Author's Note
Thanks for the reviews. This is my first go at a Buffy fanfic (although I have roleplayed in the genre before), so I was hoping people wouldn't think it was terrible. MM4Ever: I said in the synopsis "Willow wakes up in a skewed reflection of her own world". I never said it was our Willow ;-)
#3: Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law
Willow stands with her arms crossed, listening as Buffy desperately tries to get away with giving the edited highlights of her patrol the previous night. The librarian though, a stickler for detail, is insisting on the director's cut with deleted scenes. This is beyond weird. Same game, different players. There's no doubt now that she's stuck on some kind of alternate world, a parallel dimension, whatever you want to call it. But how and why?
Well she can guess the how. The Hellmouth! That damn thing has the monopoly on weird shit around here, it's a fair bet that it's involved. The why though is going to be hard, unless there is no why. No motive, no plan, just a big freaky accident that wasn't supposed to happen? Yeah, that'd be right.
The bell rings for first period just as Buffy finishes her report. She looks as if she's never been so glad to hear that bell before in her life. "Let's go fill our heads with learning," she says brightly.
"And then empty them right back out again," the boy Willow now knows as Xander quips as he follows her. He looks back at Willow as they get to the doors. "Are you coming with?"
Willow has no intention of going through the motions of class, not with this hanging over her. "I've just got to ask Giles something," she tells him, using the name the others were using for the librarian. Although it's a bit odd if you ask her. She wouldn't be too happy if her friends started calling her Rosenberg all the time.
Xander looks pensive for a moment, as if he wants to say something important, but then just shrugs. "Okay, see you this afternoon?" he asks, giving her a smile.
Willow nods absently.
"Bye Wills," Buffy says before disappearing through the doors with him.
The librarian turns his head to look at Willow and smiles. "Well Willow, how can I help you?"
"How much do you know about opening dimensional portals?" she states, getting right to the point.
Giles looks blankly at her for a second, then furrows his brow. "Dimensional... portals?" he repeats. Willow suddenly has his attention. He'd thought she was being quieter than usual through Buffy's report. Usually she helps expedite matters. He listens as she launches into her explanation, clarifying exactly what's happened to her since waking up this morning. After she finishes, Giles almost collapses into the closest chair. "Good lord!" he exclaims, an expression of worry on his paling face.
"Yeah, do that for a couple of hours and you'll be roughly where I am now. Although I'm hoping we can skip the brainfreeze and go straight to the hocus-pocus," Willow quips, sounding impatiently sarcastic. She can't help that right now though. "There's a spell that can get me back, right?"
"Willow, opening a gateway between dimensions is quite high magic. Even assuming I found the correct spell to use in my books, I wouldn't know where to open it to. Besides, if I'm understanding what you've told me correctly, you didn't make a physical transference."
Willow is getting a bad feeling about this. "What do you mean?"
"Well from your distress over your hair, I assume you wear it in a different style, yes?"
"Yeah," she agrees. "It's shorter and more layered." She picks up some of her long hair and lets the strands fall through her fingers. "This is a mess." It was the first thing she'd seen in the mirror that had started cluing her in.
"Then that means this isn't your body," Giles tells her with gravitas. This is precisely why he's so worried. "Whatever caused this dimensional transference only sent your mind here. You're in essence a parasitic entity walking around in a stolen body."
Stolen? Willow stares at him. "What, you actually think I did this?" She's annoyed now and getting more so by the second. How dare this second rate bookworm call her a bodysnatcher. "If anyone's been stolen round here, it's me. I was happy where I was. Why the hell do you think I'm trying to get back?"
"Of course," Giles says quickly, trying to placate her. "But you have to understand, your mere presence here has grave implications. If you're currently occupying our Willow's body, where is our Willow?"
She hadn't thought of that. It makes sense, but still... "Okay, I'm not unsympathetic, but that's not my problem. And I'm not going to be made to feel guilty for something I had nothing to do with."
Giles sighs. "I'm sorry. My intention wasn't to apportion blame. This is... a little hard to take in. And I'm concerned for the safety of our Willow. She's very dear to all of us, I'd hate for her to become a casualty of this war."
Willow feels her indignation fade as she sees genuine sadness on his face. "Look, there's no reason to think that your Willow won't pop back in as soon as I'm back where I belong," she tries to reassure the librarian as she perches herself on the edge of the main table. "You just need to get me there."
"I'll... I'll do all that I can," Giles says, flustered. "But I don't know if it's possible."
Her heart sinks. "So basically I'm up shit creek without a paddle," she mutters despondently. "Figures!"
"Willow!" Giles admonishes, unused to hearing such words coming from the quiet hacker.
"What?"
"There's no need to swear."
Willow glances up and rolls her eyes at his expression. "Yeah, considering the situation, I think I'm entitled to a few 'colourful metaphors'."
"Well... at least try not to use them in the presence of an adult," Giles says lamely as he takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them.
Willow contemplates the man sitting before her. "Wes told us he wasn't a typical Watcher. I'm starting to see what he meant."
"Is this 'Wes' very different from myself then?" Giles asks, becoming curious as to what sort of world has shaped this version of his charge's best friend. She's certainly more... feisty than the Willow they know.
She smiles slightly to herself, despite her troubled mood. "He's like the missing member of the Lone Gunmen. Only better looking."
Giles raises an eyebrow. "The who?"
"What about them?"
Giles blinks at the non-sequitur. "What?"
Willow bites her lip, stifling mild amusement. "Sorry, just messin' with your head." She sobers up at his expression. "You have heard of The Who, right?"
"Oh!" Giles pauses. "The band?"
She twists her face. "How old are you?"
Giles clears his throat. "Old enough." This Willow is reminding him of - god forbid - Cordelia Chase of all people. They both seem to say exactly what is on their minds without any indication of having heard of a thing called tact... or decorum.
Willow shrugs as she jumps off the table. "Anyway, hadn't you better start checking your spellbooks or whatever it is you plan to look at? The sooner you get rid of me, the sooner you get your Willow back." And if that isn't encouragement, nothing is. It spurs him into action at any rate.
"Yes, of course," he replies, getting out of his seat. "It may take some time though. You're free to um... wait if-"
Willow holds up a hand. "There's stuff I can be doing. I'll check back later."
Giles nods and disappears into the stacks. Willow in turn leaves the library, fingering her hair again thoughtfully. After making sure that there are no staff trawling the corridors to catch her, she slips away from school grounds and makes her way back home.
