Birth RightBy Alecca
Ashes III: Of Mina Parker
New York City
2083She walked down the corridors of her highschool like a queen. She was the reigning beauty, the best of the best, the ultimate elite. She was Mina Parker and she was extremely happy. Time - or the ring of Batt-Hura - had taken her home this time, to her family’s apartment, sometime during the night. She had awakened the following morning feeling like she owned the world and that this time - she was sure - things had gone precisely as she had wanted. So she had given the slayer a little push to achieve it all, but she hadn’t really killed her, the rocks or the hellmouth had done it.
“Well don’t you look like a million bucks today!” one of her friends noticed.
“It’s just a fabulous day to be alive and kicking,” she replied smiling. She vaguely realized that this girl had been a slayer up until yesterday, but now, thanks to her, she was just a simple girl. She looked happy to her, she didn’t seem to be missing her powers, her strength. How could she? A little voice inside Mina’s head kept asking. How could she, when she had no idea what she had lost? It didn’t matter anymore, she was there if she was ever in trouble. She would keep her safe as it was her duty now to protect everyone. She smiled again.
From a distant corner of the hallway, Willow watched her and shook her head.
“When will they ever learn?” she muttered to herself and decided to wait until lunch.
The Hollow Crossroads
Absolutely nowhen“How are you feeling? Better?” the witch asked the blue creature whose eyes were now darker than she had ever seen them before. It seemed like the life was draining out of them.
“The pain is fading, but it will return if you don’t finish what you started,” he said standing up and leaning on his wooden staff.
“The circle is closing. It won’t be long now,” she assured him.
“You and your brilliant plans. You almost got me killed today and normally speaking, I don’t die,” he pointed out. “I don’t know why I ever bothered with you. You’re nothing but trouble.”
“But a ton of fun, admit it,” she grinned and the Hur’dha smiled.
“I suppose I am going to miss you after all this is over,” he admitted.
“Oh, don’t be like that. You can come visit me anytime. We’ll have lunch,” she suggested. “We could finally have one of those long discussions we always talked about.”
“Well, you could say I have all the time in the world,” the Hur’dha said.
“Where’s Lonny?” she suddenly realized the vampire should have been there considering time had been altered again.
“Oh, she went back to save the day,” he smirked. “But she accidentally leaped back into her first trip into the past.”
“Accidentally, huh?” she rose an eyebrow. “And you keep saying I’m the sneaky one.”
“Time’s been beat up, bruised and cut to pieces one too many times in these last few days. It was time to draw a line,” he said and his eyes seemed to light up slightly while he spoke those words.
“And you’ve had this power all along?” she asked incredulously. “To manipulate the rings?”
“I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that. I have...a certain limited power over the ring I made for the vampire, but it only applies in a few particular cases. Like this one for instance. I’ve simply altered the temporal jump to her first incursion into the past instead of her second,” he explained.
“And you think that was wise?” she asked unsure. “Considering Mina has managed to manipulate time a record breaking 3 times, Lonny might be pissed enough to take her out of the game. For good.”
“Right now, I really don’t see a problem in that,” the Hur’dha said seeming very indifferent to Mina’s fate.
“And my plan?” she rose her eyebrows questioningly.
“You have a very twisted idea of justice, do you know that?” he looked down at the witch.
“Yeah, maybe, but it’s so much more fun,” her eyes flashed black and she grinned.
New York City
2083The lunch room was packed with teenagers wearing prep school uniforms and chatting about the latest test or piece of gossip. Mina was seated at a table with three other girls and two boys discussing their English teacher’s redundant teaching methods.
“I mean wasn’t King the one who revitalized the whole horror genre?” one of the girls asked and Mina nodded approvingly.
“And not only that, the realistic way he described...,” she stopped mid-sentence when she saw Willow nearing her lunch table.
“Hello, Mina,” the witch smiled at her.
“Could you guys give us a few minutes?” Mina looked back at the other people sitting at the table.
“Sure,” one of the boys said standing up. The others followed his example, only one of the girls remaining behind for a moment.
“Are you gonna be okay?” the girl asked Mina while staring at Willow.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she assured her and the girl left to join the others. Willow sat down at the table opposite Mina.
“It’s been a while since I’ve actually been in a cafeteria. Is the food still as horrible as it used to be?” the witch asked casually.
“What do you want?” Mina interrupted her abruptly.
“Me? I’m just here to talk, so calm down,” Willow told her.
“Something tells me you’re lying,” her voice betrayed her annoyance.
“Well, that something is wrong. In this case,” a small smile appeared on her lips. “You know, I have plenty of reasons to hate you, but somehow I just can’t bring myself to feel that. Actually, I feel sorry for you.”
“You can feel anything you want to, Willow, cause it doesn’t matter anymore. I won. I beat the best at their own game. Angel. Spike. Buffy. Lonny. That blue freak. You,” she smirked satisfied with herself.
“Did you?” the witch asked leaning back in her chair.
“I did,” Mina said firmly.
“You’re the slayer?” she stared into her eyes with an amused look on her face.
“Yes,” she said positively. “I have the strength. I have the agility. I have it all.”
“Did you try them on a vampire, like you did last time?” Willow continued with her questions.
“I didn’t have a chance, but I will. Tonight,” she assured her.
“I wouldn’t if I were you. You might get yourself killed,” she warned her.
“I won’t. Believe me. I am *the* slayer and no vampire is going to stop me now,” she returned the witch’s insistent glare.
“No, you’re not,” Willow finally said.
“Yes, I am,” she slammed her hands on the table drawing the attention of several teenagers.
“No, you’re not,” she stopped her from protesting by rising her hand in the air. Mina was speaking, but no words were coming out of her mouth. “Just listen to me for a moment, Mina. Yes, you have strength, you have agility, because you’ve been training all your life. You have a black belt in two forms of karate and you’ve been doing gymnastics since you were five. But you’re not the slayer. You don’t have the power to heal faster, you don’t have a watcher.”
“You’re lying,” Mina protested.
“Give me your hand,” Willow said sighing. The girl extended her hand towards her. Before she had a chance to retract it, Willow made a cut across her palm with a small dagger.
“Au,” Mina let out taking her hand away.
“It’s just a small cut. How long did it take for this sort of wound to heal when you were a slayer?” Willow asked and Mina stared at her hand. It was a superficial cut. For a slayer, this sort of wound would normally close in under a minute. But now, nothing was happening. The long bloody trail was still open in her palm. And it stung her
“It’s-it’s...” she stuttered.
“Not healing,” the witch completed her phrase.
All of Mina’s happiness, all of her liveliness drained out of her, leaving behind just an empty shell. A being that couldn’t even cry. A girl who had just found out that her biggest dream had been a lie. She was still staring at her wounded hand and not believing what she was seeing.
“Who....who...is she?” she managed to mutter.
“I’ll show you,” Willow said and rising from the table, took her by the hand and guided her out of the lunch room just as the bell announced the end of the break and the beginning of a new class. As they crossed the busy hallways, Mina absently wondered where they were going. It didn’t take long for her to get an answer as Willow stopped in the middle of the corridor and pointed towards someone: “There.”
“I can’t see her...,” Mina said but then finally noticed which girl the witch had pointed at. It was a clumsy teenage girl with glasses, with her uniform hanging over her too frail body like it was two numbers too big, with her hands full of books and having a hard time passing through the mass of teenagers heading off to classes. It didn’t take long for someone to knock her off her feet and for her books to go flying all over the place. A few girls walking by laughed, not bothering to help her up.
“Gee, thanks!” the girl yelled after the boy that her knocked her off her feet.
“That..,” Mina laughed dryly. “That’s the slayer?”
“She doesn’t know it yet,” Willow told her. “Her predecessor died a few days ago in New Delhi. But she’ll find out today,” she gestured towards the glass doors of the school, behind which a man in a tweed costume checking his watch could be seen. “So you see some things are just meant to be. You were made to be a slayer, that much I can tell you, but so were many others, just like you. Sonia Mashenka. Angelina Hayes. None of them were slayers, because the slayer line only touched one person at a time, leaving many destinies unfulfilled. And that *one* was never the best, the bravest, but the one person that needed it the most. Now, I think it’s time things were put back to their proper place, don’t you think?” she asked her, but suddenly got a strange vibe. “Oh, wait...” time was changing again. And this time, for the better.
Sunnydale
2003“C’mon, I’ll introduce you around,” Buffy told the teenager as she lead her through the Summers home. “It’s kinda messy. There’s a hell lot of people living in here right now.”
“This is so...awesome!” Fred 2 let out excited.
“I’m glad you like it,” Buffy said amused and noticing the absence of the potentials she asked Andrew, the first person they came across, “Where is everybody?”
“Willow and Giles are researching that spell she has to use tomorrow. Anya and Xander are...I don’t know where. And Kennedy’s doing a little training with the potentials out in the backyard,” he answered her and looked over at Fred 2 curiously: “And whose this?”
“Andrew - Fred. Fred - Andrew,” Buffy made the introductions and headed towards the backdoor.
“Nice to meet you,” Fred 2 told him before following Buffy outside.
They landed directly in the middle of the fight between Lonny and Mina. Buffy shook her head and frowned.
“Enough!” she yelled at the two, but they didn’t hear her. “Enough already!” she neared them and pulled Lonny off Mina. “Who are you? And what exactly do you think you’re doing?” she addressed the vampire.
“Lonny?” Fred 2 asked surprised to see the vampire there.
“You know her?” Buffy turned towards her.
“Freddie! I thought I lost you,” Lonny said going over to the teenager and ruffling her hair.
“You did,” Fred 2 chuckled. “You have no idea what I’ve been through!”
“Oh, no, you have no idea what *I*’ve been through,” Lonny replied.
“Does anyone want to explain to me what’s going on?” Buffy asked crossing her hands over her chest.
“We know each other,” Fred 2 told the slayer.
“Do you know her too?” Buffy asked pointing towards Mina.
“I don’t think she does,” Mina told her nearing them. She didn’t remember she had run into her and her brother on the hallways of Wolfram & Hart when they had been in Angel’s company.
“Fred, meet Mina Parker,” Lonny told the teenager and Fred 2 stared at Mina incredulously.
“It’s you!” she yelled and surprisingly, attacked Mina. Not physically of course, but by using a series of small spells she had learnt over the years. “Hetta nea!” Mina flew on her back. “Jeda crenendo!” she began spinning on the ground.
“Stop it! Right now!” Buffy told Fred 2, but Lonny told her calmly, pointing towards Mina:
“She’s here to kill you.”
“But she...,” Buffy protested as Mina flew through the air and hit the fence hard.
“Trust me, she wants you dead,” Lonny assured her.
“Apporto!” Mina fell to the ground and the ring of Batt-Hura flew towards Fred 2 who caught it easily in one hand and broke it in two. Mina gasped and her eyes went wide before she disappeared in a flash of blinding light.
“You gotta be shitting me! That’s all we had to do?” Lonny couldn’t believe it.
“We were sent here to stop her. From killing you,” Fred 2 told the slayer, still holding the broken ring of Batt-Hura in one hand.
“By who?” Buffy asked.
“Angel,” Lonny answered instead of Fred 2.
“Thank him for me then,” Buffy told her.
“We finally did it,” Lonny told Fred 2 smiling. “We finally stopped her. You and me. The lethal duo. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” She suddenly realized she still had the second ring of Batt-Hura with her. Unhooking it from her belt, she handed it to Buffy, telling her: “You hold on to this. It might come in handy someday.”
“Thanks,” Buffy didn’t really know what to say, not understanding what the object she was holding was or what troubles it would cause in the future.
“Time to go,” Lonny heard the voice of the Hur’dha saying and suddenly found herself on the Hollow Crossroads along with Fred 2. The blue creature looked at them smiling:
“Congratulations, ladies, you’ve just spared me a lot of trouble.”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t get to kick Mina’s sorry ass a little more,” Lonny complained.
“Let’s just say Mina won’t be a problem anymore,” he assured her.
“Is she dead?” Lonny asked curious.
“No, but I think she just had a change of heart,” the Hur’dha told her.
“Whatever, but I think I’ll be hating her for the rest of my days,” Lonny confessed.
“Then she’s lucky to be living in New York,” the Hur’dha told her smiling. “And I have a surprise for you,” he turned towards Fred 2 and pointed towards her brother who Harmony was helping to stand somewhere behind them.
“Wes!” Fred 2 ran to her twin brother and hugged him tightly.
“Easy with the hug, sis, I’m hurting over here,” he told her gently, not letting go of her though. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Fred 2 said and Harmony smiled.
“You’re making me all mushy and stuff!” she told the two and wrapped them both in a painfully strong hug. She had forgotten about her vampire strength.
“Are they gonna forget everything? With time being back on its track and all?” Lonny asked the Hur’dha, but the creature shook his head.
“No. I’ve made sure of that. Considering what you’ve all been through, I think it would be a shame if you did,” he said as Spike and Angel suddenly landed in front of them.
“What happened?” Spike asked rubbing the back of his neck where he had hurt himself when he had landed on the crossroads. “Buffy!” he suddenly remembered. “She’s dead!”
“Everything’s been fixed now,” Lonny assured him.
“We can go home?” Angel asked hopeful and the Hur’dha nodded:
“Yes, you can. This place is beginning to be far too crowded.”
Los Angeles
The Underground of Wolfram & Hart Demon Hunting Inc
Static Time - no precise date“Time to wake up, Rupert,” Willow snapped her fingers unfreezing the young watcher. “I’ve come to a decision about you.”
“Really?” he asked cockily.
“Oh, yes. At first, I thought I absolutely had to kill you, but now, I stumbled over a second solution. I’m going to erase your mind. And I don’t mean, small, last couple of days erasing, I’m talking tabula rasa. A fresh start. Cause you badly need one. You won’t remember who did this to you, who I am, all that you’ll remember is your watcher training. And I’m just dying to see if you’ll wind up being as big a jerk as you are now again. I want to see if it’s the blood or the breeding that made you the man you are today,” she told him, her eyes flashing black.
“You’ll have to catch me first,” he told her and prepared to make a time jump, but surprisingly found that he couldn’t rise the ring of Batt-Hura into the air.
“Oh, yes, that little trick you’ve learnt,” she was holding the staff of the Hur’dha in one hand. “I’ve been...authorized to remove it.” A blue mist flowed out of the staff and encircled the young watcher making him scream in agony. The ring of Batt- Hura fell to the floor with an empty sound. “Goodbye, Rupert. I hope you’ll be a better man in your new life.”