Nice twist with Sineya :)
And the Initiative is no more in Sunnydale. Buffy even won more helpers (the volcor demon). Too bad they couldn't read what the helpful demon said; they would have noticed the use of Dawn instead of dawn :)
Wonder what Giles will say to the dream *gg*

Author's Response: *G* Yes, Dawn is exactly what the Volcor demon meant. The Initiative is only gone in Sunnydale, alas. So glad you liked the story. k

Ah the Scoobies already now that Spike and Oz are in trouble; that's even better. Maybe they'll met Oz halfway.

Author's Response: Yes, sadly at least Oz would get all of them to want to help. Spike is reason enough for Buffy though. k

No I wouldn't trust Riley to help them either. He wasn't so eager to do it that they should trust him.
So Tara's talk with Spike helped both :) (Spike with the thought to seek redemption and Tara being human).
Arrgh, Riley. Bad timing for Spike to leave already.

Author's Response: Riley really believes in his cause...that is the biggest danger with him. Spike is a demon and that is the end of the topic with him. k

So Xander was only convinced to help when it comes to Buffy. He hasn't changed yet...
But Giles noticed Willow needs magical guidance (guidance when it comes to magic). That will help her in the long run. But Xander is really bigot (has prejudices).
This won't be too easy, helping Tara. The coach and Steve will make troubles again.

Author's Response: Xander has to work to get past his prejudices. I think it would be a long journey but he would eventually make it through. On the show he seemed headed the right way in S7. Thanks. k

Oh I hope Buffy won't fall for the lies of the Initiative, fighting for the good. (Giles and his belongings? Fun) :)
And Giles to way too trusting again (Ethan).
Good Buffy saw the true intentions of the Initiative. Time to do something about...

Author's Response: Giles was a cutie in S4 I like revisiting that side of him. Yes THIS Buffy is like she was on the show before...she would NEVER have liked what she saw down there, not the Buffy that we knew the previous 3 years. Thank you! k

Oh I like that line: That would be heaven in a mug. :) Buffy is right with her feeling about Maggie; she just doesn't now how right she is.
Unexpected news for Buffy; Spike doesn't eat people he likes and he is a friend of her mother, helping her out. And Joyce got Buffy thinking. That's a good thing because it's about Spike.

Author's Response: I think he and Joyce had SOME kind of friendship...they were at ease with each on the show by S5 and that would make it likely they spent time together. Yup Buffy has food for thought. Thanks. k

7) Loved Spike's ramblings too :)
8) Spike to the rescue; so he met Tara even if he doesn't know yet. But he underestimated the drunken bunch of Phi Kappa Cuppa. And he can't defend himself against the humans. Not good.
9) Damn.. they even took the coat? Spike had better decided to run indeed.
10) Good that Tara went to check out what happened after all; even more that they found the Scoobies. Buffy seems to be worried too. Poor Spike.

Author's Response: Buffy cares more than she wants to admit out loud. Thanks. k

I'm starting to read this story now. If I run out of time I continue later.
Loved the rambling (the talk) between Buffy and Willow in chapter 1.
And even it doesn't get Spuffy right away Harmony is gone in chapter 2 :)
Wonders how Spike's ch. 3 plan will work :)
Oh seems at first Spike gets his chip...

Author's Response: Yes I kept some important things from S4 but didn't see the reason to keep Harmony around in this story. Thanks. k

Oooohhhh!!! This was really awesome and so creative. I hope you can take it further into the coming seasons with Dawn and everything. I definitely want to see Angel's reactions. Maybe a claim? Is Buffy going to eventually die (or Spike)? Awesome job. Keep up the great work with whatever you do regardless of if it's with this story or another!

Author's Response: Thank you. So glad you liked my versio n of season 4. I may revisit this later but have a few other stories in the works first. Thank you again for reading and the kind comment. k

Very good! Enjoyed it all so much!
Your handling of the ladies characters, in particular was wonderful. You fleshed out Anya so well. I just wanted to snap my fingers and shout "You GO girl!!!" a number of times!!! I liked that Anya and the others got along so much better here. Even Willow and Anya were better and not constantly sniping at each other. Anya got some respect that she deserved. It was nice to see Buffy, and even Tara turn to her as well. Bringing in Hallie was interesting too. Her little tidbits about William/Spike were cute, as was Willow's and Anya's conversation about whether or not Anya had spilled the info to Xander; it was nice to see Willow take up for Spike, and want to spare him Xander's sniping. It was also good to see Xander release Buffy finally, see the writing on the wall finally, and finally start to come around towards Spike during Spike's rescue. Gile's outage as a musician was a hoot, as was his comment about Spike's taste in music and booze (oh, and the Spike-Giles-Willow dialog about Cream was hilarious, but then again, you actually have to be old enuff to remember Cream releasing vinyl to
truly appreciate it!)
I liked the characterizations very much, in some respects more than ultimately depicted by Joss. I know we mere humans seem to need to get our angst on or somesuch to keep interested in a show or genre, but don't we seem to just want to sometimes cut out the painful BS and enjoy the goodtimes along with our favorites? I mean, there is enough ugliness, pain & suffering, war, strife and so on in our world without it extending constantly to our recreation and mind-vacations.
Yours was a lovely balance, well edited, and as always a great read.
I wish this 4th season of the Buffyverse had gone as pleasantly as yours...
Oh, and the revenge on those abusive men? So awesome...might tred a mite 'shade of grey' on the ol' Wiccan "An it harm none" rule, as far as Tara and Willow are concerned, but ya wanna just say, oh they had it coming. Oh, and ask for Hallie's number (or invocation?) 'cos, oh, I know a few that so deserve it...!
And next will come the Dawn...dawn of a new day...will you be doing a sequel?
Thanks for the read. Looking forward to more in the future.
~~K.~~
~~fyreburned~~
fyreburned@yahoo.com

Author's Response: Thank you and I so enjoyed the detailed comments, nice to see where I connect with the reader! I like angst and conflict too but there is nothing wrong with happiness at times as well no matter what Joss thinks LOL. The revenge was one I thought Tara would agree to because, really, what is so harmful about being a woman? Only those with a real issue where women are concerned would see it as a terrible fate. Still since these particular men DID...it worked as punishment in THEIR minds at least. Yes it would fit several people I know as well. There may be a sequel in time but I have a couple of other stories to tell first. Bunny hutch is filled in fact. THank you again for reading and the wonderful comments. k

I love this storie. I hope the it will have a sequel sometime soon. it's not far to come across something this good and addictive and not get any more.
Thank you for writing it,
David Martin

Author's Response: Oh I am thrilled that you enjoyed it that much. I may well revisit this story in the future but it may be a while as I have some other stories demanding that I write them first. Thank you for your kind comments. K

Oh they were warned about Dawn coming.

Author's Response: You are one of the few to notice that *G* Thanks. k