Memories in Rewind: Season 1
~Keysuna
Warning: Spoilers for every episode of Season 1.
Summary: Back to the beginning again, with facts from the future. But if you know how everything is going to turn out, can you fix everything to be right?
Timeline: N/A
Pairings: Everything that's been in the show.
~~~~~~~~~~
The moon hung innocently in the sky, a crescent form that did little to provide light. Buffy kept her hands in her pockets to protect against the slight chill that ran through the silent streets and her gaze wistfully wandered the landscape; trying to spy any form of demonic activity. Her hunts had come up fruitless only a month or so after Willows spell to spread the power of the Slayer to every potential. It seemed the Watchers Council had been quick enough to respond to the sudden plethora of able Slayers, due in large part to Wesley who had rebuilt it in record time.
"Are you Buffy?"
The voice came from behind, and Buffy broke out of her thoughts to spin around, stake in hand and become focused on the intruder. Her speed surprised even her, not having a good fight in nights had left her tense and alert. The figure in front of her was a women in her late 20's, long red hair braided in the back revealing a freckled face and eyes that were covered by the night. But she wasn't human.
The original Slayer drew back the weapon and stepped out of the fighting stance she had fallen into. "What do you want?" She asked with more hospitality then she had intended.
"Just to talk." The women replied smoothly, not put off by the harshness of the human. "And to make an offer."
Buffy nodded, it was rare that she encountered a demon, or unworldly creature that wanted to talk rather then fight, and as much as she lusted for the later, she gave a curt nod for the figure to continue.
"The powers are not happy with you right now." She said blandly. "Actually, they've never seen you as anything but a nuisance, always trying to tip the scales in your favor-"
"Tip the scales?" Buffy echoed, cutting off the red head in the process.
The women nodded and continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "But then you go and release a force onto the world that forgets the balance all together, that. . ." She trailed off and met Buffy's harsh gaze. "Really irritated the big guys up there."
The original Slayer gaped. "How else did they expect that I defeat the essence of evil? Take it out to dinner? Buy it a present?" The sarcasm caused the women to laugh, a light giggle that seemed appropriate on her face.
"You were never meant to confront the First Evil." She replied simply after she had returned to her fact like facade. "You messed up."
"You mean by saving the world?" Buffy asked with a choked laugh. "Multiple times?"
The women sighed. "More like the way you did it." She started a slow walk into the night, and Buffy shook her head before following.
"Okay. . . what did I do?" The Slayer asked wistfully, seeing that she had no choice if the Powers That Be were involved with this chance meeting.
The red head turned to look back to where Buffy trailed her steps closely behind. "Well you died."
"The first time or the second?"
"I'm going in chronological order, so the first, at the hands of a vampire." Her words were blunt.
The Slayer gave a nervous smile, a little at lose with the attack of words about her death. "Master, he was a master vampire."
She waved it off. "Whatever, doesn't matter."
Buffy blinked at the brush away, her eyes lifting at the women's rudeness.
"That next year you were met by Acathla. Not that you were aware, but the demon is an agent of the First. If you hadn't caught the sight of him, the First wouldn't of known about your identity for a good while later."
They had entered the commercial part of town, and the red head led Buffy into a small café lit by rusty lamps. The Slayer blinked against the added light as she they sat at an end table beside a large window. The shop was near empty, the only other costumes out of ear shot of them.
"I had no control over any of that." Buffy clarified as she slid her black leather coat off her shoulders and onto the back of the chair.
The women picked up a menu and read over it quickly, her eyes drifted up to the Slayer's for a moment after she spoke. "The one who called forth Acathla was a demon who you had summoned forth, are mocha lattes any good? I can never keep all these mortal drinks straight."
Buffy gawked for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Yeah, they're okay, I'm more of a frappacheno girl myself."
She nodded and set the menu down, returning her attention to the Slayer. "Of course, even though the First Evil knew of you, pure sin couldn't enter the realms of this dimension. . . a spell that was cast before your time." The women added after gaining a confused look from Buffy. "That didn't last long of course, because you allowed an ascension to take place, creating a rift in the barrier and allowing a true demon to walk the soil, even if it was only for a few moments."
"That so. . . was not my fault." Buffy stated hastily, her breath becoming caught with the onslaught of her missteps.
The women smiled slightly. "I never said any of this was, it was just things that you let spill through the cracks that are now catching up with you."
As she was about to speak again, a waitress came by to collect their orders. The women ordered a mocha latte while Buffy, shaken by what she was being told, asked for tea.
"So, what did I do my freshman year of collage that screwed up the balance?" Buffy asked flippantly and sighed.
"You called upon the essence of the Slayer, opening the power of your line to any one looking for it." The women shrugged. "I expect it was a for a good cause?"
"Evil super human hybrid. . ." Buffy trailed.
She bit her lower lip in a nod. "I remember hearing of that. . . it's very irritating when mortals meddle in the creation of life. Does more harm the good. Anyway you died again the summer after that and when you were brought back, you tore the protection of the Slayer line apart."
Buffy was going to say that she never asked to be brought back, but their drinks came and the Slayer took it with relief as she set the warm cup between her hands, feeling it's heat calm her.
The women took a sip of the mocha late and smiled pleasantly. "Although your species is meddlesome, it's little wonders like these that make you so intriguing."
The Slayer let the comment pass.
The red head tasted the liquid once more before setting it down on the table. "Even though the Slayer line was weakened, the First still couldn't materialize into this realm."
She paused to take a sip, but a thought popped into Buffy's head.
"This wasn't the first time I've encountered the First. He, he tried to kill Angel a few years ago."
She nearly spit out her drink as she let out a laugh. "Oh yes, I remember that little spot of chaos that occurred. The ensouled vampire, Angel you call him? He was involved in a series of events that had been pulled together by a goddess who takes the name Jasmine in this dimension. The First saw Jasmine as a threat, she planned to spread a utopia of peace on the world using two demonic mortals to bring her into earth. So, he tried to do away with the vampire before he was put into play of the prophecy." She took a long sip and then continued. "Along with your emotions and Jasmines snow, the First failed to dust the vampire."
"But, you said that the First couldn't materialize onto this world. . ."
"Oh right, silly me." The red head shook her head in slight embarrassment. "The First Evil had no power here. To go against you then would have been futile, but to play mind games with a guilt ridden vampire? Any mortal with the right information could have done the same."
The Slayer took a moment to absorb the information about her past lover's part in the world. "You said this Jasmine planned to spread peace throughout the world." Buffy motioned to the world right outside the window. "Not to much peace going on."
"The vampire decided that the price for peace was to high." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter though. On reflection, we've decided that Jasmines idea was not in our best interest."
She took another sip, and Buffy took the first drink of her tea. It was comfortably warm on her tongue.
"Now, back to business." The read head declared. "This past year, your friend, the witch? She called upon dark powers that gave the First access to this realm." She sighed. "What you experienced with the First will not be your last fight, this barely even fazed him, actually, it gave him power. The First can feed off the Slayer lines energy, and now that the power has grown nearly one hundred times the amount it was. . . the earth will not live to survive the next attack."
"So, what are you saying?" Buffy asked nervously.
"On reflection of your activities as a Slayer, were going to send you back to when the trouble begun."
"You mean your going to set back time to before Willow did the spell to unleash the power in the potentials?" She wondered in disbelief.
The women shook her head at the girls naiveté. "No, there's is to great a chance that you will fail in the attack. We're going back to the where to the trouble originates."
Buffy sat back in her chair. "Your setting back time to when I first became a Slayer."
"No, not exactly." The women told her. "To when you first stepped foot upon the hellmouth."
"You can't." Buffy cried, feeling rage build up behind her eyes and within her limbs.
The red head cocked a brow at the rise in power. "Its already been decided. I'll be checking up on you at the end of every year to see that everything is going according to plan."
"But how is sending me back going to help? It's not like I'll know what to do-"
She cut her off. "You'll remember everything to this moment, now, are you ready?"
Buffy stared at her in disbelief. "I'm not going to relive my whole life."
"Yes, you are." The red head declared flatly. "Think about it, how many lives you can save, how many mistakes you can fix?"
The Slayer breathed in a large breath. "Do I even have a choice?"
"Nope." The red head smiled at the reluctance and readied the energy to alter the time streams carried in the ether. "We're taking you back to the beginning, ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Buffy sighed, letting one last look at the streets of the present before starring back at the messenger in front of her. There was a moment were she met her gaze, and then the Slayer felt her body go limp as the world fell away. Before she could gather her boundaries, reality slipped from her and she was pulled into sleep.
~Keysuna
Warning: Spoilers for every episode of Season 1.
Summary: Back to the beginning again, with facts from the future. But if you know how everything is going to turn out, can you fix everything to be right?
Timeline: N/A
Pairings: Everything that's been in the show.
~~~~~~~~~~
The moon hung innocently in the sky, a crescent form that did little to provide light. Buffy kept her hands in her pockets to protect against the slight chill that ran through the silent streets and her gaze wistfully wandered the landscape; trying to spy any form of demonic activity. Her hunts had come up fruitless only a month or so after Willows spell to spread the power of the Slayer to every potential. It seemed the Watchers Council had been quick enough to respond to the sudden plethora of able Slayers, due in large part to Wesley who had rebuilt it in record time.
"Are you Buffy?"
The voice came from behind, and Buffy broke out of her thoughts to spin around, stake in hand and become focused on the intruder. Her speed surprised even her, not having a good fight in nights had left her tense and alert. The figure in front of her was a women in her late 20's, long red hair braided in the back revealing a freckled face and eyes that were covered by the night. But she wasn't human.
The original Slayer drew back the weapon and stepped out of the fighting stance she had fallen into. "What do you want?" She asked with more hospitality then she had intended.
"Just to talk." The women replied smoothly, not put off by the harshness of the human. "And to make an offer."
Buffy nodded, it was rare that she encountered a demon, or unworldly creature that wanted to talk rather then fight, and as much as she lusted for the later, she gave a curt nod for the figure to continue.
"The powers are not happy with you right now." She said blandly. "Actually, they've never seen you as anything but a nuisance, always trying to tip the scales in your favor-"
"Tip the scales?" Buffy echoed, cutting off the red head in the process.
The women nodded and continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "But then you go and release a force onto the world that forgets the balance all together, that. . ." She trailed off and met Buffy's harsh gaze. "Really irritated the big guys up there."
The original Slayer gaped. "How else did they expect that I defeat the essence of evil? Take it out to dinner? Buy it a present?" The sarcasm caused the women to laugh, a light giggle that seemed appropriate on her face.
"You were never meant to confront the First Evil." She replied simply after she had returned to her fact like facade. "You messed up."
"You mean by saving the world?" Buffy asked with a choked laugh. "Multiple times?"
The women sighed. "More like the way you did it." She started a slow walk into the night, and Buffy shook her head before following.
"Okay. . . what did I do?" The Slayer asked wistfully, seeing that she had no choice if the Powers That Be were involved with this chance meeting.
The red head turned to look back to where Buffy trailed her steps closely behind. "Well you died."
"The first time or the second?"
"I'm going in chronological order, so the first, at the hands of a vampire." Her words were blunt.
The Slayer gave a nervous smile, a little at lose with the attack of words about her death. "Master, he was a master vampire."
She waved it off. "Whatever, doesn't matter."
Buffy blinked at the brush away, her eyes lifting at the women's rudeness.
"That next year you were met by Acathla. Not that you were aware, but the demon is an agent of the First. If you hadn't caught the sight of him, the First wouldn't of known about your identity for a good while later."
They had entered the commercial part of town, and the red head led Buffy into a small café lit by rusty lamps. The Slayer blinked against the added light as she they sat at an end table beside a large window. The shop was near empty, the only other costumes out of ear shot of them.
"I had no control over any of that." Buffy clarified as she slid her black leather coat off her shoulders and onto the back of the chair.
The women picked up a menu and read over it quickly, her eyes drifted up to the Slayer's for a moment after she spoke. "The one who called forth Acathla was a demon who you had summoned forth, are mocha lattes any good? I can never keep all these mortal drinks straight."
Buffy gawked for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Yeah, they're okay, I'm more of a frappacheno girl myself."
She nodded and set the menu down, returning her attention to the Slayer. "Of course, even though the First Evil knew of you, pure sin couldn't enter the realms of this dimension. . . a spell that was cast before your time." The women added after gaining a confused look from Buffy. "That didn't last long of course, because you allowed an ascension to take place, creating a rift in the barrier and allowing a true demon to walk the soil, even if it was only for a few moments."
"That so. . . was not my fault." Buffy stated hastily, her breath becoming caught with the onslaught of her missteps.
The women smiled slightly. "I never said any of this was, it was just things that you let spill through the cracks that are now catching up with you."
As she was about to speak again, a waitress came by to collect their orders. The women ordered a mocha latte while Buffy, shaken by what she was being told, asked for tea.
"So, what did I do my freshman year of collage that screwed up the balance?" Buffy asked flippantly and sighed.
"You called upon the essence of the Slayer, opening the power of your line to any one looking for it." The women shrugged. "I expect it was a for a good cause?"
"Evil super human hybrid. . ." Buffy trailed.
She bit her lower lip in a nod. "I remember hearing of that. . . it's very irritating when mortals meddle in the creation of life. Does more harm the good. Anyway you died again the summer after that and when you were brought back, you tore the protection of the Slayer line apart."
Buffy was going to say that she never asked to be brought back, but their drinks came and the Slayer took it with relief as she set the warm cup between her hands, feeling it's heat calm her.
The women took a sip of the mocha late and smiled pleasantly. "Although your species is meddlesome, it's little wonders like these that make you so intriguing."
The Slayer let the comment pass.
The red head tasted the liquid once more before setting it down on the table. "Even though the Slayer line was weakened, the First still couldn't materialize into this realm."
She paused to take a sip, but a thought popped into Buffy's head.
"This wasn't the first time I've encountered the First. He, he tried to kill Angel a few years ago."
She nearly spit out her drink as she let out a laugh. "Oh yes, I remember that little spot of chaos that occurred. The ensouled vampire, Angel you call him? He was involved in a series of events that had been pulled together by a goddess who takes the name Jasmine in this dimension. The First saw Jasmine as a threat, she planned to spread a utopia of peace on the world using two demonic mortals to bring her into earth. So, he tried to do away with the vampire before he was put into play of the prophecy." She took a long sip and then continued. "Along with your emotions and Jasmines snow, the First failed to dust the vampire."
"But, you said that the First couldn't materialize onto this world. . ."
"Oh right, silly me." The red head shook her head in slight embarrassment. "The First Evil had no power here. To go against you then would have been futile, but to play mind games with a guilt ridden vampire? Any mortal with the right information could have done the same."
The Slayer took a moment to absorb the information about her past lover's part in the world. "You said this Jasmine planned to spread peace throughout the world." Buffy motioned to the world right outside the window. "Not to much peace going on."
"The vampire decided that the price for peace was to high." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter though. On reflection, we've decided that Jasmines idea was not in our best interest."
She took another sip, and Buffy took the first drink of her tea. It was comfortably warm on her tongue.
"Now, back to business." The read head declared. "This past year, your friend, the witch? She called upon dark powers that gave the First access to this realm." She sighed. "What you experienced with the First will not be your last fight, this barely even fazed him, actually, it gave him power. The First can feed off the Slayer lines energy, and now that the power has grown nearly one hundred times the amount it was. . . the earth will not live to survive the next attack."
"So, what are you saying?" Buffy asked nervously.
"On reflection of your activities as a Slayer, were going to send you back to when the trouble begun."
"You mean your going to set back time to before Willow did the spell to unleash the power in the potentials?" She wondered in disbelief.
The women shook her head at the girls naiveté. "No, there's is to great a chance that you will fail in the attack. We're going back to the where to the trouble originates."
Buffy sat back in her chair. "Your setting back time to when I first became a Slayer."
"No, not exactly." The women told her. "To when you first stepped foot upon the hellmouth."
"You can't." Buffy cried, feeling rage build up behind her eyes and within her limbs.
The red head cocked a brow at the rise in power. "Its already been decided. I'll be checking up on you at the end of every year to see that everything is going according to plan."
"But how is sending me back going to help? It's not like I'll know what to do-"
She cut her off. "You'll remember everything to this moment, now, are you ready?"
Buffy stared at her in disbelief. "I'm not going to relive my whole life."
"Yes, you are." The red head declared flatly. "Think about it, how many lives you can save, how many mistakes you can fix?"
The Slayer breathed in a large breath. "Do I even have a choice?"
"Nope." The red head smiled at the reluctance and readied the energy to alter the time streams carried in the ether. "We're taking you back to the beginning, ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Buffy sighed, letting one last look at the streets of the present before starring back at the messenger in front of her. There was a moment were she met her gaze, and then the Slayer felt her body go limp as the world fell away. Before she could gather her boundaries, reality slipped from her and she was pulled into sleep.