Chapter Five: And the Change Continues

Faith sighed heavily. "Then why do you look at me like I am a monster?" She asked her. "Look I stopped drinking alcohol a long time ago." She said and her voice was covered in hysteria. "I am not that person anymore B, I missed you. I swear I have changed."

"Faith, just leave me alone okay?" Buffy asked. "I can tell that you are trying to make things better for me but you're not. I did not expect you to be here. I expected Dawn…" Buffy blurted out. That wasn't supposed to come out. Buffy was shocked at herself and she had seen Faith's eyes water with sadness. She had looked so hurt that Buffy felt terrible.

"What were you dreaming about?" Faith asked her as she swallowed the tears.

Buffy turned her head to the side. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

"You still hate me that much huh?" Faith asked her. "Damn, after seven years I thought you would have forgiven me by now but apparently, I am still your number one enemy." She scoffed and turned her head. "It's nice to see you again too B." She said and stood up. Buffy watched Faith leave the room. Buffy hadn't felt this dead since her friends had resurrected her. If only Spike were here, even in a dream Buffy had still wanted him by her side.

Buffy was able to hear Faith sobbing from her room. It was so odd to hear that woman cry. Buffy had never heard her cry, never even seen her cry. She had tried to kill her once to save the love of her life. Buffy had wished this world were dead. She wasn't The Vampire Slayer anymore so she hadn't had to care about the world anymore. The world wasn't on her shoulders. Buffy was able to hate it if she had wanted to and Buffy Summers hated the world at that moment. She knew she wasn't going to hate the world forever; it was just that second that she hated it. Everything here was different and confusing. Buffy was terribly confused.

The world seemed so real four years ago. Buffy was so sure of everything. She was in college and she had her whole life in front of her. Then Dawn came into play. Buffy hadn't hated Dawn. She loved her and missed her terribly. No matter how much she had annoyed her, she loved her. Buffy had wanted Dawn back inside this house. She leaned back in her bed, against her pillows and sighed heavily. She wanted to go back to the dream. At least there things were clear. At least there she knew what to do. Buffy had closed her eyes and had tried to fall asleep. She had tried many times but no matter how much she tried, Buffy was not able to fall asleep. She turned to her soup on the bed. Suddenly, it had looked appetizing. Buffy pulled the tray on top of her lap and looked at it. The broth was yellow and the stars seemed to stare back at her.

"What do you want?" Buffy had snapped and picked up her spoon. She drove the spoon into the broth and scooped the chicken and the stars. She put the food in her mouth and swallowed. It was good and it went down easily, much better than that jello at the hospital.

Buffy finished the soup with no problem which had made her happy. She wondered when her mom and dad would be home. It was so strange to see them together after seven years of them not being together. It was a relief though to see them together and good. Most of this life was good, Buffy just wasn't sure if she was going to be able take one more shocker. She pushed the tray to the other side of the bed and slumped down. She was getting comfy and ready for sleep. Now she was exhausted. This day had been a long one and it was only the middle of the afternoon. Buffy yawned heavily and ignored Faith's sobbing. She was too tired and in her mind, Faith was nothing but a reformed psychopath. That was definitely not a sister in any way shape or form.

Buffy closed her eyes and dove into the sleep land. Finally, she was able to get some rest. Buffy opened her eyes and found herself in her imaginary world. It was nice except she was in some motel that she had no idea where. She sat up in her bed and looked to the right of her. Dawn was sound asleep in the bed next to her. Her heart leapt for joy. She ran over to Dawn, not even thinking that she was going to wake her sister up. Buffy hugged her tightly.

"Oh Dawn," Buffy said and Dawn gasped.

"I can't breathe Buffy." Dawn told her.

"Oops, I'm sorry." Buffy said and let go of her. Dawn coughed and she sat up.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked her.

Buffy looked at her sister and smiled say. "Dawn, you know I love you right?" She asked her. "And that I will never abandon you, right?"

Dawn nodded and looked at her, trying to figure her out. "Why are you talking like this?" She asked.

"If I go away, I mean, really go away just know that I will always be with you." Buffy told her. She looked at Dawn with a sappy smile. Buffy brushed a strand of Dawn's hair.

"You're scaring me." Dawn said.

"Don't be scared." Buffy had told her. "If I ever leave you, know that I will always love you." She said. "I will always be by your side, okay Dawn?"

Dawn nodded and Buffy kissed her forehead. "Good, now go back to sleep." She said and watched Dawn lay back in bed. She looked so tired. Buffy watched Dawn fall back asleep without even tossing and turning even once.

For a few moments, Buffy had watched Dawn sleep. Her sister looked so peaceful. She was glad that she had made it out the battle alive. Buffy thought of her friends and Giles. She had wanted to see them before she had awakened again. She needed to speak to Giles and tell him what was going on. This was not Andrew's doing, she knew that now. It had to be something else. Buffy had decided that she was going to see Willow next. For some odd reason she knew which room her best friend had been sleeping in. She was probably with Kennedy, but she hadn't cared right now. She had wanted to say good bye to everyone, at least to the people that were closest to her. She paused in her mind for a moment and thought of how selfish that was. Had that made her a bitch? There was no time to reflect now. Buffy had needed to move.

Buffy walked out of her room and gently closed the door behind her. She knew it had been late at night and she knew that the gang had been exhausted. As for the other slayers, she hadn't needed to explain herself to them. This was their time to take over. It was Faith's time to take over. Buffy's heart stopped for just a millisecond when she had remembered the real Faith. The real Faith in her mind, anyway. She was never going to look at her the same way again after she had found out that Faith was her real sister. Poor Dawn, perhaps she wasn't real in her world after all. At least not in any way shape or form that Buffy had remembered her as. In this world she was not real and in the world that she had woken up in, Dawn was Xander's daughter. Buffy had shuddered at that thought. In this world, Dawn had a huge crush on Xander when she was a little kid.

This was all too strange for her. Buffy had decided to push her side thoughts away and left her room. She gently shut the door behind her and walked down the hall. The motel was a pretty crappy one at that but Buffy had realized that all of this was just something she had made up in her mind. She was no hero. She had no powers. Buffy was just some coma patient back in reality but in here, she was The Vampire Slayer. Buffy thought about things like that as she had walked down the hallway and finally came across Willow's door. She knocked on the door a little hard just to make sure that either Willow or Kennedy had heard her. Buffy was relieved when she had seen the door before her move and the blackness seeped out from Willow's room, implying that the two love birds had been asleep.

It was Willow who had answered the door. She was wearing a silk night gown robe and she looked at Buffy strangely. "Is everything okay?" She asked.

Buffy's eyes watered and she shook her head. "Will, I need to talk to you. " She had said and Willow only watched Buffy with concern. Willow had closed the door behind her and moved closer to Buffy.

"Buffy, what is it?" Willow asked. Buffy had sighed. She was exhausted in this world. She was wounded and grimy but she had needed to speak to her best friend.

"Will, there may not be enough time left." She had said with an urgent voice. "But I need you to tell Xander that I love him and he was a wonderful friend. I don't have much time to talk to anyone else except Giles." Buffy had explained and Willow had opened her mouth to speak, but Buffy shushed her. "I don't have time for arguments Willow, just hear me out. I need you to take care of Dawn when I'm gone. I have a feeling that I won't be able to come back here much longer and I need you to know that I love you. I already said good bye to Dawn. I know none of this makes sense, but I just you need you to do this for me, okay?" She had asked and Willow nodded.

Buffy had quickly remembered that Willow had never pulled her out of Heaven and she needed her best friend to know that. "Will, where I am, I mean where I go, you never pulled me out of Heaven. That had never happened and I need you to know that." She said. If she known she was going to talk this much she probably should have brought some water. "I want you to know that I forgive you and I need Xander to know that I forgive him. Can you give him that message for me?" Buffy had asked her. Willow had nodded and tears were streaming down her cheeks. This had hurt her so much but Buffy had needed Willow to know that she was innocent. "I love you Willow." Buffy had said and hugged her tightly.

Buffy left quickly and ran down the hall to Giles' room. She had wanted to see him so badly. She had known that he was probably badly hurt from the bus accident but she had needed to see him and give him a message that was similar to Willow's. Buffy knocked loudly on Giles' door. It had taken a few minutes for the door to open but as long as she was able to say good bye to him, Buffy was able to be patient. She smiled at Giles. He looked like Hell for a proper man.

"Giles, can we speak in private?" Buffy had asked him before he was able to speak.

Giles nodded and opened the door widely for Buffy to walk through. Once Buffy was in the room, Giles had closed the door behind them. "What is the matter Buffy?" He asked.

Buffy paced back and forth and then finally turned to Giles. "Listen Giles, I woke up in a hospital in Sunnydale. None of this is real but I need you to know that I love you. I don't have much time-"

The world had started to fade and Buffy was scared. Her heart beat loudly in her chest. No! There wasn't enough time! She had wasted too much time with Willow and Dawn.

"I love you Giles!" Buffy had yelled before she had opened her eyes. She was back in her room and she gasped from the whiplash.

Her mother had was staring at her and looking concerned. Buffy had gotten really tired of that look. She sighed heavily. "I'm fine." She said with an attitude.

Buffy's mother was taken aback. "Buffy, sweetheart we have missed you." She told her. "Why are you acting like this? I talked to Faith and she's terrible. What did you say?"

Buffy sighed. She actually hadn't remembered what she had told Faith. All she knew was that it wasn't good and it wasn't kind. "I'm sorry mom," she said and her face softened. Buffy was truly sorry. She had no reason to act the way that she had been. "It's just in my dream, Faith had done so many wrong things to me I can't look at her the same way." Buffy had paused. "She wasn't my sister in my dream. She was my enemy and Dawn Harris was my sister."

Joyce's eyes widened and she walked to Buffy's door. She closed the door and pulled the seat from Buffy's desk and sat by her side. "Buffy, tell me everything." She said.

Buffy shook her head. "I can't." She said. It was too painful for her to talk about. She had missed everyone so much. "No I really can't. The people that I loved are gone. You have been dead for at least two years." She said and Joyce's eyes watered.

"Buffy this madness has to stop." Joyce said. "You were in a coma."

"Don't you think I'm trying?!" Buffy cried and buried her face in her hands. "I just said good bye to Dawnie, Willow, and I tried to say good bye to Giles but you woke me up!" She was so upset and so furious with everyone.

"Willow?" Joyce asked. "You haven't seen her in years. You used to babysit for her and Xander."

"They were my best friends!" Buffy cried, no one understood.

Joyce sighed heavily. "Buffy, please, do not yell at me." She said. "They were not you friends. You made them up from people that you once knew in real life." Joyce explained.

Buffy sniffled and looked at her mother. "It is so nice to see you." She said and wiped the snot from her face. Joyce looked at her and smiled.

"It is nice to see you too." Joyce told her. "Do you need any help?" She asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No thank you mom." She told her. "I think I need some rest now." She sounded completely out of her mind.

Joyce looked at with concern and Buffy had hated that look but she had ignored it. Joyce nodded. "I'll be back in an hour to check on you and I'll bring you some food." She said and put Buffy's chair back. Joyce walked around Buffy's bed and picked up her tray of food. Buffy smiled at her.

"Thanks mom." Buffy told her.

Joyce nodded and walked out of Buffy's room and closed the door behind her. Buffy sighed heavily and clutched her chest where her heart was. She had missed everyone. Buffy felt as though this world was unfulfilling and she was barely in this world for a whole week. Buffy leaned back in her bed. She looked around her room and saw pictures on the walls. The photographs contained of people that she knew. Buffy squinted and had seen a picture of Oz and herself with Cordelia. Buffy was surprised. They were all so young. Why was she with Oz? Buffy had wondered. This was all so strange. Buffy had just wanted to go back to her world. She had missed her world.

There was Willow, Dawnie, Xander, and Giles. There was no one here. Buffy felt like this world was all a lie. Would she ever be the same again? Buffy wondered. What if all that time, she really was in a coma and none of that was real? That feeling was starting to sink into her heart. Buffy's eyes watered and she cried. She hadn't felt this sad since her mother had died. Everything that she had ever known was different. Everything that she had loved wasn't real, at least for the most part. Buffy had cried herself to sleep. It was so unreal. If she were The Vampire Slayer, she would have never cried in her world. Not unless it was something too traumatizing like when her mother had died or when she had lost Dawn for a few days and slipped into a coma. In this world, she felt like a normal girl and Buffy wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.