I was on patrol alone outside of a warehouse, thrown into the sign on the fence behind me by the biker vampire, ducking just as he tried to punch me, making him smash into here my head was the second before, stepping away.
The biker vampire was a huge, burley Hell's Angel biker-type, looming over me menacingly. "I've always wanted to kill a Slayer."
"And I've always wanted piano lessons," I told him, punching him in the stomach. "So, really, who's surprised we have all this unexpressed rage?" I punched the vampire in the face twice, kneeing him in the stomach, trying to punch him again. He caught my arm, punching me in the face. I backed away through the open fence to the other side of the gate. The vampire followed, trying to punch me from overhead. I raised both arms to catch his arm. "But honestly, I think I'm expressing mine better." I kicked him in the stomach, backhand punching him in the face, pushing him against the fence. "I'll tell you what." The vampire tried to punch me. I caught his arm, twisting it behind his back, pushing him face first against the fence. "You find yourself a good anger management class..." The vampire shook me off, swinging toward me. I ducked, punching him in the face, pushing him against the fence, pulling out my stake from my jacket. "And I'll jam this pokey wood stick through your heart." I staked him in the heart, making him explode into ashes, sighing. "I think that sets the world speed record for closure."
I put the stake in my jacket, hearing a man's voice behind me. "Hey." I turned to see a night watchman with his flashlight aimed at me. The watchman lowered his flashlight. "Miss, if you're looking for one of those rave parties, I'm afraid you're late. Chased a bunch of kids out of here last night."
I nodded. "Oh, right. Yeah. Darn. My fellow ravers will be so disappointed. It was my turn to bring the bundt cake."
"You know, if it was my call, I'd let you do whatever you want," the night watchman told me. "It's not like anybody's using this place or nothing. They just don't pay me enough to argue with the boss, so..."
I held up my hands innocently. "Already gone."
I turned to leave.
"Oh, hey," the watchman told me. "Hold it, miss." I turned back. "Take your, uh, whatever this is with you."
The watchman picked up a glowing gold orb from the ground, handing it to me.
I looked at the orb in my hands in confusion. "Thank you."
"Glow balls, huh?" the watchman asked, chuckling. "I swear, I don't get your generation. What is that thing?"
I turned around, starting to walk away. "I'll let you know as soon as I find out."
~~~~~
I walked into the Magic Box, looking at the quaint bell that rung when I had opened the door, closing the door, strolling through the store, taking in the curios and knickknacks lining the shelves.
The store was quiet and empty.
Giles was standing in the center of the store, dressed in a spangled purple robe and pointed purple warlock's cap. He smiled cheerily.
I looked at him weirdly.
Giles dropped the facade, shrugging out of the costume, pacing them aside.
Dawn walked in, gasping for breath, looking at me. "I told you you couldn't ditch me." She looked around. "Whoa. Mr. Giles. This place is so... wow. I mean, check out all the magic junk."
"Our new slogan..." Giles trailed off.
"So, when's it open?" Dawn asked. "You know, for customers?"
"Since 9:00 this morning, actually," Giles answered.
"Oh," Dawn told us. "Well, I'm gonna go browse. Now. So..."
Giles pointed at Dawn. "And--"
"'You break it, you bought it'," Dawn finished. "Heard you the first 60 times."
Dawn wandered into the recesses of the store to check the place out.
Giles looked at me. "Still, not to worry. No, I've got feelings about this place. Magic's a small niche market, but... Well, think about it. Sunnydale... monsters... supply and demand. They'll be lining up around the block in no time."
I nodded. "Yeah. You'll be making money hand over fist." I held my hand over my fist. "Which I guess is a good thing."
The bell jingled as the door opened.
Willow, Riley and Buffy walked in, closing the door behind them.
"Giles," Willow told him excitedly. "Where's your hat and cloak?"
"Yeah, the hype was out of control," Riley told us.
"Actually, I have a little Scooby-centric deal to deal with first," I told them, reaching into my bag, pulling out the glowing gold orb. "I put this before the group. What the hell is it?"
"It appears to be paranormal in origin," Giles told us.
"How can you tell?" Willow asked.
"Well, it's so shiny," Giles answered.
"Found it on patrol," I told them, handing the object to Giles.
"May be more where that came from," Riley told us. "I say we go back out again tonight."
"Um, sure," Buffy answered.
"Giles, you got that danger room set up out back?" Riley asked. "I'm feeling the need for a little physical rehab about now."
Giles handed the orb to me, looking at Riley. "Of course, yes." He looked at Willow and me. "If any customers do--"
"On it," Willow told him.
"Dawn--" Giles started.
"Don't break anything," Dawn finished. "Got it." Giles, Riley and Buffy walked into the backroom. Willow walked behind the counter, smiling. Dawn took the orb from me. "It's so pretty."
I nodded in agreement. "Mm-hmm."
"What is it?" Dawn asked.
"Don't know," I told her, walking toward the books on the table. "That's what I'm gonna try to figure out."
I sat down, grabbing a few books, starting to look through.
Dawn groaned. "Ugh. Research. Boring." She put the orb down, walking toward the table, picking up two talismans, walking toward me. "Zoey, you gotta see this. They have the coolest talismen--mans--talisguys."
I chuckled weirdly in amusement.
Dawn smiled, sitting down across from me.
Willow smiled from where she was behind the counter.
~~~~~
Dawn and I were still sitting at the round table, going through the books trying to find something out on the orb that was on the table next to us.
Giles handed a couple their purchase, smiling. "Thank you for choosing to shop at the Magic Box, and please do come again." Willow stood at the counter, perusing an ancient tome. Giles waited until the couple left the store, walking toward Willow giddily. "Did you see that? Customers. Real, live customers. They came in, and I gave them things, and they gave me money, and then they left. It's brilliant."
Giles walked toward the cash register to deposit the cash.
Willow, Dawn and I exchanged an amused look, looking at Giles.
"Congratulations," Willow told him. "You're an official capitalist running dog."
"But I gotta tell you, on the orbular front?" Dawn asked. "We're batting zeroes."
"Well, we'll just have to keep trying," Giles told us. A group of customers walked in, beginning to browse. "If there's anything you need help with, let me know."
One of the customers was Anya, who stopped at the main display table, examining the items, picking up a small bag of dust, carrying it over to Giles. "Your conjuring powder is grotesquely over-priced."
"Anya," Giles told her.
"I'm sorry," Anya told us. "I'm nearly out of money. I've never had to afford things before, and it's making me bitter."
"The change is palpable," Giles told he. "That stuff doesn't come cheap."
"Well, you're getting ripped off," Anya told us. "I could hook you up with the troll that sheds it."
Buffy walked in quickly, flustered. "Giles, I have an idea what's making my mom sick."
"Have you spoke with her doctors?" Giles asked.
"They won't find anything," Buffy told us. "What's hurting her, it's supernatural." She looked at me. "Zoey, where did you find the orb?"
"At the warehouse on the edge of town, over by the lake," I answered.
"Didn't you say that you saw a watchman there?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah," I answered.
"I think I found him at the hospital," Buffy told me. "He said that he remembered you. He went crazy, like overnight."
Willow, Giles, Anya, Buffy and Dawn backed away from the orb on the table cautiously.
"It won't hurt us," I told them. "I had it on me all night."
"But this guy, he saw things," Buffy told us. "He said things."
"Such as?" Giles asked.
"'They'll come at you through your family'," Buffy answered.
"Who will?" Giles asked.
"I don't know," Buffy told us. "Yet. But whatever touched this guy, it made him see through what the rest of us are seeing. He knew someone's hurting my mom, and they're trying to get to me."
"It's possible," Giles told us. "But, still... the ramblings of a madman aren't much to go on."
"Yeah, but it's a start," Buffy told us. "We need to find out who's making my mom sick and how."
"Then what?" I asked.
"Then I hunt them, find them and kill them," Buffy answered.
I nodded.
~~~~~
The shop was bustling with customers now.
Anya was working the register.
Buffy, Willow and I stood at the counter, researching.
A customer approached with an antique hourglass. "Do you gift wrap?"
Willow smiled. "Do we!" She looked at Anya in confusion. "Do we?" Anya nodded. "Oh. We do. Little help..."
Giles was desperately trying to manage the customers and answer questions. "No, no. Ground cloven hooves are 30% off. The whole ones are full price." He turned around. "That's not... candy." Xander walked in. Giles looked up in relief. "Xander. There's too may of them. People. And they all seem to want things."
"I hear you," Xander told him. "Stay British. You'll be okay." He patted Giles on the shoulder, walking toward Anya. "The thousand-yard stare. Damn! You hate to see it on any man, but especially in retail."
Anya wrapped up a woman's purchase, handing it to her. "Please go."
The woman walked away, shaking her head.
"Anya, the Shopkeeper's Union of America called," Xander told her. "They wanted me to tell you that 'please go' just got replaced with 'have a nice day'."
"But I have their money," Anya told him. "Who cares what kind of day they have?"
"No one," Xander answered. "It's just a long cultural tradition of raging insincerity. Embrace it."
Anya called out to the woman. "Hey, you. Have a nice day."
"There's my girl," Xander told her. Anya smiled proudly. Willow was utterly failing at gift wrapping the hourglass. Xander walked toward Buffy and me. "Did you ever think in a million years you'd miss the high school library?"
"Someone put a spell on my mom," Buffy told us. "Something to make it seem like she's sick."
"That's a new kind of nasty," Xander told us. "Any suspects?"
"Well, we've got the list narrowed down to just under infinity," I told them.
Willow carried the hourglass over to Anya, the wrapping paper hanging off it. "Does this look right to you?"
"Sure, if you wrapped it with your feet," Anya answered, taking the hourglass, starting to rewrap it herself. Willow frowned, turning away. "You know, Buffy, there used to be this French sorcerer back in the 16th I-don't-know-what named--"
"Cloutier?" Giles suggested.
Anya nodded. "So, cute in his little knickers. But he had this one spell demons just hated called tirer la couture."
"'Rotate many food stuffs'?" Buffy asked.
"'Pull the curtain back'," Willow answered.
"A spell to see spells," Anya told us. "Well, a trance to see spells, actually, but you get the idea. Try that."
"What do you mean, 'see spells'?" Buffy asked.
"Well, all spells leave a trace signature," Giles explained. "It's just not perceptible to the human eye. In this case, it could be the image of a hand choking your mother."
"Or a cloud of mist around her," Anya added.
"Or maybe the shape of the demon that's performing the spell?" Willow asked.
"Possible, yes," Giles answered.
Anya held up the perfectly-wrapped hourglass, smiling.
"Okay, so I'll do what Monsieur Silk Knickers did," Buffy told us. "I'll go home, I'll get trancey, and I'll see what's affecting my mom."
"I don't know, Buffy," I told her. "Trances?"
"Yes, Buffy, the Sorcerer Cloutier was legendary," Giles told her. "His skills at achieving higher states of consciousness were--"
"Better than mine?" Buffy finished. She looked at Willow and me. "I knew he was gonna say that." She looked at Giles. "But I've been practicing concentration skills. I know I'm close."
"Are you ready?" Giles asked.
"It's my mom," Buffy told us. "I'll get ready." She looked at Anya. "What do I need?"
~~~~~
Giles and I were still researching at the Magic Box.
"I think we may have underestimated what we're dealing with," Giles told me.
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, I've uncovered more than expected about this orb," Giles told me. "It's called the Dagon Sphere, and it has a history going back many centuries."
"What's it do?" I asked.
"It's a protective device, used to ward off ancient primordial evil," Giles answered.
"Any word on what this evil looks like?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Giles answered. "This is where accounts get vague. All I've managed to uncover so far is the Dagon Sphere was created to repel that which cannot be named."
"I'm going to go back to the factory where I found it," I told him. "Whoever planted this doohickey's got answers."
"You shouldn't go alone," Giles told me. "Wait for Buffy."
"No, she's going into the trance," I told him. "She needs to find out what's harming her mom. I'll take care of this."
Giles sighed resignedly. "Zoey, you've heard me say this before, but do be careful. Anything that goes unnamed is usually an object of deep worship or great fear. Maybe both."
I nodded, walking out of the Magic Box out into the night, starting to walk down the street, stopping when I sensed something, reaching behind a car, pulling Spike out into view. "Spike."
"Hi, Zoey," Spike told me.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but..." I trailed off, punching Spike in the nose.
Spike held his nose. "Ow!"
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Five words or less."
Spike counted the words on his fingers. "Out... for... a... walk... bitch."
"Out for a walk at night by the Magic Box that has teeming masses going in and out?" I asked. "No one has time for this, William. So, keep going, and I cut you a break."
Spike nodded sarcastically. "Oh, yeah. Okay, let me guess. You won't kill me. Woo... the whole crowd-pleasing, threats-and-swagger routine. How stunningly original. You know, I'm just passing through. Satisfied? You know, I really hope so, because God knows you need some satisfaction in life besides shagging the dog. And I never really liked you anyway, and... and you have stupid hair."
Spike turned around, walking away, leaving.
I frowned slightly in confusion, shaking it off, looking down, noticing a dozen or so cigarette butts where Spike had been standing. Having no time to worry about it now, I walked off, leaving.
~~~~~
I got to the warehouse factory, easily snapping the chain on the fence, walking inside, turning on my flashlight, exploring the musty corridors of the abandoned building. Eventually, I came across a tremendous gaping hole in the wall and twisted remains of a tempered steel door. I looked over the wreckage in concern. I shone the light over the shattered remains of the door, looking deeper into the room.
There was a monk, semi-conscious, tied to a chair.
"Whoa," I told him, running to his aid, starting to loosen his restraints. "It was you who planted the Dagon Sphere, right? I got it. Don't worry. I'm stronger than I look." I felt someone approaching me from behind. "I have had experience with stuff like this before. Best of all." I turned around, grabbing the woman in a fitting red dress and long, curly blonde hair by the throat. "I'm not stupid."
The woman gave me a withering look, pulling my arm from her throat, backhand punching me so hard I was thrown 50 feet across the room, crashing into the cement wall so hard it cracked at the impact. I fell to the floor, looking up at the woman, stunned.
The woman smirked. "You sure about that last part?"
~~~~~
The woman slammed me into the cement wall again, making it crack under the impact, walking closer, grabbing my shoulders. "And another thing? I just want you to know..." She slammed me into a support pillar, kneeing me in the stomach, punching me in the face. "The whole 'beat you to death' thing I'm doing? It's valuable time out of life that I'm never gonna get back." I tried to kick her. The woman ducked. I tried to punch her with either arm. The woman caught both, wrenching them downward, making me groan in pain. "Wait. I've always wanted to try this. You know that thing with worms where if you have one, you rip it in half, you got two worms? Do you think that'll work with you?" I headbutted the woman, making her let go and cry out in shock. "You hit me! What, are you crazy?" I kicked her in the face. "You can't go around..." I punched her in the face. "Hitting people." I punched her in the face. "What, were you..." I punched her in the face. "Born in a barn?" I spun to kick her with a roundhouse kick, trying to punch her. The woman caught my arm. "Fine. Be that way." She spun around, pushing me against the wall, trying to punch me in the face. I ducked out of the way, making her punch and crack the concrete behind me instead. The woman tried to punch me. I ducked, making her punch a hole into the wall behind me. The woman gripped my throat, pulling me off the floor. "I just noticed something. You have super powers. That is so cool. Can you fly?" She lifted me up, throwing me across the room. I landed badly, dazed, next to the dying monk. I stood, helping the monk out of the chair. "Hey! Hands off my holy man."
I helped the monk toward the window quickly, throwing us through it, making the glass shatter and us fall to the ground outside, helping him stand, walking across the parking lot.
A cloud of dust roiled out of the shattered window above.
"Stop," the monk told me weakly. "Please."
"No," I told him. "We have to keep going."
We walked across the lot to the chain-link fence surrounding the property.
The monk collapsed against the fence, gasping. "My journey's done, I think."
I knelt next to him. "Don't get metaphor-y on me. We're going."
I tried to help the monk up.
The monk stopped me. "You have to... the Key. You must protect the Key."
"Fine," I told him. "We can protect the Key together, okay? Just far, far from here."
"Many more die if you don't keep it safe," the monk told me.
"How?" I asked. "What is it?"
"The Key is energy," the monk told me. "It's a portal. It opens the door..."
"The Dagon Sphere?" I asked.
"No," the monk answered. "For centuries, it had no form at all. My brethren, its only keepers. Then the abomination found us. We had to hide the Key, gave it form, molded it flesh... made it human and sent it to you." I looked at him in confusion. "In the form... of a sister."
I shook my head in denial. "No. Dawn..."
"She's the Key," the monk told me. "We knew the Slayers would protect."
"My memories?" I asked. "My mom's?"
"We built them," the monk answered.
I was still having trouble believing, heartbroken. "She's not my sister?"
"She doesn't know that," the monk told me, starting to cough heavily, fading fast. "You cannot abandon... She's human. Now human. And helpless. She's an innocent in this. She needs you."
The monk exhaled one last time, dying.
I was stunned, my life turned upside down.
~~~~~
I walked into my house, seeing Mom and Dawn sitting on the couch, in a daze.
"You're home," Mom told me.
"You, too," I told her. "They let you off early?"
Mom nodded. "Yeah. Just a little mercy from the powers that be." Dawn smiled. Mom gave her a look. "And I know one of us who should already be in bed."
Dawn sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, kissing Mom on the cheek. "Night, Mom." She stood, walking toward me and the door. "Night, Zoey."
Dawn walked past me to the stairs, walking upstairs.
I turned around, walking upstairs, toward Dawn's room, knocking on the door.
Dawn called from inside. "Come in." I opened the door, standing in the doorway. Dawn sat on her bed, looking up at me. "Hey." I still felt a little catatonic, numb, in shock. Dawn noticed. "Zoey? You okay?"
I took a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah. No, I'm good. It's just... Slayer stuff." I walked toward her, sitting down next to Dawn. "I just had a bad day."
"Well, join the club," Dawn told me. "I got kicked out of the Magic Box after you left."
"Can I be president of your little club?" I asked.
"I'm president," Dawn told me. "You could be the vice president."
I smiled a small, barely noticeable smile. "Okay."
I pulled Dawn's hair back off her shoulder.
Dawn noticed the cut on my forehead from the fight, reaching up to touch it lightly.
I cringed only slightly.
Dawn pulled her hand away. "Zoey?"
"What?" I asked.
"What happened?" Dawn asked.
I shook my head, sighing. "It doesn't matter."
Dawn didn't look convinced, concerned, leaning her head against my shoulder. I held an arm around her, stroking her hair back.
I didn't tell her because I wasn't so sure of it myself.
And even if it was true...
I wanted to protect her.
And I knew that this would destroy her.