Prologue
Sunnydale. The once thriving small town, home of the Razor Backs and the Bronze, had been nothing more than rubble left to rot in the newest American tourist trap. 'Come see the town that the earth swallowed whole' the banners read every fifty miles down the highway. The town had made more money as a Crater in the ground, that officials stated happened after a major fault with the gas lines underneath, which in turn had had a substantial affect causing tectonic plate movement. No one quite understood the science of it, as the science of it didn't quite make sense. Conspiracy theories ranged from Alien invasion to Military testing, either way, no one was blaming demons or slayers and that was perfectly fine with the Watchers Council.
In the two years after the final battle that Sunnydale witnessed, the once powerful slayers began to lose their strength and skill, their memory the last to go. Against their better judgment, the Scooby gang joined with the new Watchers Council in order to figure out what was happening. Spell after spell went wrong, until they finally contacted the right Oracle who simply explained;
"What was meant to be, will stay and what was forced to be, will go. There must be a balance, for that is why the Slayer was created."
By the fifth year, the only Slayers that remained was Buffy and Faith. A new true friendship had grown over time and together they traveled fighting evil and slaying. They often checked in on the other once-were-slayers but it was as if those years never happened and the amnesia kept them happily unaware of the true danger they had been in.
It had taken a long time, but Los Angeles was finally beginning to regain its population. The story had it that the tectonic plate disaster of Sunnydale had caused fault lines to appear over time and not even a year later, a similar event had taken place. The truth of course was that no one actually knew what had happened, not even Angel. One moment he was running into war and the next, he awoke in the desert; Spike, Wesley and Gunn by his side. It had been as if their deaths had never happened. Angel too had searched for the truth and was told an identical answer from different 'Powers that Be'.
Over the years, Buffy had spoken to Angel over the phone but they had concluded to stay clear of each other as neither of them really understood just what was happening. It was easier this way, they both had so much to accomplish and figure out, they were afraid being around each other would only serve as a distraction.