"Anne..." Part XVIII...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XVIII...

The Bronze...11:30 pm...

"Actually I can't stay too late tonight..." Anne noted to Willow... "I wanna Patrol round the Master's ole place and see what the Annoying One..." ("Hah, nice one, Bu..." Xander started a chuckle, then froze as Willow eyed him...) "...might be up to...I heard a rumor...From this guy I slowly cut up tonight...Vampire, Xander..." she gave him a mock frown... "...who said in his last gasps that a couple of acquaintances of his were gonna tap the Mouth tonight and hoped to get strong enough to really kick ass...I think he meant it as a kinda last 'up yours, bitch' threat and it may be hooey, but it would be just like that little brat to try something to get one up on..."

What?...She eyed the startled Willow... "Just 'cause I'm dead and a manic killer demon you think I don't take my job seriously?...I made a promise to you guys and Giles and I keep my promises..."

Including my wedding vows...she folded arms, watching them...

"And I gotta check my email...See if anything's come in on William?...Did Giles hear anything new by the way?..." Willow shook her head...Trying to hold back tears at the innocently disappointed look Anne now wore...

This is not my friend...My friend is dead...She repeated within, briefly closing eyes...

"Anything new up at school?..." Anne asked politely... "Xander, you found a new Jesse yet to go steady...?"

Sorry...She grinned at Willow's glare... "I'm just tryin' to get him desperate enough to try you, girlfriend...Helpin' you out here..." They stared at her...

Ok...She raised a hand...Bad Annie side will crash for a while...Sweet Buffy only for the rest of our time...she grinned...

I'd rather have her riding us, Willow sighed to herself...It's when she does her Buffy she's most dangerous...Still, better she sits here playing Buf...Then is out there ripping humans apart cause she's miffed at our cold demeanors...

"Hey, Xander...How's 'bout a dance?.." He blinked at her...

"Why don't we settle for another drink, Anne?..." Willow hastily cut in... "Someone might spot you on the dance floor...You said you wanted to spare your mom..."

Yeah...Ok...A disappointed tone... "Rain check on the one of the greatest moments of your life, Xander...Get me a peach smoothie, will ya?..."

So...Willow eyed her...Companion...

"Does Angel have a computer now?...You mentioned checking your email...?"

"I got him one last night...Using the one at the public library was the pits...And I don't want Giles reading my emails...Personal stuff, ya know...Though I understand he'd feel he had to in case I was plotting mayhem..."

"Are you?..." Willow asked quietly...Anne staring coolly... "I gotta ask, you know...And I've noticed...You haven't asked Giles or us about the new Slayer...Or what the Council's up to...?"

"Haven't I?..." she smiled innocently... "Well, it's been a busy few days...Has she shown up yet?...No?...Well, when she does...Send her over and I'll show the new kid the ropes of Slaying..."

"What are you gonna do when she comes, Anne?..."

"Why, Willow?...Naturally, I'll do what every sane vamp but my William always has done...Hide under my crypt pillow trembling every day until the bad Slayer goes way...But hey..." she beamed... "Maybe she'll cut me a break 'cause I been such a good fill-in Slayer girl for her...You guys'll put ina good word for me, right?..."

Anne...Willow tried again... "About this 'William'...?"

"Oh...You're gonna like him, Wil...If his demon doesn't rip you apart before I let him know not to...His soul at least is kinda nerdy...Though I understand he's acquired quite a sleek outer demeanor, demonwise over the years..."

But the soul hasn't changed...she smiled...Not fundamentally...I know it...

Buffy's demon loves a nerd?...A victory our Xander will rejoice in at least...

"Who is...was...he?..."

"He's been many things...Usually of the literary persuasion...A poet last time..."

Last time?...Willow pondered...

"Anne..." Right here, girlfriend... "You love him?...I don't understand how that is possible..."

"Yeah, yeah...Demons can't love...Except maybe a kind of lust and protectiveness for their own kind...Yadda, yadda, yadda...I know Giles' books on the subject, Wil...But that's the Council's take on things...Not mine...And I am somewhat unique...As mine is a team effort..."

And we have tried for so long...To make amends and be worthy of seeing him again...she paused...And smiled...

"We as in the soul sister and me...Yeah, we've talked...Many times...Had to, to get the job done..."

"Your soul...souls..." One soul, many personalities...Anne politely explained... "Is working with you?..."

"We share a common goal...Compare notes?...Why not?...We both love him...And we're both guilty..." she paused, looking away...Around the room as best she could from their carefully chosen out-of-the-way table...

"This is Heaven for me..." she suddenly spoke... "Did Giles ever tell you that?...This is as far as I can go...The demon I mean...It's all the Paradise we can ever have...Whereas you guys...The souls I mean...So long as you don't merge with us voluntarily...Have Heaven forever..."

No wonder our kind dislikes yours...We send you guys off to Paradise forever and all you people can do is try to drive us out of the little we can only hope to keep for a short while, relatively speaking...As, despite our kind's boasts, you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of us who lived to be more than 500 here...

"This is my Heaven..." she repeated... "Or it will be, when I know William is safe, see his sweet soul shining on me again...The part that's missing...The part I'm lost without...My other half in Eternity, for both of me...demon and soul..." looking Willow in the eyes...

Who stared at her...As she quoted...

[from "Look Homeward Angel" by Thomas Wolfe]

"...a stone, a leaf, an unfound door; of a stone, a leaf, a door. And of all the forgotten faces.

Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb we did not know our mother's face; from the prison of her flesh have we come into the unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth.

[...]...O waste of loss, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this most weary unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Where? When?

O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again."

"Come back again..." Anne repeated...Tears in her eyes...As Willow watched...

"What?...I'm back...You guys want something else?..." Xander stared...

***

LA...The offices of a certain sinister law firm...Midnight...

"So...?" Mrs. Post, young Wyndham-Price beside her, eyed the death's-headed bald little man returning her stare from behind his desk...As several staffers and bodyguards, some human, some demonic, watched... "Do we have an agreement, Mr. Joseph?...For the sake of the balance between our forces, this 'Anne' and her mate must be destroyed as quickly as possible...Can I tell Mr. Travers you agree and will fully support the effort?..."

Joseph sighed...A great pity to lose so promising a force for Evil as this latest addition to the demonic ranks...And yet...Clearly not a team player, any more than her dear mate had ever been...Destroying her own kind for friends and family?...My demon god...he shook his head...Far too unstable and self-absorbed to ever be a useful force for the Darkness...Unless...We should happen to acquire something...Someone...Who might provide a proper incentive to bring her into the fold...

"An alliance between Wolfram-Hart and the Council of Watchers is an unprecedented step, Mrs. Post..." he noted... "However, the situation does suggest that we share a common danger...And that neither side would lose much by the destruction of what's left of poor Ms. Summers..."

Yes...he smiled coldly... "I believe my partners and I can look favorably on such an agreement...For the sake of the balance which above all things must be maintained between our forces...So long as your part is properly kept..." he extended a hand...Human enough, but somehow loathsome...Mrs. Post gingerly shook it...

"Very well...I will report to Chairman Travers that you have agreed to a joint effort...Our own special operatives are nearly ready to proceed onto Sunnydale...Any support you can provide will be appreciated..."

"We shall send our best...Though the species of assassin your Chairman has selected for the operation..." his dry, lizard's eyes gleamed...As he touched fingers to his lips and flung them out... "An excellent choice...Capable shapeshifters are so rarely found nowadays...You must tell me some time how you made contact and what you offered them..."

Under extreme torture...He did not say...Though, eyeing her carefully as she stood up...If the reports on this particular Watcher were true...Torture might not be required...

"Our Special Projects Division head, Mr. Manners..." he turned to a pleasantly smiling Holland Manners... "Will coordinate efforts with you..." "Absolutely..." Manners nodded...

"Lindsey..." he turned to the young lawyer seated nearest to him... "Please make arrangements with our guests as to our manner of support...I believe you know those clients I had in mind for this job?..."

"The ones in containment cells C and D?...I think they'd be willing to kill just about anything in their paths right now after three days without food..." Lindsey nodded...

"Just make they're fully briefed on our Miss Anne...And the appropriate rewards are offered..."

Wesley?...Gwendolyn turned to her colleague...Who sighed and rose...Clearly not as enthusiastic for the new alliance as his superior...Aren't these the very forces we are supposed to be fighting?...And now we turn to them to fight what's left of our own Slayer?...he thought...

Cute little Watcher boy...Lilah Morgan, seated next to Lindsey...Thought, eyeing Wesley as he rose...

How come that bastard twerp Lindsey gets to handle this one?...she fumed inwardly, giving the briefest of glares in return to Lindsey's quick smirk her way...Hell, I'm the one who collected all the data we got on Summers and her demon...She glanced at Manners...

Well, at least Holland wants me to stick after this little party...Certainly he and Joseph can't be putting all our cards on the table just yet...And there's always the chance they want me for something other than to leer at and fetch papers...

"Mrs. Post...?" Joseph beamed, rising from his chair as she, Wesley, Lindsey, and several guards moved for the door... "I will venture to hope that these negotiations will only be the beginning of new and highly profitable agreements to the benefit of both our organizations..."

***

"Anne..." Part XIX...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XIX...

The Master's former lair... About 1 am...

A newly returned Lester eyed the...as usual...Fuming Colin...

Fuming...But given his new number one's...By default...Report on the demonic Slayer's imminent arrival...Also rather urgently arranging for the vacating of the premises...

Goddamn...I'm supposed to be the one launching offensives...She the defensive player...Doesn't the bitch know her role?...

And this place holds so many fond memories for me...he sighed inwardly...Eyeing the familiar pews and altar...There the cross where the Master taught me to confront my fears...Within sane limits of course...

A number of Les' new recruits standing somewhat confusedly by...Not quite yet up on the vampiral facts of life, this "demon-Slayer" thing wasn't quite sinking in...

"C'mon, c'mon!..." the diminutive Leader waved an impatient hand... "We've gotta get out of here!...That bitch traitor will kill us all!..."

I thought you said he was the Anointed One?...One of the new recruits, female, hissed to Les...If he's so powerful how come we gotta run?...

Believe me...Les hissed back...You don't wanta find out...Just grab a box and be glad for the excuse to clear out...

"Is the new lair ready?...You did clean it up, right?...Cause when we hid there temporarily the last time she came by it was a goddamn pigsty..." Colin glared at a newly returned Darla...

What the...? she groused inwardly...But maintained her usual pleasant demonic exterior... Since when do I look like a maid?...Hmmn...she looked down at the cleaning woman's outfit she'd grabbed to wear after fleeing Anne the other night...Well...Even so...

"I thought it was best to get you and your things to safety first, Colin..." she noted sweetly... "And I've told our people there to get things ready...Just as you specified..." You lil' twerp...she did not say...

"I'll bet it's as filthy as ever...Damnit!...Why can't anyone ever do things right around here?!!..." he cried... "What's with you #$%@ing people?...@#$&ing morons!!..."

If he were my kid...Both of us human again for just ten seconds...one female thought, eyeing him...

"Colin..." Darla eyed him coolly... "You can rant...Or you can survive...Take your choice...Cause Joe just phoned from the surface post and his scouts say Anne is five blocks away and closing..."

Hmmn...

"And we couldn't bear to lose you just now..." she gave a devoted smile...Almost maternal in its sweetness...

Hell, we might need something to throw her off our scent as we flee...

"OK, lets get out of here!..." Colin called...

"Lord!!...Let me and my comrades deal with this creature!...We will defeat her!..." one of the new recruits insisted...Patting a couple of hulking comrades on the shoulders...Who looked at their buddy...George?...What the hell are you doing, you crazy goddamned suckup?...This isn't morning basketball league, you moron...

Colin eyed Darla who shrugged...Hell, why stifle such enthusiasm?...And he and his might slow her down for a mo or two...

"Sure, fine, go..." he pointed to the main tunnel to the surface... "And give my best to Mr. Nast, guys..."

All I can say is my new room had damned well better be clean!...he groused to Darla as the group moved out the emergency exit tunnel...George, followed reluctantly by his grumbling comrades, moving into the main access tunnel...

"Wish we had a picture of the place or something..." Colin sighed to Darla as they pushed on...

***

Angel's apartment...2 am...

"Hey roomie..." Anne grinned at the angelic one from his door as he sat at her new computer...Eyeing the screen...

"Where were you?...I was expecting to find you at the Bronze..." he stared at her... "Had some more Patrolling to get through...The Annoying One and all, ya know..." she eyed his stern face... "Hey, if you're concerned, check the papers tomorrow for hideous murders...You'll find exactly none..."

Hmmn...she looked at the computer...

"You know...If I didn't know you're too dumb to figure out how to permanently delete things on that I might be a tad suspicious at seeing you there..." she noted, coming over...

What?...she eyed him...No platonic hello kiss?...After I been out making the world safe for Humanity?...

"I was just looking over what came in...And as I'm letting you stay here, I think I've the right to keep an eye on things...and be sure you're keeping your word..."

Hey...She waved a smiling hand... "If I really were suspicious...Or mad...I'd be sweeping you up right now...What's come in?...Anything on William?..."

"A few mails...Mostly cranks, I'd say...But you can look them over as you like...What happened with the Anointed One and co?..." he rose from his seat and she slipped in...Hmmn...Nice of so many people to return my mails, she noted... "His Annoyingness?..." she sighed...

Mmmn...She frowned, then bit a lip, looking rather sheepish... "Missed him, I'm afraid...He slipped out with his guys to some new place...Unfortunately, I couldn't take any prisoners among the clowns he left behind...Newborns..." she shook her head... "You know, the sort of kids who think they really will live forever...They charged, I dusted..."

But I'll track him down...And your Darla...she smiled... "But...If you're nice to me, Liam...Maybe I'll spare her until William gets here and we discuss her fate...And yours..." she beamed...

"Darla would be...And her soul is...better off dead..." he shook his head... God, that's cold...she blinked, frowning at him... "And how long were you lovers?...A couple of centuries?...Geesh..."

Thank God I died in time and got my past memories back before we got too serious...she shook her head...

Hmmn... "That jerk from last night replied to my reply..."she eyed the screen... "You know, the one who was supposed to be the Internet guru of things occult in general and regards William the Bloody in particular...Nasty little putz, but he was the only one whose site actually had some genuine facts about him so far..."

Whoa!...She blinked at Spike's charming return letter...Holy Mother of God!...Angel stared at her...

"William...It's got to be him...Angel, look!..." she pointed to the email...

Hmmn...Does sound like the Spike I knew...he agreed... "But it was sent yesterday..."

God...God...she muttered as he watched her typing frantically...In spite of himself, unable to repress a small sliver of sympathy...The poor, poor kid...God, I hope Spike remembers her...

I mean that even apart from the fact that we're probably all dead if he doesn't and she takes offense...

Ok...she nervously eyed the screen...Just gotta wait and... "Angel, we got any fresh cow blood?...I really should dilute that human stuff I had from Mom's friend last night...Don't want get too hooked on human and blow my deal with Giles..."

"Why isn't he answerin'?..." she looked at her vamp roomie as he brought over the blood... "He sent it yesterday, Anne...He could be hundreds of miles away from there by now..." Angel replied... "If it even was him..." A glare... "I just don't want you to get your hopes up..." he put up a hand... "And Anne..." he paused...

Hmmn?...She looked at him quickly, then back to the screen...

"He may not...Spike at least...Remember...What you want him to...You know that, I hope..."

Yeah, yeah...She waved a hand... "I know...Spike might not remember...But William will...With a little help from me..."

"He's not William, Anne..." Angel tried again... "Leave my hubbie to me, Angel...I'll deal..." she frowned at him... "Don't worry, I won't kill you and the guys over a few little soul restoration and memory loss problems...Your worries come later...So long as you keep outta my way, ok?..."

Well...Looks like you're right...she sighed...He musta moved on...But, hey...she eagerly eyed the screen...

"This nomadtkirkjr doofus lives..." she called up Map Quest... "Just about 300 miles away...Angel!..." she gave him an excited smile... "He's coming...He really is coming...God, he could be here now...Oh...Geesh..." she looked down...

"And look what I'm wearin'...God... My mom would consider this conservative...Why did I listen to you and ask Willow to do my shopping for me?...Well, first thing tomorrow night...Annie takes one off and hits Sunnydale Mall..."

Ummn...He eyed her...What?...She stared...

"Well...We did buy a computer on my card last night, Anne...And I'm not exactly rolling in..."

She rolled eyes... "Let me handle that..." Anne?...he eyed her sternly...Soul-boy?...she grinned...

"Pal, if I can't acquire a lil' cash...Without committing multiple murders...I should hang up my stake and let Xander take his best shot at point-blank...Don't worry yer pointy-haired lil' brooding head about it..."

Hmmn...She eyed another email as he went to fetch himself some blood...

Well, well...Look who else is on her way and should be here within a day...She hastily deleted before Angel's return...Good thing I put out requests about the 'legendary Slayer' as well...she noted to herself...

"Anne?...I forgot to mention...Giles wants a meeting with you tomorrow night..." Oh?...She eyed him... "Ok, but it's gotta be after ten...I'll need shopping time and maybe..." she tapped her fingers eagerly... "William-searchin' time..." she beamed at the screen...

"Eleven, then?..." Yeah, yeah...she nodded...Scanning other mails...Eh, nothing else... "Eleven should be fine..."

After all...Even if William isn't here by tomorrow...Can't let my Slayer sister come into town without a proper welcome from her colleague...

***

3 am...

A cheery "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign went flying in shards as the Spikemobile whizzed to a stop...Spike emerging...

What, no welcoming committee...? he looked round...

Clearly the rumors of the Master's coming triumph had been...As he'd expected...Premature...

Phew...Last thing he'd want would be to have to cut a deal with that bastard Nast...Rather offer the Slayer a temporary alliance than be beholden to that posturing little vampiral Hitler...Not to mention having to deal with dear old great-grandmum who by all accounts had resumed her place as his number one trollop and doormat...

Though it might be a bit interesting at that to see ole Darla kneeling at her 'Master''s feet...Never would have believed she'd actually cave and go back to him...But then the poor twistedly vicious ole thing was all alone now...

"Dru?!!..." he called back to the car... "Rise and shine, love!...We're here at last, pet!..."

Hmmn?...She looked nervously up from the remnants of poor Ginger...Oh...she shuddered...

Sunnydale...

***

"Anne..." Part XX...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

[Of course the initial dialogue, including the great Crucifixion/Woodstock bit, between Spike and Colin's group is largely lifted from the "School Hard" episode...My sole transgression along such lines...]

Part XX...

Sunnydale...Near the airport...Next night...9:30 pm...

A tall, dark type in somewhat outdated clothes stared intently at the young woman passing...Small, slender, rather stylishly dressed, and...Oh...he sighed...

"Hey..." she stopped, smiling at him in the dark... "Sorry to cheat you outta dinner...I'm Anne...You?"

"Sig...Sigmund...You on the prowl?..." he came to her side...

Always...she grinned... "And for more than just dinner..." touched his face gently...He grinned as she took demon face and kissed him...Ohhh...She resumed human...

"Somebody?..." Hmmn-hmm...she nodded...

"And just the person I wanted to see..."

And suddenly tore at her blouse, screaming... "Help...!!" Hey?...Sig stared at her... "Help me, somebody!!..." she shrieked...

A tall, exotically beautiful, black girl appeared, running towards them from up the street...Nice...Sig noted to himself...But, geesh baby...Tell a guy when you're gonna pull a little stunt to reel 'em in...Hey, that one is...Fast...

"Help, help me!!..." Anne pulled away from Sig, cowering...Wait a minute...Sig stared at what he now realized was the Slayer bearing down on him...

"Anne?..." he looked at her as the charging Slayer whipped a stake and slammed it into him...

"Oh...My...God...?" Anne looked up at where Sig's ashes were falling...The tall, black girl now pocketing her stake and moving to her... "You all right, girl...?" the Slayer came over to her...A twang in her voice...

"Wha...What happened to that guy?..." Anne took the girl's arm, standing...

"He was a bad one...Just took hisself off..." the Slayer shook her head...

"But..."

"Now...Don't you fret, girl...You live roundabouts here...?"

Yeah...Anne nodded wanly... "I...Oh, God, Sigy seemed like such a nice guy...Then he just..." she trembled a bit...

"He was a bad one...Don't you be fretting on him..." the girl patted her hand... "So where do you live, girl...?"

"That way..." Anne pointed...

"I'm Anne...Hi...And thanks, by the way..."

"No problem...Kendra..." Kendra smiled...

***

10 pm...

An abandoned old warehouse, now Colin's new lair away from lair...

Lester trying to provide some long overdue good news, notes that the evacuation last night went off, more or less, like a charm...So far not a hint that Anne has caught on to their new digs...

"Lovely..." Darla sneers... "So here we are...Skulking from one of our own kind...No better off, hell, worse than when she was a human..."

"She is not one of us!..." Colin glares... "She's an animal!...And I want her put down like a mad dog!!..."

Long as we're wishing...I'd like a pony...one of the other vamps in the rear ranks notes to his comrade...

"Great, Phil..." Colin appears in front of him... "Thanks for volunteering to take the bitch on...I want ya to know I wish you the best of luck..." Ummn...

"We should wait, Colin...Ummn...Sir..." Les beside him, notes... Oh?...Colin eyes him coldly...Ummn... "For the festival, I mean..."

Yeah...Another stepped forward eagerly...Having not yet encountered the Slayer in either of her forms...Darla quietly sneered to a female beside her...

"This weekend, the night of St. Vigeous, our power shall be at its peak...When I kill her, it'll be the greatest event since the crucifixion...And I should know...I was there." he boasts...

Spike appears behind them, chuckling... "You were there?...Oh, please!...If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock."

"I oughta rip your throat out!"

"I was actually at Woodstock...That was a weird gig...I fed off a flowerperson, and I spent the next six hours watchin' my hand move...Why, Darla ole girl?..." he waves... "Good to see you...How you handling things since that breakup with ole grand-dad?...Bearin' up well?..."

Spike...Darla growls...

The other vamp rushes him from behind, and Spike swings his fist up without even looking, hitting him in the face and knocking him down and out...

"So...Who do you kill for fun around here?"

"Who the hell are you?"...Colin stares...

"Spike...You're that Anointed guy...I read about you..You've got Slayer problems...That's a bad piece of luck. Do you know what I find works real good with Slayers?...Killing them..."

"There's a little problem in this case, William..." Darla glares... "This Slayer's already dead..."

"Nice..." he nods... "But seems she's the independent type, eh?...Doesn't like to fall in step with the Evil program?...Striking out on her lonesome, siding with the lower end of the food chain against us?..." he shakes head, eyeing Colin... "Shockin', mate...I mean I know there's nothing I hate more than a traitor to our own..."

Sounds like a girl after my own heart...he thinks...Laying aside the nonsense about cherishing her local human pets...

"Well...Human, vamp...They're all dust in the end, right?..." he smiled...

"Can you annihilate her...?" Colin eyes him...

"A lot faster than Nancy-boy there...Yeah, Darla here'll tell you...I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag...Hell, who am I kidding?...I love to brag!...There was this one Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, and..."

He senses someone behind him and turns his head to look as he morphs human...

"Dru...You shouldn't be walking around...You're weak..."

Oh, Lord...Darla rolls her eyes...Look who's here...

"Look at all the people...Are these nice people?..." a wan Dru looks round...OH!... "Grandmother!?..."

I hate it when she calls me that...Darla thinks...

***

11 pm...

"Hey guys...!" Anne waved from the alley where she stood, partly in shadow, to the group moving toward her... "Great to see ya...Alls well, Hellmouthwise, Giles...I nailed some new guys plotting to tap the Mouth's energy for extra strength tonight but nothing really special...Say?...Where's Angel?...He left our place hours ago...Hiding in wait, maybe?...I hope, I hope..." she sniffed... Nah, rats...she grinned... "I was up for another clobbering session with him...Well, maybe when he shows at his place...So, how's it hangin' Willow, Xander?...You guys up for a drink or something later?...Maybe just Starbucks tonight?...My treat..." she waved some cash...

Could use a latte right now Xander thought...Gripping his cross tightly...

"Dishonestly, but not lethally acquired, Giles..." she eyed him and the tall stranger beside him... "I smashed open an ATM...I needed new clothes and Angel's place needs serious makeover if it's gonna continue to house me...Wil, you like my new outfit?..." she took a step out of the dark, displaying her new blouse and skirt, waving a bag... "I got some other stuff too...I'll show you it all later..."

I already got some stuff for her the other day...Willow thought...Was something wrong with what I got her?...she hissed to Xander...Who politely refrained from making an answer, referring to the urgency of the current situation...

It was nice stuff...she pouted a bit...I wear the same stuff all the time...

"Hi...I'm Anne, the Vampire Vampire-Slayer?" Anne eyed new guy... "And you are?...Somebody important for me to meet...?"

"This is a friend of mine, Tristam Reynolds...From England..." Giles told her...Ah...She nodded...

"The good ole Council finally getting round to cleaning up the mess, eh...?" she beamed... "Nice to meet you...Get in my way and you're dead, you know..." she smiled... "Else any friend of Giles as good-looking as you is a potential bedmate of mine...If you like younger women..."

"He's here in a private capacity...To help me..."

"... 'kill me'..." Anne finished... "Or '...give my dear ersatz daughter Buffy peace...' I suppose is what you prefer to say..."

Ersatz?...Willow blinked...Guess Cicely was a well-read girl...

"Anne...Tristam is not..." "It's ok Giles..." she waved a hand... "I expect you to seek help in dealing with this terrible menace from Hell...In such a hot form..." she grinned... "You wouldn't be the Watcher and second father I loved...In spite of the occasional major gaff like letting me die...If you didn't..."

"By the way...What's the word on my Slayer sis?...Is new girl on the job yet or still in transit?... 'Cause as I was telling Willow the other night at the Bronze, I'm looking forward to showing her the ropes, breakin' the junior partner in...Be nice to have some fill-in help when I want a night off..."

"I can't say as yet...We expect her soon...But Anne...Mr. Reynolds hasn't come to help the Council against you...In fact...Tristam..." he turned to Reynolds...

"Ms. Summers...I learned of your past existence from the Council archives...Several members of the Council, including myself believe a great wrong was done to your past self...Miss Addams..."

"Mrs. Walthrop..." she corrected... "Or isn't that in the archives?...As murdering my husband was the 'great wrong'..."

"Yes..." he nodded... "It is..."

"So..." she eyed him carefully but remained near the alley's shadow cover... No way to get a clear shot...Xander sighed to himself...Eyeing Willow with her crossbow pointed groundsward... "Some of you fellas have decided to try and cover your miserable asses by direct appeal to me?...What do you want?...Speak up, it's ok...Giles and my buds'll tell you I'm a vampiral model of restraint and compassion..." she eyed the Watcher coldly...

"I'm here in part to warn you...The Council is sending special forces to deal with you...They want the Walthrop affair put to rest by any means...And they are afraid of what you're planning..."

"They should be..." Anne smiled sweetly "... 'Special forces', eh?...Pity they couldn't've dropped by when poor ole Buffy needed a lil' support...And God, how I love the way you guys talk... 'Put the Walthrop affair to rest?'...Damn, that's right up there with 'terminate with extreme'..." she grinned broadly...

"And...I may be able to help you...Regarding your husband..." Reynolds eyed...

"Ok...Got my attention..." she nodded... "How?..."

"The Council knows your preoccupation with him and that there's a measure of safety for them and their Slayers while you're focusing on him...They'll be acting to prevent your meeting, and if possible..."

"Hold him...To keep me a nice dog...?"

"Something like that...Though more on the order of using him for bait, I'd expect..." Reynolds replied coolly...

Hmmn... "Hey, I like your friend, Giles...He's got that bit of M in him, ya know..."

"Ok..." she returned to Reynolds... "So back to how?...How would you and my dear ole Giles... 'Help' me?...And my husband?..."

"We could deceive the Council operatives...They'll be looking to Rupert for information...Even a small bit of well-placed misinformation could give you the time you need to reach William.."

"And you'll let us go riding off into the sunset to do whatever we like?...Doesn't sound like Watcher protocol to me..."

"There are places of safety...Both in this world and interdimensionally...Where demons, generally of a non-violent nature, are left unbothered...Mainly as it's too dangerous to pursue them there...I could direct you to one of those places..."

Hmmn...She considered... "Our own lil' Hell away from Hell, eh?...You'd take that chance?...And all 'cause some of you feel bad about the little incident back last century...Well..."

Why not?...she beamed... "I've generally been successful in relationships with Watchers...Of the ones I remember best...Merrick and Giles have been great... 'Course Farris canceled them out and then some but...hey..."

"Still there are these two sticky little problems in our negotiations..." she paused... "First...See...The Council is right...I really do want the Slayer line to end...And I don't just mean that as a demon speaking for her kind...Cicely...And even Buffy...And several other ladies my soul has been...Hated the Slayer...Hated the Council...And as much as they loved Duty more..." she batted eyes... "That hate lives in me and burns brightly...Fanned by the rather thoughtless murder and eternal condemnation of my poor husband..."

"I mean, guys..." she eyed the two Watchers... "I understand Farris...He was power-mad and rather horny...But what were your people thinking?...That Cicely would take this dying down...?...Her husband and her baby?...The Greatest Slayer of them all?...Please..."

Baby?...Willow briefly eyed Giles who remained impassive...Baby?...She felt Xander looking at her, nudging him to stay focused on Anne...

"As for my fellow Slayers...Better dead, believe me, than condemned to live a few years slaving for your guys then dying after being denied any hope of a life...Once they all got to Heaven, they'd thank me, I promise you..."

But...For Will's sake...And my dear ole pals...she waved at Willow, Giles, and Xander... "I accept your offer...Keep your Brit pals off my ass and see that William reaches me in one piece...And I won't act yet...Besides defending myself, naturally...Against any more Slayers...At least until William and I are back together and his poor soul knows I've come for him...Then all bets are off, of course, based on what my soul boy wants to do..."

"His soul...?" Reynolds eyed Giles... "Anne..." Giles eyed her... "You must know William's soul is long gone..."

"So your Council says...Giles..." she replied... "But that's the second little problem...I'm not seeking to run off with Spike the demon...See, I hate to tell you...The Council has a tendency to conceal unpleasant truths...Anyway...Consider this part of the deal and a major potential card for you...You guys are magics-savvy...You can surely figure out a soul restoration, right?...Heck, check out Angel's curse if you can't find anything else...But it won't be that hard cause Will is here...I know...He wasn't in Heaven and he wasn't in Hell or completely in Limbo...He or part of him's here...Buried in what you and Drusilla created...Somewhere, somehow...And part of the reason you guys are still around is because you're gonna help me when his demon comes..."

My God, Angel was right...Giles thought... It's the soul she's seeking...Not Spike at all...A vampire demon in love with a human soul...

Poor, poor thing...

"But just to keep things honest between us...And give you a leetle incentive...I got a confession to make..." she sighed...Pulling a body out from the shadows of the alley... "I was kinda yanking your chain about the new Slayer...She's already come..." she lifted Kendra's limp body to a standing position... "And I might point out...I did say... 'Any...more...Slayers'..."

"Giles...I want ya to meet Kendra, the new Slayer...Keny, say hi to Mr. Giles who will be, sort of, your new Watcher until his Council sends a new one..."

"...'Hi, missstah Giles...'..." she worked the jaw of the clearly dead Slayer... "... 'Looks like you screwed it again, missstah Giles'..." Anne dropped the body... "Giles...Two Slayers lost?...This is gonna really put you in hot water with the Council...Better thank your lucky stars ya still got me to watch over the Hellmouth for you..."

Kendra transformed...Xander nudging Willow...Oh, God, another one...Willow raising crossbow carefully...

"Oh..." Anne put a hand to her mouth in mock fright as Kendra the Vampire groggily rose in demon face... "Now, what's been goin' on here?...You?..." she eyed Anne...And the fresh meat in front of her... "You done bit me, girl!...And ruined me shirt!!..." she glared...Giles pulling up his cross as did Xander...

Willow sighted her crossbow...Kendra growling at the threat...

Grrr...Anne mocked, taking face as well...Scary...

"How's about this, sistah..." she gave a mad, hideous howl and lunged at her fellow ex-Slayer...Kendra backing away in sudden terror, ran off...Anne resuming normal face...

"Oh...Oh...A Slayer turned vampire!...Horrors!...Well, thank God, good ole Anne the Vampire Vampire Slayer is on duty yet..." she grinned at the gang... "Stay back guys, this is a job...And something of a pleasure...For me..."

And Willow?...Your itchy finger slips on that crossbow and you lose your mom...I mean it...she eyed her... "Catch you at Starbucks in fifteen if you can make it..." And raced off...Leaving the group in stunned shock...

***

"Anne..." Part XXI...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XXI...

Sunnydale, Starbucks...11:30 pm...

(Hey There... by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross)

"Lately when I'm in my room all by myself

In the solitary gloom I call to myself...

Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes...

Love never made a fool of you

you used to be too wise

Hey there, you on that high-flyin' cloud...

Though he won't throw a crumb to you

you think some day he'll come to you

Better forget him, him with his nose in the air...

He has you dancin' on a string

break it and he won't care

Won't you take this advice...I hand you like a mother

Or are you not seein' things too clear

Are you too much in love to hear

Is it all goin' in one ear and out the other..."

A couple of patrons sipping their drinks eyed the young woman singing softly to the music as she stood waiting for her second latte, fidgeting a bit...Then stretching languidly...Then back to pacing, looking out the wide store windows...An attractive girl, no one...Female as well as male...Would deny...But...

Something about her...Despite her surfacey-warm bright smile...Rather cold...

Or so Parker noted to his latest as they eyed Anne...From a fortunate for him, well-chosen back table...

She gave a quick smile at one fellow trying not to stare too long...Hey...She waved...Snickering a bit as his girl seated beside him whacked his arm...

What a jerk...Parker solemnly shook his head from his reasonably secure vantage point, careful to keep to a whisper...Some guys...Ya know?...he sighed...

"Say...I think that's Buffy Summers..." Cordelia beside him frowned... "Thought she'd had the courtesy to leave town after humiliating her family and our school..."

"Tall latte...Here you go..." a girl behind the counter handed the nervously pacing young woman a drink... "Last call!...We'll be closing in ten minutes, folks!..." she called...

"I wanted non-fat...This doesn't taste like non-fat...?" the young woman eyed the counter girl...A somewhat hard look that bridled any inclination to argument on the server's part...Ummn...Sorry, she nodded...Yeah, wrong one...Ummn...Here you go...

"No problem...Thanks..." a pleasant smile...

Hmmn...Anne looked out the window...A little cross now...Where the heck?...Ah...she beamed as Xander and Willow came towards the door...No crossbow in Willow's hand just now, she noted, a hair relieved... "Hey guys!...Thanks for coming!..." she met them at the door...

Willow eyeing her carefully...Xander looking the place over...Cordelia glaring at him from her table...

Perhaps rather more miffed at his obvious lack of interest in her existence....

"Come on, let me get you something...Then we'd best grab a seat outside...They're gettin' ready to close...Whatdaya want, Wil?..."

"I'll get mine, thanks..." Willow moved to the counter... "Xander?..." Anne smiled at him...He avoiding her look... "I'm fine..." he shook his head...She biting a lip and looking away...Then again staring out the window as Willow took the soda she'd bought and came to a stop just in front of her... "Ok, lets grab a seat..." She held a door for them, both stepping through quietly...

"You guys mad at me?...Over the thing with Kendra?..." Anne stared at the others as they found a small table and sat... "Heck, she's all set...At peace now..." A causal wave...

"I had to defend myself, Wil...And I didn't break my pledge...She wasn't human...Slayers aren't you know...Not really...We're not allowed to be..." she spoke a bit hastily...

Almost as if...Willow thought...

But then I suppose even a murderous demon can regret losing the trust of her...Oh, God...she closed her eyes an instant... I did...I trusted her...I wanted to believe...She got hold of herself...Staring at the sheepish Anne...

"Guys...I..." She gave them a wan... 'guess I screwed up but...c'mon...' smile...

"Yeah..." Willow nodded coldly... "Giles figured that's what you'd say...Our deal is still on Anne, if you're willing to leave humans...And other Slayers from now on...Alone..."

After all...What choice do we have, right?...she gave the vampiress a hard stare...

"Right..." Anne nodded coldly...Xander watching as she and Willow locked eyes a moment, and Anne to his startled surprise, broke off...Looking at her drink in her hands a second, brushing hair back...Rather nervous, he realized...

She's what?...Embarrassed...?...Anxious to cover her little 'faux pas' of a few moments ago?...

"But...You gotta look at it from my pov, guys..." A eager pleading now in her voice, staring up again, an apologetic look..."Giles was holdin' back any info about her...You knew that, Willow...You asked me why I didn't ask about her...I knew Giles would either tell me everything and bring her in on the deal...Or...He'd try to slip her in and have her nail me or William...And when I heard she was coming in and you guys didn't say a word...I had to keep the odds in my favor...Besides..."

"She wasn't...Family..." she looked at each of them...

Family?...Willow repeated in a harsh whisper... "So...We're...Family..."

"All I have...Now..." Anne eyed her... "Whether you like it or not, Wil...And after all..."

It makes it easier for you, now...Right?...she eyed them each in turn...

"Yeah..." Willow replied... "It's easier for us now that you're just one more of them..."

"I haven't pretended otherwise, have I?...Gotta give me that much, Willow...I've never claimed to be Buffy, hanging on for love of her dear ones..."

"No...Not in words..." Willow nodded stiffly...

"Anything else...Was you seein' what you wanted to see, Wil...Anyway...It won't be much longer...William's gonna be here soon...Xander?..." she called to him as he briefly glanced out, up the street... "If Giles and his friend have something waiting for me, go and tell them to go home while they're still in one piece and can enjoy a beautiful and meaningful relationship together...Things are coming to a head and I can't afford to cut all you fellas too much slack now..."

Especially members of the Council...she turned a bit cold again...

"They're not here...And Angel told us what you learned last night..." he looked her in the face... "It was your boy I was lookin' for...Your William is almost here, huh?..."

Yeah...she nodded...Eagerness in her voice...But a sudden thought as she looked at their hard faces caused her to stare at both of them...Guys?...

"You two aren't doing anything...Crazy?...Right?...I mean over a single Slayer?...Stand up, Xander..." a sudden, harsh tone..."You too, Wil...And both of you turn round slowly..."

Now...she gave a hard, grim stare...

They each got up, looking at each other and turned round...Phew...Anne closed her eyes a moment then grinned...Ok...

"I thought maybe...Well...Sorry...But that butch take of yours, Wil and Xander's attractive new lack of total geekiness..." she smiled at Xander who simply stared back...See, she noted... "It got me a lil' nervous...Anyway, ya should be pleased I thought so highly of your selflessness and all..."

"If we were going to commit suicide to stop you Anne...You'd be dust now..." Willow sat again, as did Xander... "But you're right to watch your back, 'cause Mr. Reynolds is right...Giles has gotten word that the Council is sending some pretty hefty help..."

"Yeah?...Like?..."

"We don't know the details but they'll be here soon...I'd find your William pretty quick when he arrives if I were you and take him to some place well hidden...Mr. Reynolds will provide info on a couple of more or less safe havens for your permanent retirement in a day or two and I can email them to you...Giles will do what he can to keep the Council people chasing in the wrong corners for a couple of days, but he can't guarantee he can fool them..."

The vampiress blinked...Hmmn...

"So that's it?...You guys will carry through on your end?...Giles will keep the new Brit boys on the block off my back?...And his boyfriend will give me and William the map coordinates for our own lil' love nest?...Just like that?..."

"Just like that, Anne..." Xander nodded... "We know we have no choice...But if one more person dies at your hands, including these Council people...If we think there's no hope of you keeping your word..."

We might just consider the suicide thing...

Yeah...Willow smiled coldly... "Be better than waiting to be on your dinner menu...And if it would mean a crack at taking you along with us courtesy high explosives or a small magics version of a A-bomb..."

"No need, Wil...It's all gonna end well for you guys...So long as you don't get in my way...Or William's..." she sighed at their set faces... "I mean it...I need you and Giles alive...Not just helping me get him in safely here...To save him...Forever..." Anne nodded...

"Forever?..." Willow stared... "Then what?..."

"Then I'll have done what I needed to do and it will be over..." a tight smile...

Willow eyed Xander...Then back to Anne..."And the Slayers?...The Council?..."

"If you keep your end of the deal...I'll keep mine...Not counting what I hafta do to deal with whatever the Council throws at me, of course...If they possibly manage to slip past you guys and your clever dodges, I mean...And of course, all deals are off if anything happens to William..."

"He must be quite a guy..." Willow noted coolly...

"Eh...A little nerdy in his old life, like I said...But can't help lovin' dat man of mine, you know?...And I owe him...My poor love...He wasn't much older than me...Buffy, Wil...And thought he'd lost everything...All because of me...Well, Cicely me..." The causal tone left her voice completely, she twisted her hands a bit... "He's a good man, Willow...Whatever his demon is...In torment and near despair, on the brink of eternal death...Soulwise, I mean...I know...It's not wrong for you to help me help him...I swear..."

"Right...Like poor Kendra, you mean?..."

"I have to save him..." Coolly ignoring Willow's last... "And you are gonna help me..."

"Or else?..." Xander eyed her... "And 'save' how?..."

"You're gonna help me...Cause you're my family and that's what families do...With a lil' coercion sometimes, maybe..." she grinned... "And I'll let ya know what you need to know when the time comes..."

She sighed as they stared coldly back... Ok...

"Let me pretend you're doing this for me...For Buffy's sake anyway...If it amuses me..." she looked away for a moment...

No...Willow told herself...She will not do this to me again...Never again...

"Oh, I also got some more stuff I need you to get for me...If you don't mind, Wil?..." she gave her a hopeful, sheepish look... "I know I'm asking a lot of you these days but I just can't get to these places before some of them close..." She pushed over a list...And a wad of cash...

"Keep your money..." Willow pushed it back... "Giles will charge it to the Council..."

"Nice..." Anne nodded, a slightly hurt tone... Xander fighting to repress a sudden urge to comfort her..."...'Poor Kendra's' not in torment, Wil...She's at peace...It's the new girl whoever she is, who's the one suffering now..."

"And you're ready to ease that suffering, I'm sure..." Willow replied...

This is Buffy's murderous demon, I do not have to feel for her...he thought, watching them quietly...

I have to kill her...

"Only if she gets in my way...So tell Giles to either keep her away...Or with you and where I can see her at all times...No more trying to slip a card into the deck..."

"You're afraid of the Slayer?...But not of what the Council has up its sleeve?..."

"I'm not underestimating the bespectacled and tweedy..." a faint grin... "But I know what Slayers can be capable of...And lets just say...I wouldn't want to have to fight her with my friends and family beside her..."

I'm moved...Willow nodded coldly... "Thanks..." She looked down at the paper on the table...

"Where the heck am I supposed to get...This?..." she stared at the list...

"There's a couple of costume shops that should have most of it...Addresses are there..." Anne pointed...

"Sorry...I know it's a pain but I need things to be just right..." she smiled...

***

Xander and Willow left Anne at the corner...She heading off towards Angel's with a smile...Bye, fellas...Call ya later...Thanks, Wil...And out of sight in a few seconds...

"We..." Willow shook a moment...Wil...Xander grabbed her... "It's all right...She's gone..."

"We're guilty now too, Xander...You can see that...We should've tried to kill her even if she killed us...Or been there when that poor girl came in...At least that much..." she was babbling a little now...Shaking as Xander held her...

"We didn't know the Slayer was going to be coming tonight...We'd've only led Anne to her, Wil...And Giles was right...She'd've killed us as well as Kendra if she thought we were in her way...She will kill us if she thinks we are..."

I'm still...Shocked...That she did it...Willow sighed...And shook her head..."How can I be shocked?...How could I let her make me think?..."

"She's a demon and a monster...And very good at what she does, Wil...Fooling people who loved her...Counterpart...Is one of the very good things she does..."

"Giles should have told us...We should've been there..."

"He thought it was the only chance to get her in safely...And he didn't know when she was coming tonight...If he'd been able to reach her and she'd come while we were with Anne, maybe it would've worked out..."

But it's too late now...he sighed...And all we can do now is hope the Council really does have some heavy guns coming...

"And there'll be another Slayer...There always is, right?...Always...When they die..." Willow stared at him... Wil...he shook his head... "It wasn't our fault...Your fault..." She grabbed at him again and he rocked her gently, stroking her head...Willow..."That poor kid..." she gasped... "Our poor Buffy...Anne is right, Xander...Goddamn the Council!...And all of us for letting these poor girls suffer like this...To save our miserable..." she sobbed...Gradually calming after a few moments...

"Do you believe her, Wil?...That it will end when she's 'rescued' him?..." Xander eyed her as they resumed walking...

"Maybe..." she rubbed at her eyes... "I dunno after...Tonight...But I do believe she loves this...William...Whoever he is or was...And that she's holding back for his sake..."

"Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly...I guess..." she sighed...Shrugging...She pulled out the list Anne had given her...

Well...Guess I got some shoppin' to do tomorrow...After we go hunting for Angel's 'Tara'...she smiled a little wanly at him.. "She's going to a lot of trouble for this dead guy..." Xander noted, reading silently down the list after she handed it to him...

"No..." Willow shook her head... "Not for a dead guy...For a living soul...Even though it can't be...And the horrible thing is, Xander...I believe her..."

And feel sorry for her...Even now...

"A brunette woman's wig?...Piled and curled in mid-to-late nineteenth century style?... " he looked at her... "And look at those dress measurements..."

She stared at him... "What?..." he blinked... "I can't understand dress measurements without being ready to take an apartment in the Manhattan fashion district with guys named Troy and Philippe?..."

Not that I know any guys named Troy and Philippe...

Willow frowned... "She must have gotten confused...These have to be Cicely's...As for the guy's..."

Short, slight fellow for our Miss Cicely...Guess she'd liked 'em easy to boss around...Xander noted... "Still...Little guy like this oughta be a fairly easy vamp to deal with..."

***

Midnight...Giles' apartment...

"Ripper..." Reynolds sighed from his seat on the sofa as Giles continued to quietly type at his desk...Jenny sitting in an armchair, dragged beside the desk...

"Just a minute, Tristam..." the Watcher raised a hand...He looked over the sheet...

"Yes...Would you mind looking this over?...I believe it has all the particulars...I even think I managed to spell the poor wretched girl's name correctly...Kendra, yes..." he paused, then pulled the paper out and handed it over to his fellow Watcher...Sitting again, staring at nothing...

Kendra...he repeated... "I don't even have the poor thing's last name yet..."

"Well..." he eyed Jenny who looked at him carefully... "Anne was quite right...I've managed to screw things rather badly, haven't I?... 'Giles...Two Slayers lost?' she said?..."

"Giles..."

No...He put up a hand... "I've no intention of letting her destroy me...Not just yet...Not until I've dealt with her...As I should have the first day...Tristam?..."

"It's fine as to facts, Rupert..." he paused...Laying the report down... "But I must object to your evaluation of the Watcher's performance...In my view...The Watcher in field made use of all available resources and bears no responsibility in the new Slayer's death..."

"Thank you...You're free of course to attach your own comments, Tristam...I'm sure the Council will appreciate them, once the crisis is considered over and we have both been dealt with in due course...But the report will stand as I've written it...I should never have allowed Anne to go unobserved for any length of time knowing the Slayer was to arrive shortly..."

"You didn't...Angelus was supposed to stay with her...You maintained contact to the full extent possible...Avoided any confrontation that would have gained her more information and allies..."

"Yes...I managed to avoid letting her kill me for the moment and using what ridiculous little I have to offer against us...Bully for me..." he got up and paced the room... "Don't blame Angel...After he told us what Anne had learned, I asked him to see if he could learn anything as to William the Bloody's whereabouts...I thought we've have time...That Anne wouldn't act against the Slayer, not yet..."

I suppose...he stopped, looking at Jenny... "I still thought...She was so anxious to please me, sincerely...I do believe that...And so concerned about this 'William'...There must...Somewhere within...Still be a little of my Buffy hanging on..."

"But...I know now that's not true...I have been deluding myself, whatever faint shadows of her personality and of this 'Cicely' have stayed with Anne, and even if she truly has retained some capacity for love...Of her own at least...And a vague affection for us, her..." he hesitated... "...her family...There is no soul there, no bit of Buffy struggling to stay with us...With me...And I will remember it from now on...I will destroy her..."

He smiled wanly at Jenny's stricken face...But...He paced again...

"But I won't throw my life away unless and until...I know she's finished...And my Buffy is saved, at peace...No, Jenny...I'm not going to play her game and go charging after her...Because I see now...She is vulnerable on two points...First, she is afraid of me...Even if that fear is unfounded...Or was..." he nodded... "Yes...She is afraid of me...And of Willow and Xander, and that's why she killed poor Kendra...Not so much out of fear of an inexperienced Slayer working with us...After all, we'll have another soon enough...But to try and unhinge us...Keep us out of the game until she's got everything set..."

"Which leads to the second point...She needs us...I don't believe she was lying...She would've killed us otherwise to avoid any possible risk...And she needs us alive, not as her willing minions...Or we'd be Undead right now...And perhaps..." another faint smile... "Somewhat happier..."

"To keep tabs on the Council?..." Reynolds suggested... "Yes, in part..." Giles nodded... "But she could get that from Undead Giles...No, she wants me and the others able to get or do something for her that we can only do alive..."

He took his seat again...Thinking...

"Willow told you that she told her she wanted to rescue William..." Jenny noted... Mmmn-hmmn... "Save him...Forever...I believe were her words..." Giles nodded...

"She can't really mean to bring his soul back..." Reynolds eyed him... "She must simply want Spike for her mate...?"

"She's been very insistent on wanting the soul...And not Spike..." Giles shook his head... "And I see no reason to doubt that...There'd be no need to deceive us on that score..."

"She thinks you can get him for her...She said that..." Jenny suggested..."Maybe she really does believe...Or knows, somehow...That the Council has that kind of power and you can get it..."

"But what good would it do her?..." Tristam shrugged... "Unless this gentleman was a monster as a human...In which case his soul should already be lost in his demon...He couldn't wish to be joined to a demon...Could never love her..."

"Maybe...She doesn't care..." Jenny said quietly... "Maybe it doesn't matter to her if he loves her...So long as he loves a part of her...Any part...Even the soul..."

"Giles...She told you she was his wife...Her soul at least...Maybe she thinks if she can save him..." she paused...

"She'd lose him..." Reynolds frowned... "I can't believe a demon would be willing to do all that for nothing...A self-sacrificing monster?..."

"She might...Knowing she'll never have him...Except for whatever time she can keep him on Earth..." Giles looked at them... "Wait...She told Willow the other night she knew she couldn't be with him except while he's on Earth...With Spike...Just like..."

Angel...They all looked at each other...A soul trapped in a vampire's body...

"She's hoping for you to get the curse from the Council archives...She thinks we have it..." Reynolds stared at Giles...

"Perhaps we do..." Giles shook his head... "It wouldn't surprise me if someone over the past century hadn't uncovered the curse, negotiated with the gypsies who created it...Surely someone on the Council must have learned of Angelus' condition..."

"And that is why...The main reason at least...Angel is still with us...Yes, of course...He might be useful...As a source of information...Even as a test subject if necessary..."

"Maybe..." Jenny looked at them... "But I don't think she's counting on keeping William here...She knows the Council will be on their trail from the start...And if you're right, Mr. Reynolds...She also knows William could never love her...Not what she's become...If he is the good man and innocent victim she's claimed he is..."

"Giles...I don't think she expects...Or even means...To win this one...Not the way we'd expect a vampiress to win..."

"Then she's a fool..." Reynolds shook his head...

Yeah...Jenny nodded...

"A fool for love..."

Giles looked at her solemn face a moment...Then continued his pacing...

"Whatever her motivations..." he eyed his companions briefly... "My job remains what it always has been...To watch and wait...And help Buffy destroy the dark forces leagued against her...She can't physically fight from wherever she is now...But she is looking to me to help her...And I will...The fight is not over and I am not ready to surrender..."

If only for the sake of sparing her soul any more torment...

***

"Anne..." Part XXII...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html...

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XXII...

***

Daybreak...

"Hey, roomie..." Anne waved...As Angel entered the apartment and quietly went to and opened the refrigerator... "We got a fresh stock, courtesy me..." she grinned at him... "Your stuff was gettin' a tad...Eeggh..."

Uh-huh...he nodded, grabbing a bag and taking a seat at the one table...

"... 'Why thanks, Anne, counterpart of my dearly departed ex, Buffy...I truly appreciate your non-violently acquired contribution to our food supply'..." she eyed him...

"Your former friends are a little less so...As of yesterday..." he stared at her...

"Oh..." a slight shrug... "The guys are a little antsy...There were some issues last night..." she paused...

"So Giles told me...You murdered the Slayer last night?..."

She frowned...Hey, pal...her level-eyed look said... "I'm the Slayer...In this town...And with William almost here, Giles should've known better than to try and let her slip in my town without telling me...I've been keepin' my part of our deal...But I'm under no obligation to play the fool for him or the Council..."

Lets leave poor ole Kendra in her funeral urn...

"Unless..." she eyed him coolly... "You want state your objections to my unladylike behavior in some meaningful way?..."

"If you continue riding Giles and the others this way...I see William as having a very short unlifespan if and when he gets here...You too, for that matter..." he replied... "And any chance for any sort of help you were hoping for from them goes right out the window..."

"No problem...We...Willow, Xander, and I...Talked things over last night and they understand the situation now...They'll be up-front about the next Slayer...And I'll award her honorary 'human' status..."

He stared at her... "So...The Slayer isn't human?...In your view?..."

"Super-human...And, in my view...Enslaved...to Duty and Humanity..." she coyly smiled... "Not quite my idea of human and therefore not covered by my pledge...Until our renegotiation of terms last night...Guess Giles didn't read the fine print on our original agreement..." she turned cold and serious...Even genuinely angry, he noted...

"He tried to put one over on me..." she frowned... "He shouldn't have done that...But I guess I understand how he felt...So..." she waved... "No hard feelings...On my part at least..."

But, anything new from my Watcher?...she eyed him...Council's 'big guns' show yet?...

"Would you expect me to tell you if they had?..."

Nah, she grinned...Shaking her head... "But I can tell from that grim 'gotta try and keep her guessing' expression on your face that they're not...You really don't have a good poker face, Angel..."

"Seriously...They very mad at me?..." she asked, a touch of real concern...And, oddly enough...he thought, a little sadly...Not just fear...Something almost...Like guilt...Or even a touch of sorrow...

"Well..." the moment passed as she waved a hand... "They'll deal...I've had to deal with a lot in recent years and it's high time someone else had to fret over matters pertaining to the Undead...This...utterly voluntary, I remind you...liberated Slayer is no doormat..."

"So Death and Transformation are liberations, eh?..." "Didn't you find it liberating, Angelus...?" she grinned...

Be honest...

"Sure..." he smiled coolly... "I'll be honest...Two hundred plus years ago I woke into my 'liberation' to find myself imprisoned by daylight, crawling about in the dark like a rat, unable to love or be loved except by a creature who hated me as much as she cared for me...And totally enslaved to bloodlust and murder..."

She stared at him a moment...Then smiled back...Gently... "I seem to have made out better...But then I still have a goal...A love to hold on to..."

As much a dream it may be...she nodded at him, her gentle smile widening...

***

Colin's warehouse lair...About 6 am...

"Well?..." Spike eyed the two vamps just returned from the rounds of local vamp hangouts he'd sent them to canvas for signs of the vampire vampire-slayer...

"No one's seen her since she was hunting before midnight...But the word on the street is that she's still hanging with Angelus at his place..." one noted...

"No way...Really?...So old Angelus is making time with our psycho-killer sister?..." he grinned...And eyed a frowning Darla, standing beside Colin...Likewise a bit inclined to fume mode...Damn, I'm in charge here...I review the surveillance reports...Me, the Leader...The Anointed One...

"Hey!..." he called to the two vamps... "You make your reports to me!...And you, pal..." the diminutive Leader turned to Spike who gave a faint smile... "You clear these patrols with me from now on..."

"Yes...Sir..." A smiling nod... "Sorry, lad...Er, sir...Just anxious to get at our traitorous lass...No offense intended..." Darla rolling eyes behind him...

"Just remember who's running things here..." Colin eyed him coldly... "Of course...Sir..." Spike gave an airy wave... "Well, I best check on my Dru...Then, if you'd be willing...We can discuss plans for a little get-together with my grandsire..."

"He's another traitor...That worthless souled bastard!..." Spike eyed Colin coolly... "Please...You're talking about my grandsire...The one who taught me all I know...My Yoda, so to speak..."

"He has betrayed us, Spike..." Darla chimed in... "It's that damned soul of his...If you and that crazy maniac of yours hadn't killed those damned gypsies..."

He was on her in a second, tossing her to the floor, she barely having time to register a startled expression as he stood over her...an equally shocked Colin hastily falling back to the protection of several guards... "Darla...We are family...But I really must ask you not to insult my girl, dear heart...Poor Dru can't help what Angelus made her...And if you don't lay off, I'll have to stand up for my mate...There'll be all kinds of trouble and mess...Our bizarro Slayer will have a field day picking us off as we fight...And your little festival will be all spoilt..."

"Enough, Spike!...Let her go!..." Colin yelled at him... "Why, certainly...If she'll lay off..."

He released her and she backed away...

"And properly apologize..." he eyed Colin coldly...Who hesitated...Then...Seeing that certain something in his new acolyte's icy stare...

"Darla...Apologize..." What?...she choked, staring...Then choked literally as Spike grabbed her by the throat, lifting her... "You hear what our beloved Anointed says...Do right by your little grand-daughter, granny...Now..."

"I...Unnh...Apol...ogize..." she gasped out...He let her go and she fell to the ground... "See...Easy..." he smiled beatifically at her...And walked out of the room, over to a stairway, heading down...

"Back in just a bit..." he called to Colin...Who watched him head down...Darla staggering over...

"He's dangerous...Unreliable...Kill him while you still can..." she told him...Colin shaking his head...Sighing...

"He's all we got right now...Anyway...One of them is bound to take the other out..."

"What if they unite against us?..." she suggested... "There's no way to be sure what Anne's plans are...This 'Undead Slayer' business may be just a lark...Or a deception...She might be planning to take over here...And if she's 'flexible' regarding Dru...Spike would be happy to consider a menage a` trois, believe me..."

Really?...Several vamps thought simultaneously...

Heck, could we be doing worse under her...?

"We'll keep a watch on him...On both of them..." Colin nodded...

Great...That's sure to be a big help...Given our success against Anne so far...she thought...

Hmmn?...His 'Yoda'?...

***

Sunnydale downtown...8 am...

"Hey..." Willow waved at Xander who came up carefully...

"No problems with...?" Nah...he shook his head... "My parents were deeply concerned about my sudden near-fatal attack of imitation cramps last night but Duty called..."

She eyed him a long moment...Abuse, Anne had said...And now, knowing...It wasn't all that hard to...

"My mom'll check on me about noon, I'd say...So as long as I'm home to take a call then, it should be fine...How's about you, my fiendish red-haired mistress of deception?...What elaborate story did you concoct to cover?..."

"Told my mom Buffy asked me to help her get a few things and to move...Pointed out it would be a great objective lesson, seeing my friend's fatally-narrowed-by-a-tragic-mistake life...and that it would keep me out of the library for a day...Mom's big on lessons by experience...Especially if it's not direct experience..." she smiled wanly...

"So then this is a day of independence...For all the Munchkins...And their descendants..."

"If any..." Willow eyed him...Yeah, he sighed, smiling back at her...

If any...

"So...Stores don't open for an hour...I assume it's a 'Tara' hunt we're attempting first...?"

"Yeah...Whoever she is, she's gotta be staying at one of the local motels, cause she wasn't in the shelter..."

Oh...And you learned this, how?...he eyed her carefully... "I checked with them before you came..." she grinned... "No young women of Angel's description within the last month..."

"Willow...Shelters...Alone...Bad..." Xander shook his head... "All very well to volunteer when there's a full staff and other committed do-gooders about...But they've got almost nobody at seven except guys who can be difficult to distinguish from vampires when they're on a bender..."

"And you know this...How?..."

"Lets just say...I've become acquainted with the place over the years..." he put up a hand as she stared... "Mainly to pick up my dad when he felt it was best not to show at home for a few days..."

"I see..." she nodded...Watching his serious face... "I'll try to be more careful..."

I see...Now...she thought...Oh, Xander...My poor Xander...I loved you?...How could I have been so thoughtless?...Was I blind?...Or just refused to let myself see?...

I see...Thanks to my... 'friend'...Anne...

"So...We hit a phone booth and start trying Sunnydale's vast selection of temporary domiciles?...I'd suggest we start with the Econolodge on Forsyth..." he stared at her... "Willow?...Ok?..."

"Yeah..." she nodded...Staring back...

I see...And I'll never, never let anyone hurt you again...

***

"Anne..." Part XXIII...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XXIII...

The library at Sunnydale High...8:30 am...

"Yes...Sir..." Giles spoke into the phone...Tristam Reynolds and Jenny Calendar watching as they sat at the main research table, a number of volumes open round them and an open and Net-connected laptop in front of Jenny... "I understand...Completely..."

"No, Reynolds has not yet attempted to make contact with me..." he noted...Tristam giving Jenny a wry grin... "But I will alert you the moment he surfaces here..."

"Yes..." he sighed... "Our new Slayer-vampire has undoubtedly been dealt with...Anne destroyed her after transforming her...My report is on its way to you now..."

"Has there been any word regarding William the Bloody?...I see..."

Yes...he nodded at the phone... "Yes, sir...I will have my 'people' here maintain a watch for him...Are the teams in LA ready?...Very well, I'll have my reports and records ready for them..."

He paused, listening...Jenny watching his near but not quite impassive face...

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman...However I must hold myself responsible...Poor Kendra should have been better served by me...As should Ms. Summers herself..."

Well...Thank you, sir...I will contact you the moment I learn anything new...And I will have the new team members call you on their arrival...he hung up...

Reynolds eyed him...

"Well, Tris..." Giles smiled faintly at his friend... "It seems you are a most dangerous and unscrupulous individual...Despite what the Chairman concedes as a near-fanatic desire to do the right thing by our poor ex-Slayer..."

"He told me almost the whole truth...That you were obsessed with legends centering around Buffy Summers and a past Slayer and that you...Wrongly...Believed she was the reincarnation of that Slayer and should be spared owing to our group's guilt in the past Slayer's death..."

And naturally he referred to your near-paranoiac mental state...he grinned openly now... "It seems you and several others have been working much much too hard recently...And have lost your sense of proportion and judgment..."

"I'm surprised he was that honest with you...He told you about Cicely?..."

"Only in vague reference to your delusions...And dismissed anything you might tell me as the ravings of an overworked and fearful man..."

"Overworked, undoubtedly...Fearful, unquestionably...I'm afraid the Chairman knows me better than I ever thought possible..." Tristam smiled...

"Well...Lets not be foolish enough to assume he actually believed what I told him about you not yet arriving..." Giles noted... "Quentin Travers may be a little bastard, cast in Simon Farris' mold...But like our dear ancestor he is no fool..." Travers nodded...Pausing...

"Any word on...?"

"Axton and Creel were censured by the Inner Council a short time ago...Officially for unspecified charges, though the Chairman confided to me that they were partners in your insane scheme to purge the Council of past guilt...Apparently former Chairman Axton is the one who incited you in your deluded efforts, out of his own mistaken panic over the situation..."

They're sentenced to expulsion and banishment from England only, confined for the duration of the crisis...Giles eyed his friend who let out a relieved breath...

"It was unlikely Travers would try for harsher punishment right now...It would stir up questions and controversy..." Yes...Reynolds nodded...And the Council teams in LA?...

"The Council representatives should be here within the next few hours...The 'special operatives' will come when convenient and remain unknown to us...Until they require our help, should they..."

"And we're going to...?" Jenny broke in...

"Wait for the arrival of my fellow Councilors...You know them, Tristam?...Mrs. Gwendolyn Post and young Wyndham-Price, Roger's son?...Wesley, I believe..."

Hmmn...Reynolds frowned... "Yes...I know Gwen Post...Her husband Philip was an old friend...So Travers entrusted things to her, eh?..."

"Oh?..." Giles stared at him... "Bad?..."

"Ambitious, scheming...Pushed Phil into taking the Mandalay assignment, a disaster which you've no doubt heard about...?" Giles nodded... "...Some of us think to get rid of a useless burden...I suppose ole Quentin felt she'd be perfect for the job..."

"Giles...?" Jenny broke in... "Are we going to warn Anne that the Council's assassins are nearly here...?"

Tristam eyed Giles as well...Who gave Jenny a non-commital look... "Anne seems well able to deal with threats to her person..."

"Ripper?..." Reynolds began... "No, Tris..." Giles shook his head... "We may owe Cicely Walthrop many things but we do not owe her demon protection...No...If the Council's operatives can destroy Anne...So be it...If not...And frankly I suspect Anne will prove to be a bit much for them...I will destroy her...When the chance comes..."

"When William is here and you can use him against her?..." Jenny asked...A bit coldly...

"I should let the monster that took my poor...Child's...Body and memories...And used them to kill...And to abuse my poor Buffy's memory...Humiliate her poor tormented soul...Live and escape to kill others with her William, perhaps forever?..."

If I must use William the Bloody to destroy Anne I will...

"I came, Giles..." Reynolds began... Giles put up a hand... "If I can...I will try to see that what's left of Cicely has her chance to find her beloved...And if you wish, Tris...And time allows...By all means, abjectly apologize to her and him in our name...But as soon as she has had her meeting...Her chance to 'save' as she calls it...Her William...If they have survived that long...I'll kill them...Both...And give them...And my poor, poor girl...Peace..."

***

Hmmn...Willow looked at Xander as they stood at the door of the Forsyth St. Econolodge's room 212...That was easy...

"Funny...I thought motel clerks weren't supposed to give out the names of their clientele..." she noted...

"That's in movies, Wil...And we did say we were family trying to get her number...Hope she stayed round after our call...She seemed pretty ner..." the door opened...A tall brown-blonde stared out at them... "Willow Rosenberg...?" she eyed Xander...Uh...He looked at Willow...

Hey...Willow waved...

"And this is Xander Harris..." she indicated Xander...

Hi...Tara nodded shyly... "Come on in..."

***

Angel's room, 9:20 am...

"So...?" Anne looked round the room from where she lay on Angel's bed... "Anything good on TV this morning?...I really don't feel much like sleepin'..."

He looked up from where he was reading at the one rather shabby table... "Game shows, talk shows...Might be an old movie on AMC..."

Hmmn...She frowned...Not too promising...Still...She fumbled about for the newspaper TV listings...Hmmn...

"10 am...Sunrise...A 1927 classic silent film by FW Murnau, employing some of the first uses of sound in a motion film...The acclaimed story of a young farmer lured to destruction by a 'woman from the city' who urges him to kill his innocent..." she paused...Angel looking at her after a moment...Shocked to find her...Crying...

"...Innocent..." she murmured... "Innocent...And murdered...Condemned...Forever..."

Forever...she stared at Angel...But something else appearing on her tear-streaked face now...

A cold, bitter rage...

His eyes met hers...A long moment...

"If you had had any guts...Any strength of character..." she whispered...

"Can your William fight his demon?...Has Spike ever hesitated to kill...Anyone?..." he stared back at her...

"There's no Drusilla in William's past..." she said quietly, eyes raised...Proudly, he noted... "Whatever Spike is...There's no Dru for him to atone for..."

"But there's a Kendra in yours..." he pointed out coldly...She gave a cold smile...And blinked, her face resuming its normal, almost friendly, almost Buffy expression...

"Sorry...Bad memories rising up..." she shook her head... "The Cicely will out...And she just don't cotton to you much Angelus...er Angel..."

"There's nothing more I can do than what I am doing, Anne...I can't take back the past...And I wasn't able to control Angelus any more than poor Buffy can stop you..."

Or your Will can hold Spike down...

"Buf doesn't want to stop me..." she beamed at him... He stared...

"Oh yeah..." she nodded... "She's aware of things now...And as she is Cicely...Has quite a stake...(sorry, she grinned) in this one...She wants me to win, Angel...And not all that much more particular about how I...We...Win than I am..."

Surprised?...she grinned... "We loved William Soames Walthrop so much we were ready to give everything up for him...And when we realized you and your little bitches were certain to try and kill him...Use him against us...We sent him away, believing we'd abandoned him..."

We were going to commit suicide, I believe...After dealing with you and yours...she smiled...But then we learned Dru'd killed Will and...She paused...

"I tried to find him...It was too late...He'd risen...I was pregnant, oh, God...God...Why?..." she stared at him...

"God why hast thou forsaken me...?"

He looked at her sad, shattered face...Cicely's he knew...

"I saved millions...They said...Simon and the Council...That I'd saved the world...At least three times...All I...We...Wanted was a little chance to live like a normal person...To have my love and my family with me...For what little time..."

But, as always...Always in the past...It wasn't allowed...It was all taken from me...she glared...And my poor Will...Cursed for nothing but wanting to love me...

"Anne...?"

"You think I can't love?...I am Cicely...Buffy...And a dozen others...All women who loved the soul that is William Soames Walthrop...You pitiful little man..." she frowned at him... "You who haven't lived even a single full human life...What do you know about love?...Or the damned Council for Christ's sake..."

And even before she...We...Loved him...I...Myself...Loved him...she eyed him...Loved Will the first day I saw him though Cicely's eyes...And felt our soul...My other self...Stirring, to feel him again...But not before I'd seen him and loved him...

"Cicely...And you...Have loved him before?..."

A dozen times...she noted proudly...And always as the Slayer...He always drawn to us...We to him...

"He is our soul's mate...For Eternity...The mate of the Slayer...Forever and always..."

Angel rubbed a chin... "But you...You aren't a soul..."

"I am demon of the Slayer...Awakened with her soul a dozen times...And I know my mate...But you're right...It took time...I came round slowly...Though with Cicely, I was first to know...And love..."

"But he can't love you, Anne...Not William...Surely it's Spike you..."

She gave a long, icy stare...He paused...But to his surprise, she waved it off...

"I saw him in 1870 first...He was just a boy...And Cicely a little girl...I was linked to her, naturally...Absorbing, probing...As the demon essence always does...Pushing for any chance to break through...Even if only to influence... As Will...And Cicely...And what's left of your Buffy...Do now..."

He was a little boy...I...We a little girl...My father...Sir Richard...Brought us to Brusset...Some kind of noblesse oblige thing he and his fellow fops did...It was Christmas and we came to distribute a little food...Presents...And hear the poor little urchins sing for us in the church...

"He wouldn't take the packet I offered him...Threw it down and said we'd no right to play at being Christians...That he'd been forced out of school just before the holidays to start work and would never have a chance...So...He meant no personal offense, miss...he said to me, solemnly...But he didn't want our stinking charity...And he threw the packet down, stomped off..."

I was impressed...she grinned...Such wrath in such a little boy...

But something pulled at me...At us...

"Then his uncle grabbed him, dragged him away, and gave him a beating that just short of killed him...I...Cicely tried to get Father to stop it..."

He said it was best to let the man handle his own child...And for the boy to learn the consequences of such...she paused, rage in her face...Then smiled wanly...

"Even Cicely the soul hated Father that day...And never forgave him..."

Then we had to go inside...Take our place for the service...And they brought the choir in...

"And poor Will was with them...In his robes...Trembling with pain...How he managed...I won't know till...Well..." she shrugged... "Maybe never..."

But he looked at me...At us...And smiled...

"It was alright...He wanted us to know...It wasn't our fault...And then he was called forward...And he sang..."

Sang to us...Looking at us the whole time...For us..."

I never...I never thought I could...Feel for a human soul...But...she shook her head...

He forgave us...And sang to us...And won both our hearts...Again...

"Won mine that time..." she noted... "And unlike Cicely, I didn't forget...Though she did finally hook up with him again years later...Thanks to Fate and good ole cousin Henry..."

"And he is still singing to us...Trying to reach us...And let us know..."

He forgives us and always will...But he is trapped, alone, lost, afraid that we've left him this time...And that we may never come...she stared at Angel...

"And if his poor soul ever comes to truly believe...That we are not coming...That what we said that night was true..."

He'll become one with Spike...And be lost in the darkness forever...Alone...

"There's no happy reconciliation in Hell, you know..." she smiled wanly at him...

"So...We have come...And we...Cicely and Buffy and I...The demon essence and the soul...Have come to save him..."

Though, you're thinking...she grinned... "And you're quite right...We've done a pretty lousy job to date..."

But heck, Liam...It's no easy job...Even with the demon's help on the team...And there's always the Slayer...she darkened...

"The Slayer..." she spat the word out... "Always coming between us...Separating us...Destroying us...All because a few cowardly men thought their world was going to end and forced a poor girl to become their Champion...And take on power that no mortal should have to be burdened with..."

"I...We...Demon and soul...Loathe the Slayer...And the cowards who created her...Use her...To this day...And much as Cicely...Your Buffy...Love Humanity...Even she could see it destroyed now, if it meant that no other poor kid would suffer as we have so often..."

A dozen times...he thought...My God...To be the Slayer and forced to live this life...A dozen times...

"There have been other souls forced to be Slayer...But none was so good at it as mine...So...In Its Infinite Wisdom...God...Or Whoever...Keeps sending us back...To fight Its Good...So-called...Fight and save poor ole Humanity...Damn..."

Pity ole Kendra had to be croaked at that...she shook her head...She was promisin'...I...We mighta finally got a break if she'd lived and done a bang-up job...

"But...We're generous...Or Cicely is...Outta some ridiculous human soul notions...And Humanity can keep its Slayers...If It lets us have our William...And peace...At last..."

If not...she eyed him...

"Then Anne won't be the only one in here tearing the Council and its Slayers...And Humanity and this whole fucking planet...To shreds..."

And they say... 'When a man loves a woman...' she grinned...

****

"Anne..." Part XXIV...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html...

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XXIV...

"So..." Willow eyed Ms. Maclauy across the diner table where she and Xander had taken the girl for a breakfast conference... "You were 'called' to come to Sunnydale...But you didn't know why...?"

"I knew I might be called one day...My momma and grandmomma had the Gift, like me...And they'd had visions off and on all their lives...Knew one day, somehow...They might be called to go...Somewhere...To do...Something..."

But no idea where or why?...Willow looked at Xander...

"How did you know to find Angel...?" Xander tried...

Tara shook her head...A wan smile...Cute, Xander manfully repressed the thought, catching a slight hard look from Willow...

"I have no idea...I just knew to look for him...And I knew him, somehow...This Angelus..."

"Angel..." Willow corrected... "Angelus was his demon..."

Yeah...Xander sighed...Again the thought that had burned in his brain since Anne's appearance...Why not the curse?...If we could, why not?...

And yet, as Giles had noted, bringing it up himself...To torment poor Buf like that...Bring her soul back in that vamped body...If it could even be done...

"...And this... 'Angel'...Is a vampire?...And so was that girl...That Anne?..." Tara asked carefully...

"Well...Angel...So far as we know...Is a human-souled vamp...And a good guy...Whereas Anne..." Willow began...

"...Was your friend...But now...Is a monster?..." Tara finished...Eyeing her new acquaintances in turn...

Yes...Willow replied calmly... "But our friend...Buffy...Is dead...And gone..."

No...Tara shook her head... "She's not gone, Willow...Xander...She's still watching, trying to push this Anne...Trying to protect you...And everyone..."

"I'd like to believe that...Tara...But..."

"I believe it..." Xander cut in quietly... "Buffy wouldn't abandon us...Even if there's little she can do..."

Well...Willow waved a hand...This was getting to be a little too painful...Tara caught her strained look...And brought the conversation back on track...

"I don't know quite why I went to...Angel's place...But it had to do with my being called here to Sunnydale..."

Yeah...Willow nodded... "We believe...Our Watcher and chief, Mr. Giles as well...That you have good reason to know Angel...Or at least his counterpart Angelus..."

Chief?...Xander thought...Well, yeah...I guess...

Tara looked at her...

"See...Back in England...In the last century..."

***

The lower depths below the warehouse building of Colin's new lair...

Spike and Dru were engaged in a minor domestic spat...Dru for the moment having shaken off a bit of her fear, or having resigned herself to it...Was displaying a slight degree of jealousy following Spike's attempt to glean what info he could from her visions of their bizarre sister...

"You want to meet her...Leave ole Dru to her...And go back with her..." she fumed at him...Dru?...He sighed, waving hands...

"If I'm gonna kill her for you...And I am...I hafta know all I can about her..."

She looks...Different now, William...Dru noted...A slightly catty look in her eye... "She's not the girl she was then..."

I would hardly know... 'the girl she was'...he eyed her...

"William knows..." A solemn look, followed by a slight giggle... Knows his doxy, he does...Then a sudden frown...

"You keep her in your pocket, liar...All this time, in your pocket...Hanging on..."

"As to that...I've told you before..." he shook his head... "It's nothing...I just like to have it..."

Throw it away...she commanded... "Or, give Mummy the nasty thing and she'll make it go way...Give, give..." she grabbed for the right pocket of his duster...No...he seized her reaching arm...

"It's mine...And I'll keep it...It's nothing to do with you or this insane semi-Slayer...Nothing..."

"She gave it you...And you keep it..." Accusingly...Dru now taking a seat...And bursting into tears...

Dru...he moved to her...

"You still dream about her...I hear you calling...The little one calls...All the day long...All the night long...Cic..." he pulled her arm...She clawing feebly at him...No...Liar!...

"I never want to hear that name again!...I've told you, girl...Let it rest...Let her rest..." he released her arm and she sank back down into her chair...

We never say its name...she murmured...The Cold One...The Evil One...Remember, Dru...Never...she repeated...

"That's right, girl...Never..." he nodded...Frowning...Is that what this has all been about?...She's upset about...Still jealous of...After a century?... "She's dead...Buried...And gone...Put her out of your mind, Dru...For good..."

You first...she giggled...Covering her face with her hands...

Sorry...she stared at his glaring face... "I bes good now...I promise..." All right then...he nodded...

Now...He eyed her sternly... "I need to know about this 'Anne'...For your own sake, Dru...If you want me to kill her..."

"You'll kill her?..." Dru looked up at him... "You promise?...Even if she tells?...Kill her for old Dru...?"

I promise...he nodded...Then...

"Tells...What?..."

She grinned suddenly... "For Dru to know...And William...To find out..."

Dru...he sighed...

Odd...That she should bring up...And the other night...That rather interesting girl on the net...AnnieBuf...

Ridiculous...Coincidence...It's a common name, well...common enough...

Dru staring at him as he pondered...The fun over...And the fear creeping back...

"You'll kills her for Dru?..." she whispered...Please...I'll be good, Spike...Get well for you...Please...

"Old Dru...Can't help what she is, William..." she pleaded...He still lost in thought, unheeding...Hmmn?...

"Don't fear, love...I'll deal with her..." he absently patted her...

***

Sunnydale High Library...10am...

"Ripper..." Reynolds eyed Giles...As they continued to work up a hasty review of the 'collection'...Giles frowningly adding the quotes as he looked round the utterly inadequate main library...Needed to cover with Principal Snyder...

"Are you certain you want to reject any consideration of this...'curse'?..."

Giles stared back...Shaking his head... "I will not drag my poor girl back to suffer as Angel does...Not for the sake of merely saving our miserable necks...Even if I could..."

"But if we could go beyond the curse...Eliminate the more damaging features..."

"Angel's sought ways around it for a century, Tris...Consulted countless expert sorcerers and wiccans...Besides, without the original spell this is all academ..."

A sudden, loud crash as Jenny, working beside him dropped a book...Sorry...She gave a brittle, hasty smile as he looked at her and handed back the fallen book...

"Hello...Mr....Giles?..." a voice called to them from the front desk...Vaguely British, he noted as he rose...To find...Joyce Summers...And four others...Young Wesley, he recognized, looking more sheepish than usual...Standing before his reference desk...

"Mr. Rupert Giles...?" 'Joyce' smiled at him...Ms. Summers?...He blinked at her as she gave a demure smile... "Mr. Giles..." One of two twin young women stepped forward...Hand extended...

"Gwen..." Reynolds, coming in from the back, nodded to her... "I see you've found your identical twin...Hello, Wesley...Enjoying field work?..." he nodded to Wyndham-Price... "Your father was doing well when last I saw him..."

"Mrs. Post..." Having sized up the situation, Giles shook the offered hand briefly... "So...These are our assassins..." he eyed the false Joyce and the other Ms. Post...Xander?...He stared at the third...

"Shapeshifters...Very good....Where did Travis find such capable...help?..."

"The Chairman has his ways, Mr. Giles...Tristam..." Mrs. Post eyed Reynolds, releasing Giles' hand... "I believe you are very much wanted by the Chairman...For your ever-sage council..."

"Reynolds is assisting me as a personal favor, Mrs. Post..." Giles noted coolly... "And if you want my assistance in dealing with Anne...You'll keep his visit to me...Personal..."

Very well...she nodded, smiling... "So long as our encounters with him while here are likewise kept...Personal...As we do require your help, Mr. Giles...And that of Ms. Summers' friends..."

"Have to get the voices and mannerisms just right..." 'Xander' noted...Speaking in a voice Wesley, with a slight fume recognized as mostly...His own...

"Not bad, eh...?" the real Mrs. Post stepped forward from her spot between the two shapeshifters...

"Forgive the performance..." she smiled at Reynolds and Giles... "Our friends merely wished to demonstrate their skills..." The false Mrs. Post giving a gentle smile...And morphing immediately into Willow's form...

"Hope we meet expectations..." 'Willow' grinned...Speaking still in Mrs. Post's voice... "As my companion noted, we will of course need to meet with our counterparts..." she nodded...

"Impressive...But I would not rely too heavily on the new Ms. Summers' affection for old friends..." Giles eyed Mrs. Post coolly...

"We have our ways for dealing with this most unusual of Slayers..." 'Willow' smiled at him...An innocent beam...Quite good, considering the thing had never met the original...

"And, of course..." Mrs. Post noted smoothly... "These are not our sole allies...We do have other assistants on hand...Though none quite so unique..." she beamed at the shapeshifters...

"And speaking of friends..." she eyed Jenny Calendar, quietly sitting by the front desk...

"Ms. Jenny Calendar, our computer science teacher...And a member of my group here, a valuable ally, quite well versed in the research end of our work..."

"Another volunteer for the Slayer?...I truly regret not meeting Ms. Summers before..." Mrs. Post smiled brightly... "She must have been quite an inspiring person to win such dedicated followers to the cause..."

Well, of course, if Rupert Giles vouches for you, Ms...Calendar?... "Yeah...Calendar..." Jenny nodded curtly...

"Then I'm happy to have your assistance in this effort to help our poor Ms. Summers..."

Great...Jenny gave a cold smile and nod...Glad to...

"Is Ms. Summers?... Is 'Anne'?...Dormant now?..." Wesley asked Giles...Correcting hastily at his slight glare...

"She ought to be at Angel's apartment right now...But hardly...'dormant' if his reports to me have been accurate..."

Angelus?...She's staying with Angelus?...Mrs. Post looked at Giles... "Yes, she seems content to use that as her daylight resting place...For the moment..."

"So she stays at... Angel's?...Place...Every day?..." 'Joyce' asked eagerly...

"At present, yes...But...If you're thinking of an assault there...I would consider the matter very carefully..." Giles stared at her... "From what Angel has told us, she is incredibly alert and powerful...Far more than any vampire we've encountered...And even more than Buffy was..."

"We have allowed for that, Mr. Giles..." 'Willow' nodded... "She is the Cicely reborn and demonized...It's only natural she would have great power..."

But...For all that power... 'Willow' smiled thinly... "She will turn to dust when staked...Burn when exposed to sunlight..."

Fragile creatures these vampires when one considers the matter in perspective...she grinned...A travesty of a gently teasing Willow grin...

The library door opened...Principal Snyder striding in...Looking briefly at the unusual crowd...

"Quite a party you're having, Mr. Giles...I hope I...And the daily routine...Are not intruding?..."

"Sir...May I introduce..." Giles began hastily...Snyder waving him off...

"We've met...Both by phone and as of twenty minutes ago...In the flesh..." he smiled at Mrs. Post... Indeed, we have...Mrs. Post beamed...Giles and Reynolds eyeing each other...

"Naturally...Our Librarians' Council made sure to contact Mr. Snyder before our evaluation visit..." she explained...

Yes...Snyder nodded...A cold look at Giles... "Seems some of your old friends and colleagues actually do understand the concept of proper channels..."

"Anyway...I just stopped by to wish our visitors well...Let them know that I will be available to tour the facilities with them at 12:20...And to express my hope, Mr. Giles...That the condition of our library...And 'collections'...Manage to pass muster with our expert guests..."

"I feel sure they will, sir..." Mrs. Post gave another beam...Wesley managing a faint smile...

"Mrs....Summers?..." Snyder stared at 'Joyce' who smiled pleasantly back... "Mr. Harris?...Ms. Rosenberg?..." he stared at the two... "I am pleasantly surprised...Two students with parentally validated excuses for being absent choose to appear in any case?...Though Harris, I understood you were seriously ill with...Cramps..."

"Mrs. Summers is taking Willow to see Buffy in a few moments, Mr. Snyder..." Giles explained smoothly...A pleasant nod from 'Joyce'... "And as Xander was feeling somewhat better...And came in hoping to meet our distinguished guests...Naturally, while not wishing to overtax him, I was happy to encourage his enthusiasm..." Giles gave 'Xander' an approving nod...

"Mmmn..." 'Xander' nodded, a flushed look appearing on his face... "Feeling a lit..." he doubled over and gasped, vomiting...

Hmmn...Snyder stared at the floor...And his somewhat marred shoes...

But it was the slight Brit accent in Harris' brief words that had surprised him most...

"My apologies, sir...Let me get that..." Giles moved to his desk for a towel...

"Ummn...Xander...Perhaps you should head back home...I don't mean to disappoint you but I really don't think you're quite ready to be out of bed...I'll take you in just a few minutes..."

Mmmn... 'Xander' nodded...Snyder eyeing him...And his shoes...With a narrowly suspicious look now...

Please...Let me...Mrs. Post took the towel from Giles and kneeling, wiped a rather uncomfortable but pleased...Almost touchingly innocently so...and immediately distracted...Snyder's shoes...Reynolds leading 'poor Xander' to a chair...Jenny taking advantage of the moment to lead the false Willow back to the rear of the library for some 'information gathering' for the distinguished guests...

***

"Anne..." Part XXV...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XXV...

Sunnydale High Library...12:15...

The 'distinguished guests' Wesley Wyndham-Price and Gwendolyn Post having gone to Principal Snyder's office for their promised tour...And 'Ms. Summers' and 'Willow' having left to be joined in time by 'Xander' to view the tactical situation round Angel's apartment...Though in accord with Giles' suggestion to wait, pending a chance to better prepare for the actual assault and improve their performances through encountering at least two of their counterparts...Giles, Ms. Calendar, and Reynolds had a chance to discuss the situation in private...

"The false Mrs. Post knew me..." Reynolds eyed Giles... "And unless they acquire the counterpart's knowledge via mental contact or some such other process, Gwen must have told her who I was...Knew I'd be here..."

"Meaning Travis must know or have guessed you're here and working with me..." Giles nodded... "Well, not as if we didn't expect he might..."

Though it means we should be doubly careful in our dealings with our 'allies'...And expect they will not be very trusting of us...

"Does it matter?..." Jenny looked up at Giles from her chair, a grim expression... "You all want Anne destroyed, right?...You're ready to dust her yourself when the opportunity arises..."

Yes...Giles replied coolly... "But I said I would give her a chance to find her William first...That much I am willing to do for the ghost of Cicely Walthrop..."

Besides, impressive as our 'friends' abilities may be...I'm not prepared to bet on their chances...So I would prefer to keep aloof from their efforts...And in Anne's better graces...For the moment...

"You're going to tell her?..." Jenny stared...Reynolds as well...

"Not specifically...I made no promise of that and frankly, I want them to succeed if possible...But I will keep my word to her...And that means distracting our guests as much as possible until William rears his bloody head..."

The chance you wanted to make amends, Tris...he smiled at Reynolds... "I pray it's not a foolish decision...But as I said, I don't have great faith in Travis' hand-picked murderers...And she'd no doubt take vengeance on Xander, Willow, and you, Jenny, in front of me as punishment if she felt I'd betrayed my promise..."

She knows me well enough to know that would be far worse than any personal torture she could inflict...

***

"Drusilla..." Tara repeated the name... "I don't...It doesn't sound familiar..."

But you say it's...Was...My name?...She eyed her guests, now sitting in her motel bedroom...

"Once, maybe..." Willow nodded... "We think...Or at least Anne does...That you're the soul of Drusilla reborn..."

"And she's a monster too?..." Tara stared at the wall, not looking at either...

"Just her demon...We all have our own..." Willow tried to sound reassuring...

"A killer?...Insane?...For over a century?..."

No...Tara shook her head...That's not me...She looked at them now, tears starting... "I'm not..."

"No..." Xander patted her hand... "You're not responsible, even if she is your demon...No one...Not even our Buffy...Can control that side of them once it's released in a vampire..."

And yet...Willow thought suddenly...Anne...'Loves' us...Honestly tries for us, much as her plans allow, I believe that...

After all...We're... 'Family'...

***

Angel's apartment...Early afternoon...

FORGIVE ME!...The silent film's credits proclaimed...As the tormented young farmer on screen pleaded with his stricken, shattered wife...Only a few moments ago about to be his victim...

Anne watching intently...Angel as well, his attention however, divided between his guest and the old film, F.W. Murnau's classic, "Sunrise"...

Forgive me...she murmured...Reaching out to touch the screen...

Giving Angel a narrow look as she caught his gaze...You must be finding this encouraging, soul-boy...she gave a cold grin...

"Redemption in one easy lesson..."

Though that last bit in the church was more like Angelus' style...You know, get the poor kid to believe and trust in you...Then...

"And so much more fun if she's a virginal nun cursed with the knowledge of her hideous future..."

Poor Dru...she sighed...The simpering weak little bitch...Imagine knowing all the time...In vivid, yet tragically incomplete detail all the horror that's about to befall one...

"You, I mean..." she gave Angel a sweet smile...Then returning to the screen... "He's done it..." she said quietly, watching the couple happily heading into a photography studio...

"Redemption...Or salvation...?..." she eyed Angel...Mocking...But a serious edge, he noted...

"She saved him by forgiving him, you know..."

"I guess that's part of it..." he nodded... "Are you hoping for William to save you, Cicely?..."

It's too late for that...she replied quietly...Giving him a level stare... "He can't save us now...On Earth, anyway...But if we can save him...His soul, before it's too late...and if he can forgive us...Then maybe in Heaven...Or Hell...We can find and save each other..."

"Course I'd be pullin' for Hell...And he'd find lots more fun stuff to write about there...Especially me..." she beamed...

"Souls...Decent ones...Generally don't wind up in Hell..." Angel noted... "Unless you've decided Spike is the twin brother for you, after all..."

"Spike's fun...But I told you...I love William...We all do..."

Even Buffy, now she's with the program again...Merged back with Cicely...Sorry, kiddo...she smiled...But the girl was taken...She just, like your Dru...Didn't know the complete story...

"Anne...?..." he stared at her... "If you're thinking...You can keep him here, somehow..."

My curse, maybe...?

She continued to watch the screen, chuckling at the innocent farm couple, bewildered by the large city they were now touring arm-in-arm...Just giving him an quiet look as he mentioned the curse...

"If he is a good man...It won't work, not in the end..."

The curse...She gave a wide-eyed look...Oooh...

"Sure, a good fall-back...If I hafta have a fallback...But I told you, William is already still here..."

"How is that possible?...Anne, I know Spike...There's no..." he paused...She grinning at him...Ah...

"You have seen the traces, haven't you?...He's done things, has he?...Little things that didn't quite..."

"No more than other vamps I've seen...We all show a little of the ole human at times...Still..."

"Still..." she repeated... "Always that something about him, right...?"

He brushed it off...We'll see...he noted...Yeah...she nodded pleasantly...And soon...

"And you're doing all this...Trying to save a soul that can never love you?...Knowing you've no chance...?"

"If William is saved...I've won...The sisters will know it was me, not them...And, in time...When he understands...He'll always remember and..." she paused...

Think kindly of me...

"I am part of them, after all...However much they might wish to deny it...I am part of Buffy and Cicely..." she noted...

And from where I sit, the only part capable of pullin' this off..she grinned...

***

"Anne..." Part XXVI...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

Part XXVI...

LA...Wolfram-Hart tower, Office of Joseph, current on-Earth Senior Partner...Early afternoon...

Joseph, Holland Manners, and various other Special Projects Division senior staff discuss the current situation...And the unprecedented alliance with the Watchers' Council...Sadly, of necessity, temporary...Joseph solemnly notes...

Would be of such benefit to both Demon- and Man-kind...But...Alas...Our long-term paths just do not converge...In a non-confrontational sense...

"Surely we could try appealing to this 'Anne's' worst instincts..." Manners suggests...

I mean...To lose such a force for the Apocalypse without even a fight...

"Holland?..." Joseph was shocked...Shocked...

"Are you suggesting we violate our agreement with the Council before we've even begun our joint effort?..."

Certainly...Manners nodded firmly, a smile on his lips...Much to his surprise, Joseph remained unsmiling...Even a bit frostier than usual...Sir?...The Special Projects Division head blinked at his chief... "We gave our word, Holland...The word of the Wolf, Ram, and Hart...That is not something given lightly..."

Hey, even an evil law firm must play by rules...The Senior Partner noted...And we may want to do business with these people again...Hell, there really are potential benefits in working with the Council at critical times you know...

After all...The death's-headed little man eyed Manners sternly from his chair... What if that ancient menace the First ever got a break and tried her hand at apocalypse?...Or some other loner of Evil, some non-team player out only for his-, her-, its- self.?...Like this 'Anne' for example, if her goal turned out to be rather more apocalyptic than she's claimed...Or those vain fools Nast and Angelus with their ambitious, foolhardy egotism and penchants for senseless destruction...

Not the kind of apocalypse any rational minion of Evil would want to see set loose...Especially when such creatures were sure not to be concerned with the survival of Wolfram-Hart, Inc...

Absolutely, Lindsay nodded...Both Manners and, from her seat by the coffeepot, Lilah Morgan, glaring at the little suck-up twerp...Lilah turning reluctantly to fill coffee cups as Holland eyed her, glancing at the cups...Lets get that coffee coming, dear...

And I thought the invite to attend this one was my next step up...she sighed...Passing cups down the table...

"Of course..." Joseph was thoughtful..."Should events move in ways that open new possibilities not covered in our negotiations...Naturally we should be ready to take advantage of any sudden opportunities..."

"Naturally..." Lilah eagerly rushed to get one in...Lindsay and Manners now glaring at her...

"Very well, Joseph..." Manners nodded... "We'll keep our part of the agreement as you wish...At least so long as events warrant and the Council keeps their end...I'm putting my best..." he encompassed Lindsay and Lilah within a benevolent smile...Eat shit, you ambitious little... "On the job..."

"Lindsay, Lilah...You two will manage our operations with the Council's force in the field...In that order, with you, Lindsay as my direct liaison...Of course, you'll also take charge of our own assault unit..."

Us?...Facing an insane, superpowered Slayer-vampire?...Lindsay and Lilah for once sharing a moment...

Not to mention trying to ride herd on those things in containment...

And worst of all...We gotta go to...Sunnydale...

We been sent down to the burbs...Each sighed inwardly...

On the other hand, I'm liaison, ie...Top dog, Lindsay beamed...The shared moment fading...

Me, under that little?...Lilah fumed...

"Excellent, Holland..." Joseph nodded...Beaming at his eager junior staff...

Hmmn...Won't miss the little schmuck suck-up but a pity about the dame, nice gams...he thought...But hey, two middle-management types sacrificed on the altar of good relations with our new allies...A bearable loss...

"See that you don't delay...We want to be in at the kill and in position to take a share of any spoils...Or advantage of any opportunities that may open up...Say if our fair Anne should prove amenable to negotiation..."

That demon 'assault team' of ours oughta be able to 'open up' just about anything...Including this psycho Anne...Lindsay thought...

"Cream, no sugar...Thanks, Li..." he smiled at the icily glaring Lilah...Get used to it, second-in-command babe...his little grin saying...

I wonder if I should start interviews for their replacements now or wait till Anne kills them, Manners eyed his field operations team...

A desperate Lilah made her all-or-nothing effort to remain relevant...

"There is one point on which the lady...Or whatever she is...Is vulnerable..."...A sharkish smile at Lindsay... "This 'William'..."

If we managed to get him into our hands...Intact...she eyed Joseph...

Intact?...With our 'assault team'?...Those mindless killer cretins of ours will be lucky to get themselves to Sunnydale 'intact'...Lindsay thought...

Indeed...Joseph nodded to Lilah...A beam for the one on the ball...She happily smiling in return...And offering a benevolent smile...Up yours, Nowheresville Law '93, third from the bottom of your class...At Lindsay immediately afterwards... "And as you will remember our negotiations never touched on the subject of William the Bloody..." the Senior Partner smiled...

Should we 'acquire' him...Voluntarily or involuntarily...I see no way that could be construed as violating our agreement...

William the Bloody...Meaning that psycho Drusilla as well...Lindsay sighed...Great...

"So good to know you'll be in charge, Lindsay...With such dangerously independent vampires as Anne, William, and Drusilla to deal with..." Lilah smiled warmly at his suddenly somewhat thoughtful face...

Did I mention Darla and that souled traitor Angel were in Sunnydale too?...Joseph asked...

***

Giles' library at Sunnydale High...Mid-afternoon...

"Giles?..." Willow called from the front desk...Xander and Tara just behind her...They having managed to persuade the girl to meet with their 'chief'...

Xander politely opening the library door behind him that had started to open...Falling back in shock as a smiling 'Willow' in rather unusually stylish clothes...Chosen for her in LA by Ms. Post...Entered with a cheery, British-accented "Hello"...Followed by his own identical twin and a rather content looking 'Joyce Summers'...The other 'Xander' copying his startled expression to a T, then grinning... "Hello...Xander, I presume?..." he asked, likewise in British-accented voice...Tara beside the true Xander blinking in shock as well...

Relative of yours?...she asked the true Xander...Ummn...he shook his head...

"Don't be afraid, Xander..." 'Joyce' smiled warmly... "We're here to help you and your Council with the little problem your Slayer's tragic death has created..."

"Absolutely..." 'Willow' smiled...

"Willow..." Xander nervously called to the true Willow, who'd gone back in search of Giles and the others...

"Hey, Willow..." 'Xander' II echoed in exact imitation...

***

Colin's warehouse lair...Same time...

Darla stared at Spike who'd just laid out his strategy for dealing with the new menace to Sunnydale vampdom...Colin, in a chair carefully raised to place him just above the two seated with him at his conference table, equally startled, but doing a reasonably good job of maintaining the image of imperturbable Leader...Dru for the moment sleeping fairly peacefully on the lower level with the help of several bottles of various prescription and non-prescription drugs...Nice to have a vamped doc on hand to write these things out, Spike had noted...

"You're going out to meet her?...Challenge her?...Just like that?..." she eyed him...

"I wouldn't call it a challenge...Just a friendly offer to meet somewhere, carried by good ole Les here..." he, Colin, and Darla now eyed good ole Les...Standing by respectfully as befitting his position as Colin's new Number...Well ok, two, post-Spike...Heck, three the way that Darla was horning in...

"After all, the lad seems to be in the lady's good graces..." he smiled at Lester who sighed, resigned to his fate...

I call it reasonably likely he'll be allowed to return intact...

"And she's gonna 'meet' you...Why?..." Colin frowned...

Cause it's obvious she wants to find us...Spike grinned...And what better way than for our people's new champion...he gave a modest bow...Darla rolling her eyes...

Damn little geek poet...If my Angelus could be here now, watching this whipped puppy of Dru's strut like...

Well...Like Angelus...

My demon god...She blinked at him...He wasn't kidding about that 'Yoda' thing...

"To walk right into her sights...Seeking to find some peaceable way to bring our troubled sister back into the fold..." he continued... "If our lovable little Lord here..." he nodded respectfully to Colin...Who gave an appreciative nod back...Hey respect begets respect... "Will furnish me with something on the order of a suitable support force..."

Hmmn...Whom among these clowns do I hate most?...Colin eyed his nervous minions...

"Right into her stake is more like it..." Darla sneered... "You and your fondness for meeting Slayers...Talk about a vampire with a death wish..."

"Hasn't caught up with me yet, love...But when I find the Slayer I can't best...You got first dibs on the 'I told ya so's...Fair enough?..."

"Only if I can be there to watch..."

Ah...Well...Colin thought happily...If she really is all that eager to volunteer...

"I think I can arrange that Darla..." he smiled benevolently...

***

Rear of the library at Sunnydale High...About 2:30 pm...The group, including Giles, Reynolds, Willow, Xander, Jenny Calendar, the three shapeshifters, a very nervous Tara...And the returned from their Snyder-guided tour, distinguished guests, Mrs. Post and Wesley Wyndham-Price...Seated round a large round table, or in the case of the rather polite shifters, standing to make room for the humans...

Standing doesn't bother us... 'Joyce' had explained to Xander when he'd offered his chair...Indicating the third leg she was now sporting temporarily for comfort...Right, he nodded...Hastily sitting as close to...Hmmn...Ya, look at that outfit...To true Willow as possible...

"So why do you think Drusilla's soul would have come to Sunnydale now, Giles...?" Willow...Or rather 'Willow'...Asked in perfect Willow manner...Willow eyeing her twin from her seat with a slightly annoyed air...

Wish she'd stop doing that...

Sorry... 'Willow' gave her counterpart an embarrassed Willowian smile... "Gotta get the nuisances right, ya know?...No offense intended..."

'Sides, I'm sure we're all interested in this one...Right, guys?... 'she'...If she was a she, Willow thought...noted...

"Absolutely..." 'Xander' nodded...

Yes...Giles frowned at the first two shapeshifters, then the kindly smiling 'Joyce'...A little too good, though 'Willow' had best rethink her apparel if she wants to fool Anne...

"I think it's clear that Miss Drusilla's was...Is...A noble soul...And wanted to find someway to make amends..." Reynolds noted, smiling kindly at Tara...Who shook her head...

"I really have no idea why I came here...I don't remember anything of this...Person...You guys describe...Just vague isions...And some dreams..."

That would be about standard, dear..." Mrs. Post nodded at her... "Reincarnation is not an easy road to return...Many never recover even the most basic memories..."

"Mrs. Post is quite right, Tara..." Giles was careful to use her name...Poor girl was obviously terrified by the notion of association with a fiend like Drusilla...Even with the censored little they'd told her of the demon's career... "You would not have a complete set of memories from Drusilla's life..."

"In fact, it's amazing her soul's past life force has pressed its imprint so hard on you and your relatives..." Reynolds noted...

"Waiting for just the right descendant..." Giles nodded... "Watching through the others for the right time to be reborn..."

"When William...And Anne...Would be about to meet again?..." Jenny asked... "William and Cicely..." Reynolds suggested... "I would doubt Anne was expected to be handling things..."

"That might be why..." Jenny looked at Giles... "Things got screwed and Dru...Ummn...Tara..." she corrected... "Was called in...To help..."

Me?...Tara stared... "I told you..." she said in a small voice...Willow patting her hand... "I don't know anything...Except I had to come here...How could I 'help'?..."

"Your coming here is living proof that Anne may not be lying to us..." Jenny noted... "That alone is no small help to her..."

"Did its?...Did her family come to America?..." Tara asked...Staring wanly...

"We don't know too much about what happened to those of Drusilla's family Angelus left alive..." Giles told her quietly... "We do know he spared her mother to win access to her convent...Claiming in his best style that he had repented and sought her forgiveness and prayers..."

"And she believed him...And he..." Tara paused...This 'Angelus'...The 'Angel' guy I met the other morning?...

"He had no soul in him then, Tara...And no way to control the demon unleashed within..."

"But this... 'Anne'...She's not killing you..."

"Angelus had great patience as well...Enjoyed prolonging the agony as much as possible..." Giles noted... "And Anne may well be cast in the same mold, whatever claims she makes as to needing our help...And caring for some of us yet..."

"Well...We'll deal with Anne...If you two will help my comrades to deceive her..." the false 'Joyce' smiled at Xander and Willow...

Not if your Xander keeps overdoing the silly geek stuff...Xander frowned...I do not act like...Oh, God...he sighed...Watching 'Xander' watch Giles with a rather vacant expression...And occasional pointless chuckle...

He's perfect...

***

About 4:45pm...Angel's apartment...

Thanks...A beaming Anne smiled at a Lester difficult to make out under the layers of scarves and overcoat...Who'd just delivered a message of peace and reconciliation from Sunnydale's new underworld Champion, one William the Bloody...

Naturally, in the name of the revered Anointed One...

She stared at the note in her hand a moment, stroking the page with the forefinger of her other hand...As if not quite able to accept its existence...Then looked up at the messenger again...

"Tell this 'William' I'll meet him...At the Bronze, eight o'clock...No weapons..." To his shocked surprise Lester realized she was trembling...A tear fighting its way out of one eye, trickling down her cheek...

Thanks...she repeated...He drawing back as she came up to him...Pulling him to her and giving him a gentle kiss where the scarves left his lips uncovered... "Take care goin' back there's still some sun...Bye, Lester..." she moved his stunned body towards the door...Pushed him gently out and waving briefly as he stumbled numbly to the front entrance, closed the door...

And to the watching Angel's stunned surprise, went to a chair at his table next to where he sat, and sitting with a sudden move..As if she were weak in the knees...Laid her head in her hands on the table and burst into violent sobs...

"I'm not strong enough...I can't do it...I'm not strong enough..." she whispered as she sobbed...Buffy...Cicely, don't let me fail...I can't fail now...

"God, help us, for once...Give me the strength, you damned bastard..."

***

"Anne..." Part XXVII...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

***

Part XXVII...

Downtown Sunnydale...5pm...

"Is Mr. Giles going to help those...People?...With Anne?..." Tara nervously asked Willow as they and Xander made the rounds of Sunnydale's shopping district, armed with Giles' credit card and Anne's list of 'needful things...'

"Not exactly..." Willow paused to scan the list...Hmmn... "One pearl pendant...Can be costume jewelry but should be large and antique-looking...Circa 1880s if possible...You oughta try the Jewelry Emporium, I saw something like what I want there once..."

God, Buf...This is a bit...She froze in midstep at the thought...Staring at the handwriting...Buffy's, if a bit on the bold side...Xander, eyeing her pale face, sensing her thoughts, hastily squeezed her hand...

Ok...She nodded to him...A wan smile...I be a-ok...Tara watching them, an unreadable expression on her face, masked a bit by her fading natural shyness...Willow smiled at her...Sorry, lost in my thoughts...And Ms. Anne's humongous wish list...she explained...

"See we're not sure their motives...Or Mr. Travers'...are unselfish here...And Giles and Mr. Reynolds promised Anne they'd give her her chance to find William..."

"And then...?" Tara eyed her...

"Then we do what we have to to give our friend peace..." Willow said firmly...Xander nodding beside her...

"We don't want to cause her pain, Ms. Maclay..." Willow was a bit formal, sensing something disapproving in the tall girl... "But Buffy was...Is...Our friend...And we can't leave her as she is...Knowing that...Thing is using her body..."

I see...Tara sighed...As they halted outside the costume jewelry emporium...A wan smile...

"I guess I never had such friends...Back then..."

"I think you did..." Xander took her hand... "But they didn't know what they were dealing with until it was too late...We had Buffy...For a while..."

"But..." Tara pressed gently... "Anne must know what you intend to do...And she's..."

"She's using us to reach William..." Willow replied... "Hoping we'll give her just enough cover from whatever the Council has to throw at her...Once she's hooked up with her honey...Well...Her priorities may change..."

"She told you William's soul is still with him...And Angel has a soul again..."

"If I could..." Willow shook her head... "I wouldn't do it, Tara...Buffy's greatest nightmare was that she'd be taken one day...To wake her soul up in that vamp body...No...Giles is right..." she looked at Xander...Whose face was clouded... "Giles...Is right..." she repeated...

There's a reason why the spell or whatever that made Angel what he is is called a curse...she noted...

I suppose...Tara nodded...But stared at Xander's troubled face a moment...

"Well, come on...Lets see what they got...I wanna finish and get this stuff over to Angel's asap..." Willow hurried them in...

***

About 6pm...Angel's apartment...

"You're not seriously going to meet him...?" Angel stared at an Anne who'd recovered her composure and was now in frantic preparation mode as he watched her trying on some of the things Willow had delivered...What the hell?...Is she putting on a corset?...he blinked... "Hmmn?..." she stared at him, not heeding... "Pull me, would ya?..." she turned to him, indicating the stays...

"I know...Uhhh..." a gasp as he pulled tightly...The memory of the tens of thousands of times he'd done this for Darla involuntarily surfacing as he did... "...it's a bit much..." she squeaked in a tight voice, chuckling at the end...

"But I want things perfect..." she nodded...Pulling a rather out-of-date...All the way out to antebellum out-of-date dress over her head...Next a large antique pearl pendant...Well, only costume jewelry but neither her nor Giles' Council budget had been unlimited, she noted to a staring Angel...

Though I probably shoulda pressured them to get a real pearl for me, she grinned...Heck it woulda been charged off to the Council and they sure owe me...Her voice turning a bit cool...

But it's close enough to the one I used to wear...Good thing Buffy saw it in a window once, huh?...

"Make yourself useful and fasten this thing..." she turned back to him again...He reached and secured the pendant's lock behind her neck...Feeling just for a moment, the skin...And her slight trembling as she pulled away from him...

But not from attraction, he realized...Not even a demon's natural fear of a possible attack...Her oddly apologetic manner confirming it...Sorry...She whispered hastily... "Just don't like to be touched when I can't see it...I'll do the rest myself, thanks..."

Revulsion, he knew...Startled to find himself angry at the thought...

I'm the one with the soul, demon lady...Where do you get off loathing my slightest touch?...

The touch of the one who created the thing who...he sighed inwardly...And even Anne...Even...

No...The thought burned bright in his brain...As she brushed down her dress and turning back to face him, asked if the necklace was positioned right...

Not just Anne...It wasn't merely Anne who hated him...Who felt revulsion at his touch...

Who'd learned the truth about the past...Her past...And now...

"Hey...Soul boy!...Whatdaya think?..." She spun round in her dress...Complete even to a bustle in the rear...

There...Oops, mustn't forget the final touch...She grabbed at a box...From which she pulled a large raven's-haired wig...

"Ta-da..." She grinned... "So very pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Angel..." she curtsied...Perfectly, if he remembered properly...

"Very pleased to make yours...Miss Cicely..." he nodded...

***

"Anne..." Angel began... "Apart from the fact that you can't go out dressed like that..."

She frowned...Then with a superior look, threw open a last box...Pulling out a large dress coat, which she put on...Covering the costume quite well, though the bustle made a rather bizarre dent...

"He's obviously been recruited by the Anointed One or maybe even the Council to destroy you...He's gotta be planning an ambush...Anne?..." She gave him a duh? look... "Gee?...You really think so, Angel?..." she gave him an innocent child's blinking stare...

"Course he's planning an ambush, twit..." she waved a hand... "And poor lil ole me is going to walk right in, shields down..."

But I have big, strong, dumb you to protect me, right?...she batted her eyes at him...

"Like the way you protected me when Xander and I went Jesse hunting?...Such a hero..."

"He's killed two Slayers, Anne..." he noted, ignoring her taunt...

"Hey...That would be worrisome..." she shook her head solemnly... "If I weren't dead already..." a wolfish grin... "...Besides..." she gave him a hard glare... "William didn't kill those women..."

We're talking about Spike...Angel began...And he's the one you'll be... "William brought Spike to them, seeking me..." she cut him off... "Hoping I...Well, Cicely at least'd be there, in them...And set him free..."

But it was only the memories of Cicely, passed onto them, that called him...They weren't us...And they weren't strong enough...Not without ole Annie to buck em up...No...she shook her head...

"Not till Cicely...and I...Forced the Powers That Be to deal when they needed the Greatest of Slayers back again to fight the greatest of Humanity's nemeses...And we returned at last..."

In this rather hot lil bod...she waved a hand delicately over her coat...

But...As usually happens in our star-crossed relationships...she sighed...The human soul blew it...

"Though if you and those buffoons of mine had tried a smidgin harder...Buffy might have made it and, in time...After Will'd brought Spike to Sunnydale...Well..."

Hard to keep soulmates apart, you know...she smiled...

"William...Knows you...Knows about Cicely, I mean?..." Angel stared at her...

"In a manner of speakin'...Via both what his faith and his instinct told him and what fragments of information Spike gleaned or overheard in his travels...Things that made little or no difference to the demon...But to the soul..."

And he's lived on those fragments for more than a century...He still believes in me...Or, is trying to...she noted, staring at him solemnly...The wig actually suits her, he thought...

"Why else do you think he'd hang on, refusing to let go...Or that we'd've come...There is hope, Angel..." she eyed him... "Even with all that we've lost..."

He looked away a moment... "What you're doing..." he said without looking at her... "Is simply not possible for a demon...Without a soul, we're monsters, running on pure self-interest and instinct..."

"It doesn't exclude love..." she replied quietly, but a fierce look in her eye... "Even a monster can love...Maybe better than a soul...Cause we can love without anything else getting in the way..."

Surely you've encountered a demon or two capable of love, Angelus...she eyed him...Even if it was alien to your nature...

"For a demon mate, perhaps...But..." he paused..."I've realized...We were wrong about you, Anne..." Angel now faced her... "You're not using Buffy's...And Cicely's...Mind and memories to get what you want..." She eyed him... "Seems to me Giles and co would sure disagree"...she smiled wanly...No, he shook his head...

"They...The reunited soul...She...Is using you...From wherever she is now...And you're letting her...She hasn't lost out to you...You've surrendered yourself to her, haven't you?..."

All for love of him...

"I want him to know I love him too...And to remember me kindly, I told you that..." she said simply...

Whatever I am, Angel...I'm not a liar...she noted...Then paused...A genuine smile coming to her face...

"You're worried about me..." she shook her head...Oops...Adjusting the sliding wig...

"Gee...That's sweet, Angel...Or are you taking a leaf from Angelus and setting me up...Again?..." she eyed him...

Cause I wouldn't do that now if I were you...I don't have time to fool around anymore...

"I don't know how to describe how I feel Anne..." he said honestly... "But I am, as I said...Sorry for what pain Angelus caused you and your William...And I do wish I could..."

Great...she beamed... "I was hopin' that gallant nature would kick in...Cause you can...In a non-humanly lethal capacity..." she put up a hand at his frown... "But we gotta move...C'mon, grab your coat and gloves against that setting sun, and I'll explain..." she waved him to the door...

"I'll even go first this time..." she grinned... "No surprise kos, demon's honor..."

So long as you help me...her look turned hard...

"With the two things I need to make this evening complete..."

***

"Anne..." Part XXVIII...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

***

Downtown Sunnydale, 6:30 pm...

"No..." Angel shook his head at his companion as they paused in their stroll and headed for the shelter of an empty, partially covered alley where Anne had ordered a brief halt...Still fussing with her coat as they walked to a well-shadowed corner under a fire escape ...The bustle still causing a bit of concern...Hmmn...She frowned...Maybe this was a bit much...And folded up the parasol she'd been using...Angel likewise folding his umbrella...Hmmn?...She suddenly looked at Angel, hearing his 'no' for the first time...

A slightly dark look now...Followed immediately by a pleading, Buffy-winsome one...

"Angel, I'm only asking you to get Giles and maybe Mr. Reynolds to meet you alone at his place...I won't hurt them...Heck I coulda killed them long ago...But I need for Giles to do his part now and I don't want the rest getting in the way, along with who-or-whatever the Council's got after me..."

If they did, now...I'd have to deal with them...Maybe permanently...she eyed him...

"Do it my way...And you may all be pleasantly surprised to find yourselves alive..." she grinned at him..."Or your own reasonable facsimile thereof...At the end..."

"What is it you want from Giles, Anne?..."

"Me to know, you to..." "And you want me there...?" he gave a tight smile...

"So...It is the curse you want...For him?...And I'm what?...Your test subject...?...Let Giles reverse the curse and then see if he can restore me?..."

"That's probably not necessary...But if it is...You don't think you owe me...And my husband...That much, Angelus?..." she gave a hard look...

"I can't let Angelus back in...Even for an instant...Even to make amends to you...And you may overestimate yourself if you think you could protect Giles from him...If Giles even could do this..."

"I said Angelus' return isn't likely to be necessary...And I'm not asking you to do it now...What I want you to do is call Giles, meet him and Reynolds, if he likes, alone at his place, and tell him what I want...How soon...And what I'll do if he doesn't get it...I'll stay outside...I won't even come in...I can't, remember?..."

I know he doesn't have the curse at hand...I'm aware of that, soul boy...she nodded... "But the Council is sure to have it or to be able to get it...And Giles can get it from them..."

"And if he can't persuade them..."

"They'll deal...To protect their potential Slayers and to get a clear shot at me...Make the call, now..." she ordered... "Else we make the rounds, starting with Giles' library, and see how many of my friends are available for quick, hideous torture..."

I've no more time to play games... her voice was hard...

He pulled out his phone...Anne?...he looked at her...

"You've said William's soul is here...Are you planning to drive Spike out?..."

"Not a bad idea...If it can be done...But I think I can reach William without that..." she eyed him coolly... "Call..."

"You..." he stared... "The curse is for...You..."

"A good man like my Will could never love a demon...You said so yourself, right?..." a faint smile...

But...Anne...You know what that...

"What?...You wouldn't die for love?...Or haven't you met the right girl yet?..." she clucked sympathetically then smiled...Then frowned as she felt the bustle dent in back again...

Screw this...she opened the coat and tore the bustle off...Tossing it into the street as he continued to stare at her...

"Will never cared much for them anyway...Well?...Make the call...Time's awasting and I hafta let Will see me at the Bronze about 8 if we're to have a chance to get the second thing I need..."

"It's not much time for Rupert to get the curse even if the Council will let him have it..." he opened the phone...

"If I gave him 'time' he'd have his whatevers in to bother me...No, I want him as alone as possible and with no time to call in help...He can give the spell to you to deliver to me later if necessary but I want him to hafta focus on getting it here, now...Not planning how to use it as bait for me..."

I know my second dad well...she smiled...He began dialing...

"Say...You know, you look ridiculous with gloves, Angel..."

***

7:05pm...

The doorbell buzzed...At Ms. Calendar's apartment...Where she'd returned from the Sunnydale High library only a short time ago, following Giles' leaving with Reynolds to meet Angel at his request...

Jenny opened her door to find nothing...And opening, stepped a bit out into the hall...Just enough...

A violent grab pulled her out, dragged her down the hall to the stairway before she could catch a breath...

The door to the stairway closed, Anne regarded her with a benevolent smile...

"Ms. Calendar...It seems you've a bit more to you than I'd expect from the usual computer teacher..."

Or so all my Net searches on Angel's curse suggest...she beamed...

"Anne..." Jenny gasped, trying wrench free... "Don't honey...Or I will hafta to sink em...And thrall can be so embarrassing...Especially when you come out of it...If you ever would, alive...Your friends and family can't help wondering if you kinda liked being some vamp's whore and betraying them...And it leaves such a headache later...You wouldn't like it, trust me..."

"Giles will...Kill you...If..."

"Thanks to my compassionate nature, rather than being here to die, Giles is busy having a deep discussion with the souled one...You know, Jen...The guy you were sent to keep a close eye on...In case he somehow escaped his curse..."

"I don't..." "No time for nonsense, lady...Though you should be proud of me, Ms. Calendar...I've really blossomed as a computer geek in the last week...And just in my spare time from searching for my William, I tracked down your gypsy clan, learned they were still around and quite interested in Angel...And isolated all those recent Sunnydale newcomers whose pasts had a little unexplained strangeness in their records..."

By the way...The real Jenny Calendar is buried in Devers, Montana...Died of heart failure at 19, poor kid...Anne sighed...

"Drawback of getting your people to make use of 20th century technology, kiddo...Your young folks gave away too much at their web site...Your Net connections to your people left traces...Plus as a demon I have enhanced access to power vibes...And I sensed you had something right off..."

So...You're here to keep a lid on Angel's curse...she smiled as the helpless Jenny stared at her...

"Meaning of course...You have the curse..." she grinned...Jenny shook her head feebly... "No, you're wrong...Buffy, please..."

"Buffy?..." Anne looked around... "Nope...Don't see her running in to the rescue...Though actually, Jen...She is here, watching...And has been none too pleased to learn what you were up to...Not that Angel is quite as high on her list as he once was...But betrayal irks us..."

Of course Angel's my back-up as well as my decoy to keep Giles away...I believe in havin' a backup plan for important things like this...she grinned...So if I'm wrong and your worshipful self assures me you don't have it, though you'd die or kill to get it, Angel may still be able to persuade Giles to get the Council to deliver...

She frowned as Jenny remained silent...

"All I want is the curse, lady...Now will you give it to me?...Or will I hafta make you desperately desire to give it to your beloved vamp Queen?...Five seconds, cause I gotta a hot date in fifty minutes..."

***

Giles' apartment...Same time...

"Is she outside, now?..." Giles in his favorite large chair eyed Angel sitting on his sofa, Reynolds sitting in an armchair... "When I left her she said she'd be waiting as long as she could..."

"The curse...For herself?..." Reynolds looked at Angel... "You're sure?..."

"That's what she said...And I believe her..."

Giles rubbed his chin as Reynolds shook his head...

"That's not possible...Unless she has no idea of what the curse would do to her..."

She knows...Angel shook his head...She knows it's death for her...A ticket back to Hell...And she wants it for him...

Giles began pacing the room...

"Ripper?...If we could bring her back..." Reynolds hesitated..."At least long enough to stop Anne..."

No...Giles continued his pace...And I doubt the Council would help even if they had the curse at hand...

"But one thing puzzles me..." he paused... "Anne is so convinced Buffy would..." he eyed his two companions...

"She says Buffy knows what's going on and is aware of her Cicely past now..." Angel said quietly... "And I believe that too...It would explain a lot..."

Oh...Giles was noncommital...

"I think...Anne is being used by Buffy...Or Cicely...Call her soul what you will...And she's allowing it for love of William...And that's the main reason, apart from her needing you, that you're all alive right now...Giles, this is Buffy's plan...At least as much as Anne's..."

"Are you suggesting...?" Giles now eyed him coldly... "That Buffy is participating in Anne's actions...That she..."...The harsh, angry look of a father whose daughter has just been grievously insulted, Angel knew...He calmed a bit and masked his anger...

"I don't believe Buffy would support any plan of Anne's...But again, this is all academic...The Council wouldn't give us the curse if they had it..."

"She didn't kill Kendra, Giles...We are not suggesting that...Anne did that..." Angel gently noted... "But...If Buffy is aware...She might have accepted some arrangement with Anne as the only hope of reaching us...And giving us a chance to stop her..."

"It might be our only hope, Rupert..." Reynolds nodded... "I think it's safe to say none of us has much faith in our shapeshifter assassins...And the Council might agree...To render Anne helpless, perhaps even get Buffy back as a kind of Slayer... But we could give Miss Summers peace immediately after she takes control..."

Could we...? Giles sighed... "That's partly what I'm afraid of, Tris...That if we could force Buffy back...Into that monster...I'm not sure that I could do what's necessary, even if she asked me to...And in time, her sense of duty might force her...No...I can't condemn her to that...Immortality as a inhuman Slayer...Not even able to rejoin what little family and friends she had..."

"It might save lives, Ripper...If the Council's 'operatives' fail tonight..."

"Tonight?..." Angel turned to Reynolds who nodded... "That was their plan when they left us...To try and catch her sometime tonight, probably on Patrol..."

Tonight...Angel looked at his hands...

"Where are they now?...Or did they prefer to conceal..."

"Oddly enough we do know..." Giles replied... "They...And Post and young Wesley...Are heading for the Bronze with Willow and Xander...They wanted to see how well their performances worked there before they went after Anne...As well as see if they could acquire any information..."

I see...Angel nodded quietly...

***

Outside Jenny's apartment, same time...

"You're guessing Anne...And you've guess..." Anne grabbed Jenny by the head, and bent over her neck, taking demon face...Fangs out...Jenny trembling in her grip...

"All right...All right...Stop, please!..."

"The spell...Complete, now...You got it or no?..."

"Yes...Let me..."

Anne resumed human face...Relaxed her grip...

"Invite me in...And lets have it...I'm down to forty minutes and I don't intend to be late..."

***

"Anne..." Part XXIX...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

***

The Bronze, about 7:30...

Sitting at a table, Xander eyed the false 'Joyce' who, somewhat to his disturbance, had been eyeing him rather intently the last five or so minutes...

"You seem rather nervous, Mr. Harris?..." she asked with a gentle smile, still speaking in Mrs. Post's British-accented voice... "I wouldn't worry...I doubt our quarry would make an appearance in so public a place, knowing as she does that your Council is sending agents to deal with her..."

"Anne hasn't been too worried about that...She was here with us just the other night...Anyway that's not..." he paused as Tara, Wesley, and Mrs. Post, seated next to 'Joyce', all eyed him as well... "I'm not nervous...Just very up with the music...Great beat..." he looked into the crowd moving about the floor...No Willow...And turned back to find 'Joyce' had taken advantage of his quick glance away to move closer...Ummn...He blinked...

"If you're going to continue in the demon hunting professions...You should learn to relax and be patient...We are very patient...Alexander..." 'Joyce' noted...Putting a hand on his arm...

Wesley looked at Xander, then Mrs. Post...Ummn...Is she?...

"You don't mind me calling you, Alexander?...Alexander...?" Uh...Xander blinked...

"We should be focusing on our plans for tonight..." Mrs. Post interrupted coolly... "You, for example...Miss..." "Please, call me Joyce..." 'Joyce' smiled... "Seriously, it helps me stay in character..."

Character?...This mom of Buffy's chases young guys?...Tara thought...

Right...Mrs. Post nodded curtly... "Well, 'Joyce'...For all your impressive physical abilities, you aren't ready to take Ms. Summers..." "Anne!..." Xander cut in, a harsh tone... "Don't call her Ms. Summers...Or anything but Anne..."

Yes...Mrs. Post nodded, frowning a bit... "Anne, then...But my point remains...You..." she eyed 'Joyce'... "Haven't learned a thing about acting like the girl's mother, let alone her voice..."

"Alexander will instruct me..." 'Joyce' beamed at him... "And as for the voice...Well, if you'd simply do as I suggested and call her...I only need a few words..."

"Xander?..." He turned to find Tara had quietly slid out from her chair and silently moved round to his... "Why don't we go and find Willow?..." 'Joyce' frowning at her slightly as Xander cast a grateful beam...And rose hastily...

"Yes..." Mrs. Post had pondered the shapeshifter's suggestion... "Well, perhaps you're..." Wesley cut her off as Xander glared back at her..."I don't think we should be bothering Mrs. Summers tonight of all nights..."

"Better a moment's 'bother' than dear Anne bothering her permanently..." 'Joyce' noted...Gwendolyn nodded... "Very well, take her over and make the call..." she eyed the standing Xander...Who frowned...Listen, lady...In case you didn't notice...This boy isn't in tweed...he thought... "I agree with Mr. Price..." he began... "Wyndham-Price..." Wesley corrected... Yeah, fine...Xander shrugged...

"I think if you want Mrs. Summers to be left in peace, our 'Joyce' is right, Mr. Harris..." Mrs. Post eyed him... "You don't even have to speak with her if you rather not...All that's needed is a few words from her..." He paused, returning her stare, then sighed...

"All right...I'll tell her I just wanted to know if she was ok...I do in any case...And, Mrs..."

"Post, Mr. Harris..." Gwendolyn smiled... "Yeah...Mrs. Summers is to be left in peace, whatever happens with our friends here and Anne...She's not gonna be mixed up in this...I mean, baitwise..."

Else... 'Someone' may let Anne know...And whatever else she is, Annie seems to care about family...he stared at the senior Watcher...

Certainly...Mr. Harris...she smiled coolly...

"Lets go then..." 'Joyce' was up and had taken his arm before he could move away...Tara still beside him... "I'll come too, if you don't mind..." she smiled at the demon...Whose frown was now edging to glare...

Great...I finally get two ladies who want to drag me out to the dance floor...One being the witchy soul of a mad killer vampire who just feels sorry for me and the other, a demonic assassin, wearing the form of my classmate's and in any Xander-friendly universe, would-be girlfriend's mom...Not to mention 'she' may not actually even be female...Xander sighed...

***

In Jenny's apartment Anne eyed her might-be victim standing nearby, then resumed looking over the printed-out spell...Quite a complicated lil' piece of magic, she noted...

"I'm not gonna be able to do this myself...When the time comes..." she sighed...Then beamed at Jenny... "Guess I gotta new ally..."

That is unless you want me to leave you on Giles' doorstep...Dead and hungry...an innocent smile...

"You want me to do the curse?...When 'the time' comes?..."

"That's our computer teacher..." Anne nodded, folding the spell print-out and opening her coat, tucking it into an inside pocket... "I see why Buffy always felt embarrassed in the presence of your whiz brain..."

"Anne...It's a curse...I ought to know, I've devoted my life to maintaining it on Angel...William will not..."

"I already told you guys...William's soul is still here...I don't need your curse for him..."

But...she coolly eyed Jenny...Who stared, suddenly realizing...

Anne?...

"It's the one piece left I need to convince him..."

"My God..." Jenny stared at her... "Anne, do you know what it means...?" she began...

"You'll do as I say...Or I will kill you, Ms. Calendar...Giles' girl or no...'Cause my time is just about up..." the vampiress told her quietly...

Though I'm hopin'...she smiled rather gently now... "You're romantic enough to do it without that added stimulus...It's hardly like I'm askin' you to kill somebody...Living..."

And think how pleased Giles will be...Once he gets over that natural squeamishness...To have me gone and Buffy back...Most of the way...

I know you don't want him to learn your real role here...So do like I say and rejoice with him at the end over poor me's crazy sacrifice and dear Buf's joyous return..."

"And you got the curse?...How?..." Jenny eyed her...

"My incredible new skills on the computer..." Anne gave an innocent look... "Which led me to the survivors of your clan...Who under my gentle persuasion..." a winsome beam...

"Best of all...It's more or less the truth, right?...With nobody including our dear Giles...Excepting poor ole Annie, suicidal fool for love that she is...Gettin' hurt...All you gotta do is keep mum, slip away at the right time to meet me, and read a few dozen lines in your native Roma tongue...Could anything you've done with us this past year compare in terms of ease and safety?..."

She pulled Jenny close...The scent of her breath, faintly metallic, causing Ms. Calendar to pull back just a bit...Anne tightening her grip, ignored the teacher's wincing...

"Now, listen...Cause I am...What I am...And I haven't fed enough today so every instinct in me is urging me to hunt you down and rip your head off...Leave...Quietly...Just back away to the door...Don't run, don't show me the slightest sign of panic...Just go...Go to Giles' if you like, anywhere...I'll be in touch...But keep this between us or you'll be as sorry as you know I can make you..." she took out a packet...Blood, Jenny saw... "Best if I nosh while you're going...Makes for a cool head...Go..." she eyed her coolly...

And be ready when I need you...Or else...she gave a cold smile...Jenny backing away carefully as instructed...Turning for the door...

She heard the sound of feet moving on the floor, with almost cartoonish speed, followed immediately by that of a window opening...And turning back, saw Anne had vanished...

Run back in, phone Rupert?...she wondered...And not only offend the vampiress but be forced to come up with some logical explanation as to why Anne had chosen to keep company with her of all people...

Perhaps a lil' less forthrightness was called for here...

***

7:53...

A pensive Angel moved through the Bronze, occasionally glancing over to the fairly well hidden corner where Anne sat quietly nursing the drink he'd bought her on their arrival after she'd suddenly rejoined him just outside Giles'...She looking round herself rather nervously, a bit out of place in her carefully buttoned up overcoat...

He spied Xander on the dance floor with Willow, looking rather content...And paused, considering going to them...

Failing to notice the other, rather more natural Xander and Willow now watching their doubles from their table...They in turn, too focused on their doubles to notice him...Or Tara, the false Joyce, Mrs. Post, and a rather bemused...Still seems to me a rather odd place to plan our tactical strike...Wesley at the same table...

A scent caught his attention...One he hadn't encountered in some time...He looked to the shadows by the wall at the opposite end of the club...Just by a large pillar...A quietly lounging startlingly blonde young man in long black duster...Who vanished round the pillar even as Angel recognized him...He moved across the floor as quickly as he safely could through the crowd...Reaching the pillar to find...Nothing...

He turned back to view the floor...

"Looking for a dance partner, mate?..." a sardonic low voice...

"Spike..." he turned to see his quarry standing just behind him, another vamp and that Lester from the other night standing just behind him...

"Angelus...My God...How long has it been?..." a sneering tone... "Taking in the Hellmouth sights are we?...Or do you have business interests here in Hicksville?..."

"Just scoping out the area...What are you doing here, Spike?..."

"Business...And pleasure..." he grinned... "Matter of fact I have a rather hot date here tonight..."

Dru sends her love by the way...As does your own dear Darla...he eyed Angel carefully...

"I've have to look them up while I'm in town..."

Do that...Spike nodded... "We'll do the old family get-together thing...If they can bear the stench of that soul of yours..." A cold, guarded look...

"That was decades ago...Soul, shmoul...I've learned to cope...Any good dinner prospects yet?..." Angel asked causally...

"No volunteer donors for you, if that's what you mean, Uncle Tom..." a hard tone...Angel returned the cold look...

"Why are you here Angelus?...A broodingly dull soul-boy like you can't be out for an enjoyable evening's kill..."

You wouldn't possibly be here about our bizarro Slayer sister?...he frowned...

"Cause she belongs to me, old pal..."

"Then this should be an easy evening for me..." Angel nodded coolly... "You're right, I am looking for her..."

"... 'The monstrous fiend must be destroyed to make the world safe'...for walking happy meals...Don't you ever give it a rest, Uncle Tom?...Or is that soul whippin' that po'r ole body of yours to a frenzy til' the foul evil of Demonity is cleansed...?"

"Something like that..." Angel gave a faint smile...Which Spike reluctantly returned... "I take it you're planning her termination as well...What?...Your little Anointed Lord not happy with Nast's little Gift to him and the rest?..."

"Ah, well...She's been a bad girl...Bit of a disappointment...But this is my own show...And you'd be wise, soul-boy...To find a ringside seat and stay out of my way..."

"Sounds good to me...I never have seen you in action with your Slayers...Be interesting to see if you actually fight 'em or just grab a trophy after someone or thing else does 'em in..."

"By all means, Uncle Tom...Les, escort ole soul-boy to a chair with a good view of our meeting place and order him something on me...Lemme show you how a vamp without a soul handles erring vampiral Slayers..."

Lester eyed Angel...Who gave him a stern look and remained in place...

"Might want to have me around, William...I am interested in seeing this one destroyed, you know...And she's no pushover, you know that too..."

How's bout it?...For old times' sake?...he eyed Spike who shrugged, faintly chuckling... "What the hell...Why not?..."

"Course if you should be workin' with the lady psycho..." William gave an angelic choirboy's smile...

"Naturally..." Angel nodded... "Anyway, she's over that way..."

Les...Spike eyed his minion... "Tell the boys to get in position..."

"You're not taking her yourself?..."Angel looked at him as Les moved off...

"All in good time, Angelus..." he smiled at Angel's frown...

"You would've appreciated it this way once...Though I plan to study her as much as torment her...My own variation on your method, Tommy..."

"Careful she isn't the one to... 'Torment' you, Spike..." Angel smiled coldly...

Les returned, two large hulking vamps beside him...

"Lets go pay a call on our poor misguided sister...I wouldn't want it said I broke a date...Be ungentlemanly..." Spike rose, waving the two and the other who'd been waiting by the table to go on ahead, and indicating for Les to keep by his side as befitting the Anointed's number ...Well, perhaps three, behind this 'Spike' and that bitch Darla...Les sighed to himself...

Angel following as close by Spike's side as he could...

***

"Anne..." Part XXX...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

***

A large, empty warehouse building at the somewhat less fashionable edge of downtown Sunnydale...7:55pm...

A truck pulled up...Medium-sized but with a rather heavily reinforced 'storage' section...From which rather loud growls, now rising to howls, and a certain degree of banging could be heard...

Lindsay emerged from the cab dressed rather less for success in denim jacket, checkered shirt and jeans with a small duffle bag, a frowning Lilah obviously not too comfortable in her 'field' outfit of light coat, blouse, and jeans...Following...

He slammed a hand on the side of the storage compartment... "Knock it off in there, you clowns!...I said you'd get dinner shortly!!..." The howling and banging ceased...Though some growling continued...

"So...We just let 'em out?..." Lilah eyed her...Damn, if only I coulda shoved him in there with them just before we left...Senior partner...

"Sure...If you want to get your throat torn out...And spare your family the expense of a big casket..." Lindsay grinned...

"Ok..." she gave him a warm smile...Shitheaded lil' twerp... "So we go somewhere out of range and do a remote control release?..."

"We could...If we want the papers here full of the mass murder of most of the downtown area tomorrow..." another happy grin...

"I see..." Lilah returned the grin...So innocently that even he was a tad unnerved... "Well, then...Boss..." her voice was silky... "Enlighten me so I can offer what limited assist I can...What are you planning to do with these boys?..."

"Well, first...We gas them..." Lindsay smiled, pressing a button on a remote control he'd quietly pulled out...

The sound of hissing gas from within the truck...A few loud howls, one or two bangs that nearly turned the truck over...A soft thud or two, as of large bodies falling...Then silence...

A mo...He held up a hand to Lilah's stare...He waited five minutes by his watch, then pulling two gas masks from the small bag he'd brought one of which he handed to her, one he put on himself, began opening the rear...Keep back, he commanded as he opened the door...Moving to the side himself... "Even the masks won't protect you from this stuff at full strength..." his voice odd through the respirator...

"Next..." she could sense his grin despite the mask... "We get the boys inside here..." he indicated the warehouse... "And say hello..."

Better take this...he offered a cross from his bag... "And this..." he handed her a gun...Specially designed to fire wooden bullets...he noted...

"Just in case our friends in here aren't as cooperative as Holland promised...If there's any trouble, aim for the heart and don't miss unless vampiral immortality appeals to you..."

And Lilah?...he turned to look at her after hopping into the open, now vented truck compartment... "I'd suggest you wait on any ideas you may be getting about shooting me until things are settled..."

***

The Bronze...7:56...

"Hold up just a mo..." Spike put up a hand as he halted, just in sight of the table where Anne sat, glancing round...Angel and Les halting as well...The three other vamps moving on... "This'll do fine..." he waved his two companions to a seat at the table they'd stopped by...Well hidden from Anne's, yet with a reasonable view of her...

"So tell me...Soul-boy...What's living with a dead Slayer like?..." he hissed...Turning in his chair to smile at Angel... "Darla was quite jealous about your playmate...And Les here and the rest of our Anointed One's merry band have been keepin' a watch on you two..." he turned back and looked at her...

"Thought she was a blonde..." he paused...Staring...

"I've told you, William...She's too tough for me to..." Angel began...Spike cutting him off with a sharp wave of the hand...

I...he began, his voice suddenly shaky as he stared at the nervous-looking brunette, who looked at her watch, then round the room again...Then finally...Straight in their direction...With an alert expression, as if despite their concealment in the shadows and, in Spike's case, partially behind a pillar, she'd locked on to them...Angel stared at him...Spike?... "Where...?" Spike whispered...Blinking suddenly...His hand going, involuntarily to his pocket...

His three goons now coming up on Anne's table...Reasonably good-looking in human face, they smiled at her...She ignored them and looked through the gaps between them in Spike's direction...

"Hey pretty lady..." one called to her...His most winning smile...

Her intense stare ignored him still...Though she waved a hand where she sat as if brushing off a fly...

Spike now eyeing her with an equal intensity...Angel saw his hand lifting something from the right pocket of his duster...What looked like a small black velvet bag...Which the hand felt gently, almost caressing...

That bag...He'd seen it only once before...When...?...Yes...Dru had been trying to snatch it while Spike slept...He'd caught her and the row'd been so loud, Darla had sent him in to silence the two idiots before they woke the hotel up...

And every now and then...Dru'd continued to demand it...Or order it thrown away...Despite Spike's anger at its very mention by her...And his steadfast refusal to let her or a vaguely curious Darla have a look...

Something precious in that bag...That William had never let anyone see, not even Dru, though somehow...Dru'd sensed danger in it...

That bag which Spike now had opened with the hand holding it...From which he pulled...Something oval...Almost like...

"Lady...We hear you're one tough Slayer..." the middle of Spike's three vamp thugs leered...But a slight annoyed tone in his voice...She wasn't showing them the slightest interest, just staring through them as if they didn't exist...

"Go away, I'm busy..." she said in a flat tone, not taunting or even annoyed...

Spike rose, the miniature which Angel could see clearly now clasped in his hand...The portrait of a young woman, brunette...In nineteenth century dress...

The look on his face anything but a look of triumph or even anticipation of a good night's fight...It was almost a look of...Angel stared as Spike moved towards Anne's table, still trying to conceal himself, while looking at the miniature, then towards Anne...Angel rose as well and followed...Les just behind him...

Anne now rose...She'd seen him, Angel realized... "Get out of my way..." she quietly told the three...

Spike halted again, pulling back to the nearby wall...He looked at Angel now beside him, a strange expression on his face...The miniature in the hand by his side... "She..." he paused... "She reminds me..." he caught himself...But to Angel's surprise showed him the miniature with a questioning look...

"Does she...Look?...A little I mean..."

"Friend of yours...?" Angel eyed the portrait...Which Spike hastily returned now to his pocket, clearly trying to take himself in hand...

"Forget it, nothing..." he harshly whispered...

"We wanna see what you..." the vamp on the left of the three began...As Anne eyed him coldly...

The three vamps went dust to a move so fast that Angel watching couldn't quite believe they'd ever been there...She whirled round as she heard the sound of clapping...William?...

She stared at him...He grinned as he stepped from the wall, Angel waiting behind with Les, who now waved in two more vamps who quickly moved in beside Spike..."Nice bit of workmanship, Slayer...Glad to see that Death hasn't taken that ole Slayer edge off..."

I'd hate to let it get round I took my third Slayer with her edge off...

"William..." she breathed...Blinking at him...

"...The Bloody, yes ma'am...At your service...Though sadly only for this evening...And actually that's just a courtesy thing, in case you Americans don't get it instinctively...I am going to destroy you, miss..."

You and that awful coat...he frowned at the coat... "I'd heard Miss Summers was a rather tasty morsel who dressed to kill...Literally...Miss...uh...?" he politely waited...

Miss...Despite my coat, every bit as hot as I look, babe...she grinned... "Anne Summers...Rather unique vampire Slayer" she smiled...

"Formerly Buffy Summers, human but in her own way likewise unique vampire Slayer...Hiya..." Watching his face carefully...As she began moving slowly but steadily to his left...Clearly looking to slip round him and in-between him and the vamp 'support force' behind him... "Thanks for showin' on time...I appreciate that in my gentlemen callers..." Though...She pouted at the two vamps on his sides... "I'd hoped for a more intimate meeting..."

Later...Maybe...he smiled back...

"Sorry if you were countin' on adding me to your Slayer scoreboard..." she gave an winsome look...While moving a bit to his side... "Afraid ole Nastie beat ya to it..."

"So I've heard..." he slid carefully sideways to counter her moves...

"But I suspect..." she halted and grinned... "Whether or not lil' Colin sent you, you weren't that displeased to know that I chose rebellion over dutiful 'daughterhood'...and sent the bastard back to Hell forever..."

"I'm not one to shed tears over self-appointed 'Masters'..." he nodded...

"We'll get on well then..Maybe...." she smiled benignly... Maybe he nodded...

"Though I like a little style in my girls and Death appears not to have become milady's fashion sense...And?..." he eyed her hair, she instinctively patting the wig to check while frowning at his last...

"Funny...I was told you were a blonde...Slayer..."

"The Slayer was a blonde...I'm her demon...I like change...So kill me..." she shrugged...In a bit, pet, patience...he shrugged back...

"How bout you, Spike?..." she eyed him...Up...And down... "You amenable to...Change...?"

"Or does dear mummy mean all the world to you and you just can't let her Psychoness down?..."

Nasty, Miss Anne...he raised a forefinger at her... "First lesson..." he made a vicious, quick swipe at her, tossing her back into the wall across from them... "We never insult my Dru..."

Uhnnn...She rose, swinging round to face him...

"Careful...You'll get us bounced...More important, you'll muss me...And you don't wanna be round me if you muss me..." Anne sighed, eyeing him as she reached a hand up...Phew, wig intact and holding...He smiled at her wig securing gesture, then was startled to find himself flying towards the ceiling...While his remaining two vamp aides went dust with brief strangled cries...

Angel eyed the human bouncer now moving up...Who'd stopped to stare at the dust cloud... "I'd leave them be and call the cops, friend..." he suggested kindly...The bouncer nodded...

"Sir..." she grinned at Spike as his gravity defiance ended and he hit the floor hard... "You should have made your introduction a bit more formally..."

And a Brit ought to know better than to manhandle a lady before her consent is given...

He blinked at her...Hadn't even seen her move...He looked where his late, lamented aides were floating to earth or drifting with the air flow...Then pulled himself together and rose as she watched him...Damn, she is good...he repressed a grin...

"Girl...I am your personal Death, personified in rather hot and nifty unliving flesh..."

"Sweetie..." she smiled gently... "You're late, I be rotting in my grave a week now...And as that's the case..."

Why not let my personal...'Death'...Take a holiday...For tonight...? a tight, seductive grin...

"Tempting..." he nodded, pressing in close... "But, sad to say for you...I'm a family man..."

"You always were, William..." she nodded back...He looked at her a long moment...As they slowly and warily stepped round each other...

"You study up on me in your last days or something?...Only natural, given my rep...Wait a mo..."

Your human name was...Buffy?

"Yeah...I know...I'm tryin' to Unlive it down..." she sighed...

"And you're...Anne, now?..."

"In the smoldering flesh...Well..." she eyed her long, rather conservative, dress coat... "Smoldering within, ya gotta imagine it...As a former poet I'm sure you..."

"Anne...Buffy...Cicely?...You?..." They continued to step round, almost in dance pattern, he noted to himself, unable to resist a genuine smile at the thought...

"That's my net moniker, yeah, and hey thanks for answering my email personally...It was a real thrill..." she cooed...

"How'd you know I was a poet?...The ruddy Council been following my tale of tragic woe and utterly delightful mass murder that closely?..."

"Absolutely, Mr. Walthrop...You oughta know better than anyone that you rate on the list of Watchers' Council headaches..." she smiled...He as well, another genuine one, in spite of himself...

"Nice to have devoted fans willing to paw through the archives to reconstruct my past..."

"Hey, after Mr. Nast, you were gonna be my...Well, dead girl's...Focus..." she eyed him with a solemn look...

Really?...his almost boyish beam brought a quick return smile, an unmistakably genuine one, which startled him almost as much as the tears he saw in her eyes...

"Your Council oughta get its priorities straight...I'm no threat to human civilization...I like Humanity...In general, and raw with a nice bottle of suds..."

"A menace like Spike...Please, the Council had you down as my next Big Bad...But hey, I'm takin' a more independent route now..." You alright?...he asked at the tears...His sudden concern bizarrely sincere...

"Fine, fine..." she blinked the tears back, still holding a defensive stance as they moved round each other... "Had a bad human memory going...You remind me of an ole boyfriend..."

He paused...Staring at her...A startled look which he desperately tried to wipe away...

"Lucky fellow...Permanently dead I hope?..."

"Dead...But not forgotten..."

"Best to let all that go, girl...I can tell you from experience..."

"Have you?..." she eyed him... "Let it all go...?"

Everything I could shake off from the past...he nodded... "But I didn't come to give you counseling regarding your new Unlife..."

"I thought you came to negotiate for the Annoying One..." she carefully matched his slow pace as they circled round each other... "Disappointing to find it was just another setup...I had hopes for you William..."

"Diplomacy bores me...I get impatient, like to settle matters quickly...Though I wasn't expecting we'd take you down just yet...And something tells me you were expecting a little rumpus...You were, weren't you, miss?...Hell, if you've studied me..."

Sure...she nodded... "Say..." she grinned... "If we're gonna keep this up..." she indicating their track across the floor... "We may as well dance for real and keep the mortals quiet...Whatdaya say?..." ...Why not?...he shrugged...

"Prefer it if you'd lose the coat, though..." "Not just yet..." she replied...To his surprise holding out her arms...He took her hand tentatively... "Don't think they play slow dances in this place, pet..."

"First lesson, allowing that the other thing was just my response to yours?...I dance to my own beat, William..." she swung him round in a slow glide...He released her suddenly...Pulling away...

"What?..." she stared... "Surely you can give the condemned girl a last dance?..."

"I..." he stammered...The memories crowding in for a second...There was something just too...Familiar...

"Lets finish this later, Slayerette...I only wanted to see you in action, find out if you were worth my time...Have a pisser of a good time here tonight cause the next we meet I will..."

"Don't go...Not so soon...Please..." the sincerity in her voice stunned him...What's wrong with you, lady?...he frowned at her...

"I see...You're laughing at me...Fair enough, acts speak louder...And I will act...Soon..."

"Fine, fine...But finish the dance, William...You always finished the dance, even when you couldn't bear the partner...I liked that about you..."

The Council keeps real good records...she hastily told his puzzled face...

"Later...Before I dust you..." he stepped back...

"You could read me some of your poetry?..." she quickly thought up the one guaranteed to hold him... "You must have some new stuff since I last...Since the Council last...Collected your work..."

"The Watchers' Council?...Collected my work?..." the boyish look returned...Well...He got hold of himself...

"You wouldn't like my stuff, girl..." he eyed her coolly...Oh, no?...She grinned...

"My soul is wrapped in harsh repose,

midnight descends in raven-colored clothes,

but soft...behold!

A sunlight beam

cutting a swath of glimmering gleam.

My heart expands,

'tis grown a bulge in it,

inspired by your beauty..."

She paused...

Effulgent...he finished, staring at her...As Les and Angel exchanged looks... "Do they know each other?..." Les hissed...

"Nice to have your early work appreciated, isn't it?..." Anne smiled...

***

"Anne..." Part XXXI...

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Anneverse.html

You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary-In an alternate corner of the Buffyverse, and an alternate end of season 1... Anne gets her chance...

***

The Bronze, 8:20 pm...

The little party at Anne's end of the club had not gone completely unnoticed by the group near the front entrance...Xander, Willow, Tara, the false "Joyce", Mrs. Post, and Wesley Wyndham-Price...the false "Xander" and "Willow" still out on the dance floor...Apparently having a rather annoyingly...At least to their true counterparts...Good time...

Xander looked over to the dark rear of the club where a slight ruckus had attracted one of the club bouncer's attentions...That Angel over there by the wall?...Ummn...He blinked as what had vaguely appeared to be two large guys disappeared in puffs of dust and pulled gently at Willow's sleeve...Wil?...Ummn...

She turned to him...Huh?... "Lets hit the floor a mo?..." Us?...Willow stared at him...

Well, we have been getting extra close these past few...she couldn't help a beam...Hmmn...Xander had his new 'serious-as-in-Buffy's-dead, etc, etc' face on...

"I don't think that's wise, Mr. Harris..." Wesley cut in, a bit solemnly... "Your counterparts might be noticed if you start dancing as well..."

Here?...At the Bronze, where most people don't even notice a major vamp feast?...Or two big vamps suddenly dusting?...Xander did not say...Frowning at bit at the Brit, a rather poor younger imitation of Giles...Though not unhappy that his speaking up had distracted Mrs. Post and "Joyce" from watching the floor...Tara eyeing him as well...

"We'll be careful..." Willow replied, giving Wesley her sternest look...We know what we're doin' pal... "Come on, Xander..." she rose...

"So..." she eyed him as they reached the floor...That way...he hissed, leading her away from the direction of Anne and her callers...

"I just spotted Angel...And Anne...At least I think saw her dust a couple vamps..."

"What?...Shouldn't we tell..." Willow began... "I dunno..." he hesitated, stepping round, still moving away from Anne's area...Noting the others at table watching him and Willow...Excepting Tara, who was looking in the opposite direction...And then back at him, catching his eye...

I dunno what we should do...he repeated...Willow staring at him...

"Xander...We've got to destroy her...These..." she searched for a word... " 'people'...May be our only chance..."

I know, I know...he sighed, moving round... "But to just hand her over to them...And we promised her a chance to find him, Willow..."

"She's a murderer, Xander...We don't owe her a thing..."

He looked over her head...And caught distant sight of the young-looking, slight blonde man in long duster...Now talking to...

Anne...In the wig Willow had bought her just that afternoon...Not bad, actually...Though that long coat?...

She was reaching her arms out, the blonde man reluctantly taking them in his...

William the Bloody...He had no doubts about it...

William the Bloody...Dancing...With Anne the insane demonic vampire-Vampire Slayer...

And slow dancing at that...No, he'd just pulled back...Funny, he didn't look like...Well, yeah, with that hair and coat he did look like a psycho killer...But just now, pulling from her...He looked like a man who'd just seen...

The ghost of his dead wife...?

Willow now moved, noting his stare and saw for herself...The others at the table starting to turn...

Oh...!!...Tara cried out as she knocked over her drink which moved rapidly towards Mrs. Post...Who, startled, moved, distracting the others...

Willow and Xander likewise turning at the sound...Then back to see that Anne and William had vanished... As had Angel, Xander noted...

And, as neither they nor the group at table noticed, as had their doubles on the floor...

***

"Are you that anxious to return to Hell, girl?..." Spike eyed Anne as she smiled at him in the alleyway where they'd just emerged from the Bronze's rear exit...Too crowded for me in there she'd noted... "I've given you an extra day or two to get your things in order and you seem determined to reject my little act of courtesy..."

"Just didn't want this evening to end so soon, Mr. Walthrop..." she grinned... "Livin' with ole Angel there..." she nodded at Angel who'd likewise with Lester followed them out... "Is just too unbearably dull, ya know?..."

I can imagine...he nodded...Still...Lets call it a night, girl...

"Not even a poem...For your soon-to-be victim?..." she asked, batting eyes...

"Your Council learned my name...?" he stared at her...

Yeah...she nodded hastily... "Course they're hardly 'my' Council now...Though we have an uneasy alliance for the moment..."

Yeah?... "Say that does intrigue me?...Why?..." he looked at her...She looking at Angel for a second then back to him...

Hmmn?...she stared... "Why are you still workin' for them?...Doin' you lil' Slayer thing?...You're free now, right?..." Spike looked her up and down, waiting... "Part of our great circle of Unlife and all that?..."

Angel moved off quietly...Things to do, places to see...he noted to Les...Let me know what happens...he headed off...Les nodding rather pleasantly...

Kinda wish I could be takin' off myself...he sighed to himself...But evil Duty calls...

"I'm used to it, I guess...And I still kinda like my little friends and all...Maybe the fact is I just don't like competition from other demons..." she shrugged, grinning again... "Hey, you're not exactly plotting world conquest for lil' Colin, yourself I see..."

Where'd poof soul-boy go off to?...he stared at Les...Who shrugged...He had things to do, he said...

"Eh, he's a mite chicken...Too attached to that soul and the living now..." Anne sneered... "He's not up for fights these days..."

Pity...He was quite a lad in his day...Spike noted...A tad wistful...

"We had some decent sport in our salad days..." "I'll bet..." she nodded...A brief look away...

"Look, girl...Kinky as it might be to have an ex-Slayer vamp hangin' round me...Especially one as capable as you...It's a bit much even for my taste to have my victim knowin' yet wantin' to party with me first...Lets keep the lines drawn clearly...You wanna play Slayer, fine...I kill Slayers...Fine..."

"I could take a night off..." she smiled...He not able to resist a smile back...Then a slight blink...

Cicely?...He shrugged it off...Coincidence, nothing more...

"Les...We'd best go find out where soul-boy has run off to..." he turned back to Anne... "Less he's gone to fetch your back-up?..."

"Me?..." she grinned... "I work alone...My counterpart had a few idiot humans and your ole pal there as pets, mostly gettin' in her way...But I..."

You live with Angelus, girl...Spike eyed her sternly...

"He's been assigned...By my former Watcher...To stick by me...I get a kick out of tormenting him...And he lets me stay for free...Not even sex, if you can believe it..." she shook her head...

"Not the Angelus I knew..." Spike sighed...But smiled yet again in spite of himself...

"We have to go, miss...I promise you we will meet again..." he nodded...

If you have to...she gave a pout... "I gotta do my rounds soon anyway...But you know where I'll be tonight...And where I live..."

Don't be a stranger, William...she smiled at him... "Just make sure you let me know it's you before you do the ambush thing, ok?...I couldn't bear it if I accidently let you have it..."

"Very funny, Slayer..." he frowned... "Just let me know where you want your ashes scattered..."

"My old house..." she caught him by surprise as he started to turn away... "You know...Next to Henry's...The large brownstone...I think it's a law firm now..." He stared at her...

"In London, Will...You remember..." she nodded... And vanished before he could reply...But he felt the faint kiss on his cheek long after...

"She's fast..." Lester noted...

In more ways than one...He politely did not say...

***

8:30 pm, Colin's warehouse lair...

"So...You see..." a beaming, expansive Lindsay stood smiling at a seated, grimly frowning Colin...While a rather nervous Lilah eyed the vamps clustered round where she, Lindsay, and their three, still unconscious yet fearfully hulking for all that, demons awaited the Anointed One's decision on their fates... "We're here as representatives of your evil law firm, Wolfram-Hart, Inc...Looking out for our clients as always..."

We could use the extra help...Darla thought...And they'd make a good meal later...

"I need no one's...Help..." Colin fumed... "I am the Anointed One..." he stated coldly...

"Right..." Lindsay nodded... "And we respect that...Think of us as simply offering support...And tribute..."

God, Boss we could use all the help we can get...Several of the clustered vamps sighed to themselves...Trying to maintain airs of confident support for their Leader...

Mmmn...Colin glowered...Noting the guys' desperate eyeing of each other... "Your people should have awaited my request..."

"Breach of protocol, I know...And we apologize...Abjectly...But it's our job to try and anticipate clients' needs...Make things as easy as we can for them..."

"You might have done that before the Master was destroyed..." the little Leader noted...

"Mr. Nast, sadly, had refused our offers of assistance...Preferring his own independent path..." Lindsay shook his head... "But we...Or, rather our Senior Partners, felt that his successor might allow us a chance to show him what we can do to make his path to world conquest a little easier..."

Colin eyed the hulking, slightly stirring demons...Nice bunch, one must admit... "They look capable..." he allowed, nodding slightly...

Lets push this along, fellas before they wake up and kill or whatever us all...Lilah thought...

Nice girl...Reminds me of Mom...Colin now smiled a bit at Lilah...Mommy, gee...An inward sigh...

Pity I didn't have a chance to kill her before...I could use a good cook and housemaid...

Wonder if she knows how to cook?...he gave an innocent boy's smile to her...Which she nervously returned...

With calculation, naturally well aware of the Anointed One's rep...Though even for her a little boy vamp seemed a trifle, well...

We'd make a nice couple...Colin thought...Course I'd have to work on the sex part...Maybe keep her in thrall a few weeks till I got it down...Newborns being so demanding in that department...

"Well...Given that I'm aware of your firm's reputation..." Colin noted regally... "I might be willing to allow you to demonstrate what you can do for me..."

"All we ask..." Lindsay nodded, maintaining his beaming smile...

"Well...?" Colin eyed him... "So, go and fetch me her head...Or at least her ashes..."

"Well..." the irritatingly beaming lawyer...Gotta kill him slow when I take the lady, Colin thought...Paused... "We were thinking it might be best to see if we couldn't get Miss Anne to come here..."

Here?...Colin blinked...

Here...Darla stared...As did most of the others, excepting a handful of rather dumb and arrogant newborns...Here, yeah!...they nodded to each other...

"My superiors feel it would be best to keep our activities here secret...So if we could eliminate the new Ms. Summers here, without a lot of bother, fuss, and mass murder..." Lindsay explained...

"I see...And do we celebrate our victory in Hell with Mr. Nast after she's killed us first?!!..." Colin raged, rising...Hmmn...He eyed one of the now groggily rising nine foot demons...

"May I make a suggestion?...That we all get the hell out of here?..." Lilah politely cut in... "These guys don't care what they kill and eat...Vamps, humans...All the same to them..."

Hmmn...

"Lord Colin!..." A cry from a vamp observer posted outside... "Someone's approaching the warehouse...Vamp, we think...Fast...And Les reports that he and Spike have lost contact with Anne..."

Hmmn...

"We'll retire to our other quarters...Where we can carry out our negotiations undisturbed..." Colin solemnly noted...

What 'other quarters'?...Darla stared...Not the old place?...Anne will be right after us...

"Excellent..." Lindsay nodded... "While we negotiate, our friends here..." A howl from the first demon, still groggy but recovering fast...Slowly sweeping a huge, clawed paw round...Mind the acid in the claws, Lindsay politely noted to the nearest couple of vamps backing away... "Can show you what Wolfram-Hart, Inc can do for you..."

"Ok, then...Lets retire...Wherever..." Darla hastily broke in...

Very well...Colin rose...Then ran with Lindsay, Lilah, Darla, and the others for the main door as the second demon let out an ear-shattering yell...Grabbing two of the surrounding vamps a bit slower than their comrades and quickly ripping them apart...

Another howl at the dust clearly signifying disappointment at the loss of a meal...The third demon now on his, her, its feet, showing the proper way by grabbing the unlucky last vamp to reach the door and settling down with his mates to a slow, steady munch...As they stretched and tried to recover their limited bearings...

"Colin?..." Yeah?... Colin eyed Darla as they and the other survivors happily accepted Lindsay's offer of a truck ride to their alternate lair...

"Was that Angel we passed just now?..." she pointed at the figure they could barely make out, heading for the main door which they'd just escaped through...

"I dunno...We can hope..." Colin nodded... "If it is, I could except Angel as a demo before Anne..." he smiled to Lilah, to her extreme discontent left to attend the 'guests' in the back...Lindsay having noted that she was, after all, better at the social graces as he'd hopped into the truck cab, locking the passenger door...

"Hope you don't mind if I keep this out..And this up..." she indicated her large cross and special gun...

"Like to hope you'd have enough brains to, working for my new law firm..." Colin graciously noted, smiling...

"Say...?" Darla looked round the compartment...

"Where's Drusilla?..."

Hmmn?...Colin looked round...Did we forget the doll-bearing psycho in the basement?...Well...If Spike had flopped as badly as events seemed to be warranting perhaps there really was a demon God after all...

***

***