Perchance to Dream
Dawn curled into Sam's side as she drifted into sleep, the noise of the movie fading away. A few minutes later, she jerked awake, blinked her eyes and sat up, stretching. "I guess I was more tired than I thought." Everyone else in the room was asleep or dozing, and she didn't have the heart to wake them.
Deciding she could use a glass of water, she padded into the kitchen and stopped dead when she encountered a shirtless bald man in front of a sewing machine, using it to sew something orange into panels. He held the whatever it was up in front of himself and beamed at her, then started putting the shirt/poncho thing on. "Cheese is the new black," he informed her happily.
Before Dawn could ask any questions, Isabel, Buffy (Fandom Buffy, not Buffy Buffy), Willow, and Mel came in wearing football uniforms, complete with pads and cleats, and covered in mud and gore. Isabel had a football and Buffy and Mel were playing tug-o-war with the scythe, which seemed to be dripping some kind of demon ichor onto the clean linoleum. "Missed you out there, Dawnie. Heck of a battle," Willow said, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
"She's not ready yet," Giles opened the pantry and stepped out, bringing a bottle of wine with him. He handed it to Isabel, then went back into the pantry and closed the door behind him. Isabel opened the wine and poured out a few glasses' worth, then swigged right from the bottle. She made a face. "This isn't wine. This is grape juice. Needs more time to ferment."
"That's okay, I don't drink much," Sam said from his place at the stove--and how had she not noticed him there before?--"I like grape juice better." He gave Dawn a sunny smile and waved a spatula at her. In front of him was an empty cast iron pan. "Want breakfast?"
"You're not actually cooking anything," Dawn pointed out. "Shouldn't that be a problem with your breakfast plan?"
He gave her a look that said she'd somehow disappointed him. "Having the stove on is a good way to get burned, Dawn. Too much energy floating around, and people get hurt. It's simple physics."
"Right." Deciding she'd had enough of this, Dawn backed out of the kitchen without getting her water, which was fine, until there was no living room on the other side of her retreat. The sky was dark, and the wind whipped around her and through her hair. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed.
Her feet were bare when she glanced down, and the dress she was wearing was all too familiar. The burgundy velvet dragged her down with its weight. She put a hand to her stomach and felt ripped fabric and dampness. "No. Nonononono." She shook her head frantically, getting a little dizzy from the height of the tower, which was swaying beneath her.
"You don't belong here," came the whispered voice from behind her. "You never did."
"I do," Dawn insisted, shoulders straight. Below her, the bright blue portal started to open.
game_of_you
A pale, rake-thin man with eyes like the starless sky stood beside Dawn. "You could jump this time, you know," he said.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn whirled around to confront the man. Then she realized that he was right. "I know." She edged closer to portal.
game_of_you
It looked as if he might want to stop her. "You know it would not change the past," he said. "Nor would it likely end the dream. Yet it is your choice."
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn stopped in place and glanced over her shoulder at the prehistoric person who'd told her she didn't belong, then looked back at the man. "Why won't it end the dream?"
game_of_you
"Because it is not your place, exactly," Dream said, and images of Buffy and Mel suddenly appeared in the portal. "They -- your sister and Miss Fray -- must fight off the First Slayer before this can end."
He looked pensive. "I do not know if even they have power enough alone."
lilpunkinbelly
"They can take mine," Dawn said, holding her arms out. "Is there a way for me to share? Or is there something else I can do?"
game_of_you
Dawn's body began to glow, a pure green shimmer; the glow got stronger, encompassing her. "Your energy," Dream said. It is your gift."
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn chewed on her lower lip. "It's not a gift at all. It doesn't cause anybody anything but pain."
game_of_you
"And you think because of that, it is not a gift?" Dream asked. "Gifts can cause pain."
His eyes moved to the portal. "Your energy can help the slayers, if you team with them."
lilpunkinbelly
"I--" never thought of it like that, admittedly. "How? How can I help them?"
kypriothschoice
There was a skittering across the gratings below Dawn and then the tower shook as a dark figure climbing the stairs to the top platform.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn whirled around at the sound, hair and blood droplets flying. "Who--who are you?"
kypriothschoice
The girl didn't answer, but she stalked diagonally across the grating, trying to cut off any line of escape for Dawn.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn backed up instinctively, holding her hands out. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." She paused and considered that, "Or maybe I did, but I didn't mean to."
kypriothschoice
The words had no noticeable effect on the girl. Almost crouching and moving with a deadly grace, she took several long steps closer. She paused for a moment to peer through her hair at the green energy surrounding Dawn.
Satisfied at what she saw, the Slayer gathered herself up and pounced into and through Dawn, taking the other girl with her as they tumbled off the ledge into open air.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn shrieked and struggled as they plummeted down to the Earth, finally fulfilling her destiny.
As they fell, she could feel her body dissolving; her molecules separating; once she got past the sheer terror, it was a kind of peace. And then there was nothing.
[ooc: Preplayed, obviously, so no IC interaction is possible. Tons of thanks for game_of_you for the guest appearance and kypriothschoice for taking on an alternate personality.]
Deciding she could use a glass of water, she padded into the kitchen and stopped dead when she encountered a shirtless bald man in front of a sewing machine, using it to sew something orange into panels. He held the whatever it was up in front of himself and beamed at her, then started putting the shirt/poncho thing on. "Cheese is the new black," he informed her happily.
Before Dawn could ask any questions, Isabel, Buffy (Fandom Buffy, not Buffy Buffy), Willow, and Mel came in wearing football uniforms, complete with pads and cleats, and covered in mud and gore. Isabel had a football and Buffy and Mel were playing tug-o-war with the scythe, which seemed to be dripping some kind of demon ichor onto the clean linoleum. "Missed you out there, Dawnie. Heck of a battle," Willow said, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
"She's not ready yet," Giles opened the pantry and stepped out, bringing a bottle of wine with him. He handed it to Isabel, then went back into the pantry and closed the door behind him. Isabel opened the wine and poured out a few glasses' worth, then swigged right from the bottle. She made a face. "This isn't wine. This is grape juice. Needs more time to ferment."
"That's okay, I don't drink much," Sam said from his place at the stove--and how had she not noticed him there before?--"I like grape juice better." He gave Dawn a sunny smile and waved a spatula at her. In front of him was an empty cast iron pan. "Want breakfast?"
"You're not actually cooking anything," Dawn pointed out. "Shouldn't that be a problem with your breakfast plan?"
He gave her a look that said she'd somehow disappointed him. "Having the stove on is a good way to get burned, Dawn. Too much energy floating around, and people get hurt. It's simple physics."
"Right." Deciding she'd had enough of this, Dawn backed out of the kitchen without getting her water, which was fine, until there was no living room on the other side of her retreat. The sky was dark, and the wind whipped around her and through her hair. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed.
Her feet were bare when she glanced down, and the dress she was wearing was all too familiar. The burgundy velvet dragged her down with its weight. She put a hand to her stomach and felt ripped fabric and dampness. "No. Nonononono." She shook her head frantically, getting a little dizzy from the height of the tower, which was swaying beneath her.
"You don't belong here," came the whispered voice from behind her. "You never did."
"I do," Dawn insisted, shoulders straight. Below her, the bright blue portal started to open.
game_of_you
A pale, rake-thin man with eyes like the starless sky stood beside Dawn. "You could jump this time, you know," he said.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn whirled around to confront the man. Then she realized that he was right. "I know." She edged closer to portal.
game_of_you
It looked as if he might want to stop her. "You know it would not change the past," he said. "Nor would it likely end the dream. Yet it is your choice."
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn stopped in place and glanced over her shoulder at the prehistoric person who'd told her she didn't belong, then looked back at the man. "Why won't it end the dream?"
game_of_you
"Because it is not your place, exactly," Dream said, and images of Buffy and Mel suddenly appeared in the portal. "They -- your sister and Miss Fray -- must fight off the First Slayer before this can end."
He looked pensive. "I do not know if even they have power enough alone."
lilpunkinbelly
"They can take mine," Dawn said, holding her arms out. "Is there a way for me to share? Or is there something else I can do?"
game_of_you
Dawn's body began to glow, a pure green shimmer; the glow got stronger, encompassing her. "Your energy," Dream said. It is your gift."
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn chewed on her lower lip. "It's not a gift at all. It doesn't cause anybody anything but pain."
game_of_you
"And you think because of that, it is not a gift?" Dream asked. "Gifts can cause pain."
His eyes moved to the portal. "Your energy can help the slayers, if you team with them."
lilpunkinbelly
"I--" never thought of it like that, admittedly. "How? How can I help them?"
kypriothschoice
There was a skittering across the gratings below Dawn and then the tower shook as a dark figure climbing the stairs to the top platform.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn whirled around at the sound, hair and blood droplets flying. "Who--who are you?"
kypriothschoice
The girl didn't answer, but she stalked diagonally across the grating, trying to cut off any line of escape for Dawn.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn backed up instinctively, holding her hands out. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." She paused and considered that, "Or maybe I did, but I didn't mean to."
kypriothschoice
The words had no noticeable effect on the girl. Almost crouching and moving with a deadly grace, she took several long steps closer. She paused for a moment to peer through her hair at the green energy surrounding Dawn.
Satisfied at what she saw, the Slayer gathered herself up and pounced into and through Dawn, taking the other girl with her as they tumbled off the ledge into open air.
lilpunkinbelly
Dawn shrieked and struggled as they plummeted down to the Earth, finally fulfilling her destiny.
As they fell, she could feel her body dissolving; her molecules separating; once she got past the sheer terror, it was a kind of peace. And then there was nothing.
[ooc: Preplayed, obviously, so no IC interaction is possible. Tons of thanks for game_of_you for the guest appearance and kypriothschoice for taking on an alternate personality.]