Chapter 1

It was a truth universally acknowledged that when things on the Hellmouth were about to go kablooey, it more often than not was likely to be a Tuesday.

This time it was not kablooey in an apocalypse kind of way.  Just kablooey in Buffyland.

Quiet settled around 1630 Revello Drive as everyone hurried off to do their daily routine.  Except for Buffy.  She didn’t have a daily routine.  She wasn’t even used to the noise and pain of not being in heaven anymore.

Buffy stood on the stairs staring at the picture of herself, Dawn, and her mom.  Something was off.

Dawn appeared to glow green with a faint hazy of blue.  Buffy didn’t find that surprising.  Her sister was, after all, a dimensional Key.

Joyce Summers, on the other hand, was gray and faded.  At the exact location of the tumor that killed her, Buffy could see a swirl of blackness.  Curiosity got the better of Buffy, and she stepped up the stairs to the picture of Joyce’s mother, Janet Bennett

Buffy knew that her Grandma had died just a few years back of a stroke.  Sure enough, Grandma Bennett was gray in her picture with a black stripe down the middle of her face.

Going back to the picture taken with her mom and sister, Buffy studied herself.  She flickered from gray, which obviously meant death, to blue, which Buffy decided meant alive.  But what did the faint hue of yellow mean?

Time for more research.

Buffy went to her bedroom to pull out her senior yearbook. 

Harmony Kendall’s picture was a yellow-tinged gray with a dark bite mark on her neck.  Her picture flickered back and forth ever so slightly to show off her vampire visage. 

Amy Madison’s picture was blue, indicating that she was alive, but her picture flickered to a rat.  There was also a tinge of purple surrounding the former girl, current rat.

Larry Blaisdell’s picture was gray, but the only thing that showed on him was a line across his neck to indicate that his neck had been broken when Mayor Wilkins slapped him down with his snake tail.

The one lone picture of Mayor Wilkins and Principal Snyder was creepy enough to make Buffy slam that book closed in a heartbeat.

Buffy went through all of her yearbooks looking at the blues and grays.    There were a few kids with a mixture of yellow and blue.  Buffy wondered what the yellow meant.  She pulled out a notepad and pen to write down what she’d discovered so far. 

Buffy wasn’t sure what to do now.

Downstairs, the back door slammed open, startling Buffy.  Then, she heard it bang closed, followed by some frantic stomping.

Ahh, Spike.

“Slayer, I know you’re in here.  I can hear your heartbeat!”

Buffy stepped to the door of her bedroom.  “I’m upstairs, Spike.”  She went back to the desk where she was looking at her yearbooks.

In a few moments, Buffy heard Spike clomp up the stairs to find her.  She wondered if she should tell the vampire about her new ‘ability’. 

“Feelin’ all nostalgic-like?” Spike asked while he gestured towards the books.

“Not exactly.”  Buffy made a quick fire decision.  “Things are a bit wonky for me right now.  I can see dead people.”

“You mean like ghosts or whatnot?”

Buffy shook her head.  “No, like I can look at a picture and I can tell if the person is dead or alive.  If they’re dead, I can tell how they died.”  She flipped over to Harmony’s picture again.  “Like Harmony here.  The picture is gray with a bit of yellow and there’s a black bite mark on her neck.  And she fluctuates between human and vampire.”

Spike leaned over the desk.  “Show me.”  So, Buffy did.

Spike couldn’t see what Buffy did, but he believed her every word.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

“I just can’t figure out what yellow means,” Buffy said.

“We should just keep looking at pictures until we figure it out,” Spike suggested.

Buffy nodded.  “Okay, that sounds good.  We could look at the photo albums in the living room.”

Spike and Buffy traipsed downstairs.  They sat on the couch with a photo album and the list of color meanings on the coffee table.  Buffy flipped to the back where there was a picture of everyone that had been taken at a BBQ hosted by Joyce the summer before she died.

Even Spike had been invited.

Buffy squinted at the picture.  Confused, she grabbed her list.  “Okay, by this, in the picture, you should be gray with a tinge of yellow and have a bite mark on your neck.”

“So, what am I?”  Spike sounded confused.  “I clearly remember Dru turning me into a vampire.”

“You’re a glowing gold color.”  Buffy gave Spike a sly look.  “It’s really beautiful.”

“I think you mean all manly.  A very manly gold,” Spike protested.

Buffy shook her head.  “Nope, very beautiful.”

“You take that back.”  Spike and Buffy started to tussle on the couch.  They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Buffy looked over Spike shoulder.  “Oh, hey, Xander, what’s the what?”

Spike pulled away from Buffy while he tried to appear cool.  Buffy smoothed her shirt and combed her fingers through her hair.

“What are you two doing?” Xander demanded while he pointed at Spike and Buffy.

Anya sighed.  “You keep telling me to stop talking about our orgasms, and yet you ask Buffy about hers.  I’m beginning to think you don’t really want to marry me.”

“Marriage?” Buffy squeaked.

Spike patted Buffy’s hand.  “That’s not important right now, pet.  You need to gather the troops and have a meeting about the thing.”  He nodded towards the photo album.

“Oh, right, Scooby meeting tonight.  Here.  7 p.m.  Spread the word.  Tell everyone to bring their photo albums.”

“Will do.”  Anya pulled Xander towards the front door before he started to speak again.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

The Scoobies were gathered in Buffy’s living room, photo albums in hand.  Tara was playing hostess, serving lemonade and cookies that she’d somehow managed to scrounge up from Buffy’s paltry pantry.  Xander appeared like he wanted to say something, but Anya kept glaring at him.  Giles just looked confused.

“So, I bet you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here together,” Buffy started.

Dawn snorted.  “Finally.  How many years have you been waiting to say that?”

“Oh hush you.”  Buffy stuck her tongue out at Dawn.  Then, she turned back to the others.  “I’ve been noticing something since my return.  This morning I decided to do some research.”

Xander opened his mouth.

“Alexander Lavelle Harris, not a word.”  Anya pointed at Xander.  “Not one word.”

Xander closed his mouth with an audible sound.

“Go ahead, Buffy.  We’re all ready to hear about your orgasm research with Spike.”

Buffy burst out laughing.  “I wouldn’t call a Scooby meeting about that, Anya.  Sorry.”

“Well, pooh,” Anya said in a disappointed voice.  “I need someone to talk about them with.”

“Maybe later.  Anyway, what I wanted to talk about is this.  Something happened when I came back,” Buffy said.

“Not another monster, I hope,” Giles commented.

Buffy shook her head.  Then, she laid all of her research on the coffee table and told her friends what she’d discovered that day about what she could now see in pictures starting with the pictures of her mom and her grandma, moving on to her high school yearbooks, and finishing with the picture from the BBQ.

“Okay, so here is our group.”  Buffy showed the others the picture.  Xander, the only color you have around you is blue.  So, you’re a living human.  Anya, your color is mainly blue with a tinge of yellow.  I think yellow represents demons.”

“No, she is not a demon!” Xander jumped up from his seat, finally unable to contain himself.

“Of course I’m not … now.  However, I was one for over twelve hundred years.  That had to have left a mark.”  Anya jerked Xander back down into his chair.  “Now, hush and let Buffy finish.”

Buffy turned to Giles.  “Giles, you are blue with purple, as is Willow and Tara.  Amy’s picture also has that tinge of purple.  I’m going to say that purple represents magical ability.”

“What about me?” Dawn asked.  “I’m blue, right?”

“Yes, you are, but there is also a green glow to you.  Nobody else had that, so, I’m thinking that represents your being the Key,” Buffy replied.  “Now, we come to Spike.”

Willow pointed at the picture.  “You forgot Riley.”

“He’s just blue.  Now, Spike should be gray with a bite mark and have his vampire superimposed on his picture.  Instead, he is glowing gold,” Buffy said.  “No one else’s picture is like that.”

Xander gestured towards the pictures.  “These are all pictures of people that you know what happened to them.  This is just some kind of scheme dreamed up by Spike to get in your pants.  What is wrong with you?”

Everyone in the room turned towards Xander with surprise, disgust, or both in their eyes.  To their surprise, Anya pulled out a ball gag and stuffed it in Xander’s mouth.

“I warned you.”

Giles pulled off his glasses to polish them.  He was clearly scandalized by Anya and Xander’s actions.  “Xander does have a point there.  These are all people you know, even if it is peripherally.”

“That’s why I asked everyone to bring their photo albums,” Buffy said.

Buffy and her friends spent the next hour pouring through the albums while she told them the status of their friends and family with perfect accuracy.

“You know who you need to talk to?” Anya said.  “In Los Angeles, I order from this ancient little gnome named Pete.   He’s older than me even.  I bet he’ll know what is going on with you.”

Dawn bounced up and down in her chair.  “Road trip!  It’s been awhile since we’ve been to the big city.”

Buffy turned to Spike.  “Since you’re part of this, will you drive us?  We’ll go Friday night at dusk.”

“Sounds like a plan, Slayer.”

Chapter 2

Spike, Buffy, Dawn, and surprisingly Tara started out from Sunnydale in Joyce’s Jeep that mostly just sat in the garage since she had passed away.  When the foursome got to Rocky Point, they decided to make a pit stop and get a quick bite to eat.

On Spike’s tab. 

Spike had won the night before at kitten poker, mostly because he had his heart in the game.  He knew they were in need of money for the trip to Los Angeles.

Dawn pointed at a small diner with the name Rodriquez in neon across the front.  “Mexican sounds good.” 

So, Spike stopped the car and they all went inside and sat down.

When Tara opened the menu, she got a confused look on her face.  “I don’t think Fiskesuppe is Mexican,” she commented.

“No, ma’am,” the waitress came up to the table.  “My name is Bessie Rodriquez.  What can I get you to drink?” 

When Bessie came back with their drinks, Buffy said, “I have no clue what anything on here is.  Do you have a blue plate special today?” 

“We certainly do.  This week we have lamb meatballs in a savory sauce served over egg noodles, with a side salad, and Flotegrot for dessert.”

“Flotegrot?” Buffy asked in a confused voice.

Bessie nodded.  “Yes, it’s a Norwegian cream pudding.”

Buffy, Tara, and Spike ordered the lamb meatballs, but Dawn decided she wanted to try the Fiskesuppe and Flotegrot.  Bessie went to place their order, and they sat chatting about inconsequential things.

Someone cleared their throat.

Buffy looked up and her eyes widened.  She grabbed Spike’s hand under the table.  “Hey, Detective Stein, whatever has happened, I just got into town and I’m just passing through.”  She vowed to herself to have Spike find an alternate route back to Sunnydale.

Stein held up his hand.  “I’m not here to accuse you of anything.  I’m here to apologize.  Chief Corderman recently sent me the coroner’s report on Ted Buchanan.”  The detective glanced around for eavesdroppers, and he lowered his voice.  “He wasn’t human.  Therefore you couldn’t have murdered him.  I’m sorry.”

Buffy was flabbergasted and at a loss for words.  Dawn, on the other hand, was not.  She had plenty of words to say.

Dawn pointed her finger at Stein.  “I told you, didn’t I?  But, you didn’t believe me!  Buffy didn’t have anything to do with Kendra dying or the deputy mayor either.  That was other people.”

“I get that now.  I understand what ‘gang members on drugs’ mean now.  It took getting out of Sunnydale to learn it.”  Stein held his hands up in self defense.

A pretty blonde lady walked up behind Stein.  “Hey, partner.  You harassing these good folks?”

“No, I was just apologizing about something.”  Stein turned towards the woman.  “This is my partner, Kate Lockley.”

“Good to meet you,” Buffy replied.  “I’m Buffy Summers, and this is my sister Dawn, and our good friend Tara Maclay and Spike.”

“Would you like to join us?” Tara asked.  “There’s plenty of room.”

Kate and Stein pulled up chairs to the table and waved Bessie down to order their usual meals.

“I used to know someone from Sunnydale,” Kate replied.  “Cordelia Chase.”

“Small world,” Dawn said.  “We know Cordy too.  Does that mean you meet Mr. Broody Shorts?”

“Captain Forehead,” Spike grunted.  “Master of the Hair Gel brigade.”

Kate chuckled.  “Not an Angel fan?”

“Angel and Spike are related.  They’re not bosom buddies.”  Buffy smiled at Spike.  She kept her hand curled around Spike’s hand.  “Hopefully, we can get our business done in Los Angeles without running into Angel.  We’re going to talk to one of the suppliers for our friends’ store.”

They continued the general chitchat until their food was brought to them.  When they had finished the meal, Kate turned to Stein.  “You should just show them Esmeralda’s picture.  They probably haven’t seen her, but it couldn’t hurt.  She has friends up in Sunnydale.  Maybe they were lying to us.”

Stein shrugged before he pulled out a picture to lie on the table.  “Honestly at this point, we’re not even sure if she’s dead or alive.”

Buffy looked down at the picture and suppressed a gasp.  There was more now.  What had changed?  “So, you know how Sunnydale is the home of the weird?  Well, I’m the queen of the weird.”  She let out a breath.  “I was dead.  For almost four and a half months.”

“One hundred and forth seven days,” Spike muttered under his breath, and Buffy tightened her grip on his hand.

“My friend who is a witch – a literal witch – did some magic, and voila here I am.”  Buffy looked at Stein and Kate to gauge their reaction, but both were looking at her expectantly and without disbelief.  “I came back different.”

“Different how?” Kate asked.  She glanced at Spike.  “You’re not like him and Angel are you?”

“No, but I can tell your girl is alive, fading fast.”  Buffy picked up the picture, but before she could say anything Dawn spoke.

“Buffy, you and Spike are glowing,” Dawn said in soft voice.  She glanced around the diner, but nobody else seemed to notice.  Tara nodded her agreement.  “Are you doing something different from back home?”

Buffy glanced down at her fingers entwined with Spike’s fingers.  She lifted them to show Dawn and Tara.

“They’re not glowing to me,” Stein said.

Spike glanced at the picture, and he gasped.  “I can see what you see now, pet.  She is glowing blue, but it’s fading.  What the bloody hell?”  He took the picture from Buffy.

The others watched as Spike followed something with his eyes that they couldn’t see.  He had a confused look on his face.  “Before, I could only see that she was blue.  Now I see something else.”

“I wonder,” Buffy said.  She reached out to grasp the picture too.  “What is that?”

Tara pulled a notepad out of her purse to record everything for Pete, and later Giles.  “Tell me what you see.”

“There is like a blue string-thing coming out of the picture and going out the side of building,” Buffy replied.  “Is that what you saw when you picked up the picture, Spike?”

“Yup.  So, let me get this right, we’re holdin’ hands which showed me what you saw, and when I touched the picture I saw this string.”

“And when I touched the picture that you are touching while holding hands, I can see what you see.”  Buffy looked at the blue string again.  “I say we follow the string and see where it leads.”

Kate waved Bessie down, and the meals were paid for by Spike.  Then, the six of them left the diner.   They all got in their cars with Tara driving for Spike since Spike and Buffy were in the backseat holding the picture.

“I hope Pete has some ideas for this whole thing,” Buffy said.  “Having to hold each other’s hand and hold the picture sure makes things a tad more difficult.”

A few miles out of Rocky Point in the direction of Sunnydale, Spike told Tara to pull into a small city-owned park. 

“The Natalie Wyndam-Pryce Memorial Park,” Dawn read when they drove by the sign.  “That’s quite the coincidence.”

“Even more curious,” Spike commented.  “I had a Great Aunt Natalie that married a Wyndam-Pryce.”

“A mystery for another time, you two.  We have a young woman to find in a hurry,” Tara said.

Buffy nodded.  “You’re right.  When we park, you and Dawn grab a couple of flashlights out of the back.  It’s really dark out here, and none of us have eyesight as good as Spike.”

Tara pulled into a spot in the small parking lot.  Stein pulled up next to her.  They all got out of their cars, and between them, they had four flashlights.  Spike and Buffy continued to follow the blue string, their entourage in tow.

“No one mentioned anything about Esmeralda ever going to this park,” Kate said.  “No wonder we didn’t find her.  We weren’t even looking in the right place.

Stein sighed.  He agreed, but there was no sense in them both beating themselves up over it.  There had been a clear lack of clues right from the beginning in this missing person case.   Spike and Buffy stopped at the top of a steep incline.

“She’s down there.”  Buffy called out the woman’s name.  “Esmeralda, we’re here to rescue you.  We’re coming down.  Detectives, you might want to go ahead and get an ambulance out here.”

Spike handed the picture to Dawn, and he took her flashlight.  “Buffy and I will do down.  We’re lighter on our feet.”  They started down the hill.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

“How the hell are we going to write this one up?” Kate muttered while she watched the ambulance pull out of the driveway into the park.  “The chief will never believe that we were lead to her because of some kind of powers from a formerly dead girl.”

Dawn held the picture out to Kate.  “Yeah, I’ve seen her.  She was in Sunnydale and I overheard her tell some guy that she was going to stop here to take in the scenery.  There you go.”

“You could make a career of this,” Stein said.  “There’s plenty of missing people in the world.”

Buffy shrugged.  “Maybe, but first we need to go talk to Pete and figure out what this is exactly.”

Chapter 3

With the delay in Rocky Point, the sun was close to coming up when Spike pulled up outside of Pete’s magic shop.  Luckily there was a hotel just down the block.  Spike paid for two rooms with two beds in each room and connecting doors.  Then, he hustled Buffy, Tara, and Dawn into the rooms.  While they were settling in, he went out to the Jeep for their bags and his cooler of blood.

Inside the room, Spike set the bags and cooler on the table.  He opened his own bag to grab out a fresh t-shirt.  His fingers brushed against an old picture that he’d forgotten was even in the bag.  He pulled it out with the t-shirt.  After he changed, he laid on the bed staring at it in the dim light.  Without Buffy, it was just a picture.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Buffy’s soft voice drifted through the darkness. 

“Just lookin’ at this old picture of me, Angelus, Dru, and Darla.  Contemplatin’ how much my life has changed.”

Spike heard the other bed squeak. 

“Budge over.”

Spike suppressed his surprise when Buffy crawled into bed with him.  She reached across him to turn on the light on the bedside table furthest away from Dawn.  She looked at the picture he was still holding.

“Angel and Dru look pretty typical of vampires.  Gray with the flashing back and forth to game face and the bite mark on the neck.  You’re all glowy, as I suspected,” Buffy said.  “Except Darla has… “

“Except Darla has what?”

Buffy touched the side of the picture.  Then, Spike could see it; the blue blotch on the lower section of Darla’s stomach.

“What the bloody hell?”

“I know, right?  Something else to ask Pete about.”  Buffy yawned, and her eyes drifted closed.  “Get some sleep, Spike,” she said in a sleepy voice as she rubbed her face on his shoulder.

Spike set the picture on the table before he turned off the light. “As you wish, Slayer.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

“Spike, can I order some room service?” Dawn whispered while she shook the sleeping vampire’s shoulder.

Spike squinted at the girl while he wondered why his side felt so warm and his arm was asleep.  “Sure thing, Nibblet.  Make sure you order some for Tara and your big sis too.”

Dawn whisper-squealed.  “You two are so cute.  I wish I had a camera.”

Spike listened as Dawn tiptoed back to the room she’d shared with Tara.  He turned to look at Buffy who was snuggled up against his side with her head on his shoulder.  “Time to wake up, Slayer.”

“Mmmm,” Buffy groaned.  “I don’t wanna.  This is the first night I’ve slept without a nightmare since … Well, since I came back.”  She snuggled closer, and she rubbed her face on his shoulder.  “Sorry if I drooled.”

Spike shrugged the best he could laying down with a Slayer limpet attached to him.  “Eh, what’s a little Slayer drool?  It’s not like I’m the Wicked Witch of the West.”

“I love the Wizard of Oz.  We should watch it when we get back to Sunnydale.”  Buffy sat up to stretch.  Several of her joints popped, echoing through the quiet room.  “Wow, I feel great for a change.”

Spike didn’t know what to say.  He kept his mouth shut for a change, not wanting to screw things up.

“I’m going to take a shower before I eat.  Do you need to take one, too?” Buffy asked Spike.

Spike shook his head.  “Nah, I’m good, luv.”

Buffy sprang out of bed, and she puttered around the room getting her things ready to go.  With a fresh change of clothes in hand, she slipped into the bathroom for a shower.

Tara poked her head into the room.  “The food will be here in about fifteen minutes.  I got you one of those bloomin’ onions you like and some hot wings.”

“Sounds delish, witchlet.  Thanks.”  Spike grinned at Tara.  She was such a sweet lady.

Spike rolled out of bed.  He drank some of the blood from the cooler.  While delicious ambrosia from heaven, wings and bloomin’ onions wouldn’t appease his real hunger.

By the time room service arrived, Buffy was out of the shower.  Spike and Buffy had joined Tara and Dawn in their room.  When they finished eating, it was time to go meet up with Pete for their appointment.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Spike parked the Jeep on the street in front of ‘Ye Olde Magick Shoppe’.  They got out of the vehicle to take in the storefront.  Spike wasn’t sure that the storefront had even had any upgrades since the building was erected.  He squinted at the sign above the door.  Apparently the store had been established in 945.   Wonder if that’s BC or AD? Or is the one missing?  Still 1945 is a long time to be in business.

The grimy windows had bars.  The green door was the only thing that looked new and shiny.

“Knick knacks and souvenirs sold here,” Dawn read the words beneath the store’s name.  “We should talk Giles into putting that under The Magic Box name.”

Before anyone could comment on Dawn’s statement, the store door opened by a tall, slender woman.  She put her hands on her hips while she glared at the group of Sunnydale residents.  “Are you guys going to stand around outside all night?”

They all shook their heads.

“No, ma’am,” Tara replied.  She stepped through the threshold of the store where she suddenly stopped.  Tara glared at the woman.

Sweet, kind, never-a-bad-word-to-anyone Tara glared.

“That thing on the doorway had better not hurt one little hair on Spike’s head,” Tara growled.  She narrowed her eyes, and electrical sparks crackled at the tips of her hair.

Sweet, kind, never-a-bad-word-to-anyone Tara growled.  And sparked.

Spike, Buffy, and Dawn stared at her in wonder.  They had never seen this side of their friend before, and they really liked it.

“What is it, Tara?” Dawn asked.

Tara didn’t take her eyes off the woman as she answered.  “There’s a talisman above the door that doesn’t allow any soulless creatures in the store.”

Spike took a step back.  At best, the talisman would work like a regular residence and he’d just bounce off a barrier; at worst, the talisman would turn him to dust.

The woman held up her hands in surrender.  “Your friend Anya called ahead to let us know that a vampire was part of the group making the appointment.  He is welcome.”  She looked at Spike.  “Come in, Spike, and be blessed.”

Spike hid his relief, but he still let Buffy and Dawn enter before he did.  He took a breath before he stepped through the door.  Buffy had turned to watch him enter, and he kept his eyes on her face.

Just in case.

Buffy’s face was the last thing he wanted to see if things went wrong.

Spike stopped inside the door.  Nothing happened.  He smiled at Buffy.

“My name is Junia Tabor.  Why don’t we have a seat, and you can explain everything to us?”  Junia gestured towards a circle of comfortable chairs.  Then, she walked over to the counter, and she spoke to a doll sitting in a rocking chair.  “Pete, wake up.  They’re here.”

The doll opened its eyes.  “Thank you, my dear.  I heard them come in.”

The group settled into the comfortable chairs, and they took turns telling Pete and Junia about Spike and Buffy’s new powers.  This time, the rehash included the incident with Detective Stein in Rocky Point.

Pete sat back in his chair with his hands in prayer position under his chin, his fingers tapping against each other.  “Hmm, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a pair of Revenants.  Interesting.  I’ve never seen a Slayer-vampire pair before.  Very interesting.  The last pair was 600 years ago; a vampire and a zombie.  I won’t disgust you with how their powers worked”

“Revenants?”

“Revenant is one that returns after death or a long absence.  You died, yes?” Pete asked Buffy.

Spike slouched in his chair.  “One hundred forty seven days,” he said while Buffy nodded.  This seemed like a theme for the trip; the telling of how many days Buffy had been gone.

“Revenants always have a power related to death.  I’d say that you as a pair have a variant of psychometry.  All Revenants have it.,” Pete said.  “You mentioned that Spike glows gold to you, Miss Summers.  I don’t suppose you happened to look at a picture of her, did you, Spike?”

The blond vampire shook his head.  “No, we didn’t realize that I was involved too until we were at the diner.”

“Well, I bet she’ll be as glowy to you as you are to her.”

Tara frowned.  “I thought that psychometry was from touch.  Clearly Buffy doesn’t need to touch the picture to see if the person is dead or alive, just when she wants to know where they are.”

“She has to touch Spike for him to see it,” Dawn replied.  She waved her hands around in the air. “It’s not like this stuff is an exact science.  It’s really kind of not measurable or anything.”

“Will we always have to hold hands and touch the picture for Spike to have to see it?” Buffy asked. 

Pete shook his head.  “The more you use it, the easier it will come to you both.”  Then, he got a sly look on his face.  “Or, you know, you could just let him bite you and take some blood.”

Dawn and Tara stared at Pete with wide eyes.  They were waiting for an explosion of denial from Buffy or a snarky comment from Spike.

They had a long wait.  It never happened.

“Well, there are a lot of missing people in the world.  It would be wonderful for their families to have closure,” Buffy replied after the long silence.

“Every Revenant pair needs a chronicler.  I suggest you find someone to keep your story.”

Buffy shrugged.  “It will probably be Giles.  He already writes everything down because of my being a Slayer.”

“If you have any questions, feel free to call us,” Junia said.  “We’d be happy to take a trip up the coast to Sunnydale.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Six months later

Dawn, Spike, Buffy, and Giles stood outside the charred remains of The Magic Box.  Dark Willow had done a real number on the building and contents.

Xander stood off to the side with a guilt-ridden face.  He’d been able to save the world, but not Willow.  D’Hoffryn had whisked her away to his kingdom to ascend to demonhood.

“I can’t believe Tara is gone,” Dawn whispered.  “Why did it have to be her?”

“Red did a bad, bad thing when she brought the Slayer back.  A price had to be paid.  Unfortunately for us, it took the best we had.”  Spike had one arm around Buffy and his other around Dawn.

“Look at my store,” Giles moaned.

In a toneless voice, Xander said, “We can rebuild it.  We have the technology.  We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic magic shop.  Better than it was before.  Better, stronger, faster.”

Two people approached the group.  Buffy realized it was Stein and Kate.  “Hey guys.    What brings you to good old Sunnydale?”

“All the weirdness going on has trickled down to Rocky Point,” Stein answered.  “We thought we’d come see if you needed a hand.”

Kate nodded.  “And we have a business proposal for you guys that involve your powers and good old fashioned sleuthing.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Two days later while looking at a picture of Tara, Dawn was in for a stupendous surprise.

“Hello, Dawn,” Tara said.  “I’m here to tell you how to use your Key powers with Spike and Buffy’s Revenant powers to resurrect the dead without the consequences that Willow provoked.  We need all the help we can get to fight the First Evil.

The End