Though people the world over had seen the amazing display, no one quite knew what the phenomenon was all about. Willow, Faith, and Giles took the new Slayers to Rome to set up a school for Slayers around the world to learn about their predecessors and their powers. Once the Slayers were trained, they were stationed around the world to fight evil as they were born to do. Kennedy, Shannon, Rona, and Amanda stayed at the school to help train new arrivals. Dawn used the money Giles saved for her and went to stay with Angel in Los Angeles, where she attended UCLA. There she met Connor for the first time. The two fell in love and got married a short time later. So it was that Angel's son was re-introduced into the group and given a second chance among them. Their first daughter, Joy Anne, turned out to be a Slayer.
Andrew moved to Spain and died a few months later when he picked a fight with an angry bullfighter. He had made his retribution for the murders he had committed, but no one saw his face in the stars. They assumed he chose a different destiny. Xander surprised them all. He moved to New York and started work on a series of books about his life under the pen name Joss Whedon. The books became a wild success, and a company agreed to do a television program. Everyone sat down to watch together as the story of their hero unfolded on the screen.
"Wow," Willow murmured when it was over.
"Good wow or bad wow?" Xander asked anxiously.
"Good wow," she assured him, kissing his cheek. He smiled sadly.
"It was perfect," Dawn told him. "Where was I, though?"
"Not there yet, remember?" he said gently. "You play a very important part later." She nodded, understanding. He had kept the story real.
"That actress," Faith said. "She was so realistic."
"I think Buffy might've played a small hand in that," Xander said, smiling. The others nodded their agreement. The character had definitely been infused with Buffy's spirit. "You guys will receive complimentary DVD's of all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Xander assured them. However, Giles's time came before the sixth season was out. His face was the first of the group to join Buffy's in the stars. Years went by, and one by one, the others followed. Dawn was the last to go. Seventy years later, she demanded that her deathbed be outside where she could see the stars. In her last moments, she felt the presence of the others around her, urging her forward.
"Told you that you weren't evil," Spike smirked at her.
"I wouldn't go that far," Buffy countered, smiling.
"She's delusional," Dawn heard a voice say. Buffy frowned.
"She's not delusional," Joy argued. "She's going home. I can see Aunt Buffy and Uncle Spike, Mama. And Grandma Joyce. Go ahead," the woman urged. Spike and Buffy each held out a hand to Dawn. She took them, and they guided her into the wind. They flew her all over the world, teaching her to hear when people needed help and how to help them.
When Dawn was safely ensconced in her mother's arms and Buffy and Spike were back where they belonged, Willow said, "Here's to the next journey."
"To the journey!" a thousand voices from across time and space echoed back across the sky. The earth rested below at peace with the knowledge that Slayers around them protected them from the darkness and the darkness itself was protecting them as someone watched them from above. All this because one woman had the courage to face her fears, the strength to fight them, the heart to never give up, and the will power to win. The light of the Slayer, their Knight in Starlit Armor would shine forevermore along with the man she'd chosen to love and the misfit family and friends they'd taken as their own. Together, they conquered the darkness and filled it with the light of their love.