DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I don't want them, they make me cry too much. Joss and his people do the owning thing
SPOILERS: Everything, just to be on the safe side.
TIMELINE: S5/S2
DISTRIBUTION: Great, just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Please.
RATING: R or 15 for the UK.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: AU fic.. What if the end of days was something quite unexpected.
DEDICATION: To the B/A Shippers hanging on by the skin of their teeth.. These are really dark days.

Murphy's Law...
If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.

Part one…

Buffy Summers slowly made her way up to the top of the hill, when she reached the green summit instead of gazing down at the town spread out below her, she cast her eyes up, far into the dark evening sky and the heavens beyond.

Positioned on the highest point of Sunnydale, the small blonde slayer stood motionless, her troubled mind deep in reflection as the infinite sky above her grew even darker. Then gradually, one by one, tiny specks of brilliance appeared and punctuated the darkness with flickering silver light. The sliver of a new moon merged into the picture only adding to its beauty.

But nothing this good lasts forever….

Buffy had made this journey every night now for a week, every night since the news had first been broken that nothing more could be done. At first, she had stood alone in total disbelief, then as the hours passed and the sunset was replaced with the dawn, Buffy's mood changed to anger. It was only after the fourth sleepless night that she finally settled with acceptance.

**After all, what other choice was there? **

A cool autumn breeze wound its' way around Buffy's shoulders but she paid it no attention, catching a chill was the least of her problems.

The hillside she was drawn to stand on each night held a multitude of memories for the troubled slayer. But a memory of a dark haired vampire with deep soulful eyes wasn't the reason for her nightly vigil. As heartbreaking as those memories were, even that fateful Christmas and its miraculous snowfall had been pushed aside this week.

Buffy Summers had far more pressing issues to deal with at that precise moment in time. An ill-fated love affair hardly mattered when you compared it to recent events.

Allowing her tired hazel eyes to drift down to the town below, Buffy thought long and hard about Sunnydale, the place she had come to consider her home.

There, amongst the flickering lights was the high school, or the ruins at least. That was where she had first encountered Xander and Willow and cemented a life long friendship. With her thoughts still at the high school, Buffy remembered the library and training with a stuffy British watcher whom she now loved more than any second rate father. Looking to her left, she saw the Bronze, a place where she had danced and flirted and broken hearts on more than one occasion. Her eyes continued their sweep and took in the Sun cinema with its misleading films about food, a coffee shop, a magic shop and last but not least, hidden in the darkened corners, the many cemeteries that covered the small town. Cemeteries filled with vampires and fighting as well as stolen kisses and long lost dreams.

**Good old Sunnydale, heaven on a hell mouth** the thought almost made her smile for the first time in a week

Buffy had so many memories wrapped up in that small community. How many times had she risked her life to save one of its' inhabitants? How many nights had she and the Scooby gang fought yet another threat to end the world?

**And what has it all been for?** she asked herself sarcastically without really caring to know the answer. If the answer were *nothing* it really would be too hard to swallow.

After all these years of fighting endless demons and vampires it seemed so unfitting that it should all come to an end like this.

Returning her gaze to the sky above, Buffy's eyes easily picked out the brightest star on the horizon. Only this star wasn't to be wished on…or maybe it was. Maybe wishing was all the world had left.

The star in question burned brightly in the vast night's sky, trailing its gleaming tail behind it. It looked so incredibly beautiful, illuminating the darkened heavens. So small, so innocent, so unbelievably deadly.

**Had it really been only seven days since the world had been informed that Armageddon was heading their way?**

Armageddon… For years now, Buffy and her friends had been preparing for this day, planning its execution and their subsequent victory, but when it finally arrived, it caught them all by surprise. The end of days wasn't supposed to be like this. It should have involved a hell mouth opening its jaws and howling in the cool night's breeze. But this weapon of destruction didn't howl it twinkled in the heavens and danced in the clear night's sky.

The end of the world…. This time it wasn't in the form of a prophecy. It wasn't a master vampire or even a delusional power hungry Mayor. This ending came in the guise of a massive chunk of left over star, millions of years old and hell bent on colliding with the green and blue planet.

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse had ridden through the world but, sadly, nobody had seen them in time. And if they had, they were keeping it very quiet. Of course, the government knew, they had to have known months, if not years, earlier. It was possible they believed it would change direction long before it became a problem, but it hadn't. So, unlike in the movies, this time there was no space ship that could fly off and save the day, no action man that would die for the world. No, the only defences this planet had were a few large rockets and one week ago they had bounced off the meteorite with hardly a scratch. The largest firework display in the history of mankind had lit up the sky in spectacular fashion, letting the cat well and truly out of the bag

And so it came to pass, that seven long days ago the planet's population had discovered the cold hard truth.

It really was the end of the world

God help them all, because at that point nobody else could.

"It's still so hard to believe that a small twinkle in the sky is really the end." Buffy whispered softly into the cool night air. She immediately felt a warm hand close around her fingers and reassuringly squeeze her hand.

"I knew I'd find you here, the rest of the gang are really worried about you" Buffy's best friend gently squeezed her hand again.

Turning her gaze towards the destruction that was heading their way, Willow sighed deeply

"If I had to take a wild guess, I would have gone for another hell mouth opening, or maybe a plague, or even a vampire with a death wish. I just didn't imagine a great chunk of floating rock." Willow spoke out without thinking; she only realised her slip when she felt Buffy's hand tremble slightly.

"I feel so helpless, Will. I can fight all those other things, not only can I fight them but I can beat them…But this" Buffy's eyes took in the approaching object and she felt her heart sink.

" I can't stake a ten mile meteorite" she replied realistically. For once, all of her Slayer powers meant nothing

Buffy then had a thought; she turned to her friend with the first look of hope in days.

"Magic! What about a spell?" Buffy's eyes lit up at the prospect

Willow sadly shook her head, she hated to kill that look of hope but she had no choice

" There's not enough magic in the world to make it go *poof*, I've tried". Willow had spent hours with Tara going over every spell book they could find only to discover that magic wouldn't help them.

"Maybe we should just wish on it after all " Buffy sighed with a heavy heart. She of all people knew how fruitless wishes were. Nobody had every listened to Buffy Summers wishes before, and in all honestly, she couldn't see them starting now.

**Besides, it would take a lot more than a wish this time; it would take a miracle.**

Buffy had never felt so powerless in all her young life, she was so used to saving the world that being this helpless was driving her nuts. How was she supposed to just stand back and watch it all end?.

"Maybe we should go and kill some bad guys, you always feel better after that" Willow tried her hardest to support her friend even though she was almost falling apart herself.

It wasn't just Willow; the whole world was falling apart or hiding under their beds in complete denial.

"Have you even seen a bad guy in the last few days? They've all gone underground. Willow, the demons will be all that's left on this planet once that rock hits, human life will be extinct but the demons will survive. Well, most of them. If they can get low enough they should be perfectly safe. Looks like the bad guys won after all."

Buffy looked away from the bright light and hugged her friend. She felt Willow tremble in her arms and knew her friend's resolve to be strong was weakening by the hour.

"Are you frightened?" Buffy asked for the first time gently stroking the redhead's hair.

"Yes, terrified. You?" Willow admitted, seeing no point in denying her fear any longer.

Buffy considered the question carefully and when she replied, the answer she gave came straight from the heart.

"Strangely, no. I guess I always expected to die young. I've already done it once and it wasn't too bad" she tried to make a joke of the question, but Buffy could tell that her closest friend wasn't buying it.

"Okay, I just thought it would be a vampire that took me down, not the tidal wave that will cover Sunnydale twenty minutes after that thing hits "

"So, where do you intend to be, I mean on the last day?" Willow stepped back and looked closely at her friend. She envied Buffy's attitude and yet she also couldn't help feeling that if the Slayer had more in her life, she might have felt stronger about losing it. That was the whole trouble, Buffy's life was so full and yet so empty at the same time. As much as Willow hated the thought, Buffy's life had been like that for a long time.

Buffy considered the question carefully, she knew that she had been pushing the thought to the back of her mind, hoping for that miracle.

"Good question. I know I should be with Mom and Dawn, but then there's Giles and you guys to consider." Buffy sighed with deep regret " Maybe I'll just stand here on my own" she replied again after reflection.

"What about Riley, has he called yet?"

At the sound of her ex boyfriends name, Buffy frowned and shook her head sadly.

" I thought he might have called when the news first broke, but I think he's probably busy, keeping the peace and all that. There's a lot of panic-stricken people out there and the army has their hands full. No, Riley's gone and actually I've accepted that. There's no *Honey* for Buffy when the world goes black"

For a while a silence stood between the two girls, both fighting with their own memories. Both girls had loved and lost their first love and both appeared to have moved on.

" Have you tried to speak to Angel?" Willow was uncertain if the subject should be broached, but what did it matter now in the grand scheme of things.

For a split second Buffy's eye's filled with Angel pain and then just as quickly they covered the slip with denial.

"Why on earth would I want to talk to Angel? I'm sure he has enough going down at the moment." The reply was too quick and too cold to be natural.

Willow understood where the pain came from only too well. For months now Buffy had been cutting Angel out of her life and out of her heart, slowly replacing him with Riley. It wasn't that Riley had been a bad thing, but it had never been enough, not for either of them. And now that Riley had also left, the original pain of losing Angel had returned and left Buffy bitter and confused all over again.

In normal circumstances Willow would have taken her time and worked slowly on showing Buffy where the real pain lay, but these were hardly normal times and with death staring them straight in the face, there was no time left for pretence"

"Maybe you should say goodbye. It's your last chance Buffy" Willow looked up and tried a small grin. As much as she had wanted her friend to have a happy normal life with Riley, she now knew that dream was no longer important. So, if Buffy couldn't have normal, there was no reason why she shouldn't have bliss for her last few hours. Buffy slipped a loose strand of hair behind her ear; she took one last look at the sky and then turned her back. Starting to walk away Buffy quietly replied.

" I can't do that, It's too late, it's far too late." She shook her head as she continued to walk but secretly her heart jumped at the prospect.

"Its never too late Buffy, not while there's one second left to breathe" Willow called after the stubborn girl and ran to catch her up. Reaching out, she grabbed Buffy's arm and spun her around.

"As long as you're alive it's never too late"

Buffy slowly nodded, she then let the truth fill her bruised and battered heart. She really did need to see Angel, she needed to say goodbye.

***

Part Two

With Willow's words still ringing in her head, Buffy threw all caution to the wind and headed off to L.A. The journey was extremely difficult; the freeways were filled with traffic all heading nowhere fast. Buffy watched the confused and frightened faces that she passed with sadness and sympathy. So many people still refused to accept the inevitable; they were still trying so desperately to find some kind of escape. But how do you escape a global killer, where do you run to when there's nowhere left to hide.

Knowing that if she told her mother or Giles where she intended to go they would stop her, Buffy slipped out of her bedroom window before the next sunrise. She left her mother a note explaining where she was going and promised that she would try and return before the final hour.

Buffy knew it would be almost impossible to keep that promise but she would try. Her mother wouldn't be alone, she had Dawn and Giles and that thought made the Slayer slightly happier about her decision.

The jeep that she *borrowed* for the journey was totally trashed by the time the Slayer made LA. On finding the freeways blocked, Buffy had turned off and took to the less populated side roads. When these smaller roads became a problem, she just cut across anything that fell in her path. Buffy didn't have time to worry about the trail of damage she left in her wake, the fields of crops she plowed up would all be dead in a few days anyway.

On arriving at the old offices of Angel investigations Buffy was horrified to discover the burnt out shell that had once been Angel's home. She walked across the road and on nearer inspection she realized that this damage was far from recent.

**When did this happen and more importantly, Why didn't I know?** Buffy thought as she studied the wreckage.

**You don't know me any more** Angel's voice returned to haunt her. It was true, she didn't know him anymore. They had once been so close and now circumstances had forced a wedge between them the size of the ocean

For the first time Buffy found herself regretting her hasty decision to leave Sunnydale and all her friends. Did she really want to spend her last hours on earth with a stranger?

"You're here to say goodbye, Buffy." she forcefully reminded herself. What did it matter whose world they lived in, one thing was for sure, in a few short days both of their worlds was ending forever.

Peering closer, Buffy noticed that the wood covering the main door was loose, she pulled it slightly and slipped her small nimble body between the gap.

Inside, the devastation was incredible, it was so mangled it looked as if a bomb had gone off. Buffy slowly made her way threw the wreckage hoping to find a link to where Angel would have moved. A soft shaft of sunlight was her only guide as she stepped over destroyed volumes of demonology. There wasn't a thing in the building that hadn't been touched by fire or the subsequent rain that had poured in through the hole in the roof.

Staring at the black twisted metal, Buffy took a moment to remember the two previous visits she had made to Angel Investigations, both times she had returned to Sunnydale bitterly disappointed. It seemed that this visit was not going to be any different

She moved into what had once been an office and her heart sank even further. It was hopeless; there was simply nothing there that could help her find Angel. A slight sound caught Buffy's attention and her lightning reflexes had her spinning with stake in hand, she lunged forward but stopped short as a stray bird fluttered nervously towards the ceiling and headed for the shaft of daylight. Feeling even more dejected, Buffy closed her eyes, she concentrated harder than ever before, reaching out with her mind, but her only reward was silence.

Wherever the vampire was, he wasn't anywhere around here and probably hadn't been for a long time.

Exhausted, from the long drive and the bitter disappointment, Buffy sat down on what had probably been Cordelia's desk in its last life. She had no idea where to look next. Running her hands through her long blonde hair the slayer was close to tears.

She cursed herself for not staying in Sunnydale with her family and friends, this ridiculous idea to find Angel was yet another massive mistake in the joke that had become their relationship.

**So get off your ass and look for him. What else have you got to do?** Buffy angrily told herself. On that thought, she left the burnt out building and walked back into the street

"Good grief, Buffy. What on earth are you doing here?" a familiar British voice asked as the Slayer readjusted her eyes to the bright morning sun.

Buffy looked up and came face to face with her ex watcher.

"Wesley! Thank God. I'm looking for Angel" Buffy smiled with relief and genuine pleasure at seeing the familiar face.

"Well if I was you, I'd turn right back for Sunnydale this very minute, the Angel you knew doesn't exist anymore" Wesley replied sadly

"What do you mean?" Buffy was almost too afraid to ask. The look of pain that reflected in the other man's eyes had frightened her more than she wanted to admit. One moment she was feeling jubilation and now the complete opposite flooded her veins

Wesley stated his explanation. His tired eyes darkened as the events in his mind slipped over his tongue.

" A lot has happened in the last few months, things you have no knowledge of because that's how Angel wanted it." Wesley wished he could spare the small girl the pain that he knew she would no doubt suffer.

"Recent events have, shall we say, changed Angel and sadly not for the better. He was already on a downward spiral, but I think this meteorite was the final straw. Angel has fallen into the darkness, Buffy. There's a dark shadow covering his soul. " As Wesley finished, he took the difficult decision not to tell her about Darla and Drusilla. Wesley hoped Buffy would never find out about that part of Angel's downfall.

" I still have to find him" The look in Buffy's eyes told Wesley that the she wouldn't be put off by anything. He should have remembered that when a Slayer's mind was set there really was no chance of changing it.

"I understand, Buffy. I still remember what he once meant to you…I'm sorry. " Wesley nodded, he started to move away but turned and pulled the startled girl into a tight embrace.

"Look after yourself " he whispered sincerely, then feeling a little embarrassed by his sudden show of emotion; Wesley dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back.

"What are you going to do now?" Buffy asked feeling a new respect for the man who had become one of Angel's closest friends and now looked totally lost and alone.

"I'm not sure, I wanted to have one last look around here and then I'll go somewhere quiet. "

"What about Cordelia?"

"Gunn persuaded her to try for higher ground, they left yesterday. They both know it makes no difference in the long run but it gives them something to do." Wesley smiled sadly as he remembered hugging his friends and wishing them success in their journey. They made promises to meet up later even though all three of them accepted that they would never see each other again.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Buffy hated the thought of Wesley being so alone. At a time like this nobody should be alone.

"I guess I'm basically still a coward, Buffy. Those that escape the tidal wave will choke to death in the dust and the darkness that will follow. It will be a long slow process. The wave will be over before we get a chance to think about it." Wesley turned and started to walk inside the building that was once known as Angel Investigations. Inside, he knew he would be able to lose himself to memories of happier times. Times when he had felt truly alive and accepted. Without turning back, he spoke to Buffy one last time.

"The Hyperion Hotel…That's where you will find him" Wesley then disappeared into the building.

***

Go to Part Three