I can do this.
My whole body tingles with excitement and nerves, bouncing up and down on my heels as Buffy, Faith, Willow and I make our way to the dojo. Willow's carrying a bag with a bunch of supplies in it.
I can do this, I know I can. Everyone thinks that I can. Buffy thinks that I can, Willow thinks that I can, and Faith thinks that I can. If all these people who would never lie to me think I can, then I must be able to. Buffy trained me back in Sunnydale and she used to say I had a real talent for it, she still does sometimes. Willow said she thinks I have the talent to face off against these slayers... and it was Faith's idea to have me do this.
They all think I can do it, so I can. The people I'm up against aren't vampires out to kill me. And I'm not going to be completely unarmed. I'll have slayer powers to back me up. I've never had slayer powers. It seems like a cool thing to have. I always thought I could do a lot of good things with slayer powers. Now I'll know for sure if I have what it takes.
Buffy turns to me as we walk and smiles.
"So, are you ready for this Dawn?"
The spring in my step doesn't stop as I take a deep breath and try not to panic.
"Uh, yeah... I think so."
Faith speaks up.
"Now what kind of enthusiasm is that, kid? You're about to kick the crap out of fifteen slayers. Get happy."
Willow chuckles.
"What Faith said, only less about the crap kicking."
Buffy puts her arm around my shoulders and keeps smiling.
"You'll do fine Dawn. Just calm down and take things slow. Remember everything I've taught you over the years and you'll be okay."
I do my best to stop bouncing and walk like a normal person.
"I hope so."
Faith punches me in the shoulder playfully.
"Stop being so negative. These girls don't have anything on you. None of them have been listening enough to the things we've been teaching them and we want you to help whip them into shape. And you will, with the help of Red's spell."
"That's right. I'm going to give you slayer powers with that magic thing I do, and you're going to teach those mean girls a lesson."
"Plus, a few of those girls are in your class aren't they? I'm betting you'll have their respect when you knock them on their asses."
Would that really happen? I have a hard time imagining that Candy would give me any kind of respect if I manage to get the best of her. She'll probably find me later and kick the crap out of me when I can't fight back.
"I guess..."
The dojo comes into view a couple doors down. Buffy decides to give me the pleasantries.
"But no matter what happens, I want you to know that we all love you and we're proud of you."
Faith butts in.
"Now what kind of encouragement is that? She's gonna beat them and she's gonna do it before any of them know what hit them."
It's nice to hear Faith have that much confidence in me. Makes me wish I could grab her and kiss her, but I don't think that'd be the greatest idea with Buffy standing here next to me.
"Thanks Faith."
We smile at each other as we make it to the dojo. Suddenly my nervousness jumps up about two hundred percent.
"So, uh... they aren't allowed to hurt me right?"
Buffy hugs me with the arm she has around my shoulder.
"Relax Dawn, it'll be all right."
Yeah that's a big help.
"Just, just go over the rules for me again, so I don't freak out. They aren't allowed to hurt me. Like, break my leg or anything?"
My sister, my almost girlfriend, and their best friend all laugh a little at me
"No, they're not allowed to do any permanent damage. They're only allowed to use enough force to keep you down for a ten count, or make you say uncle. And if any of them even try to break either of your legs, I'll break theirs."
"And I'll break the other."
Aww, it's so nice of them to be so protective of me.
"Then I'll send them to an alternate dimension."
They all laugh as Buffy takes her arm off my shoulder and opens the door for all of us. We go inside to see the class hanging around the main room. Tess, Carmen and Candy off to one side with the rest of the slayers spread out.
Buffy hired Tess as an assistant. If Buffy ever isn't going to make it to class on time for any reason, she calls Tess and she opens up when Buffy can't. Then Buffy gets there when she can and they start training. Buffy kind've insisted on it, even though Tess isn't a slayer she's a good person and has helped us out with research in a few of the demon attacks.
Buffy and Faith make their way into the middle of the room to draw the attention of the class.
I guess now's the time. I've got to put my money where my mouth is, and so do all these slayers. Wow this is massively nerve racking.
"All right class, good to see you're all here like we asked."
My sister turns to Willow for a split second, pointing out the way to the training room.
"The training room is over there, if you want to get started."
Willow just smiles at Buffy before heading off where she's directed.
"Thanks Buff..."
As Willow goes, she catches my eye.
"I'll call when I need you."
All I do is nod to the redheaded witch. Buffy continues.
"Like I mentioned a few days ago, Faith and I have lined up a challenge for the class today. We didn't tell you what it was, because this will be a test of your skills and ability to adapt to a curve ball when it's thrown at you."
Faith takes it from there.
"That redhead that just passed by and you'll meet later. She's the most powerful witch in this hemisphere and a good friend of ours. She's going to be helping us with a little spell that will help us with this exercise."
Buffy butts in, it's almost like they've been planning this speech together.
"You're all very strong, and you've learned a lot from us in this class. But some of you seem to have gotten the impression that there isn't anything more you can learn. You'd be dead wrong about that."
Faith gets that commander-type posture with a firm look on her face that's actually pretty sexy.
"Now we could go ahead and spar with each one of you and show you how wrong you are, but you already know that we're stronger than the rest of you. Most of you are aware that we're faster and smarter than all of you and could take you down in a second if we had half a mind to. And where's the lesson in that? So instead, we've brought someone in. Someone you wouldn't think could get the better of you... but they can."
"Most of you have met her. A number of you know her pretty well because you go to school with her. She's my sister, Dawn Summers."
Buffy half turns to me and points me out with a flat hand behind her. Naturally, Candy is the first to protest, angrily, as she stands up and takes a few steps in my direction.
"What? Her?"
Candy scoffs at the idea.
"I'll mop the floor with her in two seconds flat."
She tries to come at me but Buffy and Faith get in between us.
"With the way she is, sure. But do you think you'd be as eager to take her on if she had all the same powers as you do?"
Candy hesitates for a second, looking at both Buffy and Faith in turns.
"Of course I could. How exactly is that going to happen though? I thought something like that was impossible."
The three of us smile.
I guess she hasn't been doing all the reading assigned.
"It is when you have the most powerful witch this side of the Atlantic to make it happen."
Another long moment of hesitation passes with Candy before she answers.
"All right, but I want first crack at her. That way I can prove just how good I am."
"You're on, Candy."
Wow, those were the first words I've said since walking in here and it actually sounded like I think I can win. Maybe I'll take up acting classes in school next year or something. Apparently I'm good at it.
Suddenly, Willow comes into the doorway that leads to the training room.
"Hey Dawn, it's time."
Okay, I guess there's no turning back now. Since I decided to be threatening and mean to Candy.
"All right..."
I make my way over to where Willow is. Buffy speaks up as I go.
"Once the spell is done, we'll give you about ten minutes to adjust, and then we'll start. Okay Dawn?"
"Sure..."
Then I follow Willow into the training room where she's set up all sorts of lit candles around two circles that intersect in the middle of the training room. Between the intersecting circles is the scythe.
"Are you sure you wanna do this sweetie?"
I smile at Willow for giving me one last chance to back out.
"I'm sure..."
"Okay then... in order for the spell to work, we each have to sit in one of the circles. Both of us have to put our hands on the scythe, I'll chant a few words and that should do it."
Hmm...
"Really? That's it?"
"Should be..."
"All right..."
We both move into our respective circles and sit down, facing each other.
"You still have time to back out you know?"
That makes me chuckle.
"When did you become Buffy?"
Willow does her own chuckling before calming down and leaning forward, putting her hands on both ends of the scythe.
"Well, let's get started then. If you wouldn't mind putting your hands on the scythe between mine."
My eyes fall on the scythe for a second and it makes me take a long deep breath.
Here goes nothing...
I put my hands on the scythe, and there's a slightly warm feeling coming off it.
That's a really nice feeling. It's like holding a blanket that's just come out of the dryer or something.
The warmth makes me close my eyes and let myself feel it.
"In the name of The Guardians, we ask that you allow this warrior of light the strength to face your children and humble them to your wisdom. Release the power of your weapon, to help us in our task."
A few seconds later, the warm feeling from the scythe spreads from my hands to my wrists, then slowly up my arms. Slowly, it moves up my arms, over my shoulders and spreads through my whole body. The feeling makes me take a deep intake of breath.
Wow, now this is a cool feeling. Every part of my body is tingly and warm.
My grip tightens around the scythe, it feels like I'm going to break the thing if I don't relax but I keep gripping harder.
I've never squeezed anything this hard before. I feel like my knuckles should be white and hurting but they don't. It's almost as if I could squeeze twenty times stronger and I still wouldn't feel a thing.
The warmth gets stronger and I take an even deeper breath.
Is this what it feels like to be a slayer?
"Holy crap..."
Willow chuckles happily.
"Good feelings?"
The first thing I have to do before responding is let go of the breath in my lungs.
"Oh yeah... very good."
As soon as I'm used to feeling like this, I open my eyes to see Willow smiling at me. She's taken her hands off the scythe and I take that to mean the spell is over.
"How does the scythe feel?"
Feel?
I pick up the scythe in my hand.
It feels...
"Different..."
She keeps smiling at me.
"Good different... it feels..."
Instinct tells me to spin the scythe in my hand, so I do.
Damn, there was like no chance I was going to drop that. It felt...
"Natural."
"That's good. That's how it's supposed to feel, I'm told anyway."
Twirling it again, it feels even more natural than the first time.
"Well, you've got about ten minutes before you're going up against the slayers. Maybe you should focus on something more than just baton twirling."
Oh, yeah she's probably right. But I don't know where to start.
"Umm... how?"
"How about a back flip or something?"
Hmm, that's a good suggestion.
Putting down the scythe, my legs feel strong under me as I stand up. I take a second to get my footing even though there isn't a wobbly feeling in them.
Okay, now I just have to remember what Buffy taught me about doing a back flip. Bend at the knees and lean back as I jump. All right, I can do this.
I bend my knees and take a second to get a feel for it. Then, I jump backwards and throw my arms above my head, bringing them down on the mat and doing a handstand to quickly complete the flip, landing on my feet.
"Whoa..."
I've never completed a flip that well before. Usually I fall on my ass or something just as embarrassing. But I did it. I really did a whole flip and I did it well. This could actually work.
"That was cool."
"You looked like a slayer."
I did. I felt what I guess a slayer feels like. I still feel it. I feel strong, I feel fast. It's a really great feeling.
With the good feeling that's flowing through me, I clench my fists. It feels like I could put my fist through a plate of steel or something. Willow watches as I start to test these new feelings I'm having, I start to box the air in front of me. My fists move faster and they feel stronger with every punch.
Wow, I'm really going to like this.
"I guess the spell worked then?"
Willow smiles as she stands up and leaves the circle.
"Seems like it did... do you feel all right?"
All right?
"I feel great, almost like I could run a hundred miles in thirty seconds."
The sound of Faith's voice makes me turn around to face her.
"You might be good but you're not that good babe."
Her words make me smile. She's got that great grin on her face that makes me feel really good.
"Maybe not but I bet I could take you down with the way I'm feeling."
Boxing the air with a few punches, I feel good at the expression on Faith.
"Care to try?"
Boy would I love to... but I can't say that in front of Willow so I might as well keep quiet.
"It'd help you get used to the power."
That's probably a good idea.
"All right..."
Faith walks into the training room slowly. She heads over to the mats, taking off her shoes as I follow her. Willow moves to one of the benches and sits down to watch as I take my own shoes off, making my way to the mats. Faith and I smile at each other as we start to circle the other on the mats slowly.
"Are you sure Buffy's okay with this?"
That's a good question.
"Sure Red... B's in there going over the rules and answering any questions they might have and she asked me to come in and make sure everything was going okay with the spell."
We lock eyes and Faith gets this evil grin on her face.
"Now I gotta warn ya Dawn. I'm not gonna go easy on you. There are only a few minutes before you're going up against the class and you can pretty much guarantee that they aren't going to go easy on you."
Right, gotta be tough.
Doing my best to seem tough, I put on my best angry face and continue to circle with Faith.
"I'm ready."
Faith is the first to make a move. She starts with a right cross and I lean left to avoid it. We circle each other some more.
It's probably a good idea to test how well I can deflect a punch.
I don't have to wait long, as Faith throws a left punch. A second later I use my hand to deflect it by using my palm to hit her wrist. She follows up that with a gut shot that I don't have time to deflect. It hits me in the stomach and I stumble back a step or two.
That barely fazed me.
"Wow, I didn't even feel that."
My almost girlfriend chuckles happily.
"Fun being a slayer, isn't it?"
She's right, it is.
"A little... but I thought you said you weren't going to go easy on me."
"Just wanted to test you to make sure the spell took."
With that, I take a swing at her. She catches my fist with a smile.
"Good punch, but you've got more strength and speed then that. Use it."
More speed and strength?
"Really?"
She nods as she lets go of my fist.
"So use it."
We circle each other a little more and I decide to take a chance. With a little bit of a spin, I try for a back kick to the head. She catches my foot and brings it down to hip level but doesn't let it go.
Okay, I can do this. I've seen Buffy do it many times and she taught me how.
Shifting my weight to the foot Faith has in her hand quickly, I twist my hips and jump with my free foot as I use it to kick her. She ducks my kick when it flies over her head and lets go of my foot, letting me get my balance back. We go back to facing off against each other.
"There we go. Keep that up."
Faith comes at me with a couple of punches, I manage to dodge the first but the second hits me in the jaw.
Ow! That hurt.
She sees the look on my face and smiles.
"Told you I wasn't going to go easy on you..."
My smile stays on my face despite the hit.
"And I appreciate it."
As a come back, I fire back a few of my own punches. Each of them is stronger and faster than the last. At first, Faith is deflecting the punches easily but the stronger the punches, the harder it gets for her and she starts to dodge them as quickly as she can.
"You're getting the hang of this. Keep..."
Her words are cut off by a punch which lands on her jaw.
Oh, geez, I hurt her.
I stop what I'm doing and cup my hands over my mouth.
"Oh, geez, I'm sorry..."
She rubs her jaw a little but quickly stops.
"No that was perfect. Your speed is exactly where I expect it to be. So far none of the class has been able to land a solid punch on either of us. The fact that you did says we made the right choice."
The feeling of shock goes away slowly at Faith's sexy smile that she sends my way.
"Most of the class, are relying on their strength, they haven't focused enough on their speed. That makes them more vulnerable than we'd like. I want you to use that against them. So let's test your speed a little more."
I nod at her and she brings her fists up like a boxer. She starts with a right, then a left, both of which I deflect easily. Faith follows that with two quick rights which I dodge, and then a left, her speed increasing with every punch.
This is such a cool feeling. Sparring with Faith like this. Especially since I can actually hold my own thanks to Willow's spell. It almost sucks that I have to give it up later. But its okay, I don't really want to be a slayer. A couple hours to help my sister and Faith is cool but after I thought I was a potential back in Sunnydale and later figured out I wasn't, I realized it's not as good as I thought it would be. I'd rather just be me.
My sparring partner comes at me with a flurry of punches and I back up to avoid them. After a couple, I deflect her left fist hard and she has to turn slightly with her momentum. I use that opportunity to hit her with a gut shot as hard as I can. She stumbles back a few steps at the hit.
"Damn, you're a natural at this, babe. These girls won't know what hit them."
"Thanks Faith..."
"Course you're still no match for me, but you're doing real good."
Looking at the smile on her face, I can't help but be a little turned on by it.
She's really sexy when she spars.
We back off from each other and Faith's lowers her fists.
"What do you think Red?"
Oh, right, Willow's here.
I turn to where Willow is sitting and I like that she's smiling.
"I think she looks great. You both do."
What does that mean?
"Yeah, your mojo really did a number on her."
Not realizing that I'd turned my back on Faith, she gives me a smack on the ass as she comes up beside me.
"She's in top fighting form. And she looks damn sexy doing it."
A look of playful shock is on my face as I look at Faith.
"Faith..."
She grins mischievously at me.
"What? You are."
The only action that comes to mind at that is to shove her away. Willow's got this smile on her face that I'm about to ask about when Buffy comes in from the main room, Candy right behind her looking less than pleased.
Can't say I hate that look on her face.
"So how's my sister doing Faith?"
We all look at Faith, who looks at me for a second before facing my sister.
"I'd say she's ready to go."
Buffy smiles at me in that proud way that she does.
"Okay then..."
Candy takes that as her cue and tries to move past Buffy, heading straight for me. As she does though, Buffy grabs her by the shoulder to stop her.
"No, you're going to wait."
My eager opponent turns to Buffy, even less pleased than she was before.
"Why? Are you afraid that if I beat her first then she'll lose credibility or something?"
Buffy puts on her commanding face I saw a lot of in Sunnydale.
"No, I just want you to know what you're up against before she beats you. Pam, you're up."
Candy grudgingly does what she's told and stands there, her eyes fixed on me as Pam makes her way past them and toward the sparring area.
"All right, now you all know the rules as I've explained them to you. You're only allowed to use as much force as it takes to take Dawn down, nothing more. The goal is to keep her down for a ten count, or get her to say uncle. I'm willing to bet that none of you will do that, but you're welcome to try."
I turn to Pam across the mats as she bounces on her heels and tries to warm up a little for our fight.
"Dawn, we're going to have you play the vampire in this situation. Your objective is to take them down so you can eat them. You ready?"
My head turning to the side, I take my eyes off Pam for a second to nod at my sister.
"I'm ready."
"Faith, would you do the honors?"
Faith moves between us.
"I'd be happy to."
She puts her hand out vertically between me and Pam for a second. I get into a fighting stance like Pam. Faith starts the match by dropping her hand with one word.
"Begin."
The second Faith says the words, Pam comes at me. She throws a right cross and I dodge it. Quickly, she follows with a left cross and I deflect that easily.
Hmm, Faith was right. They're trying to knock me out with their fists. I bet if I just...
Her next attack is a spinning back kick which I catch. As soon as I get a firm grip on it, I twist it quickly and she goes spinning in the air. Letting go of her ankle, she falls flat on her face on the mats.
Well that works. I guess I gotta be the vampire now.
I drop to my knees and lean over her. Before she can react, I grab the back of the arm and pull it into a chicken wing. She grimaces in pain, trying to get her arm back but I hold it tight. Pam squirms under me as I put my whole body weight on top of her, open my mouth and bite the air a couple inches from her shoulder. I wait a few seconds until I hear Buffy's voice.
"Pam is dead, who can tell me why?"
With that, I get off of Pam and let go of her arm, getting up. Pam rolls over and looks up at me with a shocked look on her face. I smile at her and hold out my hand to help her up.
"Because you made her stronger than the rest of us..."
Once Pam is upright I turn to Candy at her comment, Buffy looks at Candy suspiciously.
"Dawn didn't throw a single punch, how could her strength have anything to do with it, Candy?"
That makes me smile.
I took down a slayer without throwing a punch. That's cool.
Candy doesn't say anything. Willow decides to interject.
"Besides, I didn't give her anymore strength than any of you. And I gave you all your powers."
The room is silent and I can see a few shocked looks on a couple of faces. Buffy looks over her students expectantly.
"No one's figured it out?"
Again the room is silent to the question.
"All right then... Temika, you're next."
Pam leaves the sparring area, obviously upset with herself, and Temika takes her place across the mats from me.
This is so much fun.
* * *
Ow!
I hit the ground with a thud as I'm tripped up by Farah, the second last on the list of slayers I'm fighting against.
Come on, I can do this. I've been through almost the entire class, I can handle two more.
Farah comes at me as I start to get up and I swing my leg out, hitting her in the ankle and tripping her up in the process. She lands on her back and I try to pin her down but she rolls out of the way. We get to our feet and face off again.
Most of the girls were easy. The first five or so didn't learn from Pam's mistake. I didn't really have to do much to take them down. Temika, Claire, and Selina were both blindsided by my speed. They were falling on their asses hard and fast. Chrissie, Tanya and Melissa had the same problem. But the rest of them were a little more of a challenge. Farah's definitely given me the biggest challenge so far.
My current opponent attacks with as much speed as she can muster. Her fist flies at me and I barely dodge it. She throws another one my way and I manage to deflect. I try and fire back, which she manages to block. We back off a little to regroup. Farah goes for a front side kick and I raise my forearm up to block it. As her shin hits my forearm, I push it backwards. She uses the momentum to do a 360 spinning backhand. With her fist coming at me, I manage to grab her wrist and twist it back into a half chicken wing.
She struggles against me as I manage to wrap my arm around her neck. Tilting her head to the side slightly, I make a pretend bite on her neck. After a second, Buffy speaks up.
"All right, let her go Dawn."
That's all the encouragement I need, I let Farah go. She turns to me, working out her shoulder. Her expression is one of confused anger for a while.
"You're pretty damn good."
It's nice to hear that.
Farah extends her hand and I take it, shaking her hand.
"You're not so bad yourself."
We smile at each other for a second before she turns to Buffy. My sister gets a proud look on her face.
"Fourteen out of fifteen Dawn. You're kicking ass."
Faith decides to butt in.
"Looks like we're gonna have to be harder on our girls, eh B?"
"Seems that way."
"Are you guys going to stop talking at some point? I'm still waiting for my turn to kick the crap out of Dawn."
Buffy, Faith and I all look at Candy standing next to Buffy with a more than annoyed expression on her face.
Buffy's been making her wait this whole time. Every time I beat one of her classmates, Candy gets in my sister's face about going next, and every time my sister tells her to calm down or she'll get knocked out. Candy just keeps getting more and more pissed off. I think my sister is trying to teach her a lesson about controlling her anger or something. Can't say I hate that idea. She needs an attitude adjustment.
Faith and my sister smile mischievously at each other. My sister is the first to speak up.
"I don't know. What do you think Faith? Dawn's been through a lot today. I think we might want to close up shop for the day and start fresh tomorrow."
"WHAT?"
"Yeah, you know, that's probably best. I mean, Dawn's only had the powers for an hour or two. Maybe she needs more time to get used to them. Do you think you could manage that Red?"
Willow mockingly looks up at the ceiling, as if considering the possibility.
"I think so. At the very least I could probably cast the same spell tomorrow since the healing would still be in affect for a couple days. How do you feel about that Dawn?"
"No way is that going to happen."
Candy knocks Buffy out of her way and heads straight at me. When she gets within reaching distance, she shoves me hard, making me stumble back onto the mats. Her path toward me doesn't slow down while I get my footing and she tries to hit me with a right cross. My hand gets up just in time to deflect it.
Wow, she's really fired up. I better be careful.
She follows up with a left cross which I also deflect. Faith speaks up.
"Whoa, hold it."
Both Faith and Buffy try to interject but I stop them as I duck another fast punch.
"No, it's okay. Let her try."
My sister and my almost girlfriend stop coming forward, letting this happen. I manage to throw the first real punch that hits Candy between the eyes, just below her forehead. It makes her stumble back slightly.
Apparently I like to sound of being confident, even when I have no idea whether I have reason to. Candy's been learning from my sister's dojo for longer than all of them.
She hits me with a left cross, every bit of anger she can muster put behind it. Her fist really hurts, worse than the others. Candy tries to follow that with a right cross but I grab her by the wrist and try to twist it into a chicken wing like I've done with a lot of the others. She stops me though by trying to twist it back the other way. To get out of it, Candy bends her right arm enough to throw a left uppercut into my stomach. It hurts, but not enough for me to let go.
I twist Candy's arm harder and she hits me again in the stomach. That makes me let go of her wrist, backing up to regroup. Candy attacks hard and fast with a flurry of lefts and rights which has me ducking and weaving out of the way of her fists.
She really wants to kick the crap out of me. I guess I can't blame her with the way she's been held back and all but taunted through the whole session. If I were as big of a bitch as her and my teacher was yelling at me, telling me not to do the one thing I really wanted to do, I'd be pissed off too.
As one of her lefts fly just past my cheek, I push her arm further than she wanted it to go. It throws her off balance, but not enough to keep her from blocking the gut shot I try for. She grabs my wrist and twists it the same way I twisted hers. I stop her from going too far by grabbing her wrist on top of mine and pulling it back to where it doesn't hurt. With my hands tied up in hers, she uses her free hand to punch me in the face.
When she tries for a second punch because the first one didn't make me let go, I take my hand off her wrist and use my own to deflect hers. Since she couldn't get me away with that, she shoves me away.
"Not so tough now, are ya Dawnie?"
Candy attacks with a back kick to the head and I manage to lean back just in time to avoid it. I drop to a crouching position as she finishes the kick and I throw my leg out for a leg sweep. It hits her in the ankle and takes her off her feet, landing hard on her back. Standing up, I look down at her on the floor. Her expression is one of reserved shock.
"Look who's talking Candy."
The anger on her face goes into overdrive and she tries for a leg scissors but I back off, giving her the time to get up. She barely takes the time to get her balance before attacking me head on again.
Candy's good, but she's too pissed off to think straight. As long as I'm careful, I can probably win this.
Her fist is the first thing to fly at my head. I tilt my head away from her punch and use both hands to grab her at the wrist and elbow. Because she expects me to do something with her arm, she's not ready for the side kick that hits her right below her ribs. My kick throws her off balance and I use the moment to side step her, letting go of her elbow and driving my palm into her shoulder.
As she yells out from that hit, I kick her in the back of the knee. That brings her down on one knee and I don't let her recover, kicking her in the ribs, knocking her down on her back. I keep my hold on her wrist by going down on one knee, twisting her arm to stop her from getting away. She squirms to try and stop me but I manage to get my knee down onto her shoulder. Candy tries to use her free arm to get me off her but I grab that wrist and force it down against the mats.
Wow, I've got her.
I look down at Candy and her face is one of absolute shock. I feel like I should be shocked myself. Leaning down, I complete my job by pretending to bite her neck.
I did it. I beat 15 slayers. Me... I'm nobody. I'm just me. But I did it. I beat 15 slayers.
With my job done, Buffy puts the final nail on it.
"You can let her up now Dawn."
Quickly, I get up off of Candy, keeping my eyes on hers as she stays where she is with that shocked look looking back at me. Being the nice person that I am, I put my hand out to give her a hand up. After a few silent moments, Candy doesn't take my hand. She just rolls away onto her front and gets up. Her eyes meet mine across the distance between us, the expression on her face is a mixture of anger and sadness instead of the pure anger she was showing earlier.
"Well, I think all of you have learned an important lesson?"
I watch Buffy look around the room and see the slightly defeated look on everyone else in the class.
This is a little unreal.
All I can think to do is look to Faith's direction. When our eyes meet, she smiles in a very sexy way. It makes me blush slightly.