Prophecy Girl, Take II

Buffy floated listlessly in the darkness of oblivion, wondering why she still felt and thought and remembered. Wondering what would happen next, what would be her next great adventure? What was her next destination in all of this, and where was she now? Would she forever float in limbo of this dark nothingness with only her thoughts to keep her company? Or would God come and escort her to the pearly gates of heaven or would that other guy come and drag her down to hell? Did she even believe in such things?

Buffy was not the most religious person in the world but she supposed she did believe to some degree. With all she'd experienced in her years as the slayer and even before, all the evil she'd seen there had to be something, someone. A good to balance out all the bad. Where there was the devil there had to be a God.

The demons that she'd seen with her own eyes and fought all her teenage life, gave credence and solidarity to the mythology of a higher being, a creator. You could not have the one without the other like two sides of a coin, the ying and the yang. So why was she at this very moment stewing in this nothingness, driving herself mad with thoughts of theology and mythology?

Buffy quickly ripped her thoughts from such things and focused her…, what was she a spirit, an entity, a wraith? She focused on her lack of surroundings when she felt something pull at her violently and she was flung backwards as if tossed from a sling shot. She tried desperately to gain access to something that would slow her momentum down before she realized that she didn't have arms or hands to grip unto anything in this dark abyss.

As she was being spirited away to God only knows, she began to see and hear things that seemed all too familiar to her. As she was flung back a light show of this is your life began to play on both sides of her. Bits and pieces of major parts of her and her friend's life began to play as if on several screens starting with her final speech to her beloved sister. Several of the visions caught her attention. Moments where Xander had saved them privately and they hadn't a clue because he had never told them. He'd risked his life not for vain glory but because he'd loved them and her in particular.

She watched the night where Faith had taken his virginity and got a glimpse of his thoughts in the process. He'd wished it had been her, he'd wished she had loved him enough to give him the time of day and that he would continue to be her all even if she didn't. And then it all stopped abruptly and she fell into something with a thud.

Buffy felt wet, cold and weighed down. Was this heaven or hell? If it was heaven it was highly over rated as a place of peace cause her soul felt weighed down heavily and her slayer sense within her just screamed that something was wrong here. And if it was hell she shouldn't feel either cold or wet, she thought sardonically.

Then her heart soared as she felt the most wonderful lips upon her own. Lips that she found familiar and comforting. Lips that she had not felt since that faithful day of her first death. Since the day the Prince was waking his sleeping beauty and breathing new life into her. Buffy slowly awakened and began to return life's kiss unto her savior, ignoring the distant growl that she heard in the background.

Said Savior paused in shock and could not move as his friend began to kiss him long and hard. He sighed in contentment, but he wondered in the back of his mind if this was real or if she had been so traumatized by her death that she didn't even realize what she was doing. The last thing he wanted was for her not to mean it when she kissed him, he wanted her love and affection to be as real as his was for her. So, he abruptly and reluctantly ended the kiss that had started between them. Hazel eyes gazed deeply into green ones and he melted at the heartfelt smile on her face.

"Thank you Xander, for saving my life. I never got around to doing that the first time around," Buffy held his gaze and noticed the bewildered and confused look on his face.

"First time around? Buffy?" All the confusion he felt at her statement was heard clearly when he voiced his question.

"What are you two playing at! The Master is freed and terrorizing the town as we speak and you two are making out!" Angel all but screamed as jealousy ran through him rampantly, his muddled mind not quite grasping what was transpiring at this moment. First Buffy lay dead before them and all seemed lost including their budding romance, then Xander revives her and his hopes rise again only to be dashed once more when she started to passionately kiss the whelp.

The two in question ignore him as if he's not even there, getting on his vampiric nerves as they continue to gaze longingly into each other's eye's. If he wasn't so hurt by this, he would puke.

Angel growled out as his demon was in danger of rearing its ugly head. She was his, he had all but claimed her as so and so had the demon inside him, and Angel felt nothing but contempt for the boy that had usurped in moments what he had spent years trying to accomplish. No contempt was not the word he was going for, he wanted to rip his throat out for trying to get in between what he and Buffy had. "Buffy, you have a duty to perform as the slayer, and sucking face with this boy isn't one of them,"

That brought Buffy out of her love haze as her anger rose significantly. Her gaze turned from Xander, who was now seething at the vampire's words, and she focused a powerful glare at the man whom she'd loved for years. If she were a certain mutant Angel would have been dust and ash.

"I know what my duty is vampire, I don't need the likes of you to tell me. I am not a dog to be lead, I am the slayer whom you should fear," a bit of Sineya came forth within Buffy's gaze and Angel felt the demon inside quiver violently. Angel backed up a quite a bit, hurt and a tad bit more fearful of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She finally rose with the help of Xander whom she decided, if this was not some kind of hurtful dream, then she would be getting to know in a different way this time around. In the meantime, she had a Master to kill, and this time she would make damn sure there was nothing left for his followers to resurrect. Buffy and Xander stalked out of the Masters cave as a fearful and confused Angel tagged along behind them like a kicked puppy.