Xanders eye snapped open, revealing that he was once again at Buffy's home. Nails digging into the sofa his head began to frantically search for something, but stopped once he saw Willow.
"I'm so glad you are up Xander," said Willow as she rushed the rest of the way into the room and began to hug him.
Xander was at first reluctant about embracing his friend, until he saw a wisp of blond hair. Suddenly he was holding Willow close, almost like a shield, attempting to protect himself while screaming, "No, stay away! Always you who leads us into the darkness! You are the one that lest it win every time!"
"Xander, what are you talking about?" asked Buffy as she stood in the doorway.
"I saw it Buffy! I saw you make the decisions that kill us all in thousands of different realities, despite what others told you! You are going to do the same thing here if some one doesn't stop you!" cried Xander as he frantically squeezed Willows hand like it was a rubber stress reliever.
"Xander, your hurting me," said Willow.
Xander let go of her hand but made no other signs of hearing Willow as he continued to shout at Buffy. "You still plan to go to the Vineyard, don't you! Even if I told you there was nothing there you would still want to drag everyone there, wouldn't you?" screamed Xander in an accusing tone.
"Yes," said Buffy as she fought back tears.
"Why?" asked one of the girls from behind her. Xanders shouting had brought the whole house running, so everyone had been present to hear Buffy's confession.
"Because I know something important is there," said Buffy as she tried to convince the others.
"Why do you believe that when Xander says there isn't?" asked Dawn in a neutral tone.
"That isn't Xander anymore! You all heard how he talks now, Xander never talks like that. The spell changed him into something else, or the First is somehow manipulating him," said Buffy in desperation as she looked at the disbelieving faces that seemed to be closing in around her.
"The First isn't manipulating him Buffy. I may not be able to tell where the first is, but I was able to come up with a spell that will tell us if it is actively using its powers," said Willow as she pointed to a blue rock in the corner of the room. "If the First was using its powers, that rock would be red, not blue."
"And the spell was meant to activate his mutation. That doesn't change a person beyond giving them powers. Powers that you seemed very eager for him to have," said a scowling Blink.
"Then something went wrong with the spell, because there is no way that is Xander," said Buffy as she pointed to the figure that was now in the fetal position muttering about pain and death, even as Willow tried to comfort him.
"The spell worked," said Mimic. "I can feel the power coming off of him now; he is a fully active mutant."
"Listen to him, how can you say the spell worked?" screeched Buffy. "As far as I'm concerned because of you people we can't trust what he says anymore."
"How dare you," seethed Anya. "The only reason he went through that spell is because you asked him to."
"Are you saying this was my fault," growled Buffy as she turned to face Anya.
"STOP!" screamed Dawn as loud as she could. "All this fighting is only making him worse. If you can't stop fighting long enough for him to get better then you should leave now, and that includes you too Buffy."
"You're kicking me out?" asked Buffy in shock.
"If you've become so screwed up that you would fight rather than help your friend, then yeah I am," said Dawn in a firm voice
"And the rest of you feel this way?" asked Buffy as she looked around the room only to see almost everyone nodding their heads.
"Okay, fine. I've been saving the world by my self for seven years, guess this time won't be any different," said Buffy as she began to leave.
"Wait for me love," said Spike as he quickly followed Buffy out the door.
"So now what?" asked Andrew as he considered leaving now that Captain Picard and Worf had just abandoned ship.
"Xander, did you see anything that could help us?" asked Willow in a soothing voice.
"Help, help, everyone needs help, even the First, that's why it has an army. Army needs weapons though, but doesn't have it, not yet, not until they come here," said Xander as he got a far away look in his eye.
"Where are the weapons Xander?" asked Willow.
"Underground. The closer to hell the better, the better to hide. No one sees hell, even though it's everywhere. I can draw you a map if you want," said Xander as he seemed to snap back to the here and now for a while.
The following events played out much the way they did through out the multiverse. Buffy sent Spike back then went to the Vineyard herself to prove to everyone she was right, while Faith lead everyone else on a mission to get the weapons. In fact the only real difference was the presence of the Exile group as they followed Faith, and the fact that a one eyed carpenter was left at the house under the guard of a bleach blond vampire.
"Thanks bro, I couldn't have done this without you," said the First in the form of Xanders child Jesse, even as the stone turned blood red.
"If you hadn't agreed to the spell I wouldn't have been able to get so far into you, and you would have remained good enough to keep everyone thinking straight. In fact you deserve a bit of a reward for playing your part so well. What do you want mother, daughter, or teacher," said the First as it turned into Joyce, Buffy, and Jenny respectively.
"I want you to die," said Xander without any trace of the insanity he had been exhibiting earlier. "Its time to show this piece of garbage that it's out classed everyone."
Hearing the mental command with his telepathy Mimic used his optic blasts to collapse the only exit tunnel, even as Blink began to teleport everyone out. The monsters that were supposed to kill everyone were left underground with a bomb, counting down to their deaths.
"Hey, heard you have something of mine," said Buffy to Caleb as she walked out of the shadows.
"You never learn do you," said Caleb as he ran towards Buffy and punched her in the gut.
"All I need to know I learned a long time ago, like trusting my friends," gasped Buffy even as a black and purple portal opened to their side, and Thunderbird came out, his bull like hooves echoing as he walked on the stone floor.
"I hear you enjoy beating on girls," said the inhumanly large Native American even as he shoved the priest into the wall hard enough for cracks to form in the solid stone. "I think we should have a discussion about that don't you?"
"I'll be right back to help you talk to him big guy, let me just get something from the basement first," said Buffy as she went to get whatever had been calling to her sense she had first entered the Vineyard.
"Take your time, he isn't going anywhere," said Thunderbird even as he pushed harder, causing Caleb to scream as three of his ribs snapped and punctured internal organs.
In the basement was the most beautiful weapon that Buffy had ever seen. It called to the part of her that was the Slayer, almost as if it was a missing piece of the Slayer Spirit, about to be reclaimed.
When she picked it up she felt whole, for the first time sense she was called. With newfound confidence she walked up the stairs and found Caleb and Thunderbird in the same position she had left them, even though Caleb was doing a lot more whimpering.
"Mind if I finish the talk?" asked Buffy with a smile.
"By all means," said Thunderbird as he let Caleb drop to the floor, where Buffy promptly took his head off.
"Lets head back home," said Buffy, smiling the whole time.
"Monsters go boom, inbred hick goes squish, and the award for best actor goes to me," said Xander as he took a small bow.
"This is far from over," snarled the First as it vanished just as Faiths group walked in, minus Thunderbird.
"No it isn't over, but its about to be, isn't it Angel," said Xander as he looked out into the night.
"How did you know I was there?" asked Angel as he came to where the porch light reached him.
"I could see you," said Xander with a grin. "Now come on in. Buffy should be back in a few, and we'll have a lot to talk about once she arrives."