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Chapter Text

Buffy finished her Slaying rounds and was heading back to do her shift as a bartender when a strange individual stopped her. He was a slim man wearing a tailored brown suit in tweed, very Giles-like. His hair was slightly long with honey color but with silver highlights. Hey, he wore glasses like Giles but he had cheekbones, like Spike? It was Spike! What was he doing here and in that get-up?

She smirked at her friend. “What’s up with the Watcher Council’s clothing, Spike? Shouldn’t you be on a date with Xander, right ‘bout now?”

“Pardon me, Miss Summers, is it?” he asked in a flustered manner. “Are you the one who betrayed herself with the ensouled vampire Angel who turned into Angelus? He then killed the Romani teacher, Miss Calender?”

Buffy had a blank look on her face. “Angel? Who? I thought you said that Angelus sired your sire Dru, but I never heard of a vampire with a soul.”

Spike in Watcher’s gear visibly relaxed. “Then I’m in the right universe,” he said, relieved.

He pushed out his hand for her to shake, and she did so though she was confused. He explained, “Excuse me, ma’am, I am not your Spike. I am William Pratt, vampire Watcher with a soul and not the only one in my universe. Drusilla Keeble is my sire and is head of my Watcher’s Council. She sent me here.”

“Universe? Like that movie with the martial arts star and the guy from Goonies? Or that T.V. show I streamed one time called Sliders with Jerry O’Donnell?”

The vampire Watcher blinked at her looking flustered again. “Never seen those things but, yes, I’m from an alternate universe, dimension. I’m here for several reasons.” He stopped speaking and appeared embarrassed. He had a satchel in one of his hands. He hastily opened it muttering to himself in what Spike would call a “posh” accent. What a weird man this William was, so unlike the leather-clad, punk-rock Spike she knew. He pulled out a large manuscript that was like the Vampyr book Giles kept in high school. Upon the black, leather-bound book in golden letters was the word MULTIVERSE. William Pratt opened the golden gilded pages of the tome and checked an entry. Buffy tried to glance at what he was reading in the odd book, but he snatched it away. He scowled at her.

He put on a serious mien which made her want to stick her tongue at the fussy but cute William. “Is this Universe 47, ma’am?” he asked her suddenly.

“I guess,” she said wondering what this multiverse business was about.

“My dear, did your Slayer chuck a crab god into a Hell dimension recently?” William asked sternly.

“That was all of us,” she said annoyed, “but that was my friend Xander’s idea. He sacrificed his baby crab to save all of us. What’s this all about? And why do you refer to another Slayer? *I’m* the Slayer now. The boss one, anyway.” She took her stake out of her pocket and began twirling it in her hand. William’s gorgeous blue eyes widened.

“No,” he shouted. He jabbed his finger at the MULTIVERSE book. “It says right here that Willow is the Slayer in this dimension. The text wouldn’t lie.”

Furious, Buffy tried to grab the book out of the Watcher’s hand, yet he prevented her. A tear poured down her face as bad memories washed over her. “Willow took my powers by accident, but I got them back from her.” She pointed at herself. “I earned it.”

“Well,” said William, “I must fix it now, or else.” He spoke something in Latin and what sounded like Old Norse. Red magic sparks flew from his hands as he pointed at her. Buffy collapsed on the ground feeling powerless. The Slayer strength was gone from her limbs and muscles. She was a mere human, once more.

“NO!” she screamed. *Not again* she thought. She shakily pushed herself up and was going to fight the Watcher for her powers back even without the super strength She was not going back to being the sidekick again not without a fight. Yet, the vampire Watcher was gone.

Willow sat in the trendy restaurant waiting for Xander, Spike, and Tara. She had made so much progress under Tara’s tutelage in white magicks and was also grateful to have a successful romantic relationship with her. Xander was doing so well after the clusterfuck that was Tony. He seemed to be establishing a firm healthy relationship albeit with an evil vampire. They both seemed happy, and Spike wasn’t harming anyone. That was what mattered. She vowed to be there for her friends when she wasn’t before.

Tara arrived at her table, and she reached out to embrace and kiss her girlfriend. White magicak sparks glowed from their hands when they touched, and the couple briefly rose in the air to the surprise gasps of patrons at Verdi’s. She turned and saw her other two friends.

Spike and Xander strolled into the restaurant. The vampire was in his trademark black duster and had fresh black paint on his fingernails. He was pale as a Greek statue in one of Joyce’s exhibits she curated. Her best friend Xander was dressed in one of his colorful shirts so different from the red scrubs he wore as nursing aide. The vampire casually stretched out his hand and Xander, with a big smile, tenderly grasped it. They made such a cute couple even if one of them was apparently evil.

The two of them seem to be having a genial argument when they reached her table. “I want us to get a kitten to replace baby crab,” said Xander gently. “May the crustacean rest in peace.”

“Grrr,” said Spike with a smirk. “Too soon after raising a Crab God, Xan. Besides, kittens are meant for fine eatin’ and as gambling chips. I have a friend named Clem who could get us into a high stakes game of kitten poker…”

Xander’s eyes widened in shock. “Ahhh! No, Spike, you don’t eat kittens you pet them.”

“I guess you need to teach our resident vampire techniques in human behavior, Xander,” said Tara with a smile.

“Oh, I can teach my human a lot,” said the vamp with a sensual undertone that made Willow blush. Xander just giggled and pulled out the collar of his shirt in embarrassment.

“Well, let’s tuck into this Italian food without being attacked by a spaghetti monster,” Willow declared to change the topic. Tara glanced at her with questions in her eyes. “Long story,” she explained, “ask Faith to tell you later.”

She raised her hand to wave the waiter over when a strange sensation came over her. She stood up and felt amazing strength flow through her muscles, and her eyes turned black. “Not again,” she cried, and Tara looked alarmed as did Xander.

Spike’s nose flared. “You become a Slayer again, Red,” he said.

“We must find Buffy right now,” Willow commanded. The trendy restaurant would have to wait. She strode confidently with a bravado she didn’t really feel out the doors as rest of her friends followed with Spike trailing behind.

***
Buffy walked clumsily in the dark street outside the bar she had worked. She tripped over a piece of rubbish and almost fell. She was shivering in the darkness not knowing what to do. Should she go after the magic-empowered vampire all by herself? Should she just give up and go to work and accept her lessened status once more? A male vampire in skanky clothing sniffed her out and began stalking her with a toothy grin. She angrily grabbed her stake and shook it at him, but it just amused the creature. He was in game face and was about ready to attack her when he burst into ash. Faith was behind him, holding her own stake with a curious expression on her face.

“Hey B., what’s your malfunction?” she asked. “Usually, you get a scum-sucker like that in your sleep. What gives?”

“William took my powers,” she grumbled with her face going very still. She sat down on a town bench near the bar and held her pounding head in her hands. “I’m human, now.”

“Who did this? What happened?” Faith asked who then sat down next to her.

“Spike, I mean William Pratt did this,” she said firmly. “A Spike with magic powers who comes from an alternate universe. Kinda cute to be truthful, but he took my God-damn Slayerness. I want it back.”

Faith cupped her face gently making her peer into her eyes. She wiped the tear that was coming from one of Buffy’s eyes. The latter was surprised at Faith’s tender gesture but accepted her touch without rebuffing it. “We’ll get through this, B.,” she said.

Buffy stared at her hard and was about to say something to Faith when Willow and the rest of the gang walked towards them. She froze when she saw Spike in his duster. He was gazing warily at Willow. She could tell just by her friend’s body language and the way she held her stake in her hand that Wills was the Slayer once more.

She stood up from the bench away from Faith and cringed inside at how weak she felt. “We need Giles,” she cried. “He can reverse this, again, Wills. I know he can.”

A black and red swirl of magick surrounded Willow as she twirled her stake. Tara and Spike looked alarmed at the change that came over the red-haired witch. All Willow’s efforts to keep to white magick gone in a poof! The necklace she wore when Willow had last been forced to be the Slayer appeared at her throat.
“Willow don’t give in to the magicks like you did before,” Buffy warned. “The universe was almost destroyed because you couldn’t handle the Slayer darkness.

Tara nodded. “Think before you confront the warlock who did this. Let’s have Giles and I help….”

“No, I will defeat William Pratt,” the Slayer-witch declared, “and things will be back to normal for all of us.”

Spike moved protectively closer to Xander who also appeared concerned. The vampire lit a cigarette and took a drag on it though a look of alarm briefly came over his face when Willow mentioned William Pratt.

Buffy had her hands on her hips. “You plucked that name out of my mind, Willow. Be careful you don’t cross any more lines. You should let me handle this. I’m the Boss Slayer.”

Willow smiled sadly. “Not anymore, unless I can change it.”

She said a spell in Latin and disappeared in front of Buffy and the gang.

Buffy the former Slayer retreated into Faith’s arms and accepted her hug embracing the strength in her muscles, “I will get back my powers,” she vowed to them all, “if I have to do it myself.”

“I’m w-worried about Willow,” murmured Tara. “She c-could relapse.”

“We’ll help,” said Spike quietly, and Xander nodded.

“We need Giles. He’s experienced in this thing.”

Chapter Text

Willow was near the basement of the Magic Shop. Her powers told her that William was downstairs. She verbalized a spell in Old English to put the protesting storekeeper Schwartz to sleep. She then walked down the wooden stairs into the dark room which was now candle-lit. Her Slayer senses tingled, and she pulled out the stake.

There he was! William Pratt in his Watcher suit was reading a large tome at a table while a knife was nearby in a pool of blood. Willow snuck behind him on the stairs and pointed her stake at his neck. This vampire had glasses on like Giles and coolly turned his head slightly to Willow.

“Give my friend back her powers or be dust,” hissed the Slayer-witch.

Black and green swirls poured from the book surrounding this William’s soft, well-manicured hands. “You must be Willow the vampire Slayer,” he said with raised eyebrow, “from universe 47. I assume you were the fool who threw a crab god into a Hell dimension?”

“It was a team effort,” Willow said as she aimed the stake at William’s heart.

“That’s why I had to give the Slayer powers back to you, Miss Rosenberg,” said William coldly. “The crab God exploding will attract dangerous entities to your universe.” He jabbed his finger at the entry in his book. “Any more changes to your dimension could attract the attention of the Worldeater.”

“What?” Willow lowered her stake. “What is a Worldeater? I have studied magical creatures since I was a high school student. I have never heard of such an entity.”
The vampire Watcher smirked. “You are a rank amateur in the magick arts. No wonder you almost destroyed your world.”

Willow frowned and pointed the stake at his heart once more. “Be careful who you are calling an amateur, vampire. I have the stake!”

“So, I see,” he replied. “Will you kill a man with a soul? In my world, all the vampires are ensouled. There are no Slayers anymore because of this just Potentials. The Council, under my sire’s directions and because of her Seer powers, became a multidimensional concern.” He pointed to the manual under his hand. “We guard the Multiverse from extra-dimensional dangers including the Worldeater. Each universe must be distinct from each other, else these entities will destroy them world by world. Some universes are hardier than others but yours is very weak due to your incident with the dark magicks.”

She blushed and the stake wobbled in her grasp. “So, you guys know ‘bout that?”

William smiled and tapped the book. “We know a lot. One of the threats we are monitoring we are an Angelus and Spike that is killing various Spikes and Angels from different universes. Your stunts with the dark magicks and the crab god could attract them.”

Willow frowned thinking of the Spike who was dating Xander. She didn’t entirely trust the unsouled vamp, but he was good to and for her best friend. She wouldn’t want to see him hurt or destroyed because he was their ally and loving Xander.

The Watcher casually grabbed the bloody knife and pointed it at her while she was considering his words. Slayer reflexes kicked in, and she tried to kick it out of his hand, but the wily vamp evaded her. It was a Mexican standoff with the Slayer and vampire holding their weapons at each other throats.

“If you are such a good man,” Willow snarled, “what is that blood doing on your knife?”
He laughed. “To activate the book, I need the knife sometimes, but the blood was from a snack I had before you arrived.”

She muttered under her breath and dark red sparks flew from her hands. Her green eyes turned to a dark inky hue. “So, you’re disappointing your white magic sponsor Tara already, I see,” tutted the vampire Watcher.

“Where is the innocent you slew, fiend?” she cried.

William just shrugged. He then kicked over a cheap, plastic trash can, the kind one would get from Walmart, from under the table. Inside was a torn plastic bag from the local blood bank which her Spike got weekly. “I used *my* magick to procure the bag from the local hospital to quench my thirst.” There was no victim, so Willow lowered the stake from his heart while he lowered his own weapon. “I don’t feed on innocents, or even dangerous villains like Angel does in my universe,” he said quietly.

“Poor Buffy, you don’t know what you did to her,” she accused with tears in her green eyes which were now normal. “Without her Slayerness, she is a pale shadow of her former self.” She wiped her tears. “I screwed up the first time when I accidentally took her powers. She suffered, and I will not let that happen again.”

William looked concerned. “I did not mean for the pretty Buffy Summers to be hurt. I did it for your universe’s good so as not to attract the Worldeater. You will have to remain the Slayer until the Council can find a way to neutralize the Worldeater which could take centuries.”

“No,” whispered Willow.

The door slammed upstairs, and a groggy Mr. Schwartz began yelling at someone in the Magic Shop. The vampire and Slayer-witch looked up in surprise. Giles, Faith, Buffy, Tara, Xander, and Spike came swooping down into the basement. Mister Schwartz followed the group yelling, “Leave my establishment. You are not authorized to be here!”

“Considering I put up with a lot of clandestine operations coming out of your Magic Shop over the years I’m gonna let that slide,” said Buffy who nodded at Giles. Her Watcher said the word “sleep” in Old Latin, and the owner slipped back down into slumber on the floor near the door.
The vamp sighed. “At least, the poor shopkeeper didn’t fall down the stairs.”

Buffy nearly broke her ankle by leaping down the stairs and jabbed her finger at William’s chest. “Gimme back my powers, or else!”

Willow noted that William seemed impressed with Buffy’s spunk. Yet, she was not looking forward to his answer.

“I’m sorry, Miss Summers,” he sounded genuinely remorseful. “The spell is irreversible…” Buffy’s face crumpled, and it hurt Willow to gaze at her. “However, there is a way.” William appeared hesitant to reveal it as though he was breaking a taboo. “This universe is unique. There are no ensouled vampires in this dimension.” He touched the book once more in a reverent manner, “It’s all in the book. Put a soul in Angelus, and the Slayer power will be removed from Willow and be given back to Buffy. I tied the spell to that rare occurrence to protect this dimension from the Worldeater. Give Angelus a soul and you will attract that bastard son of the Dreamking as well as other creatures I have told Willow about.”

Spike in his duster suddenly leapt down and angrily faced William. “You don’t need to put any soul in any vampire,” he said as he jabbed his thumb at himself. “I can be good without a soul and can be a true hero even with a demon.” He looked lovingly at Xander who appeared concerned at his lover. Willow wasn’t sure what to believe. Spike turned and gazed with contempt at the vampire Watcher. “I know Angelus intimately as I suspect you do in one form, or another. He will not be easily ensouled or be a true champion like I would…”

William stared nonplussed at his alter-ego from this universe. “I have a soul, vampire, and I have my magicks,” he said coldly to Spike. “I can help the fair Buffy to put a soul in the worst vampire of this dimension.” He turned his back on the soulless vampire muttering a spell under his breath. Before Willow could warn her friend Spike a cross of fire materialized between the two vampires. Spike moaned in pain and covered his blue eyes. William shuddered in pain, also, even though he was not facing the cross. Willow muttered in Old Sumerian dissipating the cross. Xander rushed over to his lover cradling him tenderly.
Spike spat at William from her friend’s arms, “I can help, too, Watcher. With me and my lad, I can prove that I can be good without a soul.”

“We’ll see, demon of the night,” he replied quietly. Spike got up and began entering William’s space.

Faith ran down the stairs and shoved the two posturing vamps apart. “Cut this shit out, boys,” she sneered. “The most important thing is to help B. Then you can measure your cocks or whatever you vamps do.”

“I don’t care how handsome both vampires are,” said Xander. “There’ll be measuring of that when I’m around.” He then moved closer to Buffy and patted her on the back. “I’m going to help her do whatever is necessary so she can have the Slayerness back. It was bad enough the first time around. I’m not gonna do it again.”

Tara gave a nod to Willow, and they both said, “We’ll help, too.”

Giles rubbed his glasses after Faith spoke and said an understated voice, “While I don’t agree with Miss Lehane’s profanity I am in support of her intent. Mister Pratt, you will join my Slayer in her quest to recover her powers you so cruelly took from her, or else. The rest of our team shall join her.”
William looked very grave then nodded his assent. “I have warned you about the Worldeater but I will follow your request.”

The rest of the group began to leave the basement one by one thoughtfully stepping over the snoring form of Bob Schwartz, the Magic Shop owner. The only ones left were Willow, Tara, Buffy, and Giles who all gazed with hostility at William who was tidying his space.

Buffy glared at the vampire Watcher. “You have a lot of nerve,” she said to him, “despite being cute. I will regain who I was with or without your help.” She then strode up the stairs with William watching her thoughtfully.

“C’mon B,” Willow heard Faith yell at Buffy upstairs.

Willow still held the stake in her hands, and she twirled it in the vampire’s face. “Don’t forget I am the Slayer, for now,” she said. “No funny business, Mister Pratt.” She turned to Tara and told her witch who seemed sad at the whole situation. “I guess I better patrol at the graveyard. Do you wanna come? Our magic together should keep us safe.”

Tara nodded while she gathered up her backpack filled with her spellcasting kit. As the couple walked up the stairs, she saw William start to go up after them, but Giles stopped him with a cold glance and a small shove. She listened to what Buffy’s Watcher said to William Pratt before she left the Magic Shop’s basement.

“Our business is not concluded, Mister Pratt,” said Giles in a steely voice that Willow was familiar with and occasionally feared. “Let us speak Watcher-to-Watcher…”

Willow let the door shut on the basement.