"In the beginning, before the time of man, great beings walked the earth. Untold power emanated from all quarters – the seeds of what would come to be known as good and evil. But the shadows stretched and became darkness, and the malevolent among us grew stronger. The Earth became a demon realm..."
It was a war no human mind could ever understand, or even imagine. A battle between the forces of Light and Darkness, that had been going on for what had seemed like an eternity.
But recently, it had boiled down to a little matter over who had control of something known as...the Key.
One representative for both sides had finally gathered together, on a blasted landscape that would eventually become known as the Czech republic. And right now, they were in the middle of a heated bargaining session.
"Your terms are unacceptable," the warrior that appeared to be a black-skinned Shadow Man – but most definitely was not – stated succinctly to his counterpart in an ancient, lost language.
The demon merely smiled, knowing it had the upper hand. "You should know, that they are in fact the best terms you are going to get. We are willing to relinquish our claim to the Key, as long as you and yours leave this physical plane. You may set up whatever measures you feel are appropriate to ensure we cannot claim the Key afterwards, but that is all."
"The Powers will not-"
"The Powers will do nothing," the demon interrupted. "They will leave this reality while they are still able to do so, and we permit it. Face the facts, you fool; you are outnumbered and outgunned. If you stay and fight what is now a pointless battle, you will all be destroyed. Is that what you want?"
Whatever reply the warrior would have made was lost, as a streak of white light flashed in the chamber for a moment; and then, two human women named Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg appeared.
And they were holding what appeared to be a glowing scythe in their hands.
"Whoa!" Willow exclaimed, as she let go of the weapon and her nose started to bleed.
"You okay, Will?" Buffy instantly asked, in concern for her friend.
"Yeah – I will be, in a sec..." Willow muttered, as she quickly stemmed the flow.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" the demon screamed in anger, furious at being interrupted at its final moment of victory. "Leave this place at once! Or suffer the wrath of-"
It never got the chance to finish, as the Slayer quickly cut the evil thing in half with her weapon, much as she had done with a certain someone called Caleb.
The pseudo-Shadow Man frowned. "You have interrupted vital negotiations..."
The blonde woman stared at him in disgust. "You think I give a crap about that anymore? Hit the road, pal."
The warrior was puzzled. "I do not understand..."
Buffy hefted the scythe, and glared. "You wanna join your buddy over there? If not – I suggest you make like a tree, and leave."
As the black man stared at her, he banged his wooden pole on the ground a few times and disappeared.
Buffy gave him no more thought, as she stepped forward and stared at what appeared to be a column of soft green light in front of her. "Dawnie..." she whispered.
The Key was indeed there, in its pure form. The Slayer had often wondered what it would be like to see her 'sister' in her original appearance, before the monks that had been destined to take custody of the living energy had made it into human flesh and sent it to her for protection.
And now she knew.
Willow hobbled over to her, limping slightly. The years had not been kind to the Wicca; there had been too many battles after the destruction of Sunnydale during 2003, and they had taken their toll.
But she had gotten them here. And bottom line, that was all Buffy cared about.
"Are you absolutely sure you wanna do this, Buff?" the witch asked, as she drew alongside her companion. Staring at the Key like the Slayer, she added, "This is gonna change everything..."
Buffy looked at her best friend in amazement. "Well, I should hope so!"
"I just meant..."
"What? That I should just let the First Evil get away with everything it accomplished? Spike dust, Anya dead, Xander mutilated. And what about what happened after? Giles, Dawn, Kennedy and Faith all got killed...hell, I heard even Cordelia ended up in some sort of coma! No, Wills. Enough's enough..."
The redhead still looked uncertain. "Buffy, ya know, something like this isn't as easy as empowering all the potential Slayers. And it'll kill you..."
"No it won't," the blonde woman said determinedly. "I mean okay, yeah, this version of me is gonna expire like a Cheeto. But a chance for us to get rid of all the supernatural stuff in the world, and live normal lives? No more demons, vampires or hellgods, from this moment on? So gonna be worth it."
She then glanced at the Wicca. "You with me?"
Willow sighed, as she reminded herself of the reasons why they were doing this. "I guess..."
There was nothing else left to say.
Willow took the scythe, as it started glowing again. Then she nodded to Buffy, who brought out a knife and cut herself – a deep horrible wound, from which the blood spurted forth like a geyser.
"Let the blood run free..." Buffy mumbled, as she jumped straight into the depths of the Key.
Willow did not have time to take note of the comment, as she began a rite that was as dangerous as it was powerful. Mystically linked to Buffy, the Key and the scythe, Willow then started to do something that no one had ever anticipated might happen.
She started to open a portal to another dimension, and banish every mystical thing upon the earth into it – god, demon, and the essence of everything that made them what they were.
The ground started trembling violently, as the witch gritted her teeth. Then the Key suddenly seemed to expand – and suddenly the screaming started, as the forces of Light and Darkness found themselves being sucked into a Purgatory from which there was no escape.
Willow found that the life was being drained out of her as well, but this was not unanticipated. And at the last moment, the redhead saw the Key energy contract into a pinprick and disappear.
"Good luck, Buffy..." was all the former hacker could say, before she collapsed.
Oddly enough, that which had been Buffy Summers heard her – but by then, it did not matter. All that mattered was transporting the essence of the Key through space and time...
To Los Angeles, during the month of April in the year 1986. To be more exact, the bedroom of one Hank and Joyce Summers.
And then, the world changed forever, as humankind truly inherited the Earth.
"Hello?!"
The six-year-old Buffy Summers got a huge smile on her face, as she heard her mother's voice outside the front door of their home. "Mommy, Daddy!"
The little girl then got up and ran towards the door, dropping her doll onto the floor. "You're back! You're back!"
Joyce and Buffy's father Hank entered the house, with the woman carrying a bundled-up baby in her arms. "Hello, Buffy..."
Mr. Summers leaned over with his hands on his knees, getting down to the child's level of sight. "How's my girl?"
Buffy just smiled at him, glad that they were all back together now.
Joyce looked at her husband, and then at her firstborn. She asked softly, "Are you ready to meet your new baby sister?"
At hearing this, the young Buffy Anne Summers looked upset. She frowned and backed away from her parents, folding her arms across her chest.
Hank understood what was happening. "Oh, come on now, Buffy. She's nothing to be afraid of..."
"Who's afraid?" the child demanded.
Joyce then asked her daughter comfortingly, "Don't you want to be the big sister?"
Buffy pouted, in an adorable way. "No, I want to be the baby."
Hank sighed, "Buffy..."
The prepubescent looked like she was about to have a tantrum. "You're gonna pay more attention to her, and forget all about me!"
Joyce looked like she'd had an epiphany. "Ohh..." Then she knelt down beside her child, holding the newborn infant in her arms.
The baby then made strange noises, which got the six-year-old's attention at once. "She looks funny. Like a wrinkly old grandpa..."
Joyce just gently put the baby into Buffy's arms, hoping that this would encourage the sisters to bond. "Like this...okay, support the head...there you go! And Buffy, we're calling her Dawn."
"Dawn?" The little girl started smiling. She looked at the baby in sudden wonder, "I...I could be the one to look after her sometimes...if you need a helper..."
Joyce started smiling at her babies. "Mom? Can I take care of her?" Buffy asked hopefully.
Joyce started stroking young Buffy's hair, as she smiled. "Yes, Buffy, you can take care of her..."
Then she started to smile at Hank as well, thinking, < Life can't possibly get much better than this... >
Joyce Summers had been quite right; life couldn't have gotten much better for her, than that precious day she and her family had spent celebrating Dawn's arrival into the world.
However, it could get a hell of a lot worse.
It turned out some things are inevitable, with or without the supernatural. Hank Summers didn't need the presence of demons or vampires in Buffy's life, to become a cheater...
The arguments had started at the beginning of the year, after Buffy had turned 15 years old and Dawn was the tender young age of nine. The older Summers girl had tried to shield her sibling from the worst of it, but Dawn was no fool – she *knew* things had gone bad in their family, just as well as Buffy did.
Right now, the foursome was at a restaurant for a family meal – and Joyce and Hank had descended into one of their usual fights. Buffy had taken Dawn away to the women's rest room, and was braiding her hair; a ritual which had in fact become very commonplace, over the last year.
"Buffy?" Dawn asked solemnly, as the blonde girl brushed her dark hair.
"Yeah, Dawnie?"
"Why are Mom and Dad always fighting?"
The question almost broke the young woman's heart in two, as she knew there was no good answer to give her little sister. "I don't know, Dawn," the teenager sighed.
"I just wish it would stop," the little girl said as she played with her doll; the same one that had been Buffy's, on the day Dawn had first come home.
"Yeah, me too..."
All of a sudden, Joyce came into the room – and winced, when she saw the looks her children gave her. "Buffy, Dawn, it's time to go home," she told the two kids.
"But we haven't eaten yet," Buffy scowled in annoyance.
"I know," her mother sighed. "But this can't wait..."
And that was the moment Buffy knew, that the end had come.
Later that night, the sisters were told their parents were getting a divorce. And the worst part about it was, that it wasn't exactly a surprise either...
A few weeks later, the divorce was finalized; and Joyce told Buffy and Dawn that she had gotten custody of the two of them, due to her incontrovertible proof of Hank's infidelities. Not that she mentioned that last part, of course...
But the worst was still yet to come; Joyce made plans to leave town after Christmas and the holidays, to move herself and her daughters elsewhere for a fresh start in their lives.
Buffy was livid about it when she heard, and that was putting it mildly. "MOM! This is crazy. You can't just drag Dawn and me away from LA like this! What about school? What about Tyler?"
"An education is an education – and I'm sorry about your boyfriend, dear. But we're going to be relocating up north come the new year, and that's that," the middle-aged woman said, trying to soothe the migraine in her head.
The blonde cheerleader then threw a hissy fit, and stormed out of the room.
< Don't take it personally, > Joyce then mused to herself, massaging her temples as the nucleus of a tumor was born in her brain. < She's just lashing out, and you're the most convenient target. After all, what teenager in her right mind would want to leave all the perks of LA, for a small town named Sunnydale? >
"Buffy Summers?" a voice called out.
For a moment, the blonde girl for some reason had a strange flashback to the first day she'd spent at Sunnydale High, and the History class where she'd met all her new friends; Willow, Xander, Jesse and Amy.
The first day she'd also met her future boyfriend, William...
It was a rather amusing story, actually. They'd collided together outside the classroom, and the flustered sophomore had tried to help the girl pick up her books; which had only resulted in their banging heads together, a number of times. Literally...
A bleached-blonde young man of British descent, William certainly had an interesting family history; he had been named for his great-grandfather, William the bloody awful poet, who had once gotten rejected by a woman named Cecily Underwood at a dinner party during 1880.
A woman who, curiously enough, had never gone on to become the demoness Halfrek; and who'd died old, rich and unhappy.
But fortunately for him William eventually met another woman after his mother died that same year of natural causes, one that he learned to love with all his heart; and so, his bloodline had continued with the birth of many children, that had culminated with his descendant in Sunnydale.
Finally gathering her thoughts and responding to the voice Buffy turned around, and saw someone she'd have preferred not to. "Liam," she said with distaste.
The boy was the ultimate troublemaker; his family had moved to the States during the 1970's, on account of the Irish Troubles back home.
Descended from a woman named Kathy during the 1770's – one who, funnily enough, had had a brother named Liam who'd died from alcohol poisoning in the 1750's – he was a transfer student during Buffy's senior year.
And there were rumors that the guy was involved in the gang that was constantly high on PCP, that had appeared in town not long after the Summers family had come there.
"Now, what's a pretty lady like you doing here alone?" the senior asked in a strangely seductive tone.
"Getting lunch," she replied, her manner as cold as that of an iceberg.
Not getting the hint, Liam then said, "So, Prom's coming up..."
"I know."
"Well..." the smirk never left his lips, "Wouldn't you like the handsomest guy in the senior class to ask you to go?"
"William's already asked me. And I said yes..."
The dark-haired boy's mood instantly went dark. "What?"
Buffy was a little confused, but before she could say anything her friends came up and joined her. "Hey, Buffy," Jesse greeted her, his arm around his girlfriend Amy Madison.
"Jesse, hi!" she replied, glad to see him.
"What's happening?" the musician named Oz then asked, similarly clasping Willow to his side. The redheaded hacker and soon-to-be class valedictorian was clearly not objecting to the attention, and from her smile Buffy guessed that they had been making out in his van again.
< Jeez, Willow, > the blonde girl thought in semi-exasperation. < If you two act anymore sweet, you'll need an insulin shot or something! >
But before Buffy could say or even think anything else, a loud argument was heard in the cafeteria as the Sunnydale High's official odd couple, Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase, entered the room.
< I can't believe those two have lasted this long, > Buffy rolled her eyes, as she looked at her one-time nemesis – before the brunette had given up the Cordettes and popularity, and integrated herself into their little gang.
< I mean when Xander and Cordy got together during junior year, I thought it musta been a sure sign of the upcoming Apocalypse! > the blonde girl sarcastically finished off her thought.
Well, it was true enough that the getting together of Queen C and the King of Cretins had been the subject of a lot of gossip at the time. During the school play that year (the best ever production of 'Othello', according to the school newspaper), everything had changed between them.
Despite still wanting to kill each other, Xander and Cordy had discovered each other's bodies, when forced to play husband and wife...
And physical thing or not, the duo had eventually joined the Buffy/William, Willow/Oz and Jesse/Amy rank of couples after hiding what they'd been doing together for so long. Arguments, and broom closets, and all.
And nowadays since they fought and made up constantly, the novelty had worn off even for those students that sneered at them; and the unconventional pairing was just another part of the scenery, at boring old Sunnydale High.
"I can't believe you actually wore that shirt in public!" Cordelia told her boyfriend, as they headed towards the others.
"Yeah, well, I just thought it would take some attention away from that very short miniskirt of yours!"
Cordy gasped, "Oh, that's it! You are *so* in the doghouse for that, mister!"
Xander shrugged, "That mean you're gonna be in there with me, given your old reputation?"
The former Queen C's eyes bulged out, and she might have actually slugged him if Willow hadn't said severely, "Xander! Apologize for that, right now!"
Xander looked at his best friend, and then at his girlfriend; then he sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry, Cor, that was way outta line. I didn't mean it; you're the classiest girl I know, and didn't deserve to hear that – I swear to God! And lemme just say that I have the highest respect for your beautiful self, and that I...oh man, you don't *deserve* an idiot doofus like me..."
Cordelia still wasn't sure whether or not to kiss him or kill him after that little speech, but one look at those soulful brown eyes convinced her of the former and they started making out in public.
"Get a room..." more than one voice muttered in the school caf.
Things suddenly went bad; Principal Snyder, the new replacement for the now Vice-Principal Flutie because of the school's dismal academic performance, barged into the cafeteria and saw his least favorite group of the juvenile delinquents
"What's going on here?" Snyder demanded, as he saw what was happening. "You two, knock that off!"
Xander and Cordy quickly complied, the boy sheepishly trying to get the girl's lipstick off his face. He then muttered, "No-good little Ferengi..."
"What was that?" the little troll demanded.
"Having a good Friday, Principal Snyder sir?" the black-haired youth tried to smile his way out of it.
The man quickly dismissed him with a sneer, as he focused on Liam. "And what's *your* business here?"
"Nothing, I was just leaving," the boy recovered his trademark smirk and walked off.
"These public displays are not acceptable in my school!" the short tyrant raged. "You lot haven't graduated yet. I've got my eyes on you..." he vaguely threatened them, as he stalked off.
And at that moment, William came into the room and hugged Buffy from behind. "Hiya, luv..." The British accent was still pronounced, even though his family had been living in the States for years.
Miss Summers turned around and gave him a long, slow, passionate kiss – one that made the other couples, even Xander and Cordelia, blush.
"Uh, Buff? Snyder isn't *that* far away..." Jesse tried to warn her.
"Buffy?" tried Willow.
"Earth to the Buffster!" Xander added in his two cents.
"No point," Oz said in his monosyllable way.
"Oh, yeah, those two like don't need oxygen," Amy finally joined the discussion, as she dragged Jesse away for some food.
"She's right," Cordelia declared, as she did the same with her boyfriend. "I'm thirsty, Xander. Get me a soda."
"Well, anything Her Royal Highness demands..."
Cordelia slapped him on the arm, and as they left Oz and Willow looked at each other. "You hungry?" asked the wannabe-rock star.
Willow shook her head. "Meet me at your van in five minutes?"
Their eyes containing a knowing look, the two redheads disappeared. Buffy and William didn't notice; and when they finally came up for air, that was when the duo realized they were all alone.
"Guess that they got bored watchin' us," William grinned.
"Guess so," his girlfriend grinned back.
"We on for tonight?"
"Eight o'clock at the Bronze? Yeah..." Buffy smirked, then she pulled a face. "Oh, shoot! I have to return some books to the library, before the end of lunch. Can we-?"
"Go on, luv," the bleached-hair youth grinned at his number one girl. "But just don't leave me alone too long..."
Buffy smirked at his innuendo, and quickly made a pit stop at her locker before heading to the library – and handing the books over to the librarian.
A female librarian, by the way, as the man called Rupert Giles had never come to the U.S.; he had become a British fighter pilot years ago, just as he'd wanted to when he was 10 years old...
"Mom, Buffy's gonna go out again tonight!" Dawn stuck her 12-year-old tongue out at her sister, as Buffy tried to put her makeup on.
"You little brat!" Buffy hissed, as she threw a pillow at her sibling.
"Buffy? Dawn?" Joyce called from outside the room.
"Yes?" the sisters called out together.
Their mother came in, and smiled at them. It had been a long three years, but now the ex-Mrs. Summers was sure that her decision to come to Sunnydale had been all for the best.
Buffy had grown up just fine, Dawn was growing up just fine, and so what if her last date had turned out to be a homicidal robot? She was happy here, and so were her kids.
Joyce looked at her firstborn, and smiled yet again. "It's your Prom night," she said fondly, remembering her own occasion. "Is William taking you?"
"Yeah," Buffy grinned. "He's picking me up in five minutes."
"Gross!" Dawn made a face.
"Home by midnight, dear," Joyce then warned the blonde girl, ignoring the outburst from her youngest.
"Mom-!" Dawn said in shock.
"And as for you, homework and bed!" the divorced woman sounded firm and parental.
The young child sulked, and just went off to her room. "Fine..."
"Mom, be honest, was I ever like that?" Buffy said slowly, shaking her head.
"Oh no, dear..."
Buffy thought gratefully, < Thank God... >
"You were much worse!"
After arriving at the Prom with her date ("You look smashing," were the first words William had choked out, at seeing her dress), Buffy decided to get some punch – where she ran into Xander and Cordelia.
For once, the young couple weren't fighting or making out; hanging off her boyfriend's arm, the immaculately-dressed Queen C was simply basking in the radiance of her natural environment, and the tuxedo-clad Xander just had a silly grin on his face – as if he was enjoying a private joke.
"What's with you two?" the blonde girl asked curiously, after the initial "hi's" had been exchanged.
"Nothing," Xander couldn't stop smirking.
"Knock it off!" Cordelia nudged him. "So what if that cop thought that we were doing...whatever it is we weren't doing?"
Buffy and William just looked at each other with a confused expression on their faces, as their friends went off to dance. The blonde version of Romeo and Juliet soon spotted Willow and Oz though, and went off to talk to them.
"Buffy! Billy!" the redheaded girl squealed, happy to see her best friend and Buffy's boyfriend.
"Will you ever stop calling me that?" the former Brit sighed in exasperation, truly sick of the nickname his friend had stuck him with for as long as he had known her.
"Nope!" Willow was full of enthusiasm.
Just then, Amy and Jesse joined them. "Hey, guys!" they started with the meet-and-greet.
"Hey!"
"Hi!"
But then all of a sudden, a loud ruckus was heard, as two unwelcome couples crashed the scene.
"Liam and Darlene," Jesse murmured, as he spied the dark-haired guy and his usual blonde squeeze, someone that most of the senior class thought worked the industrial district as a hooker – even though nobody had any proof of that.
Of course, since she was descended from a blonde whore that had died of the syphilis in 1609 Virginia, it wasn't like any was really needed...
"And Henry and Harmony," Oz muttered alongside his friend, at the sight of the notorious gang leader and his date.
As Cordelia and Xander joined their friends, the black-haired boy snarled, "What are *they* doing here?"
William looked at his friend, understanding his anger; the previous year, Xander had been put into hospital via one of the gang attacks shortly before Homecoming, and he had missed out on everything involved with that dance.
And every time he'd seen Liam on the school grounds afterwards, the smirk that the other senior always had on his face had convinced the class clown that the other guy had known exactly what would happen, that night...
William glanced at his three male friends, and made a gesture with his head. The four musketeers then quickly headed over to where the chaperone, Vice-Principal Flutie, was telling the new arrivals to leave in no uncertain terms.
"Out! Now!" the man demanded.
"And what are you gonna do, if we don't?" Henry – the descendant of a German named Heinrich Joseph Nest, and who liked to call himself the "Maestro" or the "Master" – said in a sneering voice.
Then he made a big mistake; the man took out a knife, and brandished it in Flutie's face.
Now Liam was many things – a drinker, a layabout and a hopeless womanizer – but he wasn't stupid. "Come on, sweetheart," he said to Darlene, who was looking bored. "Let's go have our own private party..."
"Why should I?" she challenged him, as Henry started to threaten Flutie with the weapon. As Darlene watched the spectacle, she thought it was too bad her friend Cecile wasn't here to see this; as the woman loved the blood-and-guts part of their life.
"You wanna end up in jail, when they bust him?" Liam just smirked.
Darlene shrugged. "Good enough..." and the two quickly sneaked out, while no one was looking.
"Do it, Henry!" Harmony suddenly shouted, taking out a knife of her own.
The blonde high school dropout had a vicious scowl on her face; as her life hadn't been easy ever since she had been discovered having sex in public with Henry, and her family had both disowned her and thrown her out onto the streets. "Castrate him! Eviscerate him! He deserves it! He gave me, like, a million years of detention!" Harmony shouted.
The "Master" was briefly distracted by the woman's ramblings, wishing for a moment he had brought along his boys from the gang instead; and it was enough for the good guys to take action.
William and Xander, the more foolhardy pair, dove for the weapon and engaged in a wild rough-and-tumble with Henry. While Oz and Jesse grabbed Harmony, disarming her and preventing her from getting away, and ready to provide support if needed.
"Get off, you idiots!" the "Master" roared.
"Drop the weapon!" the shout came out, as the rent-a-cops finally arrived on the scene and pointed their guns at the wrestling men. It was enough for Xander to be distracted, though, and Henry got in a vicious slice.
"XANDER!!!" Cordelia screamed in fear.
William had had enough; and so, with one punch, he knocked the gang leader out cold.
"WILLIAM!!" Buffy yelled, as she rushed to her beloved. "Are you okay?"
William was about to say yes, when he noticed he had been wounded too; and at the sight of blood, the blonde-haired hero fainted.
Later at the hospital, Xander was being treated by a nurse; one whose name, oddly enough, was Drusilla.
The black-haired woman was descended from the eldest of the three sisters of that family, and named for the famous nun which her great-great-aunt had become. Her family had migrated to America, when things had gotten tough in London during the '90s, and now here she was...
"There now, all better," Dru said, as she finished taping up Xander's arm. "If you need anything else, just buzz me. I 'ave other patients I need to look at, but I'll be back soon..."
After she had gone, Cordelia smacked Xander for the umpteenth time that day. "You crazy dweeb! What were you thinking? He could have killed you!"
"I know, Cor," the boy shrugged sheepishly. "But if I hadn't done something, he might have killed someone else. Besides, Will was right there with me, and I had to watch my buddy's back ya know..."
"That's different! I don't love Billy!" his girlfriend yelled.
Xander turned around slowly, "You love me?"
Cordelia didn't know what to say, she felt trapped. She had never said those words to him or anyone before... "Yes."
Her heart on her sleeve, Cordy waited anxiously for Xander's reply. She was so afraid he didn't feel the same way...
But Xander just smiled, took the girl in his arms and whispered, "Good, 'cause I love you too!"
They started to make out, when Cordelia stopped and pulled back. "Wait..."
Xander looked concerned. "What's wrong?"
The brunette girl tried to think of a way to express herself. "This thing with us, together...is it really as serious for you, as it is for me?"
Xander shrugged, "Well, I should hope so, that Prom dress wasn't cheap-"
His former nemesis playfully slapped him. "I wasn't talking about that!" A pause. "Although I thank you for it..."
The 18-year-old boy grinned. "You're my Cordy, sweetheart; you don't have to say thanks for that."
"Whatever," Cordelia tried to shrug it off, even though they were both smiling. She soon became serious, though. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm leaving town after Graduation, and...I'm sorta hoping you'll come with me."
"Whoa!" the guy got off the bed and stared into her eyes. "What's goin' on here?"
Cordy tried to explain, "Xander, I think some people found out today how my father totally screwed up on his taxes for 12 years. And how I had to move in with you, just to have a roof over my head! I can't take the stares, the gossip and the innuendo, not forever – I want a fresh start, somewhere else. And if we're gonna be honest, so do you – you hate your parents, even more than I hate mine..."
The guy was silent for a while, as Xander plopped down onto the bed and looked at her. "You've thought about this a lot, huh?" he eventually asked her carefully.
"You bet," was the short meaningful reply.
"Then there's nothing to discuss," Xander shrugged. "Day after Graduation, we're outta this boring town."
Cordelia looked at him with wild, hopeful eyes. "But, but what about all your friends-?"
"Honey, come on, they're your friends too! Okay, maybe they won't admit it unless under torture or whatever, but they'll miss you just as much as they will me – uh, apart from Willow of course!"
They briefly chuckled. "But seriously," Xander finished up, "I'll miss her, and Jesse, and Buffy, and all the others a lot – but losing you if I don't come along for the ride? Complete no-brainer. My life is with you, not them..."
The young couple then kissed again; long, slow and lovingly. "Let's get you discharged," Cordelia said in a sultry voice. "And then, we're going somewhere private..."
"Where?" Xander asked, as he got off the bed once more.
Cordelia pulled out a motel room key, and Xander's eyes went wide. "Are you-?"
The brunette girl nodded. "I've been planning this, ever since we got the notification about our graduation gowns. It was either gonna be our last farewell, or the beginning of our lives together – but either way, I wanted you to be my first."
Xander Harris swallowed, as in that moment he somehow managed to do what so many schoolteachers had told him to do over the years; he finally grew up.
"Okay." He took his girlfriend's hand, and they quickly left the hospital.
"I swear, you and Xander are both nuts!" Buffy yelled, as she paced around the hospital room. "Who the hell did you two think you were, Batman and Robin?"
"Well, at least we weren't bloody well the Captain and Tenille-" William started to say.
"Shut up!" the girl shouted. "What if that so-called "Maestro" had seriously hurt you? Killed you? This was supposed to be our Prom night, damn it!"
Buffy couldn't help it, she started to cry. "It was supposed to be so special..."
"It was, pet," William got off the bed, wincing at the stitches that the intern named Ben – who, in this world, had never even *heard* of anyone named Glory – had fixed him up with.
An interesting side note: in the 1970's, given what had happened so long ago with Buffy, Willow and the Key, Glory had never existed in that dimension's new timeline; even though the baby called Ben had still been born, like before. She had been banished elsewhere to die by her fellow hellgods, and good riddance to her...
But neither William nor Buffy knew or cared anything about that. "When I was fightin' that guy, ya know what the only thing that was goin' through my head was?" the boy asked his companion.
"What?" Buffy said through her sniffles.
"You."
The blonde girl stopped crying, almost instantly. "You mean that?"
"Hell, yeah!" the high school senior grinned. "You're my Buffy, sweetheart; I love you, and I couldn't let that bastard be a threat to you!" The young man then showed his true nature, "Don't you know that I'm willing to die for you, already?"
Buffy somehow both cried and smiled, at the same time. "Oh, Will, I love you so much!" She grabbed him and planted a hot, searing kiss on his lips. "But if you ever do anything like that again, I'll – I'll – I'll drive a railroad spike or something, through your thick head!"
William couldn't help but laugh at the visual. "Come on, luv, let's get you home – or else your mum will start thinkin' I'm violating her firstborn or something..."
Buffy smacked him lightly, "Pervert!"
William laughed, and before they went about trying to discharge him from the hospital...
"Actually, I was planning for you to do that tonight; but now, I guess it'll have to be tomorrow..."
William' mouth dropped open, as he saw his girlfriend was serious; and so, unable to do anything else, the young man just nodded in a daze.
Oz and Willow were in her bedroom, the female redhead trying to recover from the events of the evening. And they were alone in the house, as her parents were off visiting relatives in Phoenix...
"Oh my God!" the former nerd kept on saying. "What happened tonight?"
The musician shrugged. "I think Amy and Jesse ended up in a good place, emotionally. Ditto, Xander and Cordelia. Buffy and Will, well, my money's saying probably not."
Willow looked at him. "Oz."
"What?"
"Could you just pretend to care about what's happened? Please?"
Oz frowned at that. "You think I don't care?"
The Willster exclaimed, "You coulda died, along with Jesse, Billy and Xander – and you're being Ironic Detachment Guy!?"
The future rock 'n roll star looked at her. "Would it help if I panic now?"
Willow started babbling, "Yes, it would be swell. 'Cause panic is a thing people can share during a time like this! And everything was really scary tonight, you know, and I don't know what I'd have done if that guy had killed you or the others, and I would like to feel that maybe you would..."
Oz just leaned forward and kissed her, very slowly.
His girlfriend looked breathless, when their lips parted. "What are you doing?"
The young man stared into her eyes, "Panicking."
As they resumed kissing, things quickly heated up and eventually...eventually...
Well, they say you never forget your first time. And for these two, that was certainly the case.
Some hours later Willow and Oz lay cuddled in the bed, with him stroking her hair. The girl started to say, "I feel different, you know. 'Cause I-I've never done that before...oh, maybe this should be a quiet time-"
Oz just smiled. "I know exactly what you mean." He then looked at her. "I love you..."
"I love you too..."
Jesse rolled over in bed, touching Amy's shoulder. "Honey, you want anything from the hotel mini-bar?"
His girlfriend growled sexily, not letting him move. "All I want is you..."
Graduation Day had finally come; and everyone was there. Joyce and the other parents watched as their kids received their diplomas from the Mayor, Allan Finch.
It was the same old boring ceremony seen at every high school in America on that day, apart from one thing; a solar eclipse, which happened halfway through the commencement speaker's address and caused Dawn to point and go 'ooh' and 'ah' a lot.
After it was all over, the four couples got together for album photos and stuff; and that was the point at which Xander and Cordelia spilled the beans, about their future plans.
Willow, Amy and Buffy were very upset at the prospect of losing their friends, but since Xander hadn't planned on college and Cordelia could no longer afford it, they eventually understood that this was goodbye.
And so the following day, the two teenagers took off to Los Angeles in Xander's car to carve out a new life for themselves – while the others decided to let loose for the summer, before starting college at UC Sunnydale in the fall of '99.
The last thing to be seen, as the '57 Chevy Bel Air roared past the 'You Are Now Leaving Sunnydale' sign, was Buffy's high school yearbook as Dawn dropped it onto the front lawn of her house – with the legend proudly proclaiming, "The Future Is Ours".
Which was now true, in more than one sense.