Written for the Elysian Fields 'Artistic April Challenge' Month. Banner #82 by SusanMarieR.
Artists: SusanMarieR
Characters: Buffy, Spike, Giles, Willow, Xander, Angel, Anya, Ben Wilkinson, Buffybot, Dawn, Glory, Original Characters, Oz, Riley Finn, Tara
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fighting, Fix-It, HEA/HFN, POV, Romance, Slow-Burn
Warnings: Adult Language, Violence
Event: Artistic April Challenge 2021
Completed: Yes Chapters: 10
Word count: 71,930 Hit Count: 17,241 ePub Downloads: 246
Published: April 27, 2021 Updated: September 28, 2022
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1. Chapter One: Daylight by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 45 Comments: 23 Word Count: 8,570 Hit Count: 5,162 Published: April 27, 2021
Since my muse has this bad habit of wandering off before I finish stories, I'm trying to finish stories before I start posting them, and I was hoping to get this story done (or at least mostly done) before I posted the first chapter. Unfortunately, stuff happened and I've only been able to write three chapters, with barely a page done of chapter four.
What I'm saying is that there may be huge gaps in between chapters once all of the completed ones have been posted. But I'm determined to finish this story no matter what, even if it takes me forever.
I was drawn to this banner because I wanted to write a time travel fic that really dives into the time travel aspect of the story instead of just the consequences of said time travel. I also wanted to write one from the POV of characters in the present day instead of the time travellers. The initial plot bunny was inspired by Summers Requiem by Winter, but a whole bunch of plot points were heavily inspired by a fic from another fandom: A Ghost of a Chance, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fanfic. For anyone familiar with the fandom, I highly recommend it.
I'd like to say a huge thank you to SusanMarieR for the awesome banner and challenge. I hope you like the story!
2. Chapter Two: Safe & Sound by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 42 Comments: 17 Word Count: 7,579 Hit Count: 1,760 Published: May 05, 2021
Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed so far! I'll get around to responding to comments as soon as I have more time.
Also, try and listen to the songs I quote at the beginning of each chapter. They do play a role in the story, trust me.
3. Chapter Three: Wildest Dreams by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 34 Comments: 13 Word Count: 7,874 Hit Count: 1,565 Published: May 12, 2021
Anya's Bootstrap Paradox explanation has been taken from an episode of Doctor Who. The scene can be found here.
And while I'm almost certain that everyone and their grandmother have seen them (or at least have enough pop culture knowledge to know what happens in them), I'm gonna give a mild spoiler warning for the first two Terminator films.
4. Chapter Four: Epiphany by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 33 Comments: 12 Word Count: 7,388 Hit Count: 1,473 Published: May 19, 2021
This is the last full chapter I have written. I'm working on chapter five now, but it might not be finished in time. What I'm saying it my update schedule may go from updating once a week to updating whenever I finish a chapter. Hopefully I won't make you guys wait too long in between updates.
5. Chapter Five: Afterglow by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 32 Comments: 8 Word Count: 7,665 Hit Count: 1,247 Published: August 24, 2022
So, uh... been a while, hasn't it?
I swear I never meant to leave this story hanging for so long. Blame a combination of real life issues and writer's block for this unintentional hiatus (but mostly the writer's block). But realising that I haven't updated this thing in well over a year gave me the kick I needed to get it done. It's now complete at ten chapters (shorter than I intended, but that's what tends to happen to stories I leave hanging for too long; I just wanna get them done) and I'll be posting a chapter a week.
6. Chapter Six: The Archer by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 32 Comments: 14 Word Count: 5,250 Hit Count: 1,177 Published: August 30, 2022
7. Chapter Seven: Long Story Short by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 30 Comments: 11 Word Count: 7,939 Hit Count: 1,213 Published: September 07, 2022
Sorry for the late update. I lost track of time yesterday.
8. Chapter Eight: A Place in This World by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 30 Comments: 12 Word Count: 8,026 Hit Count: 1,204 Published: September 13, 2022
This chapter mentions Oz's wife and son from the comics, for anyone who's wondering who they are.
9. Chapter Nine: Mad Woman by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 26 Comments: 13 Word Count: 5,548 Hit Count: 1,220 Published: September 20, 2022
10. Chapter Ten: Begin Again by Wonder and Ashes - Likes: 58 Comments: 25 Word Count: 6,091 Hit Count: 1,219 Published: September 28, 2022
Final chapter! I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who's read this story! I'm sorry it took so long to finish.