Buffy started to punch and kick the punching bag harder. Vampires haven't been showing their undead faces lately and Buffy needed someway to get rid of some energy. And now Spike was out of the picture. I'm going to be strong now. I'm going to find a guy who isn't dead. Spike was just a detour... Buffy thought to herself. The thought of Spike just made Buffy hit the bag like mad. Her constricted face turned into a determined one.

She hated him. Truly and utterly. She hated how he made her feel. Disgusting and shameful. Buffy had never felt that way before and she hated it. She *hated* Spike. Xander slowly came behind Buffy, watching her in disbelief. Buffy was practically killing the bag.

"Uh...Buffy?" Xander muttered, loud enough for her to hear.

Buffy had heard him and with one more kick she hit the bag right off the wall. She simply turned to Xander and smiled. "Yeah?"

Xander was too busy staring at the bag. He lifted his eyes from it and managed a smile back at her. "You okay?"

"Fine. Never better."

"But, you killed the bag. Now we're going to have to have a funeral and send out invitations..."

"Very funny. I'm just... getting out my energy. I just need to kill some vamps." She said, walking away to get a drink.

"'Kill' is such a light word. You mean demolish, right? Or beat to a pulp?" Xander replied.

Buffy began to walk out in to the magic shop, her hair bouncing behind her. "Would you rather me kill you? I'm up for any sort of fight, although I could take you in about 5 seconds."

Buffy stepped out into the Magic Box, placing her water on a table.

Xander looked offended. "Oh really? You think you could take me? Come on! Let me see what you got!" He put his fists up in a fighting stance.

Buffy turn to him and glared, placing her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah, you got that slayer strength. I think I'll pass."

She smirked, knowingly. "That's what I thought." She said, as she sat down.

Xander strided toward the door. "I'm headin' out. There's a 'Laverne and Shirley' marathon. I wouldn't miss that for the world. Want to come? I need another fan."

Buffy smiled at his offer. "No thanks, Xand. I'm in the mood for some nice me time."

Xander stepped out the door, but turned back. "Okay, enjoy your "me time" but, tomorrow morning when you're sad because you missed the Laverne-Shirley bonding moments, don't get mad at me."

Buffy waved to him as he left and let out a chuckle. Then, realizing she was alone, she sighed in exasperation. "Alone again."

"Nope. I'm here too." Called a voice from the back of the Magic Box.

Buffy turned and saw Anya carrying a few boxes toward the front counter. "Oh, hey. Do you need me to take them for ya?" She asked, just being polite. She figured Anya would say 'No, thanks.'

"Yeah. Here you go." Anya said, shoving the boxes in Buffy's arms. Buffy winced and stood up, reluctantly. "These need to go where?"

"Basement! I'm going to meet Xander and talk over some wedding stuff! The keys are on the counter, could ya lock up for me? Don't forget to put the closed sign up!" Anya yelled, walking out of the store.

Buffy stood there with a disbelieving look planted on her face, staring at the door. "Yeah, sure. Maybe I should clean the store and sell everything too." She muttered, sarcastically, as she trampled down the stairs to basement.

Buffy placed the boxes at the end of the stairs and went to go back up but something caught her eye. It was a clear and shining ball that was about the size of a basketball. She walked over to it and couldn't resist to pick it up. As she touched it she could feel an amazing burst of energy trail through her veins. She shivered in pleasure and enjoyed the ball. "Pretty little ball." She said, walked up the stairs, ball in hand.

As she got up the stairs she walked around the store, throwing the ball from one hand to the other. It spun with amazing beauty and magnificence like nothing she'd ever see before. She played with it a little until she challenged herself to throw it really high and then see if she could catch it. Buffy knew it wasn't a good idea deep down, but she was secretly tempted by it's luminous glow. She threw it high and watched it spin in the air, but as it fell into her hands she felt it slip. The ball was slippery and it ran right out of her hands. Buffy watched it tumble towards the ground in shock and then... *SMASH*!

The ball was broken. She knelled down to it and saw it was cracked from the center, showing a small yellow light glow. "Uh, oh... The term 'You break it, you bought it' has a new meaning to me..." She murmured as she stared at it's glowing center. The center began to glow bright and it flowed out of the ball, forming a shape in front of her face. Buffy, mesmerized by this, came back to her feet and watched it. It floated, like a fluid of some sort in the air. Then an image of a woman landed on it. The woman was dressed in a long toga type dress that shined brighter than the sun. Her hair was dark and had long hair ripples of waves coming from it. Her skin looked as if the sun never touch it and her eyes were a deep green that symbolized the color of the deepest depth of the ocean.

Buffy stared. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her train of thought wasn't even moving, and she stood there, amazed. The woman spoke in a light whisper, that seemed overpowering. "The Chosen One. Slayer. Buffy Summers, of Sunnydale. I am here to fulfill my duties that will now be passed to you. I shall show you the future of our fair world, as the evil corrupts it's core." Her words chilled Buffy.

Another image replaced the one of the woman, it was an image of a disastrous fight. There was Buffy, fighting a gigantic demon with an ax on an ash battle field filled with dead bodies. Her green eyes grew a dark green that almost matched with her pupils. And as Buffy killed the hideous demon, they grew darker. "This is Sunnydale," The woman's voice echoed. "An apocalypse would be on our earth, destroying all that we hold dear. You shall one of the most important warriors, destroying millions of demons, along side of another warrior. But, some things that we do are not enough." As her voice faded the image of Buffy walking along many dead bodies, she stopped and knelt down.

Willow's body lay there, in front of her, her breath had seized and her heart had stopped. Buffy clutched Willow's hand, sobbing with great pain. She put her face to Willow shoulder and cried heavily. As she came back up, Buffy's eyes wondered from Willow to another body. Xander. He wasn't dead but was breathing with difficulty. Buffy ran by his side, her eyes growing normal slowly. Xander held his hand out to her and Buffy cried with anxiety. His mouth opened and in a horse whisper he said, "I love you. I love Willow and I love Anya...and everyone else. Please, tell them for me...if they're still alive. Remember me when you save the world." As those words finished his eyes closed and Buffy cried out. "Xander!" Her eyes flooded at a rapid pace.

Buffy kissed Xander forehead and placed his limp hand down. She got up and clutched her ax, but never stopped crying. She looked at all the bodies, of demons, of humans, and one body that was separated from all the others. He was there. His eyes stared at the sky, the sun would soon be approaching, if the sun ever came out again. Buffy yelled out as she watched him. "Angel!" She collapsed beside him, looking at his wombs.

"Buffy..." He said, in barely a whisper. "You can make it, Angel. I know you can. That vampire healing will get you better in no time. Please...you're the only one left." Her face contorted in a sorrowful way. Her eyes were normal, but this time filled with grief. Nothing would be the same.

"No...I can't. You have to go. Fight. I'm ready to go. I know now that I'll never make it to heaven..."

"No! Don't say things like that! You're going to survive and we're going to save the world!" She yelled.

"I love you. I always have and always will. Even when I go in to hell, and as I'm being tortured ... the only thing on my mind will be you and it won't be as bad." Angel said, staring up at her.

Buffy looked at his stomach. There were millions of deep and rugged cuts along the surface. She sobbed loudly and unfortunately a demon heard this. It came silently and swung his sword and Buffy's back, slizing it. She screamed in pain, as her breath turned in to pants. She took her axe and swung at him, only scraping its arm. The demon saw Angels body, and moved to kill him. Buffy yelled in agony, "NO!!" And she blocked his sword, but as Buffy looked back to see if Angel was all right the demon slid the sword right through Buffy's stomach.

The excruciating pain rippled through her, as she clutched her stomach. Her mouth opened in horror and she fell back into the ash. "Buffy!!" Angel found deep inside of himself a last burst of energy as he killed the demon viciously.

Angel kneeled beside her, wincing at every move. "Buffy... I..."

"I love you, Angel. Never forget that. You were the only love I saw. The only one I'll ever see. My heart beats ... only for you." Her sweet words made Angel physically hurt more than anything. He cried harder then he'd ever cried before. Buffy pulled him toward her and she gave him a bittersweet kiss, that faded when her breath grew short. She closed her eyes and breathed in one last time.

The image faded again and the woman was there. "That is what will happen in the near future if you fail. You must stop this from becoming. The whole world had ended. And the vampire killed himself from grief. It is up to you to form an alliance with the vampire. You must perform and ritual that shall be stronger than any other. These are all the words I can give to you. But, you may ask one question."

Buffy stared. Her cheeks were stained from her tears still flowing from her eyes. "I...I need to k-know... When will this happen?"

"You have a good amount of time. But, I warn you. Do not take long. That is all I can tell. Be wise, and good luck."

With that the fluid flowed back in to the ball and the crack that was there before completely disappeared. Buffy was shaking from head to toe. Her eyes were motion less as she watched the ball. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach...almost like the sword really went through her. Buffy even felt Angel's pain and hurt. There was only one thing she could do. But, now she had to settle down. Relax. The woman said she had a good amount of time which made the situation slightly happier. Oh God, she wished Giles was there. To tell her what to do...to guide her.

Angel settled down for a brief sleep after Cordelia left. He didn't know if Wesley had still been there or not. He figured that he left. All alone, he thought. Then a loud cry came from where Conner laid awake. "Or maybe not." He whispered, racing to Connor.

He picked him up, supporting his tiny body. Connor settled down and Angel smiled. "Daddy wants to sleep a little so, how about we rest?" Connor giggled and started to drift to sleep. Angel placed him back in his crib and beamed at Connors innocent face.

Angel laid back in bed, slipping into the sheets and sighing heavily. He didn't feel tired. He *never* felt tired. He just had a sudden urge to sleep. Suddenly, his eyes closed slowly and he felt a dream crash into his mind.

It was the future. A battlefield. It was just the images Buffy saw, the woman, the people, the demons... their last words. Even though Angel was deep into this dream he felt his soul cry out. He felt everything Buffy did. Angel knew Buffy had been killed because she was protecting him... and he felt remorse. Angel watched himself in the dream as he waited for the sun to rise next to Buffys beautiful and sorrowful body. The light rays of the sun hit him and burned in to his skin. Although his face didn't show pain because of the sun, but because of Buffy. The sun was about to devour him and all he could look at was Buffy. Three words escaped his mouth as he was about to be killed. "I love you..." It was a thousand times quieter than a whisper, although the truth of that statement shown bright.

Nothing was left on earth except dust, demons, and the creatures of the night. The vampires were out all day and night because after that day Angel died the sun never met the surface of the earth. It was perpetually dark.

After that Angel woke. He sat up in bed panting, although he didn't need to. His skin was cold with sweat and his body ached in pain of the dream. Right then the sound of a shrill cry of a baby echoed in his ears as stared ahead.

Angel sat outside the Hyperion's garden court with Connor. He stared at the stars, telling Connor about them. Morning was long away and Angel needed a way to calm his nerves of the dream...or prophecy. He knew that Buffy had seen it. He could just feel it.

A figure started to move toward him and his gaze landed on it. It was a woman, and the stars shined brightly of her. The moon made her eyes glitter as she took small steps. Angel felt a twist of excitment in his stomach. It was Buffy. He knew it, he could feel it. Her face reflected a slight smile at his staring face. She was wearing a long flowing dress that matched the peach color of her skin. Buffy came toward him, her short, curled hair bouncing with each step. She gave off a warm glow that penetrated Angel's heart.

Buffy approached him and he stared at her, she looked heavenly. "Hi." She said, in an innocent tone.

She waited for an answer and Angel replied, "Hi. How did you-" But she interupted him.

"Get here? Found my way," She revealed an Angel Investigation flyer from behind her back. "With the help of flyers." Buffy smiled at him, a genuine smile.

Angel smiled back. Then Buffy noticed Connor as she let an, "Awww..." softly.

Then, Angel knew he'd have to tell her. Buffy started to tickle Connor in his stroller, in which Connor delighted. "Is he a clients kid you had to baby sit?" Buffy asked.

Angel sighed heavily. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, he is." He exhaled at the lie.

Buffy smiled at Connor and looked at Angel is the corner of her eye. "Can I...?" She said, signaling if she could pick him up.

"Of course. His names Connor."

Buffy gently held him and began to rock him, softly cooing in his ear. Angel watched her intently. He knew she'd be a wonderful mother one day and that he regretted he'd never be the father of her child.

"You saw it too?" She asked, as Connors head rested on her small shoulder.

Angel was almost mesmorized of how wonderful she was with Connor. He couldn't get Connor to sleep for hours and now Buffy had done just that.

"In a dream." He replied.

Buffy returned Connor, who was sleeping fitfully, to his chair and gave Angel a deeply worried face. "What're we going to do? The woman said of some ritual... I don't know what kind. It's just so difficult."

"I think I've seen that woman before. Maybe we should research?" Angel said.

Buffy nodded. "Researching is sounding good right now."

The End

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