2
Once the fire was under control and the commotion allowed, Buffy reluctantly retreated with Dean to his motel room to get some much needed rest after the festivities, and besides it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. Once inside she saw the shabby drab interior and rolled her eyes, "What no half naked skank on your bed to go with the pay by the hour vibe?" Dean rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bed which groaned and creaked in protest, "Listen sweetheart, this gig isn't exactly high paying so I do with what I can." Buffy regarded this, "You're a hunter," she said as the tumblers fell into place and the locks in her brain clicked open, "That's why you're all tied up in this." Dean nodded slowly, and added with a smirk, "And you're some sort of fabled super hero who fights against demons; could have fooled me back there."
Buffy stood stiff. So stiff she was practically vibrating with anger. Every fiber of her being wanted to slap this man into next week and storm out the door slamming it hard enough to bring this fleabag motel down on his head, but she knew that it was a bad idea. She had nothing now, no job, no home, no friends, he needed her, and she hated every bit of it. Against her will she found herself facing an impossible situation, and was about to do the one thing she swore she never would, but how could she not? She had ignored the suffering of the world for eight years and look where had it gotten her. "Do you have a blow torch?" she asked calmly. Dean's eyes went wide as saucers, "Why?" Buffy found a tear in the lower part of her jeans and widened it so the mystical devils trap tattoo was visible, "This is why I have no power. I bound myself so I could have a normal life. It's become obvious that's not happening. I need the torch to remove the brand and restore my powers."
Dean smirked, "Look I get that your livelihood just went up in smoke, but I think my brother and I will handle it from here on out." This time Buffy rushed over to the bed and attempted to slap him, but he grabbed her and pulled her down onto the bed. "I don't think so. An hour ago you wanted nothing to do with it, now you're all gung ho. What gives?" Buffy sat up next to him, "That… thing made it personal." Dean nodded, "I figured you knew the girl whose face she wore. Now I know you did." Buffy began to sob, "She was my little sister. Eight years ago something happened. She gave her life to save mine, and to this day I've tried to be happy, for her." Dean's face dropped into his palms, "Look I get it," he said sympathetically, "I have a younger brother, Sam. Hell I would do anything for him. Family comes first, but you got out. Don't you get it? Getting out means something," he said as caringly as he could. Buffy snorted, "There is no out, and I think you know it." Buffy dropped her head to look down, "When she changed she told you to consider her offer. Who was that woman?"
It was Dean's turn to look uncomfortable, "She is the darkness, Amara is the physical body of it." Buffy's eyes went wide, "The first has a physical form? How?" Dean looked uncomfortable, "Lock to her cage was busted. It's a long story, but the point is my brother and I are trying to gank her, but it's proving tougher than we thought with her being God's sister and all." Buffy nearly fell over, "Sister, God has a sister, and she's the first evil?" Once again Dean nodded slowly, "I won't say we don't need help, but I'm not going to force you out of retirement." Buffy flashed an annoyed glance. "I don't really have a choice. Unless God is going to bail us out I'm needed." Dean felt anger rise up in his chest, "God, that dick who made all this and waved bye? Not likely."
"I beat her once." Buffy said, "In order to do so again I need my powers." Dean looked at her, "I don't know if I'm comfortable with the whole powers thing. Powers usually end in a bad day for me and mine." A knock sounded on the door before it opened and Castiel entered, "I have run off the remaining Turok Han, but time is short." Dean looked at the angel, "She says that she needs her powers." Cas looked her over, "She needs the seal removed. I am aware that you dislike things of darkness, but I can assure you that while her gift is forged in the dark it was forged to aid the light." Dean's face fell, "Fine what do we need?"
"Blow torch," Buffy said again, "And some towels wouldn't hurt." Dean left the room to grab the torch from the trunk of his car while Buffy pulled out the black bladed knife. "I have to warn you," Castiel said to her, "This will be unpleasant." Buffy looked at the angel with a sad smirk, "Along with everything else in my life it seems."
Within a few minutes Dean came back into the room with a small blow torch and a package of clean automotive towels in hand. "Now what?" he asked with an impatient tone. With a sigh, Buffy looked at him, "Can I use a shirt? I'm going to have to take my pants off for this, and would like to be able to stay covered."
"Yeah yeah," Dean grumbled as he found a flannel shirt and tossed it to her, "It's not like I've never seen panties before." To his surprise Buffy chuckled a bit, "Not mine you haven't and you're not gunna with that attitude." Dean's jaw fell open as Buffy triumphantly stepped into the bathroom. Once she heard the door click shut behind her, she immediately removed her torn and dirty jeans. As she stood up she caught her first glance of herself in the mirror. There were cuts, bruises, and of course dirt and ash. Her eyes were swollen and puffy from the tears that wanted to fall. There would be time for that later. She slid Dean's shirt on; briefly stopped to take in the scents of leather, whiskey, and gunpowder. Not an unpleasant smell all things considered.
Dean was sitting at the small table when Buffy emerged. He couldn't help but stare at the bare legs that came from his shirt. He also noticed she looked older without her make up. This was the true face of this woman, a woman who had seen as much as he had if not more. "So, what do we do?" Dean asked. Buffy laid a towel down on the bed and rolled up another one, "Use the blow torch to heat the blade until the edge is red hot. From there use the glowing edge to cut an 'X' through the mark." Dean looked skeptical, "That's it? No chanting or dancing?" Buffy shook her head, "It was rigged so I could remove it myself at a moment's notice."
"Alright," Dean said with a hint of concern, "I'll try to make this quick then." Buffy looked at him seriousness clouding her face, "It's not just a nah nah there I did it. You've got to really cut. Down into the meat." Buffy could tell he was uncomfortable with it but finally he lit the torch and held it to the edge of the blade, "I'm sorry," he said as the edge began to turn orange. "Don't be," she responded giving him a sad, but kind smile, "I chose this." Once the blade was glowing red Buffy put the rolled up a towel, put in her mouth and bit down. Dean scowled as he brought the searing blade down to her leg which began twitching from the heat. He couldn't think of a single thing that was right about this. He didn't even know her, yet he was going to be carving into this girl's leg and listening to the muffled screams of pain based solely on her and Cas' word. Before he could talk himself out of it; he ran the blade deep into her calf. He heard more muffled screams over the sound of sizzling flesh, but ignoring the smell of her burning meat he continued until a straight cut appeared in the tattoo. After a quick reheat with the torch Dean prepared the make the second cut. Once again ignoring the acrid smell of burnt flesh he pressed the blade in and drew the second cut. Once it was completed Buffy took the rag out of her mouth and rasped with a heavy breath, "That sucked major ass."
Dean cooled the knife in the running water of the sink and Buffy stayed on the bed watching the mark slowly disappear while a thick black fluid drained out of the wound and soaked into the towels, "I thought it would be faster." Dean looked at it, "How long you been wearing that thing?"
"Eight years," Buffy said as she got a sharp twisting pain began to grow in her leg. She released a scream as it spun its way up and throughout her body. She honestly believed that this was the worst pain she had ever felt. It felt like someone rubbing sand paper through all of her insides all at once.
Dean leapt to her side as she screamed and started convulsing, "Cas, do something!" Almost instantly Castiel was there placing 2 fingers on her forehead causing her to go still. "I have put her to sleep." Dean settled her into the bed, "Can you heal her?" Castiel shook his head, "She has to come back on her own. Only she can do that, I have only made sure she won't hurt herself."
Buffy stared into the oppressive darkness that surrounded her, and felt deafened by the absolute silence around her. "So, not in the motel anymore," she said just to see if she could hear herself. In the distance she saw a small light. "looks like I know where to go." As she walked towards the light she found herself going through a set of familiar doors. Pushing through them she found herself in the Sunnydale High library, "and now I know I'm dreaming." If she in fact didn't know, the sight of the huge table covered in cheese with a balding man next to it told her.
Buffy looked around the old library with a sense of foreboding. Something was watching her, a presence she was intimately familiar with, "You might as well show yourself, I felt you a mile off." The room visibly darkened and a familiar voiced echoed in her head, "You abandoned your calling, and now you expect to just continue? You are not worth my presence. You are no longer worthy of my gift." Buffy balled her hands into fists, "How dare you! You speak of destiny and duty, but never stopped to think what it means. I should have died years ago, but I didn't. I changed the lore. I did it and I saved the world, but I'm still punished because I didn't stay dead. You are the one who is not worth my presence, you and your shortsightedness." Buffy watched as Sineya, the first slayer stepped into view clearly angry, "So here's what's going to happen; I'm going back, taking my power with me, and saving the damn world. If you have an issue with it, you can stuff it. I'm the slayer and you're just a damned ghost who's closer to animal than human!" Buffy turned to walk away when she heard a growl and a sickening laugh, "You continue to intrigue me. For all your flaws and mistakes, you continue to be the most worthy. For the coming battle my power is yours." Buffy saw Sineya bare her teeth and take off running towards her. Buffy felt a huge jolt as Sineya connected with her chest before hitting the floor as pain seared from her fingertips, up her arms, and into her chest."
Dean jumped from the chair he had just been dozing in as Buffy shot straight up in the bed screaming. In one movement he was next to her dabbing her forehead with cool water. In her fit she managed to get an arm against his chest and out of pure instinct pushed him away. Dean didn't think it was so much of a push as he hit the wall across the room. As he made his way back to his feet Buffy seemed to regain her senses and looked at him with a guilty look in her eyes, "Sorry," she said meekly.
Dean looked sympathetically at this girl. It was true he barely knew her, but according to Cas she was important… He hated when people were important, it had a habit of getting them killed; himself included on more than a few occasions. "Don't worry about it," he said dismissively, "So does the ink come with the slayer bit?" Buffy looked at her arms and gasped; her fingernails were now black and there were tattoos swirling and twisting into various symbols of power her arms and centering on her chest, "No," she said quietly as she inspected her arms, "This is new." After staring at her new tattoos for a few minutes and drinking some water she finally worked up the nerve to look at Dean, "How long was I out?" Dean looked at her for what felt like the hundreth time, her blond hair was dirty and matted with ash and sweat, her eyes were still sunken and hard, but now held an edge of power to them, and he also noted that she appeared several years younger. Power must do the body good. "About three and a half days," he admitted, "Guess it took a while to get your mojo back." Buffy nodded, "And then some. I'm gunna go shower." She carefully got out of the best and made her way to the bathroom leaving Dean alone in the room, "Time to check in I guess," he said as he flipped open his phone.
Sam Winchester let his head fall to the table next to his laptop. The case wound up being a simple salt and burn as he thought, so he decided to get some research in on this darkness that he had unwittingly helped escape its prison. Just as he allowed his eyes to closed Dean's ringtone erupted from his phone. With a groan he sat up and grabbed his phone, "Yeah."
"Sammy," came Dean's unmistakable voice, "How's the case?" Sam smirked, "Simple salt and burn. You catch that vamp?" Dean took a breath, "And then some, weirdo vamp turned to dust after I cut its head off. And I met someone." Sam rolled his eyes, "Dean, I don't need to know about your conquests." Sam heard a laugh come through the phone, "Naw Sam, Someone to help us out. Cas called her the slayer."
"Like the myth?" Sam asked.
Buffy stood staring in the mirror as the water heated up. Without her shirt she could see the extent of the changes. The tattoos as Dean had called them didn't stop at her chest. They curled and jutted out in spikes around the outside of her breasts, down her sides, around her hips, and down the outside of her legs ending at her toes which now had gloss black nails like her fingers. They swirled into symbols all over; some she recognized, and some she didn't. She felt power though, more power than she ever felt as a slayer. "Some black lipstick and I would fit right in in the Goth circuit," she mumbled to herself. As the thought about it she felt movement under her skin. She watched the black run up her arms until they looked normal. She turned around to see the ink had formed an intricate cross on her back that incorporated all the various symbols of power into itself. She could still feel her power, but the new surges were muted like they were on a backburner, and it felt much like it used to. "Looks like I can turn the super slayer bit on and off."
She stepped into the steaming water and instantly felt more alive. She felt the ash, sweat, and grime all begin to wash away. While not thrilled about using motel soap and shampoo, they did do the job. After about half an hour she felt the stream grow cold, so she shut the water off and stepped out. She noticed that a small pile of clothes were there and ready for her; and oddly they were sort of in her size. "Normally, I would kill someone for going through my clothes like this, but right Now Dean you're my favorite person. She put on the new undergarments followed by the jeans. They were a little looser than the ones she normally wore, but she doubted Dean spent what she normally did on clothes. Up next was the shirt; a black tank top with the Guns N Roses logo on it, "Someone went shopping at Value-Mart," she commented. Once she was decent she stepped back out into the motel room to find Dean waiting for her, "What happened to the ink?" Buffy showed him her back, "looks like I can hide it." Dean nodded, "Where to sugar?"
"No offense, but I need some clothes since all I have is the clothes you bought me… thanks by the way," Buffy said to Dean who simply nodded. He passed her the room key and laid down for a quick nap while she picked up a few things. She grabbed her wallet out of the destroyed jeans and headed out. She may currently be homeless, but she wasn't going to look like it.
A couple hours later Buffy returned feeling better. She had traded her scuffed and scorched flats for a low heel western boots, had a button up western shirt on over the tank and tied around her midsection, and sported a new black Stetson. She may be Californian, but she could make any style fit. "Dean, "she said trying to rouse him, "I got a call from my insurance company….. WAKE UP!" Dean shot out of the bed pistol raised only to find Buffy giggling. "What?" He asked indignantly.
A/N:I hope you enjoyed the second chapter. getting ready to change positions at work, and wanted this out while I had time. Please Read and Review
