Two helicopters are flying low, over a boarded up building on a remote, rural hillside. The hatch on the lead helicopter opens and, on orders, four women jump from the copter and begin their decent towards the creepy looking church below.

The girls are unknown, for now, but the lead woman is familiar. It’s Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer – and now, no longer the only Chosen One, as her back-up attests. Using guns that direct energy at a mystical field surrounding the old church, the Slayers penetrate the field. In radio command to HQ, one of the Slayers, Leah, finds an entrance, while another Slayer, Satsu, kicks it in. She turns to their leader. “Can’t see a thing, ma’am.”

Yes, thinks Buffy, times sure have changed, Everyone calls me ‘ma’am’ these days. They’ve counted eighteen hundred Slayers and almost 500 are in league with Buffy, in separate squads worldwide. There’s even decoy’s of Buffy out there – just in case she becomes a target herself. Andrew arranged it – he found the one in Rome funny for some reason.

As she peers into the entrance, she tells Satsu that she can’t see anything – but they can smell it. Buffy goes in without hesitation, leaving Leah startled. She’s Buffy Summers, the Slayer. And she still has her Watcher.

Directing Buffy via her comm set from a remote location, Xander Harris guides her deeper into the structure to where he’s detected their targets using psychics. Xander stands in a high-tech room, surrounded by Slayers. Some are at consoles, co-ordinating events. Some are using magic for other reasons. Xander walks over to one who calls him ‘Mr Harris’. There’s a vampire nest in Barcelona that needs back-up.

Xander suggests sending Andrew’s squad in Italy and then tells the Slayer, Renee, that his name is Xander. Or Sergeant Fury. She corrects him on his comic book knowledge and he grins. “Nerd points are accumulating impressively,” he retorts back.

In the main space of the church, Buffy finds what she’s looking for: three large demons, standing over their victims. She launches herself towards them, ordering the others to flank her, but she ends up battered aside by the demons. As they advance on her, two of the demons shriek in pain, as arrows puncture their throats from behind – Leah, Satsu and the third Slayer, Rowena, have Buffy covered, as ordered. Buffy picks up a large metal cross and races towards the remaining demon. He taunts her – I’m not a vampire, he yells, I do not fear the cross! – but Buffy impales him on the cross and tells him that he ‘might wanna start’.

As the Slayers regroup and report, Satsu calls Buffy over to one of the human victims, sacrificed for some unknown reason. There’s a symbol carved into the man’s chest. Taking a picture, Buffy alerts Xander and tells him to bring Giles in. When Buffy finds rifles at the scene, she indicates that perhaps these weren’t sacrifices after all – these humans came here to fight. The magic field was theirs as well – to keep everyone else out. Why would they want to go up against the demons in the first place, Buffy wonders, but as they move out, she’s sure the symbol will make it all clearer – once they work out what it is.

Above them, floating in the sky, an unknown figure, dressed in black, watches the Slayers depart.

Another helicopter is flying through the sky, but this is elsewhere and else when. The sun is high in the sky and aboard the craft is a General and a man in a suit. He’s clearly discussing the Slayers: they may call them ‘squads’, the General, a man named Voll, says – but terrorists call them ‘cells’.

And that’s what these Slayers are, he tells his aide. They have more power and more resources and they don’t have the ideology of the American people. Worse, he says, they’re also organised, with a leader, who is uncompromising and completely destructive. He glances out of the window – they’re almost at their location. “After all,” he says, directing his aide to the view. “Look what she did to her hometown.”

The helicopter is over the crater that is all that’s left of the former town of Sunnydale, California.

At a base camp on site, communications are open to scientists who have gone down into the crater. The scientists say the place is like a museum. There’s no bodies though, and no mystical readings. He’s all alone.

Suddenly, something grabs him from behind, a being grasping out at him. His screams can be heard on the surface, startling the crew of the camp.

At their base, Buffy and Xander are studying the symbol. They have no idea. Buffy thinks it’s a beautiful sunset. Xander is leaning more towards ‘frown upside down’ territory. He tells her that she needs to talk to Dawn. Buffy is clearly reluctant. She tells him that it’ll be okay once Willow is back – that’s who Dawn needs, but Xander looks at her pointedly: she needs her sister.

Buffy knows he’s right. Dawn’s problems are important. In fact, her problems have grown exponentially larger since leaving Sunnydale. Entering a large room in the castle, Buffy finds Dawn Summers, who’s now a giant! She sits there and immediately asks Buffy if Willow has been in touch. Buffy says no, but she can talk to the other magic users, to which Dawn says no. Willow understands her more.

It seems Dawn had dated a thricewise named Kenny. Dawn’s new giant size is a result of a curse placed on her, but she refuses to go into details, and certainly not with her sister. Buffy tries to encourage her to get outside more, but Dawn says no – they’re in a castle, in Scotland! It’s highland country and it’s cold. Buffy says she should be at college, and Dawn insists that as soon as she’s normal, she’ll be back there – just to be away from Buffy! The bickering continues, and Buffy makes an excuse and leaves, frustrated.

Buffy is hurt that Dawn won’t confide in her. They’ve haven’t been getting along since they changed the world. Standing on the battlements of the Scottish castle they’ve made Slayer Headquarters, Buffy reflects on her life. She misses her mom. And the gang. And junk food. And sex.

She knows that Dawn’s curse is a result of sex. And Willow’s such an expert on boys since when? She stands there, annoyed that she can’t even feel sorry for herself without overthinking. Suck it up, Summers, she thinks. You’re a big girl now.

At the Sunnydale Crater base camp, General Voll looks horrified at the specimen they have found below in the pit. He questions how the thing can be alive – and his aide says that magic must be keeping it so. That’s where their second specimen comes in.

The General asks what the recovered ‘specimens’ ate to keep alive and doesn’t like the answer. Are they, at least, insane? he asks, needing a logical reason for their psychopathic behaviour. His aide suggests the two specimens were… dating. That thought is even more repulsive to the General, who wants to look in on the second specimen. Their first words were “I’m gonna help you kill her” which enrages the General – who has been talking to the prisoners? The aide tells him that no one has talked to them – they already knew. The specimen has offered them a deal: they will kill Buffy Summers for them.

The General seems slightly more open to this. What do they want in return? The aide turns and says that the specimen has asked for immunity for both of them. And cheese.

The General is aghast – Cheese? These people are insane! Please tell me we have at least a name for this psycho? he asks as he peers into the cell. A woman is in there, a ball of magic light hovering in her hands.

The aide looks at the General. “Amy,” he says. “She says her name is Amy.” And inside the cell, full of power, Amy Madison smiles…