"Witch"

Based on the Episode Written by Dana Reston

The following story is copyright © 2021 by Mark Moore.


Buffy had decided to try out for the cheerleading squad. She got dressed up in a uniform, went to the library at Sunnydale High School, and told Giles of her plan.

His reaction wasn't what she'd been expecting.

"This is madness! What can you have been thinking? You are the Slayer! Lives depend upon you!" Giles began pacing. "I make allowances for your youth, but I expect a certain amount of responsibility, and instead of which you enslave yourself to this, this..." He stopped pacing. "Cult?"

"You don't like the color?" Buffy asked him.

"I d..." He paused, exasperated. "Do you, um..." He put some books on a cart. "Do you ignore everything I say as a, as a rule?"

"No, I believe that's your trick."

Giles pushed the cart to the counter.

Buffy skipped in front of him and posed. "I told you: I'm trying out for the cheerleading squad!"

"You have a sacred birthright, Buffy. You were chosen to destroy vampires, not to...wave pompoms at people. And as the Watcher, I forbid it." He went back to the table.

"And you'll be stopping me how?" she asked.

"Well, I..." He sat on the edge of the table and crossed his arms. "By appealing to your common sense, if such a creature exists."

"I will still have time to fight the forces of evil, okay? I just wanna have a life. I wanna do something normal. Something safe."


Later, Buffy and Tara walked into the gym. Cheerleader tryouts were about to start. Girls were stretching and practicing, doing back handsprings, cartwheels, and walking handstands. One girl did a roundoff followed by a back handspring.

"Giles didn't approve, huh?" Tara asked Buffy.

"He totally lost his water. We haven't seen a vampire in over a week. I'd say he should get a girlfriend, if he wasn't so old."

Tara shrugged. "Honestly, even though I don't agree with his reasoning, I do think it's pretty pointless."

Buffy looked at her questioningly.

"Cheerleading. Learning and performing a bunch of routines to cheer on sports teams during tribalistic rituals to determine who's the 'best' at throwing a fucking ball around?" Tara shook her head. "I can't think of a bigger waste of the limited amount of time that we have in this world." She paused in consideration. "Except maybe getting into heated arguments about fictional characters and universes on the Internet."

Buffy's face twisted in confusion. "So you're saying I'm shallow?"

Tara sighed and avoided answering the question. "I know it means a lot to you, even though I don't find any value in it. I'm here to support you, because we're friends."

"Thanks."

They noticed a girl named Amber, who had dark brown hair, doing the splits between two chairs.

"Oh, hey!" Tara took a bracelet out of her jeans pocket and offered it to Buffy. "Here's a good luck charm for tryouts."

Buffy took the bracelet and examined it. It was silver and had a triple moon symbol on it. "Oh, how sweet!" She put the bracelet on her left wrist.

Cordelia approached them. "Just look at that Amber. Who does she think she is, a Laker Girl?"

Joy, the black-haired cheerleading squad leader, stepped up with her clipboard. "Okay, listen up! Let's begin with Amber Grove. If you're not auditioning, move off the floor."

"Amy! Hi!" Tara called.

Amy Madison, a beautiful girl with long black hair, came over. "Hi!"

"I didn't know you wanted to be a cheerleader. You lost a lot of weight."

"Had to."

"Do you know Buffy?" Tara asked her.

Amy looked at Buffy. "Hi."

"Hi."

Amy looked at Amber. "Oh, how I hate this. Let me count the ways."

"Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited started playing.

Buffy looked at Tara and Amy and smiled. "Let Mortal Kombat begin!"

Tara and Amy laughed.

Amber began her routine. It was very athletic. She started off with a needle split lift, followed by a double spin and a jumping double spin. After landing, Amber launched herself into an aerial and a cartwheel. Jazz slides were then followed by a single spin. Everyone in the gym was intent on watching her.

Amy looked at Buffy. "She trained with Benson. He's one of the best coaches money can buy."

"They have cheerleading coaches?" Buffy asked her in surprise.

"Oh, yeah! Don't you have? I train with my mom: three hours in the morning, three at night."

Buffy smiled dementedly. "Hmm, that much quality time with my mom would probably lead to some quality matricide."

"Oh, I know it's hokey, but she's really great."

Cordelia turned away from Amber with a look of contempt on her face. "Hmph!"

Buffy watched Amber in amazement. Amy and Tara were impressed, too. Amber's hands began to smoke.

"What the fuck?" Buffy asked.

"That girl's on fire!" Tara exclaimed.

Cordelia was facing away and didn't see the smoke. "Enough of the hyperbole!"

Amber's hands caught fire. She dropped her pompoms and screamed. Amber flailed her hands in the air. Buffy jumped up onto the stands and pulled down a banner. She ran back to Amber, knocked her down, and snuffed out the flames with the banner. Everyone stared in shock.

Holding her close, Buffy tried to comfort Amber. "It's okay, it's okay, you're gonna be...okay."


Later, in the library, Tara was sitting at the table, watching Buffy pace in front of her.

Buffy sighed. "I've seen some pretty cringeworthy things recently, but...nobody's hands ever got toasted before."

Giles came out of the cage. "I imagine not."

Buffy came to a stop and ran her hands through her hair. "So, this isn't a vampire problem."

"No."

Buffy turned to Giles. "But it is funky, right? Not of the norm?"

"Quite. Spontaneous human combustion is - is rare and - and scientifically unexplainable, but there have been cases for hundreds of years. Usually, all that's left is a pile of ashes."

Tara looked at Giles. "That's all that would have been left, if it hadn't been for Buffy."

Buffy sighed. "So we have no idea what caused this. That's a comfort."

"But that's the thrill of living on the Hellmouth!" Giles sat on the edge of the table. "There's a veritable cornucopia of - of fiends and devils and - and ghouls to engage."

Buffy and Tara stared at him.

Giles shrugged. "Pardon me for finding the glass half full."

"Any common denominators in cases of spontaneous combustion?" Buffy asked him.

"Uh, rage. In most cases, the person who combusted was - was terribly angry or - or upset."

Tara thought about it. "So maybe Amber's got this power to make herself be on fire."

"I need to get the skinny on Amber. Find out if she's had any colorful episodes before. I'll ask around about her." Buffy started to walk away.

Tara stood up and walked over to Buffy. "I'll hack into the school's computer system."

Buffy looked at her. "You don't have to get involved. I don't like putting you in danger."

"I can handle myself."

Buffy stared at her for a moment. "Okay, just walk softly - at least until we know a little more. I mean...what if Amber isn't causing these problems herself?"

Giles looked at them. "Well, then we have to determine who or what did and, uh, deal with it accordingly."


After school, Buffy came home and entered through the kitchen. There were several wooden boxes and crates on the counter. Joyce was trying to pry one open with a crowbar.

"Hey!" Buffy greeted.

"Hi, how was school?" her mother asked.

"Mm, a reverent joy. What's all this?"

"It's for the tribal art display."

"Cool!" Buffy examined a piece. "We had tryouts today."

"Oh, great! How'd it go?"

"I didn't actually get to try out. There was an accident. Pretty fierce competition, though."

"Oh, I know you'll do fine. Keep on pluggin'. Just have to get back on the horse."

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"What was I trying out for?"

"Oh, uh..." Joyce stopped prying at the crate and looked at Buffy. "Some activity? I have no idea. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Your platitudes are good for all occasions."

Joyce sighed. "I'm distracted." She started prying again and grunted. "Got a lotta inventory to go through here." She grunted again. "This is my gallery's first major show." She sighed and gave up. "You know, it might not physically kill you to give me a hand here." She went to check her clipboard.

Buffy grabbed the lid of the crate and effortlessly tore it off. "It was cheerleading."

"Oh good! I'm glad you're taking that up again; it'll keep you out of trouble."

"I'm not in trouble."

"No, not yet."

Buffy was hurt and got angry.

Her mother looked up from her clipboard and noticed. "I mean...you stopped cheerleading just before the trouble, so it's good you're going back." She came back to the crate and partially lifted out a statue. "Oh, dear."

"What?"

"The fertility statue. You don't need to see it." Joyce replaced the crate's lid and went back to her clipboard.

Buffy rolled her eyes, smiled, and shook her head. "Y'know, there's this girl, Amy, and, um, she trains with her mom, like, three hours a day."

"Uh-huh."

"Sounds like her mom's pretty into it."

"Sounds like her mom doesn't have a lot to do." Joyce walked out of the kitchen with a piece of art.


The next day, tryouts resumed in the gym.

Joy was pacing. "Despite the terrible thing that happened yesterday, we still have to pick new cheerleaders. If you make the team, you'll find your names posted in the quad after lunch. Let's begin with group performance."

Amy looked at Buffy. "Why do my hands have to sweat when I get nervous?"

Buffy looked at Amy. "Don't worry. You'll do great."

"Five, six, seven, eight!" Joy called.

The girls started performing their routine. "Sunnydale! Sunnydale! We never fail! We never fail! Jump and shoot! Swish and score! The other team is such a bore! Yeah!"

Amy blew the cartwheel and crashed into Cordelia.

Cordelia yelped as she fell and then quickly got up. "You saw that, right? That wasn't me! You saw that, right?" She looked at Amy and back again. "Right?"


After tryouts, in the hallway, Buffy saw Amy admiring the trophies in the case with a longing look. Buffy came up next to her.

Amy noticed her, smiled, and pointed to a picture in the case. "That's my mom!"

"No!" Buffy looked at the inscription. "Catherine Madison. Get down with your bad self!"

"Her nickname was Catherine the Great. She took that team and made them tri-county champions. Y'know, no one's ever done that before - or since. She and my dad were Homecoming King and Queen. They got married right after graduation."

"That's kinda romantic."

"Well, he was a big loser. Never made any money. Ran off with Miss Trailer Trash when I was twelve."

"Okay, that part's less romantic. My folks split up, too."

"Drag, huh? Uh, he left my mom with nothing. She put herself through cosmetology school." Amy smiled. "Bought me everything I ever wanted." She shook her head. "And never once gained a single pound."

Buffy walked around to face Amy. "Uh, she sounds really great, Amy, but, um, it doesn't mean that you need to lock step as far as this cheerleading thing."

"She was the best! And I can't get my body to move like hers! I choked in there so bad!"

"No, Amy, you did fine."

Amy walked away, dejected. "I'm gonna get changed."

"Wait!" Buffy called. "No..."

Tara walked by. "Hey, Amy!" She came over to Buffy. "Is she okay?"

"No, she's - she's wiggin' about her mom, big cheer queen back when."

"Yeah, her mom's kinda-"

"Nazi-like?" Buffy guessed.

"Ja. If she gains an ounce, she padlocks the fridge and won't eat anything but broth."

"So, mommy dearest is really...Mommy Dearest?" Buffy asked her.

"There's a bitter streak. But Amy's nice. We used to hang in Junior High. When her mom would go on a broth kick, Amy'd come over to my house, and we'd stuff ourselves with brownies!"

They started walking down the hall.

"Hey, any word on Amber?" Buffy asked Tara.

"Nothing thrilling. Average student. Got detention once - for smoking."

Buffy thought about it. "Hmm."

"All pretty normal."

"So we just have to wait and we'll see what happens. Maybe nothing will."


In the girls' locker room, Cordelia changed into her regular clothes and walked over to Amy. Amy closed her locker and started to go but was surprised by Cordelia.

"I have a dream. It's me on the cheerleading squad, adored by every varsity male as far as the eye can see! We have to achieve our dreams, Amy. Otherwise we...wither and die!" Cordelia told her.

"Look, I'm sorry about-"

"Shhh! If your supreme klutziness out there today takes me out of the running, you're gonna be so very beyond sorry!" Cordelia smiled. "Have a nice day."

Cordelia turned and left. She threw her scrunchie into her open locker and slammed the door as she rounded the corner.


After lunch, a crowd gathered in front of the bulletin board in the quad as Joy posted the list of names for the cheerleading squad. Buffy and Amy were at the back. A girl rushed away in tears.

Amy shook her head. "I can't take this."

Joy stepped away from posting the list on the bulletin board.

Lishanne Davis saw her name on the list. "Yes!"

Cordelia came out of the crowd and looked at Amy. "You're lucky!"

"I made it?" Amy asked her.

"I made it!" Cordelia told her.

Buffy and Amy waited until the crowd cleared, and then they walked over to the bulletin board and looked at the list.

Buffy was a bit disappointed. "I'm the first alternate."

"And I'm number three." Amy looked at Buffy, badly disappointed, and walked away.

Buffy walked with Amy. "At least, it's over. And you know what I think we should do about it? Brownie pig-out, my house, after school."

"It's just how many more hours a day can I practice? Y'know, how much more can I do?" Amy asked her. "This would never happen to my mother. Never." She walked off.

Buffy stared after her in concern.


The next morning, after getting dressed for school, Buffy went down to the kitchen and toasted half of a bagel in the toaster. The toaster popped up, and Buffy took out the freshly toasted bagel. She took it to the island in the middle of the kitchen for more preparation.

Her mother came in with a book. "Look what I found. It's my yearbook from junior year. Oh, look! There I am." She put the book down on the island and went to get a cup of coffee.

Buffy looked at the picture. "Mom, I've accepted that you've had sex. I am not ready to know that you had Farrah hair."

"This is Gidget hair. Don't they teach you anything in history?"

"Well, it's really cool, but I gotta book."

"Well, I was thinking. I know the cheerleading thing didn't work out. Maybe you should think about joining the yearbook staff. I did; it was a lot of fun."

"Not really my tip, Mom." Buffy opened the refrigerator.

"I was, uh, photo editor. I got to be on every page; made me look much more popular than I was."

"And have you seen the kids that do yearbook? Nerds pick on them." Buffy walked to her bag.

"Some of the best times I had in school were working on the yearbook!"

Buffy faced her mother. "Oh, this just in: I'm not you! I'm into my own thing."

"Your own thing, whatever it is, got you kicked out of school, and we had to move here to find a decent school that would take you!"

Buffy stared at her mother, deeply hurt. "It was the divorce, Mom! It was Dawn and me being split up! It was me losing my friends! That's what it was!" She took her bag and started to go.

"Honey, uhhh-"

Buffy opened the door and left without another word, slamming the door behind her.


Later, at school, Buffy came out of a classroom. She saw Cordelia approaching.

Buffy smiled. "Hey, Cordy."

Cordelia walked past Buffy in a daze and headed for a locker. Buffy saw Cordelia trying to work the combination on the locker. Tara walked over to Buffy.

"Is that even Cordelia's locker?" Buffy asked her.

"Huh?" Tara asked. "Oh, I don't know."

Buffy watched Cordelia go. "I better check this out." She looked at Tara. "Hold onto my book for me?"

"Sure."

Buffy gave her book to Tara and followed Cordelia.


Outside, Buffy looked around for Cordelia. She saw her and started to follow.

Mr. Pole, the Driver's Ed. teacher, was waiting impatiently for Cordelia. He turned and saw her coming.

"Nice of you to join us, Cordelia. We didn't keep you waiting or anything, did we?" he asked her. "It's your turn to drive. Okay, people, let's buckle up."

Cordelia went around the front of the car. "I don't wanna drive today, Mr. Pole."

"Show me some moves, or you'll be taking the bus to college." He got into the passenger seat.

Cordelia got into the driver seat. Buffy watched from behind a school bus.

"Okay. Check the brake. Check the mirror. Start the engine."

Cordelia turned the key, and the engine started.

"Hello? Put the car in drive."

Cordelia struggled with the shifting lever.

"Let's move forward through the cones with a gentle even turn to the-"

The car took off backward, crashed into some signs, and stopped. Cordelia got it in drive, and the car raced forward, burning rubber.

"Slow down. Slow, slow. Turn right! Turn right!"

Cordelia lost control as the car raced along the course, knocking down cones and signs. Buffy began running after them.

"Brakes! Brakes!"

The car crashed through the fence and bushes, racing out onto the street, where it came to a sudden halt. Another car just managed to swerve around them.

"Everybody out!" Mr. Pole ordered.

They all got out. Cordelia was in a daze, and she walked into the middle of the street. A delivery van was coming the other way, but it didn't slow down. Buffy came running. Cordelia turned to see the van coming and screamed. Buffy leaped over the Driver's Ed. car and grabbed Cordelia, pulling her down and out of the way. The van took out the open car door as Buffy and Cordelia rolled to a stop.

"Oh, my God, I - I can't see anything!" Cordelia exclaimed in fright.

"It's - It's okay, it's..." The words died on Buffy's lips as she saw Cordelia's eyes, completely white and devoid of irises. "Oh, God!"

"What's happening? I can't see anything!" Cordelia cried.


Later, in the library, Buffy, Tara, and Giles were sitting at a table.

"Witchcraft. Blinding your enemy to disorient and disable them is - it's classic!" Giles exclaimed.

Buffy smiled. "First vampires, now witches. No wonder you can still afford a house in Sunnydale."

"Why should someone want to harm Cordelia?" Giles asked.

"Maybe because they met her?" Tara suggested.

"And setting Amber ablaze?" Giles asked.

Buffy came to a realization. "They're both cheerleaders."

Giles looked at her. "Someone doesn't like cheerleading."

Buffy shrugged. "Or likes it too much."

"Amy!" Tara exclaimed.

"Amy!" Buffy repeated. "She's desperate to get on that team, and I've got this feeling she'd do just about anything to make her mom's dream come true."

"Uh, let me make sure I have this right. This witch is casting horrible and disfiguring spells so that she can become a cheerleader?" Giles asked them.

Buffy nodded. "I think you're underestimating the amount of pressure a parent can lay on you. If you're not a picture-perfect carbon copy, they tend to wig."

Tara nodded. "Cheerleading was kind of her mom's last hurrah. We have to stop Amy. We should grab her and-"

Giles raised a hand. "I think we should be sure she's the witch before we arouse her suspicions. She's - She's capable of some fairly unpleasant things."

"Okay, all right." Buffy stood up. "So...you're in high school, you are desperate to make the team and please your mom, so you turn to witchcraft. What's the first thing you're gonna do?"

"Check out the books on witchcraft!" Tara replied.

She and Buffy went over to the computer to access the online library card catalog.

Tara looked at the results. "Witches: Historic Roots to Modern Practice - checked out by Amy Madison."

Buffy looked. "The Pagan Rites - checked out by Amy Madison."

Giles walked over to them. "We have to find a conclusive test. There may be something in here." He paged through a book. "Yes, this should do it. You'll need some of her hair, a little quicksilver, and some aqua fortis."

Tara looked at him. "Well, that's just mercury and nitric acid. You can get that in the science lab."

"'Heat ingredients and apply to witch, and if a spell has been cast in the previous forty-eight hours, witch's skin turns blue.' Hmm." Giles shut the book. "Oh, and you'll need some Eye of Newt."


In Science class, Dr. Gregory held a frog up for the class to see. "Those of you in track one may begin your dissections...now." He indicated where the students should cut their frogs. "Those of you in track two, take your hydrochloric acid and your ammonium hydroxide and carefully pour them into your beakers." He began to pour. "Now slow, slow..."

Tara took an eye out of her frog.

"...capping one, I'm being safe. And you get..."

Tara dropped the eye into her beaker. "Eye of Newt."

The ingredients in Dr. Gregory's beaker reacted and began to bubble and smoke.

"...that." Dr. Gregory smiled.

Lishanne was sitting at a lab table with Buffy.

"Isn't this exciting?!" Lishanne asked Buffy.

"Oh, yeah!" Buffy looked at Amy. "Amy, help me. Um, which is the hydrochloric acid, and which is the, uh, ammonium hydroxide?"

"Well, the bottle that says 'hydrochloric acid' is usually the hydrochloric acid."

"Read the bottles. Good concept!" Buffy laughed nervously and dropped her pencil. "Oops."

She crouched down to pick up the pencil. She reached into Amy's bag and pulled some hair off her brush. She got up and tried to pretend nothing happened. She glanced at Amy to gauge her reaction. Amy smiled back weakly. Buffy waved her pencil and smiled back. She headed back to her lab table, relieved at having avoided a close call. She put the hair on Tara's bench as she walked by. Tara picked up the hair and mixed it into the concoction. Amy looked back at them to see what they were doing. Tara looked back nervously and then took the beaker and poured some of the liquid into a test tube.

"All set." Tara handed the tube to Buffy. "Do you have a plan?"

"Spill it on her. Try and make it look natural." Buffy slowly made her way over to Amy.

"Lishanne, can you tell me why these chemicals have this reaction?" Dr. Gregory asked.

Buffy poured some of the mixture onto Amy's arm and feigned an accident, drawing in her breath. She saw the liquid turn blue on contact.

"Lishanne?" Dr. Gregory asked. "Are you...? Oh, my God!"

Buffy looked over at Lishanne and saw her shaking her head violently. She no longer had a mouth. Buffy stared in amazement and horror. She looked back at Amy, who looked amazed and horrified, too. Tara was stunned.


Later, out in the hallway, Buffy and Tara were discussing the result of their experiment.

"Did you see?" Tara asked Buffy. "Amy was as freaked out as the rest of us. Does that mean it's not her?"

"The test was positive!" Buffy replied. "She's our Sabrina. I just don't think she realizes what she's doing."

"Well, should we talk to her?" Tara asked.

Buffy thought about it. "Maybe we should talk to her mother. I wonder if she knows what she's created."


The next morning, Buffy woke up when her alarm clock went off. She slapped it with her hand hard enough to smash it.

"Oh! Oops! Oh..." Buffy sat up. "Mmm..."


After getting dressed in her cheerleader outfit, Buffy came dancing into the kitchen. "Macho, macho, man! I want to be a macho man. Macho-" She noticed a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "Oh, hey, juice!" She grabbed the glass and drank the juice. "Mmm, quality juice. Not from concentrate!"

Joyce glanced at Buffy. "You're in a good mood."

"I am! I'm on the squad, which is great, 'cause I feel like cheering and leading others to cheer. Ooh, hey, juice!" Buffy took a second glass and drank the juice.

"Listen, honey, about yesterday, I really-"

"Mmm! That is totally yester. Besides, it's not like you were wrong, y'know. I did get kicked outta school. I'm just wacky that way!"

"Still, I just want you to know that, despite the problems you've had, I really-"

"Mom, you just don't get it. And, believe me, you don't want it. Y'know, there are just some things about being a Vampire Slayer that the older generation-"

"A what?"

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

"Buffy, are you feeling well?"

"What? Oh, I'm - I'm fine, y'know? What, like, I can't be in a good mood? Is it, like, a new house rule? Fine, y'know? It's just fine, fine, fine, 'cause...I'm a macho, macho man! I want to be a macho man!" Buffy bobbed her head. "Macho, macho man!" She opened the door and walked outside. "I want to be a macho man!"


Later, in the gym, during cheerleading practice, Buffy was positioned next to Joy in the lineup.

"Five, six, seven, eight!" Joy called.

The cheerleaders began practicing a routine.

"Turn up the music!" Buffy exclaimed.

The routine continued until Buffy stomped on Joy's foot.

"Ow!" Joy yelled. "Get it together, Buffy! We have a game in less than four hours!"

Tara came into the gym.

Buffy jumped gleefully. "Tara! My bud's here! I love my bud! Hi!" She noticed everyone staring at her. "Hi. Oh..."

She got back in line, and the routine continued. Tara gazed worriedly at Buffy. The cheerleaders continued with a series of assisted cartwheels.

Suddenly, Buffy overthrew Joy's aerial, sending her crashing into the gym wall.

Joy got up as Buffy came running over.

"Did I do that?" Buffy asked her.

Joy pushed Buffy. "You are so out of here!"

Tara ran over to Buffy and looked at Joy. "It was an accident."

Joy shrugged. "Sucks for her. Who's our next alternate? Oh. Amy, you just made cheerleader."

Buffy shook her head. "No, no, no. You don't want her; she's a witch."

Joy looked at Buffy. "I don't give a fuck if you dislike her."

Tara looked at Buffy. "Let's go."

The two of them walked away and out of the gym, Tara gently holding onto Buffy's arm. They walked down the hall.

"She's a witch!" Buffy exclaimed.

Tara looked at her. "Buffy-"

"I just got kicked off the team, didn't I?" Buffy asked her.

"I don't think it was your fault."

"Hmm, I know you don't. That's 'cause you're my friend. You're my Tara-shaped friend!" Buffy leaned her head on Tara's shoulder. "Do you have any idea why I love you so, Tara?"

Tara looked at her in surprise. "You do?"

"Totally!" Buffy told her. "You're not like other girls at all."

Tara shrugged. "I can't argue with that. I love you, too, Buffy. I'm just concerned that-"

Buffy grinned and spontaneously kissed Tara on the lips. "Let's get naked and fuck - right here, right now. I'm that comfy with you."

Tara stared at her worriedly. "Sweetie, I think you might be-"

"Oh! I - I don't feel so good."

"Buffy?" Tara asked.

Buffy collapsed into Tara's arms.


Tara took Buffy to the library. "Giles!"

Giles ran over and helped Tara support Buffy. "What happened?"

"She was acting weird and hyper during cheerleading practice, and then she just collapsed. I think she's under a spell." Tara thought for a moment. "Or on drugs."

They lay her in a chair. Giles went and wet a cloth. He brought it to Tara and then sat down to consult his books. Tara supported Buffy's head and pressed the cloth to Buffy's forehead. Buffy's eyes had a glazed-over look to them.

"We've gotta get her to a hospital!" Tara exclaimed.

"They can't help her. This is a bloodstone vengeance spell." Giles took Buffy's pulse. "Hits the body hard like a - a quart of alcohol, and then it e-eradicates the, uh, immune system."

"A vengeance spell, like she's trying to get even with Buffy?" Tara asked him.

Buffy moaned. "'Cause she knows I know she's a witch."

"The others, she just wanted out of the running. You, she intends to, um..." Giles paused, unsure how to tell her.

"Kill?" Buffy supplied.

"How much time do we have?" Tara asked Giles.

"Oh, uh, I'm sure, uh-"

"Truth. Please." Buffy locked eyes with him.

"Couple of hours. Three at most."

"Well, how do we reverse the spell?" Tara asked Giles.

Giles stood up." Well I-I've been researching that, and, uh, we can reverse all the spells if, um..." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "We can just lay our hands on - on Amy's spell book."

"And if we can't get a hold of it?" Tara asked him.

"Well, the other way is to cut the witch's head off." Giles put his glasses back on.

Tara stared at him in shock.

"It's not Amy's fault."

Tara looked at Buffy.

"She only became a witch to survive her mother."

Tara stared into Buffy's eyes. "Look, I don't care why. I just care that you go on breathing."

"Giles, where would she be casting these spells?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, she needs a - a sacred space, a-a-a pentagram, um, large pot."

"Her home. Okay. Help me up."

Tara and Giles helped Buffy stand up.

Buffy looked at Giles. "We'll just go to her house, and we'll get her book."

Tara nodded. "Okay."

"Uh, no!" Buffy exclaimed. "Just me and Giles. You stay here and keep an eye on Amy."

Giles took Buffy from Tara. "And keep her away from the science lab. We'll need it to cast our counter-spells."

"Right." Tara looked at Buffy and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Be careful."

Buffy weakly nodded. Giles and Buffy left the library.

Tara stared after Buffy in worry. "Come back to me."


Giles drove to Amy's house, Buffy sitting in the passenger seat of the gray 1963 Citroën DS. They got out of the car.

"Can you walk?" Giles asked her.

"Yeah."

They walked up to the front door. Giles knocked. After not receiving an answer for a while, he knocked some more. Buffy was very tired and out of it. Giles knocked again.

The door opened. Catherine, Amy's mother, stood there.

"Who are you?" Catherine asked. "Wha-, um, uh, is there something wrong?"

"Mrs. Madison, we need to talk to you about your daughter."

"I'm not allow..." She paused. "You'll have to come back later."

She tried to close the door, but Giles prevented her and pushed his way in. Buffy slowly followed.

"Excuse me!" Giles told her.

"What?" Catherine asked.

Giles turned to help Buffy. "You all right?" He looked for a place to sit her down. "Um, in here."

He led Buffy into the living room.

"Your daughter is meddling with something very dangerous. Are you aware of that?"

He sat Buffy on the couch.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you know only too well."

"You've got to go. She's gonna be home soon, and you-"

Giles indicated Buffy. "This girl is very sick." He got very angry at Catherine. "Now, you will shut up, and you will listen to me! Your daughter has access to some very powerful magics, and somehow your obsession with cheerleading has made-"

"I don't care about cheerleading!" Catherine exclaimed. "It's not my fault she's doing shit."

Buffy saw a plate full of brownies on the coffee table and started to come to a realization.

"As her mother, you should assume some responsibility for her actions."

Catherine laughed. "Well, you know, these kids today! I..." She calmed down a bit. "She's out of her mind. Ever since Dad - her dad - left, I can't control her."

Buffy slowly got up.

"You're afraid of her?" Giles asked Catherine.

"Amy?" Buffy asked.

Catherine looked at Buffy in surprise. Giles looked at Buffy, still puzzled.

"Are you Amy?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked back at Catherine. "I don't understand."

"She switched!" Buffy exclaimed. "She switched your bodies, didn't she?"

Amy looked down, defeated.

"Good Lord!" Giles exclaimed.

"She wanted to relive her glory days!" Buffy added.

Amy looked back up. "She said I was wasting my youth. So she took it!"

Giles gestured at the couch. The three of them sat down.

"I didn't know anything about her powers. I mean...when Dad was here, they would fight and yell, and he would...call her a witch and...I mean...I would...just thought he meant..." Amy paused. "Oh, God, when he left, I wanted to go with him. But she wouldn't even let me call. She went crazy. I mean...she'd lock herself upstairs for days, and she was always coming down on me, telling me I didn't deserve to have it so easy, and that I didn't know...how hard it was to be her, and...I guess she showed me, huh?"

Buffy took her hand. "Amy, it's gonna be okay."

"A few months ago, I woke up in h-her bed! I didn't know where I was, and...then I looked in the mirror..."

"She locked herself upstairs?" Giles asked her.

"Yes."

"Where?"


Giles broke in the door to the attic, went in, and started to look around.

Amy came in after him. "Don't! If she finds out I've been here, she'll kill me!"

Giles walked around a cauldron to a rack with hanging dolls. He saw two dolls bound together for a body-switching spell and took them in his hand. "My God!" He sighed. "I believe we can reverse your mother's spell. Well, all of them, in fact." He let go of the dolls.

"You could?" Amy asked him. "Really, you could?"

"We need to find her books. There'd be specific volumes she'd need for this kind of casting." He began to look around some more. He found a trunk and knocked off the things on top. "Collect those dolls and, uh, any other personal effects..."

As he started to open the trunk, a black cat jumped at him and surprised him.

"Ah! Nice kitty..." Giles calmed down. "Let's see what you were guarding." He opened the trunk and looked inside. "Ah, yes!" He took out a book. "This is it."


Buffy looked as Giles and Amy came back down the stairs and into the living room.

"Did we find?" Buffy asked Giles.

"We found. Come on."

He helped Buffy up from the couch. She'd gotten weaker.

"But where are you going?" Amy asked Giles.

"We're going to school." Giles realized Buffy was too weak to walk and picked her up in his arms. "And you're coming with us."


Tara was sitting in the bleachers in the gym. "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited was playing again. The Sunnydale High basketball team, the Razorbacks, came through the doors and onto the court. Amy - or rather Catherine - was with the other cheerleaders and clearly very happy to be there. Tara watched her.


Giles carried Buffy into the science classroom and lay her down on a lab table, knocking everything off it in the process. He took off his coat.

Giles looked down at Buffy. "I'm gonna stop this. I promise."

Buffy looked up at him. He folded his coat and put it under her head as a pillow. Her vision was blurred.

"You just hang on."

Buffy moaned. Giles went to the box of books and other things that Amy had set on Dr. Gregory's bench and reached in to get the spell book.

"How is she?" Amy asked Giles in concern.

"We only have a few minutes left."


In the gym, the cheerleaders were doing a very repetitive cheer. Tara was bored out of her mind, and she wanted to be anywhere else, but she reminded herself of what was at stake.


In the science classroom, Amy was cutting an eye from a frog and was squeamish about it.

"Right! Here we go!" Giles exclaimed.

Buffy was getting weaker.

Giles mixed a potion. "The center is dark. Centrum est obscurus. The darkness breathes. Tenebrae respiratis. The listener hears. Hear me!"


In the gym, the cheerleaders were doing a counting chant. Catherine stopped chanting, startled. Tara noticed. Catherine took up the count again - but had a worried look on her face.


"Oh, it's...it's working!" Amy exclaimed.

Giles took the book up from the table. "Unlock the gate. Let the darkness shine. Cover us with holy fear."

Amy staggered back and covered her face.

"Show me-"

The lights went out in the classroom.


Some of the cheerleaders were lifting Catherine. Once up, she thrust her fists into the air and gave the crowd a big smile. Her smile suddenly faded, and she began to lose her balance. Tara watched. The cheerleaders supporting Catherine struggled for control, but they collapsed. The crowd reacted to the fall.

"Amy, what's your problem?" Joy asked.

Catherine shot her a dirty look. Joy was taken aback. Catherine got up, looked around, and ran from the gym.

Tara stood up, got down from the bleachers, and ran after her.


"She's coming!" Amy exclaimed.

Giles briefly looked at her, worried.


In a hallway, Catherine violently pushed open a door.

Tara got in front of her. "Amy!"

"Get out of my way!" Catherine yelled.

"Wait!" Tara pleaded. "I need to talk to you. I can help you."

"Help me? With what?"

"Witchcraft. I can help you use it in a positive manner."

Catherine punched Tara hard in the face, knocking her to the floor. She started running to the lab.


Giles was holding up his arms. "Corsheth and Gilail! The gate is closed! Receive the dark! Release the unworthy! Take of mine energy and be sated!" He plunged his hands into the mixture that he'd concocted.

Giles took his hands out of the brew. Amy looked at the door and saw it was being yanked on.

"Be sated! Release the unworthy!"

Buffy couldn't keep her eyes open and was just rolling her head slowly.

"Release! Release!"

Buffy was lying prone. Catherine made a hole in the door, reached through, and got the door open. She marched in, ax in hand, straight over to Buffy.

"Release!"

Catherine started to wield the ax but stopped as the spells were all broken. She looked around, a bit confused, stepped back, and lowered the ax. She was back in her own body.

Buffy had her strength back and got up from the table. Giles saw she was okay.

Amy was back in her own body as well. "Buffy?"

"Amy?" Buffy asked.

Catherine lunged at Buffy from the side and tackled her to the floor, knocking her out.

Giles advanced, holding his arm out and pointing. "You...You..."

Catherine growled and looked at him. She used her powers to force him back and push a table against him, knocking him down and out. Amy just stood there watching, still holding the ax in both hands.

Catherine got up and confronted her. "You! You little brat!"

Amy held the ax threateningly. "Mom! Please!"

Catherine held out her hand, and the ax flew from Amy's hands to hers.

"How dare you raise your hand to your mother?!" Catherine asked her. "I gave you birth. I gave up my life, so you could drag that worthless carcass around and call it living?" She swung the ax into a lab table. "You've never been anything but trouble. I'm going to put you where you can't make trouble again!"

Buffy jumped up behind Catherine. "Guess what."

Catherine turned to face her.

"I feel better!"

Buffy punched Catherine, and she flew through the air, landed on a lab table, and rolled off, hitting a shelf full of bottles along the way.

She quickly got up. "That body was mine! Mine!"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Oh, grow up!"

Catherine growled, held her arm out toward Buffy, and used her powers to send her flying against the wall. Buffy hit the wall and fell to the floor. She got up, craning her neck.

Catherine began to cast a spell: "I shall look upon my enemy!" She looked up at Buffy, and her eyes became pitch black. "I shall look upon her, and the dark place will have her soul!"

Buffy looked around for a way to stop her. She saw the pole holding up the mirror above her.

"Corsheth, take her!"

Buffy did a standing hook kick, knocking the pole out from under the mirror and letting it flop down. Catherine's spell leaped from her hands and was reflected by the mirror back at her. The power of the spell enveloped her, and she screamed. The energy twisted around her and disappeared with a roar, taking her with it.

Buffy surveyed the scene. Amy was badly shaken. Buffy saw Giles unconscious on the floor.

He woke up. "Well, that was, um, interesting."

Buffy gave him her hand and helped him up.

"You guys okay?" Buffy asked Giles and Amy.

"I'm fine!" Amy replied.

"I assume the, uh, all the spells are reversed. It was my first casting, so..." Giles inhaled. "I may have got it wrong."

"You saved my life! You were a god!" Buffy told him.

Amy looked at him. "Well, I didn't think you'd pull it off."

Giles looked at her in annoyance.

Amy sighed. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't checked out those books-"

"It's quite all right. It wasn't your fault."

"I'll pay the late fees."

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry about it. Just...get back to living your life."

Amy smiled.

Suddenly, Tara came rushing in and grabbed Amy tightly.

Amy smiled seductively. "Oh, hey, Tara. Back to our old games, I see."

"Tara, what are you doing?" Buffy asked her.

Tara looked at Buffy. "Saving you?"

"Get your hands off of her."

"But she's evil."

Giles looked at Tara. "It wasn't exactly her."

"It was my mom."

"Oh!" Tara released her.

Amy was disappointed. "You didn't have to let go."

"Tara, can we talk privately?" Buffy asked her.

Tara figured she knew what was coming, and her mood soured. "Yeah."

Buffy and Tara walked out into the hallway.

"So...about all of that stuff that I said earlier..."

Tara braced herself. "Yeah?"

"I 100% meant it."

Tara was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. If I didn't mean it or didn't want to accept it, I'd just tell you that I wasn't myself. But I was. It was just me on speed." Buffy grinned. "I love you, Tara."

Tara grinned. "I love you, too, Buffy."

The two girls kissed on the lips, and then they hugged each other and started making out.

"Although, maybe we can take things a bit slower than I'd suggested earlier?" Buffy suggested between kisses.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"But not too much slower."

"Oh, definitely not."


Later, after Buffy came home and went up to her bedroom, she scooped her smashed alarm clock into a wastebasket.

Her mother came into the room. "I don't get it."

Buffy looked at her. "What?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking about...where you're coming from, how to relate to you, and I've come to a very simple conclusion: I don't get it."

"I'm inscrutable, huh?"

"You're sixteen. I think there's a - a biological imperative whereby I can't understand you, because I'm not sixteen."

"Do you ever wish you could be sixteen again?"

"Oh, that's a frightful notion." Joyce sighed. "Go through all that again? Not even if it helped me understand you."

"So...about me being a Vampire Slayer..."

Joyce smiled at her daughter. "Whatever, sweetie. Good for you."

"It's a really interesting story."

"Maybe some other time."

Buffy smiled back at her. "I love you, Mom." She jumped up and kissed her mother on the cheek, then she ran from the room.


Two days later, at school, Buffy and Amy were walking together in a hallway.

"My dad is so impossible!" Amy told Buffy. "He doesn't ever want me going anywhere! He wants to spend total quantity time together. And I'm like 'Dad, I can go out; it's perfectly safe!' But he's got all this guilt about leaving me with my mom. And he's being a total pain."

Buffy smiled. "You're loving it."

Amy smiled. "Every single minute. This Saturday night, he wants to stay in and make brownies. Well, the brownies were my idea."

Cordelia came up behind them. "Hey, I'm really sorry you guys got bumped back to alternate." She suddenly reconsidered. "Hold it, wait, no, I'm not!"

Amy smiled. "Well, I know that I'll miss the intellectual thrill of spelling out words with my arms."

Cordelia looked at her. "Ooh, these grapes are sour!"

Amy looked at Buffy. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you wanted to be on the squad."

"Oh, hey, that's okay. Cheerleading's just a little too hairy for me these days."

Amy took a breath. "That's for sure."

Buffy looked at Cordelia. "Actually, Cordy, I'm just gonna quit the squad."

Cordelia was surprised. "You are? Why?"

"It just doesn't seem important anymore, like, at all. I just feel I can make more productive use of my free time. Y'know, do something that actually makes a difference in people's lives."

Cordelia suddenly felt shallow, and she didn't like it. She cleared her throat, her eyes downcast. "Yeah, well, anyway, thank you for saving my life."

Buffy smiled. "Hey, we girls always got each other's backs, right?" Buffy asked her.

Cordelia smiled. "Right."

Buffy grinned. "Is this a hugging moment?"

Cordelia frowned. "What? Ew, no. Get away from me, loser!" She walked away.

Buffy and Amy laughed and stopped at the trophy case. They went around to the front of the case and looked at Catherine's picture.

"Catherine the Great."

"And there's been no sign of her?" Buffy asked Amy.

"That last spell. She said I'd never make trouble again. Wherever she is, I don't think we'll have to worry."

They looked at Catherine's cheerleading trophy.

Buffy shuddered. "Twisted."

They turned and walked away.

Amy smiled. "I'm just happy to have my body back. I'm thinking of getting fat."

Buffy smiled. "Y'know, I hear that look's in for spring."