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Chapter 23







Dee laughed. “Kinda like mold.”







Anne nodded with a chuckle. “That’s one way to describe it.”







“Okay, next question.” Buffy raised a hand. “Who the hell is Angel, and why is he coming here?” This was the first she’d ever heard of Angel. She had to wonder who he was.







Anne turned to Giles. “She’s never met Angel?”







“No, meeting you inspired him, and he’s been helping the hopeless since your visit.” The Watcher gave Anne a grin. “Besides you completely convinced him you weren’t interested.”







“What did I do?”







Giles’ grinned widened. “You’ll figure it out when the time comes.”







“Darn.” Then, Anne brightened. “I’ll just ask Spike.”







“Hey, keep your hands off my vampire!” Buffy glared at Anne. “You have your own. Leave mine alone.”







“Slip of the tongue much, Buff?” Dee asked. “The answer to one of your questions is that Angel is Spike’s grandsire. He’s the one that made Drusilla.”







“Isn’t Drusilla dead?” Merrick asked in confusion.







“Not hardly.” The seated, tied up vampire said while his counterpart pushed his chair into the apartment. “We just went our separate ways way back when.”







Merrick looked confused. “The books all say you were completely devoted to her.”







Spike glanced at Anne. “I was, but then something changed.”







The door burst open, and the Scoobies spilled into the room. Xander looked a little worse for wear from his spot between Cordelia and Willow who were holding the sickly young man up. He saw the two Buffys and two Spikes, and he exclaimed, “What the frilly heck?”







William snickered. “Caught yourself some mystical syphilis there, Harris?”







Cordelia glared at the newest version of Spike. “You know what’s going on here? Tell me. Tell me now!”







William gestured towards Anne. “She knows more than I do. I was tied up the whole time.”







“The construction disturbed the Native American vengeance spirits. All Buffy has to do is stab Hus with his own weapon, and they should disappear.” Anne looked at Xander finally. “Your magical diseases will disappear then too.”







“How long before they get here?” Giles asked.







Anne glanced towards the window. “I’m sure it’s after dark.”







“It was,” Anyanka said. “Angel showed up while we were at the dean’s house. He was quite broody at the time.”







“Just when I thought Sunnydale couldn’t get any weirder,” Cordelia muttered.







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*







Amon stepped through the portal. He’d already searched through several dimensions for the one to fulfill his destiny. He was not surprised to find that several of the Keys he had encountered had already lost their powers. Amon wasn’t sure what was causing the power losses, but he knew he needed to find his Key soon.







Amon glanced around. He knew he was in yet another version of Sunnydale, and he just hoped this one wasn’t as bad as the last one he’d passed through. He shuddered in remembrance. Witches like Willow Rosenberg were few and far between. Thank the Powers. Destroying an entire dimension except herself had been one of the most devastating sights that Amon had ever seen.







Being a Hell God, Amon had seen some pretty nasty things in his lifetime. A meteor from space had nothing on a grief stricken witch.







“Come on, man,” Amon admonished himself. “You’re falling into maudlin.” He set off towards where the Slayer and her little gang of followers usually hung out.







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*







ONE WEEK IN THE PAST IN ANOTHER DIMENSION







“We are losing the war,” Doc said to Glory. “If we are going get the advantage, we must release the Puzzleman and his Shades.”







“Don’t be ridiculous,” Glorificus replied while she admired herself in the mirror. “I almost have my Key.”







“Maybe here, but not elsewhere,” Doc growled. “You know just because you win in this dimension doesn’t guarantee success everywhere, you stupid idiot.”







Glory whirled around to confront the short, dark skinned demon. She held her hands out like claws while she approached him. “Do not call me stupid!”







“Then, quit acting stupid.” Doc didn’t look particularly scared of having an irate Hell God threatening him. He waved Glory’s threat away with a wave of his hand. “You and I both know you’re losing the battle. More of your counterparts have been defeated than have won.”







“What do I care?” Glory rolled her eyes. “I will have my Key within a few hours. My minions have told me so.” She went back to admiring herself in the mirror.







Doc rubbed his forehead. Sometimes he hated Glorificus. All she ever thought about was herself. Maybe it was time to contact his brothers. They’d approved the releasing of the Puzzleman and the Shades. He rose to his feet. “Forget it. I won’t trouble you again.”







Doc left the penthouse without speaking to Glory again. He entered the stairwell just as the elevator opened, and he missed the minions dragging an unconscious bleached blond vampire into the hallway.







Doc transported himself to his home dimension where he slipped unnoticed into the containment room. Big black sarcophagi stood around the room like giant dark sentinels. If nobody else would release the Puzzleman to deal with the losing battle he would. With a dark smile, Doc opened the releasing mechanism.







Steam billowed through the room when the first sarcophagus opened. A cloven hoof stepped out of the steam followed by a seven foot tall body that had the legs and hips covered in light brown fur and the chest and arms of a man. When the head finally emerged, there were tall horns towering above evil filled back eyes and a long snout with a twitching black, nose and sharp, yellow teeth. A feral snarl echoed through the room.







“Welcome, Puzzleman. Your time has arrived.” Doc bowed low to the creature.







“Where are my Shades?”







Doc straightened, and he gestured towards the other sarcophagi. “They are awaiting their release by you.”







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*







“Tell me about these Immortal Guardians,” Willow demanded of Illyria. She held the God King under tight control. “What are they?”







“The Immortal Guardians are a Slayer and an Aurelian vampire,” Illyria replied reluctantly. The God King wasn’t happy with its current host. “I heard the rumors while I was in The Deeper Well.”







Willow growled under her breath. “What rumors?”







Illyria gave a mental shrug. “Some said it was time for them to emerge, but I paid little mind. I do not care for lowly mortals.”







“The word immortal implies something besides mortality.”







“When you are a God King, all else is mortal.” Illyria gave a haughty sniff.







“So Spike and Buffy are these Immortal Guardians?”







“I would assume so.”







“Not for long! We must go.” Willyria strode towards a glowing portal.







“Your anger diminishes, witch,” Illyria commented. Soon her power will weaken, and I can take over.







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*







“They’re here,” Angel announced when he hung up the phone. “Giles wants the Codex.”







“Took them long enough.” Diane stood up. She smiled down at the vampire beside her. “Claudius and I have been waiting a long time to meet another pair of Immortal Guardians.”





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