The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, 0500 hours.

Buffy was looking down at the unconscious Barry as she listened to his laboured breathing. She thought back to the violation of her body by Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew, and her mind was filled with ways to kill the three of them. She remembered what Warren had told her; she remembered every word about what he wanted to do to her, and she remembered being forced to use her strength to bring the man she loved to the brink of death. Buffy looked out the rear passenger seat window with tears in her eyes before she also remembered Warren and the others knew Barry was the Flash.

She had already told Warren that he would die if anyone was told the truth about Barry. But now Buffy realized that Warren could not be trusted, and neither could Andrew – who she had never met until now. And finally, Jonathan… the very same young man she knew at Sunnydale High… the very same young man whose life she saved many times, could not be trusted either. To Buffy, Jonathan's role in what happened to her was a betrayal.

For right now though Warren was a danger. And Buffy needed to do something. They were almost a block away from the bank when Buffy told Giles to stop.

"Buffy?" asked Giles.

"Stop the car," she hissed as she remembered Warren's smug face, "take Barry home and have Willow and Tara stop the bleeding. I… I.. I'll be right back and…."

"Buffy, whatever…."

"They violated my mind and body, made me hurt my friends and the man I love, and then Warren wanted to take me to their lair and violate me even more!" yelled Buffy as Giles gripped the steering wheel tight, "so please don't give me a speech that I should let them go and let the human justice system take care of them!" she yelled as he face started to redden in anger, "Stop the car and take Barry home!"

Buffy looked back down at Barry and caressed his cheek while his cowl hung from his uniform as Giles pulled over to the sidewalk. She slipped out from under him, gently letting his body fall on the seat while she proceeded to get out of the car after it stopped. "I love you, Barry. I'll be home soon, I… I have to convince them not to tell anyone who you are."

Upon hearing that, Giles looked back at Buffy.

"They know Barry's the Flash," said Buffy as she looked at an expressionless Giles, "this was too far. No one, not even a demon or even the Master, or Drusilla has done this to me. Not even Spike or Angelus… they never violated me like this. I'm not letting this lie, take Barry home."

Buffy then got out of the car, looked at Barry one more time, and then slammed the door shut. She then ran the opposite way as fast as possible. Giles saw the Slayer run as fast as she could through the rear window with sadness in his eyes. He then looked at the laboured breathing from Barry before turning around. He then drove off.

Warren was screaming, with tears in his eyes as he held up his crushed hands while Andrew was helping him onto the passenger seat. He then closed the door while Warren was screaming, pain evident in his high-pitched voice, for him to drive instead of helping Jonathan. But Andrew didn't listen as he rushed to Jonathan and then turned his unconscious body onto his back. He then bent down, wrapped his arms under Jonathan's armpits, and then dragged him to the car.

Reaching the back door after a minute of dragging Jonathan, Andrew leaned the unconscious young man's body against the car before reaching for the door handle. Just as he opened the door, Andrew heard a whistle from above. He then looked up, and gulped as Buffy jumped from the roof of the two-story building down onto the roof of the car. She then, before Andrew could do anything, kicked his forehead, causing him to stumble backwards while she jumped onto the street. She walked to Andrew, who was holding his hand against his forehead while crying out that he was sorry, with her gloved hands rolled into fists. Buffy heard her heart racing as she twisted her body around before slamming her foot into the side of his head. She then rushed at the crying Andrew and punched his stomach before, when he was doubling over, slamming both her fists into his back. The man was then knocked unconscious before she looked up at the unconscious Jonathan leaning back against the car, and then heard the sound of Warren whining.

Buffy walked over to the passenger side door before an enraged Warren glared at her through the open window. He was yelling at her in regards to having his revenge on her and her boyfriend while she opened the door. But before he could continue talking, Buffy punched him numerous times before slamming his head into the dashboard while screaming if he liked it, "because I love it! I love that you're my bitch in heat!"

The Slayer rammed his head into the dashboard two more times until he was knocked unconscious, but still breathing. She looked at the blood trickling down from the cuts on his forehead, and from his nose which was broken from her previous punches. She then looked at the blood on the dashboard before looking back at Warren; however, the expression on her face was cold. She then strode to the side of the road and grabbed the balaclava, put it back on, and then dragged Jonathan and Andrew into the car before she drove it off.

Buffy drove the car to Willie's Bar, a hangout which was supposed to be a neutral ground for various demons that were usually enemies, to simply relax without any problems.

"Hey!" yelled the young woman in the Balaclava and gloves who strode in through the doors. Willie and all the demons in the crowded bar turned to look at the stranger, whose voice was muffled by the face covering, demanded to know if there were any vampires. One she saw a few heads looking up while others stood up from their tables, Buffy asked if any of them wanted real human blood.

"There's no human blood here," said Willie to no one in particular as he put down a glass before handing it to a demon seated at the bar, "you need to leave."

"Any vampire wants fresh blood, go to the car outside," Buffy said curtly before turning around.

Buffy then ran out of there in a hurry and leapt into the side of a darkened building two doors down before climbing her way to the roof. She looked out at the lit bar and watched as six vampires walked out, looked around, sniffed the air before heading towards the car. Buffy guessed that they must have smelled the fresh blood from the unconscious bodies in the back seat, and watched with stone cold hatred on her face as they opened the doors and dragged out the unconscious bodies of the three young men. She watched the vampires smell the three young men to make sure they were still alive, and then they dragged the three of them to what looked like an abandoned building.

Buffy then glared at the vampires dragging the bodies away, turned around, and then left. In the meantime, the six vampires shared the three bodies; they bit down and drank until they had their fill. As Buffy ran back home, she knew that the three young men who called themselves the Trio died.

And she had no problems with that. None at all.

Buffy snapped her eyes open following the dream she just had before slowly bringing her head up and looking at Barry's sleeping face. She was breathing harder after dreaming about what she knew she should have done to the three people who violated her and hurt Barry badly. Buffy wanted to hurt them, she wanted to kill them… and she really wanted Giles to stop the car and let her out. She was about to order him to stop when Barry started to shiver in her arms while they were driving away from the bank. It was then she realised that she couldn't leave Barry's side, 'and what would he say if I did kill them. What… what would it do to me?'

But Buffy, as she looked up at Barry's face, knew the cost of not following through with her fantasy meant that the three villains knew the identity of the Flash.

It was a few minutes after Giles' car screeched into the Summers driveway last night that Barry was hurriedly brought back into the Summers house.

"Oh my God, Barry?!" cried Dawn as the door shut behind them and Willow and Tara, both of whom were sporting bruises on their faces, rushed to Buffy's side. The Slayer remembered what she did to the two witches, and apologised. Tara waved her hands saying that everyone understood what happened, and then she concentrated on Barry.

"My mother used a paste to heal wounds that…. Anyway, I need a few ingredients," said Tara who had a momentary far-away look in her eye. It was a look that made Willow wonder what it was that Tara hadn't told her, but decided to question her later on. Giles told Tara that he'll take her to the Magic Box before telling Buffy to place Barry on a bed.

"Stop the bleeding, and then clean the cuts with alcohol," said Giles, "If there are any clean bandages, then…"

"We have a lot of clean bandages," Joyce said before heading to the kitchen. Giles and Tara then left for the magic box while Buffy, Xander, and Willow rushed upstairs, the young man telling Anya to stay with the shaken Dawn. Seconds later, Joyce rushed up the stairs while Dawn and Anya sat down together on the couch. The young girl was looking up the stairs while Anya tried to keep her distracted from what was going on upstairs.

Back in the present time, Buffy looked at the green coloured paste on parts of Barry's face, chest, and abdomen which covered the cuts and bruises. The paste was meant to be some sort of a healing agent which Buffy herself wasn't sure how it worked, but Tara promised that it would take the pain away while helping Barry's body to heal itself. Buffy looked over her shoulder at the top part of Barry's uniform laying on the back of a chair before she turned and stared at the still sleeping Barry.

With the room smelling of mint and cinnamon from the green paste, the Slayer placed her head on Barry's shoulder again and closed her eyes. She knew that there was a long day ahead of her. She needed to find Warren and the others; it was she knew Willow would be able to help her find out with, and then she was going to tell them to leave… or else. As Buffy breathed in while willing herself back to sleep, she recalled having taken Willow aside after Barry stabilised, and asked her if there was a way to make Andrew, Jonathan, and Warren lose their memories about Barry's identity.

The two of them were in the backyard since Buffy knew that Tara would most likely be against this idea, just as Giles would be. As Buffy breathed in Barry's scent, she remembered Willow looking back at the closed door that led to the backyard to make sure that Tara couldn't hear her. She then turned back to Buffy and said that she needed a few things from the Magic Box, "I'll get them first thing in the morning. The spell shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Thanks," Buffy said, "and how about Tara?"

"We just keep this between us," Willow said, "and we don't tell Giles too."

"Agreed."

The Summers Residence, 0900 hours.

Barry's heart was beating wildly as he stood confused on the green grass while people he was familiar with were sitting on chairs in front of him. There was Joyce, Dawn, Tara, Willow, and Anya who were seated on one side, while on the other side was Caitlin, Cisco, Joe, Wally, Jessie, Harry, and sitting next to Joe was Iris who was dabbing some tears away before looking away from Barry. Seeing Joe and the others made Barry knit his eyebrows together wondering how he managed to make it back to Earth-One with Joyce and the others. Barry shook his head before he looked around and recognised the backyard and the house to the right.

'Buffy's backyard,' thought Barry to himself before he looked at Joe and the others, and then at the section where Joyce and the other Scoobies were seated.

He then realised that Buffy and Giles were missing from the 'Scooby Section'. Looking around while wondering to himself where Buffy and Giles were, and why he was in the backyard, Barry suddenly noticed someone he didn't recognise. It was a dark-skinned woman in rags with dry hair and white paste on her face. Barry felt a sense of dread upon seeing her, and then quickly turned towards the person who lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Oliver?" asked Barry knitting his eyebrows together once again before wondering to himself that there was no one standing next to him only a second ago, "where…?am I in….? wait… how are you here? And, where is this? and… and how are you and the others here?"

It was then that Barry noticed the suit that Oliver, and Xander behind him, was wearing. He looked down at himself and wondered about his tuxedo and then heard a familiar voice to his left side. Turning to the man and woman standing in front of an alter, a smile appeared on Barry's face as his confusion melted away upon seeing the two people he wanted to see above all others.

"Dad? Mom?"

"Hey, Slugger," said Henry before he placed a hand on Barry's shoulder, and squeezed gently.

"My beautiful boy," Nora said before she stepped forward and hugged Barry. The speedster hugged Nora tight, telling her that he was sorry he wasn't able to save her.

"I'm glad you didn't," Nora whispered in his ear before pulling back and holding his hands. She looked into his eyes and said that she was proud of him.

"But…." Barry stopped talking when a string quartet started playing a rendition of the wedding march. Barry saw Nora and Henry's eyes shifting behind him, and so… a sense of confusion returning, Barry turned around and his heart jumped at the sight in front of him at the end of the aisle, between the rows of seats. Barry saw everyone stand up while Oliver whispered that 'she looked gorgeous'.

Barry's mouth hung open wide as she saw a figure he recognised as Buffy in a white dress being led down the aisle by Giles.

"This is your day, dude," said Xander.

"But…"

Barry saw everyone stand up and turn to the veiled figure in white carrying a bouquet of flowers clasped in front of her. Barry glanced at Iris giving him a sad smile before she looked away towards Buffy as she walked past. Barry shook his head and then noticed the dark-skinned woman again. She had her head tilted while looking directly at him, and her gaze made him shudder. Barry shook his head, and then looked at Buffy walking up to him… and a smile started to develop on his face.

Barry took a step forward and held the Slayer's hand before looking at Giles.

"She's all yours Barry, and remember… you hurt her, we'll all kill you with shovels," he whispered while Buffy chuckled as she looked at her Watcher, and then at Barry. Barry held Buffy's hand, and then pulled back her veil with his free hand before placing a hand on her cheek.

"Hi," he said before leading her up the altar, "this is a nice dream."

"A dream?" asked Buffy. "I…. Ogh."

"Buffy?" asked Barry, who heard a loud gasp from the Slayer. He turned towards Buffy just as she doubled over. Barry saw her hand grasping at a red spot on her chest; a spot that was soaking into her white wedding dress.

"Why…?" asked Buffy as she looked at her blood covered hand and then looked back up at Barry before she stumbled back while the others were just whispering, not making a move to help. Barry saw the dark-skinned woman in rags creep out of the rows of seats towards the end. However, he returned his focus to Buffy, her well-being was a greater concern to him.

"Buffy," yelled Barry as he rushed to the blonde Slayer, and grabbed her before she fell backwards as blood started to trickle down the sides of her mouth. "Buffy! Buffy!" He held her in his arms while the white dress continued being soaked with red blood. He was about to run to the hospital with Buffy in his arms when her body vanished. Stunned, Barry looked around and saw everyone was gone as well.

In addition, he now found himself surrounded by walls of stone and dirt. Barry was in his Flash uniform as he looked around and found himself in some sort of a gigantic cavern, with a dark chasm above him. Turning around, he heard growls and roars from tunnels in the distance, and then there was a thud from behind. Turning around again, Barry rushed to the bleeding body of Buffy who was wearing a black jacket and jeans with a shirt underneath. He was about to call her name and pick her up when there was another thud, followed by another thud, and then another thud.

Barry looked around up and saw bodies raining down all around him. He saw Joyce, Giles, Dawn, Anya, Xander falling from teh chasm and then slamming onto the ground, all dead. He wanted to run and catch them as they fell, but Barry didn't have his speed. So all he could do was watch helplessly as girls rained down around him, and fell with thuds onto the ground. All of them were girls he didn't know, and all of them were young; and soon, the ground was soaked in their blood. Barry looked up and saw one girl after another from the top of the chasm and landing with a hard thud on the ground. Barry rushed to Buffy's side and stayed with her in his arms.

The thuds around him increased as bodies of more girls fell around him, all of them were bleeding from what looked like stab wounds. Suddenly, the bodies of girls stopped dropping. Barry lay Buffy's dead body on the ground; he knew this wasn't real.. he knew that this was just a nightmare and that Buffy was alive and well. But seeing his girlfriend dead still made his heart fall. He turned around and yelled for whoever was responsible for all the bodies to show themselves. Barry's demand echoed throughout the chamber as he spun around with his hands clenched.

"Show yourself!"

Suddenly, Barry heard a 'swish' sound.

It was the same sound made by a speedster, followed by a low growl. Turning around slowly, his hands still wet with Buffy's blood, Barry took in a deep breath when he came face to face with a figure in a black suit.

"Hello, Flash," growled the disfigured body of Hunter Zolomon, otherwise known as Zoom.

"Zoom," Barry said as he stepped back, "you can't…"

"Die," yelled Zolomon as he dashed forward. Barry found that his feet were rooted to the floor in fear. He saw the black suited and disfigured Zoom, running at him with red lighting trailing behind. And then next thing he knew, Zoom's hand went through Barry's chest. Zoom then cried out loud, "You can't save your friends, Barry. You'll fail… you'll always fail. I am the fastest man alive, and you can never ever beat me!"

Barry snapped his eyes open and looked at a curtain-covered window. He saw streams of light shining through while he took in a few deep breaths. He then sighed, glad that it was just a nightmare, before feeling someone lying next to him. Barry turned his head and noticed the bruises all over his body, and then the green paste covering his cuts, and then he stared at the sleeping Buffy. Her head was lying on his should, her arm was around his waist, and so he raised his left arm and placed it on her side.

He looked at the sleeping Slayer and recalled how she looked in the wedding dress before she started bleeding from her chest. And then there was the dream about the Slayer lying dead on the floor of the great chamber with the chasm above his head. He then remembered the dead girls all around him, and then there was Zoom.

'What was Zoom doing there,' thought Barry to herself as he lay his head on the pillow when he started to get dizzy. 'Oh yeah, I should get back to sleep. But… but the dream was so vivid. Buffy was dying and… and maybe this is something I should be talking to Giles, Tara, and Willow later. Then there's the thing with the dead girls, the weird girl in the painted face and… and then there's Buffy in a wedding dress.'

Barry looked at the blonde whose head was on his shoulder, and gently placed his hand on the small of her back. He wondered to himself that it was something that he may have to think about eventually; especially if he wanted to make this Earth a home.

'And I do want to make this a home,' Barry thought to himself as he looked at Buffy while absentmindedly rubbing the small of her back. He recalled the smile on Buffy's face while she was in the wedding dress, and his smile widened at his mother and father being at the altar. His heart fell at the look of sadness on Iris' face, but he was surprised to feel that it didn't bother him as much as it should. 'And that's probably because I'm getting used to this Earth.'

"Ummm," Buffy stirred while Barry smiled a little. He knew that he needed to find Warren and the others and give them a piece of his mind, and maybe send them all to the same island he had sent Spike. For now though, Barry pushed their faces to the back of his mind as he smiled at the groggy expression on Buffy's face as she looked up at him.

"Hey sleepyhead," Barry whispered. Buffy wiped her eyes, and then placed a hand on his cheek and apologized. Barry shook his head while saying that it wasn't her fault. He then held her tight just as heavy footsteps could be heard outside the door.

And then there was a knock. Buffy; groaned before closing her eyes and laying her head on his shoulder while Joyce asked if she could come in, while knocking on the door.

"Go away, mother," mumbled Buffy as she snuggled closer to Barry who had a smile on his face.

"Yea, Joyce," said Barry as Buffy moved her head up and glared at the young man just as the door opened. Barry looked over Buffy's head at Joyce, who apologized just as Dawn rushed into the room and asked Barry if he was feeling better.

"Much better," said Barry as Buffy sighed, and then slowly sat up while glaring at her mother and sister.

"Are they awake?" asked Willow's voice as she rushed into the room, and then rushed to Barry's side to check on the injuries just as Tara walked into the room while yawning.

"How about we let everyone else come in?" said Buffy sarcastically.

"Sorry, Barry… Buffy," said Tara while Willow said that Barry seemed to be healing nicely.

"Quick question," Buffy said before yawning, "umm…. Why are all of you here?"

"We just watched the morning news," Willow said as Joyce walked up to, and stood next to Buffy, "the police found Warren's body."

"What do you mean body?" asked Barry while Buffy looked on stunned.

'That was just a dream,' she thought to herself as her heart raced, 'I know I didn't do anything and…'

"His hands were crushed, and there was a bullet hole in his forehead," Tara said as Buffy and Barry looked at her, "and, in other news, there was a massive power outage last night. Many places, including the Sunnydale Central bank, and other stores and ATM's had their electric security recordings wiped."

"You think it was Jonathan?" asked Buffy.

"I don't know," Willow answered.

"I'll go check it out and…"

"No," Barry said.

"You're still injured," Buffy said as she looked at Barry, and remembered punching him. The Slayer then shook her head and looked away before saying that she should be the one to check it out. She then looked at Willow, "Will, I need Jonathan's address."

"I'll get it for you," Willow said.

"Now you don't have to worry about them," Dawn said as she held onto Barry's hand while looking at Buffy, "that Warren guy's the one who did that to you so… yeah… I'm not sorry to see him go."

"Whatever happens, this is a human crime," Buffy whispered while mentally admonishing herself for not being the one who killed Warren, and the others, 'no.. if I find them, I'll just beat on them a little before turning them in. That's it… that's all I'll do.'

"But it's over," said Barry as he held onto Buffy, "and we move on."

"We move on," said Buffy as she looked at Barry.

"Pancakes?" asked Joyce.

"Please," all of them replied at once.

TBC.