g120- Yay, you're back! I'm so glad that you think this story is still as strong as it was originally, that's always great to know. And I'm really happy you're still loving this story. And hopefully my long overdue update hasn't put you off! Thanks for the review.

zigpal- Yay, my hand claps! Yeah, the Mom Card isn't played often enough and it's always a winner. And actually, there isn't a final fight shown in this chapter I'm afraid...Thanks for the review!

rabidreject- I hadn't forgotten the story! I was just really busy! Haha. Thanks for the review.

A/N: SO sorry about how long it's been since an update guys, but it's been a mixture of things going on, not being well and writing CS8 (which is A LOT of energy haha). Will you forgive me if I tell you there's one more chapter of Season 7 to come?

She awoke suddenly and without warning. Flashing images of a men dressed as a preacher and Buffy's bloodied form on a cold stone floor remained imprinted on her brain from a painful nightmare that just wouldn't quit.

She wondered for a moment what that sound was before realizing it was her own heavy and panicked breathing.

"Joyce?"

She realized she had woken Rupert up as she saw him stirring slightly where he lay.

"Shush, it's nothing," She assured him, "Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep"

Clearly exhausted from his injuries, Giles found no problem in doing just that, but Joyce was an entirely different matter. With her mind replaying the dream over and over again she lay wide awake in bed, unable to even close her eyes for fear she would dream it again.

"So...you really don't need me here then," Angel concluded, silently processing Buffy's cookie speech wondering whether that meant he or Captain Peroxide won, "Well...I'd best get started on that second front. Make sure I don't have to use it."

"Angel!" Buffy called out across the graveyard and he stopped walking, turning back to look at her.

"What?" He asked softly, wondering, hoping that she was going to ask him to stay, to be her champion and wear that amulet Lilah had given him before handing over A.I the L.A branch of Wolfram and Hart. Yep, he was still trying to work that one out.

"There is one thing I need you to do"

"What's that?" He asked, walking back over to her.

"Mom...she's gonna drive Dawn, and Giles and Lily outta town today. Somewhere away from here. We aren't sure where. I haven't really thought beyond 'get them out of here'"

"And you think I can help how?" He asked slowly, not quite sure of the point Buffy was trying to make.

"You can protect them," She told him, "Mom's fully convinced that she can deal herself, but there are some things out there that she most definitely can't...but you can. Could you..." Buffy sighed, "I want you to take them to L.A. Give them a place to stay there till this is all over. Please" She paused, "Mom'll be driving"

"But I drove here in my own car" He pointed out and Buffy wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"You drove here? That kinda ruins the gentleman, champion timeliness of your entrance back there, you know that right?"

"You expected me to walk here from L.A?" He asked incredulously.

"Well you are a vampire," She reminded him, "Endurance and stamina and all that" Silence fell upon them, "I really just said that didn't I?"

"Yep..." Angel nodded uncomfortably.

"So could you?" She eventually asked, "Take them to L.A? They need a place to go until this is over"

"Okay," Angel agreed quietly with a nod, "But they either take my car or they follow on in Joyce's. I'm not leaving mine behind"

"Okay Mr. Vampires-Don't-Need-Material-Possessions" Buffy agreed sarcastically as they began walking back to the house together.

"Wait, why is Giles not staying?" Angel asked, "I always had him down as a 'Fight by Buffy' type..."

"That, Angel, is a very longish story..."

"You're making us leave?"

"Dawn, we...I..." Joyce sighed as she spoke to her daughter through Dawn's closed bedroom door, "I'm not having you anywhere near here for...for whatever's going to happen. It's not safe"

"It's not fair!" Dawn's muffled voice shouted back.

"Dawn, I'm not really thinking of fair right now," Joyce replied honestly, "But just of keeping you safe. These...vampire...things, whatever they really are and these, these Bringers all of it...could bring the fight here. It's too dangerous and I don't want you getting hurt"

"What about Buffy?" Dawn challenged, "You're letting Buffy stay!"

Exasperated, Joyce put her head forward a little, allowing her forehead to rest against the cool wood of Dawn's bedroom door. Sometimes teenage daughters could be so tiring. No, scratch that. All the time teenage daughters were tiring.

"Buffy doesn't have a choice, you know that Dawn," Joyce replied quietly, the fight in her voice completely gone, "And you also know that if I had any say in the matter she'd be leaving with us too. But that's..." She sighed, "That's just not the case"

There was no reply from Dawn, just silence and Joyce could only presume she had buried her head into her pillow in silent resistance.

"Dawn..." Joyce sighed yet again, "I think I understand why you're upset so I'm going to leave you to it. We won't be leaving for a while yet. So, if you want to stay up here and sulk I won't hold it against you, but it would be nice if you would come downstairs some time tonight"

On that note Joyce turned away from the door and walked down to bottom floor where everyone else was either gathered in the living room or dining room. And Andrew was in the kitchen.

Most of the Watchers were gathered in the living room with several of the Scoobies, all pouring over various texts and books while the Potentials were gathered in the dining room, munching on various artifacts that had found in the kitchen. There always seemed to be a division between the two groups; Watchers and Scoobies never melded with the Potentials and the Potentials seemed to have formed a pack within themselves, keeping everyone else out. The only person who ever flitted between the two groups was Buffy. And Andrew.

Giles was sat not on the couch or in a chair like everyone else but in the wheelchair Faith and Tara had acquired from the hospital. His legs were severely damaged but there was no one they could take him to to have them seen to. If they were broken, which they most likely were, he really needed to keep his leg straight to prevent further damage but if he wanted to get out of bed and join the land of the living, which he had desperately wanted to, then the legs were going to have to bend.

They had carefully helped him get into the chair, making sure to not risk any further damage and they had successfully done so. It was okay for the most part, the only reminder besides the lack of mobility was Xander's references to X-men and more specifically Xavier. But Giles had eventually got him to back off with a few one-eyed joke retorts.

He just wished they could find more reference to this Scythe Buffy had come across. Willow was searching on the net and had come across a few things, but beyond that there seemed to be no record of the weapon anywhere at all.

He heard someone coming down the stairs and turned to see Joyce walking over looking a little defeated.

"Is everything alright?" He asked carefully.

"Nothing that an hour of sulking won't fix," She replied with a tired smile and he took hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, "Dawn isn't very happy about us leaving. She feels we're abandoning everyone else"

"Tell her not to be so ridiculous," Daniel said, "Leaving us to die a horrible painful death is not abandoning us; it's common sense"

"I'll be sure to tell her that," Joyce replied, deadpan, dropping onto a seat on the couch next to where Rupert was sat in his wheelchair.

"Well if it's any consolation we're not having much success here ourselves," He told her and Anya nodded in agreement.

"We have nothing, the book of nothing, the net of nothing, we have the Cliffs notes to nothing"

"Hopefully, Buffy's search into the Pagan burial site we found links to will reveal something," Giles said, trying his hardest to remain optimistic in the face of the depressingly overwhelming odds.

As if in answer to Giles' positive thought, the front door opened and in walked Buffy, followed, to the surprise of everyone by Angel.

"What's he doing here?"

"Dawn..." Buffy said patiently yet warningly in answer to her sister's blunt question.

"Hi," Angel said to everyone, looking a little bit self-conscious as the entire group turned to look at him, "I don't know some of you do I?"

"Who's he?" A voice asked from behind him and the two turned around to see Kennedy stood there, having come in from the dining room to weigh Angel up.

"He's a friend," Buffy replied, "Angel, this is one of the Potentials I was telling you about"

"Kennedy," Kennedy told him, "So are you gonna help us fight or what?"

"Not exactly," Though she had asked Angel the question, Buffy was the one who replied. She turned to look at her Mom, "You're gonna head to his place in L.A"

"What?" Joyce yelped, "Why? I was going to head over-"

"No," Buffy shook her head, "This is safer. That way if anything happens, Angel and the others are there to protect you all"

Giles sighed.

"Fine Buffy. Whatever you say," He agreed without feeling in words, and his voice spoke of nothing but defeat. Buffy found she was unable to look at him directly, not wishing to see the effects of what this fight, this war had done to him. "Did you find anything out as regards to the scythe?" He asked and in answer she held the weapon in both hands once again.

"I found out it slices, dices and makes julienne Preacher," She grinned as she waited for the implication of what she'd said to settle in everyone's minds as they came to the realization.

"Well all right!" Willow cheered.

"He had that coming," Anya nodded in approval.

"Party in my eye socket and everyone's invited!" Xander exclaimed and everyone looked at him with awkward silence. He hung his head in shame, "Sometimes I just shouldn't say words"

"And you're not hurt?" Joyce asked, "You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm peachy with a side of keen," She nodded with a reassuringly smile, "I also found out some history on this puppy," She told them all, "I'll fill you in...oh and Angel, erm got some files..." Angel handed Buffy the folder of information which Cassandra then took off of her to share out amongst the other Watchers and researchers, "And..." She held out a ancient looking trinket, "This amulet, supposed to be powerful. We don't know much more"

"You had all this Angel?" Giles asked, "Where did you retrieve it all?"

"From a not very reliable, but powerful source," He replied.

"Then how can we trust it's all true?" He countered and Angel for a moment looked as though he didn't know how to answer.

"Because she had some loyalties to us that we didn't know she had...I don't think even she knew," He finally replied and Buffy looked at him curiously.

"Who was it?"

"An old..." He went to say enemy but after what had happened to her, after what...Cordelia had done to her, what Cordy had been made to do, he found he couldn't say the word, "acquaintance" He turned to look at Giles and Joyce. "Shouldn't we be driving over now? I need to leave while it's night"

"I know my way there, you know" Joyce stated simply, and when Angel could only look at her nonplussed she elaborated, "Just because we're being forced to stay at your...organization, does not mean I cannot drive us there myself. Dawn still isn't ready to go yet, and Lily's sleeping currently and I'd rather wait till morning to drive out. If you don't mind," She added, Joyce's age old habit to be perfectly polite to mostly everyone coming back in at the last moment.

Angel, instead of replying to Joyce, looked to Buffy for confirmation as to whether he should say yes or no. She shrugged with a sigh.

"You might as well," She said, "It's not like driving there is going to be dangerous"

"Don't be so sure," He murmured with a grim smile before turning back to Joyce and nodding, "Fine. I'll go on ahead and tell the others. We'll, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning"

"I guess you will"

With a nod of farewell to everyone and a particularly heated look for Buffy, Angel left the house in silence.

Silence reigned for a moment, before Buffy asked.

"Where's Spike?"

"Well, isn't this just darling?"

Joyce opened her eyes to find Buffy stood at the foot of the bed. Except it wasn't Buffy, she knew that. She turned and saw Rupert was still asleep.

"Stop looking like my daughter"

"No," The First replied, "I like the hair too much. It's so cute and perky" She patted the do vainly. "But seriously? This" She pointed at the couple, "It's nice that you two can be so optimistic in such dark times. I mean c'mon, all those ones staying behind to fight? They're all gonna die, every last one of them. Including your daughter. And then when that battle's over, the real war's going to begin and I'll be coming for the rest of you" She paused in thought, her head cocked slightly to the side, "You do know his legs aren't broken?" She asked her, "Well, they are...but...that isn't the only problem. Paralyzed," She grinned, "Don't think the two lovers are gonna be loving again...if you survive that is. Which, forgive me for being overconfident, but I don't think you will. Just a hunch," She shrugged with a grin, "But I'm gonna enjoy slaughtering all of your daughters. Every last one of them, gutting them, peeling their skin from th-" Joyce instinctively switched on the bedside light and when the warm glow flooded the room The First was gone and Joyce sighed in relief, letting out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

It was the following morning, and Joyce and a reluctant Dawn had finished packing various things into the Cherokee. They were now in Joyce and Giles' bedroom where Giles, Buffy, Faith, Willow, Anya, Tara and Xander were also present. Buffy had told them that The First had visited her last night- Joyce didn't own up to the fact that the same thing had happened to her as The First's words were still haunting her too much- and had made her realize something. That they could win. That they would win. And she knew how.

"Well, what do you think?" Buffy asked, after she had told them all the plan.

"Well, that depends," Xander told her, "Are you kidding?"

"You think it's a good idea?" She asked in reply.

"It's pretty radical B," Faith told her, but she said with approval and a touch of admiration.

"It's a lot more than that Buffy." Giles said, "Buffy, what you're talking about flies in the face of everything we've ever...that every generation has ever done in the fight against Evil." He grinned at her proudly, "I think it's bloody well brilliant!"

"But do you really think we can pull this off?" Tara asked, "Me and Will...we're powerful but this something bigger than either of us has ever done. Than any witch has ever done"

"I know you can Tara," Buffy assured her confidently, "When the two of you work together...there's nothing you can't do. And you can do this" She turned to look at the entire group, "We all can"

"This sucks," Dawn grumbled from where she sat in the back seat of the car, Lily in a children's seat beside her. "I mean...we don't even know what's happening to them"

"I know it sucks Dawn," Joyce nodded, keeping her eyes on the road, "But I'm afraid we haven't got a choice. It's safer for Buffy and for us, if we're not there."

"I never get to fight," Dawn grumbled even more.

"And it stays that way"

"And I don't even like Angel," Her daughter continued, "Spike's way cooler"

"Well, we'll be sure to them both that afterwards," Joyce replied with a roll of the eyes that only Giles saw.

"What's gonna happen to this place?" Fred asked as numerous boxes were packed one after the other and taking by a Wolfram and Hart moving team to be transferred to their branch in L.A. "I mean we leave...we go live there at the law firm place then what happens to all this"

"I suppose it just stays here," Wesley suggested, "We still own it, and unless someone else wishes to acquire it..."

"No one else is going to acquire it," Angel said, appearing from his small office in the back, "This stays ours. We can't trust this deal with Wolfram and Hart...this is our back-up ops and it stays that way.

"And what about..." Fred trailed off before saying quietly, "What about Cordelia?"

There was tension and awkwardness in the air at this question as no one knew how to react or how to expect Angel to react.

"She's going to get the best medical attention Wolfram and Hart can buy"

"Hello?" A voice called out followed by an "Oh my" and the group looked up to see Joyce had walked in, but upon walking through the doors she had seen one of the Wolfram and Hart moving men- who happened to be a green skinned and scabbed demon, and Joyce in shock and horror had backed up against the wall, looking a little faint as she held a hand to her heart, doubtlessly in an attempt to slow her suddenly increased heart rate down.

"Joyce, it's fine," Wesley assured her, "They work for us"

The demonic moving man carried on with his task, leaving Joyce to stumble away slightly before walking over to the group.

"O-oh, right..." She looked unsure and unconvinced, but seemed to accept the explanation nevertheless, "The others are still in the car. We were going to just get out but then all this was going on and..."

"You weren't sure whether you should come in," Angel said in understanding, "Well Wesley and Gunn can help you"

"Nuh-uh," Gunn shook his head, "I'm watching this demon dudes. I'm not having them go kung fu on us the moment we let our guard down."

"Fine," Angel sighed, "Fred and Wesley can help Joyce"

"Okay," Fred smiled in agreement and Joyce was reminded of why she liked the girl so much. She was so friendly- she was just impossible not to like.

As the three of them headed back out of the hotel, Joyce asked them a question that had popped into her mind the moment she saw the group.

"Where's Cordelia?" She asked, "Shouldn't she be...helping with whatever it is you're doing?" She frowned in confusion, "What is it you're doing?"

"We're moving out," Wesley replied, choosing to answer the question he felt semi-comfortable answering as he definitely did not wish to talk about Cordelia. It was all too painful.

"I'd gathered that," Joyce told him as they reached outside and walked over to her car, "But where to"

"Uh, Wolfram and Hart," Fred told her, "We just got given control of their branch here in L.A?"

"Wolfram and Hart..." Joyce said the name, finding it extremely familiar and then her eyes widened in realization, "The people who kidnapped me?"

"Yeah, but we're not those people," Fred assured her, "We're hoping to change it from the inside
"Or they're going to try and change us..." Wesley said quietly and somberly, but neither Fred nor Joyce heard him.

"C'mon Dawn." Joyce said, opening the car door, "We can go inside. You can go on ahead if you like...Fred or Wesley will take you"

"No thanks," Dawn said as she climbed out of the car and looked warily around at all the Wolfram and Hart demons and humans, "I'll wait here." Joyce then undid the buckles on Lily's mini seat belts and lifted the child gently out of her car seat, holding her in her arms one-handedly with her settled on her hip as she closed the car door.

"Ooh she's so cute!" Fred exclaimed, grinning widely at the little girl, "I've never seen little Lily"

"Thanks," Joyce smiled back, "Actually...do you mind if you hold her a second?" She asked, "It's just I have to help Rupert...what with...everything that happened recently, you know"

They did know- Angel had briefed them on everything before the Summers/Giles family bar Buffy had arrived.

"Yeah sure," Fred nodded eagerly, before taking the little girl in her arms, "How old is she?" She asked as Joyce opened the car trunk and lifted out the wheelchair Faith had essentially lifted from Sunnydale General.

"She's going to be one...next week" Joyce hadn't realized it was so close. Wait, the world had nearly ended when she had been born and now it was nearly ending again. Had her daughter been born in apocalypse season? She hoped not.

With everything being so bustly and busy in the main part of the Hyperion, everyone except for Gunn (Who was still keeping his eye on the Wolfram and Hart employees) were in one of the back rooms and now Lorne had joined them. The group had just told Giles, Joyce and Dawn about what had happened to Cordelia as they finally realized they couldn't avoid the topic any longer.

"Oh my god..." Joyce said quietly, "That's so..." She looked up at Wesley, "But she will okay? Eventually, I mean?"

"We...we don't know," Wesley admitted, "We hope so...but we can't be sure of anything"

"We have the best in the Medical business working on it though," Angel said, as though those words alone gave him more hope, more confidence.

"Speaking of.." Lorne said, desperate to change the topic, "How about you?" He said to Giles, "Whether you're liking the wheelchair deal or not I think we need to get him to a hospital fellas,"

"You're right," Angel nodded, "We do"

"And they are the best," Fred assured both Joyce and Giles, "Like the very best. And there's witch doctors too...and healing shamans...you'll be back on your feet in no time" She smiled to herself proudly as she realized she'd made a funny without meaning to, "Huh, literally"

"I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here, I hate that there's Evil, that it's growing and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish a whole lot of the time I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been either"

Doctor after doctor and Wolfram and Hart employees from the law firm's medical department came one after the other to test and examine Giles, to see what was wrong and what could be done. No one else was allowed in the room, so Joyce could only watch through the clear glass pane, occasionally stopping her unrelenting and fearful stare to begin pacing. Fred and Wesley and Dawn all sat in chairs nearby, Lily on Fred's lap.

"But this isn't about wishes, this is about choices. I never had one. I was chosen. And I accept that. I'm not asking you to accept anything. I'm asking you to make your own choice"

The medical team that had been working on Giles had come to a conclusion. Everything could be fixed, but they could do it one of two ways. The normal way and the Shaman way. The normal way would take him months to recover and the operation was so very delicate that there was always a chance of permanent paralyzation from the waist down- there was a one in seven chance of that occurring. Or they could use the shamans that Wolfram and Hart had to offer. The effects would be almost immediate and even though he would be shaky on his legs for quite a while, he would be healed completely. The only downside was it was undoubtedly dark magicks that would be used to do this and was that really an option they wanted to choose.

Wesley begged Joyce to think carefully about this, but she felt she already knew the answer- whether she liked it or not. She sighed and told the medical team, hoping Rupert would agree with her when he woke up and all of this was behind them.

"I believe we can beat this Evil. Not when it comes, but now. We're going to open the seal. I'm going to go down into the Hellmouth and we're going to finish this once and for all."

Angel sat there in his now old and empty office, thinking over what was happening. Buffy would be going into the fight now, doing whatever needed to be done to win. He thought of the amulet, of how she had refused to give it to him. She was going to give it to Spike, he knew it. But he didn't understand how she believed Spike could be a champion, how he could ever save the day. If he caused Buffy to...Angel would make sure he paid for it. But right now, vampire or no, he prayed for Buffy and her safety. And her battle.

"I've got strong allies; warriors, charms, sorcerors and I'll need them all. But I also need you. Every single one of you. So now you're asking yourself 'What makes this any different? What makes us any more than a bunch of girls getting picked off one by one?'. It's true. None of you have the power that Faith and I have. I think both of us would have to die for a new Slayer to be called, and we're not even sure that girl is in this room. That's the rule. So this is the part where you make a choice"

All they could do was wait. Wait in the hospital corridor and wait to see if the world ended. Dawn stood up out of her seat the moment she saw her Mom coming around the corridor with Giles. He was minus a wheelchair and walking on his own too feet and had a walking stick to support him. Also to help, Joyce had her arm around him to give that little bit more support. He smiled weakly at them all.

Now they only had to wait to see if the world would end, to see who would survive.

They could have waited at the law firm, A.I's new home, but it didn't feel right. So instead they waited in the now completely barren Hyperion Hotel with either silence or stilted conversation to pass the time. They just waited. Joyce and Giles held hands tightly while they sat on the small couch together and Dawn bit her nails furiously. Lily was silent, utterly so as she sat on her Father's lap.

"What if you could have that power? Now?"

They had split off into teams. Buffy and Faith had taken Spike and the Potentials to the seal. Willow and Tara had gone off to perform the spell. Anya and Xander were fighting together at one entrance, Cassandra and Daniel at another, Wood and Jacqueline at the third and and finally Ted and Andrew were at the last. Anya had advised Ted to use Andrew as a human shield when things got tough.

"In every generation, one Slayer is born. Because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. These women are more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rules, I say my power should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow and Tara will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny"

As they cast the spell together, using one hand to hold one another and placing the other on the scythe, Willow became more and more scared. Tara's strength of power came from everything good but Willow had stolen it from everything evil, what if that came through now? What if it corrupted the spell? What if the spell corrupted her? It was such a strong casting, what if it pushed her over the edge? Destroying the spell before she turned on Tara with the dark majiks?

Suddenly those thought flew out of her mind as she saw Tara begin to glow with a golden ethereal light, it surrounding her, pulsating, making her look like the goddess Willow had always known she was. Then suddenly, as the light poured down Tara's arm it carried along Willow's hand, before covering all of her own body, and Willow watched in awe as she saw it travel around her making her glow in the same way as Tara. She felt as though it were cleansing away every last drop of the dark majiks that had remained within it; it all seemed to wash away.

"From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up"

Lily seemed to know when it was happening. She became agitated, tugging at Giles' top, and looking around at everyone. She seemed almost excited as though she knew something good was coming, but she didn't know what.

"Rupert..." Joyce said, "I think it's happening now" She could feel it herself, she didn't know why but suspected it had something to do with the fact two of her daughters were a major part of the spell. It was almost as though she were having a vicarious experience. And she just knew it was happening now.

"What's happening?" Angel asked.

"Every Potential..." Giles told him, "In the world...is being made a Slayer"

"Everyone of you"

Kennedy felt a rush of power in the cavern of the Hellmouth. And loved it. She grinned, ready to kick the butt of every vamp that headed her way.

"And girls we've never known..."

Satsu had just been heading to her locker when she felt dizzy...but in a bad way. She collapsed to the floor in euphoria, her books and papers flying everywhere.

"Satsu?" Her friend asked in worry and confusion.

"And generations to come"

"No, it's cool, she's a Slayer too" Lily assured a wide-eyed Buffy who had just seen her youngest sister dust a vamp in front of a friend from school.

"What?" Buffy couldn't believe it, "You know when I was in school we used to come across...you know, normal people"

"They will have strength they never dreamed of, and more than that, they will have each other"

Xander watched in awe as hundreds upon hundreds of Slayers worked side by side to fight away the undead that were attacking the castle in Scotland.

"Slayers, everyone of us."

A girl nervous about hitting a ball in game, suddenly felt over whelmed with power and strength and confidence. The twelve year old readied herself, wearing a grin of someone who'd fought a thousand battles. And won everytime.

"Make your choice, are you ready to be strong?"