DISCLAIMER::I don't own any of the characters in this story that are from the Buffy the Vampire TV series...

Chapter 1

"Fire, fire everywhere,

and not one safe retreat.

Fire, fire everywhere,

and there's a chilling heat."

Seen through the eyes of Buffy Ann Sumners, The Vampire Slayer

"Willow!! Watch it!" I shout as a fireball whizzes overhead.

I crouch down behind a large stone that had fallen from the ceiling of the tomb as I wait for a reply from my friends.

"Xander!" Willow shrieks as Xander is thrown across the tomb.

His body lands with a thud as he ricochets of the rock wall. Willow crawls towards him, blood dripping from her cheeks as if her tears had turned red with fear and pain. Her shirt torn and blood-soaked, her red hair is matted with mud and blood from a fresh cut to her forehead.

"Xander?" Willow asks her voice full of concern.

She places a gentle hand on his cheek under his bloodshot eye, the one Caleb destroyed, as she continues to call to him, trying to revive him. She brushes back his ebony hair and nurses a cut across his eyebrow. Her hands glow like candlelight as she heals the gash.

Memories rushed through my mind of how Willow used to love Xander so much before t she had Oz then Tara and before he had Cordillia then Anya. After Tara died, Willow went super evil and tried to destroy the earth... Only through Xander's love did she return to us...

"FAITH?!" I scream as another fireball flies over her head, barely missing.

"Yea B?" Faith replies in her Brooklyn style accent as she knocks a demon to the earth.

She brings her blade down and cuts deep into the demon's chest... Killing it... She turns towards me, blood dripping down her arms; her eyes gleam with a sly and psychotic sheen as they are revealed through her dark hair, her blade has a red tint and is dotted with gore.

"Where are Kennedy and Giles?" I shout over the screams of a demon in pain.

"Over in the back taking care of a few "re-enforcements"... Won't take long... Why?" Faith replies as she pummels a demon.

"Get me an opening so I can kill this damn thing!" I shout as I kick a demon into a wall in the tomb.

"With Pleasure." She replies as she bolts into a flock of demons like a logger with a chainsaw in the middle of the Amazon... This was one thing Faith enjoyed more than anything else... Violence, death, blood, pain, and victory... I don't blame her.

After her watcher was killed by Kikistos, her hatred of all things demonic heightened. Her anger hides her fear and drives her; her fury and lust for vengeance may blind her, but slayers function best in the dark.

Then I see it... The chance, the opportunity to end this battle which has gone horribly out of control... as always...

A gap in the master demon's protecting ranks... Thanks to Faith and her psychotic rage, a whole has been slashed in their wall of defense. I run to it, grabbing my sword that Giles had given to me, and nearly sail over a nearby demon, his hand catches my jeans though and I am sent tumbling to the tomb's dusty floor. Now it's just me and this demon whose eyes glow like fire yet gleam like ice. His hands, slender with long fingers that have claws like a bear, though lethal they are oddly graceful in their sleek design. His face is smooth and his skin is a dark blue, almost like the early night sky before the pitch of blackness is thrown, knocking the sun's glow from the horizon. He is tall and almost innocent appearing as he walks silently in a circle around me.

"The Slayer..." he breathes as he comes close to me. His movements are so fast they seem as though they are in slow motion.

I flinch as he gently runs a finger down my arm. His touch is warm yet it freezes my blood. My heart begins to beat frantically as my breathing is slowed.

"I am not to kill you..." he whispers as he caresses my cheeks with his graceful hand.

My whole body begins to lock up on me as his touch reverberates throughout my body. I hear the clang of my sword as I lose control of my hands. Flames begin to swirl from the demon's fingertips and streak across the room. I try to move, but my body refuses and I begin to fall into a deep sleep which I try to fight... I hear gasps and cries from all directions as I fall to my knees and then onto my back...

"Sleep... Oh Chosen One, you deserve the rest." a deep voice whispers as I give in to the paining urge to shut my eyes and rest.

"Buffy...? Buffy...? Please wake up..."

"Huh?" I groan as I open my eyes slowly.

"Oh thank God! She's awake!!" A familiar voice yells.

"Angel?" I inquire as I sit up slowly.

As my eyes begin to adjust in the dim light, I see a familiar face... Angel... Oh I couldn't believe it... He came looking for me... Probably wondering where we were after we didn't come home from the last little expedition we went on... His hair had strangely grown out to cover his gorgeous blue eyes. Each time he bent over he had to flick his head to left a bit to move the hair from his eyes. He noticed I was still wearing the jacket he had given me when we barely knew each other and with this a smile crept from the corners of his lips. He wore his usual black jacket and blue jeans.

Something was different about him though... He looked the same feature wise but his eyes showed a great deal of age had passed through them... I shook off the feeling knowing that maybe a day or so had passed since I had last visited him and that perhaps the lighting or the slight concussion I may have is the cause of my insecurity and uneasiness...

"Buffy oh thank God you're alright." Angel sighs as he holds me close in his gentle embrace, "I finally found you."

"I'm fine... Where is everyone else?" I inquire as I try to stand ... My body curiously aches much more than I expected and the pain releases a quick gasp as I fall back down to the stone floor an odd tomb...

"This isn't the place where I we fought the demon... Where the world went black... where am I?"

"They are being unfrozen... They'll be awake in just a..." he begins but I cut in.

"What? Unfrozen?? What are you talking about?!" I inquire confused.

"You were frozen Buffy... That demon you fought froze you and everyone else... It's been so long ago... I bet you feel as though a day hasn't passed..." he replies a tender sadness taking hold in his voice.

His eyes, a sorrowed blue, look up at me painfully...

"Angel, how long have we been frozen..." I ask a bit nervous as to what the answer might be and wondering why his expression had changed from happiness to such sorrow.

"Buffy... deep sighs Today's date is October 17, 3000..." he replies staring deeply into my eyes as the shock sets in.

"Did you say... 3000? Am I...? What...? But... How...? Why..? Oh my God..." I stammer as I begin to pace.

"Buffy? Are you all right?" Angel inquires, worry flutters in his voice.

"No... I mean... Yes... I... I mean... I don't know... sighs is everyone else aware and ok?" I reply.

"They are being told now..." Angel speaks as he slowly walks over towards me.

"I searched for a thousand years Buffy... I have been all over this Godforsaken world looking for you... Don't think I did it just because the world needs a slayer... Which it does big time..." Angel chuckles flustering up a giggle that had been hiding deep inside me.

"Why did they do this Angel?" I inquire as I fall into his gentle embrace.

"Let me explain... Get everyone back to my place and then I'll tell everyone... It'll be much easier..."

And in Angel's eyes I see his thoughts...

"Oh God, how do I tell them...?"