Disclaimer: I own no one, most especially the characters in this story. I'm merely borrowing them and deliberately confusing them.

Author’s Note: This chapter takes place entirely in the future time frame. Bet that’s a relief!

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The brightness of the chamber they were brought into was almost blinding after the darkness of the cave. Tara had to shield her eyes for a moment, waiting for them to adjust.

"Pretty," she heard Missy coo. Jesse quickly shushed her. Tara looked down to see Savannah slipping her hand into her own. Frankie was standing on the other side of her daughter, his jaw tight with anger.

"It's not pretty. It's horrible," the boy said emphatically. Tara felt that both children were right. The chamber seemed to be made all out of crystals, prisms of light filling the room with streams of color that were breathtakingly beautiful. But at the same time there was a faint odor of something rotting in the air, a constant reminder that this was a place where evil had gained more than a foothold. Something bad had happened here already, and Menckar intended to do worse things here now. Tara despaired of finding a way to protect the children from him. She said a silent prayer for Xander. Whether she was praying he would come or stay away was not clear to her any longer. Menckar's enthusiasm for Xander's arrival had left her more than a little confused.

Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked over to see a small pulsing spot, blacker than tar, hanging midair. It was growing and shrinking at regular intervals, almost as if it was breathing. Tara couldn't tear her eyes away from it, even when she heard Menckar's mocking laughter.

"Ah, I see you've noticed that I‘ve already begun. Do you like it? Courtesy of my special guest. I do believe you're already acquainted."

"What are you talking about?" Tara said numbly, still staring at the breathing hole. Menckar stepped behind her and wrenched her head around, forcing her to see.

"Mommy, who is that?" Savannah asked curiously. Tara stared in horror. She couldn't believe it.

"Oh, no...what have you done?" Tara cried.

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"That's wonderful," Xander groused. "This all has to do with a prophecy written by a crazy man."

"I'm not happy about it either, mate, but don’t forget he knew about you," Spike reminded him. "But I don’t understand why we need the prophecy at all. You," Spike said, pointing at Anya. "You're a vengeance demon, granting wishes and such. Can't Junior here just wish his kiddies out of the demon's clutches?" Anya looked completely unhappy.

"I can't do it. I mean, even if he wasn't the wrong gender entirely..."

"Well, what about the witch here?" Spike continued, not to be deterred from his new idea. "It's her kids and her girlfriend trapped by the soddin demon, isn't it? Seems like a good excuse for vengeance, if you ask me."

"It’s forbidden." Anya's eyes begged Xander for his understanding. "When I went back to D'Hoffryn, he made me pledge fealty not just to him, but to all those to whom he had aligned himself. Including Menckar. I had to swear a blood oath that I would do nothing to harm Menckar or interfere with any of his plans." She gestured helplessly to the wish necklace. "I didn’t know about our kids. The blood oath means my powers won't work against Menckar directly." Xander and Spike looked at each other and slumped together on the sofa. Willow, on the other hand, was still trying to draw more information out of Wesley.

"You and Fred, your accident...could you tell me about it?" Willow asked Wesley, who had now taken out a dingy handkerchief which he was using to remove imaginary dust from the prophecy parchment. She was trying to figure out if she could snatch it out of his hands before he destroyed it accidentally. Even though he seemed to be unaware of her efforts, he had consistently managed to pull it out of her reach whenever she got close.

"It was an experiment," Wesley responded. "Not an accident. It worked. Everything worked just as it should have done. Fred told me that. She knew what we were doing, so much better than I did. We saw...everything...things we shouldn't have seen. No one should see..." Just when it seemed to Xander that Wesley was going to break down, he smiled, twirling around and causing Willow to miss yet again.

"Damn," she cursed under her breath as she felt the paper just brush past her fingertips. Anya eyed her impatiently.

"You're a witch, why don't you just...witch it away from him?"

"I tried that," Willow hissed in annoyance. "He's placed some kind of protective wards." Wesley looked over at them and winked, then laughed uproariously. His four guests collectively sighed. They were stuck at the whims of a madman for now.

"Spent a bit of time in demon dimensions...they have prophecies there too, you know.” Wesley continued conversationally, before looking disoriented. “I didn't know that. I didn't know before...I certainly didn't know about the shrimp, by God. Wish someone had said something about that."

"You see! I told you," Anya crowed excitedly. Everyone was happy to ignore her.

"So this is one of the demon prophecies?" Willow asked, desperate to keep them on topic. Wesley’s frown deepened. He placed his hand to his head as if suffering a sudden blinding headache.

"I...I'm not..." he stammered, then straightened angrily. "No! It's mine! It's all mine!" He suddenly burst into tears.

"Of course it's yours, mate," Spike said in a calm steady voice. Xander couldn't help but stare at the vampire that was so unlike the Spike he had known.

*This must be the way he talks to the children. Oh God, while we sit here and play games with a crazy dimension-hopping British prophet, what's happening to those children?* With all that he had been through, Xander now found himself at the edge of hysteria. He pressed his palm to his mouth to stifle whatever was about to come out. He wasn't sure if it was a laugh or a scream at this point. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Anya's eyes, full of concern, and managed to give her a weak smile.

"It is!" Wesley sobbed.

"And it's brilliant, I'm sure. Won't you read it to us? I know Xander would love to know what it says," Spike continued in that soothing tone. Spike raised an eyebrow at Xander, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Y-you want to hear it?" Wesley asked haltingly.

"Of course we do, Wes," Willow said.

"Knowing and never forgetting that it's all yours," Xander added hastily. Wesley smiled at them happily, his mood having shifted abruptly again.

"It is brilliant, you know." He spread out the piece of paper in front of him, holding it by it's top and bottom as if it was some kind of royal decree and he was the town crier. He cleared his throat dramatically, then eyed his audience suspiciously. All gave him their best attentive student looks, even Spike. "This is the part that’s about your children, Xander: Ten who never were will serve as the vessels; Ten born of the Father, a man out of time. Their fate is sealed, they bring the destruction of man. Only the Father of the Ten can change what has been written. One who loved the Father must open the portal; one who loved the Father must hold it fast. A friend of the Father, not of the living, joins him in the journey but not to its end, as it ends in darkness found in a room of light. If he sees with his eyes he will be blind. If he listens with his ears he will not hear. If he thinks with his head he will not understand. He must see beyond the seen, hear beyond the heard, know beyond the known. What has been done must be undone; what is unreal must be made real again." Wesley looked up at them all expectantly. They stared back, speechless.

"Well that was...just...nutty. Not surprising," Xander said flatly.

“It doesn’t really rhyme, does it. And there’s no poetry to it, is there?” Spike smirked.

“You think you can do better, William the Bloody?” Wesley asked, giggling. Anya was growing agitated, grabbing hold of Xander’s sleeve.

“Did it sound like I’m supposed to open a dimensional portal? Cause I think I already established that I can‘t do that!”

"Of course you can," Wesley said calmly, almost looking like the Watcher Xander remembered. He looked from face to face impatiently. "Are you telling me you didn't understand at all?"

"I understood it," Willow offered hastily. "Some," she amended after glares from the other three.

"It's quite simple, really. Xander and Spike will enter the portal opened by Anyanka."

"But I can't!" Anya said.

"Once on the other side you will journey to find Menckar and the others. But only Xander can go up against Menckar."

"Well then, why the hell should I go?" Spike demanded, disappointed. "I want to beat the crap out of that sorry excuse for a demon."

"You must go. Time is running short," Wesley said brusquely.

"Crazy guy's takin' charge," Xander muttered, and Willow elbowed him in the ribs. He gave her a wounded look; her replying glare spoke volumes. "Don't mock the crazy guy. Check."

"And what about me? There must be something I can do!" Willow said plaintively. Wesley grinned.

"Of course there is. You will help Anyanka. As she said, she is powerless to open a portal to Menckar."

"No! I told you, that's...right!"

"She can, however," Wesley continued as if Anya hadn‘t spoken, "open a portal between here and a different dimension. Then you will just have to, well, appropriate it for our purposes."

"Hello? You want me to steal a dimensional portal? It’s not exactly like a blouse in a department store!" Willow said. "I’ve never even attempted something that big before!”

“I can help you focus. Most importantly, once Xander and Spike have passed through the portal we must make sure it closes properly. Otherwise we could make things worse. Much, much worse. Terrible things can happen." Lost in some waking nightmare, Wesley began rocking himself back and forth. Xander grabbed his shoulders, trying to force him back to reality.

"You mean, close the portal after we get the kids, right?" Xander asked. Wesley shook his head impatiently. “No, of course not. Cause that would be NOT of the crazy!”

"I'm not going on a one way ticket, mate," Spike added. “First I don’t get to kill Menckar, now I don’t get to come back.”

"We're running out of time,” Wesley snapped angrily. “If we wait any longer, it will be too late. And your children are as good as dead." Xander took a deep breath.

"Let's get this show on the road. Get me to my kids.” Wesley turned to Anya expectantly.

"Open the portal."

"But-" Anya began, but Wesley cut her off impatiently.

"Open a portal to anywhere."

"Show us a world without shrimp," Willow said. Anya smiled grimly, placing her necklace around Willow’s neck.

“You have to wish it. Wish Xander and Spike were sent to another dimension. That’s the only way I can do it.” Willow nodded, frowning in concentration.

“I wish Xander and Spike would go to a different dimension.” Instantly Anya changed to her demon appearance.

“Done,” she replied, and the portal appeared, a large rippling circle appearing in front of where Xander and Spike were standing. It looked to Spike as if the air had changed to water. Xander reached out and touched it, pulling his hand back as his fingers passed through.

“Cool! Great Stargate FX,” Xander said softly. Wesley grabbed Willow’s hands in his and closed his eyes. Reflexively Willow closed her eyes as well.

“Just take hold of it and...push,” he said. Willow nodded her head once, and Wesley let go of her hands. He waved his arms at Xander, suddenly frantic. “Oh, I almost forgot! I have something that might be useful,” he said running out of the room.

Willow opened her eyes, breathing heavily. She collapsed to the floor, her legs no longer willing to hold her. When Xander started to move towards her, she shook her head. “I’m okay. I’m holding it in the right place, but I don’t know how long I can do it.”

“Wesley! We’ve got to go!” Xander hollered. Spike grabbed onto his arm.

“He’s probably off his rocker again, Harris. Let’s get a move on while we can. Willow’s fading fast.” Xander nodded, and just as he was about to step through, Wesley appeared carrying a well-polished katana. He tossed it to Spike, who caught it neatly.

“Menckar can be effectively killed through decapitation. That’s the best way,” Wesley said breathlessly. Xander nodded, and he and Spike stepped into the rippling air and vanished. After holding it open for a moment longer, Willow brought her hands together slowly, and the ripples disappeared. Anya helped Willow to her feet and deposited the shaky witch on the sofa. Wesley stood watching them with a grin.

“Everything went according to plan. He’s going to be so pleased,” Wesley crowed. Anya and Willow exchanged puzzled glances.

“You mean Xander?” Willow asked in confusion. Wesley took a step towards the witch and the demon. He froze midstride, surprise registering briefly on his face before he collapsed face down. A sword identical to the one he had thrown to Spike was now sticking out of his back. Anya and Willow gasped as they saw the dead Wesley morph into its true gray-skinned demon form. The real Wesley, bleeding from a head wound, looked at the two women in confusion.

“He was waiting for me...and then he was me. I am still me, right?” Anya quickly moved to help Wesley to the sofa, setting him down next to Willow. “What happened? What did he do?”

“He gave Xander one of those,” Anya said, pointing to the katana sticking out of the demon’s back. Wesley moaned.

“That’s bad, very, very bad,” he said. Willow desperately wanted to know why it was bad, but she wanted to deal with the wound on his head first. She swiftly examined the bump.

“This could be worse, but it‘s bad enough,” she said, thankfully taking the handkerchief Anya handed her to put pressure on the bleeding head wound. “Better get Wes to a hospital, just to be on the safe side.” Willow indicated Anya should hold the cloth in place, so that she could have her hands free to make the call.

“Very, very bad,” Wesley moaned again. Touching her arm, Willow looked puzzled.

“What? Hello? Buffy? That’s funny, I was just trying to make a...oh...What?...When?...What did they say?” Willow listened for a few more moments then disconnected, her face drained of all color.

“What happened?” Anya asked.

“Very, very bad,” Wesley whispered, and Willow’s expression let Anya know even before she spoke that Wesley was absolutely right.

“Buffy’s at the hospital. Dawn’s gone.”

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