You know the drill. It's here. Its unbeta'd. And it'll bug ya? Do you really want to read it?

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Tomar

Willow checked the clock on the wall of her kitchen then turned back to the group. "No, it's too late to call Giles. If we have another day or two, I'll just call him in the morning." She announced.

"Then it's a Scoobie meeting tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Books all 'round." Xander answered easily.

Michelle looked back at Christian. "I think we should find out what demons may be involved. Maybe we can find a weakness. Something we can use to stop them."

"I'll concentrate on the order." Richard volunteered. "I believe I remember a bit of the ritual."

"I can trace sales in the area of muje-mite crystals." Willow announced. "That is if Anya doesn't mind helping. The Magic Box is the most likely place one was picked up, but I can do some searches on the net. See what I can come up with."

"If you do that," Tara cut in easily. "We might be able to find an address for some of the order's members. Or at least one to start with."

Zeek looked around the room of people all making plans with a fluidity that seemed preconstructed, from both years of practice and training. There wasn't a lot he could do, but he was willing to offer what he could. "If it would help, I could make some calls and see if I can pinpoint the location the spell would have to be done. Like I said earlier, it's got to be done in two days, but the alignment of the stars plays heavy on where it needs to be done."

"If you can figure that out, we can make a point to patrol the area more often. Maybe we can catch them in the act, or. before the act, in preparation of act...?" Willow let her sentence run off, unsure of which situation to hope for.

Nods were traded off around the room, and soon the group began to disperse. Meeting times were made and plans for Zeek to come by or call when he found information were confirmed.

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Buffy wasn't sure if the knot in her stomach just stood on standby or not at this point. The words that she would, could, may, will, and has been prophesized to die were old and becoming way too familiar for her liking. The fact that it was Spike saying it wasn't even all that different. Except this time it wasn't a threat. "Yeah." She thought to herself barely cracking a smile. "At least that's different."

"Buffy?" Samantha's voice barely came as she studied the blank face of the mumbling blonde slayer.

Buffy turned to look at Spike. In his eyes she saw he own feelings. A pain ridden look, with worry etched into every line of his face. She saw him and knew. "It has to be me."

She watched his lip twitch, then his jaws clench. "No." A low growl contained the single syllable.

"I don't understand." Ashton looked past Michelle to the back of the other slayer now gazing at the former vampire. The dark demon looked back to his Slayer. To Sam. "Why does it have to be true at all? Many demons have sworn to kill a slayer. Most have failed."

Sam glared back at him. "It wasn't that he'd promised to do it. For Spike, it has happened." She tried not to, but couldn't help but study the face of the man, vampire, being who had cared for her in the past months despite her refusal to continue a relationship. She hadn't yet told him what she overheard the first night the time travelling couple had arrived. She hadn't even hinted towards it. There were too many things that she needed to figure out for herself before she could come to terms with the fact that Buffy made it sound very much like Sam and Ashton would be together. Eventually.

She gave him a soft smile and decided to tell them all what she heard. She got up from her seat and noted the emptiness of the pub. People had begun to go home for the evening, and they were left virtually alone but for Mike and two elder men in the back of the room. With a little fear, Sam put a hand on Buffy's shoulder, trying to get her attention without spooking her.

"Buffy?" She said softly as hazel eyes met her own. She peered over at Spike, who still looked as though something very large had landed on his chest, and wouldn't remove itself. "Spike," She looked back to the vampire waiting. "Ashton, I have a confession."

She contemplated the best way to reveal her secret. Deciding the best tactic was honesty she gave herself up. "The evening you came, or rather that morning," She paused and looked back at Ashton who was listening with a curious look on his face, then back to Buffy. "I heard you two talking that morning. I heard it all."

Spike shook his head, briefly brought out of his previous thoughts of the loss in his future. "Couldn't 'ave. You were sleepin'"

Sam shook her head in short bursts, then drew her brow together. "I wasn't."

Buffy was lost for only a moment, then she understood. "You slowed your heart rate. Didn't you?"

Sam nodded. "You know the training?"

"Yeah." Buffy mused unhappily, remembering the crystals used to hone her concentration skills, and to set her up for the tests that came with her coming of age.

Ashton moved to Sam's side. "What was it you heard?"

Another look of concentration took over Sam's face. "That he met me, William the bloody, but after this time. Buffy met me as well. But me as an old woman, in her time." Sam said trying to remember.

Buffy and Spike exchanged a look that both conveyed the feeling of being caught with the canary and another that simply said 'Oh Shit'.

Sam took another step in front of Ashton who was glaring at both of the blondes. She reached up and traced the lines of his jaw, drawing his attention back to her. "And there was something else. They knew about us."

"Us?" He said looking back at Spike, then Buffy. Buffy smiled gently, and Spike gave him one short nod.

"Us." Sam repeated. "But more. Something about us not knowing, but that I'd understand it. Or I did in their time." Finally she turned around and spoke to Buffy. "That was what you meant by how much we should know. What would change our decision, or maybe ." She looked back at Ashton then to Spike, and again at her sister slayer. "Just my decision."

Mike had been silent, up until this point. Then the mild old man figured he could add his own perspective. "Samantha. I'm surprised it took you this long to understand any of it. He's a demon, but the standard isn't always set. Not completely among a species." He leaned on the bar. "Just as not all human beings are humane. You can't expect all rules to be in stone, nor can you make your decisions by the bureaucracy of others. If we did that, then the war would be lost before it started."

He flung a towel over his shoulder and headed towards the tables that needed cleaning. "You listen to much, I think, to these Watchers of yours."

Spike watched the man walk away, the turned back to Sam. "Doesn't say much, but when he does talk there's no holding back is there?" He chuckled.

Ashton's eyes had not moved. His gaze was intent on the face of the woman who, for the first time in months, gave him a glimmer of hope. Was it due to a former vampire and a slayer? And if it was, what exactly did it all mean. Only one other thought stuck in his head. "You will both return. Alive and well. We will stop the Tomar, and you will go home." He said finally still staring at Sam, who's focus seemed just intent on him.

Buffy watched the two, suspecting that unspoken words said a lot right now, and nodded. It was then she felt Spike's arm around her waist. His grip tightened and she knew she would be alright. And if she wasn't, well Xander brought her back, then Willow, maybe Dawn's up to the task next.

Spike was a little shocked to feel the vibrations of light giggles coming from the woman beside him.

It was then Sam began to question Ashton, and he shared the information Hemphry had managed to gather.

The idea that the talisman was ready and that they had everything they needed wasn't overlooked. Spike explained to Ashton that the seer was Dru, and that was how he knew Buffy was in trouble.

All in all, they were not much closer to a way to stop anything. There was still no sign of the crystal that brought the blonde duo to this time. The demons below had the talisman, but they could not cause a fight below, and even if they waited for the group to leave, Dru may see Spike, which could have disastrous consequences to the future.

Since Buffy and Spike told Sam they suspected that Sam in the future knew Buffy before she showed up on the doorstep of the retired slayer, they didn't have too much fear of their individual futures. Sam would keep the secrets of Buffy's future from her when she came to visit, although knowing of the visit seemed strange to Sam.

Buffy quickly evaded the question of Ashton's future with a simple, "He wasn't home." Not knowing what else to say.

Ashton knew something was off with the answer, but decided he didn't have to know everything.

Before long, they bid Mike a good night and did what little patrolling they could before the sun came up. They scoped out the ally the vortex had been that brought the two blondes to this time, and the wall that had the exit at the time, was remembered.

In the end, the men went their way, and the women theirs. But not only Buffy and Spike shared a look of longing before parting.

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Sam yawned again, but wanted to finish this last small task before she finally went to bed. The energy boost she'd been on for the last few days didn't seem to be loosing power. Actually, it seemed stronger as the date closed in on her. She smiled proudly at the scrap book. One she'd started putting together several years ago. Something she hoped Buffy would get a kick out of seeing.

She slipped the book back into her larger suitcase. She wouldn't need it for a few days anyway. The papers and clippings she'd finished organizing had left a mess of papers in their wake covering the bed she had decided would be a suitable spot for such a project.

Here she was, Mrs. Samantha Emerson. Nearly 85 years old, sprawled out on a bed like a teenager from the 50's. Laying on her stomach, with a half emptied suitcase to her left, her purse on the floor and scraps of paper with half dried glue spread around her. She had to giggle at herself.

Of course, she wasn't absolutely sure what was happening, but she knew why. The sisters had promised her she would be able to complete this task. It had been a bargain, partially changing the rules of the original plan The Powers had in mind, but in all reality, nothing of that plan had gone smoothly.

The bit of history the sisters of Akoshta had shared with Sam never wavered in her memory. She knew that Ashton had saved the life of a small child many centuries ago. That from that child, a line of Watchers would be born. From that line her own Watcher would be found. She also found that her destiny changed and shaped that of several generations to come.

How she came to gain her natural life however, was not quite in the tradition of the sisters.

No, Samantha had thrown a kink in their plan. She had come to them half dead.

Flashes of memory sparked behind her closed eyes. Of a demon coming at her. Of Ashton yelling, of Buffy fighting, of Spike kicking. The weapons flying. And one sleek blade landing in her gut.

Samantha Emerson, formerly Samantha the Vampire Slayer found herself gasping for a breath when the memory assaulted her. She opened her eyes, willing not to see the sites in her head and reached down into her open purse on the floor in front of the bed. The cloth she pulled out was plain and brown. No more interesting than a handkerchief.

She sighed at the bundle and pushed herself into a sitting position, crossing her legs Indian style and placed the cloth on the bed gently before pulling the corners off of each other, unfolding the tiny package. She smoothed out the fabric. In the center of the plain square-cut cloth sat a green crystal with a swirling red middle.

After all this time, she hoped it all was worth it. Without realizing it, she let out a whisper. "Please, let them get back alright."

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Giles walked into the den carrying a book and a teacup. Nathan was already there, pulling out notes and setting them aside neatly so he could present what he'd found so far.

"Good morning Nathan." Giles greeted the young man and placed his tea on the table then settled into one of the chairs at the table.

"Good morning Mr. Giles. I trust you slept well, Sir?" Nathan set up the computer to show the charts while Rupert picked out some of the notes of the young man and tried to compare his findings to the Watcher's Diary of David March.

"I did, thank you." Giles set one page aside. "These look well done."

"Thank you sir. I have redone several. There is an inconsistency, and I am having trouble finding it."

"Well, with the help of Master March, maybe we can resolve the problem." Giles smiled hopefully at the boy who grinned in response.

The two gentlemen set out on a familiar excursion.

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The sun would be coming up soon. And the demon was becoming more impatient with each new scent of morning. "Hurry it up now. We haven't got more than an hour 'fore sunrise."

The meager demon walking hurriedly through the allies and past streets turned back to glare at the tall demon. The one who'd stood beside each of the brethren who attempted to make the talisman. The same demon who seemed to care no more or less when each attempt failed.

He didn't care who got killed on the way, as long as he could open the portal. The end result was what mattered.

Again the small demon, resembling a frog with shorter bulkier legs, looked at his palm. In it lay a small gold disk, one that was charmed, and could be made to point to the talisman if it existed. One they knew had been made and used many years ago, but was rumored to have been destroyed. The talisman who's energy, it was surmised, had to be the source of the energy they all felt a few days ago. They had thought it was a sign that one could be made. That the time was right.

Then the demon, the hulking one, thought that one final leap of faith was worth a try. Even if it was impossible.

The two creatures worked their way through the quiet town. The small one stopped and turned slowly with his hand outstretched. "It can't be."

"What is it?" The large bald demon demanded.

A green bony finger pointed across the street to a small hotel. "It is there."

The small demon turned and looked up at the demon behind him. "What should we do?"

After checking the sky and seeing the orange line of the rising sun at the horizon, big and hulky shook his head. "We will have to come back."

As he said that, the office door opened and a couple walked giggling into a room. "People will be milling about soon. We've managed to keep ourselves hidden this long." He looked back at short and green. "We can wait one more night before our plan is insured. What do ya think?"

Green and short just nodded, and the two headed back.

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"I believe." Richard began to say and turned a page in the book. All were gathered in the magic shop. All but Zeek who had his own store to run.

Michelle, Dawn and Christian lined one side of the research table while Richard Willow and Xander lined the other. Books were piled high right down the middle. Tara sat at the counter going through listings of empty warehouses and building ruling out possible hiding places for the Tomar. Anya, of course, was busy setting up the store, but had the books out and ready for another good once over, in search of people who had either ordered or purchased one of the crystals in the last year.

Again Richard flipped the pages and gazed at the faces. "I've found the Tomar." He said proudly. Xander shut his book and looked up happy. "Thank God."

"He means in the books." Willow explained. "He found them in the books."

"Oh." Xander was suddenly deflated, then shrugged. "Well it's a start. Whatcha got Watcher man?"

The ladies and Xander waited while Richard flipped back to the first part of the reading and cleared his throat. "It seems that 500 years ago a portal opened. It lead form a particularly unknown and mysterious dimension. The reason it was so interesting was that, until that time, a vortex between ours and the unknown dimension was unheard of. The physics of the two planes should be impossible to connect. On any level."

"Ok." Xander nodded. "Impossible odds, shouldn't happen. And of course it does." He smiled. "Sounds pretty normal to me."

Richard traced the lines of words with his fingers then continued. "As far as odd occurrences, this one is fairly normal. The event lead to a following. One that continuously seeks the impossible. To reopen the vortex. It seems at first the followers were coerced by several of the species that came through-"

"Wait! Did you just say several? And species?" Dawn said wide-eyed.

Richard traced the words again and confirmed the statement with a nod. "Yes. Several individual representing several of the species managed to coerce several of the demons living in this dimension to help them find a way home."

Michelle cut in then. "Oh yes. The D'stol for instance. Yes of course." She began picking out certain books and flipping them open to pages all displaying several demons. One looked very much like Zeek had the night previous. "These demons. Many were discovered one right after the other. I remember my mother telling me that once it was thought that they simply could not come out in the open before, but she thought they simply hadn't been here."

"I suspect she was right." Richard said and scanned one picture showing a rather short lumpy green demon.

Xander spun in his chair and eyed his wife who, at the moment, was restocking the frog's legs. "An, Hun, don't you know any of these demons?"

She looked up and smiled sweetly. "Of course I do. But I don't know how much I can tell you. When they showed up it was as much of a mystery to us as it most likely was to the watchers. Vengeance demons, although very talented with basic transportation, can't go any further than known dimensions."

Tara looked up from the listings. "You mean you can't get there. I mean if you were a demon?"

Anya just shook her head.

Richard interrupted. "That makes sense. The order is made up now, mostly of demons from this dimension, or ones closely linked to ours. The travel to this unknown dimension is supposedly only an option at very particular times."

"Like when the stars are aligned?" Dawn asked.

"I believe Zeek's information on that is correct." Richard nodded at his statement and pointed out the next few pages covered with star charts. "Apparently several comets are involved in the overall pattern, but yes the stars do seem to play a large role."

"Well then this should be a piece of cake." Willow said and cleared a little space to open her lap top. "All I need are the coordinates of the stars, and a little time, and I could probably tell you the where and when." She said happily and waited for her computer to boot up.

"That makes no sense." Richard said to the page.

"What?" Michelle put down her book, illustrating a red demon with a bald head and twin ridges tracing down the back of his skull.

Richard read again, and took off his glasses before looking back at the slayer. "They need someone with the blood of their own home. Someone who is, with lack of a better term, a pureblood from that dimension."

"After 500 years?" Xander asked.

Richard skimmed the pages further. "Yes, and it looks as though only a handful of the species live longer than a human's life span. But none for 500 years."

Dawn twisted her lips. "Maybe we should call Zeek. Maybe he has relatives that meet the bill."

Willow nodded and got up. "I need to try Giles again anyway. Maybe I should tell the secretary it IS an emergency." She wondered.

Xander picked up another book and began looking for the demons with the longest life expectancy. "Will, we can do this. Just check and see if his meeting is over. If it is, then we lay the news out for him. He's got enough to worry about."

"Yeah." Dawn agreed. "With all the new stuff going on, and a missing Buffy and Spike."

Willow nodded. "You're right. I'll leave another message. If he still hasn't called this afternoon I'll tell them it's an emergency." She decided and picked up the phone.

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Talk about a delay. Yikes.