Seeing my sister and Willow sitting on a grassy area outside, I smiled and began walking over to them. A pencil floats up into my view as it starts to slowly turn end over end. Willow must be practicing her levitation skill.
"But... she had it rough. Different circumstances that could be me," I heard Buffy say, sounding a little sad, but I didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
Willow shakes her head adamantly. "No way. Some people just don't have that in them."
Throwing my bag on the floor next to the pair, I smile when the two of them jump "ladies," I grin, sitting beside Willow as my sister shoots me a glare, but there was no real hostility behind the look "what are we talking about?".
They give each other a quick glance. "Faith," my sister admits as my lips set in a hard line. Although I had tried to help Faith leave Sunnydale to avoid getting into trouble, I was still a little mad that she had lied to me and pin a murder on my sister.
"Ahh, I see" my feelings on Faith or just feelings, in general, wasn't something that I liked to share with the class. Sometimes even I didn't know how I felt about things.
Buffy grimaces apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry. I-I know how you two hate talking about Faith".
I give her a shrug knowing for me it was true in a way that was different from our redhead friend's reason. Willow hated talking about Faith because of how she felt about Xander, whereas I just sucked at feelings.
"No, it's okay" Willow gives us one of her smiles, but this was a forced 'I'm okay, but I'm really not' smile.
Catching my sister's attention, I motioned to the pencil in front of us. "No, really, we should just..." my sister sounds worried as she glances at the pencil too.
Willow shook her head adamantly, but she was obviously lying. "No. I-it doesn't bother me. I mean it".
"Uh, Will?
Willow looks at it in shock. "Oh." The pencil is spinning wildly; suddenly, it darts off and buries itself deep into a tree.
Willow gives us a concerned look, but my sister gives her a knowing smile as she raises her eyebrows. "Emotional control?"
The redhead looks embarrassed. "I'm working on it, but I-i might need a little more extra help from you, Nikki" she turns to glance at me in wonder, "how are you even okay with what Faith and Xander did together?"
Sighing to myself, I let out a huff of laughter "we're not together like that, Will. We both agreed that we could see others and have no jealousy. Faith isn't one to be locked down, and I just like having fun. We're best friends first and foremost no matter what we do when we're alone-."
I nervously glance at my sister, who watches me in surprise at my expression "-or when we think everyone in the house is already sleeping."
"WHAT?!"
Walking into the library with Willow and Buffy, I was nearly fuming with anger. Willow had just told us about Snyder abusing his power as Principal to bully her into tutoring some dumb jock. Like, I know this wasn't the first time, but you think it would be different after the last time...
"So he threatened you? With what?" my sister seemed to be on the same page as I was. We both hated how the redhead was used as a doormat to pretty much everyone. Even Xander sometimes and those two grew up together.
"Well, i-it wasn't exactly anything he said. It was all in his eyes. I mean, there was some nostril work as well, but mostly eyes" Ah, the 'famous' Snyder glare, I've seen a few from him given a few to him, but it never gets old to me.
Buffy huffs, rolling her eyes. "Snyder needs Nikki or me to kick his ass."
Nodding in agreement, I suddenly wondered if adult Snyder was worse than 'drugged band candy' teenage Snyder. One was an ass, and the other had just been stupidly annoying.
The redhead shakes her head in worry. "Oh, no, Buffy, don't get in trouble. I'll be okay" we reach the study table.
Willow sets down her books as Buffy sits on the table. I pull out one of the chairs and slump down into it with a heavy sigh. "Okay, you twisted my arm, I'll do it, but If the cops ask, he fell." I point at the two of them with narrowed eyes.
"Nikki, no! I just hate the way he bullies people. He just assumes everyone's time is his". Willow scolds me as she lifts her bag from her shoulder and sets it down by her books as Giles comes out of his office sucking on a lollipop.
"Willow, get on the computer. I want you to take another pass at accessing the Mayor's files," The librarian orders as Willow happily obliges.
I snort at the contradiction of her words as she jumps at the chance to fulfill the task given by Giles.
She heads behind the counter to use the computer there as Faith comes into the library, followed by an out-of-breath Wesley. I give the brunette a nod as I grin at the state of our new Watcher, I had been doing more cardio with him, but he just couldn't keep up.
"Well, that was a blast," Faith sarcastically called out, rolling her eyes.
"How did it go?" Giles questioned her from the doorway to his office.
Faith points at Wesley behind her "Princess Margaret here had a little trouble keeping up" Wesley makes it to the counter and leans heavily against it. I raise my eyebrows at the sight. I think he might be getting less athletic than more.
Giles asked Wesley, this time with an air of mocking as he twirled the lollipop in his hand. "How did it go?"
"Faith, uh..." he pants heavily, "did quite well on the obstacle field" he stops to breathe again. "Still a little sloppy, though" Faith shoots him an incredulous look. I saw a small smile grace the corners of my sister's mouth but didn't think anything of it.
"Do you feel up to, uh, taking Buffy or Nikki out, or shall I?" I let out a small laugh as I could hear the smirk in Giles' voice. He was totally loving this.
"Oh, no, no, no. I'll be fine," Wesley pants again. "Just give me a minute and some defibrillators, if it's not too much trouble." the younger Watcher politely nods at Buffy and me as he doubles over next to the counter.
My sister glances at me, and I wave her off. "Age before beauty," I grin as she pushes me and jumps off the table.
"You're gonna love it, B. It's just like fun, only boring" The brunette grimaces as she leans against the same counter Wesley was struggling to catch his breath against.
Giles sighs as he eyed her sternly. "Faith, this evaluation is a necessary part of the Council's..."
Sensing the same lengthy chastising lecture was about to come from the librarian, Faith raised her hands apologetically. "I know. I'm on board here. Just shooting my mouth off" She gave me a small smile.
"I better change," My sister says as she taps me on the shoulder and starts to walk out. This wasn't anything as major as the other tests we had done for the Slayer Council, but I could almost feel the massive amount of stress Buffy was giving off towards it.
As she passes by, Faith leans toward her "Good luck" She reaches out, lightly brushes Buffy's shoulder with her hand, and gives her a slight smile. Buffy returns the smile weakly and continues out. Wesley takes a deep breath and follows after her.
Biting my lip, I notice the strange aura that happens around Faith more now, not that I can argue about it. She did kill a man and blame it on someone else. I know what happened was an accident, but everything after that was just her covering over her own ass.
And yet, I couldn't find it in my heart to hate her.
Faith notices Willow at the computer and hops up on the counter to sit and watch "Whatcha doin'?" stifling a little laugh, I walked over to the two and leaned against Faith's legs as she watched Willow type, but she was definitely barking up the wrong tree with the redhead.
"I'm trying to access the Mayor's personal files." Willow huffs, trying to concentrate. I'm so glad there weren't any levitating pencils around right now.
Faith wrapped her arms around my shoulders as she leaned her chin on my head. "Can you do that?".
Willow's jaw gives a subtle tick. "Well, he's got some tricky barriers set up."
"Can you get past 'em?" I hear Faith ask, sounding wary, and I raise my eyebrow. She wasn't usually the one to sound so worried about anything we were doing. Maybe she was just trying harder to fit in again after everything.
"Eventually, I'll get through," The redhead says stubbornly as we watch on intently while Willow continues her hacking.
Faith suddenly unwraps herself from me and softly nudges me so she can jump from the counter. "I think I'm gonna go back and take a shower, ya know, get out of these," she jokes, motioning to herself before turning and leaving.
I blink slowly as Willow casts me a questioning look. To anyone else, that was probably normal, but I knew Faith. She would have usually tacked on a flirtatious wink or even and sexual offer at the end but nope. Nothing.
Maybe I should keep a closer eye on her.
Faith is in awe as she spins around in the spacious new studio apartment as Mayor Wilkins considers her report. "That's very interesting," he muses, thinking about the Slayers and their friends trying to break into his private files.
"Yeah, I thought so, too," The brunette agrees as she continues to look around. "Are you serious about this place?" she motions to the open space as she explores.
"Of course I am. No Slayer of mine is gonna live in a fleabag hotel. That place has a very unsavory reputation. There are immoral liaisons going on there".
Faith checks out the kitchen "Yeah, plus all the screwing. This place is the kick!" She walks past a leather punching bag hanging in a corner and continues into the sleeping area. "So, say if I wanted to bring my friend Nikki I told you about here, is that cool?".
The Mayor recollected the moment that Faith had told him about the youngest Slayer out of the three of them and about their strange but comforting friendship. Any real friend of Faith's could be his friend under the right circumstance.
"Of course, if you think she'll be a good girl too. We'll keep your old place, in case you need to see your other friends there, but from now on..." Faith excitedly jumps up on the bed and bounces as Mayor Wilkins watches her appalled. "Oh, hey, hey, hey! Shoes! Shoes!"
Faith hops off the bed and goes up to the Mayor, smiling sultrily. "Thanks, Sugar Daddy."
The older man glances at her in admonishment, "Now, Faith, I don't find that sort of thing amusing. I'm a family man". He steps aside to let Faith continue looking around. "Now, let's kill your little friend" Faith gives him an uneasy look at the briskness of his request.
The Mayor smiles at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. I wouldn't ask you to do it. Not this early in the relationship" Faith sits slowly as she doubtfully considers his words, "Besides, I think a vampire attack would be less suspicious anyway.".
At the silence between them, the man grins, "In the meantime, let's take a look at the rest of the apartment, huh?" Faith stands up again, ready to explore more. She was like a kid at Christmas. "If I'm not mistaken, some lucky girl has herself a PlayStation."
Faith grins broadly, knowing that Nikki would love to play on it with her, "No way."
The Mayor grins back proudly. "Yes, way!" he chuckles happily when Faith heads over to the TV to check it out. He was hoping her little friend would see that Faith was happy here and not do anything to get in the way of that.
If this Nikki was good for his Faith, he would love to have her here with them. After all, two Slayers was better than one.
Laughing to myself as I walk back out of the library, I'll forever keep the memory of Wesley failing to not only keep up with me on the obstacle course but him failing and eat the ground. I think it was the very feminine shriek he let out as he tripped over the shoelaces I had tied together.
Rounding the corner of the hall, I frown seeing Willow talking to Anya, not because they were talking but because Willow looked so beaten down and sad "I'm sort of new here. Um, I know Cordelia? Oh, and Nikki," Anya smiled, motioning to me as I climbed the stairs to stand next to the redhead.
"Sorta," I agreed, having only hung out with her once when Cordy forced us to the Bronze together after her accident.
"Uh Yeah. Um, listen," she steps up closer to us, "I have this little project I'm working on, and I heard you were the person to ask if..." I rolled my eyes, thinking that Anya was trying to suck up to Willow for academic help.
Willow interrupts her, "Yeah, that's me. Reliable-Dog-Geyser Person. What do you need?" what the hell happened in the hour I was doing my test?.
"Oh, it's nothing big," The new-ish girl said secretively, making me frown. "Just a little spell I'm working on."
Willow perks up suddenly interested and steps down to her. "A spell?" glancing between Anya and me, she shrugs nonchalantly, dialing her excitedness back, "Oh. I like the black arts".
"I just need a secondary to create a temporal fold. I heard you were a pretty powerful Wicca, so..." Anya shrugs but subtly eyes me.
My redhead friend smiles excitedly. "You heard right, mister! I-I-I'm always ready to work some dark mojo," she grins hopefully. "So, tell me, is it dangerous?".
My ears perk up at this point. My inner rebel wants it to be dangerous, but my protectiveness over Willow held it back.
Anya once again shrugs dismissively. "Oh, no," she shakes her head with a laugh as both Willow, and I pout, but I guess it was for the best if it wasn't dangerous. I couldn't handle another scolding from the Watcher duo.
Willow sighs, disappointed. "Well, could we pretend it is?".
Anya giggles and motions for us to follow her as she tells us about the classroom that will be empty for the spell.
Catching Willow's arm as she almost skips off to her locker for 'items' needed for the spell, "Do you really think this is a good idea?"
Willow glances at me questioningly as she puts things into her backpack. "It'll be fine, Nikki; I've done plenty of spells before. Plus, it's time to do something shocking and unreliable."
Tilting my head to the side, I let out a sigh before shrugging, "Fine, as long as you know what you're doing. I'm going home to wash and stuff" my plan was to go home and get ready for a night at the Bronze.
Willow's hand quickly tugged on my arm. I turned to see a desperate expression on her face. "Please come with me. You can be like my uh muscle, you know, in case something does happen" I give Willow a soft glare before gently pushing her towards the classroom.
The redhead let out a shocked squeal as I threw my arm over her shoulder playfully. "You owe me one, baby girl."
Standing in the classroom doorway, I see Anya knelt in front of a large white plate with what looked like gold and green squiggle on it. The blonde looks up and smiles at us. "This is a representation of the object I'm looking for. The spell will help us find it."
Willow kneels facing it, arranging herbs, bones, and candles as Anya moves to the desk and prepares a mixture of sands and powders. "The necklace was a family heirloom passed down for generations. Then it was stolen from my mom's apartment".
I saw her throw a look over her shoulder at me, but I glanced down at the plate again with a bad feeling, or maybe I just thought that Anya couldn't draw to save her life.
"How does the spell work?" Willow questions as I sit on one of the desks away from the two.
"Uh, well, we both call on Eryishon," Anya answers as she kneels opposite Willow "the Endless One, offer up the standard supplication, then there's a teensy temporal fold" she smiles weakly at us. "We hope. Um, then I pour the sacred sand on the representation of the necklace, and Eryishon brings it forth from the time and place it was lost".
Willow smiles impressed. "Cool."
The blonde just looks a bit antsy. "Are we ready?" she questions Willow with a nod. My eyes turned to the redhead to make sure this was something she was sure she wanted to do.
Willow nods her head, looking slightly nervous but gives me a reassuring smile. "I think so."
Anya takes a deep breath and holds her hand out palm up over the plate "Eryishon. K'shala. Meh-uhn"
Willow also reaches out with her hand palm up, keeping hers tip-to-tip with Anya's "Diprecht. Doh-tehenlo nu-Eryishon"
Anya picks up the bottle of sacred sand and holds it over the plate.
"The child to the mother. Willow takes hold of the bottle as well-"
"-The river to the sea."
The blonde closes her eyes "Eryishon, hear my prayer" I see Willow close her eyes too, there is a low rumbling, and a pillar of energy appears over the plate and around the girls' hands. Their hands begin to shake, and Willow whips open her eyes.
"Will?" I whisper, sitting up in alert as she lets out a small whimper.
Anya turns over the bottle of sand, and it pours out. Some of it sifts through Willow's fingers before hitting the plate. The redhead lets out a gasp of air as I squat down next to her, ready to break off this spell.
Anya could do it without her if it was hurting Willow.
"Willow?" I say again before letting out a pained gasp when Willow lets out a small cry throwing the purple sand away from her hand into my face. Rubbing my hands to my eyes, I let out a yell as the sand stings my eyes.
"Nikki!" I hear Willow gasp as she pulls me into her and helps me stand. "That was... W-w-what was that?" still trying to clear my eyes, I was able to blink away some of the sand to see Anya checking the sand on the floor with a frustrated expression.
"Oh, it's not here," the blonde pounds the floor angrily. "It's not here!".
Huffing at the sudden attitude that Anya had gained, I wished that I had just gone home and taken Willow with me, but no now I'm here with purple sand in my eyes, and Willow was shaking next to me like a wet Chihuahua.
"Okay, that's a little blacker than I like my arts." Willow whimpers as she backs away from the items on the floor, sounding terrified.
Anya groans, exasperated as she pushes the object around. "Oh, don't be such a wimp."
Willow begins to stutter, sounding very uneasy. "That, that-that wasn't just some temporal fold, that was some weird Hell place. I-I don't think you're telling me everything" I watch her in confusion, wondering what she had seen when she did the spell.
"I swear, I am just trying to find my necklace," Anya insists as she glances at us desperately, which makes me wonder what was so important about the necklace, were my senses right when I felt like something was off about it?
It was the Hellmouth, after all.
"Well, did you try looking inside the sofa in Hell?" Willow snaps, and I let out a snort. I loved it when she stuck up for herself. So sassy.
"Look," Anya smiles sweetly but so obviously false, "we'll just try it again, and..." Anya reaches forward for Willow, but I put my arm in front of her with a growl as I hear the smaller girl whimper into my back as Anya glares.
"No! I-I think emphatically not!" Willow turns to pick up her books while I watch Anya, who hasn't moved from her spot on the floor.
Anya growls angrily when she realizes that the only person she needs to do the spell will no longer help her. "I can't do it by myself!".
Willow gathers her things as I watch out in case Anya does something stupid, like grab her or breathes in her general direction. "That's a relief. I'm outta here". The blonde eyes me warily as I bounce on my feet, obviously wound up.
She glares at the redhead furiously, realizing that her only help was actually going to leave. "Fine! Go!" we turn to leave when Anya mutters to herself under her breath, "Idiot child."
I overhear what she says and don't appreciate it. "Okay, you know what" I hissed, turning back before Willow caught me and turned me away from the blonde I was looking forward to hitting.
In anger, she reaches down and picks up something from the floor. "I believe these chicken feet are mine. Look, m-magic is dangerous, Anya, i-it's, it's not to be toyed with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone else's homework to do".
Walking away with the redhead, I quickly turn back to point at the seething blonde, "and if any of this sand has damaged my eyes, I'm coming back to kick your ass."
The factory was empty except for a lot of small debris, not filled with vampires and evil machinery like it was supposed to be.
Willow jerks up from the floor and looks around, shocked to suddenly find that the Master, his machine, the humans, the vampires, everything is gone. "This is weird" movement in the corner of her eyes made her tense up.
A dark figure moved from the shadows as Willow's stomach tightened, noticing the familiar smirk. "Well, it's about to get weirder," Nikki grins as she glances down at the redhead sitting at her feet.
She could smell the fear coming from her in waves.
And she loved it.
Itching my eyes even after my shower, I felt like there were still bits stuck in there, but Willow had insisted that I let it go with Anya. She was really spooked by what she had seen during the spell, not that she would tell me what had happened.
Alas, here I was doing some quick patrolling on my way to the Bronze, maybe taking my anger out on the already dead would help me put it all behind me.
Hearing a growl, I turn, ready to fight, when I see a familiar head of red hair. "Willow?!" I question giving her a once over after seeing the tight leather outfit of choice. My inner alarm bells were screaming at me as the redhead smiled, walking closer to me.
Something wasn't right.
Willow, however, continues to walk closer to me with a sweet smile until her face changes. "I'm going to enjoy killing you. Sure it won't be the same, but I'll enjoy it," she hisses before throwing herself at me with a loud roar.
Ducking down, I sweep Willow off her feet while my brain struggles to catch up. "What the hell? Who-" my question was cut off by Willow jumping up to attack again. "What is going on!".
A fist was thrown my way as quickly I dodged it. I didn't want to hurt Willow; I really didn't. Kicking her in the stomach, I winced, hating myself for even fighting against her, but I knew if I didn't, it wouldn't end well for me.
For some reason, Willow was out for my blood.
Willow growls as she stands straight, holding her stomach as she glares at me, showing off her fangs; she hisses at me, "bored now" before she can move. I bring my arm up, sending her flying back and hitting the ground.
The redhead seethed as she stood fixing her outfit, but I could see the fear in her eyes as she gave me a tentative look, almost weighing out her options. "What is it with you? Both of you? I'll never get one over on you".
I frowned at her in wonder, but I tried not to let her distract me, but before I could do anything, she turned and quickly ran in the opposite direction. I almost took off after her, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything.
I may have been a Slayer, but this was Willow.
The girl who cried in my arms when I found her fish dead in their tank, the one who helped me when I first moved to Sunnydale. I couldn't dust her even if she did want me dead.
Sighing heavily, I did the only thing I could think of. I took off towards the library, hoping to find Giles, he would know what to do, or at the very least, Buffy would be there.
I still had no idea what I had done to receive Willow's wrath so much, especially after protecting her from Anya during the spell earlier.
Kicking open the door to the library, I walked in to see Buffy, Xander, and Giles all somberly sitting together. They knew. They all jumped, hearing my entrance, and glanced at me as I blinked, still confused by what had just happened "what the hell happened to Willow?"
The three of them glanced at each other sadly, but none of them said anything. Stepping forward, I sat on the step in front of Buffy, who just leaned on me for comfort. Resting my head on Giles' knee, I smiled sadly, feeling his hand patting my hair gently.
"What's going on?" We all look up, surprised to see the redhead walk in so carelessly. "Jeez, who died?" her eyes widened almost in a panic when we didn't answer her. "Oh, God! Who died?".
Jumping up and gets in Willow's face with the cross, "Back! Get back, demon!" She doesn't cower from it but instead shows concern for him as if it was strange to see him put a cross in her face. All the aggression I saw from earlier was now gone. It was weird.
The rest of us stand to make our way over to Xander, who seemed to be shocked by Willow's indifference. He shakes the cross as though it were broken and puts it back in her face, but she's still not frightened by it.
My sister slowly approaches Willow, who seems confused. "Willow, you're alive?"
Willow frowns, puzzled at the insistence of our shock. Her eyes flicker between each of us as she shrugs, "Aren't I usually?".
Buffy jumps at Willow and hugs her hard "Oh!" The timid girl is surprised and lets out a slight groan from the tightness of the embrace. An instant later, Xander is also hugging her for all he's worth.
Realizing that the Willow I fought wasn't the real Willow, I sighed in relief and stepped forward to join the hug. Willow was alive and not a vampire.
The hole that had settled into my gut after thinking Willow was gone stitched back up as a wave of comfort washed over me; she was okay. We haven't lost her.
"I love you guys, too?" The hug goes on for a long moment as we all show our relief in her being alive. "Okay. Oxygen becoming an issue. "We all let go, smiling at her with tears in our eyes.
She smiles back but still doesn't seem to understand. "Giles, what's going on with these..." Before she can finish, she finds herself being warmly embraced by the normally reserved Watcher. "Oh!"
Again she groans from the tightness of the hug, and Giles quickly releases her, a bit embarrassed at his emotional display. "Oh. Sorry" he backs away, and I pat his back.
Willow watches us with wide eyes. "It's really nice that you guys missed me. Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did ya?"
Angel enters the Bronze and begins looking for Buffy. When he doesn't find her, he begins to search for another blonde who he still finds himself struggling to forget about. Instead, he finds Oz standing with his band "Oz."
The dark-haired teenager turns to see the vampire. "Hey, man, You looking for Buffy?".
Angel nods but can't help but feel a little guilty knowing she wasn't the first Slayer that came to mind when he was searching. He could help but feel protective over the younger blonde who he had hurt badly, but he knew she didn't want anything to do with him, "As always."
"Well, no sightings as of yet, but I think she said she'd show. Nikki was supposed to be here too; she said she'd sing a couple of songs for us," Oz muttered, knowing that the party seemed to flow nicely when Nikki got up on stage.
The door to the club opens and in walk several vampires. They fan out into the crowd as the people back away in fright. Alfonse comes in last, grabs an unlucky boy, and throws him into a table.
Oz quietly whispers to Angel, "That doesn't look good" Angel doesn't answer as he assesses the situation at hand.
"EVERYBODY, SHUT UP!" Alfonse yells out, and everyone immediately quietens down, "Alright. Nobody cause any trouble or try to leave... and nobody gets hurt".
"Why don't I believe him?" Angel mutters quietly as he and everyone else continue to watch the vampires in the middle of the room.
"Well, he lacks credibility," Oz quips, having seen a guy be put through a table already. They notice one of the vampires prevent a guy from leaving through the back door. "Can you get outta here?"
Angel eyes cast upward. "Skylight in the roof. I can make it."
Oz glances around the room at all the vampires causing trouble, but none of them announcing what it is they want. "I think we need some backup."
"I think I'm needed here," Angel says back as evenly as he Oz had, the two of them sounding just as monotone as the other.
The dark-haired teenager raises his eyebrows. "Ten to one. Could get pointless".
The door opens again, and another vampire enters, followed closely by Willow. She looks around at everyone, very pleased. Willow smiles when she reaches the middle of the empty dance floor. "Look. Everyone's all afraid. It's just like old times," she sighs blissfully.
"Get Buffy and Nikki. Do it now," Oz says in utter disbelief as his girlfriend waltzes around the room like she owned the place.
Angel wastes no time; he wheels around and begins climbing the stage ropes to the roof. Once out of the building, he runs through the town to get to the library. That was the only place he could think both Slayers would be when a group of vampires was roaming around the city.
Cutting through the cemetery, he stops suddenly. "Nikki?" his voice catches in his throat when he sees the younger Slayer. It wasn't the new brown hair that had Angel's attention but the ways she was stepping towards him, smiling sweetly.
"Puppy," she grins with a sultry purr as his stomach flutters at her words. "Now I'm not mad at you-" she whispers, stroking the side of his cheek as he lets her "-but I still have to punish you for being a naughty pet" Her face changes in an instant as she lets out a low laugh.
Angel wasn't quick enough to get away from Nikki as she swung her hand into his face sending him to the ground. He couldn't understand what was happening as Nikki climbed on top of him with a smirk as her game face looked down at him.
"Buffy may have helped you get strong again, but I broke you once before I can do it again" The newly brunette giggled as his hands immediately grabbed onto her hips as she rocked on his lap slightly "we're going to have so much fun together."
Although this was something that both he and his inner demon had been dreaming about for a long time, he knew there was something wrong.
Pushing away the excitement that brewed from deep inside him, he turned into the sadness from knowing that Nikki had been turned. Someone had managed to get one over on the strongest Slayer he had met.
Nikki trailed her fingers down his chest until she embedded her nails into the skin of his chest. Letting out a loud yell, Angel flipped them over. "Nikki, stop, please. We need to talk about this" the young woman just rolled her eyes as she kicked him over her head.
Landing on his back, Angel was quick to get up when he heard Nikki running towards him. Knowing he had no choice but to fight back, he sighs as Nikki lunges at him, but he grabs onto his shoulder and uses her momentum to flip her to the ground.
Nikki instantly kips up from the ground; she does a half-spinning hook kick to Angel's head as he backs up a step but keeps his balance and leans back in to punch the brunette. She middle blocks two shots and follows up with a punch to his head before she grabs his shoulder while he's dazed and flips him over onto his back.
Angel knew he probably wasn't going to win this fight, but he had to try and stop Nikki. She could kill him all she wanted after he got her to Buffy; he knew he deserved it but right now, all he could think about what helping her.
Running at her again, he connects with a roundhouse kick to his side. He falls but gets up quickly and grabs her shoulder. Nikki holds onto his hand and flips him over her shoulder, laughing when Angel groans after landing on his back harshly.
"Oh pet, you're fighting like you think you're gonna win," Nikki grins as she stands over him, leaning forward to grab him; the brunette vampire is suddenly distracted by a loud scream from the direction of the Bronze.
Angel uses the distraction and sends a kick to Nikki's gut; she lands hard on the floor behind her and growls loudly at the audacity "I'm sorry Nikki, but I have to get you to Buffy. She'll know what to do, she can tell your mom what happened-".
The dark-haired girl slowly stood up from the floor as she eyed Angel. "My mom? Buffy?" she hissed, glaring at the open space around them in disgust. Angel could almost see the calculations running through her mind but not quick enough to duck the roundhouse kick she gave him before leaving him lying on the cemetery's grass.
Grabbing his head, he winces as he tries to get up from the ground without the world spinning, turning around to find the brunette he swore when he realized she was gone. Returning to his original plan, he quickly jogged towards the high school.
This was his fault; somehow, he would always blame himself for not watching the youngest Slayer enough. After everything that happened between them, he tried his best to watch out for Nikki even as it bordered on obsession.
Running through the library doors, he saw the group all sitting together as he moved into the room "Buffy, I... I just... Something's happened that..." he began as the blonde's face dropped after seeing the wounds on his chest, you could tell he'd been in a fight.
"Angel, what happened" The oldest Summer's girl gasped, walking up to him and trailing her hands over the cuts in his chest.
"It's Nikki she's-" another blonde head looked around the office doorway with a questioning expression as Angel sounded like he was about to cry.
"-Nikki," Angel breathed as he latched onto the young Slayer and pulled her into his arms and breathed into her hair as he held her tightly, "you're alive. I'm so glad you're okay".
"I am, but if you don't let go of me in the next 10 seconds, you won't be," The blonde sarcastically tells him but doesn't try to fight her way out of his grip like she would have done weeks before. Angel rapidly lets go of her and glances between her and Buffy.
"I think I know what's happening here," the older Slayer tells him as her eyes widen in realization, Angel nods along as she explains the doppelganger, Willow, to him, but his fingers are itching to hold onto Nikki again.
"So not only is there a vampire Willow running around but a vampire Nikki?" Xander questions as the girl in question turn to Giles, looking confused, who just bites on the arm of his glasses deep in thought, one doppelganger was bad enough, but two was hell.
"Where is evil me now?" Nikki asks, turning back to Angel, who seems a little embarrassed by her questioning.
"I have no idea. We were fighting, and then she got away. Willow-" he glances at the redhead, "the other Willow is at the Bronze with a cadre of vampires looking to party."
They all immediately get up and head out "so at least now we know who'd win in a fight between Nikki and Angel," Xander quips as they all leave the library except for Willow, who asks them to go on as she turns to run back into the library.
Nikki gives him a dark "I think I should go out and find the other me, you guys need to go to Bronze and stop Willow. Uh, the other Willow. The fewer people other me kills, the better. I get into enough trouble by myself. I don't need another me helping."
Angel's head snaps towards Nikki, immediately hating the idea of her going up against the doppelganger version of herself. He had no idea how it would turn out. Evil Nikki may not only be looking to kill him. "I don't think that's a good idea."
The blonde just blinked at him before smiling. "Good job I didn't ask you what you thought." Angel's eyes fell to the smile curling her lips, and couldn't help but remember feeling her, well, the other her, sitting on his lap and the sultry smile she had given him.
This wasn't good for his trying to get rid of any feelings for Nikki plan.
Willow heads back into the library and goes to the checkout counter. She leans over but can't reach what she's looking for. Sighing, she starts to go around it, but an arm reaches around from behind and grabs her.
A cold, pale hand clamps over her mouth to prevent her from screaming, "Alone at last," she hears her own voice call out coyly.
Doppelganger Willow turns Willow around and looks her up and down, particularly noticing her pink sweater. "Well, look at me. I'm all fuzzy," she says, glancing at her other self appraisingly.
"What do I want with you?" Willow questions before she catches herself. "Uh..."
Evil Willow just looks at Willow grimly. "Your little school friend Anya said that you're the one that brought us here. She said that you could get me back to my world or will be mine when I get back. I'll be the one sitting on the throne and playing with the Puppy".
Although Willow doesn't know what she is so pleased about, a wicked grin overtakes the vampire's face.
Willow nods slowly, thinking about her copy's words. "Oh," gasping, she remembers the spell she helped Anya do earlier and suddenly understands. "Oh! Oops!"
"But I don't know..." Evil Willow smiles wickedly. "I kinda like the idea of the two of us" She turns Willow around again, caressing her shoulders. "We could be quite a team if you came around to my way of thinking," she hints meaningfully.
"Would that mean we have to snuggle?" Willow asks uncertainly as Evil Willow brushes her hair away from her neck.
"What do you say?" Evil Willow coaxes as she gives Willow's neck an eager, lengthy lick. Willow shudders with loathing and grimaces at the feeling "Wanna be bad?".
Willow groans, completely unnerved. "This just can't get more disturbing," Evil Willow purrs with desire and bares her teeth behind Willow's neck.
Willow freaks out and whirls around, stepping back and away from the vampire, flapping her hands with disgust. "Ack! Ew! No more! You're really starting to freak me out!"
The doppelganger growls, "I need to get back to my world before Nikki finds a way to get back first. She thinks she can boss Xander and me around but jokes on her, she can stay here and get staked by your Slayer".
Gasping at those words, Willow eyes her double "Nikki?" she mumbled as the vampire flinched in fear at the name. "You're scared of Nikki?!Well yeah, I guess she can be terrifying at times, but she actually cares a lot. How can your Nikki be scarier?".
If this Willow was so scared of Nikki's double, then she knew she had to send them both back as quickly as she could. She tries to go around Evil Willow but gets blocked.
Snatching up Xander's cross from the counter and nervously waves it in Evil Willow's face, who roars and bats her arm away, sending the cross flying.
Feeling a tight grip on her shoulder, she gasps as her evil twin throws her harshly over the counter. She lands with a crash, hitting her head hard against the metal filing cabinet "Ow!" she whimpers.
Evil Willow stalks grimly around the counter menacingly, "You don't wanna play. I guess I can't force you."
Reaching under the counter for what she originally came for, Willow pulls out the dart rifle just as her evil twin comes through to her side of the counter. "Oh, wait," Willow locks the bolt in place as Evil Willow smiles meanly, "I can."
Willow frantically aims and fires. The dart hits Evil Willow dead center of her chest. Stunned, she looks down at the protruding dart, staggers, and starts to fall. "bitch"she moans as she hits the floor.
Willow stares in fearful amazement at her other fallen self.
Hearing footsteps running towards us, I turn to see a frantic Willow gasping for breath and pointing back towards the library. Glancing at Buffy, we sprint back towards the room with the others following us.
Willow shows us what had her so worried, and my eyes widened when I found an unconscious Willow on the ground. "Wow, Will, I'm impressed," I told her as Angel and Xander dragged Evil Willow by the arms into the book cage.
"It's extraordinary," Giles comments as he watches the vampire doppelganger inside the cage in awe.
Willow was more appalled than in awe. "It's horrible! That's me as a vampire?" Angel closes the door as we all stand by the cage. "I'm so evil and... skanky. And I think I'm kinda gay," she whispers to Buffy and me anxiously.
My twin just smiles reassuringly. "Willow, just remember, a vampire's personality has nothing to do with the person it was."
"Well, actually..." Angel begins without thinking, and I quickly elbow him in the ribs as he gets a look from Buffy. "That's a good point," he breathes sharply, holding onto the spot where I hit.
"So, uh, what do we do now?" Xander questions as he glances down at the vampire in the cage as she lies still.
"We still have to get to the Bronze," Giles explained as I nodded along with him, but my mind was still on the other me, and what she was up to right now, Willow had explained the fear her double had shown when talking about mine.
How could I be so evil in another world? I was still struggling about the fact that I was a vampire in their world.
"Well, even if they're supposed to wait for her, they may start feeding," Angel said as we turned to him. "Vampires are not notoriously reliable" after seeing the way he was without his soul, I can wholeheartedly agree.
Xander eyes us all, hopefully. "So we charge in, much in the style of John Wayne?"
Giles shook his head as he leaned against the cage biting on the arm of his glasses. "High casualty risk. I haven't any other plan, though".
Buffy raises her hand. "Uh, I have a really bad idea" we all glance towards my twin, who gives a sheepish smile before explaining her plan. Willow is initially horrified but is convinced that it's the only way we might be able to save everyone from the vamps.
"Okay, so you guys do that, and I'll go find me," I tell them; Buffy nods and give me the usual older twin 'be safe' look.
Giving her a smile, I go to leave the room when Angel places his hand on my shoulder with a brooding expression. "Be careful" I nod slowly in confusion at the worried expression and overprotective thing Angel had going on right now.
Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Buffy gazing at the hand on my shoulder, but her face said nothing. Her eyes on the hand could never lie.
Pushing his hand away, I just gave him a tight-lipped smile before making my way out of the library. "Okay, so if I were me, where would I go?" I mused to myself, thinking about where I would go if I were a lost vampire in this world.
Well, I'd probably be out causing some kind of chaos.
Angel said Willow was at the Bronze, so that was out. Walking through the streets downtown, I was distracted by shouting in Willie's bar. Stopping outside, I was shocked to find patrons running from the building.
The man in question knocked into me in his haste to getaway. Glancing up at me, he let out a shriek before pushing me away and running in the opposite direction.
I guess this was exactly what I was looking for.
Taking a breath, I swung open the door and entered the now-empty building "get out" a low growl came from the person who stood behind the bar with their back turned to me.
Watching her open the bottles and sniff the contents, I was shocked, not only by the dark hair color that resided on my... her body but the way she moved and acted just like I did.
"Sorry, I can't do that," I said as she froze hearing my voice. I guess hearing someone who sounded just like you was a shock. She let out a small laugh as she continued making drinks.
I wasn't expecting that, honestly.
I was thinking more, kicking and punching or at the very least her trying to end my existence.
My breath caught in my throat as she turned around. Seeing Willow and her doppelganger was one thing but seeing a version of myself standing in front of me was weirder than I thought.
Clicking her fingers at me, she pointed to the booth behind me as she carried over two glasses and a bottle of whiskey under her arm. I was frozen in my own thoughts. She wanted to sit and drink with me?
Where was the aggression? Where was the threat?.
She laughed at me as she sat in the booth oozing with the same confidence I usually exuded. "Come on, sit. I promise not to bite," she joked, leaning back into the seat as I sat opposite her.
My doppelganger pushed the glass in front of me with a wink before she clinked it with her own "cheers" shrugging; I sipped the bourbon just as the vampire sitting across from me did.
As the whiskey hit my throat, I gagged and shook my head, sticking out my tongue as my doppelganger giggled with a smirk, "Cute."
At my silence, the brunette version of me put down her glass and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, didn't think I'd be so quiet in this world," she mocked as I gave him an unimpressed glare.
"Sorry, but having my doppelganger in front of me is a little unnerving, but the fact that I'm somehow a vampire in another universe is even stranger," I tell her with a short laugh taking another sip and gagging again.
The brunette leveled me with a stare. "I heard from a little Puppy that Buffy is here, and our mom is alive in this world?" she mentioned offhandedly, "which means you're not a vampire."
I let out a nervous giggle at her words and the fact that I almost was turned by Angel. "Why wouldn't my... our mom be alive?" a slight smirk pulled at her lips, "and no, I'm not a vampire, I'm a Slayer."
A choking noise came from the brunette as she began coughing wildly. "A Slayer?! I'm a Slayer here?" I nodded slowly, wondering if she was about to explode "but how?" she questioned with a confused expression.
"Uh, it's kind of a long story," I say, not really willing to tell a vampire, even if she is me about the Slayer line, "but more importantly, how did I turn into a vampire?!".
My doppelganger's face went dark. It was a look I had seen on myself way too many times to count. "It was all Buffy's fault," she hissed venomously.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out. It seems that she and her Buffy had their own issues too. "I bet you're wondering what happened, huh?" she grinned teasingly as she threw back the bourbon before pouring another.
Obviously, something changed her... me... for the worst if we became so evil that even Willow's doppelganger was scared of us. The fact she said it was Buffy's fault had me both reeling and interested.
I nodded, and she gave me a humorless smile before recounting her story willingly, even excitedly in some parts.
How Buffy had failed to kill the Master, who in turn sired her out of spite, then her killing mom and dad to spite Buffy and becoming her Sire's right hand.
In another universe, I was the second most feared vampire in the world. I was ruthless and vindictive, and it was all Buffy's fault. She fled after fighting the Master, and he took it out on someone innocent, who didn't understand or deserve it.
I get why she was angry, maybe not in the same way, but I can actually see why she is the way she is.
Letting out a spiteful snort, I followed her in fashion and drank the rest of the bourbon, trying to keep my gag down. "I guess both of our Buffy's managed to fail to protect us."
Vampire me sat forward as her eye widened with interest "what do you mean, they both failed us?".
Clicking my tongue, I wondered if telling her would hurt, "My Buffy fell in love with an old vampire called Angel or Angelus when he's a part of the big bad-."
"PUPPY?" she interrupted with a shocked laugh, her face lit up with both surprise and indignation.
Blinking slowly, I continued to tell her my story, all of it. Her face dropped with every word and slowly got darker as my story continued. I told her everything, even the things I hadn't told Faith, things that I thought I would take to my early grave.
The glass shattered in her hand as her eyes flashed angrily. "He's still out there, and you're okay with that?!" she demanded as she seethed "after what he did, you... to me...us".
Turning her hand over, I sighed to myself, holding my hand above hers and telekinetically pulling all the broken pieces of glass out as she watched in awe. "All this power and you just let him go? You let walk all over your strength".
Shaking my head, I put a napkin in her hand. "It was my strength that let him live. It would have been so easy for me to stake him, but it was forgiving him that was the hardest thing to do".
Her eyes met mine, both identical in everything but emotion "and have you forgiven him? Have you forgiven Buffy?".
I stop for a minute as I think about her seemingly innocent question, "I didn't think I ever could, but I have."
My doppelganger lets out a scoff before I interrupt her, "but don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I forgave, but I will never forget, and I will never let them forget it either".
My doppelganger grins as the light glints off her teeth, "Maybe you're more like me than I thought." I gave her a smile in return as mutual respect was built between us.
"Look, I know you probably want to get back to your world and cause all kinds of chaos-" she lets out a laugh, "but Willow is about to cause some major havoc in mine, and we can't let her do it."
Her eyes gaze into mine, and I see annoyance for the redhead shining in them. "Plus, with a face that good looking, I couldn't possibly stake you," I joke as she smirks. "So I'll make you a deal. You help contain Willow, and I'll find a way to get you back?".
Holding out my hand to my doppelganger, I wait with bated breath as she eyes it.
Pushing past a crowd of screaming people, I hear a fight breaking out inside the Bronze. "Up there," Vampire Nikki says as we climb up to the roof of the building.
Apparently, we're both thrill-seekers who love having the element of surprise.
Nodding, I glance down through the skylight seeing my sister and Angel fighting against a hoard of vampires. "I'm strangely excited to fight with you," I admit, ready to see what my doppelganger fights like.
I hear her snigger behind me, "Ditto, beautiful" turning to her, I give her a small smile before getting back to the task at hand.
Seeing my sister scooting back into a downed Angel as the vampires descend on them, vampire Nikki and I jump down to the Bronze dancefloor landing at the same time.
Nikki has her game face on as she growls at the other vamps. "Nikki?" I heard my sister gasp as we both broke out in a fight. Using each other's skills, we fought in tandem.
It truly was like you were seeing double.
Grabbing vampire Nikki's hand, she turns me in a circle as I roundhouse kick one of the vampires. Tightening my hold on her, I use the momentum for her to swing a kick out too.
I wasn't able to fight this fluidly with my sister. Not even Faith was able to read me this well. It was like she knew what I was about to do before I even did it.
"Behind," Nikki called out as I ducked. She threw herself over my back with a growl. Seeing a vampire trying to attack her from behind, I threw out my arm and sent him flying into a pillar as Xander quickly stakes him.
My doppelganger gazes at me in surprise but quickly turns back to dust the vampire she was fighting. Buffy and Angel were handling the vampires, their own vampires. Xander and Giles were on the outskirts taking down any that Buffy threw at them.
Soon all of Evil Willow's minions had been dusted. "Nikki!" I heard Willow cry out, not knowing if she was calling me or vampire me.
We both spun around to see Evil Willow on top of our Willow choking her. Nikki lost her game face as she shouted out, "Willow! Enough!" I was shocked by the tone that came from her. She really was the boss.
Evil Willow laughed loudly as she threw a smug look at Nikki. "We're not in our world now. You have no power over me here" you could visibly see the fury coming from Nikki as she seethed.
Her words got to me as I could see the tears running down Willow's cheeks. "You're right. You're not in your world anymore. You're in mine," I hissed, throwing my arm up as Evil Willow gasped before flying away from Willow.
Running up the redhead as she coughed and spluttered, I pulled her against me as she cried, "BUFFY, NO!" Buffy, who was about to stake Evil Willow, reacts instantly.
She holds back just short of dusting the vampire and instead grabs Evil Willow, yanks her up roughly, and restraining her securely.
Holding Willow gently, I help her stand as she gingerly massages her neck. "Are you okay?" I asked as she nodded, placing her head on my shoulder in thanks.
Moving towards my sister, she smiles as Oz and the others join us on the stage. "Nice reflexes."
Buffy shrugs. "Well, I work out" seeing Nikki standing alone on the floor in front of us, I jump down next to her as she holds out her fist to me. Rolling my eyes, I hit it with my own smirking.
Evil Willow sighs, watching the two of us. "This world's no fun."
Willow's face drops in surprise and pitiful "You noticed that too?" she says to her doppelganger empathetically as the other pouts to herself.
Nikki smirks wickedly as she struts up to the stage and grabs Evil Willow from my sister's grip. "Don't worry, Willow, We'll have plenty of fun together back in our own world. I'll drag you back there kicking and screaming if I have to".
Evil Willow's face drops in terror as she pulls the other vampire from the stage as we all leave the Bronze.
"So uh, other you is pretty scary" Xander laughs nervously as my doppelganger growls at him from over her shoulder. I snigger as he jumps and quickly walks over to Buffy and Willow.
Rolling my eyes, I eye Angel, who's subtly watching me out of the corner of his eye. I wasn't sure when I forgave him or why but somewhere along the line, I had, and it wasn't until I literally had a conversation with myself that I realized it.
Walking to the factory, I frowned. "What is it with all the bad guys and the factory?" I question, confused, remembering all the times we had fought Evil here.
Angel smiles at my words but still makes no move to talk or do anything except be by my side.
Before I could walk into the room where Giles and Anya had begun setting up the circle of their spell Angel gently held my arm. "I really am glad you're okay," he said as I nodded in understanding.
He pushed himself to say more but ultimately seemed like he couldn't find the right words, not that there was any real way for him to apologize again for his actions while he didn't have a soul.
Seeing what was keeping me back, my doppelganger let out a low growl that was missed by everyone except for Angel and me. Moving past the broody vampire, I stood by the brunette who just gave me a sly wink.
Xander casually struts over to where Nikki and I stood, where the former was holding a moody-looking Evil Willow. "So, um, in your guy's reality, I'm like this bad-ass vampire, huh? People afraid of me?"
Evil Willow just looks disdainfully at him, then rolls her eyes and turns away. Nikki seemed annoyed at his entire existence as she growled again but said nothing.
Sensing their distaste, Xander steps away, chortling gleefully, "Oh, yeah. I'm bad". Nikki clenched her jaw but didn't rain on our Xander's parade. I'm thinking she's learning some kind of composure.
"He's annoying but nowhere near as annoying as the one in my world," my doppelganger mutters offhandedly as the redhead in her grip shockingly grunts in agreement.
"Uh, we're about ready here," Giles calls out before glaring at Anya warningly. "Don't you try any tricks now, dear".
Anya pouts sulkily. "I don't need tricks. When I get my powers back, you will all grovel before me," she tells us conceitedly as we all roll our eyes and shake our heads at her delusions.
Though I'm still unclear on what she was, at least I guessed that she was something. No one was that obsessive over a necklace.
Giles blinks, unimpressed at her. "Yes, uh, if you, uh, Willow(s) and Nikki(s), would like to, uh," he gestures where we should kneel, "complete the circle."
"Last time I kneeled by a circle, I had magic sand thrown in my eye," I pouted as other me clapped me on the back with an unsympathetic look on her face. "Right, bigger problems."
Willow faces Evil Willow for the last time. "Good luck," she grins helpfully. "Try not to kill people." Evil Willow doesn't display any emotion, but Willow smiles warmly at her and gives her a big hug.
Evil Willow looks like she isn't sure what to make of that but gets into the spirit and does some naughty touching. Willow jumps back from her reach, shocked. "Hands! Hands!"
Turning to face vampire me, I smile sadly. "This was probably the weirdest day of my life, but I'm sorta glad I met you," I tell her as she gives me a wide grin.
Was it weird that having her here made me feel a hella lot less lonely?
The brunette pursed her lips in thought. "You know I had to kill a lot of people to get the respect I deserve, and now they all fear me. People fear things they don't understand, except for you. You didn't fear me because you know all about being misunderstood".
I cleared my throat at her musings. "You understand me, and I understand you, not only because we are the same person but because we're both survivors. You're not a victim, Nikki. You are a survivor."
Feeling an unusual pang in my stomach that I think was grief, I hugged myself into the brunette vampire who shockingly held me back just as tight. Pulling away, I smiled before being drawn into a kiss. Nikki laughed as I blinked in surprise at her action. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. You're gorgeous".
"We look the same?" I say with a confused eye squint.
The brunette just gives me a smirk as she passes by. "I know. I've always thought the only person I'd date would be myself. I love me".
Light-heartedly rolling my eyes, I turned to follow her into the circle. "God, I'm gonna miss her," I say, ignoring all the incredulous expressions thrown my way as Giles starts the spell.
Willow materializes and smiles, relieved to be back in her own reality, only to be suddenly grabbed by Oz and shoved back onto a broken piece of the wooden cage, effectively impaling her through the heart. "Aw, f..." She explodes into ashes.
Seeing the redhead turn into dust, Nikki grins as she mocks Willow "Bored now" before turning to find her sister for one last punishment, not only for her but for other Nikki too.
She hadn't told the blonde that she had killed the Puppy in this life already, but she wished now she had hurt him more for what he did.
On the other hand, Buffy was free game, and Nikki was ready to play.
Their parents had paid with their lives for her being hunted down and turned into a monster, but now Buffy would pay for everything that had happened to the other world her.
It was only fair.
Sitting on a wall with Buffy and Willow, I sighed to myself, feeling weird that I missed the other me after knowing her for such a short amount of time.
It was nice being able to connect with someone as much as I did Nikki, but also sad to realize the only person I have ever felt that connection with was technically myself.
"You wanna go out tonight?" Buffy asks out loud to the two of us. I nod solemnly as Willow shakes her head.
"Strangely, I feel like staying at home and doing my homework, and flossing, and dying a virgin" I chuckle at her list of things she was going to do, knowing it was all because of her evil doppelganger.
Buffy faces Willow with a frown "You know, you can O.D. on virtue."
Willow deflates as she huffs, "Between me and my evil self, I've got double guilt coupons. I see now where the path of vice leads. I mean, she messed up everything she touched. I don't ever want to be like that."
Percy walks up to us, looking a bit nervous. "Hey. Uh, hi."
I felt Willow tense next to me as she also glances up at the jock. "Oh, hi. Listen, I didn't have a chance..."
Percy interrupts her. "Okay, so I did the outline for the paper on Roosevelt" he hands it to her quickly. "It turns out there were two President Roosevelts, so I didn't know exactly which one to do, so I did both"
He hands her the other one; both are neatly bound in folders. I blink at his skittish attitude as Buffy gives Willow a knowing smile. The redhead, however, just stares at him in stunned amazement.
"Um, and I know they're kinda, kinda short, but I can flesh them out. Oh, and here's the bibliography. Um, and I can retype that if you want. You just let me know what I did wrong, and I'll get on it," Percy says respectfully, which was weird in itself.
He starts to go but comes back to lay an apple on the folders in her lap before he leaves again, hopping athletically over a low wall. "You wanna go out tonight?" my twin asks again.
Willow nods with a shocked smile "9:00 sound good?" the three of us sit in confusion as the world continues to move along, unknowing of anything strange happening in Sunnydale.
Glancing back and forth between the two of them and the spot where the jock had run off to, I frown to myself, "I'm so lost, but I don't want to know" getting up, I picked up my back "I'm tired and hungry. For once I'm just gonna pretend like that didn't happen".
Taking the apple from Willow, I give her a half-smile as I bite into the apple and walk away to the library, hoping to sneak in a few hours of sleep before having to come back to the real world again.
"God, she was a good kisser. Yay, go me".
Wow I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote for BTVS. I will admit there was a time where I gave up on writing for this book, it seemed so hard to get another chapter out. It was like I knew what I wanted to write and where I wanted the future chapters to be but I just couldn't get there.
This chapter took me just under a week to write, I definitely struggled in some bits but I'm hoping it kicks my brain's butt into gear.
So what do we think of Vampire Nikki and Slayer Nikki's friendship/interactions?
Q. Out of everyone in the franchise who can we see Nikki dating? (Can be multiple answers.)
A. I hate the fact that I now ship Nikki with herself...