Chapter Fifteen

The Darkness

She floated in darkness, as she had done many times before. Memories assaulted her repeatedly, she could remember times never recognized, times so long ago the humans could not comprehend it. She could remember everything, the past reincarnations of her two souls, the two parts meshed together to one. Briseis, the First Slayer, Kendra, Faith… She was the One.

Hills of Nucor, Pluto – Imperial year?

They had gathered on the hill, surrounded by the scared Plutoni, trying to convince them to leave, for their own sake. An attack was expected any minute now, and they didn't even want to think about what the generals from the demon dimension would do to the people standing in their way. All ten were there, with queen Briseis and princess Serenity in the front, both in their senshi forms. The remaining senshi split into groups, commanded by Venus or Saturn, dedicated to fight alongside either the queen or the princess. Venus led the rest of the inner planets senshi and stood behind the princess. Saturn and her outer senshi had taken place behind the queen.

Finally they managed to get the last of the people to flee, and not a minute too late, as the five men from the demon dimension appeared together with their forces not ten minutes later. It hurt seeing them, even if it did not show in their faces. Especially for the princesses and queen of the five inner planets, even if the outers could feel it too, a bond always establish between people who train and work together, sharing their lives.

Then, everyone tensed up as the all too known redheaded woman appeared behind the generals and their prince. Now, a battle was unavoidable. But could they really fight these men they had come to care about in the last couple of months, some deeper, some lesser, but all in all care about? The answer was yes. Only under the heavy burden of pain.

"Attack!"

The beautiful, yet evil voice cried the command, and that first battle had begun. It was not a battle of swords and knives, but rather a battle of wills. New powers had been given to the generals besides the earth magic they possessed as the princes protectors. They all had different strengths. In addition, they matched their own.

The Darkness

The word echoed through her head. She would have to get through this again. But with help… Nevertheless, she needed her memories. She had to know, she had to embrace herself, find all the parts hidden inside her mind. And it wasn't going to be easy.

Atlantis, Earth – millions of years ago

The five year old looked at her mother with big, scared eyes, begging her without words through her teary, intensive green orbs to allow her to stay. She had never even been outside her home before, and now, she was sent away to the faraway moon Charon to meet with her future colleagues. It was even possible that she would have no connection to her family in many years, just as her big brother had been sent to the Moon, not to be seen since.

Her mother sighed and gave her a sad look.

"Briseis, sweetie" she patiently said "you have to go. It is your duty as a Selenian and the Slayer. You cannot avoid that. This is your destiny. I know you are scared, I just hope you can be a brave little girl and obey your teachers. You have to do this, for the Selenians, for humanity."

Princess' rooms - City of Atlantis, Earth, Imperial year?

Briseis glared down at the white and golden gown that clung tightly to her body and showed her status as a member of the Imperial Family. She hated wearing dresses and now, she had to wear it all day in three days, just because the Empress of the Moon would come to Earth to visit her second cousin the High Queen, Bri's mother, together with her daughter Serenity.

"You look so cute!" her maid cooed at her, as if she were a child and not the fifteen year old she was. "Now, I'll just put on your tiara and you can go with your mother to greet the Empress. "

Bri sighed and suppressed an urge to roll her eyes as the maid put on the 'cute' golden tiara on her head. She truly envied her brother for visiting Jupiter right now. At least he' didn't have to dress up like a porcelain doll. Someone knocked at the door and her mother peaked her dark head into the room.

"Are you coming, Briseis?" she asked. "They will come any minute now."

Bri smiled and rose.

"Coming, mom," she said. "Are we going with the hi'rethi or are they coming through the Portals? "

"The Portals of course," she said. "Hurry! We've got to get to the throne hall in time."

Bri laughed. She truly loved her mother. Taking her hand, they rushed down the corridors trying not to trip on their long dresses. As they reached the throne hall, her mother took her place next to the huge white marmot gate, Bri standing next to and slightly behind her. She watched the portal with curiosity. How would the princess look? Bri had never seen her, nor had the other princess seen her.

Suddenly the portal glimmered and a tall woman came out. She had silvery hair and had a thin new moon on her forehead. Dressed in a dress similar to hers and her mothers but with moons instead of suns, the resemblance were very clear. Two seconds later, a smaller figure came in the same way and Bri could immediately see that it was princess Serenity.

Like Bri herself, the princess weren't too tall and had golden hair just like her. However, she had blue eyes instead of green. But if she ignored that, they could have been sisters. The girl smiled in a forced manner at her mother, and seemed to struggle so she wouldn't look bored.

"Great," Bri heard her mutter. "Why did we have to go here when I could've been on the moon riding the horses?"

Bri couldn't hide a little smirk. This was a girl in her taste! She went forwards and smiled at the other girl while her mother greeted her second cousin.

"Hi!" she said happily. "I'm Bri. Or Briseis if you want to be formal. Do you want to go riding? We have a horse you would just love... "

The girl's face lit up like a light.

"I'm Sere," she said. "Or Serenity for real. Those two are so boring, don't you think? "

"Yeah, Sere," Bri agreed. "Let's go."

The two girls started to run down the corridors.

Crystal Palace - the Moon, imperial year?

The young moon princess excitedly watched how her best friend sparred with the sword. The other girl parried a blow from her adversary, and then quickly attacked to single his sword away with an elegant move, laying the sword tip at her adversary's neck.

"Slayed," she whispered then smiled broadly. "I won, Sere! Did you see it?"

She nodded.

"Yeah!" she said. "You were brilliant, Bri! "

Bri smiled humbly.

"Thank you," she replied. "I only do my best! "

The Darkness

Already back then life had been difficult. Holding the duties of four positions – High Princess of Earth, Imperial Relation, Earth Guardian and Key, her life had been hectic to say the least. She sincerely believed she would've lost her mind already then, if not for her friends and lover.

Charon, Pluto – Imperial Year?

"This is strange" Serenity said as she stripped down next to Briseis, with whom she shared a room.

"Yes," Bri agreed, trying to wriggle out of the skin-tight pants she usually wore. "I mean it is just a new teacher, not your mother or something. Yet, we have to dress up in formal wear."

The two eighteen year olds pulled on the high cut, white dresses belonging to them as descendants from Selene Ceteri herself, then walked out of the room to meet up with the rest of the princesses and senshi.

They had been commanded to go to the hi'rethi, the portals through which one ported when on small planets. Just yesterday, they had gotten the news of a new teacher and that they were to meet him.

When there, the senshi automatically formed up after social status. Serenity and Briseis next to each other in the front and middle, the outers closest to them and the inners next to the outers. Their teachers, formidable warriors and magicians lined up on each side of the portal and all the others beside them.

Bri nervously looked at the portal, shivering. She had had a weird feeling about this all morning, and it was just getting worse.

"Relax!" Uranus whispered from next to her. "Nothing will happen."

The words did nothing to help her relax though. Especially as the portal started to glow, signaling the arrival of their new trainer. As he started to materialize, the feeling grew into a climax. Then, as she met the eyes of the newly arrived, it disappeared, leaving place for a dull satisfaction. This was whom she was waiting for.

Taller than most, this man stood at least 6'4", regal as Empress Serenity herself. Chocolate brown eyes glowed at them, tinted slightly with a silver intelligence. His unruly, short-cropped hair was a sun streaked dark brown, his skin pale golden and stretched over fitted smooth muscles and a lean, strong body. She had never seen anyone his rival in looks. And he was high ranked, one of the old ones of Selene's blood. However, she did not care about such a trivial thing when his gaze caressingly traveled over her body, spreading tingles all over her skin.

"Or maybe not" she absently heard Uranus smirk beside her.

Then his gaze left her, leaving her alone and cold, but strangely satiated to speak with the head teacher.

"I am Lord Angelus Lamia" he said, his voice velvety smooth and assuredly sexy at the same time. "The one you asked to come."

Everyone but her and Serenity kneeled before the oldest Selenian alive, one of the oldest beings in existence, showing their respect and obedience for the vampire and besouled blood brother of Selene Ceteri the first of the Selenian people.

Graciously acknowledging their presence with a soft nod, he walked over to the distant relatives of his blood sister to greet them. He stopped before Serenity, looking into her eyes, then softly kissed her cheeks.

"Serenity" he softly smiled. "Your mother asked me to say that your Endymion sends his love."

Her best friend blushed, and Bri couldn't help but smile, pushing away the annoying jealousy she'd felt as he kissed her cheeks. Then he suddenly stood before her, seizing her green eyes with his brown, making her stomach flip in nervous tumbles.

"And sweet Briseis" he mumbled, taking in her features, just like she did with his.

Then he surprised her by gently grasping her arms with his strong hands, kissing her lips with his own, darting into her mouth with his tongue, caressing hers for a second before breaking apart, whispering a word against her that only she could hear.

"Mine."

And strangely enough, she agreed.

Charon, two weeks later, Siler Millennia

"So soon?" Serenity exclaimed, after catching Briseis coming into the room late at night, a satiated smile on her swollen lips.

She just arched her eyebrows, stripping down before her friend, unashamedly showing the love bites and marks on her body after Angelus´ teeth and hands.

"It felt right" she replied, grinning broadly. "And look who's talking."

Serenity blushed and then shrugged.

"Whatever" she said.

Then she smirked and went over to hug her best friend.

"How was he?" she mischievously asked.

Fingering on the two teeth marks he had made, marking her as his, she blushed.

"Quake material"

The Darkness

The memories made her smile even now. Angelus had been her heart and soul for so long, she loved him beyond words. And now, she understood his partial distance to her. It must have been so hard for him to remember her with her not remembering him. It had to have hurt to accept that Briseis perhaps would be lost for him forever.

Speaking about death. She knew that she had to get out of this place soon. Her memories had returned quickly, almost wholly recovered by now. Concentrating, she formed herself a body. A mix between Briseis and Buffy, it was needed to transport herself out of the Golden Crystal to Elysion. Or she would appear as a mist, much like Dracula. And as she materialized in a glowing garden, she knew that she had succeeded.

Elysion, At the core of the Earth – year 2002

"I see your memories are back" the priest's first words were.

Briseis/Buffy calmly nodded

"I have to go back," she said.

The priest nodded, smiling at her.

"I know," he said. "You know that it will take a lot of you, that Buffy and Briseis will merge?"

She nodded, she knew, she understood.

"Good" he said. "Then we'll just have to summon the Key from your sister's soul."

She frowned, she hadn't thought about that.

"Will it…" she swallowed. "Will it hurt Dawn?"

The priest smiled.

"No, it won't" he calmed her. "I'm not that careless. When I sent the Key to you through my monks, I created a complete person with a soul first, and then merged the Key with your sister so it would awaken partly of inside of her due to it's proximity to you, it's true host. She will not even notice it."

She nodded then, letting him summon the Key to his hands, which when fully recreated, painlessly merged with her, healing her in ways she hadn't known existed. Then she dematerialized again, knowing she would be sent to Angelus.

The Mansion, Sunnydale USA - year 2002

They had gathered at the mansion after Buffy's death. In secrecy of course as Buffy most likely never would be able to return. The Sunnydale chapter of her life was over now, forever left behind by her death. Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna, Angelus, Minako, Usagi and Dawn. They were all there.

They were sitting in a circle on the floor, holding hands with Angelus in the middle. No one questioned his right to that; everyone knew that he was the link, which would bring Buffy back. Their bond was one of soul mates and more. Beyond death and time, they were always together.

And suddenly, she shimmered into existence, directly into Angelus' waiting arms. She had changed some, as she merged, her hair was curlier, more alive, and her eyes silvery, but she was still the Buffy they knew. As she looked into her beloved's eyes, smiling mischievously, they knew that she was back.

"It's still quake material" she commented, looking into his eyes, then gave him a deep kiss.

Usagi broke out into uncontrollable laughter.