"Buffy, I can feel it. I can feel my soul. Go, I have to see how this ends; I love you Slayer."
"Spike, I'm not leaving you. We are in this together. I love you, too."
Suddenly, the amulet blazed to life and an intensive white light burst from Spike's chest. Buffy held his hand tightly and stared into his deep blue eyes.
"I just wish our friends could have fresh starts where they were safe. Oh, Spike what I did to those girls? I wish the world didn't need Slayers."
"I wish I'd see your Mum in heaven. I know having a soul won't get me there but I sure would love to share a cuppa with Joyce."
Spike smiled at her, not his usual smirk, but a true smile. It made his eyes that much brighter. He passionately kissed Buffy then she felt him explode in her arms. The amulet fell to her feet as his dust swirled around her in a gentle caress. She crumbled to her knees clutching the amulet. The ground started to shake; Buffy grabbed the scythe with her free hand then curled up on Spike's ashes. Closing her eyes, the Hellmouth collapsed and Sunnydale became a large crater.
In a sacred desert area (think vision quest), Buffy's unconscious body, the amulet, and Scythe appeared. A cougar crouched nearby watching patiently for 'The Slayer' to awaken. Buffy opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She looked around not recognizing where she had landed. Kissing the amulet, she slipped it over her head then picked up the scythe. Determined to find out where she was, Buffy started walking. Heaven didn't look like this last time and I never heard of a hell dimension like this either.
"It is neither, little one."
Buffy whirled around ready to attack when she saw the cougar. It slowly approached her, stopping at her feet. The regal cat bowed its head as it sat down and looked directly into her eyes.
"Did you just talk to me? Yeah right, Buffy not only do you see talking cougars you're talking to them and yourself. I'm in Hell."
The cougar morphed into a beautiful woman with a white luminescent face and long midnight black hair shot through with twinkling stars. Her eyes were a strange silvery-white color that reminded Buffy of moonlight. A silver half-moon headdress hung across her forehead. Draped draped across her statuesque body in the Greek fashion was the sheerest white materiel trimmed in gold, showing the phases of the moon.
"Who the hell are you? Where am I?" Buffy asked angrily, her eyes glowing bright royal blue.
"Be at ease daughter, I'll explain. My name is Selene. I'm the Goddess of the Moon. The Powers That Be allowed me the honor of explaining to you, all you have become."
Buffy remembered hearing those words before her fight with the First Slayer. Her eyes flashed again, the normal green now shone a royal blue. "What am I?" She demanded and waited for an answer.
"You've earned your answers and your rest, if you choose it?" Selene gracefully bowed her head.
"If I choose it? Why wouldn't I bloody well choose it? Oh great, not only do I finally figure out I love him then I lose him, now I sound like him. Okay, Ms. Dion more with the xplainy, please."
Selene threw back her head laughing. "You are a most unique girl. The Powers listened to you and your Champion, and granted your last wishes. He earned his place beside your Mother in Heaven as a true hero. Your world will never again touch your friends and family; they are safe. Also, there are no longer any Slayers."
"Yay me, go Buffy! It's your birthday. No more monsters!" Buffy jumped up, dancing around doing Xander's Snoopy dance.
Selene smiled, then sadly shook her head. "Let me explain, what you've become. The Shadowmen didn't join the First Slayer with a demon. They gave her the spirit of my first daughter, Zierra. The Powers asked this boon of her father, Zeus and I. They saw the need for a guardian for humanity. Our daughter trained with the gods to prepare herself to become Earth's Guardian. The Shadowmen decided that they held the true power, not the Guardian. She was not a protector, but a weapon, a slayer of monsters, used only as they saw fit. Their greed and arrogance kept the "Slayer" from ever reaching her full potential. They kept her in the shadows while they walked in the light."
"The Powers knew a 'Slayer' would come and restore the balance. They hid you from the Council and allowed you to follow your own path. The challenges you overcame led you closer to your final fate: The Master, Angelus, Hell, Adam, the Spirit of the First Slayer, Glory, Heaven, Your Return, Caleb and the First Evil. At each triumph, a piece of Zierra's spirit and powers unlocked inside you. When you closed the Hellmouth, her spirit and powers awakened fully, for the first time since she left Olympus."
"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that I'm your daughter reincarnated. I was never Buffy just some puppet for the Powers?" Tears streamed down her face.
"No child, you're all that a true Guardian should be. Zierra lay dormant in each girl. She waited to see if a Guardian would evolve. That's the reason you were able to remove the Scythe from the stone. No other 'Slayer' would have been able to, no other was worthy," Selene responded.
"But, I'm not worthy, I messed up a lot. They even kicked me out for getting them hurt. Kendra made a better Slayer than me. I don't understand. I mean this last year I was a mess. Everything get out of control, Willow's magic, Dawn's stealing, Spike, just everything."
"Child, listen to you, you take the blame for everything. You took on the responsibility for everyone's problems and dealt with them ripping you out of heaven. Then, you put your life back together without your friends help and helped them deal with their own problems. No one is perfect not even Zeus, just ask Hera."
Selene laughed at the small blonde in front of her. From the expression on her face, she knew Buffy didn't accept what she had heard. How will she accept what I still have to tell her? What will she decide?
Selene gently took Buffy's hand, waiting for her consent. When she nodded, Selene's eyes flashed white as she transported them to her palace on the Moon. Buffy's eyes widened in awe when she saw the Earth out a large window.
"Please sit Buffy, I have much to explain; you have an important decision to make. First, I must explain your new powers, some may shock you. They were gifts to Zierra from the Powers. You've known for some time that each year you've survived as the Slayer you've grown stronger. I know you thought it was your age; it wasn't. The Guardian was awakening. Your final death completed the cycle. You have the Guardian's full power - increased strength, speed, sight, hearing, smell and immortality."
"I can never go back to Heaven, can I?" Buffy's whispered, as the full impact of Selene's words hit her.
"I'm sorry, daughter. You're a true immortal. Olympus welcomes you, but Heaven cannot open its doors to you. You can watch your family lead their new lives, or you take on the full mantel of the Earth's Guardian for the world you created."
"How did I create a world? All I did was kick the First Evil ass, and wish for good things for the people I love," Buffy whined as her lips slipped into their famous pout.
"Your wish for a world without Slayers removed the need for true demons. Problems remained for creatures connected to their humanity like vampires and weres. Vampires received their souls and weres gained control over their beasts. The world knows about the supernatural and put laws and enforcers in place."
"It's not perfect. Still don't hear anything too bad."
"Balance. It seems for everything there must be balance. When the Fates removed the Slayers, their power didn't disappear. It dispersed back onto the supernatural scales. Vampires became more powerful with the ability the enthrall people. Masters control specific weres. Animators raise the dead for power, money and sometimes sport," Selene quietly explained.
"You've got to be kidding me. People think it's fine to pop somebody up out of their grave to chat. I created slavery for weres and dead people. Man, the Powers know how to grant a wish, don't they? I've heard enough. What am I supposed to guard?" Selene smiled at her brightly. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I get cranky if I don't get to kick occasionally somebody's ass. Uh, I don't have to wear sheets, do I?"
"Yes, Buffy, there'll be lots of err, asses for you to kick. You have full access to Zierra's training. The gods themselves trained her in warfare, strategy, languages, healing, reasoning and sensuality. Her powers are linked to the moon, which allows you to perform moon magic and have power over water."
"Now, let me show you who needs your help first, before I explain what we need you to do."
She waved her hand, opening a portal. It showed a small woman with black curly hair and dark eyes. The woman's life flashed by quickly from her raising a zombie to shooting a wolf. Buffy saw her fighting a vampire, then kissing a tall well-built brown haired man. The final scenes showed her arguing with a beautiful man with long curly black hair and violet blue eyes then lying in bed between two other men, one with long auburn hair. The last scene showed the woman's eyes glow a warm honey color.
"Who is that and who are all the hotties?" Buffy grinned mischievously.
"That’s Anita Blake, some call her the Executioner. She's a necromancer. Her death magic’s increasing at a dangerous pace. We hoped she would align herself with the local Wolf pack’s Ulfric and negotiate with the Master of the City for more rights for the weres."
"What happened; which one is which?"
"The brown haired man is Richard Zeeman, the Ulfric. He and Anita were engaged. They still love each other but don't accept each other or themselves. The Master of the City is Jean-Claude. He is beautiful isn't he? His animal to call is the wolf. He marked Anita as his human servant against her will to save his life and to gain access to her power, although he ended up falling in love with her. The three joined into a Triumvirate to fight the Vampire Council. The Council didn’t approve of Jean-Claude taking such a powerful person, as the Executioner, as his human servant. The marks have created too much power in Anita. She’s dangerously close to becoming like your friend Willow. Anita scares the entire Vampire Council while members try to find ways to capture and harness her power. It’s caused the Mother of All Darkness to begin to awaken. That can't be allowed to happen. If it does, the balance will fall to evil. The Vampire Council has controlled too much for too long. Its members couldn't receive full souls due to their corruption levels. The Powers couldn’t destroy them without harming their human servants. The real innocents are the weres. They have no power to resists Masters who can call their animal. We want you first to help Anita learn to control her powers. If she cannot gain control in time, you'll have to bind her powers or kill her."
"Wait a minute, Moon Lady, I don't care who you are; I don't kill people. If there’s no other choice, I’ll bind her powers, but that is it!"
"You’re the Guardian. How you choose to perform your duty is up to you. Please, remember Buffy, you’re responsible for Anita, the vampires and the weres for Earth. You'll have to guard, guide, judge and sentence them."
"How do I do this? How do I kill them, and why do I still have the nifty accessories?"
Buffy pointed to the amulet and Scythe. Selene leaned forward to touch Buffy's temple, causing her to remember Zierra's training.
"Cool, so I was channeling 'Dite when I did my nasty dance with Xander," Buffy giggled.
"The amulet will allow you to move through time and space. The Scythe is the most important, though. It will come and disappear at your call, kill any foe and sever ties, which you must do carefully. You’ll need all your training to complete these tasks."
Buffy looked at the amulet around her neck and pressed it to her left breast. Her eyes glowed as the amulet disappeared into her skin, leaving a beautiful silvery moon tattoo. She smiled her first true smile at Selene. "I finally feel like I fit inside my skin. I haven't felt this way in a longtime. I need to decide when to return. I guess I can't just keep her away from Jean-Claude?"
"No, you must never take away someone's freewill, especially Anita's," Selene warned sternly.
"Maybe, if I went back to when she hadn't decided between the two men and before the second set of marks. That way the players are there and the loss of innocents is smaller, plus the Council will already be in place."
The moon goddess clapped her hands, smiling at the tiny blonde girl. "That’s reasoning worthy of Athena."
"I guess I’m off to see the wizard." Buffy touched the moon tattoo and disappeared.
"Good Luck, my daughter, I’ll be watching you. We all will," Selene prayed.
Buffy found herself outside Animators Inc, taking a deep breath she walked through the door. Strolling up to the receptionist's desk, she asked to see Anita Blake.
"Do you have an appointment, Miss?"
"No, please tell her this is about the missing weres. Oh, and it's Summers, Buffy Summers."
The receptionist quickly ushered her into Anita's office. She noticed the coffee cups, giggling at the ones with penguins doing interesting things to one another. She got comfortable and waited for Anita.
Anita stomped into her office and found a tiny blonde, with large green eyes and golden skin waiting for her.
"What do you know about this case?" Anita demanded, giving the blonde her best death-glare.
Buffy calmly stared at Anita then smiled. "Hi ya, how ya doing? I'm, Buffy Summers and you must be, Anita."
Anita didn't know how to respond to the cheerful girl that looked like a cheerleader. She normally got the answers she wanted through sheer intimidation. She wondered if blondie was dumb enough to waster her time with small talk. Anita almost reached for her gun then realized she couldn't shoot someone for being pretty, blonde, nice and named Buffy, no less. Damn it to hell.
"Muffy, what do you know about this case?" Anita asked again, with a feral grin.
"Oh, it’s Buffy, but I understand as you get older, and the busier you get the more you are likely to forget the little things." Like common courtesy, man and I thought I had an ego problem, as the Slayer.
"BUFFY, what could you possibly tell me about this case? You're not, what more than 18, oh wait I know '19.' Did you read about this in the papers and think you could meet “the Executioner” and brag to you friends at school?" Anita's eyes drained of emotions as she blasted Buffy with accusations.
"Ego much? Please, I’ve been doing this for the last nine years and meeting you isn’t even a blip on my radar. Just to set the record straight, I’m St. Louis' newest Vampire Executioner, assigned personally by the Governor. I came to you because I heard from a reliable source that several of the Masters of the City's vampires are also missing. This meeting was as a courtesy to you before we met formally at RPIT or at a crime scene. Lady, you wouldn't know courtesy if it bit you on the butt, lady. You know I’m too pissed off to for witty banter. See ya, cuz sure as hell don't want to be ya, ta."
Buffy stood with boneless grace, threw Anita one small wave and worked hard to contain her laughter until she had exited the building at the shocked outrage on the executioner’s face. Once she stopped laughing, she realized she didn’t own anything except the clothes on her back and had no idea where to find anything. She had Zierra’s magical knowledge, or she guessed she should get used to the idea the magic was hers, gifted to her through Zierra’s sacrifices and her own. Buffy didn’t want to use magic unless it was necessary. Willow’s ride into darkness with her in the passenger seat still haunted her. Unsure on what to do, she put her hand in pockets and started walking down the street. Buffy pulled out car keys with a laughing moon key chain and pushed the alarm. Lights flashed on a dark green SUV. Buffy cautiously opened the door and there on the seat sat her purse from Sunnydale. She climbed into the car and almost wept when she found the wallet her mom had given her their last Christmas together. Buffy’s hands trembled when she flipped open the section holding her identification. She found her license with her address and an impress row of shiny gold credit cards. Tears clouded her eyes when she dared to look at the adjoining section. The flowed down her face as she gently touched the captive faces. Her mother’s loving face forever frozen with the soft smile she always wore, Dawn and her standing on the front porch after they had moved to Sunnydale, the Scoobies shoved together smiling up at the camera their junior year before Angelus, her prom picture, they were all there, her favorite moments captured in Technicolor.
She glanced up through the sunroof, her face immediately going to where the moon lay hidden behind the clouds and whispered, "Thanks Mom."
As she drove to RPIT headquarters, she wondered when she had started thinking of Selene as Mom. Joyce Summers would always be her ‘mommy’, but Selene was her mother too. It felt right to accept her. Buffy pulled up outside the building. She shook her head, remembering Career Day when her test results said she should focus her career in law enforcement, who knew they were right, just in the wrong dimension. She went inside to introduce herself to Dolph and Zebrowski. They went into Dolph's office to discuss her background and get to know each other better. She showed them her qualifications and the letter from the Governor.