"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... You'll see what I mean."

-Whistler. Becoming, Part I

Ten years ago, Buffy the Vampire Slayer made its debut. We watched, we enjoyed. We saw a young girl with an unwanted destiny become a warrior, a martyr, a sister, a daughter, a lover and a hero. We shared in her triumphs and we commiserated with her failures.

As she proceeded through the years, she accrued loved ones who became family - Xander, Willow, Giles, Angel, Spike, and Dawn. For these people we cheered and celebrated, watching their love and their light carry them and each other through the darkest of times.

Some lights failed however, some lives were lost or simply left: Jenny, Anya, Tara, Oz and Joyce. We grieved for these people. We felt the loss of them as Buffy and her friends did. For moments, brief seconds, the line between fantasy and reality blurred and we actually felt the pains of grief as if these people truly had been torn from our lives and cast into darkness.

In the end, Buffy and her family triumphed. There was love and hate, sacrifice and nobility, glory and despair and in the end the darkness was beaten back. For a time. The stories ended and in 2003, Buffy and her family left us to parts unknown, leaving us only with each other.

There were other stories of course: The vampire with a soul; Angel. And we followed his stories in LA and his new family. We saw lights rise and fall. We saw honor and treachery, joy and misery. We even saw darkness redeemed in the form of Faith, the slayer that should have never been and yet was. And in time, Angel's stories came to a close and once again, we were left with only each other.

And now there are new stories. Some of them are familiar, some are new and we are their caretaker. These stories do not belong to us and certainly not to me. Nor do they belong to Joss (though he of course deserves a measure of credit) nor to anyone else.

These stories belong to you.

These are stories of love and hate, glory and failure, despair and hope. Family is a prevailing theme in these stories, the strength and beauty of family. As is loss. It cannot be promised a happy ending to these stories. All that can be promised is the best ending that could occur. May they satisfy, may they entertain and in the end, may they bring perhaps a measure of comfort.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is gone, Angel is gone, all we have been left with is each other.

Perhaps, that is enough.

Until then we remain

Yours,

Rachelia, the Archivist

Kass the Webmistress

Rachel Rayne the Custodian of Stories

D. Rayne the Caretaker of Stories

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.