Author's notes: Okay, this is my first Buffy fic and it's going to be a crossover with Highlander. Now, Dawn and Tara never existed, and Anya didn't stay in the picture long. Joyce is alive, but Buffy died in the Summer of 2001. This story takes place between two times, the present and the future. From Highlander, the only thing for now is, Richie Ryan never died. Well, read enjoy, and let me know what you think…

The One

By: Kristy Marie

Summer, 2102

The sun had just set into the horizon when the vampire emerged from the gloom of the sewer. He was looking forward to a night on the town, where he could sink his fangs into any pretty little thing he saw. After narrowly escaping the all-powerful slayer in the last town he'd been to, this vamp was looking for some excitement, some young blood, and maybe even some sex. No slayer could stop him here because there was only one chosen one and she was back in that little town he had long left behind. The vamp had just come out of an alley when a male voice spoke loud and clear. "So, it's a nice night for a little stroll, isn't it? Maybe stop by a club and have a drink or two. Well, there's one problem with the scenario, I drink beer and you drink blood. I guess it won't work. Give my regard to all the other vamps I've dusted when you see them. Tell them that 'The One' says hi." The entire time he was talking, the man dressed in black moved forward with graceful catlike movements. Then, in the blink of an eye, he struck the vamp with a kick to the groin. He then pulled a sword from the inside of his jacket. The sword cut through the air slicing the vamps head off in one clean stroke. All that was left was a pile dust blowing in the wind. "In a way, it's kind of anticlimactic." Then 'The One' walked away into the night looking for more vamps to dust and demons to kill.

Summer, 2002

It was still hard to believe that Buffy had been dead for a year. Somehow life had gone on. Willow had set up a successful computer consultant/web design company. Things were serious between her and Oz, and she hoping to get a ring any day now. Giles had aided Joyce through the death of her only daughter and after the grieving was over, they had noticed the feelings they had kept hidden for so long. The wedding was planned for September. In a way, everyone saw it as a way to please Buffy wherever she was. She could look down and see her mother and Giles, who had been like a father to her anyway, sharing their happiness and love of the dead slayer together. Xander had found a knack at construction and was actually the foreman now. He was even taking night classes for architecture. The group still found time in their lives to protect the people of Sunnydale from the things that go bump in the night. They were without a slayer, and the mouth of Hell was still not safe. Occasionally, the gang would get together with Angel, Cordy, and Wesley, reminiscing about the old days and even helping out when minor disasters happed that required more hands. Cordy had helped Angel make it through Buffy's death and to everyone's surprise, and mostly their own, discovered feelings for each other. It seemed that Buffy's death, while a tragedy, had brought a peace into her friends' lives. But of course, peace can't last for long, it never can. Something always happens to destroy hope and bring chaos. It's a fact of life, especially life on the hellmouth.

(This is just the intro, it will get longer…)