Disclaimer:
None of these characters are mine. All characters from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Charmed are the property of Joss Whedon and Aaron Spelling, respectively.
Summary:
Crossover between the Charmed and Buffy universes. Little Buffy has a dream and, when she wakes up, her world has changed.
Author's Note:
Please "feed" the author.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Buffy's Bad Night
Where am I? It's not my house. She was in a nice house – a pretty house. There was a big clock in the living room and it was bonging. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Everything was quiet now. She looked around the room. A table was broken and there was a burnt spot on the couch. She moved into another room. It was the kitchen. Something was burning on the stove. No one was here either. Eeeek! She screamed. There, in the pantry, was a lady. There was blood coming from her head and she wasn't moving. She looked closer. It was the lady that made dinner last night. What was her name? BOOM! She looked up, scared. What was that? She went back to the living room. Everything was still quiet. She looked at the stairs. It had come from upstairs. For some reason, she started to walk up the stairs. She shivered. She was so scared. She was on the next floor, she checked all the bedrooms. Nope. No one here either. "NOOOO!" She looked up – the scream had come from the next floor. She wanted to go home. She didn't want to go upstairs. She tried to turn and go downstairs. But, her feet walked towards the next set of stairs. They were skinnier than the other stairs. She looked up. They came to an end outside an open door. She walked in slowly. Eeek! Oh no! Inside the room, she saw Xander and the other nice man, lying on the floor. They weren't moving and there were arrows in them. She started to cry. Daddy! Daddy! Oh, why wasn't he here?
She moved forward into the room. She didn't want to, but something was pulling at her. Stop! Stop! She looked into the room. The lady with the red hair was lying on the floor. She wasn't moving either, and there was blood all around her. No arrows. She came closer. Her throat had thin line of red circling it. Her face was very, very white. Like she was a piece of chalk. She started to cry, oh, please, please let me go home. She tried to shimmer, but it wouldn't work. Mommy! Daddy! Benny! No one was coming. She cried some more. Then she heard the growling.
There on the other side of a room was a large demon. It was about the same size as Daddy when he was a demon. But it didn't look the same. Daddy was red and had lots of black swirls on him. This one was more orange in color, and had spots and triangles- no lines. His claws were red, not black like Daddy's. His eyes were black and he had small bumps on his head. He had no nose. For some reason, that made her more scared than anything else. Everything should have a nose. It was holding that third lady from last night by her throat. She had a book in her arms. A BIG book. It was important, she knew that. Very important. She moved forward as the woman stopped breathing. She went to grab the book and...
"NO!" Buffy woke up terrified. She rubbed her eyes, they were wet with tears. She looked around.
Good. I'm safe. I'm back home. It was just a dream, a bad dream.
She looked at her hands. She was still shaking.
Everything is okay now.
She started to breathe slower. She got out of bed and looked around some more. She frowned.
Something's wrong. What?
She looked around.
I don't know! I don't know! Ben will know!
She ran out of her room for Ben's room. She ran through the door and jumped on his bed. Ben didn't move. She tried to move him. He didn't move. Oh, no! NO! "Daddy! Mommy! Daddy! Mommy!"
She bolted out and headed for mommy and daddy's room. She froze as she entered. Mommy was at her mirror, brushing her hair. But something was funny. She was frozen, the brush stopped in the middle of her hair. Buffy tried shaking her and nothing would happen. She was really scared now. She was crying and tears were falling on the floor. Daddy! She looked around, he wasn't in here. The bathroom! She ran into the bathroom. Oh, no! Daddy's frozen, too! He was stepping into the shower. You could see the water frozen in mid-air. Buffy didn't like this. She wanted it to stop. She wondered if everyone in the whole world was like this. Why wasn't she?
She started to think.
What would Mommy do? Daddy? Benny? Or Grandpa? Grandpa would say to just think and I could figure it out. Like that funny puzzle he had me figure out on my own. He says everything has an answer. We just need to figure out what the question is.
She scrambled up on her mommy and daddy's bed.
Okay! I had a bad dream. Maybe the dream is the question. Aunt Buffy says her bad dreams come true. So, my dream could be telling me about something that's going to happen. And, I'm the only one moving. That means I have to do something.
She started to cry again. She wiped at them angrily. I can't cry. I need to do something.
She started to think about her dream.
In my dream, I was being pulled upstairs. I couldn't stop. I wanted to stop. I wanted to go home, but I couldn't. Everybody was dead at that house. Blood. Bad men came. No! Demons! I'm just a little girl. What can I do? We need a Slayer. Or Daddy. Or Mommy. Anybody would do better'n me.
She shook her head. She just couldn't do it. Not alone. I have to. Something bad happens in that house. Or will happen. If I could just tell them, maybe they can stop it. She frowned. No. Maybe they're all froze too. I have to do it myself.
She ran out of the bedroom. She had to prepare before she went. She ran downstairs to the special room that her mommy used to pray to the Goddess. Before she went in the room, she stripped all her clothes. Sometimes mommy prays without any clothes on, she said it made the prayer more personal. So, Buffy decided she should do that. She made a circle of candles around her and grabbed her mommy's special knife. She looked up at the moon and prayed.
''Oh, Great Goddess, giver of life and death
Please hear my prayer.
Help me to do what I must do.
Help me to bring light to dark.
Help me to bring life from death.''
She finished the prayer and went to her room to dress, taking the knife with her. She dressed quickly. She was scared, but she wasn't going to cry. She would be brave, like Benny was brave. It was her turn to take care of him. That was all. I can do this. I will do this.
She looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing the velvet pantsuit Aunt Buffy had bought her. It was purple (her favorite color) and had a sleeveless top. She put on some calf boots and slipped her mommy's knife into the left boot. She looked again. Something was missing. She smiled. She knew what she needed. She went to her jewelry box and took out a talisman that Grandpa had given her for her birthday. Going back to the mirror, she smiled again. I'm ready. Her eyes darkened nearly to solid black, as she shimmered out of her bedroom.
She reappeared in the house from the dream. It looked exactly the same. No, not exactly. The table wasn't broken. The clock wasn't bonging. She went into the kitchen. She looked in the pantry. She sighed in relief. Good. No body here. What about upstairs? She left and took the stairs at a run. Once on the next floor, she could hear something. It was coming from one of the bedrooms. She looked through the crack in the door. It was lady who had died in the kitchen! She wasn't dead. But she was frozen. I knew it! No help from her. But where should I go? She tried to play back her dream in her head, like a video. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. She remembered the end. The book! That's what I have to do! I have to protect the book. That's the question!
She ran up the final set of steps. She looked around Uncle Xander and the other man and the other two ladies were standing around the book. They looked like they were talking about something. The red-haired lady's mouth was still open. She looked at the book. It was so very big. Almost bigger than her. She heard the clock from downstairs start to bong. That's it! It'll happen soon.
She took the knife out of her boot and said a silent prayer that she would be strong enough. Luckily, her daddy had taught her how to use a knife. Still, she was scared and nervous that she wouldn't be able to ... Suddenly, the demon appeared. He looked around himself in confusion. She stayed very, very still. Be still. She froze. Who was speaking? It wasn't the demon. The Goddess! It must be the Goddess!She stayed very, very still; she even tried to stop breathing. The demon moved into the room. Oh, please, don't touch the book. This'll work if you just don't touch the book.
"What the hell?" The demon muttered. He hadn't used a spell. This confused him. This smacked of witchcraft or even sorcery. Then there was the child. He hadn't been informed of a girl brat in the Halliwell household. Damn it! He hated faulty intelligence. Moving around the attic, he approached the men and women. They weren't moving at all, and they looked as if they had frozen in the middle of an argument. One of the witches could do this, he thought in consternation, but it wasn't one of these. It was the missing one. He looked at the little girl. She was holding an athame.
Hmmmm, that's curious, he thought. That athame doesn't look like one that would belong to a white witch. He got closer. He was right! It was a dark witch's athame. This really didn't make any sense. He started to feel uneasy.
Buffy was getting excited. Be patient, little one. Wait until the time is right. He was so close. This could work. She just had to wait a little more. She remembered something her daddy said. You had to be sure you killed a demon with your first blow. You usually wouldn't have a second chance. That meant stabbing him in the heart. She tried to concentrate really hard. She needed to hear his heart. She had to make sure it worked. She prayed to Goddess silently. Oh, Goddess, please make my aim true.
He crept even closer to the girl. She hadn't moved at all. Plus, she was way too young to have been able to cast a spell on the Charmed Ones. The athame might have been a trophy the Charmed Ones had claimed from a victim. Yes, he thought, that made more sense. I'll just take it with me. He smiled evilly. Yes, I'll kill them with it. He stepped right next to the girl and reached out to take it. The blade quivered. "What the he..."
Now, my child. Now is the time. Make your aim as true as your heart.He was in her reach, now. She reached forward and thrust the knife with all her strength into his chest. At the same moment, he released a burst of energy towards her. Much like lightning. She was forced back and thrown against the wall of the attic. The demon burst into flame as the athame pierced his heart.
The attic was thrown into uproar. Paige couldn't remember what she had been saying. But it hardly mattered. Everyone looked around in confusion. "What the hell?" Leo asked.
Xander looked around and saw the small still figure against the opposite wall. Buffy! "Oh my God! Buffy!" He ran to her side, putting his hands over her. Please, please, he thought in desperation. Let me be soon enough.
"Xander!" Leo cried. "You can't heal her – she's a demon!"
Xander stared at him in disgust. "Watch me! She's got a soul – she can be healed. Why don't you go to your bosses and complain?" He turned around and concentrated on Buffy.
Phoebe and Paige looked on in confusion. There had been a demon here. It had been destroyed. By what? Phoebe asked herself. The girl? Impossible! Then she remembered the girl's parents. Oh, no! Do they know? She turned to Paige. "Paige! Orb to Cole and Willow! They need to know."
"Phoebe..." Paige began but was interrupted by Phoebe's demands.
"Paige, shut up! Orb now! Now!" Phoebe screamed. Damn it, she hated it when Paige insisted on discussing things. Sometimes, actions are needed. She relaxed when she saw that Paige had orbed out.
The Turner's House
Willow jumped nearly a foot in the air as she saw the white-blue blobs of light reflected in her mirror. She turned around as Paige materialized in her bedroom. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her suspiciously. "What the hell are you doing?"
At the sound of her voice, Cole stopped from stepping into the shower. He shook his head. It seemed like he should've already been in there. He grabbed a robe and strode back in the bedroom. There was Paige looking nervously at Willow, who really didn't look too happy to see Paige.
"Paige. You better have a good explanation."
Paige started at the sound of his voice. She nodded nervously and took a deep breath. She'd better make this good or she'd be eating an energy ball. "It's your little girl. She's at the manor."
"WHAT!" Cole and his wife screamed at her. Cole walked up to her until his face was inches from hers. "What are you talking about?"
Willow panicked. Could she be right? But, Buffy had never so much as shimmered before. She glared at the girl. "How did she get there? Did you take her?"
Paige opened her mouth to speak. But at that moment, the little boy, Ben, came tearing into the room screaming. "Mommy! Daddy! Buffy's gone! Buffy's gone!" At the sound of his screams, a bleary-eyed Mr. Giles came rushing in behind. He looked around the room in confusion.
"Now, Ben, I'm sure if we look we'll.." He started to speak.
Paige decided to interrupt. "No, she's at the house. Cole, Mrs. Turner, we don't know HOW she got there. Something happened. I felt, well, strange. One minute we're arguing – me, Leo, Phoebe, and Xander – the next minute there's a demon in the room.."
"Demon!" Cole yelled.
"Yes, but he had a dagger in his chest. We only saw him for a moment before he burst into flames. Then, Xander screamed. He'd seen Buffy against the opposite wall and she wasn't moving. When I left, he was healing her. I'm sorry... I don't know what happened.. Phoebe just screamed at me to get here. So I got." She smiled tentatively at them. Cole was furious, she could see that. But, she could only hope the anger was directed at the dead demon. Looking at Willow, she saw that she was pale with fear. Paige felt safer. This was something she understood, she'd seen that look on Piper's face plenty of times. She reached out for Willow carefully. Willow started at her touch. "I'm sure she's okay, Mrs. Turner. I'll bet Xander got to her in time."
Willow smiled. She looked at Cole – she'd need his strength. She knew, though, she'd hate to be the target of all that anger. "Cole."
He looked at her nodded. He looked at Giles and Ben. "You two stay.."
"NO!" Ben screamed. He was not going to stay here. He knew he couldn't trust those witches. Now they've hurt my sister, he thought. "She needs me. I'm going. You can't make me stay."
Paige looked at the boy in surprise. She looked at Cole. She'd actually didn't think Cole would allow his son to talk back to him. However, she was surprised again. Cole was smiling and nodding at his son. Cole, for his part, understood. Ben had always had a strong sense of responsibility for his sister.
"Okay, Ben, okay. Darling?" He looked at Willow. He made a gesture and he and Willow were dressed. He looked back at Ben. "Ben, you can follow us. But, take your grandpa. Okay?"
Ben nodded and took his grandpa's hand. Paige orbed and the four of them shimmered in her wake.
Halliwell Manor
"Is she alright?" Phoebe asked, concerned. And not just for the little girl. If she was hurt or, God forbid, dead, she didn't give them a snowball's chance in hell of surviving the night. She'd seen how Cole looked at that little girl. She'd heard him call her "precious." No, she thought, if she was dead, so were they.
Xander looked up. He smiled at the others. He nodded. "Yes, she'll be fine." He looked down at the little bundle in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked up into the eyes of her Uncle Xander. She smiled. Looking around the attic, she saw everyone was there. They were alive! She looked towards the book. It was still here! She clapped her hands in excitement.
"I did it! I did it!" She scrambled out of Uncle Xander's lap and looked around. Candles! I need candles! I have to thank the Goddess! I know she helped me. She saw some candles on a table on the side of the room. Running to them, she reached for them and was stopped by one of the ladies.
"Now hold on, young lady. I think we deserve an explanation." Piper said, hands on her hips.
She looked up and smiled at her. "Please, please. I need to thank the Goddess. Please. She helped me save you."
A sharp gasp was heard about the room. Everyone exchanged a look. What was she talking about? Piper looked down at the eager young face. She was very serious. Well, what harm could it do? She looked at Phoebe. "Phoebe, let's join her. I think we should probably all thank the Goddess."
Buffy smiled and grabbed the candles, placing them on the floor. Phoebe and Piper joined her in the circle as she lit the candles. They joined hands and looked upwards in supplication. They didn't drop their hands when they felt Paige and the Turners materializing in the attic. Buffy knew her family was okay. Still, she began her prayer of thanksgiving.
"Oh, great Goddess
Giver of life and light
I thank you for your lamp to help me see the way
I thank you for the whispers in my ear
I thank you for making my arm true and strong
I thank you for the lives you have saved
I give blessings for the light, the life, and the blood that made me strong."
Buffy bowed her head. She blew out the candles and dropped the hands of Phoebe and Piper. Buffy jumped up and ran for her daddy. She leaped into his arms. I did it! I did it! I'm with my daddy and mommy and Benny. Everything's okay!
Thank you, my daughter.