I Feel Fine

Dawn didn’t pause to consider what had just happened. It never occurred to her that she had staked a vampire with a pencil and that was an unusual thing for her to do…even if she was the sister of the Slayer. The vampire was just young and stupid. He was obviously too concerned with Anya and the Mayor to have really put up a fight. That was it, it had to be the reason.

Cautiously, she peered around the door jam and looked for other guards. In all honesty, she didn’t expect to see any, but it never hurt to be cautious. The hallway was clear. Now that she was free from her captors, she should have a plan or at least be thinking of a plan to possibly have, but she had nothing. There were exactly two things that she knew with out a doubt: she was scared and she was alone. Nither were very comforting thoughts.

“I so need to get out of here,” she whispered to the deserted hallway.

She tried a door. It was unlocked. Inside, was a very ominous looking cabinet. Naturally, she had to investigate. Incase her senses were lying to her and there really were guards still patrolling the place, Dawn made sure to be a silent as a human with no super powers could be as she walked to the cabinet. She reached up and slowly opened the doors. She was some what disappointed that nothing happened. No, really. She had all the build up, all the adrenaline and for nothing. It opened up just like a cabinet was supposed to open.

“Ok, so the Mayor…ookey,” Dawn noted to herself.

Inside the cabinet, were things that Dawn couldn’t describe. No doubt Willow would have known what they were and possible Giles as well. She did her best to take a good look at everything inside in the hopes that she would be able to tell the others something useful in destroying the Mayor. It was a hard task since she couldn’t bring her self to touch well, anything.

“What’s that?” Dawn murmured as she ran her finger across a seam.

She followed the seam all the way to the end. There was something hidden inside the cabinet. Now all she had to do was make the thing open. Couldn’t be that hard. It was only the ookey cabinet of the Mayor who was going to become a full-blown demon from Hell. Dawn felt around for something. She didn’t even know what the something was, but she was sure she’d know when she found it. There. A trap latch, thing.

Another door at the bottom of the cabinet popped open.

“Books?” Dawn asked in bewilderment, “Mr. Wanna-Be-A-Demon is hiding books?”

Fairly certain the books wouldn’t give her syphilis, Dawn pulled one of the four great tombs from the shelf. The cover read, “Books of Ascension”. These would definitely help the gang. Now the question was how to get them from City Hall and to the library at Sunnydale High.

“All I need now are about four really big men to help me carry them,” Dawn said.

“I don’t think you’ll be carrying them anywhere, little girl,” a menacing voice from behind her said.

“Um,” Dawn said, “Oops?”

The vampire laughed humorlessly. She was cute. Looked a lot like the Slayer, too. He knew he wasn’t supposed to snack, but if the Mayor didn’t see where she was bit then no harm, no foul.

“We can call it our little secret,” the vampire said, “Keep the both of us out of trouble.”

“Y-you’d do that?” Dawn asked in a meek voice.

“Sure, I’m not exactly hoping for the Mayor to run a nice piece of wood through my chest when he finds out you found your way in here. I’m sure you don’t really want to make the Mayor so mad he forgets that he needs you,” the vampire continued in a conversational voice.

“So, I’ll just be going then,” Dawn said as she slowly stood up.

“I don’t think so,” the vampire said in a low voice.

Dawn gulped. This was not a good situation to be in, how did she get here? Oh yeah, she went looking for a way out and got distracted by how ookey the Mayor was. Way to go, Dawn!

She didn’t have to wait long for the vampire to attack her. He grabbed her from behind and Dawn fought the urge to cry out. There is no way she would give the vampire the satisfaction of knowing how terrified she was…it didn’t occur to her that the vampire could not only smell her fear but hear her heartbeat as well.

“Don’t worry,” the vampire whispered against her neck, “I’ll make it good for you. Nice and fast.”

“Or,” Dawn said in a timid voice, “You could always not eat me like you were told.”

She felt his face shift and waited for the bite to come. As the fangs sunk into the delicate skin of her neck, something inside her snapped. Her eyes, which had been shut in anticipation, opened, cold fury in them. With a strength she didn’t know she possessed, she kicked the vampire in the knee cap.

Once the pain-filled gasp left his lips and caused him to release his hold on her neck, Dawn grabbed his shoulders and flipped him onto the ground.

“You’re not supposed to be that strong. You’re just a kid,” the vampire gasped.

“No kidding,” Dawn agreed, “But, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth…”

Finding a wooden chair in the corner, Dawn kicked the vampire in the side before quickly moving over to the chair and breaking off one of the legs. She looked down at the vampire and did not feel the slightest bit of fear. There was adrenaline, but this uncanny surety that she would be victorious. ‘I wonder if this is how Buffy feels every time she goes on patrol.’

“You know, I’m kinda new to this staking thing. It might take me once or twice to get the aim part down, do me a favor? Tell me how I do?” Dawn asked.

The only response from the absolutely petrified vampire was an extremely audible gulp.

Dawn plunged the wooden implement into the vampire’s chest and watched with satisfaction as he was transformed into a big pile of dust.

“That was new,” she said to herself.

As she dusted the vampire from her clothing, things began to sink into her head. Things like, her lack of fear, the enormous amounts of strength she suddenly possessed, her natural aim – good aim. Something about the situation did not lead her to thoughts of sunshine and chocolate. She needed to find Buffy. Buffy would know how to fix whatever it was that was wrong with her. Granted, she was a little more the psyched that she had all this super strength, but something aobut it felt off…way too much like magic. One thing she had learned from Spike was that magic, while wicked cool, always had consequences.

“It's all ending
I gotta stop pretending who we are...
You and me I can see us dying...are we?”

At the Mayor’s words, Buffy felt a rush of cold fear race down her spine. She instinctively moved slightly behind Spike. She couldn’t explain her sudden fear and reliance on her Mate, but she could not fight it. There was something about the way he was looking at her, as if he was looking through her and knew something important that she didn’t know.

The Mayor laughed. This was more like it. He was finally winning, the best part was the merry band of do-gooders didn’t know he was winning.

“It’s funny, don’t you think?” the Mayor asked Buffy, “One minute everything is going your way. You’re life is all green fields and open doors. The next, well let’s just say it’s like showing up to class and realizing that there’s an exam and you don’t know any of the answers. Then, when you turn in your test, you just know that you’ve failed and let everyone you know down. They’re all disappointed in you, you are the one who is the best, you are their savior. And you fail.”

The Mayor paused and gauged Buffy’s reaction to his words. He could tell by her stiff back and aggressive stance that he had gotten to her. He was impressed, slightly, that she had the nerve to move from behind her bodyguard and be the Slayer.

“You haven’t beaten me yet,” Buffy said though clenched teeth.

“No, but I won’t have to,” the Mayor said, “Anya?”

The girl in question moved from her position against the wall to stand next to her boss.

“Why don’t you take Buffy and Spike to see Willow. I’m sure they’ll want some time to say good-bye,” the Mayor said, “And, don’t rush them. This is sure to be a trying time.”

Anya nodded.

Without a word, Buffy followed Anya. Spike was hesitant to do anything the Mayor told them to do, but with Buffy almost out of sight, he had no choice but to follow. Spike caught up with the two girls and lightly grasped Buffy’s hand. Sadly, it was more for his benefit than hers.

“She’s in there,” Anya said, “She’s going to die. No matter what you do, she’ll die.”

Without much thought, or rather without any thought at all, Buffy punched Anya in the nose. The ex-demon not only had a broken nose, but she was unconscious on the floor. Spike merely raised an eyebrow at his girl. He knew it was either the Slayer would hit Anya or he’d drain her.

“I’m going to send the other’s out. Can you give me and Will some time alone?” Buffy all but begged.

“Whatever you need, luv,” Spike said as he released her hand.

Buffy kissed him briefly. She needed his support, but she could receive that through the claim. What she needed more than that was time with Willow. Part of her knew Anya could be right. Magic was powerful. It wasn’t something that could be cured by modern medicine. She also knew that the council would be of no use to her, not that she’d take their help even if they offered.

“Buff,” Xander greeted, “There hasn’t been much of a change. Did Oz make it in time?”

Buffy nodded her head. No words could escape her lips. Her friend who was always so vibrant was lying motionless on a hospital bed. A million incoherent thoughts ran through her head. She was the Slayer, but that did nothing to help her best friend and blood-sister. Helpless. That one word described her feelings at this moment was helpless. That was something she refused to feel.

“Hey, Xand? Cordy? Would you two mind leaving us? Spike’s outside,” Buffy asked.

“Sure thing,” Xander said.

“We haven’t left her side,” Cordy said, “I’ve done what I can to make her more comfortable. I even tried to fix her hair.”

Buffy smiled. She could feel Cordy’s pain and Xander’s was plainly written on his face for all to see. Not expecting Buffy to respond to either of them, Cordy grabbed Xander by the arm and led him outside.

Buffy took several calming breaths. Carefully, she sat on the edge of Willow’s bed. Now that she was here, she couldn’t remember any of the reasons she wanted to be alone in the room. There was nothing she could do for her friend. Super strength, great aim, her healing abilities wouldn’t do a thing to help Willow.

“Wills,” Buffy began in a whisper, “I don’t know what to do. I’m here, and you’re not. You’re my best friend and you’re not here. I need you here. Everything is so messed up, in fact messed up really doesn’t quite cover it. The Mayor is going to do something, something to you. Something bad, and I don’t – I don’t know how to stop it. The council is out to get me and the Mayor and Dawn is missing. And oh yeah, in the whole “Cosmos Hate Buffy” scheme, I have no more Slayer anything. Spike and Faith are the only hope for us now. I trust them both with my life and everyone I love, but it might not be enough. I can’t loose you on top of everything.”

Buffy watched as Willow’s eyes moved behind her eyelids. She tried to remember, ‘Does that mean she’s dreaming or not dreaming?’

Willow could hear her. And she responded, or at least she tried to. She was trapped inside herself. She could feel the magic constraining her. She knew she needed to get out; she just wasn’t sure how to get out…or where she was supposed to get out from. All she knew was that if she was hearing Buffy, then maybe Buffy could eventually hear her. With that thought in mind, Willow started yelling louder. She could feel her vocal chords protest against the strain, but she couldn’t give up. Her friends needed her. Oz needed her and she needed him, too!

“You need to let me out of here,” Willow said.

“I can not do that,” the man told her.

“But, you’re the one who has me trapped in here. Buffy and Dawn, I need to do something to help them,” Willow said with a note of panic in her voice.

“There’s nothing wrong with Buffy or Dawn,” the man answered.

“Well, not for you, evil villain guy,” Willow said, “Why are you helping the Mayor anyway? I was getting better, I remember. Then, Oz left for the full moon and the Mayor was here but one could see him.”

“I could,” the man said.

“Ok, by no one I meant only Xander and Cordy, but that’s really not the point,” Willow said, “Quit changing the topic on me.”

The man laughed, “You keep forgetting, child, I like the way things are now. I like the Slayer being without her powers. It makes my job a lot easier. Keeps my hands clean.”

Willow rolled her eyes, “You’re pathetic. Aligning yourself with a demon to rid the world of the Chosen One.”

“The end justifies the means,” the man answered dismissively.

“But, you’re supposed to help the Slayer!” Willow yelled, “I mean, you British men are the ones who send Buffy out every night to save the world.”

The man looked at Willow. The girl was strong, her powers would only increase with her age. She would be a great asset to the already strong Slayer. Buffy Summers possesses all the necessary components to become an unstoppable force.

Willow made a shocked noise. Her eyes grew big as saucers. She jumped to her feet, “You – you!” She pointed madly at the man.

The man merely raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t want Buffy to be successful. You, you want her to die. Regardless of the cost,” Willow said.

“You’re a clever girl. It shouldn’t surprise you that I want her dead. I’m not the first. She’s burnt her bridges so to say,” the man said.

“What do you get out of it?” Willow asked, “What can a demon who wants to, oh, just end the world, do for you?”

“I get a new Slayer,” the man said.

Willow stared at the man as if he were the single dumbest man on the face of the planet…which, considering the conversation they were having, not exactly a far fetched idea.

“What’s the point if the earth is say, non-existing?” Willow asked.

The man paused for a moment, “That’s a risk I’m going to have to take.”

“And Dawn?” Willow asked, “Why does she have to suffer?”

The man smiled, “That worked out more nicely than I planned. The little girl caused trouble, but she might actually prove useful to me.”

“But, she doesn’t know what’s going on! How can she possible be useful being if she doesn’t know to be useful and such?”

“By not knowing. Once they know they are useful, they cease to be useful. It’s a terrible waste of resources,” the man said.

“They’ll figure it out, you know,” Willow said.

“Even if they do,” the man said, “It will be too late to save you.”

“Willow?” Buffy’s voice was heard through the foggy prison.

“You can’t leave me, Willow!” Buffy yelled with a pain-stricken voice.

Spike, Xander, and Cordy dashed into the room. Then they froze. Buffy was shaking with sobs as she held Willow’s still body. No one knew what to do. They were frozen by their combined sorrow. Spike felt more of his heart break. He could feel both Buffy and Cordy’s pain as well as his own. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing any of them could do to save her, or to bring her back. At the sound of his Slayer’s sobs, Giles dragged Faith with him into Willow’s room. Faith stood still as stone. She wasn’t the strong one, she was the Slayer-in-Training. Giles did his best to hold himself together. He needed to be the pillar for the group. He was the most aloof from the young woman, and though he was deeply attached to her, he was the most stable at the moment.

Outside, Anya smiled. Things were finally beginning to look up for her. She walked back out to where the Mayor was waiting.

“They’re taking the new developments well, I trust?” the Mayor asked.

“They’re basket cases,” Anya said, “Buffy will be in no state to fight a fledgling let alone a true demon.”

“That’s wonderful news,” the Mayor said, “Anya, remind me to send a basket of flowers. I want to be sure they know how sorry I am for their loss.”

Anya didn’t answer him. She really did not understand half of what the man said to her. He was happy the red-headed girl was dead…so why send flowers? Humans were strange creatures that she’d never really understand.

“Now, we only have one more loose end to tie up,” the Mayor said, “And I really do dislike loose ends. It’s like leaving blood on a knife…unsanitary.”

At City Hall, Dawn was curled into herself. The grief she felt was overwhelming. She didn’t know what was going on and so she was scared on top of being unexplainably sad. She felt as if part of her was being torn away. She knew she needed to find Buffy and Spike, she needed to feel safe once more. She needed them to take away the immense weight of the pain she we feeling. She was only fourteen, these emotions were far too intense for her.

Forcing herself to her feet, Dawn made her way to the front door. Luckily there were no guards. Even with her recent good luck, she knew she’d be an easy snack for them right now. She was using most of her energy to put one foot in front of the other. What little energy was left over, she was focusing on locating the others. Sunnydale wasn’t exactly a thriving metropolis, but it was still large enough to need a vague idea of where to look for them.

“I really feel
That I'm losing my best friend
I can't believe
This could be the end
It looks as though you're letting go
And if it's real
Well I don't want to know”

“As we die, both you and I
With my head in my hands
I sit and cry”