Bring Me To Life – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel Crossover Event


Part 41

Dirty Girls, Part 2.5


Sunnydale, CASummers Residence, Dawn's Room

3:37 p.m.

Days Before The End Of Days: 17


"What are you doing?"

Connor had been searching for Dawn all morning. He had missed her at breakfast and at their scheduled combat training, which she hadn't been late for yet despite only a couple of sessions.

The truth was, Dawn was still arguably the only person Connor was truly comfortable with. Despite having slightly warmed up to him, things were still…awkward…between Connor and his fath—Angel…and Buffy hadn't exactly warmed up to him, even before her injuries at the hands of the First. Part of him realized that the Slayer probably wasn't all too approving of him dating her kid sister, and that made him both saddened over that lack of approval and resentful of Buffy for making him feel like he wasn't good enough for Dawn.

He had grown to like Amanda, Molly, and Vi, and Matthew had grown on him quickly as a kind of surrogate little brother, but there was still part of him, the ever-alert loner relying solely on his survival skills from Quor'toth, that had his walls up even around them. While he was starting to trust Faith and Spike, they had become increasingly distant since whatever happened the night of the attack in the forest. And his mother had become occupied with problems of her own.

To compound things even worse, Connor had been feeling overwhelmingly guilty in the last few days over the death of Anna. The young girl, who had only been at the hotel since Connor had kidnapped her in the first place, was among the girls who were killed in the attack on the Hyperion. She died from a Bringer's knife wound to the gut trying to save young Matthew's life.

As grief-stricken as Dawn and her friends were over Anna the last few days, Anna's death weighed more heavily on Connor. He felt responsible for her death, blaming himself for putting her in the position where her life was endangered in the first place. In his mind, Anna was dead simply because Connor has crossed her path. And that poisonous thought had driven him into a morose state of semi-seclusion, the teen often finding quiet places to brood in silence when he couldn't be with Dawn to find solace.

Furthermore, despite mourning her friend and worrying desperately about her badly injured older sister, Dawn was basically the only one at this point that seemed to bother with worrying about Connor, in Connor's eyes. And for that reason, the jealous, insecure part of him was starting to worry if her newfound powers would ultimately distract her enough to make her start ignoring him, too…

…like at this moment, when he walked in to his girlfriend's slightly open door to find her in her room, idly projecting green energy from her hand. That energy was creating a rather unusual effect—namely, creating small circular tears in the fabric of reality that were giving the teenage girl a porthole of sorts into other dimensions.

Looking up from her musings, Dawn flashed Connor a bright smile. "Oh, hey," she greeted him. "I figured out how to do this yesterday. Neat, huh?"

Connor could only stare, amazed, as his girlfriend flickered back and forth between unimaginable worlds of light and dark, color and noise, beauty and terror using just her finger…with little more effort than she would exert switching the channels on a TV remote control.

"Is that…is that even safe?" he asked cautiously, something in him on alert, especially as she breezed past the occasional demon or monster here and there between portal switches.

"I guess," Dawn shrugged, nonchalantly. "It was a little tricky at first getting the size of the portals just right so some Big and Nasty wouldn't come clawing at me from the other side. But I think I can control it now."

Dawn's smile faded, a sad look clouding her large blue eyes. "Besides...it helps keep my mind off thinking about Buffy being hurt. And, y'know...Anna…"

Off hearing the dead girl's name again, Connor looked away, flushed with guilt.

Catching his downtrodden gaze, Dawn softly said, "Connor...sweetie, don't. It wasn't your fault."

"Feels that way," Connor murmured, trying to shut the memory of Anna's scared face from his mind but failing miserably. "Anna was only there because of me, Dawn. If I hadn't—"

"Then it'd be Matthew we'd be mourning," Dawn replied sadly. "Or Molly, or Vi or Amanda or somebody else. Anna made her choice to die protecting someone else's life. Protecting a little boy. Whatever happened...it's The First's fault. Not yours."

Oh, how he wanted to believe her. But those dark, ugly parts of him deep inside whispered to him that she lied. That he was the reason Anna was dead. He was the reason all of this was happening. That everything would burn, even Dawn, and there was nothing he could do to stop it...

Shutting those awful voices in his head off and inching closer to Dawn, Connor got a look at some of the awesome views to dimensions and universes of different varieties.

Worlds of pure water and peaceful marine life, worlds roiling in dark, roiling gases, dimensions full of vibrant plants, skies of amazing and sometimes terrifying colors…and they were merely a reach of his arm away, thanks to Dawn's new powers.

"How many…how many different worlds have you seen?" Connor asked as he gazed at the different dimensions scrawling before his eyes.

"Lots," Dawn grinned. "A couple of worlds with eternal winter, a weird Crazy Melt-y Land, a total Sky World where there's no ground, a world where it's always Wednesday, one where dinosaurs still roam the planet—and apparently, can talk and have their own entertainment networks…" Dawn paused, frowning. "And then there was that World Without Shrimp. That one was weird."

Connor turned to his girlfriend and gave her a wry smirk. "Sure…because that's the only weird thing about this."

Dawn playfully nudged him. "Hey! No making fun of the girl with the cool Key-ness, Teen Hunk Wonder. Or your make-out privileges get cut off."

Chuckling, Connor slid his arm around her slender shoulders. "Can't have that now, can we?"

Her laugh was melodious to Connor's ears as she continued to flick through the different dimensions. For a moment, Connor allowed himself to relax, letting himself trust Dawn's judgement on this incredible new power of hers…

…until she came across one in that next moment that made his eyes widen and his heart start beating a lot faster.

Quor'toth.

"Woah," Dawn gasped as she stared mesmerized at the dark landscape of the world. The waters, or whatever it was that passed as water, was a sickening lime green. The sky was mottled in shades of purple, pale green and plumes of ash. There were forests, but no leaves grew on the dry, twisted and dead trees. The ground was ruptured and cracked, a strange green lava oozing and spewing angrily from the ground.

"Dawn—" Connor's suddenly tense voice called to her warningly.

"This is…kinda awesome," Dawn said, staring at the Darkest of the Dark Worlds. "It's unreal…it's—"

"It's Quor'toth," Connor said tersely, a chill running down his spine as he stared at the world where he grew up.

At that, a surprised Dawn turned wide eyes to him. "Quor'toth? As in the place where you…?"

"Close it," Connor said, his hand suddenly reaching for his knife. "Dawn! Close it now!"

Confused, Dawn turned back to see a horrid demon, something that looked like a pale flying leech with arms and reddish wings and red-tipped claws, come screeching at her from out of nowhere. It squawked angrily as it stuck its claw through the porthole, trying to get through.

Dawn screamed in terror as she tumbled back, which allowed the hole to get big enough for the flying leech demon to get its head through into the room…only for it to suddenly wail in agony as Connor plunged his knife deep into its forehead. Kicking and striking the demon furiously, Connor finally pushed it back through the hole, only to see more of its kind flying angrily their way.

"Dawn!" he cried out in panic. "Close it! Now!"

Regaining her senses, Dawn hurriedly pointed at the portal and emitted another small ray of green energy at it. Within two seconds, the portal melted away from existence, locking the creatures back in Quor'toth where they belonged.

Panting in relief, Dawn managed to slowly get to her feet, stunned but unharmed. "Well," she nervously chuckled. "Guess that's one channel I won't be checking out anyti…Connor?"

She broke off when she saw the troubled look on the boy's handsome face, the former Destroyer staring frozen at the place where the small portal was only moments before as he sat on the floor. His cobalt blue eyes had a haunted look in them that almost instantly broke her heart to see.

"Con? Babe, what is it?" she softly asked him, her tone worried as she walked over and knelt down to where he was, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

For a moment, he found it hard to find the words. "It…it looks exactly the same," he muttered quietly.

"What does?" she asked. Dawn didn't understand what he meant until he started to slowly form other words.

"Everything," he answered her last question but his eyes still fixated on that empty spot where a small portal revealed a glimpse of the nightmare world he grew up in.

His tone was quiet, his eyes distant and troubled as his mind went back to memories he could never shake. "That forest you saw? The locals had a name for it. They called it 'The Bleeding Forest.' Not because it had pretty leaves or beautiful sunsets…it's because things that entered there would usually never come out. Their blood would stain the ground from whatever creatures were there hunting them.

"Holt—my fath…Holtz," he corrected himself subtly, something Dawn silently noticed he struggled with. "He would sometimes leave me there. In the dead of night, tied to a tree. So I could find my way back to him. To 'toughen me up and hone my tracking skills,'" he bitterly said in a soft, yet mocking and harsh tone. "He left me all the time. In that forest, fighting off slucks and Rahzarback demons. In the Ash Desert with barely enough water to last me half a day. Most kids grow up learning to play catch with their dads. Me? I was learning about beheading and evasion techniques. Studying the weak spots in the demons there. Learning how to cover my scent to avoid getting eaten."

Despite Connor's formidable, intimidating skills as a cunning warrior and an infamous demon killer, the scourge of Quor'toth, as Dawn saw his eyes fall away while that haunted gaze clouded them…she had never seen him look so young. So lost…so much like he just a kid.

"I never realized how insane it was growing up there," he muttered quietly. "Not until I came here."

At that, Dawn felt her heart constrict painfully for her boyfriend. Dawn knew life with her sister being The Slayer was anything but a normal life. But compared to what Connor had to endure growing up, having to survive in a freakish demonic world with a madman—his real father's mentally unhinged sworn enemy—raising him, she was thankful she didn't have to walk in his shoes.

"Hey," she said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's over. Okay? That place can't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt you anymore," she assured him, pointedly referring to Holtz. "You're safe. And you're here. I'm here."

"Good things don't last in my life," a still-shaken Connor said in a hushed tone, his eyes still troubled. For a moment, when he stared into that portal, what troubled him…what he wasn't telling Dawn…was that part of him felt that awful world beckoning to him, calling him back like some kind of siren song. What was worse…was that a part of him wanted to.

As much as it shamed him to think about, as badly as he wanted to fit in, as greatly as he desired to be here in this new home, with this new family of his and this beautiful blue-eyed brunette angel who offered him her heart so freely while he doubted he deserved her, a part of Connor that he desperately tried to ignore, but could still feel scratching beneath the surface…the dangerous, predatory, dark part of him that only felt at home in the dark, as both The Hunter and The Hunted, face splattered with the blood of his prey, skewering demons as a survival requirement…felt that he didn't really belong here.

His disturbed musings were interrupted as he saw Dawn smile, blue eyes warm and comforting.

"Well, you better get used to a change. Because, trust me…you're not getting rid of me anytime soon," she said in a soft, slightly teasing tone that was still honest and assuring. "This is your home now, Connor. You belong here. With us. With me."

Connor wasn't sure if that was true. If the universe would even allow his awful luck to change, if he really belonged here or if his place was back in the hell that was Quor'toth, but off seeing the heartfelt emotion etched in Dawn's pretty face, he only knew one thing...he really wanted to kiss her again.

So he did, reaching his hand out to the back of her slender neck and gently, slowly drawing her in. Their lips met and Dawn tilted her head to meet his mouth as the kiss deepened, slow at first and then losing herself in the taste of him—cinnamon and salt and manhood in bloom—as they fell into each other completely…

"Well, isn't that sweet?"

The female voice dripping with sarcasm coming out of nowhere was enough to jolt the teen couple apart, both staring wide-eyed in shock at the owner of that voice not a few feet from them…

Anna.

No...Not Anna, the rational part of Dawn's brain sharply realized through the haze of shock and fear. Anna's...dead. That means…

An unbecoming, cruel and cold sneer on the pretty face of the dead girl greeted their stunned gazes. "Gee," 'Anna' drawled snidely. "Nothing like a little death and mayhem to spark some good ol' teenage lust-age, huh?"

Struggling to find her composure through the wave of fear washing over her, Dawn took a sharp, deep breath and steeled herself. "You're not Anna," she quietly, firmly replied, scowling at the image of her dead friend.

"Well, no...but then again, I don't hear Anna complaining," Anna/The First taunted. "Funny how friends and loved ones have a habit of dropping dead around the two of you. Maybe it's your colognes? Or...I don't know...karma?"

"Get out," Connor growled, his hand slowly finding the handle of his knife as he protectively shielded Dawn behind him with his free arm.

Anna/The First merely chuckled at his actions. "Puh-lease, Kid Vicious. Best case scenario, that knife goes right through air." Her smile darkened. "Worst case? Maybe I'm not just air. Which means you two are already dead."

But somehow, Dawn could feel—could sense—that wasn't true. Maybe it was a side effect of her Key powers since they were...awakened...but she could somehow see the energy surrounding the air where her dead friend stood. Yet there was no body surrounding it.

"You're not here," Dawn replied icily, standing her ground. "So stop lying."

Impressed, 'Anna' cocked one golden eyebrow. "Wow. I guess it really is true. Little Dawnie Summers got all growed up, Key powers and all. No more kiddie table for you, huh?"

Surprised, Dawn exchanged a troubled look with Connor before she turned back to the creature in front of her. If The First Evil knew about her new powers, that was not good. "What...h-how did you—?"

"Oh, please," Anna/The First said dismissively. "Awakening the powers of The Key? That kinda magic doesn't just make ripples, sweetie. It makes waves. I felt it the moment it happened." Her/its face went all thoughtful. "Y'know, for a second, I was a little concerned about how that could tip the scales. And I can see you are getting stronger. Except there's one little problem. Building strength takes time. To grow it. Adapt to it. Make it work for you. "

Her/its smile went cold again. "And that's time you don't have. You'd need months, maybe years to catch up to me...all you have is a handful of weeks. Sorry, kiddo. Too little, too late."

Off the look of doubt in Dawn's eyes, a scowling Connor spoke up. "If that were really true, if she didn't pose a threat to you...why even bother to tell us? Why go through all the trouble?" He flashed a cocky smirk. "I'm thinking maybe you're more scared of her than you're letting on."

Her/its answer was quick, cutting. "The way Anna was scared of you?"

Connor's smirk fell, his face crumbled. And worst of all, he could feel his heart start to sink.

"Connor...don't listen to her," Dawn quietly insisted, placing her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder in comfort. But the stiffness in his stance and the unexpected surprise on his face told her the boy wasn't hearing her.

"How did it go again?" Anna/The First smirked at him. "Oh, that's right…" At that, the face of 'Anna' began to weep uncontrollably with fear and desperation. "'Please...I gotta get home! My mom's gonna be so mad! I won't tell anyone, I promise! Please, just let me go-ho-hoooo!'"

Pain knifed through Connor's heart at those words. The same words Anna begged him with when he and The Beastmaster-possessing-Cordelia held the girl hostage in that abandoned factory in L.A.'s meatpacking district. It sounded so much like she did that night, so scared, so alone.

Damn that thing...it even smells like her, Connor realized in sickened horror.

"She was perfectly fine before she met you, ya know," Anna/The First grinned at Connor, relishing in his guilt as he looked away.

"Leave him alone," Dawn ground out, her voice a defensive growl even as Connor visibly blanched, the color draining from his face at its words.

Ignoring Dawn, the thing wearing Anna's skin continued. "Straight-A student, lots of friends...oh, and her mom. She was all that woman had after Anna's dad died a few years ago. Now losing her only daughter, too? Geez, trauma like that is enough to make a person...break."

"Shut up," Connor hissed, feeling his eyes mist as guilt flooded through him.

"Your parents, your friends, your family, innocent people...everything you touch seems to die, Connor," Anna/The First sneered. "What's the word for that again? Oh, yeah…'disease.'"

"I said, 'SHUT UP!'"

In a flash, a snarling Connor's knife went sailing through the air, squarely aimed at Anna's face...only for the knife to phase harmlessly through the image of the girl and embed itself into the wall.

"Connor!" Dawn yelped, now in front of the visibly angry, shaking teenage boy.

Amused, the ghostly figure laughed. "Man, kid, you are way too easy!"

Dawn's voice was firm, yet soothing. "Connor...calm down. Now. You're giving it exactly what it wants."

"Oh, I think we're way past calm, Sugar Cube," Anna/The First chuckled. "I can see why you like your boyfriend, though. Not too bright, but he's cute and does have that whole 'Tortured Hero With a Dark Side' thing going for him. Like father, like son, I guess."

"Get out of here," Dawn angrily ground out, turning to face the ghostly image of Anna.

"No need to be rude," Anna/The First said in mock defensiveness. "Just giving you kids fair warning. Don't try to be heroes. It'll only get you killed. Well, killed sooner, anyway. You roll over, and The Awakening will be over quick. Easy. You won't even feel it. But fighting me? That's the road to violent and agonizing death. I mean, Buffy might not have any problem with you dying to save the world, but I don't see any reason for your last moments of life to end in pain and bloodshed."

Off that comment, Dawn scoffed. "Wh-what? No. No way. You're full of shit. Buffy would never—"

"Ah, but she would," Anna/The First said knowingly. "But I guess you wouldn't believe me if I told you, huh? So, I'll do one better...I'll show you."

Confused, Dawn gave her/it an irritated scowl. "Show me? What're you—?"

In a flash, they weren't in Dawn's bedroom anymore. They were in a graveyard. At night. Bewildered, neither Dawn or Connor had much time to get their bearings before they looked up to see a fight not a few feet from them.

Dawn saw Buffy. Her sister, pounding away and kicking at a vampire, all the while with Giles looking on over her shoulder.

Dawn could only stare in disbelief. How was Buffy up and about? The last she had seen her, Buffy was bed-ridden, her body bruised and broken at The First's hands. How could she be fighting now?

"Buffy!" Dawn cried out. "Buffy, over here!"

Buffy didn't respond, continuing her fight as if she hadn't heard anything.

"Don't bother, Cutie," Anna/The First said. "She can't hear you."

"Where are we?" Dawn asked, stunned.

"Not where. When," Anna/The First said knowingly. "This was about two or three weeks ago. Well before Buffy caught her..." She/it smirked cruelly. "…bad break."

Dawn shot the incorporeal being a dark scowl as it made light of nearly killing her older sister.

"This is a trick," Connor said accusingly, narrowing its eyes at the ghostly image of Anna.

Anna / The First merely chuckled. "Sometimes, Junior, the worst wounds come from the truth." She motioned to the fight. "Just watch."

Buffy was about to finish him off when Giles said, "Don't kill him yet."

Both she and the vamp looked over at Giles. "Why not?" she asked.

"Because I'm asking you not to," he informed her. Buffy shrugged, then elbowed the vampire and rolled away. The vamp got back up on its feet and they squared off again.

Giles said, "Would you let this vampire live if it meant saving the world?"

"Sure." Buffy glanced at the vamp. "Seems like a nice enough guy."

"Thanks," the vampire said, uncertainly.

"No problem," she said pleasantly.

He added awkwardly, "My name's Richard."

"Hi, Rich," Buffy cheerily greeted...and then blasted him with a sharp right hook to the chin.

Dawn wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the moment, but something about this felt wrong. Why had The First wanted to show them this seemingly random fight? What is it angling for? With some irritation, she realized the only way to find out was to keep watching.

Amid the blows and punches and kicks the Slayer rained down upon the undead demon as it tumbled to the ground, an irritated Buffy turned to her former Watcher and said, "Giles, we've had this conversation before. When I told you I wouldn't sacrifice Dawn to stop Glory from destroying the world."

Dawn went numb, felt the feeling leave her arms and hands. Nobody had ever told her the gang had talked about actually letting her die as an option during the Glory crisis. Giles was someone she looked up to like a father, a lot more so than the deadbeat asswipe Dawn had come to know as hers and Buffy's father. How could he have actually considered letting her die? For a moment, she found herself hating Giles more than she ever thought possible...

"But things are different now, aren't they?," Giles pressed, a hint of sadness with some resolve in his voice. "After what you've been through. Knowing what you're up against. Faced with the same choice now . . . you'd let her die."

Dawn froze.

No.

No, she couldn't believe it.

Wouldn't believe it.

Buffy was her sister. Her protector. The one she looked up to, even when she pretended she didn't. Granted, Dawn silently admitted she was a handful. She knew she could be...sullen...and rude...and maybe a little whiny and klutzy...and she knew she had taken a lot of her frustration and resentment at being abandoned by every parental figure she'd ever had out on Buffy—sometimes unfairly, Dawn realized with shame—but through all of that...she knew Buffy loved her. As much as Dawn loved Buffy.

She flung herself into a portal and sacrificed her own life so she could protect me. Not the world. Me. Dawn fervently, desperately held onto that thought, that image of her sister's fierce devotion to protecting her...even if, deep down, Dawn knew they weren't really sisters. Buffy wouldn't turn her back on me. She would never...let me die...right?

Yet Dawn's hope started to teeter as she saw something she would never dream she'd see in Buffy's eyes if posed that question-hesitation.

Buffy paused, hesitated...and then she looked away. Almost as if she was ashamed at what she was about to say. "If I had to...to save the world, then...I...yes."

Everything stopped.

Time itself seemed to stop.

Tears immediately fell from her wide, shocked blue eyes down Dawn's face, a look of heartbreak and betrayal etched in her beautiful features, her heart breaking into a million pieces. How could she say that? How could she…? Oh, God...she means it. She'd really...let me die...

"Told ya," Anna / The First said simply.

Stunned by what he saw and unsure of what to say, Connor wrapped his arm around Dawn in comfort. But Dawn, frozen in place and eyes clouded with tears, didn't notice.

She couldn't feel it.

She didn't feel anything.

She wasn't sure if she'd ever feel anything again.

The vampire spun-kicked Buffy in the head; she scowled and said, "Ouch! Can I kill this guy yet?"

Dawn continued to stare teary-eyed at the sister she once thought she could count on. Throwing quips and jokes around just moments after admitting she'd let her own sister die. Like it means nothing to her, Dawn thought in horror. Like...like I mean nothing to her.

"No," Giles ordered her. Irritated, Buffy started wailing away on the demon as the fight continued.

"Stop," Dawn softly croaked, wiping the tears from her face. "I don't...I don't wanna see anymore. Please, you-you-you made your point..."

Anna / The First smiled triumphantly as the images slowly faded around them, the world around them becoming Dawn's room again. "Yeah. I guess I did, didn't I?"

Seeing the look of anguish on his girlfriend's face because of this…creature…made Connor's blood simmer with rage. "You're a real douchebag, you know that?" Connor spat angrily at the demonic entity mocking them.

"Yeah...I think I get that from my mom," Anna / The First nonchalantly shrugged.

Trembling and her eyes watering, but unwilling to cower in front of this monster, Dawn defiantly eyed the cruel thing before them. "You're lying," she said accusingly, though she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince The First…or herself. "That...that never happened. Buffy would never...she wouldn't…"

"Ask Giles," Anna / The First replied, that awful, knowing smile still on its face. It asked the question with such certainty, as if it was daring Dawn to prove it wrong. "Ask him about the graveyard. It's the last time he and Big Sis had a decent conversation before she froze him out over trying to kill Spike.

"Funny, right? Brave Buffy Summers would defend to the death her ex-boyfriend Angel, who nearly sucked the world into Hell during her high school days, and Spike, a murdering animal who nearly raped her once...yet she'd throw her own sister to the wolves. When you think about it, it's almost as if she thinks you…don't matter."

Try as she might, a speechless, teary-eyed Dawn could not shake the image of her late mother Joyce months ago, warning her.

Warning her with words that Dawn could never quite shake, no matter how hard she tried. Words that echoed in her ears, slicing away her heart like knives. Things are coming Dawn. Things are on their way. I love you and I love Buffy, but she won't be there for you. When it's bad, Buffy won't choose you. She'll be against you.

"Don't feel too bad, though," Anna / The First grinned in mock sweetness. "Buffy just knows the truth. Only the strong survive. The weak don't matter. That's why you'll never be anything more than a burden to her, sweetie. Just another weakling she has to protect. And not even her real sister. You don't belong here. You never did. Deep down, in the places you think nobody can see, you know it's true. And that's why no matter how many people tell you they love you, no matter the lies when they tell you that you matter, no matter how hard you try or how cool and strong you think you've become, everyone knows the same thing you've always known deep down inside your heart, Dawnie…"

….and suddenly, Anna / The First was right in front of Dawn, startling both teens. Smiling, 'she' leaned over and whispered something ever-so-sweetly in Dawn's ear, like a secret between two best friends.

"You never really mattered in the first place."

And then it was gone, without a trace.

Leaving a shaken Connor to wrap his arms comfortingly around her, whispering soothing words into the shell-like ears of a heartbroken Dawn...who could only stare in tears at the picture on her bed of Buffy lovingly hugging Dawn and her mother in a family portrait.

A family, Dawn realized, that she would never really belong to. A life, she now knew, that was never hers and which her sister would not hesitate to sacrifice her from.

A sister...that Dawn was no longer sure she could trust...


TBC…


Next: As Xander and Cordelia grow closer, Willow tries to reconnect with a reeling Oz in the aftermath of the forest attack…while Angel and Buffy have a heart-to-heart that may end up breaking both of theirs. And a vicious, violent attack on Potential Slayer Shannon serves as an invitation to Buffy-an invitation from a man known only as...Caleb...


Hey everyone! A few quick updates:

1. The next chapter is imminent. Trying to find time to write between my work schedule has not been easy. But the chapter is coming and should be posted by the end of the month…or maybe the end of next week, if the stars align. Stay tuned.

2. Because of several story side-plots and interactions I wanted to write about, but haven't included yet because it might slow down the pacing of the story, I'll be posting a new story at some point soon: "Bring Me to Life: Behind the Lines". I got the idea from an incredible Buffy/Angel crossover story written years ago, "Scourge of Duty," by Tomy. (I highly recommend it, please go check it out!) It will basically feature side plots and interactions with characters between the action that would round out the story nicely. While I have a few ideas of what I want to do with it, I've seen some of you request interactions and scenes, so I'd be open to any suggestions. Please message me with your ideas and I'll take them into consideration. Your feedback could mean your story!

3. I chose this as a stand-alone chapter in order to give Dawn and Connor a little more time to shine. And it sets up some dramatic developments for them down the road in later chapters. (Plus it gave me a chance to update you all, so, yay :) This isn't a Buffy-bashing chapter. I LOVE Buffy. But the lines from the flashback, part of the "Lies My Parents Told Me" episode from Season 7 of Buffy, I thought were...interesting, and needed to be addressed in order to set some things in motion, especially for more development of the relationship between the Summers sisters.

4. Thanks to whoever is posting about my l'il ol' story on TVTropes. You flatter me :)

5. To speed this story along, I'm looking for a beta-writer/reader. Preferably someone with great grammar and someone not afraid to make any suggestions on plot (or even suggest/write some scenes, if necessary). If you're interested (or know someone who might be interested), please message me and let me know.

Next chapter on the way. Please read, review and comment! Peace!


-Jean-TheGuardian