"Bright white light, bright white light..." strange voices chanted. They died away, Buffy felt as though she were falling.

"Of their own free will, they must unite

Whence may emerge eternal night

Gathered there before dawn's light

If they desire to set things right."

As she heard the peculiar rhyme, Buffy closed her eyes to shut out the brilliant light. As she opened them, she found herself standing outside the Sunnydale city limits. The slayer began to walk through the town. Sunnydale seemed different somehow. The sun had just begun to set when she reached the high school. Or rather, the place where the high school should have been. Blackened ruins rotted in the fading light. 'As though it was never rebuilt,' she realized.

Buffy paid little attention to a small, boarded up shop she passed until she realized that it stood where Giles's rare bookstore should have been. Many of the stores and buildings in the area were abandoned or destroyed; the streets seemed deserted. At last, Buffy saw one building that appeared to be open. 'The Bronze,' she recognized it and hastened to the familiar doors.

Inside, looking around, she vaguely recognized the people but could not place them. A twinge of panic began to spread through her. So it was that the slayer nearly fainted with relief when she finally saw someone she knew. "Oz," she sighed. Muttering to herself, she said, "Maybe he knows something about...is that Jonathan?" Then she noticed the banner, which read 'Welcome SHS Class of '99'.

'Everyone looks so different...' she thought. 'How am I supposed to find the old gang in this crowd?'

"Buffy Summers?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see a familiar young woman.

"Cordelia! Listen, I need your help..." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Oz once again. "Come on." Grabbing Cordelia by the arm, Buffy pulled her through the crowd, towards Oz, calling his name.

"Buffy, Cordy, what's up?" Oz asked as he finally saw them.

"We need to find Willow and Xander and get out of here to someplace less crowded."

"Buffy? Guys?"

'Thank god they're finding me,' she thought. "Xander, great to see you. We need to find Willow and get out of here, I'll explain later but it's important." Just then Buffy caught a glimpse of red hair and slipped into the mob, instructing the others to stay put. "Willow!" the slayer yelled, struggling to be heard over the din. "Willow!" She looked around frantically, silently cursing the noise level.

"Yes?" a voice responded directly behind her. Whirling around, Buffy smiled at the sight of her friend's face.

"Come on, I have something to tell you, but only once we're all together and out of here." She led Willow back to where she had left the others only to discover that Oz was missing. "Where did he go?" she demanded.

"He wanted to find his girlfriend," Cordelia explained. "He said he'd meet us outside."

"Fine, let's get outside then," Buffy replied as she once again took charge. Once Oz rejoined them outside with a woman they assumed to be his date, Buffy wondered what she was supposed to do next. "Do any of you know where Giles lives?" she asked as inspiration struck. They shook their heads. "Okay. Not a problem." She saw a phone booth. "Not a problem at all." She ducked inside, flipping quickly through the phone book. "Giles, Rupert," she cried triumphantly as she tore the page brutally from the directory. "Let's go."

"I don't think you're supposed to tear pages out of public phone books like that," Xander remarked.

"I have my reasons and I will explain them to you all as soon as we're with Giles," Buffy promised, "Or as soon as we're out of the Twilight Zone," she added under her breath. "Who has a car we can use?" Oz stepped forth. "Where?" she asked.

"Anywhere," he replied, pulling out a cell phone. Seconds later a sleek limo pulled up to the curb. They piled into the car as Buffy read off the address to the chauffeur. It took less than 20 minutes to find the house. Buffy led the way as they approached the door. She rang the bell and waited. When Giles answered, she barely recognized him. "Giles?"

"Buffy?" He exclaimed. Sounding puzzled, he continued, "I thought you were dead…"

"I'm sure you did. I have a lot to tell you or explain to you or whatever. Can we come in?"

"Oh, yes of course," he replied. "Willow? Xander? Cordelia? Oz?" They filed into the living room and sat down.

"Okay," Buffy began. "Here's what I've been able to figure out. I was at the class reunion. I found all of you and we went to see Giles. We all talked about what we'd been doing and everything and this is where it gets weird. I saw this light and heard all these creepy voices. Then all of the sudden I was at the Sunnydale city limits."

"The voices you heard, what did they say?" Giles interrupted to ask.

"Um, it was this really weird poem thing... 'of their own free will, they must unite, something about eternal night, gathered there before dawn's light, if they desire to set things right'. The way I figure it, it means that if you want things to be the way they were before I saw the bright white light, we have to all go somewhere together before sunrise. And you can't be dragged kicking and screaming."

"Somewhere?" Xander asked. "Where?"

"I think the more important question is: do we want things to be the way they are in this alternate reality? Assuming that Buffy didn't make the whole thing up," Cordelia responded.

"Buffy?" Willow asked. "What's it like?"

"Well, Willow, you're a computer programmer. You're living with someone. I didn't get to spend much time with you but you seemed really happy. What's your life like here?"

"Not like that," she replied, shaking her head. "I couldn't finish college because the stress was too much. I'm on medication because I'm manic-depressive and I work as a waitress. I live alone except for my goldfish, Walter."

"So, the other world would be better for you," Cordelia commented. "What about me?"

"You're an actress. You star on a soap opera and date the producer. You are nominated for a daytime Emmy for the third year in a row. Cordelia, you're famous."

"I'm a secretary at a dentist's office...he isn't even a good dentist," Cordelia admitted.

"Do me!" Xander exclaimed. "I'm a check-out guy at a grocery store."

"You are a police officer, Xander," Buffy informed him. "And we're engaged."

"You and me?"

"Yes. And Giles, you own a rare book shop, you're married to Olivia," she continued. "What do you do in this reality?"

"Nothing," he divulged, "I've lost a series of dead-end jobs. I can barely afford this apartment."

"What about me?" Oz asked although he hated to. "I'm a successful musician. I have a wonderful girlfriend," he slipped his arm around her as he spoke, "What do I do in your world?"

"You were a musician, but you got arrested for possession of narcotics. You're an alcoholic who attempted suicide with a drug overdose. I wish I could tell you it wasn't true, but..." Buffy just trailed off.

"Sounds like I really messed up my life."

"Maybe we could decide this later," Willow offered. "I mean, we don't even know where we're supposed to go if we decide we want those other lives." It was obvious from her tone that she wanted desperately to go.