As of April 17, 2011, this episode has been thoroughly edited and (at least in my opinion) improved. I changed a lot more in this one than I did in the first one, deleting a couple of pointless scenes, bumping the final scene to the next episode where it belongs, and completely rewriting all of the Buffy/Angel scenes. Enjoy!

Episode 3: Exodus

†

"Who knew evil could look so...boring," said Buffy as she and Giles looked around. With the exception of a small huddle of creatures with scaly purple skin and tall horns, the place appeared completely ordinary. She felt a very strong urge to slay as the weird growling chatter of the group of demons reached her ears, but curbed it, wanting to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

"Ah, Buffy, Mr. Giles," said a familiar voice. They turned to find Wesley descending the odd-looking stairs towards them, accompanied by a tall black man and a green-skinned demon with red eyes and horns who was dressed in a startlingly colorful suit. Upon reaching them, Wesley shook Giles' and Buffy's hands.

"These are my friends and colleagues, Lorne and Charles Gunn," said Wesley, indicating his companions, each of whom shook Buffy's and Giles' hands in turn, while Wesley continued, "and these are Buffy Summers and Rupert Giles."

"Nice to meet you," said Charles with a friendly grin. "Wes didn't need to make it so formal though. Just call me Gunn."

"I trust you don't need them to sing for you, Lorne?" asked Wesley.

"Not unless they want to," said Lorne, smiling. "I'm getting nothing but the big shining white knight vibe from their auras."

"Oh, so you're an empath?" asked Giles, intrigued.

Buffy cleared her throat. She'd have been happy to get to know these two better, as well as catch up with Wesley, who had clearly changed a great deal since their last meeting, but now was very much not the time.

"Of course, forgive me," said Wesley, picking up the hint and leading them back up the same staircase he and the other two had just come down. He stopped when they reached a set of wooden double-doors and turned to look at Buffy. "Angel's in there," he said, nodding towards the doors. Buffy thanked him quietly, and he next addressed Giles, "I presume you'd like to compare notes about the Cleveland situation?"

"Oh, er, yes, that would be excellent," said Giles. He placed a gentle hand on Buffy's shoulder before following Wesley down the hall.

Buffy watched them go, then took a deep breath, smiled at Gunn and Lorne, and entered the large office.

"So that's the heartthrob of our big champion," Lorne mused after the door closed behind her. "I kinda wish I'd made her sing."

"Yeah," said Gunn. "Well, I'm gonna visit Anne, see if she needs help at the shelter." They parted.

†

Angel was just stepping out of the elevator, his hair still wet from the shower, when the door of his office opened and Buffy walked through it. "Buffy," he said, stopping short.

"Angel," she replied automatically.

"Wes said you might be coming by this evening."

"Yeah. Giles and I just dropped Dawn off. And, um, about that—I mean, hopefully it won't be necessary, but do you think you coul—"

"Make sure she stays out of trouble while you're in Cleveland?" he finished, his eyes twinkling and the corners of his mouth quirking up. "No problem."

"Thank you," she said, relieved. "And you don't have to go check up on her or anything; I know it's a five hour drive. I just told her to call you if something happens."

He nodded. "So, uh," he said slightly awkwardly, "can I get you anything? Something to eat? Drink? Or if you want to take a shower, the one in the penthouse is amazing. I think it might actually have been imported from next century."

Buffy smiled in amusement. "Thanks, but I think I'm fine for now. Although if you've got a way I can make up for about a year's worth of lack of sleep in the space of a few hours, I wouldn't say no."

"I've been asking about that, but apparently it's still in development," he said, also smiling.

As they'd been talking, they had drifted towards each other, so that they were now only a couple of feet apart. Buffy took one more step forward, and then his arms were around her. Despite how offhand he had tried to sound, she could feel his intense relief that she had survived in the way he held her. She rested her head against his chest and hugged him back with a sigh of contentment.

"Mmm, it's so much better seeing you this side of the battle," she said.

"It really is," he agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

†

"Your best books?" asked Wesley, appalled.

"Yes," Giles confirmed, "as well as everything I managed to smuggle out of the Council's headquarters before it got blown up. I was hoping your resources could help in some way."

"Oh, I think you'll find whatever you need and more," said Wesley, indicating a row of thick volumes sitting neatly on the table in front of his desk.

"Unless those books are specifically about the Cleveland Hellmouth, I'm not sure—," Giles began skeptically, but Wesley cut him off.

"You'll find that in this case, appearances can be deceiving." He pulled out one of the books and offered it to Giles. "Although I still find it a sort of perversion of the way this traditionally works. Just tell it what you want. If it's in Wolfram and Hart's archive, you can access it through these."

"That's rather handy," said Giles.

"Quite," agreed Wesley, then frowned. "Each one in the main set is linked to a different part of the archives, but the one you're holding serves as a sort of sampler of the whole thing. I'm willing to part with it, if you think it would help you in Ohio."

"Cheers," said Giles. "I'm sure it will come in very useful."

"Now then, have you any plans for where you're all going to stay once you get to Cleveland?" Wesley asked.

"No, and I'm afraid that could prove rather problematic," Giles admitted, removing his glasses and polishing them on his handkerchief.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," said Wesley. When Giles gave him a bemused look, he pulled a folder out of the top drawer of his desk and handed it to him.

"What's this?" Giles asked. He opened it to find pictures of the interior of a rather magnificent building and a thick package of key cards.

"After you left to take Dawn to her friend's house, Angel and I discussed the situation of your plans in Cleveland. We agreed that there can't be many better ways to spend large amounts of Wolfram and Hart's money than to provide comfortable living space for an army of Slayers intending to destroy a Hellmouth. We managed to find a suitable location, and it's being outfitted for everyone's needs as we speak."

"'Summers' Academy for Girls'," Giles read from the top of a formal looking document, intrigued.

"What better way to disguise a large Slayer operation than telling the public it's one of those snobby, high-end private boarding schools?" said Wesley.

"What better way indeed," said Giles. He looked up at Wesley, unsure how to voice what he felt. "How can we possibly return the favor?" he asked.

"No need," said Wesley, waving his hand dismissively. "Anything to deprive Wolfram and Hart of resources is a favor returned in itself. And they aren't even objecting, as sponsoring such a school both counts as a massive tax write-off and makes them look very charitable."

"Right," said Giles, who suddenly felt as though destroying a Hellmouth was a rather straightforward affair compared to this high-stakes game of chess Wesley, Angel, and their friends were attempting to play, and he found he did not envy them at all. "If you don't mind, I need to make a phone call."

"Of course," said Wesley, indicating the phone.

"Thank you."

†

Cole opened the apartment door to the sound of the phone ringing. He ran to answer it and Oz followed, kicking the door shut with a hind leg, very eager to wash the vampire's blood out of his mouth.

"Hello?" said Cole.

"Er, hello," said an unfamiliar voice on the other end. "Is, er, Oz in at the moment?"

"Uh," said Cole. He covered the mouthpiece and looked over at his roommate, who was now perched on the kitchen counter, rinsing the dried blood from his muzzle and front paws in the sink. "Oz!" Cole hissed.

The wolf looked up at him, water streaming from his fur.

"Some British guy is on the phone for you."

Oz immediately perked up. Giles? he thought desperately, wishing very badly that he could speak.

"Is that who you were trying to call before?" Cole asked.

Oz nodded quickly.

Cole removed his hand from the mouthpiece. "Are you Giles?" he asked.

"Yes," said the voice on the other end in a tone of surprise. "Er, what has Oz told you?"

"Everything," said Cole. "I'm putting you on speaker." He pushed the button and put the handset down. "Say hi, Oz."

Oz gave a loud bark.

"Good Lord, boy!" Giles exclaimed. "Is he locked up?"

"Uh...no...," said Cole, giving Oz a mystified look. "Why; should he be?"

Oz kicked himself mentally for not having told Giles about this. How could he have been so stupid? He had gotten so caught up telling him about things he encountered that he forgot to mention what had happened to him!

"You mean to say that he's not currently dangerous, though he is in his transformed state?" said Giles in disbelief.

"Well, he's dangerous if you're a vampire," Cole chuckled.

"This is astounding!" said Giles. "When did—"

"Look," said Cole impatiently, "Oz has been driving himself and everyone else insane with worry ever since he saw the news report about Sunnydale and the sudden nonexistence thereof, so you'd better start explaining what's going on."

"Who are you?" said Giles, annoyed.

"Cole, Oz's roommate," he replied. "And while you're explaining, you might add how my girlfriend just became a Slayer."

"Oh. I see. Oz, I'm terribly sorry you had to endure all that needless worry. I should have called yesterday when we first made it to the hotel, but things were still rather hectic, what with caring for all the injured girls, and I forgot. Willow is fine, Oz." Oz almost collapsed with joy and relief. "Buffy, Xander, Dawn, Faith...all fine. Most of them suffered some fairly bad injuries, but they'll be fine. Anya...didn't make it. Nor did Spike. Rather heroic end, that one had, but..." He trailed off, and Oz bowed his head.

"Hang on," Cole interrupted again, "if Buffy and Faith are both fine, then how is Alex a Slayer? Oz said you only get a new one when the current one dies."

"We've got Willow to thank for that," said Giles. Oz stared at the phone, confused. "During the battle yesterday, she succeeded in casting a spell that permanently undid the law of one Slayer per generation, causing every girl in the world who might have been a Slayer to actually become one."

Cole let out a low whistle.

"My thoughts exactly," said Giles.

Nobody like my Willow, thought Oz in awe.

"Was that everything you wanted to know?"

Cole looked inquiringly at Oz, who nodded. "Yeah," he translated.

"Right, well, there are some important matters to address now that's cleared up," said Giles, his tone becoming businesslike.

"Let's hear it," said Cole.

"Well, now that we've made short work of the Sunnydale Hellmouth, I rather thought, and Buffy and the others agree, that we should bring the new Slayers and do the same to the one in Cleveland. Though if at all possible, without destroying the city."

"Yeah, that'd be better," said Cole, alarmed.

"Buffy and I are in Los Angeles at the moment, and we've just dropped off Dawn. She will be staying with a friend, attending school with her and the like—at least until we've closed the Cleveland Hellmouth as well. The others are already heading east in the, er, school bus on which we escaped. They should arrive late tomorrow, or early the day after. Thanks to Angel's suddenly rather abundant funds, we've managed to secure housing arrangements for everyone, so that won't be a problem. Buffy and I are apparently going to arrive by way of Angel's private jet around noon tomorrow. If we could meet you at the airport, that would be excellent."

Again, Oz nodded.

"How will we find you?" asked Cole.

"I believe you would simply have to ask an attendant where the Wolfram and Hart jet is arriving," said Giles.

"Okay. I guess we'll see you tomorrow," said Cole.

"Yes. Er, until then, I suppose," said Giles.

†

After replacing the phone in its cradle, Giles turned to face Wesley once more. "I presume everything is in order, then?" Wesley asked.

"Er, indeed, though I'm fairly baffled as to Oz's situation," said Giles.

"I'd noticed," said Wesley, who had observed that end of the conversation with some amusement. "You must phone and explain that one to me once you're better informed."

"Oh, certainly," said Giles. "Now, I'm not overly familiar with the background of this firm. It is evil, though, yes?"

"Without a doubt," said Wesley. "The frightening thing is that they not only have virtually unlimited resources within their grasp, but they actually have the law on their side. Hopefully we'll prove to be their Trojan Horse. At any rate, their less than honest dealings have lent us another small victory." He handed Giles another file from his desk. Giles opened it to find a picture of Faith.

"New identity?" he guessed. The name by the picture was Hope Torrence, and the file contained everything from a birth certificate and school records to a passport. Beneath these was a convincing report of Faith Lehane's death.

"Angel felt her redemption would be better served fighting evil without having to worry about being a fugitive, especially given her remarkable performance in recent situations," said Wesley.

"I concur," said Giles.

†

"This is your apartment?" Buffy asked doubtfully as Angel showed her around the penthouse. "'Cause it doesn't really have an Angel vibe. It's all…sparse and postmodern-y. Or, what I think postmodern-y looks like, anyway."

"That's sort of the point," said Angel. "I don't want to feel at home here."

"Right. 'Cause of the whole evil law firm thing. I can see how getting comfy would be bad." She stopped her examination of their surroundings and turned around to look at him closely. "Are you sure you know what you're getting into with all this?"

Angel sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not sure about any of it," he said. "It makes my skin crawl just being in this building."

"Then why are you in this building, Angel?" she asked, sitting down next to him and taking his hand in hers.

"Because signing on was the only way I could save someone I love."

Buffy smiled. Somehow, this didn't surprise her at all.

"Wolfram and Hart has a lot of resources. I don't know if it's possible to use them for good, but I'm going to try."

She reached up with her free hand and gently turned his face towards her. "Just don't let them turn you into someone you're not."

He didn't say anything, but he looked so intently into her eyes that it felt like his very soul was pleading for reassurance and strength from hers. It was the same way he used to look at her, back when he still lived in Sunnydale and thought hell was where he belonged, and it affected her deeply to see such clear proof that, despite everything that had happened since, she meant just as much to him now as she had then. She slid her hand around to the back of his neck as his gaze dropped to her lips. Slowly, giving her plenty of time to stop him if she wanted to, he leaned forward and kissed her.

This was no mere hello kiss. Though it began slow and tender, passion quickly ignited between them in such a way as they had not allowed it to in years. Right now, the only things that seemed to matter were that they were alone in his apartment, sitting on his bed, she had just won and survived the biggest battle of her life, and tomorrow they would be on opposite sides of the country. If not for a sharp twinge from her not-quite-healed stab wound, they might not have stopped. As it was, she broke away from him with a hiss of pain, pressing her hand to the exit wound.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a ragged voice.

"Yeah," she said, trying to regain control of her breathing. "It's just my favorite souvenir from the battle acting up a little." Not touching him hurt far more than the injury did, but reality had already firmly intruded with all the reasons she shouldn't be touching him, and she managed to resist the urge to pick up where they left off. Her ability to resist was tenuous, however, and she didn't trust it to hold out if she remained this near to him for much longer, especially when she knew he was just as close to the edge of that cliff as she was. "Was, uh, was that shower offer open-ended, or just a one time deal?" she asked.

†

Cole opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated and frowned. "I guess the whole discussion and analysis of what he just said is out for now, huh?"

Oz gave what almost sounded like a laugh, though it still mostly resembled a growl, and nodded.

"In that case," said Cole, "I'm just going to go pass out until morning." He ran his fingers through his hair, noticing upon doing so the thick trail of dried blood running from his forehead to his chin. Probing gingerly around for the source of the blood, but not managing to find anything that felt too serious, he joined Oz by the sink, feeling slightly sick. The water ran red as the blood washed off Oz's fur and Cole's face. After drying off, Oz leapt down from the counter, and the two of them parted in the hallway that led to their rooms. When Cole reached his, he simply flopped on his bed and let his exhaustion carry him off to sleep. There would be time later to think about everything that had happened.

Oz, on the other hand, merely sat on his own bed and stared out the window. Willow was alive and would be coming to Cleveland. This knowledge had unleashed a wild storm within him, and there was no way he would be sleeping any time soon. He doubted he'd ever felt such an array of contrasting emotions.

Irrepressible longing. To see her, to smell her, to hear her voice, to wrap her in his arms again... No, he told himself sternly. Not that last one.

Anger. At himself. He had removed himself from her life. He had no right to even consider the possibility that he still belonged in it, even if she was coming to Cleveland.

Fear. The last time he saw her, he had completely lost control. What if it happened again? It had taken him two and a half years to get to where he was now. He didn't think he could handle going to pieces again.

Joy. His or not, Willow was alive.

Pride. She had come so far from her pencil-floating days. More importantly, it seemed she had completely recovered since the year before. The idea of Willow—beautiful, kind, caring Willow—overcome by such darkness, rage, and pain, had been almost impossible to bear. The need to comfort her had been difficult to repress, and doing so had unleashed the wolf... But now, she was clearly back in control. Oz knew better than most how terrifying it could be to lose that, and he was happier than he could express in words—even if he had been able to use them—that Willow was no longer struggling. That she had found stability in her power, as he had.

Anxiety. He was going to see her within the next thirty-six hours. He didn't even know how to begin to deal with that. How was he supposed to act around her? How would she react to seeing him? Would she be happy to learn about what he had accomplished, assuming it wasn't undone in her presence? Of course she would. She was Willow! Of course she would care. But no. He couldn't think about that. Thoughts like that would only lead to

Hope.

†

When Buffy emerged from the bathroom, having just taken what was probably the best and most relaxing shower of her life, she found that Angel was already asleep. For a second, she glanced towards the couch in the living room area, but then decided against it. After tonight, she probably wouldn't see Angel for a very long time, and Cleveland was a lot farther away from Los Angeles than Sunnydale had been. Why waste the last few hours she had with him now? The urgent passion from before had cooled, so there was no longer any immediate danger. She could handle this. As unobtrusively as she could, she slipped under the covers and snuggled up to him. Sleep had begun to claim her when she felt his arm slide around her middle and pull her closer.

†

"Hey, Cole," said Oz. Cole stirred, looking groggily over at his roommate, who was peering in at him from the doorway.

"Nngh," was all he managed.

Oz chuckled. He never thought he would meet someone who was less of a morning person than himself.

Cole rubbed his eyes and fumbled for his alarm clock. Oz watched, amused, as he squinted for a full ten seconds at the numbers and hands before his brain registered that it was ten o'clock. "Okay," he said, "I'm up."

"Good. I figured we should get Alex before we pick up Buffy and Giles. So I can give her the, uh, 'director's cut' version." He was glad he had managed to fall asleep. Granted, it had only happened somewhere around four in the morning, but five or so hours of sleep would sustain him far better than none through what would likely prove a very strange day.

"I'll get ready," said Cole thickly.

"I'll call Alex," said Oz as he left the room.

When Alex's mother picked up the phone, Oz automatically delivered the only Italian he had ever learned (which he had learned in the first place for this exact purpose), "Pronto, Signora Romano! Posso parlare a Alexandria?"

"Un momento," she said, then shouted away from the phone, "Alexandria! Qualcuno è sul telefono per voi!" After a few seconds, Oz heard the successive thuds of Alex descending the stairs.

"Grazie," said her voice. Then, "Hello?"

"Hey, Alex," he said.

"Oz!" she said. "What's up?"

"Kind of a lot," he said, "You wanna come over?"

"Yeah," she said. "When?"

"Cole's still getting ready, but how about right after that?"

"Sounds good."

"And, uh. We'll be going to the airport around noon to pick up some old friends of mine."

"So they're alive?" she asked, "Oz, that's great!"

"Yeah," he said, his voice suddenly weak as the relief washed over him yet again. "So, see you in a few minutes?"

"Great. Ciao!"

"Bye." Oz could still hear the water going in the bathroom. Running his fingers through his spiky, currently strawberry blond hair, he walked to the kitchen and opened the tiny pantry. The only thing in there that hadn't expired and required no effort to prepare was a box of slightly stale blueberry Pop-Tarts. He pulled out a packet and removed the wrapper, just as Cole re-emerged, looking considerably more alert.

"Here," said Oz, tossing Cole one of the Pop-Tarts. They ate them as Oz grabbed the keys and they left the apartment.

†

Buffy opened her eyes slowly. She was bathed in warm, comfortable sunlight and felt more rested than she had in months.

"Good morning," said Angel's voice softly. Buffy rolled over to smile at him, but then her eyes went wide, and she leapt up.

"Angel, quick, get out of the sun!" she cried frantically, attempting to pull the covers up and over him, but he merely laughed and held her at bay.

"Buffy, calm down. They did something to the windows. I'm not going to be bursting into flames any time soon," he reassured her.

"Oh," she said. She stared intently at him, awed at the novel sight of Angel in sunlight. She wanted very much to kiss him, but a sudden knock at the door interrupted that thought, and they both scrambled out of bed and into the living room.

"Come in," said Angel, so annoyed that it came out as more of a growl.

The door opened and Fred walked through, dressed in a white lab coat and looking slightly embarrassed.

"Morning, Angel," she said, before turning to Buffy with a smile. "And you must be Buffy." They shook hands. "I'm Fred."

"Nice to meet you," said Buffy, immediately taking a liking to her despite her awful timing.

"The jet's ready, whenever you are," said Fred.

"Thanks," said Angel.

Fred looked from him to Buffy and back again. "So, I'll, um, just let you two say goodbye," she said awkwardly before making a hasty retreat.

"She seems nice," said Buffy.

"She is," said Angel fondly. "And she's come a long way from the crazy girl we rescued from Pylea two years ago."

"Sounds like there's an interesting adventure in there," she said, intrigued.

"If we ever get time, we can swap stories."

"I'll hold you to that," said Buffy with a mischievous smile. It faded quickly, however, and she looked down at the floor, twisting her hands together. "But I don't think it'll happen for a while." Angel moved closer and gently hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up until she met his eyes. "Why does it always feel like we're saying goodbye?" she asked.

He chuckled. "I don't think either of us has ever gotten around to actually saying it."

"Let's keep it that way."

†

Buffy followed Giles resignedly onto the small jet. She was too preoccupied even to realize that this would be her first time flying. She was leaving behind the two of the people who meant more to her than she could describe in words, heading to a place she had never been and the untold evil there. Angel and Dawn. Her fists clenched, and she resolved that moment that whatever Cleveland threw at her, she wouldn't let it stop her from seeing them again. As they took their seats and buckled in, Giles glanced over at her. His eyes crinkled with affection as he saw the expression of sheer determination etched on her face. What an incredible woman his charge had become. He doubted whether any father could have felt prouder.

†

Unanimous vote had decreed that instead of returning to the apartment, Oz, Cole, and Alex would simply wait in the parking garage of the airport until it was time to find Buffy and Giles. They passed the time as Oz recounted to Alex what he had already told Cole.

"Okay. So all these people are coming here now—except Buffy's sister?" said Alex.

"Pretty much," said Oz.

"And the same thing that was in Sunnydale is here in Cleveland?"

"Our very own Hellmouth," he confirmed grimly.

"What fun," said Cole.

"Time to go," said Oz, looking at the radio clock. They all got out of the van.

†

Buffy gratefully descended the short flight of steps leading down from the plane, relieved to feel her queasiness ebbing as her feet touched solid ground. She had decided that she didn't much like flying, no matter how fascinating it had been to watch the snowy ridges of the Rocky Mountains, tiny spiderwebbing networks of streets that made up the large cities, or the patchwork of fields crisscrossing the central states passing underneath.

Giles followed close behind, thoroughly unaffected by the flight. It had, after all, been nothing compared to his all too frequent transatlantic ones. He was also unsurprised to see the who was waiting yards away from the foot of the steps to greet them. Buffy looked over at the four people standing there. One was a burly, severe looking airport security man who warily regarded the other three. Closest to him was a girl with a rather pointed lime green-on-black color scheme that even spoke for her hair. She twirled a wooden drumstick in one hand and leaned casually with her elbow propped on the shoulder of the tall, lean, dark-haired young man next to her. Standing next to them—only, half a head lower—was...

"Oz?" she said, sure her eyes were playing an incredibly random trick on her.

"Hey, Buffy. Giles," he replied, slightly amused at Buffy's unflatteringly astonished expression. "Been a while." At that point, the guard rolled his eyes and, deciding this group wasn't worth missing his lunch break for, wordlessly left them to their little reunion.

"Oz," said Giles, calmly inclining his head.

Buffy rounded on him. "How come you don't seem to be mind-blown by this?" she asked suspiciously.

Giles removed his glasses and began to clean them slowly, while Oz's amusement and Buffy's irritation grew. His glasses securely back on, Giles was out of stalling time. He cleared his throat. "Oz, er," he began awkwardly, "has been my contact regarding paranormal activity around this area for nearly three years now. It seems to have been rather lighter than in Sunnydale."

"You've known where Oz was for that long, and you didn't tell us...why?"

Giles looked imploringly at Oz, who came to the rescue.

"I told him not to," he said.

"How come?" Buffy asked, not sure whether she found that wise or ridiculous.

"I didn't want you guys worrying about me," he said, shrugging. He wasn't going to tell her or anyone else the rest of the reason.

"You could have been dead, for all we knew, and you thought not telling us that you were at least okay was a good plan?" she said. Oz didn't have a reply to that. He knew how it felt not knowing. Finally, he opened his mouth again.

"Maybe it was stupid," he said, "but I can't do anything about it now. I'm sorry."

Buffy sighed. She had long since gotten over her resentment at his departure, and didn't want him to take this the wrong way. "It's good to see you again, Oz. More than just to know you're still alive. Now, are you going to introduce your friends?" She smiled at the two standing next to him, both of whom had watched the conversation with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry. Buffy, Giles," said Oz, "meet Cole and Alex."

"Are you guys in Oz's band?" asked Buffy, noticing Alex's drumsticks again.

"No," said Alex, "he's in our band."

"Illogical Stop Sign," said Cole.

"Always the unusual names," said Buffy.

Oz smirked.

"We've got a gig on Friday, if you want to come," said Alex.

"Could be fun," said Buffy. No reason for this to be a business only stay. She imagined everyone else would be itching to get out as well, especially after the long bus ride.

"Forgive me for breaking up this lovely chat," said Giles, "but I believe that airport man over there is glaring at us." The other four looked around and saw that he was quite right, so they all hastily made their way to the luggage cart and departed for the parking garage with the bulging bags. Once in the van, Giles gave Oz instructions and Alex turned eagerly to Buffy.

"So, you're a Slayer too—I mean, like the Slayer?" she asked.

"Whoa, wait, you're one?" said Buffy. The mass Slayer activation spell might have been her idea, but its effects continued to amaze her.

"Yeah," said Alex, grinning. She rapped the right door with her knuckles. "I accidentally tore this thing off the van two days ago."

"It looks fine...," said Buffy, puzzled.

"That's because I spent most of yesterday fixing it back on," said Cole.

"Ah," said Buffy. "So, done any slaying yet?"

"Last night," said Alex.

"Got jumped by four vamps," said Oz from the driver's seat.

"That sounds a little excessive," said Giles, frowning.

"No kidding," said Cole.

"And you staked all of them?" asked Buffy, impressed. "Only a day after you got called?"

"Well, I had help," said Alex, "Cole helped me get the first one, I got the second, and then Cole stopped the last from killing me by staking him. Oz got one, too." Alex tipped her head and pointed at the faint traces left from where the vampire had bit her. "Battle scars." Buffy winced.

"Close one, huh?" she asked.

"Very," said Alex, shuddering. Cole put his arm around her and she relaxed. "Definitely not a boring evening."

"I'll bet," said Buffy.

†

"This the place?" asked Oz as he drove slowly up to a large, friendly looking, red-bricked, four-story building about half a mile away from his and Cole's apartment complex. The three already living in Cleveland were sure it had been in disrepair the last time they had passed it.

"That's the address in the information Wesley gave me," Giles confirmed. Oz pulled into the empty lot and parked.

"So this is gonna be Slayer headquarters," said Buffy, looking up at the building with a mixture of curiosity and satisfaction. "Let's check it out."

"Why's it called 'Summers' Academy for Girls'?" asked Cole, looking at the golden letters over the entrance in puzzlement as they all got out of the van.

"We needed to have a good excuse for boarding teenage girls from all over the world," said Giles. "This sort of thing seemed the best option. Not to mention that most of these girls will still be in high school, and should finish it, if at all possible."

"Okay, but why call it that?" Cole pressed.

"It's my last name," said Buffy. Weird sense of humor, Angel, she added mentally.

"So does that make you like the headmistress of this place?" asked Alex, snickering.

"I prefer 'general'. 'Headmistress' makes me seem like a stuffy old lady," said Buffy, wrinkling her nose at the idea.

"Whereas 'general' makes you seem like an irritable, short-tempered old man," said Cole.

"I can see why you'd prefer that one," said Oz.

"Yeah," said Alex. "Why go with Miss Minchin when you could be Patton?"

Buffy gave them an annoyed look while Giles, rolling his eyes, swiped one of the key cards in the slot by the door and led the way inside.

"Whoa," said Cole. That about summed it up. They all looked around the vast space. The whole ground floor was one open room, with four thick pillars supporting the ceiling. Large windows alternated with bookshelves along the walls, and the bookshelves were filled with everything a high school student could possibly need for a first-class education. Comfortable sofas and chairs were arranged here and there, as well as two neat rows of cubicle-like desks, four of which held brand new computers. In the far right corner were a few lab tables next to cupboards full of chemicals and lab equipment. In the middle of the room was a vast spiral staircase, which lead to the upper floors as well as the basement.

The basement, which was also one open room, drew squeals of delight from Buffy and Alex. Giles, Oz, and Cole refrained from squealing, but were about as awed by the sight as the girls.

"When Wesley said they were having this place fitted out for our needs, he wasn't kidding," said Giles weakly. Weapons of every kind hung from the walls, and the floor was covered in a thick mat which sank an inch and a half when stepped on.

"I don't think 'it's perfect' quite covers it," said Buffy dreamily. She couldn't have imagined a better training room than this for as many Slayers as would be using it.

"It really doesn't," said Alex.

They then proceeded up the stairs to the second floor. This one was multi-purposed. It contained a kitchen which seemed to be stocked well enough to get fifty people comfortably through a year-long siege, a dining area complete with balcony, and a huge game room, featuring things like Dance-Dance-Revolution, an air hockey table, and most noticeably, a TV of freakish dimensions, which was hooked up to several videogame consoles.

"You sure the place that funded all of this is evil?" Alex asked Buffy.

"Definitely," replied the other Slayer without hesitation, "but the new boss isn't." Alex noticed her tone and suspected there was rather more to it than that.

"Next floor?" Oz suggested. They proceeded up the stairs again, Cole reluctantly leaving the Gamecube and X-Box untouched. Both of the upper floors contained twelve spacious two-man rooms, each one fully furnished and complete with its own bathroom.

Having finished the tour, they all returned to the second floor. Buffy and Giles headed for the kitchen where the former nuked a frozen pizza in the microwave for everyone and the latter made tea. Oz, Cole, and Alex wasted no time figuring out the TV so they could play video games. Buffy and Giles sat down with their respective refreshments to watch.

Alex sighed, helping herself to a slice of pizza. "I love this place," she said happily, then added in a regretful tone to Buffy, "but my mom won't let me live here."

"Why not?" Buffy asked, frowning.

"Because she's a crazy Italian lady who won't let me move out until I'm married, and won't let me get married until I'm twenty." At this, Cole made a face. Noticing this, Buffy raised her eyebrows.

"What, are you two getting married?" she asked. They hadn't seemed particularly romantic to her, with the exception of that one time Cole had put his arm around Alex in the van. Without pausing in the game, they both nodded.

"They've been going out for longer than I've lived here," said Oz, "It took me two months to figure out that they were a couple."

"I don't understand the lure of these games," said Giles, frowning at the screen.

"Don't try," advised Buffy around a bite of pizza. "There's a whole generation gap rule. I'd probably like them if my life didn't make them seem dull by comparison."

"Oooh, Halo!" said Cole, as he scanned the other games on the shelf.

"You don't get to switch games just because I'm winning," Alex protested. Cole then looked at his watch and yelped. The other four turned to stare quizzically at him. "Practice!" he said urgently to Alex and Oz. It was four-thirty. They were supposed to have been practicing the new song with Lorin for the past half hour.

"Right," said Oz, "uh, we have to go." The three of them got up reluctantly and turned off the game. Giles hid his relieved smile at the end of the obnoxious noise behind his teacup.

"No problem," said Buffy, "We'll just get settled in and stuff. And I need to call Dawn. Oh, and all the luggage is still in the van." She and Giles got up as well to help retrieve it.

†

"Where've you lot been?" asked Lorin as the rest of the band hastily took up their instruments.

"Had an errand. Kinda got carried away," Oz explained. Lorin seemed satisfied by this, but looked at them expectantly.

"Oh!" said Cole, remembering, "How'd it go with Sam?"

An enormous grin promptly split Lorin's face from ear to ear.

"Looks to me like she said yes," said Alex.

"That she did!" Lorin confirmed happily. As he looked at Alex, the grin melted off his face. He stared at her with an almost fearful expression for a few seconds before abruptly turning away again. "Let's practice, then," he said as if nothing had happened. Cole exchanged a mystified glance with Alex behind Lorin's back, but they overlooked it and began to play.

†

Buffy's conversation with Dawn had lasted nearly two hours, during which Giles noticed that she neglected to mention more about their fantastic new headquarters than that it was a place they could stay for free. Then Giles spoke to her for a few minutes, glad to hear that she was thus far having a great time with Isabelle, before hanging up.

"Giles," said Buffy, frowning, "Willow, Xander, Faith, and everyone are going to get here in a few hours, right? Maybe sooner?"

"They should, yes."

"So how are we supposed to contact them? I don't feel much like waiting by the 'Welcome to Cleveland!' sign on the highway until they come along."

"No, I suppose not," Giles agreed. His brow creased as he tried to think how to solve such a dilemma, feeling foolish for not having realized it beforehand and preparing. "Oh!" he exclaimed after a moment, smiling. A perfectly simple solution had occurred to him.

"What?"

"We do a tracking spell," he said. "A power-tracking spell, to be more precise. With that many Slayers and Willow all together on one bus, such a spell would likely burn a hole in the map we cast it on, indicating very clearly where they are."

"Well, that works," said Buffy, relieved.

"And the ingredients for such a spell should all be in the kitchen cupboard."

†

Twenty minutes later, they had everything set up for the spell. A large road map of the Midwest was stretched over the dining table, and Giles held a bowl full of herbs while Buffy stood across the table from him.

"Why is it called the Midwest?" Buffy asked in confusion, "It seems pretty East to me."

"Because, at one point, it was the western boundary of the United States, and the name stuck even when Manifest Destiny was realized and the area was left more or less in the eastern half of the country. Now, are we going to finish the spell, or shall I continue giving you a geography lesson?" said Giles with raised eyebrows.

"Spell away," said Buffy meekly.

"Potestas revelio," Giles intoned, throwing the contents of the bowl across the map. He and Buffy watched eagerly. After a few seconds, a tiny, faint dot of white light appeared on the highway about fifty miles outside Cleveland. The light grew steadily brighter until it burst into dancing, blue-white flame.

"That's them," said Buffy. Suddenly, the lights in the room began to flicker as something else glowed on the map. Blotchy reddish black sparked ominously across it, reducing the entirety of Cleveland and much of Lake Erie to ash, singing the table beneath. The lights returned to normal and Buffy and Giles exchanged a worried glance.

"The Hellmouth," they said together. Buffy's growing desire to go back for Dawn and bring her to Cleveland vanished completely. There was absolutely no way she would expose her sister to this, no matter how awesome the new headquarters were.

Giles paced back and forth in front of the couch where Buffy sat allowing his words to wash over her while he thought aloud. "I suspect that the Sunnydale Hellmouth was the one preferred. From what Oz has told me about this city, things have been comparatively quiet here, paranormally speaking. In general, he only ran across maybe one vampire or demon a week, if that. The transfer of evil's focus to this Hellmouth must have been instantaneous after the destruction of Sunnydale. Oz and his friends proved that last night with their run-in against four vampires. Quite the notch up from his usual encounters. And, judging from the burn marks on the table, evil wasted no time setting up shop here. I'm afraid we've a lot of work to do."

Buffy stood, needing to do something. "Let's go meet the others," she said.

"What'd we miss?" came Cole's voice from the stairs. He, Alex, and a large wolf came into view, all of them out of breath.

"What'd we miss?" said Alex incredulously. "More like what did they miss!"

"Three more vampires," Cole informed Giles and Buffy, who quickly approached them.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked. Cole had a dark bruise along his jaw and Alex had a cut over her left eyebrow. The wolf's muzzle was stained with blood.

"We're fine," said Alex. "Killed the vamps. The last one broke my drumstick." She held up the two splintered halves of the thing.

"Oz ripped the head off the one trying to bite me," said Cole, rubbing his neck and looking both impressed and sickened at the memory. The wolf quickly ran past Buffy and Giles, heading for the sink.

"Uh...," said Buffy as she stared after him, "Is that...?"

"Oz," finished Giles. Alex and Cole nodded. "He truly has mastered the wolf, then."

"And he's—well, pretty now," said Buffy, remembering the horrible thing he used to turn into. At this, Oz looked up from the sink and gave her an amused quadrupedal bow.

"Yes, well, we should be off," said Giles.

"Right," said Buffy, turning back to Alex and Cole. "Did you guys come in the van?"

"Yeah," said Cole.

"Good. Time to catch a bus."

Gunn and Lorne cameo. I love those guys, and even if they weren't especially useful in the scene, it was fun including them. The Buffy/Angel scenes. These are actually the new and improved Buffy/Angel scenes, which I adore. The old version of them made me gag and left me with the false belief that I hated fluff. As it happens, well-written fluff that has substance can actually be quite nice.