Disclaimer: I claim no right over the characters from BtVS portrayed in the piece of
fiction. All rights of the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is reserved by Mutant Enemy,
Sandollar, Kuzui Enterprises and Fox. This piece of fiction is not to be reproduced
anywhere or edited without the express consent of the author as named above.

Warning: This piece of literature contains scenes with violence, strong language and
religious references that may be considered offensive. Parental disgression should be
applied.

Chapter 2: New life


She didn`t even remember the flash of the explosion. She had felt the teeth of the
Mayor bite into her back then immense pain. Then there was just the darkness.

Suddenly she was surrounded by light and song seeming to come from above her. It
was a landscape seeming made up of radiance. Both here and there there seemed to
be movement as if vague shapes moved behind a mist of radience. Her first instinct was
to move, but then she realized and strangely understood the fact that she was dead.

Wendy was bewildered as first and surprised by the calm of her reaction. She
understood and accepted that she was dead like it was the most normal thing. And
maybe that was right, maybe around here it was exactly that. She was dead, but so she
hoped was the Mayor, but by the look of this place she wouldn`t be meeting him again.

A soft voice with a strange accent suddenly spoke to her: "Hello Wendy, I`m veery sorri
for u being dead and all".

Wendy suddenly sensed the faint outline of a girl standing in front of her. The more she
looked the more shape the form took. "Kendra?", Wendy asked more to be sure than
anything as she recognized the recently dead Slayer.

"Yes, it is I", she answered.

"Where are we?", Wendy asked and looked at the strange place. But she already knew
the answer.

"We`re where those go, who have recently passed on to the realms of the dead and
where those stay who died out of their turn", Kendra, who now stood as a pale image
before Wendy.

"Heaven?", Wendy asked again.

"No. That is a place, which u pass onto from here. Actually this is a foreroom where all
those who had a good soul, no matter what place of greater good they believed in, go.
From here they go on to the heaven or destiny, which awaits then. Unless they died
before their time, then they must stay until they have been here as long as they should
have lived", Kendra explained.

"Did you die before your time?", Wendy asked and looked at the girl, who she had
looked up to in the beginning of her Slayer career.

"No, I died too late. No but u did. U should never even have become the Slayer. Buffy
was destined to be the Slayer until way after u were useful. But you were chosen and
did well, but u died many years too early", Kendra explained sorrowfully.

"So I have to stay here for a long time", again Wendy didn`t feel as angry as she would
have expected.

"Yes", Kendra answered, "But in the time you`ll have here, you`ll be able to reflect upon
your life and get to know a lot of other people".

Wendy almost smiled at that, why should that be comforting. "Why are you still here
then?", she asked.

"I decided to stay and learn from the experiences of the people and lives of those who
passthrough here. In this form you can with permission of course, experience to the
entire life of one who comes through here as a watcher. It makes it easier to adapt and
pass the time up here. In the end it`ll make you realize your own mistakes and correct
them in your next lifetime, if you believed in or just is reincarnated. At least so the
Others tell us", Kendra explained.

"Others?", Wendy asked.

"Yes. The others are ancient souls fused with the forces of good. They come in many
shapes and powers. They are the servants, messengers and warriors of the collected
forces of good in the multiverse. They`re what has brought rise to the legends of
Angels, Avatars and even some mythological pantheons", she explained.

"So they fight evil on Earth", Wendy looked as if she didn`t believe it. She had been
almost alone in her fight and she would have been glad, if someone had helped her
more.

"No, the forces of good hasn`t directly intervened except in the absolutely most extreme
cases, like when they sent the Messenger", Kendra suddenly looked to her side, "Would
you like to meet Her?".

"Who?", Wendy looked around, but saw no one.

"The One, whom u replaced. She would very much like to meet you and apologize for
hitting u. You know… Buffy", Kendra smiled.

Wendy thought it over. She had read all that had been written about the girl, whom
many in hindsight realized had been the greatest Slayer to have graced to Earth with
her presence in a very long time. Wendy had carried more than a little anger over the
fact that she had not only been returned from the dead and had swatted her like a fly
during a great crisis. And maybe deep down she was jealous of her, because everyone
had secretly thought that she had been nowhere near as good a Slayer as her. It really
didn`t matter anymore. They were equal now and the title and powers of the Slayer had
moved to someone new. "Yes I`d like that", she finally answered.

"Good then follow me", Kendra blazed off into the mists like a comet of white light.

Without knowing how Wendy easily followed her example. The sum of human
knowledge was at her fingertips up here, and she really didn`t need to learn any skills
here, for all was available and freely given.

Suddenly she became aware of a blazing light in the mists. She finally caught up with
Kendra, who stood besides a brightly glowing and almost fully formed figure of a
beautiful long haired blond girl. This was like Kendra the idealized picture of Buffy clad
in the most beautiful gown of pure white and glowing stronger than both her and Kendra
put together. But when she looked into the eyes, which had blazed with battle lust and
power on Earth or even with life and happiness on the pictures Willow had showed her,
she saw only sorrow. She understood that this was the destiny of Buffy now. She had
been meant for truly great things and filled with potential, but now she could only look
upon an unfulfilled life and loss of experiences that many had been blessed with. The
jealousy that she had previously felt stinging in her heart was gone. This place would
never be a foreroom to heaven for the blond girl. Each second here was like an hour in
a torture chamber.

"Uhm, hello", Wendy stammered forth.

The blond girl smiled warmly and for a few second her melancholy seemed to have
disappeared. Buffy answered: "Hi Wendy. Now before you say anything, please forgive
me for hitting you. I was forced by the rules of releasing the Messenger on Earth to
keep my identity a secret until the last minutes of the fight".

"It doesn`t matter. You saved my life many times even in the short time you visited. I
can`t be angry with you. You did as you were meant to", Wendy replied.

Buffy smiled, but Wendy saw the sadness return. "Would you like to hear what has
happened after you left?", she blurted without thinking. Buffy looked at her in surprise.
Wendy realized her mistake instantly. Buffy had just been reminded that life went on
without her. Not exactly the greatest thing to experience when you`re waiting in limbo
for your intended lifetime to pass you by.

"How is everyone?", Buffy asked, but still looked away.

Wendy tried to sound as neutral as possible as she answered: "Oh, everyone is fine.
Willow has been accepted to literally all colleges, but last I heard she was going to MIT
or somewhere like that. Oh, and she is going out with a guitarist named Oz. Xander is
still happily in love with Cordelia. She`s in a bit of trouble, because her family has lost all
his money and left her to fend for herself. Giles and Jenny got married recently and are
very happy". Wendy paused for a second, then she remembered. "I don`t know much
about how your mother is. We haven`t been in contact with her, since we explained your
past to her".

Buffy looked at Wendy and asked: "How did she take it?".

"At first she was a little angry with you and us. But in the end I think she finally reached
somekind of closure on your life… and death", Wendy felt strange telling an older
person these thing, until she realized that Buffy had died just like her before becoming
17.

Buffy was quiet for a while, saying nothing. Then she whispered quietly: "How about
Angel? Is he still unhappy?".

Wendy contemplated for a while then she said: "No not anymore. He`s still hurting from
your death and I think he`ll never lose the sense that he should have saved you from
that burning building. He will probably never truly love someone else again. But he has
also come to a place emotionally, where he is able to move on. And he is. He told me
before my last mission that he was leaving Sunnydale. He felt that staying there would
only make him become more removed from his humanity and a friend had told him that
some kind of salvation awaited him out there. Last I heard he was going to move to LA".

Wendy looked to Buffy for a reaction, but only saw the same sadness as before. As she
had been expecting. News from a home Buffy could never again see would never
lighten the tortured girl`s mood. Would she also become like this one day.

Wendy realized suddenly that not only had they stopped talking, the previously
everpresent song seemed to thin out and finally fell silent. She became aware of a
collection of light shining from above and illuminating the place. Everywhere around her
people turning from semisolid apparitions to solid forms, from ghostly images to
idealized images.

"What is happening?", she asked the two Slayers standing before her.

"I don`t know. This has never happened before. This place has never been silent
before", Kendra blurted as she stood before Wendy as the exact same warrior as the
first time she had met her. This really had been Kendra`s image of herself or was it just
how she herself wanted to see her dead friend.

Suddenly the song began again, and people became the same ghostly apparitions as
before. All except Wendy and Buffy.

Wendy felt a strange presence closing, but it seemed to come from everywhere at once.

A gentle female voice spoke from a flame of pure white suddenly springing into being
before them: "Slayer listen. The powers of good has made a decision. We must
strengthen the forces of good on Earth immediately. We have decided to field a new
champion to our cause. I bid you please to consider if you would become that
champion".

Wendy wasn`t sure, was it addressing her or was it talking to Buffy. This could be her
chance to return to her family to her life before anyone missed her. Strangely a train of
thought intruded upon her mind: "Do you really want to return? Is it right for you to
return? This will be another life steeped in fighting. You would again stand at the
forefront of the war. You are dead, and soon to be buried. Can you think of any real
reason except loneliness to return. Your family has never understood your new way of
life. You have as much right to this as her… But look at her. This place is not where she
should be. She has to return. But you. You know deep down that you were never and
will never be anywhere near as good at this as her".

There was total silence for many minutes. Both girls seemed lost in thought. The
universe was holding it breath. As always the choice of a human soul was deciding the
fate of humanity as was only right.

"I won`t go", Wendy said.

Buffy looked at her in surprise. "But why Wendy? You have everything waiting for you
right now. If you leave now you will be able to live your life again to continue. I won`t let
throw away your chance at life to allow me who has been dead for nearly one and half
years now to go back to a life which doesn`t exist anymore", she pleaded the younger
Slayer.

"No you`re wrong Buffy. This chance is for you. I have never had any illusions about
myself you know. I wasn`t meant to be the Slayer like you and Kendra. Even after your
death your legacy kept the city of Sunnydale safe for humanity. Your influence made
that town, what it is now. I know now that I can never replace that. You have a gift for
this. It`s not the title and power of Slayer, no it`s the other factor the Buffy Summers
factor, which makes you great. Can`t you see. Even if I am dead or even if the gang
leaves Sunnydale thousand even billions of people has been saved either directly
because of you or the people you made into a team. I can`t do this. I needed their help,
you just needed their support to be effective. I know that we have both saved countless
lives, but I am sure the ones, I saved, were only saved, because you had left me Angel,
Willow, Giles and all the others. And if I hadn`t been there you would have saved them
instead. If anyone must go it must be you. Your death threw things out of balance, so
maybe your return will make things a whole lot better".

Buffy stared at the girl. "Good thing we don`t need lungs", she quipped and smiled for
the first time since she had returned from her role as the Messenger. "These
resurrection things is beginning to be a habit of mine", she said as she turned towards
the glowing flame, which still hovered just above what constituted their head height.

"Okay, if it`s me you want, I`ll do it. If it isn`t a one week gig like the last time", Buffy
said.

Wendy almost backed away as she saw the return of the girl, which had hidden inside
the girl`s tortured shell. Energy, confidence, willpower and strength radiated in her eyes
instead of the dead sadness, which had reduced her to a pale glow before.

The female voice then said: "You are, who we will grant our boon too then. And you
Wendy you will receive a gift for the great sacrifice, you have brought forward in giving
up the position, you could easily have gotten". And a soft light surrounded her as Wendy
was allowed passage to the afterlife her religion subscribed to.

"Wait for me", Kendra called out and finally after procrastinating for months chose to
leave for the heavens, which had awaited her for over half a year.

Slowly a beautiful form of a woman manifested before Buffy. "Buffy Anne Summers.
You are no longer the Slayer, yet you freely choose to battle the forces of evil even
beyond your grave. For this and all the other things you have done I bless you", said the
woman, who Buffy saw as the Angels she had imagined in church. "You have now
chosen to tread on a greater path. It will not be easy and it will be long. You will be
given the full rank and power of a Warrior of Light. You must understand that if you
choose this the essence of what is you will exists forever in it`s present physical form.
You`ll be like us, and our evil counterparts the demons. Immortal. You`ll be in
possession of great strength and power, but also of the grace and goodness that lies in
you. Misunderstand me not. We cannot make you a better person, but we will give you
strength to perform the task asked of you. While you stay on Earth, some of our
greatest gifts will be denied you. You will not have the insight into the future and the
entirety of creation as clearly as we do, but will be limited to senses supernatural or not,
which a human form and mind can bear. You can as long as you stay on Earth be
returned here, if you suffer severe enough physical damage or by evil magics. You must
also understand that when you take this blessing, you`ll not be able to cease to be a
warrior for as long as Creation exists as your soul will be commited to this instead of
reentering Creation in another form. This you must make clear in your mind before we
proceed".

Buffy remained silent slowly going over the possible consequences of her choice and
the ramafications of what the being had just said. She would become the embodiment
of an Angel, but unlike them, she would be allowed to walk the Earth as Good`s
champion. But it would be for eternity even if she lost a single battle, she would be
forced to return and carry on this war. She had seen death and if she was right than to
her, even the afterlife would always be like torture, because the other side had really
messed with her destiny. "I understand. I only demand that I can feel human emotions
and have the mind of one. All else would surely drive me insane", she said and tried to
talk like the Others to make it understand.

"I understand and we wouldn`t have done otherwise", the being replied.

"Then I am ready", Buffy said even as she felt more and more unsure of her decision.
She had a thousand questions and things that she needed explained, but it would have
to do. Indecision was as good as saying no.

And suddenly everything became ablaze with the whitest and purest of lights and Buffy
met her maker.

Then everything became dark and the newly reborn girl became aware of real air
flowing through her lungs. Right there a new life began for her and Buffy Anne
Summers returned again to Earth.