And That's What it's All About

Title: And That's What it's All About

Chapter: Dead Girl Walking

Rating: K – Just talk of death and mentions of war. Since I saw kids younger than the younglings in the last film, well… I'm certain anyone can read this. There is a little swearing and some animosity though.

Genre: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Star Wars crossover. I still have no direction with this story, no real plot as you can soon see. I'd be perfectly happy to end this here.

Summary: Buffy's life has gone from bad to worse as she discovers she's not the only ghost haunting the Jedi Temple.

Disclaimer: I own neither genre. Joss Whedon owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer. George Lucas owns the Star Wars franchise as well as the authors of the individual novels. As I've read all of two, this story will follow the films more. If you want to give me recommendations on which Star Wars novels are worth reading, I would be happy to hear them. I'm just a poor post-college graduate working in a dangerous field.

Spoilers: There are minor spoilers from both stories, especially Star Wars.

Timeline: This takes place over the after 'The Gift'. In Star Wars verse, it's set between films two and three.

Dedication: This is still for Grace, who has been my friend and beta for three years now.

x-o-x

Dead Girl Walking

I am not a happy Slayer.

I have been dragged through ceilings, walls and doors. I have been walked through my adult males, females and creatures I didn't know existed. I felt like I was landed on Mars and yet… spaceships. My reality check was the spaceship that just soared by three feet behind me. My butt is still hanging out a window. I'm stick in a room that some tall black guy just called the 'war room'. Really? Even though I can see everything perfectly clear, there is no war in this room. There is just this table that looks a cross between a craps table and air hockey. And as these Jedi seem to have absolutely no sense of fun whatsoever, I doubt they've even heard of air hockey or craps. Too bad. I could have at least picked a side.

Right now, I'm really not liking any of them.

I took a few steps to the other side of the stupidest one of them all – Obi-Wan Kenobi. For being someone that a lot of people seemed to respect, he was totally clueless. No matter how many times I smacked him, my arm kept going through his body. He would look at me and frown as though trying to see something just outside his reality.

Well. Duh.

And where was the other glowy man, the one with the long hair that could actually see me? The only one around here who seemed to be able to sense my presence was Yoda and he was perfectly happy to ignore me for something called a council meeting. I was kind of interested in what they had to say. And then I stood there like an idiot while they discussed a war.

They were even worse than my Council. They seemed smart enough, sure. But there was nothing there. Even the weird glowing beings that were apparently being projected from some other planet seemed quite, what was the word, odd? One guy looked like the squid baby that poor Will Smith had to catch in the MIB movie. One girl looked like a circus freak in a headdress. The tall black guy reminded me of someone else. Yoda just sat there. His eyes were cast downwards. I was so tempted to run over and smack my hand through his head and make him notice me.

I may be a little too used to being the center of attention. For years I commanded the respect of my peers, family and friends. They fought for me.

Now I sort of feel out of my element. Why? I'm a bloody ghost. I can't do anything except throw temper tantrums that no one could see. I apparently can't be more than a hundred feet away from this Kenobi guy and that in itself has led to a few interesting moments. Watching this guy sleep is worse than watching paint dry. At least then I'd be able to add more paint. Or dump it over Kenobi's head. Either way, I am starting to get bored and there is nothing I can do about it.

As soon as the Council meeting was adjourned, I stormed over to Yoda who looked perfectly happy to stand up and leave the room. He seemed to stop though as he sensed my anger, frustration and apparent lack of caring. He just solemnly blinked down at the ground, his ears perking slightly. "Without me, you go on," he said quietly to the tall dark-skinned man who turned back to frown puzzled at him. "Be with you, I will."

"I will see you then," the dark-skinned man said in his most dramatic voice as he swept regally out of the room. Like a King or something, only without the pomp.

I turned my attention back to the creature now staring at my waist. I immediately felt my body tense at how wrong that thought suddenly seemed. But it cheered me to know that I was no longer the shortest being. Or apparently the oldest... in my time in this Temple place so far, I have learned that Yoda is nearly nine hundred years old.

For a Slayer who has been dead twice, I felt that nine hundred years was quite impressive.

"Speak, you must," Yoda said. His voice was so soft that I felt as though it were just a mere whisper. "Feel you, I can."

"I am here," I retorted, feeling my little ghost body bend down to glare at him. "I've been here for three days now and all you've done is ignore me! No one else can see me but you."

"True, that is not," Yoda replied, glancing at my face.

"Well, Kenobi sure as hell can't see me!" I exploded, my hands flying through my hips. "You told him to keep my amulet. Now wherever he goes, I go! Do you know how annoying that is? The man doesn't have a clue!"

"Not keen to this change the Force, he is not."

"You think?"

Yoda at last seemed to sense my frustration. "Darkness is no path to follow," he murmured, his ears drooping as he gazed back at the perfect marble floor. "Frustration… anger… fear… lead to the dark side, such emotions will."

"What would you have me do? Stay here and rot until someone finally gets the hint this place is haunted?"

"By the living Force, always."

I snorted. It must have been amusing to him because he actually looked up at me again.

"Patience you must have."

"I'm not patient. I'm not anything except a ghost. You're the only one who can see me. If I were one of these Jedi I would have seen me by now! Is it because I'm a girl? Because, you know, that's really, really dumb…"

"It is not," Yoda replied, starting to move forward again. As he did, he jabbed his stout little walking stick through my foot.

"Can you do anything?" I pleaded, turning back after attempting to put my foot through his bottom. It obviously didn't work and he stopped, half-turning back.

"Patience you must have," he said again, his voice sounding more firm. "Realize, you soon will what you do, you must."

Okay. That made no sense to me. I just watched as he left. And then Obi-Wan Kenobi was apparently on the move because my body suddenly flew downwards again at a rather nauseating rate of speed. I landed in the beautifully sunlit corridors just as Obi-Wan Kenobi stepped beside me. I just stared at him, loathing everything about his surly glare to those rather nice eyes. Yeah, he had nice eyes. He had other nice parts too that I alone have been privileged to see. But his eyes were the only visible part at the moment.

And he was looking constipated again.

"Master."

"Anakin."

Ooh. I turned and looked and there he was. The man with the fascinating scar. He had a pretty face. His eyes weren't bad, but as my eyes traveled, the rest of him appeared just fine.

"Has the Council given you an order?"

"Indeed. We are to depart in the morning so get some rest. There is much to accomplish on this mission. We'll get the full briefing from Cody in the morning."

Cody? At last… a name that was somewhat recognizable.

"Yes, Master."

"And for the last time, it's Obi-Wan. I'm no longer your Master."

"But you are my mentor," Anakin replied with a smile. He had a really nice smile.

Obi-Wan smiled himself. At last, something that didn't make him look like a grumpy old great-uncle. "I am humbled by your words, Anakin. Be prepared for tomorrow. I must attend to something else."

The possibility of a field trip was actually sort of endearing. Three days of following this guy around… I was willing to actually ride the nice spaceships. As Anakin nodded and swept away, I was once again privileged to another posterior view. Gently sighing, I turned to walk away only to come face-to-face with the other ghost.

For the first time in three days, he was standing right before me.

"Hello."

I glared up at him. He was very tall. "The next time you decide to do that, a little warning might be nice. You need to wear a bell or something."

He looked back down at me, his eyes pinching in that politely puzzled expression that Obi-Wan seemed to damned famous for. "Are you well?"

"As well as a dead girl walking can be," I replied. Oh, I was such sass.

"You are far from dead, Buffy Summers," the man replied, looking rather amused by my sarcasm. After he said my name, I must have given him some indication of surprise. "Yes, I do know who you are. I would explain, but the reason is rather complex. We, rather, know your name and your story has been brought to our attention. I am a figment of the Living Force, as are you standing there."

"I'm a ghost," I replied, my voice half a mumble. I wasn't that blonde, was I? This wasn't the first time I heard about the Living Force either. It sounded like something a zombie would do. "Aren't I? I mean, I can go through things and through people and apparently the only person who can see me is Yoda. He isn't a real person. He's too little. And he's green."

"He is a far greater being than you could ever hope to be."

Ouch. That was a bit below the belt. He apparently caught my wince though because he continued rather abruptly. "His age has him at great skills irregardless of whatever you have done in your reality."

"My reality?" I gasped. "I beat a Hellgod, a vampire Master, a demon snake, a giant biological Frankenstein and my own personal demons. I would hardly call that not being the best being in my field. God, I died for my sister. I sacrificed everything I was just so she could live."

Before I knew it, I was ranting.

"I will never see Dawn grow up. I will never see her with her first boyfriend or—or… well, I'll never be able to physically threaten her first boyfriend. I'll never graduate from college. I'll never see my friends get married! I'll never have the privilege of knowing that everyone I knew and loved is safe. And I'll never know why they all followed me so blindly… it was the strangest thing. I've never felt more grateful for what they gave to me now that I'm, well, dead and can't get any anymore. I mean, you're one with the Living Force, right? How does it feel?"

The man was studying me rather cautiously. At last, he spoke. "You are the only one who knows of my existence. When I was alive, I had a great respect amongst those who no longer kept to the old, but led with the new. We are part of a new league of Jedi, Buffy Summers. A Jedi of old relies on the Force and only the voice of the Force. The new rely on their passion. Their strength. Themselves. You have given your life selflessly because that is who you are. You have never been less capable of loving or more capable of giving. You are life and death wrapped in one. It is for this reason and this reason alone that you have journeyed here."

"I thought it was because Yoda was my spirit guide."

"The responsibility of the spirit guide was transferred to Yoda when your guardian said it was so," the man replied, his gaze turning serious. "As for being grateful for what you had, they were attachments. A Jedi never has possessions. They seek to give their life for others, to sacrifice their beings for others using their strength to protect them. We are not so unlike now, are we?"

"I… I guess not." This was starting to make sense now. At least I was finally figuring out who the hell this Council was.

And then I felt that sudden jerk behind my navel again. Obi-Wan must be jetting away at warp speed. Damn it.

"You must accept your fate before the others will see you."

"What about the amulet?" I rasped. He smirked again and I knew this must look really stupid because I felt like I was doing a backwards dance with my legs kicking out behind me. I couldn't help it. I didn't exactly want to leave. "The cross that Obi-Wan now carries?"

"A remnant of your past life to be given unto your new," the man replied with a wave of his hand. "It is no consequence."

"By why General Constipated? Why on Earth did he get my cross? Why couldn't it have gone to someone with, say, brains? Someone like Yoda? Or the black guy?" I realized I was shouting now as the distance between us grew. I glared upwards as my feet left the ground. Obi-Wan. Why, why, why did he feel like moving so damned fast if this place was as well-protected as it was?

"For the record, this is Coruscant and not Earth," the man replied, looking even more amused. "And Master Windu is another of the great Jedi." He paused. "Perhaps you should give Obi-Wan a chance. He may surprise you."

"Right," I snapped as my body flew upwards towards the ceiling. "As if I have any choice—"

My voice was cut off as I sprang through the ceiling and through a group of Jedi younglings. Younglings, not kids. Well… this was certainly getting complicated. I still didn't know who this man was except he was probably some dead Jedi getting his kicks by sending a poor helpless Slayer in as a ghost. There was nothing for me here. There was nothing explaining about what I was supposed to do other than follow around Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I suddenly froze as I realized where I had been dragged. I was outdoors. There were a collection of fancy spaceships. Obi-Wan was neatly settling into one before pulling the steering column into his lap.

Crap. I hurried over and quickly threw myself into the empty seat next to him. There was no way he was going to drag me across this planet in mid-air! I at least deserved to sit.

The spaceship neatly reversed before heading upwards. Though I was screaming bloody murder, he obviously didn't pick up on it. He just kept muttering about why flying was for droids and why he was stuck doing this mission in the first place.

Like he has a choice. He could just say no. I, on the other hand, am just a walking dead girl. A dead girl walking. A dead girl riding in a speeder at a speed that would make my former driving instructor cringe. Oh, well. At least this was fun. I was out of that building. I glanced behind me and saw what looked like some historical temple disappearing into the sunset. Tossing my hair back, I whooped. I was in a badass speeder with a guy driving at the speed of light. This was freedom. This was ecstasy. This was completely insane.

Obi-Wan suddenly dipped the speeder at an angle that I could see the ground rising quickly such that the speeder could kiss it if it so desired. Pulling back up, he sped down and parked the speeder. Leaping out with all the grace of a cat, he continued on his merry way, preferring to travel on foot. Standing on wobbling sea legs, I just tossed off the feeling of wanting to throttle the Jedi Master and followed close behind.

Something the man said suddenly struck me. Accept my fate? He may have well just told me to kiss the sky. Although if Obi-Wan's driving was any indication, that may actually happen.

He was disappearing into a place with a bunch of aliens making strange faces. I followed inside just in time to see a pinkish haze. There was a table. And there were groups of aliens making strange faces. Some were pointing at a standing figure and making clicking noises.

This was so beyond my comprehension that I scampered behind Obi-Wan. Even though these… these things couldn't see me, I felt powerless. I didn't have my Slayer strength to back me up. I didn't have anything to back me up.

Was this what it was like to feel completely helpless?

Did I have to accept my fate as some fallen heroine trapped in Jedi-land as some portion of the Living Force?

Could I do this?

Hell, I had to do this. As Obi-Wan neatly plucked one of the beings out and dragged him to a corner, I took the vacated chair and stared at the table. Now this was more like it. Poker… I didn't know the game myself but as I stared at the back of the cards, they were suddenly revealed to me. With squiggly lines and pointing arrows and other weird assorted shapes that made no sense to me. Oh, well. At least I could see through cards.

Wait… I could see through the cards?

My hand reached down and touched the felt. I could feel the chill of the table as my hand moved through it. I lifted my hand back up and moved it to an ashtray that seemed to have been built in. My hand reached down and gently hovered an inch or so above a smoldering cigar. I could feel that cigar. I could taste the smooth taste of it in the back of my mouth. The pink smoke seemed to wane instantly as I imagined the greenish haze this cigar would produce.

A little smoking stick… such a small thing and yet I could feel it. I could sense it.

I glanced up at the aliens. One was green and short and kept speaking in random clicks and gestured wildly, a thin cigarette trailing out of the corner of his mouth. Looking at him, I could sense something. I sensed that he was displeased about the lack of his own species at the table. He was also allergic to the pink smoke hovering inches above the table.

What was this?

Before I could even begin to decipher the others, my body drew backwards through the chair and the wall. Obi-Wan was striding down the corridor with his head bent, the familiar frown on his face.

Well, I certainly couldn't ask him what I was feeling or sensing. I felt like a psychic or something.

Yoda. I had to ask Yoda. Or the dead ghost guy. Why was it that he could only appear to me in the temple? Maybe he could appear elsewhere.

"Hey!" I shouted, jumping up and down. "Hey! You with the ghost face, get down here! I want to talk to you!"

"You called?"

I could hear his voice and yet he wasn't there. This was totally weird. I felt like it was something I should slay and yet, well, I couldn't exactly pull a stake from my non-existent body now, could I?

"What is this?"

"This?"

"This! What I'm doing… what is it? I can sense things. I sense people. I sense people doing things. What is this?"

"You are using your gift."

"The Living Force, right?"

"Not yet, but it is close. You are starting to act like half of the warrior you once were. You may not have been aware of all of your gifts, but I believe this is only the beginning."

The man's words hung with me even as Obi-Wan continued on his tasks. I just sat in the spaceship as he left, or floated gently through more things as he moved about. I wasn't really paying attention to him. I kept thinking about what the man had said. I hadn't been aware of my gifts? I was acting like half a Slayer? I felt like a blind person who had just been handed a book.

And then it struck me. I was being given the chance to use the gifts I had been given before I could kill. I could sense things from people, whether they were evil or not. I could feel things that others could not. What I once thought was a part of my calling suddenly turned into something so much more.

As Obi-Wan parked the speeder, I stumbled into the Temple behind him. I wasn't aware of floating through anything until I heard a sharp voice from behind him. And then Anakin walked through me again.

"Master, Commander Cody said he is prepared for tomorrow."

"That is good news," Obi-Wan replied. "I have also completed my tasks and must be seen to the war room."

As Obi-Wan walked away, I followed him. For some reason, though I despised the fact my non corporeal body was tied to his flesh and blood I realized that he was something of a protector to me. I couldn't help but trust him.

"Master," Anakin said, moving after me. I watched as he stopped at my side and then looked at me, really looked at me. "Did you know that there's a girl standing behind you?"

"What?" Obi-Wan asked, turning around with his usual look of puzzlement.

And it just keeps on getting better, I tell myself.

Now things are about to get complicated.

x-o-x

I appreciate comments, suggestions, flames, compliments and just about everything else you could whip my way. Thank you for reading!