Buffy sat on Giles' couch and stared into her cup of tea hardly believing what it was that her Watcher was telling her, Xander was a slayer, no better than a slayer, a member of the Alliance. Riley held her bruised body to him but he too was aware that there was a lot more to this than had met the eye. It had been classified at the Initiative that Xander had been rejected for membership due to his small stature and now it appeared that Professor Walsh had underestimated the boy as much as she had underestimated the slayer.

"So what exactly is his job? There are already two slayers." Buffy whined, she hated anyone treading into her territory.

"Actually there are more than that, there are different forms of Slayers, you are only really supposed to be a *vampire* slayer, but just as I altered your training, living on the Hellmouth also required a little changing of the job description." Giles informed her. "The watchers work on a number of groups, sometimes observing but not interfering and other times fighting by their side."

"So who are the Alliance? Are they autonomous?" Riley asked, himself having worked for an agency that had dealt with sensitive material and demons.

"Nobody knows, there is no one to ask and those that do know are highly unlikely to tell, the closest I ever got to knowing was a few words of proof from a renegade." At Buffy's look of suspicion he continued. "Before turning to the worship of Chaos, Ethan was approached as an initiate, he had a strong warlock potential, but he was never admitted. Too *unstable* they said." Giles laughed as he realised that the Alliance were a lot more perceptive than the Watchers when it came to recruitment and staffing.

"How did he do this?" Buffy said looking down at her bruises.

"I can only assume that he is very powerful, a spirit that has been broken once will be quicker to protect itself." Giles quoted from some text or other. "My advice would be to try and stay away from him from now on, at least until he has forgiven you for whatever it was that you did." Buffy recoiled at the suggestion that she be the one to back down, but as she moved to protest she felt the pain in her sides and for the first time in a long while listened to Giles without argument.

------------------

Wesley looked down at the journal entry that he had just posted to the Alliance group and smiled. There was still a lot of work to be done, a slayer to prepare and a triad to work with but now the three had consummated the union with 'blood and creation' as the texts so nicely put it, there was nothing to be done but to wait for the powerful being of both sides to come and bring the group together. Wes smiled as he looked over the other forms that Cordelia had kindly sent him in warning, it may be sooner than they thought.

*****
Part 8

A month later.

Xander watched as the stake flew across the room and into the target that Angel had allowed him to paint on the wall, his lovers were very supportive of his decision to learn to fight as well as merely to protect himself and while a lot of the moves were the same the disciplines that his mind took to control them were completely different.

"Xander?" Wesley called out as he walked into the spare bedroom, also Xander's work room and study. "I found an interesting chapter in one of Angel's books on 'inner fire' and thought that you might like to read it." He told his student, Xander looked up long enough to see the red book that Wesley held and then looked back down at his notebook, Wesley knew what that meant, the boy had read it and understood it. He felt a small pain as he realised that the student had outgrown his need for a teacher and Wesley felt unneeded, he would have said something but the last thing that Xander needed was a break in his fragile ego.

"Thanks Wes." Xander said needlessly. "I think that I've seen it, but maybe we ought to discuss it in case I missed any of the points." Wesley knew that Xander would not have missed anything and had probably already discussed it with Angel but the boy was doing his best to keep the former watcher with them and to make him feel needed, after all Xander mused, if anyone knew what it was like to be left out of something it was him.

-----------------

Faith stepped up in front of the Parole board and was surprised when she was allowed Parole as long as she did not leave the state, it appeared that as most of her crimes were older she had been tried as a minor and as such the penalty was a lot lighter than for an adult. Having said that she was on a ten year suspended sentence which meant if she broke any of the conditions of her bond she would serve the rest of the ten year term in a state penitentiary, Damn she was glad she'd been caught in California, she would not have been able to bear ten years in some of the more boring states and especially not some of the dry ones.

"So, Faith, What are you going to do with your life?" Her parole officer and a man that spoke with a crisp English accent asked.

"Well, first I'm going to look up an old friend who offered me a job one time." She said thinking of Angel's offer to help her deal with the guilt.

"Faith, I know what you are. I am your assigned Watcher Andrew Pennington." He said, the accent should have given it away, Faith chided herself for not having noticed it before.

"Well, if you want a Slayer then you'll have to speak to B. As of now I am officially retired." Faith said before turning on her heel and leaving, Andrew Pennington did not follow, he had stricter orders, if she refused then the Council would use direct action. Better to start afresh, there was rumours that Buffy Summers, the alpha Slayer was having difficulties in her personal life, it was time to terminate her position in order to call forth a new slayer. Instead of going after Faith he made the call, their field agent was ready in the area to make a move.

------------------

Rupert Giles stared at the woman that stood at his door, a mixture of pride and disgust welling within him, Olivia was at his door, a smile on her face and a book under her arm, but it was not seeing her again that caused the difficulty but the book she held. It was the same book given to all Watcher's the vital handbook of need to know details.

"Hello Rupert." She said with a knowing smile, "I finally realised where the need for all those antiquated books came from." As he allowed her entry Olivia punched him hard in the face, something that the ex-watcher was not expecting from an old lover. The threat not disposed of but at least temporarily unavailable for comment or interference she made her way to the campus where she knew the Slayer lived. Sometimes being a field agent sucked, clean ups and cover ups were messy and tiresome, but undercover and autonomous Olivia was used for the best jobs and she was really looking forward to taking down the Slayer.

--------------------

"Hold on..." Willow said as she answered the door, she hoped that it was Xander, she saw precious little of her friend and missed him, it was probably Buffy though, stopping in for a change of clothes, when she opened the door to see a familiar woman on her door step, the torn blouse and scratches on her arm a worry Willow went in to protective mode. "Come in...Livia right?"

"I'm sorry to call so late but there was something there, Giles told me to get Buffy, that she would know what to do." Olivia told her. Willow panicked, she picked up the phone and dialled Riley's number hoping that the pair were not breaking habit and actually out on a date, she was in luck, a breathless and annoyed Riley answered on the tenth ring and Willow relayed the message to them. Within five minutes the pair were at the dorm room getting Olivia's story and getting ready to go after the threat.

"What can I do?" Willow asked as Buffy and Riley armed up and got ready to go.

"Not a lot Wills, this is strictly a kill and kill situation." Buffy said, still in the practice of misquoting, this time from her brief initiative days. "It's probably best if you lay low, we don't know what it is that we are after and there is not really a lot to research." Buffy said, effectively putting down Willow as the "book girl" that all the other people that she had ever known had known her as. Buffy and Riley left taking Olivia with them to help track the demon she had seen and Willow lay back on her bed. After five minutes of indecision she made up her mind to go over to see Xander, he had strength and at least the stocked library at the mansion might give her something to do so that she would not feel completely useless.

----------------

"Ah, Ms. Rosenburg, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company this morning?" Wesley asked as he opened the door, stake in hand. There was still a strong protective force around the house but the pattern was changed a little, it was a friendly energy rather than a threatening one.

"I came to see Xander." She said slowly. "I think that Giles might be in trouble and well Buffy..."

"Don't tell me, the little chit flew off with farm boy and went to kick some demon arse." Spike said, rubbing his eyes and making his way over to the couch where Xander was sitting sharpening a stake.

"What kind of trouble Wills?" Xander asked ignoring his lover who was pouting at him and asking him to come back to bed with Angel and himself.

"Well, Giles *friend* Olivia came to us and said that he'd been hurt, she was vague on what it was that the demon had done exactly, or whether it was actually a demon."

"Oh dear." Wesley said paling considerably.

"What does 'Oh dear' mean?" Xander asked

"Olivia is one of the Watcher's strongest operatives, they talked about bringing her in when Faith went rogue, if it hadn't been for my intervention, well...the chances are that they are attempting to call another slayer."

"But that means..."

"Quite...It means that we need to find Miss Summers with a degree of urgency, I fear her life may be in danger."

----------------------

"What do you mean he's not here?" Faith shouted at Angel's stupid secretary, if she had her way she would kill the cheerleader in a heartbeat but there was a pain attached to killing now, one that she could not escape.

"Angel is on assignment out of town." Cordelia said, her voice only slightly giving away the fear that she felt.

"Well, where is he?" Faith asked.

"Sunnydale." Cordelia said, her voice quiet and subdued. Faith visibly shuddered at the mention of the place that had held so much of her pain, but she had to face the fact that there were things in her past that she was not proud of and maybe going back was one way to do that.

"Well, if Mohammed can't get to the mountain, I guess I'll have to hightail my hot little ass over there and find him myself."

Cordelia dialled the familiar number and just hoped that Angel had remembered to keep the cell charged, at the busy tone she cursed the backward Vampire and his stiff upper lipped sidekick and grabbed her keys. If there was not a way to phone the warning then she would just have to hope that she could get to Sunnydale before Faith to warn her boss.

-------------------

Buffy knew that there was a trap when they entered Giles' house and there was no sign of the struggle that had apparently taken place, not a demon size struggle at any rate. She took the cross bow from it's position slung over her back and turned to take aim but there was a small prick in her neck and the tags of the tazer hit her sending a volt of electricity through her body and collapsing her body to the floor, her last thoughts before the darkness hit was why would Riley betray her?

*****
Part 9:

The search of most of Sunnydale had turned up no sign of the slayer, even Giles' house had shown only the signs of a minor struggle but it was promising that there was no blood or other indications that anything other than that had taken place. The group returned to the mansion in time to see Cordelia arrive in a familiar black convertable. She looked harried and made her way cautiously to Angel as she saw Spike's proximity to his Sire.

"Angel?" Cordelia asked reaching for the stake that had been an ever present accesory since High school.

"Delia? What are you doing here?" Asked a concerned Xander knowing that despite her boss' being out of town she was supposed to stay in LA to hold down the fort.

"Faith." Cordy told them. "She's...she's..."

"Coming to town?" said a familiar voice behind them, all of the team but Angel and Wesley turned to stare at the brunette slayer, she stood on alert for signs of attack but the look in her eyes showed that she was far from able to fight, it was as if the violence had left her. Sensing the confusing emotions of fear from one lover and pride from the other it was Spike that voiced the question that no one else dare ask.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" He asked belidgerently.

"I came to see about a job." Faith said looking at Angel.

"Bloody hell Peaches, you do pick the strangest employees. Don't tell me, it's part of the redemption that you have to have a bunch of ninnies on your payroll."

"Actually Faith is far from stupid, she merely had a darker start to life. Less oppurtunity to flourish in a loving environment." Wesley said, Xander blanched as if his tutor had spoken an implied meaning that no one else understood, then he spoke up.

"Well, I guess the first job is to get you settled and then fill you in on the way things work around here. For one there is no slaying these two, or you'll have me to face." Xander said, Cordelia smiled a little and Faith openly laughed at the threat from the guy she had known as donut boy.

"Faith, he isn't joking with you. Xander has a power that even Buffy could not stand up to." Angel said, knowing that if she would not believe them then his oversensitive lover would feel that a show of his true strength was necessary. Faith trusted Angel as much as she could trust anyone and nodded to him in recognition, this was the hellmouth after all and stranger things had happened. The group made their way into the mansion and Faith relaxed for the first time in a long while, the protection spell that locked the mansion causing a calm environment for them to explain the events and for her to tell her story, they began to piece together the clues and assumed that the Watcher's council were tired of waiting for Buffy to return to the nest. Willow yawned at the lateness of the hour, not used as Cordelia, Wesley and Xander were to Vampire's nocturnal schedules. Faith too appeared tired, her trip having worn her out. They chose that point to make their way to their separate rooms, Wesley offering to show the girls where they could sleep. It was not mentioned that Xander was sharing with the two vampires, everyone having accepted the strange relationship that they shared.

As Xander snuggled between his two lovers wanting to find sleep so that he would be well rested for the morning and for the sex that Angel had promised he felt a soft touch to his ear, a gentle mouth kissing and whispering to him.

"Thankyou for accepting Faith, I know it is difficult to trust her after she hurt you." Angel spoke gently, caressing his lover to express his gratitude.

"I had to Angel, even though you trusted her that wasn't the reason, what Wesley said made me think. He told us at the beginning that there were two of us he was here to watch and judging by his timing..."

"You think that Faith is the other chosen one?" Angel asked continuing his assault on Xander's ear and then moving down to nip at his neck and shoulder. Xander nodded before letting out a gasp as the assault heightened.

"Bloody hell." Spike let out in both frustration that he was being left out and at the words that he was hearing. "I know we live on a hellmouth but is there no bleeding normal person out there?" His question remained unanswered instead Xander pulled him to him for a kiss and began his own oral assualt on the Vampire. 'So much for sleep,' Xander smiled as he felt his two vampires loving him, 'I guess I won't have to wait until the morning for that sex.' That was his last concious thought because the next moment he felt Angel's talented finger preparing his puckered opening and Spike engulfing his erection with his cool mouth.

------------------

Buffy woke to find herself in a place that looked very much like the type of places that she went to fight demons, it was dark, it was dank and it smelled of rotting fish. They must be down by the docks. She was about to continue the catalogue of senses when she heard Giles' voice close by, moving as best she could towards the former watcher she found that he was sitting in a corner mumbling what sounded like Latin.

"Giles?" She asked tentatively.

"Oh God." He stuttered, making Buffy wonder how long her mentor had been here and feeling guilty that she did not know.

"It's Okay." She said, trying not to wonder how bad the situation must be if she was having to comfort him, the one man that was the centre of calmness and stoicism. Giles clung to his charge in fear and continued his chant, which was when Buffy realised it was not an incantation but a prayer.

---------------

Xander woke early the next morning and got up to feed the appetite that his lovers had helped him to build up the night before, he left Sire and Childe asleep and found Willow, Wes, Faith and Delia around the table tucking in to a cooked breakfast, he wondered if he had missed it and then saw that Wesley had risen to plate him up some of the goodies.

"Wes was just filling us in on your super powers." Cordelia said. "Damn that I dumped you back before you realised that you had them. I know that you would psych out any of the people that turn me down at auditions." The budding actress said. Xander smiled knowing that the joke was an acceptance of a sort and lent over and whispered something in her ear. Willow frowned when Delia looked over at the closed bedroom and began to laugh, Xander's face fell as if he were hurt.

"So, Are we going to try and find Buffy again today?" Willow asked, slightly chagrined that they were not taking the Slayer's disappearence very seriously.

"Sure Wills, if you want we can try a scrying spell after we're done here." Xander said, the witch took a few moments before she remembered that Xander was as powerful a spell caster as she was and then smiled. Wes looked at his charge oddly but did not say anything, he knew that Xander did not need a chrystal to locate the girl, that a quiet room and a personal possession was enough for him to work foresight but said nothing as he knew that Xander was trying to involve the young witch. Besides, he had other worries on his mind, after all there was a new initiate to bring in to the fold and somehow he knew that this would be more difficult than his last, after all his last attempt with her had ended up with him strapped to a chair and being half tortured to death. Swallowing a little too hard and choking on his toast at the memory he decided that it may be better to leave the initiation until after they had found Buffy. The decision made he went to help Xander and Willow with the scrying, after all there was more power with three.

--------------

"Why did you bring him here?" The voice asked, "It is only the Slayer that is required for this ritual."

"Believe me there are a lot of people that want to see Ripper pay the price for his betrayal, he went against his watcher oath when he aided a rogue slayer and he knew the price they pay." Another voice told the first, this one recognisable as a man that Buffy thought that she would not see again, Ethan Rayne.

"Just so long as you complete the ritual, personal vendettas are carried out in your own time." The voice, apparently the one that was in charge said, "Now take Agent Finn out and begin him on his meds, Maggie Walsh was right to contact us when she was wary of the Slayer. Her little genetics project worked as well as she expected, it's just a shame that she never got to use him."

Buffy blanched at the cackle that followed the voice's jibe at Riley's origins, they had never expected something this bad when Adam had told them of Walsh's work on her *son*, but it appeared there was a lot more than atheletic enhancement. Giles was less than happy that Ethan was out and he was muttering to himself about the spell being a myth. Buffy felt herself wondering why she had not paid more attention to the books that Giles so loved, maybe then she would know what it was that he was referring to.

----------------------

"Here it is..." Angel said with a smile. "The progeny spell." He read, Xander stared over his shoulder and read it too.

"Oh, A 'bring-about-a-new-slayer' spell." Xander translated. "You mean they have spells for that, why not just kill her...not that I would in any way suggest that." He added quickly at the frowns from Faith and Wesley.

"Why not Ducks, sounds like a good career option for the bint if you ask me." Spike said, gaining him glares from the rest of the assortment in the library.

"This means that they can locate the new Slayer and have power over her." Angel explained, "Which means that they would probably send her after you." he aimed at his Childe. "After all, you are the *big, bad*" If it were possible Xander was sure that his lover would have paled, of course being a Vampire white was his natural colour.

"So, we just find out where they are holding her and stop them killing Buffy before the spell takes place." Willow added, her optimism always outshining the true nature of the evil of the hellmouth.

"The problem is that there are only four people that I know of strong enough to carry out this spell." Wesley said. "Giles is one of them and his friend Ethan Rayne is another."

"Giles wouldn't do that to Buffy and Ethan is tightly locked away in Nevada, about the only good thing that the initiative did." Willow explained with a smile.

"What about the others?" Xander asked.

"I have to agree with Ms. Rosenburg about Giles and I know you and Angel would not do it, but I have bad news about Ethan, he was never locked up by your government, he was extradited to England instead. I received word that he may be back in the area." Wes said only now seeing the significance of it all.

"How do we stop this?" Xander asked his lover who held the book and therefore the answers in his hands. Angel handed the book to Xander and then pulled his lover close, receiving a growl from Spike until he saw that Xander was shaking. He had read the words that he was not sure he could comprehend. The spell was irreversible.

*****
Part 10:

"I don't understand." Riley Finn said as the man in front of him recited what it was that he was designed to do.

"You are a soldier Agent Finn, just as you always have been, it's just that all of this time you were fighting for the wrong people. Ms. Walsh was developing a way of making a soldier with Slayer strength, you are that person." Ethan explained. "It just appears that the dear Professor was also using her techniques for the government, although we are still not sure which one."

"But how did you...?"

"Make you turn on your little girlfriend?" Ethan asked sarcastically, "You were merely following orders agent, you just didn't know that you had been given any." Riley paled as he realised the extent of what he was being told, he was a minion of an organisation that he knew very little about and was afraid to learn anything more. As Ethan turned his back to prepare the injection that he was due to adminster Riley found what he pondered to be his last amount of free will and swiftly kicked the warlock to the ground. He had to escape, after all if there was a way to get out and get to Xander then maybe he could get Buffy out of there alive.

-------------------

Xander felt torn, he wanted to comfort Willow who was in tears that they might lose Buffy, but also he had to prepare himself for the fight that he knew was coming. He had done a spell of foresight and Cordelia had had a vision, both of which pointed to a warehouse on the edge of the town. Now they were waiting until the sun went down so that they could go out and help rescue her, even Spike had agreed after Xander had reminded him how the Slayer had once spared Dru's life, even though he was in love with two other people Spike still held a torch for his dark queen. Angel and Spike were getting blood for their dinner and Chinese for every one else, and Faith was pacing at the chance of seeing her arch rival again, in the end Xander went out of the room to find his weapons and left Cordelia, Faith and Willow in the library, the three of them comforting and calming each other.

As the sun went down on the town of Sunnydale none of it's residents were aware of the battle that was about to take place, there was no time to warn them either, and most of the hellmouth dwellers would not have taken any notice anyway, even if they saw the seer, the witch the watcher, the slayer, the warlock-to-be and the pair of vampires heading towards the dockside. It is amazing what some people will turn the other cheek to in order to ignore what is going on under their noses, Xander mused as his group made their way to rescue Buffy.

------------------

Riley ran desperate to escape the people that had been holding him and to get to Xander as soon as possible, he was so wary of being followed that he did not see the group in front of him until he lay at Faith's feet, it was the first time that he had bumped into the rogue slayer since she had slept with him to get back at Buffy and had he not been worried about his girlfriend he may have been more upset that she was back.

"Riley?" Faith murmured in an alarmed tone. Xander ignored her and knelt to the fallen soldier that lay at the slayers feet.

"Where's Buffy?" He asked clearly, Riley was aware of a compelling need to tell him all that he knew, but it was not necessary, Xander was not used to mind reading but had the skill at his disposal. He disliked it a lot but knew it would save time rather than trying to interrogate the distressed initiative soldier. Xander felt the pain and guilt over what Riley perceived to be a betrayal to Buffy, he saw the warehouse where the blonde Slayerwas being held and he saw the people that were keeping her there. Finally breaking the link between himself and the marine he fell slightly back at the loss of contact until Angel bent to pick him up.

"I'm sorry." Riley said, partly from the pain that he had just unloaded on Xander and partly for his own guilt at the actions.

"It's Okay Ri, Willow and Cordelia are going to take you back to our place." He said, the order in his voice clear to the two girls, "I need you to look after them for me." He said, knowing this was going to be the only way to get Riley to go. Riley Finn nodded in agreement, the broken man not wanting to admit defeat and thankful that Xander had given him a way out. As the threesome turned to go back to the mansion Riley could not help but smile at Xander's last words. "I'll bring her back to you."

*****
Part 11:

Buffy was hungry, she had no way to work out how long she and Giles had been in the dank cellar, nor did she know what it was that they wanted with her, all she could do was wait and patience was never something that she had been particularly good at. The click of the latch sounded and light flooded the darkness that had engulfed them, Buffy tried to attack but she felt too weak, however long they had been there had been enough time for her to lose a lot of strength and speed. The soldier boys that grabbed her looked a little familiar but it was the leader that she knew the most, Ethan Rayne, her long time arch nemisis and Giles' old lover. Somehow she knew that it was impossible for her to fight them.

---

They found the warehouse with ease, Xander had picked through the remnants of thoughts read from Riley's mind and found the base, while he was tracing through to find exactly where the slayer was being kept Spike and Angel made short work of the guards, twisting their necks until they broke, a synchranised killing machine that had tormented Europe for a large part of the last century. Xander located the remembrances of a basement and led his lovers down into the storeroom, half way to the remembered room they were met by a large group of demons, all of whom seemed to be fighting for whatever force Xander and his group were fighting against. The battle was over before it was started when the demons saw the united front of Angelus and his favourite childe, when they smelt the rogue slayer the rest seemed to vanish, it was easy. The thought hit them all together, *too* easy.

*****