If he died down here, he'd die with only one regret, Xander Harris thought, staring at the zombie, Jack O'Toole, over the bomb he'd built. That he'd fucked things up so badly with Cordy. He still didn't understand why he'd kissed Willow. She was Willow, not at all his type and someone he'd thought of as a sister for fifteen years. Because seriously, if he'd really been attracted to her, why did it disappear the moment they were caught, the very moment, like a switch had been flipped. Yeah, messing up what he and Cordy'd had would be his only regret. But his friends, who for some reason had started pushing him out, would live and that was the important part, they'd live.

"I know what you're thinking." His eyes were flat and cold, he knew that, he knew it because he was perfectly calm, at peace with his choice. "Can I get by him, out the door, up the stairs, out of the school before the bomb goes off. I don't like your odds."

"If it goes off, you're dead too, Harris!" Jack tried to sound tough, but his voice cracked, he wasn't at peace with this. "Besides, I'm already dead."

"Yeah, but being blown up isn't walking around drinking with your buddies dead. It's little bits and pieces being swept up by a janitor dead. I don't think you're ready for that, Jack."

"And you are?"

Xander's eyes flickered to the count down. Ten seconds. "I like the quiet." Jack's eyes flickered to the count down and this time he grabbed the wires and shut it down. "I don't think I want to see you on campus anymore, Jack." Xander eyed the older boy, who glared at him and shoved passed him on his way out.

Only to turn abruptly and shove his knife, lovingly christened Katie, into Xander's gut and twisting it, before pulling it back out. In the closet in the boiler room wolfOz smelled the sudden gush of blood and slammed against the door of the closet he was locked in. Jack spat on Xander as he fell to his knees, trying to hold his guts inside where they belonged. Jack was about to walk back over to reconnect the bomb when an orange glow signaled a portal opening and to Jack's amazement, he saw another Harris staring at him. He didn't even notice Cordelia Chase standing beside him. "What the Hell?!" The other Xander saw the bleeding, dying Xander lying on the floor and his face went hard, with a flick of his hands he bound Jack in the Chains of Krakkon and stepped through the portal with Cordelia beside him.

"Cordy." The Xander on the floor gasped, staring at her. "I'm so sorry, I don't why it happened. I know Willow and I thought we were going to die, but that doesn't explain why I kissed her. I'm sorry, please, can you forgive me?"

Cordelia knelt beside the dying boy, a version of her Xander and held his bloody hand. "It's okay, Xander, I forgive you." She told him.

"My, my only regret was that I'd messed up with you. Now I'm regretting we never had sex, tell Faith thank you for not letting me die a virgin, even if I'd have preferred it be with you. Not that she isn't hot, she just isn't you. My Cordy."

"Well, of course you'd prefer me, I'm the Queen. Xander -."

"They're, they're fighting upstairs, in the Library. Aaaapocalyse, get out while you can, Ccccordy." They watched the light go out of his eyes. After a moment, Xander stirred. "We have to find Dawn and if there's an apocalypse happening upstairs, that has to be dealt with before we can find her." He walked over to the bomb as a silent Cordelia let a tear roll down her cheek as she stared at the dead Xander in front of her. Their world had been largely peaceful since the total destruction of the vampires, none of their lives had come anywhere near ending. But here was a version of her Xander, dead. And dying with the regret that he'd somehow managed to destroy what he'd had with his Cordy. She hoped she'd managed to give him some peace. She slowly stood up as she heard banging and growling coming from the closet door, while Xander checked over the bomb to make sure it was disarmed she picked up the body and stood waiting for him to finish. After making sure nothing was connected he joined her.

"How long will the chains hold?" She asked.

"Until I release them." He answered. "Dawnie accidentally making a portal in her sleep is a definite problem and one we're going to have to figure out a solution to, especially if she keeps ending up in dangerous places." Referring to the recent development of Dawn's catnapping causing her to portal unexpectedly. Fortunately Xander was able to track her to the reality she'd ended up in, but not directly to her, they had no idea how long it would take to actually find her, unless she activated the Chime he'd given her and the clock was ticking if there was another her around here.

Cordelia carried the dead Xander and the two headed upstairs to the Library passing a couple of dead demons and a dead human with a pop machine crushing his head. "This doesn't look good." Xander muttered as they neared the Library and a tenticle slammed through the glass on the door

"Xander, I recognize that tenticle!" Cordelia said grimly. "From when the Master opened the Hellmouth."

"Damn, set him down, we're going to have to fight." Cordelia gently set the dead Xander down and pulled her necklace off, letting Dragonfang expand.

They pushed through the doors and into the fight.