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Chapter 6

"Dimensions will pour into one another with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and chaos will reign on earth," Anne whispered.

"What was that, luv?" William asked.

Anne shot a quick glance at Giles before she spoke again. "That's what Giles said when he told me if Glory opened the portal I would have to kill Dee."

William growled low in his chest, then he said apologetically, "Sorry, I still have issues with our Giles."

"Could this be the chaos that the Codex mentioned?" Dee asked, "Portals opening all willy-nilly?" She looked back and forth from William to Anne.

"I expect so, Nibblet," William answered, "Giles here showin' up the same night we did would be a coincidence, but a Xander showin' up, too? Somehow I don't think so." He got up to pace around the room a little. "Might be time for us to take a closer look at those prophecies that Nibblet found."

"I hate prophecies." Anne pouted. She pushed her lower lip out, but she smiled brightly at William when he came over to stand in front of her.

"I know you do, luv," William replied. He helped Anne to her feet. "Giles, you and Dee check out my crypt. Dee knows all the secret hidin' spots. The Slayer and I are goin' to the library to let the Scoobs know what's happenin'."

"What about us, mate?" Spike asked. He found it strange that these four beings trusted him enough to leave him in their house. Of course, they seemed to have a close relationship, and one of them was him.

"Dee, show Dalton the room he and Spike can share," Anne replied. She turned to the bookish vampire. "Remember what I said!" She wagged the pointy end of a stake in his direction to show that she was serious.

Dalton quaked under the fierce gaze of the Slayer until William spoke up, " Buck up, Dalton. Her bark's worse than her bite." William just smirked when Anne's gaze turned from Dalton to himself.

While Dee showed Dalton the bedroom, and where the pig's blood was stored, William helped Anne put on her coat. As soon as Dee and Dalton returned to the living room, the four dimension travelers departed. The two vampires left behind just stared at each other. They had no idea what the heck was going on with their unlives or what they should be doing next.

At the end of the front walk, Dee and Demonic Giles went one way while Anne and William went the other. The cemetery that housed the crypt that William had spent 2 1/2 years calling home was just a few short blocks from the house that the group had rented for their stay in this dimension.

Demonic Giles and Dee entered the crypt cautiously. Dee pointed to where something had been disturbed. She showed Demonic Giles how to move the sarcophagus to expose the trapdoor down to the lower levels. The pair silently searched each level until they came to an almost hidden cove. There they found a disheveled Xander with duct taped hands, feet and mouth. Dee ripped the tape off of the boy's mouth.

"Thank God you found me, guys," Xander gasped, "After that meeting at the library I went home only to find myself waiting for me. Talk about wacky." He smiled gratefully at Dee who was cutting the tape off of his wrists and ankles.

"Anne and William saw him at the factory with Drusilla," Dee announced, "Then Angelus showed up threatening to stake Spike because of William. So, they rescued him." She moved away from Xander, and she gestured for him and Demonic Giles to follow her.

Xander followed for a few seconds until it dawned on him exactly what Dawn said. "What? They rescued Spike? Why would they do that?"

Dee whirled on the teenage boy. "Could you kill your other self? Or let someone else kill him?" Her eyes flashed in anger, and Xander took an involuntary step back while he shook his head. "Thought not."

"She's scary," Xander whispered to Demonic Giles out of the side of his mouth.

Dee had already started walking away from the pair, but her voice floated back to them. "I heard that, Xander. Besides, gotta live up the rep of my biological parents, now don't I?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike slouched in his wheelchair while he watched television. He hadn't been all that surprised to find a videotape of Passions set up in the VCR. It seemed that his dimension traveling counterpart enjoyed the soap as much as he did. A sudden pounding on the door caused the master vampire to sit up straight in his chair.

"Please, open up," called a weak voice. Spike recognized it as the Slayer's voice. Somehow he had a feeling it was his Slayer. His Slayer? Yeah, his Slayer. Obviously there was a whole lot more than hate between him and the petite teenage girl.
Spike wheeled to the door, and he leaned forward to open the door. He let out a gasp of surprise when he saw Buffy crumpled on the doorstep. Spike's nostrils flared as he drank in her scent. All he could smell on her was her bath products and her very inticing aroma of her Slayer blood.

Buffy gasped when she saw who answered the door at the older Slayer's house. She surely hadn't been expecting to find Spike in his wheelchair there. Buffy avoided looking at the vampire's face and the healed burn marks she knew she caused.

Spike scanned the street the best he could from his position, but there wasn't anything out there to worry about. He put a hand out to the Slayer who looked at it like it was a snake. "Promised the other Slayer and her mate I would keep my fangs ta m'self. That includes you, Slayer. Now come on in the house before you attract company." Spike rolled backwards to give Buffy room to enter the house. "Dalton, find a first aid kit."

While Dalton searched the kitchen for the first aid kit, Spike led Buffy into the living room. He got her settled into one of the hardbacked chairs so he could evaluate her wounds. Spike surprised himself when he was glad none of the wounds were too deep or would scar her beautiful skin. When Dalton handed him the first aid kit, Spike gently cleansed all of the Slayer's scratches.

"What happened, Slayer?" Spike asked, "You don't smell enough like the great brooding poofter to have shagged the soul out of him." He sat back in his wheelchair, and he studied the play of emotions on Buffy's face.

"No, we were just talking," Buffy whispered, "I told him I really did love him and that the other Buffy and her Spike showing up didn't change my feelings for him. I told him that we would find a way to get his soul anchored." She paused as she thought about the events of the evening. "The next thing I knew he was telling me how pathetic, young, and stupid I was." Buffy covered her face with her hands.

Spike was at a loss to know what to do. His experience with females was limited to mainly Dru who was easy to get out of a pensive mood. So, he did the only thing he could do. He ordered Dalton to get the Slayer a Diet Coke out of the fridge while he patted the girl awkwardly on the knee.

"They said it was sex that would make him happy," Buffy whispered, "How was I suppose to know..." She broke off and sobbed quietly. Then, she continued on, "I've been watching them, the other Slayer and her Spike. I've always wanted someone to look at me like he looks at her."

"How's that, Slayer?" Spike found himself asking.
"Like how you looked at Dru that night with the vampire groupies," Buffy whispered. She looked up at him with tear filled green eyes. "Like there's no one else in the world, but me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William and Anne arrived at the library to find Giles and Miss Calender discussing the anchoring of Angel's soul with the Scoobies. They looked up when the older Slayer and her vampire entered the library.

"Just stopped in b'fore we go out on our date," William announced, "Gonna hit all the places we shagged in before our Sunnyhell turned into a big huge crater."

Willow blushed bright red since she now knew what shagging meant. She glanced at Giles who appeared to be a little red around the ears himself. Willow heard the words come out of her mouth before she could stop them, "Did you guys shag in a lot of places?"

William smirked at the red-headed teenager while he winked at her. "The Slayer's a minx, alright. Can't keep her hands off my tight bod." He danced out of the way when Anne turned her attention towards him.

"Oh yeah?" Anne countered, "Who was it that was all 'you belong in the darkness, with me'?"

"A bloke can be wrong on one or two things in his unlife, luv," William purred, "Now you loved every minute of it, even if you wouldn't admit it to yourself. You know you did."

"Wasn't my idea to have sex on the balcony of the Bronze." Anne's indignant voice filled the library.

"Wasn't my idea to shag all night long and demolish a buildin'." William snarked back.

"You demolished a building?" Willow asked shyly. She blushed redder and redder as the conversation progressed.

"Yep," William replied smugly, "Demolished the upper section of my crypt and the neighbor's rose bush, too."

Anne blushed. "You know the next day she asked me how two cats in heat could destroy such a large bush."

William burst out laughing. "I would have paid money to see the look on your face, Slayer."

"Shut up, Spike." The comeback was so automatic that she forgot to call him William. She watched Xander carefully as she spoke her next words. "There's one place that we never tried out, sweetie."

William took on a look of concentration. "There can't be, luv." He held up his hand, and he began to fold down fingers as he spoke. "Abandoned house, check. Crypt, check. Bronze, check. Neighbor's yard, check. Training room of the Magic Box, check. The basement, check. The alley behind the Doublemeat Palace, check. No, luv, I think we christened every place in Sunnyhell."

"Anya told me about this one. Actually she told all us girls about it while the guys were off buying hot dogs at the beach," Anne announced, "It was right before Dracula came to town."

"Dracula's real?" Cordelia asked. She noticed that both Anne and William were watching Xander carefully.

"Of course the great mast... Dracula's real," Xander sputtered, "Why else would that dude write a book about him?"

"Anyway, Anya was telling me about this great little alcove in the mall that's perfect for a guy to..." Anne broke off when Xander interrupted her again.

"Dracula's so handsome and powerful." Xander was interrupted when Dee, Demonic Giles and well, Xander burst into the library.

"You! You life stealer," Xander spluttered at the older Xander, "What's the meaning of hitting me over the head and tying me up in some nasty old crypt?"

The older Xander took one look at the group and bolted, but William easily caught him. Anne indicated the cage at the side of the library where the more expensive and racy books of the collection were kept under lock and key.

"One problem solved as long as he doesn't escape," Anne announced, "On to the next one. Angelus is on the loose, and Spike's at our house now."

"Spike's at your house?" One Xander yelped, while the other one muttered, "Why is Captain Peroxide at your house? Are you looking to get eaten or something?"

Anne whirled on the caged Xander, and she spat out between gritted teeth, "You're one to talk. We saw you with your head between that ho Drusilla's thighs. Anyanka is going to have a field day with you when you get back to your dimension."

"Someone called my name?" A strikingly beautiful young woman appeared in a poof of smoke. She glanced around the room, and her eyes lit on Anne and William. "Buffy, Spike. Is that you?" She didn't wait for them to answer before she rushed to fling her arms around the duo. "Hoffy rescued me from the high school. He said I had some old friends to help. I didn't know he meant you two."

"Hello, demon-girl," William replied uncomfortably. His eyes kept sliding sideways to the blond woman beside him, but much to his amazement the Slayer didn't even blink an eye at the other woman hugging him.

"Anya, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I've missed you," Anne whispered while she hugged the other woman.

"Oh my God, you two are mated," Anya gasped. She stood back from the couple with her hands on her hips. "It took you two long enough. Are the orgasms better now then they were before?"

"Anya!" Anne spluttered. She noticed that the others were looking at them in shock and expectation. "This is Anyanka or Anya Christina Emmauelle Jenkins. She was a vengeance demon, then a human, then a vengeance demon, and then a human." Buffy ticked off the changes back and forth for Anya on her fingertips. "Are you a vengeance demon again, Anya?"

"Not so much. Hoffy said I would be needed in another capacity," Anya replied, "I no longer exact vengeance. I exact justice in the name of the Dark Champion and His Slayer." She said proudly. "Guess that's you guys."

"Anya, darling, is that really you?" the caged Xander asked. He put his fingers through the cage wire, and he rattled the door. "Won't you let your Viking sex god out?"

"Xander, you haven't been my Viking sex god since you left me at the altar and without orgasms." Anya went to stand in front of the cage. "Those were just the-world's-about-to-end orgasms we had when were fighting the First. So, get over yourself."

"Is it safe to assume that this young lady is from your dimension, too?" Giles asked. He wasn't sure what he thought about the young lady. She was quite attractive but strangely forthright.

"Rupert!" Anya gushed. She rushed to the Watcher, and much to his embarrassment she pulled him into an affectionate embrace.

"Look, Joan. My Da is smooching on the tarty stepmom, again," William said snarkily. He quickly stepped behind the Slayer when Anya whirled around to stare at him.

"Careful, nancyboy or I'll make you very desperate for a shag," Anya snarked back. "I'll put a hex on you."

"You guys are weird," Cordelia grumbled. She was getting bored with the proceedings, and she wanted to go home.

Everyone jumped when the library telephone rang in the office.
While Giles answered the phone, the others got comfortable. William and Anne sat down on the stairs with Anya and Dee. Demonic Giles hovered nearby. Xander went to sit by an irate Cordelia who just realized that she had been talking to the wrong Xander for weeks. By the time Giles was off the phone, the dark haired cheerleader had decided to ignore both versions of Xander.

"That was," Giles paused dramatically, "Spike. He says that the younger Slayer is at your house. Apparently she was telling Angel that she loved him and about the soul anchoring when he turned into Angelus on her. He hurt her a little bit before she got away."

"Spike," Willow eeped, "Won't he try and hurt her?" She glanced quickly at Anne and William and then away again.

"Hardly," Anne replied. She caressed William's hand. "We have Spike's word he'll keep his fangs to himself, and he always keeps his promises."

"Buffy's is going to wait at your house," Giles announced, "She said her mother is out of town. So, there's no one at her house and she doesn't want to be alone in a house where Angel has an invite." He crossed the room to stand beside Miss Calendar. "Looks like we need to do more than anchor Angel's soul."

"Tell them your chaos theory, William," Dee piped up, "We need to study the prophecies some more." She went to where she knew Giles had been keeping the paper she had written out before. Dee took the paper out, and then she returned to her seat.

"Captain Peroxide can think for himself?" The thralled Xander asked. He continued to grumble and be insulting even though the rest of the room actively ignored him.

Anne glanced at William, and she decided to start since she had been the one to actually witness the event he was thinking about. She bit her lip for a second, and then she started to speak. "Two and half years ago our Willow was under the influence of black magic. One of the things she threatened to do was to put the Key back into its mystical form, to unmake Dee. William thinks that maybe in some dimension that happened, and that's the reason for the unexpected portals bleeding through."

"Hey, hold on," Dee declared. She rustled the paper as she looked over the lines of prophecy. Dee's finger traced the words as she quickly skimmed the page. "Bleed, bleed. Here it is, 'The Key will bleed until the One joins the journey and seals the wound'." She finished speaking, and she showed the passage to Giles.

Giles restudied the prophecies once again, and this time something clicked when he read a particular one. "Listen to this. 'Within the Codex lies the word that can only be accessed by the Key to heal the rift caused by the angry tree. Find all the words spread out among the tomes ... so mote it be.' Bloody Hell, that wasn't there before."

"Yes, it was, Giles," Dee replied, "I remember writing it. This is my handwriting." She took the paper from Giles, and she showed it to Anne and William who both agreed it was indeed her handwriting.

"Well the other two prophecies found read 'Red becomes black; black becomes red, but not before the Shade is discovered', and 'The blood that burns within the Key burns within the sister-mother and the demon paladin'," Giles recited the other prophecies out loud.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I hate prophecies?" Anne grumbled. She edged closer to William for comfort.

"The prophecy that I first remembered is straight forward. The three of you are to restore order to the dimensions," Giles replied informatively, "Although at this moment in time we are unsure of what the chaos is exactly."

"The next one talks about me bleeding until the One, with a capital O, joins the journey and seals the wound." Dawn scrunched her brows as she studied the words. "Since I'm not physically bleeding, maybe that's metaphysical? But, who is the One?"

"Another Slayer, maybe?" Willow asked rhetorically. "And if what you guys said is true about me, then the red turning to black and back again, would be about my counterpart, maybe? That doesn't explain the Shade part though."

"So, three mysteries so far." Giles jotted some words down in his notebook. "Chaos, the One, and the Shade. The next prophecy, Dee?"

"Codex ... rift ... spread out." Dawn skimmed over the sentence. "I don't think these are all the prophecies. There's not enough information in just these five." She nibbled on her lower lip. "I get the feeling that with each new dimension we'll have to find a copy of the Codex."

"Thank God, Giles packed up his collection before we blew up the high school then, wasn't it?" Anne muttered.

"You blew up the high school?" Oz asked. He was pulled out of his usual silence by that little tidbit of information.

"I tend to do that a lot," Anne answered, "I need to go on a twelve-step program for making things go boom." She grimaced at William before she ducked and pressed her face against his upper arm.

Dee grinned when she reread the last of the prophecies that they had uncovered. "The last one is about who's blood the monks made me out of."

"The sister-mother and the demon paladin," Anya replied, "That's pretty obvious. Buffy is the sister-mother and Spike is the demon paladin."

"That could easily mean Angel," Miss Calendar replied, "He is here to help Buffy after all."

"Hoffy showed me some things," Anya said in an informative manner. She just loved when she knew something the others didn't. "Angel was never meant to be with Buffy. He was sent to help her until her true champion arrived. He was meant to teach her acceptance and tolerance for vampires, not his bigotry and hate."

"But Spike and Buffy hated each other as soon as they met," Willow remarked.

"Did they?" Anya asked, "How can you be so sure? Having spent over 1,000 years as a vengeance demon, I can tell you there is fine line between love and hate."

"Acceptance and tolerance?" Giles started to jot things down again. "What exactly do you mean, um, Anya?"

"Angel was sent to show Buffy that there was more than the black and white Council rhetoric to the demon world," Anya answered quietly, "He was supposed to show her how to fight with a partner and to make her a better fighter. He wasn't meant to end up damaging her so much that she couldn't trust her own heart."

"He wasn't the only one," William growled.

"No, he wasn't. Damn near every person in this room has had their hand in hurting her," Anya said, "I think the only possible exception has been Oz."

"Go Oz," Willow declared. She gave her boyfriend a light punch in the arm.

"But that's because he turns into a werewolf and leaves Sunnydale in about a year and a half," Anya continued as if Willow hadn't spoken. "For the life of me, I don't know why she keeps forgiving all of us. I guess it's because Buffy was never meant to be alone. It's why she continues to surround herself with others." Anya paced the floor while she imparted her knowledge to her rapt audience. "Once Buffy died at the hands of the Master, her potential changed."

"She's an S.I.T.?" Dee asked.

"No," Anya answered with a chuckle. "She's more than a Slayer now. Her soul is stronger, and her Slayer is stronger. I expect she's mentioned that she feels different now, maybe more powerful?" Anya pointed at Willow when the red headed girl nodded. "That is the start of the process."

"What process?" Giles asked. He looked up from his notebook to watch while Anya moved to stand beside Anne.

"The process to fulfill her true destiny," Anya stated, "It's just a matter of what events occur that will help her achieve this."

"Destiny? What destiny? You mean all the Spikes and Buffys have the potential to become like Anne and William?" Dee asked. She stared at her sister and her brother-in-law with fascination.

"Maybe not this exact destiny, but yes, they do. All of the Spikes and Buffys have the potential to become the immortal champions of their dimension," Anya answered.





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