Not Quite The Same









Willow and Xander were walking the trainee slayers back to the compound when Xander heard the bad complaining start. He rolled his eye, adjusted his eyepatch, then looked around. "Girls, go ahead and run ahead," he said with a nod. "Let her vent." The three girls nodded and ran off. They had another slayer trainee group out here to compare notes with. They had went with Faith and Buffy.

Xander looked up at the continued complaining. "Then tell the girls how to get decent friends who'll step in like we did," he shot back finally. "If you're that concerned about other hunters being needed, help the girls make friends who might help them. Even if they only occasionally help like Oz and Cordy it's still some help during bigger things. It worked for us."

She glared. "It did not!"

"Yet, here we are. Normal people doing hunter things to help the slayers," he shot back. "And since we'll never have kids someone's got to follow in our stupid footsteps. So might as well mentor them when try to help instead of nagging about it like you have."

"I ...." She let out a shriek. "We need more hunters but not that way, Xander! We need real hunters with real skills. Hell, if I could I'd wish that a world with hunters merged with ours so the girls got some real backup with skills, unlike you."

"I've done plenty on my own, Willow. Much more than you have. And hey, I haven't tried to end humanity. So quit whining and hike it back to the house. We have to oversee mini kid bedtimes tonight." She huffed off still muttering. Xander sighed, looking up. "Why?" he asked the stars. Then he felt the magic.

"ROSENBURG! Stop it!" he shouted, running after her. She finished making the loaded wish as he got to her and hit her with the side of his axe, knocking her out. "Oh, shit. GIRLS, run for home!" he shouted, knowing they were nearby. "Please get out of the way," he said as the magic intensified and seemed to pop. And then there were strange demons in dark cloaks and a few vampires. He staked one but no go. That one just sneered.

"Behead the biter," the female up the cemetery called.

"Yup, I can do that." He used his axe to behead them and tried one of the things in a cloak but it just smirked. "Oh, great, you're *special*," he sneered, pulling his second choice weapon, a silver dagger. It batted it aside so Xander considered it and just kicked it around until it fell down. The woman rushed over to behead it with her sword. "Hey. Thanks. What's that made of so I can tell the younger slayers?"

"Slayers?"

"Oh, great. You came from the wish. Um... sword is...."

"Mithrill."

"Oooooh. Ooooooh," he moaned the second time. "Mythical. But okay! If anyone can find us elves to make us swords, maybe Andrew can. BUFFY!" he shouted. "VISITORS FROM A WISH!" He grinned at her. "Sorry. Um, the witch I knocked out just made a wish to get more hunters here and I'm assuming you are." She nodded with a smirk. "Cool. So am I. I work with the slayers here, who're our specially called huntresses of evil nastiness. Buffy's the head girl and around here somewhere." He spotted one. "Faith, get the trainees home! I sent our three to find yours."

"They're not here, they ran back. Do you have their GPS?"

Xander pulled out his phone to look. "What the hell is Myrna doing out here?" he complained, letting Faith see it. "The six pack are at Starbucks. Myrna's in the park. Alone."

"So probably her date." She called her, not getting an answer. "I'll get the minis home. Buffy's stomping this way. Why is Red out?"

He held up his axe. "I hit her with the side of it upside her pointy little skull because she made a wish for more hunters."

Faith blinked. "That's so damn stupid of her!"

"YUP!" He grinned. "I suggested she help the girls make friends so they could find friends for us to mentor when they stepped in like we did."

"Could've been handy and stopped her stupid earlier," Faith decided. "Okay, let me grab the girls, we'll go gather Myrna, then head home." She smiled at the other hunter. "Let me get the trainees out of the way? Then we'll hold a meeting?"

"Yeah, I'm good with that, ma'am."

"Great! I'll yell that at B on the way past." She ran off.

Xander sighed, leaning on his axe. "Yeah, it's gonna be a long night." He grinned. "But let me do something heroically stupid since I'm kinda known for it." He looked up. "I use the wish owed to me by D'Hoffryn from our game of blackjack to summon thee," he called loudly. "So he can answer this bullshit issue."

The head demon over vengeance and wish demons showed up. "What are you doing, Harris?"

"Well, first, I need to know a few things. Then I'll make a pointless wish to cancel that one. Did she fully merge us? Is it permanent? Is anyone harmed from it? Do we have new species?"

The tall, horned demon blinked at him then at the hunter. "He drives me nuts."

"Well, yeah." Xander grinned. "But I'm really good at it and I had to knock Willow out for making a wish for more hunters."

The head vengeance demon nodded. "She did." Xander nodded once. "It is, as you guessed, a full realm merge."

"Permanent or will it break in a few years?" the female hunter asked.

"No, it's permanent. There's new demons." He sensed around. "They're not pleasing to us."

"We'll talk about that in a bit and protect the peaceful ones as usual," Xander said dryly. "How many? World wide or just Cleveland?"

"Worldwide. They'll fit in well here. They have specially marked ones as well. What is that sword, young lady?"

"Mithrill. Us marked ones can use them."

"Huh. Like the slayer mole?" Xander guessed. She showed off the large, dark mark on her arm. "Ooh, much bigger."

"It spreads a bit as we hit puberty." She put her sleeve back down. "Who's that?" she asked Xander with a point at the demon.

"That's D'Hoffryn, he's over wish demons and vengeance demons." He grinned. "Which means he's probably got a minion to go paddle."

"They're getting worse than that," the demon sneered. "Can you make that wish so I can go do that sooner, Harris?"

"I need a new car, one fit for hunting. Buffy drove my last one into the mall." He grinned. "With weapons so I had to talk to *agents* too."

D'Hoffryn winced but nodded and created one. "Including hidden spots for those weapons." He disappeared. He was even nice enough to leave a gas card for the boy because now he knew why he had to beat a minion to death the long way.

Xander waved a hand. "Do you have helpers out here or can I take you to talk to our people?"

"You can take me to your people and I'll call mine on the way if we're walking."

"It's about six blocks but yeah, we were." He walked off with her. They ran into Buffy. "I knocked Willow out."

"Why?" she demanded. "And did I see D'Hoffryn?"

"Yeah. Willow was complaining we needed more hunters. I told her to help the girls make friends. Like we were." Buffy whined and winced, shaking her head. "Instead she made a wish so I knocked her the fuck out. And left her back there. The witches were heading for her anyway," he said at her opening mouth. "I saw Madeline running."

"Oh, great. Well, I'm sure she'll be sorry for the concussion. And who's this?"

"One of the hunters on her world that just got merged with ours. Permanently merged with ours. And she has a sword made of mithrill."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Mythical level metal forged by elves," Xander said dryly. "But it took out their type of demon in the cloaks."

"Oh." She nodded and sighed. "How long do we have them for?"

"For good. I asked and he said it's permanent."

"Oh, shit," she mumbled, looking down. Then at the hunter. "I'm really sorry about Willow. She had a magic addiction."

The female hunter grinned because this was absurd. Otherwise she'd be swearing. "We don't work with many magic users. But we'll handle it this time. We're all practical people. What's your name?"

"Buffy." She held out a hand.

"I'm called Elizabeth." They shook hands. "He wanted to bring me back to your people?"

"Faith has the six-pack of minis and was pausing to get Myrna from the park," Xander told her. "I figured we start with Giles and then go tell the locals?"

"Go tell the locals so they know to hide for the night. There's going to be some pissy people who'll try to take it out on 'em," Buffy ordered. He nodded, jogging off. "So, let's go talk to our watchers. They're the ones who train us slayers."

"We have training camps but we're trained by the older girls or if you're from a hunting family by the family itself." She walked off with Buffy, though she did send some text messages. No one was going to be happy with that witch. Ever again.

***

Xander walked into the main bar. "People," he shouted, getting instant attention. "I have knocked out Willow." A few people cheered. "Not yet, people. She made a wish to join our realms." They stared at him oddly. "She wanted more hunters so she joined their realm to ours permanently. I asked D'Hoffryn." That got a few others clapping but they were chaos people.

"They do have their own types of demons. Their vampires had to be beheaded. They had something with a cloak that the one hunter I ran into killed with mithrill." That got a few moans from someone. "She and Buffy are having a meet and greet at the Council house. Buffy wanted you guys to hunker down in case normals got pissy.

"They do have some marked ones so I'm guessing maybe like slayers. Not real sure. We have no idea; it's only been twenty minutes maybe since I hit Willow on the head with my axe. Fortunately the side." He looked at the ones there from the local Council. "You're probably going to have your own conference soon?"

"Yes, and we'd like to hear from the Watcher," one decided with a nod.

"If Giles isn't drunk," he said dryly then smiled. "But that hunter I ran into, she was wearing really practical clothes, just regular jeans and a t-shirt plus hiking boots. So if you guys hear about them, sorry? Willow was complaining we needed more hunters. My suggestion was to mentor the friends from the girls who wanted to jump in like we did.

"She thought that was stupid." The head of the council winced but nodded. "Yeah. Which is also why I concussed her. But Madeline was running to go stop her." He grinned. "I'll have someone show up tomorrow afternoon or the next morning to give over anything we need to share. By then even I should be awake and able to handle strange things. But they do use mithrill for those cloaked demons so I'm not sure if we might not need some?" he guessed, looking at one demon, who was a seer as well.

He nodded. "We may, Harris. I'll compare visions from before this with you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I can do that. Let me get back there. Just be safe people. Please?" He went back to the Council house. Giles was not pleased. "I said we could come tell the local council what was going on tomorrow afternoon or the next morning. I'd compare visions from before this with Piata tomorrow sometime?"

"That's reasonable. You left her laying there, Xander?"

"I saw Madeline running towards her and if I had to carry her I'd have dropped her somewhere by accident. A few times probably. I thought they might want her less injured."

"Well, yes. I fear she's going to hate being paddled while she's got the concussion."

"I was too far away to stop it when she was muttering. She had stomped off to complain about my idea to mentor the friends. Sorry!"

"No. That's sensible and I like that suggestion, as we should have done you two." He patted him on the arm. "We're talking to that charming young woman."

"She used mithrill."

"Oh, bloody hell," Giles moaned. "I have no idea if we could find them."

"I asked at the bar. Just in case."

"That's fine. We may need to help them find someone to repair them at least." He went with him to the library where the others were. "Xander's talked to the locals."

"Hobart was in," Xander told Buffy. "I said someone would come tell how bad this is going to become tomorrow afternoon or the next morning. I'm on to go over visions with Piata tomorrow too."

"That's fine. We need to see if they've changed. Madeline is *way* pissed at you."

"Did she want me to pick Willow up and throw her instead?" he asked. "Because that urge still exists."

"No. The concussion is probably bad enough," Buffy decided. "Okay. So D'Hoffryn said it's permanent?" Xander and Elizabeth both nodded. "Great. Okay. I'm really sorry for her," she told her.

The girl smiled. "It happens sometimes with magic I guess. Our world knows about hunters. We're like a ..." She didn't quite know how to describe it.

"Pretty much like the Rom are seen to ours," Giles said. "Or so it sounded. Family clans, training centers of your own but most normals don't understand." Elizabeth nodded at that. "They probably made up horrid rumors too. We can handle that as well. We do have PR people."

"Well, not really. Ours are sometimes true, but mostly not in *good* hunter camps. A lot of them think that we marked ones are basically there to handle things for so long, because we started out as normals instead of from families, and then we'll go join hunter camps as spouses to breed the next generation. In some, the ratio of spouses is a bit...off."

"So you're looking at a pack wife situation," Xander decided. She nodded, grimacing some. "Huh. No, our girls are meant to be girls as long as they can, happy young women for their whole lives, and expected to someday retire to a real life that they choose. If they have kids, we make sure they're protected. We do not choose anything else for them.

"Though sometimes we will scare off an idiot boy or girlfriend and sometimes we'll talk them into a better college or degree program that they'd do better in because they wanted something they loved but wasn't good at. Plenty of them have retired to no battle status or just not went on patrol at all if they couldn't handle it. At least since our reformation." He looked at Buffy.

"The girls could probably like dating people who understand how sucky it is to be a slayer. And Briana's still mad at you about that."

"Yay, she can be mad. That other program was going to kill her. She'd hate it after a few months and then have to start over because it wouldn't transfer. At least she's happy and doing her jewelry making stuff on the side."

"True." She looked at Giles then at Elizabeth. "We need to compare demon manuals don't we?"

"I don't have my notes on me. I can call in some of the higher local camp heads who might be able to do that better."

"This is part one of a great many talks," Buffy said with a grin. "You guys gotta talk about all this, we gotta talk with ours, we have to compare, it'll take months but that's better than another apocalypse battle." She grinned and nodded. The other girls in there all nodded too.

Xander looked at his phone then at her. "It's June, we've already had this spring's apocalypse battle. Or did you forget having us all go to Japan to save it from the giant demon who stanned Godzilla movies?" She swatted him. "Ow, bitch!" She scowled at him. He stared back. "I'm going to bruise you the same way in training tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry. He's just ...a guy."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "Most of the hunters I know would do the same thing, Buffy. We're all like that."

"Oh, wow, a whole bunch of people like Xander." She looked at him then at Elizabeth. "So sorry," she mouthed. Elizabeth smiled but shook her head. "Okay, let's start with the vampires you guys have versus ours? I'm assuming you guys have blood sucking things that aren't in swamps like those bug things we learned in biology class."

"Biters? Sure. We can start there." They brought out a chart that they used to train the girls with. "You guys have more than three species? We have two and one mythical."

"We have a mythical one too but he showed up to try himself against me and I'm hoping he's still dead. I think." She sighed. "I tried and he smoked up, not sure if he's still smoke." Xander coughed "Romania" into his fist. Buffy stared at him. "Really?"

"I ran into him, he got that face cramp, then sighed and said he wouldn't make eat bugs. Then made sure you weren't there. I said I was checking on our local mini and handling an issue for her, he sighed and stomped off to handle that so I could go away and talked that mini's mom into moving farther away from him and his wives."

"Oh, great." She nodded. "Maria?" Xander grinned and nodded. "Charming!" She rubbed her forehead. "I won't go visiting." She looked at Elizabeth. "We deal with a lot of this type," she said with a point, sitting next to her. "There's six stakeable ones. We deal with those type a lot more often than anything else, but some are beheaders. We have a few odd ones from another realm that apparently take dead man's blood." She frowned. "Where did they come from, Watcher people?"

One sighed, taking off his glasses. "That show with the hunters with the car. I was hoping we weren't merged with them."

Xander looked at him. "I could really like knowing hunters like them and learn a lot from them."

"Which is why we'd rather not have them here, Harris. Especially not if they brought their angelic war."

"Oh, that thing. Yeah, I don't want that either." He shrugged when Elizabeth looked at him. "Can't be much worse than the strike we've got from our lower hell minions."

She shook her head quickly. "Like picket line and..." Buffy nodded with a sigh of displeasure. "Why?"

"Working conditions, too many abuses of minions," she said. "Everything that usually gets it but pay issues."

"Oh, great. They're going to love that."

"That brings up a point," Xander said, going to call someone. "How's my favorite head incubus?" he said in greeting, making himself smile to sound pleasant. "I got to do something fantastic and knock Willow out thanks to her making a heavy wish earlier to join our realms with one that has other hunters. Yeah, that thing. Please do. We'll be briefing the locals tomorrow afternoon or the next day. Buffy noted you guys being on strike. Thanks, dude."

He hung up and rubbed his forehead, going to get some soda. He came back sipping and handed Elizabeth some water and then Buffy some, getting a nod in thanks. "Our local head incubus will make sure one of their sorts is at the meeting with the local council. That way they're warned too." He walked off again. "It's bedtime!" he shouted. "If you don't have a training bra on but you're under twelve, it's well past your bedtimes, hit them so I can do nightly bed checks." The girls squealed, running up the stairs to go get into their rooms.

Buffy sighed. "There's an age divided bedtime but Xander puts it at training bras because two of ours are younger but have boobs. They get an extra half-hour to give the other girls time to do their nightly teeth cleaning and stuff. Then the twelve to fifteen group hits it an hour later, then the rest of us are not smart enough to hit beds until it's way too early." Elizabeth smiled at that. "It solved some of the nighttime congestion and fighting over the sinks." She shrugged. "It works for us." She sipped her water and went back to going over their vampires.

"I had a question. He called out to use a wish with that being to find out what was going on then wished for a new car?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, the wish meant that D'Hoffryn had to show up. He didn't have to answer the questions but it meant that he wasn't being annoyed, but he couldn't leave until Xander used the wish he called out. And he did need a new car. I kinda crashed his last one."

"Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense." She nodded. She had a lot to report later to her people. Thankfully the council house had a spare room she could bum to call from later. They seemed pretty nice, but very cheery and happy. The hunter camps were not going to be fully amused with all this. The Hunter Oversight Authority was going to freak out greatly.

***

Xander walked into the local demonic council's meeting room. "So," he said happily. They all stared at him. "Giles is still going over the information sharing stuff. But, I have a bit of news. That wish was *prompted*." A few spluttered. "I can only guess *why* but I'm pretty sure thanks to some nastier than normal visions recently." He glared at one former watcher in there. The guy had been vamped just after they had gotten to Cleveland.

"You know the Powers hate you, Harris," he said smugly.

"Now they've got a whole world's worth of people just like me." He smirked.

"What makes you think you're special enough for them to pay attention?" Whistler, the balance demon appeared, sneering him.

"Well, gee, let's talk about some of the latest visions. Like the one earlier that showed them destroying some of the slayers for having helpers who jump in," he said dryly. "I know damn well they hate me, Whistler. Always have. And I give about two percents worth of fuck about it most of the time. Until they threaten the orphans."

"We cut that source of visions off."

Xander laughed. "Sure you did. That's why I'm still getting them," he said dryly. He grinned. "Of course they did, because they didn't want the girls warned. Which is why they prompted Willow to wish for a realm merge with hunters, but she wanted competent ones so we merged with who we're merged with. Permanently."

"They've got slayers."

"Their marked ones aren't the same. That only gives them access to using mithrill for higher level nasties. The ones they call Dark Ones and Ancient Ones. Which are basically mid-level hell minions but changed over that way." He stared at him. "If you don't believe me, go to LA and see if there's a bar where Lucifer's playing piano. Ask him." He grinned.

"How long have we had that problem?" one of the local council complained.

"Sixteen months," Xander said. "Connor talked to him, he got displaced so he recreated his bar in his world and he's chilling but staying out of it unless it comes after him or near him. Then he'll smack someone down. He does allow the slayers out there to drink at his club if they're old enough. They're safe in there but there's no peaceful clause and nothing that would stop a fight from happening.

"That's where Mary got into it with her boyfriend. Then an angel stepped in and stabbed him for her." He looked at Whistler again, who was looking horrified. Xander grinned. "Dude, the PTB only cut off one source of visions, and they were the less painful ones so I'd like to kick someone for that, but I still get them. Less cloudy now though." Whistler shuddered but disappeared.

He looked at the Council. "Have you guys told others?" The head of the council nodded, looking less than amused. "Okay, well, we can share there's three main things they deal with, though they do have hell lords." That got a sigh of pleasure. "They don't have anything like your peaceful communities. Or even immigration there. They have *no* idea about any of you.

"We're spreading that information so you're not harmed. The hunter that was already in town's name is Elizabeth. She's a marked one. They're meant to take out the Dark and Ancient ones with mithrill, and they're the only one who can use it. Buffy tried and it didn't hurt her but it did feel creepy. Less than most normals feel it according to Elizabeth. And they do have use names."

"So Buffy and Rupert are sharing?"

"The one who teaches demonology showed up to help this morning. He was talking to a few friends overseas last night while blitzed while the rest happened so he just heard this morning when he came in for classes." He handed over notes. "On the Dark and Ancient ones. Plus they have three species of vampires, one mythical like Dracula is for us."

That got a nod. "They've had three sightings of them in the last century. One's a beheader, the mythical's a burning, they like thermite too." He grinned. "The last one is staking." He looked around. "They run on training camps and family camps. Bloodlined hunters are trained among the family camps, the marked girls come from normal families usually and are trained in their training camps.

"They do start at ten to protect them but they don't hurt them. They do give them honest information and then tell them that they'll help breed with the bloodlined families. There's some cases where full camps may share a spouse or two. Plural marriages aren't unheard of among their hunters." That got a nod. "Elizabeth and Buffy talked about boyfriends. Apparently gold bands are normal marriages and silver bands are for a special rite during it. They didn't go over that." He shrugged. "She warned about their Hunter Oversight Authority too, apparently they're assholes who do hunter paperwork."

"Has she talked to her people?"

"Of course. Apparently they have two major family clans that run about twenty of the seventy-something camps in the US." That got a nod. "She's talked to people in those two clans, and her own training camp. She's marked and out of the training compound in Dayton. She's trying to get someone from both of those families and maybe another from the less related camps to come meet with our girls and watchers to share."

That got another nod from the council. "We're sure it was prompted?"

Xander put something down in front of them with a grin. "An email from Sorcerer Rayne, whose god has a huge migraine over this." He smiled sweetly. "Janus is apparently not a happy being right now."

They read it and groaned. "Shit," one growled, staring at him. "So all this...."

"Prompting Willow? Yeah. She could have *not* wished and just kept it at complaining but...it's Willow. Which is why I knocked her out when I felt magic starting and heard her wishing. I was too far away to stop her during the wishing because she had stomped off complaining loudly about needing more hunters."

"Are you going to train with those new one?"

"Yeah, I probably will. It'll help the girls I work with." That got a nod. "Not sure when, how, whatever yet. Elizabeth would like to come in to meet you guys though?"

"Tomorrow is free," the head of the Council said. "Outside the wedding."

"Okay, I can let her know that." He looked to the side at that amused looking man standing there. "Are they from your uni?"

"No, they're not," he said in a smooth, British voice. He still looked amused. "They're probably going to consider you less than trained too."

"I've done what I could and look, even untrained, at what I've handled," he shot back, staring at him. "Someone wanted me to ask if I should call you Dad."

"You're not mine, Harris," he said, looking happy. "Though I'd claim you most of the time in a heartbeat if you offered." He looked at the head of the Council, who was a bit freaked out. "I heard myself mentioned by higher beings. It concerned me enough that the witch I have bartending sent me out temporarily. What's going on beyond the realm merge?"

"Just that," she breathed. "Are you...."

"Just hanging around until I can get home. The spell for that looks painful and I'm not sure of an appropriate energy source."

"The Sunnydale hellmouth still leaks," Xander said. "Use it. We're not. It won't reopen it."

Lucifer looked at him then smiled. "That's not a bad idea. I'm not sure if that would work or not."

"Grangrates' book has all the ways to travel using a hellmouth. We have a copy of the book in the library at the compound." He pointed. "Ask Giles and he may let you borrow. The girls out that way have reported how you've been fondly tolerant of their weirdness and Connor's."

"I can do that." He tipped his head. "You are such a normal mortal and yet...."

Xander grinned. "The hellmouth loves me. I was born next to it."

"Ah." He nodded. "That explains much but that weird feeling?"

"Mermaid taint maybe?"

"Yes, I believe so." He frowned. "How?"

"Sunnydale, dude. We were just weird that way. Look at our graduation and why the town was founded."

"Point." He nodded. "I'll go ask your head watcher if I can borrow that book." He disappeared, still shaking his head.

Xander grinned at the head of the Council. "Goreman out in Utah said I should ask if he was my real dad. I figured the hellmouth made me come into being though." He shrugged. "Any other news I can pass on before you guys meet with Elizabeth?"

"Let us know when some of their people get into the area so we can meet with them as well," the head of the council said.

"Sure." He grinned and left.

The end of the council table broke out in groans. "Goreman is a drunken idiot but he has weird ideas," one of them complained.

"It would explain much if he had been right for once," the head of the Council said dryly. "But Xander is very ballsy to even attempt to ask that question of that being." They all nodded. "And now we have many more who could be like him and practical but perhaps not as joking around." They sighed in pleasure. They might even teach Xander how to be a more calm man.

***

Elizabeth walked back inside after getting off the phone. "Okay, the Varna clan is going to send someone from the Nevada camps. The two closer camps are on for trainees this year so they're locked down at the moment. They're top level, and if it's Samia and Cyril, they run the training camp for the marked girls out there. If it's John and Sarzi, he's an experienced hunter and next in line to take that camp, and his wife is a marked huntress as well." She smiled when Buffy grinned and nodded.

"The VanDykle clan is sending one of their ancient uncles that doesn't run a camp but has taught half the ones who are currently running camps. He's got a bum leg and hip so he's mostly retired outside swatting at his young nephews and cousins. The non-related ones are sending someone who's a grumpy prick but he's one of their top people and demanded to come so ...." She winced. "No one likes working with him but not like your girls are any less destined than any of our marked boys and girls."

"You guys have specially marked guys?"

"Yeah. They train at different camps though because no one wants a teenage pregnancy thing going on."

"Wow. We might like male slayers." She looked around. "As long as it's not Xander. He'd be a bit...weird."

"He's very normal, like the hunters I know." She shrugged but smiled. "He and a few others have asked to train with ours."

"I'd rather Xander retired to be happy somewhere else."

"Is he bad to the girls?"

"No. He's great to the girls. But he's missing an eye and he's normal."

Elizabeth stared at her oddly. "So are most of our hunters, Buffy. They're just born into families that hunt."

"Oh. I guess. I just don't want to see him dead."

Elizabeth nodded. "Training makes that less likely to happen but we all die somehow."

"Point." She took her to look at the armory. There she found something weird. The UV flashlights shone on Elizabeth's mark showed a glow. They examined it in a darker room, finding it had stripes and whorls through it. "Huh." Elizabeth took pictures and sent it out to Samia. She had gotten her number from the call. They apparently tried it and found out she had different patterns. Everyone had a few different patterns. "That's neat," Buffy said. "Our mole is just hairy and gross." She showed her the slayer mole on the other girls. "I had mine removed because it was grody."

"I've seen some people who have shaved down their marks because scar tissue made it swell too much to comfortably wear shirts, but that's neat that you could have it removed." They went to get a snack and go back to the library.

***

Elizabeth met with the incoming hunters after meeting with the local Council. "They have full peacefully hiding communities of not demonic demons. Mostly other dimensional beings. Though some were bred down from the demons that used to inhabit this plane." She let them have the notes she had made. "The local community is telling the bigger one so they can talk to any hunters in the local area about anything they know to be a problem they've been handling or watching. Including the other hellmouths."

The non-related hunter, Reverend Burgess, frowned. "They have what?"

"Yeah. Some immigrated. Some were leftover and crossbred or whatever from the former demons who had been in charge of this plane before humans got out of caves. That's why they made the slayer essence, to take over on them. Apparently some elemental sorcerers way back when were fucked up and desperate so made a girl a weapon by giving her fighting skills and faster healing."

Samia, the only female, pushed her hair back. "Are they marked like us?"

"Small mole on one shoulder. Which is removable. Buffy had hers removed surgically for being a hairy, ugly mole she said. Back then she was a cheerleader though." She leaned against her car. "Back before an incident a few years back, the watchers, the guys who lord over and train the slayers, took in all the slayers as young as they could to train. Talked the parents in giving them over and stuff." Samia grimaced at that.

"Then there was an incident a few years back which let them reform the Council so it's now about what we have. The girls can train at home, show up at the main training center for a few years to get the big things, and some don't go to a patrol house or even fall into major battles. They focus on their own homes and towns or whatever.

"The ones who stay at home are supported, given training things, helped to find people to learn self defense from, all that. One of the younger watchers was the guy who did that for the girls in Africa. He actually started to hunt with Buffy when she showed up in his town and had a friend taken." The three male hunters nodded at that.

"He decided one little girl shouldn't have to do that on her own so she didn't. She considers him *normal*," she warned, staring at Samia. "It sounds like some past history there but it's been eight years this year since she met him. He's self trained a lot."

"We can work on that," Cyril said, hugging Samia to his side. "Not a problem there."

"They do not have Dark Ones or Ancient Ones. They have a whole lot of other dangerous species though. Plus they learn about the peaceful community in case someone's tainted by the hellmouth or something like a gang member being a young idiot. Buffy said it happens rarely and most of the time it's due to drugs of some kind or another." Cyril shook his head quickly but nodded afterward.

She grinned. "The girls are all happy. They're to remain happy young women who realize they have a destiny but they're to be like normal teenage girls." Hunter Burgess grimaced. "It's good for them. They're healthy emotionally and mentally. Buffy and them do a good job being a mom to the horde in the compound.

"A lot of those are orphans or they can't find their families since the old Council got blown up by that problem, which is how they reformed around Buffy's former team out in Sunnydale. They're expected to go to school, go to college if they want to or some vo-tech or something so they have a life outside all this, and to do the duty if they choose to and it's safe for them to do it, until they huff and walk off.

"A few girls who have the calling aren't physically able to hunt. Buffy and Faith introduced me to the ones they call weekly to check on. One's got Down's pretty bad. She's in a program up in New York somewhere that helps them learn life skills."

Cyril nodded. "So they're not called the same way."

"No, they're marked and called before birth like we are, but that's the only similarity. The girls get a download from the slayer essence that gives them fighting skills and ancient weapons knowledge, that gives them faster healing, and faster running apparently, plus gives them a piece of all the former girls called. Since Buffy died for a few seconds and someone did CPR to call a second one, they all have a piece of her too. She said that's why the girls like to shop."

Samia grinned. "Sometimes girls do like to shop."

"Buffy's fashionable and lives with the fashion mags."

"I've met a few," Hunter Burgess said. "Mostly not among hunters."

"She's the head slayer."

"Huh."

"They didn't find her and take her from her mom. She didn't know a thing about any of this until her calling activated. It had been one's called, fights, dies, another's called. That thing a few years back needed them all to be activated. So they're all activated and later ones born after that will be automatically activated at fifteen. Then train, choose to go on patrol or not, and all that."

"But they've given choices?" Samia asked.

"Yes. They're allowed to decide how and where their lives go. The Council will pay for college. They nag about homework getting done. They reward for good grades, all that." She smiled. "It's like family only there's about ten watchers and the other girls watching over you. They nag about dating boys who aren't good enough. I got to see Xander threaten a few.

"He met one at the door with a shotgun and grinned, waving him inside saying he was on his way to the range for practice but Stephanie would be right down in a few minutes if he wanted to wait." She grinned. "The boy decided he was going to be very respectful and Xander didn't have to do more than that." She shrugged. "The girls said he's like a big brother to them."

Samia looked up at Cyril then at her. "His cousins are too." Cyril nodded at that. The other related hunter, Hunter Timothy, nodded at that too.

"But that essence is tainted," Hunter Burgess said.

Elizabeth shrugged. "It changes them some before birth. They can control things. The girls learn how to do that from a pretty young age. They tell parents and help them subtly train the girls to control anything like the super strength. They learn martial arts for a lot of that apparently."

"Not a bad foundation," Hunter Timothy agreed. He shifted on his prosthetic leg. "You start the kids early so they understand."

"They're not told about being slayers until they're about eight and able to handle the knowledge. That way they grow up happy little girls. The parents know and if they have to admit it earlier they're helped with the kids so they get used to things before they go to the training center as late teens. You can't even take the beginning classes until you're sixteen for patrol stuff. You can take some training hunts with supervision at seventeen if you're deemed ready.

"At eighteen you can request to be put on the patrol rotation formally until you leave the house and either go to one of their houses wherever internationally or to college and then some of the girls have to handle things during that. Buffy said a lot of them retire after college to battles only status."

"That makes sense. You're not as young," Samia agreed with a nod. "So many of us do too." Cyril nodded at that. "I'm sure the girls have protections available."

"Yeah. Rune based mostly. Though they do work with herb witches. English ones."

Cyril nodded. "I've seen some that're fantastic and strict. We use some whenever one of us is in a hospital. We used extra when Elmira was in labor because of the demon lord showing up to congratulate her."

Hunter Timothy looked at him. "Elmira? Mouthy, pretty girl? Out of Samia's training camp?"

"She came up with me actually," Samia said with a smile for him. "She's Mike and Marcus' wife. Their kid's about seventeen-months-old."

"Huh." Timothy nodded. "She's not bad. I saw her handling something and she did smirk at the demon lord but he was there to grab his minion to handle it himself so she let him."

"They have more reason to beat their minions than we do," Samia quipped. "Let 'em."

"Good point." He looked at Elizabeth. "Anything else to warn us about?"

She smiled and nodded. "Buffy's a bit uptight. The girls are allowed to *date* and have relationships. Stress relieving fun isn't really usual for them. Some of the older slayers may but they keep that from the younger ones. Buffy's downright uptight about that. Xander told them to be careful, to make sure they use condoms, and he had some in his drawer beside his bed if they needed to bum, because he was *not* going to sit beside anyone in labor again for at least a few years."

Cyril snickered but nodded. "Xander's a lot like an uptight hunter in a non-related camp. He doesn't mind easy sex but in the past some of them have been to get the girls major weapons. Because they have apocalypse battles every spring. They keep trying not to mention those sort to me though."

Samia blinked then nodded. "Shit."

"Yeah." Elizabeth stared at the other two hunters; Hunter Timothy was shaking his head and Hunter Burgess was praying. "They're meant to take out bigger shit than we marked ones are. They handle everything but yeah, they have a huge thing every spring apparently. Two springs ago it was an invasion of LA by a demon realm."

Hunter Burgess stared at her. "Why in the hell would that happen?"

"The law firm for higher level demons was part of that reason. It was their plan to take over the earth. Bring a bunch of nibbly little demons to take out humanity and clean up after them. The girls, without Xander, he was in Africa and not recalled thanks to Buffy's orders, handled an invasion in downtown LA. With a few agents. Then everyone found out about demons and slayers. I'm sure you can imagine the shit they got for it."

Hunter Burgess cleared his throat. "We'd probably swear a lot."

"They don't have hunters like the non-bloodlined. The Council made sure of it. Which is why they hate Xander a whole lot. He jumped in." She shrugged. "They don't have native hunter camps, nothing like it. It was the slayer's duty and if she wasn't there, someone Council could step in if they had to. Generally without consequences in this last century."

"So like the old Church hunting squads," Samia asked.

"Yeah. Like them. They had the Council for that, which started soon after the first slayer was created." She grinned. "They helped write the rules that got them ignored."

Cyril nodded at that. "So absolute power corrupted absolutely and they were shitty to the girls then it got remade when they got blown up."

"Yup." She grinned. "Which is why they have so few left."

"Great. The girls get training from people with it?"

"Yeah. Buffy got them people with actual training and Xander does some of the tinier kid sparring stuff. Buffy spars but she chats. The girls on patrol gossip while going to stake biters just coming up. Some have brought dates." She grinned at Samia's moan at that idea. "Buffy hates that it might get their dates put into danger but that's how she dated too so she can't really say much."

"Shit," Cyril muttered, looking at the older hunter. He wasn't the experienced parent that Timothy was. He hadn't had to deal with a teenage hunter yet.

Hunter Timothy nodded at that. "That's messed up. Are the girls supported?"

"Yeah, they self support. The upper watchers support. The guy in charge is like a fond uncle. Xander's a nagging big brother. Who stopped three girls going to school in baiting outfits to make them go change. He was the only one up."

Samia blinked a few times. "Like baiting in a club?" Elizabeth showed her the picture from last night's patrol. "That's....I would not allow my girls to even buy that."

Cyril looked then nodded. "Skirt's too short. She's wearing heels. The shirt's probably rippable. It's cute."

"Which was their point. They wanted to be cute in case they ran into any of us out and about," Elizabeth said. Hunter Burgess shuddered. "Buffy's fashionable." She grinned at them. "Some of the girls are more practical but even then, Faith's got leather pants. Tighter than I'd wear but she's worn them to multiple battles. They let the girls pick their own clothes within a set limit. Like the skirts have to be at least so long limits for school rules. Otherwise, they're to be teenage girls."

Cyril nodded at that, looking at his wife, who hugged him. "It's good they get to be so happy," Hunter Timothy said. "We shouldn't take that. Plenty of us could use that level of happiness." He shifted his weight again. "I'm still going to probably remark at skirts on patrol."

"Buffy was a cheerleader," Samia said. "Or so you said?"

"Yeah. And she's kick oriented." That got a nod. "But the local community would like to meet and talk to you guys as well." That got a nod from everyone but Burgess. "They're insistent they're staying peaceful, Hunter Burgess. They police their own community and they're strict about it."

"I get that. Bit weird but I get that. We'll figure that out as we go along. Do they have beings the level of our Dark Ones or Ancient Ones?"

"Worse. A lot worse. They have actual hell lords who have whole hierarchies that can plot and cause trouble." He slumped at that, staring at her. "The ones in the peaceful community know there's rules. The girls won't attack anyone peaceful, rightfully so, but they will play kitten poker and work with the local peaceful community. A few of them tutor at their school and things." Hunter Burgess blinked a few times, then nodded once. "They work with the peaceful ones, and against the ones who aren't."

"I get that," he decided. He licked his lips. "How peaceful can they be?"

"Plenty. One of the best bakeries, according to Buffy and Faith, is run by one demon. Somehow he makes excellent flaky pastries with flippers. I had one and it was so damn good," she sighed. "No sign of it being tainted, they're just immigrants who look funny."

"I get that," he agreed. "Bit freaky but sure. I can pass that around too." They went back to the slayer compound, following Elizabeth's car.

Xander opened the door. "The library's free," he called, leaving it open as he walked off. He came back to stare at one. "We have an elevator too, sir. Just in case you're too tired for the stairs. The girls have been in the past. If someone nags you about the leg thing, snap back. I have to sometimes." He walked off again. "They're here, Faith!"

"Coming," she called back, bouncing down the stairs. "Hey. Sorry. Was picking up my room because one of the middle school aged horde stole my favorite t-shirt again." She grinned. "I'm Faith, the second senior slayer. The last one called individually."

"That's good," Cyril said with a smile. "I'm Cyril and this is my wife Samia." She smiled and shook her hand. "Samia runs one of our marked girls' training camps. This is Hunter Timothy. His family leads the bigger group of related hunter camps, my family is second in that. That's Hunter Burgess. He's not bloodlined but he handles some of the religious level of hunting."

"We have a few priests we work with," Faith said, smiling and shaking his hand. "The library's this way." She looked at Hunter Timothy. "Two stairs?"

"I'm fine, Faith. I hunted for years like this."

"You even sound like Xander when they nag him about his eye. Good!" She smiled. "There's a whole lotta nagging girls around here some days." She led them that way. Andrew floated in something. "Thanks, 'Drew."

"Welcome. Coffee, hot water if you want tea and some tea bags, cups, sugar, half and half." He put it onto the table and came back with stuff. "Chex mix, home made, and regular nuts." He grinned and left.

"That's Andrew, he's our housemom and lighter duty witch. He's got sense, unlike our head witch. Who still has a concussion so you probably won't see her for days." She made herself some coffee. "Let me get Giles in here." Giles walked in with a few others and Xander behind him. "Okay, or the girls."

"Buffy's confusing a principal so his brains dribble out again," Xander told her. "The middle school half the horde goes to had a lockdown and the girls had to break it to get the creature that snuck in. He was not pleased, and neither was she. He didn't even want to tell the police to call us. He wanted it to just go away. It was nesting. I've got to nag the main three there that drove it off, though they did remember to make sure it took the nest it was building."

"Demon dog?" Faith guessed.

"Demonic chicken."

"Oh, them. Damn I hate those." She sipped her coffee. "They all good?"

"Yeah, they drove it off by trying to pet it." Giles and another watcher both moaned. "They're girls, they pet things. Feel lucky it's animals instead of something like Groo's girlfriend. Because they helped her groom herself last weekend and needed to bathe badly. Her fur has oily stuff to protect it." He made himself coffee then went to get more cups. "Here, Andrew miscounted." He put them down on the tray with a grin. He heard a yelp and leaned out the doorway. "What's that I hear?" he called.

"Silly slipped and fell from the shelves," someone called. "She's not bleeding but she's definitely bent funny, Xander."

Xander went to check. "Yup, you get to go to the ER, young lady." He carefully picked her up and carried her back. "Giles, broken arm and leg on the right side." He made himself a note. "So we're hitting the ER." He walked off with her, taking her to his new car. She pouted but oh well. The nurses there smiled when he carried her in. "Climbing and fell from the top library shelves. Both broke on the right. They were at extreme angles so I straightened them. We're out of soft casts."

"That's fine, Mr. Harris. Which one are you?" she asked the girl.

"Silenesa or Silly," Xander said, handing her over. "Let her get you signed in and put the bracelet on. You can start your own jar of ID bracelets now." She huffed but let the nurse take her temperature and all that. Then he took her back. "There we go. You'll get advil soon." He cuddled the pouty one until the nurse came to get him for x-rays.

***

Faith looked at the other hunters, shrugging. "The girls like him to fuss. He's good at it."

Giles nodded. "He is and I do not know the first aid to be able to handle broken bones until you can get to an emergency room. I'd have to call paramedics."

"Most of us learned the more advanced levels of first aid to handle injuries on the hunt," Samia offered.

Faith shrugged. "We suggest, the girls can go 'eww' and forget about it until they see it's needed and then they tend to ask to take it." Samia smiled and nodded. "We let the girls have a lot of decisions about their lives. It's the right thing to do, especially with how rotten the old Council used to be with it. The girls can decide about things, within reason, outside of dinner. Andrew's word is law and we all just thank him for feeding us, because we damn sure can't cook." Giles swatted her. "It's the truth."

"Still not polite, Faith. They're important guests."

"We swear a lot too," Elizabeth assured him with a smile. "Did those three have to be driven to school this morning?"

"Nah. Xander won't. He'll make 'em hike it in the cold and the snow," Faith said dryly. "It stopped that hoochie shit when he's here most of the time." She grinned. "Even Buffy's. She wasn't used to snow. Sunnydale was a warm place near the desert." She smirked. "Xander had to remind her about clothes and snow being cold too. It took her a few times to realize it ruined her fancy shoes, but that's just Buffy and we all smile and nod at her for it." She grinned.

Samia laughed but nodded. "We've had girls who showed up who were fashionable at the training camp I run. They start that eww stuff about when they realize sometimes things spew blood and slime."

"Andrew is a wizard at getting stuff out of our clothes," Faith told her, looking serious. "Buffy's mom came up with a lot of formulas for getting goo out and Andrew's used his chemistry stuff a few other times. We only lose stuff every eighth or ninth laundry nastiness. Usually those you have to burn to get rid of before it spreads to the walls."

Giles nodded. "It's better to buy them a few new outfits a year than to have to rebuild the house due to slime and various poisons that could also be spread."

"Definitely," Cyril agreed with a nod. "We tend to just do jeans and shirts and boots most of the time. Though female hunters are taught how to learn their bodies by running around naked now and then." He looked at his wife. "The girls at the house are getting it while we're here?"

"Yeah. That way you don't have to hide from them being naked for the first time." She looked at Faith. "It teaches us to appreciate our bodies and what it can do. Also gets rid of all shame if we're injured or if our clothes rip during something. And sometimes you really just don't feel like wearing clothes."

Hunter Timothy smiled and nodded. "My wife was a marked one trained in Alberta and she did the same thing. Usually when she wanted attention."

"And when we're about four months along because the baby bump makes everything not fit," Samia agreed with a smile for him. "Thankfully he has an uncle and cousins who love to babysit."

Cyril nodded. "They did demand. Uncle Marl was very happy to babysit and not get picked for this talk. He's happiest at home training the young little shits that's our kids' cousins." He moved her hair back over her shoulder. She smiled at him. "Sarzi's little girl is the fussiest thing ever. John has no idea how to deal with that."

"Elmira taught him, dear. Now he just stares at her until she quits or he realizes she probably needs a new diaper."

"That's sweet of Mira." He grinned at Giles. "My cousin Marcus and Mike's wife. Another marked one. Has a kid who's just about a year-and-a-half."

Giles nodded. "We've had a few of the girls that had children, some before they were called, but we don't encourage them to grow up in this compound unless necessary. I'm not sure what sort of effect the hellmouth will have on them. I'd rather have them somewhere there's less chance of being attacked as well." The hunters all smiled and nodded at that.

"Most of them have retired to just protect their families and nearby areas. Which we appreciate and support greatly. They should be more concerned about their local towns or families than most things unless the world is about to end." He took off his glasses, looking at Faith. "What was his last vision?"

"Nasty," she said dryly. "The PTB wanted him to be killed while guarding the orphans' house and them with him." She smirked. "He's warned them, warned the Sargent, she who barks at the kids who fuss, and the local community. It will not happen without us hearing and going to help. The only one in that vision that wasn't seen was Emmy and she's apparently their favorite since in another one Willow summoned Xander and Buffy back to help Emmy handle a huge shit moment." Giles sighed but nodded. "Now, that one wasn't from his usual source he said." She smirked. "Not at all."

"Oh, dear. So someone's trying to create a future?"

"Yup, which Xander has solved. It won't happen." She looked at them. "Xander and a few others have visions. Mostly true visions. Xander's only ever been off-time due to someone trying to change things. A few others are nearly as right. The only problems we have are the PTB, the ones over the girls, sending things that they want that aren't really....practical or useful. Of the 'yay, there's a battle' sort but they wanted us to sacrifice a few and we solve it without that. They're not very pleased with Xander."

"The PTB?" Hunter Burgess asked.

"The Powers That Be," Giles said. "The higher beings who pick which girl gets chosen and basically plays chess with their lives. We don't enjoy them or their ways, but it's like a grandparent who hates you in many ways."

"B and I agreed. If we end up near them we're going to try to kick their asses," Faith told them. Samia and Elizabeth grinned at that and nodded in understanding. "Xander offered to bring weapons if he could."

"Swords could help," Hunter Timothy said.

Faith smirked at him. "No, we're talking artillery. It's rare we need it, but sometimes...." She grinned. "None of us like guns but most of us are down with artillery petting. Especially when you have to blow up something huge that can't be killed by anything else. B did that in a mall in high school."

Giles smiled, patting her on the hand. "Thankfully we do have a small bit for necessary things as most of the time the government won't donate without wanting into the armory."

"I thought they gave up when Xander handed over a holy water hand grenade," one of the other watchers said.

"They hopefully have," Faith agreed, grinning at him. "They're handy for nests."

"Like regular grenade?" Hunter Timothy asked.

"Yeah. Holy water's real helpful. If it's you against ten or twelve vampy vamps, a holy water hand grenade will blow their nest up and leave you with maybe three or four vamps to stake instead." She nodded a bit. "Damn handy when you're alone. Xander can share that recipe if you guys need it. He found it from somewhere, probably a date." She sipped her coffee.

Giles frowned. "I thought he found it online but perhaps." He shook his head and made himself some tea. "Please, nibble and drink. We'd never make you suffer and I know it's dry in here." They got food and drink and worked out the differences and how to share things.

Cyril looked at Samia then at Giles. "We'd be happy to run a training class with some of the older girls, see if we can help with that too. I do in our camp."

"I wouldn't be against that. The girls could use more unusual sparring partners. It makes them better," Giles agreed, smiling at him. "You can probably run one with our trainer as well. The others are still in the field but Xander's here."

"Africa decided they didn't want girls to protect them so they worked out how to handle it themselves and made some peace to do it," Faith explained. "Most of the senior girls he had are in Houston right now, near a large community of Egyptians he said. The tiny ones are up in New York with the elementary school age kids' house."

Samia nodded. "It's hard when they come so early."

Faith shrugged. "Plenty of us were in foster care."

Samia winced. "That's hard."

"The First Evil took out a lot of families and uncalled girls. It sucks but we saw them in slayer dreams each and every night until they decided to stop." She stared at her. "We want the girls to remain little girls. Happy, healthy little girls. Ones who skip and play and jump and play pranks on Andrew and all that stuff. Even if they do like clothes like B does.

"They know they're future slayers but they get *no* details until after puberty when we put them in harder core self defense that'll lead to staking and other necessary things as they get into more danger. The tiny ones never hear a thing. They may see us limping or complaining but they've got magical vision that they'll never have to do that."

Samia nodded. "That's important to all of us, Faith. The girls should stay girls. Well adjusted, healthy girls. Ours get told what being a huntress means but they're raised at home until they're about ten. Then they come to a camp to get guarded and trained for later on." Faith nodded at that. "Probably for about the same reason you girls do how you do it. Puberty brings on more dangers."

"Yes it does," Giles agreed with a nod. "They step up to a tougher version of self defense, which before then was more martial arts classes than self defense. It helps them learn how to use their strength and bodies."

"Some of our girls did the same thing," Samia agreed. "It does help a lot. Though we don't have the gifts like yours do. We might like faster healing. It'd be really nice." Giles smiled and nodded a bit. "How much stronger are you?"

Faith got up to get something and brought it back. "That's our test piece of rebar." She let Samia and the others look it over then took it to fold it in half. Which ended up snapping it. She grimaced. "Must've been weakened." She bent a piece that hadn't been bent.

"Wow," Cyril said, staring at it. "We cannot do that."

"There's days it'd be nice," Samia said.

Hunter Timothy took it to look at then nodded. "There's been days I might not have minded either." Hunter Burgess swallowed and nodded to agree. He looked at Faith. "We heard about the slayer essence." She nodded, sitting down to sip her coffee. He glanced at Burgess. "There's a few who're ...religious who'd worry that it tainted you girls."

"Nah," she said with a head shake. "Holy water doesn't bother us. If we're religious taking communion doesn't. Nothing like that. Though, Xander's blood will react to holy water sometimes. He got exposed to mermaid taint once and he's got a tiny bit still floating around." She shrugged. "That's usually darker colored to the point of sometimes being black. That usually happens if he's real sick."

"So nothing holy bothers you?" Burgess asked.

"No. A lot of us aren't religious. Especially after there was a huge fit thrown by various religions when we came out. I mean, the Pope stated he wanted us killed for being women and called to this duty." Burgess winced. "There's a few ministers who try the house and the girls now and then. Last time Xander walked out there with a bazooka sorta weapon and they ran for their souls before he found a way to sell them for them.

Faith smirked a tiny bit. "None of us would've minded if he could have. Some have tried to burn us down while the girls were in the house. The other houses are under spell so nothing harmful can cross the barrier and if you're hateful to us then you can't even find the house. It was practical."

Burgess nodded. "I can see that. Most of the ones I know wouldn't be hateful but they'd be worried you girls may be tainted and someday turn on the hunters."

"Nah. Only if they do it to us first. We're really happy to have some backup. About half of us were at least partially raised by the old Council. Told how great our duty was, how we'd die in a glorious moment of being a slayer, all that. It was originally one of us, one of them, and then we died or were taken out if we were too injured. Now there's more of us. We support each other, we have people who help us like Xander and the witches. We have people who hate our duties but won't say it to our faces. Still. But we do a lot of supporting each other. We see it like a sorority."

Hunter Burgess nodded. "I can see that. Does it give you other gifts?"

"Not really. With the memories of the former girls sometimes we get funky dreams of putting on corsets and having to fight in one." She grinned. "It can help some of them around prom time."

"The girls go to their proms?" Samia asked with a smile.

"Yeah, they're in high school," Faith assured her with a smile back. "Some of them are tacky, some really need to have some taste handed over. But yeah, if they want to go they can go. If we have an emergency that night we try to make sure they can still go. That's one of those things you're supposed to do as you grow up." She shrugged. "I didn't go to high school that way. I was a street kid before my former watcher found me. I did a GED. B did her prom, including handling the hellhounds that someone trained to attack formal clothes."

Hunter Burgess blinked a few times. "Why...."

"No clue," Faith admitted. "The guy who did it was a jackhole." She shrugged. Giles swatted her. "Sorry for the language."

"So the guy trained hellhounds to attack formal clothes?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't they leave?"

"Why would they? He fed 'em and did psych training stuff."

"Wow," Cyril said. "I thought Elmira's hellhound pretending to be a yorkie was a bit weird." Samia swatted him. "He's a great guardian and helper for her, and guards the kids in the camp really well too, but it's a bit weird."

"Toto's a nice dog," she said.

Hunter Burgess looked at her. "She has a what?"

"Toto. She saved him from some biters one night, treated his injuries, so the next day he showed up being a yorkie." She shrugged. "Toto's always protected the training camp when Elmira was there and anywhere else he was if he liked the girl he was with. But mostly he's Elmira's dog. They hunt together, they play, she trains him to cuddle the kids to protect them. Maryl is overprotected highly by Toto."

Hunter Timothy nodded at that. "It figures that one of you could do that." He looked at Burgess, who was shaking his head quickly.

"We have one in the back garden but he lives on the porch because he stinks," Faith said with a point. "The girls all adore him and no one wants to kill the dog to make us sad anymore." She shrugged but grinned. "He's a neat little guy. Bit of an asshole because he'll bite bikinis when the girls are trying to sunbathe, but otherwise he's just our housepet."

The front door slammed and Buffy leaned in a minute later with a smile. "Hey, all. Giles, that principal wants to never see me again. So can we send Willow next time? She does snotty mom sort easier."

"No, she's in Devon. We can send Xander."

"I want him to retire and leave the girls alone, not go insane and have to be hospitalized. Or try to file another restraining order for Xander just sitting there staring at him while he explained his stupid."

"He can still do such if I can't, Buffy. Are the girls fine?"

"Yeah. They're good. I reminded them they're to call us older girls for that but their lockdown apparently blocks cellphones. Which I think is a huge problem but you know there's idiots." She shrugged. "They're fine, still enrolled, and the principal is being screamed at because their board was in to see what happened and the girls told them. Including how the cellphones didn't work so they couldn't call us."

Giles nodded. "That's fine. I'll go talk to him the next time, dear. Go change?" He looked her outfit over. "Why did you wear yoga pants?"

"He expects wine moms and Karens, Giles. I had to look the part." She grinned, skipping off. "Andrew, do we have snacks?"

"If you go to the meeting they have homemade chex mix and nuts," he called from the pantry. "Otherwise, no."

"Shoot."

He leaned out. "Bang. Get out of the dinner stuff." She huffed but went to help with the meeting instead. That way she could at least nibble. Giles sent her off to get into better clothes but he was uptight that way.

***

Xander faced off with Samia and Cyril. "I'm self trained but I'm not that bad. I've handled things on my own for years."

"We can work on the weak stuff," Samia promised. "I can get ten-year-old girls to like their swords." She grinned.

"Girls are all vicious little biters," he shot back with a smirk. He attacked Cyril with a sucked in breath. "Not my best weapon," he said at the frown.

"You're off balance."

"Is that like my eye's not letting me compensate?"

"Could be. Get your better sword, kid." Xander nodded, going to grab one and come back. Cyril nodded at how much better he was and it was nice. Still about midline. He stepped back toward the end. "You're about midline for hunters like us." Xander slumped, grimacing. "How many girls have you trained?"

"Sam!" he bellowed. She leaned in. He waved a hand. "He wanted to see how I trained you younger things." He got out of the way. She got her favorite sword and pounced him with a cackle of happiness, working against him. Xander grinned, smiling at Samia. "They're all vicious at that age."

"She looks like it. Bit overactive." She stepped in to tag him out. "Okay, try me since I'm the head trainer for my camp." Sam shrugged and jumped her instead, starting by tickling her, making her laugh and tickle her back but then Sam kicked her leg out and then cheered as she bounced around. She ran over to get hugs from Xander then came back to go back to sparring.

"She thinks well on her feet," Cyril said. Xander grinned and nodded. "That from the download?"

"I spend a lot of time getting them in touch with the slayer spirit. It helps them touch base with the former slayers they got downloaded as well as the skills."

"That's not a bad thing." He looked at Xander. "Is that your favorite sword?"

"It's the one I tend to pick up due to the length and weight. The girls find it too long and heavy."

Cyril nodded. "I've seen you with an axe in something Faith showed us." Xander sighed, shaking his head. "You didn't look bad."

"Thank you but I doubt it was a good incident." He looked at him. Then he pulled up a file to show him. "They haven't seen that one because they didn't want to. That's me with a sword when I'm not sore." Cyril took the phone to watch, frowning at that. Samia came over to watch over his arm. Xander shrugged at Sam's look. "Battle in Africa. He wanted to see how I handle a sword in more than practice."

"That's cool." She got another hug. "Can the new hunter lady run sparring tonight?"

"If she wants. Ask her, not me. I don't make her decisions for her."

Sam pouted at her. "Can you, Hunter Lady?"

"My name is Samia," she said with a grin, leaning down. "And yes, I can." Sam squealed, pouncing her to hug around the neck before running out to tell the other tiny girls. Samia rubbed her neck but grinned at Xander. "They're cute."

"They are. We try to make sure they stay cute. It's important to us and them that they stay happy little girls."

"It is a good thing," she said, patting him on the arm. "When was that?"

"Two years ago."

Cyril looked at him. "What did you do to weaken your left arm?"

"Broke my shoulder last year? Well, clavicle and cracked the ball on the joint. I got slammed between the boulder I was thrown into and the one it threw on top of me." He grimaced and shifted himself. "I know it's not as good. But then again I've been doing this since I was sixteen and I'm nearly twenty-five. And the other watchers don't really help with battles."

"Great." He handed the phone back then moved Xander to check his shoulder, feeling the cracking and popping. "Arthritis."

"I know. I take meds for it. Every morning, after every sparring class." He sighed, looking at him. "I know I'm not the best. The girls will always be better than I am, but someday it'll be me protecting them while they run as long as I can. I need to be able to do that."

"Well, you're not alone now," Samia said with a smile. "You've got a good few hundred hunters who'd do the same thing." Xander slumped, staring at her. "Not to take your place, Xander, but to help you. So you're not the only one."

"That could be nice. It's nice that every time I find a niche it gets taken over by someone able to do it. At least it's someone who can do it."

She hugged him then kissed him on the cheek. "We're not going to take your place. I'd have to talk to someone about the skirts." He grinned. "Now, go take something then come back to workout with us." He nodded, going to do that. She looked at her husband. "He's somewhat like Mikey but he's turning into John."

"He is," he agreed with a nod. "John went all the way to bastard until Sarzi pulled him back. If Xander could find someone it'd probably help him a lot. Maybe one of the hunters will catch his attention. We've got plenty of single ones." He cuddled her until Xander came back.

Another of the tiny girls snuck in and didn't look at them as she grabbed a dagger off the wall and tried to sneak out. She ran into Andrew, who glared and pointed. So she huffed but put it back. "I need it, Andrew!"

"No you don't. You do not have any need for a sharp knife, Annabelle."

Xander walked past and picked her up to take her to talk to her about why she wanted the knife. They got to hear one of the older girls yelp in pain and then start to cry. Annabelle ran back in and hid in a closet full of padded shirts, closing the door after her. Xander walked in. "Anna, room please." She whined.

"Now. Before I have to tell Giles you two are fighting that much. I know she's your aunt but *damn*." He opened the door and pointed. "Now please." She ran off sniffling. "Fake tears don't work," he called after her. "The teens do it better." He looked up then walked off to find Andrew.

"Her aunt and she are having huge fights and she was going to stab her aunt. Her aunt was picking hard and telling her she wasn't a good slayer so she'd be bait for some vampire who liked them young. Which is why that one's crying, because I soccer kicked her. Again." He walked off once he had a bottle of water. "Okay, let's get back to making me suck less," he said cheerfully.

"Xander, quit abusing my slayers," Buffy yelled.

"She told Annabelle she was such a poor slayer she'd be bait for a vampire who liked 'em young," he called back. "Anna nearly stabbed her. They both get it." That older slayer screamed in pain. "Thanks! I grounded them both for a month."

"I'm gonna beat her ass," Faith said as she walked past with that one's hair in her hand. Buffy came jogging a few minutes later with Annabelle so they could have a discussion in the back yard.

Xander grinned at them. "The girls drive me nuts."

"So do mine," Samia offered. "Often. I actually took a night off telling them I was trying to get pregnant again to get away from them. Then I went to hide at a hotel and soak in a tub. While he watched the house." Cyril poked her on the side, getting kissed back.

Xander grinned. "Don't tempt me. If I could, I'd go back to Africa to get out of the hell here. But they don't need me." He shrugged, sipping his water. "Okay, again?" He grabbed his axe and they got back to work. Cyril liked the axe better than his sword work but that was pretty normal to him too.

***

The hunters that night got to see the girls being girls. And bitchy girls for the teens. Buffy was sighing and shaking her head. Faith was groaning. Giles was clearing his throat. The older watchers were complaining.

Xander walked in and stared for a minute. "Ladies, we have important guests in and you're all being cunts. Stop it before *I* set a punishment schedule that has you not only digging up the garden to replant it, but doing it in the hellmouth's park too so you can dodge the tentacle plants." The bitching and fussing stopped. "Thank you," he said with a smile. "Very much appreciated."

Buffy looked at him. "Do you need midol, Xander? That's just mean."

He patted her on the head. "Which is why you get to lead them."

"I'm not a kid," she said with a smile.

He stared at her. "No but you set an example." She slumped with a grimace. "They'll need an example of how to weed and all that. You do good with that training." He got a plate and fed himself then sat down. He smiled at Giles, who was shaking his head with a sigh. "The park does need to be weeded in that area but the city's people refuse. Even the prison people they tried to make do it refused. Our girls can learn how to dodge tentacles and weed at the same time.

"It's a great skill for a young lady I'm told. Plus it'll make battles in that park easier." He glared at one of the witches, who shrank down too. He smiled at Giles again. Then he looked at them. "Tonight's patrol schedule is amended so we're bringing Huntress Samia and Hunter Timothy with us. There's six of you on the list for training and two of you older ones."

"He's injured," one of the senior girls noted.

Timothy stared at her. "So? I still do the same work you do, dear." She frowned, looking confused. "I just limp a bit while I do it. Same as your trainer Xander does."

"We don't listen to him. He's a guy," she said.

"Which is why you can help Buffy weed," Xander quipped with a grin, making her moan. He dug into his dinner, looking at the other hunters. "I can show you the hellmouth's park on the way to the cemetery nearest here for training patrol while Giles goes over the hellmouth stuff for the others?"

"That would be fine," Giles agreed patiently. "Though I believe that weeding is *mean*, Xander."

Xander grinned. "Ya think?" he shot back. "I think it'll stop the problems."

"It may do that," Giles agreed with a nod and eating some food.

"Giles, some of us wanted to do a fundraiser for a local demon emergency shelter," one of the tiny ones said, hopping up and down once she stood up. "Can we do that?"

"I don't see a problem with that," he admitted. "What method were you thinking about?"

"The older girls were thinking a car wash like the band does," she said, eyes wide.

Xander's eyes went wide and he stared at Kennedy, who was shaking her head. "Not my idea," she said with a point. "Hers."

Xander looked at her. "A clothed car wash, right, Hannah?"

"Yeah, not a bikini one, Xander. We were going to let the little ones help us so be in shorts and t-shirts."

Xander nodded slowly. "And overshirts so we don't look like a wet t-shirt contest for you older ones?" She blushed but nodded. "Make the signs very well seen from the road, make sure you're guarded by someone like Watcher Craig in case someone is stupid. Make sure the signs state that it's for the demon shelter so they don't think you're trying to get allowance. Unlike the ones that were taking out vamps in a strip club and got asked if they were making their shopping funds." He sighed and shook his head. "Check the weather ahead of time to make sure it won't be rainy."

"You could do a better fundraiser," Giles offered.

"Most of those take going door-to-door and that's not safe," Hannah said.

"True," Giles agreed with a nod. "We'll figure it out and if we can, perhaps set up a donation jar for daily pocket change for a few weeks?"

"I didn't think about that," Hannah said, looking at the other girls, who nodded that could work.

"IF," Xander started. "We can gather cans and the like, we can take them to the slayers up in New York where they give you five cents a can or bottle," he offered. The girls stared. One looked at her can of soda and squealed. "That would require one who drives and working out where to do that from the slayers up that way. New York has it, Michigan has it.

"Have the girls ask the locals that they'd turn them over to about rules for crushing and the like. It'd help with recycling too." They nodded at that, getting together to figure out who was where and who to ask. "Though that would mean someone taking a weekend trip. Which would probably help if one of the senior girls oversaw that fundraising effort."

"I know some of the girls do use that to get extra house funds," Kennedy said. "That would be easier and safer than doing a car wash that could get normals complaining at us."

"And we could ask the locals here around the house if we can have theirs," Hannah said with a grin. "It does help with recycling. We may be able to split the donation among a few things if we get enough."

"That'd work with the pocket change jar too," Xander said.

The girls made a better plan for all those things and how to work their donation for the month. Xander grinned at the hunters. "The girls do a donation thing every two months or so. A lot of them are food drives, some are toy drives at the holidays, some are more ...weird."

"That's actually a good idea," Samia said with a grin. "We could do that and it would help recycling more than a few cents per pound of cans. Plus more applicable things like soda bottles and glass bottles." Xander grinned and nodded. "It's great that they're socially responsible."

"It is," Xander agreed with a nod. "Kitten's in Michigan, girls. And Silema is in Connecticut so ask her who's in lower New York." They put that on the list. "Sophina's in London. She went last week to be with the boyfriend while he's at college." They sighed at that but came up to ask Giles who was where for their list.

Samia smiled at her husband Cyril, who grinned back. "I love that they're so good. Our girls could start something like that too."

"Could be nice but we've all but banned sodas in the house."

"True."

Hunter Timothy smiled at them. "The girls will find something if they want to." They nodded.

Hunter Burgess nodded at that too. "It's not a bad idea for the hunter camps either. They could use it to raise their own funds." He dug in again, smiling at the tiny girl who was staring at him. "I'm Hunter Burgess, little one."

She grinned. "I'm Silly."

"Hi." He shook her hand. "Have a question?"

"Are you like a minister?"

"I am."

"Are you one of the mean ones?"

"No. I'm a hunter myself."

"Yeah, but some of them are still mean to the peaceful community and I don't want my friends hurt. It'd be mean to them and I hate mean things."

"I'd never harm anything that's peaceful, Silly. I've told the others like me about the peaceful community and some don't understand real well but all the hunters now here are having a lot of talking about it to make sure we don't hurt 'em."

"That's good. I like that." She grinned. "Do you guys have slayers like us?"

"We have some boys and girls who're born marked," he said, pointing his fork at Samia. "She's got it and so does Elizabeth. We're not exactly the same though. They don't get a download or anything."

She frowned. "Then how do they know about doing slayer things?"

"The marked ones all come to a training house," Samia told her. "We show up when we're about ten to learn all the stuff that the bloodline hunters have been raised with. We grow up with it and then we hunt until we retire. Pretty often we end up dating other hunters and end up with them in their camps."

"Oh." Silly stared at her then at Hunter Burgess. "Are we going to learn about how you guys do things?"

"Yes you are," he agreed with a nod. "We're working on that now."

"Is it a lot of the same stuff?"

"Our first day we learn about why we have use names," Samia said. "And the ones born into the hunters have a hidden real name and a name everyone uses. Like yours isn't really Silly."

She grinned. "Mine's just hard to spell. Each slayer is mythical in her own way and for her own reasons but mostly because of how we handled our lives and what we need to do to become adult women and be good women."

"That's true." She smiled. "We have a lot of reputation stuff we work out."

"That's cool." She grinned at Cyril. Then at her again. "Can you run more training? We like learning from bigger girls."

"I can definitely do that. I run my training camp with my husband Cyril. We both train the girls."

She beamed and nodded. "Can we have him for bedtime stories?"

"Sure," she agreed, looking at him, getting a nod. She grinned. "I don't think he'd mind."

"Cool! No princesses tonight!" she squealed, hugging them both then running back to her seat. Then she came back to hug Burgess. "Thank you for answering my questions." She ran back to her seat.

"Someone clearly took her pain meds as she doesn't need to be running on the healing leg," Xander ordered. She huffed but nodded and dug back in. He grinned at Cyril. "They like stories about peaceful clans of beings like werewolves and the like. We worked with one who went to Tibet to learn how to control his wolf at that temple. We use it to tell them about some of the peaceful clans' histories at times. And princesses because they're girls."

He nodded. "I don't know much about werewolves but I do know about how our clans started. That be good?"

"As long as it's PG," Xander agreed with a grin. "It could help them learn more."

"I can do that." He dug in, smiling at his wife. "Elizabeth will be back tomorrow morning."

"She will," she agreed. "She had to finish up that hunt." She dug in and the girls not on patrol went to workout with her. They were good, but young. Bouncy and young. But happy. They had practice swords that were mostly plastic and dull so they couldn't get hurt. They were sweet little girls. Someday her daughters would be that bouncy and tough.

***

Xander gathered Hunter Burgess that night. "Most of the local council meets at night because they have day jobs. This is one of the bigger demon clubs, which the girls are allowed to go play kitten poker at, and one bartends there sometimes to give the bartender a relief. The local council is waiting to talk to you. They're peaceful, but two can eat people if they're threatened. They choose to eat kittens."

"I get that," he agreed with a nod. "Thank you for the introduction."

Xander looked at him. "I don't want them hurt. They're peaceful and plenty of them have been here longer than people. I know you, as a religious sort, could have that holy fit reaction. Not saying you would but we've seen it happen and we hate that. I hated like hell having to kick two nuns that tried to destroy a preschool they used. So this way you can talk to them, get the information you need to pass back to your people, and then you guys can see how peaceful they are."

"I get that, kid, and it's a good instinct. I'd hate it if my people hurt peaceful beings too."

"Cool." He grinned, driving him off. "I'm going to play some kitten poker. I need another wish to be owed for later on. I use them to help rescue the girls if they're snatched by the military and things. Or if I need higher weapons." He drove him to the bar and parked, getting out and walking in. He stared at the being in there then stabbed it in the neck, making it scream as it fell down. "Why the fuck are you here?" he demanded. "This is not Montreal! Or Myanmar!" He stared at the guy. "Are you bothering the peaceful community?"

"No," he whined. "They have my minion."

Xander snorted. "Is that the minion I was going to take the dick off of and feed it to him or the other one?"

"Other one," he said as he sat up. "You're mean tonight, Xander."

"The girls were thinking about doing a car wash to get their bi-monthly donation." The guy shuddered. "Guys, was he bothering you? If not, I'm sorry I overreacted," he told the guy, staring at him. "But we all know I'm going to protect the peaceful community and the girls."

"I know. Which I appreciate." He stood up and looked at Xander. "You're sexy when you're so mean."

Xander grinned. "I'm sexy all the time. You should see me when I'm doing dad duty for the girls. I got called a DILF the other day." He smirked and took a quick kiss. "Be a good boy." He walked Burgess around him. "Head of the local Council, this is Hunter Burgess. He's from the non-bloodlined but normal hunters that got brought and a bit religious but not bad. Silly made sure earlier." He gave him a slight nudge. "Let me go play poker for a bit. We have two girls who are dating soldiers." He walked off with a sigh.

Hunter Burgess nodded. "Ma'am."

She stared at him then smiled. "Xander's highly overprotective, Hunter Burgess. We appreciate that often because it does keep us safer but sometimes he's as bouncy as a tiny slayer. Which is why he's not allowed to have Mountain Dew unless there's a battle coming up."

That bad guy shuddered. "Don't wish that on us!" He shuddered again. "The last time he had Mountain Dew, spree candies, and then took out half a battle on his own with a sword by bouncing through it. We never want to see that again. Please?"

"The girls locally appreciate that."

"That's because they're bouncy," Hunter Burgess said.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, they can be." He smiled and nodded back. "Sometimes that's a very good threat though. He's run off two very nasty higher level demons who wanted to start something by showing up drinking Mountain Dew. They decided they did not want that and humanity wasn't going to be easy to conquer so they're making better plans."

Hunter Burgess laughed but nodded. "I would too." He sat down to go over things with her. She knew more about the peaceful community than the Council people had given over, including how they had started. The bad guy got a napkin to control the bleeding and went to talk to the one he needed to talk to. And possibly talk Xander into his bed for the night.

***

Burgess called his people to come see him at a diner's back room. He put information in front of them, staring at the upper level ministers in the hunting community. "The realm merge."

One leaned back. "How did that happen?"

"Witch with a magic addiction but it was slightly prompted." He put that information down. "On magic addictions. There's a coven in England that handles witches with problems apparently."

"Addiction to what?" that one asked.

"Her magic. Not drugs, but how the magic ran through her. She grew up on a hellmouth apparently." He put that information down too. The ministers went over it, a few grimacing. "We can't help those spots. As one of the slayers described it, it's a stretch mark into the universe. It means power gathers there, the peaceful ones show up to hide in plain sight, and some things try to use it to power their plots full of stupid and greed." He shrugged. "The Council here, they studied a lot of that but nothing too recently scientific on the energy streams."

"The peaceful ones, they're actually peaceful?" one asked to make sure.

"Yeah. A lot ran here to get away from worse hell realms. Some were here when the original demons were here and bred down." He handed over that book to him. "They're *peaceful* and stay that way. They just look funny. If we hunt them, we're the evil fucks."

"I get that," he said, looking at the book. He frowned. "Their history started with demonic ownership but not hell demons. Huh."

"Oh, they have those." Burgess grinned at one, who shrank down. "As someone found out, they're having a strike among the lower hell lord sort of demons. They wanted to quit being treated so poorly."

That one nodded. "I asked why they were protesting a spot with signs about demons. They told me why. It's a good reason. I'd strike for that too if I was one. And," he said, looking around. "When I was there, one had to take a call. The succuba was a social worker. She gets her feeding in from bad parents she has to remove kids from or should but can't do it yet legally. Not enough to kill 'em but enough to slow them down if they're assholes to their kids."

The others all looked confused. "They have normal jobs here?"

"Many do," Burgess agreed with a nod. "Not like they can live in their victim's houses. Most of of them seem to have some sort of job, though a few work in demon oriented and safe places. One I know works in a diner that's mixed population but safe and the cook, who is another sort, is an excellent cook. Better'n my wife was." They all stared at him oddly now. He grinned and nodded. "Yeah. His kind immigrated."

"Wow," a few muttered, going back to the information.

One passed on the information about the Devon coven and magic addictions. "The witch who did it?"

"Is probably about healed from her concussion. Hunter Xander couldn't get to her in time to stop her so he knocked her upside her head with his axe." He snapped. "By the way, the slayers here, like our marked ones but different, have nicknames but not use names and the rest don't. At all."

"That puts them in danger," one said.

Burgess shrugged. "He's never learned that and no one wants to really take him. A few would if he offered but the only ones who hate him are other humans. Though one of his poker buddies is mad at him for winning his dinner the other night.

"The peaceful community plays poker for kittens and puppies, which takes the place of flesh for those sort. Some buy out of medical waste. Some use animals. They have a full grown hellhound at the local slayer compound who lives on the back porch because he stinks. They feed him a dead chicken every few days. Still dead flesh." He shrugged but grinned.

"That's a bit weirder than the one I heard of in Nevada."

"Samia and Cyril, from Varna's clan camp and she runs the training camp, know her. Elmira came up with Samia. The little thing's real protective of their camp's kids and the family. Helps her hunt." He grinned. "It's weird but he's apparently a good dog."

Minister Morgan nodded. "I met with her and her dog. Toto's a cute little yorkie who can sometimes grow up. Helps her hunt. He's damn helpful since she took out a ton of Dark Ones at that one event we got lied to about by Roberts. And that's the girl he lied about too."

The others nodded at that, making notes. "The one he told us about?"

"She died. She didn't *participate*. She was kidnaped and died as well. They found her a few days later." That got a few winces. "Her name had been Candace."

"So he was rabid against the female marked ones. He'd hate these girls."

"He would," Morgans agreed. "He and others were highly against women doing the job." He looked at Burgess. "These ones?"

"They get all sorts of shit. Harris had to go out to stop some middle aged woman who was driving past and screaming at the young girls at the bus stop the other morning. He told the girls to block their hearing and shouted back about her faulty bullshit and when she got out, he stopped her and let the cops handle it, though they tried to side with her until Xander produced video from the camera they had up at the bus stop.

"She got arraigned, pled guilty, got a big fine of five grand for trying to harm the girls, and told if she did it again it'd be a year in prison. She huffed, her husband huffed, and she went home." He rubbed his face. "The Pope said he wanted them killed when they came out of closet. After an invasion."

The ministers nodded and went back to the new information. This was not quite what they were used to but they knew about female hunters.

Xander leaned in. "The demon strike is in mediation tonight and they've asked that we all not interrupt that," he said with a grin. "Their traditional meeting spot is about sixty miles away." He pointed. "So can you guys not go that way tonight? I'm going to monitor and make fun of two of the higher ones that think I'm useless again." He closed the door and walked off.

"That was Xander," Burgess said dryly. "The slayers could use more training help. A lot of the watchers are book guys. Cyril and Timothy are both amused at the bouncy little girls who're a bit vicious. They start out with plastic swords and they'll whoop you good with them. Any of the tiny girls there are in foster care so taken in to be raised by the other slayers."

He grinned. "I helped with one of their self defense classes. They knocked me down and claimed victory then used it to go talk their housemother guy Andrew into cookies for winning. Then Cyril took it over and the girls listened and did well while finishing their cookies. Samia's all soft over them."

"They're too young."

"They're happy little girls who get self defense and nothing else. They may see the older girls having injuries but no one tells them why. They don't hear about anything bad outside the normals hating them so they're warned not to get trapped. One got tried on the teenage girls at the mall and one cried but the rest nagged the cunt back. She stomped off crying. They told her she was a worthless sperm storage device." A few laughed at that. "Yeah, the girls are real firm and self protective because they have to be. They could use all the support they can get from people who understand."

"The hunters would probably enjoy letting the girls grow up happy," Morgan said quietly. "What about the sexual differences?"

"The slayers are not very casual about release or comfort. A few of the older girls are but they keep it hidden. Most of them are also sterile. Something about the calling does that. Though they're all on birth control to take out the bleeding since they hunt biters most of the time." He put their vampire chart down with a grin.

"They've got various types of biters. Some you can stake, some you can behead, so not much different for us. A few are really not helpful that way." The ministers sighed but nodded and went over this other information. They had to tell others and spread the news. The hunting community was going to be very amused at all this.

Though that witch should probably hide from every single one of them.

***

Xander walked up to the demons, earning a groan. "Not here about you guys. I supported the strike. I'm here to see which head vampire masters we need to talk to about the ones here so they don't start a war my girls get in the middle of. Again. They tried in Cleveland already. It was *fun* to stake and behead over thirty vampires on trainee patrol but *really*." He looked at one demon, who was wincing. "Do they have a council like in some novels or masters that may gather somewhere? Some bar? Something?"

"They may have email lists. I'm not sure, Harris." Xander grinned and handed over the vampire training chart. "Oh, no wonder. Yeah, they don't have that level." He looked at one of the new demon lords, who shrugged. "Do they have email and stuff?"

"I don't know. I can ask a few. Most of our older ones are in packs and have some feeders in for use instead of hunting. I can make sure some of ours hears that too."

Xander grinned. "Thank you. Will my slayers need mithrill too? Because we'll have to make a wish or something for that and then train them."

"No. Our marked ones can do that," he said, frowning. "Do slayers react?"

"Buffy said it felt creepy but she could use it to workout with."

"Good to know. Why did they send you?"

"No one sends me anywhere. You know that. Giles just went 'go ahead and let me know how the negotiations go for the chronicles' with a hand wave." He shrugged. "So I'm keeping normals from bothering you guys too." He grinned as he walked off. "Let me know, dude. Please."

"I can do that, Harris." He frowned at his back then looked at the others. "I realize why Dracula thought he was odd and offputting. Though I'd never make him eat bugs for me." He shook his head quickly, going back to the negotiations. They were having to do too much work while the minions were on strike.

***

Buffy looked at Xander when he got back. "Are you possessed again?" she demanded quietly.

He took his sunglasses off. "No, I had a vision about twenty miles back." She groaned. "So I have a *charming* headache. Let Samia run the mini self defense time while I go take something and warn Giles that the PTB are having fits about the new hunters?" He went to the office once he had some of his painkillers, leaning in. "The PTB are worried that the new hunters are too good."

Giles sighed but nodded, looking at him. "I seriously got a vision telling me how to send them back home by going back in time to stop the witch by taking her out so she's no longer a problem." He took the pills. "When I pointed out that would've meant that their next battle was lost they got pissy and the pain got worse, but their plot was stupid and I got a slight second one of them trying to get Whistler to go back to take us both out that night."

He grinned. "It was pointed out by Cordelia that it would mean they all died in a few days when their betting pals show up." He grinned. "So we'll have a battle within two weeks." He walked off, going to mini self defense class. "Ladies, battle within two weeks. The PTB are trying to go back to remove Willow so she couldn't wish." He took another sip of water. "The visions are still sucky but hey, it happens. We know what we're to do?"

"Go hide in the safe areas," the girls said together.

He grinned and nodded. "Exactly. And remember to hit the special button this time, ladies. Now, let's work on avoidance today so I don't have to hurt as much when you guys beat me up." He waved and showed them how to get out of a grab attempt.

"Can they do that?" Samia asked.

"The PTB hate that there's so many of us and we don't do things that they want," one of the older minis told her with a grin. "They hate that we get told we have choices instead of having to go on patrol and stuff. They bet a lot with other higher beings and we keep making them lose. But they want balance instead of us winning. So they suck and we hate them for it."

Xander grinned and nodded. "Yes we all do." He grinned at Samia. "A lot. We can go over that later. Let's get them able to avoid arm grabs." The girls squealed and came up to get taught how to get out of the hold and then Samia taught them another one.

The girls went to check their safe room to make sure it had stuff they wanted. It had some food but not stuff they'd want to eat. They didn't have anything to do for hours. They trooped some of their favorite stuff and the sleeping bags down there to use. Two of them went to tell Andrew what they needed to eat for snacks. He went with those two to pick them up. They enjoyed helping him shop. Not carry stuff into the house, but shopping they liked.

Xander walked into the senior watcher and girl meeting. "The PTB said we're all fucked up. Again. The vision is charming." Faith moaned and shook her head. "They're trying to get someone to go back to take me and Willow out that night so she couldn't wish and me so I can't make them lose the newest bet when their buddies show up in a few days. So we've got two weeks at the most probably, ladies."

They nodded, making notes on what they'd want to have happen. "I have not had a vision of that. Mine was them trying to get me to go back to end Willow myself. Then I saw bleedover from them trying to make Whistler going to end us both and Cordelia laying some truth on them." He grinned. "So.... The girls are prepping their safe room."

"Is that day a special one somehow?" Faith asked. "Their buddies showing up, not the battle."

"We have an eclipse in two and a half months," the watcher in charge of the meeting said. "This upcoming week, we don't have much. We have noted a vampire master's birthday."

"They're having a celebration," Buffy said. "We're not going near it. If they come out of it drunk, they're fair game." That got a nod and a few of the girls made their notes on that. "Anything else of note coming up date wise?"

"Hilary's wedding," Xander said dryly, grinning at her. "We're livestreaming it from Vegas?" They nodded. "The next day is Giles' birthday. The next week after that is Willow's birthday." Buffy winced, making a bigger note about those two. "Otherwise...will the PTB ruin a birthday? Probably. Is it certain? No. Someone go play some poker tonight?" A few of the girls nodded at that. "Thanks, ladies. Remember to call me. I'll be there with weapons. Like usual." He walked off before Buffy could pout about that. Again.

Buffy looked at the watcher in charge, who nodded. "Dear, I'm not of any use in a battle beyond being bait."

"I know but it sucks." She frowned at Cyril, who shrugged. "Are there more locally?"

"If we had a firmer date."

"Point. I'll see if we can find out." She looked around. "Did Xander ask them to talk to their type of vampires?" Cyril nodded at that. "Great. Will that make it harder on us?"

"No. Might make them less happy. Most of ours, if they're older, they have a feeding slave that's a volunteer. Most of the time." He leaned on the table. "The whole pack of them share a house or something and a few feeders. Who tend to be well taken care of so they don't die too soon. It's disturbing to watch but if they volunteer not a lot we can do about it."

"I had a boyfriend who did feeder things," Buffy said with a grimace. "Eating him close to death but not that close."

"No, ours feed gently on them and not nightly, but they're there for many uses." She blushed, shaking her head quickly. "They volunteer though."

"That's just...weird," Buffy said.

Faith shrugged. "They're getting happies and not out eating in the clubs. If they're not hurting someone against their wills, plenty of goth kids would volunteer for ours."

"Some terminal patients too," Cyril agreed. "To make it an easy going at their chosen time."

Buffy nodded. "I've heard but I'm a bit freaked out about that."

He nodded. "That's reasonable. You were raised a nice, happy young woman until you got Chosen." She nodded with a grin. "A lot of hunters, bloodline hunters, aren't raised with that same standard of happy, but are usually pretty realistic. We also tend to have a lot looser definition of comforting actions."

Buffy blushed. "I was taught boyfriend and only serious ones. My mom was fierce about that with me and my sister."

He grinned. "We realize that, Buffy. It's not a problem. But you'll probably be hearing some things that're going to border on that and make you blush even more."

"Probably." She looked at Faith. "Then again so do you."

"Yeah. I was raised a street kid. I knew more people who sold themselves than ones that didn't. Them being freely comforting and sexual is okay with me. Though I may still blush at some of that. Hearing and doing, bit different."

Cyril grinned and nodded. "It can be. We all started out innocent too, Faith. I grew up with cousins who were assholes but we taught each other a lot. And the younger one."

"You guys train at home," Buffy said.

"At thirteen or so, we go to a different camp than the one we're raised in so our parents aren't training us to be hunters. My clan has set up a schedule for who gets kids each year. The ones born this year are going to Uncle Reggie in Oklahoma. If his camp has kids to be farmed out for training there's a list for who they go to. When I came up, I had eight others in the training camp with me.

"Two of those are still there and then one that came in younger because he was partially marked but he was a weird case so they sent him to Uncle Marl to train." He grinned. "He and one of the older ones share a wife. They're fully married by our standards and they're happy. That would be Elmira. The same as Samia's my wife and John has Sarzi. The marked kids all go to a training camp when they're about ten to be protected while they go through puberty."

"That makes sense to me," Buffy said with a nod.

"But a lot of the hunters don't have wives so it's up to the wives to say if they're going to help comfort anyone else in the camp." She blushed bright red and ducked her head. He grinned, patting her on the hands. "If Samia and I were the only couple or there were a lot of single hunters in our camp, it'd be up to her to offer to cuddle or anything else the others that may need the comfort from the hunting. Some hunters are bad about that. A few joke about community property wives but we like to educate those about manners," he said with a smirk.

She nodded. "I'd like my girls to find a real, good, serious relationship of some kind. Someone to help them and back them up and all that."

"It's what we all want, girly. Every single one of us. Though most hunters would like kids some days."

Buffy nodded. "Plenty of us might but the calling kinda ruined that on us. Though we have a whole lot of girls who're scared to death of kids."

He grinned. "Kids can be mind warping. Mine is."

"You didn't bring him?" she asked.

"He's with his cousins at home. Uncle Marl is protecting him until we let the local camps come help and spread the information around. We'll probably switch in and out among the various hunter camps and training camps." He grinned. "We even have some marked guys who might like to meet your girls."

"That might be nice," Faith said quietly. "I could use a guy who knew what they were doing and I didn't have to worry about."

Cyril nodded. "Many girls do. Hopefully some day my nieces will find one too."

Buffy nodded. "I hope my sister does too but I'd like her to find one outside all this and retire to safety." Faith swatted her. "I do!"

"D will make her own choices, Buffy. She's told you that and told you off a few times."

"Yeah but I'm older and my word is law. Mom would want that for her."

Faith nodded. "She's going to turn you into a toad the next time. Or the princess in a tower."

"I might not mind that," she admitted. "At least I'd get a vacay."

Faith tipped her head then frowned and sighed. "Yeah, I'd stand the hair for the vacay." She huffed. "We're all messed up." Buffy nodded. The watcher in charge was shaking his head but looking up and praying for patience probably.

"Don't make wishes," Xander said as he walked past the doorway. "You know damn well some being might enjoy that. It'd mean fewer of you available. And the vision of trying to find your true love to kiss your dumb ass awake was not pleasant, Buffy Summers."

"Oops," she called back. "Sorry, Xander. Did Faith have one?"

"Yes. And it took Groall and his father Goreman to rescue her from that enchanted tower. Two years later. By accident on their pot road trip."

Faith nodded. "Yeah, I don't need the vacay that much. We'll do an all slayer beach time and get the usual attack out of the way." Buffy nodded, making herself a note to look up this year's vacation spot.

The head watcher sighed loudly. "Let's not hope for such events, ladies. Shall we?" They nodded and got back to work making plans.

***

Xander met a few of the incoming hunters, shaking hands. "Hey, guys, I'm Xander." He nodded behind him. "The slayers are over there nagging each other and making bets about how they're going to torment each other if they're too injured. Two of them should not be here, they're too young, and I'm going to go knock them out.

"Cyril is with Timothy," he said with a point in the other direction. "Talking with Minister Burgess and a few others about how to handle the extra evil thing that praying at may help. Let me go nag the girls to handle things." He walked off. "We're going to have the battle in the green area by the parking lot so might want to move the cars unless you need them there to get the weapons from them. Oh, and normal bullets will work for the red things. The others take beheading or major weapons."

The hunters shared a look and went to find Cyril to get their information and spots. Cyril nodded with a grin. "Ran into Xander?" he guessed. They nodded. "He's going to go knock out the two young things. Okay, we've got this going on," he said, handing over the notes they had. "Unless they totally blow what information that was overheard." They nodded, going over it. "And I'd move the cars from that lot unless you'll want more weapons."

"We can do that," one of them agreed. He looked at his cousin, then shook his head. "Samia?"

"With the girls." He head nodded. "Though I'm about to knock her out too." He hugged John. "Sarzi?"

"Home. Sitting on Elmira so she doesn't show up too."

"Good!" They shared a look. "Xander and the slayers are a bit bouncy today. But it'll lead to energy later on."

John snorted but went to arm himself for things and then move his car. The other hunters did the same thing, coming back as the portal opened. John stared then nodded once. "This is going to suck," he decided. He stepped in to shoot at the red things. Bullets did work. And then a few decided to bite someone and grow.

Xander shot one with a higher caliber weapon. "Fuck the hell off back home, people. Before I show up there to take the fuck over!" The demons tried to run from the slayers cheering for that but they had swords and other weapons. The other hunters would run too. Xander pointed at two girls. "Guard the back area. We don't want them near the weapons." They nodded, going to handle that and get the agents away from them.

The agents tried to interfere but Xander turned and shot one in the leg. "I said leave the weapons the fuck alone unless you're going to use them, assholes. Are you deaf?" They ran for it instead of dealing with the demons trying to get over there. Faith fell back to help them. Xander moved forward with his part of the girls.

Buffy pushed her braid back over her shoulder. "This sucks and they need to go home," she complained. "Would magic work?" she called.

"No."

"Damn it." She got another few of them with her sword and kept moving forward. "This is worse than the invasion was." The girls with her nodded at that. A few demons tried to get free of the group. "Sarah, go after them." She pointed and moved over to take her spot.

Xander pointed. "Mina, go with Sarah, Telly, go take her place with Buffy's team." That young one hopped in. The other was ready in case they needed a relief slayer. Xander sighed but moved forward with his team. He finally had a fuck it moment. "Get me something," he called. "Something huge, let me take that damn portal."

The girls with the weapons ran over a huge case for him and he used it to blow the portal and the demons around it. It dented a hunter but they evacuated him easily, he was barely on the side of the blast radius. Not even more than shaking his head. The girls got him moved and fussed at. "Ladies!" Xander bellowed. Buffy echoed it.

"Let the nice hunter guy be, ladies," Faith yelled. "Now!" They let him recover by himself and stepped back in.

Cyril looked around, spotting his wife, who was amused at least. The cousin was on the other side of the battle, shooting at little red demons.

Then a huge one showed up. Xander blinked. "I could've used that weapon for him." He dropped the sword and sprinted back, beating Buffy to the weapons. He handed her two, took one, and went to fire on that one. "Take his sisters, Buffy. It takes a woman."

"Yup." The three female demons showed up and she looked. No other weapons. "Great." Xander hit the guy and it died. Buffy got two of the three other ones. She nearly missed one too by trying to get them both. "Xander, can we get something from the house?" she called.

He shook his head. "Nothing that can be used in the vault. Someone grab my battle vest." A girl went to get it and he looked then put together a quick explosive and let her have it to attach to a crossbow bolt and fire it at that demon. It went off a second after it hit her, making a mess. Two slayers got injured, making him swear. They got moved out of the way by Andrew and his minions.

Xander pulled his sword out and sighed, but dove back in with a deep breath. He was really aching a lot today. The girls were slower too. It was already a long battle. Xander was wincing as he swung, getting an odd look from one of the hunters. He shrugged with a wince and went back to it.

Another higher level demon showed up. Buffy looked. "Girls, move," she ordered. "Back, now! Right now! He's poisonous!"

Xander looked then ran to handle it. "He's only poisonous to slayers." He took a wild swing when he got there and the demon laughed as he leaned back.

"I look forward to avenging my brother's death," the demon sneered at him. "You're not so good now, are you, Harris?"

Xander smirked. "I made your brother beg as he died while I had malaria. You sure about that?" He took another swing, which made the demon move back. He used a holy water grenade to get the tree behind that demon, making him scream as the wood embedded. "What? No comment about me using holy water?"

He stepped in to cut that thing until he could behead it. The demon had little biting things on his skin that were trying to stop him. They died with him. Xander stepped back with a sigh, nodding as he headed back to help the girls. That battle had stopped to watch his. He smirked and bowed, with the sword salute. "So, you were going home?"

The demons screamed and tried to attack again. Buffy had relented and picked up a shotgun. She hated guns but oh well. It worked this time. Xander picked up his own to help. The other slayers did the same thing with the hunters helping them.

Buffy killed the last one and huffed. "Finally! I'm ready for a long soak!" She put the gun down and pouted, looking around. "Ladies, let's clean up and head home. We could all use a brownie and a long soak."

"I baked earlier," Andrew called with a wave. "Medical, ladies?" They trudged that way. "You hunters too. Medical this way. The paramedics are set up over here." They went that way. He looked at Xander. "What's wrong with your shoulder?"

"Arthritis. The same as it is most days?" He shrugged with a wince. "And probably a muscle strain." He checked himself. "I'm good enough. I can handle the rest. We have stitching packs, right?"

"I think we're out."

Xander nodded, going that way. A paramedic spotted him and winced. "Stitching packs?" The guy looked him over, gave him what he'd need, and let him hike off. "Thanks." He went home to treat his injuries, take something for his shoulder, and then take a shower.

Buffy looked at the one treating her. "How many are in the ER already?" she asked quietly.

"Ten, Slayer Buffy. Another three may have to go. Only one of those guys. Whoever they are."

She grinned. "Willow made a wish that got us more hunters by joining us to their world."

"Oh, dear."

"But they're all hunters. So huge help there."

"I'm sure it will be. I'll pass that around. Just another realm?"

"No, we had a full world merge. Their world and ours are kissing and stuff."

He nodded. "I'll pass that on." He finished treating her. "There you go. Go and don't soak those stitches."

She looked at her arms. "They can stay out of the water. Is Xander walking? I know he's got something wrong somehow."

"His shoulder's apparently bad, he needed some stitches. They gave him stuff to do that."

"Oh, good. Thanks, dude." She let another one take her place so she could be brought home. She paused in front of Cyril, who stared back. "Can you talk to Xander about whatever injury thing he has this time? I know they won't treat him because he got exposed to demon blood stuff but he'll never let us check because we'll nag."

He nodded. "I can do that."

"Thanks." She walked off. "I miss us having our docs," she complained as she trudged. The others girls with her nodded they did too. "The paramedics need to handle the rest of the city." She looked around. "Did any get free?" she called.

"Nope," Faith called back from where she was getting stitches. She suddenly heaved. "Oh, fuck. I need the anti-toxin and I hate that stuff. It always makes me puke." She took some and kept it down, barely, for now. It needed ten minutes or she'd have to take more.

Cyril looked at his wife on the next bed, then at John across the area. John was sighing and shaking his head. Samia was grinning at him. "So that was weird," he said. "For us to handle that...that's huge."

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "And it sucks."

"Yes it does." He got up when they were done, helping his wife sit up. "She's my wife," he said when the paramedic stared at him.

"That's wonderful, sir." He let him take her over to where John was. He wouldn't ask if they were together too. It wasn't really his business.

John looked at them. "I texted Uncle Marl we were done and he's having a fit. A holy, throwing things in the woods fit according to Marcus, who's watching the kids." He looked at Samia, who grinned and patted him. Then at Cyril. "Is this common?"

Cyril looked at the nearest slayer. "Real common?"

"Every spring something huge happens and sometimes around the holidays in the fall. Maybe one now and then if you have an eclipse or something. This is top ten level." She sighed. "We need to play some kitten poker for weapons again. Xander's going to be mad at himself for not having more."

John stared at her. "Really?"

"Really. Not like the agents would've given us some to use. They hate us and our asses." She pouted at the paramedic. "Can I shower?"

"You don't have anything but steristrips. You can shower but not soak, Slayer Mina."

"That's nice then. Thank you." She hopped up and he got the one on her thigh cleaned up. "Thanks." She hugged him and went to get taken back home.

John looked at Samia and Cyril, who grinned at him. "Yeah, they just handle it and then pout sometimes," Samia told him. The girls around them all nodded. "But they are mostly nice girls."

John nodded. "Sarzi is going to want to mentor someone." He stood up with a wince. "Let me go find a motel room."

"I've got one, you can have the floor," Cyril ordered, handing him the keys. "It's run by a member of the peaceful community, and she's a great soup maker." He walked off with Samia to check on the other hunters. Who got told where the motel was. The couple went to have 'thank god we survived' sex in the car on the way back to the motel.

***

Buffy looked at Xander when he came down for dinner, staring at him. "Why are you injured?"

He pointed with his good hand. "Battle earlier? Did you already forget when you redyed your hair?" He got a plate and settled in to eat. And take something.

"Are those pills?" she demanded.

"It's aleeve, Buffy. I have sixty stitches." He glared at her. "Quit nagging." She huffed but pouted at him. He went back to dinner. He looked at Giles as he came in. "Did the usual complaining start?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Including the president wondering who those others were. We'll have a meeting with him tomorrow sometime, children. Buffy, do not start a fight. Xander, please be more kind."

"Make her quit nagging. It was old when we were teenagers."

"It was." He looked at Buffy, who pouted but nodded. "Make sure you have something nice to wear to the meeting, Buffy. You as well, Xander. He wanted you there." Xander gave him an odd look but nodded and dug in again. Andrew had made stew so it was easy enough to eat while sore. Plus the crock pots cooked while they were all busy.

Giles looked at his staff. "Did we let the minis out yet?" One went to do that. "The battle," he said. "What needs did we not have?"

"More weapons," he said. He looked at Xander.

"Hey, go learn to play poker," he said dryly without having to see that look. "I play half the time." That one grimaced but nodded.

Buffy nodded. "The rest of us need to do that too."

"We could let the agents give us weapons," Giles offered.

"And let them hurt the girls? Fuck no," Buffy said firmly. "Hell no!"

"I agree, we can work that out. That may have just been that group."

Xander shook his head. "No. There's memos stating they want to break the girls up by any means possible."

"That was from the last president, Xander."

"Who had the current one as his VP," Xander shot back. "I'll go have sex for weapons again, thanks."

"Fine. We'll probably have to talk about that tomorrow."

"Great, he can pay us back for the medical bills," Xander said, staring at him. Giles nodded at that. "Does he realize I'm the firm one of us, Giles?"

"No, probably not. I think he thinks you're just young."

Xander hummed but smiled. "We'll see about that. They still have my file *so* wrong." Buffy moaned and shuddered, shrinking down as she inhaled dinner and went to hide. He grinned and waved at her back. "Take your plate with you. Quit making Andrew work. It means you get seconds." She did that and ran up to her room to hide. He grinned at Giles, who was shuddering a bit. Xander hummed at that.

***

Xander paused next to an agent the next day on the way to the oval office. "Have you guys ever looked on that christian minority website? The one run by the heretics who hate us?" The agent blinked then slowly shook his head. "Maybe you should. They've been mocking our battles again." He grinned as he walked off. "Or ask General Morwani? He's still pissed at me just like you guys are."

He let the agent look that up and then start to have a fit behind him. He grinned at Giles. "I found out those right wing icicle people are making fun of our battles again by putting up uncut videos to get us all attacked and our addresses. Which is why I had the Dallas house move."

"Oh, that's charming." He nodded once. "How many videos?"

"You wanted to deny," Xander said happily, grinning at him. Buffy stared at him from Giles' other side. He grinned at her too. "Not like it's not on youtube."

"I don't look, that way I can't yell at you."

"You do and I get to nag back, Miss Went To A Battle In A Hoochie Skirt."

She pushed down her current skirt. "It was not."

"Really?" He pulled up that video to show her. "You sure? Because it looks like you borrowed from the middle school girls. Again."

She winced. "Um, yeah, I needed to do laundry." She turned it off and the phone then handed it back with a grin for Giles. "Patrol?"

He sighed, but nodded. "I do not wish to know but you are both adults, children."

"Of course we are," she agreed, staring at Xander. "What did you do to your shoulder?"

"Broke the clavicle and cracked the ball joint part last year."

She winced. "So that's still sore?"

"Arthritis, Buffy. It happens with injuries."

"Oh, dear. So you need to retire sometime?"

He snorted. "Yeah, like that'll happen for either of us."

"Point." She nodded with a sigh. "I'm not going to retire. They'll bury me after something." Giles swatted her. "Hey!"

"They will," Xander agreed. "Her, me, Kennedy maybe, Sophina, a few others. Mina's not. Faith's not, but some of the girls are prompted to that by the slayer spirit." He got swatted too. "Yeah, well, I have to keep proving I'm not normal." He grinned at him. "And I can't have kids so until I find someone to mentor...."

Giles shook his head. "I'd hate to see that, Xander." He smiled. "We'll have x-rays taken." Xander snorted, giving him a dirty look. "Not in Cleveland."

"Fine. Whatever. I have an aleeve habit thanks to it."

"We'll fix that hopefully as well. There has to be something better." He nodded politely at the agent he wanted to rip up.

"You know, we could help."

"It's guys like you that made Willow wish for another world with hunters to join ours," Buffy said coldly but with a smile. The guy flinched, stepping back. "You still owe us for the medical bills for the girls your people tortured and if you come near us again I'm going to repay that favor. The slayer spirit only breaks if I kill you but Xander doesn't have that problem once I'm done torturing you the same way you did a five-year-old girl." He fled. "Bye now," she called, wiggling her fingers after him. "Have a great life before you end up in hell!"

"Not even Hell wants that slime," Xander quipped. "And who said you'd get there before me?"

"Point." The president opened his office door to stare at them. She smiled. "One of the agents who you sent that tortured some of our girls. We didn't think we needed their *help* today, Sir." She stood up. "Are you ready for us? Giles promised us a real tea time."

He nodded, letting them into the office. Xander nodded at the guard in there that was glaring at him. He stared back. The guard backed away slowly. Xander sighed, looking at the president. "Is your doggy rabid?"

"He saw a video with you in Africa fighting a huge battle, Harris."

"Yeah, there were a few. I was down there for nearly two years, Sir. Did you expect them not to have problems on a whole continent?"

He blinked a few times. "I didn't consider that."

Xander nodded. "They have three hellmouths starting down there and one fully formed one. They have battles now and then just like we do on ours." He shrugged. "It happens, but at least they decided they didn't need a little girl to save them so took over that duty themselves."

The president looked at him. "I know you don't like me, Harris."

"No, I don't really like people who sign orders to have peaceful beings tortured, or mini slayers." He shrugged a bit, staring at him. "Did you expect me to act like we're friends?"

"No." He looked at Giles. "Your boy is mad."

"He's truthful," Giles said plainly. "None of us are pleased with that former problem some of your agents had." He stared at him. "So, is this meeting about the battle yesterday?"

"Yes. A few things caught our attention. Sit, please." They sat down, staring at him. "Who were those other men?"

"Hunters." Buffy smiled. "Willow made a wish to bring another world with hunters on it to mate with ours. It was slightly prompted by the Powers That Be, but they're very handy. They're well trained, have their own training programs, and they're good enough to work with us. The ones presently sharing information with us have helped us with training classes and self defense for the baby slayers.

"They're excellent and even taught Xander a few things. I can't beat their female called huntresses or their male called ones. Or their normal ones." She smiled. "It's great to finally have good, strong, knowledgeable backup. Ones I trust around my girls. They even have religious hunters who don't hate hunting."

The president nodded. "When did that happen?"

"About three weeks ago." She crossed her ankles. "She made the wish while on patrol one night with the trainees. She was frustrated with the lack of others who're decent beings stepping in."

"All right. I know she's had problems with magic."

"That's why she went back to Devon with a concussion from Xander knocking her out when he felt her starting to wish," Giles said.

"That's fine. I'd probably do the same thing." The president sat down, staring at them. "What are we going to do about these new people?"

"Celebrate having them," Buffy said.

"Did they add to our world beyond the people that weren't here?" he asked.

"Some training camps," Xander said. "All over North America. Not sure how the foreign ones are yet. We haven't talked to them, even the girls in that area. Though we do know their systems merged with ours so they're in them."

"All right," he said with a nod. "How do they support themselves?"

"I didn't ask," Xander admitted. "That's not really something I consider important right off. Letting them know the threats to their lives came first, sir."

"I can understand that." He nodded. "What if they brought threats?"

"We already talked about theirs," Buffy said. "Three types of vamps, one's mythical and rare. The other two are beheading and staking so normal. Cyril said that their older biters tend to live in a pack house sort of situation. They often have a volunteer feeder for the group." The president winced. "As pointed out, we have goths who'd do the same thing, sir."

"True. I hate them."

"They probably say the same thing."

"True." He looked at his guard, who was listening to his earpiece then looked at them. "What was yesterday?"

"That was the Powers getting mad that their prompted wish didn't get them what they wanted and the ones they bet against showed up to chat. So they held a battle for a new bet. We did have visions and told the ones we usually tell, plus put the knowledge up online where we tend to leak information."

The president looked at his guard, who looked that up and nodded. "So apparently we didn't pay attention. That's charming to know." He looked at Rupert. "We have asked to be kept informed."

"We email it to a few people, sir. Why haven't they told you?"

"I do not know. Still, you should be emailing us directly."

"You blocked us from emailing," Buffy said. "Willow said you put us on a blocked list." He grimaced at that. "We do what we can with what we have. I'm sorry you don't think that's good enough but we're a bit busy with training and stuff. The girls have school daily and all that as well."

"I can give you more agents," he decided.

"And you'll get them back in a box," Buffy said cheerfully. "Because no one needs *that* sort of help, sir. I won't let anyone harm my minis. Or Xander or any of the other watchers. Or the new hunters. As the ones you send cannot live by those simple, basic rules we don't think it's a good idea."

"They can bring weapons," he said with a smirk.

"Or I can buy them on the black market," Xander quipped. "People like those agents made sure I knew how to do that." The president glared at him. He stared back. "I can and they did. If it wasn't for them deciding two African countries could die off, I wouldn't have found anyone to help down there." He shrugged.

"I can have you arrested for that," the president offered with a smile.

Xander smirked back. "You can *try*," he reminded him. "You tried that before and the judge told you to have some sense, and heard about those agents you sent us last time, sir."

"Why are you here, Harris?"

"You asked me to be here, sir."

"I did?"

"Yes," Giles said patiently. "By name."

"I suppose I wanted them to arrest him here then," he said happily, waving at his guard.

"Sir, there's no warrant for his arrest," the guard said impatiently. "Even if we do want one or wish for one."

Xander looked at him. "Watch me use an owed wish if that one gets granted." The agent went pale and backed away. He grinned at Buffy, who was shuddering. "I could always wish I wasn't at that one battle last year." He smiled at Giles, who swatted him. Xander shrugged. "If they want me out the way that much... That's an option for them."

"What would happen then?" the president asked.

A demon appeared, staring at his minion. "You'd be dead. You'd all be dead. The whole eastern seaboard would be dead. And probably in the ocean." Buffy was staring at Xander oddly. Giles was cleaning his glasses. He looked at Harris. "Didn't tell them?"

"No, I didn't." He grinned. "Are those new hunters causing you guys problems?"

"Not a bit as long as they take out those dank, gothic monstrosities they had on their own world. Those Dark Ones and Ancient Ones? As long as they go, we're all going to be happy, Harris."

Xander grinned, then waved a hand. "Go ahead and unclassify that battle if you want them to know. I can escape the nagging."

The demon took Buffy's phone to call up that file on it. Then handed it to Giles with a smirk before disappearing. He'd talk to his minion later.

Giles watched it then nodded once and let the president see it. It unfroze him and his guard, and they watched it then the guard had a fit that made him stomp outside to swear. Giles looked at Xander. "Why was that hidden, young man?"

"Ask a certain redheaded hacker," he said dryly. "Her program made it so. The same as it does most of the others."

"I've got to yell at her about that," Buffy muttered, then sighed and sucked in a deep breath. "I can talk to her tonight. She should be without the headache." She accepted her phone back with a smile for the president. "Thank you." She tucked it back into her purse. She looked at Xander. "Was that the that broke your shoulder? I noticed the weird swing with your axe."

"No, that was right after it. That was about three weeks afterward so I was recovering."

Giles stared at him again. "We're making sure we get x-rays and you have appropriate medication for the arthritis you're starting. And for any other injuries that will lead to the same problem," he said quietly. Xander nodded at that. "You will not fuss."

"Unless they decide I'm a thing," he said dryly. "Like our local ER in Cleveland does."

"I can ask those new hunters if they have one." He looked at the president again. "So." The president shook his head, sipping some water. "The battle yesterday was fairly smooth considering so many of the new hunters stepped in, at our request. And we were without larger weapons that would have made quite a difference. And we had to move the agents away from what few weapons we had before they tampered and we were well and truly screwed."

The president nodded. "We'll see what we can do to support your people better. Will those new hunters leave?"

"No, the realm merge is permanent," Buffy said with a smile. "It's very handy. They're generally realistic, sensible people that we've seen."

He nodded at that. "Fine. Have a good day, people."

"You as well," she quipped, getting up. Giles and Xander stood up, walking out around her. Agents wanted to take her out because of who she was. They wanted to take Xander out for helping her be who she was. Giles they didn't want to touch because they knew he had magic. Once they got outside, Buffy looked at Xander. "I'm going to beat your ass for that battle."

"Were you there?" he asked.

"I could have been."

"I doubt that. You were in Dubai."

She blinked then huffed. "Fine. You're still in trouble for handling that."

"I'm going to ask those hunters to flirt with you."

She shrugged. "I could use a boyfriend, Xander. We both could use a boyfriend."

He smirked. "I'm not that picky actually." He walked off, heading for the car. "Let me start the rental. Just in case."

"No," Giles ordered. "We have a keyless start, Xander." Xander nodded, waiting while he started it and let it run for a minute.

A guard glared. Buffy stared back. "You guys all hate us and we know that. I wouldn't put it past any of you to try to blow us up in the parking lot of the white house or anywhere else." She walked past him. "Tell whichever agent you have flirting with my sister to stop it before I have Willow make every agent a lizard."

Xander giggled. "She probably couldn't do them all in one day. Doing a curse to whoever comes near Dawn would be easy enough for any witch to do."

"Good point, Xander." She swatted him on the arm, getting a wince. "Sorry. Stitches?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Why did you do that battle that way?"

He stared at her. "Did you see another option?"

"Calling us?"

"Not in time."

"So you just got there?"

He pulled up the real copy of that battle video for her. It was longer, covered the ten minutes before it started, and why the girls hadn't been called. Giles watched over her arm. Then he slapped Xander hard on the head. Xander shrugged. "What did you want me to do?" He waved a hand so they went back to watching it. Giles moaned by the end and sighed, heading for the rental. Buffy put her phone up but was sucking in deep breaths. "Did you want me to call the girls to that?"

"No. I kinda was hoping it was one you could've scared them during."

"I think I did. That one said I did." He followed Giles.

Buffy rewatched it and huffed. "Why did you scare him?"

Xander smirked at her. "He realized what sort of asshole I am." He grinned. "And that I was there with broken things."

She nodded. "We're all a bit broken." She sent that battle video address to Faith, who sent back it wasn't a file. Buffy copied the file down and sent the whole thing to her. She watched it, making the mistake to watch it with the other senior girls in their meeting. With Hunters Timothy, Cyril, Samia, and John, and Hunter Burgess coming in when Mina started to complain about that one. The girls broke out in complaining.

The watcher in there made them shut up so they could hear what the demon said. Then he rewound it and made them watch it that way. It made the girls groan instead. Samia was still mad. Cyril and John were both amazed Xander was still alive. Burgess was praying for God to help those people who were slightly insane. Timothy was laughing. That was almost exactly like what he would've done when he was that age.

The watcher looked at the girls. "So he could not call you, ladies." They all glared at him. He shrugged. "You heard it." They nodded. "He handled a major battle on his own but it was somehow covered up."

"B's first message said Red hid it," Faith said.

The watcher nodded. "I have no doubt she did. She does not appreciate anyone but you ladies doing the duty. As do some of us." He smiled at them. "He handled a major battle and didn't even scare them by being bouncy. I'm amused at that. I'll have to show the others." He sent a page to bring them. And the few missing others who may need to watch it.

Including Andrew. Who complained that he could've sent him some robots to help. The other watchers gave him funny looks. So did the slayers. The senior watchers went to have a bitching fit in a sealed room so the tiny slayers couldn't hear. By the time the trio got back they were all wanting to beat Xander, who had went to the poker hall instead. He realized some of them would be whiners.

Andrew looked at his phone then nodded. "Xander said we're welcome for him winning that one and if we complain at him he's going to offer a few of you to the vamps to eat." Everyone scowled but they wouldn't bitch at the boy for that. He had won. He had won a hard battle. It had been important. He had broken bones - Buffy told them that. They could settle in to be pouty about that and make sure it didn't happen again.

Buffy got the idea to go looking to see if any of the foreign slayers had the same sort of hidden battles. What she found made everyone forget about Xander again. Even though he had been in a few of the videos.

The hunters met to talk about that boy and how much he was like some of them. Though they wanted to straighten out his thinking for that battle plan. It had worked but it was wacky.

***

One of the younger hunters looked at Xander on their training patrol, about a month after the hunters had gotten sent to their realm. "So, you and any of those girls?" he asked.

Xander shook his head, looking amused. "Not even if it would save humanity, dude. I'd literally go make a wish to save humanity instead of that. Even if half of them aren't underage, they all have the feeling I'm very normal and that makes me inferior." The hunter winced. "You guys are getting a pass on that. If you want to date a slayer, just be respectful."

He shrugged. "Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't touch them. They're like little sisters and I really, just some days, want to prove to them that men aren't inferior species just there to get them stuff off tall shelves. Some of them are nicer than that but they're not in this house here. Girls like Faith, she's fun and nice and a great friend.

"Girls like Buffy...she needs someone particular and she's into guys who're dangerous." He shrugged. "But even if I wanted they'd never see me that way." He clapped him on the arm. "You hunters are getting passes on that. They see you as about equal but without the gifts. So if you wanna hit on them, just be respectful.

"Realize the girls are a bit uptight. Most of them raised by the former council were taught that sexual relations are unworthy and will get them killed in the field." The hunter guy winced but nodded. "Playing around, some will. Not all of them but some. Ask. Be clear when you ask. And if you break someone's heart be aware that Buffy will ruin you. A lot. Plus probably punish you by making you shop with the minis."

"They shop that often?"

"The slayer download has a piece of every slayer that's ever been called. Including Buffy because she died for a few seconds but CPR did happen." That got a nod. "She was raised by her mom, not the Council, and she had been a popular girl in an LA school system and a cheerleader. Some of the foreign girls are actually very flustered by Buffy's skirt problem."

He grinned. "Buffy shops because she's got nothing else to take her attention. She's had boyfriends in the past. They were dangerous and shitbags, but she's had some. She's raised the other minis to be the same way she is though, so they all shop for any occasion that may ever exist.

"There's a slayer in at least one mall every single day as far as I've seen in the last year. Giles just sighs and tells them to spend less or get a job to pay for their own clothes, mostly because he can't make rules about what they wear if they bought them."

The hunter nodded. "We're raised more practical."

"We want the girls to remain girlish and happy as long as possible. We know that girls shop sometimes, especially with Buffy's essence in them. We'd like the girls to be practical yet happy." He grinned. "If you want to help with that, more power to you. Just don't make them cry, dude."

"I have sisters, Xander." He grinned. Xander grinned back. "Sure, I can introduce them to some female hunters. Who would agree that them being happy young girls is a great idea. Most of us were too. Even though some of us were raised in a hunting camp." He patted him and they went on. "So, your biters tonight?"

"Mostly the normal kind. So staking or beheading if you want to get fancy." He shrugged. "If we have more than that, I'd never be shocked but a bit amused at least."

The hunter nodded. "Me too. We're not used to the unusual things. Or the marked ones handle them."

Xander nodded. "The slayers are meant to handle anything that shows up. From minor things to hell gods." He grinned. "So those of us who work with them handle the bigger things. We only get a pass on things that take speciality weapons."

He nodded. "I can understand that. Most of the marked ones can use mithrill and we can't."

"Exactly. Otherwise, we're there so it's our job. Though let's hope for no hell lords tonight. I only brought one gun with silver. Nothing better for them." He grimaced but shrugged. "I'll get more bullets blessed soon I guess."

"I heard our type are more amusing than yours?"

"I think that may depend on the being." He smirked. "Some are really neat to talk to or to taunt. A few....they're very much the sour, lemons sucked their assholes up into their heads sort. And a few are just evil. Those...they're harder to kill." That got a nod. "But there's four in town who give us no problems. We play poker with their minions too. And sometimes them.

"One of them owes me a blowjob for cockblocking me a few weeks back. I warned him and he did it anyway so he owes me that." He considered it as they walked. "I think I owe one five bucks too from a poker game. Not sure on that." He hummed but shot his crossbow at a vampire. It went to dust then tinkled down. "Whoosh goes the biter." The hunter snickered but followed him around to get his own vampires for the night.

***

The hunter looked at John, Cyril, and Samia that night. "The girls shop."

Samia nodded. "Yes they do. A lot. It's their stress relief and they learned from Buffy." She looked at her outfit then at him again. "They found me this."

Cyril grinned at her. "It's cute and a bit practical."

"It's hard to tear and I can fight in it," she said with a kiss to her husband's cheek. He smirked back. "They found me lingerie I can fight in too if I need to." She winked at John. "I found a few in Sarzi's size and two in Elmira's size too." She grinned at the other hunter. "If you want to date the girls, ask them. They could all use good boyfriends but they are uptight. They're more uptight than we are.

"They do not believe in comforting and sharing. They got warned that a few of you guys thought about one wife per camp sort of problems and they were all grossed out by the very *thought* of having more than one or two boys at a time." He winced but nodded. "But yeah, if you want to date one, date one! Please! They could use good men to date. Especially Buffy, who could use some stress relief. Her and Faith, though Kennedy's with the witch."

"That's fine. I know a few of the guys were thinking they were cute." She smiled and nodded, patting him on the cheek. "Harris said he wouldn't even try, he'd go use a wish instead of sleeping with one to save humanity."

"He's known Buffy since he was sixteen. And those girls all nag him like being a guy is a lesser state."

"They tried that with me and I whooped ass during sparing them told them that's what guys who hunt can do. They went to pout to ice cream and left Xander alone again. Oh," he said, looking at John. "What did you find them doing?"

"Two of the younger teen girls were talking about feeders." Samia grimaced at that word. "About how a few of the younger slayers should do that and maybe they'd convince someone to take Xander. I asked one of the watchers about them and they said it wasn't a bad idea, but they'd never do it. Xander would show back up after being turned and decimate the slayers. He reminded the girls of that and they quit."

"No, that you tell Faith about," she said happily. "Which two, John?" She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek when he produced a picture of them. "Ah, those two. One of them got it for picking on her niece." She went to tell Faith that. Faith had patrol tonight. She ran into her group and one of them was that girl. "Faith, let's go get a coffee?"

"Sure, I could use something caffeinated and sweet." They walked off together. "Girls, head home." They pouted but went to do that. One did try to stop at the coffee shop with them but Faith stared and she ran off instead. "Which ones?"

"The little blonde thing that was picking on her niece and her buddy, the dyed redhead with the attitude that she's a goddess? John caught them planning and looking up how to get some of the younger slayers to be feeders. Like our feeding volunteers. They wanted to do that to them and Xander."

"Oh, fuck," she muttered. "Xander will destroy them. The younger girls...." She ordered her coffee and paid, then got it and came back, handing Samia hers. "I'm going to let the girls have that issue themselves. I really am." She smiled. "I'll warn B and Tweedies so they can talk."

"John said he talked to one and that one said that Xander would be turned and come decimate you girls."

She nodded. "Yeah, probably." She took a sip and they went to talk to the head tweeds with Giles and Andrew. "Guys," she said when she walked into the meeting. "Someone got reported to them that some of the girls are going evil." One winced. "Something about feeders?" she asked that one.

"No, that wasn't it. I stopped Emmie from suggesting that Sophie and Demi take out the same boy?"

"No," Faith said. "And if they want to share that way, at least it's a dick that'll solve their stress. They're not related so boo-yah! Dick cures slayer stress." She looked at the others. Giles was looking at a few. "I can go ask her cousin who he talked to," she offered. One sighed but nodded. "So, what were they doing?"

She took a sip. That one explained what they had been wanting to do and what he had done. Giles glared and hit him for that. Faith held up a hand. "This is an ongoing problem with those two and a few others. Not just against Xander but against the younger girls too. So what are we doing about it?"

"They're going to therapy," Giles said firmly. "While grounded and without any privileges. Though I may just beat their arses."

"Can we let the younger girls pounce them to prove they're bad?" Faith asked.

Giles stared at her. "That probably won't work in this case. We've seen watchers who had that same sort of problem. Most of them crossed over. I'd dearly love them to not do that but I cannot assume the slayer spirit will prevent it."

Faith nodded, finishing her coffee. "How many are there really?"

"Four in that little pack with a fifth that may be a shared victim," the head librarian said. "I've caught them picking on her in the library a few times and put a stop to it." He looked at Rupert. "Would Sylvia do good with them?"

"No," Giles said. "She's got young children and I don't want them warping them. She's an ideal one to handle that little group as their personal parent though." He considered it. "I have no idea who else could."

Samia grinned. "We've got a few hunters who could. Hunter Timothy's niece is a fierce old bitch who went into the Navy instead of hunting for a bit. It did her good. She's got a firm backbone. We can talk to him about asking her if you want."

Giles smiled. "That could be good, Samia. Thank you, dear. I want them to be good women. Healthy women. If I could block the slayer spirit from them for going evil I would but we do not have that ability and it'd be finding some way to negate the skills or their freedom if they go that wrong."

She nodded. "Let me talk to Timothy. If not, maybe John has an aunt." She grinned. "A lot of hell going on with that type of problem but his cousin Mike came up with two kids who were so feral they tried to bite a few people. They got given mandatory therapy for it then to an aunt." She walked off calling Timothy about that group.

She found one listening and nerve pinched her to knock her out. Faith went to gather the others for them when Timothy agreed they could wake up with his niece. Their fifth wasn't in good shape so Faith got to take her to the ER for the injuries she had. Some were given to herself but not all of them.

Giles talked with the others about how to handle those sort of issues. They really had to make sure the girls didn't slip to the wrong side.

Buffy ran into Xander out in the hallway. She hit him on the face, making him glare at her. "How dare you rather make a wish to save humanity!"

He snorted. "You and the thang with red hair have pretty well turned me gay, Buffy. You two have made *sure* that all the stuff I learned from Anya is going to go to waste because I don't think I ever want to deal with another woman again. I almost had that solved and then I had to come back here." He sipped his coffee. "You ever hit me again and you're going to get it back." She tried to slap him so he punched her and knocked her down. "I'm not your punching bag, bitch. Don't do that. I've had enough. Fully had enough." He stared down at her while he sipped. "Am I clear?"

"Xander," Giles called.

"I got tired of being hit."

He walked out there to stare at his slayer then at Xander. "Who started it?"

"She did. Walked up to me and slapped me for no reason." He shrugged. "I warned her if she tried it again I'd hit her back and did when she hit me again." He stared at him. "I've had enough."

"I can understand that. I feel much the same way with the attitude problems." He stared at Buffy. "You and Willow were enough to nearly turn me back toward gay sex too, Buffy." She got up and huffed off. He looked at Xander. "You fine?"

"I'm fine. Someone told her that I told the hunter I had with me tonight that I'd rather make a wish than save humanity by fucking one of them." He shrugged. "It's the truth."

"It is," he said, patting him on the arm, getting a wince. He looked. "What bruised you?"

"That thang earlier during sparring."

"Oh, dear."

"That's sparring and she got it back but I'm not putting up with that, Giles."

"No, you should not. We're going to remove the ones who are going so very wrong, though not Buffy."

"Have fun with that. I saw Faith walking the one girl out for an ER trip. They should probably check Silvia's back too. She's got some strange scars for some reason she won't talk about."

"Yes, I believe I shall and talk to the other girls as well." He walked off. "Go get dinner, Xander. You missed it."

"I was going to do that before she stopped me." He went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Andrew had nicely saved him a plate in the fridge so he gave him a one-armed hug as he gathered things and went to hide in his suite.

Giles walked in and stared at him. "Have they been giving you the same level of problems?"

"They mostly ignore me and sneer when I do things. So I don't anymore for them. The other girls get extra." He smiled. "I learned how to be just as vindictive as the girls have."

"Good point. Let me know about such things so I can stop them sooner, Andrew." He went back to figure out where those girls would wake up with a permanent caretaker of their very own. The aunt suggested was in the Northern Territories. The girls would *adore* having nothing but snow and training to handle he was sure.

***

Xander ran into something and stared. "No," he muttered. "Guys, move," he ordered quietly. "Now please." The hunters stared and one's eyes went wide then he moved, pulling Cyril back. "Cyril, I need that minister. I think. Or a religious figure at least." He nodded, making that call. "Evacuate the other girls while you're at it."

Xander stepped forward, wincing at the cold wind the gathered spirits sent around him. "I am not the reason you passed but I will help you get peace if I can," he offered quietly and calmly. "Let me help you find peace?" They stared at him. "How can I help you find peace? Who are you hunting?"

They touched him and he saw, wincing as he hugged himself but nodded. "I will find him and help you get peace. Cyril, I could use a higher level detective in their internal affairs people if we can too," he called without looking back that way. Cyril called that in and got the other hunters and slayers out of the park.

"Are you buried nearby?" Xander asked them. "So we can have you interned properly?" They showed him where the graves were. He nodded, saying a prayer over them for a peaceful afterlife. Minister Hargress, the current one from the hunters, showed up with a car door slam and walked over then paused and moaned. Xander looked back. "I've seen one from a battlefield and one where there was some clan-on-clan violence. These unfairly dead seek justice and peace, Minister Hargress."

"I can see that, Harris. Did they show you why?"

"Yes. There's an asshole in a uniform." He stood up when a detective walked over with an officer. "Sir, are you higher up or internal affairs?"

"I'm not either, Watcher Harris, I'm Homicide though and if it was one of us I'm going to send him to hell with them beating him." Xander let him see the graves and he moaned. "Oh, shit." He looked at the spirits. "Is this all of you?"

They shook their heads and some of the mass of spirits split off to show him their graves. He went on a swearing rant when they showed him why. "If he did it he's going to follow you. If he just helped he'll go after a few decades in jail." He looked at Harris, who nodded at that, swallowing hard. "Your first one?"

"Saw two in Africa. One from a heritage level war and one from a battleground. This one's pretty small."

"Shit, kid."

"Well, spirits like me," he said dryly. A few of them were touching him. "How can I help them get peace?"

"We can work on that. You got time tonight?"

"I've got nothing to do for a few days until it's my turn to yell at the girls again. I can be up for days."

"Good. We may need to know things if they can tell you their names." Xander nodded at that, looking down. "Thank you." Xander shot him a tiny grin. He called that in and got staff to come undig the graves and gather the dead so they could make formal charges. Someone from the city showed up too and gave them a map of where they were asked to ignore. Someone had correlated that with the last head of the park's insistence that they leave certain areas alone. They found a few more. And ones not associated with that.

Xander stopped one. "That's a self sacrifice to close the damn hole," he said. "It's pinned to his chest. His clan buried him to guard it afterwards." The ME's staff nodded at that and left him there for now. Any other marked ones they asked for him to see if he could read them. There had been a lot of sacrificed people who died to keep the hellmouth closed before the slayers moved there. They could find a better burial ground for them nearby to honor their sacrifices.

***

Minister Hargress looked at Giles and a few of the top level hunters that night. "They walked into a massed ghoul basically. I have no idea what they're called but they're angry dead sharing energy for strength to solve what killed 'em. We have records of them being at most bigger battlefields where people were just dumped.

"Most of the ones in Europe got cleaned up over the years, including the ones from the torture camps. This one's got under twenty souls together." That got a nod from Giles, who was looking that up. They found those records and went over them. "The boy's a medium?"

"Yes, and he cannot put on shields," Giles warned. "He wears an external one and I believe he's got a few hidden protections against them. Why did they come up now?"

"That one, he just got promoted, it was in the paper," Cyril said. The minister grimaced at that. "Guess that'll be changing if they can prove it."

"Even if they can't, he can go away," Hargress told him. "Be damned if we want that to keep going. Also, they found the remains of some who self sacrificed, and a few who didn't, to keep the hole closed."

Giles frowend. "I had no idea they had to do that. Before Sunnydale's went down, this one wasn't that active we were told."

"Maybe that's why," Hargress said.

"We'll help them remove the bodies to a suitable burial center to honor them," Giles said firmly, looking at his people, who all nodded. "I fear we may have Xander being in something like psychic shock when this is done."

"That may depend on how close they get to him and if they leave cleanly," Hargress said.

"Things tend to stick to Xander. Like the hyena he got possessed by. I have no idea if he took any training from the holy men in Africa over that. I should have asked but it never came up."

Hargress nodded. "We can help him manage that once they're gone. Or at least on their way to being gone home." He looked at Cyril. "You can tell."

"I can and I could go help if you need me to. Drove me nuts for years until I managed a shield. And that was only after they tried to attack the camp I was in. Then Mikey kicked my ass when I felt guilty."

"All right. Though I would've kicked Marl's ass for letting you be that way."

"He was out."

"Still." He stared at him. Then at Samia, who came up to hug her husband. "Good." He looked at the slayers. "He'll want some quiet and meditation time probably. That means without you girls nagging him or needing him. Can you do that?"

"Some of them," Faith said. "Some...." She shrugged. "We'll try though."

"Good." He nodded. "The police have the bodies they're still finding. And that guy. They just have to prove it. I'll go bless them to move on peacefully as soon as they're all out and done with the ME's office."

"Let us know if we can help. We don't tend to deal with much of that sort of thing," Giles said.

"Of course. Your girls had better learn before they run into one in the field." He grimaced. "It's not real pleasant at times but sometimes you gotta help them move on." He walked off frowning to go back to where the kid was helping and trying not to pass out. "Xander, sit," he ordered. The kid sat without remark. He looked at the spirits. "Don't you dare stick or hurt him," he warned. "He's helping you and he's delicate because he's still living." They nodded and quit hanging on him so much.

The ME on site looked at him. "You're a minister?"

"Lutheran but yes. I'm also a hunter." He smiled. "I'm Minister Hargress out of Georgia." They shook hands. "I'm up to work with the slayers."

"One of the new hunters that showed up?" the ME guessed.

"I am."

"Is this from your people?"

"No. These can gather whenever there's unjustly dead. Or just a lot of dead. Most battlefields have ones that got dissipated. Sites of horrible incidences have them too often too. We clean up where we can and if they're too big, we do what we can."

"I get that. So they're merged?"

"For strength and stability they've merged into one giant ghoul basically, though they're not actually a ghoul but it's about as close as we can explain it." That got a nod and the ME made a note for himself. "We offer to help them find peace and justice if we can. If we can, we get a religious leader of their type in to help us. Sometimes that matters and sometimes it doesn't." That got another note made. "This time, I don't think we'll need too many blessings. They seem to want justice and found out Xander could speak for 'em."

"That's what we thought. Is he going to be okay?"

"It'll mind shock him a lot. We can help him through that too." Xander looked over. "There's meditations to help with that, kid."

"I'm doing what I learned from the shaman and holy men in Africa I trained with." He got up, going to stare at one body then at the group of spirits. That one faded in and out. "What's your name, sweetheart?" he asked gently. The ghost told him. "He said he liked to be called Brad but his mother called him Stanley."

"We can make that note," the ME agreed, making a note to put on that body. That was a young teen, if that old. He looked at the spirit and decided to start by age instead of time found since they were all found about the same time. Xander went back to noting names that he got told.

An ancient man walked over as he put on his scarf and robe. "Can I help, Gentlemen?" he asked.

Xander looked at him. "Rabbi, I'm not sure if any are yours."

"A prayer for the dead never hurts, Harris."

"I know, but we need to know their names first, Rabbi."

"Agreed. We can help with that. You're not the only one who can talk to and see them, kid. Sit down." Xander sat down and let him handle some of it for him. Minister Hargress nodded at him. He smiled back. "Minister."

"Rabbi." They shook hands. "I've seen some smaller ones on battlefields in the past."

"I've seen some bigger ones. Unfortunately." They went back to helping those ones find justice and peace. A prayer for the dead over the found bodies and noted let their spirits go back to peace. That one they had identified had just covered it up for his brother. The locals would be having a long talk with both of them later. The brother had kept notes so they had more things to find their families and notify them. The officer hadn't wanted to know.

Hargress took Xander back to the Council compound and settled him in for a long meditation to clear off the remains of the spirits touching him so firmly. He'd keep some memories but not as many with some help blocking them out.

***

Cyril and Samia had to go back home and let one of the more local training camps take over for them. Samia looked at her family, who were at the training camp she headed. Then at her husband then back at them. "Cleveland is just insane. Did John give you guys the notes?" They all nodded. "The girls are fashionable and cutesy." Elmira grinned at that.

"It's how they handle stress instead of sex and running around naked. They don't often have sex." She sighed, sitting down and cuddling her baby. "Were you a good boy?" He nodded. "Good. Thank you." She cuddled him. "The slayers are desperate for help. They didn't even remark on the grumpy asshole moments some of the hunters had about them."

Cyril handed over notes. "They found a serial killer's burial areas and ones that had been self sacrificing to keep the damn hole down," Cyril said. His uncle Marl, who ran the camp he had trained in, winced as he looked it over. "Harris is fully burnt to a crisp but can't let it go. Vampires took the one he knew since before he could talk. And he's a medium that has no shields outside a few mystical runes."

Marl winced again but nodded. "Can we help him fix that?"

"He can't create one. He's fully tainted by the hellmouth out in Sunnydale, and the one in Cleveland, and every one he runs into. Apparently they think he's snuggly," Samia quipped with a grin for John, who had been out there. He was sitting with his wife Sarzi in his lap and his face tucked into her neck as he moaned about that. "They can track where he is in town by watching how the hellmouth reacts and where it's leaning."

Elmira raised her hand. "That portal hole?" Samia nodded with a grin. "Can we undo that thing with his energy stores?"

"It's a rip into the universe," Cyril said. "We can't undo it at all, Mira." She winced but nodded once, letting Mike cuddle her. "Apparently it's a silent tradition that no kids be born near the things. Somehow it's never encouraged. His mom was so drunk she didn't realize she was in labor." Marl moaned but nodded once, going back to the information. He stiffened and stared at them. "Yeah, he and Hagress helped get the spirits calmed down and he'd seen two before. A rabbi showed up and helped too."

"Great." He looked at them. "Would the girls work with our methods of training?"

"They use a lot of the same things but the girls are encouraged to be *girls*. First and always, they're girls who have a nasty after-hours job according to Buffy."

"Is that her name or her use name?" John asked.

"Nickname. The slayers don't have use names." He grimaced. "As one tiny one said, they're all mythical somehow. Even if they don't go on patrol they're all mythical. Oh, and get this, the higher demon lords there are *very* amused by a few of them. Xander, Buffy, Faith, Dawn - Buffy's sister -, and about three other slayers plus the witch that made the wish and her girlfriend Kennedy.

"They *hate* them but they're all very amused by them. Especially since some of them have owed debts that they'll use during things. Xander's reported one where he had to call in to get some major help due to what was happening. That demon lord finally showed up during the battle, saw, then waved it away and huffed off again. But it stopped that invasion attempt. He still owes Xander at least another one."

"Xander has one because he warned the demon not to block him getting some stress relief and weapons earning time with a contact," Cyril said with a grin. "The demon did it anyway so Xander called it a debt for cockblocking him."

"Cockblocking is mean," Mikey said dryly. "Is he ...right? I mean, all right?"

"Mostly," Samia said with a grin. "He's a normal guy who jumped in because one little girl shouldn't save the world and they had taken his friend. Had no skills outside D&D." Mikey whined. "The non-bloodlined hunters all understood him pretty well. They all stepped in for the same reason but he didn't get trained. The watcher guy Giles didn't get permission to do that back then so he learned however."

"Off movies," Cyril said dryly. "And tv shows." Marl groaned again but nodded once. "He's not bad. He's had some nasty injuries though. Missing an eye. Getting arthritis in a shoulder and his hands. He'll have to retire to training sometime soon."

Marl nodded. "Can he train?"

"Yeah. The slayers get a download from the slayer essence. It gives them weapons and fight knowledge. So he helps them get in touch with her and learn from all the stuff shoved into them."

"Is that safe for them?" Mikey asked. He looked at the phone Elmira was holding that their other husband was listening from. "I know he'd be complaining."

"I'm throwing a private fit so I don't wake up the babies," Marcus said from the phone.

"It's not tainted, they're not tainted, but the original spell to create the girls was foul," Cyril said. "They have a written account that had been passed down orally. They picked a girl because girls were considered expendable and shoved some gifts they stole from demons into her, then made her go fight. She had no idea about any of that. Buffy meditated about all that and Xander helped Samia join in with that using some of the skills he learned from the holy men in Africa." He looked at his wife.

"She was amused that they suddenly got more hunters, tested us and said our marks were weird, but we were worthy. So some of us who're marked may someday wear both marks. She wasn't sure when I asked that. And when I asked how we could help her relations she said to be good hunters. Hunters saved slayers work. Buffy sighed but agreed it was a good thing. Even if she does want Xander to retire.

"They worked out that the slayer spirit is very pleased with the new hunters helping. She expected more of her girls to retire to be good wives. Or as she put it, bearing partners. Buffy pointed out they were mostly infertile due to the slayer gifts so she showed her how to unblock that. Mr. Giles was amazed but not fully amused. He hadn't thought about that being a magical curse on the line. But now it's ended."

"Buffy announced that and all the girls checked their birth control status," Cyril said dryly. "They were on them to prevent their monthly cycles. Hunting blood sucking things while you're bleeding isn't really wise and they agreed with that."

Marl nodded at that, walking off nodding. They heard the kitchen door slam and then him ranting outside. Mikey looked. "Wow, not even I caused that sort of fit," he said in awe. Elmira nudged him with an elbow. "He had a few about me when I was younger, Mi." He kissed her with a grin. "Would I get along with Xander?"

"Yup," Cyril said dryly. "You're both weird in the same ways. If you and I had a kid it'd be very Xanderish."

"That's a thought to make hell run," John said bitterly. He shook his head quickly. "Is he dating?"

"Nope. He has some weapons friends he goes to blow for weapons the girls might need." Samia grinned at him. "He'd love a new serious partner but his last one, Anya, she died."

"I heard, and saw a video of her complaining when someone asked him about his ex's," John said through a wince.

"She had been a vengeance demon for over a thousand years," Samia said with a smirk. "Over women scorned."

John shuddered, hugging his wife tightly to his chest. "That's so bad."

"Only dirtier people seem to like him," Samia quipped. "None of the hunters liked him that way but a few of the dirtier locals did."

Cyril patted her on the arm. "One of the marked girls that showed up thought he was cute so Hargress took her aside to make sure she was all right. He made her go back to her house and get therapy. Buffy joked but he laid it a bit low about all that if she was liking him that way. She may have her own battle burnout."

John looked up at them. "That one battle was bad enough."

"About middle of their major battles," she said. "Their worst was the invasion in LA and the battle in Sunnydale that shut it down."

"I heard," he admitted. "I asked. I was horrified and felt sick for days." He looked at his wife. "They went into the seal's part of the hellmouth out there to fight the First Evil. Seven of their girls had to bleed on the altar. Then they had to make it back out before the guy they had tortured to get the blood to open it started to bleed." She shuddered, curling up in his arms. "Exactly." He cuddled her. "I'm in awe that Xander survived all that. And the girls. But I seriously think he could use a long vacation. Far, far away from all women."

Samia grinned. "He told Buffy she was a reason he was gay."

He nodded. "I can see that with the way we saw her nagging him." He cuddled his wife, shifting her some on his lap with a sigh. "Are they letting some of the slayers join our camps?"

"As secondary level training," Samia said with a nod. Marl came back in. "The slayers can join a training camp as a secondary level of training."

"That's fine. I'm sure they'll enjoy that. It means our girls will be a bit more well rounded." He sat down, rubbing his forehead. "Can we set someone up with that Xander guy?"

"He'd love having someone who understood," Cyril said. "He's awful lonely a lot of the time. The girls drive them off or they're not really great people to have in the US though." He shrugged a bit. "He'd enjoy having a mate again."

"That's good." He nodded once. "I'll ask around to see if any of the cousins might like the guy." He looked at John.

"I asked a few who're like him. Timothy VanDykle thought that'd be too alike. He might need someone who understood and hunted but was steadier and could hold him from rushing into things that didn't need him, just needed someone. He also thought a lot of the other watchers needed to do more field work because they were book work for the most part. Xander's about the only field watcher who's not in a foreign house. He'd still be in Africa but they worked out they didn't want women protecting them."

Marl nodded. "I can see a lot of men hating that but oh well." He was rubbing his forehead. "Is it that nuts there?"

"No more so than any other training camp," Samia said with a grin for him. "Though they do let the girls pick their own clothes so they have a lot of clothing checks every morning and before the girls go on patrol for things like skirts being too short and things that should be underclothes being worn as clothes." Sarzi giggled. Elmira grinned. "Seriously. One girl wore a sports bra as her whole top to school. Well, she tried.

"Xander grabbed her and forced her back up the stairs then told her she had four minutes to put on a real shirt, real leggings under her miniskirt and shoes without heels. Then he walked off muttering to check the others and sent half of them to change fast before he made them walk the few miles to school. Then he got onto Buffy about her clothes until she complained they were *cute*."

Elmira hid her laughing in Mikey's shoulder, shaking her head. "Maybe more watchers?" Sarzi suggested. "We know some hunters who could do that and the training jobs."

"Do not even suggest it's us," John warned in a growl.

"No, dear. I'd miss the family and our daughter would miss her cousins." She turned to cuddle him so he calmed down. That helped him a lot.

Marl looked at his wife, who winked as she came in from a patrol. "They're back."

"I saw their car pull in. How weird was it?"

"About like here but they're happier, kept happier, girls who like to shop," Cyril said. "A lot."

Michelle blinked a few times. "They shop."

"They shop like we have sex," Samia told her with a grin. "They're taught to be cute to bait. But they do it all the time. Including to school."

Michelle nodded. "I'd have to stop that." She kissed Marl and went to get a drink. "Only two biters and one of their type of vampires, the staking kind."

"That's good to know," Samia agreed. She looked at Marl. "They're allowing hunters to come in to help train with them."

"I'll tell the cousins that." He looked at John, who was shaking his head. "You sure?"

"Yup. And don't send Marcus either. He'll growl at 'em like they're evil when they giggle and try to pet his hair. They did it to that guy in Georgia who came up with Hargress." He sighed. "They're giggling girls who act like cheerleaders."

"They do get a piece of each slayer called before them and Buffy had died for a minute due to drowning so they got some of her too," Cyril said dryly. "She had been a popular cheerleader in an upper class LA school."

John looked at him. "That figures." He looked at Marl again. Who was shaking his head. "They're kept happy young women, which I appreciate. I just can't handle that level of happy and bouncy girls. Even the tiny ones in the house are bouncy."

"It's kinda cute. Their one day a week with a plastic sword, they'll let out a fake battle yell and then attack you like they're vicious," Samia said with a grin for her mate, who nodded and rubbed a bruise. "Whoever wins gets to pick out her cookies first that night."

"Twenty little girls below the age of eight," Cyril said dryly. "With a plastic sword, cute pigtails, and a bloodthirst worse than a biter's. I taught 'em how to chase prey." He grinned at John. "Then let them chase him."

John nodded. "Thankfully without the plastic swords but I nearly didn't get away. The only reason I did is one spotted Xander and went after him instead. Which made him sigh but evade them for over an hour. It made them learn how to hunt better according to the house mother guy."

"Andrew," Cyril said. "Used to want to be an evil overlord with his buddies."

John blinked at him. "Excuse me?" He nodded with a grin. "Oh. Charming." He put his face back in his wife's throat to rest his headache.

"Whole bunch of orphans thanks to the thing that brought down Sunnydale," Samia explained. "Social workers overlook them and all that to make sure they're healthy little girls." Marl just nodded at that but got up and went to find his wife to make the world make sense again. Samia grinned at her son, who grinned back. "We need a snack." He squealed, getting off her lap to go to the kitchen. She and Cyril followed.

John sighed. "I think I want to stay at the camp for a few weeks unless something horrible is going on. I miss our room."

"We can go home and lock ourselves in our room until our daughter needs things," Sarzi soothed, cuddling his head.

"We're going home," he called as he got up, carrying Sarzi to the car. He came back to get their daughter, who was pouty, but he wanted to go home and hide. If Elmira and Mikey followed that was reasonable. They probably wanted to hide from the girls too. Or get back to Marcus sooner.

***

Xander looked at the pouting teenage girls then at the hunters working on their training. "Yeah, you girls gotta learn how to do the hunting stuff," he said patiently. "These guys have years of experience you can learn from. You're all at the age to learn the basics of hunting so yeah, learn from the experienced guys."

The girls pouted. "But they're guys," one said.

Xander nodded. "Yay!" He grinned at them. "They're all experienced hunters," he said again. "And any pouting means I get to tell Andrew to ignore making dessert tonight." They huffed as a group but the guys got back to working with them. Xander got his few to start with too. His were the younger ones who were just starting the real training. They were still pouting but oh well. Being a slayer was a hard life and they had to train. Even if they didn't want to go on patrol. It could save their lives someday.

One of the girls huffed off and went to pout in the bathroom instead. Xander looked up then at the other girls. "Okay," he decided. "Ladies, let's have a talk. Matilda!" She came back. "Let's have a reality talk, ladies. Even if you don't go on patrol, because I know a few of you don't want to go on patrol, this stuff can still save your lives if you're attacked. Even if you're attacked by regular human guys."

He stared at them. They all slumped, pouting at that. "Yeah, we're training you in how to hunt but it's also self defense work. So you have to learn so we don't have to mourn you because some night some yahoo decided to hate that you have a mole on your shoulder. Or Goddess forbid, a boyfriend or spouse.

"You may never need to stake something but knowing how and knowing how to block those blows means you can do it if it's an idiot in school or a boyfriend or an idiot in the mall or whoever. So yeah, it's important. These guys gave been training since they were younger than you presently are and look at their ages." He waved a hand. "So learn from experience here. Please! I don't want to have to add your names to the obelisk garden."

One of the hunters nodded. "Some of our marked ones don't hunt either, ladies. They're not made to hunt, not mentally or physically."

"Which is why we let the girls decide that," Xander agreed with a nod. "They get to decide if they go on patrol or battle status or anything like that."

"Which we appreciate," that hunter agreed. "But girls still gotta be able to protect themselves from leeches who're pretending to be men and women."

"We're not allowed to date," one of the girls said.

Xander nodded. "Not until we know you can protect yourself if you're trapped with one in a car and know how to get away from one pressuring you in a party, a club, or even in the school. I *hated* the time I had to help get one of you to an ER for that *special* exam, ladies. I never want to have to help another of you do that again." They blinked and looked at each other. "Yeah, it's happened. By statistics at least a third of you will be attacked. We want you able to get out of that shit! And damage them if you have to."

They nodded, getting back to work. "Do we have to learn how to stake?"

"Yeah," Xander said dryly. "Some day you may need it to save your lives. And it does translate to knives if you're forced to do that. Ask Sandra later, in private." They nodded, going back to training with the older hunters. Xander got to work with his. They had to know, they all had to know. He hated it ruining their innocence but they had to know. Xander heard one girl crying in the hallway and went to check on her, tipping her face up. "Boyfriend trouble?" he guessed.

"Idiot girls." She sniffled, hugging him, getting a hug back. "I hate going to school."

"I know. There's a way to homeschool but you have to get permission from Giles and you have to actually do the same amount of work, if not more." He kissed her on the top of the head. "Idiot girls happen all your life. Most of them won't grow out of it. You've seen the older version in the malls." She nodded, just pouting for now. "We're running newbie training. Want to come help?"

"Yeah, I can help." She let him go, going in there. "Ladies, there's bitches in high school. You cannot stake them because they're supposedly human but sometimes you gotta workout to wear out the stress they gave you." She took Xander's newbies to work with.

Xander came back in. "Help Stephnie's group, Hannah." He pointed. She went to help her group. There were five of them with the one hunter so it was a good help. Xander looked at the girls. "Like those things in the mall that complain at you? They started that in school and never grew out of it. If you run into that level of bullying, you can talk to us about it or to Giles about switching schools or even home schooling if you need to." They nodded, getting back to the training.

"Have you had to beat a guy with this stuff?" one of the girls asked Hannah. "Xander said we might have to."

Hannah looked at her, then sighed and nodded. "Three different times. Honestly, two I was breaking rules and got in over my head."

"It's not your fault they tried you that way," Xander ordered.

"I know. But still, I realize I was breaking rules and got into danger. I went to a party," she told the girls. "I shouldn't have. My friends warned me the guy I was with wasn't a decent being you could call human. They were right. I wasn't alone with them but they were trying to drug me at that party." Xander winced, looking down.

"And I realized it so I called them on it and had to kick some ass to get myself and my friends out of there. One of them's mom got us to the ER to make sure we'd be okay. Which we were, but if I hadn't been able to get us out of there, we might not have been. And it can happen anywhere. Even if you're not breaking rules.

"I had one of the bitches that I was stress crying about earlier try to drug me with acid on some paper she put into my soup. Fortunately a friend noticed her tossing it into my soup and got the teacher in the lunch room to come get it because I was talking." Xander stared at her. "Oh, the principal was *livid*," she assured him with a grin.

"He handled her. And she's back now." She looked at the girls. "Xander's right. Even though I knew I was breaking the rules, they didn't have the right to try to drug me. Even if I had consented to drink, which I kinda did, they didn't have the right to drug us. That's consent stuff and it's really important.

"Even if you're naked, they don't have the right to touch you. Looking you can't stop if you're naked, but touching, no." The girls nodded at that. "If they try shit, you stop that! Immediately! And if you need that painful trip to the ER," she said bitterly. "Then you ask and we go with you. Us, Xander, Faith. Buffy might not be able to handle it, but Faith was a street kid. Kennedy I doubt could."

"Me, Sara, Faith, the senior girls who're sensible," Xander agreed quietly. "We'll take you if you need us to and hold your hand all you need us to. Then we'll go kick their asses until we're arrested for assault." He looked at her. "You could have called me. Ladies, even if you're higher than fuck, I'd rather come pick you up and drive you home than have you trapped somewhere or driving drunk or anything.

"I'll yell the next morning, I promise you I will if you're that drunk or high of your own free will, but I will help you get out of things if you need me to. If I'm here, you call my ass. I'll show up to help. I brought SWAT to one of the parties I helped break up thanks to Stella trying to get hold of a friend who was being drugged against her will. Her mom thanked me, Stella said her friend changed schools, but be damned if I won't go rabid parent if I need to." He hugged one girl that looked ready to cry. "That's why you learn self defense."

"Yeah, I get that," she said, looking at Hannah then at him. "Is that really common?"

"No, but it happens enough that it's not newsworthy," he admitted. "Which sucks. It happens to guys too and no one listens but yeah, if you need us, we'll show up. Even Buffy, though I'm pretty sure she'll complain if you're just needing a ride home for being drunk. Though she went to a few frat parties and drank pretty much her first semester." He grinned at the girl he was hugging.

"So we're going to teach you to defend yourself against guys or vampires. And how to handle vampires in case it's their problem instead of some idiot boy." The girls nodded, getting back to training. Buffy leaned in. "Having a bit of a talk about idiot boys who do bad things," he noted. "Hannah's having problems with bullies."

Hannah looked over. "I kept myself from beating them this time," she admitted. "I was stress crying."

"We can talk about it, Hannah. Do you need to switch schools? And girls, if you're drunk and/or high and you need a ride home, I'll nag the next day. I remember doing that in college and I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't." She got Hannah to go sit and talk with her.

Xander nodded. "She can tell you about sorcerers who drug beers too," he offered. The girls groaned but got back to training. The hunters gave him an odd look for that but went back to training. "That reminds me, Faith needs her license renewed." He texted her then got back to his own training group.

The hunters could ask Buffy about that later.

***

Xander walked up to one of the senior watchers and punched him, knocking him down. "Even if they're breaking rules, that does not justify them being attacked. If you think that does, then you need to get away from the girls for their own safety." He walked over him. "Ladies, if you're attacked for any reason that's not a vampire, remember most of us aren't judgmental and we'll help you if you need us to. Be damned if most of us ignore the laws of consent." He glared at one watcher, who shook his head quickly. "You sure?"

"I did talk to him once the girls were gone," he offered. "I'd never believe they deserved it for any reason, Harris."

"Good. I'm *real* firm about that. And ladies, some of us will drive you home if you need us to. Even if you're drunk, high, whatever. Or to the ER if you need us to." He smirked at one girl. "I'll even show up with police if I have to break up something." That girl shuddered but nodded. Xander had done that to a party she had went to. For almost no reason but it had gotten them out of there. He whistled as he walked off, going to get coffee.

Giles cleared his throat. "Yes, I feel the same way, ladies. And I will also drive you home and not nag until the next day when we have a talk about what had happened to need the ride home. As many of the older of us have done, I did go to college and college parties and did drink quite a bit with them. Unlike me, you won't need to hide from the demon you accidentally summoned while drunk. So do call." They nodded, getting back to eating.

Buffy nodded. "Most of us senior girls would say the same thing. Or take you to the ER if you need it. We'll nag the next day. The same as Xander will. But if you need a ride, call us!"

Faith nodded. "I need to redo my license but yeah, even without it I'd bring you girls home. Be damned if I'm going to let you suffer that way." A few smiled at her for that. "You tiny ones remember that for when you're old enough to be out on your own too." The tiny committee of future slayers all grinned at her for remembering them. She looked at Buffy. "Did you ever tell them about your cave slayer thing in college?"

"No," she said dryly. "That was not my doing, Faith. That was a sorcerer who hated drunk college kids."

"Uh-huh." She grinned at the girls. "So she was at a college bar with some frat brothers. The guy who ran the pub had a brother or someone who was a sorcerer who made something to put into tap beer. The more you drank, the further back you went. Buffy went all the way back to 'fire pretty' I'm told." Buffy sighed but nodded, stuffing her mouth.

Giles looked at them. "She had many problems her first semester at college. We hope none of you do have the same level of problems. Or the ones I had at Oxford." He smiled a bit. "I completely missed one class every week due to being free finally. Nearly flunked out of school until someone had a long talk with me about my responsibilities. Which was after I accidentally summoned that demon while drunk," he sighed. He ate a bite, but shook his head as he chewed.

The oldest watcher looked down at him. "I remember having that talk with you, Rupert." He smiled at the girls. "We understand the urge to get into trouble now that you're not under such strict watch as the old system had. We would prefer you not run as wild as all that. We do not want to admit anyone to rehabilitation for any reason or a maternity ward." The girls nodded at that, talking with each other about that stuff.

The visiting hunters smiled at how protective and parental they were towards the younger girls. It was good to see. Even if some of the older slayers were sighing in displeasure at that announcement.

Then one girl turned and slapped the one next to her for daring to mutter shit about that. "Really?" she demanded. "And yet I had to bring one of us to an ER for being drugged by her date last month." The slapped girl shrank down. "Yeah, most of us would help the girls who need it. If *you* don't, I'd hate to be in your future house. Be damned if I'd ever let one of us suffer through something that bad." She looked at Buffy, who was smirking at her. "No comment. She asked me not to."

Buffy waved her fork. "Was she all right?"

"Yeah, just a bit drugged. The PD made a report."

"Good. I won't ask her to out herself. I doubt she'd be the only one, just by statistics, but I'm glad you did that. Thank you for helping her, Sid."

"It's the right thing to do. I wouldn't even let a woman I hate go through that stuff." She went back to eating. The girl she had slapped was shrinking down in her seat.

Kennedy looked at the girls. "I'm going back to London's house to run it, ladies. I won't put up with drunken behavior in the house or from my girls but if you get into trouble, like the others I'll complain the next morning. My girls will take you to an ER if you need it and we will be nagging the next day if it was your idea but most of us in foreign houses would come to help you ladies too. We're sisters in this duty and we support each other." They nodded, smiling at her. "Though Willow does not drive and will nag sooner. So call me, not her?" That got a few smiles and nods.

Buffy looked at her. "Ya think? Sometimes she turns into her mother with the nagging. Though she didn't nag me about drinking." She shrugged.

"I told her to quit nagging the girls the last time I caught her doing so," Giles said dryly. "It was counterproductive."

Hannah looked up. "Giles, they let that bitch back into the school."

He stared at her. "Are you wanting to switch, Hannah?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe. It'll be my second change though."

He shrugged. "There's sixteen schools you girls can go to. You've only been to three. And that one girl should not be allowed back. Talk to me later, dear." She nodded. Buffy smiled at him about that.

Xander came jogging back. "Um, turn the protections please, Giles. We've got idiot yahoos storming this way blasting music from their hoopdies." He went to get something from the armory and went to handle it. The police sure wouldn't and they all knew that. The guys saw him and a few drove away faster than normal. The rest... well, Xander was hated by the local police department for being a bit militant. They'd get to complain again tonight. The visiting hunters came out to help him. "Guys, I've got it. I'm well known for this."

"Not just your duty now, Harris," Minister Hargress said as he came out with a shotgun. "No wonder you called them idiot yahoos." He nodded and shot a tire, making that car try to speed off. The police were finally showing up, twenty minutes after the first car had shown up - from six blocks away. The yahoos fled from them and the guys relaxed but the officers tried to menace them too.

Minister Hagress stared at one. "Be damned if God would like that, young man. I'm a Minister, I do speak for Him." The officer backed off quickly and nearly ran away too. Xander snuck inside. The hunters went after him once they could. Hargress came in last looking smug. "I should talk to some of the local ministers." The other hunters smiled at that bit of meanness.

Though now they understood why the witch had made a wish to get the girls more backup. They might decide not to hate her for that after all.

***

Xander met with a principal a few days later. "Sorry, it's my turn," he said happily. He hugged Hannah, who moaned at that. "Broken, sprained, bruised, or otherwise?"

"Sore," she said with a wince. "I have no idea what they did."

"Well, we're going to the ER then, huh?" She whined. "Oh well. Just in case. Is that child who drugged her arrested?" he asked.

The principal slowly shook his head. "Why would we?"

"For drugging another student. Again?" He pulled out his phone then put it back and went to the doorway then out of the office. "There you are! Come talk with us, Officer!" He smiled. The officer winced but followed. "Where is that child that needs arrested?"

"In the nurse's office with an ice pack. Your girl smacked the hell out of her, sir."

"Oh, hi, I'm Xander Harris. Head training watcher." He smiled. "And I'm glad since this is the second time she's been drugged here. Aren't you glad she defended herself?"

"I did not know about that." He looked at the principal.

"Her buddy, the blonde thang, tossed acid, like the tripping kind, into my soup one day," Hannah said. She shifted and moaned. "She had to help since that one was talking to me. So premeditated."

The officer nodded. "I was not aware of that, miss."

"I'm Slayer Hannah." She waved a hand then winced at that movement. "Xander, I...." She threw up.

"We're going to the ER," he said. He looked at the officer. "Do you want to come along to take a report about what she got exposed to?"

"Yes I do and I want her in an ambulance for formality's sake, sir. You seem a bit mad."

"I was the guy training the girls at home in Africa, Officer." He smiled. "I've seen worse but not often from American teenage girls. Where did she get the drugs?" He looked at the Principal while the officer called an ambulance and Xander hugged Hannah to help her throw up.

"I have no idea. Can we not get this noticed?"

"Hell. No," Xander said bluntly. "You're lucky I haven't called a hell god down here to deal with that little bitch. I've seen some pretty bad things from terrorists who hated that they're girls, but *really*. You're allowing this to happen. Again? Why wasn't she arrested for the blotter acid?"

"I don't know."

Xander looked at the officer. "I'm going to find out," he offered. A paramedic walked in. "We had this young slayer, Hannah, drugged by something that's making her throw up."

"She's super sensitive to any touch or movement," Xander said. "It's making her dizzy and therefore nauseous. Her pulse is a bit thready and fast but not too far out of normal from what I can feel in her throat. She can't swallow." He looked. "She's just recently eaten."

"Okay. Are you a paramedic, sir?"

"I'm Watcher Xander Harris."

"Oh, you're him. Okay. We were told you were one of the first responder trained watchers. Miss?" Hannah sniffled but Xander helped her up and she wobbled hard. "Let's get you on a gurney, dear. So you don't fall and break something. Officer?"

"I want a report. The same girls apparently tried to drug her with blotter a few months ago. I have no idea what this is."

"Me either and I've unfortunately met a few street drugs in my training days." Xander picked her up when she passed out. "Let's get her a bed?" The paramedic got the gurney in there and Xander put her on it, walking out with her. "Can you have her backpack sent with one of our other girls?" he asked the officer. "They can probably pop each other's lockers."

"Yeah, not a problem. Let me get my backup here." He called that in and that officer showed up after talking to one of the other slayers in class. This was going to get nasty. Xander wasn't the polite guy the other watchers were. He was a young American asshole guy. He'd become a Karen if he had to.

***

Xander looked up as the officer came in that night. "They in jail?"

"Yes. That's dangerous. Is she okay?"

"Do not know," Xander admitted then sighed. "No clue yet. The docs aren't sure."

The officer nodded. "Can I get her records for the DA?" Xander signed the order where his name was supposed to be. "Mr. Giles isn't here yet?"

"He's overseeing dinner and he'll be here in about an hour or you can go there. Buffy's having a fit from what I got told."

"Thank you, Mr. Harris." He went to find Mr. Giles to sign it as well since he was the head watcher. The DA was more than happy to have that paperwork.

Xander leaned on the bed rail, staring at her. "Okay, Hannah. Time to wake up and complain a lot," he said quietly. "You gotta wake up, baby girl."

***

Rupert Giles stared at the parent across the courtroom the next day. The girls' parents were complaining it was just some bullying. "Your Honor, our girl is presently comatose from whatever concoction they came up with. However they created it. We're not sure our girl will survive that. Their spoiled little brats did this the *second* time they drugged that same young woman. The first time they used blotter acid and were caught. Not charged but caught. Isn't it time for the law to actually work?"

The judge winced. "I was not aware of that."

"That's funny since she was suspended for a mere month. She was back a week when this happened. All of us are livid and it's really more healthy for their children to be somewhere protective as I can't keep some of my girls from stomping them if they run into them. All my girls are quite peeved to the point of us doing daily temper meditations instead of training right now."

The judge nodded. "Teenage girls can have tempers, Mr. Giles. I've got one of those myself and I couldn't stop her." He looked at the parents. "This was the second offense?" He looked at the DA.

The DA looked in the file. "There was a report made but nothing was done, Your Honor. Even though they caught the girls having thrown the blotter into Slayer Hannah's soup in the lunch room. The principal refused to let us press charges." He handed over that file. "Frankly, I wanted to do it then."

"How did they get the blotter?" the judge asked the parents, who were complaining about their kids being charged. Still. "People, how did your children get drugs?" he demanded. They didn't know or wouldn't say. "Fine. They're remanded to custody of juvenile services unless the DA wants to charge them as adults."

"Oh, yes I do," he said, handing over that paperwork. "That's also to amend the charges to attempted murder one with the premeditation they showed." The parents started to shout.

"You only care because she's a slayer!" one shouted, throwing something at him.

The DA looked at her. "Usually I wouldn't charge anyone attacking a slayer. They've complained about that a lot because of the attacks on the house. And you're going to be arrested for assault, ma'am. Bailiff?" He came to arrest her. She struggled but oh well. He looked at the judge. "I also have here a request to be kept informed of her medical status." He handed it to Giles, who nodded. "If something big happens I'd like to know. Or if it takes one of the demonic healers?"

"Of course. It would be pertinent." He adjusted his glasses. "We just hope she survives right now." He walked off. This was getting on his nerves and he did not have the luxury of losing his temper like Xander did. He had to remain in control before his magic came out to curse those young idiots.

The judge looked at the DA, signing the orders. "We'll have a hearing in three days on the change to adult status. I suggest they get a decent lawyer by them," he told the parents. They huffed off. He looked at the DA once the girls were back in custody and going back to a cell. "Will she be all right?"

"No one's sure, Your Honor. They're not. The doctors have no ideas. The healers have no ideas yet." The judge winced but nodded. "We should have acted the first time. They're right. We've been faulty." He left to talk to his staff. Mr. Giles could sue the city for not acting on the charges the first time and not protecting his girls. This was going to be nasty if he did. And no one could blame him for it.

***

Xander came back four days later, looking at the gathered girls. "She's still alive. Coded once but came back without assistance before I could get up. She's going to wake up next week they think. Her brain's slowly coming back. They're not sure about long term healing. The doctors are very mad though."

The girls sighed but nodded. "I know you all got the feeling that she died for a second. But she's fine. She revived herself. Or the slayer spirit did it for her." He hugged one girl who was sniffling. "She'll hopefully be okay. I'll go back later, after I shower and get clean clothes. The nurses ordered."

He let her go, heading up to shower and swear in there like he couldn't in the hospital. Or in his car because people would see it and he had to pretend to be calm sometimes. Giles patted him on the arm. "Next week they said to wake her up."

"That's good news." He stared at him. "It's hard, Xander."

"Yeah, but this isn't right." He went up to his suite.

"I'll sit with her tonight," he called after him.

"Okay. Thanks."

Giles got what he'd need to sit vigil beside her. The nurses gave him an odd look so he produced his ID. "I'm the Head Watcher, ladies." They nodded, not bothering him for that. Hannah looked so small. He settled beside her, looking at the monitors he couldn't understand. It all had squiggly lines so he assumed it was a good thing. Flat lines were the bad ones.

"Hannah, dear, I'm here to sit with you to give Xander a break," he said quietly, patting her on the arm. "You wake up whenever you're ready. The girls are all hoping that it'll be soon but you do what you need to do." He opened his book and started to read, keeping one hand on her arm so she knew he was there.

***

Willow showed up at the hospital. "The coven wants to a do a healing spell."

Xander shook his head. "No. Not until they finish detoxing her. She's still testing positive for weird things in her blood. The healers I asked said not to yet." He stared at her. Then at the senior witch behind Willow. "She's still testing positive for the main chemical."

"That's reasonable I suppose. You did ask a healer?"

"Of course." He blinked a few times. "That first night while she was still in the ER and they were doing blood tests to see what the hell it was."

"What is it?"

"Something they made up with one's mom, who's a chemist at the college." The witch winced but nodded. "She's in jail now too. Especially since she threw something at the DA in the courtroom." He looked at Hannah then at a nurse at the desk. "The witches want to do a healing spell. How much longer before she's detoxed?"

"Probably another three days," the head nurse said as she came in. "It's went down significantly but it's still at about ten percent of her blood." The witch winced at that. "We're still not sure about long term consequences." She looked at Xander, who nodded it was fine to tell her. "We hope she'll wake up and slowly regain normal function like any coma patient but we're not sure yet. Her brain waves don't look too far off right now. We're just waiting on her to wake up."

"Buffy's meditating with Sineya tonight," Xander said. "To see if the First Slayer can reach her."

Willow nodded. "That could help lead her back." She frowned, testing the girl. Xander let out a tiny growl so she quit. "Just testing to make sure there's no magic around her."

"No, I would've stopped that." He looked at the senior witch. "We think she'll wake up sometime this week."

"We'll do what we can to help her heal, Xander." She patted him on the shoulder. "Those other hunters?"

"Have been a great godsend filling in for me and training the girls this last week. They've run training patrols and everything. We had one other girl they had to rescue from club hunting." He sighed. "Rophies again but he spotted her being spacey so brought her home."

"That's good of them." She smiled at Willow then at him. "Hopefully they'll continue to integrate well."

"They're fine and they handle their own things too," he said. "We're coworkers, not one group. They have their own training camps for their marked ones. We have ours for ours. We just cross-train and work together."

"They have marked ones?"

"Yeah, huge marks on their arms. Those ones can use mithrill."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's mythical."

"Yes but some of theirs need it." He grinned. "It works okay right now and Sineya appreciated them when Buffy and Huntress Samia talked to her together."

"That's wonderful then." She patted him again then Hannah's foot. Hannah moved it away from her hand. "Hm."

"She's reacting to the magic," Willow noted. She lit up a light on her hand and put it near her ankle, making her move it. "I think it's made her sensitive."

"You can ask Healer Dyers. He's the one who saw her," Xander offered. "But he did say no healing spells until she's detoxed."

"We can do that," Willow agreed, walking off calling him. He showed up to test her and talk to the witch about the healing spell they wanted to do. Xander let him have her without him being too closeby so he didn't get read too. The healer smiled at him about that. "I know you'd get him for being in contact."

"He's got so much hellmouth energy right now he's nearly whiting out my vision without the spell," the healer admitted.

Xander concentrated and it went down. "Sorry. Didn't do my daily meditations today."

"That's fine," the healer agreed. He tested her and took the nurse and witch to talk about what he found.

Xander sat back down, patting Hannah again. "I'm still here." He kept ignoring Willow.

***

Xander came back that night. "She's awake," he announced as he walked in. "And groggy like you'd expect. They're taking tomorrow to do some scans for extra damage." The witches smiled at him. "The healer agreed that if a healing spell could work, it'd be best done in about five days, when she's fully detoxed."

"We heard, Harris," one said, handing him some water. "You look parched."

"I am." He sipped then stared at it then at her. "What's that?"

"It's water."

"ANDREW!" he bellowed. He came running. "What's this?" He let him have the water to sniff.

He sniffed then tasted a tiny bit before spitting it into a plant. "Gross chemicals that're probably not helpful." He looked at the bottle. "Let me test it and the rest of that case." He took it to do that. "I don't have groceries delivered," he muttered. "How did they do that?"

"Wasn't there a report from the store having some drugged?" Xander called.

"Yeah. I forgot about that." He tested and it was that. He looked up that report and two of their cases came from that.

Xander grinned at the witch. "Thanks."

"It happens I suppose."

"Yeah, someone at the factory drugged half a batch of water." He waved a hand. "Thankfully I'm immune to most things." He walked off, going to report to Giles. It was probably happy news. They all hoped.

***

Xander was in a club destressing. Not hunting. It was a gay club and even the gay vampires didn't hunt here. There had been a beating incident where the vampires had lost very badly and had to crawl home. A bit literally. So they didn't come to this club. He needed this destressing and the hunter that found him joined him on the floor. "We don't need to hunt here," he said as quietly as he could.

"Good." The hunter grinned. "I could use the stress relief."

"Me too, dude." They danced and Xander finally got to relax. Even if someone tried to snatch him. He stared at the minion. "No." The minion backed off slowly. "Thanks though. It's been a shitty two weeks. I don't need this tonight." The minion fled. "Thank you!" He got back into the music with a sigh. The other hunter smiled. "Minion."

"Biter minion?"

"No."

"Oh. That sort. We heard you drew dangerous people."

Xander nodded. "Definitely." He grinned. Someone put a hand around his waist so he looked back. "No. I need the destressing. Thanks."

"But, Xander, it's a nice month."

Xander turned to dance with him. "I've spent the last two weeks with a slayer in the hospital in a coma." The guy winced. "Not tonight, Brad."

"Fine. Are you sure? I won't be in town for long."

Xander sighed, staring at him. "Brad, I need to destress. I need to lose myself in the music and not go beat a few teenage girls in a jail cell to death for daring to drug one of my girls." The guy winced and nodded, backing off a step. "Thank you for offering but tonight...." He nodded a bit. "I need to lose it."

"I get that. I remember when one of your girls got taken out. Next time I'm in town then?" He left once Xander had nodded.

Xander sighed, turning back around. "Friend from Africa," he said.

"Awww," the hunter said dryly. "He any good?"

Xander shrugged but mouthed the answer so no one could hear. "At least he knew I needed to eat and sleep so that put him ahead of most of them?"

"That sucks."

"Sometimes. He wasn't *bad* but he's good enough." He glanced around. Two minions were listening. He glanced at them, getting a grin back. That guy understood not letting the minions know. It'd be good to destress with the guy who understood why he was stressed. And the hunter was pretty good at it too as it turned out.

The minions reported that but the contact understood why you went with someone who understood the stress. And who was strong enough to hold you down to make you enjoy it the way that hunter could.

Could these new hunters work with his slayers? Yeah, it looked like they might just fit in, and maybe even make the girls a bit less spoiled or alone in their duty. Though, the girls would probably refuse to be so sexually playful as the hunters were. So a bit of this, a bit of that....but they still hated Willow for that wish. They'd just have to see what came of it.


The End? Not sure yet.