Disclaimer: Same as in first part
Buffy leaned on the door as she watched the other woman sleeping on the bed. After she had bandaged her up, Dany had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she had asked her about her injuries, the brunette had hedged around it, saying only that she had met up with someone she had been trying to avoid. Not able to get anything out of the surprisingly tight lipped woman, Buffy had finally accepted the answer. Still staring pensively at the soundly sleeping figure, Buffy was startled by a knock at her back. She opened the door cautiously to find Faith looking back at her through the gap.
"Faith?" She asked in astonishment, opening the door a little wider.
"B, I need to talk to...you..." The other slayer's words died in her throat as she peered over Buffy's shoulder at the still sleeping woman on the bed. "What the--" She was pushed back from the entrance before she could finish the exclamation. Buffy trailed her out as she closed the door behind her.
"Keep it down please---What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
"I just bet you didn't want me to find you, not when you've got a spanking new girlfriend," she bit out accusingly, trying to suppress a hurt expression. "So, what's the story? You met her yesterday and you're already shacked up? What was last night, B? One final fuck for old time's sake?"
The almost irrational anger flared up inside her again. Why did Faith always have to accuse her; create a confrontation where there was none warranted.
"Don't do that! Don't start judging me when you have no idea what's really going on!"
"_I_ don't know what's going on?! Open your fucking eyes, B. That woman lying on your bed ain't even human. She's a fucking demon and she's using you to open some kind of gateway to hell."
"What are you talking about? How do you know this?"
"Some guy named Nigel or Rigel or something gave me the lowdown. You can trust me when I say I'm not making this shit up."
"There's no way...She can't be..."
Faith placed both her hands on Buffy's upper arms, "B, you know I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. Just ask her yourself, all right?"
Buffy nodded slowly as her anger broke down at her lover's pleading eyes. Opening the door, she walked back into her room followed closely behind by the dark slayer. Dany still appeared to be asleep so she walked over and shook the brunette gently on the shoulder.
"Hmmmm?...yeah?" The mumbled reply was barely audible.
"Dany, I need to ask you something."
"Buffy? What is it? Whatsamatter?" And that's when she noticed that someone else was standing in the room staring daggers at her. Even in her semi-somnambulant state, she could venture a guess as to the stranger's identity. 8-5 odds that she was Faith. The girl looked like she was ready to kill---well, she could try anyway.
"This might sound stupid and you might think I'm crazy--"
"Are you a demon or what?" Faith cut in impatiently. Buffy tossed a glare back at her unrepentant girlfriend but kept silent and waited for an answer. Dany sat up with a groggy yawn as she considered a question which would be ludicrous in any other situation. "Yeah," she said finally. "But only half demon. My mom was human---kind of a Rosemary's baby kinda deal...so, who told you?"
"Hey, you don't ask the questions around here." Faith strode up to the still seated woman until Dany had to tilt her head up to meet the slayer's eyes. "Half or whole, you're still a demon and I know why you're here so you might as well drop the Little Miss Innocent act."
"I don't think we've been formally introduced and one of the few things I've been taught in my life is to never speak with strangers especially the ones that try to intimidate me by planting their body so close I can smell the day old whiskey hanging around them like a sickening perfume."
Faith immediately hauled Dany up by the front of her shirt. "you want to fuck with me, huh? I'll give you everything you can handle and then some." Before she could levy any more threats, she found herself forcefully pulled back by a pissed off slayer.
"This isn't solving anything," Buffy said stepping in between them, experiencing a sudden sense of deja vu. How many times did she have to act as mediator? This was already the second time in the last month. "Why didn't you tell me?" Keeping Faith at her back, she directed the question to the sitting figure.
"Well, there's really no good time to announce to the person you like that you're not entirely human. What was I supposed to say? Oh, by the way, my father's a soulless demon from the pits of hell? I'm sure that'd go over real well as a first impression."
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I just--"
"B! Why are you apologizing? I told you already. She's just using you. She's--"
"Hey! Why don't you just shut up and let her speak." Dany stood up trying to stare down the furious slayer but Faith had been waiting for just such an invitation to kick some ass. But before they could advance on each other, Buffy pushed them both back.
"No! This is not going to happen again. Faith, go to that side of the room and stay there...now! Dany, sit down." The no nonsense tone caused both women to take their assigned spots without further comment...but not before exchanging some nasty glares. When everyone was more or less settled, the blonde started to speak again. "Faith? What exactly did this guy tell you?"
"Like I said, that demon's going to use you to open a gateway to hell. So I don't get why you're still trying to protect her."
Ignoring the last comment, Buffy instead asked Dany if the accusation was true.
"Well, it's a long story...There's this prophesy that foretells the coming of the darkness by the actions of a half breed and a slayer. The specifics aren't particularly clear but when have they ever been, right? Anyway, I've never brought into it but the people around me seem to have brought it whole hog." She stared pointedly at Faith. "But as far as I'm concerned, it's all bull. I'd never do anything like that Buff. Hell, I've been running away from that stuff since I was a kid. You've got to believe me. You do believe me, right?"
"Yeah, I believe you." Buffy said softly.
"What, did she brainwash you?!" exclaimed Faith immediately. "You know as well as I do that prophecies have a way of coming true no matter what we want or don't want."
"So what do you want me to do? You want me to kill her?"
"That's a good start. If you don't want to do the messy deed, I'll be glad to take over."
"You couldn't take me little girl" Dany muttered under her breath.
"Why don't you say that to my fucking face and I'll show you what I can do."
Buffy dragged Faith from the room and out the building. The situation clearly wasn't going to work out. Having both Faith and Dany in the same room was just asking for a fight. The dark slayer had this incredibly pissed off expression on her face by the time they emerged into the smoggy afternoon heat. Neither girl spoke and it seemed the standoff would continue but the fortuitous activation of one of those annoying car alarms down the street seemed to open the floodgates.
"You can't just--"
"Don't tell me what I can--"
The shouting match continued until a new voice entered the fray.
"Buffy!...Faith!...Guys!..." A shrill whistle finally ended the slayers' heated argument. They both turned to see Xander and Willow staring at them in utter confusion.
"I see you found each other," Willow commented rather unnecessarily in the ensuing silence.
"So what's going on? You guys ain't going all royal rumble on us, are you?" Xander glanced from one red faced combatant to the other.
The two slayers stared at one another as if to say 'you tell him' but since neither was inclined to start talking, the silence lingered on unabated.
Xander spoke up again when it was clear that the two girls wouldn't be explaining themselves anytime soon. "Okay, we can stand here all day and watch each other or one of you can start talking..."
"B's found herself a new sweetheart and, guess what, she's a demon. End of recap." The sardonic reply from Faith surprised both of the newcomers.
Willow eyed the blonde for confirmation only to see Buffy dip her head in acknowledgement. This was unreal; two days ago, Buffy was totally in love with Faith and going through hell to try and find her girlfriend. Now, she'd found someone else? A demon? This wasn't right at all. At that moment, Faith stormed off in disgust while Buffy just stood there making no move whatsoever to go after the departing girl.
"Buffy?" Willow was stunned at the blonde's nonchalance and Xander's dropped jaw indicated he felt the same way. What could've happened to change her attitude so much in so short a time? This behavior wasn't like Buffy at all. "Aren't you going after her?"
"She needs time to cool off...What are you guys doing here?"
"We were worried about you and it seems we got here a little too late...You want to fill us in about this demon?" Xander asked after picking his jaw off the floor.
"She's only half demon and there's nothing for you guys to worry about. I met her yesterday and she seems...nice."
"Either you're missing the point or we are. What happened with you and Faith? I thought you guys are the ultimate testimonial to love."
For the first time, Buffy seemed rattled as she tried to come up with an answer and failing miserably. She wasn't sure what she felt anymore and she visibly paled as she thought back on her recent actions. However, she wasn't able to dwell on the situation any further when she saw Dany coming out of her building. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" she chastised gently.
"Missed you," was the simple reply. Xander and Willow watched a familiar scene play out, only instead of fawning over Faith, Buffy was fawning over a stranger, albeit a stranger that bore a passing resemblance to the brunette slayer---which only made it weirder in their combined opinions.
"Guys," Buffy said as if just now remembering that they were still there. "I want you to meet someone."
*****
Calling Faith furious would be a total misunderstanding of her mood for she was _way_ beyond furious. She was so far past that particular emotion that there wasn't a word invented yet to describe how she was feeling. And it wasn't like she wasn't justified for her current mood; her girlfriend was giving her the cold shoulder and doing who knows what with a demon. On top of that, she was pissed off at herself for even caring who Buffy was seeing or who she was doing. That's the whole reason she busted out of Sunnydale in the first place----so she didn't have to see Buffy again. But who was she kidding, certainly not herself. For the last two weeks, she'd felt like crap each and every minute of the day and it wasn't surprising that the only time she hadn't was last night in her lover's arms. So what was she supposed to do now? As if in answer to her silent plea for guidance, a sibilant 'psssst' drew her attention back to an alleyway she had just passed.
"Don't you get hot in that suit?"
"I'm used to it. How was your confrontation with your girlfriend?" Rhygil leaned cavalierly on the side of the wall as he leisurely eyed the slayer.
"How do you think it went Einstein?"
"That bad? I bet she didn't even listen to what you had to say, right? If I could use the quaint expression, she's been bewitched. She's not acting of her own volition and the more time she spends with that demon, the more she'll be under its control."
"Tell me what I can do."
"The only thing you _can_do---what you were born to do. You have to kill her, kill the demon. If you don't, and soon, your friend will die. It's as simple as that. Do you understand?"
A hard edge entered Faith's eyes and a cold determination crept into her soul. She walked away with a renewed purpose while Rhygil slipped back into the shadows that existed despite or as a result of the burning afternoon sun.
*****
Another tense and uneasy silence had fallen over the Scoobies. Buffy had accompanied her two friends to a nearby motel where they would be staying for the duration of their trip. Once they had checked into their room, nobody had spoken for a good five minutes. They stared at Buffy and Buffy stared at them. Xander's eyes alternated between Buffy, the carpet, the bed, and Willow for about the hundredth time before he opened his mouth. "So..." Two pairs of eyes instantaneously settled on him, making him gulp nervously. "What can I say?"
"I don't know Xander, what do you want to say?" Asked the slayer with her arms folded over her chest.
"It's just that we're kinda surprised is all. I mean, jeez Buff, what happened?"
"Nothing happened" came the testy reply. "Why are you automatically assuming that something had to have happened? Just because me and Faith are in a cooling off period doesn't mean it's the end of the world. We're too different to be happy together anyway. Every time we're around each other, some stupid argument always breaks out and I'm tired of it, okay? There's only so many times you can reconcile before you have to call it quits...What are you looking at?"
Puzzled at the suddenly neurotic behavior, Xander quipped, "I don't know if you're aware of this but it's customary in our society to actually look at the person speaking to you."
"We're just concerned about you Buffy--"
"Well don't be. I'm fine. If you need to reach me, you know where I'll be." After Buffy stalked out, Xander immediately blurted out "That is not our Buffy."
Willow had to agree with her friend's blunt assessment as a worried frown graced her elven features. "We need to find out more about this demon." On that final note, they set to work.
*****
As Faith waited in a filthy alley across the street, the inevitable doubts started creeping into her psyche. She was here to kill. Sure, she had done it before but that had been an accident. What she was about to do now would be thought out and planned, cold-blooded if you wanted to put it that way. True, the girl was a demon but part of her was still human. And there was the question of what Buffy would do if and when she found out. She'd probably be pissed as hell but after everything was explained and she knew the truth about the demon's intentions...who was she kidding, the blonde would probably still be pissed as hell and the best she could hope for was that Buffy didn't try to kill her again.
She was doing the right thing though. Preventing hell from engulfing the world was her sworn duty and she was damned if she was going to let some evil chick steal her girlfriend away. If she was really truthful with herself, she'd admit that that last particular sentiment was the main reason she was standing in a urine soaked alley in the middle of the night to begin with. When Buffy came out of her building, Faith's chest constricted painfully. Why did she have to hide out in the dark when her rightful place was beside the older slayer? The blame for her current circumstances had to lie somewhere and Dany had a big, fat target sign drawn over her. It strengthened Faith's resolve as she watched Buffy walk off down the street. If she was lucky, the blonde would be gone long enough for her to do what she had to do.
The lanky girl jogged across the street and into the building, never noticing the black van parked several car lengths from the entrance. The tinted windows prevented anyone on the outside from seeing in. Just as well, since the sight that would've greeted their eyes would startle any passerby into panic mode. The innards of the van were gutted and replaced with technological equipment at least a few years more advanced than 99.9% of the human population had even dared to imagine. And manning the equipment was not the Men In Black but more along the lines of the Men in Gray. As soon as Faith crossed the street, one of these nondescript gray suited men placed a call that bounced off of a privately held satellite and into the cell phone of an exercising woman. Anne got off the treadmill to answer the annoyingly loud ringing with a terse "Daniels."
"We've spotted the other slayer going into the target building ma'am. The Summers' girl has left and Danenerys should be in the apartment by herself. What are your instructions?"
Wiping a towel across her sweaty brow, she decided this was the perfect time to rid herself of the unknown factor in the equation. Quickly making the judgment call, she directed the underling to terminate the variable. After hanging up, the three men proceeded to gear up and arm themselves. While they were preparing for the assault, Faith arrived at Buffy's doorway, taking a wicked looking knife from the inner lining of her jacket. She zoned everything out just as she always did before slaying and knocked on the door. Shuffling noises preceded the door's opening. Dany seemed not at all surprised to see Faith standing there with a knife in her hands. Either she had brass balls or she was an inordinately good actor, for her facial expression did not change one iota. They both stood there, sizing each other up. The taller woman's eyes flickered briefly to the gleaming steel in the other girl's hand and she asked, "You're not even going to give me a chance to grab a weapon?"
"Do I look like the honorable type to you?" Faith grabbed the demon by the throat and prepared to thrust the knife into its gut.
*****
Buffy had gone out to get some necessary supplies and food, unaware of the drama that would unfold back at her apartment. Halfway to the store, she got that prickly feeling on the back of her neck which always signaled that someone was watching her a little too closely for comfort. As nonchalantly as possible, she took a look around and, sure enough, spotted someone who was incongruously out of place in this neighborhood. She walked over to the man, dressed more appropriately for Wall Street than the slums of LA and asked in her best authoritative voice, "What are you looking at?"
"My, my. It seems all slayers share the same attitude, blunt and rude. And all I wanted to do was give you some invaluable information. How's this for gratitude?"
"If you have something to say, spill it. I don't have time to play games."
Rhygil's eyes narrowed slightly. Bantering was the best part of his job and, for some reason, these slayers wouldn't oblige him the courtesy. It was like they were always in some sort of hurry to do something or get somewhere, robbing him of his fun. "You'd better get back if you want to save your demon from that other slayer."
"What do you know?" Demanded Buffy as she advanced on him menacingly.
"Who do you think told her about your human/demon love affair in the first place...under threat of physical violence if I didn't comply of course. But now the girl's got it in her mind that the only way the slayers will get back together is if she gets rid of the competition---permanently. I don't know where she got that idea but I think you'd better hurry back if you want to save Danenerys."
In her haste to get back before Faith did anything foolish, Buffy didn't question how this man knew what was going down or why he felt the need to inform her about it. Rhygil had counted on the fact that the blonde's emotions would override her rationality and, watching the slayer running down the street, he clearly wasn't disappointed. This would be far too good a show to miss he thought as he trailed after the girl. If things go as he planned, his rise to power would be at hand.
*****
The demon would have been dead, should have been dead, but it had contorted enough in Faith's grasp so that the cold steel ripped through its side and not smack dab in the middle of the torso as the slayer had anticipated. A kick to the solar plexus sent the would be assassin back a couple of steps and allowed Dany to grab a stake from under the bed. Crouching in a defensive posture, she waited for the slayer to make the first move. Faith had already recovered from the hit and charged headlong into the room to finish off what she had started. The Men in Gray arrived to find that the action had already started without them. Since they had only one objective, they sought to execute their directive as quickly and efficiently as possible.
So it was that when Buffy came back from her aborted shopping trip, she found the place more of a fucked up mess than it had already been and the perpetrators were still going at it. Tackling the nearest person who happened to be an MIG and dispatching him with a quick hit to the jaw, she went after his other two cohorts who were trying to bring Faith down. Putting them out of commission was easier than Buffy would have thought since the concentration of both men were directed towards the dark slayer and not to the possible threat behind them. A few judicious maneuvers rendered them both unconscious and left only the two women to take care of. Pulling Faith off of Dany was the easy part; keeping her from going after the half-breed again was where the difficult part came into play.
"Let go of me B. I'm doing this for your own good!"
"If you really want to do me some good, stop acting like a murderous bitch!"
Faith continued to struggle against Buffy's grasp, eventually managing to twist around in the other girl's hold. Unfortunately, she found her knife hand still tightly gripped, preventing her from moving the extra couple of feet to the downed demon. The two slayers found themselves in a weird version of tug of war with one trying to go one way and the other frustrating those efforts. Anyone watching this little scene's progression would know that something bad had to happen...something very bad. The bad came in the form of one of the MIG's who had woken up enough to grab hold of one of Faith's ankles, pulling her leg from under her. The brunette's momentum carried her forward into Buffy's body and from that point on, everything was going in slow motion, at least in Faith's view. She looked in confusion into the blonde's widened eyes.
"B?" The word echoed eerily in her own ears like some kind of bad movie effect. Somehow, she knew what had happened but she refused to believe it. Backing away from Buffy's accusing eyes, she looked down and found out that her worst nightmare had come home to roost. Her hand still held onto the knife as if the metal were a living extension of herself. Covered in blood...covered in Buffy's blood. She watched in horror when her lover dropped to her knees and was in near hysterics as the body crumbled unceremoniously at her feet. She dimly sensed someone new coming in through the door but, at this point, there was nothing left in her that cared anymore. Buffy was dead. She knew it...she felt it. Something inside her sputtered out and the only thing she could do was stand there and pretend as hard as she could that this hadn't happened, pretend she hadn't just killed the most important person in her life, pretend it wasn't her knife and her hands that were covered in blood. Sometimes, pretending helped...this wasn't one of those times.
"I just love it when a plan comes together." Rhygil came into he room, stepping over the bodies as he went. The MIG that had tripped Faith and initiated the chain of events stood unsteadily and addressed the newcomer with a submissive "Sir?"
"This is the day! Can you feel it? They're already spreading over this world like a friggin plague. The demons are here! Hell has come!"
Dany looked up at this demented man who was her father and felt the loathing and hate boil up like a pus. She had watched the events unfolding with a sickened gaze but, try as she might, she couldn't do anything to change what was happening. It was as if her limbs were lead weights and she was a 55lb. weakling. She wanted to scream when she saw Buffy drop to the ground but she couldn't even open her mouth. Rhygil came over and stared down at the half-sitting, half-lying brunette with a big ass grin on his face. "Are you proud of your dear, old dad? Didn't I tell you? I told you no one could stop the prophecy. And the day is finally here! I've waited so long...And you know the best part?" He crouched down and whispered conspiratorially "The best part was that NO ONE knew, except me that Buffy is not the Other. No one saw that, especially not that bitch, Anne! Now she's fallen flat on her face like the failure she is while I will take my rightful place as the Boss' right hand demon. The pleasure of of revenge is so sweet, my dear." Standing up with a flourish, he took a moment to bask in his own supreme intelligence before walking over to the slayers.
"Faith, you've made me the happiest demon in all of the Seven Levels. You've fulfilled your role magnificently!"
"Wha...what?" Faith tore her gaze away from the lifeless body to stare dumbly at the person addressing her.
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't understand." Rhygil tsked pityingly. "I keep forgetting that humans are nothing more than ignorant beasts on two legs. But let's put it this way, you've just made my millennium." He saw the still perplexed expression on Faith's face and continued to speak at a slower pace as if she were a very dim-witted child. "Two slayers. One kills the other. Mischief and mayhem ensue. All thanks to you, the prophesy has been fulfilled. So tell me, how does it feel to be the harbinger of doom for your entire race?" Chuckling softly, he left the room without waiting for an answer. The MIG ran to catch up with him. "Sir? Shouldn't we kill the remaining slayer?" In any other situation, the answer would have been a resounding yes but he wanted Faith to be a living reminder to his foresight and genius. Plus, it'd also really piss off Anne. "If she becomes a liability, then we can eliminate her. Otherwise, let her live. Communicate my wish to your other comrades as well. I don't want this girl to be hurt unless I say so. Understood?" The words, your life depends on it, were left out yet mutually assumed.
Emerging outside into the suddenly gray and colorless world, he watched the dark clouds roiling like corpulent pigs in mud. Hell, unlike what most people envision when confronted with the word, was not all brimstone and fire. Sure, a little pyrotechnics has its place in the grand scheme of things but, for the most part, it was a lot like the earthly realm, only with more monsters and demons...a lot more. And we're not talking the wussy kind like vampires. These were purebred, straight from the heart of darkness type of demons. Rhygil shuddered excitedly at the very prospect of his brethren overrunning this world and it made him very happy indeed.
Back at the apartment, Dany was slowly coming out of her paralysis and as soon as her legs became mobile, she lurched over to Buffy's fallen body. Even though she knew it was useless, she felt for a pulse. Needless to say, there was none. There hadn't been a time in her life when she had dealt with loss or pain well. Mostly, she'd just hurt someone else until their pain exceeded her own. She didn't see anything wrong with going with what worked. She gut punched Faith, making the other girl involuntarily bend over wherein Dany promptly popped her in the face. Only the timely intervention of the returning MIG stopped her from pummeling the slayer to death. The last thing she felt before the blackness closed in was the sensation of being clocked upside the head. The MIG then quickly woke up his buddies and, together, they pulled the unconscious woman out of the room,
*****
Willow and Xander had been sound asleep until something woke them both up at the same time. It hadn't been any kind of noise or anything like that. On the contrary, everything seemed to be too quiet, a creepy quiet. Not even the air conditioner was expelling the death rattle that had kept them awake half the night.
"Will, you awake?"
"Yeah...There's something wrong isn't there?"
"I don't know but I've got this really bad feeling. I think we should call Buffy."
Willow got out of her bed and opened the light. The only sound she heard was the busy signal when she dialed the slayer's number. "No answer" she said turning to Xander who was looking out the window. He didn't answer her, only opening the curtain more so she could look outside. The discrepancy of what she was seeing didn't register in her mind right away until she happened to glance at the clock. It was 2:00 in the morning and it was light outside...well not sunshiney light but twilightey light. But the bottom line was that there shouldn't have been any light, period. The Scoobies looked at each other in bewilderment and Xander shrugged helplessly at the situation. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the window he had looked through just a minute ago broke, raining shards of jagged glass over the room's carpet. Almost as quickly, he found himself spread-eagled on the floor with something large, green, and hairy hopping up and down on his chest. Willow tried to get the thing off but it had already taken a chunk out of her friend's throat. Annoyed at the futile swats at its back, the demon turned its undivided attention to the other tasty morsel in the room. No amount of backpedaling or screaming would do the red-haired witch any good this time.
*****
Everybody was gone. The room was quiet again. Faith must have gotten up some time after they had left since she wasn't lying on the floor anymore. Instead, she was sitting cross legged next to Buffy's body, vacantly cutting into her wrist with the knife she still held in one hand. The pain was almost soothing in a way. Its familiar bite eventually lulled her mind away from this place and from everything that had happened this night. Her eyelids started to drift closed and an overwhelming weariness blanketed her like a warm comforter. She willingly surrendered to its seductive call, sinking into its embrace whole-heartedly...or at least with as much heart as she had left.
*****
She knew she was awake but she made no move to open her eyes or to acknowledge the fact in any way. She was stuck with half her brain in one world and the other half in another. It was a very disconcerting feeling to straddle two lives that differed in so many ways, not the least of which was brought on by the tragic end one of them incurred. When her mind finally glued itself back together, she extended her senses and discovered that there were two other people in the room with her. Picking her head off the pillow, she tentatively opened her eyes and found Willow and Tara standing nervously beside her bed.
"Buffy! You're awake...well you know that already. But, how was it? What did you see? Come on, spill."
The slayer responded by wrapping her arms tightly around her drawn up knees and closing her eyes once again. Two sets of memories ran a parallel course in her mind. One set was of her going to college, meeting a nice boy named Riley, and defeating the big evil, more commonly known as Adam. The other set...the other set dropped her into a changed world with no warning because two ghouls had an appetite for her soul, made her fall in love with her partner in crime, and then die at the hands of that same person. Which was better? Which was worse? Who could tell anymore? Why did she have Willow do this stupid spell in the first place? 'See what would happen if you had taken the road not traveled'. Sure, the premise sounded intriguing but she never dreamed it'd be so real. She should probably just try to forget it, right? After all, she wasn't in that world anymore.