TITLE: Not Again
PAIRING: Buffy/Jayne (More
Later)
RATING: G
DISCLAIMER: Buffy and Firefly belong to Joss
Whedon
SUMMARY: Buffy tries to find the origin of the Slayers but
finds something else instead.
"This just gets better and better" Robin Wood sighed. He had just left Buffy and the Potentials and now he had to deal with this.
The house was a mess whoever it was that had broken in was obviously after nothing in particular but he still felt uneasy.
"The bag" he said to himself and ran into his bedroom. He moved the dresser and the false wall that was behind it.
Reaching around he finally smiled when he felt it. "Still there" he said as he pulled it out.
It was a bag- a really big leather duffel bag "You're going straight to Buffy tomorrow" he put it back then made his way into the living room so he could tidy up.
"Did you do it" Buffy or the thing that looked like Buffy was talking to the Bringer.
He held up an identical bag to the one that Robin had just looked for and nodded.
"Good" The First smiled "Let's see them try and figure this out.
NEXT DAYRobin handed Buffy the bag
"What's this?" Buffy looked at it.
"Something that's suppose to be passed from Slayer to Slayer but.
Buffy nodded. She understood
"All I know is it's powerful" he looked at her.
A few hours later Buffy, Willow, Robin and the others were in the living room all stood around the bag that Robin had gave Buffy.
"That emergency bag's got some neat stuff in it. Weapons, charms" Dawn says as she holds up a book, advanced reading assignments.
"Yeah, cool stuff, but we've seen it all before" Xander quips.
" Well, not this, we haven't. What's inside it?" Anya said as she pointed to the box
"Mm, I don't know. It hasn't been opened since" Robin said just as Buffy opened the bag "Well, since now".
Xander pulled out some metal figures from the bag" Puppets. That's it! The First hates puppets! Now if we can just airlift Kermit, Fozzie the Bear, and Miss Piggy into town, the First'll be a-running".
"Those are Muppets." Willow just looked
Dawn took the figure from Xander "And these things are shadow-casters. You put them in motion, and they tell you a story." She looked at the book "It says you can't just watch, you have to see"
"What the hell does that mean?" Anya asked puzzled.
"It's cryptic. I don't like it. Every time instructions get cryptic, someone gets hurt—usually me." Xander rubbed his arm
"You can't just watch, you have to see? " Buffy looked at Robin "See what?"
"That's where all my fancy translating skills break down, but I think it's an origin myth. The story of the very first slayer." Dawn answered for him.
"I-I saw her." Buffy whispered.
"You saw the First Slayer?" Robin looked over at her
"The other night—in my dream. It's gotta mean something, right?"
They decided to shut the lights off and Xander lit the candle that was at the center of the metal object that they found in the bag.
The light filled the room to show Dawn holding the book in her arms.
"OK. According to this, I think—you put on those puppet guys one by one. They cast shadows and the shadows tell the story. First, there is the Earth." She said
Xander put the first metal figure on the mechanical object. The light at the center cast a shadow of the figure on the wall. They then heard a tribal drumbeat coming from nowhere.
"What's that sound?" Kennedy looked around
"OK, so far, so creepy" Xander didn't like thus.
Xander added the figures to the shadow caster and with each one a different noise was heard as Dawn read it aloud.
"Then there came the demons
After demons, there came men,
Men found a girl
And the men took the girl to fight all the demons. They chained her to the Earth
And then- and I- it says something about darkness"
The device started moving on it's all
"What about darkness?" Buffy asked.
The shadow caster device was still spinning, making shadows of the figures on the walls, but the shadows were animated, moving, acting out the story.
Dawn continued "It says you cannot be shown. You cannot just watch, but you must see. See for yourself, but only if you're willing to make the exchange."
"When did you get so good at Sumerian?" Xander was confused.
"It's not in Sumerian anymore." As she looked the words on the pages of the book were magically changing into English.
Willow and Kennedy stood, alarmed, as the shadow casters told the story of a demon attacking the chained girl.
The device started spinning faster and faster as the shadows moved up the walls. Suddenly, a bright blue light formed at the center of the device, growing in size until it made a window of light.
Buffy walked closer to investigate it.
"But what does it mean?" Xander looked at her.
"It means I have to go in there."
" No, it doesn't! Where does it say that? It doesn't say that!" Willow started panicking
"Buffy, you don't even know what you're exchanging. You don't know if you're ready yet." Robin was getting worried
"That's the point" she kept staring at the light
"No. Buffy, we don't know where you're going or how we'll get you back." Willow said
"Buffy, you can't." Xander agreed.
"How will we get you back?" Willow didn't like the look in Buffy's eyes
"Find a way"
She said before she jumped into the portal just as it closed behind her.
"She's gone." Willow whispered
MEANWHILE SOMEWHERE IN SPACE"Where did you put it?" Jayne was standing over River trying to give her his evil stare.
"What's wrong now?" Kaylee came in holding hands with Simon
"The little freak took Vera again", he growled at Simon.
"No I didn't" she sang.
"I told you to keep her under control Doc" he shook his head.
"River did you take her" Simon walked over and bent down to talk to his sister.
"NO" she looked at Jayne "But Buffy will"
"Buffy who the hell is Buffy" he yelled.
"What's he done now?" Walsh came into the room with Zoe and Mal behind him
River stood up and walked over to him
"She's the one but she doesn't know it yet" she traced his cheek with her finger.
"Buffy?" Mal looked over at Kaylee who shrugged at him with a "It's River" look
"Fine she doesn't know but just tell me where Vera is?" he growled at her.
"Why give a gun a name anyway?" Walsh sighed.
"Probably making up for a lack somewhere else"
They all turned at the strange voice.
In front of them was a girl- a Blonde smaller than River and she was holding Vera
"Isn't this cosy" she smiled
Zoe and Mal subtly tried to move
"Try it and you will all be dead by the time any of you reach me"
The look in her eye told everyone she was serious.
"Who are you" one of the men asked her
"Excuse me but since I have Vera isn't it" she looked at Jayne who nodded
"I'll be the one asking the questions"
"Let's start with an easy one. Where the hell am I?"
"Space" Zoe answered
"Okay wasn't expecting that so… What year is it?"
"2515" she answered again
"Don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto" she said
"Who's Toto?" the younger man asked.
She shook her head then noticed the tall man.
He hadn't stopped staring at her since she showed she was there
"Is he broken" she looked over at the man with the Blonde hair".
"Nah that's just Jayne"
"Jayne" she laughed
"Suppose I can't say much I used to date a guy called Angel"
"You're here" the young girl came over to her
"I knew you would be."
She looked at Jayne
"She's not sure of you just now but in time she will love you"
"What are you on about?" there was something about the girl that reminded her of Drusilla.
"She's a weirdo" Jayne spoke for the first time.
"No she's not she's special" she smiled at the girl
"Okay here's an idea I put this baby down and we get to know each other better"
"Sounds good to me" the man she would later know as Mal said
"Let's go through to the kitchen"
Kaylee and Simon led the way
"Maybe we can rush her" Walsh whispered to Mal
He shook his head "I don't doubt what she said earlier"
Zoe agreed "Most of us would be dead the time one of us got near her"
Buffy heard the beginning of the conversation and was getting ready to attack until she heard the last part.
When they got to the kitchen she sat down.
"So introductions"
"Okay" Mal said, "I'm Mal Reynolds I'm the Captain. Zoe "He pointed at her "Is my second in command. That's her husband Walsh"
She smiled at each one putting them at ease
"And this is Kaylee" Buffy grinned the girl reminded her of Willow
"Simon Tam and his sister River" who then took Buffy's hand and snuggled into her. Buffy just shrugged and listened to Mal introduce the rest of the group.
"There is Shepherd Book"
"Shepherd" she interrupted
"A priest I think you would call him" Zoe answered and Buffy nodded.
"Also there's Inara but her shuttle is out of bounds as she is a companion"
Buffy looked confused
"A prostitute." The Slayer shrugged.
"And finally this is Jayne"
He gave her a goofy smile
"And you know Vera"
"Actually she is…
"A Callahan full-bore autolock" Buffy interrupted Jayne
"Or a BFG for short"
"It also has a
"Customized hair-trigger and double-cartridge thorough gauge" she smiled at him.
That was the moment Jayne realized he was in love.
"So what about you?" Kaylee asked
"Well seeing as how I'm 500 years in the future I guess you can know the truth," she said
"I'm Buffy Summers and I'm a Vampire Slayer"
She proceeded to fill the gang in on what and who a Slayer was. After all they had seen in their travels most of them believed her.
"Super strength my ass" Jayne snorted.
Buffy looked around and seeing what she was looking for got out of her seat and retrieved it
"This is what you call super strength
She took a hold of the steel bar she had picked up and bent it in half
"I believe her what about you" Zoe turned to her husband who nodded.
"Kaylee" Mal said
"Yes Cap"
"Get the drink out"
A few hours later they were all in the middle of a burst of hysterics after another of Buffy's stories
Every so often she would catch Jayne staring at her with the puppy dog look that Xander used to give her and she smiled back. This guy was seriously a hottie and if she wasn't careful she knew what would happen.
"So what are you going to do?" Mal interrupted her thoughts.
"Suppose I have to figure out how the hell I got here I guess" she answered.
"Have to say there will be a few people who miss you when you go"
He looked down at River who was curled into Buffy sound asleep.
"She reminds me of my little sister" Buffy stroked her hair.
"What's he like" she asked. Mal knew who she was talking about.
"To be honest I don't know" he shrugged "He doesn't give away a lot about himself"
"Just be careful Buffy"
"Don't worry I've had the bad boy before a little too much" she smiled but it didn't stop her looking at Jayne one more time.