A dangerous sorcerer named Felix Faust has come to Sunnydale, intent on raising an ancient demon to subjugate all of humankind. To succeed, he must perform a powerful curse to displace his enemies, transporting them from one time and place and exch...
"Whoa," Buffy said again, raising her hands and pushing the air at Xander and Willow, as if she could will them to stop being attracted to one another. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
"What 'whoa?'" Willow asked, her voice rising defensively. "There's no 'whoa.' No 'whoa' at all."
Buffy glared at them, as Willow kept averting her eyes and Xander shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "There is so a 'whoa!'" she hissed, wagging her finger at them both. "This is a complete 'whoa.' You guys are ... getting friendly! And that needs to stop, right now!"
Xander looked up at her, a slight edge to his voice. "You mean like you and Angel needed to stop?"
Buffy glared at him, clenching her teeth. "This has nothing to do with me and Angel. This is about you guys. It's not right, and you know it. And we need to focus. We're all stuck here with no idea how we're gonna get back home. And we've got to stop Faust and that crazy witch, Avurkana, from letting Kalderon devour the whole earth with his demons. So I need to know I can count on you guys when things get rough."
"Yeah?" Xander challenged. "Does that work both ways?"
Buffy tensed, staring back at him, stunned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Xander said. "Just a question. Questions don't always have to mean anything. I'm just confirming we're all on the same page. You can count on us. And we can count on you. When things get rough. 'cause I think they're about as rough as they're gonna get right now."
Buffy shut her eyes, waving her hands again as if shoving his arguments aside. "Look, we're getting way off topic. Of course you can count on me. That's a given. That's always been a given."
"Of course, Buffy," Willow said. "We know that. And you can count on us, too. We promise." She held up two fingers. "Scout's honor."
"You're not a scout, Will," Xander said with a sour tone.
"I can still use their sign," Willow answered meekly.
"Yeah, Buff," Xander agreed. "You can count on us. And we know we can always count on you. Right?"
Buffy met his hard stare. "Always."
His eyes continued to bore into hers. "No matter what."
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She swallowed, recalling the nightmare that had plagued her. In which she sacrificed Xander, Willow, and all her closest friends to join Angel as a vampire. "... yes," she said. "I won't let you down. Either of you."
"Then we're all good, right?" Xander said with a half-shrug. "Nothing to worry about." He turned and strolled past the horses, distancing himself from both of them.
Buffy stared after him, confounded.
Willow moved to stand beside her. "Hey, Buffy. We just ... kind of got distracted. But no more, believe me. We know who we're supposed to be with. You don't need to worry."
