The notes started arriving on a near weekly basis after that, starting with one about Spike.

'Spike, who returned to Sunnydale recently claiming to have regained his soul somehow, apparently on purpose and he never did say how. A claim that went as unverified as Angel's did, has been caught killing and turning people. He took Buffy to a house, where he told her he killed the owner and several other people and buried them in the basement. He attacked her and the people he buried rose and attacked her too. Buffy dusted all of them except Spike. She brought him back to the house, tied him to a chair and fed him a blood bag. She insists some one was talking to him and it's not his fault. She may or may not be right, but regardless, Spike is killing and turning people. We have no proof he has his soul and he's a proven danger. At this point, given the evidence, she should have just dusted him. She didn't.'

"I'd have to agree with other me." Xander said. "Given the evidence, he should be been dusted. Hell, just being a vampire should have gotten him dusted years before. Just like every other vampire we run into. Except Angel."

"I just hope other vampires didn't realize that if they tell Buffy they have a soul, she won't bother to verify their claim and not dust them too." Cordelia snarked.

"You would think I would have learned my lesson after not verifying any of Angel's claims." Giles remarked.

"I wonder why I was so resistant?" Buffy asked. "Like Giles not understanding why he wouldn't support Faith back when we got the note about us accidentally killing a human. He didn't understand other him's choices. I feel the same way, I don't understand other me's choices. Both Xander's are right, he was a proven danger, I should never have given him a chance. The risk was too great."

"Are there other ways to get a soul back, beside the curse?" Faith asked.

"Yes." Giles said. "Just like there are several ways to lose it. But I don't see a demon ever willingly choosing to gain a soul. And a vampire is a demon animated corpse, after all."

The next week brought another disturbing note.

'Today we discovered Andrew Wells is back in town. He and Johnathan escaped back when Willow was on her killing spree. We found out Andrew killed Johnathan. Killed him because an invisible Warren told him it would make them 'One With The Force' as in Star Wars. We weren't sure if he'd lost touch with reality or if he was haunted by a dead person like we were. Buffy tied him to a chair in the room next to Spike. Spike broke loose, crashed through the wall, and tried to kill Andrew. She's chained Spike in the basement. She says someone was talking to him again. His behavior reminds me of triggering.'

"Triggering?" Buffy questioned. "What's triggering?"

"Physiological triggering." Xander answered. "Someone deliberately induces a programmed response. Sounds like Spike was being manipulated by his invisible friend to behave a certain way when things are said or done. It would make him even more dangerous in the short term. Maybe other you thought the risk was worth it to get information on whoever was doing it. Sounds like it was all related, the dead talking to the other Scoobies, Andrew and Spike. In the long run, getting information from Spike might be worth it. Depends on the information though."

The next week another note appeared.

'A strange vampire that doesn't need an invitation to get into a person's house broke in and kidnapped Spike. Giles called it a Turikkhan, some kind of mythical vampire that turns out to be real and apparently from another dimension. It's what Andrew killed Johnathan to let loose. We just called it an Unbervamp. It beat the shit out of Buffy and left her for dead, never bothered to feed on her. Giles showed up today with three Potentials with him. Our enemy has a name or rather a grandiose title. The First, it claims it invented evil. It's declared war on the Watchers Council and the Slayers. The Watchers Council's headquarters was blown up. About the only thing I can say that's positive about all of this is Quentin Travers is dead.'

"Who's Quentin Travers?" Buffy asked.

"Head of the Council." Giles answered. "He was the one who wanted the Cruciamentum done. The one that would have placed Joyce in danger. Pompous, arrogant ass."

"And the First?" Faith asked. "Can it's claims be verified?"

"I don't see how, evil is a concept, a belief. It's existed side by side with good since the beginning of time. I have a few references that refer to the First, I'll consult them. I believe it needs to be summoned and is incorporeal, like Eyghon. Who might have summoned it?" Giles wondered. "I've heard of Turikkhans, they are a myth. I never expected to find out they're real, but them being from another dimension explains why they're virtually unknown on Earth. Someone must have allowed them entrance here at one time."

"Sounds like things were getting really bad, Giles." Willow said. "Ubervamps that don't need invitations and an incorporeal being that someone summoned. The Slayers and the Watchers Council under attack."

"Humans were working with it." Xander said. "Humans summoned it and humans blew up the Watchers Council. Someone or someone's sold out the human race. I wonder who?"

"I doubt we'll ever know." Giles answered. "Other Xander has made significant changes to the timeline, after all. Perhaps in an effort to stop the First's agenda. We may finally be getting to the point where we find out why he went to all this trouble to change the timeline."