Colonel Matt Telford hated demons. He hated the fact that they even existed. And he hated the fact that they found oh so much enjoyment in torturing, killing and or eating humans. But he really hated the fact that his men could take out a hundred of them and there'd still be more of them. But the thing he hated the most was burying the innocent people he and his men couldn't get to in time. He and his men quietly finished burying the last one of the villagers some demons he couldn't even name had killed. And as he looked around at his men, he knew some of them were done and it was time to let them go home and try to heal from the Hell the last six months had been. It also meant he'd need to pull in some temporary replacements until he could get some new recruits for the cause, which meant he'd be accompanying his retiring men back stateside so he could see about getting the ball rolling on that. Unlike his men, Colonel Matt Telford had no home to go back to thanks to demons and he was certain he'd eventually die fighting them and he was fine with that, it meant he'd see his family again. He turned to the Magic user assigned to his unit and hadn't that been a head trip when he'd found out Magic was real.

"Anything else twinging your spidey sense, Aaron?"

"No, not at this time, Colonel, the protections are holding. I'm sorry they got passed them."

"It's not your fault, those Wards were put up by the last Magic user assigned to us. Obviously he missed something."

"It's too late to know what."

"Some of my guys are ready to call it. I'm going to go back to the States with them and see about finding new recruits."

"They've seen a lot of death, but some of them will be back." Aaron told him.

"One of your visions?"

"Experience, like yourself, some simply can't let go." Telford met the wise old eyes and knew the old man knew his deepest secret, the one even the Army didn't know. For Matt Telford, the war against demons was personal. He also knew, Aaron was putting him on alert on purpose. Don't get people killed because it. The day that happened would be the day he ceased to be Colonel Matt Telford and became a corpse himself, because he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did get innocents killed because of his need for revenge. He nodded in acknowledgment and went to make arrangements for the trip stateside.

Once there, he met with the general in charge of the demon hunting teams that had been put together after the fiasco in Sunnydale. 'Idiot scientists, I could have told them that demons can't be controlled and the idea is beyond stupid'. He thought. 'At least that little Slayer girl I heard about was able to stop that Adam monster.'

"Welcome back, Colonel. I was sorry to hear about the villagers that were supporting your men being killed." The General said sympathetically.

"We failed them, sir. The protections around their village weren't good enough and those damn things got passed them. They fought hard, but by the time we were able to get there through the rainforest, it was too late. They didn't leave anyone alive, not even the children. I brought some of my men back, they've had all they can take."

"We'll make sure they get counseling. In the meantime, we have to get back out there so you'll need to look at personnel files and let me know who looks good and we'll see about bringing them on board."

"Yes, sir. I thought I'd check out some Reservists first, bring them on temporarily, before going for full time military."

"They'll hold the positions until you can get permanent team members. Go ahead and go though their files too. Who knows? Some of them might become full Army instead of Reservists."

Colonel Telford had been going through files for days and had yet to find anyone with a psych profile that he thought could handle even knowing demons were real, let alone be able to fight them and not want to make friends or pets out of them when something caught his eye and he took the file to his general.

"General, I've found something very interesting."

"Do tell."

"A graduate of Sunnydale High School joined the Reserves, Sir. Within a few months of graduation. He graduated in the same class that Slayer girl in Sunnydale was in."

"Buffy Summers? She was the only one in her little group Walsh had any contact with and I understand everyone in the group helped put down Adam. As long as they're not causing any problems, we're not interested in them. The last thing we need is someone getting the oh so stupid idea to study her. I shudder to think what the body count on that stupidity would be. So tell me about this Reservist."

"His file is very interesting. His CO says he has a level of perseverance that will probably earn him a MOH, he doesn't know how to stop or give up until the job is done. He follows orders even if he thinks the leader is an idiot, but his debriefings never hold back on why he thinks the op failed. And his own ability to put together a plan is really impressive. His CO says he can see through feints, traps, and complicated problems, coming up with concise plans that will adapt to most situations. And he fights well, especially after just a little instruction. He's fast and he's strong. The CO has recommended that he take artillery officer classes officially, but that's just so he can legitimately give him that position, because he's already damn knowledgeable about it all."

"Someone from Sunnydale who graduated with the Slayer may well already know what's going on out there and can do all that? What's his name?"

"Private Alexander Harris, currently living in New York." Telford answered.

"Call him."