It has to die. That's the only way to make things right.

My head keeps shifting left and right, searching for the demon that made all this happen.

This thing put the woman I love in a coma, and someone has to do something to make it pay for that. Buffy obviously isn't going to do anything, she just keeps saying that we have to wait and make sure we're not going to get hurt. But everything about my relationship with Faith tells me that's not always the best way to go. Sometimes you just have to go straight into things head on and hope that everything works out.

I owe everything I have with Faith to that kind of thinking. If I hadn't taken a chance and kissed her when I did, we never would've been what we are now. We never would've fallen so completely in love as we are. The things I've felt, being with Faith, they're so beyond what I could've imagined being in love could be. And I can't just sit around while there's something out there that tried to take that away from me.

We reach the intersection where my sister and girlfriend last fought that Faraquad demon thing and I start looking for it even harder.

I'm gonna kill this thing. I'm gonna kill it and I'm gonna make it pay for trying to take the woman I love from me. Maybe not in that order, but I know I have to do this, whether I have a chance or not. It's not like I'm an idiot or something. I know this thing is stronger and faster than me, and I know it'll probably kill me before I can raise my sword against it. But I can't just sit around anymore. If I have to die for the woman I love, then I will.

At least I'll die knowing that I actually tried to do something to stop the demon, unlike some other people I know. And if I die trying to fight the demon that tried to kill my girlfriend, Faith will know that I died because I loved her enough to fight back against what did this to her. Of course, I'm hoping that by some miracle I won't wind up dead and I'll actually find a way to kill the demon before it kills me. I don't know how exactly, but I'll do it some way.

I look at Tess for a second before stopping and turning at a 360 degree angle in the middle of the park.

Except that only works if I can find the damn thing, which so far it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

"Well, I don't see it anywhere Dawn. Maybe we should just go back and try not going on a suicide mission. I hear it's what all the cool kids are doing these days."

"Yeah well, I've never been one to go with the pack. Let's keep looking. If it's not somewhere around here, we might be able to find some clue to where it went."

With a firm grip on the broad sword I took from Buffy's weapons chest, I start searching for some sign of the demon.

There has to be something, somewhere that can tell me where the demon might be. I won't go home empty handed. I won't go back to that cold, sterile hospital room and watch Faith lie there like a vegetable for the next week, maybe two. Not without knowing for sure that when the moment comes that she finally wakes up, I'll be able to tell her that the thing that did this to her is dead and gone for good.

"And you're sure that's a good idea? Because I'm honestly still not convinced that I'd like to die by having my head ripped off. It doesn't sound like the best way to die."

"I'm sure it doesn't feel all that great either. But I don't plan on being the one dying. And neither are you."

My foot steps on the edge of something and I almost trip. Thankfully, I manage to keep my balance. When I look down, I see a huge footprint in the ground. It's not deep, but it's way too big to be human, like 3 times the size of a human foot, especially with the talon-like toes on the ends of it.

This must be it, the clue that I've been looking for.

The sight of the demon's footprint has me looking around for another, and I'm not disappointed. There's another one a few feet away leading down to the trees that start the nearby forest.

"I think I found something."

"You're not the only one Dawn."

Tess and I look at each other and the look of fear in her eyes sends chills down my spine. I follow her line of sight and I suddenly know exactly what she's feeling. A huge white demon is standing about a hundred feet away from us, staring back.

Oh my god... what am I going to do?

With the thing standing this far away I'm suddenly filled with a terrible feeling of dread and absolute fear.

Never let fear control you. That's one of the main things Faith used to try and teach me when she was still up and awake.

My heart races and I grip the handle of the sword tighter.

I have absolutely no idea what my next move is going to be, but I can't exactly turn back now. It can see us. Buffy said this demon's eyesight had to be damn near better than perfect to do the type of things it did to take out all those slayers at once. Probably has some sort of people sensor in its head too so it can see an attack coming from miles away and be prepared.

We glance at each other briefly and Tess is in pretty much the same type of stance I am, waiting for something to happen.

So why isn't it attacking?

"Why is it just standing there like that? Doesn't it see us?"

I'd like to know the answer myself.

"I-I don't know..."

Before I can finish my sentence there's a gust of wind and I look up to see the Faraquad demon standing inches away with a grin on its face. It stares right at me looking deep into my eyes and the coldness I can see in its eyes chills me to the bone. There's a moment of extreme tension that seems to stretch out forever before I finally manage to have a thought.

What am I doing?

I pull back my sword to swing at it but I don't have to. Suddenly, there's some kind of explosion between me and the demon and it blows Tess and I back away from the demon. The explosion blinds me for a second with a bright white light. I land on my back with a hard thud, a hard pain shooting through my body for a moment.

Ow!

"W-What... what the h-hell was that?"

All I can do is shake my head to try and get my sight back while I try to sit up.

"The best I could do under the circumstances... sorry about that."

My eyes start to come back into focus and I see Willow walk up between the heaps that are me and Tess. She stands there for a second before throwing her arm forward and pointing.

"Turn it inside out girls!"

A sudden barrage of footsteps begins a wave of slayers rushing right past us with weapons raised, most of them letting out a battle cry on the way. It has to be at least a hundred slayers rushing past us to the demon. When most of them are attacking, Willow looks down at me like I'm nuts.

"The real question is what you're doing out here."

A familiar voice adds to Willow's statement/question.

"I'd really like to know the answer myself."

Willow turns to Tess and helps her up while I look at Buffy, who has a not so happy look on her face I've seen a million times, amplified by a thousand. After a very long disapproving moment, she offers me a hand up, which I take. The help comes with strings attached though, like it always does.

"What are you doing here Dawn?"

I dust myself off of the dirt the explosion got all over me.

"Exactly what it looks like I'm doing."

Buffy scoffs, obviously not believing me.

"Trying to get yourself killed?"

"Well I was kinda hoping that wouldn't happen, but at least I was doing something, which is more than I can say for you."

Her angry disapproving look turns into one of hurt confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"At least I'm trying to do something instead of just sitting around and waiting for the right moment that never comes."

There's a moment of silence between us despite the clanging of weapons and sounds of fighting a couple dozen feet away until I continue.

"I couldn't do it anymore Buffy. I couldn't just sit there and watch her lie there like that. Either I had to do something or I'd go crazy waiting."

"So you thought a SUICIDE MISSON was the SANE choice? For god's sake Dawn, you could've been killed. It already killed enough people, two of which were your best friends. Were you really going to add your name to the list?"

I point towards the demon while I respond.

"What the hell else was I supposed to do? It's not like you were really doing anything. This THING almost killed the woman I love. She might not ever wake up thanks to that demon. I had to..."

"She's awake, Dawn."

What?

"What do you mean?"

"Faith woke up shortly after you disappeared from the hospital. She's awake, Dawn."

Oh my god...

My first and only thought is to start leaving towards the hospital.

"I have to see her."

Buffy grabs me by the arm to stop me.

"Whoa, hold on, you're not done being yelled at."

"I am now."

I try to leave but Buffy doesn't let go of my arm.

"Dawn, stop..."

Our eyes meet and the confusion in her is less but she looks scared about something.

"This is nuts. You can't keep acting like this because of Faith."

How can she say that?

"I love her."

Suddenly, a loud noise is heard behind us and we all look to see the demon sailing a few feet towards us and hitting the ground in front of us. We have to move out of the way to avoid getting knocked over. Buffy, Willow, Tess and I all look at the demon with an axe buried into his chest where its blood is spilling out all over. The demon also has a bunch of slashes and arrows all over its body. It's taking short, labored breaths that still manage to sound menacing even though it's dying.

Then, without warning, it turns its head towards me and manages to barely smile with all its sharp jagged teeth. While on its last breaths, I grip Buffy's arm at its words.

"T-The... Key..."

What? W-what did it say?

I take a very short step towards it before it growls its last breath and goes limp in front of us.

"Will? Did, did you hear what it said?"

"I, I think so... but I... did it just say The Key?"

It did... I didn't imagine that. Oh my god...

Buffy's grip on my arm suddenly feels like she's going to break it when she tries to pull me along. The only thing I can do is stumble along with her as my eyes stay locked on the demon's body.

"Come on, we have to go."

She pulls me harder and I almost fall over until Buffy forces me back on balance and wraps an arm around my shoulders to pull me with her.

"We have to go. Come on Dawn. Will, tell the girls to scatter and regroup at the dojo tomorrow. Tess, come with us."

Willow goes to give the orders while Tess starts following us. Turning to look at my sister while she pulls me along, I see that same desperate but determined look on her face I remember from the last time someone said those words. She keeps looking around in a paranoid way.

"Buffy, w-what's going on? Why d-did it h-have to say that?"

"I-I don't know Dawn. I don't know."