ALL THINGS NEW - PART 3
Part III: Sunnydale, May 10 1999
The gang was a picnic table outside the school, just Oz, Willow, Xander and Buffy; and the girls were chattering to each other about their upcoming senior prom. “I have the kick dress,” Buffy said excitedly to her redheaded best friend.
Willow looked fascinated. “Ooh, the pink one?”
Buffy nodded, thinking about her boyfriend in this time; the vampire called Angel. “Angel’s gonna lose it. But not his soul. He’s gonna lose it. His it.”
“And for those of us who happen to be confused, please raise your hand,” Xander quipped knowingly.
Willow smacked him on the arm. “It’s gonna be me and Oz, Buffy and Angel – and who are you going with, anyway?”
Xander looked away. “Nobody, Will. I might not even bother showing up, I don’t know...”
The others looked shocked, apart from maybe the poker-faced Oz. “Xander! You have to come!” the blonde Slayer said heatedly.
“Uh, why?”
“Well, because! Because-” Buffy spluttered indignantly.
“She’s got a point,” Oz added helpfully, in his own monosyllable way.
Xander shrugged, not wanting to admit how desperate and dateless he really was. “Well, whatever – guess I’ll see.”
Willow looked at him; she had known the guy all her life, but still didn’t understand the male mindset. “Is this because you want to avoid Cordelia?” she asked hesitantly.
Xander winced at the mention of his former girlfriend, who had gone out of her way to make life a living hell for him after they had split up. “No, it’s not that...”
Buffy decided to change the subject. “Well, you still have to get your tux anyway. Okay?”
“Okay,” the boy sighed.
The Slayer then turned to the Wicca. “I wonder what Angel will be wearing...”
~~~~~~
Curiously enough, at that moment the souled vampire was talking to Buffy’s mother Joyce in his home; and Mrs. Summers soon planted the seeds of Angel’s breakup with her daughter within him.
The nightmare Angel had later of Buffy’s death after they had gotten married, only fuelled the undead Irishman’s intentions to break the blonde girl’s heart in two. And so the situation soon came to a head, while the Chosen One and the vampire were in the sewers on a demon hunt.
Angel said roughly, “I’m trying to do what’s right here, okay? I’m trying to think with my head instead of my heart.”
Buffy looked stunned. “Heart? You have a heart? It isn’t even beating!”
“Don’t,” the vampire sighed.
Buffy looked incredulous, “Don’t what? Don’t love you? I’m sorry. You know what? I didn’t know that I got a choice in that! I’m never gonna change. I can’t change. I want my life to be with you.”
Angel looked at her, and said the hardest words ever in 246 years. “I don’t.”
The Slayer couldn’t believe it. “You don’t want to be with me? I can’t believe you’re breaking up with me...”
But it had happened, and there was no going back. That night Buffy grieved in pain with only Willow to comfort her, while Angel sat in his mansion staring vaguely at the fireplace.
The next day Xander remembered his promise to the Slayer, and went to hire a tux at the clothes shop known as April Fool’s. There he ran into his ex, and soon received his daily helping of Cordy’s bile.
“I have nothing, okay? No dresses. No cell phone. No car. Everything’s been taken away because Daddy made a little mistake on his taxes. For the last twelve years. Satisfied? Are you a happy Xander now? I’m broke. I can’t go to any of the colleges that accepted me. And I can’t stay home, because we no longer have one.”
Xander was stunned. “Uh, wow.”
Cordelia snarled, “Yeah, neat-o. Now you can run along and tell all of your friends how Cordy finally got hers. How she has to work part-time, just to get a lousy prom dress on layaway. And how she has to wear a nametag. Oh, I’m a nametag person. Don’t leave that out, the story just wouldn’t have the same punch...”
At that moment, the demonic creature known as a hellhound burst through the shop window, surprising the former odd couple. Pushing Cordelia out of the way, Xander grappled with it – but he was no match for its supernatural strength.
Fortunately however, the hellhound had been trained to attack people in formal wear, and so Xander survived when it left him to maul another customer. Later at the library, the gang discovered that the boy named Tucker Wells was responsible for the attack, and he was planning on killing everyone at the prom.
Oz said laconically, “Once again, the Hellmouth puts the special in special occasion.”
Willow looked at her boyfriend for a moment. “Wonder if I can take my dress back?”
Buffy, who had been brooding about Angel, suddenly woke up. “Don’t you dare.”
Willow tried to argue, “But Tucker is going to...”
The Slayer cried out, “No! You guys are going to have a prom. The kind of prom that every teenager should have. I’m going to give everyone there a nice, fun, normal evening – even if I have to kill every single person on the face of the Earth to do it.”
Xander looked fearful. “Yay?” he said hesitantly. “Uh, Buff, since I wasn’t planning to go, I’m thinking I should be your backup guy in taking care of this hellhound problem?”
Buffy brushed that aside, and quickly started telling the gang what to do as they started on the Tucker-hunt. Then Xander went and got his tux, and met Buffy along with everyone else as she came back to the library that evening. “Buffy, what’s the sitch?”
The Slayer grinned. “I got the address. Now, the prom starts in a little while. I want you guys to go on, and I’ll catch up with you as soon as I put a lid on this jerk.”
The male teenager that had once been referred to as the Zeppo was stunned. “What? No way.”
Willow agreed with Xander, “We can’t just leave you, Buff.”
Giles also put in his two cents, “Buffy, they’re right. You need...”
The blonde girl would have none of it. “To see taillights. Hit the door. I have everything under control.”
Oz looked concerned. “Buffy, it makes sense to...”
Buffy gave him a Look. “Have. A. Nice. Time.”
Willow and Oz gave up and acceded to her wishes, quickly leaving. But Xander stood his ground. “I told you no way, and I meant it!”
Buffy scowled, then sighed. “Fine, you can be the backup plan already. Wait in front of the school entrance in your tux, and if the hellhounds show up? Run for your life, and lead them away from the prom. Okay?”
Xander agreed, and after he left Buffy gave Giles his orders. “I want you at the gym. Keep an eye on everything until I get there.”
The ex-Watcher said hesitantly, “I don’t have to tell you that you’re being rather rash. Finding an address hardly adds up to case closed.”
“Look, it’s done. I don’t want to hear that I can’t give everyone else besides me one night of happiness, let them spend tonight of all nights with their honeys...”
Giles got hit by the clue-by-four. “Angel’s not taking you, is he?”
Buffy sighed. “Angel’s leaving me. And he’s leaving town. That’s done too.”
Later that night, despite all of Buffy’s plans, Xander saw action when the hellhounds arrived – courtesy of Tucker’s redundancy scheme. The Zeppo yelled and jumped about to get their attention, and then started running when all three demon dogs tried to be the first to get to eat his brain.
Unfortunately he wasn’t quick enough, and the hellhounds jumped him just as Buffy showed up. “XANDER!!!”
The Slayer dropped the rearmost hound with a crossbow bolt, just as one of the hellhounds turned around to go after her. She quickly shot that one as well, but the remaining devil dog was still trying to kill her friend.
So, the blonde girl did what any good Slayer would do – she quickly grabbed hold of the demon, and snapped its neck.
Xander just groaned, as she helped him up. “You okay, Xand?” Buffy asked in guilt and concern, berating herself as always for agreeing to let him help.
The guy certainly looked a mess, and he was covered with scratches. But he just said cheerfully, “Yeah! Sure. Good to go here, Buff. Let’s get you to the prom now...”
Buffy was uncertain, “You certain?”
“Yeah, I’m right behind you. Go, already...”
As the blonde girl headed off to get changed, Xander followed her – but then he stopped. The 18-year-old boy hesitated at the school entrance and thought, < Why should I bother going to this thing? Not like I have anyone to be with... >
The young Mr. Harris shrugged to himself, and quickly composed a note that he gave to a passing student to give to Giles: GONE TO THE LIBRARY TO GET WITH THE RESEARCHING, G-MAN. XANDER.
And as he walked off towards the gang’s inner sanctum, the latent poison from the talons of the hellhound slowly but surely spread throughout Xander’s entire body.
~~~~~~
At roughly this time Cordelia Chase entered the gym, looking spectacular in her prom dress. She quickly found Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, who at this point in his life was still the Watcher for the Slayer, and greeted him profusely. “Thank you!”
Wes was confused, despite being overwhelmed by her appearance. “May I ask what for, exactly?”
Cordelia grinned. “You know!”
“I, er, really don’t...”
At this point Cordelia realized that he hadn’t made the final payment on the dress she couldn’t afford, and backed off. “Then who...?” the brunette girl started to ask herself. Then it hit her. “Oh my God...
“Is there a problem?” asked Wesley in concern.
“No, no. Uh, have you seen Xander tonight?”
Wesley said no he hadn’t, and Cordelia quickly excused herself. She soon found Giles, who told her where the boy was; and so the head cheerleader quickly tracked him down.
“Xander, what are you doing in here?” Queen C demanded, when she found her ex in the library looking intently at a dusty old book. “Why the hell aren’t you at the prom?”
“Good to see you too, Cordy,” Xander said without looking up. Then he stared at her and smiled, “It looks great on you.”
Cordelia smiled back, briefly looking at her dress. “Well, duh...” But then she got serious. “Thank you, Xander.”
He shrugged and said casually, “You’re welcome...” before getting back to the ancient tome once more.
Cordelia walked up to him, snatched the book and threw it away. “You didn’t answer my question, you dorkhead! Now spill – why?”
Xander said without any malice, “I’m in here, because I don’t have any other better place to be.”
The brunette girl winced for a moment, then shook her head. “Buffy, Willow and everyone else are looking for you. So you’re coming to that dance with me – now!”
So saying, she dragged her ex-boyfriend over to the gym. And as they started dancing, Buffy met Angel on the dance floor. “I never thought you’d come...” she said in surprise.
The souled vampire commented softly, “It’s a big night, I didn’t want to miss it. It’s just tonight. It doesn’t mean that I...”
Buffy interrupted him, “I know. I mean, I understand.”
Angel straightened his tux and asked her, “Dance with me?”
Buffy nodded her assent, and started swaying gently in his arms as nearby Willow and Oz, plus Xander and Cordelia, danced closely together as well.
~~~~~
Interlude II (1999)
Nothing good lasts forever.
All too soon the dance was over, and the events leading up to the Mayor’s Ascension came crashing towards their big finale. The Slayer Faith ended up in a coma, and was considered unlikely to ever come out of it.
The Mayor turned into a pure demon on Graduation Day and Buffy led the students against him, like a queen leading her knights into battle. And despite all their losses, the Slayer and her allies eventually triumphed, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Afterwards Angel and Cordelia left town, as did Wesley since Buffy had quit the Council and he was fired from his job. Xander also left for the summer on his ill-fated road trip, and swore never to tell anyone the exact details of what went on when he’d worked at ‘The Fabulous Ladies Night Club’ as a male stripper.
Willow and Buffy moved in together as dorm buddies, as a demon-hunting military outfit called the Initiative set up shop in Lowell House of UC Sunnydale. Plus the bleached-blonde vampire called Spike had a real lousy time, coming to the Hellmouth and getting his ass kicked by the blonde Chosen One.
Halloween was lot of fun that year too, with the appearance of Gachnar the fear demon – before Buffy squished him like an ant. Still, the freshman didn’t celebrate long as she briefly turned into cave-Slayer, courtesy of some magically cursed beer. And Spike had no reason to celebrate anything either, as he was captured and neutered by the Initiative, with a behavior-modification chip in his brain.
While all this was happening in Sunnydale, Angel had set up his little vampire detective agency in Los Angeles, after meeting up with Cordelia again and also a half-Brachen demon named Allen Francis Doyle.
And it came to pass that Doyle, who received visions from the Powers That Be, informed Angel that Buffy was in danger – so the souled vampire headed back to the Hellmouth at once.
~~~~~~
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