Author's Note: While that would be an interesting wish, Jason Barnett, that's not the story I'm telling at the moment. Unitarian Jihadist: I wasn't entirely sure either. But it works this way. And buffyextreme: That's too good for him.

Revised because of some accidental narrative shift

Reminder: The italicized sections are Tara's thoughts.

Disclaimer: Ave Joss.

X X X X X

Warren got back to the demon bar sometime around 5:30 -- daylight would be ending soon enough. He knew the Slayer was still in the hospital; a quick phone call pretending to be a concerned relative had

The bartender did a double take at the robot duplicate following him. "This is what you got to help? A robot double?"

Warren shot him an odd look, and the bartender said, "One, I'm a fan of silver-age Superman comics. Two," he touched his nose, "I can smell him. He looks human enough but he isn't."

"Most of my sources dried up," Warren said irritably. "I got this and I got this," he said, holding out the pistol.

"Isn't that what got you in this mess in the first place?" the bartender said.

"You work with what you have to," Warren said. Then, looking around, "So: My army?"

The bartender snorted. "Assembled in the back room. But let me tell you this." He leaned in closer and said, menacingly, "You'd better not come back unsuccessful. If you come back and they don't --"

"If they don't come back," Warren said, "I'll probably be dead."

"I know people," the bartender hissed. "That might not stop me."

Warren gulped and went back to inspect the troops.

X X X X X

It took them a while -- sewers being notoriously short on directional signs (though in Sunnydale, it certainly would have made sense). As they got closer, Warren stopped.

"Okay, he's not moving right now," Cordelia said.

"That's good," came Angel's reply.

"He's a couple of miles away in . . ." she pointed to the wall -- "That general direction." Then she turned to Anya, "Anya, when you wished that we could all know where Warren is, did you include yourself? Because he's holed up someplace I'm not familiar with."

Anya said, "Of course," and visualized the map. "Ah. Yes. That's Red's. It's the town's demon bar."

"What happened to Willy and the Alibi?" Angel asked.

"A couple of years back Willy decided to get into something less dangerous and with fewer chances of people beating him up."

"What'd he go into?"

"Professional wrestling."

Angel looked at Anya to see if she was making a joke, then decided she probably didn't know how.

"If it's a demon bar, there has to be a way to get there underground," Cordelia said. "Next right."

"I'm sure there is," Anya said. "I've just never needed it. Fully human form here. No problems with daylight."

"Do you know anything about the clientele?"

"They're not in my social circle," Anya said. "Apart from Clem. But the worldbeaters tend not to go there. Your basic demonic thugs and muscle, maybe some low-level magic ability, nothing big."

"Still, if it's as packed as these places usually are," Angel said, "I'm thinking maybe a frontal assault's not such a good idea."

"Well, we're all demons here, right?" Cordelia said.

"Yes . . ."

"Then I have an idea."

X X X X X

Mr. Giles was dealing with some more paperwork, while Xander was on a snack run of some sort. Not like I'm hungry. But it seems to give him something to do.

That left Tara dealing with Dawn.

"So why couldn't I be part of the spell?" Dawn asked in her bitterest voice. "Was I not good enough?"

"Dawnie, no," Tara said. "The kind of spell it was -- I couldn't involve you without explaining it to you. It wouldn't have been right." And besides, you're still the Key, sweetie. I have no idea if that's ever going to have any repercussions beyond that of your blood being able to open dimensional gateways. But now certainly wasn't the time to find out.

But if I use that explanation right now, it'll make you feel worse.

"She gave her life for me," Dawn said, voice almost cracking. "I would have done the same for her." After a second. "Or for Willow."

"I know you would. But she wouldn't want you to." Neither she.

Dawn said, "I know that. But I want to do something. Anya's granting wishes, you're making them, Angel and Cordelia are out there tracking down Warren. Even Giles is doing more than I have."

"You're doing a lot just by being here."

"I don't feel like it."

Okay, enough was enough. "Right now, this isn't really all about you, you know, Dawnie."

Dawn said, "That's my sister lying in there."

"Your living sister," Tara said. "My friend. And in case you haven't forgotten, that's my girlfriend -- the woman I loved, the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with -- lying in the Sunnydale Police Station morgue. And yet I'm here not acting like, like it's all about me. I'm here helping Buffy." I looked at her. "I want to be down there, crying. I want to cry my eyes out right now. But, but I can't."

She looked at me. "Yes, you can."

"No. I can't. It's like I was telling Xander earlier. Someone has to be the strong one."

"You're always the strong one."

'"I don't want to have to be," Tara said.

She moved closer to me on the couch. "I'm sorry, Tara. She hugged me. "If you want to stop being strong for a while --"

Oh, thank you, sweetie. I appreciate the thought, I really do. But --

But I'm going to keep having to be, for a while, anyway. You don't know how much I want to cry. To just break down. But Giles is busying himself in minutiae and Xander's pacing and you're frustrated because you think you're useless -- and Angel and Cordelia and Anya just want to go hit things.

"Thanks," Tara said once she pulled free of the hug. "But I can't stop yet." After a second, "That doesn't mean you can't start."

X X X X X

Warren looked over the "army."

The army, such as it was, consisted of about fifteen demons and vampires -- not one of whom seemed to have the intelligence to spell cat if you spotted them the C and the A. Still ,they were all keen to go after the Slayer. Tactics were going to be something of an issue -- they didn't seem capable of grasping more than, "Crush. Kill. Destroy." But fortunately, that was pretty much all that was called for. And there were a couple of really strong and vicious-looking demons among the group.

"The one thing I want to be clear on," he said, "Is that we go after the Slayer first. I realize that this is a hospital and some of you vampires are going to want to take a taste of some of the helpless people in their beds. All I ask is that you save them for after she's dead. Then, go to town."

"What's the robot for?"

"The Slayer's friends are going to be there. I want them to waste time going after it, not me."

"Not a bad plan," he heard from behind him. "Is this a private invasion or can anyone join?"

Warren turned around.

There was a tall, dark-haired vampire, a short and ugly female demon of some sort, and a gorgeous human-looking woman carrying a sword. She'd have to have been either part demon or a witch to make it past the bartender.

"I'm Angelus," the vampire said, cracking his knuckles. "And I've been wanting revenge on that Slayer for years."

"The more the merrier," Warren said.