The plates had finally been cleared away. Only glasses, newly topped up with scotch or juice, or mugs, full of either tea or hot chocolate, remained behind, their contents intended to lubricate and lull the impatient audience, settle them in for the imminent commentary. Tara started immediately, her manner so much more self-assured than it had been in the past. Excluding her own example, Buffy wondered if that was what death did for you.
“Hey everyone,” she said, smiling gently. “Thanks for this wonderful ‘welcome back’ dinner. And I guess, what I need to start with is that I am back! Whether Willow or Rowan accept their apprenticeships or not, I will remain, for better or worse, your Guardian representative.”
There was an immediate outbreak of cheering and hugging at this news, and it took Tara a while to get everyone calmed down and seated again, but she did so with firmness and grace. Finally, when everyone else was quiet and settled and sipping on their drinks, she continued.
“Wow, I have a feeling this might take all night.” She grinned wryly then ploughed on. “Okay, so down to the nitty gritty. You know, being shot, it seems like such a violent way to go, but it wasn’t like that. I was lucky, I was surrounded by such love, that when I passed over, it pushed all thoughts of pain or fear out of my heart. I know that for those left behind,” and here she squeezed Willow’s hand, “That was not the case. But for me it was loving and peaceful. When awareness returned to me, I was surrounded by warmth and bright light. A bit of a stereotype I know, but there it is. It was more than just the physical sensation, just really emotional and spiritual like being wrapped up in a warm, loving, blanket.”
“Was it heaven?” Buffy asked quietly. “Did the Guardians pull you out of heaven?”
“No, not out of heaven,” Tara said, frowning thoughtfully. “That place was more like a waiting room I guess. Anyway, I had to hang around there for a long time. It was warm and nice and all, but after a while it got pretty boring.”
“Kind of like limbo then?” Spike said.
“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, eventually they came for me, the Guardians. A kind of door opened up in the space in front of me and two of them came through and took me by the hand and led me through the doorway. “
“Wow, were you scared?” Dawn asked?
“No. I mean the women were pretty serious and kind of stern. They were tall and golden and lovely and all with the flowing robes. They made me feel kind of nervous, but not really scared.”
“They sound like angels,” Dawn noted.
“Or Arwen Evenstar and Queen Galadriel!” Andrew gushed.
Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.
“Go on Tara, please.” Giles prompted.
“You might have easily mistaken them for Elvish queens,” she said kindly to Andrew, “But Dawn’s right, they were more like angels. Ok, so now for the long-winded exposition. Bear with me,” she giggled. “Now, for many millennia the Guardian’s recruited their members exclusively from the temple priestesses of the Sineya cult. Certain priestesses would be chosen and enlisted into the sisterhood, spending their earth bound years serving the needs of the Slayers. They had access to the realm where past Guardians resided and once they themselves passed on, they would transcend, joining their sisters to wander the Halls of Knowledge in Summerland.”
The Wiccans in the room nodded knowingly. “Until they pass onto their next incarnation?” Rowan asked.
“No, not the Guardians, not unless they petition it. The Guardians are granted eternity in paradise.”
“So they are angels!” Dawn insisted.
“Yes, they would fit the description of angels used by most religions, benevolent higher beings whose job it is to protect and guide. They don’t use the title themselves, but yes, that’s what they are.”
The room was quiet as everyone digested, and was a little overawed by that knowledge.
“Anyway, as the centuries passed,” Tara continued, “The cult faded from existence. Yet the Elder Guardians still managed to find women to recruit, women who were close to the Slayer and were skilled in witchcraft. And so the group continued its earthbound connection, if only just. But over time, as the gap between Watchers and Guardians widened, the women were granted less and less access to the Slayers. Training new recruits seemed pointless, and it has been many, many years now since anyone has been trained.”
“So the Guardian I met in Sunnydale?” asked Buffy.
“Mary? She was born hundreds of years ago, but her time on earth may have only added up to seventy years or so. She’d been living in a kind of stasis, moving back and forth between the temple in Sunnydale where she guarded the Scythe and the Halls of Knowledge in Summerland. Her time with her sisters would have been joyful, but I can’t imagine what it must have been like, sitting in that little room, year after year, waiting for the day when she could finally complete her mission.”
“And then that bastard Caleb came along and broke her neck,” Buffy cried out angrily.
“She was ready to pass by that time anyway. She’d done her job and her sisters were waiting. I’ve met her since and she’s a lovely woman. Very proud of having delivered Sagaria to you and of all you’ve achieved with the Scythe by your side.”
“Yes, well, that Scythe is responsible for quite a bit more than just the destruction of the Hellmouth,” Giles grumbled. “I think it’s having a go at single-handedly repopulating the earth.”
Tara laughed. “Yes, well, I’ll get to that later. Now, the Elder Guardians have always kept a close eye on the current Slayer and the state of play with the Watcher’s Council, always hoping they could build a new relationship with either group. And when it came to you Buffy, they noticed how important family and friends were and how paternal rather than authoritarian Giles’ relationship with you was. They had begun to wonder if one of the Scoobies might make a suitable trainee Guardian. They looked to Willow first, but at the time her addiction to power and control and her self-serving use of magic ruled her out.”
Willow flinched and bit her lip.
“Okay, harsh but fair I guess,” said Xander. “How come they’ve changed their minds then?”
“Because Will’s changed. She’s faced her demons, owned her weaknesses and come out the other side. We’ve been watching from afar, watching the way she’s used her intelligence and her skills and her determination to meet her goals and deadlines, only using magic when there is no other alternative, and only after checking with everyone else first.” Tara turned to Willow and squeezed her hand again. “You deserve this chance baby, I’m so proud of how you’ve clawed your way back.”
Oz said “Hear, hear,” and squeezed her other hand, while the others nodded their agreement.
“Okay, so after they ruled out Will, they started considering me. I don’t know what I would have said to Ephesos or Mary or any of the others if they’d approached me at the time. Will’s and my relationship was pretty up and down that last six months, so that may have had a bearing. But either way, I was shot before they could get to me. In the end it didn’t change much. Ephesos immediately interceded on my behalf, petitioning Sineya for the right to sponsor me. She must’ve taken some convincing, cos it felt like I was waiting for a while.”
“So did they even ask you if you wanted to be up graded or did they just snatch you away?” Buffy asked earnestly. “I mean, maybe you were finished, you know, ready to kick back and rest.”
“They gave me the tour first, did the whole slide show presentation with accompanying Cliffs Notes. It was an easy sell to tell the truth: getting to help you and eventually hanging out with the rest of the Scoobies again and making a difference to the world. I signed up pretty quickly.”
“So since then you’ve been studying?” Giles asked.
“Yes. I spent a lot of time learning about the history of the Guardian group so that I can understand where they’re coming from, where they fit into the big picture. Some of the training involves adjusting your mindset so that you can problem solve and think in a much more collective way. And then of course I had to spend time learning how to use my new abilities.”
“Tell them what abilities the Guardians have babe,” Willow said.
“Well, we have the ability to manipulate our interaction with time, to slow it down or speed it up. That’s how Mary was able to endure for so long in Sunnydale. We are also able to see flashes of future events, not full precognition, but just enough of a peek to be able to help the Slayer out.”
“Oh yeah,” Xander said, “That’s gonna come in handy. I’ve always thought we needed someone with sixth sense. Shit, even Angel had Cordy pointing him in the right direction, not that that did the poor cow much good.” Everyone was quiet as they thought of the ex-Scooby who was doing a Sleeping Beauty impression deep in the bowels of Angel’s evil castle.
“You can dimension hop too can’t you?” asked Dawn quietly
“Not strictly speaking. We can of course travel between the two dimensions, earth to Summerland, but we can’t just hop from one place to another on earth. In an extreme emergency, if I had to get from here to Rede Coven say,” Tara said, nodding in Althanea’s direction, “I could shift from here to Summerland then from Summerland to Devon. But we can only do that if things are really going pear-shaped, the Elders don’t like us using the Halls as a turnstile.”
“Are there any other abilities I, um we, should know about?” Rowan asked.
“Well the final one’s not really a new one, just training to help upgrade the way you access and use earth energy. Rowan, I know you and Willow are already pretty good at connecting to the source, but the Guardians help you learn how to, you know, draw deeper and quicker. And you also find out how to locate and use different kinds of energy, healing or vengeful or strengthening, so that you can use the best kind of energy to power your spells.”
“Wow, so that’s a lot of fire power you’ve going on now Tara,” said Buffy. “I know we love that you’re here with us, but I think we’re also gonna love having you and your Superwicca powers around.”
“Which leads us to the question of exactly how you’re here?” said Giles. “I assume that when you passed over to Summerland, you were in a non-corporeal state. I know Ephesos mentioned the gift of returning your physical body to you. Are their limitations placed upon you in that regard? Are you resurrected, reanimated, revivified or simply renewed?”
Tara’s tinkling laugh filled the room with warmth and joy. “Gosh Giles, what a great collection of verbs! You’re like a walking thesaurus. Okay, if I had to choose one of those worthy terms I would say that my body has been renewed, and its purpose and functions resumed after a little break. It seems in pretty good repair; maybe they had it in cold store. Anyway all the bits and bobs seem to be working okay. But there’s nothing new or upgraded about my soul, my essence. I’m still the same Tara, and apart from the little blackout after I passed, I have full recall of my life before and after death.”
“So you’re actually alive again?” Andrew asked.
“One hundred percent living and breathing.”
“One hundred percent mortal?” Giles asked.
“Ah, well that’s a little more complicated,” Tara said wryly. “My body can be killed, as Buffy saw with Mary, but not easily. It is not exactly immortal, but my body has an extended lifetime warrantee on it. And of course my soul, my Tara-ness is now eternal. When my body finally perishes, it will not be revived, but I’ll go straight back to Summerland and go on.”
“And you’ll be an Angel too! A Guardian Angel!” Dawn stated, a thoughtful, worried look clouding her face. “But while you’re alive you’ll live here, right? You’ll stay here at Ashdown with us? At the Lodge?” Dawn asked.
“I have to pop back to the Halls regularly, maybe once or twice a week. And now and again I might need to go for a night or two, but yes, if it’s all right with all of you, I’d love to live here.”
The sounds of cheering and approval filled the room, highlighting the enthusiastic nods and delighted smiles.
“Right my dear, welcome home.” Giles said to another round of applause and more than a few sniffles. “Well first we must organise a suite for you. Buffy and Spike are moving out of theirs in another few weeks, so it will be vacant. Until then, you’re welcome to stay in one of the guest suites down the end. They’re quite comfortable.”
“Actually,” Willow said, blushing slightly, even as she tried to hold her head up straight, “Oz and Tara and I have talked about this today. She’s going to move in with Oz and I.”
“Well of course,” Giles said, “you do have a spare room ever since Dawn moved into her own suite. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of room.”
“No Giles, I mean she’s going to live with us. As in together, the three of us.”
There was silence, a few confused faces and shoulder hunches before the penny finally dropped.
“You mean …?” Giles stuttered, “Oh dear Lord! I mean, I mean, that’s wonderful dear, oh, ah dears, oh.” He gave up and dragged out his hanky so that he could spend some quality time polishing up his foggy glasses.
“Whoa,” said Xander, “I did not see that coming. Man Oz, I don’t know whether to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or just down right envious.” He laughed, “I think I’ll settle on envious, well done you lucky bastard. And good luck.”
“Actually Harris,” said Spike, “Looks to me like the congratulations might need to go to Red. Girl’s shacked up with her two main squeezes, she’s like the cat that got the cream.”
“Spike!” Buffy hissed as she elbowed him. “Oh my God, would you shut up! I’m sorry Willow, I can’t take him anywhere.”
Willow giggled, the carefree sound contrasting with the red stain on her cheeks. “Its okay Buffy, after all he’s kinda right. I am incredibly lucky to have the two people I love the most sharing my life with me. So I’ll accept your congratulations Spike.”
“And I’m all good with receiving your envy Xander,” Oz said, a wry smile on his face. “I believe it’s well deserved. I’ll take the good luck too, might well need it.”
“Yep, I reckon you will” Spike affirmed. “Its bad enough living with one bint. Let alone two of the mad creatures.”
After a round of nods, several offended hmmphs and another elbow to the ribs for Spike; Giles cleared his throat and spoke.
“Well, you’ve taken us all a little unawares, but as long as you’re all happy with the arrangement, then you have my full support.”
“Thanks Giles, that means a lot,” Willow leaped up and ran over to give him a quick hug before settling back down between Oz and Tara.
“Yes Giles,” Tara said. “And the rest of you. It’s great to have your support and love. This,” she used her hand to indicate the three of them, “It might seem a little strange to you, but it feels so loving and caring and very ‘right’. If there’s one thing death will do, its make you realize that life is too short not to go after what you want, what you need. If something feels right, you should go for it.”
There were plenty of heads nodding around the room at that little gem. Buffy clutched Spike’s hand tightly and her eyes misted over as she thought about how much time she’d wasted after her own resurrection, before she’d begun to accept that Tara’s advice was true.
“That being said,” she added, “Are there any other questions we can help you out with?”
“Well not about your sleeping arrangements blossom,” Spike winked, “We’ll just use our imaginations to fill in those gaps.” He chuckled and stuck his hand out to protect his ribs as Buffy’s pointy little elbow got itself lined up for action again. “No Glinda, what Buffy and I want to know about, probably the others too, is this new order business. Your boss called Buffy the ‘progenitor of the new order’. What’s that mean exactly?”
“Okay, personal hat off, Guardian hat on.” Tara said. “So, the New Order is just one of the possible pathways that we could take into the future.”
“New Order sounds a bit fascist petal,” Spike growled.
“Maybe Spike,” she agreed, “But words are just words, don’t get hung up on semantics. New Order is just the phrase the Elders have always used to describe the world where the balance remains, but the scales are tipped more firmly in favour of the light. I’ve seen glimpses of the alternative and it’s not nice: darkness, pain, fear. The New Order is definitely the direction we want to be heading in. But to achieve this, the ancient enemy must be defeated, and the new generation of warriors must be ushered in.”
“Hmm, so is this ‘Scourge of Amroz’ the ancient enemy you refer to?” Giles asked.
“Yes, in part. But remember what I said before, as Guardians, we only receive flashes of the future. Even with all of the combined foresight of these many women over many years, our vision is incomplete.” Tara sighed. “My job is to pass on what we do know, the picture we do have. But even so, it’s woefully patchy. But to answer your question Giles, yes, the Scourge is part of the greater evil you will face.”
“Okay, so it’s not looking like you’re gonna be our ‘get out of research free’ card, Tara. That’s disappointing,” said Buffy. “The books and I are still kinda unmixy!”
“Never mind Buffy, we’ve got lots of help with the research thing these days,” Willow reassured the Slayer, glancing around the room at her study buddies.
“I guess.” Buffy sighed. “So, the new generation of warriors are the new baby slayers right?”
“Actually, again, that’s only part of the picture. The baby slayers make up the Legion and the Legion are critical to the defeat of the Scourge. But the term actually refers to more than just that, we’re talking a whole new generation, an advanced generation, a kind of all new, souped up group of scions I guess.”
“Scions Glinda? Fuck, you’re talking about our baby right?” Spike growled as he jumped to his feet.
Buffy reached up and tugged him back down beside her, one hand stroking across his back calmingly, as the other palmed her belly protectively. But her eyes flashed as she turned back to Tara. “What does this have to do with our baby? And what’s a scion? I wish you people would speak English!”
“Sorry Buffy,” Tara grinned, obviously unperturbed by Spike’s outburst or Buffy’s aggression. “A scion is an young heir or descendent of a powerful or influential family.”
Buffy looked around the room, confusion marring her face. Everyone seemed to be looking at her, waiting for the penny to drop. When it finally did, she let out a squeak of realization and brought her other hand down to join the first, clasping them across her bump.
“Okay, so our baby’s a scion and what? Spike and I are a powerful and influential family? Wow, what does that mean, for us and for the baby?”
“Actually, before I get into that, the family is wider than just you and Spike. Every person in this room is a member of one branch of what will become known as one of the most powerful families of all time.” Tara paused, “The fate of the world hangs on the fortunes of this family.”
“Wow, deep,” said Xander. “But all good, we’ve always been like family to one another anyway. We’ll happily help to look after and protect the scion Buffy.”
“She didn’t say scion Harris,” Spike said, “She said scions. And a new generation isn’t just one, it’s made of a group of niblets. We’re not just talking about our little one are we Glinda?”
“No Spike, we’re not.”
“Oh my Goddess,” Willow gasped, “You mean?” and her hand flew to her abdomen at the same time as Cat and Rowan’s did, matching looks of shock and confusion gracing their faces. The fathers were only a split second behind and by that stage the room was in an uproar.
“Hey guys, calm down. It’s a good thing, honest. These little one’s are destined for great things. Their arrivals will herald in a new age.”
“But they’re only little babies,” Willow said. “How can they be a new generation of warriors? Won’t they be at risk or something?”
“Well babe, look around you,” Tara said. “They’ll be born into a family of warriors, that’s always fighting against a big bad of some kind or another. You’re all at risk, all the time, every day. But still you go on right? Giles’ idea of getting you all inked up is a good start. The protection spell is vital and it doesn’t hurt that you’ll all be wearing the family crest.”
“Oh, okay,” Willow nodded, “Sorry, I’m just turning into neurotic Mom here. So, by the way Giles, how’s the reworked spell coming?”
“Its complete Willow,” Giles said. “Cat’s already run off six more copies of the transfer and Rowan’s mixed up a new batch of ink. All that remains is for the inks to be applied to the design and left to dry and a time to be chosen to apply the tattoos and perform the protection ritual. I thought perhaps next Sunday if that suits everyone?”
General sounds of assent around the room were interrupted by Buffy’s question.
“Why only six Giles? I’m guessing you’re meaning the three sets of parents to be. What about Dawnie?”
“I definitely intend for Dawn, Andrew, Althanea and of course Tara now if she wishes, to receive a protection tattoo as soon as possible,” Giles reassured Buffy. “But we only had enough of the raw materials to make ink for six sigils. This round is going to be parent and child focused; the next round can be about individuals. I’ve already ordered more of the crystals, powders and resins we need to mix up the inks, so possibly the following weekend would work.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll feel better once that’s sorted,” Willow muttered. “But what about our children? What does this new order stuff mean for them?”
“Well again, I don’t have a full picture, but from the glimpses I’ve seen, you won’t need to worry about the children, they will possess gifts beyond measure, strength, cunning, beauty, wisdom, talent, charisma. They will be true leaders, warriors and tacticians all.”
“Oh Good Lord,” Giles suddenly interjected, “’The Scions of Sineya.’ Bloody hell, these children will become Sineya’s famed progeny won’t they?” At Tara’s brief nod, he exhaled noisily, then continued, half to himself as he sorted through his thoughts out loud. “It’s one of the prophecies you study during your first year at Sackville, it’s all about how the Scions of Sineya will cut down the demon’s and bring peace to their people. You know scion has an alternative meaning. It can refer to something that has been grafted onto a new plant. We were always taught, and nobody ever thought to question it, that the ‘Scions’ were the individual Slayers, chosen one after the other, but always able to trace their ‘grafted’ power back through the slayer line to Sineya. Hence, her scions.”
“So you were right about that fucking scythe Rupert,” Spike growled angrily. “That bloody Sineya’s been using us like a bunch of lab rats, sticking us in a box and throwing her damn fertility stick in after us. Hell, how do we know we’d even be together or with child if it wasn’t for her?”
“Oh stop being such a drama queen Spike,” Tara said shaking her head at him. Everyone looked at her in shock as the realization of how much more confident and forthright this version of Tara was than the old one finally sunk in. “Are you trying to tell us that you would never have been attracted to Buffy, never have fallen in love with her if it wasn’t for Sineya?”
“No, of course not, loved the annoying bint almost from the first moment I saw her,” he admitted gruffly. “Would love her no matter where I met her or in what circumstances.” This statement had all the women in the room sighing and Buffy gifting him with her biggest smile. “But,” he dropped his head, “maybe she wouldn’t have …”
“Spike,” Buffy said quietly, using her finger to lift his chin so that he could see her face, the love and openness shining out of her eyes, “Spike, nobody and nothing ‘made’ me fall in love with you. I mean, I resisted it hard enough, for long enough. And if some deity had orchestrated our being together, I’m pretty sure they would’ve made sure the path to true love was a damn sight smoother than ours was. I would have been all ‘I hate him, poof, OMG, he’s the one for me!”
“Ha, ha, kind of like Willow’s spell,” Xander offered.
“Yeah, pretty much. And anyway, there’s no way Sineya would have made me fall for you, she hates you remember, you ‘demon defiler’ you.”
“Oh yeah, that’s true innit? In fact probably had to fight fate to win your hand pet.” Spike seemed quite chuffed at the thought, and somewhat mollified.
“But as for Buffy’s pregnancy Spike,” Cat addressed the vampire, “Of course Sagaria had a hand in that, and the amulet. Your pregnancy would never have happened normally, it’s mystically generated. So unless you’re unhappy about the miraculous prospect of your becoming a father, then I would say Tara’s right, ya need to stop whining.”
“Okay, it’s obviously pick on the vampire day. But fair call girls, I’m right chuffed about how things turned out for me and the Slayer, just worried about what’s in store for our little one. Don’t want him to be a pawn in all this. Or the other littlies. Doesn’t seem right.”
“No problem William,” Tara replied cheekily, “Worry is a natural response when you’re a parent. But so is pride, and something tells me we’re going to have an awful lot to be proud of in the near future.”
“So Tara, these five children are the Scions, the first of the new order?” Giles confirmed.
“Well they are Scions, but not the whole group, there are others, some still to come. And they’re not the first. Two already exist.”
There was stunned silence at this proclamation. Tara had thrown so many shocking announcements at them this evening, and this one no less than the others.
“But I thought I was the progenitor?” Buffy said quietly. “Doesn’t that mean originator or ancestor? How can that be if two already exist? I mean I think I’d remember if I had a child already.”
“You haven’t given birth previously Buffy, but you are the reason that the first child was created. Because you could protect her and love her, she was made of you and given to you.”
“Dawn,” Buffy gasped reaching out to grasp her sister’s hand. “Dawnie’s a scion?”
“Yes, the very first. Her arrival opened up the way for the conception of her siblings. Part of the energy matrix she was constructed from was used by the Guardians to release the particular magic that was needed to conceive the rest of the Scions. Most of the energy found its way across town to the temple where Mary was guarding the Scythe, and entwined itself around Sagaria.”
“And thus the remaining conceptions,” Giles mused. “But doesn’t that make Dawn the progenitor?”
“No, because if it wasn’t for Buffy, the monks would have made the Key into something completely different. In fact, the Guardians had a role to play in Dawn’s conception too. But, don’t ever forget Dawn,” Tara turned to face the shell-shocked girl, “That you are not just the Key. You are Dawn; you were created human, fashioned from your sister’s DNA, given life. The Key abilities are one of your gifts as a Scion and from what I’ve seen, you’re doing a great job of using them wisely. See, just like I said: strength, cunning, beauty, wisdom, talent and charisma!”
“But hold on there, you just said Dawn had Buffy’s DNA in her,” Xander said, “So doesn’t that make Buffy her Mom. And how come they don’t look identical?”
“Well, she’s not a clone of Buffy. She does have other DNA material in her genetic make up. And don’t bother asking me who. I’m sure, given time and a little bit of effort you might be able to work out who exactly. Give or take.”
“Is it someone I know?” Dawn asked tentatively, her eyes shiny with unspent tears.
“Come and see me later,” Tara said, softening her hard ass attitude for the confused girl. “On your own. We’ll talk.”
“Wow baby, you sure are bombshell girl huh?” Willow said. “This stuff is big. It’s pretty mind-boggly. We all need time to process I think.”
“That sounds like a great suggestion Willow, but before we all turn in, Tara can I ask one more question?” Giles asked. At Tara’s nod he continued. “You mentioned earlier that two Scions already exist. If Dawn is one, who then is the other?”
“Well, like I said, most of the energy released at the moment of Dawn’s creation found its way to Sagaria, but a small part of that Scion energy made its way to L.A.”
“Oh fucking hell, please don’t tell me the mojo ended up in the bloody Poof’s balls?”
Tara just shrugged and gave Spike a twisted little grin.
“Fuck, Peaches has some kid out there? How the hell can that be?”
“Funny you asking that question Spike,” Xander said. “But also, I concur. Fuck!”
“Oh my,” Willow said, “Connor!”
“Who’s Connor?” Buffy, Giles, Spike and Dawn asked simultaneously.
“Oh Goddess, how do I know this and nobody else?” she muttered, biting her lip. “Anyone? No one? Oh great! All right, so Connor is Angel’s son. As in human son! He’s about nineteen, a good looking boy, although pretty moody and surly the only time I met him.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us?” Giles almost shouted.
“Well excuse me, we were in the middle of an apocalypse the only time I met him back in March. Ah remember the First anyone?” Willow said. “Anyway, by the time I arrived back with Faith, everything was falling apart, what with poor Shannon, all Caleb stabbed and message bound? So there just wasn’t time, and then I guess I forgot. Which is weird, cos when I say forgot, I mean really forgot. Like he was wiped from my brain up until a few minutes ago. Strange!”
“Okay, so this kid’s human, nineteenish,” said Spike, “He’d have to be way older than Niblet then right? How does that work? Dawn only came to us three years ago, so the kid’s far to old to be a Scion.”
“I guess you’d have to contact Angel,” Tara said. There was something about a different dimension in there somewhere, but I’m not really up on the Angelverse. You’ve got his number don’t you?”
“Yeah, we do,” Giles said, “Or at least the number of the evil Law firm that he runs now. Hmm perhaps it would be better to get Faith to question him. They always seemed to get on reasonably well. I’ll give her a ring in the morning.”
“And on that note guys,” said Willow, “I think we’ll turn in.” She blushed at the speculative looks they got as the three of them stood, but then shrugged and grinned, finger waving as they headed towards the door.
Everyone else made a move at that stage as well. It was late and most of them had school the following morning, teachers and students alike. There was a little chatter as they left, although Dawn, last one out as she pushed in the chairs and cleared the table, was quiet.
Finally the room was empty and still. Dawn stood by the door, filled with turmoil and confusion. All of a sudden she didn’t know who she was. Again! But there was someone else like her, someone in L.A. That knowledge made her feel weird, but maybe a little better. Faith would find the answers, then she wouldn’t feel so lost. She sighed, flicked off the light switch, closed the door and headed to bed. Tomorrow was a new day. Time enough to sort out her existential crisis then.