Reliving the Past

Episode 14

Xander's Apartment:

            "Come on, Xander!" Andrew exclaimed, heading towards the door.

            Xander didn't answer. He was too busy thinking. He hadn't been the same since the final battle with the First. He didn't really care anymore. He was through with this kind of stuff. He had fought alongside Buffy for several years and he'd been through so much. He'd even been to a void dimension, trapped for what seemed like eternity.

            And now he'd lost almost everything. There was nothing left for him. He had lost an eye in the battles. He walked around with a patch covering it. But that wasn't really what had been bothering him. He had lost the one person that had meant the world to him. The one person he'd loved the most, Anya.

            She had been killed in the final battle. The thing that made it even worse was the fact that he had seen her die. It was like a knife to his heart when he witnessed it. He was crushed. He still hadn't gotten over it and he had been distant from everyone. He had no clue what everyone else was doing and he didn't care.

            "I can see that you're not coming," Andrew said to him, "So I guess I'll just go on out by myself. I'll be back later."

            And with that, Andrew was out the door. Xander sat on the couch, cold and depressed. Even Andrew was enjoying himself here. Xander just couldn't bring himself to do anything, not without Anya. He'd rather be dead now. He couldn't go on any longer.

Unknown Location:

            Unlike Xander, Jake was the exact opposite. He was so happy. He had finally found someone who wasn't different, well not entirely different. She wasn't as different as the others that he had liked or dated.  He and Julia had fallen in love a while back and now were going steady.

            Dani was a good girlfriend, but he lost her after she was turned into a vampire. She was a slayer at first, but soon afterwards, she became the vampire queen. Even when she was a vampire, she had still loved him. She was gone now, probably to hell. He remembered when she was first turned into a vampire. It was the moment that changed his life forever.

Dani, Sarah, and Jake were walking along through the cemetery. Dani had been the slayer for a few months now. Giles had worked hard to convince her of what she was and then to train her. He had also been kind enough to train Sarah and Jake so that they could help their friend fight against the vampires.

            Their minds were set on returning home to Erie, Pennsylvania. They were set to leave in a few weeks. The three of them were so excited that they'd finally get to return home to their other friends and family. They had been gone for months now. Although Dani's parents were killed, she still had other family that she had to return to.

            Patrol had been uneventful so far this evening. They hadn't come across any vampires or demons. It was strange actually. Jake was a little worried. There was always something around, but not tonight. Giles had informed him that when there was little or no demonic activity, it meant that something big was to come.

            They were coming upon a crypt. It was one of the few in this cemetery. Supposedly, a famous vampire used to live there. Jake had also heard about this from Giles. The famous William the Bloody, AKA Spike, lived in that very crypt. He was the second most deadly vampire in all of Europe during the 19th century.

            Just as they were almost past the crypt, the door opened. Jake was horrified to see who it was. It was indeed William the Bloody. Dani sensed the vampire and turned to face him. They two engaged in a fight. Dani dished out several punches, knocking the vampire off balance. Then she followed them up with a roundhouse kick. The vampire flew into the crypt.

            "Gave me quite a beating there, slayer," Spike said, rising to his feet.

            He charged Dani, taking her by surprise. He tackled her to the ground and began pummeling her with his fists. She managed to block a few hits but was very unsuccessful at blocking most of them. Sarah and Jake stood by, watching. This was Dani's fight and they knew she wouldn't let them help out. They couldn't watch their friend get beat, but they couldn't help her.

            Sarah had seen enough. She ran at Spike, stake in hand. Spike knew she was coming and swiped at her with his arm. She flew through the air and landed on her back in the dirt. Jake rushed over to see if she was okay.

            "Stupid git," Spike murmured and continued the fight.

            Finally, Dani managed to flip Spike off of her. He landed on his back, but quickly rose to his feet. She gave him a front kick to his face. He wiped the blood from his lip and then knocked her across the face. She was knocked off balance. He moved in quickly and grabbed her.

            "I have bigger plans for you, sweetheart," Spike said and bit into her neck.

            Sarah and Jake watched helplessly as the vampire drained their friend. They could do nothing to help her. She was a good as dead now. Tears were now dripping from both their eyes.

            After he had sucked her blood for a short time, he slit his wrist and held it to Dani's mouth. She slowly began sucking his blood.

            "I can't believe I actually killed my first slayer!" Spike exclaimed, holding his wrist to her mouth, "Dru said it would be hard, but it was really easy!"

            After he gave her enough blood, he flung the weakened girl over his shoulder and with that he disappeared into the night.

Jake remembered that day as if it was yesterday. That was one of the worst days of his life. He had lost his first love that night. He remembered that after Dani was taken, he and Sarah rushed back to Giles and told him what had happened. Giles seemed intrigued about what he had told him about what Spike had said after killing Dani.

Xander's Apartment:

            Xander hated his life. He wished he could just get up and leave this place. He wished he could just start over, move somewhere new, get new friends, and a new job. But he knew that he couldn't do that. He would never run away. He would never leave his friends, no matter what happened. He had never done it in the past and he didn't plan on doing it now. He remembered the last time he had stayed.

Buffy had been gone for a few weeks now. She and Faith had gone off on a 'secret mission', but neither had returned. What was even worse was the fact that Angel had gone missing too. Xander had never really been fond of dead boy, but he was worried that both Buffy and he and gone missing.

            A few days later, Giles had told them that a new slayer was in town. He had to go find and train her to take Buffy's place. That was it. He walked out on Dawn. Xander had no other choice but to take the young girl under his wing. There was one good thing out of it all. He got back together with his ex, Anya.

            Anya and Xander took full ownership of Buffy's house and all the things inside. They went about their daily lives. Xander and Anya went to work, while Dawn went to school. It was pretty much the same everyday. That's when everything took a turn for the worse. The demonic activity greatly increased, actually not demons, vampires. They seemed to be everywhere at night. It was like there was no slayer in town anymore

            "Lock the doors!" Xander shouted.

            He bolted the front door shut. Anya dashed towards the backdoor. She locked it tight. Xander came in and bolted it shut. Then they moved to the windows, covering them all up. Dawn came running downstairs.

            "What's wrong?" she questioned.

            "The vampires, they're everywhere!" Anya exclaimed, obviously frightened.

            Xander finished bolting the windows and then came up alongside the two women. He was the man of the house. It was his duty to protect the two of them. He had to keep them safe now.

            "What do you think happened, Xander?" Dawn questioned, scared now.

            "I'm not sure," he began, "But it seems to me like there isn't a slayer anymore."

            "But that's crazy!" Anya shouted, "Giles went off with her."

            "They wouldn't have left Sunnydale, would they?" Dawn asked.

            "I don't think so, Dawny," Xander replied, "But I'm starting to doubt that there's a slayer in Sunnydale anymore."

            Months passed before Xander realized that what he had said was true. The slayer had been killed. The vampires and demons ruled the town of Sunnydale. Most of the citizens fled, but few stayed behind. Xander, Anya, and Dawn were some of them. Xander was not about to leave his hometown. He would stay here until he died.

            No one left the house. They couldn't without being attacked. Rumor around town was that a vampire had united the vampires, the first since the master, and became their queen. Xander feared that Buffy may be that queen. He had one last talk with Giles soon after the vampires had taken over.

            Xander sat in the living room. It was getting to be late and he was very bored. He was just about to go to bed, when there was a knock at the door. He cautiously walked over to it and pulled it open. To his surprise, there stood Giles.

            "Giles?" he questioned.

            "Hello Xander," Giles said, "It's good to see you again."

            "What are you doing here?" Xander asked.

            "Why don't you let me in and I'll tell you about everything that's happened?" Giles asked.

            "Come on, how dumb do you think I am?" Xander questioned, "For all I know, you could be a vampire.
            "I'm not," Giles replied, understanding why he believed that, "I wouldn't hold a cross in my hands if I was."

            Giles pulled a large cross out of his pocket. He gripped it in his hands. That's when they both heard a large crash. The both turned in the direction. Down at the street, there stood seven fairly large vampires.

            "Will you let me in now?" Giles questioned, obviously terrified.

            Xander pulled the door open all the way. Giles slipped in just as Xander slammed the door behind him. He bolted it shut and then followed Giles into the living room.

            "So what's going on in this place?" Xander questioned.

            "The slayer was killed," Giles replied, solemnly.

            "Figures," Xander murmured, "No one's ever gonna be as good as Buffy was."

            "She was turned by what the Council believes was Spike," Giles continued, "She's united all the vampires in Sunnydale. They have taken over the town and she is their queen. I suggest you take Dawn and Anya and get out of here as quickly as possible."

            "No way, Giles!" Xander exclaimed, "We're sticking through this. I've never left Sunnydale because of an apocalypse before, so why start now."

            "You're making a big mistake, Xander," Giles replied.

            "I don't think so," he told the man.

            Xander had known that it had been a big mistake staying. But he couldn't abandon his hometown because it had been overtaken by creatures of the night. Willow and Buffy would have stayed if they were in his position.

Axel's Place:

            Buffy lay in bed. Everything had been so hectic lately with the whole goddess thing coming to town. She had been researching constantly with Giles and Willow. The three had decided that it was best to leave the others out of all this for now. They'd find out soon enough.

            Her mind kept drifting back to that time when she was captured. She remembered that day very well. It was a nightmare to her. She still couldn't believe that she had let herself get captured. She had lived through it though.

            Buffy opened her eyes. It was still dark out. She wondered where she was and what had happened to her. That's when she realized that her arms and legs were bound by chains. She glanced around and noticed that she was being held by two vampires.

            She began to struggle against the chains. They were pretty tight. Her captures obviously knew what they were doing. That's when a sack was placed over her head. She couldn't do anything now. She didn't even know where she was going.

            Several minutes later, the sack was removed from her head. She glanced around. She was now inside some building. That's when she noticed that she was in front of a cell. She noticed a vampire pull out a tranquilizer and hold it high. She gasped as he hit her with her. Her vision became black and she fell asleep.

            The vampires unlocked the chains around her arms and legs. They let them drop to the ground and then they opened the cell. The tossed the slayer inside and she landed on the floor, still out cold. One vampire slid the door closed and bolted it shut.

            A few hours later, Buffy awoke. She looked around at her surroundings. She was in a jail cell of some sort. She rose to her feet and noticed that she was no longer bound by chains. She walked towards the door and tried to bend the bars or pull the door off, but she was unsuccessful.

            There was nothing really in the cell. They had left her a bed, sink, and a toilet. All three were bolted to the ground. That's when Buffy realized it. They were going to keep her captive so that another slayer wouldn't be called. And they had made everything in the cell so that she couldn't use them to kill herself. She was in big trouble.

            Buffy sat, alone, in her cell for several weeks. She hadn't the slightest clue of what was going on in the outside world. All she knew was what happened in her cell. She had been training herself, day in and day out. She needed to be stronger in order to get out of there. She also watched the actions of her captures as they brought her food.

They were very cautious when they came to her cell. They always came in groups of five. They must have figured that they could handle her if she escaped. They would slowly open the cell and slide a plate of food inside. They quickly shut the door afterwards.

Finally the two that had captured her had come for a visit. Drusilla and Spike stood in front of her cell, smirking.

"So slayer, do you like your cell. It's lined very pretty, isn't it?" Dru asked.

Buffy didn't respond. She just stared at Spike. There was something about him that didn't seem right.

"This is the way you will live for the rest of your life," Drusilla told her, "Alone and helpless."

"How could you do this to me, Spike?" Buffy questioned, finally speaking, "I trusted you and you betrayed me. I trusted you with Dawn and this is how you repay me. You come back from your journey and return with this slut! You traitorous bastard!"

"Well what can I say, luv, I'm evil," he replied.

He and Dru disappeared into the shadows of the hallways. Buffy could still here them speaking though.

"Maybe the queen should come and visit the girl," Spike said, "Let her tame the beast."

That was the last that Buffy had seen or heard of either of them. The building, which she discovered to be the queen's palace, was invaded by Council operatives. Spike and Drusilla had been dusted. But she found out later that it wasn't really Spike. She knew there was something wrong with the one that had visited her with Drusilla.

She really missed Spike. She really did love him, but she had confessed her love to the goddess, who was impersonating the vampire. She was still furious with herself for not realizing that it wasn't the real Spike. The real Spike was in Los Angeles with Angel. Unfortunately, he was a ghost. Buffy didn't know if she would ever see him again.

Xander's Apartment:

            Xander lay in bed, just as Buffy had been. He was thinking about everything that had happened to him since Buffy had arrived in Sunnydale several long years ago. He had fought alongside her in several apocalypses. He remembered them all so well.

            He had resurrected her after she had been bitten by the Master and drown, by using CPR. He had followed her to Angel's mansion after getting out of the hospital. He had led Giles safely from it. He had helped her and the rest of the students of Sunnydale High in fighting the Mayor, who had become a giant snake demon. He had lent Buffy his strength along with Willow's and Giles's so that she could fight Adam.

He had helped Buffy in her fight against Glory, but had watched her die. He had helped Buffy with Willow after she went all evil, but he had watched her be sent to some dimension. He had helped Buffy fight off Malvagio, the evil sorcerer sent by the First. And finally, he had helped her in the fight for it all, against the First Evil. But he had lost so much in that final battle. He didn't think he could do it again.

His mind started wandering back to when he was sent to another dimension. He didn't remember what had happened to him there, though. It was like his memory of that had been stripped away.

Xander, Anya, and Dawn were fast asleep in their home. Everything had been quiet lately. Normally, they would have heard vampires roaming around outside, but lately they hadn't. It was very strange.

Xander heard a loud scream pierce the night. He quickly flew through his bed and towards Dawn's room. He knew that something was happening to Dawn. He shoved the door open and stared in horror. There stood Glory, the hell god, at the foot of Dawn's bed.

            "I've got a score to settle with the slayer," Glory said, "Where is she?"

            "She's gone," Xander replied, "She hasn't been here for a long while."

            "Good," Glory replied, "Then there's no one to stop me this time."

            Suddenly, they weren't in the house anymore. Xander was standing in a construction site. Dawn was lying on the ground in front of him and Anya was on the ground behind. Anya was asleep still.

            "Wake up, Anya!" Xander shouted.

            Anya opened eyes and looked around. She wasn't in her bed anymore.

            "What the hell?" she questioned, "Where are we? What happened to the bed?"

            She slowly stood up, as did Dawn. They both joined Xander. Glory appeared from out of a building. That's when several demons surrounded them.

            "It's time for the ritual. It begins in a few days,  right before sunset," Glory informed, "And this time, there's no one to save the precious key."

            Xander knew better than to fight the hell god. He had no chance and he knew that. So he stayed where he was. The demons came at them. They grabbed Xander and the two women. Dawn was taken off to towards the tower. Xander and Anya were sent inside a warehouse.

            The couple stood there, obviously scared. A few moments later, Glory entered. She smirked at them. Xander tried to be brave. He knew that this was the end of them. Dawn was going to be bleed and Glory would be returned to her own dimension. He and Anya would be killed first, though.

            "Lucky for you, I don't have time to kill the two of you," she began, "So I'll hafta settle for something close."

            The god began chanting in some unknown language. The chanting began to pick up. The air around them began to glow. Xander began to fill very funny. Darkness began to form in his eyes. That's when he and Anya disappeared.

            The next thing that he remembered was awaking in some unknown house. Buffy, Giles, and Willow had been there, along with three other people he didn't know. He came to know two of them, Cindy and Jake, though. He had never really asked anyone about Buffy and Willow. He had no idea what ever happened to Buffy and how Willow had returned.

All he knew was that Buffy had not been killed that night. He knew nothing about how Willow had returned from the dimension that she had been sent to. It didn't matter to him, though, because they were all back together again.

Xander lasts thoughts drifted to Anya. He remembered when he had first met her. They had gone to the prom together. He had remembered when she had stuck by him when he was living in his parent's basement. He remembered asking her to marry him in the Magic Box basement. He remembered leaving her at the altar. And finally, he remembered her sticking by him after his eye had been damaged.

And with that, the loyal boy was finally asleep. His dreams were filled with all his friends and all the good times that they had had together.