Timeline: BtVS: Post-The Gift, later seasons for CM, and not decided for SG1.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse, the CM 'verse, and the Stargate 'verse belong to other people.
Author's Note: Written for Day 18 of the 2020 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: Any suggestions on where to place this in SG-1?
A/N 2: With this chapter, I have officially passed my word count for the 2020 GYWO! :D
That night Buffy had a Slayer Dream for the first time since arriving wherever she had landed after jumping into Glory's interdimensional portal. She knew it was a dream because she was back in her house on Revello Drive and it looked exactly the way it had when she had left it. Right down to the dirty clothes she had forgotten to throw in the hamper.
She couldn't see or hear anyone so she walked out of her bedroom and peeked into the master bedroom and Dawn's bedroom. Not seeing anyone, she continued down the stairs and through the foyer while taking a quick look into the dining room on the right and the living room on the left. No one was there either so she continued walking down the hallway and into the sitting room where she suddenly saw her mother.
Joyce Summers was sitting on the couch but rose as soon as she saw her daughter entering the room. "Buffy!" She smiled and opened her arms for a hug, and Buffy happily obliged. Carefully moderating the strength of her embrace so she wouldn't harm her mother.
"Mom! What are you doing in my Slayer Dream? What's going on? I love you." She was rambling but seeing her mother took some of the weight of her shoulders. She was an adult, but her mother was a safe and familiar haven in the middle of it all no matter how old she was.
"I love you, too. But you need to calm down, we don't have a lot of time. Come, sit down, we need to talk."
"Uh oh," Buffy replied, only half-joking, but she sat down beside her mother. Her mother gave her a small comforting smile.
"I know you're confused about why you're alive and not dead, and what's going on. So let me explain. Okay?"
"Okay. Explanations would be of the good. Cause nothing makes sense and there are a lot of people asking me questions I can't answer."
"I know, and there are reasons for that, but I can't tell you everything. Just some of it and I can give you a few hints of what the Powers That Be did and why you're here and not in Heaven where you're supposed to be."
Buffy flinched a little as caution returned. "Are you my mom or just something wearing her face?"
"I'm your mother, Buffy. They sent me both as a reward and because they believe you'd be more likely to listen to me. Something about you threatening a messenger demon with bodily harm?" Joyce raised an eyebrow and Buffy shrugged a little sheepishly.
"He was annoying and kept talking in riddles."
"I'll try to not do that, but there are some things you need to figure out yourself. I had to promise Them to be vague on some issues."
Buffy got more comfortable on the couch as she took her mother's hand in hers. "Okay. Hit me with it. What did the Powers That Suck do and why am I wherever they sent me?"
"What you have to understand is that you were supposed to be killed by the Master back in 1997 and stay dead. I'm very happy you came back, but when Xander revived you he disrupted the magic surrounding the traditional Slayer Line. Two active Slayers slowly caused chaos and allowed an entity called The First Evil to breach the barrier between the dimensions.
"When you jumped into Glory's portal to close it in 2001 the magic began healing itself and The First's access to our dimension was closing again, but then your friends resurrected you, mostly for selfish reasons, and it slowly began gaining access again." Buffy frowned but refrained from speaking when her mother gave her a look.
"Over the next two years you went through a depression, you became suicidal at times, and you acted irrationally on occasion." Buffy gasped and put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from asking any questions. "Over that last year, The First's followers began killing off all the Potential Slayers they could get access to and the Council of Watchers tried to send the ones they knew about or could find to you for protection."
"The Council doing something smart? That's rare. Or more likely, they were just trying to protect themselves. No Slayer Line, no Slayer, and that equals all around badness."
"You're probably right. A house full of girls caused friction and escalated an already tenuous situation, and bad things were happening both inside the house and outside. In the end, you and your friends found a way to activate all of the Potentials, Angel gave you an amulet that caused Sunnydale to fall into a crater. It also closed the Sunnydale Hellmouth for the next millennia."
"I'm sensing a lack of very ugly details," Buffy commented.
"You don't need the details, sweetheart. It won't happen this time."
"Why not? If they resurrect me, it will."
"No," Joyce said firmly. "A decade after all the Potentials were activated the balance was all but destroyed. And there were nearly 2,000 of you, not about 200 as the Council had believed. Magic, demons, all of it was public knowledge. Slayers and teenage girls who were suspected of being Slayers could legally be killed on sight. Vampires were popular and people were lining up to be allowed to feed them, and begging to be turned. Demons of all shapes and sizes were walking the streets. It was extremely bad, Buffy."
Buffy couldn't do more than stare. What?
"On the tenth anniversary, the Powers That Be and the Senior Partners got together and rewound time. Don't ask me about the details, because I don't know. The deal was to bring everything back to the status quo, but for that to happen you needed to be removed." Buffy instantly glared, not so much at her mother, although she was on the receiving end since she was the only other person there, but at the injustice of that.
"Why? I was only doing what they wanted me to do!"
"Don't yell at me, young lady!" Her mother counteracted sternly.
"Sorry," Buffy apologized in a lower voice. "But why did they have to 'remove' me?"
"They wouldn't say, but I got the impression you're a much better Slayer than they expected and it caused the scale to tip too far on the side of good." She gave her daughter a gentle smile, "The Balance is fragile but it needs to be maintained."
"Great." Buffy pouted, "But why not send me to Heaven? Why send me here?"
"Each side has its champions, and I guess they believe you can do some good there."
"That's it? No plan, just a 'Let's drop Buffy in another reality and see what she does?'"
Joyce gently squeezed her hand, "No, of course not. They have a plan. A vague one."
Buffy stared, "A vague plan? Their plans are always vague."
"True. But they don't have any control where you are, and it's a different dimension, by the way. It doesn't have magic per se, but something like it. More advanced technology and species who have evolved in different ways than humans. I'm not sure how to explain it without revealing too much."
Both of Buffy's eyebrows went up in confusion and curiosity. "You can't give me more details about the differences?"
"No, I'm sorry. But, I can give you some hints."
"Do tell, dear mother."
"Jack O'Neill is a good man and you can trust him, but try to avoid telling him about the supernatural if you can. Make it seem like you either don't know where your abilities come from or that they're the result of you being experimented on. The Initiative should work if you need something close to the truth.
"You can also trust the female doctor who will do the tests on you in Colorado. She'll be discreet and do her best to keep you away from those who'll want to experiment on you."
"Not making make want to go there, mom."
"Have a little faith in the system, Buffy. Most of the people on the super-secret project are good people, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out who's who. Once you've graduated from a university you'll be able to join full time. But Buffy," and this time the look she got was more direct. "Please change your major to linguistics, or make it a double major. Your time researching demons and apocalypses has given you a much better understanding of the old languages and alphabets than you think."
Buffy wrinkled her nose cutely. "Why? I don't see the military needing someone to translate demonic texts."
"Not demonic texts, no. But there are a lot of old languages involved, and if I might come with a suggestion?"
"Of course! Suggest away. Suggestions are of the good."
"Studying the old alphabets, particularly the Egyptian hieroglyphs and the Norse runes, could be beneficial to you."
"Okay. I'm sensing a theme but not the connection to the Air Force."
Her mother looked apologetic, "I can't tell you where the connection is, but Colonel O'Neill will tell you later. Your clearance has gone through, so all they need to do is get the FBI to stop trying to get more information out of you and allow you to leave Florida."
"Okay, fine. Be with the vagueness. Why does the DNA test say I'm the daughter of Jack and Sara?" That had been bugging her a lot since she found out about it. It was a weird inconsistency.
Instead of an explanation, she got another apologetic look. "I can't tell you that either, but it will become apparent in a few years. Just know that I believe you'll find the door it opens for you to be very exciting."
"Okay..." She drew out the word slowly, hoping to extract more information, but it didn't work.
"What about Dawn, Willow, Xander, Giles, Tara, and Anya?" Then as more of an afterthought, "And Faith, are they going to let her out of prison so she can commence with the Slayage?"
Joyce closed her eyes for a few moments. "Dawn was turned back into the Key when you went through the portal. Any memories of her were modified as if she never existed. Your friends believe the Key was inside you and you died to protect everyone. It's part of the failsafe so they won't try any resurrection rituals this time."
Buffy looked down. They had given her a sister to protect and then they had taken her away as if she meant nothing. It felt like a hand was squeezing her heart. Still looking at their hands, she asked. "So the only evidence of her existing are the pictures in my wallet?"
"I'm afraid so."
She closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes to remain where they were. Swallowing once, she asked. "And the others?"
"Tara and Willow are going to transfer to another university, Giles will go back to England, and Xander and Anya will remain in Sunnydale. At least for now."
She placed a hand on Buffy's chin and pulled her close so she could cry for her little sister. Afterward, Buffy dried her eyes and centered her empties. "What about Faith?"
"The Council only allowed her to live because you were doing her job and because they were uncertain if there were one or two lines now, but with you gone and her in prison they need a new Slayer. I'm sorry, Buffy, but they will kill her."
Confusion showed in Buffy's eyes, "I thought it was certain the Line went through Faith. It went from me to Kendra, and then Faith."
"There was a possibility it has split when you were resurrected and when you died again another Slayer would be Chosen to take your place. No one was Chosen and so they will arrange for Faith to have a fatal 'accident' in prison."
Buffy sighed noisily. "This is so unfair. Why is everything falling apart over there?"
"If you hadn't broken the rules then Willow would've left Sunnydale when she graduated high school, Giles would've returned to England much earlier, and Xander would've been dead. All the choices we make have consequences, Buffy. It's just the way it is."
She nodded to herself, "Xander being alive is of the good. Willow has Tara because she stayed." She nodded decisively. "Okay. Yes, that's good. They're good."
Joyce smiled in relief, "That's my girl. They'll be fine. You need to concentrate on yourself and your new future."
Buffy became a little more uncertain. "I'm back to being all alone again." Then a thought hit her. "You said this dimension doesn't have magic, so there are no Slayers either?"
"You've always gained friends easily, you'll do the same there. Just be yourself, be careful with your abilities so no one unethical finds out, and you'll be surrounded by friends in no time."
"And Slayers, am I the only one?"
"There are no Slayers there, but if you play your cards correctly you'll meet other people with similar abilities."
Joyce looked up towards the ceiling at something only she could see for a moment. Then she got up off the couch and her daughter rose with her. "Our time is up, but I have one last thing to tell you."
"I'm all ears." Buffy cocked her head to the side. "That is a stupid expression, and creepy if you think too much about it."
Joyce laughed, "It is, but everyone keeps using it anyways." She became serious again. "Before the Powers That Be redirected you to that dimension they activated the full healing power. It's why it only took you two days to completely heal from a fall that by all accounts should've been fatal. They also fully activated your normal and supernatural senses. Also, they activated a semi-invisibility."
Buffy perked up when she heard the last part. "Semi-invisibility? How does that work?"
"If no one knows you're there you can be invisible to them, but they can still see you on surveillance. It's a trick of the eye, but it doesn't fool the technology. You can also be visible to one person but as long as they don't acknowledge your presence you'll be invisible to everyone else."
"Nifty!" She grinned at all the possibilities of that particular ability. Too bad she hadn't had it before, it could've gotten her out of many scrapes.
"Be careful, Buffy. It isn't foolproof. One sound and everyone might see you."
"I'll be careful, mom."
The lights in the room slowly began dimming. "That's the Powers That Be's not so subtle hint that we're not getting any more extensions." She opened her arms and hugged Buffy again, kissing her on the cheek. "I love you. Please take good care of yourself."
Buffy hugged her back. "I love you, too." One last look at her mother and she was back in her bed in the motel.
It was very, very early, but getting back to sleep wasn't an option, so she dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt Jack had gotten for her when he realized she had forgotten that during her shopping trip with Sara. She slipped on a pair of running shoes he'd also gotten her, then she went outside and stretched. It was still dark, so she decided to go for a run. If she kept to normal-ish speeds she should be okay.
-
A few hours later she was back on her little patch of grass doing Tai Chi when Jack came outside as she was finishing up. "Good morning, you look serious."
"Good morning, Buffy. Go shower, we need to talk over breakfast."
She gave him a look but conceded the point and went to shower and change.
When she arrived at their by-now usual table she found both Jack and Sara, both were about half-way through their morning meal. She got her food and began eating. It wasn't until she was almost done that Jack began speaking.
"Your clearance came through, and I need an answer. Are you coming back to Colorado with us?"
Her mom had said she should accept, she said they would protect her, and she said they would give her something to fight. She needed something to fight, her instincts demanded it. Staying here trying to live a normal life wouldn't help with her Slayerness. There were no demons or vampires here. Exercising would only work for so long.
She looked him in the eye trying to impress on him how serious she was about this. "Yes. But I'm holding you personally responsible for making sure I don't turn into a science project or a prisoner. Or both."
He looked startled. "They're only going to run some tests on you to try and figure out where you came from, not put you in a cage or study you like a wild animal." She could see it in his eyes that he had a lot of questions, but was refraining from asking them.
"I've been promised that before and it didn't end well for the Army." When Jack opened his mouth to ask something she spoke over him. "Don't ask any questions about it, I won't answer. Just understand that I don't trust the military and I'm only allowing this because my options are very limited."
Jack nodded, "Okay, I respect that and I accept the responsibility."
The rest of her meal was eaten in silence and then they went back to their respective rooms to pack. Jack called to inform the BAU that he would be bringing her to Colorado and that they would be leaving that afternoon. She did not envy him that conversation.
The flight to Colorado wasn't as comfortable as she had hoped. Jack arranged for them to hitch a ride with a military vessel and she could now say she would rather fly commercial.