The End of the Beginning: A Whole New World
by Starrynight26
"... So... How long before they start rebuilding ex-hellmouth central would you wager?" Xander asked as he, Buffy, Giles, Faith, Willow, and Dawn stood staring in to the pot hole that was once Sunnydale. Buffy continued to smile the way she had been smiling for the last five minutes. It was over. The hell mouth. The war. The burden of slayerness. The world was a slightly better place now because of her and her friends...

Because of Anya. Because of Spike.

"One quick spell should do the magic trick." Willow responded. "I think I could bring back Sunnydale... hold the hell mouth." Buffy, still smiling, shook her head and looked at Willow.

"This is how it should be." She said. Willow looked at Xander who stared out at the rubble and dust... and saw him whisper something.

Goodbye, Anya.

Willow took a deep breath, and looked back at Buffy. She was right. This was how things should be. Sunnydale had taken so many people away from them... they had all died for the world. Bringing back a place they had all died taking down would be like saying their sacrifices had meant nothing. Willow smiled slightly, and nodded.

Dawn tapped Buffy on the shoulder. She turned to her.

"How does it feel?" Dawn asked. Buffy thought about it.

"It feels like..." She paused, and let the right word come to her. "Peace."

"I hear ya', B." Faith said as Buffy returned her sight back toward Sunnyhole. "Having an army of slayers scattered across the globe kind of gives you a sense of security."

"... So," Xander started. "We'll travel around and find all the mini Buffy's--" Faith slapped him across this back of his head. He put up his hands defensively. "And mini *Faith's..."

"Thank you." Faith said with a smile.

"And we'll train them." Xander continued. "But where do we set up shop? I mean, I'm completely on board with you guys on the preservation of Sunnydale's new state... but where are we going to go?"

"Cleveland?" Giles asked. Everyone looked at him silently. "Right... I'll be checking on the girls then." He finished, and then walked off toward the bus.

"Xander's right." Willow said, turning back to the group. "We should start thinking about where we're going to go." Buffy nodded.

"We will." She said lightly. "We can go anywhere."

"Hey," Xander started. "Torrance is nice this time of year."

"Huh?" Dawn asked.

"... Nevermind." Xander said as he put his hands in his pockets. Buffy still continued to smile.

"We'll find somewhere." She said. "We'll find all the slayers. We'll find a new scooby house. We'll protect the world... we'll all be heroes. Everything's different now."

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "Everything's different now." Everyone was silent for a few moments.

"So," Buffy said as she put her arms around Xander and Willow, who put theirs arms around Faith and Dawn. They all began walking back toward the bus. "We saved the world... I say we party."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike took a deep breath.

"Okay..." He started from his cold seat on the white floor next to Anya. "So, we're not in heaven, or hell." He said, counting the places off on his fingers. "... or earth, pergatory, the sky, an empty supermarket, or the doublemeat palace..." He looked at Anya. "And I'm fairly certain we're not in a giant, evil, bunny hole." He dropped his hand. "Well that narrows it down."

"You don't know what bunnies are capable of. You haven't seen what I've seen."

"Yeah, but I know evil." He said, then looked around. "And this place isn't exactly reekin' of it."

"If there's anything bunnies are adept at, it's hiding their evil ways. Everyone thinks they're cute, but--"

"I know, I heard about the song." Spike interupted. "They've got the wonky noses and legs... but this isn't the work of a great and powerful bunny." Anya shrugged.

"I was just saying..." Spike rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.

"And again... we're *not* in heaven." Anya nodded. Spike looked at her.

"... Hey!" Spike laughed, then laid back with his arms behind his head.

"... This really sucks." He said.

"Well, you would know about the sucking part wouldn't you?"

"Two points - Anya."

"Damn straight." Spike smiled, then leaned on his elbow, facing Anya.

"Were you scared?" Anya looked down and shrugged.

"I didn't really have a chance to be scared." She looked up. "I mean - at first I was... but then there was the whole leaping in to the fray... and then..." She took a deep breath, and shrugged again. Spike nodded.

"I had time." He said. "Trust me... it's not much better." Anya was still for a moment, and then she looked around.

I believe you, she thought.

"Because you know that time to be scared, means time enough to run away. I don't think any of us would have been able to live with ourseves if we would have abandoned good ship save the world." He shook his head. "Staying there was the hardest and the easiest thing I had ever had to do in my life all at once."

"...Were you scared?" Spike was silent.

Terrified, he thought. "...But then ... wasn't scared at all too. Death is complicated that way I guess. But the weirdest thing about all this is... I keep thinking about how Buffy will probably end up with Angel now, and it doesn't bother me... that much. I just want Buffy to be happy." Anya laughed shortly.

"Not me!" She said. "I hope Xander's miserable without me till the day he dies a miserable, rotted, old death... alone. Spike raised an eyebrow, and Anya looked away from him. ".. Fine, I want Xander to be happy." She mumbled like a child who was forced out of getting their way. "But he'd better damn well be miserable for a few weeks at least! I deserve that much!"

"Anya... after the years of death and pain we caused... we *got* what we deserved. In fact... we got more than we deserved. We got a chance to make a kind of ammends." Anya was quiet.

"... I guess so." She said. "But I still say I deserve at least a few weeks!" Spike rolled his eyes, then laid back down.


This story archived at: The Slayer\'s Fanfic Archive
The Slayer\\\\\\\\'s FanFic Archive - http://www.slayerfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=3959