AVALON'S GLORY II:

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

By: Aesop

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Gargoyles or BTVS and don't make any money off of this, so don't bother suing. This is just for fun. This story takes most of season five into account. I don't own any of the characters from the second half of this part either, and I freely admit, I wrote mostly for laughs. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

SUMMARY: Glory is in Sunnydale making life miserable for the Slayer and company. Joyce has died and Dawn, the Key, is in great danger. A choice needs to be made. What if a different choice had been made? Thanks to StorySeeker for the idea and for beta reading it for me. As always, feedback is, as always, appreciated.

Dawn screamed, and Avalon screamed with her.

The scream rose in pitch, passing nearly beyond the range of human hearing, as if echoed, seemingly, by the very air around her. The battle stopped as both Oberon and Glory paused in grappling with each other to stare.

"You blue idiot," Glory snapped. "What did you do?" Oberon backhanded her contemptuously, sending her sprawling before moving toward Dawn to try to finish the spell. He never reached her.

Dawn was burning. She was coursing with energy that she desperately wanted to contain, knowing all too well what would happen if she unleashed it. She was the Key, and she knew what that meant even if no one else, not even Oberon did. The energy had to be contained.

Determination was not always enough though. Dawn was still a young and very frightened girl, terrified by the consequences of losing the fight. It was nearly impossible to focus on her surroundings while keeping the energy inside a shell that was never meant to contain such power. She was aware though, of several things happening around her. The island itself was shaking, almost in sympathy with the sound, a sound quite unlike anything she had ever heard before. It filled the air and she suddenly realized it was coming from her. She was causing the island to shake. It was alive she realized. The island itself was alive, and she was hurting it.

Dawn became aware of other things. Oberon was coming towards her. The one who had started all of this, the one who had hurt her and the island. She couldn't think straight through the burning, but she was aware of Oberon and Glory and the part they had played in her misery. She wanted them away from her. Oberon approached, followed closely by Glory who had picked herself up and was moving to intercept him.

Dawn focused on them, diverting her attention and energy enough to warn them, to want them, away. The scream from the island became a shriek of agony as the very fabric of space was torn by the energy that poured from her. Oberon and Glory were propelled backwards like cannonballs, crashing through the palace walls. In the wake of the blasts, the energy did not dissipate. Lines of crackling force, like suspended lightning hung in the air. Then those lines separated becoming first scars and then open wounds in the very fabric of reality. Beyond those openings were…

Dawn's mind reeled at what she saw. Horror and disgust and the need to flee robbing her of what small control she had left. Energy poured from her, opening more tears. Gargoyles and Fay alike fled from them, but some stayed.

Buffy jumped, barely clearing the opening in the air, desperate to reach her sister. From the corner of her eye she saw Willow and Tara join hands and begin to chant. From another direction Spike was heading for Dawn. She felt a moment of panic when a portal opened almost under his feet. Through the portal, daylight poured, illuminating the room. The vampire jumped across without hesitation. He was smoking when he hit the ground, but he didn't break stride. He waved to her. "I'll protect her!" The shout seemed to attract Dawn's attention briefly, but Buffy wasn't sure that her sister was actually aware of anything beyond her own pain.

Dawn didn't see Giles or Anya, but Xander was close, dragging an injured gargoyle clear of one of the rifts out of which a thick, powerful looking tentacle was beginning to emerge. A roar caught her attention and she turned to see another gargoyles briefly take flight, clearing two of the rifts then landing briefly to pick up Buffy and vault over another. They came down only a few steps from her, and Dawn reached for her sister, desperately wanting Buffy with her, wanting her big sister to save her and take the pain away.

Dawn realized her mistake even as she focused on them. The power surged out as if to engulf her would-be rescuers in a new tear. "No!" She cried out and tried to call it back. To her amazement, the energy obeyed, slowly, imperfectly, but it obeyed. Buffy danced back from the forming tear and pulled the gargoyle with her. More openings were forming and Dawn realized that she could feel them, each of them, in a way that she couldn't understand. There were no words to describe the sensation, but she knew she could close the rifts. She had to. There was only one problem. She didn't know how.

Her first attempt to manipulate the tears had been only partially successful and had caused the fire within her to flare painfully. She knew she could do it though. Bracing herself she concentrated. She could do it. Buffy could do it, and she was Buffy's sister, just as determined, just as able. I can do this.

When she felt ready she reached out and seized control. Immediately, she regretted it. It was as if each of the portals was a wild beast, each pulling in a separate direction and Dawn felt as if they were tearing her apart.

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The energy went wild. Buffy barely threw herself aside in time to avoid a lashing tendril of magical energy and the portal that was left in its wake. The portals were beginning to overlap she saw, and things were emerging, passing from one to the other or coming to Avalon. Not all survived long enough to prove a threat. She saw a gigantic creature with a misshapen head and more eyes than she could easily count begin to emerge from one of the portals. It hadn't even fully emerged though, when another streamer of energy struck the creature, punching straight through its bulbous form. The three tree-trunk thick limbs stiffened and thrashed briefly before the streamer widened into another portal, tearing the creature apart. A large quantity of its blood splashed against a wall near her. The marble began to blacken and bubble alarmingly and both she and Cyril, who had come to her aid, sprinted away from it, right into a portal that formed practically under their feet.

Buffy felt herself falling. A strong hand grasped her wrist and Buffy looked up to see Cyril trying to pull her back. She shouted a warning, but it came too late, as one of the monster's flailing arms struck him across the back, sending him tumbling after her.

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Willow and Tara fought a two front battle. Attempts to close or at least limit the portals were continually thwarted by Avalon's own fluctuating energies. The island did not react well to the intrusion of any outside magic, regardless of the intent behind the spell. When the energies had gone wild causing the lightning to lash out more furiously and unpredictably than before, both had been caught unaware. The energy seemed to rain down all around them and the half-formed counter-spell dissolved on their lips as they clutched each other while attempting to find a safe spot from which to cast it. They ran, hand in hand toward the nearest clear spot, beyond the apparent perimeter of the… whatever it was. They never saw the energy and rapidly forming portal racing toward them like a wave crashing down toward the beach.

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Spike leaped. He dropped and rolled and suddenly he was there. Dawn was right before him. It wasn't until that point that he realized something. Only after reaching her did he realize that he had no idea what to do. The tendrils of energy lashed madly about her and the only thing that was clear was that wherever they were, they weren't safe. He had to get her out. Spike looked around for Buffy, but didn't see her. It was hard to see anything past the overlapping portals and the chaos their interaction was causing. He scowled, thinking frantically. Since Dawn was somehow the source of the portals, he got that much, the only way to stop them might be to shut her down, but he couldn't see a way to do that without hurting her. There was nothing he could do and no place to go. Even as this thought crossed his mind he caught a motion out of the corner of his eye and realized that they were about to go somewhere. Somewhere that would be decidedly unsafe for both of them.

The portal was still forming. It looked like a ribbon being whipped about in a windstorm, but this ribbon was getting wider and it was headed straight for them. Without thinking he grabbed Dawn and jumped. His initial leap carried them over the forming portal and straight into Glory's arms. "Oh bugger."

"Language blondie," she shook a finger at him. "There are ladies present." She grabbed Dawn's wrist, snapping the girl out of her daze. "Now then. All you gotta do is open the right door to send me home."

Dawn stared. Her mouth worked up and down silently for a moment before she could get the words out. "That's all?!"

"That's what you want?" Spike was equally incredulous. "To go home?"

Glory didn't have the chance to answer. The tentacle that had begun to emerge from one of the first portals to open whipped about her legs. Spike glanced at the source and saw what the tentacle was attached to. "Oh bugger," he said again with considerable feeling. He drove two fingers into Glory's eyes while yanking Dawn away. It proved sufficient distraction that the demon was able to yank Glory off her feet. She hit the ground hard, releasing Dawn in surprise, as she found herself being dragged across the ground.

"Bon apetit," Spike called to the creature as it dragged Glory through the portal. He had no illusions about how that would turn out, but the expression on her face was pretty funny, and it bought him enough time to get Dawn to safety.

Provided of course, he reflected glancing about, that there was somewhere safe to go. A glance at Dawn's face showed a look of intense concentration. She was trying to control the energy. It didn't seem to be having much affect though. If anything the situation was getting worse. The tears were still forming and fluctuating wildly. The only affect she seemed to be having was to limit the area in which the portals appeared. It was rapidly becoming a choice between frying pan and fire.

With seconds to choose he pulled Dawn tight against his chest and dove through the portal that didn't seem to offer instant death.

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The source of the pain was gone. Oberon could feel it through his link to the island. The source of the pain, the ones that did not belong, were gone. The tears were still there, but without the source to hold them open and form new ones, Avalon's magic could mend them. Oberon quickly marshaled his wits and began to speed the process. A few alien creatures had come through, but they were quickly dispatched. All of the trouble seemed to have passed with the Slayer and the others, the young girl especially. Her loss irritated him, but there was little he could do.

Of Glorificus, there was no sign. He hoped she had ended up somewhere particularly unpleasant. With his will focused on the task the portals began to close more quickly, as he gave priority to the most unstable and to those that led to the most dangerous places. He had barely finished a third of them though when he was again interrupted.

"What are you doing?!" a familiar high pitched voice shrieked, practically in his ear. He turned his best disapproving scowl on Anyanka.

"Mind your tone demon."

"You can't do that! Xander is in one of those… those things." She turned and scanned the portals she could see, frantically looking for any sign of her boyfriend. "You have to find him."

"Absurd," Oberon scoffed, dismissing her from his mind. Again, he concentrated on the portals, knitting up what he perceived as painful wounds to Avalon itself. A sharp pain in his shin drew his attention back to Anyanka; he stared incredulously. Had she actually kicked him?

"Not absurd!" she insisted. "You made this mess, and now Xander is missing! You're going to fix it!" Oberon was not the only one staring at her. Her display of pique had drawn an audience, much to the Fay lord's annoyance. The older human, the Watcher, approached them, looking worried but more cautious. Gabriel, the leader of his honor guard, Oberon noted was also approaching rapidly. The gargoyle took Anyanka by the shoulder and pulled her away. The glare he gave her and the harsh words he began to speak, Oberon knew, were intended to mollify him. No doubt he believed Oberon would forgive the affront, or at least leave it to others to settle if the impudent demon were suitably chastised. Gabriel had barely begun to speak though when Anyanka broke in again. "I saw two of your clan get gobbled up by those holes too. You should be yelling louder than me!"

"Where is Buffy?" Giles broke in. "And Dawn and Tara and Willow?"

Anya cast him an impatient look. "Oh. They fell through different portals. Gotta save Xander."

Giles took a moment to marvel at how incredibly self-absorbed the girl was before turning to Oberon. The Fay lord was, it seemed, as startled by Anya's behavior as he was. He dreaded drawing Oberon's attention to him, but saw no other choice. "Your Majesty, clearly this threat to Avalon must be eliminated, and the portals closed, but I beg you to show some consideration. The Slayer is needed in this dimension and those on whom she has come to rely as well. She has saved the world on many occasions, thanks mostly in part to their aid."

"What is the Human world's fate to me? Avalon is kept apart."

"Had Acathla managed to draw our world into Hell, Avalon would have suffered the same fate," Giles insisted. "Were the hellmouth to open, creatures would emerge quite capable of threatening the Fay."

"He is correct husband." That voice gave Oberon pause. He turned to face his queen who had begun to place barriers over the portals without closing them. "This situation must be dealt with properly. For each creature that passes to another reality throws off the balance between those worlds." She faced him with a meaningful look. "You know how dangerous that can be." She did not attempt to play on his conscience, reminding him that the situation was entirely his fault. Such an approach would only anger him and assure that he would turn a deaf ear to the mortals' pleas. So, although her tone spoke volumes about her opinion of his conduct, she took another tack.

"There is some truth in that my queen," he allowed.

"With Avalon as the nexus of this disturbance it is even more important that this situation be resolved fully. One does not close an infected wound." Oberon nodded reluctantly.

"Then we should begin quickly," Giles interrupted, catching on to the queen's game. "The instability will only grow worse the longer this situation goes unresolved." Anya opened her mouth to interrupt, but Giles shot her a look, knowing that Oberon would not want to hear from her about Xander.

"Let us begin," Oberon stated with a tone that in no way indicated that he was feeling bullied or coerced. All three stopped to wonder at his self-possession. Or was it self-involvement, Giles reflected.

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Spike seemed to fall for an eternity; an eternity of Dawn screaming in his ear, he winced and focused instead on the ground that was suddenly rushing towards them. With a silent curse he twisted himself and Dawn around in mid-air so he would absorb the impact. When it came it was surprisingly soft, as if he had fallen only a few feet rather than the miles that he would have believed.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Spike scrambled to his feet and turned to examine Dawn. She was shaken, wide-eyed and terrified but basically unharmed. Best of all, she wasn't crackling like tinfoil in a microwave. At his questioning look Dawn nodded, and tried to look brave. He gave her a slight smile, then glanced up and smothered an oath. The portal was gone.

He wasn't sure what he had expected, perhaps that it would still be there like an open trapdoor through which he could see the sky over Avalon, but there was no opening, or any sign that one had ever existed. A glance at Dawn showed him that she, for the moment anyway, would be of no assistance.

Turning his attention to their surroundings, Spike took in the metal floor and walls of a large chamber. It was mostly empty, but there were rows of what appeared to be crates stacked along one wall. The chamber was dark, save for small glowing squares covered in odd symbols he couldn't make out from his place in the center of the chamber. He could make out what might have lighting fixtures in the ceiling.

"Where are we?" Dawn asked, breaking the silence.

"Dunno nibblet. But it looks like we're in somebody's closet." Dawn had gotten to her feet and was making a slow 360, taking in their surroundings for herself.

"Big closet," she commented, for lack of anything better to say. "The rabbit hole's gone."

"What?" Spike glanced at her confused by her apparent non-sequitur.

"Didn't look like one," she allowed, "and I don't think this is wonderland, but…"

"Uh-huh," Spike agreed, not wanting to follow that line of thinking too far. Dawn's voice was calm, which made him nervous for some reason. A glance at her showed that she was worrying her lower lip between her teeth, but she still seemed calm, and he put it down to her best attempt to be brave. He spotted what looked like a door in one corner of the room and, gesturing for Dawn to follow, started towards it.

As they approached the lights in the room suddenly came on, momentarily blinding them. Spike heard a brief hissing sound that he realized must be the door opening and yanked Dawn behind him while he blinked spots out of his eyes.

As his vision began to clear he opened his mouth to speak to the group of people who had just rushed into the room but instead his jaw hung open in shock at the sight that greeted him.

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"Report," the captain snapped, settling herself in the command chair again after being tossed out of it

Her operations officer stared at his board in confusion even as he complied. "The ship has been… stopped. Something has, anchored us to these coordinates somehow."

"Tractor beam?"

"No captain. Something internal. Scanning." A moment's concentration brought him a partial answer. "There's… some kind of opening in cargo bay four. It's a fixed point that doesn't move with the ship. It's holding us in place."

"What kind of opening? Has the hull been breached?"

"No captain. Readings are confused though. The readings are similar to a subspace tear, but there are energy signatures there that I've never seen before. The computer can't identify them."

"Captain," her security chief broke in, "something has emerged from the opening." Studying his board for a moment, he frowned. "The energy from the opening is making sensor readings difficult."

The captain nodded to him. 'Get down there with a team."

"Aye captain," came the firm, unemotional voice of her old friend, even as he turned to leave the bridge. That done, she turned to assessing the damage to her ship, thankful that they had been in orbit of a planet rather than traveling at warp. The phenomenon, she quickly realized, could have torn her ship apart. As it was, only the ship's elaborate safeguards had prevented a disaster, compensating for the sudden change in inertia.

The readings were indeed strange, but she was not given time to properly analyze them. Even as she watched, they returned to normal as the opening vanished within seconds after appearing. Sensor readings were still problematic though. Something had come through the opening, but she couldn't tell what. There were life sign readings, at least one clear one, but there were indications that there was something else there too.

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"Ready sir. Scans confirm the opening is gone and there is a breathable atmosphere. No hull breach in evidence." The security chief nodded and motioned them to be ready. Scans also showed one life form in the cargo bay, but the readings were confused by the lingering effects of the subspace tear, if that was what it had been, and an odd sort of sensor echo. He entered a command into the door's control panel to bring up the lights in the bay to full illumination and opened the doors.

He was the first through, quickly stepping aside and sweeping the room as the three member security detail followed him and fanned out to surround the intruder. Make that intruders. "Do not move," he ordered, his reaction delayed imperceptibly by what he saw before him.

Lt. Commander Tuvok had more than 50 years of experience as a starfleet officer behind him, and had seen things few others had. Occasionally though, he still managed to be surprised. He wasn't sure which was more surprising though, the fact that the intruders were human, a teenage girl and a man apparently in his mid-twenties, or the way they were ignoring the weapons trained on them and staring at him with incredulous expressions.

"No one else here sir," one of his men reported, "and no sign of the opening."

Tuvok nodded briefly before addressing Voyager's uninvited guests. "Identify yourselves." The two looked at each other, baffled. "Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly," the man replied. "What's with the costume party?"

"Excuse me?"

"We land at a Trekkies convention or somethin'?"

"I do not understand," Tuvok replied politely. "You are aboard the Federation starship Voyager. I am lieutenant commander Tuvok, chief of security. Identify yourselves."

"You first," the man answered, growing surly. "How dumb do I look?" He glanced at his companion and addressed her in conspiratorial whisper that only Tuvok with his superior hearing could make out. "I once ate a trekkie. Took me days to get the taste of acne medicine out of my mouth." The girl mustered a small laugh that sounded on the edge of hysteria. The man didn't seem to notice. Instead he turned back to Tuvok. "I know who you're supposed to be, even I watch that drivel occasionally, but if you expect me to believe this is genuine you really need to 'mind meld' with someone who has half a brain."

The rest security team exchanged confused glances, not sure what to make of this development. "You believe this to be some kind of ruse?" Tuvok asked, confused by their behavior. Before he could answer the girl spoke up from where she was hiding behind her friend.

"Are they human Spike?" The question seemed to give him a moment's pause. He inhaled deeply as if sampling their scents.

"All except that one 'bit," he nodded to Tuvok. "But that doesn't prove anything. I know a Chirago demon who owns every episode of Bonanza on tape. What does that prove?" 'Bit' shrugged, but looked uncomfortable.

"So where are we? Really?"

"I told you," Tuvok responded. "You are aboard Voyager, now please come with us. Our captain…"

"Oh pull the other one," the one called Spike snarled, losing his temper, "and put away those toys before I feed them to you." He moved forward menacingly, and Tuvok, adjusted his phaser to a low stun setting and fired. The effect was dramatic.

Spike stumbled back, more surprised than hurt. It was real. Whatever it was it could hurt them. He made a quick decision. "Get to cover Dawn!" With a roar he launched himself at the non-human. The red beam struck him again, but it didn't even slow him down this time. Whatever the creature was, it was fast, but not quite fast enough. Spike snatched the weapon with one hand and the man's uniform with another, pulling him into a headbutt before swinging him around to use as a shield. Tuvok was just in time to catch the beams from two of his men in the chest. Spike tossed the limp body toward the closest while dodging the other way. As he ran he raised the weapon, taking aim at one of the remaining uniformed strangers.

The pain was as unexpected as it was familiar. "Aaarrghh!" He stumbled to a stop, nearly dropping the weapon. Converging fire from the remaining three struck him and drove him back against the wall. They were using a much higher setting he noticed. This time he actually felt it. "But it was on stun," he complained petulantly to his chip and its designer before he dropped to his knees and fell face down on the deck.

Dawn screamed when she saw Spike fall. Scrambling behind a stack of crates she watched as two of the men approached her while another checked on Spike.

"Security to bridge."

"Report," Janeway, answered, concerned that it was lieutenant Willis rather than Tuvok reporting in.

"Medical emergency in the cargo bay."

"Responding now," the doctor cut in.

"What happened?" Janeway demanded.

"Two intruders, human." He shook his head, in confusion. "They were behaving strangely. One of them got angry and attacked Tuvok. The phaser had no effect on him. Commander Tuvok was injured when we attempted to stop him."

"What about the other?" A piercing noise came over the com.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!" A loud crash and a startled shout echoed around the bridge. Her junior officers turned to stare.

"I'm coming down there." She nodded to her first officer. "You have the bridge." Even as she rose, the noises from the cargo bay continued.

"Come on no one wants to hurt you. Just calm dow- Aawk!" Another crash.

"Can we just stun her?" another voice called.

Janeway hurried into the turbolift and made her way to the proper deck. By the time she reached the cargo bay the place was a shambles. "Report." The doctor looked up from examining Tuvok.

"Tuvok will be fine. He's just been stunned." He motioned to the others who were staring up at a stack of cargo containers along the wall. "Nothing injured on them but their pride."

"And our intruders?"

The doctor's manner became grave. "One fatality. There was nothing I could do for him, but captain-".

"Where is the other?" she asked, casting a glance to the still form on the deck.

"The other is up there." Janeway followed his gaze to where the security detail had apparently cornered the second intruder. She looked up to the top of the row of stacked cargo containers as she moved to join them. There was a human girl, 15 at most, she thought, staring down at them with wide frightened eyes.

"No one wants to hurt you," she called up to the frightened child. "How did you get here?" No answer. "Are you hurt?" Still no answer. "Our doctor can help you if you'll come down."

"NO!" That got a response, Janeway noted ruefully as she dodged back from the falling container. The pitch of her voice made them all wince. She hadn't been aware a human voice could reach that pitch. The girl moved away from them, farther along the row, doing her best to stay out of sight.

"Please. There's no need for this. At least tell me your name."

After a moment's hesitation the reply came, softer this time. "Dawn. My name is Dawn. That's Spike," she added pointing to the dead man. Janeway cast a glance at the corpse. This, she reflected, is not going to be easy. She didn't seem to realize her friend was dead.

"I'm Katherine Janeway, captain of this ship. Could you tell me what you're doing here?"

"Fell down a rabbit hole," Dawn answered unhelpfully. Janeway glanced at the doctor and Tuvok, who had just regained consciousness, for help. The doctor only shrugged.

"The child is clearly hysterical captain," Tuvok spoke quietly. "I'm not sure we'll get any useful information out of her until she calms down. I suggest you keep her talking, make her think, focus." Janeway nodded.

"I don't understand. Rabbit hole?"

"Nobody reads the classics anymore," came the non-sequitur. Janeway blinked and glanced at her officers for help.

"Alice in Wonderland," Tuvok replied softly. She nodded.

"Of course. By rabbit hole you mean the inter-dimensional opening that registered on our sensors a few moments ago?" The scientist in her came to the fore. "What sort of opening was it and how was it created?" No answer. "The readings were similar to an interspatial flecture, but there were unusually high gamma levels and elevated cronoton readings not usually associated-"

"SPEAK ENGLISH!!!"

Janeway winced, grateful there was no glass in the cargo bay. It most likely would have shattered. "Sorry. I'm trying to understand what happened, but I need your help. Can you tell me what happened?"

"It was all Oberon's fault," Dawn informed them as if that explained anything. "He didn't know what he was messing with, the big stupid…. SMURF!" She fumed silently for a moment, but seemed calmer. "He just wanted to control me, but he didn't know, so he's all like, 'Oh look an atom bomb. I wonder what this big red button does?'" She huffed indignantly and continued before Janeway could ask for details. "Glory didn't help of course. She was the reason we went there in the first place. Stupid hell-skank, thinks she's so smart, queen of everything just 'cause a buncha ugly goblin things kiss her stinky feet! I hope Buffy's kicking her ass right now!"

She ran out of air and paused to peek out at them again. Janeway smiled up at her and ventured a step closer. This only seemed to alarm the girl who drew back. "Perhaps you could give us some more details? Who is Oberon?" Janeway ventured. "I know it's hard, but we can't help you if you don't help us, just try to be calm."

"Calm? Sure. Why not? Why shouldn't I be calm?" Her voice started to rise again. "Just 'cause I'm so far from home Willow's gonna need a ouija board to find me? Just 'cause your goons shot Spike? Just 'cause I'm cracking up, talking to people who aren't even REAL?! Why shouldn't I be calm?"

"Not real?" Janeway glanced at Tuvok, who nodded.

"I am at a loss to explain it captain. They seemed to recognize us, but they refuse to believe that we are who we claim to be." Janeway frowned thoughtfully. "Perhaps they believe this is some kind of deception?"

"Possible, but to what end? Who are they?" Tuvok did not shrug, but judging by his expression, Janeway was sure he would have had he been human. She returned her attention to Dawn. "Why do you think we're not real?"

"Because I'm not stupid," came the reply. "'Sides, you've got bigger problems."

"Such as?" Janeway asked.

"Such as me," came an unfamiliar voice followed by a startled exclamation. They turned to find Spike holding the doctor by the throat, using him as a shield. The doctor looked more irritated than injured. He was still holding his tricorder and waved it at the individual holding him.

"Why don't you have any life signs?" he asked indignantly. Spike glanced at him, confused by his lack of concern, before returning his attention to Janeway.

"I'd call a pissed off vampire a problem," Dawn offered smugly. "You okay Spike?"

"Fine Dawn. Let's get out of here."

Janeway stared at the… creature holding her chief medical officer. Whatever else he was, he certainly wasn't human. The yellow eyes and facial ridges seemed to rule that out. Did Dawn say 'vampire?' she wondered, noting the sharp teeth revealed when the man spoke. The doctor, quite naturally, was not perturbed by the possibility. He tried to shrug off his attacker and nearly freed himself. Spike simply shifted his grip and accidentally dislodged the mobile emitter. The expression on the 'vampire's' face was almost comical when the doctor vanished and the emitter fell unnoticed to the deck.

"Oh balls."

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"The difficulty lies in finding the right destination," Titania explained. "The Key does not create the openings in any specific order. It is designed to tear down walls, not open doors."

"So how do we find them?" Giles asked for the group. The portals that had not been closed were temporarily sealed, making it impossible for creatures from any of the other worlds to come to Avalon. Oberon was not happy, but he had grudgingly deferred to his queen for the moment and was putting his efforts into soothing the disturbances that the portals were causing on Avalon. He had graciously offered them one hour to retrieve their lost friends.

Anya stayed silent with difficulty, nervously shifting from one foot to another. It wasn't easy for her. She wanted action, immediate results. Oberon didn't intimidate her overmuch, even knowing what he could do if she pushed him too far, but Giles had been able to get through to her, reminding her that she would be of no use to Xander as a smear on the wall.

Oberon had withdrawn, leaving the rescue operations in the capable hands of his queen, and no one was particularly sorry to see him go. Titania was more focused in his absence and turned her full attention to the problem.

There were a total of 16 openings, a few of which they were able to eliminate immediately. Anya knew which one Xander had passed through, but after a furious, but necessarily short debate, they had decided to find Dawn first. Giles reasoned that she was likely to be the one in the most danger, as he was confident of the others' ability to take care of themselves. The fact that Spike had been with Dawn did not, in any way, comfort him. Gabriel organized a group of warriors to enter each world in turn in order to find the missing people, declaring his intention to lead the group himself. There was some debate over that as well, as his second was one of those missing.

Titania considered Giles' question. "I believe I can track down Dawn by the energy she gives off. The Key is a magical artifact and should be detectable." She caught Giles biting his tongue, looking unhappy at her description of Dawn as an artifact. "Whatever else she is Mr. Giles, she is also a dangerous magical force. That must be taken into account in resolving this matter. Do not worry though. There are ways of binding that power. The child will be returned to you safely." Giles nodded, slightly reassured, and Titania tuned him out as she focused on the lingering energy trace left by the Key's passage.

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"A television show?"

"Yeah. Not a terribly good one either," Spike smirked. "Probably why it was canceled." This drew looks from the Voyager crew present including Harry Kim who had come down to run a diagnostic on the doctor's emitter.

"Canceled?" the doctor asked, looking surprised. "Who wouldn't want to see this face every week?'

"Doctor," the captain started in a warning tone.

"Did we make it home?" Harry asked, looking hopeful.

"Mr. Kim," she changed focus, beginning to sound slightly exasperated.

Spike chuckled. "Looks like we got somethin' in common captain. We're both lookin' after children." This drew several offended looks his way and Janeway decided to move on before the conversation could drift farther off topic.

"So that's why you didn't believe us," Janeway nodded. "I suppose that makes sense, as much as any of this does." She paused, considering. "Do you believe that we are who we say we are now?"

Spike frowned as he reached out and tapped the forcefield separating him from the rest of sickbay. "Phasers, forcefields, tricorders? Why not? I suppose you've got transporters too?"

"Yes."

"Would it be the weirdest thing we've seen?" Dawn asked from her place on the biobed. "Remember the killer snot monster? Or the troll?"

"I'd like to forget frankly," the vampire muttered. Dawn was calmer now, he noted. She only became agitated when the subject turned to the way they had arrived. He wasn't sure how she was coping. Whatever had shut her down though, he was grateful for it. Somehow he doubted that their unwilling hosts were prepared to deal with an hysterical Key opening inter-dimensional portals inside their ship.

Dawn had reluctantly agreed to be examined by their doctor, the one who apparently lived in the little decoration that he kept on his sleeve. What's a killer snot monster compared to that for weirdness? She had agreed, as long as Spike wasn't too far away.

"How is she doc?" he asked from behind the security field that Tuvok had insisted on.

The doctor glanced over, still annoyed with Spike over being held hostage. "Aside from the normal physiological signs associated with stressful situations she's fine. There are some readings that I do not understand however."

"Like what?" Dawn wanted to know.

"Well…" he considered how best to answer the question. "Most carbon based life-forms are electrochemical engines. Every living creature has distinctive energy readings, an electromagnetic signature if you will. I've never encountered one like yours."

"So I've got… energy in me?"

"Crude, but yes. Quite a bit it seems." He glanced at his captain who nodded for him to continue. "The energy isn't electrochemical in nature either. I'm frankly not yet sure what I'm seeing." Dawn swallowed visibly and bit her lip.

"Great doc," Spike put in sourly. "Just what every patient wants to hear from a doctor. 'I'm clueless.'" The hologram chose to ignore the remark.

"I would suggest that Seven might be able to contribute something to the discussion. We've moved beyond medicine. I believe she might have some thoughts on this matter."

Janeway nodded. "She's in the cargo bay examining the place where the anomaly appeared." Tapping her com badge, she called to the air. "Seven, please report to sick bay."

"Acknowledged." The reply was as curt and businesslike as Spike expected. Despite himself, he was curious to see the former Borg drone.

Dawn didn't notice. She was entirely focused on what the doctor had said. None of what he implied promised anything good for her, and she grew more agitated still when the answer to his questions occurred to her. "Oh," she said with rising dread. "The Key thing." She glanced fearfully around, as if expecting Glory or Oberon to jump out at her.

"Key thing?" The doctor asked curiously. The captain also perked up. Dawn found their attention disturbing and glanced at Spike.

"I don't see much choice Dawn. Unless you know how to get us home…" He broke off when he saw her eyes widen in sudden fear. "Dawnie," he began more softly. "Tell me what happened."

Dawn looked down, lips pursed. "Um, I only want to do this once, so, uh, could we wait a bit? Till everyone who needs to hear it is…here?" The reprieve was short lived. Seconds later Seven of Nine, late of the Borg collective, entered the room and approached the captain with an air of impatience.

"My analysis of the inter-dimensional rift is incomplete. I will require more time to collect data before I can reach any meaningful conclusions."

"We have some information for you Seven, that's why I called." She gestured to the bed where Dawn sat staring at the imperious blonde in trepidation. "Please Dawn, tell us what you can."

"I-I don't really know all that much. I remember Oberon saying he could help me. He was so persuasive. I wanted to believe that he could help. That he could make it so I wasn't helpless." She looked guiltily at Spike. "This is my fault."

"No," Spike shook his head resignedly. "The bloody prat would have found a way to get what he wanted regardless. What happened next?"

"Um… I'm not sure. There was like… a … a dream with such weird imagery and then…" she paled at the memory. "He was doing something to me… inside." She gestured to her chest. "He was trying to get control of the Key… Then Glory was there. Its just pain after that. I think I s-screwed up bad Spike."

"Not your fault bit," Spike assured her. "He would have found some way of getting what he wanted whether you cooperated or not, and don't tell me your blaming yourself for Glory?" Dawn didn't answer. She just looked miserable.

"What exactly is going on?" Janeway asked, cutting off Seven's more impatient response to the conversation. "How did she get you here?"

Spike considered and then glanced at Dawn who was staring at the deck and biting her lip. She wasn't going to be able to help. "Long version or short?"

"Start with the short."

"Dawn's only been human for about 10 months. Before that she was a ball of energy called the Key. There was these monks who guarded the Key for centuries, but they went and got themselves slaughtered by a hell-god, goes by the name of Glorificus. The monks managed to hide the Key where they thought it would be safe." He nodded at Dawn. "Didn't work out. Glory figured out where it was. Dawn's big sister is tough, and I'm no slouch, but even with all of us worikin' together we could barely slow Glory down. We had to run."

"Run here?" Janeway asked, setting aside all of the new questions that his explanation had raised and getting to the heart of the matter.

Spike snorted. "You see anyone else? You see her big sis or the witches? Even that useless bricklayer? No. We went to Avalon. Oberon, the guy in charge there, agreed to let us stay for a while." He growled in frustration. "Shoulda known he was just playin' us. He wanted the Key for himself. He didn't know what he was messin' with though. He screwed it up."

"How?" Janeway glanced at Dawn. "What precisely is the Key?" Dawn didn't answer. She was hugging herself and staring into space. "Dawn?" The doctor ran a quick scan. Frowning he turned to the captain, but she held up a hand forestalling his objections as well as her astrometrics officers' interruption. "A key opens something. What do you open? What doors?"

"No."

"You…the Key, doesn't open doors?" This was confusing, as well as hard to believe.

"I don't like to think about it," she said shakily. "It's like it hurts to remember this stuff." She shook her head, "so weird." Dawn concentrated though, focusing with an effort that even Spike could see from across the room. "It starts that way. A door opens, but it gets bigger. It keeps going. The Key knocks down walls."

"Between dimensions?" Yours and ours?" The captain glanced at Seven who was listening with interest but otherwise giving nothing away.

"NO!" Dawn cried. "You don't get it!" She jumped down and began to pace. "The Key…I don't just…all….all the walls. I was made to break all the walls. Every barrier between every dimension." She shuddered, and added quietly. "All fall down till its all one. All chaos."

***********************************************************************

"Dawn's portal is here, but…" Titania frowned in consternation. "There is nothing on the other side."

"What do you mean nothing?" Giles asked, staring at what looked to him like a smear of color in the air. Even he could feel the tingle of Fay magic. Glaring at the sealed portal gained him nothing though. He could not see beyond the seal that had been placed over it, and apparently, neither could Lady Titania.

"I'm not sure. There is no solid land within reach of my senses. In fact, I can sense nothing on the other side."

"You mean the portal opened high in the sky or something?" Anya looked upset at the prospect. "Oh, splat." Giles shot her an angry look and prepared to retort, but Titania spoke first.

"No. There is no air on the other side. No ground. Nothing." Her frown deepened. "It is almost as if…" She broke off, not wishing to complete the thought.

"What?" Giles insisted.

"As if the portal opened into space."

************************************************************************

Dawn had lapsed into silence. Janeway stared at her uncomprehending. What the girl was telling them was absurd, scientifically impossible. The fact that she seemed terrified was hardly convincing. A child her age couldn't be expected to know any better. "I don't understand," the captain started carefully. "What you're saying sounds impossible."

"It is," Seven assured her, glancing up from the tricorder the doctor had handed her, reviewing the unusual readings. "There is no relevant information to be had here."

Spike snorted at this. "'Scientifically impossible,'" he mimicked. "This from people who spent years only following the laws of nature when it was convenient to the plot?" Janeway didn't know how to respond to that so she didn't bother, putting off the question she could see Seven preparing to ask with a muttered 'don't ask.' "Are vampires also impossible?" he continued archly. Janeway finally glanced at him and then at the doctor.

The hologram shrugged. "He has no life signs that I can detect. He doesn't breathe, he has no pulse or circulation, and he has no brain activity that I can detect." He glanced at Spike, as if wanting to add something more on that subject, but restrained himself. "Simply because we're not familiar with his species, however, doesn't make him an 'undead blood sucking fiend.'"

"I resemble that remark."

"Spike, please," Dawn interrupted. "Just… just don't get started."

"Sorry Dawn," he said with what sounded like honest contrition. He considered briefly. "All right captain. You tell me. How did we get here and how do we get back?"

Setting aside everything else she focused on that problem. Whatever the child's claims, they had no bearing on that problem. How could they get their visitors back where they belonged? "I need to know more about how you got here. What can you tell me about the anomaly that brought you here?"

She glanced at Seven who had given back the tricorder. Her astrometrics officer didn't shrug, but she might as well have. "The readings are unusual captain. The Borg have no records of this particular type of energy. There are similarities to emissions from certain types of temporal and spatial anomalies, however the energy that seems to serve in the place of the electrochemical energy that serves most carbon based life forms is both weaker and more constant than any phenomenon encountered to date. I suspect it is natural to her species."

"Her species?" Spike broke in incredulously. "Some brain you got here captain. Even I can tell she's human."

Seven regarded him coldly. "Humans do not generate that type of energy." She glanced at the doctor.

"True enough, but without doing a full genetic scan I can't find any other evidence that she is anything other than human."

"What we need to know," Janeway cut them off, wanting to head off a debate and the clash of egos that was sure to follow. "What we need to do is figure out how to get them home.

"Dawn already told you everything we know," Spike said irritably. "She might be able to open it again, if she knew how and could open just one at a time. Thing is, I really don't think you want her opening portals to a dozen different hell dimensions inside your ship."

"Hell dimensions?"

"There are a lot of places, dimensions, that you really don't want to visit. Places a whole lot worse than anything you've seen. I've been to one or two of them. Fairly mild, but still not anyplace a human would survive long."

"It would be bad," Dawn nodded. "It happened before. I saw Glory get hauled off by a giant octopus thing. She'll probably rip it apart, and unless the door is closed, she'll be back to try to get me again."

"Why does she want you?" the doctor asked, rather rudely.

"Because I can do this. Open the portals."

"To hell?" the doctor's tone spoke volumes about his willingness to accept their story.

"Enough doctor," Janeway interrupted. "We'll do what we can to get you home. I just wish we had more details."

"I-I… can't help you. I don't know how."

Janeway suppressed a sigh. "Well, we'll start with what we know." She tapped her com badge. "Mr. Paris, return us to the position at which the anomaly opened. I want comprehensive scans of the area. Coordinate your efforts with Seven of Nine."

"Aye captain."

"Seven, you'd better get back to your analysis. Compare the doctor's readings to sensor readings taken when the anomaly opened. See if you can establish a connection and determine if we can use it to control the opening of another portal." The ex-Borg looked dubious, but she nodded.

"Aye, captain." She looked like she had more questions but decided against asking them.

Janeway turned back to Dawn when Seven had gone. "We'll do what we can."

The girl gave her a cautious smile. "Thank you." She glanced over at Spike. "Do you think you could let him out? He won't attack anyone else."

Janeway regarded the vampire with a slight frown. "We'll have no more trouble from you?"

"What would be the point?" Spike asked. After a moment's consideration, Janeway lowered the forcefield. "Thank you," he said with exaggerated politeness. "You hungry Dawn?' shifting his attention to her, hoping to distract her while their…very odd benefactors tried to solve their problem.

Dawn nodded, welcoming the distraction. She glanced at the doctor, who shrugged. "Couldn't hurt," he allowed, "and there's nothing actually wrong with you. I'll run some tests and see if I can't find out more about your…energy."

"I'll show you to the mess hall," Janeway offered. They nodded and followed.

************************************************************************

"I still sense the Key's energy. Dawn is alive." A collective sigh of relief made the rounds. "She is some distance away though." A puzzled frown settled on her features. "She is approaching the opening, very fast."

"Through a void?" Anya asked. "What is she in a space ship or something?" Her mocking tone brought a frown to the Fay queen's face.

"We will know soon enough," she replied, her patience strained by the former demon.

************************************************************************

"A glass of O positive for Spike." The vampire blinked in surprise. "Oh don't look so surprised," Dawn waved dismissively. "It is what you eat."

"Er, O positive?" Neelix looked confused.

"Blood," Dawn explained. "He prefers human." The stocky alien glanced at him, trying to conceal the alarm he felt at the notion. Spike shrugged.

"I'm a vampire. What should I feed on? Chocolate malts?"

"Not if you wanna keep that figure," Dawn quipped. Spike gave her a mock glare, but was glad to see that Dawn had, once again, bounced back, even if she was trying a little too hard, the attempts at her normal good humor being rather forced. It seemed she only got sad and weird when someone brought up her status as the Key. At other times, she shoved away all thoughts of it and was almost normal again, almost. He didn't want to put any more stress on her than she already had, so he followed her example.

"Can't have that." He took up the glass Neelix set before him and sniffed delicately. "Don't recognize the species."

"You can tell the difference?" Neelix looked decidedly nervous. Voyager had hosted a variety of strange visitors, but none of them had ever asked for human blood. Still, he was the ship's ambassador. "I got as close as I could. The replicator won't produce human blood. This is from an Earth species though. Cow I believe."

"Hmm." Spike took a sip. "Not bad," he could tell it was fake without being told, but it would do, he decided.

"And here is your 'hamburger,'" he set the plate in front of Dawn, who smiled.

"Thanks Neelix." She dug in ravenously. The hedgehog like alien blinked in surprise.

"How did you know my name?"

"You wouldn't believe it," Spike smirked. "Not sure I do," he glanced at Dawn speculatively. "Thought you had better taste in programs niblet."

Dawn considered her answer, blushing slightly. "I used to watch with Willow, I had… kind of a crush on Robert Duncan." Neelix looked back and forth between the two in polite confusion. "Why not ask the captain?" she suggested, taking pity on him. "This is a little weird even by your standards or ours."

"Got that right," Spike muttered eyeing a pretty young ensign he had seen in a toothpaste commercial only… was it the night before? It seemed ages ago. "Which one's Duncan again?" Dawn glanced around the room and blushed when she saw the object of her temporary infatuation having dinner with the half-Klingon engineer. Spike saw the direction of her glance and grinned. "And who did red have a crush on?"

"Jeri Ryan." The answer was grudging, as if betraying a secret. "Don't tell Tara."

Neelix wandered away, realizing they were not going to enlighten him. He glanced around for the captain, thinking briefly of following the girl's suggestion, but the captain had left for astrometrics to work with Seven.

He made his way over to Harry Kim who had come in and was watching their guests with a strange expression on his face. Dawn watched them out of the corner of her eye as they talked quietly. Harry shook his head and made his way toward them. She braced herself for awkward questions, but all in all it was better than questions about how she opened portals.

"Um," Harry approached hesitantly. "We're approaching the spot where the anomaly appeared. The captain wants you in the shuttle bay." They glanced at each other and rose to their feet.

************************************************************************

"The energies are the same captain. There is no doubt, but I do not understand how such energy could sustain organic life, let alone give her the abilities she claims to possess."

"I don't understand it either Seven, but these scans do seem to reveal a…sympathy between the anomaly's fluctuations and the girl's neuro-synaptic activity."

They silently considered the puzzle for a time, running projections and simulations based on what little they knew. "An entertainment?" Seven finally ventured. The captain nodded.

"That's what they said."

"Do you believe them?" Janeway shrugged and shook her head.

"I don't know. They knew things about us that weren't in any log."

"Telepathy perhaps?"

"To what end?" Seven had no answer to that. "Getting them home is the right thing to do. We won't go into anything blind though. That's why I want to know everything about these 'portals' I can." She considered the results of the latest simulation carefully.

"There are too many unknowns," Seven concluded, echoing her Janeway's own thoughts.

"Our readings should become clearer as we get closer. We can run more direct tests."

"Good. This aspect is especially interesting." She indicated two columns of numbers that fluctuated with the two waveforms that were displayed next to them. "The rate of particle decay is different. I believe that time is passing at a different rate on the other side." She keyed in a few more commands and the display changed.

"It's not just time that's different there," Janeway breathed. "I'm not quite sure what we're seeing, but it's well worth the risk of a closer look."

"We should not get too close to the opening. I recommend a minimum safe distance of 10,000 km."

"Agreed. We'll be in range in a few minutes. A closer approach should be possible with a shuttle craft." She tapped her combadge. "Mr. Kim, would you fetch our guests and bring them to the shuttle bay?"

"Aye captain."

************************************************************************

"I don't think you're gonna get a shuttle through that," Spike observed practically. Janeway frowned in mild irritation, but nodded. The screen that displayed the ship's position and size relative to the anomaly clearly showed that that was impractical.

Fortunately, Janeway reflected; that was not their intention. It floated in space before them, looking, to Dawn like a tear in a movie screen. She didn't bother to look at the screen. She didn't need to. Although it was still some distance away, but she could feel it, and the feeling grew stronger as they grew closer. She could feel it and knew that if she concentrated she could know it, affect it even, but she shied away from the knowledge, as she did from the open hangar bay door.

"Don't worry," Janeway assured her. "With the safety field in place, there's no danger."

"Relax niblet," Spike added absently, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Easy for you to say. You don't breathe," she reminded in the most acid tone she could muster. She was too scared to put much into it though and Spike glanced back at her, almost as if reading her mind. He approached her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We're goin' home Dawn. An' I'll make that Oberon git set things right." They both knew there was no chance of Spike forcing the Fay lord to do anything, but the effort brought a slight smile to Dawn's face, and she seemed to rally a bit.

"Thanks Spike. I-I'll manage without either of us getting turned into little piles of ash." Her smile was tremulous, but it was there and Spike pulled forward to join the discussion.

"Perhaps we can move the ship to encompass it," Harry was saying.

"I would advise against it," Tuvok answered quickly. "We don't know what might happen. There is too little data on this phenomenon."

"We know it opened inside the ship originally," he countered.

"Yes," the security chief answered dryly, "and the damage control parties are still at work."

Spike ignored their bickering as Voyager inched closer to the anomaly. The ship stopped at what Tuvok obviously considered a perilously short distance. Even with his keen eyesight he could barely make it out, but Dawn, he noted didn't seem to have that trouble. Her eyes were fixed, unwaveringly, on the still distant opening. "I feel it," she said suddenly," her voice firmer than he had expected. "It's stable and safe. Well, as safe as it can be."

"Stable?" Janeway asked curiously. She broke off from explaining her plans for examining the anomaly.

"I don't understand it." Dawn concentrated, even though it gave her the willies. She didn't want to. She so didn't want to, but she could feel it. The proximity of the portal pulled at her awareness in a way that she didn't quite understand. Ignoring it was impossible and the attempt to do so was more disturbing than the effort it took to focus. "It's sealed from the other side…sorta like that," she gestured at the safety field.

"Will it get us back?" Spike asked. He wasn't sure how long Dawn would remain stable while trying to concentrate on the portal. It was clearly a strain on her, and he guessed that she'd rather be doing anything else. If he was going to ask the questions he needed to it, had to be before she decided to deal with it by not dealing.

"Y-yes," the voice was a bit faint and she didn't elaborate.

"All right then. You should be able to move the ship so that's in the garage." He pointed at the tear. "The sooner the better for all of us I think." Janeway regarded him tolerantly.

"Let's not be hasty. We're going to run some more scans before we try anything of the kind." She turned to Harry Kim. "What about a probe?"

"Send a probe through the barrier that's keeping Oberon's garden from being sucked into space?" Dawn asked with a laugh. "He'd love that."

"Do it only if little bit and I can watch from a safe distance," Spike suggested. Janeway's glance revealed ebbing patience this time, but she acknowledged the point.

"What about the transporter?"

Seven shook her head. "We cannot scan beyond the tear, so we cannot use the transporter." Other options were considered, but no one had any better ideas. An attempt to send a signal through the barrier got no response, if one didn't count Spike rolling his eyes and whispering something that made Dawn giggle.

The vampire's antics were beginning to annoy her. The only mitigating circumstance was Dawn. She could see how nervous the girl was and Spike's efforts to distract her were affective, and probably, she reasoned, for the best, even if they did come at the expense of a star ship captain's dignity.

A call from the bridge interrupted any response she might have had to Spike's barb. "Captain," Tom Paris called, sounding stressed, "Voyager is moving closer to the anomaly."

"I ordered you to hold position."

"It's not us captain. Something is pulling us toward it."

Janeway turned to find Seven already pulling up a new display. "Its some sort of tractor beam captain. Voyager is being pulled toward the opening."

"Why didn't we detect this sooner?"

"It's not like anything we've encountered before. It does not register on sensors at all; I can only infer its nature from the affect it is having on the ship."

"Mr. Paris, apply thrusters, try to hold position."

"Wouldn't advise that," Spike cautioned.

"What do you mean? Are you somehow responsible?"

Spike snorted in amusement. "'Course not, but its likely that whoever is doin' it is just tryin' to get Dawn and me back. Gotta be somebody with powerful magic to affect something Voyager's size."

"No one wants to hurt the ship captain," Dawn assured her. "Just let us get to the portal and I think we can all go our own ways."

"I don't seem to have a choice," her face was set in a mask that Dawn remembered well from the show.

"It'll be okay. I promise."

"I'll hold you to it."

After a rapid assessment of their options, they were left with the one originally suggested by Harry. Slowly and carefully, Voyager moved so that the rift was inside the shuttle bay. The pull stopped when Janeway ordered that Tom Paris move the ship into position himself, not trusting someone she couldn't see to make the final, careful maneuvers necessary.

They watched on a monitor, outside the bay, as the bay doors were closed and air was pumped in. The inner doors finally opened and Dawn and Spike were the first through. Tuvok, Janeway, Seven, and Harry entered more hesitantly, Seven barely glancing up from the tricorder she carried. Her intense fascination with the portal and her very direct and often incomprehensible questions had made the visitors wary and the lack of concrete answers had made the ex-Borg frustrated. Spike and Dawn were more than ready to leave and approached the portal without hesitation.

It hung in the air before them looking, Dawn thought, less like a rabbit hole than anything she had ever seen. However it looked though, it felt right. It felt like it led back to the garden; to Buffy.

As if on cue, the portal began to crackle and move like a banner in a gently blowing breeze. Tuvok called for them to back away, but Spike waved him off. "Relax. This is what it looks like when its open." They turned back to face the Voyager crew. "Well," he said, warily eyeing Seven, standing nearer to the portal than he liked with her scanner, "it's been giggles, but we really must be off."

Dawn was about to add her good-byes, when they were interrupted. A faint but rapidly growing sound that combined an asthmatic wheeze with the gear grinding death rattle of a truck engine about to give up the ghost drew their attention to a corner of the bay. A shape was beginning to materialize there. First to appear was a flashing light, roughly eight feet above the deck, but it was quickly followed by the outline of a tall blue box. When a placard bearing the words 'POLICE CALL BOX' faded into view, the two traded unreadable expressions. "Voyager was bad enough," Spike muttered. "I am not sticking around for this!" Without another word they turned to the portal and jumped.

THE END…FOR NOW