Author's Note: Oops! I think I forgot to update, yesterday. And nearly did so again, today! Thanks to Difficat, by the way, who commented with a very lovely review about this story, which made me remember that I hadn't updated it, yet!
In my defense, I've been getting really into writing this story that comes in the next Season, which I'm really excited about because it features Jenny (hurray! I love Jenny, she is so wonderful in this) and also Seo gets to go into Glory's universe and we learn a whole bunch more about what Glory was like as a Hell Goddess.
It's been super fun thinking up ways in which her universe differs so greatly from ours. In particular, picking up on some of her little comments here and there, and applying them. Also, the Doctor's. He mentions, in the Seventh Segment, that he's been to Glory's universe (you'll see him in my story!), and mentions things like the flowers. So that made me realize he must have been with Peri, since she's a botonist! And... yeah. The cup of tea is in there, too.
So, yeah. I won't spoil it for you. But I kind of love Full-Blown-Goddess Glory. She's pretty cool.
Anyways.
Better get back to that.
Enjoy!
The three runaways had been secured, with Dawn, in a heavily guarded prison cell. With men pointing muskets in at them, ready to fire at any moment.
Seo stood in her own prison cell, opposite theirs. Hands on the bars. Eyes fixed on her friends.
She didn't move. Or speak.
As the last remaining slave patroller, and a group of Confederate soldiers explained to Colonel Benjamin Alston exactly what they'd learned about her, and what they'd seen.
"We checked, too," said the slave patroller. "She ain't human. Like they said." He looked smug. "Two hearts."
"A weapon?" said Colonel Alston. "A created person, constructed same way you'd construct a cannon?" He examined Seo, carefully. "How's that even possible?"
Seo met his eyes with her own. "Magic."
The humans in the room all tried to suppress their laughter.
Colonel Alston wasn't laughing. He was taking in everything that Seo was, everything he'd just heard, with a steadfast seriousness.
"I'm not a weapon created by your enemies," Seo told him. "I've got nothing to do with this war. I'm—"
"From the future," Colonel Alston dismissed. "A time traveler. We've heard." He shook his head. "Can scarcely believe it, myself. But it's the only way it all makes sense. A weapon created by those in the future, to win some future battle."
He paced the room, slowly, in front of her. Absorbing all of this.
"Created by humans," said Colonel Alston. "To serve humans. Strong, powerful, smart. Inhuman, but enslaved to humanity." He laughed. "Sounds like you ain't just a product of future humanity. You're a product of ours. The Confederacy, in its own future."
"What's a… 'Confederacy'?" said Seo.
"Our country," said Colonel Alston. "This country. The one we're fighting this war of independence to create, which…"
"War of independence?" said Seo, suddenly working it out. "Ah. I see." She leaned in, her voice growing that much lower. "Thing is... I am from the future, Colonel Alston. From after this war's already over. And I've never heard of any country calling itself 'the Confederacy'."
Every single person in the room went deathly silent.
"And I'm not sad about that, either," Seo continued. "Know why?" She glanced over at her friends. "Because Joshua, over there, saved all your lives. Saved the world. And you still see him as something to be bought and sold."
"He ain't smart enough ta save the world," said the slave patroller. "Just a pain-in-the-ass slave. Can't even read nor write."
Joshua gave them a glare that could melt steel. But chose to save his words for when they'd actually make a difference.
"Really?" said Seo. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "He worked out I wasn't human. Worked out who made me. Worked out what would make those Virox go running." She quirked an eyebrow at her captors. "None of the rest of you managed to work out any of that before he told you."
"You've made your point," said Colonel Alston. He clasped his hands behind his back, eyes fixed firmly on Seo. "It's not him I'm interested in. It's you."
Seo didn't answer.
"They say you can wipe out whole worlds," said Colonel Alston. "That monsters whose guns make folk vanish flee from you in terror." He took a step forwards. "Seems to me… if you can do that… wipin' out the Union army'd be nothin' to you."
"Sorry," said Seo, shaking her head. "I don't think so."
Colonel Alston surveyed Seo, interestedly. "Don't you?"
Dawn jumped to her feet. "Geeze, what the hell is wrong with you people?" she shouted. "Seo's not a robot or anything. She's not going to do something just because you say. If you're expecting her to change history and make you win this war, she won't do it."
Colonel Alston looked between Seo and Dawn.
"She's right," said Seo. "I won't."
Colonel Alston didn't seem concerned. "Kill one of the slaves," he commanded. Glancing over. "The smart one. She likes him."
The echo of shouts and protests rung out through the prison, and Dawn just barely managed to push Joshua out of the way of the shot in time. She turned on the musket-bearing men, fury in her eyes.
"He saved the world, you jerk!" Dawn shouted.
The man was about to shoot again, but was stayed by a command from Colonel Alston. Who was watching Seo fume inside her cell.
"These three," explained Colonel Alston, "are runaway slaves. They should be shot for their crime. Or punished severely. But I've shown leniency. Pending your cooperation, of course." He stared Seo right in the eye. "So. You gonna do what we say?"
"Oh, my God," Dawn kept muttering, pacing her cell, hands running through her hair. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
The others all looked on at her, not sure what to say.
"I'm, like, the anti-Martin-Luther-King," said Dawn. "I mean, here I am, trying to be all superhero! And I wind up being the person who changes history so slavery never ends."
"The Confederates ain't won, yet, Miss Dawn," said Solomon.
Dawn wasn't placated. "We've just given them Seo," she said. "Trust me. Either the South's gonna win this thing, or Seo's going to flip out and destroy the whole Confederate army in about thirty seconds. In 1861." She shook her head. "And if you guys haven't heard of the whole emancipation proclamation thingy… that means it hasn't gotten passed, yet. And if it's not passed when the Civil War ends, then…"
No end to slavery.
No civil rights movement in the 60's.
And serious screwed-uppedness for basically all of history.
"It don' make sense," Mary insisted. "That girl bein' a weapon. Bein' made, same way you'd make a steam engine or sew a dress."
"Uh, yeah, there are a lot of things about Seo that don't make sense," Dawn agreed. "All I know is what the sales brochure says." Her eyes stared off into the distance. Reciting what she'd heard them read out, on Varoxia 7. The words that had been seared into her mind, too deep to let go. "Biological engineered super weapon and genocide machine. Can also travel through time. Smart. Strong. Resourceful. Guaranteed to wipe out any and all adversaries of your choice in a single go."
"You really think she'd do it?" asked Joshua. "Kill entire species?"
Dawn sighed. "I dunno. Maybe?" She slumped down on the bench. "I haven't really been traveling with her that long or anything. But Buffy — her mom — gave me warnings." She shrugged. "And if I'm threatened to make her cooperate... I mean, Seo gets pretty protective of her family."
Joshua laughed, shook his head. "Nah," he decided. "I don' buy it."
"You don't buy it?" Dawn shouted. Feeling something rise in her throat. "Don't buy what? That she loves her family? That she's a real person? That she's just as good as any normal human being, even though…?!"
"Don' buy that she's a machine designed to kill," said Joshua. He shrugged. "Seen killers. Even them that thinks shootin' slaves in the head ain't really murder. She ain't like that." He looked over at Dawn. "Ain't got killer's eyes."
Dawn didn't know what to say to this.
"She's got a soul, right?" Mary chimed in.
Dawn nodded.
"Then it don' matter who made 'er," Mary decided. "Could be the devil 'imself created 'er, and it won't make one lick 'o difference. She still has the chance ta choose right or wrong."
Dawn was actually kind of floored. These guys were from the 19th century, totally uneducated, and had just met an alien who was created to be a Hell-Goddess-Destroying-Super-Weapon — and they were actually pretty cool with it.
"You're surprised?" Solomon asked Dawn.
"Um… no, I mean, yeah, I mean…" Dawn tried to collect her thoughts. "Sorry. This has been a really long day. You guys have no idea…" She stopped short. "Uh, actually, scratch that. You guys probably have a lot more idea than me, huh?"
They all nodded.
Dawn slumped down against the far wall. "The thing is… Seo is scary," she admitted. "I mean, she's totally sweet and nice, too. Don't get me wrong! But she scared the hell out of both the Powers that Be and the First Evil. We're talking serious power." She sighed. "There's a reason those Virox were terrified of her."
"Them monsters wasn't scared o' her," Joshua corrected. "They was scared o' us." He crossed his arms. "They thought we was her masters."
Damn, this guy was smart.
"She scared 'em off," said Solomon. "Made 'em run."
Joshua thought this over. Then shook his head. "Nah," he decided. "They wasn't runnin' off scared. I reckon they was runnin' off to get their master."
Dawn's eyes widened, as she realized… Joshua was right.
The Virox wouldn't have chased Seo across all those light years just to let her scare them off, now, this easily! If she'd been sold to the Emperor…
Then the Virox were going back to get the Emperor.
And his armies.
Dawn buried her face in her hands. "So I haven't just stopped the emancipation proclamation," she said. "I've enslaved the entire human race to the Virox Emperor!"
Not even a week spent traveling through time, and she'd already managed to end the world in the 19th century.
Way to go, Dawn.
