ISC.

Wasn't it just that they didn't want Buffy to have it?

Buffy would never have known about it, let alone acquired it, if Caleb and crew hadn't dug for it. I'd like to think they had some reason, but I've never come up with one. Just another plot hole, I guess.

You are the least spelling-out person I know.

GoT to that, I suppose.

I did have to explain a few TLAs to sweet innocent co-workers last out.

Now, I have a long history of wanking stuff, and am sometimes not half bad, but I'm totally copping to making this up as I go along.

Perhaps, if Caleb had gotten the Scythe, he would have been able to tap into it's power (lots of dead Slayers), and maybe even hijack the power of The Slayer (or choose the next Slayer?), or something like that (particularly if all the Potentials and the Slayer were dead). So, instead of a big scary that can be any dead person it wants with a super-stong disciple, it's a big scary yadda yadda without a strong, established opponent.

Taking it further, maybe it would allow the First to possess the Slayer, or exert a significant amount of power over her.

But none of that is canon at all.

Just like my How We Get to Fray explanation. Ok, even less canon than that.

Just like my How We Get to Fray explanation.

Sentient plankton?

Shh, P-C. If you don't talk about it, it will confuse everyone and leave some nice ambiguity in the resolution.

There's problems getting to Fray? Maybe I don't remember Fray as well as I think I do, but I see no problems getting there from canon as long as we don't assume that Buffy is the Slayer that Ended it All. Admittedly, that seems implied, but I don't see why it's necessary. Hell, she COULD be the Slayer that Ended it All, only later. As in, maybe, during the war brought on by silly Angel at the end.

OH WAIT! The problem is in the slayer line, since Fray talks about "when you die another will be chosen" and cetera. Hmm. I'll have to go back and look at that. But maybe the spell wore off once there was no need for slayers for 500 years? Or maybe there are other slayers out there but the demons/watchers can't find them, so they just pick her because of her convenient nearby location?

All right. Going with plankton.

Or maybe the spell was a one shot deal and once all the Potentials that got activated in "Chosen" died, it returned to just one at a time. But, people were so used to having multiple Slayers that they forgot where they originally came from and the "Chosen One" myth was lost. Hence, no one knew how to find the only Slayer left after that. Hmmm. That's a pretty limp wank.

Is the question about the history of the Slayer, or of the (not)Scythe? If the former,

It seems reasonable to me to assume that Willow's spell affected currenlty living potential, without necessarily changing anything as far as ultimate Slayerdom. This is contradicted, somewhat, by Faith's calling after Kendra's death - but only if we assume that Buffy's line is still active, which is canonically iffy. So Faith's line could yet be the only one with, um, staying power.

If it's the latter, I'm not really clear what the issue is. Does Fray give a different interp of the axe?

Also not clear on why I'm whitefonting, but what the hell.

Cindy and Hec (and everyone) thanks for the explanations. I was aware of the concept (and have seen the eps), but I don't think I'd heard the joss term before.