A/N: Oh my glob! It's an update! It's been, what, like a year or more since I've updated this story? Mea culpa, friends. But I'm currently between books right now, and I found myself really missing these characters, so I'm back to updating this story.

Oh! And if you're a fan of my Buffy writing and all things apocalyptic/dystopian with a side of romance, check out my latest novel, Apophis: A Love Story for the End of the World by Eliza Lentzski, available at Amazon in hardcopy or ebook format. Happy reading!

The First sighed. "I know you hate me and see me as the Worst of the Worst, but all I've ever wanted to do was restore balance to your world as it should be. Two slayers were never intended to co-exist. I could have had any one of my numerous followers simply kill you, but you are a formidable opponent who deserves much more than that. So I lured you to this world instead. Your child may not be part of any ancient prophesy, but she's still yours. Forgive me for my underhanded tactics – after all this time, it's the only way I know how to have my Will done. I thought having your daughter here with you might soften the blow of banishment."

"Banishment?" Buffy nearly choked on the word.

The First's face took on an unexpected emotion. She-It-He-Whatever-It-Was, truly looked remorseful. "Yes. I'm afraid, Slayer, that you may never return to your world."

Chapter 9

The First paced back and forth on her elevated platform. "There's a threat to my realm – a faction of humans dissatisfied to be living alongside demons. I would like you to lead my personal guards in defending the castle if the humans attack."

"And why would I ever do that?" Buffy retorted. She'd just about had enough of The First – she truly was the Worst of the Worst – she'd put Buffy and her friends through Hell in the battle at Sunnydale, she'd kidnapped her unborn child and given everyone in Buffy's life amnesia about it, and now she had the audacity to ask for a favor?

The First stopped pacing. "Because your daughter is in danger," she said gravely. "In this world, she's connected to me, and I'm the one who makes the laws. The human citizens of Gafka see her as my heir apparent, even though I have no intention of letting her lead when she comes of age."

"Why not? Not good enough?" Buffy snorted indignantly. She remembered Dagmar's warnings that she 'check her attitude,' but beyond the aforementioned grievances, now The First was implying that there was something about her flesh and blood ill-suited to rule over Gafka.

"She's half-Buffy Summers," The First explained simply. "I can't make that mistake incase she's Called, like you, on her sixteenth birthday. A Slayer as the ruler of Gafka defeats the purpose of this world existing at all."

Buffy shook her head. "But Dagmar told me she has no Destiny. That she's human."

"You're human, too," The First pointed out, "but you still managed to be a thorn in my non-corporeal side. Without an active Slayer in this world, your daughter very well might become this dimension's First Slayer. I can't risk that."

"And is that why I'm here? Why you've…banished me?" Buffy said, recalling The First's proclamation, "so she doesn't become a slayer?"

"No, you're here to provide balance. I've told you a million times – two slayers were never meant to co-exist. It's One Girl in All The World, not Two," The First observed with a mild smile. "In regards to your daughter, I do not believe your presence will impact her being Called or not. The slayer-line no longer runs through you, after all. Faith Lehane holds the slayer line. Only when she passes will another true slayer be Called."

Faith. Buffy's heart ached. She'd only been gone a few days, but it felt like years since she'd last seen her girlfriend. "Not to rub salt in the wound, but there's a lot more slayers now than just Faith and me," Buffy noted.

The First's brow crumbled and she steepled her fingers. "Yes. And even I have to admit that was a particularly inspired spell – to awaken the dormant powers in the Potentials in order to hold off my army of Turok-Han."

"I'm sure Willow would be touched to know that you think so. I'd tell her myself if you hadn't decided I was banished," Buffy snorted. The more times she said the word, the angrier she became. Nothing would keep her in one place without her consent.

"The spell the witch cast has an expiration date, Slayer. The magic will cease to exist long before that generation of new slayers dies. But your magic, the font of your power, is as connected to you as is your DNA. It's not the result of some Wicca's spell. The same goes for Faith Lehane. That's why I brought you here."

"I came here of my own free will," Buffy stubbornly resisted.

"You came here because I am allowing you to be reunited with your daughter," The First countered. "As much as we may not like it, you and I are at an impasse. You defeated me on your turf, and I will accept that. I will not kill you, but I also will not permit you to return to your world."

Buffy pulled a small glass vial from a pocket in her pants. When she'd been incarcerated, they'd no doubt checked for weapons, but they had somehow overlooked the magic container. "I can return whenever I please," she boasted, waving the vial in the air.

"Yes, I see that." The First's features revealed no surprise at the produced spell Buffy thought had gone undetected – her Ace in the hole. "I instructed that Dagmar let you keep your little spell. It's potent magic, so kudos to you, but it only provides one person with dimension-hopping privileges. You could leave, but your daughter would remain with me."

Buffy's arm froze mid-air, the potion still in her hand. So much for that idle threat. She silently cursed as she returned the vial to her pocket. She should have had the foresight to ask Aimee, the used bookstore witch, for two return tickets. She hadn't thought that far ahead, however.

"In exchange for your service, I can provide you with a life here – a life for both you and your daughter," The First continued. "You will never want for anything."

Buffy felt thoroughly defeated. "But what about my friends?" she weakly protested. "My sister? My-my…Faith?" Material goods meant little if it meant living without your loved ones.

The First spread her hands open, palms up. "They are free to live in Gafka. In fact, I welcome your rag-tag group of humans. All of them, of course, except for Faith Lehane. The balance must be restored."

"Your aim is too high, Larry." Faith adjusted the man's stance and the angle at which he held the crossbow. The next arrow that flew loose hit the straw target instead of the wall behind it.

"I did it!" the portly and balding man beamed, clearly proud of himself.

Faith could only muster a weak smile of encouragement and a pat on his back.

She stepped away from the archery area that they'd set up in the church basement and scanned the assembled group. They had come to her without skill, without training. They had weapons, however, and a false sense of entitlement that fueled their desire to soak up her instruction.

It brought her back to memories of training the Potentials in the days leading up to the battle against The First. Part of her couldn't believe she was going through this again – there would be so much bloodshed. But she also knew this was her best chance to get Buffy back. She had no stake in whether demons or humans won out in this attempted coup. All she cared about was getting Buffy back.

The vial of purple viscous liquid and incantation for her return trip sat heavily in the front pocket of her pants, an ever-present reminder that she could always go home when she wanted to. But she was determined to find Buffy before that ever happened, no matter how long it took.

Faith walked over to the area designated as Command Center. She leaned over a collapsible table were two others in the group – Steve, the man who had originally found her, and his wife Sara, who were looking over city blueprints.

Plans of the city's underground systems, sewers, and water tunnels were laid out on the table. "How did you get these?" Faith asked.

"They're public records," Sara stated. "You just have to go to city hall and ask for them."

"And no one asked you why you wanted them?" Faith questioned.

Steve shrugged. "We're humans. No one sees us as much of a threat."

"Yet," his wife added with a fierce, hungry look.

Faith frowned. "I don't get it. If you're so unhappy here, and you know that alternative dimensions exist, why do you stay?"

"Dimension hopping is dangerous business. And it's expensive, too," Steve observed. "That kind of magic costs money we don't have. And what's to say the demon or witch you paid is actually going to send you someplace you want to go?" He shook his head. "I don't have that kind of trust, not even for other humans."

Faith thought about the uncharacteristic trust she herself had placed with the bookstore witch, Aimee. It had been a leap of blind faith to go through that portal and believe it would lead to Buffy. But if faced with the decision a second time, she'd do it all over again.

"So we can access the castle grounds through these underground passages?" Faith asked, returning the conversation to their plan.

Time was not on their side. In a perfect situation, she would have trained the 30 or so humans for several months, preparing them for what they'd face when fighting demons. But they didn't have that kind of time – who knew when Buffy might be sentenced for attacking a citizen, albeit a demon, of Gafka. To save her girlfriend, Faith would have to sacrifice others. She chose to not share that unnerving thought with Steve and Sara or any of the others. They had waited this long, stewing in their indignation of being second-class citizens. They were ready to attack, regardless if they were suitably trained or not.

"We can access the sewer system here," Sara said. She tapped the blueprint at a 4-way intersection of tunnels. "Then we follow this main tunnel." Her finger traced the route. "It shouldn't be more than a few hundred yards and we'll be inside."

"Then we kill everything that doesn't look human," Steve said, eyes gleaming. "We rush the throne room, and we take out Governor Prentise."

"To be clear, once we get to the castle," Faith voiced, "my first priority is to find and free my girlfriend. I don't care if this takeover is a success or if you all die trying to take out this Governor." The words were harsh, but they were truth.

"But these are demons," Steve protested. "And you're the Slayer. Aren't you supposed to kill them?"

Faith stood to her full height and stared with purpose at Steve and his wife. "It's not that easy. The supernatural world doesn't exist in black and white. I learned a while ago that not all demons are monsters. All too often it's the humans with the most cruelty in their hearts."

Buffy sat on the floor of her new quarters. After reluctantly agreeing to help The First to keep her daughter safe from a potential raid, she'd been relocated from her dungeon cell to a bright, airy bedroom on the second floor of the castle. Along with the new accommodations, she'd been released from her chains as well. The First was non-corporeal, so Buffy couldn't understand the previous caution.

They'd agreed in parting that Buffy would start training The First's personal guard first thing in the morning. For now, however, the day was hers to do as she pleased, or at least as much of her own with the door to her new bedroom locked with her inside.

The room was generous in size, sun-filled, and appropriately furnished – a far cry from the cloistered, spartan accommodations she'd endured in the sublevel prison. A queen-sized bed with an intricate headboard was positioned in the middle of the room. A large window overlooked a private courtyard filled with fountains and fragrant flowers. She had also been provided with a writing desk and chair, although for the moment, the desk drawers were empty.

Buffy rolled the glass vial of magic fluid around in the palm of her hand. She could leave whenever she wanted to. Her fingers closed around the container. All she had to do was break the vial and say the incantation and she could go back home to her friends. But Nora was here. She stood from the floor and put the vial inside of one of the empty desk drawers.

As she closed the drawer, she heard the sound of a key working at the lock of her bedroom door. A few moments later, the door swung wide open.

"Buffy!" Nora's voice filled her ears. The blonde cherub rushed into Buffy's new bedroom with Dagmar trailing not far behind. "Nanna told me you're going to be living with us!"

Despite feeling defeated, broken by her circumstances, Buffy felt a warm glow in her heart at the child's exuberance. "We're giving it a test run," she said gently, not wanting to disappoint the girl. "Your Nanna and I, we…well, we'll see how we get along."

The conservative answer fell on deaf ears. "You should come get ice cream with us!" the girl cheered. "Dagmar takes me just about every day to a shop downtown, and then we go to the lake to feed the geese," she excitedly babbled. "Well, I feed the geese and he tells me not to because they poop on him and it gets caught in his skin cracks."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at the stone-faced demon who merely shrugged in response, neither confirming nor denying the girl's jabber. "Am I allowed to leave my room?" Buffy asked Dagmar. "Or am I still a prisoner, just with a better view?"

"I've been given instructions to unlock your door. The First has given you the run of the castle, but you're to remain inside. In time, I'm sure you'll be granted additional privileges when you prove your loyalty."

Buffy resisted shuddering. When you prove your loyalty. The idea of being 'loyal' to The First made her skin crawl.

Nora looked back and forth between her demon guardian and her birth mother. "Ice cream now?" She hopped back and forth from one foot to the other as if there was so much energy in her body, she might explode.

Dagmar patted a thick, cumbersome hand on her back. "Go get your jacket. Buffy will have to join us another time."

The girl rushed out of the room, just as quickly as she had burst in.

Buffy sat down on her bed. "A Slayer employed by the First Evil," she sighed. "I bet the Shadow Men didn't have this in mind when they created the Original Slayer."

"The Shadow Men were shortsighted fools," Dagmar snorted. "They never could have imagined the great things you would accomplish in one lifetime."

Buffy turned her downcast gaze toward the stone demon. "Was that actually a compliment, Dagmar?" she joked.

"Even in my travels to distant dimensions, people have heard of Buffy Summers. You may not realize it, Slayer, but you are the object of inspiration to many. I consider it a great honor having met you." Dagmar paused, looking thoughtful. "I thought you'd be a little taller though."

"Blame my mom," Buffy said, allowing herself a rare smile. "She let me drink coffee when I was little."

Dagmar made a look that resembled a passable smile on his stoic visage. "If what they say about you is true, Slayer, I expect this is not the end of your great adventures."

Buffy shook her head. "Maybe, but I guess I'm just not seeing it yet. Not unless I leave Nora behind."

Dagmar moved toward the room's exit. "Don't lose hope, Slayer. This is not the end. It is simply a new beginning."

TBC