Title: State of Mind

Author: Jeffrey Patrick

Description: Angel returns to Sunnydale to warn Buffy of impending danger. When things go awry, he and Xander find themselves having to come to Buffy's rescue by entering her thoughts.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a sense of adventure and some stale cheese puffs. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Buffy and all related characters. It's their playground. I just like to slide!


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Angel arrived in what seemed to be the middle of an earthquake. He was back in Giles' house in Buffy's mindscape. There was no sign of Buffy or Xander, so he made his way back toward the mansion. The sky had changed. It was bluer and brighter, as though the darkness that held Sunnydale under siege was forgotten. He wondered if that meant Buffy had won.


Buffy realized she was hugging Xander too hard. He had, after all, taken quite a beating while posing as her. It had been his idea to use Buffy's control over her thoughts to dupe Acricon into believing that each was the other. It had worked and she was thankful, thus the hug.

"Ow and wow!" He said with a smirk. "Been a while since I got huggage from the Buffinator. Like it. Want more." He opened his arms wide and she chuckled.

"Down boy, before I have you neutered."

Xander yelped like a frightened mutt which only made her laugh harder.

They stood in the middle of Angel's mansion. They had decided it would be easier to focus there, as opposed to the hellish throne room of Acricon. They had no idea how to get out of the mindscape, but they would try.

Buffy managed to control her laughter and mute it, though she was clearly on an after-battle giggle streak. Xander wasn't helping things, but even he decided to get serious for a second.

"Hey, Buff, how 'bout we try to ski-daddle? My body could be mush by now."

"Where did you leave it?" Buffy asked with a grin. "Not in some compromising position, I hope."

"No. My body lies over the ocean. My body lies over.... Ah, skip it. Please, bring back my body to me."

They both started laughing. That's when Angel walked in.

"It seems I'm just in time for Xander's standup routine." He said with a grin. "I always have had bad timing."

"Angel!" Buffy threw her arms around him and then quickly backed away. "We were both worried about you."

"Both?" Angel questioned with a glance to Xander.

"Not me," he insisted. "Captain Corpse always lives to fight another day."

Angel gave a scowl, but then laughed. "Captain Corpse? Pretty funny."

"Yeah, I've been saving that one for the right occasion. What happened to you? And, hey... you're not 28 seconds behind anymore. Cool."

"We'll have time to catch up later. For now, let's get out of here. I assume from the looks of things that you two beat Acrigon?"

"Acricon," Buffy corrected. "And yes."

Xander didn't even catch that Buffy got the spirit's name right. He had some questions on his mind. "Hey, Angel? Is my body okay? In the real world, I mean."

"Not great, but if we get you back now you can start working out." Angel grinned bigger than Xander could ever recall having seen. "Maybe some free weights?"

"Great. The undead are back and this time, their funny. I've seen that movie, but thanks for playing."

"Sorry. It's fine for now, but we're running out of time, so we should go."

"Holy metaphysics, Batman! How are we gonna do that?"

"We couldn't figure it out." Buffy explained. "I tried to will myself back, but it didn't work."

"That's because, we weren't all together. I'm the anchor, so we all go or nobody goes."

"Then let's get gone," Xander said with enthusiasm. "There's a Dukes of Hazard marathon on tonight."

The three of them joined hands and closed their eyes. When they opened them again, they were back home.

After stories all around the gang bid farewell to Angel and then, settled in for an after-battle chat session. The overall consensus was that Buffy and Xander had the scariest experience.

"So Xander really looked like you?" Willow asked Buffy.

"Yeah, good acting job, too. Though his battle banter wasn't as witty."

"I take offense at that," Xander said. "Besides, I was busy fighting the urge to take a shower in Buffy's body."

"Xander!" Everyone sounded shocked in unison.

"Just kidding."


The End