Chapter 1: A Call to Arms

(updated 7/17/2005)

The original Scooby trio, Buffy, Willow, and Xander, were sitting in the command room when the emissary of the Powers arrived. The command room was a large chamber dedicated to the organization of the Slayers' Council. Over a hundred display screens monitored the current known locations of Slayers, critical 'hot spots', the many Guardians, and any recently called potentials who had yet to be contacted. With this center, the Guardians on monitor duty could rapidly direct Slayers to new disturbances.

(F.Y.I. – the title of Watcher had been replaced with a more favorable title of Guardian. To the minds of the original Slayers, Buffy and Faith, a Watcher would sit around and note the time and manner of a Slayer's death. A Guardian, on the other hand, sounded more like someone who would jump in and save her life. Therefore, the job title was changed to Guardian.)

"So, Miss Prime Slayer," teased Xander, "how goes the training here at headquarters?" He had recently been on a potential retrieval mission down in South America, making first contact with girls who had just reached the proper age to receive their Calling. He had brought back another six girls, who would spend the next couple of years training at the Chosen Academy, the legitimate public face of the Slayers' Council training center in Cleveland, Ohio – the home of the most active Hellmouth.

"Everything is going really good for a change, Xander." She looked up at her oldest guy friend. "Those holding pens you built during your last visit have really helped. We're able to keep several dozen vampires around for the girls to practice fighting. Plus, Willow's got the first vamp-bots running, with realistic vampyric strength and speed. Giles is a great headmaster, and we actually have enough teachers who know about the Hellmouth-y parts of the world to finally hold regular sized classes in all subjects."

"Oh, and don't forget about the wicked cool Danger Room!" added Willow. "I built it up based on the one in those X-men comics you told me about. It's a totally controlled training environment for the Slayers In Training." She grinned at Xander, unable to resist adding in, "It can set for witches, or even regular folk like you. And, since I worked the mojo on it, it fixes itself after each use – since Slayers and witches tend to be a bit rough on the equipment."

"Cool! I'll have to check it out right after… Cordy?"

"Xander! Cordelia was high school!" argued Willow.

"Actually, she's behind you," laughed the newly appeared woman. Buffy and Willow turned to face the new arrival. "Hey, guys! Great work you've done here. The PTB's are just thrilled, especially seeing as you build all of this without any suggestion or influence from them. That means that the other side cannot counter our advantage in this realm." She beamed at the trio. "Because of you three, good has overcome evil in your dimension."

"So, you finally admit that you're from another dimension?" teased Xander.

"No, dweeb. Unlike you, I have moved on to bigger and better things. I'm an emissary for the Powers That Be. Now, the Powers have a proposal for you… well, for the Slayers' Council. Actually, it is more of a request. Since you have managed to give them an advantage here, they would like for you to put together a team to help out other realms."

"What, you mean like Stargate?" asked Xander.

"Actually, pretty much," she agreed. "Only, instead of the big metal ring thingy, they will be creating the portals – and instead of aliens, you will be fighting evil monsters and stuff. Now, they won't pay you or anything like that, but this would give you an opportunity to satisfy that urge to slay things. They will go so far as to supply you with 'people' gifted in creating weaponry and armor, so that you can supply everyone who will be going."

"So, let me see if I understand what you are saying," said Buffy. "The Powers That Be want the Slayers' Council to give them an army, which they will then send to another world, to fight evil in another dimension? And in return for this, they will supply us with armor and weapon smiths?"

"Basically, yes," agreed the ascended former cheerleader. "Oh, I almost forgot! If the people you send manage to swing the balance against evil in the dimension they get sent to, the Council will then have the ability to create a permanent gateway to that dimension, controlled by Slayers."

"You know, if we could pull this off, it might actually be a pretty sweet deal," commented Willow. "This other dimension they want us to save… Would we have to hide the Hellmouth-y and magical stuff?"

"As I understand it," replied Cordelia, "this place is fairly laid back about the whole magic bit. I cannot give out too many details unless you accept, but I can tell you a bit to try and get your interest peaked. There are no vampires or demons there. Instead, they have creatures called orcs, Uruk-Hai, and trolls. The bad guys also have a group of nine demon-like beings called Nazgûl, who used to be humans, but last dragon has already been taken care of. Oh, and there may be something called a balrog or two lurking in secret, but even in the bad old days they were pretty rare."

"Sounds like a party," joked Buffy. "How many of these things are there?"

"Well, the orcs have armies. Uruk-Hai are growing into armies. Trolls and such are less common. On the other hand, there are several friendly races: humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits, ents, and even a few actual wizards. This won't be like vampire hunting. In this dimension that needs your aid, the bad guys fight with armies," explained Cordelia.

"If we were to agree to this, and I'm not saying that we are," cautioned Buffy, "what kind of force would they like us to assemble? I mean, if the bad guys have armies, how many Slayers would they want to go to this world of theirs?"

"At a bare minimum, you would need to send fifty Slayers," replied the emissary. "Fewer than that wouldn't do enough, but a larger force wouldn't be turned away."

"Okay, here's the deal I'm willing to make right now," stated Buffy. "Your people supply us with a few of the promised craftsmen immediately, and I will present their request for assistance to the full Council. We will ask for volunteers only, and if enough of our girls choose to go will we send them. If we can get at least the fifty Slayers that your people need, we will send an army to this other world."

"I'll need to run this by the bosses, but I think they will go for it," grinned Cordy. "You may not realize it, but with the decline of evil on your world, the Slayers are finding fewer and fewer monsters to fight. There will always be vampires, but they cannot increase their numbers faster than your Slayers can dust them back down."

"Fine. You talk to your people, and I'll call for a meeting of the full Council," stated Buffy. Cordelia nodded and vanished. "I hope this was a good idea," she then whispered to herself.

"Let's worry about that after we find out how many Slayers volunteer for the mission," countered Xander.

"We'll only accept fully trained Slayers," added Willow. "No half-trained girls will be going off to war."

Several weeks later, the Slayers' Council was busy preparing to send an army into another world for the first time ever. Much to Buffy's surprise, Cordelia was quite correct with her claim that the Slayers were anxious to fight. They hadn't even come close to the required fifty volunteers – they had something in the neighborhood of five hundred!

Slayer volunteers were coming in from bases all over the globe. Each one met up with the smiths sent by the PTB's – demon weapons and armor smiths at that. Luckily, the Slayers were able to curb their instincts to slay once they saw the weaponry those monsters could produce. For the chance to wield a weapon nearly as powerful as the Scythe, a Slayer could forgive a great deal.

That had been a bit of a surprise, actually. Faith, who had been selected as the leader of the first Slayer army, had asked on a whim if the new smiths could produce something similar in nature. After stating that they could easily reproduce the weapon but not the magic within, she had begged and pleaded with Red (Willow) to give it a shot. With the assistance of the coven of witches the red haired Wicca had gathered to support the Slayers' Council, she had found a way to nearly copy the Scythe's power. The replicas were not quite as powerful, having only about 80 of the oomph of the original, but they suited a Slayer better than anything short of the one true Scythe.

The armor created was designed specifically with Slayer abilities in mind. It was a synthesis heavy protection and freedom of movement, custom tailored to each girl's weak and strong points. The result was an army that lacked symmetry, but more than made up for it with skill and ability.

Luckily for the Slayers, the smiths were also able to help design the caravan wagons that would carry surplus weaponry, armor, food, water, clothing, and personal items. Each 'soldier' was granted a steamer trunk's worth of room for their non-combat items, which included 'formal' gowns for court appearances. Nothing modern went through, which included anything electrical and firearms. The most advanced things they were allowed to bring were the compound bows, which had a pull that only a Slayer or similarly powerful arm could draw.

There were eight wagons to haul the steamer trunks, another two for surplus weapons and armor, four for food and water, and a final two for undeclared future use. At the moment, the two extra wagons were only partially loaded with additional crossbow bolts and arrows. Each wagon would be pulled by a pair of Clydesdale horses, which the volunteers were being taught how to drive and tend. In addition, each Slayer bore a field pack, which contained their sleeping bags, a personal tent, and their own armory of weapons. Most also included a stash of food for snacking on the road.

Of all the people working for the new Council, it was Buffy's little sister Dawn who had organized the trans dimensional army. The young Guardian had a gift for such organization, and if not for her the volunteers would be much worse off when they crossed over into Middle Earth. It had been Dawn who had convinced Cordelia to acquire maps of the other realm, even if they were no better than those the locals would have. Dawn was also the one to insist that all of the Slayers be given the ability to speak the languages of men and elves, the two races with which they would have the most interaction. As a bonus, she gained them the written, too. (A side effect of granting this request was that all the Slayers gained these abilities, whether or not they would be going to Middle Earth. On regular Earth, they would come to use Elvin as a secret Slayer language.)

Sooner than expected, the volunteers were ready to begin their mission. In the middle of a field far removed from populated areas, five hundred armored Slayers, sixteen wagons, and thirty-two large horses were waiting for the first portal into Middle Earth to open.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Faith?" asked Buffy. Since the fall of Sunnydale, the dark Slayer had become Buffy's second in command – her right hand Slayer. She was another sister to Buffy and Dawn now, and they would miss their wild sibling – not to mention how much they would worry about her.

"Yo, chill out B! Me and the troops are ready for this. Just think, a whole new world full of men we can get our freak on with! This is going to totally kick ass."

"Well, that is the general idea," chuckled Faith. "You take care of yourself, sis. If you die in another world, we're just going to pull you back like we always do with Buffy."

"Hey!" cried the bottle blonde.

"I'll be back little D," assured Faith, "you can count on that. Who else will listen to my bragging about all my wicked adventures? Now, where the hell is Queen C? Let's get this show on the road. The sooner I wipe out the big bad, the sooner I can tell my soul sisters all about it."

"Someone's eager," laughed Cordelia, appearing before the leaders. "Attention Slayer army!" she called out, loud enough for all the women to hear. "I will be you contact with the Powers That Be. If you need to cross back to this world, call out for me and I shall have a portal opened for you. Do NOT on me without a good reason, or I will be royally pissed off! Understand? Good!"

With a sweep of her arm, a rather large portal appeared about twenty yards beyond the spot where Faith and her sisters stood. "Go forth, and conquer the evil forces of the one known and Sauron!"

"You heard the lady, soldiers!" bellowed Faith. "Forward, march!"

Moving swiftly if not in unison, the army of Slayers passed from a field on Earth and onto a plain on Middle Earth. It took only minutes to make the transition, after which Cordelia signaled for the closure of the portal. Only she, Buffy, and Dawn were left.

"Well, I hope they can adjust to that world," commented Dawn. "I don't think Faith has actually realized that there won't be any dance music on such a technologically backwards planet."

"I'm just glad I don't have to hear her complain when she finds out!" Buffy grinned.

"Oh, joy," sighed Cordelia, "lucky me."