Riley Finn was not having the best life he could have. Up until six or eight months ago, it was fine. Going about his business, kicking demon ass, doing his duty to God, mankind, and country. It was fine, it was good; he had great friends and comrades, and was on the fast track to promotion. 

It all came down to a girl. One girl with Californian sun kissed golden hair and a bright laugh. That girl had messed everything up for Riley. Up until recently, he hadn’t cared. Sure, Buffy Summers had turned all his conceptions upside down, but really. What was the big deal? Dead demons were dead demons and the fewer demons there were, the less trouble there was, and the more humankind could propagate as they were meant to. 

It hadn’t worked like that. And now he was relegated to the background, nothing more than a flunky. Not even that. 

No one from Buffy’s so-called Scooby gang had talked to him in weeks. Not since that failed spell to return Elizabeth and bring his Buffy back. To make matters worse, the Initiative wasn’t too pleased with him either. Oh, they’d taken him back, but his fast track was now in the slow lane. Riley had a lot to make up for, had a lot of work to do to force his gaffes these past months into the back of his superiors’ minds. He was less than pleased with that. 

So now he was patrolling the Sunnydale streets, the mostly deserted Sunnydale streets, looking for ways to make up for his lack of focus these past few months. He should’ve known better than to let a woman come between him and his mission. That kind of thing never really worked. Not even in the movies. 

And why were these streets so damn dead? No pun intended. Nary a human or a monster one. Usually, Sunnydaleians went about their business with a blissful ignorance as to what really went on in their town, living their lives as if this was a different world, one where the things that went bump in the night were from books, and movies, and imaginations. Tonight, however, no one was out. 

“Where is everyone?” Graham asked. He was in charge of the team, and of his former commander. It grated on Riley, Graham knew, but too bad. He’d done his job, followed the rules, and got the promotion. Just because he’d agreed with Buffy Summers didn’t mean he let his libido get in the way of what he was trained to do. 

“Don’t know,” Terry, the third member of their team mumbled. “But I don’t like it. Gives me the creeps.” 

“That’s because, mate,” a cocky voice said from the shadows of a tree not too far from their position, “You’re out past curfew.” 

“Hostile 17,” Riley sneered as that annoying voice registered. He was through being the nice guy, letting vampires live. He’d had his ass beat by Angel – who then came back and took not-his Buffy – and Riley’d be damned if he was letting this weaker – and chipped – monster get away again. 

“Well, this is my lucky day then, isn’t it?” Riley said as he sauntered up to Spike, fully prepared to kick a little demon ass. 

“Not really, no,” a voice – similar but not the same – said from Spike’s left. There was giggling behind them, catching Riley’s attention, and he knew that Graham and Terry were at his back, ready to take any hostile down. They were only animals, after all, not fit to wander God’s green Earth. 

“You’ve been bad,” a beautiful dark haired woman hissed, stepping out of the shadows with what appeared to be her identical twin. “But daddy will be so happy to see you.” 

“And mummy, too,” the twin said, and the smile she sent him sent shivers down Riley’s back. 

“Uh, can vampires have twins?” Graham demanded, prepared to fire. One simply didn't converse with one’s enemies. It wasn’t in the regs. 

“Not quite,” Spike said, lighting a cigarette. “But then there’s a lot to this town you don’t know, little soldier boy. Like the fact that you’re not welcomed here. But then if you were at base like a good little soldier, you’d already know that.” 

“Actually,” Dru said, voice soft and lethal, eyes flashing hunger, warning, coyness, “You’d be dead. Like all the other toy soldiers.” 

Riley stiffened; he felt Graham and Terry do the same, reaching for their radios. Unable to tear his eyes off the creepy foursome before him, he listened with half an ear as Graham tried to contact base. It was no use. He couldn’t seem to get Teams 4 and 8, also out on patrol, either. What had they done? WHAT HAD THEY DONE? 

Taking a threatening step forward, Riley asked just that. Cursing himself once again for allowing Buffy and her bleeding heart friends to talk him into letting Spike live. And apparently call in family. Riley was about to realize just how true that last statement was. 

“What did you do?” He hissed, weapon coming up to aim at the vampires before him. 

“Don’t be stupid, mate,” Spike shrugged. He had no desire to be hit with another of those energy bolts, but he would if he had to. Riley wasn’t leaving this area unscathed. Alive, perhaps, but that was for another time. “You’re seriously outnumbered and there’s no hope of backup.” 

“Daddy took care of that,” Dru confided and Drusilla nodded sagely in agreement. “He was angry, didn’t want the nasty soldiers to find his queen. Wanted to teach them a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget.” 

“Who is she?” Graham demanded, coming a step closer to Riley. He knew Hostile 17, but didn't know he had a twin. Didn’t know the other twins, either. 

“She,” William said in his smooth tones, walking beside his Drusilla, “Is with me. If I were you, sir, I’d turn and leave now. She doesn’t like it when someone threatens her Sire.” 

Riley wasn’t stupid. Occasionally, he was slow, sometimes he refused to see the obvious, but he could put two and two together and equal four. “So this is Drusilla,” he said smugly. “I thought she left you, Spike.” 

There was a flash of anger in Spike’s eyes and he snarled, “You know nothing about it, soldier-boy, and if I were you, I’d wish I had stayed inside with the other nice soldiers.” 

“Daddy wants him,” Dru said, floating towards Riley, her twin beside her. “Daddy hates him. And mummy…” she sighed as if Riley had kicked her baby, or maybe murdered her dog. “She doesn’t like him, wants him dead.” 

“Mummy wants him, too,” Drusilla said, side by side with Dru, watching the three humans as their heads tried to keep track of everyone. “She’s mad that he tried to be what he wasn’t. Tried to be more than she is.” 

“Buffy’s back?” Riley demanded, wondering if what he was hearing was right. How there were two Drusillas, he had no idea, but if one spoke of Angel and Elizabeth, and the other of someone else, then that other had to be Buffy. Right? 

“Don’t worry, mate,” William said. “Maybe we’ll flip a coin.” 

En mass, Spike and William, and Dru and Drusilla attacked. Drusilla was hit by an energy blast, and fell to the ground, whimpering. Her dress smoked, but otherwise she was shocked, not hurt. William was furious that someone could hurt his Princess, and ripped Terry’s head from his body. 

After the dust settled, after William ensured Drusilla’s safety and that she was indeed, fine, they looked at what remained of the human commandos. Only Riley lived. And his continued survival was in doubt, once they returned him to the mansion. 

“Angelus will want him,” William said as Spike hefted the unconscious commando. “He doesn’t like threats to Buffy.” 

Spike snorted. “Angel will want him as well, buddy boy, for what he did to Elizabeth. And for other various things he’s done since this little government-backed group came to town.” 

“Mummy wants him,” Drusilla murmured from the comfort of William’s arms. “She’s angry with him.” 

“See?” Spike said. “It’s a toss up. And if we’re lucky, they’ll argue about it until they lose interest and I can kill the bastard several times before I tire of it.” 

“What did he do to you?” William wanted to know. “And what did he do to Elizabeth if she’s from our world?”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Xander!” Willow shouted and ran to her fallen friend. Tears marred her already exhausted and grief-ravaged face, and she dropped to the ground, cradling his upper body against hers. “Oh, Xander, what happened?” 

He had two sets of bite marks, one on either side of his neck. What happened? Sure, she hated Angel, and hated that he’d ‘decreed’ they stay inside while he did the ‘I am King’ routine, and did whatever he did. But Giles assured them it made sense, and that if there was an influx of demonic activity – which there was – then it was safer to remain indoors until everything was settled. 

“Oh, Xander,” Willow whispered, holding him close; his body was already cool, his eyes closed but his face held the terror and anger she’d expect from this kind of death. “Who did this to you? Who was responsible?”

But he didn’t answer. And if he had, Willow knew she’d be responsible for killing her best friend. She wasn’t prepared to do that. Instead, she gently laid him back on the ground, hand lingering over his face. “Goodbye, Xander.” 

With renewed determination, Willow stood. She’d find who was responsible for her friend’s death. And make them pay. Dearly.

She turned in the direction of the mansion where Angel and Elizabeth were; something told her that that was where Buffy was as well. And Xander’s killers.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tara walked down the steps, slow and graceful. She felt freer now, more confident, more like Buffy or Elizabeth. It was liberating, and oh so nice. She possessed an innate grace she hadn’t been aware of before, something smooth and powerful. She discovered something else about herself, too: Sex with men was perfectly wonderful. 

But then Dru and Spike were wonderful lovers, initiating her in their family because she was Elizabeth’s first Childe. Hmm, yes, there were definite advantages to this change, and sex was only one of them. Her magickal power had grown, too. 

Angel’s theory was that her power hadn’t grown, but more like she was no longer afraid to use it. Wasn’t afraid of it any longer, and with her inhibitions gone, her true potential came to the fore. Which was fine with Tara, either way, she had more. 

“So I see she succeeded,” Tara said in her quiet voice. That hadn’t changed; the soft-spoken woman of before was still there. Added to that was a knowing undertone, something that said she appreciated…and she understood. And she was willing to give it all to you, if only you’d ask. 

Buffy looked up from her place in Angelus’ arms where the two of them were curled together in a chair near the fireplace. She didn’t like a lot of things here, didn’t like the fact that she’d been replaced – but then she replaced Angel, even if she wasn’t thinking of that – and she didn’t like that now she and her lover, her Mate, had to work with the other…them. 

It was all well and good in theory, when Buffy was with Angelus in London in late 1885. Now that they were in Sunnydale in late 2000, it was different.

“Tara?” Buffy asked, standing from Angelus’ comforting embrace. “What…?” 

“It was my choice,” she said, embracing Buffy briefly. She’d liked the other woman, though they hadn’t had much time to form a friendship. Not like she and Elizabeth had. “I wanted this change, and I asked.” 

Buffy’s eyes shot to Elizabeth’s, dark green and promising. Angel was behind her; his hands, Buffy could see, had slipped under Elizabeth’s top and were caressing her bare stomach. Too many parallels, she thought – it was exactly what Angelus was doing to her before she left his reassuring embrace; caressing her under the many skirts she wore from their…time. 

“Ah,” Buffy said and returned to Angelus’ arms. She wasn’t sure what else to say, completely in shock from one too many new revelations today. She missed her world, the people there – Richter and Dalton – and the fact that she was Angelus’ Queen, more feared than Angelus himself. That could have something to do with Angelus promising painful vengeance against any who harmed, angered, or touched her, but Buffy still loved it. 

She felt loved and possessed, treasured. Plus she didn’t have to worry about anyone here. No mother telling her she wished she’d stop slaying. No watcher looking at her with that faintly disappointed look under all that pride. No friends telling her how great Riley was, how much she needed him, how she was so lucky to have him. And in the case of Xander, how lucky she was he wanted her. 

“Willow’s been more than a little obsessed with bringing you back,” Tara continued as she stood just beyond the couples. She’d have to be dead, six feet in the ground, and dismembered not to feel the tension coming off the small group. “Spending days and nights trying to find a way. She hasn’t even gone to school.” 

Buffy blinked. “Wow, Willow missed school?” 

She snorted in laughter, wondering just what made her red-haired friend so…well, Tara was right. Obsessed. “The last time Willow missed school,” Buffy said to the group, though her attention was on Angelus, “She was in the hospital with a concussion.” 

Elizabeth didn’t ask, nor did she say why she thought Willow was so hell-bent on returning Buffy. It just didn’t need to be brought up. Instead she said, “She’s going to try and keep you here, probably try the recursing spell on you.” 

“It won’t work,” Angelus said with a growl. Buffy had told him all about the ‘curse’, and he wanted neither his love to regain her soul, nor did he wish to be so burdened. He wasn’t meant to have his soul, this was his life now; raging and pillaging across the world, his beautiful Mate by his side for eternity. 

“No,” Angel agreed, “It won’t.” 

“Why not?” Buffy asked, obviously having missed something. 

“You didn’t lose your soul here, you did in our world, my love,” Angelus said as his fingers softly brushed her face. “Willow can’t take a soul out of one dimension and put it into someone in another. I’m not even positive how she managed to bring you back, since I’m fairly certain – or was – that dimension travel was only slightly more impossible than time travel.” 

“We don’t know,” Angel admitted. “She’d spent weeks trying to find a way; we found one, but it was a switching. Elizabeth returned to that world, and Buffy returned here. But it required the willing cooperation of at least one participant,” the vampire went on, pulling Elizabeth closer to him as if afraid she’d be torn out of his arms at any moment. 

“Elizabeth wasn’t willing,” Angel told the group in a voice that said just why she wasn’t. “And I’m not entirely sure that it would have worked, anyway. Not without Buffy being willing, too.” 

“That begs the question,” Angelus said as all five vampires turned towards the door. Someone was coming. “How did Willow succeed?” 

“Brought you a present,” Spike said with a grin as he tossed a beaten Riley onto the floor between Angels and Buffys. “Found him wandering around with his commando pals, trying to play the big bad soldier boy.” 

“Riley?” Buffy asked, moving to stand. Angelus’ arms tightened around her, holding her against him. He wasn’t letting her up, especially when he realized who the whelp was. “Spike, what’s going on?” 

Riley looked up at the sound of her voice, saw through the pain and swollen eye that she had returned. Buffy, his Buffy, was back. He tried to stand, tried to push himself off the cool tiled floor, but couldn’t. 

“Buffy,” he whispered, positive that now that she was back, things would return to what they were before this all had happened, months ago. 

“Long story, slayer,” Spike said and patted his pockets for a cigarette. He couldn’t find one and thought maybe that was just as well. Elizabeth had this thing against his smoking around her, and threatened bodily harm if he did. Spike had already pushed it once today, twice might earn him a place in the cells below. 

“I’m going to kill him,” Elizabeth snarled from her place against Angel. Her vampire held her tight, refusing to release her. 

Buffy’s head whipped to her look-alike. “Why?” 

Spike watched the foursome banter back and forth for a short time about who got to kill Riley. Hauling the human up, he was weak and couldn’t stand on his own, and stared at Buffy as if she was his salvation. Spike laughed, low, cruel, and whispered into the commando’s ear, “You really should feel privileged, boyo. It’s not everyone who gets fought over by four masters. Real privilege there.” 

Riley didn’t seem impressed. Through swollen eyes, he saw Buffy, his Buffy, nestled against a second Angel. Great, this world needed two of them? They were both dressed differently, more of an older style, something like what he and Buffy wore the last time they’d gone out together. Where was she all this time? What had she been doing? 

He wanted to break free of Spike’s hold, wanted to sail across the room and hold her close. But he couldn’t, and was sure that if Spike released him he’d fall to the floor once more. He ached, but seeing Buffy…but she wasn’t looking at him, she was listening to whatever everyone was saying. And what had Spike meant by fighting over him? No, surely he was wrong, surely his Buffy wouldn’t do that. 

She’d fight to keep him alive. He knew it. 

In the end, it was decided to chain Riley in the basement, and concentrate on Willow. She was the immediate threat, the one who threatened both their worlds and all their loves with her continued fixation on Buffy. 

As Spike and William dragged Riley into the basement, he lunged for Buffy, sure that if he could only get to her, he’d be safe. Angelus and Angel stood at the same time, but Angelus was closer. His fist swung out, landing squarely on Riley’s jaw, and sending the beaten man back into the arms of Spike, who was grinning like a fool.

Angel growled, but knew that with Angelus and Buffy gone, he could torture Riley to his heart’s content. That wonderful thought would have to be enough for now. 

“It must be because of her that that world fell into Hell,” Elizabeth said quietly after Riley was in the dungeon. “She took Buffy back, back here, you three followed her, and that world fell into chaos and anarchy. By the time I was called, it was too late for peace, and the balance I strived for was something that would only work in limited areas. Richter always speculated that, but he never gave me any proof.” 

“Richter?” Buffy questioned. 

“My General. He’s a vampire,” Elizabeth explained with a shrug and a fond smile, “But he’s loyal, extremely so. Kind of a bodyguard, friend, General, and training partner all rolled into one.” 

“He’s my bodyguard,” Buffy said. 

Elizabeth looked at her for a moment, replaying her past with her friend. “That makes sense, then,” she said eventually, slowly putting what she knew of her friend with what she knew of the past. “He’s always been extremely loyal, since the first. He knew things about the past that weren’t in the Histories, and knew things about the Primal Slayer that even Giles didn’t.”

“I think,” Angelus said, breaking the bonding moment between the Slayers. Not purposely, but because he wanted to get back to his world. This one wasn’t for him. “We should concentrate on Willow. And what her next move is going to be.” 

He locked eyes with Angel. “We’re returning to our world as soon as we can,” he said and Angel simply nodded. “Other than Willow, is there another way to do that?”

”Willow wouldn’t do anything to harm me,” Buffy said but her voice lacked conviction. Obviously, Willow had; her friend had pulled her out of a world where she belonged, where her Mate was, where she had everything she wanted, and back to the one that sucked the life out of her. 

“I’m not taking that chance,” Angelus warned her with a growl. 

“She’s changed, Buffy,” Angel added. “When you disappeared and Elizabeth appeared, she changed. She’s not rational, not when it comes to this. And her powers are out of control.” 

Angelus eyed Angel for a moment, wondering at that last statement. He knew Buffy loved Willow, knew she considered them the greatest of friends. If this friend was as powerful as Angel seemed to think she could be, then Willow would make a powerful ally. 

He wanted to kill the witch for what she did to Buffy, wanted to rend her limb from limb for forcing Buffy back to a world she wanted nothing to do with, but he’d restrain himself. For the promise of a powerful sorceress, he’d restrain himself from killing and draining her. 

Giles stood off to the side, watching the proceedings. It was eerie and scary, but he didn’t leave. Tara stood by his side, quiet and calm, and that freaked him out all the more. Giles knew Elizabeth had Turned Tara, but seeing the blonde looking and acting much the same, had Giles wondering. Just what was she hiding under that façade? 

Cordelia and Wesley walked in, as quietly as they could. When they saw the group, they stopped dead in their tracks, heartbeats wild in their chests, echoing loudly for those with preternatural hearing. 

“Oh, God, she did it,” Cordelia said in a squeaky voice, her eyes glued to Buffy and Angelus. It had to be Angelus, she thought wildly, if Anya was right – and she had been so far – who sat with Buffy opposite Elizabeth and Angel. There were also two sets of Spikes and Drusillas, and that scared her more than she wanted to think on. 

“Wow,” Cordelia said eyes darting around the group. “I didn’t think Willow could do it.” 

“What…?” Buffy was confused again and she didn’t like it. “What are they doing here?” 

“Packing,” Cordelia chimed in before anyone else could. This was the Buffy she didn’t like; this was the one who she hated with a vengeance. This was the one who wasn’t her best friend in some bizzaro world and who hated her as well. 

“We just came back to pack,” She added, backing out of the room. There were four sets of twins there, and it was sensory overload. “We’ll be leaving any moment now.”

With that, she pulled Wesley out of the room, despite his obvious interest in what had happened. Giles could fill them all in later. Later in LA. Assuming they survived until then.

“Willow will be here soon,” Angel said before anyone could comment on Cordelia’s abrupt disappearance. Or her appearance in the first place. “We need her,” he continued in that smooth voice, activity over boredom, knowledge over lust. “To return the four of you to your world.” 

“You’re not killing her,” Buffy said suddenly, her green eyes locking with Angel’s. 

His eyebrow raised a notch at that, but he nodded. Angelus stifled a laugh, he knew his other self wanted to kill the witch, if not for returning Buffy and him – which was the reason Angelus wanted to – then because of the danger and that something else, maybe the aggravation he put Elizabeth through. Angelus couldn’t quite say he minded, however, if Buffy didn’t want the witch dead, then the witch lived. Until she outlived said usefulness. 

“Then,” Angelus said smoothly, his voice nearly identical to Angel’s except for the smooth Irish tones he still carried. “I suggest we think of a plan to earn her cooperation. And quickly. She’s going to look for you, beloved.” 

They bandied around several ideas for Willow’s willing cooperation – Dru and/or Drusilla using her mind tricks on her was dismissed by Buffy as unwilling and deceitful. Willow was still her friend, and her closest one at that. 

“I’ll just talk to her,” Buffy said, annoyed with their lack of progress and feeling as if time was running out on them. “She’s my best friend,” she reasoned. “I’ll simply explain the situation and Willow will understand.” 

Giles snorted and pushed off from the wall where he’d listened to their talking for some time now. “Willow will be here any moment, I know you all feel it, hell, I feel it. Buffy I highly doubt talking to her will work. You have no idea what she’s done to bring you back here. Elizabeth is right; she’s obsessed with your return. Now that you’re back, Willow isn’t going to just help you go back.” 

“Then what do you suggest, Giles?” Buffy demanded, from Angelus’ arms. She wanted to unleash the energy coiling within her, wanted to pace and punch and do something but Angelus wouldn’t let her go. Why, she didn’t know, but he was unwilling to loosen his arms and let her up. He had to feel the energy and tension in her, hell, she knew Giles could. 

“You said yourself that you didn’t know which spell she used, couldn’t even find the book she used!” Buffy added, wondering when her friend became so powerful and so resourceful that she could find a spell like this and pull it off. 

“I don’t know,” Giles admitted.

“Maybe she’ll return with us,” Angelus suggested. His eyes met with Angel’s for a moment, saw the understanding there, the agreement, and flicked his gaze around the room. “If Willow wants so much to have Buffy in her life, and the only way to do that is to return with us, then why not give her that option?” 

Angel agreed: It’d be the safest thing for Elizabeth, would get Willow out of their lives, and would give Buffy someone from her world who knew and worshipped her. 

Silence greeted Angelus’ proposition, but eventually Buffy gave a reluctant nod. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Willow accompanying them back, wasn’t sure how she felt having a piece of her life here with her there, there where she had it all – Angelus – there where she was happy and content. But Willow was her best friend, she knew everything about Buffy, or everything Buffy wanted her to know, and she accepted. 

“I’ll ask,” Buffy said finally. 

No one said anything after that, waiting for Willow’s inevitable arrival. They didn’t have to wait long, the redhead breezed in, anger and tears announcing her arrival. For a moment, Willow looked around the room, saw the eight vampires from two worlds, saw her lover watching everything from the sidelines as if she were a part of this, heard people walking back into the great room – couldn’t believe it was Cordelia and Wesley – and wondered just what she’d missed. 

“Buffy!” She said and crossed the floor to her friend. 

Buffy looked at Angelus to release her – glaring at him when he didn’t immediately – and rose to hug her friend. “Willow,” she said quietly. 

“I knew I could do it,” Willow beamed. 

“Yeah,” Buffy hedged, still unsure how she felt about Willow returning to her world with them. “About that. I’m not staying here, Willow.” Buffy watched as her friend’s eyes grew round in surprise, deep within their depths an anger sparked black and mean. “I can’t, I don’t belong here, not anymore. I belong there, with Angelus. In that world.” 

“But-” Willow started. 

Buffy interrupted. “Willow,” she said, smiling and clasping the redhead’s hands. “Come with us. I miss you,” she said sincerely, knowing that only Angelus would realize it wasn’t entirely true – and perhaps Angel and Elizabeth, but Buffy wasn’t sure. Angel always assumed that she held her friends right up there next to him, and she’d done nothing but prove that again and again, especially after his return from Hell. 

“Please, Will,” she said, squeezing Willow’s hands, letting her friend see only that in her eyes, hear it in her voice. “Come back with us.” 

For long minutes, Willow said nothing. Xander’s face played through her mind – her best friend was dead at the hands of vampires, and she was contemplating leaving this world, this world with at least one of them. Tara, her lover, had betrayed her and turned to Elizabeth – oh, Willow knew that bitch had Turned her sweet and loving Tara. She also knew that if she tried anything in retaliation, she’d be dead before she could complete it. 

“Alight.”
~~~~~~~~~~
It didn’t take them long to set up the spell again. They did so in the courtyard of the mansion, where it’d be easier to remove all traces of the burnt circle – Giles suggestion after witnessing the destruction of his living room. 

Tara agreed to help Willow, since the redhead wasn’t up to full strength after performing the spell once already. They weren’t talking, though Tara tried to explain. Eventually, Willow just nodded and said she understood. She didn’t, not entirely, and they both knew it. 

Elizabeth and Angelus were chanting over their salt and powder and whatever else they needed for their circle, while Buffy and Angel did so over theirs. The two from this world had to do it, while the two from that world did. The other four vampires were out making sure that nothing happened – uprising, uninvited guests, and the like – while the spell was in progress. 

“It wouldn’t have worked between us, you know,” Buffy said while they poured the circle. “There were always too many things pulling us away from each other, and only one pulling us together. I really would have tried to make it work,” she admitted. “But it couldn’t have. Not with your soul like that. And not with my friends, Giles, and my mom standing between us like soldiers.” 

“I wanted to make it work,” Angel said, not looking at Buffy – who was studiously avoiding looking at him. “But you’re right. You had a life I couldn’t pull you from. Elizabeth didn’t have that – she’s like you in a lot of ways, but not entirely.” 

Buffy raised her hand to his face, beloved even now. “I love you,” she whispered, knowing that no matter how softly she said it Angelus and Elizabeth could still hear her. “I will always love you. But I’m happy now, I’m more than happy with my choices. I don’t regret those choices for a moment.” She removed her hand, saw the answering look in his eyes. “So you be happy with your choices, too.” 

“I love you, too, Buffy. And I am happy,” Angel said, and caught her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “I truly am.” 

“Take care of my mom?” Buffy asked as the completed the circle. 

“She’s safe in LA. I promise I won’t let anything happen to her that I can prevent,” Angel promised. It was as much for her as it was for Elizabeth, and they all knew that. 

“Thanks,” Buffy whispered. “And Giles?” 

“Him, too. He’s going to LA with Cordelia and Wesley. They’re going to continue to fight there, maintain the balance.” 

“Thanks,” Buffy said again as they closed the circle. “I guess there’s nothing else to say, then.” 

“No,” Angel agreed with one last look at her. They didn’t touch, instead they turned and walked to their respective Mates, wondering what might have been, but perfectly happy with what was. 

“Ready then?” Giles asked as he looked on. William, Drusilla, Angelus, and Buffy stood in one circle, with Willow in front. Spike, Dru, Angel, and Elizabeth in another with Tara in front. Tara and Willow joined hands, and the spell began. 

There was a flash of light as Willow and Tara chanted, and magick gathered heavy in the air, hanging over everything. Electricity crackled along the room, sparking and snapping at everything outside the circles. The chanting grew louder, higher, more powerful, until Giles had to cover his ears, close his eyes, and pray that he wasn’t electrocuted. 

It was a long time later that he realized everything was finished. When he looked around, the five vampires in the circle were from this world – they were lying across the floor, obviously passed out from magickal overload. The other circle was empty.
~*~
Elizabeth opened her eyes, and looked around. Angel was there, holding her close to him as he surveyed the area. It was their mansion, their room to be precise. What he was looking for she didn't know, but snuggled closer to him anyway. 

“Baby?” She murmured tiredly. She was exhausted, drained, and wanted only to curl close to her lover and sleep for a day or two. 

“They’re gone,” Angel said quietly. “As is everyone else.” Where Spike and Dru went he didn’t know, but knew they were safe. “Come on, love, let’s go to bed.” 

“I love you,” Elizabeth said, and kissed the side of his neck. 

“And I you.”
~*~
Buffy opened her eyes, and looked around. Angelus was there, holding her close to him as he surveyed the area. It was their new house, the one they moved into when Angelus Turned her, their room to be precise. What he was looking for she didn't know, but snuggled closer to him anyway. 

“Baby?” She murmured tiredly. She was exhausted, drained, and wanted only to curl close to her lover and sleep for a day or two. 

“They’re gone,” Angelus said quietly. “As is everyone else.” Where William and Drusilla went he didn’t know, but knew they were safe. “Come on, love, let’s go to bed.” 

“I love you,” Buffy said, and kissed the side of his neck. 

Part 27        Epilogue

When Worlds Collide Index        Christine's Page        Home