Buffy No Longer

Summary: Unable to make a decision about which world to believe in during 'Normal Again', Buffy creates a new one for herself.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Timeline: obviously, season 6 'Normal Again' for BtVS. Pre-series for the other one.

A/N: just watching some youtube vids and this bunny came to mind. It's been written for a couple months now, so I'm putting this out there in hopes to buy Musie a little time with the readers while we fight over the updates.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AerynSpeedleCaine and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Leverage characters belong to John Rogers, Chris Downey and TNT. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Dialogue from .

DOCTOR: Yes ... but I'm talking about those things you want there. What keeps you going back.
BUFFY: My friends.
DOCTOR: That's right. Last summer, when you had a momentary awakening, it was them that pulled you back in.
JOYCE: They're not really your friends, Buffy. They're just ... tricks keeping you from getting healthy.
DOCTOR: You have to do whatever it takes to convince yourself of that, Buffy. Whatever it takes.

…

JOYCE: You've got ... a world of strength in your heart. I know you do. You just have to find it again. (whispering) Believe in yourself.

With those last words of encouragement from her 'mother', Buffy came to a decision. Or more accurately, something deep inside her snapped.

She wasn't Buffy Summers, beloved daughter of Hank and Joyce Summers, locked up in a mental institution with delusions of grandeur. If the only way to become her again was to kill her friends in the other world – or allow them to be killed – she couldn't be that person. It was wrong to kill humans, even those that were just figments of her imagination.

But neither could she be Buffy the Vampire Slayer anymore. That woman died jumping from the tower to save her sister. If all that was left was somebody who had sex with a vampire she barely tolerated, she couldn't be that person either.

That meant she had to become somebody new.

So, she smiled sadly at her 'mom' and said goodbye, slipping away from that world for the last time. Which left her with the Slayer world. There were two things she knew she needed to do to get rid of that world. First was killing the demon in the basement, and seconds later, that goal was accomplished.

She ignored the voices of the people who wanted Buffy the Vampire Slayer and walked up the stairs and out of the house. It didn't take long for her to find the second thing she needed to take care of. Without a word, she burst into Spike's crypt, walked over to where he was watching Passions and drove a stake through his heart.

With the demons gone that were threatening Buffy's friends, she was able to leave Sunnydale and the supernatural behind. Her twisted mind worked frantically to fill in the gaps left by the demon's poison.

What she was left with was a person who had a tremendous fear of abandonment, could physically do things that would baffle others, and loved a stuffed animal from her early childhood. Oh, and was more than just a little bit nutty.

As she boarded the bus to anywhere but Sunnydale, a fellow passenger tried to strike up a conversation with her. "Hello, I'm Gina Satoll. What's your name?"

Unable to think about what she should go by now, she looked out the window. There she saw somebody parking their car. Park…Parking…Parky… "I'm Parker," she finally decided.

A/N: Just a little oneshot for an AU ending of that episode. Before anybody whines about Buffy running away from her sacred duty, just remember that her mind has been fried by the poison.