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| Longer, Then Forever - Chapter 11 by Demonica Mills (21 Reviews) | | - - - abc |  | | | 
Chapter 11
Dawn stood in the front yard trying to control her giggling. She felt amazing. Her whole body was tingling and all her senses seemed to be heightened. Quickly, she covered her mouth with her hand as she walked into the dark house.
“Where’ve you been?” Spike’s voice came out of the darkness.
“S-spike? Is that you? Whatcha doing in the dark?” Dawn giggled. “Are you using your vampire eyes to see me? You’re a vampire, did you know that?” She turned on the living room light. “Oh, there you are!”
Spike gritted his teeth together. “Where.have.you.been?”
“Out with Janice, I told you that.”
Spike slammed his hand on the stair he was sitting on. “Don’t you lie to me, Dawn! Janice called looking for you. You have been gone for two days! Rupert’s filed a missing persons report on you.”
Two days. Strange, it didn’t feel like two days. “Oh, well I was out. What do you care? You’re not my dad.”
“Oh, my goddess, Dawn! Where have you been? We were so worried,” Willow rushed into the house, sweeping the girl into a hug.
She was followed by Giles, Tara, Xander, and Anya. All looked exhausted.
“Good lord, Dawn. Where have you been?” Giles tiredly wiped his glass on his sweater.
Dawn laughed. “Good lord, Giles,” she said, mimicking his accent. “You better be careful that you don’t break your glasses.”
“Is she drunk?” Anya asked.
Willow held Dawn at arm’s length and studied her.
“It’s d-dark magics. It gives the feeling of being drunk,” Tara’s voice raised a bit on drunk, almost like she was asking a question.
“Oh, goddess,” Willow said. “I can feel it. Dawn, what have you been doing?”
“Nothing,” Dawn batted Willow’s hands away from her. “I was out with a friend having fun.”
“Who were you out with?” Willow asked.
“A friend, what does it matter?”
“Gee, Dawnie. A friend that uses dark magic and keeps you out for almost three days, causing everyone to panic…sounds like a friend for life,” Xander muttered.
“I don’t think that you should see this friend again. I think we should call her parents as well and discuss the dangers of the magic she is using,” Giles said. He paused a moment before adding, “I should also discuss the responsibilities of them calling us when you decided to spend a few days there. I have alerted the authorities and everything.”
“No! You are not calling her parents.”
“Dawn, she is messing with dark forces,” Giles insisted.
“And she could have hurt you,” Spike added.
“Hurt me or hurt Buffy?” Dawn asked. “Because that’s what it all comes down to, right? Buffy.” She giggled. “Buffy.Buffy.Buffy.”
“Hurt you,” Spike answered.
“Whatever,” Dawn said. “Is this interrogation over? I want to go to bed.” She pushed past Spike and started up the stairs.
“Dawn?” Buffy stood at the top of the stairs. “Dawn back.” Buffy ran down the stairs and threw her arms around Dawn. “Dawn back,” she repeated, running her hands through Dawn’s hair.
Dawn shoved Buffy back. “Get off me! Why do you care? You’re not my sister.”
“Dawn!” Willow exclaimed.
“What? She’s not. I’m not real.” Dawn ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door shut.
Buffy stood looking confused, but no one knew what to say.
“Red, can you and Glinda find a way to keep this girl away from Dawn?” Spike asked.
Willow glanced at Tara. “We can try, but…we couldn’t even get a locator spell to work. Whoever this girl is, she’s strong.”
“Scarily strong,” Tara added. “Especially if she’s Dawn’s age. She must come from a long line of witches or have someone helping her.”
“Anya, have you noticed anyone buying a large amount of items at the Magic Box that could be used for dark magic?” Giles asked.
“Any item can be used for good or dark magic,” Anya thought for a moment. “You know, when I did inventory last week I did notice that we were missing a few books, but I just thought that you had borrowed them. You did borrow them, didn’t you?”
“How many is a few?” Giles asked.
“Twenty or so,” Anya said. “Which is why I thought you borrowed them because there is no way that I wouldn’t notice someone walking out of the store with twenty books, plus I have wards up.”
“Twenty?! Why didn’t you tell me this? Oh, good lord. Do you have a list?”
“Of course I have a list, but how did someone get through the wards?”
“I sense…research,” Xander said. “I’ll get donuts.”
XXX
Buffy didn’t understand what was happening around her. Everyone was yelling and talking fast. She could pick up a word here or there but not enough to figure out what the problem was. Dawn was back, so why wasn’t everyone happy? Dawn could have been dead. That’s what happened. People disappeared and they were dead.
Spike walked over and tried to get her to go up the stairs, but she shrugged him off. She didn’t want to go to bed. She stood with her hands on her hips, her lips pursed together. Spike had seen this look many times over the past several days. He and Tara had jokingly called it the “remembering look” because it looked like Buffy was trying to remember something, and since remembering the “will be done” spell, she’d been remembering things a bit quicker. However, right now it was so reminiscent of her former self that he took a step back.
Buffy walked past him and sat down at the dining room table. She picked up a book and began flipping through it. The others slowly sat down with her and picked up their own books. Xander came back and dropped a white box on the table.
On her third book, Buffy came across a picture that looked like Moyra. Excitedly she grabbed Spike’s hand and began to point at the image.
“Moyra!” She yelled and laughed. “Moyra!”
“What’s that, luv?” Spike leaned over her shoulder to look. “Hey, Red come look at this. Looks like one of her pictures.”
Willow took the book from him and studied it.
“Wait, I’ll grab the picture,” Tara jumped up from the table and ran into the kitchen. “Here,” she said, returning to the room.
Willow took the picture and placed it next to the photo in the book.
“Well, Buffy’s no Michelangelo but I’d say that’s a match,” Xander said, looking at it over Willow’s shoulder.
Willow passed the book to Giles.
“The Pic-tak-la is most often found in the dimension of To’kien and by the standards of demons in that realm is considered benign. It is most easily identified by its strange vocal patterns and is an omnivore by nature. One of the few demons that imprints its family when born and tends to stay with its herd for the entirety of its life,” Giles read.
“The To’kien dimension,” Anya said. “That’s one of the worst Hell dimensions to be in. It’s second only to Qu’rthtok, which you can’t get to without causing a dimensional tear. So, I guess that makes To’kien the worst dimension. I have new respect for you, Buffy.” She looked at Buffy admirably.
“To’kien,” Willow read from a different book. “Know for its stormy skyline and multitude of unique demons. Mostly home to carnivore type demons, To’kien is in a constant state of war between the two main demon families Beshien and Rokmanushan. The two tribes have split the dimension in half, each controlling a section. The area in between is a type of neutral area and has been ruled for almost one hundred and fifty years by the Chosen one…Oh, my goddess!” She pushed the book at Giles.
“Good lord, it can’t be.” He stared down at the picture of Buffy.
“One hundred and fifty years…” Xander trailed off.
“That’s almost a year for each of our days.” Spike stared at Buffy who was pointing at the picture in the book and making excited noises.
“Where did you find this book?” Giles asked, looking at the cover.
“In the pile,” Willow answered. “Why?”
“I’ve never seen it before. Anya, is this from the Magic Box?”
Anya glanced at the book. “No, that book is very rare. There’s only two known in existence.”
“Three, actually.”
“No, two,” Anya insisted looking up at the unfamiliar voice. “Hey, who are you?”
“Anyanka, I’m hurt that you don’t remember me,” the man answered.
Spike growled. “Who are you and what are you doing in the Slayer’s house?”
“Better question would be what is a vampire doing in the Slayer’s house, but hey, we’re all friends here.” The man took a seat next to Buffy and propped his feet up on the table. “Slayer, what’s happenin’? Looking good for being 167.” He patted her on the head and Buffy stiffened and closed her eyes. “Sorry, where are my manners? Names Whistler, work for the Powers That Be.”
“Wait, you can actually get a job with the Powers That Be?” Xander asked. “How do you apply for that?”
Whistler looked Xander over. “You don’t, they come to you and, uh, they ain’t coming for you anytime soon. Now, your ex-girlfriend, Cordelia, we already got her employed.”
“Wait, Cordy gets to work for the Powers That Be and I don’t?! Where’s the fairness in that?” Xander asked.
“It’s not that great,” Whistler said. “The pays lousy, the hours suck, and they don’t give you dental.”
“Xander do be quiet,” Giles sighed. “Now, Mr. Whistler, please explain yourself.”
“Well, me and the Slayer go way back. Haven’t seen her since that nasty little episode with Angel and the First, but that was ‘bout 150 years ago for her so I’m not upset that she don’t remember me. Anyway, the Powers don’t think that you’re moving as fast as you should be and you got a time table to keep with. They tried sending the Slayer a dream first-“
“The telemalta stuff?” Willow asked. “What does that mean?”
“But you guys haven’t been able to interpret that yet,” Whistler continued. “So…they sent the book.”
“And you?” Spike asked.
“Nah, I’m just here to deliver the book as an apology for sending the Slayer to Hell. Big mistake, let me tell you. Whoo! There was some trouble with the Powers for that,” Whistler said as he stood up. “Anyway, the rest is up to you.”
“Wait just one minute, mate,” Spike said standing up and shoving the smaller man against the wall. “Wot do you mean, you sent the Slayer to Hell and it was a bloody mistake?”
“Hey, easy on the coat, it wasn’t my mistake. It was the Powers mistake. That’s all I can tell you.” With that, Whistler disappeared.
“Where’d he go?” Spike demanded.
Anya rolled her eyes. “Teleported, duh.”
“Mistake,” Buffy whispered. Her eyes were still closed and a tear slipped out from beneath her eyelid and ran down her cheek.
“Wot’s that, luv?” Spike asked, sitting back down next to her.
“A mistake. A fucking mistake,” her eyes snapped open. “They send me to Hell and it’s…a mistake?”
“Buffy, can you remember?” Willow asked.
“I lived…147 years in…Hell…like a…a savage because they made a mistake? I can’t…I’m sorry…” Buffy stood up and ran out the door. Spike ran after her.
The group sat there stunned.
“Well, at least she’s speaking in full sentences,” Anya said helpfully.
XXX
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