She shook her head, trying not to let those thoughts take hold. They wouldn't know anything until Dawn woke up, and in the meantime worrying about things that could turn out to be completely unfounded wasn't helping anything. She had other things to worry about for now.
Like the guy whose name she still wasn't going to even try to pronounce who was trying to bring about the apocalypse and kept attacking them with snake-like demons in the meantime. Or the child she was carrying inside of her who could possibly be a part of some important, prophesized event. Or the fact that the Slayer traveling with them had last night, following an uncharacteristically non-metaphorical Slayer dream Buffy had telling her to "heal her," confessed to murdering someone.
So, yeah, plenty of things to worry about.
Buffy turned her attention to Emma for a moment, watching the other Slayer as she walked slightly ahead of them, alongside Aiden. Buffy had gotten the feeling every time they'd started in the caves that Emma was nervous, almost fearful, and Buffy wondered why. She didn't think she was afraid of what they could run into, not after how Emma had handled herself every time they'd actually been attacked. So there had to be something else to it, something that could set the younger woman on edge in a way that the demons they'd faced could not.
Buffy had the suspicion it was something more on the psychological end of things making Emma jumpy now, and she thought back to a moment to her dream, to where she'd seen the child she was sure had been Emma—in a closet. Did Emma's current claustrophobia come from something in her childhood? From the feelings, the impressions, she'd gotten in the dream, Buffy had a suspicion it did, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask. If Emma wanted to talk, she would, the way she had the night before.
In part, Buffy felt like as the Slayer, what Emma had admitted to should horrify her. She had taken a human life, which was something Buffy had always ranked up there among the highest sins. But that had been at a different point in her life. True, she still didn't condone the taking of human life, especially innocent life, but she'd begun to see the world differently than she once had. In retrospect, she knew she should've killed Ben, human or not. As long as he had shared a body with Glory, he had been a threat not only to her family, but to the entire world. Allowing him to live had been foolish, and she had been relieved when Giles had admitted to her sometime later that he had done what she had not been able to do.
She hadn't jumped on the "yay for murder" train Faith had once seemed to be on, but Buffy could no longer say she placed the taking of human life completely in the "wrong under all circumstances" box either. It was never something she felt should be treated lightly, but she could see shades of gray. She'd felt the same way in her slaying recently, no longer able to tell herself that by dusting a vampire she wasn't killing something that even resembled a person.
The Council's old standpoint that vampires were no more than demons in human corpses had started to ring false to her years ago, and now it seemed to hold no truth at all. How could it after she'd gotten to know Spike? The man—complete with beating heart—she was with now was so much like the vampire she'd known before, albeit with a bit more of a conscience. If he'd been nothing more than a demon in a dead human body then, what was he now? Did a soul make you more of a person than your memories or personality? Buffy didn't think so, not anymore. Thinking it had made her job easier to do at one point, but she wasn't going to keep living in denial anymore. It was too tiring, too draining, and she'd rather accept the truth, no matter how hard it may be to face.
Maybe she should ask Spike when she was going to get her parade, trombones and all.
Buffy realized her mind had wandered off again and forced her concentration back to the moment. The last thing she needed was to have some demon jump out and make her a snack because she'd gone all philosophical Slayer. There'd be more time for thinking later, when the world wasn't ending yet again.
Dawn blinked her eyes open slowly, groaning quietly as she did. She felt like she'd been hit by a dump truck that had dropped bricks on her, too, for good measure. She frowned as she noticed she was moving even though her feet weren't on the ground, then looked up and realized she was being carried as well as who was doing the carrying. "Spike?"
The group stopped when Dawn spoke, turning towards her and Spike anxiously. "Hey, nibblet," Spike said softly. "Been wondering when you were going to wake up."
Dawn winced, her head pounding. "How long have I been out?"
"A few hours," Spike told her.
"Damn. And you've been carrying me the whole time? Your arms must be about to fall off."
Spike smirked. "It's been like carrying a feather pillow, I swear."
"Big liar," Dawn replied. She shifted in his arms, groaning again as she did. "What happened to me?"
"You don't remember?" Buffy asked from beside Spike.
"Not really," Dawn said. "I remember the monster snakes, and then…" Her eyes widened, a small gasp coming from her as she began to recall what had happened next. "I…I sent them away. Didn't I?"
"Something like that, I think," Buffy answered. "I wasn't entirely sure what happened, just that you started glowing green and chanting in a strange language, then bam! Big flash of light and no more snakes."
Dawn's brow wrinkled for a moment until she realized that was making her head hurt more, and she tried to relax. "It was weird. It was like I knew what I was doing, but not at the same time. But I think… I think I zapped them into another dimension."
"That is what it appeared to be," Aiden said, speaking up for the first time in hours. "Though that is normally something only a very high level sorcerer can achieve with such ease. It was very focused. More often than not, when someone without much experience tries to do what you did, something other than the intended object gets pulled in as well. But you not only left everything besides the snakes intact, you also managed to take away the snakes outside of the cavern that you could not see."
"So that's…not normal?" Dawn asked, frowning.
"Not for a novice, no," Aiden replied with a shake of his head. "The Key must be making you quite powerful."
"More powerful than I think even I realize," Dawn admitted. "And Aiden, do you by any chance have some tiny pain killers in that magical travel bag of yours? My head is not happy with me right now."
"No, but I am a low-level healer. I can't do anything too spectacular, but I can take away your pain." Aiden approached Dawn and Spike, sharing a look with the other man for a moment, as if to ask permission to touch the girl in his arms. Spike gave Aiden a nod, though he kept his grip tight on Dawn.
Closing his eyes, Aiden reached out and put his hand against Dawn's head. He murmured an incantation so softly Dawn could barely hear him, and she felt something pass through her body gently, like a wave. When Aiden pulled away, a slight wooziness remained, but the horrible aching was gone.
"Better?" Aiden asked her.
"Yes, much. Thank you," Dawn said as she pushed to get out of Spike's arms. He helped her to her feet, then started to rub his biceps. "Feather pillow, huh?" Dawn asked him with a smirk.
"You were light, I promise," Spike told her. "Just still not completely used to having circulation, is all."
Emma frowned, latching on to the last bit of Spike's response to Dawn. After a beat, she spoke. "Okay, I've tried to just forgot for a while about Spike's smelling Aiden on me and hearing the snakes before everyone else, but not used to having circulation? Plus, you're all super strong. Spike, what is up with you?"
"None of the other girls back at Slayer Central talked about it?" Spike asked.
"No," Emma replied, shaking her head. "All I ever heard them say where you were concerned was what a hottie you are and how it's so totally unfair that Buffy's got you all to herself."
"Hey! I was miss solo Slayer for like eight years. I earned having a hottie all to myself," Buffy replied, arms crossed over her chest.
"And all yours I am, kitten," Spike said, his arm going around Buffy's waist. He cleared his throat. "But about me. I used to be a vampire."
Emma's mouth fell open. "Huh? How can…what?"
"I used to be a vampire," Spike repeated. "Until a few months ago when I came down with a sudden case of being alive."
"Is that…normal?" Emma asked. "'Cause I know I haven't been a Slayer very long, but I've never heard of a vampire suddenly being alive again before."
"It's not normal. Spike's a big freak," Dawn said, throwing the bleached blond a teasing grin.
"Very funny, bit," Spike muttered in response.
"Spike's the only one it ever happened to," Buffy said. "We're still not sure exactly how, only that it was probably tied to this prophecy. Something about Shanshu."
"So you're him, then," Aiden said, turning his gaze on Spike. "You're the vampire who earned the restoration of his soul."
Spike looked at Aiden, a bit taken aback by not only the fact that Aiden had heard of him, but by the way he'd phrased the question. "Yeah, I'm him. What about it?"
"Nothing specific really," Aiden said with a shrug. "But when you've been around as long as I have, you hear about things, prophecies that come up several times throughout the ages. For as long as I can remember, there has been talk about a Champion who would emerge from darkness, a vampire with a soul. It was said that this vampire would be given a new life and in that life would accomplish great things at the side of his mate, a Champion in her own right."
"I'd heard the new life bit," Spike replied. "Didn't know the rest—though that had been my plan, so nice to hear the Powers are with me on that one."
Aiden spoke again. "I must admit, I hadn't ever put too much stock into those prophecies, despite their continual appearance. It becomes difficult at times to differentiate the prophecy from the myth. Many of the prophecies seemed disjointed, some speaking one way about the souled vampire, and some another. A few had postulated that there were to be in fact two vampires with souls, one cursed and continually tempted into darkness, and another who chose to have his soul restored and would succeed where the other failed, but I was never certain of the validity of that. The idea of even one vampire regaining its human soul seemed almost beyond the realm of possibility."
"There are two," Spike said. "Or were, I suppose, since he's still a vampire and I'm not. His soul was a curse. And he's also a total git."
"Well, then. I stand corrected," Aiden replied.
Spike turned towards Emma, appraising her mood for a moment. "Are you all right with this?" he asked her.
Emma shrugged. "You used to be a vampire and Dawn's a mystical Key. Weird, sure, but I can deal with it. You guys have treated me better than anyone ever has in my entire life, and I'm not going to get all freaked out just because you don't fit behind the normal label. I mean, hell, I was endowed with mystical powers so I can fight demons, so who am I to judge?"
Spike gave her a small nod. "I appreciate it."
"All right, so are the explanations and bonding moments over?" Buffy asked. "'Cause we've got an apocalypse to stop, and standing around chatting isn't going to keep the snakes away."
"I'm fine," Dawn said. "Whatever Aiden did helped, so we don't need to stand around on my account."
"All right. Let's get a move on then," Buffy said, falling back into Slayer mode.
Aiden started to walk again, leading the way through the darkened caves.
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