Cincinnati Apocalypse

"So, ladies," the dashing, dark-haired young man asked, looking back and forth between his date, Buffy Summers, and Buffy's kid sister, Dawn, who, as usual, had tagged along on their outing, not that the youth, Nathan Wells, minded-or, at least, not much, "where to next? Pirates of the Caribbean? Splash Mountain? Star Tours?"

"We've been there, done that," Dawn complained.

Most of her life, since becoming Buffy's little sister, Dawn had complained about something. Sometimes, it seemed that she complained about everything. It was part of the nature, Buffy figured, that the monks who'd created Dawn, had given her. She was a whiner. Before that, she'd been, as best anyone could gather, just pure energy, taking the form of a bright light, and, as such, an inter-dimensional key. Her past was something that both Buffy and Dawn tried not to think about.

"Dawn," Buffy warned.

"I want to ride the People Mover," Dawn said.

"That's not a ride," Buffy told her.

"You can ride it, so it's a ride," Dawn argued.

"Well, I don't want to ride it," Buffy replied.

Dawn looked at Buffy's boyfriend.

"Don't look at me," Nathan said. "You ladies fight it out and let me know what you decide. I'm not taking sides. I'm fair and impartial."

"You're my boyfriend," Buffy reminded him. "You're supposed to take my side."

"And incur the wrath of Dawnie? No way!"

"Don't call me 'Dawnie," Dawn objected. "I'm, like, fifteen." She looked at her sister. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but Cincinnati," Buffy quipped.

Dawn looked disgusted.

Buffy sighed. To Nathan, she said, "Give us a sec?"

"Sure."

Buffy took Dawn by the arm. "Come on," she hissed, tugging.

Reluctantly, Dawn followed.

After they'd walked a discrete distance away from Buffy's beau, Buffy stopped. She looked at her sister, who avoided eye contact with her. "Hey, I've done my part," Buffy defended herself. "I've saved the world-a lot. I died-twice. Besides, now that all the girls who could become Slayers have become Slayers, there are plenty of others to do the dirty work. I say we party."