Author's Note: A minor warning as there is talk of suicide in this chapter.
Chapter 32: The Wish
November 29, 1998 – Sunday
Sunnydale City Park
The sun blazed overhead, casting a bright light throughout the large park on a gorgeous day with barely a cloud in the sky. The tranquil atmosphere was shattered by the scaly dark green monster, his tentacles slicked over the back of his skull, as he emerged from the shadows. The demon's eyes glinted wickedly as Buffy kicked at him, trying to break free of his iron grip. She breathed shallowly, struggling to escape as the demon trapped her against the rough bark of a tree by her neck. She grimaced, feeling the filth on his flesh against her skin.
Buffy struggled to draw breath. "Nnnrrf! Nnnrrf! Nnnrrf!" she shouted, straining against the creature's grip. The demon laughed at her attempt and tightened its grip around her throat, restricting her oxygen.
A terrible throbbing emanated from Xander's head as he slowly began to return to consciousness.
"Oh, God! Demon! Demon! What kills a demon?!" Willow screamed, digging through the weapons Buffy had brought with her.
Buffy strained with the hand at her neck without success, the pressure of its hand made breathing difficult. "Nnnrrf! Nnnrrf! Nnnrrf!" she shouted again, hoping to get Willow to realize what she needed.
Willow didn't hesitate in her hunt for the meaning of Buffy's distorted word. "Oh, nurf! Not nurf. A knife!" she corrected herself as she looked for a knife. When she found it, she ran closer to Buffy before tossing her friend the weapon.
Buffy snatched it from the air blindly and with a strong thrust downward stabbed the demon in the chest. The monster fell to the ground, taking her with it. Willow and Xander rushed over to assist her as she got to her feet.
"Okay. That was too close for comfort. Not that slaying is ever comfy, but... you know what I mean?" Buffy took a big breath, relishing the use of her lungs. "If you guys hadn't been here to help..."
Willow cut Buffy off. "But we were, and we did, and we're all fine." She lowered her gaze to the dead creature on the ground. "Isn't he going to go poof?"
Buffy cast a gaze down at the demon. "I guess these guys don't. We'll have to bury him or something. Ugh…" Buffy groaned, not wanting to dig a hole large enough for the demon. She walked back over to the picnic table and sat on top of it with her legs crossed. The others joined her in sitting around the table. "Makes you appreciate vampires. No muss, no fuss."
"How come, Faith, was a no-show? I thought mucusy demons were her favorites?" Xander inquired, munching on one of the snacks they had brought with them.
"She took Dawn out to the movies tonight," Buffy answered. "She's been spending more time with Dawn of late."
"You think it's because of how close you and Dawn are?" Willow wondered. "You know since Dawn was the first person you told that you were trans."
"Maybe," Buffy said with a shrug. "She could want to make sure that Dawn is okay with her dating me."
"Well burial detail aside. Does this cap us off for the day?" Xander asked forcing a cheery smile.
Buffy looked at him. "You have plans?" she asked slightly surprised but pleased for him.
"I cannot stress enough how much I don't have plans." Xander sighed, already missing the things he'd done with Cordelia over the weekend.
Buffy gave him a sympathetic look. "No luck reaching Cordelia?"
"I've left a few messages. Sixty…seventy…but you know what really bugs me?" He looked at Willow for support. "Ok. We kissed. It was a mistake. But I know that was positively the last time we were ever going to kiss."
"Darn, tootin'!" Willow agreed, glad to be able to pass the blame if even the excuse was lame.
"And they just burst in rescuing us without even knocking? I mean this is really all their fault."
Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Your logic does not resemble our Earth logic."
"Mine is much more advanced," Xander told Buffy sheepishly. Earning a small amused smile from the blonde.
"At least tomorrow's Monday, another school day," Willow said.
"Well, that's good. You know, focus on school. That's the strong Willow way to heal," Buffy said encouragingly.
Willow shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, I was thinking Oz will be there and I can beg for forgiveness."
Buffy quickly changed directions. "That works too." She nodded.
"I want to be strong Willow," Willow admitted. "But then I think I may never get to be close to Oz again, and it's like all the air just goes out of the room."
"I know the feeling," Buffy said.
"That's right you went through it with Angel…" Xander said.
"I was thinking more Faith," Buffy admitted as her friends looked at her questioningly. "Yes, I went through it with Angel. But I also go through it with Faith every day also. That desire to have her by my side."
"So, tell us Wise One, how do you deal?" Xander asked, truly wanting to know despite his glib tone.
Buffy gave him a serious look. "Well, I have Dawn, of course. And also, I have you guys. And it doesn't hurt that Faith and I actually share a bed."
Chase Residence
Cordelia sat on her bed; her drapes carefully closed to block out the bright sunlight. She had her lights turned down low, just enough to see by. She examined the photograph in her hand. The picture depicts her, Xander, Willow, and Buffy with their arms around each other in a comforting embrace. Taking the scissors in her hand, she cut right through the photo, severing Buffy and let the piece to fall into the basin in front of her. She slashed into Willow next, her movement even more violent than when she eliminated Buffy from her life. She bit back a sigh as another message played from the answering machine and Xander's accursed voice once again filled the room.
"Hey. This is Xander. Please call me if you get this." Cordelia tried to ignore his voice as she examined the remaining portion of the snapshot in her palm. Xander's face was goofily beaming up at her. What had become of her? She was Cordelia Chase. Nobody cheated on her! Cordelia slashed into Xander's face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she allowed herself this one day to weep over Xander and his cruel treachery.
"Hi! Xander. I, um... I'm available if you want to call. Bye." Cordelia sighed deeply, her eyes shutting briefly before picking up a match and lighting it. For a brief moment, she was drawn to the flame. Holding it to what remained of Xander's photo. Sad eyes watched as it started to burn.
"Hi, Cordelia. If you get a chance. If we could talk, I'm here." Cordelia tossed it into the bowl of cut-up images of herself and Xander as she purged herself of her past, vowing to start over tomorrow. "Hey, there!" It's me. I've arrived. Again."
For a moment longer she watched Xander burn before she got up and walked over to her private bathroom, stripping her clothes from her body she jumped under her shower, beginning the process of making herself look presentable again before she went out and restocked her wardrobe.
November 30, 1998 – Monday
Sunnydale High School
Willow nervously shifted her feet as she peeked around the corner of the hallway. Her attention was focused on one locker in particular, and she was growing increasingly anxious as it remained untouched. Suddenly, Buffy appeared behind her.
"How's it going?" Buffy asked.
"Oz hasn't been to his locker yet," Willow sighed, fixing her friend with a sad look before turning away again to monitor the row of lockers. "He may have books in there he needs, but he still doesn't come." She glanced back at Oz's locker, dreading that she might miss him if she looked away for too long.
"What about Cordy? Has Xander seen her?" Buffy offered, changing the subject in an attempt to distract Willow from her worries.
"I don't think so," Willow sighed, looking back at Buffy. "But she is coming in today. Amy saw her last night at the mall." Once more, she looked towards Oz's locker with hope in her eyes.
"How was she?" Buffy asked with genuine curiosity regarding the cheerleader.
"I don't know," Willow began slowly, trying to remember what Amy had told her. "Amy said she looked pretty…scary," she concluded after racking her brain for the right term.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Cordelia drove into the student parking lot, top down on her convertible, music playing while she tried to take even breaths and not think about Xander. She was past her Xander craziness and eager to start fresh. The only thing she was concerned about was how her friends would respond to her attempt to re-enter the fold. She strode into school bravely, armed with the clothing she had purchased the day before.
Cordelia made her way through the breezeway that led to the quad. Her confidence was disappearing with each step she took inside the school, and she didn't like how the other kids who should have been clustering about her fighting for her undivided attention just walked right by her, not even noting how gorgeous she looked, not even a glance that couldn't be considered more than a glimpse. She battled the need to hesitate as she remembered telling Harmony she was a sheep, shaking her head. Her thoughts returned to it when she noticed Harmony across the breezeway with a bunch of her old friends.
Harmony noticed Cordelia and paused, fighting the impulse to laugh at the brunette's expense. With a little wave of her hand, she signaled the other girls to keep silent, as she didn't want anything to give them away. She approached Cordelia with a nice welcoming grin. Cordelia felt a wave of relief rush over her and smiled brightly at the blonde she was hoping to win over.
"Cordelia! "You look fantastic." Harmony smiled as she approached the brunette, bending in with Cordelia to exchange an air hug and cheek kisses, neither of them wanting to spoil their clothes or makeup.
Harmony took a short step back from the greeting and motioned to one of the girls Cordelia didn't recognize. "Oh. You have to meet Anya." Harmony reached out and grabbed the blonde-brown-haired girl in front of her. "She just moved here, and her father just purchased...what was it...well. A utility or something like that." Harmony shrugged, not caring.
"I like the bag. Prada?" Anya inquired, her gaze fixed on Cordelia's bag, as she analyzed the girl she had come to meet.
Cordelia smiled. "Nice call! Most folks around here can't tell the difference between Prada and Payless," she stated a bit more fiercely than she had intended, her thoughts wandering treacherously to Xander.
Harmony pulled herself up, ready to refocus everyone's attention on her. "Oh my God, Cordy, when I heard about...I couldn't believe it. But it was smart. You know, the injury? You take a week off and let everyone forget about the brief craziness that was Xander Harris."
Cordelia lifted her brows, her rapid tongue covering her offended feelings. "Xander, who?"
"Oh!" Harmony was astonished, expecting a far more painful reaction from the brunette. The awkward pause that followed was broken by nervous laughing that was glaringly phony even to their own ears.
After the laughing subsided, an old ex-Cordelia worshipper spoke out. "You understand what you must do. Start dating. Get back on the horse."
Cordelia nodded eagerly, this was going better than she could have imagined, it never occurred to her that it was almost too simple, especially after how she had discarded them. "Oh, of course! I'm ready to ride!"
Harmony resisted a wicked girlish chuckle. "Then I just have the stallion. He's just like you." She led Cordelia and her group of friends over to the outside steps, where the geeky-looking Jonathon sat, drinking a soft drink. He cast a wide-eyed glance at the group of girls in front of him, not expecting the sudden attention, and he was nearly convinced he was about to be pushed into something.
Cordelia's smile faded as she felt a pang of dread in her gut and looked around to see whether her 'friends' may have meant someone else. When she saw no one else, her heart sank as the realization of who Harmony meant settled in, making her heart heavier than it already was, and the tears that had recently been so close to the surface threatened to escape her tears ducts, but she bit them back, the last thing she needed was to show them tears.
Harmony laughed, pleased to be able to express how amusing she felt the scenario was. "I'm confident he won't cheat on you. At least not for the time being. He also has a killer moped." She giggled as she and her friends walked away, leaving Cordelia behind. Jonathon gave Cordelia a sympathetic look, knowing what it's like to be on the receiving end of one of their cruel games, before turning his gaze away from the brunette and back to the relative safety of his soda; she may not be one of them anymore, but nothing could make him forget how cruel she could be.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Cordelia descended the stairs and entered the student lounge. She turned down the hall, and she face was unhappy, but it wasn't because of Xander, but because of how much trouble she was having resuming her previous role as Queen of Sunnydale High. She noticed Xander leave the cafeteria as she peered across the hall. He halted when his sight fell on her, his breath held in his throat. She glanced about for a method to persuade Xander to leave. When she saw an old boyfriend in the crowd, she drew him to her.
"Hey, John Lee. Is there something stuck in my teeth?" Cordelia inquired, flashing him a dazzling smile to show off her pearly whites. Shifting her head back and forth, angling her head up so he can see. John Lee diligently tracked her movements, his gaze fixed on her teeth.
Xander clenched his teeth as he watched what appeared to be Cordelia and John kissing; he couldn't help but feel jealousy and misery. Anger was also present. He stayed there for a while more, paralyzed by the sight, and then marched back into the cafeteria, trying to find something that would remove the burned picture from his mind's eye.
When Cordelia saw Xander go back through the cafeteria entrance, she took a step back, her smile relaxing and shrinking to a more comfortable size. "So, what's new? It's been a gazillion years!"
"Look, the guys have been really down on me lately. Coach has moved me to second string. If anyone saw me with Xander Harris' castoff on top of that... Death, you know, but... maybe..." John Lee gave her a sly look with his eyes, his smile turning leering. "If you want to go someplace private..."
Cordelia cut him off, her gaze revealing her amazement at the quick turnabout. "What?"
"Think about it," John informed her with one final tempting gaze before turning and walking into the crowd, not wanting to be seen with her and getting thrown off the team.
Cordelia glanced after him for a time, unable to believe what had just occurred, but the words buzzed about in her head, making it difficult to deny that they had been uttered. She began down the corridor, anxious to get away, hoping that this was all a dream and that she'd wake up to find that her journey into social suicide had never occurred. She jumped when she felt someone collide with her. She turned to find Anya standing next to her.
Anya smiled at her. "Hey."
Cordelia glared at her, raising her defenses and crossing her arms protectively across her chest. "Go ahead and do it. Your imaginative insults will amaze me. "Join the crowd," she yelled at the smaller girl.
Anya gave the brunette a thoughtful look, resisting the impulse to roll her eyes. "Hardly. I've actually been looking for you. Since we met this morning, I've been thinking, 'Thank God there's another person in this town who reads W.'"
Cordelia's demeanor shifted from defensive to confused. "But... Harmony..."
Anya waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, she follows me around. If that girl had an original thought, her head would explode." She meant every word she said, just being forced to hang around the girl had made her want to scream, but she'd have to fit in somewhere and the tall brunette wouldn't have talked to her at all if she wasn't with a popular crowd. Sometimes she hated teenagers.
Cordelia looked Anya over sizing the girl up. She looked like she had a good fashion sense and wouldn't embarrass her in public. She shrugged mentally, she could do a whole lot worse than Anya, and she desperately needed someone. "Tell me about it."
"And she's upset about some guy you were dating? Have we completed the seventh grade?" Cordelia giggled as Anya inquired.
Cordelia's gaze focused on a pendant with a vivid green stone in the center, quickly drawing her interest. "Isn't that Gucci?"
Anya stared down at her pendant, urgently trying to come up with a cover story for it. "Um... no. It's an actual antique, kind of, hmm... good luck charm my father gave me."
"Too bad I didn't have one of those pre-Xander," Cordelia mumbled an outburst of rage and betrayal, her eyes gleaming with intensity.
They proceeded down the corridor, the stillness engulfing them for a brief while before Anya broke it. "Can I just say... Men!"
"Seconded."
"Aside from lacking class, the guy is obviously blind. He deserves whatever he gets," Anya said with intensity and hatred seldom heard in a teenager.
Cordelia didn't notice since she was too preoccupied with her own anguish and betrayal. "I'm not even considering him. I'm over it. I'm enjoying my life."
"Still, I mean... Don't you kind of wish..." Anya began, but Cordelia cut her off in her typical domineering manner.
"I don't wish. I act. Starting immediately, Xander Harris is going to get a taste of how sick of him I am." Her dark eyes shone with conviction, a sliver of spiteful glee piercing her heart at the prospect of retaliating against the loser she had dated.
The Bronze
Xander observed Cordelia as she sat at the bar chatting to some guy he didn't know, a scowl on his face as he saw the grin light her face, leading him to assume she was having a good time. He fisted his palm on the armrest of the couch he was sitting on with Buffy, Faith, and Willow, wishing he hadn't noticed her hot red spaghetti-strap dress.
Willow glanced out across the crowd, her mind wandering to her own worries. Buffy and Faith were having an intense make-out session when Xander put out a fake chuckle, which startled them and Willow. His face was bright, with a broad, trying-too-hard smile pasted on it. Faith, Willow, and Buffy exchanged glances before turning to face Xander.
Xander's smile faded, and he gave his friends a frustrated expression. "Excuse me. I need to be both giving and receiving mirth. Is a little backup too much to ask?"
Buffy smiled and placed a kind hand on his knee. "I'm here for you, Xander." "I'm Support-O-Gal," she informed him before removing her hand and looking across at Cordelia. "I just...feel a little strange about this us-versus-Cordelia thing. She's been through a lot," she replied emphatically.
"The same is true for me, Xan," Faith said, taking Buffy's hand in her own and bringing it to her lips.
Willow looked over toward Cordelia, who was still at the bar, conversing amiably and clearly having a good time. "It's true. Cordelia is of the justified camp. She should make us pay. And pay, and pay, and pay...In fact, there is really not enough pay to make up for…"
Xander felt his guilt build with each word Willow said; the sensation enraged him; he despised guilt and despised being forced to feel it. He cut Willow off with a furious sneer. "Look, you can do guilt-a-palooza all you want, but I'm done with that. Starting right now, I'm going to seize that crazy little thing called life and let it do its wonderful little healing thing. What has been done is done. Let us live in the present moment. Look at the beauty that is right now." He raised an eyebrow, hinting. "Who's on board with me?"
"It's true. We are young and free in America. How dare we be spun by love or its absence?" Buffy nodded, brushing off her friend's heartbreaks as gently as she could.
"B's right," Faith said firmly.
Willow swallowed anxiously. "So says the couple who can't stop kissing," she retorted. "In any case, it's self-indulgent. I'm in. I'm on the joy train." She tried to make her grin bright and cheerful, but it came out half-hearted.
Willow and Xander took deep breaths before plastering ecstatic smiles on their faces as they looked around The Bronze pretending to be happy. After a moment their smiles faded into nothingness, leaving them looking as glum as before their attempt at seizing life.
"That didn't work…" Buffy admitted noticing her friends' glum looks. She looked toward Faith. "What do you think? Chocolate?"
"Chocolate," Faith agreed as she and Buffy rose to their feet and made for the quickest route to the bar through the mass of bodies in the club.
Willow followed Buffy and Faith with her gaze not wanting to look at Xander for too long a moment, just encase it got back to Oz and he got the wrong idea.
Xander, oblivious to Willow's distraction, looked at Cordelia with sorrowful eyes, envy tugging at him as he saw her effortless happiness. "Look at her." He made a little hand motion toward Cordelia. "Clown tears, baby." Or is it... a sad person's grin?" Still oblivious to Willow's lack of attention, he reached out in his old familiar way, his palm resting on her arm. "Or maybe it's..."
Willow finally looked at Xander, or rather at his hand, with a slightly uneasy expression on her face. "Xander, your hand."
As he gazed at his long-time friend, Xander snatched his hand away, a surprised expression on his face. "Oops! Sorry. But why the 'oops'? I mean, we've always touched digits. It's a friend thing. Comfort. Just like chocolate."
Willow shrugged firmly yet awkwardly. "Maybe it used to be, but since we... It's different." Xander broke eye contact again, gazing across toward the bar. "I'm sorry. But if I ever want to make things right with Oz, my...everything...has to be for him exclusively," she said as Xander returned his gaze to her. He nodded in agreement, but the expression on his face screamed all about how upset he was about it.
Buffy and Faith made it to the back of the line for the cappuccino bar. Buffy's gaze was drawn to Cordelia as the cheerleader muttered a few words of goodbye to Anya before turning around to depart, a boy brushing into her as she swerved past him. Cordelia clenched her wound with a grimace as agony pierced it.
"Get the chocolate, I will be right back," Buffy said hesitantly before following after the cheerleader.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy stepped out the door, her gaze fixed on Cordelia. She noticed her a bit farther away from the club, moving slowly so as not to irritate her injuries. "Hey, Cordelia, wait a second."
Cordelia came to a sudden halt, her eyes shutting briefly as she exhaled a small breath of air. She turned to face Buffy; her eyes empty of any emotion save irritation. "Did Xander send you to beg for him? Because if he did..." she began, a little bit hopeful that he had.
"No. I promise I'm a free agent. I simply wanted to check in on you." Buffy cut in; her palms slightly lifted in submission.
Cordelia faked a grin as unwelcome disappointment washed over her. "Never been better," she virtually hissed, before turning to leave.
Buffy let out a soft sigh and followed her. "Cordelia, I know what it's like to be hurt by someone."
Cordelia spun around, ready to spout a series of choice harsh words at the blonde, but the expression on her face stopped her, making her swallow the harsh words back down into the pit of fury and betrayal.
"You're hurting so bad you don't think you'll make it." Buffy paused and took a deep breath. "But I expressed my feelings to my sister and to my friends, and you know what? It got a little better. It even helped me to move on and fall in love again."
Before Cordelia could answer a vampire jumped from the roof to land right behind Buffy. The vampire took a swing at her head, but, having been alerted by his landing, Buffy blocked it. Buffy sent a punch to his face sending the vampire tumbling to the ground. Not giving him any chance to recover, she threw another punch directly at his face and grabbed his shirt's lapels to pull him up.
Spinning him around, Buffy let go of his clothing causing him to lose balance. With a snarl, he advanced toward her with a roundhouse kick, which Buffy was able to dodge along with the second blow. He tried to hit her with a punch again but Buffy ducked in time; then she retaliated with a kick that sent him backward.
Suddenly realizing Cordelia was standing right in his path, Buffy winced as the vampire stumbled into her friend who fell onto her side into some trash. "Cordelia...look out," she called out too late.
The vampire sprang into the air, a loud furious growl exploding from his chest, aiming a kick at Buffy's head. She effortlessly evaded it, whirling around and grabbing his arms as he charged at her. Kneeing him in the belly, she rolled the winded vamp onto his back before ripping out one of her stakes and ramming it home. She drew her stake back and turned toward Cordelia, a sorry expression on her face as the vampire disintegrated to dust. Cordelia irritably flicked a few rubbish bits off her clothing before gently clambering out of the heap, her wound now more than twinging.
As a group of girls left the Bronze laughing. Buffy hastily threw her stake away, hearing it crash into the darkness. Looking behind her, she noticed Harmony and a small group of her friends walking past. They halted for a brief minute when they noticed Cordelia, and as they looked her over, their laughing erupted again, this time more vengeful and contemptuous than joyful.
Cordelia shifted her gaze to Buffy once Harmony and the other girls had left, leaving behind the echo of their laughter. Her brown eyes were filled with anguish and rage. The feelings that had led to her sliding into the rubbish had turned towards the petite blonde.
"You know what I've been wondering about the last couple of days? Why me? Why do I keep being impaled? Why do I keep being bitten by snakes? Why do I keep falling for such losers? And you know what, I think I've finally solved my problem. You're the one! It's always something to do with you when anything like this happens! You and the stupid secret world that you dragged me into. So here's an idea: keep away from me!" Cordelia shouted, before turning on her heel and storming off, vanishing as she turned a corner, her rage temporarily masking her agony.
Buffy watched Cordelia walk away, not daring to pursue her again. Cordelia's words rang in her head. The fact that she could see the truth in them made them excruciating. When anything horrible occurred to either her sister or one of her friends, it always seemed to come back to her and her responsibilities.
December 1, 1998 – Tuesday
Sunnydale High School
"Buffy Summers. That's when all my troubles started," Cordelia grumbled to Anya as they walked across the quad. When she moved badly, she felt a spike of pain and grimaced, reaching for her side. "When she moved here," she said, her voice anguished.
Anya saw and looked concerned. "Are you feeling okay?"
Cordelia smiled as she waved it away. "Oh, I just pulled some stitches last night. "Do you know why?" she said, her attention falling on Buffy, who sat with her friends on one of the quad's benches. "Surprise. It was Buffy's fault," she complained. Anya glanced over, uninterested in the girls' troubles with the blonde. She simply wanted the girl to make her wish so she could stop pretending to be a teenager.
Harmony noticed them as she and her companions entered the quad. Her lips formed a bitter amused smile. "Oh hey, it's Garbage Girl," she announced loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I liked your look last night, Cordy. Dumpster chic for the dumped." With a wide smile on her face, she squeezed in between Anya and Cordelia, her followers following suit as they walked away, their high-pitched laughter traveling back to the humiliated cheerleader who was staring at the ground, trying to ignore them.
Anya paused for a bit before removing the necklace she had been wearing. "Here, I think you need this more than I do right now." Cordelia didn't even flinch as she moved her hair out of the way so that her one and only friend could fasten the pendant around her neck.
"I could use some luck." Cordelia glared angrily at Buffy. "As well as a stick with pointy, sharp bits. If Buffy wasn't..." She barely kept herself from revealing the blonde's secret. And perhaps if she hadn't been so bent on putting her troubles on someone else, she would have understood that act alone demonstrated that she wasn't truly upset with Buffy. "I swear. She's a pain," she grumbled.
"But Xander, he's a complete loser. Don't you wish..." Anya began, only to be cut off.
"I never would've looked twice at Xander if Buffy hadn't made him marginally cooler by hanging out with him," Cordelia said to Anya, her gaze still drawn to Buffy and her friends, who were laughing softly.
Anya lifted an eyebrow in skepticism. "Really?" Her gaze returned to Buffy, who didn't appear to be anything unique other than being transgender.
"I swear! I wish that Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale," Cordelia lamented.
Anya's body sagged slightly in relief as she finally heard the girl express a wish. When she turned back to face Cordelia, her face was excessively wrinkled and rough. Cordelia gasped in surprise, her eyes widening. Cordelia was about to yell for Buffy when Anya said, "Done." The world around Cordelia suddenly became a dazzling white mist.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The dazzling white mist drifted away gradually, leaving Cordelia squinting for a few seconds before she realized she was still in the quad. Except she was suddenly standing alone, with no sign of Buffy, Willow, or Xander. In reality, there were relatively few students around, which Cordelia found unexpected given that virtually everyone spent their break in the quad. Another thing that startled her was how much rubbish was on the ground. This would not be tolerated by Snyder. He despised his school for appearing anything other than immaculate.
"Anya?" she said, gazing around, wondering where the girl had gone. She became aware that she was not in any discomfort. She ran her fingers over the area where she knew her injury was and grinned with satisfaction when she didn't feel the scratchy bumps of her stitches, only smooth skin.
She noticed the green gemstone necklace was still around her neck and the puzzle started to come together. "I wished Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale." Cordelia grinned. "She was, like...a good fairy." She took a moment to breathe. "A scary, veiny...good fairy," she told herself this. Her smile widened as she realized she was right.
She chuckled heartily as she moved from the quad into the hallways to see what else had changed since Buffy Summers' disappearance. Looking around the hallways, Cordelia grimaced slightly, her grin fading as she realized the halls were just like outdoors. They were nearly empty, with only the occasional student loitering about.
'Was school no longer required?' Cordelia thought, giving herself a nod. That had to be it, the school was no longer seen as essential. She frowned again when she spotted the dark and dreary apparel that everyone else in the school was wearing. Cordelia shook it off, not caring that it made her stand out even more in her stunning blue dress.
When she reached the corner, Cordelia noticed Harmony standing at her locker, with the other girls waiting for her to finish. She paused at the corner, unsure of the reception she would receive from the girls.
Harmony slammed her locker door shut; her gaze drawn to Cordelia in her eye-catching attire. "Where have you been?" With a slight pout to her lips, she demanded. She approached the cheerleader, the others following close behind.
Cordelia relaxed slightly at the optimistic greeting and smiled cautiously at everyone.
"Ted Chervin just totally went for third with Ginger in front of everybody," Harmony revealed like she used to before Cordelia's 'Xander' phase.
"I adore the outfit. It's rather bold," one of the Cordettes commented admiringly on the clothing, recalling her former wardrobe, which had been burnt when the vampires emerged from hiding. Harmony agreed with her friend, her eyes passing over Cordelia's choice of clothing, it perplexed her why Cordelia would choose to wear something so vibrant.
John Lee entered the corridor, his gaze fixed on Cordelia, and he took a deep breath to calm his anxieties. "Cordelia," he called as he approached, causing her to turn to face him.
"Yeah?"
John Lee gently grabbed her arm and moved her aside, hoping for some solitude. "Look, I'm sure every guy on campus has asked, but if you're not going to the Winter Brunch with anyone, I'd be honored, and we'd have a good time."
Cordelia forced herself to pause. She took a few cautious breaths, not wanting to appear too eager after the way he had talked to her... even if this version hadn't. "I'll get right back to you," she answered quietly, congratulating herself on keeping her calm.
"Really?" John inquired attentively, hardly believing his good fortune.
Cordelia nodded slightly. "Yeah." She smiled at him and fluttered her eyelids slightly.
"Great!" John Lee walked down the corridor with a spring in his step that wasn't there just a few seconds before.
Harmony approached her with admiration in her eyes, which Cordelia hadn't seen in a long time. It reminded her of the strong woman she was before Xander Harris and Buffy Summers! "Cordy, you reign!"
"I do?" Cordelia paused before gathering her thoughts. "I mean, I really do. So, what's the deal with the Winter Brunch?" she asked her friends as they went down the corridor.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Cordelia groaned, trying to listen to the teacher as he droned on and on about something she couldn't care less about. She was alarmed by the lack of kids seated at their desks. She'd never been in a class with so few fellow students. The vacant rows of chairs in the front part of the classroom seemed strange. When the bell sounded, the teacher ceased speaking. He cut himself off as he rapidly grabbed his belongings. "Alright. Don't forget, tomorrow is our, um, monthly memorial, so there will be no class." With those closing comments, the instructor stormed out of the room, never looking back.
The other students were imitating the teacher's haste as they collected their books and dashed for the door. "What's the big rush?" Cordelia asked Harmony, perplexed, while the blonde girl waited for her.
Harmony shook her head. "Oh, you know, my mom hates it when I'm late."
Cordelia looked perplexed. "How long has it been? Don't we have plans to go out tonight?" she eventually inquired, getting up with her books in her arms.
A Cordette gave her an odd look. "Curfew starts in an hour."
"Curfew? Come on, I'm in a great mood! Let's go to the bronze!" Cordelia begged as they exited the classroom.
Harmony and the others came to a halt and stared at Cordelia in disbelief. "Is that a joke?" she inquired cautiously.
Cordelia gave her a shocked glance. "Oh! In this world, the Bronze is uncool. I need to make some little modifications," she muttered, a winning smile on her face.
Harmony exchanged glances with the girl next to her. "Cordy, what's the matter with you?" she inquired as everyone else went down the corridor, leaving them alone. "I mean, you wear this come-bite-me outfit, make jokes about the Bronze, and you're acting a little schizo."
"You're exactly right." Cordelia concurred. "I just..." she thought quickly, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for her lack of knowledge. "Well, I hit my head yesterday, and I keep forgetting things. Not that I care, but Xander Harris is miserable, right? And that Willow weirdo he hangs out with, not even on the radar, right? she inquired, a bright smile on her face.
Harmony gave her a perplexed look. "Well, yeah. They're dead."
Cordelia's smile faded as terror overtook her. She had thought many times over the last few days that she wanted Xander and Willow dead for what they had done to her, but now that she was confronted with reality, she understood that as much as she loathed them now, she didn't want them dead. For the first time since her wish, she was unsure whether this world was better than the real world.
Harmony rolled her eyes and dashed down the corridor, eager to be home before sunset.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Cordelia went carefully out of the school building and into what had been the student parking lot when she arrived this morning. To her astonishment, the lot was absolutely empty and appeared to have been unused for quite some time, since leaves virtually covered the entire lot. "Okay. Not amusing," she said softly as a janitor hurriedly walked through the parking lot. "Hey! You!" she yelled, causing the janitor to come to a halt and turn to face her. "Where did you put my car?"
"Pardon?" The janitor inquired, perplexed.
"My car! El convertible?" Cordelia yelled out, moving her arms slightly.
"You students aren't allowed to drive, and you know it." The janitor sighed.
"What?!" Cordelia sobbed, astonished and upset at the prospect of walking all the way home. Seeing as the buses had left a few minutes ago, not that she would be caught dead on one of the school buses.
"Come on, Miss. You'd best get in before the sun goes down," the janitor counseled the befuddled adolescent before hurrying off to go home before the sun set entirely.
Cordelia stood there for a time, watching the janitor go. She shook her head at the absurdity of having to walk all the way home. She bit her bottom lip, wondering where her prized automobile was.
Streets of Sunnydale
She had just gone a few miles when she realized she missed her car. Cordelia determined with a tiny nod that it was most likely at home. The landscape around her darkened as the sun set in the sky, and she walked slowly, completely uninterested in what was going on around her.
She hadn't even realized the Sun Cinema was closed. What drew her notice was a business that she knew was open 24 hours a day is closed; the metal gate being pushed over its doors by a man other than the one she knew owned it. Cordelia shifted her gaze away from the shopkeeper, her gaze wandering around the street she was traveling alone. It was dirty as if people had forgotten how to use the garbage cans.
What had happened to everyone's little sense of local pride? She went around a wrecked automobile that had been abandoned in the middle of the road, the only genuine indication that cars existed in this bizarre reality she had wished them all into. Cordelia heard sirens and screaming in the distance. Loud horrified shouts of individuals who, like her, had not yet reached the protection of their homes.
Appearing unexpectedly Xander appeared in front of her, dressed in a white T-shirt, black leather jacket, and matching pants. Cordelia was taken aback by his quick entrance. She came to a halt, feeling the same rage she usually felt when she saw 'him'. How could he still be alive after she was informed that he was dead?
"Well, what do you know? Cordelia Chase," Xander said firmly with a confident tone that she had never heard from him before. It made her want to back up, but she didn't. There was no way in hell she'd ever let Xander Harris see her fleeing him.
"What exactly is this? Is this some kind of twisted joke? Harmony informed me that you had died," Cordelia snarled, pointing an angry finger at him.
Xander cocked his head slightly to the side. He was perplexed by her apparent forgetfulness, but enjoyment topped his perplexity, and a grin tugged at his lips. "Now, why would she say such a thing? Let's think."
Cordelia took a step forward, her voice powerful and insistent on being believed. "Listen to me. We have to find Buffy. She'll find a way to save us. She was meant to be here, and as much as it pains me to say it, things were better when she was here."
Xander's gaze became solemn, a low growl wanting to escape his chest. "Buffy?" he inquired confused before remembering that he had heard from a vampire passing through about a former Slayer who had been transgender and whose preferred name had been Buffy. "The Slayer?" he inquired just to make sure.
Cordelia snorted angrily. "No! Buffy, the dog-faced girl! Duh! Who do you think I'm referring to?" she demanded to know, restraining herself from waving her hands in the air.
Willow stepped behind Xander to stand beside him, her gaze awestruck by the brunette she had previously attended school with and despised with a ferocious hatred that she had been too weak to combat. "Bored now," she droned. "This is the part that's less fun. When there isn't any screaming."
Cordelia shifted her gaze between the two, her gaze drawn to Willow's attire. She was clad entirely in leather, with a crimson lace bodice. It didn't seem right on them, and they didn't look good in leather. "What's up with you two and the leather?"
Willow entirely disregarded Cordelia, instead turning her gaze away from their meal and toward her lover. "Play now?"
Xander smiled slyly at Willow. "It's not that I don't appreciate your appetite, Will," he stated, "but I thought we agreed it was my turn."
Willow whined pleadingly, her hand touching Xander's chest with the familiarity of a lover.
Cordelia stomped her foot with a childlike pout on her face. "No. No! No way! I wish everyone into Bizarro Land, and you're still together?! I can't win!" she whimpered; her gaze fixed on the two people who had just made her life a living nightmare.
Xander shifted his attention away from Willow and gave Cordelia a cruel smile. "I doubt it." He shifted his face into the demon's hard ridges, his amber eyes meeting Cordelia's brown ones. "However, I'll give you an advantage," he offered.
Cordelia, wide-eyed, exclaimed and took a step back. "No!" She took a deep breath, horror gripping her as she knew there would be no Buffy to help her this time; wherever the blonde Slayer was, she wasn't there, and it was all her fault. She dropped her backpack in the hopes that not carrying it would help her to run faster as she raced down the street, praying for a miracle that would allow her to escape from evil Willow and Xander's grasp.
"I love this part." Willow moaned, leaning onto Xander's chest for support as she stood on the balls of her feet. Xander leaned down and kissed Willow, touching the desire that was always just beyond the surface. Their tongues clashed briefly as they kissed, giving Cordelia the promised head start. Xander slowly backed away. "You love every aspect," Xander responded, putting his concentration back on the pursuit, his legs effortlessly eliminating the short gap Cordelia had managed to put between them.
Willow walked alongside Xander as he chased Cordelia. He climbed upon the damaged automobile. Running across the entire body of the vehicle. He rushed down behind her, grabbed her by the neck, and tossed her down on the muddy street in a single motion. Cordelia collapsed unconscious on the ground, her body skidding to a halt barely a few steps away from her assailants.
Willow pouted as she approached Xander, her gaze drawn to Cordelia's comatose body. "No fun. She didn't even put up a fight," she moaned glumly. Both vampires looked up as a vehicle sped around a curve, right toward them.
"Aw, swell. It's the White Hats." Xander practically purred, enjoying the idea of a slightly better fight the capture of Cordelia had hardly even begun to satisfy the excitement he had felt as he gave chase.
The vehicle came to a halt beside the unconscious Cordelia. Giles jumped out, holding a large cross to fend off his two former students. Willow and Xander grumbled in frustration as they were forced to back away from the sacred relic. Oz, the driver, was holding a crossbow pointed at them. He handled it with the ease that indicated how many times he had used it in recent years to protect himself against vampires who had refused to remain creatures of fiction and legend. Larry and Nancy leaped through the sliding door. Nancy gripped another cross with sweating palms ready to fend off any vampire who sprang at them, while Larry held a stake at the ready.
"I have them! Go get the girl!" Giles told the two teenagers while keeping his gaze fixed on the two vampires. Before picking up Cordelia, Larry and Nancy nodded. They had complete faith in Giles to protect them from their former classmates. Carrying her over to the van, they worked swiftly to get themselves inside the safety of the van. Willow and Xander let out furious growls as they witnessed their victim being snatched from them as they stood helpless against the cross's power. Giles took a moment to glance behind him ensuring that Larry and Nancy were back in the van safely. He swiftly backed away, leaping back into the van, and slammed the door tight. Oz shoved his foot down on the accelerator, causing the van to roar down the road.
Sunnydale High School
Cordelia lay still on the large table. "How's she doing?" Oz inquired, his gaze shifting from Cordelia to Giles.
"Her pulse is quite strong," Giles told him as he removed his fingers from her neck's pulse point.
"What on earth was she doing wearing that? Everyone knows vampires are drawn to vivid colors," Nancy inquired, surprised. She had never imagined that somebody could be so foolish.
Larry made a shaky motion with his head. "It's Cordelia. To her, it's more important to appear attractive than to feel alive."
Giles raised his head from his perusal of Cordelia. "Uh, go ahead and, uh, watch the perimeters in case they follow." Larry, Nancy, and Oz all nodded and exited the room immediately. None of them wanted the vampires to get past the defenses. Once they were in. It wasn't likely that anyone would survive.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
As Cordelia regained consciousness, she groaned. The familiar image of the library ceiling greeted her as she opened her eyes. It wasn't as well-kept as the one in her world, but it was still recognizable. She moved her palm to her neck, cringing at the pounding agony there.
Giles dashed from the stacks, hearing her wake up. "Hey! Hey..."
Cordelia stared at him and hurriedly tried to sit up quicker, relieved to see someone who she thought could assist her more than anybody else at this moment. "Giles! It's entirely my fault! I wasn't... I just made a stupid wish..." Cordelia sobbed, trying her best to swat at his hands as he gently pushed her back down on the table.
"Come on. Please lie..."
Cordelia shook her head forcefully but stopped when it caused her head to erupt with agony. "No! You have to get Buffy. Buffy changes it," she told him, she was relieved when he abruptly let her go. "It wasn't like this before. It was much better. I mean, just the outfits..." She trailed off when Giles removed his spectacles, a show of annoyance, embarrassment, or anxiety. "But people were content... Mostly. And…Hold on," she gasped, her eyes widening in surprise, and she slipped off the table. "Why are you here when she isn't? You were her Watcher, after all."
Giles gave her a stunned glance with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes. "How did you find out I was a Watcher? I've never told..." Giles halted his rambling short when a series of thumps rang out from outside the library.
Cordelia was startled by his sudden serious expression and looked about. "What?" she hissed. Giles ignored her as he reapplied his glasses and took another cautious look around. "What?" she asked again, but slightly louder than before.
"I swear I thought I heard something," Giles eventually confessed before rushing inside the cage and hastily opening the weapons cabinet, grabbing the enormous cross he'd held earlier and a stake. "Now I want you to start over and explain everything again," he stated as he rummaged in the cabinet for anything else, he might want.
Before he could turn back, the cage door slammed shut, sending him spinning in fear.
"You're locked up in a big cage," Willow mocked him by holding out the key for him to see. Giles glanced behind Willow, attempting to see Cordelia, his breath froze in his chest as he saw her pressed against Xander, his hand covering her lips. Willow followed his gaze with her own smiling at Xander.
"Not too bright, Book Guy." Xander mocked the older man.
Willow returned her gaze to Giles, a smirk on her face. Giles smashed his crucifix against the cage door, causing Willow to back up a few paces. She hissed viciously at him, her features changing as she gnashed her fangs at him.
Cordelia was forced to walk alongside Xander as he got closer. "So, you're a Watcher, huh?" Xander questioned, a large smile on his face that was the picture of the teenager he had once been. "Keep an eye on this." He shifted his face in mockery before sinking his teeth into Cordelia's neck.
Giles shook the cage violently, attempting to tear down the cage door, despite the fact that it was used once a month to keep werewolf Oz out of mischief. Willow grinned at him, relieved that she could finally do something to retaliate against the old man who was always ruining their enjoyment. She turned around and walked over to Xander.
She ducked her head just enough to get the correct angle to sink her teeth into Cordelia Chase's neck. It took them even less time to empty the corpse dry when they worked together. Xander wrapped his arm around Willow's head, caressing her hair; draining someone together had always been a beautiful time for them. A time when their minds were united by a single desire.
Giles raged, and continued hammering against the cage door, trying to reach the girl and save her. He couldn't take his gaze away from the scene, and for the first time, he despised both Xander and Willow. Cordelia was dead in an instant, and Xander shoved her lifeless body aside, letting it tumble to the floor without a care in the world. Xander made his way to the library's exit. Willow licked her lips and flashed Giles a broad fangy smile before tossing the key at him, causing it to fall short of its mark, as she strode after Xander.
Giles panted heavily as he came to a halt against the cage door, his gaze shifting from the two departing vampires to Cordelia Chase's body. He had tears in his eyes as he understood that if he had done anything differently, the girl would still be alive. He'd been stupid to leave her out in the open, defenseless as he went in search of weapons. It had been dumb and foolish. Giles turned around and returned to the weapons cabinet. He took out a battle axe with two sides. He then returned his attention to the cage door and began swinging at it.
The door gave way to the axe after a few strikes. He ran out of the cage, dropping the axe, to Cordelia, who was unmoving on the library floor. He bent down and felt for a pulse in her wrist. He moaned with sadness when he couldn't find one. When Larry and Oz came racing in through the stacks, he turned to go and put the weapons away correctly, sending a quiet apology to the girl.
"They hit us right outside," Larry spoke gently as they stood on the library's ground floor.
"Nancy?" Giles inquired, seeing she wasn't among them.
Oz sighed and shook his head. "She's dead."
Giles turned away from the boys and down to the ground, attempting to calm himself down because he didn't want the boys to perceive him as weak. He took a long breath and returned his gaze to them, his face solemn. "Would you mind...? Could you dispose of her in the incinerator? I have some business to attend to..." Giles cut himself off as the guys began to move to execute what he had requested.
Larry grabbed her shoulders while Oz grabbed her legs. They began to proceed toward the exit while cautiously lifting her up.
"Wait a moment." Giles approached them, studying the necklace for a minute, something about it struck him as familiar. He went back, gently removing it so that the boys could carry the body away.
Giles' Apartment
Giles scowled at one of the walls as he listened to the Watcher on the other end of the line. "What do you mean your Slayer is dead? How long?"
"A little over a year ago," Chloe Payne answered reluctantly. "Officially I no longer have a Slayer, unofficially is another thing entirely."
"What do you mean, unofficially?" Giles wondered confused.
"Buffy committed suicide. People can be so mean. She tried to come out as transgender and discovered how hateful people were of anything that wasn't like them," Chloe recounted, her voice breaking with sadness. "So, instead of showing people their mistakes, the despair got to her and... I was left to care for her sister when she died, as their mother committed suicide not long after. It was at that point that I discovered Dawn was a Potential. According to the reports I've received after Buffy died, Kendra Young in Jamaica was called and killed a few months ago to prevent the vampire Nakamura from ever waking the demon Acathla. Faith Lehane, her successor, was killed by the master vampire Kakistos. Dawn was called at that point. Dawn's status as potential was unidentified by the Council, thus no Watcher had been assigned to train her. As the Council has never sent a Watcher, I am her unofficial Watcher. Likely presumed because I was already here..."
"Can you please send her?" Giles pleaded.
"She's only twelve years old," Chloe said unwillingly.
Giles listened as he heard a young girl speaking in the background.
"Alright," Chloe told the girl before returning her focus to Giles. "We're coming."
California Highway
Dawn sat next to Chloe in the mainly empty bus, staring out over the barren plains the bus was traveling through. The trip was bumpy and full of abrupt swerves as the driver tried to avoid the potholes and massive cracks in the otherwise uninhabited route.
"What do you know about this town?" Dawn asked her Watcher and adopted mother.
"Other than the fact that it's in the midst of a vampire crisis and on a Hellmouth, not much," Chloe informed the young girl. "Are you sure you want to do this, Dawn?" We could return to Cleveland."
"Buffy would want me to help if I can," Dawn acknowledged, looking out the window at the soft grass swaying in the breeze. She leaned back in her seat, her palm resting on the butt of her hidden stake. Buffy had carved it specifically for her before she had died. She noted they'd be arriving in Sunnydale just after dark.
December 2, 1998 – Wednesday
Sunnydale High School
Giles slammed down a book in his office in irritation before picking up another. Larry and Oz didn't even flinch at the deafening noise, continuing to work on their chosen weapons. He restrained a triumphant yell as he opened his new book to a random page. "Look at this! I found it," he cried as he rushed out of his office to meet with his comrades in arms. "Look."
He placed the book on the table where the two boys were working, both glanced up and looked at the presented book, which was open on a sketch of the pendant Giles had removed from around Cordelia's neck. "It was what Cordelia was wearing. It's the, the, um, symbol of Anyanka," Giles elaborated.
"I don't think I know her." Oz shrugged, returning his gaze to the crossbow he had been adjusting.
"No, no, no. Anyanka is, uh, a patron saint of scorned women." Giles explained as he removed his glasses. He sat on the table, rubbing his eyes.
Larry raised his head from his book to look at Giles. "What exactly does she do?"
"Uh, she grants wishes."
"So Cordelia wished for something?" Well, if it was a long, healthy life, she should get her money back," Oz said.
"She mumbled something about how everything was different, how the world wasn't meant to be this way. It was... better. Before." Giles spoke slowly because he didn't want to give them any false optimism if Cordelia was lying about her wish.
Larry smirked. "Okay. Because some deceased ditz made a wish, the entire world sucks?" He shuffled somewhat uncomfortable in response to Giles and Oz's stares. "I just want everything to be clear and apparent."
"She said a Slayer was supposed to be here, was supposed to have been here already," Giles said giving Larry a chance to compose his slightly red face.
"Certainly, would've helped," Oz remarked dryly.
Giles nodded in agreement. "Yes. I tried calling her, but, um…well the one Cordelia mentioned is dead." Standing up he looked back down at the last two students left that he felt responsible for. "And so are her two successors reportedly. The current Slayer is supposed to be on her way with her Watcher. But she's only…"
Larry and Oz noticed Giles' hesitation. "What?" Oz asked suddenly concerned.
"She's twelve years old," Giles said solemnly. "She's the sister of the Slayer Cordelia said should have been here. Look, I'm going to have to do some more research into this Anyanka thing. I have a few volumes at home. You two get some sleep," he said as he strode confidently out of the library. If there was any chance that the world was meant to be a better place, he'd find a way to change it back!
"Watch your back," Oz called just as Giles reached the door.
Streets of Sunnydale
Dawn and Chloe walked down the street in the unfamiliar town heading for the address that Chloe had been given. They looked up when they heard the screech of a car breaking down the street and then a firm voice of a male shouting, "Run!"
Dawn took off instantly as Chloe followed behind. They got to the street in time to see a group of kids running as fast as they could. They looked in the opposite direction to see an older man being struck by a rear van door, to land flat on his back.
Dawn raced forward her doing her best to silence her footsteps. She reached them just as two of the vampires were trying to pick him up. Gunning for the one by his feet she grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and threw him threw him through the air. The vampire landed on his back with a loud thump, and Chloe who had been standing at the ready, drove a stake into his chest and he exploded into ash. The other two snarled in anger at Dawn and attacked sloppily. It didn't even cross their minds that she, like her sister before her, was The Slayer.
Dawn threw them both back with an ease that she wasn't used to. The first vampire scrambled to his feet and ran at her planning on killing her for his humiliation. She backed up a step before slamming her stake out with a deft arm letting the vampire run himself onto her stake. Pulling it out she turned away just as he exploded into ash.
Chloe grabbed the shocked vampire and deftly staked him, not willing to waste the opportunity.
Dawn looked for the others to find them fleeing. Staring after them she considered giving chase. "Dawn," Chloe said shaking her head, knowing what her adopted daughter was thinking.
"Dawn Summers?" the older man asked a hopeful note in his voice.
Chloe turned and looked down at the man that was still lying on the ground his glasses slightly askew. "If you know my adopted daughter, I assume that means you are Rupert Giles?"
"I am," Giles answered as Chloe helped him to his feet. "Which means you are Chloe Payne."
Giles' Apartment
Dawn looked around the apartment as she and Chloe waited for Giles to finish looking things up in his books. Giles looked up from his position on his stairs his eyes flicking to from Chloe to Dawn before turning his eyes back toward his book with a sense of urgency stirring in him.
Turning the page, he sighed in relief. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Yes!" he cried glancing at Dawn and Chloe again to see Chloe approaching him while Dawn looked at the pictures on his wall. "Here. 'In order to defeat Anyanka, one must destroy her power center," he read as he walked down the steps. "This should reverse all the wishes she's granted, rendering her mortal and powerless again."
"Hmm," Chloe said looking at the book. "Unusual to see that vengeance demons require a power center. Must mean she is relatively new in the grand scheme of things."
"Your right, it does seem odd," Giles agreed before returning his attention to the book. "Without her power center, she'd be an ordinary woman, and all this would be, um... well, different." Dawn finally turned to look at him and Chloe. "Well, I'd say that my Watcher muscles," he closed the book, "haven't completely atrophied after all," he muttered as he took off his glasses, missing the complete faith Larry and Oz had in him.
"So, what's her power center?" Dawn asked curiously.
"It doesn't say," Chloe admitted as she looked up from the book and over at her adopted daughter.
Dawn sighed. "Chloe, can't I just put a stake through her heart?" she offered as she walked into the kitchen.
"She's not a vampire," Giles answered.
Dawn shrugged. "You'd be surprised how many things that'll kill," she said before she sniffed a liquor bottle making a face at the smell, she put it back down.
Chloe glanced at the other Watcher and nodded. "She does have a point," she admitted. She then looked back at her Slayer. "Dawn, if this world was created with a wish, we need to reverse it. And the best way to do that is to get this demon to do it."
"Well if that is the case," Dawn said. "I probably need to keep the local vampire population distracted in case this demon tries to use them to stop you."
"The girl who said your sister was supposed to be here. The Master sent two of his more vicious disciples to kill her. That means…" Giles argued.
"The Master?" Chloe asked.
"Um, a master vampire, the vampires around here simply refer to him as the Master," Giles answered. "He lives on the outskirts of town in an old Mansion and uses an old club as a sort of retreat."
"You mean as a party house," Dawn asked a hint of humor in her voice.
"You know where he lives and no one's tried to take him out?" Chloe asked surprised.
"People have tried," Giles muttered darkly.
"That might be a place to start," Dawn said.
"You've never faced a master vampire though, Dawn," Chloe admitted.
"You're right, Chloe," Dawn admitted. "That's why I am going to need backup. You coming?"
Chloe nodded as she looked at Giles. "Think you can persuade the demon to reverse her spell while we keep the Master and his vampires off your back?"
The Bronze
Chloe followed Dawn in through the back entrance of the club. "Where are they?" Dawn asked when they found the place completely empty.
"I don't know," Chloe admitted. They made their way through the club till they found some stairs leading into the basement. "Downstairs, maybe?"
"Possibly," Dawn agreed as they headed down the stairs. They found a series of cells, only one of which held an occupant. She glanced at Chloe. "Why would they keep someone a prisoner?"
"I don't know," Chloe answered clearly just as confused as Dawn was.
Angel looked up at Dawn and Chloe and his eyes widened when he saw Dawn. He remembered seeing her with her sister around the time her sister had been called. "You're Dawn…Dawn Summers."
Dawn glanced at him for a long moment. "Yeah, how would you know?" she asked with a puzzled expression.
"I saw your sister as her Watcher first approached her," Angel answered. "Saw you two together a couple of times before I left Los Angeles. I was to meet her here, but she never…I was supposed to help her."
Chloe eyed the cage and his wounds. "You were going to help Buffy," she said in disbelief.
Angel nodded. "The Master rose. He let me live—To punish me. I kept hoping—maybe she'd come. My destiny."
Dawn rolled her eyes as she glanced at Chloe. "Is he alluding to what I think he's alluding to?"
"Sounds like it," Chloe admitted shaking her head.
"I'm... sorry. I just meant…" Angel said trying to apologize.
"As much as we would love to chat more," Chloe stated. "We don't have time for stories. Where's the Master?"
"They're at his factory," Angel answered. "It starts tonight."
"Factory?" Dawn and Chloe asked as they glanced at each other as the pieces began to fall into place.
"I can take you there," Angel said hopefully.
Chloe gave him a once over and then nodded at Dawn.
Dawn kicked the door of the cell open and they waited for him to exit the cage. But he'd already gone as far as his chains would allow. Dawn moved closer to break his chains when he caught sight of the cross Buffy had given her, he instinctively pulled back.
"No wonder he's been kept alive," Chloe said. "You're Angelus, aren't you?"
Angel slowly nodded. "How did…"
"My great-grandmother on my father's side was an Elder woman of the tribe that cursed you," Chloe admitted. "My grandfather told me the story about how you killed Lillai and how your punishment was to forever be tormented with your soul. I am hesitant now to let Dawn set you free."
"I won't hurt you," Angel said. "If you don't believe I want to help you." He opened his shirt to show them burn wounds on his chest. "Believe I want him dead."
Chloe looked at him for a long moment considering and then nodded at Dawn.
Processing Plant
"Undeniably we are the world's superior race. Yet we have always been too parochial, too bound by the mindless routine of the predator. Hunt and kill, hunt and kill. Titillating? Yes. Practical? Hardly. Meanwhile, the humans, with their plebeian minds, have brought us a truly demonic concept," the Master spread his arms wide. "mass production!"
The crowds broke into a loud cheer, howling their approval.
Dawn, crossbow discreetly at her side, Chloe and Angel hid behind a refrigeration unit, listening to the Master's speech.
"What's the plan?" Angel asked.
Dawn handed him a stake. "Don't fall on this," she said.
Giles' Apartment
Giles stood in his dimly lit apartment, the fragrance of burning herbs filling his nostrils as he examined the many bags and bowls of herbs, he had meticulously organized on his chest table. He took a handful of them and headed over to his desk, clutching them tightly in his hands. He stood in front of a gigantic golden goblet that was already on fire. He took a sprig of a herb from the bushel and placed it in the cup before beginning to perform the rite to call Anyanka, the patron saint of scorned women. "Oh... Anyanka... I beseech thee..." He took just a moment to put his glasses back on. "Um..." he mumbled before flipping the page. "In the name of all women who have been scorned..." He placed an herb in the goblet. "Come before me."
Giles gazed around the apartment, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Anyanka appeared in the darkness beneath the steps, evading Giles' observation. She moved inside the dimly illuminated room slowly and quietly. "Oh!" He exhaled a tense breath, having nearly given up hope of success.
Anyanka locked her gaze on Giles. "Do you have any idea what I do to a man who uses that spell to summon me?"
Giles kept his gaze fixed, a sensation of dread washing over him.
Processing Plant
"Bring on the first!" the Master screamed. The nearest vampires pushed the humans back from the cage entrance before removing the crossbar that held the cage closed.
Oz stared in horror as he knew what was about to happen, hopelessness setting in as the realization that he couldn't stop it ate away at him. As two vampires went quietly inside the cage, checking them over... measuring them up, he hunkered back with the rest of the humans.
"You!" A vampire made the decision while pointing his finger at a girl in Oz's class. Xander and Willow stood there waiting for the girl to be hauled out of the cage.
"Please, no! Please help me! "No!" she shouted, flailing in vain.
A handful of the guys in the cage attempted to help her, but they were easily thrown aside, and after being pounded away like pesky flies, they stood and watched in horror. Once she was free, one of them shocked her with a modified cattle prod and her body collapsed in their arms.
The cage's gates were locked despite the fact that none of the people inside attempted to leave their little prison, and they all snuggled together for support as they watched helplessly in fear. She was pulled to the end of the monstrous-looking machine by the two vampires. One of them easily lifted her into a long stainless-steel pan like the ones used for autopsies and laid her down in it.
"She's still alive, you see, for the sake of maintaining freshness," the Master explained to the now-silent throng, who were watching with expectancy. The machine started up and the helpless individual was transported by the pan to the blood-draining station. Four arms on either side of the pan raised long needles. The needles embedded themselves in her youthful body in a single synchronized plunge, sucking the life right out of her. A tap at one end of the machine was attached to a big heated tank where the blood came to rest. A goblet was filled for the Master's enjoyment.
Dawn, Chloe, and Angel stood as the Master was handed the goblet containing the dead girl's blood. Dawn cast a glance down at the floor before she, Chloe, and Angel stepped from the ledge, landing softly on their feet. They weaved their way past the gathering of vampires waiting for their Master to sip from the blood-filled cup. Behind them, almost unseen, the arms of the machine removed themselves from the girl, and the pan went forward for disposal of the corpse.
In a toast, the Master raised the goblet. "Welcome to the future."
As the glass was lifted to The Master's lips, the throng chanted, "To the future!"
Dawn unstrapped her crossbow. Lifting it she aimed it at the Master and fired. With a deft preternaturally fast movement the Master grabbed Xander and pulled him in front of him, making the younger vampire take the bolt in the right arm. With that shot the entire room seemed to erupt into chaos.
Dawn didn't bother trying to load another bolt into the crossbow instead she tossed it to Chloe, who rammed the butt of it into one of the panicking vampire's faces.
The crossbow got knocked from Chloe's hands as a vampire kicked her wrist. She turned to face the vamp a sneer on her face as she ducked the punch, he aimed for her. Grabbing her attacker's arm she twisted it away from them before ducking in closer to ram her stake through his heart. Turning away stake in hand she walked away before the body could turn to dust.
Angel hurried over to the cage and opened it, freeing the humans, who all but Oz, Larry, and a few other brave people scattered.
Dawn elbowed her way through the crowds of confused panicked minions. Swiveling to the left to dodge a fist, she pivoted slamming her foot into a vampire's gut sending him stumbling back into the crowd. Turning away in disinterest as the vampire got trampled by his comrades, she continued toward the stage where the Master and the few favored children waited up on the stage.
Giles' Apartment
Anyanka slowly approached Giles her eyes flashing dangerously. Giles bravely stood his ground. "Cordelia Chase. What did she wish for?" he asked forcing himself not to back up.
Anyanka smiled nastily. "I had no idea her wish would be so exciting! Brave New World. I hope she likes it."
"She's dead," he informed her.
"It happens," Anyanka countered nonchalantly
"You're going to change it back," Giles said firmly, his voice demanding, if not a little shaky as he took a step back when Anyanka finally got too close for his comfort. "I'm not afraid of you. Your only power lies in the wishing." He continued, but now he sounded more as if he was trying to convince himself.
Anyanka made a sudden grab for Giles her hand closing harshly around his neck. "Wrong!" She lifted him effortlessly and slammed him against the nearest wall.
Processing Plant
Dawn threw a vampire off her as Xander approached, pulling the arrow from his shoulder. He looked at Dawn truly pissed and moved to stab her with it.
Chloe seeing this threw herself between Xander and Dawn. She punched Xander, sending him sprawling before turning to her adopted daughter.
"Chloe!" Dawn cried as she watched Xander come back and plunge the arrow into Chloe's back killing her Watcher and adopted mother.
Dawn advanced on Xander fury in her eyes. He snarled his face shifting into the demon's. He lunged forward and swept his leg out trying to knock her off balance. Dawn jumped his leg, and turning in the air she kicked him in the face sending him stumbling back.
"She was the last thing I had left in the world," Dawn snarled. "And you're going to die for taking her from me." She pulled out her stake and twirled it in her hand. She ducked under a swinging fist and shot her leg back catching him in the gut.
She felt the air move against her skin more than anything else, but it was enough to let her know that Willow was right behind her. Clutching the stake comfortably in her hand she slammed her arm back plunging her stake through bone and flesh. Glancing behind her she saw the shocked look on the redhead's face.
Willow looked up from her wound to meet Xander's eyes, whose features had smoothed into a human. Xander looked down at her wound before meeting her eyes again. "Xander?" she whimpered her eyes wide, before she turned into nothing but dust.
"Willow," Xander murmured looking at the ashes that had once been his lover and friend. Tearing his eyes away from the small pile, his eyes landed on the twelve-year-old Slayer who had her back to him, as she made her way further onto the stage. "You bitch who do you think you are?" he shouted, his face shifting back, a loud angry growl rumbling from his chest.
Dawn paused her ponytail swinging with the movement. She turned her head slightly as if she had been going to look at him but then changed her mind. "I'm Dawn, sister of Buffy, former Potential and current Vampire Slayer."
Xander let out an angry roar his footsteps loud on stage.
Dawn counted the steps under her breath, before jumping up and turning in midair to deliver a hard kick to his head. Landing back on her feet she waited only the moment it took for Xander to regain his feet before slamming her stake into his heart. She cracked her neck as she turned to face the remaining vampires on the stage. Her whole countenance was unfazed by the scuffle.
Giles' Apartment
"This is the real world now," Anyanka told Giles calmly as she continued to pin him against the wall. "This is the world we made. Isn't it wonderful?"
Processing Plant
Angelus stopped as Darla stepped in front of him with a smirk. "Hello, Darla," he said. He landed a hard punch to the side of Darla's face.
Darla's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare. I'm your Sire."
Angel smirked at her and shook his head. "So? No real Sire leaves their childe to die to save their own skin." He took a deep breath rolling his head up to the ceiling as his face shifted into the hard ridges of the demon.
Giles' Apartment
Giles gasped for air that wouldn't come as Anyanka continued to pin him to the wall by his neck. Her eyes were anticipatory as she waited for him to take his last breath. Glancing down at her neck out of chance he noticed the amulet around her neck, and before his eyes it began to glow green. He grabbed for it and tugged with all his strength tearing it from around her neck. Shocked and surprised Anyanka released him, her hands going to her neck. Not wasting the opportunity Giles backhanded her with his fist sending her staggering back across the room. Giving him some much-needed distance from the demoness.
He scrambled to his desk, placing the amulet on the desk. He searched frantically for something to destroy it with. Finding his marble paperweight, he grasped in his sweaty hand, just as Anyanka pulled herself up from the floor, her eyes widening in horror as she saw what was happening. "You trusting fool! How do you know the other world is any better than this?"
Giles didn't turn to look at her as he spoke. "Because it has to be." He replied the belief in his voice absolute.
Processing Plant
Dawn walked up to the Master who growled at her. She leaned back out of the way of the Master's fist. She then moved back across the stage as the Master attacked her. She blocked some and maneuvered around the others until she reached the end of the stage then she stopped moving, as he sent a flying fist her way.
Angel went to plunge the stake in Darla's chest and at the last second, she grabbed it and they began to wrestle for control. Darla wrench the stake from his grasp and in one smooth quick motion she slammed it up into Angel's chest as far as it would go.
The Master's fist connected solidly and sent Dawn off her feet. He grabbed her smirking and snapped her neck. Dawn's last thought as she fell to the floor dead was that she would be with her mom and Buffy once more.
Giles' Apartment
Giles raised the paperweight his hand tightening around it as he started to swing it down with as much force as his mortal body could muster at Anyanka's amulet.
"No!" Anyanka cried not being able to force herself to move, as if her feet had been glued to the floor.
Giles swung the paperweight down. His eyes fixated on the amulet that would put an end to most of their troubles. The amulet shattered into thousands of little pieces. It emitted a green light as Anyanka's spell over the world was broken.
December 1, 1998 – Tuesday
Sunnydale High School
The world came back into focus as the brilliant white mist faded. Cordelia stood beside Anya her eyes flicking back to Buffy. Anya's pendant was nowhere in sight. "I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale."
Anya turned to face Cordelia; her face as normal as a human. "Done." She looked around in surprise when nothing happened.
"That would be cool! No, wait. I wish Buffy Summers had never been born," Cordelia continued unaware of her 'friend's' distress.
"Done!" Anya cried, louder this time, a frown appearing on her face when again nothing happened. Looking down at herself she tried to find any differences. Not finding any she returned her gaze to Cordelia.
"And I wish that Xander Harris never again knows the touch of a woman," Cordelia continued with a satisfied smile, feeling better about things as she began to walk away not realizing that Anya wasn't following her. "And that Willow wakes up tomorrow covered in monkey hair."
"Done!" Anya cried her voice desperate.
"In fact, I wish all men except maybe the dumb and the really agreeable kind disappear off the face of the earth. That would be so cool! Or maybe..."
Sunnydale Middle School
Dawn blinked pausing in her conversation with her friend Janice, a huge frown crossing her face. She looked around the cafeteria everyone acting as normal as if nothing had happened. "Hey, Dawn. Earth to Dawn!" Janice said pulling Dawn's gaze back to her. "Dawn, are you alright? You kind of space out."
Dawn looked at Janice and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I um, I just need to use the bathroom," she said before jumping to her feet and rushing out of the room.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Well, Giles… say something!" Dawn demanded into the pay phone.
"You're sure the name of the demon was Anyanka?" Giles questioned.
"Yes," Dawn answered.
"And you say you were called after Faith?"
"Yes," Dawn echoed. "Giles, that pales in comparison to the other thing. That I remember a world where my sister and mother were both dead. Buffy committed suicide because people hated her because she was transgender. Mom then begins drinking rather heavily and commits suicide when she realized she was partly to blame for Buffy's death. It has me worried for Buffy and mom. I don't want to lose them, Giles."
"Well, that Buffy didn't know Willow and Xander. Didn't have the support of the people who loved her with the exception of your counterpart. Our Buffy has all of that. You won't lose her, Dawn. And as a result, you won't lose your mother either."
Dawn nodded and hoped he was right.
