Author's Notes: For those of you who are still with me… Thank you. It's been a rough time in Real Life and this one is posted courtesy of MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) from the Middle East. This one is For Pol, Morgy, Shan and Maia... Thank you.

Rule 34: If you're leaving scorch marks, you need a bigger gun. - Schlock Mercenary

As always: Feedback Please!

Previously on Buffy…

Buffy shook her head and looked around the room wondering out loud just what else could go wrong.

The silence that followed that question could have been cut with a knife.

"Tell me I didn't just say that out loud."

"Wish I could love." Spike answered as most of the people present glared at them both.

Just then Dawn and Andrew moved forward and flopped an oversized tome onto the table in front of Willow.

"And the answer to that question is…" Andrew started dramatically until Dawn elbowed him roughly.

"What the geek here means to say, is that we found the way to put all the Slayer stuff back into one package."

"Why do I get the feeling there's a 'BUT' coming in here right about now?" Gunn added from the sidelines.

"Well." Willow started. "According to this, all we need to do is perform this ritual at the scene of the Breaking of the Power, at the same time of day that the original breaking occurred with the same partici..." Her face became a deathly pale, as her voice trailed off and she looked like she might throw up.

Dawn looked at her in a mix of pity and pain "That would mean you, Anya, Xander…"

"And Tara." Anya and Xander said at the same time.

#------------#

Xander and Dru had long since left for the night, going back to Xander's apartment along with Willow, Wes, Gunn, Cordelia, and three of the potentials in order to free up room in the Summer's residence. Well, that and the fact that Willow was still not comfortable anywhere near Kennedy and Cordelia had drug Wes and Gunn along in the hopes of finding out more information from her ex-boyfriend.

No one was sleeping very soundly that night.

All for very good reasons.

Buffy tossed and turned in her bed, in the grip of a Slayer Dream while roughly thirty feet away Faith moved in her sleep in an eerie parallel to Buffy's movements.

Not surprisingly, their thoughts were almost identical when they found themselves dumped unceremoniously on their asses in front of the 'Primal Slayer'.

#Oh Shit!#

#------------#

Across town, an old Rocker sat in his living room, his tweed jacket cast onto the floor in a heap as he stared at the semi-comatose figure lying on his couch.

#Well, we've fairly well managed to bugger this up now, haven't we?# He leaned forward a bit and rested his chin in his hands. Shaking his head in silence he rose and went into the kitchen to start preparing some of the minor healing potions he knew.

Watching him leave the room, a slowly recovering former Principal and current Watcher struggled to grasp what had happened all of a sudden to his world and what he could possibly do to regain control.

#------------#

Off in another direction, a Vampire, a Witch, a Seer, a Demon Hunter and a Carpenter sat at a kitchen table and drank some coffee. Well, the Witch was drinking hot cocoa, as no one would let her near the coffee.

#Gods, it reads like a cheesy joke#

Seeing the faint grin on his friend's face Xander smiled his lop-sided smile at her for a moment before making a simple comment. "Penny."

Before anyone else could even ask what he was talking about Willow told them of her 'Table joke' and then added that the word 'Penny' was short hand for 'Penny for your thoughts.' A Xander-Willism that all recognized for what it was.

Drusilla sat in between the two old friends and slowly leaned slightly to the side in order to rest her head on Xander's shoulder. It was little things like this that reaffirmed to her how important the two people were to each other, how much they were intertwined at a level that few beings could or would ever attain.

Wesley continued sitting uneasily next to his friend Cordelia, his uneasiness stemming from two simple and obvious facts.

Primus: Sitting across from him was Drusilla, Angel's Childe, a member of the dreaded quartet that tore such a bloody path across the world. It was difficult to believe that such an individual was quietly curled up almost on Xander's lap.

Secundus: He was currently sitting next to a young woman that had at times scared him just as profoundly as had Drusilla's legacy and she was not in a good mood if the look on her face was any indication.

Surprisingly enough, Xander had also decided that the look on Cordelia's face was one of impending tantrum and also had decided to meet the problem head on.

"Cordy…"

"Yes?" She snapped.

Sighing for a moment in exasperation he continued in a stronger voice "Cordy, I've already explained it all to you. We have explained it to you. You don't have to like it but if you don't get over the attitude then you can just cart your ass out of here. I am not going to allow you to flip Dru or Wills any crap. If I wouldn't let Buffy or Anya do it, I sure as hell won't let you. Understand?"

Cordelia leaned back in shock, almost as if she'd been slapped. "You went off on Buffy over this?"

"Yes."

Suddenly she smiled. "Well damn!" she said in a small exclamation. "Maybe there is some hope for you after all dufus."

#------------#

The room was only lit by a single bedside lamp, the bulb throwing harsh shadows away from where a thin feminine hand slowly turned the pages of a book that possibly held the hope or the damnation of an entire world.

#------------#

His name was no longer important. Not to the being that currently appeared to be Buffy Summers nor even seemingly to the man who was doing her bidding.

"I want another one out and I want it out now!" The three Turok-Han currently released from the Hellmouth were only the very tip of a very large spear.

"Yes Mistress… We are doing the best Mistress."

I don't want your 'best', I want results!"

Unfortunately that outburst merely had the result of making the pitiful excuse of a mage cringe even more inside of his robe's cowl.

"Blood of heroes is the only thing that will let one out Mistress. The town is virtually deserted. There are no suitable victims left to bring forth any more Turok-Han after this one."

"Oh yes there are… You just need to harvest some. Just whatever you do, do not go near Buffy Summers."

As he scurried to follow her bidding, the First Evil thought for not the first time that she actually missed Caleb. He may have been as bent as a three Pound Note, but he was a decent general.

And as he scurried to do her bidding, the cowl slid back to reveal the features of a man who suddenly grinned in anticipation. The First Evil was indeed ancient. One of the three truly Primal entities. Good and Evil were a given, he thought to himself as he gathered the Bringers and some vampires. But Chaos, Ethan mused … Chaos was often forgotten until it suddenly bit one or the other on the ass.

And Evil didn't know it, but there was a joker in the deck.

With teeth.

#------------#

The pages turned slowly, one after the other. There had to be an answer there somewhere. Somehow. The table lamp continued to cast shadows.

#------------#

He'd shoved no less than four potions he'd labored to make down Woods' throat in the space of twenty minutes. Even that was pushing the limit on dangerousness.

Unfortunately, one of the first things to be healed was his jaw and his ability to converse..

Rupert was considering breaking his companion's jaw again himself after fifteen minutes of listening to him complain.

#------------#

"B, what the hell is going on?"

"I think that we're in for some not fun."

"Okaaaayyy… could you maybe vague that up a little?"

The Primal Slayer stared at them for a moment and then lifted her right index finger to her lips. "Shhhhhh." Then with a jerk of her head to indicate that they should follow, she started off towards a dark cave entrance some 150 meters away.

"Well that was fuckin eloquent."

The original Slayer stopped and looked over her shoulder in annoyance. "Shhhhhhh!"

#Yeash…. What a bitch# Faith had managed not verbalize that comment at least.

Neither Buffy nor Faith commented on the fact that the closer they got to the cave, the more their Slayers senses started to act up.

After entering the cave the three of them slowly made their way down a winding pathway that terminated in a balcony of sorts. Wordlessly their guide gestured for them to look.

It was not a pretty sight.

The cavern seemed endless. It probably wasn't, but it sure seemed that way.

The uber-Vampires that they had come to know as the Turok-Han made up the vast proportion of the creatures that teemed across the cavern floor. Here and there were other creatures of vast bulk that neither Slayer had ever seen before.

Luckily, none of the creatures seemed to be noticing them.

Buffy and Faith moved back from the ledge and stared at the mud-caked woman before them.

Ever so quietly Buffy whispered to her. "That's the Hellmouth, isn't it? The same one."

At her nod they both shivered slightly.

"There's no fuckin way we can beat that many!" Faith all but hissed this, but she spoke just as quietly as Buffy had.

The Primal Slayer's face held no expression as she simply looked at the two modern Slayers, as if to say 'That's your problem now, isn't it?'

"Is there any way to seal the Hellmouth for good?"

Just as silently, she shook her head.

"Damn."

"Is there any way to beat the First Evil?" Buffy finally asked.

The Primal Slayer pointed at the two of them in turn and then held up one finger on each hand. Finally she clenched her left fist leaving only one finger upright.

The meaning was clear.

#------------#

The pages had stopped turning.

There was an answer.

Now all that mattered was did the reader have the ability and the will to utilize that answer.

Power was not a question. She knew from several sources that she had power to spare.

#------------#

There were ten Vampires, eight Bringers, and a robed mage in the group that made their way stealthily towards the apartment complex. It should have been an easy mission, grabbing one Human and a Vampire.

Easy is such a subjective term.

#------------#

"Damn it Giles! We have got to do something about this!"

"And what exactly do you propose we do Robin?"

"There has got to be a way to force the issue, to activate them all."

Giles sat there for thirty minutes as Robin Wood, heir to the 'Many Slayers Faction' ranted and raved and came up with one wild plan after another.

Finally his diatribe ended and he looked over at the older man who had tuned him out twenty five minutes earlier

"See Giles… It will be easy."

Giles just looked at him and thought to himself that easy was such a subjective term.

#------------#

#Wake up boy! Damn it, WAKE UP!#

"Huh, what, Huh?" Xander muttered dazedly and then all of his brain cells finally decided to get online.

#'Bout time! Hurry up and wake the others… Charlie's' in the wire!#

"Oh shit!" Xander sat bolt upright causing Drusilla to startle awake as well. As he quickly got dressed he whispered to her that some uninvited company was on the way and no, they weren't coming for tea and biscuits.

#How?#

#Laughing Boy can smell them… You ain't got much time left boy.#

#No shit… Hey! Where have you two been lately anyways?#

#Now you ask? We're about gone boy… ain't but one Xander about left. And that's you. All we ever beens is you anyways….# The voice that wasn't a voice faded a bit. #See you one the other side boy#

With that a man who was no longer alive faded completely into a man who was more real than most.

Xander's eyes misted for a moment in silent grief. True, the Hyena and the Soldier were inadvertent residents in his head and not always wanted, but they had done a lot of good for him none the less.

As he started to reach for the door, it suddenly opened revealing Cordelia with the rest of the apartment's occupants standing behind her.

"Xander! I had a vision! We've….

"We've got company incoming, I know." He said calmly as he finished pulling on his gun harness and headed towards the door.

Drusilla couldn't help but smirk just a little as she followed him, Cordelia's mouth dropping open a little. If she'd been expecting to find Xander out-cold asleep she'd been sadly mistaken in her thoughts.

#------------#

Both Slayers struggled to awaken. They'd found out some information that they really wish they hadn't and they could also sense that something back in the land of wide awake was not as it should be.

#------------#

Everything was as it should be. The man known as Ethan Rayne smirked yet again. He had never really liked that boy much anyway. A small tendril of his magic made its way around the apartment building one last time. The Bringers had been prepped to make an invite to the Vampires to enter.

It was amazing what a small ventriloquism spell could do.

#------------#

Willow smiled in a way vaguely reminiscent of an eviler version of herself as she wrapped the protections she and Dru had placed on the apartment in layers of shielding. The touch of the scrying spell that someone was using outside never noticed a thing out of place within.

It was amazing what as much power she had at her control could do.

#------------#

It had taken her an 30 minutes to inscribe the wards on the floor.

It had taken her a further hour for the inscriptions inside of the wards.

There were four candles, one each at the cardinal points of the circle of wards: Red white, blue and green.

The process called for a silver blade. Luckily enough, there were blades in abundance within the residence.

She cleared her mind and envisioned her request and her need.

She winced a little as the blade bit into her arm.

She really hated that blood was the only way to open the portal.

Especially considering that it was her blood.

#------------#

The two still hadn't awakened from their Slayer dream-vision. And something was more wrong than 'not as it should be', they could feel it.

There was a Power in the Summer's house.

And that was with a capital P.

#------------#

The first Bringer hit the door at a dead run with his shoulder, and shattered the frame allowing entry to the apartment

Unfortunately for him, thanks to some magical defenses, the door hit back.

The second Bringer through the door tripped on the scorched body of the first and practically fell onto Gunn's blade.

Two of the Vampires tried to run through the now open doorway. Unfortunately for them, neither of the two Bringers had lived long enough for the ventriloquism spell to activate.

They literally bounced backwards onto their asses.

A pair of shots rang out almost as one from Xander's pistols

Exit stage dust for two Vampires as the blessed rounds struck their heads.

Less than ten seconds into the fight and it was already a mess for the black hats.

The third Bringer in actually managed to stay alive long enough for the spell to kick in. Then he too fell as a pair of SiT's double teamed him. Polly kicked him in the balls and Callie gutted him from the side as he doubled over.

Three Vampires bottle-necked the doorway more than long enough for Willow to throw a can of pencils up in the air.

Exit three pin-cushions of dust courtesy of an oldie but a goodie from the Witch.

Wes looked away from the falling fourth Bringer, whom he'd just killed, to stare at Willow for a moment.

Shrugging her shoulders she just smiled at him. "What? I haven't done it in ages… 'sides, the pencils were handy.

The next rush of opponents entered the apartment and a general melee took place.

Xander's pistols fired yet again before he discarded them due to the confined area that the battle had become. Exit another Vampire and Bringer.

On the other side of the room Drusilla stood between a Vampire and Cordelia, much to the detriment of the Vampire. Deflecting the hard right cross of her attacker she poked him in the eyes with her fingernails before staking him as he staggered blindly about.

Gunn and Wes were both taking out a Bringer each, while Callie and Polly took out Vampire that was threatening Rona who was still recuperating from the debacle at the Winery.

Dru's sudden cry of dismay caused Xander to go into overdrive and he pretty much blasted through the Vampire in front of him and decapitated the last Bringer on his way to her side.

The lone remaining Vampire looked around in confusion for a moment and then made a break for the door.

He never made it.

Grasping Dru to him tightly for a moment Xander moved back and looked her over intently. "You okay Dru? Where're you hurt?"

Grimacing slightly she held up her hand… "I broke a nail…."

Everyone who heard her plaintive comment could only look at her in shock. Except for Cordelia, who of course could relate, and Xander who just laughed and hugged her tightly.

#------------#

It was a simple procedure in execution.

She simply drew a door in the air with her blood.

The blood stayed there, hanging in the still air, reverberating with power.

Finally she drew a handle for her door.

Intent, power and will were all bent on attaining her goal.

And then she opened the door.

#------------#

As the last Vampire went down in flames Ethan slunk back into the shadows and then proceeded to perform a retrograde action.

In layman's terms: He hauled ass.

#------------#

In a place that wasn't a conversation with no words took place.

A request was made of one of the Keeper's of this place, and the audience of an occupant granted.

From this, another request was asked.

Again, it was granted.

And an entity walked the Earth again.

#------------#

Buffy and Faith came awake at the same instant and surged out into the hallway. Looking at each other for but an instant they promptly headed at a dead run downstairs.

"The basement!" Buffy cried as the two of them raced for the doorway down.

Stopping in amazement as they reached the bottom of the stairs they could only stare in amazement at sight before them.

"H-H-Hi Buffy…" Stammered the green glowing form of one Dawn Summers.

"Dawnie…"

"S-S-Sorta" She replied. "I h-have a friend w-with me." And as she said that, the green glow started to dissipate leaving another glow visible.

A glow that flowed around her with a definite shape and form.

"TARA!"

"H-Hi Buffy."

End of chapter XVI

QSK