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Chapter 1


Okay this is the set up chappie I have set this part at the the end of "The Gift" and from there on it goes AU. We do have a surprising guest/guide turn up here ::grin::

Many thanks for my amazing beta megan_peta


Dawn, listen to me – listen, I love you. I will always love you.
But this is the work I have to do.
Tel Giles…tell Giles I figured it out. And I am okay.
And give my love to my friends.
You have to take of each other.
You have to be strong.
Be brave.
Live.
For me…


*********

As she ran down the narrow metal platform, the blonde Slayer was at peace.

She was done, her time in the dark was over, and there was a sense of finality as she raced to save the world one more time. Her final legacy to her friends and family…her final sacrifice.

Another day would dawn as a result of her bravery and death. This would be her gift to the world and her friends.

She felt a wave of peace and contentment fill her entire body and a small smile curved at the corners of her mouth. No more fighting the creatures that go bump in the night- it was finally over; let someone else take up the torch.

Let them fight the good fight. It was her time.

No more creeping into her darkened home, aching and bleeding. No more curling up on the bathroom floor, her face pressed against the white tile and trying to not scream from the pain of her injuries- or from the pain in her heart from the loss of her Mom.

In death there is release.

Her pounding feet rattled the rickety metal platform as she ran towards the shimmering blue/purple portal that was sending bolts of lightening and releasing demons into the ether. The small smile decorating her lips widened as she approached the edge...it was over...no more...she was free.

She reached the edge and leapt over without a look back.

It was time - she was ready to die. To hand over the mantle of Slaying to another.

For a second she thought she heard her sister's voice, weeping and calling out for her, but then her ears where filled with the wind and she fell. Before she closed her eyes, the small blonde tried to catch one last glimpse of her friends, who had stood beside her and fought with her in her most desperate of hours.

They were like a series of snapshots. A montage of images that filled her heart and mind with hope and joy and sadness.

She could see Xander pulling Anya into his arms. She was injured but talking to him.

She fell.

Tara and Willow huddled together, whispering and kissing. Reunited finally.

She fell.

Giles kneeling over Ben and snuffing out his life with a firm hand over his mouth. Her final childish illusions of her Watcher were stripped away.

She fell.

And then him. The enigma wrapped inside a riddle and squirreled away inside a conundrum.

Spike.

William the Bloody.

Her Mortal enemy.

Her reluctant ally...a would be suitor...a vampire who loved.

'By how and why?' These were Buffy's last thoughts as her body was trapped in the portal, like a fly in Amber. Her blonde hair streamed around her like a pennant caught in a breeze. There was pain as the energy from Glory's portal raced through her body, Buffy threw her head back and felt her heart slowing, a sense of lethargy filled her limbs and it became harder and harder to breath. It was agony.

A beatific smile crossed her face and her head dropped forward. It was over, she was free and as her eyes fluttered closed for the final time she saw a shock of white blond hair and Spike's slumped form.



Buffy Anne Summers
1981-2001
Beloved Sister
Devoted Friend
She saved the world a lot…



********


Buffy opened her eyes and stared up at the clear blue sky above her and frowned.

Where the hell am I? She pushed herself up on her elbows with a groan and looked around curiously. "Well this sure ain't Sunnydale," she muttered as her hazel eyes took in the pastoral scene that surrounded her.

"No it's not, it's Valhalla." A voice echoed from behind her.

"Vallwhosists?" Buffy sat up and turned to face a tall dark skinned woman who walked towards her with a loose limb grace and confidence that Buffy recognised. "You're a Slayer!"

The leather-clad woman nodded with a gentle smile. "Was a Slayer, now I'm kinda retired...bit like you," The smiling woman reached down and helped Buffy stand.

"Uh honey, not retired. I'm dead – well, I think I am." Buffy stared around at the meadow and cocked her head. In the distance she could hear voices, male and female.

"Yeah, you're dead. So am I, it comes to us all. Oh, by the way, my name’s Nikki."

"Buffy Summers." She reached out and shook the older woman's hand. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Sure, that's why I'm here, kinda to keep you company for now until everything is in place. Come on, lets go sit over there and I'll fill you in." Nikki pointed to a small lake in the distance and then began to walk away. Buffy followed her; all the while her eyes scanned her new environment. Then she realised that she was not in any pain anymore. Buffy glanced down at her hands and saw that all the cuts and bruises from beating on Glory and her stinky minions were gone. Her skin was pristine as were her clothes.

Buffy tripped over a small rock and stumbled, 'I'm dead and suddenly I'm nature girl?' Buffy pouted. She’d had no ideas or preconceived notions as to what was in store for her in the afterlife, let alone even if there was one, and now here she was in a field!

"Sit down." Nikki dropped gracefully and crossed her legs. Buffy hesitantly joined her, mimicking her position.

"So now what?" Buffy tried to keep the whine out of her voice and nearly succeeded.

Nikki smiled faintly at the childish antics of her fellow Slayer. "You rest, this is your reward for fighting so hard and saving the world a good few times." Nikki waved her arm at their surroundings.

"Okaaaaay." Buffy huffed slightly. "Umm, hate to be ungrateful but this really wasn't where I thought I'd end up. Do you even have a Mall?" She asked with an impish grin and affecting the harshest Valley girl accent she could manage.

Nikki roared with laughter and shook her head, "This is warrior heaven; somewhere the Powers send all their fallen Champions. It's their gift to us for all our suffering and hard work on Earth. It's warm and safe and you will be finally at peace, and happy. Where we are now is a sorta waiting room." Nikki reached over and ran her fingers over the water to her right and watched the ripples. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

"Okay, so now what?" Buffy leant forward and watched Nikki closely.

"We wait." Nikki shrugged.

"So, can I ask you some questions while we wait?" Buffy asked curiously. She had known two other Slayers but this one was older and there was a vibe coming off her that was intriguing her. Also her coat looked wickedly familiar.

"Sure, what do you want to know, honey?"

"When where you a Slayer?" Buffy asked.

"Nineteen seventies, can't you tell from the hair?" Nikki replied easily.

'Urk, 70's that was when Spike.' Buffy shook her head, trying to forget the image of Spike's broken body and his last words to her in the house before they set off.

*I know you'll never love me. I know that I'm a monster. But you treat me like a man. And that's...*

"Hey, you okay?" Nikki caught hold of Buffy's hand and gave it a tug, pulling her attention back to the present.

Buffy blinked. There was something unfinished in her relating to Spike, and it was starting to bug her. "Sorry, yeah. I'm fine…Nineteen Seventies you said? Umm, did you meet…"

Before Buffy could ask, Nikki interrupted her. "Spike? Sure I did, we fought and, well here I am."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh…and before you ask, no he didn't drain me. Just snapped my neck." Nikki recounted her death dispassionately, as if she were giving a weather forecast.

"Only regret I had was leaving someone behind. But when Spike and I fought I was ready...it was time." She smiled sadly, a haunted expression in her eyes. A look, that if Buffy had been looking up, she would have recognised it as the same that had been in her eyes for the last few days of her life.

Buffy's eyes shot up and she stared at Nikki - her final words had echoed her thoughts as she ran down the platform to her death. She opened her mouth to say something, but Nikki spoke.

"It's time! Buffy Anne Summers, it was a pleasure to meet you!" With that she shimmered out and then Buffy felt her body begin to fade as well.

"No! Wait!" she called but to no avail.

Within seconds the peaceful meadow was empty and the only evidence of the two fallen Slayers being there were the ripples on the pond’s surface and the scent of crushed grass.





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