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| Longer, Then Forever - Chapter 17 by Demonica Mills (24 Reviews) | | - abc + + |  | | | 
Chapter 17
“Oh goddess! Something must have come out of the portal when Buffy jumped in!” Tara exclaimed.
“Tell us everything, now!” Giles demanded, grabbing Brother John around the shoulders.
“There-there is a legend amongst my people that the time would come when we could no longer guard the Key, that the new guardians would arise and we would know them by the signs. The Eternal One having defied death and time, she who had survived beyond reason and suffering; and the White Vampire, he who chose to go against his nature to fight among side his mortal enemy, he who would love the Key not for its power but for its self. These would be the new guardians and the brotherhood would give the Key to the guardians and pass along the knowledge of life. Thus the brotherhood would end and the millennia of the guardians would begin.” Brother John slumped back in his chair when Giles released his arms.
“Wait, so you’re saying that Buffy and Spike are going to guard Dawn for the next millennia?” Xander asked.
Giles licked his lips, “I believe, Xander, that is exactly what he is saying. Is-is that why Buffy survived all those years in the other dimension?”
Brother John nodded. “Yes, she has passed the tests necessary to become a guardian.”
“Well, what about Spike’s tests? Spike didn’t pass any tests because he was here with us all summer and there was no test taking,” Xander said.
“He was taking the test the whole time,” Willow muttered. “He was here fighting along side us, humans-vampire slayers if you will, and taking care of Dawn.”
“Yes,” Brother John said. He closed his eyes a moment. “I feel our time is drawing near. The Guardians must accept the fate or the world will end.”
“Hello,” Anya called walking into the house. “I have come bearing news that could be of extreme interest and importance.” She walked into the dinning room and surveyed the scene around her. “Why does everyone have their apocalypse faces on?”
“Oh, you know, because the world is ending,” Willow said.
“Oh, again?” Anya said brightly. “That’s too bad. Anyway, you are not going to believe what happened at the Magic Box today.”
“Ahn, is this relevant to anything we’re discussing?” Xander asked.
“Only if you were discussing Telemaltiscia.”
XXX
“Wakey, wakey little Key.”
Dawn opened her eyes slowly. The world was spinning and she felt like she was going to throw up.
“Do you know where you are?”
Dawn looked around and her eyes widened. “Glory’s tower,” she whispered.
Brianna pursed her lips together. “Well, it’s a tower that Glorificus built, but I wouldn’t say it’s her tower, you know. It’s actually called a Marcipo tower and it is used in rituals to open dimensions. We’ve met before, you and I that is.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Of course you don’t. You were housed in a different shell at the time and so was I. My original name was Brother Vincent and I was a monk. One of the Chosen to guard the Key. I remember it like it was yesterday, it was right before the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and I was walking home from the market when I had a vision. The Devil and God appeared before me and told me that I had a mission. Now, I thought that it was odd that both the Devil and God would appear before me and I told them as much, but you know what they did? They laughed. They told me that they had started off as one being but had been split into good and evil, God being good and the Devil being evil, and that this division was tearing the world apart. In essence, this division was causing the creation of different dimensions, and it was up to me to save the world and the souls of man.”
“You’re crazy,” Dawn whispered.
Brianna continued as though she hadn’t heard. “In order to save the world, I had to release Marikulous, the keeper of time. Only she could fix the dimensions and keep the one true dimension safe. She would release the First and the First would banish evil from the realm, and I would be a hero.”
“The First is evil! It tricked you!” Dawn yelled.
“You lie to save your shell, just like last time. Brother Dinafro thought that I wanted the essence for myself. He believed that the Key spoke through him and he banished me to that…place. I was trapped. Then one day, the portal opened again and I knew that my time had finally come. The world shall finally be free of its burden.” Brianna threw back her head and laughed and Dawn felt afraid.
XXX
“Spike?”
“Yea, luv.”
“I feel…I feel like Dawn was here,” Buffy said.
“I feel it too,” he replied.
“She’s afraid,” Buffy whispered. “She’s so afraid…and she’s calling to us.”
“I hear it,” Spike answered.
“Hold me,” Buffy demanded.
Spike walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She turned and laid her head against his chest. A bolt of power shot through both their bodies and they stiffened.
“I can see her,” Buffy whispered.
Spike swallowed. “Me too.”
“What’s happening to us?”
“I don’t know, luv.”
“It doesn’t hurt though…I feel…connected,” Buffy murmured. I feel safe…I belong here.
Spike tightened his arms. “You do belong here, luv.”
Buffy’s head snapped back so quickly that she nearly connected with Spike’s chin. “What did you say?”
“Wot? You said that you feel safe, like you belong here. So, I said that you do belong here.”
“Spike, I thought that. I didn’t say it out loud.”
“Well, how the bloody hell would I know what you said if you didn’t say it out loud?”
Buffy stared at him a second and then she directed a thought at him. Spike shuddered and his eyes rolled back in his head.
“God, luv. Warn a bloke before you’re going to do that…though I wouldn’t say no to trying that thought out for real later on.” Spike curled his tongue against his teeth and sent his own dirty thought back to Buffy.
“I think,” Buffy panted, leaning against the wall for support. “We should figure this out later and find Dawn now…you really want to do that?”
“And so much more, kitten.”
“Concentrate on Dawn,” Buffy said. “Are you getting anything?”
“Nothing.”
“Um, maybe we have to touch?” Buffy reached out and grabbed Spike’s hand.
“Glory’s tower,” they said simultaneously.
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