?" Spike asked looking at the sisters.
Dawn faltered as she moved her hand away from her morpher and sat back down beside Buffy. He sat down just slightly behind and between the sisters. After placing the gun aside, he reached out to the sisters and awkwardly patted their shoulders, trying to comfort them as Buffy and Dawn fell into each other's embrace.
November 21, 2000 – Tuesday
Sunnydale Memorial
Buffy and Dawn stood watching Joyce, who lay on her back—her hair pulled back, her eyes filled with apprehension and dread as she was wheeled down the hospital corridor toward the room marked cat scan and inside.
"She's going to be alright, isn't she?" Dawn whispered, almost childlike, as she and Buffy made their way to the chairs and sat down.
"I hope so, Dawnie," Buffy answered. They had spent part of the night with Spike sitting behind them trying to comfort them as they sat holding each other crying. Eventually they had fallen asleep right there on the back porch. They assumed since Spike had been invited in at one point in the past that he had taken them up to bed. "Would you like something?" she said waving over at the nearby soda machine.
"I'm not really thirsty," Dawn replied. "But sure."
Buffy nodded as she went to the soda machine. She got two cans of soda before returning to her sister and handing her one. They both popped their tops and drank in silence for a moment staring at the door that their mother had been wheeled through.
"Since becoming a Ranger," Dawn said. "I've saved people. But this…this I can't fix; I can't save her from whatever is wrong."
"I know the feeling," Buffy agreed as she noticed the scared and vulnerable look in her sister's eyes. And she realized talking was her sister's way of coping. "You know since I became a Slayer, I see their faces. All the people I didn't save. I don't know if I can add mom's face to that."
"I know the feeling," Dawn replied as she laid her head on Buffy's shoulder. "She's going to be alright, isn't she?"
"I hope so," Buffy said as she draped her arm around her sister. They sat there waiting for news in silence as they slowly drank their sodas.
The Magic Box
"'Your one-stop spot to shop for all your occult needs.'" Tara paused as she glanced at Giles, debating on what to say. "Catchy," she settled on.
"Think so?" Giles asked her.
Tara nodded. "Uh-huh. In a ... hard to say sort of way, but I think it's great."
"Oh," Giles uttered as he caught the uncertainty in her tone.
They heard the chime of the bell and as Tara and Giles looked up they saw Willow, Xander and Anya entering through the front door.
"Just saying I think it's rude," Xander said to Willow.
"Wouldn't call it rude..." Willow countered.
"Rude-ish. Rude-esque?" Xander told her. "Whatever you want to call it, when a person makes a destroy all vampires date, it's simple courtesy to wait for your co-destroyers. Am I right, Giles?"
"I'm almost certain you're not," Giles said as he continued to scrutinize his ad. "Though, to be fair, I haven't been listening."
"Oh, the-the new phone book's in with Giles' ad," Tara informed them.
Willow and Anya moved to take a look. "Ooh. Nice," Willow uttered.
"Yay. Am I mentioned?" Anya added as she looked at it.
"Not as such," Giles replied.
Xander sidled up to Giles. "Okay, we were supposed to meet up with Riley this morning to take on a nest o'vamps holed up in tomb. So, we get there and guess what? Tell him, Will."
"Tomb go boom," Willow added.
"Yep, Captain America blowed it up real good. All by his lone wolf lonesome," Xander finished.
"Hmm," Giles said in surprise. He never would have Riley would have took on a nest by himself like that. "Rather reckless of him."
"I'd say very rather," Xander said.
Giles looked at each of them. "All that aside, I should think you'd be pleased to avoid the confrontation."
"That's what I've been saying,' Anya agreed. "I mean, I, for one, wasn't looking forward to starting my day with a slaughter. Which, really, just goes to show how much I've grown."
"In any event, since you're all here, Tara and I could use some help researching Buffy's mystery woman," Giles said as Xander, Anya, Tara and Willow sat down at the big round table, each of them pulling books toward them.
"Oh, yeah, this has been fruitful," Xander said sarcastically. "Trying to look up something you never saw and don't know the name of."
"Just do what I do - Flip through pages and look busy," Anya advised.
"It'd be nice if we knew where she was, where she's hiding out," Willow commented.
"No doubt lurking around some sewer or condemned church or rat-infested warehouse," Xander remarked. "You know, the usual haunts."
Angel Grove Bay Bridge
Lynn stood on the tallest tower of the bridge. When she had learned what she was…part witch, part Whitelighter…her grandfather who was a Whitelighter had taken her here on several occasions mainly just to have some private time, grandfather to granddaughter. On one occasion he had showed her how to summon him or an Elder if she ever needed to talk.
Lynn closed her eyes as she reached out with her mind. "I need to speak to one of the Elders," she whispered.
Within seconds an Elder by the name of Jonas appeared in blue and white orbing lights. "Lynn?" he said.
"I want to take on a charge," Lynn said as she opened her eyes. "She's not a witch that I'm aware of. But she could be a future Whitelighter, I don't know."
"Who is she?" Jonas queried.
"Her name is Dawn…Dawn Summers," Lynn answered.
Jonas sighed and nodded. He knew of the Summers family. In fact, all of the Elders and a few Whitelighters knew of the Summers family, in particular Buffy Summers. They were both progenitors as well as future Whitelighters. Because the eldest Summers sister was the Slayer, the Elders did not assign the family a Whitelighter since the Slayer was generally a Powers that Be's champion. "We know of them. They are descended from a long line of progenitors. Something always happens that keeps their family from developing powers. We are almost positive that Buffy Summers is that reason, since the Slayer is typically a Powers that Be's champion. Why do you want to have them as your charge?"
"Not Buffy per say, but Dawn," Lynn said. "The reason I thought she could be possibly be a future Whitelighter is because she's a Power Ranger."
"You are sure?" Jonas asked in surprise.
"There have been lots of little hints if you knew what to look for," Lynn answered. "Both appeared in Sunnydale at the same time. Dawn and the White Zeo Ranger are never in the same room at the same time. I know that the White Zeo Ranger and the Slayer patrol together. Then there was the other day at one of her friend's birthday party. I was just arriving when I witnessed her and the friend teleporting in, like I've seen the Power Rangers do on news reports. I know I can't take Buffy as my charge because of the Powers that Be. But Dawn…"
"If she is a Power Ranger then there is a loophole to make them both your charge," Jonas agreed. "But doesn't she have the support of other Power Rangers?"
"Not that I have seen," Lynn answered. "I believe she's alone in Sunnydale. Her only support is her sister's friends and Watcher. The other Power Rangers are still here in Angel Grove."
Jonas nodded as he thought about Lynn's request for a moment before looking at the fifteen-year-old girl. "Are you sure your ready for this, Lynn. This is a great responsibility. And you just started coming into your powers a few years ago."
"I know," Lynn said. "But when it comes to Dawn, I'm ready for that and more."
"More?" Jonas said.
"I think I'm falling in love with her," Lynn answered.
Jonas nodded as he thought of Lynn's grandfather who had shown that Whitelighter and witches could make it work together. He closed his eyes as he spread his arms out.
Lynn closed her eyes as she felt something within her that till today, she had never felt before.
"Dawn Summers is now your charge," Jonas told Lynn as they both opened their eyes. "You can guide Buffy Summers if you choose, but due to her being the Powers' champion, we cannot add her as your charge."
"I understand," Lynn said as she smiled at Jonas. And then she disappeared in blue and white orbing lights.
Summers Home
Riley stepped up on the front door and was about to ring the doorbell when he noticed that the door was partially ajar. He pushed it open a bit more and knocked. "Hello?" he called. "Buffy? Dawn?" He waited for an answer. When he received none, he made his way into the home.
He looked around the foyer and then spotted a wool blanket lying on the floor. He picked it up as his eyes narrowed. He realized why it would be hear as he heard the creaking of floorboards upstairs.
Riley dropped the blanket and moved quickly, but stealthily up the stairs.
In Buffy's room, Spike had her pinked sweater bunched up and pressed into his face as he sniffed it. "Mmmm..." he said.
He didn't see Riley move into the doorway and stop there looking at him. "What are you doing in here?" Riley asked.
Spike spun with wide eyes; he knew he had been caught. "What, me—I was, uh..." he tried to deflect as he stashed the sweater behind him. "Uh..." He looked at Riley, glaring at him. "What are you doing in here?"
Riley walked toward the vampire; his fists clenched. "Looking for the girl who…or it could be her sister, I'd put betting money on Dawn morphing and ripping your arms off when she finds out you were in Buffy's room."
"Oh, yeah? Well... me, too," Spike said ignoring the obvious threat. He had already surmised that Dawn was the White Zeo Ranger, after all as Lynn had told Jonas, it was easy to spot if you cared to look for the signs.
"Were you...Were you just smelling her sweater?" Riley asked.
Spike scoffed. "No..." he said as Riley looked at the sweater behind his back. He realized again that he was caught and brought the sweater out in the open. "Yeah, alright. I did. It's a predator thing. Nothing wrong with it. Know your enemy's scent. Whet the appetite for the hunt..." He smelled the sweater again in a more aggressive feral way than before, growling as he did. "Yeah, that's the stuff. Slayer musk. Bitter and, and aggravating... Rrrr."
Spike knew it would have been more believable if he had not just something of Buffy's but Dawn's as well.
Riley narrowed his eyes; he's seen and heard enough. "Out." He grabbed Spike by the collar and hauled him out of the room.
As Spike was pulled past the dresser, he grabbed a pair of Buffy's lacy panties from the top dresser drawer and stuffed it into his pocket.
Sunnydale Memorial
Dawn and Buffy stood outside their mother's Exam Room, trying to marshal the courage to enter the room. Dawn was about to push the door open when A hand fell on Buffy's shoulder. The sisters instantly spun as Dawn reached behind her back for her morpher thinking they were being attacked. They both relaxed when they saw it was Riley.
"Riley," the sisters said.
"Hey. I heard and I thought maybe you'd both need..." Riley offered as he held open his arms and Buffy and Dawn walked into them, scared and grateful for his presence.
"We do," Dawn agreed.
"I'm glad," Buffy added. "I just - I didn't want to... until we know what it is..."
Riley nodded as he held the two girls, trying to comfort them. "I understand. How's she doing?"
Buffy and Dawn shook their heads. "They did a cat scan," Buffy said.
"We were just going in to find out..." Dawn added as she and Buffy broke from him.
"Would you like me to wait for you?" Riley offered knowing the sisters would need a private moment with their mother. He motioned toward the chairs that lined the wall. "I don't mind."
"Thanks," the sisters replied as he tried to give them a reassuring smile.
He watched as they walked into the exam room and the moved to sit down and wait.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Um, hi," Buffy said as she and Dawn entered the darkened room. The sisters noticed that the doctor stood with Joyce next to an X-ray light board looking at Joyce's cat scan. "Okay if We...?
"Of course, come in..." Joyce replied looking at her daughters.
"Excuse me, I'll just go check on the status of the OR," the doctor said as he walked past the sisters, who eyed him with concern before he left the room.
"OR?" Dawn asked.
Joyce sighed. "Dr. Isaacs says I'm lucky there's one available on such short notice. Some people have to wait days. Sometimes weeks."
"Mom..." Buffy and Dawn started, their worry mounting.
"Lucky, he said," Joyce replied slightly distracted and bemused.
Buffy and Dawn each put a hand one of their mother's arms. "Mom, what did they find?" Buffy asked.
Joyce looked at her daughters for a moment, then shrugged. "A shadow." She pointed to the X-ray on the light board. "I've got a shadow. There." She squinted. "Or there. He showed me, but—They have to do a biopsy to find out exactly what it is."
Buffy and Dawn grabbed their mother and held Joyce tightly.
"The doctor says it's too soon to be concerned," Joyce told them.
"Right. No concern," Dawn agreed, though both Buffy and Joyce could hear a touch of worry in her voice.
"Right. It's just a shadow," Joyce said as her daughters glanced up at the X-ray.
The Magic Box
"I just wish we knew what we're dealing with..." Willow uttered as she flicked a page of the volume she was studying. "It feels like we're going around in circles."
"Our circles are going around in circles," Xander agreed. "We got dizzy circles here, Giles."
It was then a customer approached Giles with a small statue. "Ahh. Weeping Buddha..." he said as he rang the purchase up. "Deeply mystical. And it makes a lovely paperweight."
"Maybe...She isn't in the books," Tara remarked.
"What do you mean?" Willow wondered.
"I mean, what if she's not a demon," Tara explained. "Or sorceress or spirit or whatever these books cover... What if she's something else altogether."
Giles smiled as he handed the customer his change. "Thank you, come again," he said as he saw the customer out. He then turned toward Tara. "Something new, you mean."
Tara shook her head. "Something old. So old it predates the written word."
"Giles, the Dragon sphere. You said that was created to repel..." Willow trailed off as she tried to recall.
"That which cannot be named," Giles answered thoughtfully.
Willow nodded. "So I'm thinking maybe she..."
"Predates language itself?" Giles finished her sentence.
Xander slammed his book shut. "Well hey, if it means I don't have to read any more, woo!" he cried. "And might I add a big hoo!"
"If Tara's right, then we're blind. There's ... there's no way we can determine ... her moves, her habits, where she'll turn up next." He turned around, only to be confronted by another customer. "Oh! I beg your—"
The blonde woman ignored his apology. "Uh-huh. I want these."
"Yes, of course!" Giles walked back to the counter. "Um, you find everything all right?" he asked as he started ringing up her purchase.
"No problemo," the woman replied.
"That's, um...good," Giles handed her change and a piece of paper. "You change…your copy of the receipt…and thank you!" He watched her exit the store before turning back to Xander, Willow and Tara. "She could be anywhere. But if she's as powerful as Buffy says, I imagine it won't be long before she makes her presence known..."
Sunnydale Memorial
Dawn was dozing in a chair, next to Buffy, as Riley laid his windbreaker over her, like a blanket. He moved over on the other side of his girlfriend and sat next to her.
Buffy sighed as she leaned into Riley as he put his arm around her.
"Any news?" Dawn asked, not opening her eyes.
Buffy looked over at her sister and shook her head. "Not yet," she said. "Go back to sleep, Dawn. I will wake you when he comes."
She had spoke too soon as Dr. Issacs walked through the doors on the far side of the room, scanning the room.
Buffy nudged Dawn. "He's here," she said as she and Dawn stood up. Riley moved to follow the sisters but she gestured for him to wait.
Buffy and Dawn made their way across the room to stand before the doctor. "Everything went fine," he told the sisters. "They're moving her to recovery now."
"Do you have the results yet?" Dawn asked, worry laced her voice.
Dr. Isaacs paused for a moment. "Why don't we sit down over-" he suggested as he motioned toward the chairs.
"No," Buffy instantly objected. "Excuse me, no, Doctor. Not to be rude, but I don't want to sit down."
"Neither do I," Dawn agreed. "We've been doing nothing but sitting down for hours. Just tell us, please."
He reluctantly nodded, he would have preferred telling them sitting down. In his career he had seen plenty of people faint at the news he was about to give. "Your mother has...The term is "low-grade glioma." It's a brain tumor..."
Buffy and Dawn looked at each other, mirrored reactions of shock on their faces.
"The clinical name's Oligo...dendro...glioma. It's in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum," he continued. "In your mother's case, the tumor seems to have started there. In other words, it hasn't spread there from another part of the body...which, in a way, is good news..."
The Magic Box
"Hey," Anya cried, pointing to something on the counter. "Hey! HEY!"
"Anya, your heys are startling the customers," Giles said.
"And pretty much the state," Xander added.
Anya ignored them as she looked at Giles. "You sold someone a Khul's amulet and a Sobekian bloodstone."
"Yes, I believe I did," Giles replied.
"Are you stupid or something?" Anya asked him.
"Allow me to answer that question with a firing," Giles returned.
"She's kidding!" Xander cried. "Ahn, we talked about the employee-employer vocabulary no-nos. That was number five."
Anya snatched the receipt. "You never sell these things together, ever! Bad news! Don't you know about the Sobekites?"
"Oh! I do. It was an ancient Egyptian cult, heavy into dark magic," Willow informed them.
"And the Khul's amulet, wasn't that a transmogrification conduit?" Tara sought to confirm.
"Damn straight!" Anya cried.
"Be that as it may, I still see no reason for concern," Giles remarked. "I mean, the-the Sobekian transmogrification spells were lost thousands of years ago. And besides, the young woman to whom I sold them would have to have had enormous power..." he trailed off as he suddenly realized.
"Young woman?" Willow echoed, looking at him.
Giles groaned. "Oh, dear lord."
"What?" Xander looked at them.
Sunnydale Memorial
Dr. Isaacs sat across from Buffy and Dawn, both of whom were clearly rattled, nearly lost in shock. "I know this is very difficult," he told the sisters. "And, unfortunately, because of the nature of your mother's illness, things could progress very quickly."
"Things?" Dawn said.
"What things?" Buffy added.
"Symptoms," he replied. "There are a fair variety that might present. Loss of vision or appetite, lack of muscle control, mood swings, personality changes—"
Buffy cut him off. "But what can we do?"
"Not much until we determine if the tumor's operable," the doctor answered. "Which we're working on."
"Well...is there something we should be doing? Can we...help?" Dawn asked, desperately needing something to do. Since becoming a Power Ranger she had never felt this helpless.
"Well, there's some literature you both might want to look at. If we aren't able to go in surgically, there are a number of new treatments which are very promising," Dr. Isaacs replied. "Your mother's prognosis is a lot better today than it would have been only a year ago. Even if the tumor's not operable, she has a real chance."
"What's a real chance?" Buffy asked.
Dr. Isaacs hesitated. "Nearly one in three patients with this condition does just fine."
Buffy and Dawn glance at each other as it hit them like a ton of bricks that their mother could die.
"Now. Let me ask," he continued ignorant of the pain the sisters were both feeling. "Does your mother's insurance company require copies of MRI and pathology reports?"
"I'm not... sure..." Buffy said obviously thrown by the question.
"Just let me know as soon as possible," he said. "And I could use some information regarding your mom's lifestyle and home environment. For instance, does she use a cell phone?"
Buffy and Dawn continued to look at each other, the same reactions mirrored on each other's faces. "I think," Buffy answered.
"She uses one of those...She had an ear thing, but..." Dawn added.
He nodded. "Okay... Is your house near any power lines? Chemical plants? Waste disposal facilities?"
Buffy shrugged. "I don't think so... Maybe."
"Well, the more we know..." he said.
"I'm sorry..." Buffy and Dawn said in unison, their voices nearly a whisper.
Suddenly a hand touched Dr. Isaacs shoulder. He turned to look up as did Dawn and Buffy and they all saw the intern, Ben.
"Excuse me, doc, but they told me you're needed in ICU." Ben told the doctor.
"I didn't get a page," the doctor replied.
"Why page when they can send me for the personal touch?" Ben countered with a smile.
Dr. Isaacs looked at the sisters. "I'm sorry," he told them.
Neither sister is truly sure what he's sorry about. "It's... It's okay." Dawn said as the doctor stood and walked away.
Ben sat down next to the sisters and smiled at them. "Thought you two looked like you both needed a break. Guy's great, but he doesn't have that bone in his head, tells him when to back off."
"You—" Buffy started. "They didn't send for him?"
Ben shrugged. "I'm sure someone did somewhere. They always do. He really is a good doctor. Your mom's in good hands."
"Thank you. Ben, right?" Buffy said.
"Right," he agreed as he smiled at the sisters.
"He was telling us there's nothing we can do," Dawn said as she leaned her head on Buffy's shoulder.
"And I'm going to say the same thing," Ben told them. "Give yourselves a break. Listen, your mom's going to be unconscious for at least another six, seven hours..."
Buffy and Dawn looked at him. "A break?" they said.
Ben smiled. "I just mean, go out. Get some air. Come back later this evening, talk to the doc then if you want," he said as Buffy and Dawn looked at each other. He then threw up his hands, good-naturedly. "My unsolicited advice of the day." He waved at them and then walked away.
"Buffy...Dawn…" Riley said as he approached the sisters. They stood and he pulled them both into his arms.
"It's bad, Riley," Buffy said as a tear fell from her eye.
"I know," he told them.
"I've got to do something," Dawn said as Buffy and Riley looked at her in surprise at the statement.
"Do something?" Buffy asked.
Dawn nodded. "Maybe there's some magic or something—a healing spell," Dawn suggested.
"Healing spell?" Riley interjected. "Dawn... People get sick. I don't think magic can help-"
Dawn looked at Buffy. "I know you agree with me."
Buffy sighed as she nodded. "I do," she said. She looked at Riley. "Dawn and I have to try."
"Okay," Riley said knowing when to support them.
"We need to talk to Giles," Buffy said looking at her sister who nodded in agreement. She then kissed Riley before she and Dawn started down the hall.
Park
On the way to the Magic Box, they stopped at the park to take a moment, to collect themselves.
"Hello, Dawn…Buffy."
Buffy and Dawn looked around and spotted Lynn walking toward them.
"Lynn!" Dawn said surprised to see her friend there. "Why aren't you…"
"In school?" Lynn asked. "I got a call," she told the sisters cryptically.
"I hate cryptic," Buffy said with a sigh.
"Have either of you ever heard of a Whitelighter?" Lynn asked as she sat on the bench next to them.
"No," Buffy answered. "Some kind of demon?"
"Think of them as guardian angels for good witches and sometimes for future Whitelighters," Lynn said. "My grandfather was a Whitelighter, I'm only part, on my mom's side."
"What does that have to do with us?" Dawn interjected.
"More you, Dawn," Lynn answered. She looked at Buffy. "Officially because Slayers are the Powers that Be's champion. A Whitelighter can't be assigned to a Slayer. But there was a loophole." She looked at Dawn and smiled. "A Power Ranger could be."
Dawn and Buffy's eyes went wide in realization that Lynn knew that Dawn was the White Zeo Ranger.
"You see as a result of you being a Power Ranger, you could be considered a future Whitelighter because you are doing good in life, that's kind of a prerequisite," Lynn said. "When I realized who you were, Dawn. I asked for you to be assigned to me as my first charge. Of course, I had little bit of selfish reasons. I know I'm only fifteen and really kind of young to be falling in love with someone. But…"
"You are," Dawn said as Lynn nodded. "So how did you find out?"
"A lot of little things. For one the White Zeo Ranger appeared in Sunnydale around the time you moved here. Then there was your friend's birthday party. I saw you teleport, Dawn, just like the Power Rangers in Angel Grove."
"Okay so, why reveal yourself?" Dawn asked.
"As I said I'm in love with you. And since I know your secret. It's only fair you knew mine," Lynn answered as she disappeared and reappeared in blue and white orbing lights. "That's just one of my powers. I am also a witch, I can see auras, again on my mother's side. I want to help you, Dawn." She then looked at Buffy. "And you, Buffy. Because of the loophole, I can guide you both."
"Is there anything else you can do?" Buffy wondered.
"I can sense my charge, when she needs me," Lynn said as she returned her gaze to Dawn. "I could sense that you were in kind of desperate need." She looked back at Buffy. "I can also heal."
"Heal?" Dawn said as she looked at Buffy. She then looked back at Lynn. "If you can heal. We need you to come to the hospital. Our mom has a tumor…"
"I can't," Lynn said with a sigh. "My healing powers don't work for anything that isn't caused by something magical.
Dawn sighed as she looked at Buffy. "We should get to the Magic Box."
Buffy nodded in agreement as she looked at Lynn. "Thank you for trusting us with your secret."
"Your welcome, Buffy," Lynn said with a smile. She looked at Dawn. "If you need me, just call out my name."
"Okay," Dawn said as Lynn disappeared again in blue and white orbing lights.
The Magic Box
Buffy and Dawn sat with Giles, Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya. They told them about Joyce and they all look pretty blown away and worried. "...so Dawn and I figure there has to be some kind of mystical cure, right?" Buffy asked. "A spell or - or a potion or something." They hadn't told them about Lynn and saying her healing doesn't work like that. "I mean, we have to look."
"We can look - I mean we will – but I've never seen anything." Willow stated.
"The truth is, the mystical and the medical aren't meant to mix, Buffy…Dawn," Giles said gently. I'm sorry - but the human brain is very delicate. Too much can go wrong."
"Yeah. I've heard stories about people trying healing spells...If we did something - it could make things a lot worse," Tara agreed.
"And we've done just about enough making things worse for one day, haven't we?" Anya interjected.
"Why?" Dawn asked. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing," Xander said quickly. "Anya broke a... Bippidy Boppity Boo. A thing. Don't worry about it."
"I did not! I—" Anya countered.
"Anya. Buffy and Dawn doesn't need to hear about your clumsiness right now—" Giles told his employee.
"My clumsiness? That is so—" Anya started before picking up what Giles wanted out of her, "—like me. Slippery, slippery butterfingers."
Buffy and Dawn looked at them. "They like to make with the funny, don't they," Dawn said.
"They do," Buffy agreed as they looked back at their friends. "What happened?"
"Nothing to concern you. Now—" Giles tried to deflect the sisters.
"Giles," Dawn said, a hard edge in her voice.
Giles sighed. "That demon woman was here. The one who attacked Buffy."
"It's no biggy. Just got an amulet and a blood stone," Willow said trying to deflect the sisters till she saw their looks. "Okay. Biggy."
"Oh my God. Are you guys okay?" Buffy asked.
"Did anyone get..." Dawn added as she looked around for signs of damage and saw none.
"No, thankfully, there wasn't any violence to speak of," Giles said.
"Okay. That's...good," Buffy said. "So, how'd she get away with the bad mojo stuff?"
Buffy and Dawn noticed that everyone got a little quiet as they eyed them expectantly.
"Giles sold it to her," Anya blurted out.
"I, I, I... I didn't know it was her!" Giles cried contritely. "I mean, how could I? If it's any consolation, I may have overcharged her."
"And—Anya figured out what the Demon Lady is up to," Tara added.
"So, what do these amulet and bloodstone do?" Buffy asked Anya.
"A few thousand years ago there was this cult, the temple of Sobek," the former vengeance demon replied.
"Sobek," Dawn said not recognizing the name.
"Reptile demon," Anya replied. "Sobekites were reptile worshippers."
"Just once I would like to run into a cult of bunny worshippers," Xander commented.
His girlfriend glared at him. "Great. Thank you very much for those nightmares."
Xander had the grace to look apologetic. "Sorry."
"Anyway, their high priest Khul had great mystic powers. He, um, forged an amulet with transmogrifying crystal."
"Transmogrifying is changing a living thing into a different kind of thing," Willow added.
"Khul and the Sobekites started to transmogrify a race of reptile creatures," Anya explained. "They could have been amongst the first humans to actually tap into the morphing grid. Before then only Zordon and the Rangers had access to it. Anyways different blood stones were created for different species of reptiles."
"We've managed to decipher the markings on the blood stone I sol—" Giles said before correcting himself, "—she left with." He then grabbed a book and searched through the pages until he found the item he had sold. "She's going to transmogrify a cobra."
"So—" Dawn said as she stood up reaching behind her back. "She's making a monster."
"What for? What does it do?" Buffy added.
Giles turned back to the book. "That's the part ... we're working on it."
"It's Morphin' Time," Dawn called out as she pulled her morpher out from behind her back. "Zeo Ranger Six White!"
When the morphing sequence was complete Buffy and the White Zeo Ranger moved toward the door.
"Buffy? Dawn?" Giles called, making the sisters stop.
"We're going," Buffy told them. "We're going to kill her."
"Buffy, this chick creamed you last time," Xander reminded his friend.
"That's because I wasn't with her last time," the White Zeo Ranger said. "I am now."
"But we don't know anything about it," Willow said worriedly.
"Will, we can't just sit here. Dawn and I have to do something," Buffy replied, as the White Zeo Ranger opened the door, before heading outside.
Sunnydale Zoo
At the Sunnydale Zoo, where all had been quiet and normal since the disappearance of their Hyena expert, a woman and her monk lackey stalked the path to the reptile building, looking for their monster.
Glory punched her fist through the cage containing the cobra. She grabbed the coiling snake, who hissed at her for disturbing his previously quiet existence. She hissed back, unconcerned by the toxins within him.
"Chill, worm. I'm going to make you a star!" Glory laughed as she deposited it into a large vase. Turning, she held out her hand to Dreg, who gave her the amulet she had purchased. She held it over the vase. "Chant!" she ordered.
"'The form is vessel, rendered new. The base is stone, bathed in blood. The gem is fire and elements rarefied...'" Dreg began, reading from the ancient scroll.
"Sobek, grant the power," Glory requested. "That it may mold this wretched creature ... that it may be reborn ... that it may serve ... ah! Dark incantations! Always overwritten! Why can't they just cut to the-"
Suddenly she was cut off, as something slammed her into the nearby wall.
"Fight?" Buffy queried as she kicked her in the face.
"No fair—" Glory paused as she was punched again, "attacking—" another pause as the Slayer aimed a fist at her stomach and then her face, "when I wasn't even looking!"
Buffy grabbed her head and slammed it against the wall.
"Ow!" Glory grabbed her hand and returned the favor. "No, this is no good."
Buffy tried to rise and punch her again, but Glory grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her back. "I'm out of the moment..." Glory added as she braced herself against the Slayer, "and you're not giving me anything I can use. Dreg! I'm not hearing chanting!" She punched Buffy in the face and slammed her against the wall.
"Yes, Glory," Dreg opened his mouth, but was cut off as the White Zeo Ranger punched him to the floor. Silencing one, she went to help Buffy with the other.
"Hey, hey. Work with me here," Glory cried at Buffy, flinging her against a wall. The White Zeo Ranger took the opportunity and grabbed the woman to fling her against the opposite wall.
"Hey!" Glory cried. "No champion rangers allowed. No damsels in distress here." She punched the White Zeo Ranger, sending her to the floor, before grabbing the Slayer again. "There! That feels more real, don't you think?"
Glory flung Buffy into the wall once more before grabbing her by the throat. "Even if I do have to carry your performance." Suddenly her hand was wrenched off the Slayer, as the White Zeo Ranger grabbed it and slung it behind her back.
The White Zeo Ranger smirked from behind her helmet dislocating Glory's joint. "Scene!" she growled, before flinging Glory across the floor and retrieving her sister.
Dreg meanwhile, had recovered enough to chant. "Cir hayyan win-hud!"
Glory got up and walked to the vase. "Arise. Arise."
"Cir hayyan win-hud!" Dreg repeated.
"Arise!" Glory yelled.
The vase shook, then exploded as a creature burst out of it; a large cobra snake with arms, hissing and swaying.
Dreg stated the obvious. "He is arisen!"
"About damn time!" Glory grinned. "Spawn of Sobek!"
The creature turned to her, lowering its head so she could touch it. "The power is yours ... to see what is unseen. To find what is shrouded in shadow. Already, you know what I seek. I have given you form, now find for me the key. Seek it out in the holy places. Yes, yes, yes! Let your vision guide you to its hiding place, and then return to me and tell me where it lies."
Unseen behind, the White Zeo Ranger and Buffy disappeared in a beam of white light.
Sunnydale Memorial
Buffy and the White Zeo Ranger appeared in a beam of white light outside the hospital and around the corner of any curious onlookers.
"Power Down!" the White Zeo Ranger called out and in a flash of white light she de-morphed into Dawn Summers. Dawn looked her sister over. "How bad are you?" She asked.
"On a scale of one to ten; twenty," Buffy replied, groaning as she sat down on a bench. "But I'll be okay. What about you?"
"The armor protected me," Dawn replied. "I would have taken us back to the Magic Box. But I thought we could take a second to check on mom. Whatever that thing is, it will take time to track me down."
"Your sure it's after you?" Buffy asked.
"What else would she conjure it for?" Dawn shrugged. "But to find what the monks shoved inside me."
The Magic Box
Giles stopped researching as he wrist communicator beeped. He raised it to his lips. "Buffy, are you and Dawn all right?" he asked anxiously.
"No, I'm really not," Buffy replied. "We couldn't stop her. We couldn't even slow her down."
"Where are you?" Giles asked.
"Sunnydale Memorial, Dawn's fetching me an ice pack or six."
"Are you badly hurt? I'll come right over."
"No. No, I-I just wanted to warn you that that thing she conjured, it's loose - it's a big snake thing. Not mayor big, but it's pretty lethal looking."
"Do you know why she raised it?" Giles asked.
"Dawn believes it's to find her. Or more precisely, as Dawn put it, what the monks shoved inside her," Buffy replied.
"I'll warn the others. We'll get weapons, we'll fan out-"
"Mom's going to wake up soon... So, you know – Dawn and I have to be here. When the doctor..." Buffy said.
"She's in good hands, Buffy. There's really nothing else either of you can do," Giles replied as he heard the beep that signaled that the conversation was over.
Sunnydale Memorial
"I can go see mom," Dawn suggested. "So. you can…"
"Thanks, Dawn, but I think we both need to be there," Buffy countered.
A few moments Buffy and Dawn were sitting in chairs pulled up close on either side of Joyce as Dr. Isaacs told Joyce what he had found.
The Magic Box
Buffy and Dawn appeared in a beam of white light in the training room. They walk out into the main shop. They walk over to Giles and their friends. "So, any monster reptile cobra sightings?" Buffy asked.
Giles shook his head. "None."
"Tara and I did a mini-patrol earlier, but biggie snake was nowhere to be—" Willow stopped speaking as something caught her gaze.
They turned in time to see the cobra staring at them through the window. It burst through the glass and reared up, glaring at them. Its eyes were fixed on Dawn, who was reaching behind her back. "It's Morphin' Time," she called out as she brought her morpher out for the second time that evening.
The Cobra's eyes glowed red, and then suddenly it turned and slithered away.
"Why was the big snake afraid of you, Dawn, you didn't even have a chance to morph?" Willow asked.
Dawn turned to Giles and Buffy. "It knows!" she whispered. "It's Morphin' Time!" she called out again. "Zeo Ranger Six White!"
As the morphing sequence transformed her into the White Zeo Ranger, she ran out after the snake, followed by Buffy.
Streets of Sunnydale
Giles grabbed his car from outside and drove it level with them, opening the door. The Power Ranger and the Slayer jumped in and the vehicle began chasing the cobra.
Angered the beast whacked with its tail. Giles managed to dodge one blow, but the snake was too fast, and the second sent him into some garbage bags.
"We've got to stop this monster before it gets back to Glory," Buffy declared.
"Glory?" Giles echoed.
"That's what he called her," the White Zeo Ranger replied. "Giles, she's going to know the Key's inside me if we don't—"
"We will," Giles assured both sisters, before backing the car out to resume the chase.
The cobra slithered down the rapidly darkening streets of Sunnydale suburbs, followed closely by Giles' car, as the vehicle careened around corners and dodged other cars. Ahead the snake tore at a section of tarp covered fence, the movement almost missed in the night, if not for the watcher's headlights.
Giles braked with a screech of tires, and Buffy and the White Zeo Ranger leapt out of the car to follow the creature on foot.
"White Zeo Power Sword!" the Ranger called out as the sword beamed into her hand.
Buffy grabbed a piece of chain from a fence as they chased after the creature, leaping on to a large rock as the snake rounded a corner of the path. She jumped off the rock and landed on the cobra's back, wrapping the chain around its neck.
Enraged the cobra thrashed about, trying to throw her off, but the Slayer hung on for grim death. Slowly she tightened the chain, until it began to strangle the snake, until it stopped struggling in her grip. She relaxed when she thought it was over.
Suddenly the monster reared up, throwing her off him. She flew backwards into the White Zeo Ranger's arms, who broke her fall on the ground. The snake turned to hiss at them as Buffy got up.
Buffy punched it in the face, then climbed on top of it again, punching it over and over. She continued to punch, lost in the moment.
The White Zeo Ranger opened her eyes and rose from the ground to find her sister thrashing the now dead creature. Slowly she mounted the body behind Buffy, and gently grabbed her sister's arms, restraining then finally halting the blows.
"Power Down!" and in a flash of white light it was Dawn that held her sister, waiting for the adrenaline to fade away, for the stillness of the night to calm Buffy.
The Slayer heaved a cry, then turned around and clutched at Dawn. "If it…" Buffy told her sister.
"I know," Dawn replied and then she smiled. "But that's why I'm a Power Ranger, remember?"
Buffy chuckled as Dawn hit the transport button on her wrist communicator and they disappeared in a beam of white light.
Sunnydale Memorial
Buffy stood beside Joyce's bed. It had been decided that the sisters would take turns with their mother. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Buffy asked.
"No - it's fine. I think I need to talk to Dawn alone," Joyce said.
"Okay," Buffy agreed.
"Do I have bed hair? I don't look like scary mom - do I?" Joyce asked.
Buffy smoothed her mother's hair a bit before standing back. "You look beautiful."
"Okay..." Joyce told her daughter. "Let's do this. But stay close."
Buffy nodded. "Will do."
Buffy went to the door and opened it. She and Dawn exchanged sad glances as they passed each other. Buffy closes the door behind, leaving it slightly ajar. She was almost sure what her mother was wanting to talk to Dawn about.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Dawn," Joyce said as she patted the bed and Dawn climbed up on it beside her. "First I have to admit how proud I am of you. I have two of the bravest, selfless daughters anyone could ever hope for. Now I want you to promise me. Whatever happens. You will always be at Buffy's side. That as long as you are a Power Ranger, that you will always protect your sister."
"There are no worries, mom," Dawn said as she smiled. "Buffy, will always have my protection. I know the reason Zordon said that he created these powers for me. But I think he also knew that I would help Buffy, no matter what. And a gift, for you." She held out a wrist communicator to her mother. "This is yours. Everyone who knows who I am, has one. You were the last one not to. If you need me. Its voice activated. Just say my name. The communicator will recognize who you want to talk to and connect you to me…or to Buffy…or to Giles. If you need anything, even if it's just to hear our voices."
"I call, I promise. Thank you, Dawn," Joyce said as she smiled at her daughter.