RATING: G
GENRE: Fluff
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. No sue. No comprende des sue, Senor Joss. (Look, I can speak in crappy spanish! Can you believe they actually paid me to muble things in spanish and wear a wig? It's awesome!)

I sighed to myself. Why is it that I'm always in trouble? The Initiative is after me, and Yelian is in the Initiative. Ordinarily, Yelian after me would be a good thing. However, Yelian trying to capture and study me is not good. Not to mention the Initiative is now something I have to deal with. Hadgi asked me to get rid of them. He's worried that other genies might be captured, and the secrets of our kind may be revealed.

How was I going to help Buffy and Angel, and still get rid of the Initiative? Not to mention, Yelian's part of the Initiative and I *like* Yelian. This certainly does present a problem. I blinked myself into 'Janelle' clothes and put on sunglasses to disguise my eyes. I couldn't have Fish Boy recognizing me when I went to talk to Buffy. I need her voice for my plan. I walked to Buffy's dorm room like a human being. I can't risk using magic carelessly. If anyone saw me... I shivered despite the lack of cold.

I knocked authoritatively and smiled when Buffy answered, still looking sleepy. "Janelle?" she mumbled, then gestured for me to come in.

"Yes, Buffy. I've come to help you and Angel."

"Great. How?"

"Just leave that to me. Until then, I need your voice."

"Sure thing," Buffy agreed readily. Anything to get Angel to come to her.

I switched our voices with a blink and pulled out the piece of paper with Angel's number on it. I picked up Buffy's phone and dialed.

"Angel Investigations. We help the Hopeless," Cordelia Chase answered pleasantly.

"Hi Cordy," I said in Buffy's voice, distress evident. "Can I talk to Angel? It's an emergency!"

I could almost see Cordelia become instantly concerned. "Sure thing, Buffy. Hold on a sec." Instead of putting me on hold, she put down the phone and screamed, "Angel! Buffy's on the phone! She says it's an emergency."

I could hear Angel run to the phone and pick it up. "Buffy?"

"Yes. Angel, you have to come to Sunnydale right now! There's this group of people who are terrorizing Sunnydale! I need some really good back up. I think they did something to Oz. I'm really worried, Angel."

"Understandable. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"This means a lot to me," I told him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Buffy," Angel said with a slight smile. Then we hung up.

I smiled triumphantly at Buffy, then switched our voices back. "Is Oz really in trouble?" she asked, in her own voice.

"Unfortunately, I think so. I can't be sure, but when the Initiative captured me, I think I saw him. Poor boy looked tired and he had bruises. I would have gotten him out too, but I was in a hurry to get help."

Buffy nodded her understanding. "When were you captured? Oh, never mind. I don't wanna know. So, you're totally going to help me and Angel?"

"Yes," I agreed, "but I'm going to need your help."

Buffy smiled eagerly as I leaned forward to tell her my plan.

*

The doorbell rang at Giles's house around eight that evening. Quickly, I hid myself in the closet. Angel couldn't see me until I was done.

"Buffy?" he asked as she threw the door open. "What exactly happened? You sounded different over the phone."

"Different? How?" I could hear panic in her voice, but it was a panic that our plan would be discovered.

"Well, your voice was the same but your speech was...off. You thanked me. In high pressure situations, you usually don't. And you used a lot of inflection. You know, you put a lot of emphasis on certain words."

"Is that all?" Buffy almost laughed with relief. "Angel, you really have to lighten up! I was just really worried about Oz. I'm afraid of what the Initiative could do to him."

"Giles and Willow told me about the Initiative before. You have every right to be worried."

"Angel, there was another reason I asked you here."

"What was that?"

"I remembered. And I want you human again, despite the odds against us. With Janelle's help we can make it work!"

"Janelle? Buffy...you really shouldn't be listening to her. She has all these wacked out ideas about love. You should know by now that our love isn't Meant To Be, not yet anyway. Besides, she's in love with a drug dealer who was recruited into the Initiative during a sentence in Juvenile Hall."

"How did you know that?"

"I checked Janelle out after she visited me in Los Angeles. She's clean, no record, but a Yelian Knox was mentioned and he wasn't. I pieced the story together form there."

"Well, I don't care what you say! I know she's right."

Suddenly pink smoke filled the room. A very angry me stood in the center of it. "Why aren't you listening to her??" I demanded.

"Janelle, you have to realize that it's not your place to interfere. You know that, I know that, and Buffy knows that. I can't for the life of me figure out why you're deliberately messing with destiny here. You know that I can't be human. You remember that day. You saw what happened. You know what will happen if I stayed human."

"Yes, I do. However, you don't. You only know what the Oracles told you. They don't even know. They were misinformed. What you and they didn't know is that a dark spirit messed with them and their powers. It's been fixed now. However, the damage was done. Now, I will send time back to before you go to the Oracles. You will both be at Angel's and nothing that has happened since will have happened yet. Only you, I and the Powers That Be will know what would have been, but no longer is. Good bye."

I blinked and Angel's protests were silenced in the howling winds. The scenes rewound, like a tape, and I found myself at home in bed. I rose and dressed quickly. I've been given more time with my human grandmother before she dies. I plan to make the most of it.

Coming up next:
~Angel is now human and everything is as it should be. What will happen once time has caught up?
~What will Janelle do about her grandmother?
~What's gonna happen with Janelle and Yelian?
~Who is Janelle's roommate?
~What's gonna happen to Oz?
~Will the Gang get rid of the Initiative?
~What's gonna happen with Buffy and Angel's relationship?
~Will Buffy become pregnant?
These questions and many more will be answered next installment!

Go to the next story The Naughty Genie #4: Magic in the Air

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