"Things Unseen, Things Unknown and Things Yet to Be"

(BtVS/Sekirei)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this fanfic whatsoever and do not intend to in the future. I write for fun and because there are those that enjoy reading my works. Therefore I would appreciate it if you didn't take any legal action against me because I can assure you that anything you gained would be a fragment of what the proceedings would cost in the first place.

Timeline: This would take about sixteen and a half years after the end of season 7 in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Universe and about half a year before the beginning of the Sekirei Anime series. This will completely ignore the events shown in BtVS canon after the end of the TV series including season 8 comic books. Mostly because I don't like the direction canon went.

Things Unseen, Things Unknown and Things Yet to Be

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia

November 8th, 2019

Xander Harris' POV

"Well it looks like this is goodbye for now, Zola," he said as he hefted his military issue duffle bag info a more comfortable position. "I don't know what G-man wants me for but it has to be pretty heavy duty for him to pull me out of Africa."

"Indeed. From all you have told me of him he does not seem to be a man to call home one of his most experienced Watchers without good cause." Zola stated with respect towards him.

"More like he's suspicious of what I've been up to the last few years," he laughed. "I haven't exactly been filing regular reports."

"Perhaps," she stated with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "However you've been quite busy locating and guiding the Slayers you have located in Africa as well as… other things."

"Maybe, but somehow I doubt coming clean would be the best thing to do," he said with moderate reservation in his voice. "Might just give him a heart attack."

"Agreed."

"Keep an eye on things while I'm away and touch base with the Slayer base's in your area, especially Tapiwa's," he said with mild aggravation. "You just know she's going to try something the second I leave the country."

"You need not worry. I have two friends of ours watching her as we speak," she said with confidence in her foresight. "One she will sense and the other she will not. It should prove to be enough to keep her in check until your return."

"Then I wish you good fortune, Zola. Until we see each other again," he said before bowing in respect.

"And to you, Alexander," she said, returning his bow of respect.

With that they parted company, him to the departure gate of his flight and her back to the car they'd used to get to the airport, leaving him to wonder about how things would go once he was back in Cleveland. It had been almost three years since he'd been last there but so much had changed that he was under no illusions that there'd be some friction when the Scooby gang reunited. His time in Africa had given him a new… perspective on life, on his past as well as his future. Whether or not his old friends would react well to his new outlook on life he didn't know but he did know it'd take more than Willow's resolve face to make him change his point of view.

As he passed the reflective surface of the windows to the right of him, he took a moment to marvel at how much almost two decades of living in a place like Africa could change a person. While he wouldn't say that it was all one big warzone, there were plenty of places that pretty much looked like any other major city in the world, but those hadn't been the places he'd been sent. Finding newly awakened Slayers in major cities was relatively easy, if only because there were numerous sources of information to draw upon. He was sent out into the wilds and the places where communication was spotty at best, forcing him to learn the skills he'd need to accomplish his mission.

Learn the various languages and dialects of the region so he could communicate with them, learning to live off the land since he couldn't always go by the local marketplace for food or water, learning to track both man and beast and demon since some things never stayed in one place for very long.

The hardest lesson had been to learn how to fight since he couldn't count on his soldier memories and what he'd learned back in Sunnydale only barely put him above your average civilian in terms of skill.

Some of these things he had to learn on his own because there was no one capable or willing to teach him and this led to some rather… embarrassing situations. A few had nearly caused him to lose a newly awakened Slayer but thankfully what he could not convey properly with words he was able to with actions. For the people that lived in small villages or the nomadic tribes that lived as their people had for millennia, a little more legwork was needed in order to find the Slayers he sought. In the end he had made several new friends and helped convince various groups that the new Council was different from the old one. In return they had done their best to teach him what they could so that his mission in their lands could be accomplished in a smoother manner. Some teachers had been stricter than any drill instructor in his soldier memories while others had been cryptic wise men that had come close to making his brain cells pop with their answers to his questions. Fortunately for him enough had been relatively patient and straightforward with their instruction that he was able to learn what they had to teach relatively quickly. He was by no means as good as some of their more seasoned experts but, if there was some sort of academy, he was pretty sure that he could count himself among the graduates.

Another benefit of his various training experiences was that physically he was in better condition than he'd ever been. Away from the cushy city life, he'd been forced to work for what he needed and do the things he needed himself rather than have someone else do it for him. He wouldn't say that he had a body like Arnold but he wouldn't mind drawing comparisons between him and say… Jean Claude Van Damme back in his prime. Scars marked his body but he was proud of each and every one of them since they allowed him to remember the battles in which he'd been able to make a difference. Even those that still lingered from the time his father had beat him brought him a bit of pride because they only served to show how far he'd come since those days.

Not that you could tell that from a strangers point of view.

He wasn't quite sure how but, instead of looking like a man in his early forties like he should, he instead appeared to be a young man in his mid-twenties. It had taken ten years before enough people had noticed that time hadn't had the same effect on him physically as it had everyone else but it had only been after Willow had given him a magical once over that they'd figured out the truth. Apparently, that day he'd talked his best friend down from destroying the world, he'd absorbed some of the earth's life energy that was supposed to have entered the statue of Proserpexa. According to Giles they'd all assumed that the reason the energy hadn't killed him outright was either due to Willow's weak resolve or the chaotic results magic tended to have where he was concerned. However it hadn't been until a decade later when she'd done a more in depth search that she'd learned that the energy he'd absorbed had been retarding the aging process for him. By how much she had been unable to determine but she felt it was safe to say that it'd be awhile before he'd have to worry about the costs of old age.

"Have a good flight to America, sir," the airline employee said after he'd inspected his ticket and passport.

"Thanks."

Walking down the hallway, he returned his thoughts to his destination and the reason why Giles had asked him to leave Africa for Cleveland. While he had made trips back to Council HQ every couple of years, it had been long established that Africa was his assigned region. While originally Robin Wood had been considered for the role, his relationship with Faith had caused him to withdraw his name for consideration. While he might be a bit biased, he believed that he'd done a pretty good job finding newly awakened Slayers and establishing friendly relations with various groups throughout the area. Therefore he believed that Zola was right in that it would take something pretty important for G-man to call him specifically back to Cleveland rather than give the job to another Watcher. Recalling the reports he'd read the last few months, he tried to figure out if any of them could be the reason for his recall but none seemed urgent enough. Most of them just reported the usual demonic hijinks mixed with a bit of news concerning what the various governments were doing concerning the supernatural.

At least it seems like they're learning from their mistakes. They're not repeating any of the mistakes they've made in the past but that doesn't mean they're safe from making brand new ones.

Still, he didn't think that the elderly Watcher was calling him back for that, considering the potential for collateral damage that came when you mixed him with military grade weaponry. It'd gotten so bad that, when you compared what he could do now to blowing up the high school, the latter looked like blowing up a mailbox with a cherry bomb.

Not exactly the sort of thing that would be good for keeping the global boat on even keel.

I guess I'll just have to wait until he tells me.

Arrival Gate, Cleveland Airport,

Cleveland, Ohio

Afternoon, Dawn's POV

Looking back and forth, she tried to find her longtime friend but the combination of numbers and her height was making it difficult.

While taller than her sister she was still short enough that she had to wait for people to move aside before she could see who was behind them. Checking her watch, she confirmed that it was the time Xander's flight was due to arrive and there'd been no announcements of delays, so she was confident that he'd appear soon.

Thinking on her longtime friend, she wondered how Africa had treated him for the last three years. She'd talked to him over the phone, of course, when he was somewhere where a phone was available, and she'd read his reports but nothing quite beat seeing him in person. Indeed while she might have gotten over the crush she'd had for him when she was younger, he was still a dear member of her family. Plus there was the fact that the last time he was home he'd been a big hit with her kids, who at the moment were oh so looking forward to seeing their 'uncle Xander' again. While they had been asking if their uncle was bringing them presents, she was confident that even if the founding Scooby didn't they'd still be happy to see him.

Turning her attention back to the crowd of people exiting the plane from Africa, she tried once more to find the one she sought but as the crowd thinned out without her finding Xander she wondered if he'd missed his flight.

"Whatcha lookin' for pretty lady?" came a voice from behind her.

"EEEP!" she shrieked in fright at the unexpected noise as she spun around reflexively to see the face of the one that'd spooked her.

It only took a moment for her to recognize Xander and as he stood before her with an amused smile on his face, she had to wonder how he'd managed to get behind her without being seen. Sure, she knew it wouldn't be too hard to sneak past normal people but every member of the Council had been trained to look beyond the normal. They were trained to be able to pick out demons from a crowd and track fast moving threats since both abilities were essential for their fight. The only way her friend could have made it past her was if his skills had surpassed her own or if she'd somehow let her own skills rust a bit. She wasn't sure which one it was but she did know how to react to his little bit of fun.

THWAP!

"OW!" they both cried, albeit for different reasons.

She said it because, unlike the last time she'd seen him, his muscles had gotten as hard as a block of wood and she suspected he'd said it out of a humorous maintaining of routine.

Time to punish him accordingly.

"You'd better wipe that smile off your face, Xander. I still have plenty of dirt on you that I haven't told anyone."

"What makes you think I don't have some stories about you to tell?" Xander asked rhetorically, the smile never leaving his face. "I've got lots and lots of embarrassing stories from all the times your mom asked me to babysit."

"Shutting up now," she said promptly after her mind informed her of the possible stories.

They stayed like that for about a minute before both of them broke out in laughter and hugged like the true friends that they were. Through the hug she could tell that it was more than his arms that were as hard as a block of wood and it made her wonder just what sort of training he'd put himself through since the last time they'd seen each other. Whatever it was, she doubted there was so much as an ounce of fat anywhere on his body and that made her wonder what he'd look like in a Speedo.

I might be married but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view from time to time. She pictured a future pool party with all the original Scoobies in attendance.

"C'mon, you extortionist!" she said with humor in her voice. "My car's parked outside and you've got a lot of people who're looking forward to meeting you."

"Extortionist?! Who was the one that threatened to tell Buffy that I'd ruined her favorite sweater unless I let her watch a ton of R rated movies, INCLUDING that one called 'Wild Things'?" he asked, sounding quite smug even though his eyes said he was laughing.

"I seem to recall you like that one." she said with a sly smile as she turned his statement back on him.

"Never said I didn't but at least I was old enough to watch it," he said unrepentantly as they exited the airport. "Almost."

"You think that my mom would've cared about the 'almost', Xan?" she asked, poking at the last word of his statement.

"Probably not but she'd probably have had some fun making me think she cared," he replied back with an amused grin.

"Point. So what've you been doing the last three years? Other than the usual stuff."

"Well, not much that you probably don't already know. Found about twelve or so Slayers and trained them as best I could. Helped a village run off some mercs looking to do a little pillaging and plundering. Had my hands full with a few spunky Slayers but I'd say everything's worked out."

"You do realize that 'spunky' makes you sound like an old man, don't you?" she asked with a smile as he car came into sight.

"Considering how fast new slang pops up, I'm surprised that everyone doesn't sound like old men and women."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm quite up to date with all the latest lingo and slang used by teenagers these days," she said with confidence in her skills as a linguist. "I can hold a conversation with my kids no problem!"

"Do they tend to leave ten minutes or so later?" he asked in a perfectly casual tone of voice.

"Oh, I don't let them go for at least twenty minutes," she replied with a smile as she remembered the times she'd used their own words to embarrass them as punishment for a misdeed. "I figure by then they'll have learned their lesson."

"I feel pity for Jesse and Tara," he said, wincing a bit as he no doubt recalled what it was like to be their age.

"Don't. They had a party without my permission and wound up destroying the TV and the front lawn," she said with a bit of a growl in her tone. "They deserved what they got. The only reason I didn't do more was because the surveillance spells Willow put on the place showed that it was a couple of their friends who did most of the damage."

"Surveillance spells? In your home?" he asked with a bit of surprise. "When did this start?"

"About two years ago, I think," she replied, recalling the day it was discussed by her and the other senior Council members. "A group of demons managed to infiltrate one of our training bases in New York, somehow bypassing the wards in the process. With the surveillance spells on the inside and people watching them, we'll know the moment they make it in."

"So you're watched all the time?" he asked, sounding uncomfortable with the idea.

"Not all the time, Xan. It's basically the magical equivalent of a home security system with a few internal cameras thrown in." she explained, seeing what he found wrong with it. "We turn it on when we go to sleep or are away and turn it off when it's not needed."

This calmed him down but she could tell by the look in his eye that he'd want to inspect the spells himself or at least get a more detailed explanation of how they worked from Willow. While she personally thought that he was getting worked up over nothing, she couldn't see the harm in letting him learn the details. As she went over to the driver's side door, she used the remote on her keychain to pop the trunk so he could put his bag inside.

"And it can't be accessed by remote? Turned on without your permission?" he asked, tossing his bag into the trunk before closing it.

"With authorization by a senior division leader or a Scooby it can, but only under the right conditions."

Unusually Xander did not press the matter further but rather got in on the passenger side of the car without delay.

For a moment she considered continuing the discussion herself but then decided it could wait until later. Instead she continued asking about the things he'd done in Africa and the places he'd been to, especially those places with languages she might not have learned yet.

It turned out to be quite the interesting ride home.

New Watchers Council HQ, Cleveland Branch, An Hour Later, Xander's POV

So far, so good, he thought as he entered the building. Looks like my… personal additions haven't been picked up. Gotta remember to thank Bohlale next time I see him.

It wasn't per se that he didn't trust his friends with the changes he'd been through these last few years but he wanted to reveal them when the time was right and in his own way. If he'd come without Bohlale's wards of obscuring, he'd likely get pounced on, knocked out and restrained before he could get a word in edge wise. Looking about the nearby living room, he could see a few Slayers enjoying a little downtime while people he presumed were Watchers were going over a small pile of books in an adjoining room. They didn't seem to be in much of a rush so he didn't think that anything too important was going on and that was about as far as he got surveying the area before his attention was required elsewhere.

"Xander!" Willow said as she ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

"Hey, Wills!" he responded, genuinely happy to see his longtime friend again. "Miss me?"

"Of course I have!" she said, finally releasing him from her hug. "Why haven't you been calling me every week like you said you would?"

"Well I've been busy and… well… that satellite phone you gave me three years ago had a bit of an accident," he replied, keeping as close to the truth as he could.

"What sort of 'accident'?" she asked, sounding like she suspected that the cause was something else.

"Well it turns out that they're not quite as sturdy as I'd thought they were." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "As it so happens, two knocks to the back of a merc's skull and they go to pieces. Shoddy craftsmanship for sure!"

"Xander! The Council might not be as tight for money as we used to be but you still shouldn't destroy equipment like that," she reprimanded gently before allowing her joy at his return to come back.

"I'll try to keep that in mind with the next phone." They proceeded deeper into the house, "So where's Buffy and the G-man?"

"Giles is up in his office and Buffy's down in sub-level three keeping an eye on one of our missions in Brazil," she replied as they walked down a long hallway. "She said she'd be up when it's over."

"You guys added sub-levels to this place?" he asked with a bit of surprise. "Seems like you've been pretty busy remodeling everything since I was here last."

"We've had to. The world is changing, Xander, and the whole 'save the world from your dining room' just isn't working anymore. Even the Old Council's way of doing things won't work anymore," she said with all the confidence of someone who was in the driver's seat of change. "For the last three years we've been working to modernize the way the Council does things and, yeah, there are still some things that have to stay the way they've always been it's been a good thing for everyone. I'll give you the grand tour once you've had your meeting with Giles."

"Looking forward to it," he said before trying to make out where they were going. "You guys move him to the ground floor? I thought he was up on the second floor."

"He is but we figured you might be hungry after your flight so we prepared something a little special for you." She led him through some impressive double doors into what looked like the kitchen.

It didn't take him long to find out what his friend meant because, in the middle of the table at the center of the room, was three boxes worth of Twinkies. He couldn't help but smile at this for a moment as his memories of the tasty pastry were quite vivid and for the most part they were good. The sad part of it all, though, was the fact that he wasn't quite the devourer of sweets he used to be since he'd found in his line of work that unnecessary flab could be a fatal flaw in a demon hunter. In this way Africa had been good or him since the number of places you could get a Twinkie that wasn't past the expiration date were few. In any case, he figured that he could spoil himself just this once so long as he put in a good work out later on in the evening.

"Thanks a bunch, Wills!" he said as he took out the first package of Twinkies and took his first bite.

"Hey, it's the least I can do for my best friend," she said with a smile of satisfaction that her gift was a success.

It was then that a thumb sized crystal attached to the gold necklace around her neck popped out of the neckline of her shirt that looked very well done. He could compare it to some of the more intricately crafted artifacts and talismans that he'd come across since he'd been clued in to the reality of the world.

"What's with the new bling Willow?" he asked pointing to the crystal dangling from her neck.

"Oh I got it as a gift last Christmas!" she replied sounding quite pleased with it even as she used her fingers to make it spin round and round, "Isn't it pretty?"

"It definitely catches the light in a total Liz Taylor sort of way." He replied with an amused smile.

The smile she sent right back at him warmed his heart.

For the next half hour or so they talked and he couldn't help but wallow in the nostalgia of the moment and remember the good times. Looking at the redhead, he could see that age hadn't quite touched her as it would have just about everyone else and he presumed that her talents in the mystical arts had something to do with it. Whether or not it was simply due to all the magic she'd been exposed to over the years or something that she'd done to herself, he didn't know. Hopefully it was the former because the latter sounded a little too much like her days of frivolous magic usage and he very much didn't want to see a return of Darth Willow, both because he didn't think his 'I love you' speech would work a second time and because he didn't want to have to go with plan B when it failed.

"Well, I better get upstairs and see what Giles wants," he said, finishing off the last of the Twinkies. "See ya later, Willow!"

He got up from his seat and left the kitchen, letting his mind drift back to the question of why he'd been ordered back to Cleveland. Reaching the stairs, he began to climb them as he debated the various scenarios in his mind which ranged from a potential apocalypse to something so top secret that only a core Scooby could be trusted to handle. In either case, he was confident that it would be worth his time since he'd known the head of the Council long enough that he believed the odds of assigning him to a milk run was pretty slim.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he spotted an odd metal item embedded into the wall and, after a moment's examination, determined that it must be part of the surveillance spells Dawn had told him about. He still wasn't sure how he felt about it despite the sort of sense it made considering the threats that the Council had to deal with on a nightly basis. Sure, Buffy's little sister had told him that the spells could be turned on and off like a normal security system but it had a lot of potential to be abused.

Jet lag must be getting to me, he thought, dismissing his concern. These are my best buds! I'm sure they know what they're doing.

Seeing the familiar entrance to Giles' office, he wondered if the old man was doing alright. The Brit was getting up there in years and, while his surrogate father had removed himself from the front lines, heading an international organization came with stress just as potent. Some changes in his tea and some magical herbs had helped Giles avoid some of the health problems that came with old age but he adamantly refused to try some of the more… potent options due to the slippery slope it strayed near. Willow had made a token effort to persuade him to go a little further but, despite his age, the old Brit had been strong enough to stand his ground and make the redhead back off.

I guess I'll have to go easy on the teasing this time, he thought with some concern for the man's health. Don't want to give the old guy a heart attack.

Giles' POV

"Hey, G-Man!" came an all too familiar voice accompanied by the opening of the door to his office.

There is only one person in the world that still uses that infernal alias, he thought with a sigh as he set down the report he'd been reading.

Looking up at the door, he smiled as he welcomed the man he considered the son of his heart. In all the years he'd lived, he'd never truly known wedded bliss or sired any children of his own but the bonds he'd formed with Buffy and her friends had made up for it. Indeed he considered them all his surrogate children, just as he knew that they considered him to be a surrogate father in light of their biological fathers being less than adequate. In the years since they'd first met, they'd formed bonds as strong as any family related by blood and, while there had been some rough patches from time to time, the connection they all shared never broke.

"Xander, how many times must I ask you to refrain from calling me that?" he asked with a sigh that was mostly an act.

"At least once more, I think." Xander replied with his usual grin.

"I see maturity is still an alien concept to you."

"I gave it a try once. Didn't like it," Xander said, settling down into the chair on the other side of the desk. "So, what's the what? Why did you call me back to Cleveland?"

"Well… for the last six months I've been receiving unusual reports from Shintō Teito, Japan, indicating the presence of young women in possession of superhuman abilities," he explained as he searched his desk for the relevant briefing folder. "Some mirror those found in Slayers, albeit to a much greater degrees, while others have more in common with practitioners of magic."

"And? I'm presuming there's something more to this or you would've just sent an investigation team to find out more." Xander said, mildly interested in what he had been told.

"As a matter of fact I have sent two investigation teams since I first heard of these women. Both of them only managed to send a preliminary report before vanishing," he stated with concern at the loss of six Council members. "Traditional attempts have been made to locate them but all we have been able to ascertain with absolute certainty is that they are still in the city and, for the moment, alive. Aside from that, we know nothing."

"So what? This place has some heavy duty barrier and distortion fields around it?" Xander asked.

"No. We've cast potent divination spells from as close to the town as we dare and they are unable to tell us anything," he replied with concern at the lack of information. "It is unlike anything we have encountered before or has been recorded in past volumes of arcane lore."

"So basically you want me to check out a place with no reliable intel other than there are super powered girls there and you've already lost six operatives there already?" Xander asked in a way that made it impossible to determine how the man felt.

"Sadly, yes. While the Council might not be lacking in trained Slayers and Watchers anymore, the disappearance of the others makes it clear that that is not enough," he said with some regret at what he was asking of the man before him. "The reports you have sent back make it clear that you have endured difficult situations and more often than not overcome them without additional resources or manpower. That makes you the ideal choice for infiltrating and investigating what is going on in Shintō Teito. Will you take this mission?"

For minutes he waited and watched as the one eyed man considered the mission all the while hoping that Xander would take it. In truth he was more concerned about what was going on in that city than he let on but he chose not to say more because for the moment all he had was heresay and rumor. There had been rumblings from some of his contacts around the world and the one thing they all had in common was that there was something on the horizon that they could not see and it concerned them significantly. While some of his sources were skittish and tended to get a bit worked up, the rest were professionals whose information he could trust to be accurate. If all of them suspected the same thing, then he would be foolish to ignore their words and so he'd sought as many of these fragments of unease in order to bring them together to form an entire picture.

At the moment he would be optimistic if he claimed that he saw a tenth of the whole picture.

What he did see, though, indicated that the city Shintō Teito was an important part of the puzzle and secretly was another reason why he wanted Xander to investigate the city. The lad had a knack for being able to see beyond the surface and pick up on details that others often overlooked without a care. If anyone could find the proverbial diamond in the rough, it would be him.

"Consider me there. How soon do you want me to leave?" Xander asked with a look of resolve that made it clear he'd committed himself to the mission.

"With the next few days at the very most," he replied, deciding to give the young man a few more days with his friends.

"Not a problem." Xander said as he got up from his chair.

"I'll have a briefing folder sent to your room with all the information we have managed to gather thus far," he said standing up a bit slower before extending his hand.

"Good. I'll give it a good read before the trip to get up to speed," Xander said walked to the door. "See ya around, Giles."

Watching the young man go, he believed for the most part that he had made the right decision in giving the mission to him. However, as was always the case, when one did not possess all the facts there existed an undercurrent of uncertainty as well as concern. He'd read the preliminary reports the teams had sent back before they'd disappeared and knew that something important was happening in the city. Power such as what the unknown women possessed did not appear without reason and, when they gathered in one spot, widespread repercussions often followed. If he only had more information he could at least provide Xander with a theory or a list of probable suspects, but he did not.

Still, he's always had an uncanny ability to overcome the odds, he thought as he sat back down in his chair. That and a spot of good luck may very well prove to be enough to see him through safely.

His concerns dealt with for the time being, he moved along to the next matter that required his attention: Willow's latest proposals for security enhancements to every Watcher facility in the world. Pulling out the pocket watch he'd gotten last Christmas he pressed his thumb on the crystal button in the center and watched as it popped open to reveal the time. He had another hour and a half before his evening debriefing was set to begin.

It shouldn't take me that long to finish reviewing and approving Willow's recommendations. He thought as he picked up and opened the relevant folder, She knows best after all.

Xander's Room, 11:30pm, Xander's POV

So maybe it's not a malfunction in the surveillance spells, he thought as he watched the talisman embedded in the wall turn back on for the tenth time. Question is: why is it switching back on?

The obvious answer would be that someone is switching it back on after he switched it off and thought that he'd forgotten about it. Too bad they didn't know that after so long in Africa he'd developed a sixth sense of sorts that warned him when some active magic was occurring close by. It had saved his life too many times to count and it was what kept waking him up every time he thought he'd shut the talisman off for good. He couldn't quite figure out though who exactly kept switching it back on but the first thing that came to mind was someone in whatever security room the building had. Though why someone would like to watch him sleep he didn't know and, if he thought it'd do any good, he'd grab his shirt and cover up the talisman with it. It wouldn't work, though, since, according to Willow, the thing didn't see like a normal security camera. It took in the ambient magical energy floating about and used how it interacted with corporeal objects in the room. Therefore what it saw wasn't anything physical but rather it focused on the mystical so while the person down in security would be able to tell he'd covered up the talisman it wouldn't impede surveillance on the room.

Guess this means I'm heading down there and telling whoever's in charge to leave the damn thing off so I can get some sleep.

Leaving the room in a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, he made his way to the elevator that would take him to sub-level three, where Willow had shown him the security room. He hadn't actually gone inside the room but rather it had been pointed out to him in passing on their way to the gym where the local Slayers stayed in shape. Pressing his thumb to the metal plate like he'd been shown before, he watched as a bar of green light went back and forth under his digit before flashing once as the elevator door opened. Stepping inside, he pressed the needed button and watched the doors slide shut before the box he was in began its descent.

When he arrived at the right level, he could hear sounds of people walking about but that was hardly strange considering that most of the things that the Council dealt with were nocturnal in nature. As he reached the security room, he reached out to knock but stopped at the last minute as the thought of someone using the surveillance talismans improperly floated across his mind. If that were indeed the case then it would be best to sneak in and hopefully catch the person red-handed so he could report them to Willow. With this in mind he grasped the doorknob gently and, being ever so careful not to make a single noise, he pushed the door open as slowly as he could since he knew quick movements attracted attention more than slow ones.

The room wasn't lit all that well, only a couple of lamps, with the main source of illumination coming from what he presumed were the viewscreens displaying what the surveillance talisman's saw. Once the door was opened enough, he saw a sight that made him freeze in awe: a series of square crystals hovering in the air and on each of them displaying the image of someplace in the building. It was oddly beautiful but he mentally shook himself out of it so he could focus on finding out who refused to take 'no' for an answer when it came to watching him sleep. He could tell that the person in the central chair was a woman by the long legs that dangled off the chair but what bothered him was that she seemed to be breathing rather hard. Worried that maybe she might be under someone else's control, he rushed into the room and around to the side.

What he saw both shocked him and in a way disgusted him.

Sitting in the chair, playing with herself, was a somewhat attractive brunette with wire rim glasses on, jeans and a tank top. For a moment it looked like she was so entranced by what she saw on the screen that she'd failed to notice his arrival but a second later she stopped what she was doing and jerked her head in his direction. For a moment he saw fear but that changed to haughty arrogance that reminded him so much of a certain ex-girlfriend of Willow's that came from a rich family.

"And just what do you think you're doing here?" Ms. Glasses asked him in a superior tone with an effort made towards intimidation. "This room is restricted to senior personnel only and I do not recognize you at all. Leave at once and if you speak a word of what you saw here, I will ensure that your employment is terminated immediately."

Obviously this was a woman who was supremely confident of her position in the Council and felt it gave her sufficient leeway to bully around those beneath her.

Time to dissuade her of that idea.

"Well, to answer your first question, I'm here to find out why the surveillance talisman in my room won't stay off like I want it to," he replied casually but with an undercurrent of steel. "As for no one but senior Council members being allowed in here, I can honestly say I wasn't aware of that rule. Then again I've been here less than a day so there're probably a few rules I'm a little fuzzy on. As for being fired, I think you're the one who should worry about her job, 'cause last time I checked using a security system as your own personal peep show is a lawsuit waiting to happen."

"Hmph. I have nothing to worry about. My expertise in the field electronic and arcane security make me an indispensable member of the Council and therefore safe from repercussions." Ms. Glasses stated with not a single waver in her arrogance. "As for being unfamiliar with Council protocol, I suggest you leave and familiarize yourself with it immediately or else I will have to speak with Ms. Rosenberg about having your reassigned. Perhaps the observation station near the dormant Hellmouth in Norway."

"And just why do you think Ms. Rosenberg would do that for you?" he asked, already imagining how this bitch would look on her way out of the door as well as the council.

"If you must know she and I have become quite… close… since I became part of the Council and she trusts implicitly," Ms. Glasses said with a smug smile on her face. "Certainly more than some new recruit. Besides, she is well aware of my evening… activities and permits it so long as I do not compromise compound security."

This bitch gets to pull shit like this and gets away with it so long as she does her job?! That sure as hell doesn't sound like the Willow I know. Definitely something I'm going to have to speak with her about in the morning. First, though…

"Well, I think she'll think differently when I speak with her tomorrow." He turned to leave but paused, "After all, I think I know her pretty good."

"You… know her?" Ms. Glasses asked, sounding surprised.

"Yep. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me." He half turned back to her, his smile that of a predator. "Alexander LaVelle Harris, at your service. I've known Willow since we were both in footie pajamas, so I think I know her just a little better than you do. See ya!"

That should give her something to sweat about! he thought with perhaps a bit more maliciousness then was proper.

While it was true that he hadn't found a definite way to keep the pervert from spying on him while he slept, he was confident that the fact that he had more pull with Willow than her would be enough to keep her in line. After a moment's thought, though, he decided that he'd keep what he was wearing on instead of how he usually went to bed since there was always the off chance that the bitch was mentally deficient in some way. Once Willow gave her the boot or at least cut her pay in half, he'd go back to his usual routine.

Heading back to the elevator, his stomach growled, apparently upset at being woken up as well and demanding to be fed before retiring back to bed. He sighed at this since, even after getting in shape and honing his body as best he could, his appetite remained unchanged. This meant that his stomach wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a full meal and that meant more working out tomorrow in order to burn off any excess poundage. While not averse to working out, the whole process seemed to him to be a bit self-defeating: he ate food to fuel his body and then worked out to burn off the food afterwards. It felt like chasing his tail to him but such was the price of being a living organism rather than a rock or a machine.

I'll just throw together a foot long sub along with some chips and a soda, he thought, deciding on his snack as he entered the elevator. Should be enough to see me through 'til morning.

An hour later and TWO foot long subs, he was back in bed and sleeping soundly.

The Next Morning, The Main Library, Willow's POV

It's nice to have Xander around again, she thought as she looked for the volume she needed today. Even if it's only for a few days.

It had been three years since she'd last seen him in person and, aside from a few letters, she hadn't heard from him for two months. At first it'd bothered her but a little research into the regions of Africa that he'd been travelling in made it clear that regular contact would be impossible. Despite the advances that part of the world had undergone in the last few decades, there were still areas that were electronically cut off from the world. Add to that the few remaining nomadic tribes that lived solely off the land and she had understood quickly that her best friend couldn't exactly call her every day. She'd made a few attempts with satellite phones but, given his excuse yesterday, she realized that it was pointless.

Seeing him yesterday had been like a jolt of energy being injected right into her body as memories of the past came to the forefront of her mind. Both of them had lived long lives and had spent most of them never straying too far from each other very often. Where one got assigned, the other would likely show up sooner or later, remaining there for a time before going about their respective duties. She'd made an attempt about ten years ago to make him the head of mission operations for the Council, their own personal Nick Fury, but he'd declined on the grounds that he'd do more good in the field. Considering the number of Slayers he'd successfully located and brought back to the Council, no one had been able to argue the point so he'd been allowed to go back to Africa to continue his search.

Still wish he wasn't so far away, she thought before hearing the door to the library open.

Turning to see who it was, she was a bit surprised when the very person she'd been thinking of came in and looked to have something he wanted to talk to her about. Deciding to put the book she wanted on hold for the time being, she walked towards him intent on meeting him halfway so that she could find out what was bothering him sooner.

"Hey, Xander! What's up?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"There's something I need to talk to you about. In private," he said, sounding serious about what he wanted to speak with her about.

"Okay. We can talk in the office," she said, a bit puzzled at what could have caused her friend this much concern so soon after his arrival.

Putting the questions on hold she led him to the sole office in the library and closed the door before erecting wards against eavesdropping.

"There. No one will be able to listen in." she said letting him know what she'd done. "Now what's bothering you? Is it something demony?"

"No, but it is something I think you should deal with quickly. Do you know anyone down on sublevel 3 who's in charge of electronic and arcane security? Wears glasses?" he asked, sounding as though he was fishing for something.

"Oh, you mean Rue Devereaux? We hired her on about four years ago," she replied wondering where he'd run into the woman, "She wasn't around when you visited three years ago because she was busy installing security upgrades at the other compounds. The things she can do are pretty impressive even by my standards."

"Yeah, well, you might want to start looking for someone else when you hear about what I found her doing." He sounded a bit uncomfortable about his revelation. "Last night when I was trying to get some sleep the surveillance talisman in the wall kept switching back on even after I'd turned it off. After the tenth time I went down to the security room to see what was going on and… uh… found her playing with herself. I think she was using the talismans to enjoy her own little peep show. When I called her on her unprofessional behavior, she seemed to think she could get away with it because she knew you."

"I told Rue to be more discreet with her playtime!" she declared with annoyance at her female friend's activities.

"Y-you knew she was doing this!? And you ALLOW it!?" he exclaimed in surprise and some anger.

"Yeah, I found out she liked that stuff a little over six months after we hired her. Buffy and I weren't thrilled at first but in the end we decided it wasn't worth making too big a fuss over," she said, knowing she had a bit of explaining to do. "She's the best in her field that we could afford and it isn't like she's hurting anyone doing it. Still, I'll have a word with her later and tell her to adjust the talisman in your room so it'll stay off for you."

"A word with her!? And what do you mean adjust the talisman so that it'll stay off?!" he asked, only getting angrier. "Dawn said it was just like a normal security system and that a person could turn it off whenever they wanted."

"Officially that is the case. Unofficially we monitor the rooms the talismans are in all the time. After the last couple of times that demons managed to infiltrate a Council building, I decided that the old wards and protection spells weren't enough. That's when we hired Rue and she installed the new system. It's much better and quite necessary for the talismans to stay on. After all, if one of our people got possessed or was tricked into shutting off one in their room, it'd compromise internal security. So while officially we tell people that they can turn them off whenever they want, the system automatically turns them back on within five minutes of cessation of significant movement."

"So basically you're lying to the rest of the Council in the name of security and letting that bitch Rue stay around because she's good at what she does and you can't find someone better. Is that about the size of it?" he asked with so little emotion that she could tell he was borderline furious.

"I wouldn't exactly call it lying. More like regulation of sensitive information," she replied, getting a bit annoyed at his tone of voice. "It's for the best Xander. We have hundreds of Slayers working for the Council and they need to know that when they come home they're safe and can let down their guard. As for Rue, she's not a bitch; she's just a little… different. Like I said, she's not hurting anyone so I really don't see the problem."

"Don't see the-! Willow! It's an invasion of privacy at the very least and a betrayal of trust at worst!" he exclaimed angrily as he stomped towards her. "If anyone outside of this room found out about this, it could do some serious damage to the Council! In fact, if you don't reassign Rue to someplace where she can't feed her fetish and get rid of those talismanic peep show devices, I WILL tell everyone about it and they'll listen to me!"

"What!? Xander you can't!" she exclaimed shocked that her best friend would threaten her like that.

"I can and I will, Willow," he said, unwavering in his position. "Rue is abusing her authority and her resources spying on Council members like this and, if you're having trouble with security, find a more honorable way of improving it. We changed the lives of thousands of young women the day we activated all the potentials. They put their trust in us when we approached them and asked them to help fight the good fight. Letting this sort of thing go on, even behind closed doors, is wrong."

"Like some of the things you've done over in Africa are completely right?" she snapped back, angry at being lectured by someone she hadn't seen in three years. "You might not have mentioned it clearly in your reports but I did some digging after recognizing the signs of you hiding something. You've killed humans, Xander, lots of them, and more than half of them wouldn't know a demon or a spell if it bit them in the ass. You know the rules here as much as I do. Killing humans is forbidden save in situations where they are working with demons or are practitioners of dark magicks."

"That is completely different. Every person I killed had earned it ten times over and if your research is as good as you say, then you'll know that almost all of them were wanted for one crime or another," he growled back, not backing down from his position. "You wouldn't be able to find a single person who'd say I did the wrong thing killing them after I told them of the crimes they'd committed. What you're doing, what you're allowing to happen, is a breach of trust and I won't let it go any further!"

"Go ahead and try! I know you, Xander!" she yelled back, no longer holding back her anger. "You care about the Council, its mission, and the people who work here too much to risk damaging everything. Starting yelling about this and you'll only cause trouble that could very well get people killed. You won't do that."

"I know that! That's why I came to speak with you in the first place!" he yelled back, still quite furious. "I was hoping that this could be settled quietly and discreetly but it sounds like you're not willing to do anything about it. Guess I'll have to talk to Giles and Buffy about his."

"What makes you think they don't already know and are fine with it?" she asked rhetorically, trying to convey that he was the only one who didn't approve of Rue and the security measures.

"Because the possibility that all of my oldest friends backing that tramp would make this a truly crappy visit." he replied, completely ignoring that it was rhetorical. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to see some people about fixing some problems here."

With that he left the room and she could only look at where he'd been moments ago, a cloud of anger rumbling within her. Obviously the time her friend had spent in Africa had given him some strange ideas and had caused him to forget that she was the smarter of the two of them. Sure, it hurt a bit that Xander didn't simply trust that she knew what she was doing but she wouldn't let that stop her from doing what needed to be done. All of the spells and wards that wouldn't offend people with mainstream morals and sensibilities had various holes in them that their enemies already knew how to exploit. Therefore it only made sense to employ security measures that had as few holes as possible and, if they happened to ignore such things as privacy or decency …well, all that mattered was that it made them safe.

Still, she wasn't too worried about Xander telling Buffy and Giles. The former wouldn't believe him since the blonde Slayer tended to look at the world with rose colored glasses and the latter had reluctantly agreed to ignore Rue's little eccentricities in favor of security.

If Xander thinks we can make do without Rue's security measures and my decisions, maybe I should let him prove it on his next mission, she thought as she fingered the crystal hanging from the golden chain around her neck.

She didn't see, due to her looking at the door rather than down, an almost invisible wisp of crimson energy manifested in the crystal before dissipating entirely.

The Evening Flight to Tokyo, Japan

Late Evening

Xander's POV

I seriously hope that they clean up their acts by the time I get back or things are going to get messy, he thought before banishing the last unpleasant memory of Cleveland from his mind.

It hadn't been an amicable parting four hours ago between him and the founding members of the school but neither was it irreparable. It turned out that neither Buffy nor Giles were completely in favor of what the security bitch had done, nor were they going to let the woman off with a lecture. Their reasons, though, worried him though and had caused him to make a few ill-chosen comments about their intelligence levels. Buffy had been mad when he'd told her what he'd found out but all she'd been willing to do was suspend the woman without pay for a couple of months and maybe intimidate the whore a little. The blonde hadn't said a thing about changing the security measures in the Council compounds to allow the residents the proper level of privacy. Giles had reacted more strongly to the news but had only said he would assign more trusted members of the Council to monitor Rue's conduct once she returned from her suspension.

Neither had chosen to go with his preferred method of dealing with the situation: fire Rue and remove all talismans that would invade the privacy of the members of the Council.

That had been enough to call them on mistakes both current and past, resulting in a yelling match that had ended with all parties storming away from each other in a snit. It had also caused him to push up his departure time as quickly as he could since, the longer he stayed, the more arguments they'd get into and then their friendship might really become irreparable. He'd made only three stops before he'd left the compound and they were important. The first was to the arcane resources department to stock up on his usual load out of ingredients and trinkets, with a few things added in to compensate for his lack of info on the target area. If it had been ten years ago he would've kept it simple taking only things that he knew he could use without potentially explosive consequences. Fortunately things had changed since then and, with the help of several village shaman, among other people, he was now significantly more confident in his ability to employ the more advanced stuff. He wasn't anywhere near Willow's league but he was head and shoulders above most civilian practitioners.

The second place he visited was the armory and weapon manufacturing room where things both sharp and pain inducing were either stored or created. The person in charge of it, a Miss Sydney Rouge, had been recruited to the Council a little past five years after the destruction of Sunnydale and had proven herself a godsend. While woman did specialize in European weaponry, she was a quick study and could learn to create new weapons within a few months of studying the necessary books on the subject. She was also capable of respectable rune engraving but needed the Council's magic division to infuse moderate to large amounts of arcane energy into her weapons. Whenever he'd received a shipment of weapons with her name on the box, he'd known right away that he'd be getting quality stuff.

The woman had just one quirk that had him dread what he'd find when he received an oddly shaped weapon case in the shipments.

She had something of an obsession with taking weapons from various videogames and anime cartoons and trying to make fully functional real life copies of them.

Now obviously all of the weapons were melee oriented or comparable to the weapons they already used but the woman just didn't seem to acknowledge that some of the weapons were just plain impossible to make. Either the weapon had some magical component that made it impossible for anyone but mages to use or the weapons was simply too heavy and cumbersome to be able to take into battle. There were some weapons that she was able to successfully translate from their respective mediums into real life versions that worked for just about every combatant in the Council, but in most cases, those were just fancy versions of existing weapons with a little decoration added on. A few of the odder ones could take energy from the environment to add on some special traits such as elemental characteristics or invisible blades but nothing as flashy as what was in some of the video games out there.

Fortunately, though, when he'd asked her for some weapons to help him out on his mission, she'd just given him basic vamp killing tools as well as a weapon's case with bladed weapons in them. He'd politely asked her whether or not the weapons in the case held any of her special projects but she'd assured him that there was nothing overly special about the blades in the case. The way she'd said it had still been a bit suspicious but he'd taken it nonetheless after inspecting the contents and not finding anything other than some oddly shaped swords. There had been something oddly familiar about them but he'd dismissed the notion and closed the box without reading the paperwork that was inside.

The final stop had been his room to pack up his things so he wouldn't have to stick around a minute longer than he had to. It was about this time that Dawn had shown up and, just as his luck usually went, she didn't seem to know about the big dust up he'd had with the others. For a moment he considered telling her everything but then reconsidered since he felt that doing so would only ruin one more person's day. In the end he'd just told her that there'd been a development in his assignment and that he needed to leave early. Some might call him a coward for not telling Buffy's sister about what had happened and he couldn't exactly argue that point but the truth of the matter was that he didn't want to get into an argument with someone else. True, Dawn didn't always agree with her older sister, but even if she agreed with him it'd only cause more friction amongst the Council that the demon community could take advantage of.

He'd probably pay for it when she saw him next but at worst it'd probably be the cold shoulder or a seriously vindictive prank.

He could live with that.

Taking out the folder that contained the information the previous three Council teams had managed to send back home before they'd vanished, he began to read through the contents. The two teams had managed to identify a total of five different women with five different powers ranging from superhuman strength to lightning bolts. There were a few pictures in the folder but nothing clear enough that he'd be able to recognize the women if he met them on the sidewalk. The ones capable of using lightning appeared to share similar taste in fashion since they both wore outfits that looked like they'd been bought out of an S&M catalogue. Their haircuts were likewise the same, making him think that either they were twins or wanted to give off the impression that they were. The one standing in the middle of a street that looked like it'd been struck by a small meteor was likely the one with superhuman strength.

The young woman had PINK hair!

Either she's part demon or likes anime a LITTLE too much.

Looking at the sort of power the women seemed to possess, he knew it'd be a cast iron bitch to put them down if they turned out to have ill intent. While he didn't think it'd be impossible for him to take them in either mid-range or close quarters combat, it'd be more favorable to observe them from afar and, if necessary, use a sniper rifle to take them out. He'd have to get one through one of the black market arms dealers but he didn't think that'd be too hard to do. No, the difficult part would be making customized bullets if standard ones proved to be ineffective in taking them down in a single shot. Some of the basics like gold or silver wouldn't be too hard, nor would etching them with symbols if need be. However if some of the more… rare ingredients… were needed, he'd have to make sure to devise strategies that would make it impossible for him to miss on the first shot. Buying them might be easy enough but getting them delivered to Japan in time for him to make use of them was another story.

If, however, they turned out to have no ill intent or even proved to be beneficial to the world, he'd do what he could to broker an alliance with them. Power of this magnitude could be useful in taking down some of the more powerful demon lords and monsters that plagued the world. It might even be enough to allow the Council to really go on the offensive for the first time in its long and not always flattering history. Despite what some people might think, the Council had always been more of a defensive organization then an offensive one simply due to the fact that they only had one real weapon against the darkness: the Slayer. While there had been changes within the Council over the last decade and a half, with a big one being a decided increase in the Slayer population, they were still mostly defensive. The simple fact of the matter was that while a Slayer could take on most agents of darkness without too much trouble, there were several threats that it'd be foolish to even think about throwing down with.

The evil law firm known as Wolfram and Hart being one of them.

He still remembered the fight in LA where a last minute call from SPIKE of all people had allowed Buffy and fifty Slayers to haul the Fang gang's ass out of the fire. It had only been afterwards during a tense debriefing that the whole story had come out and he'd very nearly walked over to Lord Forehead and smacked him upside the head with a baseball bat.

Trying to take down WOLFRAM & HART from the inside? Had all that hair gel turned what passed for his brain to mush!?

According to G-man's information, the law firm had existed in one form or another since the start of recorded history and had offices in numerous alternate dimensions. The very idea that a group of five or so people could somehow bring them down from the inside out or that they could take one branch of the firm and use it for good was certifiably insane! It was like trying to take down one of the mythical Greek Titans with a sewing needle for crying out loud. Sure, the Titan would know it was being stuck with the needle but there was no way in hell that the giant would die from the wound anytime soon. Far more likely that the mountainous being would simply get fed up with the little mortal wielding said needle and step on him. Fortunately for him Buffy had beat him to that particular punch quickly enough and it seemed to get through to Angel a bit quicker than if he'd done it.

In any case, there were organizations and beings that were on the Council's monitoring list but never were there plans drawn up to try and X out anything on the list.

However, if all these unusual women are heavy hitters like these three and we can get all of them to sign on as allies of the Council… he thought before his mind began working on various scenarios both of the good as well as of the bad.

MBI Tower, Shintō Teito, Japan, 10:00am local time, Minaka Hiroto's POV

Just a little more time… just a little more time and I will be able to begin the second stage of the plan, he thought with glee and anticipation. Hurry up and take flight, little birds! A story's prologue is only supposed to last so long before the opening act is supposed to begin!

Still, he had waited twenty years, so he could wait a few more months.

He was about to leave his office and observe the last few subjects being released into the world when the door slammed open to reveal an agitated Takami. This caused him raise an eyebrow because he was used to her getting a little emotional whenever he went and made things a bit more interesting but, to his knowledge, he hadn't done anything that would upset her today. Perhaps something happened that could make what was to come more entertaining? He could only smile at that since if past experience was any hint the more agitated she was, the more interesting a change he would be able to make to the plot.

"What have you done this time, you idiot!?" Takami-kun asked angrily as she slammed both hands down on his desk hard enough to knock some things on their side.

"Why whatever do you mean, Takami-kun?!" he asked with a question of his own.

"Every single one of them is picking up something weird approaching the city!" replied the white-haired woman, not cooling down. "They can't say what but half of them want to find out what it is. What have you done?!"

This bit of news was enough that he couldn't answer her right away because, to his knowledge, there was nothing that should have caused such a reaction… nothing except…! Without saying a word to his old friend he got up from his desk and went over to the wall safe, punching in the fifteen-digit code. It was a code he'd devised and had committed to memory the moment that the safe had been installed in the wall. The safe itself was made up of a metal that didn't exist on the periodic table one would see inside of a school and, if he had any say in it, it'd be another five years before it did. It was one of the most durable metals on the planet and it would take an industrial grade laser to leave even a scratch on it. Opening the safe, he saw a sight that confirmed his suspicions and caused him to start giggling with glee at the possibilities this unforeseen development presented him with. After all, if it was true that this approaching element could be sensed by the beings he'd released into the city, and the same people felt a compulsion to locate it then it could only mean one thing.

"Proceed with the release of the subjects, Takami-kun!" he declared before closing the safe and ensuring it was locked. "Place a monitoring team on the ones that sense this new element the strongest and once the source is found, bring it before me."

"WHAT!? But we have no idea what it is!" Takami-kun exclaimed shocked at his words.

"And what better way to find out then to send those who can sense it in pursuit?" he said as though it were perfectly logical. "If it's something harmful the monitoring team will notify us and forces will be sent in to handle the matter."

"I… suppose that would be alright," Takami-kun said, sounding like she still had some doubts within her.

"If you want I could always send Karasuba along with them," he offered, already knowing what the answer would be.

"NO! I mean, the monitoring team should be fine for now," she said, making it clear she didn't like how the black and grey clad member of MBI tended to 'handle things'.

"Good! Speaking of her, I think it might be time to officially assemble a new squad to oversee things in the second stage of the plan. Karasuba is an obvious choice as the leader given her seniority in MBI but we'll have to choose suitable subordinates for her. Any suggestions?"

"I have a few in mind," Takami replied only after a moment's thought. "We could try to track down Mutsu and offer him a place on the squad. Another possibility would be Tsukiumi since her abilities would add some long range options for the team."

"Hmmmm…" he said as he considered the suggestions. "No, I don't think so. Karasuba is skilled enough with a sword that we don't need to waste resources hunting down Mutsu and getting Tsukiumi to work with us would be too troublesome, given her little… issue."

Indeed, almost from the day the blonde had been released into the city, the monitoring team he'd placed on her on a whim had reported that the woman had stated numerous times that she'd kill any man who triggered the special 'reaction' in her. Therefore getting her to agree to join the squad would be problematic since she would need to experience the 'reaction' in all its glory in order to be of any real use to him.

Sitting down at his desk, he brought up the database on released subjects and activated a randomizer so that fate itself could choose who would be placed on the team. The first was Benitsubasa and, without thinking about it, made a note that she should be approached for the job because, while she was a bit young looking, she had shown an impressive aptitude for hand to hand combat. She'd be the perfect successor for Yume and, with a little help from Karasuba, might well surpass the former member of the squad. Running the randomizer again, he stopped it on the next possible candidate but he decided against having Haihane recruited. While the records of her testing were admirable, he wanted to have more diversity on the squad and that meant choosing someone who could strike at a distance. Adjusting the randomizer's search patterns, he waited for the next potential recruit to appear.

This could be quite amusing! he thought with a giggle as he looked at the file for Oriha. According to my spies, Higa has shown an interest in her but hasn't 'recruited' her just yet. Snatching her up before he can acquire her services would remind him nicely where he stands in my city.

"I think Oriha and Benitsubasa would make fitting subordinates for Karasuba," he stated, turning his screen so that Takami-kun could see his choices. "Have some of our people approach them with the standard squad 'perks' and salary."

"Fine, but I'll expect you to forward a copy of the information the monitoring team sends after the new releases locate this unknown as soon as you get it." Takami-kun said, apparently deciding that being half satisfied was enough for today.

Watching her leave, he began to speculate on what the approaching phenomena could be and how he could work it into his plan. Was it some sort of object? If so, perhaps he could acquire it and make it one of the prizes of the special events that he would no doubt introduce into the plan to spice things up. Was it a person? Unlikely since he had never once encountered a person who induced a reaction like that in the items he had securely stored in his safe. However if it turned out to be true, the person would definitely have to be 'persuaded' into spending some time in a MBI lab so that his scientists could examine them thoroughly.

The gods and goddesses are truly with me! This is surely a sign of their favor! A sign that I will use to the fullest! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Crossing the Eastern Bridge into Shintō Teito, Japan

Early Afternoon, Xander's POV

It's times like these that I'm glad I got Africa as an assignment, he thought as he drove the rental car across the bridge. It let me get used to odd hours and getting the job done on little sleep. If my sixth sense is anything to go by, I'm going to be busy.

Indeed, it had been roughly an hour since he'd first felt something odd on the plane but at the time he'd discounted it as jet lag. When it didn't go away he was forced to reconsider his appraisal of the situation and consider the possibility that it was something beyond the normal. Using his years of experience to his advantage, he'd been trying to discern what the feeling was and if it was being directed specifically at him. If it turned out to be directed at a specific area, he'd just have to move outside of it before he established his base of operations. After all, this could very well be what had caused the previous Council teams to vanish and, if they'd overlooked it for some reason, then their disappearance could be explained. If it was some sort of energy field that identified intruders and even point out if there was a little something extra to the ones that came in range, then both the Slayers as well as the magically adept Watchers would be spotted at once.

Luck was on his side, though, since he still had on him the wards of obscuring and it'd be at least another day or so before he'd have to recharge them. Then again, depending on the complexity and power of the phenomena he was detecting, the wards might only be preventing his unseen foes from getting a precise fix on his location. In any case he would keep his guard up until he'd gotten settled in his HQ and put up a few of the more exotic protection spells he'd learned up on all available points of entry.

Looking about as he drove along in his rental car, one of the fanciest ones they had available, he tried to see if he could spot anyone matching the ladies in the pictures G-man had given him. The sidewalks were pretty busy with people and he was moving at a decent enough clip so nothing more than a passing examination could be done. As he proceeded down the various streets that made up the paths of the city, he could not spot a single one of the ladies in the pictures. He sighed with disappointment as it would've been quite nice for him to get a break early on so that he could solve the mystery sooner rather than later. Still, it was the way his luck tended to go more often than not, despite the years of experience honing his skills and increasing his knowledge. No matter how much he learned or how many things he experienced, it had no effect on the kind of luck he tended to have whether it was in his personal life or on a mission. Fortunately for him the fact that his bad luck wanted him to stay alive was also something that hadn't changed since his days in Sunnydale.

Accessing the GPS system in the car, he pulled up a map and immediately looked through the possible locations for an HQ based on his recollection of the addresses included in the folder. Immediately he removed the Council safe houses that the previous teams had used and also removed the ones that existed in apartment buildings or residential areas. Whatever it was that managed to eliminate the previous two teams so skillfully, he didn't want it to risk civilians if things got destructive. That left only the Council owned warehouse that was outfitted to house a large number of Slayers as well as act as a base for a large scale operation. It'd provide multiple options for concealment if necessary and would be better stocked than the other locations, not to mention if a fight broke out, the potential casualties for a nighttime fight would be lower. Marking the warehouse on the GPS system, he began to drive towards it, mentally beginning to map out a search pattern for the city.

I'll focus around the areas the previous teams took their pictures and move outwards from there. Until I know more about these ladies, it's about all I can do.

It took no more than twenty minutes to reach the warehouse and, after taking a moment to look around the area, he spoke the password that would open the main doors for him.

"Mellon," he whispered and watched as the steel reinforced doors rose up from the ground.

He still shook his head at the password and wondered if perhaps he should send a memo to the team in charge of setting up the safe houses. While it might have been cool to use the same password that Gandalf used to open the doors to Moria, it wasn't the best one to use for a secret organization. While the odds were pretty long there was still a chance that someone, perhaps a 'Lord of the Rings' fan, would be able to guess it and that would cause nothing but problems. If it was just a random civilian it risked putting out important information for the world to see but, if it turned out to be someone with a bit more… imagination, then the information might fall into the hands of demons. Neither possibility was something he approved of and therefore he would prefer it if the passwords were a sequence of letters, numbers and symbols at least fifteen long. The number of possible combinations would prove difficult to overcome and, if you added something like a blood seal or some sort of spiritual recognition spell, then truly only Council members would be able to gain access. He'd have to extend the suggestion to the appropriate department and hope that they had the wisdom to follow through.

Driving the car into the warehouse, he looked about the area and was satisfied that nothing had been used since the warehouse had originally been outfitted. Not that he suspected anything different but he'd still considered the possibility that somehow the unknown enemy had located every single Council safe house in the city. If he found so much as a single thing out of place that he couldn't explain to his satisfaction, he would consider the place compromised and move onto the next possibility. It might be a bit of a bother but it'd be a small price to ensure that he wouldn't have any unpleasant surprises in the middle of the night when trying to get some sleep or when he went to the can.

It only took him about two hours to inspect the most likely places for surveillance devices, bugs and other nasty surprises that an enemy might plant in the warehouse. He didn't find anything odd but he did find out more of Rue's surveillance/security measures and wasted no time in ripping every last one out until there was nothing left. He then began to use the ingredients he'd brought with him to put his own security in but was forced to keep it basic since he didn't want to use up everything he'd brought in. It'd be enough to let him know if something entered his room as well as put out some illusionary mist that would provide him with openings to either escape or attack depending on the situation. Depending on how long he'd have to stay in the city in order to resolve the mystery, he might incorporate more powerful protections but only if these ladies decided to make an enemy of him. He hoped that wouldn't be the case but again his luck tended to lean towards that outcome more often than not, so he'd hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Going over to the computer set up, he powered it on and let it do its standard boot up while he got a cup of coffee to help cope with the jet lag. As he took his first sip, he was glad that the people who maintained the safe houses when they weren't being used had the foresight to keep the food and coffee fresh. While he wouldn't say that he was a big coffee drinker, it was one of the more effective ways of revitalizing the body when sleep wasn't an option. When he got back to the computer, everything seemed to be ready for use…

…except for the connection to the Council network. Instead of green it showed red, which meant that it wasn't even getting a response, never mind managing a partial connection. This struck him as being a bit odd since never once had he gone on one of these systems and not gotten through right away. It was one of the points that Willow often liked to boast about that the computer network the Council used was both the most secure on the planet and was problem free. Therefore it didn't make sense that this system was unable to connect with the network. For the next little while he did his best to go through every troubleshooting step he knew of and a few he'd only heard about but the Council database connection stayed red. Seeing this, he could think of only two possibilities to explain it: either there was a problem with the hardware or this system had been purposefully severed from the Council's network.

He might not be a rocket scientist but even he knew how to read between the lines.

Willow was trying to 'teach him a lesson' about questioning her decisions and was basically saying if he thought he was right then he could prove it by accomplishing his mission without any help from her. He sighed, annoyed, but he sort of expected something like this to happen sooner or later and would deal with it as best he could. All Council safe houses came with the basic demonic encyclopedia, the basic spells and potions recipe book, as well a list of local contacts for the area it was in. With that information he'd be able to manage and, if something a little trickier came up, he'd just have to use some of his under the table resources the Council didn't know about. The reason they didn't know was because most of the contacts were somewhat shady and some made a living breaking the law. This would outright nix them out if Buffy or Giles met them but for him they weren't bad enough that he'd turn them down if they had something he needed. True, the real scumbags he'd either ignore or kick the shit out of but, for those that lived by a decent enough code of honor, he'd have no trouble doing business with them.

You can try to teach me all you like, Willow, but it won't do you a bit of good. You should know by now that I always do things my way.

With that he began to memorize the areas where the sightings took place and commit every route possible, whether it be above ground or below, to memory.