~

Giles and Jenny walked into the library in silence, not looking at each other.

"We should probably get some work done, Rupert." Jenny finally said, her voice soft, "Even thought it's so far from our minds. The apocalypse is still coming."

Giles nodded slowly.

"I agree." He replied, sitting down and rubbing his temples, "How much time do you think we have?"

Jenny shrugged.

"A few months, tops. Buffy needs to start getting ready."

Giles nodded again.

"Very true. Spike, our Spike, I mean. He must as well. We'll need all the fighting power we can get."

"Naturally." Jenny sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She briskly walked over to the computer and turned it on.

What she saw, however, was not what she was expecting.

SYSTEM DELETED

"What the hell?" She asked, pressing a few random buttons.

SYSTEM DELETED

"Rupert..." Jenny said, typing furiously at the computer.

"What? Yes?" Giles broke out of his thoughts and walked over to Jenny.

"Something's wrong with the computer. I can't get any information out of it."

"Oh, dear. You may have to use a real book. What a tragedy." He deadpanned. Jenny glared at him.

"Rupert, this is serious. I had a lot of files on here; for work and for the supernatural."

"Yes, well, that is a bit of a problem, but that sort of problem can be fixed, right?" He asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Someone deleted everything on here...the entire system is dead. Plus, it looks like they encrypted some sort of virus that makes it impossible to revive anything." Jenny looked up at Giles, "It's gone."

Giles walked over to the card catalog and opened a drawer.

"Until we find out what happened with that, we'll have to rely on the-" Giles abruptly stopped, looking into his personal collection. Everything was gone.

"What the...?" He bent down and searched around. No cards were anywhere to be seen. "This is a bit bewildering."

"The card catalog's gone, too?" Jenny asked.

"Everything except for a few issues of Highlight's. Dammit!" Giles kicked the cabinet. "This is either an innocent prank, or the work of an agent of The Demons."

"Evil Spike, maybe?" Jenny offered. Giles shook his head.

"He works for himself. He would never be directly affiliated for them. It was someone, or something, else."

"But why would anyone want to stop us from finding out information about this?"

"Because," Giles explained, "one of the books most likely has all the answers we need."

~

Willow knelt down next to Xander's grave, and kissed it one last time, before the group retreated.

Buffy, Dawn, Jesse, and Cordelia followed the crying red-head, making idle small talk.

"I can't believe this happened. I knew this was going to happen..." Cordelia said, trailing off. Dawn leaned her head against Jesse's shoulder.

"We have to keep fighting." Buffy said, her voice lacking emotion, "So his death won't be in vain."

"How can you talk about vanity?" Willow spun around. "He'd be dead either way!"

The winds picked up and it began to rain. Willow's eyes were blazen.

However, no one connected the two.

~

Spike knocked on the edge of Giles' office door.

"Oh, hello, Spike." Giles said when he looked up. The vampire smiled softly and sat down across from him. He took a deep breath and looked at The Watcher.

"Xander's alive." He whispered. Giles nodded.

"I know."

Spike raised his eyebrows.

"Alright...not the reaction I was expecting."

Giles gave Spike a look.

"Spike, need I remind you that I am the earth's most efficient researcher? Believe me, you should've been worried if I * didn't * know." He explained.

"Right, then." Spike said, clapping his hands together, "Where the hell is he then?"

"That I don't know. He could be anywhere. My guess is that is has something to do with The Choosers." Giles said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Spike said, narrowing his eyes.

Giles shook his head.

"Where ever he is...I'd be concerned for his safety, if I were you."

~

Children's laughter was the soundtrack to the world, Xander noticed. Every turn he took, a little girl or a little boy was giggling, chuckling, or all out cracking up.

It made him feel like he was at home...or some variation of a home he always wanted.

It's nice here. He thought as he stepped onto a pond and glided across the water. It's how I wished my life had been. Only there was more Naked Buffy involved.

His heart plummeted at the thought of Buffy. Again, he wondered how she was.

I hope the grief isn't too much for them. Buffy's strong, but Willow... I'm not so sure about her.

"Xander!" A voice rang out. He flipped his head around, hearing his nickname called out.

There before him was Dawn.

Dawn? He tried to speak, but it wouldn't come out.

"Oh, Xander! It's so good to see you!" She threw her arms around him.

Dawn, can you hear me?

She nodded, her eyes shining.

"You can't speak, Xander. Not here. Must be torture, I know." She replied with a wink.

She looked so young...so pure. Her forehead had a tiny golden design on it and she was dressed in deep purple ceremonial robes.

Her eyes were electric blue.

"Xander." She said, her voice deepening lightly.

Who are you really? He thought to her.

"She is the beginning and the end. The Key to all that is." She said, turning her face to the rising sun.

She? He cocked his head.

"Dawn." She pointed to the sky with double meaning.

She turned around and she was Willow.

"Xand, I miss you so much. The yellow crayon...I can't forget the yellow crayon." She was crying blood. Her hair was black and her pupils were dilated.

Who are you? He thought, fear rising in him.

"She is The Witch...the balance between the goodness of humanity and the evil of demons." She looked to the sun.

Willow, you mean?

She smiled and nodded.

She turned around and she was Giles.

"The books, Xander. You can't ignore the books. They all say the same thing! It's you, Xander."

Who are you? Xander thought, now beginning to understand...though he didn't know what he was understanding.

"He is the knowledge. He knows all...The Watcher." He looked to the sun.

Giles. Xander thought.

He turned around and he was Cordelia.

"God, Xander? What is your deal? Why are you here? Why am I here? Why are any of us here?"

Who are you? Xander thought automatically.

"She sees all...nothing is beyond her reach. She is The Power." She looked to the sun.

Cordelia.

She turned around and she was Jesse.

"Hey, man."

Jesse...I mean, Who are you?

"The truth." It was the shortest yet. There was nothing else he said, but he smiled and waved, before turning around.

He was Spike.

"Bloody hell...I know we don't get along, but listen to me, mate. We need to band together. For her."

Who are you? Xander asked.

"The endurance of a demon, the soul of a human. He is The Vampire."

Spike.

He smirked and looked up at the sun.

He turned around and he was Buffy.

He began to think 'Who are you?' again, but she raised her hand to cut him off...preemptively answering him.

"She is strength, she is power, she is pain, she is love. She is The Slayer."

With that, they disappeared into the now risen sun.

~

tbc...

A/N: Confusing enough for you? :) Don't worry, the whole Xander storyline will make sense soon enough. I'm aiming for an update on Friday, just so ya'll know.