Thousand Oaks Cemetery.

Buffy stepped back, the fingers on her hand gripping the wooden stake as she lowered her arm while the vampire she just staked just turned to dust as he was falling down onto the ground. She frowned at the dust still settling down onto the ground before putting the stake back into the inside pocket of her jacket in this unusually chilly Sunnydale night. She then looked up and scanned the surrounding gravestones with her eyes before turning around and trudging away, her mind going back to her vampirized sister. 'Is vampirized even a word?' she thought to herself as she continued putting one foot in front of the other, her boots crushing the grass on the hard ground.

The blonde Slayer took a deep breath while mentally telling herself that her initial reluctance to believe that Dawn was nothing more than a danger was understandable; Dawn attacked her, Dawn already killed someone – her best friend, and now Dawn the vampire was in their home. However, it was Tara's insistence that Dawn had a soul which turned her mind around and it wasn't just Tara… not really… despite her initial doubts, Buffy had to believe that her sister was still somewhere in there. And when Tara confirmed Dawn still had her soul, the Slayer felt slightly at ease.

'She has a soul,' Buffy thought to herself as she walked, her hands shoved into her coats side pockets. She trusted Tara and believed that Dawn did indeed have her soul, but even more questions swirled in her mind, 'but what does that mean? Is she like Angel?'

Buffy thought back to her ex-boyfriend, 'but Angel was a soulless vampire before his soul was returned to him. But Dawn… Dawn didn't lose her soul, she still has it..' and then Buffy remembered how Dawn looked when she vamped out at her… when she attacked the Slayer after being sired, 'there were no forehead ridges, just the yellow eyes and fangs. I've never seen anything like that, even Dracula had ridges on his forehead.'

Buffy frowned as her mind raced for an explanation for why Dawn was different than other vampires, 'different is good. I guess.' Buffy didn't want to kill her sister, she really didn't, 'she has a soul,' Buffy reminded herself, 'so anything that makes her different from a regular vamp has to be good. Now we need to find out why she went all berserker, and… and we need to find out if there is any other way that she's different.'

Buffy sighed again before she gasped as she stopped walking. She felt her cell phone, something that she had completely forgotten she had with her, vibrate in her rear jeans pocket. She reached back as the phone hummed for another second before the ringtone went off. She then pulled it out of her pocket, and then stared at the caller ID.

"Home," she whispered before flipping the device open and automatically connecting the call before placing the phone to her ear.

"Hey," Buffy answered while starting to walk once again towards the cemetery exit.

"Buffy," Buffy stopped walking at hearing Willow's worried voice, "listen, Dawn just ran out of here... I mean she ran away and… and we don't know why."

"She looked scared, Buffy," Tara said as Buffy realized that the call was on speakerphone back her her home, "she saw us and just ran."

Buffy's heart raced as she said, "please tell me you have a location spell ready."

"Duh," Willow said over the phone while Tara was mumbling something incoherent in the background, "Tara's performing the spell and… hold on… Tara, do you have anything?"

Buffy was already running towards the exit, her heart still racing at the thought that Dawn was somewhere out in the city. She didn't know what she was more worried about; that Dawn could become hungry and go out of control, 'maybe that's what caused her to go berserk and attack me and Janice?' Buffy frowned at that possibility before her mind went to the fact that if they didn't find Dawn soon, then the sun rising over the horizon in a few more hours would mean they would never find her, 'she'll be dust.'

Buffy was already running out of the cemetery and through the parking lot as she made her way out of the compound. "Willow," Buffy said as she continued to run, her shoes making audible thumping sounds as they impacted the sidewalk, "where is she?"

The Summers Residence; that same time.

Tara was staring down at the lights on the cloth that represented the map of Sunnydale; there were markers for the Summers home, a blue dot for Buffy which indicated that the Slayer was running away from the cemetery while another pale blue dot, signifying Dawn, was already out of the neighbourhood and moving at a furious pace towards the Eastern section of Sunnydale. Tara looked back up at Willow and said that Dawn was running towards the downtown area, which meant that Buffy was at least an hour away on foot.

"Buffy," Willow said looking back at the wireless phone station where the red light, indicating that the Speakerphone was active, continued to blink, "did you hear that?"

"Yeah," she yelled on her phone as she continued running, "Willow, Tara, I'm heading downtown, in the meantime, I need you two to take the Jeep and go after her."

"Of course," Tara nodded her head as she folded the cloth on the floor, causing the lights to go out as she stood up and, with the cloth in her hand, rushed to the table next to the door while Willow told Buffy that she'll call her once Dawn's back at home. The redhead put the phone down just as Tara picked up the car keys from the glass bowl.

"Let's go," Tara said opening the front door while Willow grabbed the housekeys before the two of them rushed out, the redhead locking the door once the stepped out onto the porch. It wasn't long before Tara, who ignited the Jeep's engine, waited for Willow to hop into the black vehicle before reversing it onto the driveway.

After Willow put on her seat belt as Tara pressed down on the accelerator, Tara handed the redhead the piece of cloth which was then unfolded. The lights representing Buffy and Dawn appeared once again as Willow used a simple spell to make the cloth float over her thighs. She stared at the light that represented Dawn before mumbling a spell which caused two purple lights, representing the two of them, moving away from the house.

"She's fast!" Willow said.

Tara's eyes glanced at the map before settling back out the windscreen, "I have a turn coming up, do I take it?"

Willow watched the light that represented Dawn moving at the opposite direction away from them before she nodded her head, "turn here, and then go straight, and then take the fifth left."

Dawn's location, five minutes later.

What Janice's ghost exclaimed earlier rang through Dawn's head – the latter was the one who killed her. It was Dawn who went out of control and posed a threat to Buffy and the people they loved. As Dawn ran down the street, now several blocks away from home, she thought back to Janice... and then imagined Buffy, Tara, Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, and Xander standing in a circle around her whispering that she should have listened to the ghost of Janice and simply killed herself before she could ever become a threat.

"Even with a soul," Dawn heard Janice whisper in her ear even though the former glanced all around her as she ran but didn't see anyone. It was late at night, Dawn thought to herself, while reminding herself that everyone… well, mostly everyone… had gone to sleep. Still, Dawn heard Janice enraged voice as she referred to Dawn's soul, "you still went out of control. You hurt Buffy, you killed me. You animal! You are an ANIMAL!"

Dawn felt tears well up on her eyes as she ran out of the neighbourhood and down onto the main road. The streets were empty as she ran, the homes around her were darkened, and she was alone. She felt the breeze rush past her as she ran without the need to breathe, or her chest hurt as he heart raced- she had none of that now. She didn't feel her legs burn as she ran faster, she didn't feel herself being held back by a need for water or a need to sweat. Dawn just ran.

She wanted to scream out loud that it was unfair. She wanted to scream out that she would never hurt the people she loved. Even Buffy had admitted that Dawn was her sister, and that she would look out for her, 'but I'm a vampire. I lost control. I lost all my control and… and felt like an animal.'

"I… I can't stay…" Dawn whispered as she recalled Janice telling her that to prevent her from hurting anyone again that she needed to kill herself. "Anywhere I go, I'm a danger," she whispered, "Is… is just waiting for the sunrise…"

Suddenly, Dawn stopped running and spun around just as she heard the sound of an engine coming towards her direction. She shook her head before turning back to the direction she was heading and ran as fast as she could, 'I'm dangerous. What if I lose control again? What if I hurt Buffy? Or Willow? Or Tara?' Dawn didn't even feel tired, nor did her joints ache as she ran while the deep growl of the car engine came closer and closer before she heard a female voice.

"Dawnie!"

Dawn ran faster while ignoring the moving vehicle right next to her.

"Dawnie!"

Dawn closed her eyes and ran faster. But Willow and Tara's voice still rang out from the open window of the Jeep next to her.

"Dawnie! What's wrong?" Tara asked.

"Please, Dawn, talk to us." Willow said putting the cloth away into the glove compartment before looking out through the drive-side window, "come home, Dawn."

Dawn stopped running and then turned back towards the Jeep with a look of sadness on her face as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She watched as the vechicle screeched to a stop before the doors opened wide and both Tara and Willow rushed out. Dawn could already imagine going out of control – that she extended her fangs and then leapt at Willow first, snapping her neck before moving onto Tara and then sinking her fangs into the blonde witch's neck.

"You will always be a monster," Janice's voice whispered in her ear as Dawn stepped back before Tara pulled her in for a tight hug. At the same time, Willow placed a hand on her shoulder before circling her arms around her girlsfriend and Dawn. As she closed her eyes, Dawn felt their bodies tighten around her while a crackle of laughter sounded so close t o her ear that it brought a shiver up her spine.

"Sweetie," Tara whispered while she and Willow were hugging Dawn, "what happened? Why did you run off like that?"

"I…." Dawn sniffled before saying, "I… I saw Janice… I saw Janice's ghost and… and she said that I… I can go out of control and kill you. I can kill…"

"You won't kill indiscriminately, Dawnie," Willow whispered before she kissed the top of the blonde's head, "you have a soul. You have…"

"But I nearly killed Buffy, I killed Janice… I… I could kill so many more people before… before Buffy… Buffy has to…" Dawn stopped talking as she released a sob; her thoughts now filled with herself screaming in anguish while being covered in blood from head to toe as the bodies of all the people she loved lying dead around her, "I'm a danger. I have to… I can't stay like this… I need to.. I need to…"

"You need to come home," Tara whispered before pulled back and then going down on her knees. The young woman then wiped the tears away from Dawn's cheeks before continuing to say, "we think you went out of control because you were just sired and you needed blood. We think that you need to drink blood a few times so that you don't go out of control. We have some of Spike's stash of pigs blood in the basement fridge, we can use that to keep your hunger at bay."

"I hate this," Daw whispered shaking her, turning away from Tara to Willow who was kneeling on the ground, "Willow, I hate this. I hate…" Dawn closed her eyes and shook her head before whispering, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid that… that no matter what I will go out of control. That I will kill… I… I have to.. I hate stay under the sun… I need to…"

"No," Willow said, her hands now grabbing Dawns arms and gently shaking her, "never ever think that, do you understand me."

Tara was confused as she stared at Willow, and then back at Dawn whose lower lip was trembling as she looked awy from the redhead and back towards her. 'What did Willow mean?' Tara wondered before she placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder and said, "come back home, Dawnie. Whatever's happened to you isn't as bad as you think… you have a soul, and you are in control."

"But…."

"You have family who love you, sweetie," Tara said with a small smile on her face, "whatever happens next…"

"I'm scared that I'll lose control again," Dawn whispered looking at Tara, "I've been seeing…" Dawn closed her eyes while a part of her mind was telling her that everyone would think she was crazy.

"You've been seeing what?" Willow asked.

"People…" Dawn whispered as Willow's face took on a serious look. Dawn noticed this, as did Tara who narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Will?" Tara asked.

"What people?" Willow asked gently, but not before asking Tara to hold off on any questions until Dawn told them about what she had been seeing, "and for how long?"

"It.. it was just now," Dawn whispered, "when I was in the backyard."

"Who did you see?" Willow asked.

"I… I saw Janice… I mean I saw her ghost… I.. I think she's haunting me, and…" Dawn then went on to repeat what Janice's ghost told her about how much of a danger she was going to be to her family and friends. Dawn told Tara and Willow that Janice had told her that in order to protect everyone, Dawn had to go to the highest point in Sunnydale and wait for the sun to rise, "I… I…"

"Oh Dawnie," Tara whispered before kissing the side of her head. She then looked into Dawn's eyes after gently lifting the latter's head with a finger under her chin, "we're family. If there is any thing you wanna talk about, you can come to us. You're not alone."

"You're not, Dawnie," said a slightly worried Willow. Dawn turned her head towards the redhead upon hearing her heart racing. The brunette narrowed her eyes in confusion before asking if there was something wrong.

"Your heart's beating really fast, Willow," Dawn spoke. Tara looked over at the redhead and noticed the distant look on her face as well.

"Will? What is it?"

Willow sighed before looking at the Jeep, and then back to her lover and her best friend's sister, "we need to go home. Buffy will explain everything once she gets back."

TBC.