Author's Notes: Set four years after 'Becoming' part two. Buffy ran away, and didn't come back. Now, four years later, she's about to be reminded of who and what she really is.
Rating: PG-13. Language and strong themes. Sorry, kiddies.
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine. Don't sue, please.
Feedback: Very welcome. Constructive criticism is welcome; flames will be used to help me toast marshmallows.
Chapter Notes: So, another update! There won't be one for a week or so now, 'cos I'm going away over half term. I won't have 'net, and I will have five kids climbing all over me. It'll be great!
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Pain
The building was empty. Glory and her minions were gone. There were a few dead bodies, some food and drinks, a few items of clothing. Nothing else showed that the hell goddess had ever been in residence in the building.
Buffy searched every room herself, even after the others had checked them.
It was in the last room that she found her daughter, bleeding and unconscious.
Now she sat by her bedside in the hospital, staring blankly at Hattie's bruised face. Her child was barely visible through the bandaging and tubing that seemed to have grown from her skin.
Spike stood nearby, ready to help if she needed him. Everyone else had been banished from the room, and they now sat or stood in the waiting room.
"She's not going to die," Jake broke the silence first. "She can't. Mom can't lose another child."
"We can't alter nature's course," Tara said quietly.
"This isn't natural," Ethan snapped. "This is a hell god trying to break Annie."
"And succeeding," Anya added tactlessly. Ella shifted Marian in her lap and glared at the ex-demon. "Well, it's true. First the catatonic thing, and now this – what did we get her here for if she can't help?"
"Take that back," Jake snapped, hands curling into fists. "If you say one more thing about my mother, I'll –"
"Jake," Max cautioned softly, not looking up from the plastic cup he held. The coffee was awful. "This is not what your mother needs right now."
Jake slumped down into a chair. "Sorry, Dad," he muttered. "I'm just…"
"Worried," Max nodded, still not looking up. "I know. We all are." He put the cup down and looked up at Ethan. "Gather the clan," he said quietly. "And find that bitch."
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Max, I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."
"Don't question me," Max told the sorcerer coolly. "In Annie's absence, I'm head of the clan. Gather them together."
Sarah shifted. "Max…this isn't a good idea."
"You swore," Max said sharply, eyes flashing. "You swore to her. You swore that you'd be there for her, a member of her clan, a link in the chain, one of the bonded. Are you going to turn your back on all that now?"
"No," Sarah said instantly. "Of course not. But Max, going up against Glory without Annie – it's suicide!"
"You've got me," Faith pointed out, face a blank. "That bitch hurt my sister. I'm taking her out." Max nodded his acceptance. "And," Faith continued, addressing the Scooby gang, "you guys aren't gonna stop us."
"Faith, this isn't some demon," Angel said curtly. "And you know it. You can't beat her."
"Not by herself, perhaps," Max nodded. "But with the whole clan behind her, she stands a chance."
"Not much of one," Marcus muttered. "If Annie can't – "
"Buffy would if she could," Dawn spoke up sharply. "You weren't there for ten years. You didn't see the things she did." She shook her head in admiration. "She was…incredible. More than just a Slayer. She was…she was everything. She was death incarnate. She faced the two hell gods, and she beat them back." She sighed. "Just Hattie…"
"She can't lose another child," Jake said again.
"And she won't," Max snapped. "Not if we can do anything about it. And we can do something."
"You'll do nothing of the sort." Spike crossed the room and snatched up Max's discarded cup. He downed the cold coffee with a grimace. "Wish caffeine worked on vamps." He looked over at his grandsire. "Don't suppose you've got any opiates on you?" Angel gave him one of his patented glares. "Oh, don't look at me like that," Spike growled. "Like you've never used them." He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair before looking at Ethan. "She's asking for you, mate." Ethan nodded and went to be with Annie. Spike slumped in his seat before it could be taken by anyone else.
"How is she?" Willow ventured finally.
"They've set her bones," Spike answered in a low voice. "Internal bleeding's stopped. She hasn't woken up yet. She won't be able to walk for six weeks or more. How the fuck do you think she is, Red?"
"I – I meant Buffy," Willow said quietly.
Spike gave her a disparaging look. "I repeat my answer." He stretched. "Max, if you even think about goin' up against Glory, I'll kill you myself."
Max shifted uneasily. All eyes turned on him expectantly, but he just gave a heavy sigh.
"Fine," he muttered. "But I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas."
"My idea right now is to keep the head of your bloody clan alive," Spike shot at him. "You want to find another Alpha? Go right ahead and find Glory. 'Cos I guarantee you, Buffy will be dead before Glory can suck your brains out." He rummaged around in his pockets for a packet of cigarettes and his lighter.
"Not in here," Dawn reminded him, snatching the contraband from his hands. "Hospital policy, Spike."
"Right." He slouched in the chair, scowling at nothing. "We need to sort Glory out."
"But how?" Jake demanded in frustration.
"Couldn't we just shove her into another dimension?" Toni suggested hesitantly.
Ethan shook his head. "Which one, dear girl? She'd wreak havoc in any of them, and do you think for a moment that Annie would allow that? And besides, to transport a god of Glory's power isn't as simple as transporting humans."
"It'd take my blood to do it," Dawn said in a low voice. "That's why Glory's so desperate to get hold of the Key. Because the blood is strong enough, powerful enough to hold a portal open and to transport her through."
"And once her blood starts flowing, the only way to close the portal is for the blood to stop," Giles put in.
"So Dawn would need to die?" Sarah clarified.
"An' there's no way that's happening," Spike said flatly. "So another alternative, please."
Toni stood up suddenly. "I have a question. Does it have to be Dawn's blood?"
"What do you mean?" Giles inquired. "It must be the blood of the Key to open the portal, that much has been established."
"Yes, I get that," Toni nodded. "But how was Dawn created?"
"The Key was put into human form made up of a combination of people," Willow said quietly. "Their essence was copied, kinda. Buffy, and Faith, and Mrs Summers."
"But my blood's not just, well, my blood anymore," Dawn said slowly. "I've got Rakeshia dependency, so I have that in my bloodstream too…"
"And if you were made of those people, it stands to reason that any blood from Annie's family – as long as it's sufficiently full of her essence, which we can test easily – would stop the blood," Toni nodded. "So at least there's a solution for if Glory does manage to start the ritual."
"Only with one slight flaw," Marcus drawled. "Which member of Annie's family is going to volunteer to die for this?"
Toni paused. "Oh. I didn't think of that." She sat back down sheepishly.
"Don't tell Annie this," Max said suddenly. "She'd die, she'd be the one to stop the blood, if she knew about it. She doesn't hear this, understood?"
To be continued...