In the darkened bar, Buffy gave vampire Spike a hard, cold stare that could have cut through the murkiest fog. Her voice came out in a brittle staccato, "As a matter of fact, he did. Celeste is their child. . . he and Buffy’s. They were married, and she died. He couldn’t even talk about her death because it hurts him too much." She realized she’d just stated what they all knew anyway. "A-and you’re just jealous of all that because you didn’t get what you wanted. . . what you thought you deserved."

"Jealous of who? Peaches? Bloody unlikely," Spike’s twin scoffed.

Buffy felt a familiar twinge of sharp anger at the vampire duplicate of the human Spike of her world.

Her fist automatically clenched and raised, ready to crash down on his face.

But something stopped her.

*Her* Spike’s hand closed around her fist, and with one look into his dark blue eyes, she allowed him to lower her arm.

"Let’s just go find Angel," he said, his voice a little hoarse. . . with what, Buffy wasn’t sure. "We can deal with the rest later."

The green blaze in her eyes cooled to a low flame, and she nodded. She hadn’t quite realized it before. . . or maybe she had, but it was just becoming clear. . . there was something amazing and wonderful about human Spike that rose above and beyond demon Spike, demon Angel, and perhaps even human Angel. She averted her gaze to avoid having to deal with the emotions stirring within her. She didn’t have time for them now. "Right. You’re right."

"And you know where we’re going?" Spike asked.

Demon Spike huffed and lit a cigarette. "It’s a trap. You know it is."

Buffy pretended as if the vampire Spike wasn’t there but wrinkled her nose as she fanned the smoke out of her face. "Uh huh. Angel’s waiting with the SUV."

Spike and Buffy hurried through the quiet lobby and out the front door to the waiting vehicle. Trudging with obvious reluctance behind them, Spike’s undead twin continued to smoke despite the glares from the hotel staff.

Spike opened the vehicle door for Buffy, but before she could climb into the front seat, vampire Spike scooted around her and hopped up next to the Angel of this world.

Angel frowned as he saw the vampire Spike. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Demon Spike grinned. "Going along for the ride. Nice night for a drive."

"I don’t think so."

"I do."

Angel’s brooding mask threatened to slip over his calm visage. "Well, you’re at least going to put out your cigarette. You know the rules about this SUV."

Vampire Spike cast a sidelong look at the empty car seat behind Angel, his eyes softening. "Right, the munchkin. Even if she’s not here." He rolled down the window and put out the cigarette on the side of the SUV. "Done. And it hasn’t been that long since I took a drive with you."

"Four years," growled human Angel as Buffy and Spike clamored into the back seat.

In between buckling her seat belt and accidentally brushing Spike’s leg, Buffy filed that little fact next to the one that remembered that Celeste was four.

"I hadn’t counted," demon Spike murmured as the SUV lurched into drive.

* * *

"Back into the lion’s den," Buffy whispered to herself as she stepped from the safety of the SUV into the heavy dampness of the Louisiana night.

"What did you say?" Angel asked, nearing her side and peering into the dark backdrop of trees.

He was *human* Angel, not *her* Angel. She had to put labels on them, or she got confused. In response to human Angel, Buffy shook her head and shivered despite the heat. "Nothing."

She turned to look for Spike who appeared behind her. She felt better knowing he was there and whole even if she’d seen him dry swallow a painkiller on the trip. With gentle fingertips, she’d touched his head then, and he’d offered her a smile to let her know he was okay.

In the moonlight from above, he bore a similar smile now, and she leaned back a bit to feel the reassuring warmth of his skin beneath his sleeve. She found that if she focused on him, she seemed to have a greater handle on what was real.

Human Angel eyed them, but in the shadows, Buffy couldn’t read him. Her heart ached a little for how much it probably hurt to see her. He and the Buffy of this world shared a child. In this world, she. . . no, the Buffy of this world had chosen Angel to stand as champion. The Spike of this world had remained a vampire, and she could cut his bitterness with a knife. What did that mean for her? Had she possessed the power to make or break two lives in this dimension as well as her own? What if *she* had chosen Angel instead of Spike? Would she be married with a child, perhaps two? What would have become of her Spike?

Without a sound, the small party began making its way through the forest with human Angel guiding them. The woods were silent except for the slight breeze rustling the pine needles and the sounds of three people trying not to breathe too loudly. Buffy couldn’t even hear their footsteps. Her companions had been vampires at some point. . . one still was, and she was a Slayer, able to blend with her surroundings as Giles had taught her years ago.

Buffy closed her eyes and inhaled the pine scent that intoxicated her senses. She had to keep a clear head about things. She didn’t belong in this world, and they. . . she, human Spike, and vampire Angel. . . had a mission.

Spike broke her train of thought with a question directed at human Angel, "So, what’s this info about Stephan that Buffy was telling us about?"

Human Angel shoved his hands in his coat pockets much the same way vampire Angel had a habit of doing. Buffy could tell he was trying not to sound too eager in his response, "Stephan sent a messenger here a few days ago. He had some important information to tell us about Vamp Villa, which we didn’t even know truly existed. We learned about the vampire city and about Stephanie’s plans to unleash the city in your dimension."

"Michael," Spike said.

"That git?" vampire Spike broke in from the back of the group. "The one dating Harmony? Poor wanker."

"Shut up, Spike," Buffy reacted without thinking. Quickly, she reached back for her Spike and squeezed his wrist. "Not you." Good night, this was getting confusing.

"Anyway," Angel continued, "Michael told us that Stephanie had the second half of a dimensional key that would all the emergence of Vampire Villa into your dimension. He added that Stephanie had managed to set up a semi-permanent dimensional portal between our dimension and the vampire city. She was said to have hidden the second half of the key here."

"Interesting." Buffy could tell that Spike was turning that bit of information over in his head.

"So, as soon as we find your Angel, we’ll be searching for that piece."

"Got any leads?" Spike asked.

Demon Spike snorted, his cigarette lighter forming a tiny beacon against the darkness. "He’s got plenty of leads."

"What does that mean?" Buffy was growing tired of Spike’s twin being so insistent that human Angel had ulterior motives when he was so obviously jaded.

Human Angel stopped short, and Buffy’s heart jumped at the sudden change. She held her breath as he hissed back, "Spike, put out that cigarette!"

This time, demon Spike didn’t protest and did as he was told.

Buffy held her breath.

That’s when she heard a familiar slithering sound that made her sick to her stomach.

"Kranooks," Spike whispered nearby.

"Bloody hell," his twin said. "They’re coming straight for us."

"Meaning they found your Angel," human Angel added. "And Lorne and Wesley."

"What do we do?" Buffy asked.

"We fight."

"Great. With what?"

Human Angel unsheathed a sword from his pack. "Got one of these for each of you."

* * *

Buffy half-expected the kranooks to be slimy.

She’d never been more wrong.

The human-snake hybrids were covered in layers of armor-like scales that flaked off when the swords hit them. It took several dead-on swings to penetrate their thick hides. To further complicate the situation, they had arms that were more distended than human arms and therefore had more length with which to grab at her and the others. She was grateful that the swords they bore were long.

And their numbers were too many for her to count in the dark depths of the forest. She lamented that she couldn’t even see them until they were right in front of her. And more than once, she’d hit a tree and had to pry the metal from solid wood before the next kranook could grab her.

Unlike during the battle with the vampires earlier, the kranook battle was eeriely quiet as she and the others were too focused on their prey to banter. Her arms ached, and she could see no end to the onslaught. She hadn’t even caught sight of she and Spike’s Angel yet, much less Wesley or Lorne. Hell, she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face because of tree limbs blocking her view. Where’s a witch with a tinkerbell light spell when you need one? She missed Willow.

She was getting worried about the wounded human among them. "Spike?" she called over the sounds of the kranooks’ strident hissing, whirling and striking at a kranook behind her.

"Here, Slayer," demon Spike grunted.

"No, other Spike," she clarified, a bit annoyed, kicking a second kranook into a tree trunk that she’d hit with her sword multiple times.

"He’s somewhere here. I just ran across him," human Angel threw at her, driving his blade home.

"Is he. . .?"

"He’s fine. Holding his own despite being concussed," he assured, ducking a kranook tail. "I sent him after Angel and the others."

"Where are they?" Buffy strained to catch a glimpse of her companions between attacks.

Human Angel touched her arm, sending cold chills up and down her spine. "Hold on."

He raised a small instrument to his mouth and blew into it. The device emitted a sharp keening noise that made Buffy want to drop her sword and cover her ears.

At the sound, the kranooks began slithering backward, over their fallen companions and becoming undetectable against the black of night.

Human Angel lowered the instrument just as the Lorne and Wesley of this dimension emerged from the brush with an unconscious, very pale Angel. . . *her* Angel.

"What happened?" Buffy cried as she rushed forward to inspect him.

Lorne and Wesley exchanged uncomfortable glances and dropped their burdon to the ground. Buffy knelt beside him and demanded, "Where’s Spike?"

Wesley stepped over Buffy as if she weren’t present and addressed human Angel, "It’s done."

"What’s done?" Buffy’s heart was tripping into overdrive.

"You got the piece?" Human Angel was eager. . . far too eager for Buffy.

Lorne withdrew something from his jacket pocket. "Here."

"Great. Then, we have all we need." Human Angel sheathed his sword and took the object Lorne presented him.

Vampire Angel was stirring in Buffy’s arms, and something sticky and warm trailed over her forearm. As carefully as she could, she laid him to the ground and rose, senses scanning the background for signs of either Spike. "What’s going on here?"

"Now what?" Wesley asked.

"Now, we pay a visit to Stephanie."

Before Buffy could react, she felt an electric current lance through her body, paralyzing her from further action. She strained to push past the pain, but her brain was determined to protect her from going into shock and stole her consciousness even as words of protest formed on her lips. Her last perception was of her body falling against the cool grass.

* * *

Ice cold liquid poured over Spike’s head, and as he bolted up, he gagged and choked, struggling to get a breath around the fluid that deluged his nose and mouth. His hand slipped in some loose dirt, and his left shoulder hit something with a painful jolt.

“Finally!” Spike heard himself say.

No, wait.

Not himself.

The Spike from the other dimension. . . vampire Spike.

He shook his head and blinked. The night’s cloak still surrounded them, and vampire Spike resumed talking, “I tried shouting at you, shaking you, shouting at you *and* shaking you. . .”

“Where’d you get the water?” Spike managed around a less violent cough.

Demon Spike held up an empty Styrofoam cup that he’d found half-buried in the grass. “The creek a few hundred feet that way.” He tilted his head to indicate the direction.

“Ah.” Spike struggled to his feet, noting the sodden state of his clothing and rubbing his sore shoulder. “Could’ve tried a less *wet* way to wake me up. How much water was in that little cup anyway?” Vampire Spike’s face blurred, and Spike clung to a nearby tree trunk, the bark rough beneath his palms. Damned concussion.

Spike could almost envision demon Spike rolling his eyes. “Not important. What *is* important is that Angel took Buffy away, and they have both pieces of the dimensional key.”

The aftereffects of shock and the fading dizzy spell slowed Spike’s processing. “Angel? Which one? And where’d they go?” He slowly let his support go and stood swaying on his own. “And what happened to the kranooks?” Not that he stood a chance in hell of surviving any more attacks at the moment.

“Gone. The Angel. . . from here. . . got rid of them with some sort of mind conditioning device. He, Lorne, and Wesley took off with Buffy and your Angel. They opened a portal, and they’re returning Stephan’s half of the dimensional key to Stephanie. At least, that’s what I picked up on.”

“Bloody hell,” Spike breathed out.

“That’s the understatement of the year.”

“Why didn’t you try to stop them?” The ground seemed to be hurtling toward his head.

Vampire Spike grabbed Spike by the arm before he fell. “By myself? With Angel having the powers of the kranooks to call down on me? I may be rash, but I’m not suicidal. . . and I had to lay low anyway. Angel here doesn’t see me as much of a threat. Didn’t need him seeing me differently.”

“I have to find Buffy.” Spike shook off his counterpart’s assistance and staggered a few paces before realizing he had no idea which direction to go.

Demon Spike chuckled at Spike’s attempts. “Follow me.”

Spike was skeptical and took a step back. “Why should I trust you?”

The other Spike huffed in response, “Should I leave you stranded in the woods? I highly doubt you could make it out alive in your condition, what with kranooks lurking about.”

Spike’s stomach was starting to churn, and he began to pace nervously. “Look. I don’t know how this world works. I can’t differentiate the good guys from the bad. I know it’s not black and white, but. . .” He trailed off and threw his arms out in disgust. “I just want to find Buffy and get back to the right dimension. At least, there I know what’s real and what’s not.”

“You feel grossly inadequate here,” vampire Spike surmised.

The statement was true for both of them.

Spike’s head dropped. “Yeah. I don’t feel that way; I *am.* Being human isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in the fight against supernatural forces.”

Demon Spike was silent for several seconds. Then, “Do you know why I’ve stuck around for so long. . . why I stayed around Angel and his cohorts after Buffy passed away?”

Spike said nothing and merely waited, noting that for the first time, his twin didn’t sound jaded. . . just tired. . . as if he’d been at war with himself for a long while.

“I stayed because I know something weird is going on with Angel and the rest of them, and although I don’t have a clue what it is, I want to make sure Celeste is safe. . .that she remains untouched by the darkness that surrounds them. Buffy. . . her mother. . . wouldn’t want her to be tainted by evil.”

Questions whirled in Spike’s head, and he had trouble deciding which to ask first. “Why haven’t you looked more into this hunch you had about Angel?”

Vampire Spike hesitated but finally answered, “For a long time, I’ve been the same way you are. . . never letting myself get too involved. Didn’t feel worthy. Buffy didn’t choose me, and she asked me to stay out of their business. So, I stuck to the edges, avoided direct confrontation, listened. Got involved only enough to know what was happening when. I have contacts in the firm. I knew when you and your Buffy arrived, and I knew you weren’t *together*. . .not really. Angel here likes to keep me up-to-date about certain things. . . things he knows might affect me. I’ve lain low too long. Probably why I was so hard on you in the bar. Saw too much of myself in you.”

In the minimal light, the two Spikes exchanged understanding looks, and Spike found that he was beginning to trust his alter ego.

The pounding in his head thrumming anew, he leaned sideways against the closest tree again. “I get that. And now’s your chance to do something different.”

“And yours.”

There was a heartbeat of mutual quiet.

“Got any ideas how we can get back to Vampire Villa?”

Spike’s twin grinned, his teeth glowing white in the moonlight. “As a matter of fact. . .” He trailed off and bent to scoop something into the Styrofoam cup. “I do.”

* * *

“The SIT Academy.” Trying not to let his exhaustion show, Spike lifted an eyebrow at vampire Spike after he read the sign. “In Louisiana?”

Spike’s counterpart shrugged. “There’s a lot of supernatural activity in New Orleans.”

“Creative name.” Spike stared at the small professional sign with his arms crossed.

“It does the trick. And most people think it’s just one of those new age meditation, spa places. Come on in.” Demon Spike held the door open for Spike, and they entered the tiny building together.

“It’s small.” But, at least, the air conditioning was on max, and the carpet provided a cushion for his aching feet.

They were standing in a tiny one-room facility, neatly arranged with two desks arranged in a zigzag fashion so that the room was divided into two work areas. Hundreds of papers were taped up on every available wall. Soft yellow light bulbs gave the space an inviting aura, and a door in the back led to a set of narrow stairs.

Vampire Spike tugged the door closed behind them. “This is just the office. There’re training gyms and field operations in several areas throughout the city.” He scooted past Spike and went to the foot of the staircase. Peering up, he called, “Jenn! You up there?” Pointing up, he explained in a quieter voice, “Supplies.”

Spike nodded and heard a female voice with a strong Southern accent, “Spike, is that you?”

“Yeah, pet, it’s me.”

The voice got louder as Jenn descended the stairs. “Long time, no visit. You don’t write; you don’t call. What gives, Mister?” With the last syllable, a hand appeared, poking demon Spike in the chest with an index finger.

“Hey, now. I only get so much travel money. You know that.”

“Whatever.” A teenaged girl with short dark curls bounced into the office with a mischievous smile playing about her lips. Her eyes widened when she took stock of Spike. “What the hell?” She glared at demon Spike with accusing daggers in her eyes. “You didn’t tell me that you had yourself cloned and turned all human!”

Vampire Spike held up his hands with his palms out. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in case it didn’t work out. Where is everyone?”

Absently, Jenn replied, “Oh, out. . . training. . . the usual.” She proceeded to stalk around Spike, looking him up and down as if he were a prize racehorse. “Hmmm. Hair out of place, clothes wrinkled, nasty gash on the head, circles under the eyes,” she ticked off. Then, she spun on her heel. “You didn’t do a very good job.” With that, she gave the startled Spike a little hug and then hopped onto the nearby desk. Addressing Spike, she asked, “So, who are you, hun?”

Spike wasn’t sure how to react, and then, he smirked. This little girl calling him “hun” reminded him of Dawn. Jenn was playful, but he was betting that she’d borne a lot of hardship. Most Slayers, even as Slayers-in-training, did. “Spike.”

“Uh huh. And I’m Cindy Crawford.” She cocked her head back to demon Spike. “This isn’t a glamour?”

Spike’s twin shook his head in amusement. “Nope.”

“Okay, then.” She tapped her cherry-colored lips with her forefinger, and to Spike’s surprise, she was frighteningly accurate with her next observations, “Let’s see. You’re not a clone or a glamour. . . sooo you must be the Spike of another dimension. Aaand you’re human, so you must have gotten Angel’s shanshu. Man, I bet he was royally pissed.”

Demon Spike came around the side of Jenn and put his arm around her in a brotherly fashion. Jenn swung her legs back and forth in response. “She’s good, isn’t she? I told you I had an ‘in’ in Angel’s world.”

Jenn winked at Spike. “I provide services to them occasionally. Anything I run across that’s fishy; I tell Spike here. And of course, usually Willow.”

“Uh huh,” Spike commented. He wasn’t sure what was more unreal: seeing someone who looked exactly like him interacting with a total stranger or witnessing his counterpart being overtly loving toward someone. “And how can she. . . you help us?”

“Well, in addition to being a second-year slayer trainee, Miss Jenn here is also a certified witch.”

Jenn bobbed her head in agreement. “Trained by Willow Rosenberg herself. She discovered me when I was twelve; I was in an orphanage run by vampires. Willow and Spike rescued me. Now, what do y’all need help with?”

* * *

With the level of confidence that reminded Spike of teenaged Buffy, Jenn breezed into the packed demon bar, a hole-in-the-wall pub nestled in the darker part of New Orleans. Twin bleached blonde heads tailed her. She’d changed from cutoff shorts and a tiny t-shirt into black leather pants, boots, and a white tank top.

She’d explained her outfit to the two Spikes who had threatened to send her to put on a muumuu. “Now, we’re going to see someone who can help you two. He likes leather. I tend to placate him when I need something from him.”

And that had ended the conversation.

Spike was grateful that her careful preparations had given him time to shower and clean up, eat something, and take a brief nap. He’d been energized and was ready to knock down whole armies to rescue Buffy and Angel. . . his world’s Angel. And vampire Spike had raided the SIT Academy’s storage for weapons and leather of their own. Spike now had three beautifully carved stakes concealed on his personage, and the crisp smell of leather gave him an edge that he’d thought he lost somewhere during the current mission.

Now he was in the demon bar with his other self and a young witch, and he was feeling his confidence return. Demons of all types gave him the once over, but he didn’t even blink. Just let them try to dust him. He was ready.

Jenn slapped both hands on the bar. “Okay, Charles. I need to speak to L’Gant.”

Spike immediately recognized the name, and his blood sang. This was just getting better and better.

Charles slung the white towel in his hand to one side. “You sure about that, Jennie?”

She jutted her chin up. “I am.”

“Even after last time?”

“Even after.”

Charles looked doubtful. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“Yep, it’s what I want.” She pulled herself onto the barstool in front of her. “Don’t mind if I help myself to an olive or two.” She reached back and snagged a handful of green olives, popping one in her mouth.

Demon Spike leaned over her shoulder, “L’Gant, you said?”

Jenn smiled, her jaw working over an olive. “Uh huh.”

Spike’s twin grew his own smile and glanced at Spike who couldn’t resist, “Poker game L’Gant?”

“The one and only,” a voice boomed from behind them.

Spike surveyed L’Gant’s massive form with a little bit too much disdain. This demon could kill him with a flick of his wrist. . . now. Of course, first, L’Gant had to catch him. “Well, well, well, looks like the infamous L’Gant’s put on a few extra pounds.”

“All muscle,” L’Gant growled. He glared at Spike with his two pairs of violent eyes. “Looks like you got yourself a soul and a bit of humanity. Makes you weak.” He noted demon Spike. “Hmm. Two Spikes. And another with a soul but still demon. You either got yourself split in half. . .or. . .” He frowned at Jenn with a thin, twisted grey mouth, eyes narrowing. “Is this your doing, witch?”

“Nope.” Jenn sounded too perky as she leaned back on her elbows.

He looked down his nose at her. “You know, I haven’t forgotten what you did to me last time you entered this bar.”

“Oh, yeah? Remind me.”

The giant demon snarled, “Gladly.” And with that, he lunged at the trio, looking like he was ready to rip them apart.

* * *

by Sandy S.

“There’s no place like home; there’s no place like home; there’s no place like home.”

Buffy opened her eyes. Damn. It didn’t work.

She was in the same dark world. . .

. . . In the same dark prison cell with a dirt floor, damp walls, a very leaky ceiling, no windows, and no toilet.

No toilet!!!

That was probably because the cells weren’t made to incarcerate humans.

Stephanie’s world sucked.

And Angel. . . her Angel slept in blissful unconsciousness, unaware of the horrors going on around his resting body. She wished that she could wake him. Maybe he would have a better idea about how to get them out of this. To top it off, she had no clue what had happened to Spike.

Some trio of strength they were.

“You know, pumpkin, no matter how many times you might decide to try and do that, it’s not gonna work.”

Buffy turned to face Lorne who sat a few feet away from her barred cell with the keys dangling from the tips of his fingers. She could swear that she saw something akin to empathy in his eyes. Following her intuition, she reached her hand toward him. “It would if you would just hand me the keys. We’d be out of your hair in no time. Well, as fast as possible, considering I’d have to carry Angel.”

Lorne wagged a finger back and forth. His voice was soft and gentle. “No way, kiddo. No can do.”

Buffy sighed. “You know something?”

“What’s that?” Lorne leaned his large frame forward in the chair, resting his forearms on his thighs. His red-tinged horns were a striking contrast against the strident green of his skin. He was intrigued by this other Buffy.

“I don’t know Lorne very well in my world, but I don’t think he’s evil. In fact, I’m pretty sure he isn’t.”

Lorne seemed genuinely surprised, leaning back a little and swinging the keys into his palm. “How do you know that I’m evil?”

“Hmmm. Let me think of what might have led me to that conclusion. Where am I again? Oh, yeah! In a prison cell with you standing guard over me with the keys! And what is it you’re doing? Let’s see. Conspiring with Stephanie who’s only the evil vampire who wants to bring a whole city of vampires into my home dimension.”

“Look, little one. We’re just doing what’s best for our dimension. That’s always been our primary concern.” Lorne’s expression suggested that he had more to say, but the door to the prison area of Stephanie’s headquarters hissed open.

The sound of high heels clumped dully against the unpaved floor. A tall, slight vampiress with long dark hair and delicate features approached the cell. She was dressed in white leather pants and a matching jacket with sleeves that tapered to accentuate her narrow wrists. Buffy compared her to Drusilla and concluded that Drusilla had a softness that this creature would probably never possess.

“Lorne.” She held out her hand, and the green Pylean slapped the keys in her outstretched hand.

“Hey,” popped out of Buffy’s mouth before she could stop herself.

Lorne gave her a sympathetic shrug as if they were on the playground and he was saying, “Sorry, but I don’t play with you.”

As the vampiress worked with the keys, Buffy ran over strategies in her head. How could she attack the vampiress, knock her and Lorne out, and escape with Angel?

Her brain betrayed her, and she came up empty. How many years had she fought demons and the forces of evil, and now she was blanking? No fair.

So, Buffy did the next best thing she knew. She tackled the vampiress with all the energy she could muster, using the momentum from her efforts to roll away before her target could get a firm grasp on her. She bounced to her feet, whirled, and kicked her enemy to the ground.

The vampiress responded by bringing a long leg up to catch Buffy in the mid-section and force her across the room to slam into the closest wall. Buffy pulled herself up just in time to block the fist coming at her face, and she ducked under the vampiress’s arm as it contacted the wall.

The vampiress swore, hugging her fist to her chest and turned to face Buffy. “Wait!” she shouted when Buffy almost sprang at her again.

Fists raised and legs in her comfortable fighting stance, Buffy’s eyes glinted in anger. “Why should I?”

“Because I’m here to help Angel.”

“Whatever.” Buffy glanced back at Lorne who was hovering in the background with a grim expression on his face. She could take the both of them if she had to.

“You want to know why he’s unconscious, don’t you?” The vampiress was holding a hand up as if trying to talk down a rabid dog.

And still, not a hair was out of place.

Buffy hesitated, her heart hammering. Angel had been unconscious an awfully long time. . . too long. He definitely needed some sort of assistance; something she couldn’t give. She couldn’t count how many times in the last hours she’d gone over every inch of his body and been unable to detect any injuries.

Not relaxing her guard, she acquiesced, “Okay.”

The vampiress didn’t waste another second, striding past Buffy as if she wasn’t present. She knelt beside Angel’s prone form and put her hand on his chest for several seconds. “Hmmm. Nothing.”

“I could have told you that,” Buffy grumbled.

The vampiress ignored her and rose, facing Lorne. “Send her in.”

Lorne nodded and headed for the doors, leaving Buffy alone with the vampiress who turned to regard Buffy.

“I’m Stephanie.”

“I figured,” Buffy said even though she hadn’t been sure. “I don’t like you.”

The vampiress’s brown eyes were steady on Buffy’s green ones. “I know.”

The door hissed open again, and Lorne re-entered with a slight female figure in tow. Buffy wasn’t shocked by the new presence. In fact, she didn’t know if anything could surprise her anymore.

“Roxy,” she said, not bothering to keep the irony out of her tone.

“Hello, Buffy.” The tall blonde smiled almost shyly, tucking a blonde strand behind her ear. “Heard you have a patient.”

Buffy lowered her guard enough to cross her arms. “You heard that, huh? How long have you been working both sides of the fence?”

Roxy didn’t reply and merely lifted one corner of her mouth before turning for Angel. With grace, she lowered herself next to his unconscious body, her hair a swath of gold dangling over his face. Buffy felt a twinge of jealousy at the way Roxy was touching Angel’s body.

After a few seconds, she announced, “I found it.”

Stephanie hovered at Roxy’s side. “What?”

Roxy kept her gaze on Angel’s thigh and at the tiny tear in his pants. “Looks like the kranooks are biting again.”

“Damn it.”

“What’s going on?” Buffy demanded despite her precarious position.

Stephanie regarded Buffy. “One of the kranooks bit him in that little encounter you had. They bite, inflicting their poison. The kranooks’ saliva seals the wound. The only indication that there is anything wrong is an extended period of unconsciousness.”

“Science can’t detect the poison. Only magicks can,” Roxy added, running her open hand over Angel’s leg in what Buffy could swear was a seductive manner.

Buffy glared at Roxy even though the vampiress wasn’t making eye contact. “So, what’s the cure?”

“Cure?” Stephanie laughed. The sound was melodious. On any other day, Buffy would have called the vampiress beautiful. “Why should we cure him?”

Buffy was pointblank, “Because you’re dead if you don’t.”

Stephanie laughed harder. “I highly doubt that.” She brushed Roxy’s hair off her shoulders, making Buffy wonder about their relationship. “But we have plans for him. So, he will be cured.”

That wasn’t what Buffy expected to hear. “Okay. Well, that’s good,” she said uncertainly.

Roxy nodded. “It is.”

Buffy thought she detected another meaning behind Roxy’s words, but she couldn’t fathom what it was. Buffy didn’t know when she’d encountered a group of people who had more secrets.

But Buffy didn’t have a chance to ask. . . not in front of Lorne and certainly not in front of Stephanie. She wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating Stephanie.

So, Buffy covered her silent exchange with Roxy before the vampiress could detect anything. “So, what will you do?”

Stephanie snapped her fingers. “Lorne.”

Lorne poked his head into the cell, pretending as if he hadn’t witnessed the entire exchange. “Hmm?”

“Carry Angel to my infirmary.”

Lorne didn’t argue, and Buffy kept her eyes on Angel as Lorne hefted his unmoving body.

Buffy suddenly felt terrified that she’d never see Angel again. “Can I come?”

Pausing in the doorway to the cell, Stephanie regarded her with amusement. “I suppose you want out of the cell.”

“Well, duh,” Buffy replied with a little too much sarcasm. She’d better watch her impulsive tendencies in the future.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes but implied permission with her next words, “You should know that if you make a move to escape, there will be hundreds of vampires upon you before you have a chance to make it to the threshold.”

Buffy knew the statement was true. “Yes.”

But she also knew she’d faced worse odds.

* * *

Evil Lorne positioned Angel’s body on the silver bed jutting up from the center of the tiled floor.

With a trained eye, Buffy took in her surroundings.

The stark white room was empty except for a blank countertop, a tiny cabinet, and a silver bed with no padding. A white door was almost indistinguishable against the far wall, and a two-way mirror next to the door reflected the fluorescent lights from above. Vampires dressed in white lined the walls, pointed wooden stakes on metal sticks cradled in their arms. Although their faces were impassive, Buffy thought she recognized some of them from the battle in Stephan’s domain, but she couldn’t be sure.

Human facial features tended to be distorted beneath the vampire mask, and when fighting, everything was a blur to Buffy. Slaying was kind of like driving. At first, one paid attention to every detail on the road, but as one became more proficient at driving, the brain tended to neglect the nonessential details like the color of the car in the right lane. The same occurred with vampire features. Buffy didn’t tend to pay attention to anything but the fact that a vampire died with a stake in the heart. That worked fine in Sunnydale and Cleveland cemeteries.

But she should really learn to pay better attention, especially if she was going to get captured by a huge faction of evil vampires in the largest, and only, inter-dimensional vampire city.

Eyeing the smallest of the vampires, she decided that she could overtake him easily and wrestle his stake away. Then, escape was just a matter of fighting off hundreds of demons and carrying a very ill Angel out of Stephanie’s facility. . . something she was completely clueless about. What had she seen on the way from her cell to this room? Not much but closed doors and dark hallways branching out in every direction.

Oh, and she’d have to fight her way through most of the city. Her only ally. . .if she could call Stephan an ally. . . was now the resident of a dustpan. Stephanie could call on any vampire to do her bidding; all she had to do was snap her slender fingers. Plus, there was the little problem of the kranooks and the fact that Stephanie now possessed the entire dimensional key.

Buffy was in big trouble, and she and Stephanie both knew it.

But that didn’t mean Buffy would go down without a fight.

Buffy squared her shoulders and donned her best Willow resolve face.

A chuckle rose from the doorway. Buffy turned toward the source of the noise. Stephanie gave her a condescending smile.

“Don’t even think it. I have plans for you, too. And you’d never make it out of here alive.”

Buffy’s fists clinched. “Don’t bet on it. I’ve survived worse.”

“Ah, well, there will be no witch tinkering with dark magicks to bring you back from the dead this time. I’d make sure it was a natural death and not a supernatural one. But hopefully, I won’t have to. I’d really like to have you working for me.”

Before Buffy could retort that she’d never consent to such a union, Roxy appeared at the vampiress’s elbow. “Is the room ready?”

Stephanie made way for Roxy, who gave Buffy a pointed glance that she couldn’t read. Could Roxy still be on her side? She had, after all, taken away Spike’s demon disguise for some reason, and she’d been the head of Stephan’s little vampire domestication project, no matter how horrific it had been. Buffy wasn’t sure, but she would darn well take advantage of the possibility.

As Roxy busied herself with some sort of herbs and a large book at the countertop, a vampire dressed in black with a yellow bandanna hurried up to Stephanie, panting even though he didn’t need to breathe as if he had been running a long way. He bent over at the waist, gripping the tops of his thighs.

Stephanie was annoyed. “What is it, Ryan?” Buffy noted that she knew the vampire’s name, the mark of a good leader.

“We tried to stop them,” he managed as if that would explain everything.

“What do you mean?” Stephanie asked. “I’m busy here. Can’t this wait until later?”

“T-the kranooks.”

The vampiress was instantly alert, and Buffy caught the crack in her confident demeanor. Yep, there was definitely weakness, and Buffy’s hope soared. Maybe she had a fighting chance after all.

“What happened?” Stephanie’s voice was lower.

“T-they’re attacking the city.”

“Damn it!” Stephanie cursed for the second time with regard to her demonic creations. “I thought I told you to set up the magick pools to distract them until we figured out how to contain them.”

“We did. We really did. I swear. But they aren’t. . . .” The vampire paused as if trying to find a word that wouldn’t offend his mistress. “They weren’t fooled this time. A-and they attacked the city. We sent out three divisions, and they were all slaughtered. They’re burning the east side of the city as we speak. The streets are a mass of confusion, and riots are starting to break out. They sense the source, and they’re coming for it.”

Buffy was confused and asked without thinking, “Source?”

The minion was ignorant of Buffy’s position as prisoner and explained, “The complete dimensional key. They want it.”

“So say all of us,” she muttered under her breath.

Stephanie cleared her throat to declare that she was still in charge. “Okay, Ryan, let’s go. We’ll handle this. We’ve dealt with similar situations.”

The minion’s face was tight with fear and exhaustion. “But not on this sc. . .”

She cut him off, “We’ll handle it.” She turned to Buffy with a saccharine-filled smile. “I wanted to witness this, but I have other business to attend to. I’ll just enjoy the results.”

Buffy was rattled. “What results?”

Almost gleefully, Stephanie replied, “You haven’t figured it out yet? Roxy is going to cure Angel, and then, she’s going to take his soul. Human Angel is useful, but he’s not as powerful as Angelus, and well, I’m growing a bit tired of human Angel’s whining. And what would be better than a Slayer-turned-demon at his side?”

“You’re a fool. You can’t control Angelus. . .just like you can’t control your kranooks. Your little kingdom is falling apart around you.”

Stephanie arched an eyebrow. “Don’t be so sure about that.”

And with that, she swept out of the white room, heels clicking confidently against the tiles and vampire messenger in tow.

Buffy’s stomach sank. For the first time, she let herself think that maybe Stephanie was right. Buffy’s thoughts flashed to Spike.

He might be their last hope.

TBC. . .

***Thanks so much for all the feedback! I’m really busy right now, filling out internship applications, but your feedback is keeping me working on the story, too, so thank you! What do you guys think? Mad at me yet? Stay tuned. . . double Spikes next chappie! Hope you enjoy!

by Sandy S.

L’Gant was on top of Jenn before either Spike could react.

For such a large demon, he moved pretty quickly, and Spike reassessed his opinion of him. Apparently, L’Gant had been working on his sluggish tendencies since Spike had last seen him. As the two Spikes leaped at L’Gant, Spike’s ears detected a familiar and surprising sound from Jenn.

And it was far from the screams that he expected.

Both Spikes stopped short, stumbling from their own momentum as they did so.

Jenn was hunched over and laughing wildly as the demon’s fingers danced over her ribcage. “S-stop!” she managed.

Spike exchanged an astonished look with demon Spike and then, with a smiling Charlie who was calmly mixing more drinks. He glanced at the other bar patrons. Most were ignoring the spectacle although a few afforded the situation a fleeting look before returning to their drinks and small talk.

“No!” L’Gant continued tickling the helpless Jenn until she was gasping.

“P-please!” she begged, sinking to her knees on the dirty bar floor and attempting to push his arms away. The effort proved futile.

“Magic words,” L’Gant demanded with affection in his voice.

“N-no! No m-magic!”

L’Gant moved to tickle her legs and neck. “Yes.”

Spike tensed further. Was L’Gant attempting to hurt Jenn? He couldn’t tell. He could hardly see Jenn underneath the demon’s massive body.

“F-fine!” she replied, sounding almost like she was in pain.

L’Gant immediately ceased his tickling and stood back, crossing his arms. “Okay. I give in. Now. . . magic words!”

Jenn peered up at the demon with her lower lip sticking out. “Fine. I’ll bring you the kittens I owe you next time we play.”

L’Gant was doubtful. “That’s what you said last time.”

“I kn. . .”

Spike couldn’t stand in silence any longer. His disbelief was stronger than L’Gant’s, and his expression showed it. “What? You play poker with him?”

“Apparently,” demon Spike answered. He was less surprised than Spike, but then, he knew Jenn better than Spike.

“Of course!” L’Gant sounded annoyed.

“Why?” Spike asked Jenn who was struggling to stand, still reeling a bit from the tickle session.

“B-because it’s fun!” she replied.

“And *she* actually plays fair and settles her debts. . .most of the time,” L’Gant added, looking pointedly at Jenn.

“Well. . . most of the time I play fair,” Jenn corrected, accepting vampire Spike’s assistance in steadying herself. “I find it fun to play with demon rules. Helps me understand them. Kitten poker is a fascinating part of demon culture.” She caught Spike’s incredulity. “I study demon culture. I guess you could say I want to eventually be a demon anthropologist of sorts.”

Demon Spike shook his head as if he knew Jenn all too well. “I never know what you’re going to get into next, pet.”

She grinned at him. “I know! Like to keep you on your toes.”

“And that you do. You’re worse than Dawn.” He smiled at her, his eyes softening. Spike’s thoughts flashed to the Dawn of his dimension. All he knew of her was that she was studying archaeology at university. Regret seized him. He wished he had kept up with her better. His counterpart had done a better job of maintaining his ties with her.

“Well, you know her studies inspired me.”

“Looks like it.”

Raising his large hand, L’Gant interrupted their exchange, not with words but by closing his meaty fingers around demon Spike’s throat and slamming him against the top of the bar. Again, the bar regulars didn’t even flinch. They were probably used to L’Gant’s shenanigans.

Licking his lips as if relishing the sign of aggression, Vampire Spike laughed in L’Gant’s face. “Was wondering when you were going to do that.”

Spike took that as a cue to move, and he leapt at L’Gant, jerking him back and attempting to throw him to the ground. However, the demon’s mass was too great, and Spike only succeeded in tugging him back from his twin. L’Gant’s hands remained twisted in the other’s clothes.

Demon Spike grabbed L’Gant’s hand, snatching one of Charlie’s drinks and throwing it in the demon’s face. L’Gant hissed as the alcohol began burning his eyes, and he loosened his hold on vampire Spike to bring his hands to his face. The two Spikes then wrestled the demon into a chair at a nearby, vacant table. One of them punched L’Gant in the nose to keep him from struggling too hard.

L’Gant raised both legs before either Spike had a chance to dodge, and he sent his assailants flying in opposite directions. Spike crashed into a table occupied by a couple of vampires who slid into vamp mask as he broke their table.

Spike groaned at the wood digging into his flesh. For once, he was glad he wasn’t a vampire any longer. “Sorry to interrupt your cocktails,” he apologized without feeling much sympathy for them. Ignoring the pain shooting through his muscles, he bounced to his feet and sprang back toward L’Gant who was headed his way. . . it didn’t matter that his foe was three times his weight and four times as strong.

The vampires he disrupted looked as if they wanted to snap his neck, but their eyes lingered on L’Gant. They obviously didn’t want to interfere with L’Gant’s business, and they hurried to join the now retreating customers. Maybe they weren’t used to L’Gant’s fights causing this much of a ruckus.

L’Gant was headed toward Demon Spike who was lying in a heap near the wall. The vampire was slow in getting to his feet, tentatively touching his wounded head. Blood welled between his fingers, and a curse slipped from his lips.

Using his body as a miniature torpedo, Spike tackled L’Gant at the center of his back, causing the demon to stagger forward.

Growling, L’Gant whirled on Spike, grabbing him by the shoulders.

Spike thought the wall might crumble behind him with the amount of force L’Gant used to smash him against the plaster with his calcium-filled breastplate. L’Gant’s breath smelled of the raw flesh that he regularly ingested.

“Hey!” Jenn waved a finger and used magicks to throw a tray of half-empty glasses to the ground. The shattering glass disrupted the flow of the fight, and the two Spikes and L’Gant stared at her. Jenn frowned at them, hands on her hips. “You done with the macho crap now?”

Spike’s twin smirked from his position on the floor. He braced himself against the wall as he stood. “We’re barely getting started, love.”

“Well, stop *now.* We *are* actually here to get L’Gant’s help, not beat him to a pulp. I don’t know what happened between the two of. . . er, among the three of you, but I don’t appreciate being dragged in the middle of it when all I’m trying to do is help.”

L’Gant didn’t release Spike, but he seemed curious. “What could these vermin want bad enough to come to *me* for help?”

Neither Spike said a word.

Demon Spike didn’t because he was stubborn, but Spike didn’t because he couldn’t get enough air to make an audible sound.

Jenn changed tactics and appealed to L’Gant, “Let Spike go. Let him go, or I’ll start breaking things, and you don’t want that.”

“A little late for that, pet,” demon Spike observed, nodding to the glass shards and alcohol-drenched ground.

Jenn glared.

Spike gathered the small amount of air he had left and whispered, “B-buffy.”

Startled at the sound, L’Gant stepped back.

Clutching at his throat, Spike gasped for air but uttered, “We need your help to find Buffy.”

Confusion crossed L’Gant’s face. “The Slayer? She’s dead.”

The emotional pain that Spike felt at L’Gant’s words was sharper than any physical pain than his rival could inflict. Spike sought vampire Spike whose eyes were cloudy with his own hurt.

His twin’s voice was hoarse and low, “He means the Buffy here.”

Jenn was calmer with her next words, trying to move the conversation away from the obvious source of the two Spikes’ pain, “What happened between you two. . . er, three?”

Before anyone could respond, the door to the now vacated bar slammed open. All eyes flew to the blond in the doorway. “I did.”

L’Gant growled and said with an angry hiss, “Harmony.”

Demon Spike snorted and muttered, “Things just keep getting more interesting.”

Her hair up in a tight bun instead of loose over her shoulders and a grim expression on her face, Harmony trotted into the bar, and an entourage of vampires dressed in solid black filed in behind her, arms filled with crossbows and sulphur-tipped arrows. . . the only element that could kill demons of L’Gant’s variety.

“Hello, Gantie.” With her hands behind her back, she circled the demon with a confidence Spike had seen her possess only once. . . when she kicked him out of their bed with a stake. “Long time, no see.”

“No skin off my breast plate. I’m guessing you aren’t with this idiot anymore.”

Harmony rolled her eyes. “Please! I wouldn’t be with him if someone *paid* me.”

“Why the change of heart, Harmony?” L’Gant asked, remaining calm despite the imminence of his situation. “You certainly didn’t mind it before.”

Looking down her nose at the two Spikes, Harmony narrowed her eyes, “It’s different now.” Her chin lifted. “*I’m* different. He. . . they. . .you didn’t appreciate me like Michael. He believes in me. . . believes I have something to offer the world other than twisted sex games.”

“You need to get a new tune, love,” Demon Spike commented from Jenn’s side.

Harmony clenched her jaw at his words. “And I have a mission now.”

L’Gant jumped to conclusions, “So you’re here to exact your revenge on me?”

She regarded L’Gant as if he were stupid. “Um, no. I’m here for the, er. . . Spikes.”

“Then, what’s with all the weapons in my bar? You can have them.” L’Gant took the opportunity to shove the still recovering Spike forward.

“Hey!” Spike managed.

“I’m not here to kill them,” Harmony clarified. “I’m just here to get them to help.”

“Help you what, Harm?” Spike asked, rubbing his throat and giving her his most helpless expression.

Harmony threw her arms up as if she couldn’t believe how inane his question was. “Well, duh! Help me get the Slayer out of Stephanie’s fortress! We have to stop Stephanie. She’s destroying everything Stephan and Michael worked for!”

His heart nearly stopped. Buffy was with Stephanie. . . a prisoner in Stephanie’s fortress. Finally, he had some bit of information to grasp onto. Spike found himself offering Harmony a genuine smile. Maybe he hadn’t given her enough credit in the past.

Spike’s sudden warmth toward her took Harmony aback, and she returned his smile.

“Wait a minute.” Demon Spike stepped forward. “How did you say you got here? And how do you know where his Buffy is?”

“Stephan has spies in Stephanie’s lair. He wasn’t stupid. She had them spying on him, too.”

“How did you cross dimensions?” Vampire Spike repeated.

Spike saw them standing in the shadowed doorway behind Harmony’s vampires before anyone else did. “Kranooks. Stephan said they escaped across the dimensions.”

“That’s right.” Michael emerged from the crowd and joined Harmony, his arm circling around her waist and drawing her close. A jagged cut sliced down his cheek, and his clothes were torn and dirty, but he was smiling. “Just because Stephanie treats the kranooks like slaves doesn’t mean they’re stupid. Forming an alliance really wasn’t that hard.”

As Michael touched the wound on his face, Spike heard a faint slithering in the background reminiscent of the battle in the forest. Spike shivered in remembrance of the fray. Even with Buffy and Angel at his side, he’d felt inadequate to fight off the hordes. After killing one or two, he had been so tired that he could scarcely stand. If he had been alone, he would have been killed. A fight with the kranooks wasn’t something he wanted to repeat.

When Spike re-focused, Michael was still talking, “It took some. . . negotiation, but I wish we’d have done it sooner.”

“Right.” Harmony beamed, not taking her eyes off Michael. “I’m so proud of you, honey.” She deposited a kiss on his lips.

The youthful vampire gave L’Gant the once over. “This him?”

Harmony nodded childishly. “Uh huh.”

“Okay.” He snapped his fingers at the mini-horde of vampires and kranooks behind him. “Kill him. Tear him to pieces.”

The demons hoisted their weapons, and L’Gant bellowed, “Wait!”

Harmony sniffed and moved away from Michael’s embrace. “What?”

“I thought you weren’t here to kill me.” The vampires aimed their crossbows at L’Gant.

“Well.” She waited a heartbeat. “Maybe I changed my mind. A girl has a right to change her mind, you know?”

“Wait!” Spike and Jenn shouted at the same time.

Harmony sighed dramatically but held up her hand. The vampires lowered their weapons. She faced the Spikes and Jenn with a little pout threatening to take over. “Whaaat? Can’t you people see I’m trying to have someone killed here? And he’s someone who did something *bad.*”

“He’s my friend,” Jenn stated, pushing vampire Spike’s restraining hand off her arm and moving to stand between L’Gant and the attackers.

Harmony’s expression softened, and she explained, “Look. You don’t know what he did to me. If he did to you what he did to me, then you’d want him dead, too.”

“That may be true. But he’s been nothing but good to me.” She frowned thoughtfully. “Just out of curiosity, what *did* he do to you?”

Spike sensed the warmth exchanged by the two females as Harmony told her story, “When I was first turned into a vampire. . . you know, vamped. . . I was really really vulnerable. I didn’t know the first thing about being a good vampire because my sire. . . the vampire who made me. . . sort of, well, abandoned me. I hooked up with the first demon who would take me in, and he sucked me in with all sorts of promises about New Orleans and love and sugary stuff.” Harmony’s lower lip trembled at the memory.

Jenn cast L’Gant a dismayed look. “Go on,” she urged Harmony.

“And well, he lied to me. He didn’t take care of me at all. He made me dress in skimpy outfits and wear chains and sleep with his demon buddies whenever he lost a bet in a poker game. He was absolutely *addicted* to gambling. He even. . .even. . .” Harmony’s eyes flickered to Spike who nodded his assent. “He even bet me in a poker game with Spike once. It was after Droodzilla cheated on Spike, and he came back to the States.”

Spike couldn’t bring himself to look at Jenn. He was afraid of her disappointment, much as he was afraid of Dawn’s. He couldn’t imagine how demon Spike, who was closer to Jenn, must be feeling.

Gesturing with her hands, Harmony continued, “And Spike won me from L’Gant. Well, Spike cheated because he used a card from another deck. L’Gant obviously didn’t like that, so he attacked us, a-and we barely escaped with our unlives. Of course, Spike didn’t treat me much better. . . .” She trailed off and bowed her head. Michael re-positioned his arm around her shoulders and wiped away the tear trickling down her cheek.

The only audible sound was the intimidating noise of the kranooks in the background.

“But demons can. . .*do* change. And it doesn’t mean we should destroy a creature who could potentially help us in the upcoming fight against Stephanie,” Spike interjected, sidling up beside Jenn. He couldn’t see L’Gant’s reaction to his statement, but he knew the demon was probably shocked.

Harmony’s mouth opened as if she had something else to say, but Michael spoke before she could, “I hate to admit it, but he’s right. We’ll need all the help we can get.”

“But what if I don’t want. . .,” L’Gant began.

“Shut up, L’Gant,” Jenn shushed him out of the corner of her mouth, not bothering to hide her disappointment in him.

Harmony surveyed the exchange, glanced at Michael’s ragged appearance, and assented with obvious reluctance, “Okay. But. One condition.” She raised a finger at L’Gant. “Don’t come near me, or you *will* be dead.”

“Great!” Demon Spike said cheerfully from where he was leaning against the bar. “Now that we have that all settled, let’s go rescue Peaches and the Slayer.”

“And kill Stephanie,” Michael appended.

Spike’s thoughts went to Buffy, and an image of her bright green eyes and vibrant smile touched his heart. What had his trans-dimensional counterpart suggested? Could it be that because she chose him in his dimension that he actually had a chance with her? Fear that she was already dead settled in his chest, but he covered it with a quiet determination.

They would find Buffy alive and defeat Stephanie, and this time, he wouldn’t waste three years waiting for Buffy to get done baking. He’d just turn up the heat.

TBC. . . Next up Buffy and. . . Angelus! Thanks again for the wonderful feedback! *HUGS*!!! :o)

You may have noticed something different about this chapter! :o) It’s a lot better because I now have a fabulous beta reader! So, *big hugs* to Sandy (yep, another one…lol) for helping me smooth out the rough patches and making me think! :o) I’m so happy to have a beta!

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