Chapter 4~

Everything was blurry, and all she could hear was a high pitched ringing in her ears. Dawn pushed her arms up from the ground, trying to make sense of anything. The young brunette closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, remembering what her sister taught her about focus. One thing at a time.

They had been fighting two Turok- Han, when several bringers joined the fight. Faith had dispatched one of the two ugly beasts, and took over helping Melody with the other, while she had started on the bringers. As her sword clashed with knives and her feet met with robed chests, the dark Slayer's commands to fall back were just words in the air. Dawn could no longer see their vampire ally, and Faith was starting to get overwhelmed with the dark priests while still trying to take down the ancient vampire.

The youngest Summers took another deep breath. Remembering, or trying to. Everything seemed to slow down after being told to retreat, flashes of previous battles, other hellmouths, Buffy's death, Xander's, more fighting, the axe. It started going faster. Was her life flashing before her eyes? Was this death?

There was a house full of potentials, constant noise, Spike had a soul, her mother… but not her mother. The First. Then the halls of Sunnydale high, fighting demons from dirt, Willow…. No. Dark Willow, Tara's body on the floor. It just kept going.

Threatening Spike, Xander walking away in his tuxedo, Riley and his wife, the car crash, and Tara packing. Then there was nothing. She was on the ground. Her vision still blurred out, her ears still singing in high pitch. Blinking hard several times, the sound of Buffy's voice cut through her brain from memory, 'You have 5 senses, Dawn. If one isn't working right, you have to use the other four. Can't see? Listen. Can't listen, feel. Even smell can give you a clue to your surroundings.' Dawn smirked despite her situation, remembering Buffy's training and the following sentence, 'I would really only use taste if you have nothing else left, maybe not even then….' She would never forget the look Buffy had when she spoke that last part.

What did she feel? Her hands moved through something soft, lush. The young woman had almost forgotten the feathery feel and earthy smell of grass. It had been a long while since they had last encountered living grass. Dawn tried to focus her eyes, things were still extremely fuzzy, but she could make out that it was night. She could see the outlines of things, but as she must be outside, it definitely wasn't bright enough for sunlight, even on a cloudy day. The harsh tone in her ears was finally dulling a little, and she made out what sounded like her name being called. Processing the other words wasn't working quite yet, as they sounded like low garbles.

Suddenly, there was pain. In several places. One in particular was the scar where her left cheek was sliced open back at the last hellmouth battle. It was like it was a fresh wound again. Seconds, minutes, hours? She couldn't tell as what seemed like every wound she had ever sustained seemed new again, re-opened. Her thighs and calves ached as if she had been running for days. Torture. That was the only possible conclusion Dawn could come to.

"Mother fucker, that stings like a bitch!" came a, very sudden, clear cry from somewhere off to her side.

The young Summer's body started to relax. Her eyes were still closed from the sudden agony, as she took several deep breaths. The pain had started to waver off, though everything felt sore as hell. Baby blue eyes popped open and she found that, even though dizziness had set in quite a bit, the blurred vision had subsided. There was moonlight, lighting the vast expanse of grass around her, and the large oak tree she was now near.

Slowly and painfully turning her head to the other side by lifting it slightly, Dawn spotted Faith. The dark Slayer must have been experiencing her own suffering as she was tensed up with a handful of grass, also lying on her stomach. Faith's deep brown met her blue as the older brunette finally seemed to relax as well.

"Hey, D. You alright?" She was breathing hard and fast, the cut over her lip seemingly raw, as if it wasn't quite finished healing yet. Faith's concern for Dawn showed in her facial expression and eyes. Dawn simply nodded, hoping it would continue to be true, now that things seemed to be calming, "Ok, well that's one good thing. Any ideas what just happened?"

Dawn shook her head, "Where are we?"

The Slayer lifted an eyebrow, giving the young woman a completely crazed look, telling the younger girl all she needed to know. Which was pretty much 'How the hell would I know?'

"Right," she almost smiled at Faith. They both seemed to get the same idea, it was time to get up. The thought was even a struggle, much less the act.

Faith was the first to actually make it to a sitting position, and upon reaching it, she immediately turned her head opposite Dawn's direction and emptied whatever contents her stomach held. Seeing this, Dawn seemed to think twice about rushing herself. The Slayer wasn't one for puking usually, so she had very little hope of being exempt from the same fate. Laying her head back down, she took in several slow, deep breaths, then even slower movement to simply boost her torso up off the ground, using her elbows and arms to stabilize the position. Her head was pounding, and she was still feeling slightly dizzy.

A groan sounded behind them and Faith slowly tried to turn towards the sound, "Shit! Mermaid, you alright over there?! Shit!"

"What? What's wrong with Melody?" Dawn was still having trouble keeping her current position. Turning around wasn't happening just yet.

"I see blood, D. I think she's hurt from the fight," Faith's Slayer powers seemed to be helping her gain some more traction quicker than her younger companion as she made her way to a crawling position, "D, take your time. Don't rush it. She's only a few feet behind us. I'll check her out."

Dawn heard the shuffle behind her and the subsequent silence that let her know Faith had made it to the vampire. She looked over to the oak tree again, noticing a carving she couldn't quite make out on the side. Then her eyes fell on just the slightest bit of red hair flowing behind the base of the tree, "Willow!" She immediately sat up, pain rushing to her head, and copying Faith's earlier impression of drunk party girl.

"Careful, Dawn! Fuck, give me a heart attack," Faith said with exasperation, "Mermaid's down for the count. She'll heal, but knowing her heal time normally, I'd say she might be out for a day or so. It's a stab in the upper shoulder, probably barely missed her damn lung. She ain't bleeding much anymore. How the hell long we been lying here?"

The younger brunette wasn't listening. After having thrown up herself, she had slowly started to crawl towards the tree, avoiding the mess she had made. Collapsing as she rounded the large wood base with the witch finally in sight, "Willow!" she shook the redhead with no response. Immediately she checked for a pulse, letting go a shaky breath as she found a strong one, "Willow's alive." She gasped out, "I don't see any wounds."

Dawn couldn't see the Slayer from her position, but brown eyes looked sorrowful, knowing that a pulse meant nothing if what she think happened had actually happened, "That's good, Dawn. Just… stay with her. Don't try to move much right now."

The younger woman rested from her seemingly giant move of five feet, and forced herself up to rest against the thick trunk of oak, blue eyes skimmed around the side of the tree again. The carving was more visible now, as she made out a heart beautifully shaped into the wood, "W Always".

"What?" came Faith's tired reply, "What are you talkin' 'bout, D?"

Realization started coming to Dawn's brain, as she turned towards the unconscious redhead once again. She now noticed Tara's picture was clasped in Willow's right hand, the edges burned and torn. Tara was still visible, as beautiful as ever, leaning against a, now, very familiar tree. Her angelic smile directly beside the very same carving. Wide eyes came around the trunk to stare into exhausted brown ones, "We're in Sunnydale….."

-x-

Xander and Tara sat in silence during the drive. The Bronze had been a negative and way too loud for them during their anxious search. It had also taken entirely too long for their liking, sorting through the crowd. Sunnydale High was deserted, to the relief of both of them. They had called out for Willow and Dawn, but to no avail. As they saw no signs of new prints on the dusty floors and silence was the only sound, they didn't do a search of the whole school grounds. Buffy was doing a patrol through the various cemeteries and both of Sunnydales' parks, and the theater was closed.

The car turned into the last place they were going to check before heading back to the Magic Box, where Giles and Anya were already trying to narrow down any kind of spell or cause for random breaking lightbulbs and mysterious vanishing. The bright lights of U.C Sunnydale campus flicked through the windows, betraying the grim mood in The Xandermobile. The Maroon Ford Taurus cruising slowly around various dorm buildings.

"Stop," Tara's soft voice held an urgent plea to Xander. He slowly pulled over into the dorm parking he was next to, and turned to look at Tara, concerned. Her eyes were focused into an area that wasn't well lit, the one lamp seeming to be broken or needing replaced; the moonlight was the only real illumination for the spot.

The carpenter waited patiently. He knew the witch could sense things that he couldn't. Xander had learned long ago to listen to his friends with the sensing powers. They usually held knowledge of something, whether or not his friends knew what it was when they sensed it.

Tara had told him about her feeling. That something was wrong with Willow. His heart was beating a mile a minute. The redhead was his best friend, confidante. He couldn't imagine losing her. It would tear him to shreds. Even worse, what would it do to the brunette next to him? Not to mention Dawnie, as the Slayer would have an all out breakdown and slayfest if she was hurt. The rest of them would be devastated, and possibly unable to supply Buffy with the help she would need. They already seemed unequipped for her current mental status.

Sapphire eyes stared into the space for what felt like forever, but to the real world was only two or three minutes. Something had happened there, it felt heavy and thick, even from the few hundred feet away they were. It was definitely witchcraft, and she detected a familiarity in the essence. Like it was Willow, but it wasn't. Xander's voice broke through her train of thought.

"What's the what? We dealing with danger demons over there or hell spells? Maybe a little vampire party?" The man's joke voice came out, his personal defense against pain and misery.

She knew they couldn't waste anymore time, it was either go check it out, or move forward. As the essence seemed to pull her a bit, Tara opted for a quick check, "I d-don't know. It doesn't feel dangerous? Just really… heavy. We should go check it out. Just in case. Plus it's dark, we can't see over there cause the lights busted, and it's W-Willow's favorite tree."

"Is it a Willow tree?" he gave a goofy grin to the witch.

Tara let out the slightest smirk as blue eyes fell on his, he really could lighten their hearts even in the worst of times, "No, that's MY favorite type of tree."

They shared a quick moment, allowing them to gather strength from each other. Then, Xander reached back behind him, coming up carefully with an axe, "Cross and holy water in the glove compartment," he stated, tilting his head towards It for Tara to take the hint. She gave an almost indecipherable nod and reached for the items before reclosing the latch and pocketing both in the long brown sweater she still wore. The witch gave him one last look before exiting the vehicle.

She jumped when she heard the trunk pop behind her. Xander gave an apologetic smirk before reaching in and grabbing a stashed flashlight. She turned back towards their destination as she heard him close the vehicle up softly and come up to her side, beam of light already pointed in front of them.

Their walk was almost silent, neither daring to say anything to further attract any unwanted attention. Only the slight footsteps echoed out quietly into the night air. The carpenter followed next to Tara, only a step or so behind as she knew where she wanted to go. His flashlight finally came to rest on the head of a woman, bowed as if she had just fallen asleep, under a huge oak tree.

Xander's first instinct was to help. It always had been. He ran ahead the ten feet or so, immediately searching her neck for a pulse or puncture as he set the axe down in front of the unconscious woman. Looking up at Tara with a somewhat relieved expression, he paused. The witch's eyes were wide as she stared at the woman. In confusion, the carpenter turned back to her and lifted her head up, holding his flashlight to her face, "Dawn?!"

For the second time that night, Tara's heart seemed to stop. It felt like Dawn, her aura, her energy. When Xander revealed her face, it wasn't Dawn. At least…. Not the teenag' one they had been searching for. Her clothes were shreds, her face held a very new looking, red scar on her left cheek, and even more confusing, the young woman looked as though she'd aged at least five years.

"What?..." Tara couldn't finish her question. The flashlight beam had swooped to the side of the youngster, revealing trademark red hair fanned out over the grass.

-x-

Buffy's patrol wasn't turning up anything. Willy's had been a bust, and the cemeteries were empty except for the three single vamps she had come across and subsequently slayed. The blonde was making her way to the gate now, to go check the first of the two parks she was assigned before checking in with the rest of them.

The Slayer stopped cold, her senses on alert, before identifying the current pursuer, "Spike! Not the time. Unless you happen to know where Willow or Dawn are, I suggest you either slink back to your crypt or help me look for them," she turned towards the vampire before adding, "Away from me."

"Hey now. Relax, Goldilocks. Just havin' a walk after today's wonderful trip down no memory lane and saw you patrollin' is all," he held his hands up to signal his 'innocence', "What's this about Niblet and Red missing?"

Before Buffy had the chance to respond, Tara's voice rang in her head clear as a bell and very fearful, "UC Sunnydale, outside Porter Hall."

"What about it?" Buffy spoke out loud, getting a confused look from Spike.

He wondered if she was losing it as he replied, "You just said they were missing, Slayer."

She gave him a shut up look, "I'm talking to Tara!" before trying to concentrate again to the voice in her head.

"GET HERE!" Tara's voice was full of fear and desperation. Then it was gone. The blonde looked at Spike for only a split second before taking off toward campus. The look on her face only increasing Spike's curiosity as he followed swiftly behind her.