Thirty minutes later Giles opened the door to an amazingly well put together Anya. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Anya," Giles told her as he stepped back allowing her to enter.

"You are my employer," she said in her usual plainspoken manner. "And even though it is many hours before my customary working day is scheduled to begin, I am willing to aid you if you deem it necessary, although you have not offered additional compensation to me for the disruption of my normal routine."

Giles sighed and bowed to the inevitable. "I will, of course, pay you for the extra hours this morning, Anya. Unless you would prefer to have time off in lieu of payment?"

Anya looked at him with a little frown of confusion wrinkling her forehead. "I cannot make a commission on goods sold if I am not at the store to sell goods."

"Of course," Giles murmured.

Having settled the issue of her compensation Anya looked around the room for the first time. Her gaze was impassive until it landed on Cordelia. Then it froze.

"Hi, Anya. It's good to see you again," Cordelia told her brightly. "I didn't know you were working for Giles."

"Yes," Anya answered, her attitude strangely reserved. "I've been working for him for about a month now. He is a satisfactory employer."

"Well, that's good to know," Giles muttered. "Anya," he continued in a normal speaking voice, "Willow and Tara are attempting a conjuration spell, but it appears that a third may be needed in order to complete it. Are you willing to assist us in this?"

Anya frowned slightly and asked, "What type of conjuration spell?"

"We're trying to bring forth a Draconian Katra," Willow answered brightly. "Tara and I almost had it, I think, but then it just fizzled. Wesley thought that another witch would help."

"Well first of all, I'm not a witch," Anya stated, frowning slightly. "And secondly, why would you want a Draconian Katra? In the wrong hands, those are extremely dangerous devices."

"Yes, we are well aware of that," Giles answered her. "Anya, that is Buffy," he stated, pointing at the dark-haired girl standing next to Spike.

"Oh. Very well, I will attempt to assist you." Exhibiting no further curiosity, she stepped forward, checked the alignment of the spell components, made a few minor adjustments, relit the beeswax candles and then sat down looking expectantly at the two witches. Willow and Tara immediately joined her in the circle, joined hands and began the spell invocation.

Magic filled the air again as the three young women chanted in unison. The sense of power was far greater than it had been on the previous attempt. And this time when the last word of the spell was spoken, there was a loud pop and in the exact center of the circle a device glowed in the candlelight. They had their Draconian Katra.

They also had two unconscious witches.

***

"Willow!" Both Buffy and Xander leaped forward towards their friend. Giles also hurried forward and checked first Willow and then Tara.

"They appear to be all right physically," he stated. "I believe however that the spell completely drained the last of their reserves." Looking into Buffy's worried face, he added, "They should be fine after a rest. I'm afraid this has been a very long night for all of us." Standing up, he addressed Spike and Angel, "Would you two carry them upstairs and put them to bed? In fact, I think all of us should rest some more. Once the girls are rested and awake, we can discuss how to find Faith and reverse the spell."

Turning to his shop assistant, he asked, "Anya, would be mind opening the Magic Box by yourself? I doubt very seriously if I will be able to come in at all today."

"Certainly, Mr. Giles. I will be happy to take complete charge of the store," the girl answered, thoughts of not having to share any sales running through her head.

"Thank you, Anya. Now let us..."

"Uh, Giles," Xander interrupted. He had turned back to the conversation after watching the two vampires accompanied by a very worried Slayer carry the motionless young women upstairs. "Weren't you going to ask Anya about Vamp Willow?"

"Ah yes, Xander, thank you." Giles didn't notice the brief flash of uneasiness that crossed his young employee's face. "When you and Willow performed your spell last evening, Willow said that she saw visions of a battle between vampires and humans. One of the people she saw looked exactly like her. Did you also see these visions?"

Anya relaxed. Good, he hadn't asked the right question, so she didn't have to worry about being caught in a lie. "No," she told him honestly. "I saw no visions at all."

Giles was disappointed but apparently whatever had happened involved Willow only. "Very well, Anya. Thank you for your help this morning and for opening the shop today. I hope to be in at the regular time tomorrow."

Giving a brisk nod, Anya hurriedly left the apartment. Once outside, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was human now, but worried what might happen should the Slayer ever discover her Vengeance Demon past. An angry grimace crossed her face. She wouldn't have to be worried about this if it wasn't for that stupid Willow. She should have known that Willow would screw the spell up in some way. The girl had plenty of power and innate ability, but her control sucked. The only time Willow had ever been halfway competent was when she had been a vampire in that other Sunnydale.

Perhaps she should consider leaving Sunnydale once she had saved enough money. The thing was however, she wasn't sure just where else someone of her abilities and background would fit in so well. A hellmouth may not be the best place for a human to live, but it was perfect for the ex-vengeance demon. Well, there was always the hellmouth in Cleveland, she supposed. But it was Cleveland! Anya shuddered at the thought. Walking quickly, she headed back to her apartment and a good, solid breakfast. She hoped that she would have a busy, economically fruitful day.

***

Because there were now so many of them, it was decided that Buffy and Joyce would take Cordelia and Wesley and return to the house on Revello Drive to rest. The approaching dawn prevented the vampires from making the trip and this worried Buffy. Walking up to Angel, she said quietly, "I know you're still upset about me and Spike, but I'm trusting you to not fight with him. I really don't want to come back here later to find a dusty pile, okay?"

Angel nodded brusquely and walked away from her. Buffy sighed and turned away to see Spike staring at her, head cocked, eyes narrowed. Going up to him she wrapped her arms around him and said, "I just asked Angel to behave and not fight with you. Now I'm asking you the same thing."

"No need to worry about me, pet. I'd just as soon ignore his existence," Spike answered her with a snort. "Wish I could go home with you though. Don't like the idea of you being away from me with both Faith and those wankers from the Watcher's Council on the loose."

"I'll be okay. There's no way the Watcher goons could know I'm back in Sunnydale and I can take Faith. Besides," she grinned, "Wesley's a big ole rogue demon hunter now. He can protect me."

Spike took one look at the thin, bespectacled Englishman and gave her one of his classic smirks. "Oh yeah, Slayer. I'm feeling all reassured now."

Buffy laughed, kissed him goodbye and left with her entourage.

***

Smith watched as Collins placed the weapons in the trunk of the sedan. "What are you up to?" he asked.

"I going after that bitch, that's what I'm up to," Collins told his companion coldly.

"We were told to back off temporarily," Smith reminded him. "Travers said..."

"I don't give a flyin' fuck what Travers said," Collins snapped. "No woman makes a fool out of me. She's trouble and I'm takin' her out."

"We don't even know where she is," Smith protested.

"Yeah, well accordin' to Travers, that bunch in Sunnydale's all hot to find her. I'm thinkin' they probably will, and when they do, I'll be there."

Smith frowned. "Do you think that maybe she was telling the truth? About the body switch?"

Collins shrugged disinterestedly. "So if I take both Slayers out, I know for sure I got the rogue. It's not like Buffy Summers is much better than the other bitch. She doesn't know her place either."

Smith made a grab for Collins. "Look, we should wait until Weatherby gets back from making his report," he said.

Smith never even saw the fist that knocked him out.

***

Faith awakened and turned onto her back allowing her plans for the day to slowly take shape in her mind. Who to kill first? Xander? That might be fun. She remembered how she had almost killed him the first time. If it hadn't been for Angel, Buffy would already be mourning the loss of a Scooby. Yes, Xander was a definite possibility. Then there was Buffy's vampire lover. She should have dusted him last night. Need to work out a little with this body, she decided. Take care of that little coordination problem.

Running her hands down over herself, she enjoyed the feel of the small, tight form she now inhabited. Cupping her breasts, she discovered that the nipples were very responsive to the slightest pressure. Bringing her hands up to her mouth, she wet her fingers and then plucked at the rapidly swelling buds, squeezing and pinching until she brought a moan from her throat. Raising her knees and spreading them, she continued stimulating her nipples with one hand as she lowered the other and pressed it between her opened thighs. Inserting one finger in the wet opening, she moved it in and out slowly and then pulled the slick digit out, sliding it up to fondle her clit. As she worked at herself, her hips began to undulate faster in time with her strokes. Rubbing harder, she brought herself off with a small cry of release. As her heartbeat slowed, she sighed in satisfaction. Not as good as being with a man, but it'd do for now.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she padded to the desk. Opening the drawer, she took out the only thing she owned that meant anything to her. She had reclaimed it from Buffy's weapons chest before the cops had arrived. The blade of the large, wicked-looking knife gleamed in the early morning sunlight. Watching the play of light on steel, her mind once again focused on whom to visit first. With a small smile, she finally decided on the one that had always been the most jealous of her; the redheaded bitch, Willow.