Tales of the Future

While the two watchers did research in the library, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Oz and Cordelia went for a walk. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shinning bright and for a few minutes everyone was silent. Each one was waiting for the other to ask Buffy the question that they all wanted to know.

They all heard what Giles said about the dire consequences but they couldn't help they're curiosity. Buffy could tell what they all want to know so she finally broke the silence, "Alright you guys. Go ahead and ask the questions you've all been waiting to ask." She knew she couldn't escape the questions so she thought she might as well get it over with. She figured that a few little questions couldn't hurt. If any of them asked something big that Buffy knew would definitely change the future she just wouldn't answer it.

As soon as Buffy told them they could ask questions everyone started talking at once. Buffy stopped them, "wo wo wo guys…one at a time please."

Cordelia managed to beat the rest of them. "Ok let's get back to me not being an actress and why that is."

Buffy was about to answer her when Xander interrupted, "Hold on there little missy you're the only one who's gotten to hear anything about your future so far. It's not fair that you get to go first."

Buffy looked at Cordelia, "He has a point, sorry…go ahead Xander."

Xander smiles, "Thank you Buffy. Ok now what happens to me? I'm guessing I don't go to college since I pretty much didn't get in anywhere so what do I do? Do I drive across the whole U.S.? Do I get a good job? Do we still all hang out all the time?"

Buffy stops him, "Easy there Xander one thing at a time. You're right you don't go to college…sorry. You do start to drive across the U.S. but it doesn't really work out. For about a year you live in your parent's basement and pay rent. You take small jobs here and there and you finally get a construction job that was supposed to be temporary but ends up being your permanent job and you're really good at it. You make pretty good money and your doing really good for yourself. You get your own apartment and we're all very proud of you. And yes…we all still hang out. Best friends forever."

Buffy actually figured that telling him about being good at construction could be something that would change his future for the better. He could get right into that career from the start rather then getting all of those odd jobs. Maybe then she would never get turned into cave girl because she wouldn't have gone to that stupid bar to visit him. 'That would be a great memory to get rid of,' she thought to herself.

Xander smiles at her widely, "Wow…I was a little worried there for a second but it sounds like I have a pretty good life. What about women? Is there a very hot, sexy, rich woman in my future?"

Cordelia interrupts, "Right like that would happen. Back to me again, what exactly is it that I do to help people? It involves giving money and now my time right? Because I'm sure whatever it is that I do for a living makes me tons of money right?"

Buffy giggles, "No Cordy you actually help the helpless for a living. You work with Angel."

"With Angel?" Cordy asked with confusion.

Buffy continues, "Yeah, when Angel leaves he goes to L.A. After we graduate you go to L.A. also to try and make it as an actress. Angel starts up his own privet investigation thing and you guys run into each other at a party I think. You start working for him on the side to make some money and you end up really enjoying helping people. I'm not exactly sure how it happens but you get these visions that help Angel save people. At least that's what you were doing last time I heard from Angel which was actually kind of a long time ago. I've been…kind of busy lately."

Willow realizes that they'd kind of been asking her a lot of questions about them and none about her so she tries to make up for it. "I'm sorry Buffy, here we are selfishly asking you all these questions about ourselves. How has everything been with you…or…how will everything be with you I mean…I think that's what I mean? You know what I mean right?"

Buffy laughed, "Yes Will I think I know what you're trying to say and thanks for asking. But I really don't mind all the questions I would think it abnormal if you didn't ask them."

Willow smiled, "I know but I'm being serious I'm not just asking because I feel bad. I wanna know how things go with my best friend."

Xander started feeling bad too. "Yeah Buff, we wanna know."

Buffy looked down at the ground. She knew her friends were just trying to be nice but she didn't really want to talk about herself considering things that happened haven't really gone very well but she decided to tell them anyway. "Well…after graduation I go to UC Sunnydale with Willow and Oz." Willow and Oz look at each other and smile. Buffy continues, "Our first year goes pretty well. I find a new boyfriend named Riley and he's a really great guy but he ends up having to leave later on. Umm…oh…I get a sister at the beginning of our sophomore year."

The others look at her with confusion, all thinking the same thing that Xander finally says. "That's umm…cool Buff. But isn't your mom a little old, no offence, to be having another kid?"

"Oh no…my mom doesn't have her now. Dawn is 14 when she comes to us," Buffy tried to explain.

Willow looked at her thinking she was understanding it, "Oh, she adopted? That's nice."

Buffy tries again, "No you see there's this hell God named Glory that comes looking for this key that she needs to get back to her world. Only problem is if she finds the key and opens the portal to her dimension others will come into ours destroying our world so these monks turn the key into a 14 year old girl and send her to me as my sister so that I will protect her. The monks give us memories as if Dawn had always been with us. Now that I think about it…it's kind of weird being here without her."

They all look at her with mouths wide open. Willow finally speaks. "Wow…what ended up happening? Did we destroy Glory? Or…I mean…will we destroy Glory. I seem to be having a really hard time with this whole past, present, future tense thing."

Buffy smiled, "Its ok Will, I know what you're trying to say. Well Glory found Dawn and figured out that she had to bleed Dawn to open the portal and it would only close when her blood stopped flowing or...in other words…when she was dead. She umm…she got Dawn and started the bleeding before we could stop her. I knew she wasn't really my sister but all the memories made it so real and I still loved her like a sister. The portal opened and the only way to close it would have been to kill Dawn, but I couldn't do it. The monks made her out of me…from my blood so I jumped off the tower that Dawn and I were on and I sacrificed myself so that the portal would close and Dawn could live."

Oz actually spoke, "So wait…you died? Again?"

Buffy looked at him and nodded, "Yea…pretty much."

"Ok then…just checking," Oz added.

"I umm…I was brought back though…obviously," Buffy said as she thought about the whole ordeal. Then realization hit her hard. She had just told her friends a lot of very in depth details about the future. This could really change things a lot. They could be changed for the better since they would know how to prepare better for Glory but there was always the chance that this could make things a lot worse. She figured she should probably change the subject.

"The whole how thing is kind of a long story though so lets talk about something else," she said as she franticly tried to figure out something else she could say to get everyone mind off of how she was brought back.

All of this remembering of past events was really starting to get to Buffy's emotions and she started to think that it wasn't such a good idea to be telling them what happens in the future. She didn't know what she would do if Willow asked about her future, especially if Oz was there when she asked. "Yeah Will, you turn gay and almost destroy the world," Buffy said to herself in her head. That would go over well. "Guys I think I…I need a little time alone. I know your just trying to help me through all of this by being with me but I think I just…I just need to take a little while to think. I'm sorry," Buffy said as she started to walk away. Then she turned around and gave her friends a half smile. "I'll see you guys later."

They watched as she walked away. They all felt bad. They felt like they had pushed her too much by asking so many questions but Willow couldn't help also feeling a little upset that she didn't get her future told. She decided to take a walk by herself too. She wanted to give Buffy a little while to think on her own and then she would approach her alone and make sure it wasn't something she did that was making Buffy upset. Willow told the others she was going for a walk too and walked off into a different direction then Buffy, but one that she knew would allow her to catch up with her friend later.