"Major Finn, you have a go! Task Forces Alpha, Delta, Gamma, you have a go!" the figure in black shouted, stepping out the back door of the Hyperion and walking up behind the AI team. Helicopter gunships suddenly flew over the alley and thousands of rounds per second poured into the charging demons, then continued off into the distance where a silhouette of a burning, collapsing building disappeared, the Wolfram and Hart Headquarters ceasing to exist as repeated lightning bolts faded. In the distance more gunfire could be heard even as two dozen soldiers passed beside and beyond the AI members.
Coming into the light, a dark-haired, buzz-cut, eyepatch wearing man in urban colonel's fatigues walked up, smirking, "Now, Dead Boy, I promised you I'd be there when you dusted. And did I get an invite? Hardly social?"
"It's the bloody Whelp?!" Spike shouted in amazement ass medics swarmed over Gunn and a med-evac copter lowered a gurney into the alley. "Where's the Slayer, Harris? I'd like to thank her for the save?"
"Summers?" snorted a fifty-ish looking Marine Colonel, "Your asses have been saved again by Colonel Harris, courtesy of the United States Armed Services." Turning to Xander, "It seems you were right, Colonel. These yahoos just brought out into the streets every bad-guy in town. The 4th Cav has most of LA proper under control in just ten minutes; estimated thirty thousand hostiles terminated. Demons *are* stupid."
"Good, let Lorne know he's booked first class to Paris, the coven's on board to put the permanent glamour on him as per our arrangement," Xander instructed. "Tell him I'm expecting him to send me passes for his new club when it opens."
"Sir," the Marine responded leaving.
"Old One, Freeze," Xander ordered and then pressed his hand over Illyria's heart. "Fred, Return." The entire body suffused with blue, then white energy, then in a moment gold. Fading, a corpsman steadied and placed a trenchcoat over one Fred Burkle. Leaving two vampires standing in the alley looking confused, the humans, including Fred, departed.
"Ah, uh, Xander," Angel began, "What's the deal?"
"A promise is a promise Angel---us." Xander said, leaving. "And that, Dead Boy, Sorry…Dead Boys and The Girl Formerly Known as Blue Leather Girl, is a long story…"
Angel began walking after the departing group, still shocked that he was still 'alive' and that Xander Harris was some kind of military officer who'd saved them.
"Hey, Xander," Angel called out. "I'm more than willing to hear the story."
"Yeah, Droops," Spike agreed, mockingly, "since when did any one put you in charge of anythi—" The vampire's words were cut off as a camouflaged figured moved away from the wall and hammered him repeatedly in the head to the amazement and no little please of Angel.
"Riley," Xander chided, pausing long enough to address Major Finn. "You promised Sam you wouldn't put too much strain on your wrist…kick him a few times for all of us and get in the vehicle."
"Permission to *finally* dust Hostile 17, Xan?" the soldier requested.
"Sure," the dark-haired officer continued, then paused with the door open as they all heard a satisfying 'poof' sound. "Uh, Angel? You coming? I don't currently have a reason to dust you now that Spike's gone and you didn't try to save the bastard."
Nodding, Angel climbed in, Riley making him scoot over. The drive took a silent thirty minutes, the route cleared of traffic by military and national guard units, arriving at the hospital to which Charles Gunn was currently receiving treatment. Xander, Finn, and the Marine colonel from earlier engaged in sitrep analysis, the latter passing up their recommendations to headquarters staff as Fred was debriefed by an aide.
Exiting the vehicle with tight security to escort them into the ER, Xander continued his talk with Angel, Finn present.
"Now Angel," Xander addressed him reassuringly, "I *told* you I'm not going to dust you.." Smack! "But that's for leaving Cordy without adequate protection. Get up, I'm done for now."
"Does this mean you're ready to tell me how…"
"…this all came to pass, sure," Xander finished for him, pausing a moment until the vampire glared. "OH, you mean now? Fine."
As they waited, Xander explained how back in Summer 1998 when Buffy deserted Sunnydale, he'd been approached by some men in black types. Apparently, after the Judge incident, they'd done some quiet investigation of the 'Sunnydale Situation' and were impressed that he'd lied to save the world. That summer, while he did patrol with the other slayerettes at night, and occasionally saw Cordelia, he spent ten hours or more everyday at the base, intensively recovering his soldier memories while being drilled in OCS material likewise. Labor Day weekend, he passed his GED and graduated OCS as a 2nd lieutenant, detached duty to the DIA and NSA.
For the nearly five years Xander had provided intel and sitreps to his superiors in Washington, engaged in training patrols and hunting exercises as possible along the length of coast from Lompoc to Santa Monica, keeping the numbers down, and allowing gradual formation of demon-hunting teams throughout the US and NATO. Breveted 'Colonel' in the field to prevent disputes in situation, it was he that had gotten Riley Finn accepted back into the good graces of the military and leading a team.
Wearing the mask that Buffy and the rest had wanted, that of fool, he commanded a company since the Glory episode. 'Where were all the regular vampires during all this? Dusted by Uncle Sam. Why didn't the demons have a field day with the lame slaying job done by Buffy for her last two years at the Hellmouth? Uncle Sam again. Why remove the bait from a repeatedly yielding trap?'
"So, five years on the Hellmouth, and the occasional foray into Los Angeles, and I'm a Major with five years of field intel and small-unit combat experience," Xander concluded as a doctor passed him a report explaining that Gunn would remain amongst the living after a lengthy recovery. "As of two days ago, Finn made Major and I made Colonel.Any questions?"
"Yeah. Why wait for now to dust Spike?"
"Oh. We were studying the situation. After all, you'd think that a ghost equals soul, right? Well, when he finally regained his physical form how does a soul become a vampire? If he was being rewarded, why bring back the demon? So until now we waited. I'd hoped you would dust him. Since the demon came back...and having a witch actually check two days ago to see if he had a soul and didn't..Any other questions?"
"Does any one of the old gang know?" Angel asked, still trying to emotionally accept the story that somehow fit all the gaps of the last few years.
"Only my fiancée of two days," Xander replied without emotion. "Some one left behind by the Power People. The only woman other than Anya I've ever really loved."
"B-Buffy and YOU!" Angel gasped, then glared as Riley and Xander actually started to belly-laugh. "Who then?"
"That would be me, lunkhead," a dear and familiar voice said as she wrapped an arm around Xander. "The man who made the monthly trip to LA to visit coma girl may be a dork, but he managed quite nicely to pull the Officer and a Gentleman routine. He swept me off my feet."
"Cordy…how?" Angel asked, bewildered. "You died in the hospital bed."
"Almost. While I was giving you the vision treatment," Cordelia added kindly and softly, "Xander's bosses had gotten a hold of Giles' coven buddies and they brought me back. What you saw was a very strong glamour. After that Riley and Sam gave me a place to stay while this all unfolded. Two days ago, I asked Xander to marry me, and he said yes."
"Um, okay, if you're happy," Angel said as Cordelia hugged him tightly. Turning to Xander, he choked out, "Congratulations, Xander, hurt her and…well."
"That brings us to our final bits of business, and we've worked it out with the Powers That Be," Riley continued, taking out three documents, two looking very old. "Mr. Liam Angel, we have in our possessions two documents for you to sign, and your service with the Powers will be over." Angel started to read them as he heard a voice he'd never hope to again.
"Hey, you rat-eatin' clown, just sign the paper the kids're giving you. The Powers need it to reward you." the pimp-dressed disco balance demon directed.
"But I signed against the prophecy," Angel asked, signing but confused.
"Well Dead Boy," Xander began as Angel began to glow and ache, a black cloud escaping from his chest and bursting into dust. "Turns out that some military ops types planted a forgery in the hands of the Black Thorn. The second document was acceptance of Shansu and the identity of Liam Angel, age 26. Congratulations, you're now human."
Angel gasped and danced around in amazement, then seeing a couple of MPs come up and Riley smirking, he stopped warily. "Uh, Xander, what was the other document I signed?"
"End of the story, live-boy. Cordelia didn't know about it. You just enlisted for six years in the United States Marine Corps… enjoy the hair cut…HU-AH!" Xander, Cordelia, Riley and the other normals chuckled as Recruit Angel was lead away for processing and training.
Giles pondered again the news for the last three weeks had been filled with stories of how the United States military had clamped down domestically in Los Angeles, Cleveland, and a few dozen others as various allies undertook similar measures throughout Europe. Ostensibly, the elimination of long-term terrorist and criminal networks in there entirety was the story given. In twenty days twenty major metropolitan areas had experienced the frightening power of force majeure occupation of certain areas, elimination of targets that reportedly refused surrender, and then the process beginning anew.
The still-renascent Watcher's Council had a better intelligence capability than most, and it appeared that the US and its NATO allies had somehow uncovered the necessary information to launch all-out preemptive strikes against the Darkness, and had seized many abandoned Watcher-recorded outposts to make sure. It seemed that 20% of the demonic and close to 50% of the vampiric populations had been successfully eliminated with the rest scattered and on the run. Giles and Wood had pored over the few reports as Slayers were assigned news-scanning duties. All they could determine was that a Colonel A.L. Harris seemed to lead a battalion-sized assault force into each zone, making use of non-evil demons to ferret out the rest…and apparently released them back into the population with proper identification…and green cards. Criminal types were eliminated, and the odd thing was he seemed to hold the loyalty of a few demons that were apparently enlisted in US military service. And in the last week all contact with North American slayers and assets had ceased, Willow unable to trace any of them. And with the Slayer Scythe in the Cleveland School vault…
International posts were disrupted, and news censored for the time being on a semi-voluntary basis. Today was the third day in which an 'all clear' had resumed throughout NATO countries in the particular cities, and still there had been no word from the Cleveland School.
No communication with the AI team had occurred since the 'terrorist attack' on the Wolfram & Hart building in Los Angeles, and Xander had been out of contact for nearly three months; his last communiqué from Mombasa had however assured him it might be a while as he had to take care of some important personal matters. Nevertheless, Dawn and a few of the others had expressed concern. Buffy was still in Rome in another doomed relationship, but she was due to arrive tomorrow for a visit with her sister and to discuss the lost communication with the Cleveland School.
"Mail call!" Dawn called out as a rather large delivery was showing up. Dawn hurriedly called out the slayer mail first, then as Giles and the 'Inner Circle' showed up, she pointed to two packages addressed with all sorts of military stamps and a card attached to it 'Robin Wood and Rupert Giles, please open the smaller package, then the second when none of the girls are around, Xander.'
The two men shrugged, then headed into the study. Closing the door for privacy, Robin sat down as Rupert opened the first package.
"So what did Xander send us this time, Rupert," the former principal asked. He and Xander had just never clicked, and sometimes it bothered him that the young man wouldn't take the mission seriously. He sincerely hoped they could become more than civil. "Not another death mask, I hope."
"I-It appears that the first gift is an eighty year old bottle of single malt of note," the head of the Watcher's Council mused, happily. "If you would due the honors of opening the second package, I'll pour two glasses."
Reticently, Robin opened the box to find an old spittoon and a card taped to the top. Robin chose to read it out loud. "Robin and Rupert, while it is more traditional to receive than give gifts upon the announcement of one's upcoming marriage, we believe the scotch and this memento of our esteem shows the regard we hold you in. Before you get angry, Woodster, please read the label under the card. Enclosed in the envelope you'll find the particulars regarding the wedding. Respectfully, Alexander Harris and Cordelia Chase."
Robin and Giles, both somewhat flustered at receiving a spittoon, looked at the label, brightly smiled, toasted the future newlyweds, and placed the ashes of William the Bloody in a position of prominence on the mantle.
Elsewhere, down the hall, Dawn and Willow both exclaimed, "Married?!" as an amused Kennedy considered an appropriate engagement gift for her rescuer and from what she could remember from Scooby tales his socially appreciative fiancée as they're due to arrive next week according to their letter before marrying in Paris.
The soldiers moved purposefully into the entryway of Slayer Central, not yet drawing weapons as the indicated that the girl at the front desk call everyone to the front room as it would be more efficient to explain things only once. Rousing a grumbly Faith out of bed and downstairs took a moment, as the two unretired Watchers assigned to manage the training center gathered Vi, and the two dozen other slayers together. Faith, out of sorts, came to face the leader of the platoon occupying the first floor.
"Well, Riley, it's, er…been a while," the dark slayer started, unsure of how to proceed when a lot of government guns were present. "What can we do for you?"
"First off, Ms. Faith Wilkins," the Major started, professionally, and without malice, "You will direct your people to gather their belongings together. The Slayers that are United States citizens are herewith, as a unit, inducted into the Armed Forces of the United States and as such will be fully provided for and physically readied for basic training. After that time, any Slayer under the age of 17 will be assigned to the reserves and enrolled in one of nine schools for proper education and care until they have graduated and at that time be inducted into specialized units geared toward slaying. The two Watchers will remain in custody until the proper authorities can arrange a contract for services in which the Watchers will consult and advise said units. As the Watchers are and have executed many acts quite properly termed criminal as well as terrorist, the United States expects compliance in order to forgive past trespasses. NATO citizens currently slayers will be transferred to the United Kingdom for processing and reassignment accordingly. Any questions with regards to these legal orders?"
"Yeah, uh, this isn't the Initiative is it?" she asked nervously, having heard stories.
"No, Faith, it's not the Initiative," a familiar voice echoed throughout the hall, causing all eyes to turn to a somewhat familiar figure in full uniform. The soldiers snapped even more to readiness than before, and a couple junior slayers whispering 'Xander?' amongst themselves. "Major Finn is a good guy. One of the one's that in the last few weeks wiped out a greater percentage of vampires than any slayer, ever."
"Uh, Boytoy—"
"That's Colonel Harris or at least Xander to you, Faith," Riley interrupted coldly, the military eyes in the room matching his tone.
"Riley, puh-lease," a trademarked suffering tone declared. "My fiancee SO does not need an ever bigger swelled head, thank you."
"Cordy…" Xander warned lightly. "So, Faith, why don't you, Vi and Rhonda come on into your library while the others pack?"
"Aren't we packing too?" she replied, worried.
"You will, but first we need to cover some ground—" he began as the phone rang on the counter next to them. Caller ID showed a UK number. "Oh, your phone service has been turned back on."
"Can I get that, Xan?" Faith asked, actually nervous. "It might be important."
"Sure, go ahead, though I'd prefer you not to mention the round-up until after we've talked…"
Faith talked on the phone, with quite a few 'uh-huhs?' an 'he's standing right here' and okay, bye." Taking two steps to close the distance between her and Xander, "That was Robin. He mentioned a few things, and asked me to do this…" drawing Xander in for a long passionate kiss as Cordelia walked back over and looked annoyed. Cordelia was about to say something when the slayer turned and gave her a big sexy hug, then stepped back laughing as the couple regained composure. "Wood said to give you both a big kiss and hug for his new best friends in the world. Damn, Xan, Spike's ashes in a spittoon. Sweet."
"Okay," Xander acknowledged, "Now, down to business. In about a week we'll all be flying back to London prior to my marrying Cordelia. All of the Slayers and Watchers we know of will be gathered together in one place for an announcement and an explanation of everything you've wondered about the goins-on of the last few weeks."
"All in one place, Xan?" the True Slayer asked with concern, "the last time that happened?"
"I already have teams in place to make sure nothing's going to reenact the end of the Second Council."
"Second Council?" she responded, catching the slip.
"All will be explained later," the one-eyed veteran assured her, then looked directly into her eyes and soul, "And I want you alone to guard the Scythe between now and reunion time. YOU are the True Slayer, Faith, and you alone do I trust with it."
"T-Thanks, Xander," the young woman quietly replied, the trust and emotion of his words breaking through before the content. "And I'm sorry for everything I did to the three of you," she added at a near whisper, looking toward the floor, and heading for the vault.
"Faith, wait," Cordelia called after her and placing her hand on the Slayer's shoulder. Turning around, she saw Cordelia make eye contact with Riley, who nodded. "We forgive you, and understand you weren't in a good place. If you need to talk about it, the three of us are here for you." The dark-haird slayer glanced over at Riley.
"Even me, Faith," the officer agreed, with a sight exhale. "I just needed *some* sign that you were sorry. And we have counselors attached to our units if you'd rather talk to a stranger." The young woman nodded her thanks, and scooted off to the vault before they could see her do more than tear up.
An hour later, a much happier group of slayers pack their stuff to accompany Xander and his cadre of demon hunters prior to their trip to London for shopping and the 'slayer conference.'
Ten buses and several armored fighting vehicles pulled up to the opposite edge of the Great Circle from the London crew. Giles, Buffy and the European Branh had been contacted by Her Majesty's Government and strongly requested to accept transport for a matter of international importance. All they knew was that they would be meeting the field commander of NATO's demon-fighting battalion and his staff to bring them up to speed, and that many of the slayers and watchers with whom they'd lost contact world-wide.
Eight hundred young women were escorted into the middle of the Great Circle by a company of NATO-uniformed soldiery who through their movements could be seen as protectors rather than guards.
Giles noticed immediately that in the very epicenter of Stonehedge, a glowing tree of redwood proportions grew around and over an upright stone circle. Around the monstrous tree, eight 100-ft tall oaks grew from compass points, six-foot plaques with Nordic Runes on each.
As the Sunnydale group reached the first tree, a male voice from behind them broke the silence before they could break it themselves.
"This is the Park of the Valkyries," They turned to see Xander, in uniform. He continued to explain before they could interrupt. "Under each tree and nurturing life within the power of the Great Circle are the relocated graves of Tara, Joyce, Kendra, Jenny Calendar and four potential slayers Buffy buried in the backyard. "Those girls deserved a hell of a lot better than Spike and 'General' Buffy dumping them in a hole. Only Anya and those that died that day aren't here." Each tree is the memorial that represents a new start from each end, and life from death."
Behind Xander, Cordelia, Riley, Faith, Fred and a few others at least somewhat familiar to them gathered as the many slayers and their guides spread out.
"X-Xander?!" Giles declared, realization dawning. "You're the Colonel AL Harris we've been hearing about?"
"Yes, I am," Xander acknowledged, and stepping through them he stood atop a raised dais. "You want to hear about Colonel Harris?" Seeing their nods, he gave them the same story as Angel, only to be interrupted as he'd gotten to the point where the battalion arrived to 'save the Fang Gang's butts again' when Willow interrupted to ask how they'd known. Xander paused to answer her.
"We've been watching him since he'd fathered a son with the revived Darla a couple years back, and that's a story for another time," Colonel Harris explained. "Our inside man fed us information not of too personal a nature since then, and we were ready when Angel finally got his ass moving on the right side again instead of sitting there looking out windows…Any way, I restored Winifred to control of her body…" The young woman smiled wanly near him. "…dusted Spike and headed back to the hospital…" Buffy moaned in shock, then started to work herself into a rage.
Faith with Scythe in hand stepped up to his side and a little behind in response, as Xander held his hand up palm first. Buffy found herself unable to move past it. Willow seemed to concentrate on the shield, not trying to break through it, but her magic seemed to feed it without giving her any information except a certain peacefulness. Giles broke the moment to ask how a soul that was destroyed by an Old One could be brought back.
"Evil always wants you to believe that souls can be consumed; truth is, Evil lies. A soul comes into existence at the option of the Creator, and to think that a demon, however powerful, can end it is asinine. In Illyria's case, Fred's soul was used as an ever-recharging supply of energy; Fred was 'unconscious' not used up. We used a spell similar to the one the coven used on Willow. We reempowered her soul and dispersed Illyria forever."
"But Xander, where did you get the kind of power to do that to an Old One? You never showed any magical aptitude." Willow pressed, more curious than anything else. "And why is Faith acting as your bodyguard?"
"Well, the magic ability, not exactly true, I'm very good at *self-protection spells and the occasional energy-drawing spell," Xander repied, then noticed their growing skepticism. "Come on, troll hammer to the head? Twice? Getting beaten up by vampires, Bringers, Turok-Hans on a nightly basis for years while slowly getting everybody out of town? Getting beaten up by vampires several times a week, but able to put in long days of physical construction work, evenings of Anya lovin' like a Viking? Watch TV and still no "I love Jasmine?"
"But the energy?"
"I kinda got the real boost from the overcharge Willow gave me on the Bluff two years." The red head blushed with embarrassment, a good thing to see. "That started to help me regain lost memories, and start to put things into perspective regarding the real war on evil throughout the world. The coven just helped me with the particular 'filter out the demonic' part of the magic. The actual power was mine to access and use. I needed only to touch Fred to trigger her change back. It was really a matter of simple healing."
"Xander, if that's true, what about…your eye?" Willow pressed, intellectual curious rather that jealousy taking over completely.
"Come On, Willow, I was taking double the dosage Joyce was taking for pain. The reason I couldn't do better at the end or stop the ill-considered Slayer Activation spell, was that I couldn't concentrate enough to heal myself, or focus too much beyond what was in front of us."
"Oh, what do you mean stupid spell, it worked!"
"It did more than that," Xander stated. "Do you remember what Caleb called me, sneering at me as he gouged my eye out?"
"The One Who Sees," Kennedy responded when the others shook their heads. "That's what he called you." She, unlike the others, found herself able to step through the shield toward him, "Thank you, Xander. I'm sorry I never told you before."
"But still, the spell worked. We won," Willow asserted, then quieted at Xander's sad look.
"How many slayers did you activate? How many will be killed for devilry, hunted by demons that know what they are even if they don't, how many are going to be executed or imprisoned because they are suddenly slayers? How many will have daughters that can be potential slayers? If Faith the True Slayer dies before another potential reaches her teens, the Slayer line ends forever, and the scythe becomes powerless at that moment. The First didn't lose against the slayers and the witch, it has had a great laugh and was willing to wait and see if it would win this GAME. In the meantime, the normals you deride as 'not the slayer' and 'only going to get hurt' are the ones that decided to end this war. Slayer? Just another human with a gift. NATO is gathering the ones you haven't, and they will be treated like gifted service men and women. A UN Security Council panel will oversee matters so things don't get too out of hand. We'll be asking Giles to serve as veto for all of the slayers and other irregular super-naturals, on that panel. He is still entirely human, after all. He is recognized as the head of the Watchers Council Foundation, not the illegal terrorist organization known as the Watchers Council under Travers and predecessors. But that discussion will wait until after we've cleared a few things up."
"Such as, Xander?" Giles asked. "And what does Caleb's naming bear in relevance to the Activation?"
"A Viking in bed? Able to shrug off blows from a troll hammer at troll strength while in mortal form? One eye? The One Who Sees?"
Giles began to go wide-eyed, stuttering out, "B-but how? You're mortal, Alexander? How…"
"Ragnarok happened millennia ago, Giles," the former Zeppo smiled sadly, "millions of bodies, Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, demon and Old One littered the fields. The battle had lasted only a day in what's now the North Sea, and stretched to this very spot, the last of my family dying to encapsulate the Old Ones until I could rise again at the hands of the enemy. In the moment of my death, I cast my soul into the blade of a proto-Nubian Valkyrie's weapon. A wonderfully terrifying specter with chalk-streaked face and body, she was the last of the Valkyries and the successor as the head of my Guard."
"The First Slayer…" Giles gasped. Xander nodded, smiling sadly.
"A few hundred walked away from the battle that day," Xander spoke with eyes looking over a place in a different time. "and as water of a vast wave of the dying Sea-Serpent washed over the field, a few Captains accompanied her…the First Watcher's Council."
"But if you were in the Scythe," Willow asked, confused, "How could you be our Xander?"
"The First Evil's General, an Avatar, not a mere mortal, but a Giant," Xander spoke devoid of emotion, "was for lack of a better word, energized and hurled to intercept my transfer. The contact separated my core self until such a time and place where the energy of The First Evil as it grew again would reenergize me again as part of the balance. So when Caleb, the Avatar, named me and *touched* me, my return began…and when the Activation occurred, my soul and Power were restored to the levels just before my transference."
"So…you really are…" Giles said, his voice failing.
"Odin?" Xander smirked, "Yup."
"You're a *god*, Xander?!" Willow choked, then got a sad little girl look on her face he'd missed seeing for years. "Uh…do you still like me? Are you mad?"
"Yes, No, you're my Willow," the young man/god smiled. "And after you deactivate all Slayers not here, I'm in need of a Guardian of the Great Circle, where my Power is centered and my loved ones comfort me. Know any one I can trust?" The girl he knew again looked back, hopeful and nodding. "And does this priestess have a Companion to stand with her?" he asked, Kennedy stepping forward and nodding. "then both of you please come forward and stand with the First Valkyrie."
"Rupert," Xander continued. "You are the mortal successor to those who kept fighting when the battle ceased. You are the First Watcher…" Xander pointed to his eye on that last word, "…and in consultation with the Guardian and the Valkyrie are now *my* Avatar, and as I'm actually the last of the old gods, the Avatar of the old order of light. Only the Powers and the Creator are above us, and we are here to *guide* free will toward the Light but never rule it. And because I was mortal, unlike the Powers, I *can* take a position, and have."
"I-I don't know if I can handle this all by myself, Xander," Giles started, realizing the weight of responsibility. "I'll need help."
"That's why I'm here, Mr. Giles," a familiar British accent intoned from behind the remaining core group to stand in front of Xander, "Wesley Wyndham-Price, back at your service."
"Wes!" Gunn and Fred exclaimed, rushing forward, "How? Are you okay? You were dead, man!"
"Well, actually," the Second Watcher explained, "That was Colonel Harris, here. As one would expect from the myths, taking on the form of a mortal is his modus operandi, and as he's now a god, his soul and power are the same, not separate…so Illyria not detecting a heartbeat or soul…assumed my death. I, however, snuck back to Wolfram and Hart, placed the prophecy books into a special case of Xander's, and stealthily made good my escape."
"That leaves only the question of Angel and Spike," Buffy stated, now calm but red-eyed.
"Spike was the First Evil's back-up as Avatar in place of Caleb. He only thought he had William's soul back; what he had was the residual of the previous General's. Spike forced you to activate the slayer potentials. He was still a demon. He's gone. Angel has shanshued, and as a human is now serving the fourth week of basic training in the United States Marine Corps to make up for the gaps in his six years in which he half-assed the job of champion. He has the haircut and everything. If you're still interested, we'll deactivate your slayer powers and back into normal life if you wish to pursue the relationship instead of the one that ended with the Immortal being taken into custody twenty minutes ago for the crimes he's committed over the centuries against governments tracing continuity that far back. No one is above the law, and everything I've done has been sanctioned by human authority."
Complete quiet in the Great Circle, Xander turned to Willow. "Hey Wills, Lorne just gave me the signal that food's ready, so go ahead with the deactivation spell, I promised Cordy we'd finish up with this power crap within an hour so the caterers can start bringing in the food for our engagement party. I have a bride to marry, and little mortals of excellent parentage to bring into the world…"
"Wow, Xan, that was some chow!" Faith, the First Valkyrie exclaimed happily as Cordelia and Xander's engagement party wound down. "I guess being a god pays well."
"Nope, just good investments," the former Zeppo admitted. I basically put all my money into tax liens and real estate fix ups in Sunnydale, I picked up Angel's old mansion for a few thousand in unpaid taxes. Sold that off and bought the construction company I worked for as cover for my military-guy activity, and had Anya handle investments without knowing how much was in the account. And everything in Sunnydale was double-insured, including acts of god, so I'm filthy rich…legally and morally."
"Wow, boy-god," Faith smirked, "So how much does this Valkyrie gig pay?"
"Nothing," Xander smiled evilly, "but you'll draw down about five grand a month any way because Cordelia says I'm not aloud to be cheap. And there's the whole not-aging clause she wants me to put into effect once an active slayer or valkyrie reaches aged twenty-five."
"X-Xander," Giles interrupted, sipping his whiskey, "is there a difference between slayers and valkyries?"
"Except, initially for Faith," Xander indicated, "valkyries are ascended beings that are non-corporeal. They are recruiters for the Order of Light. They observe and advise in battle, and recruit from the dying. Any who swear service are *my* champions, are healed, boosted to their best physical selves initially and are unaging as long as they remain in active service, and that basically means the things we've been doing since Buffy came to Sunnydale. The valkyries advise them and help them train; this is how the Watcher's assumed that role in comparison to a slayer. Without me, there are no valkyries; they simply move to the next plane of existence. I'm limited by my own current abilities from lack of believers, and that as a god of the mortal plane I'm also limited to the number of Guards or slayers to which I'm entitled. Right now, I'm able to manage about two dozen Valkyries who are each able to guide a dozen valkyries recruited from fallen heroes and slayers that wish to stay non-corporeal on this plane rather than pass on, and around ten times as many mortal heroes, champions and slayers…so I guess another…what 1500 or so get the boost. If I go to another world with humans, I can recruit one valkyrie and one champion/slayer type, with one of one of you avatars present."
"So does this mean there are other inhabited worlds, Xan?" Willow perked up. "That would be neat."
"I got that impression when you first activated me, and from the way the higher ups avoided the question when I asked about Cheyenne Mountain," Xander admitted. "I think ther're thousands if not millions of inhabited or at least habitable worlds out there."
"My Lord!" Giles exclaimed, "that means you'd have millions of followers if you wanted."
"Yes, I am," Xander smirked at Giles, "but even if I traveled to one world per hour, I'd be busy for quite a while wouldn't I? And then organizing followers, settling petty disputes…and why would I do this?"
"Ah, hmm," Giles remarked with a small smile of dawning realization. "So your not omnipotent, merely very powerful."
"I'd like stress omni-potent, just not all-powerful, there Giles," Xander corrected him, smart-assed. "there's at least *that* advantage to being a god again. Well, that and *my* theatre-sized television *does* get every channel, with every program in the last week available."
"Damn, Xan!" Faith exclaimed appreciably. "Does the First Valkyrie get privileges to that!"
"To the tv, yes. For anything else," the young Odin chuckled, "clear it with Cordelia, she has my day planner." Faith blushed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, and please watch it with the 'damns' please, I've been… informed…that *is* one expression the Creator doesn't like. So if you pass by a church or something, it doesn't hurt to stop by, say hi, and apologizing for anything you might need to apologize for."
"So we don't have to pray to you?" Willow asked. "How does that work?"
"Oh, the Creator wants everyone to seek, to understand the *presence* of a deity, and to make the best choices in life that don't hurt others," Xander replied. "The path is a matter of free will, and I'm not allowed or willing to get involved. I may be the smartest god in the universe, but that's because I'm the only one left." Cordelia rolled her eyes, leaned over to kiss Xander's cheek and whisper in his ear. He nodded, turning to the main table and standing.
"Everyone, thank you for accepting our hospitality," Xander-Odin said, "and I would specially like to thank Buffy for a few different reasons." The blonde slayer looked up, curious, as did others. "Buffy, you were the one who brought my mortal self and in a sense my divine self into the fight against the darkness. While you hated being conscripted, you for the most part continued. When you wandered from the path you persevered until you got there again. When you realized your sister hadn't been there all along, you embraced her so that she was. I believe you made bad choices, but your persistence ensured I never considered you a bad person. Regardless of what your choice will be regarding service as a slayer in the future, I ask you to come forward with Wesley and my Avatars for one last service, an act no one can deny you entitlement."
Buffy nervously went forward as Xander led the others up to the dais again, him ascending. Cordelia placed her hand on Dawn's shoulder as the mortals at the table watched. Xander, with his three in front of him, pointed to two spots in front of them and side by side.
"We are going to end the Old Ones, the last on this plane that could threaten humanity from this side of the dimensional barriers," Xander explained. "One million of them remain sleeping. When I say Avatars, Willow and Faith on each side of Giles will place both hands on the shoulder nearest them. They will say by the power of Odin Alexander, I empower you. Giles will then place a hand on the shoulders of Buffy and Wesley nearest the other, and say, 'With the power of Odin Alexander I empower you.' Wesley and Buffy will take right index and middle finger together, touch under their left eye, then point forward, and say together, 'We remove you and transfer your power to Odin Alexander,' and point the two fingers over your right shoulders toward me…Ready?"
The ceremony began, Alexander, his avatars and his heroes glowing golden in succession, then with the last gesture a blue-green-rd swirl of lights swarmed from nowhere and everywhere, Xander and the entire dais illuminated into white for five minutes without being viewable, as a barely perceptible but definite sigh permeated the entire Great Circle, each slayer and friend glowing at least slightly. Finally Xander, astride a huge white horse, a large raven on his shoulder, a large spear of golden wood in his hand and massive bow over his back… could be seen by all as sound and light faded. And the clothes of everyone present were a perfectly clean and pure white, with the slightest of gold sheen. A man in his mid-twenties, dressed like a musician except now all in white, stood next to Xander's horse, looking bewildered.
"Wow," Xander smiled, "*that* was amazing."
Buffy and Wesley, energized and feeling fresh, were the first to regain their faculties, turning to watch Xander whisper into the raven's ear, then that of man and horse. As Xander stepped down to talk to them, his companions up on the dais headed toward the Great Tree.
"So the Old Ones who hurt Fred are gone, Xander?" Wesley asked. "Yup, and I'm at full power…not only that…I was able to cauterize the hellmouths. Unless entire hell dimensions unite and expend a *lot* of their energies just to undo this…there won't be any really big, really easy invasion routes for the True Demons to get here. Kinda combined the Sunnydale amulet and the deactivation spell. Most of the energy still latent in the Old Bastards got put to good use."
"What about the rest of it Xander?" Willow asked, a bit nervously, but curious. "I felt you expel many times the energy I tried to tap on the Bluff?"
"Well, those pesky ozone and global warming problems are on reset until we screw it all up again. And there is no pollution in the seas from Norway to Panama. At all. And all the inactive space junk is gone. And the balances are redressed."
"T-That's a lot, Xander…" Giles pondered allowed, "but how?" "We're in the middle of a mystical focus where The Ragnarok ended. And we have nearly a thousand champions present, my Guardian of the Circle is once again of white magic only, and trough her I simply felt the…greatest percentage of differences in Gaia from my previous time in the areas that even my limited attention in high school could accept, and I let the Earth heal and clean itself. Very little power stays in me; I don't want it until I can use it responsibly, or until my avatars figure it out."
"What about the glowy lights?" Buffy asked, seeming relaxed and at ease for the first time in years.
"I converted the demony taint in the slayer essence back to nice clean natural Xandery slayer essence," the young god smirked. "For everybody here, it means you can't be possessed by evil spirits, or other spirits without permission, and slayers can't be mind controlled at all without my permission. No one's going to hurt *my* friends."
"So who's the guy with the horse?" Dawn asked. "He's cute."
"Well, Dawny," Xander smiled, shaking his head, "That's Eric Draven. He was what's called a Crow, if you remember your mythology regarding justice and vengeance. It turns out the Crow Spirit was really part of the Old Me that dealt with justice, and my *raven* handled things as best he could while I was away. The horse and raven are my companions and animal extensions, and there's a wolf around here somewhere that landed behind the dais where you couldn't see it."
"So what now, Xander?" Faith asked.
"Now, a bittersweet gift…" Xander quietly began. "For tonight, those whose bodies enrich the eight trees are in the grove for those who would visit. I can't really bring them back for another visit without a huge empowerment by believers, but Jenny, Tara, Joyce, Kendra and the potentials who passed on before I could make them valkyries, those of our hearts, await… you're welcome and I'm sorry it couldn't be for a longer period of time."