My Gift
I stayed by Tara's room for as long as I could, but I kept hearing noises downstairs. It took a good oh, like, five minutes of looking at her door, then trying to hear what was going on exactly before I finally stood up and walked downstairs. Everyone looked... sad. Or busy.
And I swore I saw Faith somewhere...
"Hey, what happened?" I asked one of the new girls all running around. She had a few weapons in her hands, which, ok kinda weird, but then she told me it was cuz there'd been a vision from Cordelia.
Yay. Another battle. When were we gonna stop having those?
I went with her and started getting a few weapons too - hey, I'd trained a little with Gunn! I was in the other battle before! - but she told me it was gonna be different. The ubervamps this time.
I think that was when I decided.
Glory had come to me - ok, not Glory, but The First pretending to be her - and told me I was still hers. Still 'The Key'. That if I jumped, my blood would... but then again, Spike had said the same thing, kinda. I'd run into him and Drusilla and... he bit me, stole my blood, said it was important.
I guess, after all this time, I'm still important.
Andrew asked me once - what does a 'key' do? I'd told him it was like being any other key - you just kinda unlock something, only with me I unlocked other places. Things opened up, and bad stuff usually came out - or at least it had that time on the tower.
Why was I getting a bad feeling that something else had opened up because of me again? Maybe it was that Summers-gut-instinct Buffy always talked about, cuz hello! So a Summers right here. I'd even cut myself that one time and...
Huh.
Buffy wouldn't tell me what was going on, but from everyone getting ready and all, it was obvious. Uh, that and the new girl had already talked to me, so duh. But ubervamps? We were so gonna die this time if Cordelia's vision was right. So this time, it had to be me. It had to be.
I had a knife, and no one said anything really since, well, it was a weapon, right?
"Shallow cuts... shallow cuts... Let the blood flow..."
I opened a portal once before. But what if this time, since I was still The Key, I could do what I wanted with it? Make it so stuff went into the portal, not out of it?
"Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop."
I placed the knife against my skin and started slowly, like I had back when I'd asked Buffy if I was real. Wincing at the pain, I kept going, watching a little as green filled everything around us...
"It has to have the blood."
I cried, wishing Tara was here, wishing Buffy had a better plan, wishing, wishing, wishing... it hurt so bad, why did I think it would be ok? I saw Buffy running to me and I coughed up more blood, but it had started and it was too late. I tried to kinda smile at her as I whispered, "The hardest thing in this world... is to live in it."
They wouldn't take me. I took me. And maybe I'd helped everyone too...
I never knew, though, since Buffy's face was the last thing I ever saw, surrounded by green light...
And I swore I saw Faith somewhere...
"Hey, what happened?" I asked one of the new girls all running around. She had a few weapons in her hands, which, ok kinda weird, but then she told me it was cuz there'd been a vision from Cordelia.
Yay. Another battle. When were we gonna stop having those?
I went with her and started getting a few weapons too - hey, I'd trained a little with Gunn! I was in the other battle before! - but she told me it was gonna be different. The ubervamps this time.
I think that was when I decided.
Glory had come to me - ok, not Glory, but The First pretending to be her - and told me I was still hers. Still 'The Key'. That if I jumped, my blood would... but then again, Spike had said the same thing, kinda. I'd run into him and Drusilla and... he bit me, stole my blood, said it was important.
I guess, after all this time, I'm still important.
Andrew asked me once - what does a 'key' do? I'd told him it was like being any other key - you just kinda unlock something, only with me I unlocked other places. Things opened up, and bad stuff usually came out - or at least it had that time on the tower.
Why was I getting a bad feeling that something else had opened up because of me again? Maybe it was that Summers-gut-instinct Buffy always talked about, cuz hello! So a Summers right here. I'd even cut myself that one time and...
Huh.
Buffy wouldn't tell me what was going on, but from everyone getting ready and all, it was obvious. Uh, that and the new girl had already talked to me, so duh. But ubervamps? We were so gonna die this time if Cordelia's vision was right. So this time, it had to be me. It had to be.
I had a knife, and no one said anything really since, well, it was a weapon, right?
"Shallow cuts... shallow cuts... Let the blood flow..."
I opened a portal once before. But what if this time, since I was still The Key, I could do what I wanted with it? Make it so stuff went into the portal, not out of it?
"Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop."
I placed the knife against my skin and started slowly, like I had back when I'd asked Buffy if I was real. Wincing at the pain, I kept going, watching a little as green filled everything around us...
"It has to have the blood."
I cried, wishing Tara was here, wishing Buffy had a better plan, wishing, wishing, wishing... it hurt so bad, why did I think it would be ok? I saw Buffy running to me and I coughed up more blood, but it had started and it was too late. I tried to kinda smile at her as I whispered, "The hardest thing in this world... is to live in it."
They wouldn't take me. I took me. And maybe I'd helped everyone too...
I never knew, though, since Buffy's face was the last thing I ever saw, surrounded by green light...