Found

The morning sunshine of Earth caressed Deidra’s face, and awakened her. She was in the same room she had fallen asleep in. The bed was the , th, the furniture was the same, the door to the bathroom was the same. She climbed out of bed and gazed out the window. Sulu’s garden was gone. In it’s place was a forest, and in the distance, a barn. She was no longer in the Laus dimension. She fell to her knees as her mind was flooded with the visions of her dreams from the night.

She had seen it all. She had felt it all. Buffy had died, twice. She had to kill her own first love, Angel, a vampire with a soul. Buffy had also felt so alone after her return from heaven. She would understand some of Deidra’s pain after leaving Laus. Rupert had mourned, suffered, been beaten, tortured, and fought so many battles, and had survived mostly in tact. He had fulfilled his destiny a hundred times over, and so had Buffy. Yet, still they fought. The battles never seemed to end. And she was going to be bringing them at least one more.

Deidra also had seen Travers try and destroy Rupert and Buffy. He had failed. In fact, Travers had brought the Watcher and Slayer even closer together after Buffy’s trial on her 18th birthday, and then again when they sought information on Glory. Travers had thought he was free of Buffy when she died to save the world from Glory’s portal, but she had come back, and defeated the First. The Watcher’s Council had been destroyed by the First, but the Watcher and the Slayer had not. And they continued to fight to this very day. Hopefully they would accept Deidra, and the book she now possessed under her pillow would aid them in the battle to come. The dreams had done more than show Deidra all of the Watcher and Slayer’s torments and successes however. It had revealed to her their fierce loyalty and love for one another. It was true, and it was right, and she would never break that bond. She didn’t want to break that bond, even as her own heart was tearing in two. She resolved to concentrate on the journey ahead, and to let go of the past. That was all that she could do.

A soft knock on the door brought her back up to a standing position. Allison opened the door at Deidra’s invitation. “How are you feeling?”

Deidra wasn’t sure how to answer that. She smiled softly at Allison. Her guardian smiled back. “I know. You don’t have to answer. I hope you are at least rested. It is time for you to be going soon. I’ve got a breakfast prepared for you.”

* * *

The tea sat cold on the table before Deidra, Buffy, and Giles. Once she had begun to talk, the words just kept flowing, and Buffy and Giles were rooted to their spot on the couch. Tears had come to all of their eyes several times as she talked. Buffy had paled when Deidra spoke of the Cruciamentum, and Giles had sunk into the couch.

“When I went out to the barn, there was my motorcycle and the beat up truck. I took the motorcycle to Sunnydale, following Allison’s instructions, but you weren’t there. On my way back to here, I came upon you and the Lossaga Demons.” Deidra then stood up and went to the bookshelf behind her chair. She grabbed a book off the top shelf and handed it out to Giles. He grasped the book and held it before him and Buffy. It was the book from the Laus dimension.

Giles looked up at Deidra, her face a blank, masking all emotions. “I don’t know what to say Deidra. Words cannot express…they are not enough…I’m so sorry wha what you went through…”

“So, even though you’ve been gone for over twenty years, it hasn’t been that long to you?” Buffy asked.

Deidra returned to the chair. “In some ways it has been just days since I was kidnapped, but with all that I have learned and seen and experienced on Laus, it has been many lifetimes. I know this is a lot to absorb for you both, believe me, I’m still absorbing it all. But the Last Battle is coming soon, and we need to help each other. I’m hoping, Rupert, that you can find something in that book that I couldn’t find, some answer to help us.”

“I will try.” Giles answered.

Buffy yawned beside him. “Where is Allison now? I’d like to meet her?” Buffy asked.

Deidra again got up from the chair and began to gather the tea cups and return them to the kitchen sink. “She pops in when she’s needed. I believe she is conferring with Sulu right now in Laus. I think she’ll be back in the morning. She’ll come to Sunnydale with us. Right now I think it’s best if we all get some sleep. Come, I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Buffy and Giles would want to talk, but right now sleep seemed more important. Both could barely keep their eyes open. It had been a long day indeed. Deidra showed them to the guest rooms, and then returned to her own soft bed. She hoped to not dream tonight. She just wanted to wash away all the anguish and fatigue that had weighed her down. She had thought a weight would be lifted off of her chest after finding them, and telling them of what had happened. She knew they believed her, and that they would perhaps help her. But she didn’t know if they truly accepted her. She would have to prove to them that she was no part of Quentin Travers.


In the morning Deidra was awakened to the sound of the television in the other room. She showered and changed, and went into the room, and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Magna!?” She screamed. Buffy looked up from the show she was watching and saw Deidra staring at the television with a shocked look on her face. “Magna? Who, what?”

Deidra pointed at the man on the television. “There, in the telly. That’s him, er, it looks like Magna!” Buffy turned back to the character on the television and started to laugh. Deidra looked at her with confusion.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just that, that man, that’s Indiana Jones! He’s a character played by Harrison Ford. Is that what your Magna looks like?”

Deidra joined Buffy on the couch, never taking her eyes off of the television. “Yes, it looks just like him, with the Fedora and everything.”

Buffy chuckled further. “First Billy Idol steals Spike’s looks, and now Indiana Jones is impersonating Magna. How original!”

When Giles awakened a bit later, he found his Slayer and his old friend cuddled up on the couch together, engrossed in something on the television. “Bloody Priceless,” he whispered under his breath.


TBC