Survivor 271: Reborn

Author: RIP Wolff

Reborn: I am the original author of this story. It's been seven years since I've written it and now I have a new writing persona, RIP Wolff, so I've rewritten it since my writing style has changed quite a bit in the last seven years. So enjoy the rewrite/expansion of Survivor 271!

Summary: Set in the year 2009 (six years after the last season of BtVS), Kennedy is the sole survivor of the Scooby Gang. Now it is up to her to set things right. Rewritten by the original author and better than ever! Spoilers: 7x10 - 7x13

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

Pairings: very light W/K

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Joss Whedon. All hail Joss.

Follow Me: RipWolff on Twitter for updates on all my fanfics and even original works


Prologue

"How much time is left?" A young girl asked as she sifted through blueprints and random papers as she sat on a cold, damp floor of a mostly empty warehouse. She could hear the solemn echoes of water drops thunder in the large, abandoned building, and she didn't care much for the lonely feeling it gave her.

Kennedy didn't have to consult her watch to know time wasn't on their side, "twenty-two hours," she replied grimly without so much as blinking an eye. She slowly paced across the room, rubbing her eyes with her sweaty palms. Her eyes burned and her body ached, mostly from fatigue, but Kennedy knew she couldn't sleep. Not now.

The young girl lifted her skeptical eyes to see her weary friend settle herself on the windowsill. "Kennedy…" she began, " twenty-two hours? Are you really going to be able to-"

"-I know, Mikah," Kennedy interrupted coldly, she stared out the window only to find the sun had set, darkening the scorched plains that surrounded the warehouse, "time's short," she continued, "but we still have to try to make things right… to bring them back."

Mikah fell silent and dropped her eyes back down to the blueprints. She knew Kennedy was right and she never questioned her, especially when it came to things like this. As far as she was concerned, anything was better than the post-apocalyptic hell they resided in. Even if they only had an hour, it was still a chance worth taking, and if Kennedy's plan worked, then they'd be allowed to correct their mistake and make the world what it used to be: the utopian paradise that all had taken for granted.

"IF," Mikah emphasized strongly, "we can get you into Thiross… we MIGHT be able to get the last pact, hopefully with a little time to spare. Keep in mind though," her tone lowered, "that's a pretty big 'if'."
Mikah released a heavy sigh as she lowered her shoulders, they ached and burned and pleaded for relief, but it would be a luxury that they'd be denied. It was almost as if their plan was pushing down on her neck with the weight of the world. Mikah snickered quietly to herself. Well, it kind of IS the weight of the world, she thought. It wasn't a particularly funny thought, in fact, it almost verged on depressing, but Mikah figured it was better to laugh at her own corny jokes than to face the reality that the fate of the world was literally in their hands.

Mikah paused as she peered down at her hands. They're so little, she thought, sure…for a sixteen year-old they might be average…but they're too small to hold the world.

Kennedy bit her lower lip and continued to stare out the window, oblivious to Mikah's epiphany. The rays from the setting sun blanketed the land surrounding them, and illuminated the horror of the truth. No grass as far as the eye could see, instead, either dirt or weeds in its place and most of them had blackened tips from the fire that once engulfed the land. This is the world Kennedy had come to know, and had come to hate. She crossed her arms, feeling more determined than ever, "load me up, Q."

Mikah stood and wiped her damp and dirty palms on the rear of her equally dirty jeans, "Q what?"

Kennedy immediately tried to elaborate as she lifted herself off the windowsill, "James Bond? You know, Q? The guy with all the gadgets?"

Mikah stared at her with a blank expression.

"You really need to watch more movies," Kennedy commented with a frown on her face.

Mikah nodded slowly, "and watch them on what? Our water pale?" she added sarcastically.

"We really should trade something in for a TV, huh?" Kennedy observed, a rush of guilt overwhelmed her at the realization that Mikah never had a chance to truly enjoy all the little gifts Hollywood had to offer… back before Earth went to hell.

Mikah sighed melodramatically, "I tried trading you to Bianca for one, told her you were in mint condition with only a few scratches, but hey, what else should she expect from a vampire slayer? But Bianca wanted me to throw in the table, and let me tell you what, NO TV's worth our only table."

Kennedy playfully rolled her eyes, "you're so hilarious. Remind me why I keep you around again?"

"Because I'm potty-trained," Mikah replied matter-of-factly.

Kennedy smiled, there were times Mikah reminded her of Willow, in the way that when you looked at her…you wouldn't realize how much of a smartass she really was, in the way that she could hide her terror and pain with such positive smiles.

Suddenly her heart ached…Willow.

She quickly cleared her throat and decided they've had enough playful banter, anything to avoid thinking about her again, "about Thiross…" Kennedy began, "I'm going to need weapons, lots and lots of weapons."

Mikah nodded as she reached into her pocket and revealed a small, dime sized, wire inlet, she extended her arm to offer it to Kennedy with pride apparent in her smile, "communications, m'lady."

Kennedy lowered her brows as she studied the device for a moment before deciding it was okay to pick up, "See? You are my 'Q.'"

But before Mikah could quip with another wise remark, Kennedy continued, "The water pale gets bad reception. Why don't you Google 'Q' on our state-of-the-art wooden bath tub."

Mikah stared blankly at her, "Google? That sounds familiar…"

She felt a familiar surge of guilt, oh yeah… she'd barely remember Google…

Kennedy continued, "Just out of mild curiosity, where'd you get the technology for this?" Kennedy asked as she used both hands to stabilize the inlet into her ear in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

Mikah turned away to cross the room to a small wooden chest that sat next to their tattered sleeping bags that leaned against the wall, "what the so-called government doesn't know won't hurt them."

Inside the chest, she picked up a ratty crossbow that was tied to a velvet bag full of arrows and a small switchblade and placed them into her arms. As Mikah once again approached Kennedy, she handed the weapons to her one by one, "now here, and need I remind you: we're running low on arrows, use them conservatively. Don't go shooting every vampire, demon or man you see."

This time it was Kennedy's turn to wield the confused expression.

Mikah looked surprised, "you know! Because you don't like men…because you like women…oh never mind," she sighed.

Kennedy frowned as she lowered to one knee to tuck the switchblade into her sock, and then pulled her sock up as far as it would go to tightly secure it, "I thought Bianca was supposed to get more arrows in yesterday."

Mika lifted a brow as she settled back onto the floor, then began unrolling a single set of blueprints, "Bianca? Please," she scoffed, "between her and her black-market business, she doesn't know WHAT'S supposed to be coming in," she shrugged casually as she continued, "besides, I had to trade the ax for the new food shipment, so I didn't have anything left to barter for arrows."

Kennedy's eyes grew wide in disbelief, "you gave Bianca the ax?"

"Earth to Kennedy!" Mikah began, raising her voice, "please try to remember that we DO have to eat. Us pesky humans have to do that once in a while."

Kennedy dropped her eyes and shook her head apologetically, "I'm sorry," she sighed, "it's just… these pacts have me in a rut. Just…just thinking that…"

"That we might be able to pull this off?" Mikah finished her sentence, "that we might actually be able to bring them back?"

Kennedy was unresponsive; instead she just stared at the puddle that sat a few feet in front of her as it danced every time a raindrop fell from the ceiling. She leaned forward to rest her head in the palm of her hands to quiet her roaring mind, and to hide her face from Mikah.

She had to appear strong, like she always had; it was the only way to keep her sane when she woke in the morning. But inside, Kennedy couldn't help but wonder if they COULD pull it off, if they really COULD change the world. After all, they were only two girls in a den full of lions.

One, being herself, who was now twenty-five years of age, and had sustained numerous battle scars over the past six years. Perhaps the most memorable was the one that nearly covered her left eye that she obtained the same night that she became the sole survivor of the Scooby Gang.

The second was a sixteen year-old brainiac whose parents were killed when she was only ten. Kennedy felt sorry for her; after all, she had limited memories of what the world was like before the Great War. Since the day she became an orphan, Kennedy had cared for her, which surprised even herself, since Kennedy didn't think she had a single maternal bone in her body.

Mikah noticed the distant gaze on Kennedy's face, then lowered her voice to a concerned whisper, "hey," she paused momentarily, "you all right?"

Kennedy was startled, but quickly snapped herself back into reality. She perked herself up to the best of her ability and replied, "yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…going through the plan in my head," she lied, not wanting to let Mikah in on her thoughts.

Mikah raised a skeptical brow, "uh-huh," she clicked her tongue and sighed heavily before she continued, "Kennedy, I know when you lie, you're not very good at it. So, listen, if you're worried about the Thiross breach, you're going to be okay, trust me. After all, you ARE the Slayer."

Kennedy scoffed at her then dropped her eyes to the floor, "some Slayer I am. The world went to shit, almost literally, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it, except sit back and watch."

Mikah sighed deeply, she knew there wasn't much she could say to make her feel better, but she knew she still had to try, "Kennedy, the First killed the Antibody, it wasn't your faul-"

"Don't call them that!" Kennedy screamed, her eyes widened with anger. Mikah jumped back instinctively.

The warehouse creaked and quivered as both girls paused.

Kennedy took a deep breath as she tried to recompose herself and slowly shook her head, "Mikah…I'm….I'm sorry. I just….I don't know."

Mikah placed a gentle, reassuring hand on Kennedy's shoulder, "it's okay, really."

"No," Kennedy continued, "I'm sorry. It's just that I don't like to hear anyone calling them that…you know, the 'Antibody.' That's not what they were."

Mikah nodded in agreement, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

Kennedy shook her head, ashamed at herself for losing her temper so quickly; she enveloped Mikah's hand in her own in a silent apology that both girls understood.

Kennedy took a deep breath before she continued to explain herself, "I mean…yeah, NOW the couple thousand or-so humans left in the world know them by the 'Antiody,' but they didn't know them….no, not like I did," she paused, letting blissful memories overwhelm her, "I KNEW them better than any of my friends, even better than my family," Kennedy quickly corrected herself, "because they WERE my family. They treated me like I belonged, and they were the closest I've ever come-" she stopped short, not wanting to surrender to her emotions, "and now they're gone… even Willow," there was no fighting the swell of tears that began forming in Kennedy's eyes. She tried her best not to wipe them away, knowing it would be a dead giveaway to Mikah, instead she just looked up at the rotting and termite infested ceiling and hoped her tears would dry.

Mikah looked hard at Kennedy's face and studied every ounce of pain that took the form of her tears, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be alone. Yes, her parents were brutally murdered, so she did know what it felt like to have her loved ones stripped from her, but she never felt like she was alone. Mikah always had Kennedy to look out for her and protect her. Sure, it wasn't the same thing as having a mother or father to scare away the bogeyman under the bed, but as far as she was concerned, it was pretty damn close. Hell, mommy wouldn't know how to use a crossbow to make that bogeyman realize he picked the wrong bed that night. Kennedy did.

Mikah tried to talk, to say anything to comfort Kennedy, but found herself speechless. She, herself might not have known the Antibody personally, but Mikah remembered years ago, Kennedy used to tuck her into sleeping bag tight and secure and tell her bedtime stories of Buffy: the Slayer, and her friends heroically putting themselves in the line of fire in the name of good. She told her as long as they were around there was nothing to fear because Buffy would always show up in the nick of time.

Mikah knew that most of the stories were fabricated, like the one about Buffy saving a rain forest from a tree-eating cult, but they still made her feel like there was always hope.

She also knew that one, Willow, meant the world and so much more to Kennedy, she even believed they might have even been in love once. The things Kennedy must have gone through…it was unimaginable, but Mikah never knew exactly how they were killed.

Kennedy never spoke of the day the Scooby Gang, as she fondly called them, was extinguished, but Mikah knew it was the same day the human race became scarce.

If all went well, if every detail went according to Kennedy's plan, then they'd be able to bring the Legends back and set things right.