Note – I wasn't happy with the first copy of my story, I decided to slow it down. Take my time fleshing out the characters and relationships. Before it was very rushed but now I am going to slow down and turn it into a series.

**Disclaimer** I own nothing. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon and Stephanie Meyer owns everything twilight.

Chapter 1

This pain is like nothing I've ever felt before. It's not concentrated to specific areas of my body. It's coursing evenly throughout my entire being. No part of my body getting any relief from it unmerciful fury. Thankful that Dawn doesn't have to feel this pain.

It almost feels like electricity absorbing itself into me. After what seems like hours I can feel myself start slowly slipping away into unconsciousness. All I can do is go limp and wait for the portal to drain my life's energy so it can close and end the terror beginning to spread to this world.

When Buffy is unconscious the portal transfer's its energy to hers, causing her body to become luminescent for a short time. Dropping her in the middle of a dimension where her reward for her selflessness is waiting for her.

After all death is her gift.

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Ouch. The pain is blinding… Am I dead?

The last thing that I remember is jumping off a tower made by very unstable people, who made a very unstable product. Why did I do that again? THE PORTAL!!! Did it kill me? Am I in hell? I start to move my arms and legs slowly trying to feel if anything is broken. As I twist, turn and stretch them out all I can feel is some stiffness. I sigh in relief knowing that nothing is broken.

The pain that I felt when I first woke up is less noticeable now, making me wonder where it came from in the first place, since nothing is broken, and smell no blood. Slowly I open my eyes into slits testing to see if there is sunshine to hurt them. It's dark outside so I quickly open them the rest of the way. The first thing I notice is the gloomy grey clouds hanging over me, threatening me with rain. The second thing I notice is the raging wind, whipping around some dirt and cutting into my flesh. I am going to have to find shelter…Quickly.

Turning my eyes to look around my surroundings, I don't recognize anything. I am in a lush green forest with no civilization in sight. I know my territory like the back of my hand, and this is definitely not Sunnydale. Sighing sadly I try thinking of everywhere I might be. Either I'm somewhere else on the Earth, or I'm in another dimension altogether. I really hope I'm still on Earth; I shudder as I think of my sister having to go through loosing mom and me in such a short period of time.

I sit up, concentrate my breathing, and tune in to my slayer senses. I stay in my Zen like state, searching for anything that might lead me to civilization. In the matter of few seconds, I see clearly the quickest path to a small highway with no traffic. My eyes snap open, I sit unmoving feeling shock. That is new, in my trance there is a familiar feeling. I've felt it every time I use my senses, but this time it is powerful, predatory.

Shaking myself I get back to the situation at hand as I feel the rain start to pour. I stretch out my limbs ignoring the angry drops of rain pelting me, preparing for the journey ahead of me. I realize that this path is not going to be easy. I remember that the forest's floors are lined with thick grass, steep hills, and fallen trees. It lasts pretty much the entire way. Sighing briefly I start to run, stopping suddenly a split second after. Whoa. I can't believe the distance I just ran. I am at least 30 feet away from where I started. What is happening to me?

I smile, 'At least the trip will be quicker now.' I start to run again making sure to concentrate on breathing fluently. I can set a faster pace than I ever have before, thanks to my enhanced ability. The large fallen trees on the ground and steep hill are no problem to get over, barely slowing my pace at all. I make it to the highway in no time, not having to stop to catch my breath once. I'm not even tired now, but I stop to look around.

I can smell the smoke before I see it. There are large clouds of pollution in the distance, most likely from a factory in a town. I smile at the thought of civilization. I know I don't have any money, but I'm sure I'll be able to find somewhere to crash.

I start to run in the direction of town just on the edge of the thick trees. Since there isn't a lot of resistance, only the wind and my wet clothes, I decide to test my speed limits. I push myself harder, hearing air whip past my ears. The trees around me start to blur as I get faster. I speed past a shiny black blur on my right, kicking myself for not checking for cars in the area. I shouldn't let anyone see my doing anything out of the ordinary. After all I'm not in Sunnydale anymore. Where out of the ordinary is ordinary. I have to be more careful.

I slow down as I near the town, beginning to walk. I don't want any more attention drawn to me than necessary. I walk a little faster as I reach town, walking down the main street looking for shelter from the rain. I mostly see shops and houses so I decide to try the side streets. I walk a few more streets, stopping by a house that looks abandoned.

The grass that grows around it is wild and full of weeds. The wooden siding is rotting and warped, with severely chipped paint. Perfect. I walk through the long grass making my way to the back door, noticing the small river not far from the back yard. I walk up the rickety steps cautiously, since they are threatening to give out at any second. I twist the door knob so hard that it breaks the lock and push the door open, cringing as it creaks loudly. I step inside, closing the door behind me.

I see a switch near the door and flip it, feeling disappointment when nothing happened. I flip the switch off again, and even though it's dark in the house I can still see perfectly. I begin to examine the room I'm in. It is a kitchen, the cupboard doors are falling off and there is a thick layer of dust covering everything. Other than that it is in pretty good shape. Moving deeper into the house I find an old couch in the room off the kitchen facing the windows. I walk up the stairs lightly stepping and testing each step first. The upstairs had two small rooms and a bathroom, everything covered in dust still. One bedroom had a box of old towels in it. When I'm in the bathroom I try the taps, I'm happily surprised when water starts running. It runs brown at first due to it lack of use, but after a minute or two it starts to run clear.

A little bit of cleaning and this will be the perfect place to stay. I won't be able to do anything with the outside. Otherwise people will begin to get suspicious. Maybe the town will want to sell it, I cringe at the thought. Hopefully I will be out of here on my way back to Sunnydale right away.

I go back downstairs and dust off the couch the best that I can. I then lay down, closing my eyes suddenly exhausted. The stress of everything that happened today sinking in now that I have nothing else to keep my mind occupied. I'm going over the day in my mind as I fall asleep.

***********************

I wake up due the sunlight coming in through the windows and shining into my eyes. I try to stretch the stiffness out of my joints. This couch is not that comfortable. I roll my neck as I stand up hearing a few small cracks. Standing up I walk around the couch and plant my feet. I starting into a T'ai Chi routine that Angel taught me years ago. Moving fluidly through the deliberate motions, I thank him in my mind for teaching me. It really is a good way to start the day, calming.

Finishing up I walk upstairs to the bathroom and checking my appearance in the mirror. I wet my hands and rake them through my hair, satisfied I move onto my clothes. I brush them off with my hands and straiten them. I walk downstairs and out the back door, making sure nobody sees me as I walk to the sidewalk.

It's beautiful outside this morning the sun is shining warming my skin. I walk around town for a good twenty minutes before I find the public library. Ascending the stairs I read 'Fork Public Library' on the side. So I'm in a place called Forks. I open the door and step into the air conditioned building. Seeing computers at the end of the building makes me smile. I quickly make it to the computer most out of sight and sit down.

Opening the internet I go my hotmail page and try to log in. Apparently my email does not exist. I frown, that is not a good sign. Going to Google next I try to look up the magic box, which also doesn't seem to exist. Starting to feel a little defeated I expand my search to Sunnydale, CA. Whoa. Not only does Sunnydale not exist…It never existed. Remembering something I type in 'Richard Wilkins' and again the search came up with no helpful results. There are only results of other people with the same name. Sunnydale can't exist without the person who created it.

Well alternative dimension it is then. My good mood has now completely deflated. Grimacing, I leave the library and start to absently walk around deep in thought. What am I going to do now? Well I do have place to stay here. This is as good of a place as any to start a life here. How am I going to get a job though? Not legally existing and everything. Perking up I remember a website where you can find fake documents for any region. I quickly double back to the library.

Going back to the same computer I was at before I find a site similar to the one I remember. I open a second page and type Forks public library into Google, finding out that I'm in Washington. I close Google, find the Washington documents and print them off. I close the internet and begin making a resume. Frowning I realize I have absolutely no references to give anybody. This might be hard, especially since I don't even have a number for people to reach me.

Deciding to get this over with today I print out thirty resumes, and then close all my programs on the computer. Walking out of the library I walk back to the main street and apply at every store there. Not getting good feedback anywhere. Almost giving up for the day I decide to stop at one more place, Newtons Outfitters. As I walk in a friendly looking woman at the counter smiles at me as I walk up to her.

I smile as sweetly as I can. "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers. I'm new here and I'm looking for a place to work." I reach out and shake her hand gently.

She actually looks slightly relieved. "Well you've come to the right place. We've been looking for weeks without a single application."

I give her my resume looking sheepish, "I don't have my phone line hooked up yet, so that's why there isn't a number yet."

I feel a little comfort when she smiles genuinely. "Well you can come in tomorrow for training, and we'll see how that goes. Are you available at 2?"

"Absolutely! Thank you, I'll be here at two." She seems to share my enthusiasm.

I walk out of the store and head back to my house, a spring in my step. Walking into the house I go upstairs and grab the box of towels bringing it downstairs. I sit on the couch and go through the towels picking out the rattier ones. Getting up I look around for a good place to start cleaning. I walk into the kitchen and start to clean off the counters. Using my new speed I finish the dry wiping. I then turn on the tap, letting it run until it is running clear water. Wetting another cloth I wipe everything down again.

Standing back I admire my work. Besides the floor it looks great, due to the fact that I don't have a broom yet. I repeat the process to the rest of the house. Cleaning everything I can, trying to make this house more livable. I use my speed the entire time, finishing cleaning in an hour what should have taken me all day. I am never going to complain about having to clean again that's for sure.

Not knowing what to do with the rest of the day I decide to walk around town more. I memorize the layout of the town as I do so. Forks' is a nice enough town. It's smaller than Sunnydale, but a lot calmer too. I've been walking around all day and a little while into the night and I haven't run into any trouble once. In Sunnydale I don't think that's possible.

While I'm walking I notice a field with a wide river in it. I walk over and lay down beside it. Staring at the sky I listen to the sound of the water moving beside me. I can't remember a time where I have felt so free, like I had no responsibilities in the world. Thanks to this feeling I think I am coming to terms with being here. I will look for a way back, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself while I'm here. Smiling I let myself relax, closing my eyes.

For as long as I can remember I've had the weight of the world on my shoulders. Before I wound up here it seemed like the grief wouldn't stop coming, Glory, Riley, Tara ...Mom. I soak up this moment. Feeling comfort. Peace.

Hearing a twig snap not to far away my eyes shoot open and in the direction to see a person standing there. She has a beautiful pale porcelain face with golden eyes, short dark hair spike out at the bottom, and is dressed fashionable. Vampire, my senses were screaming it at me.

"Are you okay?" She seems genuinely concerned.

Staying on guard I reply, "I'm just enjoying the serenity of the moment."

"Okay" She flashes me a quick smile and walks away. She isn't interested in attacking me?

Closing my eyes again I focus on the feeling she is giving me. Picturing in my minds eye exactly where she is. When she is far enough away that I'm sure she won't notice I get up and start to follow her. She walks quickly to the edge of town, waiting until she disappears into the forest until she breaks out running. I let her get a larger lead on me before I start to follow her scent. It is just as easy as following her it is so strong. Once I'm under the cover of the trees I follow her example, breaking out running. I keep running until I can feel the space between us running out. I stop and climb a tree staying well out of the way so that she can't sense me. Jumping from tree to tree I wait until I have a good view of where she is.

I gasp quietly; she had stopped at a beautiful house. It is a large Victorian Mansion. Most of the siding is glass, still passing as private because of the thick surround area of trees. She is standing in the back yard with six others. All vampires my senses confirm. She is not attacking anyone, so there is no reason to make myself known. I relax a little and begin observing the other vampires. They are all incredibly beautiful. I can't stop the small smile dancing on my lips. The way they are acting towards each other is like an actual family. I can hear their joyous laughter as they make jokes with each other, obviously light at heart.

I eye them each individually, stopping to stare as I eye a large dark haired male. He can only be explained as an Adonis. Here stands a god among men…or vampires. His strong features are bold and brilliant. I can smell his scent over all the others. He smells intoxicating. Threatening to drawn me in like a moth to a flame. I tighten my grip on the tree refusing to give in. It is almost painful struggling to keep myself in place. Everything about him is calling me to him. He's making every inch of my screaming body feel alive, and on fire. I hurriedly decide that these vampires pose no threat tonight. Fleeing from my spot on the tree, I head back in the direction of town.

Running fast all the way through the forest I slow down to a normal humans run when I get to town. Making it home quickly I go inside and lay down on the couch. I lay there staring at the ceiling thinking of my reaction to that vampire earlier today. It is stupid, really what am I thinking. Relationships with vampires always end badly. Hell, relationships period end badly. I'm not going to put myself through that when I finally feel at peace. I will control myself I promise myself as I fell asleep.