Nothing the Same, Book 4, Ch. 6
I'm back. I'm still unpacking and taking care of a sadly neglected garden, so it will probably be next Saturday before the next update. I'll try and pick up the pace again, but new chapters at least once a week for sure. Thanks for your patience.
Nothing the Same, Book 4
Chapter: 6/?
Feedback & concrit: yes, please
Disclaimer: don't own them, never will, just having fun.
Previous parts here
Chapter Six
“So, they’re both Buffy?” Xander asked incredulously.
Giles had wielded his authority as Watcher in a way he rarely did, ordering Buffy 1 to stand down and return to the back room. To Xander’s surprise, she obeyed the order without any argument. She simply turned and headed into the back room and had moved immediately to the far corner. Xander was uneasily aware that Giles had temporarily stored a number of weapons in that area, intended for training and emergencies, but so far she’d been content to pace restlessly, keeping a wary eye on Spike.
Buffy 2 had muttered something that Xander hadn’t quite caught but Giles simply fixed her with a stern look and she meekly followed Buffy 1 into the back room, the rest of them trailing behind the two.
“How did this happen?”
“Toth,” Buffy 1 reported crisply. “He had a weapon of some kind. The weapon did this to me.”
“To me,” Buffy 2 said under her breath. Giles winced, his gaze avoiding both women as he cleared his throat noisily.
“My first thought was that the weapon was some sort of shape-shifting device, that Toth was imitating Buffy somehow. But according to, er… Buffy,” he gestured towards Buffy 1. Xander suspected Giles had had time to get over the weird fascination that was keeping his own eyes bouncing back and forth between the two women, unable to stop comparing the differences. “However, Toth was still present after the weapon discharged which made that unlikely. I have been doing some research into what the weapon Toth was carrying was and it appears definite that the two of them are both Buffy.”
Although it was obvious that Giles had already explained this to the two Buffies, they exchanged looks full of mutual dislike and rejection for the whole notion that they were somehow connected. Granted, suddenly having a double would be enough to freak anyone out, but their reaction seemed like more than that.
Buffy 2 was physically the Buffy Xander had always known. She was wearing a brightly striped halter top and the red leather pants she’d been favoring recently. Her blond hair
was loose, the way she usually wore it, and large silver hoops gleamed in her ears when she turned her head. She seemed almost as wary of Buffy 1 as Spike was, staying close to Giles, her glance continually skittering in the direction of her double.
Spike was having a similar reaction to Buffy 1. He was leaning against the wall, his whole pose one of careless relaxation, if you didn’t know him well enough to see the tension in his muscles and the way his eyes never left Buffy 1. Xander was curious to see that he was utterly ignoring Buffy 2 in a way he’d never seen Spike ignore Buffy - original, single Buffy, that is. Even when they’d first met, when Spike hadn’t had much respect for Buffy’s fighting skills, he’d never completely disregarded her presence like he was doing now with Buffy 2.
“Umm…no offense, but why aren’t you two the same?” Xander asked. Both Buffys looked at him and he added hastily: “You know: different clothes, and stuff…” he finished lamely.
Buffy 1 sneered. “Her clothes are completely impractical for hunting demons. I changed as soon as we got back here.”
“Into my workout clothes,” Buffy 2 muttered, glaring at her double. “I’ve patrolled in these clothes a dozen times, they work fine. And you can go out afterwards without having to change.”
Fortunately, Giles interrupted, cutting off whatever it was Buffy 1 had been on the verge of saying in response - Xander didn’t think he was up to listening to Buffy argue with herself. Giles gestured to the book spread open on top of a stack of boxes. “The weapon Toth is carrying is called a ferula-gemina. It splits one person in half, distilling their personality traits into two separate bodies.”
“Come again?” Spike said, still not taking his eyes off Buffy 1.
“The weapon is apparently designed to divide a person into their stronger and weaker halves. In this case,” he gestured to Buffy 2, “one with all the qualities inherent in Buffy Summers, and,” he swung the hand holding his glasses around to point at Buffy 1, “the other one with everything that belongs to the Slayer alone ... the strength, the speed, the heritage.”
“Other than the wackiness factor, why would he want to do that?” Xander asked. “What’s it get him other than two enemies?”
Buffy 2, Human-Buffy, smiled at him while Buffy 1, Slayer-Buffy looked disdainfully at her human half, obviously not thinking she was much of a fighter.
Giles looked grim. “Because the two halves cannot exist without each other. Kill the human Buffy half, and the Slayer half dies. And vice verse,” he added with belated tact.
“Not a bad plan.”
“Spike!”
Spike shrugged unrepentantly. “What? Not like it’s something I’d do. It’s for cowards afraid to face a Slayer. Still, if you want the kill, not too many people are going to dock you points for how you take her down.”
“So you think Toth is planning on going after the human Buffy.” Xander kept his eyes firmly on Giles, not wanting to look at Buffy 2. Now that he understood what had happened, it was almost embarrassingly easy to tell which was which and he didn’t want to hurt Human-Buffy’s feelings.
“Which is why I will hunt him alone,” Slayer-Buffy said. “Calling Spike was a waste of time. I don’t need the help. I’m as strong as I’ve ever been.” She didn’t even try to hide her opinion that Human-Buffy had been holding her back.
“We don’t know that, and I would rather not take the chance,” Giles told her firmly.
“What happened to Toth after he used the weapon?” Xander asked curiously, wondering why the demon hadn’t killed Human-Buffy right then.
“The weapon only knocked me off my feet momentarily. Toth fled as soon as I was back up. I would have pursued, but I noticed her lying unconscious next to me.” She gestured towards Human-Buffy with obvious contempt for her weakness in being knocked unconscious by something as simple as being split into two different halves.
Spike snorted disdainfully. “What did I tell you? Wants the kill but not the risk. He’s too much a coward to face the Slayer, so he’ll try and take her out through her weaknesses, not her strengths. Wanker.”
Spike obviously had no concerns about offending Human-Buffy. Slayer-Buffy had a smug smile on her face as she finished her summary. “I brought her to my Watcher to be taken care of and he refused to let me go back out on my own,” she finished resentfully.
“The weapon was some kind of stick-thingie. It shot something that looked like a ball of fire. I was only out for a second,” Human-Buffy said defensively. “It hurt like hell but it didn’t seem to do any physical damage.” She rubbed her chest as she spoke, then added: “Except for creating her.”
“Buffy - ies,” Giles said, half soothingly, half commandingly. “You are facing an enemy who is known to possess a great deal of strength while your own physical condition in this state remains uncertain. We cannot know what all the effects of the weapon are and I would rather not test that under battle conditions.”
That seemed to make sense to Slayer-Buffy and Human-Buffy looked relieved, like she was willing to fight if she had to but hadn’t been looking forward to it.
“So, you want me to kill your demon, eh?” Spike summed up, looking almost unbearably smug. “No trouble, Watcher, ladies,” he swept them a mocking bow and both Buffies bristled and scowled at him, looking remarkably alike for one moment. “I’ll take care of the big bad wolf while you hide out here and do your nails.”
“I vote no,” Xander said firmly, raising a hand.
Well, at least it got everyone’s attention.
~~~~~~
“Xander…,” Spike began warningly. He was not going to agree to take the Slayer with him. She was setting his nerves on edge with her mere presence and he wouldn’t trust her to back him in a fight - she was too close to pure demon in this form, a predator controlled only by her instincts and her instincts were to kill vampires. He wasn’t betting his unlife on her ability to rein herself in and not stake him the moment his back was turned.
“No!” Xander repeated insistently, glaring at him. “You are not going up alone against something that has a weapon that can do that to you.” He gestured to the two Slayers.
“You said it shot a ball of fire?” Xander asked them.
The human one nodded, frowning as she tried to remember. “He pointed the stick at me and the end glowed and then, whoosh, it felt like I’d been kicked in the chest.”
“So, almost instantaneous?” Xander pressed.
The two Slayers exchanged glances and both nodded. “Not quite instantaneous, but as fast as if it had been a bullet,” the pure Slayer answered judiciously.
Xander gave him a hard stare. “That thing isn’t a gun, where you get cranky if the bullet hits you. It’s something magical. If you don’t duck in time, suddenly there’s two of you.”
Xander had a point, though Spike didn’t want to admit it in front of the Slayer. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out that the weapon would split him into demon and human bits. He didn’t have any fond nostalgia for his original human self, considering what a nancy boy fop he’d been. The last thing he needed was a physical reminder of his human life hanging about.
“Could be fun, luv,” was all he said, lifting his scarred eyebrow with a suggestive leer.
“Oh, hell no. I can’t keep up with one of you, much less two,” Xander muttered, making a face.
Spike just laughed. He had no intention of sharing Xander with anyone, much less his hypothetical, not-going-to-happen, double, but it was always fun to get a rise out of his boy.
“How do we fix them?” Xander asked the Watcher.
“I’m not broken,” both Buffies snapped at the same moment, then shot each other identical uncomfortable looks.
“Sorry, put you back together.”
Giles looked embarrassed. “I’m not sure yet. It’s been a trifle hard to concentrate.”
“So, how about we figure it out before someone else gets hit with this weapon?” Xander suggested pointedly.
Spike grinned at the look on the Watcher’s face. His boy did have a way of cutting to the heart of things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Putting them back together turned out to be surprisingly simple. The Watcher found the answer in one of his books and made a phone call to the witch who’d helped with the spell to take down Adam. She’d agreed to come over and do whatever it was they needed - although Rupert could work mojo in a pinch, he preferred to leave it to others. He’d long since admitted that he felt he’d tainted his own natural magic with his youthful indiscretions and only worked magic when there was no other choice. The shy blonde - Tara something - didn’t have that problem. Unlike the redhead, safely back in England again, the blonde was cautious with her power and only used it when necessary. Painfully shy and almost non-verbal at times, she came into her own when actually doing spells, displaying a quiet confidence in her magic that she showed at no other time. Much as he disliked magic in general and the redhead in particular, Spike had found it impossible to hate this one, despite the relationship she and the Witch had been developing since they met last spring.
“So, Glinda will be here in about 20 minutes?” he confirmed. Xander threw him a quick, delighted smile at the nickname and the Watcher nodded.
“Yes, she’s going to gather up a few supplies before coming over.” He gestured at the chaos of boxes around them. “I suspect I have everything we need here, but it would take too long to find it.”
Spike eyed the Slayer thoughtfully and decided he could afford to indulge himself. “Fancy a set to?” he asked casually. She studied him warily for a moment before giving him a curt nod, but Spike didn’t miss the gleam in her eyes. Oh yeah, this one wanted to see what she could do without her human side messing with her reflexes.
Xander’s brows swooped down and he frowned at both of them. Spike gave him a reassuring smile. “Just a bit of sparring to pass the time,” he said airily, despite the fact that he knew that Xander could read the predatory smile on his face.
“Right.” Spike lifted an eyebrow at the heavy sarcasm but Xander wasn’t finished. “Either of you kills the other, and someone isn’t getting any tonight,” he finished, quietly enough that neither of the other humans in the room heard him.
“Promise, luv,” Spike told him. Xander met first his eyes and then the Slayer’s with a pointed stare and Spike was amused to see her give his boy a nod, accepting the limits he was setting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was good. Ducking a swing and bouncing back up, Spike was intrigued by the differences in her fighting style. Smoothly perfect, flowing easily from one move to another, none of the annoying chatter and jokes he was used to, just grim, deadly silence. He spun and snapped a kick at her and she dodged with a lightning fast move that he hadn’t anticipated, letting his kick sweep past her, then darting back in with a punch to his kidney that he only avoided by vaulting over a pile of boxes that swayed dangerously under the impetus of his body.
“Careful of the boxes!” the Watcher called sharply and Spike laughed, giving up the notion of throwing the top one, helpfully labeled ‘miscellaneous charms’, at the Slayer. Rupert was studying the fight intensely, obviously as interested in the Slayer’s fighting style as Spike was. He was curious whether the Watcher was drawing the same conclusions that he was from her mechanically perfect moves.
The human side of her must be where she got the flair for improvisation that was so much a part of her fighting style. She was one of the best he’d ever seen at getting herself out of trouble in a fight, using everything around her to her advantage. He’d seen her stake vampires with broken bits of fence, a yard sign, and a discarded pencil she’d snatched up while tumbling ungracefully across a floor. This version of her wouldn’t get into that kind of trouble but he doubted she’d be as good at getting herself out.
It wasn’t anything near an all-out fight, the space was too small and the room too crowded with boxes they were both being careful not to smash out of deference to the Watcher. Still, neither were pulling their punches and she’d nearly snapped his neck when she’d flipped back to her feet after he’d thrown her to the ground, adding a double-footed kick to his jaw to the move. He was going to add that move to his own repertoire, it was both stylish and effective.
‘Course, the Slayer would be favoring her ribs for a day or two, and if she walked away from this without a limp, it would be through stubborn pride alone, he thought with satisfaction, even as he blocked a punch to his gut, and spun away from the kick that followed a breath behind it. She was getting predictable, he thought with satisfaction. Another patterned series of blows like that one and he would take her down. He bounced on his toes and waited for it.
“Enough.”
The Watcher’s voice was calm but it sliced through the room with clear command and Spike and the Slayer exchanged glances. She nodded stiffly and they both reluctantly stood down, backing away from each other and ending the “sparring session”.
Looking away from the Slayer for the first time, he saw Glinda standing frozen in the doorway, her eyes wide with surprise and concern, which faded into relief as she saw them break off. Spike had been concentrating so hard that he hadn’t heard her enter, but then he’d known Xander was there and would warn him of any imminent danger. He’d been free to focus completely on the Slayer. The human Buffy was watching her Slayer half, eyes unreadable, but Spike’s gaze slid over her indifferently to land on his boy. Xander smiled at him and Spike basked in the pride showing in his Claimed’s eyes. Xander could obviously tell he’d been gaining the upper hand when the Watcher called a halt, he thought, pleased.
“Tara, thank you for coming.”
“Of, of course, Mr. Giles.” Now that the fight was over, Glinda’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between the two Slayers. Like Xander, she seemed fascinated by the differences and unable to stop staring at them. The Slayer gave her a hard look and she blushed, dropping her eyes.
“We’re really grateful, Tara,” Buffy said warmly, frowning sternly at her double. The witch shot her a fleeting smile, then busied herself setting out the supplies she’d brought: candles, chalk, and packets of some kind of herb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The spell took longer to set up than to perform. Spike watched warily from the corner, Xander clasped firmly in his arms, as the Watcher carefully drew a pentagram on the floor and placed candles at the points of the star. Glinda directed the pure Slayer to change back into the same clothes the human half was wearing, explaining that the fewer differences between them, the easier breaking the spell would be. Spike was amused by the look of distaste of the Slayer’s face as she picked up the discarded batch of fashionable clothes. The witch “cleansed” the room with a bundle of something spicy that made Xander sneeze, then placed the two, now identically dressed Slayers within the center of the circle.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Slayer-Buffy asked warily.
Tara nodded. “Your natural state is to be together. Toth’s spell is doing all the work of keeping you apart, artificially holding your original self divided into these two bodies. All we need to do is remove the spell barrier which is separating you.”
She smiled reassuringly at them and stepped back out of the circle. “Are you ready?”
The two Slayers nodded, bracing themselves. The human half closed her eyes, the Slayer kept her own fastened on the witch.
Glinda began the spell, her soft voice was the only sound in the room: “We call on the goddess to help us. These two are meant to be one. Let the dividing spell be broken and the natural course be restored.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” the Slayer said. “That isn’t going to work.”
She opened her eyes and saw the circle of amused, relieved smiles. “Or maybe it will,” she admitted with a broad smile as she saw that she was alone in the circle. She stepped forward and gave the startled witch a hug. “Thank you. I really owe you.”
Glinda stammered and blushed, all her confidence deserting her now that the magic bit was done and the Slayer stepped back, her gaze swinging around to meet Spike’s.
“Shall we go find Toth?”
Spike stood, a little surprised by the offer. “Sure, Slayer.”
“I’ll wait for you here,” Xander told him. “Giles, can Tara and I help unpack some of these boxes for you?”
The shop door closed behind them on the cheerful sound of Xander’s voice, joking with Rupert and gently coaxing Glinda to talk. He and the Slayer had covered a block in silence when she said hesitantly but like she’d made up her mind about something:
“Spike, would you be willing to call me ‘Buffy’?”
He supposed he could do that.
~~~~~
A/N - Bits of dialogue borrowed from the episode ‘The Replacement’
TBC
Nothing the Same, Book 4
Chapter: 6/?
Feedback & concrit: yes, please
Disclaimer: don't own them, never will, just having fun.
Previous parts here
Chapter Six
“So, they’re both Buffy?” Xander asked incredulously.
Giles had wielded his authority as Watcher in a way he rarely did, ordering Buffy 1 to stand down and return to the back room. To Xander’s surprise, she obeyed the order without any argument. She simply turned and headed into the back room and had moved immediately to the far corner. Xander was uneasily aware that Giles had temporarily stored a number of weapons in that area, intended for training and emergencies, but so far she’d been content to pace restlessly, keeping a wary eye on Spike.
Buffy 2 had muttered something that Xander hadn’t quite caught but Giles simply fixed her with a stern look and she meekly followed Buffy 1 into the back room, the rest of them trailing behind the two.
“How did this happen?”
“Toth,” Buffy 1 reported crisply. “He had a weapon of some kind. The weapon did this to me.”
“To me,” Buffy 2 said under her breath. Giles winced, his gaze avoiding both women as he cleared his throat noisily.
“My first thought was that the weapon was some sort of shape-shifting device, that Toth was imitating Buffy somehow. But according to, er… Buffy,” he gestured towards Buffy 1. Xander suspected Giles had had time to get over the weird fascination that was keeping his own eyes bouncing back and forth between the two women, unable to stop comparing the differences. “However, Toth was still present after the weapon discharged which made that unlikely. I have been doing some research into what the weapon Toth was carrying was and it appears definite that the two of them are both Buffy.”
Although it was obvious that Giles had already explained this to the two Buffies, they exchanged looks full of mutual dislike and rejection for the whole notion that they were somehow connected. Granted, suddenly having a double would be enough to freak anyone out, but their reaction seemed like more than that.
Buffy 2 was physically the Buffy Xander had always known. She was wearing a brightly striped halter top and the red leather pants she’d been favoring recently. Her blond hair
was loose, the way she usually wore it, and large silver hoops gleamed in her ears when she turned her head. She seemed almost as wary of Buffy 1 as Spike was, staying close to Giles, her glance continually skittering in the direction of her double.
Spike was having a similar reaction to Buffy 1. He was leaning against the wall, his whole pose one of careless relaxation, if you didn’t know him well enough to see the tension in his muscles and the way his eyes never left Buffy 1. Xander was curious to see that he was utterly ignoring Buffy 2 in a way he’d never seen Spike ignore Buffy - original, single Buffy, that is. Even when they’d first met, when Spike hadn’t had much respect for Buffy’s fighting skills, he’d never completely disregarded her presence like he was doing now with Buffy 2.
“Umm…no offense, but why aren’t you two the same?” Xander asked. Both Buffys looked at him and he added hastily: “You know: different clothes, and stuff…” he finished lamely.
Buffy 1 sneered. “Her clothes are completely impractical for hunting demons. I changed as soon as we got back here.”
“Into my workout clothes,” Buffy 2 muttered, glaring at her double. “I’ve patrolled in these clothes a dozen times, they work fine. And you can go out afterwards without having to change.”
Fortunately, Giles interrupted, cutting off whatever it was Buffy 1 had been on the verge of saying in response - Xander didn’t think he was up to listening to Buffy argue with herself. Giles gestured to the book spread open on top of a stack of boxes. “The weapon Toth is carrying is called a ferula-gemina. It splits one person in half, distilling their personality traits into two separate bodies.”
“Come again?” Spike said, still not taking his eyes off Buffy 1.
“The weapon is apparently designed to divide a person into their stronger and weaker halves. In this case,” he gestured to Buffy 2, “one with all the qualities inherent in Buffy Summers, and,” he swung the hand holding his glasses around to point at Buffy 1, “the other one with everything that belongs to the Slayer alone ... the strength, the speed, the heritage.”
“Other than the wackiness factor, why would he want to do that?” Xander asked. “What’s it get him other than two enemies?”
Buffy 2, Human-Buffy, smiled at him while Buffy 1, Slayer-Buffy looked disdainfully at her human half, obviously not thinking she was much of a fighter.
Giles looked grim. “Because the two halves cannot exist without each other. Kill the human Buffy half, and the Slayer half dies. And vice verse,” he added with belated tact.
“Not a bad plan.”
“Spike!”
Spike shrugged unrepentantly. “What? Not like it’s something I’d do. It’s for cowards afraid to face a Slayer. Still, if you want the kill, not too many people are going to dock you points for how you take her down.”
“So you think Toth is planning on going after the human Buffy.” Xander kept his eyes firmly on Giles, not wanting to look at Buffy 2. Now that he understood what had happened, it was almost embarrassingly easy to tell which was which and he didn’t want to hurt Human-Buffy’s feelings.
“Which is why I will hunt him alone,” Slayer-Buffy said. “Calling Spike was a waste of time. I don’t need the help. I’m as strong as I’ve ever been.” She didn’t even try to hide her opinion that Human-Buffy had been holding her back.
“We don’t know that, and I would rather not take the chance,” Giles told her firmly.
“What happened to Toth after he used the weapon?” Xander asked curiously, wondering why the demon hadn’t killed Human-Buffy right then.
“The weapon only knocked me off my feet momentarily. Toth fled as soon as I was back up. I would have pursued, but I noticed her lying unconscious next to me.” She gestured towards Human-Buffy with obvious contempt for her weakness in being knocked unconscious by something as simple as being split into two different halves.
Spike snorted disdainfully. “What did I tell you? Wants the kill but not the risk. He’s too much a coward to face the Slayer, so he’ll try and take her out through her weaknesses, not her strengths. Wanker.”
Spike obviously had no concerns about offending Human-Buffy. Slayer-Buffy had a smug smile on her face as she finished her summary. “I brought her to my Watcher to be taken care of and he refused to let me go back out on my own,” she finished resentfully.
“The weapon was some kind of stick-thingie. It shot something that looked like a ball of fire. I was only out for a second,” Human-Buffy said defensively. “It hurt like hell but it didn’t seem to do any physical damage.” She rubbed her chest as she spoke, then added: “Except for creating her.”
“Buffy - ies,” Giles said, half soothingly, half commandingly. “You are facing an enemy who is known to possess a great deal of strength while your own physical condition in this state remains uncertain. We cannot know what all the effects of the weapon are and I would rather not test that under battle conditions.”
That seemed to make sense to Slayer-Buffy and Human-Buffy looked relieved, like she was willing to fight if she had to but hadn’t been looking forward to it.
“So, you want me to kill your demon, eh?” Spike summed up, looking almost unbearably smug. “No trouble, Watcher, ladies,” he swept them a mocking bow and both Buffies bristled and scowled at him, looking remarkably alike for one moment. “I’ll take care of the big bad wolf while you hide out here and do your nails.”
“I vote no,” Xander said firmly, raising a hand.
Well, at least it got everyone’s attention.
~~~~~~
“Xander…,” Spike began warningly. He was not going to agree to take the Slayer with him. She was setting his nerves on edge with her mere presence and he wouldn’t trust her to back him in a fight - she was too close to pure demon in this form, a predator controlled only by her instincts and her instincts were to kill vampires. He wasn’t betting his unlife on her ability to rein herself in and not stake him the moment his back was turned.
“No!” Xander repeated insistently, glaring at him. “You are not going up alone against something that has a weapon that can do that to you.” He gestured to the two Slayers.
“You said it shot a ball of fire?” Xander asked them.
The human one nodded, frowning as she tried to remember. “He pointed the stick at me and the end glowed and then, whoosh, it felt like I’d been kicked in the chest.”
“So, almost instantaneous?” Xander pressed.
The two Slayers exchanged glances and both nodded. “Not quite instantaneous, but as fast as if it had been a bullet,” the pure Slayer answered judiciously.
Xander gave him a hard stare. “That thing isn’t a gun, where you get cranky if the bullet hits you. It’s something magical. If you don’t duck in time, suddenly there’s two of you.”
Xander had a point, though Spike didn’t want to admit it in front of the Slayer. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out that the weapon would split him into demon and human bits. He didn’t have any fond nostalgia for his original human self, considering what a nancy boy fop he’d been. The last thing he needed was a physical reminder of his human life hanging about.
“Could be fun, luv,” was all he said, lifting his scarred eyebrow with a suggestive leer.
“Oh, hell no. I can’t keep up with one of you, much less two,” Xander muttered, making a face.
Spike just laughed. He had no intention of sharing Xander with anyone, much less his hypothetical, not-going-to-happen, double, but it was always fun to get a rise out of his boy.
“How do we fix them?” Xander asked the Watcher.
“I’m not broken,” both Buffies snapped at the same moment, then shot each other identical uncomfortable looks.
“Sorry, put you back together.”
Giles looked embarrassed. “I’m not sure yet. It’s been a trifle hard to concentrate.”
“So, how about we figure it out before someone else gets hit with this weapon?” Xander suggested pointedly.
Spike grinned at the look on the Watcher’s face. His boy did have a way of cutting to the heart of things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Putting them back together turned out to be surprisingly simple. The Watcher found the answer in one of his books and made a phone call to the witch who’d helped with the spell to take down Adam. She’d agreed to come over and do whatever it was they needed - although Rupert could work mojo in a pinch, he preferred to leave it to others. He’d long since admitted that he felt he’d tainted his own natural magic with his youthful indiscretions and only worked magic when there was no other choice. The shy blonde - Tara something - didn’t have that problem. Unlike the redhead, safely back in England again, the blonde was cautious with her power and only used it when necessary. Painfully shy and almost non-verbal at times, she came into her own when actually doing spells, displaying a quiet confidence in her magic that she showed at no other time. Much as he disliked magic in general and the redhead in particular, Spike had found it impossible to hate this one, despite the relationship she and the Witch had been developing since they met last spring.
“So, Glinda will be here in about 20 minutes?” he confirmed. Xander threw him a quick, delighted smile at the nickname and the Watcher nodded.
“Yes, she’s going to gather up a few supplies before coming over.” He gestured at the chaos of boxes around them. “I suspect I have everything we need here, but it would take too long to find it.”
Spike eyed the Slayer thoughtfully and decided he could afford to indulge himself. “Fancy a set to?” he asked casually. She studied him warily for a moment before giving him a curt nod, but Spike didn’t miss the gleam in her eyes. Oh yeah, this one wanted to see what she could do without her human side messing with her reflexes.
Xander’s brows swooped down and he frowned at both of them. Spike gave him a reassuring smile. “Just a bit of sparring to pass the time,” he said airily, despite the fact that he knew that Xander could read the predatory smile on his face.
“Right.” Spike lifted an eyebrow at the heavy sarcasm but Xander wasn’t finished. “Either of you kills the other, and someone isn’t getting any tonight,” he finished, quietly enough that neither of the other humans in the room heard him.
“Promise, luv,” Spike told him. Xander met first his eyes and then the Slayer’s with a pointed stare and Spike was amused to see her give his boy a nod, accepting the limits he was setting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was good. Ducking a swing and bouncing back up, Spike was intrigued by the differences in her fighting style. Smoothly perfect, flowing easily from one move to another, none of the annoying chatter and jokes he was used to, just grim, deadly silence. He spun and snapped a kick at her and she dodged with a lightning fast move that he hadn’t anticipated, letting his kick sweep past her, then darting back in with a punch to his kidney that he only avoided by vaulting over a pile of boxes that swayed dangerously under the impetus of his body.
“Careful of the boxes!” the Watcher called sharply and Spike laughed, giving up the notion of throwing the top one, helpfully labeled ‘miscellaneous charms’, at the Slayer. Rupert was studying the fight intensely, obviously as interested in the Slayer’s fighting style as Spike was. He was curious whether the Watcher was drawing the same conclusions that he was from her mechanically perfect moves.
The human side of her must be where she got the flair for improvisation that was so much a part of her fighting style. She was one of the best he’d ever seen at getting herself out of trouble in a fight, using everything around her to her advantage. He’d seen her stake vampires with broken bits of fence, a yard sign, and a discarded pencil she’d snatched up while tumbling ungracefully across a floor. This version of her wouldn’t get into that kind of trouble but he doubted she’d be as good at getting herself out.
It wasn’t anything near an all-out fight, the space was too small and the room too crowded with boxes they were both being careful not to smash out of deference to the Watcher. Still, neither were pulling their punches and she’d nearly snapped his neck when she’d flipped back to her feet after he’d thrown her to the ground, adding a double-footed kick to his jaw to the move. He was going to add that move to his own repertoire, it was both stylish and effective.
‘Course, the Slayer would be favoring her ribs for a day or two, and if she walked away from this without a limp, it would be through stubborn pride alone, he thought with satisfaction, even as he blocked a punch to his gut, and spun away from the kick that followed a breath behind it. She was getting predictable, he thought with satisfaction. Another patterned series of blows like that one and he would take her down. He bounced on his toes and waited for it.
“Enough.”
The Watcher’s voice was calm but it sliced through the room with clear command and Spike and the Slayer exchanged glances. She nodded stiffly and they both reluctantly stood down, backing away from each other and ending the “sparring session”.
Looking away from the Slayer for the first time, he saw Glinda standing frozen in the doorway, her eyes wide with surprise and concern, which faded into relief as she saw them break off. Spike had been concentrating so hard that he hadn’t heard her enter, but then he’d known Xander was there and would warn him of any imminent danger. He’d been free to focus completely on the Slayer. The human Buffy was watching her Slayer half, eyes unreadable, but Spike’s gaze slid over her indifferently to land on his boy. Xander smiled at him and Spike basked in the pride showing in his Claimed’s eyes. Xander could obviously tell he’d been gaining the upper hand when the Watcher called a halt, he thought, pleased.
“Tara, thank you for coming.”
“Of, of course, Mr. Giles.” Now that the fight was over, Glinda’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between the two Slayers. Like Xander, she seemed fascinated by the differences and unable to stop staring at them. The Slayer gave her a hard look and she blushed, dropping her eyes.
“We’re really grateful, Tara,” Buffy said warmly, frowning sternly at her double. The witch shot her a fleeting smile, then busied herself setting out the supplies she’d brought: candles, chalk, and packets of some kind of herb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The spell took longer to set up than to perform. Spike watched warily from the corner, Xander clasped firmly in his arms, as the Watcher carefully drew a pentagram on the floor and placed candles at the points of the star. Glinda directed the pure Slayer to change back into the same clothes the human half was wearing, explaining that the fewer differences between them, the easier breaking the spell would be. Spike was amused by the look of distaste of the Slayer’s face as she picked up the discarded batch of fashionable clothes. The witch “cleansed” the room with a bundle of something spicy that made Xander sneeze, then placed the two, now identically dressed Slayers within the center of the circle.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Slayer-Buffy asked warily.
Tara nodded. “Your natural state is to be together. Toth’s spell is doing all the work of keeping you apart, artificially holding your original self divided into these two bodies. All we need to do is remove the spell barrier which is separating you.”
She smiled reassuringly at them and stepped back out of the circle. “Are you ready?”
The two Slayers nodded, bracing themselves. The human half closed her eyes, the Slayer kept her own fastened on the witch.
Glinda began the spell, her soft voice was the only sound in the room: “We call on the goddess to help us. These two are meant to be one. Let the dividing spell be broken and the natural course be restored.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” the Slayer said. “That isn’t going to work.”
She opened her eyes and saw the circle of amused, relieved smiles. “Or maybe it will,” she admitted with a broad smile as she saw that she was alone in the circle. She stepped forward and gave the startled witch a hug. “Thank you. I really owe you.”
Glinda stammered and blushed, all her confidence deserting her now that the magic bit was done and the Slayer stepped back, her gaze swinging around to meet Spike’s.
“Shall we go find Toth?”
Spike stood, a little surprised by the offer. “Sure, Slayer.”
“I’ll wait for you here,” Xander told him. “Giles, can Tara and I help unpack some of these boxes for you?”
The shop door closed behind them on the cheerful sound of Xander’s voice, joking with Rupert and gently coaxing Glinda to talk. He and the Slayer had covered a block in silence when she said hesitantly but like she’d made up her mind about something:
“Spike, would you be willing to call me ‘Buffy’?”
He supposed he could do that.
~~~~~
A/N - Bits of dialogue borrowed from the episode ‘The Replacement’
TBC