Chapter 9 - Strength
Spike
waited until Joyce slid the lock home before walking off the porch to Buffy
waiting at the bottom of the steps for him. He could feel the emotions
threatening to overtake her but she was trying to remain composed. Her hand slipped
into his and their fingers interlocked like two halves sliding together. And
just as quickly as the thought formed it was shattered with the reminder there
was someone else to their union.
Angel’s car
stopped behind the Desoto. He stepped from the car as Buffy raced to his arms
and Angel lifted her into his arms and kissed her. Two halves to a whole--until
Angel held his arm out for him and Spike joined their embrace. They were three
parts to a whole. Buffy’s feet didn’t touch down as her arms were wrapped
around their shoulders.
“I guess
you missed me?” Angel asked, pulling them closer.
“We’re glad
you’re here,” Buffy said, nuzzling his face. “A lot has happened since this
morning.”
“Is it
Joyce?”
“Partly,” Buffy
said. “She has to have a cat scan Thursday. We really won’t know anything until
then.”
“Damn, I’m
sorry, Baby,” Angel said. “I was hoping for good news.” He set Buffy down and
pulled away just enough to look them both in their eyes. “You said partly; what
else is happening.”
“We got some
information on the orb,” Spike said. “We’re on our way to the factory to see if
we can find anything else.”
“Let’s go,”
Angel said, breaking their hug and opening the driver’s door. “If you don’t
mind we’ll take my car and come back for yours.”
Spike
nodded and climbed into the car first so Buffy could sit between them. It had
been a relief to see Angel. Giles warned that a great power might want the orb
back and they had no idea of what they were walking into. On the ride Buffy
filled Angel in on everything that happened from Joyce’s appointment to the
spell and finally Giles’ warnings.
“Are you
saying that Dawn may not be your sister?” Angel asked, unable to keep the
surprise from his voice. “Is it safe to leave your mother alone with her?”
“I still
feel like she is my sister whether she is or not,” Buffy said. Her voice
dropped as she looked at her hands. “And if Dawn is something else then she has
no clue we are on to her. So, my mom should be safe for now.”
“Don’t
worry, Pet. We’ll get it figured out.”
Angel
echoed his sentiments as the car rolled to a stop at the factory’s gate. The
chain was cut to ensure a quicker getaway if they needed it. The threesome
stood in front of the building for a minute.
“Spike, go
in through the rear door,” Buffy instructed, the power of the Slayer crackling
in the air around her. “Angel and I will go through the front and split up.
We’ll meet together on the upper floor. Keep your ears open.”
~~~~~~~~
Spike gave
his assent with a nod and trotted around the corner. Buffy gave him a couple of
minutes before she led Angel to the front door. Her flashlight barely cut
through the darkness of the factory and she hesitated a moment to let her eyes
adjust.
“I’ll go to
the left,” Buffy said, “Go to the right and we’ll meet upstairs.”
Buffy’s
instincts were telling her that something was wrong here. The place reeked of
an evil that rivaled the Master’s cave and she shivered. She let the momentary
fear flood her body with adrenaline. All her senses were heightened as she made
her way through the first floor. Even as she searched she knew whatever it was,
it wasn’t down there and she quickened her steps to the second floor. A rat
scurried in front of her, most likely running from whatever was wrong in this
place.
The flashlight
illuminated the cement pillars and stained walls before landing on the figure
of a man tied to a chair. Buffy rushed to his side, crouching down to untie
him. He was barely conscious and she could see it was with a great effort that
he looked up at her.
“It’s you,
isn’t it?” Buffy asked. “You planted the Dagon’s Sphere. I’ve got it. Don’t
worry. We’re not alone. I’ve got friends who can help.”
His eyes
tried to communicate with her but she already knew. The tingling along her
spine let her know that someone was trying to sneak up behind her.
“I’m
stronger than I look.”
Buffy
continued to mutter to the man in almost incoherent sentences until the time
was right. Until the unseen person was close enough and lulled into a false
arrogance.
“And most
of all I’m not stupid,” Buffy said, her hand shooting straight behind her
catching the assailant by the throat.
Buffy’s
eyes locked on a woman that studied her with a mild curiosity before
backhanding the Slayer. Buffy flew through the air and hit the wall with enough
force to indent the concrete and steel. Buffy fell to her knees and stared at
the woman already discerning that the other blonde was much more than a regular
woman.
“You sure
about that last part?” Her attacker asked grabbing her by the neck and sending
Buffy face first into another wall.
Buffy
barely noticed the plaster that fell to the floor with her. Pain wracked her
body as she tried to regroup. Glancing over her shoulder, she didn’t have to
time to react as the woman clamped down on her wrist in a vice grip.
“And
another thing I want you to know,” the attacker said, slamming her into one of
the columns. “This whole ‘beat you to death’ thing I’m doing.” She threw Buffy
back against the wall. “It’s valuable time out of my life that I won’t get
back.”
Rolling,
Buffy stood and tried to kick the woman but missed. The woman grabbed her hands
and she listened to the taunting as her mind finally began to come out of the
shock.
“You know
the things with worms where, you rip ‘em in half, you get two worms. I wonder
if that will work with you.”
This time
she was ready. Buffy shot forward with a head-butt enjoying the look on the
woman’s face.
“Ow, are
you crazy?” The attacker said, holding her nose and bursting into tears.
Buffy
didn’t waste any time as she began to pound the woman. With each kick and punch
the woman staggered back keeping up a running monologue.
Ignoring
her words, Buffy took a deep breath, let loose with a high kick to her chest
and screamed, “Angel, Spike.”
The woman’s
eyes got bigger as she realized Buffy wasn’t alone. Before her vampires got
there, Buffy went for a punch but the woman caught her hand and flung the
Slayer back into the wall.
“I just
realized you have super powers,” Glory said. “Can you fly?”
Running
footsteps were headed their way and with renewed strength Buffy rolled out of the
woman’s way. A feeling of glee overcame her as she watched Angel pick the bitch
up and toss her into the wall. Not sure if Spike could attack the woman, Buffy
shouted for him to get the man out of the factory.
“Hey, hands
off my holy man,” the woman shouted.
“Don’t
really care what you want,” Buffy said, wrapping her hands in the woman’s
blonde mane. “Let’s see if you can fly.”
Buffy
tossed her into one of the columns making it rumble under the impact. A crack
appeared that quickly divided the floor.
“It’s
coming down,” Angel shouted, grabbing her hand.
Together
they followed in Spike’s path, out the window. They tumbled through the air
before hitting the asphalt. Buffy bounced, tucking her body into a roll before
she finally came to a stop. She turned to look at the factory where the sounds
of it crumbling could still be heard.
“Who was
that bitch?” Buffy asked, scrambling to stand.
Angel
cupped her elbow as he check to make sure that she was all right. Buffy quickly
reassured him even though every part of her body screamed in pain. This wasn’t
the time for weakness and she looked around for Spike and the holy man. They
were at the car. Spike had the beaten man sitting in the passenger seat. He
didn’t look too good as Buffy and Angel hurried over. He had the answers she
needed was all she could think as she crouched down beside him. He looked at
her through pain blurred eyes.
“My
journey’s done, I think,” the holy man said.
“Don’t go
metaphory on me,” Buffy said, holding his hand. “We’re going to get you to the
hospital and you’ll be fine.”
He shakes
his head weakly. “You have to…The Key. You must protect the key.”
“Okay,
we’ll protect the key but first we have to get you to the hospital. Then you
can tell us all about it.”
Buffy
started to get up as Angel slid into the driver’s seat but the holy man pulled
her back with one last burst of strength.
“Many
have…died…many more, if you don’t…keep it safe.”
Every word he
spoke was an obvious struggle and Buffy hoped he hung on long enough for her to
find out what she needed to know.
“How? What
is it?”
“The key is
energy. It’s a portal. It opens the door…”
“The round
glowing thing?” Buffy asked her confusion was growing with each word the man
said. Looking up she glanced at her mates but the man was tugging at her hand
again.
“No, for
centuries it had no form. My brethren…its only keepers, then,” the holy man
lifted a finger to point back at the factory. “The abomination found us. We had
to hide the Key…gave it form. Molded it flesh, made it human and sent it to
you.”
With a
clarity that shook her very soul, Buffy put the puzzle together.
“Dawn.”
“She is the
Key,” the holy man said nodding.
“You put
that thing in her mother’s house,” Angel said, grabbing the man’s arm. “How
could you put them in danger like that?”
“We knew
the Slayer would…protect…”
“My
memories, my mother’s memories, everyone’s,” Buffy said.
The
magnitude of what they had done was overwhelming to her. It was like waking up
in someone else’s life. Tears filled her eyes as she waited for the holy man to
finish his tale.
“We built
them.”
“Then
unbuild them,” Spike said, growling. “You can’t mess with people’s lives like
this.”
“I didn’t
ask for this,” Buffy said. “I don’t even know…what is she?”
“Human,”
the holy man said, his voice gentle as if explaining to a child. “Human, now
and helpless. Please, she is an innocent in this and she needs you.”
“She’s not
my sister,” Buffy protested, hoping there was still a loophole in this man’s
insane plot.
“She
doesn’t know that.”
He started
to cough laying his hand on the headrest. The impact of the man’s words hit
her. Dawn was an innocent human formed from an ancient evil of which she had no
memories of. How could she reject the girl that Buffy could remember as a tiny
baby coming home from the hospital? She looked up to ask more questions and
found the holy man had passed on.
“Come on,
Pet,” Spike said, pulling her to a standing position. “We need to get rid of
him.”
Wrapping
her arms around herself, Buffy watched in detached attention as her mates
carried the body toward the factory again. There should have been something
more for the man other than the unceremonious dumping of his body in the abandoned
factory. She laughed. What did she care? This man was part of a group that had
changed her life and the life of everyone around her by thrusting a sister on
her that was apparently being sought by some kind of beast. Tears caressed her
cheeks as she tried to figure out what to do.
“You
ready?” Angel asked, wrapping her arms around her.
Buffy
nodded against his chest. She was bundled into the car, pulled into Spike’s
arms on the ride back to her mothers. The silence was comforting as the
thoughts in her mind jumbled together. But only one took precedence. She loved
Dawn. Her mother loved Dawn. They were right. Buffy the sister and The Slayer
both would defend the girl to the end.
“I’ll meet
you back at the house,” Spike said, as he slipped his arms from around her.
“I’ll be
right back,” Buffy said, following him out of the car.
The house
was quiet as she climbed the stairs. She opened the door to her mother’s room
quietly and after assuring herself that she was sleeping, closed it again.
Dawn’s room was next. Buffy stood over her sister’s bed for a moment before
sitting. Her hand drifted over the long brown hair before pulling the covers
over her sister again.
Vowing that
she would see this through, Buffy returned to her mates who were waiting for
her. It was time to gather information and start strategizing. The brief
respite after the fiasco with Riley was gone. It was time to prepare for
battle.
To be continued in Chapter 10 -
Aftermath
