Chapter Thirty-six: 'Til Death

4 Parkview Crescent, Sunnydale

May 12th, 1997

Cordelia followed Xander out to the balcony – the same balcony they'd used to talk, and kiss, back on her birthday – feeling concerned. And for quite a number of reasons.

For one thing, earlier today – while he was all green-eyed, her boyfriend had called the football team quarterback a 'queer' directly to his face! Larry probably would have flattened him, if the jock hadn't been completely stunned by what had happened. And geez – was the Doofus not even trying to avoid eye contact with people anymore, when it came to the Oracle thing?

(Okay, so maybe Xander had been distracted with concern that Larry would hit her, in retaliation for kicking him in the balls over that herpes rumor way back when. Which was kinda touching, and more or less expected of a Good Boyfriend. But still!)

But there was another reason why she was concerned about the Dweeb – what had happened after Larry had been out'ed in public. That ear-splitting noise that had come out of her honey's mouth! And just before the earthquake, too. Had that been, like, a sign of some sort?

{ Uch, I'm starting to sound like my mother, } Cordy thought to herself in annoyance. { I mean, sheesh! Focus, here! }

"Xander?" she said hesitantly, coming over to join him. She took a moment to appreciate the nice suit he was wearing, since her significant other and his parents had been invited to dinner tonight and formal wear was pretty much expected. "You okay?"

He didn't answer at first, although his left hand reached out for hers and she automatically grasped it tightly. Then Xander turned around to face her, and he replied, "I don't know."

Those three words were enough to cause the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach to grow worse, and just for once, Cordelia wished she hadn't told him to never lie to her. Some 'comforting bullshit' would have been kinda welcome right now. Pulling herself together, she asked, "What's wrong?" Off his look, she added in embarrassment, "Okay, other than the obvious..."

"I'm scared," Goof Boy admitted, his eyes meeting hers. "I mean – I realized today just how little I actually know about the whole Oracle gig! Because it's not only how I say things, and I have no memory of it, afterwards. That I can live with – sort of. But I'm doing things as well. And it's not just today, what happened with that broken window – do ya remember when everyone's nightmares came to life? You told me later on how, with just a few words coming out of my mouth, that Ugly Man guy lost all of his limbs! And if that wasn't just part of Billy's nightmare, what if that happens again? Oh my God, what if I do that to you?! What if I –"

She slapped him hard across his left cheek. "Stop it. You hear me? That's not gonna happen – I know for a fact you'd never hurt me that way! Not an option. So knock it off, lame brain! Or I'll kick your ass so hard, you'll bounce all the way to, to – Scotland, or whatever!"

"Cap'n, she canna take much more o' this – she's gonna blow!" Xander instinctively riposted in a thick Scottish burr. He then changed his voice to a deeper pitch, and added, "But, Scotty, I like that in a woman."

THWAP!

Cordelia belted him on his right cheek, this time – before kissing him hard on the mouth. She simply couldn't help it. { Auggh! What's wrong with me? How can I want to jump his bones so badly right now, it's taking everything I've got not to yank Xander upstairs and into my bed for the night?! }

"I swear, Harris, sometimes I truly hate you. Despite the fact that I also love you more than anything," she told him, once she unfastened her lips from his.

"I love you too, honey," Xander replied, holding her tight – and obviously not caring about creasing her brand new, cherry-red Vera Wang dress. Okay, so she didn't care about that either, at least not right now – well, not too much anyway – but still! Then the Dumbass let go of her and stepped back. "I really, really do."

"Well, duh!" she told him, with a huge smile on her face. "If you didn't, do you honestly think I would have ever let you become my first?" { Not to mention my one and only, if everything goes according to plan! }

"Nope," he shook his head. "So, do you think the 'rents have guessed we've already gone that far?"

"Yours? I dunno. But given the way Mother was looking at me knowingly, and Daddy's had that huge grin on his face all night? Probably," Cordelia scrunched up her nose a little.

"Oh. Yeah, Mr. Chase has been kinda happy this evening, hasn't he? That would explain it, I guess. I was kinda hoping it was something else, though. Like, he's finally managed to fix that whole tax cheat thing, or whatever," Xander frowned.

"I don't know if that's even possible," Cordy frowned. "I mean, sure, we've put into place contingency plans – but other than hiding assets and flying out of the country at a moment's notice? It's either Daddy comes clean and throws himself at the mercy of the courts – and I think we both know how they won't show him any – or else he frames his accountant for the whole thing. Neither one is guaranteed to avoid any jail time!"

"Wish there was something I could do to help," he replied, hugging her again. Then the Dorkhead smiled and stepped back. "Oh, almost forgot. Would a gift help?"

{ Have we met, Idiot Boy? How can giving me gifts possibly hurt? } Putting that instinctive, materialistic and somewhat unwelcome thought aside, she said, "Depends on the gift. What did you have in mind?"

"Something my grandma gave me, when we visited her in Ojai." He reached into his suit pocket and brought out –

{ A ring? OH MY FREAKING GOD, IS HE GONNA PROPOSE?! } Cordelia immediately shrieked inside her mind, as she saw the thin circle of silver in her boyfriend's hand. She had no idea whether she'd say yes or no, before she suddenly noticed something. { Wait, there's no diamond, that's not an engagement ring – so what the-? }

"Grandma Lambert wanted me to give this to you," Xander said, placing the silver ring on her right ring finger. "She said I'd know when the time was right. And it's kinda funny, actually – remember back when Jesse saw us kissing for the first time? He said to me later on that if it was him, he'd have already given you a promise ring, and started saving up money for the engagement ring –"

"Grrf. Auggh! That idiot would have, too. I swear, I don't know how Aura puts up with him!" she interrupted, before looking down at the ring on her finger. "So, what is this, exactly?" Cordelia looked her boyfriend in the eyes and added, "What's it supposed to mean?"

"It's a gift, like I said," Xander replied, moving closer. "But it's also something to show that I want a future with you – and no one else. We're way too young to get engaged, Cordy, but I –"

He never got the chance to finish that sentence, because she immediately kissed him all over again. { Ya know, Stalker Boy may actually have been right for once. Because, yeah... we're way too young right now – but if you don't give me an engagement ring at some point after my eighteenth birthday, Dweeb? You'll really regret it! }

Private residence, Los Angeles

The next day

Liam briefly watched as the McNally kid did the homework his tutor had assigned earlier today, before he turned away and started reorganising his weapons cabinet. He didn't know why, exactly, but the male teen's presence in his home made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Hrmm. Maybe it was because he'd been living alone for close to a hundred years, and didn't know how to deal with a (thankfully temporary) roommate any longer. Or maybe it was because he knew that the boy had dated his beloved Buffy, even if that had only been the one time and it had never actually gone anywhere. Or maybe it was –

{ Yeah. No point in trying to deny it, is there? I don't like how Buffy almost literally threw herself at this guy, and got into a fight with another girl over him, thanks to that Willow girl's love spell, } Liam brooded. { Sure, it wasn't the kid's fault – he didn't ask that red-haired amateur to do what she did – but then the spell would never have made Buffy go crazy that way, if she didn't feel something for him. Would it? }

"Hey, dude? I'm officially done with my trig assignment," McNally called out, causing him to blink and return his attention to the male teen. "You need me to give you a hand with anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Liam shook his head.

"Cool. Okay, then, I'm gonna make myself a snack." The young man headed over to the fridge, opening it up and looking around. "Damn. We're out of mayo again?"

"Put it on the list. I'll go shopping later tonight, before patrol," Liam replied absently.

"Right. Uh, I know we've discussed this before, but – are ya sure you don't want any backup when you go out there? I mean – the accommodations here are okay, don't get me wrong, and I'm grateful how you took me in when I had to get out of SunnyD – but after all this time? I almost feel like I'm starting to develop, uh... what's it called? Cabin something –"

"Cabin fever, yes, I'm familiar with it," Liam nodded. "But you know the rules; you gotta stay out of sight. If you want, I could ask Doyle and Harry if it's okay with them for you to spend a night or two at their place? Maybe next weekend, or whenever it's suitable."

"Thanks, that'd be great," the boy exhaled in relief. "Sheesh; never thought I'd miss my buds this way, to be honest with ya. My girlfriend, too – well, if Aura actually is that for me, of course. I swear, after all the vamps are gone – assuming that actually happens – we definitely need to talk about that!"

"Yeah. I just wish I knew more about when that'll happen, damn it," he muttered.

"Guess this has gotta be your lucky day, then, huh?" a familiar Bronx-accented voice said from the other side of the room. Liam barely had time to swing his head in that direction before Whistler added, "Listen up, Lord of the Hair-gel; it's time. You need to get your ass over to the Hellmouth, and I suppose you may as well take him..." the Messenger nodded his head towards McNally, "...with you. Or not, it's totally up to you."

"Who the heck are you?" the youth demanded in confusion.

"Name's Whistler. And I'm here to tell you white hats that the big event's about to start, up north. Tonight, either all the vamps end up history – or this world ends up in Hell!"

"Drusilla?" Liam demanded, quickly figuring out what the cryptic warning had to mean as the McNally kid ran over to the weapons cabinet and quickly armed himself.

"Yeah," Whistler grimaced. "It's happening a year or so earlier than the Powers originally anticipated, but you gotta stop her. And just so it's clear? Win or lose, this is the last time we'll ever meet; the Powers have officially terminated my assignment with you, Champ. So good luck, and been nice knowin' ya!"

City Hall, Sunnydale

Not long before sunset

"So you're, like, the Number Two Guy in the Council?" Buffy asked, eyeing the new arrival in Sunnydale carefully. For a moment, she wished she was back in the familiar setting of the high school library – this meeting room was still too new for her to feel like it was her home turf – but quickly putting that aside, she concentrated on the scone-head in front of her. "Well, can ya tell me what's the what on my missing Watcher?"

"Miss Summers. Has anyone ever told you that your hopeless mangling of the English language is something you ought to be ashamed of?" the new guy – Mr. Travers – asked, as he sat down and then sipped slowly from a cup of tea.

"Sure, first Merrick and then Wesley. And you can tell how much attention I paid to either of them – because this is America, mister! Over here, we talk however the hell we want to," she replied straightaway. "Now answer the damn question, okay?"

"Very well. And the answer is no, Miss Summers. I have no idea where young Wyndam-Pryce is." She noticed his beady-eyed stare before he added, "Nonetheless, I have my suspicions. And you do realize that the man is almost certainly dead or worse by this point, do you not?"

{ Uncaring asshole. } "Yeah, it's occurred to me. And your attitude? Really inspirational. It helps when the troops realize that their leader actually cares whether they live or die, I'm sure!"

"Have you ever fought a war, Miss Summers?" Travers asked, looking somewhat amused. "And I'm not talking about your nightly battles against the vampires and demons here on the Hellmouth. No, I'm talking about large-scale conflicts between armies. Having to do things like sending your comrades out on suicide missions, to make sure the sun still rises the next morning. Killing human beings who worship malevolent otherworldly demons, in order to prevent their patron from destroying this world. Do you honestly believe doing things like that without caring who lives or dies is even feasible?"

He paused and then said, "I've met a grand total of twenty-seven Vampire Slayers, Miss Summers, including yourself. In my youth, I thought that each and every one of them should be spared the terrible burden placed upon their shoulders. Nonetheless, they were Chosen – and so they fought, and eventually, they died. All of them. Some at the hands of a random vampire or demon; and some from preventing the Apocalypse itself from occurring. That's how I learned that regard for the individual soldier at the expense of the big picture is nothing but a recipe for disaster, you see. And that leadership requires the willpower and strength to know when sacrifices need to be made. If you get the chance to live long enough, now that the final battle against the undead is almost upon us, I'd imagine you'll learn that for yourself."

"Yeah, about that – if this thing with all the vamps in the world happens the way I want it to? Then what's gonna happen to me, afterwards?" she asked, pointedly ignoring the rest of the old guy's speech. "No vampires equals no need for a Vampire Slayer, so – what? I end up plain old Buffy Summers again, the way I was over a year ago? Or I just retire from the whole Slayage gig?"

"I honestly don't know." The British stuffed shirt exhaled loudly. "We shall simply have to see. However, should you retain your powers – well, I very much doubt you will be able to just ignore the presence of non-vampire evil in this world, as it were. Not in the long term, anyway. The Watcher Diaries are very clear on how the older the Chosen One gets, the more intense becomes the instinct for her to hunt her enemies, instead of the other way around. A Slayer in ancient Greece who somehow lasted for seventeen years is my case in point."

{ Great. Just great! Sounds like I'm doomed not to be able to have a normal life, if the superpowers don't just vanish! } Buffy complained to herself. { I don't – }

At that moment, Ms. Calendar and her boyfriend – Mr. Gyles, or whatever his name was – knocked and entered the room. "Excuse me, Quentin, but could we possibly interrupt?" the Tweed Guy asked respectfully.

"Yes, Rupert, what is it? Miss Summers, you may go," the Other Tweed Guy said absently, much to her annoyance.

"Actually, she should stay, since this concerns Wesley's disappearance," Ms. Calendar sent her a sympathetic look, which immediately made her insides freeze up. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. But one of the Council patrols just found the body – it was in the sewers, it looked like someone had just dumped it there –"

"Wes is dead?" she asked in a small, almost tiny voice. "Where is he? I want to see him. I, I have to make sure he doesn't –"

"In my opinion, i-it would be better if you didn't see your Watcher's remains, actually," Rupert interrupted, looking kinda ill. "The body i-is currently at the city morgue, being prepared for transport back to England. The, uh, the team who found him – Smith, Collins and Weatherby – they reported that Wyndam-Pryce's heart was missing. It looked like it had exploded out of his chest; so, um, th-there's no danger he'll rise as one of the undead, tomorrow night."

"There was no blood left in the corpse, correct? And no vampire bite marks present?" Travers asked sharply. When Mr. Gyles nodded, the older man replied, "The Oath of Loyalty, then. I assume Wesley's remains were found with evidence of inflicted torture?"

"If you count his face being half melted, thanks to something which smelled like battery acid? Yes," Ms. Calendar looked disgusted and angry.

"Spike and Drusilla," Buffy growled, the rage and hate suddenly exploding into life within her.

"Most likely, yes. And please try to calm down, Miss Summers," Travers abruptly ordered her. "We were just discussing this, remember? Your Watcher's murder will be avenged, but we must not lose sight of the big picture –"

"The hell with your big picture! First, I lost Merrick! Now, Wesley!" she screamed, completely enraged. "Just point me in their direction; 'cause I swear, those two vamps are gonna end up dust piles!"

At that moment, more people burst into the room. Liam, Xander, Cordelia, Willow and even Jesse and Aura. Travers stood up and said, "What's the meaning of this-?"

"Red Alert, British Guy! That Whistler dude showed up in L.A., and told us tonight's the night!" Jesse said breathlessly, as Buffy stared at him in shock. "As in end of the world, or end of all the vamps!"

"The end of the world?!" Ms. Calendar said, looking horrified. "Oh ye gods, that earthquake yesterday – it must have been a portent of –"

"Drusilla's big day," that Liam guy nodded, before looking at her. "You okay?"

"They just found Wesley's body, and odds are your 'daughter' and her boy-toy were the ones who tortured him before he killed himself," she told him in a tight, deadly voice. "So I am not okay, on a majorly epic scale!"

"The hell have I gotten myself into?" Aura muttered, before she started clinging to Jesse the moment he came close enough.

"The Librarian Guy is dead? And, and he was tortured as well?" Cordelia asked hesitantly.

"Stop. We don't have time for this!" Liam interrupted urgently. "The immediate priority is to prevent the Apocalypse!" He turned to Mr. Gyles – Rupert – and said, "Do you know where Spike and Dru are holed up in town, nowadays?"

"Uh, no, not as such, a-actually," the Watcher shook his head. "They managed to escape when we burned down the warehouse they were using a while back, and, uh –"

Buffy then noticed Xander grab Mr. Gyles, turn him around and look him directly in the eye. Ignoring Travers and his stupid-ass demands to know what was going on, she waited, hoping and praying that her friend would come up with the goods quickly –

"The mad Seer will attempt to open the Hellmouth located far below the high school library, but you must ensure that the Slayer is not present to enter into battle with her and her minions. The Chosen One and her two companions must seek out the Seed and Heinrich, instead."

{ What? Oh, that's like total bullshit! } Buffy thought to herself angrily, as everyone started babbling at the same time. { I'm supposed to go off on some wild goose chase, instead of avenging Wes's death and turning that undead 'ho into dust in the wind? Not to mention prevent the end of the world? Oh, I don't frickin' think so! }

"What is the meaning of this?" Travers suddenly demanded loudly, causing everyone to shut up. He then started giving Xander the eye, as Cordy got in front of her boyfriend – like that was anything unexpected! "You – ah. You are the green-eyed Oracle, are you not? The one mentioned in Merrick's account of the Loa's prophecy?"

"Guess I am," the male teen admitted.

"Rupert? Did you know about this?" Travers then asked coolly, looking around at the guy in question.

"I did not," he blatantly lied, which caused Buffy to blink. Although, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense; what else was Ms. Calendar's boyfriend gonna say? That he'd known the truth for over a week, but hadn't said anything to anyone because Cordelia had threatened to kill him if he did?

"Very well. Send out the call to arms – our forces shall attack the high school immediately," Travers ordered, as Mr. Gyles nodded and then he and Ms. Calendar left.

Buffy made to follow after them, but Liam grabbed her arm and said, "No, wait –"

"Get your hands off me!" she immediately and instinctively punched him in the face, which caused the ex-vampire to let go and stumble back a few steps.

"Miss Summers. Where do you think you're going?" Travers demanded.

"The high school. Where else?" she demanded heatedly.

"No. I forbid it," the stuck-up asshole shook his head. "You heard what the Oracle said –"

"What did I say, exactly?" Xander interjected, looking somewhat confused.

"Uh, that that Drusilla vampire is gonna open the Hellmouth, but that Buffy shouldn't be there, 'cause she needs to go find something called the Seed. And, and someone named Heinrich," Willow told him, with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, that doesn't make sense, does it?" Cordelia asked, looking around.

"Like anything has, like since the moment I got here?" Aura demanded. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh! Wait. Xander, didn't you tell me to sit this thing out, if I wanted to reach my full potential or whatever?"

"You already knew who the Oracle was? Ah, of course you did. I'd likely wager that all of you knew, and said nothing to Wyndam-Pryce about it," Travers said, looking disappointed.

Buffy opened her mouth to correct him, but then quickly closed it with an audible snap. No point in telling the Armchair General here that he'd caused Wes to lose faith in him and his organization all those months ago, by deliberately keeping her Watcher in the dark about things he'd needed to know. "Newsflash. I still haven't heard a single good reason for me not to go to Sunnydale High, and start kicking some undead ass!"

"What? Xander's word suddenly isn't good enough for you anymore?" Cordelia asked archly, raising her eyebrows. "Why? I thought you trusted my boyfriend implicitly. Or is it just that you don't want to follow his advice, on account of you wanna personally kill the vampires who you think tortured Mr. Windy Price-tag?"

Buffy instantly glared at her, volcanic fire burning in her eyes. "Why, you-!"

"Buffy. Wes's death wasn't your fault," Jesse told her compassionately. "And my best bud has never steered us wrong before, has he? So if Xander said that you need to be elsewhere, then you need to be elsewhere. End of discussion, in my book."

She glared at him mutinously, but before she could say anything, Xander spoke up again. Those green eyes were sparkling and shimmering again, but instead of English, he spoke in guttural grunts and snarls –

– all the while, staring at Mr. Travers.

"Remarkable," the British guy said, staring at Xander curiously once he'd stopped talking and his eyes had gone back to their normal color.

"I didn't know you could speak Fyarl," Liam nodded, echoing the same sort of curiosity.

"I can't," Xander shook his head, glancing at his girlfriend; who simply shrugged helplessly.

"What's Fyarl?" Willow asked, looking back and forth between them.

"A demon language. Why would you use it, though?" Liam asked, staring at Xander in confusion.

"Hrmm. Perhaps because I myself am fluent in that language, and that particular information wasn't for everyone's ears," Travers mused, before turning to face the ex-vampire. "You understood what he said?"

"Yeah, more or less," Liam nodded.

"Okay, then, want to share with the rest of the class?" Buffy said impatiently.

"Uh, in a nutshell? That the Master's back, and that you, me and Xander will have to face him before you can get your hands on the Seed," he replied nervously.

Elsewhere in Sunnydale

Not long after sunset

Spike left the house he'd just ransacked, holding the silver talisman he'd been told to recover tightly in his hand. Word of Valium, or some such thing.

He could tell it was old, even older than he was – and his inner demon could vaguely sense its mystical power as well. Personally, he would have preferred to just crush the thing under his heel – but if Dru wanted it that badly? Probably not a good idea to do that.

{ Still can't believe it's come to this, } Spike thought to himself, his body still aching after the beating which the Master had inflicted last night. { Dru saved me by tellin' Heinrich she wants ta destroy the world, and either we follow through on that – or he dusts us both. Lose-lose situation. And how the hell did that effin' ponce really pull off comin' back like that, anyhow? Heard of resurrection rituals, sure – that git Absalom, and other stuff over the past century or so – but just showin' up outta nowhere, right after Dalton uncovered that Seed thing? Either pure shitty luck, or else that jumped-up Easter egg really is a lot more dangerous than I reckoned it was – }

"Dru?" he then called out in surprise, seeing his sire not far away. She was standing right there out in the open, and some mortal git was staring at her in a glassy-eyed stupor – wait, what was she doing?! Drusilla was feeding the wanker her own blood, without draining him first?

"There's a good boy," she said, before gave the kid a pat on the head, like he was an obedient pooch or something. "Right, off you go then!"

"Dru, what the flamin' hell?!" Spike demanded, as he came closer and the Happy Meal – high school jock, by the look of him – wandered away. "Seriously, luv – don't ya know how dangerous it is, making a ghoul that way? There's no tellin' what that bloke's gonna do now!" Then he shook his head at his own stupidity. "Auggh! You already know what he'll do, bloody heck but I'm being thick as a post tonight. Well, here's that talisman you wanted – but I still don't get why –"

"It's us or them now, dear heart," Drusilla interrupted, sounding completely sane just for once. "Either we destroy the world, or the wicked Slayer will destroy all of us." Shocked, Spike could only stare at her in disbelief before his sire added, "Now, you'd best go home to Great-grandfather. He'll need company, he will!"

Somewhere on North McElhaney Avenue, Sunnydale

A while later

Cordelia was not in a good mood, as she drove home in her father's convertible. Bad enough that her boyfriend had been drafted into going down into the sewers along with the hunk and Little Miss 'I Am The Law'; but there was nothing she could do except return to the mansion, and wait to learn what happened tomorrow morning!

There was no point hanging around at City Hall, the place was now effectively deserted. Plus, the Council people had refused to let her or Jesse or Aura come along on their mission at the school – not that she wanted to face a horde of vampires, mind you! – but having to acknowledge that she was effectively useless? That she had no part to play in helping to keep the world in one piece, or getting rid of all the undead tonight?

That was annoying. In more ways than one.

"AUGHHH!" Cordelia screamed, slamming down on the brakes as someone stepped out onto the street and just stood there, waiting to get turned into hamburger. She just barely managed to stop in time – there had to be less than an inch remaining between the car and the crazy asshole's legs – and then, when she saw the guy's face, she totally lost it.

"LARRY?! Of all the insane – I nearly killed you, you moron! The hell did you think you were doing? And what are you doing out past curfew, anyway?!" she demanded heatedly, glaring at the jock as Blaisdell finally got a clue and headed towards the driver's side door. "Don't tell me this was a stupid dare of some sort? I already know you couldn't be heading towards the Bronze, it's been closed since Saturday night –"

That was all she managed to say before Larry – moving far quicker than he had any right to – grabbed hold of her hair, yanked her head back and then slammed her face into the steering wheel.

The darkness immediately swallowed her whole, and did not spit her back out.

Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale

The same time

Willow was at the back of the Council army heading for the Hellmouth, along with Ms. Calendar. She wasn't sure why she was present – why both of them were accompanying the grim-faced soldiers, to be absolutely honest – but she suspected that she was here as magical-type backup. Mr. Giles had said that someone with her talents might come in useful – well, as long as she obeyed orders, and did nothing without authorization.

Heh. Under normal circumstances, Willow could imagine what she would have to say about that. Her parents, too. Well, if they were actually here in Sunnydale, and she had a chance to tell them –

"What's going on here?!" Principal Snyder's angry voice suddenly impacted on her consciousness, and Willow immediately came to a halt. As far as she could tell, the high school commandant hadn't noticed her yet as he demanded to know, "Who are you people? What are you doing on my campus?! Wait – are those weapons you're carrying? You –"

"Shut up and get lost, you arse," Mr. Giles came forward, holding a crossbow in his arms. "One-time offer."

"That's it, I'm calling the police! I – wait a minute, aren't you the British guy who –" Snyder started to say, before one of the Council people came forward and pistol-whipped him into unconsciousness.

"Bloody tosser," Mr. Giles said angrily, before he looked back at his girlfriend. "Janna, could you-?"

"I'll take him to the principal's office, I still remember where it is," Ms. Calendar nodded. "Willow, could you assist in lifting him up? I'd rather not touch the man if I can possibly avoid it."

Willow nodded, and levitated the balding little man up off the ground. Concentrating intensely, she floated the unconscious Snyder along as she followed her former teacher towards the main building; and the Watchers headed in a slightly different direction, to gain access to the high school basement –

Not far from the Master's underground cavern, Sunnydale

A short time later

Buffy wasn't happy. Not only was she playing follow the ex-vampire, but the guy obviously didn't know which way he was going! This was the second time he'd stopped at an underground intersection, not sure how to proceed. "Are you sure you know where to go?"

Liam looked around before saying, "This way." He noticed her stare and asked, "What?"

"Nothing really, it's just – I've seen the way you've been looking at me tonight, mister," she replied uncomfortably. "At first, I thought you were checking out my neck or something, but now that I've had a chance to think about it – well, I kinda doubt that's it –"

"Oh, Buffy, come on!" Xander interrupted, causing her to look back at him. "Angel – sorry, Liam – he's looking at you that way, 'cause he's still in love with you! Now, can we quit pretending we're stuck in an episode of All My Children, and concentrate on the fact that we're heading straight into the lion's den with absolutely no backup?!"

She ignored everything after the 'he's still in love with you' crack registered in her brain. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed hold of Liam and whirled the guy around, as all three of them came to a halt. "Is that true?! You're in love with me?"

"Yeah," the guy confessed. "Sorry."

"What?! You're sorry about the fact that you're in love with me?" Buffy demanded, not sure she could believe what she was hearing.

"Yeah. 'Cause I know you don't feel the same way about me that I do about you. Plus, you're sixteen, and I'm over two hundred and forty years old... in a twenty-six year old body, sure, but still. Not to mention you live in Sunnydale, and I live in Los Angeles," Liam replied. "I know we can't help who we love, Buffy –"

"Auugh! Somebody, KMN," Xander interrupted rudely.

"KMN?" she turned and glared at Oracle Boy.

"Kill me now. Because this is getting ridiculous," he replied impatiently. "Liam, come on – back me up here! Is this really the time?"

"Uh – no, I guess not," the former vamp shook his head. "He's right, Buffy, we need to focus. If the Master's back – this definitely has to wait." He then moved off, as Buffy dropped back to glare at Xander.

"What?" he whispered impatiently, as they walked quickly to catch up with Liam.

"Why didn't you ever say anything to me about this? I thought we were friends!" she whispered back fiercely.

"Why didn't I say anything? One, the age difference grossed me out completely. Two, long distance relationships almost never work out. Three, I thought you still hated the guy from when he was a vamp," Xander murmured, as they caught up with their guide. "And we are friends, Buffy. If we weren't, you really think I'd be here right now? Newsflash, but I'd be with Cordelia, instead!"

{ Stupid guys, with their stupid 'guy' logic! } Buffy thought mutinously, as they turned another corner and kept following Liam. But then the former vampire stopped, facing the entrance they'd arrived at. { Oh. Okay. Guess it's showtime! }

"I'm going first," she proclaimed, withdrawing a stake. "Liam, you follow. Xander, you stay here until I say it's safe –"

"No. All three of us have to enter. At least, that's what part of Xander said when he spoke to that Quentin Travers guy," Liam interrupted, shaking his head. "The closest translation I can come up with is 'all must face the darkness', Buffy. If he doesn't –"

"It might jeopardize getting rid of all the vamps, yeah, yeah, got the memo," Buffy said, looking annoyed.

"And thus do we do in the jungle," Xander said, his eyes suddenly hard.

Ignoring that, Buffy led the way down. The place was totally grungy-looking, with a pool of water off to one side and hundreds of candles burning everywhere. Towards the back, there was a floating, red-colored egg thing, and –

"Hello, Spike," Buffy suddenly smiled like a bloodthirsty predator. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!"

"Feeling's entirely mutual, bint," Spike snarled, slipping into his demon face. "Let's dance!"

The Master's underground cavern, Sunnydale

A moment later

Liam watched spellbound for a moment, as Buffy and Spike rushed towards one another to enter into battle. He was just about to join in, when a familiar voice addressed him. "Welcome, Angelus. Although that's not who you are anymore, is it?"

"No, it's not," Liam acknowledged, turning to face the Master and temporarily ignoring the fight between Buffy and Spike. "It's been a long time."

"Far too long." The ancient vampire strolled forward, examining him carefully. "You don't appear to be afraid of me, boy. Odd. Have you forgotten what I did to you, that first night we met?"

"I kinda doubt it," Xander spoke up, coming up to stand next to him. "But ya know, before we get into the days of yore crap, I gotta say – you really oughta talk to your contractor. Looks to me like you got some serious water damage in here!"

"Oh, good, the feeble banter portion of the evening. You –" the Master suddenly broke off, staring at the Oracle in surprise. "You!"

"Me? Me what?" Harris asked in confusion.

"It's you. I can sense it! Ever since the moment I awoke last year, I knew that something was different here on the Hellmouth. And that different thing – is you!" the Master growled. He lifted his hand, and began to make slow, twisting motions, his red-gold eyes almost glowing. "Come here!"

Liam grabbed hold of the kid to prevent him from walking to his doom, but it wasn't necessary – the Oracle's eyes had turned green, sparkling and shimmering in the candlelight, and he said:

"Your hypnotic abilities cannot help you any longer, as your actions are constrained by the Seed – and its destiny now belongs to the Slayer. So resign yourself to the inevitable, Heinrich, for this is a war you cannot win."

Liam could see the Master's eyes grow wide and the old monster said in disbelief, "You – the so-called Goddess of War, Prophecy and Death! No, no, it can't be – you can't interfere in this, you can't –"

Everyone then heard the sound of a loud explosion of dust, along with the typical screaming hiss of an escaping demon. All three males turned to see Buffy lower her stake, with a look of extreme pleasure on her face. "Finally! One undead pain in my ass gone." Liam almost gulped at the feral look on his beloved's face, as she stared at the Master carefully. "Time to make it two!"

"You – the Slayer. You cannot –" The Master abruptly whirled around and stared at the floating artefact not far away, a look of surprise on his face. "What? A sacrifice? What are you-? NO!" The vampire then roared, and headed straight for Buffy – clearly intent on ripping her throat out.

She never got the chance to kill him, though, as Liam abruptly stepped forward and slammed his fist all the way through the Master's face and out the back of his head.

This time, when he dusted, there was no skeleton left behind.

Sunnydale High School basement, Sunnydale

A few seconds earlier

{ That bad feeling I was having before? It's a million times worse now, } Dalton thought to himself worriedly, as he did the revealing spell again – and a section of the basement floor instantly morphed into a black hole, with nothing visible at the bottom. Long way down.

All the way to the mouth of Hell itself, apparently. Which they were planning to open, in order to save themselves from extinction.

Then another earthquake started, which almost caused him to lose his balance and fall into the damn thing. { Shit! Shit, shit, shit! }

"It's coming," Drusilla muttered, as the fruitcake looked around wildly. "They're coming, they are. They're – no! Where's the Kitten? He's s'posed ta be here! No, no, no! The stars and the moon, they told me, they told me he'd be here! Oh, no, not my precious Spoike – NO!" she abruptly screamed. "He can't be gone! He can't be!"

The vampires – all of them who were still around in Sunnydale by this point, roughly fifty or sixty individuals – looked at themselves blankly, and then looked to him for guidance. { Just great! }

"First sacrifice, step forward!" he said roughly, trying to stick to the script. The Sacrifice of Three ritual was pretty simple, but also had some fairly strict requirements. One of them was the order and the type of sacrifices. "Ready?"

The volunteer nodded, and stepped forward. Dalton immediately splashed him with the blood of a man, and then he jumped into the hole in the ground.

Immediately, the earthquake resumed, worse than before –

"THERE THEY ARE! KILL THEM ALL!" a British-accented male voice roared, and the basement immediately turned into a battlefield –

The Master's underground cavern, Sunnydale

A few moments earlier

"All right, what now?" Buffy asked, feeling slightly annoyed that her thunder had been stolen by that Liam guy just now. Although, she supposed it wasn't all that unexpected, if he really was in love with her –

{ What, you actually doubt it? } an exasperating and yet appreciative voice at the back of her mind whispered to her. { 'Cause nothing says 'I love you' like a guy being willing to kill for you, ya know. }

Oh, shut up! Stupid inner voice. Buffy shook her head and forced herself to concentrate, staring at her two companions. "Any ideas, guys?"

"Perhaps I might be of some assistance?" the voice of Mr. Travers asked calmly, as the old guy came into view. "Oh my..." Travers lowered the cross he'd been holding, staring at the floating red egg thing. "The Seed of Wonder, itself. I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes."

{ Great, he's having a total geek-gasm over the latest mystical doodad of the week. Why am I even surprised? } Buffy then said, "Wanna make with the 'splainy, then?"

"The Seed," Travers said absently, walking towards it. "According to the legend, it's the source of all life and the heart of all magic on Earth. If anything in this world is capable of banishing and/or destroying all of the undead, Miss Summers, this is it." He leaned forward to touch it, but the Seed's interior glowed a brighter shade of white for a moment and he was sent stumbling backwards.

"Guess it's all look, no touch?" Xander quipped, but with a somewhat nervous look on his face. "Okay, what next?"

"Xander, you said to the Master that the Seed's destiny belongs to Buffy now," Liam spoke up, looking at her. "So I'm assuming that means the rest of us can't touch it. Still, just to make sure?" He reached out to touch the Seed himself, but was instantly repelled, just like Travers. "Xander?"

Hesitantly, her friend tried to grab hold of the Seed, but it shoved him away immediately. "Yeah, I didn't think so. So I guess it's up to you, Buff. Do – whatever it is you're gonna do."

"Feeling kinda nervous here," she said, walking towards the – thing. Wasn't just an egg of some sort, obviously. "No idea what I'm supposed to do, alright?"

"According to the Loa, Miss Summers, the Oracle is supposed to help you accomplish your goal," Mr. Travers interjected, as everyone turned to look at him. "May I suggest, then, you give the Seed to the young man in question – and let Destiny take its course?"

"Oh, boy," Xander breathed. He turned to Liam and said, "Anything goes wrong, tell Cordy I'll always love her, okay?"

"Nothing's gonna go wrong!" she said fiercely, before the ex-vamp could reply. "Xander, you're my friend. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you!"

"Yeah, I believe ya, Buff," he replied nervously. "So let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Nodding, Buffy reached out to grab the egg thing. And the moment her fingers touched it –

It was old. It was powerful. It burned and it soothed and it gave her a high she hadn't imagined was even possible! She didn't want to ever let it go – the concept of losing contact with this sort of power was unthinkable! Her life would be like totally pointless in that scenario, a mere shadow of what it was now –

But then Madam Devora's voice telling her not to give in to despair, and be willing to do whatever was necessary in order to get rid of all the vamps in the world, spoke inside her brain. And foggily at first, something within her stirred; that unknown and unknowable something, that indefinable quality that made her – and her alone – the Chosen One. It forced her to lift the Seed, and to turn around and offer it to her Xander-shaped friend.

{ AUGHHH! } she silently screamed, the agony from losing contact with that incredible power even worse than she'd imagined as Oracle Boy hesitantly took it from her. To her embarrassment, her legs could no longer support her – Buffy quickly realized that she would have collapsed to the floor, if not for Liam grabbing her and holding her up –

And then Xander smiled.

Sunnydale High School basement, Sunnydale

A short time later

Willow couldn't believe her eyes, as she and Ms. Calendar came down the basement stairs – easily able to hear the screaming and yelling and shotgun blasts and everything else – and then they came upon the scene of battle. The earthquake wasn't helping either; and seriously, if it wasn't for the fact that the Apocalypse might take place at any moment, not taking cover like this was completely insane –

"YOU!" a dark-haired vampire woman suddenly yelled, looking right at her. Willow felt fright, as she realized who this individual had to be – Drusilla herself, from Xander and Jesse's descriptions of the crazed vampiress. "You're the witch! Double, double, toil and trouble! Fire burn and caldron bubble! Why didn't you bring my Kitten? Why didn't you –"

Abruptly turning around, Loony Girl grabbed a dark-haired male vampire and shoved a bone in his mouth, before yanking him towards the huge hole in the ground. There was no time to think about it – Willow instinctively threw out her arms and pulled –

The male vampire instantly flew out of Drusilla's grasp towards her and Ms. Calendar, crash-landing at their feet. Snarling, it attempted to get to its feet – before Ms. Calendar's arm flashed down, and she stabbed it in the back with her stake.

Whoosh! Oh, ewww, ashes in her mouth! { I hope they don't cause cancer or something – }

"NO!" Drusilla screamed. "It's all wrong, it is! Not s'posed ta be like this! I don't – oh, no," the insane thing suddenly looked afraid, staring upwards like she was now aware of some unspeakable wrong. "No, no, no, please, not right, this isn't right, this isn't the way –"

And then Willow saw a sight that she knew would stay with her for the rest of her life, however long she lived.

Drusilla – and all the other surviving vampires – suddenly turned transparent, and started glowing with a sickly yellow light. Their features became different – the human camouflage vanished as the body turned all green and bumpy, the thick face and demonic, the forehead framed by almost horn-like protrusions, while the hands and feet turned into claws and the fangs lengthened considerably.

The vampire shades – wraiths – whatever they were, they all quickly floated towards the school basement stairs, heading upwards as if drawn by a magnet. Willow followed Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar and the rest of the Watchers as they chased after them, bearing witness as the yellow sources of light were all drawn to a certain point high in the sky –

And that was why Willow simply never noticed when the ghoul that had been Larry Blaisdell headed into the basement, and threw the unconscious Cordelia down into the depths of the Hellmouth.

The Master's underground cavern, Sunnydale

A short while earlier

Liam instinctively knew they'd made a mistake, the moment Buffy touched the Seed.

His beloved immediately had an expression of combined shock and ecstasy on her face – he'd seen such expressions before, walking the Earth for nearly three centuries and all. Mostly on the faces of drug addicts; especially the fools who thought they could handle stuff like crack or Orpheus without consequences. If Buffy succumbed to whatever it was that had grabbed hold of her –

"Don't interfere," Travers warned him, before Liam tried to forcibly separate Buffy from the Seed of Wonder. "I know that your intentions are good, but you'll almost certainly make things worse – by blundering in like a, a bull in a china shop!"

He glared at the Sassenach, but then Buffy straightened up, and gave the Seed to Xander. Holding his breath, Liam waited to see what would happen next –

Buffy almost fainted, and so he moved to prevent her from falling down. Thus, Liam almost missed seeing the Oracle smile, before the boy said in an echoing, reverberating voice –

"War and prophecy there has been this night. Now, let there be death."

The Seed glowed white and red, as Harris was suddenly lifted up off the ground and he floated towards the entrance to the Master's lair. Travers immediately hurried after him, but Liam took a moment to lift Buffy into a makeshift carry – one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, like a groom carrying his bride across the threshold – before giving chase.

"Are you all right? Buffy, are you okay?" he asked urgently, trying to keep the Oracle in sight as his supernatural strength began to be tested slightly. "Buffy?"

"I'm – not feeling so good," she muttered, which almost made his heart skip a beat in alarm. Liam had no idea what to say when she added, "Mom was right – play with fire, and you're gonna get burned..."

Muttering meaningless words of comfort, Liam held the woman he loved carefully as he headed up to the surface. A few minutes later, they emerged out of the sewers and onto the night-time streets – and Buffy grouchily asked him to put her down, saying she was feeling better. He did so, if somewhat reluctantly – but then he saw a unique sight that almost took his breath away.

Xander was ascending higher and higher into the night sky, glowing crimson and white – the higher he rose, the more intense the glow from the Seed. From all directions, yellow sources of light headed towards him, being sucked into the Seed – which was growing in size –

Oh dear God, there were tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of the yellow light sources being sucked into the Seed! Liam suddenly realized that he was watching history in the making here, the plague of the undead was finally being cleansed from the Earth –

{ Lord Almighty, but that could have been me, } he suddenly thought in horror, as the supernatural purge continued. { If I'd given in to the temptation of waiting a year or two before becoming human again, I'd be one of those vampires being sent – where? Hell itself? No wonder Whistler said I'd made the right choice, back then – }

"Xander..." Buffy said uncertainly, attracting his attention. "What's going on? What's happening to him?"

"He's, uh, helping you get rid of all the vampires," Liam replied dazedly, still taking in the incredible spectacle occurring up above.

"And then what? That Seed thing – it's like nothing I've ever encountered before. I barely had the strength to let go of it – and I still feel like crap now. And I'm the Slayer!" Buffy babbled worriedly. "What are the odds Xander will be able to pull it off as well?"

"I don't –" Liam shook his head, before he suddenly remembered something the Master had said down below. Something about – a sacrifice –

The yellow sources of light abruptly became fewer, the celestial light show starting to dim apart from the glowing Seed – the number of vampires left in the world becoming less. Hundreds, then dozens, and then just the final few were sucked into the huge, egg-shaped artefact.

Which suddenly detonated, in an eye-searing explosion of light.

The Seed vanished from view, taking Xander with it.

"NOOOO!" Buffy screamed, and not far away, Liam could hear Willow screaming the exact same word along with her.

To Be Concluded…

A/N: Sorry again for the minor delay in posting this chapter, and I swear, this was the hardest part of the entire story to write! I was thinking of splitting it into two parts but then I thought, no, better to get it over with and only have one more chapter to go. It's been fun writing this fic – longest one I've ever written, to be sure – but now it's time to start contemplating new projects, after the grand finale gets published. So please tell me what you thought of this chapter, and thanks for reading it!