Love Brings You, Chapter 6/14

Title: Love Brings You
Author: maryperk73703
Season: 5
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Buffy’s talk with Glory’s dying monk has surprising revelations.

Chapter 6

Dawn and Buffy walked down the street on their way to meet up with Joyce at the hospital. Dawn had her school back pack over her shoulder. “So, we have to be on the watch out for some kind of dark magic, ancient Egyptian, transmogrified something?” Dawn asked.

“Yeah,” Buffy nodded. “Anya said that the Sobekites were reptile worshipers. According to Giles, she’s going to transmogrify a cobra. Willow and Tara are calling all the pet stores in the area.”

“The zoo has a couple of cobras now.” Dawn adjusted her back pack. “It was in the paper last year. I remember because Janice wanted to go see them. She loves snakes.”

Buffy nodded. “We didn’t think about the zoo. Remind me to call Giles when we get to the hospital.”

“Will do.”

Buffy stopped in her tracks. “Dawn, who are you really, because despite everyone’s memories of you, you’re not my sister.”

Before Dawn could answer, the two Summers females heard screaming up the street from them. They looked at each other before they both broke out in a dead run towards the noise. Soon, they ran into people clearly running away from something. Buffy surged forward towards the epicenter of people.

“You think it’s the cobra we’re looking for?” Dawn panted.

“SNAKE!” a man running past them screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Never mind,” Dawn muttered. She almost bumped into Buffy who had stopped to stare at the large, red-eyed man-like snake. “It’s after the Key, Buffy. We can’t let it find …” she trailed off.

“Yeah, I know.”

The snake hissed, its tongue tasting the air. It slithered past Dawn and Buffy without stopping.

“I’m your daughter,” Dawn said in a rush. “I’m here to help you and Daddy. We need to stop that thing before it finds him.”

Buffy turned to stare at Dawn. She was completely flabbergasted by Dawn’s revelation.

“It’s getting away.” Dawn pointed towards the snake. “You want me to do something about it? I can. Aunt Willow has been teaching me magic, and I visit Grandma Serina in England every summer.”

“Grandma Serina?” Buffy asked in confusion. “You’re not fourteen, are you?”

Dawn shook her head. “Nope, I’m nineteen. So, the cobra-man thing?”

“Uh, yeah, go ahead and stop it.”

Dawn dropped her back pack on the ground. She raised one hand, and she started to chant. Her eyes started to glow a brilliant green that Buffy wasn’t even sure she’d ever be able to describe in normal words.

The snake stopped in its tracks. It hissed angrily at the interference in it getting to its goal. It writhed in its magical binding.

“You better kill it,” Dawn said. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold it. That sucker is wicked strong.”

Buffy looked around. “I don’t think I have a weapon big enough to kill that thing. It’s not like I carry a sword around like I’m an Immortal.”

“It’s Sunnydale. Maybe you should.” Dawn jerked a thumb at the Sport and Tackle store. “Mr. Meyer might have a machete you can borrow.”

“Just a second.” Buffy rushed into the aforementioned store. “Mr. Meyer, I need a machete. Quick.”

Mr. Meyer was standing at the window, staring in shock at the huge snake. He pointed towards the back of the store. “Row 3,” he said.

Buffy rushed to aisle three where there were several types of machetes hanging. She grabbed the most expensive one, and she hefted it in her dominant hand. “Not the greatest, but it’ll have to do.” She rushed towards the front of the store. “Thanks, Mr. Meyers. I’ll have it back in a jiffy.”

“Just keep it,” Mr. Meyers replied. He blinked his eyes for a second before he rushed to get his camera. A picture of Buffy with her kill would make an awesome poster to promote his store. Everyone would think it was a manipulation but at least he’d know the truth.

Buffy ran towards the snake creature. She leapt at it, slicing at its neck as she landed on the other side of it. A quick stab through the heart, and the creature was on the ground, bleeding to death.

Mr. Meyer ran up with his camera. “That was awesome, girl. Let’s get some pictures that I can use to sell my stuff. Can you use more stuff from my store to kill things? Everything free if I can take pictures to use in advertisement.”

Buffy blinked in surprise. Usually Sunnydale citizens tended to get weird amnesia when it came to anything supernatural. “Uh, isn’t that gonna look a little weird?”

“No one is gonna know it’s real.” Mr. Meyer shrugged. “They’ll all think it’s just a made up picture.”

“Free stuff is all well and good,” Dawn replied as she approached. “But what if your business takes off? Then, you’ll be using her image to make bunches of money.”

“It’s Sunnydale,” Mr. Meyer grunted.

“Just take the damned picture,” Buffy grunted. “We need to get to the hospital to pick up Mom.”

Mr. Meyer looked back and forth between the two young women. “Tell you what. A hundred dollars per picture, how’s that? It’s not a lot, but it’s all I can manage until business picks up. I’ve been considering getting one of those Internet ad things.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Dawn stuck out her hand to Mr. Meyer. She grinned when he shook it.

Buffy picked up the snake creature by its big lobe-like head attachment, and she raised the machete in the other. “Just get it over with.”

Mr. Meyer snapped around five pictures of Buffy in different poses. Then, he hung the camera around his neck, and he took out his wallet. “That’s five pictures, five hundred dollars.” He shoved the money towards Buffy.

Dawn grabbed the money out of Mr. Meyer’s hand. “Thanks. Next time, my … uh …. Buffy needs to kill something, we’ll be sure to stop in for a weapon and let you know where to come take pictures.”

“Awesome.” Mr. Meyer giggled with glee. He hurried back towards his store.

“Aunt Anya will be so proud of me.”

Buffy dragged the snake man over to a nearby dumpster. She dropped the machete before she hefted the creature into the trash where it belonged. She picked the machete back up. “So, you’re my daughter, here from the future to help me. How is that even possible?”

“A lot of magic and a lot of willpower,” Dawn replied. “It took Aunt Willow, me, and …”

“And …” Buffy raised an eyebrow at Dawn.

“William, Tasha, and Taj,” Dawn said in a rush. “William and Tasha are twins, they really are fourteen, and Taj is twelve. They helped using their powers.”

“They’re magic too?”

Dawn shook her head. “No.” She stepped closer to Buffy, and she looked around. “William is a Slayer. Tasha and Taj are daywalkers.”

“William. Like Spike’s human name?” Buffy couldn’t even feel surprised. Not after what the monk had told her about Spike’s status as her soul mate and the Key.

“Daddy.” Dawn nodded.

 

Originally posted at http://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/532348.html