Sunnydale.
'Cordelia, Angel, Darla'.
Those were the names going through Dawn's mind as she exited the cab after it stopped outside the cemetery where Spike's crypt was located.
'Angel and Darla will have Conner, and Conner will impregnate Cordelia after she comes back from the higher planes with Jasmine hitching a ride,' Dawn thought while she told the driver to wait for a few minutes. And when he accepted, Dawn turned and rushed into the cemetery and towards Spike's crypt. All the while thinking, 'Angel will become Twilight, and…' Dawn then stopped at the entrance and thought, 'time has already changed. Will he still become Twilight? Will the First have enough power to order around the Bringers freely, will….' Dawn shook her head and then continued walking with her hands in her pockets and her head held high, 'no… I can't think like that. They need to go. They have key roles to play in the end of the world which, I have to admit, may or may not happen. But I can't risk it, they have key roles to play in the end of days. And… and I know I'm doing the right thing.'
Dawn continued walking while pushing back the voice in her mind saying that Cordelia and Angel haven't done anything yet, and that Darla is probably a human in Los Angeles who hasn't been impregnated yet. Dawn still shook her head and thought, 'they still need to removed off the board. They are still dangerous… they will hurt us and the world. They need to go… yea… they need to go.'
Upon reaching the crypt, Dawn pushed the door open and walked into the room before a frown appeared on her face. 'His couch is still here, and so is the TV' she thought to herself looking around as she walked further into the crypt where she saw a table next to the couch that had an ash tray on it. She stared at the cigarette butt before looking at the TV which was switched off. 'Damn it, Spike', Dawn thought to herself as she walked towards the cover that led to the stairs which, in turn, led to the lower level. She walked down the steps and then into the hallway with walls of stones before making a left turn a few feet later.
Dawn frowned as she entered Spike's bedroom; she saw his unmade bed which seemed as if it was slept on, she turned her head and saw his clothes in a wooden closet while other clothes were on the bed. He saw the bedside tables full of beer bottles and then turned to her left where she saw a cooler. Shaking her head, Dawn then turned around and started to walk angrily through the hallway that led to the stairs, 'Spike! I told you to leave. I told you that you were a danger to Buffy!'. Dawn could believe that Spike didn't listen to her- all she wanted to do was make sure her sister never had to go through something like that ever again.
'I told him that if he really loved her, then he had to leave Sunnydale,' Dawn thought striding up the stairs and then past the couch and out the door. She slammed the door to the crypt shut behind her before walking onto the grass and towards the cab waiting for her at the entrance to the cemetery. Dawn knew if she hadn't used the spell on Warren, she would be using it on the crypt- right now she was exhausted from using a powerful spell since she wasn't a natural witch. Right now, all Dawn wanted to do was go back home and sleep.
'But I told Giles that I'll be back,' Dawn thought to herself upon seeing the cab in the distance, 'so, might as well go back to the Magic Box. And Spike? I have to give him a chance. I'm tell him to leave again. For the help he gave us… he deserves a chance to leave.' However, as Dawn walked past the entrance, she didn't want to imagine what would have to be done in the even he didn't leave. Getting into the cab, Dawn asked the driver to take her home.
Once she reached the house, Dawn washed the blood away the blood on Buffy's dagger with bleach before placing it back into the weapons chest in the living room. She then left the home and walked back out towards the waiting cab when she suddenly stopped.
Dawn looked back at the garage and then back at the cab as an idea came to her head. She looked back up at the brightly lit day, and then back at the cab before rushing towards it as she took out some cash that Buffy had given her earlier. Dawn paid the driver, telling him that she changed her mind, after which she turned back towards the house and strode up the walkway and into the house once again. Dawn walked back into the living room and stood in the middle as she prepared another location spell.
She searched for Buffy and the others, and were glad to know that they were busy, 'probably listening in to Andrew and Jonathon's theories about Superman and the Flash,' Dawn thought. She then switched her attention to Spike who was at the Bronze, before she took in a deep breath and searched for Angel, Darla, and Cordelia.
"Found you," Dawn whispered at the dots that appeared on the map of Los Angeles, "I'm not waiting. Today, it all ends." The map dissipated before Dawn rushed to the weapons chest and took out the dagger from earlier. She then, while placing the sheathed dagger next to the small of her back, rushed to the phone and called the Magic Box.
"Giles," the older Dawn said just as the younger Dawn walked into the Magic Box after having finished with the school day, "I know I said I'll be back at the Magic Box after the movie but I need to go to Los Angeles."
"Los Angeles?" Giles asked confused as the younger Dawn, putting her bag on the table, turned to him in surprise, "why?"
"Well, my Willow taught me to do location spells and… and I know I gave this timelines Willow grief about magic and such… anyway, I used a location spell to find a guy I knew back in my own time," Dawn lied, but still had a nervous tinge to her voice since she was lying to Giles, "and I thought I'd go see him. He should be nineteen now and.. I.. mean…"
"So you and this boy were…."
"A thing," Dawn smiled as she grabbed the car keys, "and… I mean I just want to see him again. I'm not gonna tell him about the future or anything. Don't worry about that."
"Dawn, you should wait for Buffy and the others. Maybe they would like to go with you."
"I know I would," the younger Dawn said with a grin as she stared at Giles before walking to the counter, "this guy is someone we'll know?!" the young woman yelled. The older Dawn chuckled on the phone after hearing herself speak on the other line before saying, "tell my younger self that the sex between us was amazing."
"Yes," the suddenly nervous Giles whose face went all red in embarrassment said while looking at the younger Dawn, "the both of you…. Know each other."
"Sweet," the younger Dawn said before turning around and heading back to the table. The older Dawn was laughing over the other end of the line before saying that she would be back later that night.
"Keep some slices of Pizza for me," the Older Dawn said before putting the phone back down. She then walked out to the garage, started the Jeep, and then drove out the drive. With the garage doors closing behind her, Dawn then made her way towards the highway and the two-hour drive to Los Angeles. The older Dawn knew this wasn't going to be easy- Angel was someone the Scoobies trusted and saw as an ally, but he was Twilight's vessel. 'And there is every chance he could be again. A rumour circulated that the reason Twilight was able to get to Angel was because he had a soul… and… and I know Buffy loves him. But this has to be done.'
The older Dawn pulled the Jeep to the side of the road just before reaching the on-ramp for the highway. She knew what she did to Amy and Warren were just- it was something they deserved. But now, just before making the first push towards Los Angeles, Dawn felt her heart racing. She went back to thinking the same thoughts as back in the cemetery earlier, Dawn knew that her next targets were the allies of the Scoobies, 'well, except for Darla anyway.' But Dawn knew that Darla already paid for the suffering she caused by being turned to ash years ago. 'But she's back… she's supposed to be innocent…. Supposed to have already paid for her mistakes. She is human and….' The older Dawn shook her head as she leaned back in her seat while cars and trucks whooshed past her, "no she becomes a vampire again and… and I need to get her before she does. I need to take her out before Wolfram and Hart gets the crazy bitch, Drusilla, to make her a vampire again.'
But Dawn still couldn't feel as if she was making a mistake. 'Warren and Amy caused so much pain and…" The older Dawn closed her eye again and took in a deep breath. There was a part of her that knew what she did was to Amy and Warren was wrong, 'that's why you never told Buffy, Giles, and the others what you did or were planning to do.' Another part of Dawn then shot back, 'Buffy and the others would have let Warren and Amy go. They would have tried to set them on the right path' Dawn snorted to herself shaking her head, 'there is no right path for them. Amy was already corrupted by Rack. She was going to hurt Willow. Hurt all of us. And Warren? Warren was a murderer! He killed his girlfriend, who knows how many others he abused, and he killed Tara! He deserved what he got!'
Dawn opened her eye and stared out the windshield.
"But do Cordelia and Angel deserve it? Now? In this new timeline? Do they deserve it now?" The older Dawn asked herself. Her chest stung as she leaned forward, and grabbed the steering wheel with one hand, 'Angel could become Twilight, Cordelia will become a higher being and then come back to give birth to that monster, Jasmine. And Darla? Well Darla's supposed to give birth to Connor who'll be kidnapped by Holtz and then returned from hell. Connor will screw Cordelia, and that will give birth to… to Jasmine' Dawn's chest still stung when she realized that there was no choice. She had to do something, 'but there is a choice', Dawn thought to herself. But the more she thought about telling Angel and the others what was to come, 'even telling them won't do anything. What's the saying? The more you try to prevent something with foreknowledge, the more likely it is what you are trying to prevent will take place.'
"No choice," Dawn whispered putting the Jeep back into 'Drive' and then heading up the on-ramp towards Los Angeles, 'sorry, Buffy. But this is something I have to do.'
The Magic Box, two hours later.
"Nothing," Buffy huffed after she walked back into the Magic Box with the rest of the Scoobies behind her. They had been following Andrew and Jonathan in separate groups before rendezvousing at the Espresso Pump- and they found nothing that would show them that the two were a threat. As Buffy walked over to the counter where Giles stood at the cash register and the others headed for the table, the younger Dawn said that her older self had gone to Los Angeles to meet up with a friend. Buffy raised an eyebrow, a quizzical expression on her face, before asking, "what friend?"
"Someone she knew in her future," Giles answered before Buffy turned to stare at him, " and then at the younger Dawn.
"A friend?" Buffy asked.
"Looks like I'll be in an exciting relationship in the future and…"
"I don't wanna hear it," Buffy exclaimed putting her hands over her ears while Willow and Tara chuckled at the redness covering the Slayer's face, "and you are not dating anyone until you're in college, and…."
"AAh," Dawn waved her hands before turning around with a grin on her face and taking a seat next to Anya who said that the 'nerds' were, as she put it, "talking nerd things".
"Nerd things?" Giles asked.
"Oh you know- Wonder Woman, Star Trek, Star Wars, did Han shoot first?" Xander shrugged, "that kind of Nerd Things."
"Oh," nodded Giles before turning back towards Buffy who was biting her lower lip deep in thought, "Buffy?"
"They didn't seem like they were going to be any danger at all," Buffy said glancing at Tara who was talking to the younger Dawn. Buffy recalled that the older Dawn said the two young men were supposed to kill Tara. She shifted her eyes back towards Giles, "but I guess we need to follow them for a little longer. We remember what Jonathan did with that whole reality changing wish thing, so we need to make sure he and Andrew aren't going into anything darker."
"I'll check the books for a way to check in on them without them knowing," Willow answered after turning away from Tara. The brunette witch then sighed and leaned back on her seat while wondering what would turn two seemingly benign you men into killers. It would be minutes later that the older Dawn would reach Los Angeles while Buffy, Willow, and Tara left for their classes at U. .
Los Angeles.
Dawn pulled the jeep into a parking structure after she got off the highway. It was still afternoon with the full force of the sun beating down into the city- the weather was so hot and whatever breeze being carried though the air was warm and stifling. Even the shade of the parking structure wasn't enough to cool off the heat, which was why Dawn kept the vehicle running while she leaned back on the driver seat after parking the car.
'I have to do this,' Dawn thought to herself as she thought about Willow, her Willow, being stabbed from behind before entering the breach. Dawn took in a deep breath, 'or else your death would be for nothing'. Dawn opened her eyes, the sight of the blood on Willow's chest still so fresh in her mind, and then took in a deep breath once again. 'I have to do this. For the safety of this world, to protect Buffy and the others… I need to do this. Just as we planned.'
Dawn was very aware that using the 'Ignis' spell had taken much out of her. She wasn't a natural witch, at least not like Willow or Tara, or any of the other witches in their former base of operations back in the future. Like most of the other, she could cast spells- but in doing so it would take most of her energy. She resolved to use a second 'ignis' spell on Angel- it would tire her out even more, but it won't get her so exhausted that she needed to sleep somewhere in LA. The last thing she wanted was to stay in the city for longer than she intended, 'and Tara suspects I had something to do with Amy already.' Dawn wondered what this timeline's Buffy's would do when the latter discovered that she was the one who killed Warren, Amy, and was going to kill Angel, Cordelia, and Darla.
'She'll be angry,' the older Dawn thought to herself while she performed the 'distraction' spell- she made sure that any one searching would see that she was in another part of the city. Once that spell was in place, Dawn then performed a location spell for Cordelia, Angel and Darla, "let's see who's closer." While Dawn performed the spell, she thought of Buffy's expression if she ever found out the truth, and the imaginary look of betrayal on the blonde Slayer's face broke older Dawn's heart.
'Angel was my friend too,' Dawn thought to herself, 'I hate Darla just because she's a soulless vamp, and Cordelia? Well, I didn't have any problem with her and slowly we became close when she was in Sunnydale. But… but as much as I hope that my timeline won't repeat itself here, I cannot take that risk.'
Dawn stared at the map of LA hanging in the air in front of her, along with three dots that corresponded to her targets. Her eyes shifted towards each target as she thought about who to target first. Once her eyes settled on a target, Dawn whispered, "I guess Darla's first,". She then closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Opening her eyes again, Dawn leaned forward and placed one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the key in the ignition. She glanced at the steering wheel, particularly the ring figure while she engaged the reverse gear. Dawn then had a melancholy look on her face before she looked away, shook her head, and then drove out of the structure. 'For everyone who died,' Dawn thought to herself, 'this is for you, Willow. …. What I do now is for us.'
A minute later, Dawn was on her way towards her first target.
The future.
Willow screamed out in pain while she hung in the air. Her head was pulled back, her arms stretched out by her sides, her hair turning black and then red multiple times while the loud laughter from Twilight could be heard for miles around. All over the world, Twilight's demons were neutralizing the rest of the human resistance- information that Twilight tore out of Willow's head just after he pulled her body back together. Each resistance cell had their magical wards crushed before the demons broke through and killed everyone.
It wouldn't be long before Willow was the only human on Earth; a planet where its magic was being corrupted. Willow could barely collect enough power to fight back thanks to the aforementioned magical corrupting and the pain caused by Twilight's corruption of her very soul. Willow could feel jagged nails grasping and digging into her mind and heart while a cold empty feeling was digging its way into her soul. Willow tried fighting- she tried everything she could for the past several hours since she was resurrected to push back Twilight.
But she was failing. She was known as the Supreme Witch of the Earth Realm and she was failing. Her mind grasped for the memories that were being corrupted. She grasped for the first kiss with Tara but it got covered in shadow. She grasped for the memory of Buffy, Xander, and even Anya… but those were covered in shadow and torn apart. And Willow screamed out a bloodcurdling roar of pain when she lost her grasp on the memory of her first kiss with Dawn- her first birthday after the apocalypse with the brunette.
"The world's ended Will," Dawn had said on the last night they shared in their tent surrounded by a soundproof shield. Willow grasped tight onto that memory for a few seconds longer. She was looking up into Dawn's eyes after the latter, the both of them panting, crawled up the redhead's sweat covered body. After their latest exertions, they needed to recharge before trying to at least get a few hours of sleep. Willow remembered her body tingling as Dawn lay down- the brunette's arm around her waist and her head settling down against the nape of her neck. Willow closed her eyes and revelled in the sensation of Dawn gently breathing against her skin.
"I know," Willow whispered while she rolled to her side so that they were now face to face, one arm under Dawn's side. That arm was placed on the brunette's back while her other hand was on Dawn's waist. Willow tried to hold onto the memory of looking into Dawn's eyes as she thought of everything she was going to lose, "but you're going back to change things. You…"
"Come with me," Dawn whispered brushing her fingers against Willow's side until she reached her hips, "you can come, and…"
"You know I can't," Willow said gently, "I…"
Willow felt that memory slipping away… she felt darkness and pure evil taking over her very self.
"I…." Willow tried to remember what happened next. But she could feel Twilight taking over- the latter placed his hand, glowing black, on Willow's chest. As darkness from Twilight slipped into the ever-weakening Willow, the redhead pulled that memory back into the forefront of her mind, "I… I know it's the end of the world. And I… I should have done this earlier."
"Done what?" Dawn whispered narrowing her eyes.
"The end of the world."
"That's what I said," Dawn replied confused.
"I loved three people, Dawnie," Willow whispered. And now she could feel this memory being covered in darkness. She felt chains wrapping around her arms and legs, her chest and neck; she felt a veil covering her face while a voice whispered in her ears.
"You're mine now," Twilight whispered, "you are mine. You are me." Willow screamed through a shroud that covered her very soul as she tried to grab a hold on her memory. Her last happy memry as thoughts or destruction and murder started to take over.
"I loved Oz, Tara, kinda had something for Kennedy, and then you," Willow remembered whispering to Dawn. Her memory was staring to fade now, "and this is the last day I would spend with my love. The last day I would spend with you before we all die."
"Willow?" Dawn asked. Willow could see Dawn's face vanishing as her memory was being pulled away.
"Marry me before the end," Willow asked as Dawn started to vanish from her minds eye. And Willow screamed out for her love, "DAWN!"
And just before Willow felt herself being locked away with chains dragging her into a deep black ocean- an ocean which upon entering she felt her body starting to freeze over as it seeped through her pores and into her blood. She felt as if she wanted to scream, but she couldn't control her body. She was completely helpless just as one word echoed through the darkness before there was complete silence.
"Yes."
And then she felt evil grab her very soul before she was pulled further into the dark and cold ocean. Willow was gone, her very being covered in shadow as she sank- until the Willow that the older Dawn knew was no more. The woman who stared back at Twilight now had no emotion showing on her face. Her eyes were still green, her hair was now red, and she stood on the blood soaked ground with her chin jutting out at Twilight who pulled away his hand from her chest.
"You have a small part of me in you," Twilight sneered as Willow tilted her head and a small smile came on her face, "prepare the universe for my coming."
Willow nodded her head.
"Do not harm Buffy or Angel, or any of the other Scoobies. Especially the two versions of Dawn, and your younger self," Twilight said while staring at Willow as he mentally formed clothes around her body. As a black leather jacket started to form around her shoulders with a blue shirt underneath the jacket and blue jeans forming around her hips and legs, Twilight continued, "I want them to watch the end."
Willow nodded her head once again while the jacket finished forming. Standing in clean jeans, a blue shirt, and a black leather jacket, Willow was ready. At least that was what Twilight said before stepping forward and leaning in to whisper into her ear. Willow stared straight ahead while Twilight finished his final orders before stepping back.
"I understand," Willow responded, her eyes shifting towards Twilight, "they will die. All of them will die."
"Use the power I granted you," Twilight nodded his head, "kill them all. And then find the Scythe and call upon the power of the First Slayer. And then you know what to do."
"Yes," Willow smirked at Twilight, "I will lead you to this new universe."
"Good girl," Twilight said before stepping back and to one side while pointing at the empty space where he could feel the still healing rip in the fabric of the universe, "now go. Be my herald, and open the doorway from the other side."
For just a moment, as Willow smiled at Twilight, her eyes turned black. And she nodded her head.
TBC.