TITLE: What Would Happen if... 1-3/?
AUTHOR: Ragna (Obsessive-Compulsive Spike - WritingGoddess@aol.com; SpikeGrrl1@aol.com)
RATING: PG
CLASSIFICATION: Right now, the only couple is Willow/Tara, but there's Buffy/Oz friendship.
SUMMARY: Buffy and Oz get sucked 100 years into the future, and it's a mess.
SPOILERS: All of season 4 BtVS and season 1 A:tS
DISTRIBUTION: Any sites with my fic up; you all have unspoken permission. I write it, you can post it. Everyone else just keep my name on it and let me know.
ARCHIVED AT: http://www.envy.nu/allthepain/index.html
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. Various friends of mine are holding characters hostage. You may see them by appointment only.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, a wee while ago, a challenge was issued on Wolfslayer, and it's an interesting one. It's the "Answer A Challenge" contest. So here's my entry. Many more parts to come...
~*~*~*~
"Truth or dare?"

Buffy sighed. Anya was looking at her, and the chances were one in five that the question wouldn't be about sex, Riley, Angel or sex.

"Truth."

"How many times *did* you and Riley have sex?"

Willow elbowed Anya in the ribs. "Anya! You know we talked about that...you know..."

Anya shrugged. "Well, I want to know!"

Buffy sighed deeper this time. "Let me have a dare instead, then."

Anya started to object, but Willow's glare silenced her. "All right. I dare you to...call Oz. He's at Devon's."

Buffy looked at Willow. "Will..."

"I know," she said. "But hey...I'm happy with Tara, and he knows it."

Tara smiled slightly, handing Buffy the phone. "Go on. Just...talk."

Buffy shrugged, dialing the number. Anything was better than having to talk about Riley.

God, the breakup hurt, even more than when Angel left. At least they knew it had to be done, that the fate of the world in some way depended on it. They had been destined to meet, but their separate destinies had to keep them apart, too.

But Riley had ripped her heart out, stomped all over it, then ran off to Washington, DC under the cover of "Initiative Business."

The only good thing to come out of it was Graham, her new friend. Both of them shared a dislike of Riley and his "holier-than-thou" attitude.

Buffy was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize Devon was about to hang up.

"Buffy!" Anya hissed.

"Hey...uh...is Oz there?" Buffy asked quickly.

"Yeah, who's this?" Devon asked, his speech slightly slurred.

"Buffy."

"Blonde chick, likes to be all tough and shit?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go get 'em."

After a slight pause, the phone was picked up by Oz. "Buffy? Is something wrong?"

Buffy didn't know what to say. "No, not really. I mean...we're playing Truth Or Dare."

"We?"

"Me, Anya, Willow and Tara."

"Ah...who gave the Dare?"

Buffy relaxed. Oz apparently didn't mind being woken up at eleven in the evening, talking about trivial stuff. "Anya. I picked Truth first, but..."

"Really personal question?"

"Yeah...so what are you up to?"

"Watching Devon and the rest of the band get drunk. Tonight was our first gig in almost a year."

"I forgot about that. How'd it go?"

"Good. Not great, but good."

"So..."

"Yeah."

"Hey, want to have lunch tomorrow? Play catch-up again?"

"Can't make lunch. We've got rehearsal."

"Oh."

"Dinner's good, though. After seven."

"Okay. Meet you at the dorm?"

"How about at Devon's?"

"No...the Bronze?"

"Sounds good. I'll wait around after rehearsal."

"How long *is* your rehearsal?"

"With us? Whenever to whenever."

Buffy grinned. "Then I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Oz."

"Bye."

The other three girls stared. "Well?"

***

Graham looked at Buffy. Their new book purchases stacked in front of them, they were sitting at one of the small tables outside the cafeteria. "So you're actually going to go out again?"

"It's not a date. It's dinner with an old friend."

Graham smiled. "Still, you're going out. I mean, you're leaving your dorm room to interact with someone outside your small group of friends."

Buffy smiled. "He used to be in the group. I mean, when he was dating Willow and all."

"And how does she feel about this?"

"She's okay with it." Buffy shook her head. "I mean, it's just dinner. We're going to try and catch-up on things."

"That's what they all say," Graham said.

Buffy swatted him. "Graham Miller, you shut up!"

~~~~~~~~~~~

She didn't know what to expect. The last time Oz had been in Sunnydale, he was cured, then he wolfed out when he found out about Tara and Willow.

She remembered that Riley had left the Initiative that night, after they saved him and Oz. Every thought of hers eventually came back to Riley, she realized hopelessly as she entered the Bronze. It was just before opening, and there wasn't any customers there. Just the new house band, the bouncer, the bartenders and...

"Oz!"

He turned around from talking to the band, a smile on his face. His hair was dark brown, a sharp contrast to the paleness of his face. "Hey..." he said, moving towards her.

They met in a surprisingly un-awkward hug, and Buffy realized he smelled like Irish Springs and peppermint. Strange combination, but comforting.

Oz didn't let go immediately, and Buffy had to ask. "Are you going to let me go any time soon?"

"No."

Buffy grinned slightly. "You're strange."

"You smell nice. You normally smell like vanilla, and now you smell like...honeysuckle?" He finally let go.

"You have a good nose," Buffy said. "So...where do we eat?"

***

"So let me see...after you left again, you went back to Tibet?" Oz nodded. "and then you learned the last part about keeping your wolfiness under control and decided to come back."

"Yeah. I had my first test...had lunch with willow and Tara. I think Tara was a bit scared, but it wasn't all that bad." He lost the smile for a moment. "They told me about everyone, including you. I feel bad about...Riley and stuff."

Buffy waved her hand. "It's over. I mean, really. Graham said he won't be coming back here unless it's an emergency...this part of the Initiative got closed. Graham resigned so he could go back to school."

Oz nodded. "You two are tight?"

"Getting to be. I mean, we can *talk* about things. And even if he's really serious, he can be funny, and charming..."

"And I think you like him."

Buffy blushed. "Yeah, I guess. But I don't want to do anything to hurt him, or me, or our friendship." She shook her head, then happened to glance at her watch. "Oh, man...I have to meet up with everyone before patrol. Spike had some sort of...thing...he found and sold to Giles. Giles said it's important and I needed to see it."

"How about I drive you over there?"

"Sure. Hey...you going to stay in Sunnydale this time?"

"Yeah."

"Then come in and see it with me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giles held the small crystal orb in his hand. It was a smoky green color with flecks of blue and red and white. It was beautiful, but Giles held it as though it was a venomous snake.

"What is it?" Xander asked. He sat on one side of the room, looking through a book. He sat away from the women in the group, closer towards Giles.

"It's a--" Giles began, but Anya cut him off.

"Transportational globe," she said in awe. "It can send you forwards or backwards in time."

"Yes," Giles said, slightly annoyed. "It--"

The opening of his door cut him off once more. "Hey, guys," Buffy said, entering the apartment. Oz walked in behind her, waving slightly. "Thought I'd bring a guest."

"Oz!" Xander said. "Finally, another man in the midst of all these females." He looked at Giles. "No offense, G-man."

"None taken," he murmured, looking at Buffy and Oz. "Oz...you are planning on helping again?"

Oz nodded. "If you guys will let me."

There was a knock on the door and it opened again with Graham pulling Spike in by the collar of his leather duster. "Found him lurking around." He let go and grinned at Buffy. "Hey. How was dinner?"

"Dinner was...dinner," Buffy said, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. She scowled at Spike. "How much did Giles give you for...that," she said, gesturing to the globe.

"Two hundred dollars."

"Give it back."

"No way in bloody hell!" Spike said, scowling right back at Buffy. "It cost me a bit to get it."

Everyone looked at him.

"All right, I stole it."

"Figures," Willow muttered.

"What was I supposed to do, Red? Beg? Ask nicely? Bloody hell, I needed to get it away from the man. It's dangerous."

"And you thought you should take money from Giles so it could be kept safe?" Buffy said. She took the globe from Giles and looked at it.

"Well, it's safe, isn't it?" Spike said, moving towards the couch. In the process, he tripped, slamming into Oz, who slammed into Buffy, causing them to loose their balance.

Oz tried to steady Buffy, but it was too late, She fell, pulling him with her.

Directly onto the globe.

The crystal shattered under her, and there was a sudden flash of light.

When the light faded, Buffy and Oz were gone.

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