A Dragon's Tale

Redy, the little Dragon, was very concerned about Buffy. Since the Slayer saw her mothers ghost, she hasn't been the same. The weird insomnia Buffy had was not normal and had to stop. So Redy decided to walk to the hospital with hopes of finding something there which would help Buffy. The little Dragon rummaged in the sterile smelling closets and the different drawers she was able to reach on her tiptoes when she heard a familiar sound. She didn't believe what she just heard. It was a screech. Definitely a screech from another Dragon.

Carefully Redy peeked around the next door and froze. An ugly green kind of Dragon on two legs stood in front of the door to the hospital. He was much bigger than her and wrapped in iron. The small fierce yellow eyes glared at Jai and Andrew (Gabe). A heavy load of fire spit out of the Dragons (Kaezin) mouth and he ordered “Stay back, and no one gets hurt!”

He sniffed in the air and smelled what he was searching for. The ugly head was turning. “I want the Hatchie”

Redy still thought she is dreaming and looked carefully around the corner.

“What do you want here?” Redy asked. “And most of all, how did you get here?” The eyes of the small Dragon widened as she spoke, realizing if another Dragon was able to come to Sunnydale by will, there must be a way out too.

“I want you to come with me.”

Redy frowned again and took some steps back. “You aren't one of my race.”

“Oh … oh … yes I am” the ugly Dragon kneeled down and reached out a claw “I just want to take you home … your mommy sent me … she`s worried.”

Redy`s heart jumped. “You are a liar! My mom was the dragon who was killed by Angel!”

“Just get in the bag,” the stranger enticed.

The little Dragon sobbed, “she is dead …”

A fast claw came close to Redy's face as the bigger Dragon dived at her and tried to put her in his magical bag.

“Hey, watch it tough guy, or Andrew will show you what for!”Andrew took another step back, brandishing his knife “You better... go away, demon. I'm a mighty warrior”.

“Yeah, you show him, Andrew” Jai cheered. “He is mighty, you just brag. He doesn't need to talk tough, he is Andrew the Mighty!”

Andrew thought he looked mighty pale, at least.

The bigger Dragon stood up. “You're coming or your pets start dying”

“Nuuuuuuuuuuu! Don`t hurt them!”

“Then” … big claws opened the magic bag on his side … “hop in”

“Redy over here” Faith whispered but the Baby turned around and shook her head.

The little Dragon looked into the yellow eyes and the thought about having friends here suddenly disappeared in her mind. She reached out to touch the bright light in the bag and the world went black around her.

Faith, Jai, Max and Andrew weren't sure what just happened. It was only sure Redy disappeared and the green big Dragon was laughing evilly. He bowed with a farcical gesture and walked away towards the sewers, mumbling something about “payday”.

In the last moment Faith realized he was making his way to the Hellmouth and she poked the others hard and started running after the Dragon who was just escaping with her little friend.
Half on the way to the sewers they were able to stop him for a bit, but the Dragon was too strong. He ran and jumped into the Hellmouth.

Redy in the meantime was dreaming about campfires and marshmellows and happy storytelling for her and her little brothers and sisters, wrapped up warm by a tail of one of her Elders.

[text by Redy9 Shepherd; picture courtesy Alexandria Panthar]

Sunnydale Syndrome

[The following is an except from an essay by Jai Raghilda, student, UC Sunnydale. The condition Ms. Raghilda describes is of great importance to anyone concerned with mental health issues and the youth of Sunnydale.]

Sunnydale Syndrome, the new Stockholm

Thesis: People subjected to prolonged periods of severe stress become susceptible to suggestibility.

Location: Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale SL (158, 157, 28)

Subjects: Underground Vigilante group self-nicknamed the "Scoobies"

Note: Scoobie is 1960's drug culture slang for marijuana which persists today and popularized by a mystery solving cartoon "Scooby-Doo"

"Hi I'm Buffy"


"...and me too."


These two "twins" claim to both be Buffy Summers, although one is supposedly from another dimension. One Buffy has a sister named Dawn, but the other Buffy does not.

I introduce myself as a local student attending the community college, which had some exposure to Sunnydale High School. I inform them that I am doing a paper on Stockholm syndrome and related stress related denial mentalities, referring to bystanders naturally. I sprinkle my dialogue with urban contemporary vernacular such as "Sunnydale is whack." They are mostly too self-involved to notice that I am not adept at street slang.

Someone named Redy and Faith and yet another Buffy questioned Pepper, who said that there is some sort of a war coming. Pepper is supposedly a vampire-demon hybrid whose mom is the Demon-God Kailyn, this made possible because her dad is a lawyer.

Pepper wants a Grimoire which will allow her to alter her shape. Four Slayers, two Faiths and two Buffys, and someone named Redy found it. I am unsure if the multitudes of the same person are a club designation or the submerging of personality bonding to an archetype.

A lot of chatter about the grimoire and a key that would unlock it. Mostly about motivations and idle speculation about the contents. Pepper wants to enhance herself before the coming "War of the Demon Gods".

The key is a 15th century renaissance piece which induced a different temperature sensation to different people. The Buffy’s and the Faiths all said it felt cool, Redy said it felt warm, but it burned Dawn's hand. Unsurprising, nobody likes Dawn.

Key Insight

"This is the key to the book that's causing all the fuss." Buffy put the old silver key upon the coffee table. The Summers sisters sat in the living room reviewing the events of another day in Sunnydale. Today was particularly difficult as Dawn had been attacked by the cat woman who appeared in town demanding the grimoire be given to her.

"Oh, you have it? You should like hide it," said Dawn.

"Yes ... younger Buffy gave it to slightly older Buffy who gave it to me." Buffy continued. "Redy said it felt warm. Buffy said it felt cool."

"The key?" asked Dawn.

"What do you feel?"

Dawn picked the key up from the table.

"It's ....Whoa" Dawn tossed it in the air. "It's way hot - like fire"

Dawn looked at her hand. "Look, it burned me!"

"Put your hand under water," Buffy said quickly.

Buffy pocketed the key as Dawn headed for the kitchen sink and put her hand under the running water.

"What is that?" asked Dawn. "It hurts."

"Redy wondered if something was living inside the key," replied Buffy.

Dawn took her hand out of the water. Buffy looked at it closely.

"How does it feel?"

"It hurts like hell"

"Do you want a cold compress on that?"

"Nah. Thanks though. I'm gonna go to bed I think."

"That's a good idea. It's been a long day." Buffy smiled.

"Night Buffy."

"Night Dawn."