Foreword: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and/or David Greenwalt. Also, I think I've gone crazy, because this is not something that I normally write. Anyway. This takes place in Buffy's seventh season, and Angel's fourth, (except for where Cordelia comes back and Angel's in love with her, because I don't like her) and I'm thinking that there really aren't too many spoilers. Old characters will be returning. Lots of Slayer/Vampire-with-a-soul action (and as far as I know, that doesn't extend to just Buffy and Angel). This chapter is for Anya, who (SPOILER) died. I loved her.

The Darkest Hour Before Dawn

Seventeen

It was done.

The spell had been worked, and all that was left was for the final battle to happen.

Buffy stood at the kitchen sink, watching Angel through the window. Moments before, the shimmering form of Darla had appeared to him, and sat with him for a while before returning to her place on the Ghost Roads. Buffy hoped that she had come back one more time to assure Angel that Connor was fine, even in death.

The phone rang, and vaguely, she heard Dawn answer it. She heard her little sister call out to Giles.

The watcher went to the phone, and he motioned into the kitchen for her to pick up the extension and listen in.

"Giles, bloody hell, how did you do it?" a voice Buffy didn't recognize asked.

"Erm," her watcher said. "How did I do what, exactly."

"In the past hour, twenty-two watchers and counting have reported that their potential Slayer has been imbued with the power," the Watcher said.

"Ah, well, we worked a spell," Giles explained.

"It's supposed to be one girl in all the world! We don't have the resources to do this!" the Watcher cried, becoming more frazzled by the moment.

"Well, we just evened the score against, evil, didn't we?" Giles asked. "Because personally, after watching over two Slayers, it's certainly unfair to lay the fate of the entire world on one teenage girl. Now you don't have to worry about the world ending. Ever."

Giles hung up on the Watcher. Buffy stood in the kitchen, holding the phone. Giles came into the room, cleaning his glasses. The phone started to buzz, and all Buffy could do was stare at her Watcher. He slid his glasses back on and held his arms out to her.

Buffy dropped the phone to the floor and moved into Giles's arms. He wrapped her in a hug and held her tightly as she cried into his chest. Her petite frame shook with sobs as he held her, this girl who was no less than his daughter, if not by blood then by experience and sheer love.

"All I ever wanted was to be normal," Buffy said through her sobs.

"Now you can be," Giles told her, running his hand over her hair. Buffy looked up at him, her face streaked with tears.

"Your shirt is wet," she told him, very informatively. Giles broke into laughter.

"Erm, well, I rather think that's just fine," he told Buffy. She began to cry again and he brushed the tears away. He kissed her cheek, and she hugged him again. He was her family, he and Dawn, Willow and Xander and Anya.

Buffy took a deep breath.

"I think we have work to do," Giles said. The blonde Slayer nodded.

~`~

"Looks like it's just me and you, B" Faith said, flipping her dark hair back behind her shoulder. Both girls wore white. They had left Spike, Angel, and the rest long behind. From this point on, it was Slayers only.

"I guess so," Buffy said. She reached out and took the other Slayer's hand. Not the other Slayer, just Buffy. Just another girl now.

They moved forward, Buffy whispering the incantation that Willow had taught them to make the First corporeal, and killable. Faith joined in, and both slayers began to glow with a soft, blue light as they walked forward, their hands clasped together tightly. By the time they reached the chamber wherein the First resided, they were yelling, their voices echoing off the walls.

Harbingers began charging out, and he full-demon vampires with them. They couldn't touch the two slayers. Faith lashed out and knocked them away from her, but kept walking. Buffy didn't even bother. The aura that surrounded the two Slayers turned away all those who intended harm.

The flow of demons stopped as the two girls stepped into a half-lit chamber.

There was another Buffy sitting there, her blonde hair immaculate and untouched by the stresses of battle. She wore the same outfit as the earthly Buffy, just cleaner. Next to her stood a second Faith, her dark hair framing her pale face, as clean and as perfect as when the earthly Faith had stepped from the shower earlier that morning.

"Look B," First Faith said, swinging her hair behind her shoulder. "They finally learned."

"Looks like it," First Buffy said.

"Hell yeah we finally learned," Faith said, rocking back on her heels. "We finally learned how to kick your ass!" She sounded just like she had when she was younger and first Slaying. It brought a smile to Buffy's face.

Buffy smiled.

"Come and get it," she said. First Buffy sighed and slid from her seat, her heels—she was going to fight in heels?—clicking as she landed.

"If we must," she said. "Really, you could just give up now and we could not worry about it. Since we could both kill you with a flick of our fingers."

"You're welcome to try," Buffy said, falling into a fighting stance, her legs apart, her sword held tightly in both hands. The sword held memories—she'd had to kill Angel with it once to save the world. Willow had handed it to her and told her that love was the strongest of all power. Buffy believed that.

First Buffy flipped her fingers at Buffy.

Nothing happened.

First Buffy bellowed with rage and she and First Faith rushed the two slayers.

The last battle for the fate of the world began.