"The Watch May Have Ended…But the Just Still Need Avenging"

(BtVS/Overwatch/Marvel Comics Elements/DC Comics Elements)

email: ryley[underscore]breen

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their creators and/or associated companies. I make no money off of this and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write these stories because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading them. Therefore I would greatly appreciate it if no legal action were taken against me. I can promise you that I don't have near enough money to make a lawsuit worth it.

Note: I don't know how far this will go even as a Drabble simply because there isn't a lot of background information on the Overwatch Universe aside from the cinematics available through youtube and the wiki website. It's one of the reasons I didn't like the fact that the game didn't have a single player campaign/story mode. At the very least they should come up with a Pixar level movie, maybe a prequel showing the founding of Overwatch and the events leading up to its fall, but I haven't heard anything about that. It'd be nice if it would come out because I definitely think that it has the potential to be big on the big screen as well as on TV. Still I'll do my best to do the game justice while providing a enjoyable read.

Note 2: For those of you who're looking for strict adherence to canon and extra fine attention to details/facts I suggest you turn around. First and foremost my priority is in telling the story I wish to tell. Secondary is having fun while I do it so any moderate to extreme fact checking or research is avoided as much as possible. I was never a big fan of schoolwork and to me that's what doing too much research and being extra strict about the details means.

The Watch May Have Ended…But the Just Still Need Avenging

The Apartment of Rupert Giles

Two Days Before Graduation Day

Gile's POV

Will it be enough? He thought as he sat in his favourite chair a cup of tea.

He'd been there when their plan had come together with each piece fitting together little by little. It was a good plan or rather the best one they'd been able to come up with given the situation they were in. They were going up against a man who sought to turn himself into one of the most powerful and evil monsters the Earth had ever seen.

An Old One.

Logically it would be smart to dispose of such a person BEFORE they got that powerful but Wilkins had done his homework and was completely immune to harm before he Ascended. That meant that their only chance was to try to kill him immediately after he transformed into an Old One and hope that his new form was still tender enough that he could be killed. The information they'd stumbled upon while investigating the man Faith murdered had been a measured boon and with Xander's help it did seem likely that they would be able to come up with a controlled equivalent. If everything went according to plan Buffy would lead Wilkins to grand zero and once he saw her exit the building he would detonate the explosives.

'If' being the keyword of the statement since a controlled explosion would be weaker but at the same time necessary in order to ensure that the Ascended Mayor was the only one to die from the blast.

However would their desire to protect themselves cost them the battle? He did not know.

The Watcher in him though insisted that he make plans just in case the Mayor survived.

What could he do though? All the entries in his books described the Old Ones as being of unspeakable power and durability. While mankind had come far since the last Old One walked the Earth he did not believe that they had come far enough, mystically or conventionally, to fight on even terms with one. While he was not useless when it came to using magic the sort of power he would need to make a difference against Wilkins in his ascended form would require pledges to some rather unsavoury deities. It might cause him to become one of the very things he'd sworn an oath to oppose. If he was going to take drastic measures he would have to take just as strong measures to ensure that the damage would be contained to the smallest area possible.

It was as he considered this train of thought that a memory floated up in the front of his mind reminding him of something he had not thought upon for over twenty years.

Not since the death of his father.

It had been on that day that he'd been approached in private by an old retainer of his family who had come to him on an important matter. He'd then been told of a duty that had been passed down from parent to child within his bloodline and one that'd been kept secret from the Council ever since the Travers family rose to power. A box was then presented to him and when he opened it he beheld what looked to be a fragment of a ruby embedded in a gold-like piece of metal. When he'd asked what it was he'd only been given a name and a warning.

The name of the fragment was the Obsidio Periculum and it had the ability to open ruptures between realities. He was told that the previous generations had long pondered the item and they had come to believe it was but a fragment of a larger item. When the fragment had been discovered and its properties tested the ruptures were unstable and depended greatly on the users own ability to channel energy into it. It'd been theorized that if the fragment were reunited with the other pieces that the energy problem would be mitigated but in all the time since it'd been found no one had found anything like it. When he'd asked the retainer why it was such a secret he'd been told that it was kept hidden because there were those beings who would do much evil with it and would not care where the energy needed to fuel it would come from. Young though he may have been he had been wise enough to figure out the potential implications of the fragment being used for evil ends so he had accepted the box and hid it in the safest location he could think of.

Looking over to a family mirror that he'd brought with him from Britain he knew it'd been overlooked but had his guests looked closer they would've seen something…odd. In almost all respects the only things you saw in the mirror were those things that actually existed in the room. However if they looked at the reflection of the table by the window they'd see a box that was not there in the real world. He'd banked on the fact that only a rare few people were perceptive enough to actually take notice of everything in a room rather than just notice the basics.

Walking over to the mirror he muttered a secret incantation and watched as it glowed gold before the box seemed to melt out of the reflective surface to be picked up by him. It was a simple trick but also an effective one since without the secret incantation it'd take even an experienced mage time to extract it intact.

Opening the box he beheld his family's secret treasure and wondered why he was even looking at it. Was he really considering using it against Mayor Wilkins? He almost put the box back thinking that some bad colonial thoughts were rubbing off on him but his mind wouldn't let him. They were facing a potential world ending event and that meant that all possibilities needed to be considered before being discarded. If a rupture could be opened directly beneath Wilkins or in a location where the evil man could be forced through it than their problems truly would be solved. The problem would be WHEN to do it. If he did it when the mayor was still human his own magical reserves should prove sufficient to banish him from this reality. However he had not ever used its power himself and he only had the journal that'd come with the box for even basic instructions on how to activate it. If something went wrong, if he missed a step, he could wind up banishing a great deal more than just an evil mayor.

Perhaps if I could find some way to contain the effects of the rupture… He thought as he considered some possibilities, A barrier of sorts that would keep it from expanding past a certain point.

It would have to be erected along the perimeter of the school courtyard because he didn't even want to think of what might happen if the fragment's power came into contact with the Hellmouth. As scary as it was the best case scenario had just the one Hellmouth opening up to unleash countless pure demons into the world ending human civilization as they knew it. The worst case scenario? The friction of the two types of dimensional energy built to critical mass before destroying the planet itself if not potentially the entire solar system.

An option of last resort then. He thought before closing the box and putting it back into the mirror, Doesn't mean I can't prepare for it.

With that he went around his apartment picking out all the books that had to do with magical barriers so that he could find the one that would do the job and was within his ability to erect. He would have to rule out the ones that required specific items or materials since there was little chance that he'd be able to get them to Sunnydale in time. Instead he'd have to use more generic methods that could be performed anywhere but were still potent.

It was then a thought occurred to him and in a flurry he began to leaf through volumes while his mind worked to recall where he had seen the passage he remembered.

According to all their research Richard Wilkins had been mayor of Sunnydale since it'd been founded and that was over a century ago. Given the potential uses for the Hellmouth and the fact that it was a suitable power base for any demon looking to make a name for themselves it only made sense that Wilkins had erected defences to retain his sovereignty over the area. If he could somehow locate and tap into those defences he might very well gain what he needed to isolate the school courtyard behind a barrier strong enough to contain the transformed Mayor.

At least until the newly ascended being reasserted his control over his town defences and severed his connection to them.

Eventually he found the pages he was looking for and as he read each word he took some satisfaction in knowing that he was well on his way to coming up with an acceptable contingency plan.

He only prayed that he would be able to bring all the pieces together in time.

The Mayor's Office, The Following Morning

Richard Wilkins' POV

"Well now isn't this interesting." He said as he looked at the latest report sent to him by the 'employees' he had assigned to keep an eye on Slayer Summers and her bunch.

While he didn't think that there was anything that the white hats could do to thwart his plans he'd still ordered that they be kept under surveillance. He had not spent the last hundred years preparing for his glorious Ascension to godhood just to trip a few steps shy of the finish line. Up until this latest report he'd been under the impression that they were going to arm the rest of their graduating class and attempt to fight their way to victory. Utter ridiculousness but he found himself oddly preferring that they put up a fight rather than just give in and literally march themselves up to be eaten. He would after all like to experiment with his newly acquired Old One powers and to do so that'd required opponents who would put everything they had into defeating him.

Now though…now he had to decide whether or not to step in and stop Mister Giles' efforts.

For most of the previous night the Watcher had been criss-crossing the town as though in search of something but it was when the man found what he likely sought that he had reason for intrigue.

The Watcher was seeking out the arcane nodes that he'd planted on the day he'd founded the town in order to counter any attempts by outsiders to seize the Hellmouth from him. Some were designed to simply cut off outside sources of power while others were to give him moderate control over reality within the town's perimeter. All of them had been arrayed to form an intricate pattern consisting of multi-layered arcane circles that honestly were the jewel of his proverbial crown. To find Mister Giles was actually seeking them out was one thing but the agent tailing the older man had indicated that the British fellow had used some manner of magic on the ones he'd found. It couldn't have been anything significant since he'd have felt it if some drastic changes had been made but at the same time the librarian didn't strike him as the sort to waste time with graduation day coming.

Stepping out from behind his desk he walked to the centre of the room before reaching out with his arcane talents he brought up a magical projection of Sunnydale.

Once all the nodes appeared he eliminated those that the Watcher had not visited he increased what details were displayed for the affected ones. Time passed as he peeled back the layers of the affected nodes but eventually he found the changes that had been made and he was impressed by how subtle they were. Obviously the Brit had done so in an effort to ensure he wouldn't notice them but the efforts at secrecy had failed. From what he could tell the changes were intended to funnel magical energy to receivers that would either be on or around the high school grounds. However without visiting the school grounds himself he could only speculate about what the energy would be used for. An attack? Some means of protection for those that would fight by his side?

Well it won't matter in the end. He thought as he dispersed the depiction of Sunnydale, Even if he somehow managed to channel all the power that could be drawn from the Hellmouth to attack me my ascended form will be more than up to the challenge.

After all according to the surviving records from the exodus of the original Old Ones it'd taken divine intervention to force their retreat and that was no longer possible.

He so did love it when the white hats shot themselves in the proverbial foot!

The Night Before Graduation Day

Sunnydale High School

Xander's POV

Time to make sure G-Man knows how to use the detonator. He thought as he strolled down the hallway of the school to the library, Be a real bummer if something went wrong with the finale.

They had most of the explosives setup already and concealed them with graduation decorations as well as the supplies used to create the decorations so they were unlikely to be discovered. Just now he'd finished running the lines from the explosives to where the detonator would be covering them with several bags full of cut grass and leaves that would blend in with the existing school grass. He also used existing things on the school to hide the connections even more but he knew there was still a chance that they'd be found. That was why he'd waited until just now to lay them out so that the odds of enemy forces finding them would be reduced as far as possible.

Please don't screw this up for us. He thought praying to what deities might be looking down on Sunnydale at the moment.

Entering into the library he was somewhat surprised to find the Watcher with his head resting on the table fast asleep with various magic stuff scattered across the table surface. They'd already removed all the precious books that the Brit refused to be without so he could only presume that Giles had brought this stuff from his apartment. Quietly striding forth he carefully looked at the papers and items to see if he could figure out what the man had fallen asleep working on. From what he could see it looked to be some sort of array but most of the letters and symbols were incomprehensible to him. He might have gained some knowledge of the arcane since the Scooby gang was formed but he was far behind Giles.

Nevertheless he had to admit to being puzzled as to what the Watcher hoped to accomplish given that they already had a plan for taking down the Mayor.

Guess there's only one way to find out. He thought as he reached out and shook G-Man's shoulder.

"Huh…wha…oh…Xander." Giles said as he woke up and took notice of him, "Pardon me I seem to have nodded off."

"No kidding! What's got you working so hard?" he asked hoping his curiosity would be satisfied.

"Merely a precaution I wish to take in order to ensure our victory." Giles replied as he began to clean up the mess atop the table, "While our primary plan is good we must consider the possibility that an unforeseen variable could send events off course."

"You don't need to tell me that." He said as he moved to help in cleaning things up, "None of us are General Patton and we found out what Mayor McSnake was up to pretty late in the game."

"Agreed. Nevertheless we are the only ones here in a position to oppose Richard Wilkins." Giles said as he carried the gathered items towards his office, "We must simply do all that we can and pray that it proves enough to save the world from the ancient evil he seeks to become."

"SO…what were you working on?" he asked genuinely curious about what he'd helped clean up.

"I was working on a way to erect an arcane barrier over the school property." Giles replied coming to a stop before his desk, "While Buffy's plan to use Faith's current status as a lure is likely to work we need to consider the possibility that Wilkins will prioritize feeding over revenge. If he leaves the school grounds then all the explosives we've positioned will be useless."

"So the plan is to trap him inside the barrier and then blow the explosives?" he asked as he considered the contingency plan before a critical flaw snapped into place, "But how're we going to get everyone clear before the barrier goes up? If Wilkins is feeling a case of the munchies he's going to follow the food."

"We won't." Giles said with grim regret in his voice.

"What?" he asked as his mind grasped the horror of what the Watcher's words implied.

"As an Ancient One the mayor will possess a power not seen in thousands of years. Even the likes of Wolfram & Hart will seem like small potatoes compared to him." Giles said softly with cold resolve echoing every word, "The best chance anyone will ever have of killing him will be in the first hour after he's completed his transformation. If he fails to follow Buffy into the school…our only recourse will be the barrier and the hope that by compacting its area of effect that the blast will still prove lethal enough to kill him."

As much as he wanted to believe that their plan would go off without a hitch he couldn't dispute that there existed a chance that it wouldn't. They only had old books and Anyanka's story to go on when it came to how powerful an Old One really was but that was plenty enough to make him scared. All the demons and vamps they'd had to fight so far on the Hellmouth were more or less human sized ones and that'd been enough to convince him they could win.

Fighting something that'd go a few rounds with King Kong?

Not so much.

If things really went south the way Giles thought that they would then blowing the explosives with a barrier up might kill everything inside but it would save the world too.

A demon hunter unwilling to sacrifice their own life to save the world was just as guilty of the deaths that'd follow as the threat they refused to give their all to stop.

"Well then let's make sure the boom goes off when it needs to." He said declaring with tone that he'd back Giles' play, "I've laid the lines to the bombs so let's go over the steps that'll make'em go boom."

For the next hour he explained to the Watcher everything he knew about the bombs, the lines and the detonator. He might've gone a bit overkill but he wanted to make sure that if he wasn't there to fix any technical problems that G-Man would be able to make do. Once he was satisfied that the Brit would be okay he decided to head home for the night. By now Tony and Jessica Harris would be either passed out in their living room chairs or will have clambered upstairs to sleep in their own beds. All he'd need to do would be to stealth his way to his room without waking them up and be sure to leave before they woke up.

At least I won't have to convince them not to attend graduation like Buffy had to with Missus S. He thought sarcastically, If it doesn't involve booze or a way to get it they're not interested.

A dark part of him, a part he did his best to suppress, almost wished that they would show up just so he could see the looks of utter horror on their faces after Wilkins transformed.

And if they wound up getting eaten?

Two fewer problems in his life.

Sunnydale High School Courtyard

Graduation Day

Buffy's POV

Well this is it. She thought as she sat in her seat waiting for the graduation ceremony, Either we'll have bits of snake raining from the sky or we'll find out the hard way what the inside of a demon snake is like.

She'd gone over the plan in her mind at least once an hour since they'd finalized it in the library and for the most part she believed that it would work. They'd armed the students and with Xander tapping into his soldier memories he could lead them both in keeping the demon snake back as well as countering Wilkins' own forces. The explosives were placed and she'd been told that hooking the lines up to the detonator could be done quickly enough once Giles got over there.

Then of course there was HER job: piss off the demon snake and then run like hell to the library before taking the back way out.

She wasn't worried, she knew she was fast and wagered that the transformed warlock would still be getting used to his new body, but it'd still make for an adrenaline filled chase.

Having something nipping at your heels, literally, always did.

Still it was all they had so she'd do her part to make sure it succeeded.

"Congratulations to the class of 1999. You all proved more or less adequate. This is a time of celebration, so: sit still and be quiet." Snyder said as things started to get underway, "Spit out that gum! Please welcome our distinguished guest speaker: Richard Wilkins the 3rd. I saw that gesture! You see me after graduation."

The students, herself included, clapped their hands but this was more because it was expected of them rather than because they were actually happy about the one about to speak. Hearing movement coming from beside her she turned her head to see Willow making her way down past the other students to the seat set aside for her.

"Am I late? To the fight?" Willow asked with a bit of anxiety as she took her seat.

She shook her head in the negative as Mayor Wilkins strode up onto the stage and approached the podium. Her mind still boggled at how the man had managed for over a century to turn Sunnydale into a feeding ground for baddies and keep the humans living there blind to it all. Giles had told her that there were some spells that could make doing that easier but she didn't really understand that stuff. Sure if she went all nerdish and studied for the next ten years she'd know her facts as well as her Watcher but to her that'd just be more of her life lost to her Calling.

Better that she remain the brawn and let him along with Willow be the brains of the operation.

"Well. What a day this is! A special day. Today is our centennial the one hundreds anniversary of the founding of Sunnydale, and I know what that means to all you kids: not - a darn thing." Wilkins said with his usual sixties sitcom tone of voice, "Because today something much more important happens: today you all graduate from high school. Today all the pain, all the work, all the excitement is finally over. And what's a hundred years of history compared to that? You know what kids? …"

"Oh my GOD." She gasped in half-mock horror, "He's going to do the entire speech."

"Man, just ascend already." Willow muttered with a bit of snark.

"Evil." She said addition her own bit of snark even if she'd seen more evil beings.

"… For all of you it may be that there is a place in Sunnydale's history, whether you like it or not. It's been a long road getting here. For you… for Sunnydale. There has been achievement, joy, good times,… and there has been grief. There's been loss. Some people who should be here today… aren't. But we are. - Journey's end. And what is a journey? Is it just… distance traveled? Time spent? No. It's what happens on the way, it the things that happen to you. At the end of the journey you're not the same. Today is about change. Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You ascend… to a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same. Nothing." Wilkins said before day turned into night signaling the beginning of eclipse, "And so as we look back on…nnhhh…on the events that brought us to this day…"

"Come on." She growled with impatience wanting to get the show on the road sooner rather than later.

"We…we must all…aaahhhh…it has begun. My destiny." Wilkins said with an unfriendly smile, "It's a little sooner then I expected I had this whole section on civic pride… but I guess we'll just skip to the big finish!"

With that the man's body began to melt, stretch and distort before what stood in front of them all was not a man but a demonic snake large enough to literally swallow a person whole.

It was a LOT more terrifying than the drawings in Giles' book but she'd long since learned to keep her fear under control rather than let it control her. They had a plan! A PLAN! Just stick to it and everything would turn out OK.

Time for step one of that plan. She thought before yelling, "NOW!"

With that word the entire student body tore off their graduation robes to reveal the weapons that'd been delivered to their homes earlier in the day or hid in the courtyard behind bushes. Bows and arrows, axes, flame throwers and a lot of other things that would be useful against either the Mayor or his undead minions.

"Flame units!" she yelled and in response Larry and others pointed the home made flame throwers at the giant snake before letting the fire shoot forth.

Xander didn't hesitate to do his part as he called upon all those armed with projectile weaponry to open fire on the giant demon in an effort to do some damage. While she took some satisfaction in the signs of pain and damage the mayor exhibited she wasn't stupid enough to think that they could kill him like this. This was just to get him mad so when she dangled Faith's condition in front of him he'd toss all concerns to the side in order to follow her into the school.

So even as one student was swallowed whole she willed it not to affect her since it would be with her role that the sacrifice would be given meaning.

Some of the recruits however lost their nerve and tried to flee but when a familiar growling sound reached her ears earlier predictions came true. Glancing in the right direction she saw vampires emerging from the only avenue of escape but since they'd anticipated that Xander didn't delay too long before taking charge of the rear defense. Arrows flew from those with bows in order to take out as many of the undead as could be managed before things got in close for both sides. Sadly when the mayor ate Snyder and managed to bat aside one of the flame units user and all she knew it was time to step onto the stage and steal the spotlight.

"Xander I'm leaving things here for you." She said gesturing to where her main prop was located.

"Go! I got things handled here!" Xander said before yelling out, "Right flank! Close in!"

Moving over to the entrance to the school closest to the library where the majority of the explosives had been placed she waited for just the right moment to get Wilkins' attention.

"Hey!" she yelled loud enough for the mayor to hear, "You remember this?"

Holding up Faith's knife so the ascended mayor could see it she moved on to her next lines.

"I took it from Faith. Stuck it in her gut." She said looking from the mayor to the knife and then back again, "Just slid in her like she was butter."

The growl of anger the snake gave off was definitely what she'd been hoping for but now was the time to finish getting him on the hook before running like hell.

"You want to get it back from me…" she said in a tone that was a mix of cocky and disrespectful, "…Dick?"

With that she ran into the school keeping her eyes on what was ahead of her while her ears listened for what would soon be pursuing her. The crashing as the door and much of the surrounding wall was demolished as the giant snake crashed through both to follow her. Then would come more of the same as floors and walls that hadn't been designed to handle such a beast were broken or perhaps even destroyed by Wilkins' passing. If all went according to plan it'd be like that all the way to the library but that was part of the plan. They needed the mayor to follow her with only her death on his mind rather than what he was obliterating or what might be awaiting him.

If he thought for even a moment that she was leading him into a trap…

Her fear spiked when the sounds of destruction did echo through the air…but not behind her…

…but rather from someplace to her right!

She barely had enough time to react when the head of the transformed mayor burst from the wall to her right intent on clamping down on her with its jaws. As it was she was still knocked into some lockers from a glancing impact to her shoulder but Slayer resiliency had her back on her feet quickly enough.

"You didn't really expect me to fall for such an amateurish ruse…did you Slayer?" Mayor Wilkins asked in a condescending manner that sounded wrong coming from a big demonic snake.

"Kinda did." She replied trying not to let her emotional instability rise to the surface.

"I have ruled over the Hellmouth for over a hundred years girl." Wilkins said as he slithered his serpent head around to face her, "You don't last that long by falling for emotional provocation. Oh I'll still pay you back for hurting my Faith but I plan on taking my time. Enjoy the next few minutes as your friends are devoured one by one…while you are helpless to do anything about it."

With that the ascended mayor slithered off breaking through another wall on his way back to the courtyard where she had little doubt that Xander was still leading the fight against the mayor's minions.

What were they going to do now?

The entire plan had rested on getting Wilkins to ground zero of the blast so that it'd take him out but now he was moving AWAY from the library. Fear rising with their one plan for winning going out the window she did what came naturally for her in situations like this: she ran for all she was worth to where Giles would be with the detonator. He was the adult after all so he'd have SOME idea of how to turn things back around.

Right?

Racing through the hallways along the quickest route she exited the school with her sharper than human senses easily picking out her once and future Watcher.

"Giles! He figured out the plan!" she yelled as she crossed the gap between the two of them, "What do we do now?!"

She saw the look of plummeting optimism on Giles' face and hoped that he wasn't on the verge of giving up because if that happened…the last bit of fight she had in front of her would go out like a candle's flame in a strong wind. Like many times before though the possibility of defeat existed her ex-watcher refused to give in and a grim look came over the older man's face.

"We play the only card left to us." Giles replied before he walked over to an oddly shaped stone that she couldn't remember ever seeing on school property before and placed his hand on it.

What came next was a rapid firing of words that definitely did not belong to the English language but were packed tight with intent as well as power. Some of that power evidently was being channeled into the stone as symbols began to light up on its surface soon becoming bright enough to stand in for an oil lamp. It was impressive but when she noticed increased light off to her left she turned towards it to see that a little over fifteen feet away another stone was lighting up in the same way. At thirty feet away her eyes found a third stone began to light up and then another further away making her wonder just how many there really were. Whatever their number Giles was going all out with his chanting and she had a feeling that he was pouring no small amount of power into them.

With a final thunderous yell of a word the light within the stones shot skyward like geysers before their tops gravitated towards one another. Upon contact directly above the high school courtyard the energy in each geyser spread outward like the wings of a bird before melding together effectively forming a dome over the entire school property.

"There. Now he won't be able to leave very easily." Giles said sounding like he'd just been through a good workout.

"Well that's good and all but…how does that help us?" she asked not quite seeing the brilliance of the man's plan, "I mean we're trapped in here with Wilkins now."

"It doesn't help us." Giles replied turning to look at her with sad accepting eyes, "It helps the world. If we can't get Wilkins to the library then we have to concentrate the blast in as small a space as possible to achieve anything close to the same effect."

"So drop the barrier, me and the gang will get the people out and then you bring it back up so everything can go boom." She insisted not wanting to experience Giles' last resort plan firsthand.

"We can't RISK it!" Giles said insistently at her, "There's no telling how fast Wilkins can move in his current form. In the time it takes us to get everyone outside of the barrier he could slip the net entirely. This is the ONE chance we have to kill him and protect the rest of the world from whatever it is he has planned! There's no other way."

With that Giles walked back to the detonator and began to go through the steps to use it one by one. She wanted to storm over to him and stop him but in spite of the fact that she didn't want to believe that the time had come for the self-sacrifice play she couldn't refute Giles' facts. Wilkins had been able to move so fast that he'd gone from being behind her to being able to get ahead of her and cut her off from the library. With the vampire minions around they would not be able to evacuate the innocent people quickly enough to raise the barrier in time to keep Wilkins in but the rest of them out. As much as she hated it, OH BOY did she HATE it, her mom was on the outside of the barrier. If the only way to keep her safe was to give up everything…then at least she wouldn't be alone in heaven.

Goodbye…mom. She thought as she watched him slam the handle on the detonator down.

Only for nothing to happen…nothing after five seconds of waiting as a matter of fact and even after raising the handle and slamming it down again nothing.

"What's the matter? No boom?" came a voice that had her instantly on edge.

Turning towards the source she saw one of the people she'd failed to save, one of the people she felt closest to, Kendra.

"You really have no idea just how well connected Wilkins has been to Sunnydale. He knew you were tampering with his arcane protections the moment you started Mister Giles." 'Kendra' said with a cocky smile that she'd never used in life, "Just like he knew Harris was rigging the school to blow. It was simplicity itself to cut the wires somewhere along the line the second you took your eyes off of them."

The sick feeling you got when you realized that you've gotten played into a no win scenario?

She was beginning to feel that at the moment.

The only thing she had to keep it from washing over her in the blink of an eye was the fact that she knew that the being in front of her wasn't really Kendra.

It wasn't really the dead Slayer Kendra but rather someone impersonating her.

Given the way 'Kendra' was talking to them at the moment she had her suspicions about who it really was.

The First Evil.

Still knowing that they were talking to something that couldn't hurt them physically didn't do much didn't improve the situation much.

"Get back to Xander and the others." Giles ordered sounding like he had a plan, "Tell them to stall for as much time as possible while I try to find the cuts in the line."

"Really? You do realize that you've got many feet of wiring to check and you'll have to eyeball every single inch of it." 'Kendra' said making it clear that she didn't have confidence in the Scooby gang's time stalling ability, "I'm not liking your chances."

"Yeah, well, I think you'll find that we're full of surprises." She said before tearing off for the courtyard to relay Giles' message and do what she could to keep Wilkins away from the barrier.

She'd be lying if she said a part of her wanted Wilkins to break the barrier but she now realized that Giles' plan was their best shot of ending things before it all got out of hand.

Never thought her life would end this way.

The First Evil's POV

Fools. They don't realize that it was MY servants that cut the wires leading to the detonator. The First Evil thought as it watched the champion run off and the old man search for the cut, Nor do they realize that I know about the ex-Watcher's true option of last resort. The upheaval caused by the energies of the Obsidio Periculum colliding with the Hellmouth…I'll finally be FREE!

For untold ages it'd been sealed away, unable to physically affect the mortal world and forced to content itself with mind games along with minions to advance its agenda. Many times before it came close to escaping her prison only for those idiots with the halos sending their champions to foil its plans again and again. It had been INFURIATING!

But now all the pieces were falling into place.

All it had to do was wait.

It'd gotten very good at waiting.

With a flicker it repositioned itself on the rooftop of the school so it'd have the best seats in the house to watch the fireworks.

This was going to be fun!

School Grounds, Balance Demon Whistler's POV

This is NUTS! What're they thinkin'!? Whistler thought as he watched events unfold, I mean sure I know they don't like Summers and her crew, especially Harris, but setting this up and having me trick this schmuck into betraying his own Order AND bringing IT here too! This is a recipe for a nuclear level fuck up and somehow I'm the only one who sees it.

Ever since Harris had derailed their plans for Slayer Summers during her encounter with the Master they'd had him working towards this. They claimed that the graduation event was the best chance they had to remove all undesirable elements from the game board in one fell swoop. He'd asked why they hadn't tried using the Acathla event and they'd said that not only had the required elements not been in play but tampering with an expanding portal was too risky.

Like this isn't!? he thought as he removed the talisman keeping the robed man asleep before stepping back into a concealment spell.

Their reasoning was that the Hellmouth was decidedly calmer and less 'ambitious' than Acathla's portal not to mention that through the Watcher's actions they could commandeer Wilkins' own wards. With so many resources at their disposal they were supremely confident that their scheme would get them what they wanted while disposing what they didn't want. Watching as Brother Anton woke up he knew that the sheltered man wouldn't question where he was thanks to the tampering that'd been done. As the man reached down to pick up the ornate and ancient looking box before proceeding to walk towards the school courtyard a bad feeling wiggled inside his gut. From the outside no one would find the box any more interesting than your average museum piece but he knew what was inside.

A ticking bomb that wasn't supposed to encounter the Slayer for over a year and had now been rushed into play in order to get rid of those his bosses found too troublesome.

Of course Brother Anton thought that he was merely doing what was right and that it would be better than waiting for The Beast to crash into their monastery to claim it. None of his Order were warriors. Their only strength was in their ability to conceal what they'd protected behind wards of obscuration and misdirection. Such tactics only delayed the inevitable and given what The Beast was capable of along with those that followed her their time had been running out. So when he received a message from 'God' about what was going to happen in Sunnydale it'd sounded like the perfect solution.

Naturally when Brother Anton arrived he'd made sure the guy would remain separate from Slayer Summers and her crew so that the machinations of his bosses wouldn't be found out. Now though…now was the time to see if the divine body known as The Powers That Be (though they likely were the only ones who referred to themselves as such) were geniuses or idiots.

Good thing I put money down on them being idiots with my friend in the Inter-dimensional Gambling Organization before coming here. He thought as he watched Brother Anton stumble off towards the focal point of what'd happen next, Assuming their stupidity doesn't wind up destroying the planet I stand to make a killing.

It was about time that he made back some of the money he'd lost betting against Skip.

Sunnydale High School Courtyard, Xander's POV

Shit! Fuck! Shit! He thought as he tried to keep himself alive while also helping the others, Of all the times for things to turn to shit!

Buffy had arrived minutes ago and told them how Wilkins' minions had cut the lines to the detonator and that Giles was trying to find the problem and mend things. They were thus under orders to stall for as much time as possible and prevent the mayor from breaking out of the energy dome but both objectives were easier said than done. For one thing most of their more effective means of hurting Wilkins had either been destroyed or had run out of ammunition. What was left sadly required getting dangerously close to the Ascended Warlock and even then they barely did any real damage. The only thing that seemed to keep the giant snake from trying to break out was the fact that he was quite amused with playing with them and didn't seem to be inclined to break free just yet.

How long this would last he didn't know but despite the pain and suffering involved he'd do whatever he could to draw out this torment until Giles ended it with a bang.

Charging the giant demon's tail he raised his axe high before bringing it down as hard as he could all the while hoping for some demonic blood to be spilled.

Instead his axe's blade barely broke the skin and instead of a satisfying amount of blood pouring out all that happened was a bit of rippling in the flesh on either side. Honestly it was like trying to hack through the trunk of the strongest tree on the planet and seeing as how the mayor was still focused on attacking Buffy his axe attack hadn't even been noticed.

Buffy's not going to be able to dodge his moves forever. He thought as he looked about to find SOMETHING that'd give the super-sized serpent something secondary to seek out.

The home made flame throwers were not in the best of shape either being out of fuel or were damaged in such a way that made using them useless. Going over to the one that likely still had fuel he went over the weapon to see if there was any way he could still use it even if it was only for a single strike. With a growl he was saddened to see that both the barrel of the spray mechanism and the tube leading to the fuel tank had been damaged to the point where it'd take more than a little while to fix.

C'mon! C'Mon! There's gotta be SOMETHING! He thought as he picked through the remnants of Soldier Boy for some sort of solution.

Then it hit him!

Looking about he spotted the decorations that'd been created by the student council and volunteers. Like usual they were a nice mix between store bought items and home made ones with the latter having quite a few made up of coloured Styrofoam. Running over to the closest pile with the highest amount of coloured packing material he began to pick it off as much as he could until he had a large arm full to work with. Rushing quickly back to the storage tank he popped open the top before throwing in the Styrofoam bits and once they were all inside he used the damaged barrel of the sprayer to stir the combination. He didn't have a lot of time so he worked as swiftly as he could to mix both the fuel and the bits to the point where the latter got turned into a nice jelly-like substance. Once what he saw matched Soldier Boy's memories he picked up the container before emptying the excess fuel on his way to Wilkins' tail end. Fortuitous timing allowed him to arrive just as the last cupful of fuel was spent and so he poured the mixture that remained on the mayor's serpentine side until there was nothing left.

"Now all I need is a way to light this fire." He said looking about and finding the spots where the flame units had lit some shrubbery.

Getting to a suitable branch took some doing since not all of the vampires had been dusted but once he had the fiery branch he did what he needed to do.

"RREEAAGGHH!" Wilkins screeched out as the homemade napalm wooshed into a nice bonfire.

"Oh YEAH! You don't like THAT do ya?!" he crowed with the exhilaration of success.

He didn't have more than a few seconds to bask in his success before Wilkins retaliated with a tail swipe but he'd been expecting this so he immediately dodged to the side allowing it to go by harmlessly. Unfortunately for him he failed to take into account the age old rule: for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction. In this case while the tail swipe did miss him it did not miss the side of the school resulting in yet another wall being demolished and debris being sent flying. If he'd had the spatial awareness, reflexes and speed of his favourite comic book characters he probably could've handle that but since he didn't there was nothing he could do about what happened next.

He found out much to his painful experience that having a sizeable chunk of concrete slamming into the back of your legs was quite painful.

Without his two primary means of staying upright to support him he fell to the ground only peripherally aware that he'd cried out in pain before hitting the ground. Once all motion stopped his mind was awash with pain, more than he'd ever experienced from fighting the good fight or getting beat down by Tony Harris, but he refused to lose consciousness. Even if he wasn't going to be walking or running anywhere anytime soon if someone could just prop him up against something and hand him a crossbow with some bolts he could still fight.

If Giles was really going to blow the whole lot of them up then he at least wanted to go out fighting rather than a mess on the ground easy prey for vamp or mayor.

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed from somewhere off to his right.

Turning his head was a bit painful since it required that he move his injured legs but he managed and could see that his best friend was racing to his side.

Not the smartest thing to do considering their present predicament but he appreciated it nonetheless since in final moments like these it was best to reaffirm your thoughts as well as your feelings. For him Willow would always be the sister he never had, Buffy would always be his hero despite her taste in boyfriends and Giles would be the surrogate father that he wished he was related to. If he could be with them when he faced his end then it would be a death he could accept.

Well that and it'd be nice if he could deal at least one more nasty wound to Wilkins before his lights got turned out permanently.

"Hang on! I'll get this off of you!" Willow said as she arrived and immediately went to work trying to roll the chunk of concrete off of him.

Unfortunately Willow was not very physically strong and normally she knew this but he guessed that she was a little irrational at the moment. Hearing her grunt and strain to get the concrete off of him he had to clamp down on his mouth so she didn't hear him vocalize the pain he was feeling as a result. If she knew she was hurting him with her efforts that'd only mess her up even more emotionally and he didn't want her final moments to be a storm of distress. Neither of them would be able to manage perfect peacefulness, not in this sort of situation, but if they could get close then that would be enough.

"It's…no…GOOD…I can't move it!" Willow exclaimed with frustration, "It's too heavy! Wait here! I'll get Buffy!"

"Willow! Don't bother." He said doing his best to sound normal, "Giles…Giles is going to finish this and…we aren't going to survive it. Legs pinned or not we're all going to be equally dead one way or another. Might as well use the time we got left to say our prayers and get anything we need to off our chest."

Judging from the look on Willow's face she hadn't been told what Giles had planned and for that he was sorry but with all that'd been going on there hadn't exactly been a chance to hold a group meeting. All Buffy had gotten out was that Giles was working on something and to keep the Mayor distracted. Given what he'd learned last night he'd been able to do the math and figure out what was going to happen. He'd known what was going to happen when the school didn't go boom a minute or two after the Mayor had been lured inside the school by Buffy. It'd only got reaffirmed when the demon snake reemerged to terrorize and occasionally eat the students as well as any lingering parents since it meant that the former human was no longer interested in the Slayer. When his blonde hero returned with new orders well that just sealed the deal.

"You mean he's going to…with the barrier and…we're gonna…" Willow said sounding like she'd give anyone her entire life savings if they'd say 'no'.

But in these final moments he couldn't be anything but honest with her no matter how hard it was on her.

"Yep." He said trying to sound like his usual clownish self, "We're going out with a bang. Sorry you won't be able to go off to Oxford or wherever. Maybe you'll be able to get into Angels University once we get through the pearly gates. I'm sure you'd fit right in."

He realized after a few seconds that his last comment could be misinterpreted but he didn't let it bother him since he figured there was little point in it. What was the point when you were going to be dead in a couple of minutes?

"I'm not going anywhere without my best bud." She said with an almost perfect smile on her face, "We're all going together. I won't go to any university that won't accept my friends!"

"Sounds like a plan." He said looking over to where the Mayor looked to have Buffy cornered, "Guess all we can do is wait for Giles to throw the switch."

Willow just nodded.

In a moment when the pain ebbed enough he tried to mentally figure out how much time had passed since Buffy had come running back with the new orders. How much longer before Giles reconnected the wires and detonated the explosives? Probably no more than a minute or two but the problem would be the fact that the more you wanted time to go by quickly the longer it seemed to take to hit zero. He knew that better than most since just about every school day had him watching for three o'clock to come around so he could leave classes behind.

Still Giles would see it done.

The ex-Watcher always got the job done.

"Oi! Over here you bloody poofter!" came a voice that was both familiar and not before a fireball the size of a basketball streaked through the air to hit Mayor Snake in the face.

Turning his head the other way he spotted Giles with one arm raised and slightly smoking.

"Giles? What're you doing here?" he asked the man as he inched closer while not taking his eyes off of Wilkins, "I was kinda looking forward to the fireworks."

"The lines were cut in MULTIPLE places. It would've taken too long to reconnect all of them." Giles replied coming to a stop, "I'm afraid all that is left is my secondary contingency plan."

"You came up with another contingency plan? What is it?" he asked feeling a little surprised at this revelation.

"This." Giles replied reaching into his pocket and taking out what looked like a fragment broken off a larger piece of jewelry.

"Um…Giles…don't take this the wrong way but…couldn't you have sprung for the entire shiny doo-dad?" he asked using levity to combat his confusion, "Methinks that little bit's not gonna cut it."

"It's an arcane item passed down in secret from father to son in the Giles family." G-Man said with a small smirk, "Contrary to its appearance it should pack a decent punch with a little help."

"Well now you have my attention Mister Giles." Mayor Wilkins said ceasing his attacks on Buffy while also turning to face the former Watcher, "As amusing as it's been playing cat and mouse with your Slayer I was starting to get bored. I hope your little bauble can do better."

"Let us find out shall we." Giles said as he held up the tiny fragment in the palm of his right hand, "Quod grana autem tempus, quod fragmenta autem locus! Apertus a ostium ut quod meatus praeter quid est cognitae!"

As the fragment in Giles hands began to glow crimson he waited along with everyone else to see what would happen next. Brighter and brighter the light became until it outshined your average bonfire with ease but it was at this point that things got worrisome as the glow seemed to stall out but looking to Giles he didn't see even a hint of worry. This expression was backed up when another series of latin chants were spoken culminating in thrusting the fragment up at the barrier overhead. While he sucked at translating in real time the purpose of the second set of chants was quickly explained as a bolt of energy shot down from the barrier and struck the fragment. It was like the mother of all wake up calls as the object's glow once more began to rise in brilliance until it was almost impossible to look at it without closing your eyes immediately.

Then with one final movement Giles thrust the hand holding the item at the side of the school closest to the Mayor before a bolt of energy leapt through the air to impact the building. Upon contact it looked like the magic was transforming the materials, changing them until a very creepy looking archway had formed.

THAT was when the REAL fun began.

A black vortex began to form out of seeming nothingness at the exact center of the archway but what started out at softball size quickly grew outwards at an alarming rate. With that size increase came something he hadn't expected in the form of a wind that was blowing everything towards the vortex and it was growing in strength.

No…not a wind! He thought as his brain put the clues together, A vacuum!

Like so many movies where there was a hull breach air was being sucked into the vortex and as it grew more powerful anything without the strength to resist got pulled in. At first it was just the plants and the lighter pieces of garbage but once the vortex reached the halfway point to the edges of the archway the suction reached a level where people had to worry about getting pulled in. Those that were able to brace themselves in time or grab ahold of something secured to the ground managed to remain in place but those caught by surprise…not so lucky. A few vamps got sucked in, some students and parents whose injuries prevented them from holding their ground but so far the Scoobies were managing to stay put. Like water from an overflowing sink the vortex continued to creep away from its epicenter increasing the suction force it was generating as it spread.

"Impressive Mister Giles! I can honestly say I didn't think you capable of such a feat." Wilkins said not looking like he was anywhere near about to be sucked in, "But it looks like you miscalculated the amount of suction required to pull in an Old One. Still if you and yours want to take your chances inside the vortex rather than here with me I'll understand."

"I'm…just…getting…STARTED…ya blighter!" Giles ground out both in pain as well as in effort.

True to his words the vortex sped up with its growth and when it reached the edges of the archway he was personally expecting both the spread and the suction strength to level off. However whether it was due to the influx of energy from the barrier or G-Man's stubborn willpower the growth might've stopped but the suction force continued to increase with every second.

THIS worried him.

In the real world it didn't matter what it was but if you pushed it behind its design limitations it never turned out well. In this situation he could easily see that Giles was pushing himself well past his limits to maximize the effects of the fragment. Would the man be able to maintain such a strain long enough to suck the Mayor in or would his body as well as perhaps his soul give out sooner?

He got a glimpse of some progress being made as Wilkins began to find out that scales and dirt proved to be less than adequate when it came to resisting an attracting force. That of course didn't stop the ascended being from trying by coiling up for maximum traction but snake wasn't sliding towards the portal quickly enough. Even with his high opinion of the ex-watcher he didn't see how the guy would be able to hold out long enough to get the job done.

It was then though that he noticed someone at the one remaining intact doorways to the school but he didn't look like a student, a teacher, a parent or a minion. Honestly it looked like the man had never worn the clothes he had on before and was uncomfortable in them but those feelings took a backseat when the guy fell under the influence of the vortex. It almost snatched him up whole but the man managed to grab hold of one of the stone benches with one of his hands even as he tried to hold onto a fancy looking box with the other. Confusion about the man's identity lingered for a moment but then shock overtook him as the man looked into the vortex, yelled something that sounded oddly religious in tone and then threw the box he'd been carrying at the vortex.

I've got a bad feeling about this. He thought as he watched the box fly through the air.

In the years that followed people would call him the master of understatement.

The moment the box impacted on the surface of the vortex time and space seemed to freeze for two seconds but then in an explosion worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster erupted from the box. But this explosion didn't contain smoke and fire but rather an emerald energy that acted like an already bitchy teenage girl at THAT time of the month. Arcs of energy shot out from the point of contact sometimes evaporating while other times hitting something only for it to vanish less than a split second after contact. It didn't matter if it was a plant or a person. For a moment he wondered if they'd wind up with a big bang after all since whenever two substances produced reactions this violent when they came into contact with one another a ka-boom was almost inevitable.

Whatever the emerald energy was its fight against the vortex while spirited in the beginning soon began to lose steam and worse than that the portal Giles had created actually seemed to be feeding off of it. Where before the suction force of the vortex had been insufficient to move Mayor Wiklins it was now dragging the man turned demonic snake in as though he DIDN't weigh a couple hundred tons but rather the original hundred plus pounds he had when he'd been human.

"NNNOOOO!" Mayor Wilkins yelled as he left the ground and passed through the event horizon.

However with its appetite whetted by the green energy and a giant demonic snake the vortex now wanted the main course: everyone else.

"Giles! Mayor Snake is gone!" he yelled even as he held tightly to Willow's arm, "Shut that thing down!"

"Uunnhh…I…rrgghh…CAN'T!" Giles said with waning strength in his voice, "It's…nnnnh…grown too…POWERFUL!"

Not good!

The piece of concrete weighing him down was beginning to shift under the vacuum force and as he saw Cordelia fly screaming into the vortex with what should've been a heavy blue trashcan wrapped in her arms he knew it'd be only a matter of time before he joined her. With the pressure being put on his legs it was all he could do to hold tightly to Willow's arms in order to delay her unwanted flight into oblivion. Looking about he could see that Giles was only remaining in place because he had a tight grip on his fragment and it was locked in mid-air against all the laws of physics. Buffy had her arms wrapped around one of the lamp posts scattered about the courtyard and the bolts fastening it to the ground seemed to be doing their job. However judging by the slow and low metallic groaning he was hearing it sounded like the pole part of the posts was coming under considerable strain. Oz looked to have a solid grip on one of the metal rods decorating the edge of the hole Wilkins had created when he'd returned from chasing Buffy. Something that was already pretty damaged wouldn't last for very long and once the rod was pulled loose it'd be bye-bye Oz.

You know what? This would be one of the times when a little divine intervention would be greatly appreciated. He thought skyward as a final prayer shot.

"Aaahhh!" Giles cried out as his grip on his fragment was broken and he flew through the air due to the suction force and vanished as he was swallowed by the vortex.

Motherfuckers! He thought with fury even as the concrete pinning his legs was pulled all the way off robbing him of what was keeping him from being pulled into the vortex.

Desperately he looked about for something, ANYTHING, that he could get Willow too so that she could have more time outside of the vortex before possibly getting sucked into it. His frustration spiked when he saw nothing that he could conceivably get her to swinging or otherwise. As the piece of concrete pinning his legs was fully pulled off by the suction force created by the vortex he had just enough time to look Willow in the eye, conveying his sibling farewell, before the two of them left the ground. He didn't have much time to perceive what happened next but as blackness overtook him and his senses came into contact with things that didn't exist in his native dimension.

Confronted with such things it was no wonder that his mind shut down.

He only hoped that when his lights came back on it'd be something worth waking up to.

Higher Realm of Existence

"Well that worked out rather well." One said as with a wave of his hand the Obsidio Periculum winked out of existence and with it the vortex filled archway.

All that remained was a devastated Sunnydale High School, a scattered group of survivors who'd been too far away from the school's perimeter when Giles' barrier went up and a world that was now several people short.

"Indeed. Harris is gone and with him his interfering influence. Summers has been removed and with all her flaws Faith Lehane will be easy to manipulate. Miss Rosenberg might've been useful with her budding arcane talent but hers is a loss that can be suffered. Without Miss Chase it is unlikely that the fallen power Jasmine will be able to cross over." Two said sounding quite pleased with their efforts, "And best of all with The Key gone Glorificus will be unable to tear down the barriers between dimensions in order to go home. All in all not a bad bit of work even by our standards."

"Still it is not a gamble I care to make again." Three said sounding like a grumpy old man, "So many volatile elements used in such close proximity to each other. Things could VERY easily have gone VERY poorly."

"Not with us lending our influence." Two said clearly not as concerned as Three was, "With all the energy being given off there will be no way to convict us of any wrong doing in the celestial courts. All the troublemakers have been removed and several future problems have been nipped in the bud. Lighten up."

"You do realize that you cast all of them out of this dimension without any destination in mind. While the multiverse might indeed be vast and the contents of each reality might vary to a ridiculous degree there is still one dangerous possibility." Three said unwilling to brush off the danger, "The possibility that they might find their way back here."

"Ridiculous!" One declared incredulously with a shake of his head, "The number of dimensions in the multiverse are nearly infinite and the number of them that possess the means for dimensional travel measure one third at best. Even then picking out this dimension out of the near infinite possibilities…they'll grow old and die long before they even come close. It would take a stroke of divine luck for it to happen!"

"The same kind of luck that allowed Harris to find and revive Slayer Summers after we planted the prophecy that she would die upon confronting The Master of the Aurelius clan?" Three asked rhetorically pointing out the time the impossible had indeed occurred.

"A miracle, an anomaly, and such things never happen a second time." One insisted as he glared at Three in anger, "They're gone and this dimension is all the better for it."

"Time will tell." Three said ominously from his position, "Time will tell."

Dimension: 05242016

Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Midnight

Xander's POV

"Uuhhh…wha…Willow?" he mumbled as the blackness of unconsciousness receded.

Opening his eyes it took a moment for things to fall into focus but once they did he was a little confused as to why he seemed to be in a ruined building of some kind. Pushing himself into a sitting position he was surprisingly pleased to find his body had decidedly less pain running through it than when he was last conscious. Deciding to test just how much less he moved his legs but instead of blackout levels of pain he just felt soreness comparable to doing A LOT of running. Deciding to push his luck even more he got his feet under him and then pushed himself up off the floor standing up straight.

"O-kay…this is weird. Good but weird." He said as he lifted his legs up and down in turn to see how good his range of motion was.

It was good. Good enough that he'd be able to walk without any trouble and if he was willing to grit through the pain he could probably even run if he had a good enough reason to.

With that out of the way he looked about to try and figure out where he was because even being the eternal optimist that he was he seriously doubted that he was still in the same time never mind the same world as he remembered. People just didn't go through super mystical vortexes without some serious consequences.

At least I didn't show up here naked or something. He thought as he decided to explore the ruins of the building he was in.

Walking through the demolished hallways he could tell that back when everything was in one piece the building housed some pretty advanced tech. Not Star Trek level tech but rather something a little closer to what you'd see in comic books centered on city based superheroes rather than superheroes that battled planetary threats. Most of it was completely trashed and looked like it'd been collecting dust for more than a few years but his imagination was still up to the task of coming up with a 'Before' picture. As he passed a half open door a spark of electricity from within caught his attention and since he didn't have anything better to do he decided to check it out. Moving sideways and repeating a mantra of 'think thin' he managed to squeeze through the gap okay and once inside he did his best to see despite the lack of lighting. In fact the only source of light that was available was a single hole in the ceiling letting some moonlight inside.

From what he could tell the place used to be some sort of command room if he was any judge but unless his eyes were deceiving him some of the hardware had bullet holes. There was also some signs that some explosives had been used judging by the scorch marks and jagged holes so he felt it was pretty safe to say that whatever happened to the building it was not peaceful. A fight? Maybe this was some sort of government HQ or something and the bad guys came a calling.

Walking over to the only screen that looked mostly intact with a console that was in a similar condition and on a whim he started pressing keys. Sure the odds of any power whatsoever still being around was paper thin but stranger things had happened. After a few dozen buttons had been pressed he started to lose interest in tempting fate but when he got all the way up to thirty something had him wondering if his bad luck had been converted into good luck somehow.

It happened with a few sparks and some flickering on the view screen but it still turned on nonetheless to show a man in his late thirties with blonde hair wearing what looked like a more colourful version of the ODST armour from Halo. He also didn't look very happy as he looked into the camera that'd been built into the top of the view screen.

"Overwatch Log, Strike Commander Jack Morrison recording." The man said sounding like he wasn't sure if recording a log was the right thing, "This…this might be my last log. For the last several years Overwatch has been plagued by accusations ranging from negligence to corruption to human rights abuses. The sad part of it is…not all of them are lies.

"After the Omnic Crisis large scale conflicts disappeared but there were still plenty of fires that needed putting out but not all of the problems could be resolved in the public eye. As a result, with an agreement between me and Gabe, Blackwatch was formed to act as the covert operations arm of Overwatch. Its mandate was to stay under the radar and out of sight doing the things that while necessary would cause a public uproar if the citizens of the world knew about them." Morrison said in a way that made one think he was seriously regretting the covert ops branch's creation, "I would lead the public teams while Gabe would handle the blacks ops work. At first Reyes didn't mind this and even said that he preferred those sort of missions to all the posing in front of the cameras. Now…now I suspect that that has changed to jealousy and even hate.

"If I'm right, if Gabe was the one that leaked the Blackwatch files to the media, then his big play is going to happen and happen soon. Several Blackwatch operatives and even a few on the public teams have gone dark and all attempts to locate them have failed. I don't know what Reyes is going to do next but it's going to happen here." Commander Morrison said with a flicker of anger in his eyes, "I'm going to gather the others and prepare. If all goes well we'll be able to expose Gabe's scheme, tie him to most of the crimes committed by Blackwatch and convince the people to give us another chance. If not…if not I just want it recorded for future generations that despite all the mistakes we've made Overwatch's purpose as always been to safeguard the future of the people and this planet. If nothing else remember us for that."

"Touching speech Jack." A low and ominous voice said outside of the camera's field of vision, "Too bad no one's going to hear it. You, those losers who follow you and this entire building are going down in flames with the rest of Overwatch."

"Not if I can help it Gabe!" Morrison said bringing the rifle on his back to bear on the speaker.

What happened after that was a short barrage of gunfire before something hit the camera and then damaged the system enough to destroy its ability to record anything at all.

And as if to mirror what happened in the past the console and the view screen that'd been showing all this to him also gasped its last breath as the latter went dark while the former spit up numerous sparks before changing to smoke.

So this was hero HQ and they got done in by some bad choices along with some traitors. He thought seeing the room in a new light, For whatever it's worth Commander Morrison I'll remember. Even with the mistakes you made you're still a hero in my book.

With that he decided it'd probably be best if he left the property he was currently treading on since getting caught here might lead to some interrogation time at the local police precinct. Being unfamiliar with the layout of the place as well as which corridors were blocked off by debris it took him almost ten minutes to get out into the open air. The rest of the property was pretty much like it'd been on the inside, scattered debris as well as signs of battle damage, with a single circular piece of stone catching his attention. At first it just looked like an O with a pyramid spike at the bottom going towards the center but when he took the name of the organization into account he realized it was a W incorporated into an O. Out of respect for what the men and women who worked here to make the world a better place he committed the symbol to memory and would jot it down later when the right opportunity came along.

It didn't take him long to reach the wall surrounding the property and judging from the disrepair and lack of barbed wire on the top this place might've been important once but not so much anymore. With a somewhat painful exertion of strength he leapt up as high as he could and managed to catch the edge at the top if only just barely. It hurt pulling himself up and then throwing a leg up and over but still it was manageable enough compared to what he'd been forced to handle prior to losing consciousness in the school courtyard.

His landing on the other side however was not quite so acceptable but at least he didn't accidently twist his ankle.

A short while later he spotted a city in the distance and figured that it was as good a place as any to find out where he was and just how different this world was from the one he'd grown up in.

As long as they have Twinkies here I'll get along fine. He thought as he began his trek towards the city lights.