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Part 2
Cordelia Chase awoke in a dark alley. The walls were old and the concrete was dank and dirty. She wiped her hands on the sides of her jeans as she lifted herself to her feet. Guess I didn't go anywhere. Hopefully Spike didn't drop me in the middle of Vampire Central. . .God! She remembered the assault on her home. There still had to be time left.
She took off in a dead run knowing that the battle could be over in minutes. She had no time to waste. She, Buffy, Willow and the others had been through too much to lose it all in one diabolical, surgical assault led by the demon, Drusilla. No, Cordelia had to return to help her friends or to at least die by their side in combat.
As she turned the corner, she noticed that she was not in an alleyway as first suspected, but within a hall of an abandoned factory. What happened next was frightening. Cordelia was blinded by sunlight.
The pain in her eyes was excruciating. It had been years since Cordelia had seen the sun or felt the warm rays on her body. After the Rising, the first official act the Master had taken was to throw the world into eternal darkness. Once He had accomplished that task, it had been easy for His mercenaries and vampire legions to decimate the human population, crushing any chance for open resistance.
"So the magic worked," Cordelia said in awe, still shocked by the sun's brilliance. Her eyesight was slowly adjusting. "I must find him and get this finished. It's the only way to make sure everything turns out right."
Cordelia walked out to the street headed toward Sunnydale High School where she knew she would be able to fulfill her mission. What she saw throughout the city brought a gutwrenching sadness to her. This was what she recalled in her dreams every night: the warmth, the happiness in people's faces, the stores. This was the motivation in her duty. Cordelia was not a killer, though she had taken plenty of foes in combat, but her mission was sentencing a man to death for crimes he had yet to commit. It would be difficult, but as she watched all that had been lost to her friends and to their children, she was prepared to do whatever was necessary.
Buffy sat in the library sulking. She hated studying. Though she would never admit it, she actually favored researching and slaying to Chemistry and Algebra. She sat at the table playing with her hair and anxiously waiting for sunset. Then she would have an excuse to leave behind her school books and patrol, perhaps even running into Angel on the way.
"I believe you should be studying, Buffy," Giles said from his office. "Principal Snyder is looking for any excuse to remove you from this school. I suggest that you not help him by squandering your study time."
"Got it Giles," Buffy replied, a sarcastic tone falling in place. "I can study during all my free time and fight bad things all the rest of the time."
"Precisely."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She looked down at her books again and made a whining noise. "This is too hard."
"What's too hard, Buffy?" Willow asked, hand in hand with Oz, as they came into the library.
"Chemistry."
"Ooh!" Willow got excited, "I can totally help you out. Come." She grabbed Buffy's hand and led her up stairs. "There's a book here that will make all your troubles go away."
"Why does it have the answers to the test?"
Giles came out of his office and took notice of Oz. "Oh, Oz, how are you?"
Oz replied in his cool, laid back voice, "Fine, no full moon, so all's well."
"Good. I was wondering if you could help me pick out a gift for Buffy's mother. She . . ."
The back door to the library was kicked down and suddenly in came a woman moving with the blinding speed of a warrior. She screamed, "TRAITOR"
Oz turned to face the woman and took a defensive position, but he was clearly outmatched and the familiar woman viciously tossed him aside. Giles' eyes went wide with horror as he noticed the blade in the woman's hand. Within inches of being terminated, the blade stopped, clashing with a bow staff. Giles turned to see Buffy poised with the weapon.
Buffy spun into a roundhouse kick and dropped the attacker, who instantly recovered with a blow to the Slayer's stomach, knocking her back, out of air. From out of nowhere, Xander came crashing into the female, knocking her to the floor and sending her blade flying across the room. He held her down as he looked at the attacker. Xander's eyes went wide with fascination and Buffy nearly fainted when she noticed what came out of her friend's mouth in the next instant.
"Cordelia, is that you?"
Cordelia's face had been intense and full of fire, but when she took notice of Xander, the vibrant youth she recalled in her dreams, tears formed in her eyes. "Xander?" she whispered.
Xander's eyes went wide. "What the hell is happening here?"
Suddenly Cordelia grabbed Xander and kissed him passionately. It was a tender kiss, so full of love. It was something he had never encountered. He returned the kiss.
"Hel-lo? What's going on here?" It was Cordy, standing a few feet behind the couple on the floor.
Xander quickly pulled back and got to his feet guiltily. Cordelia angrily pulled Xander back, prepared to give the biggest fight of her life. Then she saw the woman on the floor. She recognized the perfect features and beautiful face, if aged somewhat. It was herself. Cordy fainted.
"I am Cordelia. First Lieutenant in the Dark Resistance, S.I.T."
Everyone was seated around the table in the library listening intently.
"S.I.T.?" Giles asked.
"Slayer in Training," Cordelia explained.
"Slayer in training?" Giles replied. "You were. . .are being trained by a Watcher? By me?"
"Of course not," Cordelia said harshly. "I'd never be trained by you! I was under instruction with Buffy."
Buffy's face became surprised. "Wow."
"I don't understand. Am I dead in your time?" Giles became thoughtful. "Even if I am...passed, another Watcher should have replaced me. The Watcher's Council . . ."
"There is no Council. They were destroyed after the Rising."
"The Rising?" Oz asked.
Buffy jumped in. "We're all a little confused here. Can you start from the beginning and tell us everything."
Cordelia took a deep breath. "I'm from the year 2009. Sunnydale is a graveyard. The entire world is only a shell of its former self. In 1999, the Master rose. A person we all trusted betrayed us and tricked Buffy into opening the Hellmouth. That was the Rising. Once the Master surfaced, he called his vampire followers to create an army and he threw the world into eternal darkness. He destroyed all who opposed him. He wiped the Guild of Demon Hunters from the face of the earth and slaughtered the Watcher's Council, including all Watchers world wide. Sunnydale became the world capitol of evil. He enforced a cleansing of all humans and crucified all religious leaders. Demons of all kind flocked to Sunnydale and made slaves of all humans still alive.
"Buffy started a resistance to combat the evil and she began training others in the art of Slaying. Willow was her first student. She became a great warrior and under Amy's instruction, a powerful witch. She used her powers to conceal our base from the Tarakan Assassins that the Master called forth to kill Buffy. Amy was the next Slayer to be trained. Before she died, she found a lost spell to give worthy vampires their lives back. Angel was the first to be reborn,"
"Angel?" Buffy interrupted. "He's . . . alive . . .I mean . . .human."
"He was," Cordelia replied. "I'm sorry Buffy." Buffy's face became a mask of pain. "He died valiantly, rescuing his best friend in the world, my husband . . . Xander."
Cordy's eyes went up. "Husband?"
"Yes we were married for four years."
Xander was still pondering the Angel situation. "Best friend?"
Cordelia watched him sadly. "Yes."
"This is interesting, but please continue," Giles told Cordelia.
She gave him an ugly look. "Amy was assassinated by the Tarakans trying to recover a magic book from the Compound. It is where the Vampire Council resides. In my time, the Vampires are at war with the Demons. Hey have both become greedy with what is left of humanity. They war over our use as slaves and as food. It is a dark world, but we fight."
"But you were sent back. To change something?" Willow asked softly.
'Our leader . . ."
"Your leader? You mean Buffy?" Giles asked.
"No, Spike."
There was a gasp from just about everyone in the room. Spike was a villain, a vile creature who was intent on bloody rampages and death, but then, so had Angel, before his curse. Still, it was hard to imagine Spike as a leader for good. "Amy restored his soul. It was hard to accept at first, but he applied all his energy to this Cause. We came to love him, as he loved us. He is the man Giles never was."
"I don't understand. This animosity directed me. What did I do to you, Cordelia?"
"I've hated you for years. You see Giles, you betrayed us. We placed our faith, our lives in your hands and you betrayed us. For . . .for power. I respected you," tears had begun to form in her eyes," Buffy loved you, Xander looked up you, he wanted to be you, but . . ." Cordelia's hands went up to her face.
Buffy turned to face Giles. She stared at him with wonder. Giles looked shocked. "I don't know what to say. Betrayal? No bloody way!" Giles was angry.
Cordelia wiped the tears from her eyes. "Believe it, Traitor."
"I don't believe Giles could do such a thing. He's . . . Giles." Willow said peacefully.
"When?" Buffy asked. "When did . . .does this all happen?" Giles offered Buffy a pleading look.
"May 25, 1999."
"That's tomorrow," Xander interjected. "So that's why you're here."
Cordelia stood up and faced Giles. "Whatever happens, even if I have to
sacrifice myself, I will kill you, Giles. You have to die. And it's not just
because you betrayed us and joined the Master's Circle. It's personal."
Cordelia moved forward provokingly. Giles stood his ground. "You see, you
took the most special person in my life. You murdered Xander in cold blood,
with your hands. . .and for that, I cannot allow you to live."