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“Ares,” Zeus says, wilting under the combined glares. “You were preoccupied with Dahok. I felt that you weren’t able to give it the proper attention it deserved, so I gave it to . . .” “You mean that you not only took the Key from our son, you then turned around and gave it to somebody else?” Hera asks in a tone dripping ice. “Ummm, yes.” Zeus says slowly, knowing he was in deep shit. “But they said they could take care of it, and I was busy . . .”He whines. “Who said they could take care of it, Zeus?” Hades says, arms folded over his chest and one foot tapping the floor as Strife freezes the picture so the others could watch Hera and Hades yelling at Zeus. “Umm, that group of Monks that had been petitioning me for a few years. But they said they could take care of it. . .” Zeus whines as Hera smacks him in the back of the head. “Idiot.” She snarls. “How the hell could you have given the key to those incompetent power-hungry charlatans? And how did the Key suddenly become human. Strife, I’m done yelling at my husband, for the time being anyway, so start the picture up again and hopefully Greta will ask the right question and we can find out. And you buster,” she whirls and jabs a finger in Zeus’ face, “Are in such deep shit you better hope nothing happens to her. Ares, when you have the time, I want you to put your protections back on her.” “Gladly mother,” Ares says, watching his youngest daughter blink on the screen. “Umm, shouldn’t you be a big green ball of energy?” I ask. “I take it you know what the Key is?” Rimfire asks from his spot on the bed, one arm wrapped around Dawn as the cat leaps into her lap, purring loudly. “Yeah, I’ve done a lot of research into occult matters. The Key has the power to unlock the barriers between dimensions, almost unlimited magical potential, and cannot be destroyed. Or that’s what most of the books say anyway.” “In your research, have you come across anything about a being known as the Slayer?:” “Yeah, a warrior with the ‘destiny’” I hold two fingers in the air in quotation marks, “to slay vampires. To help with this destiny, they have enhanced strength, stamina, knowledge of all weapons, and the ability to feel vampires. They’re always young girls, when one dies another is called, so they’re always at their prime. Most of them have a very short life after being called, less than a year.” “Yeah, that’s what most of the books say. Until just recently, there was only one at a time, but all the potential Slayers were activated a year or so ago, now there’s over a hundred known active Slayers. My older sister is the oldest known and longest serving Active Slayer, Buffy’s been the Slayer for over nine years now, she was fifteen when she was chosen.” I cough to hide the snicker at the sound of her sister’s name, but Dawn’s laughing eyes and broad grin tell me she doesn’t mind in the least, so I quietly laugh for a minute. “Your sister’s name is Buffy? Buffy, the vampire Slayer?” “It’s really Elizabeth, but she hates her real name.” “Let me guess, she’s a blonde?” “Yep, typical dyed blonde valley girl cheerleader, or at least she was before she was Chosen.” Dawn snickers as the cat gives her a chiding look. “Sorry Mom, but you gotta admit that Buffy lives up to her name.” /Excuse me, I named her Elizabeth Anne Summers. It was her father that came up with that nickname./ A voice says in midair. I look at the cat in disbelief. “Did you say that?” I asked in a hushed tone. Dawn and Rimfire look at me in disbelief as the door opens and the others come into the room. /You heard me?/ The cat asks, jumping from Dawn’s lap and walking across the room. She stretches up against my leg, one front paw in midair. /How did you hear me?/ “That’s one of my gifts, just like knowing that you were a reborn human in animal form.” I say, reaching down and gently stroking her. “Why did you choose to return in this manner?” /I felt my daughter needed her mother, even if I am four-legged./ The voice says calmly, with a glimmer of humor. /Since her sister is too preoccupied with her Slayers to take care of a teenager’s needs./ “You can understand her?” Dawn asks, her hand in her mouth, tears in her eyes as first Rimfire, then Xander and Throttle give her a hug. /Please tell my daughter that I love her./ The cat says, going back across the room and leaping into her daughter’s lap, purring loudly. “Your mother says she loves you,” I tell Dawn, “She also says that she felt you needed your mother, since your sister is too preoccupied with her Slayers?” “Thank you Mommy.” Dawn says, giving her mother a hug. “As I was saying, my older sister is the Slayer. A few years ago, the Monks that had been protecting the Slayer had to hide the Key, so they made me human. They used Buffy’s DNA to make me, to make sure that Buffy would protect me, they made me her sister and altered everybody’s memories to include me.” “What did the Monks protecting you need to hide you from?” “A Hellgoddess named Glory, who wanted to use the Key/me to open a doorway to her home dimension so she could take over the Earth.” Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .errr Mount Olympus, all hell proceeds to break loose yet again. |
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