See Part One for Disclaimer and details. Hello, all! Welcome to the second last chapter of the story. I just want to once again thank everyone who has read and reviewed this fanfic up until now, your feedback has been truly incredible. Especially yours, Anne, thank you for your kind words. I did get some emails from a few angry readers, who were apparently pissed that I killed off Xander – however temporarily – but even this feedback I treasure. Now, even if it may seem like the end after this chapter's done, trust me – there's still one more chapter to go, the final twist is still yet to come...so please, review!
Part Sixteen: Destiny
Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale
February 22nd, 1998
Despite the fact that it was early Sunday morning, Willow and Giles were present in the library examining the Scythe and listening to Buffy's tale of how she'd acquired it.
"CORDELIA has mystical visions now?" Willow asked with wide-eyed wonder.
"Yeah, I heard it straight from the horse's mouth. And apparently, she told Xander about it way back when she had a vision about those Bozo demon eggs," Buffy shrugged.
"Bezoar demon," Giles corrected her automatically, even though he was feeling like a complete and utter fool from the cheerleader bamboozling him about all that. "To think, she kept those abilities she'd been endowed with during Halloween – but, but why the devil didn't the girl say anything to us about it before now?"
Buffy and Willow stared at each other for a moment, and then gave the Watcher a pitying look. Willow said it for both of them, "Giles? It's Cordelia we're talking about. The only reason she even comes here to the library is for us to help her, whenever something's out to kill her!"
"And to keep Xander company," Buffy added, with a tight little knot of jealousy ruthlessly suppressed in her heart.
"Well, that's a given," Willow shrugged. "Ever since Valentine's Day, though-"
"Err, as fascinating as this discussion may be, I-I think we should focus on the weapon Buffy found at the vineyard last night," Giles interrupted, he did not want to hear anything more about the personal lives of his teenage acquaintances.
"Right. Will, you do the voodoo with the computer that you do so well, and Giles – well, y'know, dig out your books and look stuff up," Buffy told the others, as she grabbed the Scythe again. "Man, I wish you guys could feel it. It's so old, and strong, and it feels like...like it's mine. Like I could slay an army of vamps with it, and not even break a sweat."
"So it's true? Scythe matters?" Willow asked with a giggle, as she sat down and started her Internet search.
"Yes, very droll," Giles said drily, opening up one of his ancient volumes. "And I'd just like to point out the design of the Scythe, i-i-it's really quite ingenious. But if it IS some sort of traditional Slayer weapon, I can't imagine how something like that could exist without my ever having heard of it."
"Because we did not want your kind to know of it."
Buffy whirled around to see an old woman with long white hair standing at the library doors. "Who the hell are you?"
"One of many. Well – time was. Now, I'm alone in the world. I see you've found our weapon," the old woman nodded towards the Scythe Buffy was holding, as she approached the Chosen One.
The Slayer instinctively turned to her Watcher, but then she saw how Willow and Giles were frozen solid. Buffy whirled back to face the old woman and raised the Scythe warningly, "What did you do to them?"
"Don't worry, they're fine. I just wanted this conversation to remain private," the old woman said with a soft smile. "You were the one who pulled the Scythe out of the rock. I was one of those who put it in there."
"So, what, you want it back?" Buffy asked, automatically gripping the weapon tighter. "Okay, that's it. Who ARE you? And lose the cryptic act, lady, 'cause I'm really not in the mood for it right now!"
"I'm sorry if I've offended you. As for who I am, I'm the last of the Guardians. Women whose job it's been to help you and your sister Slayers, in secret," the Guardian said sincerely. "We forged the Scythe long ago, in the land now called Egypt. Then it was put to use here, on the Hellmouth...to kill the last pure demon that walked the Earth. The rest had already been driven asunder. And ever since the last of the Old Ones was vanquished, the Scythe remained hidden.
"Waiting for the right time and the right Slayer to find it, when the end was near."
"End was near? Ohhh, I'm not liking the sound of that," Buffy frowned, even though she was amazed by the tale she'd just been told. "Look, undo whatever whammy you did on Giles and Willow, I want their input on this-"
"They may be your friends, but they're also a crutch you do not need," the Guardian gestured towards the frozen pair. "And you should heed my advice – beware of trusting the Watcher too much. He's a decent specimen of his breed, true, but his first loyalty is to his Council; not to you. I suspect he'll inflict the Cruciamentum on you when you're eighteen years old, despite his reservations to the contrary."
"Crucia-whatsit?" Buffy asked in confusion. She then listened as the Guardian explained about the perverted rite of passage the Watchers put the Slayer through when she became officially old enough to think for herself, and the blonde Chosen One immediately felt sick. "That's not – Giles would never do something like that!"
"Perhaps, perhaps not," the Guardian shrugged. "Either way, it doesn't matter now. Like I said, the end of the world is nigh if your seer friend was able to guide you to where the Scythe was hidden. It's a last chance for you to beat back the coming darkness, you see."
"What coming darkness?" Buffy demanded. Upon hearing nothing but silence, the Slayer exploded, "Geez, but I really HATE that whole vague 'prophecy of doom' malarkey! Just for once – can't someone like you simply give me a time and a place and the name of the Big Bad, God damn it?"
"I'm sorry. But all I can say is good luck," the Guardian smiled painfully, before she vanished without a trace and Willow and Giles woke up.
"Buffy? How did you get all the way over there?" Willow asked in confusion since, for her and Giles, literally no time had passed.
Buffy didn't answer her, instead she turned to face her Watcher. "Giles, tell me about this crucia-mumbo jumbo thing! It's something to do with stripping me of my powers when I'm eighteen, and locking me up with some vampire...?"
( The Cruciamentum? Where the devil did Buffy hear about that? ) Giles thought, aghast, as his Slayer started glaring at him upon seeing the expression on his face.
City Morgue, Sunnydale
The same time
"Get away from him!" Cordelia growled, pushing away the morgue attendant as she stormed into the room. She had heard on the TV what had happened to Xander last night, unlike Buffy, Willow and Giles, and had rushed over here straightaway.
"Hey, miss, you're not allowed in here!" the man protested, keeping a hold on the metal table where Xander's shrouded body lay.
"And he shouldn't be here, got that?" Cordelia yelled, not caring if she sounded like a crazy person or not. "He wasn't supposed to die like this! I mean...he wasn't..." the seer trailed off, as the tears started to splash down her cheeks.
"I need...I need to..." Cordelia tried to form a coherent sentence, but she was so upset her mouth didn't seem to be in synch with her brain any longer. All of her teenage hopes and dreams had just been shattered, after all.
The morgue worker nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. "Okay, miss. I'll give you a few minutes – but I'm sorry, the body is almost due for-" he faltered when he saw Cordelia's sharp glare.
"I mean, the coroner needs to examine him to sign off on the paperwork," the man said after an awkward silence. Then he reluctantly walked away, to give the grieving Chase girl some privacy.
When she was finally alone, Cordelia managed to work up the nerve to remove the sheet. She stared at Xander's still face and at his motionless chest where so much blood and so many bullet holes now lay.
"Please, Xander. You, you can't be dead," she whispered, touching his cheek tentatively.
It was ice cold.
Cordelia closed her eyes, her entire body trembling. ( This is not happening, ) she thought to herself in numb horror. ( It can't be happening. Except it is, isn't it? Xander's dead, and they're saying he's a killer as well – a mass murderer. My God, what the hell really happened last night? )
Something within her soul suddenly flared angrily, and the Chase girl quickly departed the morgue. She had an appointment to keep with Detective Stein at the Sunnydale P.D. headquarters, and a warning to deliver.
Namely, she was calling the FBI to investigate what had happened last night, and if Jack Stein couldn't prove that it was a righteous shooting, then she was going to see to it that he eventually got the needle in a Federal prison for murdering the man she loved.
City Hall, Sunnydale
A while later
"Well, now, Darla. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Allan Finch gestured towards a chair as he sat down behind his desk. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, of course, but I thought you'd still be celebrating after what happened last night."
"Harris is dead and gone. Now that that son of a demon worm is history, so are my celebratory feelings where he's concerned," Darla replied, sitting down.
"You want the Slayer next," Allan said with a smile, leaning back on his chair – but the effect was totally ruined by him leaning back too far, and almost toppling out of it.
Darla ignored the ridiculous display. "Can I count on your help to ruin her reputation as well? Not that she's actually got one in the human world, apart from being a complete menace to society."
"Hmm, I suppose so..." Allan then trailed off, as he held up the Orbs of Nezzla'khan to his face and listened to what their silent voice was telling him.
"What are you doing?" Darla demanded impatiently.
"You're planning to kill me after you've finally gotten rid of your soul," Allan said slowly, returning the Orbs to his belt pouch. "You're planning to kill Anya as well, for not giving you more of that Doximall when you demanded it. And while I can forgive and forget with regard to the second one, the first is just completely unforgiveable. So I'm afraid your services are now hereby terminated."
Allan whipped out a stake and launched it at Darla with all his superhuman strength – only to have it miss by over a foot, because he'd never actually practiced his aim with such a weapon. The female vampire had an expression of disbelief on her face, first darting a quick look at the stake and then staring back at Finch like he was a complete idiot.
"Ah, hell," Allan muttered with a glance at the hole in the wall where the stake went had embedded itself, and then he swiftly stood and leapt over the desk towards his vampiric enemy. "Now I've got to kill you with my bare hands!"
Too bad for him that after the fight got started, Darla – who was nobody's fool – managed to grab the Orbs away from him, and once robbed of his mystical invulnerability, Allan was the one who died instead.
"Well, well, well," Darla said cheerfully, holding the Orbs in her hands and listening to their voice in her head. "Aren't you a girl's best friend? So tell me, how do I summon this demon shaman? It can't be that easy to release my soul, just with his dark magic-"
Unfortunately for her, Anyanka chose that moment to teleport into the office – and upon seeing Allan's dead body, the vengeance demon totally lost it and screamed.
Well, actually, that was putting it way too mildly – Anyanka yelled and screeched and hollered, just like she'd done for over fourteen years in that burning prison she'd shared with Halfrek: like a damned soul trapped in her own personal hell.
Plus, unfortunately, now that her savior was gone, there were no ties left to this world for Anyanka – so the insane demoness straightaway wanted to destroy the entire planet, just like when she'd been stuck in Skip's hellish jail cell.
Every human, every vampire, and every demon above and below its surface – the hate-filled Anyanka wanted them all dead. Starting with the bloodsucker which she now felt she should have staked on sight, instead of recruiting to her and Allan's banner.
"DIE, VERMIN!" Anyanka screamed almost unintelligibly, teleporting in and out so as to kick the Orbs out of Darla's hands and deprive her of their mystical protection. Curiously, the Orbs of Nezzla'khan – their resilience fortified after being dunked within the Urn of Osiris – did not shatter under the impact of Anyanka's kick; the glass balls simply flew off and landed in a corner of the office, as the 1118-year-old vengeance demon started whaling on her opponent.
Anyanka took her time in order to properly punish Darla, turning the undead blonde's face into a bloody mess with her bare fists. It was a very nasty and drawn-out ass-kicking, with most of Darla's hair getting ripped out and her clothing getting torn to shreds.
"Any last words?" Anyanka finally asked, as she yanked Allan's stake out from the wall.
"Go to hell, you crazy bitch," the evil Darla managed to croak out through a mess of broken limbs, missing teeth and bleeding gums.
Any sane person would have replied 'You first!' or something like that. But the demented Anyanka said nothing, as her stake slammed home – and the last member of the Scourge of Europe was nothing more than ashes floating down onto the ruined, blood-stained carpet.
City Morgue, Sunnydale
The same time
The morgue attendant lay dead on the floor, a police bullet having hit him directly between the eyes. Sunnydale's chief of police, Bob, made a mental note to get rid of the evidence later; first off, he needed to take care of other business.
( Why the hell did that damned BITCH have to stir up a hornet's nest like that, earlier this morning? ) Bob thought to himself with regard to Cordelia, even as he stared at Xander's corpse. ( Now I've got to chop this guy up and grind the remains into a paste that can't be identified, not to mention arrange some sort of 'accident' for that little whore. Probably gonna have to kill her parents, too, so they can't blab whatever she's told them to the Fibbie's. Damn it, it's days like this I wish Mayor Wilkins was still around! Something like this wouldn't have happened on HIS watch... )
Bob hefted the axe and was about to swing downwards when he noticed the smell. It was acrid and sulfuric – just like in Buffy's Slayer dreams, a few months ago. Unfortunately for Bob, he wasn't privy to that information.
The criminally corrupt chief of Sunnydale's police force never even got a chance to scream, as Xander's body abruptly sat up – and Bob's entire universe suddenly dissolved into green fire and brief, agonizing pain.
In the corner, Whistler bore silent witness as the time for the element of Green Fire to be let loose upon Sunnydale finally arrived.
Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale
A while later
Buffy struggled to get up off the floor, using the damaged Slayer Scythe as a crutch after her recent disastrous encounter with Anyanka.
The deranged vengeance demon had showed up here after killing Darla, planning on opening the Hellmouth and destroying the world. The battle had been a vicious one, as Anyanka had had the Orbs of Nezzla'khan with her and so had been invulnerable to physical injury. Buffy had had her hands full keeping her busy with the Scythe, whilst Giles and Willow had tried to magically attack the demoness – someone who, only now, Buffy remembered from her Slayer dream last month as being responsible for turning Darla into the enemy.
"Giles? GILES!" Buffy called out, as she helped her Watcher up. "Willow's gone! Crazy Demon Girl suddenly grabbed her and left. Are you okay?"
"Never – better," the Englishman wheezed, even though that was a bare-faced lie – it was obvious he was suffering from severe bruising and possible concussion after Anyanka's assault. "Help me-"
Unfortunately, Giles never managed to complete that sentence as the avatar for the element of Green Fire burst into the library.
"Xander-?" Buffy whispered in horror, seeing the dead teenager's face as his body burned with that horribly familiar green plasma.
"That's not – Xander, anymore. That's, that's the avatar of Green Fire," Giles gasped out, shock and wonder clearly evident in his voice as the Watcher within him both quailed in fear and excitedly tried to memorise every aspect of the being standing before him.
Giles knew that the four elements were raw power, without the ability to directly affect the mortal world; that was why they needed a human body in order to work their will. All of the elements – White Earth, Black Wind, Red Water and Green Fire – drove their avatars upon a certain course, but never before to Rupert's knowledge had the chosen vessel possessed a dead body. Giles therefore surmised, correctly as it happened, that the Green Fire element had trapped Xander's soul within his now-rotting corpse to use it as a supernatural power source – to animate the dead limbs, and, if necessary, use the mouth to communicate.
That suspicion was verified when Xander's lips opened up to speak to the Watcher and the Slayer. The language the avatar used was not English; if anything, it sounded like a mix between the crackle of fire, the roaring of wind, the crash of water onto the shore and the grinding of the earth's tectonic plates. Nonetheless, Buffy and Giles understood clearly what was being said to them.
/ This Hellmouth, it is active. Its taint needs to be cleansed. As it was then, so it shall be again now. /
The Green Fire avatar then headed straight for the spot where the Hellmouth demon had emerged last year, when the Master had almost brought about the end of the world. Without hesitation, the dead human vessel punched its way down through the floor, burying Xander's burning arm into the earth – and then an earthquake started.
"Xander!" Buffy shouted, intending to go over and stop what she was unable to help thinking of as her friend. But Giles, weak as he was, managed to squeeze her shoulder – which stopped the Chosen One dead in her tracks.
"No. If I'm right, h-h-he's going to, to seal the Hellmouth," Giles stuttered, as the earthquake got worse. "Like, like what happened in Carthage. We, we, we need to get out of here!"
Buffy stared at him dubiously for a moment, the words of the Guardian making her wonder just how far she could trust her mentor and pseudo-father figure; but in the end, her faith in Giles won out, and she carried both the Scythe and her Watcher out of the library.
"Oh my God," Buffy said in horror, even as the entire school campus collapsed into the ground behind them with a loud roar. "Giles, look!"
Rupert nodded, as all around them Sunnydale was burning. Every building, every tree, even many of the people within eyesight were on fire. "My car..."
But all of a sudden, Cordelia's car screeched to a halt beside them.
"GET IN!" Miss Chase screamed at them, having had a vision of something truly terrible not long ago. "HURRY!"
Kingman's Bluff, Sunnydale
A while later
Willow Rosenberg was sure she was trapped in the middle of a nightmare, as she was hauled out of the Deputy Mayor's car and yanked along the empty bluff.
"Please, let me go," the redhead begged pitifully, as Anyanka roughly pulled her along. "Please-"
"Please and thank you, they're still free," Anyanka said crazily, her steel grip unable to be broken by the neophyte witch. "Too much, too much trouble to open it. Stupid portal to Hell. Easier to burn. Burn the whole world. Proserpexa's followers, they had the right idea...damn bunnies..."
The words meant nothing to Willow, apart from the 'burn the whole world' remark. She had seen Sunnydale burning on their way here, as Drusilla's final prophecy from months ago finally came to pass. "Please, I can't help you; just let me go-"
"Ta-da! Here we go," Anyanka said cheerfully as they arrived at their destination. She lifted up the Orbs to her face, and listened to whatever they were saying in her mind. Anyanka then put away the two red balls, and grabbed the top of Willow's head with her free hand. Willow instantly screamed in agony, as her potent magical core was tapped by the insane demoness.
"From the pit of forgotten shadows...awaken, Sister of the Dark...awaken and arise!" Anyanka chanted, as yet another earthquake started.
A huge steeple then began pushing out through the earth and ascending at an angle. The steeple continued to rise, as Willow saw various stone carvings decorating its surface. She also saw a large carving of a snake-haired woman with her mouth open, and a long snake-like tongue sticking out, plus another snake wrapped around her body – the demoness named Proserpexa.
Finally, the demonic temple finished rising up out of the ground, where it had been buried ever since the earthquake of 1932, and came to rest at a steep angle.
"Proserpexa. Way up there in the hierarchy of she-demons. Her followers, they intended to use her effigy to destroy the world. They all died when the temple got swallowed up," Anyanka chattered, even though Willow was in so much pain she couldn't really hear what her captor was saying.
Miss Rosenberg was then abruptly hurled away, as Anyanka stared at the demonic statue. "Proserpexa...let the cleansing fires from the depths bring about sweet, blessed death for all," the vengeance demon chanted, lifting her arms and holding up the Orbs in her hands.
Lightning crackled between Anyanka and the statue of Proserpexa. The ground began to shake harder, and the wind started to howl loudly. Even the sea water not far away began to churn and froth, as the elements rebelled against this use of dark and evil magic. Nonetheless, bolts of green light shot from Anyanka's body toward the statue; thanks to the Orbs enhancing her powers, she had managed to funnel the energy of the Earth into herself and then out towards the effigy of Proserpexa.
The effigy glowed red and the Earth shook harder than ever. The ground around the temple started to scorch in an ever-widening circle.
Luckily, Buffy, Giles and Cordelia showed up just in time and as the Slayer got in the way of the green magic, the presence of the Scythe caused the life force of the Earth to shift into reverse and head back the way it came, passing through Anyanka and into the ground where it belonged.
"AGGGGHHHHHH!" the mad demoness screamed angrily, childishly stamping her foot. "Spoil my fun, will you? Well, la-di-dah; anything you can do, I can do better! I can do anything better than you!" Anyanka yelled out the children's song lyrics.
"You are completely insane," Giles told her, leaning against Cordelia as Buffy advanced forward.
"Hey, you! Yeah, you, the vision girl. You want me to grant you a Wish, before it's the end of the world as we know it? I can feel your pain 'n all," Anyanka replied with a sudden beaming smile, staring at Cordelia.
"Don't say anything," Giles cut in even as Cordy opened her mouth. "If this truly is a Wish demon, she'll, she'll pervert your meaning into s-something pure evil-"
Buffy attacked Anyanka with the Scythe, but just like before, the vengeance demon was protected by the Orbs of Nezzla'khan. As Willow joined Giles and Cordelia, they all watched as the Slayer was tossed aside and Anyanka prepared to resume her unholy rite to destroy the planet.
/ STOP! /
Anyanka instantly screamed like a banshee, looking around as a human body burning with green fire and running at superhuman speeds finally joined the party. The Green Fire avatar easily slapped the Orbs out of the female demon's hands, as Anyanka and the dead body of Xander Harris stared at each other for one timeless moment.
Another time, another place, one could say that these two would have been perfect for each other; but not here, and not now.
Anyanka literally exploded into flames upon being hit by the element of Green Fire, very much like Halfrek would have done in another timeline, as the untimely end of the world was averted at the very last moment.
Cordelia let go of Giles, and ran over to where the Orbs had fallen. She picked them up, and then looked over to where the avatar was standing. She was familiar with what it was, thanks to Giles' explanation on the way here.
Cordelia knew that Xander was gone; only his body was present now. That, and the element of Green Fire possessing his remains. She understood that part of it only too well.
"Damn you," Cordelia snarled at the burning corpse, as despair settled into her heart. "I want my Xander back-"
Suddenly, the scene shifted, and Cordelia was within the Bronze – despite the fact that it was nothing more than a flaming ruin now, thanks to the avatar's actions. The brunette blinked, and there was Xander – alive, and looking worried.
"Cordelia, sweetie," the young woman heard her father's voice say, as he came over and stood next to Harris. "What's Daddy's little girl been up to today?"
"Don't listen to him, Cordy. That's not your dad, any more than this is the real me," 'Xander' said urgently.
'David Chase' smiled. "A genuine American hero – he'd make the perfect husband for you one day, wouldn't he? Now, I only want what's best for you, sweetheart. So you just tell your daddy what you want, and I'll do it for you."
"I want Xa-"
"NO!" 'Xander' shouted, cutting her off. "Cordelia, please, listen to me. Don't use the Orbs of Nezzla'khan to turn me into some kinda zombie! Besides, they don't-"
/ They do not belong to you. /
Cordelia blinked, and abruptly found herself back on Kingman's Bluff. The seer stumbled from vertigo, and almost dropped the Orbs – which had been communicating with her using the image of her father.
"Cordelia?" Giles called out in concern after seeing Xander's fiery right arm extend towards the girl in question, palm upwards.
"Just give it what it wants!" Willow cried out, turning her head so that she wouldn't have to see those milky, dead eyes staring at Queen C.
"And then what? Cordelia, throw whatever-the-hell-they-are to me, quick!" Buffy called out.
The Green Fire avatar turned to face the Slayer. / They do not belong to you, / Xander's lips repeated in that strange, primal language of the four elements.
"Give them to him," Giles abruptly made a command decision. "Whatever those orbs truly are, most likely i-i-it's the Green Fire's destiny to destroy them."
Cordelia stood there, staring at the flame-enshrouded corpse of her almost-boyfriend. ( Dear God, how did it come to this? Why didn't I get a vision on how to prevent all this from happening, somehow? ) Slowly, unsteadily, she unclenched her fingers and the Orbs slowly floated out of her grasp and into the avatar's.
/ It is DONE! /
The unexpected burst of energy instantly hurled everyone human down to the ground. There was light and sound – so intense that the Scooby Gang had to shut their eyes and cover their ears, in order not to go blind and deaf. Only when it was safe to do, did the three American girls and the British man focus on their immediate surroundings again.
The temple of Proserpexa had completely crumpled into itself. It was burning with green fire, the various gargoyles and the pentagram at the top melting like chocolate from the sheer intensity of the heat.
"NO!" Cordelia screamed in heartfelt agony, as she saw Xander's body half-buried near the disintegrating yellow statue of Proserpexa.
"It's over. Its purpose accomplished, the Green Fire element has, has abandoned its human avatar," Giles muttered, as if he was recording a personal entry into his Watcher diary.
"Get Giles to Cordy's car over there," Buffy ordered Willow as everyone got up, before the Slayer ran over to grab Cordelia. "Come on, we gotta go!"
"No! We can't just leave him-!" Cordelia screamed at her.
"Xander's dead, and we'll die too, if we don't get outta here!" Buffy shouted, even though her heart was just as shattered as Cordelia's from Xander's loss. "COME ON!"
Very much against her will, Miss Chase was dragged to her BMW and almost on autopilot, she navigated her way towards Buffy's house to find her mother, Joyce. Against all the odds, the travelling party actually found the middle-aged Summers woman on the streets, and then Cordelia wasted no more time in getting out of town.
Sunnydale continued to burn, very much like the Great Fire of Rome. The green flames spread everywhere, destroying everything in their path despite all the efforts of the Sunnydale Fire Department to prevent it.
By the end of the day, there was only scorched earth left to indicate that a small city had once existed on this part of the southern California coast – even the buildings made out of steel and solid bricks had melted into goo, in the face of the incomprehensible deluge of supernatural fire.
Over half the town's thirty-eight thousand human residents had died. More than three-quarters of the demons – hostile and benevolent alike – had perished. More than seven-eighth's of Sunnydale's vampires had been dusted.
The California Hellmouth had been sealed...
And as the ragged survivors headed for Fondren, Oxnard or even Los Angeles, to try to recover from their terrible ordeal, somewhere in Canada – the newly humanized Anthony Harris went completely insane, due to everything he'd done as a demon for the past fourteen years.
Just as the ghost of his wife had suspected would most likely happen, should Anyanka's amulet ever be destroyed.
Still, that mattered not at all to the Powers That Be.
The world had been saved, and they still had their Champion in Buffy; so now, they were looking ahead to other, far more difficult problems lurking over the horizon.
To Be Concluded...