Part 1: I'll Remember
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Alex peered out the door of the chem lab.
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"Clear." She whispered.
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Tyler dumped the contents of the ziplock bag in his hand into a pot of liquid that was boiling on a Bunsen burner.
He was just about to chant.
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"Shit." Alex whispered. "Someone's coming. Hurry."
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Alex pulled the shade down on the window in the door. She crouched on the floor and held out her hand towards it.
The doorknob rattled. Someone was trying to get in. Sweat broke out on the blonde cheerleader's forehead as she
tried to keep the door shut. She started shaking. She just didn't have that kind of power yet.
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The liquid in the pot started a swirling stream. It glowed. It rolled. It danced up from the liquid boiling on the burner.
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"Tyler....."
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The door flung open. The pot flew off the burner and hit the wall. Tyler whipped around just in time to see Celia fly
backwards out of the room before she even had a chance to enter it. She clipped Jessi's side sending her flying
into Brian. The two out them skidded across the tiled floor. The slayer smacked into a row of lockers on the
opposite side of the hall and slumped to the floor.
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Then Alex screamed. Because Celia disappeared.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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She stood up and shook herself out. She was in the hallway of a school she didn't recognize.
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"Do we really need weapons for this?"
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"I just like them. They make me feel all manly."
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Celia's jaw dropped. Spike. But not hers. There was something different about him. He tossed his weapon down
and walked towards.... her mother. Her mother at about 16. What in the hell?
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"The last slayer I killed, she begged for her life. You don't strike me as the begging kind."
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Celia started shaking. She was getting the evilest of evil vibes off of him. This was the guy she thought she might
be in love with? Then she realized - this was what he was. This was the first fight with her mother. She could feel
it. She couldn't even look away. How was she here?
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"You shouldn't have come here."
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"No." He laughed. "I messed up your doilies and stuff. But I just got so bored." He chuckled. "I'll tell you what. As a
personal favor from me to you. I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit."
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"No, Spike. It's gonna hurt a lot."
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They started.
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"No!" Celia rushed at them, and then right through them. Both of them. She got flashes of her mother being called
as a slayer and Spike being turned as she went through their bodies. She crashed into the wall, screaming.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Celia appeared right next to them, screaming. Everyone jumped. Xander grabbed her.
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"Celia?"
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She opened her eyes and looked around. Tyler and Alex were staring at her in concern. Brian and Jessi looked the
same, just a little more dazed. Xander was holding her upper arms. His face was a mask of worry.
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She looked at him. Her face was blank. "Death is your art. You make it with you hands day after day. That final
gasp, that look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know, what's it like? Where does it lead you?"
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Then she passed out.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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"Buffy, it was creepy." Xander whispered.
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"Creepy how?"
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The two of them were standing in the doorway watching Amy check out Celia.
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"She was screaming, and then she stopped. Her face went all blank. She said something strange."
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"What? What did she say exactly?"
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"I don't remember."
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"Some watcher you turned out to be." She teased.
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Xander glared at her "I don't remember the exact words. It was something about death being art."
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That struck a nerve with Buffy instantly. "Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day?"
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"Yes! That's it! How did you know?"
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Buffy paled. "Why would he say..." Her words trailed off.
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"Buffy?"
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"Spike said that to me. A very long time ago." She rubbed her hands over her face. Had she been wrong to put her
trust in Spike? No. "He wouldn't. We were so angry with each other back then. He was only trying to scare me.
Why would he want to scare her?" She wanted to trust Spike. They'd come a long way, but old doubts were
starting to creep in.
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Just then Angel came running up the stairs with Spike on his heels.
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"Is she ok?" Angel looked from Xander to Buffy.
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Buffy ignored him. She grabbed Spike by the throat and slammed him up against the wall.
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"Buffy!" Angel tried to grab her but she fended him off with her other hand.
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"Why?"
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"Bloody hell, Buffy. Why what?"
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"Your little speech on death being a slayer's art."
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"You're just now getting pissed off about that?"
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She pulled him forward and slammed his head back into the wall.
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"CHRIST!"
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"BUFFY!" Xander and Angel yelled.
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She ignored everyone but Spike. "Why did you tell her that?"
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"What are you talking about?"
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"She knew it word for word, Spike."
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Celia's voice broke through. "Do you snore?" She paused and smiled. "I don't know. It's been a long time since
anyone's been in a position to let me know."
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Buffy and Angel turned their heads slowly to stare into Celia's room. Amy was looking at them. Celia was sitting
up.
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"Can a vampire ever be a good person? Couldn't it happen?"
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"Whoa." Xander was looking from Buffy to Angel to Celia.
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Angel took Buffy's hand off of Spike's neck while she was in shock. "Did you tell her?" He asked.
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"No." She breathed. "Everything with you is private. I never..."
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Amy looked at them. "Find Tyler and Alex. I need to know what they were doing. She's channeling something. I'm
guessing you guys are recognizing some of this?"
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"That was Angel and I before I found out he was a vampire."
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"I slept on the floor by her bed."
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"Aww. Can I bloody well puke now?"
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Buffy turned to him. "Spike, I'm sorry. I-"
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"And I wonder what possible catastrophe came crashing down from heaven and brought this dashing stranger to
tears."
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"Dear God wake her up."
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"Spike?" Buffy was looking at him.
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"Spike, what is it?" Angel moved closer.
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The blonde vampire's eyes were wide in horror. "Dru." He whispered.
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"Dru?" Angel leaned in.
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"It was the first thing she EVER said to me. No one was there but Dru and I."
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They all turned and looked at Celia.
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"Xander, please go find Alex and Tyler now." Buffy said while still staring at her daughter.
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"Going." Xander took off.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Wesley was glaring at his daughter. "What have I told you about unsupervised conjuring?"
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"But, dad-"
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"No buts, Alexandra. Celia could have been hurt very badly, as well as Brain and Jessi. Tyler could have been hurt.
YOU could have been hurt."
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Cordelia walked into the room. Alex got a weird look on her face. Wesley jumped because all of the sudden Doyle
materialized next to his daughter. The little Irish demon grabbed onto her when she screamed. Then Cordelia
screamed. Wesley caught her before she hit the floor.
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Doyle held onto Alex as she shook. Then she threw herself out of his arms. She crawled backwards across the
floor. He suddenly realized she wasn't having a vision at all. This was something else.
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"The good fight, yeah? You never know until you've been tested. I get that now." Her eyes glazed over, and she
started sobbing. She ground the heels of her hands into her temples. "No." She was crying. "Please no. God."
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"Alex..." Doyle dropped on the floor in front of her. She threw herself at him. He caught her in his arms.
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"D-did it h-hurt? B-burn?"
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Wesley was holding a shaking Cordelia in his arms. He had the distinct feeling something bigger was going on,
and it had a lot to do with the spell Tyler and Alex had done. Xander had mentioned Celia had been acting a little
strange afterwards. Wesley began to wonder if the other children were alright. He looked down she Cordelia
tugged on his shirt.
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"We have trouble. Big time." She was out of breath.
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"What kind?"
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"The Drusilla kind."
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"Drusilla? Good God."
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Anya walked into the back door of the mansion and into the kitchen. She sat her bag of groceries on the counter
and began sifting through it. A noise behind her made her jump and spin around. Her heart nearly stopped.
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"Jessi?"
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Her daughter was crouched in the corner. Her knees were tucked up to her chest. She was shaking.
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"Jessica?" Anya dropped to her knees in front of her. "Jessi, what's wrong?" Jessi whimpered when Anya touched
her. Anya started to panic. She shot back up. "Giles! GILES!" Anya rushed back out of the kitchen.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Tara looked at Brian and Tyler. They'd been quieter than usual since Xander had dropped them off at the magic
shop. Brian had been 'reading' the same page in his history book for the past hour, and Tyler was just staring off
into space.
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Willow came out of the back with her arms piled with boxes. "Tara, help." She called as one of them slipped.
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Brian didn't even look. He just leaned back in his chair and caught it with one hand. The other hand still held the
history textbook.
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Then Tyler grabbed his head and yelled in pain. He dropped to his knees groaning. Willow and Tara stared. He
looked like he was having one of Cordelia or Alex's visions.
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The book slipped from Brian's fingers. "I am, you know......... Yours."
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Willow dropped every box in her arms.
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Jessi had her head rested on Alex's shoulder. The blonde had Tyler with his arm draped around her. Brian sat on
the other side of the musician. They were all on the couch in Buffy's living room. Xander was looking at them. None
of them had said a word. They all seemed lost in their own minds. Willow and Tara were pacing waiting for
Graham and Oz to arrive. Doyle was fidgeting. Amy and Wesley were thumbing through Tyler's spellbook. Anya
had Willow's laptop. Cordelia had her own. Giles was pacing with a book in his arms. Joyce had one in hers too.
Angel walked down the stairs from Celia's room where Buffy and Spike were.
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Cordelia looked at Angel. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
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Angel followed her into the kitchen.
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"Did you reach Gunn?"
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"I did. He and Faith are on their way. They were in Arizona. They just cleaned out a big vamp nest there. He was all
giddy, but I didn't come in here to talk about Gunn."
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"Right. What's wrong? Besides the obvious."
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"I had a vision."
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"When? What did you see?"
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"Drusilla's coming."
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Angel almost flinched. If Cordelia didn't know him so well, she would have missed it.
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"Do I tell him?"
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He didn't even have to ask. "I think he needs to know."
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"Go with me?"
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"Don't I always?"
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She put a hand on her hip. "Do you really want me to answer that, broodboy?"
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Angel grabbed Cordelia's hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of it. "So precious."
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"Uh. I hate when you get all mooshy. Can I squeeze in a vomit before we go upstairs?"
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*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Spike was sitting next to Celia's bed when Cordelia and Angel walked in. Buffy was sitting next to him. Celia's eyes
were open, but she was staring off into space blankly.
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"Spike..." Cordelia began. She squeezed Angel's hand. He squeezed back, and she felt a little braver. She had
always gotten so much of her strength from Angel, Wesley, and Gunn.
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Spike looked up at her. "Yes, ducks?"
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"I need to tell you something."
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