See Prologue for disclaimer and details. Hello everyone, and wow! Thank you all for all the reviews so far, we weren't expecting quite so many just for the prologue. Hmm, with regards to Dawn's outburst, a number of people have mentioned that the Scoobies never thought that they could kill/destroy the First, just 'scrunch' it (whatever that truly means). This may be true; what we were trying to convey from Dawn saying that is that she was very emotional over all the recent killing and destruction, and she went into denial after hearing that the First Evil had gotten what it wanted all along. After all, how would YOU feel if someone told you that your friends' gruesome deaths were actually all for nothing?

Anyway, now that that's over with, it's time to get on with the main part of the story. And a warning; this chapter deals with some VERY adult concepts, but trust us, the rest of the fic won't be quite so dark. We're just setting the scene, as it were, for the big adventure to begin. Now, let's get to what everyone came here for...


Part One: Starting Over

The Master's underground cavern, Sunnydale

Summer, 1982

The ancient, ugly-looking vampire called the Master paused, suddenly sensing that something was different. He didn't know that the timeline had just been altered by the conception of Dawn Harris within her new mother's womb; he could only feel that somehow, something had changed. That things...were now different than they had been before.

Known as Heinrich Joseph Nest back when he was human, the Master had for centuries been the head of an ancient order of vampires called the Order of Aurelius. In a nutshell – he was a powerful, evil, soulless villain devoted to ritual and prophecy. Nonetheless he had been entombed in the sewers beneath Sunnydale for the past forty-five years, given that he had been devoted to bringing back the Old Ones (the demons that had ruled the Earth, millions of year ago) and initiate the extermination of humanity. Unfortunately, he had failed...

And so the Master had gotten stuck in this underground church, which had been buried in the earthquake of 1937 along with him. Imprisoned by mystical forces, unable to leave his underground cage, he had survived this long by bidding his minions to find people for him to feed from...

But even so, the Master had been getting weaker and weaker as the decades passed, and he knew it.

"Luke," the Master said deceptively softly to his minion, dismissing the feeling that something had changed as more-or-less irrelevant.

"Yes, Master?" the tall, well-built minion immediately replied.

"It is time," Nest said simply, knowing that Luke would understand what that meant.

Indeed he did. The acolyte began a ritual that would put his sire into a state of suspended animation, within a pool of blood. It was the only way to prevent the onset of brain damage, until the Hellmouth became more active with the arrival of the Slayer; the Chosen One whose death, according to immutable prophecy, would free the Master at last.

The ritual was soon finished, and Heinrich Nest a.k.a. the Master vanished beneath the surface of the red liquid. Gone, but only for now, and certainly not forgotten.


Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale

Late September, 1995

"Dude! We made it, we're finally freshmen!"

Xander Harris, fourteen years old and with both eyes intact, tried to ignore the too-loud, too-dorky voice of his best friend Jesse McNally as they got off the bus. But the other boy didn't know when to stop. "Look at this place, man. It's Sunnydale High, the Sunnydale High School! We're in the big leagues now, no more junior high crap!"

"Jesse, did it ever occur to you that it's fundamentally wrong to be excited about being in school?" Xander asked hopelessly. "Now if you were talking about study hall so that we could read the latest Spiderman comic, I'd be right there with you. But Math? History? English, or even French class? What the heck's wrong with you?"

Jesse seemed to deflate a little. "Uh, well. When you put it that way..."

Just then Willow Rosenberg – so young, and so innocent-looking at this point in time – came up to join the two teens. "There you two are! Where were you guys on the bus, I couldn't see you anywhere."

Xander shrugged. "Sorry, Will, first day crowd I guess."

Cordelia Chase and her friends came strolling by from the parking lot. They too were just children during this era. And these rich girls had had their family chauffers drive them to school so as not to have to mix with the riff-raff on the bus.

Upon seeing this assortment of enticing female flesh, Jesse's features instantly exhibited desperate longing, Willow's unabashed fear and Xander's melted into annoyed boredom. So naturally he was the one the Queen of Mean instantly zeroed in on.

"Well, well, well. Xander Harris at Sunnydale High, who'd have thought it. Weren't you supposed to have been kept back a year, you retard?" Cordy sneered at her nemesis ever since kindergarten.

"Oh, lemme guess, Daddy's money managed to smooth things over yet again with Principal Martin last year?" Xander glared at the attractive female brunette.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Chase girl demanded, as the Cordettes looked knowingly amongst themselves.

Xander pointed at a group of seniors not far away. A tall, well-built blonde football player was talking and laughing with his friends. "That thing with Darryl Epps? Go ahead, Will, tell them what you told me earlier."

Poor Willow looked like a deer caught in headlights, "Uh, well, Chris sorta mentioned at the science fair...that Darryl was complaining how you-"

"What? What did he say I did, you pathetic little worm!?" Cordelia shouted at the other girl, not letting her finish. "Come on, I dare you to say it. Hell, I double dare you! Let's all hear what your Sears-wearing, fashion-reject ass has to say!"

"Nothing!" Willow babbled fearfully. "Chrisdidn'tsayanythinghejustkindasortamentionedth eweatherwasn't-"

"Never mind, Wills," Xander sighed, noticing how distressed his female pal was getting. Then he quickly grinned. "So, Cordelia. Going to try out for the cheerleading squad? 'Cause I'm sure the coach of the football team is gonna want nothing less than the best for all his boys. Y'know, like a fluffer on a movie set."

Some of the sheep openly gasped. Cordy herself looked confused. "What?"

Her best friend Harmony Kendall whispered what that was in her ear. Cordelia's face went white at the thought of becoming some football star's sex aid, and then she became scarlet with rage. "OOOH! That's it. You're disgusting slime, Xander Harris!" She then finally appeared to notice Jesse looking at her that way. "Dream on, you little twerp! Just for the record, you come any closer and my father will sue you and your parents for harassment!"

So saying, Cordelia whirled around and left, her entourage faithfully trailing behind her. Jesse just sighed and then poked Xander in the side. "Dude, do ya hafta constantly provoke her like that? How am I ever gonna get her to go out with me if my best friend is someone Cordelia hates, like, completely?"

Xander just slung a friendly arm around Willow's shoulders, completely missing the dreamy expression on the red-haired girl's face. As they walked off Harris tossed over his shoulder, "Can't believe I'm actually agreeing with Cordy on anything, but may as well face it. What she said – ain't never gonna happen, pal."


17619 White Oak Drive, Sunnydale

Later that night

"Hey, boy! Didn't I tell you to take out the garbage already?"

Xander winced, his left shoulder aching after Rodney Munson had beaten him up today. Oddly enough, Harris had finally managed to get a hard right cross into the older boy's face and made him back off in astonishment. Well, with any luck, maybe the bully would go find some other fresh meat to torment from now on. Apparently, he didn't like it if his prey fought back.

Just like Anthony Harris.

Even though his father's voice was slurred by alcohol, there was no room for misinterpreting that order. So Xander got up from the kitchen table and started hauling out the large collection of beer bottles, pizza boxes and Mickey D leftovers outside.

Sometimes, the youth wondered if he was making up for the sins of a past life. His father was, to put it bluntly, a nightmare. His mother had lately started to drink herself. About the only bright spot in his life, apart from Jesse and Willow, was his little sister Dawn.

As far as Xander knew, kids were supposed to live in a loving home. On TV they got hugs and kisses on their birthdays, presents and chocolate cake. They didn't get a vicious backhand when the whiskey couldn't be found. They didn't get lacerations trying to protect a little sister from the flying cutlery.

They didn't spend Christmas camping outside after dark, to avoid the drunken family brawls.

As Xander trooped back into the kitchen, he suddenly heard Dawn scream. "What the-" The boy instantly ran towards the source of the sound. He was afraid of his father, but if his sister was terrified enough to yell like that it meant the situation was even worse than usual.

Upstairs, Tony was drunk – but not as much as he wanted to be. "Stupid little brat," he snarled at the cowering twelve-year-old girl. "Now where the hell is my money? I know you took it!"

"I didn't touch your wallet, Dad! Honest!" Dawn pleaded with the man.

"Bull. You lying bitch," Anthony muttered. Then he noticed how her slight bosom was heaving up and down in fear. Unfortunately Tony was drunk enough not to be thinking very clearly, either about what he had suddenly decided to do nor all the possible consequences of the act. "Well, now..."

Dawn's eyes widened with horror as her father unbuckled his pants and unzipped his fly. "XANDER!" The girl instinctively shrieked for her big brother at the top of her lungs, almost certainly alerting the neighbors.

"Shut up!" Tony ordered her, advancing forward.

At that moment Xander came tearing into Dawn's room, and the scene that greeted him was one that surpassed any and all of his childhood nightmares. His father's pants were down around his knees as the man got to within arm's reach of his daughter.

There was no time to think, either about actions or intentions. Therefore Xander acted without thinking. He ran up to Tony and put all of his teenage strength into a single lucky punch that landed flush on the middle-aged man's mouth, forcing him away from Dawn.

Needless to say, Tony did not take that well. With a bestial roar he started attacking his son, raining blow after blow upon Xander's head and body. The only reason Harris senior didn't kick Xander to death was that his trousers were still down around his knees, and he couldn't focus enough to pick them up.

"DADDY! DAD! STOP IT, YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Dawn hollered in mortal fear.

At that moment Jessica came running into the bedroom. Her eyes went wide. "Tony! Stop!" she yelled.

The adult woman was finally able to restrain her husband long enough to say, "Stop it! What have you done? For God's sake, Tony, what have you done!?"

Finally, the blinding red veil of murderous fury fell from the man's mind and Anthony Harris looked down at Xander in stunned disbelief. The boy was bleeding heavily, almost like a stuck pig. He was also laying on the floor and not moving. Tony honestly wasn't sure if he'd killed the kid or not.

Then the would-be rapist noticed his daughter cowering in the corner of her room. Dawn's eyes were fixed on the broken form of her brother as she started twitching spastically.

"Oh, Christ..." the man muttered, suddenly sobering up fast.


Sunnydale General Hospital, Sunnydale

The next morning

Jessica Harris was one very worried customer.

The Sunnydale PD had arrived last night after she had called for an ambulance. They had also gotten a number of calls from the neighbors. Even though Mrs. Harris didn't know it, a report of the incident had reached the desk of the Deputy Mayor Allan Finch. He was the one who had subsequently given the bluesuits their orders on how to deal with this...situation.

The cops had arrested her husband, and he was currently languishing in the town jail. No doubt that right now Tony was getting pissed, and not just from the hangover. But Jessica couldn't afford to think about him for the moment; for once, her children had to take priority.

If she was going to be honest with herself, the middle-aged woman wasn't exactly proud of her record as a mother. She had tried her best, but ever since Anthony had seriously started hitting the sauce it had just gotten too hard. Alexander and Dawn...well, they hadn't deserved what had happened last night, and Jessica knew she should have been there earlier to stop it. ( God, what's going to happen now? )

"Mrs. Harris?"

Jessica looked up from her seat in shock. "Oh! I'm sorry, you startled me."

"My apologies," the nurse said as Jessica got up. "I'm here to tell you that your son is now officially out of danger. Alexander's been injured very badly, but fortunately his wounds weren't life-threatening."

"Thank God. What about Dawn?" Jessica demanded.

The nurse hesitated. "I'm afraid she has to stay in the psych ward for the time being."

"What!? Why?" Jessica wanted to know.

The nurse cocked her head slightly, eyes narrowing. "Ma'am, your daughter went into hysterics when we tried to separate her from her brother last night. She had to be forcibly restrained when he went into surgery, and given a very strong sedative. You signed off on the paperwork, don't you remember?"

"I...no, I guess not. Everything's just...kind of a blur," Jessica confessed.

The nurse was sympathetic. "I understand. I'll keep you posted." Then the woman walked away. She always had a lot of work to do, especially in this town.

"Jessica Harris?"

Jessica whirled around to see a thirty-something woman in a dark suit, with a severe expression on her face. "Yes?"

"I'm Janette Macnaught, with Child Services. We've received a report about what happened last night, and I'm here to conduct a complete investigation into this domestic abuse incident. I need you to come with me to answer a few questions."

"What? No, I can't! I can't just leave. What about my kids?" Jessica demanded.

Janette just stared at her. "Someone's being sent here to look after that side of things. And ma'am, I'm afraid this isn't a request. According to the Sunnydale PD, last night your son was viciously attacked by his father and your daughter ended up in a severe state of shock. It's my job to determine exactly what's going on, and to safeguard the welfare of the children. I also need to determine culpability in these matters in my report to the court. Now, are you going to cooperate or not?"

Jessica gulped again. ( Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to end well? ) Finally surrendering to the inevitable, she silently followed the other woman to the front doors of the hospital.


Child Protective Services unit, Sunnydale

A week later

Janette put aside her cup of coffee and stared at the case file in front of her. The pages of information were a concise history of the people she was currently interested in and assigned to.

Case number 52510C/95/H. Harris, Alexander Lavelle and Harris, Dawn Jessica. Siblings, one fourteen years old and the other twelve. Both children currently in hospital.

Parents: Anthony Harris, currently incarcerated, and charged with first degree child abuse and intended sexual assault. Jessica Harris, recently deceased from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills after being found to be an unfit mother.

Known relatives: Rory Harris, former taxidermist by profession, now retired. Current whereabouts unknown. Carol Harris, divorced mother in Fresno: with one daughter, Karen Harris, currently suffering from severe asthma. Unable to afford raising two other kids.

Janette sighed. Sometimes she hated this job. But like Mayor Wilkins had said in a recent speech, "the children are our future", and someone had to make the decisions in a situation like this. ( It's just, where's someone like Mother Teresa when you really need her? Or even John B. Watson. )

The woman picked up the phone and spoke to her assistant, "Please tell them to come in."

A family of three then filed into the office. A dark-haired man in his early 40's, a blonde woman who was his wife, and their prepubescent dark-haired daughter.

"Welcome. Please sit down, Mr. and Mrs. Chase. And this is Cassandra, am I right?" Janette asked as she pasted a professional smile on her face.

"Where's Dawn? Why haven't I been allowed to see her?" the seventh grader demanded of the social worker. An unexpected by-product of the new timeline, no doubt she would be able to give her big sister Cordelia a run for her money in a few more years.

"Cassandra, please. I'm sure you and your friend will be allowed to catch up soon," Julia Chase said to her younger offspring. Then she turned to Janette, "Sorry about that."

"That's quite all right," Janette brushed aside the apology. "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Chase-"

"Please, call me David. And my wife is Julia," Mr. Chase said with a politician's disarming smile.

"As you wish. Now as you're no doubt aware, an unfortunate incident has recently taken place with the Harris children, and it's part of my job to find them some temporary housing until a more permanent resolution of this matter can be established. In an interview I had with Dawn, when asked who she wanted to stay with, she replied, 'my best friend Cassandra.' That's why-"

"Daddy! You have to let her stay with us! You have to! Dawnie's been my bestest friend since we met in kindergarten!" Cassandra blurted out.

Janette briefly glanced at the little girl. ( Well, it's pretty obvious what her opinion on the matter is. No surprises there, just as I suspected. ) "David, Julia – perhaps we can discuss this while your daughter waits outside?"

Julia nodded and took a protesting Cassandra away, shutting the door after promising her child they wouldn't be long. "Again, I'm sorry for her behavior. But Cassandra's been pretty upset after she heard the news about her friend," Mrs. Chase explained as she sat down again.

"Please, it's absolutely fine," Janette again brushed the woman's apology aside. "Now, I need to ask you both: how do you feel about taking in the Harris girl?"

David and Julia briefly glanced at one another. "What about the boy, what's his name? Alexander?"

Janette sighed. She'd been expecting this. "Well, I'd prefer not splitting them up if that's at all possible. In cases such as this, sibling comfort is always a big factor in overcoming such a severe physical and emotional trauma. However, that begs the question: would you two be willing to temporarily take in Dawn's brother as well?"

David looked at his wife again, before returning his gaze to the Macnaught woman. "Let us sleep on it, and we'll get back to you with our decision tomorrow?"

Janette nodded. "Of course. And thank you, I'm sure that not many people would be as generous as yourselves in a matter like this."


Chase Manor, Sunnydale

Later that night

"MOM! Are you and Dad crazy!?"

Luckily, Cordelia's shout couldn't be heard outside the sound-proofed library. Both David and Julia knew the hard way how all servants loved to eavesdrop, and so had chosen this place to broach the subject with their firstborn. "For heaven's sake, dear, please calm down..." Mrs. Chase started to say.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? I can't believe this! Okay, fine, I don't have any problems with Dawn staying here. She and Cassandra can hang out without my little sister bugging me all the time. But you also want me to live under the same roof as Xander freaking Harris? He hates me as much as I hate him! It'd be like, like wearing purple and red together in the same outfit. Can you say, pure disaster?" Cordelia ranted.

Mr. Chase stared at Cordelia, contemplating what to do. He hadn't expected his oldest daughter to be so vehement about this. "Why exactly do you two hate each other?" David suddenly asked.

Cordy gaped at her dad. In her mind, it was as if the man had just questioned why the sky was blue or the grass was green. "It's obvious!" she finally spluttered out.

"Obvious how, dear?" Julia asked.

"Well, Xander's a complete loser! I mean, have you even seen what kind of horrible clothes he wears? Plus, the people he hangs out with! That idiot Jesse and that dweeb Willow. The big dorkhead doesn't even have the brainpower to realize how those two are like a complete death sentence on your social status. He's not into sports or anything either, so how could we not hate each other?"

"I see," Mr. Chase frowned. "Well, apparently after he woke up in the intensive care ward, that boy said in no uncertain terms to Ms. Macnaught that no one was separating him from his sister. That she was the only thing he had left, now that his mother's dead and his father's going to prison-"

"What?" Cordelia interrupted, looked astonished. ( Wow, so all the rumors flying around the school lately really are true? Guess that means I really do owe Harmony a free pedicure. )

"Yes. So that means both those children will now be heading for an orphanage or temporary foster home, if you're so determined not to have the Harris boy live here," Julia finished for her husband. "And if that's the case, young lady, you're the one who's going have to explain to Cassandra why her best friend won't be staying with us after all."

Cordelia paled. She knew, far better than her parents, just what kind of monster Cassandra could become if her brat of a sister set her mind to it. The cheerleader knew for sure, even if she couldn't prove it, that the little imp constantly raided her closet and jewelry box; even though she had the finest stuff of her own.

Cordelia ground her teeth together in frustration. Finally she exploded, "FINE! You guys win, Xander can stay here as well. But don't expect me to be happy about it, or even welcome him into my home. And if he's not out of here soon, I won't be held responsible for the consequences!"

She stormed out of the library as Cordelia's parents looked at one another. "Well, that could have gone better. Tell me, dear, do you really think we're doing the right thing?" Julia felt she had to ask.

David Chase shrugged. "Like Janette said, it's only temporary until something more permanent is decided upon by Child Services. And our little girl does have her heart set on having her best friend live here. Okay, like you, I'm little concerned about her brother, especially if he's anything like his father. But apparently the boy did everything in his power to prevent his sister from getting raped that night, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now."

It also didn't hurt that David's political advisor had informed him that taking in the Harris children could only help his future candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives, making him appear a generous and concerned man of the community, but only if they didn't split up the two kids.

"I suppose," Julia said with a sigh. "All right then, I guess it's settled. As soon as he can leave the hospital, we have two new houseguests for a while. After all, it's not like we don't have plenty of room for them."

TBC...