On a suckage scale of one to ten, this was about a five hundred..
"Buffy, she is not happy with you, no?" Caridad at all the red boxed computers, stacked on three shelvees along one wall, and the twelve inch monitors piled along one other.
"Buffy, she is not happy with me, no." Dawn glared at the computers. "What does she think I can do with these anyway? Who uses Apple IIc's anyway?"
"Throw them in the dumpster," Caridad suggested. "After all it is one option she offered. Then Xander can be making this into the room for you."
"Yeah, banished to the basement," said Dawn. "Besides, that's what she expects me to do, and I so do not want to do what she expects."
"I do not want her to be kicking me in head again, during practise." Caridad wandered over to a large cardboard box marked Miscellaneous," and looked in. "What is this being?"
Dawn pulled out a coil of wire. "You know, this lookes like the wire Willow was stringing around when she was putting Xander's computer on the network." She grabbed another, smaller cable and picked it up. This one was fatter, and was connected to a device that she fitted the end of the network cable to. "I bet they tried to make a network with these."
"For why? They do not even have hard drive."
Dawn pulled one of the computers out of it's box. "See," she fitted the round end of the cable into a plug in on the back of the computer. "This must be a modem cable, cause there's a little picture of a phone by the plug. That's what they were doing, making a network with these computers, and we can do it too. We can each have one in our rooms, and chat with each other and ..."
"Can we do the internet, cause that would be cool. Then I would not have to wait to email my brother in Spain. That would be good, no?"
"That would be good yes," Dawn paused. ""I don't know if you can do web pages, but email, I would have to ask Willow, but I think you can."
"Good. What can I do?"
"Find out how many cables and connectors there are in there. I need to see Willow, and then Xander." Dawn grabbed a modem cable and a connector from the box, and ran out of the room."
"It might work," Willow looked dubiously at the cable and connector. "But why would you want to? It isn't like anyone is going to want to use them. "She then glanced at Dawn. "I thought she wanted you to throw those computers out."
"Which I'm not doing, and with the right programs you can do your homework with them, and other stuff, and I am so not going to do what Buffy wants me to do. It's not like she's my mother."
"No she's not, but she is your Guardians she is going through a hard time, what with losing Spike and all."
"Yeah, whatever." Dawn turned back to the computer she was using in the lab. She was just reaching for her pad and paper when she was roughly grabbed and anf found her staring into angry Willow eyes.
"You ungrateful little wretch. Buffy busts her butt trying to keep you safe. To keep the world safe for ungrateful little wretches like you. You, you especially. She gave her life for you and the least you can do is make it a little easier for her." Willow paused to let it sink in. "Now you march back downstairs and you start throwing those computers out."
"NO!!"
Willow's eyes widened.
"I WILL NOT THROW THOSE COMPUTERS OUT AND IF YOU OR BUFFY DO THEN I'M GOING TO LIVE WITH DAD."
"Dawn, you can't you were given to Buffy..."
"I'M NOT A THING TO BE GIVEN OR DISPOSED OF WHEN IT SUITS YOU. I'm a person, even the monks said so. Do you know what it's like to know that you've only lived three years, yet have the memories of a sixteen year old. To remember things from my childhood. Things that I can remember being happy about, birthday parties, thing's Mom did for me and Buffy did for me and things I did for them and know that they never HAPPENED. Dawn took a ragged breath and continued. "Buffy misses Spike. WELL SO DO I. He was the ONLY ONE, except for maybe Xander, that accepted me for what I am. A PERSON. Not some THING that was imposed on you. And Buffy tried to keep me from him except when she NEEDED him to protect me."
"Dawn, Buffy loves you. We alldo."
"Didn't stop you from trying to kill me last year."
Willow reacted like she had been slapped.
"DAWN. THAT IS ENOUGH!"
Both Willow and Dawn turned to see an enraged Slayer stalking up the aisle. "I could hear you three rooms away," Buffy growled. "You know Willow didn't mean it. You know what she was going through. She's done more than enough to redeem herself. Now apologize."
"Oh, you're big on the redemption thing aren't you," Dawn spat. "As long as you got to decide what was enough. Did it even occur to you to ask what I think?" Dawn titterd. "Oh, she didn't MEAN to kill me. It was the only way she could get to the POWER, which was what she wanted. Too bad it was ME that had it. Well, guess what sis. I still got the power and Glory and Willow were only the first ones to try to get it."
"What do you mean the first ones," demanded Buffy.
"Are others," began Willow.
"Yes other's," Dawn interrupted. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. "I've been feeling things, like probes. Magick probes. At firsst I though it was the First, maybe it still is. But the magick doesn't feel right, like hers. Not that her magick was right but you know what I mean."
"You can feel magick," Willow asked, amazed.
"What," Dawn looked at her. "You think I haven't learned anything, doing research. Some of it was for me, and I learned enough to recognize magick when I feel it, and to recognize your magick signature. So don't go trying anything without talking to me first.cause I can get my deflector shields up fast, and I'm not sure what'll happen when I do."
"But I wouldn't," Willow looked hurt.
"If Buffy told you to you would." Dawn sighed, and slumped on her stool. "Look, maybe I can accept that Willow didn't really mean to kill me, I loved Tara too, though not in the same way, but I'm gonna be the key for the rest of my life and I can't always depend on you being around to protect me, so I gotta learn to do it myself. If it means taking a job that puts me closer to people, like the Council, or others that you don't like, then that's what it takes, and if it means doing it in LA, then that's what I'll do, too."
Dawn turned to face the computer. "Now, if you don't mind, I got work to do." She grabbed her pen and paper,
"I'm not finished Dawn."
"Later Buffy, or we can talk long distance over the phones. Your choice."
Buffy stared at her sister, her mouth hanging open, ready to say something. A hand touched her shoulder.
"Later Buffy," Willow said. "When things calm down a bit."
"So," Cardida said, when Dawn got back to the room. She had finished straightening out the cables, and had even hauled two computers out of their boxes, set them up with monitors, and hooked them up. "You are finding what you want?"
"Yeah, I found it," Dawn muttered placing some disks on the table. "Prodos, Appleworks, Kermit-64, so let's get this hooked up. There's not gonna be a server, but we should be able to get one computer talking to another."
"Computers talk?" Caridad looked surprised. "At home, in Spain, in the village where I was born and lived until Mr. Giles came to take me to America, we do not have talking computers."
"Well not really talk," said Dawn. "Here, put this disk into the computer and turn it on. There's other programs, but essentially, the Apple will think it's talking through it's modem."
Caridad did as instructed, and withing a few minutes, both girls were chatting with each other over the simple two computer network.
Aftyer half an hour, Dawn stood up and stretched. "I really should go and apologize to Willow?"
"Apologize," quieired Caridad. "What are you being to apologize for?"
"I had a blow up at her, and things got rather loud," said Dawn. 'Buffy was there too."
"I am thinking I do not want to train with her today."
"Buffy, she is not happy with you, no?" Caridad at all the red boxed computers, stacked on three shelvees along one wall, and the twelve inch monitors piled along one other.
"Buffy, she is not happy with me, no." Dawn glared at the computers. "What does she think I can do with these anyway? Who uses Apple IIc's anyway?"
"Throw them in the dumpster," Caridad suggested. "After all it is one option she offered. Then Xander can be making this into the room for you."
"Yeah, banished to the basement," said Dawn. "Besides, that's what she expects me to do, and I so do not want to do what she expects."
"I do not want her to be kicking me in head again, during practise." Caridad wandered over to a large cardboard box marked Miscellaneous," and looked in. "What is this being?"
Dawn pulled out a coil of wire. "You know, this lookes like the wire Willow was stringing around when she was putting Xander's computer on the network." She grabbed another, smaller cable and picked it up. This one was fatter, and was connected to a device that she fitted the end of the network cable to. "I bet they tried to make a network with these."
"For why? They do not even have hard drive."
Dawn pulled one of the computers out of it's box. "See," she fitted the round end of the cable into a plug in on the back of the computer. "This must be a modem cable, cause there's a little picture of a phone by the plug. That's what they were doing, making a network with these computers, and we can do it too. We can each have one in our rooms, and chat with each other and ..."
"Can we do the internet, cause that would be cool. Then I would not have to wait to email my brother in Spain. That would be good, no?"
"That would be good yes," Dawn paused. ""I don't know if you can do web pages, but email, I would have to ask Willow, but I think you can."
"Good. What can I do?"
"Find out how many cables and connectors there are in there. I need to see Willow, and then Xander." Dawn grabbed a modem cable and a connector from the box, and ran out of the room."
"It might work," Willow looked dubiously at the cable and connector. "But why would you want to? It isn't like anyone is going to want to use them. "She then glanced at Dawn. "I thought she wanted you to throw those computers out."
"Which I'm not doing, and with the right programs you can do your homework with them, and other stuff, and I am so not going to do what Buffy wants me to do. It's not like she's my mother."
"No she's not, but she is your Guardians she is going through a hard time, what with losing Spike and all."
"Yeah, whatever." Dawn turned back to the computer she was using in the lab. She was just reaching for her pad and paper when she was roughly grabbed and anf found her staring into angry Willow eyes.
"You ungrateful little wretch. Buffy busts her butt trying to keep you safe. To keep the world safe for ungrateful little wretches like you. You, you especially. She gave her life for you and the least you can do is make it a little easier for her." Willow paused to let it sink in. "Now you march back downstairs and you start throwing those computers out."
"NO!!"
Willow's eyes widened.
"I WILL NOT THROW THOSE COMPUTERS OUT AND IF YOU OR BUFFY DO THEN I'M GOING TO LIVE WITH DAD."
"Dawn, you can't you were given to Buffy..."
"I'M NOT A THING TO BE GIVEN OR DISPOSED OF WHEN IT SUITS YOU. I'm a person, even the monks said so. Do you know what it's like to know that you've only lived three years, yet have the memories of a sixteen year old. To remember things from my childhood. Things that I can remember being happy about, birthday parties, thing's Mom did for me and Buffy did for me and things I did for them and know that they never HAPPENED. Dawn took a ragged breath and continued. "Buffy misses Spike. WELL SO DO I. He was the ONLY ONE, except for maybe Xander, that accepted me for what I am. A PERSON. Not some THING that was imposed on you. And Buffy tried to keep me from him except when she NEEDED him to protect me."
"Dawn, Buffy loves you. We alldo."
"Didn't stop you from trying to kill me last year."
Willow reacted like she had been slapped.
"DAWN. THAT IS ENOUGH!"
Both Willow and Dawn turned to see an enraged Slayer stalking up the aisle. "I could hear you three rooms away," Buffy growled. "You know Willow didn't mean it. You know what she was going through. She's done more than enough to redeem herself. Now apologize."
"Oh, you're big on the redemption thing aren't you," Dawn spat. "As long as you got to decide what was enough. Did it even occur to you to ask what I think?" Dawn titterd. "Oh, she didn't MEAN to kill me. It was the only way she could get to the POWER, which was what she wanted. Too bad it was ME that had it. Well, guess what sis. I still got the power and Glory and Willow were only the first ones to try to get it."
"What do you mean the first ones," demanded Buffy.
"Are others," began Willow.
"Yes other's," Dawn interrupted. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. "I've been feeling things, like probes. Magick probes. At firsst I though it was the First, maybe it still is. But the magick doesn't feel right, like hers. Not that her magick was right but you know what I mean."
"You can feel magick," Willow asked, amazed.
"What," Dawn looked at her. "You think I haven't learned anything, doing research. Some of it was for me, and I learned enough to recognize magick when I feel it, and to recognize your magick signature. So don't go trying anything without talking to me first.cause I can get my deflector shields up fast, and I'm not sure what'll happen when I do."
"But I wouldn't," Willow looked hurt.
"If Buffy told you to you would." Dawn sighed, and slumped on her stool. "Look, maybe I can accept that Willow didn't really mean to kill me, I loved Tara too, though not in the same way, but I'm gonna be the key for the rest of my life and I can't always depend on you being around to protect me, so I gotta learn to do it myself. If it means taking a job that puts me closer to people, like the Council, or others that you don't like, then that's what it takes, and if it means doing it in LA, then that's what I'll do, too."
Dawn turned to face the computer. "Now, if you don't mind, I got work to do." She grabbed her pen and paper,
"I'm not finished Dawn."
"Later Buffy, or we can talk long distance over the phones. Your choice."
Buffy stared at her sister, her mouth hanging open, ready to say something. A hand touched her shoulder.
"Later Buffy," Willow said. "When things calm down a bit."
"So," Cardida said, when Dawn got back to the room. She had finished straightening out the cables, and had even hauled two computers out of their boxes, set them up with monitors, and hooked them up. "You are finding what you want?"
"Yeah, I found it," Dawn muttered placing some disks on the table. "Prodos, Appleworks, Kermit-64, so let's get this hooked up. There's not gonna be a server, but we should be able to get one computer talking to another."
"Computers talk?" Caridad looked surprised. "At home, in Spain, in the village where I was born and lived until Mr. Giles came to take me to America, we do not have talking computers."
"Well not really talk," said Dawn. "Here, put this disk into the computer and turn it on. There's other programs, but essentially, the Apple will think it's talking through it's modem."
Caridad did as instructed, and withing a few minutes, both girls were chatting with each other over the simple two computer network.
Aftyer half an hour, Dawn stood up and stretched. "I really should go and apologize to Willow?"
"Apologize," quieired Caridad. "What are you being to apologize for?"
"I had a blow up at her, and things got rather loud," said Dawn. 'Buffy was there too."
"I am thinking I do not want to train with her today."
