[Reviews - 22]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 3304 times

- Text Size +




Chapter One: Bargaining…All over again

Buffy walked into her apartment. She’d gotten off work early and decided to skip patrolling and come home. Not like there was anything to patrol anyway. Rome was defiantly a drag in her slayer style. Of course she didn’t really need to go patrolling. There were plenty of other slayers that could do it now. But it was a force of habit. And it was hard to give up what your life was based on. Buffy kind of regretted ever doing the spell. Sure she wanted a normal life, but once she got it, found out soon enough, it was highly overrated. She tossed the mail on counter and looked around.
“Dawn?!” she called out.
No response.
She frowned and went into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door to see if there was anything to eat and noticed the slight smog in the kitchen. She took a whiff and realized something was burning. She started checking out the house, trying to pinpoint where the smell was coming from. It stopped at Dawns closed door and she knocked on it and jiggled the handle. It was locked.
“Dawn?” she called from outside the door.
Still no response.
She pushed hard on the door, trying to break it down.

Andrew came in the house then and heard the commotion. He ran to Dawns room and looked inside. The door was slightly dented from Buffys struggle to get it open. Buffy was inside, crouched beside Dawns green glow-y form. She looked up when Andrew came in.
“Help” she ordered him, fear sketched across her face.
He rushed to Dawns side and helped Buffy lift her up. They were about to drop her on her bed when a bright light engulfed them, blinding them temporarily by its brightness. And then everything was black.


Sunnydale… 2001
_____________________________________________________________

Dawn opened her eyes. She was a little dizzy and it took a while for the black splotches that patched her sight to clear. She was crouched near a hedge and someone was in front of her. She looked around and smiled. She was at her house, back at Sunnydale. She did it! She looked to the black clad form crouched in front of her and frowned. Spike was looking around with a goofy grin on his face.
“Spike what are you doing?” Dawn asked, the situation not really registering with her.
Spikes smile faded to a look of shame.
Dawn took one look at him and without thinking, lunged at him. Tackling him into a hug.
“Spike!” she yelped excitedly. He was alive, and in front of her.
Spike narrowed his eyes and gently pried her off of him.
“Yea?” he asked slowly.
Dawn grinned up at him “It’s really you”
Spike glared at her for a beat.
“Bit, you feelin ok?” he asked cautiously.
Dawn ignored Spike and looked around at the familiar setting. Demon bikers where raiding the town. Her town. Homes were being destroyed and then it hit her. She was reliving the day Buffy came back from the grave. Why did her power have to bring her to this time? And how the hell was she supposed to change it? “Shit” she cursed under her breath. She got up and ran toward the street.
Spike called after her frantically but she ignored him and picked up a metal pole. She heard the sound of a motor coming on fast and she ran to it. The biker smiled to himself heading right at her without slowing down.
Spike called again and got up to run after her.
The biker was within a foot of her when she pulled out the pole and knocked him straight in the jaw. Making him fly off the bike. She ran to it and picked it up.
Spike watched the scene with his jaw hanging on the floor. She smirked at him.
“Come on!” she called.
Spike shook his head to clear his thoughts and ran to her, picking up a football helmet on the way. He tossed it to her and got on. She got on behind him and rolled her eyes. She reluctantly put the football helmet on her head and he sped off down the street.
“We need to get to the woods” she yelled up to him over the noise of the engine.
Spike glanced over his shoulder at her and narrowed his eyes. She kept her face resolve and he nodded and turned the bike in the direction of the woods.

_____________________________________________________________

Andrews head was light. He opened his eyes slowly to find he was sitting at a table with cards in his hands. He frowned. He didn’t remember playing cards. The last thing he remembered was being in Dawns room when she was all glow-y and then being swallowed by a bright light.

“Stop falling asleep and go! It’s your turn” Warren said agitated breaking Andrew from his thoughts.

Andrew looked up abruptly. His first thought, was the first. The first had come back and he was playing cards with him. But that made no sense at all. Why would the First want to play cards with him? Then he looked over to meet the eyes of an expectant Jonathon. What the hell had happened? And why was he here? Had he died and met his friends in some weird type of heaven. He looked around to see if there were any hot angles, but all he saw was star wars posters and a grungy basement. The lair. His eyes widened in shock and he looked back across the table. He shook his head to remain cool and looked down at his cards.
“Oh, um, go fish” he said.

Warren threw his hand on the table with a groan.
“We’re not playing go fish moron”

Real cool. Andrew looked at him, hurt by his name calling. Yep, this was the same Warren. The Warren that had killed Katrina and the witches’ girlfriend. The same Warren that tried to kill Buffy, the Buffy that he liked to call his friend. But why was he here now? Hadn’t Warren died?

“What year is it?” Andrew asked suddenly aware of one possibility.

Jonathon looked at him like he’d grown another head
“It’s 2001 weirdo, what’s your damage anyway?”

Andrew blinked a couple of times letting this new information sink in.
“There’s been a disturbance in the force and I was sent back to make things right” he said to himself in a low voice.

Warren and Jonathon both shot him funny looks and he grinned at them sheepishly.

_____________________________________________________________

The first thing she noticed was that all her muscles ached. The second was that she was standing in the woods, facing her own grave. The grave that had gone down when Sunnydale had been swallowed up. Why the hell was she here? What had Dawn done? This was the last thing she needed. But she had to admit, being back in Sunnydale was pretty nice, she’d never admit it aloud, but she missed the place. It held a lot of memories. The one she was re-living however was not of the good. A sense of dashavu overwhelmed her and that’s when she realized it. She couldn’t be back in Sunnydale, so she must be…What? Back in time? But how? She needed to find Dawn. First to make sure she was alright, and then to kill her.
She started walking in no particular direction when she realized she couldn’t see very well. She kept walking, stumbling every now and then on some unknown root or rock on the ground. She finally made it to a street and she looked up, trying to pinpoint where she was. She was near an ally, that much she could tell, and there were tons of bright lights, even though it was dark outside. Crap, she was back when the demon bikers were raiding Sunnydale. That’s when she remembered her friends. If it was the time she thought it was then right about now her friends were being attacked by said demons. She started to run in the direction she remembered first seeing them. Her legs hurt like hell, but that didn’t stop her. If she didn’t do things exactly right, one of them could end up dead.
She made it to the ally and saw it. Her friends were fending off an ugly looking demon wearing leather, and its face was all connected in weird places. She walked up behind it and tapped it on the shoulder. The demon turned around abruptly and smirked at her.
“Another robot to add to the collection” he said happily.
Buffy rolled her eyes and punched him hard in the face; he was sent back a few paces but still remained standing. She put her hands on her hips and gave him one of her ‘rush me, it’ll be funny’ looks.
The demon did just that and she blocked it flipping it on its back. She hovered over it and smiled.
“Is that all you got?” she asked “I mean, the facial, I’d really ask for my money back”
The demon growled and kicked her hard and she flew back into a dumpster.
“C’mon slayer” he drawled “Pretty little machine like you should know how to fend off a demon like me, but now you’re lying on the ground, helpless”
She glared up at him, and then to her side. She picked up a metal pole that had been kicked out of Xanders hand earlier and shoved it in the demons gut. She stood up and looked at her handiwork.
“Helpless?” she scoffed dusting herself off.

“Buffy?” came Xanders timid voice.

Buffy looked up, noticing then there for the first time. It was so weird seeing Xander with two eyes.

Xander looks back to the group “She’s Buffy. She’s herself again” he looks back to Buffy “You’re back Buffy, you really are” Xander steps towards her his arms open as if to hug her.

Buffy smiled up at him and closes the distance between them. Crushing him into a hug. She looked over his shoulder at the smiling scoobies behind them. Willow is the next to join in the hug, while Tara and Anya smile at the scene. Buffy meets Tara’s eyes and tears threaten to fall from her own. She’d never thought she’d see Tara again. Sweet, gentle Tara. And Anya, they’d ended on ok terms. She wasn’t exactly friends with her, but she wanted to be. She waved her hands at them for them to join the hug and their smiles grew wider when they obliged. It seemed like forever went by while she was in the arms of her friends. She finally stepped back and they followed suit.
Willow looked down at Buffy’s bloodied hands and frowned. Buffy caught Willows stare and looked at them too.
“What happened?” Willow asked motioning at her hands.
Buffy’s eyes grew wide with apprehension.
This time things would be different.
They had to be.


A/N: Please R&R
XOXO
-Anne





You must login (register) to review.