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Out of Africa

by spikeNdru

Genre: Gen; Action/Adventure

Pairings: Xander and Ensemble; no pairings yet.

Rating: PG-13

Timeline: Two years post-Chosen

 

Disclaimers: The characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox; they aren't currently using

them so I'm borrowing them for awhile.

 

Chapter   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  22  23  24  25

26   27   28   29   30

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Chapter Twenty-One

Dawn lay on her bed in the semi-darkness, watching the play of lights across the ceiling as cars passed the hotel.

It was finally happening. All she had ever wanted was to be a full-fledged member of the Scoobies—to be a part of the closely-knit group that had such an impact on her formative years—and now she was. So why did it feel like she had cheated to earn her place?

These beloved friends that she now felt so close to had first been Buffy's friends. Although Willow felt like a sister to her now, Willow had been closer to Buffy than a sister—in the reality in which Dawn hadn't always been there. And Xander—she 'remembered' the crush she'd had on sweet, funny Xander, but Xander's own crush had been on Buffy. And now that she and Xander were both adults and were possibly heading toward a relationship that may include not only friendship, but something more . . . was she just another substitute for Buffy? Buffy didn't share well. Buffy had seen Faith as a threat to all she held dear. Would she now think it was Dawn who was single-white-female-ing her?

Dawn could no longer avoid thinking about the one thing she had desperately tried to ignore in hopes that it would go away. She was Dawn Summers, daughter of Hank and Joyce, sister of Buffy, friend of Willow and Xander and Tara and Janice and Spike. But that wasn't all she was—would never be all she was. She was also the Key, created to open portals to other dimensions, and tomorrow she would fulfill her function. Only, this time she would be in control. How would Buffy feel about that when she finally found out?

Buffy had given her life for Dawn's. How would she feel when she learned that Dawn had deliberately opened another portal and no one had to die to close it—that there had been an answer all along, only nobody thought of it in time, before?

And did Buffy really jump from the tower for Dawn's sake alone? She was emotionally exhausted from losing Joyce, trying to parent Dawn, dealing with Glory . . . Dawn saw that now. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it, Buffy had said. At that moment, did she take the easier way? Depressed and exhausted, did she see jumping as something she wanted for herself as well as for Dawn?

Or am I just projecting things on Buffy to help ease the enormous guilt I've felt ever since she sacrificed herself for me? Am I somehow lessening that sacrifice? Has she ever regretted the decision she made? I've never been able to talk to her about it. Am I just rationalizing to make myself feel better?

They might all die in Quor-Toth. Dawn had always known that was a possibility. It was a difficult and dangerous mission, but she had no second thoughts. It's what she really wanted to do. But there was something she needed to do first.

She couldn't just disappear into Quor-Toth, possibly to never return, without at least trying to reconnect with Buffy. She couldn't do that to Buffy. Buffy didn't deserve it.

Oh, she was in total agreement with the decision not to tell Buffy about the mission until it was over with. That was for the best all the way around. But there was no reason she couldn't make a friendly call—just to touch base, and to tell Buffy she loved her. No reason at all.

Dawn sat up in bed and turned on the bedside lamp. She picked up her purse, dumped the contents on the bed and reached for her cell phone. She took a deep breath and hit speed dial #1.

“Hey, Buffy. It's Dawn. I just called to see how you're doing. No, nothing's wrong . . . I just haven't talked to you in awhile and I miss you . . .”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Althenea cupped the large, clear, rose quartz between her palms and stared at the candle flame dancing through it from behind the stone. She'd hoped a calming meditation might quiet her thoughts but, for the first time in her memory, it didn't seem to be working. And tonight, she needed calm more than ever.

She gently put the crystal down and rose to stand by the window. She drew the right curtain back and stared out at the night with unseeing eyes. Her delicately arched eyebrows drew together in a frown of concentration.

Althenea Trevayne was a realist, and she didn't negate the dangers of the mission, but she didn't fear them either. She and Willow had discussed the logistics of their contributions to the away team and were in complete agreement regarding execution. Althenea was an Earth witch—all magic that flowed through her came from the Great Goddess in whatever guise She wore. Whether She was called Gaia, Gunnora, Demeter, or any of the other names, such as Diana, Hecate or Hestia that highlighted Her different aspects, She was still the Great Mother.

Willow's magic was something else. Never formally trained in The Craft, she channeled wild magicks from wherever she found them, and was as likely to access Faerie Magicks as Earth Magic, in addition to other magics Althenea couldn't even name, let alone wield.

Therefore, they had decided that Willow would take the lead in Quor-Toth and Althenea would back her and ground her. Althenea hoped that Willow was finally as comfortable with this responsibility as Althenea had been all along. Althenea had shared her realistic concerns that her own magic, tied as it was to the Earth, may be ineffective in another dimension, and she and Willow were in agreement that she would take the secondary role. Besides, Althenea's primary responsibility would be to maintain the link, and that was the factor that was playing havoc with her current, unsuccessful quest for serenity.

What did it mean, that Rupert had so matter-of-factly suggested they link? Was it simply a matter of practicality—through a process of elimination he had come to the conclusion that they were the best suited of the available people to perform the link? Or had he truly never considered her in any light other than an old friend? Possibly it was a bit of both, as he obviously had no concerns about the nature of the link. He either harbored no secret feelings or didn't care if she knew of them. But she did wonder what his reaction would be if she proposed the link between herself and Bernard instead.

Althenea picked up the rose quartz again and stared at it, deep in thought. She rolled it between her palms and then returned it to its velvet drawstring bag. Her hand hovered over the small velvet bags in her carved wooden chest. She paused over the bag containing the moonstone, but then chose the lapis lazuli instead. It would actually make sense for her to form the link with Bernard. She and he were as long-standing friends as she and Rupert. She wouldn't be doing any fighting, as Connor would, so the physical risk to Bernard was minimized. Bernard could be of great help to the missing ones when the rescue party finally located them. And although she loved, admired and respected Bernard immensely, she harbored no embarrassing, unrequited, silly romantic feelings for him.

Althenea cupped the lapis in her hand and stared at the golden sparkles the candlelight brought out in the stone. She once again tried to clear her mind of all extraneous thoughts in preparation for meditation.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Decisions, decisions, decisions! Harmony thought. Should I play it safe, or take the chance of being a little daring, even if it doesn't work out? Maybe I could ask Dawn? No, bad idea! She's probably asleep by now 'cause she's going on the mission tomorrow, and she might get upset if I woke her up. But I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Sometimes it's hard to tell. Angel used to say that I didn't always make the right decisions because I don't have a soul, but I don't think that's it. I mean, Faith has a soul and a lot of her choices are really off-base. I used to be able to ask Lorne anything, but he's been so depressed lately . . .

Harmony sighed. “I guess I'll just have to make up my own mind, and if it doesn't work out, I can always go back and start over, I guess.”

Harmony cast a quick glance at the row of bottles lined up on the dresser top and tentatively reached for one, then snatched her hand back before she touched it. She closed her eyes and concentrated on listening with her enhanced vampire hearing. Dead silence in the room next to her and the one across the hall. Even the sounds of breathing were absent. Faith and Connor obviously weren't in their rooms.

She sent her senses questing to the next rooms. Willow wasn't in her room, either. What the heck was going on? They couldn't have left for Quor-Toth already, could they? Wouldn't someone have told her? Maybe it was . . . an alien abduction or something? That would just be downright creepy! What if she was the only person left in the hotel? What if she was the only person left on Earth? That would totally suck!

Wait! Was that someone moving around in the room on the other side of Connor's? Ohmigod! What if it was the aliens? No, it was just Bernie.

Oh, hey! Bernie! He could help her with her decision. Harmony was sure he'd be happy to help—he was such a nice little old man!

She opened her door a smidge—just enough so that she could peek out and make sure there weren't any aliens in the hall. She slipped into her silk organza thigh-length robe and slid her feet into her marabou-feathered mules and then tip-toed down the hall to Bernie's room. Yep. He was definitely awake and moving around.

Harmony knocked quietly and called softly, “Bernie? It's Harmony. Wait! Don't invite me in! I don't think I'm supposed to go into other peoples' rooms. I mean, nobody actually said I wasn't allowed to, but I think it would just make it more comfortable for everyone to have their own, private, off-limits space, right? I mean, not that I'd actually eat anyone, 'cause I'm a superhero now, but I don't think Xander Harris was really thrilled about having me live here with all of you—and maybe not Mr. Giles, either—but I can totally respect people's personal space. So, anyway, I need to make an important decision and I was wondering if you could help me out? If you could just come to the door for a minute?”

Bernard opened the door and smiled. “Good evening, Harmony. How may I help you?”

“Oh, thanks, Bernie. I knew I could count on you! See . . . I've definitely decided to do my fingernails in #41 Mille Fleurs, which is sort of a matte pink, but I can't decide if I should do my toenails the same color so they match, or if I should go with the #86 Opalescent Rose, which is not only a darker shade, but it's translucent instead of opaque. So . . . what do you think I should do?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles dressed in the jeans and lightweight cotton sweater he had borrowed from Xander. He quietly made his way downstairs to the office, filled the kettle and turned on Wesley's hotplate.

Althenea's response to his suggestion that they perform the link had disconcerted him. He had naturally expected her to see the logic of the plan immediately, and was taken aback when she seemed somewhat . . . resistive to the idea. He didn't understand her reaction and it bothered him. He had thought he knew her so well, yet this came as a complete surprise to him.

Of the people going to Quor-Toth, Althenea was the logical one to link from that end. She had designed the spell, so was most familiar with its workings. The only other person who could conceivably link was Dawn. The others—Connor, Faith and Willow—had specific tasks to fulfill once they had crossed into Quor-Toth, and maintaining the link would be distracting and dangerous for them. Xander had never been comfortable with Willow's mindspeak the summer they patrolled together after Buffy . . . died. True, once Dawn had opened the portal, she could possibly maintain the link, but Althenea was much more familiar with the process than Dawn.

The candidates for the other half of the link were Bernard, Lorne, Harmony and himself. Lorne and Harmony were both demons, and could have brain waves different from the humans that would make linking difficult. Bernard was nearly a hundred years old and shouldn't have to utilize his energy to maintain the link. Ergo, he and Althenea should form the link. He'd thought that conclusion was fairly straightforward and self-evident. So why did Althenea fail to immediately agree? He was missing something here, but he didn't have a bloody clue what it was!

A piercing blast of sound cut the silence as the tea kettle whistled, followed by an answering shriek from the stairs. Giles spun in the direction of the scream to see Harmony, eyes wide, with her hands clasped tightly over her ears. He grabbed the folded tea towel and quickly lifted the kettle from the heat. The shrill whistle subsided into a bubbling sound and Harmony lowered her hands.

“Ohmigod, Mr. Giles! It sounded like you were murdering somebody down here and you really hurt my ears! How did you make that awful sound?”

“It was just the tea kettle, Harmony. I'm making tea.”

“Well, can you make it quieter next time? You know how some people really hate the sound of chalk squeaking on a blackboard? Well, when you've got vampire hearing, that tea kettle sound is worse than squeaky chalk and fingernails! Don't do that again, okay?”

Giles poured a little of the boiling water into the teapot, swirled it around, and then discarded it in the sink. He shook some leaves from Wesley's tin into the pot and added more boiling water. He then wrapped the towel around the teapot to keep it warm and left it to steep. He glanced up to discover Harmony looking at him with something very like pity.

She patted his arm comfortingly and observed, “Things must have been pretty bad here before they all moved to Wolfram & Hart and got actual salaries, huh? I mean, if Wesley couldn't even afford the regular tea already in the little bags and had to buy the bulk kind. But don't worry, Mr. Giles, I have some of the good kind at my apartment and I can bring some over for you. Then you can just heat your tea in the microwave and you won't have to deal with that messy stuff and the awful-sounding kettle.” Harmony beamed at him and felt good about being able to do her part to help the hapless.

She means well, Giles reminded himself and managed a smile, although he inwardly shuddered at the thought of heating a teabag in a cup of water in the microwave.

“Thank you, Harmony. That's very kind of you, but I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble. I really don't mind the loose tea—it's rather a special blend, and I don't believe it's available in the, er, bags.”

“Oh, okay. But it's really no trouble.”

“Did you want something, Harmony?”

“No. I'm good. Oh! You mean, why did I come down here? Bernie asked me to. He says he'd like to talk to you, if you've got a few minutes.”

“Bernard? Oh, certainly. Please tell him I'll be right up.”

“Sure thing. Um, Mr. Giles? Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, Harmony?”

Harmony dipped her hand into the pocket of her filmy robe and held up two little pink bottles. “Bernie says it'd be okay if I use this one—” Harmony thrust her left hand at Giles. “—on my fingernails and this one—” Her right hand displayed a second bottle. “—on my toes, and he's really smart and everything, but his eyes are sort of weird and I'm not sure if he can really see so good. What do you think?”

Giles glanced at the two bottles. The first was the alarming shade of the pink bismuth liquid commonly used for nausea, and the color was making him slightly nauseous by association. The second shade was a rather nice opalescent deep rose-pink, very like the color of Althenea's leather outfit. Giles reached for the cookie sheet the A.I. team had apparently used as a tray, and placed two mugs on it.

“If you want my opinion, I like the second colour better. Why don't you use that one on your hands and save the, er, very pink one for your toes?” Which will, hopefully, be covered by your shoes, he added silently.

“Oh! You think so?” She looked searchingly at both colors and then nodded. “I think you're right. Thanks!”

Harmony gave him a brilliant smile and then turned to go back to her room. Giles carefully lifted the teapot and placed it on the tray. He started to lift the tray, and then put it back down. He opened the mini-freezer and added an unopened packet of chocolate-mint biscuits to the tray. Bernard was quite civic-minded, and would be more than happy to support the Girl Guides, Giles decided with a twinkle in his eye.

 

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Continued in  Chapter 22

 

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