*Author's Note/Disclaimer: This story is set post-chosen and is slightly AU for the fact that in this story Anya didn't die – she made it out of the school with Andrew. Also, some scenes and dialogue are taken directly from Buffy or Angel episodes. I do not own any of the characters. This is my first fic so please be kind – it's probably not very good lol. Please review.
*Summary: This story picks up where "Chosen" ended and is my version of what happened next. BS
"Yeah, Buffy, what are we gonna do now?" Her friends all asked her as she stared at the huge crater that used to be their home. She thought for a moment and a smile played across her face. I'm free, she realized. I don't have to do anything. For the first time in eight years, I don't have any duties or responsibilities. The shock of everything that had just happened hadn't really set in yet. All she could think about was that she didn't have to be the "chosen one" anymore.
"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I seriously need a shower before I even think about what we're gonna do next," Faith replied. The others nodded in agreement.
"I know, I am totally covered in uber-vamp dust," Kennedy added.
"Well, first things first; let's get to… somewhere so we can get all cleaned up and regrouped, and then we'll talk about what's next." Giles smiled and everyone walked back to the school bus and piled in.
"Ooo, I know! We can go to LA and stay at Angel's hotel. They'll definitely have enough rooms for us, and it's free," Willow said.
"Alright, LA it is," Wood tried to sit up behind the wheel and start the engine.
"Whoa, I don't think so, Mr. Mortally Wounded. Better let the guy with no depth perception drive us to safety. You go relax in the back." Xander helped Wood stand up and Faith escorted him to an empty seat in the middle of the bus. Once everyone was in, Xander shifted the bus into gear and started off towards Los Angeles.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
"Angel, I think we've got company," Fred called out across the lobby of the hotel.
"Who is it? The first?" he asked as he crossed over to her.
"It looks like an army," she replied.
"Is it the turok-han?" Wesley asked. Wes, Lorne, and Gunn were gripping their weapons and poised to attack. Angel had warned them that the fight may come to them, and they were going to be ready.
"Not exactly…" she trailed off as Angel reached the window, and they both watched as the stream of girls unloaded from the school bus. He held his much unneeded breath as he saw first the Watcher, then the Scoobies, then Faith carrying an injured man, walk down the steps of the bus.
"Buffy," he released his breath as she finally came into view. She didn't look too badly injured.
"Does this mean we don't get to kill anything?" Gunn asked from his position by the reception desk. The three men relaxed a bit and the front doors of the hotel opened to reveal a smiling Willow.
"Hey guys!" she greeted them cheerfully, "Got room for about thirty-or-so?" The new Slayers started to spill into the hotel around her. When Buffy entered she spotted Angel and ran to him.
"What happened?" he asked as he pulled her into his arms. "Did we win?"
"It's over," she replied happily into his shoulder and hugged him. "It's all over."
"Where's Spike?" he asked, looking around. She raised her head to look at him but her eyes started to water so she looked back down. She had been trying not to think about him, about what he had done…
"Hello all. Angel," Giles said walking over to them. "Why don't we get everyone settled and then we can fill you all in."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
An hour or so later everyone had been given a room, and the more seriously injured, including Wood, had been taken to the hospital. Angel, Wes, Fred, Gunn, and Lorne all sat in Angel's office listening to the story of what had happened. With all the different people talking it was hard to make sense of everything that was being said. Angel was the first to speak.
"So, let me get this straight. You opened the hellmouth and went inside while Willow turned all of the potential slayers into real slayers. Then you fought the vampire army until the necklace I gave you, that Spike was wearing, lit up and killed them all, and you blew up the school again?"
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." Willow replied.
"Except you left out the 'friends-and-loved-ones-getting-hurt-and-killed' part," Xander added casually.
"And the whole town blew up, not just the school." Buffy said. Willow nodded.
"So, no more Sunnydale," Wes said thoughtfully.
"Nope. Just a big, gaping hole of nothing."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
