Chapter 15: "The Plan"
"Hey B. You're really you again?" Faith broke the silence, which had reigned since the others all appeared in the room.
"I guess so…" she answered shyly, as she let go of Dawn and wiped her tears away.
"So, you don't want to kill us anymore?" Anya wanted to know, but Xander nudged her in her side. "What?"
"Buffy…" Giles said with tears in his eyes, when he walked up to her. "Are you okay?"
"I should ask you the same question. But yeah, I'm okay… A bit battered, bruised and extremely confused, but okay…" she answered, also feeling new tears dwelling in her eyes and looked to the ground. "Will you ever be able to forgive me, for what I've done?"
"Of course… You weren't yourself… Whatever has possessed you, it must have had something to do with you being back alive and the Council…"
"Oh yeah, right… I died… I remember… But I did try to kill you! I really wanted this! In my head there was all the time 'Scoobies bad, Key bad, Slayer bad, kill them all.'"
"I think the best is, when we all sit down and try to find out what has happened," Mirai Trunks suggested. "Then she can explain us everything…" Buffy nodded and took Dawn's hand, leading her over to the table. Hesitating, the other Scoobies followed, just the Saiyajins and the fang gang remained where they were standing, not wanting to disturb this reunion. But before Buffy sat down, she walked over to Angel and they hugged in silence, not saying a word. When Spike looked at them, he felt jealousy coming up. He didn't know why, but he still loved this woman, even though he knew that he didn't have a chance with her, now that the Poof was human. And Buffy has always said that Angel was the love of her life, so why shouldn't she go back to him, now that they could grow old together and the 'give him a happy' curse no longer worked for them. Hell, even he had said that they would never be friends.
"Don't you want to come over with us and sit down?" Buffy asked Angel as they broke apart.
"No, I stay here. And besides, there aren't any chairs left," he remarked.
"Ooops…" Buffy said uneasily, when she looked around and saw that Angel was right. But while she was doing this, she spotted the group of Saiyajins, whom she hadn't paid much attention, instead of her death-threat, since she entered the shop. "And who are you?"
"Family," Pan answered smiling. "I'll explain everything about them later. You are more important now. But before, can we please order some pizzas or something else, because I'm starving." Everyone stared at her, and Giles stuttered an of course and went to the phone.
Buffy smiled at her and returned to the table and started to explain what has happened to her in the last six months, as Giles also sat back down. She remembered now dimly having been somewhere, after she jumped through the portal, but she didn't remember what exactly had happened there. Her memory first started again, when she had been at the council.
A few hours and a few pizzas later, Buffy finished her speech. "… And when Spike spared my life, I could suddenly see flashes of memories in front of my eyes and right before I could kill Dawn and Spike, everything was back."
"So," Trunks stated from behind, "you want to make us believe that you died and were somehow reborn, without remembering your past, then trained by those Watchers and reached within a few days your old age. And that you oh-so-suddenly remember everything."
Buffy glared at the young Saiyajin Prince. "Do you wanna say that I'm lying?"
"Why not? You could still say all those things to let us earn your trust, so that you could kill this girl, without anyone of us being able to prevent it."
"I-I don't think that she is lying…" Willow said.
"Me too," Tara continued. "Her aura is different from before. I could feel the dark energy around her as she came, but now it's gone."
"Buffy," Giles said, gaining her attention. "Now that the Council obviously turned against us, what do you think should we do?"
"I don't know Giles… Do you think it's better to let them believe at first that I'm still on their side?"
"I think that's the best we could do until we know more," Giles said, cleaning his glasses the xth time that day, while Pan, Faith and Dawn were whispering.
"Hey guys…" Dawn said. "I think we've got an idea…"
"Come on Dawnie, tell us," Buffy told her.
"Well, the Council wants the Key. Why don't we bring them what they want?" Dawn suggested.
"Are you crazy?" Buffy yelled. "No, not as long as I'm still alive. Dawn, do you know what they could do to you?"
"Buffy, in case you haven't noticed until now, I'm a big girl. I'm as strong as a Slayer. I can fly and I can do some ki-attacks. And besides we do have some incredible strong aliens and half-aliens on our side."
"Aliens?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow at the Saiyajins.
"Yes, aliens. They can protect me easily. And when Quentin or someone else wants to know about the other Scoobies, you're simply telling him, that you've killed them and just wanted to bring me to them, so that they could make experiments or something like that. In the meantime, you can look around and try to find out how and why you really came back and how you suddenly remembered everything, when you've trained a half year to kill us. Buffy, that's your only way to the Council. As far as I know them, they won't let you come back, as long as you haven't fulfilled your mission."
"Dawnie…"
"Please Buffy… Nothing will happen to me, I promise…"
"You can let her go, B. Pan, me and the Saiyajins will come with you to England. We will protect your sister."
"But how will you get there? You can't fly all the way," Buffy wanted to know.
"Well, I know a technique called Instantaneous Movement. I can travel from one person to another. So, when you're at the Council, I simply concentrate on your ki and *poof* we're there," Pan told her.
"Okay… I agree…" Buffy said after a bit of thinking. "But don't complain when I'm a bit rough to you. After all, they have to believe it."
"I will never complain as long as you live a bit longer than fours years, before you decide again that you want to die. Maybe your whole life?" the teenager asked smiling and Buffy smiled back.
"Okay, Pan… I think now it's your turn… What is this all about with you being aliens and so on?" Buffy wanted to know and put her elbow on her table, resting with her head on her hand and grinning at Pan.
"Another long story, but okay…" Pan sighed and then started to explain everything.
After Pan finished her telling, the groups separated a bit in the shop. Pan and Mirai Trunks could finally spend some time with their families and friends, who were really curious about how they lived in the last months and how they got together.
Buffy was also spending time with the other Scoobies and the Fang gang and especially some time alone with Dawn. When it got dark outside, Buffy stood up, ready to go.
"Where do you wanna go?" Dawn asked, not wanting to let her sister go.
"I will go back to the hotel," Buffy answered.
"Buffy…" Pan said, approaching her. "When it's because of me sleeping in your room… I can take the couch, so that you can sleep there."
"No, it has nothing to do with you. I simply have to go back, because my stuff's still there and Quentin wanted to call me tonight… I'll come back tomorrow, when I know when my flight goes back to England."
"Okay Buffy… I'll see you then tomorrow. I love you," Dawn said, hugging her sister.
"I love you, too," Buffy said and walked to the door. "So, I'll see you all tomorrow morning. And then we'll talk about the details."
"Shall I walk you to your hotel?" Angel suddenly asked. He somehow felt the urge to talk to her.
"Sure," she told Angel and turned to the others. "Till tomorrow." The others also said bye and so Buffy and Angel left.
~*~
It wasn't that a long walk from the Magic Box to the hotel Buffy was momentarily living in, so it took them just about 15 minutes to get there, but that time they walked in an awkward silence, until Buffy began to speak. "Well, Dawn told me about you and Cordy kissing…"
"Yeah… it has been directly after the dragon made me human. I was so happy, first the news that you were alive and then that. I just had to do something…"
"And that something was kissing Cordelia," Buffy stated. "Do you feel something for her?"
"What?" Angel asked confused.
"I asked if you feel something for her…"
"To be honest, I don't know… I care for her, and I like her, a lot… When Willow told me about your death, Cordy was the first one who comforted me and who told me to go on with my life. She helped through this time," he told her.
"Angel, you're human now. You got a second chance. Take it, and…"
"I know. But I will take it with you Buffy. Now we can finally have the life we always wanted."
"Angel… That won't work… I saw you looking at Cordelia today and you were looking at her like you always looked at me when we were still together… And she was looking at you the same way." As Buffy said this, they arrived in front of the hotel.
"But Buffy…"
"No but Buffys… Talk to her. Find out your feelings for each other. I'm sure she feels the same about you, like you feel for her. Angel, I still love you, as a friend. You will always be my first love, but I've moved on, first with Riley, but right now, I don't know exactly what I'm feeling. Everything's just so confusing. So please don't let me get weak and go to Cordy before I change my mind again. Please Angel," Buffy just said and walked into the hotel, without looking back. Letting Angel stand in front of it.
"Thank you, Buffy," he whispered and left, too, walking back to the Magic Box.
~*~
When Buffy came into her hotel room and closed the door, she slid down at it. She was happy, confused and angry at the same time. Happy that she didn't kill her friends, confused because she didn't know, why she remembered them that sudden, when she had trained to eliminate them for six months and angry at the Council and Travers for using her for that. "Oh Quentin, if you knew how much I'd like to kill you for that. And when you hurt Dawn, you won't survive the next day…" she mumbled. At exactly that moment, the telephone rang. "Speaking of…" she got up and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
'Hello Buffy. How is it going?' Quentin asked on the other side of the line.
"Fine, they won't bother you anymore."
'So you killed them. That's good,' she could hear the satisfied voice saying.
"Not all of them. The Key is still alive. I thought you might want to meet her in person and make some experiments with her," Buffy suggested.
'That's a very good idea… So, when do you want to come back?'
"As soon as possible."
'Okay, you can go tomorrow at 11am. I'll buy then two tickets. One for you and one for the Key. And make sure that she won't make any trouble.'
"Sure. Right now she's out, but before that, she didn't do anything, just crying about her dead friends. See ya tomorrow Quentin!"
'Bye.'
Buffy put the phone back down and smirked. "Don't worry Quentin, she won't make trouble. As soon as we found out, how I came back and why you wanted to use me to kill my friends, I'll be the one who makes trouble."
~*~
"You really want me, the Prince of all Saiyajins, to sleep on the couch?" Vegeta asked exasperated, when Pan told him how she, Faith, Spike and Dawn had planned, where everyone should sleep. Angel and Wesley stayed at Giles' apartment, because he didn't have that much space.
"Yes, Vegeta! Trunks, I mean my Trunks, sleeps at my room, so that Trunks, I mean the other Trunks, god is this confusing…, and Goten can take his room. In the basement is just enough space for Spike, Dawn goes to Faith, so that Cordy has a room on her own and you and dad will sleep in the living room on the two couches. We don't have another choice. And besides, it's just for a few nights."
"I refuse to sleep on the couch. I'm the …"
"The Prince of all Saiyajins. We know that already Vegeta! You will sleep on the couch for a few nights, or I will tell Bulma about this, and she will make you stay longer on the couch than just for a few nights," Pan threatened him.
Mirai Trunks, Dawn, Faith, Spike and Cordy stared almost in shock at the two arguing Saiyajins. After what they'd been told, was Vegeta the strongest Saiyajin alive, and at least the humans paid him deep respect. Mirai Trunks first wanted to stop Pan from telling his father to sleep on the couch, not knowing that he wouldn't kill her for talking to him like that, but Gohan put his hand on Mirai Trunks shoulder, holding him back and motioning for him to watch, and maybe even learn.
"Okay…" Vegeta said scowling and crossed his arms. "But you'll pay for that, just to let you know."
"Thank you Vegeta," Pan said now grinning and kissed him on the cheek. Vegeta growled, but his face softened a bit.
~*~
Later that night, Pan and Mirai Trunks were lying in Pan's, or Buffy's bed, still talking a bit. "Much happened today…" he said.
"Yeah, first the whole getting-my-memory-back story, than the appearance of Vegeta, dad, Goten and Trunks, the Dragonballs, finding out that Buffy's still alive, Angel and Spike becoming human, Buffy appearing in the shop, wanting to kill us all and then her remembering everything."
"Yeah, and the arguing with my father… I still don't understand how you could talk to him like that."
"Oh, Trunks, I'm not the only one who talks to him like that. Your mother does it as well. Bra not, but she wraps him around her little finger. And the best thing is, he listens to all of us. Me, because I'm a Saiyajin woman, Bra, because she is his little princess and Bulma, because she acts like a Saiyajin and is his mate. And he really loves her," Pan told her mate and snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest, while he stroked her hair.
"Wow, I've missed much since I went back to the past…"
"Yeah, you have… And now let's please sleep. This day was way too exhausting…"
"Okay, I love you Panny," he said and kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you, too."