Buffy’s breath caught in her throat, and she jumped from the hospital bed. The I.V. in her hand ripped out, a trail of blood was left running along her slender fingers. Willow backed up behind Buffy, her eyes searching for any sort of weapon.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Annabelle told Buffy. “How could it possibly be?”
Buffy grabbed the water pitcher and through it at the dead girl. It passed right through her body, the container smashing into the wall behind her.
“It’s a nice twist, isn’t it?” Annabelle asked, her gaze turning to Willow. “When did she have time to do it? Where? How could anyone not notice?”
“Notice what?” Willow asked.
“You really are all fools. Pathetic, whimpering, little fools.”
A tazer beam from behind ransacked her body, and she dissipated into nothing. Before she could wonder how it happened, Buffy turned, her eyes wide.
“Riley.”
“Then who are you?” Dawn chocked out as she fell back into Molly’s helping arms. Kennedy placed a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a worried glance. “If you aren’t the first, then who are you?” Dawn asked again.
“Does it really matter?” Anna hissed, pulled on Dawn’s arm. “We have to get out of here. Now.”
“No. Not until we know what she is!” Dawn protested as she locked eyes with Annabelle.
“I already told you – I’m Annabelle. Who do you think I am?”
“Someone who needs to die!” Anna cried as she jumped at the dead potential.
Her fingers wrapped around the girls throat, and Anna gave a hard twist. Annabelle’s neck turned ninety degrees, and Anna fell back onto the floor. She looked up in surprise, the same dazed look on the others faces as Annabelle twisted her neck back and clenched her jaw.
“I HATE it when people do that!” She cried, tears coming to her eyes. “Why doesn’t anyone just listen? The Slayer – she’s gone. Evil. She’s not who you think she is anymore.”
“We already know that!” Dawn cried.
“Then do something about it!! Don’t you get it? I’m dead – you can’t kill me. You have to kill her. She’s the one that’s doing all of this.”
“Doing all of what?” Molly asked.
“Don’t you already know?” Annabelle asked right before she disappeared, her sad eyes meeting Dawn’s.
“No…” Was the young brunettes only response. No one knew what she meant.
Faith walked throughout the darkened streets of Sunnydale, a firm look on her face. Her leather pants sucked to her legs as she walked, her leather top covered up by her soaking dark blue jean jacket. Her hair was a sopping mess, something she hated. It never dried just right. Purple half moons rested under her eyes, clashing with her sickly pale skin. She heard a noise behind her, a shuffle almost. Or maybe it was more like the swish a bush would make when someone jumped out of it. She didn’t turn her head, she only quickened her pace. The soft padding of feet hitting the pavement fell in tune behind her. She speed up a little more, the sound behind her quickening. A cold clammy, green slimy hand wrapped itself around the Slayer’s mouth, and she kicked back with her right leg. It met the groin of something, and turned, the creatures grasp on her loosening. The thing with a large slimy green head moved and wrapped it’s large claw like hands around her throat, but she swivel kicked the thing in it’s stomach. Not taking any time, Faith twisted the things neck and looked down at the body in disgust.
“Your going to have to do a lot better than that to kill me.” She said, wiping demon slime from her face.
“Buffy…hey.” Riley said, his wife Sam walking past him and into the well lit hospital room. Riley shut the room door and an awkward silence was shared between everyone for a moment.
Buffy looked down at herself, and upon realizing she was only wearing a hospital gown, she quickly sat back down on the bed, careful not to let her bare back show to the new comers. Willow stepped forward a little, the danger having passed.
“What…” Buffy started. “What are you doing here?”
“Heard some big evil was up to no good. We were on leave and decided to see if there was anything we could do to help. What was that thing?” He asked them.
“A girl. A dead…potential.” Buffy answered. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing really.” He held up the tazer gun a little for her inspection, she did not take it, and he pulled it away. “The standard gun we use to capture vampires with.”
“Well, she was…a…the First.” Willow said, trying to clear up some confusion.
“The First is a potential? The First potential?” Sam asked.
“No – the First Evil. She was dead potential. The First can come as any dead form…or someone who’s died.” Willow told her.
“Like this.” Another form of Buffy appeared in front of the group, making Riley and Sam back off by Willow’s side. The New Buffy held up her hands in the air. “What? No applause?”
Riley made a move to go after her, but Buffy’s voice stopped him. “Don’t. It can’t take physical form – you can’t hurt it.”
“It’s useless.” The First said in Buffy’s voice. “This war isn’t even worth fighting. We’re never going to win.”
The First turned into Spike, and spoke in his voice. “Could.”
It turned back to Buffy. “Look around you, Spike, and then take a good look at me. What do you see?”
“Death,” it said changing back into Spike. “Death and…you…your…”
“Exactly. This place – it’s as good as dead, Spike. You’ve seen war a thousand times in your day. Now look around you – The First, it’s going to win. It’ll destroy Sunnydale and every last chance we have on this Earth to survive.” The First asked as it changed back into Buffy.
“And if it doesn’t?” It asked as Spike
“STOP IT!” Buffy screamed at the First before it could change back into her form. “Don’t.”
“Afraid to see something you don’t want to, Slayer?” It asked, still in Spike’s form. His warm voice still coming from it’s mouth. “Afraid to hear yourself?”
“I already kicked your ass back into this Earth once, I’ll do it again if I have to.”
“The war isn’t over yet, Luv. You know that. Listen to everything, everyone around you. Can’t you hear it? They all want to die. Even you.”
Buffy shook her head. “Not anymore.”
“Really?” The First asked her as it changed into Angel. “Then why…”
The door to the hospital room burst open. As it did, Spike entered and the image of Angel vanished. Spike quickly shut the door and looked over Riley and Sam for a minute before any words were spoken. “What’s going on?” He asked.
“Just missed the First.” Willow told him.
“Wait.” Sam started. “If the First can only change into someone who is already dead, how did it change into you?” She pointed at Spike.
“Vampire. So technically speaking, I’m already dead.”
“Oh…Right – you’re that good vampire, aren’t you?”
“One of them. Ya. Listen, Slayer,” Spike started as he went over to the side of her bed. “We’ve got big problems.”
Buffy just stared off into space, her gaze not meeting his. Her eyes were half-glazed over, her lips chapped, blood beginning to drop from them in a rhythmic pattern.
Xander’s breath caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. He was starring back at himself – his living dead flesh self. Humor would not get him out of this one, and his only help was lying unconscious on the floor behind his own dead, walking, talking, living corpse. He briefly wondered how he was going to get out of this one, when he spotted what he had been searching for. A broken chair leg lay a few feet away to his left, part of it under concrete rubble. It was a long shot, but it was also the best one he had. Leaping towards the broken wood as the Vamp-him reached out, he fell onto the uneven ground. Patrolling with the Slayer had taught him a few things, like the move he was making now. His feet hit the ground, making him almost lose his balance, he swiveled his body so he was facing his enemy, and grabbed for the stake under the concrete. His plan would have worked if two things had not gone wrong. One, was that he was not a Slayer, and could not break the broken chair leg out from under the concrete slab, nor could he lift up the concrete in order to get to the soon-to-be-stake. The other was that he was technically fighting himself, and his other self thought like him. Thus, his other self counter acted on his move, and punched him in the face. Hard enough to knock him over and back into the side wall. Vamp Xander hauled Xander up by the neck of his shirt and pushed him back into the corner.
“I’ll give you points for trying – but they ain’t gonna save you.”
“Maybe not – but he will.” Xander countered, nodding behind his evil dupe.
Vamp Xander took the bait, and Xander slammed his fist into his face as he turned. It knocked the vampire back a few feet, and Xander took the moment of pure dumb luck to get out of the corner. Jumping over a few pieces of broken ceiling that were still on the floor, he made his way towards the other end of the Magic Box. Amazingly enough, the wall that separated that backroom and the front room was still standing, and upon opening the green door leading into the back, he spotted his savoir. A few stakes were spilled on the ground next to a double sided axe and a few knives. He scooped up a stake and a knife, silently begging forgiveness to God for leaving Andrew behind. He knew he didn’t have a much time, and he was right. Vamp Xander appeared behind him, just as he twirled, knife held out. Vamp Xander kicked it out of his hand and rushed at him. Xander held the stake up to his chest, pointed end towards the vampire. Vamp Xander’s body knocked into Xander’s, pushing their body’s up against the back wall. He growled deep within his throat and slumped his shoulder back, his eyes staring at the stake in his heart. And then he was dust.
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