Life lessons Part 6
I'm not Joss, I'm not Mutant Enemy or the WB, therefore, it's safe to assume none of these characters belong to me.
Buffy, Angel, Cordy and Xander walked into the streets, trying to decide where to start looking for Dawn first. "Maybe we should check your house first, Buffy." Cordelia said.
"No. She wouldn't want to go there. She must be really upset, and I don't think that she would want to upset my mother right now."
"Where else could she go, though. What kind of stuff does Dawn like to do?"
"I don't know, Angel. We've never really talked about what she likes to do. I know she likes to hang out with us, but that's about it. God, how pathetic is that! I have no idea what my sister likes to do."
"It might be a good idea to check the local library, I know she likes to read. Or maybe the coffee shop, Dawn likes to write and she says that's a good atmosphere for her."
"Xander, how do you know where my sister likes to go?"
"Well, I did sort of ask her what types of things she likes to do, and then I asked her where she went to do these things. That just sort of started a whole conversation on the subject. Dawn tends to talk about herself when someone seems interested. Imagine that."
"Xander, I really don't need you to make me feel worse than I do already!"
"Sorry Buff."
Buffy sighed. "Okay, Xander and I will check the coffee shop. Angel, you and Cordelia go check the library. We'll meet back here in half and hour." The two groups walked off in different directions.
Xander and Buffy reached the coffee shop about ten minutes later. "Well, I see her in there. Let's go on inside."
"Xander, wait! Do you here that?"
"No, what does it sound like?"
"I'm not sure. Go in there and sit with Dawn until I come back."
Buffy ran out into the darkness, following a sound only she could hear. Xander moved into the coffee shop and sat down across from Dawn at one of the tables.
"Hey Dawn, why'd you run off so quickly?"
"Xander. What's wrong with me? In the hospital, all of the patients were telling me that I was different, and asking me what I was. Buffy said that they were just really sick people, but they were right. I'm a freak!"
Xander knelt down beside Dawn, stroking her hair. "Dawn, you're not a freak. Do you think Buffy's a freak?"
"Yeah" Dawn said a little to vehemently, making Xander chuckle. "Alright, I'll grant you that Buffy is a little freakish sometimes, but do you honestly believe that what you are is bad?"
"I don't know! I thought it would be so cool to be as strong as Buffy was, to be able to patrol with her. But now I just want to be me again."
"You are still you. Buffy still thinks of you as her sister. She loves you and she does everything within her power to keep you safe. She worries about you so much."
"Yeah, so I say 'thanks' by throwing her into a wall..."
"Well yeah, but it's not bad. She wasn't even hurt, because you didn't mean to hurt her."
"I didn't" She asked, Xander shook his head.
"Do you think she's mad at me?"
"I think that she was worried when you ran off, and that she made it over here in record time."
"Where is she?"
"She heard someone that might have been in trouble, so she went to check it out."
"Xander, if I really am so special, then how do I use all the strength that I have? Giles told Buffy that he needed all the help he could get, but I don't even know what I can do."
"Then I'll help you. We all will. Buffy will teach you how to throw punches, Giles will teach you how to keep track of a bunch of demons that are surrounding you. Willow, Anya and Tara will teach you some spells. Angel and Spike will teach you how to sneak up on people, they're really good at that. Cordelia will teach you how to file your nails..." Dawn chuckled and punched Xander playfully in the arm.
"What will you teach me, Xander?"
A sad look came over Xander's face. "I'll teach you how to order a pizza."
"Xander, don't do that. You know you are more important than that."
"Not to disillusion you too much Dawn, but that's pretty much all I'm good for."
"That's not true. Cordelia and Giles were talking about weapons and stuff like that the other day, and Giles mentioned something about a crossbow, and Cordelia said that in high school, you were the best of everybody with a crossbow. Then she asked if you had gotten any better. Then Giles said, and I quote, that you have become 'quite remarkable'. See! You can teach me how to do that."
"The really said all that, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Hey...guys..."
"Buffy, are you all right? You look kind of..."
"Dirty" Dawn put in.
"Thanks...I just ran... into the oddest... demon... that I have ever... seen!"
"Well catch your breath, then we'll go get Cordy and Angel and find out if Giles has anything on our new little, about to be sliced and diced, friend."
"Okay. Better. Dawn, if you ever run off..." Behind Dawn, Xander was making with the 'cut it out' signals. Not satisfied by being deterred from grilling Dawn, Buffy conceded and said, "and we're going to talk about this later."
The three of them left the coffee shop to meet up with Angel and Cordelia.
Meanwhile, back at Giles', the rest of them were looking through books, scanning the pages. "Giles! There might be something to this one. It's called an Aeirhgytid Demon. It doesn't really exist by itself, it's called by some great and NOT listed demon. It has one purpose, and that it to seek out all other demons. Another translation of it is the Summoning demon, but it is really vague after that."
"Red, may I ask just what that has to do with our little apocalypse?"
"Well, we've already decided that Glory is a much older demon. This demon is raised by a demon that isn't named. It could be a link."
"Does the bloody book tell you why it's called a 'summoning demon'?"
"Well, no, but...Giles! A little help here!"
"Willow, what does it say after the second name is translated?"
"Uh, not much really. Blah, blah, blah...What?"
"Blah, blah, blah?"
"Oh, sorry, dirty habit from Xander. Anyway it says that the summoning demon is a last resort, an end to the beginning. See, vague."
"Actually, Willow, it isn't vague at all. It is the demon that is summoned to tell all the other demons that it is time for the end. 'The End' like the name of the prophecy."
"So what you're saying, is when this ugly, bloody, demon comes sniffing around, it becomes apocalypse time?"
"Uh, basically, yes".
Just then, Angel, Xander, Buffy, Cordelia and Dawn came through the door.
"Giles, I just fought a new demon, at least he's new to me. Ugly bastard. Slippery, too. Not in the slime sense or the fish sense, but in the Wile E. Coyote sort of way."
"Thank you for that riveting description, Buffy. That was truly helpful."
"What's your problem Giles? Run out of Earl Gray?"
"No, we just found a demon that seems to summon the very apocalypse that we are trying to avoid. I'm a little put out right now."
"Sorry! Gee, a girl can't even have fun with her watcher anymore. What's the world coming to?" Buffy collapsed down in one of the cushy, high back chairs. The kind that had the rollers on the bottom. She started to spin herself around and around. She started going faster and faster.
"Buffy! Please quite doing that!" Buffy jumped in her seat at the sound of Giles' raised voice, and in doing so, knocked off a book that was lying on the desk. Buffy leaned over to pick it up, and notices the picture of the demon.
"Hey Giles, this is the demon I saw." She took the book over to Giles. He looked at the picture, then looked at her, and back down to the picture. "Oh dear. Buffy, this is the Aeirhgytid demon. This is the demon that summons the apocalypse."
"Oh. So I guess I should go after it?"
"No point now, Slayer. He's probably summoned a few demons already. You already missed the chance at stopping the apocalypse before it began. Better luck next time, eh?"
"So. I guess this means that I'll be taking you up on your offer sooner than later, huh Xander?"
Everyone turned to look Xander. "What? You need more hands, Giles. From what I've seen, our Dawn here has a couple of pretty strong ones. We might want to think about teaching her how to use them."
Everyone looked anxious, except for Dawn, who looked extremely pleased.
End part six
I'm not Joss, I'm not Mutant Enemy or the WB, therefore, it's safe to assume none of these characters belong to me.
Buffy, Angel, Cordy and Xander walked into the streets, trying to decide where to start looking for Dawn first. "Maybe we should check your house first, Buffy." Cordelia said.
"No. She wouldn't want to go there. She must be really upset, and I don't think that she would want to upset my mother right now."
"Where else could she go, though. What kind of stuff does Dawn like to do?"
"I don't know, Angel. We've never really talked about what she likes to do. I know she likes to hang out with us, but that's about it. God, how pathetic is that! I have no idea what my sister likes to do."
"It might be a good idea to check the local library, I know she likes to read. Or maybe the coffee shop, Dawn likes to write and she says that's a good atmosphere for her."
"Xander, how do you know where my sister likes to go?"
"Well, I did sort of ask her what types of things she likes to do, and then I asked her where she went to do these things. That just sort of started a whole conversation on the subject. Dawn tends to talk about herself when someone seems interested. Imagine that."
"Xander, I really don't need you to make me feel worse than I do already!"
"Sorry Buff."
Buffy sighed. "Okay, Xander and I will check the coffee shop. Angel, you and Cordelia go check the library. We'll meet back here in half and hour." The two groups walked off in different directions.
Xander and Buffy reached the coffee shop about ten minutes later. "Well, I see her in there. Let's go on inside."
"Xander, wait! Do you here that?"
"No, what does it sound like?"
"I'm not sure. Go in there and sit with Dawn until I come back."
Buffy ran out into the darkness, following a sound only she could hear. Xander moved into the coffee shop and sat down across from Dawn at one of the tables.
"Hey Dawn, why'd you run off so quickly?"
"Xander. What's wrong with me? In the hospital, all of the patients were telling me that I was different, and asking me what I was. Buffy said that they were just really sick people, but they were right. I'm a freak!"
Xander knelt down beside Dawn, stroking her hair. "Dawn, you're not a freak. Do you think Buffy's a freak?"
"Yeah" Dawn said a little to vehemently, making Xander chuckle. "Alright, I'll grant you that Buffy is a little freakish sometimes, but do you honestly believe that what you are is bad?"
"I don't know! I thought it would be so cool to be as strong as Buffy was, to be able to patrol with her. But now I just want to be me again."
"You are still you. Buffy still thinks of you as her sister. She loves you and she does everything within her power to keep you safe. She worries about you so much."
"Yeah, so I say 'thanks' by throwing her into a wall..."
"Well yeah, but it's not bad. She wasn't even hurt, because you didn't mean to hurt her."
"I didn't" She asked, Xander shook his head.
"Do you think she's mad at me?"
"I think that she was worried when you ran off, and that she made it over here in record time."
"Where is she?"
"She heard someone that might have been in trouble, so she went to check it out."
"Xander, if I really am so special, then how do I use all the strength that I have? Giles told Buffy that he needed all the help he could get, but I don't even know what I can do."
"Then I'll help you. We all will. Buffy will teach you how to throw punches, Giles will teach you how to keep track of a bunch of demons that are surrounding you. Willow, Anya and Tara will teach you some spells. Angel and Spike will teach you how to sneak up on people, they're really good at that. Cordelia will teach you how to file your nails..." Dawn chuckled and punched Xander playfully in the arm.
"What will you teach me, Xander?"
A sad look came over Xander's face. "I'll teach you how to order a pizza."
"Xander, don't do that. You know you are more important than that."
"Not to disillusion you too much Dawn, but that's pretty much all I'm good for."
"That's not true. Cordelia and Giles were talking about weapons and stuff like that the other day, and Giles mentioned something about a crossbow, and Cordelia said that in high school, you were the best of everybody with a crossbow. Then she asked if you had gotten any better. Then Giles said, and I quote, that you have become 'quite remarkable'. See! You can teach me how to do that."
"The really said all that, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Hey...guys..."
"Buffy, are you all right? You look kind of..."
"Dirty" Dawn put in.
"Thanks...I just ran... into the oddest... demon... that I have ever... seen!"
"Well catch your breath, then we'll go get Cordy and Angel and find out if Giles has anything on our new little, about to be sliced and diced, friend."
"Okay. Better. Dawn, if you ever run off..." Behind Dawn, Xander was making with the 'cut it out' signals. Not satisfied by being deterred from grilling Dawn, Buffy conceded and said, "and we're going to talk about this later."
The three of them left the coffee shop to meet up with Angel and Cordelia.
Meanwhile, back at Giles', the rest of them were looking through books, scanning the pages. "Giles! There might be something to this one. It's called an Aeirhgytid Demon. It doesn't really exist by itself, it's called by some great and NOT listed demon. It has one purpose, and that it to seek out all other demons. Another translation of it is the Summoning demon, but it is really vague after that."
"Red, may I ask just what that has to do with our little apocalypse?"
"Well, we've already decided that Glory is a much older demon. This demon is raised by a demon that isn't named. It could be a link."
"Does the bloody book tell you why it's called a 'summoning demon'?"
"Well, no, but...Giles! A little help here!"
"Willow, what does it say after the second name is translated?"
"Uh, not much really. Blah, blah, blah...What?"
"Blah, blah, blah?"
"Oh, sorry, dirty habit from Xander. Anyway it says that the summoning demon is a last resort, an end to the beginning. See, vague."
"Actually, Willow, it isn't vague at all. It is the demon that is summoned to tell all the other demons that it is time for the end. 'The End' like the name of the prophecy."
"So what you're saying, is when this ugly, bloody, demon comes sniffing around, it becomes apocalypse time?"
"Uh, basically, yes".
Just then, Angel, Xander, Buffy, Cordelia and Dawn came through the door.
"Giles, I just fought a new demon, at least he's new to me. Ugly bastard. Slippery, too. Not in the slime sense or the fish sense, but in the Wile E. Coyote sort of way."
"Thank you for that riveting description, Buffy. That was truly helpful."
"What's your problem Giles? Run out of Earl Gray?"
"No, we just found a demon that seems to summon the very apocalypse that we are trying to avoid. I'm a little put out right now."
"Sorry! Gee, a girl can't even have fun with her watcher anymore. What's the world coming to?" Buffy collapsed down in one of the cushy, high back chairs. The kind that had the rollers on the bottom. She started to spin herself around and around. She started going faster and faster.
"Buffy! Please quite doing that!" Buffy jumped in her seat at the sound of Giles' raised voice, and in doing so, knocked off a book that was lying on the desk. Buffy leaned over to pick it up, and notices the picture of the demon.
"Hey Giles, this is the demon I saw." She took the book over to Giles. He looked at the picture, then looked at her, and back down to the picture. "Oh dear. Buffy, this is the Aeirhgytid demon. This is the demon that summons the apocalypse."
"Oh. So I guess I should go after it?"
"No point now, Slayer. He's probably summoned a few demons already. You already missed the chance at stopping the apocalypse before it began. Better luck next time, eh?"
"So. I guess this means that I'll be taking you up on your offer sooner than later, huh Xander?"
Everyone turned to look Xander. "What? You need more hands, Giles. From what I've seen, our Dawn here has a couple of pretty strong ones. We might want to think about teaching her how to use them."
Everyone looked anxious, except for Dawn, who looked extremely pleased.
End part six