A/N: I do not own Buffy or Supernatural. I will be going very much AU with this story, but some element will remain. Also Season 11 Spoilers!
The Slayer Returns
1
(December 2007 - Cleveland)
Buffy winced and bit her lip as the glowing hot branding iron scorched the flesh on her outer calf. The pain was an explosion of white hot energy that appeared in back her eyes and caused a scream to try and climb out of her throat; yet compared to the loss of her sister it was simply moderately uncomfortable. The red headed witch Willow finished her chant and dabbed the wound with cool water that sizzled for the first couple dabs. "You're sure you want to do this?" she asked her blonde friend with more than a touch of worry in her voice, "You'll have no way to defend yourself." Buffy nodded solemnly, "It's for the best. I've given everything to being the slayer, and my freaking destiny continues to destroy those around me…. I won't do it anymore, and the powers can go sit on it and rotate." Willow nodded, "If you ever change your mind, you know how to break the spell. I'll never say no to having you back."
Buffy didn't answer; she just stood up and grabbed a duffle bag out of the closet. She took stock of what was going on in her own mind. She was doing it; she was leaving this place that she had built. Leaving the life that took her sister from her. "What will you do?" Willow asked with a voice so thick with concern that it shook Buffy from her thoughts. "I dunno," Buffy admitted with a small smirk and a sad shrug, "But I can't stay here." Without another word between them the blonde packed a bag with a few clothes, some pictures, and some money before heading out the door, and leaving her life and her destiny behind to rot with the memories of loss.
(March 2015 - Texas)
Dean Winchester pulled off the road somewhere in Texas. He wasn't sure how long he had been driving, but he knew it had been long enough. "Who the hell ever heard of Waxahachie, Texas anyway?" Cas had informed him of an ally who might be willing to provide assistance in dealing with the Darkness, but he wasn't convinced that Cas's hero would be on the up and up if they were even real. His eyes closed as he thought about Amara and her promise for them to be together. The thought sickened him, but comforted him as well which was the disturbing side of things. He shook the unwanted thoughts from his head and quickly kicked the door of his Impala open to stand up and stretch. After walking around a bit to clear the conflicting thoughts of Amara from his head he got back in the car and continued driving towards the middle of nowhere Texas town.
Buffy shivered as the walk-in cooler closed behind her. She had been working this bar for seven years and running it for five; yet she still found that the cooler was too cold for her California skin. She turned around to load the last case of beer onto the dolly and came face to face with a man wearing a navy blue suit and trench coat, "AHH!" She screamed as the case fell to the floor, "How the hell did you get in here?" she demanded while doing her best to ignore the cold and wet feeling building up around her feet. She noticed the way her looked at her; his face vacant, but full of more knowledge than she could fathom. That's when it hit her, "What are you?" He almost seemed to chuckle as he considered her, "You are Buffy Summers," he said in a flat gruff voice. "Yeah, why are you here creepy?" He looked at her inquisitively for a moment, "My name is not Creepy; I am Castiel." Buffy smirked, "Fine Castiel, what are you and why are you here?"
Castiel turned his head to the side, "I am an Angel of the Lord," he stated as if it were obvious, "You are broken." Buffy started laughing, "You almost had me for a minute, Angel of the Lord my ass." With a clap of thunder the lights dimmed and Buffy's throat went dry when she caught the sight of massive yet broken shadow wings behind the stranger. "Do you require more proof?" Castiel asked to which Buffy dumbly shook her head. "Good," Castiel replied, "Now, why are you broken? You are Buffy Summers the Slayer, but your energy is compressed." Buffy nodded, "I'm not the slayer anymore." She pulled up the leg of the sweat pants she was wearing to show him the devil's trap tattooed on her calf. "Now I'm just Buffy the bar owner in middle of nowhere Texas."
Castiel regarded this, "This is not normal body decoration. The mark has been applied with a mystical brand. Where did you get one?"
"Nope," Buffy said, "Why are you here?" Castiel returned his burning blue eyes to hers, "We have work for you." Buffy's jaw went so tight that she felt it pop, "After everything that was taken from me…. You have some nerve to ask me for anything!" He looked at her with a cold yet sympathetic expression, "Are you so full of loss that you would doom the planet to your old enemy?" Before she could respond the creaking sound of the large wooden double doors at the front entrance opening distracted them. With the brief sound of ruffling feathers and quickly fading footfalls Buffy found herself standing alone in a still growing puddle of beer when her bouncer walked in. "You ok Boss?" he asked. Buffy looked at the man. Six foot, two hundred fifty pounds of pure biker muscle. His Greying handlebar mustache and beard gave him a rough look, but she knew better. Rarely had she met a more gentle and good soul. "I'm good Walt, just an accident. Hey, do me a favor?" Walt nodded, "Get these into the bar coolers before they go skunky, I'm gunna clean this up and go change." Walt nodded with a friendly smile and in his rough but friendly voice said, "Sure thing."
The sun had already set as Dean pulled into the small motel on the outskirts of town. He got his room and threw his bag on the bed without taking in the state of the room, "Work tomorrow, drink tonight," he said to himself as he shut the door to his motel room. Right down the street he saw it a large 2 story wooden building with a giant neon star on the front "The Lone Star Bar," he chuckled, "Only in Texas." As he approached the door he noticed a line of bikes lined up out front and Skynard wafting across the parking lot. "This is my kind of place," he thought as he stepped through the large doors, "The only thing missing is… nope, there it is." His eyes locked into a blonde tending the bar. She wasn't tall maybe 5'1" in heels, early thirties, but even from this distance he could tell that this girl was in shape. She wore a black tank top that had a red rose on it and hugged every curvy in her supple shape, A black Stetson that very much fit in with the vibe, and the skin tight dark jeans the he found were a nice touch as well. Could he succeed with this one? He didn't know, but he's Dean friggin Winchester and he was sure as hell going to try.
Dean plastered on his most seductively charming smile and walked right up to the bar, "What'll ya have?" asked the perky voice that held no hint of the accent prevalent in these parts . Dean couldn't help but widen his grin as he locked eyes with the smoking hot blonde, "Whiskey, neat," he responded. Before he knew anything she slid the drink in front of him; pulling a few dollars and sitting them on the bar he looked at the gorgeous bartender again, "So, how does a girl as gorgeous as you wind up working in a small town dive like this?" Without missing a beat Buffy looked at the handsome stranger sporting her own smirk, "It helps when you're the owner."
Dean was about to retort with something he thought would be clever when he saw her eyes darken. It was a haunted look that only someone who had seen entirely too much in this world and beyond could pull off, one he saw every time he looked into a damn mirror anymore; one he was sure he wore with every monster that he faced. He noted that she was staring clean through him, and with a look at the large mirror behind the bar he saw the reflection of Castiel standing in the crowd staring at them in the way he did when he wanted something. "Damn it Cas, can't I get one night?" he asked as he spun around only to realize Cas was staring at the bartender and not him.
It took only a second for Buffy to realize that this guy had spoken to the being that watched her. She used the word being, because she was not ready to accept the existence of an angel, and with a glare that used to make vampires run and hide she turned to the stranger, "You know this thing?"
Dean was taken aback and with a chuckle he felt the sudden urge to bash his face onto the bar, "Son of a bitch," looking up he stared into the green, glaring eyes of the blonde and swallowed, "I guess you could call him my guardian angel." She visibly grimaced, "Walt! Watch the bar," she yelled out, "You two follow me." Dean chuckled, "Listen princess, I don't know who you are, but I don't just follow blindly." The blonde replied simply with a look that told him that she wasn't asking. Without a word he got off his barstool and followed her with Castiel in tow.
They followed her through the back and up the stairs to the second level which led to an office. "What the hell?" she demanded, "I tell you no, so you bring hunky here to entice me?"
"Whoa, He didn't bring me here," Dean answered, "I'm working a job, and just who the hell are you babe?" Castiel stepped forward, "She is important in your coming fight. She has faced this enemy before and pushed it back, "Blondie is the powerful ally you sent me to recruit? And here I thought Sam had the worst idea yet when he wanted to talk to Lucifer." Castiel grimaced and looked at the older Winchester, "she is the chosen one, Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Dean stopped cold, he simply stared at the blonde before he broke down laughing, "You mean like that old goofy TV show?" Buffy shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she tried to hide a flash of anger, "I wish you wouldn't bring that up. You don't know how creepy it is that some chronicler of the Powers that Be you've never met told the world your accurate life story." Dean laughed harder, "Oh sweetheart, let me know when you've wound up at a fan convention for it complete with people larping you." Buffy looked at him quizzically, "I don't follow, larping?"
Dean sat down in one of the old wooden chairs in front of the small desk, "The graphic novel series Supernatural. It's the story of my brother and me. It's written by this prophet of the lord named Chuck. Once we were duped by a crazed fangirl into making an appearance at a Supernatural convention and people were in costume pretending to be us, so yes Honey I get it." Castiel nodded, "The Winchester Gospel and the Holy Slayer Chronicles."
"Enough!" Buffy yelled, "First, I can't even process anymore and second, I'm not a slayer anymore. I did my bit for the Powers that Be, and I'm done." Dean stood up, "Cas I think you better listen to her. If she got out don't drag her back in. She doesn't need vamps and demons controlling her existence anymore."
"Dean, you do not understand," Castiel said, "When the mark was removed, the Darkness was released. She knows how to fight it." Buffy put her hands up in a time out gesture, "What mark? And I never fought anything called the Darkness unless..."
The three of them turned at the sound of clapping, "And she gets there." Dean saw that despite her fists being curled up in anger, Buffy was crying while looking at the tall brunette that appeared in the room, "How dare you take that form." Buffy demanded as the words escaped her clenched teeth. The brunette simply jumped up and down and laughed, "But your sister was the perfect choice to upset you. You shoved me back in that miserable hole, but now I'm out bitch. I'm out and your little pipsqueak army is powerless this time. Oh, and I left you a present." She morphed into the form of Amara that Dean was familiar with and gave him a small smile, "Think about my offer Dean; time's running out," she said as she reached out and stroked his cheek before vanishing.
As soon as Amara vanished they all heard the sound of the big wooden doors being broken followed by a huge commotion and several screams. "Either it's an army or one hell of a show." He slipped out of the office and down the stairs. Once he crept out to where he could see he wished he hadn't. He saw blood, body parts and hideous creatures with pointed ears, fangs, and almost white skin. Quickly he scurried back up the stairs and into the office. "What the hell man? There's an army of monsters down there like I've never seen."
"She must have brought the Turok Han," Castiel remarked calmly. "Crap," said Buffy, "I have weapons, but we're better off not fighting if we can." Dean sniffed the air and frowned, "Not a problem, they set the place on fire." Buffy gasped, "We have to get everyone out!"
Dean shook his head, "Nobody left alive to get out. Just us, toots." Buffy rolled her eyes as she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a black knife, "Machetes are in the trunk." With a nod Dean opened it and tossed one to Buffy after taking one for himself, he kicked to door open, "Let's go!" They ran down the stairs and Dean took a flying leap catching the neck of a Turok han straggler with his machete. It wasn't clean, but after a moment he separated its head from its shoulders. Buffy did the same to another, but she found herself unable to cut through the creature's thick skin. As the creature turned its attention to her she did the only thing she could, "DEAN!" She heard him grunt as he fell to ash, "These things suck," he said as he grabbed her waist, "You ok?" Buffy only nodded suddenly feeling very small, weak, and ashamed. She had never felt so useless.
She was shaken from her terrified thought by a loud thunderous crack. Following the sound she looked up she saw the main rafter beam splitting and collapsing from the flames, "Time to go babe," Dean said hurriedly as they bolted out the door. As they caught their breath Buffy sat in the parking lot and watched in shock as the supernatural destroyed yet another piece of her life. "I can't do this anymore," she said quietly, "I tried to stay out of its way and it came for me." Dean looked at her, "What does that mean?"
Buffy smiled sadly as she looked up at the ash and soot covered man who was so good looking it made her eyes hurt, and so broken it made her heart ache for him, "It means that you've recruited your ally."
