Sorry about being away for so long, but life has been a little crazy this past year between work (New Software, and computer system to learn and understand), school (working on my classes to get my Masters Degree in Communication), and home (moving, unpacking the house, and getting the place ready for my aunt to show up). Now with all that out of the way and summer here I will be getting back to my writing. So I am going to post this chapter while I am going to beat away at my other stories. So fans of my work, don't fret. I am going to finish this stuff up.

Now on with the story,


Part 18,


Padme was running around the cargo hold of Serenity. She could hear the metal in her legs clang against the metal floor of the ship. She had been running like this for three hours and she needed to work off some of her boredom. That was when she saw Kaylee the ships mechanic looking at her from the stairway. Given from what she had seen, she and the doctor were sharing quarters, well unofficially but... given the antiseptic salve on the side of her neck and a few other places... Well considering that she was good friends with the Companion on board, what was happening in her bunk was the stuff that would make the most Lurid romance novel sex scene look tame in comparison. But right now Padme dripping in sweat looked up to the country girl engineer.

"You shure run fast on those legs of yours." Kaylee said as she came down the stairs.

"Yeah... I just needed to work off the tension and the boredom." Padme said as she stretched her arms back.

"So... how long have you had..." Kaylee looked at Padme's limbs...

"Oh... my limbs... well since I lost them in an accident when I was a kid... um... I say for about ten years or so..." Padme said moving over to Jayne's weight bench. "Mostly I count by the number of times I have these changed out or replaced. I would say that this is set number twelve." Kaylee pulled back from her in shock...

"Twelve is in... Every year you get a new set." Kaylee said looking at Padme's arm.

"No... Not every year... Most of those were... Well... I like seven when I received my first pair so... I tended to." Kaylee now realized why so many pairs.

"So you kept out growing them... Oh..." Kaylee said wondering less about how they were made but more about the girl who bore them.

"Yeah... A few I asked the local metal smith to do some engraving for me. Flowers... Rabbits, Bunnies... Even one time I had a Nude statue of David etched on the inside thigh..." This made Padme blush...

"So how far do they?" Kaylee was a little worried and curious at the same time.

"Well does the crew have private showers?" Padme hinted. And Kaylee nodded.

"Okay... If you lend me your shower for a little while, I'll show you all my prosthetics." Padme said standing up.

"Naww.. I mean... you have the shower but..." Kaylee looked at Padme...

"Listen... I'm okay with my body... and I'm learning to be an engineer. So consider it a trade." Padme said getting up and heading up the stairs to the crew quarters. "Also I like Guys... you definitely need to stop thinking like your companion friend, well at least about females." Now give me a sec to grab a change of clothes. With that Padme walked into her cabin and grabbed a pair of coveralls and a tank top and donned them. A moment later Padme walked out and met up with Kaylee. With that Kaylee followed Padme up to her quarters. Once heading down the hold, Padme sat down on Kaylee's bed.

"So..." Kaylee was a little apprehensious in seeing the girl undress so that she could see her artificial limbs...

"Listen, which limb would you like to look at? Because my arm is more sophisticated than my legs." Padme said as she adjusted her top so that Kaylee could see how the shoulder unit was suctioned onto her arm.

"Wow... the interface must be pretty darn advanced." Kaylee pulled at one of the connections cautiously with her fingers.

"You can touch those... The interface is tied to what is left in my stump. The rest of the outside stuff is just used to make sure that the limb is attached to my body." Padme said as she closed her eyes and relaxed then the three connectors on her back clicked and slid off her back. Revealing the three bolts to connect points of the titanium bolts the stuck out off her back as they swung upwards.

"Golly geesh..." Kaylee exclaimed as she jumped back.

"Give me a second and I can reach over to pull it off." Padme used her organic arm she reached out and pulled slowly and the limb came loose. "Here..." Padme handed the limb over to Kaylee, it took Kaylee a few moments to process that Padme was literally handing her arm over to her.

"Uh..." Kaylee blinked a few times looking at the limb. It felt so light in her hands... She expected it to weigh heavier than this, but the mechanic in her kicked in as she started to study the interface clamp, she felt the way the circuits and wires felt under her fingers, then turning back to Padme, she saw the full extent of how much of her arm Kaylee was holding. Stump wasn't the term Kaylee would use for the palm sized hole that took up most of Padme's arm pit.

The arm was just simple mechanics compared to the interface between human and machine. Biting her lips with her teeth Kaylee held onto the arm with her hand and proceeded with her free hand slowly started to move her index finger into the circle of flesh and human tissue. Simon would be drooling over how the organics of Padme's body meshed with the machine arm in her hand.

"Padme..." Kaylee slowly reached into the "stump" and traced the metal and flesh leads. "Does it..." Padme just blushed.

"No I am a bit ticklish around..." Padme stopped as she winced as she tried not to giggle as Kaylee inadvertently found some of Padme's sensitive naked flesh.

"Sorry..." Kaylee said as she quickly pulled out her finger.

"It's nothing..." Padme looked at Kaylee as she turned her body around so that she sat facing Kaylee. "Most people think that folks with prosthetics can't feel anything with their limbs, but given how these limbs are built, I can feel the fine hairs on the legs of a mosquito when it lands on my arm." Kaylee blinked as she heard the hatch click as Simon came down the ladder.

"Simon..." Kaylee called out as she saw her fiancée turn around.

"Hi." Padme waved with her remaining arm.

"Kaylee..." there was a long pause as Simon looked at the two girls sitting together on the bed.

"Listen... Kaylee, if you want to look at my arm in more detail, you can ask the Doctor here to examine my prosthetics in the medical bay... I mean... considering that the two of you might want to see how..." Simon blinked.

"Um... Arm... Examine???" Simon flustered.

"Yeah... Kaylee here wanted to see how my arm was put together... I think that when she saw some of the simplicity of how it was put together and the complexity of the interface where it goes in, I think that given some of the technical stuff, on the biological end of things, you might be interested in." Kaylee got the feeling that Padme wanted to let her and her boyfriend become something more.

"Why type of stuff?" Simon said as Padme shifted around.

"Well Kaylee wanted to see how I was wired together; I decided that I might lend you some of my knowledge of being a patient as well as the person that has started to learn to make them." Padme said as Simon and Kaylee realized that she wanted to talk shop to two people of than her adopted father who knew more about how her limbs worked.

"Okay..." Simon said as he moved to the side. "That sounds good."

"Well Kaylee. I think both you and your Fiancée will have some serious notes to take... Now how about I use your shower and we can go more in-depth... Oh, I need to have my arm back." Padme offered out her hand to take back her metal limb. Kaylee looked down and realized that when you hold someone's limb, you need to hand it back so that they can reach around to get themselves bathed.

"Shower..." Kaylee stammered out. "Right..." With that Kaylee saw as Padme holed up her arm and let it reattach it to her shoulder.

"Well see you in the medical bay in a half and hour." Padme said as she walked into the bathroom area and closed the shower door. Kaylee got the cue as she left her from falling on the floor with Simon.

"I get the feeling that girl knows how to send the message that she really wanted to have a shower." Kaylee spoke as she went up the ladder.

"Yeah... well considering that we kinda of had sex in it last night and I forgot to wipe it down."

"Simon... you didn't..." Kaylee shook her head as rubbed her forehead realizing that soap scum wasn't the only thing on the walls of where they bathed.


Illyria was reliving the events of the past day; Illyria had felt a bit apprehensive about this class. Between the facts that she had to blend in to survive until it was time for her to strike when her enemies resurfaced. That was when she learned that there were some things that even a god couldn't deal with. How truly small one was in the mechanizations of the stars in the sky.

That was hours ago and Illyria was curled up on the long brown couch in the living room of the Slayer's sanctuary.

"Hey Blue...how as your day?" Gabby said as she came in the room.

"I feel like I have trudged through the seeping ooze of Snicket slime under a death march as it has seeped into the pores of my shell and have stars started to devour my spiritual being." Illyria moaned as she buried her face into the throw pillow. That was when Gabby knelt down by the couch and looked Illyria in the eye.

"Yeah... rough day..." Gabby said as she looked at how Illyria was curled up. "So... why don't you tell me about the day you have had." Illyria pouted as she shoved her face into the pillow.

"I just did, Mortal..." the muffled words came out.

"Okay... Miss Goddess Queen Bitch I made demons shit their pants by even looking at them." Gabby said as she scrunched her face at Illyria.

"You think that I made demons defecate where they stood, just with my eyes?" Illyria said as she pulled her face out of pillow.

"Yeah... I mean come on what earth shattering event today turned you from the most feared creature of the Prymordium into a weak saggy wet behind the ears kitten who is hiding on a couch behind a green fluffy throw pillow?" Gabby said as she reached out to rub the blue stain on the back of one of Illyria's hands.

"The class about the stars... It was as if all of my existence was like a gnat stuck in the crushing gale of a perfect Hurricane as it battered against a coastal tree line. I am a speck of dust on an endless open desert. A drop of fresh water in a salt water ocean." Illyria's grew distant.

"Okay... Does this have to do with the fact it has to deal with the actual size of the universe and your own ego is not proportional to each other."

"The clusters of Galaxies are larger than my existence and far older than even the matter that makes my essence up."

"So, you just found out that you are smaller than the gum on an ant's shoe." Gabby said as she reached over and rubbed Illyria's cheek. There was a subtle nod as Illyria looked up at her.

"Welcome to life."

"My empire was nothing, all of the mighty battles I have fought... NOTHING..." Illyria screamed out that last part.

"So, calling someone muck no longer has the sting you thought it had."

"I am have always been tainted by the muck I have fought to rise above it... I never realized that..."

"You were the muck like the rest of us." Gabby gave a sympathetic grin. Illyria looked like she wanted to unleash fury, but the fight left her eyes.

"Well, in the cosmic scheme of things, I was sort of expecting this." Gabby sat down next to Illyria.

"The Ojon knew, and she didn't tell me."

"Ojon???" Illyria looked at Gabby.

"You do not know... your order protects her, she is a guide, she is... With your Queen."

"So... she is with one of the Scoobies. Give her a call. Talk..." Gabby reached over and handed the phone to Illyria. "I think you need some perspective. After that we head down to the Campus Union Building, and hit the coffee shop. And listen to what is happening."

"You desire me to call Ojon?"

"Yes..." Gabby said as she grinned. "Trust me; a few of us have called home over the last few hours to talk with a family or friend to help us find perspective." Gabby got up and reached for the pile of cell phone chargers and picked up one of the phones. "Now I will leave you to make your call, while I go into the other room and make a call to my folks." Gabby walked out of the room and Illyria looked at the phone for a long time, the she started to punch in the numbers 411.

"Hello Operator, I need to make a call to Cleveland Ohio."

"What listing?"

"Listing?"

"Who do you wish me to look up the number for?" Illyria paused for a moment.

"Dawn Summers, or she is probably listed under her guardian's name of Buffy Anne Summers."

"One moment please." Then the voice changed to that of a mechanical one.

"The number is 216-555-0193; if you want the number dialed for a charge of seventy-five cents please push the pound key now." Illyria pushed the hashed button and the line started ringing.

"Summer's residence. Dawn Speaking."

"Ojon..." Illyria spoke worriedly. "This is Illyria of the Prymordium, child of..."

"Illyria... how are you doing?" Illyria was taken aback by this.

"Ojon... you knew that I would summon your voice via this talisman?" There was a pause.

"Are you okay, you sound worried?" Dawn's words came through.

"I just had a rough day... did you know about how large existence was before our last meeting, and decided to let me find out so I would learn my lesson of how small I truly was even at the height of my power?"

"Did someone beat you up? Or was it a tough day of classes?"

"The latter."

"Having a monster beat you would have at least drained your frustrations. So tell me about the class and what the professor said to make you feel so upset."

"I am not upset."

"You are, and remember you are talking to the Key here."

"I am..."


Harmony was scared... she was in L.A., and given that they had crashed in it would mean that Old Smurf of Doom would be coming for her. If she lived through this she would make a note that said the following: Note to self... Do not even think about selling out any future Hell Goddesses boyfriends or significant other. They will... (Insert image of extraneous pain, torture and suffering here).

"Harmony Kendell..." a woman's voice said as Harmony screamed at the top of her lungs... Everyone in the room looked at her.

"Okay... that's it we are putting you on decaf..." One of the Soldiers said standing nearby. That was when Harmony looked around.

"Sorry." Harmony said as she relaxed for a moment. That was when the woman walked over to her.

"I think there is someone here to see you." She said as Harmony looked like she was about to bolt. "He says that he's your boyfriend."

"Spike???" Harmony said

"No... A Peter Janacek." The women said as Harmony's brain started cover her past life.

"Oh... Peter..." Her recent love life sprung loose and hugged the stuffing out of the woman.

"Well... could you..." there was a clear crack as Harmony quickly let go of the woman.

"Oh... sorry..." Harmony said over the woman who was now having trouble breathing.

"Ma'am... you will have to be cleared by medical before you are released." The woman said as she rolled onto her side. "Sergeant... calls the paramedics... I think I have a cracked rib or five..." the woman said as she lay there on the floor. All Harmony cared about now was hoping that Peter would like to move with her out of the country...


Clem pulled his car into the parking lot of the Hotel that Spike had given him the address to. This place was big... Hard to believe that the Scoobies stayed her after the Collapse of Sunnydale, but given the number of girls that were with Buffy he could believe it, but he was sure glad that this lace was still standing.

"So... is this the place?" Gloria said as she looked out the window.

"Yeah I think it is?" Clem said looking through the window. "Sure makes Dracula's place look small." Clem Jokingly said. "Spike's Grand Sire must have pulled out the stops for this place."

"So what is the name of Spike's Sire?" Gloria said looking at the hotel and she had a memory flood back to her.

"Angel or Angelus... Depends on the curse he is on." Clem said as he got out of the car and pulled the seat forward to let the girls out.

"Angelus... I think I have heard of him... did some carnage with style... that and many... um... females." Gloria blushed hard. "Um... found him attractive, well next to the immortal."

"So you slept with Angelus?" Clem said looking at Gloria... There was some subtlety seeking in.

"No... More like his arch rival the Immortal and trust me..." This was about the time the dreamily look seeped into her eyes. "The night of passion was..." that was when she caught a look at the girls in front of her. "I'll tell you when the girls are older..." with that Gloria started to fan her self with her hand.

"Okay..." Iria said looking at Gloria as she shuttled on by heading to the front door. "Is it just me or am I getting the feeling that what they did having sex would make some seriously late, late, late night porno on the Playboy channel look like an episode of Barney." Iria said as Mae gave her the universal look of okay you said it, I didn't.

"Did you get that from your new superpowers?" Mae said looking at the spot of where Gloria was rushing off to.

"No... But I got the feeling that she would be thrown in jail just for mentioning the first five seconds of what she did with that Immortal guy." Iria said as she moved with Clem to head into the Hotel.


Nina was walking around the lobby of the Hyperion. Between the smell of oil, wood, sawdust and metal shavings, this place was starting to look great. Even with the wet dog smell from the basement which was partially her fault after Fred/Illyria gave her the greatest bath ever. Nina chuckled at the image of Illyria giving her a bath to get her clean during one of her transformed nights. "To get the stink of the muck of this world off of her that was upsetting her new form." Illyria had said, but she felt centered after the process. For some reason that next day Nina felt so relaxed it was like she had gone to a celebrity spa and gotten the works and felt free, no heavy urges to rip throats out or run naked through the park. Illyria had been curled up in the corner sleeping with a hair brush in her hands smiling like a child who had gotten a dog for their birthday when she had awaken the next morning curled up in a soft blanket with her. Nina had gone up to one of the shelves and pulled down an old Polaroid camera with film in it and had taken a picture of the human demon woman sleeping so peacefully. After Angel had learned of how Nina felt, he decided to contact another Werewolf he knew of named Oz.

Now given from what Angel had said about him. He had sought a way to calm the fears he had growing inside of him and now had this wolf behaving like a puppy now. Oz had over the years studied around the world to find a way to control his wolf, in a way he had discovered that the wolf had its own needs and fears that it was just as scared to become human as the human was to become a wolf. In a way he had found a way to make peace with his wolf and even see the full moon. Since then Oz had developed a following among other Werewolves developing his own pack in the process, Angel kinda of described him as a kinda of a spiritual leader along the lines of Gandhi, or some high level Buddhast monk. That was when a scruffy young man walked into the offices, who looked more like a Seattle rock guitarist than some enlightened priest. That was when other individuals came into the room all talking. Maybe they were members of Oz's pack given the smell of wolf on all of them.

"So... How did you get to know a vampire? I mean It isn't' like you were his pet." A Catholic redhead Goth girl said as she glanced around the lobby that gave off the appearance that she had attitude yet gentleness.

"No actually it was back in Sunnydale." The Short shaggy man said as a young girl about seven maybe nine years old bolted down the stairs and through the lobby like a rubble ball on speed. "Shanna... Be careful." Catholic Goth called out to the girl.

"I will. There are so many scents in here." The girl called out as she started to stick her nose into everything sniffing touching even sticking her tongue out to taste the air.

"So we are talking about Sunnydale as in Slayer, and that witch you knew."

"Yeah Willow."

"Are we talking about the same one who went gay and you tried to eat her Wiccan girlfriend."

"Yeah..." That was when Nina started to sense something about the young girl. She smelt similar. Nina started to move forward and felt that given the feeling that she was moving around a younger version of herself. A Wolf version of her.

"Shanna..." the Seattle rocker called out. "Come over..." There was the pause as the young man looked at Nina. "Here." Cautiously Nina felt that she needed to walk over to him. The couple just stood their ground as almost instinctively they started to move around in circles. In the back of Nina's mind she felt words like Alpha... Male... Pack Leader... Mated... Female... Mate... fast one... echo in her mind. That was when other "Wolves" started to show up. Nina started to feel like she needed to move away, then the scent changed to almost feeling like "no threat". Nina started to get worried that at any time she might want to rip someone's throat out. That was when Angel came out of his office.

"So Angel, I see that you still have a thing for Blonds... So I take it here that this young woman happens to be the wolf that needs some help dealing with her powers." Seattle said as Nina felt the human in her start to kick in.

"Yes she is Oz..." Angel said casually. Nina's eyes nearly shot out of her face.

"Oz... as in Guru Oz, as in the Kung Fu Master, Bruce Lee, Obi Won Kenobi of the freaking werewolf community. This is Oz... Wizard of Oz... Oz." Nina looked back and forth between Angel and "Oz".

"Wow... I just compared to a Jedi Knight..." Oz said as he crossed his arms and grinned like Buddha.

"I think that you need to have some serious press work done." Catholic Goth said leaning over. "Honey."

"Wait..." Nina stammered for a moment "As in you are Misses... Oz..." Nina blinked looking Oz up and down in disbelief.

"You were expecting someone bigger?" Oz said to Nina as he changed his face to something that looked like a more fiercer and less hairy version of the wolfman. "Because bigger means nothing if you can out think them." Nina's jaw hit the floor as the rest of the pack changed in small ways. The biggest thing she noticed was that they were not all the same to put it bluntly in her mind, the same breed. Then Nina saw Shanna who had stripped out of her dress just leaving her "underwear" on. The little girl was a mini-me version of the werewolf she changed into each month.

"Shanna... change back and put your clothes on. I know that you are used to being nude most of the time growing up, but give the new girl a break." Catholic said as she kept her fairly hairy and yet sensuous face to a state of calm. Then Shanna moved over and started to shift back as she slid her claw like hands into her dress and pulled it over her head and appeared as it fell onto her body looking like a normal little girl.

"I had undergarments on Rain..." Shanna yelled out. "I'm only naked when it comes to the moon and large rabbits." That was when Nina wondered what that meant, and something in her didn't want to know, but she was dreading the answers. That was when a Baggy demon guy walked in accompanied by two girls and a blond woman.

"Hi my name is Clem, I'm a friend of Spike's and I believe that he told you about a missing person's case I have for you."

"So who's the missing person you want me to find." Angel spoke up as a girl with short cut brown hair came forward.

"Me... I'm the case. Can you tell me who I am?"


Naga was an armature sorceress, given the number of years she had been raised in Pylea she had never thought she see the Groosalug and Landok of the Deathwok Clan together. Given the number of children that were walking with them and the aura of dread, Naga knew that she and all of the natural magic users would soon be called upon to use their knowledge to defend the realm.


Groo walked into the Elected Council Chamber and felt the eyes both Demon and Human stare right through him. Not since his youth had he felt this way.

"Groosalug, Landok... Tell us of what word have you learned of this threat that has come to both Human and Demon." President elect Boone said as Groo and Landok took their places on the Great seal of the unified Pylean government. Given how Princess Cordillia had laid out the government in such a way that no single body or group in the government could nut have complete dominance over another. In order fur everything to get done they had to be agreement between all three sides: their leader. The Parliament - made up of the villages and small settlements. And the Judges - made up of the law makers and givers chosen by the people. This eclectic mix of individuals had been introduced since his Princesses decreed had become the government. Given the state of things, that mix of events and individuals kept many of the violent conflicts that had arisen in the past from occurring again. Instead of Spears and Arrows being traded in blows against their opponents, Words had become the new ammunition... And given how some of the officials swore at each other... giving them a sword or at least getting them into an arena to battle it cut would cut down on the conflicts that nearly turned into all out warfare matches. Groo took his breath in slowly before he started to speak.

"It is bad... and far worse than any of us could believe." Groo spoke as Landok motioned over to the group of children who had survived.

"We were lucky in this case that this young girl was able to save several children." Landok said as he motioned for the eldest of the group to come forward. There was a long look from the President at he looked at the child and noticed that her wrists were bound.

"Why is this one bound? Has she committed a crime?" Groo moved over and touched the girl on the shoulder.

"No... She attempted to save the villagers after she had a vision of the attack. They locked her up thinking she was mad, but given that she was able to break out and save what few children she could from the Massacre. We have been so busy that we have not taken the time to remove her manacles." There was a long stare as everyone in the chambers looked at them.

"Guard..." The President called out. "... Go find one of the Justices and ask them to come in here I believe that we are in need to remove a pair of manacles from this young girl." Mina looked at Groo and Landok as she knew that she needed to talk about what happened. In moments her shackles were off and she needed to sit down to tell her story... Because she couldn't stay standing when she started to remember horror of the events she had witnessed.


Kitsuni Amara was moving into the bathroom to take a shower in her Northern Californian apartment she shared with several of the other Supers. Being an Oni Takeru she and the rest of her kind had the ability to shred through a M1 Abrams Tank in less than ten seconds flat. But right now she wanted to shed her clothes and enjoy a nice long shower that was when she heard her daughter pound her feet in. For a seven-year-old she was at that age of being a child and being a drill sergeant.

"Mom..." Rita called out... "Can I play softball with Brandy?"

"Are you going to be playing with the Slayers?"

Kitsuni called out as she turned the water down. She did not want her daughter to be alone with Brandy, but given the entire thing with that aquatic demon getting in trouble by messing with and wanting to hump the boyfriends of all the Slayers in this Fraternity house was an issue that worked it self out. When the demon found out that when you have about twenty torked off to the Nth level of some hell dimension group of Slayers who find you using magical powers to bonk their boyfriends, then finding out that your powers don't work on Slayers. Well the image of groveling, begging for your life, freeing boyfriends from the spell you put them on and praying to the gods you worshiped as you crap your pants. Is something to make any demon think twice about breaking the seven simple rules to winding up Slayer Chow. But given how Brandy revealed that she didn't want to die, that she would be good, never use her powers again.

All she wanted was to become human, or at least find human love... She just didn't know the social rules of making a boy fall in love with her without magic. seeing that Brandy wasn't much of a threat, and that she didn't want to wind up as "Fish chow" the Slayers had called a war meeting and huddled and given her a "magic" talisman. The rules were that she had to develop social skills to meet a boy and fall in love, without using her mind control powers, now she was allowed to have false starts, but if it didn't go her way she had to let them go. Or leave them...

That was over a few months ago, and Brandy had kept to the rules and had started to develop a healthy relationship. But it was playing softball that had forced her to work with people and that is how she had met her current boyfriend. Rita had feigned and injury just to get Brandy and this boy together. Kitsuni knew it wasn't perfect, but given that Rita got these two together and the persuasive magic rule was still in effect. But Softball and a "Fish demon" was something that made a half demon like her grin. But letting her daughter play like a normal kid was a big thing. If there were Slayers around then she might let her daughter on the field and not stick to the sidelines when just "humans were playing."

"Yes..."

"Okay, but stick close to Conner and Joanne."

"Yeah, but Conner and Jo-Anne tend to kiss and that looks yucky especially when they start to stick their tongues into each other's mouths." Yeah... Typical seven-year-old mind set. Six more years and she would be wishing for these days back. Single mom, rooming with a Fraternity house full of Sorceress, Sorceresses, Slayers, Witches, Warlocks, Demons, Mutants, and other things. "Give me a second and I'll be out." Kitsuni said as she turned the water on and blasted her body while she extended her tentacles to wash off the soap on her body and in her hair. Thank goodness for having eight limbs with two having opposable thumbs.


Dana was sitting in Xander's workshop. For the most part Xander didn't like the idea of the Crazy Slayer being around his work tools, but given that over the last few months Dana went from a savage animal to being a scared girl that was cautiously curious about the world. In the case right now between her link with this long ranger slayer, Dana had started on this track of wanting to act normal, but given so many images of her failing, having Xander around made her feel better. Well High school goofy normal. Dana walked around smelling the wood, the construction of cabinets, and travel chests for the girls had almost become a business in itself. Dana felt the wood as she remembered a Victorian Slayer girl who had a cabinet like this in her room. She loved to travel, shop, meet cute boys in the town square... Run topless through apple groves like a wild nymph. Having a threesome with some demon princess and the Immortal in Tuscany. Dana shook her head.

"Okay... no images of humping Morty..." Dana said aloud.

"Dana..." Xander called out as he came up behind her. Dana turned slowly around. Xander looked worried.

"Hi Xander..." Dana said casually.

"Not planning to go on an ax murdering spree are you." Xander was worryingly half joking with her.

"No..." Dana jumped back... Dana held up both hands revealing open palms.

"So..."

"Buffy... me was looking for the Xan... der." Dana looked at her feet.

"So having a little bit of Buffy memories in your head." Xander looked at her.

"Yeah... I mean between having all of these memories in my head, there are times where I get lost in the memories of the other girls. Sometimes it is like a movie, other times it is pretty emotional." Dana said looking around. Xander looked at her as she rubbed the wooden cabinet he had been working on.

"So what is it like when you experience these memories?" Xander said as Dana turned directly at him. It took her a moment as she licked her lip occasionally chewing on them as she attempted to find a reference. Then she found it as she looked at Xander with some happiness.

"Have you ever watched a marathon of episodes Highlander?" Xander knew that this was going to be one of those Science Fiction geek moments. Xander had the feeling that if she referenced Dragonball Z or Star Trek he was going to pick up a battery operated power saw and hunt Andrew down. That was when Dana put it in perspective. "Xander during the series, you have several characters who happened to be several hundred years old, well considering the number of eras they have lived through, they do it in a flashback style. Well in my case I get the super holodeck version of that, including the passionate smell of olive oil and Tuscany apples rubbed over naked teenage Slayer flesh before she loses her virginity." Xander didn't know if he wanted to kill Andrew now, but Xander had the feeling that the evil hand was returning and images of Xander's Girls Gone Wild would be haunting his dreams for the next few nights.

"Okay... Dana... out of the work room. NOW..." Xander took Dana by the arm and marched her out of the work room.

"Go find some girls and play some cards why don't you." Xander said looking flustered.

"Okay... I think to night there is a strip poker game going down." With that Xander started walking faster to shove Dana in the rec room before running to his quarters. The last words he heard was.

"Hey Dana... We want to win back the clothes you made out with."

"Well considering that I don't have an issue with nudity."

"We know..." Another voice called out. "You lose all of your clothes then you win them back along with ours." That was when Xander hit a flat out run down the hallway.


Next time

Part 19,

Information, origins, background and Illyria finally finding her footing.