Chapter Four: Old Faces

"We need to call Giles and tell him that we've lost Dawn." Willow said.

"I can't believe that she believed it." Xander said. "There's no way that was Buffy."

"Well that was gross." Anya said. "Now there's stranger vomit in my trash." She paused and picked up the trash. "Excuse me while I take this out."

Tara looked at Willow and asked, "Is there any way that the spell could have backfired and sent her somewhere else?"

Willow shook her head. "No," she said. "Absolutely not. The spell either worked or it didn't. I'll call Giles." She tried to stand up, but she was still weakened by the spell.

"Don't move baby," Tara told her. "I'll call Giles. We need to get Dawn back."


Sunnydale looked like it was a small hell dimension. Jack turned on the vehicle and peeled out of the street, away from the Magic Box. The demons that were about to attack the Magic Box followed Jack's vehicle instead. Jack pressed on the gas and drove as fast as he could. Laura remained silent and fidgeted with her fingers. Buffy was finally feeling better and less nauseous. Her vision was more clear and she felt like she was back to normal.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked. "You didn't look so good earlier at the Magic Box."

Buffy nodded. "Yes, I'm fine Dawn." She said and looked behind them. Buffy saw the demons and sighed. "Jack, pull over."

Jack pressed on the brakes and the motorcycles almost rammed into the vehicle. The demons swerved around the vehicle and then stopped. They parked their bikes and looked at The Slayer. Buffy got out of the car and let the demons inch towards her. She then ran in the other direction and the demons chased after her. The horde tried to attack her, but Buffy used her surroundings to her advantage.

The demons used their weapons and swung them at Buffy. Buffy ducked and grabbed the bottom swing of the weapons and threw it back at the demons. She killed both demons with their own weapons. The other two demons surrounded her. Buffy used her strength and fighting abilities to defeat the demons. She snapped a neck or two and their lifeless bodies hit the ground. Satisfied, Buffy ran back to the vehicle and got into her seat. She buckled her seat belt and told Jack to drive to the cemetery.

On the way to the cemetery, Dawn saw the Buffybot and Jack pulled over. Dawn and Buffy got out of the vehicle to evaluate the situation. The Buffybot was ripped to pieces and done. Buffy looked at her sister and shook her head. Jack got out of the car and walked over to them. Buffy and Dawn both had pieces of the Buffybot in their hands. Jack sighed and asked,

"And what is this creature?"

"Not a creature." Buffy said and dropped the pieces. "This was a robot."

"Robot?" Jack repeated.

Dawn nodded and turned to him. "This was Buffy." She said, "Before she died."

"Oh." Jack simply said. "I'm sorry." He paused, unsure what to say. "I'm going to check on Laura."

With those words, he walked to the passenger side of the vehicle, and checked on his wife. Dawn turned to Buffy and asked,

"Are you okay?"

Buffy dropped the piece that she had in her hand and shook her head. "No." She said honestly.

Dawn dropped the piece that she had in her hand as well and sighed. "I'm sorry Buffy." She said, "I'm sorry about all of it."

"It's not your fault Dawn." Buffy said gently. "But thank you. Come on, let's get to the cemetery. Hopefully Spike is there."

Dawn nodded and walked back to the vehicle with Buffy. Jack noticed them walking back and got back into the driver's side. Laura was quietly sobbing and Buffy got back into her seat next to Dawn. They closed their doors and Buffy directed Jack to the graveyard. Once at the graveyard, Buffy and Dawn escorted the Winters couple to Spike's crypt. Buffy knocked on the door and Spike opened it. Spike looked at Buffy and then turned to Dawn, very confused.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked. Then he remembered. "Oh balls! I was supposed to watch you tonight!"

"Yeah thanks for showing up," Dawn said. "The scoobies had Xander's parents watch me."

"I'm sorry." Spike said. "It won't happen again." Then he turned to Buffy. "Who is this?"

"This is Buffy Spike," Dawn said. "She got transferred to a different body somehow."

Spike looked at her from head to toe. "Doesn't look like Buffy." He said. "Who are those people?"

"Spike it's me," Buffy said. "I swear it. We came to you for help."

"What kind of help?" Spike asked and then looked at the Winters couple. "Who are they?"

"This girl's parents." Buffy explained as she pointed at her body. "Something magic must have happened, but I wasn't put in my body. I was put in this girl's body."

"Okay, I haven't heard that one before." Spike admitted and turned to Dawn. "You believe that it's really Buffy?"

Dawn nodded. "I do."

Spike sighed and nodded. "Then I believe you're Buffy too, but…" He said and looked behind him.

In the far back of the crypt, Wesley held Connor in his arms. Wes looked at Spike and mouthed, who is it? Spike ignored Wesley and turned back to the Summers girls. He dropped his head and opened the door.

"We have something that needs protecting." Spike said and revealed Wesley with Connor.

Buffy and Dawn's eyes widened. "Wesley?" Buffy said and took a step back.

Spike held up his hands. "He's not with the Council."

"Who's he with then?" Dawn asked.

"He's with me." Spike told them. "He's a free agent." He explained. "But he took Angel's son and we are hiding the kid from him."

Buffy looked astonished. "Why are we hiding the kid from Angel?"

"It's a long story." Wesley said and walked forward. "Who are you?"

"It's Buffy." Spike told him. "Just in a different wrap."

"It's true." Dawn said.

"Understood." Wesley said.

Buffy heard screams and loud bikes. She looked at Spike and Wesley. "Will you help us?"

Wesley nodded and handed Connor over to Dawn. "Come in, take care of him."

Everyone entered the crypt. The Winters couple remained silent and sat down on the floor. Laura had finally stopped sobbing. Dawn held Connor in her arms. Wesley looked at Buffy and said,

"We need to fight the demons."

"I think Dawn and the baby should stay here." Buffy said and then looked at the Winters. "So should you." Jack nodded and said,

"We can help protect the children."

"Good." Wesley said. "Let's go."

Spike, Buffy, and Wesley left the crypt. They went out into the streets and found the demon horde. The horde surrounded them and Buffy got into a fighting stance. Wesley followed Buffy and Spike got into a fighting stance as well. The demons lunged at the three of them and the group defended the land. Wesley fought bravely and managed to kill two of the demons. Buffy defeated two of the demons.

Spike found the leader and grabbed him. Buffy helped Spike and the two of them defeated the leader, Razor. The rest of the demons got back onto their bikes and fled town. The new scooby group looked at each other and nodded.

"I think we won." Buffy said.

"Thank goodness." Wesley said.

Spike, Wesley, and Buffy walked back to the crypt. Dawn was feeding Connor. Jack and Laura stood up. Jack walked over to Buffy and asked,

"What happened?"

"We defeated the demons." Buffy said. "The demons left town."

"Are we staying here?" Laura chimed in.

"For tonight. We can find a new place tomorrow." Buffy said.

Jack and Laura looked at each other and nodded. Dawn finished feeding Connor and handed him to Wesley. Wesley took care of Connor and everyone fell asleep. Buffy couldn't sleep. She stayed on guard and looked outside to see if there were any more demons. Buffy was having a hard time sleeping. She kept remembering what Heaven felt like. She thought she was in Heaven and she was pulled out of there.

Spike woke up in the middle of the night and walked over to Buffy. He tapped on her shoulder while she looked outside. Buffy jumped and turned around, it was just Spike. She closed the door and Spike put his hands up in defense. Buffy sighed heavily and walked over to an empty part of the crypt. Spike walked over to her and Buffy leaned against the wall.

"How come you didn't come with Xander and the others?" Spike whispered.

"They didn't believe me." Buffy whispered back and shook her head. "My own friends didn't believe me."

"I didn't think it was you at first, but Dawn said you are Buffy." Spike explained. "I believe her and I believe you."

Buffy looked at Spike. "Thanks."

"What happened to you?" Spike asked.

Buffy turned away from him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Were you hurt?" Spike asked, concerned. "Being in a hell dimension and all."

"I wasn't…" Buffy started to say something but then stopped. She looked at Spike and lowered her voice. "I was…"

Spike looked at her and asked, "What?"

Buffy shook her head. She wasn't ready to tell. She wanted to keep this to herself. For now. Dawn opened her eyes and stretched. Connor started to cry and Dawn woke up. She got up off the floor and went to Connor's side. She picked him up out of the carseat and rocked him to sleep in her arms. Wesley opened his eyes and stared at Dawn and Connor. He smiled a little and walked over to Buffy and Spike.

"We should find better sleeping arrangements." Wesley said.

Buffy nodded. "You're right." She paused. "We need to find a house."

Jack and Laura got up and walked upstairs. Everyone was awake because of Connor. Jack looked at Buffy and asked, "What's going on?"

"We need to find better shelter." Buffy said. "This crypt can only hold so many people."

"We need to find something better for Connor." Wesley said.

"We had an apartment, but I think all of us are going to need our rooms." Spike said.

"Laura and I can help." Jack said. "We can sell our house in L.A and buy a new one here in Sunnydale."

"Sounds good on paper," Buffy said. "But we still need something that can hold us."

"How about this?" Spike started to say. "Dawn, Connor, and Wes will return to the apartment and the rents start to find a house here in sweet Sunny D." He paused and turned to the Winters. "Sounds good?"

The Winters couple nodded. "Agreed." Jack said.

Spike turned to Buffy. "You and I plus the rents will stay here."

Buffy nodded. "Agreed."

Wesley walked over to Dawn and Connor. He took Connor from Dawn and started to play with him a little. Dawn smiled and looked at Wesley. Wes looked at Dawn and said,

"Let's go." He paused. "Dawn, you're coming with me."

"What?" Dawn asked. "I think I should stay with Buffy."

Buffy walked over to Dawn and Wesley. "No Dawn, you're going with Wes and Connor."

Dawn sighed and nodded. Jack and Laura looked at all of them and then looked at each other. Laura held Jack's hand. Wes, Dawn, and Connor left the crypt. Spike escorted them back to the apartment. Buffy turned to Jack and Laura.

"Thanks for coming." She said, "We really needed your help."

Jack and Laura nodded. "Of course." Jack said. "I guess we better get started on that new house."

Buffy nodded. "Thanks."

The sun started to rise and the Winters couple left the crypt. Buffy was by herself in Spike's crypt. She sighed and walked outside. As she walked, Buffy put out the small fires and picked up the trash that was in her town. Since the demons had left, there was an immense amount of cleaning up to do. It took her most of the morning and the afternoon. Finally, the town returned to normal.