The End

By Little Slayer

Prologue:

Giles sighed after hanging up with a friend of his in Chicago. He stared at the wall for a second then walked into his office. Quietly, he pulled out his Watcher’s Diary and a pen. With one last sigh, he began to write.

November 22, 1999

As long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, to find them where they gather and to stop the spread of their evil…the swell of their numbers. All throughout the years, there have been many Slayers. Too many to count. Too many to even weep for. So many young girls have lost their lives, and I fear, soon will another.

This takes us to 1997 where the most unorthodox Slayer to ever be known, the strongest, died. Buffy Summers drowned in a small pool when she went to fight and kill the Master. Her friend, one of the Slayerettes, Xander brought her back from the dead with CPR. During that time, another was called. A beautiful young Caribbean girl who seemed to live, breath, and nothing else slaying. It was her whole life and she dedicated hers to it. I don’t believe she ever had any other friends than Buffy. Kendra was killed while helping us during the last end of the world threat. She met her match very early in her career. A vampire named Drusilla is the one responsible for the death of a Slayer under my care. Drusilla was made by the vampire Angelus.

Angelus.

That name has new meaning for me now. He is no longer some old vampire who existed a hundred and fifty years ago, earning his reputation as the ‘Scourge of Europe’. For I have met him, and I do not wish to ever meet that monster again. About ninety years ago, Angelus became what I know him as now. Angel. He was cursed with his soul. He then renounced everything human he could physically, emotionally, and mentally stand. Then he met Buffy. I couldn’t believe it at first. My Slayer, falling for one of the most evil vampires ever known? Impossible. But it was true. Until the night of her 17th birthday and they almost lost each other. That was when they decided to consummate their relationship. And in that night, Angel lost his soul, becoming a monster once again.

Poor Buffy.

I didn’t think she’d make it through that. Angel is now with us, human even, after spending quite some time in hell. The new Slayer, Mya, what a bright young girl. She tries, but she’s not Buffy. Not anything like her. Mya’s too dependant, and most certainly not as strong. I can’t help but notice that the only thing that she and Buffy have in common besides their birth rights is their attraction to Angel. I know he tries not to, but I can tell he’s developing feelings for the girl, and I know Mya likes Angel a lot.

The original Slayerettes Willow and Xander still help out as much as they can; they continue to put their lives on the line for no reason. The two new additions, Cordelia and Sunnydale’s resident werewolf Oz, help as much as they are able also. And I, the watcher, I am now married to Buffy’s mother Joyce. What a delightful woman. She’s kind, caring, strong-headed, stubborn. I can see where Buffy got her personality. As for the petite blonde Slayer, we haven’t seen her in more than a year.

It’s now 1999 and the last time we saw her was the last time the world was threatened. The last she saw of us was not a good memory. Willow was in a coma in the hospital, Xander had a broken arm, Joyce was so confused and scared that she lashed out at Buffy, banning her from ever going home. I never saw her. I was in the mansion being tortured by Angelus. The only thing I saw was her fighting him. As for Angel, well, she did get to see him one last time before running him through with a sword. His soul was restored at the last second and once again fate ripped him from Buffy’s grasp.

She hasn’t been seen since.

Until now.

Chapter One:

Buffy sighed and tried to stretch her shoulders as much as she could in the small, cramped space of the airplane. She glared across the aisle at Whistler, who sat reading a book, and Spike, who was passed out next to Whistler. Then she looked next to her at Drusilla, who was staring out the window.

"Quite a view," Buffy said. Dru turned and looked at her.

"Yeah. It’s beautiful. I’ve never flown this high," Drusilla said then turned to look out the window again. Buffy pulled out her diary from the bag near her feet and took one last glance at the mesmerized vampire. With a small chuckle, she opened it to a new page and began to write.

November 22, 1999

Well, it’s been more than a year since I’ve been home. Now that I’ve finally adjusted to working for the Watcher’s Council and working with the only two vampires with souls on the planet they throw this at me! I can’t believe they’re making me go back. I wonder what they’ll say when they see me.

I hope Willow’s still into witchcraft. Whistler found a great book for me to give her; he mentioned something about having a de-werewolf spell in there too. That’d be great. I wonder what they’ll do when I leave again. It’s not like I have anything there to look forward to. It’s not like Angel’s there or anything.

Angel. God I miss him. I wonder if he ever found out why I had to do what I did to him. I hope he did. If he didn’t, well, I don’t want to think about that.

The overhead light signaling that seatbelts were to be on dinged and the captain’s voice came on over the intercom.

"We’re now arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. Please put your seatbelts on and make sure all seat backs and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions. Please turn off all electronics while we descend onto the runway. The weather is currently clear and temperatures are at 68 degrees. We hope you enjoy your stay in L.A., please fly Norwest Airlines again." His voice clicked off and Buffy looked at the others.

"Well, I guess I’ll jump off that bridge when I get to it," she whispered quietly as the plane landed. "That’s all I can do."

****

Giles put away his diary and his earlier conversation with Daniel Slye, a fellow Watcher and friend, ran through his head.

"Rupert, I know you’ve been looking for your Slayer for quite some time now," he had said. Giles nodded even though Daniel couldn’t see him.

"No, actually, since the arrival of Mya, we’ve stopped." is how Giles had replied. The young watcher sounded surprised to hear this.

"You don’t want to know where she is?" he had asked. Giles swallowed hard and tried to think of a way to describe what he felt.

"We do, but, we’ve adapted to living without her."

"You do know about the prophecy, right?" That question had caught Giles off-guard. Yes, he knew about it, but he also knew there wasn’t enough fire power in Sunnydale to take care of it.

"Yes, I know about it. But the others don’t." Giles said quietly. He couldn’t help but look up to see if Mya was standing angrily over him. When he had said Buffy was going to die, she was not happy that he kept it from her. He had no choice but to keep it from them. If he told them they might do something stupid, then he’d have even less fighters than he already had.

"Well," the other watcher had continued. "I know where she is." Giles had to blink a few times to let it sink in.

"What?"

"Buffy, I know where she is," Daniel had said. Giles shook his head remembering the way he had to practically pick his chin up off of the floor.

"Where?" was he had been able to manage to gasp out.

"Right now? She’s somewhere over the Rocky Mountains," he had said. "The Council decided to send help for the prophecy, seeing it’s as serious as it is. They’ve had a small group together for a while. Two vampires that they ensouled, I believe you know them. Spike and Dru. Well, that’s what Whistler called them. Sit N’ Spin and Dru according to Buffy. The Council has been sending them around the world to help keep humanity safe. And now the Council is sending them there."

"So why are you telling me?" Giles asked.

"Because I thought you should know. To prepare your Slayer to meet her…sister in battle. I haven’t told Buffy about the new Slayer, but I do believe she knows already. If she doesn’t, well, she didn’t strike me as the type who plays well with others."

"Thank you," Giles said. "I must go, I’ll tell the others right away. Thank you Daniel, this could be of great help to us."

"Your welcome watcher. Oh, and Rupert. She’s still wounded from her previous experiences in Sunnydale. It wouldn’t be the most wise thing to do, hurting her more. The last thing this world needs is a hysterical Slayer who can’t do her job." Giles took that in and when Daniel didn’t continue, he had opened his mouth to speak. Only to hear the dull sound of the dial tone.

After coming out of his haze, he picked up the phone again and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello? Werewolves are us, Willow speaking," the answering voice said. Giles smiled a bit at the irony of her introduction.

"Hello Willow, it’s Giles," he started.

"The others are here, all but Mya and Angel; they’re on patrol. We can be there in less than ten minutes. Bye." Willow hung up and so did Giles. He shook his head then tapped his pen impatiently on the table, knowing that Angel and Mya were to show up soon. As if on cue, the doors opened and the two tall brunettes walked into the library.

"Hey Giles," Mya said cheerfully. Angel smiled his greeting and set down their bag of slaying supplies. Giles wondered briefly how much Angel thought about Buffy.

"Hello. How was patrol?" he asked, his voice almost mechanical. Mya looked at him weird.

"Okay Giles, what’s up?" she asked. *The Slayer who’s life you’ve taken over and replaced is returning to Sunnydale to find that her love is now out of love with her and in love with you,* he answered in his mind.

"There’s a new prophecy," is the way he answered. At the quiet shock of the others, he continued. "It’s not exactly the most promising either. I don’t think it’s going to turn out well."

"Do you know the details of it?" Angel asked. Giles nodded.

"Let’s wait until the others get here, shall we?" Giles said. Angel took a small step towards Mya, and stood towering over her protectively. *Oh Angel,* Giles thought. *If only you knew already. If only you knew.* Giles was happy to find that he wasn’t going to wait long until the others got there. They arrived almost immediately. One by one, the rest of the Slayerettes trooped into the library.

"Hey Giles." Willow and Oz greeted him.

"G-man," Xander said smiling. Cordelia just studied her nails. Taking in a deep breath, Giles prepared what he was going to tell them.

"You, uh, you may want to sit down," he started. All smiled were lost and the room grew uncomfortably silent.

Quietly, Willow and Oz sat on the stairs while Cordelia, Mya, and Xander took the table. Angel leaned against the cage and looked at Giles expectantly.

"So, what’s going on?" Willow asked.

"There’s a prophecy." he answered. "And Mya’s not strong enough to win."

"What do you mean I’m not strong enough?" Mya demanded.

"I mean that you’ll end up getting yourself killed." Giles replied calmly. Angel decided to step in and prevent Mya from attacking Giles.

"What’s the prophecy?" he asked.

"The end of the world," Giles muttered. The room fell silent until a new voice boomed from the door.

"The end of the world? Is that all ducks? Bloody 'ell, if I’d a known that was all it was, I ne’er would’ve bothered coming 'ere." Spike half-growled, half-whined from the doorway at Drusilla.

"Spike," Whistler hissed. Then he looked up at Giles and Angel. "Hey watcher, Angel buddy. How’s life on the Hellmouth?" Giles noticed the way the three stood, almost as if they were hiding something.

"Okay Giles, what is the Billy Idol wannabe and the nut-case doing here?" Xander asked.

"I am not a nut-case," Dru said dangerously. "I’m here to save your sorry ass, so don’t even go there."

"Oh yeah, well, make me," Xander hissed.

"Willow says kick his ass," she replied. Xander’s eyes grew wide and his mouth clamped shut. Mya moved closer to Giles and fingered a stake.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"Vampires." Angel said. Mya took a few steps forward with her stake.

"Don’t do that," Buffy called out from behind Spike. Mya froze with curiosity as a small blonde in black leather pants, dark red halter-top, with a black coat draped over her stepped out into view.

"Why not?" Mya asked. Buffy chuckled.

"Cause if you do, I might have to kill you," she replied. As soon as she was satisfied Mya was stunned enough, Buffy let her eyes wander around. She checked on Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia, and Giles. They seemed to be healthy and of the living. Deciding they were fine, she noticed there was someone else in the room. She turned her head slightly and her green eyes fell onto a familiar sight. Angel. He was leaning against the cage in an outfit not that dissimilar from Buffy’s; black leather pants, a dark red dress shirt, and a long black trench coat. *Oh, my god,* she thought. *Oh my god.*

Chapter Two:

Buffy’s entire mind was whirling. There, right in front of her, was Angel. The man that she loved utterly and completely; the man she ran through with a sword. She swallowed hard and a new sensation ran through her body. One of warning, of danger. Her newly enhanced Slayer’s sense was going nuts. Ignoring the weird looks she was receiving, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Vampires were close and they were moving farther away in a group.

"Dru?" she asked, turning slightly so she wasn’t facing Angel anymore. "Something’s wrong. I can feel it. Something’s going on."

"I know, I can see something," the confused vampire muttered. She looked at Whistler. "I thought the prophecy wasn’t supposed to start for another week or so." Whistler frowned and nodded.

"Yeah. Not another week. What are you two picking up on the radar?" he asked. Buffy and Drusilla’s eyes met for a moment and they answered simultaneously.

"Vampires."

"Well, obviously, but where?" Spike said. The four were now consulting each other, and everyone else in the library looked on in great curiosity. *They work well as a team,* Giles thought. *But will they be able to handle us with them?*

"I’m not sure," Drusilla started.

"But they’re heading away from the school," Buffy finished. Quickly thinking of a plan, Buffy took charge of the situation. "We’ll need to find out where they’re going, and fast. Then we’ll hit them, and hard."

"Okay, let’s move," Whistler said.

"We’re going with," Angel said. "If it’s big, you’ll need back-up."

"We’ll be fine without you, Peaches," Spike hissed.

"Spike!" Buffy scolded. The bleached-blonde vampire visibly jumped a small bit and looked apologetically at Buffy. "If you can manage on your own, then come. If you need me to baby-sit, then don’t bother," Buffy said to the others. Angel merged from the others and into Buffy’s group, Mya followed Angel and soon did the others.

"Oh this is going to be great fun," Whistler mumbled. Then louder, "Hey Angel-buddy, can you do better than three rounds with a fruit fly?"

"I don’t know, you trained me," Angel replied. Buffy looked at Whistler with a raised eyebrow then went into full Slayer mode.

"We need to move, and now," she said and then headed out of the doors. Spike and Dru followed behind her, and the others brought up the rear.

"Oh yeah, tons of fun," Whistler repeated as he let the library doors swing behind him.

*****

As they neared the Bronze, Buffy felt the fledgling long before any of the others even saw him. She took off in a trot and Spike and Dru moved silently behind her. Angel watched Buffy’s movements and knew when she sensed the vampire almost immediately. He could see how her body moved through the dark with predatory gracefulness and how she was totally focused on her surroundings. He glanced over at Mya, who was just doing what he was doing. She didn’t look around. Where he went, she followed. And if they happened upon a vampire, it seemed almost as if he always made the first move. That wasn’t right. *What did I see in her?* Angel asked himself about Mya.

"AH!" Angel snapped out of his haze to see a young fledgling be slammed against an alley wall by Buffy.

"What do you know," she hissed. Spike stood to her left and Drusilla to her right, both of them had their game faces on and were growling a low warning to the vampire.

"About what?" the young vampire asked feebly. He obviously wasn’t used to this kind of enemy and knew Buffy was stronger than he.

"Where are the others?" Buffy almost growled. "Where the hell are they?!"

"I don’t…" he started to reply. Buffy tightened her grip around the vampire’s throat and pulled out a stake. "The Bronze! They’re planning an attack to help for the prophecy. The Slayer isn’t as strong as the last one…" He stopped when he noticed Mya near by.

"Do you know who I am?" Buffy asked quietly. He nodded. "Who do you work for? And if you lie to me, I’ll peel off your skin like a banana peel."

"Trick. I work for Mr. Trick." the vampire muttered. Buffy dropped him onto the ground and looked at Spike and Dru with confusion.

"Trick…didn’t he work for Kekistoes?" Buffy asked. Spike nodded. "I thought he was dead."

"I told you there was no guarantee that the blast killed all of them," Whistler said. Buffy nodded and turned around, plunging a stake into the fledgling’s back.

"Let’s get going, they’ll start feeding soon," she said and then turned to head to the Bronze. The rest of them followed and Mya tapped Angel on the arm.

"What?" he whispered.

"Who is she?" Mya asked. Angel looked sadly at Buffy and sighed.

"Ask her," he replied and picked up his pace a little.

*****

Buffy’s pace slowed as she neared the Bronze and she surveyed the area. From the ways to get in, she knew they were going to have to spit up. Quickly, she glanced back at the others and drew in a deep breath. She was used to giving orders to Spike, Dru, and Whistler, but what about the others? She had sent them to their deaths enough when she was there before…what about now?

"There’s two ways to get in," she started.

"Well, three if you count the sky-light," Angel said. She looked at him with a dangerous look that she immediately wanted to take back. She turned her gaze from him and looked at her team.

"Three ways to get in. Spike, you take the rear. Dru, you and Whistler take the front. I’ll surprise them from the roof." She looked at the Bronze and then at them again. "Shall we?"

"What about us?" Giles asked. Buffy froze then looked at him.

"I’m not in charge of you guys. Do what you want," she replied evenly.

"Yeah, but you’re leading this attack. We should know what to do so we don’t get in the way or something," Oz pointed out. "We don’t want to get the wrong end of the stake." Buffy thought for a moment then nodded.

"Okay. Xander, you and Cordelia take the back with Spike. Dru, you go with them. The rest of you, go with Whistler." She looked for protests then started to climb to the roof.

"Why should I take orders from you?" Mya asked suddenly.

"Mya," Angel whispered.

"Why?" Mya asked again, ignoring Angel. Buffy faced her and annoyance flashed over her features.

"I don’t give a flying leap what you do," Buffy shot back.

"Then why are you leading this little crusade? I’m the Slayer, I should." Mya retorted. Buffy shook her head and snorted.

"I should have known. You’re Faith’s replacement."

"Who’s Faith?" Mya asked.

"The Slayer before you. I was there when she died. Kekistoes got her before I could get across the factory. I killed him for it though. And if Whistler here hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve killed Dru on sight."

"Why?" Mya asked again.

"She killed Kendra…her demon did anyway." Buffy looked at Drusilla and smiled. "But she’s not the same monster anymore. I trust her with my life." With another annoyed look at Mya, she finished. "Can we save these people now? The vamps aren’t going to sit around forever."

"Who are you?" Mya demanded.

"Mya, you’ve been the Slayer for how long now?"

"Seven and a half months." Buffy nodded.

"Well, in ’97, there was this one Slayer who went to kill the Master here. She ended up drowning in a small pool of water, but two of her friends rescued her. During that time, Kendra was called. She was the Slayer before Faith. You’ve been the Slayer for seven and a half months now. Congratulations. That’s difficult to do on the Hellmouth." She turned to climb up to the roof again and this time, didn’t listen to Mya when she asked her who she was again. Angel started up after Buffy.

"She never answered my question," Mya complained. Angel looked down at the Slayer and realized he knew who she reminded him of. The gypsy that he had killed and was then cursed with his soul because of. The one who was dumb as a post.

"She’s that Slayer Mya," he called down her. "Her friends were me and Xander."

"Oh," Mya replied as Angel continued to climb up to Buffy’s side. Then she remembered something Willow had told her. Angel had been in love with the Slayer before Kendra. He had been in love with Buffy and probably still was. "Oh," she repeated, much more quietly.

Chapter Three:

Buffy looked intently down through the dirty glass of the sky-light. She heard Angel call down his answer to Mya as to who she was. All he said was that she was the Slayer. The only Slayer who was alive and had seniority to Mya. *I wonder if he hates me,* she thought. Angel crept up next to her and peered over her shoulder.

"They’re in a holding pattern," he commented. "I wonder why." Buffy put some pieces together as she recognized some vampires who had worked for Kekistoes.

"They know I’m here," she told him. "Trick must have found out somehow that I was coming back."

"Trick? Why would he want to kill you?" Angel asked quietly. Buffy smirked at him, one that he knew was an exact copy of Angelus’s, and he shivered.

"Because I was born. Why else?" she replied. When she didn’t get a reply from Angel, she yelled in one loud voice, "NOW!" and jumped through the glass. She landed on the ground, Angel a few feet behind her. The front door flew open and so did the back. Knowing the others would get out the civilians, Buffy went to work. She kicked a vampire who was rushing at her in the stomach and then twirled around to deliver a nasty strike to his temple. The vampire dropped like a sack and Buffy went after another one.

Angel ducked one attack and swung his leg out to catch a vampire. He saw Buffy take out that other one and briefly watched her as she went after another.

"This way!" Willow called out and a group of frightened people rushed out the door with Willow. Spike, still vamped out, swung at a vampire and then kicked another behind him. Drusilla and Xander worked back to back and each took out a vampire.

"Angel! Get down!" Buffy cried out as she saw a vampire leap at him. Angel heard her plea too late and felt the vampire land on his upper body. His head hit the cement floor with a thud and then he blacked out. Enraged, Buffy flung the vampire off of Angel’s body and staked him in one clean sweep. She glanced around and saw most of the teens who had gone to the Bronze that night weren’t there any more and that they had taken out most of the vampires.

"Slayer!" a voice boomed out. Mya’s head snapped to a vampire who had called out her title but was facing the other way. Buffy looked up from her spot next to Angel and it seemed as if the activity around her stopped. "Slayer," the vampire said again.

"What?" Buffy asked irritated.

"Good show tonight. Although, I must admit I thought you’d be here a little sooner. We were starting to get bored." Buffy stood up and she glanced around to make sure her friends were still alive.

"You should’ve brought a book," she muttered.

"Amusing. Like your mother." Everyone’s head snapped in the direction of the only vampire left alive in the club other than Spike and Dru.

"What?" Buffy whispered.

"Didn’t I mention? She says ‘Hi’." With an evil smile and a brief chuckle, the vampire breezed past the stunned Slayerettes by the door and out into the night. Buffy visibly paled and a chill crept up her spine. *This is just like when I found out that meeting with Angelus was a set up and the others were attacked. Just like it,* she thought.

"Mom," she whispered and bolted towards the Bronze door.

"Buffy!" Spike called out to her, but she was already out the door. "Someone take care of Peaches here, we need to get there now!" Drusilla, changing her face back to it’s human guise, went over to Angel and placed her hands on his head.

"Wake up," she whispered. *Please,* she added silently. Angel stirred out of his unconscious state and looked up at her confused.

"Where’s Buffy?" he asked.

"We need to go, now." Drusilla told him. "I’ll explain on the way."

"Where?" Angel asked as he rose to his feet.

"Buffy’s mom’s house."

*****

Buffy ran as fast as she could, away from the Bronze and to her mother’s house. She ran up the front lawn and into the house, barely noticing the broken down door. *Mom, where are you?* she thought urgently.

"Mom!" she called out. "MOM!"

"Buffy," she heard a female voice say and spun around. She saw Willow standing in the doorway with the others crowded around her; Spike muttered a quiet invitation to Drusilla who then stepped into the Summers-Giles home. Taking in a deep breath Buffy ignored her friend and continued on into the house. She moved past the stairs and walked into the kitchen where she found her mother’s crumpled body on the floor.

"Joyce," Giles whispered from behind Buffy and pushed past her. Buffy stared as Giles knelt down, pulling Joyce Summers-Giles into his lap; her head slumped unnaturally to the side and Buffy knew her neck was broken. *Just like Jenny’s.* she thought. The others moved behind her as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen staring at her mother.

"Mom," she finally whispered and took a step towards them. Giles jerked back and held onto Joyce’s body for dear life.

"Stay away," he choked out over his tears. "Your fault. If you had stayed, she’d still be alive!" he ranted.

"Giles," Angel had started. Buffy held up her hand and looked back at him with an emotionless face.

"No Angel, he’s right." She walked past them and went into the living room. She picked up the only picture that hadn’t been destroyed. It was a frame that held a picture of Giles and her mother from their wedding day, and a picture of Buffy before she left. "It’s my fault," she murmured matter-of-factly. The emotionless, almost uncaring way Buffy said that scared Angel more than he thought he could be scared. He watched as she moved out of the house and walked down the street; her head was only a little lower than normal and she seemed to be walking in a daze.

"It’s almost as if she doesn’t care," Xander said. He wiped away a tear and stared down at his friend in disgust. "Her mother’s dead and she doesn’t care." Angel shook his head as he saw Buffy start to run down the rest of the street, her shoulder shaking uncontrollably.

"She cares," he said sadly. "She blames herself." Drusilla, who was looking at Giles in disgust, morphed back into her vampiric visage and growled.

"She blames herself for everything!" she hissed at Giles. "For every person she couldn’t save, for every bruise or cut these people got while working with her, for everything that she couldn’t make right. When the Council gave Spike and I our souls and sent us to work with Buffy, she wouldn’t do anything! She wouldn’t eat, sleep, anything. She was suicidal on her 18th birthday because of what had happened the year before and now you blame her for this! You make me sick." She turned to glare at all of the stunned people in the room. "All of you make me sick. I have done a lot, and I mean A LOT, of terrible things in my life times, but this, this take the cake." Angrily, Dru stormed out of the house and after Buffy. Spike took off after her and Whistler looked at the others.

"She wasn’t lying. Buffy was so afraid to come back, it took us forever to convince her. If this prophecy hadn’t popped up, you never would’ve seen her again." He took a few steps towards the door and looked at the others sadly. "I’d stay, but I’m her Watcher now, until they give her one she’ll actually work with. I have to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself or one of the others." Angel nodded and Whistler disappeared down the street after the others. Giles, who was sitting in shock with his wife’s body in his arms, was brought back to reality as soon as Drusilla’s word hit his ears.

"Suicidal?" he repeated. "My god, what have I done? What have I done?"

Chapter Four:

Giles walked down a long, dark hallway towards a small weeping figure. Buffy was crumpled on the floor in a small ball; blood poured from wounds on her wrists.

"Buffy!" he cried out as her body stopped shaking. He ran to her side, kneeling in her blood, and gently rolled her onto her back. Buffy’s still tearstained face was pale and her dead eyes stared into nothing. "No, NO!" Giles sobbed into her hair. "First Joyce, now you. I just got you back." A hand touched his shoulder and he turned to face a vamped out Dru.

"She was suicidal on her 18th birthday," she snarled at Giles. "She was suicidal and now you blame her for this!" Xander walked up, grim faced, followed by Angel; Angel knelt down and wrenched Buffy’s lifeless body from Giles’s arms.

"It’s your fault she’s dead!" Angel hissed. "Your fault." Mya walked up behind Giles with an evil smile. The second she saw Buffy’s dead figure, the smile grew. Xander looked at Mya with a look of pity and disgust.

"She doesn’t even care," Xander whispered then looked up at Giles, his eyes narrowing. "She’s dead. It’s your fault." Drusilla’s voice joined in with Xander’s chant. "Your fault, your fault, your fault…" Angel looked up at Giles, his face full of pain and anger.

"She’s dead and it’s YOUR FAULT!" he hissed at Giles. Angel placed Buffy’s body on the ground and stood.

Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Spike, and Whistler walked up behind Angel, Xander, and Dru.

"Your fault, your fault, your fault," they chanted. Whistler broke off his chanting and stepped forward.

"The end of the world," he said to Giles over the others’ chanting. "Mya’s not strong enough to win."

"The end of the world," Joyce said from Giles’s side.

"Joyce!" Giles whispered. She glared at him and held out her hand. Buffy rose from the ground and reached for her mom. She smiled at Giles and looked around.

"Mya’s not strong enough to win." Buffy took a step toward Giles and whispered in his ear, "But she’s heartless enough to kill." Giles looked at her only to see her move in front of a vortex that hadn’t been there earlier. Buffy stood mesmerized in front of it and then slowly turned around as Mya shoved her hard into the vortex. Buffy’s surprised face looked up at Giles, then her body fell into nothing.

"Buffy!" Giles cried out and moved towards where Buffy was standing; everything disappeared. He looked around to find the group of people who had surrounded him just seconds earlier were gone, their voices slowly fading. He saw another vortex grow in front of him and turned to run when he felt hands grab his shoulders tightly.

"No!" he cried out and opened his eyes. Wildly, Giles looked around from his position on Angel’s couch and struggled to slow his breathing. Slowly, everything returned to him. Joyce was dead and he had blamed Buffy for it, there was a prophecy that might destroy the world, he couldn’t stay at home so he had gone to Angel’s for the night, nobody could get a hold of Whistler, Spike, Drusilla, or Buffy. Nobody had seen them for three days. And nobody could find them, not even in a town like Sunnydale. Angel took his hands off of Giles’s shoulders as he seemed to regain his sense of reality.

"Are you okay Giles?" Angel asked quietly. Giles looked up into Angel’s eyes then looked around. "You were screaming in your sleep. Scared me half to death."

"My fault," Giles mumbled, running his finger through his dampened hair.

"Huh?" Angel asked.

"We have to find Buffy," Giles said urgently. "We have to do it now. Before she does something drastic that could damn the world."

*****

Buffy knew she was supposed to do something. Something important. But all she could do was stare into the vortex at the mansion. It was almost exactly what she remembered, only this time there wasn’t a huge stone demon behind it…She heard a noise behind her and turned around; she saw that all of her friends were surrounding her. She saw a figure flicker in and out of focus and frowned.

"Mom?" she asked quietly. The figure exploded into a brief surge of bright light then dissipated into nothing.

"She’s dead," Giles snarled. "You killed her like you killed him." She looked up at him only to look up at Angel.

"I love you," he whispered. Unable to stop herself, Buffy told him to close his eyes. When he did, she pulled back her sword that appeared out of nowhere and plunged it into his chest. Angel’s eyes wrenched open with unmistakable betrayal and hurt; he reached out to her. "Buffy." Then, as the tears poured down her cheeks, he laughed. Buffy as watched the mansion melted into the cemetery then she realized she wasn’t holding a sword anymore, but she was holding Mr. Pointy.

"Wha-?" she started.

"You don’t get it, do you?" Buffy looked up into Angel’s face. "This isn’t about you." Closing her eyes, Buffy waited to the next part to come. Instead, Angel walked over to her and gently touched her arm. "This isn’t about *you*," he said softly. "It’s about *her*." He pointed and Buffy turned around, only to be transported into the library surrounded by her friends again. She stood there, frozen as Mya came up and gave her a hard shove. Buffy, shutting her eyes, flew back and into the vortex. She fell and fell until she hit something hard and the place illuminated with light. She opened her eyes.

She had fallen out of bed.

Dru rushed over to the side that Buffy had fallen to after Spike flicked on the lights. He walked over, taking note that it was still dark out.

"Buffy, are you okay?" Drusilla asked the stunned Slayer quietly. Slowly, Dru reached out to touch Buffy’s arm, only to make her jump, startled.

"Mya," Buffy gasped out then blinked. "What the-?"

"I was thinking the same thing, pet," Spike muttered. Buffy jumped to her feet and pulled on a robe over her boxers and tank-top. Then she went over to a door that attached to her room and pounded none too softly on it.

"WHISTLER! WAKE-UP!" she yelled. She heard a small ruffling of some blankets then a click as the lamp on the other side of the wall flicked on.

"Buffy? Go back to bed," Whistler called out quietly.

"DO NOT MAKE ME BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR!" Buffy screamed.

"Okay, okay, I’m coming." Whistler padded to the door and unlocked it. "What is it Buffy?" he asked the nerve-rattled Slayer.

"I had a dream." she started. Whistler, knowing that it was a good idea to trust Buffy’s dreams, listened intently as she described it to him. "And then I woke up on the floor," she concluded. Drusilla, who had turned a few shades paler went over to Buffy’s side.

"Do you think it was prophetic?" she asked. Buffy looked at her, frowning.

"I don’t know. I know something bad’s going to happen, but…I don’t know. It could’ve been bad Mexican that we had for dinner or it could be a real warning." Buffy looked over at the quiet demon. "Whistler, what do you think?"

"I think it was real. But why would Mya do that to you? We don’t have any proof." Buffy frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair. "That and we only have a few more days left ‘till we go into battle."

"Yeah," Buffy repeated. "Only a few days left. We should probably find Giles and them, get ready.

Chapter Five:

Buffy slowly wandered towards the library. She had fallen asleep later the night before, after her dream. But she was only able to do that when she made herself a little place on the floor in Spike and Dru’s room. She shuddered inside when she thought about the fact she didn’t have a mom to do those things anymore. She knew from the obituary that her mom’s funeral service had been the day after she had found the body lying on the kitchen floor. Buffy was still in so much shock that she didn’t even bother going. Whistler had told her how her mother died, besides the obvious broken neck. Apparently, the mayor was some evil guy and hired some people to break in and invite some vampires. *I wonder if I’ve already killed who did it…or if I can still have that pleasure,* she thought before stepping into the library. They needed to make a plan, then, as soon as the demon was killed, Buffy planned to get as far from Sunnydale as she could. Giles blamed her, and she still hadn’t dealt with everything yet. Not that she wanted to; it was pretty obvious that Mya and Angel had a thing going on. Buffy felt her stomach twist and she pushed away the nauseating feeling that erupted in her body.

"Did she say when she’d get here?" Buffy heard a voice ask as she stood outside of the doors. She peered in and saw less people than she thought. Spike and Dru were there, only to keep Buffy’s emotions protected and in control, Whistler was there to help research and the only others were Giles and Angel. Buffy sighed gratefully and pushed open the door.

"Speak of the devil," Spike muttered.

"Very funny," Buffy said with a raised eyebrow. She shook her hair, to make sure all of the vampire dust came out of her hair, then crossed the library to Whistler’s side. "So, where do we start?" she asked.

"By, surprisingly enough, research," Giles said. Buffy nodded and set down her slaying bag.

"Joy," she muttered and sat down. "What do I do?"

"Well, the only books I have concerning this that are in English, the others have already gotten to, so, I’m not sure." Giles said slowly. Buffy shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and looked at the doors.

"I could do another sweep down by the Bronze," she suggested.

"No, Buff, not with the way you’ve been sleeping," Drusilla told her. "We need you in peak condition." Buffy’s shoulders sagged at her only escape route and she sighed.

"Then what should I do?" she asked again.

"How about you tell us what you’ve been doing for the past year and a half," Giles suggested, his tone slightly cold and harsh. Swallowing hard, Buffy nodded.

"Okay. Well, it was about eight months ago…"

*****

Buffy sat in her room, staring off into space when she heard a knock at the door. She didn’t move. The person at the door continued to knock until she heard a small scratching at the doorknob. She didn’t care. She was almost 18 and the terrors of last year came back to her mind in full force. Tears started to stream down her face and she curled up into a tiny ball.

"Slayer?" a semi-familiar voice called out. "Slayer?"

"She’s not ‘ere," another voice said. "Can we go now, ducks?"

"No," the third said sharply. "We have to find her. You guys can come in." Spike and Dru stepped through the thresh-hold. Whistler walked in and looked around. "There she is."

"Hey Slayer," Spike said. Buffy didn’t move. "Hey luv, is she dead?"

"No Spike," Drusilla answered. "She’s not dead." Concerned, Drusilla walked over to the edge of Buffy’s bed. "Buffy…er, Slayer, whatever…are you okay?" Buffy didn’t do anything but lay there and cry.

"She’s not answering, ducks, let’s go," Spike whined. "Before the Slayer there gets in a stake-happy mood."

"Okay. Slayer, if you need anything, we’ll leave a number," Drusilla said. After getting no response, Dru tore a piece of paper from a note-pad near the phone and wrote down a number. "Bye Slayer." The three walked to the door.

"Buffy," Buffy called out quietly.

"What?" Spike asked.

"Don’t call me ‘Slayer’. My name is Buffy," she repeated. "And no, I’m not okay."

*****

Angel looked up from his book he was skimming while Buffy stopped for a second and opened a can of Mountain Dew that had been in her bag.

"I know, not my most proud moments," she said, half-laughing.

"So, what did you do next?" Angel asked. He had to admit that he was getting sucked into Buffy’s story more than he could be; he had research to do.

"It was so long ago," Buffy said. "I don’t really remember. I just talked with Dru and got over some stuff."

"Oh," Angel replied. His eyes met hers for a second and then she looked away. "So, what happened after that?"

"We went around the world and killed stuff, Peaches," Spike muttered. "Bloody Slayer said that already. Or maybe your old age is finally getting to you."

"Sit N’ Spin, if you don’t shut up I will…" Buffy started.

"Sorry Slayer. I’ll be good," he muttered. Whistler raised an eyebrow and continued to read his book.

"Hey watcher," he said. "I think I found something." Giles walked over to Whistler and skimmed through the page he indicated.

"Oh dear," Giles whispered. "Oh dear, oh dear."

"Translation?" Spike asked.

"Something bad’s written on that page, and it probably means I’m going to die," Buffy muttered. "So Whistler, give me a weapon and point me in the direction of where the baddie is."

"Don’t you care if you die?" Angel asked incredulously. Buffy looked at him sadly and shrugged.

"It’s not like I have anything to live for," she whispered. The others were quiet for a few moments and Buffy polished off her pop.

"Buffy, we’ll need to know some things about Trick. Do you think you could go and persuade Willy?" Whistler asked.

"Send Spike," Buffy said. "I’m tired."

"Spike’ll probably kill him," Whistler pointed out. Buffy sighed and then nodded.

"Okay, fine. I’ll do that then I’ll take a quick sweep by the park." Whistler nodded and he and Giles began to discuss the book.

"I’ll go with you," Angel said. "We need to talk."

"Dun, dun, duuunnnn," Spike muttered. Drusilla smacked him on the arm and he looked up at her innocently.

"What?"

"You know damn well, ‘what’," she hissed.

"A little less racket from the peanut gallery," Buffy muttered then looked at Angel. "Okay, then I guess I could walk you home or something." Angel nodded and they gathered their things. "Don’t wait up Dru, I don’t know when I’ll be done patrolling."

"Kay," Dru replied and smiled at her. "Have fun." Buffy raised her eyebrow and pulled on her leather jacket. She headed out of the library with Angel at her heels.

*****

Willy finished putting away the bottles of alcohol and blood that he kept in his bar. The door opened and a little bell rang up the stairs.

"We’re closed," he called up. Nothing. Curiously, he pulled out a cross and walked towards the stairs. A figure came out of the darkness and Willy swung the cross wildly.

"Will you watch it with that thing?" Angel asked annoyed.

"Angel, buddy. Didn’t realize it was you. gosh, you’ve gotten more quiet in your recent humanisms. What can I do you for?" Willy walked back to the counter and set down his cross.

"Human? What the hell is he talking about?" a female voice demanded. Angel looked back over his shoulder and frowned.

"You didn’t know?" he asked.

"Know what?" Buffy asked as she descended down the stairs.

"I’m human," Angel said quietly. Buffy stopped and a look of pure shock raced over her pretty features.

"Okay, we really do need to talk," she muttered then looked at Willy. "Hiya Willy. How’s business?"

"Slayer? When did, I mean, uh, hi." Willy scratched his head. "So you’re why they’ve practically ran into hiding."

"Who?" Angel asked.

"The vamps."

"Sorry ‘bout that Willy. Don’t worry though, I’ll be gone in a few days, one way or another." Buffy replied. "We want to know about a vamp named Trick."

"Trick? I don’t know him," Willy replied nervously.

"You lie to me, Willy, and I’ll personally see that Spike and Drusilla come here and rip you to shreds. I’d do it myself, but I really don’t want to get blood on my jacket."

"He’s…" Willy’s shoulders hung defeatedly and he sighed. "He’s in the old mansion that Angel set up shop in a while back. They’re preparing for some new prophecy. It seems the hell mouth’s going to open, and nobody’s here to stop it. Well, that was then." Buffy cocked her head then nodded, satisfied.

"Thanks Willy, knew I could count on you," she said then turned to leave.

"Hey Slayer," Willy called up to her. She stopped and looked at him. "Good luck." She nodded and then left. Angel looked oddly at Willy then headed up after Buffy. "Slayers," Willy muttered. "Always bad for business."

*****

Buffy! Wait up!" Angel called out to Buffy. She slowed to a stop then turned to look at Angel. "Thanks," he muttered and fell into step next to her.

"So, human," she started.

"Yeah. It’s a lot to take in. I know." Buffy stared down at the ground and then glanced sideways at Angel.

"So, no curse or anything," she prodded.

"Nope. None. Just me and a human body that’s still as strong as it was as a vampire." *And still as gorgeous,* Buffy thought.

"Angel? Do you…never mind." Buffy picked up her pace a little and Angel did the same.

"What?"

"Its…do you know exactly how beautiful you are?" she asked, blushing. Angel stopped in his tracks and blinked, as if he didn’t hear right.

"Beautiful?" Buffy stopped a few feet in front of him and turned to face him, always avoiding his eyes. "To be honest, I didn’t think that’s what you would’ve called me when…if you ever came back."

"What did you think I’d call you?" Buffy asked cautiously.

"A monster," Angel replied quietly. Buffy looked up into his eyes and fought back tears.

"No. Don’t even think that. It’s not true, and I never thought it," she told him sharply.

"But all the things I – "

"Demon. The DEMON!" Buffy insisted.

"You don’t believe that," Angel said bitterly.

"I have this conversation almost daily with Spike and Drusilla and I always win. If I thought you were a monster, I would’ve staked you long ago." Angel looked down at Buffy. "Besides, if it weren’t for me, he never would’ve been re-introduced to the world."

"It wasn’t your fault," Angel said forcefully.

"I made you loose your soul."

"You made me happy."

"I killed you and sent you to hell."

"You saved the world."

"I destroyed everything you worked for."

"You made me human." Buffy opened her mouth to reply then looked up at him, confusion showing in her eyes.

"Huh?" she asked. Angel stepped forward and pressed her hand against his chest, right over his heart. She could feel it thumping loudly inside Angel’s chest.

"If you hadn’t saved the world by sending me to hell, Willow and Giles never would’ve gotten me out and I never would’ve become human." Buffy pulled away her hand and resisted the urge to run into his arms. "I love – "

"Mya," Buffy finished. "I’ve seen how you look at her."

"No!" Angel said. "No. I don’t love her. All it was, was a dumb little crush. I was fascinated with her, and I felt sorry for her. She didn’t have any friends. So I became her friend."

"So…who do you love?" Buffy asked hesitantly. Angel put his fingers under Buffy’s chin and lifted her face so he could look into her eyes.

"Do you really need to ask me that?" he asked. Buffy pulled away and turned to walk down the street.

"I’ve had a lot of bad experiences Angel, and somehow, the words ‘scarred for life’ come to mind." Angel walked up behind her and bent down to whisper in her ear.

"You Buffy. I’ve never stopped." After getting no reply, Angel took in a deep breath and continued down the street to his house to brood. Quietly, Buffy followed in step behind him. When they reached the front door, Angel pulled out his keys and unlocked it. "Good-night, Buffy."

"Angel, wait a sec," Buffy said. He turned and looked into her eyes. "I’ve been thinking about what you said to me. I blamed myself for a lot of things that happened to you, I still do. But nothing’s going to change the past. And I know, now more than ever, that I’ll love you to the end." Angel stood quietly for a moment then stopped fighting the urge to pull Buffy into his arms. Their lips met in an electrifyingly soft kiss that slowly grew stronger and more passionate.

"I’ve missed you so much," Angel murmured when it was over.

"I’ve missed you too, Angel," Buffy whispered. Silently, she took his hand and the two walked into Angel’s house.

*****

Down the street, a dark figure pulled out into the shadows and glared at Angel’s house as the bedroom light lit and two figures melted onto the bed. Mya clenched her stake and bit down on the inside of her cheek so hard blood came pouring into her mouth.

"So Miss Summers, you’re trying to horde into *my* life? I don’t think so. You’ll pay for this, *Buffy*, you’ll pay," she hissed then blended back into the shadows.

Chapter Six:

BRRRRRRRIIINNGGG!!! BRRRRRRRIIINNGGG!!! Buffy sat up in bed and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. BRRRRRRRIII– The phone stopped ringing in the middle of it’s third ring and Buffy let out a long breath. Then her eyes opened wide and she looked around the unfamiliar room where she was lying unclothed on a bed. Slowly, the events of the night before came back to her and she smiled, realizing that was the best night’s sleep she had gotten in a long time. After a few moments, she crawled out of bed to go find Angel. She opened a draw in the dresser against the wall, then not finding what she was looking for, went to the next one. She smiled and pulled out a pair of black silk boxers and pulled them on. Then, Buffy pulled on the shirt that she had stripped off of Angel and pulled it on.

"Okay, bye," she heard Angel’s deep voice mutter as she stepped out into the hallway. He was sitting in the kitchen at the table drinking a glass of orange juice; the paper was set out on the table. *Okay, I have seen some really weird things, but this has to be the most bizarre of them all,* Buffy thought to herself.

"Good morning," she rang out cheerfully and smiled. Angel raised an eyebrow when he saw what she was wearing.

"Morning. I like the outfit." She smiled and walked over to him.

"Really? It’s sort of one of those things I just put together. It’s really comfy though," she said and gave Angel a quick peck on his forehead.

"That’s all I get?" he asked, semi-hurt. She frowned and stretched.

"Morning breath is a yucky thing," she said and then looked around. "Where’s your bathroom?" Angel smiled and pointed down the hall.

"The door across from the bedroom," he said and she sauntered off to it. *God, she is so beautiful, even first thing in the morning.* He heard the water running in his bathroom then Buffy walked back into the kitchen. *And, she looks great in direct sunlight.* "So, do I get a real kiss now?" Buffy chuckled and sat down on his lap.

"But of coarse," she whispered playfully then moved in to kiss him. Their lips met in a sizzling kiss and only parted from lack of air. "I really hate having to breathe," Buffy muttered. Angel chuckled and looked up at Buffy, amused.

"Dru called a while ago, said to call her when you got up." He paused, frowning. "You wouldn’t by any chance know how she knew you were over, would you?"

"She’s physic," Buffy said shrugging. "That was who just called?"

"No," Angel said. "Giles wants us to go to the library in an hour. Well, actually, he wanted me to go over and get you then go to the library. I think he’s avoiding you."

"Library, hour, got it," she said and turned around, still on Angel’s lap.

"Buff, we need to be there in an hour," Angel repeated.

"Your point being?"

"If you stay on my lap much longer, we’ll take a lot longer getting there than Giles would like." She glanced back at him and sighed. "As much as I want to stay here with you, research duty calls."

"Being a Slayerette sucks, doesn’t it?" she asked.

"Immensely," Angel replied. Reluctantly, Buffy slid off of Angel’s lap and let him get up to go shower.

"Guess that means separate showers, huh?" she asked coyly.

"Yup," Angel said. "And a lot of cold water for me," he muttered under his breath.

*****

Giles paced back and forth in the library. He had told Angel to be there in an hour, which was twenty minutes ago.

"Giles, sit down. You’re making the computer nervous," Willow muttered. She looked back at the computer screen where she was in a pagan chat room.

"Hey!" she suddenly burst out. "He called me a scrub!" She glared at her computer then looked up at Oz, puzzled.

"What’s a scrub?"

"Nothing that you should worry about," Oz soothed.

"Still, I’m going to curse him or something," she pouted then went back to work on looking for clues to defeat the demon. Buffy walked into the library, with Angel in tow.

"See, we aren’t that late," she muttered.

"Where on earth were you?" Giles demanded.

"Well, we had to take turns in the – " Buffy stopped in the middle of her sentence, and looked up at Angel with wide eyes. "My bathroom was acting all weird and so I had to get ready in Dru’s and when Angel got there, he had to use it and I wasn’t ready, so, I didn’t get long enough to get ready." Giles blinked at the sudden rush of words that

escaped the Slayer’s mouth and he cocked his head.

"You had to be there," Angel said in a half-embarrassed whisper. "So, what’s so important that it couldn’t wait until I was supposed to get here in three hours?"

"It’s happening tonight," Giles blurted out. Xander and Cordelia stopped their conversation, Willow stopped typing, Oz and Mya looked up, and Whistler emerged from the cage. The entire library was swept under a silence and Giles continued. "The demon…I don’t know quite how to describe it. Willow, do you remember that demon that emerged from the Hellmouth when Buffy killed the Master?"

"The one that almost ate me?" Willow asked.

"Yes. Well, it’s like that, only one big head, not many small ones. You’ll need to pierce a certain spot on it’s skull, Buffy. There really won’t be anything for the rest of us to do."

"Unless Trick and his boys attack," Buffy said. Giles nodded.

"Yes. If we attack them now, during the day, we may stand a chance. Then tonight, when it rises, Willow, Whistler, Drusilla, and I can perform several binding spells." Buffy nodded.

"Do they have to be done inside the library?" she asked. Giles shook his head.

"No, why?"

"I don’t want any of you in here. If it kills me, then it does, but not until after I kill the SOB. I don’t want the rest of you in here, its too dangerous."

"I’m staying," Mya piped up. "It’s my duty too, Buffy. Sharing is a good thing sometimes."

"Okay, fine, you can stay. Your death won’t be on my conscious though. But the rest of you, no," Buffy said firmly.

"I’m not going to let you fight alone," Angel said. It was clear to the rest of them that some issues had been cleared up between the two.

"Yes you are," Buffy said evenly.

"No, I’m not," Angel replied.

"Angel, if I have to knock you out and tie you to a tree outside, I will. But you will not be in this library while I’m fighting."

"But –" Angel started.

"It’s pointless to argue with her," Whistler muttered. "Believe me, I’ve tried." Defeated, Angel turned slightly away from Buffy. Moving closer to him, she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I just don’t want anything to happen to you Angel. If I survive and you don’t…I don’t know what I would do with myself," she whispered.

"Alright," Angel said. "Just…don’t do anything stupid, okay Buffy?"

"You know me," she said half-smiling.

"I mean it. I just got you back." Buffy nodded and then looked at the others.

"It’s settled then. We go, kill Trick, then come back here and save the world."

Chapter Seven:

Buffy carefully walked up the driveway to the mansion. She hadn’t been there in so long, but the memories were still painful. *Why do vamps have to burn in the sun?* she asked herself. *I really, REALLY want Dru here.*

"So, what do you think?" Whistler asked. Buffy looked at him and blinked. He gave her a look and she smiled, remembering what she was asking.

"Well, since there’s a bigger group, we split up. A Slayer per team. Same with a watcher. I’ll take you, Willow, Oz, and Angel. Giles can take Mya, Cordy, and Xander." She glanced around to make sure this was alright with everyone. "Okay, good."

"Wait a sec, you mean I have to take orders from *you*?" Mya whined. Buffy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Didn’t we already cover this subject a few days ago?" Buffy asked irritated.

"I don’t care if we did, I’m not listening to you," Mya said stubbornly.

"Mya, please," Giles pleaded. "We don’t have the time…"

"I don’t care!" Mya erupted.

"You don’t want to take orders from me?" Buffy asked. Mya moved to lean against a nearby tree and shook her head. Buffy nodded and sighed, turning away from Mya. Mya smiled victoriously and Buffy took a step forward as if she was going to walk away. She instead spun around and grabbed Mya by the throat, pushing her against the tree. "Okay, we have a small problem. Usually, Dru helps keep my temper in order, or I end up doing something like this."

"Buffy," Angel started.

"No, Angel, it’s okay. I won’t do any permanent damage." Buffy told him then looked Mya in the eyes. "You don’t want to take orders from me. I’m sure as hell not going to take them from a stupid little twit like you, so…any suggestions?" Mya’s eyes bulged and she gasped for air. Buffy loosened her grip a little. "Well, do you?"

"No," Mya whispered.

"Okay then. I have one. You shut the hell up and cooperate. You go with your team, kill the baddies. I’ll go with mine and do the same. We don’t have to interact with one another, and I won’t kill you. There, that works." Buffy let go of Mya and took off towards the mansion.

"Bitch," Mya spat out quietly.

"I heard that," Buffy said. Mya shut her mouth and straightened with fear. Quietly, the others followed the very pissed off Buffy towards the mansion and towards battle.

*****

"Okay, everyone, split up. We’ve got our groups. Go in, kill all, we’ll meet up out here after their all dead," Buffy said. She handed her crossbow to Giles and then checked to make sure she had a supply of stakes.

"Okay. Good luck, Buffy," Xander said. "Even though, you won’t need it."

"Thanks Xand," Buffy said then looked at all of the others. "Guys, there’s just one more thing before we go in there." Everyone looked at her and gave her their full attention. "Don’t get dead."

"Don’t worry, Buffy, I’m sure we’ll be alright." Giles said quietly. Buffy nodded.

"I know, but still…" she said, her sentence trailing off. "Let’s go. We attack in two minutes." The large group split into smaller groups. Angel and Whistler stood behind Buffy, each a little off to the side with Willow and Oz in the middle. Mya took her group and went to the front door. The preset clock ticked on and Buffy slowly made her way to the mansion.

"The others are going in the front," Angel said. "We can go in through the garden in the back." Buffy nodded and continued. *Okay, be calm,* Buffy told herself. *Gotta get through this.* Angel sensed Buffy’s discomfort and quietly took her hand in his as they made their way around back. She looked up at him gratefully and then went into full Slayer mode.

"We’ve got a little less than a minute," Oz said as they reached the back garden. "Five… four… three…" Buffy stood by the door and prepared to kick it in. "Two…one…" As soon as she heard one, Buffy let fourth a determined kick and the wooden door crumbled beneath her feet. A vampire who was lounging by the door instantly caught fire and disintegrated into dust. Buffy smiled evilly as she heard the sound of the front door being busted open.

"Rise and shine, people," Buffy announced. "It’s play time." Whistler went off to her left, attacking the nearest vampire, and Angel did the same going off to her right. Willow and Oz went around Angel and started to hound on a vamp who was readying himself to attack Angel. Buffy flipped forward, staking a vampire and knocking another to the ground.

"Slayer!" he let out, shocked.

"Slayee," Buffy snickered and let loose several sharp jabs. He fell to the floor and Buffy knelt down, straddling him. "Where’s Trick?" she demanded.

"Upstairs," the vampire gasped out. Satisfied, Buffy jabbed him with her stake and then got up. She fell down immediately, covered by a vampire. With a quick glance, she saw that all of the others were busy.

*****

Mya took the vampire she was fighting and flung him against the wall. She knew that all of the others were occupied and so this was a good time to start her plan.

"See that blonde over there?" she asked the vampire. He nodded in response. "Well, you go over there with a few of your buddies, and I won’t kill you." Again, the vampire nodded and Mya released him. carefully avoiding the others, the vampire made his way into the back part of the front room, where Buffy and the others had enclosed most of the vampires. Mya smiled in satisfaction when he and two others attacked Buffy, along with the one she was already fighting. Then her smile faltered as Buffy easily swung out behind her, her stake catching in the chest of one of the vamps and then flung another off of her. Mya started towards Buffy and then started to run as the three left attacking Buffy pinned her to the ground.

*****

Buffy struggled against the three vampires holding her. A stake was jabbing into her side and she struggled to sit, but one of the vampires had her arm twisted painfully above her head. As one leaned down, Buffy saw a flash of brown. Mya raced over and staked a vamp holding her right arm. Now free, Buffy tossed another into the wall in front of her and staked another.

"Thanks," Buffy called out to Mya as they both took on their own vamp.

"Don’t mention it," Mya replied. They stake their vamps at the same time then looked around. The others looked a bit battered, but alive. Buffy did a quick count. There were about half a dozen unconscious vampires spread out across the room and a lot of dust spread throughout the floor.

"Well," Giles started. "I believe that went better than I had initially thought.

"It’s only cause most of them were fledglings," Buffy said distractedly. "Too young." She looked around then up the stairs. "Did anyone see or kill Trick?"

"Don’t know what he looks like," Oz said.

"Uh, semi-tall, black, vampire," Buffy said. She took a step up the stairs, frowning.

"Hey, Buffy?" Whistler called out. She looked down at him and he held up an envelope he had found on a table. The word Slayer was written in bold print across the front, then in smaller print after it was The Blonde One. Buffy descended the stairs and took the envelope. She opened it and after a quick scan of the letter, crumpled it up and turned.

"Let’s go," she muttered. She shook out the vampire dust from her hair and patted her clothes then left through the broken front door. Quietly, Willow knelt down and picked it up.

"What’s it say, Will?" Xander asked.

" ‘I win this time, Slayer’," she said. The others looked after Buffy, and only Angel and Whistler noticed that she was limping slightly and holding her side.

*****

Buffy walked into the hotel room that she shared with Dru and Spike. Drusilla was sitting awake on the couch, reading a magazine and the curtains were drew tightly around the windows.

"How’d it go?" Dru asked Buffy as the petite blonde stripped off her jacket.

"He got away again. He knew we were coming," Buffy muttered. Dru inhaled sharply when the scent of Buffy’s blood hit the air.

"What happened? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned. Buffy nodded and lowered the side of her pants slightly.

"I got pinned and my stake dug into my side. I’m fine, it just hurts like hell," Buffy muttered. She pulled out the first aide kit from under the sink and put a bandage on her side. "See, all better."

"And what happened to your ankle?" Dru asked.

"I’m not sure. It just hurts a little. I think that if I put an Ace bandage on it, it ought to help a little." Drusilla nodded and Buffy sighed. "I’m just here to grab some supplies. I’m going to head to the library to help set up."

"When should we be there?" Dru asked.

"Um, as soon as you can."

"Okay." Buffy sent a smile at Dru then turned and walked out of the door, careful not to let in any sunlight. Dru sighed and picked up the phone. She dialed a number and then held the receiver up to her ear.

"Hey, Whistler? Something’s going to happen to Buffy, and it’s not good. Yeah, I’m sure. I had a vision. Something about Mya. Do you think we can get a camera or something set up in there, so we know exactly what happens? I just don’t trust her. Okay. Good. See you then." She hung up the phone and the gut wrenching feeling of something bad going to happen twisted and turned mercilessly in her stomach.

"Oh Buffy," Drusilla whispered, her voice dripping with worry.

Chapter Eight:

Buffy paced in the library while Giles and Whistler poured over incantations in a book. Willow and Oz were carefully pouring white and blue sand around the library for protection and Cordelia was spreading some herbs. *God those things smell awful,* Buffy thought. *Is that how I’m going to kill this thing? Make it gag to death?*

"Giles!" Xander called as he and Mya burst into the library holding a few more books. "We found them!"

"And I got what I was sent for," Angel said quietly as he walked in carrying two swords that had been polished with holy water.

"Good, good. Angel, set those down on the table there and you can help us with the spells," Giles said. He looked at Buffy and frowned. "Are you alright Buffy?"

"Yeah, I’m just…you guys haven’t told me how to kill this big ugly baddy that’s going to show in less than an hour," Buffy said. "I’m nervous. How the hell am I supposed to kill something if I don’t know how?"

"Calm down Buffy, we’re working on it," Whistler said. "Have I ever let you down?"

"No," Buffy said slowly.

"Okay then, just, relax. You need your energy," Whistler said and began to page through another book. Buffy sighed and sat down at the table, fingering one of the swords Angel had placed on the table. Angel ran his fingers across her back for a moment then stood next to Giles, waiting to get a book. Buffy sat at the table, tapping her fingers on the wood, then stood up and walked over to the cage. She searched through a box then opened a drawer. Smiling, she pulled out a sharp dagger and held it up.

"Hey Giles?" she called out. The watcher looked up a the dagger-holding Slayer.

"Yes, Buffy?" he asked.

"Is this for anything in particular?"

"No Buffy. You may have it if you wish," Giles said. Buffy smiled and put the dagger between her skin and her boot.

"Thanks," Buffy said. She moved out of the cage and went over to her bag. She pulled out a hair clip and pulled her hair up around her neck, noticing it was almost a half hour after sundown. "Hey Dru," she said.

"How’d you know?" Drusilla asked.

"Slayer sense. Hey Sit N’ Spin," Buffy said. Spike narrowed his eyes then let out a long breath. He stepped further into the library and jumped slightly when Whistler let out a loud cry.

"Found it!" the little demon exclaimed.

"Sheesh Whistler, hyper much?" Buffy asked. Whistler rolled his eyes and held out the book for the others to see.

"This is it," he said. "The demon." Buffy took a step forward and looked at the picture in the book. The demon was long and snakelike, with six half-arm, half-tentacle like things sprouting out from it’s chest. It had about eight eyes and one giant stalk-like eye that was emitted from it’s forehead. The sketch showed a slight, shiny slime dripping down from it’s skin and onto the floor. A large round mouth was accented by many sharp little teeth. A smaller circular picture showed what it looked like from the top. An odd oval was drawn into it’s slick skin as if it were tattooed in, right behind the stalk-eye.

"EEEWW," Buffy muttered. "That is gross."

"Yeah," Whistler agreed. "That’s the place where you have to skewer it," he said indicating the small oval behind it’s eye.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Buffy asked.

"Well, that’s where our spells come in. Hopefully, they’ll confuse the demon and make it easier for one of you two climb up on it’s back and kill it," Giles said.

"How deep does the sword have to go in?" Mya asked.

"Not very, just enough to break the outside lines from the oval," Whistler said. Buffy nodded then glanced around the library.

"Okay, are you guys done setting up in here?" she asked.

"Yes, we’re starting in the hall now," Giles said. Buffy looked at her friends then sighed.

"Okay, well, you all go, and Mya and I’ll stay in here. When the demon gets here, whichever one of us is closest to the door will open it and tell you," Buffy said quietly. The room fell silent for a moment and Drusilla moved next to Buffy.

"Good luck, Buffy," Dru said quietly and threw her arms around Buffy. Giving her a soft hug, Dru held back her tears. Spike did the same and so did Whistler. After Buffy was done giving hugs to the others and they had given one to Mya, they left. Buffy grabbed onto Angel’s hand and pulled him towards Giles’s office where they could have a little privacy.

"Good luck, Buffy," Angel choked out. Buffy put her arms around him and pulled his body as close to hers as she could possibly manage.

"Hey, don’t do that," Buffy said as he started to cry into her shoulder. "I’m not gone yet. Remember? It takes more than this to get rid of me. I’ll be fine," she whispered to him. The sudden image of Buffy falling into an open grave put a smile on Angel’s lips and he lifted her chin up towards him.

"Don’t get dead Buffy. I just got you back." Before she could say anything, his lips pressed against hers and her fear was swept away. She knew she could and would kill the demon. The earth rumbled and shook, then as soon as they parted, stopped.

"That was interesting," Buffy said.

"BUFFY!" Mya screamed. "IT’S HERE!" Buffy’s eyes widened and she pulled Angel out of the office and into the library. She gasped in horror as the demon, much larger than she imagined, emerged from the floor. It was an unnatural shade of green and the yellow slime dripped off of it’s body, mixing with the sand on the floor.

"Go Angel!" Buffy yelled and shoved him towards the door. The demon saw Angel escape through the doors and let out a hideous wail/groan that caused the wall and door flicker, then melt into one solid wall. Buffy flung herself towards the demon, catching the sword that Mya had tossed to her. She ducked as one tentacle reached for her then swung up, cutting it off. Howling in pain, the demon reached three towards her then reached for Mya. It easily evaded their attacks and flung Mya back against the cage.

Buffy twisted up to swing at the demon, but it knocked the sword from her hands. Caught slightly off-guard, Buffy glanced at her fallen sword. The demon grabbed both of Buffy’s arms and legs, pinning her to the floor. As it lowered it’s mouth down to devour her, a crossbow bolt shrieked through the air and hit it right in the eyes. Buffy looked and saw Mya standing, holding the crossbow.

"Now Buffy!" Mya yelled. Buffy grabbed the sword she had dropped and jumped up onto the table. Using the demon’s distraction with the bolt, she flung herself up onto it’s head and brought the sword up to execute it. All of a sudden, a tentacle whipped through the air and again disarmed Buffy. She saw another near and remembered the dagger in her boot. She pulled it out, took quick aim, and thrust the dagger into the oval behind the demon’s stalk-eye. A high-pitched siren rang through the air and Buffy tumbled forward as the demon collapsed to the floor, dead. She stood up, covered in slime, and watched as two vortex’s opened at each end of the stairs.

Amazed, Buffy stood as one of the vortex’s sucked the dead demon’s carcass into hell. Carefully and momentarily forgetting about Mya, Buffy crossed the room to the other vortex. It was a perfect circle, five feet high and the same wide. She watched as the colors of orange and blue swirled around, noticing that this seemed very familiar. *My god, my dream,* Buffy thought in horror as she spun around. Mya looked at her with an evil grin then gave Buffy a hard shove into the vortex. Buffy flailed out her arms to catch the table but missed and fell into the deep beyond. Mya smiled as the vortex disappeared and the door returned to the library. Quickly, she dropped the smile and walked out into the hallway.

"Well?" Whistler asked. Mya looked sadly at the others and took in a deep breath.

"It’s dead," she said after a while.

"Where’s Buffy?" Spike and Angel asked at the same time.

"It killed her before she could kill it," Mya said slowly. Angel blinked and took in what Mya just said. Grief filled, he sunk down to the floor, leaning his head on his knees. The others stood silently, then Drusilla burst into tears. Spike pulled her into his arms and soon Xander and Oz were comforting Cordelia and Willow in the same way.

Epilogue:

Buffy fell through the vortex. Patches of color surrounded her. One moment, she was in pitch black and then next was surrounded by bright orange and green. She closed her eyes and then hit the ground in a painful thud. Taking in a deep breath, she lay still with her eyes still closed. She stayed like that for a moment until a familiar voice rang through the air.

"Okay, I know this is hell and all, but this, this is too mean," Angelus muttered. Buffy looked up at him in all of his leather panted glory.

"Oh, shit," Buffy hissed. "I’m so going to kill that bitch."

"Nice language, Slayer," Angelus commented. "And by the way, welcome to hell."

*****

Angel opened his eyes, startled. He looked around, confused, then remembered he was over at Giles’s. The events of the night before sunk back to him and his stomach twisted sickly knowing Buffy was dead. But instead of wishing for Buffy, he thought, *What a weird dream.*

The End

Send Feedback!

Return to Menu