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Disclaimer: Joss owns them, and Chris deserves some credit for the idea, but the story's mine.
Part 1
The darkness was intense and a cold wind blew across a lost and desolate landscape. The city had once been known as Sunnydale, but now it was Graveland, residing in a world that had moved on. The homes still standing were in ruins and graffiti-laced walls stood solemnly, succumbing to both neglect and time. What stood noticeably from the sign marking the entrance into Sunnydale were the straightforward, damning words: ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE. Indeed, the pretty city had become a wasteland, lost to a new Dark Age that had apparently sprung from an Apocalypse of biblical proportions.
IN the shadows, a figure moved slowly, watching for any movement that could be a vampire patrol or a demon search and destroy team. All was clear. The woman leapt from her hiding place and scurried along the street sparing a brief glance at a fading memory from her youth: The Bronze. It had once been her favorite place to go, but now it was no more than a shell of a building.
She continued along with great determination, watching the shadows for any foes. Suddenly, a wall nearby exploded as armed vampires came lunging for her.
"There she is!" one of the vampires yelled, an archaic weapon in his hand. The woman broke into a dead run, scanning the vacant streets ahead for any trace of escape. Nothing. Then, a band of wandering demons cut off her only escape route. She came to a skidding halt as the evil forces fanned out about her. A book that the woman had been carrying became noticeable under the light of one of the few remaining street lamps.
"Back off!" the woman yelled. She held the book before her, prepared to fight until the death if necessary. The demons continued forward.
"Fools. You know who I am. I am Cordelia, a Slayer." She straightened herself proudly. She no longer was the obnoxious adolescent who had taken life for granted. She was a woman who fought for the life she remembered, before the Rising. The vampires stopped dead in their tracks.
"She is not the Slayer. The one called Buffy." This vampire was dark and deadly, obviously a high ranking demon. "She is a follower of that foolish resistance." Turning to Cordelia: "But you will die as if you were a Slayer, woman. Slow and painful."
"She may not be the Slayer," a crossbow's arrow struck one of the vampires and it exploded into a flurry of dust particles, "but I am."
The remaining vampires turned to see a blonde woman, still beautiful but with a cold look of both fearless vigilance and animosity. It was Buffy, a few years past her teens, and long past the days of cheerful punning and daydreaming. This was the life she knew: fighting, surviving. She fought with determination. Since the betrayal, Buffy had become a dark shell of her former self, barely recognizable to those who had known her before the Rising.
"You shouldn't have come this close, demon." Buffy stepped toward to the stunned vampires.
The vampire leader stepped up provokingly. "We go where we want to, Slayer. This is our world, remember?"
Buffy smiled a nasty smile and replied, "Well, I'm taking my world back, a piece at a time" She lunged forward, a stake driving deep into the demon's cold heart and stepped through his dust cloud. "And I'm starting with you."
The demons leapt at Buffy and the battle was on. Buffy produced two stakes and fought like the Slayer she was. Cordelia followed suit and engaged in combat without the slightest hesitation. The two were knights of the light, warriors fighting a war that the rest of humanity had surrendered to long ago.
Demons fell and vampires faded from existence, but their numbers continued to increase. Back to back, Cordelia and Buffy stood poised, ready to fight until the end, but then a blinding light enveloped the demons and then faded. They were gone. Buffy recovered in time to see Willow collapse in exhaustion. Buffy and Cordelia ran to Willow's side and lifted her slowly to her feet.
"Hey, guys," Willow said, looking up slowly.
"Will, what have I told you about engaging in combat. You use enough of your strength to keep the base hidden from the Assassins, you shouldn't be fighting our battles, too!"
"Sorry."
Cordelia took a gentler approach. "Thanks, Willow, but Buffy's right. It's only because we care for you."
"I know guys, but I do what I can. We all do what we can." Buffy warmed a bit. "Okay, Willow." No one else brought out the old Buffy the way Willow could. "Let's get outta here before anymore vamps show up." Turning to Cordelia, "Did you get it?"
Cordelia smiled proudly, producing the book. "Yeah, but we lost a few of our sympathizers in the Vampire Council to get it out. He knew what was going on, I don't know how. And the security set up at the warehouse, Giles must have . . . ."
"Don't ever use that name around me!" Buffy yelled, nostrils flaring with anger. "Never say his name again, Cordelia."
Cordelia understood and apologized. Somethings could not be forgiven, nor forgotten. The three slipped into a hole in the wall and found a hidden tunnel leading toward the school. They emerged from the tunnel in the quad of Sunnydale High. People were there, some sleeping, others making weapons. Children ran about as well, all stopping to watch with pride and awe as Buffy walked the grounds. The three walked by a small graveyard and Buffy stopped to acknowledge the graves resting there. Cordelia dropped to her knees in front of one of the graves, tears falling softly from her eyes. "Hi, baby," she said in a whisper, touching the small headstone with Xander Harris clumsily etched into the headstone. The date he had passed was below, 2007. Buffy looked at the other markers: Oz (2003), Joyce Summers (1999), Faith (2008), Angel (2004). There were many others and Buffy felt her heart break as she looked at Angel's grave. She hoped he was in Heaven, having made amends for his past deeds. Buffy knew she would be with him again, even if she had to journey to Hell to be with him.
Willow dropped a guitar pick she had recently found next to Oz's tombstone, and softly blew him a kiss. Buffy rested her hand on Willow's shoulder and she swallowed back tears she longed to give way to. "We gotta go."
The three continued on to the library and two guards posted there stepped aside, welcoming back the group and proudly saluting Buffy. She barely acknowledged them, but they were used to that. It was her way. It had always been her way. Inside the library, the Resistance leader sat, deeply involved with an open book.
"Spike, we got it."
Spike looked up with a smile. "You made it back." He took the girls into his arms. "My God, I was worried."
Buffy offered Spike a cool smile. Ever since Amy had been successful in giving Spike his soul back, the former demon had placed all his efforts towards the Cause. he rarely slept, always searching for a way to win the war they waged, and he had become a surrogate father to them all in the process. Amy had done much good before the Tarakan Assassins had gotten to her. Angel had died human and Spike made the most of the humanity reinstilled within him.
"I'm ready, Spike. Send me now."
"In due time, Buffy. This isn't Witchcraft 101 y'know. If the incantation isn't correct I could end up placing you in a demon world or stuck between dimensions, alot of bloody good that would do." Buffy understood, but that did not calm her restlessness. "I'm just saying I'm ready, that's all."
"I hope you are," Spike watched her. "It's not as easy as it sounds. You will be killing a man who has done no wrong yet, whether he knows his destiny or not."
"I know."
Suddenly an explosion erupted outside. The two guards jumped inside the library and barricaded the door. They drew their weapons. "It's an assault, sir. Vampire warriors, being led by Drusilla herself!"
Spike did not hesitate, not even at the sound of his former love's name. He opened the book and found the passage he needed. Even as he did, the door was destroyed and the guards were in mortal combat with vampires who were storming in. Willow turned to do battle, eyes and hands glowing, bolts of electricity leaping forth and striking the demons, destroying them. Cordelia as well leapt into action, stake drawn and sending the vampires to their deaths.
Buffy swung her crossbow, preparing to do battle, but Spike yelled, "Buffy, no! You might be injured. You must go back now! There may not be another chance."
But the Slayer in her ignored Spike's words and Buffy jumped into the battle.
Spike began to recite a spell and immediately a vortex appeared, swirling and sitting before the stairway leading to the stacks. Spike watched as Buffy was hurled aside by Drusilla, her razor-like nails digging deep into Buffy's neck. She was not dead, but obviously incapacitated. Willow like-wise was surrounded by demons and she fought valiantly, but Spike knew it was only a matter of time.
"Cordelia!" Spike screamed, pulling her from the fight. "You must take Buffy's place. You'll arrive in Sunnydale, 1999. You must kill the Traitor. It will change everything, hopefully creating a new timeline where the Apocalypse has yet to come."
"Spike, I can't leave you guys."
"You must go. If you succeed we will all live to see a better day. Go!"
Cordelia hesitated, and Spike lifted her, throwing her into the vortex as a
demon's spear impaled him. The vortex closed, and Spike smiled as he faded
off into the afterlife.