Knox was looking into a microscope while Gunn sat nearby. The lawyer's leg was shaking with annoyance and nerves. Finally, Knox moved away from the microscope angrily. "Damn it!"

"No!" Gunn snapped. "Don't say, 'Damn it.' You got me all up in this Walt Disney mojo, don't say…."

"They're impervious to the cold. The blood tissue freezes, but they just keep working away like it's a sunny day in L.A. I'm sorry."

"Ok, so that's a bust. What else you got?"

"I don't, um…. God, I can't think, I'm so nervous. This was supposed to be Fred."

"What?"

"This thing was delivered to her lab. It had to have been meant for her."

"And Buffy just happened to intercede."

"I guess Buffy's as good as Fred. She was pretty badass."

"What?"

Knox's eyes widened. "Oops."

Gunn grabbed Knox by the lapels and slammed him into a lab desk. Glass broke all around them. "You did this. You did all of this!"

"Technically, that's not the case. I just played my part. Also, I didn't make Buffy touch that sarcophagus. It was supposed to be Fred."

"Why? You couldn't stand the thought of Wes winning her, so you kill her?"

"No! I chose Fred because I love her, because she's worthy. You think I'd have my god hatched out of some schmuck?"

"What are y…."

"This was all set in motion millions of years ago, Charles, and there's just no way to stop it. I hope my god is going to be pleased with the shell it ended up with."

"Angel's going to kill you."

"I doubt that."

"Are there more of you here? Are they helping you?"

"No. There's only me here. In the world, there's only a few of us. I came to L.A. because I knew that's where its kingdom had been. It was supposed to teleport back to the base of its power, but the continents drifted…. Which they do. I had others help me get it here, but then it got stuck in…. would you believe it…. customs." Knox pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "But you took care of that. You signed the order to bring it into the lab so you could get another brain boost. It's like I said, I'm just one small part of a great machine."

"Angel's gonna save her."

"What he's fighting against is older than the concept of time. I couldn't stop it. There's nothing left to do now, but wait. Wait and try and figure out exactly what you want to tell your…."

Gunn suddenly swung a metal canister at Knox's head, knocking him out.

Wesley walked towards Gunn's office. He could hear Harmony standing in the doorway talking to Gunn. "Gonna torture him?" She asked.

"Thinking about it." Gunn said.

"Can I help? I'm really good at it."

"Thanks, but this is kind of personal."

"Why do you think I want to help? Because I've got some kind of blood lust? Well, ok, that, too, but Buffy's my friend. Sort of. We went to the same high school and…. And she didn't kill me when she's had all these chances too. She even got a cup of coffee with me at the Starbucks downstairs! And if Poindexter here had anything to do with hurting her, then I'm in for a big fat pound of flesh."

Wesley walked in and saw a bloody, beaten Knox sitting slumped in an office chair. His hands were bound at the wrists with duct tape. "Gunn…."

"How's Buffy?" Gunn asked.

"You tied Knox up."

"We're gonna torture him!" Harmony exclaimed.

"Why?"

"He knows what's happening." Gunn insisted. "Been hiding it the whole time. I just need a few minutes alone."

"He's involved in this?"

"Pretty sure."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Yeah, buddy. Why didn't you?" Knox asked.

"Shut up." Gunn snapped.

"I thought we wanted him to talk." Harmony said.

"I can handle this. Whatever he knows…."

"I'm sorry, Gunn. It doesn't matter anymore. I was coming to tell you that Buffy's gone."

"What?"

"No!" Harmony cried.

"I'm sorry." Knox giggled. "It's just…. Um, it's not what you think. It…. it's…. it's beautiful. Tell them. Tell them what happened."

"We did a spell that was supposed to channel the Slayer line using us as anchors to help Buffy fight the infection. It didn't work. In fact, I think it sped the process up. Buffy started to convulse and scream and then she…."

"She can't be dead. She can't." Gunn insisted.

"She's gone."

"Just wait." Knox promised. "She's going to be so much more now. Beyond flesh. Beyond perfection."

"But she'll still be Buffy."

"Oh, no. Buffy's gone. Like, gone gone. Erased from existence gone. Illyria has taken over now." Knox let out another giggle and this time it was Harmony that punched him.

Angel was sobbing against Buffy's shoulder as he held her to him tightly. The machines were still loud with alarms, warning everyone that Buffy had died. Spike had taken Faith to get checked out. She had gotten cut by the broken x-ray viewer. Connor was sitting in the chair again crying into his hands with Willow petting his shoulder and wiping tears of her own away. Fred was standing at the foot of the bed letting out little sobs.

Suddenly the room became deathly quiet and a lone beep from the monitor checking Buffy's brain functions sounded. Angel lifted his head and looked down at his wife's face. "Buffy?"

After a moment, Buffy sucked in a huge gulp of air, shooting awake suddenly. Her eyes widened as she looked around in panic. Angel noticed that the monitors were all still flatlined except the one showing her brain functions. Her skin still felt hard and her hair was still streaked with blue. He looked at her eyes and saw they were still that strange blue from before.

"Angel?" Buffy gripped onto him and he groaned in pain. Her strength was incredible. "What's going on?" She looked around the room at the destruction. "Did I do all of that?"

"It's ok. You didn't know what you were doing." Angel soothed, holding her face gently. "What happened, Buffy?"

She had to think hard for a moment. The tears streaming down his face were distracting her. Why was he crying? Why was everyone in the room crying? "I…. I remember the spell hitting me. I walked towards it and when I touched its chest…. This weird light hit me and then…. Nothing. I woke up."

Fred moved forward and looked at the monitors that hadn't been destroyed. "I don't understand…. She's not…. alive."

"What?" Buffy looked over at her, panicked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't panic." Fred soothed. "I'm going to get medical back in here and we're going to figure this out." She smiled at her friend, brushing lingering tears away, and walked out of the room.

Willow and Connor moved forward at the same time. Connor stopped and let Willow go first. "You touched it and a light hit you?" The redhead asked.

Buffy nodded. She winced suddenly and held her head. "Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Connor and Angel demanded.

"Illyria isn't gone. Its…. I…. I can still feel it."

"Can I…." Willow held her hands out. Buffy nodded. The witch placed her fingers on Buffy's temples and searched through Buffy's mind. She suddenly pulled her hand away with a gasp. "Oh my god!"

"What!?" Angel, Connor, and Buffy asked.

"The spell…. It did work. Just…. Not with us."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked.

"Buffy, you're in control, but Illyria…. That spell merged it with you."

"What?" Buffy asked. "I don't…."

Willow thought for a moment how to explain what she saw. "You're like…. Um…. Well…."

"Spit it out!" Connor snapped.

"Connor," Angel warned.

"Buffy, she's…." Willow looked at her best friend. "The best way I can describe it is that you're like Angel now."

"Like me how?" Angel asked.

"Well, physically Buffy is dead. These monitors prove that. But she's got a demon inside her that's keeping her body going. Illyria made your body her new shell, but she couldn't take over your mind and soul. The spell completed the transformation and gave you the control. So…. You're like Angel."

Spike and Faith ran back in. "Buffy!" Spike cried, running over to her and trying to hug her. Angel pushed him away as Buffy still clung to him.

"How?" Faith asked. She looked at the flatlined monitors. "Seriously, how?"

"Buffy absorbed Illyria." Connor said.

"Does this mean…. Am I…. I'm a demon?" Buffy asked, her voice hitching.

Willow gripped Buffy's hand sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. I had no idea this would happen."

The blonde Slayer began to cry, but she quickly grabbed her head in pain. "I'm allowed to show emotion!" She yelled.

"Guys, can you give Buffy and I some privacy, please?" Angel asked.

Willow nodded and began ushering everyone out. She said a quick spell to block out the noises from the broken walls and to give the two the privacy they needed. With a quick look at Angel comforting Buffy, Willow walked out into the hallway.

"It's in my head!" Buffy complained. "It doesn't like that I have control and it hates when I feel emotions."

"Can you talk with it?" Angel asked.

"A little bit. It doesn't want to hear what I have to say, though."

Angel held Buffy's face in his hands, gently rubbing his thumbs on her cheeks. "That's me every day."

"What do you mean?"

"Angelus…. He's always in here. He hates that I have control. I've learned to tune him out most of the time."

"I can't tune Illyria out when it starts shouting. It hurts my head."

"What does it want?"

"Control. World domination. The same thing most demons want. It wants to go get its army of doom." Buffy held out her arms to discover her skin was as pale as Angel's and her veins were a deeper blue that looked like the blue in her hair. She touched the skin on her arm and closed her eyes in pain before she began to cry. "I don't want to be a demon, Angel. I want to be me again." She started to sob as the demon in her screamed to stop acting like a human.

Angel's heart broke as he held her tightly to him. While he had always feared the day Buffy's death would come, he knew it was an inevitable thing. The thing that actually terrified him the most…. The thing that had always scared him right down to his very marrow even more than losing her to death had ended up coming to pass: Buffy had become a demon. He was grateful that he still had her, that she wasn't soulless, but her life had just been robbed from her in the worst way possible. Her future was now a bigger unknown than it had ever been.

Suddenly, Buffy gripped her head again in pain. "Ah! Stop!"

Angel pulled back and kissed her forehead. Before he could say anything, the quiet bubble around them popped. A moment later, Fred knocked on the door with Willow right behind her. "Hey, sorry to interrupt. Buffy, would you mind letting us run some tests on you?"

"Is that something that needs to happen right now?" Angel asked.

"We can put it off, but I'm sure Buffy and everyone else wants answers."

"We can do the tests." Buffy sighed. She looked at her husband. "Angel, will you look into this Army of Doom thing of Illyria's? Maybe we can find a way to shut it down and this thing will stop yelling about it."

"Are you sure?" Angel asked.

"Yes."

"Ok." He looked into her now intense cerulean eyes and leaned in to kiss her gently. She felt so different. She felt like him now. Her skin was harder and there was no longer the rush of her pulse under his hands where he touched her. Where her skin had once held a heat he cherished, heat that would flare only for his touch, now it was just cold. Deathly cold.

Pulling away, he promised he would return soon and walked out into the hall. He was starting to hyperventilate, which was silly considering he didn't breathe, but the emotions were choking him. He leaned against the wall and tried not to fall apart. Connor, who had been pacing furiously, turned when he saw his father walk out of Buffy's demolished room. He rushed over and gripped his dad tightly. The two of them held onto each other and allowed their emotions to get the better of them.

While Angel mourned the loss of Buffy's human side, Connor felt terrified. The woman he thought of as his mother was a demon. He didn't know what it meant for their family. He didn't know if Buffy would ever be the same. He was terrified of losing her completely. And, he discovered, he was terrified of losing his dad if Angel sunk into a grief he couldn't pull himself out of.

Finally, Angel pulled back from Connor and wiped his eyes. "Everything will be ok. She's not gone." He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. "Will you stay with her? She wants me to see if I can find this army of Illyria's and shut it down."

Connor nodded. "Yeah. Let me know if I can help."

"Just be with her." Angel turned and headed up to his office. He asked Harmony to call Wesley, Gunn, Spike, and Lorne up for a meeting before calling Giles.

"Angel," Giles greeted. "How is…. Is she….."

"It's a long story, but she's still alive. Sort of. Did you find out anything useful at the Deeper Well?"

"We found out where the sarcophagus came from. There were thousands of them."

"Minus one." Xander said in the background. Apparently Angel was on speaker. "There was a guy named Drogyn there."

"Drogyn?"

"You know him?"

"Long time ago. What was he doing there?"

"He's the guardian of the Deeper Well." Giles said. "There's an option to save her, but we turned it down."

Angel stood up straight. "What?"

"We could've dragged Illyria back, but everyone on the path of that sarcophagus would've been infected and killed. Buffy wouldn't want that."

Angel sighed. "No. That she wouldn't. Was there anything useful on Illyria and her army?"

"Just the usual doom and gloom." Xander said. "Prophecy, demon army gets raised, humanity wiped out, yada yada yada."

"This was prophesied to happen?"

"Preordained, but according to your friend at the well, yes." Giles answered.
"Angel, man, you gotta tell us how she is." Xander pleaded.

"She…." Angel sat down with a sigh, feeling his emotions start to choke him again. "Willow did a spell. Buffy said it was the one you guys used to merge your minds together and call on the First Slayer to help her against Adam."

"The one that made us have the funky cheese guy dreams?"

"Yeah. But something happened during it. Instead of us merging minds with her, it merged her with Illyria."

"Good God." Angel could see Giles in his mind's eye taking his glasses off and cleaning them furiously. "Buffy merged with Illyria?"

"She didn't mean to, but I think it saved her…. For all intents and purposes."

"What does that mean?" Xander asked.

"She's, uh…. Well, she's technically undead."

"She's a vampire!?"

"No! No, Buffy's body was already in transition to become the host for Illyria. Her organs were…. They were failing and she was in a coma when we did the spell. When she merged with the demon, from what we can tell, she got control of her mind and soul, but her body is physically dead and it's Illyria keeping her going."

"She's not evil?" Giles asked.

"No. Fred and Willow are down in medical running some tests, but she's not evil. She's herself, just…. Enhanced."

"Like you?" Xander asked.

"Unfortunately."

"I'm so sorry, Angel. This is so unfair."

"How is she?" Giles asked.

Angel could hear the emotions beginning to choke Giles. The Watcher had always had the same fear for his Slayer. Death was inevitable, but turning into a demon was an unbearable fate for someone who fought so hard against them. "She's upset to say the least, and she's scared, but she's ok. Illyria…." Angel cleared his throat. "Buffy can still hear the demon inside her head. It doesn't understand emotions and is angry that it's trapped inside her."
"Poor Buff." Xander said. It was clear he was fighting off the emotions, too.

The door opened and Lorne, Wesley, Spike, Faith, and Gunn walked in. "I'll talk to you later." Angel said into the phone. "We've got some research that needs to be done. I'll keep you posted." Giles and Xander said their goodbyes, promising to look for answers on their end, and Angel hung up.

"I should've seen it, Angel. I'm so sorry." Lorne blurted. "Knox…. He sang for me and I should've seen this."

"It's not your fault." Gunn assured him.

"If I had concentrated harder, read him better, maybe Buffy…."

"What about Knox?" Angel asked.

"He, uh, he's the reason the sarcophagus was here in the first place." Gunn said. "This was meant for Fred, not Buffy."

"How did you find this out?"

"Knox told me. He let it slip and then I knocked him around till he started singing. Lorne's right. We should have seen this coming."

"It wouldn't have made a difference. Giles and Xander said the sarcophagus was preordained to be released. Nothing could have stopped it from arriving."

"That's not completely true. The sarcophagus was stuck in customs and it should have stayed there, but someone got it out."

"Who?" Wesley asked.

"I'm working on it." Gunn looked at Angel. He walked up to Angel and hugged him. "I'm sorry about Buffy, Angel. She was an amazing woman and…."

Angel gently pushed Gunn away. "Buffy's ok. She's getting some tests done now."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What do you mean 'Buffy's ok'?" Lorne asked. "She's dead, isn't she? Wesley said…."

Angel sighed, hating having to tell this story again. He explained to them what had happened and what was happening now. Afterwards, Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne sat around the office in various places looking stunned. Spike and Faith stood off to the side watching everyone.

"What kind of tests are being run?" Wesley asked.

"I didn't ask. I just wanted to make sure Buffy was ok with it." Angel said.

"Why aren't you with her?" Spike asked.

"Connor's with her. She asked me to look into Illyria's demon army. She thinks if we can destroy it, then Illyria will be more cooperative."

"Willow summoned information about Illyria." Wesley said. "I assume she could show us that book and help us summon up other information."

"How do we plan to stop an army?" Gunn asked.

"Well, Buffy stopped an army of Turok-Han with a small group of Slayers and Spike. I'm sure we can do it, too."

"I'm not wearing that bleeding amulet again." Spike made a face. "Don't think I'd be coming back from that one a second time."

"Let's try to do this without a body count on our end."

"I'll go collect my books and speak with Willow." Wesley said.

"Giles is looking into his sources, too."

"Good. We'll need all the help we can get." He walked out with Lorne offering to help.

The office was closed for the night. Everyone had gone home and left Buffy with the night crew down in medical. They had given her a new, less destroyed room. She had spoken with Angel and he said the entire gang was working on finding a way to stop Illyria's army. Connor had fallen asleep in the chair he had occupied since he had come back into the room.

All the tests she had been subjected to turned up nothing. They couldn't get needles into her skin to collect her blood. It was too hard to penetrate. Her strength was immeasurable. Literally. She had broken everything they had used to try and measure her new strength. Connor had broken a chair on her back and Buffy hadn't even flinched. The only test they had been able to successfully complete had been the mouth swab. The results had come back showing that Buffy was indeed merged with Illyria. Both of their DNAs had shown up and when pieced together, they made a completely rewritten and unprecedented DNA code. Fred was having a field day with that one.

With a sigh, Buffy got out of the bed. She didn't feel like sitting there anymore. Connor had brought her some of her favorite PJs and a robe. She quickly changed into them and wandered out into the hallway. Eventually she walked into the lab and spotted the sarcophagus still sitting there. Walking over to it, she poked the thing and it slid a few feet back, hitting a table and rattling the things on it.

Fred popped her head out of her office at the noise. "Buffy! You scared me."

"Sorry. Still don't know my own strength." She looked at the sarcophagus again. "Is that what's going to happen to me one day? I'll be stuck in one of those things, hidden away in the Deeper Well?"

"Of course not!"

"What am I, Fred?"

"Don't worry, Buffy. We're working on it." Fred hugged her tightly, but Buffy didn't even feel the pressure from it. "You should be resting."

"I don't want to rest. Besides having a demon in me, I feel fine."

Fred nodded. "I get that. You've been through something very traumatic. You died and…."

"It's not the first time and just like the other times, I came back." She sighed and looked at the sarcophagus. "Do we have to keep this thing around here? Can't we just put it in the deepest parts of storage?" She winced. "I'm not touching that thing!" Fred looked at her with concerned eyes. Buffy waved her hand at her head. "This thing wants me to put my hand on one of the crystals."
"Why?"

"Something about its armor. I'm not interested."

"I wonder if Knox would know what it wants the armor for."

"Why would he know?"

Fred blinked. "Oh. Right. You've been out of the loop. Knox…. He's the reason the sarcophagus is here."

"He did this to me?"

"It was meant for me. You saved me."

Buffy nodded. "You're welcome, I guess." Fred started to say something, but Buffy cut her off. "Where's Angel?"

"He's in Wes' office. They're looking through the files and books."

"Thanks." The blonde wandered out of the lab and headed towards Wesley's office. She didn't see him in there with Willow and Wesley, so she headed to their office. He wasn't there, either, so she decided to go up to the penthouse. There he was, sitting on the couch, sobbing into his hands. Buffy's heart broke for him. Their future together had changed drastically. Buffy hadn't just been robbed of her humanity, they had both been robbed of their happy human future. Despite Angel trying to keep his hopes in check, it had been Buffy's optimism that had kept him believing that he would achieve his Shanshu and they would be able to be two normal people finally.

Buffy slipped into the living room and let the elevator doors close behind her. He didn't even notice her entrance. Silently, she walked over to him and curled up in his lap. He was startled to see her at first, but quickly recovered and held her to him. They stayed that way for what felt like hours. The sun was starting to rise when Buffy finally pulled away.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Angel asked, pushing her hair away from her face.

"I'm always ok." He gave her a hard look. "This sucks. Yesterday I was daydreaming about what we would name our kids. Today I don't have a pulse and I'm being kept alive because I've merged with the demon that killed me. I'm a demon. It's my worst nightmare come true." Buffy winced and pressed her palm against her forehead.

"What's it saying?"

"That I could have unimaginable power if I would just listen to it."

Angel sighed. "Let's listen to it, then."

"What? Are you crazy?"

"Look, this isn't going away. Maybe we need to listen to it, figure out what it wants, and then shut it all down like you said. Show it that you're in control."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"And what happens when I access the army of doom?"

"We'll figure it out."

Buffy sighed. "Ok. Tell me what to do."

"Well, you…."

"Not you."

"Sorry."

Finally! You must find my Qwa'ha Xahn.

"It says it wants it's Chaka Khan."

"The singer?"

Qwa'ha Xahn.

"Sorry, the Qwa Ha Zan."

"What's that?"

He is near. I feel him.

"I think maybe it's Knox?"

Angel stood up and helped Buffy to her feet. "Let's go get the murderous bastard."

The two of them headed down to the holding cells and found a bloody and bruised Knox kneeling on the floor of his cell. He looked up and his eyes bugged out of his head. "My God!"

"Are you the Qwa'ha Xahn?" Buffy asked.

"I am, your liege. I am at your service."

They didn't know where the keys were, so Buffy just ripped the door off the cell. "Let's go." Angel grabbed Knox and the two of them followed Buffy to Fred's lab. Fred wasn't in her office, so the place was empty.

"I've been waiting so long for this." Knox blabbered. "I've loved you from the moment I saw you. I was 11. You were ancient. Pressed between the pages of the forbidden texts. I would stare at you for hours, locked in my room. My mom thought I was looking at porn." Buffy rolled her eyes as she went to the sarcophagus. "I am your priest. I am your servant. I am your guide in this world." Knox yanked up his shirt to show Buffy his chest. His skin had been cut open, foreign objects placed under his skin, and then stitched closed. "I've taken your sacraments and placed them close to my heart according to the ancient ways. That's why you were called to me. We're bound together."

This one talks too much. And he is short. My last Qwa'ha Xhan was taller.

"The last Qwa'ha Xahn was taller, apparently." Buffy said, causing Angel to chuckle.

"I may be shrinking a bit in the glory of your presence."

"I'm sure that's it." Buffy said sarcastically.

I need my armor. Place your hand on the tomb and touch the largest crystal.

Buffy did what Illyria said and placed her hand on the sarcophagus. A wind started howling through the room. Buffy moved her palm to cover one of the crystals. She winced as a thick, rubbery substance began covering her body. It moved up her hand and crawled across the rest of her body. Eventually, she was completely covered in leathery armor under her PJs and robe.

"Ew! Is this permanent?" Buffy complained, poking at the suit. "This is even more conspicuous than the blue hair and extra blue veins."
"I'm sorry…. Uh…." Knox held up his hand. "Are you not Illyria?"

Buffy looked over at him. "Surprise."

"Where is my master?"

"Oh, it's in here, but I'm the one driving."

"How…. That's not possible."

"Did you really think that death would get me?"

"Well, it was meant for Fred. I…"

"Yeah, about that, I'm going to end up breaking your jaw if you don't stop asking questions. You're the reason I've lost my future and my humanity. You're the reason a Slayer's worst nightmare came true. You're lucky I'm letting you breathe right now."

Vahla ha'nesh.

"What's that?"

It is where you died. It is where I was resurrected. It is my temple.

"You weren't resurrected. I was."

You will need to go there. I need to use my powers.

"What powers?"

"I'm assuming she's talking to Illyria." Knox said to Angel. Buffy turned to glare at him. "I, uh, I think I can assist you with those powers you're asking about."

"If you lie to me…."

"You've merged with my God and defeated it to keep control. So basically, you're my God now. Trust me, I won't lie to you." Buffy's eyes narrowed, but Knox started speaking before she could make a decision. "Each of those crystals on that sarcophagus represents Illyria's powers. Uh, your powers now." Angel allowed Knox to walk up to the sarcophagus. He pointed to a green one. "This represents time."

"Time?" Angel asked.

"Illyria can manipulate time. Slow it down, speed it up, walk through it…. She's Marty McFly except she doesn't need the Delorean."

"I could go back and stop this thing from showing up here!" Buffy said cheerily.

"That would be impossible. This was preordained. You can't stop her from coming here."

"Gunn said this thing was stuck in customs." Angel said. "Maybe we can return it to sender? Giles said that the Deeper Well could take Illyria back."

"He did?" Buffy asked.

"Yes. There was a cost in bringing it back, though."

"What was the cost?"

"Every person that thing came close to would be infected and die. But if you hadn't been infected, then Illyria wouldn't have escaped. We could get it back to the Deeper Well with no issue."

"Sounds like a plan. Who let this thing in from customs?"

"Gunn says he doesn't know, but he's trying to find out who."

"Oh, Gunn knows." Knox said. "He just doesn't want to admit it."

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"Because it was him. He signed that piece of paper to let Illyria in here in exchange for a permanent mind enhancement."

"He couldn't have known this would happen." Buffy reasoned. "Granted, he knows everything here comes at some price. We'll have a chat with him later about this, but for now I need to know how to use the time powers."

"I can't help you with that." Knox insisted.
"Why don't I believe you?"

"Ok, on top of 'I won't help you with that' because I don't want my God trapped in that Well, I literally can't help you. Only Illyria knows the ins and outs of her powers."

The Qwa'ha Xahn is correct.

"Are you going to show me how to use these powers?"

Why would I assist you in stopping me?

"Because I'm in charge here, pal. You're in my head. What makes you think I can't access your thought processes?"

You are weak.

"Last I checked, I was pretty strong. Even before you came along. And it seems I can't die anymore, so I've got plenty of time to learn how to get into your head."

Release me into a new body.

"You've been in that Well too long if you think anyone here is going to do that. Well, besides the weirdo science nerd here."

I will not go back to the Deeper Well.

"You don't have a choice. One way or another, I will go back in time and put you back where you belong. The time for the Old Ones is over. There is no place for you here. There is nothing left for you. Look through my memories and see that!" Buffy cringed as she felt Illyria probing into her mind. "The world belongs to the humans now. Your race and your army are long gone. You've only got the weirdo science nerd falling at your feet." She gripped her head tightly as Illyria ripped through more of her memories. "You could be at peace in the Deeper Well. It's not a peaceful existence here."

I don't want peace. I want chaos in my name.

"Your name doesn't exist anymore. Your army doesn't exist anymore. Give it up, Illyria! You have nothing."

I could relinquish your body now and leave you a hollow dead shell.

"Then what would you do?"

Infect another. Start again.

Buffy stood up straight. "Show me how to get to your temple."

"What?" Angel asked. "Why?"

"Just trust me."

"Always."

"Bring the murder nerd, too." Buffy glared at Knox. "I have a feeling we might need him."

Illyria led them to an abandoned bank near the heart of the city. There was a security guard inside, but Angel paid him off to take a long break. Buffy had put on one of her long leather coats to cover up the weird armor covering her body.

"Your seat of power was at a bank?" Buffy chuckled. She held up her hands in front of her face and Illyria used her powers to cause a gust of wind to blow past her, but nothing happened.

The gateway is blocked.

"It says the gateway is blocked." Buffy announced.

"I was afraid of that." Knox said. "Wolfram & Hart probably threw a lock on it. They're big on things happening on their timetable."

The wolf, ram, and hart? In my time they were weak, barely above the vampire.

"I guess they beefed up." Buffy said. "So, how do we open this thing?"

"Not to worry." Knox held up his satchel. "I brought my skeleton key."

Buffy and Angel watched Knox dump out his bag and start setting up a ritual on the floor. He used a pile of small bones in front of him and chanted something under his breath. The bones disappeared.

"That's it?" Angel asked.

"That's it." Knox stood up. "You should be able to open it now."

Buffy held up her hands and Illyria once again used her powers. This time, a portal opened and the three of them stepped through it. They walked towards the nave of the temple with Illyria's excitement growing. Instead, the demon became crestfallen when it realized there was nothing left. Its statue has been toppled and the army of doom was dead. The columns were all broken and the place was silent. Illyria's temple was in complete ruin.
No. It can't be. It's gone. My world is gone.

"I told you." Buffy said. "This is all you have left: nothing. Now will you show me how to go back and fix this mess you've gotten me into? I have a future I'd like to get back to."

I cannot.

"What do you mean you can't?"

I cannot step into a time before I was reborn. The furthest back I could take us would be to the moment my sarcophagus released me.

"So you could take over Fred's body instead of mine? No. I won't do that to her."

I could take over the Qwa'ha Xahn.

Buffy sighed. "Even though he helped you murder me, he doesn't deserve to go through that."

Then you are stuck with me.

"Looks like." Buffy looked at Angel. "Can you deal with Knox? I need to go for a walk."

"Buffy…." Angel started.

"I'll be ok." She squeezed his hand and opened the portal back to their world.

Angel walked up from the holding cells and checked his phone again. It had been a couple of hours now and he hadn't heard from Buffy. He was starting to get really worried. As he was making his way down a hallway, he heard Gunn speaking with someone.

"I'm disappointed in you, Mr. Gunn." The other voice said. "All the knowledge and deductive reasoning we've implanted in your brain. And it's taken you this long to sniff your way back to me?"

"I've been a little preoccupied." Gunn answered.

"Ah, yes. Miss Summers. How is she…."

There was a loud banging. "You wanna get real straight with me real fast."

"Of course. Customer's always right."

"Everything you know, or there won't be enough of you left to stitch back together, Frankenstein."

"The sarcophagus contained the essence of an old one, a race of ancient demons dead and buried for millions of years in a place called the Deeper Well."

"Not hearing anything I don't already know."

"Why do you think I'm telling you?"

"How do we get this thing out of Buffy and bring her back? How?!"

"You can't."

"I don't believe that. You know a way. You have to."

"Get the sarcophagus released from customs in exchange for making your cerebral alterations permanent. That was the bargain and the extent of my involvement."

"Then take it back. Everything you put in my head, the law, all the knowledge…. Take it back. Everything. Take more, leave me a vegetable. I don't care. Just fix her."

"There's nothing I can do. Everything Miss Summers was is now gone. Forever. For better or worse, you made a deal, Mr. Gunn. I suggest you learn to live with it."

The doctor started to leave the room, but Angel was suddenly there. He knocked the doctor out and tossed him in the hallway.

"There something you'd like to tell me?" Angel growled at Gunn.

Gunn looked down at his feet. "Look… It was just a piece of paper. I was losing it. Everything they put in my head, everything that made me different. Special. And he could fix it. Make it permanent. So I signed a piece of paper. It was a customs release form. I didn't think anyone would get hurt."

"Nothing from Wolfram & Hart is ever free. You knew that."

"I couldn't go back to being just the muscle. I didn't think it would be one of us. I didn't think it would be Buffy."

Angel advanced on Gunn slowly. "I understand not wanting to go back, not wanting to be who we were. I understand it. And I can forgive it. But you knew what was happening to her. You knew who was responsible and you didn't say anything. You let her get turned into her worst nightmare. I'm less forgiving about that." Angel suddenly had a scalpel from the table and thrust it towards Gunn's stomach, but a hand was suddenly there stopping him.

"Don't." Buffy said.

"Buffy…."

"He screwed up and he's going to have to live with that, but hurting him won't change anything." She turned to Gunn. "You're going to take a little time off. I don't blame you for this, but I think we all need time. Gunn nodded and walked out. She turned to Angel next. "Let's go home."

When they stepped into their private elevator, Angel turned to her. "Where did you go?"

"Around. Stopped at Hemrey High and sat down on the front steps." She leaned against the wall. "So many things were put into motion the day I was called." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Was this one of them?"

"Hey," He placed his finger under her chin and gently pushed her face up to look at him. "Even if this was destined to happen, we'll get through it. Day by day, like we always have. And I'll be with you for the rest of eternity."

"What about your Shanshu?"

"I don't want to be human if that means losing you. I would rather stay by your side for a couple millennia than grow old without you."

She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Am I still your girl?"

"Always." He kissed her gently.