Title: The Way "End of Days" Should Have Been
Author: Bunny and Lucky
Disclaimer: The characters belong to the god Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy *Grr-Arg*
Rating: PG-13 (Like always)
Feedback: Let's see, take "YES" + "YES" = BIG FAT DUH!
Chapter Title: Answers
Summary: Tara answers some questions and gives them a reward.
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Buffy, Willow, Faith, Robin, Dawn, Andrew, a semi-coherent Giles, and Xander were sitting on and around the round couches looking at Tara. She took a breath. "Okay. In case you guys didn't know, that was The First. Um, Giles. D-Do you remember that time when you and-and Anya went to the Beljox's Eye?"
"Yes."
"What did it say the reason for The First being here was?"
"The fact that Buffy was resurrected."
"Did you ever wonder why it didn't come last year?" Everyone thought. "I- It's because of me."
Xander raised his hand. "I say 'wha'?"
"The McClay's, or our side, the women are supposed to restore the balance. M-My Grandma taught me that when I was, oh about ten. The First had been appearing to me since I was a baby. It kept trying to make me kill myself."
"Oh, goddess," muttered Willow.
"Yeah," said Tara, crossing her arms. "Grandma found out and convinced me to do magic. Long, long, story short, The First leaves me alone in fear and I come to Sunnydale."
"Wait, The First was. . .afraid of you?" asked Dawn in shock.
Tara nodded. "Family power thing. I really didn't like it. Well, the year after Buffy c-came back, The First stayed away because of me." She grinned. "I don't think it'll be here for a very long while."
"What'd you do to it?" asked Buffy.
"Oh, a trapping spell and then I was draining his power to nothing. A little something I learned from Between," she finished. "I'm just mad. I should have seen that spell coming."
"In-Between?" questioned Giles.
"N-No. Just Between. There is an In-Between though. It's the place where. . .you get sorted. Like into Heaven, Hell, or Between."
"I thought there was just Heaven and Hell," pointed out Wood.
"True. But the Between is for," she searched for the right word. "Mainly people the Powers That Be still need or are protecting. T-They teach the souls there how to control their energy and, for me, lots and lots of magic." She looked pointedly at Giles. "Did you ever wondered why Jenny never appeared to you?" Then at Willow, "Why I never was to you?"
"Mom appeared to me," muttered Dawn.
"Me, too," added Buffy.
"It was your mom," she said softly. "Joyce was Between for a long while. She used to say she'd get gray hairs." Tara laughed a bit. When no one else did, she continued, "Oh, okay. I-Inside joke. Um. The reason they did or didn't appear to you is because we were all there. Jenny was protected and I was being saved." The witch paused. "The Powers want to thank you for completing the battle. To show their appreciation, you may talk to a deceased one." Everyone's head shot up. "For real. A-Anyone want to go first?"
Dawn raised her hand. "Mom?"
"L-Let's go in the training room. It has a lot of space and no one should disturb us." Down the line it went, Wood came back up looking happy and mad at the same time to which Faith knew better than to follow him. Xander asked for Anya straight out and afterwards had a peaceful glow about him, Giles showed up from a visit to Jenny and went promptly into one of the three vacant rooms, and Andrew came back looking terrified.
Faith was next. "Who do you want to see?" asked Tara.
"Spike."
"W-What? Don't you want to see the Mayor, or someone else?"
"Nah," said the Slayer, waving her hand. "It was to creepy seeing him as The First. I just wanna give B some closure. Tell her any last words that he wanted to say and couldn't."
"Why?"
"I owe her." She shrugged, "Plus there's not any other dead person I give a rat's as-"
"You can't see him."
"Why? Cause he's in hell?"
"I-I can take people from hell."
"In-Between?"
"There too."
"Then why not?" demanded Faith.
"You can't tell anyone okay?"
"Sure."
"Not even Buffy."
"I get it let's go!"
"He's not really anywhere."
Faith stared. "Huh?"
***
The phone rang and Dawn answered it. "Is she gonna be in there forever?" asked Willow.
Buffy smiled at her friends anticipation. She knew the only reason she was nagging was because she was excited to talk to Kennedy one last time. "Everyone else's took awhile."
"Not this long!" exclaimed the red head. Finally Faith came out. "Who'd you see?"
"Oh. . .um, The Mayor."
"Are you okay?" asked Buffy.
Faith smiled. "Let's just say that I got a lot of questions answered."
"Buffy," said Dawn. "That was Angel. He was wondering if I could meet him."
"Dawn, I don't know-"
"Relax, B," stepped in the rouge Slayer. "I got her."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I need to get out of here. Plus I wanna see how everyone's doing."
"Okay, but I really need to change my shirt," said Dawn, gesturing. "It smells really ripe."
"I got some extra shirts up in the bureau in my room," said Faith.
"Thanks. Just let me change and I'll be on my way."
***
"Who do you want to see?" asked Tara to Buffy. Willow had just gone and had an emotional scene with her dead ex. She just smiled and told Buffy that everything was okay now.
"My mom," responded the Slayer. She would have sworn the Wiccan sighed in relief. Tara closed her eyes and muttered something quietly. A great flash was in the room. "Mommy?"
"Buffy," said Joyce holding her hands open. Her daughter ran into them, crying. Joyce stroked her hair and muttered encouraging words.
"You must be so disappointed in me," whispered Buffy.
The older Summers pulled out of the embrace. "No honey. Just like Mr. Giles, I could never be disappointed in you. I saw the despair you had last year and tunnel you dug."
"Y-You saw the, tunnel, I made last year?"
Her mom smiled. "Well, I know how. And why. And I saw you climb out of it and your choices afterwards. I'm very proud of you." She re-embraced her daughter. "I also know the pain that's been happening. I'm sorry, honey. I honestly liked Spike."
"Yeah. I caught him visiting your grave one time. He honestly liked you too." Buffy began to choke up again.
"Honey. I think that now you should get a lot of that rest that I told you about."
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. It's just, The First a-and then the Ubervamp and. . .everything."
Joyce kissed her head. "I have to go in a minute. But will you get that rest?" Buffy nodded. "Seriously. I've been watching you and you haven't been taking any advise."
The Slayer sighed. "I'll get some now. Everything's all calm."
"Oh, and my death wasn't your fault." Buffy was going into tear overdrive. "There was nothing anyone could do. I have to go now."
"Bye, Mommy," said Buffy hugging Joyce.
She stepped away. Joyce began to get glowy. "I promise, things are going to get better." Then she disappeared.
Tara moved. "You okay?"
Buffy nodded smiling.
***
Dawn walked into the office cautiously. He wasn't there, but was told to take a seat. Faith was talking to Wesley and Gunn a few floors down. She was actually shocked at Wesley's appearance. He looked. . .good. Dawn sat down in the chair that was meant for Angel. It was comfy. She opened his bottom drawer to the left. Weapons. She tried the bottom drawer to the right. Files. There was a picture partially out of one. The file was labeled "Vampire Spawn." Intrigued, she took it out.
Dawn stood up and opened the curtains just a bit to get more light. She took the picture and folder and walked back to the window, setting the items down on the ledge. The young girl got a good look at the photo. It was a well-built boy, who had hair that was a little long. Dawn thought he was kind of cute. She opened the file to read it.
"Connor?" asked someone from the doorway.
Dawn jumped and turned around. Angel stood, well sat, at the doorway. He was using a wheelchair for both broken legs. He had one long scar that traveled up his jaw line. Had it been on the guy from the picture, Dawn would have thought it lickable. His fingers were all bandaged and he had a bandage on his forehead. She was sure there were more underneath his shirt.
"Okay, I have three reasonable questions," announced Dawn, holding up the photograph. "One, who's the hottie; two why'd you call me Connor; and three why am I here?"
Angel wheeled over. "Where'd you get that?"
She blushed, "I-I uh. . found it in one of your drawers."
He shook his head. "The 'hottie' is Connor. I called you Connor because you must be wearing his shirt." Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I smelled you."
"Okay, ewwww!" She sniffed the shirt. "He does smell nice."
"I asked you here to tell me what happened."
"Why me?"
"Willow seemed short on the phone, Buffy didn't even want me there, Xander and Giles hate me, so that kind of leaves you."
Dawn held up the picture again. "Tell me what this is about? I mean, 'Vampire Spawn'?" she said, reading the title again.
"Trade you a story for a story," said Angel wheeling closer to her. "You just can't tell anyone this story."
"Okay. You first." The vampire sighed and explained everything. It felt good for someone besides him and Lilah to know about his son.
---------------------------------------------------------------
TBC. . .
Sorry this chapter was really info-y. But it's necessary. Look for the next chapter soon! And as always! REVIEW!!!!!
Author: Bunny and Lucky
Disclaimer: The characters belong to the god Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy *Grr-Arg*
Rating: PG-13 (Like always)
Feedback: Let's see, take "YES" + "YES" = BIG FAT DUH!
Chapter Title: Answers
Summary: Tara answers some questions and gives them a reward.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Buffy, Willow, Faith, Robin, Dawn, Andrew, a semi-coherent Giles, and Xander were sitting on and around the round couches looking at Tara. She took a breath. "Okay. In case you guys didn't know, that was The First. Um, Giles. D-Do you remember that time when you and-and Anya went to the Beljox's Eye?"
"Yes."
"What did it say the reason for The First being here was?"
"The fact that Buffy was resurrected."
"Did you ever wonder why it didn't come last year?" Everyone thought. "I- It's because of me."
Xander raised his hand. "I say 'wha'?"
"The McClay's, or our side, the women are supposed to restore the balance. M-My Grandma taught me that when I was, oh about ten. The First had been appearing to me since I was a baby. It kept trying to make me kill myself."
"Oh, goddess," muttered Willow.
"Yeah," said Tara, crossing her arms. "Grandma found out and convinced me to do magic. Long, long, story short, The First leaves me alone in fear and I come to Sunnydale."
"Wait, The First was. . .afraid of you?" asked Dawn in shock.
Tara nodded. "Family power thing. I really didn't like it. Well, the year after Buffy c-came back, The First stayed away because of me." She grinned. "I don't think it'll be here for a very long while."
"What'd you do to it?" asked Buffy.
"Oh, a trapping spell and then I was draining his power to nothing. A little something I learned from Between," she finished. "I'm just mad. I should have seen that spell coming."
"In-Between?" questioned Giles.
"N-No. Just Between. There is an In-Between though. It's the place where. . .you get sorted. Like into Heaven, Hell, or Between."
"I thought there was just Heaven and Hell," pointed out Wood.
"True. But the Between is for," she searched for the right word. "Mainly people the Powers That Be still need or are protecting. T-They teach the souls there how to control their energy and, for me, lots and lots of magic." She looked pointedly at Giles. "Did you ever wondered why Jenny never appeared to you?" Then at Willow, "Why I never was to you?"
"Mom appeared to me," muttered Dawn.
"Me, too," added Buffy.
"It was your mom," she said softly. "Joyce was Between for a long while. She used to say she'd get gray hairs." Tara laughed a bit. When no one else did, she continued, "Oh, okay. I-Inside joke. Um. The reason they did or didn't appear to you is because we were all there. Jenny was protected and I was being saved." The witch paused. "The Powers want to thank you for completing the battle. To show their appreciation, you may talk to a deceased one." Everyone's head shot up. "For real. A-Anyone want to go first?"
Dawn raised her hand. "Mom?"
"L-Let's go in the training room. It has a lot of space and no one should disturb us." Down the line it went, Wood came back up looking happy and mad at the same time to which Faith knew better than to follow him. Xander asked for Anya straight out and afterwards had a peaceful glow about him, Giles showed up from a visit to Jenny and went promptly into one of the three vacant rooms, and Andrew came back looking terrified.
Faith was next. "Who do you want to see?" asked Tara.
"Spike."
"W-What? Don't you want to see the Mayor, or someone else?"
"Nah," said the Slayer, waving her hand. "It was to creepy seeing him as The First. I just wanna give B some closure. Tell her any last words that he wanted to say and couldn't."
"Why?"
"I owe her." She shrugged, "Plus there's not any other dead person I give a rat's as-"
"You can't see him."
"Why? Cause he's in hell?"
"I-I can take people from hell."
"In-Between?"
"There too."
"Then why not?" demanded Faith.
"You can't tell anyone okay?"
"Sure."
"Not even Buffy."
"I get it let's go!"
"He's not really anywhere."
Faith stared. "Huh?"
***
The phone rang and Dawn answered it. "Is she gonna be in there forever?" asked Willow.
Buffy smiled at her friends anticipation. She knew the only reason she was nagging was because she was excited to talk to Kennedy one last time. "Everyone else's took awhile."
"Not this long!" exclaimed the red head. Finally Faith came out. "Who'd you see?"
"Oh. . .um, The Mayor."
"Are you okay?" asked Buffy.
Faith smiled. "Let's just say that I got a lot of questions answered."
"Buffy," said Dawn. "That was Angel. He was wondering if I could meet him."
"Dawn, I don't know-"
"Relax, B," stepped in the rouge Slayer. "I got her."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I need to get out of here. Plus I wanna see how everyone's doing."
"Okay, but I really need to change my shirt," said Dawn, gesturing. "It smells really ripe."
"I got some extra shirts up in the bureau in my room," said Faith.
"Thanks. Just let me change and I'll be on my way."
***
"Who do you want to see?" asked Tara to Buffy. Willow had just gone and had an emotional scene with her dead ex. She just smiled and told Buffy that everything was okay now.
"My mom," responded the Slayer. She would have sworn the Wiccan sighed in relief. Tara closed her eyes and muttered something quietly. A great flash was in the room. "Mommy?"
"Buffy," said Joyce holding her hands open. Her daughter ran into them, crying. Joyce stroked her hair and muttered encouraging words.
"You must be so disappointed in me," whispered Buffy.
The older Summers pulled out of the embrace. "No honey. Just like Mr. Giles, I could never be disappointed in you. I saw the despair you had last year and tunnel you dug."
"Y-You saw the, tunnel, I made last year?"
Her mom smiled. "Well, I know how. And why. And I saw you climb out of it and your choices afterwards. I'm very proud of you." She re-embraced her daughter. "I also know the pain that's been happening. I'm sorry, honey. I honestly liked Spike."
"Yeah. I caught him visiting your grave one time. He honestly liked you too." Buffy began to choke up again.
"Honey. I think that now you should get a lot of that rest that I told you about."
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. It's just, The First a-and then the Ubervamp and. . .everything."
Joyce kissed her head. "I have to go in a minute. But will you get that rest?" Buffy nodded. "Seriously. I've been watching you and you haven't been taking any advise."
The Slayer sighed. "I'll get some now. Everything's all calm."
"Oh, and my death wasn't your fault." Buffy was going into tear overdrive. "There was nothing anyone could do. I have to go now."
"Bye, Mommy," said Buffy hugging Joyce.
She stepped away. Joyce began to get glowy. "I promise, things are going to get better." Then she disappeared.
Tara moved. "You okay?"
Buffy nodded smiling.
***
Dawn walked into the office cautiously. He wasn't there, but was told to take a seat. Faith was talking to Wesley and Gunn a few floors down. She was actually shocked at Wesley's appearance. He looked. . .good. Dawn sat down in the chair that was meant for Angel. It was comfy. She opened his bottom drawer to the left. Weapons. She tried the bottom drawer to the right. Files. There was a picture partially out of one. The file was labeled "Vampire Spawn." Intrigued, she took it out.
Dawn stood up and opened the curtains just a bit to get more light. She took the picture and folder and walked back to the window, setting the items down on the ledge. The young girl got a good look at the photo. It was a well-built boy, who had hair that was a little long. Dawn thought he was kind of cute. She opened the file to read it.
"Connor?" asked someone from the doorway.
Dawn jumped and turned around. Angel stood, well sat, at the doorway. He was using a wheelchair for both broken legs. He had one long scar that traveled up his jaw line. Had it been on the guy from the picture, Dawn would have thought it lickable. His fingers were all bandaged and he had a bandage on his forehead. She was sure there were more underneath his shirt.
"Okay, I have three reasonable questions," announced Dawn, holding up the photograph. "One, who's the hottie; two why'd you call me Connor; and three why am I here?"
Angel wheeled over. "Where'd you get that?"
She blushed, "I-I uh. . found it in one of your drawers."
He shook his head. "The 'hottie' is Connor. I called you Connor because you must be wearing his shirt." Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I smelled you."
"Okay, ewwww!" She sniffed the shirt. "He does smell nice."
"I asked you here to tell me what happened."
"Why me?"
"Willow seemed short on the phone, Buffy didn't even want me there, Xander and Giles hate me, so that kind of leaves you."
Dawn held up the picture again. "Tell me what this is about? I mean, 'Vampire Spawn'?" she said, reading the title again.
"Trade you a story for a story," said Angel wheeling closer to her. "You just can't tell anyone this story."
"Okay. You first." The vampire sighed and explained everything. It felt good for someone besides him and Lilah to know about his son.
---------------------------------------------------------------
TBC. . .
Sorry this chapter was really info-y. But it's necessary. Look for the next chapter soon! And as always! REVIEW!!!!!