Author's Note: Thanks for clicking on my fic! This idea has been in the making for a while and I finally got the first chapter down. I hope that you enjoy it. I don't want to give anything away...[*spoiler*] however, I hoped that you looked at the characters in this fic. It will all come in due time. :)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Buffy or Angel. I wish I did (mostly Angel and/or Angelus). However, the three judges in this are my idea, and so is the idea for the story.


Chapter 1: Waking Up in Heaven


Buffy Anne Summers slowly opened her eyes and felt as if she had taken a very long and very deep slumber…

The pure white marble room was immaculate. Currently, Buffy was the only occupant, but she felt as if this room was somehow very important. Slowly, her memories returned. She had been battling the most powerful enemy she had ever faced. The enemy had been an old, powerful spirit that had combined with yet another old, powerful demon. It had instigated a long-ago-prophesied apocalypse. She had defeated the demon and stopped the apocalypse, but had sacrificed herself yet again. The prophecy this time had stated that she would die regardless of who won. Buffy had struggled a little knowing that there was a good chance that she would not be able to stop this threat. However, Buffy had decided that she knew she would die one day since that was the nature of being a slayer. This time though, she would make her death meaningful by killing this new demon. After all, if you're going to die then you may as well make it mean something. The phrase "go out with a bang" had taken on a whole new meaning. After all, the entire world had felt the impact. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a still-living legend, had left her mark on the world for one last time.

Now, she could finally be at rest. No demon, vampire, nor the First, or any other single living creature could have achieved that power…and yet, by putting two beings together, the power had killed Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer.

Actually, Buffy had been the greatest Vampire Slayer to ever live. She just hadn't been given the official title yet.


Another room somewhat near Buffy's room…

"Excuse me, great Judge, but I believe that the Vampire Slayer has woken," said an angel.

"Indeed, it looks like she has. I believe that this time she will stay," said Altreum.

"Yes, it appears that fate has finally decided for her soul to stay here. I believe it is time…"

"Yes. She belongs in Heaven. It is time for us to judge her. Her life and actions must be examined. It will take a long time. She is a Slayer, the greatest Vampire Slayer, and also one of the greatest champions for the Powers That Be. Now, it is her turn to watch. Send for her."

"Yes. In which area of the Hall of Judgments shall we hold her Final Judgment?"

"In the Hall of the Champions. Open the best room there. It is the room for beings of power and good," ordered the judge.

"Oh, that room, sir? It must be a very special occasion then."

"Yes. Buffy Anne Summers, Master Slayer and Champion, deserves nothing less. Now, go. She has waited far too long."

After the angel left, Altreum, one of the Final Judges, called the remaining two judges. He was thinking,

"It has been many earth years since the death of a Slayer. Though those years felt like nothing to us, the Judges, when compared to our life of eternity, a slayer living for so long is extremely rare. Normally, slayer judgments happened every few years. However, this odd slayer has come along to change everything. Now, slayer judgments are more common, but not for the usual reason of a slayer dying young and quickly. No, simply put, there just happen to be many more slayers, thanks to this one who has just recently come. I wonder how she will stir up Heaven."


After exploring the small but cozy room, Buffy discovered that it looked vaguely like a white-laced-with-gold version of her room. It was just as she liked it…was it a coincidence? Somehow, she didn't think so. There was the bed, which she had woken up in, two bedside tables each on either side of the bed, a mirror on the left side of the room, a desk on the right, and single door on the opposite side of the room. As she took it all in, more and more recent memories flooded her mind. They felt slightly distant as if they had happened a long time ago.

A soft knock at the door broke Buffy out of her thinking.

"May I come in?" a voice said softly on the other side of the door.

"Yes," Buffy said cautiously.

As the door slowly opened, a head, a body, and shiny white feathered wings emerged.

"Hello, Buffy. Welcome to Limbo or Purgatory, as others call it. It is a realm between the worlds where souls arrive once they are done with their life. They come here to be judged and sent to their final resting place. You came through approximately one earth day ago. I am an angel. You may call me Juliette."

"What? I'm dead? This is just my soul? What's going on?" exclaimed Buffy.

"All will be explained. There are only a few things that you need to know. First, you are Buffy Anne Summers, the Vampire Slayer. You fought your last enemy, as all Slayers must, and sacrificed yourself to save the world again. When you got here, your soul had taken so much in its life that it collapsed from exhaustion upon entering The First Gate. Now, I have been sent here to bring you to the Hall of Judgment. There, you and the three great judges will examine your life, your past actions, and your heart. They will be the ones to finally determine if you can go to Heaven."

"I have a feeling that I have been here before…have I?"

"Actually, yes. This is your third visit. The first time, you only stayed briefly. You hadn't even stepped through the gates before you disappeared. The second, we went through a slightly different transition because the fates and The Powers That Be warned us that you would be called back. However, this is your Final Judgment. Everything you did and everything you left behind…you'll see it all. It will be as if you are watching a movie. Except that you'll be the star of the show, of course."

"I remember dying the first and second time…" Buffy stated.

"Yes, and you died just after this past battle for the third, and hopefully the final, time. Now, we should go. The judges are waiting."

"Um, ok. If that is what I'm supposed to do."

"Yes, it is. Please follow me."

With that, Juliette turned around. Buffy followed Juliette as they walked down the halls, took a left, and walked to the far side of the room they were in.

"We just left the Resting Hall. Weary souls that collapse are brought here first," Juliette stated informatively.

Then, Juliette pressed her hand to the wall and said, "Door, open and grant us passage."

Silently, a previously invisible door opened in the white wall. Buffy had been expecting some grand staircase or glorified ladder, but a fancy elevator appeared instead. They stepped into the elevator, and Juliette pushed a button on the panel. An image similar to a holograph appeared in the space in front of them.

"Transport to: The Hall of Champions in the Hall of Judgment," said Juliette.

The image disappeared, and the elevator shifted up for a few moments before sliding to the right.

Still a little uncomfortable with the entire situation, Buffy decided to lighten up the mood.

"You know, when I pictured Heaven, I was thinking trumpets, singing, golden light, and tons of angels. I didn't expect that there would be so many halls..."

"That's what everyone says!" exclaimed Juliette. "Why you all think that is beyond me. Silly humans. I mean, there is all of that if you want, but it's only once you have actually gone past the actual Gates of Heaven. Heaven is far simpler than that. It is what you make it to be, but there is light, there are angels, and there are souls of those who have lived their life and passed their final judgments."

"Really?"

"Yes, but most of all, there is peace. Peace, harmony, and well, love if you find it. It's the greatest place in the world. Pure bliss. I can't describe what it looks like because you create your own and make it how you want it. It's not so much the place, but the people-or rather souls-that you stay with."

"That sounds...nice. I haven't had much peace since being called as a Slayer."

"Few humans ever truly do, and even fewer slayers. However, don't worry. I believe that you will find peace here."

"Thank you. I hope I will."

"Yes, you will, but it won't..." Juliette stopped. "Nevermind."

Although she was slightly confused, Buffy chose to ignore it.

Then, the elevator went up once more and forward. Finally, the doors slid open to reveal another white marble room bathed in a soft light. A sign in gold letters said, "HALL OF JUDGMENT."

"As the sign says, welcome to The Hall of Judgment. There are 3 doors in front of you. However, neither is your door. For us to reach the Hall of Champions, you must speak your name, your race, and your title," explained Juliette.

"Ok. My name is Buffy Anne Summers. I am human, and I am the Vampire Slayer."

A very light rumble shook the room. In flash of light, another door appeared. Buffy looked back at Juliette to see her nodding. Softly, Juliette stated, "Yes, that door is for you. Go."

"I will see you when you are done. You will be in there as long as the judges see fit. After all, time is irrelevant for you now. I would get comfortable because you might be in there for a while."

Buffy walked through the doors. Another hallway with yet another door appeared just as the Hall of Judgment melted away in front of her. More white marble greeted her; however, this time, gold and black were mixed in. Each column going down the corridor alternated between black and white marble. Within each column, gold and silver streaked through. The floor was composed of the same alternating marble but in squares. At the end of the hallway, a massive set of double doors etched with intricate patterns slowly creaked open.

"Welcome to the Hall of Champions, Slayer. Gaze upon the walls at all who came before you, and all the good that has been achieved since the beginning of time. This room holds the history of the world and the history of your Slayer lineage," a loud voice boomed. "Enter the door when you are ready. We wait here for your Final Judgment."

Gazing upon the walls as the voice suggested, Buffy did indeed see the history of Earth. This stone recollection of history included the history of the Slayers. Buffy could only stare amazed at each and every slayer whose faces were etched into the wall. In turn, she felt as if they were staring back at her. Buffy could only imagine the life she had lived in comparison to the other slayers. Buffy was in awe of the sheer power she could feel coming from the room. Slowly, she began walking towards the doors. With each step, events in history that Buffy had never heard of were displayed on the wall. Tiles showed a flood, light, darkness, the Earth, people, The First, The Powers That Be, demons, angels, and more recent events. Some were angels, some human, and some were something in between. There were many tiles showing past slayers fighting. Some won and some lost. Great demons rose and fell.

Buffy continued walking…until she reached a few blank frames at the end of the hall. One had a mirror with a frame that was the approximately the size of Buffy. It extended to the floor and was embroidered with white gold. A thin line of black swirled around the frame. Oddly enough, there was another frame that touched the one with the mirror. It was an almost exact copy except that there were a few more dark lines scattered around, and it had no mirror. However, a red line from the framed mirror and a white line from the copycat frame formed a heart around the two. The sections of the frames where the two joined was different. She couldn't quite describe it, but it just didn't fit with the rest. The other blank panels surrounding the two in the heart were gray, but they felt very important to Buffy. In her mind, she felt that somehow, they belonged to her.

"Odd," Buffy thought to herself, "I wonder why these blank frames are here. Why does that one have a mirror and a partner frame? And why the red heart?"

Although she wasn't expecting an answer, Buffy glanced at the doors with a questioning face, wondering if the voice was going to answer her. No answer came.

"Well, I guess that it's time for me to go in. This hall has so much, and I don't really want to keep the judges waiting…" Buffy thought.

Standing tall with her shoulders thrown back and a determined look on her face, Buffy stepped through the door.

She found herself facing three beings. They had the bodies of humans, wings and faces of angels, and human eyes. Their eyes, so old and deep, gazed back at Buffy. One could almost feel like drowning in their depth. The Judges had seen everything. Well, almost everything. Little did they know that when this potential Slayer had been activated that she had been the one of Destiny's prophecy who would change everything. Evil would have finally suffered a great blow.

The three Divine Judges stared at the petite blond woman in front of them and could only marvel at her grace, beauty, and the sense that she belonged here. Her soul was beautiful even in death. It was amazing that one human, one woman, could radiate so much…power and vitality.

"Welcome to your Final Judgment. Together, we will go through your life. You, Buffy Anne Summers, will see the world and all that happened while you lived. Should we determine that you lived a good and humble life, you shall be allowed to enter the gate into Heaven where you may rest for all eternity beyond The End of Days. All who have died before you and made it to Heaven will be there. All those who make it after you will join you. Are you ready?"

Though Buffy knew she had been waiting for this moment, she could not help but stare at the entities in front of her with awe and feel the finality of it all. Everything was finally coming together.

"Yes," Buffy said with a confidence she did not know she possessed.

"Very well then. Let us begin The Final Judgment."


I hoped that you liked this first chapter. I can't update immediately as I am very busy right now, but I will do it as soon as I can. This fic will be finished.

I'm really excited that I finally get to post my first Buffy fic. This is my second (posted) fanfic. Please read & review. I genuinely want to know what you think and where this should go. PM me if you have any ideas, questions, etc. Or if you want to chat about well, anything. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The Avengers, David Borenaz, Bones, NCIS. Yeah, you get the point. (P.S. Happy Birthday to David Boreanaz. His birthday was a few days ago-may 16th...if you don't already know, he has a Twitter account. You can follow him.)

Please review! It makes me happy when you do! (Oh, and it encourages and inspires my Muse) Even a short review is great.

Sincerely,

L


Chapter Posted: The 20th of May, 2012

Last Updated: The 16th of June, 2012