-----
Sunnydale, California. May
21, 1999
A few
months later, the time for high school graduation had come. Not only
that, but the Mayor – one of the worst Big Bads to ever plague the gang
– was about to ascend to pure demon form. As unfortunately it had been
too late for Xander to warn everyone what was going to happen with that,
by the time Willow’s spell had taken effect.
The
young warrior had avoided all his former comrades as much as possible
since then, as their presence still gave him incredible headaches. And,
too, Mr. Harris knew they wouldn’t have approved of his pre-emptive
strikes on future enemies.
Or
cold-blooded acts of murder, depending on your point of view.
Angel
was the only one to assist him, both because Xander was able to use the
backup and on account of he was the only other member of the gang that
had killed people. The vampire had asked the human, “Are you sure you
can go through with this? Killing people changes you...”
Xander
had slowly replied, “I think you’re getting me confused, with that punk
teenager you remember. When I was in that hell dimension? There was this
one guy I was never really sure about, when we were discussing the
escape attempt. Eventually I knew he was going to betray us to
the demons, just to save his own life...”
The
ghost of Soldier Guy had shone through Xander’s features when he said
coldly, “That’s why I snapped his neck, just before we made our move for
freedom.”
The
former Angelus had merely shrugged, while the inner demon had started
howling with unholy glee and speculated what kind of Master vampire this
version of Xander Harris would have made.
Soon
enough the various news agencies had reported the unexplained killings
of Professor Maggie Walsh of UC Sunnydale, the student named Warren
Mears of Sunnydale High, and a medical intern named Ben at the Sunnydale
Memorial Hospital. Xander had known he couldn’t do anything about the
First Evil, but figured that leaving a time-delayed letter with Giles
detailing all the various events would have to do.
The
time then arrived, and the former senior stood alone during the high
school graduation ceremony. < Today’s the day, > he thought. < One way
or another, today’s my last day in Sunnydale. I’m not risking one of
Wesley’s retrieval teams coming here for me any longer... >
The
Mayor went through his speech, and then started to ascend. People
started to scream, run and die. Xander watched, as the armed students
tried to fight under Oz’s direction. Some of them died, as well as their
parents – but still, the Mayor wasn’t satisfied.
Then Buffy started to challenge the big snake, to come get her. But
suddenly a vamp distracted the Slayer; nearby, Faith was busy with
another bloodsucker as well.
“Hey, Demon Guy!” Xander yelled to the creature that had once been
Richard Wilkins III, waving and jumping around. “You wanna eat me? Then
come get some!”
The
manifestation of the demon Olvikan screamed unintelligibly, and started
to chase the former soldier. Xander then followed the plan Angel had
told him about, and headed for the innards of the school.
In
the meanwhile, Buffy had noticed what he’d done after dusting the vamp;
and running madly, she quickly joined Giles. “What are you doing here?!”
demanded the ex-Watcher. “I don’t-”
Buffy gasped, “The Mayor started to chase Xander! We gotta...”
“BLOW THE SCHOOL!!” they heard Angel shout. Turning around, they saw the
vampire gesturing frantically. “NOW! It’s almost too late!”
To
his credit, Giles didn’t hesitate. He rammed down the plunger and the
high school exploded, in a furious blast wave of violence and
destruction. Everyone cringed and turned away, shielding their eyes.
Buffy looked back as soon as she could, an indescribable expression on
her face. “Xander...” she whispered.
~~~~~~
Buffy, Willow, Oz and Cordelia had gathered on the edge of the grass,
watching as the emergency crews and firemen finished handling the blaze.
Faith had unfortunately been killed in the fighting, but at least she
had taken Mr. Trick with her before dying of her injuries.
The
gang was waiting for some news, but as soon as Giles joined them, they
knew it wasn’t good.
“They-they haven’t found any trace of his body,” Giles reported in a
subdued voice. “Maybe Xander got out...”
“Or
else the Mayor had him as a really sicko snack,” Cordelia said, in her
own tactless way.
“Will you just stop talking!?” Willow snapped, grieving for her lost
friend. Even though he had distanced himself, she couldn’t helping
thinking this had been all her fault, somehow.
Buffy knew her best friend well enough to know what she was thinking,
however. “It’s not your fault, Will,” the Slayer said shakily. “It’s
mine. I shouldn’t have let him...if that damn vamp hadn’t distracted
me...”
“Wouldn’t have made any difference,” Oz cut her off.
“Y-yes, I imagine so,” Giles put in. “Despite all the changes he’d gone
through, Xander always was one to, to act first and think later...”
There was a brief silence in the darkness, as the firemen and others
bustled about. “I-I better check on Wesley, see how badly injured he
is,” Giles then said. “And I just want to say – well done, a-all of you.
You’ve saved Sunnydale.”
With that, the ex-Watcher left. As the others turned away, Buffy
followed his footsteps with her eyes, and noticed Angel standing amidst
the smoke and vehicles. The vampire and the Slayer shared a long look,
before the undead creature with a human soul turned around and left
without saying goodbye, just as he’d promised her he would.
“Let’s get out of here,” Buffy said to her friends, as they turned
around and wearily made their way back to the Slayer’s home.
~~~~~~
Angel
made his way underground, to where Xander was waiting. “It’s all over,”
the vampire said to the human. “Odds are they think you’re dead, just
like you wanted them to.” He sighed. “Well, I’m heading south down to
Los Angeles. You?”
“San
Francisco,” Xander replied, the pain in his head less now that it was
mostly all over. “Probably. Or I might head further north, into Canada.
Haven’t decided yet.”
The
ensouled creature said slowly, “You could hitch a ride with me, if you
like. L.A. is probably the best place for you to set up a new identity,
and then you can head off to San Francisco or wherever once you’re
ready. I mean, what have you got to lose?”
Xander
stared at him. “No way I’m gonna say it, ya know.”
Angel
was confused, as the two men started walking and made their way up to
the surface. “Say what?”
“The
line from the movie,” the former Soldier Guy replied tersely.
“What
movie?” Angel replied, as he hauled Xander up through the manhole.
“Casablanca,”
his companion muttered, “You know...”
The
246-year-old vampire looked amused. “You mean the one that goes, ‘this
could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship’? Or, ‘we’ll
always have Paris’?”
Xander
scowled at him, as they started walking along the road. “Don’t push it,
Deadboy...”
The
sound of the vampire chuckling could be heard, as the two beings started
to make their way out of Sunnydale. And thus began new destinies, for
the both of them.
THE END