1. Goodbye England

Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own Hellboy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, tho if I did then Nuada wouldn't have died! Grr, curse you scriptwriters!

Um, anyway, just to let you guys know some things. I didn't watch all of the final two seasons of Buffy, so I'm gonna kinda gloss over those if I ever have a flashback or anything.  
Some other stuff, Anya didn't die in the final battle with the First. Why? Because Anya was one of the coolest characters, in my book, anyway. There's some other stuff I want to cover, but I'll do that later.  
As for pairings... this is a Nuada/Dawn story. That ain't changing for nothing. Uh, as for side pairings, I guess Nuala/Abe and Liz/Hellboy, but those are pretty much it for right now. I'll let you know if there are any more developments.

Ok, this is the first story I've written for this site, and I'd really appreciate any productive criticism, please.

* * *

It had been three yrs, and yet Dawn could still remember everything as if it had happened just yesterday. Three yrs since the fall of The First and Sunnydale, her home. Three yrs since Spike had died in the depths of the Hellmouth. And two yrs since she found out that he wasn't really dead at all, just... relocated. She may have technically only been alive for three yrs before that, but with all of her forged memories as well as her legit ones, she had considered it her home.

Now, though, her home was a large office in the depths of the New and Improved Watchers Council in England where she sat for unknown hours at a time translating sometimes useless documents and items that had practically no significance with the future of the Slayers. Even though it sometimes frustrated her that Giles, or even Willow, wouldn't give her anything more important to translate, she kept reminding herself that she should be thankful they were even letting her do that much.

After all, even after all these yrs, everyone still treated her as if her were fine china, Buffy especially. Whenever she was in town, anyway. When she took the time to notice her. Buffy was so busy being The Slayer that she still sometimes forgot that she had a sister. Not that you would've guessed with how many times she would call Dawn anytime Dawn left the Council's Headquarters for more than ten minutes. The activation of the potentials hadn't changed that about her, if anything it made her even more protective. Having over a hundred super girls to take care of made her notice all the more how un-super her little sister was, glowy-green-energy-key-thing aside.

Dawn wasn't even allowed outside of her flat (apartment) after dark without a slayer with her. It was frustrating and aggravating, but she kept telling herself that it Buffy's way of keeping her safe. It didn't help. If anything it made Dawn even more frustrated with her "family". They were still stuck on the idea that she was that bratty little teenager that used to get kidnapped all the time when in actuality she was a full-grown woman that only gets kidnapped _sometimes_, big difference. It was frustrating, and maddening, and depressing all rolled into one and Dawn was tired of it!

She was sick and tired of being treated like she would break, of being left out whenever someone would go on patrols -something she still wasn't aloud to go on no matter how many times she asked or how hard she trained. She was so good with a staff now that she was positive that if Buffy actually gave her a chance, she could beat her. Super-Slayer powers aside, of course. Though, Dawn herself was stronger than the average human. Thanks mostly to the slayer blood from Buffy, but she was also starting to think that maybe her key-ness contributed with it, as well.

Ever since she was 15 and had to suffer watching her sister give her life for her, she had been determined to learn all she could about her key powers. First, she had worked with Tara as much as possible, trying to access them with the help of the good witch. But after her murder, Dawn hadn't had much help for a few yrs and had instead been forced to rely on herself. And then after she had arrived in England the first time with Giles shortly after the fall of The First and he had needed some help with accessing the Watcher's Councils funds and resources, she had found help again in Giles.

He had decided to bring her along to England, not just for help with the Council, but also because he had discovered her secretly trying to develop her powers and had wanted her to learn to use them the right way. He didn't want her falling like Willow had simply because she hadn't had proper training, and while her key powers certainly weren't the same as witchy powers, the effect they could have when used inexpertly was basically the same. So he had become her teacher. And now, after three yrs of his training, she had pretty good -if not perfect- control of her powers. She could now do a variety of things, from offense to defense, but that still didn't change Giles' thoughts on her going out on patrols and fighting.

The only one of her friends that actually thought she could hold her own was Xander, but since the White Knight was almost always off traveling to unknown lands in search of new slayers there wasn't much he could do, though every time he was in England he would sneak her out to go patrol with him. Hell, even Anya understood that she could fight, though she had only found this out because she refused to leave Xander's side since the battle with The First, in which she had almost died, and Xander, like the White Knight he was, had come running up to save her. She was also really proud to proclaim herself Mrs. Harris to anyone who would listen and tell them just how wonderful their sex life is.

Surprisingly, it didn't much bother Xander as it once had, though he still has a little trouble not blushing when she starts exclaiming it to a room full of mini-slayers, though it definitely didn't bother the girls. To them, he had basically become Prince Charming, or as close to that as one could get in the kind of world they lived in. Even the eye-patch made him seem more heroic and daring, as they had often gushed.

But, while many considered Xander every slayers dream guy, he was and always would be, Dawn's big-brother-shaped person. She could tell him -and to some extent, Anya- anything and not have to worry about Buffy or the others learning of it. It was why those two were also the only ones besides Giles that knew about her green key powers. She didn't have to worry about them telling Buffy, Willow, or even Andrew, though why they might decide to tell him anything, she wasn't sure.

It was also the same reason why she was now sitting in her nearly empty Council-provided flat on the outskirts of London on the phone with Xander (who was currently in Thebes, following a lead of a newly activated slayer) explaining to him why he shouldn't be surprised if he gets a frantic call from Giles or Buffy saying she was missing.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Dawnster?" Xander asked finally, after she had explained everything.

She smiled into the phone, knowing that he could tell when she did even though he couldn't see her. He was just like that. "Yep, Xand. I can't stand it here any longer. I feel so... smothered. Every time Buffy's here she refuses to take me patrolling. Even though I'm 21 already, she seems to thinks I'm still a kid. And I hate everyone looking at me as just Buffy's kid sister! He said these guys haven't even heard of the Slayer, for the most part. It's perfect! I can finally make a name for myself that doesn't include Buffy."

On the other line, Xander grinned with pride. Dawnie had grown so much over the yrs, it was a shame that only himself and Anya had seen that side. To the others she still acted like the bratty teen to some degree. Mostly because that's what they expect from her. They didn't think she knew how to grow up. It seemed that the Sunnydale disease of selective understanding lives on! ((A/N: I mean, come on! Death by BBQ-fork! Who would buy that!?))

"So, what's name of this group again? Are they the good guys or the bad guys? Do I have to kick some ass?"

Dawn chuckled. "Their called the BPRD. The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The name says it all, I guess. The Pres assured me that they were the good guys. 'As good as they get' he said, so I guess we could trust him on that, right? And if I want to keep this job, then I wouldn't suggest kicking their asses."

Xander sighed. "Right. Just... be careful. When Buff and the others find out you've skipped town, their gonna be tracking you, even if your green key-ness keeps them from actually finding you by magic. They'll go old-school and put a couple noses to the curb, so I suggest you, maybe, leave at least a message or something on Giles answering machine and let him know." He advised gently. "I know he'll understand, and maybe someday the others will too. You just got to give them time, and maybe the space will do them good. They don't quite get that even though you're technically human, doesn't mean you're not strong. It'll also take them awhile to pick up that you're no longer that same little girl that always got herself kidnapped. Oh!"  
A thought suddenly occurred to him, one that put a wicked smile on his face.

"Did you add in your file thingy they got that you have a tendency to get kidnapped?"

Dawn tried to fake an innocent look, but somehow managed to just look more mischievous. "Maybe." she drew out the word in a sing-song voice. Xander chuckled.

"That's my girl. That'll probably give 'em a start. How 'bout including that one of your babysitters was a vampire? Or how two of your other ones were lesbian wiccas? They might get a kick outta that one."

She had to laugh at the suggestive tone he had taken. A result of extensive exposure to Anya, she was sure. Speaking of... "Or that I got the sex-talk from a Vengeance Demon of Scorned Women? Sorry, didn't think to add that one."

Xander nearly choked on air. "Anya gave you the sex-talk?" He exclaimed, then shuddered as he briefly went to a bad mental-image place. "When?!"

Dawn giggled, enjoying her surrogate brothers discomfort.

"Oh, um, I think when I was 16, but I can't be too sure. I just remember sitting in the Magic Box as she held up a jar of various winky's from various animals and told what they were and what they did and then talked about about a human man's winky."

She had to hold back her full-out laughter now as she could hear him gasping on the other line. He may handle embarrassment better now, but whenever Dawn even said the word sex it drove him crazy. Something about always seeing her as a little girl when it came to that. She listened to Xander sputter and make fish imitations for a little longer before speaking again. She was going to have to cut the call short; it was getting late and she still needed to make it to the airport before dark.

"Xand, as much as I'd like to finish this, I need to get going. The taxi should be hear any minute and I want to get gone before the sun goes down."

Xander abruptly became serious. "Okay. You be careful, Dawn, alright? Call when you get there and I want regular reports, I don't give a damn where I am. I'll take the call. You got that? And, please Dawn, call at least Giles."

She sighed. "Alright Xander. I'll let Giles know on my way to the airport, if it'll make you happy. And I promise to call whenever I can."

"Good." he paused for several moments, making Dawn think the call must have been dropped or something, until he spoke again, this time displaying none of the seriousness that he had shown moments earlier. "You sure their good?" he asked, his voice dripping so much suspicion that Dawn had to laugh.

"Yes, Xander. The President wouldn't B.S. about this, not since he owes us for saving his ass a few months back, and he knows what we can do. So, yeah... I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume their safe. But, then, remember what happens when you assume anything? It makes an ass out of you and me." They shared a brief laugh over that. "But, seriously, if they don't pan out I'll just show 'em a few tricks I picked up from when Spike babysat me."  
Xander couldn't help but chuckle at the lovely imagery that created. Man, that bleached vamp really knew how to leave an impression, even when he was half-way across the world in L.A..

"Oh, yeah." He chuckled. "Dawnster, I wish you luck. You're gonna need it."

"Thanks, Xander. I'm sure you're right."

He paused, as if trying to think of something to say next, but after a few seconds couldn't think of anything really Giles-ish or Willow-y, so just decided to say what was in his heart. "Dawn... Even if no one else notices your awesomeness, An and I have. And we're proud of you. I just want you to know that, k? Don't let anything the G-Man says, or Willow says, or even what Buffy says, get you down. This is what you want to do, so do it. They'll come around eventually." Dawn could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't move to brush them away.

"Oh, Xander! Thank you! You and Anya have been like a brother and sister to me. I don't think I could ever have asked for better friends. You may be one-eyed and she may be a demon, but I wouldn't trade you guys for the world! I promise to call every chance I get and keep in touch as much as possible." A car outside honked. She glanced at the door. "I gotta go, Xand. The Taxi's hear. Give Anya my love. Bye."

"Bye, Dawnster. Good luck and show those Fed-dudes what you're made of."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Green sparkly energy with the power to tear apart dimensions?" she asked.

He laughed. "No, the no-nonsense, never give up never surrender attitude that all you Summer girls seem to possess, but you just have more of." The taxi honked again. "Alright. Bye, Xander."

"Bye, Dawnie." The line went dead. Dawn sighed softly as she hung up the phone before grabbing up her backpack and duffel bag, the one carrying all of her favorite weapons. Everything else that she owned; books, other weapons, and some minor personal items, were already on their way to her new home in the BPRD. Her backpack was filled with some clothes, a few notebooks, and some other random things that she considered important, including a picture of her mom, Buffy, and her back in Sunnydale. Before her mom got sick.

It was one of the only pictures to survive Sunnydale since she had kept it in her back pocket all the time back then, but now she had a small pocket-sized picture frame on a keychain for it, so she carried it that way. She also didn't have to worry about her weapons since it was one that Willow had personally spelled so that if it went through an x-ray all they would see was clothes. And the spell extended to if the bag was opened, for whatever reason, by someone. If they didn't know about the spell, then all they would see would be clothes. It was a nifty spell, and one that Dawn sometimes wished she knew.

The taxi honked again and she raced out the door and down the stairs to the car. She tossed her heavy weapons bag in first then her backpack before sliding in. "Airport." was all she said as she fished out her cell phone. She stared at it for a few minutes, clearly contemplating whether or not to call Buffy and the others right now or wait till it was too late for them to stop her from heading back to the states. Either way, they'd be pissed.

With a sigh, and that thought in mind, she slid her phone open and hit the speed dial for Giles, silently praying that he wasn't home or that he couldn't get to the phone in time. _'Please don't pick up. Please don't pick up. Please don't pick up. Please don't pi-'_ The phone clicked on the third ring and she almost cursed aloud. Damn.

"Hello?" His deep accented voice asked, sounding tired. He must have stayed awake last night studying texts.  
She took a deep breath. "Hey, Giles."

"Dawn? Where are you? You haven't shown up all day. We were starting to get worried. I have some manuscripts I need you to translate immediately. Are you on your way?"

She frowned and steeled herself for what she knew was going to be a rough conversation. "Sorry, Giles, but I'm not coming in today."

"What? Why not? Are you sick? Is that why you didn't show up today? Should Willow come over and check on you?"

Dawn almost groaned with aggravation at hearing the worry in his voice. She appreciated the sentiment, but he was treating her like a child. "No, Giles. I'm fine. I'm just... not at the flat. Actually..." she took a deep breath. "I'm on my way to the airport."

"Good Lord!" He sputtered. "Why? Where are you going? Does Buffy know? Of course not, she would have told us." She could almost imagine him taking off his glasses and cleaning them.

"No, Buffy doesn't know. No one does. And I'm not telling you where I'm going. I'll only tell you that I'm going back the U.S.. I-" She willed herself to continue. This needed to be said. Now.

"I need to get out on my own, Giles." Now her voice was almost weary, something Giles had never heard form Dawn before. Whiny and petulant, yes. But never weary. He didn't even think she knew how to be weary. "Without you or Willow. And definitely without Buffy. I want to make a name for myself that doesn't include being The Slayer's kid sister. I'm tired of being looked at with awe because I'm related to her. I'm also tired of being treated like glass just because I'm the Key." she cast a glance at the taxi driver and noticed that he had a set of ear buds in that were blaring music. "I understand that you guys do this because you love me and want me safe, but I can't stand all the smothering. I'm not a kid anymore and I can take care of myself."

Giles was silent on the other line for a long time, obviously trying to assimilate all that she had said, and she could hear the faint squeaking on the other line that indicated that he was cleaning his glasses rather vigorously. The sound stopped then, and a moment later Giles started speaking.

"Dawn, I had no idea this is how you felt. I'm sorry, but it's dangerous to just leave here without saying anything to us. Anything could happen to you; someone with a grudge against Buffy could come after you... and... and... and what are you going to do in the U.S.? What state are you going to? Are you going to just put the world of the supernatural behind you? Forget everything? What about your training? Are you going to toss that out, aswell?"

Dawn felt her grip on her cell tighten and had to remind herself to calm down before she broke her magically enhanced phone. It may be able to take a beating and keep on ringing, but it wasn't up for her crushing it in her hand like the last one. Damn near-slayer strength.

"No, Giles." she ground out finally. "I'm not going to be forgetting about what we do. And before you ask, I'm not going to go out patrolling whatever town I inhabit next, I ain't telling you which. I have actually got myself a job with a really amazing research facility." Okay, that might be stretching the truth a little, but there was research in it. Otherwise it wouldn't be called the Bureau for Paranormal RESEARCH and Defense.

Giles grabbed his glasses from his face again and began to clean them furiously. Only when they were correctly positioned on his face did he speak again, all of his words spilling out before he could stop himself. That attempt at calm he'd done with cleaning his glasses had failed. "How? When? What is this place? It isn't a military base is it? It isn't like another Initiative, is it? Are they evil? Do they know that you're the Key? Is that why they want you?"

Dawn took a deep breath and began answering each question as best she could. "I made some calls. A few days ago. I already told you; research. No. No. I've been assured that they're clean. And why the hell would I tell them that?! I'm not stupid. I remember the Glory incident a lot better than ppl think. I ain't gonna be proclaiming to the world what I am. As for why they want me-" she paused to calm herself, all the while reminding herself that this was Giles. Good, kind, Watcher Giles whom she'd known all of her legit yrs on this earth as well as the few fabricated ones. She still thought of him as a father figure. "-I guess it's because I know at least 10 different human languages perfectly, not to mention almost twice as many demon languages, and then there's the occasional elf language I've picked up. Gee, Giles, I think they could really use my help. Especially since you guys obviously don't."

"What do you mean!? We do need you! I've been giving you texts, manuscripts, and documents to translate ever since you came to England!"

"Yes, but none of those were things only I could translate. Hell, you could have translated them yourself! You probably did! You probably translated them before giving them to me to make sure there wasn't anything distressing in them. To make sure there wasn't any life-or-death prophesy or some mention of the Key. I'm right, aren't I, Giles?" His silence was her answer.

Dawn held back on the tears she felt swimming behind her eyes. She refused to cry now. It wouldn't solve anything. The taxi stopped in front of the airport and stopped. She glanced up and sighed. "Look, Giles." she said, cutting off whatever he was about to say. It wouldn t matter much, though, anyway. Nothing would change her mind. "I gotta go, I'm at the airport now. I'll... I'll talk to you when my flight gets in, ok? But, I-" she stifled a curse "-Giles, if either Buffy or Willow do anything to try to find me I'll disappear. I swear I will. You know that no spell can track me, so don't bother. I'll tell you guys where I am when I'm ready, ok? Give the others my love. Talk to you later."

Without waiting for a reply she hung up and turned her cell off before chucking it into her backpack. Dawn grabbed her stuff and paid the taxi before heading inside. As she got her boarding pass and walked onto the plane she figured that Giles had probably already called Willow and Buffy and maybe even Xander to let them know what she was doing.

Fine.

She didn't care. Buffy was in Australia right now being Head Slayer, so there was nothing that she could do. Willow may be able to stop the plane taking off with her magic, but if that happened then Dawn would just disappear before they came to get her. She was serious about that. Never before had she used her ability to be untrackable like that, but she would if it meant having the freedom that she craved.

But nothing happened. She got onto the plane and was in the air on her way to New York before she knew it. Now, she just needed to sit back, and enjoy the ride.

* * *

So, what d'ya think? I'd really like some input to let me know if I'm doing ok. I hope no one's OOC. I'm trying to create the Buffy characters from my memories of the episodes.


	2. New Agent

Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own Hellboy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Those are owned by Joss Whedon and Mike Mignola (the guy who created Hellboy) and whoever else gots rights to them. But if any of them are willing to sell me the rights to Nuada, I'd be very grateful. ^-^

I've already stated what the pairings are, but for those of you with a short attention span, the main pairing is Nuada/Dawn, with some Liz/Hellboy and Abe/Nuala on the side. Geez, it almost sounds like I'm organizing a plate of food. Anyway, I might throw in some Buffyverse pairings, besides the already obvious Anya/Xander, but I'm not too sure.  
If anyone has any ideas on any other pairings, please tell me.

* * *

Agent Manning of the BPRD furiously threw open the doors to the library and glared at its three occupants. The look on his face had one of said occupants practically on the ground laughing his ass off in a matter of seconds. Manning looked as if he had sucked on a dozen lemons and then chugged a gallon of vinegar with the way his face was scrunched up, and Hellboy was loving it.

The red demon finally calmed himself after a few minutes and climbed back onto the couch that he had fallen from during his episode. His tail came up to brush a mirthful tear from the corner of his eye as he tried to regain his breath, but another glance at Manning just had him on the floor again. Choosing to ignore him for now, Manning turned to the other people in the room.

Well, if 'people' was what you could call them. One was a pyrokinetic woman who was dating the red menace, and the other was currently swimming in his own personal fish tank. Nope, nothing that would classify them as 'people', hell, the only actually classified as "human" was Liz, but he wasn't about to say anything to them about that... if the targets he's seen from Hellboy's shooting practices were anything to go by.

Walking completely into the room, Manning went over and tossed down the folder he had been nearly strangling onto the coffee table in front of Liz Sherman, the pyro. She gave a startled jump as the folder landed in front of her then curiously reached over and lifted it up to have a look as Abe Sapien exited his tank and walked over, draping a small towel around his neck to absorb any extra water. Hellboy, or Red as he prefers, got up from his place as curiously won out and walked around Liz's seat to read over her shoulder.

"Hey, Manning? What is this?" He demanded finally after reading a few lines.

Manning scowled. "Well, I thought it would be obvious. It's a personnel file." he snapped, not liking this anymore than them.

Red glared back at him. "I can see that. But what's it for?"

"A new agent."

All three agents looked at him in surprise. Red just came around the couch and tossed himself down next to his girlfriend. He gave Manning a chilling look. "Why do we need another agent? We haven't done anything serious yet that needs another one. Unless-" he glared harder, causing Manning to flinch "-this guy ain't gonna by my babysitter, is he? I'm sick and tired of having those! I had to deal with Myers, I ain't dealing with a new one."

Manning's scowl increased. "No! This guy requested to come here." He left out that they were supposed to be a 'special' agent. He would leave that to them to find out from the file. Abe had politely taken the file from Liz and was reading through it, but when Manning said that he looked up with curiosity.

"Requested?" his voice showed his surprise. "But, who would want to request to come here? It's classified; so there would be no way of knowing what this place was?"

Liz frowned as something in Abe's question rang through her own mind, bringing up her own question. "Wait. Is someone even aloud to request a transfer here?" she asked, glancing from the file in Abe's webbed hands to Manning.

"I don't know!" Manning snapped, frustrated that none of his higher ups had thought to answer him that, either. "They weren't even to know of this place, but apparently _they do_." He sighed. "It's not like we have much choice in the matter, anyway. What with who recommended them. I don't think I have any say at all in this."

"Well, that's good to know." Red muttered at Manning's last comment, low enough that he didn't hear it.

"Recommended...?" Abe looked down at the papers in confusion, reading until he found the reference, then his head snapped up in surprise. "The President?!" He asked in shock. Liz bolted up from her seat and yanked the papers from her blue friend. "What?!" She flipped through them until she found the right page, then she, too, gaped.

"Wow, this guy must be important that he got recommendation from the President of the U.S., right?" Red asked, somewhat impressed, though still cheesed off that there would be a new agent to break in. The blue fish-man took a seat on the chair opposite Liz and tossed the file between them. "Oh, yes, Red. Whomever this individual is, they must be very good at what they do."

Red leaned over and grabbed a page from the folder to read. He snorted. "Hey, guys, check this out! It says, under Notice, 'Has expert experience in kidnap situations.' Wonder what that means." He pulled out one of his Cuban cigars and lit it up, puffing away.

Manning pointedly ignored looking at him but instead clapped his hands together in delight over what he had said. "That's great! They have experience with hostage situations! That may come in handy if she ever gets kidnapped again." he said cheerfully, pointing a thumb at Liz, who scowled at the man, though Red didn't even bother with scowling and was instead completely glaring at him.

Abe watched the interaction between the other members of his team and sighed. He glanced at the file again, reading the name provided. Much of the personal information was lacking, but hopefully the answers as to why that was would be answered when the new agent arrived. He felt that there was going to be many questions and answers this person was going to present and provide. But there was one question that Abe felt was the most important at that moment.

_'Hm, D. Summers. I wonder what kind of person he is.'_

_*******_

Dawn stepped out of the plane terminal and looked around, grimacing slightly at all the different scents that assaulted her nose. She may not have a Slayers senses, but the 'upgrade' -as she put it- she got from Buffy's blood coursing thru her did give her almost dog-like senses. Meaning, she was getting disgusted with all the smells surrounding her.

Flicking her nose slightly, she pushed her backpack further up her shoulder before starting off in the direction of baggage claim to reclaim her duffle bag with all of her weapons. As she grabbed her bag off of the carousel, she spotted what she assumed was her 'escorts'. Standing near the doors, looking every bit like MIB agents, were two men in suits, one holding a small sign with the words "D. Summers." on it. She chuckled, remembering that she hadn't put her full first name on the file she had sent. They probably thought that she was a boy, or something. Well, she hefted the dufflebag onto her shoulder, might as well put them straight.

She walked over and stopped in front of the serious-looking men. She had to hold back a giggle. They kinda reminded her of how Riley and his military buddies acted when in uniform.

"You guys lookin' for Summers?" she asked sweetly. They both raised an eyebrow and nodded in unison. It was all she could do not to start laughing like crazy. She sobered up quickly. This was not the time for laughing like a hyena -she grimaced inwardly at that comparison-. She threw a pleasant smile on her face. "Well, look no further."

That left them momentarily speechless, tho she couldn't tell since they just seemed to freeze up. Dawn decided to take pity on them and explain. "I'm sorry I didn't put my full first name. It's Dawn, by the way. If you're unsure, I can fish out my license. It's a British one, thou, I hope you don't mind." She cut herself off before she went into full-blown babble mode. Her semi-babble, tho, did seem to knock them out of their statue imitations. The one holding the sign -_'I'll call him Larry.'_ Dawn thought- stepped forward and extended a hand, which she took after a moments hesitation.

"Miss Summers, we'll be taking you to the BPRD headquarters." he said, his voice toneless and flat. He glanced at her bags. "Are these all your things?"

She glanced at her own bags and laughed. "Oh, no. The rest of my stuff, my books and things, are being shipped. There was just too many of them." She said. "No, these are just my essentials and some weapons." With that said Dawn walked past them and out the doors, knowing they would follow. The two BPRD agents glanced at each other, then to where the tall beauty had gone, and back at each other. Finally, Larry spoke.

"Weapons?"

* * *

ok, sorry if this on is a little short. I promise the next one will be longer. Please, review or message me and let me know what you think of this story. ^-^


	3. Phone calls

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing, except the concept and storyline. Got it? Good.

* * *

Dawn sat in the backseat of the black Sante Fe, looking out the window as the sights whooshed past. It was still dark outside, though she could see the sky begin to lighten with the first signs of sunrise already. She watched as they drove out of New York and into New Jersey. As she sat there, letting her mind drift every which direction, she suddenly remembered to call Xander and Giles. Cursing softly to herself, and getting a few strange looks from the MIB look-alikes up front, she dug through her pockets until she could produce her cellphone. She glanced up at the two men as she turned her cell on.

"I hope you guys don't mind, but I need to call my bro and father and let them know I got it alright. I kinda forgot 'til now." she said sheepishly. Larry -she found out this actually _was_ his name when they got around to introductions- glanced at her through the rear view mirror.

"Sure." was all he said before turning his attention back to the road. She gave him a brief smile before hitting her speed dial that would connect her to Xander. She'd call him first. In her mind, he was top priority right now. But it wasn't Xander that answered the phone. It was Anya.

_"Hello?"_ her cheerful voice instantly brought a smile to Dawn's face.

"Hey, Anya." she replied warmly. Anya practically screamed with excitement, causing Dawn to wince slightly.

_"Dawn!"_ she shrieked joyfully. _"Oh, how are you? Did you make your grand escape?"_ She didn't allow Dawn a chance to answer her, instead she answered her own question.

_"Oh, of course you did. Otherwise you wouldn't be calling and Buffy wouldn't be gripping about you running away. Honestly, I thought only children could run away, and you're no child. Well, technically you are, but only if you literally count how many yrs you've really been alive. But, we're not. So, you're not. So, I don't understand what her problem is. You're an adult, you can take care of yourself."_

Dawn chuckled at Anya's random rant, having missed the sound of her voice desperately. While she may have talked to Xander almost every week, it's been nearly a month since the last time she's been able to speak to Anya. "Oh, you won't believe how much I've missed hearing you're voice Anya." She said.

On the other line, Anya scoffed. _"Of course you've missed me. It's me. How could you _not_ miss me?"_

That drew a laugh from Dawn. The guys in the front glanced back at her questioningly. They had heard her say a woman's name a few times, but she had said that she was going to call her brother and father, both of those are men.

"So, how are things over there? Did you find her?" she asked, carefully keeping her conversation from revealing anything since she could tell the car's other occupants were listening.

_"Things are great here. I thought Egypt would be scorching hot, but it's actually really nice this time of yr. And it's really cheap, I don't have to use much of my money! Isn't that great!"_ Anya replied chipperly. _"And, yeah, we found her. Actually close to two hours after Xand got off the phone with you. There was a small orphanage on the outside of Thebes, and there she was. Her name is Meskhenet, it means destiny. Ironic, huh? She is so adorable, too. You wouldn't believe how old she is, too."_

Dawn winced, just imaging how old, or young, this new slayer could be. "How old?"

_"Seven." _

Dawn cursed, again drawing the attention of the two men. "How's she handling this?" she pressed on, ignoring the looks she was getting.

_"Well, she was scared when we first told her what was up. But she also seemed relieved to know that there was a reason she was suddenly super strong and having freaky dreams."  
_

"So, what are you guys gonna do now? You're taking her from that place, right?"

_"Oh, yeah! This place is beyond bad! It's just ucky! She deserves so much better. So, well... we... oh, I'll let Xander tell you, he just walked in."_ she abruptly said, handing off the phone. A moment later, Xander's cheerful voice greeted her. _"Hey, Dawnster!"_

Dawn just had to chuckle. "Hey, Xand-man. What's up? What's Anya letting you tell me?"

He chuckled, dropping himself into a chair by the balcony that gave the perfect sight of Thebes from his hotel room. _"Oh, that. Well, I'm telling you this cuz you're so special and I know you'll keep a secret. And you've already trusted An and I with the secret of where you really are. I don't want Buff and the others to know this yet. I want it to be a surprise, you know."_ he took a breath. _"We adopted Meskhenet."_

A pause... then.

"What!?" Dawn exclaimed when her brain finally registered what she had heard. "You adopted her? Why?"

_"Well, we were thinking about how we were going to get her, when An just said 'screw it, she cute' and proclaimed that she would be ours. I liked the idea. I mean, yeah, she's cute and all, but she also has these eyes. They're not like slayer eyes. Not like Buffy's, anyway. Buffy may act like it sometimes, but she doesn't have the innocent eyes she had before everything started to effect her. This kid still does, even though she's had it rough inside the orphanage. Being a slayer hasn't changed her yet, and I really hope it doesn't. She's also really shy, I mean more than Willow-shy. It took us an hour of sitting with her before she said a word. And... well..."_ he sighed.

_"To be honest, there's just something about her that just screams out to me. She has the same effect of Anya, so I know it ain't just me. Something about her says she was meant for us."_

Dawn smiled, truly feeling happy for her brother-shaped friend. "Well, that's great, Xander. When is everything gonna be finalized? Where are you gonna go afterwords?"

_"It's gonna be all final and stuff at the end of the week. They just need to get these papers set up and stuff and we'll be good to go. When we're done here we're gonna head to Cleveland. Willow and Giles are going crazy wondering where you are, not to mention Buffy is now on her way to London as we speak to help look, so that's the last place I want to be while they're like this. I already called Faith, so she knows we'll be heading in her and Andrew's direction soon. You know, a part of me is wondering why she hasn't killed him yet."  
_

"I wonder the same thing. I mean, I never thought Faith would put up with his nerdness."

Xander hummed softly. _"Hm, I guess she found something about him she likes.... if you get my drift."_ She could just imagine him, on the other line, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Dawn burst into peels of laughter.

"Oh, my gosh! Xander! No matter how H&H Faith is, I doubt that she'd jump Andrew." She exclaimed, then grimaced as she was assaulted with the bad mental-image that that statement brought. "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick!"

Xander laughed. _"Well, Dawnster, now that I've got you all grose-ified I'll let you go so you can call Giles, something I know you haven't done yet."_

"And how do you know I haven't?"

_"Cuz, if you had called him he wouldn't be hassling me to get my ass to England to help look for you."_

She winced. "Sorry, Xand. Didn't mean for him to take it out on you."

_"Don't worry bout it, Dawnie."_ he said with a wave of his hand. _"Just... call them. Even if you just call Willow and let her know what's up."_

Dawn sighed. "Alright. I'll let you go. See you later, my brother-shaped Xander."

_"Bye, my sister-shaped Dawnie."_ he returned warmly before hanging up.

Dawn ended the call with a small smile on her face. She was happy for Xander and Anya. They deserved happiness, what with how wild and dangerous their lives had been since... well, ever since they had met Buffy. Having a child to take care of would be good for the both of them. They had both put so much on hold to fight the good fight, including children.

It was a miracle that they had even gotten married, to be honest. Xander had wanted to start a family after SunnyHell went boom, but then they had to rebuild the Council, and then gather the new slayers form around the world, and eventually that desire was pushed to the back of both their minds.

The smile on Dawn's face slowly faded as her eyes drifted to the phone in her hand. She stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether or not to push the button for Giles' office phone, the one place she knew everyone would be, when the choice was taken from her as it started ringing on it's own. Jumping slightly, Dawn quickly checked the caller-id before answering, praying that it was, indeed, Giles and not-

_"Dawn Marie Summers! What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!"_ Buffy's angry shriek cut through her eardrums, causing her to wince.

"H-hi, Buffy." she murmured hesitantly.

_"Don't you 'hi, Buffy' me! I want you on the next plane back here! NOW!"_

Dawn felt the familiar anger rise within her again. "No!" She snapped. "I am not a child, Buffy, and you cannot tell me what to do!"

Buffy scoffed. _"I am your sister, and yes, I can tell you what to do. When you get back here we are going to talk. Big Time. I thought I could trust you not to do something stupid if I left you with Giles, but apparently that doesn't matter. I'm just going to have to keep you with me, aren't I? It seems to be the only way to keep you out of trouble."_

Dawn gaped at the phone, stunned by her sister's pig-headedness. "No! I already told you, Buffy. I am NOT going back to England. I am tired of listening to you dictate my life for me! It's time I took care of myself. And that's what I'm doing."

_"By running away?"_

"I did not run away!" It took all of Dawn's self-restraint do not to scream into the phone, but her voice was still loud enough to make the men up front glance back at her curiously. She ignored them. Trying for calm, she said, "I called in a favor and got myself a job with a research facility in the states." Now, the men were really looking at her, though the looks they were giving her were ones of confusion as well as curiosity. She seemed to be _really_ stretching the truth with this 'Buffy'.

_"A research facility!?"_ Dawn had to jerk the phone away from her ear to keep from having her eardrum, blown out. _"What kind of research facility!? Like the Initiative?! Dawn, I thought you knew better than that! You remember what happened with them, don't you!? What they did to Spike!?"_

That set Dawn off. She could handle her sister ragging on her, but she was not bringing Spike into this! "Don't bring Spike into this!" She demanded. "He has nothing to do with this! This place isn't anything like the Initiative. It's research, not-"

She abruptly cut herself off, throwing a nervous glance at the men. Oh, yeah, they were listening. Chances were that once they got to the BPRD, they'd tell their superior all she's said and then look up what the Initiative was.

Good luck with that.

Riley said that what information on them that hadn't been destroyed was now so highly classified that nothing short of going through the President could access them. But, still, she didn't want her new colleagues knowing about any of that. At least, not yet.

She took a deep breath, hoping that when she spoke again she didn't completely tear into her sister. She still loved her, she just didn't love the smothering. "Listen, Buffy, I need to do this." she stated finally, trying a different route. "This has nothing to do with me doing anything stupid." She could hear Buffy take a breath to add to that, so she pressed on quickly.

"I know; you consider what I'm doing stupid. But, Buffy, put yourself in my position, please. I'm 21, almost 22, I haven't even been on a date since that debacle at Halloween back in high school! Most of the girls only know me as 'Buffy's little sister'. And, to top it all off, Giles, Willow and you -esspecially you- keep treating me like I'm still 15. How am I supposed to prove myself as a Scooby if you don't give me a chance?"

_"What-? But- Well, maybe if you didn't act like you were still a kid we wouldn't treat you that way."_ Buffy snapped indignantly. _"And who says you need to prove yourself as a Scooby? You've always been a Scooby."_

Dawn sighed. She just wasn't getting it. "No, Buffy, I haven't. I've always been Scrappy to you guys. I've always been following after you; hiding in your shadow. But no more, Buffy. This is my chance to prove I'm more than just Scrappy." All the way in England, Buffy tried to find something to say to that, but her mind was coming up blank. All she could think about was how much she wanted Dawn back here, where it was safe.

Dawn felt the car slow to a stop and looked to see a high-end security gate in front of the car, and beyond that a massive building. Suppressing a sigh, she spoke again. "I gotta go, Buffy. I'll..." she trailed off, trying to think of something to say. "...I'll call you guys later. Give Willow and Giles my love, as well as the girls. Bye."

_"Wait! Dawn, don't-"_ Buffy tried to speak, but Dawn was already hanging up, not willing to listen to anymore. Surprisingly, she didn't feel the need to bury her head and cry. Sure, she was upset -who wouldn't be?- but if something like this had happened when she was younger, she would have been in tears already. Maybe it meant that she actually had grown up? She hoped it did.

The car moving again brought her attention back to her surroundings. Dawn watched as they drove down the long driveway to the front of a enormous building. The sight didn't startle her, since the New Watchers Council was bigger, but it was still pretty impressive. The car stopped and Larry jumped out to open her door for her.

Grabbing up her bags, she then followed them into the building.

***********

Abe paced nevously on the second floor of the library, unable to concentrate on the book about Egypt that he was reading. The new agent would be arriving any minute, and Red had flat out refused to go greet him, so Liz, being the sleep-deprived girlfriend that she was, decided that if one member of the team wasn't going to, then none of them would. Hence all three of them were now in the library waiting.

Well, Liz and him were waiting.

Hellboy had dropped himself down onto the couch as soon as they got there and was now asleep, snoring lightly with a cigar hanging from the corner of him mouth. How he seemed able to sleep through anything amazed Abe to no end. After all, this person was going to be their new partner. Would be working close to them from then on, and he was acting like he didn't even care. Like there was no chance that this person wouldn't be freaked out to have a red demon, a pyro, and a blue fish-thing as partners. He only hoped there wouldn't be screaming. He didn't want to have a headache so early in the morning.

And it was early.

Manning had woken them all up at the crack of dawn to inform them that their agent was on the way; he had just sent out two agents to pick him up at the airport. Abe wasn't really bothered by the time; he usually woke up a little after dawn, anyway. It was Liz and Red that were having a rough time waking up, hence the reason why one was currently snoozing on the couch while the other sat at a desk with a cup of black coffee and a random book, looking like the devil would if hell ever actually froze over.

Abraham kept a healthy distance from the disgruntled woman, knowing that her lack of sleep topped with the anxiety he knew she was feeling would definitely mean one toasted fish if he moved wrong anywhere near her, if her glowing hot necklace was anything to go by, that is. So, valuing his life, he decided to spend his time on the second floor of the library. He's let her finish her coffee before daring to go downstairs.

Realizing he had read the same paragraph seven times without understanding a word, Abe snapped the book shut and returned it back to it's shelf. He returned to the banister he'd been pacing by and leaned on it, his eyes focusing on the doors.

Liz had looked up when she heard a book snap, and it took her a few seconds of glancing around before her gaze finally traveled up and rested on her blue-skinned friend. He looked lost in thought, staring at the door like the new agent could come in any moment. She wondered when he had gone up there in the first place, but before she could say anything the doors opened and Manning stepped in, someone standing behind him, hidden by the doors.

Liz leapt up from her spot, tossing back the rest of her -now cold- cup of coffee, before moving to stand in the center of the room. Abe met her there and together they turned their gazes to Manning. As she walked by, she gave Red a kick to wake him up. He jumped up from the couch, exclaiming curses, before his brain registered his surroundings. Manning coughed, drawing his attention. Red spun around, almost falling over, before steadying himself and staring at Manning.

"Huh? Oh, it's just you." he grumbled, preparing to sit down again. "Thought it was the new guy."

"That's why I'm here." Manning said sharply. Red leapt up again and spun to face Manning again. "What?"

Manning walked farther into the room, followed by the person, though they still couldn't see him due to Manning. "You three didn't show up at the entrance hall." Manning growled.

Red shrugged. "Didn't feel like it. New guy ain't anything special. 'Sides, I was tired, and Liz ain't much of a chipper person this early in the morning, anyway, so I didn't see much reason in having her burn up your new agent cuz she's half-asleep."

Liz glared at him. "Oh, don't you go blaming me!" she growled, fire beginning to lick at her hands. Abe, seeing a battle about to start, quickly spoke.

"Manning, is the new agent here?" Liz and Red paused to look at Manning. "Yeah, is he here?" Red repeated.

Manning coughed into his hand, the other holding the agent's file, and glanced behind him. "Uh, yes. _She_ is right here. I'd like you three to, uh, meet the newest special agent to the BPRD, Dawn Summers." With that introduction, he stepped aside.

* * *

Thanks for being so patient with me, and I hope you enjoyed reading this.

I'd really like to thank SolitaryMovement for sending me that very helpful review.

I do accept helpful criticism. If you have a flame, send it somewhere else, but if it's meant to aide, then go ahead and send it.

Thank you!


	4. Meeting the Team

Disclaimer: *sigh* again with this thing. Ok, well, obviously, I don't own Hellboy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I did, then Nuada wouldn't have died. Damn storywriters! Uh, anyway, they are owned by Joss Whedon and Mike Mignola respectively.

Moving on... pairings! Um, they're still the same. Nuada/Dawn, Hellboy/Liz and Abe/Nuala are the three main pairings. Any other ones are gonna be minor.

* * *

There was a stunned silence that filled the room. For a full minute no one could find any words. They all just stared at Dawn in shock. Finally, however, one of her new team mates found his voice.

"Woah." Was all Red managed.

A girl -no woman- stood there. She looked to be no older than 20 and was quite tall. With the three-inch heels she wore, she came close to being 6'0, meaning that without them she would be around 5'8 or 5'9. Her dark brown hair was drawn up and away from her pale face into a high ponytail. Her shocking green eyes watched them with curiosity.

That's what got them.

She wasn't looking at Red and Blue like they were freaks, or monsters, but like any person curious about her new partners would. It was definitely different and completely unexpected.

Dawn walked down the steps into the library, her black duster which had been a gift from Spike for her last birthday, fluttering around her as she moved, showing off what she wore underneath. A black pair of tight leather pants and an emerald green halter top. She could tell by their expressions as they watched her that she wasn't what they had been expected. Hell, the looks on their faces was only a little better than that other guy -Manning's- face had been. He had been completely flabbergasted to learn that she was the new agent. Dawn had had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the memory of it.

As she reached the final step, she dropped both of her bags, her duffel making a clanking thud as the weapons inside were jostled. "Hi." she said shyly with a hesitant smile, hoping to break the silence. She may be used to dealing with lots of people, but dealing with new people wasn't really what she was good at. Everyone she dealt with were people she had grown up with and known for years.

Seeing her nervousness, the one woman of the group quickly broke out of her shock induced stupor first and rushed over. As she neared, Dawn examined her covertly, making note of how dangerous she could be. Though she was small, she was still taller than Buffy by a lot and the way she carried herself proved she knew how to fight if necessary. Dawn could see that in a fight, she wouldn't be standing back relying on her team mates to save her. Good. The longer side of her short black hair fell in front of her eye for a moment before being pushed back, to reveal her kind hazel eyes. Dawn felt instantly welcome.

The woman extended a hand with a smile. "Hi, I'm Liz Sherman."

Dawn took the hand as she returned the cheerful smile, all of her earlier nervousness gone. "I know he already introduced me, but I like doing it myself. I'm Dawn."

"It's great to have another woman on the team." She chuckled. "Maybe we can have a girl's night tonight?"

Oh, Dawn was going to like this girl. She may look somewhat serious, but that was probably just be because of the early hour. It was pretty obvious that this woman wasn't used to waking up at the crack of freakin' dawn and wasn't too pleased by that either. "Sure!" Dawn answered happily, glad to make a friend so quickly. She hoped that she would make friends with her other teammates this quickly. She turned to the two other men as Liz introduced them.

"This is Hellboy, or Red. And Abe, or Blue." Liz said, watching her carefully for any sign that she'll freak out at the sight of a red demon and a blue fish-guy. Well, Dawn had some news for them. It would take a lot more than this to get her freaked. Hell, she hadn't been truly freaked since she had gotten that call from her favorite not-dead vampire saying that he was still of the un-living. That had freaked her out. Course it had only lasted about a minute, but the freaked-out-ness of it had stayed with her for longer. This was nothing in her books.

"Cool." Was the first thing out of her mouth as she stared at him. He looked at her like she was crazy. She grinned at him, making him even more surprised. "What? Do you think I'd get freaked seeing a demon?" All three of her new teammates nodded. She laughed. "Sorry to disappoint, but I've dealt with demons since I was a kid. Grew up in Sunnydale."

The blue fish-guy gasped. "Oh, my! You lived there!"

All eyes turned to him. "What, Blue? You know what place she's talking about?" Red asked. "Would you mind sharing with the rest of the class?"

He nodded. "Oh, um, yes, I know of the place. It was a small town in California. I learned about it while reading a few yrs ago."

"Was?" Liz looked between Dawn and Blue for an answer.

Dawn provided one. "Yeah. Almost 4 yrs ago the place turned into a sink hole. Apparently there were some underground tunnels or something and one day they just collapsed." Classic lie, but she wasn't going to tell them that in fact the Hellmouth had finally collapsed after an all-out battle against the First Evil. Now, that would freak them out.

"Yes, yes. But before that happened, Sunnydale was know for having many strange occurrences happen there." Abe suddenly looked sheepish. "Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. Like you told Liz a moment ago, sometimes it's better to do it yourself." Dawn laughed and nodded, completely understanding. He extended a gloved hand. "I'm Abraham Sapien, but I prefer Abe. Or blue. Actually, anything other than Abraham." he said politely with a laugh. She barely gave the glove a glance before taking his hand.

A moment later, he gave her a stunned look and took a step back, letting her hand fall. "You... Oh, my!" He looked at his hand then back at her.

"What, Blue?" The red demon said, looking at his friend with something between worry and curiosity.

He shook his head, still staring at Dawn. "Um, excuse me, Miss Dawn, but I forgot to mention to you that I have the ability to learn things about people by touch and, well, my glove didn't quite drown out everything." he gave her an apologetic look.

Dawn's eyes widened exponentially. "Oh, shit! What did you learn?" He gave her a significant look, his eyes flickering for a brief second to her abdomen, where the scars from Glory were hidden by her top. Her face became pale. "Oh... shit."

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell any of what I learned until you request it. It is private." He rushed to assure.

Dawn gave a sigh of relief, some color finally coming back to her skin. "Oh, thank you! Not many know about... what you now know. Many have risked their lives so that it wouldn't be known."

"Quite understandable. If such knowledge as that were to get out, many lives would be in danger. Including, or rather, especially yours."

"Ok, What they hell are you guys talking about!?" Red finally burst out, unable to keep silent.

Dawn and Abe shared a glance. A bond had formed there at that moment. A bond of friendship, created trough the shared knowledge that she was the Key. Looking into his eyes, she knew that he wouldn't squeal on her. Like he said, he would keep her secret until she said it was alright to tell. Abe broke eye contact first, turning to address his red friend.

"Oh, nothing, Red. Nothing to worry about, anyway." He dismissed the knowledge he had just aquired with a wave of a gloved hand.

Red snorted, eying them both critically. "Yeah, right. You just acted like you'd learned the location of the Holy Grail just from touching her hand and now you're saying that it was nothing? Excuse me if I don't buy it."

Abe sighed. "Alright. I just learned that Sunnydale hadn't been destroyed by a sinkhole." he said, choosing to tell them one of the less damaging pieces of information. "It had been a Hellmouth that had collapsed."

"Huh?"

Dawn looked at him in surprise. "You learned that, too!? Damn, that's a kickin' ability you've got there." she looked at Liz. "Do you have a special ability like that, too?"

She gave Dawn a look of surprise, but nodded, not even noticing that Dawn was purposely changing the subject. Lifting a hand, she concentrated until a fire completely surrounded her. "I'm a pyro." she told her. "But, how did you guess I had a special ability just from learning Blue had one?"

The brunette shrugged. "Easy. I don't think a government established organization would create a team with supernatural beings without having the rest of the team members be supernatural, themselves. Red is... well, a demon. Enough said, he can probably kick major ass. ("Hey, there's no 'probably' to it! I can!") Blue is a psychic fish, no offense. ("None taken") So it is only logical that you would have some sort of paranormal ability."

Liz thought through that explanation before nodding, the flames licking at her hand going out with a flick of her wrist. "You're right. It makes sense. But it also means that you, yourself, are not normal."

Dawn smirked. "What is normal" she asked. "Something that is average? An everyday occurrence? If that is the case, then no, I am not normal. Not by a long shot. I think you're question is, how un-normal am I?" she raised her own hand, surrounding it in the green energy that made up the Key. It was the first trick she had learned to do when she had begun learning how to harness the Key's powers. It was somewhat like what Liz had just done with her flames, but yet at the same time it was different.

"I can use my spirit energy, I guess you can call it, to do a variety of things. One of them being this. Creating a corporeal manifestation of it. It doesn't burn like your fire, but instead can be used kind of like an extension of myself." she dispersed the energy by closing her fist. "I'm also a little bit telekinetic and have some telepathic abilities, but that's mostly because a friend had been a telepath and that was her easiest way to contact others from a distance." She was, of course, speaking of Willow.

For some reason, after Willow used her telepathy on Dawn, it had caused her to show signs of it, also. Whether it was because of Willow's magic or the Key's, she wasn't sure, but if she concentrated really hard on someone close by she was able to connect her mind with theirs. Of course, no one but Xander and Anya knew this. Giles may have taken up her teaching, but this wasn't something she had wanted to share with him. It seemed to have a 50ft radius on it, as she had learned once when she was out patrolling with Xander and Anya. She had been ambushed and had instinctively called out to him and his wife for help. Xander hadn't heard her, but Anya, who stood just inside that 50ft mark, did.

Abe looked at her with interest. "That is fascinating!" He could tell there was more to what she was saying, but he respected her silence all the same. Whatever she wasn't saying could have something to do with the information he had gleaned in that moment when he had held her hand.

Red, on the other hand, was beginning to look bored. "Ok, she can get into your head, so what?" He gave Dawn a look. "As long as you stays outta mine, I think we'll get along just fine."

Dawn just smiled back. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I don't like trespassing on brain property."

He laughed and clapped her on the back, nearly knocking her over. "I think you'll fit right in, kid."

It was at that moment that Manning, who they hadn't notice leave sometime during their introductions, came striding back in, drawing all of their attention. He looked at Dawn and smiled in what he hoped was a pleasant smile. Dawn thought it just made him look constipated. "Uh, Miss Summers, I have here your gear." he said.

"Here is your badge, proclaiming you to be a special agent." he handed the flip wallet that held the golden badge to her. "Your vest. If it isn't the right size then we can easily fix that. And, um, finally, your holster belt and standard issue gun. It's given to all agents. Keep your badge with you at all times, but you only need the vest and belt for missions." As he set the last item into her hand a shiver ran up her spine.

Ever since Tara had been killed by a bullet and Buffy nearly killed, Dawn had done everything in her power to stay away from guns. They made her nervous. Wielding a crossbow or stake was better in her opinion than hold a gun. She almost didn't accept the weapon, but remembering that it was standard issue made her realize that if she didn't accept it they could very well keep her from doing any field work. Sighing, she accepted the gear without fuss, though she did grimace when Manning wasn't looking. Abe caught the look, but he didn't want to ask right then what was wrong, especially if it was something personal. He filed it away among the other questions he had for this new team mate for when they were alone.

Manning clapped his hands together, drawing her attention. "Right. Ok, since you all are done chatting, I'll show you where you'll be staying." He turned on his heel and strode from the room.

Dawn watched him for a moment, before looking over at Abe. "Please, tell me I don't have to work with him on a daily basis."

Her team mates laughed. Red threw an arm around her shoulders and began to lead her from the room, the other following behind. "You know, kid, you're not so bad."

Dawn sent him a peeved look. "Hey, don't call me kid!"

He smirked. "Why? You are one. Well, you look like one to me, anyway."

"How old are you?" Liz asked from behind her.

Dawn glanced back at them. "I'm 21. How 'bout you?" The question was directed at all of her new team mates.

Red whistled. "So you really are a kid still. At least compared to me. I'm somewhere around 65 yrs-old."

"I have no idea how old I am." Abe said. "I was found in a hospital basement in 1978."

"You don't remember anything from before that?"

"Nothing."

They turned a corner and found Manning waiting for them at a door, looking very impatient. Dawn slipped out from under Red's arm and stepped forward to accept a key. "Agent Summers, this is your room. It is key and password protected. That is the key, but there is no password right now. When you make one, you are to notify myself of what it is." Manning said, sounding as if he was reading from a manual.

Dawn cocked an eyebrow, but before she could ask her question, Red beat her to it. "Why do you want to know her password, Manning? You don't know mine, or Blue's fishtank password, so why hers?"

"Your tank is password protected?" Dawn whispered to Abe, her eyes still on Red and her new boss, however. He nodded.

"I know, sounds completely absurd to me, too. But that's how it is." he whispered back. "All agents that live on sight are to have their quarters password and key protected."

Red leaned down to eye level with Manning and gave him a look. "Are you having... bad thoughts about our new operative?"

Dawn snorted, Liz gagged, and Abe looked very much like a fish out of water. Manning turned red, either from a blush or anger they weren't sure, and began sputtering.

"A-Agent Hellboy! I will not tolerate that kind of accusations! Agent Summers is our newest agent! With the highest recommendations!"

This was getting old fast, Dawn realized. "Do they always fight?" she whispered to Liz. She nodded. Dawn sighed. The way they were acting was somewhat reminiscent of how Xander treated Angel when they hated each other. They still did, but now it wasn't because Angel was dating Buffy. They now just hated each other more out of habit than anything else, but not these two. It was obvious that Red held no fuzzy feelings of any variety for Manning.

Dawn opened her mouth to say something, anything, to stop whatever they were going to say next, but at that very moment an alarm went off, making her jump. All of the other agents did, as well, but for other reasons besides being startled.

* * *

I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to get this up. My laptop has a habit of shutting off randomly while I am typing, most of the time before I have a chance to save, so I loose a lot.  
Another thing, I know I haven't introduced Nuada yet, but that is simply because I am creating the story. If you haven't already guessed, this is right now taking place shortly before the Golden Army movie, thus the princess and him have not yet been introduced. It will happen soon, though.

I'd like to thank those that sent me the helpful and supportive reviews that they did.  
Thank you very much **SolitaryMovement**; **celticguidance; GeminiDragon; Bellec; xoulblade; **and **ValueMyHeart. **Thank you all so much for your support! ^-^


	5. The Prince

Ok, really sorry it's taken me so long to get this one up. I've been really busy with stuff... one wedding, a lot of birthdays (including my own), family visiting, car shows and that's just the tip of the cactus (I live in a desert, can you tell?). So, it should be understandable that I haven't had time to work on this. Not to mention that I ran into a bit of writers block cuz I had absolutely no idea how to do this chapter. Hopefully now I have some clue and it doesn't totally suck.

Um, I guess this is the part where I remind you of the Disclaimer, huh? Ok, well... Disclaimer: I own none of this. Not Hellboy or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I did, you can bet I'd have drug Nuada to my room, tied him to my bed (w/my silk scarves, of course; don't want to damage any of that wonderful elf flesh... too much ^_~), and had my dirty way with him a long time ago ^^

As for pairings- they are the same as before. Dawn/Nuada, Liz/Hellboy, Nuala/Abe, and a little bit of Anya/Xander when needed.

Enjoy the chapter! ^^

* * *

Eyes resting on the rising sun, the beautiful elven prince sat in silence, his thoughts his only company. In the not far enough distance, the sounds and garble of human life reached his ears, making him sick. He hoped his old friend would hurry up and find a clue, any clue, as to the whereabouts of that other crown piece so he could go ahead and wipe out their pathetic race, already.

Not only were they a waste of space and resources, but they treated the land and its contents like their spitting grounds! The dishonorable way they treated the lands and his people was truly appalling, but apparently he was the only one of his people with the gall to speak out against them. The humans had so long controlled the Aboveground that those of the elven kind and Other had lost their voices of protest. But not him.

Prince Nuada would never bow out and allow himself to be used and forgotten by a race that couldn't even live one-tenth of his lifespan.

Soon the humans would regret their ways, their reckless treatment of his people and land, and they would despair. But it would be too late. Once Nuada gained all the pieces of the crown and held in his possession the Golden Army, the human race will be gone, and once again the Fae Folk and the Old Ones will be able to take their rightful place on their earth, under the sun and not the ground, in hiding.

He stood, intending to go find his best -and truly only- friend, Mr. Wink to see if there has been any new development in the search for the humans half of the crown, when a sound from below called his attention.

It sounded like shuffling and skittering, and there was a lot of it, meaning that a lot of something big were making their way into the warehouse his feet were currently resting on. His spear was in his hand and at full length before he took a step towards the edge to get a better look. The scent of death and decay accosted his nose, nearly driving him back against the roof.

Stifling a curse that could very well give his position away, Nuada pressed his sleeved wrist against his mouth and nose to dampen the revolting odor while his free hand dug into the roof beside him to anchor him. A hiss of distaste escaped him and his eyes narrowed, his grip on his spear tightening.

These were another reason for his hatred of mankind. They couldn't even stay dead. Their kind could be polluted by the demon scum and made into these low level fiends.

Vampires.

He remembered the title from some human book he'd read a while ago. _Nosferatu _was another name, but one that was much older. Once they were few of these demons, these night-walkers. But now, their numbers were great.

Some would think that Nuada would be grateful to these creatures for eating so many of the race he so despises, but in truth he hated them almost as much, simply for what they are. Abominations. Demons in rotting human flesh. They were a plague upon his earth, and he would be only to glad when they were extinguished. With that thought in mind, he raised his spear... and froze.

Pointed ear twitching rather adorably (though no one was there to say so), Nuada barely caught the sound of approaching vehicles moments before they turned around the corner and into view. Nuada immediately flattened himself down against the roofing of the warehouse again, trusting the rising sun at his back to provide cover, as he watched the car (or was it called a "truck"? Oh, who cared?! He never paid much attention to human technology, anyway, so what did it matter?) move closer. It was big and black, but that wasn't what he cared about. What he did care about, was why they were there in the first place.

Were they there to kill the vampires? Join them (he had heard of some stupid -ivery/i stupid- humans doing this)?

It could be that they weren't even involved.

Yes, this was the last warehouse on the block, but they could be lost, or something (and that sounded pathetic, even to him). The only other thought that came to mind was that they had no idea of the danger. Mayhap they were just visiting the warehouse for some reason unknown to him and were unwittingly walking into death. As much as he hated and despised the human race, mindless killing (which this would be) was something that even he was apposed to (shocking, yes, but true).

That theory, though, was shot to whatever the humans called their Underworld when the vans (maybe that's what it was...?) finally stopped.

The back doors of the first van flung open and out stepped a demon. Nuada's eyes widened.

This was no ordinary demon.

He had been hearing tales of this one in the Troll Market for quite some time. It worked for the humans as their pet; their attack dog; their guardian. The tales of his strength were widely known, and now he could see that they indeed weren't just stories. He could feel the power rolling off of it even from the distance he was at. He would have to watch out for this one, when he set into motion his plans. It was far too loyal to these parasites to willingly allow him to bring about their destruction, he could see it clearly in the way it moved as it turned and carefully assisted a human woman from the back of the same van he had just exited.

Oh, that was both oddly sweet, and utterly revolting. A human and a demon? He'd heard of such things, but to him it was almost as disgusting as a human and an elf.

This short-haired woman instantly went to the second van and opened the back and began to assist in something, he stopped paying attention to her when the next occupant stepped out. It appeared to be a fish... person... thing; he had absolutely no idea what it was. It was blue, wearing black (like everyone else BUT the red-skinned demon), and was wearing some sort of... thing around his neck that was filled with water. He had no idea what it was, but it reminded him of a human item he had seen once. Something called a toilet seat. May-hap there was some information about this demon (or one like it) in his father's library, but as he was still in exile (not for long, though!!) he couldn't check at the moment.

The blue-skinned creature turned back to the open back doors just as _she_ stepped out.

It felt as if Mr. Wink had hit the prince in the gut with his giant fist. All the air rushed from his lungs in a sudden explosion. He stared. This being, this beauty, which he was staring at wasn't like a normal, disgusting mortal. Even from the distance he was at he could tell. She appeared human in all aspects, her hair, face, and form was sickeningly mortal. She was attractive, he supposed, to a human. But it was her eyes that betrayed her and caught his attention. It was her eyes that made him notice her beauty in the terms of his people.

As she turned to accept an item from the blue-fish thing with a smile, the elven prince was caught by her glittering eyes. They were captivating. There were millions of ways to describe it, but none of them would do it justice, but that one came the closest.

Nuada couldn't look away as he stared at her brilliant emerald depths. It was there that he could confirm without a doubt what he felt. It was there, in the midst of the forest of her gaze, that he could see the magic within her. It lay just under the surface of her skin, giving her an ethereal glow that hardly any normal mortal (and even fewer Fae) would notice. It was only barely visible to him, even with his royal elven blood, but he could see the magic glittering inside her soul through her eyes like flaming emeralds.

And just like that, he knew he had to find out more. A human (if that really is what she was) shouldn't hold that much power in them. Especially with a body so wonderfully lithe and slim and perfectly made for- ahem. What he meant was; tall and like a stick and completely unappealing. Yeah, he'd go with that...... even if it did completely disregard her entrancing bust and perfectly narrow hips... and he was not thinking erotic thoughts about a human!!

Shuddering in what he hoped was disgust, Nuada jerked his gaze away and quickly flattened himself against the roof again just as the luscious beau- uh,_ plain mortal_ seemed to sense his presence and look up to where he was perched, shielding her eyes from the rising light peaking up from behind the very warehouse he hid upon. He, himself, was careful to keep his eyes from looking to that direction, not desiring to burn his sensitive eyes by staring into the bright sun.

'Who is this mortal?' he thought to himself as he glanced over the edge of the roof at the human woman._ 'I shall watch her... for now. It would be wise to learn what she is. She has magic; that may be trouble for me, should she interfere.'_ And he pretended that it was only for this reason that he would keep an eye on her.

* * *

A shiver ran up Dawn's spine. She barely suppressed a shudder as her eyes began to dart around. For a moment, she had the distinct feeling of being watched. Actually, it was more like being mentally undressed, but who was paying attention? Her eyes went to where the feeling was coming from and she nearly blinded herself as she got an eyeful of the rising sun. Closing her eyes quickly against the pain as she muttered a few very unladylike curses in 4 different languages, she turned back to the van and reached in to pull out her weapons duffel. She quickly snapped on the belt that Blue had given her and she'd tossed inside, carefully ignoring the gun that came with it, and then began to arm herself with various other pretties from her bag. She did this swiftly while everyone else was trying to figure out what was inside the building.

Dawn already knew. The moment the van had turned onto this road, her slayer-like senses had been going crazy. Meaning there were vampires in the area. Now that she was directly in front of the warehouse, she could pinpoint them.

She turned her head to Manning as he came around the van. "Hey, do you know what's inside?" she asked, catching the attention of the rest of the team. They looked at Manning, as well. They also wanted to know what it was they were hunting this time.

Coughing slightly into his hand, he attempted to hide how sheepish he was as he answered. "Um, we- uh, don't actually know." Hellboy groaned, turning to hit his head against the closest van, leaving little dents. "Oh, great! Wonderful! There could be a freakin' fluffy bunny rabbit in there, for all we know."

Dawn couldn't help but laugh at that mental image. "Anya would be terrified." she muttered to herself, ignoring the odd look Hellboy shot at her as he obviously heard her statement. She shook her head. "It's vampires." she said louder. Well, that got them staring at her like she needed to be committed.

"Wait a second," Red took a deep breath of his cigar. "Vampires? Like, as in, like, Dracula? I thought those things were just stories to scare the kiddies not to go out at night."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Seriously, these guys fought monsters and demons on a daily basis, but they think she's bonkers for saying 'vampire'?! He's a freakin' red demon, for crying out loud! And Blue's... well, blue. The only other smurf-like person she knew of was the demon-god-person Illyra back in LA. Enough said.

"Where do you think those stories came from?" Dawn asked. "There's a basis for truth in each, it's just that humans are too blind and unwilling to read between the lines."

"Like Sunnydale." Abe stated with sudden understanding.

She glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah. Those guys refused to believe in any of the supernatural, even though they were right over a hellmouth. Was really beneficial to us sometimes. Others it was just a pain." There was a pause. "And Dracula is so totally real. He once came to Sunnydale."

Red gaped at her. "Seriously? Did you see him? Why was he there?" Dawn just shrugged. She wouldn't say, but Abe knew.

It was one of the bits of knowledge he had accidentally gleaned from her. It was because of Buffy. He came for her. It was always about Buffy. Because she was the Slayer. Because she was the older sister. Because she was the pretty one, while Dawn was just the smart one. Dawn wouldn't fool herself by thinking that her childhood bitterness towards her sister had completely dried up. Most of it was gone, but a small part of her -the part of her that had made her leave- still saw it as Buffy's world, where only Buffy mattered and everyone else was just secondary. This place was going to be Dawn's, and if that was to be then Buffy couldn't be a part of it. At least, not yet.

Manning suddenly stepped forward; snapping her from her thoughts as he rudely pushed past Red and situated himself in the middle of the group as if he were the boss. Yeah right. Dawn was new, but she could tell that he had as much control over Red as Red allowed him. "Alright. I don't care what's in there. Just kill it." Manning declared.

Red blew a puff of cigar smoke at him. "Well, whatever's in there, one shot of this and it won't be feeling tomorrow." He hefted his big gun up and stroked it. Now Dawn did roll her eyes. She went over to the van and grabbed up the crossbow she'd brought before heading back to them. Without any effort, she plucked the weapon from his hands and deposited it back into the van. He gaped for a second, before glaring.

"Hey! New girl, rule number one; no touchy my gun." he growled, reaching for it. Dawn stood in his way. "Hey, big guy," she shot back, "Rule number one: don't die. Rule number 2: Bullets just make vampires tickle and pissed off." She handed him the crossbow and bolts. "If you actually want to kill them, use these. Aim for the heart." She turned to hand Liz one of the stakes she had on her. "Just point and jab. Very rudimentary."

Liz gave her a look and lit her hand on fire.

Dawn smirked. "Or do that. Blue fire is just as good as orange when it comes to making toasty vamps." Instead, she turned and handed the stake to Blue. He took it reluctantly, eying the wooden object with trepidation. "Hey, just cuz you're blue doesn't mean they'll leave you alone. I'm pretty sure their willing to try everything once." He turned a little grey around the gills at that. He gulped and gripped the stake tighter.

"Well, now that everyone's armed," Red held the crossbow over his shoulder, his other hand shoving the bolts into his jacket pocket. "let's go kill some bloodsuckers." With that, they headed into the warehouse.

* * *

Sorry I'm ending it there, and I'm sorry if it's a bit short, but I'm dry. My brain ain't puttin' out.  
Yay!! I've introduced the sexy prince!! Go me!  
I'd like to thank **Damian Azrael** (for your thoughts about my lapytop. I have a cooling pad for it, and it shuts off less. Still does, but not as much), **SolitaryMovement **(your support is really appreciated, and I'm sorry I couldn't give Dawn a fight scene in this chap, but I'm not too good with those). And I'd like to give a special thanks to **foxlord11**.  
This chap is dedicated to you, cuz you gave me an idea and I ran with it. You probably don't think it was much of an idea, and most likely you're wracking your brain right now trying to figure out what idea you gave me, but I gotta say, without your suggestion, it would have taken a lot longer for me to finish this chapter. Or even to start it. So, **foxlord11**, this one was for you.  
Sorry again that this took so very frickin' long to post, but like I said at the top, there was a helluva lot of stuff on my plate.

Some of you are probably wondering if there will be any nookie between Nuada and Dawn going on and the only answer I can give is... maybe. It all depends on ya'll (geez, I talk like this and I'm not even Texan! What's wrong with me?!). Anyway, as I was saying, it all depends on you guys. You see, I cannot -will not- make a lemon. No way, no how. I made a vow to myself as a young'n (geez, I sound like that was a long time ago) as well as to my ma just a few months ago, that I would never write a lemon. I have no problem reading them or getting damn close to them, but seeing as how I have no first-hand (hehe) experience in the matter (hehe) I shant try. If someone wishes to send me a lemon, on the other hand, for this couple to use in a chapter, I have no problem with that(with a shout out to the original author, of course. I am not taking credit for lemons not my own). So if anyone wants a lemon, that is how it shall be.


	6. Powers That Bitch's Messenger Girl

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. Well, except the storyline and the like. The characters belong completely to the creators of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Hellboy.... even tho I wouldn't mind if they suddenly decided to sell me Nuada.... Mmm.... smexy elf....giggity giggity....

The pairings haven't changed any since the last chapter, so I won't bother to state what they are.

I gotta thank espinosaca on Twisting the Hellmouth for giving me an idea with her review. Like I told her, this was why I love reviews; sometimes the reviewer can unknowingly give an author sudden inspiration. Like now.

Enjoy!!

* * *

The doors of the library were thrown open as Red came in. Following behind him was his two best friends -one being his girlfriend- and the new girl- whom he was a little more than a little pissed at.

"My gun could have blown away those dust busters. You didn't have to take it away." Red huffed as he dropped himself onto the steps in front of the furnace, throwing a glare at the tall brunette. Yep, he was not happy. Anyone could tell. He'd been harping about this since he'd seen how easy it had been to *poof* them.

"He is right, Dawn. His gun is of the correct caliber to simply... blow their heads off. That should be effective enough to kill them, correct? Maybe even destroy the heart, if his aim was that good." Abe added. Red gave him an indignant look.

"Hey, my aim is great!" The red demon protested. True, he had missed hitting the vamp between the eyes like he had intended, but he had got it in the eye _socket_, so shouldn't that count for _something_? Besides, he had been using that ancient, medieval crossbow that the new girl had thrown at him, so of course his aim wouldn't be spot-on; he'd never used one of those contraptions before! "My aim is perfect! It's that stupid flimsy crossbow's fault that my shots were off." He huffed. "Must've been tuned wrong."

Oh, now that had Dawn glaring.

"Excuse me? I tuned that thing myself, it isn't wrong."

To prove her point, she snatched up the crossbow out of the duffle it had been tossed back into after the mission. Not even bothering to look at where her target was, she spun and shot in a seemingly random direction, the bolt thudding into the far wall over Red's shoulder. Smirking, she rested the weapon against her shoulder as the others looked from the bolt to her and back again in shock. That is, until Hellboy scoffed.

"Okay, were you aiming for something in particular over there, or what? Cuz, all I see is the wall, and your bolt ruining the paint job."

Rolling her eyes, Dawn stalked over to the bolt and ripped it from the wall before stalking back over to thrust the long shaft in front of Hellboy's face. And that's when he saw it. On the very tip of the bolt, lying very dead, was what remained of a fly. He took the bolt from her hand and inspected it in shock while Dawn just crossed her arms over her chest with a smug smirk.

"Well I'll be..." Abe muttered as he, too, inspected the smudge that had been an insect. "Amazing, Dawn! Amazing!"

Liz just nodded in agreement, herself just as stunned at Red, though her mouth wasn't hanging open and making little sounds of awe like he was. Dawn brushed off the compliment, although inwardly she felt warm that someone was complimenting _her_, for a change.

"It was nothing, Abe." she said, actually meaning it. To her, it _was_ nothing. Just another little side-effect of the Slayer-lite powers she had.

She suddenly felt a yawn overpower her and stood. "Well, as fun as it is to watch you two gawk at bug smear, I'm gonna go get a nap."

It was then that Abe noticed the darkness under her eyes, the heaviness of her shoulders, and slight droop to her eyelids. Standing, he wrested his gloved hand on her shoulder to get a better look at her face, careful not to invade her thoughts through the slight touch, a spark of concern flashing in his big dark eyes for his newest companion. "Oh, my, you do look exhausted. When was the last time you slept?"

Dawn paused to calculate the time in her mind, her eyes turning to the ceiling. "Um… I think that would be… six o'clock yesterday morning, 'round a bout." She answered finally. She gave a shrug as she turned to the door. "There wasn't much time for sleep, what with all the packing I had and paperwork I needed to finish."

"Why didn't you sleep on the plane?" Liz asked.

Her face scrunched in distaste. "I don't like sleeping on planes. It leaves me too open."

"Do you still want to do that girl's night tonight?" Liz asked feeling slightly worried for her newest teammate. "We can always do it another night. Maybe sometime when you're not half dead."

Dawn shook her head with a laugh, though it sounded more like a huff of air. "I'm not dead yet!" she joked, quoting one of her favorite movies. "But, seriously, Liz, I'll be fine. I really don't need much sleep, so a few hours are all I'll need. Just come by later tonight, maybe after dinner, whenever that is, and we'll hang." With that, Dawn turned and walked, well, more like trudged, from the library.

It was quite a challenge for her to make it back to her room with her eyes alternating in closing, but she managed. Vaguely, she remembered punching in the password and using the key to get in, and for the life of her, she never remembered stumbling over to her bed, dropping her crossbow that hung lazily on her shoulder onto the ground on top of her weapon duffel, before finally just turning to jelly onto the fresh, comfortable sheets of her bed. She was unconscious before she knew it.

* * *

_Dawn stood in her old room in her old house in Sunnydale. The moonlight illuminated the otherwise unlit room with an ethereal glow. She was standing in the doorway, her back to the hall, with her focus on a room she hadn't seen in over three years._

_Or, actually, her attention was on the woman standing on the other side of her bed, smiling beautifully at her._

"_Tara…"_

_The beautiful blonde gave a nod of her head as she moved to the bed, gathering up the sheet that rested at the foot and beginning to remake the bed. Dawn moved forward to help her. She wondered if this was another one of those Slayer-dreams, since she remembered Buffy telling her about having that one dream with Faith helping her make her bed, and then telling her something very important. That Dawn was coming._

"_Hi Dawnie." Tara didn't stutter as she spoke, something that, in life, would have really startled any of her friends._

_Dawn couldn't help but return the smile her former teacher sent her. "Tara… I miss you. We all miss you… Willow-"_

_Tara cut her off, her smile becoming sad. "I know, and I miss you all, as well." She finished the top part of the bed and moved to slip the sheet onto the bottom part. "But, I'm not here for that reason."_

_Dawn nodded in understanding as she, too, finished her side of the bed and moved to fix her side of the bottom. "I know. This is a Slayer-dream, isn't it? You've got something important to tell me from the Powers That Bitch, huh?"_

_Tara giggled at her name for the PTB, although she was silently agreeing with the nickname. "Yes, they sent me here to speak with you because they figured I was the closest to you, since I trained you in your powers. They wanted me to be the one to tell you about them."_

_Ok, little glowy green orb getting confused here. "Huh? Tell me about them? I already know all about them…" she paused then gulped. "Don't I?"_

_Tara shook her head. "No, you still have much to learn about it. There is still so much that you can do with that power, than just travel through portals and create green flames." She shook out the sheet over the bed. "I cannot yet tell you what the full extent of your powers are, but I can tell you that they are a lot, but you're not ready to learn of this. I'm only supposed to warn you."_

_Dawn felt a trail of ice run down her spine at her words. "Warn me? What's coming?"_

_Tara gave her a wry smile. "Well, I'm supposed to say something cryptic, but I think the straight forward version works just as well." Her eyes glittered in mischief. "You're gonna meet a most extraordinary man. Well, er, he's more than a man, actually."_

_There was a brief moment of silence as those words hung in the air before they finally registered that, indeed, the dead lesbian had just said that. Tara blushed then as she recognized the double meaning. "Um, I mean, he's not actually a man… W-well, he is, but he's not-" Her blushed darkened even more. _

_Dawn giggled at how flustered her friend was getting. Finally, the blonde just gave a sigh and stood. "What I mean is… The person you're gonna meet is… not human."_

_That stopped the giggling. Dawn stared at Tara seriously. "What do you mean? Is he a demon? A vamp? Some other freaky nonhuman critter that Buffy's gonna have to come kill?" The last was asked with a tang of bitterness that she couldn't hide. _

_Tara regarded her with an almost sad expression on her face. She rounded the bed and came to stand in front of the tall woman-child. She stared up at her one-time student, and she didn't see a kid in need of protecting. Staring back at her was a woman; a warrior; a being more powerful than could ever be imagined, all wrapped inside this tall, spunky brunette who technically wasn't even older than ten yet._

"_No, Dawnie." She stated firmly. "This isn't Buffy's mission. Not this one. She fights for those that can't fight for themselves. You're needed for something much different. You're gonna have to fight for someone that shouldn't _have to_ fight anymore. He's fought for everything in his life, and it's worn him down. He needs rest, something only you, the Emerald Key, can give him." She paused to give Dawn some time to take in her words._

'Emerald Key? What the hell? Why call me that?' _But instead of asking this, Dawn simply nodded for Tara to continue._

_Tara took a deep breath, before speaking again. "He doesn't know the difference between when to fight, and when _not_ to, so you may even be needed to fight him, to save him. This will be the tough part." She stepped up and rested a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "You must save the Silver Prince from himself, Dawnie. His destiny is one with yours. He needs you." Once again her soft smile graced her features. "I know you can do it, it'll just take some time." _

_Dawn stared at her in an almost state of shock, not knowing how to proceed. This was the first time in… well… ever that she was needed for something that not even Buffy was qualified to do. It felt… more than exhilarating. But, it was also daunting._

_How was she to do it? How can she save someone that she doesn't even know?_

_As if reading her mind, Tara gave a smile and a wink. "I'm sure you'll think of something, Dawnie. You're a Summer's, after all."_

_She paused, her eyes taking on a distant look, before she frowned. "I've gotta go, Dawnie." She said sadly, stepping away. "They're not too happy that I've given you as much info as I have."_

_Dawn stared at her incredulously. "Too much? What the hell!? You've barely told me anything!" She almost shrieked. "All I know is that there's a guy out there that only I can help; someone that's called the 'Silver Prince'. That doesn't give me near enough to go on, Tara!" _

_But Tara just shook her head, her skin beginning to become translucent. "I'm sorry, Dawnie, but that's the way things are." And then she was gone, her voice echoing through the room with her last words._

"_You think you know what you are? What's to come? You haven't even begun…"_

* * *

Dawn woke up gasping. She sat straight in her bed, her eyes wide and unfocused. Her breath was coming in shaky gasps. For a few seconds that was all she could focus on; slowing her breathing down.

Her mind raced as she thought over her dream. But was it a dream? Like a normal dream? Or was it, indeed, a Slayer-dream? That seemed most likely, since Dawn hadn't had any dreams of Tara since a couple of weeks after she was murdered, but those were just stress and grief related and had nothing Slayer-y about them.

This dream, however, was all kinds of Slayer-y and- Holy crap! Her butt was vibrating!... and ringing?

Dawn nearly jumped a foot off her bed before she realized that the music she was hearing and the vibration that she was feeling were coming from her back pocket, or, more precisely, her cell phone. Struggling to pull the phone from the tight back pocket, she didn't even glance at the caller-ID before answering.

"Dawn speaking." She stated automatically.

All thoughts of her dream fled at the voice on other line, a voice she had definitely _not_ been expecting.

"_Nibblet! Where the bloody 'ell are you!?"_

Her eyes widened and her breath caught.

"Spike?"

Oh, of course it was him! It would be just like Buffy to call Angel for help in finding her, knowing that Spike was with him and would find out and would get into a tizzy trying to find her. Like he was doing now, if the desperate note in his voice was anything to go by.

"_Yes, Spike! Who the bloody 'ell else would it be?"_ He didn't even give her a chance to answer back before he was talking again. _"Peaches just got off the phone with the Slayer and I want to know where you are!"_

See? She called Angel.

Deny it all she wanted, but when it comes down to it, she still loves him. And whenever something like this happens, Buffy's got the phone to her ear and her brooding vamp on the other line. The fact that Spike was also there was just an added bonus at this point.

Dawn was hoping for a few more days before having to have the conversation. Because, let's face it, she has _no_ _idea_ what to say to him. What could she say? It was one thing to tell Buffy and the others that she needed some time away from slaying –or, at least, from _her_- but it was a completely other thing to tell the vamp that practically raised her that she had 'run away', as Buffy had so eloquently put it.

Wait. Why did she have to worry? This was Spike, after all. Her Spike. The vamp that babysat her while Buffy and the Slayerettes were off on the slaying trail. He may have had that thing with Buffy back in Sunnydale right after she became not-dead, but she was _Nibblet_! He'd understand. Hell, he'd seen how that had treated her back in Sunnydale, so of course he would understand that after a few more years of _that_, she just had to get away.

"_Lil' 'bit?" _

Dawn jumped a little, suddenly remembering that she was still on the phone. "I'm still here, Spike."

A chuckle. _"Good. You were a little too quiet on your end."_

"Sorry about that." She leaned back against the bed's headboard. "I was just trying to figure out what I should say, I guess."

"_Well, I would hope you'd tell me the truth, Nibblet. Peaches, I could understand; he's a bit of a stiff for this kind of thing, but you know me."_

Dawn glared at the phone. "Of course! I do know you, Spike, and I would never lie to you, at least about something like this." She took a breath, exhaled. "I just didn't know what to say."

"_And do you now? Cuz I'd be happy to know why you're not with the Slayer and her cheerful slaying munchkins."_

A soft smile spread across her face. It had been a long time since she had last spoken to Spike. She had almost forgotten his sense of humor. "Yeah, I think I've got it figured out, now." She thought a moment then nodded to herself. "Yep, I've got it figured."

"_Well, let's here it; my mug of blood is gettin' cold."_

Her nose turned up in disgust, but she didn't make a comment about the one thing he actually needed to eat for survival. It was ucky, even if it was only animal blood or blood bank donated stuff.

"I left because I was sick of it. All of it. Giles tip-toeing around me with documents and books that he could very well translate himself –and probably did, Willow codling me like I was still a teenage klepto, and Buffy…" here she had to pause to get her emotions under control. Her eyes were misting and her throat felt thick, but she swallowed it down and just wiped her eyes. Now wasn't a time to cry. She wasn't the over-emotional little girl anymore.

"Buffy just… It was like I was in bubble wrap to her, or something." She finally burst out. From there everything seemed to just flow in a river of tears and words. "I will always be her defenseless little sister, no matter how much I train up my powers." She stated sadly. "And that's another thing! My powers! After Giles was certain they were trained up enough that they wouldn't cause any, like, big damage or anything, he stopped advancing my training. For almost 6 months he'd just kept me on the same meditation routine, day in day out. None of them were willing to acknowledge that I could be of any use in a fight. Buffy nearly had a stroke the last time I swung around one of her battle axes! Not to mention, I couldn't go anywhere in Slayer Central without having someone stop me to ask 'Are you really The Slayer's little sister?' and stuff like that." She sighed, closing her eyes as her hand came up to rub at the bridge of her nose, trying to relieve the slight headache she felt coming on. "It was like they didn't even know Dawn. Me. There was nothing I could do there that they would see as me, only Buffy. It was like… like I was walking in her shadow all the damn time. You can understand why I had to leave."

There was a long pause on the other end as Spike thought through all that she had told him. Finally, _"Well, hell, Nibblet. O' course I understand you wantin' to get out from under all that. If I'd of known it was that bad I would have gone and kidnapped ya, myself!"_

Dawn couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, thank you, Spike! I needed that."

"_No prob, luv."_ Came the easy reply that was also filled with a heaping load of mirth. _"So, Nibblet, what are you doing now, if not working as a bloody Scooby?"_

She clicked her tongue at him. "Oh, no you don't, Spike." She chuckled.

"_What? All I was doin' was askin' a question."_

There was a knock at the door. Glancing at the door, she figured that dinner was over or whatever and that was Liz. Standing, she walked over and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Liz, carrying a basket filled with something that smelled wonderful, and holding a 12-pack of soda. She grinned at Dawn and opened her mouth for a greeting, but then her eyes landed on the phone still pressed to her ear, and she decided to simply mouth the greeting, which Dawn returned.

Dawn stepped aside and waved her into the room as she continued her conversation with Spike.

"Yes, a question that could potentially give away either my exact location, or at least what city I'm in." She countered as she pointed for Liz to set the basket and drinks on the empty desk. "I know you too well, Spike. Remember, you were my babysitter. I can almost read your mind now."

Liz raised an eyebrow at her, mouthing 'Spike?' Wow, Dawn sure had some weird friends. As she listened to her friend talk to whoever it was, she began to pull different goodies from the basket and set them on the desk.

Spike laughed. _"Ah, hell, can't blame a vamp for trying."_ He said. _"But, you know I'm just worried about you, Li'l Bit."_

She was touched by that. Even if the world fell down around her and everyone else turned on her, she knew she could always trust Spike. Xander and him (and of course Anya, she would never let herself be excluded from _anything_ that involved Xander) were probably the only ones she could count on like that.

Wiping away a little tear that had slipped out, she smiled. "Oh, Spike… I'm touched that a Big Bad like you would worry about me. But I'm fine. The place I'm working at now is great! Even my co-workers are wonderful." She sent a wink to Liz, who grinned back. "Speaking of co-workers, I have one in my room right now and we're about to have a little 'girl's night', so I'm gonna have to let ya go."

"_Hmm, alright, Nibblet. I can get a hint. But you better tell me if they don't treat you right. If they turn out to be evil-"_

"You'll be the first to know." She assured. "Don't worry, Spike. These guys are about as straight laced as they get."

"_Well… alright… if you're sure, Nibblet."_ He didn't sound sure.

"I'm sure, Spike."

"_Ok… Hey, what time is it? I can't find a watch in this bloody place, and Peaches should be home soon. I don't want the poof knowing I talked to you; he'll try to wring the info outta me."_

"Oh, sure." She glanced at her watch, which was newly set to New York time. "It's about 7:20 pm."

"_Thanks, Nibblet. I'll let ya go now."_ There was a yell in the background on his side, followed by a crash, and then some cursing, coming from him and another. _"Gotta go, Li'l Bit. Peaches just caught me on the phone talking to you and *grunt* he's trying to wrestle the phone from me."_

The image of Angel and Spike wrestling on the ground over a small phone made her laugh. "Bye, Spike."

*click* And he was gone.

Chuckling to herself, Dawn walked over to her back and dug around until she found her charger. Plugging her phone in and setting it by her bed, she finally turned back to Liz. She smiled a little in apology

"Sorry about that, Liz."

Liz just waved it away with a laugh. "It's no problem, Dawn." She suddenly looked mischievous. "Although… I wouldn't mind an explanation. 'Spike', eh?" She gave a conspiratory wink.

Dawn flushed at the implication. "It's not like that!" She instantly denied.

Liz nodded, but didn't look convinced. "Uh-huh."

"It's not!" She walked over and sat at the end of the bed. "Spike and I are friends. Closer than friends; he's like a brother to me." She accepted a can of soda and popped it open, taking a drink before going on. "I met him about a year after we –my mom, sis, and I- moved to Sunnydale. He was… a rival… of my sister's, I guess you could say." That was the easiest way she could explain things, since she didn't want to go too far into Sunnydale… or Buffy, just yet. "Well, at some point when I was about fifteen they had moved beyond their 'rivalry' enough that he was trusted as my babysitter."

Her eyes took on a misty quality. "When my mom died, he was there for me, when Buffy couldn't be. And when she… was gone, he was there. Spike was the one constant in my life at that time, and I'll never forget that." She sniffled and took another drink of soda. "I nearly lost him in Sunnydale, but he somehow managed to survive. He's now living in L.A. with Angel, my sis' ex." She ended on a happy note, whatever mist that had been clouding her eyes gone.

Liz decided not to comment on that show of emotion from the younger woman. It was obvious that she cared a great deal about the man, Spike. Even if she hadn't teared up like she had, the love and caring in her voice when she spoke of him was enough to tell her. Deciding to move onto cheerier subjects, ones that wouldn't have her new friend getting misty eyed again, she changed the subject.

"So, tell me, what was your worst date?"

The sudden and unexpected question shocked Dawn into laughing. When she calmed enough, she answered. "Um, I think that would've been my first, actually."

The ebony-haired beauty scrunched her nose. "Ugh, aren't those all the worst?"

Dawn tilted her head in agreement, accepting the roast beef sandwich Liz withdrew from the basket. "I guess, but mine really was the worst. I was nearly munched by a vamp."

* * *

Okay, sorry everyone that it's taken me so darn long to get this up. I've been really busy lately. Mostly with holidays and whatnot, but also because of my eldest sister, Amanda. Guess what! She's pregnant! Yay! *does happy dance* I'm getting another niece! Or nephew! Or both! (twins run in the family, after all) I've been praying and praying that she has twins, but right now it's too soon to tell. The doctor is thinking it's only one, but I'm not giving up!!  
Anyway, just wanted to let that out. I'm sorry that Nuada didn't appear in this chapter, but until the night at the auction he isn't gonna be making much of an appearance anywhere. Don't worry, though, I do have a plan... bwahahahaha*hack**cough*fly!*cough**hack* Ahem... anyways... Stay tuned for the next chappie!!


	7. Fairytale Dreams

Disclaimer: You know I'm really beginning to hate this part. I'm forced to say the same dreadful thing over and over again. And again I must say it. I do not own Nuada *cries* I really wish I did; he is one smexy elf. Also, I don't own Dawn, or anything that pertains to her.  
I'd like to give a shout-out to my muse, and biggest supporter, SolitaryMovement. You are the bomb, Jorrie!  
I'm sorry if this chappie isn't what some of yall are hoping for, but I'm really tired right now and I'm trying to work around a major migraine and shoulder-pain. So, please, a little grace would be helpful (lays wet rag over eyes while leaning back)(throws Eeyore-plushy at lamp) Stupid bright lights! P.S. Sorry about the lame chapter title, but, again, I am in pain and I am _very_ tired.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all (well, to those that celebrate it) and enjoy!

* * *

The small click of the lock sounding as the door closed behind Liz was like a chime from heaven for Dawn. She sighed tiredly, hitting the lock again before moving from the door. Liz and she had just spent –she glanced at the bedside clock- 3 hours chatting and having 'girl time', and she was now more exhausted than she had been when she had gone to sleep earlier. Who knew that gossiping could be so tiring!

Dawn now knew more about the petite woman than she knew about Anya -which was saying something since the vengeance demon wouldn't shut up about herself if given the chance. Not to say that that was a bad thing. It was just something that was going to take some getting used to. Having a friend was a somewhat foreign experience for her. Aside from the very few friends she'd had in jr. high, she'd never really had any friends. Well, she did have friends when she'd been a kid, back in L.A., but considering those were constructed memories, they didn't count. So, aside from her monk-made friends and jr. high, she'd been without any friends of her own. They'd always been Buffy's friend humoring her. Like always.

Isn't that just depressing?

Deciding to put those thoughts (as well as all the other ones that were just smashing themselves together in her head) aside, she grabbed up her robe and headed for the bathroom. Maybe a nice long shower would make her feel better. Or at least make her able to process her thoughts rationally and clearly without sounding like a petulant child. She really needed to work on that. Besides, she needed to know that the bathroom of her new place was worth the move.

It was. It may be small-ish, but the place was as good as heaven to a girl that had had to share a bathroom with a bunch of hormonal super-girls for a couple weeks a few years back. All of the SunnyHell survivors had come to really appreciate the little things in life after that. Especially restrooms.

Dawn tossed her clothes and towel onto the edge of the sink counter before turning on the water and stripping while it heated up. Once the room was practically filled with steam, she stepped under the hot spray of water, sighing softly at how nice it felt. And then Dawn couldn't help the cringe as she realized just how on the mark she was with her earlier thought.

It was depressing.

She had spent the last couple of years trying to get off of Buffy's coattails and yet here she was, still sounded like a *sigh* petulant child. She wondered if that would ever go away. She certainly hoped so. This new team that she was a part of didn't need a bratty kid sister constantly getting kidnapped and bringing in trouble. They needed an equal member that could hold her own, and Dawn was determined to do that. She wasn't a kid anymore and she was done acting like one.

She wasn't Scrappy, anymore, dammit!

Dawn nearly shrieked when the water around her suddenly went cold. She hadn't realized it, but she'd already finished bathing and had just been standing under the pouring water long enough for the water to turn frigid. Quickly turning off the shower, Dawn yanked on her robe and headed back into her room with her bottle of lotion in-hand.

Perching herself on the end of her bed, she lost herself again in her thoughts as she starting rubbing lotion into her skin. The pleasant scent of plumeria filled the room in a matter of seconds. It was her favorite scent. When Anya had learned that during one of those babysitting gigs she'd done with Xander, she'd taken to making for Dawn lotion, perfume, and even soap of that scent whenever her birthday and Christmas rolled around. Dawn had been very touched that the usually selfish ex-demon would do such a thing, but it had made so much more sense when Anya had explained -in her usually blunt and loud way- that it was cheaper just to make it by hand than to buy it somewhere.

Oddly, Anya still refused to make anything for Buffy and Willow, even though they've practically begged her.

Falling back into her thoughts, Dawn suddenly found herself remembering her dream from earlier. The one that she'd just woken from when Spike had called and then Liz had arrived and it had been pushed to the back of her mind for the past 4 hours as she'd hung out with Liz and then showered. She'd forgotten about it when Liz had been there, but now that the other woman was gone she it was flooding back into the forefront of her mind like a tidal wave. Questions soon followed.

What had Tara meant by 'he was her destiny'? It sounded all kinds of... a lot of adjectives. Creepy? Prophetic-y? Downright disturbing? That one, definitely. There was a lot of the disturbing going on.

But what about romantic? It did sound like the kind of thing that fairytales were made of. Beautiful (at least in her mind) young princess (again, in her mind) comes to the rescue of the handsome young prince. It was like a backwards telling of Cinderella or something. Or maybe it was going to be like Beauty and the Beast, since Tara had said that he wasn't human. And, to be honest, Dawn didn't know how she felt about that.

Whatever Tara had been meaning by what she'd said, Dawn still wasn't sure that she was ready for it. Him. Love. Whatever.

She definitely didn't know if she even liked that this guy that she had never even met -who wasn't even human, mind you- was supposed to have his destiny in some way entwined with hers. It practically reeked of that Dracula-like cheesy thrall crap. Definitely screamed Buffy.

So, what could Dawn do? She was Dawn. Miss Slayer-Lite. How was she supposed to save him? She was just the Slayer's 'little sister'. The girl that got kidnapped every Tuesday! The one who was always smothered and mothered and protected from the everything even when she didn't want to be.

But... she'd left England to get away from all that. To blaze her own trail as her own person, that's why she'd left. How could she do that if she didn't give herself a chance? It wasn't about them holding her back now that she was here, with the BPRD, but about herself still stuck in that mentality (whatever that mentality was defined as). And hadn't she just been thinking that she was done being Scrappy! That meant no more Scrappy-thoughts!

"_This isn't Buffy's mission."_

There we go. Much better.

Regardless of her doubts and fears, no matter what, this wasn't something that Buffy was meant to handle. This had nothing to do with her. It was Dawn's turn. She wasn't going to be benching it anymore.

It was time that Dawn got to be Scooby. As stupid-sounding as that was, Dawn couldn't help the smile that lit her face. Finally, she was getting a chance to prove herself. This was her chance to show everyone that she wasn't just the Slayers Little Sister anymore.

Now she was going to be the hero, not the damsel in distress. By what Tara had said, this guy was going to be the damsel in distress. Yup, definitely starting to sound more and more like a fairytale. She just wondered where her fairy godmother-

"_Well, I'm supposed to say something cryptic..."_

Oh, right, there she was. This really was a fairytale. There was a fairy godmother (after a fashion), a prince, a princess-shaped girl, and a potentially dangerous adventure that had to be completed before said prince and princess-shaped girl shared true-loves first kiss.

And she was going to blissfully forget that last part. She didn't even know the guy yet so she shouldn't be getting with the smoochy-thought-having. At least not yet.

_"You're gonna meet a most extraordinary man."_

But he wasn't a man. He wasn't human, at least. But, then, what was he? Was he good? Evil? Well, considering Tara had said that 'his destiny is one with hers' she could hazard a guess and say that he wasn't evil. Or... maybe he wasn't evil... just bad.

Dammit! What was with the Summers' girls and their habit of attracting the bad-boys? That was the last thing she needed right now.

_"You must save the Silver Prince from himself, Dawnie... He needs you."_

He needed her.

Dawn may be a lot of things, but she could say with complete honesty that she has never turned her back on someone that needed her. And he needs her, Tara had been pretty clear on that score. He needed her to save him from himself, to make him stop fighting and rest.

But just thinking that isn't going to made a difference. From everything Tara had said (and then what she _hadn't_ said) Dawn had a feeling that this wasn't going to be an easy... what could she call it? Case? Mission? Job?

No, not job. She had her new job, and she wasn't ready to let it mesh with her old life anymore than it already has. But, that wasn't something to think about right now. Right now she needed to dwell on this 'Silver Prince' guy that needed her to beat the tar outta him and make him take a much-needed nap.

'The tough part' Dawn thought wryly. Yep, she could just imagine that he would make it difficult. From what she got from Tara, this guy was a warrior. Dawn knew warriors. If he was anything like Buffy or Faith or most of the rest of her family, then chances were _very_ good that he was going to kick and scream and fight her every step of the way.

"_I know you can do it, it'll just take some time." _

That had to mean something. Tara believed in her. She trusted her. She'd... called her the 'Emerald Key'? Why had she done that? And why did she feel a tingle go up her spine whenever she thought about it? Yeah, the title did sound a bit self-explanatory, truth be told. But there had to be something more to it, right? More than just because she was the Key and the Key was green it meant that she was an emerald-anything. There had to be something more to it. Why call her that if it didn't mean something? Did it have something to do with being cryptic? Cuz, if so, then it was spot on in that area.

Could it be tied in with this guy that Tara was saying she had to help? Maybe the two things tied in together? They had both been in the same dream, and Tara had called him 'the Silver Prince'. It did sound just as self-explanatory as 'Emerald Key', though she was still confused as to what it could mean.

Maybe it just meant that he was a prince... and silver? Or... maybe it had nothing at all to do with it. Dawn finished with her lotion and grabbed up her brush, attacking her long hair without fanfare. She just didn't know what it all meant, only that she was using a lot of 'maybe's'.

There could be something in those books she brought with her from England. Those things were just packed with pages and pages of demons, and prophecies, and lore that may just hold something useful. Then again, if there was something about a being -whatever its species- known as the 'Silver Prince' having correspondence with an 'Emerald Key', then she should have already read about it, right. After all, she had spent so many hours and days simply pouring over those texts in the past that she could probably copy them verbatim at the drop of a hat.

Unless... unless they'd been in one of those books she suspected that Giles kept from her. The ones they hadn't _denied_ holding back from her. Those damn books they wouldn't let her translate for fear that they might 'traumatize' the 'kid', or whatever B.S. they spouted off to themselves to absolve themselves of any guilt they may have felt.

She wondered just how much she didn't know about herself because they had hidden the books away "for her own good". Well, she was going to find out!

Dawn jumped up from her bed and scooped up her cellphone. There were a couple of reputable books shops in town that she had looked up before she'd left London, so that's where she would start. She remembered most of the names of the books and tombs that Giles and Willow had kept from her. Hopefully, she'd be able to find them all at a single store because she really didn't fancy hopping all over New Jersey and New York trying to get them. She wanted to find out what the PtB had planned for her.

"_His destiny is one with yours."_

Besides that. She knew that he was supposed to be hers, already. This prince, whoever he was, was destined for her. A part of her couldn't help but point out that destiny always seemed to follow the Summers women. Destiny had made Buffy into the strongest -and longest living- Slayer to date. Destiny had then sent her this powerful key in the shape of a sister.

And now destiny was setting up that sister with her own destiny.

She didn't know whether to curse the PtB or thank them. Maybe she'll find out when she got a hold of those books.

* * *

_Nails trailed over hips._

_Lips dusted across a chest._

_Strands of dark hair teased pale skin._

_A gasp. A sigh._

_Calloused hands sought the source of temptation. Found soft, pliant flesh._

_Silver tresses tangled in burnt cinnamon locks. The perfect contrast._

_Delicate fingers caressed battle scars; soothed away the old pain._

_A moan. A growl._

_Words whispered on the winds brushed over lightly pointed ears._

_Electricity arced through the air._

_"You think you know what you are? What's to come? You haven't even begun…"_

Nuada shot up in bed, wide eyed and gasping for breath. For a few desperate seconds all he could do was breathe deep. His thoughts were all over the place and all he could focus on was the heavy gasps coming from his mouth. His chest heaved with every huff and sweat beaded over his alabaster skin, running down his clavicle and over his abs to absorb into the light sheet thrown haphazardly over his waist.

Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings. He was in his den off of the Troll's Market, surrounded by dank walls and remnants of his former renown. It would probably surprise the lords and ladies of court if they could see how he lived. What was likely even more surprising was that it didn't bother him to live in such a way. He felt closer to his people here. And he had learned so much from them.

When he had left the royal court so long ago with only his loyal friend Mr. Wink at his side, he knew next to nothing of living as a nomad. Mr. Wink had taught him much, though, and Nuada finally found his thirst for knowledge being quenched.

Nicknacks and bits and ends sat on tabletops and benches in his chambers showed just what he enjoyed doing with that knowledge. The finished fruits of his labor were proudly displayed everywhere the parts weren't taking up room. This rundown, dark and dank underground hovel was his sanctuary. It had started out as a simple means to an end, since this was the city in which his father had settled what remained of their once vast people, but had now become home to him.

Now that the pounding of his heart had slowed and Nuada could think more clearly, he began to remember his dream. It was fragmented, only coming back to him in bits and pieces. The thoughts danced away from him every time he tried to reach it, like smoke or fog, but came easily to him when he laid back and relaxed. He was jerking back up into a sitting position again in shock barely a minute later.

His hand flew to his chest, fingers ghosting over the plains of his skin, following the trail of that phantom touch from his dream. His eyes moved to follow the motion, wondering at how his touch on his own skin felt so different from what he had felt in his dream. It was more than simply the touch of a woman in his dreams. It had felt so real, as if that faceless maiden were actually in this hovel with him, seducing his sleeping form. But her touch had held something more.

Those fingers had become like hot brands across his flesh, burning away the pain memories caused him. The battle scars and lines marking his chest had become just so, no longer holding the thoughts of the past within them.

He felt it still. An after-image of her touch. Feeling the scars with his own hand didn't bring forth the painful recollections of all the wars he'd fought so long ago. It was dull now. As if there was something between himself and those dark memories. It was fading though, he could feel it. Soon it would be gone and he would be resistant to even look at his body again, dressing quickly in concealing garb to cover the marks.

But for now he relished in the peace from his anamnesis.

And he questioned who his dream-temptress was. Who was the inspiration for the dream?

An image of dark hair and green eyes flashed through his mind.

Could it be her? Nuada was horrified at the thought. He couldn't have had a romantic dream involving that- that- _human_! He had only seen her once, for Danu's sake! Yes, she was slightly more attractive than most humans, but only just barely! He was an elven prince! There was no way she could effect him in such a way.

But that little voice in the back of his head was telling him differently.

In an effort to escape his suddenly unreasonable thoughts, Nuada vaulted up from his bed -nearly breaking his neck on the tangled sheets- and surged from the room. Sweeping up his lance as he entered the circular chamber next to the railway and moved into the middle of the room. Holding the lance in front of him with both hands, he took a deep cleansing breath, centering himself, and became a burst of movement.

The motions were graceful and smooth as he moved, the twirls and jabs fluid, as if he moved through water rather than the air. Spins and turns were carried out with deft ease, the muscle memory taking over as his mind went blissfully silent. Nimble, beautiful, motions as easy to him as breathing. The deadly dance was one he had mastered long ago. The blade had long been an extension of his arm.

As he began moving faster and faster, getting deeper into the repetition, he could feel his mind begin to wander back to his dream. He tried not to let it happen, but it wasn't long before he could remember almost every detail of that dream with startling clarity. What he remembered the most, though, was the words at the end.

_"You think you know what you are? What's to come? You haven't even begun…"_

What could those words mean?

He knew what he was. Nuada was the crown prince of the Clan Bethmoora elves; the Silver Prince. He was Silverlance. Son of King Balor and the future leader of the Golden Army. He was a warrior. A fierce patriot. He knew what he was. And no dream would ever question him!

What did it mean by 'what's to come'? The Golden Army? Yes, he knew very well what would happen when he summoned the Army to serve him once he had all the pieces. He knew very well. All the humans would die and his people would once more be able to step from the shadows, forests, and sewers these humans have banished them to. And of course he hadn't even begun! He'd barely even started searching for the crown piece the humans possessed.

The world would know when he truly began!

So... if those words were only speaking about his place with the Golden Army then why were they even in his dreams? A piece of his subconscious suddenly sprouting forth his hidden fears? But then why were those words at the end of his dream when there had been nothing in his dream to hint at what was to come. They had been spoken by a woman, though. That had to mean something. Whose voice had that been?

Not Nuala, that's for sure. He would be able to recognize her voice out of a crowd of screaming people. Her voice was like sad waters, like the blue of which she was so fond of. Oh, how he wished to hear his dear sisters voice again. It had been many many winters since he had last heard her, and his heart suffered for it. This voice was completely different than Nuala's. It was like sunshine, all warm and soft and comforting. But who could it be other than his dear sister? Her voice had always been the only one to disturb his dreams. So why was this one now doing so?

Nuada wished that his dear sister were here. She would know what this was about. Nuala had always been better suited at understanding other individuals emotions and the could-be meanings of dreams than he. It was just her way. He had always envied that about her.

_Nuala... my sister..._

She did not answer him. He was not surprised. She never answered him anymore. The chamber in his heart where she dwelt had long-since become cold and empty, the cobwebs and dust filling it now familiar to him. She had not been there for quite some time, and his soul had suffered for it. She was his anchor. His light in this dark, evil world. And because of his fathers machinations he could not find her. He had always sought to shield her heart from the shadows and darkness of his.

It was a vain hope that he would not 'corrupt' her.

The pale prince dove through the air with careless abandon, slashing through nothing, but wishing it were his thoughts. Nuada landed in a crouch, head bent, suddenly feeling the loss of his sister more keenly then usual. His heart ached for her and he vainly called out for her again, begging her to answer him, just this once, but his call was once more unanswered. It just made the pain more palpable.

He knew she was near, could _feel_ that she was near, and yet there was no touching her. His father was willing to tear his heart to shreds just to "spare" hers. Nuada almost viciously thrust those emotions away before he became even more disconsolate. He'd come into this room to escape his troubling thoughts, not add more to them. It would not do to think on his sister right now. There was nothing he could do at this moment.

He stayed kneeling in that show of defeat that none would ever see him in willingly until he was sure his thoughts were his own again and would not deviate to thinking about the beautiful sister he longed to be with again.

A motion outside the doorway had him on his feet again in a flash, his lance held at the ready. He relaxed when he saw that it was only Mr. Wink stepping from the shadows that disturbed his silence.

Nuada sent him a tired smile as he walked over to where a towel lay and snatched it up from the anvil it had been carelessly tossed upon some time before. "Hello, old friend. Any news?" He asked, dabbing away the glistening drops from his face before then reaching for the canteen beside it for a drink of cool water.

Mr. Wink chose to ignore the tired look in his friends eyes as he shook his head in negative, rumbling a few choice words about how difficult it was to find out anything in the Aboveground for one such as him. He made sure to add a few rather colorful comments about the shoddy conditions and poor service of a few of the places of gossip that were open to a troll, for good measure. This made Nuada smile slightly, which had been Mr. Wink's intention.

His friend was looking much too serious lately. He didn't smile nearly as much as he used to. Looking for this crown piece was really starting to wear on the silver prince, and Mr. Wink could tell that it was beginning to effect his sleep. Now, he wasn't very smart -though much smarter than most trolls- but even he knew that that wasn't a good thing. But he wouldn't say anything. His friend needed a companion and ally right now, not a nanny.

"Well, my friend, it is only a matter of time until we find it." Nuada said reassuringly, apparently not noticing the thoughtful look on his friends' visage. "It is in this city. I can feel it." And he could. It was this feeling of absolute certainty in the pit of his stomach. That crown piece was nearby.

And he wanted it.

* * *

Sorry it's taken me so long to update this! I was just very stuck on this chapter, and I had no idea where I was going to go with it. Not to mention my beta has kinda gone MIA on me, so I'm working double-time right now. I'm sorry to all of you that found that dream-thingy not to your liking. It was one of the things that I had asked my beta for help with before she went MIA, so I was kinda winging it there, walking a fine line between my morals and my somewhat dirty mind.

Bit of good news, though. I have a new laptop! As I said in one of my previous chapters, my old laptop was a piece of crap and would randomly shut itself off in the middle of things. Well, earlier this year I got a new one! And it don't shut off! Yay!

More good news, my sister (ya know, the preggers one I mentioned before) had her baby (a boy!) last year on Nov.6 (almost an hour after Guy Fawkes Day ended dammit!)! He's named Zachary and he was huge! My sis had him naturally at home, and he weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 4oz! And he was 22 ½ inches long! Even those of you that don't understand babies have to admit that that's big. I'm really thankful that my 7-yr old niece (well, she was 6 then) is such a heavy sleeper, cuz she was sleeping like a rock while her mom was just down the hall, screaming and yodeling in the middle of the night. I'm pretty sure that that would've traumatized her to hear.


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