[The Other Key]: Buffy/Multifandom (Prologue)

Summary: [Part of 'The Other Key' series] The Monks split the Key into two: Dawn and a baby Buffy just learned is hers. But who is the father, since it takes two to make even a magical baby?

A new story that I've been wanting to do ever since it refused to leave me alone: a story where the Key is really two halves, one of which happen to be a baby Buffy's carrying. Now, it's going to be a ficlet series, with each of the possible dad's being a chapter each in whatever crossover it is. Right now, I have fifteen different dad's picked out, but more may be coming.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If this sounds so similar to mmooch's 'Baby Daddy' series, I sincerely apologize; I'm not trying to copy it, only express my creativity in the forms of various people finding out they're the father of a mystical child that needs protecting from an insane Hell-goddess.

Prologue:

Buffy stared at the dead Monk, her head spinning with everything she'd just been told. This… Key, the crazy strong woman from the factory was looking for, was split into two halves- Dawn, her little sister, and a baby that she was supposedly carrying. Well, that explains why you've been throwing up lately. Her mind remarked through the stunned state she had been put in.

Unconsciously, she rubbed her stomach where the baby was, looking for some sort of sign- a kick or something, but only finding a stomach that seemed slightly bigger than normal.

She walked away from the factory and back home in a daze, still processing everything as she walked through the dark house up to her room.

Having no idea what to do, she laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what to tell the others. How can I explain this without revealing Dawn doesn't even exist, that all we have are fake memories of her? She wondered, wanting to avoid that as long as possible. Regardless of wither she was some sort of mystical energy or not, she was still the blonde's younger sister. Then she wondered: Who's the father? I mean, there must be one, right? It does take two to make a baby, after all.

She was still thinking about that when sleep finally overtook her.

-BtVS-

She had a dream that night vaguely similar to the one's she'd had from the Powers That Be. In it, there were a bunch of different faces, all male, and most strangers save for three. Two of which she would recognize anywhere as Angel and Spike, and the other she vaguely recognized as Doyle, the half-demon she'd met when she went to visit Angel briefly years ago. At the very end, a voice whispered, "It's one of them."

-BtVS-

The next morning- after she finished throwing up, which further confirmed the Monks words- she went back to the abandoned warehouse to look for anything that might point her in the right direction as to who the other twelve people were.

At the spot where the Monk had been, she found a list that had a bunch of names on it. Three of which were Angel, Spike, and Doyle, and the rest unfamiliar. This has to be the list of possible fathers. She thought, sticking it inside her pocket before leaving in search of someone who she could trust to not spill the secret and help her determine which one was the real father.

-BtVS-

The Slayer found herself outside Tara's dorm, her feet leading her here all by their lonesome. She hadn't talked to the witch that much, but the more she thought about it, the more she understood her subconscious' decision to come here. She had no idea how everyone else would react to the knowledge that she was pregnant with some mystical key, and she knew Tara wouldn't judge her without hearing her out first.

With this in mind, she knocked on the door.

Tara poked her head and saw, much to her surprise, Buffy standing on the other side. "Buffy! H-hi. Are you looking for Willow, because if you are she isn't here."

"Actually… I'm here to see you. You're probably one of the only people I can count on with this." The other blonde replied.

Tara was officially confused now. What could be so secretive she can't even tell the people she's known for years? She wondered as she beckoned the other woman inside and shut the door behind her.

"What is it?" She prompted as they both sat on her bed.

Buffy took a deep breath before explaining. "There was this Monk I met last night… he mentioned something about this Key that this crazy woman's looking for being split in half and sent to me. In two different forms: a sister and a baby."

The witch's eyebrows shot up to her hairline at this revelation. "Dawn… doesn't really exist?" She asked, looking at Buffy for confirmation. The other woman nodded. "Does she know?"

"No. I haven't figured what to tell her, or if I even should. I mean, all it's going to do is hurt her." Buffy admitted.

"It will only hurt her more when she finds out you knew and didn't tell her." Tara pointed out, giving the Slayer a hard look. While she could understand where Buffy was coming from, she wanted to make sure she understood keeping the truth would only hurt her sister more. Buffy nodded, seeing the logic. Her gaze softened somewhat as she reached her next point. "You mentioned a baby. Do you know what he was talking about?"

"This is what I wanted to talk to you about. The baby's mine, as in, I'm pregnant with it. And all I have is a list of possible names for the father, with no way to prove who's the actual daddy."

This revelation was still a shock to Tara, but she managed to hide it. "And you want my help determining who the father is?"

Buffy nodded. "Although, I kind of want to meet the dad's first- well, the ones I haven't already met."

"Who have you met that's on that list?"

"Let's see, Angel, Spike, and Doyle- I barely remember him though, except that he's half-demon, supposedly died and was brought back by the Powers." She rattled off.

Now this was a huge shock to Tara. "But vampires can't have kids!" She blurted out.

"Apparently that rule goes out the window when dealing with mystical babies." Buffy replied dryly.

"Can I see the list?" Tara asked, changing the subject. "I might be able to do a locator spell of some sort for the other fathers."

The Slayer nodded and handed the list over. She skimmed over it, noticing how Spike, Angel, and this Doyle person's names were on the bottom.

Buffy bit her lip, wondering if she should ask this next question. "I was also wondering if you'd like to come with me when I met these people? You're one of the few people I can trust not to automatically judge the father based on whatever they may be." She asked in a rush. It was true: Xander would probably go on about the baby being evil since both Angel and Spike are possible fathers, there was a chance Willow would accidentally spill the beans, and Giles would just be wary of the child too much for her liking.

The other woman looked up from the names in surprise. "A-are you sure?" She stuttered. Buffy nodded. "I'd be happy to, then." She said, smiling faintly, which the other blonde returned. "How do you want to do this? Do you want to just go ahead and tell Angel, Spike, and this Doyle or do you want to meet the ones you don't know first?" Tara asked, getting back down to business.

"The ones I don't know first." Buffy automatically replied.

"Alright, then. I can do a locator spell tonight and get the address by the morning, since I'm assuming you want to go ahead and get this over with." Tara said. "You are going to tell Dawn about this though." She added, a statement instead of a suggestion.

Buffy nodded.

"Then, since we're going from the top down, our first visit will be to see…"

-BtVS-

Alright, so there's the prologue in this series. Now, as I mentioned, I have fifteen dad's picked out (I won't say who… yet) but you guys can request more. The fandoms I have seen/read are Merlin (just the first season though), Star Wars, Falling Skies, Vampire Diaries, Originals, Blood Ties, Harry Potter, Teen Wolf, Twilight, Iron Fey, Tiger's Curse, Sleepy Hollow (2013), NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Reign. I'm also finishing the first season of Angel, so you can request guys from there as well. Be warned: I'm using the guys I picked first probably, so it may be awhile before the requests for those I haven't chosen are done (have fun guessing who I chose; I'll give you a hint: They're all from seven of the above fandoms, with multiple for all but three.) Oh, and remember: it's unlikely the Monks chose any regular Joe- the father will have to have something they like enough to give it half of the Key's parentage.

Review and let me know who you think the possible dad's are besides Spike, Angel, and Doyle! And be on the lookout for another installment in this series.