Author's Note: The Episode Guide is running a bit longer than I thought. I will endeavor to summarize more in the next chapter.
X X X X X
["I ain't?" I said.
"No. You ain't." He said "ain't" uncomfortably. It was not a word he took to well.
Once again:
Lovely.
"Where am I in all of this?"
"This is not particularly about you, Miss Mars," The Adversary said.
"It isn't? So this is all for the fun of it?"
"You," he said stiffly, "Are aware of what I mean. Shall we proceed?"
"And if I said no, you'd proceed anyway?"
"Of course."]
The Zeppo:
Occurs with significant alteration. Given that they are significantly short on manpower, Mr. Harris, Ms. Calendar and Miss Kelly are both drafted into the battle against the Sisterhood of Jhe. You and Miss Chase are pointedly not invited. This does not, however, particularly disturb Miss Chase.
Miss Summers, it should be noted, is quite upset throughout all of this. Angel leaving still affects her.
Miss Chase runs across Mr. O'Toole and his compatriots as they're walking down the street, and they forestall their "cake baking" to hit on her. Recognizing three of them, at least, as dead walking, she declines; they try to impress her by saying they're going to blow up the school; she says, "Wow, that is impressive, but I'm not into blowing things up tonight, so, you know what? No thanks," and leaves.
Unable to get Mr. Giles or Miss Summers to pay any attention to her, Miss Chase is forced to her last resort: You and Mr. Echolls. While the "main story" plays out similarly, the three of you trail Mr. O'Toole and his friends to the school. Mr. Echolls is all for jumping them right away, but you, realizing that four jocks on three non-jocks is not particularly good odds, quietly follow them to the basement – dodging occasionally from the running battle everyone else is having with the Sisterhood – and hiding until after the bomb is planted.
Then, with you and Miss Chase scouting the way ahead, Mr. Echolls hurriedly carries the bomb outside, where Mr. O'Toole and his friends are waiting for the explosion.
The zombies realize something is up, but Mr. Echolls throws the bomb at them with a few seconds to go, runs a few feet, and dives to the pavement. You and Miss Chase are already running away as fast as you can.
The explosion destroys them and damages their car. Mr. Echolls is bruised and battered but otherwise uninjured.
Unlike Mr. Harris in the original timeline, you all inform Miss Summers and her friends about Mr. O'Toole and his bomb plot. Mr. Osbourne complains about being hungry.
Bad Girls:
Is quite drastically changed, as you may have surmised, though the results are similar. Miss Summers, still being upset, nearly succumbs to despair while fighting El Eliminati, but pulls herself out of it and manages to swipe the amulet, fleeing before their superior numbers.
["Don't die," I said.
"A wise philosophy, in the main."]
Miss Summers, of course, is not arrested, does not break and enter, and barely passes the chemistry test she walked out on in the original timeline.
The vampire Vincent attacks the Mayor, who, lacking Mr. Trick to rescue him, avoids being killed only by the skin of his teeth, as Mr. Finch manages to rescue him by shoving the vampire out of the window. The Mayor is injured, but survives, and The Mayor's vampiric minions belatedly arrive to protect him from further attack.
Mr Giles, with the amulet, is kidnapped, and Miss Summers leads a team with Mr. Osbourne, Miss Kelly, and Miss Rosenberg on it to rescue him. Mr. Finch is there, and warns them about Balthazar and his abilities, upon orders from the Mayor. Miss Rosenberg recognizes him but says nothing.
The rescue is successful, although Miss Summers once again has a brief crisis of faith – no pun intended – before shaking it off and killing Balthazar.
Consequences:
There are none.
During what would have been this episode, Miss Summers talks over her devastation that Angel left town. Mr. Harris insults the vampire, you console awkwardly, but it is Miss Chase who manages to get her to face up to the fact that he will not be returning, and that it is probably for the best.
Miss Rosenberg has a conversation with Mr. Giles, after which Mr. Giles has a discussion with Angel by phone.
Doppelgangland:
Does not happen in any form.
Enemies:
Happens, albeit altered. As Angel is helping the helpless in Los Angeles, he is approached by a group of vampires who say that their boss has an intriguing offer for him. He takes the phone they hand him and tells Mayor Wilkins he has himself a deal.
He then excuses himself and calls Mr. Giles.
The attempted desouling occurs, of course – Mayor Wilkins is too canny to believe that Angel would switch sides like that. But, due to the rather contrived coincidence of the desouler happening to be an old friend of Mr. Giles –
["Contrived is right," I said.
"Of course it is, Miss Mars."]
Angel then, pretending to be Angelus, "kidnaps" Miss Summers and the Mayor's other minions taunt her, after which she breaks free, she and Angel kill the vampires, and she and Angel have a long discussion and part on better terms, this time, after which he heads back to Los Angeles but promises to be there if Miss Summers and her friends need him.
The Mayor has no idea what happened.
Earshot:
Occurs approximately as it did originally, except that instead of going to Angel for a sanctuary, Miss Summers comes to you because of your immunity to magic, and that Mr. Giles and Miss Kelly had to get the demon's heart.
She also finds out that Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar are engaged – she proposed during the timeframe of what would have been Doppelgangland. After the crisis, Mr. Giles asks Miss Summers if she'd like to train, and her reply is "Sure! We can work out after school! If you're not too busy planning your wedding!"
["And he walks into a tree?" I asked.
"Some pratfalls are universal," was the reply.]
Choices:
Occurs with alterations. Ever since Angel revealed that the Mayor was the "Big Bad" of this year, Miss Summers and her friends have been keeping him under surveillance. You have assisted in this, primarily by teaching them surveillance techniques, as your father is still insistent on you staying away from the supernatural as much as possible.
Mr. Harris and Miss Chase, in between kissing each other passionately and arguing just as passionately, spot some of the Mayor's vampire minions – Angel did not nearly kill all of them – escorting the courier with the Box of Gavrok, and trail them back to City Hall before peeling away and heading to the library.
Mr. Giles, after doing research, figures out that what the Box of Gavrok is, and though he is uncertain why the Mayor would need it he is certain that it is not for any good purpose and, as Miss Summers is facing the same college issues as in the original timeline, decides once again to steal the box, with the assistance of Mr. Osbourne, Miss Rosenberg, and Miss Kelly, while Mr. Giles, Mr. Harris and Ms. Calendar continue their research into what the Box is used for. You have once again been limited to advising on the plan, and your advice is that deception sometimes works better than force.
So Miss Summers walks boldly into the Mayor's office after hours one evening and confronts him with everything they know about his evil plans – which is not much, of course, especially because she leaves out the Box of Gavrok. Mayor Wilkins, amused at the effrontery, lets her run down before responding. In the process, he mentions the word "Ascension," but reveals nothing further about his plans.
In the meantime, Mr. Osbourne, Miss Rosenberg and Miss Kelly have reached the top of the building, where Miss Rosenberg breaks through the spell and Miss Kelly spider climbs across the ceiling and down the wall, retrieves the Box of Gavrok, and returns to the roof.
Once they arrive at Mr. Osbourne's van, Mr. Osbourne leans on the horn three times and then leaves. Inside, Miss Summers banters back and forth with the Mayor for another five minutes, then suddenly turns, stakes one of the vampires in the room with them, kicks out the window, and jumps out.
Mayor Wilkins is amused and bemused simultaneously, and remains so until he discovers that the Box was stolen. In the library, Miss Summers and her friends stand around looking at the Box, until Miss Summers mentions "that Ascension thingy."
Mr. Giles turns to look at her angrily, and she says, "Didn't I mention that?"
The Prom:
Occurs much as it did in the original reality, save for yours and Mr. Echolls' presence, Miss Chase and Mr. Harris attending together, and the lack of anyone waiting to dance with Miss Summers at the end.
Graduation Day:
Occurs in changed form. Ever since Miss Summers and her allies stole the Box of Gavrok, Mayor Wilkins has tasked his vampiric minions with following all of them at various times, waiting for a good time to kidnap one of them. That time happens with one week left until graduation, when the vampires corner and overwhelm Mr. Harris. He is surprised not to be killed – until he sees the Mayor walk into the room he is being held in.
Miss Chase, alarmed when Mr. Harris does not show up to escort her home from work –
["Her parents still were nailed for tax evasion?" I asked.
"They had begun long before your insertion. There was little you could have done about this. This particular event is not being held against you."]
Miss Chase calls you and Miss Summers. You trace his movements and bring in Miss Rosenberg to cast a tracking spell. Miss Rosenberg's abilities are approximately on a par with what she would have had at this time – but she has greater control. Ms. Mistwood, Ms. Calendar and Miss Kelly have all been able to assist her in various ways, although Ms. Mistwood has had her difficulties running the magic store by herself.
The tracking spell leads to City Hall, and an ambush, and you are forced to retreat. When you get to the library, Mr. Giles is injured, Ms. Calendar taken. After taking Mr. Giles to the hospital, Miss Summers gathers everyone together a couple of hours later – and is surprised when Angel comes in, saying that Mr. Giles called him.
Mr. Harris has resisted the torture attempts so far with his traditional witticisms. Now the Mayor, reluctantly, is saying he'll be forced to do the same to Ms. Calendar, and "I really don't want to do that."
[Being Mayor Wilkins, he probably didn't. But without the Box of Gavrok, he must be getting desperate.]
Principal Snyder comes in after the meeting starts, ordering them all to disperse. You are saved by the timely arrival of Mr. Echolls, who invites everyone back to the Echolls Mansion. Miss Rosenberg and Miss Kelly gather books – Principal Snyder, being aware of the supernatural but unaware of the Mayor's plans, does not care what they do as long as they do not do it there.
Your father intercepts you in the parking lot, wanting to know what the tumult is about. You hesitate, and then Miss Summers steps in and bluntly informs him. "Look, take Veronica, don't take Veronica, run screaming into the night, I don't care at this point," she says. "But do something. If nothing else, get the hell out of our way."
Your father looks around for confirmation and finds more of it than he had hoped. Knowing the truth when he sees it, he not only gets out of the way, he agrees to assist, on the condition you stay out of the assault.
["You're kidding," I said.
Sounding vaguely affronted, he said, "Miss Mars. I never kid."]
Miss Summers nods, and after looking at you, agrees. You regroup at Mr. Echolls' house. His mother is away.
After some back-and-forth, the assault is planned. You and Miss Chase stay behind to coordinate.
Your father, Mr. Echolls, and Miss Rosenberg distract the vampires – still waiting in ambush should they try again – by the simple expedient of driving through them. Your father says, "I'm putting a lot on trust here."
"I know," Miss Rosenberg says. After the vampires scatter, Miss Summers, Miss Kelly, and Mr. Osbourne charge out of hiding and stake or otherwise dispatch the vampires.
In the building, Mayor Wilkins is sadly preparing to torment Ms. Calendar when Angel comes crashing through the roof. He fights hard and frees Mr. Harris, but is on the verge of being overwhelmed when Miss Summers and her friends burst open the doors and kill all of the vampires.
Your father reads the Mayor the riot act as the rest of your free Ms. Calendar. She is shaken and bruised but otherwise unhurt. Mr. Harris, however, has cuts, bruises, a broken rib, and a black eye.
Miss Summers moves towards the Mayor, intent on mayhem, but your father stops her. This, however, leaves Miss Kelly free, and she finds the target by throwing a knife directly into his heart.
Your father is stunned, and stunned further when the Mayor looks down and removes the knife. "Well, goodness me, aren't you just a little Girl Scout?" he says. "Good to see the young people of today taking an interest in more traditional forms of weaponry. And now that we realize that you're not going to be able to hurt me, you might as well tell me where my Box of Gavrok is."
At that, everyone in the room except Mr. Echolls and Mr. Mars start laughing. "I love a good joke," the Mayor says.
"Then you're going to love this," Buffy said. "You've been wasting your time."
"How so?"
"We destroyed that last week."
"You did not," he says.
"Did too. Once we did some reading up on Ascensions and figured out what you were trying to do."
"Huh. Well, would you imagine that."
Xander said, "Blows your chance of Ascension right out of the water, doesn't it?"
"It surely does," he says.
And with that, he calls up his Deputy Mayor and says, "Allan? I'm afraid I'm going to have to resign. That means you're in charge." After a second, he says, "Gosh darn it. The man fainted."
As it turns out, he is resigning because he made promises to various powers about what he would do once he gained power, and your destruction of the Box of Gavrok has made it impossible for him to ascend any time soon. And as he is still indestructible – and will remain so for quite a while – the alternative would be to chain him up forever so, under threats of mayhem should he ever show his face in Sunnydale again, he is allowed to leave – with nothing more than the clothes on his back. Your father drives him to the edge of town.
Everyone graduates. No explosives or army are necessary.
["And that's it?" I asked.
"The school is saved; students who lost their lives initially no longer do; and Principal Snyder lives."
"I hardly count the last as being a point in my favor," I said.
And the Adversary smiled. "But I do. His life, after all, is now better."
Point taken, I suppose.
"Still, that is not – quite – it."]
A few weeks later, we come across now ex-Mayor Wilkins, hiding out in an apartment, somewhere. He is on the phone to someone he hopes can assist when the door comes bursting in and Mr. Giles, healed from his injuries, enters. Instead of attempting to injure Mr. Wilkins, though, he grabs him and shoves him out of the front door, where Angel takes hold of him.
"You really can't hurt me, you know," he says.
"I am aware of that," Mr. Giles says. "We are not attempting to hurt you."
And without further ado, he manipulates a carried amulet, and a demon appears. "What is it – oh. Richard Wilkins."
Angel says, grinning evilly, "I believe these folks are going to like the fact that you can't die."
The demon, and Wilkins, disappear. Mr. Giles shakes Angel's hand, and leaves.
The Summer Between Seasons 3 and 4
You and your father both leave Sunnydale. He moves to Los Angeles, you head off to college.
["Hearst?"
"Does not exist in this universe," The Adversary said.
"Of course it doesn't." And that makes sense; after all, UC-Sunnydale doesn't exist in mine.]
You won the Kane scholarship, so will be attending the University of California at Irvine, going for a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology. Mr. Echolls, one should note, is going to UC-Sunnydale, but as you are closer to Sunnydale than your father is, this does not pose much of a problem for the two of you.
Your father reopens his detective agency in Los Angeles.
Miss Chase remains in Sunnydale, despite her parents' tax issues, as her relationship with Mr. Harris deepens. They go on their road trip together. She is not able to attend college but fully intends to do so in the future.
Miss Summers' father has other things to do this summer, so she remains in Sunnydale.
City Of:
Mr. Doyle –
["Hold it," I said.
"Yes?" The Adversary seemed puzzled.
"There was nothing in the bet about whether I improved things for the people on Angel."
"I believe it was implied."
"Implied doesn't equal stated clearly," I said.
"So, you wish to exclude the events on Angel?"
"I do," I said. While it was possible I'd changed things for the better, it's also entirely possible I changed things for the worse. And in any event, I really hadn't been factoring it in, either way. Maybe this would hurt me, maybe it would help, but I was willing to take my chances.
"Very well," he said. "Continuing -"]