Chapter 1: Return of the Prodigal

The House, Cleveland, USA

Xander walked into the rather large house. It served as Batcave and Watchtower. Hearth and barracks. The residents referred to it as The House. Though it was almost a mansion really. Lakewood had its mix of housing types, and they'd gotten one of the better ones. With so many girls living there, and needing to be trained, they needed the space. The large house was set on a 3 acre plot, surrounded by a high fence. The better for the slayers to train without prying eyes wondering how little girls could do so much. A little less than a year since he had been gone, and not much had changed. The large central hall he walked into was still a bit disheveled, and the living room he could see off to his right was still a mess. A bunch of teenagers weren't the most careful with a house, teenagers with super strength and energy to match, even less so.

In his mind, Xander went through the last time he had been there. After the weight of what had happened in Sunnydale had settled in, he had been able to think about the things that he had done. And the things that he had allowed to happen. His last meeting with the last of the Scoobies had not gone well. They ended up going their own separate ways. Willow to South America, the Himalayas, and then back to Brazil. Buffy to Europe, settling in Rome. And him to Africa, and then on something of a world tour. At the time, escape was a blessing. Now, he thought, maybe he should never have left.

"Xander!" a voice shouted, breaking him out of his introspection.

His thoughts interrupted, he looked at the source of the voice. Running down the curved staircase leading to the hall, a young brunette nearly flew down and wrapped her arms around him.

"Dawn. How are you?" Xander replied, hugging her back. To Xander, Dawn was one of the few to come out of Sunnydale untouched.

"Great. Came to visit Giles over break." Dawn pulled back and took a good look at what a year away had done to and for Xander. "You look great. All tanned and fit. Real sexy."

Xander grinned. One of the first real ones in a long time. Even better, Dawn returned it.

"I'd love to talk Dawnie, but I really need to talk to Giles. Know where he is?" Xander walked to the stairs, headed towards the office upstairs. He dropped his shoulder bag on the cabinet set against the hallway as he headed on up. He rarely went anywhere without it anymore. A safety blanket. Batman's uility belt. A bag of holding. Indiana Jones' gas mask bag. He had his own now. It was locked and not even the eager slayers would try to jimmy it open not knowing what was inside. He knew it would be safe. Besides, he'd had to empty out most of it for his trip here. Wouldn't do for any of Council to see some of his more esoteric possessions.

"Yeah, he's in his office. Let's go find him." Dawn called after him.

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Rupert Giles, now head of the newly re-formed Watcher's Council, had done well for himself in the last year. From being a lowly field watcher, to fired, to field watcher, to head of the organization, he was content with his lot in life. Fighting the good fight and all that. Though he didn't go into the field much anymore.

His office was very organized. Filing cabinets and bookshelves lined all four of the walls. Only a couple of large bay windows on the far wall were clear. A heavy oak desk was situated near the middle of the room facing the only door. So many books, befitting a former librarian Xander supposed. Spellbooks, grimories, histories, and ancient texts. A lot of knowledge accumulated in the last year or so. It hadn't been half as large the last time he had been there.

Giles was sitting at his desk, head and mind buried in an old leatherbound book as Xander walked in.

"We need to talk." Xander stated without preamble.

Giles glanced up.

"Well, hello to you to." He looked at Xander with a perturbed look. "What can I do for you?"

"Something's gone down. Something bad." Xander said ignoring Giles' attempt at nicety.

"Alone." Xander continued, without needing to look at Dawn.

"Hey, I want to hear to." Dawn interjected.

"No." Xander looked at her. "Please. It'd be better if you don't." Despite all that had happened, Dawn had been able to keep a relatively stable balance between the supernatural and the normal world. Training and schooling in something of an equal harmony. And he'd be damned if he upset that balance.

"I'm not a little kid anymore. I have a right to know." Dawn complained.

"She's right. She's as much a part of this as any of us." Giles sat back, comfortable in his position as head. He spoke, people listened.

After the fall of Sunnydale, Dawn had traveled with the people that were left. Learning and contributing. Once Buffy decided to cut out and stay in Italy, Dawn went and stayed there as well. They were family after all. She was adapting well and seemed to love the life of an American in Europe. At least, that's what the reports said. Xander could see that Dawn wanted to stay involved. Growing up in Sunnydale, he supposed that anybody would want to keep her hand in once the truth was let out.

Xander pulled out two of the pictures he had been given and laid them onto the desk. Massacred demons on the ground. Burnt corpses. Some reaching for their equally burnt children. Hardly things one showed in civilized company. He watched as Giles and Dawn took in what lay before them. He noted that Giles had no reaction, while Dawn looked horrified.

"What's this from?" Giles asked, though it was pretty apparent that hey had a pretty good idea. He looked Xander literally in the eye.

"I think you know. I think maybe you sent them there." Xander met the stare.

"We had word of a tribe of demons in Germany. We sent a team in to take care of them." Giles stated as if that settled the matter. After all, it was his job, and he hardly had to explain his actions.

"Take care of them?" Xander asked incredulously. "You sent a team in to slaughter them."

"What's the issue? The demons are dead are they not?" Giles was starting to get defensive. He had had enough questioning of his abilities fro the old Council. While he had come to accept and even embrace the unconventional nature of his slayer, he had always felt somewhat patronized by the more straightlaced and noble members. He wasn't about to let one of his younger charges, let alone someone that wasn't even a watcher, start now. Even if it was one of the original group.

"These were taken by a group of ethno-demonologists, affiliated with the German government. And now that the Germans know, they're looking for the people that murdered a village of German citizens." Xander said, looking down at his former mentor.

"What?" The older man sputtered.

Dawn looked like she was about to be ill. "That can't be right. We wouldn't do that."

"You wouldn't do that Dawn." Xander said, looking her in the eyes. "The slayers under the new Watchers' Council on the other hand…"

"Now wait just a minute." Giles said, trying to defend himself.

"No. You wait." Xander broke in, cutting him off. "The slayers you sent to Germany were found out. They murdered a bunch of Kwaini, and didn't get away with it."

"Kwaini? All right, they weren't what I thought they were, but it wasn't murder. They were only demons after all." Giles stated. While he may not have a severe hatred of demons as some hunters, when it came down to it, the watcher did not really care much for them. He may have tolerated their use in battle, but his experiences with Angel turned Angelus and Spike had left him cold to the possibility that some might deserve to be cared about.

"Demons that had German citizenship." Xander said coldly. "You sent a bunch of girls to commit genocide. And now their government wants answers. And so do I."

Giles visibly blanched at that.

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Author's note: Mainly setting the stage for now. There'll be some actual action later. Chapters also get longer as the chapters progress. Thanks to SFBKludge for the thing about acreage. I changed it.