Sunnydale airport was pretty quiet when Buffy and Wesley collected their bags and went to pick up the car that Dalton had hired in Wesley’s name.

“I can drop you at the hospital, while I get us checked in at the hotel, if you like.” Wesley said.

“Thanks.” Buffy said, gratefully. She was very nervous about seeing her mom.

‘It’ll be OK, kitten.’ Spike’s voice in her head was reassuring. ‘Dalton’s been keeping an eye on her and he’s pretty sure she’s remembering you nearly all the time.’

They’d spent the night, blissfully making love. Spike being gentle, after Buffy’s ordeal and Buffy trying to be quiet because of Wesley in the bedroom down the hall.

‘I hate being away from you, too. It can’t be helped, though. Your mum needs you.’

Buffy went into the hospital and gave her mom’s name at the main desk. Minutes later, she was tapping gently on the door to her mom’s room.

“Buffy?” Joyce said, a note of disbelief in her voice, when she realized just who had stepped into her room. “Are you real?”

“Oh, mom, I’ve missed you so much.” Buffy said, tears running down her face as she hugged her mother, horrified at how thin and pale she was.

“They said I didn’t have a daughter, that I never had any children. Even your father…” Joyce babbled through her tears.

“It was a spell. They made it so no one remembered me.”

“A spell? Oh Buffy, that sounds so crazy, are you sure I’m not imagining this? And who‘s ‘they‘, that can do that sort of thing, witches?”

“No, Mom, just power hungry, corrupt men. The watchers council.” Buffy added, when her mom looked questioningly at her. “They thought I died, after me and Spike saved you from Kralik.”

“That was real, too? It felt like I was remembering a nightmare. That was what convinced me to see the doctor, that and the headaches.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that.”

“It was so horrible, Buffy, I thought I was losing my mind. I kept remembering… terrible things, not just you… vampires; zombies roaming the house… but your room; I‘d stand in it for hours, looking for traces of you… it was just a spare room… and I kept wondering… if I’d been alone, after I divorced your father, why such a big house? Why three bedrooms just for me? Then one morning I found this, on the spare bed.” She reached under her pillow and produced a battered soft toy.

“Mister Gordo.” Buffy said, tears flowing freely again. “I thought he‘d vanished forever with the rest of my things.

“And the headaches, oh Buffy, it hurts so much but the worse they get, the more I remember.”

“It’ll be OK, mom, I’m here. I won’t leave you.”

“Are you a relative?” The voice came from the doorway.

Buffy looked up at the young man.

“Sort of, she’s my God-mother.” She said, going with what she’d told the receptionist, earlier.

“Oh, that explains it. I’m Ben, and Mrs Summers here has told me all about you. She said you were her daughter but no one could find any record of you. Her condition must have made her confused. It’s like that sometimes.”

“Is she going to be alright?”

“Her operation is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I promise you, she’ll have the best care. Now, I’m here to give her her painkillers and they will make her sleepy, so I suggest you say goodbye, just now and come back this evening.

“Stay with me ‘til I fall asleep, Buffy?”

* * * * *

Wesley was waiting outside, in the car, when Buffy finally left her mother for the night. She’d had spent an hour or so having - lunch? - she wasn’t sure, with the jetlag, what the meal had been; plus, she still wasn’t feeling right, after her narrow escape from RatBastardWatcher. She couldn’t even think of him as Wesley’s dad.

Unable to keep away, Buffy had gone back to her mother’s room and watched her sleep until visiting hours were over.

“How is she?” Wesley asked, as Buffy got into the car.

“They have to operate - day after tomorrow. I’m so scared, what if something goes wrong?”

“I know it’s hard… but there’s nothing you can do; it’s up to the doctors.“ Wesley said, gently. “I paid a visit to Rupert Giles. One watcher to another.”

“He’s still here, then.” Buffy said, grateful for the change of subject.

“Yes, he’s Faith’s watcher now and, as far as he’s concerned, he never even knew the name of the slayer who came before Kendra.”

“He hasn’t missed me, then? No big bads, after I left?”

“According to the Watcher‘s Council ‘Hellmouth‘ file, the mayor of Sunnydale had some kind of pact with demons. Potentially bad.“

“We wondered about him, Spike and me; he kept vampire minions…”

“Doesn’t surprise me. It seems one of his human staff rebelled, gave a lot of incriminating paperwork to Kendra and her watcher. The mayor had sold his soul in return for eternal youth - but he had to be careful all the same; he wasn’t immortal; accidents, sickness… he could still die. He was working towards becoming invincible and then transforming into a pure demon. It seems that when he was young, he was something of a scholar in the black arts. He had worked out, that on a specific date in the future, there would be a chance for him to achieve his rather dubious dream. He wanted to live to see that day.”

“Hence stopping aging. How did Kendra spoil his plans?”

“She didn‘t. For all of that, he was still human and, as such, outside a slayer’s jurisdiction.”

“What happened?” Buffy could tell from the tone of his voice, that she wasn’t going to like it.

“Rupert killed him, before he achieved invincibility.”

“Giles?” Buffy was startled at the notion but then she thought of his betrayal of her on her eighteenth birthday.

“Council orders, straight from my father. He probably felt that if anything went wrong, Rupert was expendable. Turns out he did a good job, got away with it; helped, no doubt, by a cupboard full of very strange items in the mayoral office.”

“The cops turn a blind eye, in this town, to that kind of thing; probably thought he brought it on himself. Who’ll be running the council, now your father’s gone?”

“I really couldn’t say but I can guarantee that whoever it is will be just as bad.”

“How did the new girl - Faith?” Wesley nodded. “How did she end up here?”

“Kendra’s watcher went back home, after he got her killed. They couldn’t leave the Hellmouth unguarded, not with all the demon activity, so the council sent Faith here. She‘s been kept busy.”

“Tell me about it; the things I saw when I lived here...”

“You and your friends?”

“Yeah, did you find out what happened to them?”

“Yes. The internet is a wonderful thing, among others a stalker‘s paradise; Dalton‘s been using it, as well as more conventional ways of keeping track of your friends.”

“You got on OK with him?”

“Well, that’s two vampires I’ve met, that seem civilized. I’d never have believed it…” He shook his head, “Dalton used to be a watcher… when he was…”

“Alive?” Buffy said, brightly and Wesley nodded his agreement.

“Anyway,” He continued, “Willow went to Oxford and her werewolf friend went with her. Xander went to LA, after he graduated; his girlfriend went with him.”

“Cordelia? They stayed together, even though they couldn‘t remember me or…?” She trailed off, as she realized that Wesley was looking at her, oddly. “Sorry, that sounds… it’s just that Cordy said… more than once… that it was only all the slayer stuff that made her find Xander even a little bit cool. I did wonder, with no one remembering, if the two of them would wake up and think it was some kind of insanity.”

“Oh, your friend Xander found his standing amongst his peers much increased, after he foiled an attempt to poison them all.“

“Huh?“

“One of the school caterers had a mental breakdown and filled the main course with rat poison; Xander caught her and alerted everyone. The police estimated that, if not for his quick action, most of the school would have died.“

“Go Xander!“ Buffy said, impressed. “That would have really hiked up the annual school death toll. Not that it wasn’t always high, anyway…“

“Yes. Grim reading. There was a fatality that day, though; a young man shot himself, on school premises but, because of all the fuss with the poisoning, no one found him for a couple of days.“

“Oh.” Buffy said, quietly, “Anyone that I …?”

“A young man by the name of Jonathan Levinson. His father was a gun collector, not always legally; it seems he didn‘t keep his latest acquisition properly secured.”

“Jonathan… I don’t know the name…”

“No. judging from the newspaper accounts, hardly anyone did. He had no friends…”

“Bullied?”

“I don’t think so, more ignored. Even his parents… well, his father noticed the gun was missing before he noticed his son was, too. When he realized… his first thought was, coming so soon after Columbine, that his son was planning a similar event. He tried to get rid of his remaining guns, before he reported the boy missing.”

“Harsh.”

“The police found the guns, buried in his garden. It seems they investigate non-supernatural events in Sunnydale, quite thoroughly.”

“Gives them something that they can actually solve, I guess. Xander the hero…” Buffy said, changing the subject back to her friend. “Why L.A.?”

“It seems that Miss Chase wanted to become a film star and her father was going to finance her chosen career.”

“And Xander’s freeloading?”

“Not at all, he stepped in when Mr. Chase fell foul of the tax authorities. From what I can gather, the family lost everything and Xander is doing the best he can to help his girlfriend with her dream.”

“Wow. They really love each other. Who would have thought?”

“I think you’ll find that it’s no more strange than a slayer in love with a vampire.” Wesley said, pulling in to the hotel car park.

“What are the rooms like?” Buffy asked.

“Surprisingly pleasant; yours is across the hallway from mine. I’ve put your cases there but I’ve not unpacked for you.”

* * * * *

Buffy lay, naked, on ‘her’ side of the double bed, while, in England, Spike lay on ‘his’ side of their bed.

With their eyes closed, they could believe that they were on the same bed, together.

Buffy shivered as she felt Spike’s lips brush hers, as real as though they were in the same room. She visualized how it felt to run her fingers through his hair as his kiss deepened, his tongue teasing hers. His glorious naked body pressed against her, as he kissed his way to the sensitive spot on her throat, where he had once bitten her and forever marked her as his. Her body arched against him as he lovingly ran his tongue over her scar, making her gasp as micro-orgasms ran through her.

Breathing heavily over his scar, Buffy smiled as she felt him shudder with pleasure, his hardened length rubbing against her damp slit. Her legs parted, allowing him to gently push into her, her nerve endings throbbing with incredible sensation. Their bodies, so familiar with one another, so right, climaxing almost immediately in mind-blowing orgasms that seemed to go on forever.

On different continents, Spike and Buffy drifted off into sleep, content to be together.

* * * * *

“…and I’m telling you that I don’t have a daughter and I certainly don’t have a God-daughter.” Joyce Summers was feeling much better, after her medication had been administered and had completely forgotten Buffy’s existence, again.

“But, Mom, yesterday…” Buffy was crying and Ben was trying to defuse the situation.

“Stop calling me that, please, just stop…” Joyce dissolved into tears.

“I think we’d better leave her for a while.” Ben said, gently.

“Why doesn’t she remember me, anymore?” Buffy asked, once they were outside the room.

“That’s hard to say, she should be more lucid, after her meds. but she just seems to be worse.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I think it would be best to just leave her alone, until the doctor’s had a look. Of course, after they operate, she should leave the delusions behind.”

Ice trickled down Buffy’s spine as she realized the significance of what Ben was telling her. If her mom was ‘cured’, she wouldn’t remember Buffy any more; worse, if she wasn’t cured, she would die.

“I need to be alone, for a while, I’ll come back later to see how she is.” She told Ben, before going back to the hotel.

* * * * *

‘I’m so sorry, kitten…’ Spike said, gently, ‘I never thought that she’d forget you, again.’

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Wesley?” Buffy asked, seeing the look on the young watcher’s face, when she opened the door.

“I’ve just met with Faith, she had some interesting news.” He took in Buffy’s tearstained face. “What’s happened, is it your mother?”

“She’s forgotten me again and when they operate, she’ll forget me forever.”

“Oh, Buffy, I’m so sorry.” Despite his having nothing to blame himself for, Wesley still felt guilty at what his father had done to Buffy and her mum.

“Tell me about Faith. Take my mind off mom.”

“Well, she’s been dating a young man called Forrest and, it turns out he’s working undercover, pretending to attend UC Sunnydale, when really, he works for something called ‘The Demon Initiative’.”

“Something not of the good, I imagine.”

“That would depend on your point of view. It seems that these people - scientists backed by the military - have been capturing demons and experimenting on them.”

“What kind of experiments?”

“The kind they don’t recover from. These people seem to be particularly interested in demon biological weaponry; for example, if the demon can produce a defensive spear from its arm, then its arm is amputated.”

“Just to make them harmless, do you think?”

“I doubt it. If they wanted demons harmless, why not kill them? No, I think that they’re looking for a military application.”

“Demon soldiers? Nasty thought; they’d never be able to control them.”

“They’ve done experiments in that area, too. A behaviour modification chip that can be implanted in the subject’s brain, which causes great pain when the subject behaves in a way contrary to the Initiative’s wishes.”

“Any successes?”

“According to Dalton, a vampire escaped from the facility, who is unable to feed, due to intense pain, experienced if he tries to harm any living thing.”

“Interesting. Are you sure they’re not on our side?”

‘Kinder to stake them, kitten.’ Spike put in, shuddering at the thought.

“It’s not much of a stretch, to imagine that the military could program the chip to allow a vampire to only kill certain ethnic groups, for example.”

“Yeah, that‘d be bad. Where’s the facility?”

“In a vast underground cavern, beneath one of the frat houses.”

“Mmm, I might have been there. A while back, a bunch of frat boys were down in a cavern, worshipping a snake demon…”

‘Well, don’t go messing with the military, pet. Who knows what these scientists would make of a real live slayer.’

“Do you think Faith’s in any danger, from these people?” Buffy asked Wesley.

“Hopefully, not. She seems very capable, if a little wild.”

Buffy’s phone rang. Buffy jumped.

“I gave the hospital this number…” She said, worriedly, as she answered it.

CHAPTER TWO

Buffy stood in her mother’s empty hospital room and cried. Ben put a sympathetic arm around her shoulder.

“I don’t understand how this could have happened.” Buffy sobbed.

“We’ll find her, she’s too ill to have got far.” He said, then mentally kicked himself, as he felt Buffy wince. “Have you checked her house?”

“My friend’s doing that, now.” Buffy said, blotting her tears with the tissue that Ben had given her. Wesley had gone to check Buffy’s old home and had promised to wait there in case Joyce showed up.

“I’m sure the police will have her back here in no time.” Ben said, in a reassuring voice.

“The police?” Buffy asked, incredulously.

“Of course. Your God-mother’s tumour has obviously unbalanced her mind, she needs to be brought back here for her own good. They’ll be very gentle with her.”

“She’s done nothing wrong…”

“No, of course not but she needs that operation urgently…”

* * * * *

Wesley saw Buffy’s mother at the same moment that she saw the police car parked outside her house. He opened the door of his rented car.

“Mrs Summers? I’m a friend of Buffy’s, do you want to get in the car? The police are waiting at your house.”

“You promise you won’t take me back to the hospital?”

“Not if you don’t want to go. I’ll drive you away from the police and we can talk.”

Wesley followed Joyce’s directions and they parked in a quiet alley, near the gallery.

“You’re British but you’re not Buffy’s young man, are you?” Joyce said, hesitantly. “I can almost see him in my head, bleach blonde, bad boy…”

“Spike.” Wesley supplied.

“William.” Joyce said and Wesley nodded.

“That would be the name on his birth certificate.” He confirmed.

“You know them both, they’re still together?”

“Oh, yes and very much in love.”

“And do you know about…?”

“The vampires? Yes, I know all about them but…”

“You want to know why I left the hospital?”

“Yes.” Wesley said, nodding.

“You know about witches and spells and things?” Joyce sounded embarrassed to be asking.

“Yes.” Wesley said, blushing. “I’m sorry to say that my father was responsible for changing your memories - the memories of every human who had contact with Buffy.” He looked down at his lap, too ashamed to meet her eyes.

“Your father…? Are you really a friend of Buffy’s?” Joyce sounded panicky, now.

“Yes.” Wesley said, firmly. “She saved me and I hate what my father did to her, to you…” He was close to tears, remembering the events in the cellar.

“So, you’ll help me?”

“I can’t reverse the spell, only my father could have done that and he never would have. He’s dead now.” He added, surprised at how easily those words came.

“Buffy didn’t… did she?”

“No and neither did Spi…er William.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I like your sweater, handmade?” Joyce asked, unexpectedly.

“Not by me.” Wesley stammered, blushing.

“Sorry.” Joyce said. It hadn't crossed her mind that he had knitted it but he obviously had and was ashamed of his talent. She had hoped for a little social chit-chat while she mentally prepared herself for a difficult conversation. Oh well, she thought, here goes.. “You need to know why I’m not going back to the hospital and why I need you to help me…”

* * * * *

Buffy was sleeping. She'd spent the day wandering all over Sunnydale, looking for her mom; checking back at the hospital every couple of hours, until she'd finally fallen asleep in the chair in her mom's room.

Buffy was dreaming. There was a little girl in the dream, she was holding a small wooden box and singing a strange little song which made Buffy think of the song in 'Nightmare on Elm Street' - childish but menacing. The girl was standing in Buffy's mom's hospital room, staring at Buffy. Buffy opened her eyes with a silent intake of breath.

'You OK, Kitten?' Spike asked, in her head.

'Slayer dream.' Buffy replied. 'Just what I don't need, right now.'

'Let the other slayer handle it, your mum's more important.'

'I think me having the dream means I'll have to help. Besides, mom's somewhere in Sunnydale, if something's threatening the town it could threaten her.'

'Yeah. Been a while since Wesley checked in, you think he's asleep on the job?'

'I'll call him. He looked so guilty when I took him that double-meat burger and coffee last night. I'm sure he blames himself for what his father did.'

'Do you really think your mum will go back to the house?'

'Yeah.'

Buffy was speed dialing Wesley's phone, as she 'spoke' to Spike. She could hear it ringing and then the click that said he'd picked up and then... silence.

" ." Buffy tried to say Wesley's name but only silence came out of her mouth.

'What's wrong, pet?' Spike reacted to her feeling of shock.

'I can't talk. My voice is gone.'

'Find a doctor.'

' 'They need to take seven' Seven what? I feel so helpless, stuck at home while you're in danger.'

* * * * *

Wesley sat in the hired car, pointlessly watching the Summers' residence. Whatever happened, Buffy couldn't find out what he had done; she had to believe that her mum was still in Sunnydale. He idly wondered if Buffy or Spike would kill him for this and he found that he didn't much care. After Joyce had spoken to him, calmly and rationally laying out her reasons for not returning to the hospital, he had come up with a plan. He had found out just what he was really capable of. Bluffing Buffy when she'd brought him his burger and coffee had been the hardest part - much harder than doing the spell on Joyce - he had been sure Buffy would see his guilt but if she had, she'd misinterpreted it.

His phone rang. Buffy.

" ." Wesley had no voice.

He panicked. Was this a side effect of the spell he'd done? He decided that the best thing he could do would be to go back to the magic supplies shop that he and Joyce had visited yesterday. Maybe they could help.

* * * * *

'The newscaster on TV said it was an outbreak of laryngitis - as if - but it's official, the whole town's affected.' Buffy silently told Spike.

'So what now, wait for these 'gentlemen' to show up?'

'I guess; it's hard to worry about anything else, with my mom gone.'

'He's not met you, obviously.'

* * * * *

Buffy - using Spike's skills - carefully picked the lock on what used to be her own front door. Being bonded to a bad-boy vampire was so useful. The police that had been watching the place, had left hours ago; more important things to do than watch out for Buffy's mom. People were scared and some people became violent when they were scared...

Buffy's plan was simple; Wesley should stay at her mom's house, in case Joyce came back, now that the police were gone. He was to keep the curtains closed, so no one would know he was there and Buffy would continue to comb Sunnydale for her mom and also for these mysterious 'gentlemen'. Buffy wrote on her 'message board' - at least one enterprising soul was making money out of this - that she would return to the house at dawn, for a couple of hours sleep.

After Buffy had left, Wesley - true to his watcher training - went into research mode. Plugging in his laptop, he emailed Dalton and together they pooled their knowledge...

* * * * *

Tara was busy; she was sure that this was caused by magic - no way would a whole town lose its voice by natural means - she meant to find out what had happened and try to fix it. She was fairly certain that she couldn't fix it on her own, so she was doing a locator spell to find any other practitioners in Sunnydale. The so-called Wicca group had been a bust - the phrase 'empowering lemon sponge' was something she would laugh over for years to come - but the local magic shop did good business, so there must be other witches - real ones.

The spell she was using would light up her map of Sunnydale with different colours, these would indicate both the power of the spell-caster and whether they used their power for good or evil. Her results were interesting.

She was surprised at how few genuine witches were in the area - of course the shop sold a lot by mail order and the owner was always saying how much he made out of 'new-agers'. Of the genuine ones, the most powerful seemed to be the most evil - a large cluster in one location made her wonder if these were responsible for the town's current problem - she'd stay away from those. Finally, she spotted what she was looking for and wrote down the address...

* * * * *

Wesley - together with Dalton - had found out what was going on and he'd typed up a thorough report for Buffy. It had just finished printing out when there was a knock at the door. Wesley opened it, expecting Buffy and found instead a nervous looking girl. She held up her message board.

Wesley nodded and closed the door behind the girl.

* * * * *

Buffy tapped on the door of her mom's house, just before dawn and Wesley let her in.

'First I have to run away and hide, now I have to scream. I'm turning into the blonde girl in the horror movie.' Buffy 'said' to Spike.

'Which movie?'

'All of them.'

'Yeah, the monsters have it in for the blonde girl.' Buffy could 'hear' Spike's chuckle in his 'voice'.

Wesley tapped her arm.

* * * * *

Buffy stood in the shower, washing brain matter off herself.

'This is becoming a habit.' She told Spike.

'There's no more danger?'

'Not from the 'Gentlemen'. Why, what are you hiding?' She sensed he was holding something back.

'Your mum's here. In England, with me.'

* * * * *

"Talk to me, Wesley." Buffy said, trying not to get angry.

"It was what she wanted, she said it was the only way I could make amends for what my father did. She doesn't want the operation, she doesn't want to forget you."

"But... she'll die without treatment." Buffy's tears were flowing now.

"M-m-m-maybe not," Tara said. "Your mom's t-t-tumour was caused because of magic, working against nature. It should be c-c-curable with a healing spell."

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Buffy demanded, glaring at Wesley.

"I didn't know. I don't know that much about magic. The spell I did on your mother..."

"You did a spell on her?"

"It was only a glamour. The police were watching for her, so I made her look like me. She took my passport and my credit card and flew to England."

'S'true, pet. She knocked on the door looking like Wesley, took off an amulet and turned into your mum. Gave me quite a shock.'

"What do we need for this healing spell?" Buffy asked, looking at Wesley and Tara.

"I c-c-can do it from here, I th-th-think. I'll need help." She looked shyly at Wesley, who nodded. "And I'll n-n-need a connection to your mom, hair maybe?"

Buffy ran upstairs to her mom's room and brought back her hair brush.

* * * * *

'How much longer?' Buffy worried, inside her head.

'As long as it takes, pet. You can't rush these things. They're not working against nature, though, so there shouldn't be consequences.'

'RatBastardWatcher paid quite high, though.'

Buffy closed her eyes and opened her link with Spike all the way. Suddenly she was in their house in England, looking out of Spike's eyes and seeing her mom, suffused in a golden glow. There was a smile of pure bliss on her face and she looked healthier than Buffy could ever remember seeing her look.

CHAPTER THREE

“Guys, it worked.” Buffy said, excitedly, bursting into her mother’s sewing room where Wesley and Tara had performed the healing spell. “Oops.” She added, when she took in the scene before her.

Wesley and Tara were entwined in each other’s arms, on the floor in the centre of a protection circle. They had both been crying.

“It’s alright, Buffy,” Wesley said, extricating himself. “It’s not what it looks like; I’m really not Tara’s type.”

“No.” Tara agreed, with a shy laugh, “It’s just the healing spell was more powerful than we expected.”

“We find we have a lot in common.” Wesley said, “Family issues.”

“Oh.” Buffy said, realizing that they probably wouldn’t elaborate. “Mom’s better, you did a wonderful job. Thank you so much.”

“I’m glad to help.” Tara said, with a smile, “Magic, light or dark, always has consequences. Your mother’s mind must have fought very hard against the forgetting spell.”

“No more tumour, now?” Buffy asked, realizing that Tara sounded so much more confident than before.

“No more tumour.” Wesley confirmed. “For her, the forgetting spell never happened. You can go back to England and be with her.”

“What about you?” Buffy asked.

“To L.A., to begin with, to pick up my things from your mother’s friend. Afterwards, I don’t know.”

“Can I come to L.A. with you?” Tara asked, unexpectedly. “My f-family have told me this huge lie, my whole life and now… I don’t want to see them, not ‘til I‘ve had time to think. I’d be too easy for them to find, here in Sunnydale…”

“I would be happy to have you along.” Wesley said, with a very genuine smile.

* * * * *

EPILOGUE

The official story was terrorism, after days of media speculation; a large device intended for L.A., prematurely detonated. How else - everyone agreed - could a small unimportant town like Sunnydale end up as a desolate smoking crater with the total loss of the lives of its population?

Buffy knew better. The dreams had told her everything…

…She had been floating over Sunnydale, falling down and down and then she was fighting, a stake in one hand and a sword in the other; tendrils of her (Faith’s) dark hair whipping around in front of her eyes. She was below ground, in a brightly lit place full of prison cells, science, soldiers and demons. There was heat and blood and screaming and a pain in her (Faith’s) heart as she visualized what her Forrest had become - dead but walking; parts of him replaced with parts harvested from demons, his silky ebony skin dulled with death, his eyes... The inhuman-ness of what looked out of his still human eyes was far worse than what had been done to the rest of his body; even the replacement lower jaw and cranium... Her pain fuelled the fury that drove her fighting.

She knew what was supposed to have happened. Adam had had it all planned; maximum carnage, thanks to Faith The Vampire Slayer, no shortage of body parts for his army of abominations. She would not let that happen. Forrest didn’t know that she knew; his mumbling in his sleep about the failsafe, as his subconscious troubled him, had never been discussed. That meant that Adam didn’t know that she knew. That meant that she had a chance. She knew about the failsafe - she knew the codes - she didn’t know what would happen when the button was pushed - but she knew that it had to be done, no matter what…

White light.

Everything organic dissolved in the initial blast; the shock wave setting off a massive device in the exact centre of town. More shock waves. The ground rippling outwards, turbulence making softness from solid; buildings falling, people dying, Hell opening. The waves hit the edge of town in a vast circle and travel back. Nothing left alive. Nothing. No Thing.

* * * * *

Almost everyone Buffy cared about had left Sunnydale well before ‘The Event’ as the papers were calling it.

Wesley had called from L.A. to confirm that he, Tara and Dalton were all still as well as could be expected for a demon hunting knitwear designer and his friends. Wesley had fallen neatly into Joyce’s trap in L.A. - her friend had turned out to be a buyer for a fashion house who was willing to pay top money for quality knitwear.

Joyce herself called Buffy from London, where her small art gallery (with an apartment above, bought with money from the sales of her house and Spike’s properties in Sunnydale) would have a grand opening in a few weeks.

“Ben.” Joyce said, her tears evident in her voice.

“Ben from the hospital?” Buffy made a choking sound as she remembered. “He was so kind to me, when you went missing.”

“He was so patient, he’d listen to me while I tried to remember you and the life I should have had…”

“I feel so guilty,” Buffy said, “I was just so relieved that Willow, Xander and the others, weren‘t… I never even thought about all your friends, mom. The rest of Sunnydale.”

“So many good people… all gone…”

* * * * *

“You shouldn’t feel guilty, pet.” Spike said, later, when they were cuddled up in bed. “We both connected with Faith, in your Slayer dream; she did the only thing she could to save the world.”

“She didn’t know…”

“She knew that she would die, she knew that the base would go up and all the demon things would be ended. She didn’t know that all of Sunnydale was rigged to blow but she did know that if she didn’t act, that the whole world would be at risk.”

“What were the scientists thinking?” Buffy shuddered at the memory of the images she had seen in Faith’s head. Adam strutting around like Frankenstein’s monster but without the tragic sub-text; a human woman - obviously part of the science staff - dead but walking, hunched with the weight of a pumping machine on her back, chemicals in clear tubes circulating into her body in a semblance of blood.

“Never thought I’d say it but it was a good thing the military were involved. They made sure that the project could be terminated, quickly and cleanly, if it went wrong.”

“Cleanly.” Buffy echoed, remembering how it had felt for Faith, as her skin melted. Over in an instant but Buffy would never forget.

“They couldn’t risk the things getting out…”

“They’ve done this before?” Buffy asked, as she caught an image in Spike’s memory.

“Not this exact thing…” Spike squirmed as he realized what was coming.

“During the war… there was a submarine… Angel was there…”

“Yeah.”

“You were captured…” Buffy frowned as Spike tried to block the memory. “At a virgin blood party.” She started to laugh, then and Spike knew that she’d be alright.

“Really ugly virgins.” They both said, together and held each other as they both dissolved into fits of giggles.

THE END