Sweet Dreams
Chapter Six: Alive

The whole town was one big riot. Vicky couldn't see how the people that lived there would be able to explain it away. But she knew they would. Looking back over the time she had been in Sunnydale and the false memories she had, she knew that odd occurrences were blamed on gangs and the like. And she herself had been taken in by them.

She avoided the centre of town, skirting around it in the direction of the cemetery. She ducked behind a tree as a demon astride a motorcycle sped past. She removed the stake she had in her pocket, the stake she had kept on her ever since discovering it was all real. She hadn't had the chance to use it yet, but she felt safer with the warm wood against her palm. She pushed through the trees, deeper into the forest that grew around the cemetery. There was a flash in her mind; a memory of nights spent patrolling through this forest and cemetery. A flash of a memory of cool kisses exchanged with her first love and warm kisses with her second. She shook it away, scared at how comfortable Buffy's memories felt in her head compared with her own memories.

She saw a red glow up ahead and backed away, not wanting to approach. Then something seemed to click within her and she threw her shoulders back, held her stake a little higher and approached the glow with caution. She was surprised at her own courage; surprised at the thrill the thought of a fight gave her. It was a thrill she only experienced in her dreams and for it to manifest in real life was both cool and decidedly uncool.

When she paused at the edge of a clearing, she could hear a distant voice. One that was full of pain, but stubbornly determined, one that rode the wave of magic that thrummed through the trees, grass, stones, her very being.

"Here lies the Warrior of the People…"

She thought about going to investigate, but was awed by the sight of the glowing red circle that rested in the middle of the clearing.

The words that tumbled from Willow's mouth were automatic, one's she had learnt by heart weeks ago.

It was another part of her saying it, while the second part of her hovered in the clearing only a few feet away from her best friend's grave and watched Vicky Noble stare at the portal.

Willow watched as Vicky lifted her fingers and traced the outline of the portal, hesitant, yet curious. Willow wanted to call out, to stop her. It was one thing taking the life of a deer, but it was another to take the life of a young woman with her whole life ahead of her.

Slayer.

The word echoed through Willow's mind. Didn't a Slayer have her whole life ahead of her? Hadn't Buffy had her whole life ahead of her? A Slayer died a Hero; Vicky Noble wasn't even real. She was less real than Dawn. She had been created by Willow's spells for this purpose, this was her role.

What would she do if she didn't step through that portal?

Nothing, Willow answered herself. She won't do anything.

There was something wrong. Spike could feel it. Dawn's arms were wrapped around his waist and right now, Spike wanted to concentrate on looking after her.

Anyway, he thought. It's pretty bloody obvious that something's wrong. The town's ablaze; demon's running amok… No Slayer.

He carried on down the road, trying to avoid the areas the demons were concentrated in. He had to look after Dawn. He had to protect. Tonight of all nights. He didn't know where that thought came from, just that it was true. He weaved around a corner and sped down a silent and dark street. No lights twinkled from windows, no gurgles of young laughter. He had the feeling that the people of the street believed the more abandoned the street looked, the safer they'd be. He would have stopped to make sure, but right now, he had bigger things to think about. Well, smaller. Dawn wasn't that big, but she meant a lot.

They were heading in the general direction of town now, he figured he should try to find the Scoobs, safety in numbers for the Bit and all. He happened to glance over in the direction of the cemetery and noticed the two red smudges of light against the night sky. Once more, Spike got the intense feeling that something was very wrong.

It was pulling her. Tempting her. Coaxing her toward it.

But then she wasn't courageous or brave, suddenly she was scared and she shrank back, knowing instinctively that if she stepped towards it, into it, she would disappear. That terrified her.

She carried on staring at it though; she couldn't take her eyes off it. And then she knew. She knew this was her purpose. She was here to go through that portal. She didn't know why, or what awaited her on the other side, she just knew she had to go through it.

Because, if she went through it, the dreams stopped and she was free.

So she placed one foot back, pulling away from the portal, increasing the space between her and it.

Then she ran, her feet flitting easily over the ground, her hair flying behind her.

"This is the work I have to do."

And she knew it was true. Above the clamour of another person's memories, Vicky remembered a time she had had a nightmare about the end of the world. She remembered her Grandmother taking her into her arms and whispering "The world will never end, sweetheart, and the sky will never fall."

That was why she had to do this, because then it would be true. If she did this, the world had less chance of ending and the sky of falling.

Vicky's feet left the floor as she jumped, falling headfirst through the portal.

As she did so, the portal started to close, zipping shut after her. And as the last spot of red winked from existence, so did Vicky Noble. It was like she had never existed. She was wiped from the memories of her family, the few friends she had and the Scoobies. Any evidence of her dissolved as six feet below the ground, Buffy's eyes opened and took in her surroundings with horror.

"… The hardest thing in this world… is to live in it."

The End.