A screaming silence took over the room but her words still echoed loudly in his ears. He stared, wide eyed at the now seemingly small creature lying on the bed, wrapped up in a thin white sheet. She didn’t move, simply looked up at him, a mixture of fear and anticipation swimming in her ebony eyes.

He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, like a fish out of water, trying to find the words, but they escaped him as the memories, now clearer, continued to rush him.

“Are you just gonna sit there and stare at me all day? Cause it’s really starting to scare me.”

She regretted the words the moment she spoke them. She had intended to put an end to the nerve-racking silence that engulfed them, but failed miserably. She had meant to sound cool and calm, but the faltering of her voice testified her unease. Nervously, she fingered the edge of the sheet that covered her, patiently waiting for him to say something, but he never did. He seemed to be in a daze. Colleting his memories, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“Well, I think I’ll go to the bathroom, since you-“ She started to move, her legs swinging to the other side of the bed, when she felt a cold hand on her arm.

She waited a few seconds before looking at him, under hooded eyes.

“H…” He cleared his throat, swallowing hard when he realised he wasn’t able to say the word. “How?”

“A lot of exercise and a very healthy diet make you live longer.” She attempted to joke, but the look on his face told her it wasn’t the time for gags. Even so, she added, tilting her head: “A very, very healthy diet?”

“Quit with the funnies Samara and just tell me.” He said in a grave tone.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not her anymore.” She spoke seriously for the first time, pulling herself free of his grip and looking away from him.

“How?” He tried to calm down; the word coming out in a whisper.

A few moments passed before she was able to look up at him. With a ghost of a smile she spoke:

“I guess those kids were right. I am a freak, except I’m a good kind of freak.”

He wanted to ask so many questions, to put an end to all the doubts that now clouded his thoughts, but he decided it was best to let her take her time.

“I’m not that little redhead, freckled girl that you used to pick on when we were in school. I haven’t been her in ages.” A soft smile settled on her lips as she remembered those long forgotten days. She glanced at a rebellious strand that curled its way over her shoulder and took it between her pale fingers. “Ok, so I’m still a carrot head…” Her hand travelled over her nose. “And I might still have a few freckles.” She frowned a bit, pausing and then a smirk lit up her face. “You know, I never thought I’d say this but... I miss those days. I mean, not the name-calling and bigotry of all the other kids, but… the small things, you know? Like…” she paused when she remembered a specific moment in time. “Like smashing the blackboard on you head when you called me carrot top and pulled my hair.”

That last sentence made him chuckle and instinctively his hand reached for the back of his head and massaged it.

“Like watching you drooling over Cecily, even though she never gave you a moment’s notice. I told you she would never get over the whole different social classes thing.” She saw the painful look on his face and decided to quickly change the subject. She sighed audibly and started to speak: “Anyway… To make a long story short, I guess I really was special, I mean, not in a Jewish kid in an entirely protestant neighbourhood kind of way but in a potential otherworldly being kind of way.” She tried to joke about it.

“What?!” Spike asked dumbstruck.

“I-“

She started to explain when a light knock was heard at the door. Spike didn’t even turn to look at whoever had interrupted them, he simply growled:

“Not now. Go away.” He could feel the person behind him take a deep breath to say something, but he cut her off. “Later!”

Next thing he heard was the familiar clicking sound of a door being closed.

“You were saying…” He spoke calmly.

Sam frowned a bit and then asked:

“Are you two love birds fighting again?”

“What? No, I just want to know what happened to you.” He explained.

“Well too bad, pal. Cause I’m not saying anything until you go out there and apologise to her.” Sam stated matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What? No!” He insisted.

“Forget it. Not a word.”

“You’re just doing this because you’re afraid to tell me something Samara. I know you.” He protested.

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just doing this because I don’t want you ruining the one good thing you’ve had in... Oh, lets say… forever! over such a stupid thing. I can tell you later. Now go out there and apologise already.” She finished her little speech with a deep frown and settled her mouth in a straight line in a clear sign that she wasn’t planning on changing her mind… ever!

Reluctantly, the vampire stood up and dragged his feet across the room, a pout on his lips.

“Spike!” She called out and he turned to face her. “The pouting thing…” she pointed at his mouth. “not working on me anymore. It took about a hundred years, but I’m no longer under its evil thrall.” She gave him a wide smile.

He shook his head and reached for the doorknob when he heard her calling him. He turned to face her with an annoyed look on his face.

“I’m hungry. Bring me some food when you’ve finished grovelling.”

He sighed audibly and prepared to turn the knob when…

“Oh, Spike! One more thing.”

“Am I ever gonna leave this room?” He asked exasperated.

“Eventually… Maybe.” She smiled at him. “Bring me chocolate. I need chocolate.”

“What is it with you and chocolate?” He asked with a frown.

“I never got to eat it when I was a kid. I’m compensating.” With a wide grin and a wave of her hand in a sign of dismissal she shushed him. “Now go! Shush! Go grovel!”

Finally, Spike was able to leave the room and make his way down the stairs. He froze as the conversation from the living room reached his ears before he made his presence known.

“So you think Sam is causing this?” Anya’s voice questioned.

“I don’t know. But we can’t discard that option.” Giles explained as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What do we know about this girl? All we know is that all this started to happen when she showed up. We have to-”

“No one’s going anywhere near Sam.” Spike’s voice hovered into the living room and everyone turned to stare at him. The only people missing were the two witches.

“Spike, we don’t know who or what she -“ Giles started but was soon cut off by the vampire that remained frozen in place.

“I know her.” He stated simply. “And she’s not the one causing this.”

“You know her?” The ex-librarian enquired.

“We’ve only known her for a couple of weeks you can’t-“ It was Buffy’s turn to be interrupted.

“I’ve known her longer than that, believe me.”

Everyone in the room frowned and waited for the bleached vampire to elaborate, but he never did.

“What do you mean?” Xander spoke.

Spike’s facial muscles contracted as he pondered which words to use. His jaw clenched and unclenched repeatedly, enhancing his chiselled cheekbones, pale lips being pushed together in the process. After a few moments and a loud sigh he started:

“I’ve know Samara since I was five.”

“What?!” Giles almost choked.

“Samara? She’s Samantha.” Anya spoke up.

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Giles was the first to ask the question that drummed in everyone’s mind:

“How is it possible?”

“I don’t know.” Was Spike’s immediate response.

“You’ve known this all along and didn’t tell us?” Buffy questioned, a hint of anger boiling up in her tone. “When were you planning on telling us? When you’re little girlfriend destroyed all of Sunnydale and killed us?”

“My little girlfriend, as you put it, just saved our asses a few hours ago.” Spike snapped back. “And I couldn’t remember her up until just a minute ago.”

“You couldn’t remember her?” Buffy asked unconvinced.

“No.” Was his simple reply.

“Well, maybe she was the one who orchestrated this whole thing from the beginning. Ever think about that? Either that or she has some serious ESP, considering she was able to predict the exact moment when it was going to happen.” Buffy fought back.

“She has a point.” Anya piped up.

“She’s not the one causing this.” He hissed between clenched teeth. “And you know it Slayer.”

Buffy winced at the use of her title. She hated when he did that, but she swallowed hard and snapped back as she stood up from her place and crossed the room towards him:

“No, I don’t know. I don’t know anything about her. Where she comes from, what she is. Nothing!”

It, who had remained quiet during the entire conversation, winced as the two blondes now stood head-to-head, staring each other down, Buffy’s first clenching and unclenching.

“No fight.” It squeaked.

“Shut up!” The two blondes shouted in unison, not even bothering to look at the skinny little creature.

“You say that she’s a good old friend from back in the day, but you can’t explain what she’s doing her, or how it’s even possible that she is here.”

“She would have told me if you hadn’t butted in like you always do.” He growled as he towered over her small form.

“I’m the Slayer. It’s my *job* to butt in when lives are at stake.” She looked up at him shooting daggers from her eyes.

“Being the Slayer doesn’t give you the right to stick your nose in other people’s personal life.”

“Reality check Spike, you’re *not* a person, and for all I know neither is your buddy upstairs.” She hissed. “And speaking of that…” she started to move around him to head toward the stairs when she felt herself being yanked back into place by a cold, strong grip.

“You stay away from her, Slayer.” He spoke in a low tone, which sent chills down everyone’s back except for the fired up blond that stood before him, tilting her head upwards in a defying stare.

“Or what?” She said between clenched teeth.

The vampire was about to answer, when loud stomping footsteps were heard down the stairs and soon two breathless witches were standing in front of them.

“Tara found something.” Willow spoke between deep gulps of air.

Everyone in the room froze, including It.

“She did a tracking spell. Someone’s been using some serious Magic, right here in Sunnydale.” The redhead continued to explain to the silent audience.

“We-we think it’s what’s causing all the chaos.” Tara piped up.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, Giles. Tara almost got knocked unconscious when she tried to track it down.” Willow spoke, throwing a supportive glance towards the taller witch.

“It doesn’t make sense. Something that big… the demons would have picked up on it. Spike would have picked up on it.” Giles argued.

“Maybe that’s just something else Spike’s been hiding from us.” Buffy hissed in a low voice, earning a cold look from the vampire who still stood next to her.

“No. We think that whoever or whatever is doing this is being really careful about covering its tracks. That’s why Tara couldn’t track it down. It’s using some kind of spell to hide the magic.” Willow explained.

“Can you find a way to break it?” Giles asked, standing up.

“I-I don’t know. Maybe. But it’s gonna take some time and I-I need some things from the Magic Box.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Giles decided as he started to head towards the front door.

“What if shifting happens again?” Xander asked causing Giles to stop in his tracks.

“I don’t think it will.” Willow offered. “The last shift was really strong. It took a lot of magic to cause it, I don’t think whoever or whatever is doing it can pull it off again anytime soon.”

They were about to move again when Anya asked:

“What about Sam?”

The ex-librarian pondered for a second and then spoke:

“Anya, Tara, Willow and Xander come with me. Buffy and Spike stay here and watch her.”

Buffy was about to protest, but didn’t even get a chance as the ex-watcher turned his back and left the household; the rest of the group trailing behind.

The two blondes stood in the middle of the living room, looking at each other in disgust for a few moments until Spike let out a deep sigh and headed up the stairs:

“I’ll check on her.” He mumbled under his breath, leaving Buffy behind.

“Fine.” She yelled up at his retreating form, crossing her arms over her chest and plopping onto the couch.

In the corner of the room, It scratched its slimy head, frowning a bit as he squeaked:

“And me?”

Buffy sighed loudly, glancing towards the scrawny creature but said nothing.

~+~

Spike walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

“Sam, we need to-“ He stopped in mid sentence as he turned to see her slumbering form curled up into a little ball on the bed.

He smiled lightly, coming closer and sitting on the edge of the mattress. He sat silently for a long time, just looking down on her, watching her chest rise and fall in a monotonous rhythm.

~+~

“Will you stop walking around in circles? You’re making me nauseous.” Buffy grumbled from her spot on the couch.

It finally came to a halt, turning to face her, a deep frown over its eyes.

“Me hungry!” He grumbled in a high-pitched voice.

Buffy sighed audibly as she forced her body to stand and walk into the kitchen. She leaned on the refrigerator door, staring at its contents. Reaching in, she grabbed a crunched up pizza box and set it on the counter. Her nose wrinkled up instantly when she opened it and saw the three day old pizza laying inside. Without a word she picked the box up and walked over to the garbage disposal.

“No!” It squealed, quickly making its way towards her in his ET way of walking. It was just so strange.

It’s long, scrawny arms reached for the box and before Buffy could even say anything, the red carton was in It’s mouth and making its way to the strange creature’s stomach.

“Oh, that’s disgusting!” Buffy mumbled as her facial muscled crunched up in revulsion.

It simply licked its lips and tapped its belly in a clear sign of satisfaction, but…

“More!” it squeaked looking up at the blonde with huge, pleading eyes.

“What? You just ate half of a family sized pizza. Granted it was rotting, but it’s still half of a family sized pizza.” Buffy protested.

“More!” It shrilled again, its lower lip jutting out in the cutest little pout.

It took all of Buffy’s strength to stop herself from going: “Aw!”. Instead, she opened the fridge once more and took out a Tupperware.

“We’ve got-“ Before she could finish her sentence, It’s arms reached out in a flash, took the box from her hand and dropped it into its mouth which acquired the rectangular shape of the Tupperware.

“Hey, give me back my Tupperware.” Buffy cried out reaching for the creature, but it slipped away.

Soon, the two were running around in circles in the kitchen, a mad Slayer chasing a starved Khind’Ara demon.

“Give it back!” she cried out when she finally managed to grab a hold on him by its skinny arm.

But it didn’t last long as he slipped away, running a few feet before stopping and turning to face her with a triumphant grin that exposed part of the box that was still in his mouth. Moments later a loud gulping sound was heard in the kitchen and It was running into the living room.

“Why you little… I’m gonna-” The Slayer cried out starting to chase after him when she bumped into someone coming down the stairs. She tumbled to the floor, landing on her behind, and looked up to find a very pissed vampire staring down at her.

Part XVII - Bleeding together

The door had been slammed shut for a few minutes already when it finally dawned on her.

“He thinks I…” She whispered to the empty room.

She was off the bed and out the room in an instant. She made her way down the hall, her stride still a bit uneven but growing more and more coordinated and confidant with each step she took before she stopped. She dwelled for a second; her gaze drifting between the stairs and the door that lead to her room; a knot started to form in her throat, making it harder to breathe. The distant sound coming from the living room snapped her out of her thoughts and she opted for the first choice. Halfway down the stairs the noises became clearer and when she reached the hall their origin was revealed. She silently watched him, in the dark, perched on the couch, his sharp features alternating between shadow and light as the images flickering on the television set reflected themselves on his face.

She could tell the moment he became aware of her presence. Even though his expression refused to be altered, his entire body instinctively tensed up, becoming rigid almost instantly.

“Can we talk?” She asked. She smiled inwardly when she realised she was actually saying the line that usually belonged to him.

“Nothing to talk about.” He replied nonchalantly, gaze still fixed on the screen in front of him.

“Spike, we need to-“

“We don’t *need* to do anything.” He growled finally facing her. “Now go upstairs.”

“OK, first off - don’t tell me what to do. I hate that. Never worked with Giles, definitely not going to work with you. Second, we *do* need to talk.” She snapped.

“Look, Slayer…” He started standing up and walking up to her. “Just because you’re all hot and bothered don’t expect this vampire to be the one to cool you down.” As he spoke he drew closer to her, his eyes narrowing in the process. “Not my fault that the demon slobber got your knickers in such a tight twist that you’ll do just about anything to get off.”

Buffy’s expression hardened at that.

“I’m not here to *get off*.” She hissed the last two words.

“Really?” He asked; his tone harsh and sarcastic as he tilted his head.

“Really.” She stood her ground. “I just want to talk.”

“Bollocks.” He replied.

“What happened up there wasn’t-“

He closed the distance between them until her back was flat against the wall, her body caught between the hard concrete and his body. His forehead came to rest on the white surface just above her right shoulder while one lonely finger found its way to her collarbone, outlining the shape of the bone as it travelled towards the hollow of her neck. It dipped down her chest, causing one slightly loose button to come undone under the pressure, partially exposing her lace-clad breasts.

“Stop that…” She mewled.

He ignored her, pushing the white fabric aside and cupping her left breast. Feebly, her hand came to catch his wrist, but instead of pushing it away, it simply clung there. She held her breath when the rough surface of his thumb brushed over her hardening nipple, his mouth barely an inch from her ear.

“Come on, Slayer. No need to play games. We both know this is what you really want.” She heard him whisper in a low voice as his free hand dove between her thighs to rub her through the denim of her jeans.

“No…” As the single word floated from her mouth her hips contradicted her, thrusting forward into his touch.

“Funny how your ‘no’ sounds a lot like ‘yes’.” He murmured while his left hand continued to worry the sensitive flesh of her breast.

“Stop… please… stop…”

Spike froze. There was a moment of silence before the same words that he had just heard echoed in his head. It was her voice. The same voice, but a different tone… more pleading, begging… scared. His eyes widened. Scared of him.

A lump started to grow at the base of his throat, expanding until it closed off his airway. He felt like he had just been punched in the stomach and was now choking. ‘Vampire, here. I don’t choke.’ the conscious side of his mind tried to reason, but there was no effect. He continued to pull sharp, shallow gulps of air into his lungs.

Buffy stared wide-eyed as he stumbled backward; her mind still in a bit of a haze.

“Spike, are you alright?” she asked watching him as he leaned against the railing of the stairs. “Spike?” She dared to come closer.

His eyes were wide and glassy, looking at nowhere in particular, unfocused. She reached for him and he immediately recoiled.

A rapid sequence of unsorted images flashed in front of his eyes. ‘Tiles… a tiled room…’ He waited a second. ‘A bathroom.’ A hint of grey caught his attention. A robe... a hand pulling at the fabric… a glimpse of flesh… and then her eyes - frightened green staring back at him.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sharp ring of the phone.

“Spike, are you ok?” was the second thing he heard and after a few seconds he was able to focus his gaze on her. He nodded. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” His voice was hoarse and weak, so he simply tilted his head towards the ringing phone.

Still unconvinced Buffy walked over to the table and picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“It’s gonna happen again.” Willow’s terrified voice was heard.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Whoever is using the magic is preparing to do it again.”

“I thought you said it was going to take a while.” Buffy reasoned.

“Whoever is doing this is pretty strong cause they’re trying it again. If they use the magic again they’ll have to bring down the barrier they’ve put up, so we have our opening. Tara should be able to track it down. You guys gotta get here NOW. Hurry!” The tone in Willow’s voice sent a chill down Buffy’s spine. There was silence and, for a moment, all that was heard was Willow’s heavy breathing. “Buffy, hurry. Something’s happening to us.”

“Willow?”

“Hurry.”

“We’re on our way.” Buffy replied.

Hanging up the phone she turned to see Spike with his head between his hands, sitting on the stairs.

“We have to go. It’s gonna happen again.” She informed.

“I’ll get Sam. You see if you can find It.” The vampire spoke, standing up and going up the stairs.

“Spike.”

He stopped for a second and turned around.

“You sure you’re ok?”

“I’m fine, Summers.”

Before he could reach the bedroom, the door was being opened and a stumbling Sam came out. She clung weakly to the walls as she made her way to Spike. Her hair was dishevelled. As she moved the long auburn curls tumbling down her back and her sides floated in unison with the white nightgown she was wearing.

“It’s gonna happen again.” She inhaled deeply as she took another frail step before finally tumbling to the floor.

Before she could fall the vampire had his arm around her waist and was holding her up. Her hands gripped the lapels of his duster as she tried to speak:

“It’s gonna happen again.”

“We know. We’re going to meet up with the others. You ok?” Spike asked. “You were getting better.”

“Remember my bosses?”

Spike shook his head no. She smiled weakly.

“Well, they found out I’ve been missing work and their pretty pissed.” She managed to gasp before passing out.

Quickly, he scooped her up into his arms and made his way down the stairs.

“Slayer.” He called out.

“There’s no sign of It anywhere.” Buffy’s voice carried from the kitchen as she entered the hall. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know. We gotta go.”

~+~

The door to the Magic Box burst open to reveal a flushed and heaving Slayer followed by Spike holding Sam’s unconscious body.

“You’re here. Thank God!” Giles gasped.

“What happened to Sam? She asleep?” Dawn questioned.

“Passed out. Don’t know what happened.” Spike replied.

“Go to the back, the rest of the guys are there. You can set her down on one of the mats.” Giles explained gesturing to the backroom.

Entering Spike quickly set Sam down. His hands, now free of her burden, came to brush her hair away from her face.

“Buffy.” Willow exclaimed.

Buffy froze when she saw her best friend.

“Willow?”

Her once red hair was now blemished by a few black strands. When she came closer she was able to clearly see her eyes. Her pupils were dilated to a terrifying extent and the little green that was left was being invaded by the raven circle that usually bordered her iris.

“Willow? What’s happening?” Buffy asked, her worried hands coming to rest on the Wicca’s shoulders.

“She’s not the only one.” Giles spoke up.

Looking around the room, the Slayer’s gaze fell over Anya’s face. Her perfect complexion was marred by deep flesh-coloured gashes that seemed to move along her skin, appearing and disappearing erratically.

“Anya?”

“It started happening just before Willow called you.” Xander said; his eyes never leaving his fiancé’s.

“What’s happening here?” Buffy vocalized everyone’s thoughts.

“The universes…” Everyone turned to look at a weak Sam lying on the rubber mat. “…are fusing together.”

“But that was what was happening before, what’s-“ Anya’s question was cut short:

“It’s permanent. This time, it’s not just places that are fusing. People are too.” Sam paused. “You are fusing with your closest reality.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“So what, in our closest reality Willow decided to be a brunette and Anya took face-carving as a hobby?” Xander couldn’t keep the harshness out of his voice. The fear of seeing his lover gasping for air as her face was constantly being distorted sparked the anger in him. “Oh, that’s a great explanation. Thank you very much!”

“Hey, back off whelp.” Spike stood up and cut the distance between them until he was standing right in front of the brunette.

“All I know is your little buddy has been keeping secrets from us and I wanna know why.”

“She’ll tell us when she’s good and ready.” Spike hissed back.

“Well, I’m sorry but it doesn’t look like we have time for little miss ‘I know something you don’t know’ to make up her mind.” Xander growled back before stepping around Spike and heading towards Sam. “Now, are you going to tell us or-“

Before he could finish his sentence he was tumbling to the floor as the weight of a very pissed vampire fell on top of him.

“Ow.” Spike howled as the chip went off.

Seeing his opening Xander threw a punch, hitting the vampire square in the face. Spike was about to retaliate when…

“Stop it. Now!”

She didn’t shout. It wasn’t a scream, but the tone of her voice made the two men freeze and look at the redheaded woman. She was half sitting up on the mat her head buried in her hands. When she looked up her eyes shone brightly as she pulled hard pants from her lungs.

“If you guys don’t hurry and figure this out, pretty soon there won’t be *anything* to fight over. Understand?” She paused again. It was growing more and more difficult to speak. “I am telling you *all* I know. I may seem very interesting and exotic to you guys, but *believe* me I am NOT that high up in the food-chain to know that much. All we know now is that someone is using some *serious* magic out there. For what purpose? We don’t know, but it’s causing all this mess so I suggest you stick to the original plan and track it down. Now!” By the time she finished speaking her skin had turned completely white, her face drained of any colour, her once flaming eyes now dim and lifeless.

“She’s right.” Buffy intervened. Turning to face the girl that was standing next to Willow she asked: “Tara, do you think you can do it?”

She nodded.

“Ok, let’s get to it then.”

~+~

They sat scattered around the room in silence as Giles, Dawn, Buffy and Tara prepared for the spell. Anya and Xander sat on a far corner of the room, while Spike and Sam were on the other.

“You alright, Samara?” Spike asked coming to sit next to her again.

“Will you stop asking me…” She took a sharp intake of air. “…that?” Turning sideways on the mat she added: “And don’t call me Samara.”

“You always hated that name, huh?”

They both exchanged tired smiles and sat in silence for a while. A few feet from them they could see and hear Tara start to chant. She sat Indian-style in a circle, a map of Sunnydale splayed in front of her. Her right hand hovered over it and from between her fingers strings of dust floated down to the paper.

“So… You gonna tell me what’s happening to you? What you are?”

It took a second for her to gather the strength to speak, but eventually she did.

“I’m being called home.” She breathed.

“Home?”

“Back where I belong.”

“Will you ever quit with the cryptic attitude?” Spike sighed.

“No.” She chuckled. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

She pondered the issue for a second.

“Ever hear of the Powers that Be?” She asked.

“Yeah. Supposed to be the big-cheese.”

“Something like that.”

“So?”

“I sort of work for them.”

“Sort of?” Spike raised a scarred eyebrow.

“I’m a bit too rebellious for them.”

“I bet.”

The two smiled at each other.

“I lied.” She spoke after a moment. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

“You’re not?”

“Not supposed to protect you.”

“And here I thought some grand force out there actually thought I was worth protecting.” Spike joked.

“Sorry to burst your bubble.” She smiled at him again.

The vampire forced out a smirk, but it was unconvincing. Seeing her lying there, pale as a ghost and gasping for air like a fish out of water, knowing that he couldn’t do anything to help her made his stomach twist painfully.

“So what made you come here? Decided to pay a visit after 100 years?”

“I knew something was going to happen.” She drew a ragged breath and continued: “Didn’t want it to happen to you.”

“Why me? Why not one of the other Spike’s? Like you said; infinite number out there.” Spike questioned.

“You’re my Spike. My William.” She replied looking up at him. “This was my home universe.” She explained.

“How do you know that?”

“I can jump between plains of existence, practically read minds and a do whole load of other neat tricks and you ask me how I know this is my universe?”

“Right. Not such a hard thing to do when you put it that way.” He ran his hand through his hair.

“Nope.” She agreed with a smile.

There was another moment of silence between them and Tara’s soft voice served as background.

“If you think about it, there is little if any difference between you and a whole other bunch of Spike’s.”

“Good to know I’m not unique.” He grumbled.

“Oh, but you are. You all are. But you’re also all the same entity.”

At that Spike frowned.

“It’s true.” She beamed. “Remember Aristophanes. In the beginning humans were a full circle, they tried to attack the Gods, the Gods-“

“-got pissed and split them in half, casting them to the world and now man is bound to walk the hearth in search of its other half. Its soul mate. Yeah, I’ve read the book. What of it?”

“Well, I never really liked Plato’s Symposium. Not a fan so…” She paused, gathering her strength and proceeded. “…think of it this way, instead of cutting the original in half, it was cut into an infinite number and it was scattered to different universes.” Another lengthy pause was needed before she could go on. “See, our ultimate goal is to gather all those pieces. It’s to find ourselves.”

Spike smiled at her.

“I like that one. Very philosophical.” He finally said. “So you’re telling me that we shouldn’t do anything about this universe shifting.”

Sam rolled her eyes.

“Of course not. It’s not time yet. Everyone has their time, this is not it. It’s not how it’s supposed to happen.”

Spike’s fingers came to intertwine themselves around hers.

“Every religion has its own version of it. Heaven, transcending… reaching Nirvana, whatever.” By now her voice was so weak it was barely audible.

She closed her eyes and for a moment Spike thought she had drifted into slumber. His attention was focused on the Wicca who seemed to be finishing her spell.

“You wanted to know what I am?” Her voice brought his attention back to her. She looked up at him with glassy eyes.

Spike nodded.

“I’m just a girl who’s found all of her pieces.” She replied simply.

“Tara!” Willow’s scream snapped them out of their world.

Turning to look at the blonde Wicca they found her still sitting in the middle of the circle. A painful look twisted her face, her hand gripped her chest as if she was having a heart attack and she was pulling sharp, suffocating gasps from her lungs.

“Tara, honey what’s happening?” Willow was about to reach for her when Giles’ hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“You can’t break the circle.” The ex-watcher warned.

“But…”

Reluctantly, she stood back. She knew the consequences of breaking a spell circle before the spell was done. Desperate, she watched as her girlfriend bravely continued to chant. From under her hand a dark shade of crimson started to spread over the fabric of her shirt.

“Tara! She’s bleeding.” Willow shouted.

By know everyone, except Sam, who still lay on the mat a bit to the side, was gathered around the circle.

A powerful light lit the map on the floor until it actually focused on a certain point. It lingered there for a few seconds before it disappeared leaving in its place a burnt hole on the paper. Tara’s tired body finally collapsed to the floor, unconscious. In a flash, Willow was at her side, her girlfriend’s head resting on her lap. Her hand reached for her neck and she let out a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse thumping under her fingers.

“She’s alive.” She breathed.

Looking down at her blood soaked chest, she pushed the shirt aside to reveal a small hole on the left side, bellow her collarbone. Looking up she saw Anya, her face completely distorted. Only then did she recognise the vengeance demon’s visage that replaced Anya’s human featured.

“What’s happening to us?” Willow cried out, her hair now almost entirely black as were her eyes.

“Oh my God! This can’t be right.” Giles gasped as he looked down at the map.

“What?” Xander asked coming closer.

“The magic… the energy it’s…” Willow paused for a second. “It’s coming from this room.”