Chapter One

Three Years Later

Buffy loved small towns. They made it easier to forget the things that go bump in the night. Deaths of the young, hell deaths all together were more uncommon and drew more attention. It was for that reason that the world of the supernatural seemed to stay away from the town of Park Layne, Ohio. This place was so small it shared its zip code with the closet, though small, city of New Carlisle, and was even considered part of the city. It's why she chose this place to live.

A local Wicca coven had given her a new identity, she now went by Anna Kingston, and had also hidden her from location spells in exchange for protection should they call upon her. Not that they couldn't handle most attacks themselves, but the title Slayer seemed to send any would be baddies in the other direction around here. In the three years since she'd come to live here, she could count all the vampires she had slayed on one hand and all the demons on the other. It was the closest thing to a normal life she would ever have; she was a Slayer, that was that.

She'd done pretty well for herself, she supposed. She was the head waitress at a local restaurant by the name of Mel-O-Dee's and at the age of 22 was the youngest person to ever have been given the title, something she chopped up to her years of balance and coordination training. Her costumers, employers, co-workers, and friends never saw her not have a cheery smile on her face and she was never anything but happy around those who knew her. No she saved her true feelings for when she was alone, for when she was Buffy instead of Anna.

The few friends she had outside of the local coven found her collection of antique books and weapons odd but never brought it up as whenever they did she's brush it off as a hobby her "late" father had passed down to her. They would pressure her to date, say that there had to be guy out there for her but her response was always the same; "There was, he's dead." They'd try other tactics but she was always firm on the subject, there was just no getting over her ex, it was as cut and dry as that.

So she spent most of her nights working late sifts at the restaurant, patrolling alone with the hope of running into something (vampire or demon) she could kill, or the occasional night at a club for Karaoke Night with her Wicca friends.

On this night she was patrolling, praying to whichever higher power that was listening that she'd at least get a kill, if not a good fight. Luck seemed to be on her side as she walked past a mausoleum with a group of about five vampires rifling through the contents, obviously looking for something in particular.

"I'm pretty sure they were put in there to rest in peace, not to have their resting place defiled by those who rose from their graves." She was itching for this fight, to be anything but normal for just a little while. Her sparring partner at her gym, a man three times her size in muscle who she'd only lost to once, had been sick all week leaving unable to train.

"Looky here, boys," called out the vamp Buffy could only assume was the leader of the group. "We have ourselves a little visitor. I don't think the boss man will mind us having a little snack while we're out, do you? Don't you know it's not safe to be walking around a cemetery alone at night, little girl?"

"Not safe for whom? Me? Or you?" Buffy replied as one of the vampire lunged at her. He was quick but she was quicker dodging the attack easily and kneeing him in the gut as he went by.

"I don't know who you think you are," the first vampire began.

"Oh you mean you haven't heard of me?" she cut him off sarcasm laced in every word she spoke. "Seem no one around here has. How about this?" Her attacker grabbed her from behind to which, using his weight along with her strength she flipped him over her and, pulling Mr. Pointy out from up her sleeve, staked him before he had the chance to recover. "Ever heard of Slayer comma the?"

The three other minions attacked her then. The first one to reach her was met with a round house kick to the jaw which sent him flying back into to second, both landing on the ground with a dull thud. The third swung at her a few times which she easily dodged before he made his final appointment with Mr. Pointy.

"Oh, come on," Buffy whined while dodging hits from her two other current assailants. "I thought 'Finally, I'm gonna get a decent fight.' but no, what do I get? Would be baddies if they knew how to fight."

Sending one vamp flying to the ground with a stiff kick to the chest, she staked the other before turning and dusting the other just before his next attack.

Turning back to the "let the others take care of this" vampire she sighed seeing that he'd found what he was looking for.

"Look, we can either do this the hard way or, well, really, there's only the hard way."

"You may have won this round Slayer, but you've lost the war. Your coming here will not stop his awakening. Amducious will have his revenge!" And with that the vampire threw something at the ground, there was a flash of light and a ton of smoke, and he was gone.

"Nice trick," she mumbled between coughs. "Oh, well I'd say four out of five isn't a bad night. Now I guess I should go do some research on this Amdu – whatever guy." She started off toward her house, a good five mile hike, wondering whether the coven had any info on this supposed big bad.

Meanwhile, in Sunnydale

"Try harder."

"Tara and I are trying the hardest we can, Angel," Willow said, feeling both mentally and physically exhausted. "We've been trying for three years. She must have gotten a powerful witch or coven to hide her. We don't even have a paper trail, which probably means they gave her a new identity as well. We need to face the facts. Until she wants to be found, we won't be able to find her."

"Or she could be dead," Anya stated in her usual matter of fact voice.

"An, hun, not really helping," Xander said to his seemingly sometimes uncaring ex.

"I'm not you 'hun' anymore, Xander," she replied coldly, glaring at the way Cordy moved protectively closer to him. "And I'm just saying what we're all thinking."

"She's not dead!" Angel exclaimed through gritted teeth. He'd been tempted several times to strangle the ex-demon several times in the past three years, restraining only because of Xander's love for the woman. Yet for whatever reason she stuck around after Xander had left her at the altar, even stayed after he and Cordelia had gotten back together. He took several calming breaths before the continuing. "The prophecy says the "risen slayer" is the one to bring about his awakening and the only one to bring about Amducious down fall. Buffy is the only Slayer in history to have been brought back from the dead. The prophecy must mean her and since we know the ritual to his awakening is happening soon but we don't know where we need to find Buffy, keep her away from the ritual and we'd have averted yet another apocalypse."

"Angel's right," Giles spoke for the first time. "We're running out of time. I'll contact the council; see if they have any new news on her whereabouts. Willow, Tara after some rest keep trying with the locations spells. Hopefully whatever is hiding her from us will weaken. Anya, ask your demon friends see if they've heard anything about where the ritual is to take place. I'm afraid that's all we can do. Until we find her, we'll just have to pray she's kept up with her training and have done some research herself. If there are no more questions I purpose that you, Angel go on a quick patrol before sunrise."

There were nods from all around the table at the Magic Box before the team dispersed, going their separate ways for the night. All of them wanting one thing; Buffy home, safe and sound.