The first to find her way to the Library after school was of course, Willow, who immediately began babbling and demanding answers when she saw the second Xander. Who whistled loudly and got glared at by both Faith and the local Xander.

"I'm not repeating myself, Willow." The younger Xander informed her. "I'll explain when Cordy and Buffy get here. A lot of what I have to say involves Buffy directly, so you don't get to hear it before she does."

Willow subsided and took a seat at the table and patiently waited for the other two to arrive. Buffy arrived next and also demanded answers.

"I've confirmed he's also Xander Harris." Giles told her. "And he was brought here accidentally by a miscast spell. He has a story of his own to tell us and we will wait until Cordelia arrives before asking him to do so." He explained about Amy.

"But -."

"Buffy, it's just a few minutes." Local Xander told her, she glared at them and them grumpily took a seat herself. Cordelia did indeed arrive a few minutes. She pushed open the doors of the Library and stopped as her brain tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

"Buffy, what the Hell did you do now?!" She demanded.

"I didn't do this!" Buffy protested. "Anyanka tricked Amy into helping her cast a spell to try to get her power center back. It went wrong and now we've got two Xanders."

"Temporarily." The younger one said. "Because I'm going home to my Cordy, no ifs, ands or buts about that."

"Okay, than explain why you haven't gone back yet, is it because of this story you want to tell us?" Buffy asked.

"Well, that and we have to find Anyanka. But what I have to tell you involves you, Buffy."

"What about me?" Buffy asked.

"When you made that wish, the one that turned him into a non demon, non dead fictional version of a vampire, the wording of your wish was for him to know what you and what Angel felt being what you two are. That was technically two wishes because he couldn't experience both Angel's and your's existence. In my reality, Anyanka granted the part that applied to you. She made me a fictional version of a vampire Slayer, known as a vampire Executioner, also straight out of a romance novel, verses the real life version, which is you and Angel."

"You're a vampire Slayer?" Buffy said incredulously.

"Yep, complete with a magical ability called necromancy, I can sense and control the dead, like vampires. But your wish didn't just screw me over, Buffy."

"What do you mean?"

"The Slayer is a Legacy Power, extending back thousands of years, in order to make me a fictionalized made real version of you, I had to become the first of a new Legacy Power. All over the world there are now thousands of boys, Potentials, waiting to be Called as the next vampire Executioner. One of them will inherit the Power when I die and it can't be undone."

Giles shakily took a seat in one of the Library chairs as he considered Xander's story. "Are you a replacement for the Slayers?"

"No, D'Hoffryn, Anyanka's boss, thought it and the potential consequences too much fun to undo it, so Giles, our Giles, went to see the Spirit Guides, who exist outside time and space and they told him, balance must be maintained, so they laid down the same laws for the Executioner as for the Slayer. There can be only one, the world doesn't need and never did need the Slayer or the Executioner, in real life, since humans are quite capable of dealing with vampires themselves. Humans created the Slayer and it was felt that her existence creates an imbalance, so to limit that imbalance there can be only one. The same with the Executioner."

"That doesn't make any sense." Buffy said angrily. "Especially since there are two of us."

"Not as far the universe is concerned, you're an extra, Buffy. The line wasn't split when I revived you, it continued through Kendra and now Faith. And your existence has caused the balance to be thrown off even more."

"How?" Giles asked, dreading the answer.

"People are dead who wouldn't be dead because of the choices Buffy made, which stems from the choice I made when I forced Angel to show me the way to the Master's lair and revived Buffy. We have to balance out the imbalance created by all the death our choices have created."

"Is that why I have to stay a techno vampire, an immortal?" Local Xander asked. "Our reality's version of balance?"

"Possibly, but you can create more immortals and Executioners routinely go up against supernatural beings that outclass anything Buffy's ever had to deal with, including the Master and we outlive Slayers, so our curses aren't quite as bad as hers or Angel's are."

"But we still don't get a choice."

"No, unfortunately, we don't. Humans created the Slayer and Buffy's wish created the Executioner, both Buffy and I have made choices that have impacted other people's lives and choice is taken from us. Because someone, somewhere thinks things need to be kept in balance."