CH.49

They arrived at the empty school and thanked their lucky stars that the entire town had fled as if they could sense it. The potentials headed to the basement while the cookies split up to prevent any Turok-Han from escaping. Willow, Tara, and Ryan gathered in the principal's office and set up the spell there as it was built directly over the Hellmouth.

They began as soon as the seal of Danzalthar was opened. Soon enough all three of them had given in to the magic at work, their hair turned white and they moaned in ecstasy as every potential slayer around the world was activated.

When it was done Ryan told them."Meet up with Giles's group and head to the buses when you get a chance. I'll stay here until it's over and make sure as many get out as possible."

They kissed him and left, he tore a hole in the floor and jumped straight down, into the Hellmouth. He found everyone fighting a vast army of Turok-Han and while they held the upper hand so far, they were tiring fast as the shear numbers pounded on the orbs defensive while. Ryan tossed Buffy the scythe before jumping into the fray, tearing a swath through the uber vamps.

In moments, the frontlines were cleared and the new slayers had room to breathe. Ryan told Lyndsey. " Go watch over those upstairs, there's a horde of bringers in the hundred thousands on the way. Cover our retreat exit and make sure Willow and Tara are safe, after the spell we did, I can feel them getting tired."

Lyndsey was off like a rocket, cutting a path through the über vamps, all the way to the back lines. The slayers were holding their own and dishing out better, but the sheer numbers of vampires were overwhelming their stamina as it drained into the orbs.

It was a sight to behold when all the slayers lined up and started yelling. " Tar frim!" Shooting lighting in waves at the oncoming hordes of Turok-Han, Ryan laughed out loud and transformed, his body growing to the size of a skyscraper. He stepped on the surrounding vampires, turning them to dust with his heels, then ran into the deepest parts of the horde burning a swath through the thickest parts.

Black smoke started to gather from the burning vampires, into a thick fog. When Ryan saw this, he retreated back to the entrance, growing smaller as he got close to the slayers. He'd slaughtered a fourth of the vampire army with his little stunt, and now the fog started to gather around him.

He prepared himself for the mental and spiritual assault that was about to hit him, while the slayers looked on in horror at a shadowy demonic horned beast, the First idolized itself to look like, swallow and enter Ryan's screaming body. He fell unconscious and was attacked on a whole other level from before.

His battle was no longer a physical one, but a test of wills. His verses the First, and at first it wasn't going so well for him. The First had broken through almost half of his barriers, on contact. The slayers fought on until the cavern started to shake, and Spike started to glow.

They retreated, with Faith and a couple new slayers, carrying Ryan's body. Halfway to the entrance, they were ambushed by a group of Turok-Han and were forced to leave him. They fought their way out, most of the slayers having to support one another, all the way to the buses.

Xander took over driving Ryan's bus and they raced to the edge of town, barely outpacing the collapsing ground beneath them. When they reached the edge of the crater they stopped the buses and Willow and Tara ran back to the edge, only to be stopped by Lyndsey. "He'd literally kill me if I let you two go back into that. I'll search for him, just wait here, please."

He took off, teleporting to the ruined site of the school, while the slayers gathered around the edge. Buffy asked."Who all didn't make it?"

Giles took off his glasses and told her. "There was at least two potential- I mean slayers that didn't come out of the whole. Dianne and Kennedy, then there's Anya-"

Faith spoke up. "Add the good principle to the list. He took a fatal blow and just bled out, he's still on the bus."

Everyone turned solemn. Buffy sighed while Tara made a tablet out of sand and dirt and turned it into a memorial stone. On it, she wrote: Here lay the true heroes of Sunnydale, they gave their lives to the cause. Then under it was a list of names: Dianne, Kennedy, Robin, Anya, Spike.

When everyone saw this they thanked her and said some prayers while they waited. Lyndsey took several hours before he returned. Near nightfall, he showed up carrying Ryan's bruised form.

Xander quipped. "So, it takes dropping an entire town on the guy to bruise him, good to know. If he ever turns evil, we can just drop Canada on him and it should finish him off."

Buffy groaned. "You joke now, but if he turns evil, I quit!"

The rest of the slayers nodded in agreement, they did not want to fight a guy that could survive the collapse of Sunnydale on his head and come out just fine. Lindsey shook his head. "I don't think those are bruises, I think that's pure concentrated evil that the First put in him, in an attempt to possess him."

Willow nodded and told Lyndsey. "Teleport to the Devon coven and bring them here, we need to bleed the crap out of him and lock the evil away in sealed jars."

Tara and Willow set up an emergency sacred circle and told Buffy. "Grab the scythe, we need it to help us remove the infecting evil rot. Faith, grab the emergency herb bag under the front seats of all the busses. Were going to do a mini exorcism and ritual here."

They moved like the hounds of hell were at their heels. When Lyndsey returned, he brought two tubs and the Coven members. The suspended Ryan above the first tub and Buffy slit his throat, bleeding out the black sludge into it.

The Coven members worked with Tara and Willow to push out the slime and circulate Ryan's blood, keeping it in his body. Through the night, they worked diligently until sunrise. They made him an herbal healing and cleansing bath in the second tub and when he was drained of the evil goo, they tossed him in.

Several minutes later the tub's water turned murky and started vibrating. Lyndsey put up a shield around it while the Devon coven worked to seal away the tub of evil, into jars, with sacred symbols and hiding spells on them.

Ryan woke up naked and dead tired in the middle of the army of slayers, Lyndsey used a quick cleaning spell and collected all of the poultice from the broken tub before he waved a hand, banishing any signs of the process.

Ryan stood there naked, leaning on Willow and Tara as they helped him get some clothes. The slayers all around them were gawking at the first naked man they'd ever seen. Faith commented. "Damn! If I didn't already have a man, I'd be right there with them. So, Lyndsey, what do-"

Lyndsey shook his head. "Not gonna happen, he's like a father to me. There's no way either of us would ever agree to it."

Faith looked a little down but perked up and offered." What say we grab a bus and get to rocking it."

Lyndsey smiled. "Let's bury the principal, then we'll see about finding a place to stay."

Willow spoke up. "We own a private island in the Bahamas that has a four-story, three hundred bedroom and bath mansion on it. We got it as a wedding present, but we were waiting to check for any dark spells or evil intent before we used it. No time like the present anyway. We also have a fleet of modified private jets and our own airport there as well."

Buffy smiled a genuinely happy smile for the first time in ages. "I guess we have a home base for operations now."

Xander raised a hand. "I also own several hundred safe houses already spelled against evil all over the world. My company has gone global as well, so there's no shortage of things to do."

Giles spoke up. "I managed to secure most of the watcher's council's holding and artifacts after their downfall and we have most of their records along with all of the books on magic and demons that Wolfram and Hart owned. I dare say we have the makings of an international slayer consortium in our collective hands."

Althenea offered. "The Devon coven is at your disposal, we will continue to help find new slayers and guide them to you. We are also willing to help make protection amulets and purifying weapons to battle evil."

Ryan coughed as he sat down on the steps of one of the buses. "While you're leading them, Willow, Tara and I will put a compulsion on the slayer line to meet up at designated areas on each continent, so that we can gather them quickly. Remember, while the First is wounded, it's not destroyed. So we are in a race to beat the clock now. If it gets its claws into enough slayers, it could theoretically damage to line, even if only temporarily. Besides, there are other Hellmouth's out there and we don't have the manpower to guard them all right now. I say we head to LA, give Angel a heads up while we start branching out our search for more slayers from there. Willow and Tara will go with the coven to the island and purify it of any and all spells before they start laying down protective spells and barriers there, so we will have a place to hang our hat."

Lyndsey held up a gaudy necklace."What do you want to do with this?"

Buffy looked at it before saying. "We'll give it to Angel, for now, he may be the only one who could use it now anyway."

They headed out with Willow and Tara opening a portal to the island and leaving with the coven and everyone else gathering up in the buses. Ryan sent to jars of evil into the scrimp dimension for now and loaded up with everyone else. He sent a clone with Willow's group, just to be safe.

They arrived in LA, tired and hungry, so they hit a Golden Corral and practically emptied the food from the buffet lines, repeatedly. By the time they left, the manager and staff were dead tired themselves now and they had to close down for the day until their food trucks arrive.

The buses headed to Angel's motel to crash and found it damaged while empty. Seeing this Ryan sent out his sensors and felt where the group had gone. He paled and told Buffy. "Either their group has been kidnapped or there all working at Wolfram and Hart now. I don't have the energy to fight the old ones right now and I don't think we can risk the girls fighting at this moment. Lyndsey, I want you to do reckon, while I use what power I have to fix this place so we can rest for the night."

Lyndsey nodded."I'll get them out if they've been captured, otherwise, I don't think we should stay in LA for long. Not while you're out of power and everyone's dead tired."

Buffy agreed. "If they chose to work there then they've made their decisions and we'll leave into the morning. Otherwise, we'll stay and back them up while we search for slayers."

Ryan nodded and told Giles and Jenny."Look for any girls admitted into mental hospitals as well as violent outbursts showing extreme strength and physical prowess. The slayer dreams hitting all at once would do its own unique damage on girls young and old."

Ryan started fixing the place while Buffy assigned the girl's rooms for the night. Everyone pretty much crashed as soon as their heads hit the pillows. The next morning Lyndsey showed up with bad news. "They've taken over as the leaders of this Wolfram and Hart branch, even if they have good intentions, it's already starting to corrupt their views of the world. We can't stay here, we need to move out and collect the slayers in this city on our way out."

Buffy looked down and defeated. "I'll mail the necklace to Angel in case he ever manages to get out from under them. Let's head out."

Giles spoke on his way out of the building. "We've found sixteen slayers in this area, they've gathered at the tar pit museum except for a couple in the asylums."

Ryan nodded. "I'll take the two in the asylums, Giles and Xander can pick up the sixteen at the pits. That way they can split them between both buses. We'll meet up in San Francisco near the Golden Gate Bridge."

Everyone agreed and hopped on each of the buses. Unfortunately, Andrew chose his bus along with Buffy. Lyndsey and Faith chose Giles's bus so that they'd each have a powerhouse as back up.

Ryan turned to Andrew for the millionth time and told him. "If you don't stop talking, I'm going to remove your mouth again. Go to the back of the bus and talk to the girls, if you're lucky, you may even get laid. Now shew."

Buffy chuckled at Andrew's retreating form. "So, now that Angel's went to the dark side, where are we going next?"

Ryan sighed. "I figure if we set up a base of operations in each city with a direct portal to the main base on the island, then we can have an instant army, wherever it's needed. We'll leave a small group of slayers in charge of each city, that will gather the new ones and kill off the local evil at the same time. Remember, you chose this path Buffy, and if it's successful, then every evil demon in the world will start to die off. Until one day, this world with become your base of operations and you'll branch out to other realms, slaughtering demons wherever they may be. You'll be taking the fight to them."

Buffy looked excited and tired at the same time."That'll be years down the line though, I'll be too old and tired by then to lead."

Ryan smiled. "Don't worry about that, by the time the babies are born, my last gift to you will be ready."

Buffy looked confused but smiled at the thought of his gifts. They were always funny if a little inappropriate. They arrived at the mental health facility and Andrew played the role of a family member, gaining them access to the girls with a little mental nudge from Ryan.

They found them drawing pictures of demons on the walls of their rooms. Buffy and the girls helped them to the buses while Ryan had the doctors erase all medical and pertinent knowledge of them from the system. When they were back on the road, he had Andrew drive, by putting the knowledge of how to direct in his brain.

Then he sat behind both mentally disturbed girls and sifted through their minds, helping them sort out their problems. One of the girls was a rape victim of one of the doctors that admitted her to the asylum. While the other had a violent streak from abusive rich parents that demanded she be treated there.

After sorting out their issues the girls calmed down and thanked him while Buffy explained who and what they are. Ryan went back to driving while smoking his now, usual joint and imagining they were driving on a highway to Hell.

Several bathroom breaks and a Buffet stop later Ann's they were entering San Francisco. They met Giles's group at a rest stop near the Golden Gate Bridge. There they went to a safe house Xander owned and contacted Willow.

Willow and Tara stepped through the portal to the safe house an hour later. Tara told them. "The island is safe and secure, we've put up every protection ward and sigil we knew. Including the ones you had in the basement of the frat house before. We tied it to our blood so that only we can find it now, everyone else will have to call for a portal. We'll tie in the rest of the organization later so that members can come and go freely."

Willow followed up. "We've set aside a wing of the mansion for portals to each of different cities to be made."

Both girls started looking around before they spoke at the same time."We feel powerful magic nearby, it's good mostly."

Ryan nodded and followed them outside, while Buffy gave the slayers their marching orders. Rona was going to lead a small cell of slayers in wiping out demons in this city on a permanent bases, while they could come and go to the island and call for backup instantaneously through the portal.

Ryan followed Willow and Tara as they went next door and knocked on the door. A short-haired woman opened the door and yelled. "Piper! It's for you, the neighbors are here."

Willow spoke. "Actually we're here because of the powerful magic you and this place are giving off."

The woman went tense and Tara spoke."Relax we're good witches as well. We just wanted to meet the ones that were giving off a power that together equaled about a tenth of ours."

This didn't seem to put her at ease so Ryan stepped forward and offered his hand. "See for yourself, I can tell you're a psychic and a psychometry specialist."

The woman grabbed his hand and jolted as her eyes shut and she fell unconscious. A man appeared behind her and caught her while the woman Ryan assumed was Piper showed up waving her hands. The outside froze around them while Ryan, Willow, and Tara were just fine to move.

Ryan tried to explain. "She's just reading my history and possible futures, relax, she'll wake up when either she's seen enough or she seen wants to. My power amplifies witches magic and spells, that's one of the reasons my wives here love me."

Willow smirked."One on a very long list of reasons, sure. You guys can relax, we mean you know harm and even if we did, we wouldn't risk our babies on a small coven of witches."

Dawn came walking over from their house while Ryan asked."Do you mind unfreezing our neighborhood? While I could erase anyone's mind that saw us, it's just rude to do so. Besides I want to introduce you to some friends of ours that will be staying next door. They're going to be responsible for cleaning the city of demons and evil filth for the foreseeable future."

Piper unfroze everyone and told them."Come inside, don't let the rest of the neighborhood see you and you'd better be right about Phoebe! Or I'll vanquish you, even if I have to kill you by hand!"

Ryan chuckled while they followed her inside. "That would be a mean feat indeed. I haven't seen a witch-like your kind before but, if you're interested, we'd like you to join our group after this misunderstanding Is settled."

The guy introduced them." This is Piper, my ex-wife, Phoebe, you met already and the last sister that'll show up is Paige. Then there's Chris, their white-lighter-"

Willow interrupted asking."What's a white-lighter?"

Piper answered."Their guardian angels for good witches."

She turned to the man and asked."Leo, why don't they have a white lighter?"

Ryan chuckled and interrupted Leo before he could answer. " I think I know why there are three possible reasons for that. You see, from what I can tell, your ex-husband here was at one point ascended like those has-beens, the PTB. They called themselves gods way back when, but after an unfortunate confrontation where I killed their leaders and weakened them to the point where they were about as strong as upper-level demons, they made a pact with their dark counterparts for a balance. No direct interference, or so they say. Anyway, your leaders must be a subgroup that splintered off from the PTB and are leading the supposed good side here."

Leo looks horrified and took offense to that but before he could speak Ryan waved a hand and made his mouth vanish. Ryan shook his head. "You can relax, I'm not going to kill your leaders, as tempting as it would be, no, I let my grudges go long ago, besides the leaders back then demanded that everyone worship them and when they had the balls to attack me, I effectively neutered them for their efforts. They won't try it again anyway. Besides, while they claim to be good, I doubt there not just after the power that I took from them and sealed away. Their end will come if and when they ever find it. Now, on to a more lighter note, you're baby wants some attention, I can hear him crying from here. They've avoided the Hellmouth for fear of drawing too much attention from their brethren."

For some reason, Piper looked happy at Ryan's rant and said."About damn time someone had the guts to call those cowards out on their crap, what spell did you use on Leo by the way? It looked more useful than my freezing one."

Tara told her. "It's a silencing charm that he puts more power than usual into. It'll wear off in an hour with the amount of power he put into it. Would you mind showing us girls the baby. We're due in six months, ourselves."

The three of them wandered off, upstairs while Ryan sat down and summoned a jug of his usual LSD, masculine mix. He started drinking it when two sets of glowing lights appeared not too far away.

Ryan thought.-Paige and Chris I assume.- Before he could say anything they both attacked him together after seeing a mouthless Leo and a knocked out Phoebe. Ryan ignored their attacks and just let them bounce off of him while he enjoyed his drink and waited for them to tire out.

Eventually, Piper and the girls came downstairs because of the noise."What the hell is going on here? You're destroying the house!"

Ryan pointed at his two attackers and told her. "I didn't lift a finger, these two started throwing fairy lights at me. I'm innocent! Well, ask the mute man!"

He waved a hand and Leo's mouth returned, he began explaining the situation and blamed his inability to stop them on Ryan's spell that took away his mouth. Ryan shrugged and waved a hand, fixing the house. Leo scolded him."Magic isn't supposed to be used for personal gain!"

Ryan laughed."Who says? Your little fairy leaders? I'm older than them and you're concept of magic. Just because they enforce rules on you doesn't mean they have the balls to try it on me. I'd bitch slap the first one that tried into a bloody paste. Magic is just the ability to manipulate energy to your whim. So long as you don't go against the basic laws of energy conservation, there are no real rules."

He tried to argue that it was evil to do what he suggested and Ryan shut him down. "I'm at worst neutral, and by the way, I'm older than almost every demon that has walked this earth. For a young fairy-like yourself to tell me what is evil, it's pretty hilarious!"

Leo bit out. "I am not a fairy!"

Ryan retorted."You glow and throw energy around like magic dust, face it your a human-sized fairy."

Everyone else chuckled except Chris who asked."What are you?"

Ryan went to speak but was cut off by Willow telling them. "He's many things to many different people. The Greeks called him Prometheus, the Christians called him Caine, and the demons call him The Titan."

Everyone froze as if hit by Piper's spell then backed away. Piper tells them. "We've fought titans before!"

"None like him, Piper, those were pretenders to the thrown of I'm right. At best they could last long enough for him to tear them apart. He's the real deal."

Everyone turned to the voice and noticed Phoebe woke up and was staring at Ryan in fascination. Ryan shrugged with a smile. "Did you enjoy your nap?"

Phoebe smiled a little. "I've seen most of everything up to the Hellmouth's collapse and your future plans. If you can pull it off, we want in."

Ryan nodded and she continued while turning to Willow and Tara. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to get to know you all on a more personal level. One of the visions of a possible future is the one I saw a while back. I'd like to have a chance to make that happen."

Willow and Tara nodded after reading her mind. "That's entirely up to you and your efforts, for now, we'd like you all to meet our leader."

Chris asked."You mean there's someone commanding the Titan around?"

Phoebe smiles."You haven't seen anything yet, they're going to take over the world and possibly several others as well. Relax it's a good thing, they're not going to rule it, they're going to become its guardians. Leading the fight against evil and pursuing it out into the infinite multiverses. They're a powerful force for good, though not for the elders, those slimy bastards were forcing early humans and demons to worship them for power. They feed off of the good we do for them and the source feeds off the evil the demons do. Both sides created an infinite loop of good versus evil just so they could grow back into what they were. The source is made of the essence of an old one, a primal demon. Almost impossible to kill by our hands. The avatars were some of Ryan's disciple's followers until he left them to their own devices."

Everyone took that in while Piper went to get Wyatt and bring him with them next door. Buffy and Giles met the sister's group and they offered to help the slayers wherever they could while they hunted demons in the city.

When Giles brought up a scrying spell for the slayers the three sisters jumped at it. "We're actually really good at scrying, if you want, we can make a real-time globe that lights up all the slayers around the world. We can even make one for demonic activity and evil or mystical items that could turn dangerous."

Everyone was speechless at the offer, what they were suggesting was global dominance at their fingertips. Buffy agreed right away and Willow, Tara, and Ryan helped set it up for them. Soon enough, three globes were in front of the group, showing mystical items in blue, demons and evil in black and slayers in red.

With this everyone got to work, Ryan set up portals to every safe house they owned, directly to the island. While the charmed ones as they called themselves helped gather the slayers with Andrew, Buffy, and Giles. Willow and Tara were with Lyndsey on magical items recovery.

-Six months later.-

Willow and Tara had just given birth to their babies. Tara had a beautiful blonde haired chubby girl named Claire Amber Titan-Maclay and Willow gave birth to a handsome chubby redhead boy named Patrick Titan- Rosenberg.

Ryan was ecstatic, he took them from the Pheobe as she was the one that cleaned them, and wrapped them in blankets. He held them close and laid them in their mother's arms while healing them. He kissed them and told them. "Look at them, they're beautiful, this moment right here was worth every moment of waiting. You both did amazing, but I've got to ask you to hold this moment in your thoughts because there's a veritable army outside waiting for their chance to spoil them rotten."

Willow and Tara laughed before kissing him and shoving him away to fetch their friends. "Go, let them in a few at a time, we don't want to overwhelm the babies."

Ryan nodded." I'll give you some time before I send the first group in. I'll let them know you're all ok."

With that, he took a mental picture of his wives and locked it in the deepest part of his mind. He would remember this moment for the rest of eternity. He walked out of the master bedroom of the mansion and saw the said army lined up for their turns to see the babies.

He smiled and held up a hand at their waves of questions. He sent the mental picture to them all saying. "I'll remember I'm that moment forever, now, the first group can go in after fifteen minutes. I want to give them time with our babies before their bombarded with visitors. Original scoobies first, then work out from there."

He turned and felt a disturbance in the world. "Whoever that is, just earned a beating that even my worst enemies would pity."

Giles asked."What's wrong?"

Ryan snorted."Some dumbass just broke the universe. I'll be right back, I gotta fix it."

Ryan teleported away, to the edges where reality was unfolding. He gripped both sides and used his powers he had put limits on while in the barrier to seal it up permanently. With that, he went to the site of the disturbance and found Spike at Wolfram and Hart.

Shaking his head he went back to the island while lowering his powers to what the barrier could withstand. He arrived just as the scoobies were fixing to go into the bedroom. He told them. "Don't worry, problem solved. Lyndsey, I need to speak with you when you're done visiting your goddaughter."

Lyndsey nodded and headed in with Faith.