If There Was No Buffy
Chapter Thirteen
I Came Back
"My friends need me! Dawn needs me! I thought they were alright. I thought they were safe. But they're dying. They need me."
"You do not want to go back. You are finished; you have nothing left to complete. If you go back you will feel as if you are in hell."
"I can't help that. I love my friends. I love Dawn. I have to help them. I can't let them die!"
"If that is your wish. Yours was a mystical death, so I can undo what has been done. But be warned – the only body you can possess is the one you left behind. You will have to break out of your coffin and dig yourself out of your grave. The trauma will be excruciating. You will be disoriented, confused, weak, and tormented. Your memories of this place will haunt you; make you wonder if you have lost your sanity."
"Then I'll suffer. But I cannot be here, knowing those I love may die when I could prevent it.
"Then – SO BE IT!"
Buffy's eyes jerked open, but she saw only blackness. She took a breath, but the air was dank and foul, giving little sustenance. She tried to scream, but no sound came from her. Her hands went up and she felt fabric over padding. Desperately, she scratched at it, ripping it until she felt the hardness of the lid of her casket. She hit at it, with almost no strength in her arms. But panic and fear gave her the power needed. She hit again and again and again, bloodying her knuckles until she broke through, allowing wet, rotted dirt to pour into the opening. She managed to claw her way up toward the surface until her hands broke free and she was able to pull herself onto the grass. Clammy, wet soil was matted in her hair and covered her face and dress.
Buffy lay there, exhausted, until she forced her eyes to open. She looked around in the dim light. But whether it was dawn or sunset she had no way of knowing. She made it to her knees, then to her feet, feeling unsteady, but the weakness was slowly leaving her. She looked around, then saw the headstone in front of her. And in horror she read the inscription:
BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS
1981 – 2001
BELOVED SISTER
DEVOTED FRIEND
SHE SAVED THE WORLD
A LOT
Buffy took several deep breaths, strength returning each time, but she was rooted in the spot, trying to understand the meaning on the headstone. Gradually, it came to her, and then the reason she was here.
Looking up at the trees around her she saw it was growing darker – the sun was setting. She knew she was in the woods, not the cemetery. And the realization of why came to her – her friends had taken pains to hide her … her grave, to prevent demons and vampires from finding and desecrating it.
She recognized this part of the woods and knew the way back to Sunnydale. By the time she got to the edge of town, it was dark, but the streetlights seemed unusually bright and glaring. It was hard for her to see clearly. It was as if she was trying to look through glass smeared with petroleum jelly.
Slowly she walked through the town until she was at Rovello Drive. Her vision had cleared but she still felt disoriented. At last she came to her house. It seemed as if every window had light coming from it, and for an instant, the thought of an enormous electric bill flashed through her mind - she was beginning to come to her senses. She climbed the steps to the front porch, but didn't go near the door.
'How long?' She thought. 'How long have I been gone? Do they still live here?'
Tentatively, she touched the door knob, then tried to turn it. The door was locked. She raised her hand to knock, but again hesitated. Then taking a breath, she knocked and waited. But there was no answer.
She knocked harder, leaving blood from her knuckles on the door. The third time she knocked, a voice from the other side asked nervously, "Xander? Anya? Is that you?"
"I-it's me," Buffy tried to say, but her voice was low and scratchy. Coughing and clearing her throat again, she said louder, "D-Dawn. It's me. It's Buffy."
There was a long pause, then, "Buffy? Did you say it was Buffy?"
"Yes."
"No! It's a trick! Buffy's gone. She died. I saw her die. You can't tell me it's her."
"Please. Open the door. I – I came back. I'm here."
Buffy heard the deadbolt unlock, and the door opened a crack, just enough to look through.
"Get in the light. Let me see you."
Buffy moved to stand with the much too-bright light on her face. The door opened more, then all the way.
Dawn stood there with her mouth open, wanting it to be the real Buffy, but daring not to believe it.
"Y-you're not the Buffy-bot?" she asked, knowing full well the bot was upstairs, being recharged.
"I'm not the – Buffy-bot."
Suddenly she couldn't stand it any longer and Dawn rushed out and threw her arms around Buffy, holding her tighter than she knew she had the strength to do, afraid to let go. Afraid she would go away.
"You're hurting me," Buffy managed to say. "I'm not strong, yet."
Dawn let go and backed away a step, then taking a good look at her, realized she had - she must have….
"You're – all dirty. Did you…? You did! You dug yourself out of your…."
"Yeah, I did."
"You're not a zombie, are you?" Dawn's shock was beginning to wear off.
"No, I'm not a zombie. Can I come in? And the lights – they're so bright."
Dawn ran back inside and began turning off most of the lights. Then she helped Buffy climb the stairs, started water running in the shower, and helped her undress. While Buffy was letting the hot water rinse the dirt from her, Dawn went into Buffy's room, Anya and Xander's when they slept over, and found clean clothes for her. After the shower, and helping her dress, they went back downstairs to the kitchen. All the while, Dawn was afraid to ask Buffy how she came back, but at the same time wanting desperately to know how it happened.
"Are you hungry?" Dawn asked. "Willow bought groceries yesterday, so we have plenty."
"Where is everyone? You don't live here by yourself, do you?"
"No, Willow and Tara live here too. And Spike's been staying in the cellar. We fixed it up for him. They should be back soon. They went to see Giles while the Slayer twins are out patrolling. Oh! The Slayers. You don't know about them. They're new. And they're twins. Identical twins. And they're kinda creepy."
Buffy tried to eat the grilled cheese sandwich and bowl of tomato soup Dawn fixed for her, but nothing had much taste.
"Where… Why are there new Slayers? I thought Faith…."
"That's the bad news. Faith is dead. We think the Council had her killed. They found out you were – you died, and there's some big bad evil coming, and they wanted a new Slayer, not Faith."
"Oh."
"Their names are Mary and Marie Something. They're tall and skinny, and they look like albinos. Giles said some witches in England gave them some witchy powers."
"How long was I – gone?"
"Huh? Oh. All summer. School started this week. The Buffy-bot went with me for Parents' Day. She did okay."
"Is Spike…? You said he was staying in the cellar."
"Yeah. The evil twins said something about killing him 'cause he's a vamp."
Suddenly there was a loud banging at the back door. Buffy jumped up and away from it. "What is that?"
Then Willow yelled from outside, "Dawn! Open the door! Hurry!"
Dawn raced to the door and quickly unlocked it. Spike and Willow were half-carrying a very beaten up Giles. Tara was behind them. But just as soon as she slammed the door, it was kicked open and one of the twins ran inside. Almost immediately Buffy was there to kick her in the chest and she flew backward out of the door, and into the other that was following behind. Dawn quickly slammed the door again and locked it.
Spike helped lay Giles on the kitchen counter as Tara put a folded dish towel under his head.
As Willow began cleaning blood from Giles' face she said to Dawn, "It was a good thing you brought down the Buffy-bot. But why did you put Buffy's good clothes on her?"
"Willow, it's not the Buffy-bot. It's the real Buffy. She's here!"
Everyone stopped to look at Buffy, who backed up a step, then she softly said, "I came back. I saw you all were dying, so I came back."
To Be Continued