Here it is. My version of what would happen to the Scoobies after the destruction of Sunnydale. Also, I'm bringing the Angel team into this, since Spike (James Marsters) will be apart of it next season. Faith stays, at least for a little while, (you'll see what happens, mwa ha ha ha). Enjoy!
Thank you, Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon and the entire team of writers and directors. We've laughed, cried, thrown shit at the TV, and screamed for the past seven years. Buffy the Vampire Slayer gave us something to do on Tuesday nights and gave the world a new addiction. To all the actors, thank you for creating characters that will be in our hearts forever.
Disclaimer: I definitely own nothing of what Joss created. I just like borrowing them.
I Move On
Chapter One: The Bus Ride
Buffy stared out the dirty window of the stolen school bus. It was the first time she was alone since they left the crater they once called home. The first time she wasn't moping up bloody wounds or giving encouraging talks. The first time someone didn't come over to she if she was all right. God, that irritated her the most. If she wasn't all right, she'd say so. Of course she wasn't all right, but she didn't want to say so yet.
She wanted to do about twelve things at once. First, cry. Cry for at least a week. Cry a river, a lake, a god damned ocean, but just cry. She wanted to mourn for the place she had called home for the past seven years. Sunnydale wasn't exactly a paradise to live in, it was far from it. It was a town, built on a Hellmouth, where all that is evil flocked to. But it was home, for her, for Xander and Willow, who had grown up there, for Dawn, Giles, everyone. Her mom was buried there, in one of the twelve cemeteries. So was Tara. Buffy shook her head. Dear God, twelve cemeteries, shouldn't that have been a giant clue to get the hell out of there. Nevertheless, it was home.
She wanted to cry for Spike. She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering her final words to her lover.
***Buffy looked around. All the slayerettes were running out of the cavern. She saw Spike standing against the wall, the beam of light from the amulet she had given him was destroying the cave's ceiling, letting in the sunlight which was turning the Turok-hans to dust. The sunlight that would kill Spike if he didn't get out of there. "Spike, come on!" Buffy yelled.
"No, you go. Get out of 'ere," he replied, a faint smile on his face. Buffy couldn't believe it. He was seriously going to sacrifice himself. She rushed over to him, careful not to fall. She held his hand as it caught fire, it burned, but she didn't let go. "I love you," she said, finally giving in.
He smirked. "No you don't. But thanks for saying it." He pushed her away, and she ran away from the crumbling cavern, away from her love.***
She banged her hand against the window. 'Damnit', she thought. 'Damn you, Spike.' She opened her eyes, she felt a tiny bit better. Being mad at Spike was easier to do than to accept that he was gone.
The last thing she wanted to cry for was herself. It sounded incredibly selfish in her head, but she couldn't help being honest. After almost eight years, she didn't feel alone. She could feel all the other slayers being activated, thanks to Willow. She felt Faith, stronger than ever before. Being the Chosen one had tortured her since Merrick had contacted her. Even when Kendra came and Faith came, she still felt terribly lost and isolated. And with her friends, Giles, he mom, she still felt apart from everyone else, and she was she really was. That was, until Spike came along. But even then, that pain only eased a little. Now, she was finally free. Free from being the only Chosen one, free from the Hellmouth, free from it all. Now she could live.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mr. Angel," a young man in a smart-looking navy business suit approached the vampire with a file folder. "Here's the latest on the apocalypse in Sunnydale," he said handing the folder to Angel.
Angel flipped through the documents, reading them with lightning fast speed. He sighed with relief. Buffy did it. "Thank you, uh..." he couldn't remember all these people's name even if he tried.
"Derek," the young man supplied.
"Derek, yeah. Thanks," Angel said and Derek walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. Angel read the files again. "Destruction of the town of Sunnydale, California: Total. "He murmured. "Survivors: none known." angel stared at the paper. No survivors? He burst out of his office, searching for Derek. "Hey, hey Derek!" He called jogging after the boy.
"Anything I can help you with?" Lilah's voice caught his attention.
Angel stopped where she was standing in an office doorway. "Lilah," he said. "I know you have to slither around here, but I'm always surprised to see you."
Lilah grinned. "Naturally," she said. "But seriously Angel, what's going on in your tortured vampire mind? As if I didn't know."
"As if you didn't know," he echoed. "So tell me? Where is she?"
Lilah turned and walked into the office, Angel following. "I assume you mean your ex-slayer lover." She tapped the screen of a television. "There were no survivors, most of the townspeople had left, the Turok-hans were wiped out, but there was a bus that had managed to get out of there before the town collapsed on itself." The screen showed a bus racing away from the town, and a tiny blond figure jumping onto it.
Angel smiled. "That's her. Buffy."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They were at a truck stop diner. Xander filled up the tank, with Andrew hovering nearby. Xander didn't have the heart to tell the fidgety little man to get lost. The rest of the group was inside the diner. The girls had all pretty much healed. Must've been that slayer regeneration thing, and now that they were all slayers it was quick. Xander leaned against the bus, yes, it had been quite a day. It had been quite a year, seven years to be exact. Thinking back on it, he wouldn't want it any other way. With or without his eye.
The girls all rambled off their food orders to a harried-looking waitress. The cook was kind enough not to make them pay, since they said they were from Sunnydale and Channel 14 news said that the town had just been leveled by a massive earthquake. Buffy and Willow snorted when they heard this, but being on the San Andreas fault line, everyone in California knew about sudden earthquakes. Buffy, Willow, Giles and Dawn sat in a booth, Giles sipping some "pitiful excuse for tea". In the booth next to them, Faith sat with Robin, who lacked slayer healing and was still in bad shape. Buffy watched them with curiosity. She wasn't sure, but she'd bet kittens that they had had sex. There was a different air about Faith, Buffy could tell. Maybe it was that stint in prison, or fighting alongside the gang again, but Faith had changed. Buffy smiled as Faith held a glass of water up to Robin's lips as he drank.
Xander entered the diner and pulled up a chair to Buffy's table. "What's up, guys? Seen any good movies lately?"
"Ooh, I still wanna see X-men 2. We didn't get to see it with the apocalypse and all," Willow said. Dawn nodded and Giles rolled his eyes and muttered something in English. Soon, they got their food. Buffy picked at her sandwich, but managed to down three glasses of Coke. When everyone was done and talking amongst themselves, Buffy stood up and strangely they all turned to her.
"Uh, um.. right," she looked down at Willow, who smiled encouragingly. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of all of you. I know that it was hard and tough, and there were uh, losses. But the reward was great." The girls giggled, looking around at each other. "And I think you all are the bravest people in the world. So, thank you." Buffy smiled.
"What do we do now, Buffy?" Rona asked.
Buffy looked around at everyone. Their faces were smudged with dirt, blood was dried on their ripped clothes, and they wore tired but satisfied expressions. "Go home. Go back to your families. You don't have to tell them what happened, just go see them, spend time with them, let them know that you're all right."
"And after?"
Buffy smiled. The thrill of being the slayer, she remembered it. "I'll call you all. Or Giles will. But for now, go home." She sat back down and Willow reached across to squeeze her hand. Giles nodded approvingly.
Dawn hugged her sister, "That was beautiful, Buffy."
"Yeah, you're a regular George S. Patton, " Xander said.
"Thanks," Buffy said confused. "Patton?"
"You know, the World War II hard ass general with a soft spot," Xander explained.
Buffy looked at Willow, who shrugged. They all talked a little, until Dawn said, "Hey, where are we going to go?"
"That's right Buff, what are we going to do now that Sunnydale's gone the way of the dodo?" Xander asked.
Buffy looked around. "I hear L.A.'s nice this time of year."
What do you think? I'd like a better title, any ideas? Please Review....