| Title - Enemies Series - Doppelganger series, part 2. Author - Don't make eye contact E-mail - [email protected] Disclaimer - These characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. I have simply used the characters for fun. Rating - 17 I think Spoilers - up to Doppelgangland. Strangely, the episode �Enemies� isn�t really touched upon because events in Doppleganwar change what happens. Summary - Faith has been brutally injured, but Buffy is more interested in Willow�s new attitude. Enemies Buffy knew right away that something was wrong: there was a drop of blood on the ground by the door to the mansion, and the door itself was open, something Angel tended to avoid around sunrise. She rushed inside and was greeted with the scene of Angel slumped on theground, with a tranquilliser dart in his back, and Faith, in chains, lying in a pool of her blood. The knife was still sticking into her stomach. She rushed to Faith first: checking her pulse and finding it faint but still there. Buffy knew some first aid from when she herself had been injured in combat and knew better than to pull out the blade. The knife was probably all that was keeping blood in Faith�s body right now. There was no time to worry about Angel. He was only unconscious. The hospital was pretty nearby, and she could get Faith there quickly. She picked her enemy up and trying to keep her steady, ran to the hospital. �Quick, my friends been hurt. She�s lost a lot of blood.� The doctor was a consummate professional. �Nurse, get a blood type� He checked her breathing. Satisfied she was alive for the moment, he turned to Buffy. �What happened?� �I found her like that; I don�t know what happened.� The doctor went to work. Buffy walked back into the hospital corridor and looked down at the blood on her hands and down her front. She went to the bathroom and managed to get the blood off her hands. There was a payphone in the hall. �Giles, meet me at Angel�s place; something�s happened.� �Are you sure? I�m not sure I should leave Willow.� �Faith�s been hurt; someone used a tranquilliser gun on Angel and stabbed her.� �My God. I�ll see if Willow is all right being on her own. I should be there shortly.� She considered phoning the others but they would be asleep after a long night; no sense waking them now. It was a Saturday, so she would just call them later. Buffy returned to Angel�s mansion to find him trying to get to his feet. He looked around at the blood, and backing away, turned and saw Buffy. �Buffy, what�s going on?� �I came by here and saw you unconscious and Faith stabbed. I took her to the hospital; she�ll be OK, eventually but it was close. If I hadn�t come �round...� She reached round to Angel�s back and pulled out the dart. �It must have been whoever Faith�s boss is. She was sent to kill me, she failed and so they sent someone to kill her. I don�t understand why they wouldn�t kill you, though.� �If she�s OK, then maybe we should ask her.� �Yeah, with slayer healing, she should be conscious quite quickly. Maybe I should go and wait at the hospital.� �You should go home: you�ve had a rough couple of days. I�ll call Giles and tell him what�s going on.� Buffy suddenly realised exactly how tired she was. Her shoulders slumped. �I guess I could use a little sleep. Giles should be �round soon: tell him what happened.� She headed for home, but once she got back and had had a shower and changed her clothes, she headed out again almost immediately and started to walk to Willow�s house instead. In all the excitement, she hadn�t talked to Will last night. She probably needed someone to talk to about what had happened. It�s not every day that you meet a vampire double of yourself and restore her soul. She knocked on Willow�s door, and after a couple of minutes Willow answered. �Hi Buffy, what's up? Is there evil afoot?� she said sarcastically. �No�well�yes, actually, but I came to see if you needed a friend to talk to.� Willow let her into the house. Buffy looked at her and saw she was wearing just a robe. �Were you about to take a shower? I don�t want to stop you.� �No; I was just sleeping.� �Don�t you normally wear a shirt or something?� �I didn�t want to. Look, Buffy, yesterday I saw myself dead, as a vampire. I decided then that I should stop holding myself back. I finally took to heart what you told me.� �What, I�m a font of wisdom now?� �You told me to seize the day, so I�m going to start seizing.� �And you�ve decided to start by sleeping naked?� They had slowly walked upstairs and Willow opened a drawer and took out some panties, dropping the robe. She started getting dressed. Buffy spun �round to look away, and didn�t see Willow�s sly grin. �Buffy, what do you think looks better: the green dress or these jeans and t-shirt?� Buffy turned and could see Willow was still mostly naked. �Will, do you think that maybe I shouldn�t be here with you while you�re changing?� �You�ve seen me naked before: why should now be any different?� Buffy almost just told her. That since she had thought that Willow was dead she had started to accept that she felt more than friendship for the hacker. That she felt guilty letting Willow get undressed in front of her not knowing that. All she said was: �It�s just is different today.� �Buffy, turn around.� Buffy slowly turned. Willow was naked, and Buffy couldn�t help but stare at the redhead�s gorgeous body. �Buffy, I think that there�s something you�re not telling me: why don�t you just let it out?� �Will, I think I�m in love with you.� There; she�d said it. Willow smiled and then walked up to Buffy and kissed her softly at first, and then with increasing passion and force. She started to pull off Buffy�s clothes. Buffy moaned, but her brain was making her think. �Willow, maybe we should talk, not move so fast.� �Seize the day, remember?� Willow started kissing down Buffy�s neck, and Buffy stopped trying to think clearly. Afterwards, Buffy could only remember flashes of their lovemaking. Tongue. Rasping. Wetly. Taste bud meets pore. Fingers sparking. On breast. On hip. On thigh. Warm skin. The tight pressure of wanting. Teeth bite on pale lip reddened with the moment. Soft sharp breaths stop suddenly. * * * * * Buffy was lying blissful: why hadn�t this happened a long time ago? She couldn�t stop grinning with joy. She turned to look at Willow and saw that Willow was already awake; she had a contented look on her face, but Buffy could still see a hunger in her eyes. It scared her a little; whenever she had paused tothink throughout the morning, she had been amazed that this girl was the same Willow she had thought she knew so well. But the primal lust that she showed seemed to reveal a deeper level that made Buffy realise she could never truly know Willow, let alone any of her other friends. Buffy suddenly sat up. �Oh God, I completely forgot about Faith. I�ve got to find out if she�s OK.� �Forget Faith: who cares about her?� Buffy looked at Willow, amazed at the tone as well as the sentiment. �I can�t just forget about her.� �Wouldn�t you rather just stay here with me?� �Willow, I know that you have some issues with Faith, but she could be dead. I need to talk to Giles. We need to find who did it.� She reached down to where her watch had been discarded;it had fallen under the bed. She reached under and felt her fingers touch cold metal. The shape was like a tube. She pulled it out. She found herself holding the barrel of the tranquilliser gun. Buffy turned to look at Willow, but she felt somethingsmash against her head. She saw Willow smiling sweetly at her; then there was darkness. * * * * * Giles was beside himself: Faith was close to death, attacked by assailants unknown, and now he was unable to contact Buffy. There was no answer at Buffy or Willow�s house, and Xander hadn�t seen either of them. The vampire Willow was sleeping fitfully in his spare room. He could tell her nightmares were bad, but he let her sleep, fearing that they couldn�t be as bad as the reality of her situation. Still, if she had Willow�s strength, she would recover. He heard a knock at the door and found Xander there. �So what�s the news?� Giles sighed. �It�s too early to tell about Faith, Buffy, however, is still nowhere to be found.� �Buffy can take care of herself; I mean: she�s tough, strong, supple�what could possibly get the drop on her?� �Besides being shot with a tranquilliser dart?� �I see your point. Everyone said, �Shoot the werewolf, but noooo: you had to be humane. Now see where it�s gotten us?� �None of it makes sense.� He sat down; his head bowed wearily. In a rare gesture of comfort Xander laid his hand on Giles� shoulder. �Look, I�ll swing by Buff�s house, see if she�s been there, and then go by Will�s to see if she�s seen her anywhere.� * * * * * Xander knocked gently on Willow�s door and was surprised when it swung open. Fearing the worst, he ran in and burst into Willow�s room. Willow was sitting, hugging her legs on the bed. Her eyes were red, and tears were flowing freely down her face. �Go away, Xander.� �Will, what�s the matter?� He moved over to touch her, but she flinched away. �Don�t touch me: I don�t deserve to be touched.� More forcefully he put his hand on her knee. �Will, whatever the matter is we can deal with it: you, me and Buffy, against the world.� He saw her flinch again at the sound of Buffy�s name. �Will, what�s going on? Do you know where Buffy is?� �Gone, away from here. Trying to get as far from me as possible.� �Will, don�t be ridiculous. Why would she want to get away from you?� �Because I told her something, and she hated me for it.� �Willow, that�s ridiculous. What could possibly make Buffy hate you?� Willow turned away from him, hiding an expression of exasperation. Christ, did he need it spelled out? Manipulating Xander required so much dumbing down. �She, I�� Willow sobbed out and then turned to Xander and buried her face in his chest. �I told her I loved her and she�she said that I was a pervert and worse than a vampire, because at least they had the excuse of not having souls.� Xander patted Willow�s head, his brain gradually processing the information. �You told her you loved her?� �Oh god, Xander, the look of disgust on her face; she couldn�t bear to look at me.� �I can�t believe Buffy could be so cruel. I�m going to find her and talk to her, make her see how wrong she is.� �I don�t think that�ll work Xander; she�s never really respected your opinion.� �What, but, no you can�t be right. I mean, my thoughts can be profound on occasion - well, OK - so maybe not profound. Hmmm. Well, Giles then: she respects Giles and listens to him.� �When has she ever taken his advice? She listens to him long enough to get him off her back and then does exactly what she wants.� �I can�t believe I never realised that before.� �Xander, please, I need to be alone; I need to get my head straight.� �OK, Will.� He hugged her. �If you need to talk, just call.� She nodded and he walked out of the room closing the door. Willow looked up and grinned viciously. �He is so gullible.� She walked to the closet and opened it; Buffy�s unconscious form fell out. �No one�s going to look for you now; we�re going to have all the time in the world.� * * * * * It was night and the vampire called Willow sat alone in the spare bedroom of Giles house, looking out the window at Sunnydale. She had seen it at it�s worse, under the thumb of demons and vampires. A cowed populace. She had been one of the Master�s disciples, feeding off the herd. The things she�d done made her sick inside. How could anyone ever forgive her for what she had done, and even if they did, how could she ever forgive herself? Not having to look at herself in the mirror was a small mercy. Increasingly, she thought ofAngel: he had been her favourite victim in her reality, a torture victim that she could go wild with and mortality wouldn�t get in the way of the pain. How had he felt? Did he feel like he deserved it? She got up and dressed quickly, having reached a decision. There was an Angel in this reality. She knew of his worst deeds; some nights he had told her of the things he had done. The stories of viciousness and cruel obsession abating her need to hurt him physically. He had lived with it; Willow needed to know how. * * * * * Angel heard a knock. Most knocks he recognized, but this one he didn�t; it was strong but hesitant. He opened the door and saw the leather clad vampire. �Hi.� �Er, hi, do you mind if I talk to you?� �Sure, come in.� �Thanks.� �How are you doing?� Willow looked up at the other vampire. It was hard to believe that after everything she had done to him, he sounded so concerned. She reminded herself that it wasn�t the same person. �I�m OK.� �I think I know enough about what you�re going through to know that you�re not OK.� �Does it get better?� �Eventually. It never goes away, though.� �I don�t think I want it to.� �That�s good. You have to accept yourself, though. It�s hard, and you may never do it, but it�s the only way you can live� �I deserve to die for what I�ve done.� She sunk to the floor. �No, you don�t. I do know what you�re going through and whatever you might think, I know what you�ve done, and it wasn�t your fault. That doesn�t seem to matter much at the moment, but it�s important to keep in mind.� Angel paused and sat down next to Willow and looked into her eyes. �I have had almost a hundred years of living with a soul; I take it one day at a time. It�s like being an alcoholic: you live with itbecause you have to, and you get up and go about your life, because the alternative is death and if you die, then the evil has beaten you in the worst way possible. Evil is defeated because people fight it. It doesn�t matter whether you are fighting evil in another or yourself.� �One day at a time?� �I won�t say it�s easy, but I�ll be there to help you.� He got up and put out his hand. Hesitantly she took it and Angel pulled her to her feet. * * * * * Buffy was stiff and cold when she woke up. She started awake and panicked for a moment when she couldn�t move. Her Slayer cool reasserted itself and she took in her surroundings. She was tied to a chair with strong rope. Looking around, she saw the dingy gutted remains of the factory that Spike andDrusilla had used. Buffy could see that nobody would be finding her here soon. She started straining at the ropes when she suddenly sensed someone behind her. Craning her neck, she looked round and saw Willow, leaning against a pillar, quietly staring at her. Willow smiled and walked forward. Buffy�s eyes were drawn to the knife Willow was carrying. �Willow, what�s going on? Why are you doing this?� �I�m just hanging with my good buddy Buffy. What�s wrong with that?� �I tend to think of hanging as more fun when the blood is not being cut off from my limbs.� �Don�t you want to experiment? Isn�t that what lovers do?� Buffy looked down, not wanting to look at the other girl. She didn�t want to think about that yet. She quietly said, ��Willow, what�s wrong with you?� Willow grabbed Buffy�s hair and forced her head up. A tear ran from Buffy�s left eye as she saw the rage in her friend�s eyes. �Nothing is wrong with me; I�m free now. I finally don�t worry about what other people think, about doing the right thing; I know what I want and now I can take it.� Willow smiled and backed off a little. �It was the spell that did it. When we summoned the soul for my double, the spell obviously didn�t realise it was already in use. Don�t look at me like that, Buffy. I�m not evil; I just don�t have any reason to hold back anymore.� �Like you didn�t hold back with Faith?� �Faith deserved everything that happened to her: she killed and betrayed and fucked around. She was a whore and evil.� �She was a human being; she deserved a chance at redemption.� �She got all her chances; she blew them all. She just sunk lower and lower. She was just lucky I killed her before she saw how low she would go.� Buffy didn�t want to mention that Faith would live. Willow would probably go off and finish the job, and she needed to get out of here. She started to look �round the room to see if there was anything that she could work with. Willow saw Buffy surveying the room. �What are you doing? Looking for a way to escape?� �Why would I want to escape just hanging with my bud here?� Willow leaned over Buffy and looked in her eyes. �You�re tied up too tightly, Buffy; I made sure of that. Without being able to use your slayer strength, how are you going to get free?� Buffy rammed her head forward, smashing it into Willow�s; her captor slumped back, unconscious. �By using my head.� She wobbled the chair and managed to fall over, with her hand near the knife. A bit of manoeuvring and soon she had managed to cut the ropes, enough to rip them off. Buffy looked down at her friend, brushing a stray red hair back from her face. She picked Willow up and carried her up the stairs. * * * * * Xander was fuming. He couldn�t believe that Buffy would act like that. He had told Giles what had happened, probably in more detail than the librarian would have liked. Giles had tried to take Buffy�s side, but even he agreed that Buffy�s words were unconscionable. They were still talking when Buffy pushed open the library doors, carrying the still unconscious Willow. �What did you do to her?� Xander rushed over and grabbed Willow off the startled Slayer. �I didn�t do anything to her�oh, except for the headbutt.� �Buffy, how could you be so cruel to her?� �Look, you don�t know the whole story.� �Don�t I? Willow told me everything.� �No, she didn�t. You see, Willow lost her soul.� �You�d like to think that, wouldn�t you? Make it all easier to fit into your narrow little world. She�s a human, Buffy, just like you and me, although I�m starting to wonder about you.� Buffy backed away at Xander�s vehemence. �What did she tell you?� �Just that she told you she loved you and you called her a freak.� �That�s not true, Xander. I love Willow!� Buffy shouted. Xander paused, stunned. �Is it just me, or is everybody else really confused too?� Buffy took Willow and laid her on the floor of the book cage, then hesitantly laid out the day�s events, skipping over the details of the morning, but kept honest about what had happened. �Buffy, this is deadly serious. Are you absolutely certain that Willow has lost her soul?� �Oh, I�m sure.� �I don�t think you quite understand the full ramifications of this: a demon has no need of a soul. That is how vampires can survive without them, but a human has a gap in them. It�s not just a case of being without a sense of morality, acting on whims and desires. There are bodiless demons and spirits that will possess her, and if they did, even returning her soul wouldn�t get rid of them.� �Then we need to get her soul back quickly.� �It�s not that simple, Buffy. Willow�s soul is in use right now. If we summoned it back to her then the other Willow would lose it.� �I guess that only leaves one option then.� They turned to see the redheaded vampire standing in the stacks, Angel at her side. �If you kill me then you can summon back her soul, no problem.� �There has to be another way.� �What if there isn�t? Are you prepared to wait till it�s too late to fix? I�m a worthless vampire. If I can do this one thing, then maybe that�ll prove I�m not so worthless after all.� �Before we get too into this discussion, I think that we can protect Willow, at least temporarily, with a Solomon's Medallion.� �A who�s what?� Xander said, pretty much summing up Buffy�s thoughts too. �Solomon was a great king who had mastery over demons,� Angel chipped in �An amulet that carries his symbol will ward off most demons in the same way as a cross. The only trouble is it�s hard to know if they�re genuine.A few hundred years ago a clever sorcerer made a lot of forgeries which were close to the real thing, but not close enough.� Giles returned from his office, hiding something in his hand. He walked up to Angel. He suddenly thrust a golden disc in front of his face. Angel jerked backwards, his face becoming vampiric. �I think that�s as good a test as we need, don�t you think? I recently obtained this from a warlock friend in Northampton.� Giles opened the cage and started to put the medallion around Willow�s neck, but as he turned her �round onto her back her fist lashed out into his face. He was more surprised than hurt and fell backwards. Willow grabbed the moment�s grace to pull open the weapons cabinet and grab a knife. Before anyone else really knew what was going on, she had the knife against Giles throat. �Everybody back off, or I�ll slash his throat.� Xander took a step forward. �Willow, we know this isn�t really you saying that. For a start, you�d have said something a bit less dumb.� Giles felt the knife tense against his throat. �Xander, I appreciate your input, but would you shut the hell up?� Willow backed towards the door, keeping Buffy, Xander and Angel always in sight, daring them to make a move. Suddenly she felt the knife plucked from her grasp; her wrist was caught in a strong grip. Giles stumbled away, almost falling. There was a thin cut on his throat, but it wasn�t life-threatening. Willow looked at her captor and found herself staring at her double, a sad look in the vampire�s eyes. Vamp Willow looked at the others. �We need to get her soul back; I need to die.� �I agree with exactly one half of that statement.� Willow spat the words venomously and tried to kick the vampire, but she was held back by Buffy. Xander quickly took all of the weapons out of the cage and then they forced Willow back in there, her only concession to cooperation being to allow them to put the medallion on her. Even she was willing to accept she didn�t want a demon possession. Buffy took charge. �We need to look for other options: any other time when someone's lost their soul, anything we can find out about the soul itself, and if anyone�s ever been duplicated before that kind of thing.� They got down to work, doing their best to ignore their friend�s cursing and insults. Surprisingly, it was Xander who found it. �Hey guys, I�ve got something. Yeah, there was a Slayer who actually survived a run-in with a transdimensional demon, but another version of her was accidentally summoned from the demon�s home reality. They defeated him, but the other one was stuck. They both got weaker until one was killed in combat and the other regained full strength. Their Watcher believed that they only had one soul between them and the splitting of the soul was what caused their weakness.� �Hmm, I think that it�s clear to surmise that in any one reality, there can be only one of any person�s soul. I�m beginning to think that the other Willow�s offer may be our Willow�s only hope.� Giles looked resigned. �No, wait.� Buffy jumped up a gleam in her eye. �If I can take Willow to the Sunnydale that she came from,� she gestured at the vampire, �then I can get someone there to perform the spell and get her soul back.� �But you heard what Xander read, Buffy: they found it impossible to open up a gateway.� �Well, we�ve done a few impossible things in our time. Come on, Giles: we�ve got to try.� The research continued long into the night. It was near morning, when Angel and Willow were about to leave to avoid the sun, that they finally found the answer. Xander was asleep, drooling onto a book of spells, and the soulless Willow was asleep, having exhausted herself with ranting. Giles was used to researching through the night, and Buffy had pushed herself well beyond her limits, but it had been worth it. Despite her self-doubt when she pushed herself, Buffy did have a brain, and it was she who had managed to follow a trail of references to several devices that could be used to travel dimensions. Most were lost, but there was one, the Necklace of Shtrangher, which Giles actually recognised as an artifact that was in a Watcher�s vault he had visited in San Francisco. Immediately, he had called up Wesley, and Wesley rushed over. He got the Reader�s Digest version of events, and despite initial doubts, Buffy persuaded him to make the call to the Watchers� council. * * * * * While they were waiting they realised that, on the mild off chance, a student might actually want a book. They couldn�t really leave Willow in the book cage. After Buffy had panicked for a bit, Angel simply took matters into his own hands. He opened the book cage and when Willow woke, punched her out as gently as possible before picking her up. The vampire Willow promised Buffy that they would keep Willow safe and then they hurried off, barely making it to the tunnels under the town before the sun rose. Buffy left Xander snoring as she found a corner of the stacks and quietly started to cry. * * * * * Wesley returned with a grim expression on his face. Giles and Buffy approached with trepidation. �Well, are they going to send the necklace?� Buffy tried unsuccessfully to keep her voice calm. �No, they are not.� �What do you mean, they aren�t? Why the hell not.� Wesley cringed away, every movement showing his shame while he tried to sound righteous. �In the Council�s opinion, she is a soulless creature, and now she is the enemy.� �Did you explain the circumstances? Did you try to persuade them?� Buffy�s voice was level, emotionless. �Yes, I tried, but they are inflexible on this matter; they have been fighting a hard battle for centuries. The Council says that if a being lacks a soul, then they are evil and should be killed.� �You�re talking about killing my lover.� �I don�t think that her perverting a slayer is really going to change their...� Giles fist connected with Wesley�s jaw, dropping him to the ground. He spat out a tooth and looked at the older Watcher in amazement. Giles was about to hit him again, but Buffy pulled him back and then grabbed Wesley�s throat. She pulled him up so they were face-to-face. �I think you should get out of here, right now.� �The Council�s orders...� �I am no longer going to take any orders from the Council, and if I see you again, you will regret it.� She let go of his throat and he collapsed to the floor. He looked up at her and Giles with genuine fear in his eyes, and then staggered off out of the library. Giles put his hand on Buffy�s shoulder. �Don�t worry; I think I can still get the necklace.� She turned round and Giles saw tears in her eyes. �Giles, am I perverted? Am I wrong to love Willow?� Giles smiled and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. �To love someone is never wrong, Buffy: it can lead to pain, hard choices, but there is nothing purer and more right than love.� Buffy smiled back. �It means a lot to me for you to say that.� �Well, to be honest, I�m quite relieved. I�ve spent the last two years terrified that you would start dating Xander.� Buffy laughed and looked around at Xander, who was just waking up at the sound of his own name. �Wha-? Why am I in the library? What I miss?� Giles left almost immediately for the airport, stopping only to make a quick phone call and grabbing his overnight bag. * * * * * It was a hard couple of days for Buffy: she visited Willow as much as possible, while trying to give an appearance of normal Buffy. She guessed that Willow would prefer for Oz not to see her like that, so she called him and made up a story about a family crisis; that meant Willow had to go out of town for a few days. Willow�s parents were away as well, so they had a little time before Willow was missed. In the meantime, Willow was seriously slipping; captivity was driving her crazy, and she was trying everything to get free or provoke any reaction in the two vampires holding her. Buffy discovered that Willow had told them every detail of her and Buffy�s lovemaking, but Buffy was beyond any kind of embarrassment; the pain was too great at seeing Willow like that. * * * * * Giles returned that day. He looked strangely subdued in his triumph. Buffy could see that although he had been successful, it had cost him dear. All he would say when she pressed him was that he was never going to be on good terms with the Watchers again. When Buffy saw the artifact, it hardly looked worth: it was quite battered and looked extremely mundane. �Doesn�t look like much, does it?� �It may not look it, but this is an item of great arcane power.� �If it does the job, I�m happy.� Giles noticed how weary Buffy looked. �How has she been?� Buffy didn�t answer, just looked down. �We�ll start to make preparations for the journey.� Buffy nodded in reply and went home to pack a couple of items. * * * * * Buffy stopped by the factory on the way to the mansion and picked up the tranquilliser gun. She had a feeling that Willow wasn�t going to be cooperative on this adventure, and she couldn�t spend all her time subduing her. The others were all at the mansion. Buffy entered the room and immediately shot Willow. Willow slumped down, unconscious, and Buffy ignored the shocked looks from the others and simply turned to her. �OK, Giles: what do I have to do?� �Well, when you are wearing the necklace, you can simply walk to different dimensions. The first time you go, you will need some kind of focus. In this case, Willow from that dimension should do. You will appear at the same time and place that she disappeared and when you return, if you focus on her and retrace your steps, so to speak, you should arrive back here at the same time and place too.� Buffy turned to look at Vamp Willow. �You realise that when I bring Willow back here you will have to return to your dimension?� �Yes I know; it�s necessary.� Buffy had never really looked at Willow�s vampire double as anything other than a double, but looking at the resolved look on her face, she finally saw the girl who had become the vampire. Without thinking, she hugged the other girl tightly. Willow was surprised at first, but then accepted the embrace with all her heart. Buffy stepped back and turned to Giles again. �What about for the other spell? The soul restoration?� �I have the relevant texts and the ingredients here.� He passed her a plastic bag that she stuffed in her backpack. �Am I missing anything?� �Just this: be very careful. Remember that people you know and trust here will be quite different in this other world, and also there the Master is still alive.� Giles words chilled Buffy to the bone. �I hadn�t thought of that, Giles. Last time, he killed me.� �And then you killed him/ I am sure that you could do it again, if necessary.� �You don�t get it: last time I killed him, I was filled with power, much stronger than normal. It was only after Kendra showed up that I realised that I must have had the strength of two slayers, until it drained out of me into her.� �I hardly think that�s likely, Buffy. The only thing that will get you through this is self-confidence. You didn�t defeat the Master because you had strength; you simply stopped fearing him.� �It doesn�t matter anyway: I am going to do this. Will is far too important to me to not do it.� She slipped the tranq gun into her backpack and put it on, taking a moment to load up with stakes and a crossbow. Xander hugged her goodbye, and then there was nothing more to delay her. She picked up Willow and then stood in front of Vamp Willow. She felt the necklace get warm. She focused on it. and her perception began to shift. She saw a tiny thread in Willow, and focusing on the thread, it began to get bigger. Soon a glimmering passage opened up before her. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in. All the others saw Buffy briefly becoming transparent, leaving just a shape in the air, then vanishing. Buffy could see a myriad of worlds out of the shimmering walls of the passage, but it was a short journey and in a matter of minutes, she was suddenly stepping out of the passage. The room seemed to explode into place around her. She was in the middle of a big fight. It was at that point that Buffy�s neck was snapped. Next - Sunnyhell |