Based on characters and situations created by Joss Whedon, Robert Taupert, and Sami Raimi.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are the sole property of Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement is intended through the writing of this fan fiction.
Xena: Warrior Princess and all related characters are the sole property of Universal. Again, no copyright infringement is intended.
Copyright 1997 by John Dorsey.
I want to acknowledge that the main idea of this story is based on the Xena: Warrior Princess television episode "Been There, Done That." However, since that episode is based on the movie "Groundhog Day", I don't feel so bad about borrowing the idea.
Part One
“You’re kidding,” Buffy said, her mouth hung wide open. “We’re facing the end of the world again?”
“I’m afraid it may be true,” Giles answered. “As much as I hate to say it.”
It was late at night in the library of Sunnydale High School. Buffy and Giles, the school librarian, were alone.
“It figures,” Buffy said, “I was just getting used to handling the lesser cosmic proportion type of problems. You know... crazed, disfigured former football heroes, life-sucking 500-year-old-mummies, psycho fraternity monster worshippers, but now this.”
She was the Slayer. This one girl in all the world bestowed with the power to fight the vampires, the demons, and the forces of evil. Buffy Summers had been through a lot since she moved to the supposedly boring town of Sunnydale, California. In less than a year, the sixteen-year-old blonde and her friends had fought vampires, giant bugs, internet demons, soul-possessing hyenas, insane invisible stalkers, and a whole lot more. The last time the world was on the line was a few months ago, last spring, when the Master, the leader of the vampires, had risen to the surface and attempted to open the Hellmouth, a portal to the underworld existing below Sunnydale. The Master had succeeded in killing Buffy, but her friends had revived her. She caught up with the Master on the roof of the library and killed him. Now he was gone... hopefully forever.
“I think you should take this a little more seriously, Buffy.”
“I know, Giles.”
This was how Buffy usually reacted to these type of situations. Her nonchalant wisecracks were really just a front, hiding the incredible fear she felt inside whenever such danger existed. Although Buffy had already saved the world a few times in the past, it would certainly never be something she could get used to. She often wondered if Giles, Xander, Willow, and even Cordelia really knew how scared she became in each life and death scenario they faced. Buffy had to be strong, or at least appear to be strong, especially when everyone was counting on her.
Rupert Giles looked at her. He was the Watcher. Giles was the school librarian to everyone else, but for Buffy he was her mentor and trainer. He knew much of the mystics and the occult, and that knowledge had proven vital to their cause time and time again. Giles was in his late forties. The Englishman was always serious-looking and his glasses made him appear to be the ultimate book nerd. Buffy never told anyone, but he had become something of a father-figure to her. The Slayer lived with her mom ever since her parents had divorced. Her father rarely was able to visit her. Her mom had no idea that Buffy was the Slayer. Therefore, Giles was the only adult she could confide in and find the support she desperately needed to go on.
“Now,” Giles continued, “I’m going to explain this as best as I can. It appears that some type of spell is being cast. Someone in Sunnydale is using magic. After doing my research, I believe the spell that is being cast is the Rite of Fantiago.”
“How do you know?” Buffy asked.
“The sun has been setting an hour-and-a-half later than it should both yesterday and today. The Rite of Fantiago is the only spell I know of that will cause that these exact after-effects.”
“What exactly is the Rite of Fantiago?”
“The rite is a spell which may have been developed by a witch in the seventeenth century somewhere in New England, but no one knows for sure. The purpose of the spell was to destroy all the evil in the world. Unfortunately, that’s not what it does.”
Buffy begin to feel scared. She pushed it deep inside. “What exactly does it do?”
Giles wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued. “If the rite is performed in full, it will open the Hellmouth that exists below Sunnydale, which would end all life on this planet.”
Buffy gasped. “Oh, my god...”
“The rite cannot be performed all at once. It has three parts, each of which must be performed on three consecutive days. The rite has never been cast completely. Apparently, the witch that created it eventually realized the danger, but several copies of the rite escaped destruction. Someone must have found them.”
“So what’s the plan?” Buffy asked, hoping Giles had some solid ideas.
“We’ve got to stop whoever’s behind this before they complete the spell. The first two parts of the spell have already been cast. If the third is cast tomorrow...”
“It’s the end of the world. So how do we stop this?”
“Buffy, I’m going to keep looking through my books to see if there’s some counter spell. Just go home for now. When I come up with a plan, I’ll call you.”
Buffy felt incredibly scared now. “That’s it? There’s nothing I can do?”
“At the moment... no.”
Buffy walked quickly through one of the alleys of Sunnydale. It was around ten o’clock at night. She couldn’t believe Giles didn’t have something more to go on. How was she going to sleep tonight? There was so little time.
It was dark. It would be dangerous for anyone else to be walking around alone this time of night, but Buffy wasn’t exactly an ordinary person. Still, she had to be careful. There was no telling when a vampire might appear.
“Buffy.”
Buffy whirled around, ready for a fight. She saw a man standing before her. It was a vampire.
“Angel.”
He moved closer.
“Can we talk?”
Just as Buffy was no ordinary girl, Angel was no ordinary vampire. A hundred or so years earlier, a gypsy curse had given him a conscience. He hadn’t fed on another human since. Buffy stood in awe of the tall, dark, handsome, brown-haired companion who had helped save her life time and time again. They had deep feelings for each other, but hadn’t been able to stay together for any lengthy period of time. Their destinies had divided them, and yet their love had bound them closer than they would ever admit.
“Sure,” she replied.
“Funny...” Angel said. “I look at you and, all of a sudden, I don’t know what to say.”
“We never know what to say, do we?”
Angel looked away for a moment. He would give anything to just once see her lovely face in the sunlight.
“Maybe I’m kidding myself. The two of us... we can never...”
“...never be anything,” Buffy finished, suddenly regretting she had run into him. “I know. We’ve been there, done that, remember?”
“Yeah.”
“So unless you know something about the Rite of Fantiago, I think I’ll be on my way.”
“Rite of Fantiago?” Angel asked puzzledly. “What’s that?”
“It’s a spell that may just open the Hellmouth tomorrow unless Giles and I can find a way to stop it. So if you don’t mind, I’ll be going.” She started to walk off.
“Buffy, wait...”
< Let her go >.
Angel stopped in his tracks. That voice... It was the voice of a woman. And it was coming from inside his head.
< What’s going on? > he thought.
< You’ve got to trust me. I know about the danger she was talking about, and I need your help to stop it. >
< Who are you? >
< I’m a friend. You can bet your last dinar on it. >
< Dinar? What’s a dinar? >
< I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s go... >
Angel walked off in the opposite direction, listening intently to the stranger that had entered his mind.
Buffy hadn’t looked back. There was too much at stake for her to get hung up over Angel all over again.
“I hope we can figure something out soon,” she mumbled to herself. Perhaps she was walking too fast, and that was why she suddenly tripped over a brick. Caught offguard, she fell forward, and her head hit a large rock in front of her. As she faded into unconsciousness, it was apparent that sleep wouldn’t be such a problem after all.
* * *
“Buffy, are you all right?”
Buffy raised her head and was slowly pulled to her feet. Her head throbbed a little. That voice... it was Xander’s.
“Buffy, we thought for a second you were dead. Have you been here all night?” Willow asked.
Buffy looked at her two best friends, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg. Xander’s hair was black, his eyes were brown. He was always joking, although he was a bit awkward at times. Undoubtedly, he was a true friend. When Buffy lost her life at the hands of the Master several months earlier, Xander used CPR to bring her back. Xander often wondered if Buffy would ever realize just how much he was in love with her.
Willow was the computer nerd. With her long brown hair and brown eyes, she was attractive but kept mostly to herself. Xander didn’t know that Willow had a major crush on him. Buffy could only guess as to when, or if, Willow would ever tell him.
Buffy put her hand on her head. “I fell and hit my head. I spent the whole night in an alley. Great.”
Xander looked at her closely. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Willow and I were on our way to school when we saw you. Good thing we happened to look in this alley as we were passing by.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Buffy said. The three of them walked to the street.
“Help! My cat! She’s stuck in a tree.”
Buffy turned and looked. She saw a young girl with brunette hair standing underneath a tree. She couldn’t have been more than five-years old. Buffy walked slowly towards her. All of a sudden, a black cat fell from the tree and hit the ground. The girl cried as she bent over the cat. It was dead.
“Oh, no...” Willow winced. “That’s so sad. I wish we could have gotten here sooner. We might have been able to save it.”
“We probably could have, if we would’ve had a little more time...” Xander added.
Buffy started to feel depressed. Then it struck her. “Oh, my god. I’ve got to call my mom and let her know where I’ve been.” She turned to Xander and Willow. “You two go ahead without me.”
“All right,” Xander said. “See you at school.”
“Bye, Buffy,” Willow said. The two walked off. Buffy went to a phone booth and started to dial a phone number. She had just finished dialing when she heard a high-pitched scream which she recognized.
“Willow...” she gasped. She dropped the receiver and ran in the direction she heard it. Only a block away in front of an alley, she found Willow. In front of Willow was Xander, lying on the ground. There were also three other people in the alley. Two young boys who had been mugged and the mugger, a man in his thirties in a black jacket, was running away. Buffy knelt beside Xander. There was a stab wound in his chest. He was bleeding. He had tried to help the kids. “Buffy...” Xander whispered.
And then he died.
“No... no...” Buffy cried, tears rolling down her face. Willow just stood there in complete shock. Xander was gone.
Buffy and Willow sat in the library with Giles. It was quiet for a long time.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Willow said. She buried her face in her hands. “I loved him.”
“Me, too,” Buffy answered.
They had spent a quite a bit of time in mourning. Giles himself was in tears. He had grown very attached to Buffy, Willow, and Xander. He cared for them as if they were his own children. Eventually, the Watcher stood up. “Buffy, as painful as it is for me to say this, we still have a serious problem to deal with. The Rite of Fantiago will be completed today, if it hasn’t been completed already.”
“What if it’s already been done?” Buffy said.
“Then tomorrow, the Hellmouth will open and it will be...”
“The end of the world.” Buffy completed. She knew she had to focus, but it seemed impossible. All she could think about was Xander. He had once asked her out, and she rejected him. She had hurt him so badly, yet he stood by her through everything. He had even saved her life. But the all-mighty Slayer had failed to save his.
“I’ve been listening to the police radio band this morning. There was another mugging besides the one that Xander was involved in, a bank robbery in which six people were killed, and a huge fire that is out of control in the downtown area. Apparently, a car crashed into a gas station, which then exploded. The fire spread from there. It may destroy half of Sunnydale.”
Buffy and Willow knew about the fire. They had been close enough to hear the gas station explode. The horrible day just kept getting worse.
“What is all this supposed to mean?” Buffy asked half-heartedly. Willow didn’t appear to be paying any attention at all.
“These are all apparent after-affects of the Rite of Fantiago. After the first two portions are cast, evil spreads on the morning of the third day. All of this must be the result.”
“So what do we do?”
“I’ll have to keep searching through my books for some type of spell to reverse this, or anything that can help us. The problem is that I have so many volumes. I should be able to go through these by tomorrow.” He pointed to several books on his table. “There just isn’t enough time to go through all my volumes, plus every other source of information, before tomorrow.”
“Funny... how it all comes down to time,” Buffy mumbled.
It was late. Buffy was at home in her room. She and Willow had spent the evening working with Giles at the library, trying to find any information possible. They had tried a lot of different sources, including the internet, but to no avail. It all seemed so hopeless, and Buffy felt even worse when she thought about Xander.
She lay down on her bed, hoping to fall asleep. As her tears continued to fall, Buffy found herself wishing more than anything in the world that this horrible day had never happened. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
“Buffy, are you all right?”
Buffy raised her head and was slowly pulled to her feet. Her head throbbed a little. That voice... it sounded like...
“Buffy, we thought for a second you were dead. Have you been here all night?” Willow asked.
Buffy turned her head to look at the boy standing beside her. It was Xander!
“Xander!” she yelled. She hugged him as tight as she could. Tears fell from her eyes. Willow had never seen Buffy show so much affection for Xander before. She couldn’t admit to herself that it bothered her.
“Xander, you’re alive!” Buffy smiled.
“Yes, I am,” Xander said, confused. Still, he was always thrilled when Buffy showed any deep affection for him. After all, he was in love with her. “For a moment there, we thought you were the one who was dead. But I’m very happy that you’re so very happy to see me.”
“I had the weirdest dream,” Buffy said. “I woke up in an alley and...” She then recognized the alley they were in. “It was this alley.” Now she was really confused
Buffy put her hand on her head. She could feel the throbbing... “I fell and hit my head. I spent the whole night here.”
Xander looked at her closely. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Willow and I were on our way to school when we saw you. Good thing we happened to look in this alley as we were passing by.”
“I think I’d like to get out of here,” Buffy said. The three of them walked to the street.
“Help! My cat! She’s stuck in a tree.”
Buffy turned and looked. She saw a young girl with brunette hair standing underneath a tree. She couldn’t have been more than five-years old. Buffy walked slowly towards her. All of a sudden, a black cat fell from the tree and hit the ground. The girl cried as she bent over the cat. It was dead.
Buffy felt shock hit her. “Oh, my god... It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a dream at all.”
“Oh, no...” Willow winced. “That’s so sad. I wish we could have gotten here sooner. We might have been able to save it.”
“We probably could have, if we would’ve had a little more time...” Xander added.
“Time..” Buffy whispered.
“Buffy, is something wrong?” Xander asked.
“Yes,” Buffy answered. “Something is wrong. And this time, I know exactly what it is.” She began to run.
“Buffy!” Willow yelled.
A block away, Buffy turned into an alley. There were two young boys being held at knifepoint by a man in a black jacket. A quick thrust kick sent him crashing to the ground.
“I did it,” Buffy said as Xander and Willow caught up to her. “I stopped the mugging and saved Xander’s life.” She turned to the two of them. “Okay, guys. I’ve got to explain something to you. It’s going to sound strange, and it’s going to be very confusing, so bear with me.”
Xander shook his head out. “Okay, so you’re saying that today for us was yesterday for you.”
“No,” Buffy answered. “Yesterday for you was yesterday for me, but today has happened to me twice.”
“It’s all clear to me now...” Xander shook his head again.
“This was the second time you two found me in the alley. This is what happened the first time: We left the alley, the cat fell out of the tree, I went to make a phone call to my mom, you two left. Then I heard a scream, I ran to the alley, Xander was stabbed by the mugger, and he died.”
“I... died?,” Xander said uneasily.
“Yes. And when I went to sleep at home that night, I woke up in the morning in the alley again, with a throbbing in my head, as you and Willow helped me up. Only this time, I knew about the mugging, so I didn’t let you and Willow walk off, and I was able to stop the mugger before he hurt those kids or Xander or anyone else. Make sense?”
“Oh, yeah,” Willow said. “I still can’t believe it. But, then again, you did know about the mugging. But how come Xander and I can’t remember any of this?”
“Because it didn’t happen to you. It only happened to me.”
“Well, I’m confused again.” Xander smiled.
“The mugging happened in the same place as it did before. There’s also the exploding Texaco station.”
“When does it explode?” Willow asked.
Suddenly, they heard a large explosion. They ran to the street and looked at the flames several blocks away.
“Right now.”
They watched it for a long time. The flames looked to be out of control. “Look, let’s go see Giles,” Buffy said. “Maybe he can shed some light on this. But first, I think I better call my mom... again.”
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