Chapter 45 - How Would You Spend Your Last Day?

-Buffy's Room - Sunrise-

Angel and Conner were dumbfounded with her plan. Her explanation was long and senseless but in the end they knew that Buffy had a feeling it could work. Conner looked her in the eye, "You're crazy."

Angel smiled and grabbed her hand, "But it'll work."

Buffy let out the deep breath she'd been holding in, "I sure as hell hope so."

-Later - Willow's Room-

Buffy had gathered the main group into Willow's room and Andrew just followed. Willow, Wesley, Cordy, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, Xander, Anya, Dawn, Giles, Spike, and Faith were all waiting for Buffy to talk. By the look on her face they could tell she had something. They could also tell they wouldn't like it and that Conner and Angel knew what it was.

Buffy took a deep breath, flipped the schythe in her hands and addressed them all, "Our year has pretty much sucked. We've been blind the whole way and we've had a lot of surprises and fatalities but we're finished being one step behind the first. We've all known the end was coming for some time now and it's finally here." She paused for a few seconds before looking into Willow's eyes, "I know you've been edgy and you have a right but I need you Willow, I need you more now then ever."

Willow started to fidget, "I don't know Buffy...I'm still a little..."

Buffy interrupted her, "I have spent the last 7 years of my life saving this world, and being alone and being strong. I am not going to let those girls grow up like that."

That hit Willow hard, "What do I have to do?"

Buffy calmed down and once again looked over the whole group, "Tomorrow night I'm opening the seal. We're going to finish this."

Xander shook his head, "It's suicide."

"Yeah, I mean what makes you think that just because we have a super-cool weapon that we're any different."

Buffy ignored and finished her explanation, "Willow's going to charm this scythe with my power..." She stopped for a second, gave Faith a look and corrected herself, "...Our power." Faith let herself smile a little but stayed focussed on what Buffy was trying to say, "Then she'll use the essence of the scythe to give every potential girl in the world the power of a slayer. We know this weapon is meant for a slayer but no one ever said that it was meant for one slayer. By tomorrow afternoon every potential slayer in the world will be one." After a silence that was starting to bug her, Buffy broke it, her eyes still dancing with excitement, "So, what do you think?"

Faith let out a deep breath, "Are you sure it's even possible?"

"Anything's possible."

Spike finally spoke up, "It's pretty radical."

Wesley put in his two cents, "It s a lot more than that. Buffy, what you said...it flies in the face of everything we ve ever of what every generation has done in the fight against evil."

Giles interrupted the watcher, "I think it s bloody brilliant."

Buffy smiled when she saw everyone else smile, "You mean that?"

He nodded and they both shared a smile. There was something in her sudden appreciation of his approval that made everything feel right again, that gave him Faith. He was torn out of his thoughts when Willow got a little outspoken and very worried, "Whoa, hey! Not to poop on the party here but I m the guy who s going to have to pull this thing off."

Faith agreed, "It is beaucoup d mojo."

Willow was defenitely freaked, "This goes beyond anything I ve ever done. It s a total loss of control."

Buffy agreed, "I wouldn t ask if I didn t think you could do it."

Willow still wouldn't come off it, "I m not sure that I m stable enough."

Wesley grabbed Willow's hand and smiled, "You can do this Willow. You don't have to do it alone, I'll be right there with you. It's not just your burden anymore."

Willow smiled, "Really?"

Wesley held her hand tighter, "We've combined our strengths before, you'll be okay I promise."

Wesley lent in for a kiss forgetting everyone was there. He stopped though at Buffy's urgent voice, "Dawn has to do a research thing."

Everyone giggled as she pouted and stood up. She walked towards the door, "It s cool. Watcher Junior to the library."

When she left Buffy looked around again, "I want everyone in the living room in the next 10 minutes. Drop everything and be there. These girls need to know what's going on."

Anya grabbed Xander's hands and spoke in an annoyed tone, "Come on. Let s go assemble the cannon fodder."

Everyone left but Angel, Spike,Conner, Buffy, Faith, Willow and Wesley. Buffy looked directly at Willow, "Do what you have to Willow." She handed the scythe to the witch with worry in her eyes, "You can do it."

Willow took the weapon and walked out the door with Wesley at her heels. When it was only Conner, vampires and slayers left in the room Faith looked right at Buffy, "Are you ready for this?"

Buffy took a deep breath and spoke with complete confidence, "I am."

Faith didn't believe it, "There are going to be hundreds of girls with our power Buffy, Hundreds of girls with the potential to turn out just like I did, Hundreds of girls with the potential to give you the normal life you could have had if I hadn't have gone all evil....Hundreds of girls to..."

Faith's speech was cut off by a still very sure Buffy, "We'd have an army of slayers Faith, I think the world would be safe for a few hundred years to come. We're still going to have to train them, organize them and teach them but one things for sure, thanks to our power Faith, this worlds gonna change forever and it will finally be our turn! I'm a lot more then sure Faith, I've been waiting for this my whole life."

Angel wrapped her hand around his slayer's, "And I'm going to be there."

Something suddenly popped into Spike's head though. He looked at Angel, "You ever think about what our 150 years ago selves would think about us right now?"

Angel thought about, "I think we really grew up." He looked over Spike, "At least I did."

Spike was about to retaliate when Buffy stepped in, "Down boys." She looked at every single person in the room for a few seconds each making sure to not forget that moment, "We're about to change everything we've ever known..." She stopped and stared at only Angel and Spike, "...but at least I can always count on you two to hate each other."

Spike couldn't help himself, "You got that right."

The room had a little laugh until Xander called from downstairs, "Buffy, they're ready."

Buffy then took a breath, "Are you guys ready?"

Faith smiled, "I always knew I'd go down fighting... I also thought you would be the one I was fighting but I guess this works out too."

Spike couldn't agree more, "My thoughts exactly."

Buffy appreciated the canter but then turned to look at Conner, "What about you?"

Conner looked her directly in the eyes and let out a little smile, "I'd do anything for you." After they shared a small moment he broke the silence, "Plus, it doesn't hurt that I'm a big fan of violence."

Buffy winked at him, "I guess we'll have to work on that." A few seconds went by before she looked at Angel, "And you?"

He squeezed Buffy's hand a little tighter, "I promised you 7 years ago that we'd always find a way and I think we found it. There's no way I'm stopping here."

Buffy lent in for a small but passionate kiss but when she pulled away something was different, she was stronger and the truth was, she really was ready! "Alright, they're waiting for us downstairs."

-Living Room-

Buffy stood before everyone in the household. All focus was on her, this was one of the last speeches she was going to give, one of the most important and everyone paid attention. The tension and fear lingered in the room and Buffy could feel it but she only fed off it. Not all the girls were happy that Buffy was back in charge instead of Angel but most of them understood.

Buffy took a deep breath and surfed the room with her fearless eyes as she spoke, "I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there s evil and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish a whole lot of the time that I hadn t been here. I know a lot of you wish I hadn t been, either. But this isn t about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes. Not when its army is ready. Now. Tomorrow morning I m opening the Seal. I m going down into the Hellmouth and I m finishing this once and for all. Right now you re asking yourselves what makes this different. What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one? It s true, none of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here s the part where you make a choice."

The girls were all clueless and Rona stood up, "Personally I'm not in the mood to throw myself in a fight I know I'm not going to win."

Buffy glared at her as she ignored her words and continued her speech, "What if you could have that power now? Into every generation one Slayer is born because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men." Buffy's finger darted towards Willow as she spoke while Willow smiled nervously under the attention, "This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power should be our power." She looked back to the girls, "Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny."

One of the more clueless girls interrupted and shouted, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Buffy again just ignored and continued, "From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up. Slayers every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"

Shannon stood and looked around the room before staring Buffy in the eyes, "So you're talking about making us all slayers, giving us all the power that you and Faith have?"

"Willow is going to take our slayer power and put it into the scythe. Then she'll use the essence of the scythe to put that slayer power into each and every one of you."

"Is that even possible?"

Willow slowly took the stage, "It is. I mean I'm not sure I'll be completely okay but I'm told I can do it."

A few of the girls were psyched but the other few weren't too intrigued, "How does this make us any different. Your vision consisted of an army of millions and thousands of verile vampires and you think an army of what 20 slayers and a few civilians will be enough?"

"This whole year I have been completely unsure about where to go, about what to teach you and I forgot the most important thing. Being a slayer gives you a strength that if you just believe in it enough, you can make it through anything. Even death."

A few sunnydale people smiled and when the room was silenced Buffy took it as a sign of the final choice, "So, you girls ready to be strong?"

It took them a few minutes but eventually the room broke out into cheering and talking. Buffy smiled knowing her last acomplishment would be her greatest. When the room calmed down Buffy got down to business, "Now, just because you're slayers doesn't mean you don't need to train. I want you all at your best. Angel and Conner you're on training duty. Faith I want you to go to the school, take Spike with you he knows his way around there pretty well. Block off exits and sewer entrences except for the main few. Cordy, Dawn, Fred, Giles, Wesley and Willow you're on spell duty. Gunn, Xander and Anya, you're on weapons duty. Andrew and Lorne, plan the goodbye party. Work hard today because tonights the apocolypse party where we have fun like we may not be able to again."

Angel looked directly at Buffy, "What are you going to do?"

"What I always do. A little bit of everything." She looked at everybody else, "Let's move guys, we're finally out of time."