Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Joss. I'm not making any money from it.
Author's note: This is a response to all those fics where Buffy and Willow's solution to the problem with the First is a major disaster. It's usually a fic that's pro-Xander yet all the people he chooses to be friends with are incompetant and mistreat him. Now having said that there's not going to be any bashing of anyone in this fic, and I hope the writers of those stories can look at this fic and enjoy it.
The new Slayers had been quite clear. They'd just destroyed an army and escaped a collapsing town, now it was time to relax. Giles' Hellmouth in Cleveland, and tracking down new Slayers would have to wait a few days.
And it was just as well. The Scoobies were physically and emotionally exhausted, and it gave the wounded time to heal.
After taking a vote, it had been decided that one of their last days in California would be spent on a pool party. They'd been able to find a private pool and rent it, because someone had cancelled unexpectedly. Xander hadn't been surprised when he left the deposit. THe people of LA seemed to be in a funk, definately not in a partying mood. He's only been to the larger city a few times, but he hadn't remembered things being so manic depressive.
"Hey, give me back my camera!"
"No way, perv!"
"Sharon, Andrew; what's going on over there?!"
"The perv was focusing his camera on my chest!"
"Bring me the camera. And both of you knock it off."
"And you thought this would be relaxing," Xander chuckled beside her.
"I swear these girls are like little kids."
"It's not just them," he said pointing to a corner of the pool.
"Faith! Let Dominique and Colleen up, now!"
Faith released the two younger Slayers she was holding down. "Sorry 'about that B. But they tried to dunk me. They had to be taught a lesson."
Xander leaned closer. "Are you standing on someone?"
Faith stepped back and Shannon came to the surface, gasping for air.
"Sorry," Faith shrugged, not looking very. "Come on in, B. Maybe we can show the rookies..." At Buffy's glare she amended her statement. "I mean maybe the rookies will know better to screw with us."
"I'm fine here."
"To good to join the party," Colleen grumbled, obviously not realizing yet how good Slayer hearing was. Unfortunately Andrew was close enough that he also heard.
"It's not that. Buffy has water issues. Her first death was by drowning," Andrew defended.
"I do not have water issues."
"Sorry, I'm late." A voice interrupted in what seemed to be an amazing act of ventriliquism. Because it was Buffy's voice. Everyone turned to the door to see another Buffy Summers standing there. "I am invited right? This party is for Sunnydale survivors after all."
Some of the new Slayers moved to the opposite side of the pool, while others climbed out to help confront it.
"No need to get violent. Hell, we can be friends now, since you guarenteed my victory."
"Really?" Buffy got in the face of her doppelganger. "We destroyed your army and your stooge. There's more people fighting the good fight now than ever before."
"All that's evil is my army. It's just a matter of rank. But actually I've decided to sit the next few decades out. After all, with every potential Slayer activated there are no replacements. You'll die one or two at a time, a few of you might make it to old age. But then there will be nothing left."
"That's not true," Willow said with quiet intensity. She'd been in meeting with Giles, planning to come to the party later, but just about everyone had started mental screaming for her as soon as the First had appeared. She had teleported herself, Giles and Kennedy in, but stayed quiet to hear what the First had to say.
"Of course you'd want to believe that," the First said, then shifted into Tara. "But the truth is you've done more damage to the world unintentionally with you magic than you have intentionally."
Willow smiled coldly. "I finally understand why you didn't appear to me as Tara that night. You could never have convinced me you were her for a second. And you're lying to the wrong person. I tapped directly into the Slayer line, I know it's past and it's future. And I know all you have left is your lies, your ghosts and your blind men. Now leave, or are first target after we set up will be those blind men. And I seem to remember Giles saying you needed them to manifest here."
"That's correct. The Bringers are required to recite a specific spell occasionally to allow you to appear. Without it, you less an entity on this plane of existence and more a... concept."
"A concept that kills. But you've made your point. Be seeing you." With that the First Evil faded from view.
"Go Red," Faith approved.
"Great bluff Will," Buffy smiled at the witch.
"I wouldn't try to bluff the First Evil."
"Seriously? So get any lottery numbers when you saw the future of the Slayers?" Xander asked with a grin.
"No, I just know how the line works from now on."
"Could you tell us," Vi asked a bit hesitantly. She still wasn't used to speaking up with the Hellmouth veterans. "Because I'd really like to know the First isn't right and we haven't screwed up, bad."
"The old way, one dies the next is called is done. There probably won't be any new Slayers for a few years, but new Potential Slayers will still become Slayers."
"How? There shouldn't be anymore potential Slayers"
"That's a lot longer answer, Ken. When I altered the line I was shown it's history, what the flaw the First was taking advantage of, and how it was rewritten. The Slayer was created before humanity left Africa, but after it was large enough to split into tribes. The tribe that created the Slayer selected a daughter of a shaman as a sacrifice. I'm sorry to say it, but that's what it was. Turning a fertile young female into a warrior was a sacrifice for a small tribe. She wasn't likely to have children. But it was known she wouldn't be enough, so the shamens, the Shadowmen, used their authority over the tribe to sacrifice more, the future. In every generation every family of that tribe would have one daughter who had the potential to become the new Slayer. After they reached maturity that is. That's where the new potential Slayers will come from. They're like you. Descendents of that first tribe who have gone through puberty. New Slayers will come to their powers as they come of age."
"So they really are all family. Sisters."
"More like six millionth cousins," Rona replied testily to Andrew's romanticism.
"You may have to wipe that out of his memory," Xander whispered to Willow. "Otherwise he might drive them nuts with that."
"We might need to talk to Aunt Arlene," Dawn told Buffy.
"Unless Mom was the potential. Or I get my Slayerness from Dad. What about the problem with the line? The FIrst can't go after these kids can it?"
"It would have to find them. It used the Watcher's Council's information and it's ability to shap shift and be invisible to spy on them. The problem with the line was simply that when I resurrected you, Buff, I inserted you back into it. After Xander revived you, you'd basically been a remnant, which I think was the real reason the First Slayer was so pissed we tapped it's power. When I brought you back into the line it meant both you and Faith had to die for a new girl to be called. With Faith in jail that wasn't likely to happen so it didn't have to worry about one of it's targets suddenly being able to take down it's Bringers and gaining the full resources of the COuncil."
"Hate to break it to you Red, but it sent someone after me in the big house."
"After it had blown up the Council and the Potentials were heading for Buffy enmasse. So it's plan to take them out one at a time was done. That's the big reason it was so successful. It had a goal that it had been planning for since I decided to resurrect Buffy and it's been adapting it ever since. The Seal of Danthalazar gets uncovered to the Turok-Han get factored in. The first one is dusted so give it's power to Caleb."
"Wait, the first Turok-Han used the First's power?"
"Yep. And when everyone went into the Seal it tried to spread it's power around so they'd have a chance. Otherwise, vampires that haven't consumed blood in millienea? The only thing keeping them from dusting was the Hellmouth's power. Of course once it spread it around it used up so much of it's power that they weren't anywhere near Caleb levels. They were pretty much just normal vampires."
"Could it make another Caleb?" Shannon asked.
"Eventually yes. It gained the ability to create a warrior because we created a second warrior. That's one of the problems with the spell. It can now permanently grant it's power to someone on this plane. Maybe more. But it can only power it from it's own strength."
"But so what?" Xander blurted out suddenly. A tension the new Slayers had developed disipated instantly. Xander had been hurt almost as bad as anyone by Caleb, and he lacked powers. If he could dismiss this so easily they could too. I'm actually feeling a little better about the world. The First hasn't been able to act here since who knows how long. Maybe since the Old Ones were still around, maybe longer. It gets stronger based on the evil done in the world. And it still uses up all it's strength within two years. Meanwhile all of you are just as strong as Buffy and Faith."
"I did say eventually."
"We're probabaly talking centeruries, millienia, eons, maybe."
"Okay, Xander. I think they get the point. So, are we done here?"
"I don't think it's fair to split when Red and Ken are just joining the party B." Faith had been slipping up behind Willow, and as she said that shoved her towards the water. Willow's feet went over the edge but she didn't drop, instead floating safely above it.
"That's cheat...ahhh!" Faith yelled as Willow magically pulled her into the water. Grinning wickedly Dominque, Colleen and Shannon dove in immediately after.
End