Seo's World:
"But… if the real Doctor's stuck in that doll," said Joyce, over the phone, "then who's the person we thought was the Doctor?"
"We don't know," came Giles' voice, over the earpiece. "But we believe he'll attempt some sort of drastic violent action, sometime soon. He knows that Seo worked out he's an imposter, and he's afraid. Are you alone?"
"Buffy's coming home any minute," said Joyce. "I'll be…" She stopped, as the door opened. Smiled. "That's her, now."
And hung up the phone.
She went into the front room, to greet Buffy. Then stopped, as she noticed who it was. Or… who it wasn't.
"You," said Joyce.
The pinstripe suited figure stared at Joyce with bitter, hateful eyes. Then, with a sneer, advanced on her.
Buffy had been out looking for the giant reptile monster thing that Red Dress Lady had conjured up, right after work. With no success.
Which meant Buffy was late getting home.
She'd called the Doctor to let him know. Okay, not know about the reptile, but know that she was coming home late. She asked him to swing by the Magic Box and pick up Seo for her.
Which, considering that it was the Doctor, meant that he'd probably already worked out that there was a reason she was coming home late, had gone to the Magic Box, tricked her friends into telling him everything, and was off getting rid of the giant reptile monster right now.
On second thought, Buffy probably just should have called Mom, and asked her to pick up Seo, instead.
She opened the front door, and stepped inside.
"Mom!" she called, as she entered. "Is Seo…?"
She stopped in her tracks, as she saw her mom tied up to a chair, bound and gagged. The Doctor standing beside her, two swords in his hands. One pressed to her mom's throat.
"One wrong move, Slayer," the Doctor warned, "and she dies."
Buffy put her hands up in surrender, standing very still. Trying to figure out what was going on. How she could take her advantage.
"You're not him," Buffy said.
"About time you noticed," said the Not-Doctor. He glanced down at the other sword in his hand, a malicious smile on his face. "It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. The chance to take down a Slayer. The chance to get close to her, her family, her friends, and then use their lives to make her give up her own."
"What did you do to him?" Buffy demanded. "What did you do to Seo?"
"I wouldn't worry," snarled the Not-Doctor. "You're never going to see any of them again." Then, with lightning speed, he lunged for her with the swords, slashing down at her head.
He was thrown to the ground as a blur sprung past Buffy, through the door, and collided with the Not-Doctor.
Buffy stared.
"Spike?!"
The Not-Doctor got the upper hand, throwing Spike off of him and slashing down with a sword. Buffy flipped forward, kicking the swords from the not-Doctor's hands, and shoving him back against the wall. She could see in his brown eyes — it really wasn't him in there. Not at all.
"Well, at least, unlike the Doctor and Faith, I didn't make out with you while you were body-swapped," said Buffy. Then knocked him out cold with a well-aimed punch to the head.
She turned on her heel, to face Spike — who was peeling himself up off the floor, trying to catch his breath. She crossed her arms and cleared her throat.
Spike froze beneath her stare.
Then jumped to his feet, looking around himself, in pretend bewilderment. "Oh, is this… your house?" he asked. "Thought it was a mausoleum. Not that it'd make one bloody bit of difference to me. Goodbye."
And ran out the front door.
Buffy looked after him, confusion written across her features. Then sighed, and got to work. Untying her mom, and using the ropes and restraints to tie up the pretend Doctor.
It was her mom who told her the truth.
The moment Buffy burst into the Magic Box, she dropped the tied up imposter Doctor onto the ground, then rushed forward to Seo, grabbed her up in a tight embrace. Not wanting to let her go.
Her beautiful baby girl.
Then she looked up at her friends. "Where's… the real…?"
Giles gestured at the doll, propped up in the center of the table. It slowly, almost painfully, turned its head to look at Buffy.
"Buffy," said Xander. "You… didn't actually make that doll yourself, right?"
"I got it from a toyshop," Buffy confessed. "I didn't think it was a big deal."
Anya laughed. "You went to a toyshop in Sunnydale, and thought it wouldn't be evil? What town have you been living in?"
The doll looked like it was trying, desperately, to move its arm and wave to her. But couldn't quite manage it.
"I don't think the doll's supposed to be able to move," said Willow, magic book open in front of her. She pointed at the passage she was reading in the book. "This is a spell to transfer a living soul into a material that can't be moved or manipulated by any internal sources." She passed the book over to Buffy. "We're pretty sure it's the one used to transfer the Doctor in there."
Buffy glanced over the passage.
"He must be getting it to move using a huge amount of willpower," said Tara. "Or… doing something smart."
Buffy sat down in a seat, her eyes fixed on the book.
"We can use a variant of the same spell to push the demon out and get him back in his normal body," Willow offered. "The demon will wind up in the doll, and then we can destroy it."
Buffy sighed, in irritation. "I should have known," she muttered. "I should have figured it out sooner! I was just so worried about Mom, I didn't even think…"
That was when the window of the Magic Box was smashed in, and a gigantic snake monster crashed into the shop, tongue hissing, body slithering forward, eyes piercing and yellow.
Eyes that fell on Seo.
Seo didn't cry out. Didn't scream. Just examined it, a spark of ignited curiosity in her face.
The monster stopped in its tracks, hissing, its eyes still trained on the tiny baby in Buffy's arms. Seo giggled, and reached out to it. Buffy clutched Seo even tighter, prepared to face off against this snake monster one handed, if she had to.
Then the monster turned, and fled.
"Wow," said Xander. "One look at Buffy, and it freaked."
But… no. No, it hadn't been one look at Buffy. Buffy knew that. It had been… one look at…
Buffy turned to Giles. Eyes wide and terrified. "It knows."
They hadn't even thought. Had just shouted at Willow and Tara to fix the Doctor, then jumped into Giles' car and raced after the snake, fast as they could. Hadn't even stopped to realize… that Buffy was still holding…
"Seo!" Buffy cried. Her voice edging with panic. She glanced up at Giles. "Giles, we took her with us!"
As the snake monster smashed into a gate, and slithered into a park, Giles slammed on the breaks. "Leave her here," Giles urged. "I'll look after her."
Buffy handed Seo to Giles, then jumped out of the car, racing after the snake monster. She chased it down hills, across a bike path, grabbing up a broken chain from a fence as she went. When she finally cornered it, she began striking at it with all she had in her, flipping herself up and strangling it with the chain, smashing its head until she was certain it was dead.
She tried to catch her breath. Looking down at the dead monster beneath her.
If the Doctor were here, he'd have been upset. He'd have told her it was a living creature, and she should have found a better way.
Good thing he wasn't here.
Buffy got up, began walking back to Giles' car. Feeling completely drained of energy.
Halfway there, she heard a musical laugh echo up from the ground. Buffy glanced down, to find…
"Seo," she said, picking up the baby girl. "Did you follow me?"
The sound of a panting, desperate Giles confirmed Buffy's suspicions. He noticed Seo in Buffy's arms, and gave a breath of relief.
"She… slipped out of my grasp," Giles said, through pants. "Ran off before I could grab her. I was trying to look for her, but out here, at night… she's terribly hard to find."
Buffy smiled down at Seo — who had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, and was pointing at an apartment building nearby and giggling. Buffy patted the girl's head, affectionately.
"She's her father's daughter, all right," Buffy said. Cuddled her. "Always out looking for trouble."
With a nod at Giles, she went back to his car.
"Guess we better find out if the spell worked," Buffy said.
It worked.
After which they burned the doll, stormed the toyshop, and made sure everything and everyone was put back the way it should be.
Seo cried, as the now-demon-containing doll was incinerated.
"She thinks it's still you," Buffy told the Doctor.
The next day, when Buffy went to Seo's crib, she found a second doll by the Buffy-doll. This one of the Doctor, sonic in hand, smiling with a look that said, "I'm brilliant!"
She knew who'd made it.
...xxx...
Martha's World:
When the full force of the Master's strike against them in Glasgow came… Buffy and Faith knew they stood no chance.
No chance at all.
It began with bombings. Of some of the workhouses. Of public places. Of residences. Of anywhere with people, really. Followed by the information that this would continue — until the townspeople handed over Summers and the two others.
"Two others," Seo hissed.
Which meant… the Master had worked out that Dawn existed. But still thought there was only one of her. Only one Dawn Summers.
"You two hide," Buffy told Seo and Dawn, as the desperate city chased them. "Faith and I will distract the UFC."
Seo and Dawn ran.
But Dawn stopped Seo, before they got too far.
"I know what the Master wants to do to Buffy," said Dawn. "I've seen him do it to Elizabeth. He'll turn her insane. And not even killing him would be enough to stop it." She bunched her hands into fists. "We can't let him do that to her, again."
And so they crept back.
Watched, as the Master, himself, descended from the Valiant. Flanked by his loyal troops and bodyguards, what looked like an oversized sonic screwdriver in his hand.
The labor camp workers of Glasgow brought Buffy and Faith forward. An offering, to appease the man they thought of as their Master.
"Elizabeth!" the Master cried, delighted. He twirled the screwdriver around in his hands. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Oh, I've had enough of this, already," Faith snapped. Then, in a surge of power and movement, she broke free from those restraining her, flew through the air, and leapt towards the Master.
The Master, unconcerned, blasted her with the screwdriver.
And Faith fell to the ground. Dead. Her corpse burned from the searing flash.
"That was fun," said the Master, beaming. "Who's next?"
Buffy looked between the dead Faith, and the Master. Not moving a muscle, as the Master advanced on her, screwdriver aimed at her chest.
"Funny," said Buffy, in a quiet voice. Showing no outward signs of fear, as she faced him down. "I could have sworn I killed you, last time we met." She paused, reflecting. "Okay, granted… you killed me, too. And you can see how well that worked."
Seo frowned. She hadn't thought her mom had met the Time Lord Master before.
The Master didn't answer Buffy. His eyes were searching through the crowd. Searching… searching…
Dawn and Seo exchanged a look.
They both knew who he was searching for.
"You know," said the Master, his eyes on the crowd. "I said 'Summers and the other two'. And this…" Gesturing at Buffy and the dead Faith, "…is only one."
The labor workers huddled in fear.
"Which means," the Master concluded, in a loud voice, "that if the so-called 'Dawn Summers' doesn't reveal herself… this entire city is going to be destroyed. This city, and every man, woman, and child therein." His eyes rested back on Buffy. "And, of course… Elizabeth."
Dawn and Seo said nothing. Didn't dare to move.
"I'm waiting!" the Master sing-songed.
Dawn leaned down, closer to Seo. Whispered, "Look, whatever you have to do to open the portal… just do it now."
"I can't—" Seo whispered back.
"Without killing me, I know," said Dawn. "So kill me. Do it. Whatever. But do it, now. It's the world, Seo."
"No, I mean, really, I can't, yet!" Seo insisted. "I'm not able to, right now. With Xander's death and the emotional trauma and… and… everything. If I were better at psychic manipulation, maybe I'd stand a chance, but I'm not. I can't do it!"
"Are you lying?" Dawn asked.
Seo hesitated. "I… I can't do it," she said. Looking out at Buffy, intense worry in her eyes. "I just… can't."
Dawn thought this over. Then… her face fell. As she seemed to realize that, if Seo wasn't cooperating… Dawn had no real choice.
She turned, tried to scuttle out of the hiding place, but Seo pulled her back, forcefully enough to make sure she wasn't going anywhere.
"If you can't create the portal, I have to turn myself in!" Dawn whispered. "Seo, he's looking for me!"
"He's looking for one of us," Seo hissed back. "The moment he hears I'm Seosyrae, he'll assume they've been talking about me. Second Dawn — second chance for Gallifrey. That's how he'll think of it."
Dawn shook her head.
"It has to be one of us," said Seo, in a soft voice. "But he never said which one. And the most important thing…"
"Is that he never gets his hands on both at once," Dawn agreed. "I remember."
For a few moments, they said nothing. Both just staring at each other, not sure what to do. Each knowing they'd never let the other go.
"Rationally," Dawn said. "We… have to do this rationally. Figure out… which of us would do the best for the world by staying here, and which of us would be the most catastrophic in the Master's hands."
"Agreed," Seo said.
Nearby, the Master was growing impatient. He turned to the crowd, and blasted someone at random. Someone who screamed, and then crumpled to the ground, dead.
"You're connected to the Key to Time, in this universe," Seo said. "Unstable. What's more… you could lead the Master straight to it. That makes it more dangerous for you to turn yourself in."
Dawn shook her head. "The Doctor's the only one who knows where the Key to Time is," said Dawn. "And he'll never tell. Besides. The rest of the Key to Time could be half way across the universe from here, and I'll be dead before the Master makes it that far. And, even if he does, the Key to Time's got to have serious defenses around it."
Seo said nothing.
"There's one big issue, here, that we have to remember," said Dawn. "I'm human. You're not. You're the closest thing the Master has to a female of his own race. And he's looking to create a 'New Gallifrey'."
"That's looking at what's best for me!" Seo retorted, in a harsh whisper. "Not what's best for the universe! We said we wouldn't do that."
"You have to keep it in mind, though," Dawn replied.
For a while, the two of them said nothing. Both staring at one another.
"Okay, fine," Dawn conceded. "Rational. Logical. What's best for the universe. I'll go with that." She thought it over. "So… you. You're smarter than me. You could do a lot more good, down here. You could… I don't know. Wander around the world helping children, or something! You'd like that."
Seo's eyes drifted to the ground. "You could also—"
"Everyone died getting me here," said Dawn. "I'm no good by myself."
Seo hesitated. "But—"
"And you're way more powerful, too," Dawn continued. "You're part-Glory, right? Glory's power in the hands of the Master… that'd be, like, super on the bad factor. Not to mention you've got all the Twilight training, in your head, trying to turn you into a super weapon. And the Master's looking for a weapon that could help him rule the universe."
Seo didn't answer.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Dawn. "Not just on a personal level, but on a completely rational, best-for- the-universe level. I'm a normal human, who can only be activated at one particular point in time — and the Master doesn't have a time machine to get there. If I show up on the Valiant, the Master will probably get rid of me long before he figures out I could be useful for something else. And I'd be totally useless, down here on Earth, as part of the resistance movement. You can make a difference down on Earth, though. Do something amazing that normal humans like me wouldn't be able to do. Like… convince the Toclafane to turn against the Master! Or find Martha and help her." She shrugged. "It's me, Seo. Logically. Any way you look at it, it has to be me who's sacrificed."
"If you turn yourself over to him, the Master will kill you," Seo said. "If I turn myself over, the Master will keep me alive — because of my father."
"I thought we agreed to look beyond the whole personal aspect thing," Dawn argued. "This is about what's best for the world. Best for the universe. Giving me over to the Master — that's the smart thing to do."
"The smart thing to do," Seo echoed.
Nearby, the Master killed another person. The smell of searing flesh wafting to Dawn and Seo's hiding spot.
Seo hesitated, a second longer. Then sighed. Nodded. Seemed to accept it. She swept Dawn into a tight hug.
"You're right," Seo said, into her ear, as she hugged her. "You should be the one who goes. That's… the smart thing to do."
Dawn smiled. Thankful that Seo had seen sense.
"Problem is," said Seo, "I'm an idiot."
Dawn's smile vanished, as Seo touched a nerve on the side of Dawn's neck, and Dawn collapsed, unconscious, in a heap on the ground.
Seo hid her as best she could. Then got to her feet. Turned.
And stepped out, into the open, to take Dawn's place.
Author's Note: Love that line. "Problem is, I'm an idiot." So wonderful!
Why did Seo refuse to create the portal? The Buffy Show does tell us that emotional instability screws with magical ability. Could she honestly not do it? Could she not bear to let Dawn die? Does she know that Buffy will need a guardian onboard the Valiant, and only Seo can fill that role? Or does she really feel she can fix the Toclafane?
I'll let you decide for yourselves.
But what she does at the end, to save Dawn, is extremely brave.