Brace Yourself by Enigmaticblue

Summary: In the sequel to Collide, there are unexpected consequences to the ritual Buffy did to break the curse on Spike, Dawn is trying to figure out what it means to be the Key, and Willow is coming home. And that's just the beginning.

Chapter 11: Out of the Frying Pan

"I don't see myself when I look in the mirror/I see who I should be/I don't see myself when I look in your eyes/Thank God for that...I hear them screaming/On the radio/It's getting louder/In the crossfire/Trying to find some hope/Our day will come/We'll find the sun/We'll find the fire/We'll sanctify/The love we gave/Our one desire..." ~Starsailor, "In the Crossfire"

"What happened?" Buffy demanded as she burst into the Magic Box, sending the bell above the door jangling wildly.

Giles winced, both at the sound and at the thought of having to tell her that Dawn was missing. "When Tara went to get Dawn from school, she wasn't there, but her things were."

"Shit." Buffy looked ready to kill something. "Do we know where to start looking?"

"Willow's getting ready to do a locator spell right now," Giles replied. "Once she finds the location, we'll be ready to go."

The bell over the door jangled again, this time a little more gently. "I got your message, Giles," Xander said. "What's up?"

"It looks like someone grabbed Dawn," Buffy said. "You up for a rescue mission?"

"Always," was the immediate response. "Is Willow working on something?"

"A locator spell," Giles replied. "Where's Spike?"

Buffy gestured outside at the fading light. "It wasn't quite dark enough yet, so he took the back way. He should be here any minute."

"Speak of the devil," Xander murmured as Spike came out of the back room. Buffy shot him a look, but he just shrugged.

Spike frowned, his eyes immediately going to Buffy. "Dawn?"

"Willow's on it," Buffy said. "How long before we know?"

Giles shook his head. "I'm not sure. It shouldn't be much longer."

Buffy was grateful when Spike came to stand by her, placing his strong hands on her shoulders. She had to admit that as worried as she was about Dawn, it felt good to know that everyone was together, working to solve the problem.

The minutes passed slowly, feeling more like hours; Buffy couldn't help but think of all the things that could happen to Dawn in the time it took them to find her. After all, Rack had had her for maybe a couple of hours—certainly no longer than she'd already been missing—and he'd been able to do quite a bit of damage.

"We've got it," Willow said, coming out of the training room with Anya and Tara on her heels. "Dawn's in the north woods. I'm not sure where exactly, but—"

"I can find her," Spike interrupted. "When we find the general area, I can track her from there."

Buffy glanced outside at the last rays of light. "We'll need weapons."

"Someone should probably stay here," Tara pointed out. "If Dawn manages to get away, she'll probably come back here, or to the house."

Buffy nodded, thinking fast. "Xander, Anya, stay here. You'd probably better close up the shop, just in case someone comes looking. Giles, Tara, head to the house, in case Dawn shows up there. I don't want anybody getting caught alone."

Giles looked like he wanted to argue, but finally nodded. "That might be wise," he acknowledged.

"Buffy?" Willow asked. "What about me?"

Buffy looked her right in the eye. "You're my big gun, Will. You're with Spike and me."

~~~~~

Dawn stood frozen, wondering if she'd moved from the frying pan into the fire—although she really didn't think that anyone could be worse than the dead man that lay before her.

The young man didn't look much older than her, maybe a few years at most, and he was dressed in rough clothing of the sort she'd seen in movies. The kind of clothing that peasants from the Middle Ages wore, which told her just how far from home she really was.

"Are you all right?" he asked, striding forward and yanking his knife out of the corpse, then wiping it on the dead man's shirt.

"Yes," Dawn managed to squeak out. "Thank you."

The young man reached for her hands, causing Dawn to stumble back a couple of steps. "Please," he said, holding up his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "Let me cut the rope."

She stepped forward, holding out her bound hands. He cut the rope that bound her in one swift motion, and then motioned for her to follow him. "Come. You can't be seen. Strangers aren't welcome here anymore."

Dawn balked at following him. Sure, he'd probably saved her life, but there was no telling what he was going to do with her now. "Strangers?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You are not from this world, correct?"

"Well, no, but—"

"You will not be welcomed by most," he repeated. "There are those who would kill you."

Dawn had no guarantee of that, except for his word, but he had saved her from Ray, and his eyes were kind. And she needed to get somewhere safe so she could open another portal home. "Okay."

He led her through a forest, the trees ancient and looming, allowing little sunlight through. There wasn't much underbrush where she'd opened the portal, but it soon grew dense, with bushes, vines, and other vegetation tripping her up. They had been walking for a little while when Dawn realized that she'd left her pocket knife behind, although she wasn't sure on which side of the portal she'd dropped it. "Crap," she muttered, her eyes stinging.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

"Yes. No. I guess," Dawn said, hardly able to tell if she was okay herself. "I left my knife somewhere."

"I can lend you mine," he said.

That offer caused Dawn to feel a little better about his intentions; he probably wouldn't give her a weapon if he meant to harm her. "No, it's—a friend gave it to me."

"It has meaning to you."

"Yeah." She realized that she didn't even know his name. "I'm Dawn," she offered.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, and she caught a glimpse of clear hazel eyes. "Like the morning?"

"Yeah," she said. "What's your name?"

"Bracken." He motioned her closer. "The bush gets dense through here; stay close."

Dawn had thought that the foliage was dense; she hated to think how difficult it would be to get through. She took a tight grip on the back of his shirt as he ducked into what looked like a tunnel of trees. Branches and leaves scratched her face and bare arms and tangled in her hair; Dawn knew she was going to look like a mess when she got out of this.

When they emerged from the tunnel, it was into a clearing, and Dawn was amazed by the beauty of the place, with the sunlight streaming down from above. "Where are we?"

"When we hunt, we usually come here," Bracken replied. "There's a stand in that tree over there, and we shoot the klorx from above."

"The what?"

"You eat them," Bracken said. "You're from a different world, aren't you?"

She could see the curiosity in his eyes. "How did you know?"

"We had strangers here two years ago," Bracken said eagerly. "They helped lead the rebellion, and they overturned the Covenant and freed the cows."

Dawn frowned. "The cows?"

"Humans," he explained.

Something didn't quite mesh. "Then why would anybody want to kill me?" she asked, watching as he dropped down to sit cross legged on the grass. "If what the strangers did was good, I mean." Dawn joined him on the ground, wondering if she should open a portal right in front of him, or if she should wait until he was gone. If he left her alone. Dawn had no idea how she was going to get herself out of this mess with minimal fuss.

"There are still factions," Bracken explained. "Some think that we should have a ruler, others think we should rule ourselves. Some wish for cooperation, and others for isolation. Many blame the strangers for the changes they caused, without bringing true peace. My father told me that it's only because people like to complain, and they have to blame someone."

"Will you get in trouble?" Dawn asked. "For helping me?"

He grinned. "Not if they don't catch me." Bracken's eyes turned serious again, his mud-brown hair hanging in his eyes. "Can you get home? There are priests that might know, but I don't know how to open a portal."

Dawn nodded. "I think so. I hope so, anyway." She hesitated. "If you give me your knife, I think I could open one now."

Bracken hesitated, then solemnly handed her his knife, hilt first. Dawn took a deep breath, centering herself once again, thinking about the Magic Box, about the training room, about how badly she wanted to go home. With a careful motion, she cut her finger, letting a drop of blood fall.

For the first time since she'd opened the portal under Tara's direction, nothing happened.

Dawn stared at the space where the energy should have been.

"How does it work?" Bracken asked, obviously waiting for something to happen.

"It's supposed to be there," Dawn replied in disbelief. "It was supposed to open right away." She turned to look at him. "I swear, that's how it's always worked in the past." She could feel the tears begin to threaten.

Bracken frowned. "You opened a door to get here?"

Dawn nodded. "I was trying to get away from the guy you killed. He wanted to hurt me."

"Then maybe you need some time?" he suggested. "It's said that portals here never open in the same place too close together, because one drains the energy. How long between openings has it been for you in the past?"

Dawn felt some measure of relief. "Days, at least. I haven't done this much before, just four or five times in the last few weeks."

He offered a reassuring smile. "Then we'll wait until you have the energy to open the door again."

"Won't you be missed?" Dawn asked, thinking of Spike and Buffy's likely panic. The others would be worried about her, too.

Bracken smiled, shaking his head. "My parents have thirteen children, and I'm not their favorite. They won't mind not feeding me."

"Oh." Dawn wasn't sure what to say to that. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "We'll need a fire. Help me gather wood, and tell me about where you're from. Do you have family?"

Dawn took the proffered hand and allowed Bracken to pull her to her feet. "I have a sister," she replied. "She's probably going crazy."

He glanced down at her. "She'll be looking for you?"

Dawn nodded, hoping that Buffy would figure out what had happened. "Yeah. I just hope she doesn't do something stupid before I get back."

~~~~~

"This is it," Spike announced.

Willow had led them to the general area that the spell had indicated Dawn would be, and Spike had followed her scent to the mouth of a cave. His hand stopped Buffy before she could march out of the brush and into the open. "Not yet," he warned. "There's someone coming."

A moment later, a hulking demon emerged from the bushes not fifteen feet away. "What is that?" Buffy hissed.

"Sagrat demon," Spike muttered. "Bloody hell."

"What does that mean?" Willow asked urgently.

He shook his head. "Nothing good. They're tough to kill, and they like to collect things that'll give them power."

Buffy's face hardened. "He isn't getting his hands on Dawn."

"That goes without sayin'," Spike replied.

They watched intently as the Sagrat called out, "Where is my purchase? I expect punctuality."

Spike frowned as silence descended, wondering if they were in the wrong place after all, even though the evidence seemed to point to the contrary. Buffy made an aborted move to the entrance, just before a snake-like demon walked out. "We no longer have the girl."

The Sagrat snarled audibly. "You promised. Do you know what I do to those who break their promises to me?"

"I can only imagine," the Koral replied, pulling out a double-barreled shotgun and shooting the Sagrat in the chest. As big as the demon was, the blast still knocked him onto his back, and the Koral didn't hesitate to reload and pull the trigger again, this time unloading into the other demon's face.

The Sagrat was ugly enough that Spike thought it might be an improvement to lose his head.

He glanced over at Buffy and nodded; as one, they rose, rushing the Koral from behind, driving the demon to the ground with simultaneous twin kicks to his back. Spike knelt down hard on the demon's back, driving all the air from his lungs. "Where's my sister?" Buffy demanded, grabbing one of the spines coming out of the top of his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Koral hissed in reply.

Spike applied a little more pressure, knowing exactly where the sensitive spots on the demon's back were. "Don't think you heard the Slayer," he said. "Where's the girl? If you tell us, we might be persuaded to give you a quick death."

"Bite me."

Spike's face shifted. "Don't tempt me."

Even though the Koral couldn't see the change, with his face pressed into the ground, Spike knew he'd sensed it. "I don't know where the brat went. She opened a portal, and Ray went in after her. I certainly didn't touch a hair on her head."

"Sorry," Buffy snarled. "Wrong answer." With a quick motion, she snapped the demon's neck.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "We might have needed more info, Slayer."

"No, we don't," she contradicted him. "Dawn opened a portal, which means she's somewhere else, and we can either hope to hell she can get back home, or we hope that Willow can somehow find her."

Spike turned to look at the witch, who had come to join them next to the demon's body. "What?" she asked, hearing her name but not having caught the context.

"Can you find Dawn if she's in some other dimension?" Buffy asked.

Willow hesitated. "I don't think so, Buffy. You've heard Anya talk; there are thousands of different dimensions. Maybe if we had something to go on, but—opening a portal isn't easy to begin with."

"Why don't we do a quick search of the cave?" Spike asked. "We might be able to find something that'll help narrow it down."

Willow nodded slowly. "Maybe. I'm not making any promises, though."

"We're not expecting miracles, Will," Buffy assured her. "Just do what you can."

Spike caught the scent of Dawn's blood soon enough after entering the cave. They didn't have to go too far in before finding the spot where she'd last been, although the only indicator that Dawn had been there—other than her scent and the minute trace of blood that Spike could sense—was the knife he'd given her.

He picked it up off the ground thoughtfully. "This is what she used to open the portal."

"How can you be sure?" Buffy demanded.

"It's got her blood on it, and it was clean when I gave it to her." Spike met her eyes. "She hasn't opened any doors within the last few days, Buffy."

"Is there any way to tell where she went?" Buffy asked Willow.

Willow shook her head. "I'm sorry, Buffy, but there isn't any evidence of where she might have gone. Only Dawn would know."

"What about Anya?" Buffy asked, almost desperately. "Anya was the one who told Dawn about all the dimensions. Maybe she—"

"She told Dawn about dozens of dimensions," Spike said. "Dawn might have tried to go to the safest one, or she might have gotten sidetracked, bein' in danger an' all."

Buffy put a hand to her forehead. "What are we going to do, Spike? I can't lose her!"

"You're not going to lose her, luv," Spike said, moving to wrap her in his arms, ignoring Willow's presence. "She's smart, an' she'll get herself back home again."

"She might be home already," Willow pointed out hopefully. "She'd probably go to the Magic Box or your house, right?"

"Right," Buffy agreed, straightening. "Let's get out of here. Dawn might be back already."

Spike didn't say anything, although he wished Willow hadn't gotten Buffy's hopes up. Even though he had faith in Dawn's ability to get herself out of trouble, he knew it might take her a little longer than that to get back to Sunnydale.

He had to believe that she'd eventually make it back, though; Spike knew that the only way they were going to see Dawn again was if she rescued herself.

~~~~~

"Are you alright?" Giles asked.

Tara managed a smile for him. "I'm fine. Worried, but fine."

"I'm sure they'll find her."

Tara shook her head. "I don't know if Dawn would stay in one place long enough for them to find her."

Giles frowned, not quite understanding. "What do you mean?"

"Dawn can open portals to other dimensions without any help, and this is definitely an emergency situation." Tara sighed. "If she thought that she was in enough danger, Dawn would open a portal, and then would come back."

"You sound worried," Giles observed. "You don't think she'll be able to do it."

Tara leaned her head back on the couch. "I know that Dawn's capable. She's come a long way since she started working on opening doors, and she's gotten better. Dawn has never had to get herself back home, though."

Giles began to appear alarmed. "If Dawn does go to a different dimension, and she can't open another portal—"

"There's no way I know of to find her," Tara admitted. "We thought about trying it, making sure it worked both ways, but we could never find a fool-proof way of getting Dawn back if it didn't work. And—" Tara broke off, unsure if she should alarm him further.

"What else?" Giles asked, beginning to clean his glasses.

Tara sighed. "We've never opened more than one portal in a day, Giles. I don't know what kind of energy it takes, but I imagine it's like anything else. It takes its toll on a person, and whatever energy is inherent in Dawn's makeup can't be inexhaustible."

"You're saying you don't know how long it might be before she's able to open a door back here, assuming that she can," Giles rephrased. He winced. "Buffy is not going to be pleased to hear that."

"There's nothing we can do about it," Tara said. "If Spike and Buffy don't get there in time, we'll just have to hope that Dawn can get herself out of trouble for once."

Tara was hopeful, but she also knew that there were a lot of variables in that equation. Any number of things could go wrong, preventing Dawn from getting back to Sunnydale right away—perhaps preventing her from returning altogether.