Unknown home, Sunnydale, CA; 5:50pm.
Niko's head was throbbing as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself looking at the world sideways while her cheek lay on warm concrete. She groaned as she scrunched her face and got onto her elbow before she reached for the railing above her with another hand. Slowly pulling herself up, she stood up slowly on trembling legs, and then straightened up and then rubbed her head as the throbbing ease away.
"My implant" said Niko to herself as she closed her eyes and wiped the tears that had been gathered. Confused, she looked at the wetness on her fingers, and it was then that she looked down at herself and noticed that she was out of her white Ranger uniform; instead, she was wearing jeans, a plaid shirt, and a white cowboy hat. She then looked confused at her badge which now looked as brand new as the day she became a Galaxy Ranger, and she then looked to the energy shotgun on her left hip holster. She looked around, even more confused, at the houses along the street that was opposite her, and then turned and looked at the house.. whose porch, she was standing on. Shaking her head with her eyes furrowed in confusion, she tried to think about where she could be as she turned and looked out at the street again. She thought about the planets she had been on, but nothing looked like this.
"Earth?" whispered Niko to herself as she looked at the door in front of her while a gentle breeze passed by, "has to be. But where am I, where are the others."
Niko knew that she needed to reach out to her fellow Galaxy Rangers, hoping that maybe they had come to a planet that looked surprisingly like Earth on the orders of B.E.T.A, the Bureau of Extra Terrestrial Affairs. She looked down for her wrist communicator but found that it wasn't on her.
"I always have it with me" said Niko to herself as she turned around on the porch and looked around, even more confused about what was going on when she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Niko took off her hat and placed it on the porch, just missing the reflection on a window as she headed to a set of stairs due to her still confused state. She then walked down the stairs and onto the front lawn. She walked up to the edge of the street and looked at both sides before closing her eyes and concentrating.
A latent psychic since she was born on the world known as Alspeth, Niko was a survivor following an attack on her world which killed her parents and most of her people. She was found, and then taken away to the haven world known as Xanadu by Ariel, a powerful mystic who became her teacher. And it was on that world that Niko was trained, and nurtured, in using her already considerable psychic gifts. Now, as she stood with her eyes closed, and with slow and gentle breathing, Niko used her training with Ariel in mystics to confirm a theory… the same theory that was caused a strange feeling within her.
'The mystic forces here are great' thought Niko to herself as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around again, 'is this a trick? Mystical forces like this were never detected on Earth. If it was, then Ariel and the others in the Circle of Thought would have made sure to keep an eye on it. I can feel it everywhere, permeating through me… the trees… the soil, what's going on?'
It was then that Niko heard screams from the distance. She narrowed her eyes to look through the available light from the street lamps and saw that there was someone running away from what seemed like short, grunting things with horns on their heads.
"That's something you don't see everyday" said Niko as she reached for her weapon as her Ranger training took over. She was about to run and help that poor soul when she heard a growl from behind heading towards her. Turning around sharply and bringing the weapon up at the same time, Niko's eyes widened in shock at the large, dark furred, creature with claws that was running towards her. She could see the green eyes and sharp teeth that seemed to glisten under the street lights as the creature stopped and growled again before coming at her in a dead run. Niko had no choice but to fire her weapon at the creature. However, there was just a loud bang and a bright flash of light that left the creature only dazed.. but not injured.
'What the…?' thought Niko to herself as she looked down at the double barreled weapon in her hands when the creature growled again. She then looked up, away from her weapon, and saw the creature baring it's teeth at her, and exposing the claws it had for hands. Niko knew that she could try and run, but was fairly certain that the creature would reach up to her quickly and then injure her; possibly kill her. And with the mystical forces that she still felt around her, Niko didn't want to use her Series Five implant to boost her powers until she knew what was going on, 'won't use it useless I absolutely have to.'
"Young lady!" said a voice from her right side, from the half opened door. Niko looked at an elderly woman who was aiming a gun with two trembling hands at the creature in front of her. Niko saw the wolf-like creature look at the woman, and then at Niko, and then at the woman again. Growling, the creature took a step towards Niko just as a shot rang out. Niko jumped back as the bullet impacted the ground in front of her while the creature looked at the older woman, growling at her.
"Shut the door!" shouted Niko as she took the opportunity of the distraction to fire off a jumping round house kick directly onto the creature's snout. Just as the Ranger landed onto the ground, she took out her weapon from the holster and, in a fluid motion while the creature was holding onto its snout and screaming in pain, Niko flipped the energy shotgun in her hand and then used it like a bat and smashed the entire side of the stock into the forehead of the creature. Niko then jumped backwards towards the porch while the creature was wailing in pain. She looked behind her and told the lady to get back into the house, and lock her doors.
"Do you have a basement?" asked Niko.
"Ye… yes" said the elderly woman whose hands were still trembling while she aimed the gun at the creature who now was thrashing on the lawn in pain.
"Get in there, ma'am" said Niko calmly when she saw the trembling hands, "lock your front door, lock your basement door. This thing's mad at me so if it happens to get up again, it'll follow my scent… maybe. I'll send some Rangers to help you once whatever this is over."
"What rangers? Texas Rangers? This is California my dear" asked the older lady.
Niko noticed the confusion in the old woman's voice when she mentioned the Rangers and thought to herself, 'and why did she mention the Texas Rangers? And what the heck am I doing in California? I should be in BETA mountain, or at least in the….. wait a minute.'
Amongst the screaming and thrashing creature that was lying on the grass as it grabbed it's head with its claws, Niko looked around again and noticed the architecture of the surrounding houses.. they didn't look like anything in the early twenty second century.
'Oh no, don't let this be what I think it is' thought the Ranger to herself as she looked at the elderly woman again, "ma'am, what year is this?"
"1997" said the woman as Niko looked on in shock, just as she heard weapons fire in the distance. Turning towards the weapons fire coming from the left side of the street, the red haired Galaxy Ranger told the elderly woman to get into the house, and lock everything tight; and that she'll send law enforcement officials by as soon as possible.
"And… ummm… please forget that I was ever here?" asked Niko as she started to run.
The elderly woman saw the redhead take off, and then she saw the creature that was now whimpering as it lay breathing on her lawn. Locking the door, she then ran into the house and went into the basement, locking the door behind her.
Niko continued running as she thought about her predicament.
'I'm in the past' she thought to herself as she saw several other smaller creatures chasing others who were dressed strangely, 'it's like one of those old movie sets. I need to get back. And… and that means I can't ask for help from any authorities, they can't know about my Series Five implant. If they do then… then I'd have changed my future. I need to find out what's happening and then hide out and hope that Waldo, Zachary, Goose and the others find a way to bring me home. But one thing that bothers me is this mystical energy… I haven't read anything about this in Earth history. Maybe that's a question for another time.'
Niko ran as fast as she could when she suddenly stopped as lights from behind her lit the roadway in front of her. Turning around, she saw a car whizz by.
"Amazing, internal combustion engine automobiles" said Niko, "don't see things like that after moving to fuel cells."
She saw the car make a turn to the left before she stated running towards the sounds of weapons fire. It was a few minutes later that she saw a man in a green uniform firing at what can only be described, now that she managed to get a good enough look at them, as demons.
"There's something you don't see everyday" said Niko as she reached for her weapon, but then stopped. She didn't want to show her energy weapons to anyone, not since she discovered that she was in Earth's past. Instead, Niko ran as fast as she could, intending to use her training in martial arts to good effect… however, the man firing the weapon managed to drive them off without the demons getting hurt anyway.
"That was interesting" shouted Niko as the man turned and aimed the weapon at her, 'an M16 rifle, the old U.S Army issue… amazing. The things I could learn here… wow… but, stop Niko… getting home is the first priority.'
Niko raised her arms into the air while the soldier aimed his weapon at her, asking her who she was, "my name is Niko, I'm a Ranger."
"Texas Ranger?" asked the man as he looked at the shiny badge on the red-haired woman's belt.
"Special Projects division.. technically speaking" lied Niko as she looked at the identification patch on the soldier's breast pocket, "what's your name, Private?"
"Just…. Just Private Harris" said the man while Niko looked on confused.
"O…k, Private Harris" said Niko, "I'm putting my arms down now, ok? I'm stuck here just as you are… meaning I've got no idea what's going on."
"Neither do I" said the man while Niko noticed a dark haired woman walking behind the Private while looking around confused. What made Niko confused was the dress that the young woman had been wearing; a red, frilly dress that looked like it belonged in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Niko nodded towards the young woman, which made the Private turn around and look at the woman.
"Miss?" asked Niko as she approached the frightened looking woman who looked behind her and Private Harris. Niko turned around to see three monsters heading towards them, that was soon followed by a gasp, and a thud as Niko turned to see that the woman was lying on the ground unconscious after she fainted. Rolling her eyes, Niko turned around and saw the soldier fire off a few rounds… she noticed that the weapon made the sounds and muzzle flashes of an M16, but there were no real rounds coming out of it, just like what happened with her energy weapon.
'But it did scare the other creature, or at least distracted it a little' thought Niko as she took out her shotgun and stood next to the Private, 'these demon looking things are smaller, so I hope they're not as brave as the other one.'
Niko pressed the trigger a few times as loud booms and flashes of light appeared in conjunction with the weapons fire from the Private's weapon. In a few seconds, the creatures ran off frightened and the two uniformed individuals lowered their weapons.
"Dang" said the Private as he looked at the energy shotgun, "that's some kinda experimental shotgun?"
"You could say that" said Niko as she holstered the weapon before turning around and running to the collapsed young woman in the red gown. She asked the Private to help her leaned the dark haired woman against the tree before she tapped the woman's shoulders, all the while wondering why would anyone in their right minds be wandering around in that gown, especially in 1997, "Miss? Miss, are you alright?"
"ummm" said the young woman as she groaned while moving her head along the tree trunk, "do you know where you are?"
"Estate…." mumbled the young woman as she opened her eyes and looked at Niko before she gasped and then looked at the Private, "where am I? Who are you people?"
"What year is it?" asked Niko as she looked at the young woman, "to you, what year is it?"
"Women don't deal in wondering what year it is" said the young woman while Niko shook her head and then, while crouched, looked up at the Private and asked him what year it was for him.
"1971" said the Private as Niko sighed and then looked at the young dark haired woman who was looking back at Niko, and then at the Private.
"He can answer" said Niko as she looked at the younger woman, "so can you. Now, please tell me what year is it?"
"Fine" pouted the woman, "it's 1775."
"Thank you" said Niko as she stood up, after which the Ranger helped the dark haired young woman stand up.
'Three people pulled out of their own time period' thought Niko to herself, 'why? What's so important about this time? Does it have something to do about this mystical force that I sense throughout this place? Did someone in my time… no… can't be because then why are these two here.'
"Your dress" said the young woman as she looked at Niko and what she was wearing, "it is so strange, how did I come to be here?"
"I don't know" said Niko.
"How about you?" asked the Private looking at Niko, "where are you from?"
"Ummm… 1986" lied Niko who did not want to tell them that she was from the early twenty second century.
"So all of us are from different times" said the Private, "and not one of us knows what the heck is going on? Or why we're here?"
"Demon! Demon!" shouted the dark haired woman as Niko and the Private took out their weapons, and then immediately dropped it as a car drove past them. Frowning, the Private looked at the panicking young woman and shook his head.
"She never saw a car before" said Niko as she put the weapon back in her holster and walked towards the frightened woman, "there's nothing to be scared of Miss…. What do I call you? What's your name?"
"I…. I was called the Duchess of Buffonia from the Land of Buffdom" said the woman as Niko looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Miss" said Niko, "during my training to become an archeologist I've taken history classes; and I can tell you that I've never come across anyone by that name, or that place."
"That is who I am" said the woman, "does it matter if you have heard of me? Or where I'm from?"
"I guess not" said Niko shaking her head before looking around, "we can't stay here… it's too open. We need someplace to hide out while we make a plan."
"For?" asked the Private.
"Finding out who brought us here… to this place" said Niko, "and why."
"All these houses are occupied" said Private as he looked at all the homes, "but I doubt that they'd let anyone in.. especially with what's going on. And we can't go into each house and ask for help in case some of these things come after us. I mean we could force ourselves inside and…"
"Then we find some place empty" said Niko shaking her head, "Private, you take point. I'll stay with the Duchess."
"Yes" said the dark haired young woman as she grabbed a hold of Niko's arm, "it isn't our duty to fight. We have a strong man to protect us."
Niko just looked at the woman, and then at the Private, and back at the woman again and shook her head to clear her mind.
'This is going to be really interesting' thought Niko to herself as she walked with the Duchess, who was holding on to her arm tightly while she scanned the area with her weapon held out. They could hear screams in the distance, as well as windows breaking for the next ten minutes as they continued to walk cautiously. Eventually, they came to a row of dark houses that they hoped were empty. The Private tried to open one just as he heard a scream.
"Buffy!" shouted a woman who was dressed as a cat who was at another house down the road when she ran as fast as she could towards them.
Niko could see that she was being chased by something that she had heard only stories about in old Earth legends, a sasquatch.
"Buffy!" shouted the young woman a she ran towards them. Niko and the Private raised their weapons while the Duchess hid behind a tree.
"Get down!" shouted Niko as the woman dress as a cat swerved to one side in shock upon seeing the weapon being held up by the redhead. Niko, and the Private then started to press the triggers of their respective weapons, hoping that the intense lights and sounds would scare the creature off. They continued what they were doing as the creature covered its ears and closed its eyes while screaming before turning around and running away.
"Willow?" said the young woman who stood up after she dived onto the grass, and then looked at her torn sleeve before complaining, "the sleeve's torn, damn it. There goes my deposit from Partytown."
"Did you just call me Willow?' asked Niko confused.
"That's your name" said the cat woman, "what? You got amnesia all of a sudden?"
"Xander, Buffy, back me up here" said the young woman as she looked at the confused faces of the other two, "oh come on, I know we're not that close… and I'm not really with the whole weird stuff that you people have going on, but still. Guys?"
"Who's Xander?" asked the Private.
"What kind of a name is Buffy?" asked the Duchess.
"Thank you" said the cat woman as she looked at the Duchess, "you know how long I've wanted to ask that question."
"Miss" said Niko as she holstered her weapon while looking at the newly arrived woman, "why did you call me Willow?"
"I don't know what joke you guys are playing with me" said the woman as she looked at Niko's dress, "or why you're dressed as a cowgirl for Halloween, I mean… you couldn't have picked a weirder costume or…"
"Halloween?' asked Niko, "you mean the day that people dress up in costumes and…"
"Have Jojo the dog faced boy run after you?" asked the woman as she pointed at the sasquatch that was running away, "I mean it doesn't happen a lot.. but after seeing what you guys see, I'm not really surprised about the weirdness… but still, pretending you're not Willow just to show me what kind of a bitch I can be is kinda uncalled for."
"I am telling you the truth" said Niko, "my name is Niko, I'm a Ranger with…. With…. Look, I know this is unbelievable but we've been taken from different points in time and…"
"Enough with the jokes" said the woman, "you know me. You know? Cordelia? The Cordette's? Their leader…. You remember?"
"No" said all three of them together.
"Willow?' said Cordelia as she looked at the redhead with concern. She knew that the three of them didn't like her that much, but to continue this kind of a charade would be cruel, even for them. She then looked at Niko, then the Private, and finally she looked at the Duchess, "you don't remember me? Xander? Buffy? Remember your first day at Sunnydale High? Do you remember the whole fighting darkness with Giles thing?"
'Huh?" asked the Duchess.
"Umm… Cordelia" said Niko gently, "I can tell you that I have no idea who you are. I don't know this Willow person either. Maybe we look similar and you've mistaken me for her or…."
"We need to see Giles" said Cordelia as she looked at everyone, "he and you guys deal with all this weird stuff so… so he's the one who can help."
"Ok" said Niko shaking her head, "take us to this Giles person."
TBC.