Ten years.
For ten years they had fought the forces of evil, and although they had succeeded so far, their victories had come at a terrible price. Only Buffy and Xander had remained for this final battle. The others, Giles, Willow, Tara, Anya, even Dawn, were all gone... casualties of war.
Their faces still haunted him in his sleep. Why couldn't he save them? Why did he live? These questions would torment him until the moment he died. A moment, that probably wasn't too far away. You see, the world was about to end. Not that it really mattered, his world had ended hours ago, when he saw Buffy killed.
She had fought so hard these long years, and he had helped where he could, but in the end it just wasn't enough. Some lucky vampire had extinguished her beautiful fire. Her neck had been snapped, and there had been nothing Xander could do about it. She was gone, and in that moment, Xander's heart died with her.
Now, hours later, Xander stood, a broken man, chained to a post in what had once been the school library, watching as the Hellmouth began to glow, brighter and brighter. Xander Harris, who had fought for a decade, who was the last man standing, the only surviving member of the Scoobie Gang, now had front row seats for the End Of Days.
As the Hellmouth opened, and all manner of terrors flowed freely into the world, a single tear fell down his cheek for his lost love, and as the horde overwhelmed him, only one thing could be heard...
"Buffy..."
... ...
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>> SYSTEM FAILURE... RESTART? Y/N
>> Y
>> RESTARTING SYSTEM... STAND BY...
>> UPLOAD NEW SETTINGS? Y/N
>> Y
>> NEW SETTINGS LOADED... SYSTEM COMING ONLINE... STAND BY.
>> SYSTEM ONLINE... START PROGRAM? Y/N
>> Y ... ...
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"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through..." Xander yelled as he wove his way through the crowd on his skateboard. It was a beautiful morning in early September. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and he was in a pretty good mood, if you didn't count the dread of having to return to school.
That was when he saw her. She was absolutely beautiful. Her blonde hair shone like spun gold as it flowed behind her. He almost collapsed at the sight of her. She was an angel in human form, as far as he was concerned. He had to meet her.
He quickly shifted course, narrowly missing a nearby railing. As he approached her, he saw some other student barrel into her, knocking all her belongings to the ground. He immediately crouched down beside her.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Yeah, that would be great." She replied.
"I'm Xander Harris, by the way." He said, smiling.
She smiled back, and his heart melted. "Buffy Summers. I'm kinda new here, and I'm a little lost. You think you could show me around?" she asked.
Xander grinned, "It'd be my pleasure."
As the walked down the hall, chatting about one thing or another, Buffy asked, "So, what are the big hangouts here in Sunnydale?"
"Well, it's not so much hangouts, as hangout. The only place worth going is a club downtown called The Bronze."
"I see..."
"I have an idea. How about we expand my duties as your guide to the entire town. I could take you out, show you the sights, or lack thereof. We could finish up with The Bronze."
"Why Mister Harris, are you asking me out on a date?" Buffy asked with a grin.
"Umm... yeah." He replied, suddenly very nervous. What was he thinking?
She paused for a moment, before saying "I'd love to."
Xander smiled wider than he had in his entire life, "Well then, let's get the grand tour underway!"
She giggled, and looped her arm through his as they moved out onto the quad, and into the sunshine. "Let's go."
Xander smiled, and looked up into the cloudless sky. He felt like he could fly. He could see Jesse and Willow on the other side of the quad, and decided to introduce them to Buffy.
It was going to be a beautiful day.