What's it all about?

Premise

Attestatio de Vita is a post-series storyline based in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.

Hope Falls, Rhode Island: Probably not a place you've heard of. It's just a small town. It has a diner, a motel, an animal shelter...all perfectly normal stuff. But, you see, Hope Falls is also located on a Hellmouth.

And we know what that means...

But first we must back-track.

So, what exactly happened to our ever-vigilant heroes?

For a week after closing the Sunnydale Hellmouth, the scooby gang re-cooperated, celebrating their victory. Then they got to work. Willow did a spell to locate new slayers. The group spread out to find these girls, and inform them of what they were. Some girls accepted the news right away, others were shocked. Everyone's lives were shocked. Giles worked on building the watcher's council in England. Watchers were deployed to different groups of girls all over the world. Children of watcher's were contacted, as were people with mystical contacts, and these people accepted positions as watchers. Others were recruited - and continually are. The watcher's council works with the slayers now, as opposed to making the slayers work for them. Buffy went to Rome with Dawn and Andrew. Buffy started to date the renoun 'Immortal'. Xander went to Africa. Willow and Kennedy traveled all over. And so on. Life went on, as it always had. They'd all gained some new friends, and lost some old ones.

Meanwhile, Angel and the fang gang were waging a war against the Circle of the Black Thorn. In the end of the big fight, Buffy and the new slayers arrived and helped Angel et al defeat their opponents with a bit of magic, and a lot of strength. Illyria took off. She refused to accept Wesley's death, and through deeply mystical means, had him brought back to life. The pair traveled, settling in New York for a while. Angel returned to the Hyperion with Gunn and Spike. They worked on helping the helpless in a scattered city, the most rewarding job they knew.

By this time, the scooby gang had had enough of seeing the world. They missed eachother. Taking a cue from Angel, Buffy purchased a hotel in Cleveland, which they knew to be a Hellmouth. The purchase of the hotel was financed by the Immortal. Payments for things were made by people getting jobs and by selling certain artifacts on ebay. Angel and Spike were drawn to the Hellmouth by a demon they knew wanted to kill Buffy. They managed to kill the demon. Then they realized that Cleveland was the new 'it' town, and with Wolfram and Hart on a Hellmouth here, they stayed. Other people migrated to the Hellmouth over the years. Giles and a few watchers were sent to live in Cleveland. Angel worked on setting up Angel Investigations, and the scooby gang helps them, and vice versa. Because it is a calling, the slayers that gathered chose not to be a part of A.I, because they will not accept payment for their duties. A.I runs out of Angel's loft.

Buffy eventually revealed to a select few that she was dating the Immortal because Giles and the newly rebuilt watcher's council suspected him of still being evil. She dated him for two years, collecting intel on what his big plans were. His plan was to become a power, as in, the 'powers that be.' He was eventually defeated, and killed. Since then, the groups have faced several problems with the Hellmouth acting up, and Wolfram and Hart targeting them.

A teenage boy Herb Michinski had lived in Cleveland until recently. His dad had gotten a new job and moved the family to Hope Falls, Rhode Island. Nothing seemed to go right for Herb. Hanging out at a drugstore (to steal a snickers and a Coke) he had been busying himself by throwing stones. One of the rocks he used was bigger than the others, and wouldn't you know it - that's the one that bounced up and into the windshield of a passing car.

Yes, he got in trouble. His parents were 'disappointed.' He listened to them talk about him from the top of the stairs. His parents didn't know what to do with him and his new attitude. Angry, Herb retreated to his room. His parents had denied him dinner and he was starving. He decided he couldn't possibly get in any more trouble than he was already in so he used his mother's trellis to climb down from his room, and biked to the Gas Station - where he knew there'd be food.

Once there, he pocketed some food. But someone saw him. A woman. An attractive woman. And she was nice, too. She talked to him. She gave him a good luck charm because she had taken a liking to him. She expressed dismay for this town. And Herb agreed - he hated it here. He wished that things here would be more like home, Cleveland.

And in that instant, so much changed. The woman he was talking to had been a vengeance demon. And his wish was twisted into making Hope Falls a Hellmouth - which Cleveland had been.

There were several indicators. The ocean became restless and pounded the shores. Flowers literally turned black. And the plants started to rot. The electricity went off. Tapwater turned into blood. Electric blue energy bolts were seen in the sky, along with white lightening streaking above. What's more - the moon had turned blood-red. Animals became either aggressive or excessively fearful.

All over, Slayers were having dreams of these things - including bodies dragging themselves out of the ground. (For more on that, read the next update. This is not all that happens on this night.)

The next day, the moon could still be seen in the sky - red. And the sun had a black circle around it. People were scared. But in a few days, electrify returned - in fact, everything that had gone wacky seemed to right itself. The flowers were still dead, but the water was back to normal, the lake was calm. The Mayor held a press conference where he explained everything that had happened. It wasn't blood water they'd seen - but water turned red from rusted pipes. The flowers had died from a lack of water. The strange things in the sky? Why, it was a celestial phenomenon that occurred every thousand years. Hadn't they ever heard of the Yvonne eclipse? It was totally normal, and they were lucky to have seen it.

The majority of people in Hope Falls underwent what you could call the 'Sunnydale Syndrome.' They believed the excuses the authorities told them, because they didn't want to believe that anything scary, weird, or dangerous was going on.

The entire 'Hellmouth Moves' plot can be read here.

Our heroes went into research mode. Most of the fighters went to Hope Falls.

In Hope Falls, the group faces an Old One named Phenex. And that doesn't exactly go over well. And even if they get that figured out...things are never quiet for too long. You know how it goes. If it isn't invisible people, or demons that make you able to read minds, it's frat boys who worship giant snakes. There's always something. There will always be something. And they will be there to fight it back. It's what they do.

To read more about how things played out from this point on, see our Major Storyline Updates page.


Timeline

- May 20th, 2003 - Potentials made into Slayers & Sunnydale Craterized.
- May 23rd, 2003 - The day that the Scooby gang had Willow do a spell to locate the new Slayers. Also the day things are set into motion to form a new council, and sending people off to find and inform new Slayers. No time to rest!
- September 10th, 2003 - The day that Buffy, Dawn and Andrew move to Italy to live.
- May 20th 2004 - The day Angel and his gang killed off the Circle of the Black Thorn members
- May 23th 2004 - The day that Buffy and the Slayers arrived to help defeat what Wolfram and Hart brought up to kill Angel et al.
- June 1st 2004 - The day that Buffy and the Scoobies/Slayers move into the Hotel Cavalier in Cleveland, Ohio.
- June 26th 2004 - The day that Angel and Spike arrive in Cleveland, chasing a demon they think they've released and will kill Buffy. The rest of the A.I. people arrive in the weeks after, it is in these weeks that Angel and Spike decide to stay on this Hellmouth.
- In 2005: Wes was brought back to life, then Cordy, then Tara.
- In 2006: Fred was split from Illyria with a Toth demon.
- April 29, 2007 - A wish is granted by a small boy. Bye, bye to the Cleveland Hellmouth, and say hello to a Hellmouth created in Rhode Island.
- May, 2007 - Migration and permanent move to Hope Falls, Rhode Island (the new Hellmouth)


Factions

For basic info, click the link. What is described is their current status in Attestatio de Vida

The Scooby Gang: This group is composed of Buffy, and her closest friends from Sunnydale, as well as new friends. They are called 'The Scooby Gang' because of their similarity to the gang on the show, Scooby Doo. This group currently resides at the Winterton Manor. They are headed up by Buffy. All of the good slayers are allies of the Scooby Gang. The Scoobies work with the Angel Investigations crew. The Scooby Gang, however, is not a business, and does not accept payment for their work (aside from Giles, who is also a member of the watchers council.) The Scoobies are interested in battling the Hellmouth and any evil that comes their way.

Angel Investigations: Most of the remaining Angel Investigations crew now works with the Scoobies in Hope Falls, Rhode Island - a new Hellmouth. Some of them live in the Winterton Manor. The AI members do receive payment from clients, though they do also share this since they are helped by the Scoobs. The AI gang advertise themselves around, and even have a website. Most new 'friends' become a member of the Scooby Gang, and not Angel Investigations unless they have a close tie to someone else in A.I.

Baby Slayers: Typically, there is only one girl in all the world who is chosen to fight the vampires. If she dies, another one is called. But when Buffy Summers had to close the Sunnydale Hellmouth, she enlisted her Wiccan friend Willow to do a spell which activated all of the potential slayers, to become actual slayers. There are hundreds of these baby slayers all over the world now. Most all have been contacted and informed of what they are. Slayers have enhanced strength, agility, healing properties, etc. All sorts of cool stuff! All of the baby slayers are slowly learning their way, training with watchers.

Wolfram and Hart: This is a big, evil, lawfirm. Betcha didn't know they came this evil, did you? Wolfram and Hart has several branches, all over the world. Wolfram and Hart has always enjoyed making life hard for the Scooby Gang and the Angel Investigations crew. Wolfram and Hart serves the needs of their mostly evil clients.

The Watchers Council: The watchers council was re-established by the Scooby Gang. Giles is in charge, though he lives in Hope Falls, Rhode Island and the base of operations is in England. Several watchers have been sent all over the world to help train slayers. A few select Watchers have been with the Scoobies, moving around, then to Cleveland, and then to Hope Falls. The most important thing about the Council is that while they used to be able to boss Slayers around, now they all (or at least try to) work in unison. Members of the Watcher's council do get paid, though Slayers do not. For Watcher's it's a job they take up, for Slayers it's a sacred duty.

The Independents: Some people don't affiliate with any specific group. Some roam between the different groups, while others are allies of specific ones. Often, these people are neutral in their allegiances.

The Demon Underground: Several demons frequent the graveyards, and streets of Cleveland. Many demons hang out at a local demon bar, called Harpies. Sometimes the Scoobies or A.I will use demons as informants - by threat of bodily harm, or cash. Demons are everywhere, they can see you, you just can't see them.


Inspiration

Quotes that embody the mission statement of the game.


Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are.-- Whistler, Becoming Part 1
Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do.-- Buffy, Amends

Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh, and cruel. But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be.-- Angel, Deep Down

Well, I guess I was kinda new to being around humans before. But now I’ve seen a lot more, gotten to know people, seen what they’re capable of and…I guess I just realized how amazingly screwed up they all are. I mean, really, really screwed up in a monumental fashion...And they have no purpose that unites them so they just drift around blundering through life until they die… which they know is coming yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They’re incapable of thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, which is clearly insane… and yet here’s the thing. When it’s something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they’re lame morons for fighting but they do. They never… they never quit. So I guess I will keep fighting, too.-- Anya, End of Days

Hamilton: Why do you keep fighting - you signed away your Shanshu. There's nothing in it for you anymore.
Angel: People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do. - Not Fade Away

Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles ... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.-- Buffy, The Gift

Doyle: You know, there's a lot of people in this city that need helping.
Angel: So I noticed.
Doyle: You game?
Angel: I'm game. - City of Angels

You're right. We don't know how to fight it. We don't know when it'll come. We can't run, can't hide, can't pretend it's not the end, 'cause it is. Something's always been there to try and destroy the world. We've beaten them back, but we're not dealing with them anymore. We're dealing with the reason they exist. Evil. The strongest. The First. I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it is gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. 'Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them, and cut out their hearts one by one, until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions? -- Buffy, Bring on the Night

My boys. I walk with heroes. Think about that.-- Fred, A Hole in the World

Sure! We saved the world. I say we party! -- Buffy, Prophecy Girl

Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons... No friends...No hope. Take all that away... and what's left?
Buffy: Me. -- Becoming prt 2

Angel: 'Cause it's not about us, Lindsey. It's about them. The wolf. The ram. The hart. The ones we've been fighting against forever.
Lindsey: You can't beat 'em.
Angel: Maybe they're not there to be beat. Maybe they're there to be fought. Maybe fighting them is what makes human beings so remarkably strong. -- Not Fade Away

Number Five: This is how my brothers are remembered - what their good deeds earned. They sacrificed their lives as heroes, and it is played out as a farce.
Angel: Maybe you expect too much from people.
Number Five: Is it too much to expect them to remember their past? To honor those that fought and died? My brothers are dead, and Tescatcatl is back to kill again. Why did we bother? What difference did we make?
Angel: You made a difference to the lives you saved. And you did it because it was the right thing to do. Nobody asks us to go out and fight, put our lives on the line. We do it because we can... because we know how. We do it whether people remember us or not... In spite of the fact that there's no shiny reward at the end of the day... other than the work itself. I think some part of you still knows that. Still believes in being a hero. -- The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco

"You'll find it. Then we'll figure out a way to stop it. Then-then I'll stop it... 'cause that's what we do." -- Angel

Kate: If I'm not part of the force it's like nothing I do means anything.
Angel: It doesn't.
Kate: Doesn't what?
Angel: Mean anything. In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win.
Kate: You seem kind of chipper about that.
Angel: Well, I guess I kinda - worked it out. If there is no great glorious end to all this, if - nothing we do matters, - then all that matters is what we do. 'cause that's all there is. What we do, now, today. - I fought for so long. For redemption, for a reward - finally just to beat the other guy, but... I never got it.
Kate: And now you do?
Angel: Not all of it. All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because - I don't think people should suffer, as they do. Because, if there is no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness - is the greatest thing in the world. -- Angel the Series