I stare down at it, feeling uncomfortable at the energy coming off it.
I guess that's a kinda fitting way to think about it. Since we're literally talking about going into hell to save ourselves. Which is a weird feeling for me. I spent years trying to keep this thing closed. I have so many injuries, mental and physical, because of what I had to do to save the world. Not to mention dying more than once. And now here I am, working on a plan to open it up.
It goes against everything I've ever thought or felt about what I've done for basically an entire decade. But if this Seed of Wonder thing really is down there and it's the only way to stop Dawn, then I guess it's the only way. Being able to do it though is the big problem. Dawn was the one to close the hellmouth in the first place, at least in this timeline. She might have done that in a way that means she's the only one that can open it again.
Which is going to make it hard to actually open it. If we can't find a way to do it ourselves we'll need to get Dawn to do it, and there's no way that doesn't make Dawn suspicious. Even if we came up with some fake reason why she needed to open it again, she probably wouldn't. And that means we're into a showdown scenario like we were before she got out and changed our whole existence. That didn't exactly end well for us.
Faith comes up next to me and starts looking into it.
"Remember the last time we were here?"
I glance over at her with her question.
"Which time? It happened twice remember?"
"The real last time. The one that wasn't made up by Dawn to make herself the hero of her own little story."
Is that what she thinks?
"You think Dawn made herself the hero of this story?"
She gives me this curious look.
"You don't? I mean, my whole fake life that she created revolved around her. All I could really think about was what she wanted and how I could give it to her. And any time I tried to think for myself? She would change me so that I'd focus on her again. Plus, she's the one who closed the hellmouth. It's all about her."
I guess I can see her point.
"Well, when you put it like that, I guess I felt a little like a secondary character in my own life. I had this big plan to close the hellmouth, she came up with a better one. She made it so that everything in my life which gave me any kind of purpose disappeared. She changed Angel so that he and I could be together, and made sure Spike went away without really arguing. She made me just... a girl. A girl without a reason to do anything or help anyone. I felt... useless."
"Just the way Dawn always wanted you to be."
She's right. Dawn always thought that there was nothing special about me. So she made me into that type of person.
"She really has crossed a line hasn't she?"
She takes a deep breath.
"I'm not sure we can save her."
I hate to think it, but she's probably right.
"The question is... if we do go there, are we living this way? Or do we somehow go back to the life we had?"
"I guess we'll find out."
Just then, Willow comes in with a knife for us.
"I think we're ready."
She hands me the knife and I look down at it.
Here we go I guess. We're going to have to hope that this works.
After a few moments, I take the knife in one hand, holding out my hand over the Seal of Danzalthar. Then I put the blade against my palm, slicing into it and letting the blood flow onto the seal. I pass the knife to Faith who does the same to her own palm. She hands the knife to Willow who holds the knife out over the seal, letting the combination of our slayer blood spill onto it.
We wait for something to happen... but nothing does.
Please tell me that this is just some kind of delay.
Eventually, I look over at Faith and Willow who are looking back.
They look about as disappointed as I feel.
Pulling my hand back, they do the same.
"I guess we got our answer, right?"
It takes them a second to answer.
"Guess so."
"Then what do we do now?"
I look at Willow at her question, before turning to Faith.
"There's really only one thing we can do."
I just hope that we survive it.
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