Spoilers:  Set in Season 7, sometime after the first couple episodes.  Willow is still in England with Giles.

Author's Note:  The idea for this story hit me after reading my friend Kaine Parker's Power Ranger story The Second Prophecy and after reading The Kali Prophecy, written by Celia.  I enjoyed both stories and inspiration comes from them both.  So, congrats to you both for magnificent stories.  I hope you enjoy the story.  Also, some of the characters in this book you'll recognize as characters from the movie "Blade 2", which I don't own.  Those characters are owned by the movie's writer, David Goyer.  The character Michael is, as you could guess, the Archangel Michael from the Bible.  Many authors have used him and you can add me to the list.  In the television series "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Hercules", Charles Masure played him.  I see Charles Masure playing Michael here.  In the Hercules episode Revelations, Michael wore this white outfit with a shiny silver and gold chest armor.  If you've seen the episode, you know what I'm talking about.  That's how Michael looks in this story.

Special Note:  Just so the readers know this going in, the actual reunion between Willow and Tara isn't going to happen towards the end.  When I came up with this story, I wanted it to be a world in peril type of deal and I wanted our favorite lovers to have their special moment just as the big battle unfolds.  So, it won't happen until the end.  Just be warned.  But I promise, the journey will be worth it.  And there also aren't as many Willow scenes as there should be, but as the story continues to develop, more Willow scenes will be brought in.

Prophecies and Legends
Book 1 - Rise of the Reapers
by The Devious One

Chapter 1

Inside the Parizska Blood Bank in Prague, Czech Republic, a homeless man with dirty blond hair, shoulder length, entered, ready and willing to donate his blood in order to get cash to pay for some food and drinks.  He hadn't eaten in so long and he knew his body needed nourishment.  He picked up his numerical ticket, that read the number 98 and walked over to a bench and sat down next to someone.

The light on the wall only read the number sixteen, so the homeless man knew it would be awhile before they got to him.  He sat down next to what appeared to the man as another homeless man.  The only difference was that this man looked to be even worse off than he was.  The other man had a sweatjacket on with a hood over his head.  He had no hair that the blonde man could see and there was a strange scar like line from the center of his bottom lip all the down his chin and part of his neck.  It was a strange scar, but the blonde man didn't ask about it.

The central lobby of the blood bank was filled mostly by guards and others who were here for the same reason.  A few stray cats and stray dogs moved across the floor, but the blonde man paid them no attention, he'd seen the animals here before.  He looked over at man with the scar.

"First time giving blood?" the blonde man inquired with a whisper.

In response, the man with the scar raised his right hand to his face and coughed a few times, evident of his health not being that great.  "Yes." the man replied after a few moments of coughing.

"They pay cash here." the blonde man told the man.  "And there's no limit to how many times you give." the blonde man pulled out a jar that held blood in it.  "They even buy it in a jar."

The man with the scar looked at the jar for a long moment, before nodding.  Just then, their conversation was cut short as a woman in a medical dress suit walked up to them.  "Jared Nomak, we're ready for you." the woman said.  She had short brown hair and spoke with an English accent.

As the man with the scar, Jared Nomak, rose form his seat, he turned back to the blonde man and gave him a thumbs up.  The blonde man smiled at him.  Then, Jared turned to follow the woman.  The two went down several stairs, to the lower parts of the building that the blood bank was in and turned down a few corridors before walking down a straight corridor.  The woman looked at the clipboard she held, Nomak walking behind silently.

"In the past twelve months, have you undergone any skin or body piercings?" the woman asked.

"No." Jared Nomak answered.

"Where did you get that scar on your chin?" she asked.

Rubbing the mentioned scar with his sleeve.  "Jogging accident."

"You say you don't have any immediate next of kin, is that right?"

"None that I would make contact with." Nomak replied.

"Nobody to call in case of emergency." the woman said as they passed by an open doorway.  Nomak looked in and there were several people wearing white, mopping the floors of a thick red substance that he guessed was blood.  "No family?" she prodded.

"I told you, no." he answered, harshly.  "Now, can I be a donor?"

"It depends." the woman replied, "we came up with some unusual results with your blood tests."

A guard just ahead of them opened a heavy steel door and they turned to enter the room beyond the door.

"How unusual?" Nomak asked casually, coughing into his shirt sleeve.

"Your blood," the woman said as they entered a room built by stone bricks.  There was a man standing there, dressed in black, next to a chair with harnesses, "has a very rare phenotype.  One we haven't encountered before."

The steel door slammed shut after they entered and Jared turned around swiftly, noticing the lack of escape routes with caution.  He turned and looked at the woman as she stood next to the man.  "What....what are you talking about?" he asked just as two guards came out and grabbed both his arms.  He struggled.

"Sit down, please." the woman told him as the guards slammed Jared into the chair.

"What is this?" Jared demanded.

"This," the man spoke for the first time, "is a good news-bad news scenario Jared.  Good news for us." he said, smiling at the woman and clearly showing two white fangs protruding from inside his mouth.  The woman smiled at him as he turned and approached a table that held several small metal tools.  "Bad news....for you."

As the guards held him down, Jared started to make crying sounds at the prospect of his life being ended, the light gleaming down at his face.  Then, as the man approached with a five pointed claw like weapon attached to his hand, Jared began to laugh, a maniacal laugh as he looked a their surprised faces.  Then, in front of their eyes, the color of his skin began to change color.  It changed from the pale and dusty gray white to a bright blue and his eyes changed to the same color.  Dark blue veins ridged up through his face and he snarled, the sound similar to that of a large beast as he leapt out of his chair and grabbed the woman, propelling her against the woman.

As the guards and the man watched, a large splatter of blood hit the wall behind the woman as Jared buried his mouth to her neck.  The two guards grabbed their weapons and began shooting at Jared's back.  Jared released his victim and turned around, the lower half of his face covered with the red substance.  He moved forward with surprising speed and snapped the first guard's neck, killing him before hitting the other in the chest, knocking the guard against the wall.

The man in black was at the steel door by now and was punching away at buttons to open it as he turned.  Jared was there, grabbing the man by his neck and pressing him against the wall.  Jared held the man with his right hand around his neck and he glanced up at the camera that was showing everything that had already happened.  He smiled, showing several sharp teeth.  "Vampires," he said slowly and carefully, knowing the camera would pick up his words, "I hate Vampires!"

Then, he looked at the vampire he held against the wall.  With a snarl, he wrenched his teeth into the vampire's neck.

*****

She sat on the bed of her small room, alone.  It was how she was left each night, after spending the day with the women of the Coven, or with Giles.  She always ended up back in this small room, alone with her emotions, alone with her thoughts and feelings, alone with her grief.

Willow looked down at her pajamas.  She was wearing pink silk pajamas with different animal designs over them.  She had her legs crossed Indian style as she looked around the small stone built room.  The room was enchanted by many of the women at the Coven to prevent the use of Dark Magick.  Not only because of Willow being there, but it was that way even before Willow was brought to these grounds.

But knowing that the women of the Coven looked at her and wondered if she would use her power for dark purposes again, it affected the redheaded witch in ways she never wanted to deal with.  She had committed great evils while using Dark Magick and for that, Willow knew she would never be the same.  But she had meant it when she told Giles that she just wanted to be her again.

She wanted to be the Willow that helped Buffy deal with the bad guys.  She wanted to be the Willow that patrolled with Buffy at night.  She wanted to be the Willow that was the computer genius.  But more than any of the others, she wanted to be the Willow that was the love of Tara's life.

And that last one reminded Willow, yet again, of her greatest failure.  It had now been just over three months since Tara's death, and yet the pain over her death still hung heavily in Willow's heart.  The vision, the very memory of Tara's body falling into her arms and dying before even reaching the floor, it made Willow want give into that temptation to just take her own life.  That's all she really wanted, to just force someone or something to kill her.

There was a knock at her door before it was opened and a woman stood at the doorway, looking at Willow on the bed.  The redhead glanced at her, recognizing her as one of the Coven's leaders.  Her name was Alyeena Isheeta.  But everyone called her Madam Isheeta.  She was a strikingly attractive woman in her late thirties, upper forties, with long raven dark hair and pale blue eyes.  She was about six feet tall and she was dressed in a pair of black leather pants with a red shirt tucked into it.  She looked at Willow differently than the other women at the Coven did.

"Hello Willow." Isheeta said as she entered the redhead's room.

Willow wrung her hands together.  "Madam Isheeta."

Isheeta entered and rested her hands on her leather covered hips.  "How are you feeling tonight?"

Willow shrugged, "about the same as usual."

"Be straight with me Willow.  We can't help you unless you do." Isheeta said as she sat down on a chair across from Willow.

"Why bother," Willow replied, "even if I let you help me, what use is there?  The one reason I had to be alive is gone.  There's nothing for me out there now."

Isheeta showed a flash of compassion on her face.  "Willow, that's not true. You lost someone you love.  Do you think your the only one that's happened to?  Willow, there have been people in this world that have surrendered to the darkness because they couldn't handle the grief.  Even those who have taken their own lives.  I understand that you are considering your own life right now and I am grateful that you didn't surrender completely to the darkness.  It is going to take time, Willow.  Eventually, you will become a stronger person and you will be able to continue on with this life, a large part of Tara will always be with you."

Willow didn't respond, she lowered her head and stared at her hands.

"Get some rest, Willow.  Mr. Giles will be here at first light." Isheeta said as she rose and left Willow with nothing more than her thoughts, once again.

*****

They watch the sequence of events that happen on Earth each day.  They more or less control them.  Well, they control half of them.  They are the Powers That Be.  Everything that happens in the world happens because it is meant to happen, according to their will or their design.

From the very moment that Angel became Angelus, to Buffy sending him into the hell dimension by stabbing him with that sword, to Angel's being returned.  There is always a greater purpose for everything that happens in the world.  And while some things are harder to understand than others, they are meant to happen to sustain the fabric of time and space and keep the world going as it should.

The kingdom that the Powers watch the Earth from have been called by some as the Kingdom of God, but it is that universal sense that exists in the hearts of every living thing in the world.  The Powers That Be have a design for every single human being and living thing in the world.  And when that being strays from the chosen path, the Powers will intervene to help get them back on that path.

There are two realms of existence beyond living that people go after they die.  Either the Elysian Fields, or Heaven as some refer to it, or the realm of Tartarus, otherwise called Hell by others.  How a person lives their life on Earth determines their eternal existence in the eyes of the Powers.

And being as the Powers have so much to watch down on Earth, they see to it that certain warriors of the Light are appointed to watch over certain aspects of the world's continuity.  And one of the warriors was a legendary warrior of the Light known as Michael.  In his human form, Michael always looked like a white man with thick white hair that was always combed back.  He always a white ceremonial gown that started from his neck and went down to his feet with chest armor over his chest and back.

The chest armor had the intricate carvings of the Powers and the armor signified him as a fighter of the Light.  Now, however, he was walking down the steps of a large stone structure, on his way to see another warrior of the Light.  A warrior who Michael was given the command to appoint to a very important task.  One that needed to be done as quickly as possible.  He found the warrior standing in a room, watching a man engulfed in flames, inside of a square box of boiling flames.

"Skip." Michael's voice rang throughout the room.

Skip turned and looked at the Archangel.  "Hello Michael, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

Michael nodded once, looking at the man engulfed in the flames.  "Doing your daily rounds, I see?"

"Of course.  Can't have any of these guys getting loose, you know." Skip replied.

Michael nodded, agreeing with the words.  "Of course."

Skip looked at Michael, noticing Michael's gaze on the flames.  "Your not here for a social visit."

It was a statement of fact rather than a question and the Archangel looked at the golden looking being.  "You know why I'm here, Skip."

"It's time then." Skip said, looking at the struggling creature on fire.

"Yes, we both knew the time would eventually come.  The One has already appeared in Sunnydale.  The time is drawing near." Michael said.

"What happens now?" Skip asked.

Michael turned to Skip.  "The Slayer alone cannot defeat the One.  Even with her strength and knowledge, she will not be enough.  However," Michael said, pausing for effect, "you and I both know that the Slayer and the two witches can defeat him.  The One knows this as well."

"So...the Powers have appointed me to do what?" Skip wanted to know.

Michael sighed.  "The future of the Earth is at stake here.  And sadly, the fate is not in our hands or in the Powers's hands any longer.  We can only approach her.  The decision, ultimately, is in her hands.  You have been given the task of informing her of the decision she must make."

Skip nodded.  "I figured as much.  She's in Elysia, right?"

"Yes.  She is with her mother." Michael answered.

"Alright, I'll finish my rounds here and go to Elysia, but we both know what her choice is.  Don't we?"

Michael nodded, staying silent.  Without a word, Skip turned and headed upstairs.

*****

"Hi Giles." Buffy answered into the phone after she just picked it up.  She was in the kitchen, just finished with washing and drying the dishes.  Principal Wood had told her that her first day wouldn't be until the following Monday and that gave her a good week to get everything ready for it.

On the other end of the phone, Giles spoke.  "As well as can be expected, Buffy."

"How is she?" Buffy asked, concern for her best friend.

"She's learning to deal with having powers, but she still has a way to go.  Emotionally, that's another story." Giles answered into the phone.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning....she's about as well as she can be.  She's bottling everything up.  Since that day with Xander, she hasn't shed a tear.  She refuses to cry about it and she needs to otherwise she can't move on." Giles said.

Buffy released a breath.  "Giles, she lost Tara.  Tara meant more to her than any of us did.  You try losing someone you loved more than your own life and see how you feel." Buffy hissed at him.

She heard him take a breath.  "I'm sorry Buffy, but I'm concerned for Willow's well being.  She can't go on like this forever.  It's only going to hurt her in the long run."

Buffy closed her eyes briefly, shaking her head.  "I know, but those women at the Coven are helping, right?"

"Well, most of them are being too cautious with her.  There's really only one who's treating her with more than just caution.  Her name is Alyeena Isheeta.  Everyone calls her Isheeta." Giles said.

"So, who is she?" Buffy asked.

"She is a very powerful sorceress and seer.  She's also the head of the Coven and everyone obeys her.  I believe she genuinely wants to help Willow more than the others there.  It will take time, I know, but I believe Isheeta can help Willow with her grief." Giles said.

"What makes you so sure?" Buffy asked, interested.

Giles was silent for a few moments.  "About ten years ago, Isheeta fell in love with a man in Paris.  She was not from a proper family bloodline according to his parents.  They forbid their union, but he married Isheeta anyway.  They moved out of Paris and spent the next year together.  One of the Coven's enemies attacked Isheeta and her husband.  He was killed.  And I've known Isheeta long enough to know she doesn't give her heart out to just anybody.  She loved him more than her own breath.  It took over five years for her to be able to continue without him.  But she carries a part of him with her now.  She's been where Willow is now.  If anyone can get through to Willow, it's her."

"I hope so, Giles." Buffy said.  "I really do."

The call lasted a few more minutes before they ended the conversation and Buffy hung the phone up.  The Slayer sighed as she headed to the living room.  She really wished this woman, Isheeta, could help her best friend with her grief.  She just didn't think anyone could.  Well, that wasn't completely true.  Buffy did think there was one person who could bring Willow back.  And that was Tara, but she was gone.  With a sigh, Buffy continued her daily duties and got ready for another night of helping Dawn learn to patrol.

Chapter 2

The Elysian Fields, or Heaven as it is called, is an oasis of beauty.  Grassy green fields with the most perfect of flowers, the bluest skies with relaxing winds and water streams to clear and perfect that you can see your own reflection make this place the best place to end when you die.  And for most who die and are judged worthy of this paradise, it is heavenly.  But for one woman, Tara Maclay, they are close to it, but not exactly.

When Tara crossed over from the living world of Earth and found herself face to face with the Powers That Be, she found herself judged by them and found worthy to enter the paradise of Elysia.  She was too shocked at the realization that she'd died to say anything to the Powers.  She was brought to this beautiful place and then, she'd seen her mother and she'd been overjoyed with knowing that she was with her mother again.

And for a long time, she was content, happy, to be where she was and be with her mother, the mother she thought she'd never again lay eyes upon.  But, then, she felt what her soulmate, Willow Rosenberg, was going through.  The pain at losing Tara, the rage coming out of her, the attacks against all of their friends, and ultimately, her fall from the Dark Magick that consumed her.  Tara felt it all, but none of it was as bad and horrible as the emotions she felt swirling through her connection with Willow after the redhead's grieving began.

At first, Tara desired vehemently to speak with the Powers, to let her cross back over to Earth.  But she was never even allowed to have a meeting, so Tara didn't know what to do.  In all honesty, the Elysian Fields were everything they were meant to be, but it would never be Heaven for Tara until either Willow was with her....or she was content with the knowledge that Willow would be okay without her.  And she felt the grief, the raw emotion through their connection that Willow was very much, not okay.

But the blonde Wiccan knew there was not much, if anything, she could do.  She could only remain in Elysia and watch as her lover fought her inner demons by herself.  And that in itself was enough to make existence Hell for Tara while she was in Elysia.

Right now, Tara found herself sitting on a perfectly sculptured rock, watching the blueness of the sky and the gentle breezes as they swept over her skin.  And she tried not to break down and cry at feeling the grief through her connection with Willow, the connection that remained strong even after death separated them.  She felt a presence nearing her and Tara rose, looking behind her.  She saw a golden glimmer appear before the glimmer took shape of a golden looking creature that walked towards her.

Tara knew that creature, she'd seen him escort others to Elysia before.  She knew his name was Skip, but that's all she knew about him.  The only other thing she knew of him was that he was a warrior for the Powers.  There were others in the same section that she was standing, so she figured Skip would head in their direction, but she found herself surprised when he came up to her and stopped, looking at her.

Skip looked at Tara, searching her heart, her very essence and knowing after looking that her soul was the purest than many others who have been found worthy of Elysia.  He smiled at her.  "Hey." he said.

Tara swallowed.  "H-hi."

"I guess your wondering why I'm here, right?" he asked her, looking at her blue eyes.

Tara nodded, swallowing again.  She could feel the power, the strength in Skip and she knew he was a dangerous enemy to his enemies, but she could feel that he was a powerful ally to someone who needed one.

Skip raised his left hand made a gesture.  "Let's take a walk through the meadows."

Skip and Tara began walking down the meadows that went for miles and miles.  The meadows seemed to go on forever.  Tara didn't know what to say, so she remained quiet as Skip stayed quiet for the next few moments.  "Tara," Skip began, "you've been trying to see the Powers, haven't you?"

Believing that this was her only chance to get the meeting, Tara nodded.  "Yes, I-I have."

Skip continued walking as a gentle breeze swept by them, the breeze swapping against the ends of the white toga that Tara wore.  Her left shoulder was left bare and the breeze tickled her skin as it moved by.  "Don't be nervous Tara, you have no reason to be.  It's just, the thing is, you can't ever get a meeting with the big Powers.  No one who is judged can.  Only the warriors of the Light, like myself and some others actually get to speak with the Powers."

Tara nodded, listening to the creature's words.  She looked at him with quiet reverence.  "So, h-how can I make a request if I can't s-speak to them?"

Skip jerked his head up and down at hearing that.  "Ah, that's what your guide is for.  Or as some religions call them, your guardian angels.  You see, warriors of the Light like myself and many others, we have important duties.  We are appointed as spiritual guides for the judged, we are given the duty to maintain security over certain people of a....let's say naughty nature, and we are given special directives that we have to follow."

Tara scrunched her brow.  "So....are you my guide?"

Skip smiled at her.  "You betcha, Tara Maclay.  I was appointed as your guide the moment you were brought to Elysia.  Somewhere though, there was a mess up because you are supposed to be shown how to reach your guide and you obviously weren't.  For that, I apologize.  But now, you have me, I am your guide and I am here to help you with whatever you need."

Tara relaxed, feeling more at ease with Skip's easy natured attitude.  She felt the friendliness coming off of him in waves.  "Well...I kind of have a request, then."

Skip stopped walking, making Tara stop.  "Miss Tara, before you go on, I have to say that right now, you can't make a request."

"What?  Why?" Tara asked, confused.

Skip smiled kindly at her, but also showed a seriousness in his eyes that grabbed Tara's attention.  "Because the reason I am here has to do with your request."

Tara's confusion deepened.

"You wish to request an opportunity to make peace with Willow Rosenberg on Earth." Skip said.

"Yes." Tara answered.

Skip motioned for them to continue walking through the grassy meadows that had no ending.  "Tara Maclay, I am here because there are events unraveling on Earth that will have direct results with the entire world."

Tara swallowed, suddenly feeling nervousness coming back.  "All right."

Skip gave her a look of understanding before he continued.  "One of the major responsibilities that the Powers That Be has is making sure certain Prophecies come to pass, while others are handled properly before they can come to pass.  There is a certain prophecy, it's called 'The Prophecy of the One'.  It speaks of an evil so great, a dark power so fierce, that no force on Earth can stop it.  It's merely called the One."

Tara nodded, listening.

"Now, for milleniums of years, the Powers have studied the Prophesy, even had powerful mages on Earth study the Prophesy, but no one could decipher much of it until recently.  There are certain phrases that indicate a weakness, perhaps the only weakness that the One will have." Skip said, continuing, "I can't tell you what was discovered, but what I can tell you is that it involves the Vampire Slayer, your soulmate, and you.  The Powers are giving you an opportunity to have a second chance at life on Earth."

Tara stood stock still, listening to all of his words, but hearing the last of his words truly rocked her.  "A s-second c-c-chance?"

Skip nodded.  "Yes, they are leaving the decision to you.  You and you alone, Tara, must make this decision.  I cannot tell you how you, Miss Summers, and Miss Rosenberg are involved in the Prophesy, but I can tell you that it must be your decision as to whether or not you are given this chance to return to Earth.  But, understand this, Tara," Skip warned, "if you choose to return and have this second chance, you will risk an eternity in Elysia because you might commit acts during your second life that could get judged in Tartarus next time."

Tara nodded once, looking around the paradise.  It truly was Paradise.  She knew that if she took this chance, she would be risking not ever seeing her mother ever again.  She knew she'd be risking an eternity of Elysia and be faced with the prospect of being judged to Tartarus the next time she died, but she knew one fact that overrode all else.  Her mother always taught her to follow her heart, above all else.  And her heart already had it's answer for her.

"You already know my choice." Tara said to Skip.

The golden colored being nodded at her and gave her a look of respect.  "You are a remarkably brave woman, Tara Maclay.  To give up Elysia with the knowledge that you may never return, that is courage to a degree not many can go to.  Your mother will by proud of you when she learns of this."

Too choked up to say anything else, Tara closed her eyes.

"There is something else you need to know." Skip told her.

She opened her eyes.

"When I return you to Earth with in physical form, you are going to under a test.  This test is given by the Powers.  It is a test for both you and for Willow Rosenberg." Skip stated.

"What test?" Tara asked.

"You must not make contact with Willow for seven days and seven nights.  If you so much as let her see you, the Powers will take you back from Earth and you will spend eternity in Tartarus, you will not return here.  That is the test.  For you, it is going the seven days knowing what she is going through and still, staying away.  For her, the test is accepting a life without you.  Willow will come to that decision within the seven days.  If she fails or you fail this test, you will be brought to Tartarus and she will when she dies." Skip told the Wiccan.

"The Powers are not being fair." Tara said.

"True love is never easy, Tara Maclay.  There are always bumps in the road.  But if you stay true to your path, and if she does, you will end up where you need to be." Skip said.

Tara nodded.  "I'm ready."

Skip held a necklace in his hand.  "Put this on.  When you appear in physical form on Earth, you will have a set of clothes already on and there will be a cape with a hood.  You must wear it the entire seven day period.  This necklace is your way to reach me.  If you need to speak to me about anything, touch the green gem and whisper my name."

Tara pulled the necklace over her head and set it around her neck, then looked at him.

"Good luck Tara Maclay." Skip said as he rose his right hand and touched his palm to her forehead.

At the touch of his palm on her skin, she glowed a bright white color before her spiritual form vanished and she was being transported to Earth and given a new, physical form, a perfectly molded duplicate of her first form.  After Tara vanished from the field, Skip lowered his hand and looked at the blue sky of Elysia.

"You realize we are not being fair to her or to Willow Rosenberg." Skip said out.

Michael visualized next to him and stared at the sky with him.  "This is how the Powers desire the events to take place."

"Michael," Skip turned to the white haired man, "she does not have any idea the power she has been given.  She must know before she uses it."

Michael put a hand on Skip's shoulder.  "Skip, my old friend.  Everything that transpires down there does so with a greater purpose in mind.  When the time comes, she will understand her role.  The Slayer and Miss Rosenberg will also understand their role.  All of this is regrettable, but necessary."

Skip didn't respond, he just turned and began walking away.  After a moment, Michael turned and watched him leave.  He vanished in white light a moment later.

*****

Night time has fallen in the Czech Republic.  There are hookers out working and drug dealers out selling their products to whoever wants to buy them.  At the corner of a dark alley, a dealer wearing black leather is selling his drugs to a woman in red leather, a hooker by the looks of her outfit.  She gives him a folded up set of bills and he slides in her hand a little vial with the drug in it.  As she walks away, the dealer continues to smoke the joint he was smoking.

A few feet away, Jared Nomak, with his hood drawn up over his head, watched and motioned to the dealer.  He made a jerk with his head to indicate to the dealer to follow him into the empty alley.  Thinking about having a possible sale, the dealer left his corner and followed Jared into the alley.

Jared walked over to where a car was at, a broken and beaten down old car with most of the interior ripped out and leaned against it.

The dealer approached him and eyed him.  "Looking to get hooked up?" the dealer asked, reaching into his pocket for some of his merchandise.

"Maybe...what do you have?" Jared answered in a calm voice, his head down and looking at his gloved hands.

"No problem," the dealer said, looking down the alley in both directions to make sure they were alone, "Horse, Hawaiian Ice, whatever you need."

"Whatever I need, huh." Jared said, chuckling to himself.  "I like that.  But, what if I need you!"

As he finished the last word, Jared turned and, with his right hand, grabbed the dealer by the throat.  He threw the vampire drug dealer through the door of the car, shattering the glass.  Jared snarled and reached in, grabbing the dealer and pulling him out roughly.  He shoved the dealer against one side of the car and held him secure by his throat.

Jared reached up with his free hand and touched the dealer's face, where there was blood covering part of his face from the crash through the glass.  The blood moved from the vampire's face, to Jared's finger.  Jared the blood to his tongue, tasting it.  "Mm, so, so, sweet." he whispered to himself before he yanked the dealer to him and buried his face into the vampire's throat, the lower part of his face moving apart as he did.

He moved both himself and the dealer down to the ground as he fed on the vampire's blood.  Behind him, others that Jared had already turned came up, waiting for Jared to finish.  After several moments, Jared moved his head back and rose to his feet.  He stepped over the victim vampire and pulled his hood back over his face.  He began walking away as the others like him swamped down and began feeding on the vampire drug dealer, getting their share of his blood.

Jared stopped and looked at them feeding for a moment before he spoke.  He knew they would hear him.  "Listen boys..." he said.

They stopped feeding at once and looked up at him.

"Once your finished, load up into the van.  We're going to Sunnydale, California.  It's time we fed on the vampires there." Jared said before he turned and walked off, the others going back to their feeding.

*****

Buffy and Dawn moved through the mostly silent cemetery.  Buffy was wearing the same outfit she wore last night, the black silk top with the blue jeans and Dawn was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a pink top tucked into the jeans.  She had a blue jean jacket over her top.  Both were carrying stakes as they moved through the cemetery.

"So, let's finish up. I'll ask this again.  When your in a battle, who's got the power?" Buffy said to her sister as they looked around for vampires or demons.

Dawn sighed, they'd gone over this many times and she was a little annoyed at her sister for making her do it again and again and again.  "The vampire does." Dawn said.

"That's right.  Just because you have the stake, doesn't mean you have the power.  You need to remember that." Buffy said.

"I know, Buffy.  We've been going over the same thing for hours now.  They have the power, not me.  I've got it down." Dawn said, exasperated.

"Hey, I'm just making sure your prepared.  Because sooner or later, your gonna be doing this by yourself, like I eventually did.  Your gonna need to know this stuff.  And last night, you showed me two things.  One, you are getting better faster than I expected.  But two, when that new vamp had you on the ground, you called for me.  And what if I hadn't been there, he'd of killed you.  You need to learn all this stuff if your going to a good fighter without me around." Buffy argued.

"Hey, I understand.  Now, since there aren't anymore vamps around, let's get home.  I'm tired." Dawn told her older sister.

"Fine." Buffy replied as they started heading out of the cemetery and towards the block their house was located on.

As they passed by a sequence of three headstones, Buffy suddenly stopped and grabbed Dawn's shoulder.

"Ouch." Dawn moaned, rubbing the spot her sister grabbed.

"Sorry, but we're being watched.  I can't tell where they are, but we are being watched." Buffy told her just before two silent figures leapt onto the ground from two very large trees around the youngster.

Buffy and Dawn looked at the two intruders.  They were clad in black latex and they appeared to look like ninjas.  They are wearing metal goggles with iris shut to mere pin prick openings.  One of the intruders reaches towards the satchel to remove something.  Seeing the action, Buffy moves.  She throws a savage kick at the intruder, knocking it back several feet.  The other figure cartwheels away.  The first ninja gets off the ground with a nip up and, within the blink of an eye, launched itself at Buffy, hand-springing off the floor and kicking her in the mid-section.  As Buffy falls back, the second ninja presses forward.

Buffy rolls to her feet as the ninja comes at her.  The two began attacking each other with different martial arts moves.  The two go at it, unleashing a flurry of kicks, blocks, and punches at each other, driving both of them back and then forward.  The ninja got Buffy in a back-choke.  She managed to twist her way out of it, throwing the ninja over her shoulder, who neatly cartwheels, springing back off the ground at Buffy again.

Buffy ducked beneath one of the ninja's kicks, then traps the ninja's foot, giving it a savage twist.  There is a crack as Buffy backhands the ninja with a blow so strong that it knocks the ninja to it's knees.  Then the ninja reached for a short sword at it's back.  In a heartbeat, the sword is out and against Buffy's throat.  The ninja's sword touches Buffy's skin just as she has her stake poised at the ninja's chest.  Buffy realized they were now at a stalemate.

The other ninja, who stood back and watched the battle happen, stepped forward.  "Stop!!!" he roared.

Buffy and the first ninja froze.  The ninja stepped back slowly, the sword still pointed at Buffy.  Buffy stepped back as well, her stake still pointed outward.  "Who are you?" the Slayer asked.

"I apologize." the second ninja said, "we did not come here to fight with you, Slayer.  We came to deliver a message."

Buffy looked back at the first ninja, then slowly put her stake back in her belt at her pants.  The ninja did the same after a moment.  Dawn quickly moved back to where her sister was standing, eyeing both ninjas.

"Take off the masks." Buffy said.

The two ninjas did as Buffy requested.  The second ninja was a Sufi Muslim, who possessed a restrained nobility and great martial art skills.  The other ninja was a woman in her early twenties, with emerald eyes and strong, darkly exotic features.  As they opened their mouths to breath, Buffy saw fangs.  They were vampires.

The male vampire stepped forward, cautiously.  "My name is Asad and this is Nyssa.  We represent the Shadow Cabinet, the ruling body of the true Vampire Nation.  Our leaders are offering you one truce.  They seek to meet with you and your people."

Nyssa reached into the satchel she had reached for in the beginning and removed a CD inside of it's cover.  She tossed the CD to Buffy.

"What's this?" Buffy asked.

Asad pulled out a small CD reader and handed it to Dawn.  Dawn took the CD cautiously and helped Buffy put the CD into the reader.  Buffy watched the two, still unsure of their motives and looked at what was on the CD.  There is a small slide-show of video capture shots taken from the surveillance camera at the Parizska Blood Bank.  The shots showed Jared Nomak attacking the blood bank staff.  Buffy looked up at them.

"For seven years, you have been the enemy we've hated the most.  The legendary Vampire Slayer.  But now, something else has emerged from the darkness that poses an even greater threat than you." Nyssa said to the blonde Slayer.

Buffy looked at the final shot in the CD.  The shot showed a blurry, horrific shot of Nomak's half turned face and back.  Buffy suddenly got a sense of distorted, inhuman physiognomy.  She made a face.  "Gross." she commented to Dawn, who nodded.

*****

Tara slowly opened her eyes.  She sat up after a few moments.  She realized she was lying on the ground, in an empty alley between two buildings.  She looked around and was relieved when she saw that she was in Sunnydale.  True to his word, there was a dark robe lying next to her and Tara feared that she would be taken from Earth if she didn't heed Skip's words, so she grabbed the robe and pulled it over her shoulders as she managed to get to her feet.

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing.  She noticed it was the same outfit she wore when she'd gone to the Summers' House the day Buffy was having the mental problem after getting hit by that demon.  The day she'd come to the Summers House and found Willow and Xander tied up in the basement.  She pulled the robe around her and tied it at the neck.  She reached down into the pockets of her jeans and found two wads of cash there.

"Well thank you Skip." Tara muttered before she pulled the hood over her head.  She knew that since it was dark out, the vampires and demons would be out by now.  She needed to get to a hotel and quick.  Pulling the hood and cape around her body a little tighter, she turned and headed out of the alley and towards the closest hotel she could find.

*****

In Westbury, England, at the Coven, Willow was asleep.  Her body was barely moving and it appeared as though she were having a sound dream.  Then, she suddenly gasped and sat up, her eyes widening as she felt something incredible surge through her.  She couldn't explain what it was.  She hadn't felt it in months.  In fact, the last time she felt what she suddenly felt a moment ago was when she and Tara had made up after their estrangement from each other.

She didn't know how it was possible, but she was feeling Tara's presence at this moment.  She laid her body back down and took several deep breaths.  "It's not possible." she whispered hoarsely.  She felt tears fill her eyes as the redhead whispered the words.  In her mind, she knew logically, it wasn't possible.  But her heart kept telling her differently.  Her heart kept telling her, yelling at her now, to leave England and go home.

"It's not possible." Willow whispered again, slowly letting the tears in her eyes spill over and down her cheeks as she hugged the blankets up to her chest and began to cry.  Just as she did on most nights, living a life without Tara was simply unbearable to her.  She couldn't handle it and each day she felt as though she could just die right there on the spot.  Giles couldn't help with it, most of the women at the Coven didn't want to help her through it.  The only woman who seemed to understand what Willow was feeling right now was Isheeta and she was the one Willow was learning the most about Magick from.

Willow looked up at the ceiling, whispering three words repeatedly until she managed to return to sleep.  "It's not possible."

*****

Preferring not to have these strangers in her home, Buffy called everyone and had them meet at the Magic Box.  Buffy, Dawn, Xander, and Anya were all there, even though Anya grumbled about being taken from bed.  Asad and Nyssa were standing just past the steps that led to the interior of the Shop and looked around.

The Magic Shop had been completely rebuilt since the events of months before.  They had just gotten it to looking like it used to, though there were small changes here and there.  A couple walls were taken out and the training room was slightly enlarged.  Anya looked at the two strangers in the latex and scowled.  "They're not here to buy stuff, are they?" she grumbled.

"'Fraid not An." Buffy replied.  "We encountered these two at the cemetery.  I fought 'em a little bit and they told me something.  Why don't you tell my friends what you told me and Dawn, there Asad."

He nodded.  "Very well, Slayer.  As we said before, we represent the Shadow Cabinet, the ruling body of the true Vampire Nation.  Our superiors wish to have a meeting with all of you.  If you agree, you all will be transported with us to the secret base of our Nation."

Anya looked at the two vampires.  "Oh my god."

Xander looked over.  "What is it, An?"

She walked over to Asad.  "Your Pure Bloods, aren't you?"

Asad nodded.  "Yes, I am surprised you know about our kind."

"I'm a Vengeance Demon, I know all sorts of things." Anya said.

"Um...excuse me," Buffy stood up, "what is a Pure Blood?"

"Pure Blood Vampires are the true vampires." Nyssa said, looking at Buffy.  "The vampires that you have faced, they are Half Breeds.  They must have the morphed face in order to attack or feed.  Pure Bloods are born vampires and do not need mutated faces to feed.  I am quiet surprised your Watcher did not tell you the true story of how the Vampire was born."

Buffy thinned her lips, not liking the attitude that Nyssa was showing.  "Why don't you explain it then?" Buffy challenged, getting in Nyssa's face.

Nyssa nodded once, flickering her eyes around the place.  "Very well.  In the beginning, there was one vampire.  He was known as the First.  His original agenda was to raise an army of ruthless vampires, so he used the knowledge he knew about the human body and he manipulated DNA strains of a human.  That human, when the First Vampire was finished, became known as the Master."

"The Master?" Buffy repeated.

"Yes," Asad picked the explaining up, "but the First didn't like what he created, so he entrapped the Master and a few vampires that the Master had already made into the ground below.  But the First still wanted to raise an army of vampires, so he thought of another possibility.  He knew it would take longer, but he could wait.  He found a woman and he mated with her.  The DNA of the First and of the woman created the first Pure Blood Vampire.  Through time, that vampire grew to become known as the Father."

"When he grew to what is considered manhood, the Father killed the First and inherited all the power that the First had.  But, there were already vampires in the world that had been turned by the Master." Nyssa said, "So, the Father realized that there were two races of Vampires in the world now.  The Pure Bloods and the Half Breeds.  As years and years passed by, the Pure Bloods eventually outnumbered the Half Breeds and a ruling body was formed to govern the Pure Bloods.  It became known as the Vampire Nation and the ruling body of the Nation was the Shadow Cabinet."

"And for the past several hundred years, the Father was overseen the continued existence of the Half Breeds and seen their numbers grow and the Father has also overseen and watched the numbers of the Pure Bloods grow.  The Half Breeds do not dare cross any Pure Bloods because our numbers greatly surpass theirs and we can wipe them out at a moment's notice." Asad decreed.

"Unbelievable." Xander breathed.

"So you both were born vampires?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, we were both born through vampire mothers and vampire fathers." Nyssa replied.

"W...why haven't I ever faced a Pure Blood before?" Buffy asked, interested.

Asad answered, "that is simple.  The Shadow Cabinet, and the Father more importantly, made a ruling long ago.  No Pure Bloods are to enter the town of Sunnydale.  Until today, no Pure Blood vampires have ever entered the land of the Hellmouth.  If that law is violated, the Father will have that vampire butchered.  No Pure Blood vampires have ever crossed the Father and lived."

"And this vampire, the Father, wants to meet with us?" Dawn asked, speaking for the first time.

"Yes.  Those pictures you saw, he wishes to discuss that with all of you." Asad said.

"Will you come with us?" Nyssa asked them.

Xander, Anya, and Dawn glanced at Buffy, who was watching Nyssa and Asad carefully.  "Sure, we'll come with you.  Just let me make a couple calls first." Buffy said as she headed into the backroom for her calls.

"We will arrange the transport." Asad said as he and Nyssa turned to walk outside.

Xander shook his head after the Pure Blood Vampires were gone.  "Man, we just keep getting into complicated situations, don't we?"

Dawn just sighed.

Chapter 3

Giles rode his horse, Winnigo towards the front gate of the Coven.  There were two guards already posted there to keep out intruders.  Giles had been riding his horse at a fast pace since he received a very urgent phone call by Buffy.  The Slayer had, as quickly as she could, confided in him the details of the meeting with the two vampires.

The Watcher had never actually expected Buffy or anyone from Sunnydale to ever cross paths with a Pure Blood.  And the fact that two Pure Bloods came to Sunnydale, actively seeking her out was a very important thing indeed.  Giles slowed his horse to a stop as one of the female guards flashed a light at his face.  He was breathing heavy and he squinted his eyes at the light hitting him.

"Mr. Giles?" the guard said, recognizing him. "What is going on?"

Giles got off of his horse.  "I need to speak with Madam Isheeta right away."

"She received your message and she is on her way to the guest house as we speak." the guard replied as she took the reins from Winnigo's saddle and led the horse to the stables.

Giles turned and headed towards the guest house where Willow was appointed to stay.  As he neared the house, he saw Isheeta standing outside the front door, dressed in one of her red silk robes, tied at the waist.  She walked up to Giles.

"Rupert, what is this about?" she demanded.

Giles entered the large and spacious house, Isheeta hot on his heels.  "I believe I explained it on the phone Alyeena." Giles said as he began heading upstairs, towards the room Willow was occupying.

Isheeta grabbed his arm and roughly stopped him, pressing him against the wall of the hallway they were in.  "Rupert, removing her from the Coven right now is very dangerous.  Willow is at a very critical point right now.  I am only a step away from getting her to face her grief.  Having her leave now could ruin everything we've gained since you brought her here.  She can't be taken now."

Giles sighed, knowing she was right.  But, he knew what had to be done.  "Isheeta, I understand your view point, I really do.  But Buffy needs my help and Willow's.  I made a personal vow that I would stay with Willow until I was sure she'd be alright.  There is a helicopter coming to pick me up and I have to take Willow with me."

Isheeta stepped back.  "This is a very bad idea."

"Believe me, I know." Giles replied.  "But it's the only option right now because I won't leave her here with no familiar faces around her."

"Well....obviously, I could force both of you to stay here until Willow is better." Isheeta stated, staring into his eyes.

"What?" Giles was taken back by her sudden agressiveness.

"Rupert, you brought her to me, to this Coven because she needed to learn about her power and she needed to deal with her grief.  It's taken all summer to get through those walls she's built around her.  But I've done it, just as you asked of me.  And now, when I'm closer to helping her than ever, your wanting to remove her, this is going to be more dangerous for her.  I have the authority and the power to not let you both leave." Isheeta told him.

"You can't be serious." Giles said, taking a deep breath.

"I'm very serious Rupert.  During these past four months, I've come to respect Willow's ability.  And more than that, she is very dear to my heart.  I've been in this world for a very long time Rupert and she's been through more than any young woman should.  I will not have you making her relapse just because the Slayer has a problem!" Isheeta's voice drilled into him.

"Alyeena, you know me.  If I thought this would be dangerous to Willow, I would not take her.  Truth be told, I believe that this is what she needs.  She rarely speaks unless spoken to and when she does, it's negative words about herself.  She needs to have her mind occupied.  She needs to be busy and this situation that Buffy is facing is the perfect chance.  And I swear to you, I will bring her back when this is over." Giles swore.

Isheeta debated with her better self of judgment, finally making a decision.  "I will let you take her on this....whatever it is....on one condition."

"Name it and it's yours." Giles instantly replied, more at ease now that Isheeta was letting him and Willow join the others.

"When this helicopter gets here, I'm going with you." Isheeta told him.

Giles's eyes widened at the implications of the words.  "Alyeena..."

"Rupert, I will not let her leave this compound unless I'm absolutely positive she's protected.  That means, I'm going.  Otherwise, I will put up enough magickal shields around this compound that nothing can get through it.  It's your decision." Isheeta said.

Giles shook his head as he closed his eyes.  Reluctantly, though, he nodded.  "Fine, get yourself dressed and ready to leave.  The transport will be here in less than an hour."

She nodded back at him as she headed away to tell her fellow sisters about the news.  Giles continued up the stairs to get Willow ready.

*****

The black helicopter soared through the night sky as it headed overseas towards the Czech Republic.  Asad had told Buffy and her friends that their journey would be a lengthy one.  It would take them about three hours to get them where they're going.  It was a fairly large helicopter and Buffy sat in the far back with Dawn and Xander next to her.  Anya had agreed to teleport herself there by the time they arrived.

A second helicopter was going to pick up Giles and Willow and take them to the location.  Asad was riding in the passenger's seat next to the pilot and Nyssa sat across from Buffy.  As they were going over the ocean, Nyssa looked over at Buffy.

Buffy turned her head and gave what she hoped was a glare at Nyssa.  "What?" she said pointedly.

Nyssa shook her head, "They tell bedtime stories about you.  Buffy the big, bad, Slayer.  Frankly, I'm disappointed."

Buffy just shrugged at her.

"That you are willing to come along so easily.  I mean, without any assurances." Nyssa shook her head again.

Buffy smiled at her.  She was wearing one of her leather jackets and Xander was wearing his large leather coat.  She opened her coat and Xander, likewise, did the same.  She gestured to a bandolier of plastic explosives secured to her chest and to his.  "Xander got them for me." she said.

"Semtex explosive.  Enough to level a city block.  How's that for assurance, suck head?" Xander said, looking at Nyssa directly.

"Well," Nyssa said, "I stand corrected."

Buffy turned her head and continued to stare outward as the helicopter continued passing over the ocean and towards the continent of Asia.

*****

Back in Sunnydale, Tara entered the main office of a hotel.  She'd been able to get to one before any demons or vampires got to her.  She walked up to the reception desk and slowly pulled her hood back to show her face to the person there.

"What can I do for you, ma'am?" an older man asked.

Tara pulled out a twenty dollar bill from her pocket.  "I need a room for one.  Just for the night."

The man nodded as he looked at his log book.  After a few moments of looking through it, he looked back up at her.  "I have a room on the second floor.  2-D.  My charge is eighteen dollars a night.  Cable is already installed in case you want to watch tv."

She nodded.  "Alright."

Tara handed the clerk the twenty and he gave her the two dollars back after giving her a key and having her sign a form.  Tara turned and headed to her room.  She found it a few moments later after she climbed a small flight of stairs that led to the second floor.  Putting the key into the lock, Tara entered the room and switched on the light.

The hotel room was like that of any normal room.  There was a single twin sized bed in the corner, a small desk off to the side and a television situated on a television stand.  A large mirror was hanging on the door by a nail.  Tara stood in the room for a minute and just looked around.

"Seven days." Tara murmured.  "I can do this."

She took her cape of her shoulders and placed it on the bed.  She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking several deep breaths.  She looks up at the window, at the night sky that's just visible through the openings of the curtains.  "Please let me have the strength to do this." she whispered.  Every instinct in her was screaming at her to get up and go to the Summers House, to find Willow and be with her.  That's what her heart was saying to her, but her heart was fighting with her brain, that was reminding her of Skip's warning.

Tara looked to her right and looked at the TV.  She stood up and walked to the TV stand.  She grabbed the remote that was on top of the TV and returned to the bed.  She sat back down and flipped the TV on.  Sighing with resignation, she settled down to spend the first of seven nights, alone.

*****

Just a couple hours later, two black helicopters simultaneously neared a top notch, state of the art, maximum security complex.  The helicopter that Buffy, Xander, and Dawn are being carried in banks right while dropping down low and the other helicopter carrying Giles, Willow, and Isheeta banks left white it dropped down low.  A few minutes later, the Bell Jet Rangers touch down outside a terraced, Frank Lloyd Wright structure overlooking the ocean.

As Nyssa and Asad exit the helicopter and lead Buffy, Xander, and Dawn over to the other helicopter, a circular crimson logo encircling a double-helix flaps about as the wind breezes through the area.

Giles exited the other helicopter with Willow following behind and Isheeta getting out last.  Isheeta is wearing her normal battle gear.  A pair of black leather battle pants with a black sleeveless armored vest with gold designs over it.  She has her hair pulled back into a ponytail and she has a sword strapped to her back and several small daggers attached to her hip.  Buffy walked over.

"Giles, who's this?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy, this is Alyeena Isheeta.  She insisted on coming along." Giles replied.

Isheeta stepped forward.  "Hello Buffy."

Asad walked over.  "You all can save the introductions and reunions for another time, we are on a tight schedule.  Please, follow us."

As the group headed towards the doors that entered the complex, Buffy glanced down at his arms and saw a series of red light dots.  She looked up and saw dozens of vampire marksmen on the roofs around them, training their weapons on all of them.  "Oh boy." she whispered.

Nyssa and Asad lead the group to a large and spacious elevator.  Getting into the elevator, Nyssa pressed a series of buttons on the pad.  The elevator takes them down for several moments before it stopped.  The steel doors opened after the elevator stopped moving downward.

Stepping out, Nyssa and Asad led them into a hub out of which multiple corridors project.  The Pure Blood Vampires took the central corridor with everyone following behind them.  The corridor ended at a pair of steel security doors.  Nyssa came up to a biometric scanner, allowing a beam of light to play over her face for a few seconds.  The scanner acknowledged her identity within the computer database and opened a pair of doors ahead of them with a hiss, which revealed a series of security doors beyond these which successively opened into a final door.  It was oak, set into a stainless steel wall.  Incalculably ancient and elaborately carved, the stainless steel wall was brought over by the Pure Bloods from what their people call the "Old World."

Nyssa turned around to look at the assembled group of humans.  "The true power of the Vampire Nation lies here."

She turned and led them towards the final door.  As they neared the door, the air around them chilled suddenly.  Buffy took a breath and it appeared in a frosty plume.  They continued towards the final door.

"Few humans have seen what lies beyond this door.  Tonight, you are given that opportunity." Asad said as they approached the final door.

Asad stepped forward and opened the doors to show an inside lair.  It's a crescent-shaped room filled with antiquities.  There are quarry columns from Middle Kingdom Egypt, stacks of arcane volumes, Medieval frontispieces, and a Borgia-esque Renaissance portrait staring down at them with a severe gaze.  Towering over all of those, though, is a massive Greek Cross carved from stone.  Music echoed around the room, Boito's Faust.  Standing in the midst of all of this is a single figure.

The figure wore a robe of black silk and his back is facing the Slayer and her friends.  Nyssa stepped forward.  "Father..."

The figure held up a hand for silence as he listened to the remainder of the music crescendo, then he turned, his face still hidden in the shadow.  A few moments passed before he stepped out from the shadow and showed his face to them.  Bright eyed with a smile like moonlight gleamed off of a knife blade, his skin is impossibly pale, almost marble-like, with traceries of blue blood pulsing underneath.

"Slayer, this is Overlord of the Vampire Nation, The Father, Eli Damaskinos." Asad said, nodding his head to the figure.

Lord Damaskinos nodded in Buffy's direction.  "I hope you do not mind the cold conditions.  When one such as myself reaches a certain age, certain precautions must be made in order to preserve the flesh."

Buffy and the others didn't know what to make of him, so they kept quiet.

"Welcome, Vampire Slayer.  I thank you for coming.  I've been rather anxious to meet you for quite some time." Lord Damaskinos declared.

"Have you?" Buffy inquired.

"Oh yes....it has been said, you may have enemies whom you hate, but not enemies whom you despise.  Be proud of your enemy, then their success shall be yours, too.  In that regard, I must thank you." Damaskinos said, nodding towards Buffy.

Feeling apprehensive, Buffy responded.  "For what?"

"Eliminating the Master, of course." came a voice that came from the far wall.

Buffy and the others turned to see a human male walk out.  The man has short blonde hair with a pair of eye glasses on and he looked officious-looking.  It became obvious to Buffy that he was watching from the the back of the room.  He extended his hand and she grabbed it, shaking it.

"You did us a favor.  Karel Kounen." he said.

Buffy felt the warmness of the hand she shook and she scrunched her brow.  "Your human."

He smiled at her.  "Barely....I'm a lawyer.  European Health Consortium."

"He also works with the National Institute of Health." Asad told them.  When Buffy and the others gave the lawyer a look, Asad spoke up.  "Given that they monitor the nation's blood supply, a strategic alliance seemed prudent for the Vampire Nation."

"Ew." Dawn made a face.

"Whatever, do you want to get on with why we're here?" Buffy asked.

"In a moment, Miss Summers.  We also finance a number of humanitarian organizations, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases for one, the Human Genome Project..." Karel said.

"Why?" Willow spoke up for the first time.  The witch had been following the conversation and she had a desire to know the answer.

"Survival." Nyssa answered.  The others turned and looked at her.  Nyssa was over to the side, using a complex mechanical key to activate a holo-projector mounted above the table.  As she focused the image, a 3-D Diorama of vampire viral nucleocapsids swirled into view.  The nucleocapsids began attacking human red blood cells with a vengeance.  "If the world knew about Pure Bloods, your scientists would discover that Vampirism, that is to say the Vampirism of the Pure Bloods is an arbovirus, one that spreads through the saliva of parasitic organisms..." she gestured to the hologram, "in this case, Pure Bloods are the vector.  The virus replicates within the human bloodstream, evolving its host into an entirely new life-form."

"Unfortunately," Lord Damaskinos said, "viruses evolve as well..."

As the Vampire Overlord spoke, one of the viral nucleocapsids changed, mutating from it's original, elegant design into a harster, more menacing form.  The mutated nucleocapsid began feedingon the original vampire capsids, causing a chain reaction of mutation.  In seconds, the holo-image filled with throbbing, microscopic horrors.

"We've encountered a new one." Karel took up the explanations, looking at Buffy and Giles mainly.  "We've dubbed this new virus the Reaper Strain.  And like any good pathogen, it appears to have found itself a carrier, a Patient Zero."

Nyssa pressed some keys of a keyboard she was standing near.  The holo-image changed from the nucleocapsids to a video surveillance shot.  It showed what happened at the Blood Bank in Prague.  "His name is Jared Nomak."

Damaskinos took the conversation back.  "Thiavolos, as we used to say in Greece.  The Devil, Pure Thirst.  Nothing more.  He was born a Pure Blood Vampire, but he is an anomaly.  Unlike the rest of the Pure Bloods, he feeds on not just humans, but vampires as well.  That includes Pure Bloods and the Half Breeds you are used to fighting."

Buffy tilted her head after listening to them.  "Looks like he was doing me a favor, then."

"You're missing the point, Buffy." Nyssa said, motioning to her.  "Their vampire victims don't die, they turn.  They become carriers, Reapers.  If the Reapers continue unchecked, there could be thousands of them before the month is over.  Do the math."

They were all silent as they waited for Buffy and her friends to think about the news just shared.  As the moments passed by, Damaskinos was surprised when Buffy started laughing softly.  "Is there something you find amusing, Slayer?" the Overlord demanded.

"Yes actually," she said, "let me get this straight.  Today, I find out that the vampires I've taken out are only half of the actual vampire species and now, you want me and my friends to hunt these Reapers....for you?"

"Think about it, this way Slayer," Damaskinos said, "when they are finished with us....when every Pure Blood, Half Breed, and all demons are taken off this planet, do you think they will just stop there.  No, the taste of blood will be in their system, they will need more and more of it.  Who do you think they will turn on next?  Your precious human race.  When they are finished, not one human life will be left."

Buffy pursed her lips, now beginning to understand the importance of the situation.

"We've been training a small tactical unit for a little over two years. They are called the Bloodpack.  We want you to lead them." Karel Kounan said, looking at her.

"You can't be serious." Buffy said, not believing her ears.  The Slayer leading a team of vampires.  It was ridiculous to her.

"We are quite serious, Miss Summers." Damaskinos replied.

Giles tilted his head and regarded the lawyer.  "Two years?"

"Then they weren't created to go after this Patient Zero." Buffy said.

"We've been training.....to hunt you." Nyssa stated, looking at Buffy.

Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Isheeta, and Dawn were all silent.

"Wonderful." Xander whispered.

*****

After the meeting ended, Nyssa and Asad took them to a spacious waiting room to wait until the helicopters were ready to transport them back to Sunnydale.  Before they would be taken back, though, they were told that they would be meeting with the Bloodpack.  Damaskinos told them one final tidbit of important information.  Karel Kounan learned through his confidential channels that the Reapers were headed to Sunnydale.

And while that shouldn't have surprised Buffy, it did for some reason.  The battle with the Reapers was going to happen on her home turf, which made it all the more real.  Dawn and Xander sat on a bench on one side of the room while Willow sat on a bench on the other side.  Isheeta sat next to her while Buffy and Giles stood.  After they were brought into the room, they all spoke with Willow about how she was doing.  And while she evaded actually answering, the redhead was genuinely touched by their concern for her.

"So....what do you think?" Buffy asked her mentor.

Giles shook his head.  "I think we're going to be hunting Reapers."

"What do you really think, Giles?" Willow asked, watching him.

Giles sighed.  "The fact is.....the Pure Bloods are just very ticked off because they're no longer at the top of the food chain.  As long as we serve a purpose to Damaskinos, they'll keep us in the loop.  But the first chance they get, they're gonna betray us.  So just be watchful."

Dawn looked up.  "So, we're really going to do this?"

Buffy nodded.  "Yeah, we're gonna play along for now.  They'll take us deeper into their world than we've ever been before.  We'll get a chance to see how these Pure Bloods work."

Isheeta rose from her position and walked over.  "If you need the assistance of the Coven, I can guarantee you that they will help."

"Thank you Alyeena, but right now, we need to keep the number of who knows about this limited." Giles put a hand on her shoulder.

The doors to the waiting room opened and Nyssa and Asad stood at the doorway.  "The Bloodpack is assembled downstairs.  Please....come with us." Nyssa said.

The two Pure Bloods led Buffy and her friends down several corridors and took them into the lower part of the structure, into a large room that was reminiscent of a warehouse interior.  There were a group of Pure Bloods standing there, watching them approach.  They were the Bloodpack, legendary Pure Bloods with great skills at fighting.

Asad gestured with his hand to them.  "Buffy, meet the Bloodpack."

"Well," Xander quipped, "if it isn't Snow White and the seven suckheads."

Asad ignored the insult and made the introductions.  "Lighthammer and Verlaine."

Lighthammer was a massive Blackfoot Indian and Verlaine was a curvaceous beauty with bee-stung lips that exudes a predatory sexuality.  Asad continued, "This is Priest and Snowman." he said.  Priest was a long blonde haired modern primitive with copious piercings and facial tattoes.  Snowman was a wire albino with alert eyes that watched everything.  "And the last two members of the Bloodpack, Chupa and Dieter Reinhardt." Asad introduced.  Chupa was a blunt featured Puerto Rican and Reinhardt, the leader of the Bloodpack, was a square jawed, chiseled Austrian.

As Buffy, Isheeta, Giles, Willow, Xander, and Dawn stare down the members of the Bloodpack, Reinhardt moves forward slowly, looking Buffy up and down.  She likewise, studied him in silence.

"Hey uh....me and the gang just wanted to know.  Are you afraid?" he said with a sneering smile.

The other members of the Bloodpack snickered behind Reinhardt, waiting to see if Buffy was going to take the bait.  She snorted.  "Of you, as if!  All you are is just another vampire for me dust before this is over."

"Really." Reinhardt said.

"Yeah," Buffy said as she started walking around him.  "You know, you've been training for two years to take me out.  Well, here I am.  Ooh, this is so exciting, isn't it.  You finally got your chance to take me out.  I'm here.  Why don't I make it easier for you..." Buffy said, bringing out her wooden stake and holding it up.  The Bloodpack immediately went on defense, pulling out their weapons and aiming them at Buffy's back.

"Buffy..." Xander warned.

"It's alright Xander." Buffy assured him.  "Come on, Reinhardt, what're you waiting for?" Buffy held the point of the stake against her chest and stepped close to him, close enough for him to shove the stake into her.  Behind Reinhardt, Nyssa raised her hand, a signal for the Bloodpack to step down with their aggressive stance.  "Here I am, right here in front of you.  I'll even give baldy here the first shot."

Reinhardt shoots a look at Nyssa.

"Hey!  What are you looking at her for?  You need permission, is that it?" Buffy taunted.  "Oh, I got it, maybe you need some incentive."

Buffy reaches up with her left hand and slaps him across the face, not enough force to send him down, but enough to turn his head.  "What's wrong, did you miss that?  I'll do it again."  She reaches up and slaps Reinhardt again.  Buffy smirked when she saw the anger flare in his face.  "Come on!"

"Do it Reinhardt!  Do it!!" Verlaine, behind him, called out.

"Come on, what do you need, a manuel." Buffy continued, putting the stake in Reinhardt's hand.  "Do it!!"

"Kill her!!" Chupa encouraged.

"Take the Slayer out!!" Lighthammer yelled.

"Finish her Reinhardt!!" Priest decreed.

Encouraged by the responses of his team mates, Reinhardt used his right hand and grabbed Buffy's shirt and attempted to thrust the stake in Buffy's chest.  As he moved with the stake, Buffy sidestepped him and flipped him on his back, taking the stake from him as he was being flipped over.  As he fell on the ground, Buffy had the point of the stake against his chest.  "Still think I'm afraid of you.  Think again." she hissed as she stepped away.

Reinhardt leapt to his feet and was about to charge her when Nyssa stepped forward and stopped him.  "That's enough!" she told him.  Because she is the heir to the Vampire Nation, Reinhardt had to obey her.  He bowed his head and stepped back.

"Now," Buffy said, looking at all of them, "from this point on, we work as a collective unit.  All of us.  You'll be taking orders from me or this arrangement is off!  Is that clear?" she waited, but no one made any words.  "Good.  Now, since these Reapers are headed to Sunnydale, I need you to tell me where they might hit first."

Nyssa stepped forward to answer Buffy's question.  "There's a saying Buffy that we like to go by.  If you want to catch the hunter, target the prey.  The Reapers will most likely either hit the streets or they'll go after the night places where vampires congregate.  You know, blood banks or safe houses.  You have those in your town, don't you?"

Buffy nodded.  "Yes, there's some blood banks I know of.  There are a lot of vampires at the cemeteries."

"Ugh, Half Breeds." Chupa huffed.

"Well, Half Breeds are vampires and it makes no difference to the Reapers." Asad said.

"Get the copters ready, let's go home." Buffy said, looking at them silently.

Chapter 4

She was restless.  Tara had tried watching TV, catching up on the news of the world, but that hadn't helped her desire to be up and doing something.  She wanted to try some of her meditation spells, but she couldn't remember everything she needed to perform one and she suspected all of her books were at the Summers House.

For the past hour, Tara had been trying to pry a leg off of the table.  It was made out of wood and Tara wanted to go out for at least a little while.  She hated being tucked up in a hotel room and she just wanted to get some fresh air.  And she knew that if she did run into some vampires, she could use her stake.  And if she should come across some demons, she could use her magick to get rid of it.  She'd inadvertently done it before.

Tara grabbed her stake and put in her back jeans pocket.  Grabbing her cape, she pulled it over her body and fastened it at the neck.  Then, she pulled the hood up over her head and headed out.

And while Tara was leaving her hotel room for her walk through Sunnydale, Buffy and the others were arriving back at the Summers House.  Buffy took a long deep breath as she moved inward and plopped herself down on the couch.  Dawn trudged her way upstairs.

"I'm going to bed." she said, moving up the stairs.

"Fine." Buffy sighed, watching her sister ascend the stairs.

The Bloodpack had gone back with them, but they'd decided to hole themselves up at a crypt in one of the cemeteries.  Even though the threat of the Reapers was there, they stayed at the cemetery.  They'd decided to begin the hunt on the next night, giving everyone the chance to have a good night's rest.  Instead of coming back to the house, Willow had requested to stay at Xander's apartment.

And Isheeta had more or less became somewhat of a guardian for Willow until the redhead was better emotionally, so Isheeta was staying with Xander as well.  The only ones that remained at the house now was Giles and Buffy and Giles entered the living room to see Buffy studying the table.

"So, how much about these Pure Bloods do you know?" Buffy asked, looking at him.

Giles took a breath.  "I only know what's on record at the Council."

Buffy stood.  "So, you've known that the vampire species has had two races.  The kind I've been fighting and these Pure Bloods."

Giles nodded.  "Yes, I've known about both them both.  The reason why I never told you was because you were never expected to come across them.  The Pure Bloods follow orders given by the Shadow Cabinet.  And the Shadow Cabinet and the Council have had a peace agreement going on for over fifty years.  The agreement was that no Pure Blood vampire was allowed in any of America.  And that agreement has been followed."

"What are we going to do, Giles?  I mean, can we trust these vampires?" Buffy asked.

"No, they are going to turn against us when it serves their methods.  For now, we just have to work with the Bloodpack and track these Reapers down." Giles answered.

"You know what," Buffy said, "I still have a lot of energy to burn.  I'm going out on a late patrol."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Giles asked politely.

"Nah, I'll be fine.  Besides, there's somewhere I'm wanting to go that I'll need privacy for." Buffy replied.

"I understand." Giles said as he watched Buffy turn and head out the door after grabbing a couple weapons.

*****

About twenty minutes later, Tara walked through the cemetery, making sure to keep her hood fastened over her face.  She didn't want to break her word with her guide and be taken to Tartarus because she had every intention of returning to Tara once the seven days were over.  She passed by a couple brushes of bushes and stopped by a tombstone.  Somehow, she knew exactly where the tombstone was.  She looked at the words inscribed on the tombstone.

Tara Maclay
1979 - 2002
A Devoted Friend, A Devoted Partner
& A Gentle Soul
May You Rest In Peace.

Tara's eyes stared at her tombstone as if in a trance.  She felt tears forming at knowing that six feet under that dirt, there was indeed a body in a casket that did look like her own.  Tara let the tears fall at the injustice that the world brought down upon her and upon Willow.  Tara believed that this shouldn't have happened.  She believed it with all her heart and she wished this could have been altered.  That her body wasn't down there and that she hadn't died.

But sadly, she knew her wish would never come to pass.  Tara kneeled down until she was on her knees and she kept looking at the tombstone with teary eyes.

*****

Carrying a wooden stake at her hip and swinging her broadsword in her right hand, Buffy moved through the cemetery.  She had one designation to go.  She wanted to visit a grave she hadn't been to in a while and one she regretted not coming to.  It wasn't her mother's grave because she visits her mother's grave weekly.  No, this grave belongs to Tara Maclay.  Buffy hadn't spent much time at Tara's grave over the summer.

After Willow left for the Coven, Buffy found herself occupied with teaching Dawn about how to track vampires and hunt them.  She hadn't had time to visit Tara's grave and she missed that.  And after seeing Willow today, it just reminded Buffy of how lousy a person she'd been by not visiting the grave more.

She'd considered herself Tara's friend before the shooting, but over the summer, she hadn't acted like it.  She'd gotten so wrapped up in her own life that she hadn't even bothered with going to take care of Tara's grave and Buffy hated herself for it.  She knew eventually, Willow would come here to see the grave.  The only time Willow had been at the grave was at the funeral. And it had been Giles who'd planned the funeral.

Tara's father wanted nothing to do with it.  He blamed Willow for Tara's death.  He told them flatly that it was Willow that kept Tara in Sunnydale and it was ultimately Willow that was the reason his daughter was killed.  That had multiplied Willow's depression then and Buffy had been near rage.  She'd wanted to kill Mr. Maclay for that.  But instead, he'd left and Giles had gotten everything ready.

Buffy walked up a steep hill that Tara's grave was situated at.  The grave itself was just beyond the hill, nestled between two slopes with bushes surrounding it.  As the Slayer neared, her Slayer instincts prickled at her and she went on the alert as she neared the grave.  Moving slowly, she pulled a tree limb aside and saw that there was someone on their knees in front of the grave, looking at the tombstone.  Buffy didn't know who it was because of the hood, but she knew the tales about grave robbers and she wasn't about to let Tara's grave be defiled by the likes of grave robbers.  She stepped out from behind the bushes and poised the point of her sword against the hooded person's neck.  "Don't even think about moving.  Slowly, pull the hood back." she said with a strong tone in her voice.

*****

Tara pulled her cape around her as the last of the tears she was going to shed dried on her cheeks.  Her wooden stake laid in front of her as she gazed at the tombstone, seemingly unable to tear her gaze away from it.  She knew she should leave.  She knew it'd be wise to get back to the hotel room for the night, but she found herself unable to leave the grave.

If she'd been listening to her senses, she would have felt the presence of someone behind her.  But instead, her entire attention was focused on the tombstone and when the point of a blade touched her on her left shoulder, her entire body tensed.  Then, she heard the words from a familiar voice and Tara closed her eyes, breathing heavily.

"Don't even think about moving.  Slowly, pull the hood back." she heard Buffy say.

Tara knew within an instant that she had two choices.  One, she could pull the hood back and let Buffy know she was alive again.  Or two, she could take her chance and run for it and hope Buffy didn't throw that sword at her back.  Tara hoped and prayed that the decision she made concerning her situation wouldn't cost her dearly.  Swallowing and taking a deep breath, Tara twisted her body to the right, shoving back with all her might and sending Buffy back a few steps, the sword no longer touching her.

Then, Tara took off running.

When Tara twisted her body around and shoved back, Buffy stumbled against the trunk of a tree.  Her eyes widened when she saw the hooded person take off running down the hill.  Buffy wasn't about to let the figure get away and she took off after her, forgetting her sword.  As the figure moved down the hill, Buffy got closer and closer to her by running at breakneck speed.

Just as the hooded figure reached the bottom of the hill, Buffy was right there, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her.  It was enough force to just knock the figure down.  Tara stumbled after the push and fell to the ground, her face hitting first.  The hood and cape covered her body, except for her feet and Buffy didn't get a clear chance to see who it was.  Buffy was leaning over, taking deep breaths.

She slowly stood up to her full height.  "Now, don't move." Buffy ordered.  "Turn over slowly and pull the hood back.  I've had a rotten day and I don't feel like messing around with you."

Tara closed her eyes, her cheek pressed to the ground.  There's no way out of this. She thought to herself.  Resigned to her fate, Tara moved her body around until she was on her back.  The hood still covered her face as she leaned up until she was sitting on the ground.

"Alright, now who are you?" Buffy demanded.

Taking a deep breath, Tara reached up and pulled the hood from her cape back, exposing her identity to Buffy.  Her long dark blonde hair covered part of her face, but her face was clearly visible.  She looked up at Buffy, the corners of her lips lifting upwards in a half smile.  "Hi Buffy."

Shock radiated through Buffy's body and her face clearly showed it.  She stared at the face before her in stunned disbelief.  "My god...Tara." she breathed, taking a step back.  Buffy staggered back instead of stepping back and she ended up tripping on a root in the ground.  She flopped down on her behind, the wind driving out of her.

Buffy stared at Tara and Tara stared at Buffy.

"My god.. Tara, how is this possible?" Buffy said, looking at the blonde and shocked.  Tara was very much alive.

Tara looked at the ground for a moment before her gaze returned to Buffy.  "It's a long story Buffy.  One I want to tell you, but we should get to my hotel room first."

Wordlessly, Buffy nodded.  She got to her feet and watched as Tara rose from her seated position.  She continued to watch with slight concern as Tara pulled the hood over her head again and kept it there.  Tara headed down the hill with Buffy alongside her.  Buffy was looking forward to this explanation.

Continue on to Part 2 of this Book!