Summary: Dawn had been both a Power Ranger and a Slayer for two months and had slowly taken up the mantle her sister had given her. Now 147 days after her sister's sacrifice her sister will return. Can she help Buffy to overcome the loss of heaven. Or will Buffy be forever lost within her own depression.
Pairing: Buffy/Spike, Dawn/OC - Please note the Spuffy pairing is only for this story. When I get to the final story Buffy will have a permanent pairing that will not be Spike. The only reason I am doing Spike at all (personally I am not really a fan of the pairing, especially after Spike's attempted rape) is because his soul is a canon plot point in season 7.
A/U: Set during season 6 and Power Rangers: Turbo.
Disclaimer: Disney owns Buffy and Hasbro owns Power Rangers
Chapter 1: Bargaining Part 1
September 25, 2001 – Tuesday
Restfield Cemetery
"Come on!"
Spike's cheer failed to move the rest of the group any faster as they followed the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger who was running after the huge sumo-sized vampire they were chasing.
"Turbo Power Stakes!" the Ranger called out as she did a 360-degree twist and when she was facing the vampire again, she held the stakes in her hand. She tossed one of the Power Stakes and it flew toward the vampire. Sadly, she could tell it wouldn't hit its target as the vampire was out of range. "Power Down!" she said exasperated that the vampire had gotten away.
"I should have shifted into turbo," Dawn said when she had de-morphed.
"Isn't that what you did, Ranger?" Spike queried looking at Dawn. Due to Dawn's status not only as a Power Ranger but also as a Slayer he had stopped calling Dawn, nibblet. He thought about calling her Slayer, but felt that would be a disservice to Buffy since that was what he had called her.
"When I call out Shift into Turbo, that's just the signifier for morphing to begin," Dawn answered looking at the vampire. "When I say I should have shifted into turbo. My Turbo powers give me enhanced abilities that are beyond my Slayer abilities. I could have outrun him if I had. Live and let learn I guess."
"I thought," Tara said, trying catch her breath, "The big ones...tire more easily"
"No, that just over-the-hill shopkeepers," Spike told the blonde-haired witch with a look of disdain in Giles' direction.
"I'm fine," Giles said. his heavy breathing saying otherwise. "I just need to...die a minute..."
"Where did he go?" Lynn asked, looking around.
"No idea, baby," Dawn replied as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend. "So what was with the powder?"
"I got it from my mom's supplies," Lynn answered. "It's Sobri root! It's supposed to confuse him but it kind of just made him peppy."
"It's not supposed to mix with anything…" Tara added, "…do you think he might be taking prescription medication?"
"Good God," Giles said riffing. "What if he attempts to operate heavy machinery?!"
"Dawn, maybe we should split up, surround him," Lynn suggested.
"Ye- wait, isn't red meant to be telling us these things?" Spike grumbled.
It was then that Dawn's wrist communicator beeped. "Dawn here," she said when she brought her communicator to her lips.
"Heads up!" came Willow's voice from the communicator.
"We're in business," Spike grinned.
Nearby Willow stood atop a crypt her own wrist communicator in front of her lips as she surveyed the graveyard like a general surveying a field of battle. From her vantage point she could see the vampire as well as Dawn, Giles, Spike and Tara. "Dawn, you need to morph. The vampire's circling back towards you. Six o'clock. Try to drive him towards the Van Elton crypt."
Dawn nodded. "Shift into Turbo!" she called out. "White Phoenix Turbo Power!"
"Van Elton?" Giles asked as they watched the morphing sequence once again transform Dawn into the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger. He was not sure which crypt Willow was referring to.
"Is that the one with the cute little gargoyle-" Tara began to ask but was cut off abruptly by the vampire bursting back into the clearing, making a huge racket as he knocked the bushes aside, breaking the branches.
"Turbo Power Sword!" the Ranger said as she spun 360-degrees in place and when she turned back around, she had her Power Sword in her hands. She took off toward the vampire, this time at Turbo speeds.
"Wow, she can run fast when morphed," Tara said in surprise.
"Guys!" Willow reminded Spike, Lynn, Tara and Giles and they took off after the Ranger and the vampire as it ran away in the opposite direction. "Left! Dawn, make him go left!"
Before the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger could follow Willow's instructions, Giles threw a battle axe. It embedded itself in the tree to the right of the vampire and so...it ran left.
"Thanks, Giles," the Ranger called over her shoulder. She chased the vampire right into Willow's trap as he reached a dead end. She smirked behind her helmet. "Good thinking, Will." She spun swinging her sword in a wide arc.
"Wait, Dawn," came Willow's voice from the communicator.
A fist came out and knocked the vampire back. Standing in front of him, in full slayer-pose, was Buffy. Or more specifically the Buffybot.
"Big, fast and dumb," Buffybot commented menacingly. "Just the way I like 'em." She kicked the fallen vampire and he stumbled even further backwards along the ground. And while he struggled to retain some equilibrium, Buffybot reached for her stake. She turned around to find he had already stood up and he looked mighty pissed.
"This isn't working, Will," the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger said. "It's not ready for full on combat." She jumped into the fray, knocking him aside out of the Buffybot's way, but only barely.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Uh oh," Xander said hearing the fight between the Buffybot, the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger and the vampire. "Sounds like the other units are engaged..." They started to run toward the noise when Xander's wrist communicator beeped.
"Xander here," Xander said having brought his communicator to his lips.
"Xander, Anya - stop!" came Willow's voice from the communicator. "Vampire. Other side of that tomb. You can get the jump on him if you go the other way."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The sumo-sized vampire picked the Buffybot up and hurled her over his head at the Ranger. The White Phoenix Turbo Ranger ducked as the Buffybot went sailing over her head, crashing into a tombstone behind her. "I told you, Will, that thing needs more work, before it ever meets Buffy's standards."
Whilst Sumo-Vamp watched the fallen Buffybot, the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger attacked the vampire with her Power Sword. It seemed to work at first, before the vampire used the weapon against her, pushing her up against the crypt wall and began choking her with the sword.
As the Ranger struggled with the huge vampire, Lynn looked around for the stake the Buffybot had dropped only a moment ago. Rushing over, she grabbed it and ran back to the vampire and her girlfriend. She staked the vamp in the heart through the back just as Spike reached them all. The vampire was dust and the Ranger's sword clattered to the ground as Lynn stood there, still holding the stake.
"That's mine," Buffybot stated as she walked over, having recovered from her fall. She quickly and suddenly took the stake out of Lynn's hands.
"Are you okay?" Lynn asked girlfriend.
"I'm okay, baby," the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger answered.
"Dawn!" Willow exclaimed from the communicator. "Xander and Anya need help over by the Anderson's tomb!"
"On my way," the Ranger replied.
The group arrived at the designated tomb just in time to see Anya swatted away by the vampire's hand into a nearby wall. The vampire, at the same time, had Xander in a painful-looking headlock.
"I got it!" Buffybot told them all, running over to the vampire. As she attacked the vamp, Xander managed to scramble free, much to his obvious relief. Buffybot wasn't doing too well though and took some brutal hits from the vampire, before the White Zeo Ranger stepped in to help. The Ranger decked him and the vamp fell on his ass, allowing Buffybot to reach forward and stake him.
"That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo!" the Buffybot told him as he turned to ash.
Willow jumped down from her observation perch and walked over to them just as the Ranger called out, "Power Dawn!" And the White Phoenix Ranger de-morphed once again into Dawn.
"What's with the Dadaism, Red?" Spike asked.
"That's my question," Dawn added.
"Yeah. She says that pie thing every time she stakes a vamp now," Willow sighed. "I don't know. I was trying to program in some new puns and I kind of ended up with word salad."
"Will, I think it's a good idea that the bot is around to make people think Buffy is still here," Dawn told her friend. "Especially since I always patrolled with her. But she's not ready for the field."
Dawn looked at the robot shaking her head as she walked past the BuffyBot.
"It's a glitch. I'll fix it," Willow called after Dawn as she, the robot, Spike and Tara turned and followed the Power Ranger.
"Dawn's right, Willow," Giles said. "We just can't have her messing up in front of the wrong person—or the wrong thing. Even though Dawn is a Ranger and a recently called Slayer we need the world and the underworld—to believe Buffy is alive and well. Everyone expects for them to be patrolling together."
"And I will therefore fix it," Willow said. "I got her head back on, didn't I? And I got her off the knock knock jokes..."
"Ooh! Who's there?" the BuffyBot said.
Dawn let out an exasperated sigh. "Maybe I should beam me and the bot to the Power Chamber, let Alpha take a look at it."
"I can get it, Dawn," Willow sighed.
Giles turned Dawn. "Rather an eventful patrol tonight, don't you think?" he asked.
"Yeah." Dawn shrugged. "I suppose so. It was only two vampires though," she reasoned. "There's usually more." She shrugged again. "We'll probably have more tomorrow."
September 26, 2001 – Wednesday
Summers Home
Willow looked anxious as she searched the floor of hers and Tara's room. "Where's my clog? I think there's a clog-eating monster under the bed." She sat up and looked at Tara, who was hanging up some clothes. "It's really the lesser-known monsters that make living in Sunnydale so hard."
"I believe that's a Dawn Monster," Tara interjected. "She borrowed them yesterday."
Willow moved to the door that connected their room to Dawn's and knocked. "Hey Dawn. Are you up?"
There was no answer.
Willow opened the door and looked into Dawn's room and found it empty. She started for the hallway as Tara followed.
"You doing okay?" Tara asked.
"Besides terror about today and a general feeling of impending doom?" Willow asked. "Swell."
"Breakfast will make all things better," Tara informed her girlfriend.
"Pancakes could go in bellies ..." Willow said as she kissed Tara quickly. They walked down the hall and She banged on the bathroom door. "Dawnie?" Dawn opened the door while brushing her teeth. "Hey you. Today's the big day, huh?" Dawn nodded. "Kind of day makes you want to return clogs, don't ya' think?"
Dawn shook her head. "I didn't take your clogs."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The Buffybot worked away on Dawn's lunch, while Tara started on the breakfast. Pancakes were always a safe bet.
"Morning," Willow said as she entered the kitchen. She walked over to the Buffybot. "I was thinking we could go over your programming again..."
"Again?" Tara asked. "You've done all you can, sweetie. She's either ready to face this thing or she's not—"
Dawn walked into the room, dressed for school. She sat at the island.
"Here's your juice, and pancakes are on the way. Funny shapes or rounds?" Tara asked as she handed Dawn a glass of juice.
"Rounds are fine." Dawn answered as she looked at what the Buffybot was doing. "What's up with the Mega-witches?"
"Oh, I don't know that we're 'mega.' Maybe Willow. But—" Tara countered.
"No, I mean, who's going to eat all that?" Dawn said nodding toward the eight sandwiches that the Buffybot had so far made.
"Oh! Oops. She wanted to help," Tara said in realization. She gently took the sandwich makings from the Buffybot. "I got her started but then I forgot to un-start..."
There was a quick knock on the door and then Xander walked in, toolbox in hand. "House o' chicks, relax. I'm a man and I have a tool!" he said and then he noticed Dawn. "Tools. Lots of plural tools. In my toolbox."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I'm gay, remember?"
Xander nodded, slightly embarrassed. It was then that he noticed the Buffybot's sandwichies. "Many sandwiches! Excellent. Men like sandwiches."
"Help yourself. Really," Willow told him. "So, what brings you so early, your macho-ness?"
"I got that soldering wire you wanted," Xander answered. "For Buffybot's tune-up."
"You got funny shapes anyway," Tara said as she plopped a plate of pancakes in front of Dawn. "Sorry."
Dawn was about to respond when the phone rang. The Buffybot cheerily jumped up. "I'll get it—" the robot informed them.
Willow and Dawn immediately jumped up to stop the Buffybot. "No!" they shouted.
"It could be my dad," Dawn informed the robot. Her father had finally got hers and Buffy's messages about Joyce dying. "He said he'd call today."
"I'll just say hello. He's my biological ancestor," the Buffybot told Dawn as she moved toward the phone.
Willow beat the robot to the phone as she answered instead. "Hello? Hey Anya. Really? That's fantastic..." she said and then turned to Xander. "Anya found that thing. For tonight."
"She did?" Xander said surprised. "Great."
"And you're her Sweet Cookie Face," Willow added.
Xander smiled. "I go by many names…" he said coolly.
"What's tonight?" Dawn asked with a slight frown.
"Just a Scooby meeting," Tara answered without thinking.
"You guys called a Scooby meeting without me in attendance?" Dawn asked shaking her head.
As Willow hung up the phone, she looked at Dawn, knowing Dawn was right. Especially when Dawn was not only the Power Ranger who helped the Slayer, but was now a Slayer herself. She glanced at her girlfriend. "You should have said something other than Scooby meeting," she told her.
"I realized that afterwards," Tara said sheepishly.
Willow sighed as she turned back to the youngest member of their group. "I didn't want to say anything in case we failed. I didn't want to get your hopes up. But we're going to try and bring Buffy back."
Dawn stared at Willow in obvious shock. "How?"
"I found a ritual that calls on Osiris," Willow explained. "We just needed two more things to make it work. The first was what Anya just called about."
"I thought that was supposed to be against the laws of nature?" Dawn asked looking at Tara. She remembered a conversation she and Tara once had after Joyce had passed away. How she had dreamed about bringing Joyce back from the dead.
"It is," Tara replied.
"But we think we found a loophole," Willow explained. "Buffy didn't die a natural death, Dawn. She died a mystical death. There is a chance it can work. And if it does, then you will have Buffy back."
"Are you going to need me for this?" Dawn asked.
"No, Dawn, just do what you normally do when we do the ritual," Willow told the Ranger. "That way there will be no unexpected surprises during the ritual."
"Okay," Dawn said.
Willow turned and looked at the Buffybot. "Maybe you should just let the machine—the...other machine—get the phone from now on, okay?" she suggested.
"Is my phone manner not correct?" the Buffybot questioned.
Tara smiled at the robot. "It's perfect. It's just, we can't take the chance that Mr. Summers might talk to you and know something's wrong."
"If he thought that the real Buffy was gone, he could take Dawn away," Xander answered.
"And I can't leave, Sunnydale," Dawn added. "Not when I'm currently the only line of defense between the forces of darkness and the people who live here. My Buffy wanted me to protect everyone, and I can't do that if my dad takes me away."
"I understand," Buffybot said. "You're my sister and you help me. I want you to stay." She then gave Dawn a heartfelt hug which Dawn accepted, awkwardly.
"So excellent," Xander told the robot. "We're agreed. Sit your roboself down so we can get to work. We need to fix up those fighting skills, pronto."
"Actually, we've got bigger worries than her fighting skills today," Willow informed him.
"Way bigger," Tara agreed.
"I guess. Depends how highly you prize punning," Xander countered.
"What their talking about is parent/teacher conferences," Dawn offered her friend. "Without Buffy, the robot is going to have to stand in. Since legally speaking Buffy is still my legal guardian, since we never reported her dead."
Sunnydale High School – Temporary Home
Dawn led the Buffybot as the wandered amongst the crowd of parents, teachers and students. They passed several exhibits as the Buffybot took everything in with good-natured interest.
"Okay. we'll make a quick lap so people can see you're here, then we'll—" Dawn started as the Buffybot stopped at an exhibit of a student-made miniature city.
"What is this?" the Buffybot asked looking at Dawn.
"This is our city of the future," Dawn answered. "I made the hover cars. They're orange juice cans, see?"
"They're very nice. But I don't understand..." the Buffybot started.
"We're reading Walden," the teacher eagerly cut in. "This is the kids' version of a utopian society. You'll notice there are no schools and an extraordinary number of pizza parlors."
Genuinely puzzled, Buffybot examined the exhibit. "I don't know of a breed of humans this small. Who's going to live here?"
A boy next to Dawn shot her look that said, 'what's up with your sister?' Dawn realized she had to play it off as a joke and began laughing. "Oh, God. She's always like this," she said as she pulled the Buffybot away from the table. "Come on, wacky Buffy. See you Mr. Davis!" she called over her shoulder.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn glanced at the robot with a sigh as she and the Buffybot sat in the middle of a classroom with other students and parents.
"... as you can see, we provide the best in progressive learning," the teacher said. "But we can't teach your child unless you do. As parents, you have a responsibility to create the right attitude. To teach them what school can mean—"
The Buffybot shot her hand up, which Dawn tried desperately to get her to put down.
"Ms. Summers?" the teacher said.
The Buffybot stood up and declared proudly, "School is where you learn."
"Exactly," the teacher barked. "Parents let kids focus on school as a social experience, rather than a learning experience. We want you to get your kids as excited about education as they are about lunch hour—"
"I helped make lunch today," the Buffybot cut in. "Before school. Peanut butter and Jelly. I don't eat, but Dawn takes one everyday—"
"Tell me about it," a parent added. "My kid is brown bagging it, even though I paid for the lunch program."
"It's true," another parent said. "Something has to be done about the quality of the food!"
Streets of Sunnydale
The White Phoenix Turbo Ranger was walking the streets with Lynn as they patrolled together. "... so my homeroom teacher, Ms. Lefcort? Was like—'your sister is an example to us all.' She wanted to make it National Buffy Day."
Lynn chuckled. "Makes sense," she admitted.
"It does?" the Ranger questioned.
Lynn nodded. "Yeah. She responded to Buffybot because a robot is predictable, boring...a perfect teacher's pet."
"You know I think we should just call it a night," the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger informed her girlfriend. "It's apparently dead tonight."
"Yeah," Lynn started as she was cut off by the sound of a woman screaming. A second later the owner of the voice ran out of the bushes, followed closely by a tall and lanky vampire dressed in what seemed to be a Prom Tuxedo circa 1981.
"Well, this is decidedly bad timing," Lynn commented as the two of them stood up before running to try and catch the vampire before it reached the young girl.
The vampire ran his intended victim into a dead end and the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger and Lynn used that their advantage.
Lynn tackled the vamp, and the two of them went crashing into the wall. She immediately went to stake the vampire, but the vampire shoved her aside and she went toppling into the opposite wall. He then cornered the girl again. The Ranger pulled him away and he went to toss her aside which he found quickly hard to do. Thanks to a combination of her Slayer powers and her Ranger powers, the Ranger was a formidable opponent.
Lynn stood up and was about to help her girlfriend when she was suddenly blindsided by a female vampire—who, presumably was the male vampire's 'girlfriend'. As the female vampire pushed her backwards, she grabbed the female vampire's shoulders and spun her around so the female vampire was the one heading for the crypt wall.
"White Phoenix Power Stakes!" the Ranger called out, spinning 360 degrees. When she came to face the male vampire again the Power Stakes were in her hand.
As Lynn went to pierce the vampire's heart with her stake, the female vampire's survival instincts kicked in overtime and she kicked Lynn.
The Ranger quickly elbowed the male vampire in the face. He stumbled, but only slightly.
Lynn backhanded her vampire effectively, causing her head to turn. The female vampire turned back to look at her with a snarl. Before the female vampire could do anything about it, Lynn staked her quickly and effectively. The female vampire was dust within seconds. The ash cleared just in time to see the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger staking her vampire.
"Who...what were they?" A terrified voice asked and the Ranger and Witchligher were reminded that the almost-victim was still there.
"Erm...gangs on PCP?" Lynn suggested weakly.
"But he—she—they both turned to dust," The woman challenged, sounding a little unsure of it all herself though.
"Uh, well, you see, ah-" the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger tried to explain.
"What are you doing taking a shortcut through the cemetery in the middle of the night?" Lynn decided a best defense was a good offense.
"Yes," the Ranger agreed, catching on. "Do you realize how dangerous it is walking around here alone?"
"Well, I was—" the woman began to defend herself, before she decided to stop, her fear at what she saw obviously making her give in. "I'm...I'll just be going home" And she ran off.
"I think that's our cue to do the same," Lynn suggested.
"You're right," the Ranger agreed. "Power Down!"
Xander's Apartment
Willow, Tara, Anya and Xander were gathered in the living room area of the apartment. Willow held an urn, examining it gravely.
"The Urn of Osiris," Tara said.
"You really found it," Willow added looking toward the ex-vengeance demon.
"It wasn't easy. I went through every supplier The Magic Box has," Anya admitted.
"You used a Magic Box supplier?" Willow said in alarm. "What if Giles finds out?"
"He's too busy not leaving to pay attention to me," Anya countered. "Besides, I ended up getting it on E-Bay."
"You found the last known Urn of Osiris on E-Bay?" Tara said in disbelief.
Anya nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "From this Desert Gnome in Cairo. He drove a hard bargain, but I finally got him to throw in a limited-edition Backstreet Boys lunch box for—" she informed them just as Xander coughed very pointedly, cutting her off. "—a friend."
Tara looked at Xander as she realized who the lunch box had been for.
"You got your somber on, Will," Xander informed the redheaded witch. "The urn not up to spec?"
Willow looked to Tara and they shared an understanding. "It's the one," she said as she turned to Xander and Anya. "Which means its time."
"It's time?" Xander said surprised. "Like, time, time? With the…timeliness?"
"Are you sure?" Anya added.
Willow nodded. "I am."
"Mercury's in retrograde, and we have—do we have everything?" Tara wondered as she looked at her girlfriend.
"Just about," Willow answered.
"But why the sudden rushy-rush? Did the bot blow her cover at school?" Xander asked.
"Dawn said she impressed all the teachers," Tara answered.
"And they still thought it was Buffy?" Xander questioned.
Tara was about to reply when Willow cut in, "Tomorrow night. We'll meet here at—"
"Whoa!" Xander cried. "Let's apply the brake and check rear and side mirrors here! This is deep stuff, Willow. We're talking about raising the dead."
"And it's time to stop talking," Willow countered. "Tomorrow night, we're bringing Buffy back."
"Tomorrow," Anya said looking toward her boyfriend.
"I don't know..." Xander countered, slightly afraid of what they had been discussing for months now was close to being a reality.
"Discovery Channel has monkeys," Anya added. "And our tape machine's sorta wonky—"
"Guys," Willow cut in. "I need you guys on board here."
"It just ... it feels wrong," Xander told her.
"It is wrong," Tara agreed as Willow looked her way. "It's against all the laws of nature and practically impossible to do but it's what we agreed to. If you guys are changing your minds—"
"Nobody's changing their minds," Willow countered. "Period."
"Excuse me. Who made you the boss of the group?" Xander said a tad bit angrier than he intended.
"You did," Anya reminded him.
"You said 'Willow should be boss,'" Tara added.
"And then you said 'Let's vote' and it was unanimous," Anya reminded him.
"You made her that little plaque that said 'BOSS OF US,' you put on sparkles—" Tara told him.
Xander nodded sheepishly. "Valid points all. But we—I mean, we were just talking then..."
"I can do this, Xander," Willow informed him. "I promise. But not without you."
"Should we maybe tell Giles?" Anya suggested. "Now that we're really ready? It's not like he's going anywhere—ever..."
"No," Willow countered. "No one else can know. Not Giles, not Spike. I would have even preferred Dawn not knowing. But that bridge was burned." She sent a look at her girlfriend. "They might not understand—"
"And if something does go wrong—" Tara added.
"I'm telling you it won't," Willow cut in.
"Scenario: We raise Buffy from the grave," Xander said looking at them all. "She tries to eat our brains. Do we, 'A': congratulate ourselves on a job well done—"
"This isn't Zombies, Xander," Willow countered.
"Zombies don't eat brains anyway," Anya explained looking at her boyfriend. "Unless instructed to by their Zombie masters. Lotta people get that wrong."
This isn't like anything we've dealt with before," Willow told them as she looked at each of them in turn. "Buffy didn't die a natural death. She was killed by mystical energy."
"Which means we do have a shot," Tara added.
"It means more than that. It means we don't know where she really is," Willow concluded.
"We saw her body, Will," Xander reminded his friend. "Lynn tried to heal her body. Then we and the Rangers buried it."
"Her body, yeah," Willow said, obviously getting worked up. "But her soul, her essence—that could be somewhere else, trapped in some Hell dimension like Angel was. Suffering some eternal torment that we can't even imagine just because she saved us and Dawn and I am not gonna let her…I'm not gonna leave her there," she finished the last as her eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. She took a moment to collect herself and then looked toward Xander again. "It's Buffy."
Xander looked at her for a long moment and then nodded. "What time do we meet?"
Summers Home
Willow walked into the living room to find Lynn hovering over the Buffybot.
"Willow!" the Buffybot said excitedly upon seeing the witch.
"What happened?" Willow questioned the Witchlighter. "Where's Dawn?"
"Dawn's taking a shower, we only saw one vamp," Lynn answered as the Buffybot walked into a side table, knocking over a vase which she caught. "Apparently the robot went out on patrol as well and got into a scrape."
"I think my feet are broken," Buffybot added.
Willow walked over to Buffybot and helped her to sit down. "Looks more like a short in the navigational system," she said as she looked toward Lynn. "Can you get me the flashlight?"
"Flashlight!" Lynn called out and a flashlight orbed into her hands. "She wanted to go out again and look for you, but I figured there are enough things in Sunnydale that go bump in the night ..."
"Good thinking," Willow agreed.
"But my homing device locates you when I'm injured. I'm programmed to go to you," the Buffybot reminded Willow.
"I know," Willow interjected. "Still, just this once it was a good idea to stay put. Lynn was right."
"I'm sorry I questioned you, Lynn," Buffybot said looking at the Witchlighter.
Willow grabbed her laptop and moved to attach a cable from it to a port in Buffy's side. "Lynn, can you point the flashlight here?"
"Sure," Lynn said as she switched the flashlight on and turned it to where Willow was pointing.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Late that night after everyone had gone to bed, Dawn stood in the doorway looking into Buffy's room at the Buffybot. "Where are you, Buffy? Are they about to do more damage than good? Are you in heaven or are you in hell like they believe?"
September 27, 2001 – Thursday
The Magic Box
Dawn was sparring with Buffybot, while Giles watched.
"Splendid," Giles praised the robot. "But let's try it once more. And this time remember your breathing." Behind Giles and Dawn, Anya watched from the doorway. "Good. Now, think of the breath as 'chi.' Air as life source—"
Buffybot stopped, obviously perplexed. "I don't require oxygen to live," she said.
"That's not the point," Dawn said. "Humans do. And if you aren't breathing like us, people will recognized that you aren't human."
"Maybe you guys better stick to the standard drill," Anya offered as she approached them. "You don't want her to blow another gasket."
"We're testing her responses after her injury," Giles informed the ex-vengeance demon. "I don't see how it can hurt to impart a little Eastern philosophy..."
"I just think the concept of 'chi' is a little tough for her to grasp," Anya countered.
"Anya's right," Dawn agreed. "She only knows what she's programmed to know. Chi is beyond her."
"I appreciate the input, from both of you, but I think Buffybot has responded quite nicely to our sessions," Giles told them.
"Well, you're the boss. Still," Anya said as she turned and walked off in a huff.
"Would you like to test me again?" Buffybot questioned looking at Dawn and Giles.
Giles glanced at Dawn, who shrugged indicating it was his call. "Maybe we should call it a day. Your responses look fine." He sighed as he looked at Dawn. "Perhaps you and Anya are right. I'm trying to Teach her as if she were…"
"Buffy?" Dawn said.
"Human," the Buffybot added.
"Yes," Giles agreed.
"But I like your teaching. Every slayer needs her watcher," the Buffybot said as she gazed at Giles.
Giles glanced at Dawn, is only Slayer. And given her tutelage under Buffy and her time in Angel Grove. "I'm not so sure about that," he admitted.
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.
"Nothing," Giles answered.
Dawn nodded. "Well I better get home. I have homework to do before patrol tonight." She looked at the robot. "You and I are going out together tonight."
"Okay," the Buffybot said as Dawn hit the teleport button on her communicator and disappeared in a beam of white light.
Giles sighed. "I just can't help but wonder if Buffy and Dawn would have been better off without me," he said finally admitting his feelings.
"I don't think that's true. You were very helpful to her and you are very helpful to Dawn," Buffybot countered.
"Right. I was the perfect watcher," Giles said with bitterness. "And I did what any good watcher does. I got one of my slayers killed in the line of duty. And my other Slayer was for part of the summer suicidal."
Forest
"Adonai, Helomi, Pine... Adonai, Helomi, Pine... The gods do command thee from thy majesty..." Willow chanted as she knelt in the clearing. As she continued the chant she heard something moving nearby. "O Mappa Laman, Adonai, Helomi…Come forward, blessed one, know your calling..."
A beautiful young fawn walked into the clearing, drawn by Willow's spell. It slowly walked to Willow and bowed its head submissively. Willow, moved by the creature, reached out and strokes it tenderly. Then she plunged the knife in her other hand into the fawn which cried and bucked in her arms. She held on, barely containing her own emotions as she watched the fawn die.
She pulled a view from her satchel and filled it with the blood of the deer. "Adonai, Helomi, Pine... Divine creature, child of Elomina, accept our humble gratitude for your offering. In death, you give life. May you find wings to the kingdom," she chanted as she sprinkled a potion on the fawn.
The Magic Box
Tara, Xander and Anya were sitting at the table for Willow. Tara turned at the sound of the shop bell and smiled. "Hey. You're late," she said as Willow walked over to them.
"Oh, I had to get that thing," Willow admitted.
"Giles isn't around. You can dump the cryptic," Xander told her.
Willow nodded. "The last spell ingredient."
"Okay. Right. What is 'Vino de Madre' anyway?" He wondered.
"'Wine of the Mother,'" Willow answered. "Kind of...black market stuff."
"Black market?" Tara questioned, suddenly worried what her girlfriend had to get. "You didn't tell me that. You shouldn't have gone alone. It could have been dangerous."
"Sorry," Willow apologized. "I didn't ... I was careful."
"It must be something pretty intense," Anya guessed. "The black market is all baby teeth and spooky fluids."
"All I know is—we have to have it to do the spell," Willow explained. "Which makes it good stuff in my book." She turned to Xander and Anya now, deciding to change the subject. "How come you guys are here, anyway? I thought we weren't meeting up until later."
"We weren't, but it felt too weird hanging out on our own," Xander admitted.
"It's better that we're together," Tara agreed.
"You got butterflies, baby?" Willow asked looking at her girlfriend.
"More like bats," Tara informed her redheaded girlfriend.
"Would you like to look at the money?" Anya suggested as she got up and walked over the counter. "I find it calms me."
Tara smiled at the offer. "That's okay. Thanks."
"Tell the bats it's going to be alright," Willow said as she put an arm around Tara. "I promise. We couldn't be more prepared."
"I know," Tara agreed. "I just wish it was time. I can't stand worrying about it anymore."
"Well, it's your lucky day then," Anya said having found something behind the counter. "I have something to distract you." She walked over to the holding a piece of paper, that she handed to Xander.
"What?" Willow asked spotting the look of surprise on Xander's face after he read what was on the paper.
"I've gone," Xander said as he re-read the paper for the others. "Not one for good-byes, I thought it best to slip out quietly. Love to you all, Giles.""
Sunnydale Airport
Giles sat waiting for his flight, lost in thought.
"You really think we'd let you get away with that?"
Giles looked up at the voice and saw Willow, Xander, Tara, Anya, Lynn and Dawn all lined up in front of him. "Well. I was trying to avoid a scene."
Willow held up a hastily written sign with balloons taped to it that read: BON VOYAGE, GILES! "Like we'd make a scene," she told him.
Giles smiled. "Not you," he informed them. "Me."
"We brought you lovely parting gifts. See?" Anya informed him as she handed him an apple snack pie. "It's American, get it? Apple pie. To remind you of all the good things you won't be eating."
Tara handed him a little plastic monster finger puppet. "And a monster. Kind of a Sunnydale souvenir, we thought. Grrrr. Argggh."
Xander was next, as everyone looked at him. "I wanted to buy you a can of Old English 800. 'Cause, you know, of England and you..." he said sheepishly. "And 'cause it sounded funny at the time but the guy living in the box in front of the store wouldn't buy it for us."
"We got your presents at the gas station," Dawn said.
"We were kind of in a hurry," Lynn added as she gave him a card.
"We made it in the car," Dawn informed him, trying to hold back her tears. "That's why the letters are all shaky."
Giles took the card from the Witchlighter. He read it and the looked away, their heartfelt goodbyes were almost too much for him. "This is ... impossible, really."
"We just wanted you to know we'll be okay," Willow told him. "We'll miss you—but we'll be okay."
"And I'll take very good care of your money," Anya added.
Giles laughed, grateful for the opportunity to say goodbye to those he loved. "I have no doubt."
"Attention passengers, flight 3982, leaving for Los Angeles and continuing to London. Rows 20-30 are boarding from gate A6," came a voice over the intercom.
"That's me," Giles admitted.
"Now?" Lynn said in surprise.
"God, we just made it..." Willow added.
"Just, yes," Giles agreed. They stood awkwardly for a moment before he smiled at them. "Come on now, if we're going to do this, let's do it properly." He hugged each of them in turn starting with Anya, Xander and Tara.
"Attention passengers, final boarding for flight 3982 for Los Angeles and London at gate A6. Please come to the gate with your boarding passes ready," came another announcement over the intercom.
Giles then pulled both Dawn and Lynn into his arms and hugged them together. "I'm a phone call away, if either of you need anything. You both must promise me."
"We promise," Lynn said.
"We do," Dawn agreed.
Finally, Giles turned to Willow, the hardest goodbye of all. He pulled her into his arms. "Willow. I don't know where to start ..."
"Maybe you shouldn't," Willow admitted her eyes glistening. "I'm trying to be stiff-upper-lippy."
Giles nodded. "Right," he agreed. "Right…" He looked at them, just as torn as he feared he would be.
"You'd better get going," Willow told him. "Don't you have a life or something?"
"I suppose that's the question, isn't it?" Giles admitted as he started hastily stuffing their gifts in his bag. Then he turned back to them. "Just - be careful. Please."
"I'll watch out for them," Dawn promised. "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger."
Giles nodded and then he looked at Lynn. "I leave her in your capable hands."
"I'll take good care of my girl," Lynn promised.
Giles smiled and nodded as she headed for the gate, without looking back. They watch and wave till they could no longer see him.
Moments later they watched as his plane flew by overhead.
"There he goes," Willow said clearly just as upset as everyone else.
"Good thing. My face hurts from faux smiling," Xander sighed.
"It was right, though, wasn't it?" Willow asked, obviously distressed. "Giving him the no-tears send-off ... We don't want him going off all worried about us."
"He'll still be worried, just eight hours ahead," Lynn informed them.
"What's he going to do over there by himself?" Willow wondered. "He never talks about people in England. What if he's lonely?"
"He won't be lonely," Tara informed her girlfriend. "He lived there before, remember?"
"And I'm sure we'll talk to him all the time," Dawn said. "Right? It's not like he's…" She stopped, clearly upset.
Lynn put an arm around her girlfriend. "He still has his communicator, right?" she asked as Dawn nodded. "Then we'll call him tomorrow. See how his flight was…" She led her girlfriend around a nearby corner and then she orbed out with Dawn.
"Can you believe the timing?" Xander said as they walked toward his car. "He's leaving right when we're bringing her back, tonight."
"I know," Willow agreed. "I was hoping we'd figure it out before he left."
"Maybe we should have said something to him," Anya said. "What if it works?"
"He'll come back," Willow answered.
"It'll be dark soon," Xander said looking up at the sky.
Willow nodded. "Let's get back, I want to go over everything one more time. Nothing can go wrong tonight."
Restfield Cemetery
Willow, Tara, Anya and Xander knelt around Buffy's grave. Willow held an urn as Tara and Xander sat on either side of her with Xander next to his girlfriend holding candles.
Willow mixed ingredients into the urn, including the blood of the deer she had slaughtered. "Osiris, keeper of the gate, master of all fate, hear us," she chanted as she dipped her finger into the mixture and anointed herself. She then poured some of the mixture onto the ground, making a symbol with it. "Before time and after, before knowing and nothing. Accept our offering. Know our prayer, return to us the warrior of the people, the one known as both the Vampire Slayer and the Silver Slayer Ranger." She suddenly stiffened as quick, deep cuts suddenly appeared on her arms.
"Willow!" Xander cried as he started to move toward her.
"No," Tara said stopping him. "She told me...She'd be tested. This is what's supposed to happen—"
"Osiris!" Willow shouted. "Here lies the warrior of the people! Let her cross over!" Something rose under skin, bumps the size of large beetles raced inside her body.
"She needs help!" Xander told them.
"Xander. She's strong," Tara told him. "She said not to stop, no matter what. If anything breaks the cycle now—it's over—"
It was at that moment they heard a distant rumbling. "Oh God. What's that noise?" Anya asked, she like Xander and Tara were clearly terrified.
"Osiris! Let her cross over!" Willow said as the bumps under her skin move together and form one long rope-like form. It started winding her way up her chest and into her throat.
"Oh god…" Tara cried as Willow started to gasp and choke. "Oh, God..."
Willow grasped at her throat, unable to breathe. She fell forward gripping the earth on Buffy's grave as if it will steady her. Suddenly, her mouth opened, and a snake slithered out causing Tara to scream in horror.
Finally, Willow cried out as she drew a desperate, shaking breath.
"It's a test. It's a test ..." Tara said, Xander and Anya weren't sure who she was trying to comfort them or herself.
Summers Home
Dawn lay asleep on the couch in the living room. Even though she was supposed to patrol with the Buffybot tonight, Giles sudden departure had her a bag of mixed emotions.
Lynn had tossed a throw blanket over Dawn and now she and Spike sat talking softly so as not to wake Dawn.
That was when they heard the rumbling. Lynn and Spike sat bolt upright and moved to the window. They saw a number of demons pass by on their motorcycles. One of them tore up a neighbor's yard and shattered a window with a rock before riding on.
Dawn having been woken stood up, bleary eyed and moved beside the vampire and her girlfriend. "What's going on?" she asked.
Spike quickly moved Lynn and Dawn back a few paces. "Ranger, Lynn, stay away from the window." He turned and headed for the door.
Dawn turned to her girlfriend. "What is it? What's happening?"
"Just do as I say," Spike said before Lynn could answer. "I'm going to check the rest of the house. Don't move."
Dawn shook her head. "Shift into Turbo!" she called out. "White Phoenix Turbo Power!"
Streets of Sunnydale
Demons were running down both sides of the street committing acts of vandalism. A demon leaned through a shattered window of an electronics store and was stealing everything in sight.
"That doesn't belong to you," the Buffybot said as the demon turned to face her, holding a DVD player. He snarled at her. "Put it back or—"
The demon dropped the DVD player to the ground and opens his mouth, emitting an eerie, high pitched wail. The other demons in the area move to surround the Buffybot.
"Slayer," said one of the demons, clearly the leader. "I've been hearing interesting things about you."
"Yes. I am interesting," Buffybot stated matter-of-factly. "Are these your friends?"
"They're my guys, yeah," he answered.
"Good. Tell them to get on their loud bicycles and go back to wherever they came from," she told him.
"Or what? You'll electrocute us?" he said as he slammed her with a brutal uppercut. She fell back into a group of demons. "Hold her!"
Surprised, the Buffybot struggled to break free of the demons. The leader of the group raised his hand showing the robot that he had four small switchblade-style claws. He slashed her deeply in he chest revealing her robotic inner workings.
"You're nothing but a toy," he said. "A pretty toy..." He moved menacingly closer. "Wanna play?"
Buffybot marshaled her strength and kneed the leader then she flipped the demons who held her. "I would, but you injured me. I have to report to Willow," she said as a brief fight ensued. She managed the drop the leader with a few well-landed blows, then knocked back the rest of the demons trying to hold her. She took off running as the leader climbed to his feet.
"Get her!" he ordered and his fellow demons ran toward their motorcycles.
Restfield Cemetery
Tara, Xander and Anya were huddled together, helpless, as they watched something that was clearly out of their control.
Willow was bucking in the middle of a crackling red swirl of energy, which was clearly draining her life-force, taking everything out of her... "Osiris! Release her!" she shouted as they all heard the rumbling of approaching motorcycles.
"Willow!" the Buffybot called as she ran into the clearing. "I need service!"
The demons on their motorcycles crashed through the woods chasing the Buffybot, tearing up the ground around the grave. One the motorcycles ran over the urn destroying it, the blood mixture in the urn slowing out and seeping into the ground.
"No!" Willow shouted as the energy that surrounded her vanished, the spell stopped dead in its tracks. Released, she crumpled to the ground and into unconscious.
"Willow—" Tara cried as she tried to run to her girlfriend. One the demons blocked her path and then began circling her and Anya cutting them off from Xander and Willow.
"Look what I found!" the demon shouted.
Nearby the Buffybot was in the midst of fighting a demon and unable to help.
"Where is Dawn?" Xander wondered as he grabbed Willow and pulled her out of the way of an oncoming motorcycle. He swept his best friend over his shoulder and ran off into the woods for safety.
Tara and Anya turned and ran the other way into the woods away from the demons.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Six feet underground in Buffy's coffin, her eyes suddenly snap open as she draws in a fast and horrified breath.
