Prologue

The Californian landscape was beautiful. Sunshine lit everything wonderfully and warmed everyone to the bone.

Or bloody well boiled them, Giles thought to himself.

Giles stood at the edge of a monstrous crater that marred the picturesque countryside. He wore jeans and a polo shirt. And still he roasted in the heat. There once was a time when he was acclimated to this God-awful swelter. But not anymore. Now, he stood in misery in the harsh sunlight.

Next to Giles stood Jeff Clough, a free-lance sub-contractor for the Watcher's Council. He was very resourceful and a bit unconventional. But he was good at what he did. Even if he was a bit odd.

Giles looked at his companion. The other man was dressed in heavy work boots, corduroy pants, a long-sleeved flannel shirt, a blue-jean jacket, and a knit stocking cap. Giles suspected that Jeff was wearing thermal long-john underwear, as well.

Looking back at the crater, Giles let his thoughts leave his compatriot and to the task at hand. He was not here to scrutinize the man nor to reminisce, even though he had roughly seven years worth of memories associated with this spot. Giles was here on official Watcher Council business.

"You were extremely lucky, Mr. Giles," Clough stated. He had a thick Australian accent.

"Quite true," Giles agreed. "We barely stayed ahead of the implosion." Giles peered into the crater intently. "I hope your man knows what he's doing."

"Don't worry," Clough replied. "Randy's clan is especially good at this kind of thing."

"I wouldn't think there was much call for this," Giles remarked.

"Well, not this exactly," Clough amended. "But this falls within the range of their expertise."

"Alright. I sure hope he's okay," Giles responded.

Clough pointed into the crater. "Ah, here comes Randy."

Giles directed his gaze to where Clough was pointing. He saw a small figure making its way toward them and getting larger by the second. Soon Giles could make out the bright red skin and clawed hands of the demon named Randy. He had antennae sticking out of his head. All in all he looked like a reject from a bad 1950s B-rated horror movie. But Randy was the best in his clan, who were the best at what they did. So Giles could overlook his appearance.

Clough helped Randy the last few meters out of the crater. The demon looked exhausted. He sat down heavily and pulled out a handkerchief and began mopping his forehead. Clough grabbed a couple bottles of water from a cooler. He handed one to Randy, who clipped off the cap with a claw and drank greedily.

"You okay, Randy?" Clough asked.

Randy drained the bottle, tossed it, and grabbed the other bottle from Clough. "I will be," he said. With a clip of his claw and a toss-back of his head, Randy drained this bottle, too.

"What did you find?" Giles asked.

Panting, Randy reached out his claw and it was filled with another bottle of water from Clough. After all, this was what Clough did, broker demon services for humans. And he had to take care of his contractors.

"Oh, it's closed, alright," Randy panted out. "The Hellmouth sucked everything into it when it shut. So the membrane between the two dimensions in a lot thicker, now. There's no more threat from this crater."

"None?" Giles inquired.

Randy clipped the top of the bottle. "The Hellmouth is gone. That's one less to worry about, now." He drank deeply from the bottle.

"But I thought…" Giles began. "That is… Demons liked…"

"The mystical energy?" Randy finished for him. "Well, yeah. But too many morons try to open a hellmouth and destroy the world."

"That's not cool," Clough stated.

"Definitely not," Randy agreed. He stood.

Randy's clan was sought after for these types of thorny problems. They could sense the ebb and flow of mystical energy. Then they could discern what those flows meant. And they were honest, valuing their reputation above everything else. So Giles knew that whatever Randy told him was accurate.

"So the Hellmouth is closed," Giles repeated. "Well, that takes a load off my mind."

Randy emptied three more bottles of water by the time Giles was done mulling over the news of the Hellmouth's permanent closure. Now the demon looked much healthier, much more hale.

"The First Evil is trapped in that hell dimension now, too," Randy added.

Giles gaped at him for a few long moments. Randy took the opportunity to guzzle another bottle of water.

"What?" Giles finally managed.

"Yeah," Randy confirmed. "Everything in Sunnydale was sucked in. The First Evil was in Sunnydale, too."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked.

"Absolutely," Randy affirmed. "I could feel it trying to get out."

"So we really did beat the First?" Giles was awestruck with wonder. Two great pieces of information in one day. It was almost too good to fathom.

"And you were VERY lucky to get out of there," Clough remarked.

"You have no idea," Randy agreed. "Take it from a member of a clan that knows, hell dimensions suck."

"I bet," Giles agreed.