[video : Private to Riza Hawkeye]
[forgescreen flicks on at a disconcerting angle. A head free-floating in a corner, backlit so it's basically in silhouette. As the viewscreen exposure adjusts itself, it proves to be Spike. The absolutely hideous ceiling lighting suggests a public institution. He changes posture: the forge had been in his hands while his elbows rested on his knees, pointed upward. Now he sits straight and reveals, indeed, the Clinic; he's next to somebody's bed. (Reid's, who's presumably asleep or drugged out…)]
Riza. You said… to tell you… that you'd be the hub.
I didn't find Dawn. But I know what happened to her.
I'm gonna tell you something I probably shouldn't. Unless she's told you already, in which case you know, and it doesn't matter. But it's the sort of thing she should really decide whether or not to tell herself… but that's moot right now.
[especially since he probably ended up unintentionally broadcasting it over Reid's forge, but maybe it had switched off by then…]
Then you can tell everyone else who's worried about her whatever you want. Whatever you think is best. You know who to trust-who Dawn trusted-better than me.
Dawn was human. But she wasn't born that way. She was made it. There were these monks who had this thing they called the Key. It was this sort of green blobby energy thing that opened a portal between dimensions. There was a psychobitch god who wanted to use it to destroy the world, so they had to hide it from her. So they chose a warrior on my world-the Slayer-to be the Key's protector… but they were devious fucking bastards and decided not to tell her about it first, just… made sure she'd want to protect it. So they made a human being out of it. They made it into Dawn, and sent her to the Slayer as a kid sister.
I'm not sure Dawn remembers this bit. Her and me… we're from different places in the story. But the god ended up getting Dawny in the end and trying to use her to open this timewarp wormhole rift thing in the sky. The Slayer managed to close it, and Dawny was saved. She's just a normal girl now. …She was after that.
Hard thing to get over, though. She was always scared of having been the key, and who might want to… use her for it.
So I was tracking her scent, but it was weird, kind of… scattered, and found this Spencer Reid guy… He was with her when she… tried to cast a spell to… sod if I know. Learn something about herself. Get some kind of answer about… whether she was the key anymore or not.
Instead… I think she turned herself back into it.
[his voice has been perfectly flat through all this]
You can go there yourself. [in a rare feat of forge mastery, sends her the location] See for yourself.
There was a magic book, what she must have been getting the spell out of. I took that, seemed stupid to leave it lying around. But I left everything else as it was. …Her shoes are there.
…So yeah. I know she trusted you, and you took care of her, and you deserve to know, if you didn't already, which you might. I don't fancy telling everyone else. But if you think there's anyone else needs to know… do what you like.
Riza. You said… to tell you… that you'd be the hub.
I didn't find Dawn. But I know what happened to her.
I'm gonna tell you something I probably shouldn't. Unless she's told you already, in which case you know, and it doesn't matter. But it's the sort of thing she should really decide whether or not to tell herself… but that's moot right now.
[especially since he probably ended up unintentionally broadcasting it over Reid's forge, but maybe it had switched off by then…]
Then you can tell everyone else who's worried about her whatever you want. Whatever you think is best. You know who to trust-who Dawn trusted-better than me.
Dawn was human. But she wasn't born that way. She was made it. There were these monks who had this thing they called the Key. It was this sort of green blobby energy thing that opened a portal between dimensions. There was a psychobitch god who wanted to use it to destroy the world, so they had to hide it from her. So they chose a warrior on my world-the Slayer-to be the Key's protector… but they were devious fucking bastards and decided not to tell her about it first, just… made sure she'd want to protect it. So they made a human being out of it. They made it into Dawn, and sent her to the Slayer as a kid sister.
I'm not sure Dawn remembers this bit. Her and me… we're from different places in the story. But the god ended up getting Dawny in the end and trying to use her to open this timewarp wormhole rift thing in the sky. The Slayer managed to close it, and Dawny was saved. She's just a normal girl now. …She was after that.
Hard thing to get over, though. She was always scared of having been the key, and who might want to… use her for it.
So I was tracking her scent, but it was weird, kind of… scattered, and found this Spencer Reid guy… He was with her when she… tried to cast a spell to… sod if I know. Learn something about herself. Get some kind of answer about… whether she was the key anymore or not.
Instead… I think she turned herself back into it.
[his voice has been perfectly flat through all this]
You can go there yourself. [in a rare feat of forge mastery, sends her the location] See for yourself.
There was a magic book, what she must have been getting the spell out of. I took that, seemed stupid to leave it lying around. But I left everything else as it was. …Her shoes are there.
…So yeah. I know she trusted you, and you took care of her, and you deserve to know, if you didn't already, which you might. I don't fancy telling everyone else. But if you think there's anyone else needs to know… do what you like.