Title: The Thing That Should Not Be (Chapter Two)
Author: Luna
Feedback: Always appreciated!
Archive: Luna's Night Moves, Full Moon Romper Room, any one else please just ask first
Rating: PG-13, for the moment.  I, however, reserve the right to up the rating should the need arise!!!
Type: Crossover Buffy/WWE/AB
Pairings: None at the moment, though if that changes it will be noted.
Disclaimer: Laurell K. Hamilton and the Berkley Publishing Group do not authorize this author. All characters that you recognize belong to Laurell K. Hamilton except for the ones created by the people in this group. All characters that you recognize belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, and UPN.  Vince McMahon owns the WWE.  This is solely for entertainment purposes.
Summary: What if someone found another use for "The Key?"
Spoilers: Buffy: Post Season seven, though I did NOT watch it.  Please keep that in mind!! WWE: I'm going to be making this up as I go along so bear with me, though if you familiar with this the roster split is NOT in effect, at least I don't think it will be.  I'll let you know if that changes.  Anita Blake: Up to and possibly including CS.
Anything else: I'm using these characters as I see fit.  I'm not going to be going against the nature(s) of those involved.  At least I hope I'm not.  Any comments are welcome as long as they are constructive.  ^__^
Author's Notes:  I would like to take this time to tell everyone that this has NOT been beta'ed.  It has been running around my brain and it refuses to go away so I had to write it or go even crazier then I already am. 
Side Note: For this fic Dawn is 18 until further notice.  I may be upping the age, but to be on the safe side Dawn is of legal age.
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The trip to Los Angeles had been exhausting.  Not all flights were like that though.  The brunette thought it had more to do with the fact that she had to call Angel and the gang then the actual traveling.  Dawn wasn't sure how she was supposed to tell them about what was going on without betraying the fact that she was scared witless!
The young woman shouldered her bag and made her way down the isle of the plane.  She was grateful that she'd had the foresight to wait until everyone else had disembarked before trying to make her own way off.  It was much less trouble this way and it had certain benefits, such as not having to deal with the other wrestlers.  It wasn't that any of them made her feel left out or too young just that they didn't know what to make of her.
"You comin' shortcake," a gruff voice asked.
A slight frown marred Dawn's face before she shook her head.  She never should have told him about her recurring nightmare of turning into Strawberry Shortcake.  He'd never let her live it down.  Others might have found the big man frightening or even intimidating.  She didn't though; she'd spent too many years fighting things that went bump in the night to be even slightly unnerved by Mark, also known as the Undertaker.
"Yeah, but I need to make a phone call and a stop before we hit the arena."
The big man nodded.  He waved his hand in front of him and waited for her to lead the way out to the concourse.  Silence settled between the two.  Dawn hoped that he wasn't going to want to accompany her.  Taker worried that she was going to try and ditch him.
Unlike the other wrestlers they worked with, Mark didn't think of her as a child though there was that.  It was her eyes.  Her eyes said that she'd seen things that would send grown men running screaming into the night.  Hell, he'd seen some things in his years of traveling that *had* made him want to run scared.
They moved through the busy terminal, making their way to the car rental counters.  As the pair stood in line Dawn pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed the number she knew from memory.
"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless," said a cheerful voice.
"Yeah Cordy, is Angel up yet?"
"Dawnie!  Is that you," the former cheerleader asked.
"Yeah it is.  Please, I don't have a whole lot of time.  Can I please speak to Angel."
"Don't think you're getting out of this.  I wanna know what's going on too.  But hold on while I patch you through to him," Cordelia informed the youngest Summers girl.
Blue eyes rolled at the tone the other brunette had used.  Dawn knew that voice meant she was going to make good on her threat.  She didn't have long to contemplate how to get around the seer when the line was picked up.
"This is Angel."
"Thank God," Dawn cried in relief.
"Dawn, is that really you," the vampire asked in disbelief.
"Yes Angel it's me.  Listen I don't have a whole lot of time.  Do you think I could stay at your place while we're in town."
"You better make sure they have room for both of us," Mark growled from her elbow.
The blood froze in her veins.  This was exactly what she'd been hoping to avoid.  Shooting a glance at her fellow wrestler and taking in his pointed look sighed in defeat.
"Who was that," Angel demanded.  His sensitive hearing enabled him hear everything.  Immediately his hackles were up.  This was Buffy's little sister if anything happened to her while she was in this town his ex-girlfriend was going castrate him and that would be the *least* of his worries.
"Calm down.  It's one of my coworkers.  He's a good guy, Angel."  The brunette rolled her eyes once again.
"Fine.  Bring him.  I'll decide whether or not he gets to stay after I meet him."
"Over protective much," Dawn asked sarcastically
"You know me," Angel deadpanned.
She sighed.  "Okay."  As she was about to say her good bye she realized that she'd never gotten around to the whole reason that she'd called to begin with.  "I never told you but..."
"I already know, Dawn," the vampire interrupted.  "Well discuss it when you get here."
Dawn swallowed the lump of fear that lodged itself in her throat.  She nodded then remembered he couldn't see it.  "Okay we'll talk then," she said distractedly, as she lowered the phone from her ear.
"Dawn?  Dawn.  Dawn!"
The young woman shut the cell off.  Not noticing the strange look from the Undertaker.  He'd rented the car and took hold of her unresisting elbow and gently guided her to the luggage claim.  The sooner they got to wherever it was they were going the sooner he would get some answers out of her.
A feeling of dread made the girl's limbs feel weighed down.  As if she was walking through water and she fought the overwhelming urge to heave the meager contents of her stomach.  She let Mark lead her through the airport barely noticing the passing scenery.
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The blonde slayer gave her room one last look.  She thought she had everything that she was going to need.  She had her favorite stake, and a few weapons that wouldn't draw too much attention.  In any case if she didn't have something Angel would.
Buffy was drawn out of her packing as the phone rang.  'Oh God, please don't let it be more bad news,' she thought as she reached for the receiver.  "Hello?"
"Oh good, it's you Buffy," the redhead replied.
Even though she knew she couldn't see it the blonde arched a brow.  "And just who else would you expect to answer my phone?"
"No.  I thought I might get the machine," the witch explained.
"Oh," Buffy said deflatedly.  "Well what's the what?"
"Angel called," the little hacker worried her lower lip as she waited for the fallout.
The slayer felt her knees give way as she sank down on her bed.  "I knew it," she whispered.
The redhead felt a stab of fear at her friend's declaration.  Whatever was going Buffy already knew something about it.  It didn't bode well for what was coming.  "Buffy, please.  Talk to me."
The blonde gave herself a mental shake and focused on her best friend.  "Have you checked your mail this morning," she questioned.
"Not yet I hadn't."
"Do it now," the slayer advised.
"Okay," the witch said hesitantly.  She flipped open her laptop and clicked her mail icon.  It took her a moment to find the message from her friend.  She opened it and watched.  Her fear multiplying as the words finally registered in her brain.
Buffy had waited while Willow had watched the same trailer that she had the night before.  In her mind she replayed the conversation.  "What do you mean Angel called?  Why would Angel call you?"  As soon as the words left her mouth she could have kicked herself.  "I didn't mean it like that," clarified when her friend made an annoyed noise.
"Well it seems Cordelia had a vision.  He asked me to come out there and help them out with this one," the witch told her friend.
"What time's your flight?"
Willow checked her printout before answering.  "Uh, it looks like eleven."
"Then I guess I'll pick you up and take you to the airport."
"W-why would you do that," the witch asked nervously.  Angel hadn't said that Buffy couldn't come, but he hadn't said that she could either.
"Because I've already booked a flight out to L.A.  Dawn called me last night.  I told her I'd meet her at Angel's.  She should have already called him by now," the slayer didn't miss the tremor in her friend's voice and knew what had caused it.  "Did he tell you to keep me here," Buffy asked her own voice quivering.
"NO!  No," Willow knew that they had both moved on but at times like these it seemed like they'd never broken up in the first place.  Her small hand massaged her forehead as she tried to gather herself and answer her friend.  "It's just that I don't think Angel thought about what it would mean that Dawn was involved."
"Willow," the slayer began.  "I know that Angel and I don't have the best track record.  But this is something important to both of us.  She's my sister I'm not going to abandon her when she needs me the most."
"I'm not asking you to," the witch said.  She realized that if they were going to make their flights that they were going to get off the phone.  "Uh... Buffy could we talk about this on the way to the airport?"
The blonde realized that she hadn't yet called Giles to inform him of her plans.  "Yeah that would be fine.  I have one more call to make anyway."
"Haven't told Giles, huh?"
Buffy felt her face flame with guilt and embarrassment.  "That would be a definite no."  She rushed on before her friend could say anything.  "It's just that I wanted to just hurry up and be there for Dawnie that I forgot to tell him what I was doing."
"I'm not criticizing," she defended.  "I'd probably have been on the plane before the thought had even occurred to me."
The slayer highly doubted that but let her friend's words soothe her.  "See you in about an hour," she finally said.
"Okay, see ya."
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The raven-haired woman knocked on the door.  She waited rather impatiently for the woman on the other side to answer.  When no answer was forthcoming she knocked again, harder this time.
A small growl on the other side of the door let the woman know the occupant was coming.  The cop looked at the blonde a small playing over her features.  Maggie's hair was a tumbled mass and her eyes were still sleep heavy.  The look in them was far from friendly.  "If you wanted to sleep with me you could have come right in.  You know that."
Luna placed her hand on the door opening it a bit more as she stepped through.  "Yeah I know.  But sleeping is not really what I have in mind right now."  She held up the journal shaking it slightly.  "I've had another dream."
The blonde sighed.  She knew how her sister could be when there was something on her mind.  The dark haired woman was like a dog with a bone.  'Wrong species,' she thought as she began to giggle.  The leopard lifted an eyebrow at her.  The young doctor waved her further in the room, plucking the journal from her sister's hand as she passed.
The female enforcer went to the window and stared out blankly.  Her sister would let her know when she was ready to talk.  Maggie went over to one of the chairs in the room, curling her feet up under her as she opened the book.  Her eyes scanned the last three entries.
She set the book on the arm of the chair and steepled her fingers and tried to sift through what she'd read.  It was obvious that Luna was disconcerted about the dreams.  Who wouldn't be?  Maggie gave a mental shrug, this was getting her nowhere, and it wasn't helping her sister.
What did the dream mean?  The blonde knew that the leopard had her own ideas but would refuse to speak first for fear of influencing her decision.  Some times it really irked the doctor when her sister pulled this cop routine with her.  Well meaning though the younger woman may be, some times you just had to spit out what was bothering you.
Walking up behind the guard she pressed her cheek against the other woman's shoulder as her arms wrapped around her waist.  Luna laid her hands over her sister's and sighed.  "It's not a good sign," she said quietly.
"No, it's not," Maggie, agreed.
"See anything I missed?"
The doctor shook her head.  "It's a suicide mission."
"And if I don't go she *will* die," Luna said flatly.
"Better her then you," Maggie stated vehemently.  She instantly regretted her words as she felt her sister stiffen.  The leopard pulled away her own arms hugging her torso.  The uncertainty in the hazel eyes frightened the young blonde.  "Luna, c'mon you can't be serious about this.  You've seen it.  If you go you might not come back."
The dark haired young woman gave a one-shoulder shrug.  "It always a possibility."  She sighed harshly.  "Maggie, every time I step out that door there is a possibility that I won't come back through it.  What makes this different?"
"You've already decided to go," Maggie accused.  Again with that one armed shrug.  "Then why did you bother to come here?  You expect me to condone this," she asked as she advanced on the other woman.
Luna shook her head, her dark hair falling around her face.  "No, I was hoping that you'd see a loophole.  See something that I missed." She turned her hazel gaze back out the window.  Part of her was terrified that part of her wanted nothing more then to keep her ass right here in this house.  The other part that part knew that if she stayed and Dawn died she'd feel guilty for the rest of her life.  It was a lose-lose situation.
Maggie saw the way her sister's face was set.  It scared her to think that she might never again see her.  The blonde stormed over to the chair and snatched up the journal hurling at the other woman.  The leopard caught it reflexively.  When she turned her hazel eyes to the doctor her stormy blue had started bleeding to silver.  She was angry and Luna didn't blame her one damn bit.  The doctor's face took on a hard determined look. Quietly but firmly she enunciated each cold word, offering no compromise, "You aren't here to discuss this so get out!"
Of all the things that the leopard had expected this was not one of them.  The mask of indifference fell over the dark haired young woman's features.  She straightened her shoulders and left the room without looking back.  She couldn't, if she did she knew that her resolve would fail her and she would promise her sister anything to make the sorrow and despair leave her eyes.
The house was quiet and Luna sought the solitude of the entertainment room.  It was the darkest room in the house and right now she had things to do.  Things to take care of before she could leave.  She gathered all the paperwork that was going to need her signatures.  The leopard contented herself with the fact that at least it couldn't get any worse.
As if to prove her wrong someone pounded on the front door.  She grabbed the Browning and made her way out toward the door.  The raven-haired woman lowered her shields and sent out feelers.  Luna cussed as she dropped the gun to her side.  In three quick strides she crossed to the door.  Her face was set as she opened it.  "What do you want Noah!"
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