I realize that I haven't updated this in quite a while...but..just to let everyone know...i plan on focusing on this fic until i have finished the 'first book' (this will become a series). if it takes more time than I am planning to get this accomplished (which it most likely will) I do plan to update my other fics here and there. If anyone has a preference as to which fic I should update, please let me know...and should it come to it, i'll go with whatever is most popular.

thanks for reading, and enjoy :)

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Xander looked around the kitchen area where all present were talking quietly amongst themselves. Stifling a yawn, he glanced at his watch. 'My god it's late.' He was about to approach Leo and tell him it was time to get a move on when Duncan approached Chris with his little black book held open.

Chris looked at the address Duncan was pointing too and nodded his head. Mere moments later, he orbed Duncan out of the kitchen. Methos just continued to knock his head against the table muttering, 'No more boy scouts.'

Amanda actually snorted. "Methos, I suppose from your perspective everyone would be considered a boy scout."

Xander had to snort at that. "Let's not forget that a particular 'someone,' who shall remain nameless, offered their own head to save others."

Methos shot him an indignant look. "That only happened in a vision. And I'd thank you to never speak of it again." He gave a small shiver in the end, and everyone got in a good chuckle.

Xander smiled at his teacher. "Adam, if it's all right with you, I'd like to propose that everyone already here stay here. This place is warded against The First. And, should someone try to attack any of us, I would prefer to remain close to the others.'

Adam simply nodded his head. Most simply shrugged and answered in the affirmative. Amanda, on the other hand, was wearing a smug expression. "You weren't going to try and kick me out? Were you, 'darling'?"

Methos simply smiled and shook his head no. Though Xander, and most likely Amanda, heard him mutter "Like it would make a difference." She gave him an arch look to which he simply gave her a serene smile.

Xander just sighed. "Ok Leo, I think it's about time we took off."

Leo nodded and reached out to place his hand on Xander's shoulder. Seconds later and they were on their way to see Giles and his slayers.

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Giles had just sat down at an old oak desk he used in his office. He couldn't quite stifle a sigh as he poured himself a glass of scotch. Not that he was expecting things to be easy, but to be quite honest; he had no idea restarting the Watchers Council would be so much work.

Life had been much easier in Sunnydale. Not better, per se, but easier. Whatever youth, and perhaps what little remaining innocence that had been present in his young charges, his children, had seemingly gone the way of the dodo.

Before Sunnydale had become a sinkhole in the ground, there had been precious little exuberance, and innocence left in his young charges. It had been happening slowly, but perhaps with Buffy's second death, and his departure, the effect on their psyche had been a draining one. And even with Buffy's revival, that particular drain continued unnoticed, or perhaps it was simply ignored.

Perhaps one of the few exceptions to this was Dawn. Of the official Scoobies, she was perhaps one of the few who retained some of that idealistic innocence that the original Scooby gang portrayed throughout high school.

Giles had actually talked to Dawn about all of this, and he had been quite surprised with her response. 'It's not that it's gone, it's just that the one who brought it out in us isn't here to do so for now.' She had looked at him with a light fire in her eyes. 'I have no doubt that it'll return, or Xander will.'

It was something that Giles had spent some time contemplating. It was hard to raise morale given their current situation. He had wanted to talk to the young man who may have played a larger part in the war on darkness than even he thought. Giles knew that Xander had been an integral part of the group. Even when Buffy had come to him late at night, soon after they had arrived in Oxnard, and spoken to him of a Slayer dream involving Xander, and that he had to be let go from the group, Giles had been quite adamant about keeping him with them.

Yes, Giles knew that the young man had been so very important, but when he saw the life slowly bleeding from Xander's remaining eye, he couldn't deny his young charge, his slayer, his daughter. Yet, the young man was like a son to him. The guilt he felt for abandoning his charges when Buffy had perished ate away at him every night. The guilt associated with what was about to happen was so much, that he was not able to present himself that day when Buffy had made the notion for Xander to take a short break from it all. And, to Giles' surprise, he was told that the young man had not put up any form of resistance.

Trying to create a new Watchers Council was very time consuming, but more and more often he found himself thinking about his wayward son; hoping that the young lad was all right.

The young man wasn't much for keeping in contact. Not that Giles could blame him all too much. He knew how much it had hurt the young man all those years before when they had been steadily pushing the young man out of the fight, for his own good, or so they had thought. To have it done to him again, well, Giles just prayed that Oxnard would not be the last time he saw Xander.

And recently, he had actually received some phone calls from the young man. And the fact astounded him, that as much trouble as a group of young teenage girls, all slayers, could get into, Xander could beat them all, hands down. How the young man got into these situations was beyond him. But it was something that he thought may warrant a serious research session in the future.

Why The First was interested in him, or his new friends, was beyond Giles. And the fact that Xander may have a way to actually defeat the First Evil, when the destruction of Sunnydale and its Hellmouth had not been capable of it, completely baffled Giles.

Giles sat there, staring in wonder at his half full glass of scotch, wondering what wonders Xander must have up his sleeve, not to mention how in the bloody hell the boy was going to get from California to Cleveland in so little time without a teleportation spell. He was lost in his thoughts and conjectures when an odd feeling just off to his side made its presence known.

Giles turned sharply, the scotch in the glass sloshing along and spilling onto his tweed suit. Giles put the glass down as he silently cursed himself. Suddenly miniature blue and white orbs of light began to twinkle into existence and coalesce into some unseen form.

The sudden presence of these surreal lights caused Giles to lean too far back in his chair, causing it, and him, to fall over. As he thumped to the ground, he rolled slightly to get away from what could possibly be an attack. Near to him, on the ground, was a thin black wooden cane.

The excess light, caused by the small blue and white orbs, began to dissipate. Once the room had fallen back to its artificially lit normalcy, a familiar face could be seen smirking down at him. 'Dear God! He has two bloody eyes!'

"Dear God, Xander?"

"G-Man!"

"Bloody hell, what do you think you are doing?" Tossing the cane to the side, he held his hand up. "Help me up."

Once he was on his feet again, he grinned at his young, and apparently healthy, not to mention in good spirits, charge.

"Those lights, how exactly did you do that?"

Xander smiled at the man who had been a father figure to him for so long.

"That wasn't me. That was my friend Leo." Xander went to make introductions. "Giles, this is Leo, and Leo, this is-" He cut himself off as he saw the pained expression on Leo's face.

Rushing up to his friend, he guided him to an empty chair. "Leo, are you ok? What's wrong?"

Leo simply grabbed his stomach and placed his head between his legs, simply trying to regain his breathing.

Giles looked at his young charge. "Xander, what is he?"

Fussing over Leo, Xander answered without looking back. "A Whitelighter." Xander stopped fussing over Leo once he heard Giles' reply.

"Good lord, no wonder he's in pain."

Xander made to ask him what was going on, but Giles seemed to be preoccupied with gathering ingredients for some type of spell.

Gathering the ingredients, Giles used his arm to clear off his cluttered desk. Arranging the ingredients on his desk, all the while quietly chanting in a language unfamiliar to Xander, and soft glow emanated from the scattered herbs. As soon as Giles finished the last part of the chant, in almost a thunderous roar, the soft glow formed into an illuminated bubble, and began to expand outwards.

Soon, Xander found the entire office surrounded in this bubble. It went as far as the physical barriers of the walls, pulsed for a second, then vanished all together. But the important thing, at least in Xander's mind, was the fact that Leo seemed to have visibly relaxed, and looked to no longer be in any sort of pain.

Xander glanced at the mage with a curious expression. Giles smiled in return.

"It's the reverse of a containment spell. No mystical forces can enter here, but they can still exit. However, any physical being can penetrate the barriers as they are nothing but air." Giles turned his attention towards Leo, who was now starting to rise and stretch his limbs. "It should, however, counteract any magical attacks sent our way. It should, and apparently did, nullify the effects given off by the Hellmouth located nearby."

Xander nodded numbly. He was cursing himself for not realizing that being so close to a Hellmouth could be hazardous to his friend. Not that he could have known, or should have known. But the guilt was still there nonetheless. He was cut short of his guilt trip by Giles.

"How is it you came to know a Whitelighter?" He peered more closely at the man. "Actually, an Elder if that grayish white streak in his hair is any indication."

Xander smiled. "That is a long story; one that I promise to give you when we actually have the time." Xander sent a curious gaze over towards the now standing Leo. "Giles, you said that the spell you used only keeps the mystical energies out. I assume though that Leo can still Orb out?" He looked back to Giles. "I really would prefer it if he didn't have to leave the safety this room provides."

Giles nodded. "You are quite right. He should be able to orb from in here." He gave a thoughtful expression. "Though, the only information I have on Whitelighters, Elders, and their methods of travel are from research. Leo is the first one whom I have actually met. Still, I believe he should have no trouble leaving here." He brought his gaze back to the forefront and looked intently between the two other men in the room. "Though, should he leave, I do not believe he will be able to get back in here so long as the spell remains active."

Xander simply smiled and nodded his head.

"So, G-Man, what's the what? Are my slayers almost ready? And who's coming with us?"

Giles sent him a glare, though there was no true heat behind it. And in return, Xander simply smirked back. Giles shook his head and simply gave up on Xander not calling him G-Man from time to time, actually, most of the time.

"Well, a lot has transpired. Though, as you suggested earlier, it is something that we simply don't have time for right now. However, once this is done, I look forward to hearing how your time spent away from us has been." He glanced over in Leo's direction. "I'm sure it's quite an interesting tale."

Xander shot him a grin. "You have no idea, G-Main, no idea."

Giles shook his head at the exasperating young man. "The slayers are currently arming themselves, and they should be here shortly." Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of the tree teams of slayers, one will remain here to guard the Hellmouth. Of the other two, two members were injured in an earlier patrol, so there will be six slayers accompanying you back to California. As you may know, or perhaps not, but Buffy is currently in Rome. As it stands right now, you know 3 of the slayers I'm sending with you."

Just as Giles said those last words, Xander suddenly had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. No more than a few seconds later, the door to Giles' office shattered as though a cannon had struck it. The occupants of the room were forced to shield their eyes from the sudden miniscule projectiles that had once been a door.

Once the dust and wood had settled, Xander took away the arm he was using to shield his face. The look being sent his way sent a shiver down to his very soul. It was the stare he had seen Buffy send to a particularly nasty 'big bad' that was pissing her off. It wasn't a look that had ever been sent his way, and it was one that he hoped he would never be privy too again. At least, not when it was aimed in his general direction.

To make matters worse, it wasn't just one pair of eyes beaming that unholy stare in his direction. No, there were three pairs of eyes, though one above the rest affected more than the others combined. It was completely understandable when Xander took an involuntary step back.

How he found his voice would be a mystery to the other two men who were occupying the room with him. Both of them were frozen solid by the penetrating stares that would undoubtedly haunt their nightmares for years to come.

Yet, in a shaky tone, Xander spoke a single word, more of a question, to the one woman who his own gaze had latched onto, and wouldn't let go. The woman still seemed ready and posed for attack.

"Faith?"