Author's Note: I'm on a roll. 40 chapters up and starting season 5.

Chapter 68: Dopplegangland

March 8, 1999 – Monday

Gateway High School

Lunch break outside, and Willow lay on her belly on the grass and propped herself up on her elbows, ankles crossed and swaying idly in the air. There was a light breeze, and it was slightly overcast but not depressing, perfect because she didn't have to squint against the sun as she focused her entire attention on the pencil a few inches in front of her fingers.

It rose, staying perfectly horizontal because she wanted it that way. When it got to nose level she concentrated a bit harder, and after a moment it began to spin gently, like a child's pinwheel drawn through the air.

"The Watchers Council shrink is heavily into tests," Buffy said from a few feet away. Her friend was lying on her back under one of the big shade trees and doing stomach crunches. Willow had stopped counting them a while ago. "He's got tests for everything—TATs, Rorschach, associative logic." Finally she stopped and sat up. "They have that test to see if you're crazy, the one that asks if you ever hear voices or if you've ever wanted to be a florist."

"Oh!" Willow said, turning her head toward Buffy. "I used to—wait. Florist means crazy, right?" She shook her head emphatically. "I never wanted to do that."

Buffy's gaze cut past Willow to the pencil still spinning lazily in the air. "Nice, you getting control over it. Remember not to do that when other people can see."

"I know and thanks," Willow said with a grin. "Prue's been a big help learning to control it." She perked up. "Hey, you want to go to the Espresso Pump and get sugared up on mochas?"

"Pass," Buffy answered. She started stuffing her things into her gym bag. "I'm going to hit the pool and do some laps."

Willow peered at Buffy. "How come the sudden calisthenics? Aren't you sort of naturally buff, Buff?" She giggled, pleased at her little funny. "Buff Buff!"

But Buffy's return smile was less than enthusiastic. "Well, they've really got us running around on the physical side, too. A lot of reflex evaluation and precision training. You know. I just want to… do…"

"Better than Faith?" Willow finished for her.

Buffy looked ashamed. "So very shallow."

Willow sat up. "Competition is natural and healthy," she told her friend. "Plus you'll definitely ace her on the psych tests. Just don't mark the box that says 'I some-times like to kill people.'"

Buffy smiled a little sadly. "I know Faith's not going to be on the cover of Sanity Fair, but she's had it rough. Given different circumstances, that could be me."

"No way," Willow said flatly.

Buffy looked at the ground. "We can't control the way we grow up."

"No," Willow disagreed. "You're you. She's her. Some people just don't have that in them."

Buffy ran a hand through her hair, then pulled her gym bag toward her. "Look, I'm sorry—I know you hate talking about Faith."

"No, it's okay," Willow assured her.

"No, really," Buffy insisted. "We should just—"

"No, it doesn't bother me." Willow made her voice firm. "I mean it."

For a moment Buffy said nothing. Then, "Uh . . . Will?"

Willow followed the direction of Buffy's gaze and saw the pencil, still in the air but no longer gently spinning. Instead it looked like the Number Two version of a lawnmower blade, revolving so fast all she could make out was a circular blur.

"Oooh," she said in a small voice. Willow tried to channel her thoughts enough to stop the pencil's motion and succeeded only in sending it cutting across the air between them as it embedded itself point first into the trunk of the tree.

"I think you need to work some more with Prue," Buffy suggested.

Willow winced. "I think you might be right."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Principal Snyder's office.

Or Sunnydale Cemetery at, say, two A.M.

Willow was having a hard time deciding which would be the worse choice, although right now, as she sat on a chair facing Principal Snyder's desk, Sunnydale Cemetery was right up there with Hawaii in January. The chair next to her held a slouching example of one of Sunnydale High's premium basketball jocks, Percy West.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is a marriage made in heaven," Principal Snyder said to both of them as he hung his coat on the coat tree in the corner. "Willow Rosenberg, despite her… unsavory associations, represents the pinnacle of academic achievement at Sunnydale High. Percy West represents a devastating fast break and fifty percent from behind the three-point line." The ratty little man gave Percy a companionable slap on the shoulder as he walked around to his chair.

Willow swallowed and twisted her fingers together. "I'm… not sure I understand the marriage part."

The principal regarded her blandly. "You've got the brains, he's got the fast break. It's a perfect match."

"Match?" She glanced nervously at Percy, who only scratched at something on his temple. "You want us to… breed?"

Snyder ignored her. "I want you to tutor him. Percy is flunking history." The older man sat and folded his hands. "Nothing seems to be able to motivate him."

"Hey," Percy said, finally deciding to add something to the conversation. "I'm challenged."

Snyder was unconvinced. "You're lazy, self-involved, and spoiled. That's quite the challenge." Instead of answering, Percy wiped his mouth on one sleeve. "But we need a winning year," Snyder continued, "especially after last year's debacle with the swim team. Can't have our point guard benched." He turned his beady gaze on Willow. "So you are going to take on a little teaching job. I know how you enjoy teaching."

"But I have a lot of work of my own—" Willow began.

"You've gotten a letter of acceptance from every university with a stamp," Snyder interrupted. "I think your academic career is safe."

Percy found something interesting on the ceiling to stare at while Willow fidgeted. "Yes, but I still have classes, and I don't want—"

"Rosenberg, it's time to give something back to the community," Snyder said in a disgustingly sweet tone. He stood, and for such a little smidgen of a man, Willow suddenly felt he was very big, as if he was looming over her, in fact. "I know you want to help your school out here. Ask me how I know."

She knew it was useless, but she had to anyway. "How do y—"

Principal Snyder stared hard at her. "I just do."

It was just so totally unfair that Percy West could sit there and look completely and utterly bored, while she felt as if Snyder had just threatened to put her in detention for a month if she didn't do what he wanted.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"So he threatened you?" Buffy asked incredulously. "With what?"

"It wasn't anything exactly that he said," Willow explained as she and Buffy came into the library. "It was all in his eyes. I mean, there was some nostril work as well… but mostly eyes."

What a pal—Buffy sounded totally peeved on her behalf. "Snyder needs me to kick his butt."

"Oh, no, Buffy—don't get in trouble." Willow dumped her books on the library table. "I just hate the way he bullies people. He just assumes their time is his."

"Willow," Giles said from behind them. She turned and saw him step out of his office, cherry-flavored sucker in one hand. "Get on the computer. I want you to take another pass at accessing the Mayor's files."

"Okay," she said, and slipped off her bag before going behind the counter and settling in front of the computer.

Faith breezed into the library with Wesley lurching along behind her. "Well," she said cheerfully. "That was a blast."

Giles regarded her, then looked at Wesley. "How did it go?"

"Princess Margaret here had a little trouble keeping up," Faith said with a sneer. She looked absurdly fresh, not at all like someone who'd just been put through a bunch of physical paces.

"How did it go?" Giles asked again. He stared pointedly at Wesley.

"Faith… did quite well on the obstacle field," Wesley finally said between gasps. "And her… reflexes are improving rapidly." He sucked in air, then, despite his discomfort, managed to look down his nose at the dark-haired Slayer. "Physically she's in good shape. Still a little sloppy, though."

Faith glared at Wesley, but before she could say anything, Giles asked, "Do you feel up to taking Buffy out, or shall I?"

No, no," Wesley said between inhalations. "I'll be fine. Just give me a minute… and some defibrillators, if it's not too much trouble."

Faith grinned at Buffy. "You're gonna love it, B. It's just like fun… only boring."

"Faith," Giles said sternly, "this evaluation is a necessary part of—"

"I know," she cut in, sounding contrite. "I'm on board here. Just… shooting my mouth off."

"I'd better change," Buffy said, and headed for the locker room while Giles and Wesley retreated into the librarian's office.

Faith reached out and touched Buffy's shoulder. "Good luck."

Buffy smiled in response and kept going, then Faith turned and wandered over to the counter. After a second, she hopped up onto it and sat, peering over to where Willow worked steadily on the computer's keyboard. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm trying to access the Mayor's personal files," Willow answered with forced politeness.

Faith blinked, surprised at Willow's words. "Can you do that?"

Willow shrugged, still feeling self-conscious around the other girl. "He's got some pretty tricky barriers set up."

Faith was silent for a moment. "Can you get past them?"

"Eventually I'll get through," Willow replied.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Hey," Oz said.

Willow smiled as her boyfriend stopped her in the hallway between classes. "Oz… hi."

"There's something about you that's causing me to hug you," he said as he slipped his arms around her and squeezed lightly. "It's like I have no will of my own."

She couldn't help grinning as they started in the direction of their next classes. "Where were you yesterday?" she asked.

"We got back late," he said casually. "Sort of very."

Willow had no idea what he was talking about. "We? Who? Where?"

"The band," he answered. "We had a gig in Monterey on Sunday night."

"Oh . . . you did?" Jeez, could she be any more out of the loop when she didn't even know her boyfriend's band was playing somewhere? "How come I didn't know?" She had to ask.

But Oz just looked at her, not understanding. "I thought you did."

"Maybe I would have liked to go," Willow said. She hugged her schoolbooks, not trying to hide her hurt.

Oz raised an eyebrow. "Didn't figure you for missing school," he said. Then he added, "Never thought to ask."

A terrible thought struck her. "You think I'm boring."

"I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text." He looked at her somewhat quizzically. When she didn't answer, he touched her arm. "We're playing tonight at the Bronze."

Willow's expression fell. "I… can't. I have too much homework."

Oz nodded. "If you get done early…" he suggested, and left it at that as he headed off.

She watched him go, then cut across the Quad toward her own class, thinking that maybe she'd make a quick stop at her locker, when she saw Percy West up ahead. She hurried to catch up.

"Percy—hey," she said when he finally realized she was there and decided to slow down a bit. "Listen, I thought we could get together today at lunch and go over your Roosevelt paper, what books you'll need and stuff—"

He gave her a disbelieving glance, then picked up his pace again. "What are you talking about?"

"Tutoring you," Willow reminded him. "Your history paper?"

"Oh, yeah," Percy said carelessly. "Snyder said you were gonna do it."

She would have stopped cold, but then he would have just kept going. "He never said that."

"What meeting were you at?" he asked with a smirk.

"Look," Willow said, trying to be firm. "I'll get the books you need. Just meet me at lunch, and we'll—"

"I don't have time at lunch," the jock interrupted. "Gotta hang out."

"Oh. Well—"

He finally stopped and faced her. "What?" he demanded rudely. "You got something better to do? Just type it up and put my name on it." He started to waltz off, then paused one last time. "And don't type too good—dead giveaway."

She stood there as he left, speechless, then stomped over to a bench and dropped onto it. Well, today was going just great, wasn't it, what with Snyder and Percy, and then of course the whole thing with Oz and not even knowing he'd been out of town last night. Cranky, Willow shook off her backpack, then rummaged around in it until she found her lunch bag. Feeling rebellious, she dug in to it and pulled out the banana. "I'm going to eat this now," she said in a low voice. "It's not lunchtime, I don't even care."

"Hey."

Before she could peel it, Willow raised her head and saw Buffy standing there with Xander. Both of them seemed obscenely happy in contrast to the way she felt.

Xander leaned toward her. "Willow, did you remember to tape Biography last Friday?"

She clenched her teeth. "Uh-huh."

"See," Buffy said smugly to Xander. "I told you—Old Reliable."

Willow's fingers tightened around the banana, bruising it. "Oh, thanks," she said bitterly.

"What?" Buffy asked, taken aback.

"Old Reliable," Willow grumbled. "Yeah, great—there's a sexy nickname."

Buffy immediately looked apologetic. "Oh, Will, I didn't mean it as—"

"No, it's fine." Willow stared at her half-crushed banana. "I'm Old Reliable."

Xander gave her a goofy smile. "She just meant, you know, the geyser—you're like a geyser of fun that goes off at regular intervals."

"That's Old Faithful," Willow said.

Xander looked puzzled. "Isn't that the dog that the guy has to shoot—"

Willow grimaced. "That's Old Yeller."

"Xander," Buffy cut in. "I beg you not to help me." She turned to Willow. "Will, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I think it's good to be reliable."

Willow grabbed her backpack and stuffed the lunch bag haphazardly into it. "Well, maybe I don't want to be reliable all the time," she snapped. "Maybe I'm not just some doormat… person. Home-work Gal."

Xander gulped. "I'm thinking nerve strike."

Willow stood and jerked on her pack, then stopped, even angrier, for one last comment before leaving. "Maybe I'll change my look," she said hotly. "You don't know." She brandished the banana. "And I'm eating this banana—lunchtime be damned!" She took off but hadn't taken three steps before she realized Buffy was following her.

"Wait," Buffy said. "I'm really sorry. I—"

Willow stopped and took a deep breath, which was enough to silence Buffy as she waited for Willow to speak. "Buffy," she finally said quietly, "I'm storming off. It doesn't really work if you come with me."

"Oh." Buffy looked unhappy, but at least she stayed where she was and let Willow walk away and salvage a little bit of her pride.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Willow was headed up the stairs to class when an unfamiliar voice called out to her. "Uh . . . Willow?"

Willow stopped, but the girl standing at the bottom of the staircase wasn't someone she knew—slender, with a pretty face framed by stylishly cut dark hair. "Hi."

"Anya," she said, indicating herself. "I'm sort of new here. I, uh, know Cordelia?"

"Ooh," Willow said, intentionally keeping her face expressionless. "Fun."

Anya wasn't dumb. "Yeah, uh—listen," she said, hurrying past the awkwardness. "I have this little project I'm working on, and I heard you were the person to ask if—"

"Yeah, that's me," Willow cut in, her mouth twisting. "Reliable dog geyser person. What do you need?"

Anya smiled confidentially at her and gave a furtive glance around, as if to make sure no one was close enough to overhear. "Oh, it's nothing big. Just a little spell I'm working on."

Willow perked up. "A spell? Ooh—I like magic."

Anya nodded. "I just need a secondary to create a temporal fold. I heard you were a pretty powerful Wicca, so…"

Willow grinned. "You heard right, mister," she said brightly. "Well next to the Charmed Ones anyways, I am. So tell me what you need."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

They'd waited until later and slipped into one of the empty classrooms, and now they were almost ready to go. Everything seemed in order arranged just so on the floor around the object that was the center of the spell, a white china plate with a color rendition of a necklace carefully painted on it.

"The necklace was a family heirloom passed down for generations, then it was stolen from my mom's apartment," Anya told Willow. The dark-haired girl carefully funneled colored sand into a small glass jar as Willow made the final adjustments.

"How does the spell work?" Willow asked.

"We both call on Eyrishon, the endless one," Anya said matter-of-factly. The candles flickered in the room, creating the perfect atmosphere for magic. "Offer up the standard supplication. Then there's a teensy temporal fold—we hope. Then I pour the sacred sand on the representation of the necklace, and Eyrishon brings it forth from the time and place where it was lost."

Willow looked at Anya puzzled. She didn't remember seeing anything like the spell Anya was talking about in either Buffy or the Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows. She then shrugged. "Cool." While she'd never done a temporal fold before, she was fairly certain of what to expect and couldn't imagine there would be any problems.

"Of course," Anya added, "there's a lot of theory there, but I figure it's worth a shot. Are we ready?"

Theory? That cast a shiver of doubt over things, but then again, it was only a necklace they were trying to get back. "I think so," Willow said.

Anya settled comfortably onto the floor across from her, separated by the line of candles and charms. At her reassuring smile, they both let their eyes close nearly all the way, and she extended her right hand with the palm up."Eyrishon. K'shala. Meh-uhn," she intoned.

Willow followed suit, holding up her left hand and turning it so that their fingertips met."Diprechat," Willow said."Doh-tehenlo Nu-Eyrishon."

Anya opened her eyes. "The child to the mother," she said to Willow.

"The river to the sea," Willow responded solemnly.

Anya held out the jar, and Willow wrapped her hand around Anya's, and they both closed their eyes again. "Eyrishon, hear my prayer," Anya whispered.

For a long moment there was nothing. Then light streamed from somewhere near the ceiling and enveloped them both in an electric-looking swirl. They jerked beneath the power of something unseen in the room, and—

Willow's eyes jolted open.

Images zinged past. People fighting in a huge room filled with broken crates and wood—Giles, a female demon whose face she didn't recognize, Buffy fighting vampires that looked way too much like herself and Xander, ultimately staking Xander into a doubled-over pile of dust. She saw the Master, with his hellishly shriveled face and red, tooth-filled mouth, and, yes, there was a necklace—Anya's?—big and glowing where it lay on a table as someone brought a heavy rock down on top of it—

Caught between the place in her vision and the real world, Willow felt her body shake violently as Anya tried to turn the jar of sand over. She felt herself instinctively resist—

And there was Oz, fighting with a vampire who looked uncomfortably like her, his face bloodied and hair wild as he rushed at the bloodsucker and lifted her toward a piece of wood jutting from the wall—

—but couldn't. Somewhere in her consciousness she knew the sand was falling toward their hands as a thunderclap boomed through the classroom. The sound was huge and jolting, and they both jumped, and for a moment—

—just

—one

—moment

—their fingertips parted.

And the sacred sand cascaded not through their touching hands but only through Willow's outstretched fingers.

—but the vampire who could have been her twin disappeared from within Oz's hold.

Then the light was gone, and the sound was gone, and Willow and Anya broke apart, each gasping.

Willow scrambled backward. "That was—what was that?"

She got to her feet, more than a little freaked, but Anya didn't answer. Instead, the other girl went to her knees and searched frantically among the items on the floor. "It's not here—it's not here!"

Willow backed up, her breathing still coming fast and frightened. "Okay… that's a little blacker than I like my arts."

Still kneeling, Anya only glared at her. "Oh, don't be such a wimp."

"That wasn't just a temporal fold, that was some weird… Hell place," Willow protested shakily. "I don't think you're telling me everything!"

"I swear," Anya said through clenched teeth, "I'm just trying to find my necklace."

Willow scowled at her. "Did you try looking inside the sofa from Hell?"

Anya sat back and took a breath, then gave her a tentative smile. "Look, we'll try it again, and if—"

"No! I think emphatically not!"

Anya's expression went indignant. "I can't do it by myself!"

"That's a relief," Willow snapped. She picked up her backpack and shoved her notebooks into it. "I'm out of here."

"Fine—go!" Anya spat. "Idiot child."

Willow leaned down. "I believe these chicken feet are mine," she said, insulted. "Magic is dangerous, Anya. It's not to be toyed with." She turned away huffily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone else's homework to do."

She wasn't quite out the door when she heard Anya's furious voice. "Nothing!" the other said.

"Nothing!" Willow glanced over her shoulder, then decided it was best just to keep going when she saw Anya pick up the hand-painted plate and smash it to bits against the floor.

Payson's

Eyes hooded to hide her confusion, Vamp Willow walked down the sidewalk. Everything here was way too bright—the beautiful night sky was overwhelmed by neon signs and street lamps and the glow from dozens of shop windows. Teenagers screamed, but not with fear—they horsed around and played tug of war with each other, they talked, they laughed until her ears hurt with the sound of it. Kids ran back and forth, couples sat at the Espresso Pump and talked while they drank mochas. There were even old people, strolling arm in arm into the blazingly bright entrance to the movie theater. Where was the terror, the fear of the night and the creatures that roamed it which should be leaking out of every disgusting human pore?

If there was one place left that still had to be welcoming for her, it was the Bronze, and she let her booted feet carry her there. What she found was a noticed that the club had went out of business and the doors were locked.

She found another nightclub several blocks away called Payson's. She pushed through the door was even worse than what she'd found out on the streets—the place was warm, disgustingly so, because it was packed to the rafters with humans… and every darned one of them was alive.

Vamp Willow had hoped for a good heavy metal sound; instead the sign at the front door said "K's Choice," and onstage was some blond chick with a mellow voice. The pinball game blinked merrily while teenagers and adults milled around the red-covered billiard tables apparently without a care in the world. Where were the Master and his minions? Where was the sanity in this place? If she could just find—

"Hey!"

Vamp Willow jerked to a stop as a tall, dark-haired boy bumped full force into her, then looked at her in amazement. "Rosenberg? What are you doing—trick-or-treating?"

Instead of answering, she looked him up and down, amazed at how much foolish nerve one small human could have. Somewhere off to the side, her sensitive hearing caught someone call the kid by name—Percy. The name meant nothing to her.

The teen lifted his chin and looked down his nose at her. "You're supposed to be at home doing my history report," Percy said. He pointed a finger at her and swaggered slightly. "I flunk that class, you're in big trouble with Snyder. Until we graduate, I own you."

"Bored now," she said sweetly.

And rammed the heel of her hand into his sternum.

Percy-who-thought-he-owned-her went flying backward, end over end like a spinning beach ball. He came down hard on the floor at the other side, gasping and groaning as he tried to push himself back to his feet.

"I'm having a terrible night," Vamp Willow said in a pouty voice as she ambled over to him. Percy still hadn't made it up—obviously she'd have to help him.

She reached down and wrapped her black-nailed fingers around his throat and pulled him upright, balanced him in front of her while she gave him a seductive smile. "Want to make it better?" she cooed.

The boy's left hand automatically closed over the one she had gripped around his throat, and he tried to take a swing at her on the right. Useless—she easily blocked it, then only smiled wider as he opted for attempting to choke her in return when his punch fell short. Stupid human child—didn't he know she didn't need air anymore?

"What's going on?" asked a familiar voice from a few feet away. "Is there a funny thing?" Was that her beloved Xander? There was a pause, then she heard him say, "Whoa!"

Percy's hold—puny to begin with—began to weaken as his oxygen-starved lungs tried futilely to work.

She was trying to decide whether to continue choking Percy or bite him when someone else leaped into her field of vision and broke their dual hold, sending Percy-boy sprawling and saving him from unconsciousness.

"Back off!" the new arrival growled at the cowering Percy. "Stay the hell away from her!"

"Okay," Percy croaked from floor level. "Sure." He scuttled away through the crowd like an oversized crab.

His rescuer turned to face her, and Vamp Willow smiled in delight, her first real happy since she'd found herself in the empty plant. "Xander…"

Xander's eyebrows rose as he looked at her, then gestured at her clothes. "Will—changing the look not an idle threat with you."

"You're alive." Pleased, Vamp Willow stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, felt him automatically hug her in return. He felt good and familiar, and she let her hands move down his back and—

He jerked a little. "Uh, Will… this is verging on naughty touching here. We don't want to fall back on bad habits." Without warning, he yanked out of her embrace and grabbed her fingers. "Hands!" he exclaimed. "Hands in new places!"

Her smile went upside down then, and she leaned forward enough to sniff at him. Frowning now, she pulled away and back-stepped. "You're… alive."

Xander stared at her. "You mentioned that earlier. Will… are you okay?"

"No," she said miserably. She looked around, but she was still stuck in this nightmare place. "Everything's… different."

"Xander, there you are."

A girl's voice, someone else familiar and not at all welcome. Vamp Willow hadn't thought she could get any unhappier, but unlife was obviously full of surprises.

"Hey, Buff," Xander said.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your new—holy God, you're Willow!"

Vamp Willow knew this one, all right—the blond hair and all-American face. Everybody knew her. Her eyes narrowed. "You…" she said in a low voice.

Buffy looked at Vamp Willow with confusion and a desire not to offend her. "You know what?" she said with false brightness. "I like the look. It's, um, extreme, but it's—it looks good, it's a leather thing, and it's very…" She glanced at Xander a little desperately before looking back at Vamp Willow. "I said extreme already, right?"

"I don't like you," Vamp Willow hissed.

"Will, I—I'm sorry about today," Buffy offered. "You know how my foot likes to live in my mouth, but… you really didn't have to prove anything."

"Leaving now," Vamp Willow said. She turned her back and started to walk away.

"Willow, got to say I'm not loving the new you," the dreadfully alive Xander called after her. She ignored him and kept going.

Buffy hurried after Vamp Willow and tugged on her arm. "Willow, wait—"

Vamp Willow spun and let herself change into her natural form, relished the thickening of her brow, the tightening of the skin around her mouth as her teeth elongated and sharpened. "Get OFF me!" she snarled.

She left them standing there, staring after her as she stalked away into the comforting blackness of the night.

Buffy's eyes met Xander's, and a shared sense of urgency passed between them. Determination filled her gaze as she swiftly made her way over to Piper at the bar, her emotions brimming with concern and apprehension.

"Get Prue and Phoebe," Buffy urged, her voice tinged with urgency. "Meet us at the library. Tell them it's a family emergency. Willow has been turned," she explained, her words weighted with the gravity of the situation.

Piper's surprise was tinged with concern as she sought reassurance from Buffy. "You're sure?" she questioned.

Buffy's response was resolute, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. "Way sure," she affirmed, the memory of witnessing Willow's transformation haunting her. "Just saw her go into vampface."

Gateway High School

So many times in the past the library had been a place of comfort and refuge, but tonight it gave neither.

Even the familiar sight of Giles as he stepped out of his office to greet them didn't help.

"Ah, Buffy," he said. "I thought you were going out tonight, didn't expect…" His voice trailed off as they stood by the door, still unable to speak. Buffy could feel the wetness of tears on her cheek, and she knew by Giles's expression that he'd just noticed. She saw Giles's fingers tighten around the book he was holding until his knuckles went white. "What is it?" he asked as Prue, Piper and Phoebe walked through the door behind Buffy and Xander.

The sisters quickly moved to Buffy and pulled her into their arms.

The six of them sat on the library stairs, shoulders slumped, expressions blank and shocked.

"This isn't real," Xander said dully.

Buffy blinked, but even her eyelids were slow and unresponsive. "I can't feel anything. Arms, legs, or… anything."

Giles hung his head and stared at his feet. "She was truly… the finest of all of us."

"Way better than me," Xander put in.

Prue nodded. "Her telekinesis was coming along beautifully. She's almost mastered it in less time than it took me."

Buffy's fingers twisted together. "We just saw her at lunch. How could—"

Xander looked up. "It's all my fault."

Piper frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Xander shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Statistical probability?"

"No," Buffy said suddenly. "It's me—I'm the one who called her reliable. She must've gone out and gotten attacked, which she never would have done if I hadn't called her reliable, and now my best friend is—"

"What's going on?"

All six of them jerked as they looked up and saw Willow standing right in front of them.

"Jeez, who died?" Willow asked jokingly.

They were all staring at her as if she was a walking, talking ghost or something, or as if—

All the funny went running out of her. "Oh God," she said, distressed. "Who died?"

Phoebe's voice held a mix of urgency and concern as she glanced at Piper, her eyes silently pleading for a solution. "Freeze her," she suggested, hoping that Piper's power could stop the potentially dangerous situation.

Piper nodded, her heart racing with fear for their friend. She flicked her wrist at Willow, attempting to freeze the redhead, just as Phoebe had advised. But to her bewilderment, Willow remained unaffected by her power. "I can't," she said in confusion, her voice tinged with worry and uncertainty.

Xander leaped to his feet, then rushed at her with a cross waving wildly in one outstretched hand. "Back!" he shouted. "Get back, demon!"

Willow just stared at him, at the cross, then back at him. Thrown, he looked at the cross, then shook it as if it was a can of spray paint with a clogged nozzle. He tried again, shoving the holy object energetically at her face.

She simply stood there, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Willow?" Buffy rose from her spot on the library stairs. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before they shot open. She could sense Willow. She glanced at Prue, Piper and Phoebe. "I can sense her."

"That means she's alive," Prue said in realization.

Willow gave a halting smile. "Aren't I usually?"

Before Willow could say anything else, Buffy jumped forward and bear-hugged the redhead. Willow opened her mouth to ask what the deal was but got the wind knocked out of her again when Xander joined in, wrapping his arms around both Buffy and Willow and squeezing tightly.

It took a few seconds, but Willow found just enough air. "I love you guys, too," she managed to squeak. "Okay… oxygen becoming an issue—"

Buffy and Xander released Willow then and stepped back, staring at her as though she'd suddenly become encased in gold. Since they still weren't talking, Willow decided to try her luck with Giles. "What's going on with these guy—" But before she could finish, she was caught off guard by Giles' heartfelt embrace. The unexpected warmth of the hug sent a surge of emotions through her.

As Giles reluctantly let her go, he seemed to be taken aback by the depth of his own emotions, a hint of vulnerability showing through his usually composed demeanor. "Oh . . ."he said, as if he'd just realized what he done. "Sorry."

In the midst of the emotional reunion, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe approached Willow, their faces radiant with joy and relief. The sisters enveloped her in their loving embraces, a tangible expression of their unbreakable bond as they reveled in the fact that their dear friend was still alive and well.

No one said anything, but Buffy reached out and fingered a strand of Willow's hair, her expression amazed and grateful.

"It's… nice that you guys missed me." Willow eyed them cautiously. "Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did you?"

Xander's face was pale. "Will, we saw you at Payson's." He glanced at the others. "A… vampire."

"I am not a vampire!" Willow said heatedly.

"You are!" Buffy said, then must have heard her own words. "I—I mean, you were…" She looked at Giles a little desperately. "Giles, planning on jumping in with an explanation any time soon?"

"Oh," Giles said. "Well, something…" He looked around the library. No help there. "Something very strange is happening." Obviously clue-deprived.

Prue's eyes narrowed with a hint of impatience, her emotions running high from the recent events. She couldn't help but roll her eyes in frustration at Giles's lack of clarity. "That's helpful."

Xander tilted his head. "Can you believe the Watchers Council let this guy go?"

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Standing at the far end of the library counter, Willow pressed herself against the wall. A shudder worked its way up her spine. "This is creepy," she said. "I don't like the thought that there's some vampire out there who looks like me."

Xander folded his arms. "Not looks like—is."

"It's exactly you, Willow, every detail… except for your not being a dominatrix…" Buffy hesitated. "As far as we know."

Willow smiled ruefully. "Oh, right. Me and Oz play Mistress of Pain every night."

A few feet away, Giles frowned, and both Buffy and Xander looked disturbed. "Did anybody else just go to a scary visual place?" Xander asked slowly.

"Oh, yeah," Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe said as Giles raised his eyeglasses in agreement.

Willow started to remind them that this was ridiculous when Angel burst through the library doors and hurried up to Buffy. "Buffy, I…" He faltered, apparently trying to find the right words. "Something's happened that… Willow's dead."

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Xander and Buffy all nodded agreeably, then Angel glanced over at Willow.

"Hey, Willow," he said automatically. He turned back to Buffy, then jerked and looked back at Willow, then turned back to Buffy again. "Wait—"

Xander inclined his head. "We're right there with you, buddy."

"Buffy and Xander saw her, too," Prue told Angel.

"At Payson's," Buffy added.

Angel tried to regroup. "Okay. Well, she's there now—with a cadre of vampires looking to party."

Buffy got hastily to her feet. "She went back to my club?" she asked as Angel nodded. "Then we can worry about who she is after we stop the feeding frenzy."

It took only a few minutes for everyone to get their coats and weapons and head out. "How many were there?" Buffy asked as the group strode out of the library.

Angel thought about this for a moment. "Eight or ten."

Buffy looked to Giles. "Should we call Faith?"

Giles gave an emphatic shake of his head. "No. I don't want her in combat yet, not around civilians."

Prue nodded. "I have to agree with Rupert, Buffy."

"Here, here," Xander said.

"Uh, guys?" The tone of Willow's voice stopped them, and everyone turned and looked at her expectantly. "The…" She swallowed. "What are we going to do with… me? The… other me?"

No one answered, then Buffy stepped forward and touched her arm. "I don't know, Will," she said gently. "We just have to stop them."

"I get that," Willow said unhappily. "I just kind of wanted to know—oh!" A thought jumped into her head. "Hey—go! I'll catch up."

Willow let them start moving away and headed back to the library. Inside, she leaned over the counter, trying to see. It hadn't been used since the last time Oz had broken out on one of his werewolf nights, but if she remembered correctly, what she wanted ought to be right here somewhere—

A cold hand closed over her mouth and yanked her back as an arm, even colder, wrapped around her waist and held her tight. A silky voice, achingly familiar but with an undercurrent of darkness that Willow found completely petrifying, spoke into her ear.

"Alone at last…"

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Well, look at me. I'm all . . .fuzzy."

Vamp Willow let go, then spun Willow to face her. Horrified, Willow stared at the darker side of herself and tried to find something coherent to say. "What do I want with you? Uh, I mean—"

Vamp Willow regarded Willow from beneath half-closed lids. "Your little schoolfriend, Anya, said that you're the one who brought me here. She said that you could get me back to my world."

"Oh." For a moment, Willow didn't know what she was talking about. Then she remembered the temporal fold spell that Anya had claimed had failed. She winced. "Oh—oops."

Vamp Willow smiled darkly. "But I don't know…" She circled, her movements slinky and confident. When she was standing behind Willow again, she continued. "I kind of like the idea of two of us. We could be quite a team… if you came around to my way of thinking."

Willow cringed. "Would that mean we have to snuggle?"

"What do you say?" Vamp Willow twin asked, then unexpectedly licked Willow's neck. "Want to be bad?"

Willow tried to scrunch up her shoulders. "This just can't get any more disturbing!"

Vamp Willow growled playfully.

Willow ducked out from under the vampire's hold and whirled. "Okay—ick! Ick! No more—you're really starting to freak me out!" She tried to sidestep in the direction of the library doors, but the vampire moved with her, as if she instinctively knew what Willow would do. But she didn't know everything—

Willow snatched Xander's cross off the counter and brandished it, but her efforts got her only a vicious growl from her leather-clad twin. Before she could react, Vamp Willow reached out and slapped it out of her hand, then in one move lifted her and hurled her over the library counter. Willow landed in a heap on the other side, with probably two dozen places in her body screaming in pain.

"You don't want to play," Vamp Willow said poutily. "I guess I can't force you." She stepped through the doorway and started toward Willow. "Oh, wait—I can."

There—the thing she'd come back to the library to look for! Willow lunged forward and snatched the tranquilizer gun from its spot beneath the counter, aimed it at herself—her other self—and squeezed the trigger.

Vamp Willow looked at her in astonishment, then down at the dart embedded in her stomach. "Bitch," she said nastily.

She collapsed.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"It's extraordinary," Giles said.

Prue nodded. "You can say that again."

Willow had caught up with the Halliwells, Xander, Angel and Giles outside and called them back, and now she watched Angel drag the vampire version of herself into the cage.

"It's horrible," Willow said. "That's me as a vampire? I'm so… evil. And skanky." She glanced at Buffy in dismay. "And… and I think I'm kind of gay."

Buffy gave her a look that tried to be comforting. "Just remember—a vampire's personality has nothing to do with the person it was."

Angel looked over from where he and Xander were standing at the now-locked door of the cage. "Well, actually," he began, then his words sputtered out at Buffy's hard look and Willow's wide eyes. "Uh… that's a good point."

"What do we do now?" Piper asked.

"We still have to get to Payson's," Giles noted.

Angel nodded. "Even if they're supposed to wait for her, they might start feeding—vampires are not notoriously reliable."

Xander gave them all a lopsided grin. "So we charge in, much in the style of John Wayne?"

Prue clearly wasn't big on the idea. "High casualty risk. I haven't any other plan, though."

"Neither do I," Giles added.

Buffy chewed on her lip for a second, then held up her hand and gave Willow a little I'm-sorry-in-advance smile. "I have a really… bad idea."

Payson's

Angel jumped down from atop the Dumpster where he'd been peering through a high window and into the club. "They 're still in a holding pattern." He looked at Willow. "That's good—it means they must really be afraid of you."

"Who wouldn't be?" Willow indicated her outfit and tried to smile, but this… thing she was wearing—corset, piece of torture clothing, whatever they called it—seemed bent on curbing most of her muscular abilities. Never in the world would she have imagined herself in black leather and red satin.

Buffy must have picked up on her discomfort. "You okay in that?"

"It's a little… binding," Willow said. A corner of her mouth lifted. "I guess vampires really don't have to breathe." She squirmed, trying to get the folds and curves properly in place, then glanced down automatically. Yikes… cleavage. "Gosh," she said without thinking. "Look at those."

For a moment they all froze, accidentally doing exactly that. Then Giles cleared his throat. "Willow, you go in and defuse the situation as best you can. At least get some of them to come outside, even the odds a bit."

Willow nodded hesitantly, and Prue put a comforting hand on her arm. "First sign of trouble, you give us the signal. We'll come in hard and fast."

Xander glanced from Prue to Willow. "What's the signal?"

"Me screaming." Willow found a sickly smile.

Prue stepped forward. "Giles, you, Piper, Phoebe and Xander wait by the back entrance

"Right," Piper and Phoebe agreed, and the four of them moved quickly into the shadows.

Buffy studied Willow. "You sure you're up to this?"

"Don't worry," Willow told her friend. "I won't do anything that could be interpreted as brave."

"We'll be right outside," Prue assured her. "If all else fails don't forget you have one thing they don't. Don't hesitate to use your powers against them till we get there."

By all accounts that should have made Willow feel better, but that disappeared as soon as Buffy, Prue and Angel faded back and into the darkness. She took a deep breath, then knocked on the entrance. It was opened by a vampire.

"Hi," she said. "I'm back."

Her tone was a little on the cutesy edge, and he looked at Willow doubtfully but moved aside as she stepped forward, struggling mightily not to trip in the high-heeled platform boots and nearly doing so anyway on the door-jamb. Then he was closing the door behind her, cutting off her escape route. She glanced around the room, trying to look convincingly evil, then saw another, bigger vampire approach… along with, wonder of wonders, Anya.

"Did you find the girl?" the vampire grated.

The girl—he must be talking about the other her. "Yep," she said. "I did." Hmmm, her tone was still perhaps a little too bright here, not nearly mean and nasty.

"Where is she?" Anya asked eagerly.

"I… killed her," Willow said, then hesitated, trying to figure out why the other girl looked so distressed. "And sucked her blood, as we vampires do." She peered around, then glided up to the vamp who'd let her in a few seconds ago. "You know, I think maybe I heard something out there. Why don't you go check?"

He obeyed as Willow turned her attention back to Anya and the vampire who was apparently, next to Willow herself, the one in charge. "How could you kill her?" Anya demanded now. "She was our best shot at getting your world back!"

Willow pasted on her best scowl and circled Anya the same way Vamp Willow had circled her. "I don't like that you dare question me," she said ominously. "Maybe I'll… have my minions take you out back and kill you horribly." She came back around, locking eyes with Oz as she passed, then chancing a tiny smile and hidden wave. Relief flashed across his expression, and warmth filled her—he must have been scared plenty earlier when he saw the vampire version of Willow.

"Vampires," Anya said in disgust. "Always thinking with your teeth."

Willow glowered at her and made her expression petulant. "She… bothered me," she said, slowly working her way toward another of the guard-type bloodsuckers stationed here and there. "She's so weak and accommodating. It's pathetic… she's always letting people walk all over her, and then she gets cranky at her friends for no reason." She shrugged, momentarily enjoying the role of spoiled royalty.

"I just couldn't let her live." She stopped by another young vampire and patted him on the shoulder companionably. "You know, he's been gone for a while," she noted with a nod toward the side door. "Why don't you check on him?" With luck, he'd end up staked by Buffy, Prue and Angel, as the first one had no doubt been.

When she turned back, Anya was watching the guard leave with a perplexed expression, and the ringleader vampire was facing Willow. "Well, boss," he rasped. "Since that plan is out, why don't we get on with the killing?"

"I don't know if I… feel like killing anymore," Willow said, trying desperately not to sound nervous. "I'm so bored," she continued. She passed a girl sitting at a table and ran her hand through the girl's hair, trying to act like Vamp Willow would. Instead of looking sensuous, her fingers got stuck in a tangle and pulled; the poor girl was so petrified she didn't move a muscle while Willow freed her hand and moved on. She ambled through the crowd, trying not to feel self-conscious beneath Oz's penetrating gaze. "It would be like . . . shooting fish in a barrel," she finally said. "Where's the fun?"

The ringleader vampire lifted his chin. "With all due respect, boss—the fun would be the eating."

Willow floundered for a moment, trying to think of a comeback. "Maybe we should let everyone go and… give them a thirty-second head start—"

"Wait a minute," Anya said. Realization slid over her features.

"No," Willow interrupted, trying to put anger in her voice. "I like my plan!"

Anya rolled her eyes. "Oh, nice try."

"Okay," Willow said hastily. "Let's get to the killing." She pointed at Anya. "Why don't we start with her?"

Anya wasn't the least bit intimidated. "Why don't we start with you?" She glanced at the vampire standing next to her, then sneered at Willow. "If she's a vampire, I'm the Creature from the Black Lagoon!"

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Anya and the vampire—Willow had heard someone call him Alphonse—were slowly converging on her.

"I am just so tired of being around human beings and all their garbage—I don't care if I ever get my powers back." Anya hugged herself and sent Willow a cranky glance. "I think he should eat you."

"This girl has a history of mental problems dating back to early childhood," Willow said hotly. "I'm a bloodsucking fiend!" When they still didn't seem convinced, Willow gestured at the black and red getup she was wearing. "Look at my outfit!"

Alphonse shook his head. "A human—I should have smelled it right away."

Uh-oh. Time for drastic measures. "A human?" Willow demanded. "Oh, yeah? Could a human do this?" She screamed as loud as she could.

Anya and Alphonse looked at each other. Alphonse shrugged. "I'd say yeah, a human could do that."

"Uh-huh," Anya said at the same time. "Most humans could, yeah."

They turned to look at Willow. The hulking Alphonse started forward, then—thank goodness—Buffy, Prue and Angel burst through the front door and the battle began.

Buffy and Alphonse went at it, exchanging vicious blows as Angel and Prue began pummeling the vamps by the counter. An instant later Willow saw Giles, Piper, Phoebe and Xander crash through the back entrance; Xander grabbed

the nearest bloodsucker, and the Giles lunged in for the kill with a handy swipe of his stake.

Customers ran in every direction, some fleeing out the now unguarded entrances, others cowering beneath the pool tables.

Anya must have decided it was time to leave, too, because she turned to run, then jerked to a stop directly in front of Willow. Willow glared at her, then drew her fist back and punched the girl solidly in the nose.

Anya crumbled, then Willow realized just how badly that had hurt. "Ow—ow! It's all happy but ow!"

Suddenly Oz and Phoebe were there and pulling Anya up onto the stage, where Devon had abandoned his hiding place behind the drum set and was now trying to climb the ropes to the skylight.

Realizing he wasn't going to make it, Devon half fell to the floor, then scrambled after Phoebe, Willow and Oz toward the back door. They'd almost gotten there—

—when Vamp Willow marched through it and tossed Oz into Devon as if Oz was a bowling ball and his band partner was the pin.

On the floor below, Buffy, Prue, Piper and the others were still energetically fighting the good fight.

Willow faced Vamp Willow and swallowed. "No more snuggles?"

Vampire Willow tackled her, and Willow went down. She tried, but her struggles were pretty useless against the strength of her darker self—in less than two seconds the vampire had wrapped her hands around Willow's throat and was trying to strangle her.

Willow's vision was tumbling around wildly, and she was running out of air, but out of the corner of her eye, Willow saw Buffy glance her way and realize what was happening. She hit another vampire, then backstabbed with the pool cue; before Alphonse's dust had even fallen to the floor a fireball had formed in Buffy's hand. Buffy leaped up onto the stage. She hefted the fireball ready to fling it right at Vampire Willow's back—

"Buffy, no!"

—and extinguished the fireball at Willow's cry.

Her friend hauled the vampire up and arm-locked her. Vampire Willow started to struggle, then realized that what was left of her mini-army was either dead or had hightailed it. Defeat flashed across her face.

"Nice reflexes," Willow said to Buffy as she got up.

Buffy gave her a little smile. "Well I can create a fireball and uncreate at a moment's thought."

Willow turned to her dark twin, who just looked morose.

"This world's no fun."

Incredible as it might seem, Willow could relate. "You noticed that, too?"

Abandoned Plant

They were all in the abandoned plant where Vamp Willow had said she'd woken up. Willow had her own clothes back and, with a grouchy expression on her face, Anya finished up the preparations for a returning spell under Giles and Prue's watchful eyes.

Willow smiled to herself as she saw Xander sidle up to Vampire Willow. "So," he said in a gloating tone, "in your reality I'm like this bad-ass vampire, huh? People are afraid of me?"

Vamp Willow gave him a withering look and said nothing.

"Oh, yeah," Xander said, and swaggered away. "I'm bad."

"I'm not sure about releasing this thing into the wild, Will," Buffy said at her side. "It is a demon."

"I just can't… kill her," Willow admitted.

Piper stepped up next to Buffy and put a comforting hand to her sister's shoulder.

Buffy glanced silently at Piper for a moment before nodding understanding. "No," she finally said. "Me, neither."

"I mean, I know she's not me—we have a big nothing in common—but still…" Willow began.

"There but for the grace of getting bit," Buffy said softly.

Willow studied herself from across the circle of magic being worked out on the floor. "We send her to her world, she has a chance. It's the way it should be, anyway."

"I think we're about ready here," Giles said from the floor. Oz leaned over and added something to the circle, then scooted back. Giles gave Anya a sharp look. "Don't you try any tricks, Anyanka, dear."

"I don't need tricks," Anya said sullenly. "When I have my powers back, you will all grovel before me."

Willow made a dismissive sound, then realized Vamp Willow had made exactly the same noise, at the same time.

"If you Willows would complete the circle…" Prue instructed.

Willow started to sit where she'd been told, then she turned back to her twin. "Good luck," she offered. "Try not to kill people."

They stared at each other for a second, then Willow gave in to the impulse to hug her—after all, she was kind of like a sister, only the bad one in the family. After a moment's hesitation, the vampire returned the embrace.

Willow jerked. "Hands!" she admonished. "Hands!"

Before joining the circle, Vampire Willow only gave her a sweet and wicked smile.

March 9, 1999 – Tuesday

Gateway High School

They were sitting on a bench outside the high school, waiting for the bell to ring. It was a beautiful day—sunny, warm, and filled with happy, laughing students rushing from class to class around them.

Willow, however, didn't feel happy at all. "Strangely, I feel like staying at home. And doing my homework. And flossing. And dying a virgin."

Buffy gave her a sidelong glance. "You know, you can OD on virtue."

Willow wasn't swayed. "Between me and my evil self, I have double guilt coupons. I see now where the path of vice leads—she messed up everything she touched. I don't ever want to be like that."

A shadow fell over them, and when Willow lifted her head she saw Percy standing there. "Hey, uh, hi," he said.

"Oh, hi, Percy." Inwardly Willow winced. "Listen, I didn't have a chance to—"

"Okay," he said, cutting her off, "so I did the outline for the paper on Roosevelt." He thrust a piece of paper at her. "It turns out there were two President Roosevelts, so I didn't know exactly which I was supposed to do… so I did both." He held out another sheet of paper. "And I know they're kind of short, but I can flesh them out. Oh, and here's my bibliography."

Speechless, Willow accepted yet a third piece of paper as Percy shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "And I can retype that if you want," he offered. "You just let me know what I did wrong, and—and I'll get on that." He turned and hurried away, leaving Willow to sit and stare at the completed schoolwork in amazement.

Willow started to say something to Buffy, then realized Percy had come back. He leaned over and carefully placed a shiny red apple atop the papers on her lap, then took off again.

Willow and Buffy sat there without speaking for a few moments. Finally, Buffy asked, "You want to go out tonight?"

Willow looked at the apple, then to where Percy was hurrying away. "Nine sound good?"