Chapter 4: Blowing Minds

*****A Few Days Later*****

Buffy was impressed with the things Qui-Gon had already taught Dawn. The Force and lightsabers were intriguing and fun. Mostly, though, she loved seeing her sister so happy. The new universe was so vast, and she found herself wanting to learn all about it. Illyria was interested also. Qui-Gon was teaching them everything he could think of as well as providing data pads for them to read from.

"Slavery? It exists in this universe?" Buffy was upset to find out.

"Only in the Outer Rims. The further parts of the universe where lawlessness abounds and the Hutts rule," he said.

"Who are the Hutts?" Buffy asked.

He showed a picture on what was basically their universe's version of a handheld computer that he called a data pad.

"Gross!" Dawn said, peering over her shoulder to look. "It's like a fat giant worm with a face."

"They are vile people, who do despicable things," Qui-Gon shared.

"They do not look like they have spines," Illyria observed.

"They probably do not," Qui Gon said.

"I would like to kill them," she said, thinking of the ways she would do it without ripping out the spine.

"We cannot battle the Hutts," he said with a chuckle. "It would be suicide."

"Maybe for you," she said with a disdainful sniff.

"The Jedi are not used as executioners," Qui-Gon said with a disapproving frown.

"I am not a Jedi," Illyria countered.

Buffy had heard a lot about the Jedi ways and the Council of theirs. It sounded a bit too much like her council back on Earth, and she made sure Qui-Gon knew her thoughts on Councils who decided things on behalf of others.

Obi-Wan did not appreciate her criticism.

"The Jedi Council is not led by one man driven by ego," Obi told her. "It is led by Masters, who are proven in the ways of the Force. Yoda is over eight hundred years old, and he knows all the ancient ways of the Force. He is a very wise and trustworthy soul."

"And yet he thinks it's good that you guys not marry and have families? That's just a way to keep your numbers low," Buffy said.

Dawn giggled. "I tried to tell them that, too!" she said.

"No organization is perfect, Buffy," Qui-Gon said. "They do the best they can. There are good people on the Council. Do I agree with everything? No. But I still would like you to meet them."

Qui-Gon had the most soothing way about him. Both the slayer and the woman in Buffy could not help but be calmed by his presence. However, there was an intensity in his expression sometimes when he looked at her that belied his serenity. It told Buffy that he was not all calm meditative Jedi all the time.

When it was time to get on his ship to leave, he allowed Dawn to fly them out of the dock.

"Are you sure she can do this?" Buffy asked, feeling anxious.

Illyria did not like the idea of space travel at all. "I would like to do violence," she said.

"We'll spar later," Buffy said.

"Strap in," Obi-Wan told her, showing her how.

"If your sister crashes this ship and harms this vessel, I will be most displeased," Illyria said, giving Buffy a haughty look.

"A space crash won't kill you," Buffy said. "It might kill me, but you'll live."

"I do not know what outer space will do to this vessel," Illyria said.

"I am not going to crash the ship," Dawn said, glaring at them.

"I am right here," Qui-Gon said. "I am her co-pilot. If there are any problems, I will step in. Do not be anxious."

They felt reassured and watched as Dawn effortlessly flew the ship off the planet.

Buffy clapped. "I knew you could do it," she said.

"You so did not," Dawn said, giving her a knowing look.

"Okay, so I wasn't sure, but I knew that Qui-Gon wouldn't let you fly if he wasn't confident," she said, grinning.

Qui-Gon laughed, enjoying the sisters. Buffy and her friend had stayed three days with them as Dawn wanted them to explore Corellia since it was their first alien planet. It also got Illyria used to seeing aliens, and Buffy was able to use her slayer senses to detect what she could about sentient beings. The aliens pinged on her senses, but like Clem they didn't make the slayer in her react. However, they did venture into a seedier part of Corellia, and she knew that some of the aliens she saw were evil. It was hard for her to refrain from attacking them. She had told Qui-Gon about her feelings, and he had been intrigued.

"I look forward to telling Yoda how you can sense evil without the Force," Qui-Gon said.

"Buffy could probably learn to use the Force," Dawn said. "Or I can connect her to it, and she can use it that way."

"When we get home, we will train and see," Qui-Gon said.

Obi-Wan found the two women's presence very unsettling. Buffy was not like any human that he had ever met. Although Dawn had told him so many stories about her, he was still surprised by her sheer presence. Her Force presence was very odd as she both blazed so strongly in the Force that he found himself leaning toward her at times. Then he would sense this strong darkness in her that would repel and disturb him. He hadn't yet talked to Qui-Gon about it, afraid they would be overheard.

Illyria had no Force presence, and she felt truly alien to him, which was a foreign feeling for the young Jedi. Obi-Wan knew many alien species as the Jedi and younglings were made up of many different people. However, she was not like anyone. She had no need of sleep or food, and she spoke in a very strange way as if she was not used to her body, which she kept calling her vessel.

He decided to ask. "Illyria. may I ask you a question?" he asked.

"You may," she said. Illyria had never met two humans who she liked nearly immediately as she did the two Jedi. Both were respectful of Illyria in ways that no one back on Earth ever were to her. Neither prattled on in that annoying fashion Earthlings were so fond of. Obi-Wan was especially quite for one so young. For Illyria, it was quite nice to be around them both. She would happily accept the young man as her acoloyte it he was not already committed to Qui-Gon, whom he called Master.

"Why do you keep referring to your body as your vessel? Is that a common thing amongst your species? I hope my question is not too forward," he asked, giving her a very respectful nod.

"It is not. I find you most pleasing—so much better than the young men of Earth, who I normally want to beat senseless," she told him, causing Buffy to snicker. "If I told you, it would probably upset you and make you fearful of me. I will let the slayer decide if that question should be answered. I do not care that you know the truth of how I came to be. It was not my choosing nor am I to blame for what my worshipper chose to do to this vessel."

Buffy sighed. "Well, you guys have heard from Dawn about how our world has vampires, right?" she asked them. Both men nodded. "Well, a vampire possesses a body, and the soul is gone. The person is dead and often buried. They come up out of a grave a vampire. The vampire has superhuman strength, which is why slayers are made so strong and with certain gifts. Illyria was in a much different form when she walked the Earth in her pure demon form."

"I was worshipped as a god," Illyria informed them.

"She was basically a hell god," Buffy said. "So her essence was locked in something called the Deeper Well. I'm not explanation girl—that's Giles, and he's not here, so I can't really tell you what it is."

"It was my prison for thousands of years," Illyria shared.

"How horrible," Obi-Wan said. "Why did they imprison you? Were you harming humanity?"

"Humans had not yet completely evolved at that time—at least not enough to harm one such as I. Therefore, I took no note of them," she said. "I was imprisoned by others who grew jealous of my power. My army was destroyed."

"My ex-boyfriend, Angel, was battling this evil law firm that was actually ran by actual demons," Buffy said.

"The Wolf, Ram, and Hart," Illyria supplied. "They were not very powerful when I was in my prime, but they have grown very strong now."

"Yes, the firm is called Wolfram and Hart—two words instead of the three she knew them as," Buffy explained. "When Angel defeated their Los Angeles branch, they gave it to him to use as he saw fit. It was a plan to try and ensnare him, basically turn him to what you guys would call the darkside since Angel has a dark nature he wrestles with."

"Is that how you're going to put it?" Dawn asked, looking over her shoulder at her sister and smirking.

"Shut up and fly the plane," Buffy told her.

"It's basically on autopilot at this point," Dawn said, turning around to listen more closely.

"Anyway, Angel had this really sweet and brilliant scientist that worked with him named Winifred Burkle," Buffy explained. "She went by Fred. Angel put her in charge of their science division, and one of her employees was a worshipper of Illyria, and he chose Fred as her vessel."

"So what does that mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon had a feeling that it wasn't anything good for the poor woman, so he wasn't surprised to hear the rest of the tale.

"Illyria took over Fred's body, killing her and refashioned her body," Buffy said. "Angel thinks even her soul was destroyed in the process."

Obi-Won looked horrified while Qui-Gon grimaced and said, "How do you know her soul was destroyed?"

"That was just what people who know these things told Angel," Buffy said.

Suddenly, Illyria's form changed, looking completely human, and she smiled. "I'm Fred," she said, sounding like a girl from Texas. "I have two wonderful parents, who don't even know that I'm dead yet. They live in Texas."

None of them—not even Buffy—knew she could do that. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.

"You have totally blown my mind!" Dawn gushed. "Is that really what Fred looked like?"

Illyria changed back to her normal self. "It is. I have all her memories and can access them whenever I wish to. Of course, they do not always make sense as I did not experience them," she said. "I impersonated her to her parents as Angel could not bring himself to tell them."

"He asked you to do that?" Buffy asked, upset at the thought.

"No," Illyria replied, shaking her head. "I just felt compelled to do so. Burkle's memories of her parents were very strong. Her love for them was great, and they accepted everything about her. She was very fortunate."

"Still, Lil, that's messed up," Buffy said, shaking her head. "They need to know that their daughter is gone."

"They would never understand how her form lives on eternally, but their daughter is gone," Illyria pointed out.

"It is a difficult thing," Qui-Gon admitted.

Obi-Wan was very rattled by the woman's casual display of power. Of course, woman wasn't even the right word for her as she was not exactly human.

"You are, though, female, right?" he decided to ask.

"I am," Illyria said.

"Can you change into anything like Mystique from X-Men?" Dawn asked excitedly.

"I cannot," Illyria said. "I can revert to Burkle because that is the vessels original form."

"It is a neat trick," Dawn said, grinning. "I think the blue, though, looks much cooler on you."

Both Jedis thought the Fred woman seemed quite nice and felt the loss of the woman that they would never know.

"I did not choose this vessel," Illyria said. "But Wesley, who loved Burkle was very angry at me as my arrival caused her demise. He blamed me and killed my acolyte who chose her."

"I can't blame Wes. The guy knew what he was doing," Buffy said in disgust. "If he admired Fred, I don't go why he picked her. He knew it would kill her."

"Because she was worthy enough to house my form. To him, it was a great honor he bestowed on Winfred Burkle," Illyria explained.

"You have no presence in the Force," Obi-Won told her. "It is unsettling."

"Probably because she is an ancient hell god from another dimension," Dawn said.

"Or possibly because the form you are in is not yours but borrowed," Qui-Gon said.

"That makes sense," Dawn said.

"You are made up of an ancient key, and you are the strongest Force presence I have ever encountered," Obi-Wan told her.

"It will alarm our brethren," Qui-Gon admitted.

"Demons are just different," Buffy said with a shrug. "It is probably one of her powers, so that enemies cannot sense her. She can talk to plant life, and isn't that where the Force comes from?"

"All life is made up from the Force, not just plant life," Qui-Gon explained. "Her ability to communicate with plant life is unique and speaks of one with a peaceful nature, which she doesn't not have. It is a paradox."

"That's our Lil, a paradox," Buffy said, smiling.

Obi-Won was disturbed by what he learned, but also, he was glad that she was so willing to share with them. It made him more comfortable with her and able to accept her alien nature. "Thank you for sharing, Illyria," he said.

"You are welcome," she said. "If you did not already have a master, I would accept you as my acolyte."

Obi-Wan gave Buffy a confused look, but she just grinned in amusement. "I appreciate the compliment," he said tactfully.

"What is my Force presence like?" Buffy asked.

Dawn examined her sister closely, and her eyes widened. Then she looked at Qui-Gon for guidance.

"It is most unusual," he said.

"It's bad?" Buffy asked, concerned.

"Not exactly," he said.

"Tell me," she demanded.

"It's weird like the rest of you," Dawn said with a smirk.

"Dawn, that is unkind," Qui-Gon admonished with a frown.

"Sorry," Dawn said quickly.

Buffy grinned. "Man, I really love this guy. He can get you to behave like no one I have ever met," she observed.

"It is not polite to be ungracious to your sister," Qui-Gon told Buffy.

Buffy laughed. "You are right," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm just impressed by your skills." The man was amazing, and she shared a smile with Dawn, who knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Your Force presence is very strong," Qui-Gon stated.

"It's like you blaze like the sun," Obi-Wan explained, "but then you have a dual nature that is dark and cold. It is disturbing."

Buffy nodded, unconcerned. "Oh, that's because I'm the slayer," she said.

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Well, I have a dual nature," Buffy said. "The slayer is a creature driven to root out and destroy evil, so it is good. However, it was created by the essence of a demon, which was evil. I can sense evil so easily because of that fact, I think."

"It doesn't make her evil, though," Dawn explained. "Nor will she go to the Darkside."

"What's the that?" Buffy asked.

They explained about the dual nature of the Force and how strong emotions led to the Darkside.

Buffy looked at them with incredulity. "Are you guys serious?" she asked.

"Of course," Qui Gon said. "The Darkside of the force corrupts."

"That may be true," Buffy said. "But you cannot say that all love leads to hate, or all anger leads to rage. My anger sometimes gives me fuel to fight. My love for my friends is what has kept me alive for so long. I knew a slayer, Kendra, who fought like you described. She was like a robot, and she died within six months of being called. She had no creativity in her fighting, no imagination, just the motions that she was taught from a child because like Obi-Wan, she was taken from her family and raised and Council-trained. I was loved by my family and didn't know anything until I was called. I'm the oldest surviving slayer on record having stopped several world ending events because of my passion."

Qui-Gon gave her a considering look, thinking about what she said. "That is a lot for us to consider," he said. "I will think on it."

Obi-Wan, though, looked outraged. Dawn could tell he was upset and wanted to distract him.

"Hey, Obi, do you want to show Buffy how to play Dejarik?" she asked.

"What's that?" Buffy asked.

"It's like chess but holographic," Dawn said.

"I wish to see this also," Illyria said.

Obi-Wan pushed the button that made the table come up out of the side, creating a table near all of them. Then he went over the game.

*****Jedi Temple******

Buffy was overwhelmed and impressed with Coruscant, the Republic's capital. A planet made up nearly entirely of buildings with flying cars and everything.

"Now this is what I always imagined the future of Earth would be like one day!" Buffy said excitedly.

"I know, right?" Dawn said, grinning. She was so happy her sister was here to share this with her. "Willow and Xander would love this place so much."

"Maybe they can visit when Illyria comes back," Buffy said. She looked at Illyria. "You do want to stay with me? Or do you wish to stay with Angel? It's okay if you want to stay with Angel and Spike. They could use you."

"I would like to explore this universe," Illyria said. Although she did like the strength of Angel and beating up Spike was fun, for the first time since her awakening, she did not feel nearly as unsettled. The Force yielders brought her comfort, and they treated her with respect, which was something she valued and appreciated.

Dawn wasn't ready to fly in such a heavily trafficked place, so Qui-Gon was at the controls. She was busy pointing out important buildings to Buffy, who tried to take it all in.

When Qui-Gon landed, she grinned to see the Jedi Temple was shaped like an Egyptian pyramid. "This is very cool," she said.

"It's really a great place, Buffy," Dawn said with enthusiasm. "No bad wiggins like the hellmouth here."

Buffy could tell that as soon as they stepped on the ground. A feeling of serenity and peace came over her.

It felt like home.

*****Chapter End*****

I hope you enjoyed this update. Reviews or comments are appreciated. Thanks for reading!