After a good bit of walking down the endless corridor full of non- opening-doors, Buffy ran into Xander who was meandering in about the same way she was. She was about to call out to him when he turned and saw her. "Buffy! Is it really you? This hallway goes on, and on, and on, and none of the doors will open. I don't remember this many doors when I was molding the little paper house together, did you?"

Buffy smiled as she stopped right in front of him. Then she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Xander, thank you for not being dead."

Xander just hugged her back. "Uh, yeah. Right. Good on me with the not-being-deadness."

Buffy stood back. "This is going to be a completely stupid and obvious question, but have you seen Dawn or Anya anywhere?"

"Like you clearly stated in your question, obviously ­ no."

"Has that creepy Julian guy shown up and told you funny riddles and discouraged you from winning at all?" Buffy asked.

"Creepy? With the way you girls ogled at him when he made his intro, I thought you wanted to jump his bones right then and there." Xander remarked.

"I sense a bit of jealousy and resentment in your tone. It's his eyes isn't it? All blue, and ­ well, blue is all I can really say to describe them without getting all poetic."

Xander faked a smile. "No actually it was the whole Spike-look that made me resentful because we all know what a gentleman he was. Other than that, and the fact that he is a demon, I may be a little jealous."

"Only a little?"

"Just a smidgen."

"Okay, just how much is a smidgen anyway?" Buffy asked with a grin. Her grin faded when a door formed right in front of her eyes. "Door."

Xander looked confused. "Door? What?" He turned and saw the door. "Either that door wasn't there before, or the both of us are very drunk."

"It just formed in front of my eyes. It was all mystical and spooky, and do you think he slipped us hallucinogenic drugs while we were unconscious?" Buffy asked, only half serious.

"Maybe. Should we open it? None of the other doors opened."

Buffy remembered something. "Ooh! Julian said that I was like the key player and I had to collect my friends to move on. Maybe the door appeared because I ran into you and now we can move to the next level."

Xander paused to take it all in. "The key player? I knew it!"

Now Buffy was the confused one. "What did you know?"

"Another well muscled evil demon has the hots for you."

Buffy laughed. "What? No he doesn't; it's something about killing the Slayer or sending her into another dimension. It has nothing to do with having the hots for anyone. The Spike resemblance really has you worried doesn't it?"

"Buffy," Xander began, "You're my friend, I worry about you when all the more attractive demons want you as their playmates. He's been watching you since Willow made the trade with Warren's body. He tricked Anya into getting us into a place out of our dimension, but halfway into his. And now you are the key player in the game. Something's up, and I'm starting to believe it might be Mr. Happy."

"Wait. He did say something to me earlier, I was kind of hypnotized by the particularly vivid color of his eyes that I kind of didn't comprehend it when he said it. Shadow Men are all destructive and stuff, right? Julian said that from the moment he saw me he wanted me; not to kill, but to cherish."

Xander's eyes grew large. "You see, that is exactly what I'm saying. He has the hots for you. He wants to draw you in with his bright, blue eyes and make you into his little lap dog."

"And to think. Angel and Spike both left town, and a new demon wants to get with me. It's not fair. Why can't a decent guy ever 'have the hots for me?' I hate living on the Hellmouth. It is effecting everything!"

The clock that could be heard but not seen struck twelve. Buffy's eyes grew huge. "Oh God! The time limit."

Xander had a look of panic on his face. "There's a time limit? How much time do we have?"

"Um… until sunrise at 5:57." Buffy said. "Right. We can do this. I'll get the door."

Xander opened the door. They walked through the doorway and ended up in Xander's old basement. "Oh great. Like this nightmare hasn't been done before. All that's needed now is a crazy man with cheese and the spirit of the First Slayer ripping my heart out."

Buffy was looking at him out the corner of her eye. "You didn't draw that did you?"

Xander looked at her. "Huh? No. Why?"

Buffy crossed her arms. "Because, in various rooms of this house there are our drawn nightmares just waiting to attack us. Also the cheese guy was just insane."

"I didn't draw my basement. I drew a clown." Xander claimed.

"You overcame that nightmare last time we were forced to live out our worst nightmare remember. I became a vampire, and there was a cemetery hovering in the bushes of the high school." Buffy said, and then it dawned on her. "He knows."

"Who knows? What does he know?" Xander asked.

"Julian. He can read our nightmares some how and he is going to make sure we didn't make something up when we drew our nightmares. He wants us to know he's doing serious business in here. Plus, he gets moodier than a women going through menopause when ever someone doesn't take him serious."

"Oh. That sucks." Xander looked paranoid.

The door that Buffy and Xander walked through had vanished. But the door to the rest of Xander's house still stood, and so did the one going outside. They had walked through what is usually just a blank wall. As Buffy was realizing this, the door leading to outside flew off, and so did the one leading into the house. Coming inside from the outside was Willow ­ only she was wearing all black, her hair was jet black, and she was all veiny and scary looking. Her black eyes fixed on Xander and Buffy and she smiled.

Coming in the other door was Anya ­ or to be more accurate, Anyanka ­ All scabby looking and menacing in all her demon glory.

"Um, Xander?" Buffy asked.

Xander muttered what was probably meant to be a 'hmm,' but sounded more like a whimper.

Anyanka swept into the basement like the devil herself, fury dripping off of her. Willow strolled in casually.

Buffy looked at Xander, "You fight off Anya, and I'll get Willow."

Xander nodded in agreement, but couldn't actually speak.

Buffy ran past Anyanka and kicked evil Willow in the gut. Willow didn't even flinch. Instead Willow laughed. "You still think you are the great warrior, don't you. I promised you an ass kicking once, and now I think it is time I gave it to you." Willow's jet black eyes gleamed. Willow shot a ball of blue energy into Buffy's chest sending her flying across the room into a table with a heavy lamp on it.

Xander watched Buffy flying across the room, and Willow following the airborne body casually on foot. Xander turned back to Anyanka, who smiled menacingly. Her green pendant around her neck flashed in the light. "Pitiful man. You can't even marry the woman you claim to love because you are afraid of yourself. I should eviscerate you right here. I think I'm going to make your death as slow as possible."

Xander gulped, but then he remembered a weakness his Anya had. "Yeah, why don't you just go ahead and do that; just watch out for that rabbit right behind you."

Anyanka's eyes widened in terror. "A bunny! Where?"

As Anyanka turned to look Xander knocked her over the head with a nearby chair.

In the meantime, Buffy was busy fending off Willow. Buffy sent her a good punch in the face and for a minute thought she saw a hint of blue in Willow's eyes. "Xander, that is not the real Anya. Don't be fooled by the resemblance, kill her if you have to."

Xander couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But what if it is my Anya and I kill her. I already caused her enough pain, and in spite of all of that I still love her, Buffy."

Willow turned and glared. "Oh great, another love speech. It might have defeated me last time but that won't happen again."

"No." Buffy said, "this will." Buffy stabbed Willow through the heart with part of the lamp she broke by falling on it earlier.

Willow's appearance turned back to how it should look: red hair, no ugly black veins. She looked at Buffy in a silent plea but then it was too late.

Xander saw this. "Buffy, you killed Willow!"

"No, I killed nightmare version of Willow. The real Willow is in England rehabilitating. The real Evil Willow would not have went down that easily. She didn't come into the game with us. And the real Anya is wondering around this house somewhere."

Anyanka laughed. "Fools! You think you can defeat me ­"

Xander yanked Anyanka's necklace off and smashed the green stone which was the center of her power.

Anyanka gasped. "No, not again. D'Hoffryn will be furious."

Buffy put her hands on her hips. "What will he do, make you human again so that you'll fall in love with another mortal man you were previously trying to curse?"

Anyanka glared. "I will return, and when I do you two will know the true meaning of pain and suffering."

Buffy muttered. "I had to stab Angel through the chest and send him to hell even though I loved him more than anything. That was pain and suffering enough. Then I had to lose my mother, and then I got ripped out of heaven. I think I've had my share, thank you."

The door Buffy and Xander had entered through had reappeared and they went through it and were back into the hallway. Only this time there were stairs at the end of it.

"Second level, anyone?" Xander asked, seeing them.