Part 16
Everything was so strange. Airliana could only just work out what was going on. This planet...these people...everything was so...overwhelming. All she knew of Earth and its people was what she had seen in books, on computers. She could *read* the strange language, could almost understand the speech as the humans spoke, but she couldn't quite speak it herself.
There was one word she knew. One word that stood out from all the rest. A word she had been taught was universal in every dimension.
Slayer.
A heroine. The Slayer - a legend in her world. A story told to make disobedient children behave. "Do as you're told or the Slayer will have to punish you."
The Slayer fought monsters. The Slayer would help people in danger. The Slayer saved worlds. And the Slayer would save her.
She also recognised the word "Watcher". The teacher of the Slayer. The Watcher was here speaking to her now. But she couldn't *communicate*.
She was so frustrated. Voices were coming from somewhere. A multitude of different tones and emotions were flowing over her, making her dizzy. Airliana climbed out of the bed, creeping towards the doorway. Another word was being repeated a lot. *Vampire*. The arch enemy of the Slayer.
Vampires were blood drinkers. Killers. Demons. But there were two in the house where the Slayer lived. It made no sense. She just wanted to go home. Back to St'rra where the other Ekrishinia were, where things made sense and Slayers were merely stories, and humans were slaves and kept in cages.
The humans were crowding into the room and all talking at once. Airliana moaned, sinking down on the floor, burying her face in her blue hands, white hair covering her features. "Slayer...help me," she whispered.
A girl in an odd yellow garment knelt beside her holding a pad of paper. She pointed at herself. "Slayer...that's me," she said. "Cynthia."
Airliana took the paper and writing device and began writing her story.
* * *
Dawn's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the strange blue creature that was occupying Buffy's old room. Her gibberish wasn't making a whole lot of sense.
Dawn didn't really care. So far, everything was working out perfectly. She had known, that of course, the Scoobies would invite her into her own house. As long as she acted just the way she had before. Until she took them out.
One by one.
The irritating good-guy group that stopped every demon's apocalyptic attempt. That kept the Hellmouth safe for the humans. What a bunch of - of *losers*! Dawn thought as she lay in bed.
The whole sunlight protection thing was going to be an issue. What would she do about school? Willow and Tara were up right now working on some sort of protective amulet for her to wear.
Yet another thing Dawn vowed to make different. In school Dawn was a nobody. If the witches could give her something that would allow her to go out in daylight then she could *really* shake things up. The first vampire to walk in sunlight.
The first vampire to eliminate the Scooby gang. She would take over the Hellmouth. She would tell the popular people who was hot around here.
^Definitely a fun new schedule to keep^ Dawn thought as her eyes fluttered shut and she drifted off to sleep.
Dawn didn't sleep long. It was still the middle of the night when she woke again. Hunger was gnawing at her stomach. She got out of bed, dressing silently. She opened her window and slid out, dropping silently to the ground. She paused, smiling slightly at the tree outside Buffy's window. ^Oh Buffy, if you could only see your little sister now,^ she thought.
Out of Buffy's window, a blue face was peering out at her. From what she knew the demon things' English was kind of crappy, so the thing couldn't tattle on her. Dawn waved in a mock salute. Xander and Anya had gone home, and so had Spike. Giles had come back from the Magic Box with the books he'd gone for. He and Cynthia were trying to work out what the demon girl's deal was. That would keep them busy.
Spike...Dawn was utterly amazed he was still alive - in a manner of speaking - she couldn't believe Xander hadn't torn him to pieces. Xander was always looking for an excuse to get rid of Spike. Yet because of the restraint chip in his brain Spike always managed to remain just out of reach.
"Hey - you got a light?"
Dawn had wandered away from the safe familiar area of her house. Now in a dark unlit area, a pale girl in a red tube top and a black mini-skirt with stringy blonde hair had approached her cautiously.
Dawn reached out, grabbing the hooker's bony arms and vamped out. The hooker screamed as Dawn buried her fangs in the girl's neck. The blood filled her with warmth, life, and a tingling buzz. Oh, she was *really* starting to like this vampire thing.
She tossed the lifeless corpse aside, her thoughts drifting back to Spike and what to do about that stupid chip. She wondered what Spike was like back in his bad days. Buffy had always worried about what would happen in the unlikely event the chip would come out.
Dawn had walked to the house were her life had changed. Gabriel was sitting on the ancient front porch, a cigarette in hand. "Well, well. Come back for more?"
Dawn's arms folded, head tilted to one side. "I'm not sure what that means."
"It means - " he gestured grandly around "whatever you want it to mean."
"You guys know any witches or anything about a species of demon called Ekrishinia?" Dawn asked.
Phyre came out of the painfully-loud squeaking front door. "How's your plan going?" she asked, spotting Dawn right away.
Dawn shrugged. "So far so good."
"She needs to know about the Ekrishinia," Gabriel said, dropping the cigarette and snuffing it out. "And a powerful Witch."
Phyre eyed Dawn with an expression Dawn was unable to interpret. "I thought your friends were witches," Phyre said.
Dawn shrugged again. "Yeah. But the problem is they're good witches, and won't do what I have in mind."
She watched the two vampires exchanging glances. Gabriel was shaking his head, Phyre was chuckling. Dawn waited, her eyes on Phyre, who was turning out to be very useful.
"What do you have in mind?" Phyre asked.
* * *
Everything was so strange. Airliana could only just work out what was going on. This planet...these people...everything was so...overwhelming. All she knew of Earth and its people was what she had seen in books, on computers. She could *read* the strange language, could almost understand the speech as the humans spoke, but she couldn't quite speak it herself.
There was one word she knew. One word that stood out from all the rest. A word she had been taught was universal in every dimension.
Slayer.
A heroine. The Slayer - a legend in her world. A story told to make disobedient children behave. "Do as you're told or the Slayer will have to punish you."
The Slayer fought monsters. The Slayer would help people in danger. The Slayer saved worlds. And the Slayer would save her.
She also recognised the word "Watcher". The teacher of the Slayer. The Watcher was here speaking to her now. But she couldn't *communicate*.
She was so frustrated. Voices were coming from somewhere. A multitude of different tones and emotions were flowing over her, making her dizzy. Airliana climbed out of the bed, creeping towards the doorway. Another word was being repeated a lot. *Vampire*. The arch enemy of the Slayer.
Vampires were blood drinkers. Killers. Demons. But there were two in the house where the Slayer lived. It made no sense. She just wanted to go home. Back to St'rra where the other Ekrishinia were, where things made sense and Slayers were merely stories, and humans were slaves and kept in cages.
The humans were crowding into the room and all talking at once. Airliana moaned, sinking down on the floor, burying her face in her blue hands, white hair covering her features. "Slayer...help me," she whispered.
A girl in an odd yellow garment knelt beside her holding a pad of paper. She pointed at herself. "Slayer...that's me," she said. "Cynthia."
Airliana took the paper and writing device and began writing her story.
* * *
Dawn's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the strange blue creature that was occupying Buffy's old room. Her gibberish wasn't making a whole lot of sense.
Dawn didn't really care. So far, everything was working out perfectly. She had known, that of course, the Scoobies would invite her into her own house. As long as she acted just the way she had before. Until she took them out.
One by one.
The irritating good-guy group that stopped every demon's apocalyptic attempt. That kept the Hellmouth safe for the humans. What a bunch of - of *losers*! Dawn thought as she lay in bed.
The whole sunlight protection thing was going to be an issue. What would she do about school? Willow and Tara were up right now working on some sort of protective amulet for her to wear.
Yet another thing Dawn vowed to make different. In school Dawn was a nobody. If the witches could give her something that would allow her to go out in daylight then she could *really* shake things up. The first vampire to walk in sunlight.
The first vampire to eliminate the Scooby gang. She would take over the Hellmouth. She would tell the popular people who was hot around here.
^Definitely a fun new schedule to keep^ Dawn thought as her eyes fluttered shut and she drifted off to sleep.
Dawn didn't sleep long. It was still the middle of the night when she woke again. Hunger was gnawing at her stomach. She got out of bed, dressing silently. She opened her window and slid out, dropping silently to the ground. She paused, smiling slightly at the tree outside Buffy's window. ^Oh Buffy, if you could only see your little sister now,^ she thought.
Out of Buffy's window, a blue face was peering out at her. From what she knew the demon things' English was kind of crappy, so the thing couldn't tattle on her. Dawn waved in a mock salute. Xander and Anya had gone home, and so had Spike. Giles had come back from the Magic Box with the books he'd gone for. He and Cynthia were trying to work out what the demon girl's deal was. That would keep them busy.
Spike...Dawn was utterly amazed he was still alive - in a manner of speaking - she couldn't believe Xander hadn't torn him to pieces. Xander was always looking for an excuse to get rid of Spike. Yet because of the restraint chip in his brain Spike always managed to remain just out of reach.
"Hey - you got a light?"
Dawn had wandered away from the safe familiar area of her house. Now in a dark unlit area, a pale girl in a red tube top and a black mini-skirt with stringy blonde hair had approached her cautiously.
Dawn reached out, grabbing the hooker's bony arms and vamped out. The hooker screamed as Dawn buried her fangs in the girl's neck. The blood filled her with warmth, life, and a tingling buzz. Oh, she was *really* starting to like this vampire thing.
She tossed the lifeless corpse aside, her thoughts drifting back to Spike and what to do about that stupid chip. She wondered what Spike was like back in his bad days. Buffy had always worried about what would happen in the unlikely event the chip would come out.
Dawn had walked to the house were her life had changed. Gabriel was sitting on the ancient front porch, a cigarette in hand. "Well, well. Come back for more?"
Dawn's arms folded, head tilted to one side. "I'm not sure what that means."
"It means - " he gestured grandly around "whatever you want it to mean."
"You guys know any witches or anything about a species of demon called Ekrishinia?" Dawn asked.
Phyre came out of the painfully-loud squeaking front door. "How's your plan going?" she asked, spotting Dawn right away.
Dawn shrugged. "So far so good."
"She needs to know about the Ekrishinia," Gabriel said, dropping the cigarette and snuffing it out. "And a powerful Witch."
Phyre eyed Dawn with an expression Dawn was unable to interpret. "I thought your friends were witches," Phyre said.
Dawn shrugged again. "Yeah. But the problem is they're good witches, and won't do what I have in mind."
She watched the two vampires exchanging glances. Gabriel was shaking his head, Phyre was chuckling. Dawn waited, her eyes on Phyre, who was turning out to be very useful.
"What do you have in mind?" Phyre asked.
* * *