Eleven

There's a heart
Somewhere in darkness
Beating strong, a song I know
There's a moment I keep waiting for
When I'll know
I shake my fist at the gods who made me
Surrounded

Willow and Kennedy's room was crowded. In addition to them, Jo, Blair, Dawn, Anya, Xander, and Giles looked incredulously at Buffy.

"What do you think?" Buffy asked.

"That depends. Are you in any way kidding?"

"You don't think it's a good idea?" Buffy answered anxiously.

"It's pretty radical, B," Jo said, and squeezed Blair's hand reassuringly.

"It's a lot more than that," Giles said, and stood. "Buffy, what you said, it, it flies in the face of everything we've ever, every generation has ever done in the fight against evil." He smiled. "I think it's bloody brilliant."

"You mean that?"

"If you want my opinion."

"I really do."

"Whoa, hey. Not to poop on the party here," Willow said, "but I'm the guy that's gonna have to pull this thing off."

"It is beaucoup d'mojo," Jo said.

"This goes beyond anything I've ever done. It's a total loss of control, and not in a nice, wholesome, my girlfriend has a pierced tongue kind of way."

Dawn and Blair stared at her, and Giles looked away.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could do it," Buffy told her.

"I. I'm not sure that I'm stable enough."

"You can do this, Willow," Giles said. "We'll get the coven on the line, and we'll find out how they can help."

"Oh!" Dawn nodded. "Pierced tongue."

"Dawn needs to do a research thing," Buffy said with an air of panic.

"Yes, you do," Giles agreed quickly.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "It's cool," she said, and headed for the door. "Watcher junior to the library."

"I'll go dig up my sources," Giles said. "Quite literally, actually," he added as he walked away.

"C'mon Xander." Anya pulled him toward the door. "Let's go assemble the cannon fodder.

"That's not what we're calling them, sweetie," he answered as they left.

"Not to their faces. What am I, insensitive?"

Buffy handed the scythe to Willow. Jo moved beside Buffy and looked at Willow, sitting on the bed with Kennedy's arm around her. Blair, not quite comprehending all that was happening, hung on to Jo's hand while she knelt in front of Willow.

Jo put her hand over Willow's on the scythe. "We'll get him," she said, hoping it would trigger Willow's memory.

It did, and Willow smiled a tiny smile at her. "Fuck you, Faith."

Jo grinned and stood up. "We'll be with the rest of the cannon fodder."

"What was that about?" Buffy and Blair asked at the same time.

Jo waited until they were in the hallway to answer. "That was an attagirl," she smiled broadly, and pulled Blair into a kiss.

"Inside joke," Willow answered. "You really think I can do this?" she asked Buffy nervously.

"I know you can."

"You can do it," Kennedy added, and squeezed her gently.

"All right," Willow sighed.

A few minutes later, everyone was in the main conference room. Buffy faced the gathering. "I hate this," she began. "I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time, that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been either. But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready, now. Tomorrow morning I'm opening the seal. I'm going down into the Hellmouth, and I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourself, 'What makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?' It's true none of you have the power that Jo and Kennedy and I do. So here's the part where you make a choice.

"What if you could have that power now? In every generation, one slayer is born because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman," Buffy pointed at Willow, "is more powerful than all of them combined."

Willow whimpered, but Buffy ignored her.

"So I say we change the rule," Buffy concluded, smiling. "I say my power should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power; can stand up, will stand up. Slayers, every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?"

It took a few seconds for the noise to begin, and longer than that for Jo to whistle them into silence. "We got other things to do," she said. "Anybody who doesn't have anything else to do today, grab your weapons and meet me in the lobby. The rest of you, get to work."

The noise rose again, but girls left the room as instructed. Jo kissed Blair quickly. "I'll be back in a couple hours," she reassured her, and headed out the door.

Anya appeared beside Blair. "C'mon. You'll worry less if you're busy," she told her, and pulled her toward the kitchen.

"I'm goin' with Jo, unless you need me here," Kennedy said to Willow, and when Willow shook her head, Kennedy kissed her cheek. "Back soon," she promised, and took off.

Soon, the room was empty except for Dawn, Willow, and Giles. "Do you need somewhere quieter to work?" Giles asked.

"No, I need all this stuff. Or most of it. I don't know. Goddess, this is"

"Breathe, Willow," Dawn reminded her. "You'll be fine."

"It's not fine," Willow insisted, trying to resist the panic rising in her.

"It is," Giles said firmly. "You can do this." He took the chair beside Willow and picked up a pad and pencil. He sketched the scythe quickly. "If they can feel the power it holds, you can reach it."

Dawn listened with half an ear while Giles calmed Willow and led her into the beginning of designing the spell. When she heard Willow ask a question, she smiled and went in search of the book that held the answer.

When the potentials left the lobby, Xander was waiting with a school bus. Buffy was the last one on. "A boy and his toys," she grinned at him.

He shrugged, closed the door, and started the drive to the school.

When they arrived, Buffy broke them into teams. She sent Jo and Kennedy with Xander and set the others to clearing the halls.

Jo took Xander's backpack as they headed toward the basement. "What's in here?"

"Plastic explosive," he grinned. "Also fuses and timers."

"You know to use that stuff?" Kennedy asked skeptically.

"Oh, yeah," Xander answered gleefully. "Remind me to tell you about the last time I blew up the school."

"So that's how you have job security," Jo teased him.

"Absolutely." Xander stopped in front of a door in the basement. "Kennedy, will you open that, please?"

"We gonna need it again?"

"Yeah."

She jerked it open, careful not to pull it from the hinges, and waved her hand toward the dark tunnel. "All yours."

"Flashlights are in the pack," he answered, and Jo turned so he could get them out. They each took one, then followed him into the sewer access.

An hour later, Kennedy kicked the door closed. "I don't think I can shower long enough to get rid of that smell."

"Vicks Vapo-Rub," Jo suggested. "Unless Willow has something better, and if she does, you better share."

They went back upstairs helped Xander rig a few non-explosive traps. Buffy found them when they were nearly finished and looked at up at Kennedy crawling across a beam. "You about done?" she asked.

"Yeah, this is the last one," he answered. "You get everything else in place?"

"Uh huh."

"Over about another foot," Xander yelled.

They heard Kennedy's voice but couldn't make out the words. Jo, directly under her, snickered.

"That's good," Xander called.

They all watched Kennedy slide back on the beam. When she reached the floor, Jo clapped her on the back. "Good job."

"'Cause you didn't have to do it."

"Bein' the baby's a bitch, huh?" Jo asked without sympathy, and laughed as she walked away.

"You're a riot," Kennedy grumbled, and joined the group. "Are we done now?"

"Yes. Get the potentials back on the bus."

A few minutes later, they were en route to the hotel.

After they finished dinner, Blair and Jo went upstairs.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?" Blair asked.

"I don't know." Jo sat on the bed and took off her boots.

"You must have some idea."

"Well, if everything goes right, all the potentials will become Slayers, and we'll be strong enough to win."

"And if it doesn't?" Blair asked softly.

Jo got up and went to her. "I don't know," she said again, and put her arms around Blair.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You are gonna stay with Willow while she does her big spell, and after that, I think you'll be able to figure it out."

"You aren't allowed to die again."

"Got it."

"This is worse than finals."

Jo laughed and hugged her tightly. "I love you."

"I love you."

"Next time we come to California, we'll do something fun," Jo promised, and kissed her.

Two rooms down the hall, Willow sat cross-legged on the bed, laptop in front of her and a sheaf of papers in her hand. Kennedy stretched on the bed behind her and played with Willow's hair.

"I really wish she hadn't said that about me," Willow said.

"What, the thing Buffy said? I think it's true."

Willow squeaked.

"I'll be with you," Kennedy reassured her. "To keep you grounded."

"Yeah, well, you might have to keep me stab-bed, if I go to the bad place."

Kennedy sat up and looked at her. "You're saying I might have to kill you."

"I am," Willow agreed.

"Bite me."

"I will. I mean, I do mean it. The darkest place I've ever been, this is what lies beyond that. This is too important for me to"

"Buffy believes in you."

"You know, Buffy: sweet girl, not that bright."

"Hey, I'm the first one to call her out when she's not making sense. In fact, this may have escaped your keen notice, but I'm kind of a brat. I've always sort of gotten my way. So you're gonna make it through this, no matter how dark it gets. Because now, you're my way."

They kissed, and when it ended, Willow went back to her paperwork. "I better go over this again."

Kennedy laid down and curled around her.

Giles and Xander are looked intently at a map on the table.

"I'm, I'm, I'm all turned around," Giles sputtered. "You're here?"

"By the pillar, yeah. I'm protecting this area."

"That puts me over by the door. Demons around the perimeter. Right! I open the door."

Andrew, wearing a red cloak, read from a book. "You go through the door and are confronted by Trogdor the Burninator."

"Oh, bugger it," Giles grumbled. "Fight." He rolled the dice, and sipped from his wine glass.

"Adios to 5 hit points. Trogdor has badly wounded you," Andrew reported.

"Well, wait a minute." Giles put on his glasses. "What about my bag of illusions?"

"Illusions against a Burninator?" Andrew scoffed. "Silly, silly British man."

Giles sipped his wine again.

"I invoke a time flux on Trogdor," Amanda said authoritatively.

"Step down, girlfriend, you can't just"

"Ninth level sorcerer, and I carry the emerald chalice. Trogdor is frozen in time. Deal with it." Amanda made a note.

"Smackdown on Red Riding Hood," Xander grinned. "This could get ugly."

"Could it possibly get uglier?" Giles asked. "I used to be a highly respected watcher, and now I'm a wounded dwarf with the mystical strength of a doily. I just wish I could sleep."

"What kind of person could sleep on a night like this?" Amanda asked.

Xander looked at the next chair. Anya was passed out on the table. "Only the crazy ones," he said fondly, and stroked Anya's hair while she snored.

"Welcome to Sunnydale High," Buffy announced as she led them into the building. "Only rule is: If they move, kill them. OK, potentials, in the basement. Follow Spike and Jo."

Jo raised Blair's hand and kissed her knuckles before setting off. Potentials streamed past Buffy.

"If you have to go to the bathroom, it's to your left," Xander said loudly. "If you don't have to go to the bathroom, picture what you're about to face. Better to go now."

"Willow, you'll be right through there. It's directly over the seal," Buffy said.

Kennedy took Willow's bag. "I'll start getting you set up." She looked at Blair. "C'mon."

"Thanks," Willow said as they walked away.

"If the vampires get upstairs, we have three areas they could get through to another building and then down into the sewers," Xander explained. He pointed. "Down the hall in the atrium, the north hall here, and the primary target, through the lounge straight to the science building. Now odds are, most of them will head there."

"I'll take the north hall," Giles volunteered.

"Xander, I want you with Dawn," Buffy instructed.

"I concur," Xander said.

"We'll check out the atrium," Dawn said.

"So that leaves me and the dungeon master in the lounge?" Anya asked.

"We will defend it with our very lives," Andrew said solemnly.

"Yes, we will defend it with his very life."

"And don't be afraid to use him as a human shield," Xander told Anya.

She nodded. "Good, yes, thanks."

"I just want to say how proud I am to die for this very special cause with you guys," Andrew began. He pulled a sheet of paper from his back pocket, unfolded it, and began to read aloud. "There's some, um. There's people I'd like to thank, both good and evil. Um, a shout out to my brother Tucker, who gave me the inspiration to summon demons and also"

Anya dragged him away. "Nobody cares, you little monkey."

"I'm gonna check out our field of engagement," Dawn said, and walked away.

Buffy went after her. "Dawn."

Dawn turned to face her. "No," she said resolutely. "Anything you say is gonna sound like goodbye." She walked away again.

Buffy returned to the few left in the hallway. Willow, Xander, Giles, and Buffy stared at each other for several long moments.

"So," Buffy said finally, "What do you guys want to do tomorrow?"

"Nothing strenuous," Willow answered first.

"Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind," Xander said.

"I think we can do better than that," Giles responded.

"I was thinking about shopping." Buffy smiled. "As per usual."

"Oh! There's an Arden B. in the new mall!" Willow said excitedly.

"I could use a few items," Xander said.

"Well, now aren't we gonna discuss this? Save the world to go to the mall?" Giles asked incredulously.

"I'm having a wicked shoe craving," Buffy said.

"Aren't you on the patch?" Xander asked her.

"Those never work," Willow told him.

"Here I am, invisible to the eye," Giles said, and the others walked down the hall together.

"See, I need a new look," Xander said. "it's this whole eye patch thing."

"Oh, you could go with full black secret agent look," Buffy suggested.

"Or the puffy shirt, pirate slash," Willow began.

Giles watched them. "The earth is definitely doomed," he said, and headed toward his post.

As Buffy, Xander and Willow walked down the hall, their conversation faded. When they reached the office, Willow slipped in without saying anything. They reached an intersection, and Xander squeezed Buffy's hand before turning off. Buffy continued down the hall alone, into the basement, where Jo and the potentials waited for her around the Seal of Danzalthar.

Jo handed Buffy a knife. "You first, B."

Buffy sliced her palm and returned the knife to Jo, who repeated the action. The knife went around the circle until it returned to its owner. They turned their palms to the seal, and it opened, creating a stairway into the Hellmouth. Buffy went down first.

Upstairs, Willow sat on the floor, a semi-circle of white candles lit in front of her. Other candles were spread throughout the room. Kennedy sat across from Willow, watching her, while Blair stood nervously in the far corner.

"They should be in place," Willow said, and sat back, hands on her knees. "Ok, magic time." She looked at Kennedy. "You ready to kill me?"

"Starting to be," Kennedy answered deadpan.

"Good," Willow said uncertainly. "Fun. Great. Brace yourself."

"Come on, Red," Kennedy whispered. "Make it happen."

Blair just stared.

In the Hellmouth, Spike looked at the amulet around his neck. "Not to be a buzzkill, love, but my fabulous accessory isn't exactly tingling with power."

"I'm not worried," Buffy chanted to psych herself up as she looked around.

"I'm getting zero juice here, and I look like Elizabeth Taylor," Spike complained.

"Cheer up, Liz," Jo said. "Willow's big spell doesn't work, it won't matter what you wear."

The others followed Buffy to the edge of a cliff. They looked down and saw more Turok-Han than they could count, mobbed as far as they could see, all growling, spitting, and hissing as they waited for the signal that would release them.

"I'm not worried." Buffy said.

Spike backed up.

"I'm not worried," Buffy repeated.

"Really?" Rona asked. "'Cause I'm flashing back to Xander's whole bathroom speech."

"Buffy," Amanda said, fear obvious in her voice.

"I'm not worried," Buffy said. "As long as Willow can work her spell before they see us."

As she said that, the Turok-Han looked up, then rushed for them, snarling and screaming.

Buffy stood her ground. "Willow," she said softly, both a reminder to trust her best friend and a prayer for her success.

The scythe lay on the floor in front of Willow as she worked the spell. Suddenly, she and the weapon began to glow with a bright white light. "Oh. My. Goddess," Willow said breathlessly.

At that moment, the world began to change.

The Turok-Han army rushed over the cliff and met an army of supercharged Slayers. Buffy and Jo battled with punches, kicks, and stakes, as they did on every patrol. Vi kicked an ubervamp to the ground. Rona knocked another down with a punch. Amanda staked the one nearest her, and Vi beheaded another.

Kennedy grinned at the rush, and looked through the light at Willow. Her hair, now completely white, streamed behind her, and she panted through a beatific smile as the power ran through her into the universe. She felt the awakening of every new Slayer across the planet through the scythe, which continued to glow.

Blair stared in amazement. She had no idea of what to expect, but even she could feel the power in the room, and began to smile hopefully.

"Willow?" Kennedy said uncertainly as the glow faded.

Willow's hair returned to its normal color, but she still looked lost in the spell.

"You," Kennedy smiled at her, "are a goddess."

Willow smiled and raised the scythe. "Get this to Buffy."

Kennedy scrambled up. She took the scythe from Willow and dropped a kiss on her head before racing from the room.

"Ha!" Willow fell onto her side, still smiling. "That was nifty."

Below, the Turok-Han began to overcome the bodies attempting to hold them back.

"Buffy!" Kennedy yelled from the staircase and threw the scythe to her. "Catch."

Buffy didn't look. She reached up and pulled it from the air, and redoubled her efforts. Turok-Han became dust by the dozen as she worked with the weapon, and Kennedy waded into the fray. Around her, the new Slayers fought with the speed, precision, and intensity they previously admired in Buffy, Jo, and Kennedy. Still, some of the Turok-Han were able to get past them and climb out of the Hellmouth.

As the noise increased on the school's main floor, Andrew ducked behind Anya. "I think they're coming," he moaned.

"Oh, God. I'm terrified," Anya said. "I didn't think. I mean, I just figured you'd be terrified, and I would be sarcastic about it."

"Picture happy things," Andrew suggested. "A lake, candy canes, bunnies."

"Bunnies!" Anya yelled angrily. "Floppy, hoppy, bunnies," she snarled, raised her sword, and beheaded the first two Turok-Han to approach.

"I have swimmer's ear!" Andrew screamed, and was pushed into the wall.

Giles stood alone in the hallway, using every tool at his disposal to beat back the Turok-Han. He had a few spells, some of them pouches of herbs that he, Dawn, and Willow made up, that became fire, a blessed sword in his hand and another on his back.

Spike stopped fighting for a second, and looked down at the amulet, which was giving him an odd feeling. He touched it and winced as it burned him. "Buffy!" he yelled. "Whatever this thing does, I think it's working."

"Keep the line together," Buffy ordered the girls around her. "Drive them to the edge. We can't let them do" she stopped and looked down at the sword blade protruding from her stomach. She took two steps forward before collapsing.

Jo saw her go down and went to her. "Buffy!"

Buffy leaned up on her elbows. "Hold the line," she said weakly, and handed the scythe to Jo.

Jo nodded as she accepted the weapon, and charged back into the fight. Buffy remained on the ground, grunting in pain.

Dawn and Xander stood in the atrium and waited as the Turok-Han approached. Dawn held her sword but stayed in the background while Xander held them back. When there were too many, Dawn pulled a rope. A sandbag fell and the skylight opened. The sunlight turned the Turok-Han to dust.

"We call that the greenhouse effect," Xander said smugly. "Very dangerous."

A Turok-Han edged around the light and attacked Xander. He went down, and Dawn went on the attack.

Bringers joined the Turok-Han in the hallways. In the lounge, Anya battled them, slashing and stabbing frenziedly. Andrew assaulted some of the Bringers, but couldn't keep them back. One sliced through Anya's torso.

Giles groaned when the Bringers approached, and unsheathed his other sword. He went toward them fearlessly.

When there were too many Turok-Han around her to use the scythe effectively, Jo called to the nearest Slayer and threw the weapon to her. Buffy remained down, and somehow avoided being trampled.

"Oh, no." The First Evil mocked Buffy by using her appearance. "Ow! Mommy, this mortal wound is all itchy. You pulled a nice trick. You came pretty close to smacking me down. What more do you want?"

Buffy gritted her teeth. "I want you," she said, sitting up, "to get out of my face," she finished as she got to her feet.

When Rona saw her, she threw the scythe to Buffy, who caught it and knocked three Turok-Han over the cliff with her first swing. When the others saw her back on her feet, it renewed their hope. Jo cleared the area around her while Kennedy simultaneously disarmed and staked two ubervamps. The others began to push back against the flood of Turok-Han.

Spike stumbled back from the fight as the amulet powered up. He instinctively grabbed it to remove it from his chest, and screamed, "Oh, bollocks!" when it burned his hand again.

A focused ray of bright blue light shot out of the amulet. It knocked a hole in the basement and continued unimpeded through the floor of the office where Willow recovered, opening space between she and Blair, and from there until the sky was visible in the Hellmouth. Once it reached the outside, the light changed to orange.

"Buffy!" Spike bellowed.

"Spike!" Buffy acknowledged, and started for him.

Before she could get there, the amulet refracted the orange light into the Hellmouth, breaking into rays like sunshine through the evening clouds, blowing the Turok-Han to dust. The ground began to shake.

"Everybody out! Now!" Jo ordered.

While the others rushed for the stairs, Buffy went to Spike. He looked at her, amazed. "I can feel it, Buffy."

"What?"

"My soul." He looked at her. "It's really there. Kind of stings."

The girls rushed out of the basement. One of them saw Andrew, and grabbed him on the way by.

Blair helped Willow to her feet. "Time to go," she said, and they stumbled into the traffic in the hall. A moment later, Kennedy put her arm around Willow. She looked at Blair. "She's coming," she reassured her, and kept them moving.

The building began to fail, and Xander and Dawn began to run for the exit. "Anya!" Xander screamed. "Anya!"

He didn't see her body, but Dawn did, and pulled him down the hall.

Jo chased the last few Slayers up the stairs. Buffy stood near Spike, her eyes moving from his face to the amulet that continued to light the Hellmouth, the scythe in her hand.

"Go on, then," Spike encouraged her.

"No. No, you've done enough. You could still"

"No, you've beat them back. It's for me to do the cleanup."

Around them, the walls began to crumble.

"Buffy, come on!" Jo yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer."

"Spike," Buffy began.

"I mean it!" he answered forcefully. "I gotta do this." He held out hand.

Buffy laced her fingers with his and they burst into flame.

"I love you," Buffy told him.

"No, you don't. But thanks for saying it." The earth rumbled again, and Buffy let go of his hand. "Now go!" Spike ordered, and Buffy ran up the stairs. "I wanna see how this ends."

While Buffy ran up the stairs, Spike remained in the crumbling Hellmouth, grinning as he burned up in the sunlight powering the amulet. When he was nothing but dust, the Hellmouth crumbled around him.

The school building exploded. Jo ran from the cloud of dust and jumped into the moving bus. She held on to the nearest rail and scanned the faces until she saw Blair. Dawn stared out the back window, worrying and hoping.

Buffy raced through the hallway, still carrying the scythe. She ducked falling debris and hurdled anything she couldn't run over or through. The main entrance collapsed, and she turned for the stairs. The roof door popped open when she hit it at full speed, and she kept going, leaping from building to building. She didn't look back, only forward, until she found her target and pulled out her last reserve to sprint over the last few roofs and leap onto the bus.

She spun around, remembering to hang onto the scythe, and watched Sunnydale become a giant sinkhole.

Xander concentrated on keeping the bus on the road. He kept the accelerator jammed to the floor until Jo tapped him on the shoulder. "Ease off," she told him. "We're clear."

Xander slowed, then stopped the bus. Buffy jumped down from its roof. Seconds later, Dawn opened the emergency exit, slid out of the bus and ran to her sister. While the others got out, she hugged Buffy.

"I don't understand," Giles said from behind them. "Who did this?"

"Spike," Buffy answered. Dawn let her go, and Buffy walked toward the edge of the canyon. The 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign wavered, then fell backward and tumbled down the rubble.

"So, did you see?" Xander asked Andrew anxiously.

"I was scared." Andrew looked at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Did you see what happened?" Xander asked. "I mean, was she?"

"She was incredible." Andrew looked at him. "She died saving my life."

Xander put his hand on Andrew's shoulder and nodded. "That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing." After a moment, he walked toward Buffy.

Jo kept her eyes on Blair while the others left the bus. When the rush was over, Blair walked up the aisle. They hugged each other tightly, and shared a quick kiss before Jo turned for the door, pulling Blair behind her.

They worked their way to Buffy and Dawn, joining Xander, Giles, Willow and Kennedy at the edge of the hole.

"Looks like the Hellmouth is officially closed for business," Jo observed.

"There is another one in Cleveland," Giles informed them. "Not to spoil the moment," he added, then bent down, picked up a rock, and threw it into the canyon.

"We saved the world," Xander said, still a little surprised.

"We changed the world," Willow corrected, and walked to Buffy's side. "I can feel them, Buffy," she said with wonder. "All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them," Dawn said.

"We will," Willow agreed.

Giles paced behind them. "Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow."

"We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side," Dawn said.

"All those shops gone," Xander agreed. "The Gap, Starbucks, Toys "R" Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Giles observed.

"Can I push him in?" Kennedy asked Willow.

"You've got my vote," Willow agreed.

"I just want to sleep for a week," Jo said.

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to," Dawn replied.

"Yeah," Willow smiled. "The First is scrunched, so, what do you think we should do, Buffy?"

"Yeah, you're not the one and only chosen anymore. Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?" Jo asked her.

"Yeah, Buffy. What are we gonna do now?" Dawn chimed in.

Buffy ignored the voices around her. She stared out over the ruins of Sunnydale and slowly smiled. After a minute or so, she turned to face them, still smiling, and planted the scythe in the blacktop like a flag. "We're going to Disneyland!"

After a moment of disbelief, the others joined her laughter.

Epilogue

And sometimes you sense how faithfully your life
is delivered, even though you can't read the address.
From Trust, Thomas R. Smith

The first stop was the hospital. The second was the hotel nearest the hospital. After a day to rest up, Buffy loaded them all into the bus, and had Xander drive them to Disneyland. Buffy's favorite memory was captured in a photo: Giles wearing mouse ears, standing next to Mickey, which Willow e-mailed to Jo. After a few days, the diaspora began. The Slayers began to sort themselves into two groups: those who would stay with the group, and those who returned home.

Jo and Blair were all ready home by then. Blair went directly from the airport to her first exam. Jo dropped their things at the apartment and returned to the campus. She paced impatiently outside the lecture hall until Blair came out, and over Blair's protest, took her to the student union for a quick lunch before Blair's second exam.

They didn't talk that night, except to agree to put any serious discussions off until they were both rested. After Blair's last exam, they rode Jo's motorcycle to Georgia, taking their time on slower roads. After three days spent lounging on the beach, they began to talk about what happened in Sunnydale and what it meant.

It was the same argument they'd had since Blair learned there was another Slayer nearby. Blair wanted Jo to stop slaying, and Jo didn't want to. Blair recruited Willow and Buffy to argue her point with Jo, which started another round of heated discussions. They finally agreed that Jo would be available to the new crew if they really needed her, and that she would reduce her patrolling in favor of, as Blair put it, "a real life."

The Scoobies were astonished by how many chose to stay, and held no grudge against those who left. Giles asked only that they leave contact information, which Willow put into a database. The Scoobies relocated to Cleveland long enough to permanently seal that Hellmouth, then moved to Miami to rebuild the Watcher's Council.

The new Council instituted uniform training programs for Slayers, Watches, and witches. They established houses at active locations around the world with two or three Slayers, a Watcher, and a witch in residence at each location.

The books Giles carefully packed and shipped away from Sunnydale became the nucleus of the central research library. Willow added them to the digital collection she'd been building since high school, so the entire organization had access to those resources. Giles continued to recoup the defunct Watcher's Council funds, and there was no shortage of money. Kennedy and Willow surprised everyone by staying together. They remained in Miami, sharing training and administrative duties with Giles, Xander, and Dawn. Buffy retired for a while, but quickly became bored and started moving from location to location, and when that got old, she settled in Miami with her family.

After Blair graduated from college, she went to work at Warner Industries in New York. Jo earned a degree and took the New York Police Department recruitment test. When she showed the results to Blair, they had several long discussions before Jo got her way. Buffy, Willow, Kennedy, and Xander came to New York for her graduation from the police academy. Each of them, without prompting from Blair, reminded Jo that she wasn't bulletproof.

Ten years after obliterating the Sunnydale Hellmouth, those who survived the battle gathered there. As they had before the dust settled, they stared over the wasteland. Unlike the 20 or so people observing it, the crater was unchanged. Smoke still rose from the center, and it emitted a low guttural noise. While they watched, something approached from the opposite side at a run and threw itself into the wreckage. No one heard it land. Instead, there was only a grinding noise that made Willow shiver and signaled the others that it was time to leave. Before they did, the offerings they brought in remembrance of those who didn't escape were piled on the crumbling pavement near the hole.

-30-