(no subject)
Title: Meno Delle Due Malvagità {The Lesser of Two Evils}
Author: Vixen
Written for: Choose Your Author -CYA- Ficathon
Characters: Spike & Dawn, Buffy, Illyria
Setting: Post Not Fade Away
Warnings/Ratings: PG-13
Word Count: 12345 (I swear I'm not making that up, heh.)
Notes: First, I'd like to thank the wonderful and grammatically gifted papervalentine and lwhitehawk who both served as my betas for this story. They are teh awesomeness! Also, I hope the Spike&Dawn focus didn't get too lost in the other subplot. I had to continuously beat down my Spike/Buffy muse when it threatened to take over the story.
Summary: As Dawn starts to suspect something isn't right with The Immortal and his relationship with Buffy, Spike and Illyria arrive in Rome.
Meno Delle Due Malvagità
(The Lesser of Two Evils)
Life had never been the same after the Hellmouth closed. Everything had changed, some for good and some not. One of Dawn's greatest fears had been realized, people she loved and cared about had moved away, yet the world kept on spinning and eventually she came to understand why they needed to be so far away. Though she missed Xander, Willow, Giles and the rest, they all had their individual work to do.
As did she.
Upon finishing high school, in Rome of all places, Dawn would go on to train as a watcher. It was all planned out in her journals, which she had started writing in again. All watchers kept very detailed notes, after all.
Once in Rome, she'd had so much to write about too. Funny stories about trying to learn Italian, doodles with the names of the cute boys from her high school with names like Antonio and Roberto in squiggly hearts and tales about fun trips shopping on the Via del Corso with Buffy.
In those first few months of living there, it was like her sister was a new person, vibrant and excited for life. It seemed to Dawn that Buffy had finally learned how to stand her own without a boyfriend driving her crazy. At least it seemed that way. That is, until the new guy showed up in her life. The Immortal, as he preferred to be called, was everything a girl could ask for: rich, handsome and well, like his name suggested, completely unkillable. Apparently that was a big plus for Buffy, who had a history of having boys die on her.
Dawn didn't trust him though, and had said as much. Not like it mattered to Buffy, who had fallen so deep and so far that she didn't even seem like herself anymore. There was something in the way Buffy looked after coming back from her dates with him, just slightly off-kilter.
“It's just love, Dawnie,” Buffy explained the last time Dawn had brought her reservations up in conversations. Her sister hadn't used that tone with her since Dawn was much younger, “One day you'll fall in love and you'll understand how these things work.”
That quote had gone into Dawn's journal, in the part where she kept tabs on their relationship. The researcher in her wanted to stick to the facts of this strange development, though the young adult who had already figured out how the world worked was miffed. How could someone talk to her like she was a child, when they were acting like a child themselves? Buffy never called to say she would be late, forgot to make dinner on the few occasions she said she would take care of it, she'd even missed a few important appointments at Dawn's school. The principal there was one step from calling in whatever passed for social services in this foreign country.
Dawn looked up from her research on the latest development on the demon that kept being spotted on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. All thoughts about the sea monster disappeared from her head as she looked at her sister, fresh and ready for yet another date with The Immortal. Keeping her voice cordial, Dawn asked, “Where are you going tonight?”
“Oh, you know Immi,” Buffy placed a flower clip in her hair, pinning back her long blond locks. She sauntered over to the table which Dawn's homework and research cluttered. The slayer didn't even pause to wonder about the sea monster Dawn was looking up information on, such thoughts of duty and protection rarely occurred to her these days. “He's always got a surprise planned out for me.”
“Yeah, I'll bet,” Dawn muttered under her breath. Then louder, she asked, “You do have your cell phone with you though, right? And you have my number on speed dial?” After a pause, she added, “And the number for the police?”
Buffy blinked at her, for a moment giving Dawn a deep recollection of the Buffy-bot. “Why would I need those things? Immi takes care of me.” She patted her sister on the head. “Don't worry, Dawnie. He'd never let me get hurt.”
The doorbell rang and Buffy hurried off to get it. Dawn sighed as she got up and while Buffy was busy, found her sister's cell phone and placed it secretly into Buffy's purse. She frowned as she listened to Buffy and The Immortal exchange greetings. How her sister could miss the swarmyness in his voice was beyond Dawn's comprehension.
“Hey Dawnie,” Buffy called, still using that childish nickname for her. “Have you seen my purse? I just had it a second ago.”
Dawn turned around, thrusting the expensive leather purse the Immortal had bought for Buffy into her hands. She nodded, lying, “I just didn't want you to forget it, Buffy.”
Buffy smiled, already looking like she was feeling the high The Immortal produced in her. “Someday I'm sure you'll find a nice boy to buy you expensive Prada purses like this one.” She threw the strap of the purse over her shoulder and threaded her other arm through The Immortal's outstretched elbow. The touch was like a chain, attaching Buffy to his body. Dawn wondered for a moment if they stayed like that for the entirety of their dates, always connected to one another with Buffy never far from him. Buffy grinned, turning her attention towards him, “Shall we?”
He kissed her hand, ever the gentleman. Then to Dawn, he flashed a dangerous grin only the two of them were aware of, “We'll be out late. Don't wait up.”
She crossed her arms, grit her teeth and forced herself to respond, “I have no problem waiting up. You just better make sure she gets back here safely.”
“Of course, mi piccolina,” He bowed his head as the Italian syllables danced across his tongue. Ushering Buffy out the door, he consented to her sister's wishes, at least for tonight. “Of course.”
The door shut in her face while Dawn resisted the urge to cry. She didn't do that anymore, didn't whine or gripe or cry, she was growing up now, an adult who should be able to handle things like this without resorting to emotional storms. Though, all alone in a foreign country, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle this by herself.
Andrew wasn't even around anymore. When the nerdy little boy was there, Dawn at least had someone to talk to. The Immortal wasn't that bad then, hadn't asserted his power quite so much. She and Andrew had figured something was up, but back then it seemed like just normal boy-crazies. Figured that after her only friend here left, things would get worse.
Now she was stuck to handle it alone. Dawn just had to figure out a way how.
Months had passed since the big battle with the Black Thorn and life, for some, had continued. Spike had found his feet again, surviving the averted apocalypse as he had many others. It was getting to be old hat, a May-time routine.
Ever since that battle which had lost him the few friends he could actually tolerate, Wes and Charlie-boy, he'd been traveling the world with Illyria as his sole companion. After all, someone had to keep up the good fight, now that Angel had run off and gotten himself all Shanshued, leaving the ex-vampire useless, like any other ordinary human. So while the great big poof sat on his butt watching the telly, getting fat on beer and Doritos, Spike and Illyria did what they did best and killed things.
A puff of smoke escaped his lips, tobacco and the salt of the Adriatic Sea intermingling in the air. Meanwhile, he watched Illyria pummel what passed for a vampire in this country. He snorted, the thing lacked all the style and class of the English-type to be sure, but still it put up a remarkable fight. That is, until Blue Thunder stabbed a piece of wooden shipping crate through its unbeating heart. She glanced at Spike, a pleased smile crossing her lips. “Does that even the count, half-breed?”
Spike stubbed the last bit of his cigarette into the ground, rubbing it out with the steel toe of his combat boots. They'd been playing this game since their brief demon-killing spree in Morocco. One point for each vampire, five for a basic demon, ten for any apocalypse they diverted, though they'd failed to meet the latter of those situations yet. “By my count it's still my 164 to your 162.” He cocked his head at the newly fallen dust on the cobblestone dock, “163 with that kill.”
Illyria crossed her arms, giving him an angry look. The ex-god was still shocked whenever anyone dared to question her, but she let her fury sizzle out of her without resorting to destroying what she now thought of as her new Qwa'ha Xahn. She nearly growled as she walked past him. “If we did not have to listen to your soul's poor excuse for a conscience, my score would be exponentially higher. When I walked the Earth alone, I killed a thousand creatures during each day's journey, regardless of whether they were innocent or not.”
Spike laughed as she walked by, never one to stoop to her level. The rules had indeed changed, for both of them. “Was a time, back when I was a big bad, I killed,” He tried to do the count in his head, remembering days of pillaging and slaughter, and shrugged “almost as many in a day. Guess we're both working with handicaps.” He smiled and shook his head, wondering how he'd managed to get on this side of the good-bad line. Then he looked in the direction Illyria was headed, the direction they had been planning to go after arriving on the cargo ship.
Rome.
Something about the city was calling to him and try as he might, Spike couldn't shake the fact that it was simply his need to see Buffy. To be near her, in her city, even if he didn't actually have the guts to go to her apartment to see her. Following Illyria, he silently thanked fate that there were still a few days to travel before they reached the city limits. By then, perhaps he would know what he was doing there and why he felt compelled to stop by for a visit.
Dawn sat and watched the clock. It seemed that it was all she ever did each night, waiting for Buffy to return so Dawn would know she was at least alive. She sighed and flicked past one Italian television program after another. When did she turn into the adult of the family? She should be in bed, sleeping off the fatigue and preparing for another day of research duty. Or better yet, at the party Roberto had invited her to, but instead there she sat, waiting to see how much of a toll the night had taken on her sister and whether the slayer had survived another night out with The Immortal.
The apartment door slowly opened, as The Immortal carried Buffy in his arms over the threshold. Too bad he wasn't a vampire, Dawn thought as she watched him, then she could at least do a de-invite spell on the place.
“Shh,” The Immortal whispered and Dawn noticed for the first time that Buffy was already sleeping. Her head rested against his chest, sleepily starting to stir as he held her close.
Dawn bit back whatever she was going to say and watched as The Immortal disappeared into Buffy's bedroom. She sat on the edge of the small living room couch, shaking her head. She should do something, anything to get this creep out of their apartment. She'd tried in the past but those were only fruitless attempts since Buffy refused to let Dawn make the rules around this place while she was still paying the rent.
The Immortal reappeared from the bedroom a few minutes later, after tucking Buffy into her bed for the night. “Ah, mi piccolina, you're still awake?” He tried to appear nonchalant, but Dawn was on to him. She knew his kind. She'd been raised on a Hellmouth, after all.
“I was waiting for Buffy to come home,” She retorted, careful to rein her tone in. She didn't want him to know she was on to him, not just yet. There needed to be time to formulate a plan, time to figure out what the hell she was going to do about this situation before she acted.
“And now she is.” He nodded and walked towards the door, giving Dawn reason to inwardly celebrate, “All tucked in and home safely, as I promised, so I shall be leaving.” The Immortal paused at the doorway. Dawn would've said he looked concerned, if she didn't already know he was trying to work them over. “Be sure you lock the door behind me. There are dangerous things out there in the city, little one.”
“Yeah,” Dawn frowned as the door shut behind him. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she locked the door and replied, “And you're one of them.”
It was late. Dawn knew she should be home, tucked in to wait for the coming morning when all the ghouls and vamps would be back in their crypts. If only she wasn't so pissed, she might actually be there right now. However, The Immortal had come to call for Buffy's attention once again tonight. It was their third date all week, though Buffy had acted like she hadn't seen him in forever.
Dawn clutched the stake in her hand tighter. She wasn't going to make a big deal out of this, wasn't going to bitch and moan and tell her sister that she was out of her mind, even though she clearly was. Neither was Dawn going to complain about the dismissive way the two of them had told her to stay home tonight, like she was some young thing that couldn't take care of herself. No, she was just going to bide her time and find a logical way out of this.
She'd tried calling the others tonight. Giles still wasn't answering his phone. He'd been away on some conference for the past month. Willow had left no forwarding address or phone number the last time she moved. Dawn knew she hadn't gone all Bad Dark Willow again, though until she had confirmation that the witch was okay, she was still worried about that too. Then there was Xander, who was almost never available to be reached by phone, stuck in the African wilds as he was. “Nope,” Dawn sighed as she reached the shores of the river, “Looks like I'm in this by myself.”
A scuffle up ahead on the shoreline caught Dawn's attention and she shifted into action. Stake drawn up, she reached down into her pockets for the vial of holy water she always kept handy. As she drew nearer to the fray, Dawn watched as a blue haired girl in the strangest club gear held her own against the attacking vampire.
As Dawn observed the girl punching and throwing the taller demon about, it became clear that she had an incredible amount of strength, more strength than any human could possibly possess. Maybe it was just a turf war, Dawn shrugged.
So caught up in the battle, Dawn didn't realize that a vampire had crept up behind her until it was too late. The thing grabbed her around the waist and with it's other hand grasped her neck, pulling her to its fanged mouth. Dawn screamed as she dropped her stake and it clattered to the floor.
“Unhand the Key,” The super-strengthened woman spoke in a dead serious tone as she finished dispatching her own enemy and came closer to Dawn's private battle. She spoke to the vampire, giving it a moment of pause, though Dawn was sure it had no intention of stopping completely, “You demon-in-human shell know nothing of its power or magnitude. You are not worthy to look upon such things nor even to lick the ground where it's feet have been.”
One moment Dawn could feel the vampire breathing heavily upon her neck but the next it exploded into dust. The teenager exhaled the breath she had been holding as she felt the restraint on her body falling away. Blinking at the woman who was still standing a few feet away from them, Dawn asked incredulously, “Did you do that?”
“No,” A familiar English accent answered from behind her. “I did.” The world froze as Dawn recognized the voice immediately. It couldn't be possible though. He'd been dead two years now, buried in the rubble of what used to be Sunnydale. Dawn whirled around and the world sped up once more as Spike smirked at her, “Hey, Nibblet.”
“Spike? What?! How?!” The questions left her mouth in rapid succession. The previous slow motion had been replace by a sudden mad rush of emotions. “I thought you were dead. I thought-- oh, wow, does Buffy know you're here?”
“Careful, bit,” Spike seemed amused by her sudden rush, but still placed a hand on her shoulder before she could ramble off any more questions. “Looks like your eyes are about to jump outta your skull.”
The woman Dawn didn't recognize was watching he more closely now, moving close up to inspect her face while Dawn tried to brush her away. Obviously taking Spike's comment literally, the woman commented, “The Key does not need eyes to see, nor legs to walk or lungs to breath. It was here before even the Old Gods and will continue on forever.”
Dawn shuddered ever so slightly. Forever was a really long time, she just wanted to get through the week. Moving her attention back to Spike, she said, “Well, I'm sorry, but it's not everyday someone I know comes back from the dead.” Then as an afterthought, she added, “Then again, it's not completely uncommon in my life either.”
She glanced at Spike, still not quite believing he was there, right in front of her, having this conversation with her. The multitude of question came flooding back to her, “What happened to you anyway? Buffy told me you died a champion, but she wasn't clear on the details.”
Spike rested his elbows on the railing of the bridge, overlooking the calm waters. As moonlight fell across his face, Spike seemed distant. After a moment of silence, he summed it all up quickly in a forced jovial tone, “Destroyed the school. Closed the Hellmouth. Went up in a blaze of flaming glory; not something I'd recommend by the way. I got better though.. woke up in Angel's office and things continued downhill from there.” Spike paused and Dawn could feel his eyes on her, “I've missed you, Pet.”
Dawn hoisted herself up on the stone railing off the bridge, swinging her feet and took a deep breath. Then she continued with truth born out of her new maturity. “You know, it took me a while to forgive you to what you did to Buffy.” She gave a half-hearted laugh, “And then I was angry at you for dying and leaving us alone. But after thinking about how you saved the potentials.. and the world.. and Buffy, nothing else mattered. I'm just glad to see you now.”
Silence fell between them once more while old memories were sorted through and those that hurt too much discarded. Breaking the mellow mood, Dawn crossed her arms and mockingly accused, “I'm still pissed at you for destroying the mall though.”
“What did I tell you?” Spike wagged his eyebrows at her, “I'm evil, through and through.”
“At least you're not as evil as The Immortal,” Dawn frowned. “You weren't always great for Buffy, but at least you didn't try brainwashing her.. or whatever he's doing to her.”
That caught his attention, throwing him in to the old familiar protector role. “Is he making trouble for you?”
Dawn inwardly sighed in relief; the calvary had finally arrived. Somehow tonight, she had wound up in exactly the place she needed to be. Her words came rushing out, finally finding an audience who had the power to help her, “Oh, Spike, she's not herself at all. Half the time she's with him and completely forgetting I exist, the other half, she walks around looking stoned. She says its just that she's fallen in love, but I know something else is going on. She was fine until he showed up, now she's even forgetting about her slayer duties.”
“Which is, I take it, how you wound up here tonight with that vamp trying to take a nibble?” Spike's tone betrayed his worry and disapproval. He had always treated her like an adult but there were still some things better left to the slayer. “Trying to fill big sis' britches?”
“Somebody has to,” Dawn rolled her eyes and then looked down at her feet as she stopped swinging them. “Look, Spike, I know you and Buffy had your issues, but you still understand her more than most. I know you'd be able to reach her.” Dawn could see the storm that was brewing just under the surface for Spike. Reluctance mixed with desire, fear with longing. “Please, Spike, I have no one else to help me.”
“Really worried about her, aren't you, Nibblet?” Spike asked, knowing full well the answer; this was serious. Dawn tried to hide her 'duh' face. “Don't know how much help I can be in your corner. She probably doesn't want to see me,” he warned. Dawn wondered if this was just a stalling tactic. After all, even after everything, Buffy still thought of him as a champion. When Dawn didn't back down after hearing his lack of confidence, Spike shrugged, “But if you need help, I'm your man.”
Dawn jumped up, her enthusiasm seemingly harking back to her origins as a big ball of energy. “Great! Come on, Spike.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the street that led to her apartment.
“I will use my power to help the Key as well.” The woman spoke with clear determination as she followed the two of them. “I will mutilate this Immortal, make it whimper like the weakling it is for daring to work against the Key.”
In all their catching up, Dawn had forgotten the woman was even there until she barged into the conversation again. “Not that I don't appreciate the offer but,” she turned to Spike, jutting her thumb at the woman. “Who is that? And why does she keep calling me the Key? Doesn't she know how to keep a secret?”
“That's Illyria. Yet another ex-god with a huge ego.”
“Like Glory?”
“Minus the shoe fetish,” Spike agreed. “Seems to know you from back in the prehistoric day. She's usually not this chummy with folks.”
“Lucky me,” Dawn nodded, though she felt more bewildered that lucky. She glanced at Illyria, the ex-god seemed to know more about the Key than anyone Dawn had ever met or any book she'd ever come across in her junior watcher research days. She could unlock Dawn's past, answer all the questions the teenager could ask.
Dawn gave that prospect some careful thought but then shook her head. Whatever came before didn't matter now. She was Dawn Summers, daughter of the loved but departed Joyce Summers and sister to Buffy and that was good enough for her.
Part 2
Author: Vixen
Written for: Choose Your Author -CYA- Ficathon
Characters: Spike & Dawn, Buffy, Illyria
Setting: Post Not Fade Away
Warnings/Ratings: PG-13
Word Count: 12345 (I swear I'm not making that up, heh.)
Notes: First, I'd like to thank the wonderful and grammatically gifted papervalentine and lwhitehawk who both served as my betas for this story. They are teh awesomeness! Also, I hope the Spike&Dawn focus didn't get too lost in the other subplot. I had to continuously beat down my Spike/Buffy muse when it threatened to take over the story.
Summary: As Dawn starts to suspect something isn't right with The Immortal and his relationship with Buffy, Spike and Illyria arrive in Rome.
Meno Delle Due Malvagità
(The Lesser of Two Evils)
Life had never been the same after the Hellmouth closed. Everything had changed, some for good and some not. One of Dawn's greatest fears had been realized, people she loved and cared about had moved away, yet the world kept on spinning and eventually she came to understand why they needed to be so far away. Though she missed Xander, Willow, Giles and the rest, they all had their individual work to do.
As did she.
Upon finishing high school, in Rome of all places, Dawn would go on to train as a watcher. It was all planned out in her journals, which she had started writing in again. All watchers kept very detailed notes, after all.
Once in Rome, she'd had so much to write about too. Funny stories about trying to learn Italian, doodles with the names of the cute boys from her high school with names like Antonio and Roberto in squiggly hearts and tales about fun trips shopping on the Via del Corso with Buffy.
In those first few months of living there, it was like her sister was a new person, vibrant and excited for life. It seemed to Dawn that Buffy had finally learned how to stand her own without a boyfriend driving her crazy. At least it seemed that way. That is, until the new guy showed up in her life. The Immortal, as he preferred to be called, was everything a girl could ask for: rich, handsome and well, like his name suggested, completely unkillable. Apparently that was a big plus for Buffy, who had a history of having boys die on her.
Dawn didn't trust him though, and had said as much. Not like it mattered to Buffy, who had fallen so deep and so far that she didn't even seem like herself anymore. There was something in the way Buffy looked after coming back from her dates with him, just slightly off-kilter.
“It's just love, Dawnie,” Buffy explained the last time Dawn had brought her reservations up in conversations. Her sister hadn't used that tone with her since Dawn was much younger, “One day you'll fall in love and you'll understand how these things work.”
That quote had gone into Dawn's journal, in the part where she kept tabs on their relationship. The researcher in her wanted to stick to the facts of this strange development, though the young adult who had already figured out how the world worked was miffed. How could someone talk to her like she was a child, when they were acting like a child themselves? Buffy never called to say she would be late, forgot to make dinner on the few occasions she said she would take care of it, she'd even missed a few important appointments at Dawn's school. The principal there was one step from calling in whatever passed for social services in this foreign country.
Dawn looked up from her research on the latest development on the demon that kept being spotted on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. All thoughts about the sea monster disappeared from her head as she looked at her sister, fresh and ready for yet another date with The Immortal. Keeping her voice cordial, Dawn asked, “Where are you going tonight?”
“Oh, you know Immi,” Buffy placed a flower clip in her hair, pinning back her long blond locks. She sauntered over to the table which Dawn's homework and research cluttered. The slayer didn't even pause to wonder about the sea monster Dawn was looking up information on, such thoughts of duty and protection rarely occurred to her these days. “He's always got a surprise planned out for me.”
“Yeah, I'll bet,” Dawn muttered under her breath. Then louder, she asked, “You do have your cell phone with you though, right? And you have my number on speed dial?” After a pause, she added, “And the number for the police?”
Buffy blinked at her, for a moment giving Dawn a deep recollection of the Buffy-bot. “Why would I need those things? Immi takes care of me.” She patted her sister on the head. “Don't worry, Dawnie. He'd never let me get hurt.”
The doorbell rang and Buffy hurried off to get it. Dawn sighed as she got up and while Buffy was busy, found her sister's cell phone and placed it secretly into Buffy's purse. She frowned as she listened to Buffy and The Immortal exchange greetings. How her sister could miss the swarmyness in his voice was beyond Dawn's comprehension.
“Hey Dawnie,” Buffy called, still using that childish nickname for her. “Have you seen my purse? I just had it a second ago.”
Dawn turned around, thrusting the expensive leather purse the Immortal had bought for Buffy into her hands. She nodded, lying, “I just didn't want you to forget it, Buffy.”
Buffy smiled, already looking like she was feeling the high The Immortal produced in her. “Someday I'm sure you'll find a nice boy to buy you expensive Prada purses like this one.” She threw the strap of the purse over her shoulder and threaded her other arm through The Immortal's outstretched elbow. The touch was like a chain, attaching Buffy to his body. Dawn wondered for a moment if they stayed like that for the entirety of their dates, always connected to one another with Buffy never far from him. Buffy grinned, turning her attention towards him, “Shall we?”
He kissed her hand, ever the gentleman. Then to Dawn, he flashed a dangerous grin only the two of them were aware of, “We'll be out late. Don't wait up.”
She crossed her arms, grit her teeth and forced herself to respond, “I have no problem waiting up. You just better make sure she gets back here safely.”
“Of course, mi piccolina,” He bowed his head as the Italian syllables danced across his tongue. Ushering Buffy out the door, he consented to her sister's wishes, at least for tonight. “Of course.”
The door shut in her face while Dawn resisted the urge to cry. She didn't do that anymore, didn't whine or gripe or cry, she was growing up now, an adult who should be able to handle things like this without resorting to emotional storms. Though, all alone in a foreign country, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle this by herself.
Andrew wasn't even around anymore. When the nerdy little boy was there, Dawn at least had someone to talk to. The Immortal wasn't that bad then, hadn't asserted his power quite so much. She and Andrew had figured something was up, but back then it seemed like just normal boy-crazies. Figured that after her only friend here left, things would get worse.
Now she was stuck to handle it alone. Dawn just had to figure out a way how.
Months had passed since the big battle with the Black Thorn and life, for some, had continued. Spike had found his feet again, surviving the averted apocalypse as he had many others. It was getting to be old hat, a May-time routine.
Ever since that battle which had lost him the few friends he could actually tolerate, Wes and Charlie-boy, he'd been traveling the world with Illyria as his sole companion. After all, someone had to keep up the good fight, now that Angel had run off and gotten himself all Shanshued, leaving the ex-vampire useless, like any other ordinary human. So while the great big poof sat on his butt watching the telly, getting fat on beer and Doritos, Spike and Illyria did what they did best and killed things.
A puff of smoke escaped his lips, tobacco and the salt of the Adriatic Sea intermingling in the air. Meanwhile, he watched Illyria pummel what passed for a vampire in this country. He snorted, the thing lacked all the style and class of the English-type to be sure, but still it put up a remarkable fight. That is, until Blue Thunder stabbed a piece of wooden shipping crate through its unbeating heart. She glanced at Spike, a pleased smile crossing her lips. “Does that even the count, half-breed?”
Spike stubbed the last bit of his cigarette into the ground, rubbing it out with the steel toe of his combat boots. They'd been playing this game since their brief demon-killing spree in Morocco. One point for each vampire, five for a basic demon, ten for any apocalypse they diverted, though they'd failed to meet the latter of those situations yet. “By my count it's still my 164 to your 162.” He cocked his head at the newly fallen dust on the cobblestone dock, “163 with that kill.”
Illyria crossed her arms, giving him an angry look. The ex-god was still shocked whenever anyone dared to question her, but she let her fury sizzle out of her without resorting to destroying what she now thought of as her new Qwa'ha Xahn. She nearly growled as she walked past him. “If we did not have to listen to your soul's poor excuse for a conscience, my score would be exponentially higher. When I walked the Earth alone, I killed a thousand creatures during each day's journey, regardless of whether they were innocent or not.”
Spike laughed as she walked by, never one to stoop to her level. The rules had indeed changed, for both of them. “Was a time, back when I was a big bad, I killed,” He tried to do the count in his head, remembering days of pillaging and slaughter, and shrugged “almost as many in a day. Guess we're both working with handicaps.” He smiled and shook his head, wondering how he'd managed to get on this side of the good-bad line. Then he looked in the direction Illyria was headed, the direction they had been planning to go after arriving on the cargo ship.
Rome.
Something about the city was calling to him and try as he might, Spike couldn't shake the fact that it was simply his need to see Buffy. To be near her, in her city, even if he didn't actually have the guts to go to her apartment to see her. Following Illyria, he silently thanked fate that there were still a few days to travel before they reached the city limits. By then, perhaps he would know what he was doing there and why he felt compelled to stop by for a visit.
Dawn sat and watched the clock. It seemed that it was all she ever did each night, waiting for Buffy to return so Dawn would know she was at least alive. She sighed and flicked past one Italian television program after another. When did she turn into the adult of the family? She should be in bed, sleeping off the fatigue and preparing for another day of research duty. Or better yet, at the party Roberto had invited her to, but instead there she sat, waiting to see how much of a toll the night had taken on her sister and whether the slayer had survived another night out with The Immortal.
The apartment door slowly opened, as The Immortal carried Buffy in his arms over the threshold. Too bad he wasn't a vampire, Dawn thought as she watched him, then she could at least do a de-invite spell on the place.
“Shh,” The Immortal whispered and Dawn noticed for the first time that Buffy was already sleeping. Her head rested against his chest, sleepily starting to stir as he held her close.
Dawn bit back whatever she was going to say and watched as The Immortal disappeared into Buffy's bedroom. She sat on the edge of the small living room couch, shaking her head. She should do something, anything to get this creep out of their apartment. She'd tried in the past but those were only fruitless attempts since Buffy refused to let Dawn make the rules around this place while she was still paying the rent.
The Immortal reappeared from the bedroom a few minutes later, after tucking Buffy into her bed for the night. “Ah, mi piccolina, you're still awake?” He tried to appear nonchalant, but Dawn was on to him. She knew his kind. She'd been raised on a Hellmouth, after all.
“I was waiting for Buffy to come home,” She retorted, careful to rein her tone in. She didn't want him to know she was on to him, not just yet. There needed to be time to formulate a plan, time to figure out what the hell she was going to do about this situation before she acted.
“And now she is.” He nodded and walked towards the door, giving Dawn reason to inwardly celebrate, “All tucked in and home safely, as I promised, so I shall be leaving.” The Immortal paused at the doorway. Dawn would've said he looked concerned, if she didn't already know he was trying to work them over. “Be sure you lock the door behind me. There are dangerous things out there in the city, little one.”
“Yeah,” Dawn frowned as the door shut behind him. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she locked the door and replied, “And you're one of them.”
It was late. Dawn knew she should be home, tucked in to wait for the coming morning when all the ghouls and vamps would be back in their crypts. If only she wasn't so pissed, she might actually be there right now. However, The Immortal had come to call for Buffy's attention once again tonight. It was their third date all week, though Buffy had acted like she hadn't seen him in forever.
Dawn clutched the stake in her hand tighter. She wasn't going to make a big deal out of this, wasn't going to bitch and moan and tell her sister that she was out of her mind, even though she clearly was. Neither was Dawn going to complain about the dismissive way the two of them had told her to stay home tonight, like she was some young thing that couldn't take care of herself. No, she was just going to bide her time and find a logical way out of this.
She'd tried calling the others tonight. Giles still wasn't answering his phone. He'd been away on some conference for the past month. Willow had left no forwarding address or phone number the last time she moved. Dawn knew she hadn't gone all Bad Dark Willow again, though until she had confirmation that the witch was okay, she was still worried about that too. Then there was Xander, who was almost never available to be reached by phone, stuck in the African wilds as he was. “Nope,” Dawn sighed as she reached the shores of the river, “Looks like I'm in this by myself.”
A scuffle up ahead on the shoreline caught Dawn's attention and she shifted into action. Stake drawn up, she reached down into her pockets for the vial of holy water she always kept handy. As she drew nearer to the fray, Dawn watched as a blue haired girl in the strangest club gear held her own against the attacking vampire.
As Dawn observed the girl punching and throwing the taller demon about, it became clear that she had an incredible amount of strength, more strength than any human could possibly possess. Maybe it was just a turf war, Dawn shrugged.
So caught up in the battle, Dawn didn't realize that a vampire had crept up behind her until it was too late. The thing grabbed her around the waist and with it's other hand grasped her neck, pulling her to its fanged mouth. Dawn screamed as she dropped her stake and it clattered to the floor.
“Unhand the Key,” The super-strengthened woman spoke in a dead serious tone as she finished dispatching her own enemy and came closer to Dawn's private battle. She spoke to the vampire, giving it a moment of pause, though Dawn was sure it had no intention of stopping completely, “You demon-in-human shell know nothing of its power or magnitude. You are not worthy to look upon such things nor even to lick the ground where it's feet have been.”
One moment Dawn could feel the vampire breathing heavily upon her neck but the next it exploded into dust. The teenager exhaled the breath she had been holding as she felt the restraint on her body falling away. Blinking at the woman who was still standing a few feet away from them, Dawn asked incredulously, “Did you do that?”
“No,” A familiar English accent answered from behind her. “I did.” The world froze as Dawn recognized the voice immediately. It couldn't be possible though. He'd been dead two years now, buried in the rubble of what used to be Sunnydale. Dawn whirled around and the world sped up once more as Spike smirked at her, “Hey, Nibblet.”
“Spike? What?! How?!” The questions left her mouth in rapid succession. The previous slow motion had been replace by a sudden mad rush of emotions. “I thought you were dead. I thought-- oh, wow, does Buffy know you're here?”
“Careful, bit,” Spike seemed amused by her sudden rush, but still placed a hand on her shoulder before she could ramble off any more questions. “Looks like your eyes are about to jump outta your skull.”
The woman Dawn didn't recognize was watching he more closely now, moving close up to inspect her face while Dawn tried to brush her away. Obviously taking Spike's comment literally, the woman commented, “The Key does not need eyes to see, nor legs to walk or lungs to breath. It was here before even the Old Gods and will continue on forever.”
Dawn shuddered ever so slightly. Forever was a really long time, she just wanted to get through the week. Moving her attention back to Spike, she said, “Well, I'm sorry, but it's not everyday someone I know comes back from the dead.” Then as an afterthought, she added, “Then again, it's not completely uncommon in my life either.”
She glanced at Spike, still not quite believing he was there, right in front of her, having this conversation with her. The multitude of question came flooding back to her, “What happened to you anyway? Buffy told me you died a champion, but she wasn't clear on the details.”
Spike rested his elbows on the railing of the bridge, overlooking the calm waters. As moonlight fell across his face, Spike seemed distant. After a moment of silence, he summed it all up quickly in a forced jovial tone, “Destroyed the school. Closed the Hellmouth. Went up in a blaze of flaming glory; not something I'd recommend by the way. I got better though.. woke up in Angel's office and things continued downhill from there.” Spike paused and Dawn could feel his eyes on her, “I've missed you, Pet.”
Dawn hoisted herself up on the stone railing off the bridge, swinging her feet and took a deep breath. Then she continued with truth born out of her new maturity. “You know, it took me a while to forgive you to what you did to Buffy.” She gave a half-hearted laugh, “And then I was angry at you for dying and leaving us alone. But after thinking about how you saved the potentials.. and the world.. and Buffy, nothing else mattered. I'm just glad to see you now.”
Silence fell between them once more while old memories were sorted through and those that hurt too much discarded. Breaking the mellow mood, Dawn crossed her arms and mockingly accused, “I'm still pissed at you for destroying the mall though.”
“What did I tell you?” Spike wagged his eyebrows at her, “I'm evil, through and through.”
“At least you're not as evil as The Immortal,” Dawn frowned. “You weren't always great for Buffy, but at least you didn't try brainwashing her.. or whatever he's doing to her.”
That caught his attention, throwing him in to the old familiar protector role. “Is he making trouble for you?”
Dawn inwardly sighed in relief; the calvary had finally arrived. Somehow tonight, she had wound up in exactly the place she needed to be. Her words came rushing out, finally finding an audience who had the power to help her, “Oh, Spike, she's not herself at all. Half the time she's with him and completely forgetting I exist, the other half, she walks around looking stoned. She says its just that she's fallen in love, but I know something else is going on. She was fine until he showed up, now she's even forgetting about her slayer duties.”
“Which is, I take it, how you wound up here tonight with that vamp trying to take a nibble?” Spike's tone betrayed his worry and disapproval. He had always treated her like an adult but there were still some things better left to the slayer. “Trying to fill big sis' britches?”
“Somebody has to,” Dawn rolled her eyes and then looked down at her feet as she stopped swinging them. “Look, Spike, I know you and Buffy had your issues, but you still understand her more than most. I know you'd be able to reach her.” Dawn could see the storm that was brewing just under the surface for Spike. Reluctance mixed with desire, fear with longing. “Please, Spike, I have no one else to help me.”
“Really worried about her, aren't you, Nibblet?” Spike asked, knowing full well the answer; this was serious. Dawn tried to hide her 'duh' face. “Don't know how much help I can be in your corner. She probably doesn't want to see me,” he warned. Dawn wondered if this was just a stalling tactic. After all, even after everything, Buffy still thought of him as a champion. When Dawn didn't back down after hearing his lack of confidence, Spike shrugged, “But if you need help, I'm your man.”
Dawn jumped up, her enthusiasm seemingly harking back to her origins as a big ball of energy. “Great! Come on, Spike.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the street that led to her apartment.
“I will use my power to help the Key as well.” The woman spoke with clear determination as she followed the two of them. “I will mutilate this Immortal, make it whimper like the weakling it is for daring to work against the Key.”
In all their catching up, Dawn had forgotten the woman was even there until she barged into the conversation again. “Not that I don't appreciate the offer but,” she turned to Spike, jutting her thumb at the woman. “Who is that? And why does she keep calling me the Key? Doesn't she know how to keep a secret?”
“That's Illyria. Yet another ex-god with a huge ego.”
“Like Glory?”
“Minus the shoe fetish,” Spike agreed. “Seems to know you from back in the prehistoric day. She's usually not this chummy with folks.”
“Lucky me,” Dawn nodded, though she felt more bewildered that lucky. She glanced at Illyria, the ex-god seemed to know more about the Key than anyone Dawn had ever met or any book she'd ever come across in her junior watcher research days. She could unlock Dawn's past, answer all the questions the teenager could ask.
Dawn gave that prospect some careful thought but then shook her head. Whatever came before didn't matter now. She was Dawn Summers, daughter of the loved but departed Joyce Summers and sister to Buffy and that was good enough for her.
Part 2