A HUGE HUGE thank you to Starway Man for being my Beta on this story. Your input helped make this story a success.

Chapter 48 - A New Era Dawns

"Speech", 'Thought', *Text*

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Sunnydale Bus Station – Thursday, 5:30 am

A subdued Buffy Summers sat hunched over on the cold bench, hugging her worldly possessions to her chest – silently hoping her mom and sister hadn't seen her run away from home. Tear tracks clearly visible running down her cheeks, the blackness of the night reflected her inner turmoil perfectly.

"Running away from Sunnydale, Buff?" a familiar male voice asked.

Looking up in surprise, Buffy swallowed heavily at the coldness in the new arrival's tone. "Go away, Xander. We've got nothing left to say to each other," she said softly, refusing to look at the monster that had once been one of her two best friends.

"Beg to differ. And I'm not going anywhere yet," came Xander's sharp response.

Surprised again, Buffy looked him in the eye - if only barely. The hulking teen looked tense, and really wound tight. "Why not? You gonna try to force me to stay here?"

"Maybe. I don't know. But seriously, Buffy? You really think running away is the answer?" he demanded.

"What's it to you? Angel's dead, and you're glad he's finally gone!" she snarled back.

"Yeah, I sure am. What, were you expecting me not to be? Angel's dead, but so is Kendra, Amy's dad, and a whole lot of other people. At long last we've stopped that undead serial killer, even if his so-called children managed to escape in all the confusion. Not without a cost, granted – Giles was nearly tortured to death. For a while there, the doctors at Sunnydale General honestly weren't sure whether he'd survive. And yet, your only thought is for that bloodsucking asshole who nearly killed him?" he asked pointedly.

"I loved Angel!" Buffy yelled, finally snapping like an elastic band. Despite feeling guilty over what had happened to Giles, her rage erupted to the surface like hot lava. "Why can't you get that?! Why can't you understand my feelings about this? What happened to the guy I was willing to trust with my life, this time last year?"

"He grew up, and fell in love with someone who could actually love him back – instead of a girl who always kinda took him for granted, like he was part of the furniture or something," Xander replied calmly. "You know what, Buff? I've had enough of trying to talk sense into you about this. We've had weeks of people in Sunnydale and LA dying, the Scoobies being hurt, people losing their families - even your mom and Dawnie were nearly killed. You remember that vampire going after your mom, don't you? Oz stopped that, Buffy, and yet all you can think about is your poor, precious Angel. What does that say about you, I wonder?"

"It says that I'm a human being. Unlike you and Cordelia, who are just monsters - pretending to be something they're not," Buffy replied spitefully.

"You think I'm a monster, huh? Me and the woman I love. That's kinda funny, actually," Xander said musingly.

"Why?"

"Well. When I yelled at you to grab Giles and get him to safety inside the damn mansion, you didn't even listen to me. Your Watcher has sacrificed almost everything for you – he almost got killed for you – and yet you couldn't drag yourself away from a battle you couldn't possibly win, in order to make sure he didn't die? Even for just a few moments? Ask any neutral observer who the monster is, Buffy; but don't blame me if you don't like the answer you get," Xander replied frigidly.

Buffy felt tears pricking at her eyes again, but she refused to cry in front of this thing. "The only question I'm interested in getting an answer to? It's how to finally rid the world of you and Cordelia!"

"Oh, hey, that's easy; just get Oz or one of his Pack to bite us. Good luck attempting to convince one of them to do it, though," Xander shrugged. "And if the situation has really gone that pear-shaped for you? Fine. You want to leave, then leave. I'm not gonna stop you. Truth is, we can manage just fine without you," he told her straightforwardly.

"You think I won't do it?" Buffy demanded angrily.

"I think you're condemning your mom to a constant nightmarish hell of worry over losing her oldest child; but that's your business, not mine," he replied.

Buffy was unable to find an answer to that. He was right, her mother would worry; but the Slayer also knew that she simply couldn't stay here any longer. She would quickly go insane from all the bad memories. 'Damn him. Damn him to hell!'

As Xander walked back into the darkness, she heard his parting words: "Just so you know, Cordelia wanted to come with me for this little meeting - so you should be grateful that I managed to talk her out of it. If it had been her, or even Oz, Buffy...you probably wouldn't be leaving the Hellmouth with all your limbs intact."

Buffy sat for a long time, before making her decision and getting up from the cold bench.

Unbeknownst to the Scoobies and the Slayer, in the Acathla's hell dimension - Angelus snarled in fury, as he finally slammed into the hard, rocky ground to which he'd been falling for hours.

"Fucking bastard whelp, I'll get you – and your whore – and your little pooch, too!" he screamed, getting up off the stony soil.

His fury carried on the whirling, howling winds of this dreadful realm, off into the darkness. And almost immediately, the beating of large wings alerted him to a terrifying presence.

Pulling the sword out from his body, Angelus growled savagely – before rushing forward headlong at his opponent, the blade flashing wildly in the darkness.

Howls from creatures which even the Whirlwind would be hard-pressed not to cower from - were not enough to make the demon with face of an angel hesitate from charging into battle.

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Boston, Massachusetts – One minute after Kendra's death

A brunette teen slept in a decent bedroom she hadn't possessed less than a year earlier. The girl moaned in her sleep, as her mind and body were suddenly engulfed by an alien presence; and then the dreams began.

As the dark-haired girl fitfully tossed and turned in her sleep, her bedroom door opened without a sound. Light from the hallway illuminated a middle-aged woman in her forties gazing worriedly upon her charge, as she lightly brushed some hair from the girl's forehead.

Still asleep, the girl grabbed hold of her arm – and the sheer strength of the grip caught the woman's attention. Realization suddenly appeared on her face, causing her to sigh softly; the worry for her charge now clearly written all over her face. Gently soothing her charge back into full sleep she eased her arm from the iron grip.

"You've been Called as the Slayer, Faith. Well - I can only hope we're both up to the challenge," Diana Dormer whispered, exiting the room her charge was now sleeping peacefully in.

The End

Author's Note: There you go, folks, the end of 'A Sparkle On the Hellmouth'. I was thinking of writing a sequel, are people interested? Hit that review button and tell me!