Chapter Two: Buffy's Dream

That night, Buffy had her first dream since the fall of Sunnydale. She walked down the stairs of the Hyperion, and everyone was mingling in the lobby. Angel was waiting at the bottom of the stairs and he asked her to dance. As they were dancing, they watched all the people they knew flowing around them and Angel said, "You still my girl?" and she said, "Always." He smiled, but then his face changed and Angelus emerged. "You don't belong here, Slayer," he mocked. He threw her spinning into the crowd. Next, she was up on the balcony looking over the crowd below. Spike sidled up behind her and whispered. "You don't belong down there with them. You belong with me." Then he laughed jaggedly and they were back down in the Hellmouth and he was burning up. She tried to leave, but he held her there. "You came back wrong, Slayer," he shrieked as he exploded into flame. Then, she was back in her house, surrounded by accusing eyes, and Anya said, "You're no better than us, you're just luckier." Followed by Dawn. "I think you should leave."

Finally, the flickering scenes around her faded and she was alone in a vast, white world.

"BUFFY!" A voice reverberated all around her. She whirled around, but saw no one.

"Who's there?" she called out.

"Hi." There, behind her. Just a normal voice now. She spun around to face it. A shabbily dressed man in a top hat stood there before her.

"It's you!" she yelled.

"Hey, nice to see you again, Kid," he replied.

"Why are we here, Whistler?"

"I think you know. The PTB needed a neutral place to talk to you."
"Why'd they send you, again? Weren't my last warnings to leave me alone vivid enough?" she asked.

"The oracles are dead and, frankly, they don't care that I'm afraid of you."

Buffy laughed darkly at this. "So what do the PTB need with me now?" she finally asked.

"You don't belong here. The Witch was right. When the balance was restored, you were not meant to be part of it."

"The Witch?" Buffy asked suspiciously. "How do you know…"

"I've been listening in on your conversations," Whistler interrupted amiably, and took a step back when Buffy looked angry. "Woah woah, calm down, Kid. There are more important issues here than eavesdropping."

"What do you mean, I'm not meant to be part of it?" she asked as his words finally caught up to her.

"You were meant to die, again, in the battle with the First." he said apologetically. "The balance is trying to restore itself. When you were run through with the sword, that was supposed to be the end of you. We thought that since Faith is the true slayer, the spell would have worked using her. But the Witch used you. She used your connection to the primal source. And another thing we didn't count on was that she somehow bound you to the scythe in the process, and it kept you alive."

Buffy was silent, trying to take it all in. What a mess. She looked at Whistler, finally. "So is that what you want, then? No more Buffy? If you have to kill me, just do it. I'm so tired..." she trailed off.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "Now that this new situation exists, the PTB wanna use it." He had the grace to flinch as she glared at him. "Not use, like use you so much. This is a good opportunity for you."

"What's a good opportunity for me?" she asked, confused.

"You can't stay in this dimension, that's clear," he began. "So they want to send you where you're needed, where there is no slayer, a chance to start over."

"I can't leave here!" Buffy exclaimed. "What about Dawn? She needs me."

"Kid, this is a big chance for you. You can't stay here. You'll get to start a new life, find new purpose."

"Slayer purpose," she mumbled belligerently, and then held a hand up before Whistler could retort. "What's the sitch, then? What kind of world is this? Are there people there? Slayers? Vampires? Indoor plumbing?" she joked half-heartedly.

"People - yes, slayers - no, vampires - a few in legend, indoor plumbing - no."

"What? I was kidding about that one," she grumped.

"There are other races there, too. Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits!"

"Oh my," she muttered. "Okay, so how long before I have to leave? Can I tell anyone where I'm going? Will I ever be able to come back? And what about Dawn?" she cried again.

"You have one day to say good-bye. You're going to Middle Earth. And no, you can't come back. As for little sis, you've seen it yourself; she's grown up and has a whole group of people looking out for her, that love her. She'll miss you, but she'll have her own life now. And honestly, Kid, she'll be safer with you gone." Tears sprang into Buffy's eyes then, as reality sank in. She'd known something was wrong, but had never imagined actually leaving. Of course, she'd thought she'd just be dying rather than dimension-hopping. Suddenly, she felt very small and lonely. She sank down to the ground and wept for a missed future in this world that she'd fought so hard for, and for the myriad mistakes made along the way.

"Oh hey!" Whistler said cheerfully. "There's one other thing. You have to choose someone to go with you. It can't be little sis, they need a lot of help down there. It's gotta be another warrior. Like a certain long-lost lover…" he trailed off, thinking that she'd jump at the chance to take Angel.

"Someone to go with me?" she repeated dumbly. "But, why would anyone want to go with me? They all have lives here, or at least the beginnings of lives." She thought about all the people that had been so important in her life, and strangely the face she kept seeing was Willow's. They hadn't been close for a while now, well if she was honest, they hadn't been close for years. Between Buffy's struggles with being the slayer and Willow's struggles with her identity and with magick, neither had had time for the other. The list of betrayals seemed endless. So why Willow? Buffy felt that they were linked somehow, whether because it was fated that way, or due to all the pain they'd caused each other. Despite everything, it was Willow that felt she couldn't lose forever, regardless of the fact that they barely talked these days.

Buffy's instincts also told her that Willow wasn't happy here, either. The others would get over their physical and mental wounds and move on with their lives, but Buffy had often wondered if Willow would ever be comfortable in a world that she'd tried to destroy. And since Willow and Kennedy's relationship had quickly disintegrated once the life-and-death roller coaster of war was over, she had less reason to try. So, for a million reasons, none of which meshed, she found herself saying with some trepidation to Whistler, "Willow. If Willow wants to go, that's my choice." He looked surprised. Buffy herself was a little surprised that she hadn't chosen Angel. She'd told him once that she was cookie dough, unfinished, and now it seemed that was more true than she'd known. And Angel was too tied up in her feelings for Spike somehow, her feelings for a world that had ended. She felt like she finally had closure. She sighed as Whistler gaped at her, obviously wondering what her reasons were. She decided that she owed him exactly zilch.

"Okey-dokey," he said finally. I'm gonna send you back down and pull the Witch up here to explain all this. Once she's decided, you have 24 hours to get ready."

Buffy's inner fashion sense suddenly kicked in. "What should I pack?" she asked.

"Comfortable clothes for all seasons, but not many. You'll be doing a lot of walking or riding in this world, so you don't want too much luggage. Plus, it'd be easier to wear their clothes. Bring weapons, too." She gave him 'duh' face, and he quickly sent her back to her bed. Buffy awoke suddenly and sat up, remembering everything.