Flipside/Edispilf, a buffy: the vampire slayer fanfic

konnichiha

Notes: I own none of these characters, but this interpretation of a CWC world is my own. If you want to borrow it, just ask. Here's something a little unusual for me. The Buffy from the Jossverse gets sent to a universe in which Angel never lost his soul, and Jenny made it permanent. Enjoy! Flipside refers to the Jossverse and Edispilf to the alternate time line. Email me at cobalite@yahoo.com.

Flipside/Edispilf

Flipside

The demon had been waiting for her in the cemetery. "Greetings Slayer. I hope you are prepared to meet you fate tonight."

Buffy snorted. "Come on, can't you come up with a new line? That one's so old. How about a name so Giles can record you death?"

"I am Aiseki, the giver of grief. Two Slayers, sharing of the same blood. Before the night is done, one shall descend to hell, and one shall ascend to heaven. Prepare to rise." Aiseki blasted her with a green light, and Buffy was flung into a tree as Riley rushed to her aid.

Aiseki fled, and returned to the Kami realm to watch events unfold with his brother.

"I'm taking you home." Riley helped her to her feet.

"Willow will worry. Take me to your place." Buffy rubbed her head, and had no idea that the green light was becoming fused with her cells.

"At least I know then you won't sleep on that concussion." Riley scooped her up, and they were on their way.

Edispilf

The demon had been waiting for her in the cemetery. "Greetings Slayer. I hope you are prepared to meet you fate tonight."

Buffy snorted. "Come on, can't you come up with a new line? That one's so old. How about a name so Giles can record you death?"

"I am Shoki, the giver of desire. Two Slayers, sharing of the same blood. Before the night is done, one shall descend to hell, and one shall ascend to heaven. Prepare to fall." Shoki blasted her with a green light, and Buffy was flung into a tree as Angel rushed to her aid.

Shoki fled, and returned to the Kami realm to watch events unfold with his brother.

"I'm taking you home." Angel helped her to her feet. "At least I know that you won't sleep on that concussion." Angel scooped her up, and they were on their way.

Flipside

The first thing Buffy noticed was that she was lying against something warm. She thought that was rather odd considering she had spent the night with Angel.

The voice Buffy heard just about made her jump out of her skin. "Buffy, you okay?" Riley's voice was tinted with concern.

Buffy sat up straight, making the man beside her almost tumble to the floor. "Where am I? Why am I in bed with you?"

Riley sighed. "I told you that might have been a concussion, but no one listens to the commando. You're at my dorm. I would have taken you to you and Willow's place, but you said no. I assume you can figure the rest out." The bed looked like a tornado had tried to rip it apart.

"That I get. The thing I don't understand is, why?" Buffy rubbed her temples.

"You got me, Buffy. Why wouldn't you have?" Riley shined a penlight into her eye. "No sign of a concussion, so whatever was wrong must have healed."

"Something's not right. I shouldn't be here. Last thing I remember, I was at Angel's." Buffy couldn't deal with this. The fact that Faith was explicit about her sex life with this guy was bad enough, but this was just cruel.

"Who's Angel? No one was with you when you got jumped." Riley was nervous. The last time he had heard that name was right before Walsh tried to kill Buffy. She had called it out in her sleep. "I think it's time to call Giles."

Buffy glanced at the clock. "Too early. He probably won't be up, but Jenny will."

Now Riley was confused. "Who's Jenny? I thought her name was Olivia."

Buffy fought the urge to slap him. "That's real cute, Finn." Picking up the phone, she dialed Giles number. The electronic voice told her it had been disconnected.

Riley took the phone, and punched in an extension before the phone number Buffy made him memorize. "Initiative line. Remember?" He handed her back the phone.

The number rang, and a breathless voice answered. "Hello? I just got back from the airport, Buffy."

"How'd you know it was me?" Buffy had started to wander towards the window, and almost crushed the handset.

"You're the only one with the gall to call me this early. What's wrong?" Giles was concerned about her sudden absence of breath.

"I think I'm in the wrong universe." Buffy twisted the claddagh ring on her finger, and looked to where to rubble of the high school lay. A high school that still stands, albeit a little damaged in her world.

Edispilf

The first thing Buffy noticed was that she was lying against something cool. She thought that was rather odd considering she had spent the night with Riley.

The voice Buffy heard just about made her jump out of her skin. "Buffy, you okay, baby?" Angel's voice was tinted with concern.

Buffy sat up straight, making the man beside her almost tumble to the floor. "Where am I? Why am I in bed with you?"

Angel shook his head. "I told you that might have been a concussion, but no one listens to the 300 year old vampire. You're at our apartment. I assume you can figure the rest out." The bed looked like a tornado had tried to rip it apart.

"That I get. The thing I don't understand is how if we did your still soul-having and in Sunnydale." Buffy rubbed her temples.

"You got me, Buffy. Why wouldn't I be?" Angel checked under her eyelids. "No blood, so whatever was wrong must have healed."

"Something's not right. I shouldn't be here. Last thing I remember, I was with Riley." Buffy couldn't deal with this. The dreams about Angel being human were bad enough, but this was just cruel.

"Are he and Faith alright? No one was with you when you got jumped." Angel was nervous. The last time he had seen Riley was a week ago, before Walsh sent him to Cleveland of all places. "I think it's time to call Giles."

Buffy glanced at the clock. "Too early. He probably won't be back from the airport at the speed he drives. Olivia's plane just left half an hour ago."

Now Angel was confused. "Who's Olivia? I'm sure at least Jenny's up by now."

Buffy fought the urge to stake him. "That's real sick, Angel." Picking up the phone, she dialed Giles number. The electronic voice told her it had been disconnected.

Angel watched with something akin to amusement. "Even after a year, it's a hard habit to break." He punched in new set of numbers and handed her back the phone.

The number rang, and a female voice answered. "Giles residence. Jenny speaking." The handset dropped from Buffy's numb fingers, and she began to scream.

Flipside

"Buffy, why on earth do you say that?" Giles rubbed his eyes. It was too early for this.

"I woke up in Finn's apartment, and the high schools a pile of rubble. I'd say that qualifies as Hellmouth freakiness." Buffy let the curtains fall, early morning light was something she'd long ago given up for sleep and her vampire lover.

"I see. We'll need to determine at what point the time lines split. Get over here as quickly as possible. I'm in the apartment complex just outside of town." Giles could already tell this was going to be the mother of all headaches.

"Got ya. Be there is a few." Hanging up, Buffy turned to Riley. "I don't know what happened to the other me, but I think she needs her head checked if she left Angel for you."

Riley just shook his head. "Is waking up and finding someone else in Buffy's body going to become a daily occurrence, or is it just a freak coincidence?"

"Don't know, don't care Finn. By the way," Buffy pulled on her shirt, "If you ever mention this to anyone, lets just say living with the best torture of the nineteenth century has made me real creative."

Buffy walked out, and headed towards her dorm. She would have gone there last night, but Willow had company over, and that was the last thing she and Angel wanted to walk in on again. Opening the door, she saw Willow sprawled on the bed studying. "Hey, Wills."

"Hi Buffy. I thought you weren't coming around today." Willow managed to sit up. She and Tara had stayed up to late trying to get that spell to work, and she was paying for it.

Buffy shrugged, and started digging through the closet. "When Tweed Men call, Slayers must answer. Gotta go Wills, say Hi to Spike for me." Buffy dashed out the door before Willow could ask what that meant.

Buffy somehow remembers the directions to the apartment building Giles lived in before marrying Jenny, and was there on time. She opened the door, and walked in. "Okay, spell me so I can get out of wacky world."

Giles looked up from the Codex, looking rather disturbed. "I'm afraid this wasn't a random occurrence. Did the demon that did this to you say anything?"

Buffy paused, "Yeah. He said something about two slayers of one blood, and me falling to hell."
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. "His name. Did he tell you his name?"

"Yeah. Shoki or something." Buffy flopped down. "Am I gonna die again, cause you have that look again. That my Slayer is in mortal danger look. It's tres creepy."

Giles stared at the page in his book. "Two Slayers, sharing of the same blood. Before the night is done, one shall descend to hell, and one shall ascend to heaven. There, they will do what the other couldn't, and close the Kiihooru before all is lost. The rest is a sacrifice spell."

Buffy gave him a look of her own. "What kind of sacrifice? What could I do that your Buffy couldn't?"

"The spell, it involves the blood sacrifice of a Slayer and her lover. It must have occur in both dimensions however, one half of the pair from each dimension. The thing I don't understand is that how our dimension is supposed to fulfill its part of the spell. Obviously you are not with Riley Finn in your world." Giles sipped from his tea, his brow furrowed.

"That has got to be the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. I'm never gonna understand what Sis see in Farm Boy, but if it makes her happy, I don't give a damn." Buffy watched as Giles' antique teacup almost met it's untimely end on the floor.

"The creature that attacked you last night was a Gojou, one of a five point species representing the five great passions. Only one of their kind exists in each world, depending on its tone. They work for the balance, not the dark side. Shoki represents desire, he is the patron of your universe. Aiseki, the giver of grief is in charge of ours. Things must be drastically different on your world."

"I'll say." Buffy stood, and walked to the mantel. "You don't have any pictures of all of us together. It's like we fragmented. No recent ones of Cordy and Xander, none of me and Angel, none of you and Jenny."

"Did, did you say Jenny? As in Jenny Calendar?" Giles' voice had a tremor in it. "She's still alive on your world?"

Buffy spun. "Oh god, I didn't realize. I'm so sorry. What happened to her?"

Giles sighed. "I believe we have discovered the point where the time lines diverged. I take it Angelus never returned in your world?"

"Nope. After I put Angel on the boat, Jenny showed up, really freaking out. Her uncle had told her about the loophole, and she came to stop me from doing something stupid. I didn't speak to her for almost a month, until she told me she had found a binding spell. By the time Angel got back in April, we both knew that spell forward and backwards." Buffy had a gleam in her eyes.

"That would have drastically altered the time line. At what point did he return?"

"The 28^th. That was one of the most interesting Sadie Hawkins dances of my life. James said that in another world, we were the same, so he inhabited me. When I came back to myself, Angel was there in front of me. Grace had taken possession of him." Buffy couldn't help but notice Giles look of anguish. "She was dead by then, I'm guessing. Tell me what happened."

Giles collapsed onto the sofa. "Angel never got on that boat. The two of you went back to his apartment. By the end of February, my Jenny was dead." The pain fell upon him anew, knowing that in another place they were together.

Buffy felt like crying. Instead she sat next to him, and gave Giles a hug. "I'm so sorry. But I still don't understand. What can I do that your Buffy couldn't?"

Her watcher was deep in thought. Events unreeled before his mind's eye. His Buffy telling him that she could never do what she had done that night with Alcatha. "The prophecy. What our Buffy could never do again! That's got to be it."

Buffy looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"She wouldn't have been able to kill Riley. Even after the Initiative betrayed her, she still trusted him. We wouldn't have been able to fulfill the other half of the spell either. Faith, the other slayer has disappeared, and the caster has to be one or the other." Giles gave a long sigh.

"Faith! That demon sent her to my world to kill my sister?" Buffy was almost screaming, having realized who the Slayer to die was going to be. "How can you be so cold?"

"Buffy, please calm down. I don't understand." Giles hoped the neighbors hadn't heard.

Buffy drew in a few calming breaths. "My sister. You know, she's a Slayer, I'm a Slayer. Where on earth is Faith anyway?"

"And that is what you would be unable to do. I assume that Faith never turned to the dark side in your reality?" Giles remarked.

"Uh, no. I think I'd remember something like that." Buffy was about to launch into another tirade when the phone rang.

Giles picked up. "Hello? Oh, yes, she's here. For you, Buffy."

Buffy wondered who had called her here. Joyce Summers voice came through the mouth piece. "Buffy, Willow told me you were here. Sorry to bother you, but your father sent some urgent package, and I thought you might like it."

Buffy's face went from one of anger to one of disbelief. Confusion was in her voice as she asked, "Mom?" Buffy's voice cracked, and Giles could swear there were tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay Buffy? You don't sound so good." Joyce was in full worrywart mother mode.

Buffy sucked in a deep breath, trying not to cry. "Yeah. I'll be down later, Mom." Buffy managed to say goodbye, and hang up before collapsing to the floor. "She's alive. My god, she's alive in this world."

"Buffy, you need to tell me what's going on. Who's alive here?" Giles could only think of one thing, and it disturbed him greatly.

"My mother. She never got into that car wreck here." Buffy was beginning to ramble as Giles knelt beside her. She surprised him by leaning against him as a child would do. Giles could swear her heard her mumble, "She's still alive, Dad."

Edispilf

Angel grabbed the phone. "Jenny, what did you say to her?"

"Just hello. I'll send Rupert down. He may never forgive me for getting him up this early on a Saturday, but he'll do it for Buffy." Jenny bid Angel farewell, and they hung up.

Angel shook Buffy. "You have to stop screaming, Buffy. Tell me what's wrong."

Buffy wasn't in any condition to answer however, and just fell silent as Angel helped her back into bed and pulled up the covers. Faith stuck her head in. "Can you two keep it- Whoa, what's wrong with B?"

"I wish I knew, Faith." Angel stared at Buffy's hand. "I think something must have happened last night she didn't want to tell me about. I just have no clue what."

The dark haired slayer took a close look and Buffy, and inhaled deeply. "This is gonna sound funny, but doesn't she kinda smell like Riley's after-shave?"

Angel wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. She said something about seeing him this morning, but I thought she was just hallucinating. Something is wrong." He lifted her hand, and saw her empty ring finger. "Very wrong."

Giles walked in about half an hour later. Faith and Angel were standing watch over a fitfully sleeping Buffy. "She doesn't seem to be harmed in anyway." He gave her a quick once over, and paused at the mark on her neck. A pale, thin, white scar. "Angel, we discussed this. You are not to be marking her in visible places. You wouldn't be biting my daughter at all if I had a say in it."

Angel peered over Giles shoulder, and couldn't keep from growling. "That's not mine."

"Of course it's yours. It's obviously voluntary." Giles looked at the vampire in question, who looked about ready to kill his entire species. "Then again, maybe not."

The two men started to discuss last nights battle, and Buffy began to slowly wake up. She took one look at the picture on the night stand, and groaned. "Not again."

Angel sat down beside her, and took her hand in his. "Not again what?"

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Buffy jerked away. "I have to be able to leave after this is over. I can't do that if I know what this is like."

Giles knelt down by the bed. "Which demon sent you here?"

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. "Giles, you always know what's going on. His name was Shoki, called himself the giver of grief."

Giles gave Angel a sideward glance, and they moved away to talk. "There are five stem realities. Each is controlled by a different passion. Anger, Joy, Hatred, Desire, and Grief. This Buffy is from the Grief stem. There is a prophecy revolving around a sacrifice from our reality and hers."

"No one is sacrificing Buffy. We've gotten around prophecy before." Angel fought to keep his anger in check. "I can't imagine her going through anything worse than what's happened here."

"She hasn't called me Giles in a long time." Giles looked towards Buffy who was trying to weasel information out of Faith. "Things must be very different where she's from."

Buffy let her head fall onto the mattress. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

"Sorry B, but G-man gave that lecture when Vamp Willow showed up. Here comes the answers." Faith made way for Giles and his book.

Buffy read the page to herself as Giles read aloud. "Two Slayers, sharing of the same blood. Before the night is done, one shall descend to hell, and one shall ascend to heaven. There, they will do what the other couldn't, and close the Kiihooru before all is lost. The rest is a sacrifice spell."

Buffy gave him a look of her own. "What kind of sacrifice? What could I do that your Buffy couldn't?"

"The spell, it involves the blood sacrifice of a Slayer and her lover. It must have occur in both dimensions however, one half of the pair from each dimension." Giles set the book down. "For the life of me, I can't understand why the Powers sent you here."

Buffy sighed. "I know." She shot a wistful look at Angel. "You say I come from a universe dominated by grief, and this is one dominated by desire. I can believe that, because based on what I've seen, this place is the embodiment of everything I ever wanted." Buffy ran her fingers over a picture on the nightstand. It showed her and Angel at what appeared to be her nineteenth birthday party.

"Everything you ever wanted?" Faith plopped down next to her. "What makes you say that? 'Cause believe me B, this place isn't any cakewalk either."

Buffy didn't answer, and instead just fell into deep thought. "I want to know why I'm here. Your Buffy obviously isn't with Riley here, and I'm not about to kill another boyfriend."

Faith was unable to stop a giggle from escaping. Buffy gave a confused glance. She had never heard Faith giggle. "You, and Riley! You two barely tolerate living in the same house. I can't even leave you and him in the same room alone with out a huge fight breaking out." The was a glint in the brunets eyes. "I hate damaged merchandise."

Buffy understood now. "Oh god. I know what I'm here for."

Angel, forgetting what Buffy had asked of him, put his arms around her. "Why did they send you?"

"I'm here to finish what I started. It can't be me, because your Buffy and myself led completely different lives. There's only one similar pairing, and your Buffy could never do what had to be done." Buffy looked at her hands, almost expecting them to still be covered in blood. "Of course, neither could I."

Giles motioned Angel away, and took his daughters hand. "Do what?"

"It's not me and Angel that has to die. The one thing I've always wanted, in my world I can never have." Buffy lifted her eyes, and looked at the girl that in her universe was the embodiment of all that could go wrong in a slayer, and here was something akin to a sister. "The only thing that coincides. A Slayer and her living lover. It's Faith and Riley."

Faith got up and ran from the room. Buffy watched her go sadly. Giles gave Buffy a hard look. "Tell us. What makes you so sure?"

"In my world, there were some very bad things that happened the night of my seventeenth birthday." Buffy turned her eyes away. "Angelus came back."

Angel placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He then got up to follow Faith.

"The Judge rose, and I blew him up with a rocket launcher. Angelus turned Terresa, Oz became a werewolf. Amy made everyone but Cordelia fall in love with Xander." Buffy got a 'yuck' look on her face.

Then her expression went completely blank. "Jenny died. I killed Der Kindestod in a boiler room with a hundred and five degree fever. The Sadie Hawkins dance, James and Grace. Xander turned into a fish. Alcatha and the portal. Angel going to hell." Buffy lifter her eyes, and saw Giles shocked face. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say a lot of that didn't happen."

Giles shook his head. "Not all, but a great deal did. Angel was gone for months after he got on that boat. Terresa didn't become a vampire, she was attacked by Drusilla and drained. Oz became a werewolf, and the valentine's day fiasco was completed with Xander's love spell. You killed Der Kindestod, and it was during the Sadie Hawkins dance Angel returned. The swim team became fish." He suddenly paused. "You left something out, didn't you?"

Buffy shook her head no, and Giles became quite pale. "That's why you called me Giles, then. I'm not quite sure how to tell you this, Buffy."

"Spit it out. What do I usually call you?"

"Drusilla tried to open Alcatha. Something about a sire's bloodline being continued in his childe. Spike conspired with you to stop her, and you stopped her on the condition they both leave town." Giles looked as if he was about to do the hardest thing he'd ever done. "You asked me what you usually call me. You call me Father, Buffy, because your mother is dead."

The crying started again, and Angel reentered the room, taking Giles place at Buffy's side. "She's gone to call Riley."

Faith leaned against the kitchen wall. She was almost to the floor. "Riley, you need to come home."

"What's wrong?" Riley shouldered his cell phone and put down the gun he'd been cleaning.

"There's a prophecy. This time it's for me. I guess maybe the powers noticed me after all." There was a bitter tone in her laugh. Then Faith's tone became somber. "It's my turn to die for the cause."

Flipside

Giles held the sobbing girl to him, not understanding really what she meant. "Buffy, you have to tell me what happened."

Buffy managed to suck in enough air to speak. "Car accident. Two days after I sent Dru packing, she came to get me late on night at the library. I was gonna tell her about me being a Slayer. Two blocks from home, we were sideswiped by a drunk driver." Buffy rolled up one of her pant legs. Her calf was crisscrossed with scars. "She lingered for almost a week. I almost died too, only my slayer strength saved me."

Buffy sat in Angel's lap, listening to Giles ramble about some demon or other. She whispered in his ear. "I'm telling Mom tonight. I'm afraid if I don't, she'll invite Spike back for more cocoa."

"It's probably a good idea. The last time, she invited Darla in, and you tried to kill me." Angel was quickly losing the will to pay attention as Buffy nibbled on his earlobe.

"Don't worry, I don't bring my stakes into our arguments anymore. It's a good thing Mom likes you, she wasn't to keen on me dating an older man." Buffy mummered.

"When you tell her how much older, she'll probably have me arrested. Do you want me to come by so she doesn't think you're crazy?" Angel could hear the car's distinctive engine already.

"I'd appreciate it. Give me 15 minutes." Buffy slid out of his lap. "Gotta go, Giles. See you guys tomorrow!" She bounded out of the library so her mother wouldn't see the assortment of occult books her friends were going through.

Joyce watched through the window as Buffy disengaged herself from her boyfriend and come running out to the car. "I'll never understand why you spend so much time in that library, yet get so bad grades."

"That's what I'm gonna try and explain as soon as we get home." Buffy buckled her belt as the car started to roll. "Angel's gonna come by and help me explain."

Joyce managed to keep from slamming on the brakes. Maybe if she had, it would have saved her life. "Are you pregnant?"

"No." Buffy answered her mothers question like it was the strangest thing she'd ever been asked. "Angel can't have children, that's what I want to talk about."

Joyce was so relieved, she didn't here the squeal of tires in the intersection. Only a Slayers reflexes could have stopped quick enough to get out of the way of that drunk, and Buffy wasn't driving. The only other thing Buffy remembered about that night was the sound of screeching metal, then everything went black.

She woke up four days later, in a sterile hospital room that gave her the creeps. Her shades were draw tight, and Angel was asleep in a chair next to the bed. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. "Angel? What happened?"

His eyes opened. "Hey, baby." Angel ran his fingers through her hair. "You were in a wreck. You've been out a few days."

"My mom?" Buffy's voice trembled.

Angel seemed reluctant, but he answered her. "She's still alive. Joyce said she wanted to talk to you one last time."

Buffy struggled to sit up. "Get me a wheelchair. I have to go to her."

A few minutes later, she was at her mothers bedside. Joyce hadn't slipped into a healing coma as Buffy had, she had never gone under at all. She had been awake through all the agonizing pain. "At least I know you'll make it."

"Mom, don't talk like that. Your gonna make it." Buffy grasped her hand tightly.

"Buffy, I have something to tell you. I think you're too old now anyway, so you're safe." Joyce moistened her lips. "When you were born, an Englishman came to me, and told me you were destined for greatness. He begged for me to give you up, but I couldn't. Even though I though it was a hallucination, I had your birthmark removed, so they could never find you again."

Buffy looked sadly at her mother. "You couldn't protect me from destiny, Mom. When one dies, another is called whether the Council knows who she is or not. I've been the active slayer for three years."

Joyce made a small sound. "I tried so hard not to remember. At least now I know you aren't in a gang. Go get my purse." Angel handed it to them so they didn't have to move. "All this time I kept the custody papers. I think it's time to use them. Promise me you'll keep my name though, okay honey?"

Buffy nodded, and watched as her mother signed the bottom of the sheet. "What's his name, the one that guides you?"

"Rupert Giles." Her voice trembled. "I'm gonna miss you, Mom."

"I know." Joyce dated the papers, and hit the nurse call button. She handed the papers to the on duty nurse. "Fax these to my lawyer. Quickly, please."

Joyce closed her eyes for the last time. She held on to life for another day until she slipped away under Buffy and Angel's watchful gaze. It was a few hours later that Hank Summers arrived, and all hell broke loose.

Buffy sat in Angel's protective grasp in the waiting room. Her eyes were focused on the ring on her finger. "You're mine forever, right?"

"Of course." Angel could tell she needed reassuring. "I could never leave you. I'll be here as long as you need me."

A man cleared his voice. "I'm here to take you home, Buffy." Hank had finally arrived.

"Hi, Dad." Buffy couldn't will herself to look up. "I don't want to go home. The house is so empty."

"I mean back to LA with me, Buffy. You can't stay in Sunnydale alone, you're a minor still." When Buffy looked at him like one looks at a snake, and Hank wondered what he'd said wrong.

Buffy's anger started to rise. "My mother, the woman you were married to for 15 years just died! You want to drag me away before she's even buried?"

"You have no right to talk to me like that. I'm your father, and you'll do as I say!" Hank glared at Angel also. "And you, get your hands off her. This is a hospital for god's sake."

People were starting to stare. One of the doctors approached. "We'd appreciate it if you'd keep it down. We've just had a patient death, and the family is somewhere in this room."

Buffy gave a harsh chuckle mixed with a sob. "He is family! He just tries to pretend he doesn't care about her anymore."

Hank ignored her. "If my daughter is well, I'd like to get out of town as soon as possible. I have an important business meeting in seven hours back in LA."

The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, but we can't release her to you. Before Mrs. Summers died, she signed binding papers turning Buffy over to one Mr. Giles."

"But I am her father! Joyce didn't have the right to turn over complete custody."

"I'm afraid she did." A man in a well pressed suit was standing in the doorway. "I'm Mr. Atton, you're late wife's attorney. You can take this to court, but I'm afraid you won't win. In the end, you may even lose visitation rites. I'm sure the jury would be quite apathetic to a man who hasn't seen his daughter since her sixteenth birthday, and tried to make her leave town before the funeral."

Hank stormed from the room, and Buffy rose to shake his hand. "You're not Mr. Atton. I assume the council sent you?"

"Yes. Legal proceedings may require you to go to LA at the end of the Summer, but until then you will be able to stay in Sunnydale. We can't have the Slayer off the Hellmouth."

Angel gave the Council Representative an odd look. "What's happened to Kendra?"

The man straightens his tie. "The Second Slayer was killed in Brazil about twelve hours ago." * *

"That was the only good thing the council ever did for me. I was only in LA for a day. Long enough to get a cup of coffee with an old friend, and stop an inter-dimensional slave trade." Buffy raised her head. "I haven't seen the man that calls himself my father since that day."

Edispilf

Buffy found Faith crumpled on the kitchen floor. The phone lay beside her, the operator giving her usual recorded message. "Are you okay?"

Faith shot her a look. "I just found out I'm gonna die, my boyfriend is half way across the country, and you're not Buffy, you're not my sister. So go away!"

"You know, you stole my body and tried to kill me last week." Buffy sat next to Faith. "Do you see me holding a grudge?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I so did not!" Faith couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"We're completely different people where I come from. You made some bad decisions, and ended up in a coma on graduation day. You woke up, and fulfilled the prophecy." Buffy had a pained look on her face.

"How?"

"You had sex with Riley. You were in my body, and he couldn't tell the difference." Buffy pulled out a couple of kitchen chairs.

"That's why I was sent here. The girl you call your sister could never bear to kill you, just like I could never put a sword through another lover."

Faith pulled two beers out of the fridge, intending to drown her sorrow. "Didn't think you had it in you, B. What'd Angel do to make you mad?"

"Tortured Giles, killed Ms. Calendar, not to mention Willow's fish and Teresa." Buffy pushed the bottle away. "Last time I drank, I turned into Cave-Slayer."

"That was me. G-man thought I'd stop hitting the bottle, but it didn't happen. Guess I don't have to worry about my finals now." Faith gave a harsh chuckle. "I always thought they were worse than death anyway."

"I can't bond with you, Faith. I'm sorry, I can't do this again." Buffy pushed away her chair, and got up to leave the room. "Your sister, she has you, she has Angel. Me, I only have Riley. When I go home, he'll be gone too."

Faith watched as she left, and thought of the night her life changed.

"Check out Slut-O-Rama and her Disco Dave." Cordelia points and looks onto the dance floor as she and Xander sit on a low table against a wall. Although the girl's style is more contemporary, the guy is dancing way too fast for the music, with an unmistakable 70's disco influence. "What was the last thing that guy danced to, KC and the Sunshine Band?"

Willow and Oz both cock their heads to look at them. The couple continues to dance, getting close and touching each other at one point, then separating again. Buffy begins to really wonder about them. The couple gets close again, and the girl extends her arm, pointing at the door. The guy takes the hint, and leads her out with his arm around her. Buffy watches them go, suspicious of his intentions. She sees him say bye to his buddy and head for the door. "I don't think that guy thrives on sunshine."

She quickly puts down her drink and starts out after them. Angel watches from across the room, and follows her out. Buffy strides out and looks around. Angel comes out right behind her followed closely by the others. "Where'd she go?"

She takes a few steps down the alley to the left to check things out. The others look around also. Cordelia makes a bored noise. "I bet it's nothing. They're probably just making out."

Buffy comes back. They hear a girl call out in a complaining tone. "Hey!" They also hear a loud noise, as though something was just broken. Xander pulls a stake out of his jacket. Buffy takes

it from him and heads in the direction of the noise.

"That's not what making out sounds like, unless I'm doing it wrong." Willow clung to Oz as they followed Angel and Buffy.

The boy has the girl up against a section of temporary chain link fencing that's leaning against the building. "Stop struggling. This won't hurt." The boy vamps out and moves in to bite the girl. She grabs him by the neck, pushes him away a bit and elbow jabs him in the face. He staggers back and regains his balance as she jumps onto a crate. She does a jumping roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him to the pavement. Buffy arrives. The girl notices her and approaches, smiling. "It's okay, I got it. You're, uh, Buffy, right?"

Buffy is taken aback. Just as she's about to answer, the vampire comes up behind the girl and grabs her by the shoulders. She snaps her head back to head butt him in the face and grabs onto his arm. "I'm Faith." She twists the vampire around and shoves him into the section of chain link fence.

Oz whispered to Willow, " I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there's a new Slayer in town."

Faith knees him in the gut from behind. The vamp whirls around and tries to backhand punch her, but she easily ducks it. She punches him in the gut and then again in the face. Everyone just watches her fight. Xander follows her moves with jerks of his head. She does a high side kick to the vampire's jaw, grabs onto his shirt and neck and throws him to the ground. The vamp does a no-hand front roll to control his fall while Faith reaches over to Buffy for the stake and jerks it from her hand. "Can I borrow that?"

The vampire uses the momentum of his roll to get back to his feet and runs at Faith, throwing a punch as he comes. She ducks it, hooks her hand on his shoulder, turns him around and pushes him back into the fence. She raises the stake and jams it cleanly into his chest and jerks it back out. The vampire instantly crumbles into ashes. Buffy stares in confused amazement. Faith faces her and hands her back the stake. "Thanks, B. Couldn't have done it without you." She just continues walking past them all. Buffy turns to stare after her, unsure how to react.

A waitress holding a tray of six muffins past the pastry counter and into an alcove where Faith has joined the gang and is relating one of her stories to them. "The whole summer it was, like, the worst heat wave. So it's about a hundred and eighteen degrees and I'm sleeping without a stitch on."

The waitress sets the tray on a table and leaves. "And all of a sudden, I hear this screaming from outside. So I go tearing out, stark nude," Xander looks down at her body, licking his lips, "And this church bus has broke down, and there's these three vamps feasting on half the Baptists in South Boston. So I waste the vamps, and the preacher comes up, and he's hugging me like there's no tomorrow, when all of a sudden, the cops pull up and they arrested us both." Faith reaches for a muffin. Xander stares blankly ahead of himself, trying to picture the scene.

"Wow. They should film that story and show it every Christmas." Cordelia, sitting next to him with her arms and legs crossed, turns her head to him and gives Xander a look. Faith tears into the muffin.

"God, I could eat a horse. Isn't it crazy how slayin' just always makes you hungry and horny?" She pops a piece of muffin in her mouth.

The others all turn their heads to look at Buffy. She blushes, and Angel knew he would be if he could. "We plead the fifth. I am so not answering that one."

"What's with tall, dark, and stoic guy your sitting on, B?" Faith flashed Angel a grin.

"This is Angel." Buffy leaned back against his chest. "He's the one vampire in town you don't have my permission to stake. He's mine to do with as I wish."

"Didn't think you had it in you, B." Faith gives him another appraising glance. "Not many people can tame the beast."

A look of sudden revelation washes across Cordelia's face, and she smiles. "I get it." Faith gives her a confused look. "Not the horny thing. Yuck! But the two Slayer thing. There was one, and then Buffy died for, like, two minutes, so then Kendra was called, and then when she died, Faith was called."

Faith gives her a nod.

"But why were you called here?" Willow had to ask.

"Well, I wasn't. My Watcher went off to some retreat thing in England, and so I skipped out. I figured this was my chance to meet the infamous Buff and compare notes."

Xander interrupts. "So what was the, uh, story about that alligator? You, uh, said something... before."

Faith begins to speak with lots of gesturing. "Oh, there's this Big Daddy Vampire out of Missouri who used to keep them as pets. So he's got me rasslin' one of 'em, okay? The thing must have been twelve feet 3.7 m long and I'm..."

Xander interrupts once more. "So was this, um, ahem, also naked?"

Faith teases. "Well, the alligator was." She laughs Xander smiles at her and laughs also.

"Xander?" Cordelia glares when he looks. "Find a new theme."

Faith shakes her head. "I tell ya, I never had more trouble than that damn vamp. to Buffy So what about you? What was your toughest kill?"

Buffy lowers her eyes and has a flashback to the Master drowning her on her birthday. She comes back and shakes herself out of her reverie. She smiles weakly. "Um, well, you know, they're all difficult, I guess."

Faith waits for a story and takes a drink.

Buffy thinks hard, and finally remembers. "Uh... Oh! Oh, do you guys remember the Three?" They all look back inquisitively. "That's right, you never met the Three. Well, there was three..."

Oz interrupts. "Something occurring. Uh, now, you both kill vamps, and who could blame you, but, I'm, I'm wondering about your position on werewolves."

Willow put her hand on his shoulder. "Oz is a werewolf."

Buffy grins. "It's a long story."

Oz shrugs. "I got bit."

Buffy sighs. "Apparently not that long."

Faith considers briefly. "Hey, as long as you don't go scratchin' at me or humpin' my leg, we're five-by-five, you know?"

Oz is expressionless as always. "Fair enough."

Something suddenly occurs to Buffy. "Do you have a place to stay tonight? I won't mind if you crash at my place."

"I would." Angel whispered in her ear. "But it can wait. You two need to talk. She isn't telling you everything, Buffy. I can smell it."

Faith shrugged. "Won't your parents freak if you show up at midnight with a strange girl with tattoos?"

Without saying another word, Buffy pulled herself from Angel's arms and ran towards the exit. Angel quickly rose to follow. "What'd I say?"

Xander watched her go. "Her mother's dead. She's kinda rotating between Angel and Giles' places."

"Shit." Faith dug around in her pocket for a cigarette. "I figured she had the perfect life. Friends, a cute boyfriend even if he's a vampire. What's with that anyway?"

"He's got a soul." Willow stared at the burning point of the cigarette. "Those things will kill you."

Faith seemed deep in thought, as though she was trying very hard to make a decision. As Angel dragged Buffy back to the table, she didn't even glance at his quickly healing hickey. "I have to tell you something."

* *

"The best thing that ever happened to me was coming here." Faith looked up to see Giles as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, G-man. Figured out how I'm gonna die yet?"

"Faith, you mustn't be so negative. We have conquered prophecy before. Slayers don't always have to die." Giles tried to pry the beer bottle from her fingers. "This is not going to help."

Faith tightened her grip. "It'll do until Riley gets here."

Flipside

Buffy wriggled from Giles grasp. "I wanna get everyone over here. This is something we all need to be involved in."

"I'll call Willow and Xander. I'm sure they'll be glad to help." Giles headed towards the phone.

"What about everyone else? I'm sure they aren't gonna be to happy to be left out." Buffy had finally managed to calm down.

"The others?" Giles looked up from the phone. "Never mind, I'm not quite sure I want to know."

Willow arrived about ten minutes later, as worn out as she had hours earlier when Buffy had last seen her. "What's wrong that I had to get here in such a hurry?"

"I don't want to have to tell this three times, so we're waiting for everyone else." Buffy stared at the kettle on the stove, hoping supreme will would make it boil faster. "Do you have a Latin dictionary? I'm a little rusty."

"You couldn't even tell la from El after two years of Spanish, Buffy. I think that's more than little rusty." Willow almost giggled as she dug through Giles boxes.

Buffy shot Giles a look. "What on earth went on here? I mean, I never was to keen on studying, but that was one of the first things we started after-"

Giles held up his hands. "I told you, certain things never happened here."

Willow gave them both a confused look. Xander and Anya walked in. "Okay G-man, what's the emergency?"

"Xander and I were going to have sex involving fo-" Anya cut herself off as everyone gave her the look.

Buffy was extremely confused. "Anyone care to share why Anyaka is cozying up to Xander? Because this just looks really bizarre to me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander visibly bristled.

Buffy turned back to the stove as the kettle whistled. "Take note, yet another of the many differences." She began to prepare tea in the proper British style, confusing everyone including Giles. "To start with, I'm Buffy's doppelganger from another reality."

Xander sighed. "Anya, I thought we agreed you weren't a demon anymore."

"I swear, I didn't do it." Anya threw herself into an easy chair. "Besides, am I the only one that can see the symbol on her forehead? That's the mark of a Gojou demon."

"You know?" Sometimes Giles was amazed by the amount of knowledge the ex-demoness possessed.

"Sure. That stupid prophecy about the blood of the Slayer, right?" Anya grabbed a soda. "Which universe are you from?"

Xander gave his girlfriend a long, hard look. "You didn't think to warn us a doppelganger was going to show up? What if she'd been a vampire?"

"Hey!" Buffy scowled. "I'm still here, you know. Be nice."

"Why don't you explain before you all start screaming at each other." Giles nursed his tea. 'This is reason enough to take in your Slayer.'

Buffy inhaled, and began to speak. "Two years ago, in what I understand was some sort of miracle, I got Angel onto the barge."

Edispilf

Buffy shook of Angel's hand. "I wanna get everyone over here. This is something we all need to be involved in."

"I'll call everyone else. I'm sure they'll be glad to help." Angel headed towards the phone.

Buffy had finally managed to calm down by the time the Scooby Gang arrived. That didn't last long as she saw Cordelia walk in on Xander's arm. "This had better be important. I blew off a nail appointment to be here."

Buffy let her head drop to her lap. "Things cannot get any weirder. If they do, I may suffer serious repercussions."

Giles seemed nervous as the door was again opened. It was Willow, grasping the hand of someone Buffy couldn't see. "We came through the sewers, and Doufus wouldn't ask for directions. We ended up at the cave." Willow pulled her hand in the door, bringing with it Spike, wearing an expression of distaste.

"Someone is playing with the direction signs again. The next time some vamps running from the Nancy Troops, he's gonna regret playing a trick on old Spike." Spike saw the Slayer's knees begin to tremble. "What's a matter with her?"

"Take note, yet another of the many differences." Buffy looked ready to collapse. "To start with, I'm Buffy's doppelganger from another reality."

Xander sighed. "I thought Anyaka didn't have her powers anymore."

Spike threw himself into an easy chair. "Besides, am I the only one that can see the symbol on her forehead? That's the mark of a Gojou demon."

"You know?" Sometimes Giles was amazed by the amount of knowledge the demon possessed.

"Sure. That stupid prophecy about the blood of the Slayer, right?" Spike searched the depths of his mind for what little knowledge Dalton had imparted to him. "Which universe are you from?"

Willow gave her boyfriend a long, hard look. "You didn't think to warn us a doppelganger was going to show up? What if she'd been a vampire?"

"Hey!" Buffy scowled. "I'm still here, you know. Be nice."

"Why don't you explain before you all start screaming at each other." Giles nursed his tea.

Buffy inhaled, and began to speak. "Two years ago, in what I understand was some sort of fluke, Angel missed his boat."