Title: What Comes Next.
Spoilers: The Gift.
Summary: My version of what happens to Buffy in the afterlife.
Disclaimer: sigh, yawn Not mine, The Galaxy is on Joss's Belt, yada
yada.
Buffy turned away from Dawn and broke into a sprint towards the edge
of the platform. She leapt off with not a moment's hesitation, landing
on the mouth of the portal. She felt spears of pain shooting through
her entire body, energizing every nerve end until she thought she would
explode. Just when she felt she could take no more, it stopped. She
felt nothing.
Slowly, a light began to appear, dim at first, growing
from a pinprick to a bright light that shone with a painful intensity.
Buffy discerned a black spot on the horizon.
It grew and took form until she realised it was a figure approaching.
"Hello Mum." Buffy and Joyce hugged as they greeted each other.
"Hello Buffy." Joyce held her daughter tightly to her.
"I've missed you." Buffy settled into her mother's embrace. "So much."
"I'm so proud of what you did for Dawn." Joyce pulled back and
looked at her daughter's face.
"I hated leaving her." Buffy looked down.
"I know how you feel." Buffy looked up and they smiled at each other.
"You've been hurting, Buffy. Why?"
"You know why, Mum. I've missed you." Joyce looked at her daughter,
urging her to continue. "It stopped making sense, all of it. I got
sick of fighting the battles just to find another battle waiting around
the next corner. The more I fought, the more came and I kept losing
the people I love along the way. I kept losing part of me."
"You know it isn't over."
"Death is my gift."
"Death is not the end, Buffy."
"Great. Don't tell me, there are demons in the afterlife, too?"
"Just the ones that lie within you."
"Hyperion Hotel."
Angel hugged Willow goodbye as she left for Sunnydale. He turned
around, waved goodnight to his friends and walked up the stairs, his
head hanging. He undressed and eased himself into bed. It seemed
hours before he was able to fall asleep.
As he became aware of his surroundings, he found himself walking
through desert. He came around an outcrop of rock to find Buffy
perched on the edge. He approached her and stood behind her for a
moment. He sat down on the rock behind her, wrapping his arms around
her waist. She relaxed back into his embrace and rested her head on
his chest.
"They need you to come back." Angel spoke softly.
"They need someone to give them the strength to go on. I can't do
that anymore."
"'Can't' being the operative word here, or won't." There was a slight
hint of anger and frustration in his voice.
"I'm tired, Angel. I'm so tired." He hugged her tighter.
"We all get tired." He leant his chin on her shoulder. "They need
you." He whispered in her ear.
"They have each other." She sighed.
"They need *you*." He emphasized.
"They'll live." Her voice grew louder.
"They'll exist. If they're lucky."
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" She turned around to
look at him, unable to prevent herself from giving him a half-smile.
"The wisdom of age," he smiled back. "Look, I can't make you come back,
as much as I want to. You have to *want* life, Buffy. That in itself,
is a gift."
Buffy turned back around, once again relaxed back into
Angel's embrace and looked out over the desert.
The End.
Spoilers: The Gift.
Summary: My version of what happens to Buffy in the afterlife.
Disclaimer: sigh, yawn Not mine, The Galaxy is on Joss's Belt, yada
yada.
Buffy turned away from Dawn and broke into a sprint towards the edge
of the platform. She leapt off with not a moment's hesitation, landing
on the mouth of the portal. She felt spears of pain shooting through
her entire body, energizing every nerve end until she thought she would
explode. Just when she felt she could take no more, it stopped. She
felt nothing.
Slowly, a light began to appear, dim at first, growing
from a pinprick to a bright light that shone with a painful intensity.
Buffy discerned a black spot on the horizon.
It grew and took form until she realised it was a figure approaching.
"Hello Mum." Buffy and Joyce hugged as they greeted each other.
"Hello Buffy." Joyce held her daughter tightly to her.
"I've missed you." Buffy settled into her mother's embrace. "So much."
"I'm so proud of what you did for Dawn." Joyce pulled back and
looked at her daughter's face.
"I hated leaving her." Buffy looked down.
"I know how you feel." Buffy looked up and they smiled at each other.
"You've been hurting, Buffy. Why?"
"You know why, Mum. I've missed you." Joyce looked at her daughter,
urging her to continue. "It stopped making sense, all of it. I got
sick of fighting the battles just to find another battle waiting around
the next corner. The more I fought, the more came and I kept losing
the people I love along the way. I kept losing part of me."
"You know it isn't over."
"Death is my gift."
"Death is not the end, Buffy."
"Great. Don't tell me, there are demons in the afterlife, too?"
"Just the ones that lie within you."
"Hyperion Hotel."
Angel hugged Willow goodbye as she left for Sunnydale. He turned
around, waved goodnight to his friends and walked up the stairs, his
head hanging. He undressed and eased himself into bed. It seemed
hours before he was able to fall asleep.
As he became aware of his surroundings, he found himself walking
through desert. He came around an outcrop of rock to find Buffy
perched on the edge. He approached her and stood behind her for a
moment. He sat down on the rock behind her, wrapping his arms around
her waist. She relaxed back into his embrace and rested her head on
his chest.
"They need you to come back." Angel spoke softly.
"They need someone to give them the strength to go on. I can't do
that anymore."
"'Can't' being the operative word here, or won't." There was a slight
hint of anger and frustration in his voice.
"I'm tired, Angel. I'm so tired." He hugged her tighter.
"We all get tired." He leant his chin on her shoulder. "They need
you." He whispered in her ear.
"They have each other." She sighed.
"They need *you*." He emphasized.
"They'll live." Her voice grew louder.
"They'll exist. If they're lucky."
"You have an answer for everything, don't you?" She turned around to
look at him, unable to prevent herself from giving him a half-smile.
"The wisdom of age," he smiled back. "Look, I can't make you come back,
as much as I want to. You have to *want* life, Buffy. That in itself,
is a gift."
Buffy turned back around, once again relaxed back into
Angel's embrace and looked out over the desert.
The End.