"But Buffyyyy!" Dawn was whining as she walked a little behind her older sister down the halls of Slayer HQ, "I'm telling you, I think I know how to stop this thing!"
Buffy stopped and swivvled on her heel to stare Dawn down. Or, up as she was quite taller than her. "Yeah? what, we just throw paint on him and watch as he dissolves screaching, 'oh my beautiful wickedness!'? I don't think so!" the blonde turned and began to walk again.
"Well, not exactly what I pictured..." Dawn shrugged, scurrying to catch up, "But don't you think these incidents were connected? That guy Will and Kenn found, he knocked over some paint and it ran away! Me, I shot that stupid gun at it and it turned tail and ran like the scardy-cat that it is!"
"So it doesn't like paint, not exactly fool-proof evidence. And what if we do throw paint on it and it just gets this big rash. Now we have angry monster on our hands and one of us gets gutted."
"Ew, you're so gross!" The annoyed teen ejaculated, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "Why can't you, just for once, take my side?"
Buffy sighed the sigh of one whose burden seems to get heavier and heavier each day and said wearily, "Because," she began, putting alot of emphasis behind the word, "I am the Head Slayer, the Chosen First, First Protector from all evil, and also big sis. It's my job to not take your side and make everyone stay on mine. Just the way the world works."
Dawn made a 'tch' sound and threw her hands up in the air, "Fine, I'll just go back to my research!" she crossed her arms, "And when I find out what that demon is and all it's weaknessess before you do I'm gonna laugh!"
"Whatever," Buffy said non-committally and walked on, leaving her younger sibling behind as she turned the corner and headed into Giles's office.
"I think it's paint." she stated, closing the door behind her, as the startled watcher looked up from the book he was pouring over.
"I beg you pardon?" He asked, looking confused and slightly ruffled at his slayers' sudden appearance.
"Paint. The demon's weakness is paint." Buffy stated again, as though this was the most easiest thing in the world and then he should have figured that out already.
Giles removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose before replacing them, "Er, well, Buffy... What makes you think that?"
"Why else would it run away when the witness Will and Kenn found knocked over an open can of paint? And why would it turn tail and run when Dawn shot it in the chest with a few measly paintballs?"
"Well, it does seem a rather strange coincidence... But-"
"Oh, c'mon Giles, There are dancing demons! Surely there are demons that are allergic to paint!"
"Very well," the watcher sighed, "I'll look into it..."
Dawn sat in the HQ's library, flipping through demonology books and occasionally pausing to take a few notes here and there on a pink legal pad. Willow entered with her laptop, spotting Dawn and making her way towards the heavily immersed teen.
"Heya Dawnie, here's my laptop like you wanted!" she smiled, in high spirits.
"Thanks Willow, you can stay and help if you want." Dawn said, never looking up from her book.
"Naw, that's okay, just have my baby back to me before the day's over. And no more Justin Timberlake is to be found on it, okay? Or I might have to get nasty!" She threatened, wiggling her fingers
"No, thanks," Dawn chuckled, finally looking up, "I'd much rather not be a fuzzy hampster for the rest of my life. I'm sure they live happy and content lives but it would be nice to stay me!"
Willow's grin grew wider, "So, whatcha workin' on that's so important?" she asked curiously
"Just gonna prove Buffy wrong and crush her pride beneath my feet." The teenager said nonchalantly
"Oh, so, really important stuff!" Willow eyes widened in mock amazment, and then she giggled, "Well, I'll letcha get back to your pride-crushing research!" and the grinning witch strolled out of the library.
Dawn stayed in the library for most of the afternoon, googling demons and looking them up in the many demonology books.
Xander glanced into the library from the open doors as he was passing and saw the Dawnster groan and pound her head against her pink legal pad.
"Hey kiddo, what're you up to?" he asked, stepping into the library.
Dawn looked up from her notes and gave Xander a small but tired smile, "Nothing really, and when I say nothing I mean it! I can't find anything on the thing that attacked me last night!"
"Research got ya down, huh?" the carpenter asked with a knowing smile, he reminesced "Oh the nights I remember spending in the highschool library looking up the next big bad!"
"Yeah, I could really use some help." the remark was pointed, but Xander chose to keep smiling as if he hadn't heard anything
"Yaknow what helps?" he asked, "Pizza! Gets ya into research mode, and it's good food!"
"Yeah, but how will I eat a whole pizza without help?" she asked, grinning at him and willing him to get her message
"Well, you can always save the leftovers for me!"
Dawn sighed, waving her hand, "Whatever, I'm gonna keep looking, you can order the pizza. I'll be here." And she returned to her work as Xander shrugged and went off to get the pizza. Dawn decided she would try the internet one more time and then she would call it a day. She clicked and entered the search page, typing in, 'Demons' and 'Paint'.
"Pleeeeaaase work!" she begged the screen as the results loaded. Up popped a picture of the red creature, "Eureka!" Dawn whooped, pumping her fist in the air before quickly hooking the laptop to Willows portable printer and printing off the results.
"Buffy is so gonna wish she had taken my side this time!"
"Guys, guys!" Dawn shouted as she burst into Giles's office. Everyone was standing around Giles's desk where Willow sat at the computer. All eyes fixed on the teen as soon as she made her entrance and Dawn blushed a bit at the sudden attention.
"Yes, Dawn?" Giles prompted
"I found our demon!" She said exitedly, waving her research pages in the air, "It's-"
"Beast le Rojo" Willow cut in, eyes now riveted to the screen, "Or, the Red Beast, that's what the Mexicans called it, but it was innitially called the Angel of Death by the Hebrews which is why they painted thier door-frames at passover, 'cause it's deathly allergic to paint."
Dawns face visibly fell, "You guys... found it too..." she observed glumly, tossing her prited pages on the desk, "So much for pride-crushing research."
Willow continued as though Dawn hadn't spoken, "It's corporeal form is the one we saw attacking Dawn, but it also has an Ethereal form so that it can, yaknow, transport itself without really being seen."
"But I was right you know!" Dawn pipped up and everyone turned to look at her again, "With the demon being allergic to paint that is..."
"So whaddya say we do?" Kennedy asked, looking to Giles
"Easy," Faith began before Giles could get a word in edgewise, "We load down with Paintball gear and have this sucker pushin' up daisies in no time!"
"I'm afraid, it'll be a bit harder than that, Faith." Giles said indignantly, "You have to find it first, and then you have to make sure it doesn't escape into the ether again."
"Nothin' Red can't handle," Faith shrugged, "she can work her mojo and make sure that row-hoe guy can't get back in that stuff!"
"It's not that simple!" Willow chimed in, "I'd need an anchor, an' herbs, an' a whole buncha' cerimonial stuff! It's hard to close the whole entire ether, it covers the whole world. And if I close it while someone's transporting they could get stuck in there forever!"
Now Dawn's face brightened and she spoke up again, once more they all turned to listen, "Oh, but you don't have to close the entire ether! Just do that fancy enchantment I saw in the book I was looking through, and it was totally by accident, but anyway, cast it and it'll close the ether around certain people. Some witches used it so that ethereal intruders couldn't spy on them!"
Everyone looked thoroughly shocked at this, "What? I can't know things that you don't?" Dawn asked.
"Well, that's the best plan we got then. Will, can you do that?" Buffy asked, looking at her friend
"Yeah, but I still need an anchor."
"I think only someone who has had any experience could be an anchor." Giles said, kneading his forehead
"Well then you can do it!" Buffy said brightly, "Wow, that's settled, Faith, Kenn and I will gear up!"
"Right, let's go!" Kennedy said, making for the door, as did the others. All failing to notice Dawn's sour expression.
Four red candles were placed strategicly around a chalked in circle, Willow sat crosslegged inside the circle, breathing deeply as she braced herself for the spell she was about to do. Giles, holding an open book, sat down in the circle as well, placing the book between them.
"I'm ready..." Willow said, opening her closed eyes, hands resting limply on her knees
"You're quite sure?" Giles asked, he had removed his glasses and mimiced the redhead's posture
"Yes, let's do it so it can be done."
Giles nodded and then they began,
Sun and Moon and Mother Earth,
Cover these ones with your blessing
Close the hidden gateway
To all that wish to tresspass.
A white streak began to run through Willow's hair and her breathing bacame shallow.
Meanwhile at the construction site Buffy, Faith, and Kennedy felt a wind rush over them and then calm. All were decked out with paintball guns.
"That must be Will's spell." Kennedy noted, two loaded paintball guns at the ready.
"Okay, you guys know what to do, let's split." the other two nodded at Buffy and then all three started off in different directions.
Dawn silently slipped into the area that the trio of slayers had just left, mumbling darkly to herself, "Oh yeah, I'll stay home and wait so I can clean all your gear again!" she moved off in the direction that Faith had taken, not noticing a red mist appear behind her and a demon with a nasty rash on his chest stepping out.
"Just wait, I'll get this demon and then everyone will have to give me credit. Not Buffy, not Faith, not Kennedy!"
the demon, surprisingly quiet for it's massive size, crept up behind the unsuspecting teenager.
"I bet they won't even get a glimps of the demon before I'm thre with-" at this point Dawn ran smack into Faith, who had doubled back
"Move, half-pint!" She commanded, shoving Dawn behind her as the demon charged.
Dawn's eyes widened as she saw the on-coming beast, had he really been that close behind her the whole time? Faith fired off a round of paintballs into the demon's chest, and then threw an arm around Dawn, leaping to the side as the monster went carreening past them.
"What're you doin' here half-pint? Didn't big sis say to stay home?" Faith asked, brushing ehrself off from where she had landed
"What's it to you?" Challenged Dawn, picking herself up as well and gingerly touching a scrap on her elbow from her landing
"If you get killed it's gonna be my fault for not protecting you c'os I saw you out." Faith shrugged, slinging the now empty paintball gun around her chest by the strap and picking out a full one. "You'd better stand clear and out of the way, it'll jus' make my job harder if you don't."
Dawn huffed and crossed her arms defiantly, "If I remember correctly, you are not my sister. You are my sister's paintball buddy. I don't have to listen to you!"
"If I remember correctly, I am a slayer, one of the chosen two. I think that gives me equal right to say-- Get down!" Faith pushed the teenager into a duck, recieving a heavy-fisted blow in reward. The punch across the jaw sent her backward and into the steel framework of the almost-building.
Dawn lifted her head and then scrabbled to get over the where Faith had been knocked, and away from the unseen foe. "Faith? Faith, are you okay? Did he get you really bad?" the teenager queried, bending down by Faith's limp form, "Oh, god... Faith?" she touched the dark-haired slayer's face ever so lightly, "You'd better not be dead or Buffy'll kill you for leaving me unprotected!" the note of panic and worry seeped through her voice.
"All alone, liddle gurl?" A voice taunted, "With nobody to help you?" The voice was soon attached to a hulking red body as it lumbered out of the shadows. Dawn whimpered, causing the beast to laugh, "Are you afraid?"
"No." her own reply startled the teenager as she grabbed Faith's full gun and trained it on the monster.
The demon sniffed the air, "You are not a firstborn... pity.. you looked so good too. But I shall settle for the first born next to you!" a red mist started to pour from the slayers slightly open mouth and nose, her body arched as if being pulled by invisible strings. The red mist made its way to the demon's outstretched palm where a vaccum-like hole had opened.
"NO!" Dawn shouted, pulling the trigger on instinct but the miracle was hitting it in the right spot. The vaccum-like hole was splattered with as many paintballs as the teenager could shoot, instantly howling in rage and pain the beast backed away intot he shadows and the red mist stopped swirling as Faith's body relaxed.
Dawn quickly leaned over the unconscious slayer to check that she was still alive, "Oh... good... she's breathing.."
"YOU! You are a mere... Child!" The monster spat, scaring Dawn into lifting the paintball gun again. The sight that met her eyes was the gruesome monster made even more hideous, if that were possible. His skin was bubbling, wors at the hand which the teenager had shot than at anywhere else but it was slowly getting worse all over. The demon looked like he was melting like red candle wax. "I will come back!" hissed the demon, staggering as it's legs litterally melted away under him, "And next time I'll forget the firstborns and come after you!"
The threat fell on deaf ears, as all Dawn could say as the beast in front of her slowly dwindled in size was, "Ew!"