Title: Unknown Path
Disclaimer: BtVS and Stargate or NCIS characters do not belong to me, and I claim no rights to these copyrighted materials. I don't know where the story is going but right now it is a Stargate crossover.
Summary: Buffy didn't want power but what if it was given to her either way. She won't accept it, will she? What sort of power is it anyway? Post Chosen
First Chapter Betaed!
Thanks a lot!
Chapter one: ConflictsEach slayer is always truly alone. Even with friends and family. The burden is never shared by them. Buffy understood that really well now.
She stood in front of what remained of Sunnydale. It was weird… she lived through hell in this city, however there was a pang of nostalgia within her when she thought of the remains of her mom, her friends, the people who died in this Hellmouth.
What was she going to do now?
"What are we gonna do now?"
The sound of Dawn's whispering kept ringing trough her ears as if she was screaming. Yet Buffy couldn't bring herself to answer. Her body was warming up very quickly, she felt like something was loosening up, waking up within her. She looked quickly at Faith, finding her besides Robin, looking peacefully at the Sunnydale Crater. She then decided not to tell anyone, trying to convince herself that it was not to worry them. Something was changing inside of her and she didn't want to tell anyone. The group standing behind her was composed by both her best friends ever and strangers. She didn't know if she could trust them like she had before: blindly.
Buffy turned around, looking at Dawn, struggling not to wince from the still bleeding wound on her stomach.
"I don't know about you all, but I need a vacation. I don't know how long…" Buffy said, watching briefly as the others began to shake themselves from the frenzy of the fall of the Hellmouth. She turned her eyes toward Dawn, who was gazing at her with fear and hope, her eyes beginning to tear.
"You can come with me if you want… I mean we could use the time to really reconnect."
Dawn released the breath she unconsciously holding, and tears falling, she smiled at her sister for giving her another chance. "Anywhere you want! You choose I don't care..." She said hugging Buffy with all the strength she could muster.
The longest living slayer smiled despite the pain, thinking that maybe she could catch a break… finally. Giles put his gaze on them and grinned tiredly knowing that if Buffy was going to forgive someone, it was her sister. He was her Watcher, but he knew himself that he lost his way. He, somehow, lost the faith he had on her ability to lead, while he was the one repeatedly saying to her to be a general. And he was wrong obviously; he now wanted nothing more than to regain her trust in him, to be her Watcher again. Dawn wouldn't leave her side since the fall, she had been so afraid when they had come back from the school without her. He had realized then that Buffy was always the last to leave the danger.
Giles looked down and approached the two sisters quietly smiling softly at the suggestions Dawn was giving.
"…We could go to New York or something…We could even go to Europe! Paris for example has the monuments and Disney land! Oh Buffy it could be so cool!"
But seeing as Buffy wasn't responding, she dropped her smile.
"What's wrong?" Dawn asked, putting her hand on her arm.
The battle with The First had been devastating for all of them. They lost a lot, everybody lost someone. Buffy refused to think about Spike. She turned again to watch the giant hole where the remains of so many people were: Spike, her mom, Tara, Amanda, and all the other Potentials that lost their lives in this fight… She knew they were angry. Well Xander and Willow that is.
She sighed and turned around to face the angry faces of her friends.
"If someone has something to say about my plans, say it!" Buffy said smiling sadly; frustrated that her every move has to be vetoed by everyone but herself.
Before Xander even tried to say something, Giles raised his head and looked in her eyes trying to convey his deepest support and regret.
"I am supporting you one hundred percent about your decision to take a break. I will be returning to England to try and get hold of the Council Bank accounts. I will also try and gather around the remaining trustworthy watchers to train and find the newly called Slayers. I will take care of everything." He said.
"Good idea… And thanks Giles." Said Buffy, a little surprised.
Xander watched as they spoke.
"Now wait a minute! Giles you can't be serious! She is running again letting us to watch the Potentials alone. I can't believe this! If you go, who is going to train them?"
"Xander, we didn't say it was forever. It is just so we can rest a little. Besides, I would suppose the girls would like to visit their parents sometimes before training." Several Potentials-now-turned-slayers nodded vigorously at Giles suggestion. "And now is not the time to discuss this. Let's find shelter and food for the time being." Giles's tone was firm and his gaze at Xander warned him to think before opening his mouth again. But Xander wasn't finished, he turned toward Buffy.
"What about us, huh? I thought we were your friends. I just want to know why you are running again!"
"Xander, right now I am barely standing. You can do whatever you want! There is no more Hellmouth! I can be free at least for a few months, don't you think? I can't tell you how sorry I am about Anya, your eye and the Potentials. If I could exchange my life for theirs…" She choked on the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes and went on saying. "I would. I would do anything to change that. I wish my death would bring back the others and I know you blame me for their deaths." Seeing as they began to protest, she continued, her tone stronger. "I know it! And you know it too… God knows I blame myself every day and night. But I can't… I couldn't be everywhere. I am sorry to say that we couldn't have won this war without sacrifices! You had in mind the death of the Potentials; I had in mind the death of every single person of this freaking planet! Do you know how stressed I was, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't breathe without the First taunting me every second of the day … or even without having you second guessing my decisions. I didn't have a choice, I couldn't do otherwise…"
"We were all having a hard time, Buffy! Potentials died in there, and you wanted us to go another time? We are not like you, with super powers Buff'!"
She heard the nickname so many times but never before has she despised it like at this moment. She calmed herself and suddenly she knew what to do.
She turned to the others, addressing the new slayers specifically.
"I know it was dangerous. The life of a slayer is always dangerous. The difference between you and me, Xander, is that I would never have let anyone of you go in there alone." Seeing his outraged look, she continued without pause. "And it is normal, I am the slayer, we are alone, we work alone. I know Faith understands it very well too." She saw Faith nod with a sad expression. "We were not meant to have help and these few months helped me understand something too… There are no longer just two of us, and only slayers can help each other in this fight. And I am not saying you never helped but in situations like this…"
Buffy took a pause and approached the slayers. She watched as Rhona struggled with the help of Vi to sit and the others supporting each other.
"Make teams, not necessarily now, but…what I mean to say is: Don't fight alone, you don't have to! You are all Slayers. A slayer is alone but another slayer can help carry the burden, don't ever forget that and don't fight it. Don't presume that you can survive alone." She turned back and walked back to the bus. "Don't make the mistake Faith and I did. That is all I have to say."
Xander, Willow, Giles and the others watched with regret as Buffy walked away from them. Dawn raced to catch up with her.
They got back on the bus with LA as their destination and Giles as the driver, Robin resting besides Faith. But just as they were ready to set off, Buffy half rose from her seat and the slayers became alert. The sounds of helicopters reached them before the vehicles themselves came into sight. In the wake of the now hovering helicopters, several SUV's raced toward them.
The cars stopped and the helicopters landed. Buffy struggled with the doors of the bus, finally opening them without destroying them and got out, Willow, Giles and Dawn close behind. Recalling the Scythe on the roof of the bus, Buffy quickly climbed up, pretending to use the elevation to get a better feel for who was approaching, grabbed the Scythe and handed it discreetly to Faith through the window as she got down again. Then she moved towards the approaching men in black.
Buffy blinked suddenly. "Riley?"
"Hello, Buffy" Said Riley. He was one of the men in black walking towards them.
End of Chapter