“There are an infinite number of dimensions. However, what you call dimensions is, in most cases, just another planet within your own dimension.” The disbelieving looks on the Scoobies’ faces didn’t even faze Zamolxis as he continued, “Arashmahar, for example is 4 galaxies away, but by no means in another dimension.”
At Anya’s shocked stare he elaborated, “Not to say that Arashmahar, for example, isn’t a world with entirely different laws of nature, or that the portals between this world and that are any less energy-demanding – we are talking about traveling millions of light years in a blink of an eye.” Seeing that the ex-demons’ calculating mind was rapidly going through a mental checklist, he added, “The reason nobody tells Dwight’s – that is to say D’Hoffryn’s – minio… nguh.” And for that he deserved the elbow in the gut he got from Bendis.
Gods did it hurt without the benefit of armor to cushion the blow – not that he would admit to such a thing. “Ah, what I meant was that you never knew about this when you were a Veggie… ompf… Vengeance Demon.” He paused for a second to rub his twice-bruised ribs and to glare a bit at Bendis.
“As I was saying. Not many people know the exact way the Universe is truly constructed and I’m only telling you this so you’ll understand things better. I would like to point out that every part of this discussion is entirely confidential and shall not be subjugated to review by third parties.” He grinned at them. “Did I mention I’m acting as a lawyer at the moment? Same as Bendis here, she’s from the Prosecution. But more on that later.”
Riley was getting more and more annoyed with every passing second the so-called God was speaking, but he refrained from opening his mouth to make some nasty comments because he was trying to understand. What he was really trying to understand, though, was not what the man was saying, but exactly how gullible the Scoobies appeared to be. Also, how far was Buffy, the mighty Chosen One – though even that appeared to be a lie for there were at least two he knew about – willing to listen to this rubbish instead of just doing something about it. These people needed to let professionals handle things. Just remembering last week’s disastrous attempt at patrol – eating chips, wearing brightly colored clothes and talking a riot – he found himself thinking about Graham’s words more and more often.
Giles felt a flash of annoyance at Zamolxis’ roundabout way of explaining things, but considered it couldn’t be helped. Apparently he had a lot to say and starting at the beginning seemed to be a good idea. However the mention on lawyers and prosecutors, as well as the interdiction to discuss anything with “third parties”. Like he was going to show any of his Journals with the Council after they fired him and nearly had his Slayer killed.
“Getting back on track. Most demons you encounter here on Earth are, in actuality, alien species. There has been some contact with other dimensions that are “linked” for lack of a better word. Such a dimension was the one you refer to as 'the wishverse'. Anyway, every dimension has something resembling a prison-planet. For many dimensions, Earth was the planet allocated to housing the Universe’s worst of the worst.” Dead silence followed this statement. Zamolxis looked into each of his listeners’ eyes, including Bendis, trying to see what this revelation would mean for them.
“Should have named us Absolom,” grumbled Xander. That was met with shaking of heads and disbelieving chuckles.
“Be that as it may, you might find it amusing to know Absolom does exist, in another dimension. All in all most of the things you can imagine and a great deal more than you can exist in one dimension or another. And if you remember each dimension has its own Universe and thusly an almost infinite number of stars and planets... The possibilities are truly infinite.”
“So is there a Star Trek dimension. Or one with the real Scoobies?”
This earned snickers from everyone present.
“Yes, that is exactly what I mean.”
“So, what? Out of all these dimensions and planets and thingies you just had to throw all the scumbags HERE?” Buffy jumped to her feet, furious at the unfairness of it all. Who was it that decided to make her life hell so others on other planets could live in peace and prosperity? ‘This is sooo not fair!’
“Now, now, simmer down Slayer. Each dimension has a number of allocated prison-planets. And at the time, yours was uninhabited by any sentient beings. The evolution of humans despite the harsh environment and the presence of all the alien species came as somewhat of a surprise. Nobody ever intended for a planet’s native populace to suffer from the presence of the prisoners, expats as we like to call them. However, they could not be relocated, nor could the humans.”
“Why?” This single word was spoken in the best Slayer voice Buffy had ever used. It caused cold chills to run down everyone’s spines – everyone except the Gods, that is.
“Look, just hear me out and you’ll understand. As I’ve said before, interrupting me does nothing except make this longer than it has to be.”
“Honey, just listen to him so Dawn can go home.” Joyce put a comforting hand on her daughter’s clenched fists. This immediately made Buffy relax a bit, snapping her out of her single-minded determination to pummel everything in her path and making her relax her hands – there truly wasn’t anything in the Universe like a mother’s touch. The fact that Joyce diffused this potentially dangerous situation caused everyone to relax a little. “He obviously wants to explain things, right?” she went on with a raised eyebrow at Zamolxis, letting him know that she wasn’t going to give him that much leeway and he should just say what he had to say.
“Of course, Mrs. Summers, it is my first priority.” At Joyce’s nod of approval, he continued, “The method of relocation used is one-way. There are a number of beings that can move themselves to other planets – such as what you call Vengeance Demons – or that can transport themselves as well as others, but their abilities are limited and furthermore, any attempt at returning any of the ‘Damned’ to their rightful planets would be considered an act of intergalactic war. Suffice it to say nobody wants that. So the ‘demons’ that have been brought here to serve their sentence are essentially trapped here.” The obvious quotation marks used to underline the familiar words the Sunnydale group used for the things Buffy fought every night were not lost on Zamolxis’ audience. The curiosity levels only kept increasing with every word he spoke, each answer creating new questions that begged to be answered in the minds of those present and this kept them attentive to everything that was being said. Only the stern look on both the Gods’ faces and the informative tone used kept their mounting questions at bay.
“Relocating the entire human race is out of the question for obvious reasons,” Zamolxis continued his lesson. “Also, the children of the expats couldn’t be sent to their species’ native planets because all they’d known was Earth. So you see, there was really no other way than to let the groups coexist. To regulate this, two groups were created. One was the Prosecution – the Powers that Be as you know them, the other is a law firm – Wolf, Ram, and Hart, today known as Wolfram & Hart. Their job is to keep a certain balance between expats and humans. Wolfram & Hart is trying to gain more rights for their clients – be that in the form of fire and brimstone raining from the sky or expanding the network of kitten breeders, while the Powers that Be are trying to eliminate all foreign influence on this world and leave it to the humans.”
At the sound of this, everyone was left confused, the descriptions being so far from everything they had been told thus far and yet, incredibly, absolutely possible. Buffy had already heard Whistler name himself as a being charged with maintaining the balance. Giles was the most concerned about the information they were receiving. His entire Watcher training had centered on the “humans good, demons bad” policy. Now the things Zamolxis was saying were putting everything in a new light. No longer was his charge – for Buffy would forever be his charge, no matter what his foolish former employers said – a representative of “Good”, the Chosen One of the forces of light, but a mere method of containment for some universal court, the supreme beings being little more then lawyers, prosecutors and some undisclosed Judge, presiding over it all and seemingly deciding if the next Apocalypse was within the rights granted to prisoners. This was a chilling thought and as his mind sped along these lines, his frown deepened and his need for more information grew. He was also convinced that after the end of the discussion he would not be able to sleep, haunted by images from his past and viewing everything in this new light – IF what these beings said was true that is, he still needed confirmation. ‘Bloody Travers, you would have a heart attack if you heard this, you bloody pillock. How I would wish to have you here and see your face turn red with anger and impotence.’ He was brought back from his reverie by the male God’s voice and his own innate need to hear everything.
“Neither side had ever won any of the prison worlds one way or another until the time I have spoken about – that great battle that should never have been. The result? In some places the natives won, the methods are irrelevant.” He added with a raised hand and a deeper more resonating tone of voice at the Scoobies’ obvious curiosity on the subject. “In other places, the expats won, only to have the attention of every military organization on this planet centered on them – chaos ensued for centuries, with varying results. In a few places however, the expats and the foolish people who started the battle were dumped on brand-new prison worlds – leaving a smaller number of expats on Earth, but creating more problems for the new prison planet in the long run.” At this he paused a bit for effect. “In this one, however, the one we are all inhabiting, the rules were broken.” He practically spat these words, as if the mere mention of the struggle he was recounting was a vile taste in his mouth.
“A coalition of expats the likes of which the Universe had never seen took over the local branch of Wolfram & Hart and then took over the planet.” The gasps this bit of news brought made him smile in a grim way. “They did not, however, take heed of all the formalities they should have. Expats were allowed to return to their home planets without due course and without the agreement of all the parties involved. The result was chaos on a galactic scale. War broke out in this dimension, spilling forth in the adjoining dimensions like wildfire. Estimates show that a complete collapse of the entire expat system would have occurred in about 100 Earth years.”
Giles’ face became almost deathly pale at the news, varying shades of pale being the common denominator among the rest of the Scoobies as well. Joyce and Dawn, while unable to understand everything said, picked up on the others’ reactions and were looking around with mounting worry. Riley was making a list of what he saw as lies and misinformation while simultaneously making plans to call the army to do something about this law firm he kept hearing about. Maybe this time Buffy would finally see the good the army could do, if they brought down this demon firm. Spike was counting down from ten over and over again in an attempt to not say anything. If things were as bad as this guy was saying, they were all in for a very rough ride. He could just see himself giving his life for the Summers clan without a shred of gratitude from anyone – his unlife was Murphy’s case in point.
Seemingly unfazed by the reaction to his words, Zamolxis continued, “This, of course, would put both the Powers that Be and Wolfram & Hart out of business, not to mention the billions of dead in the wake of the first inter-dimensional war since the fall of Lucifer. So, the central board of directors of Wolfram & Hart has sent me as a representative, Bendis is here representing the Powers that Be, and we have come to request your aid in rectifying this problem.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Tanit's vigilant eyes, I bring you this new chapter (as I've returned from the Mountains).
Chapter End Notes:
Hope you enjoyed!