Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 19:29:45 -0800 (PST)
From: Jason Decade <femtoka2@yahoo.com>
Subject: Vampire Slayers United: Center of the World

	Queen Mab lived at the Center of the World. Her influence was far
and wide and there was not a magical being who did not know her name and
what she stood for. She stood for the old ways and all that they had
contributed to the world. She lived alone, destined to be alone for the
rest of her life, if that is what you call what she did. She survived.
Though there was enough knowledge of the Old Ways to sustain her, she was
weakened. It was all that she could do to watch the world around her fall
to the new ways. As she felt herself fade, she was saved. By what?  She was
not sure, but a crystal shone and she found herself staring at the lone
crystal. In it, a witch. A very skilled, talented witch. She had done
something that could not be imagined. She had unleashed power all across
the globe. Mab felt the power stream into all the girls. The girls. And
him...the bright glimmer. All that power. Then another glimmer shone out
and Mab walked out to it.

	Shalliat Robins walked through the harsh streets of New York, cold
and weary. She had no place to go. Not anymore. Abandoned and dejected, she
found herself rushing past everyone on the street. A tear slipped from her
eyes and soaked the street as she rushed through an alley and she found
herself alone, once again. After a minute, she sunk against the wall and
began to sob harder than she had ever sobbed before. She had been poor all
her life. She had been a poor nobody and her family had struggled to make
ends meet for years until her father died, then things got worse. She had
never thought of herself as weak until she broke down at her father's
funeral; the funeral had been the low light of her life. The lowest
possible point she could actually reach. She felt even worse when she
became addicted to drugs and alcohol and her mom had caught her. Her mom
had told her the truth, or her version, that she would be just like the
rest of the people on her block, a crack-headed nothing. Hearing this,
Shalliat had left, deciding not to return. She had been so busy wondering
and thinking that she did not realized that she was being watched. " Hello,
little girl." a voice said. She looked around to see who or what had just
spoken. " Who is there." she said, sniffling and standing to her feet. In
the shadows, a pair of yellow eyes looked out at her and Shalliat gasped.
She stepped back and tripped over a garbage can, causing the garbage to
fall and her to fall over too. As she moved backwards, she found herself
being cut up by broken glass. " Come on, girly, I am not that ugly." the
thing smirked, showing its sharp teeth, " Come and give us a kiss.". The
thing walked closer to her and she screamed out, but the thing grabbed her
by the throat, " No, no. Not outsiders." it whispered, licking her neck. At
that moment, Shalliat felt something rush through her! She lived another
life, the life of another woman, one in a dank place, fighting what seemed
like a million demons. Then, in a flash, she was a man, in the basement of
a high tech facility and she fought for her life. Or he. He fought for his
life. She quickly found herself in her body, being licked by the thing. She
felt empowered and all of a sudden, she kicked it off of her! She punched
at the demon, hitting it with all she had, causing it to fly into the
building opposite of her. She looked around, trying to see something she
could hit him with and she found a broom by the door. She raced to the door
and grabbed the broom, breaking it in half. She stopped for a minute, she
had broken the broom in half and moved toward the stalled vampire. The
vampire got to his feet and ran at her, but she stuck the broken broom into
its chest! She instantly knew it was wrong and she withdrew the broom and
retried, this time finding the heart and a feeling of relief washed over
her. She looked at the pile of dust in awe, then dropped the other half and
ran away from the alley.

	Mab was impressed; she had heard about the Slayers, but had never
seen one in action before. The Vampire Slayer, a fierce warrior created to
fight the demon. Into every generation, a slayer is born. One girl in all
the world, Chosen to fight the forces of evil. Meddlesome little harlots,
always messing up plans that would reveal to the world what actually
exists. Always threatening to do what no others could do. " Mistress, have
you sent for us?" Magashon, a very ancient vampire asked. Mab looked at
him, " I did indeed, it seems as if there is an urgent surge of good. Evil
stands little chance against such a force of good." Mab screeched, " I
truly think that an end might be near". " What would make you think that,
Mistress?" Magashon asked. Mab turned to him, " I saw it. But do not be
alarmed. I also saw a girl. Kill her." Mab said. Without a word, Magashon
nodded and walked out of the door.

	As Shalliat walked through the hallway of her apartment building
and stopped as she got to the door. She hesitated for a moment, trying to
decide what she should do. If she just left, there could be more of those
things, but if she stayed, she could be verbally abused again. The choice
was simple...so simple it was complicated. As she stood outside the door,
she heard a shuffle of feet and could feel the floor just inside the door
move before the door swung open! Her mother looked out at her expectantly,
then rushed to hug her, " Shalliat! I am so sorry, baby, I did not mean..."
but Shalliat shushed her. Shalliat walked over to her little brother's
bedroom and checked on him, then walked back to the living room, " Momma,
there is something wrong with me." she said, looking down at her hands, " I
am...different." she said, looking back up at her mother. Her mother looked
at her oddly, " Have you been using drugs again?" she asked, checking
Shalliat's arms. Shalliat pushed her off, " NO! I am serious, I..." she
stopped and noticed that the scratches were completely healed. Her mother
looked at her arm also. Shalliat felt as if she was losing her mind. She
could not stay, not now. " Mom, I have got to go!" she said, rushing out of
the house, not bothering to shut the door.

	As Shalliat's mother sat on the couch, her hands on her chin, she
felt as if she should be out there looking for Shalliat, but where would
she start? She got up and paced, looking out the window and onto the ground
below. She cars passed by quickly and there was a distant roar from below
and an even louder stillness. There was an odd sensation in her heart, a
feeling of dread. Her daughter had slipped into drugs and alcohol and there
was nothing she could do to help her daughter. She knew that Shalliat
thought herself to be weak, but in her heart, she knew that Shalliat was
not evil. But talking to her was like talking to herself. As she paced, she
heard a knock on the door. She ran to it, opening it to see a pale man
standing outside, " Can I help you?" she asked. " I need to see your
daughter." Magashon smirked. A realization crept over her and she figured
it out. That was Shalliat's supplier, " Come on in, I have something to say
to you." she frowned, letting the odd man in.

	Shalliat hit the streets once again, trying to figure herself
out. As she walked down the street, she found herself in a magic store. She
ran into a guy immediately and he smiled, " Hello, my name is Cale. I own
this shop, can I help you with something?" he asked. Shalliat smiled weakly
and nodded, " Mistress Nahgin, the palm reader, I need to see her." she
said, looking past him and running to the seer. Mistress Nahgin welcomed
her with opened arms and grabbed her hands, not bothering to look her in
the face. Mistress Nahgin took out a pen and began to mark her hand. After
she was finished, there was a picture of a twilight. " What..." Shalliat
asked, snatching her hand back. " You are in danger. You are Chosen. A
slayer of evil and everyone you have ever loved will die." Nahgin said, "
They are dying now." she said. Shalliat looked at her fearfully and ran out
of the shop.

	When Shalliat got to her home, she ran into the living room to see
blood smeared over the walls and pieces of her mother. All of her mind
faltered and for a brief second, there was no trace of Shalliat left, only
the Slayer. Shalliat brought herself back to her senses, running to her
brother's room. When she got there, the last piece of her soul fluttered
from her with a breath. She went to her room and pulled out her syringe and
wrap. She wrapped her arm and put the syringe needle to her arm, about to
shoot up, but she stopped. Her mother's words echoed through her like a
whisper through an empty hall. Suddenly the moment hit her, the moment when
she wanted revenge. She pulled off the wrap and flung it across the room
and broke the syringe, calling the police before leaving the house
forever. When she finally made her way back to the Magic Store, she was
shocked to see Mistress Nahgin waiting for her. " You will need this."
Nahgin said, handing her an ordinary key.

	As Shalliat grabbed the key, she felt the room spin and suddenly
she was somewhere else. The thought flashed in her mind, `Where am I?', and
as if reading her mind, a voice answered, " The Center of the World."
Magashon smiled behind her, wiping blood off his mouth, " Sorry, I just had
a big snack." and Shalliat clenched her fist. They connected through their
eyes. Shalliat felt it, the rage and the pain and she channeled the man
from before's anger and the woman from before's anger and she took a
stance. Magashon smiled, showing all his fangs, and he ran at her! Magashon
grabbed her by the neck, but Shalliat punched him, causing him to drop her
to her feet and she kicked his feet from under him! Shalliat jumped back
and Magashon roared, causing the cave to vibrate. Shalliat had noticed a
woman standing on a cliff just off to the side, far enough away so that she
would not be harmed. From nowhere, Magashon had a sword, swinging it,
causing Shalliat to do a back flip to avoid the blade, but Magashon was too
fast! Magashon grabbed her and sunk his teeth into her. Blood spurted
everywhere and Shalliat felt her body getting weaker and when she felt as
if she would pass out, she reached down and found a stake. She looked over
at the woman, Mistress Nahgin, who smiled and she used the stake to dust
Magashon! As Magashon turned to dust, Shalliat fell. Mistress Nahgin walked
over to her, transforming into someone else, " Poor, unfortunate girl. No
one will ever know you...no one will cry for you. You are the end of a new
beginning, a clink in the chain. How does that feel. How does it feel to be
at the mercy of Queen Mab?" she smiled. Shalliat chuckled, blood spilling
from her cheeks, " I...I read the stories...And, after I'm gone, everyone
will believe you're just a figment of Arthurian lure. You'll be a memory."
Shalliat smiled, " I may not be remembered, but neither will you." Shalliat
said, smiling to herself. Shalliat knew that she would die and that being
Chosen was just another word for `dying young'. It had just occurred to her
that she didn't care. She felt, for the first time, that she was strong.
She was going to die, but she was okay with it and it was just now that she
looked around and took in the view. The Center of the World. A cozy thought
swam into her mind, she , unlike Mab, would be remembered by every slayer
in the future. She would never fade.