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~Part: 56~
"Don't I even get to take any clothes?!", Dawn shrieked incredulously.
"That would involve going home. I'm not going to risk it", Buffy stated. "She could have left us booby traps to remember her by."
"My friends will be able to get you whatever you want in L.A.", Angel pointed out, trying to placate the girl.
Dawn glared at him. How dare he be all practical and sensible with her at a time like this.
Amy shook her head, pulling her attention away from Dawn's sullenness, her lover's voice speaking to her soothingly over the phone. He could comfort her like no other, and if it weren't for him, the witch was sure she would still be visiting Rack for her magical fix. Hell, she was sure she would probably be dead. It was Spike who'd pulled her out of that death spiral, and for that she was forever grateful. Still, it was at times like these that it took all her willpower not to start flinging magic around in order to get all these bickering nitwits to shut up.
"Amy luv, you'll be fine. The sun's setting and I'll be there in fifteen minutes. I'll grab an extra outfit for you and your toothbrush", the bleached blond vampire intoned. His voice vibrating deliciously over the telephone line.
"Thanks, Spike. I love you."
The witch paused, a grin splitting her features. "Oh, and Spike."
"Yes luv?"
"Make it ten."
Amy hung up the phone, and looked over at Willow. The redhead was sitting at the counter, her eyes a bit sad.
"What's wrong?", the dark blond witch asked.
Willow gestured with her chin, and Amy's gaze was brought over to Gunn and Cordelia. The couple hadn't said anything to each other in over two hours. The strange silence between them was killing Willow, who itched to heal the rift in her family. It didn't help that Xander and Anya spent the first hour of that time whispering animatedly to one another. Willow had the sneaking suspicion, they knew what was going on, but no one had thought to include her in the loop.
The ex-demon and her old best friend had disappeared in the last hour, and frankly she didn't even want to imagine where or what they were doing. She was certain it involved nudity, and that was just... ewwwww.
"Oh", Amy said quietly. She smiled apologetically at her friend, aware there was nothing she could say. The former rat turned to the others.
"Spike will be here in ten."
Dawn huffed, "Eh tu Brutus..."
Buffy looked at her sister strangely, and Cordelia tamped down the urge to grin, wondering whether the blond had picked up the Shakespearean reference.
~~~*~~~
Glory walked into her lair, anger making her back rod-straight. Excitedly, one of her minions ran to her side.
"Oh Glorious One, we---"
"Ugh!!", she screamed, her hand whipping out and striking the small demon across the face. His childlike body flew through the air, hitting the far wall with a sickening thud.
The other minions cowered away from the angry hellgod.
Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Glory stood in the middle of the room, stripping the tee-shirt and shapeless sweat pants her alter-ego favored, off.
"Bubble bath! Now!!", she barked. Scrambling, the short demons barreled into each other in their haste to do as they were told.
Minutes later, the hellgod sat in the luxurious scented bubbles, her burnished curls pinned atop her head. Taking a delicate sip of wine, she ordered the demon closest to her to get her the Slayer's sister's diary. Perhaps she could learn the location of the Key from the girl.
~~~*~~~
"The Slayer plans to hide the Key", the young dark haired male said, getting to one knee before his liege, his chain mail scraping the stone floor.
The senior knight paced, his mouth a small frustrated line.
"We can not allow that", his voice boomed suddenly. He looked down at his first. "Take fifteen of our best and follow them. I want the Key destroyed. The world must never experience the danger it represents."
The dark haired knight nodded, never questioning his orders.
"As you wish sire."
~~~*~~~
Dawn sat sullenly in the back seat of Angel's car. Nothing anybody had said or done could pull her from her self-imposed funk.
Buffy leaned over and peered into the back of the car. "I'm just trying to keep you safe Dawnie. Please understand."
The youngest Summers' blinked her eyes blankly and turned her face, giving her sister an enviable view of her profile.
Sighing, Buffy stepped away from the car and straightened. Her eyes met the blazing blue orbs of the vampire who somehow had become an ally.
"Take care of her Spike."
"With my life, Slayer."
With those last words, the platinum haired male got into Angel's large Plymouth. Dawn sat between him and Amy. Cordelia had taken shotgun, while Gunn drove. The Seer and the vampire hunter were markedly silent.
The car started up easily, and soon all that could be seen of Angel's black car were its red brake-lights. Buffy stared at them until they were only pinpricks in the distance before they disappeared.
"I think you made the right choice Buffy", Giles intoned quietly, giving the petite woman a supportive hug.
"I know", she mumbled. "It's just--"
"I know."
~~~*~~~
Glory's hideous shriek resounded through her suite. "What!?!" She threw the notebook across the room. She couldn't believe it.
She rose from the cooling bath, uncaring of her nakedness. "Get your scaly butts in here!!", she screamed.
"Yes oh beauteous Glorificus, shining light of the morning--"
"Oh shut up!"
The minions were instantly silent.
"The Key. I know what it is, WHO it is."
All the short demons started in surprise, their voices echoing in the room as they all started to speak at once.
"QUIET!", Glory yelled, at the top of her lungs. "I can't believe I didn't see it before..... I had her..."
"Who, glorious one?"
"The Slayer's sister, bring her to me."
The minions were instantly still, matching looks of horror forming on all their faces.
Glory's sense of thrilling discover dulled. "What?", she said harshly, her voice curiously childlike.
"The Slayer has sent her sister away", the head demon told his Mistress, head bowed and fully expecting her to yank it off.
This time, Glory's horrified scream was heard for miles around.
~Part: 57~
They had reached the loneliest stretch of highway. This part of the trip from Sunnydale to L.A. was pretty much a desert. There was nothing there, and very few homes or businesses were situated out here. In the darkening twilight, it gave the place a lonely, desolate feeling.
Dawn stared out the window, her head resting on Spike's shoulder. The car was eerily quiet, its occupants hushed, as if in reaction to the silence outside. Only the quiet strains of the radio were heard, and even that was set at such a low volume Dawn had to strain to hear it.
She sniffed and blinked away moisture.
"It'll be okay pet", Spike said into her hair.
She nodded into his omni-present leather coat, inhaling the comforting smell of cigarettes, leather and Spike.
The vampire looked over the girl's head, his eyes meeting those of his lover. Amy met his look, her forehead furrowed in concentration. Spike's eyes narrowed.
"What is it, luv?"
She held a single hand up and shook her head, her gaze seeming to turn further inwards.
"What's up?", Gunn asked from the front seat, reaching to turn off the radio altogether.
"We're being followed", Amy said quietly.
"Bad guys?", Cordelia asked.
The blond witch nodded.
"Well I guess we're gonna have to make it a little harder for 'em", Gunn murmured under his breath, his foot pressing the accelerator to the floor.
~~~*~~~
Amy slumped against the car door and blinked, trying to concentrate. She didn't know how much more of this she could take.
"Amy, what's happening?", Cordelia yelled back, pulling herself back inside and leaning against the car seat as she reloaded her trusty crossbow. Good thing she never left home without it.
The brunette looked back out the car window and spotted at least three more of these medieval looking bastards on horseback. "Shit", she murmured, before looking into the back of the car at the blond witch.
Spike was leaning over Dawn feeling Amy's forehead. He frowned, his girl felt positively feverish.
The vampire looked at the Seer. "She's running out of magic juice Cheerleader, blasting those wanna be's is taxing her."
Cordelia nodded in understanding before leaning out the window again.
Dawn touched the anxious vampire's arm. "She'll be okay, right Spike?"
"She'll be fine Nibblet."
Dawn looked at Spike's angry features and then at her other friend. She leaned against the blond. "Amy?"
The witch blinked and took another deep breath. "I'm okay Dawn, I swear. I just need to rest." Amy looked over at the young woman, her face was pensive and serious. She closed her eyes. She needed to rest, but she couldn't. There was no time.
"Can't you use me? I'm some kind of cosmic energy source right? Can't you tap into me somehow?"
"I don't know", Amy admitted, her eyes opening in suprise and some fear at her younger friend's idea.
Dawn took her hand and looked into her friend's eyes. "You have to try Amy its the only chance we have."
In the meanwhile, Cordelia reloaded her crossbow and checked her bag. She only had three left, and considering she was holding back her shots so as not to kill anyone, things looked like they were getting dire.
"I've only got three shots left", she murmured, aware that Gunn would hear her.
"Shit", the black youth grunted, even as he jerked the car's wheel to the left to cut off the path of one rider.
"We need to make a stand. We need a place we can defend. Especially cause Spike can't fight these guys and my driving means we're down another fighter", he said between clenched teeth.
Cordelia nodded, saying nothing, before leaning out the window once more and taking aim. Her shot was a bit wide, the bolt whizzing past the head of one rider. A smile of triumph lit up her face when the man reacted as she'd expected, pulling so hard on the reins that the horse he rode reared and he fell.
Spike could easily hear the couple's conversation, and saw the street thug's point. Still, leaving the safety of the car would leave them stranded out here. He looked out the back window. There seemed to be only seven of the knight-guys left. Considering, that at one point he'd counted more than fourteen, he didn't think the chits had done too badly. The Cheerleader was a hell of a shot and with Amy's magickal help, quite a few of the blighters had fallen to the wayside. Growling under his breath, the vampire wished for the umpteenth time that the sons of bitches weren't human so he could rip them to shreds. Unfortunately however, they were. He'd learned that the hard way when the punch he'd lobbed at the one who'd jumped on the car had left him yelling in pain, his head feeling like it would burst. He also wished everyone weren't so keen on not killing them. What did their being human matter when they were trying to kill Dawn?
"There", Gunn shouted, interrupting Spike's thoughts and pointing at what looked like an old farmhouse in the distance.
"Go!", Cordelia urged him, pulling herself back into her seat. "I just shot my last bolt, and I missed."
"Amy!", Dawn cried desperately, realizing that things had just gone from bad to worse. "Please try!"
"But..."
"Do it! Concentrate", the girl told her firmly.
The witch's grip on Dawn's hand became tighter, her eyes locking onto Dawn's as she attuned herself to her friend. First she became aware of the feeling of Dawn's skin. Soft, supple... Then the feelings of fear and culpability that plagued the girl. She felt this was her fault. Amy shook her head and dug deeper, and suddenly gasped.
"Oh--"
Energy blazed at her from this thin girl. She could see it and feel it suddenly, a green halo of fire. Taking a deep breath, Amy reached out with her senses and touched that power. She only hoped she could pull back when she had to.
"Everyone!", Amy screamed, as the ecstasy of power flooded her body. "Close your eyes."
Gunn swore creatively when a bright light suddenly exploded around him. He closed his eyes and hit the brakes hoping he hadn't driven them off the road.
The wave of energy flew out of the car in a burst of light which struck their pursuers almost physically. The six men shouted and screamed, their horses bucking beneath them in panic.
"I can't see!", one of them shouted, his scream was echoed by others.
The light vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving only the starlit desert night. The men called to one another, trying to find each other by sound as most had been thrown from their mounts. They could hear as one of them burst into tears. Were they blinded forever?
Back in the car, Spike had had to physically pull Dawn away from Amy's grip. The witch's eyes had gone black, and she seemed giddy and high despite the fact that Dawn was now unconscious.
"Amy!", he said forcefully, grabbing the blond witch's arm.
"Spike!", she exclaimed with a giggle, blinking, the darkness swirling within her gaze.
His azure eyes widened as he looked at her, he'd never seen her this high and out of control. Whatever power Dawn had within her, Spike realized, left Amy's old supplier in the dust.
"I feel so good Spike!"
His grip on Amy's arm tightened. "Get a hold of yourself luv."
She mumbled under her breath, her colorless gaze narrowing on Spike's face. "Get your hands off me", the witch hissed, "or..."
Shocked, the vampire released her arm.
Cordelia's voice sounded from the front of the car. "Everyone alright?"
"Not really sure", Spike grumbled, wishing for a cigarette even as his gaze strayed to the unconscious girl on his lap. After a moment, Dawn began to stir.
The Seer turned to Gunn. "And you?"
Gunn's head was leaning on the steering wheel. "I'm fine, just... What the hell was that?"
"It was Amy", Dawn's voice answered shakily. "I made her try to tap into me. I'm some big mystical energy key, right." She straightened up in her seat and sighed. "I can't believe it worked."
At this pronouncement, Cordelia and Gunn shared a look.
"It worked alright", the bleached vampire growled next to her. He looked meaningfully beyond her to where Amy sat. The witch stared blindly out the window, she was pale and shaking almost imperceptibly.
Dawn's eyes widened, and she turned her head towards Spike. "What--"
He shook his head interrupting her statement. He leaned over the front seat. "Anytime you want to get the hell outta here..."
"Oh yeah", Gunn breathed, finally looking away from Cordelia. He turned the key in the ignition and was grateful to hear the familiar sound of the engine turning over. He put the car into gear and pulled back onto the road.
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