THE DEMONIC WORLD: NICE, FRANCE
THREE YEARS AGO
Running her hands through her black locks of hair, Buffy finishes cutting the last few threads of hair to form the fringe that landed just above her newly darkened eyebrows. Placing the scissors back into her makeup bag Buffy slowly pulls on her pink blazer. Being careful not to jar her still-healing ribs as she does.
Turning away from the mirror in front of her, Buffy tosses the makeup bag into her suitcase before lining up all of her new papers.
A new birth certificate, ID, driver's license, and passport.
Sighing Buffy shoves the papers into her clutch before grabbing her cruise ticket.
She still didn't want to risk flying, she needed to lay low.
Taking the cruise would allow her to get where she needed to be without the worry of being caught at airport security.
With everything, she needed finally organized for her long trip Buffy's eyes land on the set of keys resting on the motel bed. One to her new car and the other to her storage unit.
Grabbing the key to the storage unit, Buffy exhales deeply before making her way to the door.
It was time to make sure that Buffy Anne Summers was gone for good.
**
THE ENCHANTED FOREST: PRESENT DAY
Traveling through the depths of the forest in search of their missing princess, Buffy lags behind the group keeping her senses on high alert. After Cora's little magical display of possessing the dead, Buffy didn't want to take any chances.
This word was making her even more paranoid than she already was.
As she follows behind the group, Buffy frowns as she spots a crow land on Mary Margaret's shoulder. While both Buffy and Mulan immediately reach for their weapons the princess merely raises her hand halting their movements as the crow caws into her ear "Wait." She orders the group before turning her attention back to the animal on her shoulder.
Buffy couldn't help but sputter as she watches Mary Margaret seemingly have a conversation with the bird, this world really did get stranger by the day "You speak bird?" She questions just as the Crow leaps off Mary Margaret's shoulder disappearing back into the trees "Okay, I'll admit it. Total first for me."
Mary Margaret merely sighs before glancing between the group, dread filling her expression. She knew that what she had learned would not be well-received "We have until sundown to bring Cora the compass. If we don't shell kill Aurora."
Without hesitation, Mulan turns to face Buffy, her eyes landing on the compass resting comfortably around the blonde's neck "Give it to me." She practically orders as she reaches the rip it from Buffy's grasp only for the blonde's eyes to darken as she catches the warrior's wrist before she could attempt to touch the compass.
"A. Not gonna happen and B. Next time you try and touch me, I rip your arm off. Understand?"
As the two powerful warriors glare at each other, refusing to break eye contact as they each wait for the other to make the first attack, Emma and Mary Margaret quickly separate the two.
"Hold on." Emma pipes up as she stands in between her sister and Mulan who were still glaring at each other. All signs of that blossoming friendship; temporarily on hold "Just give us a minute to consider."
"There is nothing to consider. " Mulan argues as she glares at the two blondes while her hand hovers above her sword "A compass is not worth Aurora's life."
When Buffy merely remains silent as she clutches her weapon tightly, clearly in no mood to come to an agreement.
Noticing the ever-growing tension, Mary Margaret quickly tries to reason with Mulan before things could escalate.
They couldn't lose the compass, they just couldn't.
It was their only way home.
"We need a plan to get back Aurora and keep the compass."
Mulan merely scoffs as she shoves past both Emma and Mary Margaret intent on ripping the compass from Buffy's neck "My vow to Phillip was to protect Aurora. That promise is all that is left of him, so it shall be done."
The second she reaches for the compass again Buffy felt herself snap.
Grasping Mulan's wrist Buffy easily twists the warrior's arm behind her back, yanking on her shoulder blade violently causing Mulan to howl out in both pain and shock. Ignoring the shocked stares coming off her mother and sister Buffy merely shoves Mulan face-first up against a tree, causing the warrior's face to dig painfully into the bark "You're not the only one who made a promise."
"Aurora will die!"
"I don't care." Buffy snaps back ignoring the small gasp that left Mary Margaret's lips.
She didn't care what these people thought about her.
She hadn't cared about others' opinions of her in a very long time.
She didn't have that luxury anymore.
"I have hundreds of girls, some as young as 12 years old who need me to keep my promise to keep them safe. If Aurora dying gets me home to them...then she dies. And while I'm willing to come up with a Plan A and hell even B to save her...if it comes down to any of you or the compass that could get me back...then I will not hesitate to let you all die."
At the Slayers confession, there was a long moment of silence as everyone took in the seriousness of her words.
Buffy was a woman burned by war and loss.
It had taken her years to come to a certain understanding but she had finally seen the clarity of reality.
Back in her world, she was in the middle of the war, one with hundreds, possibly thousands of innocent lives on the line. One princess from another world was not worth the lives of all those innocent girls.
With her point made, Buffy pushes Mulan to the floor before tilting her head at the warrior a dangerous look filling her eyes as she does "Understand? Or do you and I need to have a more R-rated conversation?"
Mary Margaret who had found herself at a complete loss for words as she listened to her daughter's harsh and dark words, finally shakes herself out of the horror filling her mind "Buffy, enough."
Feeling Emma place a hand on her shoulder, Buffy rolls her eyes before shrugging the elder blonde's arm off her as she finally moves away from Mulan while keeping her hand latched around the compass.
There was no way in hell she was letting this thing out of her sight now.
Emma groans in exhaustion as she eyes her sister carefully, apparently keeping Buffy out of trouble was going to turn into a full-time job. Inhaling tightly the elder blonde places her hands on her hips before turning to her mother hoping that she had a plan because if she didn't, they were beyond screwed.
Buffy had already made it crystal clear that she would let Aurora die before handing over the compass and given she had super strength it wasn't like they could take it from her "Tell me you have a plan."
"Not a plan." Mary Margaret whispers as she paces back and forth her mind filling with a million different plans and ideas of how to keep the compass while also saving Aurora "An idea. Aurora isn't the only one who's been under a Sleeping Curse. I can go back to that Netherworld. Find out how to defeat Cora."
"The door to that place is closed." Mulan argues as she pulls herself back to her feet while clutching the arm Buffy had threatened to rip from the socket to her chest "You said it yourself."
"There may be a way." Mary Margaret argues, to be honest, she wasn't sure if this would work but she was desperate.
She didn't want to lose Buffy again not after she had just found her, and if they didn't find a way to save Aurora without risking the compass, she knew deep down that her youngest daughter would disappear before they could all be reunited as a family "A way for me to go back into a deep slumber that can provide me access to it again."
Emma couldn't help but frown in confusion at Mary Margaret's words "Another sleeping curse?"
"The sleeping powder." Buffy mumbles from her place leaning up against a tree far away from Mulan "Your mind wouldn't be able to protect you."
"Exactly." Mary Margaret grins before turning to face Mulan with a hopeful expression on her face "If I inhale your power. I will fall into a deep enough sleep that I should be able to do this."
Mulan eyes Mary Margaret carefully as though trying to run through every scenario that could occur in her mind. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting Mulan merely shakes her head "I spent the last of it on the giant."
"Then make some more."
"The poppy plant is extremely rare in this kingdom. But I know of a place that may grow some more. It's a bit of a journey from here."
With a new plan officially in motion, Buffy pushes herself off the tree before throwing her bag over her shoulder "We best get walking." She snarks, however, as the group prepares to begin yet another journey, Buffy allows all amusement and sarcasm to fade from her expression "Let me make something clear now..." She pipes up drawing the other three women's attention.
Clenching her jaw Buffy ignores the weird feeling in her gut that was forming under Mary Margaret's almost motherly gaze as she makes her plan crystal clear to them "Our deal to work together has an expiration date. You get in my way...any of you..." Trailing off, Buffy's eyes graze over both Emma and Mary Margaret, trying to make it clear to them.
Despite the weird feelings she got around the two of them, it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
She had a duty to those Slayers, and no one no matter what could risk those girls' safety.
"You get in my way...and I will end you."