Title: The Day After
Author: Arjen
Length: About 9.000 words
Summary: After the events of Black Sunrise people in Sunnydale need to come to terms with everything that has happened. Mostly a character piece, with some foreshadowing of future events.
Pairings: None.
Rating: PG-13.
Crossover: Noir
Disclaimer: All characters are property of Mutant Enemy, ADV films and whoever else wants to lay claim to them. Everything that I thought up is made using their property so I can't really claim that either.
Feedback: Preferably constructive criticism, tell me what I've done right and wrong and I'll be happy. Flames I consider as written by five years old who according to that ridiculous rating system aren't allowed to read this.

Background: Dawn was created early and the monks weren't stupid enough to lead Glory directly to her. During Halloween '97 she was possessed by Kirika from Noir. Afterwards she retained the memories of this assassin and had gained knowledge of the supernatural. This story starts where Black Sunrise ended.

A line indicates a change of POV

. . . . is just a scene change

I have had several requests for information about Noir, since it isn't very well known and so this chapter is a primer for the show. The story is in the next chapter. To be fair to those who do know Noir but not Buffy there is also a short section about that show at the bottom of this page.

Noir:

Noir is an anime series about three young assassins. This primer will consist of two parts, first a description of the main characters for those who might want to see the series without being spoiled and then a more comprehensive one.

Kirika Yumura: A Japanese girl who's specific age is never mentioned, but likely between 14 and 16 years old, and is probably the world's most efficient killer. One day she woke up without a memory, but with the skills of an assassin, living in a house in Japan. According to a student-card she found there she was called Kirika Yumura and has used that name ever since. The only thing she remembers is the name Noir and once she has met up with Mireille they will try and find out who she actually is.

Kirika is a quiet girl whose innocent looks hide the fact that she wouldn't hesitate in killing anyone who is her target. She is also fiercely loyal to those she cares about and won't stop at anything to defend them. During the series some allusions are made to a darker personality but this doesn't come to the fore until the last episodes where she has recovered her memories. There she is shown as having slitted eyes and is clearly an emotionless killer who doesn't care about anything except Noir and her mission. In the end however, certain events turn her back to her former self.

Mireille Bouquet: A young Corsican woman, about twenty years old, whose family was murdered when she was maybe ten years old. After that she was raised by her uncle who trained her as an assassin. When one day Kirika contacts her by e-mail she first intends to ignore the girl until she hears the melody her father's watch made. Apparently this watch was now in possession of Kirika. After meeting up with the Japanese girl the two decide to work together under the code-name Noir and will try to find out who Kirika really is.

The only reason she agrees to this is because their pasts are clearly linked and she tells Kirika that once they know the truth she will kill the girl. Where Kirika uses every weapon available to her in order to kill someone, Mireille regards this as messy and only uses her gun.

Chloe: A mysterious girl, maybe a little older then Kirika, who appears one day and claims she is the True Noir. There is an obvious connection between her and Kirika, although she tries to befriend Mireille as well. Despite the fact that she sometimes helps the other two in their missions, neither of the two really trusts this disturbed girl. While not a lot is known of her, her loyalties obviously lie with Altena and she is the most remorseless killer of the three. With the only possible exception being Kirika's darker side and unlike the others she even seems to enjoy her work.

Altena: An enigmatic figure with a high standing in Soldats, an organization that for the last thousand years has attempted to remember what humans really are. She lives in a place called the Manor from where she looks over all three saplings, those who might became the True Noir. She wants to bring about Le Grand Retour which would reshape Soldats in what it originally was meant to be. Her every action is influenced by her belief that "If love can kill people, hatred can save them."

More information with few spoilers can be found on the www.projectnoir.com website.

Then here comes a summary of the series, with as few spoilers as possible. I have deliberately kept out a lot of details so if you ever see the series, which is more then worth it, you won't know every little detail. If you do not want to read this skip it and continue on to the story.

In the first episode it is explained how and why Kirika and Mireille meet, as described above, and they land in a battle where unknown persons are trying to kill them.

In the following episodes they go on missions where it becomes ever more clear they have become targets themselves. For some reason people are being send to kill them, although these people never receive all the information they need, like the fact that Noir isn't one person but two. During these missions it is also hinted that the name Noir is a lot more important then it seemed at first glance.

After one of Mireille's friends is killed for trying to find out who is after them they discover that it is all directed by an organization called Soldats. More information about this they don't have however since Mireille killed their only lead out of revenge. The information they did get was in the form of a photocopy.

After that they go on several mission where they don't encounter Soldats until they take on a mission to kill the Don of a powerful family of the Cosa Nostra or mafia. They do this in order to gain access to a document proving that Soldats was present at the birth of the mafia.

Then we are introduced to both Altena, who we had only briefly seen before, and Chloe. Chloe is send to Paris by Altena to help Kirika and Mireille in a mission. As she does so she tells the two of them that she is the True Noir. After that Chloe shows up at the apartment they live in they talk over tea. The tension is rather high and as Mireille proclaims it is rather like a mad tea party. In the end when they have escorted her home, Chloe takes a fork out of Kirika's sleeve and accepts it as a gift, later Kirika who had seemed rather welcoming to Chloe tells Mireille she had the fork in case Chloe would ever let her guard down.

After that confrontation the three separate again for a while. Chloe goes on one of her own missions and Kirika and Mireille have to deal with personal issues.
Kirika befriends a man she encounters while he is painting and rather painfully finds out why Mireille had told her it was a bad idea to have friends.
Then Mireille meets her uncle again but finds out he is influenced by Soldats as well and tries to convince her to allow him to kill Kirika. In the end Mireille is forced to make a choice and kills her last living family member.

After this the two go on a mission against the triads who are also aware of what exactly Noir represents as they call it "The thousand year darkness of Europe". This doesn't impress them though since their own organization is older then that. In the end they have to work together with Chloe in order to survive this obstacle.

After returning to Europe, Mireille makes a trip to Corsica where she learns that her family had been members of Soldats and had been killed by them. There she also meets Chloe who hints that Corsica is the place it all began, for all three of them. Before the girl leaves Mireille to think things over she also tells the Corsican that Kirika and she (Chloe) are special since they are the True Noir and Mireille will have to let the girl go.

In the aftermath of the trip, Mireille tells Kirika she needs to think things over and sends her away. Kirika is then contacted by a member of Soldats who is willing to give her the complete document of which they have found only two parts before. He also hints that Altena has a plan called Le Grand Retour. She then meets Chloe who warns her that at the time the exchange will happen, someone will try and kill Mireille.

In the next episode they discover that their photocopies are part of something called the Langonel Manuscript. In a search for the original they come to the only man who had it, only to discover his library had been burned down several years before. Once walking through the ruins they once again talk to Chloe who tells them what the rest of the work says. Once again though they are beset by members of Soldats, who this time however also try to kill Chloe. At the end of the episode Mireille finds the other two repeating the mandate of Noir, which neither she nor Kirika was aware of that she knew.

After this we finally learn more about Soldats. It seems it is an organization founded in the tenth century by the survivors of a massacre. These people swore revenge to the world and would protect the weak and persecuted. We also discover that while Altena is a member of Soldats, the ruling council doesn't approve of her plans for Le Grand Retour and will try to kill Noir once and for all. Chloe is send to help the other two but is also told that Mireille too might become the True Noir, foreshadowing a confrontation since Noir can only consist of two people. After helping the others Chloe then shoots Kirika in order to give her the final guidance.

Then Chloe's earlier statements about Corsica becomes clearer as we discover that it was a very young Kirika who killed Mireille's parents with Chloe as a witness. Kirika then leaves to think things over. As Mireille and Kirika then finally confront eachother at the end of the episode, the Japanese girl begs Mireille to keep her promise, but the Corsican is unable to kill her and sends her away with the message that next time she would be able to do it.

Kirika travels to the Manor but before she arrives she arrives in a village of Soldats that work for Altena. There she is greatly respected by the inhabitants of whom even the smallest child knows she is Noir and what that means. When the opposing forces of Soldats then demand they turn her over to them the villagers kill the representatives and prepare for war. When at night the attack comes they fight to the death in defending Kirika who they try to get to the Manor. Then some of the Soldats kill the old woman protecting her and Kirika loses all human emotions before killing them.

While Kirika travels to the Manor, Mireille tries to get her life back. This isn't easy however and she is contacted by a ruling member of Soldats, who wants her to go to the manor as well. After deliberating over it she agrees, but not for the reasons Soldats wants and leaves for the Manor.

Kirika meanwhile has arrived and is told some things about her life at the Manor. Then she and Chloe start to prepare for the ritual that will make them the True Noir.
When Mireille arrives Kirika wants to kill her, something Chloe doesn't really seem to understand since she thought the three of them might remain friends. Kirika however realized before that there could be only two. A battle ensues that is only halted when Kirika hears the melody of the watch and remembers how Mireille's mother asked her to look out for Mireille. This also called back the more gentle Kirika, instead of the remorseless killer. When this happens Chloe seems to realize that Kirika has chosen Mireille over her and first goes for Kirika who holds her off while trying to convince Chloe to stop. As she finally does, Chloe throws away the fork she had received from Kirika in Moonlit Tea Party and goes for Mireille.

As the only two left Mireille and Kirika then decide to go after Altena and all the others in the mansion. As they do so a bit of Altena's background is shown, explaining a little why she is the way she is. As they finally face Altena in the ritual chamber the woman tells them they will have overcome the final trial once they have killed her. At first Mireille wants to kill her but when she realizes that would only be what she wants decides against it. Then Altena tries to kill Mireille and Kirika interferes. When the two finally leave the Manor they are received by the ruling council who warn them that the world is still as dark as ever. "That is why we seek the light." Is Mireille's answer to that and the two of them decide to go back to Paris before deciding what else to do.

End series.

Buffy: the Vampire Slayer

Buffy Summers is what is called the Vampire Slayer, which means she has the strength and other benefits necessary to kill them. She lives in Sunnydale, California where underneath the Highschool the Hellmouth is located. In the series the badguys usually try to kill either her or open the Hellmouth using different means.

She fights to stop this from happening and in this fight she isn't alone. Helping her are her friends, Willow and Xander, her Watcher Giles and boyfriend the ensouled vampire Angel. Her sister Dawn isn't really her sister but actually a mystical being of green energy known as the Key. In order to protect her from a crazed Hell-Goddess the monks charged with protecting the Key turned her into a living being and send her to the Slayer where everyone (Dawn included) believes she is indeed Buffy's sister.

Main bad guys in this point of time are Spike and Drusilla, two vampires who are actually of Angel's line.