Chapter One

Buffy sighed as she passed the glass of beer to the man seated in front of her. She didn't really look at him when she took the money from his hand; she never really looked at any of the people that came into the bar.
She found it easier that way. If she never looked she would never see, so she could go on pretending that there was nothing wrong. She didn't want to form any more connections with people, they would just let die, let you down or stab you in the back. She was through burying the people she loved, through forming friendships to only have them turn on you and hurt you in a time of need, but most of all she was through putting her heart on the line only to have it ripped out over and over again.

It had been six months since her and the other slayers closed the hellmouth and fought the first evil. After they had fled Sunnydale things had been good for a while. She had dealt with the loss of Spike and had settled into an apartment with Dawn in Rome to take some much needed rest and relaxation. Giles and Willow had taken on the task of finding the new slayers and Xander had called a timeout from the fighting evil gig and decided to travel for a while and deal with the loss of Anya.

Andrew had become Giles right hand man and it turned out he was rather good at organising the business side of things. He had set up a building space for training the new slayers and living arrangements for the ones that wanted to stay on permanently. He had also become a good friend to Buffy. Slowly she found herself trusting him and telling him things she no longer shared with the others. But she didn't tell him everything, something's she kept to herself.

So for the first few months after the big battle Buffy took sometime off and went about enjoying the things she used to like doing. She went shopping, went to the beach and even went clubbing at night, mainly just to dance and let off steam.

The new slayers were being taken care of by Kennedy and Co who had been called during the battle with the first. Buffy smiled every time she thought of the proud look that they all had after one battle. They had felt good about themselves for accomplishing something real and worthwhile and they were all stronger for having survived it. Buffy just wished she could have shared that feeling with them. But after so many battles she just found it took too much energy.
Giles never asked her to become involved with the training of the new slayers and she never offered. She was guessing he would ask her if he needed her and was happy for her to take a little time off.

She never imagined that he would suggest retirement. Or that he had also cut Faith off when she offered to help out. She didn't realise the divide that had formed between them until it was too big for any kind of rescue.

One night on her way home from clubbing she came across a young girl being attacked by a group of vampires. Letting instinct and experience take over she dusted the three vamps in no time. The girl thanked her graciously and Buffy walked her home, which made her slightly later than usual. When she entered her apartment she felt a heavy weight settle in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong, very wrong. She felt all the hairs prickle on the back of her neck, slowly and silently she made her way through the apartment only to find it empty. Dawn was out with some friends and Buffy new she wouldn't be home till the next afternoon. But she had a strong feeling she was being watched.

Without turning the lights on Buffy positioned herself in the lounge room.

Taking a long shot she spoke 'Show yourself"
She felt the air around her thicken there was definitely something watching her.

But she waited,

After a few more minutes she was starting to get frustrated 'Your starting to make me mad, and mad Buffy leads to violence, even though I cant see you, doesn't mean I cant feel you'
She could feel a change in the air, as though what ever was in her apartment was trying to do something. She tensed ready to react if she needed to. It was close to her now, only a few feet. She was ready for it to attack her, but instead of doing so it appeared.
To say it was what she was expecting would be a lie, the being that was now standing in front of her was not who or what she had been expecting. But the shock was short lived as a moment later she felt a smile come across her face. To her surprise it was the first genuine one in months.
'Cordelia is that you?' Buffy asked as she took a step towards her old friend.
The being nodded and the light around her faded until she was almost recognisable as the Cordelia Buffy had known. Something about her was considerably different. Her hair was lighter and shorter, her face was softer more rounded and mature. But most of all it was her eyes that were different. They were filled with light, compassion and understanding, Buffy had only seen a glimpse of these things in Cordelia in the past compared to what was shining through her now.

But her eyes held something else, pain and loss. Buffy didn't know what Cordy had been through the last four years but she knew it wasn't all kittens and puppies. That much Angel had told her.
Buffy was brought out of her reflections by the sound of Cordy's voice.
'Buffy, we need to talk'
Buffy went into action in a flash.
"what is it, apocalypse, another hellmouth, a horde of vampires'
Cordy smiled 'In some ways Buffy you haven't changed much' her smile faded and she took a step in the slayers direction 'But in others you have changed in more ways than I can say'

Buffy locked eyes with Cordelia and she felt something wash over her, it was cold at first but slowly it became warm like the sun was lightly shining on her. Then it was gone.
"What was that' Buffy asked feeling strange.
Cordelia didn't smile this time, 'a cleansing of sorts, there was some residue left over from being in the hellmouth, I simply removed it'
Buffy frowned 'residue, what kind of residue'
Cordy smiled again 'not the kind you are thinking, your soul doesn't enter a place like the hellmouth without occurring some changes, the other slayers were protected by their calling but you and Faith having been called a long time ago were open to it. It is like a weight on your shoulders, it can't hurt you it just weighs you down. I have already cleansed Faith, almost right after, but with you I needed to be careful, your body and mind were dealing with other things and I didn't want to interrupt that process'

Buffy heard Cordys words but none of it really made any sense, shrugging it off she decided it was time to get down to business. "Don't think I am not glad to see you Cordy, cause I am, but I am starting to get the feeling that you are here for more than a cleansing'

Cordy frowned 'You're right, the cleansing I could have done in your sleep, there is something else, I am here to warn you'
'I knew it, so lay it on me, vampires, demons, what do the forces of darkness have cooked up for me this time'
Cordelia's expression turned grave and Buffy felt her stomach plummet 'That bad huh'

Cordy took a step towards her placed her hand on Buffy's shoulder "its not the forces of darkness I am here to warn you about, its your friends'
Buffy frowned "I don't understand'
A deep sadness washed over Cordy's face and Buffy felt sick inside 'what's going to happen to them, don't tell me their going to die, cause I wont accept that what ever it is, I wont let it hurt them'
"I am not here to wan you about them being in danger Buffy, I am here to warn you about the danger you are in from them'
none of this made sense "what are you talking about, what danger' Buffy said confused

Cordy's eyes filled with remorse 'they no longer trust you Buffy, they are about to find out a few things about the new slayers that they wont like, that will make them question things they never would have considered in the past, They are going to look for a scape goat and I am afraid that burden is going to fall on your shoulders'

Buffy didn't know what to make of this 'you're not making sense Cordy, what kind of things are they going to find out'

Cordy sighed 'I wanted to make this easier for you, try and ease you into it, but I can see that it isn't going to work that way, I should have known better' Cordy looked at Buffy with a deep respect on her face "you have done so much, fought so hard for this world for humanity, saved so many lives, and you have still held on to your humanity and your sense of self. I wanted this to be your time Buffy, to relax and live the life you wanted, however that maybe, but that was not to be so. When you defeated the first and called all the slayers, it broke all the rules, but the first broke allot of rules as well so the powers let it go. Not that they could have stopped it.

The slayer line is a power not even the PTB understand or created. It is older and darker than they are. But it wasn't meant to last. More and more slayers are awaking and the power is thinning. It wasn't meant for so many people at once. The power picks the people that become slayers. It has a sort of consciousness about it if it doesn't like a potential it won't activate inside them. The older PTB say that the power creates the potentials brings them into life. It knows every being that it created and only chooses the best to become slayers'.
'The council always thought it was random, but they were wrong. When willow did that spell with the Scythe she took control of the power for a short time and took away its ability to choose. It was weakened greatly by the ordeal but it slowly building back its consciousness. Its not happy Buffy, I can feel it'