Author's Note: I was always intrigued by the scenario presented in the first episode of Season Six of Buffy. Suddenly the slayer who had been at the centre of all the main characters' lives was just gone. The group dynamic had to change entirely to adapt to continue to fight evil, whilst teaching Buffybot how to try and replace Buffy to some degree - but all in mind of Buffy returning, never really accepting her loss. Change the outcome of a tenuous ritual - and an entirely different path might form. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave a review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the characters, all credit to Joss Whedon.

Chapter 1: Never Be Exactly

"We just can't have her messing up in front of the wrong person," Giles explained kindly, as the Scooby Gang briskly walked towards the cemetery gate. "Or the wrong thing. We need the world - and the underworld - to believe Buffy is alive and well."

And I will therefore fix it," Willow assured him, frustration creeping into her voice. "I got her head back on, didn't I? And I got her off the knock-knock jokes ..."

"Ooh! Who's there?" Buffy-bot asked with breathless excitement, her almost perpetual smile extending into a cheesy grin.

None of the group looked at her. Giles shot Willow a questioning look, whilst Spike merely closed his eyes, resigned.

"You know, if we want her to be exactly…" Xander began, before Spike swiftly cut him off.

"She'll never be exactly."

"I know," Xander agreed, not even stopping to note how rare it was that he and Spike would share the same mind on anything, let alone Buffy.

"The only really real Buffy - is really... Buffy." Tara added sadly.

"And she's gone" Giles finished, widening his strides and vanishing ahead of the others.

Buffy stopped.

"If we want her to be exactly - she'll never be exactly, I know the only really real Buffy is really Buffy
and she's gone who?"

No-one answered her.

Sunnydale was burning.

The chaos had turned cars into shrivelled husks, the upholstery still spilling choking fumes into the air as the windscreens cracked violently under the intense heat. Trash flooded the streets and sidewalks besides mournful, wrecked storefronts, the horror harmonised in the distance by the echoes of screams. Gangs of Hellions demons, identified by their goblin-like ears and repulsive orange skin seemed to patrol every street-corner, ravaging every house, shop or human they could find, revelling in the ecstasy of destruction, pain and terror they left streaming in their wake.

"That doesn't belong to you." Buffy said sternly, stepping towards the nearest invader, her hands placed firmly atop her hips.

The bald, tattooed demon turned away from the shop-window it had just smashed, fixing her with a loathing grimace of sharp, narrow fangs. Without uttering a word, the creature raised its face to the sky and let out a visceral screech which tore into the air all around her, summoning its fellow creatures from out of doors and alleyways, from rooftops and broken windows.

As their imposing leader began to approach her, a growl low in his throat, several of the other leather-clad demons encircled her menacingly, bats and chains clenched firmly in their grasp.

"Slayer…" the leader drawled, holding each syllable as if savouring a foul flavour. "I've been hearing interesting things about you…"

"I am interesting," Buffy agreed. She took in her surroundings, glancing at each of the demons around her. "Are these your friends?"

"They're my boys yeah…" he answered cautiously, fixing her with his dark crimson eyes.

Buffy was glad about that. Spike, Dawn, Willow – even Giles had been avoiding looking at her in the eyes recently. She couldn't understand why. If even her enemies wouldn't look at her, something must be really wrong, and she'd have to go to Willow right away.

"Good," Buffy decided. "Tell them to get on their loud bicycles and go back to wherever they came from."

"Or what? You'll electrocute us?" The leader asked mockingly, before promptly striking Buffy hard across the face, driving her backwards into the grasping arms of his underlings.

"Hold her!" He ordered them, once again stepping within a breath's distance of where Buffy stood restrained.

Suddenly, vicious, jagged three-inch blades erupted from his fingers, and as if in response his smile became a sadistic grin. He slashed Buffy hard across the chest, revealing the silver metal and blinking green and red components below her skin.

"You're nothing but a toy," He baited her. "A pretty toy…"

He leaned in closer, so far that her olfactory systems could detect mixture of alcohol and decay in his breath.

"Wanna play?" He asked sadistically, reaching out with his clawed hand as if to stroke her face.

The time was right to slay. With lightning speed, Buffy struck the demon between the legs with her knee, causing him to double over sharply with a grunt. Before he had a moment to recover, she flipped over backwards, kicking him in the face as she spun through the air. The other creatures which had held her firm lost their grip on her as she moved, and Buffy knocked each of them to the side effortlessly.

"I would," Buffy answered politely, "but you injured me. I have to report to Willow."

So, the fight began in earnest. The Hellions tried to attack her all at once, but Buffy either dodged the wild swings as they came in, or moved with the enemies' momentum, driving them to the ground. Several well aimed punches and kicks cleared the dozen demons from her path, and she sped off down the road. She had to see Willow.

"Get her!" The battered demon leader shouted wildly at his minions, thrashing one arm against the ground he was lying on. "RIDE!"

Willow was nearby. Buffy could always find her; ever since the wicca had overridden her location program. Therefore, it wasn't long before Buffy sprinted off the Sunnydale road, diving through bushes and snapping several branches before bursting out into the cemetery.

It wasn't just Willow. Tara, Xander and Anya were there too. They knelt in a circle, candles cradled between their hands. Buffy had no clue why they were here. Willow hadn't told her anything about it, which she always did - whilst Buffy was activated at least. Within a few milliseconds she reasoned that it must not be anything important.

"Willow!" She called out helpfully. "I need service!"

Something wasn't right with Willow. She was engulfed in a spinning torrent of sanguine flame, which span upwards in a great column ripping into the sky. Buffy was almost sure this wasn't normal. It wasn't in her program files. She barely had a second to process the information however, before she detected the roar of the hellish motorcycles, crashing through the undergrowth behind her. Buffy sprang away from the group, trying to keep the demons from trampling her friends.

She had barely travelled a few metres before the demons started to circle her on their bikes, driving dirt into the air wherever their tires ravaged the earth beneath them. Suddenly, Buffy heard a shattering sound, and Willow collapsed to the ground with a scream, falling out of the scarlet pillar which vanished as soon as she hit the ground, unconscious. The bikes continued to separate Buffy from Willow and the others, driving her further and further away. Between the menacing forms of the mounted demons, she saw Xander scoop Willow up in his arms, disappearing into the undergrowth.

Her programming was starting to freeze up. She had to return to Willow – yet Willow was not conscious, and therefore could not repair her. If Willow could not repair her, she was not permitted to slay – unless they were stopping her trying to reach Willow.

One of the demons struck Buffy's face whilst mounted.

"I'm dangerously close… to system failure! I have to disengage from…"

Another one of them struck her in the shoulder. Buffy's mind was beginning to overload

"From… combat until Willow can service me!"

The leader finally emerged into the cemetery, his vehicle roaring cruelly in harmony with the others.

"I'll service you toy-girl!"

With that, the Hellion cast a rattling chain from one hand, wrapping itself around Buffy's leg and tearing her roughly from her feet. As the demons began to leap from their bikes and pummel every inch of her body, all Buffy could think about was where her friends had gone.

As her navigation and detection systems began to confuse themselves, she saw a pointy-eared shadow pass over her.

"Say hello to your new home boys…" Razor growled, spreading his arms and basking in the victory. Behind him, an old pick-up truck was entirely aflame, increasing his presence ten-fold in front of all his men as their bikes formed a circle around him. The burning, rusted drums which were haphazardly placed around the main pyre almost gave a ritualistic impression.

The home of the slayer herself was his now. They would hunt every human in Sunnydale, take their pleasure from them – chase them down for sport, and eventually ride out – the legacy of their deeds lying out behind them for a mile in every direction.

The Hellions gang raised their torches in triumph, crying out with joyous exaltation. It was time for a speech. He didn't feel the need – or the want at that – to give them very often, but he was in that special stage of drinking and slaughtering where his thoughts were all clear. And it never hurt to remind them who had provided all this.

"This here is a momentous occasion. The beginning of a new era. Now, no question the open backroads and highways have been good to us, but we got ourselves a juicy little burgh just ripe for picking... And I ain't in no hurry to leave. Are you?"

Another resounding cheer went up from the crowd, with several of the Hellions roaring their engines in salute.

"So I figured what better way to kick off our semi-settling down than with a little christening..."

He signalled to Mag and the other riders with a nod, who began to snigger, attaching the chains to the rear of their bikes.

"A symbolic act commemorating the new order around here... And ridding ourselves of any not so
pleasant reminders of the old..."

Razor drew out a thirty-eight-calibre revolver, brushing off the dust and loading a bullet into the chamber as the crowd looked on hungrily.

"All in one, quick, really really violent, fell swoop." He smacked the chamber closed as he finished, as if to emphasise the message. "Gentlemen…. Start your engines!"

Razor paused for a moment as he looked over at his prey. As his eyes bore into her pathetic female frame, he felt the ache in his jaw and his groin resurface. He would enjoy this part most of all. Each one of the toy's limbs was tied to a different motorcycle, each poised to ride off in a different direction.

A grimace spreading across his pock-marked face, Razor pulled the trigger.

It didn't exactly hurt. Buffy couldn't feel pain after all. Yet she found the sensation of being ripped apart on all sides rather disorientating, nonetheless. Right up until the last moment she had expected to see Willow, Tara, Giles or Spike come to her aid, as they had every time during her allotted slaying periods. She kept her eyes on the entrances to the parking lot, but no-one arrived to help. It left her more confused than anything else.

After the bikers lost interest in laughing at her broken body, there was quiet for a while. Buffy couldn't move, only listen to the crackling of the flames from the nearby rusty drums or the desiccated truck. For the first time, Buffy had to just wait. She couldn't follow her programming, or report to Willow – and her shut down command appeared to be malfunctioning from all the damage she had taken.

She could only wait, and think – as best as her programming allowed. She thought about her sister. She thought about Spike. And even more than either, she thought about Buffy. Not herself that is, but the other Buffy. The Buffy that had come before.

Eventually, the sound of another motorbike approaching broke through her thoughts. Buffy lifted her head slightly, trying to make out who it was who had returned for her. Then, she smiled.

"Dawn," the robot acknowledged, her eyes widening slightly. "You're my sister Dawn…"

Dawn looked at her with an unfathomable expression. At first, her lips curled upwards in a smile, but then fell again in less than a moment. Buffy's empathetic programming did not prepare her for such an immediate contradiction.

"Tsk. Look what those filthy buggers 've done to you…" Spike said simply, lifting one of Buffy's dismembered legs and turning it over in his arms, preferring to cast his eyes over the mangled mess of pipes and wires which poured out of the upper thigh than look down at her. After a few moments the vampire cast the limb aside callously.

"I am damaged. I need to return to Willow!" Buffy informed him helpfully, creasing her brow in concentration. "But I can't walk. I need you to take me Spike!" Her shoulder spasmed and sparked as she spoke, and her neck began to twitch if she tried to move more than her face.

A strange look crossed Spike's sharp features. "Willow's slap and paste job's not gonna do the trick this time." He looked over at Dawn. "Robot's done."

"No," Dawn insisted, running a finger through Buffy's golden hair. "No…"

"It's just a machine, Dawn." Spike soothed her, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"I know!" She snapped at him, before her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know…"

Dawn continued to caress the machine's hair, trying to cling to the last remnant of Buffy that remained to her.

The kitchen was filled with morning smells. Buffy was vigorously lathering peanut butter and jelly onto an ever-growing castle of prepared sandwiches, whilst Tara worked at the stove behind her. Buffy enjoyed watching the pile grow higher and higher, knowing that each one she made would make her friends happy.

"Morning!" Willow greeted them, raising her eyes to Buffy's. Buffy grinned, returning the greeting with her usual enthusiasm.

"I was thinking we could go over your programming again," Willow began, before Tara politely interceded.

"Again? You've done all you can, sweetie. She's either ready to face this thing or she's not."

Dawn swept into the room, seating herself on the opposite side of the table to Buffy and starting to pick at the fruit and orange juice laid out for her.

"Who's going to eat all that?" Dawn remarked, furrowing her brow as she finally noticed the slightly leaning edible fortress which had begun to loom over her menacingly.

"Oh," Tara apologised "Oops. She wanted to help. I got her started but then I forgot to un-start..."

Buffy nodded in understanding, though Tara quickly set about removing Buffy's building materials nonetheless.

It wasn't long before Xander joined them, swaggering through the rear door; toolbox in hand. He seemed only too happy to receive the eight sandwiches Buffy placed in his grasp with an eager smile.

"So… what brings you here your 'macho-ness'?" Willow asked dryly, as Xander greedily inhaled the first of the sandwiches.

"I got that soldering wire you wanted. For Buffy-bot's tune-up."

Buffy liked that. Her friends were always thinking of her. They often spoke of how much they missed her. Even when she was there!

The phone began to ring.

"I'll get it!" Buffy volunteered, rushing towards the phone-hook gleefully.

"No!" the three other women shouted, Willow placing herself between Buffy and the ringing.

The smile fell from Buffy's face.

"It could be my dad," Dawn explained, choosing to address Willow rather than Buffy. "He said he'd call today."

"I'll just say hello!" Buffy assured them, her smile tentatively creeping back alongside a series of tiny nods. "He's my biological ancestor!"

Dawn and Willow looked at each other, but said nothing. Buffy didn't understand.

It was Anya. Buffy didn't know what the 'thing for tonight' they were discussing was, but it didn't matter. She trusted Willow. She was a witch after all, and also gay (1999-Present)!

After Willow had finished speaking, she turned to face Buffy once more.

"Maybe you should just let the machine - the... other machine - get the phone from now on, okay?"

Buffy's eyebrows shot up in concern. "Is my phone manner not correct?"

"It's perfect," Tara assured her softly, seemingly sensing her sprouting disquiet. "It's just… we can't take the chance that Mr. Summers might talk to you and know something's wrong."

Something's wrong. The thought did not make Buffy happy. What was wrong? Was she wrong?

"If he thought that the real Buffy was gone, he could take Dawn away." Xander added, his serious tone only somewhat upset by the surviving segments of sandwich still in his mouth.

The other Buffy. The 'real' Buffy.

"And I want to stay here," Dawn told her. "With you and Willow and Tara. Understand?"

Buffy nodded, grinning earnestly once more. "I do! I want you to stay as well. You're my sister!"

Buffy crossed the room around the table, and enveloped Dawn in a vigorous hug. Dawn seemed to hesitate for a moment before she returned it, placing her hands on Buffy's arm, gently caressing it with her thumb.

Buffy was happy again.

Spike only watched Dawn try to lift the bot for a handful of a seconds before he gave in. He made a show of rolling his eyes before putting her torso over one shoulder, and scooping up what remained of the rest of her shattered form with his free hand and passing them to Dawn.

"Do me a favour will you, and keep your mouth shut." He ordered the robot callously. Last thing I need right now is you flapping your plastic gums…"

"Anything for you Spike," the bot assured him in a familiar tone which immediately set his teeth on edge.

He hated the machine at moments like this. He hated everything she was and represented, right down to that stupid grin spreading over her face like a disease whenever she looked at him. She reminded Spike of his lowest moments, exposing his twisted obsession before the people he hated. Worse still, she reminded him of everything he would never see again; Buffy. The real Buffy, not this metal and plastic whore-bot who couldn't navigate her way from one thought to the next without a roadmap.

"Spike?" She asked him a few moments later, the word strangely slurred as he balanced her in front of him on the motorbike.

He exhaled forcefully. "I thought I told you to shut –"

"I'm tired..."

The world fell away from her, and Buffy fell silent.

"Just ... How are we supposed to fight these guys?" Anya asked in exasperation, looking desperately around the main room of the Magic Box at the other Scoobies. When no-one interrupted her, her frantic plea continued.

"I mean, we can handle a vampire or two, sure, but we've got a cavalcade of demons here. This is... It takes... I mean, we need..."

Xander knew exactly what she was getting at. "Buffy."

"Buffy?" Willow repeated, her face contorting as tears of frustration began to moisten her green eyes. "Buffy is not coming back. We failed."

A silence, thick with dread and the truth of their situation swiftly filled the room. They had failed. It was only just beginning to sink in that she was really gone. Every day for months they had planned to bring her back, and even through their recent doubts Willow had held them true to their course. But it was all for nothing. They had failed, and Sunnydale was paying the price.

"So... We're it, gang." Willow stated matter-of-factly as she stood, swiftly trying to pull herself together for the others' sake. "Xander, grab some weapons. We're going to find Dawn and Spike."

"Evening all," Spike announced with wry cheeriness, bringing the motorbike to a stiff halt before leaping nonchalantly from the saddle, the Buffy-bot under his arm. "Nice night for walking around in alleys, huh?"

"Spike," Tara replied, a combination of surprise and relief. "How did you know we were here?"

Spike narrowed his eyes, his mouth opening slightly in disbelief. "Oh, I'm sorry, where else in this bloody town do you people go? And its not like any of you have had a social life since…"

Spike paused, lowering his eyes to the floor for a moment. "You're predictable, get over it. Now shove off out the way."

With that, Spike barrelled passed the group, storming back towards the back entrance to the Magic box. Dawn followed close behind him, shooting a sympathetic smile at the slightly cowed Scoobies.

"Yknow, I'm pretty sure we voted to put her in charge," Xander blurted out, pointing his arm towards Willow. "cause I sure as hell don't remember giving emergency powers to 'General Spike' over there…"

Willow simply sighed and folded her arms, before leading the remaining Scoobies inside. She was too tired to fight, and she'd lost enough for one day.

Tara prised open the blinds ever so slightly, peeking out onto the street beyond the shop window. She could see at least four demons, chucking books out of the opposite building's shattered store window, only to be swallowed by the ravenous fires waiting on the sidewalk.

"I d-don't know how safe we'll be here. These guys don't seem like they're going to go away."

Spike turned to Willow. "Can't you just, yknow, create a bubble around the store? Like you did back in the Glory days with those Byzantine wankers" He stretched out his fingers into an expanding bubble shape to emphasise his point. "Force-field thing"

"I – I don't know. I'm kinda running low on magical energy right now. The incantation back there was… pretty intense."

Dawn shot Willow a quizzical look, but the conversation quickly moved on.

"Well why can't she do it?" Anya pointed out bluntly, gesturing to Tara. Tara's face dropped to the floor in response, twiddling her fingers awkwardly as the room's attention shifted entirely onto her.

"I-I mean I could, probably," she stuttered. "I mean I'm not as powerful as Willow but… but well I don't know the spell off-hand"

Xander raised a hand. "Can't Willow just… tell you the words?"

Willow gave him a slightly withering look. "There's a lot more to magic than just knowing the words Xander…"

"Well… we are in a magic shop, right?" Dawn piped in. "Couldn't you find the spell around here somewhere?"

"Good to see at least the little bit hasn't dropped her brain somewhere along the way tonight.." Spike remarked coldly, grabbing a book from the round table and shoving it roughly into Xander's arms. "Get started."

"I guess interrogating books isn't really your specialty, huh Spike?" Xander shot back as he slumped into the nearest chair, and began to flip it open.

Anya quickly rushed behind the checkout to find the inventory, whilst Dawn sat beside Xander, picking up another book from the table. Willow tried to focus on her breathing, trying to centre herself. She moved her gaze steadily over the shop, taking in their current situation, until something demanded her attention. It was the Buffybot, or rather, what was left of it. Spike had left the remaining head and Torso leaning against one of the shelves, equally inanimate as the Buddha head and a row of small, brightly coloured figurines just above her. At its feet lay a collection of shattered, severed limbs.

"Jeez, what happened to her?" Willow asked, wiping a dishevelled lock of red hair from her eyes.

"Ripped her to bloody pieces is what happened. Brutal like." Spike answered from across the room, before moving to shove one of the nearest shelves in front of the main entrance.

Moving as though every step cost great amounts of energy, Willow crouched down beside the damaged robot, examining each of the dismembered limbs in turn.

"Can you do anything for her?" Dawn asked, raising her head from the enormous leather-bound tome.

"I'm sorry Dawny…" Willow began softly. "But this isn't just a case of correcting a glitch in her programming, or replacing a damaged component. I just don't think there's enough left to work with."

Dawn shuddered, letting out a small sigh. "Yeah. Spike said as much."

"Her major systems still seem pretty intact." Willow continued, trying to comfort the younger girl somewhat. "It looks like the damage just drained her batteries, yknow, power leaking out through broken wires."

Anya looked up from the inventory book for a moment, the look on her face clearly articulating that she and an idea had started an argument. If any of the others had been idle enough to notice they surely would have braced themselves. She flipped through the ring-binder frenetically, before placing a finger about half-way down the page.

Anya waved Willow over, before leaning over the cash-dispenser conspiratorially.

"You remember April?" Anya asked, making a series of small, energetic gestures with both hands and head as she spoke. "The robot that creepy little dweeb Warren built. The one that threw Spike threw a window?"

Willow nodded, trying to hide a small smile at the memory.

"Well, I just remembered. After Buffy shut her down – she brought her here. Guess she didn't want to explain to her mom why she'd brought a sex-bot home. Probably. She's down in the basement somewhere."

"Okay…" Willow began sceptically. "But what does that have to do with… Oh! You think if we took parts from April – we might be able to rebuild the bot."

"Sorry to have to point it out," Xander said, raising a hand. "But look out there – the word's out. I think its pretty clear they know that Buffy…. Isn't around anymore. What's the point?"

"Well, apart from Spike – she's our only real fighter." Willow suggested, turning to face Xander.

Xander closed his eyes for a moment and smiled. "Thanks Wil. What's left of my masculinity is swiftly fleeing the premises…"

"Plus, she would make a very good distraction whilst we run away!" Anya added chipperly.

"Not to mention," Tara added patiently, taking her place beside Willow. "If we… yknow, win? We're still going to need someone to cover for Dawn."

Dawn nodded vigorously, casting a glance over to the bot.

"Alright then," Willow said, raising her wearied voice slightly to attract everyone's attention. "Tara, Anya and Dawn – keep looking through the spell books. Xander, come help me find April. Spike?" She asked, turning to the bleach-blonde vampire, patrolling the store window restlessly.

"Yeah?" He asked disinterestedly, not even turning around.

"Just… keep moving heavy stuff."