Willow was bored. There was nothing to do, no one to talk to, and it was all burned and dirty in the old factory. She had slept all morning and late into the afternoon in one of the few rooms untouched by fire, but now she was awake and hated being stuck here. Listlessly roaming around she noticed what appeared to be a trap door under some debris. Moving the rubble aside she found an entrance that opened into tunnels. Willow smiled. The Mayor of her Sunnydale had tunnels running throughout the length and breadth of town so that his vampire minions could move about with relative ease. Of course that was before The Harvest. After that, the Mayor was pretty much dead and the minions all belonged to The Master.

Looked like this Sunnydale had tunnels too. Willow dropped down and headed in the direction of town. With any luck she'd find some city workers working in the sewers. She was a little hungry again.

***

Spike and Angel hadn't gone very far when Spike found himself thrown up against the brick wall of the sewer tunnel. Angel pressed his full weight against the smaller vampire holding him in place with an arm across his throat, his eyes gleaming gold in the dim light.

"I know what you're up to with Buffy, Spike," he growled, "and I'm not going to let you hurt her or any of the others. You may have her fooled, but I know you better than that. What's your plan, huh? Get her to trust you completely so that when you kill her it's all the sweeter? Well that's never going to happen, boy."

Spike gave his grandsire a disgusted look and pushed him away. "Back off," he snapped. "You don't know anything about me. If I wanted her dead, she'd already be dead. I'm not going it hurt her or the others. I know you don't believe it, and I really don't give a buggerin' fuck that you don't, but I love her."

"That's impossible," Angel ground out. "You don't have a soul. You can't love anyone."

"No, Angel," Spike said coldly, "that's you."

Spike found himself thrown up against the wall again, a stake pressed into his chest. "I should dust you now, tell Buffy we ran into trouble in the sewers. She'll mourn for a while, but she'll get over it and then she'll be safe from you."

Spike shoved Angel away from him again. "You know what your problem is? You can't have the girl, but you don't want anyone else to have her either. Well too bad. I've got her and I'm keeping her.
Keeping her happy too. Real happy."

Angel growled and lifted the stake, "You son of a bitch. You keep your filthy hands off of her. She deserves better than an undead monster like you!"

"Yeah?" Spike mocked. "Seems you didn't feel that way when you were busy poppin' her cherry when she was still just a little girl."

Shifting into full game face, Angel cursed, knocked Spike back up against the wall and plunged the stake towards Spike's heart. Spike blocked the stake and remembering the move that Buffy had used against him, thrust the flat of his hand into Angel's face, smashing his mouth and dislodging him.
Sweeping out with his leg, he tripped Angel knocking him to the ground. Kicking Angel's right hand he sent the stake flying across the tunnel floor. With a roar, Angel came to his feet, seizing Spike and throwing him across the tunnel. Searching for the stake, he went to grab it only to be shoved to the ground on his face as Spike leaped onto his back.

Reaching forward, Spike snatched a handful of hair and slammed Angel's head into the brick floor. Grasping the stake, he turned Angel over and lunged down with the sharpened wood...right into the ground next to Angel's head, breaking the stake into dozens of small pieces. Jumping away from his grandsire, he hissed, "You're just lucky I promised Buffy I wouldn't kill you, you back-stabbing bogtrotter. Get this through that thick Neanderthal skull of yours. I. love. the girl. I'm not goin' to do anything to hurt her or her Scoobies." And with that, he turned on his heel and continued towards The Magic Box. Angel got up rubbing his head, looked down at the shattered stake, up at Spike's retreating back and slowly followed.

***

Willow watched from around the corner of a tunnel. It was the puppy. Staying back so that he wouldn't sense her presence, she trailed after the two vampires.

***

Anya looked up, a pleasant welcoming smile on her face when the shop bell rang. The smile faltered when she saw who entered.

"Mr. Giles," she exclaimed. "I thought you weren't going to be in today? Was I mistaken?"

"No, Anya," he reassured her. "We need to use some of the reference material I have here at the shop. We'll be in the training room so as not the disrupt the customers." Turning to the others he said, "Move one or two of the tables into the training room while I fetch the text we need." As he headed up the stairs to the loft, Buffy and Xander began moving the largest table.

"Oof!" Xander exclaimed as they finally set the table down. "Where are the vampires when you really need them. That thing is heavy."

Buffy frowned and looked towards the basement door. "They should be here by now, shouldn't they?"

"Hey, don't worry Buff. Maybe they just ran into some large sewer rats that needed exterminating," Xander told her reassuringly. "Spike travels those tunnels everyday. He'll be here soon."

As if hearing the young man's words, the door opened and Spike entered the training room. A Spike who had obviously been fighting.

"What happened?" Buffy asked, rushing up to her boyfriend.

"Nothing, luv," he answered casually. "Me and the poofter ran into a bit of bother, is all. Took care of it."

The door opened again and Angel appeared. Buffy looked at his face, her eyes narrowing. The bruise on his mouth looked strangely familiar. "Bit of a bother, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about. Like I said, me and the old man took care of it." Looking over at Angel, a warning glint in his eyes, he said, "Right?"

Angel merely nodded and walked over to join Cordelia. If Spike thought that he was going to change his mind about him just because he hadn't tried to stake him when he had the opportunity, he was seriously mistaken. As long as Spike was playing at being Buffy's Knight in Shining Armor he would make sure that Buffy believed him honorable. But Angel knew better. And he was going to make sure that Spike was dust before he left Sunnydale.

Giles came in with a large book in his arms. "I've found the text, Wesley. Have you any idea where the spell is located?"

As the two Watchers began to search for the appropriate spell, Buffy watched the two vampires. There was no doubt in her mind whatsoever that the "bit of bother" had been a fight between them. Both vampires had survived the fight, but Buffy decided then and there that they weren't going to be allowed to be alone together again. She didn't want to lose either one.

***

Weatherby knocked again at the door to Rupert Giles' flat with no success. Smith peeked in through the window. "Don't look like anyone's home," he told his companion. "Where to next?"

"Buffy Summer's house," was the reply.

***

Well fuck, Faith thought. No one's here either. Doing a more thorough search than she'd had time for the night before, she found an interesting flyer in one of Buffy's nightstand drawers. It advertised the grand opening of The Magic Box. Rupert Giles, Proprietor.

Faith had her next stop.

***

The sedan pulled up in front of 1630 Revello Drive, and as the two men got out of the vehicle, they didn't notice the young woman crossing the street at the end of the block headed back towards the center of town.

***

Collins once again glanced into a window, but saw only a young woman he didn't recognize manning the counter in the shop. Frowning, he searched but his view was limited. Taking a chance he entered the shop.

Once again Anya glanced up, a friendly, helpful expression on her face. "Welcome to The Magic Box. May I assist you?"

"No thanks, love," the Englishman said. "Just want to look around a bit. See what sort of stuff you offer for sale."

Anya's eyes narrowed slightly. She hated browsers. They never bought anything. That is, if she let them get away without buying anything.

Collins casually strolled around, picking up various items as if interested in them, but then putting them down and going to the next shelf, always moving deeper into the shop. It was when he was halfway through the shop, that a door in the back opened and Rupert Giles walked briskly to the counter.
Handing a piece of paper to the blonde he said, "Anya, please fill this list and bring the items into the back room as quickly as possible." Turning from the counter Anya said, "But I have a customer I must attend to."

"No need," Collins answered quickly. "I'm just leaving." Moving at a rapid pace, he left the shop before the Slayer entered the room and spotted him. So they were in there all right, in the back of the shop. Glancing around, he looked at the building across the street from The Magic Box. Heading back to his car, he began to formulate a plan.

Anya frowned at the departing customer's back then snatched up the paper and began gathering the items listed there. Once she had everything requested, she carried them to the back room.

Once again preparations were being made for a spell casting. Anya felt a momentary curiosity, but quickly suppressed it. She had a store to attend to. Leaving the backroom, she returned to her counter.

***

"I do believe we are now prepared to attempt the new relocation spell," Wesley announced after double and triple-checking everything. "Willow, Tara, if you will take your places, we'll see if we have any better luck."

The two witches knelt before the map of Sunnydale and began the spell. The results were immediate. A bright glow appeared on the map, moving from east to west. Both witches smiled in relief. As they watched the glow's movement Xander exclaimed, "Hey, is it me or does it look like she's heading here?"

***

Collins quietly closed the door that led to the roof of the building opposite the magic shop. Going to the edge, he was pleased to see that his original observation was correct. He had a perfect view of both front and back doors. Settling down, he slipped the safety off the rifle. Eventually she'd leave the shop. That would be when he would strike. He was unaware that just as he stepped onto the rooftop, his other quarry had also arrived at the shop.