Immediately post-Chosen. No matter how hard you fight, you can't destroy the source of all evil.

A big thank-you is due to my lovely beta, Gillo, without whom this chapter would be far less polished and interesting than it is.

Warnings: A bit of gristle of the "wow! the mechanics of this are kind of unsexy" variety. The very weak-stomached may wish to skim/skip.

First of all, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the lovely spikeshunny on the occasion of her birthday. May the party spirit take up permanent residence in your house, DAH-ling. I've only known you for a few days, and already you've brightened most of them - and not only because of the pretty things all over my livejournal because of you. :) Thank you *so much*, gillo for a great beta, a very well-timed kick in the pants, a lovely banner, so much of your time right before you went on vacation... I dunno what I'd do without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you [info]just_sue for a thorough and helpful beta on Chapter Four: Mach Two without which it would really have suffered. Not to mention general thanks for making my fandom life a happy one! And last but certainly not least, thanks are definitely due to boschette, who is the nicest person you're likely to meet, whose story you should be reading, and whose helpful previewing kept my nose to the grindstone where it belongs.

No matter how hard you fight, you can't defeat the source of all evil.

Dawn POV, which is a switch.