Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy!

Xander groaned as he regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes he was blinded by the light. After who knows how long in a dank cellar, the sun seemed unusually bright.

"Morning," Kestrel greeted him. Xander shook his head to try and clear out some of the fuzziness. He took a deep breath, choking slightly when he could almost taste the salt in the air. Listening hard he could hear birds singing in the distance and waves pounding against the rocks. If he tried, he could almost pretend it was another morning with his family. He reached out for the familiar shape next to him. His eyes bolted open when the felt nothing but empty space.

"Where is she!" he demanded before he fell to the side with too much stimulus at once.

"She's fine," Kestrel said. "She's over there." Xander opened his eyes and followed to where the detective pointed. Buffy was still asleep, bundled up in the blankets just like she was supposed to be. Xander tried to crawl over to her, but the chains he wore now were too short. There was no way he could reach her.

"If you hurt her…" Xander let his threat go unfinished.

"I need to hurt her," Kestrel told him, "that's the only way for the Slayer to emerge. But I hope I don't kill her."

"I'm gonna kill you," Xander promised.

"I don't think so," Kestrel said as he turned back to what he was working on. Xander finally managed to look around their new cell. It looked like some sort of machine shop, only everything was gone.

"Where are we?"

"We are in one of the engineering bays of the USS Stockton," Kestrel said happily, "a few miles of the coast of California."

"We're on a ship?" Xander questioned.

"Not just any ship," Kestrel said. "This ship is about to become home to millions of sea creatures and plants."

"We're on a sinking ship?" Xander yelped.

"Not at all, the ship is perfectly fine," Kestrel answered. "At least until the explosives go off and the ship is scuttled. But we still have plenty of time before that. See." He pointed to a monitor on the workbench. It showed a countdown clock with just under 4 hours to go.

"Four hours is not plenty of time," Xander said angrily as he started pulling on his chains. He made so much racket he woke up Buffy. She started panicking until she saw him. She tried to crawl toward him, but like his own, her chains were too short. "It's okay Buff. I'll get us out of this."

"Oh, that task will fall solely on her," Kestrel said, turning to look at her. "The Slayer needs to awaken and I don't think she'll do that for herself. But maybe she'll do that for you."

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked. "Where exactly are we?"

"The US Navy is donating this old destroyer to become an artificial reef. They already have the charges set at key points throughout the ship. When the button is pushed, she'll sink quickly and safely. I can't wait to see it."

"They'll check to make sure no one is on board," Xander protested. Kestrel grinned.

"They already have. And even if they come, they won't see you. They won't hear you. You are completely on your own. You only have one option. You need to escape."

"You're crazy!" Xander shouted. Kestrel paused and tilted his head.

"Possibly," he admitted, "hell, probably at this point. But that doesn't really help you, does it."

"You're never going to let us go." Kestrel laughed.

"Actually, your escape is so simple even my grandmother, who is dead, could manage it. The only caveat is," he pointed to Buffy, "she has to do it."

"What?" Xander asked, looking to Buffy. She looked back solemnly.

"She has to be the one to escape," Kestrel said again. "At least initially. I'm not deluded enough to think that her Slayer powers will come back instantly. I'll give her time to get back to Slayer fighting form, but she has to make these first steps."

"How does she do that?" Xander asked wearily.

"Simple," Kestrel said, unlocking Xander's chains. Xander started to fight back, but a whimper from Buffy stopped him in his tracks. One of the minions stood over her, a knife held against her neck. "Follow me. Now. Please."

"Fine," Xander nodded, getting to his feet. Kestrel led him through the maze that was the ships innards until he stopped in front of a door. Kestrel opened it enough for Xander to see the outside world in all its glory before closing it again.

"This is the exit you need to get to," he told him. "I've kept it unlocked for you, though I don't know if there will be any warping when the ship is scuttled so you might want to be through it before then." He then led them down a corridor into a small dining room. "This is the Officer's Mess. That door," he pointed across the room, "leads to the kitchens. This door, leads to safety. I've even had the boys clearly mark the right way so even you can't get lost." Xander looked behind him. The door had yellow smiley faces painted everywhere. There were even smiley faces down the corridor. The door to the kitchen had a big red X on it.

"It can't be this simple," Xander said as the door opened again. The minion was carrying Buffy. She started squirming as soon as she saw him but the minion's grip never wavered. Xander tried to go to her, but found himself being pulled in the other direction. He tried to fight but was helpless as he was once again chained. This time the chains had just enough slack to let him sit on the floor. "I love what you've done with the place," he said, eying the O Ring that was recently welded into the wall. He gave an experimental shove, but it held firm.

"Your key is right here," he said, putting the key on the ground just out of reach. "All Buffy has to do is get you the key and you can save both of you. There's even an inflatable dingy tied up right outside the door so you don't have to swim back to shore. Simple."

"Too simple," Xander eyed the detective warily. "What's the catch?"

"She has to stand on her own two feet to do it," he said, walking to the far side of the room. Two hooks had been welded into the wall less than halfway up. "This is where she will be. She won't be chained like you, but she will be secured to this." He pulled a piece of wood from behind him. He grabbed the two ends, opening his arms wide as if he were on a cross then settled the wood into the hooks. "It's a bit short for me, but it should be perfect for her. All she has to do is stand up," he did and the wood slid out of the hooks, "and get you the key." Xander stared at him blankly.

"She is paralyzed!" he spat. "How can you expect her to stand up and walk over to the key?"

"I don't expect her to," he said honestly, handing the piece of wood over to his minion. He quickly tied her hands tightly. "I expect the Slayer to. And I hope your enough incentive for her to come out."

"You are crazy," Xander declared. "You are essentially leaving us here to die. Don't you care about saving lives anymore Detective?"

"I killed my partner," he snapped abruptly. "Do you think your lives mean more to me than his? You have a way out. I hope to see you again." He motioned to the minion who once again held Buffy securely in his arms. "Oh, and just so she doesn't cheat and use her upper body instead of her lower body." He pulled two railroad spikes from his pocket as the minion positioned her. Xander's yells got lost in Buffy's screams as he nailed her to the plank. The minion propped her up on the hooks and left. Kestrel followed but stopped at the door. "You've got three and a half hours. Good luck."

"When did her water break?" Emily asked as Ben guided her into the room.

"A few hours ago," he told her.

"Who's this?" Angel growled.

"A friend," Ben answered. Joyce followed them and shot a glare at Angel. He backed down after just one look. Emily paid no attention to the tension in the room.

"A snack?" Darla asked hopefully before another contraction hit her and she screamed.

"Do something," Angel insisted. Ben ignored her, instead guiding Emily's hands to Darla's uncovered, twitching belly.

"How far is she dilated?" she asked, exploring the pregnant stomach with her hands.

"She's not," Ben answered.

"She's not?" Emily asked, feeling Darla's stomach ripple as another contraction hit. "What's going on here?"

"Darla is a vampire," Ben told her sincerely.

"Oh," Emily said simply. "Kinda like that werewolf couple you set me up with a few years ago?"

"Kind of," Ben admitted, "only Darla will kill you if you give her half a chance." Emily glanced up.

"You sure know how to show a girl a good time here in Sunnydale," she grinned at him. He smiled back.

"Don't worry. She promised to be on her best behavior. And we have several people here who will keep her on her best behavior if she forgets." He refocused on the vampire. "So what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do," Emily told him. "Cesarean."

"I thought you'd say that," he said, pulling the towel off his surgical tools. "I've never done one before, though."

"I'll walk you through it," she said. "Anesthesia?"

"Doesn't work on them," Ben said regretfully.

"Doesn't matter doc," Darla spoke up. "You can cut me up all you want as long as you get this thing out of me."

"Whatever you say," she said. "Start with a light incision from here to here." She traced the path with her finger, pulling back when she heard Ben approach. He began to cut.

"Whoa," Sam spoke up from the back corner of the room. All her monitors were suddenly showing flames.

"What is it?" Angel snarled, his vampire face coming out automatically.

"Looks like some witchcraft from Dark Willow," Sam said, checking her monitors. "Nothing we didn't plan for." Angel snarled.

"I should be out there."

"You are about to become a father," Giles said, putting his hand on the vampire's shoulder. "You are exactly where you need to be." Angel nodded and refocused on the surgery that would bring his son into the world.

Spike waited for his life to flash before his eyes as the world was engulfed in flames. And waited. And waited. When the heat started to diminish he thought it would be safe to open his eyes again. "What the hell," Buffy mumbled as around her most of the commando's stood tall. Most of the demons were a charred pile of ash, but a few were spared the fiery death.

"We have sunscreen too," Spike said, holding up the amulet Tara had enchanted for them.

"Damn," she cursed as the commando's formed ranks, the demons interspersed to assist in any way they could. The fight began anew, but this time they could tell she wasn't playing. Her fists swung hard and fast, leaving her opponents face down in the dirt after each hit. Her claws and fangs were doing just as much damage. They still had numbers on their side, though they were slowly dwindling. Finally, it seemed like the vampire had the upper hand. "What could you possibly hope to gain from that little show?" she asked Riley as she stood over him. He grinned.

"We were only supposed to slow you down," he told her happily. She snarled, her claws breaking through the armor he wore to get to the soft flesh beneath. He screamed as she tore through his flesh.

"To keep you from Willow," Spike said, standing in front of the vampire and her victim. She stilled immediately. He was bruised and bloody but right now he had all the power. "Do you think any of this is about you? We're vampires. The bloody bilge rats of the demonic hordes. Do you think she would let you help with something as important as killin' babies?"

"How did you…" she trailed off as she tossed Riley aside like garbage. She shook her head. "She doesn't need help killing kids."

"No," Spike agreed, "but she might need help getting past that fiercely protective family that is keeping the kids safe." He gestured to the battlefield around them. "You might have noticed we outsourced for this battle. Where do you think our heavy hitters are? The ones who every demon in this dimension fears?" Just then a bright light appeared in the direction of the compound.

"No!" she screamed and ran that way. Spike ran to meet her, tackling her to the ground. "Let me go," she insisted, pushing him away but more interested in running to Willow than defeating her foes.

"Gladly," he told her, "I just need one thing first." The remaining demons and commandos jumped in to help and together they managed to get her hand by itself. "The ring." He grabbed the ring but just like before it wouldn't budge from her finger. "The hard way then," he grumbled, pulling a knife from his back waistband and gruesomely cut off her finger before dashing away.

"No!" she screamed, focused on the fight once again. The remaining demons and commandos scattered before they were struck down. The vampire even managed to kill a dozen or so who were too slow. Finally she ran out of enemies to kill. She stopped for a moment, debating between running after those who were running away or running toward her lover. She dashed toward the compound.

"Fire at will," she heard when she crested the nearest hill between her and her lover. She had just enough time to see another squadron of commandos entrenched between her and the compound before hell opened around her. She snarled, ignoring the pain of bullets flying through her and started smashing her way through their ranks. She was bruised, bloody, and leaving a trail of bodies behind her when she finally made it through. Again she debated between killing the survivors or rushing to her lover. Again she ran to Willow. She had just cleared the forest when someone else stepped into her path.

"You didn't think I'd miss this," Faith smirked, "Did you?"

Willow didn't wait to see what Anya had in store for her. She threw up a shield charm so powerful she was sure they could see it in the town. It worked. She felt something magical brush up against her shields before she magically pushed the two women into the back corners of the room. She then walked up confidently to the two cribs. "I'll make this quick. I promise." She then summoned enough force to break the babies' fragile necks. She knew something was wrong when she brought that force down.

"You didn't think we'd make it that easy, did you?" Anya asked, getting back to her feet. Willow snarled, still maintaining the force with one hand. With the other, she flung back the sheets covering the sleeping infants.

"What the…" she trailed off in shock. In the cribs were babies should be were the fully grown yet magically shrunk forms of the chaos mage who turned her down and the blonde boy she didn't even know the name off.

"I think that's enough," Ethan said, ending whatever spell shrunk the two men. Willow watched in fascination as they grew before her eyes. "Kids grow up so fast, don't they?" Ethan smirked as he jumped out of the crib.

"I'm seriously rethinking the benefits of these bars," Andrew said. He tried to jump out like Ethan did but got caught in the rails. "I mean, I didn't like looking out of them, but I don't know how the twins manage to get out so easily. It's like they have no purpose whatsoever."

"Andrew!" the girls shrieked at him as he tried to get out of the crib. Anya came and took pity on him.

"You think you can stop me?" Willow asked. "Where are they?"

"With family," Tara said, "and we know we can stop you."

"They always say that," Willow said confidently, letting her spell drop. "Between a vampire and a witch they always go for the witch. And they always lose."

"We're not just anybody," Tara said confidently as Anya finally got Andrew out of the crib. "We're family. And we'll stop you if only to keep Willow from becoming you."

"You'll never find her," she said confidently as she summoned a fireball and threw it at them. Ethan waved it away and it crashed through the window into the yard below.

"We will once you're dead," he told her, conjuring daggers out of thin air to attack her. She countered. With a flick of her hand the changing table rushed to her defense, the daggers sticking out of the back of it. She retaliated with lightning, which Anya deflected into the walls and back to the dark witch. This went on for a few minutes with neither group gaining any ground.

"I must admit," Willow said begrudgingly, "you guys are good. I haven't had a fight like this in a while. At least three of you are worthy to fight me. By why did you bring the blonde bombshell?" They all turned to look at Andrew.

"I have stage fright," he defended. "Besides, sometimes it takes a while for them to come."

"Them?" Willow asked. "The pathetic demons you summon that I can swat down like bugs? That is your great defense?"

"Oh no," Andrew said sincerely. "I would never summon my friends to their deaths. I have more respect for them than that. I'm talking about these."

"What?" Willow demanded, looking across the room.

"Shadows," Andrew said smugly. Suddenly every shadow in the house seamed to detach themselves from the walls and converge on the witch.