Faith just lay there, as the images just kept coming, along the pain. They were trying to strip her of what made her, her.

And it was working.

In Faith's Mind.

She was 8 years old again, hiding in her closet. Her Mom's new boyfriend was outside the door. He was looking for her. He had done THINGS to her last night. And now he was back. She was still hurting from what he had done.

Then there was a Growl from outside the door. It was keeping him away. And she heard a voice. She knew it... Xander? The voice told her it would be ok... Just to come out.

She opened the door slowly. There he was, only it wasn't him. He was dressed like a Soldier - kind of like the guy that was in the pictures that Mom said was her dad. He held out his hand.

"You're safe," he said with a kind voice. "We'll take care of you."

With that, the biggest damn dog she had ever seen moved to stand beside her. It sniffed her.

Then a second voice came to her.

"You don't belong here." The voice was frightening, but not threatening her; that she could tell.

"Who...who are you?" she asked.

"Well," the not Xander voice started, "Xander was possessed a few times. We're what's left."

"But why here, with me?"

"This is his body. Where else should we be?"

Just then she felt pain again. They were working on her again. Soon, she would not be herself any more; she could feel a split in herself.

Suddenly, another her was standing there, someone much stronger. The new Faith stood in uniform, hair pulled back into a pony tail, with a dead look in her eyes.

The New Faith started to speak.

"Duty to Manticore."

"Loyalty to Manticore."
"Manticore is Family. Manticore is home."

The new Faith whispered the litany over and over, while the little girl inside crawled into the Soldier's arms and started to cry.

Xander's Warehouse.

Xander was taking a nap. The others were preparing. They would be heading out soon.

Willow sat around watching, as they prepared for war. Joshua sat with her and they talked.

About Max.

Willow wanted to know more about this person who took over so much space in her brother's heart.

Xander dreamed.

He was sitting in the desert. He was a him again. A big bonfire was in front of him. All he needed now was some hot dogs. And maybe a beer or two.

Then, suddenly, he wasn't alone. There was someone in the dark, watching.

Just as he was starting to get up, a figure jumped out of the darkness to land across the fire from him.

She was covered in mud and wrapped in leather. She held a spear.

A voice came to him

"Don't belong."

"What?"

"This is female place." Her dark eyes bored into him, almost like she was looking into his soul.

"Well, how do I get out?"

"Your worthy, Protector of my children."

There was a flash, and he was a she again and laying on the floor. Joshua and Willow watched him as he had rolled off the couch he was sleeping on.

Just then his stomach cramped up. He took off running to the bathroom...

A little while later, his voice call out.

"Max? Come here."

Max walked over to the door.

"Bathrooms are self explanatory. Just wipe front to back," Max said with a smile.

"Uh, so not the problem. Do you have..."

"What?"

"Just come in here."

"No, I am so not into water sports."

The others watched from across the room.

"Max. I need help in here."

"Ok. I am so hoping you get your body soon."

The door closed, then Max started to laugh, while Xander's voice told her to keep it down.

Willow started to get up, but a few of Xander's new friends were smiling. They could hear every word from inside the bathroom.

Alec dropped down beside Willow and OC joined them.

"What was that about?"

"The most frightening thing a man can go through."

"What?"

"Xander's...just got a visit from her monthly friend."

Magic Box.

"Giles, we need to hurry," Buffy whispered. As the Council wet works team continued to plan on what they would need to get Faith.

"Watcher Giles," Spencer said looking over at them. "Please, keep it down."

"Yes, Buffy here needs to report on her patrol. Come along, Buffy."

"Giles," Buffy said with a sweet voice, once they were in the back room, "talk to me like a dog again, and I'll neuter you."

Giles let out a gulp, then shifted to Watcher mode.

"What kind of demons were they?"

After Buffy described them, Giles thought for a moment.

"I have no idea," her watcher finally said.

"What? You're, you're like Super watcher! You know everything! Or at least where to start looking."

"Not this time."

Faith sat on the side of her new bed. She had just been transferred from Psy-ops and was being prepared for her next mission.

The Mission is everything.

As she sat there the door opened, and in walked a demon. Only he wasn't a demon. He had machine parts and human and demon parts, all fused together.

"Hello, 471, I am ADAM. And I have a mission for you. Please come with me."

Outside her cell were two of the Psy-op techs that had worked on her. They had these things sticking to the side of their heads, like a small spike. Blood and what looked like brain matter was around the hole where it had been pushed through their skulls.

They should have been dead, but they were standing upright, and while their bodies looked dead, their eyes were alive, the horror of what had happened bright there.

The piece that was still Faith was happy about that, but still - what was going to happen to her?

Outside of the warehouse.

The fight was fast, as Buffy easily took down several of the childlike demons. Another had fought hard, but between Riley, Giles and Forrest, they had taken him down.

"Man, who's been feeding this kid?" Forrest asked. "Just this runt almost got away."

"I don't think he was tying to get away," Giles said, looking around.

"Well, what was he doing?"

"Holding us here."

From the shadows around them moved more of the children. And with them, came the others from inside, including Willow and Faith.

"Buffy! Guys stop!" Willow called to them.

"X7, stand down!" Faith called out.

The children stopped. One went and help the ones that Buffy had knocked down back to their feet.

Giles then noticed that the children never spoke, but just looked at each other.

What was going on here? He had never heard of this kind of demon.

"Willow, come with us. We're here to get you out," Buffy told her.

"You don't understand, Buffy," Willow began. "I am not in danger."

"Willow, these are demons here. They are not part of the local Book club," Riley said, watching as the X7 moved around. When he called them demons, he heard the sound of more guns click from the surrounding people.

"Hey, we're not demons," the desert trooper called. " I've just got a skin condition." The others standing around him gave a quick laugh.

"This is not the place for this," Xander-in-Faith's-body said, looking around. "Bring them inside."

When Buffy started to put up a fight, Xander looked at her. "Keep it up, and some one will get hurt. We don't want to hurt you, but we are running out of time."

Once inside and stripped of their weapons, with OC taking care of them, Buffy and crew were seated on the lower level. Overhead, though, they could see Xander and the rest of the X's talking about something. Willow was with them, helping out with what she could.

From what Buffy could hear, they were talking about Sunnydale U campus, and the Frat house. Buffy couldn't believe it - Willow had turned on them. Faith must be rubbing off on her; they were touching at talking and LAUGHING.

What the hell was going on?

The other girl that was hanging on Faith - Max? - was talking to both of them, something about sneaking in. She heard Faith say she had a plan, something about just getting the Watcher wet works team mad enough and it should work.

Buffy jumped a little when Willow's bag started to beep; her cell phone was going off. The dogfaced demon boy who was watching them with the young black girl picked up her bag.

"Wills, your purse is beeping."

"Oh, it must be Tara. It's late; she's got to be worried."

"Well, don't keep your honey waiting," Max said, hanging closer to Faith. "They don't like it."

"Keep it up and we're getting you both some flannel shirts and Doc Martins," Alec said looking at them both.

He jumped back quickly when he received the death glare from both females and the male in the female body.

Willow picked up her phone as Joshua handed her purse to her.

Tara and Willow's room
UC Sunnydale

"Pick up. Pick up," Tara said over the phone. As she waited, someone knocked on the door.

Just then, Willow picked up the phone.

"Hey, Baby, Sorry," Willow said, "I know I am late."

"No problem, I was just worried about you," Tara said as she opened the door.

Standing there was Willow's old friend. The one she was helping.
"Willow, your friend is here," Tara said. "Sorry, Xander, Willow's not here."

"What?" Willow said, looking up to Xander standing on the second floor of the Warehouse.

"That's five by five," Xander said. "I just need to pick something up."