Chapter 3

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Jenny and Lindsay escorted Doyle and Oz to another room so that they could explain the situation to them, and so that Buffy could speak privately to her former boyfriends. This whole experience had been disorienting to Angel and Spike. They had died, been brought back to life by Buffy. At least one friend, Doyle, was also alive again. But so was Lindsay, who was a former enemy and apparently a friend now. And Richard Wilkins, the former mayor of Sunnydale, was also alive and might soon become president of the United States. They could understand why Buffy made this wish, she had lost so many friends and family, who wouldn't be tempted to try and undo certain mistakes. Maybe, as a slayer, Buffy should have known better, but she wasn't immune to temptation.

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Spike: Harmony's apparently doing good, probably saved a lot of lives with this reform vampirism thing, good for her.

Angel: Yeah but now Wilkins might become the most powerful person in the world. How is he even still alive? If he survived the ascension, wouldn't he be a giant snake?

Buffy: That would be Balthazar.

Angel: The big fat demon in the hot tub?

Buffy: Yeah, apparently a lot of evil people were competing for the chance to ascend on that day. In this world, Balthazar won, turned into a giant snake, and was defeated. Wilkins still wants power, so he decided to go the legitimate route and run for president.

Spike: Faith, what side is she on?

Buffy: Wilkins' side. Interesting fact, she's the slayer, I'm not. I'm just a potential, the twin slayer thing never happened.

Angel: So the one and only slayer is on the dark side. Gunn, he was apparently an ally of mine, but he was also working as a mercenary.

Buffy: His sister, Alona, she was turned into a vampire.

Angel: And he staked her, I remember.

Buffy: He didn't, not in this world. He kept his vow to protect her, and he's tried to make certain she didn't kill any innocents. But pimps and pedophiles, she has killed them. Alona's part of the reform movement. She and Tara even dated, I forget if they're still together.

Angel: This is going to get more confusing as we go, isn't it?

Buffy: Yes. For better or worse I can't undo my mistake. All I can do is try and fight evil, and maybe try and stop Wilkins from becoming president.

Angel: Yeah, seems like we need all hands on deck for this. How many others, besides the three of us, have memories of the old world?

Buffy: D'Hoffryn definitely. And I get the feeling he had to make certain deals to accomplish this, so some people more powerful than him probably know. But all of the others, Giles, Xander, Willow, none of them know.

Angel: Okay we know that Doyle, Oz, Jenny, and Lindsay seem to be willing to fight the good fight. Gunn's a mercenary, but I think he can be convinced. We need to know about the status of Wesley, Fred, Cordelia.

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The mention of these names made Buffy wince.

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Angel: What is it?

Buffy: A part of my wish was that no innocent people die because of it. Unfortunately, there was a catch. Namely I gave a vengeance demon discretion on who was innocent and who was guilty. D'Hoffryn has little temperance, he was as likely to kill low level drug users and turnstile jumpers as a child murderer.

Spike: You made a wish to a vengeance demon and there was a catch, what a shock.

Buffy: Angel do you remember just before I died at the hands of the Master. How they killed those three students to prepare?

Angel: I remember Willow was upset about it, but I never met any of them, I don't even remember their names.

Buffy: Well the Master never rose, Faith stopped that. But those sacrifices still happened. Cordelia was among those killed.

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This news hit Angel hard. All those years working alongside Cordelia, all that they had come to mean to each other, had apparently never happened.

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Angel: I thought you didn't want any innocents to die.

Buffy: D'Hoffryn has little temperance. Under his very strict system of judgement, Cordelia was a bully back then. Whatever protection he gave to some people during these years, apparently she didn't qualify. I'm sorry, for all the deaths I reversed, she still died.

Spike: D'Hoffryn even warned you. Exactly what part of "Consequences that neither of us can possibly foresee" was unclear to you.

Buffy: I'm sorry okay.

Angel: Conner, what happened to him?

Buffy: He's okay. You and Darla, it happened sooner than expected.

Angel: I don't understand.

Buffy: The powers, or whoever arranged everything, they made Conner's birth happen 16 years ago. I don't exactly know what happened to Darla.

Angel: Her body wasn't capable of giving birth, so she staked herself to protect our baby. Maybe that still happened.

Buffy: Maybe. Holtz has been raising Conner, Conner doesn't even know you're his father.

Angel: I hate to say this, but maybe that's for the best.

Buffy: And Spike, there's no easy way to say this, Drusilla went to help Darla with her pregnancy, she hasn't been seen since. I think Holtz dusted her.

Spike: I hope she finds some sort of peace in the afterlife.

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In his grief Spike turned around and saw a mirror, and his own reflection. Angel soon saw his own reflection in this particular mirror.

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Angel: We're still vampires, how do we have reflections?

Buffy: It's just in this particular mirror. I actually bought it so that I could determine whether or not you two still had souls. This mirror shows a person's soul, if they have one. For most vampires, its the same as a normal mirror.

Spike: I've heard of these things, from what I remember they're fairly expensive.

Angel: Now that you mention it, this is a pretty nice place. The watchers are pretty cheap when it comes to safe houses, value discretion more than luxury.

Buffy: I'm not a slayer, just a potential, but still pretty strong physically. I was at the batting cages with my father when I was 16, a scout saw me. And the rest as they say is history. I now play for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Angel: You wished for fame and fortune, good way to get it I suppose.

Buffy: I also do PSAs, tell kids to stay away from drugs, alcohol, tobacco.

Spike: So you do some good.

Buffy: I don't have a complete list, but it seems some people are alive again because of my wish, and some are dead because of it. I can't undo my mistake, but I can try and make the best of it, and I can try and keep others from dying.

Angel: That's all any of us can ever do. We've all made mistakes, we just have to live with it, and try to do better.

Spike: Where do we even begin?

Angel: I don't know, but I'm willing to start.

Spike: Same here.

Buffy: Yeah, let's try and do better.