It seemed like a normal day in Sunnydale(well as normal as it got) to
Buffy. It was a Wednesday and Buffy's alarm clock went off. Buffy opened
her eyes and turned the alarm off. It was six AM and Buffy had to get ready
for school. Buffy put on her clothes and headed to the kitchen. The first
weird thing Buffy noticed was that her mom was not in the kitchen making
orange juice like usual. Maybe she went to to gallery early Buffy thought.
She looked around for a note of some kind but there was none. That's weird,
Buffy thhought. My mom always leaves a note when she has to leave early.
Oh well, she thought, she probably just forgot.
She lazed about the kitchen, slowly preparing herself mentally for the challenges the day would hold. She would undoubtedly be faced with her least favorite in a long list of unacceptable principals, even the one at good ol' Hemery High wasn't as bad as the little weasel she had to see every day now.
Sighing, she made her way out of the house. There wasn't any use putting off the inevitable, bisides she was supposed to meet Giles in the library for an extra-early meeting.
The street was her first cue that something more was wrong than her mom simply forgetting to leave a note. There were no cars. The sidewalks were empty too. Generally they would be filled with kids walking to school and cars full of frenzied commuters. But there was only absolute and eerie silence.
Buffy stared at the still neighborhood, uncertain of what she should do. Maybe she was still asleep and this was all a dream...
The screeching of tires started her from her reverie and a bright red sports car came to a screeching stop at the curb in front of her house. Queen C herself fairly leapt out of the car.
"What is going on?" Cordelia demanded, perfectly laquered nails drilling a maddening rhythm on the roof of her car.
Cordelia's appearance assured Buffy this was definately not a dream - after all, why would she dream of Cordelia? Unless this was a nightmare...
'Hello?' Cordelia snapped. 'You just going to ignore me?'
'Yes,' said Buffy. 'I mean, no, of course not.'
'Well then, are you going to tell me what's up? I am sort of a Scooby, you know. You can't just decide to leave me out of important stuff, even if I don't want to hang around with you and act like the biggest bunch of social rejects since - '
'Cordy! Please!' Buffy broke into the rant. 'What is it? What do you want?'
'Where is everyone?' Cordelia snapped, thankfully getting straight to the point. 'I woke up this morning and everyone had gone.'
'Gone?' Buffy thought of her mom. 'You sure? Everyone?'
'Weren't you listening? And just look at this place. It's dead.'
'You're right.' Buffy looked around them. The silence was almost oppressive. 'I was going to meet Giles in the library. You want to come?'
Cordelia shrugged. 'Sure. At least no one will see me.'
Buffy was about to step into Cordelia's car when Cordelia stopped her by saying something. "Make sure you don't ruin my car as you are getting in. This is my only car because my dad forgot to pay the bills so I have very little money so I can't buy a new one." she said. They arrived at the school after about fifteen minutes of Cordelia's noisy chatter. There was only a couple of cars in the school parking lot, Oz's van and Giles' old beat up little car and another car that none of them recognized. They were relieved to see the gang safe and sound in the library. All except for Oz who came in a few minutes after Buffy and Cordelia.
"Is it just me or does this school seem empty to you?" Oz said.
"It's not just you. By the way, who's car is that in the parking lot?" Buffy said.
"Mine, well not exacatly mine but I am borrowing it from my cousin." Xander said.
"Borrowing or stealing?" Cordelia jibed.
Before Xander could return the barb, Willow walked through the library doors looking lost and bewildered.
"Hey, Wils, what d'ya think of the whole disapearing town routine?" Xander called, choosing to turn his back on Cordelia's taunts.
Willow tried to smile but failed miserably. "I was kind of hoping it was just a nightmare."
"Nightmare it certainly isn't," Giles assured her, walking out of the stacks with an open book in his hands. "But I think I may be on the correct path for discovering what has happened."
Buffy's brow creased. "Demons?"
Giles looked up at the crowd of students who populated the library. "Well, not precisely."
'There are spells that can...shift - for want of a better word - individuals outside the normal sphere of reality.' Giles sat down on the edge of his desk. 'In this case, either all of the residents of Sunnydale have been moved into a seaprate sphere, or we have.'
'We're in an alternative dimension?' asked Willow.
'In a way,' said Giles. 'But one that has been specially created for us. Or for the rest of Sunnydale.'
'Why would do that? Who could do that?' asked Buffy.
'I have no idea. They would need to be extremely powerful. If I'm even on the right track, of course.' He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his jumper. 'I could be entirely wrong.'
There was a moment of silence.
'Does this alternative dimension thingy just cover Sunnydale?' asked Buffy. 'I mean, can we go outside the town boundaries.'
'I have no idea.'
'Let's try, shall we?'
Buffy walked outside and the scooby gang followed.
"Everybody get into the Cordelia's car." Buffy said.
"Why my car, why not Xander's cousin's car?" Cordelia said.
"Well, no offence Xander but I don't think we should trust any car that has been in Xander's family. Because Xander's family only has old cars and some old cars break down." Buffy said.
Everybody piled into Cordelia's car. While getting in Xander kicked the seat on accident.
"Watch it, Xander!" Cordelia said.
They drove to the city limit but before they could cross it Cordelia's car stopped and wouldn't start up again.
"Well, now we know the answer to my question." Buffy said.
They drove back to the library where Jenny Calendar was waiting for them.
"Miss Calender!" Xander was the first to enter the library, spying the techno-pagan pacing the glossy tiles in agitation.
"Rupert, you're all right," she said, watching the group file into the room, relief flooding her features.
"Yes, quite so. We were testing a theory, so to speak."
Curious, Jenny proded, "Any ideas what's going on? I've been thinking about taking a vacation getting away from the hustle of town for a while, but this..."
Cordelia gave an unlady-like snort. "You won't find any more seclusion than this!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in disgust before sitting down heavily in a nearby chair. "I guess I can rule out cheerleading practice for this afternoon."
"Perhaps we will discover a solution soon," Giles said, his attempt at consoling the irritated girl lost to the opening of the door.
The group turned to see Angel, slightly smoking but otherwise in one piece, standing in the doorway.
"For an empty town we sure are running into a lot of folks," Xander quipped.
'So it's definately empty?' said Angel, casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and his clothes weren't faintly smoking. 'I thought I couldn't hear anything. Of course, I couldn't check. Not with the sun out.'
'It's empty all right. And we can't get out of town, either,' said Buffy.
'Some of sort of dimension spell?' Angel asked, moving further into the library.
'Possibly,' said Giles. 'Do you have any idea who could have done this?'
Angel didn't answer immediately. He paced for a few steps, looking thoughtful.
Everyone jumped as Xander accidentally knocked a book off a desk, shattering the un-natural silence.
'Sorry, sorry.' He fumbled for the book and set it carefully back on the desk. 'God, this place is too quiet.'
'There were rumours about some new demons in town,' Angel muttered to himself. He looked up. 'Powerful spell casters. But I don't know what they're called.'
"Well, I don't want to wait to find out." Buffy said.
"We need to if we want to get back to our reality." Angel said.
"Oh goody, research mode." Willow said.
"I'll get on the internet to see if I can find some of my friends...oh I forgot, they won't be there." Jenny Calendar said.
Just then there some bolts of electircy and a hole opened and guess who fell out of it. It was Buffy's mom (remember she doesn't find out about her daughter being the slayer untill the end season 2 and this takes place in the beginning of season 2)
"What in the world is going on here?" Joyce Summers said.
"Mom?" Buffy started to approach the woman. "Um, where'd you come from?"
"Buffy, what's going on? And why am I at your school?" Joyce straightened her jacket and brushed at imaginary lint on her lapel. "Really, if I'm going to have such vivid dreams I'd rather visit pleasant places."
Buffy's forehead creased with indecision for a moment. "Yeah, you're right, Mom. You just go on back home and lay down, dream something better than good ol' Sunnydale High," she encouraged.
The library was silent as Joyce juggled her supposed dream-state options. "Are you sure this is a dream, Buffy? It feels so real."
Casting disparaging looks at her friends, Buffy grabbed her mother's elbow and guided her to the door and out into the hallway. "You know, Mom, sometimes dreams are just kind of wacky like that."
Angel stepped out from behind a bookcase as Joyce departed. "I see what you were talking about."
"Huh?" Xander turned around to look at the walking undead.
"About running into people."
"Aha!" Willow cried in triumph.
Giles hurried to her side. "Have you found something of use?"
"Oh, wait... never mind. These guys tend to turn you inside-out before they do the dimensional alteration thingy, and I don't know about you, but me? Definately not inside-out."
"What do you mean, inside-out?" Xander asked resting his hands on the back of Willow's chair.
"You know, all the internal organs on the inside..."
Xander nodded. "Oh, I get it." He gave his body a quick once-over. "Uh, I'm not, am I? Inside out?"
Willow rubbed his arm. "I'd tell you if you were."
They shared smiles.
"Why us?" asked Angel. "I mean, this obviously isn't random. We're here because of our connections to Buffy. But why bring us here?"
"Maybe it's some form of test," suggested Miss Calender.
"Test? Oh man, I hate tests," said Xander.
"Or maybe we've been moved here..." Giles paced. "So someone can attack Sunnydale."
There was a pause, as everyone thought this over.
'Hey, Buffy's been gone a while," said Willow.
"Look on the bright side." Xander said, "At least we won't have to deal with Principal Snyder at the moment."
"That is a good thing. I know what he would say if he was here...why are you in here don't you have something to do, like go to school?" Willow said.
"Hey, where did Angel go." Willow asked.
"I hate it when he does that." Xander said.
When Angel does what?" Buffy asked as she walked into the room.
"Dissapears like that. First he's here and then poof, he's gone." Xander said.
"That's weird, I thought I saw Buffy over there a while ago and then she walked in the door halfway across the room from where I saw her." Jenny Calendar.
"Is it possible that "The Creator" is back?" Willow said.
"I hope not since we destroyed him." Xander said.
"Who is "The Creator"?" Jenny Calendar asked.
"It's a long story, maybe I will tell you another time, after we get back to our reality." Giles said.
"I don't think it is him." Angel said behind Xander.
Xander jumped. "We really need to put a bell on him so we can tell if he is sneeking up on us or rather me." Xander said. "I hate it when Dead Boy does that."
"What did I tell you about calling me Dead Boy." Angel said.
"Boys, can you stop fighting so we can find out what is going on." Buffy said.
"Buffy's right, we need to find out what is causing this and then we can argue later." Giles said.
"Or you can just all go back to class. You do have someplace else to be."
All eyes turned to see Principal Snyder standing in the doorway.
"So much for that thought..." Xander muttered.
"Someplace else to be... yes, you're right. We're going now," Buffy said lightly, "Going to class."
"I expect you to all be at the pep rally this afternoon," Snyder said and turned to leave the library. His arm moved to open the door but rather than doing so, he walked through it, disapearing as he entered the hallway.
Cordelia pushed the door open, revealing an empty corridor. "You know, this could have its benefits, but not with authority figures popping in and out like this."
"Back to the books," Willow sighed.
The research session was in full swing when a sound came from outside the library, startling them into immobility.
"I'll check it out," Angel offered and left the rest of the group to their books.
"I should'a done that," Xander mused.
Willow looked at him. "What?"
"Gone to check on the noise and get out of researching."
Their worries of what might be lurking were relieved when Angel returned with Oz.
"Looks like the whole gang's here now," Buffy said.
"But weren't you here just a minute ago?" Cordelia asked.
Oz frowned. "I thought I was, but then I was in the cafateria. Weird."
"Do you know anything more about these new demons, Angel? The powerful spell casters you had mentioned?" Giles asked, rubbing his temple and setting his glasses aside.
'Other than they're powerful? Not much,' said Angel. 'I know that there are spells that can only be performed by them; for anyone else, human or otherwise, it just takes too long to gather that level of power, and too much energy to maintain it.'
'We can look for those types of spells,' said Willow. 'Have you ever heard of any, Miss Calendar?'
'Can't say I have.'
'Strange thing is - ' Angel continued. 'I always heard that they were pretty peaceful.'
'Could they have been hired to do this?' asked Giles. 'Or perhaps coerced, somehow?'
'I don't know - it would be damn hard to threaten one. There would have to be something in it for them.'
Disembodied teenage voices drifted through the doors. After a moment they disappeared completely.
'Could the walls be weakening?' asked Miss Calendar.
'Not yet.'
There was a pause.
'Okay. I didn't say that. Did you say that?' Xander waved an arm at the group. 'Anyone?'
Everyone shook their head.
Just then a demon appeared. The demon had a tall head, about twice as tall as a human one. It also had blueish, bumpy skin and it wore a purpleish robe but it was only half a robe because not all of the demon was there.
"Are you responible for this?" Angel asked.
"Yes, It was supposed to be temporary, only a test but I think somebody else is using it to their advantage maybe because they or it is planing an invasion or something else in the real Sunnydale. I think they(or it) can't handle the spell that well, that's why you can hear people or see people from the real Sunnydale." The demon said.
"O...K, can you repeat that in English?" Xander said.
Everybody ignored him.
Buffy went to stand beside Angel, "Do you think it is telling the truth?"
"Yes, it has to be because this demon is a truth teller, it can never tell a lie." Angel said.
"Oh." Buffy said.
"What kind of demon are you." Giles asked.
"I am a Bo'rk(pronouced Bo-ark) demon." it said.
"Well, we need to find out who is doing this and try to stop him or it from doing something bad to Sunnydale. The real one that is." Buffy said.
"Oh, well, back to the research." Xander said.
Buffy began to walk back toward the table. "No, no more research," she said firmly.
Willow and Giles raised their heads to look more directly at her.
"What did you say?" Giles asked.
"I'm tired of researching and we're not finding anything anyway. Tell you what, Giles, you and Miss Calender and Willow stay here and keep at the books and look into whatever it was that Dork-demon said, the rest of us can go out and have a look around, see if maybe there's something out there we can do."
"It was a Bo'rk demon, Buffy," Giles corrected.
"Whatever, just look it up, the rest of us will be back in half an hour."
"Wait a second," Cordelia interjected, "Why do I have to leave too?"
"You wanna stay here and go through the books?" Buffy asked.
Cordelia glanced over at the towering stacks of ancient tomes that littered the table. "You're right, let's get outta here."
Buffy and Cordelia walked to Cordelia's car when they heard a voice from behind them.
"Where do you think you're going?"
They looked behind them when they saw Principal Snyder. Not again Buffy thought.
"We were going to um... get supplies for science class." Buffy said
"Let someboby else...where are all of the student cars?" Synder said. He started walking to the main school door when he stopped and turned to look at Buffy. "If I hear that you, Buffy Summers planned this student strike I will make sure you will have so much detention that you will never leave school again." He said. He started walking twards the door again when he disappeared before he ever got to the door.
"Gee, that was harsh." Buffy said.
They got into Cordelia's car and drove off.
Cordelia stepped out of the school into the bright sunlight just in time to see Angel and Buffy disappear in her car.
"Hey!" Her call was either unheard or merely ignored and she stared after the vanishing red coupe until it was gone from sight. "Of all the... I should report it as stolen, that'd teach them to take my things without asking," she muttered.
"Yeah, you could, at least you could if you were able to find a cop. The way things are going today I'd say that won't be happening."
Cordelia spun on Xander, her eyes flashing with anger. "This is all your fault!" she exclaimed, glaring at him before stalking away down the sidewalk toward the city center.
"My fault, sure it is." Xander watched her walk away, appreciating the sway of her hips. He would have to follow her, fuming hell-beast that she was, at least she was a pretty one...
Cordelia thought for a minute as she walked down the sidewalk. Wait a minute, wasn't I the one getting into my car with Buffy, not Angel. I got to get used to this she thought. She reached the center of the city and saw something she didn't expect. It couldn't be she thought. There standing in front of her was...
...Xander.
Hadn't she just left him back at the school? She spun around to look behind her but rather than finding the sidewalk she'd just walked down, she spied the school stairwell.
"Hey," Xander called, "I thought you were hoofin' it."
"And I thought you were actually going to try and be helpful for a change," she commented drily. "This is ridiculous. How are we supposed to figure out what's going on if we keep ending up in different places from where we intend to go?"
"Yeah, there seems to be a lot of that goin' around."
Cordelia spun around again to see Buffy standing on the stairwell landing. Shrugging at Cordelia's questioning look, she started down the stairs.
"Don't ask me," she said to the taller girl's unspoken question. "I got out of your car at City Hall. And besides that, weren't you in the car? I mean, it's daylight outside, how'd Angel end up there? And where is he now?"
Angel couldn't move. He was in a coffin. He broke it open and about 30 feet of dirt landed on him. I wonder who was burried so deep. After he broke through the dirk he came into the sunlight. He got up quickly and ran to an open crypt and he shut the door. Where did the body in the coffin go he asked himself. Meanwhile back at the school front steps Cordelia turned her head and saw a dead, rotting body propped up beside her. She screamed and shoved it away but before it hit the ground it vanished. She looked around and saw that she was alone. Where did they go? They should have not left me her, Queen C fumed. She walked into the school's front door and she found herself in her room at home.
"This is impossible!" Cordelia exclaimed and sat down heavily on her bed. Scenes were changing so rapidly that her head was beginning to spin. She hoped the others were having better luck than she was.
Meanwhile, Giles, Miss Calender and Willow were still emersed in a pile of books, looking for a way out of the spacial anomally.
"You know," Oz said from his perch near Willow, "this could have its benefits."
Willow's head jerked up and she grinned. "Yeah, it could but the way things go around here, we're probably going to have to save the world from certain doom again."
"Saving the world doesn't pay much." Angel brushed dirt from his jacket and nodded hello as he stepped closer to the table.
"No luck? I didn't hear you come in," Giles stated, removing his glasses as he watched the vampire.
"That could be because I didn't come in, I was somewhere else, then I was here."
"Oh dear. This may be far worse than we originally feared."
"Worse?" Buffy said. "Because being stuck in some sort of bizarre, empty dimension isn't bad enough?"
Giles fiddled with his glasses. "All these strange...happenings, I suppose you could call them...going to one place and ending up in another, and things like that..." He put his glasses back on. "They suggest that this dimension isn't entirely stable."
"But...that's a good thing, right?" said Xander. "We can go back to normal Sunnydale, with all it's vampires, demon, school..." He paused. "Or we could just stay here."
"If this dimension collapses," Giles continued. "I don't know where we might end up."
"I don't want to wait here to find out. Have you come up with anything, Giles." Buffy said. Giles didn't answer, he was gone.
"I hate it when that happens." Xander said. "I wonder where he went.?" Xander said.
Giles looked around. He was in Buffy mom's room. Joyce woke up from her nap.
"What are you doing here?" she asked
"I..um..I came to see how you are doing." Giles said.
"Wow! Buffy's school really has kind teachers." Joyce said.
"I had a strange dream, I was at the Gallery and then I was at the Library at your school." she said.
Before Giles could answer he was gone.
"Now, where did that nice teacher go? Maybe this is still a dream." Joyce said.
Joyce sat up. She wondered where Buffy was and if she was okay. That was when the lights went out. Joyce lay back down nad closed her eyes.
"Where is Giles?" Buffy asked her clan. They all looked at her. "Well, he was here just a minute ago!!" Buffy looked around. "Is anyone listening?" Buffy got fed up. She sighed and sat on the desk. Angel came over to her. "Buff, are you okay?" Angel asked, giving her a comforting hug. Buffy turned into him and cried. Willow and Cordellia and Xander all came back to reality. "Buffy, you know that we're always here for you!" Willow said looking at Cordellia. "Well, some of us!" Willow muttered under her breath! Cordellia gave her a look. Willow walked over to Buffy and Angel. "Is there anything we can do?" Oz asked. Buffy sniffled. "Will someone go check on my mom?" Buffy asked. Oz and Willow nodded and left. Buffy wiped her nose. " Okay, now what?" She asked as she got to her feet! Willow and Oz headed down the hall. WHen they got out, they realized it was a full moon. Oz didn't turn into anything. Willow smild and kissed him gently on the lips.
Oh well, she thought, she probably just forgot.
She lazed about the kitchen, slowly preparing herself mentally for the challenges the day would hold. She would undoubtedly be faced with her least favorite in a long list of unacceptable principals, even the one at good ol' Hemery High wasn't as bad as the little weasel she had to see every day now.
Sighing, she made her way out of the house. There wasn't any use putting off the inevitable, bisides she was supposed to meet Giles in the library for an extra-early meeting.
The street was her first cue that something more was wrong than her mom simply forgetting to leave a note. There were no cars. The sidewalks were empty too. Generally they would be filled with kids walking to school and cars full of frenzied commuters. But there was only absolute and eerie silence.
Buffy stared at the still neighborhood, uncertain of what she should do. Maybe she was still asleep and this was all a dream...
The screeching of tires started her from her reverie and a bright red sports car came to a screeching stop at the curb in front of her house. Queen C herself fairly leapt out of the car.
"What is going on?" Cordelia demanded, perfectly laquered nails drilling a maddening rhythm on the roof of her car.
Cordelia's appearance assured Buffy this was definately not a dream - after all, why would she dream of Cordelia? Unless this was a nightmare...
'Hello?' Cordelia snapped. 'You just going to ignore me?'
'Yes,' said Buffy. 'I mean, no, of course not.'
'Well then, are you going to tell me what's up? I am sort of a Scooby, you know. You can't just decide to leave me out of important stuff, even if I don't want to hang around with you and act like the biggest bunch of social rejects since - '
'Cordy! Please!' Buffy broke into the rant. 'What is it? What do you want?'
'Where is everyone?' Cordelia snapped, thankfully getting straight to the point. 'I woke up this morning and everyone had gone.'
'Gone?' Buffy thought of her mom. 'You sure? Everyone?'
'Weren't you listening? And just look at this place. It's dead.'
'You're right.' Buffy looked around them. The silence was almost oppressive. 'I was going to meet Giles in the library. You want to come?'
Cordelia shrugged. 'Sure. At least no one will see me.'
Buffy was about to step into Cordelia's car when Cordelia stopped her by saying something. "Make sure you don't ruin my car as you are getting in. This is my only car because my dad forgot to pay the bills so I have very little money so I can't buy a new one." she said. They arrived at the school after about fifteen minutes of Cordelia's noisy chatter. There was only a couple of cars in the school parking lot, Oz's van and Giles' old beat up little car and another car that none of them recognized. They were relieved to see the gang safe and sound in the library. All except for Oz who came in a few minutes after Buffy and Cordelia.
"Is it just me or does this school seem empty to you?" Oz said.
"It's not just you. By the way, who's car is that in the parking lot?" Buffy said.
"Mine, well not exacatly mine but I am borrowing it from my cousin." Xander said.
"Borrowing or stealing?" Cordelia jibed.
Before Xander could return the barb, Willow walked through the library doors looking lost and bewildered.
"Hey, Wils, what d'ya think of the whole disapearing town routine?" Xander called, choosing to turn his back on Cordelia's taunts.
Willow tried to smile but failed miserably. "I was kind of hoping it was just a nightmare."
"Nightmare it certainly isn't," Giles assured her, walking out of the stacks with an open book in his hands. "But I think I may be on the correct path for discovering what has happened."
Buffy's brow creased. "Demons?"
Giles looked up at the crowd of students who populated the library. "Well, not precisely."
'There are spells that can...shift - for want of a better word - individuals outside the normal sphere of reality.' Giles sat down on the edge of his desk. 'In this case, either all of the residents of Sunnydale have been moved into a seaprate sphere, or we have.'
'We're in an alternative dimension?' asked Willow.
'In a way,' said Giles. 'But one that has been specially created for us. Or for the rest of Sunnydale.'
'Why would do that? Who could do that?' asked Buffy.
'I have no idea. They would need to be extremely powerful. If I'm even on the right track, of course.' He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his jumper. 'I could be entirely wrong.'
There was a moment of silence.
'Does this alternative dimension thingy just cover Sunnydale?' asked Buffy. 'I mean, can we go outside the town boundaries.'
'I have no idea.'
'Let's try, shall we?'
Buffy walked outside and the scooby gang followed.
"Everybody get into the Cordelia's car." Buffy said.
"Why my car, why not Xander's cousin's car?" Cordelia said.
"Well, no offence Xander but I don't think we should trust any car that has been in Xander's family. Because Xander's family only has old cars and some old cars break down." Buffy said.
Everybody piled into Cordelia's car. While getting in Xander kicked the seat on accident.
"Watch it, Xander!" Cordelia said.
They drove to the city limit but before they could cross it Cordelia's car stopped and wouldn't start up again.
"Well, now we know the answer to my question." Buffy said.
They drove back to the library where Jenny Calendar was waiting for them.
"Miss Calender!" Xander was the first to enter the library, spying the techno-pagan pacing the glossy tiles in agitation.
"Rupert, you're all right," she said, watching the group file into the room, relief flooding her features.
"Yes, quite so. We were testing a theory, so to speak."
Curious, Jenny proded, "Any ideas what's going on? I've been thinking about taking a vacation getting away from the hustle of town for a while, but this..."
Cordelia gave an unlady-like snort. "You won't find any more seclusion than this!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in disgust before sitting down heavily in a nearby chair. "I guess I can rule out cheerleading practice for this afternoon."
"Perhaps we will discover a solution soon," Giles said, his attempt at consoling the irritated girl lost to the opening of the door.
The group turned to see Angel, slightly smoking but otherwise in one piece, standing in the doorway.
"For an empty town we sure are running into a lot of folks," Xander quipped.
'So it's definately empty?' said Angel, casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and his clothes weren't faintly smoking. 'I thought I couldn't hear anything. Of course, I couldn't check. Not with the sun out.'
'It's empty all right. And we can't get out of town, either,' said Buffy.
'Some of sort of dimension spell?' Angel asked, moving further into the library.
'Possibly,' said Giles. 'Do you have any idea who could have done this?'
Angel didn't answer immediately. He paced for a few steps, looking thoughtful.
Everyone jumped as Xander accidentally knocked a book off a desk, shattering the un-natural silence.
'Sorry, sorry.' He fumbled for the book and set it carefully back on the desk. 'God, this place is too quiet.'
'There were rumours about some new demons in town,' Angel muttered to himself. He looked up. 'Powerful spell casters. But I don't know what they're called.'
"Well, I don't want to wait to find out." Buffy said.
"We need to if we want to get back to our reality." Angel said.
"Oh goody, research mode." Willow said.
"I'll get on the internet to see if I can find some of my friends...oh I forgot, they won't be there." Jenny Calendar said.
Just then there some bolts of electircy and a hole opened and guess who fell out of it. It was Buffy's mom (remember she doesn't find out about her daughter being the slayer untill the end season 2 and this takes place in the beginning of season 2)
"What in the world is going on here?" Joyce Summers said.
"Mom?" Buffy started to approach the woman. "Um, where'd you come from?"
"Buffy, what's going on? And why am I at your school?" Joyce straightened her jacket and brushed at imaginary lint on her lapel. "Really, if I'm going to have such vivid dreams I'd rather visit pleasant places."
Buffy's forehead creased with indecision for a moment. "Yeah, you're right, Mom. You just go on back home and lay down, dream something better than good ol' Sunnydale High," she encouraged.
The library was silent as Joyce juggled her supposed dream-state options. "Are you sure this is a dream, Buffy? It feels so real."
Casting disparaging looks at her friends, Buffy grabbed her mother's elbow and guided her to the door and out into the hallway. "You know, Mom, sometimes dreams are just kind of wacky like that."
Angel stepped out from behind a bookcase as Joyce departed. "I see what you were talking about."
"Huh?" Xander turned around to look at the walking undead.
"About running into people."
"Aha!" Willow cried in triumph.
Giles hurried to her side. "Have you found something of use?"
"Oh, wait... never mind. These guys tend to turn you inside-out before they do the dimensional alteration thingy, and I don't know about you, but me? Definately not inside-out."
"What do you mean, inside-out?" Xander asked resting his hands on the back of Willow's chair.
"You know, all the internal organs on the inside..."
Xander nodded. "Oh, I get it." He gave his body a quick once-over. "Uh, I'm not, am I? Inside out?"
Willow rubbed his arm. "I'd tell you if you were."
They shared smiles.
"Why us?" asked Angel. "I mean, this obviously isn't random. We're here because of our connections to Buffy. But why bring us here?"
"Maybe it's some form of test," suggested Miss Calender.
"Test? Oh man, I hate tests," said Xander.
"Or maybe we've been moved here..." Giles paced. "So someone can attack Sunnydale."
There was a pause, as everyone thought this over.
'Hey, Buffy's been gone a while," said Willow.
"Look on the bright side." Xander said, "At least we won't have to deal with Principal Snyder at the moment."
"That is a good thing. I know what he would say if he was here...why are you in here don't you have something to do, like go to school?" Willow said.
"Hey, where did Angel go." Willow asked.
"I hate it when he does that." Xander said.
When Angel does what?" Buffy asked as she walked into the room.
"Dissapears like that. First he's here and then poof, he's gone." Xander said.
"That's weird, I thought I saw Buffy over there a while ago and then she walked in the door halfway across the room from where I saw her." Jenny Calendar.
"Is it possible that "The Creator" is back?" Willow said.
"I hope not since we destroyed him." Xander said.
"Who is "The Creator"?" Jenny Calendar asked.
"It's a long story, maybe I will tell you another time, after we get back to our reality." Giles said.
"I don't think it is him." Angel said behind Xander.
Xander jumped. "We really need to put a bell on him so we can tell if he is sneeking up on us or rather me." Xander said. "I hate it when Dead Boy does that."
"What did I tell you about calling me Dead Boy." Angel said.
"Boys, can you stop fighting so we can find out what is going on." Buffy said.
"Buffy's right, we need to find out what is causing this and then we can argue later." Giles said.
"Or you can just all go back to class. You do have someplace else to be."
All eyes turned to see Principal Snyder standing in the doorway.
"So much for that thought..." Xander muttered.
"Someplace else to be... yes, you're right. We're going now," Buffy said lightly, "Going to class."
"I expect you to all be at the pep rally this afternoon," Snyder said and turned to leave the library. His arm moved to open the door but rather than doing so, he walked through it, disapearing as he entered the hallway.
Cordelia pushed the door open, revealing an empty corridor. "You know, this could have its benefits, but not with authority figures popping in and out like this."
"Back to the books," Willow sighed.
The research session was in full swing when a sound came from outside the library, startling them into immobility.
"I'll check it out," Angel offered and left the rest of the group to their books.
"I should'a done that," Xander mused.
Willow looked at him. "What?"
"Gone to check on the noise and get out of researching."
Their worries of what might be lurking were relieved when Angel returned with Oz.
"Looks like the whole gang's here now," Buffy said.
"But weren't you here just a minute ago?" Cordelia asked.
Oz frowned. "I thought I was, but then I was in the cafateria. Weird."
"Do you know anything more about these new demons, Angel? The powerful spell casters you had mentioned?" Giles asked, rubbing his temple and setting his glasses aside.
'Other than they're powerful? Not much,' said Angel. 'I know that there are spells that can only be performed by them; for anyone else, human or otherwise, it just takes too long to gather that level of power, and too much energy to maintain it.'
'We can look for those types of spells,' said Willow. 'Have you ever heard of any, Miss Calendar?'
'Can't say I have.'
'Strange thing is - ' Angel continued. 'I always heard that they were pretty peaceful.'
'Could they have been hired to do this?' asked Giles. 'Or perhaps coerced, somehow?'
'I don't know - it would be damn hard to threaten one. There would have to be something in it for them.'
Disembodied teenage voices drifted through the doors. After a moment they disappeared completely.
'Could the walls be weakening?' asked Miss Calendar.
'Not yet.'
There was a pause.
'Okay. I didn't say that. Did you say that?' Xander waved an arm at the group. 'Anyone?'
Everyone shook their head.
Just then a demon appeared. The demon had a tall head, about twice as tall as a human one. It also had blueish, bumpy skin and it wore a purpleish robe but it was only half a robe because not all of the demon was there.
"Are you responible for this?" Angel asked.
"Yes, It was supposed to be temporary, only a test but I think somebody else is using it to their advantage maybe because they or it is planing an invasion or something else in the real Sunnydale. I think they(or it) can't handle the spell that well, that's why you can hear people or see people from the real Sunnydale." The demon said.
"O...K, can you repeat that in English?" Xander said.
Everybody ignored him.
Buffy went to stand beside Angel, "Do you think it is telling the truth?"
"Yes, it has to be because this demon is a truth teller, it can never tell a lie." Angel said.
"Oh." Buffy said.
"What kind of demon are you." Giles asked.
"I am a Bo'rk(pronouced Bo-ark) demon." it said.
"Well, we need to find out who is doing this and try to stop him or it from doing something bad to Sunnydale. The real one that is." Buffy said.
"Oh, well, back to the research." Xander said.
Buffy began to walk back toward the table. "No, no more research," she said firmly.
Willow and Giles raised their heads to look more directly at her.
"What did you say?" Giles asked.
"I'm tired of researching and we're not finding anything anyway. Tell you what, Giles, you and Miss Calender and Willow stay here and keep at the books and look into whatever it was that Dork-demon said, the rest of us can go out and have a look around, see if maybe there's something out there we can do."
"It was a Bo'rk demon, Buffy," Giles corrected.
"Whatever, just look it up, the rest of us will be back in half an hour."
"Wait a second," Cordelia interjected, "Why do I have to leave too?"
"You wanna stay here and go through the books?" Buffy asked.
Cordelia glanced over at the towering stacks of ancient tomes that littered the table. "You're right, let's get outta here."
Buffy and Cordelia walked to Cordelia's car when they heard a voice from behind them.
"Where do you think you're going?"
They looked behind them when they saw Principal Snyder. Not again Buffy thought.
"We were going to um... get supplies for science class." Buffy said
"Let someboby else...where are all of the student cars?" Synder said. He started walking to the main school door when he stopped and turned to look at Buffy. "If I hear that you, Buffy Summers planned this student strike I will make sure you will have so much detention that you will never leave school again." He said. He started walking twards the door again when he disappeared before he ever got to the door.
"Gee, that was harsh." Buffy said.
They got into Cordelia's car and drove off.
Cordelia stepped out of the school into the bright sunlight just in time to see Angel and Buffy disappear in her car.
"Hey!" Her call was either unheard or merely ignored and she stared after the vanishing red coupe until it was gone from sight. "Of all the... I should report it as stolen, that'd teach them to take my things without asking," she muttered.
"Yeah, you could, at least you could if you were able to find a cop. The way things are going today I'd say that won't be happening."
Cordelia spun on Xander, her eyes flashing with anger. "This is all your fault!" she exclaimed, glaring at him before stalking away down the sidewalk toward the city center.
"My fault, sure it is." Xander watched her walk away, appreciating the sway of her hips. He would have to follow her, fuming hell-beast that she was, at least she was a pretty one...
Cordelia thought for a minute as she walked down the sidewalk. Wait a minute, wasn't I the one getting into my car with Buffy, not Angel. I got to get used to this she thought. She reached the center of the city and saw something she didn't expect. It couldn't be she thought. There standing in front of her was...
...Xander.
Hadn't she just left him back at the school? She spun around to look behind her but rather than finding the sidewalk she'd just walked down, she spied the school stairwell.
"Hey," Xander called, "I thought you were hoofin' it."
"And I thought you were actually going to try and be helpful for a change," she commented drily. "This is ridiculous. How are we supposed to figure out what's going on if we keep ending up in different places from where we intend to go?"
"Yeah, there seems to be a lot of that goin' around."
Cordelia spun around again to see Buffy standing on the stairwell landing. Shrugging at Cordelia's questioning look, she started down the stairs.
"Don't ask me," she said to the taller girl's unspoken question. "I got out of your car at City Hall. And besides that, weren't you in the car? I mean, it's daylight outside, how'd Angel end up there? And where is he now?"
Angel couldn't move. He was in a coffin. He broke it open and about 30 feet of dirt landed on him. I wonder who was burried so deep. After he broke through the dirk he came into the sunlight. He got up quickly and ran to an open crypt and he shut the door. Where did the body in the coffin go he asked himself. Meanwhile back at the school front steps Cordelia turned her head and saw a dead, rotting body propped up beside her. She screamed and shoved it away but before it hit the ground it vanished. She looked around and saw that she was alone. Where did they go? They should have not left me her, Queen C fumed. She walked into the school's front door and she found herself in her room at home.
"This is impossible!" Cordelia exclaimed and sat down heavily on her bed. Scenes were changing so rapidly that her head was beginning to spin. She hoped the others were having better luck than she was.
Meanwhile, Giles, Miss Calender and Willow were still emersed in a pile of books, looking for a way out of the spacial anomally.
"You know," Oz said from his perch near Willow, "this could have its benefits."
Willow's head jerked up and she grinned. "Yeah, it could but the way things go around here, we're probably going to have to save the world from certain doom again."
"Saving the world doesn't pay much." Angel brushed dirt from his jacket and nodded hello as he stepped closer to the table.
"No luck? I didn't hear you come in," Giles stated, removing his glasses as he watched the vampire.
"That could be because I didn't come in, I was somewhere else, then I was here."
"Oh dear. This may be far worse than we originally feared."
"Worse?" Buffy said. "Because being stuck in some sort of bizarre, empty dimension isn't bad enough?"
Giles fiddled with his glasses. "All these strange...happenings, I suppose you could call them...going to one place and ending up in another, and things like that..." He put his glasses back on. "They suggest that this dimension isn't entirely stable."
"But...that's a good thing, right?" said Xander. "We can go back to normal Sunnydale, with all it's vampires, demon, school..." He paused. "Or we could just stay here."
"If this dimension collapses," Giles continued. "I don't know where we might end up."
"I don't want to wait here to find out. Have you come up with anything, Giles." Buffy said. Giles didn't answer, he was gone.
"I hate it when that happens." Xander said. "I wonder where he went.?" Xander said.
Giles looked around. He was in Buffy mom's room. Joyce woke up from her nap.
"What are you doing here?" she asked
"I..um..I came to see how you are doing." Giles said.
"Wow! Buffy's school really has kind teachers." Joyce said.
"I had a strange dream, I was at the Gallery and then I was at the Library at your school." she said.
Before Giles could answer he was gone.
"Now, where did that nice teacher go? Maybe this is still a dream." Joyce said.
Joyce sat up. She wondered where Buffy was and if she was okay. That was when the lights went out. Joyce lay back down nad closed her eyes.
"Where is Giles?" Buffy asked her clan. They all looked at her. "Well, he was here just a minute ago!!" Buffy looked around. "Is anyone listening?" Buffy got fed up. She sighed and sat on the desk. Angel came over to her. "Buff, are you okay?" Angel asked, giving her a comforting hug. Buffy turned into him and cried. Willow and Cordellia and Xander all came back to reality. "Buffy, you know that we're always here for you!" Willow said looking at Cordellia. "Well, some of us!" Willow muttered under her breath! Cordellia gave her a look. Willow walked over to Buffy and Angel. "Is there anything we can do?" Oz asked. Buffy sniffled. "Will someone go check on my mom?" Buffy asked. Oz and Willow nodded and left. Buffy wiped her nose. " Okay, now what?" She asked as she got to her feet! Willow and Oz headed down the hall. WHen they got out, they realized it was a full moon. Oz didn't turn into anything. Willow smild and kissed him gently on the lips.