Selenity owns Fire Blossom, Annabellina and Frank. Nyneve owns Saxen Maverick and Moksha.

Chapter Twelve:

Spiked. History. Split.

"Are you okay?" Duo approached Effie feeling very awkward. She was seated next to same metal table he had lain on during his death, holding Tabby's lifeless hand.

"Sure." It was obvious to him from her detached voice that she was not okay. And yet, he wasn't sure exactly what to do. Normally he was very good at comforting girls…but he didn't know where he and Effie stood. She had been his date the previous night, but he couldn't say what that really meant either. Their relationship was somewhere in between friends and…he didn't know what else.

"She's going to be fine," he offered.

"I know." She didn't budge, just gently stroked her new friend's hand.

"Do you-"

"I just hate this so much!" She spun around in her chair to face him, and her eyes were filled with pleading and tears, "I can't stand death, and violence, and why would Washu pick me for this? She knows all about me. She knows everything. So why would she put me in this position?" Duo struggled. He wanted to give her all her answers, tell her something wise and set all her fears aside. He wanted to make her feel better. But he had no answers to give her.

"I don't know, Fire Blossom."

"Fire Blossom. What a name," she laughed dryly, "It's not my real name, you know. Did I ever tell you my real name?" He shook his head. "It's Kathy."

"Kathy…" he said it as though trying out the sound, "I think I like Effie better." She smiled and looked back at Tabby. Closing her eyes, she sighed. She had to tell someone about that dream. What it meant, she had no clue. But someone had to know. As much as she hated sharing personal information, she couldn't just keep it to herself. Maybe Duo would even know what it meant.

"Duo, I have to-" A soft moan from the table interrupted her. Both youths quickly directed their attention on the stirring form of Tabby.

"Man," sitting up slowly, Tabby put a hand to her forehead, "someone must have seriously spiked the punch. I had the most freaky-ass dream you've ever heard of. You two were both there," she smiled at her friends, "and you pulled out some kind of laser, and you just stood there, while Duo and your relatives tried to kill me. Is that not the freakiest dream ever?"

"Umm, well, you see Tabby, that kind of…happened," Effie finished lamely. Tabby raised her eyebrows at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You people are so weird," she leaned back and rolled her eyes. Effie gaped at her.

"We're weird? Who was the chick with the explosives coming out of her hand?!"

"I'm not weird. I'm a mutant."

"Mutant?"

"A twisted perversion of a little lamb, is she not?" They hadn't heard Drusilla enter. Of course, being a vampire, she was rather gifted in the stealth department. She smiled broadly at the newest Sacred One, displaying all of her all-too-human appearing teeth. She had changed out of her overtly predatory outfit from the dance, into a slight variation on her usual little-girl nightgown; this one was cream-colored, with a delicate pink bow at the collar.

"Excuse me?"

"You needn't sing, firecracker. I see. I can see him all about you. You fear the fuse. When the fuse goes off, so goeth the firecracker. Pop," she spread her fingers wide and spun around once, "And all the world will be gone in a flash of light and noise. And then who will come to tea?"

"Okay, she's definitely weird," Tabby glanced at Effie.

"It's not her fault," Effie offered weakly.

"Oh no? Then what's her deal?"

"Well, we don't really know…"

"She was good and sweet and pure. He corrupted her, drove her mad. Then made her a monster. After years, she finally found another as naïve as she had been and formed him into the lover she craved. But he left her for a vampire slayer." All of them, including Drusilla, turned to stare at Duo. His epiphany had certainly come out of nowhere.

"How do-" Effie began, but Dru slipped in front of her and lay a pale hand against Duo's cheek.

"Very clever, star. Very clever. Took a bit and now he knows about all the skulls in my wardrobe." Duo blushed and looked away.

"It's her blood. You got it out, but…it's hard to explain. When she exchanged blood with me, I learned all of her deepest secrets, her entire life. The blood is gone, but I can still remember."

"Who's 'he'?" Effie asked, scrutinizing Drusilla. Duo started to shrug and opened his mouth but Drusilla responded.

"Daddy."

"That sounds kinky," Tabby piped in, but Effie shushed her.

"Your father?" Drusilla shook her head.

"Father was neat as a pin, and smelled of peppermint. Daddy loved a good mess. And death. Daddy says he saw everything Father had when he gouged his eyes out. That was before, of course."

"Before what?" Effie asked cautiously.

"Before Daddy ripped his heart out." The three humans in the room all winced at the singsong voice Drusilla always used, even now, talking about her father's violent death. But then again, she was insane. And a soulless, evil vampire besides. It was strange how quickly one forgot that. She acted like a little child sometimes, with her doll and her nursery rhymes. But she wasn't. She was older than all of them put together.

"Grandmum thought it a lovely game," Dru continued, "Kisses filled with bitter, and thoughts of black snakes. That was what Grandmother liked best. Sweetest William loved it all. Though he then loved She. And we were most disappointed, Miss Edith and I. We had all planned a lovely picnic, but Willy stole all the ducklings, love. Not a one left," she shook her head sadly at the thought of 'Willy'. Duo and Effie exchanged glances. Tabby, however, didn't look away from the now silently weeping vampire.

"It's so sad," she said absentmindedly, starting to tear herself. Drusilla sniffled suddenly, and Tabby walked slowly over to her and put an arm around her shoulder. Softly whispering, she stroked the woman's dark hair until she was calmed.

Drusilla wiped a slightly red tinted tear off her cheek, and turned so she was facing Tabby. Leaning in, she gently licked one of tears off of Tabby's.

"Hey!" Effie broke in, "None of that!" Drusilla smiled, almost sheepishly and exited the room.

"The future?" Saxen asked, sounding skeptical. Effie nodded.

"My dreams show the future. Well, not the whole future. Just little undecipherable bits. It's all very symbolic. And not all my dreams. Like, not the one with the guacamole, and the pope, and-" she broke off, a look of horror crossing her face, "oh, god, I hope that's not the future!"

Saxen rolled her eyes. Effie had come to her, telling a strange story about a dream in which Saxen herself had been made of water, or the ocean, and magical spiral symbols or some such strange thing. Effie refused to believe it was not only a dream, insisting her dreams had before revealed the future to her. It made absolutely no sense. But then again…did any of this? The goddess of a society no one has ever heard of has been watching a bounty hunter and a hitchhiker and chooses them to track down a set of minor gods and goddesses who are spread throughout dimensions? Said hitchhiker also had mysterious magical powers.

Along the way, they pick up an 19th century vampire slayer, a vampire, some kind of super-armed soldier, and a wild teenage girl who can generate high-powered explosives, respectively. Plus five more people coming, sure to be freaks as well. And they were all flying through space and time on the most advanced ship in any universe. That had a really great movie collection. If anyone had told her this would be her life before it had actually happened, she would have suggested they find some professional help. Strongly suggested it, in fact. But here it was…her insane life. So maybe visions of the future weren't so unbelievable anymore.

"So, what do you think it means?" Saxen gave in to the idea.

"I don't have a clue. I was hoping you might secretly be a dream-interpreting bounty hunter or something."

Saxen arched her eyebrows, and Effie gave her a winsome smile, which had absolutely no effect on the bounty hunter who did not in fact have a secret talent for dream interpretation.

Tabby sat quietly at a table, watching the stars go by. Before, it had been inconceivable that she would ever make it into space. That kind of thing was impossible in her dimension. But here…here it seemed anything could happen. There was no limit to the possibilities. The dreams. The movies.

"Hey." She turned to see the man, Van Helsing, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey."

"I was just, well, I wanted to see how you were handling the…shock."

"I'm good, Hel-boy. This is pretty severely weird ass, but hey. In my life, the ass gets even weirder."

"Oh," he seemed a little shaken up by her language, "that's good. And I…I just wanted to apologize. For killing you. It was nothing personal."

"No hard feelings, H. I feel footloose and fancy free." Van Helsing nodded slightly, though he was fairly thoroughly confused. He exited and Tabby, sighing, turned back to the stars. She just wished she could really say she was okay with leaving her friends, her home, her dimension. It was so sudden and so new. She felt split down the middle. On one hand, this was an amazing adventure. Finally an escape from the confusing life she had tired of. On the other, this was a departure from the world she knew. She would probably never see any of the people she had known ever again. It was a sobering concept. The normally bubbly girl rested her head on her hand and shut her eyes.

"Come on, Frank," Effie hissed, gesturing madly to the backpack, who seemed hesitant. After a few moments however, it finally gave up and came to her side. However, it seemed to be following grudgingly, which caused Effie to give Frank a light slap, "it will be fine. Don't worry about it." A pause and she sighed, exasperated. "Let's leave the thinking to the being with the brain, shall we?"

Frank seemed to have surrendered. At least, the backpack made no more attempts to sneak away, but followed its mistress dutifully as she slipped through a doorway and out of view.