Time of Your Life

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"Time of Your Life"
Cover of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Time of Your Life (2009), trade paperback collected edition. Art by Jo Chen.
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Publication date	July – November 2008
Genre	Action/Adventure, Horror Based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vampires in comics
Title(s)	Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #16-19
Main character(s)	Buffy Summers Melaka Fray Willow Rosenberg Dawn Summers Xander Harris
Creative team
Writer(s)	Joss Whedon
Penciller(s)	Karl Moline
Inker(s)	Andy Owens
Colorist(s)	Michelle Madsen
With respect to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise
The material covered in this article is a continuity issue in the canon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"Time of Your Life" is the fourth story arc that spreads from the sixteenth to the nineteenth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a continuation of the television series of the same name. The story, written by Joss Whedon, is a crossover with Whedon's earlier Buffy spin-off, the graphic novel Fray (2001-2003), "Time of Your Life" features artwork by Fray co-creator Karl Moline.

Plot

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Part I (Issue #16)

Bad day. Started bad, stayed that way.

The initial splash page features Buffy fighting future slayer Melaka Fray, in midair in the future New York City. Flashing back to the past, Xander, Willow, and Buffy eat Chinese food and discuss what Willow saw during her encounter with Kumiko. Willow believes that she received the message for a reason, and that they must act before they lose another slayer. Her reference to the death of Renee forces Xander to tell the girls that he is dealing with it, and they needn't tip-toe around the issue for his sake. While Xander is speaking, Leah bursts into the room to inform them that something is going on with Dawn in the orchard. Buffy and Xander run for it, with Willow flying ahead of them. When the three of them arrive, they find that Dawn has finally shrunk . . . into a centaur.

Meanwhile, somewhere in a lab, Twilight and Warren are arguing about what Warren says they busted their asses to complete. Twilight says it'll do, but is only a small part in a big scheme. The next panel reveals the object in question: a giant rune-covered missile.

Back in Scotland, Xander has prepared a helicopter to fly Buffy and Willow to an airport, where they catch a private plane. They soon arrive in New York City where Willow's advance team—including her girlfriend Kennedy -- are waiting to begin the operation. Buffy—who, according to Willow, has never been to New York or ridden in a limo—is excited. They quickly meet up with the Manhattan Squad, which is led by Vi. Vi explains that the problem with Willow's vision is that it's hard to pin down anything mystical since so many mystical things are happening in New York.

Willow clarifies things as much as possible by drawing a diagram on the board and explaining that something is causing a disruption of the time frame. The event she's tracking, she explains, happens in only one place, but in multiple times. There's a ripple effect. Willow's lecture inspires Kennedy to say she's "hot for teacher" (Willow), and Buffy affectionately recalls the time that "my Will" took over their computer class (Season Two of the TV series). Kennedy does not seem amused by Buffy's recollection, calls her a "lez-faux" (alluding to her recent involvement with Satsu), and tells Buffy that if she hits on Willow, Kennedy will "kill [her] like a chicken."

Back in Scotland, Xander and Dawn are talking about her transformation into a Centaur. Xander is sure that the curse comes in threes: the first stage was a giant Dawn, the second stage is a Centaur Dawn, with the third and (hopefully) final stage yet to happen. Dawn is upset, feels like a freak, and doesn't want to be a centaur, so Xander tries to make her feel better about herself by admitting that he's actually jealous. But he puts his foot in his mouth when he suggests that there must be a "non-whiney" way to solve her problem. Dawn takes offense and storms off into the orchard. While walking back to the castle, Xander notices something headed right for it: the missile that Warren built. He can only watch helplessly as it hits the castle, and the bright green blast blows him off his feet.

Back in New York, Kennedy, Willow and a few slayers are at the scene of the temporal shift: a high-rise building at the corner of 53rd and Lexington. Moments later, Buffy joins the girls wearing a short dress and boots, similar to an outfit she wore in "Welcome to the Hellmouth". Buffy says that they weren't "expecting something fighty", and says that she "can change." A sudden flash of light zaps Buffy away and replaces her with a demon. A baffled Kennedy says "the other look was fine", but manages to quickly rally her fellow slayers for battle.

Finding herself in the demon's place in the future, Buffy is twice punched in the face. Her assailant is revealed to be Fray, who was fighting the demon that took Buffy's place, and thinks it has shape-shifted itself to look like the long-dead Slayer. Fray uses a lot of futuristic slang as she rains the blows on Buffy and finally succeeds in knocking her down. "You're lower than a lurk," Fray says, as she looks down upon Buffy with disgust. A very confused Buffy replies, "Uh . . . English?"

Part II (Issue #17)

Fray and her sister Erin follow a flying vehicle harboring numerous vampires. Fray captures one in mid-air amongst the skyscrapers. She demands from him the whereabouts of her vampire twin brother Harth. The vampire claims that Harth has allied himself with a mysterious, powerful woman with dark powers. Satisfied with his confession, Fray stakes him. She and Erin shelter themselves at Fray's flat. The floor reveals a spread of the Scythe. Fray informs her sister that she read in the Watcher's diaries of the woman in question, however she is unable to put her finger on who exactly. She also mentions the death of the last true Watcher who sacrificed himself at the Battle of Starbucks.

At a docking site, Harth and the mysterious figure, who clouds herself in the shadow, supervise a number of vampires transporting helpless victims in and out of trucks. The woman explains to Harth that her menacing plans will ripple to the present: "what happens in your time will cause your time to come, do you see?"

Meanwhile back in the present, Willow comforts a wounded Kennedy. When asked as to why Willow has tamed the beast and not killed it, she explains that she believes that it and Buffy switched places in time. For that matter, Willow blames herself. At the castle, Xander bursts into the command central where it wreaths in green flames. Rowena reports to him that most of the Slayers have escaped through the tunnels, however the West Tower has collapsed. Suddenly, medieval Cobra-faced foot soldiers appear and shoot an arrow in Xander's shoulder. Dawn arrives on the scene and attacks the soldiers with her hooves. She then picks up the wounded Xander and carries him out of the castle.

Back to the future, Fray arrives on a rooftop and battles a beast. The beast exchanges places with Buffy, igniting a fight between both Slayers. Buffy finally manages to calm Fray down. She wonders how many Slayers there are in Fray's time, to which Melaka replies: "One. Half." She explains that she is the only Slayer in a long time, and that her brother Harth carries the prophecies and the collective Slayer memories that should've been imbued in Fray. The future Slayer takes Buffy to her employer, Gunther, a fish-like mutant who resides in a aquarium. They question him about who the mysterious woman is.

At the dock, the woman asks Harth why he wants to kill Fray. He justifies that Fray is the only thing he ever loved; her pain is his joy. He claims: "What in this world is stronger than love?" The mysterious woman pulls herself from the shadows. "Time," claims Dark Willow. "Only time."

Part III (Issue #18)

Buffy searches through the Watchers' diaries and is completely befuddled and upset because there are a few ambiguous references to her and absolutely nothing recorded about the Slayer army she created. Fray walks in while Buffy is crying and reports that there's been some lurk activity in the "Uppers", a normally secure area of Haddyn where vampires cannot usually get access to.

In the present, Willow is in her bedroom flipping through a series of books herself. She hopes to find a means to retrieve Buffy from the future. Kennedy asks if Willow can contact her source, to which Willow replies by saying that maybe she can. Willow then asks if Kennedy truly trusts her and if she believes that whatever they do is for the greater good. Kennedy says yes and asks what they have to do, but Willow simply replies "frak."

In the woods after the main Castle exploded, we see Xander still riding on Dawn's back (because she is still a centaur) as they flee from the creatures that invaded the castle. Xander falls off Dawn's back and the two stop and rest. A short time later, a horde of forest creatures threaten them and order them to leave their woods. The forest beings become nonplussed when Dawn tells them they aren't as scary as what has been chasing them.

We switch to the future and see Gunther swimming through his pool, searching for the source of loud tapping noise. He turns on the lights to see that the sound had been caused by Harth and other vampires, covered in blood, on the topside above his tank. Harth tells Gunther that he is upset because he knows Gunther has been telling Fray about his activities. After the two argue, Harth and his vampire gang leave the room, leaving a squad of vampires swimming inside Gunther's tank ready to attack him. Meanwhile, Buffy and Fray have stolen a flying car, one that has coded-access to the "Uppers", and as they travel they see a group of vampires attacking defenseless humans. Fray is ready to go and slay the vampires but Buffy tells her not to. Fray gets mad and Buffy tells her that Gunther told the two of them that Harth sends out hunting parties of vampires and they need to find where the parties are coming from, and that they cannot afford the time to rescue everyone who needs rescuing. Fray refuses to listen and slays the vampires leaving Buffy alone to drive the flying car. Fray finishes off all the vamps and then Dark Willow approaches behind her and says "if you hate Buffy, she'll be harder to kill."

We flip back to the present and find Willow in the throes of pleasure with Kennedy. When she reaches her peak, she contacts Saga Vasuki and asks her how to get Buffy back to the present. Saga tells Willow that the time rift will reopen that night and she only wants Willow to reach inside and take Buffy out without looking inside. Willow obeys and bids farewell for now to Saga.

Re-enter the future and we see Dark Willow telling Fray that she hasn't been human for "quite some time now." She tells Fray that her concerns are more personal than just getting rid of the lurks. Willow creates a little green slit out of magic and says that that's all the magic she can create and that she wants to show Fray something. We switch to Buffy who has returned to Fray's apartment. When Buffy gets there she is confronted by Fray's sister, Erin, who tells Buffy to "stand down." Buffy tells Erin that she looking for Fray and that she thought that the building they are in was Fray's home. Erin apologizes and the two talk about the recent events, about how Fray ran off to fight lurks after disagreeing with Buffy, about how they each have sisters who don't listen to them, and about how Buffy is a slayer from the past. In the middle of the conversation Buffy is zapped with a ray gun and falls to the floor in pain. Erin is kneeling over Buffy's unconscious body and asks, "Mel...are you sure about this?" to which Fray responds, "I'm sure. We're saving the world."

Part IV (Issue #19)

In the future, Buffy has been kidnapped and tied up in Dark Willow's lair by Fray and Erin. While Buffy is unconscious, Dark Willow is musing on how long she has lived, saying: "History is all romantic adventure stories...Until you live long enough to be a part of it." Fray asks what the plan is, telling Dark Willow that she won't kill a slayer, no matter what Dark Willow has shown her. Willow tells Fray to keep Buffy there long enough to miss the "extraction" at midnight; she seems to want Buffy not to go back to the present.

Fray tells Erin what Dark Willow showed her: That if Buffy goes back, she will "change the world". Willow has told her that Buffy going back to the present will result in changes that will mean Fray's future will not come to pass ("no more now, no more us"). Buffy wakes up (saying to Willow, "You went dark again??") and after seeing Dark Willow, asks her if Kennedy is OK. Willow replies, "It's been 200 years, how do you think she is?" Before they can speak further, Harth appears with a pack of vampires, annoyed that Willow has acted without him and left him out of the plan. While Buffy tells Fray and Erin to untie her, Harth asks Willow why she told him bringing Buffy to the future would cause his world to be, but told Fray the opposite. Willow says she did it for "death, of course", saying that it is not who dies, but who kills them that matters. She admits she is lying to either Fray or Harth but won't say who. As Harth threatens to kill everyone in the room, Gunther appears, still angry after his visit from Harth and his lurks, and causes a commotion that frees Buffy. They begin to fight. Buffy fights her way out, telling Fray: "I'm leaving. I don't care about your world...I have to save mine." Dark Willow calls after Buffy, telling her to wait because she is "not done here".

In the present, Dawn, Xander and the forest creatures are preparing to battle against the demons that invaded the Castle. Xander is unsure about fighting, believing they have no chance, but Dawn tells him they have to make a stand. As the fight starts, they are outnumbered until Xander's team of slayers appear with a group of Wiccans, who use magic to make the creatures corporeal, and easier to kill. The slayers and forest creatures start to fight against the demons.

In the future, Buffy has escaped and is searching for the building where the extraction (caused by Willow in the present) is due to take place. When she arrives Fray is there, telling Buffy she can't let her go, as it may cause her world to disappear. They begin to fight, watched by Dark Willow (who whispers, "so close..."). Buffy realises that while Fray has the upper hand as she is in her own world, she (Buffy) outnumbers Fray as she has "dreamed every battle a slayer's ever fought". They continue to fight, with Buffy eventually gaining the upper hand.

In the present, Twilight watches as Warren and Amy argue over the failed attack on the Castle (with Warren threatening to make a robot Amy "with no mouth"). Twilight walks away, saying "Young love..", which is directed at a man in shadow wearing Army fatigues. He tells the man that love is depressing, saying "But you don't tell her that", to which the man responds: "I tell her I'm her inside man, her ever faithful." He tells Twilight that Buffy is so stuck in the past, when she secretly met him in New York, she even got dressed up. It is revealed to be Riley, with a Twilight symbol carved onto his chest.

Still in the present, a blindfolded Willow (who was asked by Saga Vasuki not to look when she opens the portal) is preparing to bring Buffy back. In the future as Buffy runs for the portal that appears, she's chased by Fray and her scythe. As Fray swings at her, Buffy smashes Fray's scythe and punches her away, telling her she is sorry. Dark Willow has moved in front of the portal, blocking it. Buffy tells her she will go through her to get home, asking Willow why she is doing this; Dark Willow replies: "Maybe I think the 20th century can soldier on just fine without you." Buffy asks Dark Willow why she dragged her there and then told her exactly how to get out. "Why does it have to be me?" she asks.

Willow replies, "It's a long story," bowing her head, which is when Buffy, with tears in her eyes, stabs her in the heart. Dark Willow falls away from the portal just as present-day Willow reaches forward, arms outstretched, seeking Buffy. As Fray looks on, aghast, Buffy leaves her world and returns home. She lies on the ground in the present, before looking up, with tears still falling, and runs to Willow, hugs her, and tells her she loves her. Willow, smiling, hugs her back as Kennedy looks on, warning them to "watch their hands". In the future, Fray lies alone on the rooftop, with the dead body of Dark Willow nearby. Erin arrives, telling Fray that Gunther ran Harth off. Fray tells her, "I failed again." Erin says that Buffy is gone, and they are not. "What does that mean?" asks Fray, to which Erin replies: "Means it's a good day."

Production and writing

This story arc is written by series creator Joss Whedon. The first issue will be the eighth issue of the series to be written by Whedon. Penciller Karl Moline has previously worked with Whedon on the Buffy spin-off graphic novel Fray. Fray will feature as one of the main characters in this arc. This will be the first time that Fray has crossed over into another part of the Buffyverse.

Whedon felt that by having Buffy interact with Fray and Haddyn's future dialect, he could comment upon his own distinctive use of language in Buffy, stating "Buffy blames herself for what's happened to the English language, and there's a lot of hubris in that joke. I like to think that adding Y's to words that don't usually have Y's is going to destroy the whole fabric of our society." ^[1]

Canonical Issues

Main article: Buffyverse canon

This series has been described as 'canon' by both Whedon and various commentators. As the creator of Buffy, Joss Whedon's association with Buffyverse story is often linked to how canonical the various stories are. Since Whedon is writing this story, it will be seen as a continuation of the official continuity established by Buffy and Angel.

Season Eight contradicts and supersedes information given in the paperback novels set after Season Seven, such as Queen of the Slayers and Dark Congress, which are described as being set in an unofficial "parallel continuity".^[2]

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2008)

• There is a misprint in #17 stating that Part Three (#18) will be made available to sale on August 6 2008 rather than the correct September release date.
• Also, in issue #18 it was stated that Part Four (#19) would be released on October 1 2008. But official date was changed by Dark Horse (on its official site) to November 26 2008 due to artist delays.
• In issue 18, while Buffy is (horribly) driving a flying car, Fray tells her "Summers, you drive like a spaz," which is exactly what Principal Snyder tells Buffy in Band Candy.
• When Buffy meets Erin, a law enforcement agent, Buffy states that her high school aptitude test said she would do well in a law enforcement career, a reference to What's My Line, Part One.
• This is the first appearance of Riley Finn since season six.

References

See also