Author's Notes: Set four years after 'Becoming' part two. Buffy ran away, and didn't come back. Now, four years later, she's about to be reminded of who and what she really is.
Rating: PG-13. Language and strong themes. Sorry, kiddies.
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine. Don't sue, please.
Feedback: Very welcome. Constructive criticism is welcome; flames will be used to help me toast marshmallows.
Chapter Notes: Again, sorry for the delay. I'm absolutely wiped out – so much that writing is sporadic. It's irritating, because I've got about five chapters left to write, and then I'll be done. Ah well. It'll finish eventually.
Chapter Twenty Four: Irritation
Hattie sat in the corner of the room, knees drawn up to her chin. She didn't know where she was, but she knew who the lady on the couch was. And she knew she was very, very afraid.
There were lots of ugly wrinkly demons in the room. She counted one, two, three, five, six. If she was big and strong like Mommy, she could hurt them. But she wasn't big and strong, even though she did eat her spinach, like Popeye.
The nasty lady had shown up just a little bit after Papa Max had told her to go with the witches. Spike had gone with her too, and she liked Spike. He had funny hair. He'd told her that she should help Willow with Marian, and that he'd be close, and then he'd gone to talk to the other man – the one that was even older than Spike.
She hadn't understood why the grown-ups had all gone still and scared until she turned and looked at the door. The lady was looking straight at her, ignoring everyone else. Spike had rushed at her, but she'd shoved him aside as if he weren't any bigger than a fly. Then she'd scooped Hattie up as if she were just a kitty, and had run out of the old building and through Sunnydale. If Hattie hadn't been so scared, she would have quite liked it.
She closed her eyes. Maybe this was a nightmare. She'd had nightmares before. Some of them had been really scary. Mommy had said that they had an ematic bond, or something, and that she was picking up Mommy's dreams. Maybe this was one of Mommy's dreams.
Hattie didn't think so. The lady was too bright to be in a dream.
"Hey, little girl!" Hattie's eyes widened even more as the lady addressed her. "Get over here!" Hattie pushed herself to her feet and slowly walked over to the lady. The lady was looking at her with a smile that made Hattie want to shiver. She didn't, though. She was in charge. She was a mini-Slayer, just like Mommy. "Hey, little girl, what's your name?"
"Hattie. Mommy said not to talk to strangers."
"I'll bet she did," the lady said. "I bet Mommy takes care of you real good, huh?" Hattie nodded silently. "But see, honey, I'm not a stranger. You know me, don't you?"
"Yes," Hattie said quietly. "You're the bad lady."
The lady laughed. "Honey, you don't know the half of it." She reached out a hand and fondled Hattie's dark curls. "You've never been to my own dear sweet home, have you, sweet pea?"
"No," Hattie whispered. "Mommy said it was a bad place. Clan came from there."
"That's right, honey. I'm from there too. You know what I am?"
"A god."
The lady cooed. "Aren't you just the smartest little button?" She leaned forwards. "I bet I could ask you all sorts of questions, and you'd be able to answer them, huh?"
Hattie nodded slowly. "Like Uncle Max teaching me?"
"Uh huh, whatever." The lady inspected her nails. "So, honey, question one. What's Mommy's name?"
"Annie Alexis Robinson," Hattie recited. "But sometimes Buffy Anne Summers."
The lady scowled. "Yeah, those names I already knew, pipsqueak. Any others?"
Hattie frowned. She wasn't sure she should be answering this lady's questions – but if she didn't, she knew it would be bad. Like when her father came.
"She's a slayer," she said slowly. "An' Alpha…"
The lady's eyes lit up. "She is? Oh, that is good news!" She swung her legs around and stood up, stretching leisurely. Hattie took several steps back. She didn't like tall grown-ups. The goddess lady was taller than Mommy – but that wasn't hard, as Mommy always said. "Now, honey, are you hungry?"
"Thirsty," Hattie muttered. "Want cranb'rey juice." Her lip trembled. "Want my mommy."
"Aw, crap, you're not gonna start whining, are you?" She snapped her fingers and one of the wrinkly demons ran up. "Get the kid some juice. And some food."
"Cranb'rey juice," Hattie insisted. "An' ice cream." The demon bowed deeply and backed away. Hattie smiled slightly. She was going to get ice cream before lunch! Although, she reminded herself carefully, she should still be scared. She chewed on her lip as she remembered the stories Charlotte had told her about the goddess lady.
"Now, honey, let's do some more 'Q and A', alright?"
Hattie nodded slowly.
""Now, you're a smart little girl. I bet you know all kinds of things." The lady narrowed her eyes. "Like if there's a demon in the room, or if someone's a vampire…or a Key."
Hattie frowned. "Keys are small."
The lady rolled her eyes. "They can be, yes, when they're made of metal and are for opening doors. I'm talking about a different kind of Key." She slid off the couch and kneeled so she was eye-level with the child. "This Key is made of green, shining energy."
"What's energy?"
"Ugh. Magicks. You can do those, I've seen it."
"Uh huh."
"And you can see them too. So, little girl, have you seen anything that's made of green lights? It could look like anything on the outside. A stone, or a dog, or a plate…"
"Traffic lights have green lights," Hattie observed, looking around the room and wandering towards a dressing table. "Maybe it's that."
The lady rose and stalked towards her, steering her away from the dressing table. "It's not a traffic light, pipsqueak. The Key is new to this world."
Hattie frowned. "Like the baby?" She climbed onto an armchair and bounced experimentally. "Mommy's going to have a baby."
"I already knew that. What are you, hyperactive?"
Hattie jumped off the chair and went to peer out of the window. "What's hypractive? Wow, lotsa grass. Wanna go play."
The lady put her hands on her hips. "No. You're talking to me about the Key, or – " She caught sight of the demon returning. "Or you don't get your ice cream."
Hattie scowled. "I don' like you. You're mean, jus' like Charlotte said."
"Kid!" The goddess grabbed Hattie by her shoulders and shook her. "Will you listen to me already?"
"No."
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Coming next chapter:
Scooby meeting.
Spike tried to find Buffy.