Buffy looks at the dwelling silently while Dawn continues to talk beside her. The language she's using coming back slowly. As she's thinking, Dawn takes her hand and leads her into the house, where she's again hit by a sense of déjà vu. Was this her mothers house? But what about Veldé, wasn't she her mother? If this was her mothers house, then the kitchen diner should be through here.
Like a little duckling, Dawn follows behind Buffy, and turns on the light, "…well, except for the computer stuff, that's Willow's obviously."
Willow, that name seems familiar, and this seems to be the same. Buffy turns back to the hall, and sees the photo on the table. She has to pause as memories assault her, Veldé succumbing to void sickness, at the same time her mother, Joyce, that was her name, Joyce, is telling her about her cancer. Apart from the hairstyle, they could both be twins. Carelessly, Buffy lays the photo on the table before void jumping up the stairs. As she's looking at the room around the room, Dawn comes up behind her.
"Um, yeah, this room was mums, but it's the biggest room in the house so Willow…"
Buffy interrupts, "and Tara."
"Yeah, they sleep here now."
Buffy makes her way around the bed to the other door, that she knows should lead to a corridor. As she opens it, Dawn squeezes in front of her, so Buffy pauses to think. Once she's ordered her thoughts, she carefully enunciates, "So, what else has changed?"
"What? In the house?" Buffy shakes her head, "Oh, um, well Giles left today. It's funny, sort of, that you came back the same day."
Another name slots into place, like a key in a lock, and she remembers training in a library. An older man with glasses and greying hair.
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Buffy comes out of her memories as Dawn dabs a damp flannel on her face. In the mirror behind her, Buffy sees a face she hasn't seen for centuries, ever since they were rescued from the Zariman and she had access to proper hospital facilities. As she raises a hand to touch the mirror, Dawn brushes a wound on her knuckles and Buffy winces. Pulling her hand away, she tries to think back to where she could have got that injury.
While she's thinking, the sound of the front door slamming open brings her instincts to the fore and she spins into a wary crouch. Belatedly, she says, "What was that?"
When a voice floats up the stairs threatening to kill Dawn, Buffy takes her cue from Dawn and relaxes. Though, she follows a little slower, as she has to remember where the stairs are. As she gets to the top of the stairs and starts making her way down them, the person at the bottom trails off.
While she's trying to remember who the man in the leather jacket, and white, spiky hair, is. He notices her knuckles.
"What happened there?"
Buffy lifts her hand to look at her knuckle and try to find the words to explain it when Dawn cheerfully says, "Oh, we're going to fix that."
Spiky, yes, Spiky feels almost right, takes her hands gently, "Coffin, she clawed her way out of a coffin."
Buffy nods to herself, that would make sense, she probably did it before she came back to herself.
Mistaking her nod for agreement, Spiky softly says, "It's ok, I've done it too. Dawn, get some bandages, and iodine."
While Dawn is running off for the supplies, Spiky leads Buffy to a sofa, and sits her down as he kneels in front of her. As he's inspecting the wounds, Buffy asks, "How long has it been?"
Spiky looks up, "187 days yesterday, 188 today. Well, I guess today doesn't count, does it. How about you?"
Buffy blinks at how short a time she's been gone, before looking down at her hands, "Longer." Though the answer doesn't really do a thousand odd years and change justice. She's about to clarify when Dawn comes bouncing back in with a bottle and some bandages. The three of them settle into silence for a while as Spiky dabs at the wounds on her knuckles.
The silence is broken abruptly when the 4 civilians from the street come bundling through the front door. As they crowd around her, Spiky gets up and moves out of the way, before unobtrusively leaving the home. Buffy follows his move out of the room, before focusing on the people in front of her. The red head must be Willow, and that would make the woman standing by her Tara. The man is something ander, but the actual name escapes him. The other woman, there's something odd about her.
Buffy leans her head to one side, "Are you human?"
"…pizza." Willow trails off as the four of them register the question.
The woman throws her hands in the air, "Buffy, you know me. Anya, ex-vengeance demon. You know, the one that was sent after Xander here, and is now engaged to Xander."
As Buffy tries to remember what an engagement is, it becomes apparent that she's taken too long to answer as the four of them start bickering again. She's getting tired of not being able to follow what's been said. That's it, that's a way to resolve this.
"Tired."
Xander looks at her, "What?"
Anya nods understandingly, "She's probably still jetlagged. Well, jetlagged from hell anyway."
Buffy looks at them uncomprehendingly as they again start bickering good naturedly, eventually she repeats herself, "Tired." Before standing up.
As she does, they give her more space, and she can see Dawn standing by the kitchen door. Walking over, she carefully asks Dawn, "Is my room?"
Dawn nods enthusiastically, "Yes, your room is still yours."
Buffy nods, and walks up the stairs slowly, as she tries to remember which door was hers.
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It's nearly an hour later, and Dawn is getting ready for bed.
"Dawn," Dawn shrieks and turns around to see Buffy standing in her doorway, her eyes are glowing white with some sort of energy. The same energy is crackling off of her fingers.
"Um, Buffy, you're scaring me."
Buffy gives her a half smile, "I'm sorry Dawn, I didn't mean to. I wanted to warn you not to come into my room while I'm sleeping. I can only control this energy while I'm awake."
"Buffy, what do you mean?"
Buffy raises her hand and looks at the energy playing across her fingers, "I was gone a long time, and things happened over there. I just… I want you to be safe. Part of that means not being around me when I can't control this energy."
Dawn eyes the energy warily, "I can do that."
Buffy smiles, "Good girl."
As Buffy turns and leaves back to her own bedroom, Dawn sits on the bed and seriously thinks about talking to Willow about what just happened. Then she remembers that she needs to walk past Buffy's room to get to Willow and Tara's room.
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Buffy silently returns to her room, and walks over to the mirror that's framed by numerous photo's. As she's looking at herself again, and noting the evidence that void energies are running uncontrolled through her body, she spots herself sitting on the bed in her capsule suit. Turning her attention from the mirror to the photos, she allows herself to smile as each one sparks a memory. Memories that are coming easier now, with less pain.
While she's looking at them, the people in the photos are all replaced with skeletons wearing the same clothes.
Sharply, her gaze returns to the mirror, "Are you doing this?"
She looks up from the bed and waves, "Hey kiddo, miss me?"
"I asked a question."
She waves her hand in the air, "Not me, but they do owe me." Her smile turns wide, and filled with far too many teeth, "And I will get my payment."
"Don't hurt my sister, or I will find some way to hurt you."
Instead of answering, she just jumps off the bed and disappears, leaving Buffy alone in her room once more. With a sigh, Buffy looks at the wounds on her knuckles, and the play of void energy over her hands. Of course there was a catch with her void energies, if only she'd understood the catch before she tried to change the school she was focusing on. Ah, well, eternalism sucks, and she did what she did.
Turning back to her room, Buffy surveys the furniture, before nodding to herself. After that, it only takes a few short minutes to move the bed into the corner of the room, leaving herself plenty of space to meditate properly between the dresser and the bed. In the centre of the cleared space, she drops into Seiza and begins meditating on the teachings of the Vazarin school. The way of the protectors and healers. As she does, void energies swirl around her, sparking out at the furniture and walls, leaving ghostly impressions that slowly fade. All of Buffy's wounds and abrasions slowly start to heal, until even this body's oldest injuries have been purged. As she finishes her meditation, the void energies reach a crescendo, before finally cresting and settling down into stillness. A peaceful smile takes over Buffy's expression, as she finds herself centred for the first time since she was pulled back here.
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While Buffy is meditating, Willow and Tara are woken violently as the picture above their bed is shattered.
Looking up, Willow sees a figure standing at the end of the bed. Coming to full wakefulness, she exclaims, "Buffy!?"
The figure speaks in Buffy's voice, "Do you know what you did? You're like children. Your hands smell of death. Bitches! Filthy little bitches rattling the bones! Did you cut the throat? Did you pat its head?" It then picks up the crystal ball, and throws it at the picture above their heads, raining more glass down into the bed.
On the edge of panic, Tara says "Oh my God, oh my God."
Relentlessly the figure continues, "You were stained. You still are. I know what you did."
As the initial stages of her flight or fight response pass, Willow rolls out of bed and turns the light on. As soon as she does the figure vanishes, as though it had never been there.
Tara hurries out of the bed, and over to Willow. Together, they both make their way to Buffy's room, where she's still meditating. Sharing a glance with each other, they make their way back to their bedroom.
As Willow closes the door, Tara walks over to the crystal ball and caresses it to reassure herself, "Maybe we just dreamed it."
Absently Willow replies, "Maybe." Then she shakes her head before walking over to Tara's hands, "No, wrong… Wrong brains."
Tara's eyes light up in understanding, "We can't both have dreamed it?"
"Right."
"So, did you understand what it was saying?"
Willow shakes her head, "No, you?"
Tara's about to answer when the pictures on the wall begin to shift and shake, as though something's passing underneath them. Once it's passed out of the room, Willow looks back at Tara, "Right, I'm calling Xander."
As Willow leaves the room Tara turns around and freezes as she sees herself sitting at the vanity, brushing her hair.
"Willow!"
Her doppelganger turns around and puts its finger to its lips, "Uh, huh, let's keep this private, between us."
Tara turns around and heads for the door, "Willow!"
"She can't hear you."
Tara turns back, and in a shaky voice asks, "What do you want?"
The doppelganger tilts its head to one side, "To make a deal. You stole something of mine, so I need it to be replaced."
Tara shakes her head, "No. No! Buffy isn't yours."
"You're right, but she does owe me, and now she can't pay what she owes."
Tara's expression firms up, "I don't know what hell you come from, but I don't make deals with demons."
The doppelganger gives an exaggerated sigh, "Well, I tried. I guess I'll ask Dawn next, or take her back." Standing up, she starts to make her way to the other door.
Stepping forward, Tara raises a hand, "No wait."
Her doppelganger turns around and looks at her expectantly.
Hesitantly, Tara raises her hand, "I'll do it, I'll pay the price."
The doppelganger gives her an unnaturally wide smile, before holding out its hand, "Shake on it?"
Nervously, Tara holds out her hand, and the doppelganger slams its own hand into hers in a firm grip. As it does, white void energy sparkles down its arm and into Tara, searing through her nerves and bones. Tara can't help it, she screams loudly, and watches helplessly as a portal opens and a shade of herself is sent through into a war-torn world.
As the portal closes, Willow comes rushing in with the house phone glued to her ear. Tara's doppelganger winks at Tara before letting go of her hand.
Hysterically, Willow shouts down the phone, "Xander! it got Tara."
A moment later, both Dawn and Buffy hurry into the bedroom. As they do, Dawn hurries over to Tara, while Buffy stops and stares at the doppelganger.
The doppelganger looks back and waves at Buffy, "Hey kiddo, this one paid my price. That one is still paying her own price. See you around." With that, it fades away.
Both Tara and Buffy both look at Willow, and Tara asks, "Willow, what did it mean you're paying your own price?"
Softly, Buffy looks down at Tara, "She couldn't see or hear him."
Willow looks between the two of them, "What do you mean, what couldn't I see or hear?"
Buffy looks up and, speaking in her native language, answers Willow, "The man in the wall, the one between worlds, he who lives in the void. Or, Wally as we Tenno call him." Continuing in English, she frowns, "More importantly, what is the price that you're paying Willow?"
Willow stumbles and drops the phone, "I'm not… We, I, paid the price when we cast the spell."
Buffy nods, "Well, either way, there's nothing we can do about it now. I'm going to bed, you should too Dawn. You've got an early day later. Tara, don't forget you can talk to me when you're ready. Just remember that meditation will help."
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The next morning, Dawn is rudely woken up by her sister knocking on the door, "Morning Dawn, time to get up."
Dawn cracks her eyes open and looks at the window, "Buffy, it's not even daylight yet, go away."
"No, you've got your exercises to do, and then we're training."
"Huh? What exercises?"
"Dax and Tenno exercises. Now get up, unless you want to be a kubrow breeder when you grow up."
"What was that?"
"Dawn!"
"I'm getting up, I'm getting up."
"I'll meet you in the yard in 10 minutes, don't make me come and find you."
10 minutes later, Dawn cracks open the door to the yard, and watches as Buffy completes a kata of an unusual martial art in the faint light given off by the lantern by the door. Once she finishes, she turns to face Dawn, "Come, kneel, we start our practice by meditating on the school we're practicing with."
Looking around cautiously for any vampires, Dawn makes her way down to the lawn before sitting down in the position she uses to meditate with Tara and Willow.
As she does, Buffy pushes her over backwards, "No, kneel. I am teaching you to fight, and you leave yourself vulnerable like that. Watch me."
Dawn pushes herself back into a sitting position, "What? I don't understand."
Buffy consciously pulls herself out of her frame of mind, "Watch me, we meditate in the, warriors stance. Sorry, I don't know the English for this position. Not vulnerable like this, as stand backwards easy, as is roll forward. Watch."
As Buffy demonstrates, Dawn lets out a soft "Woah, cool." Once she's kneeling uncomfortably, Dawn asks, "Why am I doing this? You're the Slayer."
Buffy shakes her head, "Grineer and Corpus, don't care about Slayers. The infested care even less about non-infested. You're my sister, so also a target to my enemies. As such, you should know how to defend yourself, and kill if necessary."
Dawn looks worried for a moment, and then glosses over the 'and kill' bit, to focus on something much more mundane, "Buffy, why aren't you speaking properly?"
Buffy looks up at the stars that are still visible in the lightening sky, "I had a life Dawn. I'd moved on, and had a second childhood. I've lived a very long time, and this life is a very tiny fragment of that. When I'm training you, or meditating, I'm using what I learnt in this life. Mum was there too… Void damn it, and damn the souls of those that ordered it."
Dawn reaches over when tears start to fall down Buffy's face, "Buffy, it will be ok."
Buffy looks up at Dawn and her eyes flash with void energy, "I know it will Dawn, because I won't lose you the same way I lost mum. For today, as you're a neophyte, we'll just kneel here and talk about the Vazarin school, the philosophy behind it, and what it means. I think I remember something about you being a key, and you were made into my sister to protect you."
Dawn nods slightly as tears start to form in her eyes, "That's true."
"Hey, don't cry. That doesn't stop you being my sister. It just means you may be able to use some of the Tenno adaptions to this school." Buffy's eyes take on a distant cast, as her words come out slow and halting as she's translating on the fly, "I see a cresting wave, wide in the ocean, the Vazarin Way. We were trained to Counter The Enemy and move with an opponent's attacks in order to nullify them. We maintain constant awareness in order to defend against all aggression.
"This school, and especially the Tenno adaptions to it, are all about protecting people. Being the bulwark behind which the vulnerable can hide while they recover. The Tenno adapted aspects of this path begin with Mending Unity, which allows those that are fighting and working with us to learn from each other, and the situation we're in better than we would normally. Once you gain an understanding of the heart of this school, it will show in everything that you do. From there, you can branch out in different directions. Whether as a healer, channelling the void to erase injuries. As a bulwark, increasing the effectiveness of your armour using the void, and further using the void to heal your own wounds as fast as I used to heal. To provide protection to you and your allies. Or finally, to ensnare your enemies, and buy time for your allies to regroup. But first, you need to understand the lessons, and how the movements work together."
Buffy talks for nearly two hours, as Dawn's legs first start to hurt, and then go numb from kneeling in the same position. As the sounds of movement start to come from inside the house, Buffy smoothly rises to her feet, before demonstrating the healing ability of the Vazarin Way, and helping Dawn to her feet.
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It's late morning and Tara is sitting with the others in the yard when Willow brings up what happened last night, "Guys, I think whatever happened might be caused by Buffy?"
Tara looks a little more alert as Xander asks, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was on the phone with you when Tara screamed, and Buffy was meditating."
Tara shakes her head, "No, they were separate things. Anya was being possessed at the same time I screamed, remember."
Xander suddenly looks pensive, "That was bad. Very bad. Very, very, very bad. Bad."
Anya start rubbing Xander's back, "He's all traumatized."
Willow looks between the three of them, "Well, whatever it is, it's not the-the traditional haunting, because it… It's not limited to one specific place, and there's not, you know, a dead person."
Tara shakes her head, "Not anymore."
Anya pipes up, "Oh, I bet it's a hitchhiker."
Xander shakes his head to clear his thoughts before looking up at his fiancé, "A hitchhiker?"
Anya give a small nod, "Um, standard way to travel through dimensions. Some demon thing sees someone moving between worlds and grabs on for the ride."
Willows brows furrow in confusion as she looks at Anya, "You mean, like, some hell beastie rode in with Buffy? Like, we're responsible for this?"
Remembering what her doppelganger said last night, Tara places her hands on the arms of the deckchair she's using, "Assume crash positions."
Anya shrugs, "I think we shouldn't have brought Buffy back. I knew it was gonna end badly. I should've said something."
Xander rolls his eyes as he looks at Willow, "Ok, fine, but what are we going to do. I mean, I'm feeling the need for some vigorous doing, you know?"
Willow looks up, a little hope in her voice, "It's ok. We-We just kill the beastie, and all is good. We're rolling in puppies. Right?"
Xander double takes between Willow and Anya, "Can we do that? Kill it?"
Along with everyone else, Tara's head swivels around to look at Buffy when she asks, "We killing something?"
Something in her expression gives her pause, but Willow sits up, and with a cheerful voice says, "Buffy! You're not supposed to be up."
A slight crease of Buffy's eyes shows the amusement she's feeling at that statement, but before she can answer, Tara asks, "H-How are you feeling? Are you ok?"
Buffy makes a wry smile before asking, "So what are we killing?"
Anya takes the bait, and moves the conversation past the uncomfortable question, "A demon, you brought back from hell with you."
Buffy runs through all the things that could have followed her from the origin system, and only has time to say "Oh."
Before we can say anything, Willow fills the silence with, "It's not like she's making it sound. A little haunting-type stuff. Boo-scary. Everything's normal."
Tara, thinking that Buffy has enough on her plate already, adds, "You shouldn't worry about it."
Buffy looks around the four of them, before saying in an upbeat voice, "Sure, let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
Tara, nods, "We will. And Buffy, it's good to have you back."
Xander puts on a smile, "Yeah, all we need to do is kill this thing, and then we still have you back."
After everyone else joins in with their own platitudes, Buffy turns back to the house, before looking over her shoulder, "Well, let's get to work."
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Not for the first time that day, Buffy looks up from a book she's struggling through, and tries to guess what these virtual strangers want. She knows they were her friends, and that they've been together for a few years. But there's been so much between then and now. She's not sure that they want the blood soaked soldier that's been trapped in the body of a teenager for the last 900 years, with the brain development that implies. She's seen the glances that Dawn's been giving her since their session this morning. But she's lost her mother twice, and she'll be damned before she loses her sister too.
She's looked around, and everything is so primitive here. It's even worse than a New Loka compound, the extremists that believe everyone should live without technology. Does she even have the Implants that she earned before Ballas took over after Margulis was executed, and wiped all of their memories. Then again, it's peaceful here. She can see it in their faces, and how the buildings aren't fortified. Hurriedly, she closes the book as a spark of void energy jumps between her finger and thumb, leaving a brown spot on the page she was holding. Looking up, she looks around and wonders if any of them could actually help her find the materials she'd need to cobble together a basic amp to regulate her void abilities. As she does, she realises that the only people who could are either dead, or Giles, who isn't in this country anymore.
"I miss Giles."
Everyone looks up at her, and she winces. Fortunately, Willow smiles at her, "It's ok, he's coming back. I phoned him earlier."
Another spark arcs between her fingers, and she quickly hides them behind her back, "I'm er. I'm going out on patrol."
Immediately, most of her, friends? Stand up and walk towards her, Xander being the one to voice there concern, "We can join you, if you want. You don't need to go alone."
Buffy doesn't look back, she just says, "No, I need to go patrolling."
Dawn calls out something behind her, but Buffy concentrating too much on holding the void energies, that are overflowing her ability to manage, to hear.