Dawn flew into Buffy’s room at six-thirty in the morning and threw a pillow in her sister’s face. “Hey!” Buffy exclaimed sleepily. “What was that for?”
“Why didn’t you tell me I was a key?”
“That you were a… what?”
“I’m a key!”
“Are you, now?”
“Yes.” Dawn put on a poutey face and sat on Buffy’s bed. “You didn’t know?”
“You’re a key.”
“I’m a key.”
Buffy, waking up a little bit, shook her head and sat up. “A key to what, exactly?”
“The Universe.”
“Really. How interesting. Here I just thought you were a brat, but no, you’re a key…”
“This isn’t funny, Buffy! I’m not even human.”
“Well, that I can believe…”
Dawn furrowed her brow. “I’m serious.”
Buffy could see that she was. She sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll play. You’re a key to the Universe, therefore not human. Why have you been chosen?”
“I wasn’t chosen, I was created. You seriously don’t know this?”
“Nope. So, you, Dawn, were created to be a key to the Universe, but you look like my sister, talk like my sister… are annoying like my sister… so why is this, exactly? What’s the point?”
“Someone’s going to try to destroy the world with me.” Dawn paused, looked a little confused, and then stood up, looking chipper. “Just wondered if you knew,” she added, and hopped downstairs where Buffy could smell pancakes cooking.
Now fully awake after her sister’s bizarre outburst, Buffy considered things for a moment. A lot of things didn’t make sense. This was probably just one of Dawn’s stupid jokes, but she had looked really serious. If what Dawn was saying was true, then she certainly was taking it well, the whole not being human thing. Buffy decided to dismiss the entire thing and join her mom and her sister for breakfast. She dressed and entered the kitchen to the welcoming smell of fried dough and multiple kinds of syrup.
“Mm, smells good,” Buffy commented as she entered. Joyce turned and smiled at her eldest daughter.
“Will you be staying for breakfast, or do you have some demon-related activity to attend to?” Joyce asked as she put a stack on pancakes onto Dawn’s plate.
“Both,” Buffy responded cheerily and pulled up a chair.
“Ah. What’s this demon up to?”
“Hard to say,” Buffy answered as she poured strawberry syrup over her stack of pancakes. “The gang and I were at the Bronze last night and these vamps came on stage and made this really loud and really bad noise. We left, but the place was packed and nobody else thought to leave.”
“Oh. Well, good luck,” Joyce said lightly.
Dawn looked at Buffy and looked back at her mother. “I’m a key,” she provided.
“I’m sure you are, sweetie,” Joyce responded absentmindedly. Buffy wasn’t listening. Dawn looked about again and then pouted as she stabbed at her pancakes.
Xander burst through the front door very suddenly and rushed into the kitchen. Dawn instantly widened her eyes and looked blushingly down at her sheep pyjamas as she tried to stay hidden behind Buffy. Xander stated breathlessly, “Faith!”
Buffy looked around to make sure Faith wasn’t behind her. “No, I’m Buffy. We switched back, remember, Xand?” she replied.
“No… Faith in my apartment… tried to—“ Xander caught sight of Dawn and tried to curb his next word. “s…stake me. I kicked her; she was out cold when I left.”
Buffy stuffed a few bites of pancake into her mouth and grabbed her coat. “It was great, mom, thanks, love you, bye.”
“So, what did Faith do?” Buffy said when they were out the door.
“She tried to seduce me.”
Buffy looked up at Xander a little bit doubtfully. He noticed. “Hey. I’m not dreaming this. I love Anya, remember? I woke up early and she wasn’t there, which, hey, is weird to begin with. So I go to meet Willow for breakfast and catch her and Oz up on what’s going on today. I open the door and there’s Faith. She starts talking dirty, I try and defend myself, and then she’s lying unconscious on the floor because I accidentally kicked her as I tried to get up.”
Buffy breaks into a jog and Xander follows suit. “So Faith broke out of jail, huh? I wondered when that was going to happen.” They rounded the corner and walked down Main St. “Xander, why didn’t you drive to my house?”
Xander looked at Buffy and smiled lightly. “If I’d driven, I would have been there much earlier than I already was. I didn’t expect you to be awake let alone dressed and eating when I got there anyway.”
“But we could have come back faster,” she said.
Xander’s face took on an expression of understanding. “Yes, but that would have been logical,” he responded as they turned onto Xander’s street, now full out running. Buffy was surprised that Xander was keeping up so well; he was exactly even with her. They turned and hurried up to his apartment to find the door wide open and an incredible lack of Faith on the premises.
***
Dawn watched as Buffy hurried out behind Xander. Xander was such a cool guy. Bitch of the Century comes to his apartment and he just knocks her out… could he be any more amazing?
Her praising thought were interrupted by Anya bursting through the door into the kitchen and running around where Joyce and Dawn were sitting as a giant life-sized bunny giggling madly hopped in behind her. “WHERE’S BUFFY?” Anya demanded.
“She just left with Xander,” Joyce responded.
Anya stopped and calmed immediately. “Xander? You saw Xander? Was he okay?” Then the giggling bunny let out a scream of delight as he neared Anya, who screamed with less delight and resumed her speeding around the kitchen.
“Did you see where they went?” she asked between dodging the bunny from the opposite end of the island of counters.
“They went to his apartment to deal with Faith,” Joyce said, totally fascinated by the immense terror this fuzzy animal was causing Anya. Okay, given, he was six feet tall and laughing like a homicidal maniac, but still, she really shouldn’t be this afraid… the bunny didn’t have a weapon or anything.
Anya yelled something that was a combination of “thanks” and a shrill scream, and then put on a burst of speed as she left through the front door and towards Xander’s apartment, the hopping monstrosity laughing close behind her.
***
“I probably should have tied her up or something.”
“That probably wouldn’t have helped. Psychopathic Slayer breaks out of jail… could break out of ropes just as easily. Shackles could have probably done the job… what?”
Xander had flinched at the mention of shackles. “Nothing. Something Faith said.” He felt a shiver go down his back. “She’s scary.”
“Yep. She is. She’s also on the loose in a town she’s probably still angry with because they killed her boss.” Buffy turned to Xander. “I’m going to go up to Angel’s mansion and see if he’s awake yet. He could probably give us a hand.”
Xander hesitated for a second and then nodded. “I’ll call Riley.” Buffy stopped at the door and turned around.
“Are you sure he’s needed?”
“The more muscle the better, right?”
Buffy sighed. “I guess so. All right, tell him to come here. We won’t be long.” Buffy turned and ran toward Angel’s place.
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