Chapter 10: The truth of Dawns trip to Al-Kufir
Dawn had awoke early to Willow bursting through her bedroom door and telling her to pack her stuff as they were gonna go get Buffy back themselves, Dawn had only just found out her sister was in another dimension and had no interest in coming home, finding out her sister was in love with her former sister Slayer turned enemy Faith wasn't as hard to swallow as she had once believed it would be.
Dawn had always made comments and caught their glances, she was well aware of Faiths crush on Buffy but thought nothing would come of it. she was also the only one to defend Angels murder as she also agreed that the vampire was absoloutly no good for her and had to go, Buffy had even slapped her quite hard when the 15 year old had called him a predator and yet she knew it was just a reaction to the truth. a truth which stung her cheek just as hard as it did her sisters mind.
And now here she was in the middle of a spell of a spell with Willow and being told that Buffy would basically be two years older then when she last saw her sister as a day was basically a year and a bit or less, give and take as dimensions didn't really apply by our normal rules and physiques on this earthly plane right here in Sunnydale.
Willow had explained that Buffy when they spoke was 8 months in and Faith was closing in on 2 years, but a more than a day later and Buffy would be closing in or over 2 and Faith 3 years older. Dawn worked out that basically her sister could be nineteen and Faith was basically the same age as she arrived at Sunnydale so she would be twenty.
It made Dawn wonder how they both looked now as the were a few years older and would they even remember her, did they even care? she was the only one to defend Faith with Buffy until the 'Angel' incident and it got on her nerves that they both left and decided to stay so casually and were happy to never return. But then again, maybe the other dimension was better and it sounded like they were accepted for being gay over there were as here could usually lead to a crime of some sort occuring, not that it would phase the slayers a single bit but still, mayne it was just more their spped over there.
"Willow, are you sure this is a good idea? they are happy, if we try and bring em back we're gonna be bitch slapped by two very powerful angry women who made it clear to you they wanna be left alone" Dawn chided her as she began chanting and using her magical charms and ingredients inna strange manor while ignoring the young girl.
"I told mum what happened and she's fine with it, kinda... she understood it anyway, i want her home two but... not if they're unhappy" Dawn was obviously not getting through to her and the portal began to open as the young girl was grasping a rucksack with weapons and supplies in her tight blue jeans and light blue shirt was waiting eagerly and jittering happily at the thought of seeing her sister again.
Willow had fully opened the portal and came out of her trance and grabbed hold of her own supplies, "Right we'll appear right before them and we can find out what's really going on Dawnie, i gotta make sure everythings above board, on the level... i gotta make sure Buffys safe ya know" Willow squeaked the last padt nervously and took the 15 year old girls extended hand and they both wordlessly dove through the portal and were greeted by two very confused looking Slayers snuggled up together on the sofa reading their own selected books and gasping at the sight of Willow and Dawn shooting through a suddenly appearing portal.
Willow hadn't even heard Faith cast an illusion spell and both girls invisbly moved out of their intruders way and armed themselves with their full gear as the fake Willow and Buffy began to greet them. Faith controlled herself telepathicallyand Buffy did the same so the responses were genuine, both girls had become expert mages as they were definetly years older hut still so young and vibrant looking as there aging had slowed down significantly due to their slayer powers and the many enchantments they equipped daily through their magical clothes.
Dawn smiled wide as she was about to run over a jump on her sister but the Illusion looked angry and commanded her to stop and tell her what she was doing here with Willow in tow, in their house, disrupting their peace and quiet and the girl instantly turned stiff and did as she was told but with a saddened face that almost broke Buffys heart.
"I missed you... and Willow wanted to make sure you were safe and also didn't wanna tow along the guys cause she was sure you'd kick their asses" Dawn spoke in a quiet whisper like tone and yet could still be heard perfectly as the portal closed behind them. The real Faith and Buffy had their guns at the ready just incase Willow tried anything magical as she was aware the redhead would most likely try to drag them both home against their will. Buffy knew the magics protecting them made Willow powerless but she knew how resourceful the witch could be and wasn't taking any chances and neither was Faith, not this time.
"We came to make sure you were both ok, also i missed you too Buffy and was kinda hoping you'd both come home, Joyce is even fine with you two dating. Dawn told me while i was casting the portal spell" Willow noticed the shocked look from Dawn as if she was saying 'oh, so you were listening' and then turned back to an annoyed looking pair of slayers which had chucked their books to the side and now sat with crossed arms.
Buffy took the illsuionary Buffys lead in the conversation "I am not returning to Sunnydale, we have made a home here guys, Also i got Faiths birthday to plan for and alot of people are coming next week so ya little drag Buffy home to sort out your problems won't fly anymore" Buffy sounded angry in a way Dawn and Willow had never experienced before.
"How did you even get here anyway, we are untraceable, impossibly resistant to almost all forms of magic and protected in ways you couldn't comprehend... we can both also now conjure a portal to throw you through so be kind and say your goodbyes before B loses her temper. Buffy was genuinly angry they had not listened to her and were now trying to take her away from their home because they had nothing better to do than live vicariously through her.
"Wow you two are furious... we just came to make sure your both actually safe, we don't know if this is a spell or some big bag trying to get you two gone for some reason" Willow smiled towards the illusions she was quite easily fooled by and they put the guns back in the holster and kept a binding spell on hold to quickly disable willow if she saw through the mirage.
"Of course we are, we just want to be happy and live our lives, let me guess you couldn't take up the hero mantle yourself... didn't take you a day to panic and come after us" Buffy said wifh a sharp tone to her voice and an expertly manipulated face, she was really getting good with her magic lessons and although she was still leauges behind Faith her energy wasn't so quickly spent anymore.
"Well, I'm happy you two are safe so we can probably go now Wills, least we can tell mum they're safe and not all wrinkly cause all the timey whimey stuff" Dawn smiled as Willow threw an unexpected spell towards the illusions that wouldn't of worked on the girls anyway.
Faith let the binding spell fly and Buffy opened a portal back to Sunnydale almost instantly as the illusion faded and Willow was now floating in the air completly still and bound but her eyes were wide open and showed a deep fear within them. Dawn noticed how much of a cowboy her sister and Faith had become, well cowgirl'y maybe and she spoke those thoughts out loud among other things.
"Wow, your still so short, but all cute and cowgirly now... and Faiths a tree trunk, were you always so tall?" she grinned as the Slayers rushed over to hug the preteen girl who was obviously just dragged alomg so Willow had some emotional leverage in her back pocket, But she had now become a Slayer sandwhich and she had to admit for the first time in the last couple of days she had felt loved.
"I missed you both so much, theres too many pop tarts in the kitchen now and stuff isn't so broken anymore, and i think everyones worried you both arent fighting evil anymore!" Dawn was almost crying as Faith pulled her closer for a tighter hold and Buffy kissed her forehead before moving over towards the sneaky witch who obviously came here for her own agenda.
"So... does Giles know you're here? no I imagine not since he would of came with you and wouldn't have let ya bring my little dawnie as emotional leverage" Buffy looked colder as she tipped her hat towards the girl and began magically moving her towards the lip of the portal as Willow panicked and tried to convince her otherwise.
"Buffy, you have to come home! we don't know what's coming next. we have an apocalypse every other month, how on earth will we survive without you!" Willow had decided honesty was the best policy this time but Buffy was cold and steadfast in her obvious decision to expel the witch from her well decorated home.
"I left that to you Will, you are the one i trusted to be the hero... the world does not need the Slayers, our power is demonic and we are bound together by a demonic ritual performed in africa thousands of years ago. But now, even if you removed our powers, we're both twice as strong as we used to be, magically adept and well trained in many forms of fighting and funny enough... i've become quite the sharpshooter" Buffy boasted as she began drawing invisible marks across Willows neck and speaking some unknown langauge to the witches obvious dismay.
"She's right ya know, we've moved beyond the slayer line, i told Buffy you'd be able to get back the moment we learned about temporal distortions and inter-dimensional travel, but ya know what Dawn, wanna spend some time with us here?" Faith asked and Buffy turned with a confused look on her face as if she had no idea why Faith would want that and yet she didn't say a word and finished her spell on the bound and now magically gagged Willow.
"Well yh obviously, plus you could send me home at any moment anyway so it's not much of a problem, plus you can show me your everyday life here and i can annoy Buffy that she missed an episode of star trek again" Dawn giggled as Faith went to sit down and directed the young girl towards the sofa and they both sat down and watched Buffy explain what was going to happen to Willow now when she returned.
"So Willow, you will never be able to travel here again without my or Faiths prior permission, Dawnie here on the other hand will probably back in a few minutes or hours depending on how many days or weeks she spends with us. plus she might be back sooner the moment she see's how hands on me and Faith are" Buffy chuckled to herself and turned to see her lover grinning and her sister rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"But Willow, don't panic, you can become so much stronger and to be honest with you... why don't you just go live a normal life, we might be bounty hunters here But Faith is an art teacher and i lead the town gaurd, we have lives and jobs we love, people who we care about too... go live and hell i Dunno marry oz or become gay or sommin! worked wonders for me" Buffy hugged her stilled form before pushing her through the portal and it closed instantly behind her and she was back in sunnydale and moments had barely even passed, the only difference was that she was now able to speak again and Dawn was in the other dimension with her sister and her insanely strong lesbian lover.
All she could do was wait for Dawn to come home and with the passing of time she would be. But Willow decided to walk to Giles and tell him everything that happened as she had royally screwed up and she couldn't even begin to fathom how powerful they had both became in what was only a few days for her but days for them.
"Giles is gonna be pissed..." Willow chastised herself as she exited Buffys house and made her way to Giles and hopefully help her fix everything she had so stupidly screwed up.
~~*
Dawn was seemingly happy as pie while Buffy and Faith were showing her around their small home and Dawn had noticed just how many sketch books Faith had on her new set of bookcases one filled with a crazy amount of literature and the other being slowly filled up with finished sketch books which Dawn asked if she could peruse but Faith said she could do so later as she wanted to take her into town and then to Rubys as Buffy understood what Faith was trying to do and agreed with her completly.
Dawn went to check out their bedroom and bathroom and Buffy whispered to Faith, "You wanna power her up, like me... you're worried Willow might be right, aren't you?" Buffy gave her a quizzical look filled with intrigue which made Faith respond with a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"She's part of you, i would rather her be strong like us and be able to protect herself when she goes home, just in case anything happens... if Reds right, something chucked us here for a nefarious plan it's cooking up then we gotta plan ahead goldie locks" Faith walked into the bedroom and spied Dawn in the open bathroom going through their Body lotions and was smelling a few with glee.
"Wow, these smells great... Buffy always liked cherry as a scent but never wears it... oh my god that's why you..." Dawns whole face turned beet red as Faith scoffed and playfully jabbed dawn as she quickly returned the body oils and lotions to their original places and Faith got her in a loose headlock.
"Yh, big sis has kinda got me all whipped Dawnie. we've been dating for like 2 years almost dude, kinda sucks ya missed it all" Faith chuckled as Dawn broke free and beamed a great big smile in respomse as she fixed her hair.
"Yh well I probably escaped all the awkward kisses and sex talk... and all the lovey dovey hand holding! yuck..." Dawn turned to see Buffy giggling and she flicked the younger girls nose playfully.
"Yeah we hold hands and kiss all the time, you poor thing, you're gonna have to put up with an uncharacteristically happy sister, no moping around. when was the past time i moped aroumd anyway?" Buffy asked herself and Faith responded not realisimg she was being rhetorical.
"You moped around last week when i had to go away for that bounty in Kalashkun... She had to stay here and help install the new weapons system to defend the town and she got all broken up and i got chewed out by half the town for leaving on a job. She was aparently, unbearable" Faith smirked as her small blond lover rolled her eyes and then scuffed a boot against the stone floor.
"Dawn, she left me for a whole day... it's cruel and unusual punishment, and she only brought me back these tasty chocolate eclairs things with purple cream and a new flavor of Nuka Cola. she shoulda stayed home." Buffy pouted while Dawn placed her hand on the blondes leather jacket clad shoulder.
"What the hell's a Nuka Cola?" Dawn asked and then her sisters face lit up as she rushed out towards the kitchen and began rummaging through the refridgerator for something.
"Faith, i think my sis is more whipped than you... she never acted like this before, hell i've only ever seen her run to the cool box like that after a long night patrolling". Dawn was suprised as she saw Buffy quickly opening a strange shaped and colored cola bottle and rushing towards them with a great big grin across her face.
"Man, Dawn, just be happy she doesn't cook... pop tarts are trash and we woulda died after a week or two if Buffy was in charge of food prep" Faith came in closer and out her arm around the girl and pulled her in for a hug again.
"I missed you too, wait, does that mean you cook every night for Buffy? damn, maybe you're the whipped one... or just smart to not let Buffy anywhere close to stove. mum blamed me when she almost burned the kitchen down last year making pancakes" Dawn sighed remembering the level of anger she had never seen her mother have before which ended up dissapating after Buffy had dissapeared over Angel.
Buffy rushed in and handed Dawn a golden looking Cola and said "It's honey Nuka Cola, you always loved honey the most so probably tne best way to try your first one. i basically live on these colas" Buffy admitted as Dawn took her first sip and her tastebuds exploded in a tsunami of tasteful glory.
"Holy jesus, that's the best cola ever. i'd stay here forever just for these!" Dawn wore a shocked expression as she took another long sip.
"Well as you know Faiths the designated cook so you'll never wanna leave after you taste her cooking, but we're gonna pop into town and before we do i gotta ask you something." Buffys face became serious as Dawn lowered her delicous honey flavored cola drink and her face also became serious as she remained silent and let Buffy speak.
"We can give you powers, like us and all you'll have to do is wear a few things everyday and you'll slowly become as strong as a slayer and even magically adept and far more resillient to everything... but it's kinda all Faiths idea since we're not going back with you and we're both worried for your safety Dawnie" Buffy was basically admiting to her sister she wasn't only refusing to return but she wanted her to be safe just in case she wasn't there to protect her. Dawn was uncharacteristically quiet for a few moments but realised it was for the best in the end.
"I obviously want yiu both to come home but... I understand why and it's pretty cool you're looking out for me. but i'm not becoming the next slayer and i wont let anyone make me. I saw what happened to you and Faith, i do not want that for myself, you both had it rough" Dawn was shocked that Buffy wore such a soft expression as Faith came over to soothe her and she just fell into the taller brunette girls arms and looked so happy there that Dawn realised just how different her sister was now. maybe it was because they had freedom and time away from the crazyness that is Sunnydale, not having an apocalypse ever 4 to 6 months probably helped with the lack of stress getting ya down too.
Faith let Buffy go and held her hand out for dawns and said, "C'mon little one, lets go spend a day together. oh and don't panic whennyou see the townsfolk, alot of em are half demon but reallt nice so, don't scream or sommin" Faiths hand was quickly taken and her free hand was then quickly occupied by her lover who suddenly made her realise she was a Summers sandwhich and it was suprisingly acceptable for her, it made her feel like she had a family for once.
"It's fine, hell it'll be nice meeting some nice demons for once... the omes back home are always so angry and sacrifice prone, scares a girl something fierce after awhile" Dawn was walked out of the house to the strangely colored sky and Faith handed her a spare pair of their magical glasses so they could see the normal way they do and it was alot better than the strange colors she had just been exposed to, the bleeding red sun also didn't help allieviate any of her nerves about being in a strange new demon infested dimension.
"Yh the bleeding sun is kinda lovecraftian, me and B don't even wear the glasses anymore since we're just used to the color change now... and she lost our glasses for like 3 months" Faith gripped Buffys hand tightly for a moment and smiled softly as her golden skinned lover replied without a hint of annoyance.
"Can't believe they were both under the bed, man were you mad at me for that, didn't stop the kisses though" Buffy winked and Faith leaned in for a deep kiss as Dawn played with her strange new glasses and decided to leave them on.
"Man, it's kinda cool knowing ya finally dating someone worth your time, might have to blind myself soon though. Still gotta get used to haply Buffy giving out hugs and smoochies, kinda unsettling after i've seen you rip off so many demon heads over the years" Dawn and the group started walking down the dusty brick path and down into the town of Al-kufir and it was only about 10 and the girls hadn't planned to go into town today as it was their day off.
People they knew were actually shocked to see them in town with a girl who suspicously looked like a mix of them both but younger and the madame of the saloon even stopped in her snakey tracks and slithered beside the Slayers as they wandered over to the clothes store as they planned to find some normal looking garments or trinkets to enchant for Dawn.
"My good three headed Athyrian goddess when did you two young ladies have a child, why she's the spitting image of you both!" The madame was now waving her chinese style punk colored fan at mach speeds as the Slayers gave her a confused look before the blonde responded in a confused tone.
"She's my sister, Dawn say hello to The Madame, we all call her Maj which is short for Majestus, or The Madame. she runs the whorehouse in Moriartys Saloon" Buffy explained as they stood outside Bullys Boutique and Dawn shook the snake demons hand and remarked about how pretty she thought the snake lady was which cause the snake demon to blush an odd color and hide her face behind her fan, it didn't help that Dawn also told her she thought her eyes which were slits and encircled in red looked beautiful.
"Oh my, your sister is quite the charmer it seems, maybe i should steal her away for the evening since she is quite new in town and could really benefit from the guidance of an older woman" The madame said in a playful tone which stopped being so playful when out the corner of her she she noticed Faiths eyes open wide and hastily panic and pull back on Buffys arm with all of her strength and barely keep her restrained without causing a scene as the petite blonde had caused all of Mrs Majestus's survival instincts to fire off wildly in all directions and tell her 'Run, you're in danger!' But she remained calm and walked her words back.
Dawn hadn't even noticed as she was absoloutly entranced by the large but slender snake lady, "Well, i should really be on my way young lady, but do pop by if you are in need of anything. but i doubt your sister would leave you wanting for anything here in our small town" The Madame waved goodbye and slithered off towards the Saloon with a quicker than usual stride and mentally chastised herself for flirting with the town gaurd commanders cute sister.
"Calm down, you know how Maj is... Dawns safe with us ok, I won't let anyone touch her baby" Faith whispered in Buffys ear as her anger was having a hard time subsiding and Faith decided to tell dawn to enter 'Bullys Boutique' and she could buy anything she liked the look of for the enchantments gut preferably something that would blend in at home.
"OK, Guess it's only right ya treat ya adorable daughter to brand new clothes or necklaces, since i'm basically a clone of you both. it's only fair my double income mummys spend alot of cash on me for no real reason" Dawn taunted as she spied all the demon residents she could before entering Bullys establishment and following close behind as she heard Bully gasp and ask why she looked so much like Faith and Buffy.
"Bully, she's my sister not my child, Maj just asked the same thing, but lucky for you we are here to spend some well earned rupees as she's here for a couple of weeks on holiday" Buffy closed the door behind them and let go off Faiths hand as she began to peruse the clothes and jewelry with her younger sister and Faith decided to walk over to the owner Bully and strike up a conversation.
"Sorry for the suprise Bully, she popped in through a portal this morning, all kinda sudden ya know..." Faith gave her a warm look and the demon seemed to calm down a little and respond with another question.
"Are you sure she's not your daughter, i'm not sure how your dimension does things but she's small and cute like your wife and strikingly beautiful just like you. are all humans so pretty?" Bullys query forced Faith to laugh a little harder than she should of but she also managed to compose herself quickly.
"Bully, barely any humans are pretty, we just all got lucky and Dawn over there is B's little sister so don't panic when my loving girl here spends the next hour or two trying on clothes draining my purse of all my hard earned cash. tne dark skinned snake demon cackled and hissed before responding.
"Well who am i to complain, oh Ruby had mentioned she taught you both how to use portal magic after procuring that rare book from Imakiwo, strange you both haven't gone home?" Bully mused but FIth rebutted hastily.
"We're already home little lady and you still have to clear up ya linework some more, although the mermaid you painted was something to admire i must admit" Faith praised the snake demon who seemed to vibrate and hiss with glee as her art teached praised her hard work.
Dawn had a few items that Faith hadn't expected her to pick out and it was a dark brown leather belt, a choker and a beautiful chinese style hairpin set and a woven nordic style bracelet which possessed many unreadable runes. the last thing she picked out was a blue romi (gypsy) headscarf and dark silver ring with a snake eating its own tail. Dawn had noticed the red ribbin that was tied up in Faiths lonv wavy hair and decided to ask her about it in a roundabout way.
"Never seen you wear a ribbon before, is it also enchanted? it looks great on you though. never thought you'd be someone to go for hair accessories" Dawn touched the ribbon and then looked over to Buffy who was looking at more clothes and found some nice black leather boots but was thinking against it because the slight heel raise in the back would make dawn a little bit taller than her and she didn't want that.
Faith answered her long winded question with a nervous look "Well it's the first thing your sister ever brought for me from her first bounty pay out, she can be quite charming when she's not angrily ripping demon heads off" Faith was now avoiding Dawns eyes and the younger girl knew she was embarrased admitting she treasured something brought for her almost 2 years ago by her blonde powerhouse of a slayers sister.
Bully interjected with a sudden realisation, "Oh yeah, ya brought that ribbon here on her first day in town... man the time just flies by doesn't it... and you two been inseperable ever since. people know your both married ya know, those rings are a dead giveaway" Bully hissed in a knowing way and then went over to help Buffy who had just called her over to inspect something she was interested in.
Faith just face palmed as Dawn gave her a confused look. "You two got married? what the hell! where was my invite..." Dawn said in a hushed but obvioualy angry tone to make sure Buffy wouldn't over hear them.
"We aint married, people here just assume alot and never ask questions, first week Buffy was here people assumed we were dating cause i refused to visit The Madames establishment and every assumed i was either weird or gay" Faith rubbed the bridge of her nose as she was obviously annoyed by the shop owners lack of a mental filter, as she was with most people in this town a good deal of the time.
"But you are gay and that's fine cause you're obviously both happy, but wearing red and green matching rings kinda tells people everything they need to know and your crosses. dude ya'll attached at the hip and if you're really not married just make sure i'm there when you are ok... i'm tired of missing out on ya lives just cause ya got a hate boner for Sunnydale" Dawn pulled Faith in for a quick hug and whispered quietly in her ear.
"Plus you're so much better than Angel, thank god you killed that creep, i've never seen Buffy this happy before".
The afforementioned Buffy walked up to them with a bundle of items and slammed em down by the cash register, she told Dawn the boots would serve her better here and they would get them enchanted soon so she would look the part both here at home. Buffy had decided that clothes should just remain clothes but when she was at home all her enchanted items needed to be more discreet and not bring attention to her like the cowboy gear here would definetly confuse people back home and turn quite a few heads.
"You ladies are purchasing alot today, not that i mind as any buisness is good buisness oh and Buffy i forgot to tell you that the bookstore just got a new shipment in. the owner told me to tell ya as his sons running the shop now since he's at home tending to the misses" Bully started ringing up the items and bagging everything at a leisurly pace.
"I'll pop over later since his son knows to keep the best books back for us, might have to visit the old man soon, make sure everythings all right with Angie..." Buffy turned to Dawn and Faithwith a wide eyed smile.
"Since ya probably gonna be here a week or two maybe we should go on holiday, it's been forever since we enjoyed some free time on a beach somewhere, i'm sure the boys in the gaurd wouldn't mind and Faith can just cancel her classes for a week or more, we've basically caught every bounty we ever meet anyway. I say it's time for some fun in the sun!" Buffy cheered and Dawn wasn't any help as she also loved the idea and it was only Faith who seemed a little annoued as she enjoyed teaching and didn't really want to take a break.
The sisters however just gave her a pouty faced look together and she buckled like a cheap chair and said "yeah... it's a great idea..." to the hqppy cheers of her loving girfriend and her lovable sister.
"Bully could you spread the word that i'll be away for about 9 days or so and classes will resume upon my return" Faith rolled her eyes in annoyance but Bully promised she would as she packaged the last set of clothes and tallied up the sum which Buffy happily payed and then took the items under arm and began moving towards the door with Dawn in tow.
Faith had said her goodbyes and Bully went about her day as they all exited the boutique and Buffy asked Faith an odd question, "Do ya think we should buy Dawn a gun? just in case anything happens" Dawn was excited at the idea but Faith put her foot down and told them both no and her reasoning was sound.
"B, she's fifteen and has never fired one... do you wanna get shot in the ass first or me cause last time she fired your crossbow Joyce almost got a bolt to the neck and you had to thank old spike for catching it mid air" Faith noticed the younger girl shy away at the memory and Buffy shake her head and realise that 'yh, that's a shit idea' would slowly become a mantra if she put weaoons into her sisters untrained hands.
"Yh, i really hated having to thank him for that... but, you were wearing those black leather pants and that was the day i learned how much i enjoy you bsnding over the sofa and picking up pieces of broken lamp, that was a pretty damn worthwhile experience" Buffy winked seductively which caused Dawn to scoff and walk off into the street and they both followed with big smirks plastered across their faces.
Faith directed Dawn to the end of town where Rubys shop was standing tall and now had even more shiny cloth hanging from it then before as Ruby was aparently looking into expanding the shop since her daughters wanted to offer other magical services and the enchantress had seen a golden opportunity as Al-kufir had suddenly began growing after Buffy had fallen into a hole on the other side of the mountain during patrol and found a large vein of gold.
Faith was happy they both never had to work again but also she really enjoyed her bounty hunting and their small but cozy house and Buffy although she was drowning in Rupees didn't really want their life to change much and was in the midst of relocating most of her money into a school, a better and vastly bigger hospital and she also invested in the local infrastructure but everyday the miners were finding more and more minerals and she had to try and find new ways to spend it. Jean had been useful in helping to modernise the town and they now were even building top of the line defensive walls and had the latest sand worm repelling technology.
Buffy waved to a few of the demon guys and girls on patrol and they bowed deeply in respect for their commander and wished her well but she stopped them quickly and made it clear she would be taking a holiday with Faith and her sister, she told them to tell the lietanant he would be in charge for a little over a week. they said their goodbyes and wished her a 'happy holiday' to which she told them if they were lucky she'd bring them back some souvenirs and that made them all smile in excitment as Buffy returned to Faith and Dawn before knocking on Rubys locked shop door.
"Huh? that's weird, its half 10, normally Rubys working her ass off by now... where could she be?" Faith spoke into the warm air as Ruby suddenly Burst through the locked door and nearly knocked the poor girls off their feet as she magically expelled 2 rough looking customers who were half sheep demons out into the rough desert sand. they hit the ground hard and as one scrambled for his gun Faith had already shot his hand off with her 1911 and Dawn was shocked that it fired laser beams and couldn't get over how cool it looked.
"You can shoot them dead if you wish, they're slavers and wanted me to enchant some collars to make their victims more 'agreeable' filthy slavers" and as Ruby finished Speaking Faith turned to stand directly in front of Dawns Face and turned her around to face Ruby as Buffy unholster her Mauser and the bolts of lightning it always expelled turned both slavers heads into mushy pulp. Dawn squeaked as she heard the screams and thunderous cracks of Buffys destructive shots but knew her sister was doing the right thing, Slavery was morally evil but she was happy that Faith had taken the care to make sure she didn't see the two demons get excuted in broad daylight for their crimes.
Faith placed her soft hand on the girls shoulder and rubbed them tenderly, "Sorry you had to be here for that Dawn, we sometimes get some right monsters popping into town but just stay calm aint anymore dangerous than Sunnyhell" Faith looked back to see Buffy commanding some town gaurd to dispose of the slavers headless bodies and investigate where their slaves were being held and to mount an investigation.
"Buffys gonna be busy for a few so Ruby, this is my darlings little sister Dawn and we are in need of your wonderful services once again" Faith watched as Ruby floated towards the young thin brunette whose hair she had already decided was way too long and straight for her liking. She looked into the girls eyes and sensed an impossibly vast amount of magical energy radiating off the girl but it was unlike the Slayers demonic residue, this was skmething purely magical and it intrigued the powerful enchantress quite a bit.
"She is very thin, but seems powerfully magical... i wonder why?" Ruby tilted her fully clothed head and floated just a bit closer as Dawn could now simply move an inch forward and touch noses, if Ruby even had a nose she thought to herself.
"Oh well we'll deal with that later, are you sure she's not your daughter Faith... she looks like both of you mixed together and feels like it too, were you toying around with my books again to impress the blonde one?" Ruby was now floating inches away from Faiths face and almost in an accusatory manor that Faith wasn't used to hearing from her dear friend that it took her aback for a second or two.
"Ruby, she's Buffys little sister, i've known her for over a year in Sunnydale, i've saved her from vampires and once a creepy clown thing but that was just strange" Faith looked towards Dawn and she responded hastily with a wavering voice.
"We never found it's body, plus the head went missing an hour later... god it was creepy!" Dawn watched Ruby float into her shop and welcome them both inside and left the door open for Buffy as she would join them soon after she finishes commanding her troops.
"Well creepy clown monsters aside what can i do for you today little one, Dawn was it not?" Ruby floated over her magical table to place herself down in her comfy looking and extremly tall chair covered in red fabric embroidered with gold accents.
Dawn was nervous as she could sense the power coming from the small robed figure but she held strong and spoke back with purpose, "My family here want me to have some items enchanted to make me stronger as i will be returning home without them and i need some form of protection, although i have no idea what they think i need or what would benefit me. you would have to ask Faith, she knows what's best for me" Dawn turned to smile and noticed Faiths shocked expression she quickly wiped from her face and toughened up in a split second as she reeled in from being reffered to as family by someone she really did like.
"She's right, Dawn here has no Slayer powers and isn't a potential but what she needs is strength and speed, magical abilities and a heavy resistance to all melee and projectile weapons. but of course..." Faith was interrupted by Ruby and she finished her words for her.
"She needs her enchantments to be inconspicuous, they have to fit in and i'm assuming you have brought me atleast 4 items i can enchant that she need not remove as to hasten the process for the effect to become applicable to her everyday situations" Ruby smiled as Buffy entered the room and put the 4 items on the table which were a pair of Black boots that were a little bigger than they needed to be, but Dawn was still growing and Buffy knew that so she had prepared a little to make them last longer before they needed replacing.
A woven nordic style bracelet was placed down next to a stylish but thin choker and then Buffy placed the last item down and it was the dark leather belt which had a wave like pattern across it and Ruby inspected the items before makimg a decision on what she could actuwlly do as her magic at times could be somewhat tempermental and she knew it.
"Wait what about the chinese hairpin, it's so cute..." Dawn asked but was given it by her loving sister as she responded.
"Mums gonna need a souvenir dummy, do you think she's gonna be happy when you get home and i didn't buy her something cool, she'll come here and kick my ass, hell she might kick Faiths ass as well and i can't have that now can I" Buffy directed Dawn to ait down and talk to Ruby as she took Faith to a corner of the shop for a discussion of her own away from Dawn and any prying ears that might enter while they discuss buisness.
"What's up honey, slavers have been dealt with and now old john will be leading the investigation and that guy gets shit done... what's wrong? you have a tear in your eye..." Buffys hand cupped her cheeks and she softly answered her lover in a whisper as she faced away from a prying Dawn who was bored as hell whilst Ruby was muttering to herself like a crazy person.
"It's nothing, just... Dawn called me family, it just hit me hard i guess" Faith let Buffy wipe the tear away and she leaned tenderly into her cupped hand for the closeness and warmth she had become so accustomed to feeling.
"Faith, you are family... i know your mother was, well a bitch but you belong to us. Dawn loves you too ya know she's a part of us and our life, it makes me wonder if we should let her go home to Sunnydale but mum would kill us if we tried anything" Buffy kissed her lover with a ferverent passion and as she let her go she remembered what she was going to say.
"Everything is sorted here at home but we gotta decide where to go on holiday as the next trains outta town are mid day tommorow and then the stations closing for a few days for repairs, i mean we could teleport but i kinda want Dawn to experience the train rides we always take... it's fun" Buffy couldn't help but smile as she heard Faith softly chuckle and shake her head back and forth in understanding.
"I think you're right and we'll go to the seaside B, maybe Ismio... they have those blue and red sandstone buildings and you said we should visit once in the future after that weird priest bounty took us there". Faith like the way Buffy thought about it and nodded sweetly as she agreed with her idea to visit the quiet seaside resort town of Ismio.
"B... if you ever wanted to go home, i would be ok with that you know." Faith blurted out of nowhere and the acknowledgement shocked Buffy to her very core and she had to double take what she had heard for a second.
"But, this is our home! you... no you are not breaking up with me! i love you" Buffy had began panicking and Faith reacted quickly and obviously had to explain what she meant. "No dumbass i would go with you! why would i break up with you? you're basically my wife at this point" Faiths whispering had got a bit too loud and it had caused Dawn to look over but she was then quickly asked by Ruby 'what kind of magic she herself would prefer' and 'what she knew about the slayer line' and Dawn just began yapping away as Ruby was purposefully trying to give the Slayers some privacy. Buffy was almost hyperventilating as she was coming down from the shock of her life and Faith now was the one comforting her.
"Don't you ever do that again, i almost had a heart attack... you are mine Faith i will never let you leave me. i don't care if it's posseive you are the other half of my soul and i will never lose you again!" Buffy was now being held by her lover who secretly adored her girls more posseive qualities as it made her feel wanted and loved.
"You really think i'm your soul mate?" Faith couldn't help but let the tears flow freely now as she couldn't even begin to fathom what she was hearing right in this moment. Buffy herself hand her hands possesively wrapped around Faiths muscular waist and refused to let her go out of fear.
"We are never going back and even if we had too, our life is here and i love it and that's no matter how many episodes of star trek i miss" Buffy looked up at her with pained eyes "You are mine! say it! don't you ever dare look at anyone else or get those silly ideas in your head ever again!" Buffy was still very much panicked and Faith couldn't help but kiss her violently as whisper the words she wanted to hear in return.
"I belong to you Buffy and one day i will marry you and magically put a baby inside you, which secretly sounds like alot of fun with what i have planned. i will never leave you and i will bind myself magically under a death curse to prove it to you if you want, i adore you my love so stop panicking over things that will never happen".
Faith kissed Buffys forehead and couldn't help but get a hand full of tight Buffy ass before she let go and they both sorted themselves out before attempting to return to an obviously annoyed Ruby who was having trouble with one item in particular.
"This Fucking woven bracelet already has a strength based enchantment, and a stamina charm too... it's strong and uncursed, well Dawn you can just wear that and now onto the boots" Ruby handed the bracelet to Dawn who tightened it to meet her wanting and then smiled as a slayer stood either side of them with a hand on each shoulder.
"So Ruby, what can you do? we need atleast a speed and physical toughening enchantment so she can protect herself from vamps with very little effort after a year or three" Faith stated so matter of factly as Ruby enchanted the belt with an extremly vibrant display of colorful magic and handed it to Dawn and explained the enchantment.
"So this is a physical and magical resistance enchantment, the belt is made from a rather rare type of creature so i managed to double the enchantments and even strengthen then a bit more than usual due to the quality of the leather" Ruby then turned her Face to the choker and set it on fire to a confused set of looks from everyone until she conjured a black hexagonal ear ring to place where her left ear stud was upon the upper helix.
"This ear ring will serve you better as it will awaken the control of you dormant magical energies but of course you will need to practice magic with us for along while before you can become anywhere near as talented as my star pupil Faith" Ruby knew the compliment meant quite alot to the brunette and annoyed her muse as she was always so competitive. Buffy rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut as she knew Faith was a far better sorceress than she was, even if her lover would never admit to her or believe it, she was.
"Don't listen B, she just wants to rile ya up, Ruby loves ya really she's just enjoys a bit of Schadenfruede here and there and ya kinda let her get away with it alot" Faith giggled and it caused Dawn to give her a strange look as it was oddly femimine and Dawn was not really used to the girly side of the darker slayer yet.
"Man... my sister really whipped you good... that giglle was adorable" Dawn gave her a cocky smirk and Faith just put her face in her hand and sighed as Ruby agreed with Dawn a little too quickly.
"Kid, you don't know the half of it... i checked your sister for some kind of charisma charm or attraction magic, i haven't the foggiest how she attracted someone as tough as Faith" Ruby flipped Buffy off and for a moment the golden haired girl could swear she saw a cheeky smirk appear from underneath her face covering but she couldn't prove it.
"I see that damn smile under there Ruby, just enchant the damn boots or Faiths never making you that cake you love ever again" Buffys nose rose in the air and she crossed her arm in an indignant manner and Ruby knew she wouldn't stop Faith from making anything but she really didn't wanna risk losing her favorite midnight snack because she ran her mouth a bit too far.
"Fine, Fine ya got me all fair and square... the boots don't need a speed enhancement since her woven band covered in runes will equate for that but the shoes could be enchanted in another way..." Ruby gave the girls a look and knew she was about to get serious and Ruby then asked them to leave so she could speak to Dawn in private.
"It's fine guys, Rubys not gonna do anything weird right?" Dawn asked as Faith reassured her that Ruby was one of the people she trusted the most gut Buffy had began to slowlg reach for her gun without thinking.
Ruby on the other hand had seen this instantly and decided to reassure Buffy more than the other too, "I have to give her a choice and you two will ruin it by saying things like, eh! chose this sis... it's the smarter choice bla bla bla. and i'd rather your sister make a decision on her enchantments since she isn't a demon hunting hero like you two are, she is a normal girl and you both can wait outside please..." Faith covertly grabbed hold of Buffys hand as she gave Ruby a very mean look and made it clear with her eyes that if anything happened there would be hell to pay but Ruby wasn't frigthened in the slightest, but she was aware it was always better to de-escalate a situation than make it worse.
Buffy begrudgingly exited the shop but Ruby could sense the rage and worry the young Slayer had from behind the door and it was impossibly strong compared to any emotion she had ever felt before and she knew that Buffy herself possesed a deep motherly affection for the small teen that went beyond a sisterly bond.
"So, now we're finally alone you do have a choice little one but i have to ask you something before we start..." Ruby felt that Dawn was nervous but also she was sure that this girl was a mix of both Slayers and not even a week old but all the memories were there in her head... she really was Buffys sister internally but in actuality she was made from the Slayer and may be originally a fiercly magical source of energy from a strange dimension.
"What do ya wanna know, if it's where Faith keeps ya favourite cake I aint got a clue, i'm kinda new to this dimension and I had no idea Faith was an accomplished cook and artist. things have kinda turned weird quickly for everyone back home ya know". Dawn was nervously rambling but Ruby just laughed softly to calm her down and it worked quite well.
"No, i'll get my favourite snack whenever i ask, but i have to know something. when you look at Faith what is the first word that comes to mind" and Dawn answered instantly with 'mother' and when she asked the same but with Buffy Dawn seemed to be in a trance like state and said 'mother' a second time and it confirmed Rubys suspicions, but she was now sure that both slayers had no idea about what was going on in there lives.
Ruby had listened to both Faith and Buffy talk for hours with her about their previous history in their own dimension and she knew Dawn did not exist as Both girls wouldn't have told her several time that Buffy was an 'only child' and then all of a sudden she has a sister. the answer was simple as to what had happened magically, The Slayer were still connected to their own dimension and the magic travelled towards them and couldn't affect anyone else in this dimension as they were born here or elsewhere and thus immune to the powerful forces at work here.
"Dawn, they are your mothers and that's fine but lets move back to the choice of enchanment i will bestow upon you today" Ruby suddenly saw Dawn crack to attention and smile without any idea of what had just transpired, she was now just sure her parents were Buffy and Faith onnan emotional level and it would take time for the truth to transoire.
"So for your boots would you prefer to slowly gain more charisma over the years or would you prefer to be basically undetectable to anyone who does not know you..." Ruby asked as she knew the physical and magical enchantments were basically going to make her as strong as a new slayer in a year or two but she would need something a bit extra if she was to hide from what she believed was coming for her.
Glorificus was on the rise it seemed and although this dimension was safe from her, Sunnydale wasn't going to be soon enough as it depended on when she would arrive and why this source of energy was turned into a human form to be protected by two women who could now easily defend her from the idiot god.
"Ummm... i like the stealthy option, keep demons and vamps away and if i ever meet a cute boy, i can just take the shoes off" Dawn grinned and Ruby couldn't help but smile at the girls innocence as she was really experiencing life for the first time and it was a wonderful thing to see.
"That's a great idea and the great thing is i can make sure it doesn't work on the Slayers, so if you ever get in trouble then they can find you, they'll be returning to Sunnydale after i cast a very special spell anyway, can you keep a secret?" Ruby put her robed hand out and enchanted the boots with such focus and precision that Dawn couldn't help but be impressed with her magical capabilities and she nodded a simple 'yes' to answer Rubys question and that is when she shocked the young girl with a secret plan she had been coming up with for a while.
"I'm going to fix the dimensional time problem the Slayers are having whilst living here, you see a day at home is basically a year and a few months here but it's a little random at times because dimensional travel can be 'weird' at the best of times. But this dimension in a month with allow me to cast a magical spell that will make a year in your dimension a year here and completly cancel out the difference, the slayer will the be able to travel freely between both lands as will I and her friends" Ruby finished up on the boots and noticed the girl was confused with what the little enchantress was telling her.
"But why, Buffy could double her abilities in a year and it would only cost her a day at home... but if you spend a day there then they'll lose over a year here..." Dawn felt her mind spin as she tried to grasp times effects on their dimensions and realised she was probably to yound nowhere near learned enough for this discussion.
"I'm going to do it because i adore Faith and your little powerhouse of a sister is secretly a very important part of mine and my childrens life, i let her watch them when i am too busy and i don't just trust anyone with that job ya know". Ruby told her to put on all her new items and she would have to wait awhile for the effects to start making themselves known.
"And plus i could send em and you to a dimension where time is quickening constantly if i just wanted to power you all up, mind you i can only do that once, it's a kinda last resort option that one and extremly insane since i don't think even Faith could fight an old one yet... which reminds me i have a suprise for them both" Ruby waved her hand and the shop door flung open and Buffy rushed inside and made sure everything was fine with her beloved sister and then glared at Ruby with absoloute vitriol seething from her eyes.
"Ease up there momma bear... she chose a stealth enchant, won't affect you two though only everyone and everything else that she doesn't expressly wish to engage with" Ruby was confused as she saw her own small orange robed daughter enter the shop and run up to the small brunette and spring into her arms and start looking her over with an overly zealous fascination.
"You're Faith and Buffys daughter? i thought you would be smaller... Buffy said human babies are small and the whole towns talking about it... Bully said to Jean you are her sister, is that true?" Rubys daughter flicked Dawns nose trying to elicit a reaction other than the one of slight annoyance she received. Buffy on the other hand was becoming rather annoyed with the towns nosy behaviour and took out her walkie talkie and tuned it to Jeans channel.
"Oi! Jean, she's my little sister tell the town to shut the hell up before i lose my temper!" She waited for the click and response which came a few moments later. "Roger that Golden eagle, pop over to the Saloon whenever you're finished up at Rubys, Rhino wants to say hello".
Buffy didn't respond back and put the walkie talkie back as Ruby told Faith that her and the Slayers need to speak in private for a moment and Dawn should go into the back and play with her little one so they could discuss some important buisness. Dawn was actually fine with everything and did as she was asked of by Ruby and even though Buffy was very annoyed by Rubys actions as her protective instincts over her 'sister' were working overtime, Faith was happy that everything was going suprisingly well as of yet but that feeling wasn't going to last for long.
"Right they're gone, in a month and two days, you will be returning to Sunnydale, and i will have a bracelet enchanted with everything your clothes currently posess but stronger" Ruby spoke so matter of factly that a few moments passed before the girls could even react and Faith was the first to speak.
"Ruby, what's going on... why do you of all people want us to return, we have no buisness there anymore, we are home". the brunette tried to raise a smile but just couldn't find a reason to do so and just remained with a blank expression on her face.
"In a little over a year your dimension will be blessed by a God called Glorificus, she will be hunting after Dawn since she is a key back to her higher dimensional plane" Ruby had left the girls speechless to the point the just remained completly silent with their mouths slightly agape.
"Your lovely sister was only born a few days ago, her entire being seems to be a mix of you both she even thinks of you both secretly as her mother, it seems from my magical reading someone tried to hide her as she is a vastly deep magical source of energy and the only person she could be safe with is both of you" Ruby Floated towards the Slayers and held out her hands and watched them both come together and join her without any reservation whatsoever.
"Congratulations, you both have a daughter now, magically but she is half of you both and memories of her life were implanted in everyone you know so yeah, you are returning home to Sunnydale in little over a month cause well... you have to" Ruby let their hands go and floated back to her seat and placed herself down as Faith brought her hand to her heart and tears exploded forth from her eyes.
"We are mothers... Dawn is ours" and she collapsed to the floor grasping her racing heart and Buffy joined her much more calm on the outside.
She may have seemed calm but inside her head was the container for a raging storm of emotions but she quickly went to comfort her lover who was obviously over the moon but didn't know what to do with all her emotions. Buffy knew she was scared since Faiths owjn mother had been a violent alcoholic who died whilst trying to cute her daughters throat with a shard of broken glass from a beer bottle, she knew Faith wanted to secretly be a mother but she was petrified that she may become like her own nasty piece of work she had once called mommy.
"Buffy, we... we have a child, i'm, i don't care how it happened... thank you" She whispered the thanks and loo,ed around as if she was speaking more to god than anything else as she now grasped her red cross tightly and couldn't contain her emotions as the tears poured forth all at once like a might tundra. Ruby wanted to say something, do something but she hadn't known this news would cause such a response in the person she had grown to care for more than nearly any other and was thankful Faith had Buffy who was now holding her on their spot together on the floor and making her know how loved she really was.
Ruby said she would give them a moment to process everything and left to join Dawn and her own daughter so they could speak together in private and try to overcame the sudden shock of their new and rsther unbelievable circumstances.
"I can't be like her baby, i have to be better... am i the mom or the dad, does it matter... do we treat Dawn like always, do we tell her? it'll mess her up and we can't do that B... she is us, our blood!" Faith was panicking and it wasn't normal but Buffy had experienced it before once or twice and even though she had the same thoughts, she knew she had to protect her darling lover and now their brand new daughter.
"Faith, my love... i think you're the dad, you're so much taller and stronger than me and let's face it... you look better barbecuing than me" Buffys words made Faith laugh unexpectedly and begin to try and wipe her tears away as Buffy continued to soothe her lover.
"I'm scared too but we can work this out together ok, then we can talk to Dawn about it and she how she reacts but we hafe to build a stronger foundation that she can stand upon." Buffy was making alot of sense and Faith tried to stand on her own two feet as she found Buffys words begin to strengthen her resolve and understanding of the situation.
"If we return and leave everything here, we do it for her and it's going to be scary but we've learned so much here we're both soon 20 and we have an advantage! we can do things even the strongest witches can't do we can learn more and be more and Mum will understand us" Buffy stood up herself and cupped Faiths face with her soft hands.
"You are my wife, i don't need paper or laws to confirm that, you'll live with us and we will raise the money to buy a house and pay our taxes, hell we can sell many of our gemstones and be rolling in it but... we can use some of Giles old contacts and maybe Spikes too whenever he pops back into town, hell i might give him a soul just to fuck with him" Buffy grinned and Faith rolled her eyes.
"We can return and explain everything after our holiday ok, why don't we get to know our daughter and then when we return home if we miss our bed we can just open up a portal and sleep here in private ok, we learned the spells baby, might as well use em".
Faith smiled sweetly as she knew Buffy was doing everything she could to assuage her worries and it was one of the many things she adored about her muse, even at the toughest times she would always put Faiths worries first and deal with them the best she could. They spent the next few minutes composing themselves before they rejoined their daughter and prepared to go on holdiay tommorow, something they were definetly looking forward to now considering the recent revelations which had suddenly flipped their lives upside down.
They would discuss their plans with Ruby after they return from their holiday and also celebrates Faiths 20th birthday, Buffy had set everything up anyway and they had a month before they would leave and even though both girls didn't want to leave, they would to protect her, to defend their blood.