Dusk to Dawn

The world is made of choices, of small acts which alter realities. The decision to send Buffy the Key is Season Four, creates ripples throughout Sunnydale and leads to new choices that no one could ever have imagined...

Author's Note: This is an alternate season four and will be radically different from either BTVS S4 or S5.  It will be a darkish fic with character death; however neither Spike or Buffy die as this will eventually be a Spuffy fic. Please note that USC starts the third week of August, therefore so does UC-Sunnydale. Written for Phendog's death-a-thon.

Prologue
A Normal Life

Summer 1999 – Czechoslovakia Monastery

The monks sat in a circle chanting.  The Prophecy foretold that the Beast would arrive next year, however, they could not wait until then.  Their numbers were growing smaller and their power weaker.  They needed to mold the Key into human form now, while they still had a chance.

They felt the magics surround them- the power of the Key taking shape in the form that would be the least expected; a young girl, the sister to the Slayer.  She would be vulnerable, but protected; new, yet remembered.  She would be safe. The world would be safe.

The monks smiled.

Unforeseen, the beast felt the stirring of her Key.  It was early, but she would be ready.

Summer 1999 – Sunnydale

Maggie Walsh stood back and watched the reactions of her men. She was playing one of the more impressive tapes that their local surveillance team had recorded. This particular tape showed the blonde girl, ‘Buffy’, attacking three vampires with nothing more than a wooden stake.

Maggie reflected on her large collection of such tapes.  They dated back several months to when the Initiative first began surveillance on Sunnydale.  Research into this town had shown two things.  First, there was a large and diverse demon population that seemed to utilize Sunnydale as a base of operations.  Second, many times this young blonde, called the ‘Slayer’, fought these creatures in hand to hand combat, consistently emerging victorious.

She apprised the group of soldiers before her.  "This girl, a Ms. Buffy Summers, seems to be part of a special operations team based in the United Kingdom.  She has no official authority within this country, but seems to operate without difficulty.  Despite her impressive fighting skills and abilities, initial research indicates that she is fully human. We are not interested in recruiting her, as her phone taps indicate she is willful and disobedient to her previous team leaders.

"We need someone to get close to Ms. Summers and keep her under surveillance.  Do I have any volunteers?"

Maggie smiled as she nodded in Riley Finn's direction.  "Excellent Agent Finn, you are now the new teaching assistant for my Psychology class."


August 31, 1999

Buffy smiled shyly at the fumbling young TA.  Riley had pursued her from the moment she’d dropped a textbook on his head.  It was sweet and seemed to sooth the ragged places in her heart.  The heart that Angel had ripped to shreds, the one she feared would never be of use to her again. She knew she didn't love Riley, not yet, but he had been sweet and attentive for the few weeks that they had been dating.  Her friends loved him and were thrilled with her ‘normal’ choice. Her family liked him, even if he was a bit reserved. Everyone thought they were the perfect match.

Of course, she hated that she had to hide her slaying duties from him. Hated to make excuses about why she preferred to meet in the day, rather than at night.  There had been a few times that she had run across him after dark, but he never pressed her on why her route home from the library took her across town from the campus.  He always seemed to overlook how she never managed to finish her homework on time, despite her insistence on ‘all-night’ study sessions with Willow.

Riley trusted her completely and looked out for her.  He was kind, supportive, and he always had her best interests at heart.

September 14, 1999

Riley smiled and brushed back a strand of Buffy's hair.  She was truly a peculiar but beautiful girl.  She was the type of girl he could fall for, if he hadn't been warned about her true nature beforehand.  She may look innocent and sweet, but she had forsaken her mission once before for the sake of her demon lover.

Riley hadn't wanted to believe it.  He had even demanded to see the evidence that Professor Walsh was in possession of.  He was disgusted and dismayed to discover everything Walsh said was true.  The wiretaps on the Slayer's phone and around her house, gave him an insight into the girl that horrified him.  She had quit her former organization because they refused to help her demon lover.  She had placed the world in peril, ignored her mission, and shirked her responsibilities.

It was appalling and disgusting.  If he wasn't ordered to maintain his close and personal contact with her, he wouldn't be caught anywhere near her, much less in her bed.  The only way he could perform was to imagine her as the chaste and sweet girl she pretended to be.  In reality, he knew the truth; she was nothing more than some demon's whore.

He wondered what it would take to break her.

October 20, 1999

Buffy limped into the Magic Box and was relieved to see her Watcher there.  She couldn't believe that she had been attacked by some blond skank while trying to rescue the weird robed guy. He had gone on and on about some 'key' and how she needed to protect it.  Shaking her head, she mused at the absurdity of her protecting a key.  Just last night she had managed to lose all her old keys and now she would have to get duplicates from her mom.  She still didn't know where she had dropped them, but Riley insisted it had been at the frat party when she had been chased Spike and Harmony off.

Still, this blonde chick was something that she should tell Giles about, and would probably lead to a great deal of research from the whole gang.  It would be nice to see them again.  It had been over a week since their last get-together. Riley had wanted her help on a long-term Psychology project, and they had started working out at the gym together in the evenings.  Riley had given her a one-year subscription and she didn't want to hurt his feelings by failing to show up.

Buffy let out a deep sigh. She didn't have time today to get into a research party.  She had a late appointment at the hairdresser.  She was thinking of going back to her natural brown.  She didn't think Riley minded her blonde hair, but he made some comments at the Bronze about how obvious bottle blondes were and how trashy they looked.

She wanted to please him; everyone thought they were so perfect.  She knew she could love him. It would just take time.

*~*~*

Spike groaned as he awoke.  What the hell happened? One moment he and Harm had been avoiding the Slayer and the next thing he knew, the world went black. He heard a soft whisper of movement and looked around the room.  “Bloody Hell!”

He was in a prison cell with HARMONY!

October 26, 1999

Buffy was stunned. Her little sister wasn’t really her sister?  How could that be?  What kind of power could these monks have called upon to create such a change in the world?  They had created a human being and sent it to her, Buffy, to protect and to love. 

Her heart swelled up with love at the thought of her sister. Yes, she was annoying and the ultimate brat at times, but she belonged to her and to her mom.  Dawn may not have been born in the strictest sense, but they shared blood, spirit, and more importantly, love. 

Buffy quickly came to the conclusion that she would do anything to protect her sister.  What good was being the Slayer if she couldn’t protect the ones she loved?  Picking up the phone, she called Giles.  He would have the answers. 

*~*~*

Giles watched the nervous brunette in front of him.  He would never admit it to Buffy, but he missed her blonde hair.  It was more then that, however. He also missed the things that the blonde hair had symbolized. Buffy was like a daughter to him, and he had loved watching her fight, training her, sparring with her, and watching her spar with the others.  No matter how hard the fight got, or how long they had to research, her hair seemed to gleam.  It was sunshine, and she lit up the room with her very presence.

The sunshine that she brought to a room was now faded, like her hair.  She had gone back to her natural color; a soft shade of honey brown that was similar to her mothers.  While that in of itself was not worrying, her attitude, her habits- all the little things that made her Buffy- seemed to be changing as well. 

She never trained or sparred with him or Xander any more.  She insisted that she couldn’t hurt Riley’s feelings by working out somewhere else other then the gym.  She routinely wore longer skirts, now, and looser tops.  He even caught her patrolling last week in sweats! When he asked her about her new wardrobe choices, she had mumbled something about not wanting any guys other then Riley looking at her. Before he could question her further, she switched the topic to the soldiers she had caught a glimpse of on patrol.  It appeared that she was not the only demon hunter in Sunnydale now. 

*~*~*

Riley sighed in frustration.  He hated his duty.  While the other men were envious of his supposed perks, he just grew more and more angry.  She loved to taunt him with her supposed innocence.  She professed her love to him, while never telling him about her Slaying duties.  He was sure she would have come clean by now.  His initial plan had been to integrate himself into her circle.  She wouldn’t cooperate and tell him about her duties, so he had to move on to Plan B; separate her from her friends.  At least she was starting to look less like a demon’s whore.  He knew she was only changing the outside, but it was a start. 

Riley snorted.  She thought he was jealous of other men.  That was ridiculous; when he didn’t even really want her to begin with!  Not when he knew she was only pretending. Buffy craved the darkness and the monsters.  He saw the way she looked at that blond vampire that he’d spotted at the frat party.  After he had the hostile captured, he’d gone down himself to interrogate it.  That creature was the type of monster she wanted.  It had even admitted to knowing her! 

How could Buffy crave something so evil? He knew he could never be what she wanted. Riley’s fist curled up.  Sometimes he doubted that she was really human.

*~*~*

Maggie sat back at her desk and smiled.  The electronic surveillance around the Watcher’s house had just paid off beyond her wildest dreams.  Buffy’s sister was a mystical Key that had been magically created and sent to the Slayer?  An excited gleam began to shine as Dr. Walsh began to contemplate ways that this information could be used to her advantage.

November 1, 1999

Glory’s face lit up as her minion relayed the news of her Key.  The irony of the revelation amused her.  The Slayer’s secret exposed by a fear demon.   She would have her Key.  The sister would be hers. 

*~*~*

Buffy loaded up everyone into two vehicles.  The experience with the fear demon proved that she couldn’t stay in Sunnydale any longer.  If she was injured for any reason, there would be no one to protect Dawn from Glory.  There was no one strong enough to help her.  She needed someone whose strength matched hers.  She had to go to LA, to Angel.  She hated the thought of having to run to the dark vampire; but Dawn’s life depended on it.  

She’d told Riley that she was going to go visit her father in Los Angeles and that she would be back soon.  He sounded rather upset with her, but what could she do?  How could she possibly explain vampires and Hell Gods to her boyfriend?  She couldn’t lose him, not now.  He was her life-line; the only semblance of normal she might ever have.  He was perfect for her; and she loved him.  She just hoped he would forgive her for leaving so abruptly.

Buffy tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear with a tired sigh.  The fighting over the seating arrangements had already begun. The couples didn’t want to be split up, so after much sniping, it was finally decided that Xander, Anya, Buffy and Dawn would ride in one car, while Giles, Joyce, Tara and Willow would be in the other car. 

She desperately wanted to call Riley and tell him to lay low for a week or so, but what could she say to make him understand?  ‘Hey Riley, vampires and demons are real, so you’d better hide with me because there is a Hell God on the loose.’ 

Sure, that would work. 

Riley was normal.  She had craved ‘normal’ since she was called. Angel had even left her for it, left so that she could find that normal life with that normal guy.  She had given up so much, had worked so hard to adapt so that Riley would love her, want her, respect her.  She needed him, needed this life.  Normal was what she wanted. 

Really.

Chapter One

Author's Note: This was written as a response to Phendog’s death-a-thon challenge. The challenge was to write Dawn ‘death by choice’. “Someone has to make a choice; I really want this to be Dawn-centric, because I think there's a lot to the character we have yet to see...so, I'd like it to be from her POV, not someone else's...” Severe angst and character death follow, this chapter is dark by nature. A huge thank you for betaing at the very last minute to Spikeslovebite, you are without a doubt a lifesaver!

Awakening

Dawn reached up to rub her eyes, momentarily confused by the glaring white light that seemed to surround her. She could hear someone pacing outside her cell. There was a low drone of electrical equipment. If she listened carefully, she could hear the quiet murmur of people talking.

The strongest sensation was of smell. It seemed antiseptic. It reminded her of a hospital. She couldn’t quite place why she awoke up afraid, but then the memories slammed into her. A new level of terror arose.

If she closed her eyes, she could still see the dark shine of blood. It had been everywhere. So much blood. Slowly, she drew up her knees and began to rock to an endless litany.

‘All my fault. All my fault.”

The memories flashed through her mind. The Knights running their car off the road. The dramatic fight and capture of the general. The bloody appearance of Glory and the ensuing massacre. The utter hopelessness of knowing that she was caught.

As Glory and Ben switched back and forth, each half fighting for dominance, she had hoped for escape. Had prayed that the human that resided in the Hell God would be honorable and let her go.

She had tried to flee during one of the transformations from Glory to Ben. She had run as far as the alley when Ben caught up to her. Terror morphed into joy when she ran into Riley. She would be saved.

Before she could blink, a red dot had appeared in the center of Ben’s forehead. There was a soft ‘pop’ and a whiff of smoke, and then the god/boy was no more. The look on Riley’s face, however, was not that of a comforting savior. It was cruel and mocking.

Then, everything went black.

Drugged

Her eyes fluttered open again. How long had she been here? She had lost count of the amount of times that she been roughly awoken. Prodded. Poked. Each time, she cried. Time seemed endless. There were no clocks, no calendars. Just pain and voices.

Tears formed on her eyelashes. They stung her eyes as she tried to refrain from crying.

“You awake, Little Bit?”

She nodded yes, and then realized she couldn’t be seen. “How long, Spike?”

“Day thirteen, Bit”

A sob escaped from her lips. Thirteen days with no rescue. She might never be free. Buffy would never know that Glory had been stopped, or that she had been kidnapped by the soldiers. She had trusted Riley. They had all trusted Riley, and that trust had been horrible betrayed.

The only comfort she had received was from the tentative friendship formed with the voice that floated from the next cell. Her and Spike. Hostile’s 17 and 18.

She wasn’t sure why they had bonded. She supposed torture and betrayal could do that to a person. Apparently, he had been captured with a girl vamp that had gone to high school with Buffy. Once Harmony knew the soldiers wanted info on the Slayer, she had sold out Spike and Dawn and babbled every detail she had known about Buffy Summers and her Chosen status. It hadn’t saved her in the end. She was dusted in an experiment gone wrong. Or so they said.

Or perhaps it was the fact that no one else would listen. No one else could sympathize. No one else felt the fury of Riley’s fists, his mocking taunts, or his more arcane ‘interrogation techniques’ that left both vampire and key bloody. Their relationship with Buffy made them targets and neither knew if they would survive.

Experiments

Dawn ached. Her whole body throbbed from abuse. There was no damage that had been left undone. Cuts adorned her, burns covered her, and she didn’t know how much more she could take. The pain was overwhelming and there was no escape from it. No solace that she could find.

Spike was planning their escape, determined that he could get both of them out, but she couldn’t hope anymore. There was nothing left. Not since the days had blurred together until not even the blond vampire knew how long they had been missing. Counting the passing of time while unconscious was not the easiest.

There were so many innocents trapped here, so many children, and so many families. Demons were collected at random, not because of their danger, but because of their difference. Granted, there were those who were dangerous, but they should have been killed, not experimented on. Not chipped. Not cut and bled and eviscerated for study.

Consciousness faded once more. Everything was soft and peaceful and black.

Escape

Dawn awoke to being carried. In spite of the pain, the sensation was soothing. She was in someone’s arms. Not strapped down, not being wheeled, but being carried in strong arms, with her pounding head carefully supported. It felt like she was being cared for. She started to cry because it had been so long.

She saw the face of her savior. Spike? How did he manage to get free? What happened? Then she heard the sirens and the increased jostling as the running began. Tears flew free as her eyes closed in relief.

Drifting on a sea of pain. Startled, she looked up. He was talking. He shook. His body trembled from the effort to keep going. To stay ahead of them.

“Can you run, Bit?”

She nodded. Her feet touched the floor and they were running.

Then she fell. Spike stopped to help her. Soldiers. Soldiers everywhere. Spike screaming in pain, but fighting. Fists flying, screaming, fighting. She can feel his pain.

Dawn caught his eye and softly, so softly that none could hear but the vampire, she whispered, “Spike. Run. Run, find Buffy. Get help. Come back for me when you can, but get away. We need Buffy.”

He shook his head in furious denial. More soldiers arrive. His enraged snarls rip through the darkness. Blood poured from his nose as the chip fired endlessly.

She pleaded once more. Softly. Quietly.

“Please.”

After another blow to his face, she saw him falter. His eyes. Such pretty blue eyes. They
promise rescue as he turned to flee. He ran faster than the soldiers, a blur of desperation, and then he is gone.

Her last thought was of freedom. She lay there. Broken. Bleeding. Cold steel nudged her forehead. Her poor, tortured little body jerked in reaction, and then there was no more.

Riley holstered his weapon and headed back to the base. He had made his choice. The Key could never be allowed to escape.

Or be rescued.

TBC...
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