Categories > TV > Buffy the Vampire Slayer > BUFFY Meets STAR TREK
- Epilogue -
39
Riley opened his eyes with a start and made a quick visual sweep of the room.
The Magic Box... Hostile 17... Dawn... weird box... No Scooby gang... Hostile 17?
"What's...? Where'd everybody go?"
Spike started to say he'd been wondering the same thing when Buffy and the others came in from the back. They froze. The 'device' was uncovered and Dawn was right in front of it.
Buffy panicked. "Dawn! Tell me you didn't-"
But it was too late. The air turned cold...
"Dawn, get away from there!" Buffy couldn't get to her. The light seemed to burn hottest at its core. She looked to Riley - he was near Dawn. He could help her.
Riley understood by her look what she wanted him to do, so he made a move for the littler Summers. But the pain hit suddenly. They all fell to their knees. The agony crippled every part of them from head to toe like hot lava bubbling through their veins.
*
The transporter effect subsided...
...and the training room of the Magic Box came into substance around them.
The instant Xander felt solid once again, he brought his hands up quickly to test if his face was on the right way up. He looked around and saw the others were also there and also fine. Quietly he was glad it was the last time he'd ever have to do the beamy thing. Willow's eyes were closed as she savoured the tingly effect of the final experience and, beside her, Giles was the epitome of composure. Anya came to rest solidly on terra firma equally as unimpressed as the first time she'd transported. Her main concern was with the cash register and ensuring the money was still safely in it. Second on her list was taking it out and smelling it. And Spike was just relieved that he finally didn't get left behind.
When Buffy materialised in the back room, she gave a heavy sigh of relief. At long last - home. Xander muttered something on arrival about checking they were in the right place, but the Slayer didn't have to check. She could feel they were home.
When the group of six approached the door to the training room and peered out into the store, they witnessed a sight that brought awe and a heavy dose of déjà vu. Now at the end of their experience, the intergalactic transdimentional Sunnydale group were staggered to see the start of their adventure unfold before them as though 18 days of their lives had simply been a dream.
The Magic Box - saturated by a shocking white light - seemed to vibrate right through to its very foundations. Ahead of the staircase, the round table there rattled with the source of the light flickering upon it. The mystical box containing the spirit of Rhamhal. And, around that, 8 people were doubled over with an agony that Buffy could remember all too clearly. The Slayer's first instinct was to jump in. To help somehow. But, in this time and in this reality, the evil spirit was still alive. It had to go to the Enterprise. Everything had to unfold as it had done for it to be destroyed in the future reality. The pain had to be relived.
Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Spike all watched on as their doubles in the Magic Box writhed in the blinding light just a few feet away.
They saw Riley, further back from the table, struggle to bring himself up. Then they saw as he dashed across the floor, sweeping Dawn up by her waist and launching himself over the counter.
The 6 people in the back room saw themselves shake apart in the light as it consumed them. Their bodies shattered into fragments and, in a rush of air that took the atmosphere from the room, the box and their doubles were gone.
*
Riley's back hurt and he realised it was the only pain he felt just as the air around them seemed to be sucked out of the room.
Then all fell silent in the magic shop.
When Riley Finn decided finally that it was safe to move he got up, helped Dawn to her feet and checked her for damage. She was shivering and trying to speak. /Probably shock/.
They moved around the till and onto the shop floor. It was empty. Riley panned around and saw no one. Dawn pointed at the table where the box had been. Had been.
She broke into a fit of tears.
"It's alright," he said, reaching out to hold her.
Then, surprisingly, a familiar voice sounded beside them. "Dawn..."
The pair spun their heads. It was...
"Buffy?" Riley said with a measure of confusion and relief.
Dawn ran over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I couldn't help it. It was inside my /head/."
Buffy reassured her that everything was okay and that it was all over.
When Riley saw the others gradually emerge from the back he again looked to his girlfriend and uttered: "Buffy?"
"Oh, no," Xander said dramatically. "No, sir. This isn't just Buffy, my friends. You're lookin' at 'Buff Rogers' from the twenty-fourth century!"
It was at that moment that Riley and Dawn noticed Xander's face.
Riley's eyes widened in amazement. "Huh?...And...A beard? You got a /beard/?" He reached across and tugged at the hairs on Xander's chin. He squealed at the pain and Riley realised the beard was really real. "How did you get a beard?"
"We've...been away a while," clarified Buffy.
"That hurt," Xander grumbled, rubbing at his hairy chin.
"Oh, you can shave that off now," Anya remarked casually.
"/What/?" he sputtered. After all he'd been through to grow it!
Anya shrugged and curled up her lip. "The bristles are coarse," she explained. "They irritate my face when we smooch. And there's the rash it leaves between my-"
"OK!" he cut in quickly. "...I'll shave it."
The Scoobies smiled and began to relax. Soon they headed home. Giles locked up shop and, as they moved down the street, Dawn asked Buffy what had happened.
"It's going to take some explaining. At least a couple of light-years," her sister replied.
"Light-years is distance, not time," corrected Willow helpfully.
"Whatever," Buffy said, waving the facts away, "It'll take a while."
Xander leapt ahead. "Yeah, and I know just what goes down well with an epic tale of action and adventure... PIZZA!" He removed a wad of cash from his pocket and waved it in front of them. "It's on me."
Buffy smiled. "Make it so, Number One," she joked.
"Aye, Captain," Xander responded with a salute.
Willow walked with him and gave him a nudge. "Where did you get that?"
"Um...replicator. Yesterday."
"Well," she went on, "you're goin' in the pizza place alone in case it's funny-money, mister."
None of them really noticed as Spike tagged along.
Even with the terrible and thrilling ordeal they had been through now over... There was still a subtle thought at the back of Buffy's mind... Just what DID it mean?
'Death is your gift'
She had no idea then. But soon... Soon she would learn EXACTLY what it meant.
*
In the heart of Los Angeles, in an old hotel called the /Hyperion/, a group of supernatural crime fighters were hard at work.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce looked up suddenly from the enormous codex he was researching. Something wasn't right. He got up from the desk and shuffled uneasily toward the reception desk where Cordelia Chase sat shuffling through a copy of Marie Claire. "I have the nagging feeling there's something else I should be doing," he voiced.
Cordy looked up from the magazine. "I know exactly what you mean," she replied. "It's like I forgot to leave the oven on."
Angel came running down the large staircase from his room and raced up to the reception desk urgently. "Black..." he declared to Cordelia, "as in the black of the clothes I'm wearing... it's still in fashion, right?"
She puzzled at his sudden vanity and replied: "Err...yeah, Angel. Black is the biz. It's the Ferrari of colours. Very big with the youth generation as well as the elite. It's been the cornerstone of style for...pretty much ever. Always will be, big guy."
Angel, relieved and satisfied with her sparkling proclamation, popped off back to his room to brood with his freshly reinforced ego.
Wesley leaned against the reception desk next to Cordelia and observed Angel scrambling back up the stairs. "What was that all about I wonder?"
"I have NO idea," she replied. "Maybe he's having a mid-eternal life crisis."
"So..." Wes began to ask, remembering the leather jacket he had rediscovered in his closet the day before, "black's still in, is it?"
"Actually it's a little passè now. Mauve is the new black."
"But...you just told him black was the coolest thing since sliced bread."
"Yeah...lies, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, all lies. What else was I gonna say? 'Well, Angel - boss - black is about as cool as a ginger toupee? I don't think so. Making a vampire angry and losing my job are not on my list of things to do today. After all, what's Angel gonna do? Start wearing vibrant spandex and a cape?"
Wesley pondered that for just a moment.
Then shuddered.
*The End
*
39
Riley opened his eyes with a start and made a quick visual sweep of the room.
The Magic Box... Hostile 17... Dawn... weird box... No Scooby gang... Hostile 17?
"What's...? Where'd everybody go?"
Spike started to say he'd been wondering the same thing when Buffy and the others came in from the back. They froze. The 'device' was uncovered and Dawn was right in front of it.
Buffy panicked. "Dawn! Tell me you didn't-"
But it was too late. The air turned cold...
"Dawn, get away from there!" Buffy couldn't get to her. The light seemed to burn hottest at its core. She looked to Riley - he was near Dawn. He could help her.
Riley understood by her look what she wanted him to do, so he made a move for the littler Summers. But the pain hit suddenly. They all fell to their knees. The agony crippled every part of them from head to toe like hot lava bubbling through their veins.
*
The transporter effect subsided...
...and the training room of the Magic Box came into substance around them.
The instant Xander felt solid once again, he brought his hands up quickly to test if his face was on the right way up. He looked around and saw the others were also there and also fine. Quietly he was glad it was the last time he'd ever have to do the beamy thing. Willow's eyes were closed as she savoured the tingly effect of the final experience and, beside her, Giles was the epitome of composure. Anya came to rest solidly on terra firma equally as unimpressed as the first time she'd transported. Her main concern was with the cash register and ensuring the money was still safely in it. Second on her list was taking it out and smelling it. And Spike was just relieved that he finally didn't get left behind.
When Buffy materialised in the back room, she gave a heavy sigh of relief. At long last - home. Xander muttered something on arrival about checking they were in the right place, but the Slayer didn't have to check. She could feel they were home.
When the group of six approached the door to the training room and peered out into the store, they witnessed a sight that brought awe and a heavy dose of déjà vu. Now at the end of their experience, the intergalactic transdimentional Sunnydale group were staggered to see the start of their adventure unfold before them as though 18 days of their lives had simply been a dream.
The Magic Box - saturated by a shocking white light - seemed to vibrate right through to its very foundations. Ahead of the staircase, the round table there rattled with the source of the light flickering upon it. The mystical box containing the spirit of Rhamhal. And, around that, 8 people were doubled over with an agony that Buffy could remember all too clearly. The Slayer's first instinct was to jump in. To help somehow. But, in this time and in this reality, the evil spirit was still alive. It had to go to the Enterprise. Everything had to unfold as it had done for it to be destroyed in the future reality. The pain had to be relived.
Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Spike all watched on as their doubles in the Magic Box writhed in the blinding light just a few feet away.
They saw Riley, further back from the table, struggle to bring himself up. Then they saw as he dashed across the floor, sweeping Dawn up by her waist and launching himself over the counter.
The 6 people in the back room saw themselves shake apart in the light as it consumed them. Their bodies shattered into fragments and, in a rush of air that took the atmosphere from the room, the box and their doubles were gone.
*
Riley's back hurt and he realised it was the only pain he felt just as the air around them seemed to be sucked out of the room.
Then all fell silent in the magic shop.
When Riley Finn decided finally that it was safe to move he got up, helped Dawn to her feet and checked her for damage. She was shivering and trying to speak. /Probably shock/.
They moved around the till and onto the shop floor. It was empty. Riley panned around and saw no one. Dawn pointed at the table where the box had been. Had been.
She broke into a fit of tears.
"It's alright," he said, reaching out to hold her.
Then, surprisingly, a familiar voice sounded beside them. "Dawn..."
The pair spun their heads. It was...
"Buffy?" Riley said with a measure of confusion and relief.
Dawn ran over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I couldn't help it. It was inside my /head/."
Buffy reassured her that everything was okay and that it was all over.
When Riley saw the others gradually emerge from the back he again looked to his girlfriend and uttered: "Buffy?"
"Oh, no," Xander said dramatically. "No, sir. This isn't just Buffy, my friends. You're lookin' at 'Buff Rogers' from the twenty-fourth century!"
It was at that moment that Riley and Dawn noticed Xander's face.
Riley's eyes widened in amazement. "Huh?...And...A beard? You got a /beard/?" He reached across and tugged at the hairs on Xander's chin. He squealed at the pain and Riley realised the beard was really real. "How did you get a beard?"
"We've...been away a while," clarified Buffy.
"That hurt," Xander grumbled, rubbing at his hairy chin.
"Oh, you can shave that off now," Anya remarked casually.
"/What/?" he sputtered. After all he'd been through to grow it!
Anya shrugged and curled up her lip. "The bristles are coarse," she explained. "They irritate my face when we smooch. And there's the rash it leaves between my-"
"OK!" he cut in quickly. "...I'll shave it."
The Scoobies smiled and began to relax. Soon they headed home. Giles locked up shop and, as they moved down the street, Dawn asked Buffy what had happened.
"It's going to take some explaining. At least a couple of light-years," her sister replied.
"Light-years is distance, not time," corrected Willow helpfully.
"Whatever," Buffy said, waving the facts away, "It'll take a while."
Xander leapt ahead. "Yeah, and I know just what goes down well with an epic tale of action and adventure... PIZZA!" He removed a wad of cash from his pocket and waved it in front of them. "It's on me."
Buffy smiled. "Make it so, Number One," she joked.
"Aye, Captain," Xander responded with a salute.
Willow walked with him and gave him a nudge. "Where did you get that?"
"Um...replicator. Yesterday."
"Well," she went on, "you're goin' in the pizza place alone in case it's funny-money, mister."
None of them really noticed as Spike tagged along.
Even with the terrible and thrilling ordeal they had been through now over... There was still a subtle thought at the back of Buffy's mind... Just what DID it mean?
'Death is your gift'
She had no idea then. But soon... Soon she would learn EXACTLY what it meant.
*
In the heart of Los Angeles, in an old hotel called the /Hyperion/, a group of supernatural crime fighters were hard at work.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce looked up suddenly from the enormous codex he was researching. Something wasn't right. He got up from the desk and shuffled uneasily toward the reception desk where Cordelia Chase sat shuffling through a copy of Marie Claire. "I have the nagging feeling there's something else I should be doing," he voiced.
Cordy looked up from the magazine. "I know exactly what you mean," she replied. "It's like I forgot to leave the oven on."
Angel came running down the large staircase from his room and raced up to the reception desk urgently. "Black..." he declared to Cordelia, "as in the black of the clothes I'm wearing... it's still in fashion, right?"
She puzzled at his sudden vanity and replied: "Err...yeah, Angel. Black is the biz. It's the Ferrari of colours. Very big with the youth generation as well as the elite. It's been the cornerstone of style for...pretty much ever. Always will be, big guy."
Angel, relieved and satisfied with her sparkling proclamation, popped off back to his room to brood with his freshly reinforced ego.
Wesley leaned against the reception desk next to Cordelia and observed Angel scrambling back up the stairs. "What was that all about I wonder?"
"I have NO idea," she replied. "Maybe he's having a mid-eternal life crisis."
"So..." Wes began to ask, remembering the leather jacket he had rediscovered in his closet the day before, "black's still in, is it?"
"Actually it's a little passè now. Mauve is the new black."
"But...you just told him black was the coolest thing since sliced bread."
"Yeah...lies, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, all lies. What else was I gonna say? 'Well, Angel - boss - black is about as cool as a ginger toupee? I don't think so. Making a vampire angry and losing my job are not on my list of things to do today. After all, what's Angel gonna do? Start wearing vibrant spandex and a cape?"
Wesley pondered that for just a moment.
Then shuddered.
*The End
*
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