Chapter 1
Bright lights, dancing like fairies as far as the eye could see. And a strange sensation of falling. The two little girls gripped each others hands tightly as the momentum of their decent grew faster and faster until they finally came to a nauseas thud. They both stretched and looked around, trying to make sense of their new surroundings.
As their eyes became accustomed to the midnight moonlight they gradually came to realise they were in a wood. Tall trees with their menacing branches hung threateningly over them, casting dark shadows on the floor around them.
The small blonde girl with blue eyes cowered against a tree trunk. "Where are we?" she began.
The other girl, with wavy brown hair sighed. She knew, knew that they were here for a reason, knew that the fate of the world rested on their shoulders. The other girl began to cry, silent sobs that made her body shake. Her shape could only be made out vaguely in the dim light but it was as if she knew her friend was crying without even watching her.
She slowly raised her hand and rested it gently on the other girls shoulder. "It's ok, everything will be better soon."
"I want Maylin" she whimpered.
"Me too, but we have work to do. Come one, let's go and find them."
* * *
Buffy sat on the living room sofa flicking between TV channels but not paying the slightest bit of attention to what was on the screen. She was too wired to sleep, patrol did that. She could function without sleep, obviously. Part of the whole slayer strength thing, but just once she would like to come in from hunting the graveyard for vamps and just collapse into bed.
She'd killed quite a lot tonight. Buffy never kept count though, she couldn't. It was like her mind zoned out and she wasn't really there. Buffy Summers had left the building, only Slayer Buffy: Saviour of the world was still there.
Not that they were different people. She couldn't escape her slayer half if she wanted to. She'd spent the best part of 7 years trying to deny what she was and get away from responsibility but she had slowly resigned herself to the fact that she'd just have to live with it. She couldn't do a damn thing about her destiny. Simple as that.
Buffy heard a noise outside and her ears pricked up like a hunted wild animal. Her eyes darted around the room. She sighed, she really was too alert. It was as if she'd drunk 10 cups of coffee, she would have to learn to relax. Coffee's meant to cancel the effects of alcohol, she thought. Any chance of someone inventing a cue for caffeine overload any time soon. She guessed not, and wondered whether it would work on adrenaline rushes caused by excessive demons too. It wasn't like it was a world wide problem.
See, her brain was working on overload. Mental rambling was what Buffy did when there was no one around to talk to.
The problem of being alone was soon solved though when she heard glass shatter on the front steps and a loud curse in a familiar British accent. Buffy rolled her eyes and stood up, getting to the front door before Spike banged it off hi hinges and woke the whole household up.
She swung the wooden door open and was met with the back of Spikes head.
"Spike, what are you doing?"
He turned around looking confused then grinned. "Alright? I was just going for a little midnight stroll!"
Buffy roughly pulled him inside and shut the door. "Spike, what have you been doing? Besides drinking, because that much is obvious..."
"Coming to see you, pet!"
"Will you keep your voice down, you'll wake up Dawn!"
Spike shoved past her with a grumble of "Yeah, whatever" and stumbled towards the refrigerator.
"Spike, you're a vampire! You don't eat food. Why do you always feel the need to raid our kitchen after one of your binges, like we don't have enough people to feed as it is."
Spike said something but it was lost in a mouthful of pizza. The next thing though, Buffy half catched amidst a shower of crumbs.
"What?" Buffy asked, just to clarify what she said.
"I dunno" he said, poking his head over the door. "I'm hardly even sure if I saw it myself. There was like this massive white light. It nearly bloody blinded me."
"Anything else you saw?" Buffy tried to extract more information from him but prising things out of an intoxicated vampire wasn't the easiest of tasked. She decided to leave it, and him and sauntered off to bed.
"Keep it down" she told him as she traipsed off upstairs to try and get some rest, but she wasn't all together sure if he heard.
* * *
Dawn walked downstairs the next morning and was met with Spike, passed out in the middle of the hall floor. She casually stepped over him as if having an unconscious creature of the night in your house as a normal thing.
"Any chance of some pancakes before school?" she asked yawning and sat down at the counter.
Xander looked up from behind his paper. "Nope, we're already late." He shoved a bowl and the corn flakes her way. "Have cereal."
Dawn was too tired to argue and just reached for the packet. "So, what's with sleepy boy out there? Someone gonna wake him."
"Nah" said Xander, taking a sip of his coffee, "I figured he'd wake up all by himself in about 5 minutes when the sun finally streams through the window."
"Yeah maybe, or he'll never wake up again..."
Xander grinned. "One can only hope."
Dawn shook her head. "So where's everyone else this morning? I thought was were due a little Scooby meeting before work."
"Oh, it can wait. Buffy went for a run, Willow went to the library early to study and Anya's opening up shop. It's just us lazy lot still left."
"Speak for yourself" Dawn said, mouthful of cereal, "me, I'm all ready to go."
"So how do you explain the fluffy pink PJ's?"
"Oh, don't ya know" she said, putting her bowl in the sink and rushing back off upstairs, "It's the height of fashion."
Outside, two little pairs of feet padded up the steps. "You knock" said Chloe, "I'm scared."
"Don't be so dopey" said Asha, "Maylin explained. We're meant to be here."
Both girls looked at each other and gingerly knocked on the door. They heard a groan coming from inside and saw a figure rise and move towards the door. The door swung on it's hinges and Spike blinked, trying to focus on the two shapes in front of him.
"Hello" Asha beamed, a bright cheesy grin spread across her face, "is Buffy here?"
"Er, Xander?"
"What Spike?" came the shout from the other room, "I have to take Dawnie to school."
"I thin you better come here."
Bright lights, dancing like fairies as far as the eye could see. And a strange sensation of falling. The two little girls gripped each others hands tightly as the momentum of their decent grew faster and faster until they finally came to a nauseas thud. They both stretched and looked around, trying to make sense of their new surroundings.
As their eyes became accustomed to the midnight moonlight they gradually came to realise they were in a wood. Tall trees with their menacing branches hung threateningly over them, casting dark shadows on the floor around them.
The small blonde girl with blue eyes cowered against a tree trunk. "Where are we?" she began.
The other girl, with wavy brown hair sighed. She knew, knew that they were here for a reason, knew that the fate of the world rested on their shoulders. The other girl began to cry, silent sobs that made her body shake. Her shape could only be made out vaguely in the dim light but it was as if she knew her friend was crying without even watching her.
She slowly raised her hand and rested it gently on the other girls shoulder. "It's ok, everything will be better soon."
"I want Maylin" she whimpered.
"Me too, but we have work to do. Come one, let's go and find them."
* * *
Buffy sat on the living room sofa flicking between TV channels but not paying the slightest bit of attention to what was on the screen. She was too wired to sleep, patrol did that. She could function without sleep, obviously. Part of the whole slayer strength thing, but just once she would like to come in from hunting the graveyard for vamps and just collapse into bed.
She'd killed quite a lot tonight. Buffy never kept count though, she couldn't. It was like her mind zoned out and she wasn't really there. Buffy Summers had left the building, only Slayer Buffy: Saviour of the world was still there.
Not that they were different people. She couldn't escape her slayer half if she wanted to. She'd spent the best part of 7 years trying to deny what she was and get away from responsibility but she had slowly resigned herself to the fact that she'd just have to live with it. She couldn't do a damn thing about her destiny. Simple as that.
Buffy heard a noise outside and her ears pricked up like a hunted wild animal. Her eyes darted around the room. She sighed, she really was too alert. It was as if she'd drunk 10 cups of coffee, she would have to learn to relax. Coffee's meant to cancel the effects of alcohol, she thought. Any chance of someone inventing a cue for caffeine overload any time soon. She guessed not, and wondered whether it would work on adrenaline rushes caused by excessive demons too. It wasn't like it was a world wide problem.
See, her brain was working on overload. Mental rambling was what Buffy did when there was no one around to talk to.
The problem of being alone was soon solved though when she heard glass shatter on the front steps and a loud curse in a familiar British accent. Buffy rolled her eyes and stood up, getting to the front door before Spike banged it off hi hinges and woke the whole household up.
She swung the wooden door open and was met with the back of Spikes head.
"Spike, what are you doing?"
He turned around looking confused then grinned. "Alright? I was just going for a little midnight stroll!"
Buffy roughly pulled him inside and shut the door. "Spike, what have you been doing? Besides drinking, because that much is obvious..."
"Coming to see you, pet!"
"Will you keep your voice down, you'll wake up Dawn!"
Spike shoved past her with a grumble of "Yeah, whatever" and stumbled towards the refrigerator.
"Spike, you're a vampire! You don't eat food. Why do you always feel the need to raid our kitchen after one of your binges, like we don't have enough people to feed as it is."
Spike said something but it was lost in a mouthful of pizza. The next thing though, Buffy half catched amidst a shower of crumbs.
"What?" Buffy asked, just to clarify what she said.
"I dunno" he said, poking his head over the door. "I'm hardly even sure if I saw it myself. There was like this massive white light. It nearly bloody blinded me."
"Anything else you saw?" Buffy tried to extract more information from him but prising things out of an intoxicated vampire wasn't the easiest of tasked. She decided to leave it, and him and sauntered off to bed.
"Keep it down" she told him as she traipsed off upstairs to try and get some rest, but she wasn't all together sure if he heard.
* * *
Dawn walked downstairs the next morning and was met with Spike, passed out in the middle of the hall floor. She casually stepped over him as if having an unconscious creature of the night in your house as a normal thing.
"Any chance of some pancakes before school?" she asked yawning and sat down at the counter.
Xander looked up from behind his paper. "Nope, we're already late." He shoved a bowl and the corn flakes her way. "Have cereal."
Dawn was too tired to argue and just reached for the packet. "So, what's with sleepy boy out there? Someone gonna wake him."
"Nah" said Xander, taking a sip of his coffee, "I figured he'd wake up all by himself in about 5 minutes when the sun finally streams through the window."
"Yeah maybe, or he'll never wake up again..."
Xander grinned. "One can only hope."
Dawn shook her head. "So where's everyone else this morning? I thought was were due a little Scooby meeting before work."
"Oh, it can wait. Buffy went for a run, Willow went to the library early to study and Anya's opening up shop. It's just us lazy lot still left."
"Speak for yourself" Dawn said, mouthful of cereal, "me, I'm all ready to go."
"So how do you explain the fluffy pink PJ's?"
"Oh, don't ya know" she said, putting her bowl in the sink and rushing back off upstairs, "It's the height of fashion."
Outside, two little pairs of feet padded up the steps. "You knock" said Chloe, "I'm scared."
"Don't be so dopey" said Asha, "Maylin explained. We're meant to be here."
Both girls looked at each other and gingerly knocked on the door. They heard a groan coming from inside and saw a figure rise and move towards the door. The door swung on it's hinges and Spike blinked, trying to focus on the two shapes in front of him.
"Hello" Asha beamed, a bright cheesy grin spread across her face, "is Buffy here?"
"Er, Xander?"
"What Spike?" came the shout from the other room, "I have to take Dawnie to school."
"I thin you better come here."