Xander was looking for a new place to get out of the basement.
Willow, Anya, Xander, Buffy, Riley and I walked into the nice modern apartment building surrounded by bushes and grass, walking through the hallway.
Anya had her arm in a sling.
"If you get the apartment, this'll be your hallway," Willow told him. "We'll walk down this hall, and we'll say, 'La la, I'm on my way to Xander's'."
"Just warning you, Xander, I probably won't be doing that," I told him.
"Really?" Riley asked. "I will."
"Hey, we're just looking," Xander told us. "Rent's way high, so don't get your hopes all carbonated."
"But you have references," Anya told him.
"No, I have Albert, which is me doing an important voice," Xander told us. He did his important voice impression. "Xander Harris? An excellent tenant. And a very nice-looking fellow'."
Anya opened the door.
We walked into the apartment.
It was large, spacious, and very good-looking, with many windows.
"Whoa," Willow told us. "Big."
"It's nice," Buffy told us. "And not subterranean. It's very, uh, above-terranean."
Anya turned to face Xander. "I want it. Pay anything."
A real estate woman walked in. "Xander Harris?"
The woman looked at Riley, smiling.
"Uh, no, Riley Finn," Riley answered, shaking her hand. "This is Xander."
Xander stepped closer, wiping his hand on his shirt, offering it to the woman. "Hey." They shook hands. "I brought my friends."
"I see," the woman told him.
"They wouldn't always be around," Xander told her.
"But we're clean and--and quiet," Willow told he.
Xander looked nervous.
The woman looked uncertain.
Anya gestured around. "We can have the Scooby meetings in the living room, and--and Giles ca explain the boring things over there."
I walked toward the kitchen. "Oh. There's a microwave. It would be like having hot and cold running popcorn."
"Phone and electricity are hooked up," the woman told us. "There's a private balcony, ceiling fan, closet space..." Xander walked toward a door. "And that's the bedroom."
Xander opened the door to reveal Buffy and Riley sitting on the bed and kissing. "Guys, you can't save it for the bedroom?" Buffy and Riley looked around the bedroom. "Okay, good point."
Xander walked toward us.
Buffy and Riley stood, following.
The woman handed an piece of paper to Xander. "I brought an application for you to fill out."
"An application?" Xander repeated. "I can't just... tell you my references? Because there's Albert."
"We run your credit check based on the application," the woman explained.
"Oh, credit check," Xander told us nervously. He looked at us. "Little check on the credit. See how credible my checks are."
Xander laughed nervously.
We chuckled.
"And we'll be asking for first, last, security, and a small cleaning deposit," the woman told him. "The total's at the bottom of the sheet there."
We looked at the very large price.
Anya looked at the woman. "He'll take it." She looked at Xander. "Xander, go get the furniture. I'll wait here." She looked at the woman. "He's been living in his drunken parents' basement where something urinated on the hot plate."
Xander chuckled nervously. "Anya, can we talk quietly over there?" He looked at the woman. "Excuse us."
Xander pulled Anya aside to talk alone.
Riley, Buffy, Willow and I looked at the woman, smiling nervously.
"Uh, we, uh, we like the ceiling fan," Riley told her.
"Yes, it's very, you know, kind of old south," Willow told her.
"But without the unpleasant slavery associations," I told her.
Anya and Xander seemed to be arguing across the room quietly.
Anya walked out, leaving.
The woman looked a little suspicious.
We smiled gamely.
Xander walked closer with a big, fake smile. "I guess I'll just start on that application. I think you'll like it. I've been told I have lovely penmanship."
Xander took the application, putting it on the counter, filling it out.
The woman watched skeptically.
~~~~~
We were in the Magic Box.
A demon tried to attack Giles, but left because he was looking for Buffy and me.
Us girls were sitting on the floor, looking through the books.
The guys were standing around.
Giles was holding a fertility statue, making hitting motions. "Like this... and this... and this..."
"That thing's pretty heavy," Riley told him.
"That's Oofdar, goddess of childbirth," Willow told us. "She's got some nice heft to her."
"How badly did you hurt him?" Buffy asked.
"Well, hurt, uh..." Giles trailed off. "Maybe not... hurt."
"Well, I--I'm sure he was startled," Willow told him.
"Uh, yes, yes," Giles agreed. "I'd imagine it gave him, uh, rather a turn."
I smiled. "He ran away, huh?"
"Um, sort of more, uh, turned and swept out majestically," Giles answered. "I suppose. He said I didn't concern him."
"So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe?" Buffy asked.
"Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me," Giles told us.
I held up a book. "Some good demons in this one. See if your guy's in here."
Giles walked over, taking the book from me.
"So you bought the magic shop and you were attacked before it opened," Xander told him. "Who's up for a swinging chorus of the 'we told you so' symphony?"
Riley hefted the Oofdar statue. "Owning this place does seem kinda dangerous."
Giles looked up from the book. "Toth."
"What?" Riley asked.
"He called you a Toth?" Buffy asked. "Is it a British expression? It means, like, moron."
"No, Toth is the name of the demon," Giles answered. Xander held a crystal. "Be careful with that." Xander looked around at us, putting the crystal down carefully. "Ancient demon. Very strong. Last survivor of the Tothric clan. It also says that for a demon, he's unusually sophisticated."
"Sophisticated?" I repeated. "So, we should discuss men's fashions with him before we chop his head off?"
"They're referring to the fact that he does not fight bare-handed," Giles told us, slightly exasperated. "He uses tools, devices. Oh, he's also supposed to be very focused. And since he mentioned the Slayers, I think we know what the focus is."
"He mentioned them?" Riley asked. "Where do we find him, and how hard can I kill him?"
Giles looked at the book. "Well, there's no mention of the types of places he might frequent, but..." He closed the book, standing. "I have an idea." He walked around. "He had a very specific olfactory presence."
"Well, I guess we're off to the olfactory," Xander told us. "I hate that place." We rolled our eyes. "I'm joking. I know what it means. He smelled. Right?"
"Some demon rituals involve anything anointing with oils," Willow told us. "Was is sort of... sandalwood-y?"
"Um, not even remotely," Giles answered. "But he was very, um... distinctive."
~~~~~
After dark, we walked along the city dump cautiously.
I was holding a crossbow.
Buffy was carrying a large ax. "The city dump. Where smells go to relax and be themselves."
"People say they're recycling," Riley told us, shaking his head. "They're not recycling."
Xander patted Riley on the shoulder.
"I found a spell so you can't smell anything, but it does it by taking your nose off, so... no," Willow told us.
We heard noises, looking around.
I turned to aim the crossbow at someone rooting around in the trash. "What are you doing here, Spike?"
Spike stood straight, holding a mannequin arm. "Oh, there's a nice lady vampire who set up a charming tea room over the next pile of crap. What do you think I'm doing? I'm scavenging, ain't I?"
Spike held up a small lamp with the other hand.
"Very pretty," Willow told him.
Spike nodded, turning to put the arm and the lamp in a shopping cart nearby.
"Spike, um, we're looking for a demon," Giles told him. "Um, tall, robed, skin sort of hanging off. Deep voice."
"You mean a great tall robe-y thing like that one?" Spike asked, pointing behind us.
We all turned to see Toth standing there.
Toth pointed a staff at us, fire flashing out of it toward us.
We all ducked out of the way just in time.
"Take cover!" Riley told us.
"Big guy!" Spike told him. "Kick their ass!" Toth fired toward Xander and me. Xander and I ducked out of the way, making the bolt shatter the lamp that was still in Spike's hand. "Oh, very nice! I was on your side!"
Spike angrily tossed the pieces of the lamp aside.
Toth fired again.
"Watch out!" Xander told me, pushing me behind him.
The bolt hit Xander in the chest, making him fall into the pile of trash.
We ran closer in worry.
"Hey, you okay?" Riley asked.
We helped Xander stand.
"Guys, he's gone," Willow told us.
"I'm fine," Xander told us.
"Easy," Giles told him. "Easy."
Xander groaned in pain.
"He disappeared," Buffy told us.
We started to walk along.
Riley looked at Xander. "That had to hurt."
"Yeah, yeah," Xander agreed.
"Take it slowly," Giles told him.
We walked on, leaving.
~~~~~
At home, I stood in my room, packing up a weapon's bag.
My phone rang.
I answered. "Hello?"
I heard the dial tone, confused.
Dawn was standing in the doorway. "Who was that?"
I hung up. "I don't know. They hung up." I picked up an ax, walking toward the bed, putting the ax in the bag. "Well, if this guy wants to fight with weapons, I've got it covered from A to Z. From ax to... zee other ax." Dawn walked closer, looking tense and nervous. "Relax. Another day, another demon."
"I know," Dawn told me. "And I know you'll kill this guy. But..."
"But you worry about me when the older sister is supposed to worry about the baby sister?" I finished.
Dawn scoffed unconvincingly. "I'm not worried." I tilted my head. "I'm not." Mom walked out of her room across the hallway. "Mom, can you please tell Zoey that I'm not worried about her?"
"She is, too," I told her. "You can see it all over her face."
"Uh-uh," Dawn told me.
Mom sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "This must be my 'two teenage girls in the house' headache. I thought it felt familiar."
"Good wok, Dawn," I told her teasingly. "You have her a headache."
"I did not," Dawn told me. She looked at Mom. "Did I give you a headache, Mom? I'm sure part of it is Zoey."
"But part of it is Dawn," I told her.
"It's so nice you've learned to share and care," Mom told me. "Good for you. Now I have to head off to work, which is also good for you."
Mom walked away, leaving.
Dawn looked at me. "And I'm so not worried about you."
"Whatever you say, Dawnie," I told her, walking past her toward the door.
Dawn followed. "I am not."
I chuckled, walking out of my room, leaving.
~~~~~
It was pouring rain outside.
I was getting ready to leave with the bag of weapons over my shoulder.
Dawn was standing nearby. "So, this time, you have to take me with you, since Mom's at work, and there was no one you could con into babysitting me."
I turned to face her. "You think I have to con people into babysitting you?"
Dawn hesitated. "No."
"Trust me, Dawn, you don't want involved in this crap, which is why I'm taking you over to Tara's dorm room," I told her.
Dawn smiled. "Okay."
We turned to the front door.
Xander ran in, soaking wet. "Don't be scared, girls. Just listen. It's me, Xander. And I can prove it."
"Um..." Dawn trailed off. Dawn and I exchanged a weird look, looking at Xander. "Okay."
Xander pointed at me. "Just as soon as you put the bag o' weapons down." I hesitated, putting the bag down. Dawn sat down on the couch. Xander started to pace. "Let's see. Stuff only we know. Okay." He stopped pacing, pointing at me. "On my seventh birthday, I wanted a toy fire truck, and I didn't get it, and you were real nice about it, and then the house next door burnt down, and then real fire trucks came, and for years, I thought you set the fire for me."
"I still think she did," Dawn told him.
"Hey," I told her in defense.
Dawn smiled.
Xander pointed at Dawn. "Oh, oh, and you've had a crush on me since your sixth birthday party, where you had a clown scar Zoey for life until that time our nightmares started to come true."
"Hey," I told them in defense, more complaining this time.
Dawn tried not to smile.
Xander started to get excited. "Every Christmas, Willow and I came over here since we were in kindergarten, and we watch Charlie Brown together, and I do the Snoopy dance because Dawn always begged me to do it."
Xander started to do the Snoopy dance, looking at the ceiling with a smile.
Dawn and I watched for a moment.
Dawn smiled.
I stood. "Xander... stop dancing."
Xander stopped dancing. "Aha! You called me Xander."
"Xander, shut up," I told him. "Why wouldn't we think you were Xander?"
"Oh, uh..." Xander trailed off.
"What's going on?" Dawn asked.
Xander sighed. "Okay, I woke up in the dump this morning."
"Xander, the basement isn't a dump," I told him. "It's--it's... okay, for lack of a better word, let's just call it a dump."
"No, the dump," Xander told us. "The city dump. I got hit last night, fell down, boom, woke up in the morning."
"Uh-uh," I told him. "We walked you home last night, remember?"
I sat down in the chair next to Dawn.
"You walked?" Xander repeated. He looked between us. "Guys, did I do anything weird? Did I wave any shiny things around?"
"Shiny things?" Dawn repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"Last night, that wasn't me," Xander told us. "There's a double out there. Some... thing has stolen my face, and it's going around pretending to be me, and it's hypnotizing people. It even got to Buffy, Giles, Willow and Riley. It's over there right now, and they have no idea."
~~~~~
Xander was sitting across from Dawn and me on the wooden chair, wringing out his wet clothing, angry. "It's a robot. It's an evil robot constructed from evil parts that look like me designed to do evil."
Dawn seemed amused yet bored. "Uh-huh. Or it's Toth."
"Or, it's Toth," Xander told us. He looked at Dawn. "Wait. How do you know about Toth?"
Dawn pointed at me.
I bowed my head a little.
~~~~~
Xander was standing, having his Hawaiian shirt in hand. "A demon. A demon has taken my life from me, and he's living it better than I do."
Xander shook out his shirt to remove the water.
Dawn winced as the water hit her.
"Well, we're working on it," I told them. "There has to be a way to get to Buffy to... unhypnotize her."
"Or you can handle this one solo for a change," Dawn told me. I looked at her. "What? I wanna see you do something on your own."
"This is just typical, isn't it?" Xander asked. We looked at him. "I never help. I get in trouble and I need saving."
"That's not true," I told him.
"Yes, it is," Xander told us, sitting down in the chair across from us. "I'm just... another great humiliation." Dawn frowned. "But this time it's even worse. This demon, he's like taking my life, and everyone's treating him... everyone's treating him like a grown-up. Guys, I'm starting to feel like..."
"Like what?" Dawn asked.
""Like... he's doing everything better," Xander answered. "He's smarter, and..." He shook his head. "I don't know, maybe I should just let him have it. Take my life, please."
"Xander, no," Dawn told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're just tried, and... and all soggy. Don't let him win."
"Why not?" Xander asked. "It's not like I was doing anything so great with this. When I get to the pearly gates, I'm sure the guy is not gonna go, 'Hey, what a kick-ass comic book collection. Come on in'." I looked at him sympathetically. "No, what have I got that's even worth--" Xander realized, worried. "Anya."
"You think he's after her?" I asked.
"She won't know," Xander told us. "He can just... no. No way." He stood. "No way. He can take anything, but he can't have her. I need her."
Dawn frowned, smiling. "Really?"
"He could be with her right now," Xander told us. "Figure something out, something... reveal-y. I gotta find her."
Xander turned to leave.
I stood. "Xander..." Xander turned back. "You already knew he was taking over your life, and... you didn't think about Anya till just now?"
"Hey, wait till you have an evil twin," Xander told me. "See how you handle it."
Xander walked out, leaving.
~~~~~
Dawn and I ran into Giles' apartment to see Giles, Buffy, Willow and Riley.
"I swear, this time I know I had that locked," Giles told us.
I showed Giles a lock pick, looking at Buffy. "Buffy, Toth looks like Xander."
"We already know," Riley told us. "We're on our way."
"Wait a second," Buffy told us. "How did you know about this?"
"He came to us," Dawn answered. "I--I mean, Xander did. And he's in bad shape. We need to help him."
Giles was reading book, not listening to them.
"He came to us, too," Riley told us.
"No, we each had a Xander," I told them. "I mean... you didn't have a Xander, you had a--a Xander suit."
"What makes you so sure that yours is the right one?" Buffy asked.
"He knew stuff," Dawn answered. "He--he did the Snoopy dance. Guys, it was Xander, and he needs us."
"Oh, dear Lord," Giles told us.
"Buffy, our Xander, he did seem a little forceful and confident," Willow told her.
"That's not Xander," I told them.
"I said, 'Oh, dear Lord'," Giles told us.
"You always say that," Dawn told him.
"Well, it's always important," Giles told us, walking closer, carrying the book. "Neither Xander is a demon."
"Um, is one of them a robot?" Dawn asked.
"What?" Giles asked. "No. Um, uh, the rod device, it's called a ferula-gemina. It splits one person in half, distilling personality traits into two separate bodies. As near as I can tell, Toth was attempting to split the two Slayers into their two different entities."
Giles handed the book to Willow.
"Two Buffys and two Zoeys?" Dawn asked.
"Yes," Giles answered. "One with all the qualities inherent in Buffy Summers and Zoey Francis, and the other one with everything that belongs to the Slayers alone. The, uh, the--the strength, the, uh, speed, the heritage. And when it hit Xander, I think it separated him into his strongest points and his weakest."
"But which one's the real one?" Riley asked.
"They're both real," Giles answered. "They're both Xander. Neither one of them is evil. There's nothing in either of them that our Xander doesn't already possess."
"I still don't get the original plan," Riley told us. "I mean, why do it? The two Slayer halves would be like the two Slayers, pretty unkillable."
"But the halves can't exist without each other," Giles told us. "Kill the weaker Buffy, kill the weaker Zoey, and the Slayer halves die."
"So, the same goes for the Xanders," Buffy told us. "We lose one, we lose them both."
~~~~~
Buffy and I ran into Xander's apartment to see the two Xanders fighting and Anya standing between them.
The one in the suit, Suave!Xander, was pointing the gun at the one that was still wet, Scruffy!Xander.
"Xander!" I told them, closing the door behind us.
Suave!Xander smiled. "All right, guys. I have him."
"No!" Scruffy!Xander told us. "I'm me. Help me."
"My gun," Anya told us, pointing at Suave!Xander. "He's got my gun."
"You own a gun?" I asked.
"Xander..." Buffy trailed off. "Gun-holding Xander..." She walked toward Suave!Xander. "Give me the gun."
Both Xanders looked between us.
Suave!Xander held the gun up, giving it a quick twist with one hand so that the bullets fell out onto the floor, flipping it closed, handing it to Buffy.
Buffy looked impressed.
"Guys, which one's real?" Anya asked.
Buffy handed the gun to me.
"I am," Scruffy!Xander answered.
"No, I am," Suave!Xander answered.
They tried to attack each other.
Buffy and I pulled the two Xanders apart, having them side-by-side, but far enough apart where they couldn't touch each other.
Anya walked closer to examine.
I looked between them. "Wild."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Okay, Xander... Xa..." She sighed. "You've been split in two. But you're both Xander. And you can't kill each other. Um, well, you could, but it would be really bad."
The Xanders looked at each other.
"No way," Suave!Xander told us.
"He can't be me," Scruffy!Xander told us. "He's all... fancy."
"We can prove that you're both Xander," I told them.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. She looked at me. "How?"
I looked at the Xanders. "What number am I thinking of?"
"I don't think that's gonna do it," Buffy told me.
The Xanders spoke together. "11 and a half."
"Wrong," I told them. "Oh, but see?"
The Xanders frowned.
"No," Scruffy!Xander told us. "We're not the same. We're all different."
"Different properties went into each of you, but you're both Xander," Buffy told them.
"Different properties?" Anya repeated.
"What different properties?" Scruffy!Xander asked.
"Uh, uh, you know, uh, sense of direction," Buffy told them. "Good night vision, stuff like that."
"Oh, but he has a thingie," Scruffy!Xander told us. "In his pocket." He pointed at Suave!Xander's pocket. "A shiny disk that stuns and disorients."
Suave!Xander reached into his pocket, pulling out the thingie. "What disk?"
Scruffy!Xander covered his eyes with his hands. "Cover your eyes!"
"This?" Suave!Xander asked.
"It'll melt your brain," Scruffy!Xander told us.
I took the thing from from Suave!Xander. "Look."
Anya and Buffy leaned in to look.
"It's a nickel someone flattened on the railroad truck," Suave!Xander told us. "I found it on the construction site and I thought it was cool. It's not magic."
Scruffy!Xander uncovered his eyes to take the nickel from me. "No. I... huh. It is kinda cool." Suave!Xander nodded tolerantly. "Washington's still there, but he's all smushy. And he may be Jefferson."
"Okay, isn't anyone gonna tell me why there are two Xanders?" Anya asked.
"I will on the way to Giles'," Buffy answered. "Let's go."
We turned to leave.
The door was kicked in.
Scruffy!Xander and Anya hid behind Suave!Xander, grabbing his shoulders.
Toth walked in.
"Oh, great," I told him sarcastically. "Rod boy."
"I will not miss again," Toth told us.
"The gun!" Scruffy!Xander told us. "Pick up the little gun pieces."
Toth raised his rod, aiming at Buffy and me, firing.
Buffy and I ducked away in opposite directions, making the bolt tear a big hole into the floor.
"Hey, I just made a small cleaning deposit!" Suave!Xander told us.
Buffy grabbed Toth from behind, kicking his arm, making him drop the rod. Toth shook Buffy off, turning to face her. Buffy backhand punched him in the face, grabbing him by his shoulders, kneeing him in the stomach, headbutting him. Toth lifted her from the floor, throwing her down, turning to face me.
I kicked Toth in the face with a crescent in-to-out kick, kicking him in the chest, punching him in the face repeatedly, trying to kick him. Toth caught my leg, grabbing my arm, lifting me above him horizontally, flipping me over onto the floor, slamming me down, stepping closer. I rolled slightly back to kick him in the face, in the same movement, flipping into a standing position, backhand punching him in the face, kicking him in the leg, making him fall to his knees.
Buffy stood behind Toth, stabbing him in the back with a sword, killing him.
Toth screamed, closing his eyes as he died.
Buffy took the sword out of his back, letting the body fall.
Buffy and I exchanged a look, breathing heavily.
Scruffy!Xander and Anya let go of Suave!Xander, stepping closer.
"Oh, yeah," Suave!Xander told us. "That cleaning deposit's gone."
Scruffy!Xander gasped. "I was thinking the same thing. Hey, do you suppose we're both Xander?"
Suave!Xander smiled.
Anya looked between them.
~~~~~
We stood in the Magic Box with the Scoobies.
The two Xanders were side-by-side, dressed the same, both in yellow T-shirts and identical Hawaiian shirts. Scruffy!Xander's shirt was all dirty, whereas Suave!Xander's shirt was clean. Scruffy!Xander's hair was much messier.
"Look and admire, ladies," Scruffy!Xander told us.
Willow, Buffy, Anya and I looked at them, fascinated.
Riley and Giles were behind us.
Giles was on the floor, making markings with chalk.
"Look, there's a scar there," Buffy told us, pointing at Scruffy!Xander's forehead. "And there's the same one right there."
Buffy pointed at Suave!Xander's forehead.
"It's all double," Willow told us, pointing. "This zit, and this... kinda funny dippy thing. A--and this weird little hair that grows in the wrong way."
"Okay," Scruffy!Xander told us. "Back off, ladies."
"Psychologically, this is fascinating," Riley told us. "Doesn't it make everyone wanna lock them in separate rooms and do experiments on them?" We gave him weird looks. "Just me, then."
"So, you can take the boy out of the Initiative, but you can't take the Initiative out of the boy," I told him. "Is that it?"
Riley shrugged.
Anya looked at the Xanders. "So, you Xanders really do have all the same memories, all the same..." She looked down. "Physical attributes?"
Anya chuckled suggestively.
"We're completely identical," Suave!Xander answered.
"Yeah, we checked out some stuff in the car on the way over," Scruffy!Xander told us. Anya frowned, puzzled. "Fingerprints."
Anya turned to us. "Well, maybe we shouldn't do this reintegration thing right away. See, I can take the boys home, and... we can all have sex together, and... you know, just slap them back together in the morning."
Giles tried not to look appalled. Buffy and Riley smiled. Willow and I were weirdly amused.
"She's joking," Suave!Xander told us.
"No, she's not," Scruffy!Xander told us. "She entirely wants to have sex with us together. Which is... wrong, and--and it would be very confusing."
Giles stood. "Uh, uh, we just need to light the candles. Also, we should continue to pretend we heard none of the disturbing sex talk."
"Check," Willow told us. "Candles and pretense."
We paced around, getting stuff ready, except the Xanders.
"It's not like it' be cheating," Anya told us. "They're both Xander."
Scruffy!Xander looked at Suave!Xander. "Now, hold on a sec. If you weren't putting a whammy on people with the shiny thing, how'd you do it? How'd you get the promotion?"
"Well, I'm good at that stuff," Suave!Xander answered.
"I am?" Scruffy!Xander asked.
"Yeah," Suave!Xander answered.
"And, hey, how about that lady, huh?" Scruffy!Xander asked. "The apartment manager?"
"How weird was it when she called me 'mister'?" Suave!Xander asked.
The Xanders smiled goofily.
"We're ready," Willow told us. "We should do it now."
The Xanders looked at Willow, smiling.
"What'll we do if this doesn't work?" Anya asked.
The Xanders spoke together. "Kill us both, Spock!"
The Xanders looked at each other, laughing.
"They're... kinda the same now," Buffy told us.
"Yes, he's clearly a bad influence on himself," Giles told us.
"Hey, summon the goddess," Scruffy!Xander told us. "Chant the chant. Let's do it."
"Actually, it's not that hard," Willow told them. "Your natural state is to be together. Toth's spell is doing all the work of keeping you apart. I just have to break it. So, you to..." She positioned the Xanders inside the chalk markings. "Stand right here. Side by side. We don't want you to end up with two fronts, now do we?"
"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Scruffy!Xander asked.
Willow exhaled. "Here we go. Brace yourselves." The Xanders closed their eyes, preparing. "Let the spell be ended."
The Xanders merged back into one.
"You gotta be kidding," Xander told us. "'Let the spell be ended'? That's not gonna work." He opened his eyes, seeing that there was only one of him. "Oh!"
Willow smiled proudly.
"I liked it the other way," Anya told us. "Put him back."
I raised my eyebrows.