Buffy the Vampire Slayer
In Between
Post Season Seven
Chapter One: Shadow of the Day
She thought it was over; it should've been. She had done her job, her calling. But she should've known better…it never ends. She died for the greater good; cried for the loved ones she lost. Spike, Joyce, Tara, Anya… it never seemed to end. The pain, the hurt and the violence. But what had they told her? 'It's the Slayer's job.' Boy, did she hate the council. There were always those moments in her life, during the fight of her life, where she wondered if she was going home in one piece. She feared that one night, in Sunnydale, that Dawn and her friends would get the news; she was killed by a vampire or demon one night while patrolling. But, Spike was always there. She didn't know what to call it. Was it really love, or just lust? Was it a need or a want? In the end, in the cave, she was sure it was in fact love. She loved him, but he didn't believe her. What could she have done to make it different? To show him. She didn't regret it though. He died to save her; to save Dawn.
They declared Sunnydale inhabitable. Said it was an earthquake. Of course no one really believed it, but no one cared enough, so they just looked the other way, not thinking twice about it. Months later, Buffy and her friends moved to Italy. It was where a magical convent was located; one that helped Buffy and the others to gathering new Slayers and helped them control their powers and help them understand their calling. Did Buffy know what it meant? Of course not. All she knew was, though she no longer wanted the title or the job, she was still the Slayer. It was quiet in Italy. Run-ins with vampires were uncommon: demons even more scarce. Buffy thought for once that she had actually escaped her duty.
Boy was she ever wrong.
Now she knew it; the truth. Nothing is what it seems. Death is inevitable. Her job was to protect and she intended to do that to her last breath. She just didn't realize that night was the night where she would breathe her last breath. The difference? Spike couldn't save her now. No one could. For them to live…she must die. It was written and the seer predicated it. Buffy kept it a secret, though now she wished she did in fact tell them. Tell Dawn. Spend her last real, human, moments with her sister.
Now it was too late.
"Buffy!" Dawn screamed, running to her sister's aid. "No!"
Dawn's screams were piercing to the human ear. But Buffy didn't notice. Instead, she looked down, dropping her sword in her hand, to place her hands around the sword that had stabbed her in the stomach. She winced, pulling the blade out, blood poured out freely. From afar, Spike punched a vampire and saw Buffy. He could feel her. Feel her pain, fear and her heart beating. "No," he whispered. "No!"
She fell. She didn't know how long, but she did. Before Dawn could reach her, Buffy's back made contact with the floor and her vision blurred. "Buffy." There she was: her sister.
Buffy turned her head to her little sister, who had her hands pressed against Buffy's wound, crying. "Dawn," she said weakly. "It's fine."
Dawn shook her head. "No, no, no."
Buffy smiled weakly. "Yes, it is."
"No!" Dawn screamed. "You promised me! You promised!"
Buffy nodded, fighting unconscious. "I know. You trust me, don't you?"
Dawn sobbed louder, but nodded. "Yes."
Buffy grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed. "Then trust me now." She swallowed hard, feeling her strength leaving her, her body and heart giving up. "I said I'd protect you. This is the only way…trust me…"
Dawn cried. Tears fell from her eyes, running down her cheeks, and falling onto Buffy. She looked at Dawn, and then slowly looked away. Her friends were still fighting. Fighting for their lives. Spike kept going, ignoring the pain. Then, with her last breath, her eyes still gazing up…she breathed no more. That was when Dawn realized…Buffy was dead. But then, right before Dawn's eyes, something amazing happened.
She glowed. Buffy's entire body was cast into a blinding light.
In confusion, Dawn backed away, letting go of Buffy's hand. She shrieked as the light became too much and she fell to her knees. She watched as every vampire and demon in the room was killed. Burned to ashes or dusted. She looked around as Spike, Willow, Xander and Giles all looked around in confusion. They each looked at Dawn and she turned to her sister's body.
But it was no longer there. Dawn cried. Buffy was gone. She was dead….again.