Cordelia looked down and then back out the window. "Look, there she is."
She smiled pointing toward Charli's Mustang. A tall blond haired man got
out of the passenger door of the car. "Who's that?" Cordy asked.
"I have no idea…" Angel began.
"That's Bryan, Charli's watcher from Quor-Toth." Conner explained opening the door for the watcher and Slayer. Charli had changed clothes; she was now wearing white peasant spaghetti top, dark blue jeans, tall golden boots, a long brown leather jacket, and she had bleached streaks in her pink hair.
"Sorry we took so long, I had to shower and save Bryan. Angel, Mom, Wesley, Dawn, Fred, this is Bryan my watcher." Charli smiled cramming her car keys in the pocket of her jeans. "I had to save him from Lilah, she said he was bait to get me there. She wanted to give me a job." Charli explained.
"Next time would you actually tell us where you are going? We sent Gunn out to look for you." Buffy asked her daughter.
"He's on his way back, I saw him and it looked like he was in his way here." Charli explained just as Gunn pulled in outside.
"Just the luck," He mumbled coming in the door. "I went almost all over L.A. looking for you and you, where were you?" Gunn asked.
"Back to Wolfram & Hart, they had my watcher Bryan." Charli explained again.
"Charli, why don't you take Connor and Dawn and go in the kitchen I need to talk to these people." Bryan commanded. Charli nodded and the three of them went into the kitchen with Fred.
"Are any of you hungry?" Fred asked pulling up a stool. They all shook there head's no, and Fred shrugged and went to the bathroom.
"So, do you think they're talking about us in there?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, Buffy is confused, Gunn and Mom haven't said anything, and Angel, Wesley and Bryan are talking about me…" Charli said then waiting for more.
"You can actually hear them talking?" Dawn asked, surprised.
"Conner and I have really good hearing," Charli explained. "So, you've lived in Sunnyhell all your life?" Charli asked, trying to get to know her family.
"No really for a long time I was a ball of green energy. Then about two years ago some monks made me human and put me in Sunnydale to be Buffy's sister." Dawn explained.
"And we thought *we* were weird." Conner smiled at Charli.
"More or less I'm the key to the world. About a year ago there was this hell god named Glory who was trapped on earth for 25 years. She shared a body with this guy named Ben and Glory had to get the key to go back to where ever it was she came from. The night of the ritual Giles killed Ben to kill Glory, but he told me that he thinks Glory's spirit floated back to her dimension anyway, but Buffy doesn't know that. Anyway, there was this whole big thing and Buffy had to sacrifice herself for me to live. But the next October we did a spell to bring her back." Dawn told them.
"Woah," Charli said with her eyes getting big. "Buffy is in there talking to Angel and she said that when she went to go see the first Slayer it told her that 'Death is your Gift', and that is exactly what she told me… I think she saw that Buffy and I were meant for the same thing…" Charli trailed off.
Dawn looked at her niece than at Conner, "are you two going out?" She asked.
"Sorta, but technically we've only been once in this dimension." Charli told her. Dawn nodded, then the three sat in silence for a moment.
"I like your hair." Dawn complimented Charli. "I wanted to dye my hair but Buffy wouldn't let me." She sighed.
"We'll really my hair is the color of Spike's but I wanted to make it this color of pink 'cause it's my favorite color. But now I want it back blond so I'm gradually making it it's right color again." Charli explained. "Wesley is telling Bryan about the Arsenic demon. Buffy is talking to Gunn about weapons, and Angel is talking to Cordy about…. AHHHH!" Charli screamed.
"Oh, I really didn't need to know that." Conner said making a strange face.
"What?" Dawn smiled at Conner, who was holding his head in his hands and saying no over and over. Charli was laughing really hard, so hard she fell into a chair and then fell out of it. Angel looked over toward the kitchen and then walked over and went in. Only to find Charli laughing on the floor, Conner holding his head in his hands saying no, and Dawn looking very confused.
"What happened?" He asked Dawn.
"I don't know…" She shrugged. Buffy and Bryan came to the kitchen doorway, and Bryan bent over Charli.
"Get up." He told her.
"Can't" She spit out, then rolling over laughing. She climbed back into her chair, "I'm laughing at him." She giggled pointing to Conner.
Conner looked up, "never mind," He smiled lifting up his head.
*******************************************
That night…
"Are you *sure* you don't need my help?" Buffy asked her daughter then handing her an extra stake.
"I'm sure mom, I know what I am doing. And besides I have Conner and Wesley, if I can't kill this thing they can." Charli assured her mom sliding the stake into her pocket.
"Alright." Buffy sighed. Charli smiled at her mom and then hugged her.
"Tell dad that we'll be gone all night. Conner and I are going to Blue Flame and then he's coming home with me." Charli explained put on her brown leather jacket and Wesley and Conner came up beside her.
"Don't you have to be 21 to get into Blue Flame?" Angel asked standing beside Buffy.
"That's what Wes is for." Charli smiled.
"Just because he's 21 doesn't make you two 21." Angel glared at his son. "Last time you went to Club Chaos, you have to be sixteen to get in there. Get my point?" Angel asked.
"Please Dad? Charli said that she's been wanting to got there since she was fourteen!" Conner pleaded.
"Ohh, long time. I'm two hundred and forty nine, I think, and *I've* never been to Blue Flame." Angel told them.
"What's Blue Flame? And where's everybody going?" Dawn asked.
"A night club, and they're all going somewhere your not." Buffy told her sister, Dawn rolled her eyes.
"Why can't I go?" Dawn asked.
"You're too young." Spike said walking in the door. "Hi Pinky, Little bit, Peaches, Luv." He smiled.
"Spike do you ever call anyone by there real name?" Angel asked.
"Why should I do that?" Spike laughed. "What's going on?" He asked becoming serious again.
"We are leaving to go kill the Arsenic demon, and then we want to go to Blue Flame and mom and Angel won't let us." Charli explained to her father.
"Blue Flame? Oh, yeah that place. It's fun, I remember one time I went there and… I had a terrible time. And you're to young to go there, *I'm* to young to go there." Spike said changing his mood in mid-sentence because of the looks he was getting from Buffy and Angel. "Look, Pinky, just go kill the big bad and come back here, or go to club Chaos, it's not that bad." Spike suggested.
"Alright." Charli lied, and Spike could tell, but he didn't say anything. Charli, Wesley and Conner went outside and got into Charli's car for a little ride to the park. When they got there Charli saw the demon holding up a woman, "Lilah," she mumbled under her breath.
"Let it kill her," Wesley suggested.
"No, she let Bryan live, I can't let it kill her cause I want to do it." Charli smiled hopping out of her car. Conner and Wesley followed her over to the demon. "Didn't your mama teach you not to play with your food?" Charli asked the demon, who turned and looked at the short Slayer. (Anyone would have been short next to this demon; it was about eleven feet tall.)
The demon growled and dropped Lilah and flung its arm at Charli. "Get Lilah!" She yelled at Wesley, then jumping out of the demon's way. She drew the dagger she had taken from Lilah and threw it into the demon's heart. "That was easy, a little too easy." Charli said as she watched the demon fall to the ground.
"How'd you do that? Buffy said that those things were really hard to kill." Wesley marveled. Charli shrugged and then the demon disappeared into the ground. "What should we do with her?" Wesley asked the Slayer.
"Leave Lilah her, and her dagger/tracer." Charli smiled picking up the dagger off the ground and putting it on Lilah's chest. "Rollout?" She smiled.
"Let's go." Conner said getting back into the car.
"Where?" Wesley asked.
"Where else, Blue Flame." Charli smiled.
*******************************************
"So, this is where my key is?" A curly haired blond woman asked a little creature that looked like a hobbit with leprosy.
"Yes, o beautiful one." The thing replied.
"Good, now I can take her and the Slayer won't suspect a thing. I have my anognic key to make me the most powerful of the three hell gods, and with my key I can get back home." She paused a second, then continued, "The Slayer thinks I'm dead, but I really got taken back into Quor-Toth. I can't wait to go home." The woman smiled, the hobbit looking thing nodded and handed the woman a map of Los Angeles.
"I have no idea…" Angel began.
"That's Bryan, Charli's watcher from Quor-Toth." Conner explained opening the door for the watcher and Slayer. Charli had changed clothes; she was now wearing white peasant spaghetti top, dark blue jeans, tall golden boots, a long brown leather jacket, and she had bleached streaks in her pink hair.
"Sorry we took so long, I had to shower and save Bryan. Angel, Mom, Wesley, Dawn, Fred, this is Bryan my watcher." Charli smiled cramming her car keys in the pocket of her jeans. "I had to save him from Lilah, she said he was bait to get me there. She wanted to give me a job." Charli explained.
"Next time would you actually tell us where you are going? We sent Gunn out to look for you." Buffy asked her daughter.
"He's on his way back, I saw him and it looked like he was in his way here." Charli explained just as Gunn pulled in outside.
"Just the luck," He mumbled coming in the door. "I went almost all over L.A. looking for you and you, where were you?" Gunn asked.
"Back to Wolfram & Hart, they had my watcher Bryan." Charli explained again.
"Charli, why don't you take Connor and Dawn and go in the kitchen I need to talk to these people." Bryan commanded. Charli nodded and the three of them went into the kitchen with Fred.
"Are any of you hungry?" Fred asked pulling up a stool. They all shook there head's no, and Fred shrugged and went to the bathroom.
"So, do you think they're talking about us in there?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, Buffy is confused, Gunn and Mom haven't said anything, and Angel, Wesley and Bryan are talking about me…" Charli said then waiting for more.
"You can actually hear them talking?" Dawn asked, surprised.
"Conner and I have really good hearing," Charli explained. "So, you've lived in Sunnyhell all your life?" Charli asked, trying to get to know her family.
"No really for a long time I was a ball of green energy. Then about two years ago some monks made me human and put me in Sunnydale to be Buffy's sister." Dawn explained.
"And we thought *we* were weird." Conner smiled at Charli.
"More or less I'm the key to the world. About a year ago there was this hell god named Glory who was trapped on earth for 25 years. She shared a body with this guy named Ben and Glory had to get the key to go back to where ever it was she came from. The night of the ritual Giles killed Ben to kill Glory, but he told me that he thinks Glory's spirit floated back to her dimension anyway, but Buffy doesn't know that. Anyway, there was this whole big thing and Buffy had to sacrifice herself for me to live. But the next October we did a spell to bring her back." Dawn told them.
"Woah," Charli said with her eyes getting big. "Buffy is in there talking to Angel and she said that when she went to go see the first Slayer it told her that 'Death is your Gift', and that is exactly what she told me… I think she saw that Buffy and I were meant for the same thing…" Charli trailed off.
Dawn looked at her niece than at Conner, "are you two going out?" She asked.
"Sorta, but technically we've only been once in this dimension." Charli told her. Dawn nodded, then the three sat in silence for a moment.
"I like your hair." Dawn complimented Charli. "I wanted to dye my hair but Buffy wouldn't let me." She sighed.
"We'll really my hair is the color of Spike's but I wanted to make it this color of pink 'cause it's my favorite color. But now I want it back blond so I'm gradually making it it's right color again." Charli explained. "Wesley is telling Bryan about the Arsenic demon. Buffy is talking to Gunn about weapons, and Angel is talking to Cordy about…. AHHHH!" Charli screamed.
"Oh, I really didn't need to know that." Conner said making a strange face.
"What?" Dawn smiled at Conner, who was holding his head in his hands and saying no over and over. Charli was laughing really hard, so hard she fell into a chair and then fell out of it. Angel looked over toward the kitchen and then walked over and went in. Only to find Charli laughing on the floor, Conner holding his head in his hands saying no, and Dawn looking very confused.
"What happened?" He asked Dawn.
"I don't know…" She shrugged. Buffy and Bryan came to the kitchen doorway, and Bryan bent over Charli.
"Get up." He told her.
"Can't" She spit out, then rolling over laughing. She climbed back into her chair, "I'm laughing at him." She giggled pointing to Conner.
Conner looked up, "never mind," He smiled lifting up his head.
*******************************************
That night…
"Are you *sure* you don't need my help?" Buffy asked her daughter then handing her an extra stake.
"I'm sure mom, I know what I am doing. And besides I have Conner and Wesley, if I can't kill this thing they can." Charli assured her mom sliding the stake into her pocket.
"Alright." Buffy sighed. Charli smiled at her mom and then hugged her.
"Tell dad that we'll be gone all night. Conner and I are going to Blue Flame and then he's coming home with me." Charli explained put on her brown leather jacket and Wesley and Conner came up beside her.
"Don't you have to be 21 to get into Blue Flame?" Angel asked standing beside Buffy.
"That's what Wes is for." Charli smiled.
"Just because he's 21 doesn't make you two 21." Angel glared at his son. "Last time you went to Club Chaos, you have to be sixteen to get in there. Get my point?" Angel asked.
"Please Dad? Charli said that she's been wanting to got there since she was fourteen!" Conner pleaded.
"Ohh, long time. I'm two hundred and forty nine, I think, and *I've* never been to Blue Flame." Angel told them.
"What's Blue Flame? And where's everybody going?" Dawn asked.
"A night club, and they're all going somewhere your not." Buffy told her sister, Dawn rolled her eyes.
"Why can't I go?" Dawn asked.
"You're too young." Spike said walking in the door. "Hi Pinky, Little bit, Peaches, Luv." He smiled.
"Spike do you ever call anyone by there real name?" Angel asked.
"Why should I do that?" Spike laughed. "What's going on?" He asked becoming serious again.
"We are leaving to go kill the Arsenic demon, and then we want to go to Blue Flame and mom and Angel won't let us." Charli explained to her father.
"Blue Flame? Oh, yeah that place. It's fun, I remember one time I went there and… I had a terrible time. And you're to young to go there, *I'm* to young to go there." Spike said changing his mood in mid-sentence because of the looks he was getting from Buffy and Angel. "Look, Pinky, just go kill the big bad and come back here, or go to club Chaos, it's not that bad." Spike suggested.
"Alright." Charli lied, and Spike could tell, but he didn't say anything. Charli, Wesley and Conner went outside and got into Charli's car for a little ride to the park. When they got there Charli saw the demon holding up a woman, "Lilah," she mumbled under her breath.
"Let it kill her," Wesley suggested.
"No, she let Bryan live, I can't let it kill her cause I want to do it." Charli smiled hopping out of her car. Conner and Wesley followed her over to the demon. "Didn't your mama teach you not to play with your food?" Charli asked the demon, who turned and looked at the short Slayer. (Anyone would have been short next to this demon; it was about eleven feet tall.)
The demon growled and dropped Lilah and flung its arm at Charli. "Get Lilah!" She yelled at Wesley, then jumping out of the demon's way. She drew the dagger she had taken from Lilah and threw it into the demon's heart. "That was easy, a little too easy." Charli said as she watched the demon fall to the ground.
"How'd you do that? Buffy said that those things were really hard to kill." Wesley marveled. Charli shrugged and then the demon disappeared into the ground. "What should we do with her?" Wesley asked the Slayer.
"Leave Lilah her, and her dagger/tracer." Charli smiled picking up the dagger off the ground and putting it on Lilah's chest. "Rollout?" She smiled.
"Let's go." Conner said getting back into the car.
"Where?" Wesley asked.
"Where else, Blue Flame." Charli smiled.
*******************************************
"So, this is where my key is?" A curly haired blond woman asked a little creature that looked like a hobbit with leprosy.
"Yes, o beautiful one." The thing replied.
"Good, now I can take her and the Slayer won't suspect a thing. I have my anognic key to make me the most powerful of the three hell gods, and with my key I can get back home." She paused a second, then continued, "The Slayer thinks I'm dead, but I really got taken back into Quor-Toth. I can't wait to go home." The woman smiled, the hobbit looking thing nodded and handed the woman a map of Los Angeles.