Actually it was established that the Initiative had been operating for over a year when Buffy discovered then- that was let drop during some of the episodes. So they were in Sunnydale. Now when the Hellmouth went up, and the demons left, where does Walsh and company go? LA had a pretty heavy demon population; and it seems likely that Cleveland would start up. One problem I had with the whole Initiative mess was how little actual research was done when it was discovered that Vampires, etc were real. They should have discovered the Slayer. But once again Whedon did a half assed job of setting something up.

The Cleveland Hellmouth is not open as the Sunnydale Hellmouth wasn't actually closed. Just blocked with High School Angst.

Buffy as a linguist? I don't think they'd have made such a big deal of Dawn's skill if it was something Buffy shared.

And Glory would still exist with or without a Sunnydale Hellmouth. Also Willow and Buffy had already accepted at UC Sunnydale before the Mayor's ascension meaning there'd at least be some transfer issues. In fact you've got them going to good schools. WOuld they really be able to do that with the numbers that would apply to them?

Sure Glory would exist, but without a live Hellmouth her trip home would be seriously delayed. When I was going to college I was accepted at three different colleges and didn't end up deciding which I would go to until after I had graduated. Also this is an AU story...

Buffy in the Army! Bet she wasn't expecting that :( I hope she can cope with killing humans because that is the purpose of an army.
Lets see, end of season three, Faith is in a coma, she hasn't met Reily or the Initiative so she doesn't have any bad experiances to taint her views but she also doesn't have any contacts in covert ops or any secret govt file like she would have had after the Initiative debacle. Just an ordinary Private Summers. (She is a Private right? I wasn't sure from the first chapter, but you have to start at the bottom.)

Cadet Sergeant Summers thank you very much! SEE review three or four below for Buff's rank.

interesting. But I really DOUBT that after the Initiative some people have not been keeping an eye on her.

She left for Illinois before the Initiative started 314, and with the Hellmouth non-functional, there's no ready source of HST's for Maggie to play with. This is totally AU after the Mayor's Ascension.

Walsh is probably hunting for a source of evil power right now and is in danger of losing her DARPA funding.

That's really an interesting beginning. Buffy is in the Army now. But where are Willow, Xander and the rest?
It would really be fun that they meet each other again in the next chapter.

Willow's at MIT, Xander is working in Sunnydale, Giles is...well that would be telling. Oz split for Tibet.

I REALLY don't like trying to write Xander, so odds are better than average he won't show up. I like Xander!normal guy stuff. I just can't write him very well and I'll be damned if I write a Xander!Super in any way shape or form. His normality is what makes him a great character.

Willow is far more likely to appear, especially as she hasn't had the catalyst and opportunities to really crank up her magic. No dealing with the Initiative, no Glory, no Hellmouth influence.

Interesting.

I'm going to take the plunge and think this is going to be a Stargate Cross, given the emphisis on language.

One thing, is Buffy a Sergeant because she is in ROTC and in the Ill National Guard?

Or did she earn that rank herself, if she did, it seems to be a little high for someone in the service for less than five years.

ROTC Cadets have something called the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) if they're simultaneously serving in the Reserves.

I tweaked it a little that it applies to Guard as well but the gist of it is:
Drill pay at E-5
Cadet Rank (In Buffy's case she's a Cadet Staff Sergeant)
GI Bill
Full tuition assistance

Let's see...probably not the Initiative. The language skills indicate Middle Eastern deployment of course.. likely the army has no idea of what she is, so it's all about that. Any chance Xander also ended up in the army? Just a thought.

The DRI is minor. No Sunnydale Hellmouth = No Sunnydale Initiative.

Cool explanation for why she was able to leave Sunnydale. My mind is going overtime, trying to figure out the crossover. The fact she went Army gets rid of two obvious ones...probably. Oh well, guess I'll just have to wait and see.