A/N: I made some revisions to earlier parts to remove references to the First since I'm such an utterly pedantic slave to continuity, but nothing significant, since I hope the revised text still makes it clear that yes, it's the First, just that Buffy and Willow have no idea of the identity of their current Big Bad. Some of my other stories have much more extensive changes in their future, though.

"Tomorrow might?" asked Faith. "What are you talking about?!"

"That's what it says here," answered Willow, handing the book over. "The consciousness transfer becomes permanent on the third sunrise after the spell is performed." Wasting no time at all, Willow stood up and put her jacket back on. "I'm going out to find this thing. Buffy?"

Buffy stood up, but was hesitant. "Shouldn't I-?"

"No," interrupted Willow tersely. "Tara and Amy can get the spell ready. I need you with me." Faith and Xander just looked at each other, having seen this before from their Willow.

"Don't you think it's a little rash to rush out there?" asked Xander. "You've never patrolled by yourself before as the Slayer."

"That's why I'm bringing Buffy," argued Willow. "Besides, we need to split up and cover as much ground as possible."

"And what you suggest we do to say in contact?" asked Giles.

Pulling a cell phone out of her jacket pocket, Willow said, "Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me."

Tara, getting the reference, beamed. "Oh, Buffy and I love that show!"

"I do?" asked Buffy, before realizing, "Oh."

"C'mon," declared Willow, clearly antsy to leave as soon as possible, "Let's go."

"Willow, wait up!" Buffy was lagging being her Slayer-enhanced friend, and for someone used to being ahead of the pack, it was absolutely frustrating.

For Willow, it was frustrating, too, but for different reasons. She was utterly determined to get the hell out of this place, and she wasn't about to let Buffy make time with Tara, and she didn't even care about how unbelievably petty she was being. Quite frankly, she was running on pure, jealous fury. But still, Willow slowed down just enough for Buffy to catch up."

When Buffy did catch up, she tapped her friend's shoulder. "Will, what's wrong?"

If Willow's looks could kill in this world, Buffy would be a greasy spot on the street. "You had sex with Tara."

"She's not your girlfriend!" shouted Buffy.

"She's not yours, either," sneered Willow.

"She could be!" argued the blonde Slayer. "I could be happy here!"

"At what cost?" countered Willow. "Right now, there's a very lonely, confused woman in your body with a destiny she never asked for, and her mother and girlfriend are essentially dead! And what about the other me? She has the body of a cold-blooded killer, and her husband…."

"…..is still there," finished Buffy. "Besides, who's to say that you can't go back while I stay?"

Willow was horrified. "Are you seriously suggesting….?"

"Betraying my duty? Passing the buck?" asked Buffy rhetorically. "You bet your ass! Look at this place! Mom and Tara are still alive, Amy and Faith never went dark, I never died the second time, you and Xander are together….this place is a paradise! You can't say that I'm worthy of my calling after seeing this!"

"And what happens if this world's me dies? Or its Xander?" Buffy, having not spent any amount of time with Xander, was totally lost. "They're hanging on by a thread! I've been doing this for less than a day and I'm already miserable! They've been doing it for seven years!"

Buffy was still hopelessly confused. "Will…."

"The other me, when she met you, she tried to set you up with Xander because she knew that being the Slayer meant that she was going to die. And when you refused, she set him up with Amy. She didn't date Oz, because she knew that he'd have to see her die, too." Once again, Willow was sobbing. "Do you remember how in love I was with Xander? Or Oz?"

Buffy nodded, and started tearing up, too. "Will, I didn't even realize…"

"I can't even process having to come to that decision, and she did it! If not for Faith, Xander and I wouldn't even be together. She said that we got together because she forced me to go with him on his 'Great American Road Trip' but we instead got stuck in Oxnard and he ended up as some sort of a male stripper, and now that I think about it, that does seem pretty hot."

"Better watch out, Will," joked Buffy, "pretty soon you'll be in bed with Xander, back in Boystown."

"Absolutely not," argued Willow. "I don't have magic to throw my hormones out of whack like you do."

"Slaying's going to make you horny and hungry, just watch," said Buffy. "Ooh! Ooh!" she pointed, interrupting her train of thought. "New vampire!"

Buffy's experience paid off, as indeed, there was a newborn vamp standing up for the first time in his unlife. This one had apparently been a jock at Sunnydale High, based on his letterman jacket. So, naturally, Willow was able to stake him with no effort whatsoever. "Well, that was easy."

WHACK!

"What the hell?!" shouted Willow as she instinctively rubbed her nose, only to kicked in the stomach for her troubles.

"Willow!" shouted Buffy, who tried to fight this second vamp, only to get tossed aside like a rag doll.

"Curse you, Slayer!" announced the vamp, who Willow noticed looked so geeky that it made her sophomore year self appear to be Batman in comparison. "He was my boyfriend!"

Willow felt like her intelligence had been insulted. "Seriously? Do I look that dumb to you?" She started wailing on the vamp, who proved to be as much of cakewalk as her alleged boyfriend, leading to another easy staking for the witch-in-Slayer's-body.

"Jeez," admonished Buffy, "you're a bully, Mrs. Harris."

"It's not bullying if they bring it on themselves by lying like that."

"Whatever, you say, 'Cordelia'."

"Hey!"

Buffy laughed maniacally as she and Willow moved on with their search.

"OwowowowowOW!" screamed Willy as Willow twisted his ear as if he was a misbehaving student. "I told you, I don't know anything!"

Willow looked to Buffy for guidance on just how to abuse the weaselly demon bartender, and Buffy just rolled her eyes at Willy's declaration of ignorance. So, Willow just slammed his face into the counter and commanded, "Stop lying, Willy! If someone is using a Vishatrai demon, trying to put a hit on me, you have to have heard something!"

"Are you kidding?! Most of my clients are as afraid of getting their minds messed with as you are!" The door to the bar opened, and Willy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, hey, Faith, Xander. You think you can get this rabid attack dog off my case now?"

"HEY!" Not appreciating the comment in the least, Willow slammed Willy's head to the counter a second time, but much harder.

"I think Big Red's got this one handled, don't you, Xander?"

"I for one try to never question the judgement of my wife," answered Xander nonchalantly.

Realizing he was basically screwed, Willy admitted, "All right, all right! I don't know what's messing with you, but the Vishantrai has been hanging around in the sewers near the high school during the day!"

"That's all I needed to know," answered Willow cheerfully as she released Willy. "So, how did I do?"

"Not too bad, kid," admitted Willy. "Though you probably shouldn't defer to Blondie over there-it blows the cover that the Vishantrai has scrambled your brains or whatever."

Outside, Willow and Faith compared notes. Other than the usual load of vampires hanging around, Willy had provided the best lead on the location of the Vishrantrai by far. "I guess this means we wait until the morning to catch this thing," offered Faith.

"It's cutting things a bit close, but I guess you're right, Faith," agreed Willow. "Let's-" just then, Willow's stomach growled in a very loud fashion, much to her embarrassment, "I guess I have a rumbly in my tumbly."

"Told you," declared Buffy, "hungry and horny. Happens every time."

"Got that right," muttered Faith crankily, who was feeling the latter, and rather unhappily without someone to burn off that energy. With a knowing leer, she added, "Come on, B, let's go check in with the G Man so the happy couple can go home to blow off some, uh, steam."

Willow and Xander blushed furiously and promptly avoided eye contact until they were back in "their" apartment.