Welcome to Sunnydale
They were all tired and edgy. Part of it was jetlag combined with the fact that none of them had slept well the night before. But mainly, it was the stress of not knowing what was ahead. They were all convinced there was trouble brewing. Could the Hellmouth beneath the crater be reopening? And if so, what horrors did it hold in store for them this time?
They were still about twenty miles from Sunnydale when Dawn reached over to grab Buffy's arm, "Buff, look." She pointed at a billboard on the side of the road. Buffy glanced up disinterestedly, expecting to see an advertisement for yet another one of those roadside greasy spoons. Suddenly, her attention was riveted. There was the crater from her dream, bulging, pulsing, bleeding, on a billboard emblazoned with the words "Come to Sunnydale -- Look Through Gates of Hell".
Buffy choked out a strangled cry that startled Giles from his half-dozing state. "That's it! Oh God -- that's it, that's my dream."
Giles looked around at the girls and then followed their eyes. Faith chimed in "Whoa, B. If you're dreamin' shit like that, you gotta stop eatin' so much Ben and Jerry's before bed." Xander slowed down and they all gaped in astonishment.
"A tourist attraction? Now who the bloody hell would turn a Hellmouth into a tourist attraction? What could they possibly have been thinking?" Giles was furiously cleaning his already spotless lenses once again.
Xander just silently swallowed and took the vehicle back up to speed. Startled, Willow looked over at him, "Xander! What are you doing? Should we really still be headed this way? I mean, Giles? Shouldn't we, like, go back and do some research or something? Anything? Please? Because I, for one, don't think we're prepared for this."
Giles put a soothing hand on Willow's shoulder. "No, no, we must first take a look if we're to have some idea of where to begin. We'll just go on and take a quick look around. Then we can go back for help if necessary before we tackle er, um, whatever it is we're to be tackling."
Dawn was working hard to calm Buffy, who just kept repeating "That's my dream" over and over as the tears streamed down her face. At last, she focused on Dawn and said "Do you think he'll be there? Do you think we'll find Spike?"
Dawn's heart broke a little more at the hope that had begun to gleam in Buffy's eyes. All of them had long since accepted that Spike was gone. He'd turned to dust and that dust had been buried under the rubble of the school as it caved in on him. It had been almost two years now. But wait, "Guys? What's today's date?"
"It's the nineteenth, no, better make that the twentieth. I always lose track coming across the ocean that way. Why do you ask, Dawn?
"The twentieth?" she squeaked. "Don't any of you get it? It's been exactly two years today."
They all looked at each other, but Giles summed it up quite well when he murmured "Oh, dear."
Five miles from their destination, the number of cars seemed to increase dramatically. By two miles out, they were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic that was reminiscent of the exodus from Sunnydale in those last days before the final battle. Finally, about a mile away, they came to a gate. The attendant leaned out of the booth and said "Do you have an advance booking for your group?"
Xander glanced around at the others and then turned back and replied "No, we were just out for a drive and thought we'd take in the sights."
"Well, you sure picked a nice day for it. How many are you? Seven? Ordinarily, that would be $35, but I'll let you go with the carpool rate of $20. Just don't tell Willy. He'll have my head for cutting into the profits."
Giles silently handed Xander $20, which he passed to the attendant. A ticket was passed through the window along with a map explaining the parking areas. "Thanks, folks. Have a nice visit and come back real soon." He opened the gate and Xander drove on.
"Willy! I should have known that weasel would find a way to make a buck out of this." Buffy was furious. They were now pulling into the parking lot designated for groups and they were all looking around at the many chartered buses parked in rows, some labeled with names of churches and schools. "Incredible, absolutely incredible."
They climbed out and stretched, then headed toward the crater. Buffy was torn between hoping her dream would come true and hoping it wouldn't. She so wanted to see Spike again, to know he was all right, but she feared what it might mean if the Hellmouth was reopening. As they got closer, she realized the billboard was just hype. The crater was exactly as they had left it. Empty, barren.
There were tour guides scattered around the perimeter giving obviously memorized, and mostly fictional, accounts of the last days of Sunnydale to the interested tourists. The church groups were easy to spot. There were shouted amens and other exclamations of praise. The school groups all seemed to be carrying notepads and were frantically scribbling down every word the tour guides uttered. Buffy and the others moved off to an area away from the crowds and quietly stared down into the crater. Each of them said their silent farewells once again. All of them were touching at least one other member of the group to find some comfort. Almost as one, they turned away and started back toward the parking lot.
"Do you think we ought to find Willy and put a stop to this nonsense?" Giles asked.
Buffy shrugged, "Why bother? He'd just find some other stupid thing to do that would cause worse trouble. This seems to be fairly harmless."
"True enough."
They reached the van and began getting in one by one. Buffy turned back for one last look. *Goodbye, Spike. Thank you. And I DO love you. I always did. I just didn't know it.* A single tear slipped down her cheek as she turned to get into the van and bumped into someone approaching the bus next to them. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see--" Her apology trailed off as she looked up into familiar sparkling blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. "Spike?" she managed, and then she fainted.
They were all tired and edgy. Part of it was jetlag combined with the fact that none of them had slept well the night before. But mainly, it was the stress of not knowing what was ahead. They were all convinced there was trouble brewing. Could the Hellmouth beneath the crater be reopening? And if so, what horrors did it hold in store for them this time?
They were still about twenty miles from Sunnydale when Dawn reached over to grab Buffy's arm, "Buff, look." She pointed at a billboard on the side of the road. Buffy glanced up disinterestedly, expecting to see an advertisement for yet another one of those roadside greasy spoons. Suddenly, her attention was riveted. There was the crater from her dream, bulging, pulsing, bleeding, on a billboard emblazoned with the words "Come to Sunnydale -- Look Through Gates of Hell".
Buffy choked out a strangled cry that startled Giles from his half-dozing state. "That's it! Oh God -- that's it, that's my dream."
Giles looked around at the girls and then followed their eyes. Faith chimed in "Whoa, B. If you're dreamin' shit like that, you gotta stop eatin' so much Ben and Jerry's before bed." Xander slowed down and they all gaped in astonishment.
"A tourist attraction? Now who the bloody hell would turn a Hellmouth into a tourist attraction? What could they possibly have been thinking?" Giles was furiously cleaning his already spotless lenses once again.
Xander just silently swallowed and took the vehicle back up to speed. Startled, Willow looked over at him, "Xander! What are you doing? Should we really still be headed this way? I mean, Giles? Shouldn't we, like, go back and do some research or something? Anything? Please? Because I, for one, don't think we're prepared for this."
Giles put a soothing hand on Willow's shoulder. "No, no, we must first take a look if we're to have some idea of where to begin. We'll just go on and take a quick look around. Then we can go back for help if necessary before we tackle er, um, whatever it is we're to be tackling."
Dawn was working hard to calm Buffy, who just kept repeating "That's my dream" over and over as the tears streamed down her face. At last, she focused on Dawn and said "Do you think he'll be there? Do you think we'll find Spike?"
Dawn's heart broke a little more at the hope that had begun to gleam in Buffy's eyes. All of them had long since accepted that Spike was gone. He'd turned to dust and that dust had been buried under the rubble of the school as it caved in on him. It had been almost two years now. But wait, "Guys? What's today's date?"
"It's the nineteenth, no, better make that the twentieth. I always lose track coming across the ocean that way. Why do you ask, Dawn?
"The twentieth?" she squeaked. "Don't any of you get it? It's been exactly two years today."
They all looked at each other, but Giles summed it up quite well when he murmured "Oh, dear."
Five miles from their destination, the number of cars seemed to increase dramatically. By two miles out, they were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic that was reminiscent of the exodus from Sunnydale in those last days before the final battle. Finally, about a mile away, they came to a gate. The attendant leaned out of the booth and said "Do you have an advance booking for your group?"
Xander glanced around at the others and then turned back and replied "No, we were just out for a drive and thought we'd take in the sights."
"Well, you sure picked a nice day for it. How many are you? Seven? Ordinarily, that would be $35, but I'll let you go with the carpool rate of $20. Just don't tell Willy. He'll have my head for cutting into the profits."
Giles silently handed Xander $20, which he passed to the attendant. A ticket was passed through the window along with a map explaining the parking areas. "Thanks, folks. Have a nice visit and come back real soon." He opened the gate and Xander drove on.
"Willy! I should have known that weasel would find a way to make a buck out of this." Buffy was furious. They were now pulling into the parking lot designated for groups and they were all looking around at the many chartered buses parked in rows, some labeled with names of churches and schools. "Incredible, absolutely incredible."
They climbed out and stretched, then headed toward the crater. Buffy was torn between hoping her dream would come true and hoping it wouldn't. She so wanted to see Spike again, to know he was all right, but she feared what it might mean if the Hellmouth was reopening. As they got closer, she realized the billboard was just hype. The crater was exactly as they had left it. Empty, barren.
There were tour guides scattered around the perimeter giving obviously memorized, and mostly fictional, accounts of the last days of Sunnydale to the interested tourists. The church groups were easy to spot. There were shouted amens and other exclamations of praise. The school groups all seemed to be carrying notepads and were frantically scribbling down every word the tour guides uttered. Buffy and the others moved off to an area away from the crowds and quietly stared down into the crater. Each of them said their silent farewells once again. All of them were touching at least one other member of the group to find some comfort. Almost as one, they turned away and started back toward the parking lot.
"Do you think we ought to find Willy and put a stop to this nonsense?" Giles asked.
Buffy shrugged, "Why bother? He'd just find some other stupid thing to do that would cause worse trouble. This seems to be fairly harmless."
"True enough."
They reached the van and began getting in one by one. Buffy turned back for one last look. *Goodbye, Spike. Thank you. And I DO love you. I always did. I just didn't know it.* A single tear slipped down her cheek as she turned to get into the van and bumped into someone approaching the bus next to them. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see--" Her apology trailed off as she looked up into familiar sparkling blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. "Spike?" she managed, and then she fainted.