Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. They belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy... Author's notes: I am a Buffy/Angel shipper, so there will be no fun for Riley in here. :)

Winner of Best Buffy Remembers in the Forgotten Day Fan Fiction Awards, May 23, 2000

Winner of Best Action in The Halo Awards, Summer 2000

The members of the Initiative gathered around the table to learn of the new mission Professor Walsh had for them.

"Everybody quiet down. We're going to get started." She announced.

She pushed a tape into the VCR and a black and white video of a police station came on. There was a fight going on and people were rushing about. The Professor waited patiently, the remote control pointed at the screen. Suddenly a man appeared on the film. He was wearing all black, and he was fighting as if he were one of the Initiative. His strength was not even comparable with theirs. The Professor paused the tape.

"This man is our new target." She said sternly. "He masquerades as a private detective in Los Angeles, trying to help people fight demons, but he himself IS a demon. A vampire. We believe he has ulterior motives in his work."

"Isn't that a bit out of our jurisdiction?" Riley asked her.

"Yes it is, but we may be able to use him. He is a very powerful fighter and he has the will to fight evil. Being a Vampire makes him expendable on our team. If we can bring him here and somehow duplicate his strength to others like him, we will be able to have less of you risking yourselves on the front line."

"When do we leave?" Forest asked her.

"I am not sending you." She announced, much to Forest's dismay. "Agent Finn, I want you to cover this mission...and take Buffy Summers with you."

"Buffy? Why? I mean, she is in classes and has her slayer duties." He said, confused.

"First because she is a woman, and you may need a woman's appeal to get to this man, and second, because she is the Slayer and has put down hundreds more hostiles than you have experience with. If things get out of hand, you'll need her." The Professor handed Riley a file. "This is where you'll find him. All the other information you need is in the file. I suggest you go prepare. You will be leaving first thing in the morning. You are all dismissed." She gathered up her things and began to walk away.

"Professor...how am I supposed to explain the mission to Buffy?"

"Right now she is on a need to know basis. Tell her you have to go to LA for a few days on a mission. Make it sound casual and invite her to join you. If she has any doubts, bring her to me. I will convince her."

"Right. I'll call her now." And with that he turned and left.

Professor Walsh walked back through the doors that no one aside from herself was ever allowed into. She passed her card through the scanner and then through more door and another scan, she walked into the room labeled 314.

"Its taken care of. He's taking Miss Summers with him. The plan will unfold just how we anticipated. Is there anything else that needs to be done?" The Professor asked.

"No, not just yet. Once Riley kills Angel , I'll take out Buffy. For now, you've done all there is."

The Professor gave a concerned look. "Agent Finn is..."

"Yeah, I know, very important to you. Look, don't worry about him, I'll make sure no harm comes to your son."

Buffy was gathering up her books to go to psych class. Her text book had somehow run away from her, she was crawling around on the floor looking for it and the phone was ringing off the hook.

"I SO do not need this right now." She muttered. "Wil!!!" She yelled out.

"Yeah, Buffy, I'm right here." Willow answered quietly from the bed next to hers.

"Oh, sorry." Buffy answered with half a smile. "Um, could you answer the phone?"

"Oh, sure, the only reason I wouldn't, I mean I didn't was um, cause I think its Riley."

Buffy looked up quickly. "How would you know that?" She asked confused.

"Cause, it says his name on the caller ID." She answered smiling.

They had gotten the ID after the Gentlemen had taken their voices. It was unlikely to have it happen again, but just incase it did, they would know how was calling them for help.

"Oh, ugh, I need to find my book. Riley?" She asked Willow with a pleading smile.

"Ok, Ok, book later, Riley now. Go ahead."

Buffy beamed a smile at her and lunged for the phone. "Hi Riley" She said.

"Hey, how did you know?" He asked, puzzled.

"Didn't I tell you? Aside from being the Slayer, I'm telepathic."

"Really?" He asked, feeling even more inadequate.

"No, silly." Is he really that dumb? She thought. "Its a joke. The caller ID had your name."

"OH! So that's how you've been doing it all this time."

"Uh, yeah, I thought you knew." She answered. Oh GOD he IS that stupid. But he's cute and sweet. She thought, trying to reason out of it.

Willow leaned down on the floor and pulled Buffy's pysch book from under her bed. She smiled and held it up for Buffy to see. Buffy smiled back at her and mouthed Thank you.

"Yeah, um, I did." He lied. "Anyway, I have to tell you something."

"Uh oh, doesn't sound good. What's up?"

"No no, its not bad. I just have to go away for a few days....to LA."

"LA?" A shiver ran through her body. Angel. She thought. "How come?" She asked, trying to shake away the thoughts of her true love.

"Professor Walsh wants me to take care of something there..for the Initiative."

"What is it?" She asked concerned.

"I'm not sure if I can tell you just yet." he said. "Hey, you won't forget me when I'm gone will you?" He asked.

"I'll never forget."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she felt the rush. Riley continued to talk, but she couldn't hear him. The phone slipped out of Buffy's hand and she sank down to the bed and cradled her head in her hands. Visions kept hitting her. She and Angel, holding each other for dear life. Crying. "I'll never forget, I'll never forget." She kept saying it to him through her tears. Visions of a clock ticking away.

"BUFFY!" Willow cried out! She was shaking Buffy by the shoulders. "Buffy are you okay? What's wrong?" She yelled, concerned.

The visions washed away from her. Tears ran down her cheeks. She looked up at the face of her worried friend. One thing came out of her mouth in a soft, sad whisper, "Angel."

"Hello? Buffy! Willow! What's going on?" Riley was yelling into the phone.

Willow picked the phone up off the floor. "Uh, Riley. Hi. How are you?"

"Willow, what's going on? Is Buffy ok?"

"Oh, Buffy?" She looked at Buffy, who just shook her head and made a motion not to give her the phone. "Um, she's late, actually. For class, that is. Late for class. Um, she had to run and find her book. We'll see you in class. Bye now." and she hung up the phone.

"Buffy, what happened?" She asked, switching over to Buffy's bed and putting her arm around her friend, who was shaking like a leaf.

"I said, I'll never forget. And all these memories of Angel..." She trailed off. "But that never happened. What I saw. It never...." Her eyes moved side to side, looking for something to settle on and the tears streamed down her face.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, confused.

"I saw Angel and I together. It was recent looking. We were crying and holding each other and I was saying..."

"That you would never forget. Never forget what?"

"I don't know. That whole thing, it never happened. It was like a dream or something, but it looked so real."

"Maybe you just miss him." Willow offered.

"Maybe." Buffy whispered back, unconvinced. She wiped the tears from her face. "C'mon. We should go to class."

"Are you sure you want to go? I mean, not that I condone skipping classes and all, but I could take notes for you and sign the attendance sheet and it would kinda be like you were there." She gave a little innocent smile.

"Its ok Wil. Thanks for offering, but I'll go. If I don't I'm just gonna be sitting here thinking about depressing things and I might as well do that in a productive environment."

"Ok, if you're sure."

They picked up their books and headed to class.

Riley looked up as he saw Buffy and Willow walk into the classroom. He noticed tears stains on Buffy's face and started to get up and walk towards her, but Professor Walsh started to speak and he couldn't interrupt her lecture.

Buffy sat down next to Willow and glanced over at Riley. I'll never love him as much. She thought to herself sadly. She felt a wave of guilt come over her, but it was true. No one could ever make her feel the way Angel did. She thought of the visions that had appeared to her that morning. Where is this coming from? She thought, in complete confusion.

"Miss Summers..." Professor Walsh called out.

Buffy had not been paying attention and hearing her name called, had been startled. "Uh, yyy, I'm uh...yes?" She said, too late to hide her disinterest in the day's lesson.

"Never mind. Someone who has been paying attention." She muttered looking around for raised hands. "Tom, please continue to read from paragraph 3, where I left off."

The student began to read and Buffy opened her book to follow along. But soon her thoughts drifted again.

"Hey!"

Buffy heard a man's voice call out from the front of the room. She perked up and looked around. Class was still in session. Professor Walsh was lecturing.

"Psst! Hey, blondie. Over here."

Buffy looked down. No one seemed to notice the man, who was now standing right next to Professor Walsh. He was average height. Dark hair, light eyes. Something told her she'd met him before, but she couldn't place where. He waved his hand on front of the Professors face.

"She sure does like to hear herself speak. Oh well, " He put his hand in his pocket and walked closer to the row of seats Buffy was in. "So are you gonna talk or just sit there?"

Buffy was stunned. She looked around to see if anyone noticed him, but she seemed to be the only one.

"Its okay, they won't hear you speak, if that's what you're worried about." He assured her.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked, finally. Her brow creased in confusion. "What is this? Am I hallucinating?"

"Nah, just dreaming." He answered. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of her seat. "There, have a look." He gestured to the seat where she had been sitting.

Buffy slowly turned around and let out a gasp when she saw herself, asleep in her seat. Her head resting on Willow's shoulder as she diligently scribbled notes. She looked back at the man, her nose wrinkled in puzzlement.

"Oh, sorry. I supposed you want me to explain." he scratched his head and looked up at the clock on the wall. "Well, there's not enough time for that, you're gonna have to wake up in about an hour when the class ends. I'll just give you a summary."

"Let's start with this...who are you? and why are you here?" Buffy asked, getting annoyed, but still amazed at how real this all was.

"Name's Doyle. We met once, only for about a second." He gave her a little smile, hoping to spark her memory. "No, huh? Well, you stopped by Angel's office. Remember?"

"Does this have something to do with Angel? Is he ok?" She asked, immediately concerned. With the visions she'd had this morning, and now this. Something had to be wrong.

"Look, I can't explain this all to you. I am a friend...well I was a friend of Angel's...I'm dead now, but that can always change." His brow creased. "At least I think it can..." He noticed Buffy was getting angry. "Anyway, there is something I was sent here to show you. You have to come with me. Now."

"How can I leave? I'm in class...and I'm asleep."

"Its a dream, remember. Just follow me, don't worry, you're friend's got you covered. You aren't missing much." He turned and motioned for Buffy to follow behind him.

She glanced back at herself, and sighed. These prophetic dreams are just getting too weird. She thought. "Wait," She called out to Doyle. "Just tell me...is he okay?"

Doyle looked down and then back up at Buffy. "He needs you. He just doesn't know it yet. Look, just trust me. You'll find out all you need to know."

She gave one last glance at her sleeping body and walked over to Doyle. They headed towards the classroom door, but their images faded before they reached it.

Next thing she knew, Buffy was standing in Angel's office. Doyle was next to her. They stood towards the back of the room and watched as Doyle, Cordelia and Angel talked.

"What's going on? Why are there two of you?" She whispered. "Can they hear me?"

"Nah, you're just watching something that happened. Just watch." Doyle told her. He was watching Cordelia. Buffy noticed a look of sadness on his face.

All of a sudden, Buffy herself appeared in the doorway. She gasped at seeing herself outside of her body, yet another time. "This is just too strange. I've seen this already. I was there, I know what happened. Why do I have to see it again?"

"You've seen take 2 of it. You don't remember what really happened."

"What do you mean what really happened?" By now, Cordelia had rushed Doyle out of the room so that she and Angel could be left alone. "Any second now, a Mohrer demon is gonna jump through the window and Angel will kill..." Doyle gave her a look. "Forget it, you just watch and see." Buffy muttered.

Just then the demon came crashing through. Buffy put her hands on her hips, waiting for Angel to kill the beast...but he didn't. Instead, she and Angel both fought with it, but it hopped out the window again before they could kill it.

A shudder came over Buffy. She looked over at Doyle and then down at herself and Angel, who were getting up from the floor. Their lips came so close to touching.

"Oh my God." She whispered. "What is this?" She asked.

"I told you, you only saw take 2. Now, do you wanna see the rest, or do you wanna ask more questions? Just a warning, its a tearjerker."

"How do I know that this is the truth. You said its a dream right? So why should I believe any of this?"

"Because you remembered a part of it this morning. And now you need to know the rest so that you can save the life of the one who loves you enough to give up his."

Her eyes were already beginning to tear as she nodded her head. "Show me." She said, through clenched teeth.

"Ugh, why do they always have to use sewers?" Doyle complained as they followed Buffy2 and Angel on their hunt for the demon. "Watch where you step." he warned. He was trying to lighten things up, but one look at his sullen companion and he knew it was a lost cause.

Buffy noticed as Angel touched the drop of demons blood on the wall. A weird look came over him.

"What's going on?" She asked Doyle. "Is he okay? Why doesn't he tell her...me. Ugh!"

"Wanna just call her Buffy 2?" Doyle said, with a smirk.

"Fine." She answered, annoyed. "Why doesn't he tell Buffy 2 what is wrong?"

Doyle just nodded towards Angel and her double and they stopped and began to talk.

"I feel weird." Angel said.

"Oh I know I had to have taken that the wrong way." Buffy said.

She watched as Buffy 2 went on about feeling weird around him. Just like the time she assumed he'd read her diary. Jumping to conclusions. The Angel explained that it was the demon's blood that had caused the weird feeling.

They talked some more and then the 2 split up so that Buffy2 could search for the demon in the light. Angel continued on through the sewers.

"Who do we follow?" Buffy asked.

"I'd say Angel. You had no luck up there."

"Really?" She asked with a frown. "I didn't get to kill him?"

Doyle smiled and kept walking, motioning for her to follow. By the time they caught up with Angel, he was in battle with Mohrer.

Buffy winced as the demon slashed Angel's hand, but Angel soon put the demon to rest. Buffy smiled with some pride at his victory. Angel looked down at his hand. Doyle motioned for Buffy to have a closer look. She moved towards Angel and watched as the demons blood absorbed into Angel's hand.

All of the sudden he was falling. Out of breath. Then he said the words that made her heart stop...

"I'm alive."

Doyle grabbed her arm. "C'mon we have to get goin."

"No, wait. What does he mean, I mean, is it true. He's mortal?"

"Time is running out, just follow me. You'll see."

Buffy watched a stunned Cordelia and Doyle2 as Angel walked into the sunlit area of the office and look up at the sky. Her eyes welled with tears. Happy for him that he could see the sun again, and yet sad. How can I not remember this? She thought.

She laughed a little through her tears as Angel devoured chocolate from the fridge, and then they were in a new place. It was white all around. Angel was there and there were also to other people. Some other-worldly beings, she presumed.

"What happened? I liked that part." Buffy said, turning to Doyle.

"I had to speed things up a bit. These are the oracles." Doyle informed her in a whisper.

She waited for a longer explanation, but he said nothing else. She looked at him and held out both her arms in question. "Um, hello, The Oracles? Care to elaborate?"

Doyle gave her a look and nodded towards them. She looked over at the female one and was taken aback when she noticed the woman giving her a stern "be quiet" look. Buffy raised her eyebrows in disbelief, but she remained silent and listened to what was going on. The Oracles explained to Angel that his mortality was permanent and real. and then he was cast out of the room.

The Oracles looked Buffy up and down, then nodded to Doyle. "Go now." The male said.

The room faded away and Buffy was standing next to herself, looking out at the beach. Doyle was a few steps behind. All of the sudden, she sensed something, as did her double, because she turned around at exactly the same time.

Angel was walking towards them. In the sunlight. He didn't say a word as he approached her. Buffy willed herself to wake up so that she could be there as he grabbed her double and kissed her with so much passion. But she could only watch.

"This is not good." She told Doyle, and they followed Angel and Buffy2 over to Angel's kitchen table.

"What? I thought you would like this part." He said.

"I am jealous of myself. That's not supposed to be possible." She said. "What do you mean this part?"

"Just keep watching."

Buffy leaned against the fridge as Angel explained everything to her double. They talked for a bit and then both rose from their seats.

"I SO did not leave after this!" She said, when she noticed them saying good bye.

All of the sudden they were kissing. Buffy dashed out of the way as the two slammed into the refrigerator. They fell onto the table in a whirl of passion.

She looked over at Doyle, who was obviously enjoying the whole thing.

"Hey!" She said, giving him a look of disgust. "Are you just gonna watch?"

"Well, aren't you?" He asked.

"I think I have a right to! It is me...kinda...anyway" She looked back at Doyle, who was watching the couple who were now on the bed. "STOP THAT!" She said.

He looked her up and down and smirked. "Oh okay." he muttered, turning away from the scene. "Nice, by the way."

Buffy looked back at him and blushed. "This is too weird." She sank down to the floor. Her thoughts were consuming her. I have no memory of this. I had another day with Angel. A night in his arms. We made love...and I forgot it?

"Look," Doyle interrupted. She had been watching Buffy2 and Angel eating chocolate and peanut butter in his bed. "We don't have time for the small stuff. We...

"Small stuff? This means everything to me."

"You're gonna remember it all when this is over, I promise, but now I need to speed things up. Look."

He pointed at an open doorway. Buffy looked towards it and saw Professor Walsh still lecturing. Willow was softly nudging the other Buffy's head.

"You're gonna wake up soon. We have to finish this now."

"Okay, lets go." Buffy said, as she reluctantly got up and walked away from the bed. She glanced back at the happy couple in the bed and smiled.

Then they were gone. She and Doyle were following Angel and Doyle2 through a dark abandoned building.

"They're looking for the Mohrer demon." Doyle told her.

"But Angel killed him." Buffy answered confused.

"He regenerated himself."

Buffy shrugged. "Hey, why not. Its certainly not the strangest thing about all this."

Then they were fighting. Angel was getting beaten pretty badly, when all of the sudden Buffy2 came crashing through the ceiling.

After a short battle, and a tip from Angel, she managed to kill the demon and ran to Angel's side.

"He can't fight with out his immortal power." Buffy whispered, more to herself than to Doyle.

Then they were at the oracles again. It was just Angel. Buffy looked at the two mysterious beings and back at Angel. Then it hit her. She knew what he was going to do.

"Oh no." She cried. "Please no." She begged the oracles. They barely acknowledged her with more than a quick glance. Angel had already made his case and the female looked at Buffy before explaining to Angel what was going to happen.

Buffy let her tears fall freely as Angel was cast out of the room once again.

"Why did you do it?" She cried at them. Buffy sank to her knees.

The 2 turned around and looked at her. Doyle tried to put his arms around Buffy to comfort her. "Look, she's seen enough. I don't think she can watch the end." He told them.

But Buffy already knew how it ended. She had seen it that morning. "I'll never forget." She whispered through her tears. It all came back to her. She remembered everything. Everything that Doyle hadn't shown her, and everything that she hadn't yet seen. "I know how it ends. Now tell me why did you show me this. I wasn't meant to remember it. So why?" She cried through clenched teeth.

The female nodded towards the male. He held his hand out towards the wall next to them and it opened up. "Go and see for yourself."

Buffy stood up and walked into the new opening. She was inside the Initiative. In an office which she had not seen the other times Riley had taken her down there. There was someone sitting at the desk chair, but it was facing away from her. Professor Walsh suddenly brushed past her into the room.

Buffy watched in silence as the Professor spoke to who ever was sitting in the tall desk chair.

"Its taken care of. He's taking Miss Summers with him. The plan will unfold just how we anticipated. Is there anything else that needs to be done?" The Professor asked.

"No, not just yet. Once your Agent kills Angel , I'll take out Buffy. For now, you've done all there is."

Buffy recognized that voice.

The Professor gave a concerned look. "Agent Finn is..."

"Yeah, I know, very important to you. Look, don't worry about him, I'll make sure no harm comes to your son."

The chair spun around.

Buffy felt all the blood drain from her face. Hundreds of thoughts sprung into her mind. How? Why? Is this possible? But only one found its way out of her mouth. "Faith."

"You know her, eh?" Doyle asked when he noticed the look on Buffy's face. "Well..."

"Shh." Buffy said quickly as he started to speak again. She needed to know what Faith was planning to do. Wait a minute, she thought. Did she just say SON? Riley is Professor Walsh's son? Buffy looked over at the Professor that she had admired and looked up to. She had a worried look on her face as Faith spoke.

"Listen lady, I just want to be what I was meant to be and that is the Slayer. The chosen ONE. Buffy was dead and she should have stayed that way, she doesn't have the stamina for this job."

"Faith, I know you are in this for vengeance, but I have other interests in this mission. I don't think killing Angelus is the best idea. There are so many other uses for him, and Buffy...well, you know how Riley feels about her, I just don't..."

"Buffy will die...in the most painful way I can imagine. That is not negotiable. She put a knife in my gut. She tried to kill me and she'll be nothing but trouble for the Initiative. She fights fair and clean." Faith picked up a file that had been laying in front of her on the desk. "And from what I understand, you people don't always like to follow the rules." She slowly waved the file in front of the Professor's face and then opened the folder and began to flip through its contents.

Buffy looked back over at the Professor, who lowered her eyes, perhaps in shame, Buffy thought. What was in that file that was so bad?

"Hey, I have a better idea..."

Buffy perked up as Faith pulled a few pages out of the folder and opened her mouth to speak again, but no sound came out when her lips moved. The room began to become more and more transparent.

"Wait! I need to know what she's going to do! How can I help anyone if I don't know their plans?" Buffy cried as the oracles walked towards her.

"If the love that you and Angel share is pure and true, if it was meant to be, then your love for each other will be the one weapon that can overcome this challenge." The male oracle told her. "We cannot tell you what Faith is going to do. You and Angel will have to uncover it yourselves and fight it together."

"Why did you bring me here if you can't help me?" Buffy asked them, her teeth were clenching again. God how I hate them, she thought.

"Angel sacrificed his humanity for your life. His willingness to fight for our cause was a big part in our decision to grant him his immortality back, but his love for you and the ultimate sacrifice he was willing to make so that you would go on living is just incomparable to anything we've ever seen from a being such as himself."

"What are you saying?" Buffy asked, suddenly feeling a glimmer of hope rush through her.

The female oracle took a few steps closer. "If your love for each other can overcome this obstacle, then Angel shall be freed of his curse. He will retain his strength in fighting, because we cannot stop the evil that you were born to fight, and he will not watch you fight alone, but aside from that, he will be as human as you are."

Buffy felt like her insides might explode. She could be with Angel, always. Like a normal...well, fairly normal couple. But what if they couldn't fight this new evil that was coming? She thought.

"How will I know what we're supposed to be fighting?" Buffy asked them.

"All will reveal itself in due time..." The female oracle said.

All of the sudden the whole room had a violent shake. Buffy reached out for Doyle's shoulder to steady herself. He didn't seem to notice the tremor that had gone through the room.

"What was that?" She asked, looking around her.

Doyle nodded back towards another open wall. Willow was now shaking Buffy's shoulders to try to wake her.

"You must go now." The male told her. "Beware of enemies with friendly faces...and good luck."

All of the sudden Buffy was looking up at Willow's worried face. "Buffy! WAKE UP! Class is over!"

Buffy nodded her head groggily and sat up straight in her chair. She looked around, feeling a bit disoriented, when someone standing in the doorway caught her eye. It was Doyle.

He held his hand up and waved goodbye. Buffy smiled sadly and returned the gesture. Angel was lucky to have a friend like you, she thought. He smiled as if he'd heard her. A crowd of people walked by, and when they'd past, he was gone.

"Who are you waving to?" Willow asked her.

"Oh," Buffy smiled. She knew no one else had seen him. "Just a friend." She jumped out of her seat, taking Willow by surprise. "I need to go...to LA."

"With Riley, I know. He asked you this morning remember? Hey, did you have one of those dreams again?" Willow asked, sensing something was off.

Buffy gathered all her books together and recalled the image of she and Angel rolling around in his bed, feeding each other peanut butter and chocolate. "You might say that."

Part Nine

"So, what was your dream about?" Willow asked as they headed back towards the dorm.

"Um..." Buffy was distracted by the events of that morning. She wanted to storm the Initiative and find Faith. Put her in her place once and for all. But Walsh had so many agents down there, any attempt to fight there would be futile. "I don't know...w...where's Riley? Have you seen him? I need to talk to him."

"Oh, was the dream about him? Is something gonna happen?"

"I don't know, Wil. Listen, I promise I'll tell you everything later, but now I have to find Riley. Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course! Anything...well not anything like anything, but you know..."

Buffy smiled. "I just need you to give Giles a note for me. I am gonna have to go..."

"To LA." Willow looked down and then back up again, rather quickly. "Hey! You're gonna see Angel! The dream was about Angel, not Riley."

"Willow, there's no time to go into it all now." Buffy pulled a sheet of paper out of her notebook and scribbled out a note for Giles. She handed it to Willow.

"Prophetic dream. Faith in Initiative, Professor Walsh bad, Angel in trouble...who are the oracles?" Willow looked up at Buffy. "FAITH!?! Faith is in the Initiative? THIS is all you have to say? What does all this mean? And why is Professor Walsh bad?"

"Giles will be able to figure it out, trust me, he lives for stuff like this." She glanced at her watch. "I have to go find Riley. I need to get to Angel as soon as I can. How am I gonna explain this to Riley?"

"Explain what?" he asked, surprising them both from behind.

"Riley!" Buffy exclaimed, caught off guard. "We were just talking about you."

"So I heard. What's going on?"

"Um, can we go somewhere are talk? Its really important." Buffy asked.

"Sure, actually I was just gonna ask you that." He glanced down at his watch. "I have to go down to headquarters though." He said, lowering his voice. "Professor Walsh needs to speak with me. She wanted to see you, too."

"I'm sure she does." Buffy said, less than happily. Maybe if I go down there, I can find out more about what Faith's planning on doing, she thought. "I'll come with you. Can we go now?"

"Sure thing." He held out his hand to her. Buffy thought of Angel again. Was Riley part of this evil? Did he know about Faith? Did he know that Professor Walsh was his mother? She tried to smile as she took his hand.

"I'll see you later, Wil. Remember to drop that off for me." She said, nodding towards the note in Willow's hand.

"Okay Buffy. Have fun!"

Buffy tried not to fidget in the elevator ride down to headquarters. She didn't want to give anything away if Riley was in on Faith's plan. Finally the elevator stopped and Riley waited for her to get out and then followed. Buffy casually looked around, trying to locate that door to 314 that she had seen in her dream.

"Hey, Riley...." Forest called out from across the room. "You gotta check this out man."

Riley looked over at him and then back to Buffy. "I'll be right back, just wait here." With that, he jogged across to Forest and they both disappeared behind another door. Buffy walked slowly down the hall. The room was fairly empty. They must all be in class, she thought. There were only about 4 agents and they didn't seem to notice as she slipped past them and turned down a new hallway.

There it was. There door that she had walked through in her dream. Right at the end of this hall. Buffy quickly made her way to it, but when she reached it, she realized that in order to go in, you needed the ID code and pass card. Buffy looked at the ID mechanism. She could easily tear it off the wall and break the door open. If I do that, she thought, an alarm will surely go off. I may have a few seconds before they all respond to it though. It was a chance she had to take...for Angel's sake.

Buffy gripped the box in her hand and yanked it off the wall. She burst through the door and into the office. There was no one in it, but the files were still laying on the desk. She picked one up and started to leaf through it, when she realized that no alarm had sounded. Her brow creased in confusion. With all the security here, they must have an alarm on the doors, she thought. Then it hit her. This was a trap. The pages in the folder were all blank. They'd been waiting for her.

Before she had time to drop the file and run, the door slammed shut behind her. Buffy whirled around to see Professor Walsh.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, angrily. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Hey B."

Buffy slowly turned around to face her. Faith casually walked into the room from the back entrance.

"Faith. Don't do this. I didn't want to hurt you, you know that."

"Do I? You seemed fine with the idea of knocking me out and bringing me to your boyfriend for dinner. But I spoiled your plan, so you put my knife in my stomach. I was in a coma for months because of you." She said, her voice was steady, calm, and cold as ice.

"Faith..."

Faith put up her hands to signal that talking was no use. She nodded towards the Professor, who grabbed Buffy by the neck. She felt the sting of the needle and it pierced her skin. "Please..." she cried. "don't do this."

"Too late." Faith whispered, as Buffy's body sagged into the Professor arms. The room was spinning. She got her eyes to focus one more time on Faith's face. She was smiling. She's insane, Buffy thought.

Then everything went black.

Faith smiled as she walked across the road to Angel's detective agency. She stopped in front of the office window and ran her fingers through her hair. She couldn't believe how brilliant her plan was. It's all going to work, she thought to herself. She breezed through the door and into the main office. Her smile broadened when she saw Cordelia sitting at the desk. Time to put the plan to the test, she thought.

Cordelia looked up and gave her best fake smile. "Hey!" She said, standing up. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been okay." Faith answered. "And you?"

"Oh well, I've been good. Hollywood..." Cordelia was about to ramble on about things Faith hadn't the slightest interest it.

"Oh, that's great..." Faith said, quickly shutting her up in the nicest way she could. "Is Angel around?"

"Oh no, you aren't gonne make him go all GRRR again, are you? Cause I really don't wanna be out of a job, okay. Haven't you learned from your past mistakes?"

"Look, Cordelia..." Faith was beginning to lose her patience. Stay calm, she thought. She's buying it. Don't blow it now. She forced a smile. "I just need to talk to him. Is he here?"

Cordelia sighed and shook her head. "Downstairs."

"Thanks." Faith smiled. "You idiot." She muttered.

Cordelia looked up. "What?"

"Hmm? Oh, I said which way is it?" She covered quickly.

"Hello? Its right behind you." Cordelia snapped. "Honestly Buffy, you act like you've never been here before." She quickly brought her hand to her mouth as if she'd said something wrong.

"Right, sorry. Its been awhile." Faith smiled.

She'd pulled it off and it was so easy. Too easy. She headed toward the door that lead down to Angel's apartment. This part was going to be much more difficult.

Buffy awoke very disoriented. Her head felt so heavy as she lifted it off the pillow. Pillow? She thought, where am I? She tried to sit up, but was overcome with dizziness and had to lay back down. She brought her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. After massaging her temples for a few minutes, she attempted to sit up again.

She was still dizzy, but she sat upright anyway and waited for the room to stop spinning. Her head was pounding. Probably from the drugs, she thought. I wish I knew what the Professor had injected me with.

The room was finally still. Buffy looked around. It was a pretty room. Very large...and all white. The first thing she noticed were the huge draperies that were covering most of the wall on her right side. There was also only one door, which was most definitely locked. She was sitting on a large bed, covered with beautiful white silk sheets. There was an open closet, full of clothing and against the far wall, there was a vanity table with a mirror, which had been covered with a sheet, and a lot of different cosmetics, hairbrushes, and perfumes. There was also a tray of food set out on a table next to the bed.

"Well, if all psychopaths treated their victims this way, there would be a lot less complaint." Buffy muttered. Her voice sounded funny when she spoke. She cleared her throat and massaged her neck where the Professor had injected her. She winced in pain as she slid off the bed. Her whole body ached from the drugs and the room began to spin again as soon as she was on her feet. Buffy reached out and grabbed the table to steady herself. She looked down at the meal that had been prepared for her and thought about taking a bite, but then realized that it may have been tainted and decided to play it safe.

Her legs wobbled as she made her way over to the drapes and pulled them back. Buffy gasped when she looked out and saw that she was still inside the Initiative. She was able to see the entire operation from this window. Oddly, no one even looked up at her when she began to bang on the glass. She pounded her fists as hard as she could, but no one even flinched.

Her arms began to ache and she finally gave up. Must be soundproof, she thought. Just then one of the commandos walked right up to the window. He leaned forward as if he were looking in. Buffy widened her eyes, "HELP ME!" she yelled, as loud as her sore throat would allow. The man squinted his eyes at the window.

Buffy began to pound on it again. "Please, I'm in here! Let me out! Get Riley! Someone, please!" She cried.

He leaned in closer, looked to see if anyone was watching, and proceeded to pick something out from between his teeth. Buffy realized that it was a two way mirror. She could see them, but they couldn't see her. How bizarre, she thought, wouldn't they want it the other way around? Unless this is someone's room. Someone who watches over them. Buffy let the drapes fall back into place, no longer able to tolerate this man's poor hygiene.

She ran both hands through her hair, which also felt different. Thicker for some reason. Maybe the drugs affected my senses somehow. She thought, but how? Her voice, her hair? What the hell kind of drugs were these?

Just then the door casually swung open. It was Riley.

"Oh THANK GOD!" Buffy cried, flying into his arms. "Riley, please, help me! Please, please! She locked me in! I need to get out. People are in danger."

"She who?" he asked, confused. "Faith, what's going on?"

Buffy stepped away from him. "Faith?" She whispered. She felt her heart start beating wildly and suddenly found it hard to catch her breath. "Wha...what..."

She stepped towards the vanity mirror, glancing back towards Riley who looked worried. "Faith? Are you okay?"

Buffy pulled the sheet off the mirror. Immediately the tears were there, falling down her cheeks in streams. Her body shook violently. "No." She said, trying to steady herself. She couldn't move away from the mirror, she just stood there, shaking her head in denial of what was so plainly obvious. "NO!" She screamed out, thrusting her hand through the glass. The mirror shattered in pieces all over the floor.

Riley quickly pulled her away from the glass. "Hey! Someone give me a hand in here!" He yelled out. Buffy struggled with him, trying to break away.

"YOU LIAR! YOU GOD DAMN LIAR! I HATE YOU!" She screamed. "LET GO OF ME!" She twisted and turned in his arms but she couldn't break free. Forest was soon helping Riley to hold her down.

"What's going on?" He asked, trying to keep Buffy's legs from kicking.

"I think she's having another one of those attacks." Riley told him.

"You mean a damn anger fit, that's what she has." He shook his head. "Damn, Riley, you and these slayers. I don't know what the hell you see in these girls." He pinned Buffy down by the waist.

"You bastard." She seethed, through her clenched teeth.

Forest chuckled. "This ones got much more fire in her than that Buffy girl though, I'll give you that."

"Shut up, man, you know its not like that with Faith." He looked down at her and stroked her hair. Buffy twisted her neck to get his hands away from her.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled. I have to calm down, she thought. They obviously know Faith, but they must not have known about her whole plan. If I can act like her, they might let me out. Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She relaxed her body.

"Hey, that's more like it. You okay now?" Riley asked her, still stroking her hair.

Buffy forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"You never do." Forest snapped.

She glared at him. "I'm okay now." She said, turning back to Riley and beaming. "But I really need to get out of here. I need some fresh air."

"Um, I don't know about that. You know how mom feels about you going out, someone almost saw you last time." Riley lectured.

"I'll be careful. Please Riley?" She begged. What was his relationship to Faith, she wondered.

He sighed. "Ok, but I am coming with you." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You should change first though. You can't go out in your pajamas.

Buffy looked over at the closet. I'm going to have to be like her, she thought. Oh, God, how do I prove this to Giles and everyone? Please God, let them know its me.

She looked back at Riley and nodded.

He smiled. "That's my girl." he said, "Who is the most beautiful vampire slayer in the world?"

Buffy smiled. "I am."

Faith pushed open the door to Angel's apartment. "Hello? Angel?" She called out.

No answer. She walked into the room and looked around. There was a wall length mirror standing in the next room. Must be Cordelia's touch, she thought, walking over to it. My God, she thought, looking herself over. I can't believe it worked so well. Not one side effect. I AM Buffy. She shuddered a little at the thought. Don't sweat it Faith, she told herself, this won't last long. I just hope everyone else does their part. She ran her fingers through her hair...Buffy's hair. She shuddered again.

"Buffy?"

Faith gasped and almost jumped out of her skin. "No reflection." she muttered to herself as she turned to see Angel directly behind her. "Angel, you startled me."

"Sorry, is everything okay?" he looked at her inquisitively.

Can't let him see through you, she thought. "Well, yeah, I mean, with me it is, but um..." Think Buffy, how would Buffy act? "Angel, I think you may be in danger."

He reached out and touched her cheek. "What's wrong?"

"Its Faith, she's out of her coma, she's been out for awhile now, and I think she's going to try to kill you and anyone who was close to me." She blurted. That sounded like Buffy, she tried not to smile. He looked so concerned.

"Buffy, how do you know this? Has she confronted you?" He asked.

"No, I, well, not really."

"Buffy." He said, asking her in that oh-so-Angel way, to tell him what was on her mind.

"She attacked me when I was patrolling. She's crazy Angel. She said she was gonna turn you all against me and that she wouldn't even have to be the one to kill me because..." Faith was smiling on the inside as the tear trickled down her cheek. "...because you would."

Buffy peered out through the two way mirror to see if Riley was still waiting outside the door. Unfortunately, he seemed determined not to let her go out alone, no matter how much she promised not to let anyone see her.

If he cares so much for Faith, then why is she kept locked up in this room? Buffy thought, maybe its not always locked? Maybe it wasn't locked at all, Riley did just walk in, he didn't seem to have to unlock the door. Does she have some control over the Initiative? She was obviously holding something over Professor Walsh's head.

Oh this is maddening, she thought. I need to know what is going on, and how the hell Faith managed to...."Oh God." Buffy whispered. "If I'm Faith, then she must be walking around out there as me." Buffy realized just how much danger that she and everyone she cared about were in. Just then it hit her, she knew where Faith was going. She was going to hurt Buffy in the most painful way she could, through Angel.

Riley knocked on the door, pulling Buffy out of her thoughts. "Hey, you ready?" he called through the door.

"Just a minute." She called back. She reached into the closet and pulled out one of Faith's leather jackets. Buffy walked over to the door and turned the knob. Not locked, she noted.

"You look beautiful." Riley said, smiling. "Are you sure you feel up to this?" He was in his full commando gear.

"Oh, we're going patrolling?" She asked.

"Of course. I thought that's what you meant, I know how you love it." He gave her a confused look. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem different."

"Hey, I'm fine. I just felt a little...weird, from what happened before." Buffy needed him to keep thinking she was Faith. God knows what'll happen if he figures out we were switched, she thought.

He looked at her for a few more seconds, and then smiled. "Ok, lets head out."

"Is anyone else coming with us?" Buffy asked.

"No, this is just gonna be a night for you and me." Riley smiled and looked down at her.

What IS this? Buffy wondered, what is Riley and Faith's relationship? He talks to me like I'm some little kid. Did Faith wake up with some child-like behavior complex? "Oh, fun." Buffy said, trying to sound more enthusiastic, but failing miserably. Luckily, Riley didn't seem to notice.

"Sooo, what are we hunting?" Buffy asked casually, once they were out of the building.

"Well, there was no set hostile for tonight, so we're just gonna get whatever we can find. There was one that got away not too long ago. I think I told you about it. Hostile 17."

"Spike." Buffy said quietly, nodding in recognition.

"What?" Riley asked.

"Hmm?" She had forgotten that Riley had never known about Spike being sort of a part of the Scooby Gang. "Oh, right. I remember." She said.

"Yeah, so if we can bag that guy, mom would be really pleased."

"So, where is your mom now?" She asked, trying to subtly dig for info.

"My mom? Gosh, you really can hold a grudge can't you?" He turned and looked at her. "Faith, you know you're gonna have to forgive her sometime. She only did what she thought was best for us."

Oh my God, Buffy thought, Faith is Riley's sister? That's what the bond is? Oh this is so messed up. Buffy shivered from the realization.

"Hey, you okay? We can head back." He put his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I wanna stay." Just then, they heard a loud growl. Buffy whirled around to the direction they'd heard the sound from. "Over there." She pointed to some thing moving swiftly through the trees.

They made their way over and found Spike and some strange looking demon engaged in a brawl. Riley fired his laser gun at the demon and scraped its arm. Spike looked up.

"Aww, bloody hell." He yelled, annoyed that someone was breaking up his fun. He recognized Riley, but not the girl who was with him. He looked her over. Something was familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Buffy looked over at Riley, who was preoccupied with the demon. He didn't notice as she motioned for Spike to run. He gave her a confused look, but took off as fast as he could.

"Riley, I'm going after the hostile." She yelled to him.

She'd distracted him enough for the demon to get a running start. He looked back at her quickly and yelled to be careful, then took off after it.

Buffy turned and ran after Spike. With in seconds she had caught up with him. Her strength had luckily been restored since the drugs had worn off. Spike was just a few feet ahead of her. "Wait, Spike." She called out.

He slowed a bit and half turned around. Buffy also slowed her pace. "What they hell do you want?" He asked, again, annoyed. He stopped and faced her.

"I need your help." She said, hating having to say that to him.

"And what makes you think I am going to help you? Who the hell are you anyway?" He asked.

"Spike, its me, Buffy."

He laughed. "Yeah, right. What are you, some sort of demon? You know, I can hurt demons."

He took a swing at her head. Buffy caught his fist in the air, twisted it behind his back and flipped him onto the ground. He groaned as his back hit the rocks. "Easy there, I was just kidding." He complained. He moved to get up, but Buffy dropped down and pinned him on the ground.

"Listen to me." She said, looking directly into his eyes. "I don't know how it was done, but the same people who fixed you, did this to me. They switched my body with Faith's."

"Faith?" He asked. "Who the hell is that?"

"She's the other slayer. She's evil."

"What is it with this council? Isn't there supposed to be one and only one, blah blah blah?"

"Yeah, but there was a mix up...look, I don' t have time to explain this to you, I need to you to come with me to Giles and tell them its really me and not Faith."

"Why should I help you? You wouldn't do it for me, now would you? And how do I know you're really Buffy, anyway?"

"Because I know you Spike. Faith wouldn't know who you were. You've never met. And I know Drusilla. I almost killed her, remember? That night when you told my friend Ford you would turn him into a vampire? How about coming to me for help when you wanted to get Angelus away from Drusilla? Or kidnapping Willow and Xander when you wanted Willow to do a spell to get Dru back for you?"

Spike tried to struggle at every mention of Drusilla's name. "Hey, take it easy, alright? No need to bring up those memories. I'll take you to Giles, just let me up already...you're hurting me." He whined.

Buffy loosened her grip and rose to her feet. She yanked Spike up off the ground. "Lets go, I don't have a lot of time."

"So what do you think it all means?" Willow asked Giles as he paced back and forth.

"Sshh," Xander said, " I think I'm getting something from him." He squinted at Giles, who was so preoccupied, he didn't even hear them talking. "Nope, I was wrong."

"This is boring." Anya muttered. "Xander...do you want..."

He gave her a look. "Remember, private discussions?"

She sighed and looked away.

"Giles?" Willow tried again.

"What? Oh sorry, I am just so puzzled by this note. Faith is in the initiative. Last we'd heard, she was still in a coma. I don't know why we wouldn't have been notified of her coming out of it."

There was a knock at the door. Giles walked over and pulled it open. "Spike, what can we do for you?" he asked, annoyed at him for interrupting.

"Nothing much, mate, but I think you can help her." Spike stepped to the side.

"Oh God." Giles stood with his eyes widened as Willow ran to slam the door, but Spike put his hand forward and threw it back open.

Anya noticed Xander staring at the girl. "Who is SHE?" she asked, locking her arm around Xander's.

"That's Faith." He answered, not breaking his stare. "An old friend...kind of."

"Oh, she's that other slayer girl, right?" Anya asked, completely indifferent to the panic arising in the room.

"How could you bring her here?" Willow cried.

"Would you all calm down and let the girl speak?" Spike snapped.

"Giles," Buffy started, feeling hurt that they were afraid of her. "Its me...Buffy." she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. They had to believe her.

"What?" He asked, incredulously.

"That can't be! Don't even try to convince us..." Willow said, angrily. A look of horror came over her face. "Oh God, what have you done to her? Did you hurt Buffy?"

They all came closer, their eyes penetrating her with their accusing glares.

"Willow, please, all of you, you have to believe me. Spike will tell you, he knows."

"Oh well, then it MUST be true." Xander chimed in.

"She is telling the truth, for what its worth. I know that you don't trust me, but she knew things that...well, other people may have known, but she knew me and I don't ever remember meeting her." Spike offered.

"Willow," Buffy took a step towards her, but Willow quickly backed away from her. Buffy understood that she was afraid and maintained her distance. "This morning, you were with me. I had that vision when I was on the phone with Riley. I told you it was about Angel and you said maybe it was because I missed him. Remember? And after class I gave you that note, to give to Giles. It said that Faith is in the initiative, Professor Walsh is bad, and Angel is in trouble." She looked at Willow hoping to God that she believed her.

Willow looked at her closely. "How do I know that you didn't torture Buffy until she told you all that?" her eyes widened. "You didn't did you?"

"What else can you tell us?" Xander asked, still doubtful.

Buffy racked her brain, trying to think of something only she would know. "The Hyenas!" she yelled out suddenly thinking of the time Xander was possessed. "You remember? I went into the faculty room to see what had happened to the pig you guys ate when you were possessed by the hyenas, and you were there. You attacked me!"

Giles looked over at Xander. He knew that Xander had lied and told Willow and Buffy he didn't remember anything he'd done during the possession. "Xander?"

Xander looked back and forth from Buffy to Giles and then to Willow, who looked sad after recalling those memories. "I was possessed, I couldn't help it!" He reasoned. "Wil," he said softly, looking over at her. Willow looked up. "I'm sorry." he said.

Buffy looked over at Giles. "I don't know what I can say to prove it to you." she said, sadly. "I just...I guess I was hoping you would just know."

They all continued to stare skeptically at her, until finally Giles broke the silence. His eyes softened and Buffy knew that he believed her.

"Buffy, do you have any idea how this happened?" He asked, holding out his hand for her to take it. "Are you in any pain? Did she hurt you?"

Buffy squeezed Giles' hand and walked into the apartment. "I don't know. I don't know what's going on." she said, tears falling freely now.

Willow gave her a hug.

"Aww, you people are so damn caring. Its sickening, really." Spike muttered. They all gave him a nasty look. Spike shrugged and shook his head. "Got any blood?" he asked, turning to Giles.

He ignored him and sat down across from Buffy on the sofa. "Now you must tell me everything that happened, starting with this...this vision. The one you mentioned to Willow."

Buffy took a deep breath and began her story.

Angel sat in a chair across from his bed and watched Buffy as she slept. Her eyes moved quickly under her closed lids. She seemed so different to him. When he had held her before, it was almost like holding a stranger. He couldn't bare it, the way they had parted the last time. She hadn't said it, but she was angry. He saw it in her eyes before she walked out the door. If only she knew, he thought, if only I could tell her about that day. The one that only he remembered. The perfect day, when all of their dreams had come true. When they were free to be together with no consequences.

But there were consequences, he told himself, that's why I had to go back. If I couldn't fight, I could protect her, couldn't protect anyone. He rubbed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. I have to stop this, he thought. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't drown himself in those memories. She needs me now, he reasoned, I can't help her with these thoughts clouding my mind. Angel rose from his seat and started towards the stairs, but stopped when he heard Buffy stir in her sleep. He slowly walked back towards the bed, as she awoke and sat up.

"Angel?" Faith said, quickly remembering where she was...and WHO she was. She smiled at him. "How long was I out?"

"Just a little while. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she stood up and stretched. "are we alone?" she nodded towards the stairs.

Angel looked in the same direction. "Uhh, no actually, Cordelia is still here."

"God, doesn't she go home?" Faith asked.

Angel looked at her confused. "I thought you and Cordelia were okay with each other now."

"OH!" she answered quickly, "We are, I just meant, she seems to work a lot." Faith covered, as she walked over to the chair where she had put her bag and pulled out one of the sweaters she had stolen from Buffy's closet.

"Are you going somewhere?" Angel asked. She still seemed so distant and cold towards him.

"I have to go look for something...Giles wanted me to pick it up for him..." she tried to sound casual. "Maybe you've heard of it....some kind of gemstone." she made some hand gestures, trying to be Buffy-like. "Oh, I forgot it already."

"Why don't you call Giles and ask him?" Angel asked, nodding towards the phone by his bed.

"No," Faith said quickly, "I...I...I don't want him to get annoyed at me. You know, he always expects me to forget. I'll think of it...its called....OH! I know, the gem of Hazel?" she said. Am I Buffy or what? Faith thought, smiling.

Angel's brow creased as he looked at her. "I haven't heard of that." he lied. Something was definitely off here. Giles would never send Buffy looking for the gem of Azayzel. It was way too dangerous.

She looked a bit confused. "Are you sure? I thought you would know about it."

Angel shook his head.

"Oh well, then I guess I better get going and find it." she said, putting on the sweater she'd been holding.

"Buffy...are you sure you should be going out alone? Why don't I go with you?" he asked, heading to grab his duster from the closet.

"No, Angel, its okay. I can take care of myself." she said.

Angel nodded, hurt that she didn't want him to go with her, but still confused as to what was making her act so strange. She was hiding something from him, he could feel it.

He watched in silence and she waved and headed up the stairs.

"Oh, Buffy, I almost forgot you were here." Cordelia said, as Faith walked into the office.

"Don't worry, I'll be gone soon." Faith said, giving her a nasty glare.

"Woah, what's with you?" Cordy asked.

Faith ignored her and darted out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

"Angel, your girlfriend has a SERIOUS attitude problem." Cordelia said, as Angel walked into the office.

He was staring at the door that Buffy had slammed. "HELLO?" Cordelia yelled. "Did you hear me? What did you do to her?"

He looked back at Cordelia. "I don't know." he said, quietly.

They all stared at her in shock as she concluded the tale.

"This is incredible." Willow said, breaking the silent staring. "Angel was human? Why did he...I mean I know why, but...wow, Buffy, he loves you so much."

Buffy looked down. "I know. I just wish it could have been different, but the Oracles said that if we can fight this new challenge, then he can be human again." She turned to Giles. "Have you ever heard of them before? I mean, can I trust them?"

"I do recall a faint mention of them, but I will have to check my books. I do believe that you can trust in what they say. If Angel was made human once, then they do have the power, or access to the power to do it again." His brow creased, and he got up and began pacing again. "You know, it is possible that this," he made a gesture to indicate that he meant the body switching. "is the challenge and that it was set forth only to test the strength of the bond between you and Angel. The 'Powers That Be' as you called them, may be rewarding both of you for your service to their plight."

"If they're rewarding us, then why challenge us? They know how he feels about me, they know that we've both been fighting for them. Can't they just give us a freebie?"

"Yes, I see your point. I just wish I knew more about these...uh...these Oracles. Then I would be able to find out about any ulterior motives."

Buffy looked up towards Giles, but her eyes stopped on her reflection in the mirror.

Willow noticed Buffy's distraction and put her hand on her friends shoulder. "Its gonna be okay, Buffy. Giles will get to the bottom of this." She looked up at him. "Won't you, Giles?"

"Hmm?" he had been lost in thoughts. "Oh, yes of course." He sat down next to Buffy. "Now, you mustn't get yourself too worked up over this. I know its not easy..." They all gave him a look. "Ok, its damn near impossible, but you will be of no help to yourself if you get...how you can get. Oh, Willow, you're better at these types of things, would you..."

Buffy put her hand on Giles' shoulder. "Thank you."

"Buffy, I haven't done anything yet."

"You knew it was me. I could tell, you knew even before I started to speak. You just had to be sure, but you knew." Tears again, she had done so much crying lately.

"Yes well, lets just figure out how to change you back." He said, squeezing her hand again. He left the room to get some of his books.

Buffy smiled and looked over at Xander, who had been quiet for awhile. "Hey," she reached out and touched his arm. Anya pushed herself closer to Xander, something Buffy thought would have been impossible without them becoming one being, but she ignored the possessive gesture. "You haven't said anything. I know this has gotta be weird for you."

"Why would it be weird?" He asked, "My first love in the body of my first love...er." he shrugged, trying to look cool about the whole situation. "No, not weird. Anything but weird. Not...not..." he sighed, and threw up his hands. "Ok, I'm totally wigged."

Buffy backed away, but Xander reached out and held on to her arm. "Buffy, its ok. I know its you. You're not Faith. You're not like her. You'll never be like her. True, I may be wigged, but its not you...I mean, not directly."

Buffy forced a smile. "I understand."

Giles came back into the room carrying a stack of books. "Ok, we should get started, its getting late."

"Oh God!" Buffy cried. "Riley! I told him I was going after Spike. He's gonna be looking for me...for us."

"You got another thing coming if you think I'm gonna go back to that place." Spike snapped. "I mean, I don't like you that much." He thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, I don't like you at all."

"Believe me, Spike, the feeling is more than mutual." She took a deep breath. "Ok, I'll just tell him I dusted you. Hopefully he'll be okay with that."

"You couldn't dust me if you tried." he proclaimed.

They all looked him angrily.

"What? You couldn't."

"Buffy, do you really think you should go back there?" Willow asked, turning her attention back to more important matters.

"I have to, Wil. Faith is out there somewhere passing herself off as me...Oh my God...I can't believe I waited this long..."

"Buffy?" Giles asked, stepping closer.

"Angel. She probably went to Angel as soon as she could."

"Buffy, Angel knows you, he would know something was wrong. Faith couldn't fool him." Willow said, assuringly.

"Still, the last time we saw each other, we didn't part on the best terms. He doesn't know I remembered the day he was human. He could think I 'm just not comfortable around him. Who knows what she's told him. One of you has to call him and tell him what's happened."

"Right," Giles began. "I'll call Angel and warn him to be on the look out. If she's there already, he'll know to be careful around her."

"I'm gonna go back to the Initiative with Riley. I need to find Professor Walsh and find out exactly what's going on."

"Do you think she knows the whole story?" Willow asked, still having trouble believing Walsh was part of this.

"She knows more than I do." Buffy answered. "Right now, she's the only hope I've got. I just hope Faith didn't do something to keep her quiet."

She said goodbye to them and hurried out to find Riley.

He was quite out of breathe when she found him. "Hey," he said, panting. "I've been looking everywhere for you. What happened to Hostile 17?"

"Oh, I dusted him. No biggie." Buffy looked him over. "What happened to you?"

"That demon put up a hell of a fight. I had to kill it and then I spotted a few more." He paused to catch his breathe. "You ready to head back?"

Buffy nodded, and they headed off.

"Do you know where your mom is?" She asked him once they were back inside.

"Actually, I haven't seen her since this morning." he said, probably just realizing it for himself. "Why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to her about something. Any idea where she might be?"

"Well, you can check her office. I have to get back to my room, but if I see her, I'll let her know you're looking for her."

"No, its okay." Buffy said quickly. "I'll find her myself. Talk to you later."

She waited until Riley left and then hurried down the hall towards Maggie's office. The door was open, but no one was inside. Buffy turned and headed back to 314. The alarm had not yet been repaired, so she was able to walk right past it, pulling the door shut behind her. There was no one in the front office here either. Then Buffy remembered something. Faith had come in through some back entrance to the room. She looked towards the back, but didn't see the door. Buffy felt around the wall until her hand hit some sort of switch behind the book shelf. She flipped the switch and the wall began to slide open.

Buffy walked with caution down the hallway that was revealed. The lights were very dim and the hall was not as modern as the rest of the compound. She proceeded slowly, turning to look behind her every few seconds. She was about halfway to the end when she noticed something. It had been painted the same dull green color as the walls, so it was hard to see at first, but once she got closer, Buffy saw the definite outline of a door. There was no apparent security system linked to it, and the lock was not bolted. Buffy glanced behind her again, to be sure no one had followed, and then pushed the door open.

Maggie wrapped her arms tighter around her bruised body, and pressed herself farther into the corner of the room as Buffy slowly approached. Her face was almost unrecognizable. Blood stained her hair and her clothes. She was shivering and cowered like a frightened child. Buffy knelt down in front of her on the cold floor and reached out to touch her professor's trembling shoulder.

"NO NO!!!" She screamed, turning her face away and throwing her arms up to cover it.

"Professor Walsh..." Buffy began softly, "Maggie...I won't hurt you."

Maggie looked up at her, with terror in her eyes. "You...you did this to me."

"Faith did this to you?" Buffy whispered, forcing herself to say what she already knew was true. "Maggie, I'm not Faith. I'm Buffy."

"Buffy?" She whispered. Horror replaced the fear in her eyes. She began to cry. "Oh my God. I didn't do this to you. I swear. I didn't know she would go through with it. I didn't..." she grabbed Buffy's arm and held it, pleading with her to believe what she said.

"Maggie, I need you to tell me what's going on." Buffy said. She never thought she would see her professor look so vulnerable...and Faith was responsible for it...for the bruises and the blood and the fear that was now Maggie Walsh.

"Okay," she said. She nodded her head and tried to stand up, but fell back down on her knees, moaning in pain. "Help me?" she pleaded.

Buffy slipped her arm around Maggie's waist and helped her off the floor and over to a small table in the center of the room. She moaned in pain and sucked in her breath as Buffy gently helped her into the chair.

"What? What is it?" Buffy asked, noticing that Maggie was clutching her stomach.

Maggie shook her head. "Its nothing...nothing. You need to know what's going on. You have stop her." she motioned for Buffy to sit down at the chair across from her.

"The council sent Faith to us over two months ago." she began.

"The Watcher's Council is involved with the Initiative?" Buffy asked, incredulously.

Maggie nodded. "She was never supposed to have woken up, but she had. They wanted us to de-program her. They couldn't have someone with her mental disturbances and her strength walking about, they had no idea what she would do, what she was capable of." she stopped and sighed, covering her eyes with her hand for a moment before continuing. "She seemed so harmless at first...don't get me wrong, I was fully informed of what she had done and of her past, but she was so...fragile. I felt sorry for her."

"You were going to brainwash her?" Buffy asked. "You can actually do that? How is it possible?"

Maggie shook her head again. "I couldn't do it. I tried, I thought it was working, but she knew. She knew all along. I don't know how she was able to...to fight it, she just...pretended. She went along with it...everyday, I would tell her a new story about her life. Who she was. I created a new identity for her. I gave her a family, a history. In her sleep I would talk to her and tell her about her life...but she knew. And she listened...she learned everything about me, about my past, about the Initiative. I don't know how it happened."

"But...Riley thinks that Faith is his sister. He doesn't know about the switch...and he said...well, he implied that you were 'OUR' mom. I mean, I know you're his mother but..."

Maggie's eyes welled with tears again. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep from crying aloud. "I'm not Riley's mother." she whispered. "I..." her voice trailed off.

"Then why does he think..." the realization hit her. "You brainwashed him? Why?"

"Riley's mother, Sally, and I were friends, very close friends. I loved him from the day he was born. I would always volunteer to watch him whenever his parents would go out. He was my life." She smiled, reflecting on the memories. "I couldn't have any children of my own, so Riley filled a void in me that nothing and no one else could. His parents were very doting, but they couldn't love him like I could." she paused, and her expression took on a darker look. "When he was ten, Riley's father walked out on them. Sally was so preoccupied with Ben leaving her, she hardly took notice of Riley. He was left with me more and more. Not that I minded, but he felt awful. He thought the world of his mother, he worshipped her. I couldn't let him suffer the way he was suffering, so I decided to have a talk with Sally. I told her how sad and neglected Riley was feeling. She got angry at me for accusing her of neglect. She started to fight me, telling me I was trying to turn her son against her. We had a struggle and I pushed her away from me, but..." she paused again.

Buffy held her breath, scared to hear what came next, and yet so anxious to get to the bottom of it all.

Maggie shivered and spoke again, "She was still alive when her body reached the bottom of the stairs, but I knew that almost all of her bones and been broken in the fall. Her neck was at a horrible angle. I'll never forget her face when she looked up at me. She looked so small and I just kept thinking...this is my chance."

"You killed her." Buffy whispered.

Maggie nodded. "Yes, I killed her...and I took Riley, and I made him think I was his mother, I brought him into this life, this work, I trained him. As far as he knows, Sally and Ben never existed. The only past he knows is what I made up for him. Everything else has been erased."

"How could you do that to a human being?" Buffy asked, disgusted.

"I loved him." she cried, softly. "I still love him...he's my son."

"And Faith?"

"I don't know how she found out, but she did. She must have been going through my files at night, or whenever I was out of the building. I don't know how she found it, I thought I had buried all that information so long ago...but she knew." Maggie suddenly doubled over in more pain. She clutched her stomach and winced.

"Let me see." Buffy said, pulling Maggie's hand away to reveal fresh blood pouring out of her. "Oh my God, you need to get to a hospital."

"No." Maggie said, firmly. "I need to finish this now, or we're all going to die anyway."

Buffy looked nervously and the wound in Maggie's stomach, but slowly sat back down in her chair. "Okay."

"Faith came to my office one day. I was doing some paper work. She came in so quietly, I didn't even hear her. She sat down across from me at my desk and began to speak. She told me all she knew and threatened to go to Riley with the truth. I was so shocked at first that I couldn't say anything. I just stared at her...and she smiled at my fear. I asked her how she knew, how she remembered who she was, but she didn't tell me. She just continued with her threats."

"But Riley may not have believed her...even if he did, you could have undone it or something...couldn't you?"

She shook her head. "No, I couldn't take that chance. To have any doubt in his mind about me, I just couldn't do it. And it wasn't just my relationship with Riley that she was threatening, it was this whole operation. My life's work is in this building and she had enough information to bring it all to an end. So I went along with Faith's plans. She said she needed Riley to trust her and to love her. She was going to need someone who loved her enough to hurt you for her. So I told Riley that Faith was mine, that I had given her up for adoption when he was very young. He needed a reason why. Faith told him it was because he needed all my attention and I had no time for her. She made him feel so guilty...and in just that short time, he loved her. She was his sister in every meaning of the word."

"Does Faith care about Riley?" Buffy asked.

Maggie shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. She promised nothing would happen to him...but her plans changed. I don't know what is going to happen now."

"Do you know what she originally planned?"

"She had me convince Riley to bring you to this 'Angel' of yours. She told me a little about the history...a slayer and a vampire. There's a first." Maggie said.

"Yeah, well, that's nothing I haven't heard before. I'm not going to discuss it with you now. What else?"

"I don't know the details, but what I got from her was that she was going to pit Riley against Angel. She said Riley would win, but I don't know how it would be possible. I saw Angel fight on that video...I don't think Riley could have taken him..."

"She would have used me." Buffy told her. "Angel would die for me. Faith knows that."

"She was going to kill you. That was her original plan, to get rid of both of you. Her revenge, I guess."

"But she changed her mind. She did this instead. How?"

"I don't know how she switched you. I only injected you with a sedative. Faith must have done the rest on her own. She had said something about it, but I never thought it would work. I told her not to try it, but...she must have done it after she did this to me. She attacked me and locked me back here. I don't know what else happened after that."

"Okay...we have to get you to a hospital now. I don't think it can wait any longer." Buffy said, eyeing Maggie's wounded stomach.

"There's more." she said, she tried to keep her voice steady, but her fear was too strong. "When Faith left, she took something from me. We've kept it here, locked up for so long, but now that she's gotten a hold of it...." she paused. "Have you ever heard of The Key of Azayzel?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, what is it?"

"Its hard to explain it with out going into too much history, but...this key is what keeps our world apart from the others around us. The higher beings who watch over and the demons that terrorize below exist in other dimensions."

"What happens if Faith uses the key?" Buffy asked.

"The doors to all the other worlds would open. The evil would be released and the higher powers would be unprotected...and killed. It would be absolute chaos."

"Does she know how to use it?"

Maggie nodded. "She does, but she needs Azayzel's gem to use it. It was said to be lost long ago, the last I'd heard it had been buried somewhere in Los Angeles after a Slayer had recovered it. I told her I knew nothing of its whereabouts and that the key was useless without the stone but, Faith somehow knew where to look. She said a friend had told her in a dream and that she had to do this for him, that the only way she can see him again is if she uses the key."

"The Mayor." Buffy muttered. "So you have no idea who has the stone?"

Maggie took another deep breath. "I don't know, but whoever has it is as good as dead when Faith find them."