Dawn

To say that Dawn was surprised upon receiving another message from Tara was an understatement. When the ball of light darted into the Jeep through the windshield it began humming gently while creating the letters that spelled out, "Dawn, you need come to the mansion quickly." Dawn immediately pulled over to the sidewalk and then asked in a worried tone of voice, "why?" She looked on – her face showing how surprised she was as more words were formed in mid-air – before looking away from the fading words and the ball of light as she leaned back on the driver seat.

"How?" She whispered to herself when the car was covered in darkness instead of the glow from the ball of light. "Someone gave us a weapon that looks like a Scythe. Need to speak to you about it. Is this the Scythe you were talking about?" How could the Scoobies have retrieved the Scythe when she did not even tell them its exact location. 'Wait, the message said someone gave it to them?' Dawn thought with a confused expression on her face while pressing her lips together, 'who? Who knew the location of the Scythe in this timeline?' It was another mystery that needed to be explained as Dawn leaned forward, and then grabbed the steering wheel and turned it to the left while pressing on the accelerator. The Jeep screeched as it spun around before zooming down the street and towards the manor where Buffy and the others were situated. All the while, one question after another was being formed in Dawn's head.

'How are they?' was the first thought on her mind as she recalled the devastation left in Twilight's wake in her own timeline. By the time of the initial attack, Sunnydale was already a crater – a tourist attraction actually. Dawn heard that thousands of people, mostly tourists, died when portals opened at the Sunnydale crater and Twilight's demons rushed out. And from then on, the casualties increased.

'Most of the other cities were already war zones by the second wave of Twilight's demons appeared,' Dawn thought to herself as she turned the steering wheel into a corner and then continued driving down the street. She guessed that the Scoobies should be safe and sound, 'otherwise the message would have said something was wrong.' Dawn's mind then turned to the younger Willow of this time period, 'are you safe, Will?' She had to remind herself that the Willow of her time was dead, and that this younger Willow was in a relationship with Tara.

Once again, a bit of jealousy flared up within Dawn as she drove down the street, 'I'm not gonna cry. Not now… not now.' However, Dawn already felt tears gathering as she thought about her older Willow and how she nursed her back to a sense of self after Buffy's death. Dawn thought of the first time they kissed, the first time they said "I love you" to each other, the first time they held hands, and even the first time they had dinner made up of rations together as a couple.

'So many firsts,' Dawn thought to herself as she used her left thumb to wipe away the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She would keep telling herself that her Willow was dead, and that once she and the Scoobies stopped what was happening right now in the current timeline, only then could she could mourn the death of her love and her wife.

Buffy, Crawford Street manor.

It felt like hours since Tara sent the second message to Dawn to ask her to meet the rest of the Scoobies at the Crawford Street mansion. Buffy was seated on the couch, her eyes locked on the Scythe which lay on the coffee table in front of her with the heat and light from the fire in the hearth reflecting off the curved metal blade. She had already tried calling the Hyperion Hotel for Angel, Wesley, and the others but there was no luck. She only received a computerised voice that said "the person you are calling is unavailable". The truth was that, despite knowing in her heart that Angel was dead in the aftermath of the Hotel's destruction, Buffy hoped that he and his team were still alive.

But there was no way to confirm if they were really still alive. Buffy did suggest a location spell, but Tara and Willow advised against it. The two witches suggested that using magic to search for Angel – if he was still alive – could very well give away their location to the older Willow who would then be onto them if she already escaped the Hell dimension. Instead, the location spell and the message could be targeted towards the older Dawn who was alive. Buffy was told that having a magical spell travel from Sunnydale to Los Angeles to search out someone who could be either turned to dust or badly injured could bring anyone else Twilight sent to the past to the Scoobies' doorstep. So, for now, Buffy was hoping in her heart that Angel was alive and that he was doing something – anything – to hold the line in LA.

It would be a few minutes later that Willow's fast-moving footsteps attracted her attention. Buffy took in a deep breath and then looked up and turned her head to the left where the redhead rushed into the living room,

"Hey Buff, Dawn's here." Willow motioned behind her, "we saw her parking the jeep." Buffy then stood up with a sigh while Willow put her hands into her pockets and said, "you gonna talk to her about what we heard from Wesley?"

Buffy looked at Willow while reaching down to pick up the Scythe, and then said, "I need to talk to her about what Tara said first." Buffy, with the Scythe in her hand, walked towards Willow and said "about what happened to Amy. And then I need to talk to her about..."

"But still, Buffy," Willow interrupted before pressing her lips together with a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked at her best friend, "Dawn couldn't just murder someone. Especially a baby… I mean we don't know if the baby was human or part vampire, or…" Willow then frowned at Buffy, "can vampires even have kids?"

"No," Buffy said shaking her head as Willow turned and walked alongside the blonde Slayer to another room where the foyer was located, "what if she did it, Will? Giles said that Dawn must have changed after Twilight took over so… so what if she did change so much that… I mean she killed a pregnant woman!"

Willow shook her head before saying, "no, I don't believe that she would do something like this." She then put a hand on Buffy's shoulder and said, "but then again, I keep on reminding myself that there is an evil version of myself sent back in time like a Terminator. Oh, and she also happens to be the herald of a living evil dimension."

Buffy frowned at the chuckling Willow who said that all she could do was try and lighten the mood since things were about to get a lot heavier. She looked away from Willow and towards both Giles, Anya, and Xander walking into the room.

"Tara went ahead to get Dawn," Xander said as he stood next to Willow and slipped his hands into his pockets, "Any idea on what we say to her?"

"How about 'did you kill the rat'?" Anya said shrugging her shoulders, "we could start with that? And then why did you kill Angel's… well, what was Darla to Angel anyway?"

Buffy shook her head. Even she didn't have an answer to that question since Angel hadn't even told her and the Scoobies that Darla was still walking the Earth. It was just then that the younger Dawn strolled in with her arms crossed over her chest. When Buffy was about to say that the younger Dawn should be in her room and that this wasn't for her ears, Dawn raised her hands signalling her older sister to shut up.

"This is about me," the younger Dawn said walking around Anya and the others before standing next to Buffy, "she may be me from a really screwed up future, but she's still me." But before Buffy could counter, the two of them heard the voices of both Tara and a worried sounding older Dawn coming towards them. It was a few seconds later that Tara walked into the room followed closely by the older Dawn as Xander, Anya, and Willow turned towards the two of them. It was Buffy who made the first move by walking hurriedly around the group and then hugging the older Dawn tightly. After all, no matter what, this was still her sister; and Buffy was worried to death when she heard that Los Angeles was hit by Twilight's attack.

"I'm alright," the older Dawn said as the younger one rushed past Xander and the others before patting her older self on the back. Buffy then pulled back while the older Dawn said, "I couldn't believe the message I received from Tara after I got into Sunnydale. You really have the Scythe?"

"Yea," Buffy said as she raised her arm with the scythe gripped tight in her right hand. Dawn looked at the weapon and then sighed in relief before turning her head up towards Buffy who said, "we'll talk about how we were handed the scythe. We need to talk about something else for now. Something that… that I can't believe."

Buffy saw the older Dawn narrow her eyes in confusion at her before looking at the other Scoobies and then at her younger self. Dawn then turned her head from her younger self as her expression took on a more stoic façade while she returned her gaze towards Buffy. The Slayer noticed the older Dawn straighten her back before the former said, "Wesley called us when you were in LA." Buffy saw the older Dawn take a deep breath before taking a step back… so Buffy took a step forward and continued, "Cordelia had a vision where you killed Darla and Angel's baby." The older Dawn then looked at the younger one; Buffy noted that the younger version of her sister was hopeful that the older Dawn wouldn't do such a thing.

"Dawn." It was Giles who spoke before the older Dawn turned towards him and then turned her head back towards Buffy. Buffy could hear Giles ask gently, "did you have anything to do with Amy's death as well?"

The older Dawn looked away from Buffy, the former without any expression on her face, and settled her gaze on Tara who said, "I sensed your anger at Amy, sweetie. It was so great and... and the next thing we know… well… Willow and I found her dead. Dawn, I… I mean we know what you went through in the future, and…"

"No," older Dawn said, her eye focused on Tara. Buffy placed a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her away from Tara and towards her, "none of you know what I went through… what we went through in the future." Buffy then saw the younger Dawn turn away while mumbling something that was too low for her ears to register. The blonde Slayer returned her attention to the older Dawn who said, "I did what needed to be done."

"Dawnie," Buffy shook her head from side to side while opening her eyes wide at the ease at which the older Dawn spoke… the latter's voice was cold and precise. The Slayer then looked at the young Dawn turning around towards her in surprise while Willow and Tara released gasps. Buffy glanced at Giles who had his lips pressed together while Xander was rubbing his face with both hands and Anya just stared at the older Dawn with an expression of curiosity.

"The… the baby…"

"Connor was one of my best friends," Older Dawn said as she turned towards the stuttering from her younger self; her cold hard expression now taking a softer tone, "he was brave, soulful, funny, brave, not to mention a little annoying at first but he grew on everyone." Before anyone could say anything about killing someone who would have been her future best friend, Older Dawn continued, "Cordelia died… would have died I mean because of her visions. She would ascend to be with the powers-that-be but she'd be bored. She would have returned to this plane of existence and… well, she didn't come alone."

"She brought something with her from the higher planes?" Giles asked with a look of concern. Buffy wondered why that would be a concern. And before she could ask, it was the older Dawn who answered the question.

Older Dawn nodded her head while saying, "yea, a higher being called Jasmine hitched a ride. She controlled Cordelia's actions and made her do some bad stuff. Her ultimate goal was to gain physical form, and she did that by seducing Connor who saw her like a surrogate mother."

"Ewwww," Dawn said.

"Oh my Lord," Giles added while Willow and Tara both blanched. Buffy shuddered.

"Cordelia became pregnant with Jasmine and… well… after Twilight took over, we suspected that her journey to this plane, followed by her birth weakened whatever it was that held back the First." Older Dawn then looked over at Buffy and said, "this was months after you died."

The older Dawn then clarified at Buffy's confused expression, "this would have happened a few months after you died when you jumped into the portal."

"After Doc cut your younger self?" Anya asked. And the older Dawn nodded her head before continuing, "we would later find out this the birth happened the same time Willow was about to resurrect you." Older Dawn then looked over at Willow and said, "at first we thought that it was only Buffy's resurrection that gave the First freedom to do its work; but after Twilight, you believed that bringing Buffy back the same time as Jasmine's birth broke anything that kept the First back."

"But what do the First have to do with…"

Tara then interrupted Buffy by saying, "the First launched an all out attack on the Potential Slayers and the Slayer." Tara then looked at the Scythe, "and Buffy had to use the Scythe to activate all the Slayers. And that helped bring Twilight here."

"Yea," older Dawn said as she turned towards the stunned Buffy, "Amy was the one who kept on pushing Willow's addiction to dark magic, she was the one who betrayed Willow, she was one of the people who tortured her after Sunnydale was destroyed."

"One of the people?" Willow asked before older Dawn turned towards her, "who were the others?"

Buffy saw the older Dawn sigh before saying, "Warren Mears… you killed him after he killed Tara and…"

"Wait," Xander said waving his arms, "Dawn, you said that Jonathan and Andrew killed Tara, that's why we…" Xander raised his eye brows in realization, as did Giles and the others before Buffy grasped the older Dawn's arms and turned her around to face her.

'No,' Buffy thought to herself as she stared at the cold expression staring back at her, 'she couldn't have… no… did… did… did she distract us or…'

"I did what needed to be done," older Dawn said as she stared into Buffy's eyes. And the Slayer saw no regret there on older Dawn's expression. Buffy and the others listened in stunned silence as Dawn continued while their eyes were still locked, "Andrew and Jonathan were annoying and… well… they were criminals. But Jonathan died after the First convinced Andrew to kill him."

"What?" Younger Dawn asked.

"Long story," Older Dawn said while staring at Buffy, "Andrew later joined us in fighting against the First and he became one of our closest friends and allies."

"So you killed Warren…" Buffy whispered, "he… he's still innocent and… and he hasn't done…"

"He was irredeemable," Older Dawn said, her voice rising slightly as she leaned forward, "he raped and killed his girlfriend using a magically powered device... a device he would have used against you, he committed crimes that that were designed to create devices designed to hurt you, he nearly killed you when he got super-strength, he nearly killed you when he shot you, he shot Tara and killed her!" Older Dawn ripped her arm out of the shocked Buffy's grasp, "I came home from school and she was there on the floor dead! I stayed with her so that she wouldn't be alone!" Buffy thought she heard Tara gasp, but her ears were ringing with what Dawn continued to say, "when Willow went completely dark, I told you that I hoped she would kill Warren. You said he was human and deserved human justice."

"He does," Buffy said with a look of shock, "Dawn…"

"No," older Dawn shook her head before taking a deep breath, "Connor's death will haunt me, Darla's death? Not so much. Amy? I'm not shedding a tear. And Warren? I did what I had to do."

"You can't be judge, jury, and executioner!" Buffy exclaimed as she raised her arms by her side, "you…."

"This is a war," older Dawn growled as Buffy narrowed her eyes before taking a step back. The blonde Slayer had heard those words before, including the next words the older Dawn spoke, "they deserved to die."

"You… you sound like Faith," Buffy said shaking her head.

Older Dawn shook her head before taking a step back, "I did what you could never do, Buffy. Sometimes in war, we need to make certain choices that… that would make the future a better place. I'm from the future… and now, with the changes I've made, I hope that future wouldn't come to pass." Dawn then turned away from Buffy, "and now we need to find out who or what is recreating Twilight's attacks."

"We do know who," Giles spoke up after everyone remained in shocked silence for a few seconds. He fixed his glasses before saying, "Dawn, it.."

Before Giles could finish what he wanted to say, everyone turned towards the entrance to the living room upon hearing a male voice giving a loud yell "ANGEL!" and then it was soon followed by a growl. Buffy just saw a black blur tackling the Older Dawn to the floor just as her younger version screamed out "Angel!" Buffy looked down just as Giles and the others rushed towards her and saw Angel with one hand around the Older Dawn's throat.

"Angel!" Buffy yelled out a second later as she reached down to grab her former boyfriend just as he growled at the Older Dawn, "you killed them!"

TBC.