After All: The Awakening
by bolu
1-The Awakening

Buffy stared at the beauty of it all. Everything was so perfect. The bright rays of the blazing sun reflected gloriously against the colorful, newly born spring flowers that grew across the cemetery, intensifying their radiant colors to their maximum beauty. For a minute she forgot all that had happened since she found out what she was. She remembered the time when she was just a simple, normal girl living in Los Angeles… She felt she knew nothing at all, except the reality of the beauty around her.

Including her sister. She turned her head to look at Dawn, who looked just as happy as Buffy was feeling. Her warrior. Her own blood. She was so strong and graceful in every way imaginable. How stupid had Buffy been not to have seen that before. But her eyes were opened and she saw what Dawn really was. She was a key not just to other dimensions, but also to Buffy’s past life before…

The memories came rushing back so quickly Buffy could’ve sworn she heard them swish back into her head. She snapped out of her comma-like state and thought carefully for a few minutes about their next move.

“Dawn?” She clutched her sister’s arm and shook it slightly once she got it figured out. “Dawnie? Are you okay? We have to move.”

“Huh? Move? But… but we’re safe, right?” Dawn’s smile shifted from peaceful to worried. “Willow’s been stopped. The world is still here. Right, Buffy?”

“I think so. That’s what worries me. It brings out a lot of questions I can’t answer,” Buffy concentrated on the sight before her again. She didn’t want to talk with her sister about this, but she knew she must.

“What sort of questions?” Buffy tried to think of an answer quick enough. She sighed to save time.

“Well, as far as we know, the only way of stopping Willow was by murdering her. So I guess our first question would be: is Willow dead?” Dawn’s reaction showed that Willow’s death had never occurred to her.

Suddenly, Buffy’s vision became a bit blurred and she realized just how tired she was. She hadn’t slept in… How long? She didn’t remember, but it seemed like ages. Dawn was probably tired, too. She was about to say something, but Dawn interrupted.

“Where do we go from here?” Dawn was the one to reach out and grab hold of Buffy’s arm this time, “Do we go see Willow?”

“I don’t think that’s a good Idea. If she’s alive, we best give her space. Besides, we better go check up on Giles. He might have some answers, too.”
With that, Buffy took one last, long look at the cemetery and turned to leave. Dawn was a little more hesitant, but she finally forced herself to move. She jogged a little until she caught up with Buffy. They left the cemetery together.


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