***

Buffy as the first to wake up. Sonja was not far behind, sitting bolt upright on the couch as if a current was passing through her body. The others backed away from them both to give them room, but Sonja noticed that a dark haired teen was trying to protect the girls with an axe that looked like it had seen some expert use at his hands. This must be Xander. She thought. Buffy climbed to her feet unsteadily and tried to still the ringing gong in her head.

"Is it Sunday already, or is this ringing in my head?" She asked.

"The ringing is a byproduct of serious astral combat." Answered Sonja, "Be thankful you're still around to hear those bells. It means your brain isn't tapioca pudding right now."

"I sometimes long for the time when surviving astral combat wasn't the high point of my day." Buffy said wistfully.

The vampire climbed off the coach and took her first look at the group of undergrads that stood between the gates of hell and the world. A British gentleman stepped forward and stuck out his hand.

"Rupert Giles; Ms. Blue."

"Call me Sonja please, Ms. Blue is too formal for people I already know."

"I'm sorry I haven't had the privilege."

"She has, Giles," Buffy supplied "When we were in there, we learned a lot about each other. I guess the powers wanted us to play nice for this outing."

Sonja saw the red head she had seen inside The Dreaming earlier. "You were very brave Ms…"

"Call me Willow and Thank You."

"Never mind that, Will what were you thinking? That was dangerous." Buffy lectured.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle."

"I don't want to belittle your accomplishment." Sonja said hesitantly " …but you're very lucky. "If Buffy's imago of The First Slayer hadn't been fighting the …My Dark Half, you would have been toast." Still that's very impressive for a first timer."

"I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to go from beware the Blue Woman, to lets all play nice, in less then a heartbeat." Xander asked sarcastically.

"Honestly? I have my doubts about this arrangement, but I am willing to forgo my normal MO if it will get me a crack at Antonio." Sonja muttered.

"Who is this guy? And what's he to you anyway?" Buffy asked seriously.

"Antonio or Anton the Defiler is a mage now and was a dealer in restricted and illegal information centuries ago. He does mercenary work, information brokerage spying anything that gives him any kind of an advantage. He trades for anything that gives him money or influence or powers anything and everything he can find out about you, your friends, and your enemies. He brokers the secrets and trades it for more wealth, power."

I know I'm going to regret asking but how come this dude has been running around for centuries." Xander asked wearily

He has had access to the Vatican library including the restricted texts. And trust me there is more in their hands then just The Gospel According To Mary Magdalene or the truth about which biblical and religious figures were really Pretenders in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Giles gaped "The Restricted texts, heavens, then he has read….

Sonja interrupted "read, reread, copied and then sold copies of enough forbidden knowledge to start apocalypses that would impress even jaded folk like you."

"What's he doing here?" Buffy asked

"Sunnydale and the Hellmouth are of particular interest to any number of overlords and demons. Recently, the word has been that some thing big hit town and Anton wants a piece of the action. "

"Come again." Buff asked quizzically

"Antonio is going to use the blade on the Hellmouth, soon I should think." Giles interjected.

"What's he going for: rule the world, release a god, become a god maybe." Tara asked.

"Don't know, Those people that can tell me are extremely reluctant to say and my methods of persuasion can be very effective. The only thing I can learn is that the magic is going down soon; that he needed the blade to do it and that he had to do it near the Hellmouth."

Willow rose from the chair where she had been resting after her ordeal. "I think he might be going for the Mother of all spells, the Holy Grail."

"Nocturnal Infinitum." Spike said with reverence.

"Night without end" Giles said in monotone. "And the nights becoming something truly bizarre."

"That would definitely be a spell that could be done from here this is the only magical loci that has the power to focus that much energy." Sonja considered. She had to admit having partners to brainstorm with was useful. She already had a bunch of people in mind that would definitely want to be informed if Antonio were going for the endless night scenario.

"Then we track him, find him, and stake him." Buffy said resolutely as she rose to her feet.

"You got to know he's expecting you. I'm sure he knows that I'm trying to find him and there is no way he won't realize that you guys will be tracking him too." Sonja spoke as she interposed herself between Buffy and the door

"Well, what's Tony The Terror gonna do, send a team of vampires and demons to try to kill us?" Xander joked confidently.

It did sound ridiculous, but in that Universe-Loves-To-Play-Jokes-On-Xander way that the universe has; that was when the door smashed in and Vampires and demons started pouring into the house.

***