Buffy : The Love Goddess

By Joshua

Disclaimer: I decided to fix the disclaimer thing, I’m sure that it was annoying a whole lot of people. Well, for my Fanfiction creation entitled "Buffy: The Love Goddess," pretty much all of the characters are based on the television series "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," produced by Joss Whedon and associates, as well as owned and distributed by Warner Brother's television network. The concept of Anton, the character of Joshua the Archangel, are of my own visage, but any to all relation between them and the Buffy characters is entirely fiction devised for the sole purpose of people's enjoyment of Fanfiction.

Feedback: Comments, thoughts and criticisms are welcome at saberprime@angelfire.com

Chapter One

It really wasn’t that tough of a decision. No, it really wasn’t. The demon witch doctor, who had been a very loyal Glory supporter, had climbed the tower, while Buffy and the others were distracting the insane demon goddess and her scarred and obnoxiously humble henchmen, he had climbed the tower where Dawn, the Key to all Realms, realities, and dimensions, stood, tied and ready to be bled. He was the one who cut her. Spike, brave and loyal Spike, had done his best to get to her and stop the insane demon, but he despite his bravery and loyalty to the beautiful blonde Slayer, he was not strong enough. And the blood flowed.

Buffy arrived, in the nick of time as they say, only to let five drops, five drops, of Dawn’s blood drop to the very spot where Glory intended to return to her home Realm, the Demon Dimension that she ruled with an insane manicured fist. Glory was dead. The only way for the goddess to die was for her mortal form, which she was trapped within, to die. Giles killed Ben.

Buffy saved her sister, her blood and charge given form, only for the world, the Earth, and all of reality as a whole to still be in danger of being destroyed. Dawn had figured it out. The rift would remain open for as long as she lived, for as long as her blood still flowed through her veins. Buffy had figured it out too. Dawn came from her. Buffy was the only original child of Joyce and Hank Summers, and thus the only template for the monk spell casters to use in sending Dawn to her. Her blood was Dawn’s blood, Dawn’s blood was her blood. Dawn might have been the Key to opening the dimensional rift, but Buffy’s was the key to closing it.

Death was her gift. No, death was not Buffy’s gift. Death was the Slayer’s gift. The destiny of fighting in the eternal struggle of Light and Dark, of Good and Evil, of always killing the things that went bump in the night, of never letting anyone get close, for fear of them getting hurt. These can weigh on the human soul more than any of guilts and sins of Hell and the world. Death was the release from it. Death was the Slayer’s gift. She could now rest. And rest in peace for the world was safe, and saved by her. Buffy could not rest.

Yes, she had saved the world, closed the rift, saved her sister, and made the greatest impact on the world that anyone since Martin Luther King Junior. Buffy could not rest. Because, death was not Buffy’s gift. Buffy’s gift was to go home. But she could not go home alone. No, she would not, could not go home alone. So Buffy came back.

Everyone was gathered at the base of the awkwardly constructed tower that Glory’s henchmen and her insane victims had helped to build. The sun was coming up and Spike was trying desperately to hide in the shade of a crate. Giles, Spike, Xander and Anya, Willow and Tara, and Dawn, coming closer from the stairs, they were all staring at the still and quiet form of one who used to be so full of life and love.

Willow remembered Buffy telling her about the experience the Slayer had had in the desert with her “guide”. Buffy had been worried that she was losing contact with reality, with the people she cared about, she was afraid that she had lost her ability to love. The guide had told her that she was full of love. Willow knew it was true. She had felt Buffy’s love for her as easily, if not more, as she felt her own love for both her lover, Tara, and her best friend…Buffy. Willow wept.

Tara hadn’t known Buffy as well as Willow had, but she knew the woman behind and inside the destined Slayer. Buffy was always so full of love, so caring and loving. Tara smiled at some of the conversations that she remembered having with Buffy. It was almost like they were sisters, or related somehow, but their only relation was through Willow. Still, Tara had known the now dead Slayer, and she had loved her, and had felt love in abundant return.

Xander was crying his eyes out. Anya was on the verge of tears, but mostly because of the state Xander was in. Anya, once Anyanka the Demon of Vengeance, the Woman’s scorn, the bearer of the power of the Wish, now normal human Anya, fiancée to one Xander Harris, held by the man she loved, as he cried yet again over the loss of another Summers woman. Anya knew Buffy, but like Tara, mostly through Xander and the fact that he admired and respected her. Anya would miss, terribly miss the blond Slayer. She felt the ache even worse than what she felt when Joyce, Buffy’s mother died. Slowly, the tears fell.

Spike was the worst. Out of all of them, he had the least reason to be there, the least reason to be crying over a human, the Vampire Slayer at that, and the least reason for still being alive. He had only one reason for all of that and so much more. He had loved. Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer. He met her when she was 16 years old, and already she could kick his ass. And he was 218 years old. Every time they fought, or danced as he had called it, he felt something more. To the demon that was his human body now, it was foreign and strange. To what was left of his humanity, it was a long forgotten and buried dream. When he could no longer even throw a punch without more pain than even he could stand, the Slayer, the bloody Vampire Slayer, took pity on him and showed him a side of her life that as an enemy, he had never seen. The life with her friends. How she cared, respected and loved for them touched that part of him that was still even capable of love, of loving and set a spark to it. It went up brighter than a Roman candle, but lasted far longer. He fell in love with her. It was slow at first, and it didn’t take a genius to see it, since it was Dawn, the youngest, who had figured it out first. Buffy was both repulsed and overtly repulsed by the concept, simply because of the man he once was and what remained of the vulgar insensitive vampire. But she respected him, as a person, as a man, and as somebody that loved her. He told her as much. She only smiled in response.

Xander. Alexander Harris. Alexander Leville Harris. It’s a stupid name. It’s a stupid world that named him. Xander was crying. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to stop. ‘Why? Why? Why!!!’ he screamed at the universe. It’s not fair! It just isn’t fair. This isn’t right. Buffy’s the hero, she’s not supposed to die. She already died at the hands of the Master, and he and Angel had been able to bring her back. It wasn’t fair that he couldn’t do the same again. Xander cried. Then, he stopped. Something inside him demanded justice. But justice from what? The rift had been opened, and Buffy had jumped in herself, to stop Dawn from being the one who died. So who to seek justice from. Wait, was it justice, or vengeance? No, it was justice, and from what Dawn and Spike had said so far, Xander knew exactly where to get it.

Giles looked up as Xander broke away from Anya and ran into the tower complex, obviously looking for some thing or some one. Giles didn’t care. Everyone was right about him, he was a killer, and he knew it. Giles had loved Buffy as he did a daughter, and he felt as if he had just lost that daughter, and spat on her grave. He had killed Ben when Buffy had spared him. He had killed to protect her and the world. No, he had killed because the ‘Ripper’ in him wanted to lash out at the beast that had tormented Buffy and the double faced friend who had stabbed them all in the back, just to save his own hide. Giles was the only one not crying. He would never cry, at least not in the light of day, nor in the shadows of night. If he would cry, he would cry alone.

One other looked on and cried fresh tears at the sight of the bruised and broken body of the blond Slayer. She had known Buffy the longest out of all of them, but again, she had been with her the least. Dawn, the Key, Buffy’s sister, all alone in the world, sank to her knees by Giles, the surrogate father figure in both girls’ lives, and wept the longest and hardest of them all. She was alone, as Buffy had been. But as Buffy found out, she still had the others. She told Giles and the others Buffy’s final message, and told them all that had happened to her, and how Buffy had looked as she saved Dawn’s life, taking the leap for her, and from her. Dawn loved her sister.

Buffy loved her sister. More than enough to give her life for her. More than enough to give everything up for her. More than enough to be her sister. So now that Buffy had done all that, why did she still feel like she could give even more because of the love of her sister. Come to think of it, how could she feel anything at all, or think anything at all. She was dead. She had jumped into the rift, the surges of power had knocked her senseless, unconscious, and supposedly killed her. After that, the five-story drop to the ground should have finished the job. So why was Buffy feeling like she was still alive?

The answer came very shortly to her, as she materialized in a flash of red, pink and gold at the foot of her grave. The dirt couldn’t have been a week old, and the ground was undisturbed. It was morning, as far as she could tell. The marker read;

Buffy Anne Summers

1981-2001

Beloved sister

devoted friend

She saved the World

A Lot

Buffy smiled at the ending personalized statement. She figured Xander must have come up with it. Willow wouldn’t have minded, and might’ve even given a laugh over it. But Buffy knew what this meant. What she didn’t understand was why she was here, seeing it.

There were fresh flowers around and in front of the headstone. Some violets, some peach flowers and pink roses, and one black rose, directly over the grass covered grave itself. Right below that was a ring. She immediately recognized it. It was Angel’s ring, the ring that he had given to her, the ring that she had given up and that had brought him back from hell, because it represented her love for him.

Suddenly, Buffy sensed something. She turned and saw four people walking towards her, towards the grave. Her heart wept as she saw Dawn, Willow, Tara, and Xander walking side by side. Despite the fact that she desperately wanted to console them, she did not want them to see her, or hear her. She only wanted to watch them, as the ghost she was.

Willow looked up, thinking she had seen someone standing in front of Buffy’s grave. For a second, as she had done many, many times in the past two weeks she thought she had seen Buffy. There was a brief flash of pink and red, and then there was nothing. Just the willow tree that Giles had insisted she be buried by, and the lonely grave marker, written with Xander and Dawn’s memorial message. She still felt a warmth of a laugh every time she thought about the message, “She saved the world a lot.”

She smiled briefly, yet it was only briefly, and Tara held her hand a little tighter. Willow squeezed back, maybe harder than she should have, since she was holding Tara’s previously injured hand, getting the cast off only three days ago.

Xander had his arm draped over Dawn’s shoulder, both were walking soberly, as they always did when they came to visit Buffy. Dawn sometimes came in the night, to talk with Spike, who rarely ever left the site except for the daytime. Xander came with Anya, and also spoke with Spike. The two, since the tower, had developed something of a repertoire. They no longer hated and despised each other. Rather they resented the other and felt a growing kinship, which expressed itself through often dangerously involved barbs and jibs.

As they came to the gravesite, They each laid one rose, all next to the others at the headstone. Xander, yellow, Dawn, white, Tara, pink, and Willow, blue. The only non-natural rose color. Willow always left an enchanted flower of some kind. Never an ordinary one. The group, sometimes with more, today with only these, came every week, and might’ve continued doing so, if not for the following events.

Chapter Two

“Hey Buffster,” Xander said, his arm still around Dawn. “How ya doin’? So far I’m glad to see that Spike hasn’t done anything to your grave when we aren’t here. I honestly don’t know why you didn’t stake him when…” Xander’s voice broke for a second, “…when you had the chance. Anyway, on to cheerier news. Anya and I are getting married. I proposed the night…just before…well, you know…I think I’ve told you about a dozen times already.”

Willow smiled, it was usually her that had trouble getting words and meaning across. Buffy stepped closer to her friends, looking directly at Dawn and Xander. She was listening to every word they said.

“It’s kind of nice actually, being engaged. There are a whole bunch of plans to be made, and unfortunately, Giles and I are the ones that have to pay for everything, but whatever makes Anya happy. Fortunate for me, what makes Anya happy turns out to be me most of the time.” Xander stopped when Dawn poked him in the ribs and looked him in the eye. Xander only nodded.

“Um, Buffy. I’m not sure how to say this. So, I guess I’ll just say it. Anya and I want to adopt Dawn. The school board and just about everybody else in the world wants to put her in an orphanage or a foster family. None of us could let them do that. So, we’ve all talked and figured this was the best thing that could happen. Nobody can get in contact with your father, so he’s pretty much a lost cause.”

“What about Giles?” Buffy asked, knowing they couldn’t hear her. Tara looked up and in the general direction where Buffy stood, but Buffy didn’t notice, all her attention on Xander and Dawn.

“Giles is in a really weird mood.” Xander said, as though in response to the unheard question. “When the subject of adopting Dawn first came up, we all figured that he might want the job, especially considering the way he feels about the two of you. But when I asked him, he just gave me this funny look and shook his head and said he couldn’t. So, the only other option, was for Dawn to become Anya and mine’s daughter. We’ve asked her, and she’s agreed. God, I miss you Buffy. Well, I guess I’ll sign off now and Dawn can take over.”

There were tears in Buffy’s eyes and quietly she replied to Xander’s statement, “I miss you too Xander. I miss all of you.” Then Dawn began to speak. Buffy could tell she was hiding the pain, and she hid it well, as she told Buffy about her week, since she had last visited, and her day, what she learned in school, her plans with living with Xander and Anya, and how she and Anya went on shopping trips that always made Xander groan in pain at the mention. At this Xander demonstrated such. Willow laughed aloud.

“OK, um, I miss you Buffy. I love you too, you know that. And I’m being brave. We all are. I guess its Willow’s turn. Willow?” Dawn finished, half turning around Xander to look at the tall redhead.

Willow nodded, and put her arms even tighter around Tara. She tried to speak several times, but nothing seemed to come out. “Just say what you’re feeling Wills.” Buffy told her. “I know expressing yourself has never been your strong suit, but you have my permission to babble. I kind of miss it really. You’re this cool calm confident powerful wicca, not the shy little hacker girl I once knew. You’ve grown up and come into your own. So just say what you feel.”

Willow suddenly seemed to get more confidence, and Tara had tears in her eyes that were slowly starting to spill over. “Hi, hi, hi Buffy. Um, again, I’m sorry I-I couldn’t be here for the funeral, but-but I-I j-just couldn’t watch them p-put you in-in-in-in…” she stopped and Tara took her hand in hers, giving the young woman strength. “Anyway, I was in LA, getting Angel. He, Cordelia, and Wesley, and their friend Gunn all came. They had to bring somebody else, an innocent who needed their help or something, but she was nice. I don’t remember her name…”

“Fred.” Dawn stated.

“Yeah, Fred.” Willow continued. “Um, Tara’s doing great, her hand healed up great, and the trick I pulled with Glory worked. I got my girl back. I just wish that you could have kept yours.” Willow stopped for a minute, obviously thinking of what next to say. “Um, I’ve spoken with Giles, and he knows what I did, getting into the black arts books of his. But since I managed to control it all so well, he’s going to let me continue to increase my skills, under intense supervision ofcourse. Uh, what else happened? Well, I guess you figured out the tombstone was Xander’s idea, I mean I liked it but who else but Xander would have come up with a line “She saved the world a lot”, and not that I mean any disrespect or anything like that to Xander, I just figured that you know his sense of humor, and everybody seemed to like it, especially Spike, I think he’s starting to grow on everybody, you know he tried to save Dawn on the tower, but that demon doctor, who has thoroughly been killed now by the way, was just too powerful, and Dawn told everybody what Spike said to him, and even Xander had to clap Spike on the back for that, and something else happened, I know it did, but I’m babbling, and you did give me permission to babble and all that, and…”

Buffy and Willow froze. Tara and Dawn looked puzzlingly at the redhead. “Wait a second. How could I have known she gave me permission to babble?” Willow asked, a scared and hunted look on her face. Tara immediately came to her rescue.

“Maybe you subconsciously heard her ghost say that.” The shy blond offered.

“Oh,” was the only response.

“Um, Tara, do you want to…?” Xander half asked. Tara looked up where Buffy was standing, and if the dead Slayer didn’t know any better, the girl looked right at her.

“Uh, yeah, but do you mind if I do it alone?” Tara turned apologetically to Willow, but Willow only smiled brightly and kissed her on the cheek. “Ofcourse we don’t mind. We’ll be waiting by the car.” And with that, Xander, Willow, and Dawn started walking off.

When they were a good distance away, Tara turned back towards the grave and said a simple sentence. “They still love you.” Buffy, still staring after her friends and sister, only said, “I know. And I’ll always love them. But if anything, I understand death. Death was my gift right? They need to move on. I hope you’re helping all of them Tara. You were the furthest from me, the one that didn’t know me as well as the others, or didn’t feel a certain ways towards me. You’re the only one that can help them.”

Tara looked up from the grave, and there was no doubt about it, she looked right at Buffy. “No, that’s not true. I’m not the only one that can help them. And just because I was new to the group and closest to Willow instead of you, that doesn’t mean that I cared the least about you. Buffy, I’m hurting just as much as Willow and Xander, maybe even more because they got to know you so much better than I even had the chance to. And I can only do so much to help and support them. Buffy, you were the reason that they’re together in the first place. Now, it’s only Dawn. And I can’t…”

Tara’s voice broke and she bursted into tears. Buffy made a motion to hug the hurting woman, but then stopped, still thinking she was a ghost. ‘Ah to hell with it,’ she thought and hugged the girl anyway. She expected to fall through her, or something else creepy, not actually find the girl sobbing in her arms. Her surprise was outweighed by her love and concern for the young woman crying onto her shoulder, so she just stood there, hugging and soothing the lover of her best friend.

Willow looked on from a distance away, and her heart lurched at the sight of her love standing there weeping at the foot of Buffy’s grave. Xander and Dawn were both in the car, waiting for the other two to come so they could get moving. Willow just stood at the edge of the graveyard, staring at Tara, until she felt a comforting hand slide onto her shoulder. It was Xander. He just looked at her, and she felt the tears she held inside spill over and out. He stood there, comforting her by his presence, and then Dawn came up on Willow’s other side. Together the three turned back to the car, walking slowly. The sky above them clouded over and began to turn dark.

Tara finally managed to stop crying, and she looked up, with shock on her face. “You’re real.” She said. Buffy let the girl go and dropped her arms. She shrugged and said, “I guess. I really don’t know what’s going on. The last thing I remember clearly was saying goodbye to Dawn, and jumping off the tower into the rift. Then I remember feeling that I wanted to do more for her, that I would do more for her and all of you if I could. And Tara, I’m so sorry about what I said. I consider you to be my friend, one of my best friends, and I love you, just as much as I love the others. You’re Willow’s girl, and I guess you’re mine too, but in a different way. You’re the girl I would’ve wanted as a daughter. I love you Tara. So no matter what else I say, please remember that.” Tara was smiling, despite tears on her face, more were coming, but not tears of grief, tears of happiness and joy.

“Buffy, are you…I mean, are you still…uh, you did…didn’t you?” Tara stuttered.

Again, Buffy shrugged and walked silently closer to the grave marker. “I don’t know. Jumping into a rift of extra-dimensional energies is definitely one way to die, and if that didn’t do it, then falling off a five-story tower without a cushion to land on would most likely nominate me for being on the Most Definitely Dead list. So why am I here? Why could I hug you?” Buffy asked the questions she sensed Tara about to ask.

Tara nodded, waiting for the answers. “I really don’t know. Maybe it’s the whole universe saying that I still have a job to do as the Slayer, maybe it’s the Powers That Be drafting me to save the world one more time. I just don’t know Tara.”

“Why couldn’t the others see you?” Tara asked.

Buffy looked at her and asked. “Why can you see me?”

Tara just shrugged, so Buffy answered her question anyway. “I didn’t want them to see me. I knew it would hurt if they did, even if they might not have seen me anyway. But mostly because I just didn’t want them to see me.” Buffy looked up in the sky and casually noticed that the sky was clouding up, covering the sun and sky in almost solid cotton whiteness.

“Well, then maybe that’s why I can see you. I try and stay in tune with the elements around me as much as possible. So when you wished that we couldn’t see you, you must have been focusing on Willow, Dawn, and Xander. I mean, they were the closest to you and…” Tara didn’t finish as something like inspiration crossed the shy and cute face of the blond witch.

“Buffy, if you’re still alive, but have the powers of a ghost… Buffy you have to tell the others.” Tara saw the look of fear and apprehension on the dead Slayer’s face. “Buffy, I told you, I can’t keep them together by myself. Without you everybody is falling apart. Giles has practically gone into seclusion and Xander’s actually starting to get along with Spike!”

Buffy started at that last one, and slowly a smile spread across her face until she lit up laughing louder than a hyena. “Spike…and, and…hah, hah, hahahahahahahahahaha, heh, heh heheheheheheheheheheheheh. Spike, and” <gasp> “and Xander! Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!!”

After maybe a minute, during which the sky got darker and angrier, Buffy gained control of her self and went back to the subject of showing herself to the others. “OK,” she announced, “Let’s do it. How do you want to do it?”

“Do you think that you could make yourself visible from here?” Tara asked.

Buffy paled. “I thought that maybe you would want to get everyone at the Magic shop, turn off the lights, say hocus pocus, and then I show up and everybody’s happy.”

Tara just shook her head no. “No Buffy, it’s better for everybody if we start right away. Also, you might give Xander and Willow heart attacks if you just appeared out of the blue right next to them. This way, they can see you coming and have all the necessary attacks of panic and fear before you get to them. By the way, why are you wearing red?”

Buffy surprised by the question, and looked down at her outfit. It was the same that she had been wearing the night she had died, a sweater, denim jeans and black boots. Except that the once white sweater was now a bright red, and the once gray pants were now a fuchsia pink. Her boots were still black. “I don’t know. OK, maybe this is a good idea. Maybe Willow and Giles can figure this out. OK, here goes.”

Concentrating, Buffy imagined how much she wanted to see her friends, all of her friends, and for them to see her. Then, Buffy was surrounded by an aura of pink, red, and gold sparkles, and both young women swore they could have heard bells ringing. Not one or two tone bells, but more like the bells of a wind chime when you run your hands through all of it, all at once. “What was that?” they asked as one. Shrugging, Buffy turned back to the task at hand, facing Willow, Xander, and Dawn.

The sky was now very dark and it looked like it was about to start pouring any minute, but Tara and Buffy walked slowly to the entrance of the graveyard. The others were about five feet from the car, when they stopped. Willow, in between Xander and Dawn, turned around and saw Tara coming back, but with another short blond woman beside her.

Turning completely around, Willow asked Xander in a timid voice, “Xander, who do you think that woman with Tara is?”

Xander barely glanced at the approaching couple before stepping up to the opening Willow had given him. “What, scared of a little competition Will? Ah, don’t worry about it, I’m sure that you can easily turn all of Tara’s other girlfriends into toads if you have to. Am I right Dawn? Dawn?”

When Dawn didn’t answer, Xander out of concern looked at her. She was staring in the same direction as Willow, but she had her “I’m about to start crying, so be ready,” face on. Something she had in common with her sister. “Dawn, what is it? What’s…” he didn’t finish as he looked where the two young women were looking. He gulped. It couldn’t be…could it?

The two blond women came continuously closer, and the three by the car, the only other people around, were frozen to the spot where they stood. If any had cared to look, obviously none did, the sky above the graveyard, and Sunnydale in general was in a foul mood. It was almost as dark as night now, and definitely dark enough for the light activated street lamps to come on. And the clouds, the clouds were rolling and clapping together, but there was no wind, there was no thunder and there was no sign of rain. As far as Meteorologists were concerned, a lot of clouds had just swept over a small portion of a little talked about part of California, where strange weather was very common. No, there was no wind, but the clouds still moved and rolled, there was no rain, and there would be none, and there was no thunder, not yet anyway. Not a soul cared.

Finally, after a two-minute walk, the pair of blond women, one in pink and red, the other in black and pale blue, came to stand in front of the other three that were standing there. This close, there was no denying it. The blond woman with Tara, she was Buffy. Their dead friend, the one whose grave they had just visited. Dawn was the first that was able to speak.

“B-Buff-Buffy?” she whimpered.

Buffy smiled her million-dollar smile and nodded. “Yeah, it’s me Dawnie. Don’t be afraid, it’s really me. I’m not a vampire or a demon or anything. Actually I’m not sure what I am, but I’m still me.”

Xander and Willow stuttered as one in saying, “Buff-Buffy, is it really you?”

“Hey guys,” is all she said before lightning struck.

Literally.

Chapter Three

Lightning flashed through the sky, twice. But for our heroes, and our heroine returned from the dead, this was not far off distant, ‘ooh isn’t that cool’ lightning. This was ten feet away. All they knew was, the area around the gate of the cemetery was all of a sudden bathed in a blinding white-hot light. Those who could see saw that at the exact same moment, another bolt of lightning struck the tree by Buffy’s grave.

Actually, the tree was undisturbed, it was the grave that was struck and obliterated by the lightning. But nobody cared about that, because they were ten feet away from a massive lightning strike, and if you’ve ever even been near something like that, and not struck, aside from being lucky, you also know it’s very intense. Especially since the thunder was like right there, and deafening as much as the light was blinding.

After the brief episode, during which Buffy threw everybody to the ground and protected them all with her body, the strangest thing happened. The dark on dark thunderclouds that had appeared in the sky, disappeared within a matter of seconds and leaving blue sky and the bright sun. Getting up, Buffy helped the others to stand, and took a look at what had happened.

The gate was a mess, crumpled and blackened, and surrounded by scorch marks in the cement. Further on, she could make notice of a rising column of smoke, roughly about where she and Tara had just walked from. Yet, what held and kept her attention was the strange man standing in the center of the ruined gate and scorch marks. He was about six foot, she guess, had long wavy soft brown hair, and was dressed completely in pure white.

Slowly, he began to walk towards the group. Buffy was immediately wary of him. She double-checked and made sure that everybody was behind her, just in case.

“Wow! What the hell was that?” Xander asked.

“I don’t know.” Willow answered. “But maybe we should ask him. I think he might know.” The redhead pointed to the man in white walking towards them.

When he was less than two feet from Buffy, he stopped. He looked down at her, she was at about his chest height, and smiled the brightest smile they had ever seen on a human face. Buffy noticed that he had deep blue eyes that held a softness and kindness she had never imagined before. It eased some of her wariness, yet she was still on guard. It wasn’t every day that strangers appeared in strikes of lightning. Well, maybe every month or week, but not every day.

Then, the stranger did something that nobody expected and certainly had no idea how to respond to. He leaned down, and hugged Buffy. It wasn’t a casual hug, but it wasn’t a groping hug either. Rather, it was more a hug that one would give to a long lost friend that you were very glad to see. Unsure, Buffy hugged the man back, not sure what was going on, and confused enough already. After a moment of being held in his arms, something was touched deep inside of the young woman. She was suddenly very glad to see this man, though she had little idea of who he was, and she hugged him even tighter.

Finally, the two released each other. The man was still smiling, but he had tears on the edge of his eyes, and Buffy noticed that she too was on the edge of wetting her cheeks. She sniffed as he spoke for the first time.

“God in Heaven, it’s good to see you again Buffy.” He had a pleasant baritone voice, one that could speak with authority, but was often used in light and soft conversational tones. Buffy was confused, and she wasn’t the only one. How did this man know her? And who was he to appear in a bolt of lightning? They were all asking themselves.

“Oh, but I see that you don’t recognize me. It’s all right. I’m sure the memories will come in time. I see that you’ve found some of the others, but they have not realized their pasts yet. It’s all right. I will explain myself, and what I speak of in time. For now, how about we go get something to eat. Being part human, we might not need to eat Buffy, but its still a good idea to retain energy.”

Everybody just stared at him, then Buffy blinked, and finally finding her voice, “What do you mean, part human? I’m not human anymore? Then what am I? And who are you? And how did you know I was hungry?”

The tall white stranger just smiled mysteriously and began to walk past them. “Coming?” he asked.

Reluctantly, and mostly in shock, they all followed him, until he stopped in front of Xander’s car. Buffy wanted more answers, so she stepped in front of him and asked, “OK, enough with the cryptic stranger crap. Who are you, what are you doing here, and most importantly, why did you show up in a bolt of lightning?”

The stranger’s eyes lit up a little, and he turned back to see the point he had entered the world. The scorch marks, the bent and melted metal, and signs of a fire in the distance did indeed point towards a lightning strike as the cause. “Wow, a lightning bolt, huh? That’s new. Usually it’s a beam of light from the sky, or chariots of fire and so forth. Oh well, still pretty cool though.” He stopped when he caught the look on Buffy’s face, and his face fell.

“OK, OK. I give. Geez, and I thought Willow’s resolve face was tough. OK, my name is Joshua. It means ‘God with us’. And to put it in the simplest of Earth terms, I’m an Archangel. As for why I’m here, well, I’m here for you Buffy.” He answered.

The way that Buffy’s face caved in as he said that, immediately led ‘Joshua’ to know what she was thinking. He hastened to undo his mistake. “Oh! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I’m not the Angel of Death or anything like that. You aren’t dead Buffy. You’re the farthest thing from it. And I’m not from the Powers That Be, or anything else like that. I’m here to bring you home. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be the only one to go home.”

Buffy seemed much relieved, but there was still worry etched into her features. “Do you mean home…as in, home in Heaven?” she asked.

“Well, yeah, sort of. I mean our home Realm Buffy. And yes, our home Realm is in Heaven, but that doesn’t mean it’s the after life. Well, considering what happened, it might be for you. The gist of it is, I’ve come to bring you and the others back to our home Realm, which is so ready to have all of you back. So, this is a real car? Cool. I trust that there are flashier cars though. Otherwise, I’m going to have to do some major redecorating. Whose is it?” he asked.

“Uh, it’s mine, and what do you mean ‘redecorating’?” Xander asked, stepping forward.

Joshua took one look at Xander, and that million-watt smile again, and before anybody could do anything about it, he was hugging Xander. “Alexander! My man! I have missed you! Man, have I missed you! So, I heard on the wire that you’re dating an ex-demon. How’s that working for yah, huh?” he exclaimed as he stepped back some.

Then his gaze shifted over to Tara. “Tara.” He said quietly. Willow made a slight protective move to put herself between Tara and the white-clad man, but Buffy put a hand on the redhead’s shoulder and silently told her that it would be all right.

Joshua came up to Tara and looked down into her eyes. “I-I heard about what happened. I’m…I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. I wish with all my heart and soul that I could’ve done something. I’m just real glad that your mother was there for you and could help you in the end.” Then he kissed her gently on the forehead.

Tara looked up at him and said, in her quiet way, “My-my mother’s dead. She has been for nearly ten years.”

Joshua’s eyes widened and then he glanced back and forth between Willow and Tara. “Uh, I-I-I, mean, I-I, mean I…I…mean, uh, what do I mean?” he said, directing the question to Buffy.

In response, her stomach could be heard growling for attention. “I think he means that we’re both getting hungry and could use some food right about now.” She said aloud.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I meant. So, do you want to do this the fast way, or the car way? I mean, despite being as cool as it is, I seriously doubt that Alexander’s car can carry all six of us. Can it?” observed Joshua.

“What do you mean the fast way? You don’t happen to have angel wings under there, do you? And despite that, what other way is there, except to walk ofcourse?” Buffy asked.

Joshua only smiled mysteriously and asked another question. “Is there any place where you all hang out, where we can talk privately, but still eat?”

“The shop?” Buffy suggested.

For the most part, the ordinary humans had stayed quiet, so now faced with answering a question posed from a tall and imposing man that had just appeared out of a bolt of lightning, it would be easy to understand why they were a bit flustered. “Uh, yeah, the shop. I’m sure Giles has some kind of leftover thingies somewhere there. Right guys?” Willow began.

“Um, yeah. And if not, then I can swing by and pick up some pizzas after I drop Dawn off at school.” Xander added.

“Great!” Joshua commented. “Oh, and get some pepperoni. And I hate onions and peppers, so try and get something lower than a supreme, OK.”

“And don’t forget my favorite Xander, just because I died like two weeks ago doesn’t give you permission to forget the greatest pizza of all time.” Buffy accused.

“Right, right. The great Hawaiian Specialty Deal. Don’t worry, Buff, I got your back. Willow, Tara, any requests?” Both girls shook their heads, so Xander made his way to the car, with Dawn in reluctant tow.

“Um, is anybody else coming? I mean, I can drop you off on our way to school, but not if we keep sitting around here.” said Xander.

Joshua smiled and said, “No, that’s all right Alexander, we can handle it from here. Don’t worry, unless you’re late, then you’ll have something to worry about. See you at the shop.”

Buffy nodded, and Xander shrugged and got in the car, started it up and pulled out. “So are you going to show me this fast way or what Joshua? And how do you know everybody? How do you know me for starters?” asked Buffy.

Joshua was staring after the car, fascinated at its function and apparent capabilities. Realizing that he had just been spoken too, he turned to look at the speaker, Buffy. “Huh? Sorry what?”

Willow giggled a little and Tara just smiled. “For an Archangel, you sure are slow.” Buffy commented. “The fast way. Show me how to use it, if I can.” She said, getting him back on track.

“Right. Well, since you might as well be considered a rookie, I’ll take Willow and Tara, and walk you through it. But don’t worry, enough practice, you’ll feel like you’ve been doing it for years.” said Joshua, taking his hands and putting either one on Willow and Tara’s shoulders. “OK, just so I know, would this be the shop called the ‘Magic Box’ would it?” he asked. All three girls nodded. “OK, Buffy, do think you can remember what the inside of it looks like, where it is in more or less relation to where we are?” She nodded. “Good, now for concentration purposes, close your eyes, and imagine to the best of your ability, the inside of the shop. Have it? Good. Now, think about where you are. Think about where that picture inside of your head is. Now, listen carefully, you have to want to be there, at the place that you’ve pictured in your mind. You don’t want to be here anymore, you want to be in the shop. Want it so bad that it’s all you care about, all you are focusing on. Aaannd…”

Suddenly, Buffy was surrounded by an aura of pink, red, and gold sprinkles, and then she faded away, as did the aura, save for a couple of gold sprinkles which quickly dissipated. “Three…Two…” Joshua was saying. As he said the word, “One.” Buffy reappeared in the identical aura, and everyone swore they heard bells as she appeared.

“I did it! I did it!” Buffy was practically jumping up and down looking giddy. “What did I just do?”

Joshua chuckled and answered, “Well, I’ll explain that in the shop, now I’ll go first, and this time follow the exact same way. OK, here we go.” “We?” Willow asked as she found out what he meant. Unlike Buffy’s teleportation, Joshua’s was an aura of bright, pure white light, and as he disappeared, a ball of white energy went from the middle of the aura to the top of it. Then there was no trace of Willow, Tara, or the white-clad stranger called Joshua. Buffy immediately focused on the Magic shop, wanting to be there now. And she was.

Buffy heard the bells as everyone else did, but she didn’t see the aura or anything like it. When she found herself atop Giles’ table that they often had done research on, she wished with all her heart that nobody could see her like this. It was embarrassing enough. She quickly got down off of the table.

As soon as she did, Willow, Tara, and a Joshua in far more normal clothing came out of the back room. At the graveyard, he had been wearing a white tuxedo like suit, no tie. Now he was wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and white tennis shoes. Giles was behind the counter, helping with a sale, and Anya could be seen by the display window, adjusting something or other. Willow and Tara looked around, Willow almost frantically. She turned to Joshua, who only casually looked around the shop, and said something to him.

“Where is she? You said she’d be here! Where is she then? She’s not here. I’d think we’d see her if she were here, so where is she?” the redhead was on the verge of shouting.

“Calm down Willow. I know she’s here, I think she just ended up someplace embarrassing and didn’t want anyone to see her. At all. Anyway, I’ll find her in just a minute, as soon as you talk the shop owner over there into closing early.” said Joshua as he moved over to the table, pausing slightly when he passed Buffy. Then he sat down.

Giles finished with his customer and Willow hurried around the counter and whispered something urgently into his ear. He visibly paled and nodded. “Anya!” he called to his assistant. The brown haired young woman stood up and came back to the counter. “What is it Giles?” she asked in her deadpan sort of way.

“We’re closing early. Put the closed sign on the door and lock up everything. Then join me in the back room. If Xander shows up, let him in.,” said the Englishman.

“But…” Anya protested.

“No buts Anya. Something very important has come up. It involves Buffy,” was all he said. Anya immediately got quiet and went to do as Giles had asked.

“All right Willow, what’s going on?” he asked as he came to the couple standing near the table.

“Um, Giles, this is Joshua. He showed up in a flash of lightning at the graveyard when…when we went to visit Buffy.” explained Willow, indicating the brown haired young man sitting at the table.

“Oh, I see. And you said this had something to do with Buffy. What does this young man have to do with that? Is she…” Giles was interrupted by Tara saying, “Giles, trust us, and just listen to what he has to say, and, and try not to have a heart attack, OK?”

Giles, confused nevertheless nodded and turned his attention to the stranger. Joshua smiled at the elder man, and indicated that he was waiting for Anya to get back. Three seconds later, “OK Giles, what’s up? What does an Archangel and Willow and Tara showing up have to do with Buffy?” Joshua only raised an eyebrow at the statement while Willow seemed to become even more flustered. “How-how, Anya! How did you know he was an Archangel?” she practically shouted.

“It was fairly obvious, from the way he held himself, his dress, but what always gives it away is the eyes. All Angels and Archangels have the same kind of eyes.” said the ex-vengeance demon casually, as though discussing the attributes of Archangels was something she did every afternoon.

Joshua smiled again and decided to go ahead with revealing Buffy. “Anyway, Buffy, I know you’re here, but as you guessed, none of us can see you. It’s kind of like the teleporting thing. You have to want us to see you, especially after you wanted no one to see you. Wanting no one to see you makes you invisible. A trick that only you ever seemed to do. Oh well, just concentrate Buffy.”

“Sorry,” said a voice by the table where no one saw anything. Then, as before, there was a flash of red and pink aura, and gold sprinkles, and Buffy appeared out of the thin air. “Just curious,” said Joshua, “where did you end up in here?”

Buffy blushed slightly, enough that her cheeks matched her sweater, and answered, “On top of the table.” “Oh,” was the only response, with a wider grin.

“Buff-Buffy…” Giles stuttered identically to Willow and Xander.

Buffy turned to the elder Englishman and smiled at her surrogate father figure. “Hey Giles, how’s it hanging?”

“Buffy, is it-is it really you?” he asked haltingly. Buffy stepped closer and stared into the taller man’s eyes. “What do you think Giles?” said the Slayer. He stared for only moments longer before taking her up in crushing bear hug and finally letting down the wall of separation between him and his emotions.

“Thank God your alive. I thought I’d lost you. I didn’t know how to go on.” He muttered as he cried into her blond hair.

“Listen, I’m real sorry to interrupt, but I figure a lot of you would like the answer to why Buffy is still alive, and here, as opposed to dead and in Heaven.” Joshua pointed out from his seat.

Quickly, Giles and Buffy separated and paused only long enough for Giles to stare at her for two moments more before indicating everyone a seat around the table. For some reason, Buffy sat next to Joshua, and beside Willow. Tara next to her, then Giles opposite Joshua, and Anya opposite Tara. “So, what’s the story Joshua? How do you know all of us? And where did I get the funky new powers? And while we’re on that, what’s the deal with the bells every time I do something with them?” asked Buffy.

Joshua raised an eyebrow and did his best to answer her questions. “Well, the whole story is rather long and involved, and as I know you’ll doubt, you already know it. How do I know all of you? Heh, that’s the real shocker. Buffy, I want you to keep an open mind about this. OK?”

Buffy raised her own eyebrow and countered, “Keep an open mind? I’ve seen things that no regular person would believe. I’ve been to Hell and back, I jumped into a dimensional rift not two weeks ago, and I’ve fought and killed things that would make grown, trained soldiers cry and beg for their mommies. I think I’ve got an open mind.”

Joshua stared at her, his face blank, waiting for her to finish. After a few seconds of silence, he simply stated, “Buffy, I’m your brother.”

Continued in Part 2

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