Because both Willow and Buffy left the hellmouth ten months earlier their reactions to Tara and Dawn will not be the same as they are not the same. I use a bit of exact dialogue in a short scene in this chapter, but everything else is mostly my own creation.
Pylea happened during Angel while Buffy fought Glory. Willow was waiting for them when they returned. However, we don't know how long she waited. I'm going with it hasn't happened yet, or they call them in enough time to prevent from going down. Either way, Angel and Gunn come to Sunnydale.
Chapter 30: Death is Her Gift
*****Same Day******
When Willow found out that Tara was hurt the way she was and Dick broken, she lost her mind. She went to the hospital with them while Ratner took Buffy in his car, following the ambulance.
She was out for blood. Buffy worked hard to reign her in as did Keith who showed up at the hospital as soon as he heard.
"How are you doing?" Keith asked Willow.
"How do you think I'm doing?" Willow asked. "She's my everything and look at her!"
"You can't go off and try to confront her," Keith said. "We don't want to see you end up just like her or like Kennedy."
Joyce called Keith. "Excuse me," he said, answering his phone. "Hey, sweetie."
Joyce told him Dawn was missing. "You called her cell?. . .What about her friends?" . . .I'll be there soon."
Keith hung up. "Girls, we have another problem. Joyce says Dawn is missing," he shared.
Buffy's face lost all her color. "It's Glory. She knows where we live! She must've gone to my house after Dick's, and Dawn was home! She has taken her!" Buffy shared.
Willow felt sick at the thought, and all thoughts of revenge left her as fear for Dawn replaced those feelings. If Glory had the Key, they were all doomed. "Oh, God, what are we going to do?" Willow asked.
Buffy had one moment of panic, of feeling like she had failed her sister, her family, and her friends. For one moment, she almost lost it. However, she was not the same person she was ten months ago. Being away from the hellmouth had renewed her spirit and drive. She was not suffocating under the weight of her burden but surrounded by friends and family.
"We're going to find her and take her back," Buffy said firmly. She pulled out her phone to call Faith as Glory most likely took her to Sunnydale.
Faith had just gotten through telling Giles about the attack on Dick and Tara. Dick was beat badly trying to protect his friend. The dumb bitch had gone to Neptune, had somehow found where Buffy's friends lived. Her man nearly died, and she wasn't there for him. Faith wanted desperately to go be with him. Giles had just agreed to give her a two-day pass when Buffy called to tell her more bad news.
Faith handed the phone to Giles while she went and started punching the punching bag that she had Giles buy for her. It kept her from killing Kennedy back in the day.
"I will have Faith start to look. Yes, you should come here as I doubt Glory will return to Neptune now that she has Dawn. From what I have gleaned from my research, Dawn can't be of any real use to her until a certain time in May like she told you. We still have several weeks before the Key can be activated," Giles told her.
Faith couldn't stand all this waiting. Why couldn't they just kill this bitch and be done with it? They had to find her. When Giles got off the phone, she told him that she'd head to Willie's.
"Faith, getting yourself hurt or killed won't do anyone any good," Giles told her. "This is a retrieval mission, fact-finding search. Do not seek to confront Glory. If you find Dawn, don't go in guns blazing. Look for ways to remove her. Mark her location. See who is coming and going. That kind of thing. I know you are upset at what she did to Dick and Tara, but now is not the time to get yourself hurt. It won't help any of us."
Faith knew that he was right, even though she was filled with rage that needed an outlet. Rousing Willie's would be just the thing.
*****A Week Later*****
Dawn was nowhere to be found. Dick was out of the hospital and in Sunnydale the first weekend he could. Faith was so happy to see him even if she didn't like the look of him. His jaw was broken, but he didn't have to have it wired shut. Instead, they said he had to keep his jaw wrapped like a mummy. He would be eating through a straw for at least three more weeks. All his food had to be pureed. It was a living nightmare. Well, his right elbow needed surgery and three screws. Since he was right-handed, he couldn't even really drive.
"Dick, God, you need to be home and in bed," she said as she took in his appearance.
He shook his head and used his phone to text her. I miss you like crazy!
"I know, babe, I miss you, too," she said. She kissed his lips very gently, her hand on his cheek. "I want to kill this bitch so badly that I can hardly sleep. I know Red feels the same way every time she looks at Tara. Buffy was holding on by a thin thread. We can't find Dawn anywhere. All of Willow's locator spells have not got us anywhere. It's horrible."
Dick texted: I'll go home tomorrow. I just had to see you.
She understood and carefully wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, Dick, and I am so sorry this happened to you," she told him.
Dick pulled back and texted her. Not your fault. You weren't even there. I wasn't going to let her just kill Tara. Not that I did much good. Tara is still batshit nuts now.
He looked devastated at that, and Faith was grim as she looked up at him. "Willow will find a way to fix her. I know it. Don't worry," she said. Dick loved Tara like a sister he never knew he wanted. Not only had she loved and accepted Dick from the first day he had met her, but Dick genuinely liked everything about her. Tara made him feel good about himself; something most women didn't manage to do. Since Faith had liked Tara from the moment she met her (something she rarely did with most women), she understood his sense of loss.
They had to find a way to find Dawn and end Glory before it was too late.
*****Another Week*****
Buffy was going out of her mind. Her mother had finally allowed Keith to report Dawn missing because they couldn't continue to explain her absence. Many thought she ran away while her best friend Lauren Sinclair knew she hadn't and was very upset. She made her father offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to finding her.
Buffy went to class as little as possible. The professors, though, knew what was going on with her sister and gave her a lot of leeway. She stopped waiting tables at the hotel, only keeping her classes at Gabe's as she needed that outlet, or she would go nuts.
The third weekend Dawn was gone, she, Faith, and Willow finally spotted Glory not far from the hospital. "Why is she by the hospital?" Buffy wondered.
"Looking for victims to mind suck?" Faith suggested with a shrug.
"Are you ready?" Buffy said to Willow, who nodded.
Willow had been working on a new spell to immobilize and weaken her, giving Buffy and Faith time to try and hurt her more permanently. Kennedy's watcher had proven helpful and assisted Giles in getting a hold of a set of holy daggers that were supposed to harm all evil things and a sword that was supposedly crafted by Merlin himself.
Just as they were about to surround her, men on horseback attacked.
"The Beast must not live to use the Key!" a man said.
"Get out of our way, and we will kill her!" Buffy told one of them.
There were so many of them, however, that the girls were unable to proceed. They didn't want to hurt the men, and Glory knocked the knights back, and then she grabbed one and mind sucked it.
"We need to sneak behind her," Faith suggested.
"You do that," Buffy said. "When you're in position, I will be, too."
"Then I will clear a path and pin her down," Willow said.
The trio moved to do exactly all those things. Then Willow used telekinetics to knock all the soldiers out of her and Buffy's way. Moving forward, she began her spell to immobilize and weaken Glory. Faith didn't hesitate but plunged her two daggers into her back while Buffy moved to stab her with her sword.
Faith's daggers actually did penetrate, and she screamed, falling to the ground. The knights were in awe, but Buffy knew they had to move fast if they wanted to end her. However, she was gone. A man was in her place, and the two slayers looked down at him in confusion.
"What the f***?" Faith exclaimed.
Buffy thought the guy looked familiar but couldn't place him. "Who are you? How did you get here?" she asked.
"I'm Ben," he said. "I don't know. I'm a resident at the hospital."
Buffy nodded. That must be why he looked familiar as they did spend a lot of time there off and on over the years. "Where did Glory go?" she asked.
He looked confused. "Huh? I don't know who you're talking about," Ben said, playing dumb. He knew if the slayers knew of his connection to his sister, they would kill him.
"She must've had some spell to body swap with someone if she was in mortal danger," Willow said, looking disgruntled.
"Damn it! We had her!" Faith explained.
"We are the Knights of Byzantium, and we thank you for your aid," a knight said to Buffy.
"You're welcome," Buffy said. "But we're the slayers. You guys are just human and in the way. You need to stay out of our way, and let us deal with Glory."
"Do you know anything about Glory?" Willow asked the man.
"We know that she once ruled over a hell dimension as part of a triumvirate of suffering and despair only to be banished by the other two when they grew to fear her," he shared. "As a result, Glory was trapped inside a mortal body in which she was meant to lay dormant."
Ben didn't waste any time in case the magic of Glory's spell had them questioning him further and snuck off while no one was paying attention to him.
"So this mortal body, then, is an actual weakness?" Buffy asked.
"Yes," he said.
"So we kill the mortal, and Glory dies as well?" Faith asked.
"That is correct," he replied. "However, the mortal host has never been found. If she gets a chance to use the Key to return to her own dimension, it will open up all dimensions, destroying all of them."
"We are aware," Buffy said grimly. "Don't worry. We won't let her use the Key."
"She won't get that chance," Faith said. "Our weapons can hurt her. They've been blessed by higher powers. Your swords do nothing but get yourselves killed."
"Nevertheless, we will destroy the Key if we find it because she must not ever get a chance to use it," the knight said.
"Let's hope she won't ever get a chance to," Willow said.
The knights picked up their wounded and dispersed while Buffy, Faith, and Willow walked back to the Magic Box to tell Giles their news. Dick was there waiting, too, as he had ridden with Willow. He was relieved to see Faith unharmed.
"Fascinating," Giles said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them as he considered all the news. "So if we find the mortal body, we will find the weakness. If only we knew who it was?"
Dick looked at them all in dismay. He had a few more days before he could use his jaw normally, so he still had to text his communication. He listened to them, though, not believing what they were clearly missing. Seriously?
He pulled out his cell, sending a message to Faith: It's the guy Ben.
Faith pulled out her phone and read Dick's text. "Dick says that it's Ben."
Duh. You hurt Glory and she turned into Ben. How did you not know that?
"So you think Glory is Ben?" Buffy asked.
When Willow seemed unable to follow the suggestion, saying, "So who could it be?"
Dick looked at Giles in confusion. What the hell is happening to them? He didn't have Giles' cell number, so he wrote that on a piece of paper and gave it to him.
Giles read it, and said, "There must be some type of spell on Glory, so that no one can see who the mortal is. If they do see her transform, they immediately forget what they see. Even if they are told that Ben is Glory, they immediately forget what they hear."
"Huh?" Dick said since it didn't require much mouth movement.
"We weren't there, and you didn't say it aloud but typed it," Giles speculated. "I might forget it, too. Who knows? This spell is not something we've encountered."
"At least we know Glory has a real weakness," Buffy said.
"Also, the daggers worked," Faith said, holding them up.
"I didn't get a chance to try out the sword," Buffy told him.
"Next time," Giles said. "We need to find Dawn."
They had no luck that weekend, however. Nor the next.
Then Willow decided to bring Oz, hoping the werewolf might be able to track Dawn.
Oz was glad to help even though Mac did not want him going anywhere near the hellmouth. She didn't appreciate Willow bringing him into it.
"I can track. Why shouldn't I help?" he asked Mac.
When he put it like that, Mac felt like a bitch and nodded. "Okay. Please be careful," she said. They had just started to get serious, and she was falling hard for the kind, brilliant, man, who never wasted words.
"I will," he said, kissing her softly.
"Do you need me to watch Tara?" Mac asked Willow, feeling like she should help in some way.
"Joyce is taking care of her. Thanks, though," Willow said.
The two ex-lovers and still good friends drove together to Sunnydale in Willow's car since it was better on gas, and she insisted. Never one to argue, Oz agreed. The two had not spent any significant time alone together since he and reconnected with all of them in Neptune. However, the silence in the car was not awkward, and Willow smiled at him.
"This is nice," she said. "I've missed spending time with you."
"Yes," he agreed.
"You and Mac seem to be getting close," Willow pointed out.
"Yes," he said.
"I like her. She's brilliant and spunky," Willow said.
"Yes," he agreed.
Willow grinned. "Is that all you're going to say?" she asked.
"No," he said, smiling at her.
Both laughed. It was a nice drive to Sunnydale. Unfortunately, the return drive wasn't nearly as nice.
Oz did find Dawn. However, before he could get away and tell his friends, Glory was there.
"Who are you?" she asked. She sniffed him. "A werewolf? The slayer is sending a dog to hunt me now."
"No. Just looking for her sister," he said, backing off slowly.
"Well, her sister is my freakin' key, and she knew that!" Glory fumed. "All this time. Those sneaky monks put the key in her sister or made the key into her sister. I don't know, and I don't care. Either way, in just a week, I'll be taking that key and getting out of here!"
"Okay, sorry to bother you," Oz said quickly. He turned to run off, but suddenly she was there in front of him.
Before Oz could react, she grabbed him and shoved her hands through his head. His scream brought Willow over to Glory.
"Oz!" Willow exclaimed. When she saw that Glory had hurt yet another person she loved, her eyes turned black. "You're going to regret that, bitch!" She threw spell after spell at Glory, determined to weaken her. Then she teleported her out of the way.
Oz couldn't tell her that he had found Dawn in the building behind her. Instead, he looked at her with blank eyes, unspeaking.
"Oh, Oz," she said, crying and holding him close.
*****A Few Days Later*****
Mac knocked on Veronica's door. Veronica opened, and Mac stepped in. All of them and gotten used to the nonverbal way of entering the Summers-Mars household.
"Mac, what's up? I was just telling Mom that I finished my last final—thank God," Veronica said. Mac had texted asking where she was that she needed to see her. Her mom and Keith's new house wasn't too far from where Mac had been.
"I have one more in the morning, but I can't think of that now," Mac said. "I just went to the hotel to see Oz. Dick and Logan insist that they want to take care of him there. They've got a private nurse staying with him. A few on rotation, actually, since his grandparents aren't really in a position to care for him. He was their caretaker, after all."
"That's good. I think Buffy mentioned it. She's pretty upset," Veronica said. They sat down on her living room couch.
Mac's eyes filled with tears. "It's so awful, Veronica. He's just like Tara. It's like he's been reduced to some low-IQ version of himself. Unlike, Tara, though, he says very little. He's nearly catatonic. He just looks at me with these incredibly sad eyes and puts his hand on my cheek. I know he recognizes me, but he can't find the words. It breaks my heart! I told him not to go to Sunnydale. Why didn't he listen?"
"They can't help it. They've all drunk the Buffy Kool-Aid," Veronica said with a bitter edge. "Must save the world. Rescue the girl. Normally, I'm all for taking terrible risks to help, but something about fighting a literal hell god just breaks down my mind to such an extent that I just want to scream. Look at poor Dick—even I feel sorry for him. Did I find it poetic justice that he couldn't speak for a few days? Sure. But he can't really eat. That's just not right. He's dropped ten pounds already."
"I know. It's awful. Oz just told me he had to help. They were his pack. Like he couldn't fathom not being incredibly brave and helping them," Mac said, wiping her face. "I mean, I admire the hell out of him, but I'm also mad that he went."
"What's the school doing about his finals?" Veronica asked.
"Well, the hospital in Sunnydale had a lot of those crazy cases, so they wrote it up as an assault that led to a stroke," Mac said. "They aren't above making up medical facts to explain away the supernatural." She looked disgusted as she said it. "At least it gives him a reason for not being able to finish his final. He only had three classes since he was part-time. He had A's in all of them, so they all agreed to exempt him from the finals instead of giving him in incomplete, especially since the prognosis is unsure of a recovery."
Veronica hugged her best friend, hating feeling so helpless. Normally, she was the one able to help her friends. Now, she could do nothing to help.
"I'm sorry, Mac. I'm really hoping my new stepsister is going to prove as awesome as always," Veronica said. "And that Willow can work some magic and find a way to fix Tara and Oz."
"That's what I'm hoping, too," Mac said.
The girls, though, were scared. They both were utterly out of their comfort zone and did not know how to help Oz or find Tara. Tracking down people was normally the thing both excelled at. However, their skills were now useless with this type of prey.
Keith and Joyce were feeling the same way. At dinner, Joyce was silent as she was most days now. The empty place at the table where Dawn used to be was like a glaring reminder of what their lives now were. Some days, she couldn't bear it and left without eating. Other times, Keith just had them eating in front of the television. Sometimes, he dragged her to a restaurant straight from work. Both, though, were terrified. When Oz got hurt, it was just another reminder of the danger to everyone.
A week after finals, though, Faith drove to Sunnydale and came to see them at the house.
"Hey, Joyce. How you holding up?" she asked, giving her a hug.
"Not so good, Faith. I just am terrified for my baby girl," Joyce said.
"I wouldn't be too worried. Glory isn't going to hurt her," Faith said.
"You don't think so?" Joyce asked.
Faith shook her head. "Nah. She's the key. She wouldn't dare. I'm sure she's scared and missing everyone, but she's not going to be tortured or mind sucked," Faith said.
"That does make me feel better. Thanks," Joyce said.
"It is good to hear. Buffy told us that Glory wouldn't dare, but you're there every day. It's good to hear it from you," Keith said.
"Yes," Joyce agreed.
"We just got to get to her before that ceremony begins," Faith said.
"Do we know when it is?" Keith asked.
"Giles believes it's this weekend," Faith told them.
Keith sucked in a breath. "Two days? Really?" he asked.
Faith nodded. "I called Angel and asked him to come and bring his team in case those knight guys show up and try to attack Dawn or get in the way," she said.
"God, that's something to worry about on top of everything else?" Joyce asked.
"Well, it's better to be prepared," Faith said.
"It is," Keith agreed.
Buffy arrived with Weevil. Then Willow brought Tara while Dick came with Logan and Oz. Last to arrive were Wallace and Xander.
"Where's Mac and Veronica?" Joyce asked.
"They're bringing the dinner," Buffy said.
Faith was kissing Dick, who had gotten his jaw unwrapped earlier two weeks earlier, but they still haven't spent much time together. His arm cast was just removed that week.
"Okay, you two, cut it out," Keith told them.
"I haven't hardly got to kiss my girl in weeks!" Dick reminded him.
"We know you've suffered, buddy, but there will be time for that later," Logan pointed out.
Dick sat down and pulled Faith onto his lap. "I hope she brings a lot of food because I'm starved," he said.
The girls arrived with both pizza and Chinese food, which satisfied the demanding crowd of eaters, especially Dick, who wanted both.
Joyce supplied the drinks and made sure everyone had what they needed.
After several minutes of eating, Buffy began speaking.
"Okay, thanks to Giles' big brain, we know that everything is going to go down in two days," Buffy shared.
"How?" Veronica asked.
"That's a Giles' question, and since he's not here, I'm not going to try and explain. That way lies to madness," Buffy said. "You can ask him when you see him or call him and ask him."
"He's book man. That's what he does," Xander explained.
That explanation did not satisfy her, but Veronica shut up. She knew Buffy was not the ditz she sometimes played, but her sole reliance on her mentor was another quality that made Veronica nuts. Keith was the only person Veronica ever trusted so much, but she still kept in the dark about many things. Buffy shared all parts of her life with a man who was in no way related to her; Veronica would never understand that.
"Trust us," Faith said. "If Giles says it's in two days, it'll be in two days. He is never wrong about these kinds of things. Our proven track record of saving the world is proof enough. Anyway, we haven't pinpointed exactly where, though."
"I think I can do that," Willow said. She glanced at Tara. "Tara's been very agitated."
"Oz has shown some emotion, too," Logan remarked.
"Go," Oz said with a nod.
"See," Logan said.
"They know they're supposed to be somewhere," Willow said. "I think they can lead us to where the location is."
"That's good," Keith said.
"I don't want Oz in danger," Mac said.
"We have to have him there," Willow told her. "He and Mac both have to be with me, so I can force Glory to give back what she took."
"How will you do that?" Veronica asked.
"Take it back," Willow said grimly.
Veronica didn't question the look in her eye.
"Angel Investigation will be helping back us up," Buffy shared.
"Dead Boy is good in a fight," Xander said.
"Dead Boy?" Veronica asked.
"That's Buffy's ex-boyfriend, Angel," Xander said. "One moment of happiness from Buffy, and he reverts to the psycho killing Angelus, so they have to keep the book of Mormon distance between them at all times."
"Xander, do you want to live? Keep talking," Buffy said with a glare.
"No, he should continue. I'm enjoying this," Faith said, snickering.
"I'm confused," Dick said.
"Angel is a vampire with a soul, sweetie," Faith explained. "He was cursed by Gypsies. One moment of happiness, and he loses it. Junior year, he lost it when he and Buffy got busy finally, and killed Giles' girlfriend, a teacher at the high school. Tormented all of them. I wasn't around then. Then he tried to end the world. Buffy killed him after he started this ceremony to suck the world into hell, but Willow had restored his soul. But being the good little soldier she is, she still killed him."
"How is he alive?" Veronica asked.
Buffy shrugged. "The Powers that Be wanted him to stay in the game," she said. "Or maybe it was because he died with his soul. We don't exactly know. All we know is that he's fighting the good fight, and he is a hell of a fighter."
"So, you sent the man you love to hell?" Dick asked, a little in awe. He looked at Weevil. "Dude, you better never piss her off."
Weevil already knew about Angel, but he wasn't exactly happy that the man was coming to town. However, he knew not to let Dick know that. He just flipped Dick off and remained silent.
"Anyway, Angel's team will mainly be crowd control," Buffy said. "I'm worried that those knights will come and try to hurt Dawn. They're human, and we can't just go killing a bunch of humans."
"What if it's self-defense?" Logan asked.
"Well, sometimes that can be tricky," Keith said. "This will be an ugly situation. The fact that the cops in Sunnydale are so inept will be in your favor."
"I never thought a city would have worse cops than Neptune since Dad left office," Veronica muttered.
"For real," Wallace said.
"If Oz is going to be there, I want to be there," Mac said.
"I absolutely do not want to be there," Wallace said. "But I will send my prayers with you all!"
"I want to be near Dawn," Joyce said.
"No way," Buffy said. "I will bring her to you as soon as possible."
"I agree," Keith said. "No reason for you to be there."
"You either, Dad," Veronica said.
"Well, I do have a P.I. license," he said. "I could smooth things if cops do get involved."
"Maybe," Faith said with a shrug. "We've never had too much trouble."
"Speak for yourself. I've been arrested once and wanted for murder before," Buffy said. "Can't hurt."
"I'm going," Dick said.
"No, you are definitely not," Faith said. "You are just now able to kiss me. Or you and Logan can come to Sunnydale and stay at the Magic Box with Mac. You are not going to be there where the fighting is."
"Why can't I do that?" Joyce asked. "Dawn might need me."
Buffy balked at the idea of her mother being anywhere near Sunnydale and looked to Keith to make the argument.
"I doubt Glory would waste anytime attacking that place, would she?" Keith asked Buffy.
"No, probably not," Faith said.
"No," Buffy agreed. "But Anya would be at the store. She can watch out for you."
"That's true," Xander said. "She is good enough to keep them safe."
It was decided then that Veronica, Mac, and Joyce would go to Sunnydale but stay in the Magic Box. Dick and Logan were going to also, but neither planned to promise to stay in the Magic Box. They would see how things went.
*****Two Days Later*****
Dawn was really scared and tired. It seemed so long since she had seen her mom and sister. She missed her friends, especially Lauren. It had taken her a bit of time in Sunnydale to make friends but not in Neptune. She and Lauren clicked like they were meant to be friends. In fact, Dawn felt closer to her than anyone else except, of course, Buffy. Lauren, though, was her own age, so she could talk to her about anything. Not, though, about her real life or existence as the key. For that, she could talk to her mom, or Buffy, or even any of Buffy's friends. She could even talk to Keith, her new stepdad. She really loved Keith. He was funny, and he treated her like she mattered as much as Buffy.
Dawn wiped the tears from her eyes. Crying did no good unless the Ben guy was around. He always felt bad about her captivity. Once, Dawn convinced him to let her go, but then one of the demon guys came. Then suddenly Glory was back. It was very confusing. Ben was Glory's brother, but he was human.
"Today's the day! Put on this dress," Glory said, coming into Dawn's room with a bright smile.
"Why?" Dawn asked, glaring sullenly at her.
"Because I wish it, and I can break bones without a drop of blood being spilt," she said pointedly.
"Fine," Dawn said, looking at the dress. It was May, and the thing looked very hot with the long sleeves and long skirt. "You know it's nearly summer in California? Won't covering me up make it harder to cut me?"
"Don't you worry about that, my sassy little key! Our knives will be very sharp!" Glory assured her with a bright smile.
Dawn tried not to show how much that threat scared her. "My sister will come," she said.
"Well, she hasn't so far," Glory said. "I mean, some werewolf boy came close, but I took care of him. What a mind!"
"Oz? You hurt, Oz? He's the nicest, kindest man ever," Dawn said. "You're a monster."
"He's alive, so I'm not really that bad," she argued. "A monster would have mind sucked him and then snapped his neck like a twig—I can do that easily, you know."
Dawn refrained from saying anything more, but she kept her glare up.
As soon as Glory left, though, she threw herself down on the bed and cried. Where was her sister? Buffy was supposed to save her. It had been weeks. Why hadn't she found Dawn yet? Although she had already cried an ocean of tears since her captivity, she knew that her time was short. If her sister didn't find her, she would be sacrificed to this deranged hellgod. What if she died without ever seeing her mom and everyone again?
The thought devastated her.
*****The Magic Box*****
Buffy felt like the worst kind of failure. No matter how often they looked around Sunnydale—a town not that big—her sister could not be found. Willow was convinced that Glory had some magical means of hiding her or something.
"Buffy, if we don't find her before Glory starts the ceremony," Giles began. He paused and looked at her.
"Don't," Buffy snarled.
"Buffy, he has to," Wesley said. "You know what will happen if Dawn is cut tonight. The doors will open—all doors to all realities. It will be the end of our world and all worlds."
"I know that," Buffy said. "But do you understand what you are asking me? What you are saying?"
"What is he asking?" Joyce asked, not sure why Buffy was upset.
"He is asking me to kill my sister," Buffy spit out.
"She is not your sister," Giles said flatly.
Joyce and Buffy as well as Keith and Veronica all glared at him.
"The monks made her out of me. When I hold her, I feel closer to her than just about anyone," Buffy said, glancing at Weevil, who was standing next to her, trying to ignore Angel. "I killed Angel, and I loved him more than anyone or anything. I've given a lot. I've died. Faith has, too. I've sacrificed a lot, but you can't expect me to kill my sister."
"Then we're all going to die," Wesley told her.
"Then the last thing my sister will see before she dies is me protecting her," Buffy said. "If anyone tries to kill her, it will be the last thing they do."
"No one is going to kill Dawn," Keith said, pulling out his gun. "I'll shoot anyone that tries myself."
Buffy smiled at him, grateful for his support.
"We're going to stop the ceremony, Buffy," Angel assured her. "Don't worry."
"Damn straight," Faith said. "I've got your back. No one is going to hurt little sis."
"Don't forget the Dagon sphere," Anya said.
"Are you ready?" Willow said to Tara and Oz.
"Go!" Tara said.
"Yes," Oz agreed.
"You can go, sweetie," Willow said, kissing her. Xander opened the door of the Magic Box to let them outside.
Angel had brought Gunn with him. Cordelia and Fred were sitting this one out as Angel was not about to risk either of them nor was Cordelia willing to return back to the hellmouth.
"Finally, I get to fight with two hot slayers!" Gunn said with a grin.
"Both are taken," Dick told him, glaring. "Hands off!"
"Don't worry, Dick. Your dick is the only dick I need," Faith assured him, kissing him.
"On that note," Buffy reached for Weevil's hand and followed after Oz and Tara, a step behind Willow.
"Be careful," Joyce called.
"We will, Mom. I'll bring her back to you," Buffy assured her over her shoulder.
Weevil nodded to Logan and Dick, who didn't like watching everyone leave. However, Logan knew that Dick would not stay if he left, and Veronica would kill him if he tried to join the fight.
"So, is this your first time on the hellmouth?" Anya asked them.
"No, Logan and I have been here a few times," Dick told her. "We've met before."
"Oh, yes. Tall, blonde human males tend to all look the same to me," she said with a shrug.
Mac and Veronica exchanged a glance.
"Are you not human?" Veronica asked.
"Now, I am," Anya said proudly. "Of course, I was a vengeance demon for a thousand years until two years ago."
"What exactly is that?" Mac asked.
Anya spent an hour telling her all about it—much to the guys' horror.
*****The Tower*****
For once, things went exactly how Buffy planned. Oz and Tara led them to Dawn, who was at some crazy tower that was poorly constructed. Keith and Gunn moved the crazies out of the way while Willow led Oz and Tara toward Glory. Buffy and Faith confronted her.
"Catch," Fath said, tossing her the Dagon sphere.
Glory automatically caught the round glowing ball that was tossed at her, and then Buffy stabbed her in the gut with her sword. To everyone's relief, the sword penetrated, and she screamed. Willow wasted no time and placed her hand on her head to suck out what she took from Tara. Then she repeated it with Oz. Quickly, she moved both out of the way to see how they were.
"I was so lost," Tara said.
"I found you. I will always find you," Willow told her hugging her and kissing her. Then she looked at Oz. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "I am. Thank you," he said. "Is Mac here?"
"She's safe at the Magic Box," she said.
"I think I'll go there," he said.
"I'll take you both," Willow said.
"No, you stay and help. I'll go with Oz," Tara said, kissing her one last time.
Oz took Tara's hand, and they left.
Men on horseback came and attacked. Angel and Gunn worked to knock them off the horse.
"Let me put up a wall," Willow said. "Tara and I worked on this spell. It wouldn't keep out Glory, but it will normal humans." A magical wall shimmered, and a horse knocked into it.
"Stay back!" Angel shouted.
"The Beast must be stopped. The Key destroyed!" a knight shouted, pounding on the magical wall.
"I told you that we would take care of it," Buffy said with a glare.
"That witch really messed me up," Glory said, shaking her head. Then she grabbed the ball and crushed it. "That's better."
Sensing she was about to rally, Faith quickly stabbed her in the back while Buffy swung her sword at Glory's neck before she could react. The sword sliced through her neck, removing her head.
"You did it!" Xander exclaimed, hugging Buffy from behind.
Giles and Wesley looked at Glory's head on the ground in disbelief. In the end, it was not impossibly difficult after all. "Well done, ladies," Wesley said.
Her demons wailed and attacked, distracting them. Several were not outside the wall with the knights. Angel and Gunn helped Buffy and Faith fight them off as Xander began the slow walk up the tower, looking for Dawn.
Then she screamed, "Buffy!"
Angel looked up. "She's up there, Buffy. Someone is with her," he said. "Go!"
She nodded and ran to the tower. Weevil moved behind her. Willow stood below, thinking of ways to slow a fall if any of them fell. Keith worried that more weight would bring the wobbling thing down, so he did not follow. Instead, he stayed below, shooting demons with his gun.
In this reality, there was no Spike. No vision quest to tell her "death is her gift." All there was Buffy's love for her sister and a desperation to save her.
An old man with glasses was there holding a knife. Buffy shoved him off the tower, hugging her sister in relief. "I am sorry, Dawn, that I didn't find you. I tried. We all did," she told her.
"It's okay. I'm glad you're here now," Dawn said, wiping her eyes. "Is Mom here?"
"She's at the Magic Box. We didn't want to risk her," Buffy said. "Keith's down there, though. He's the one shooting the gun."
Dawn grinned. "I missed you all so much," she said.
"We missed you like crazy," Buffy said.
Dawn's blood dripped, and the door began to open. "Buffy, he cut me," she said.
"I failed you," Buffy said, her eyes filling with tears.
The hole grew, and things began coming out of it.
"Dawn!" Xander shouted from the other end of the metal bridge.
Dawn looked toward him. "Xander!" she said. "Don't come closer. You might fall!"
"Come on down!" he told her.
"I can't. That man cut me. It's too late," she said sadly.
Xander looked at the monster that came out of the rip in the air and winced. "God," he muttered.
"Is this it? Is this the end?" Weevil asked, feeling terrified.
"I don't know," Xander said. Then a large dragon came out of the ever-growing hole.
"Is that a f***ing dragon?" Weevil asked.
"Buffy, if the blood doesn't stop flowing, it won't close. I need to jump," Dawn said, turning to jump.
"No! I can't let you do that. Our blood is the same. Summers blood, remember? I'm the slayer. It's my job," Buffy said, pushing her away. She turned to face the rift.
"No!" Weevil yelled as he realized her intent. "You cannot leave me!"
Buffy looked back at the man she loved, torn.
Dawn saw her indecision and took advantage of it. "Tell Mom how much I love her and Keith. Tell Lauren, well, you can't tell her the truth. She was so nice. Be nice to her, Buffy—like a sister," Dawn said. "I love you. Thanks for never treating me like a key."
"No, Dawn!" Buffy exclaimed, reaching for her just as Weevil reached her side, grabbing hold of her.
"No, Buffy. Don't!" Weevil begged.
Dawn turned and jumped, the energy taking her. The hole closed. A ripple went out, hitting them all.
Buffy blinked, frowning. "What just happened?" she asked Xander and Weevil.
"I don't know, but we need to get off this tower before it collapses," Weevil said.
They carefully made their way down.
"How did you stop it?" Willow asked.
"I'm not sure," Buffy said. "Maybe it needed a slayer to be close to the rip. My blood?"
"That makes no sense, but whatever. I'm just glad this nightmare is finally over," Willow said. She hugged Xander.
Keith embraced Buffy. "Let's go tell your mom the good news," Keith said.
Buffy looked back at the tower, feeling like she was forgetting something.
The key had done its job, and the spell that created Dawn Summers was gone. No one remembered her.
Joyce hugged her husband and daughter, unsure of why she felt it was so important to be back in Sunnydale. Glad, though, they were all safe. "Let's never come back to this town again, okay?" she asked Buffy.
"You know I can't promise that," Buffy said.
A black teenage girl opened the door. "Excuse me. Is Buffy Summers here?" she asked.
"I am," Buffy said. "How can I help you?"
"I'm Rona," she said. "I dreamt about you."
Buffy grinned and looked at Giles and Wesley. "Looks like the new slayer is reporting for duty," she told them.
"Is that what I am?" Rona asked.
"Another undiscovered slayer?" Wesley asked, groaning.
"Hey, we make the best ones," Buffy said. "Rona, welcome to the hellmouth. I'm the original slayer, and this is Faith. We're vampire slayers. I died for a minute, and Kendra was called. She died permanently, and Faith was called. She died for a minute, and Kennedy was called. She is dead, and that's how you were called. This place is dangerous, but I'm only an hour away in Neptune. Call anytime you need a hand."
"We just killed a hellgod and are really beat," Faith said.
"Not really. It was too easy," Buffy said. "Let's go to the Bronze and show her the ropes."
"I'm going home with my husband," Joyce said. "I'm Buffy's mom, Joyce Mars. It's nice to meet you, Rona."
"You, too," Rona said. She looked at the large group in the shop. "All of you know about vampires and monsters?"
Everyone nodded.
"They do," Giles said. "I'm Rupert Giles, and that's Wesley Wyndam-Price. He will be your watcher."
"What's that?" she asked.
"Come on," Buffy said, looping her arm. "I'll tell you all about our evil overlords."
Faith snickered while the watchers protested.
Veronica and Logan had already known things were going well when Tara and Oz walked in. Dick was ecstatic to see his best girl. He practically knocked Oz over to get to her, picking her up to hug her.
"Where's Dawn?" Tara asked. When no one knew who she was talking about, she grew really agitated.
"What do you me, sweetie?" Willow asked.
"Dawn, Buffy's sister. The key was made into Buffy's sister. We were all given memories of her, and we love her. She was fourteen, nearly fifteen years old," Tara said. She looked at everyone, who looked confused. Joyce was frowning.
"I don't have another child, Tara. I think maybe you're still confused from Glory," Joyce said gently. "I always wanted another, but Hank never did."
"I'm an only child," Buffy told her.
Tara shook her head, feeling disturbed and scared. "She was real," she said. "Check your cell phones. There's pictures of her. She was a bridesmaid in the wedding."
Buffy pulled out her phone and showed Tara the wedding pictures. In none of them did Dawn appear. It was like she was erased. "I don't understand," Tara said.
"If what you say is true, then Dawn was the reason we were on the tower," Buffy said. "She must've jumped, closing the rift. She saved all of us."
"It must have broken the spell," Giles said.
"My charm!" Willow exclaimed. "I made Tara a memory charm. It's around her neck."
Tara felt her neck and realized she was wearing a necklace with a purple crystal. "What's this?" she asked.
"After Glory mind sucked you, I wanted to make sure nothing like that could happen again. I couldn't find a spell to fix you, but I found protection spells," Willow explained. "A spell to protect your mind from memory spells. It must've protected you from whatever spell was wrapped around the Key."
Tara nodded. "I have two sets of memories. The one of life before Dawn and the one without her in our life," she shared.
Buffy was disturbed by the implication and pissed that her life was so easily toyed with by others with power. "I hate this," she said.
"No one was supposed to remember," a voice said.
"Whistler," Angel said, recognizing the new arrival.
"Who is this?" Giles asked.
"A balance demon," Angel said. "He set me on my path."
"I have a sister? Where is she?" Buffy asked, grabbing the demon by his neck and slamming into the counter.
"No, you don't—not really," he choked.
"Let him go, so he can explain," Keith said.
"We pulled a soul from a twin that was in Neptune," he said. "There were a few paths you could take. Faith not going evil changed things. We knew you might decide to die in Dawn's place, but we hoped you would let the key do what it was meant to. Then the soul would go back in the body it was taken from."
"What?" Buffy asked. "That makes no sense."
"The monks formed a body from you to place the Key, but it had no soul," Whistler explained. "A soul was taken from a twin. The twin does not know she had a sister, of course. The spell erased her like it created her in your life."
"So Dawn's not actually dead?" Tara asked.
"No exactly," he explained.
"What the hell does that mean," Buffy growled, taking a step toward him again.
"Dawn Summers is dead," he said. "The person she was all along, however, is alive."
"Oh," Buffy said. "So the soul that was ripped from some poor girl and thrown into my hell life was put back where she's supposed to be?"
"Yes," he said.
"That's good," Buffy said. "You all ever pull a stunt like this, you'll regret it."
"It was the monks. We didn't do it!" he pointed out. "All we did was make sure the soul got put back, and everyone's memories were erased. The witch wasn't supposed to know."
"See, sweetie. Dawn is okay," Willow told Tara.
"I guess," Tara said, feeling sad.
"Let's go to the Bronze," Faith said. "I need a really large drink. This is too much crazy shit!"
"White people," Rona muttered, shaking her head.
"Hey," Weevil said, hearing her comment as he was standing on the other side of Buffy, who she was standing next to.
She grinned. "Is it always this crazy?" she asked him.
He looked over at Veronica Mars and Logan. "We keep things interesting," he admitted.
Rona laughed, glad she wasn't crazy or alone anymore.
*****Two Weeks Later******
Lauren Sinclair drove her fraternal twin sister to the art gallery. "Are you sure about this, sis?" she asked her.
"Absolutely," her sister replied. "I want my own money. I do not want to be a whiny little snot like Madison. An art gallery is a classy place to work. Mom will totally approve."
"Okay. Good luck," Lauren said.
"How do I look?" she asked Lauren.
Her sister had the same long straight hair that she had, but it was a lighter shade of brown. Her eyes were dark blue instead of brown. She was taller, too. One day, Lauren, knew she would be beautiful. Right now, though, she was still trying to fit into her awkward body. Today, though, she was dressed very nicely in a skirt that went to the knee and a blue silk top that matched her eyes. "You looked great," she assured her.
"Thanks," she replied, getting out of the car.
She walked confidently into the art gallery.
"Hello. How can I help you?" the owner said.
"I'm here about the help wanted sign you have. I'm Dawn Sinclair, and I really want to work here," she said, holding out her hand.
"I'm Joyce Summers," Joyce said, shaking her hand. "It's really nice to meet you." She looked at the young teenager and felt like she was someone she already knew and could trust. "I have a good feeling about you."
Whistler was smiling as he watched the scene.
*****The End*****
I hope you like this twist. I haven't come across anything like it. If you're a Dawn megafan, you might be upset. Dawn, though, was always going to die in this story. It was not something I've written before, and I wanted to go there. Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks so much!