Disclaimer : I do not own anything from the shows Buffy or Angel - It all belongs to Joss.

Old Friends

"Hello, Whistler. Yeah, I need a word. It's Buffy," the dark haired vampire said.

"Buffy? You mean the Slayer? She here?" Whistler said, feigning surprise.

"Yes, she is, and don't try to pretend you don't know exactly what this is about."

"Er, Angel?" Willow questioned, "You haven't told him yet. He can't know."

"Oh yes he can, Willow. He's a messenger from the Powers. When I met him the first time he knew the entire situation and my entire past."

"Oh."

"Now, Whistler, tell me what's going on, or you'll regret it." Angel threatened, stepping closer to the man, a glint in his eye that reminded all those present of Angelus. His hand closed around Whistler's neck, pushing him quickly into the nearest wall.

"Angel!" Dawn screamed, shocked by the sudden violence.

"Now, now, Angel. You're a Champion, you know you can't kill me, no matter how hard you try," Whistler choked out.

"Yeah, it's in the contract, but you see, she could," Angel said, indicating Illyria, "and she's just itching for a fight. Plus, she would think of a more painful way to kill you than me. So be glad I'm the one doing the violence here."

"Angel, no! This isn't the way. I know he has information, but he won't be able to give us it if you crush his throat," Xander reasoned.

"Fine," the vampire said, casting the Messenger away into a chair.

"Now, Whistler, please tell us what you know. Buffy could die. She's close to now." The quiet serious tone of the Wiccan's voice, touched the man, he didn't know that the Slayer's friends had no clue as to her whereabouts, or that the Slayer had been away in conference that long.

"She's with the Powers That Be. That doesn't answer your question properly, I know. This will." Whistler snapped his fingers, causing a TV to appear in the middle of the room.

"A TV?" Faith questioned, "Excuse me, but how can the BBC, or whatever you guys have over here, answer our questions?"

"Just watch."

The TV crackled to life by itself, images began to appear on the screen, showing the group scenes from months back…

Flashback

Buffy sat alone in her room, crying. She finished writing in her diary, then kissed it and put it aside. She pulled out a knife, and lifted it to her right wrist. Before she made the cut, she began to sing, her voice wavering and tears streaming down her face.

"Early one morning, just as the sun was rising…" She cut her wrist deep, moving the knife to her left wrist.

"I heard a young maid sing in the valley below…" She cuts that wrist too.

"Oh, don't deceive me, oh, never leave me…" She makes deep, long cuts in both of her calves.

"How could you use a poor maiden so?" She lifts the knife to her neck, swiftly slicing her jugular vein, before dropping the knife and falling backwards across the bed.

End Flashback

"She wanted to die, poor girl. She missed him that much. If the Powers hadn't stepped in, she would have done."

Flashback

Buffy looks around the space, seeing nothing but whiteness.

"Am I dead?" She wonders aloud.

"No," a girl says, stepping out from the ether, followed by an older woman, possibly her mother, then an even older woman.

"No thanks to your little stunt," a boy continues, appearing on her other side, with two men, one around the same age as the first woman, the other older.

"I wanted out, okay! What is this the Spanish Inquistion!" Buffy said. The six people laughed.

"This is merely a meeting." The females spoke together, Buffy realised, as one.

"And you're invited," the males added.

"Oh, goodie, lucky me," the Slayer answered, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

"Indeed, Slayer."

"We have a proposal for you." The six beings began to circle her, the words coming from the females and males in turn.

"You can go back, you know."

"You can live."

"I don't want to, I can't. Not without…" Buffy's voice trailed away.

"He's not gone."

"He's there, waiting."

"But first, our offer."

"They can all go back."

"All live."

"What do you mean?"

"Every one of your little group of friends who died during the fight, any fight, or who fought and died in LA, can live once more." They began to list them, in the order they died, the named person appearing in the space.

"Wesley."

"Fred."

"Cordelia."

"Anya."

"Jonathon."

"Tara."

"Doyle."

"Jenny."

"Where do I sign?"

End Flashback

"She agreed. But the trails, they must not be over yet. If she wins, they'll all be back soon."

Dawn looked towards the Messenger. "And if she loses?"

"She'll die." He disappeared.

Spike raised his head. There were tears streaming down his face. The group was stunned, no- one, had seen the bleached blonde cry since Buffy had died. "It's all my fault," he said, "I should have come back. None of this would have happened if I had come back to her."

"No, Spike," Giles said, "This would have happen anyway. It seems the Power That Be have been planning a surprise for us."