Chapter Text
Buffy felt something hard under her cheek and opened her eyes to a sideways view of green grass. She was lying on a park bench, with the sun high in the sky and a cool breeze stirring the branches of the surrounding trees. Disoriented, she sat up. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she dropped forward to put her head between her knees until it passed.
The park was nearly deserted, only a few people sat on the grass or walked along the paths. Buffy looked down at herself and frowned. She was wearing a micro-mini skirt, tight tank top, and leather jacket. Her book bag sat on the ground next to the bench. The last thing she remembered was sitting at Giles' place late at night, talking to him about something. It was after her patrol and she'd been wearing baggy pants and a sweatshirt. She couldn't remember clearly what they'd been discussing, just that she'd been upset about something.
How had she wound up on a park bench in the middle of the day, dressed like this? And why couldn't she remember anything? She picked up the book bag and opened it, surprised to find a couple of textbooks and a lot of makeup, but no stakes or holy water. Maybe the bag belonged to someone else. She opened one of the textbooks, saw her name printed prominently across the inside cover and sighed.
The portable cosmetic counter bothered her, but it didn't disturb her half as much as the lack of slaying instruments. She never went anywhere without a mini-arsenal. She patted herself down in her favorite weapon hiding locations and found nothing. She swallowed nervously and tried not to panic. Giles, she thought. Giles will know what to do.
Buffy bolted off the bench and headed for campus and Giles' office. On her way there she fearfully realized that she didn't even know what day it was or whether he'd be there. She had to force herself to slow down and think rationally. Giles would either be there or he wouldn't. If he wasn't there, then she'd just go to her dorm room and call him at his place. At the very least she'd be able to leave him a message. And then she'd just sit tight until he contacted her.
The panic and fear began to recede. She always felt better when she had a plan to follow. The campus quad bustled with students, so it must be a weekday she thought. She looked across to the Anthropology building and frowned. It looked different somehow. Like it was bigger than she remembered. She shook her head and decided she'd never really looked at the building before and that her residual fear must be making her hyper aware of things.
Buffy strode forward confidently only to be stopped halfway across the quad by a hand on her arm. She was pulled around to come face to face with a frowning Brian Callahan. She sighed and thought, not this, not now.
"Buffy! Didn't you hear me calling you? What's the matter with you?" Brian's grip tightened on her arm.
She raised an eyebrow. He hadn't spoken to her since she'd told him to get out of Giles' apartment the night that she'd faced the Destroyer. What was his deal now?
"Was there something you wanted, Brian?" Her voice was polite but cold and she smiled in satisfaction when he dropped her arm and recoiled from her in surprise.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked harshly. "You know I don't like having to chase after you."
"Chase after me?" she asked. "Who asked you to?"
He shook his head in exasperation. "I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm warning you, I don't like it. I wanted to remind you that we're going to the Department party at Dr. Johnson's house tonight at 6:30. We'll have to leave by 6:00. Make sure you're ready on time. You know how I hate being late. And remember that it's black tie." Brian turned on his heel and walked away toward the Math building.
Buffy stood in the middle of the quad and watched him, her mouth hanging open in shock. The man had obviously lost his grip on reality, she thought. How could he possibly think she'd agree to go anywhere with him? And he seemed to think she'd already accepted this invitation. She shook her head. This was getting too weird. Definitely past time for Giles to sort this out. She turned and headed once again for the Anthro building.
She got off the elevator at the third floor and walked down the hall to Giles' office. She was about to grab the doorknob when she glanced at the door and stopped. The nameplate read 'Steven Andrews'. Buffy glanced up and down the hall thinking she'd made a mistake. She shook her head, positive this was Giles' office.
She stood rooted to the floor, her mind whirling with the possibilities and trying to decide what to do next. The office door opened revealing a man she'd never seen before. He barreled out of the office right into Buffy and knocked her to the floor.
"I'm so sorry," he exclaimed. "I didn't see you there. Guess I was just in too much of a hurry." He reached a hand down to help her up. "Were you waiting to see me? Was there something I can do for you?"
Buffy looked up at him dazedly. "I-I'm looking for Giles. Um, Rupert Giles?"
"Oh! I'm sorry, but Dr. Giles hasn't arrived yet." He peered down at her and smiled. "Are you familiar with the doctor's work? I'm Professor Andrews, by the way."
"D-Dr. Giles?" Since when did Giles use a 'doctor' in front of his name, she wondered? "What do you mean, he hasn't arrived yet?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm on my way to pick him up at the airport. If you wouldn't mind walking out with me so I won't be late? I always try to make time for students." He looked at her hopefully.
Numbly she nodded and followed him down the hall to the elevator. Once the doors closed he turned to her.
"Now. What was it you wanted to know?" he asked.
She took a steadying breath. "You said you had to pick him up at the airport?"
"Yes. His plane arrives in an hour. It's so exciting having a guest lecturer of his caliber, isn't it? I know we've had other high profile speakers in the past, but I'm particularly fascinated by his work on occult beliefs in world cultures."
"Guest lecturer?" she managed to squeak out. "Oh, yeah. Um, I find his work fascinating, too. A fan. That's me." Oh god, she thought bleakly, I'm in real trouble.
"Then I take it you have your ticket for his lecture tonight? I understand it's sold out. Quite exciting. He'll only be in town a few days and I believe his schedule is full." He smiled again, a twinkle in his eyes.
She had to get to Giles, she thought desperately. She assumed a solemn expression. "Actually, no. I was too late to get a ticket. I don't suppose there's any way that I can get into the lecture, is there? It would mean so much to me. Could you possibly help? I mean, as one fan to another?" She gave him her most guileless smile.
The elevator doors opened and he gestured her out before him. He grinned. "Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint a true fan. As it happens, I have a few discretionary tickets that I haven't given out." He opened his wallet and pulled out three or four tickets. He flipped through them until he found the one he wanted and handed it to her. "Here you go. The best seat in the lecture room. Front row center."
Buffy clutched the ticket as if it was a life preserver. "Thank you," she said fervently. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."
He shook his head and smiled. "That's okay. Enjoy the lecture." He gave her a little half-salute and turned, whistling as he walked away.
Buffy looked down at the ticket in her hand and shivered. The date and time said Friday at 6:30pm. Her memory from Giles' place was on Wednesday night. God, what had happened? Was she still in her world, or was this some kind of sick alternate reality? That would explain Brian Callahan at least, and the other strange things that were happening. Apprehensively she wondered what else was different.
The clock above the exit read 4:00. Time enough to find out if her dorm room was the same and if Willow was still her roommate. She forced herself to walk calmly from the building and head toward her dorm. The second floor looked the same, she thought as she approached the door to her room. She stood there indecisively for several moments before she finally took a deep breath and turned the knob.
Disappointment stabbed at her. The room was different. Only half of it was occupied and the unoccupied half looked bare, almost sterile. Buffy examined the occupied portion of the room looking for anything that she could recognize as belonging to her. She released a pent up breath in a whoosh of relief when she spotted Mr. Gordo half hidden by a pillow on the bed. This had to be her room, she thought. But where was Willow?
She quickly rifled through the dresser drawers looking for anything that would tell her what was happening to her. The only thing she found were clothes that she didn't recognize. The closet held more clothes, but no weapons locker. She frowned. The clothes in the closet, and the dresser for that matter, resembled the outfit she currently wore. They weren't at all to her taste. It wasn't just that the skirts and dresses were short and appeared tight, or that the tops were all skimpy. She'd worn outfits just as short in the past, but there was a difference in the clothes that hung in the closet. There was nothing subtle about the styles. It was as if she'd gone out of her way to only choose clothes that would look sexy and cheap. Tramp was the word that came to mind.
Buffy flopped down on the bed, hugged Mr. Gordo to her chest and stared unseeing at the ceiling. The thought of calling her mother sent shivers down her spine. She turned her head and saw an address book on the nightstand. Hesitantly she reached out and picked it up. She flipped through the pages quickly and noted that there were multiple entries on every page, mostly of names of people she didn't recognize.
Slowly she sat up and opened the book to the R's and nearly cried. No entry for Willow Rosenberg. Nor was there an entry for Xander under the H's.
She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and was dismayed to see it read 5:30. She'd have to get a move on if she wanted to get to the lecture on time. There was no way she was going to meet Giles in her current outfit and she needed a shower. Her mind shied away from the idea that this Giles wouldn't know her. It couldn't be a coincidence that he was arriving in Sunnydale now, she told herself firmly.
She searched through the closet for something a little less streetwalker-ish and finally found a pair of jeans hidden far in the rear. They'd been washed so many times they felt like soft suede. She pulled them out along with a pair of black boots. She found an acceptable T-shirt in the dresser along with clean underwear, picked up a towel and headed for the bathroom.
Buffy was back in 15 minutes, dressed in her new outfit. The cosmetics she dumped out of her book bag joined even more on the dresser top. She dried her hair and put on minimal makeup. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 6:00. She smiled to herself in satisfaction. Maybe if she got to the lecture early she'd be able to talk to Giles first. She grabbed the black leather jacket and opened the door.
Brian Callahan stood in the doorway dressed in a tuxedo with his hand outstretched as if reaching for the doorknob. His gaze raked her from head to foot and his bland expression turned into a scowl. He walked into the room forcing her to step back or be run over, leaving the door wide open.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" He said angrily. "We have to leave for the party and you're not even dressed yet! Damn it, I told you not to make me late."
"I'm not going," she said as calmly as she could. "So you won't be late. You can just leave right now." And the sooner the better, she thought.
"Sure, and let Phillips spend the rest of the evening making cracks about how I was stood up. Stop being absurd and get changed."
"I so don't need this right now," she replied. "I'm not going to any stupid party with you."
He grabbed her arms and jerked her close. His voice was cold and controlled. "You're not going to make a fool of me. I've told you how I feel about that."
"You're doing a good enough job on your own." Buffy didn't see the slap coming until the force of it rocked her head back. She glared at him.
"You know I hate hitting you. Why do you continually make me do that?"
"You bastard!" she said, her voice low and dangerous. She saw the smug expression in his eyes and narrowed her own in response.
Buffy suddenly dropped like a dead weight, pulling Brian down with her, twisting so that she landed on her back. She lifted with her legs and pushed Brian up and over to crash on the floor behind her on his back. She jumped up, grabbed her jacket and backed out of the room.
"I don't ever want to see you here again," she said angrily. "If I do, the least that'll happen to you is that I call campus security. God, you're a jerk in two realities. Who knew?" She turned and gaped at the clapping students lining the hallway. There were various calls of 'way to go' and 'about time you told him off'. Buffy had the distinct impression that this wasn't the first incident with Brian in her room.
"Buffy? Want Stan and me to, uh, escort him out?"
She gazed up at the guy who asked the question and found herself grinning. He and his friend were big and burly and looked like they could tie Brian Callahan into a pretzel.
She nodded. "Thanks! I gotta run."
"No problem. We'll have this little mess cleaned up before you get back." He smiled and turned to her door.
Buffy sprinted down the stairs and headed across campus for the lecture hall. She managed to make it with ten minutes to spare. The room was nearly full and she glanced around curiously. She found her assigned seat and saw a familiar red head sitting only three seats away. Buffy approached the man sitting next to her.
"I know this is gonna sound strange, but would you be willing to swap seats with me? I have the seat right over there." Buffy pointed to her vacant seat.
The man looked over at the seat and shrugged. "Sure."
They swapped tickets. Buffy took off her jacket and sat down. "Willow! Am I glad to see you!"
Willow turned and looked at her curiously. "I'm sorry. Have we met?"
"It's me, Buffy. Buffy Summers?" She swallowed her disappointment. "W-we went to high school together?"
Willow's eyes widened. "Oh. I remember you. Didn't you hang out with Cordelia?"
"Um, yeah." Great. Hanging with Cordelia in high school. Dating a guy that thought it was okay to hit her. Her best friend didn't know her. Could this life be more depressing? "Listen. There's something I've wanted to tell you. I want to apologize for how I treated you in high school. I was probably really mean to you and I just want you to know that I regret it. I'm sorry we didn't have a chance to get to know each other then, but I'd like to now. I really think we could be friends. Please?" She held out her hand and prayed that Willow wouldn't turn away.
Various emotions played over Willow's face, not the least of which was distrust, but she finally grasped Buffy's hand. "Okay," she said hesitantly.
"Great! So, are you a fan of Gi-, I mean Dr. Giles?" Buffy kept her voice light and friendly.
Willow smiled. "Well, I don't know that I'd call myself a fan, but I did find his work on magic beliefs in ancient cultures fascinating. I'm looking forward to hearing his lecture. Do you think he'll allow questions? Not that I'd ask anything. I mean I'd be too nervous to actually do that. But I'm sure people will ask interesting questions. Then his answers will be fascinating. And am I the single most pathetic person you've ever met?"
Buffy chuckled and shook her head. "Not at all. And I'm sure any question you'd ask would be of more interest to Dr. Giles than anything anyone else here would think to ask."
Willow ducked her head and smiled shyly. "Thanks. But I couldn't ask a question in front of all these people. You have to actually speak to ask a question. If I stood up and tried to do that nothing would come out."
"Well, I'm sure we'll have a chance to talk to him later," Buffy said more confidently than she felt.
Willow raised her eyebrow. "Why do--"
The lights dimmed slightly to let everyone know the lecture was about to begin. The crowd settled into their seats and the noise level dropped. Professor Andrews stepped up to the podium and spoke into the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending this evening. It is the Anthropology Department's honor and my pleasure to introduce our guest speaker for this evening, Dr. Rupert Giles." He turned and led off the polite applause as Giles entered the room from the side.
Buffy felt her mouth drop open. She'd expected Giles to appear clad in tweed like he'd worn when he'd worked as the high school librarian. She barely recognized the man who stood beside the podium and surveyed the room with a rakish grin on his face.
He was dressed in black. Not scruffy black jeans and a T-shirt, but well cut black slacks that broke just so over his spotless black leather shoes. An expensive looking tailored black jacket that looked like cashmere and a collarless shirt that might be raw silk completed his outfit. His hair was longer in the back than she ever remembered having seen it, curling over the collar of his jacket. He wasn't wearing glasses. And to top it all off, Buffy could see the glint of a gold ring in his ear. The man standing before them exuded an air of self-confidence and danger.
If nothing else that she'd experienced in the last few hours could convince her that she was not in her own world, Giles' appearance did. She tuned out his words, hearing only the cadence of his speech as it washed over her soothingly. She found herself wondering about this world and the people in it. Was this what her Giles would have been like if he hadn't been a Watcher? And Willow? This Willow was as shy now as her Willow had been when they'd first met almost four years ago. And what about Xander and Oz? Where were they and what were they like?
With a start Buffy realized that the lecture was over and Giles was answering questions from the audience. She turned to Willow and smiled to herself at the anxious expression on the redhead's face as she followed the questions and his answers closely. Finally, Giles raised a hand and stopped the barrage. He thanked them all for coming and turned away to the sound of applause.
Buffy reached for Willow's hand and stood up, pulling the other girl with her. "Come on. If we're quick we can catch him before he leaves." She moved towards the exit, dragging a protesting Willow behind her.
She wasn't the only one with that idea. There was a circle of people three deep around Giles and Professor Andrews by the time they reached them. Buffy tried to find an opening and maintain her hold on Willow at the same time. Frustrated, she stepped back and glanced at the redhead.
"We'll just wait here until the crowd thins. Then we'll make our move."
"Um, not that I'm not grateful or anything, but why exactly are we doing this?" Willow sounded puzzled.
"You want to ask him some questions, right?" Buffy asked innocently. "I'm sure he'd love to hear them. You don't want an audience, so we'll wait."
"It's really not nece--"
"Look, they're shooing everyone away. Now's our chance." Buffy tugged Willow over to stand in front of Giles. "Dr. Giles? Hi, I'm B--"
"Sorry ladies, but I don't have time right now." He dismissed them with a glance and a casual smile and turned away.
"Oh really," she drawled. Her friends would have recognized the dangerous look that crossed Buffy's face. She called out to his retreating back. "Hey Ripper! Do you still bear the mark of Eyghon?" She smiled smugly when he whirled back to face them.
He advanced on them, his expression causing Willow to cower behind Buffy. He stopped close enough to invade Buffy's personal space and stared down at her. "What did you call me?" His voice was low and angry.
"Ripper?" She grinned up at him. "Heard from Ethan lately?"
He made a strangled noise and glanced over his shoulder at Professor Andrews before turning back to her. "I don't know who you are, but--"
She held up her hands. "I had to get your attention. I need to talk to you. By the way, do you still have the mark?" She watched him place his hand over the spot on his arm where the tattoo would be and shake his head.
"Good," she said softly. "Neither do I." She watched his eyes widen and then he appeared to come to a decision.
Giles turned to Professor Andrews. "Steven, I need to speak with these ladies. Why don't you go on to the dinner and I'll meet you there?"
Andrews frowned. "I really hate to do that. Are you sure you don't want me to wait?"
He shook his head. "No. It's not necessary. Please? I'll take a cab once we've concluded our business."
Andrews shrugged. "Okay. Here, I'll write down the restaurant for you." He handed him a slip of paper.
Giles pocketed the address and smiled. "Thank you. I shan't be long." He watched Andrews leave the room before turning back to Buffy and Willow. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Now. What do you want?"
Buffy swallowed. "It's a long story and I don't know that you're going to believe me, but you have to. I don't belong here. This isn't my world. I don't know how it happened, but I'm in some sort of alternate reality or something. I just woke up here a few hours ago."
"Uh-huh." He pursed his lips. "You're right. I don't believe you. Nice chatting you, but I believe I'll see if I can catch my colleague."
"Did Randall die when you summoned Eyghon? 'Cause he did in my Giles' past." She hated to bring that up, but she was desperate to have his help.
"How do you know about Eyghon? And Ethan? And Ripper? Who are you really?" His voice was harsh.
"I told you," she said softly. "I'm from a different world or reality or dimension or something. You'll know which. And my Giles told me about Ripper. And Eyghon and Randall. I've met Ethan, and I'm sorry to say I let him live."
"You keep saying 'your Giles'. I don't understand." He frowned. "And Randall's very much alive."
Buffy closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. But I need you to believe me. I need your help to get home. Won't you just hear me out?" She gazed at him with the full force of her desperation and fear in her eyes.
He studied her face for a few moments in silence and then nodded once. "Very well. I'll listen to your story. At least it has the novelty of being something different. I've never been one for stuffy dinners anyway. If you'll suggest someplace where we can get a bite, I'll give you until the end of dinner to convince me."
"Deal." She smiled at Willow. "You may get to ask some of those questions after all."
Willow gazed at her wide-eyed. "Oh, no. I should just let you two go on. Y-you don't need me there." She started backing away until Buffy grabbed her hand firmly.
"Don't be silly, Will. Of course I need you there." She held onto Willow's hand firmly and refused to let go.
Buffy suggested a cafe in a part of town away from the fancy restaurant where Giles was supposed to meet the Anthropology staff and the three headed outside to call a cab.
The cafe was small and nearly empty. They sat in a booth away from the other diners. Buffy tried to appear calm as they examined the menu and placed their orders. Once the waiter left the table Giles turned his piercing gaze on her.
Buffy licked her lips nervously and said, "I guess it all began my freshman year of high school in L.A. The day Merrick found me and told me about my destiny..."