"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Giles was asking Buffy1.
"Yeah, he might know something about why I'm here. I mean, you know, sometimes he knows stuff. And besides, he can't hurt anyone." Buffy1 assured him.
"Alright then." Giles agreed, sighing. "Buffy, will you..?" He directed at Buffy2.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get the pest." Buffy2 replied, disappearing into the bathroom. A few moments later she remerged, dragging an annoyed Spike into the living room. He looked around at all the people in the room.
"What do I have to do with...." Spike trailed off when he saw Buffy1 standing across the room. He looked back over at Buffy2. "Is everyone aware that there's two Slayer's?"
"She's from the future" Giles explained.
"Huh" Spike said, looking Buffy1 over. "So tell me, luv, what happens to me? Do I get this soddin chip out of my head?"
"She staked you long ago" Buffy2 informed him smugly.
"Bloody hell! What about the whole helpless creature speach?" Spike queried.
"She's lying" Buffy1 told Spike, exasperated.
He sent a look over to Buffy2.
"Hey, wishful thinking."
"Anyway, back to the point. We have to figure out why I'm here." Buffy1 cut in before an arguement could start.
"Why don't you tell us what happened when you got sent here, then maybe we can figure out at least how you got here." Willow suggested.
"Yeah, then maybe we can figure out why you're here by research," Xander continued. "Hey, wait a minute. Did I just suggest researching?" He shuddered.
Buffy1 smiled at his joke, before getting serious agian. "Well, I remember, all the sudden these colorful lights surrounded me, then #poof# I was here."
"You were brought here by a time traveling portal." Anya informed her. "I used it a couple of times in my demon days."
"I've heard of those. I believe I have some books that cover that subject" Giles announced, already heading towards his bookcase.
*****
"I found something!" Willow exclaimed an hour later. "I think I know why she was sent here!"
"Why?" Buffy1 asked impatiantly.
"If a portal is not conjured by the person who is, well, in it, the person has a goal in another time. Or something that hasn't been figured out yet, and needs to be."
"So future Buffy, anything you can think of that fits that description?" Xander asked Buffy1.
"Actually, there's alot of stuff that needs figuring out as of late. But, according to Willow's information, its just one thing..." Buffy trailed off, lost in thought.
"Oh, and um, usaully the last thing you were doing has some meaning to what needs puzzling out." Willow added.
"So, the big question here is: What were you doing, or saying?" Xander summed up.
"Well, I was arguing with Spike, and he just made me so mad... I had him up agianst the wall, stake to the heart, everything. But, that's nothing new, that always happens. And then #whoosh# portal took me away."
"What do you mean, that always happens? You always do that, and you still havn't staked him?" Buffy2 asked, confused.
"Well, no" Buffy1 said uncomfortable. She knew where this was headed.
"Why?"
"What do you want me to say?" Buffy1 asked, not ready to tell them.
"The truth."
"I can't" Buffy1 said simply.
"What do you mean you can't?" Buffy2 questioned, not understanding. "Somebody won't let you, or what?"
"I just CAN'T" Buffy1 answered, frustrated. "Its like... its like* I* won't let me."
"I don't get it."
"Yeah, well, neither do I. That's why I'm here." Buffy1 said, sitting down on the couch, sighing loudly.
Everyone remained silent for a few minutes before Willow spoke up.
"It says here that if you figure it out, well, you get to go back to your time."
"And if I don't?" Buffy1 asked, panicked at the implications.
"Then you stay here."
*******
"Giles! I found something!" Willow exlaimed, startling everyone seated around the round table. "I think I know where she went!"
"Where?" Rilley asked, impatient.
"If a portal is not conjured by the person who is, well, in it, the person has a goal in another time. Or something that hasn't been figured out yet, and needs to be. Oh, and um, usaully the last thing the person was doing has some meaning to what needs puzzling out." Willow looked up at the others.
"So she's been sent through time?" Xander asked, doubtful.
"Yeah." Everybody looked wide-eyed at each other in silence.
"She was about to stake Spike." Anya announced, catching their attention.
"What?" Willow asked, confused.
"Before she got taken away. You said that the last thing she was doing has something to do with why she was taken." Anya explained.
"*I* have something to do with this?" Spike walked over to the table. "How?"
"Well, that's the problem. We have no idea" Riley answered him, hatred evident in his vioce.
"I might" Giles said, sighing.
******
"So that means you can't stake me" Spike was saying to Buffy2.
"Whatever. I could in a matter of seconds." Was her retort.
"Yeah, that's why I'm still standing here," Spike commented.
"We need you're information." Buffy2 said, waivering.
"Well, doesn't miss Slayer-from-the-future have the info?" Spike asked, not realizing he had told them something useful.
"Of course!" Buffy2 exlaimed. She turned to Buffy1. "So tell."
"Commandos. They belong to this thing called the Initiative. Its run by Maggie Walsh. And Riley Finn is one of the head cammandos. Maggie builds a big demon guy named Adam in a room called 314." Buffy1 summerized for them.
"Riley's a cammando?!?" Buffy2 excaimed, surprised. "And Proffesor Walsh?"
"Uh huh."
"Wow. So this Initiative, is it still around in your time?"
"Nope, long gone. Although Riley did have some problems with his heart from the medicine they had been giving him." Buffy explained.
"So, is Riley like your friend or ...?" Buffy2 asked, curious.
"Boyfriend"
"Really? Cool! A nice normal boyfriend... ok exept for the whole Intiative thing."
"Exactly"
"When are you gonna get it?" Spike broke into their conversation.
"What are you talking about?" Buffy2 asked, uninterested.
"You're not gonna make it work with a regular guy." Spike answered her smugly. "So tell me, do you love this Riley bloke?" Spike asked Buffy1.
"Of course I.... Well, I'm sure that I can learn to love him." Buffy1 replied, a little uncomfortable.
"You don't learn to love someone, pet. You just do."
"Yeah, I know that.. on some level." Buffy1 looked down at the floor, wishing Spike didn't know her so well.
"How did you know-" Buffy2 asked Spike, slightly wide-eyed.
"I know you" He said looking her directly in the eye.
******
"What do you mean she can't?" Riley asked with barely controled anger.
"I do not have the slightest idea. I believe thats why she is in a diffrent time. She doesn't know either." Giles answered, taking off his glasses in frustration.
"So if she figures it out, she gets to come back, right?" Xander wondered out loud.
"I believe so" Giles answered, sitting down in a chair with a sigh. "All we can do now is wait."
******
"You don't know me at all" Buffy 2 responded, glaring right back.
"No? Why don't we ask future-girl over here?" Spike said cockily, gesturing over to Buffy1.
"A little too well sometimes," Buffy1 answered softly.
"See, luv? 'You' said it yourself." Spike laughed a little at the blonde Slayer(2).
"Don't call me that. I'm not your 'luv,'" was all Buffy2 could say back.
"Alright, PET"
"You are the most annoying vampire I've ever met, you know that?"
"I just annoy you 'cuz you like me so much"
"First of all, eww. Second.... ok... just eww."
Spike grabbed his chest in mock pain.
"Ouch, that hurts, Slayer"
"Good"
Buffy1, who was trying to be deep in thought, trying to figure out why she was there, was finding it hard to concentrate. She glared at the arguing blondes, who were oblivious.
"Would you guys just STOP!"
They both spared her a quick annoyed look before turning back to each other.
"It's nice to know that you like to see me in pain" Spike continued, fake sadness in his voice.
******
After a few more minutes of trying to concetrate, Buffy1 gave up and turned her attention to Spike and herself fighting. Something seemed to be bugging her about the way they acted around each other, the things they said, and the way they reacted to each other.
Buffy1 decided that she had to be brutally honest with herself here in this time. She couldn't dismiss even the smallest detail, even if it was an uncomfortable topic for her. So she observed her past self and Spike.
If it ever got around the subject where Buffy2 would have to admit that she felt anything but hate towards Spike, she would avoid the subject. Spike seemed to bring up the subject. They never directly said that they hated each other, and they seemed to enjoy the bantering. It was almost playful.
Slowly her mind drifted to all the times her and Spike fought verbally, trying to find a relation to that and what she was watching. She noticed a pattern in every argument: first they would trade insults, then they would start to get worked up, and alot of the time, they ended up in that same position; Her holding him to a wall, on the ground, whatever, a stake to his heart. But, she never followed through on the threat. Why?
As realization dawned on Buffy1, she hit her hand agianst her forhead.
"Oh fuck!" She swore loudly. Even the bickering blondes stopped what they were doing to stare at her.
"What? Is something wrong?" Willow asked, slightly concerned.
"Oh no, nothing, I just figured out the reason for this whole damn thing, " Buffy1 told them, angered with herself for never figuring it out before.
"You figured it out? Well, enlighten me, cuz I'd really like to know." Buffy2 said, interested to know why 'she' couldn't kill Spike.
"Wait, before anything is said, let me remind everyone to keep an open mind. And that this is being said by someone from the future." Giles told them before Buffy1 could say anything.
"I can't kill him because...." Buffy1 trailed off for a minute, faltering. "Because I love him" She finished queitly.
The room was very, very quite for several minutes as everyone stared at her, shocked.
Spike was the first to break the silence. "So, Slayer, anything you want to tell me?" He asked Buffy2 playfully, walking over to her, stopping inches away from her.
"Eww!" Buffy2 pushed him away from her. "You wish!"
But her cheeks were bright red.
"Wow.. I love Spike..." Buffy1 said to herself.
Two seconds later, lights started swarming around her.
*What the hell am I going to tell the others?* she thought, closing her eyes.... and missing the lights shooting out from her and circling around Buffy2 and Spike.
"Yeah, he might know something about why I'm here. I mean, you know, sometimes he knows stuff. And besides, he can't hurt anyone." Buffy1 assured him.
"Alright then." Giles agreed, sighing. "Buffy, will you..?" He directed at Buffy2.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get the pest." Buffy2 replied, disappearing into the bathroom. A few moments later she remerged, dragging an annoyed Spike into the living room. He looked around at all the people in the room.
"What do I have to do with...." Spike trailed off when he saw Buffy1 standing across the room. He looked back over at Buffy2. "Is everyone aware that there's two Slayer's?"
"She's from the future" Giles explained.
"Huh" Spike said, looking Buffy1 over. "So tell me, luv, what happens to me? Do I get this soddin chip out of my head?"
"She staked you long ago" Buffy2 informed him smugly.
"Bloody hell! What about the whole helpless creature speach?" Spike queried.
"She's lying" Buffy1 told Spike, exasperated.
He sent a look over to Buffy2.
"Hey, wishful thinking."
"Anyway, back to the point. We have to figure out why I'm here." Buffy1 cut in before an arguement could start.
"Why don't you tell us what happened when you got sent here, then maybe we can figure out at least how you got here." Willow suggested.
"Yeah, then maybe we can figure out why you're here by research," Xander continued. "Hey, wait a minute. Did I just suggest researching?" He shuddered.
Buffy1 smiled at his joke, before getting serious agian. "Well, I remember, all the sudden these colorful lights surrounded me, then #poof# I was here."
"You were brought here by a time traveling portal." Anya informed her. "I used it a couple of times in my demon days."
"I've heard of those. I believe I have some books that cover that subject" Giles announced, already heading towards his bookcase.
*****
"I found something!" Willow exclaimed an hour later. "I think I know why she was sent here!"
"Why?" Buffy1 asked impatiantly.
"If a portal is not conjured by the person who is, well, in it, the person has a goal in another time. Or something that hasn't been figured out yet, and needs to be."
"So future Buffy, anything you can think of that fits that description?" Xander asked Buffy1.
"Actually, there's alot of stuff that needs figuring out as of late. But, according to Willow's information, its just one thing..." Buffy trailed off, lost in thought.
"Oh, and um, usaully the last thing you were doing has some meaning to what needs puzzling out." Willow added.
"So, the big question here is: What were you doing, or saying?" Xander summed up.
"Well, I was arguing with Spike, and he just made me so mad... I had him up agianst the wall, stake to the heart, everything. But, that's nothing new, that always happens. And then #whoosh# portal took me away."
"What do you mean, that always happens? You always do that, and you still havn't staked him?" Buffy2 asked, confused.
"Well, no" Buffy1 said uncomfortable. She knew where this was headed.
"Why?"
"What do you want me to say?" Buffy1 asked, not ready to tell them.
"The truth."
"I can't" Buffy1 said simply.
"What do you mean you can't?" Buffy2 questioned, not understanding. "Somebody won't let you, or what?"
"I just CAN'T" Buffy1 answered, frustrated. "Its like... its like* I* won't let me."
"I don't get it."
"Yeah, well, neither do I. That's why I'm here." Buffy1 said, sitting down on the couch, sighing loudly.
Everyone remained silent for a few minutes before Willow spoke up.
"It says here that if you figure it out, well, you get to go back to your time."
"And if I don't?" Buffy1 asked, panicked at the implications.
"Then you stay here."
*******
"Giles! I found something!" Willow exlaimed, startling everyone seated around the round table. "I think I know where she went!"
"Where?" Rilley asked, impatient.
"If a portal is not conjured by the person who is, well, in it, the person has a goal in another time. Or something that hasn't been figured out yet, and needs to be. Oh, and um, usaully the last thing the person was doing has some meaning to what needs puzzling out." Willow looked up at the others.
"So she's been sent through time?" Xander asked, doubtful.
"Yeah." Everybody looked wide-eyed at each other in silence.
"She was about to stake Spike." Anya announced, catching their attention.
"What?" Willow asked, confused.
"Before she got taken away. You said that the last thing she was doing has something to do with why she was taken." Anya explained.
"*I* have something to do with this?" Spike walked over to the table. "How?"
"Well, that's the problem. We have no idea" Riley answered him, hatred evident in his vioce.
"I might" Giles said, sighing.
******
"So that means you can't stake me" Spike was saying to Buffy2.
"Whatever. I could in a matter of seconds." Was her retort.
"Yeah, that's why I'm still standing here," Spike commented.
"We need you're information." Buffy2 said, waivering.
"Well, doesn't miss Slayer-from-the-future have the info?" Spike asked, not realizing he had told them something useful.
"Of course!" Buffy2 exlaimed. She turned to Buffy1. "So tell."
"Commandos. They belong to this thing called the Initiative. Its run by Maggie Walsh. And Riley Finn is one of the head cammandos. Maggie builds a big demon guy named Adam in a room called 314." Buffy1 summerized for them.
"Riley's a cammando?!?" Buffy2 excaimed, surprised. "And Proffesor Walsh?"
"Uh huh."
"Wow. So this Initiative, is it still around in your time?"
"Nope, long gone. Although Riley did have some problems with his heart from the medicine they had been giving him." Buffy explained.
"So, is Riley like your friend or ...?" Buffy2 asked, curious.
"Boyfriend"
"Really? Cool! A nice normal boyfriend... ok exept for the whole Intiative thing."
"Exactly"
"When are you gonna get it?" Spike broke into their conversation.
"What are you talking about?" Buffy2 asked, uninterested.
"You're not gonna make it work with a regular guy." Spike answered her smugly. "So tell me, do you love this Riley bloke?" Spike asked Buffy1.
"Of course I.... Well, I'm sure that I can learn to love him." Buffy1 replied, a little uncomfortable.
"You don't learn to love someone, pet. You just do."
"Yeah, I know that.. on some level." Buffy1 looked down at the floor, wishing Spike didn't know her so well.
"How did you know-" Buffy2 asked Spike, slightly wide-eyed.
"I know you" He said looking her directly in the eye.
******
"What do you mean she can't?" Riley asked with barely controled anger.
"I do not have the slightest idea. I believe thats why she is in a diffrent time. She doesn't know either." Giles answered, taking off his glasses in frustration.
"So if she figures it out, she gets to come back, right?" Xander wondered out loud.
"I believe so" Giles answered, sitting down in a chair with a sigh. "All we can do now is wait."
******
"You don't know me at all" Buffy 2 responded, glaring right back.
"No? Why don't we ask future-girl over here?" Spike said cockily, gesturing over to Buffy1.
"A little too well sometimes," Buffy1 answered softly.
"See, luv? 'You' said it yourself." Spike laughed a little at the blonde Slayer(2).
"Don't call me that. I'm not your 'luv,'" was all Buffy2 could say back.
"Alright, PET"
"You are the most annoying vampire I've ever met, you know that?"
"I just annoy you 'cuz you like me so much"
"First of all, eww. Second.... ok... just eww."
Spike grabbed his chest in mock pain.
"Ouch, that hurts, Slayer"
"Good"
Buffy1, who was trying to be deep in thought, trying to figure out why she was there, was finding it hard to concentrate. She glared at the arguing blondes, who were oblivious.
"Would you guys just STOP!"
They both spared her a quick annoyed look before turning back to each other.
"It's nice to know that you like to see me in pain" Spike continued, fake sadness in his voice.
******
After a few more minutes of trying to concetrate, Buffy1 gave up and turned her attention to Spike and herself fighting. Something seemed to be bugging her about the way they acted around each other, the things they said, and the way they reacted to each other.
Buffy1 decided that she had to be brutally honest with herself here in this time. She couldn't dismiss even the smallest detail, even if it was an uncomfortable topic for her. So she observed her past self and Spike.
If it ever got around the subject where Buffy2 would have to admit that she felt anything but hate towards Spike, she would avoid the subject. Spike seemed to bring up the subject. They never directly said that they hated each other, and they seemed to enjoy the bantering. It was almost playful.
Slowly her mind drifted to all the times her and Spike fought verbally, trying to find a relation to that and what she was watching. She noticed a pattern in every argument: first they would trade insults, then they would start to get worked up, and alot of the time, they ended up in that same position; Her holding him to a wall, on the ground, whatever, a stake to his heart. But, she never followed through on the threat. Why?
As realization dawned on Buffy1, she hit her hand agianst her forhead.
"Oh fuck!" She swore loudly. Even the bickering blondes stopped what they were doing to stare at her.
"What? Is something wrong?" Willow asked, slightly concerned.
"Oh no, nothing, I just figured out the reason for this whole damn thing, " Buffy1 told them, angered with herself for never figuring it out before.
"You figured it out? Well, enlighten me, cuz I'd really like to know." Buffy2 said, interested to know why 'she' couldn't kill Spike.
"Wait, before anything is said, let me remind everyone to keep an open mind. And that this is being said by someone from the future." Giles told them before Buffy1 could say anything.
"I can't kill him because...." Buffy1 trailed off for a minute, faltering. "Because I love him" She finished queitly.
The room was very, very quite for several minutes as everyone stared at her, shocked.
Spike was the first to break the silence. "So, Slayer, anything you want to tell me?" He asked Buffy2 playfully, walking over to her, stopping inches away from her.
"Eww!" Buffy2 pushed him away from her. "You wish!"
But her cheeks were bright red.
"Wow.. I love Spike..." Buffy1 said to herself.
Two seconds later, lights started swarming around her.
*What the hell am I going to tell the others?* she thought, closing her eyes.... and missing the lights shooting out from her and circling around Buffy2 and Spike.
