The light to Willow and Kennedy's room was on. Kennedy was soundlessly unconscious lying on the bed next to Willow. Willow propped herself up against some pillows and turned the pages to one of the Harry Potter books she had borrowed from one of the former Slayers "In Training". In the back of her mind Willow pondered who exactly had lent her the book. There had been numerous casualties and many girls chose to go home which left approximately ten girls. So deductively it had to be one of them.

"Now what were there names? Sheryl, Claudia, Shaneese, Miko, Maya, Lagi..." She took out a pencil and paper and began drawing a list of three categories, Left, Here, Unknown. She could feel the spell acting out upon the globe, possibly cross the dimensional causeway. Still girls that very night were being awakened to tremendous powers that had its origins from violating an once innocent girl from Africa millennia ago. But this was different; Slayers were waking not from the death of the girl before her but from her spell, incanting the entombed powers laced within their bodies so that they may deter the wanton lusts of demonic malice. The entire thought complete with its poetic melodramatic undertones made Willow smiled shyly to herself, how easy it all seems now. The fight against evil has taken on an entirely different kind of math, it is no longer one girl in the entire world, but many that are chosen to fight. Willow was pleased that she had taken a part in this revolution in Slayer history.

For now she decided to snuggle up to Kennedy and turn off the light.

Three corridors down was Xander's room. He was also trying to go to sleep. But Anya's death haunted him. He regretted having been separated from Anya and teamed up with Dawn. If she hadn't been protecting Andrew than she would still have been alive. But then Dawn would have been left to fend off those eyeless creeps with Andrew and both of them would have perished. Anya died saving Andrew. The one woman that probably would have charged him at least a few hundred dollars a year or two ago gave up her life for free. The irony made him smile a little. Then again at the moment grieving and smiling at the same time seemed counterproductive. So he stood up and walked over to his closet, someone had left a guitar in there and it was missing a string. Xander picked it up and looked at it pensively. He had seen more than his share of Westerns to know that when a cowpoke had lost his lady friend it was customary for them to sing around a campfire a twangy ballad to the dearly departed. Unsure on even how to hold the guitar Xander plucked a few strings and wished that deep down he could sing and strum the guitar. Even the high-pitched fret that elucidated haphazardly off of the strings as he clumsily plucked them sounded like Anya's voice. It would have been way too corny for him to wish another demon to help him bring all of his inner emotions out into a frothy choreographed number complete with costumes and background vocals. But then he would have the risk of being taken as the bride to some underworld demon as payment. Not at all a pleasant thought.

"Oh An..." Xander stifled a sob and felt the stubble above his lips. His cheeks were wet with little tears. They had won, the First was gone, all of the Ubervamps were dust, but at what cost he wondered.

A bottle of scotch caught his eye. He put the guitar down and poured himself a glass. It was Giles's bottle but Xander got himself a drink anyway. The scotch was smoky and like amber. It was aged and warm, like the woman he had loved and lost. In a toast to the deceased with a raised glass Xander said out loud "To Anya" and he downed the contents of the glass.

Giles had just returned from his meeting with the First. The transportation spell made him queasy and the ugly puce rug didn't make it any better.

"The First is after the girls! We played right in it's hands!" Giles swore to himself and slammed his fist into the cherry wood desk where he had just been working on. Him and Wesley were the only true Watcher's left in existence. But even Wesley's loyalty he questioned. It was rumored that Angel had inherited Wolfram and Hart earlier that year. Wolfram and Hart to Giles was a mystery, well aware that they were evil it was just that due to the legality inherent with the demonic workings of Wolfram and Hart not many Watchers were privy to information about their inner structure or hierarchy. All that Giles knew about them was that they were evil and did the dirty work of higher or in this case lower powers that be. And if Wesley was working for them he must have turned to the dark side possibly corrupted by Angelus, whose presence was quelled earlier that year by Willow. Judging by the fact that Wes was as Willow put it in her pop culture vernacular "the Marlboro man" it wasn't a long shot to think that he was fighting on the side of evil.

A novel idea rolled into Giles's head. He could build a school for the Slayers and train them, teach them the ways and roots of their power, hone them into young ladies of agility and ferocity. It was decided, the new Slayers must return with him to England where he could set up a makeshift Slayer school in his old estate and plan from there. Giles opened one of the drawers and pulled out a book. Willow had a brilliant idea to keep the identity of the girls a secret she enchanted the book to only divulge its secrets to those within the Scooby Gang. It was bound leather and inscribed with magical runes that registered Giles's aura and energies. It hummed softly and opened itself up. Each page was a blank as white cream but within seconds black script etched itself into the expanse of emptiness. Each line filling up with names and addresses of the newly called Slayers that had opted to go home, it was an extensive list to say the least. But there were many more girls who even now were being called and vulnerable to the First's sway.

Giles had heard a knock against his doorframe; he turned around and saw Willow standing in her flannel pj's carrying a black bag looking a bit spooked. They both took turns informing each other of their trips that they took that night. But after they were through they both still had many questions, like why did the Oracle want Xander of all people to go with Willow to Greece and what was the First planning?

"Willow take some of the Slayers with you, it sounds like a dangerous mission and could be a trap." Giles was worried, a nightly visitation within a dream took tremendous power but also could have been forged by the First.

"No Giles, maybe that's what the First wants. I don't know. I can't put those girl's lives in more danger than they already are in. Maybe this was just all a dream and my psyche's way of saying not to eat butterfingers in bed. But in any case they would be safer with you and Buffy."

Wanting to shift back the subject of the First and Giles's idea for a school Willow broached the subject, "Since I might be gone for a while, I won't be able to sense the presence of the Slayers, to help you find them." Since she was the power that had unlocked the energies within the scythe Willow's body practically echoed with the energy signature of a newly born Slayer. It felt like to her someone had dropped a stone into a still pond.

"I was thinking it and I think I've developed a solution."

Willow had opened her hand and asked for Giles's cell phone. "I'm going to enchant your phone with a spell so that the alarm goes off when a new Slayer is nearby. I'll even put a safeguard spell on it so that only you'll be able to hear the alarm." Willow chanted and fluidly motioned over the cell phone face chanting in what Giles's comprehended as a traditional Gaelic locater spell followed by spell he had never heard before in possibly Japanese. The cell phone's faceplate glowed a brilliant blue light and then it shimmered on. Opening her bag Willow pulled out a Philips screwdriver and removed the face of the cell phone. Giles's was intrigued by her industriousness and adept nature with magic and mechanics.

"Oh and don't worry about being driven batty by the alarm while you're with Buffy or another Slayer." She explained as she tinkered around with the cell phone's insides. "It'll stop buzzing once the Slayer is located and all she needs to do is touch the screen and it should register her fingerprints. Oh and if you push this new button." Willow pointed to a cross shaped button she had just installed. "You'll be able to get a biological scan including height, weight, and even blood type."

"I am truly impressed Willow." Giles said genuinely. "You really work wonders with both the magical and the physical."

"Well Giles I had a good mentor, course I went all black haired and crazy, but Dumbeldore was there to keep me from becoming a death eater." Not fully understanding if Giles had actually understood the Harry Potter reference, she instead smiled and gave him a quick hug.

"I'd give you an A for your OWLS in defense against the dark arts." Giles responded with a wry knowing smile.

Mildly shocked and pleasantly surprised Willow looked up at him inquisitively. "You read Harry Potter?"

"Well since you had said I had gone 'all Dumbeldore' on you..." Willow smiled at the fact that Giles had remembered their talks along the English countryside. "I had to read a few of them to understand whether or not that was a good thing. Although I quite disagree with such a wise man being named Dumb-eldore."

Willow laughed. "Well I'd better wake Xander and tell him to pack for our trip." Willow got up and walked towards the door.

"Willow." Giles called out to her, his voice was full of caution. "Be careful."

"We will Giles." With that Willow left the room.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

A young black woman walked to the door of her flat. Her child about three years old clung to her hand. The door to her apartment was wrenched off, the inside of her apartment looked like it had been a fish gutted of its entrails and stomped on. Tables were crushed, bookshelves in pieces, the only light came from a bulb dangling and flickering from the ceiling. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she lifted her son into her arms and held him close to her. She took small-calculated steps, her eyes darting at every moment of light or shade played against the walls. She quickly advanced to a heavy wooden chest with an iron padlock.

"Alright baby stay close to mommy okay?" the woman explained, and once her son gave her a nod of understanding she unlocked the chest and rummaged through the icons and artifacts kept in there. There were trinkets and baubles, several old letters written to her, all of it carried sentimental value but none of it was what she needed to find. Finally at the bottom of the trunk she fished out an envelope.

The was someone in that apartment besides mother and child, or rather something. It was waiting, stalking its prey, luring it to this place so it could feed. The creature made a near silent click as its mantis like jaws open and closed in anticipation of its meal.

"Mommy?" the little boy could feel the hair on his arms stand up, like someone bad was watching him. His mother disregarded her son and tore open the envelope.

The creature had two red eyes, bulbous on top of a fat round head covered in red boils and rolls of skin. It's body was covered in spines and it had six arms to which it held itself suspended to the ceiling over its prey. The woman had read the note in the envelope and accidentally dropped the vial of opalescent opaque liquid that had come with it.

"Mommy!" the little boy's voice was hushed from fear, but his mother finally asked him what the matter was. He feebly pointed upwards to the ceiling. She now could sense it, the beast was above her and she could not run away. It took its moment to savor their fear and fell on them screeching loudly.

The creature's body hit them before the letter touched the ground. The letter began,

"To my beloved Olivia." And it was sent from "Your Beloved Rupert."

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hey guys I have a crazy school schedule and I think I'm just going to have fun writing fan fics for now. Mmm crazy crazy. Well I hope you like it and I really would love a review. Cuz if I get reviews than I know that I should continue. Hehe either write fan fic or study biochemistry. Ooh which I should do right now. Well tell me what yah think and peace out. Oh and if you're wondering what happened with willow in this section my other story "the Loyal and the Lamb" is about Xander and Willows adventure.