Chapter 8: The Key Found

*****A Month Later*****

Buffy read the newspaper; something she didn't used to do before meeting Tony Stark. So far, Tony's plan was working. He and Dawn spent two weeks touring Egypt and Spain with Daniel. Buffy had gotten more than one excited call from Daniel, who loved showing Dawn the place he loved most in the world. They had sent her lots of pictures. Tony had mailed Buffy a secured satellite phone that would allow them to communicate anywhere on the planet, which did help to alleviate Buffy's anxiety. Angel met up with them after they left Spain in some place in Europe, and then Tony went off grid for two weeks. That's what the paper had been about. Where was Tony?

"He is in his lab working," CEO and girlfriend Pepper Potts told reporters.

That was entirely possible, so no one was too concerned.

Then Spike was taken by Glory, and Buffy felt real fear. However, Spike didn't betray them. She didn't understand it.

Later, she spoke to Angel about it on the secure phone. "I don't get it, Angel," Buffy said. "He doesn't have a soul. Why would he stay loyal to us? You should have seen what she did to him. He was tortured for hours."

Angel considered it for a moment. "I don't know, but he was never much of a demon. He genuinely loved Dru, which she enjoyed a lot even though she was not capable of returning the sentiment," Angel shared. "A demon takes over the human body. Somehow, Spike just isn't a demon that is pure evil. He wasn't anything like Angelus, and Angelus knew that. He would hurt Spike because of it. That's partly why Spike sought to kill slayers—to prove he was as capable a vampire as Angelus. However, that was more about skill. Warrior to warrior. He fought a fair fight and won."

"What about how he earned his nickname?" Buffy asked.

"The victims he chose were never upstanding citizens," Angel said. "They were drifters, thieves, even an occasional murderer or wife beater. He hated men who hit their wives."

"Well, I am relieved because I thought for sure that he would tell her that Dawn was the Key," Buffy said.

Angel felt a stab of pride for his old companion. Although he hated what really motivated Spike, he was glad that Spike was there to watch Buffy's back.

"You know he loves you," Angel said. "That's why he stays and protects you and keeps your secrets."

"I can't help how he feels," Buffy said. "All I've done is beat him up a lot, Angel. Not killing him is the only sign of my affection."

Angel chuckled. "For Spike, it probably is, because Dru was a bit of a sadist," he remarked.

Buffy shuddered. "Didn't need to know that she said. I'm just relieved that Dawn is safe and so is her secret."

"Me too," Angel said.

"How's Tony?" Buffy asked.

"He's good. He's finally stopped experimenting on me," Angel said.

"You let him?" Buffy said, surprised.

"If you spent any real time with Tony Stark, you would not ask that question," Angel said. "I have lived over two hundred years and met all kinds of people, and I can honestly say that no other like him has ever lived. He is the most relentless and single-minded man I have ever met. Once his genius brain focuses on you, he never lets up. I said no for a full week, and then I just couldn't do it anymore. He wouldn't leave me alone. He's smarter than me, and he had twenty arguments as to why it was important for the world and science that he learn all there was to learn about vampire physiology."

Buffy laughed. "Oh, poor Angel," she said.

"You don't know suffering until you've been harassed by Tony Stark," Angel insisted. "I really considered killing him. I did hit him once, but he just wrote down the result of the impact of my fist in his notebook. Then asked me if that was my full strength."

Now Buffy was really laughing, imagining it. "I wish I was there to see that," she said. "How are you keeping this from Daniel?"

"Oh, we didn't," Angel revealed. "There was no way. Tony told him the very first day I met them in Spain."

"How did he take it?" Buffy asked. She wondered why Dawn hadn't told her that.

"As you would expect," Angel said. "He was curious and enthusiastic and almost as bad as Tony with his questions. However, they were more about the history of vampirism and anthropological aspects of vampire families."

"I am surprised that you know that word," Buffy said, amused. She didn't remember ever laughing so much while talking to Angel.

"Believe me, Tony and Dr. Jackson have taught me a lot of words," Angel said.

"Poor Angel," Buffy said again. "So, what's Tony's next move?"

"He knows the media is relentless, so he's going to head back to the States and leave us here," Angel said. "He's hoping it will keep the media off Dawn's scent."

"I don't like the idea of him being away from her," Buffy said.

"I know, but he's not wrong," Angel said. "They are obsessed with him and her by extension. They'll assume she's with him if he shows up back home."

"Okay," Buffy said. "Keep in touch."

"I will," Angel replied. He hung up.

Dawn was looking mopey as she faced her father. How did she go so long not knowing this incredible man? He was so much fun and so different from Hank.

"Don't be sad," Tony said, pulling her into his arms for a hug.

"I can't help it. You're leaving," she pointed out.

"Because it's the best plan," he said. "They'll eventually find us, and then you'll be spotted, too."

"But Glory doesn't know I'm your daughter," Dawn countered.

"That we know of," Tony said. "The snake she sent was killed at my tower. She might know. We don't know."

The past month had been the most amazing experience of Dawn's life. Sure, she knew her life was in danger, but the fun she was having with Daniel and her dad made her forget. They saw so many amazing things, and they tasted so many delicious foods. It was awesome. Daniel knew everything about everything they saw, and her dad knew all the gossip about everything else. He had to be the coolest dad on the planet.

She hated that she couldn't tell her school friends back in Sunnydale. Of course, she did get to talk to Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, and Spike. She told them all about her trips and sent them postcards and pictures. Tony let her buy any souvenir she wanted, so she would have lots to give them when she got back home.

"What's going to happen when this is over?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" Tony replied.

"Will I see you?" Dawn asked.

"Of course," Tony said. "Your sister said that you will live with me. You're not going to return to the hellmouth full-time."

Dawn felt relieved and then immediately guilty for feeling that way. Buffy had done so much for her, and she knew how much her sister loved her. "What about Buffy?" she asked.

"When this is over, I will move to Malibu. The new house should be ready," Tony explained. "It's much closer to Sunnydale. You can see your sister every weekend. Happy will make sure. You can go to Sunnydale for short visits. We can take a helicopter or fly you on a plane I own. I will make sure your sister can get to Malibu whenever she wants to get away from the hellmouth."

Dawn smiled and hugged him. She wouldn't have to choose. "I love you," she told him.

Tony felt love for her fill him. Love was too mild a word for what he felt for his daughter. He loved Pepper, but having a daughter was an entirely new experience. It didn't matter that she was supernaturally created. For him, that just made it even more amazing. It was like the divine hand of God reached down and chose him to safeguard this amazing girl. She was given to him. She was made out of him. The other half of her was Buffy Summers, and Tony had learned all there was to know about Buffy since meeting his daughter. He knew about her flaws because Dawn was a teenager who loved to complain at times. However, she admired her sister above all others, and Tony was man enough to admit that he was more than a bit jealous.

How could he compete with a girl who was willing to kill the man she loved to save the world when she was just seventeen? Tony was getting drunk and skipping school when he was seventeen. He could not fathom killing Pepper today to save the world. It was not a position that he would probably ever be in, and it was a good thing the fate of the world didn't depend on him making such a sacrifice.

She was ostracized at school, and she still went out every night saving her peers. Dawn and Angel told her about the town's evil mayor and how they armed her senior class to battle him when he turned into a forty-foot snake. Angel was there; Dawn was not. However, all Buffy's friends verified Angel's account. Of course, it was Giles' the librarian and Watcher that Dawn trusted the most. Ironically, it was he who blew up the school with the dynamite Xander had procured at the nearby army base.

What a group of kids! If Tony had had such friends when he was their age, there was no telling what he might have accomplished at this point in his life. That his daughter had such role models surrounding her made him very happy. Pepper, of course, would polish off all her rough edges. That his daughter shared DNA with Buffy Summers made him incredibly happy because he knew that his daughter would have her strength. Sure, she may never be superpowered like a slayer, but she would have the inner strength that Buffy had, and for Tony, that was much more important. It meant that his daughter would be the finest Stark that ever lived. She was already brilliant in her own unique way, picking up languages the way he picked up science and math.

"Dawn, this will be over soon," Tony told her.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Well, from what you and Angel have told me, all the crap your sister deals with seems to come at a peak toward the middle of or end of May," Tony said. "Daniel said that there is some astrological event happening in another week, and that is most likely when Glory needs to use your blood to open her door."

Daniel, who was standing nearby, nodded. "Yes, I spoke to Dr. Giles, and he agrees that she will most likely need to go at a certain time and that time makes the most sense," he added.

"So, we keep her away, and we keep her safe," Gunn said.

Tony nodded. "I've hired more security, and I don't want you to leave much," he said. "Only at night when Angel is with you."

Dawn nodded. "I understand," she said.

"I will be on the monitors, so it's like I'm not even gone," Tony said. He had JARVIS installed there, so he could easily monitor what was happening in his absence.

He said a final goodbye. "Love you, kid. Listen to Angel and Dr. Jackson. I will call you when I get home," he told her.

Then he left her; it was the hardest thing he ever did.

*****A Week Later*****

Glory smiled at Slook. "My brother located her for me?" she asked in surprise. Her pet snake was tracked to Stark Tower in New York. It had taken time for them to discover that, but Slook was smarter than most of her minions. Dreg had discovered that her brother was about to get kicked out of his residential doctor program, and he promised to help keep her out of his day job. Of course, he seemed to not realize that when she went home, he would cease to be. The idiot. It was he who realized that the Key must be human, and that they had sent it to the slayer to protect.

It made sense. Tony Stark was a billionaire who made some type of suit that allowed him to fly. Glory actually thought it was kind of cool. Too bad she was going to have to kill him if he didn't give her his key.

"Tony Stark is back home," Slook shared. "However, the Key has not been seen."

"Hmm. He has hidden her," Glory said. "Keep looking through his holdings."

"They are vast," Dreg told her.

"I will go to his Tower and see if I can get it out of him," Glory said, smiling in anticipation. "I bet his mind tastes delicious."

"Your brother has work," Dreg reminded her.

"My brother is a fool," she replied. "Make the arrangements."

"Of course, your worshipfulness," Dreg said, bowing.

*****The Next Day*****

Tony was in his lab when JARVIS alerted him that he had an intruder. When he saw the blonde on the video walk out onto his balcony, he thought it might be Buffy and wasn't alarmed. Pepper wasn't home, so he hurried to see what would bring Buffy to see him without calling.

"Buffy? Is something wrong?" he asked as he made it into the living room area.

There was no reply, so he walked closer to the balcony. When he stepped onto it, he quickly realized that it wasn't Buffy. The woman was taller with permed hair. A sick feeling filled him.

"Glory," he said.

She turned and smiled. "You know who I am? Tony Stark knows my name. I feel oddly special," she said. "My minions told me all about you. I gotta say this view and this tower are amazing."

"Thank you," he said. He very carefully pushed an alert on his phone. "Would you like a drink?"

Glory smiled in approval. "That is very nice. Yes," she said.

Tony walked around his bar to make a drink for her, slipping on his arm band for his suit when he got the chance. Then he relaxed. "So, what brings you by," he said, handing her the drink.

"I want my key, and I heard you were protecting her," she said, taking a sip.

"The key is a her? That is odd," Tony said, trying to find out what she knew.

"No need to play stupid. I know your daughter, the slayer's sister, is my key," Glory said with a smug smile. "It was very clever of those monks to disguise it in such a way. I wasted a lot of time looking for an object when it was a person all along."

"Well, you will never find my daughter," Tony said.

"I wouldn't bet on that," Glory said. "My minions are quite resourceful."

"Maybe so, but so am I," Tony replied. He put down the drink and pushed the button, so the suit covered his body.

"That is very cool," Glory said, impressed.

Tony didn't hesitate and hit her with his plasma blast over and over, knowing how strong she was. When he got closer to her, he grabbed her by the throat and kept pounding her face over and over, not allowing her a chance to recover. Then he flew her out of his tower to the middle of the ocean and dropped her into it.

When he made it back to tower, he called Buffy and told her what happened.

"You aren't hurt?" Buffy asked, surprised.

"I didn't give her a chance to hurt me," he said. "I kept her talking and then attacked swiftly. Then I flew her out of the tower, dropping her into the middle of the ocean."

"That's brilliant," Buffy said. "I wish I could have seen it."

"It was fast. Less than two minutes," Tony said. "I doubt I'll get away with it again."

"You better leave the Tower because she knows where you are. Keep Pepper out of there," Buffy advised.

"I will," he said. "I'm calling her next. Let Angel know. Be ready."

*****Gstaad, Switzerland*****

Tony had rented out an entire floor of the Gstaad Palace Hotel for them to stay in. Dr. Jackson took her to visit two boarding schools while she was there: Le Rosey, the oldest and most prestigious in the country, possibly the world, and JFK International School, which catered to more famous athletic types or children of famous athletes, Olympians specifically. Although Dawn was suitably impressed with both places, she could not imagine being so far away from her friends and family long-term. Besides, Daniel knew more than anyone, and Dawn felt he was all the teacher she needed.

Of course, Daniel had never been to this particular place and geeked out over the St. Nicholas Chapel that was built in the village in 1402. They didn't get to tour the place in the daylight, much to his frustration. However, when they got the call that Glory had found Tony and knew Dawn was the key, they were grateful for the security measures.

"What should we do?" Dawn asked Angel.

"Stay inside. No more trips outside," Angel said.

"I agree," Daniel said.

"The room is in my name, so I don't see how they can locate it. I have no connection to you or Tony," Gunn said.

"True," Dawn said, feeling relieved.

She couldn't know that one of the housekeepers was young and read celebrity gossip. The housekeeper recognized Dawn the next morning when Dawn happened to not be hidden when she came to remove the bedding.

Her innocent post was picked up by a blogger. Two days later, Slook told his god the good news.

"I have found your key!"

****To Be Continued****

Okay, the next chapter will FOR SURE be the final chapter. I almost went longer in this one, but I thought this was a good stopping point. Reviews are ALWAYS very appreciated!