Dinin awoke blinded by light. He had apparently been dumped in a white room, naked. A few articles of clothing (not the ones he was wearing when he had been captured) were piled up next to him. The only view was a flat wall of glass where he could see other rooms like the one he was currently in. He looked at the other occupants: seven goblins, a pair of minotaurs (one male and one female), a small pack of immature hyena-like gnolls and a Drow (turned away from him). Each group was in their own cell and wore the same type of clothing. Well, it was better to be clothed than naked, so Dinin put the offered jumpsuit on. It was disturbing to his Drow eyes, white on white with black fasteners. After a while he figured how to close the strange fastener by pulling up on the tab and the two halves of the clothing connected with a zip. It was something he could have used in the past.

"Acting like a regular slave," a startlingly familiar voice said from the opposite cell. Dinin looked up to see the Drow turn around and the former weapons master gazed into the violet eyes of his brother. "But you were never really that great, were you dear brother?"

Dinin waited a moment before responding. This was so uncharacteristic of the Drizzt he knew that something was wrong. "Drizzt, it's been a long time."

"Longer than you think," said Drizzt he said with a dangerous grin. "But it's…interesting to see you in these circumstances."

"So you are a prisoner of these people as well?"

"Well, something like that." Drizzt grinned. "Think of it as temporary quarters on a campaign."

"What was that thing you hit me with? My entire body went numb."

"That is what these humans affectionately refer to as a blaster or taser. They can't seem to decide on a name," Drizzt explained. "Remarkably effective for a human device."

"Yes, it was."

"So what brings you here? Looking for little old me?"

"Yes, actually. Vierna was sent by Lloth to find you and bring you back to Menzoberranzan," Dinin said.

"Now, now, should you really be giving away that kind of information to a target?"

"Quite frankly, considering the last time we met, I don't really care."

"Yes, the last time we met…You know, I kept the dagger. I never cleaned it and I let the blood rust the blade," Drizzt said in a playfully dangerous tone. "As you fell to the floor dead, I thanked you for allowing me to become First Boy of House Do'Urden. I told Matron Malice that a Narbondellyn houseboy killed you over a mug of human booze. You were forgotten in disgrace."

"The last time we met, you killed our sister and nearly killed me," Dinin corrected him.

"Actually, you two have never met and should never have met," the real Drizzt said, stepping in between them. Dinin looked from one to the other and realized the truth. That other Drizzt, the one in the cell, didn't have the same feel of danger that this new Drizzt emanated. That captured Drizzt felt more like the danger one feels from a mage, not a warrior. And this new Drizzt wore the clothing and weapons that he witnessed in that strange moonlight. He seemed taller, stronger than the one in the prison uniform.

The other inmates noticed it as well. The goblins moved en mass to the back of their cage. The Minotaurs kept their eyes on the strange weapon this new Drizzt kept at his side. Dinin looked over his brother and then at his surreal double in the cell. The new Drizzt interposed himself between the two prisoner drow.

"Dinin, I didn't want to see you again," Drizzt said, his hand moving towards the hilt of his sword. He watched as Dinin's eyes followed the motion.

"I wasn't too keen on the subject either," Dinin stated, keeping up his bravado as much as possible. "But our sister insisted. Having Lloth trash the city when Baenre refused helped too."

"You're lying."

"I have no reason to. Everything I had is gone and it's all thanks to you," Dinin said. "After you left, Malice lost Lloth's favor. Baenre crush our House. Only Vierna and I survived. Vierna was taken into House Baenre and I became a mercenary."

"Then Jarlaxle's group is here as well."

"I never said that."

"You don't have to. There is only one mercenary band that House Baenre deals with," the other Drizzt said from the other cell. "And that is Jarlaxle's band of merry men."

"And Vierna is here as well?"

Dinin sat back, leaning against the back wall. He smiled. "I think I've said enough for now."

"It's easier if you just talk," Drizzt said.

"I've withstood torture before," his older brother said.

"Not like this," said the other Drizzt grimly. Even he had to wince at the prospect.

"This entire floor is designed with the power of a Tongues spell so you will be able to understand every word," Drizzt said, holding up a reflective silver disc. "You can tell me now, or I will be back in one week to ask you again. You will be fed twice a day from a packet that comes from the ceiling. You have as much water as you want by turning the knob and the bowl in the back is for taking care of any bodily functions you might need taken care of. There will be a contingent of guards to give you some exercise each day, but they will have weapons trained on you at all times."

"I suggest you talk now, it just saves trouble in the long run," the other Drizzt stated. "It saves a lot of pain for the rest of us."

"This is your last chance. Make your decision."

"I think I'll wait and see what you are capable of."

Drizzt Do'Urden shrugged and slipped the CD into the drive next to the cell. Originally this was intended to record activity in the cell, but it had been specially modified to project sound as well. "Enjoy a week of prison, Dinin."

As he left, the sounds of Billy Ray Cyrus filled the cell…on repeat.

"Where is my brother, mercenary?" Vierna demanded, her hands on her hips and her scourge coiled around one hand. The seven heads hissed at the mercenary leader. Jarlaxle, well experienced at being threatened by drow priestesses, refused to flinch.

"The last I him, he was wandering around outside. I've since lost contact with him and the scout I sent after him," Jarlaxle said before biting into another apple. "From the evidence, I would guess he was captured. Probably by your other brother."

"And you are not going after him?"

"No, my job is to look after you, not my own mercenaries. They should be capable of taking care of themselves," he said. "If they cannot, they are no use to me."

"I demand that you bring him back!" Vierna brought up the scourge, prepared to strike as the snake-heads reared. Jarlaxle gave the priestess a dark glare.

"You had better be prepared for the consequences if you attack me," he said in a dangerous tone. He didn't even to have to look to know that his other mercenaries were already pulling out weapons, fully prepared to stab the priestess in the back. She seemed to notice their presence and relaxed her arm. "Better. We need to relocate ourselves. Then we will watch for one more week. At that time we shall make a decision as to our choices, not before."

"Very well," Vierna conceded. The mercenaries packed up the goods, loading up the captives recovered from the Ilithid camp and started out under the cover of an illusion spell cast by one of the mages in Jarlaxle's band. The entire camp was moved in sections to prevent easy tracking. They chose a different cavern, this one partially collapsed by the Initiative after Hellgate Keep's attack the previous summer. By the looks of things, not even animals were using the cavern, a testament to the devastation the arrival of Sunnydale created.

By dawn, the entire camp was moved. Vierna set up a special enchantment of darkness, blocking the sunlight from entering the cave and preventing the drow from being blinded by the light. There they waited for the cover of nightfall.

In the following week, a number of people had a great deal to think about. Buffy wandered the area where she fought the Drow, only to find they had vanished. She thought about what the Dark Willow had said. It was not easy for her. Dark Willow was willing to break plenty of eggs to get an omelet, even if she had to discard the first few that weren't perfect.

'Yum, omelets. I should get one,' she thought to herself. 'I need to eat more eggy goodness.'

As she wandered the area, she was confused by what the Dark Willow said. There was no good or evil. That scared Buffy more than most would know. In her previous incarnation, she had seen what it was like to be a hardliner on the war against the darkness. Dark Willow showed a different side that was equally terrifying. Where would Buffy stand, her power still growing and her control no better than it was on Earth?

It scared her. Her power was increasing everyday. She was getting better, faster, stronger. She discovered she could leap up to a second story window. Soon she would be able to hop from roof to roof without any trouble. She was faster too, having outrun a horse at full gallop. And her senses were increasing and changing. She knew where every demon, full half or planetouched was in Sunnydale proper. She found she could differentiate between them and almost know the individual if she was familiar with them.

The questions remained: Was she becoming some kind of Super-Girl knock off or was she more demon than ever before? Where was her power coming from? Where would it take her? What happened when she finally lost control? As she sprinted back to Sunnydale, she pondered the possible answers.

"Now, I will prove that my defendant was within his rights *burp* to hunt down Do'gurgen. He's a member of the Bounty Hunter's guild in Port Llast and he really knows what he's doing when it's coming to that kind of thing. Oh, and Do'gurgen's a dog beater. That's all I've got," said the public defender.

"Mr. Lathrop, may I remind you that the prosecution gives their opening statements first," stated the Judge. "I'm holding you in contempt of court for appearing in this court room drunk. Sober up in the tank. We'll try this again tomorrow at noon. Jury, you will ignore everything that drunk just said."

Ever since Drizzt had captured his brother and the scout, he had run over the events since he left Menzoberranzan in his head. He had been the Hunter, little more than a wild beast for a decade. This had changed later on with the events with the deep gnomes and his subsequent capture by the mind flayers. Now, not even a year after he had left the ilithid city, he was welcomed with open arms to by a people just as new to the Realms as he was. And he was respected for what he could do, but he was allowed to become what he wanted, not what his society had laid out for him. But his people were back.

Dinin and Vierna; by Dinin's account they were the only blood kin he had left. Drizzt was not sure how he felt about that. Should he be happy to still have family? Especially a sister like Vierna? Or a brother like Dinin? Or should he shed himself of all vestiges of his old life? Every time he thought he had made up his mind, something happened to change it. It was like that song Giles had played for him: "Should I stay or should I go?"

Where did he belong?

He also found himself in a very strange position for a Drow: having power over an older sibling with that sibling still alive. Normally, family power was passed on by the deaths of the older siblings, allowing for the younger children to head to the forefront of the House, only to have the same process used against them later on. But with Dinin, Drizzt knew he held the power; he had control over the situation and Dinin was clearly afraid of him, visibly afraid. In normal Drow society that sign of weakness would have been stamped out as soon as it shown. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

Giles looked out at the edge of the Sunnydale Plateau, as they had started calling it, the last flat place in the region, by local accounts. Buffy had left ten minutes ago and she was already headed back. She was running full out and he was having a hard time tracking her with the binoculars.

She would be turning 18 soon. That scared him. He knew what normally happened when a Slayer became 18. He just hoped she didn't. He had determined that he would never go through the Crucimentium, but there was always the possibility that Buffy would die. Would there be another Slayer after her on this new world?

People were criticizing his decision to still train Buffy. Some criticized the time it took for him to train with her. Others criticized that he was no longer able to train her at all, that she had surpassed him. He was starting to believe it was true. He needed to find a new trainer for Buffy, someone who could harness her power and keep her alive.

He had admitted it to himself, but not out loud, but he thought of Buffy Summers as more than just a Slayer or a student. She was the closest he would ever have to having a child. The thought of loosing her terrified him more than he wanted to admit. Perhaps he could explain himself to the girl before it was too late.

He was also lost when it came to the organization of the Initiative. It had always been a semi-military organization even before the Shift, but they had been deeply rooted in the Science of demonology instead of the more arcane side of things. He had been a Watcher for years, long before he had been assigned to Buffy. He had worked in the British Museum and had been a librarian for years. After his rather troubled youth of course. But he had never been the new person in charge of a transition such as what the Initiative was going through.

He spent his days sorting through capture reports, interviews with possible new employees and dealing with the creatures and people they captured. He was unable to return to his position as a high school librarian as he had to oversee the training of over a hundred agents in a new method of demonology. Experience had made it clear to most Agents that "shoot first" usually meant "get clawed second." These were the easy ones to train as they easily went deep into the books to research the origins of the creatures they encounter.

Giles had lost most of the scientists to other more pressing projects, but he had been able to retain a core of dedicated scientists and their assistants. They were just as willing to acknowledge the importance of Research. Yes, with a capital R.

Their primary job was sorting out information into other formats. As much as Giles hated computers, he was forced to look at the advantages of having an easily searchable index beyond "let's try here" as was done before. Now demons and other beasts were described by phenotype and were searchable from there. Each entry also contained the Traditional name (ie. What Giles calls it) and the Scientific name (ie. What the Initiative scientists called it). It eliminated much confusion. Best of all, the lack of use kept Giles' books in top condition. He had his own private library now. It was wonderful.

His next problem was dealing with the captured creatures. As the Initiative had the most secure location aside from the Base, the most powerful or dangerous creatures were sent to the Initiative for observation before releasing or eliminating the creature. He currently had a full load for review and it had to be done soon or there would be no room to put new creatures.

At least his "Adopt a Wyrmling" program was taking off. Instead of killing the tiny dragons, they had set them up with special families and organizations for the purposes of raising them with a respect for humans as opposed to seeing them as food. Most that they found were the size of cats or dogs, but a few were as big as the average human. It was good that they didn't eat any more than the average American. Several were actually planning on attending school. (Housecraft's people were not pleased to hear about this, citing something about "wyrms in bed with our daughters or some such.")

Some creatures had been released into the wild after review. Most of these had been sprites or fey stirred up by the Shift. Others were simply bizarre creatures like winged snakes and cats. There was one strange kind of dog that actually climbed trees and another that could teleport short distances. This latter kind was known as a Blink Dog and was quite intelligent for all that they looked like dingos, (much to the band's amusement). The blink dogs weren't so much released as the Sunnydalers stopped trying to catch them. It's hard to imprison something that can teleport almost at will. Rumors were the canines were still hanging around town occasionally pretending to be pets.

More troublesome were the wererats. These had invaded and were spotted only by accident. An Agent had fallen on one and cracked the skull open. When the lycanthrope had died, it had returned to its human form. They then went on a rat hunt, tranking and tasing as many as they could. Most left after being informed of the high vampire population, but Giles knew a few remained. He also knew that wererats, unlike werewolves, retained their human minds even in their animal form. This could cause more problems, but could be advantageous with the Mayor's plan for a Special Forces team made up of supernaturals and mages. He described them as akin to the adventuring bands seen in other parts of the Realms.

Other creatures were still waiting to go through the process. There were twelve minotaurs, three of which were pregnant; twenty-seven goblins (the three blue ones, four red ones and the rest were green with one that talked in a strange syntax even when translated); five gnolls (things that look like a cross between a hyena and a human, Xander was creeped out by them); thirty worgs (large intelligent wolves) most of the adult females were either pregnant or having recently given birth (a full third of the worgs were new births); a were-basilisk (the lizard, not the creature that turned people to stone); and a herd of mammoths.

Absently, Giles pondered what the proper collective noun for a group of mammoths would be.

These were all being fed by rations brought in from other lands by Sunnydale's allies: Silverymoon and the Zhentarim who were ironically opposed to each other. Sunnydale never would have survived if it were not for the help of these two nations. But it would time to pay the toll taker soon enough. Neither nation knew that Sunnydale was using the rations to feed Giles didn't know what they could do to repay the two nations and they would soon want payment.

After the first few days of the audio torture, the only thing Dinin could think about was an end to the pain of "Achy Breaky Heart." Drizzt swapped it out for the "Worst of Thursday Night Karaoke at the Bronze" on the third day without saying a word. That brief time it took to change discs was a blessing to Dinin's ears.

The Next Day

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury," began the prosecutor, "Here before us we have a man who attacked an injured man without provocation. But this is more than that. McGristle hunted Drizzt Do'Urden across mountains and valleys, across nations, looking for revenge. With expert testimony, we will prove not only that McGristle acted on his own volition and attacked Drizzt Do'Urden, but we will show that he did so for no reason other than clear cut racism. The attack on Mr. Do'Urden is not only unwarranted, but is a hate crime against a minority. And under Sunnydale law, a hate crime is seen as a greater offense than normal.

"Now, some of you might wonder why or how the two of them crossed paths. We will show the events up to their interaction the first time they met and the subsequent conflicts. We will show you how Mr. McGristle racially profiled and persecuted Drizzt Do'Urden simply for the way he was born. After their initial confrontation, which Mr. Do'Urden wisely escaped from and left to prevent further conflict, McGristle hunted and even tried to raise up a lynch mob to assist him. These individuals, whom you will meet, will testify that they were there simply for the investigation and that investigation quickly removed Mr. Do'Urden as a suspect and had actually dispatched the real perpetrators. You will also see through eyewitness testimony how dark and twisted McGristle became after this was revealed…"

The now sober defense attorney stood up after the prosecution sat down and looked at the jury and then at the judge and then at McGristle. "My client did in fact attack Mr. Do'Urden. We do not deny this fact. But he was under the impression that he was hunting down a dangerous criminal guilty of killing a farming family. The same Drow had also maimed him previously when Do'Urden killed my client's dog. As far as he was concerned, he was protecting innocent people. Drizzt Do'Urden had murdered an innocent couple and their children, ages 6 to 15 ruthlessly and had done so only for pleasure. The Drow's weapon was found at the scene of the crime and experts were brought in to assist my client. These experts agreed with the evidence. We will prove that his actions were just in the eyes of the laws he was operating under. He had no reason to believe that a new nation has sprung up and that the laws had changed. For all he knew, a couple of mages had just fought a battle and they were caught in the backlash. As far as he was concerned, he was operating as a member of law enforcement…"

Xander was working harder than he ever had before. He was in school a full day and then became an errand boy between the Initiative and the Sunnydale Self Defense Force (SSDF), as the military base had been renamed. It was quickly apparent that the memories he had of Holiday soldiering were not up to snuff. So now was he not only studying for school (which both Willow and Cordelia had forced him to do on his own, but for very different reasons), he was the sole member of an accidental ROTC-light program that Giles had signed him up for.

He was not a soldier, but it seemed he now knew everything the average soldier was required to know. How to stand, how to dress, how to observe the battlefield. He had needed to relearn a great amount about everything military since things had changed in the last thirty years.

But he was still not directly part of the military. He kept his hair in his normal style and wore his normal clothing (much to Cordelia's chagrin) while working at both the Base and the Initiative. He was getting familiar with how both organizations were working things out.

In the military there were old rivalries between the former branches of the military. Everyone was having a hard time with the blending and restructuring of the branches. There was simply no need to have a Navy anymore. The Air Force was grounded temporarily and the Army was almost out of bullets. Everything had been combined into one branch with two divisions: land and air. Xander found himself sorting out all these things and occasionally in the middle of them. This was especially true when the members of the Initiative started talking about their previous allegiances in the US military prior to their placement on the formerly top secret project. When these things started to spring up, Xander wisely stepped out of the line of fire.

He avoided his double. It was weird enough to have someone who was practically a twin, but to have that person be the opposite, was even stranger. At this point they had both agreed to disagree on everything except for comic books. Their lives were identical up until Halloween and their formative years were so closely tied together, but that one day had made their paths diverge so quickly.

At this point he was wondering where he stood on so many things. His parents didn't understand what he did, but he hardly ever saw them. They had been forced to clean up their act after the booze ran out, but "I need a drink" was still their favorite phrase. Tony was out working again in a steady job and his mother was involved in a few of the other organizations. She was actually using her college degree after about twenty-five years. In a way Xander was both proud and disgusted with them. On one hand, they had cleaned up their act, but on the other it had taken Sunnydale being transported to another world in order for them to do so. Should he ignore that part?

His relationship with Willow was becoming strained. They had been so close for years, the two of them and Jesse, but now Willow had her magic friends and Xander was spending more time with the military on their off times when he wasn't visiting Cordelia. It wasn't that he was upset for Willow having friends with similar interests, but he still wanted a part of her to remain the girl with the yellow crayon. But he wondered if she was feeling the same way; was he changing just as much?

He was going to have to plan a night off soon, something with Willow, Buffy and Drizzt. He wanted to try and reconnect with them more before they strayed too far apart. They were more like family to him than his real family. Maybe he could get Giles and Joyce to come along as well. A picnic or something, well not a picnic because that would be cold in the Nether Mountains during winter, but something.

Willow thought about her new friends in the Magic Club at school. They were a strange group to most people. They had almost nothing in common except the magic club. Some were girls, some were boys. Some weren't even human and two didn't even look human. It was strange. A year ago, she was just trying to survive Spike, Drusilla and Angelus. Now it was the town itself that was trying to survive. Her magic was getting better, much better than it had been when she had cast the spell reuniting Angel's soul with his body and she was keenly aware that some of her magic teachers were more than a little scared that she was having such an easy time of it.

She sometimes wondered why it came easy to her. She just didn't know. It wasn't like she was some kind of demon or anything like that, but it just…it just happened. This seemed to be what she was meant to do. Or something like that. Prophesy being bad and all that.

One thing was for sure: the Scooby Gang would never be the same. Buffy was still doing Slayer-Stuff ™ but she was doing most of it with Drizzt, the only person in Sunnydale who could keep up; Xander was doing his whole army-guy routine; and Giles of all people was the head of a government organization. Oz was gone who knows where.

With her new friends, Willow wondered what was going to happen to her old friends. It scared her more than she was willing to admit aloud.