Dawn was feeling put upon. This was not unusual, because Dawn
usually felt put upon no matter what. Dawn had even felt put
upon when her sister, Buffy, had sacrificed her own life so
Dawn could live. Actually, Dawn even had the nerve to be angry
at Buffy after she returned from the dead (which is another
story).
Anyway, Dawn felt that everyone in her life existed merely
to put her out. For instance, Spike was getting most of the
attention now because he had a soul. Big deal, thought Dawn.
She had ALWAYS had a soul, but had she ever gotten any
attention because of that? Hell, no. It wasn't fair. (Of course,
Dawn was conveniently ignoring the fact that Spike was only the
second ensouled vampire the world had ever known, but she
usually did ignore any information that would weaken her case.)
Then there was Willow, who'd become addicted to magic and tried
to destroy the world. She got tons of attention, too, and
everyone felt sorry for her, but she'd tried to kill them all!
Dawn had never tried to destroy the world, but no one ever
praised her for that. They acted like it didn't matter.
And how about Anya? She went around exacting revenge on the
behalf of wronged women everywhere, sometimes resulting in
deaths and other messy trouble, but.... A thought occurred
to Dawn in the midst of this rant. She grabbed onto it very
hard and grew to realize that she might be able to use Anya
to her advantage. Dawn was a woman (well, almost) and she'd
definitely been wronged many times. Surely if she made a wish,
Anya would have to act upon it.
That was it! Dawn jumped up from her bed and ran downstairs
and out of the house. She had to talk to Anya and make a wish.
------
"...so you see that I've been wronged over and over and over
and over and--" Dawn was saying.
"Please. Stop," Anya begged. "If I grant your wish, will you
quit talking?"
"That's all I want," Dawn declared, beaming.
"What's the wish?"
Dawn had thought hard about this wish while she had been
hunting for Anya, and she was prepared. "It's the perfect wish.
The monks implanted memories of me in everyone, even before I
was actually in Sunnydale, so I want everyone to see what life
would have been like if I was never around. Then I want them
to return to the present day with that knowledge so they know
the differences and they appreciate me."
Anya nodded. "I don't know about appreciating you, but I can
show them both versions of life." She sent the wish through and
the world dissolved around Dawn.
-------
About 10 seconds later, Dawn's surroundings came into focus
again. She looked at Anya, who was still sitting next to her.
"What happened?"
"I performed your wish. It's over. Go home and Buffy and the
others will now have the memories of life both with and
without you."
Without bothering to thank Anya, Dawn leaped up and ran home
as fast as she could go. When she burst in the door, everyone
was there: Buffy, Spike, Willow and Xander. "Hey, guys, do you
appreciate me now?"
As a group, they glowered at her. "If you hadn't been around,
Tara would still be alive," Willow informed her.
"And I would be married to Anya," Xander yelled.
"No Glory," chimed in Spike.
"I wouldn't have died the second time," Buffy snapped.
Before the force of their glares, Dawn trembled. "This wasn't
what was supposed to happen," she whined. "Anya must have
made a mistake."
"She sure did," Buffy agreed as she stood up and headed for the
door. "But I'm going to have her fix it, right away. It's
clear to all of us; life would have been so much better if you
had never been around, and Anya is going to make it so that
you never were."
Dawn stared, jaw dropped, as the others marched out after
Buffy. She should have kept her big mouth shut.
usually felt put upon no matter what. Dawn had even felt put
upon when her sister, Buffy, had sacrificed her own life so
Dawn could live. Actually, Dawn even had the nerve to be angry
at Buffy after she returned from the dead (which is another
story).
Anyway, Dawn felt that everyone in her life existed merely
to put her out. For instance, Spike was getting most of the
attention now because he had a soul. Big deal, thought Dawn.
She had ALWAYS had a soul, but had she ever gotten any
attention because of that? Hell, no. It wasn't fair. (Of course,
Dawn was conveniently ignoring the fact that Spike was only the
second ensouled vampire the world had ever known, but she
usually did ignore any information that would weaken her case.)
Then there was Willow, who'd become addicted to magic and tried
to destroy the world. She got tons of attention, too, and
everyone felt sorry for her, but she'd tried to kill them all!
Dawn had never tried to destroy the world, but no one ever
praised her for that. They acted like it didn't matter.
And how about Anya? She went around exacting revenge on the
behalf of wronged women everywhere, sometimes resulting in
deaths and other messy trouble, but.... A thought occurred
to Dawn in the midst of this rant. She grabbed onto it very
hard and grew to realize that she might be able to use Anya
to her advantage. Dawn was a woman (well, almost) and she'd
definitely been wronged many times. Surely if she made a wish,
Anya would have to act upon it.
That was it! Dawn jumped up from her bed and ran downstairs
and out of the house. She had to talk to Anya and make a wish.
------
"...so you see that I've been wronged over and over and over
and over and--" Dawn was saying.
"Please. Stop," Anya begged. "If I grant your wish, will you
quit talking?"
"That's all I want," Dawn declared, beaming.
"What's the wish?"
Dawn had thought hard about this wish while she had been
hunting for Anya, and she was prepared. "It's the perfect wish.
The monks implanted memories of me in everyone, even before I
was actually in Sunnydale, so I want everyone to see what life
would have been like if I was never around. Then I want them
to return to the present day with that knowledge so they know
the differences and they appreciate me."
Anya nodded. "I don't know about appreciating you, but I can
show them both versions of life." She sent the wish through and
the world dissolved around Dawn.
-------
About 10 seconds later, Dawn's surroundings came into focus
again. She looked at Anya, who was still sitting next to her.
"What happened?"
"I performed your wish. It's over. Go home and Buffy and the
others will now have the memories of life both with and
without you."
Without bothering to thank Anya, Dawn leaped up and ran home
as fast as she could go. When she burst in the door, everyone
was there: Buffy, Spike, Willow and Xander. "Hey, guys, do you
appreciate me now?"
As a group, they glowered at her. "If you hadn't been around,
Tara would still be alive," Willow informed her.
"And I would be married to Anya," Xander yelled.
"No Glory," chimed in Spike.
"I wouldn't have died the second time," Buffy snapped.
Before the force of their glares, Dawn trembled. "This wasn't
what was supposed to happen," she whined. "Anya must have
made a mistake."
"She sure did," Buffy agreed as she stood up and headed for the
door. "But I'm going to have her fix it, right away. It's
clear to all of us; life would have been so much better if you
had never been around, and Anya is going to make it so that
you never were."
Dawn stared, jaw dropped, as the others marched out after
Buffy. She should have kept her big mouth shut.