Celebwen Telcontar: This is the new chapter in my BtVS/B5 crossover. Please review!
Balrog: So... what is going on with Zathras?
Celebwen Telcontar: You'll see.
Balrog: Do you own anything here?
Celebwen Telcontar: Absolutely not! Joss Whedon owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and J. Michael Straczynski owns Babylon 5. Oh, also, Gene Roddenberry ownes Tribbles. Thanks for reminding me.
Balrog: Tribbles? Tribbles!? No! NOOOO!!!!! You're going to bury me in ten tons of custard-colored rabbit tails!
Celebwen Telcontar: (Looks strangely at Balrog) I don't think I want to know. Please review, people!
CT
Umbra-letum ran her hands through her "hair", feeling absolutely drained. Xander knew about Techno-mages, the Centauri, the Narn, everything.
"What about Zachary?" Xander asked.
"Have you heard of the Great Machi—"
"The Great Machine on Epsilon 3? Of course I have! Is Zachar… oh my good… food… Zachary is Zathras, isn't he?"
"How… I'm not going to ask. Anything else?" she asked sardonically.
"Yes… who poisoned you? The Shadows?"
"Have you… no, you wouldn't know of the little cockroach…"
"Who, Morden? Anna Sheridan? That middleman… whatever his name was… Justin, that's it! Elizar? Razeel? Another Techno-mage gone wrong after finding out their roots?"
"How the Hell do you know about them?!" Umbra-letum raged, completely caught off guard.
"Easy, I watch Babylon 5 and read the B-5 novels."
"Great. What do you know about the Corps?"
"Psi Corps? Dear Gods, what a mess! I hate Bester and all he stands for!"
"Watch it, Xand! You're insulting my brother!"
"Your… My Gods… You're not Willow Rosenberg at all, you're a Dexter!"
"As a matter of fact, I am. I won't ask how you knew about that little detail, but still, yes, I am. And as such, even though I am a Techno-mage, should I wish, I could take up the mantle of the Leader of the Resistance, simply through force of genetics. Do you understand, Xander?"
"Yah. You're a really hunted person, and you're the sister to a real creep... wait, how did you get here, to this timeline, in the first place?"
"I don't know, and I wouldn't call Al a creep myself, just a bit misguided, but still, he's a Psi Cop. I can see how that would offend you."
"Just wondering, but where's your stabilizer, as well as Zathras' and Beryl's?"
"They were implanted beneath the skin by Dr. Franklin just before we left for the past."
"Makes sense. So, what will happen when you're better? I understand that your name means "Shadow Death", so are you a massive enemy to the Shadows, or is that just a name?"
"I can slaughter entire fleets of Shadow ships with my latent telepathy as well as my Wicca and Techno Magecraft abilities."
"I see. How strong are you, telepathically?"
"A P13, at the least."
"My God… Kevin Vacit was a P13, but he was the only one!" Xander yelped.
"Kevin Vacit, a Teep?! Are you crazy?! Kevin Vacit was the Normal who was placed as the Psi Corps director when Mom was out running around with Dad, trying to help the Resistance. He wasn't a Teep."
"He was a P13 telepath, and your grandfather. Your mother, Fiona Dexter nee Temple was the daughter of some French reporter… I think… and Kevin Vacit."
"No way. Monkey would have said something to Mom if Grandpa was the leader of Psi Corps."
"He was, Willow. Besides, you weren't raised by Fiona and Matthew Dexter and Stephen Walters, but by Laura Rosenberg. How did you know that you were a Dexter?"
"When the time-disruption field let go of me, I was found by Bester in a horrid part of Rome. Rome's really downgraded in some ways, and other ways, it's gotten better. I was taken to Geneva, where I was trained by the Corps. Then, when they found that I was a P12, for that's what they thought I was, I was placed with Bester to create a child. Of course, then they looked at our biology's, to see if any sort of disease would crop up in the brat, and found that we were siblings. Biological compatibility is just another word for rape, Xander." The one-eyed carpenter nodded, swallowing hard. Umbra-letum looked off beyond Xander, almost through him, as she relived her memories.
flashback
An explosion rocked the Mars area, and knocked Willow and Al to the ground, as well as the Rogue blips and other passersby in the area. Willow stood and stared at the dying man. He was a blip, a rouge, but more than that, he was Stephen Walters, the leader of the Resistance. If she could kill him, she and Al would be greatly celebrated back home, at the Corps.
Willow closed her eyes as the sharp, beautiful memories washed over her. Being held, being babbled to by this blip—the Black Fox—Stephen Walters.
"Al?" she said, struggling up. Her brother was completely unconscious, his facial mask's seal broken by the explosion. She pressed it back.
:I know you,: a familiar voice whispered in her mind. A block snapped in her mind. She yelled as the images of long-buried memories washed over her.
:Walters, you... Goddess oh blessed Gaya! 'Teven!!:
:God... you remember me, Rhiannon?: Flashes of moisture shone in the eyes of the blue-eyed man laying, severely injured, by the bulkhead.
:'Teven, you're hurt.:
"Nothing to help it, Rhi. I'm glad I could see you—and Stee, if that—yes, that's Stee—once more.:
:'Teven, I can help you!: Willow, or now Rhiannon, pleaded.
:Don't try, Rhi,: Stephen p'gasped.
:But I'm...: Before she could get the sentance out, Stephen Walters had died. Rhiannon knew the truth of what Walters had told her, and vowed that she would go by her birth name of Rhiannon Dexter as much as possible.
end flashback
"Willow? Umbra-letum?" Xander asked as the Techno-mage came out of her memories.
"My name is Rhiannon, when it is not Umbra-letum. Xander, I have to keep to my name, to my heratige."
"Rhiannon, then. Are you alright?"
"Don't worry, Xander. I'll be fine." The crippled techno-mage gently brushed her oldest friend's cheek, smiling at him. "I'm not the person you remember as your best friend, but I'll try to remember who I was. Do you want to know a bit about me?"
"Yes, I would," Xander replied, taking her hand.
"Well, I was taken as Beryl's apprentice, and I trained at his place of power, which was Minbar at the time. As a matter of fact, it still is, only a bit more removed from mine. My place of power is about thirty miles outside of Tuzenor, and Beryl's is on the other side of the planet."
"So that's why you speak Minbari so well."
"Yes. I am also deeply in love with the culture and the planet itself. If I could, I would remake this house to be crystalline in form, and to be able to catch and refract the sunlight as the temples do. Tuzenor is beautiful, Xander, you have no idea. The light reflecting off of the crystal spires and outcroppings makes it a beautiful landscape, and the wonder and glory of their technology makes you want to stay there forever..." Umbra-letum gazed out into the distance, seeing her Place of Power in her mind. The glyphs of the ancient Minbari were etched in the crystalline formations all around, and the cool air was bathing her face with a gentle breeze. The triad of waterfalls could be heard, or rather felt, as a low rumble in the distance. A Minbari flier whooshed overhead, and she heard the soft chiming of rain hitting the crystal roof.
"Wil-Rhian-Umbra-letum, are you there? Are you here?" Xander asked, breaking her from her trance.
"Of course I am." She smiled at him, and slowly stood. Xander began to panic, yelling as he put his arms about her. "I'll be fine," she snapped in response. He removed his hands, and looked carefully at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, Xander. Don't fuss over me."
"Alright, I won't then."
"Umbra-letum," Zathras' gravely voice called. "A package for you."
"I see."
"Oh my good Macaroni and Cheese, that really is Zathras. I see it now..." Xander murmured in wonder. Umbra-letum began to laugh heartilly.
"Of course he is, Xander! Zachary, can you go and get it for me?"
"Zachary used to being beast of burden," Zathras muttered. Xander muttered something about being blind and possibly deaf as well. Zathras handed Umbra-letum a large box in brown paper and string.
"Well, now how's this for odd?" The young crippled Techno-Mage took off the paper, and found a metal box. Inside of that was a natural environment for the kitten that lay curled up on its side.
"What the Hell?" Xander cried. The kitten squeaked and jumped out of the box, meowing softly. It leapt onto Umbra-Letum's lap, before beginning to wash itself thoroughly.
"It's a Milan. They are the size of house cats when they are young, but when they are full grown, they are the size of a Siberian tiger, perhaps a bit larger. They have three times better senses of smell than a dog, and when they bond with someone, they never let that person out of their sight and have been known to kill for that person."
"So they're like guard dogs only super-powered?"
"Somewhat. They can communicate telepathically to telepaths, and so I am guessing that she can speak to me."
A tingle of thought and a gentle tendril of golds and blues trickled into her mind. The cat, now sleeping and lightly snoring, was apparently the source of the telepathic communication. A picture formed in Umbra-letum's mind, of Neroon picking the cat out of a group of other Milans, and putting it in a cryogenic box to keep it safe for the long trip, then took it to his ship. He pushed it into Sector 14, and gave the box instructions on where to go and when. The box showed up at her doorstep, then, and apparently the cat had managed to throw off the cryogenic stasis.
:Do you have a name, little one?: Umbra-letum asked. The cat looked up and chirruped slightly before going back to sleep, a negative feeling trickling into Umbra-letum's mind. :In that case, how about Bastet, Bast for short?: A feeling of assent and a vision of Bastet as she would be fully-grown and beside a gigantic statue of the Egyptian Goddess as a domestic cat came to her. Obviously Bastet knew of the heritage of her name.
"What's its name?" Xander asked.
"Her name is Bastet, Bast for short."
"Interesting name."
"Bastet is my familiar now, Xand. Don't worry, she'll never do anything to harm me."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Positive, Xander. Don't worry so much! I feel much safer with her here than any other way."
"Good."
"Umbra—A Milan kit! Where'd you get it?!" Beryl cried.
"Neroon sent her to me. All's well, Beryl. Her name is Bastet, Bast for short."
"Neroon sent you a Milan kit? What'll you feed her?"
"I'm not sure at the moment…" She looked again in the box, and found that the corners had small, fine hairs in them. From one corner, a chirping was heard. "I suppose that this is its natural food source." She reached in and picked up the thing. It began to purr, and Xander smiled.
"Zachary knows what it is," Zathras said.
"What is it?" Umbra-Letum asked her friend.
"Is dangerous, very dangerous. Kills whole worlds it does!"
"What the Hell?" Xander said. "It's cute! I won't allow you to feed it to your new cat!" Just then, Andrew stepped into the room.
"Oh my God!" he yelped. "It's a Tribble!! It'll eat us out of house and home! Get away before it makes you its slave! Go, run!" Then, Andrew followed his own advice, bolting out of the room and crashing into a gaggle of Slayers, yelling at them to flee for their lives. Xander and Umbra-Letum looked oddly at the doorway the techno-geek had just run out of, and shrugged.
"Reproduce, it does! Quickly!" Zathras said, taking it and flinging it in the cat's direction. The cat let it land, and began batting at it. Then, Xander and Umbra-Letum looked away to the Slayers, who were cooing and making much of the cat and the tribble. When the two turned back to the cat, the tribble had reproduced, resulting in 11 of the odd creatures.
"What, exactly, is that?" Giles asked, cleaning his glasses. He picked up a tribble, and began to smile, petting the strange creature.
"Neroon sent you a tribble to feed the Milan?" Beryl asked patiently.
"Yes. They're a good food source, due to their remarkable reproduction speed."
"And an ecological menace," Beryl grumbled. "Don't let them out of the house, they'll get all over the world in no time and strip it bare."
"I know, Beryl." The Slayers began to stroke the tribbles, cooing in response to the calming purr the creatures produced.
A crash from overhead alerted the group to Drusilla, who came tumbling down the stairs.
"Oh!" she cried as she saw the tribbles. "The stars have given us a sign!"
"Oh, no," Umbra-letum grumbled, picking up her new Milan and setting her down before the tribbles. Bastet looked at the massed fuzzballs, and batted at one. She then pounced, and began eating, not letting blood fall anywhere and resulting in a white and grey striped pelt lying on the floor. The Slayers and Drusilla cried out in horror, and Drusilla nearly attacked Bastet. The Milan responded with a snarl and a scratch, running a claw down the insane vampire's arm. With a furious hiss, Drusilla drew back to attack the Milan. Bastet bristled in response, puffing up to twice her size, her neck fluffing up due to a large leonine mane.
"Stay back," Umbra-letum barked, forming a fireball with her tech. She made it an illusion of a sun, and Drusilla screeched and fled. The Slayers looked rather bored, and irritated at Bastet for eating a tribble. Willow put her head in her hands and sat on Bastet's carry box as a wave of dizziness overcame her. She put her head in her hands, and her illusion wavered and fell. Nausea attacked her lower stomach, and she dry heaved. Bastet curled about her ankles, meowing in confusion, while Umbra-letum did not notice the other Slayers kept cooing at the tribbles. A strong arm came about her, and Beryl helped her to her room, Bastet following, a rather large tribble in her mouth. She dropped said rodent, and chirped at her new owner. "I'm alright," Umbra-Letum sighed. She glared at the other Slayers, who were still cooing over the tribbles. When Bastet grew, she was sure the cat would need more food. Bastet jumped onto her bed, and put the tribble down before meowing and rubbing her head against Umbra-Letum's arm. The Techno-Mage quickly drew the cat into a hug, finally letting homesickness and despair wash over her.
Celebwen Telcontar: Sorry about the really very slow update! My muse ran off without me for a while!
Balrog: Oh, Fire Gods! It's a Tribble! Run away! Hide! (Starts shaking and flees to a closet)
Celebwen Telcontar: Balrog? Balrog? Well, that's new. He's never fled from fuzzballs before.
Balrog: They're evil!
Celebwen Telcontar: I see. Erm… Yah. Anyways, people, please review.
CT