Chapter 1
You Always Ruin My Life
"Sorry I'm late guys. Mom was in one of her moods and wanted to know every detail of why I was going to the school library on a Saturday." Buffy hurried into the library twenty minutes late. Everyone was already sitting at the table with what was left of their breakfast.
"Gee I didn't notice you were late Buff, I always like to spend my Saturday mornings in the library listening to Cordelia's fascinating manicure history. I mean, who needs sleep when there is a great nail polish story to be told." Xander replied irritably.
"I don't mind Buffy. I've been here since six helping Giles with the research. I think we may have found what that strange amulet thingy is that you found last night. I found a picture, but Giles thinks we should go to the cemetery and find the casket that it came out of just in case." Willow was very sunny this morning having gotten to spend a quiet morning in the library with books and the Internet. Doing research on the occult was one of her favorite pastimes anymore. She was working on becoming a Wicca and relished the time to study without worrying that her parents were going to barge in on her.
"Okay, it was dark, but I think I remember where I saw the demon thingies digging. At least there should be an uprooted coffin and signs of a struggle. Did I mention that I kicked some demon butt last night?" Buffy smiled at the gang and sat down in the seat Giles had been occupying. Giles came out of the stacks just in time to see her help herself to one of his cinnamon rolls. "I found another book that mentions the amulet, oh hi Buffy, I didn't know you had gotten here." Buffy looked up and saw Giles. Then she noticed she the place she was sitting in had a cup of tea in front of the rolls. "Sorry, I thought they were just there. Anyway, what is this thing?" Buffy put the last bite of cinnamon roll on a napkin and started to get up.
"No, help yourself. I wasn't really eating them anyway. This thing is known as the wishing stone. It was enchanted by a witch in the eighteen hundreds. It was passed down in her family, each generation becoming greedier and more evil than the last. It seems Elizabeth Carmichael was the last in that line. It is rumored that she did not like the way the family had been using the stone. When many attempts had been made to steal it from her, it is said that she sewed it into her clothing, and killed herself, vowing no one would ever use the stone again." Giles continued to flip through the pages of the old watchers journals after he had finished talking.
"So, what do we do about it?" Buffy ask. "I can understand why the demons want such a thing, but how can we protect it?" She was watching Giles, who was still lost in his book.
"We could try to destroy it." Willow suggested.
"Or we could find someone to keep it who wouldn't use it." Xander added.
"Where would we find someone who wouldn't be tempted to use a stone that could make all your wishes come true? I wouldn't even trust myself with it." Willow was looking at Xander with a mixture of questioning and annoyance.
"I can keep it. I mean daddy gets me anything I want and well, everyone adores me. What would I have to wish for?" Cordelia was getting up and grabbing at the amulet sitting in the middle of the table.
"Hold it. I'm not sure anyone can be trusted." Xander said. Cordelia stopped with her hand midway between herself and the amulet. Giles was still engrossed in his book and didn't even seem aware of the conversation going on around him.
"Giles, what are we going to do with this thing?" Buffy ask again. Giles still didn't look up. "Hey Giles! Are you even on the same planet as us?" Buffy got up and walked toward him.
"Oh, yes, Buffy. Did you say something?" He ask in his usual absentminded way.
"What. Are. We. Going. To. Do. With. It?" Buffy pronounced every word slowly as if she were talking to a child.
"Well, first I suppose we need to go to the cemetery and find the grave. Just because this looks like the same amulet, doesn't mean it isn't a fake. We need to at least see if it is Elizabeth's grave." He put the book down and started toward the table. "Then I guess we need to find out how to destroy it, if it is indeed the wishing stone." He picked up the amulet and put it in his pocket.
Buffy picked up her bag and the others got up and started clearing away their breakfast mess. "I guess it's back to the cemetery. I am beginning to feel like I live there." Buffy sighed as she started out the door.
The rain that had fallen that morning left the cemetery wet and squishy beneath their feet. "Ugh! This is so gross!" Cordelia whined as they made their way through the newer part of the cemetery. "I don't know why I hang out with you freaks anyway. I mean really, cemeteries and libraries. You would think you would have something better to do." She continued.
"You know why you come Cordy as well as we do." Xander said with a mock serious expression on his face.
"Oh really! And why is that?" Cordelia huffed, stepping right into his trap.
"You can't stand being apart from me." Xander said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.
"Yeah, like that's it!" Cordelia hurried around him and tried to catch up with the others. She didn't want Xander to see the slight blush on her cheeks.
As they entered the older part of the cemetery, Buffy took up lead. She weaved in and out of old head stones and statues. "I know it was around here somewhere." She said to herself as she walked through the gloomy cemetery trying to remember where she had been the night before. "Could it have possibly been there?" Giles ask her, pointing to a spot to the right of where she was standing. There was a mound of dirt and splinters of wood in front of a statue of an angel. "Yeah, I remember that statue." Buffy said, hurrying toward the place.
Bending to inspect the scene, Giles sifted through the dirt and saw what looked like bits of cloth. The top of the coffin had been torn off and the clothing had been ripped to shreds. "Obviously they heard the same rumors we read." Giles said gesturing toward the cloth. He got up and walked around the hole to the head stone. It was worn and hard to read. He could faintly make out the name Elizabeth Vivianne Carmichael "This is her all right." He said standing up. "I guess now we have to figure out how to destroy it."
Cordelia looked around at each member of the gang. No one was making a move to leave. "Okay, then I guess we can leave now. This place really creeps me out." She turned to go, but no one else was moving with her. "Guys, is it really necessary to stay here. I mean, hello, were in a grave yard." Her haughty attitude was undermined by the scared expression on her face.
"Look Cordelia, if you want to go no one is stopping you. I don't even remember anyone inviting you anyway." Buffy looked annoyed as she started to walk around looking for some clues as to what to do next. The others looked from Buffy to Cordelia, not sure what to do.
"Hey! You can't talk to me like that! You ought to feel privileged that I even speak to you, you morbid, unstylish, slayer-freak." Cordelia huffed, but made no move to leave.
"Again, no one is keeping you here." Buffy looked at her nonplussed.
"Your just jealous because I have better taste than you do. If you would quit worrying so much about slaying and spend more time on yourself, you might have a decent social life." Cordelia shot back.
"You're just jealous because I kick butt and save the world every single day, while you do nothing more meaningful than picking out the right shade of lipstick!" Buffy yelled back.
The ground started to spin. Buffy and Cordelia stared at each other wide eyed. "Uh guys! What's going on?" Buffy shouted, looking around at the others, whom were just standing around like nothing was happening.
"What did you do?" Gasp Cordelia. "I should have known better than to come with you! This can't be good! YOU ALWAYS RUIN MY LIFE!" She shouted as the spinning slowed down. There was a bright flash and then everything stopped.
Chapter 2
The New Slayer
Cordelia opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground of the cemetery. At first she couldn't remember why she was there. Then she remembered the wishing stone. They were checking to see if it was really what it was suppose to be. She stood up and dusted off her jeans. Her loose black t-shirt was brown with dust. "Okay Giles, do we have what we need?" She asks looking around at the others.
"Hey! What happened?" Buffy ask, getting to her feet and adjusting her short pink blouse and dusting off her designer jeans. She looked around at the gang. They were all staring at her and Cordelia. "What? Is my lipstick smeared? Is my hair messed up?" Buffy ask.
"Well, that is strange. I don't recall you having been wearing that outfit. Or Ms. Chase wearing that one for that matter. Oh well, you know me. I don't pay much attention to those kinds of things." Giles said and turned and started to walk off. The others stared at them like they couldn't quiet believe their eyes either. Without a word they all started to follow Giles. Cordelia picked up the slayer bag and shrugged at Buffy as if they had all lost their minds. They start to follow the others towards the front of the cemetery. Suddenly there was movement in the trees ahead of them.
"Stay back!" Giles told the others. "Who's there?" He asks toward the movement. There was nothing but quiet. Giles looked back at the others. "I defiantly saw movement. Didn't I?" He asks, starting to wonder after the episode back at the grave. Willow's eyes went big and she pointed in front of him. "
"I think they are what you saw moving." She told him. Giles turned around and faced the demons that had just walked out from behind a group of trees. They were tall and muscular with green skin and red spurs on their wrist. He wasn't sure what they were, but he knew they probably weren't friendly.
"Those are the guys I saw last night." Cordelia said to Giles. She turned her attention to the demons. "I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again." She said, setting down the bag. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Cordy, what are you talking about? You weren't out here last night, Buffy was. You were, well, you know where you were last night and it definitely wasn't in a cemetery." He looked at her with a slight blush.
"Buffy? Are these the guys you saw last night?" Giles ask her. She looked at him like he was an alien or something strange that hadn't been seen on the hell mouth, which narrowed that category down quiet a bit. "Well, you said you killed one last night. How did you do it?" He asks. She looked at him again. "Um, you have confused with the slayer. I don't even want to be here now, much less in the middle of the night. That is so not my scene." She told him. Before Giles could reply, Cordelia ran toward the demons. There was a flurry of fists and kicks as she attacked the closest one. "A little help here?" She called back to the others.
The others jumped in to help drive the demons back. Buffy picked up a limb from the ground and started to hit a demon with it. It grabbed her around the waist. It put a sharp-clawed finger to her throat. "Everybody stop or the princess here gets it!" He shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Buffy stood stiff, not sure if she should struggle or not.
"Now, all we want is the stone. Give it to us and we let the girl go." He told them. Willow looked to Giles. Xander looked around for Cordelia. Then he saw her sneaking up behind. He tried not to draw attention to the sneak attack. As she got close behind him, she pulled a knife out of her pants waist and put it to the side of the demon's throat. "Three inches of silver." She told him. "That is the only thing that will kill you guys, right?"
"Slayer." The demon hissed. He slowly let go of Buffy. She took a step from him and then threw a turning kick into him. The demon fell back against the knife. He slid hard to the ground. Buffy looked at him with a small smile. Cordelia took a rag out of the slayer bag lying beside her and started to clean. The other demons had run.
"Nice move Buffy." She said, not looking up.
"Well, I learn a lot of valuable things in cheerleading. Any way, I'm not helpless, I just don't like being in mortal danger." Buffy told her, still looking down at the demon. Cordelia finished with her knife and put it away. She picked up the slayer bag and looked around at the others who were looking very confused. "Well, shouldn't we be going? We still need to figure out what to do about the amulet." She turned and started toward the gates. The others looked at each other and then started to follow her out.
Chapter 3
What In The Hellmouth Is Going On Here?
They all sat around the library table looking at Cordelia and Buffy as though they were strange specimens in need of studying. "Okay, tell me what happened back there? Buffy, why did you let Cordelia put herself in danger like that?" Giles was very irritated at what had to be their idea of a joke.
"That's Cordelia's job not mine." Buffy said in a quivering voice. "I am not the slayer. I don't know why you keep saying I am. I wish you guys would quit acting so weird. Willow, tell them." She looked at her best friend for help. Willow looked from Buffy to Cordelia and then to Giles.
"I would if I could, but I am not sure I know what is going on here." She told Buffy with a little sigh. She hated to let her down like that. Buffy was the best friend she had ever had. She just didn't understand what was going on here. Buffy looked at her with a hurt expression. Then she turned to Xander.
"Leave me out of this. I am clueless, as usual." He held up his hands in front of him and shook his head. Giles took off his glasses and started to wipe furiously at them. This was a habit of his whenever he was nervous or just didn't know what the answer to the problem was. Finally he put his glasses on and took the amulet out of his pocket. He sat it on the table and sighed. "I guess we still need to figure this out. I do have to say that I am impressed with Cordelia. How did you know that silver was the only thing that could kill those demons?" He asks her.
"Well, a slayer always has to be prepared. Isn't that what you have always told me? Remember all those hours you spent making me learn about this stuff?" Cordelia ask irritably. "I don't know why are so obsessed with Buffy any way. All she ever does is complain about messing up her hair or spoiling her precious clothes." She walked out of the library in a huff.
Giles sat in a chair with a couple of books in front of him. He pretended to not be upset about Cordelia's outburst. Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Finally Giles stood up. "Oh all right. I guess I'll go after her then." He got up a walked out. Xander got up and walked toward the door. "I don't know about you but demon killing always makes me hungry." He walked out of the library on his way to the vending machines.
Buffy sat and studied her hands and trying to be mad at Willow for not standing up for her. She couldn't believe her best friend would betray her. Willow sat opposite her flipping rapidly through books. Finally she looked up at Buffy. "I've got it!" She exclaimed loudly. Buffy finally looked at her. "Got what?" She wanted to be mad, but she was beginning to think it wasn't Willow, but herself who were loosing her mind. "I think I know what happened to you guys." She said excitedly. "Stay here. I'm going to go get Giles and Cordelia." She jumped up and ran out of the room, leaving Buffy alone in the library.
Buffy walked around the table to where Willow had been sitting. She picked up a book and started to flip through it. It was a book about magic and enchanted objects. Willow was always reading that stuff. She messed around with a few spells, but it wasn't Buffy's thing. Then it hit her. Maybe Will had found a spell that could make them all come back to their senses and realize that they were the crazy one's, not her and Cordelia. She flipped through another book, but couldn't understand how any of this had to do with the way everyone was acting. She finally gave up trying and walked back to her seat to wait on the others.
After a few minutes they all came back into the room. Xander plopped down beside her and handed her a diet soda and a bag of chips. She took the gratefully. She wasn't hungry, but she wanted something to do. After they all settled and started to eat their vending machine lunch, Giles cleared his throat. Everyone had been trying to avoid each other. "Willow, you said you knew what was going on here?" He asks. Willow took a big drink of her soda and choked.
"Um, well, I have and idea of what is going on. Where was the amulet when this, um, switching thing happened?" She looked at Giles then to Buffy and Cordelia.
"Wait a minute! Are you saying that we made a wish to change lives and it happened? Your crazy! I think you have all lost your mind." Cordelia looked at Willow outraged.
"I agree. I know who I am. I am beginning to wonder who you are." Buffy told them. She shifted in her seat and then continued to eat her chips. Giles looked from one to the other and then slowly back to Willow. "I see what your saying. But I had the amulet in my pocket. I don't recall anyone making any wishes anyway." He told her.
"What is the last thing you guys remember before this happened?" Willow asks them. Cordelia and Buffy looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Nothing happened!" They said together.
"Do you remember anything unusual happening today?" She asks them.
"Unless you mean going to a cemetery to check out a dead body, then no, I don't remember anything." Buffy told her. Cordelia nodded her head in agreement. Giles frowned at them and started cleaning his glasses again. "So you mean that you have always been the slayer, Cordelia?" He asks, still looking at his glasses.
"Yes, I have been the slayer for three years now and you have trained me. I would think you would remember that." She answered with a sneer.
"So you have memories of being trained as the slayer?" He asks her. She looked at him and nodded, obviously annoyed with all the questions. "And you Buffy. You have no memories of having ever been slayer?" He asks her.
"No. The first time I ever heard of the slayer was from you guys. Remember, when the vampire attacked me and Cordelia killed it. That's when Willow, Xander, and I joined your little group." Buffy was really starting to get concerned for them.
"Tell me everything you remember about coming here Buffy." Giles told her. He was starting to get the same idea Willow had.
"You know all this, but if it will help get you out of psycho mode I'll tell you. After my mom and dad got divorced mom got a job at the museum here in Sunnydale. That is why we moved here. Willow and I became friends on the first day of school and Xander started to hang around. He takes a little more getting use to. Any way, at the end of sophomore year Willow and I were leaving the Bronze when I was attacked. Cordelia showed up and killed the vamp. After that we started to ask questions about her and found out that she hangs out in here a lot with you. We came in one afternoon and overheard you guys talking and the rest is history." She told him.
"What do you remember about today?" Willow asks her.
"What do you mean? We met here and then you were with me the rest of the day." She looked at Willow as if she were really loosing it.
"I know I was there, but tell me in your own words what happened. Please Buffy. I know it may sound odd to you, but the rest of us need to hear what you have to say." Willow looked pleadingly at her.
"Hey! I'm the slayer here. Why are you all so interested in what she has to say?" Cordelia was getting like she was going to leave. Xander grabbed her arm. "Wait. We want to hear what you have to say too." He told her. She huffed and sat back down. "Go on Buffy." Xander told her.
"This morning I got up and had a fight with my mom. She doesn't believe the story I told her about me studying. So, I was about twenty minutes late. I finally told her Willow was studying and I was just coming along hoping to learn something. Anyway, I got here and we headed to the cemetery. Then Cordelia started yelling at me and we ended up arguing."
"I did not start yelling at her. I just told her she didn't have to stay if she didn't want to be there." Cordelia butted in.
"Anyway, Cordelia started telling me off because I thought we should leave. Then there was a bright light and I was on the ground. That is when you all started to act weird. Do you think it was aliens and Cordelia and I are the only one's unaffected?" Buffy finished.
"Now you tell us what you remember Cordelia." Willow looked at her.
"Finally! I got here and was discussing patrol last night. You were already here Willow. You were looking for the amulet I had found those demons trying to get. Then Xander got here he had brought junk food and coffee. Finally at about nine twenty Buffy showed up. She was complaining about her mom. When she finally quit so we could discuss business, we decided to go to the cemetery. Then she started whining again. Saying something about it creeping her out. So I told her that she could go. Then she started yelling at me. Finally I told her, well, I don't really remember what I told her, but I am sure it was good. Then there was a bright flash of light, I thought it was lightening. The next thing I knew we were both getting up off the ground and you guys were acting nutty." Codelia said hurriedly. She was hoping they would quit the nonsense so she could change and maybe catch a nap before patrol that night.
"Xander, what do you remember?" Willow looked at him. Xander was engrossed in an enormous chocolate bar. He swallowed and then took a swig of his soda.
"Willow was already here when Cordy and I got here. She had picked me up at my house a little before nine and after a quick stop, we came straight here. Giles was in the stacks looking at his books and Willow was banging away on the computer. Cordy and I were having a fascinating conversation about her manicurist and how long it would take her to get an appointment to fix the nail she broke last night when we were." He stopped and blushed deeply. "Anyway, Buffy came in and said her mom was asking a lot of questions. Then we left to go to the cemetery. Cordelia was being her usual good-natured self and complaining about the weather and how the wet ground was going to ruin her shoes. Anyway, her and Buffy started going after it. I don't remember what all they were saying, but I am sure the word jealous came up. Probably my name too. Anyway, there was a flash of lightening and Cordelia and Buffy were both lying on the ground. The weird thing is they were wearing different outfits. I mean, I don't know much about fashion, but I don't recall ever seeing Cordy in anything that wasn't absurdly expensive and well, Buffy couldn't do much fighting in those tight jeans and short shirt." Xander was turning red again. He took a large drink of his soda and started to cough.
'For the most part that is what I remember too. I don't remember exactly what they were fighting about, but I do remember the lightening." Willow said.
"Me too. It is odd that the lightening comes up in all of our stories. Maybe it is significant." Giles was picking up a book to try to see if he could find anything about that. "I still don't see how any of this could have to do with the stone though."
"Does it say that you have to be holding the stone for it to work, or just be in the presence of it?" Willow asks. Giles looked up at her and picked up the watchers journal he had found the amulet in.
"It doesn't say you have to be holding it, so I suppose that if you are near it and made a wish it could work." He said looking up at Willow.
"Well, I never heard the words wish in their conversation. Basically they were just picking at each other." Xander looked around at all of them. "Did you guys make a wish while you were arguing?" He asked Buffy and Cordelia.
"No!" They both shouted together. They both started to get up from their seats. "I don't know about you." Cordelia said, speaking loudly. "But I have had enough of this. I don't know what you are getting at, but Buffy and are happy with who we are, neither of us made this wish. Those words never came out of our mouths."
"Finally something that we agree on. I never made a wish and neither did she. Even if we did it wouldn't have worked because we are ourselves." Buffy also got up to go. They both stormed out of the library doors.
"I am not sure what is going on here, but I think that until we figure it out we shouldn't mention it to those two again." Giles told the others. They both agreed. Xander decided to go home and work on ignoring his homework. Willow had research she wanted to do, but she decided to save it for another day and she left.
Chapter 4
The better slayer
When Cordelia got to the cemetery that night for her patrol, she was not really surprised to see Giles waiting on her. "I thought you had decided that I could handle this on my own?" She asks him, as she got closer. "I know you are only here to continue your insane story from earlier. I don't want to hear it." She walked past him and through the gates.
"I am not here to continue our conversation. Maybe you two are right and we were the ones affected by the strange phenonomenon. I was just worried that this would affect your concentration and I didn't want to leave you vulnerable. I won't talk. I will just walk beside you and be your backup." He walked in behind her. She didn't say anything so he assumed she was okay with this explanation. He was really worried about her. He still did not believe she was the slayer and was scared she would get in trouble.
It seemed like hours had passed before they saw their first vampire. Giles was pulling a stake out of the inside of his tweed jacket, when Cordelia grabbed hers and did a graceful flip and had staked the newly risen vampire before he realized what was happening. Giles didn't have time to tell her how impressed he was because about that time ten vampires surrounded them. Cordelia took moment to assess situation. Then she went into a classic fighting stance and started defending herself and Giles. Her moves were all graceful and straight out of the textbook. She was so unCordelia like. So unBuffy like. He had never seen Buffy stick to the rules so well. Before he knew it the vamps were all gone and Cordelia was cleaning up her weapons. The rest of the night was quiet and so they made it an early night.
Giles was confident enough in Cordelia's abilities that he let her patrol by herself while he did research on how to make things right. If it was the wishing stone that had caused this, then they simply had to get the one who made the wish to wish it undone and then destroy the stone. He still wasn't convinced that was the case. No one had heard them wish for anything. He couldn't find anything in the books about the mysterious lightening. Flipping through books he decided to concentrate on time warps.
Monday morning Giles arrived to find Willow, Xander, and Cordelia in the library. Willow was looking through all the books they had used to research the wishing stone. Xander and Cordelia were going over the events of Saturday one more time. "What's going on here?" Giles ask as he put his stuff in his office and poured tea out of a thermos into a cup he kept on his desk. Before anyone could reply Buffy stormed through the door. They all turned to look at her disheveled appearance. Her red silk blouse was wrinkled and her jeans were dusty. She looked as though she had worn them yesterday.
"I think you were right. Something strange is going on here. You wouldn't believe what has happened to me." She exclaimed as she took a seat at the table next to Willow. Willow looked up from her book in surprise. She hadn't talked to Buffy since she left Saturday.
"Cordelia had an unusual day yesterday too. What happened to you?" She asks her. Giles came around the circulation desk and took a seat, eager to hear the new development.
"Well, Saturday night my mom expressed her relief that I was home at a decent hour. Then she was surprised when she came into my room and found my cheerleading stuff on my bed. She asks me since when was I a cheerleader. She thought I had quit that before we left LA. Then she told me that I was acting different. When I ask her how, she just shrugged and said more like my old self. She told me I had been in some kind of trouble in LA and I don't remember that." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Then I was walking around Sunday and people were looking at me strange. Like I was different. Some girls even commented that I looked great and ask what had changed. But the biggest thing was last night. Angel came to me to tell me to watch out for some new vampires that Spike and his group were recruiting. He said there was about ten of them and they were pretty vicious. Anyway, I ask him why he was telling me this and he said because he wanted to make sure I kept company while I patrolled, then he offered to go with me. I ask why I would be patrolling because that was Cordelia's thing and he looked at me funny and ask if I was feeling all right. Then I told him what was going on and how everyone thought I was different. So we stayed up all night talking. I told him everything. We went back to the cemetery to see if we could find any clues. We couldn't. He thinks we should check into the amulet again." She finished and looked at everyone.
"I had a similar experience last night. My parents couldn't believe the clothes I had chosen to wear and said that I acted differently too. They said I was tougher and my appearance wasn't as neat and pretty. Then I ran into Spike and he laughed when I told him I was patrolling. He asks me where Buffy was. When I ask why I should care where Buffy was, he said that I would get my pretty little neck bitten and maybe even dirty my shoes if I stayed there without the slayer. I just went home and spent the whole night thinking about it. There has to be something to this if everyone thinks it. Maybe the lightening affected everyone in Sunnydale except me and Buffy." Cordelia looked around waiting on everyone to agree with her.
Willow put down the book she had been flipping through while she listened and turned it back a few pages. "I have a theory. It says here that the stone can grant truly heartfelt wishes even from a distance. We have all seen in the last couple of months that there is more to Cordelia than her shallow appearance. She truly seems to care about what we do. I think deep down, maybe in a place that she doesn't even know, she wished that she could be more forward with this. Buffy has always struggled with the loss of her life after she became a slayer. She always missed all the things she did in LA. Know it seems to her that her life has never changed. It is just as it would be if she had not become the slayer and simply moved to Sunnydale for another reason. What do you think Giles?"
"Well, I do suppose there could be something to that theory. I did see Cordelia in action and she was quiet impressive. So if the stone can grant unspoken desires and each girl felt strongly enough about this, then it could very well be possible. If so, then I know how to fix this." Giles looked around the table. Everyone was looking thoughtfully at him. "That is assuming, of course, that both of you want to change back." He added.
"If this is not right, then I guess we should go back to the way things were. I just can't believe all my memories could be altered like that. Especially since no one else was changed. It is like being put in a place that you know, but then you don't know." Buffy spoke up. She got up and started to pace the room. She was really worried that she was doing the wrong thing. It was just that everyone else seemed to think this was the right thing to do. She didn't feel comfortable right now, like she wasn't really herself.
"I don't know that it will do any good." Cordelia's voice was kind of high and nervous sounding. "I mean if you think I wanted to be someone else, well your wrong. I mean why would I choose to have the world's fate on my shoulders. I am not that stupid. Anyway, I remember every detail of Giles telling me about my calling. I remember all my training. So how could I be anyone else?" Cordelia looked around scared that someone might disagree with her, but equally scared that they would agree and she would be stuck like this forever.
"I don't think it would hurt anything to hear how Giles thinks we can undo this." Xander said. "I for one would like to get the old Cordy back. I don't like making out with anyone who can beat me up." He said with a wicked smile.
"Well," Giles stood up and faced them all. Buffy had stopped pacing and was standing and watching them. "All you two have to do is hold the amulet and wish the wish undone. Then if a wish was made it will undo itself. Then we can crush the amulet and no one can use it again." He looked to both Cordelia and Buffy. Buffy nodded slowly. "Okay, I will do it." She walked toward Giles. "Cordelia?" He looked the table at a very tough looking Cordelia.
Chapter 5
Back To Normal
"I don't know. I mean what if something goes wrong. Couldn't it end up worse than this? If this is wrong." Cordelia looked unsure.
"I don't see that it could hurt anything. As long as you both just wish the wish to be undone. As long as no one in this room wishes or wants anything. Then I think everything will go okay." Giles held his hand out to her. "It is worth a try. You both have expressed doubts about the way things are."
"Okay. I guess your right. If I am right and it isn't us, then nothing will happen, right?" Giles nodded at her. Cordelia walked over to them. Giles held the amulet out and both girls put their hands on top of his. They looked at each other and took a deep breath. Together they made the wish. "I wish the wish to be undone."
The ground started to spin. They both looked at each other. "I remember this part." Buffy said to Cordelia. "Me too." She said. They looked at Giles who was looking at them strangely like he didn't notice the room spinning around him. Then there was a flash of bright light. The next thing they knew both of them were on the floor. As they stood up, they looked around at Giles, Xander, and Willow. "Am I me?" Cordelia ask out loud. "I think so because I am me." Buffy said.
"But if you are yourselves then why hasn't your clothes changed like they did before?" Willow asks pointing at each of them. Buffy looked down at her red blouse and dirty pants. She frowned and looked over at Cordelia. "Nice look." She told her. Cordelia looked down at herself. Her loose pants and black t-shirt were hideous. Her beautiful black hair was pulled back in a braid. She could tell she hadn't moisturized that morning and her nails were a mess. She was also not wearing any make up. "UGH!" She yelled. "I can't be seen like this!" She looked franticly at Giles who smiled.
"I think their back." He said smiling.
"Yeah, that is defiantly my Cordy." Xander said jokingly.
"I am not your Cordy. I merely enjoy doing certain things with you, but I am not your property." Cordelia looked angrily at him. Everyone laughed.
"If it is possible for you to sneak us out, Giles, I would really like a shower, clean clothes, and some sleep." Buffy yawned loudly.
Epilogue
That evening they all met again in the library. Everyone was in a good mood now that things were back to normal. They had destroyed the amulet before Buffy and Cordelia both faked sick and went home. Buffy told her mom she had fallen asleep at Willow's the night before and she was sorry for worrying her. Mrs. Summers didn't really believe her, but she didn't want to argue with her anymore.
Cordelia had told her parents she had contracted some strange illness that had made her act strange. After cleaning up and resting her mother took her to get an emergency manicure. Both girls were in their usual ensemble. Even Giles seemed cheerful and a little less absent minded than usual.
"Do you have any memory of what happened?" Willow asks Buffy. Buffy nodded. "I remember it all like a bad dream. Was I really that horrible?" She asks.
"No, you were you, only different. Not that different is bad. I'm just glad to have the old Buffy back." Willow smiled.
"Yeah and I'm glad to get my old wardrobe back. I mean really Buffy. Those clothes are really horrible. How can you stand them?" Cordelia sounded like her old self, but she looked like she was happy to be there as herself.
"Oh, Giles, I seem to remember something about Cordelia being an excellent slayer. Was she better than me?" Buffy ask in a mock pout. Giles took off his glasses and began cleaning them furiously.
"Well, she used a different technique than you do. Not necessarily better, just different."
"Come on Giles. You said I was great." Cordelia joined in. "We both know who was better. You might as well tell her. Maybe she could learn something."
"Like I said, you are both different. Your techniques were different. Neither of you was necessarily different." Giles cleaned his glasses even harder and looked down at them not meeting their eye.
"Cut the crap Giles." Buffy chided. "Which of us is the better slayer?"
"I think I chose not to answer that." Giles smiled at both girls. They all laughed. Buffy and Willow started to leave to go patrolling. Giles grabbed a large stack of old books to take home for some bedtime reading. Xander grabbed Cordelia's arm and started to pull her to the door.
"I am really glad to have you back." He smiled at her. "I like this Cordelia better." Cordelia smiled at him. "I do too." She said.
"Good! Listen, I think I found a janitor's closet we haven't, uim, inspected yet." He pulled her out the door and down the hall. The others watched them go.
"Good then, I think I will head home too. If you need anything just come get me." Giles said and walked out. Willow and Buffy giggled. "When do you think those two will stop trying to fool us? It isn't like we don't know what is going on." Buffy giggled even harder.
"Yeah, and I am sure the janitor's will be glad to have their closets back too." Willow exclaimed. They walked off together toward the door. It was just another day on the hell mouth.
"
You Always Ruin My Life
"Sorry I'm late guys. Mom was in one of her moods and wanted to know every detail of why I was going to the school library on a Saturday." Buffy hurried into the library twenty minutes late. Everyone was already sitting at the table with what was left of their breakfast.
"Gee I didn't notice you were late Buff, I always like to spend my Saturday mornings in the library listening to Cordelia's fascinating manicure history. I mean, who needs sleep when there is a great nail polish story to be told." Xander replied irritably.
"I don't mind Buffy. I've been here since six helping Giles with the research. I think we may have found what that strange amulet thingy is that you found last night. I found a picture, but Giles thinks we should go to the cemetery and find the casket that it came out of just in case." Willow was very sunny this morning having gotten to spend a quiet morning in the library with books and the Internet. Doing research on the occult was one of her favorite pastimes anymore. She was working on becoming a Wicca and relished the time to study without worrying that her parents were going to barge in on her.
"Okay, it was dark, but I think I remember where I saw the demon thingies digging. At least there should be an uprooted coffin and signs of a struggle. Did I mention that I kicked some demon butt last night?" Buffy smiled at the gang and sat down in the seat Giles had been occupying. Giles came out of the stacks just in time to see her help herself to one of his cinnamon rolls. "I found another book that mentions the amulet, oh hi Buffy, I didn't know you had gotten here." Buffy looked up and saw Giles. Then she noticed she the place she was sitting in had a cup of tea in front of the rolls. "Sorry, I thought they were just there. Anyway, what is this thing?" Buffy put the last bite of cinnamon roll on a napkin and started to get up.
"No, help yourself. I wasn't really eating them anyway. This thing is known as the wishing stone. It was enchanted by a witch in the eighteen hundreds. It was passed down in her family, each generation becoming greedier and more evil than the last. It seems Elizabeth Carmichael was the last in that line. It is rumored that she did not like the way the family had been using the stone. When many attempts had been made to steal it from her, it is said that she sewed it into her clothing, and killed herself, vowing no one would ever use the stone again." Giles continued to flip through the pages of the old watchers journals after he had finished talking.
"So, what do we do about it?" Buffy ask. "I can understand why the demons want such a thing, but how can we protect it?" She was watching Giles, who was still lost in his book.
"We could try to destroy it." Willow suggested.
"Or we could find someone to keep it who wouldn't use it." Xander added.
"Where would we find someone who wouldn't be tempted to use a stone that could make all your wishes come true? I wouldn't even trust myself with it." Willow was looking at Xander with a mixture of questioning and annoyance.
"I can keep it. I mean daddy gets me anything I want and well, everyone adores me. What would I have to wish for?" Cordelia was getting up and grabbing at the amulet sitting in the middle of the table.
"Hold it. I'm not sure anyone can be trusted." Xander said. Cordelia stopped with her hand midway between herself and the amulet. Giles was still engrossed in his book and didn't even seem aware of the conversation going on around him.
"Giles, what are we going to do with this thing?" Buffy ask again. Giles still didn't look up. "Hey Giles! Are you even on the same planet as us?" Buffy got up and walked toward him.
"Oh, yes, Buffy. Did you say something?" He ask in his usual absentminded way.
"What. Are. We. Going. To. Do. With. It?" Buffy pronounced every word slowly as if she were talking to a child.
"Well, first I suppose we need to go to the cemetery and find the grave. Just because this looks like the same amulet, doesn't mean it isn't a fake. We need to at least see if it is Elizabeth's grave." He put the book down and started toward the table. "Then I guess we need to find out how to destroy it, if it is indeed the wishing stone." He picked up the amulet and put it in his pocket.
Buffy picked up her bag and the others got up and started clearing away their breakfast mess. "I guess it's back to the cemetery. I am beginning to feel like I live there." Buffy sighed as she started out the door.
The rain that had fallen that morning left the cemetery wet and squishy beneath their feet. "Ugh! This is so gross!" Cordelia whined as they made their way through the newer part of the cemetery. "I don't know why I hang out with you freaks anyway. I mean really, cemeteries and libraries. You would think you would have something better to do." She continued.
"You know why you come Cordy as well as we do." Xander said with a mock serious expression on his face.
"Oh really! And why is that?" Cordelia huffed, stepping right into his trap.
"You can't stand being apart from me." Xander said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.
"Yeah, like that's it!" Cordelia hurried around him and tried to catch up with the others. She didn't want Xander to see the slight blush on her cheeks.
As they entered the older part of the cemetery, Buffy took up lead. She weaved in and out of old head stones and statues. "I know it was around here somewhere." She said to herself as she walked through the gloomy cemetery trying to remember where she had been the night before. "Could it have possibly been there?" Giles ask her, pointing to a spot to the right of where she was standing. There was a mound of dirt and splinters of wood in front of a statue of an angel. "Yeah, I remember that statue." Buffy said, hurrying toward the place.
Bending to inspect the scene, Giles sifted through the dirt and saw what looked like bits of cloth. The top of the coffin had been torn off and the clothing had been ripped to shreds. "Obviously they heard the same rumors we read." Giles said gesturing toward the cloth. He got up and walked around the hole to the head stone. It was worn and hard to read. He could faintly make out the name Elizabeth Vivianne Carmichael "This is her all right." He said standing up. "I guess now we have to figure out how to destroy it."
Cordelia looked around at each member of the gang. No one was making a move to leave. "Okay, then I guess we can leave now. This place really creeps me out." She turned to go, but no one else was moving with her. "Guys, is it really necessary to stay here. I mean, hello, were in a grave yard." Her haughty attitude was undermined by the scared expression on her face.
"Look Cordelia, if you want to go no one is stopping you. I don't even remember anyone inviting you anyway." Buffy looked annoyed as she started to walk around looking for some clues as to what to do next. The others looked from Buffy to Cordelia, not sure what to do.
"Hey! You can't talk to me like that! You ought to feel privileged that I even speak to you, you morbid, unstylish, slayer-freak." Cordelia huffed, but made no move to leave.
"Again, no one is keeping you here." Buffy looked at her nonplussed.
"Your just jealous because I have better taste than you do. If you would quit worrying so much about slaying and spend more time on yourself, you might have a decent social life." Cordelia shot back.
"You're just jealous because I kick butt and save the world every single day, while you do nothing more meaningful than picking out the right shade of lipstick!" Buffy yelled back.
The ground started to spin. Buffy and Cordelia stared at each other wide eyed. "Uh guys! What's going on?" Buffy shouted, looking around at the others, whom were just standing around like nothing was happening.
"What did you do?" Gasp Cordelia. "I should have known better than to come with you! This can't be good! YOU ALWAYS RUIN MY LIFE!" She shouted as the spinning slowed down. There was a bright flash and then everything stopped.
Chapter 2
The New Slayer
Cordelia opened her eyes. She was lying on the ground of the cemetery. At first she couldn't remember why she was there. Then she remembered the wishing stone. They were checking to see if it was really what it was suppose to be. She stood up and dusted off her jeans. Her loose black t-shirt was brown with dust. "Okay Giles, do we have what we need?" She asks looking around at the others.
"Hey! What happened?" Buffy ask, getting to her feet and adjusting her short pink blouse and dusting off her designer jeans. She looked around at the gang. They were all staring at her and Cordelia. "What? Is my lipstick smeared? Is my hair messed up?" Buffy ask.
"Well, that is strange. I don't recall you having been wearing that outfit. Or Ms. Chase wearing that one for that matter. Oh well, you know me. I don't pay much attention to those kinds of things." Giles said and turned and started to walk off. The others stared at them like they couldn't quiet believe their eyes either. Without a word they all started to follow Giles. Cordelia picked up the slayer bag and shrugged at Buffy as if they had all lost their minds. They start to follow the others towards the front of the cemetery. Suddenly there was movement in the trees ahead of them.
"Stay back!" Giles told the others. "Who's there?" He asks toward the movement. There was nothing but quiet. Giles looked back at the others. "I defiantly saw movement. Didn't I?" He asks, starting to wonder after the episode back at the grave. Willow's eyes went big and she pointed in front of him. "
"I think they are what you saw moving." She told him. Giles turned around and faced the demons that had just walked out from behind a group of trees. They were tall and muscular with green skin and red spurs on their wrist. He wasn't sure what they were, but he knew they probably weren't friendly.
"Those are the guys I saw last night." Cordelia said to Giles. She turned her attention to the demons. "I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again." She said, setting down the bag. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Cordy, what are you talking about? You weren't out here last night, Buffy was. You were, well, you know where you were last night and it definitely wasn't in a cemetery." He looked at her with a slight blush.
"Buffy? Are these the guys you saw last night?" Giles ask her. She looked at him like he was an alien or something strange that hadn't been seen on the hell mouth, which narrowed that category down quiet a bit. "Well, you said you killed one last night. How did you do it?" He asks. She looked at him again. "Um, you have confused with the slayer. I don't even want to be here now, much less in the middle of the night. That is so not my scene." She told him. Before Giles could reply, Cordelia ran toward the demons. There was a flurry of fists and kicks as she attacked the closest one. "A little help here?" She called back to the others.
The others jumped in to help drive the demons back. Buffy picked up a limb from the ground and started to hit a demon with it. It grabbed her around the waist. It put a sharp-clawed finger to her throat. "Everybody stop or the princess here gets it!" He shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Buffy stood stiff, not sure if she should struggle or not.
"Now, all we want is the stone. Give it to us and we let the girl go." He told them. Willow looked to Giles. Xander looked around for Cordelia. Then he saw her sneaking up behind. He tried not to draw attention to the sneak attack. As she got close behind him, she pulled a knife out of her pants waist and put it to the side of the demon's throat. "Three inches of silver." She told him. "That is the only thing that will kill you guys, right?"
"Slayer." The demon hissed. He slowly let go of Buffy. She took a step from him and then threw a turning kick into him. The demon fell back against the knife. He slid hard to the ground. Buffy looked at him with a small smile. Cordelia took a rag out of the slayer bag lying beside her and started to clean. The other demons had run.
"Nice move Buffy." She said, not looking up.
"Well, I learn a lot of valuable things in cheerleading. Any way, I'm not helpless, I just don't like being in mortal danger." Buffy told her, still looking down at the demon. Cordelia finished with her knife and put it away. She picked up the slayer bag and looked around at the others who were looking very confused. "Well, shouldn't we be going? We still need to figure out what to do about the amulet." She turned and started toward the gates. The others looked at each other and then started to follow her out.
Chapter 3
What In The Hellmouth Is Going On Here?
They all sat around the library table looking at Cordelia and Buffy as though they were strange specimens in need of studying. "Okay, tell me what happened back there? Buffy, why did you let Cordelia put herself in danger like that?" Giles was very irritated at what had to be their idea of a joke.
"That's Cordelia's job not mine." Buffy said in a quivering voice. "I am not the slayer. I don't know why you keep saying I am. I wish you guys would quit acting so weird. Willow, tell them." She looked at her best friend for help. Willow looked from Buffy to Cordelia and then to Giles.
"I would if I could, but I am not sure I know what is going on here." She told Buffy with a little sigh. She hated to let her down like that. Buffy was the best friend she had ever had. She just didn't understand what was going on here. Buffy looked at her with a hurt expression. Then she turned to Xander.
"Leave me out of this. I am clueless, as usual." He held up his hands in front of him and shook his head. Giles took off his glasses and started to wipe furiously at them. This was a habit of his whenever he was nervous or just didn't know what the answer to the problem was. Finally he put his glasses on and took the amulet out of his pocket. He sat it on the table and sighed. "I guess we still need to figure this out. I do have to say that I am impressed with Cordelia. How did you know that silver was the only thing that could kill those demons?" He asks her.
"Well, a slayer always has to be prepared. Isn't that what you have always told me? Remember all those hours you spent making me learn about this stuff?" Cordelia ask irritably. "I don't know why are so obsessed with Buffy any way. All she ever does is complain about messing up her hair or spoiling her precious clothes." She walked out of the library in a huff.
Giles sat in a chair with a couple of books in front of him. He pretended to not be upset about Cordelia's outburst. Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Finally Giles stood up. "Oh all right. I guess I'll go after her then." He got up a walked out. Xander got up and walked toward the door. "I don't know about you but demon killing always makes me hungry." He walked out of the library on his way to the vending machines.
Buffy sat and studied her hands and trying to be mad at Willow for not standing up for her. She couldn't believe her best friend would betray her. Willow sat opposite her flipping rapidly through books. Finally she looked up at Buffy. "I've got it!" She exclaimed loudly. Buffy finally looked at her. "Got what?" She wanted to be mad, but she was beginning to think it wasn't Willow, but herself who were loosing her mind. "I think I know what happened to you guys." She said excitedly. "Stay here. I'm going to go get Giles and Cordelia." She jumped up and ran out of the room, leaving Buffy alone in the library.
Buffy walked around the table to where Willow had been sitting. She picked up a book and started to flip through it. It was a book about magic and enchanted objects. Willow was always reading that stuff. She messed around with a few spells, but it wasn't Buffy's thing. Then it hit her. Maybe Will had found a spell that could make them all come back to their senses and realize that they were the crazy one's, not her and Cordelia. She flipped through another book, but couldn't understand how any of this had to do with the way everyone was acting. She finally gave up trying and walked back to her seat to wait on the others.
After a few minutes they all came back into the room. Xander plopped down beside her and handed her a diet soda and a bag of chips. She took the gratefully. She wasn't hungry, but she wanted something to do. After they all settled and started to eat their vending machine lunch, Giles cleared his throat. Everyone had been trying to avoid each other. "Willow, you said you knew what was going on here?" He asks. Willow took a big drink of her soda and choked.
"Um, well, I have and idea of what is going on. Where was the amulet when this, um, switching thing happened?" She looked at Giles then to Buffy and Cordelia.
"Wait a minute! Are you saying that we made a wish to change lives and it happened? Your crazy! I think you have all lost your mind." Cordelia looked at Willow outraged.
"I agree. I know who I am. I am beginning to wonder who you are." Buffy told them. She shifted in her seat and then continued to eat her chips. Giles looked from one to the other and then slowly back to Willow. "I see what your saying. But I had the amulet in my pocket. I don't recall anyone making any wishes anyway." He told her.
"What is the last thing you guys remember before this happened?" Willow asks them. Cordelia and Buffy looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Nothing happened!" They said together.
"Do you remember anything unusual happening today?" She asks them.
"Unless you mean going to a cemetery to check out a dead body, then no, I don't remember anything." Buffy told her. Cordelia nodded her head in agreement. Giles frowned at them and started cleaning his glasses again. "So you mean that you have always been the slayer, Cordelia?" He asks, still looking at his glasses.
"Yes, I have been the slayer for three years now and you have trained me. I would think you would remember that." She answered with a sneer.
"So you have memories of being trained as the slayer?" He asks her. She looked at him and nodded, obviously annoyed with all the questions. "And you Buffy. You have no memories of having ever been slayer?" He asks her.
"No. The first time I ever heard of the slayer was from you guys. Remember, when the vampire attacked me and Cordelia killed it. That's when Willow, Xander, and I joined your little group." Buffy was really starting to get concerned for them.
"Tell me everything you remember about coming here Buffy." Giles told her. He was starting to get the same idea Willow had.
"You know all this, but if it will help get you out of psycho mode I'll tell you. After my mom and dad got divorced mom got a job at the museum here in Sunnydale. That is why we moved here. Willow and I became friends on the first day of school and Xander started to hang around. He takes a little more getting use to. Any way, at the end of sophomore year Willow and I were leaving the Bronze when I was attacked. Cordelia showed up and killed the vamp. After that we started to ask questions about her and found out that she hangs out in here a lot with you. We came in one afternoon and overheard you guys talking and the rest is history." She told him.
"What do you remember about today?" Willow asks her.
"What do you mean? We met here and then you were with me the rest of the day." She looked at Willow as if she were really loosing it.
"I know I was there, but tell me in your own words what happened. Please Buffy. I know it may sound odd to you, but the rest of us need to hear what you have to say." Willow looked pleadingly at her.
"Hey! I'm the slayer here. Why are you all so interested in what she has to say?" Cordelia was getting like she was going to leave. Xander grabbed her arm. "Wait. We want to hear what you have to say too." He told her. She huffed and sat back down. "Go on Buffy." Xander told her.
"This morning I got up and had a fight with my mom. She doesn't believe the story I told her about me studying. So, I was about twenty minutes late. I finally told her Willow was studying and I was just coming along hoping to learn something. Anyway, I got here and we headed to the cemetery. Then Cordelia started yelling at me and we ended up arguing."
"I did not start yelling at her. I just told her she didn't have to stay if she didn't want to be there." Cordelia butted in.
"Anyway, Cordelia started telling me off because I thought we should leave. Then there was a bright light and I was on the ground. That is when you all started to act weird. Do you think it was aliens and Cordelia and I are the only one's unaffected?" Buffy finished.
"Now you tell us what you remember Cordelia." Willow looked at her.
"Finally! I got here and was discussing patrol last night. You were already here Willow. You were looking for the amulet I had found those demons trying to get. Then Xander got here he had brought junk food and coffee. Finally at about nine twenty Buffy showed up. She was complaining about her mom. When she finally quit so we could discuss business, we decided to go to the cemetery. Then she started whining again. Saying something about it creeping her out. So I told her that she could go. Then she started yelling at me. Finally I told her, well, I don't really remember what I told her, but I am sure it was good. Then there was a bright flash of light, I thought it was lightening. The next thing I knew we were both getting up off the ground and you guys were acting nutty." Codelia said hurriedly. She was hoping they would quit the nonsense so she could change and maybe catch a nap before patrol that night.
"Xander, what do you remember?" Willow looked at him. Xander was engrossed in an enormous chocolate bar. He swallowed and then took a swig of his soda.
"Willow was already here when Cordy and I got here. She had picked me up at my house a little before nine and after a quick stop, we came straight here. Giles was in the stacks looking at his books and Willow was banging away on the computer. Cordy and I were having a fascinating conversation about her manicurist and how long it would take her to get an appointment to fix the nail she broke last night when we were." He stopped and blushed deeply. "Anyway, Buffy came in and said her mom was asking a lot of questions. Then we left to go to the cemetery. Cordelia was being her usual good-natured self and complaining about the weather and how the wet ground was going to ruin her shoes. Anyway, her and Buffy started going after it. I don't remember what all they were saying, but I am sure the word jealous came up. Probably my name too. Anyway, there was a flash of lightening and Cordelia and Buffy were both lying on the ground. The weird thing is they were wearing different outfits. I mean, I don't know much about fashion, but I don't recall ever seeing Cordy in anything that wasn't absurdly expensive and well, Buffy couldn't do much fighting in those tight jeans and short shirt." Xander was turning red again. He took a large drink of his soda and started to cough.
'For the most part that is what I remember too. I don't remember exactly what they were fighting about, but I do remember the lightening." Willow said.
"Me too. It is odd that the lightening comes up in all of our stories. Maybe it is significant." Giles was picking up a book to try to see if he could find anything about that. "I still don't see how any of this could have to do with the stone though."
"Does it say that you have to be holding the stone for it to work, or just be in the presence of it?" Willow asks. Giles looked up at her and picked up the watchers journal he had found the amulet in.
"It doesn't say you have to be holding it, so I suppose that if you are near it and made a wish it could work." He said looking up at Willow.
"Well, I never heard the words wish in their conversation. Basically they were just picking at each other." Xander looked around at all of them. "Did you guys make a wish while you were arguing?" He asked Buffy and Cordelia.
"No!" They both shouted together. They both started to get up from their seats. "I don't know about you." Cordelia said, speaking loudly. "But I have had enough of this. I don't know what you are getting at, but Buffy and are happy with who we are, neither of us made this wish. Those words never came out of our mouths."
"Finally something that we agree on. I never made a wish and neither did she. Even if we did it wouldn't have worked because we are ourselves." Buffy also got up to go. They both stormed out of the library doors.
"I am not sure what is going on here, but I think that until we figure it out we shouldn't mention it to those two again." Giles told the others. They both agreed. Xander decided to go home and work on ignoring his homework. Willow had research she wanted to do, but she decided to save it for another day and she left.
Chapter 4
The better slayer
When Cordelia got to the cemetery that night for her patrol, she was not really surprised to see Giles waiting on her. "I thought you had decided that I could handle this on my own?" She asks him, as she got closer. "I know you are only here to continue your insane story from earlier. I don't want to hear it." She walked past him and through the gates.
"I am not here to continue our conversation. Maybe you two are right and we were the ones affected by the strange phenonomenon. I was just worried that this would affect your concentration and I didn't want to leave you vulnerable. I won't talk. I will just walk beside you and be your backup." He walked in behind her. She didn't say anything so he assumed she was okay with this explanation. He was really worried about her. He still did not believe she was the slayer and was scared she would get in trouble.
It seemed like hours had passed before they saw their first vampire. Giles was pulling a stake out of the inside of his tweed jacket, when Cordelia grabbed hers and did a graceful flip and had staked the newly risen vampire before he realized what was happening. Giles didn't have time to tell her how impressed he was because about that time ten vampires surrounded them. Cordelia took moment to assess situation. Then she went into a classic fighting stance and started defending herself and Giles. Her moves were all graceful and straight out of the textbook. She was so unCordelia like. So unBuffy like. He had never seen Buffy stick to the rules so well. Before he knew it the vamps were all gone and Cordelia was cleaning up her weapons. The rest of the night was quiet and so they made it an early night.
Giles was confident enough in Cordelia's abilities that he let her patrol by herself while he did research on how to make things right. If it was the wishing stone that had caused this, then they simply had to get the one who made the wish to wish it undone and then destroy the stone. He still wasn't convinced that was the case. No one had heard them wish for anything. He couldn't find anything in the books about the mysterious lightening. Flipping through books he decided to concentrate on time warps.
Monday morning Giles arrived to find Willow, Xander, and Cordelia in the library. Willow was looking through all the books they had used to research the wishing stone. Xander and Cordelia were going over the events of Saturday one more time. "What's going on here?" Giles ask as he put his stuff in his office and poured tea out of a thermos into a cup he kept on his desk. Before anyone could reply Buffy stormed through the door. They all turned to look at her disheveled appearance. Her red silk blouse was wrinkled and her jeans were dusty. She looked as though she had worn them yesterday.
"I think you were right. Something strange is going on here. You wouldn't believe what has happened to me." She exclaimed as she took a seat at the table next to Willow. Willow looked up from her book in surprise. She hadn't talked to Buffy since she left Saturday.
"Cordelia had an unusual day yesterday too. What happened to you?" She asks her. Giles came around the circulation desk and took a seat, eager to hear the new development.
"Well, Saturday night my mom expressed her relief that I was home at a decent hour. Then she was surprised when she came into my room and found my cheerleading stuff on my bed. She asks me since when was I a cheerleader. She thought I had quit that before we left LA. Then she told me that I was acting different. When I ask her how, she just shrugged and said more like my old self. She told me I had been in some kind of trouble in LA and I don't remember that." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Then I was walking around Sunday and people were looking at me strange. Like I was different. Some girls even commented that I looked great and ask what had changed. But the biggest thing was last night. Angel came to me to tell me to watch out for some new vampires that Spike and his group were recruiting. He said there was about ten of them and they were pretty vicious. Anyway, I ask him why he was telling me this and he said because he wanted to make sure I kept company while I patrolled, then he offered to go with me. I ask why I would be patrolling because that was Cordelia's thing and he looked at me funny and ask if I was feeling all right. Then I told him what was going on and how everyone thought I was different. So we stayed up all night talking. I told him everything. We went back to the cemetery to see if we could find any clues. We couldn't. He thinks we should check into the amulet again." She finished and looked at everyone.
"I had a similar experience last night. My parents couldn't believe the clothes I had chosen to wear and said that I acted differently too. They said I was tougher and my appearance wasn't as neat and pretty. Then I ran into Spike and he laughed when I told him I was patrolling. He asks me where Buffy was. When I ask why I should care where Buffy was, he said that I would get my pretty little neck bitten and maybe even dirty my shoes if I stayed there without the slayer. I just went home and spent the whole night thinking about it. There has to be something to this if everyone thinks it. Maybe the lightening affected everyone in Sunnydale except me and Buffy." Cordelia looked around waiting on everyone to agree with her.
Willow put down the book she had been flipping through while she listened and turned it back a few pages. "I have a theory. It says here that the stone can grant truly heartfelt wishes even from a distance. We have all seen in the last couple of months that there is more to Cordelia than her shallow appearance. She truly seems to care about what we do. I think deep down, maybe in a place that she doesn't even know, she wished that she could be more forward with this. Buffy has always struggled with the loss of her life after she became a slayer. She always missed all the things she did in LA. Know it seems to her that her life has never changed. It is just as it would be if she had not become the slayer and simply moved to Sunnydale for another reason. What do you think Giles?"
"Well, I do suppose there could be something to that theory. I did see Cordelia in action and she was quiet impressive. So if the stone can grant unspoken desires and each girl felt strongly enough about this, then it could very well be possible. If so, then I know how to fix this." Giles looked around the table. Everyone was looking thoughtfully at him. "That is assuming, of course, that both of you want to change back." He added.
"If this is not right, then I guess we should go back to the way things were. I just can't believe all my memories could be altered like that. Especially since no one else was changed. It is like being put in a place that you know, but then you don't know." Buffy spoke up. She got up and started to pace the room. She was really worried that she was doing the wrong thing. It was just that everyone else seemed to think this was the right thing to do. She didn't feel comfortable right now, like she wasn't really herself.
"I don't know that it will do any good." Cordelia's voice was kind of high and nervous sounding. "I mean if you think I wanted to be someone else, well your wrong. I mean why would I choose to have the world's fate on my shoulders. I am not that stupid. Anyway, I remember every detail of Giles telling me about my calling. I remember all my training. So how could I be anyone else?" Cordelia looked around scared that someone might disagree with her, but equally scared that they would agree and she would be stuck like this forever.
"I don't think it would hurt anything to hear how Giles thinks we can undo this." Xander said. "I for one would like to get the old Cordy back. I don't like making out with anyone who can beat me up." He said with a wicked smile.
"Well," Giles stood up and faced them all. Buffy had stopped pacing and was standing and watching them. "All you two have to do is hold the amulet and wish the wish undone. Then if a wish was made it will undo itself. Then we can crush the amulet and no one can use it again." He looked to both Cordelia and Buffy. Buffy nodded slowly. "Okay, I will do it." She walked toward Giles. "Cordelia?" He looked the table at a very tough looking Cordelia.
Chapter 5
Back To Normal
"I don't know. I mean what if something goes wrong. Couldn't it end up worse than this? If this is wrong." Cordelia looked unsure.
"I don't see that it could hurt anything. As long as you both just wish the wish to be undone. As long as no one in this room wishes or wants anything. Then I think everything will go okay." Giles held his hand out to her. "It is worth a try. You both have expressed doubts about the way things are."
"Okay. I guess your right. If I am right and it isn't us, then nothing will happen, right?" Giles nodded at her. Cordelia walked over to them. Giles held the amulet out and both girls put their hands on top of his. They looked at each other and took a deep breath. Together they made the wish. "I wish the wish to be undone."
The ground started to spin. They both looked at each other. "I remember this part." Buffy said to Cordelia. "Me too." She said. They looked at Giles who was looking at them strangely like he didn't notice the room spinning around him. Then there was a flash of bright light. The next thing they knew both of them were on the floor. As they stood up, they looked around at Giles, Xander, and Willow. "Am I me?" Cordelia ask out loud. "I think so because I am me." Buffy said.
"But if you are yourselves then why hasn't your clothes changed like they did before?" Willow asks pointing at each of them. Buffy looked down at her red blouse and dirty pants. She frowned and looked over at Cordelia. "Nice look." She told her. Cordelia looked down at herself. Her loose pants and black t-shirt were hideous. Her beautiful black hair was pulled back in a braid. She could tell she hadn't moisturized that morning and her nails were a mess. She was also not wearing any make up. "UGH!" She yelled. "I can't be seen like this!" She looked franticly at Giles who smiled.
"I think their back." He said smiling.
"Yeah, that is defiantly my Cordy." Xander said jokingly.
"I am not your Cordy. I merely enjoy doing certain things with you, but I am not your property." Cordelia looked angrily at him. Everyone laughed.
"If it is possible for you to sneak us out, Giles, I would really like a shower, clean clothes, and some sleep." Buffy yawned loudly.
Epilogue
That evening they all met again in the library. Everyone was in a good mood now that things were back to normal. They had destroyed the amulet before Buffy and Cordelia both faked sick and went home. Buffy told her mom she had fallen asleep at Willow's the night before and she was sorry for worrying her. Mrs. Summers didn't really believe her, but she didn't want to argue with her anymore.
Cordelia had told her parents she had contracted some strange illness that had made her act strange. After cleaning up and resting her mother took her to get an emergency manicure. Both girls were in their usual ensemble. Even Giles seemed cheerful and a little less absent minded than usual.
"Do you have any memory of what happened?" Willow asks Buffy. Buffy nodded. "I remember it all like a bad dream. Was I really that horrible?" She asks.
"No, you were you, only different. Not that different is bad. I'm just glad to have the old Buffy back." Willow smiled.
"Yeah and I'm glad to get my old wardrobe back. I mean really Buffy. Those clothes are really horrible. How can you stand them?" Cordelia sounded like her old self, but she looked like she was happy to be there as herself.
"Oh, Giles, I seem to remember something about Cordelia being an excellent slayer. Was she better than me?" Buffy ask in a mock pout. Giles took off his glasses and began cleaning them furiously.
"Well, she used a different technique than you do. Not necessarily better, just different."
"Come on Giles. You said I was great." Cordelia joined in. "We both know who was better. You might as well tell her. Maybe she could learn something."
"Like I said, you are both different. Your techniques were different. Neither of you was necessarily different." Giles cleaned his glasses even harder and looked down at them not meeting their eye.
"Cut the crap Giles." Buffy chided. "Which of us is the better slayer?"
"I think I chose not to answer that." Giles smiled at both girls. They all laughed. Buffy and Willow started to leave to go patrolling. Giles grabbed a large stack of old books to take home for some bedtime reading. Xander grabbed Cordelia's arm and started to pull her to the door.
"I am really glad to have you back." He smiled at her. "I like this Cordelia better." Cordelia smiled at him. "I do too." She said.
"Good! Listen, I think I found a janitor's closet we haven't, uim, inspected yet." He pulled her out the door and down the hall. The others watched them go.
"Good then, I think I will head home too. If you need anything just come get me." Giles said and walked out. Willow and Buffy giggled. "When do you think those two will stop trying to fool us? It isn't like we don't know what is going on." Buffy giggled even harder.
"Yeah, and I am sure the janitor's will be glad to have their closets back too." Willow exclaimed. They walked off together toward the door. It was just another day on the hell mouth.
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