Synopsis of Blood Ties
Written by TK
The magic shop
Buffy is worried about Glory and thinks that maybe now is not the best time to have a birthday party. Willow thinks a big splashy twentieth birthday party is just what Buffy needs. They talk about how to fight Glory. Giles mentions that she's not as strong as she usually is when she's in her human form, and she needs to suck human brains to remain sane, leaving lots of insane people in her wake. Everyone else starts asking about the Key, and thinking that maybe they should make sure that it's safe from Glory. Buffy admits that she and Giles know where it is. Xander and Willow, in particular, are hurt that this knowledge was kept from them. Buffy realizes that if everyone is going to be risking their lives to protect the Key, they deserve to know what it is, so she tells them about Dawn.
Some field
The Knights of Byzantium are standing around chanting how they have to get rid of the key. Glory's lackey demons, led by her confidant Jinx, attack them and get their asses kicked by the Knights. However, Glory comes in at the last minutes, saves Jinx's life, and destroys the Knights herself.
Magic shop
Outside the shop, Willow and Tara are doing an alarm spell, which will immediately alert them if Glory comes near the shop. Dawn comes by after school and asks if she can help, but Willow and Tara make some excuse. Dawn goes inside and Anya and Xander act strange about her. Dawn ends up telling Buffy about how she has to do an assignment for school: write a letter to herself ten years from now. Dawn and Buffy end up having a sisterly bicker.
Glory's hotel room
Glory has one of the knights and she's torturing him to find out where the key is. He won't tell her (doesn't know?) so she sucks his brain instead.
Buffy's house
It's Buffy's birthday party and she's opening presents. She gets a present from Dawn which is a picture of them together last time they went to visit their father. Everyone gets all mushy and weird about it, and Dawn thinks it's strange because it's obvious she was just too cheap to get Buffy a real present. As the party progresses, Dawn starts to notice more and more that people are acting strange around her and that everyone always stops talking about whatever they were talking about when she walks into the room. Dawn stomps off to bed after yelling at everyone that they're being weird. Then she sneaks out of the house and runs into Spike lurking in the back yard with a beat-up box of chocolate for Buffy. She convinces Spike to come with her to break into the Magic Shop.
Magic shop
Spike picks the lock and Dawn finds Giles's Watcher's diary. She reads about the Monks of the order of Jazon who protect the key. The key can only be seen outside reality. Spike explains that that would be like crazy people, and Dawn remembers all the crazy people who have come up to her and said strange things recently like she's not there and they know what she is. Dawn reads how the key can be identified by serpents and canines, and remembers the huge serpent monster that came in, stared at her, and then ran away. Spike reads how the monks could transform reality, and how they turned the key into a sister for the slayer so that the slayer would protect it. Spike looks at Dawn.
Buffy's house
Buffy and Willow are talking about how Buffy didn't get anything from Riley, not even a card, when Dawn walks in holding a knife and bleeding. Dawn wonders aloud if this is really blood. Dawn wonders what she is. Everyone quickly figures out that she knows she's the key.
Later at Buffy's house
Everyone leaves. Buffy and her mom sit down with Dawn and try to comfort her and answer questions as best they can. She finally orders them both out of her room.
Magic shop
The next day, Giles and Buffy figure out that Spike must have helped Dawn break in.
Spike's tomb
Buffy yells and Spike and smacks him around a little. Spike insists that he was just along for the ride last night and was just there to make sure beasties didn't get little Dawn when she was out and about in the middle of the night. Spike says that Buffy should have been more honest with Dawn from the beginning and shouldn't blame him.
Buffy's house
Joyce tries to get Dawn to go to school. Dawn yells that Joyce can't tell her what to do because she's not really her mother. She goes to school anyway just to get out of the house.
Hospital, mental illness ward
Ben comes into a room of insane people with their daily pills. He spots a Knight of Byzantium in one of the beds (he's hard to miss with the big tattoo on his forehead). Jinx comes out of the shadows and tells Ben that yes, the Knights are here, not too many yet, but there are always more to follow. Jinx says that Glory has been very understanding of Ben not cooperating so far, but now it's time for Ben to fall in line. Ben says to save the threats, they all know that Glory can't lay a finger on him.
Buffy's house
Dawn is in her room looking through her old diaries. Buffy and Joyce are talking downstairs about how best to help her. Dawn overhears part of their conversation that misleads her into thinking that they don't feel like she's part of the family. She starts tearing apart her room and destroys her old diaries. When Buffy and Joyce hear the spell alarm go off, they run upstairs thinking Glory might be here. Instead, they find Dawn's room with a trash can full of burning diaries in it. The window is open and Dawn is gone.
Magic shop
Buffy and the gang decide to fan out across town to try to find Dawn.
Playground
Dawn is looking at the swings, remembering Buffy pushing her when she was little.
Back alley
Xander and Giles are poking around trying find Dawn. Xander says it's weird to think that all his memories of Dawn are false. Xander thinks it kinda cool that an energy mass thousands of years old has a crush on him.
Playground
Buffy admits to Spike that he's right, she should have told Dawn the truth. Spike tries his best to comfort Buffy and tells her she'll find Dawn just fine.
Hospital, mental ward
Dawn wanders in and tries to get the crazy people to tell her what she is. The Knight of Byzantium that is there tells her she is the Key. She tries to get more out of him, but he just mutters thank you and then says she should be destroyed. She runs out of the room in horror and runs into Ben.
Hospital, locker room
Ben gets them some hot chocolate and asks if Dawn's mom is okay. Dawn says her mom is fine. Ben wonders if he should call Dawn's sister. Dawn says she doesn't have a sister. Ben assures her that she knows what it's like to fight with a sister, he has a sister he doesn't always like either. Dawn mutters that he doesn't understand, she didn't fight with Buffy, she's just not real, she's something Glory is looking for. Ben immediately realizes that Dawn is the key and tells her to run, because Glory will know and Glory will be here soon. Dawn doesn't understand, and is amazed that Ben knows what she's talking about. Ben again tells her to hurry up and run, Glory is on her way, he can feel her. Oh no! It's too late. Ben turns into Glory. Glory grabs Dawn and says that she looks familiar. Glory goes to change out of Ben's scrubs and into her customary red silk dress that happens to be in Ben's locker. Dawn, terrified, mutters that she's Ben. She says it's not that simple. Dawn starts to run, but, with her back turned, Glory warns her not to do that because she could snap off her feet before she got to the door. Glory comes over and asks Dawn what she was talking about with Ben. Dawn realizes that Glory doesn't know that she's the key. A security guard comes in and tells Glory that this room is for hospital personnel only. Glory snaps his neck and takes Dawn somewhere where they can chat without being disturbed.
Cemetary
The gang reconvenes. No one found Dawn. Buffy says they should check the hospital in case something happened to her, even if that something wasn't Glory.
Hospital
Glory and Dawn are in an X-ray viewing/lab room. Glory asks Dawn where the Key is. Dawn says she doesn't know and asks what it looks like. Glory says last she saw it, it was green swirly light thing, but it could be anything now. Dawn tells Glory to tell her more about the key so she'll know if she's seen it or not.
In the hallway, Buffy tells the gang that Dawn wasn't brought in. They overhear hospital personnel talking about security guard who had is head nearly twisted off his body. Buffy knows Glory is around here somewhere.
Glory explains to Dawn that the Key's been around for almost as long as Glory, basically since the beginning of time. It's evil... well, not really, it depends on your point of view. Dawn asks what it opens. Glory realizes that Dawn is just pumping her for information and doesn't know squat about the Key. She decides to suck Dawn's brain instead. Buffy busts in with her pals and tells Glory to get away from her sister. Buffy and Glory go at it. Spike tries to help but gets knocked in a corner. Giles tries to shoot her with a crossbow, but the arrow just bounces off her. Xander tries to help with a crowbar, but gets thrown on top of Giles. Glory throws the crowbar at Dawn and Buffy jumps in its path. Willow and Tara cast a spell, and with a flick of Willow's hand, Glory disappears. Willow did a teleportation spell, and it took a lot out of her, because she falls to the ground with a bloody nose. Willow isn't sure where she teleported Glory to, but at least she's away.
High above Sunnydale
Glory materializes in the sky high above Sunnydale. She has time to be depressed about her situation before she starts to fall out of the sky like a shooting star.
Hospital
Buffy asks Dawn if she's okay. Dawn asks why Buffy cares. Buffy says because Dawn is her sister. Dawn says she isn't her sister. Buffy convinces her that no matter how she came to be, she is her sister and always will be. They share a hug and Dawn admits how scared she is. Dawn starts to mention Ben, and then thinks that maybe Ben left before Glory got there... she's not sure. Buffy says they'll thank Ben later for his help.
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