Buffy and Angel headed down to UC Sunnydale. The place was still there, but it was run down and a couple of the dorm houses had been burnt to the ground. Lowell House was still standing and it looked like people were living there. Buffy looked up to Willow's old room and saw a flash of red hair across the window.

"Willow.." Buffy started.

"I know. I saw her too. Let's go." They didn't make it five steps when a group of vampires and two demons surrounded them. The biggest of the two stepped forward and looked hard at Buffy and Angel. "I know you. You're that Slayer and vampire that abandoned their posts here. Left it to that little Slayer with the dark curls and the people you called your friends." The thing smiled. "Thanks."

The second demon stepped forward. "Why have you come back? You can't stop any of this."

"Well, I'm not back to stop this. Not really. We're here to find our son." Buffy said.

"I'd heard that you two had made a kid. He's supposed to be the one to put a stop to the End of Days." First demon said.

"No. He's supposed to go to Northwestern and study to become a doctor or as he wants it, an NBA star."

"So, the little twirp's here in good ol' Sunnydale."

"Not for long."

"Got that right." With that, the demons attacked. Buffy had known it was coming and she spun gracefully into a side kick that knocked a vamp right into a tree branch, dusting him. Her eyes widened. That was something she hadn't expected. Neither she or Angel had ever fought since the day they had left Sunnydale. Now they were both dropping into it as if the last time they had fought were yesterday.

In quick timing, most of the vamps were dead and the second demon was all that was left of the duo. The remaining vamps and demon took off running. Buffy looked around and then from the door to Lowell House she heard, "Mom! Dad!" Buffy and Angel turned to find Connor gawking at them. "That was awesome! How come you never told me you could do that!?"

Buffy held her upper arm where a vamp had slashed her with its nails. It was bleeding slightly. She looked at Willow as the red head walked out to them. She was older looking. Her hair was a lighter shade of red, in some spots almost white. She looked more like a wise woman standing there than the girl that Buffy remembered. Buffy felt out of place because she was still 24 and capable of everything a 16 year old athletic girl could handle while Willow was slowing fading away because her body was too old for it. The magicks had worn her down faster.

"Buffy.." Willow started, but Buffy cut her off by holding up her hand.

"No formalities. I'm here because my son came here and I'm going to take him back." She looked around at the destruction of Sunnydale and remembered the visions, or whatever they were at her old house. "But I guess since the End is here, I'd better do my part in stopping it. So, let's get Angel and I up to speed. Ok?"

Willow nodded and turned to go back into Lowell House. "Come on. I'll show you what we've gotten set up." Buffy, Angel, and Connor followed her in.

"Set up?" Angel asked. "You've got.."

"Something like the Initiative? Yeah. Only this time it's all for the sake of saving the world and not weird science experiments on demons."

"Who all have you got working for you?" Buffy asked.

"Well, there's the usual. Xander, Tara, the two new Slayers Kennedy and Rachel, Oz came back a couple of years ago so he's with us, um, Riley's here and his wife Sam, Graham, Gunn and some of his crew, now we've got you three, and three other people that'll take you by surprise."

"Who?"

"Um.." Willow searched the lobby and found a white haired man standing next to a young man with brownish-blonde hair.

"Dad?" Buffy asked, moving closer.

Hank Summers turned to face her. "You're a hard woman to track down."

"Oh my God.. How.. When.."

"Well, I've known for a little while that things weren't normal here. I mean, all the unexplained occurrences and stuff. Willow here explained it to us and told us what you and Angel are.. It was a lot to take in at first, but I've been here doing what I can and giving as much money as I can for weapons and other necessities."

"Who's this?" Angel asked, motioning to the young man.

"Hey sis."

"Gabriel!?" Buffy asked.

"Wow, you look the same as when I last saw you. When I was six. Which was 18 years ago."

"It's a long story. But you, you're in on this? You and dad?"

"Yeah. I've known about all this a lot longer than dad has. Gunn over there brought me into his gang a few years ago. I've been fighting demons and vampires ever since. But you, I can't believe you're a Slayer! I've seen some of the past Slayers in action, but I've heard from a lot of people that you're the best there is. This is too cool!"

"Not cool. Never was. Never will be."

"Hey Buff. Good to see you again." Gunn said behind her.

Buffy turned to find an older looking Gunn staring down at her. His expression was hard, but there was a glint of his old playfulness in his eyes. He was still bald and handsome, but the years of fighting had worn down on him like the rest of the people there. "Wish I could say the same under better circumstances."

Gunn hugged her. "You look the same as ever. Heard a rumor that you're immortal now."

"It's only temporary. When.. If we stop the End of Days, both Angel and I get to age again."

"You mean he'll be human and so will you?"

"In a way, yeah."

"Buffy's still human." Angel said. "She's just enhanced."

Willow walked up beside Buffy. "Come on. There's still more I need to show you." She lead Buffy and Angel to the mirror where the Initiative elevator was hidden. Instead of waiting for a retinal scan, she pulled a book out and the doors opened. "We opened the Initiative back up just for the equipment and space. Most of the people working with us stay down there because they know it's safe. We got rid of the bodies down there through magickal means, which by the way isn't that easy, and turned some of the old labs and containment cells into bunks for the people. A few of the hallways of old containment cells are for the civilians we bring in here. They're the safest place we can manage." The elevator doors opened and the four stepped out to look down over the huge Initiative room. The pit was full of OR tables. "We had a few of our people save those from the Sunnydale Medical Center before the place was taken over. The pit is used for medical purposes only. It's where we go to get patched up."

"What about the secret lab?" Buffy asked.

"We fixed that up just for you, Angel, and Connor. It's very homey. Spike put some couches and chairs down there. We separated two parts of the room with detachable walls to make two bedrooms. One's for you and Angel and the other's for Connor. We figured if you came back, you and Angel would definitely be the head of this whole thing. We're not the super- superheroes here. We're just the powerful sidekicks that help save the world on occasion." Willow sighed and gave Buffy a small smile. "Any questions?"

"Um, where are the weapons?"

"Weapons are in the cage. Those are the standard weapons. We used Adam's old lab in the back of the secret lab for the big time special weapons. In other words, your own personal collection of weapons. Spruced up for the family." Willow nodded. "Oh! The food is in the old cafeteria. It's open 24 hours a day. If you're ever hungry.. Yeah. Ok. So, uh, any more questions?"

Buffy nodded and looked very serious. "How've you been?"

It caught Willow off guard. "Huh? Me?"

"Yeah you. You're my best friend after all. Shouldn't I care?"

"Oh. Of course." Willow smiled. "I've been ok. I'm not in a relationship. Tara and I are just too strained and Oz.. I'm not too sure what we have."

"You'll figure it out. Once this whole ordeal is over with, you will. Well, that or we'll all be dead so it won't matter."

"Still haven't lost your gallows humor."

"No. That never leaves. So, where's Xander and the others?"

"Probably in the med center or the cafeteria. He, Riley, Sam, and Kennedy went out on patrol about two hours ago and they were scheduled to come back about now."

"Kennedy is one of the new Slayers?" Angel asked.

"Yeah."

"Is she any good?" Connor asked.

"Yeah. She's been trained most of her life for it and when April died Kennedy was called and she's been the Slayer for over a year now."

"How long did April last?" Buffy asked.

Willow looked Buffy directly in the eyes. "Two months."

Buffy nodded. "Was she good?"

"One of the best. We've got a lot of potentials here that the Council has sent in to help us with the situation. She was definitely one of the best."

"Council? You mean Giles."

"Well, yeah. Since he is the head cheese now and all."

"Um.. How did April die?"

"Some kind of Gnarl demon poisoned her with paralyzing enzymes and.. Well, it ate her flesh off of her while she was still alive."

"Oh God. Did you kill the thing?"

"Yeah. It's good and dead."

"Are there more.."

"No! Not that we know of anyway. Not here in Sunnydale."

"Good." Buffy started to walk back out into the main room. Willow followed and then Connor and Angel. "So, how long have you been running this operation?"

"About eight years now. More and more people join every year. We've got a lot of ex-Initiative looking to help save the world and redeem their actions from before."

"Speaking of ex-Initiative, Riley's married?"

"Yeah. He came back about ten years ago looking for you and Angel to tell you the good news, but obviously you weren't around. We told him what happened and where you were and what all had happened since.. Well, he offered to help out. It was his idea to open the Initiative down here again."

"And Graham?"

"He came in about two years ago when Riley called him and told him about what was going on."

"How long has Sunnydale been this bad?" Angel asked from Willow's other side.

"A couple of months maybe. We started this whole thing to keep the demons down because once word spread that the best were out of the game, well.. First it was the Bronze and then the High School, then they took City Hall. About a week ago we were sitting in the Magic Box discussing how bad things were seriously getting when a few demons had the idea to burn Main Street. I managed to stop the fire and get everyone out, but the whole upstairs of the shop is burnt beyond repair."

"What do you mean word spread?" Connor asked. "They've been gone for 21 years."

"Well, they heard about a Slayer and a vampire that patrolled together and killed demons and they assumed it was Buffy and Angel. After Lita died, Spike decided to keep up the rumors and started to go out with each Slayer."

"What happened? Where is Spike?"

"He went out to bring you guys back about two months ago because he was tired of waiting for you, as he put it, 'to come to your bloody senses' and we haven't heard from him since. We all assumed he was dead."

"Gosh."

"So when can I patrol?" Connor asked.

"Never." Buffy and Angel said.

"What? Why? I'm just as strong as you two and I know how to fight."

"How?" Angel asked. "We didn't teach you and you've only been here a day."

"Dawn.. She put some higher being whammy on me and BAM! I knew all these totally cool moves."

"It's true." Willow said.

"Wait, you saw Dawn too?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. She's been helping out as much as her higher being bosses will let her. She said that they're letting her come down to help out when the End of Days battle has really begun."

"It hasn't..?"

"This is just the Hellmouth clearing its throat." Riley said behind her. "The big show's still coming."

"Riley!" Buffy turned and hugged him tightly.

"Wow. They told me that you hadn't aged any, but.. Wow."

"You on the other hand.."

"Yeah." Riley was older looking. He had white streaks through his hair and he wasn't as buff as she remembered. He still looked pretty good physically. Obviously since he was patrolling. "You still have your strength too."

"Yeah. That kinda never goes away."

"Hey Angel."

"Hey." Angel said.

"And this must be Connor. I haven't met him yet. Willow's been doing a pretty good job of keeping him out of sight."

"Hi." Connor said, shaking Riley's hand. "How do you and my parents know each other?"

"Um, Riley went to college with me." Buffy said. "He was a close friend of mine that worked for the Initiative."

"Willow told me about that. She said it was evil."

"Not all of us were evil." Riley said.

"Most of them were."

"I might have been considered evil if it hadn't been for Buffy here. She helped me out and taught me about the gray area between good and evil."

"I've learned about that gray area since I was three."

"It's complicated, huh?"

"Not when you have my parents for parents."

"You got your mother's wit and attitude."

"You know it." Buffy said, smiling and trying to ease the mood. Connor wasn't liking Riley that much and Riley wasn't liking the smart-ass comments coming from Connor. "So, who's Sam?"

"Sam?" Riley asked. "She's my wife."

"How long have you two been married?" Angel asked.

"19 years. Hopefully we'll make it to twenty."

"Don't mean to intrude, but where's Xander?" Willow asked. "I saw Sam head towards your quarters, but.."

"Xander was hurt. He's in the pit getting patched up."

"Xander was hurt?" Buffy asked. "How bad?"

"'Only a flesh wound' is what he said."

"Great. Xander always understates stuff like that." Willow said. Buffy and Willow almost ran to the edge of the pit to find Xander. Connor and Angel caught up just as the two women were headed down into the pit.

Xander sat on one of the metal tables, poking gently at a large gauze pad on his side. He saw Willow first. "Hey Will! I'm fine." Then he saw the petite blonde walk out from behind Willow and stand next to her. "Buffy?"

"In the flesh." Buffy said with a small smile.

"I thought you weren't having anything to do with this stuff."

"I wasn't. Connor got a visit and we ended up in Sunnydale."

"Xander's been on patrol most of the time. He hasn't seen Connor so he doesn't know." Willow said.

"Connor's here?" Xander asked.

Willow nodded as Buffy looked at the report next to Xander. She looked at him. "So, just a flesh wound?"

"It's nothing."

"15 stitches for a one inch deep gash is nothing?"

"Ok, it's a large nothing." Xander hopped off the table and they headed up out of the pit.

"Well, other than that, you look pretty good." Xander's hair was streaked with gray, but it made his already handsome features stand out more. He was a lot more built than she remembered. Buffy supposed he'd been training for a while. The boyish glint in his eyes was long gone and it was replaced by a fighter's glint. "Xander, how long have you been doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Fighting."

"Since Anya died."

"I saw you after that though. You didn't look like you do now."

"Well, I'd always hoped that you would come back, so I didn't train as hard, but once Connor was born I knew there wasn't a chance in hell or heaven that you were coming back. It was confirmed when you wouldn't even come for our ten year high school reunion."

"If you'd had a child, you'd understand."

"Well, I didn't. The woman I loved died because of you."

"That wasn't our fault. If you'd been a man and just married her, then she wouldn't have gotten ran over."

"How can you justify that?"

"Xander, being a man is facing your fears and conquering them. You walked away because a demon showed you your fears and then you used us as an excuse to walk away."

"You think that's bad? You didn't even talk to us after Connor turned nine and you moved to Illinois to keep the questions about you and Angel at bay."

"Don't judge Angel and I for protecting our son. You're just further proof of what fighting the forces of darkness does to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look at you! This is Xander Harris. This is some boy playing demon hunter because he doesn't know how else to ease the pain or the anger in his heart. Well, don't take it out on my family."

"You can't just waltz in here like the past 21 years never happened."

"I can and I will." Buffy walked over to Angel and Connor. She looked at all the people milling about forging stakes and practicing with other weapons. "Ok, listen up people! From now on you take orders from me and Angel. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer and this is my operation now. You're all on my turf and things are about to get rough because this is the end whether we like it not. Some of us have faced what we thought was the end, but those were just practices. The Hellmouth is about to open its ugly jaws and sing us a pretty little tune about death, destruction, and chaos. I want everyone to log six hours of training each day: Three hours with weapons and three hours however else you can. With other people, with punching bags, with gymnastics, I don't care. Six hours. Also, I want five patrol teams out at all times. We'll make shifts of it: Five people on every team for four hours each. That's six patrols in one day. Day or night, the demons don't care what time it is. Sunnydale is about to be taken back. Spread the word to all those who missed the newsflash." Everyone there except Xander applauded and Buffy turned her back on them all to look at Angel and Connor. "Come on, we're going to go get our stuff out of the car and go collect Connor's things from the mansion."

Angel nodded and he and Connor followed her out. "I guess she never leaves, huh?"

"Who?"

"The Slayer in you. Plus, that was really sexy."

"You think?"

"Oh yeah."

"Oh please." Connor said behind them.