The Gift

AN – The response to this has been incredible - it's the first time I've published either a Buffy or Star Wars fanfic, so thank you for taking the time to read and particularly those who review. It's very appreciated!

Disclaimer – I don't own Buffy or Star Wars

Chapter Three – The City

A group of four healers, led by Healer Burban, quickly installed Dawn in one of the two beds and carefully laid Buffy out in the other. They pulled privacy screens around them both, telling Captain Tarpals very firmly that he had to stay outside. Dawn chuckled to herself as she heard him stamping away, grumbling about healers and muttering about the 'big boss', whoever that was.

Very soon Dawn didn't have much time to worry about Captain Tarpals as she was coaxed out of the ridiculous dress that Glory had insisted she wear. It seemed so long ago now, standing on the tower back in Sunnydale waiting for Buffy to save her but knowing in her heart that she was going to die. Except she hadn't, somehow she had ended up here on Naboo.

Healer Burban tutted loudly when she saw all Dawn's cuts, applying more of the paste Captain Tarpals had given her back at the camp. The relief of the numbing paste was incredible, as the cuts had begun to throb badly with all the jostling on the kaadu. The strange demon may have made long, shallow cuts instead of deep incisions but they were deep enough and she was worried they would scar.

"Yousa needs rest now," Healer Burban told her firmly. "Mesa get you food, then yousa rest. Yousa sister will still be here after rest."

"Is she ok?" Dawn asked, not managing to keep the worry from her voice.

The healer looked at her kindly. "Shesa will be. Not many hurts, except in the mind. Shesa needs rest too, long rest. Shesa wakes when she is ready." Patient reassured, Healer Burban brought over a bowl of something unidentifiable to Dawn. "This good food, tastes better than looks. Leave bowl on stand, then rest."

"Yes Healer Burban," Dawn accepted, dubiously taking the offered spoon and looking at the bowl. The healer left, a couple of her underlings following her out and leaving Buffy and Dawn alone. Deciding there was no time like the present, Dawn tasted the soup. It was some kind of fishy dish, not great but as the healer had said it wasn't as bad as it looked. It was a relief to get some proper food for the first time in a day or so and Dawn quickly finished the bowl. Following the directions, she placed the bowl on the table at the side of the bed and tucked herself in.

"Goodnight Buffy," she said with a yawn, not getting any reply. Dawn lay down and looked straight up at the ceiling. The light inside the bubble began to dim, meaning that Dawn could see more of the outside. Distant bubbles above and around theirs gave off a golden glow, in between shoals of fish passed by with the occasional Gungun swimming with long, powerful strokes. It was relaxing, almost like the time Dawn had sat and watched an aquarium whilst waiting to be seen at a dentist surgery. It had really relaxed her then, presumably the reason why there were aquariums in waiting rooms in the first place. It did the same thing this time and very soon Dawn drifted off into sleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When Dawn finally woke, she felt really well rested. It was hard to know what time it was, although the water outside the bubble was slightly less dark than it had been the night before. As she sat up and stretched, the glow inside the bubble brightened noticeably. "Cool," Dawn murmured, staring at the room around her. The first thing she did was to clamber over to the other bed, but Buffy looked no different to the night before.

"Shesa breathing ok, just sleeping," the gentle voice startled Dawn and she jumped, spinning around to see who was talking. Another tall Gungun, more similar to Captain Tarpals than the squat Healer Burban, was sat quietly in a chair the other side of the bubble, so still that Dawn hadn't noticed her.

"Will she wake up?" Dawn asked, trying to keep her fear from her voice.

"When shesa ready," was the soothing reply. "Now, yousa got clothes waiting. Captain Tarpals wants to take yousa to see da Big Boss."

Dawn gulped. Big Boss sounded ominous. She entered the second room of the bubble, finding it was a bathroom of sorts. She freshened up and then scrutinised the pile of clothes. They seemed far too big for her, but then no one that she had seen so far here was anything like her in shape or size so Dawn guessed she was lucky that they fit at all. It was a loose fitting top with a kind of waistcoat and some flared trousers. Once on, she had to roll the bottom of the trousers up several inches but all in all it could have been a lot worse. There were no shoes so she just resigned herself to going without.

When she re-entered the healing bubble, she saw Captain Tarpals already waiting for her.

"Yousa finally ready," he commented in his gruff voice.

"Hey, I didn't take that long!" Dawn protested.

"Yousa slept for long time," he smiled to soften his words. "Need much sleeps. Is good. Now Big Boss wants to see yousa."

"Um, ok," Dawn steadied herself. "Now?" Captain Tarpals nodded and gestured out of the bubble.

"Mesa shows da way."

"So," Dawn asked as they started walking through more bubbles and corridors. "Who is the Big Boss? And why does he want to see me?"

Captain Tarpals stroked his whiskers contemplatively. "Da Big Boss is Boss Nass. He and High Council want to talk to you. He wants to know if yousa threat to Gungun."

"What? I'm no threat!"

The captain smiled. "Mesa knows, but da Naboo not always nice to Gungun. Yousa look like da Naboo. Be polites and tell da truth, yousa be fine."

"Ok, polite and honest. I can do that." Dawn muttered to herself, giving herself a little pep talk. By now they had arrived in a giant bubble, which housed multiple other structures. "Whoa…" she breathed, looking around at the intricate framework of the space.

She hadn't realised that she had slowed until Captain Tarpals called for her. "Dis way," he prodded. "No keeps High Council waiting."

"Sorry," Dawn trotted to catch up. She was still barefoot but it didn't matter, the floors were scrupulously clean and warming to the touch.

She followed Captain Tarpals down a few steps and into another bubble. Immediately she knew she was in front of the council. On a raised dais sat five Gungun in formal robes, the one in the centre raised above the others. She was moved gently onto a central platform by Captain Tarpals, who then stood respectively to one side.

"Um…hi." Dawn said after a couple of minutes of silence, waving awkwardly with one hand. The central figure narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

"So," he started, then clicked a few times. "Yousa da human dat say dey is not Naboo."

"Yes, I'm not." Dawn shook her head. "I mean, yes that is me and no I'm not Naboo."

"Why yousa here den?"

"I don't know," Dawn frowned. "I'm not really sure where I am or how we got here." She looked up at Boss Nass, who was sitting forwards and watching her intently. "I mean…" she took a deep breath and prepared to launch into her story. "On my world, which is called Earth, there was a hell god thing that was trying to open a portal to her dimension to get home. But she needed my blood because I was the key to the portal, so she kidnapped me and then tied me up to a tower." Despite herself, Dawn began to shudder at the memory. "Then she, well actually this creepy guy with white hair and black eyes, cut me and opened the portal. Buffy threw him off the tower and freed me, but it was too late." She looked up at the High Council with big, wide eyes. "The portal was open, and it would stay open until the blood stopped flowing. My blood. So I…" Dawn's voice broke momentarily and her eyes began to well up but she ploughed on regardless. "I was going to jump into the portal, because it was destroying the world. But Buffy said no… she told me that she'd figured it out. That she would be ok. And then she jumped instead."

Now there were tears running down Dawn's cheeks. "And… and I thought she was going to die. And I just watched, and I couldn't do anything, and then the portal began to close. But there was a green light and a strange noise and then everything went dark." She sniffed loudly, before gratefully accepting a handkerchief that Captain Tarpals leant forwards to pass her. "And then I woke up in the forest, and Buffy was there but she was unconscious. And she's still unconscious and I don't know if she'll ever wake up." She sniffed again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…well, but you see we're not Naboo. We're from Earth, but I don't know where that is. We didn't know anything about space or other planets or people or anything."

There was silence at the end of her story, punctuated only by the occasional hiccup and Dawn tried to bring her breathing back under control.

After what felt like an eternity, Boss Nass sat back and stroked his chin with his hand. "Yousa telling da truths. Is a big story, but a true one." He clicked again, as if thinking. "When yousa came, dere was a shift in da Force. Now," he gestured expansively. "Wesa knows da Naboo and da Jedi thinks we not feel da Force, but wesa listens to da Living Force. It brought yousa to us, wesa not turn our back on it. Wesa care for yousa, maybe yousa help us hm?"

"I'm not sure what I can do to help," Dawn said warily. "I'm still in school and don't know very much."

"Hmm… maybe yousa wants to help da healers, hm? Or teach da youngsters? You can write?"

"Oh yes, I mean…" Dawn frowned. "I don't know whether I'll be able to read and write your languages. But I was learning Latin at home too."

"Yousa speak Basic."

"Basic? To me, it's English."

"Dis is Basic," Captain Tarpals held out a tablet with some scratches on it, but it meant nothing to Dawn.

"I can't read that," she explained apologetically. "But I would like to learn to."

Boss Nass appeared to think again, one of his advisors leaning forwards and saying something that Dawn couldn't catch. He nodded, then sat up and addressed the room. "Mesa say, Captain Tarpals yousa will care for da humans. Wesa not tellings about how yousa gots here, no needs da Jedi to come nosing around da Gungun. Human, yousa can works with da healers for now and learn with da younglings how to reads Basic. Den, wesa ask yousa to go to Naboo cities to trades as yousa looks like da Naboo. When dere, you may find da answers about how yousa gets here."

Trading was like shopping… well that didn't sound so bad and it might lead to answers. And if she was helping the healers she would be close to Buffy. "Thank you, thank you so much." Dawn told him gratefully. Boss Nass looked momentarily embarrassed by her thanks before waving them out of the room.

As soon as they were back in the large central bubble Dawn breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Yousa did good," Captain Tarpals told her, smiling slightly.

"Thank you… I just followed your advice and told the truth."

"Big Boss, he respecta dat." Tarpals turned to her. "Want to find da foods before wesa go back?"

"Please," Dawn replied, her stomach choosing that moment to remind her that she hadn't yet eaten. The captain led her up to a row of smaller bubbles that lined one of the paths.

"Here," he said eventually, picking one. "I thinks dis food is good for hoomans. Yousa will learn," he smiled at her confused expression. "Dere is a lot of foods here, some just for Gunguns. Not has many outsiders here." He led her over to a counter and proceeded to talk quickly with the Gungun manning the booth. Dawn was too busy looking at the displays of shellfish to really pay any attention to what they were saying, but eventually he came back to her with a bowl full of something that smelled delicious.

"Wow," Dawn said, taking the bowl from him happily and scrutinising the contents. "What is this?"

"Fried shellfish," was the reply. Dawn tentatively popped one into her mouth, crunching through the batter and into the juicy contents.

"Wow!" She exclaimed again. "These are great!" She followed Tarpals as he continued to walk through the open centre of the city.

"So yousa youngling?" Tarpals asked her curiously.

Dawn huffed. "I'm nearly fifteen! Although… I guess technically I'm not as I was only created a year ago. But I feel nearly fifteen!"

Tarpals looked at her knowingly. "All da younglings, dey wants to be old hm? Den when dey old, dey wants to be young." He popped one of his shellfish into his mouth. "Wesa finds you lessons for da Basic, den you be fine. Not needs to do more than reads for visiting da Naboo."

"Why don't you get on with the Naboo?" Dawn asked curiously.

Tarpals shrugged. "Is a long history. But, dey think deysa more clever than us, look down on us. Wesa no like, builds mistrust. Wesa not less clever, wesa clever in different ways."

"No one that has seen this place could think you aren't clever," Dawn protested, gesturing around at the city. "It's like nothing I've ever seen, it's amazing."

He acknowledged her compliment with a nod. "But mesa think that dere is now too much bad blood between us. Da Naboo, dey take more than dey need. Dig big holes looking for things, forget dat da Gungun live dere too. Dey have forgotten us."

"That's sad," Dawn commented, finishing her meal up. "But you need things the Naboo have?"

"Da Naboo trade off-world, Gungun do not. If wesa wants things, wesa go to Naboo cities to gets. But da Naboo don't like us." He looked sideline at Dawn. "Yousa not have dat problem. Yousa human."

Dawn shrugged. "Well that's fair enough. You'll need to tell me all about the Naboo so I don't look like an idiot though."

They reached the healing bubble Dawn had woken up in, greeted at the entrance by Healer Burban. "Whatsa yousa doing up?"

"Big Boss wants to talks," Captain Tarpals explained. "Hesa said that Dawnee can stay, and da sister too."

"Buffy," Dawn supplemented.

"Is good," Healer Burban nodded thoughtfully. "What yousa do now?"

"Boss Nass said that I was to help out the healers and learn Basic," Dawn explained. "Then, when I know enough, I can go to the Naboo cities to trade as I blend in better. I'm sure Buffy would be happy to do that too, when she wakes."

"Mesa to look after dem," Tarpals added. The healer thought about it.

"Mesa pleased, need help. Silly Gunguns hurt themselves too much. Yousa sister still sleeps, yousa can stay here with her until shesa wakes."

"Thank you," Dawn replied, very grateful at not being separated from Buffy.

"Yousa can learn to make healing paste," Healer Burban told her. "Come, Dawnee." Dawn followed the healer out of the room, sending a last glance back to Buffy as she did so.

Dawn spent the rest of the day shadowing the healer as she tended to her patients. Many came in with cuts that needed the special paste that Healer Burban taught Dawn to make. The healer explained that the plasma the Gungun used to power their city and make their weapons was harvested from a particularly vicious underwater plant. This led to a lot of Gungun injuries that required patching up. Dawn did ask whether there was another way to harvest the plasma without having to get so close to the plant, but Healer Burban just snorted and shook her head.

"Is a point of pride, hm? Gunguns not always sensible!" Burban tutted and Dawn giggled, grabbing another jar of the green paste as the healer called for the next Gungun to come into the room.

"Jar Jar, what's yousa done now?" The healer said with a sigh as soon as she saw who it was. Dawn looked up interested, Burban's voice was so exasperated.

"Goodun day, Healer Burban." A squeaky voice said sheepishly. This gungan looked a bit younger than most of the ones they had tended so far. It was one of the taller gunguns – Dawn had come to realise during the day that the tall and short gunguns appeared to almost be different breeds – but this Gungun almost looked as though its limbs were too long for it. It tripped into the bubble, swerving and almost sending a tray of supplies flying. Only Dawn's quick reactions stopped everything from hitting the floor.

"Mesa sorry," the gungun said sorrowfully. "Mesa clumsy."

"Yousa can say that again, Jar Jar Binks!" Burban exclaimed, bustling around. "Yousa always here needing da fixing. What's a wrong dis time?"

Jar Jar didn't answer, he was looking at Dawn with a puzzled expression. "Who yousa? Yousa new?"

"I'm Dawn," she explained with a wave.

"Dawnee helping healers." Burban explained. "Shesa new to Otoh Gunga. Jar Jar is here often," she explained to Dawn. "Always da cuts and bumps."

Jar Jar nodded, so enthusiastically he nearly overbalanced. "Mesa hurts mesa arm today." He held out the appendage and Dawn could tell it was swollen. Burban poked and prodded it, tutting loudly.

"Needs cold and paste," she proclaimed. "Dawnee, gets some yellow paste please. Is best for bumps."" Dawn obliged, handing the healer the colour paste. Healer Burban smeared it onto Jar Jar's arm, who sighed in relief and almost seemed to flop downwards.

"Thankee," he grinned.

If the gunguns could eye roll, Burban would have at that comment, Dawn was sure of it. "Go now, Jar Jar. Mesa no want to see yousa again for a while!"

With a salute the lanky gungun was gone. Burban shook her head exasperatedly at him. "Hesa will be back soon," she predicted to Dawn. "Now, wesa finished for da day."

Dawn yawned widely. "It's tiring!" she commented. "Thank you, I've learnt loads."

The healer waved her off. "Go now and check on yousa sister. Get some rest, we do again tomorrow."

There was no change in Buffy's condition. The healer who was watching over her assured Dawn that she was fine, just not waking up. Dawn sat with Buffy for a while, telling her about Naboo, the gunguns and her day. Eventually she went to bed, just hoping Buffy woke up the next day.

Buffy didn't. She also didn't wake the day after that, or the day after that. Dawn carried on helping Healer Burban and exploring Otoh Gunga with Captain Tarpals. Both tried to educate Dawn in the ways of the Gungan, which was all about being in harmony with the Living Force that flowed around them. Dawn soaked up as much information as she could about the place where they'd ended up, but she was still preoccupied with her sister's condition.

It was the next day, as she told Buffy everything that had happened that day – consisting of finally learning how to make the green paste for cuts, Jar Jar coming in again with another bump and Captain Tarpals bringing Dawn some Basic texts to begin to read through – that Dawn suddenly stopped talking mid-flow as Buffy's finger twitched.

"Buffy?" Dawn cried, standing up and leaning towards her sister. "Buffy, can you hear me?"

Buffy's eyelids flickered, her fingers twitched and her breathing became less regular. With an effort, she opened up her eyes and looked up at Dawn.

"Dawn?" She said, voice croaking and evidently confused. "Dawn, where am I?" Her gaze flickered past Dawn, at the toad-like Healer Burban who was now coming in to see her waking patient.

"Dawn, am I in hell?"