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The offer for full-story (once the first book is finished) or 13-chapter story PDFs with Deacon's autograph still stands.
Alec slowly opened his eyes, to view Dawn eyeing him intently, her eyes widened in relief.

“Alec,” she breathed before lunging at him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. He reached up to stroke her hair tenderly.

“Hey, petite,” he whispered with a smile.

The girl held him for a while, before pulling away and wiping her tears.

“I was really wigged,” she stated plainly.

“I can see that, yes,” Alec answered mildly, offering a weak smile.

She smiled back, then turned and yelled, “Willow! He’s awake!”

There was a bustling as Willow came over and almost bowled over Dawn, to dive onto the bed doting kisses all over Alec's face. He grinned wryly.

“Gee, I should get slashed more often.”

“Don’t you dare,” Willow warned direly through kisses. He smiled and rested with her against him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He looked around, confused; first at the fact that he was on a bed, second that he was nude from his waist up, his shoulder bandaged, and third that the bed seemed to be vibrating slightly. He sat up a little, propping his head up with a pillow.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Just entered New York,” Buffy informed him, having come over, and placed a cup of coffee in his hands. Alec frowned, sipping from the mug.

“New York? Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t we just leave New Mexico?”

Buffy shook her head.

“You are hereby corrected, oh sibling, on the grounds that you’ve been unconscious for the better part of a week. You lost a lot of blood.”

Alec’s eyes widened.

“Come again?” he replied, stunned. Buffy nodded.

“That knife that weird priest had was laced with something nasty.” The Slayer jerked a head towards Willow. “Say 'thank you' to the nice witch who managed to come up with an antidote, or else you’d be pushing up daisies.” Her smile belied the fact that she had been terrified of the close call.

Alec smiled and took his sister’s hand, giving it a long squeeze.

“No worries, sis. I’m still here.”

Buffy nodded before dabbing suspiciously at her eyes, she then laughed a little, embarrassed.

“Allergies, you know how they are,” she explained weakly.

Alec lay back against the bed, smiling. “Yeah, I know how they can get,” he smiled softly.

Buffy sniffled and turned to Giles, who had come to the back to see his son.

“Hi, Dad,” Alec rasped, smiling up at him.

Giles took off his glasses and cleaned his them before regarding his son affectionately. “How are you feeling, Alec?”

Alec snorted and gave his father a lopsided grin. “Didn’t you ask me this question once already this week after an incident involving some parasites?” he quipped lightly.

Giles laughed, more to release tension than at any actual humor as, gingerly, Alec pried off the bandages, and smiled sardonically at the newly healed skin.

Buffy gestured. “Yeah, your dad explained it. Turns out when Willow cast that healing spell on you the other night it left trace… something…"

"Trace energies," Giles supplied helpfully.

"Right, 'trace energies' that sort of kicked in when Willow cast that other spell, the time spell. It was supposed to hit me, but it must have gotten you as well." She frowned for a moment. "Unfortunately, you were poisoned and that took some fixing before any other magic would work on you, since Willow's healing spell had been to patch you up, not clean you."

"Ah, is that what happened?" Alec asked, shifting a glace to his father and giving him a long, level look.

"That's what I told everyone, yes," his father responded neutrally.

Alec smirked, but said nothing; he'd known his father could be a convincing liar at times but this was some of his best work.

Buffy continued on blithely. "For a while there, you had us all worried.”

Giles nodded and addressed his son, who was busy stripping the gauze pads off.

“That’s right, son, an advanced healing factor does not render you invulnerable. You must be more careful. This is the second time you’ve received grievous wounds in as many days.”

Alec looked up from his work to regard his father, his expression softening a tad.

“This coming from the man who holds the undisputed record for the most times rendered unconscious?” he quipped.

Buffy laughed as she headed up to the front of the bus to spread the news of Alec's recovery. Giles smiled, a little embarrassed.

“Yes, well, be that as it may.” He reached out to grip his son's hand hard. “Be more careful, please, son,” he asked, his voice a tad more hoarse than normal.

Alec wrapped his fingers around his father’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. “Not a problem, Dad. You can’t keep a Giles down.” He grinned as the tension drained from his father's face.

“Hear, hear,” Willow put in sleepily as she nuzzled against her lover’s chest. He smiled and kissed her head.

Dawn looked uncomfortable and stood to go, Alec caught her arm gently. She stopped and turned to look down at him, surprised.

“Thanks, petite. For taking care of Willow back there,” he whispered.

Dawn colored and took his hand in her’s, holding it tightly.

“You’re welcome, Dusk,” she replied softly.

Alec shook his head.

“You can call me ‘Alec’ Dawn, I think we’re close enough for that,” he smiled at her as Dawn beamed.

“Alec…” she said experimentally, before biting her lip in pleasure, nodding, then hurriedly dropping his hand and walking up to the front of the bus. Her reaction made Alec chuckle.

“I think you just made her day,” Willow murmured.

Her boyfriend smiled and kissed her red hair.

“You think?” he asked.

Willow snorted gently.

“Only a man would be so oblivious as to think that that girl does not seriously carry a torch for you. I speak from experience,” she whispered wryly.

“You’ve got nothing to be worried about,” he reassured her, and held on tightly.

Willow smiled and squeezed him.

“I’m not,” she responded quietly.

Alec sighed and rested his head against her’s, beginning to lazily drift back off into sleep.

Just then Spike wandered over, dropping a battered old Discman next to Alec’s head causing his’s eyes to shoot open in confusion, then sardonic recognition.

“Here you are, mate, present for the stupid/brave,” Spike smacked him lightly upside on the head. “Stop being heroic, you’re stealing my spotlight.”

Alec snorted and coughed quietly.

“Come on, Spike, you don’t need my help to look like a schmuck, you do that so well on your own.”

The vampire chortled and lit a cigarette.

“Enjoy the CD, one of my own mixes.” He stopped and looked at his friend. “Nice moves back there.”

Alec slapped the other man’s outstretched hand.

“You too, man.” Alec pulled on the cheap wire headphones and hit play. Then he chuckled.

" 'Momma, I’m coming home'. Sentimental slob.” Alec settled back into the cushions and took a deep breath of Willow’s hair, letting that and the crooning of Ozzy to put him to sleep.



A few hours later, the gang had pulled into a rest stop just outside of New York City. It was almost sunrise and the sky was beginning to pale. Buffy got up from her seat and rubbed her knuckles into her eyes. Spike was already on their bed, head thrown back, quietly snoring. She smiled and continued to rub her eyes. As they cleared, she spied Angel getting ready for bed, dressed in leather pants, he’d stripped his t-shirt off, and she could clearly see his tattoo as his back was to her. The dark-haired vampire lifted his head and turned suddenly, smiling slightly.

“Hey,” he greeted softly.

“Hey,” Buffy whispered. There was an uncomfortable silence as neither could think of anything to say.

“You really did well at that bar,” she spoke up. “I mean, with the whole ramming bit.”

Angel shrugged. “I figured when I heard screaming that things had turned ugly,” he replied simply.

Buffy smiled a little.

“Trust us to pick the one bar that hosts a demonic cult,” she said sardonically.

Angel regarded her with wry amusement.

“Trust you to pick now two parties that were hosted by demonic cults. Or have you forgotten your first frat party?” he inquired softly.

Buffy smiled and chuckled a little.

“Thank Cordelia for that one, it was her idea.” She looked up at him. “Besides, I would have never gone if you would have given me the time of day back in those days,” she added.

Angel smiled as his mind went back to those idyllic months before his tragic transformation.

“I could never say no to you for anything,” he replied, a touch of humor in his voice.

Buffy smiled then blushed, looking down at her feet as memories and a surge of long buried feelings coursed through her. She looked up at him, noticing that his expression mirrored hers.

“Angel, I’m with Spike right now,” she explained softly.

“I know,” he replied, nodding, his face sliding back into that mask of stoicism she was now so familiar with.

The Angel who had saved her life from Tarakan assassins, the Angel that had hoisted a ladder to her bedroom window when she was grounded - he was gone; Acathla and his torments, their fights over Faith, and just plain separation and mistrust had banished him. The bitter man before her was almost completely alien to her. Buffy sighed.

“Okay,” she replied quietly. She turned to go as Angel turned away from her to continue turning down his bed. She took a few steps from him, before turning suddenly.

“Angel?” she asked.

He turned abruptly, gazing silently at her with those dark eyes of his.

“Do you… ever miss… us?” she asked hesitantly. She looked down, not daring to look into his eyes.

For an instant, Angel’s expression softened, he started to reach out to her, but then stopped, his hand clenched into a tight fist as he dropped his arm.

“Every day.”

Buffy shot her head up, eyes like glistening pools she reached out to him.

“Angel…?” she whispered softly.

He turned abruptly away from her.

“Go to bed, Buffy,” he replied curtly.

Buffy’s hand trembled as she dropped it, turning away from him and fleeing to her and Spike’s bed on the other side of the R.V.

Angel sighed and turned back to look at her retreating form, an expression of deep regret etched onto his face.

Spike watched them both through half-closed eyes, still mock-snoring softly. His hands clenched into fists and he rolled over to his side, facing the wall. He felt Buffy enter their bed and gently press her back to his, curled up into a ball, shuddering slightly in that way that women do when they are weeping and wish no one to know. Spike squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to ignore it as he seethed silently.



A few hours later, Alec awoke and peered about confused - the interior of the coach was dark, but not as dark as it should've been given Spike's sunproofing. He sighed and shifted slightly, gently laying Willow down beside him. She mumbled a little and rolled over onto her side, away from him. He sat up gently and peered around the bus and, with a start, he realized that Dawn’s bedroll was empty. He scanned the interior of the bus and sighed with palpable relief as he spied her sitting at the back corner of the bus. She’d pried back a portion of tinfoil covering the window and was gazing out at the sun-drenched landscape. Carefully getting out of bed, Alec padded silently over to her, massaging a sore neck. Dawn turned her head abruptly and spied him coming towards her. She smiled at him.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she inquired.

Alec shook his head.

“Restless, I suppose,” he replied, sitting down behind her to look out the window.

“Looks like a whole other world, in the daylight, doesn’t it?” he commented quietly, gesturing outside.

Dawn smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s so pretty.” She turned to regard him. “I was really scared… When you got hurt. I was afraid you were…” Her words trailed off as she hung her head.

“Hey,” Alec whispered softly, pulling her to him. She rested her head against the warm skin of his chest, her fingers curling around the skin of his pectoral muscles. He stroked her hair soothingly.

“I’ll always be here to watch over you,” he assured her. Dawn looked up from his chest,

“You promise?” she asked, her eyes watery. Alec smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, I promise,” he replied. She smiled slightly and rested her cheek against his skin. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep, his resonant heartbeat echoing.

Willow woke up abruptly. She turned her head, noticing that Alec was no longer with her. She sat up and looked around before spying Alec, his back to the window, with Dawn curled up asleep on his lap, her head resting against his bare chest. He caught her eye and put a finger to his lips.

“Shhh,” he whispered gently.

Smiling, Willow picked up a spare blanket and, tiptoeing quietly over, draped it over the pair. Alec smiled gratefully as he covered Dawn and himself with the blanket. Willow leaned over to kiss him gently, before padding over to their bed. As she lay there, she pondered. She could be jealous, she supposed, but there was something about the two of them together, it was pure and with no ulterior motives other than one taking care and offering comfort to the other. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes. Alec was a great guy, and he never made her feel unloved for one moment since they’d met. And Dawn was a sweetheart.

Besides, we all need someone to love. Dawn could do a lot worse for a love interest than Alec. I know I could, she thought to herself. Oz had left her, Tara had been… Willow frowned unhappily, she didn't like thinking about what had happened to Tara.

Tara had been… lost, she decided firmly. But I'll never lose Alec.

She smiled again and drifted back off to sleep.



“So, how do we find this Grigori Estate?” Xander asked as he banked the vehicle to the left to avoid a speeding car. It was just after sundown and they were back on the road on their way to Crown Point, debating their next move.

Buffy shook her head and turned to Willow.

“There’s absolutely NO more information about this place on the ‘Net?” she asked her.

Willow shook her head.

“Nothing official,” she replied, “no records, no press releases, nothing.” She shook her head once more, this time in disbelief. “It’s like hunting for Amelia Earhart,” she commented dryly.

Alec frowned.

“You said there was no official word. What about unofficial?” he asked. Willow frowned, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

Alec struggled to put his thoughts into words.

“Like a rumor mill or some kind of grapevine.”

“Or a chat room,” Anya suggested.

Xander laughed. "Since when do you dabble in chat rooms, Ahn?"

"Well, sometimes when we have a lot of sex, you fall asleep and I can't get you to have more sex with me, so I go on the computer, and once I make past all the pornography you have–… which reminds me, what is your fascination with two women and a-"

"So!" Xander interrupted. "End of the world! Crazy asylum place! Let's go already!"

Everyone was stifling laughs, except Willow, who was frowning at the computer screen and not paying a bit of attention.

“I hadn’t thought of chat rooms,” she exclaimed. “But there’s got to be millions of chat rooms on the ‘Net. How can I find the right one?” she asked.

Giles cleared his throat.

“Does the state of New York have an official web page?” he asked.

Willow nodded.

“Sure. For tourists, it has information, maps…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened, she looked up at Giles, “…and an online chat room for visitors!” the red-head finished triumphantly. Her fingers began hitting the keys on her laptop in furious succession.

Buffy spared Giles an appreciative glance.

“Way to get in touch with your 21st century self, Giles,” she complimented.

Giles colored and smiled awkwardly.

“Yes, well, blame my son. He’s been insisting that I learn that infernal machine.”

Alec chuckled. “I promised Jenny I'd finished what she started with you - we’re going to drag you into the modern era kicking and screaming, Dad.” He grinned as Giles snorted.

“That’s an understatement,” commented the older man quietly.

Alec laughed and turned to regard the screen, stopping to peer over it at the dozing Dawn. He smiled slightly at that, he’d been wondering why she was so quiet. He chuckled and turned his attention back to the screen. He pointed to something on the screen.

“Okay, there’s the chat room index, type in ‘Grigori Estate’ and see how many hits you get.”

Willow smiled demurely up at him.

“Honey? Do you want to drive?” she asked him wryly. He grinned and kissed the top of her head apologetically. The screen flickered back a response, Willow’s eyes widened.

“Whoa,” she breathed, scanning the list of rooms that stretched out endlessly down the screen. “Two hundred and eighteen hits,” she shook her head in disbelief.

“Popular place,” Spike commented dryly.

Alec pointed at the screen. “Look here under subject listing,” he began to read aloud, “Urban Legends. Fantastic stories. Occult. Unexplained phenomena.” He exhaled hard.

“Anyone notice a trend?” Faith asked wryly.

"Seriously, try 'www.lonegunmen.com' ," Xander joked.

"I miss that show," Faith replied turning to him.

"Yeah, FOX has a tendency to cancel good TV shows, remember that "cowboys in space" show I was telling about with the catchy theme song?”

"Guys, focus!" Buffy insisted. The two dark haired couch potatoes looked contrite enough as they continued their conversation quietly. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the computer screen.

“Wills, can you get into one of those chat rooms?” she asked.

“No problem.”

Willow nodded, hitting a few more keys. The screen dissolved into a chat module. She looked up.

“I’ll ask what the story is with this place,” she informed them, hitting a few more keys. There was a silence as Willow read the flowing dialogue, then her eyes widened.

“Well, this is interesting,” she swallowed.

Buffy frowned and leaned over her.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Grigori Estate, as it turns out, is a lunatic asylum,” she replied.

There was a stunned silence.

“The first piece of saving the world is in a bloody NUTHOUSE?” Spike demanded incredulously.

Willow nodded. “Not just your average nuthouse, either.” She read the screen. “ ‘Grigori Estate is a maximum-security mental facility for the supernatural’,” she read from the screen.

Giles' eyes widened.

“It’s an insane asylum for vampires?” he asked, stunned.

Willow nodded.

“Vampires, werewolves, demons, warlocks, anything else that’s not covered in a standard HMO. Looks to be a collection of the most dangerous and full-born loony creatures under one roof,” she continued reading the screen.

“Well, this is going to be fun,” Alec commented dryly. He turned to Buffy. “What do you think Dracula was thinking when he suggested that the Everstone was here?” he asked, still thrown by this new information.

Buffy shook her head.

“Not a clue, bro. Why would someone hide a magical artifact smack dab in the middle of a demonic loony bin?” she asked.

“Be the last place anyone would look,” Angel commented quietly, “or would want to for that matter.”

Spike shook his head.

“Look, how do we know ol’ tall, dark and Romanian is playing us all for a bunch of saps: sending us to Carfax bloody Abbey?” he asked.

Buffy shook her head.

“We don’t, we can only-”

Willow interrupted. “Uh guys? Remember when I mentioned that ‘multiple homicides’ incident at the estate?” she gestured to the screen. “Well, I just got clued in as to what happened.”

Faith leaned in to look at the screen.

“Whoa!” she swore softly, reading the screen. “Says here some guy named Sasha Benedict got loose and killed a bunch of people,” she whistled softly.

“How many people?” Buffy asked her voice laced with dread.

“Like, all of them.” Willow responded. “Thirty patients and the entire staff. Cops found him, just sitting in the library reading a book when they broke the door down,” she finished.

Faith shook her head in awe. “Paging Doctor Lector: your order of fava beans and Chianti is ready."

“Yeah, no kidding,” Alec replied. He turned to Willow. “Can you dig up any info about this Benedict guy?” he asked her.

Willow frowned and hit a few more keys. The screen coughed up the results and she whistled.

“Looks like just one hit as far as information goes. A medical journal, some sort of psychiatric article on serial killers.” She began to read. “Dr Sasha Benedict, degrees in criminal psychology and forensic medicine. List of commendations a mile long, did a lot of work for the N.Y.P.D. as a case and forensics profiler. ” She looked up. “He’d look at crime scenes and try to put together what happened.”

Buffy shook her head.

“Was he any good at it?” she asked.

Willow nodded. “Apparently he was one of their best and brightest. He was nicknamed ‘The Oracle’ because his profiles were so accurate. People claimed he could see the crimes as they were being committed.”

“Speaking of committed, how did our boy here wind up in the funny farm?” Buffy asked.

Willow frowned at the screen.

“Well, apparently his predictions got so accurate that Internal Affairs began scoping him out.” She made a face and continued. “They found him with an eviscerated man, claimed he was consulting the entrails for divinational purposes. They searched an address he gave them and found almost twenty more corpses, all of them eviscerated,” she finished with a shudder.

Faith held up a hand.

“Hold up. You mean Nut Boy, here, ripped out people’s guts because he thought he could see the future?”

Giles nodded.

“It makes sense, there are some fortunetellers that claim they can foretell the future by studying the innards of a hen.” He frowned. “I’ve never heard of it being preformed on a human being though.”

Willow spoke up.

“It gets worse. Because this guy was so knowledgeable of human anatomy, the people were kept alive while he was consulting their innards.” She made a face. “He claimed that keeping them alive improved the accuracy of the reading.”

Buffy shuddered.

“Well, I guess we know how he got to be so good at catching crooks,” she exhaled hard. “So he gets thrown in this nuthouse, then what?” she inquired.

Willow shook her head.

“Then nothing. The guy’s police record is erased, his birth certificate, social security number, even his library cards if he had them - all of them deleted. On paper, this guy never existed until six years ago, when he killed everybody.”

Alec lifted his head from the screen and asked dryly.

“Anybody want to make a wager regarding whether or not this charming individual is the one we have to talk to regarding the Everstone?”

“No bet,” Buffy replied softly, she turned back to Willow. “You get an address, yet, Wills?”

Willow nodded.

“It’s a little sketchy, but from what everyone’s telling me, this place is a fortress. It would be hard to miss it,” she replied.

Buffy nodded.

“Now all we need to do is figure out how to get in and get an interview with loony tunes.”

Spike snorted. “Yeah, well, I suppose we could tell them that you’re the Slayer sent here for information to save the world,” he commented sarcastically.



“Hi, I’m Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I need to talk with Dr. Benedict.” Buffy smiled and put up a hand to block the glaring halogen beam the guard’s flashlight was shining in her face. In his other hand, he was brandishing an assault rifle.

“It’s to save the world,” Willow put in.

Spike groaned and sank his head into his hands. Alec gave him a wry look.

“You did suggest it, Spike,” he commented. Spike muttered an obscenity as he continued to shake his head in disbelief.

The guard turned his head slightly, and spoke into a walkie-talkie mounted on his shoulder. Buffy turned from hanging out of the driver side window, to look at Giles. He shrugged fractionally and waited to hear the outcome. The guard finished talking and gestured to the car with his rifle.

“The vehicle will have to stay off the estate grounds and only two of you may leave the vehicle at any time. Failure to comply will result in immediate corrective actions. We are licensed to use lethal force,” the guard warned ominously.

Buffy flashed a cheerful smile at him as she got out of the R.V.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re the good guys,” she reassured him.

Giles rolled his eyes.

“That’s right, Buffy, utilize your irrefutable logic on the nice man with the automatic weapon. Well done,” he admonished sardonically.

She shot him a nasty look before sending another dazzling smile to the guard, who, stone-faced, demanded identification. She and Giles both produced their driver’s licenses, which the guard scrutinized for a long time, making another call on his radio. The call came back and the guard gestured to the gatehouse. The massive metal gate began to slowly roll back ponderously.

“They do take their security seriously don’t they?” Buffy whistled.

Giles made an affirming sound in his throat as two guards, marching in time, headed up to them and flanked them, indicating that they were to come with them… or else. Giles and Buffy allowed themselves to be led away.



“Remind me once again that this place is owned and operated by good guys?” Buffy leaned over and whispered to Giles. The Watcher had seen a lot during his tenure on the Hellmouth, but even he had to admit the structure before them was impressive to say the least.

Great stone walls surrounded the building, laced with barbed wire and watchtowers every fifty meters. The wall was made of polished black marble, which did not reflect any light shone on it. Men with guns were everywhere, talking on radios and keeping very alert. But all that paled in comparison to the building itself.

Built to resemble a fortress, the asylum looked like it had been designed by a manic depressive architect, to serve as a bomb shelter for the end of the world. It loomed like a great bird of prey, a jagged wound against the velvety black of the night sky which seemed almost warm by comparison.

Buffy suppressed a shudder as she approached yet another set of steel gates.

“I’m starting to understand why this place is an insane asylum. You’d have to be severely bent to handle this place,” she gestured to a series of hideous gargoyles. Giles nodded mutely as a pair of massive stone doors were pushed open, admitting them into the asylum.

If the exterior had been an example of gothic horror, the interior was a dedicated study in elegance. White marble floors gleamed, stone pillars rose high into the heights of the building. Buffy craned her neck to discover where the pillars terminated and was shocked to discover that they didn’t, they stretched on past her line of sight. Buffy shuddered slightly; there was no way that the interior of the building could be this vast, given what she had seen of the exterior. She turned a disbelieving look to Giles, who was gaping up at a gargantuan stained glass window on the ceiling.

“When did we get to Hogwarts?" she asked in bewilderment. "This place is way too big, it can't be right."

Giles nodded. “It would seem that the architects were either geniuses, madmen, or very skilled with spatial distortion magic.”

“A little of all three actually,” a woman’s voice called from their right.

They whirled around and gaped at a huge black marble lion striding past them, it reared back onto its haunches and roared at them. Buffy jumped back as Giles stepped in front of her protectively.

“Now, Onyx, cut it out!” the same voice called out. Giles and Buffy looked up to see a remarkably elegant woman stepping out of the shadows. Dressed in a frilly blouse and dress, and with a mane of lustrous silver hair cascading past her feet to pool on the floor, she resembled nothing so much as Glinda the Good Witch gone modern. Smiling, she stepped forth to stroke the lion’s marble head; it turned into her caress and purred deeply. She smiled down at it before greeting her guests.

“Hello. My name is Marlena. I’m the guardian here at Grigori Estate and, as your host, I bid you welcome.” She bowed and smiled warmly at the pair, setting their minds at ease. There was something familiar about her, Buffy thought, something that made her instantly trust and like the older woman.

Giles cleared his throat, clearly taken with the other woman’s ethereal beauty, which Buffy had to admit was pretty substantial.

“Yes. Hello, my name is-”

“Rupert Giles,” she finished, smiling to gather his hand in a warm handshake before turning her attention to Buffy. “And you’re the Slayer, Buffy Summers.” The woman’s eyes twinkled in delight, and Buffy noticed that one was a deep blue, the other a vibrant green. She couldn’t help but smile at the older woman.

“You get that from the guards?” she asked wryly.

Marlena laughed, a sound like silvery bells, and waved a hand.

“Not at all,” she smiled, and Buffy's eyes widened as she heard Marlena’s voice in her head.

(You’re not the only one with gifts, my dear.)

Buffy shook her head in amazement.

“A telepath?” she asked. Marlena smiled and nodded.

“Who better to serve as a caretaker than a mind reader?” she quipped mirthfully as she gestured to a set of doors. “Come, we have much to discuss.”

She held out an arm to Giles, who bashfully took it, and led them towards another pair of huge ornate doors, that opened as they approached–

–Revealing a sprawling sunlit garden.

Buffy and Giles stopped short in astonishment, this was a not a small topiary garden, but a lush vibrant garden, complete with a waterfall spilling into a lagoon… backwards, no less, and with multicolored birds flittering about. Buffy gaped at it slack-jawed, and looked behind her through the open door - she could see windows that clearly showed outside and clearly showed it being night.

“How…?” she began.

Marlena threw her head back and laughed heartily.

“Within these walls, the only laws to be obeyed are Mother Nature’s… and she’s been known to bend them from time to time.”

She reached out and a bird that looked like it was made up out of blue gemstones landed in her palm. Buffy gasped in wonder and even Giles stared openly. Marlena smiled and gently nudged the gemstone bird from her hand to be cupped in Buffy’s. Buffy looked down and grinned like a child, stroking the bird’s smooth head. It chirped at her and flew away. Marlena smiled and gestured towards a stone bench.

“Come,” she invited smiling.

Buffy and Giles continued to stare in awe at the garden of wonders, before sitting down at the bench. Marlena reached out and plucked three glasses of ice tea from a tray being carried by an enormous ruby tortoise.

“Thank you, Aeon,” Marlena smiled warmly at the turtle. It made a grunting sound and slowly plodded away, its jeweled shell glinting in the sunlight. Buffy continued to look around slack jawed. Marlena caught her look with a wry grin.

“Not what you were expecting was it?” she asked politely. Buffy could only nod her head in amazement. Marlena laughed another silver bells laugh before elaborating.

“You came here expecting Bedlam and instead receive the Land of Oz. I understand,” she smiled wryly, “my reaction was similar when I came here.”

Buffy immediately remembered why they had come here.

“Yeah, that’s sort of why I came here. You see, I need to talk with Dr. Benedict. It’s really important.”

Marlena nodded.

“It must be, Sunnydale is a long way from Crown Point.” She looked out at the garden and gestured outwards.

“Tell me what you see out there, young lady,” she asked quietly.

Buffy peered out, blinking and shielding her eyes with her hand. She pointed,

“You mean those children playing?” she asked as she gestured at a few children skipping rope… with a rope that was skipping itself.

Marlena smiled slightly and shook her head.

“Those aren’t just children, they’re patients here,” she informed them.

Buffy and Giles looked at each other in shock and turned their eyes back to their hostess.

“You mean those kids are…?” Buffy asked, unsure how to phrase the question.

“Insane?” Marlena cocked a silver eyebrow. She shook her head. “Not in the gibbering madman clichéd sense of the word, but their minds simply aren't capable of coping with 'reality' as it exists beyond this walls,” she turned to regard the children sadly, “and so there is no place in the world for them. Or rather, they have no place in the world as it has become. Their minds are too fragile, their hearts too innocent, and their powers…” she smiled and gestured, “well, judge for yourself.”

Buffy and Giles turned to look, and gaped in bewilderment as a child, no older than seven, lifted a marble sphere ten times her size and began playing catch with another child.

Marlena chuckled sadly.

“No. They could not endure the evils of the world. They would either go truly mad and hurt people, or become agents of evil.” She turned back to her guests. “The Grigori estate isn’t an asylum; it’s a sanctuary, for those who truly do not belong in the outside world.

“And Dr. Benedict?” Giles asked cautiously. A flicker of some unidentifiable emotion rippled over Marlena’s face.

“Sasha is a special case, he’s extremely gifted.” She began to rattle off statistics, “I.Q. that can’t be tested, extremely powerful telepath, clairvoyant, telekinesis, psychokinesis, astral projector pyrokinesis, psionics, ESP, you name it.”

She held her hands out in front of her and, to Buffy and Giles’ amazement, a small ghostly flame appeared.

“Think of this as your average human mind.” She gestured to the flame. “No extraordinary powers of any sort.”

She concentrated… and with a whoosh, the tiny flame became a colossal phantasmal conflagration. Buffy and Giles yelped and leapt back in alarm, causing the children to point at them and giggle. Marlena smiled and dispelled the pyre. Buffy blinked and sat cautiously in her chair.

“Let me guess, THAT represents Sasha’s brain?” she commented dryly.

Marlena shook her head.

“Oh no, child, I do not possess enough power to translate his psyche into a visual representation, that was just a part of it.” She smiled slightly at the expressions of stunned disbelief on their faces. She sighed.

“His mind is great and powerful, his heart unconquerable, it’s such a tragedy that his soul is in such an empty state,” she stated mournfully.

Giles frowned.

“Empty?” he asked puzzled.

Marlena nodded.

“Yes, Rupert. Unlike demons, who rarely possess souls of their own,” she smiled at him, “which explains the keeper demon’s interest in your son, Alec,” she confided, “but we will discuss this later.”

Giles didn’t even look surprised that she knew about Alec, merely nodded as Marlena steered the conversation back on course.

“Unlike a creature that possesses no soul, or a black soul, Sasha possesses a soul of glass. Light and darkness just pass through it, leaving no lasting impression. Good and evil are simply concepts that do not apply to him.” She tilted her head to the side. “I suppose in that way, he has evolved past being a man,” she added thoughtfully.

Buffy’s eyes widened as a thought hit her like a thunderclap.

“ ‘A location known to no man’,” she whispered breathlessly. Giles inhaled sharply at that.

“You believe Sasha knows the location of the Everstone?” he breathed, incredulously.

Buffy nodded emphatically.

Marlena frowned. “You seek the Everstone?” she asked politely.

Buffy nodded. “It’s a long story,” she told her.

Marlena smiled in sudden understanding.

“So it’s happened at last - Eden's seed has returned."

Slayer and Watcher exchanged confused looks at that term.

"What form has it taken?” Marlena asked in a whisper.

“What whose form?” Buffy asked puzzled. Giles cleared his throat, understanding to what she was referring to.

“Her name is Dawn. She’s assumed the role of Buffy’s younger sister,” Giles informed Marlena, who gasped and beamed.

“That’s brilliant, the Key of Eternity’s Light within the Slayer's sister,” she breathed and shook her head in amazement.

Buffy frowned.

“ ‘Key of Eternity’s Light?’ ” she asked querulously.

Marlena chuckled, and patted Buffy’s knee,

“Forgive me, child, sometimes I forget in whose company I ramble in.” She smiled and elaborated. “The Key of Eternity’s Light is… sort of a convergence of extraordinary magical power; holy power, as it were. There are places like that in the world, Stonehenge, the Dead Sea, the wall of Jerusalem, and the hearts of most volcanoes. Places where the sheer power of light and creation are most abundant. This is the first time I’ve heard of it in the form of a person though.” She shook her head in wonder. “How apropos that her name is 'Dawn'. For her power is like the dawn, bringing light and warmth and life to all she touches.”

Buffy snorted a little.

“You make her sound like a saint, which, I can already tell you, she isn’t.”

Marlena smiled indulgently.

“Saints aren’t perfect, child. Rather, they have the capacity for perfect love. Be it an entire species, or a place, or even a single person. Dawn far transcends sainthood in this aspect, she has it within her to love perfectly beyond all understanding of any that walks this world. It is this love that will bring about the destruction of the Hellmouth.” She smiled slightly. “I assume that is your quest? To seek out the Everstone, the wordless psalm, and the Vitae Noir?”

Buffy frowned.

“Vitae Noir?” she asked puzzled.

“The blood of the Neverborn,” she clarified.

“I beg your pardon, Marlena, but how do you know so much about the Hellmouth?” Giles asked politely. Marlena smiled at him.

“It’s very simple, Rupert. I’ve been in it.”

Buffy and Giles didn’t think they could be surprised anymore, they were gravely mistaken.

“You’ve been in it?” Buffy asked. “How?”

Marlena thought back.

“It was a long time ago. I was just a girl when I heard the Call.”

“The Call?” Buffy frowned, this was getting confusing.

Marlena smiled in an almost maternal way.

“Yes child, The Call. Just as others before me heard it, and those that came after me did.” She gently reached out and placed a finger on Buffy’s brow.

“Just as you did.”

Buffy leapt back.

“Who are you?” she asked breathlessly.

Marlena smiled.

“Forgive me, I keep forgetting your powers have not fully developed.”

She took a deep breath, her chest puffed with pride.

“My name is Marlena de la Rosa Esperanza, knight of the order of Saint Michael.” She smiled slightly.

“Vampire Slayer.”



There was a stunned silence following Marlena’s revelation. Giles found his voice first.

“But… you died!” he exclaimed quietly. Marlena smiled indulgently.

“Death can be, at times, a very transitory thing,” she replied gently.

Buffy shook her head.

“I don’t get it, though. You went crazy and died…” Her eyes widened in understanding as Marlena’s smile broadened.

“That’s right, I died in a madhouse.” She gestured to the gardens and the palatial surroundings. “Of course, this place looked a lot different in the eleventh century but…” she shrugged.

Poor Giles looked overwhelmed; the hard right turns were coming too fast for him.

“But your blood was found all over the walls, you’d slit your own wrists,” Giles struggled to understand.

Marlena nodded patiently.

“Yes, I did, and I died and the next Slayer was called… and then I awoke,” she stated simply.

“Uh… not to disagree with you or anything, but most people do not simply shrug off dying like a hangover,” Buffy put in.

Marlena laughed.

“Remember what I said about mystical convergences?” she asked the young slayer.

Buffy nodded… and abruptly understood.

“You mean… HERE?” she breathed.

Marlena laughed. “Do you think insects made of gemstones or a mansion whose interior exceeds its exterior by several factors could exist anywhere else?” she asked her mildly.

Buffy felt like a blundering novice before the older ex-slayer.

“No… no, I guess not,” she ventured. She looked back up at the older woman.

“So, you didn’t go crazy?” she asked her. Marlena shook her head.

“I really don’t remember, as odd as that may sound, I just remember the Hellmouth being… horrible,” she shuddered slightly before regaining her composure.

“My order was wiped out, attempting to rid it from the world. It is my fervent hope, that you will succeed where I failed.” She placed a warm hand on Buffy’s shoulder.

“Yeah. Mine, too,” Buffy commented dryly.

Giles cleared his throat.

“I beg your pardon, Marlena, but would it at all be permissible to speak to Sasha?” he asked tentatively.

Marlena smiled broadly.

“Of course you may speak to him, I will take you to him.”

Buffy frowned.

“What? Just like that?” she asked disbelievingly.

Marlena laughed. “Buffy, you must understand - Grigori Estate is not a prison, every single person that resides in these walls does so of their own free will,” she informed her.

Buffy blanched. “You mean Sasha…”

“Sasha became a guest here after the incident regarding the killings, yes. His powers were coming into their own and he could no longer function in the outside world.” Marlena got up and led Buffy and Giles back into the main building.

“Sasha is no more a prisoner here, then I am, or those children are, or you are,” she told them.´

Buffy frowned.

“What about all those guards and the gates? Aren’t they designed to keep everyone in?” she asked, confused.

Marlena laughed.

“Of course not, anyone here is free to leave whenever they choose. The guards are here to keep others OUT. Remember that this place is a powerful magical convergence. Such places are rare and their powers are often coveted by others.” She looked back at Buffy. “This is why you and Rupert were allowed to enter instead of your friends, Willow, or Alec; anyone who can utilize any sort of magical power is not allowed within the manor gates. The temptation to tap into the power here might prove too great and that would be catastrophic.” Marlena’s face darkened. “As Sasha learned six years ago.” She shook her head.

Buffy’s eyes widened.

“When he killed everyone?” she asked.

Marlena nodded.

“It was an accident. A guard had forgotten to activate the protective glyph outside Sasha’s room. During the night, Sasha suffers from chronic nightmares. Sasha unconsciously tapped into the node of power here and his nightmares psionically manifested.”

Buffy shuddered remembering her own encounters with nightmares brought to life.

“So, what happened?” she asked carefully as they were led down a long corridor lined with mirrors, dominated by a large pair of similarly mirrored doors at the end of the hall.

Marlena sighed and opened the doors with a touch.

“I died… again,” she stated simply.

Gesturing, she escorted Buffy and Giles through the doors–

–And into a huge room filled with a thousand burning points of light.

For a moment, Buffy and Giles just stared. There were hundreds of thousand of mirrors, huge pillars reflecting the candlelight. Buffy looked down and gasped as a great looming darkness stretched out beneath her dotted by millions of tiny pinpricks of light. She looked straight up and saw pillars of candlelit flames and their reflections stretched higher and higher into the air, until they looked like millions of stars. Buffy was seized by a sudden bout of vertigo and she stumbled slightly. Marlena caught her easily and steadied her.

“I told you Sasha had an impressive mind,” she smiled slightly.

Behind them Giles was rotating around, trying to take in the sheer scope and size and majestic beauty of the room, dark, except for the millions of tiny flames. Buffy looked up at Marlena in awe.

“Is this Sasha’s room?” she whispered.

“No,” a voice called out. “This is he.”

The voice reverberated through the shadowy chambers. Both Giles and Buffy gasped as some of the candle flames began to move, slowly at first, then like millions of tiny fire flies, they coalesced into a colossal vaguely humanoid torso, arms and head looming over them against a backdrop of millions of pinpricks of light. The being tilted its head to the side in greeting, stretching out huge flaming arms in a grand gesture of greeting,

“Welcome to my construct,” the voice said again, reverberating through the room like a tuning fork. Buffy and Giles just stared in awe.

“How? What? Who?” Buffy babbled. Marlena smiled.

“This is Sasha’s mind, all of this he created psionically. The candle flames are his thoughts. This is a psionic construct. It’s how Sasha chooses to interact with the corporeal world.”

Buffy gaped at her,

“But what about… a body?” she asked flabbergasted.

There was a chiming sound, deep and resonating, and it took Buffy a moment to realize it was laughter.

“My body has not been required for quite some time,” Sasha, ‘said’, the thousand-flame figure gestured to the millions of other tiny sparks of light. “Unless it is to interact with others, I reside within,” the flame figure pointed to its head, “here,” the voice stated simply.

“Innerspace,” Giles breathed.

There was another resonating chime, like a tuning fork, and Buffy got the impression it was a sound of approving.

“Yes,” Sasha replied, echoing. “I exist within the vast world that is within my mind. I travel without moving, I communicate without speaking. I exist in past, present, and future. I am as thought and energy.”

Buffy shook her head in awe.

“This is so… unbelievable,” she whispered, turning slowly to stare at all the candle flames and reflected candlelight. There was the chiming laugh again.

“You were expecting perhaps some poor crippled lunatic?” the huge flaming head titled itself in amusement.

Buffy looked up at it.

“Well… yes,” she replied truthfully. There was the chiming laughter again.

“I am as far beyond my own mortal manifestation as the human species above the amoeba,” Sasha declared.

Marlena gave it a patient look.

“Sasha, dear, I think you’ve made a grand enough first impression. Very much 'the great and terrible Wizard of Oz'. Unlike you, however, these people do not have the luxury in three tenses of time measurement, your prompt help would be appreciated.” She smiled back at Buffy and Giles.

“You’ll have to forgive Sasha, he doesn’t suffer fools well,” she stated simply, without malice or insult.

Giles took off his glasses and wiped them.

“No. I mean, yes, of course,” he squinted at the huge flaming figure, still not quite believing his eyes, before putting his glasses back on. The flaming figure seemed to consider.

“Very well,” Sasha’s tuning fork voice reverberated through the dark chamber. “It is the location of the Everstone you seek?”

Buffy nodded her head fervently.

“Yes, please, can you help us? It’s very important.”

The flaming figure suddenly shifted and Buffy found herself confronted by a thirty-foot smooth face, made entirely of tiny flames, wholly lacking in any detail. No mouth, nose or eyes, yet, Buffy was under the impression that if it had possessed such things, it would right now be quirking an eyebrow questioningly.

“Is it?” the voice responded questioningly, a touch of something that vaguely resembled condescension.

Buffy refused to be intimidated any further by Sasha.

“Yes. It is,” she declared firmly. “It’s pretty damn important as a matter of fact. I know that you’re so much more advanced than I am, so I’m sure you can understand that having the world devoured by the Hellmouth would be a bad thing,” she finished, glaring up at the flaming face.

“Buffy…” Giles started cautioning. Marlena put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

The flaming face peered even closer to Buffy, she could feel the heat of the millions of candles, and she began to sweat, but refused to back down as she was being scrutinized as a man might scrutinize a strange insect. The face tilted slightly to one side, then pulled away suddenly. Buffy stumbled as the searing heat left her. She put her hands to her face and gasped quietly when she realized the skin on her face was cool. She looked back up at the flaming half-man.

“The location of the Everstone is as follows,” the flaming man spoke, reaching out a single burning finger. “Your hand,” it demanded.

Buffy tentatively opened her hand… and with a searing pain, the fiery psionic manifestation lightly touched her palm with its finger. Buffy cried out and pulled away.

“Buffy!” Giles cried out, rushing to her.

Buffy cradled her hand to her chest, wincing in pain. Tentatively she opened it… revealing a tiny fire-orange and red stone. The stone was cool to the touch, her skin was undamaged; she did a double take as she placed the stone in her other hand to inspect it for the damage that had to be there. There was none, she looked up at the burning man.

“This? This is the Everstone?” she asked.

“No,” Sasha’s voice boomed. Buffy jumped back. “The stone will reveal to you the location of the Everstone,” Sasha stated evenly.

Buffy frowned and touched the stone, it began to glow weakly, flickering like a flashlight with dying batteries. Like a broken holographic projector, an odd, writhing shape sputtered into view. It hovered, flickering weakly, translucently, over the Slayer’s hand. It continued to writhe and shift, and yet, seemed to have some sort of pattern, some underlying sense of structure. The movement was jerky, though, uneven, like a computer trying to run a program with not enough memory, or some sort of crude animation. Without warning, it sputtered once, and died; Buffy frowned at it and looked up at the fiery manifestation.

“This? This is the location of the Everstone? Some sort of defective 3-D inkblot?” she demanded.

“It is,” Sasha stated simply.

Buffy scoffed and sighed, putting a hand to her head wearily. Why was it the more important something was, the more cryptic it had to be? She turned and handed it to Giles, who stared at it. To their surprise, the stone glowed brightly and yet in a subdued manner, not even producing the flickering, sputtering, phantasmal image. Buffy threw her hands up in the air.

“Well, that’s just perf-”

There was a loud chiming sound that boomed through the vast chambers, like a thousand grandfather clocks going off at once. Buffy leapt back, afraid, despite herself, that she had offended Sasha. Indeed there was a tone of urgency to the sound.

Giles jerked his head to Marlena.

“What’s happening?” he asked, slightly panicked.

Marlena turned to face him, calm, but with a tightness around her eyes belying her tension.

“That’s the alarm,” she stated calmly.

“The Estate is under attack.”





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