"Here." Buffy said quietly, handing a coffee mug to the vampire sitting on the couch.

"Thanks…" Spike muttered halfheartedly, sipping at it. He drew back a bit and looked down into it.

"It's hot chocolate," Buffy informed him. "Not blood…"

He gave her a small smile and returned his attention to the drink.

"So what happened, exactly?" Xander questioned, his arms crossed over his chest.

Buffy looked up at him and Willow. They were standing a few feet away, looking impatient. "Spike saw…The First. It was here again, talking to him…" She paused, looking over at him. "Singing to him…"

"The trigger?" Willow questioned, sounding worried.

Spike nodded, his eyes locked on the ground.

"That's not all." Buffy said, drawing her friends' eyes away from the vampire and back to her. She swallowed. "He said it looked like Joey."

"Joey?" Willow whimpered. "But that means…"

"…she's dead." Xander finished. "But I thought you guys said-"

"We were wrong." Buffy cut in. "There was nothing we could have done."

Willow looked stricken. "God, Buffy. That's so…"

"I know." The Slayer said sullenly, looking down. "Look, it's late. We should all get back to bed." She said, standing. "There's nothing else we can do right now."

"Shouldn't we call Giles and tell him?" Willow asked. Giles had gone over to stay at Xander's with Anya and Andrew, needing some time away from the mob of girls.

"We'll call in the morning. There's no sense in waking him. The First is gone now, and I don't think it's coming back for awhile." Buffy said.

Willow and Xander looked at each other briefly, then nodded.

"Good." Buffy said quietly. "Now try to get some sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow."

"'night, Buff." Xander said, reclaiming is bed on the couch as Spike stood and made his way towards the kitchen.

"Goodnight." Buffy muttered, walking after Spike as Willow made her way back upstairs. She walked into the kitchen. Spike was standing over the sink, staring blankly at the counter. "You okay?"

"Don't know anymore…" He mumbled, closing his eyes. "Why can't that thing leave me the hell alone?"

"I dunno." She said honestly, walking towards him. "But you're not the only one it's playing at."

"I'm the only one it's usin' to kill people." He said simply.

Buffy swallowed. "We won't let it happen again, Spike."

"You don't know what I can do, Buffy. You have no idea what I'm capable of…"

"You're capable of a lot of things, Spike. And yes, killing is one of them." She said honestly. "But you're strong. And you'll fight it." She took a step closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "And you'll win."

He looked at her, his eyes still red from crying. "Thank you…"

The Slayer nodded, dropping her arm back down. "We'll kill this thing. After all it's done, everyone it's killed…" She saw Spike flinch.

"I can't believe she's dead, Buffy." He muttered, looking away once more. "I swear to God, I knew she was alive, I just knew it."

"Spike, it's not…"

"I shouldn't have left her there. It's my fault they got her, if I had just…"

"Spike, stop." She said firmly, narrowing her eyes at him. "It told you this, didn't it?"

He just stared at her.

"Spike, listen to me. It's messing with you, trying to break you down. It wasn't your fault, alright? It wasn't. Don't play into the First's hands…"

-----

And eerie silence had fallen over the Summer's household. The Scoobies were in full research mode, trying desperately to string the minimal information they had on the First together. The SIT's had grown sullen since they had learned that Joey was truly dead, barely speaking to one another as they continued to train relentlessly. Spike was almost completely silent, speaking only to Buffy when he needed to. He had also insisted on being chained in the basement at night once more, despite Buffy's protests that it wasn't necessary. This meant that the girls who had been occupying the basement at night were now scattered in the living room and Buffy's room.

"Anything?" Buffy asked, walking into the living room. No one answered, and by the looks on their faces, one could assume that they had found far less than nothing. She swallowed. Willow was sitting at the table with her computer, Xander, Giles, and Anya were on the couch, Dawn was sitting in a chair, and Andrew was on the floor, leaning against the wall. They all had books and old manuscripts in their laps, but nothing was helping. They couldn't seem to find anything on The First.

"Buffy?"

The Slayer turned. Spike was standing behind her, holding out an old piece of paper. He had been up in her room researching, separate from the others. "What is it?" She questioned, tentatively taking the paper from him.

"Not much." He said. "Nothing very useful, anyway…"

"What's it say?" She asked, squinting at the odd writing.

"It's an old demon language." Spike explained. "Seen a lot of it in Prague. Old demon cult there spoke it. Couldn't get very far around there without knowin' it. Forgot I had this. Got it from some nast Kechirik demons…" He paused, watching as she arced an eyebrow at him. "It says that the First is evil in its purest form, that it overcame its non-evil counterpart, then rambles on about how to boil a chicken. I think the buggers were usin' it as a page in a recipe book."

"So, the key to killing the First is KFC?" Xander questioned, standing. "I'm in!"

"Me too." Andrew announced.

"Me three." Anya added.

"Dear Lord. The world is at stake and you three are worried about fried chicken?" Giles barked, slamming the book he had been reading shut.

"Yes." Anya said simply. Everyone stared at her. She rocked back on her heals. "Besides, it's been a long day. I'm sure everyone's hungry."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Don't be gone long, and don't eat all the biscuits before you get back this time!" he added as they went out the door, eager to stop researching. They had been at it all day.

"So what now?" Dawn said, looking around at the remaining four people in the room. "I mean, that's all have. We know the First is pure evil… and how to boil a chicken."

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "We'll just have to…"

"Uhm, guys." Willow was staring at her laptop, her eyes wide. "Look at this."

The others crossed the room quickly, crouching behind the redhead to get a better view of the screen. It didn't work so well.

"What is it?" Buffy questioned, shoving Dawn a bit to get a better look.

"Joey." Willow said, scrolling further down the page. A picture of the girl's face came up. "Giles, what happened to her parents?"

"Erm, I'm not sure, exactly." He said, standing and removing his glasses. "I was merely informed that they were no longer involved with the girl."

Willow narrowed her eyes, reading quickly over the text on the page. "She had a sister…" She muttered. "A twin… Her name was Jordan."

"What happened to her?" Dawn asked, trying to read over the redhead's shoulder.

"She died." Willow said, looking shaken. "On her first birthday. Her parents were charged with the murder. Both were sentenced to life terms, but they disappeared from custody two days before their trial. Their bodies were found a week later in a motel…"

"They're dead?" Buffy questioned.

Willow nodded. "Joey was put into foster care. She was in the care of five different people by her third birthday...."

"That's when the council gained custody of her." Giles said.

Willow continued to scroll down the page, her eyes scanning back and forth. She let out a short gasp.

"What is it?" Dawn questioned.

"Pictures." Willow said grimly. "Of her sister… the night she was murdered…"

Buffy and Dawn shook their heads, walking away. This wasn't helping them any. It was just making them feel extremely guilty about Joey's short life.

"Wait. Go back up." Spike said, sitting down besides Willow.

She gave him an odd look, then obliged, scrolling back up to the pictures. She made a face, looking up at Giles as Spike leaned towards the screen.

"Can you make it bigger?"

Willow stared at him. "What?"

"Just do it, Red." He said, pointing at the screen. "That one."

She made a face, then double clicked the bloody picture.

Spike's eyes went wide. "That's her…"

"What?" Willow questioned, looking at him oddly.

"Look." He said, pointing to the girls face. "Across her eye."

"That cut?"

Spike nodded. "Deep enough to leave a scar?"

"Judging by the amount of blood oozing from it, I'd say yes."

"That wasn't Joey I saw." Spike said firmly, standing. "It was her."

Buffy looked from him to the computer, then back to him. She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"There was a scar, Buffy. There was a scar running down her face. Joey didn't have that. I thought… I thought it might have been something the Bringer's had done to her before they killed her, but it wasn't." He said. "That wasn't Joey, it was Jordan."

"But why would the First take her form?" Buffy questioned, looking to Giles. "We didn't even know her."

Giles sighed heavily. "I'm not sure. Perhaps it was because…"

"She's not dead." Spike said abruptly. They all looked at him. "The First was taking Jordan's form, but it was acting like Joey, telling me that I left her in that crypt. It wanted me to think she was dead."

"That's ingenious." Giles muttered. The rest of the group stared at him incredulously. "Well it is."

"But why would it keep her alive?" Dawn questioned, looking at the ex-watcher. "What's the First going to do with a five year old girl?"

"Use her as bait." Buffy said simply, looking around at the group. "It knows we'll come for her."

 Spike was staring at her now, his jaw set.

"We need to find them." Buffy said firmly. "Willow, how lone until you can try that spell?"

"A day….two tops." The Redhead said. "But Buffy, if it's using her as bait, then it's waiting for you. You can't just charge in there and expect to get her out."

"No. We'll be ambushed. I know that." The Slayer said. "I'm guessing Bringers, lots of them. The First itself can't hurt us because it can't physically touch us, but we'll have to…"

"Wait." Spike said, narrowing his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Sure? Sure about what?" Buffy asked, looking confused.

"That it can't touch us."

"Positive." Buffy said.

"The First can't take a corporeal form." Giles said. "It's simply a powerful, evil mystically energy that has been reborn into the world countless times. It's always been in existence, but it…"

"She touched me." Spike said, a contemplative look on his face. "Before you woke up, Buffy. She touched my face and told me it was my fault. Right before she disappeared…"

There was a silence.

TBC…

A/N: Yep. I can't make up my mind, apparently. Lol. Nah, I'm kidding. This is the last time I change whether Joey is dead or alive, promise. So, apparently she's alive, kiddies! Yay! And hooray for major plot changes and unexpected twists!! I don't like how this chapter turned out at all, but I needed to get the information in there. I know exactly what I'm doing with this story, but I'm not quite good at putting it into words. Bah. Any suggestions? Review and let me know, or imply let me know what you think…