"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto," Buffy remarked as she and Angel made their way through the downtown area of Sunnydale.

"It definitely looks…different around here," Angel agreed. "Like how it used to look before."

"Yeah, there's like, life."

And there was life in this Sunnydale. Businesses were open. People were outside. And vampires? Not one in sight, except for Angel himself.

"I guess there's no curfew anymore," Angel said, seeing a group of teenagers milling about at the Bronze, fully restored to its original glory. A sign out front announced a band called Dingoes Ate My Baby were playing tonight.

"Well the club looks different," Buffy said.

"That's how it used to look."

"Yeah, with no vampires."

"Who's this man we're going to see again?"

"Some British guy. He's a watcher." Buffy glanced at Angel, a wary expression on her face. "You might not want to mention that you're a vampire. You're not hungry or anything, are you?"

"I don't feed on humans anymore. I swear."

Buffy glanced at him, a bit skeptical. A vampire that didn't feed on humans? She gripped her stake a little tighter, just for safety.

They walked in silence for a few blocks, until finally, Buffy's curiosity got the better of her.

"What did you mean earlier?"

"I don't know. What did I say?"

"When I first found you. That bit about me being your destiny or whatever. What was that about?"

"I meant that you were supposed to be here. You were supposed to come to Sunnydale."

"Well Mom decided on Cleveland. The job paid more. For all the good that did her."

"I waited for you. I had hoped you would come. But then the Harvest started, and the Master rose, and then, well, you saw the way Sunnydale looked before."

"How did you know who I was?"

"This guy, Whistler, he came to me one day. He spoke for the Powers, and he told me about you. I watched you. I saw you slay your first vampire. You looked so…scared and nervous. And I knew then that I wanted to help you. So I came to Sunnydale, because that's where I heard you were moving. But then…you never showed. I was supposed to help you."

"I don't need help. I work alone."

"Maybe you do need help. You just don't realize it yet."

"Why would you want to help me?"

"To make up for all the pain and suffering I've caused people for a start."

"So I'm supposed to believe you're what? Some sort of reformed vampire?"

"I have a soul."

"Vampires don't have souls."

"No, they don't. Except me. I was cursed with one."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Gypsies," Angel explained. "I killed a young girl, a favorite among her clan, and for punishment, they cursed me with a soul."

"Why?"

"So that I would feel the guilt of all the torment I caused for eternity, that's why. And I do. Every day."

"Look, I believe you want the Master dead, but the Master's not here right now. Why should I trust you? How do I know this isn't just some game you're playing, some sort of 'keep your enemies close' type deal?"

"You don't. But you'll have to trust me anyway. I still want to help you."

Buffy considered what he said, then nodded toward her left. "His apartment's that way."

Willow began to pick up the remaining items on the floor, cleaning up the mess she and Anya had left behind.

"Here, let me help you," Buffy offered, sweeping up the sand from the floor with a small broom and dust pan.

"Thanks, Buffy."

"No big."

"Actually, I meant thanks for coming to my rescue. I'm sorry I was so horrible today. I just had a bad day. I didn't mean to take it out on you and Xander."

"That's okay, Will. And actually, I'm sorry too. I should have realized something was bugging you today. You want to talk about it?"

"Oh, it's just Percy," Willow said, standing up and putting the spell items in a bag.

"Tutoring not going so well?"

"'Tutoring'? What tutoring? Apparently he's under the assumption that tutoring him means I do all his homework for him."

"Want me to kick his ass?" Buffy asked.

Willow smiled. "As great as that sounds, no, that's okay. I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Are you sure? Because my fist can be very persuasive."

"Really, it's okay, Buffy. I'll figure something out."

Buffy dumped the rest of the sand into a nearby trashcan, then placed the small broom and dust pan on the counter. "I think that's all of it."

"Thanks."

"Are you sure there's nothing else I could do?"

"I'm fine."

"And we're good?"

Willow smiled. "We're good."

"Well, we better go." Buffy looked to Angel and smiled. "Finish up patrol at the Bronze?"

Angel nodded. "Goodnight, Willow."

Willow waved as she took some books out of her bag, ready to tackle the rest of her homework. "Goodnight."

Buffy approached the apartment building, Angel close behind.

"I hope this is where he still lives. If not, we might be a little screwed." Buffy inhaled deeply, then knocked on the door.

After several long moments, the door finally opened. Buffy lit up at the sight of Giles. "Oh, good, you're still here!"

Giles stared at Buffy, confused for a moment. "Buffy? Are you…alright?" Something seemed…different about her.

"Something weird is going on." Buffy pushed past Giles and headed inside.

Angel remained outside, waiting for an invitation.

"You can come in, Angel," Giles said, holding the door open.

Angel was surprised the man knew his name, and he hesitantly walked through the threshold.

Giles closed the door and turned around, taking in the appearance of them both. Angel had the appearance of someone who'd just rolled out of bed and hadn't showered in days. His hair was scruffy, his clothes were rumpled, and he was obviously dirty. It was odd, for Angel always appeared well-groomed.

Perhaps they'd just been fighting?

Buffy also didn't appear to be entirely herself. She seemed rather distant, and there was something else about her. Giles couldn't put his finger on it at first, and then suddenly, he realized what it was.

"Your clothes. They're…different."

Buffy looked down at herself and brushed off the feelings of self-consciousness. "Well I know it's not the latest fashion craze, but vampires are attracted to bright colors."

Now Giles knew something was different about Buffy. If there was one thing he had learned about his young charge in the two years he'd known her, it was that Buffy Summers took the matter of fashion very seriously. If she was slaying, she was slaying in style.

Giles walked across the room and studied her for a moment, getting a closer look at her. Now that he saw her in the light, he could see a definite scar on and above her lip, one he was certain was not there before. And even though her hair was pulled back, he could tell it was much longer.

"You're not Buffy." Giles turned around to face Angel, suddenly realizing what had been so odd all along. "And you're not Angel."

"Actually…we are," Buffy said. "It's just that everything seems…different."

Giles turned back around to face Buffy. "I don't understand."

"Join the club," Buffy remarked.

As different as she was, the mannerisms were certainly the same. "Perhaps you should both tell me what's going on." Giles indicated the couch and chairs in the living room and they sat down.

"Okay, it's like this," Buffy started. "My watcher sent me here. He said you had called him—"

"Wait, stop for a minute. Your watcher…sent you here? From where?"

"From Cleveland," Buffy clarified.

Giles shook his head, clearly confused.

"I think we're stuck in some sort of alternate universe," Angel spoke up.

"Yeah, it's like Bizarro Land or something, only in a good way. This town looks way better than it did before."

It was all starting to make sense to Giles. This was why Buffy and Angel were acting so strange. It wasn't because they weren't Buffy and Angel; it was the fact that they were Buffy and Angel from an alternate reality.

"I've heard of this before," Giles mused aloud. "Alternate realities. Same world but subtle, or sometimes, major differences. Please continue. Tell me everything."

"Alright. So I came here to Sunnydale. And yeah, it was way different. The streets were deserted. All the businesses were closed. It was like the town was living in fear."

"Of vampires?"

"Yeah. Anyway, you needed some kind of help with this demon. And while I was here, you mentioned a Master vampire who had taken up residence in some nearby club."

"The Master?"

"You've heard of him?"

"You killed him, Buffy. Er, I mean the Buffy here killed him. But that was nearly two years ago."

"Well he's dead and kicking in the other Sunnydale."

"Buffy was supposed to be there," Angel said.

Giles turned to Angel and stared at him for a moment. "What about you? How do you play in all this?"

"The Master was keeping me prisoner. He only kept me alive to torture me. But Buffy was supposed to be there to stop him. I came to Sunnydale to help her, but she never came, and after the harvest, the Master took over."

"And turned the town into a nightmare," Giles said, following along with the story.

Angel nodded. "Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement."

"So how did you two get pulled into this reality?"

Buffy shrugged. "We don't know. We were sort of hoping you could help us figure that out."

"What were you doing just before you came here?"

"I went to find the Master, and that's when I found Angel. He told me where he was and offered to help, so we went to kill him. We were fighting, and then the next thing we knew…we were here."

"In some abandoned factory," Angel said. "The very one we had been fighting in."

"Only it was different, like, completely empty."

Giles rose from the couch, taking his glasses off and wiping them with a handkerchief in his pocket as he paced the living room.

"This is very interesting," he said. "Let's go back to what you said before. Your watcher sent you here because I called him? About a demon?"

"Yeah, some vengeance demon. I think you called her Anyanka."

"Anyanka. Well that's certainly a start." Giles walked over to the door and grabbed his coat. "We should go to the library and research this a little further. I was about to head back over there anyway. Come on, I can drive us there."