Title: Family
Author: Aset
chapter 23; Nighters and lighters
'It's beautiful here!' Fred sighed as she wandered around the field. She laughed as a butterfly fled by.
'Yes it is...How was Pylea like, Fred? Was it like this?'
'No...' Fred said as her face turned darker. She wasn't laughing anymore., 'Pylea was bad...'
Buffy and Willow looked at each other, -So that's maybe why she's so weird-
Then suddenly someone behind them yelled, 'Hold it!' It was a dark man, with brown hair, and dark brown eyes, nearly black, with a red point as a pupil. Emotionlessly the man continued, 'ID's please!'
'Ohoh!'
'Wait a sec...you girls aren't from around here, are you?'
'no...'
'Nighters?' he asked, eyeing them closely.
'What?!'
'Not from Night?'
'We're from earth' Fred blurted out.
'Earth?' the man said as he frowned.
'Yes, earth...dimension?' Buffy said, getting annoyed.
'Earth,..we live on a planet, the 3rd closesest to the sun, about 40000 kil...' Fred started explaining
'All right, Fred!...I think he's got the message.' Willow said, going crazy herself.
'So no Nighters...what are you doing here then?'
'We're looking for someone...a baby'
'A child?...It is not to be found here I'm afraid.'
'What?'
'I know what's going on in this District, Miss. And I know every child here.'
'His name 's Connor'
'I have never heard of such a name, I'm sorry'
Fred sighed and looked down, 'We'll never find him'
'We don't know that, Fred.' Willow said, feeling sorry for the girl. They never knew Connor; she did, and although Fred wasn't his mother, she suffered too
'I don't know where the child is...it isn't here..maybe more East, in the caves'
'Thank you...we'll look for him there' Buffy said as she eyed the man one last time. There was something about the man which made her doubt his words, but she didn't know what, and a second later that uncomfortable feeling had already vanished.
'Take this..if you get in trouble, whistle and we'll come to the rescue' the man said, handing Willow some kind of whistle.
'Thanks' she said as the three girls started walking away in the direction the man had pointed out; East.
***
'Fred!' gunn yelled as he saw the young Texan walking there in front of his eyes. They'd been wlaking for two hours now in the Dsitrict of Lgiht. The lightball had left them the moment they stepped into the Light, leaving Night and darkess behind.B Angel and Spike had hesitated when tthey'd arrived at the borders, not treally looking forward to burst into flames. Angel had carefully stretched out his arm, but it felt good...no flmaes...Pylean good! It was safe.
The others saw her too now,. Fred and a bit further Willow and Buffy. Happily the boys ran towards them, hugging them. Fred giggled loudly as she kissed Gunn.
'I missed you' he whispered in her ear after he broke the kiss.
'Are you guys all right?' Angel asked.
'We're fine' Willow said, observing Buffy and Spike, hugging tightly.
'You're not on fire' she started, a bit goofy, as she placed a soft kiss on his cheek'
'No, i'm not, luckily not!' he said, laughing.
'I'm sorry, Angel; we haven't found him yet.' Fred said, looking over at a lonely Angel'
'We kow, Fred...it's okay' Angel said, patitng her on the shoulder.
'We should move East' willow said, ' The man said he might be there'
'Which man?'
'One of the people who live here'
'A Lighter?'
'I guess you can call him that'
'Can he be trusted?' Wesley asked
'he gave us a whistle for when we get in trouble' Fred said
'Dimml...didn't he say this was a bad District?' Gunn turned to Angel
'I don't know...he might be wrong, we don't know who we can trust here' Angel said
'Guess we'll have to found out!'
'Now...let's find Connor'
***
Evil laugher came out of the tree.
'Welcome to you worse nightmare, mister Vampire and your little human friends! Welcome to the Light!' A low voice said as the blue sun reached it's highest peak. Form the darkness of the leafs two red eyes looked out over the now-empty meadow where only a couple of moments ago Angel and his friends had been
'The Light, the Light is bright! Precedent to eternal Night' The voice continued, to end humming some sort of lullaby...
***
'It's just so unfair, leaving us behind like this'
Cordy and Dawn were sitting on a couch, both still a bit angry and hurt.
'Yeah!..I'm too young, and you're too pregnant'
'Like we were going to be any trouble...'
Cordy got up and walked onto the kitchen, 'I know something that might make us feel a little better..'
Dawn gave her a non-understanding look
'Chocolate!' Cordelia sung, hopping over to the fridge, opening the freezer and taking out a pot of ice-cream, grabbing along some spoons and bars of chocolate on the way, 'And ice!' A smile as she said it. It seemed contagious...Dawn started smiling too.
The two girls settled down on the couch again, turning on the television, where some movie just started to play...Terminator II. Both regretted interview With the Vampire only was a over-two-hours move, and they'd only rented one...
'You know...' Cordelia said between two bites, 'We can always go there by ourselves'
'What are you saying?'
'I'm saying we're missing out on all the fun...and more; I'm the one with the visions, remember? I might be useful to them..although they haven't thought of that one...'
'You're so right, but Cordelia..how on earth are we gonna get there?'
'Uhm..hello? I'm the one who's had the vision about the portal and the goddess and blahblahblha..and the rest, how hard can it be?!'
'Well, I guess it's more fun then watching good old Arnold kill some more'
They both giggled as they turned of the TV.
'Hasta la vista, baby!'
'Hell dimension, beware! Terror is on it's way!'
***
'It's amazing' Buffy said, once gain looking over to Angel and Spike, sitting on a treetrunk
'What is, Luv?' Spike asked, lurking on his cigarette.
'You..not on fire'
Angel let out a chuckle, 'well, that's what's so great about these other dimensions' He was nervous. This dimension was so different from Pylea, , but not being on fire- again- felt good! Knowing what this other dimension would do to this inner-demon would be good too, but he didn't. And then nervous about Connor, worried. And Cordy, back at home. His mind wondered off...he saw himself, at a beach, in the sun, holding Cordy in his arms as they both looked at the two children playing in the sand right in front of them... he knew they would find Connor, he just felt it now.
'Xander...you have to do this' Willow said, snapping Angel out of his dream
'Why me?'
''Cause...'Cause you're Xander...Alexander!' willow said, trying to convince her friend to read to words on the paper she'd handed him.
'That's the lousiest excuse I've ever heard' e said, not really feeling comfortable with the thought of having to read the lines
'Xander, listen...you must do this... You're this guys' namepal! So it would only be right you call upon the goddess!' Buffy said, handing Xander a large knife.
'What's that for?'
'just to solve the riddle' Willow said with a smile.
'Just read the words, man! How hard can it be?!' Spike said
'if you think it's that fun..you do it!' Xander said, throwing the dagger and the paper towards the blonde vampire.
'Hey! Watch it!' Spike said, jumping away from the knife.
'Xander...'
'All right! Allright, I'll do it!' he said, picking up the dagger and the piece of paper
'Dona mei... salve mei...' Xander read the lines on the paper, all in Latin, 'There I said it... nothing to see..sorry Will, another time maybe!'
Then a 'poof' and a bright light, blinding them all...when it was gone, they laid eyes upon a young woman with long, dark hair, wearing a beautiful white dress. It was the goddess, just like Cordy had described her. A strange glow surrounded her.
'Have you awoken me, handsome one?' the goddess spoke to Xander, touching his cheek.
'I...uhm...yes' he uttered, still impressed by the appearance.
'I presume you've not awoken me for nothing... What do you want?'
'I...Uhm...I' Xander was lost for words, He didn't know what he wanted, and he certainly didn't know what to say to a goddess, especially not one as pretty as this one.
'He needs the Scroll' Wesley said, seeing the hesitation on Xander's face.
'The Scroll of Archelaos that is I presume?' The goddess said as she eyed Xander closely, 'Yes, you can have them...if you can solve the puzzle I give you' she said as she gave him a piece of the cord of her belt. It was a heavy cord because of all the gold they'd used in the fabric; A goddess' right.
'Undo the knot, and you'll get the Scroll, don't and you'll die! Is that clear, Alex?'
'Alex? Oh..me! I ...uhm...' Xander didn't rally like the thought of him dying. -I always hated puzzles- he thought.
'Yes yes, we're clear, right, Xander?' Wesley said, poking Xander
'Yes!'
Xander looked at the know. There was no way he was going to solve the riddle in a non-knivey-way. He sighed, then took the dagger and cut the knot, like they'd told him to. As soon as the cord fell apart in two halves, the goddess started laughing, threw the Scroll up high, as a bright light spread out. As their vision was restored again, the goddess had gone.
Gunn was the first to speak 'Neat!'
'yes...That was fun!' Spike said, 'Did you see her...Wow!'
An angry glare in his direction..Buffy.
the Scroll' Wesley whispered in admiration as he picked up the roll of parchment.
'Why do we need that for, Wesley?' Fred asked
'The Scroll of Archelaos...may contain a way to get us back to our dimension'
'What?! You mean we don't have a way to get back?' Buffy asked
'Yes, we do...we just aren't quite sure it'll work', Willow said, feeling responsible for the worried looks all around
'But it will be okay now..'
Author: Aset
chapter 23; Nighters and lighters
'It's beautiful here!' Fred sighed as she wandered around the field. She laughed as a butterfly fled by.
'Yes it is...How was Pylea like, Fred? Was it like this?'
'No...' Fred said as her face turned darker. She wasn't laughing anymore., 'Pylea was bad...'
Buffy and Willow looked at each other, -So that's maybe why she's so weird-
Then suddenly someone behind them yelled, 'Hold it!' It was a dark man, with brown hair, and dark brown eyes, nearly black, with a red point as a pupil. Emotionlessly the man continued, 'ID's please!'
'Ohoh!'
'Wait a sec...you girls aren't from around here, are you?'
'no...'
'Nighters?' he asked, eyeing them closely.
'What?!'
'Not from Night?'
'We're from earth' Fred blurted out.
'Earth?' the man said as he frowned.
'Yes, earth...dimension?' Buffy said, getting annoyed.
'Earth,..we live on a planet, the 3rd closesest to the sun, about 40000 kil...' Fred started explaining
'All right, Fred!...I think he's got the message.' Willow said, going crazy herself.
'So no Nighters...what are you doing here then?'
'We're looking for someone...a baby'
'A child?...It is not to be found here I'm afraid.'
'What?'
'I know what's going on in this District, Miss. And I know every child here.'
'His name 's Connor'
'I have never heard of such a name, I'm sorry'
Fred sighed and looked down, 'We'll never find him'
'We don't know that, Fred.' Willow said, feeling sorry for the girl. They never knew Connor; she did, and although Fred wasn't his mother, she suffered too
'I don't know where the child is...it isn't here..maybe more East, in the caves'
'Thank you...we'll look for him there' Buffy said as she eyed the man one last time. There was something about the man which made her doubt his words, but she didn't know what, and a second later that uncomfortable feeling had already vanished.
'Take this..if you get in trouble, whistle and we'll come to the rescue' the man said, handing Willow some kind of whistle.
'Thanks' she said as the three girls started walking away in the direction the man had pointed out; East.
***
'Fred!' gunn yelled as he saw the young Texan walking there in front of his eyes. They'd been wlaking for two hours now in the Dsitrict of Lgiht. The lightball had left them the moment they stepped into the Light, leaving Night and darkess behind.B Angel and Spike had hesitated when tthey'd arrived at the borders, not treally looking forward to burst into flames. Angel had carefully stretched out his arm, but it felt good...no flmaes...Pylean good! It was safe.
The others saw her too now,. Fred and a bit further Willow and Buffy. Happily the boys ran towards them, hugging them. Fred giggled loudly as she kissed Gunn.
'I missed you' he whispered in her ear after he broke the kiss.
'Are you guys all right?' Angel asked.
'We're fine' Willow said, observing Buffy and Spike, hugging tightly.
'You're not on fire' she started, a bit goofy, as she placed a soft kiss on his cheek'
'No, i'm not, luckily not!' he said, laughing.
'I'm sorry, Angel; we haven't found him yet.' Fred said, looking over at a lonely Angel'
'We kow, Fred...it's okay' Angel said, patitng her on the shoulder.
'We should move East' willow said, ' The man said he might be there'
'Which man?'
'One of the people who live here'
'A Lighter?'
'I guess you can call him that'
'Can he be trusted?' Wesley asked
'he gave us a whistle for when we get in trouble' Fred said
'Dimml...didn't he say this was a bad District?' Gunn turned to Angel
'I don't know...he might be wrong, we don't know who we can trust here' Angel said
'Guess we'll have to found out!'
'Now...let's find Connor'
***
Evil laugher came out of the tree.
'Welcome to you worse nightmare, mister Vampire and your little human friends! Welcome to the Light!' A low voice said as the blue sun reached it's highest peak. Form the darkness of the leafs two red eyes looked out over the now-empty meadow where only a couple of moments ago Angel and his friends had been
'The Light, the Light is bright! Precedent to eternal Night' The voice continued, to end humming some sort of lullaby...
***
'It's just so unfair, leaving us behind like this'
Cordy and Dawn were sitting on a couch, both still a bit angry and hurt.
'Yeah!..I'm too young, and you're too pregnant'
'Like we were going to be any trouble...'
Cordy got up and walked onto the kitchen, 'I know something that might make us feel a little better..'
Dawn gave her a non-understanding look
'Chocolate!' Cordelia sung, hopping over to the fridge, opening the freezer and taking out a pot of ice-cream, grabbing along some spoons and bars of chocolate on the way, 'And ice!' A smile as she said it. It seemed contagious...Dawn started smiling too.
The two girls settled down on the couch again, turning on the television, where some movie just started to play...Terminator II. Both regretted interview With the Vampire only was a over-two-hours move, and they'd only rented one...
'You know...' Cordelia said between two bites, 'We can always go there by ourselves'
'What are you saying?'
'I'm saying we're missing out on all the fun...and more; I'm the one with the visions, remember? I might be useful to them..although they haven't thought of that one...'
'You're so right, but Cordelia..how on earth are we gonna get there?'
'Uhm..hello? I'm the one who's had the vision about the portal and the goddess and blahblahblha..and the rest, how hard can it be?!'
'Well, I guess it's more fun then watching good old Arnold kill some more'
They both giggled as they turned of the TV.
'Hasta la vista, baby!'
'Hell dimension, beware! Terror is on it's way!'
***
'It's amazing' Buffy said, once gain looking over to Angel and Spike, sitting on a treetrunk
'What is, Luv?' Spike asked, lurking on his cigarette.
'You..not on fire'
Angel let out a chuckle, 'well, that's what's so great about these other dimensions' He was nervous. This dimension was so different from Pylea, , but not being on fire- again- felt good! Knowing what this other dimension would do to this inner-demon would be good too, but he didn't. And then nervous about Connor, worried. And Cordy, back at home. His mind wondered off...he saw himself, at a beach, in the sun, holding Cordy in his arms as they both looked at the two children playing in the sand right in front of them... he knew they would find Connor, he just felt it now.
'Xander...you have to do this' Willow said, snapping Angel out of his dream
'Why me?'
''Cause...'Cause you're Xander...Alexander!' willow said, trying to convince her friend to read to words on the paper she'd handed him.
'That's the lousiest excuse I've ever heard' e said, not really feeling comfortable with the thought of having to read the lines
'Xander, listen...you must do this... You're this guys' namepal! So it would only be right you call upon the goddess!' Buffy said, handing Xander a large knife.
'What's that for?'
'just to solve the riddle' Willow said with a smile.
'Just read the words, man! How hard can it be?!' Spike said
'if you think it's that fun..you do it!' Xander said, throwing the dagger and the paper towards the blonde vampire.
'Hey! Watch it!' Spike said, jumping away from the knife.
'Xander...'
'All right! Allright, I'll do it!' he said, picking up the dagger and the piece of paper
'Dona mei... salve mei...' Xander read the lines on the paper, all in Latin, 'There I said it... nothing to see..sorry Will, another time maybe!'
Then a 'poof' and a bright light, blinding them all...when it was gone, they laid eyes upon a young woman with long, dark hair, wearing a beautiful white dress. It was the goddess, just like Cordy had described her. A strange glow surrounded her.
'Have you awoken me, handsome one?' the goddess spoke to Xander, touching his cheek.
'I...uhm...yes' he uttered, still impressed by the appearance.
'I presume you've not awoken me for nothing... What do you want?'
'I...Uhm...I' Xander was lost for words, He didn't know what he wanted, and he certainly didn't know what to say to a goddess, especially not one as pretty as this one.
'He needs the Scroll' Wesley said, seeing the hesitation on Xander's face.
'The Scroll of Archelaos that is I presume?' The goddess said as she eyed Xander closely, 'Yes, you can have them...if you can solve the puzzle I give you' she said as she gave him a piece of the cord of her belt. It was a heavy cord because of all the gold they'd used in the fabric; A goddess' right.
'Undo the knot, and you'll get the Scroll, don't and you'll die! Is that clear, Alex?'
'Alex? Oh..me! I ...uhm...' Xander didn't rally like the thought of him dying. -I always hated puzzles- he thought.
'Yes yes, we're clear, right, Xander?' Wesley said, poking Xander
'Yes!'
Xander looked at the know. There was no way he was going to solve the riddle in a non-knivey-way. He sighed, then took the dagger and cut the knot, like they'd told him to. As soon as the cord fell apart in two halves, the goddess started laughing, threw the Scroll up high, as a bright light spread out. As their vision was restored again, the goddess had gone.
Gunn was the first to speak 'Neat!'
'yes...That was fun!' Spike said, 'Did you see her...Wow!'
An angry glare in his direction..Buffy.
the Scroll' Wesley whispered in admiration as he picked up the roll of parchment.
'Why do we need that for, Wesley?' Fred asked
'The Scroll of Archelaos...may contain a way to get us back to our dimension'
'What?! You mean we don't have a way to get back?' Buffy asked
'Yes, we do...we just aren't quite sure it'll work', Willow said, feeling responsible for the worried looks all around
'But it will be okay now..'