Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, with the exception of the originals. Some of the dialogue in the fourth scene comes from the BTVS episode "Prophecy Girl".

Gossamer Remembrance
By, Heather B. Kytes
Chapter Summary: Buffy stood, surprised as a pale wisp of a man slithered from behind her to stand before her, smiling eerily in the flickering firelight. His dark hair and eyes were vortexes of despair, his skin a blank canvas, his smile devoid of humanity.

Chapter Four:
World of Chaos

"They think we're insane," Buffy said to Tohru in a hushed whisper as they waited in the hallway outside the drawing room door. Inside the room, Hatori and Shigure conferred after hearing the story of Buffy and Tohru's arrival into their world. Shigure had sent the girls out of the room with a curt, "I need to talk to Hatori alone."

Tohru placed her hand on Buffy's shoulder. "They'll help us."

Buffy sighed, looking upset. "Does it really matter? They can't help us. I guess it was stupid to think they could do anything."

Tohru gazed on sympathetically. "Things are strange here, that's for sure. I know these people, but they aren't the same as the ones I knew. In fact, I'd say they're like different people."

"I'm confused by their system," Buffy admitted. "From what they've unintentionally revealed, I can gather that they live under a system of War Lords. Shigure is the Lord of this domain, obviously, and I'm sure some of the others are Lords of other areas as well. This Akito person must be the guy connecting them all together."

"Akito is the head of the family," Tohru said slowly, unsure of how much about the Soumas she could reveal to Buffy. Maybe if she knew about the Zodiac curse...

No. She couldn't reveal the secret. Even though this was a different world...

A radical thought popped into Tohru's mind. What if the curse doesn't exist here?

There was only one way to test that theory, really.

"Head of the family? Are they all brothers or something?" Buffy asked, cutting into Tohru's musings.

"No, some are only distantly related to each other, in fact, most are. Ayame and Yuki are brothers," Tohru replied. "At least, they are in my world."

Buffy mulled it over. "Everything seems to be the same, at least basically. It's the circumstances that are all twisted. I'd really like to know what's going on back in Sunnydale."

"That's where you're from?" Tohru asked.

Buffy nodded. "Good old California, yeah."

Tohru grinned. "I bet it's nice there, all sunny and green."

"It was."

"You said it yourself, we'll get home," Tohru said cheerily upon seeing Buffy's dejected gaze. "I'm positive we'll get the help we need from the Soumas. I still believe they're good people."

"Good people who send minor criminals to die horribly in front of cheering strangers?" Buffy raised an eyebrow at Tohru. "And not caring if innocents get caught up in the proceedings?"

Tohru swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, clutching her golden locket instinctively. "That's Akito's rule, and they do what he says," she said quietly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Isn't that peachy?"

The door to the drawing room opened, and Hatori looked down at them. "You may come inside," he said tonelessly.

The girls moved past him into the room. Tohru noticed again how odd the architecture and decor of the old house was. It was so... American. Obviously Akito has wanted it built this way, for whatever reason. Shigure reclined in his seat, puffing on a cigarette. "Well, we talked it over."

"And?" Buffy prompted impatiently.

Shigure shrugged. "And what? I have no idea how we can possibly help you. You said you were 'magically' transported to this place. I'm afraid I have no experience with magic. In fact, I'll go so far as to say it doesn't exist here."

"Bullshit," Buffy cut in. "Demons exist but magic doesn't? Get a clue!"

"The demons exist because of the rip in the hellmouth," Shigure said. "We are dependent on the Slayer to maintain the balance. Her origins are mystical, sure, but none of that magic exists anymore, at least not to my knowledge. You would do best to contact someone who has an inkling about this so-called magic."

Buffy froze. "The Slayer."

Shigure yawned. "What about her?"

"You know her?" Buffy asked.

"I've met her a few times, yes. Why do you ask?"

Buffy couldn't seem to speak, so Tohru piped up, "Buffy is a Slayer."

"There's only one Slayer, kid," Shigure said quickly. "This isn't her."

"In my world, I'm the Slayer," Buffy said quietly.

"It makes sense. That's why she's so strong," Hatori mused.

"Well, that's odd," Shigure said. "Two Slayers."

"There aren't... two Slayers here? In this world?" Buffy asked.

Hatori was watching Buffy carefully. "There's only one," he answered. "Her name is Scarlett."

"There were two in my world," Buffy said, looking like she had been prodded with live wire. "Because I died, and was resuscitated, another girl was called."

Tohru's head snapped to stare at Buffy. "You died?"

Buffy nodded mechanically. "When I fought the Master on the hellmouth, I drowned."

Hatori's eyes widened with what must have been surprise. "You were the one who failed to stop the hellmouth from opening," he said.

"No, once Xander brought me back to life, I killed the Master. I closed the hellmouth," Buffy said insistently. "I saved the world."

Hatori shook his head. "Not this world."

The truth was dawning in Shigure's eyes. "In this world, the hellmouth opened. Demons came pouring out and covered everything. A lot of people died, and a lot of Slayers were called and killed instantly. It was Scarlett who finally put together an army and battled the monsters back to hell. She was the one who killed the heavily guarded Master Vampire and resealed the hellmouth."

Buffy shivered. "That... that can't be true."

"Akito made a deal with the demons, before Scarlett was called. He was granted this land to rule as he saw fit. He appointed us as the 'warlords' and divided up the land among us. Once the hellmouth closed, he chose to keep governing the land this way. No one complained. The hellmouth was open for weeks. So much death and destruction had passed that everything changed. The Earth changed, forever." Tohru was surprised to see so many words coming from Hatori's mouth.

"They said I was dead here," Tohru said softly. "Maybe you are, too, Buffy."

"You have to be," Shigure said. "It's too much of as coincidence."

Buffy gasped for air, shaking her head vehemently. "No, I don't believe any of this! This is just some stupid alternate dimension that has no relation to mine. I'm not dead!"

"You said you were," Hatori reminded. "You just must have stayed that way here."

Tohru could see that Buffy was hyperventilating. "Buffy," she started, but before she could reach the girl, she was out cold, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

Shigure lowered his eyes. "Hari, I think we need to talk to Akito about this."

Tohru knelt by Buffy's side, shaking her gently. "Get up," she said urgently. She looked at Hatori desperately. "Are you still a doctor here?"

Hatori nodded, moving towards the fallen girl. "She's just fainted. I'll have her moved to a guest bedroom."

He can't pick her up because then he'll change into his animal form, Tohru realized dimly. And I'm too weak to pick her up. But...

Both of them, dead in this world. Another coincidence?

Tohru wondered if Buffy's mother was still alive here, somewhere. Her thoughts drifted to the broken Kyoko Honda she had met.

Everything and everyone was so different here, and it seemed to all have changed for the worse.

The world had lived through hell and survived.

But at what cost?

Hatori spoke on the phone quietly. Shigure looked wearily at Tohru, as though the trip down memory lane had been rough on him. "Would you like to rest? Do you need something to eat?"

"I--I can make something for dinner," Tohru said hesitantly.

Shigure waved at her dismissively. "I have people I pay to do that. Are you hungry?"

Tohru nodded finally, feeling guilty.

"Dinner should be ready soon. You can join us." Shigure sighed, his eyes moving to Buffy's fallen form. "This can't be easy for you," he murmured.

Smiling, Tohru shook her head. "It isn't, but I know everything will be okay."

"Why's that?" Shigure asked.

The smile remained, though it was touched with the faintest of sorrows. "My mom told me."

"Buffy, if the Master rises..."

"I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't want to die."

"You still don't understand your part in all this, do you? You are not the hunter."

Helpless. Trapped.

"Prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything. You're the one that sets me free."

Drowned. Dead.

"If she's drowned, there's a shot. CPR."

"Come on. Come on. Breathe."

Nothing.

"Buffy..."

Dead.

The Master smiled. "My world. My beautiful world."

The Hellmouth opened. Blood rained from the Heavens, from Hell.

The world was chaos.

The way it should have gone.

Buffy opened her eyes to the dark, unsure for endless moments of where she was, of who she was. All she could remember was her final hours.

What should have been her final hours.

She felt cold all over and pulled the fluffy blanket up over herself. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, and she saw she was in a small bedroom. I must have fainted she thought as everything that had happened rushed back into her head. How embarrassing.

Reluctant to leave the warm comfort of the bed, Buffy nevertheless pushed the sheets down and swung her legs over the side. She could feel how bad her hair must have looked, but in her current state of apathy, she couldn't expend the effort to smooth it down. She headed for the door and left the room.

Her ears picked up on hushed whispers nearby. She followed the quiet voices until she pinpointed the room from which they emanated. Beathing silently, she eavesdropped. She felt slightly guilty until she realized they were talking about her.

"Another Slayer? Get serious," a loud, obnoxious voice spat. Buffy could practically hear the eye-rolling in his tone.

"Yes, Shigure. You expect us to believe that this girl is a Slayer from another dimension that got sent here magically? She's most likely a mental patient escaped from the hospital," a quieter voice said. Though soft-spoken, there was danger in that voice.

"You saw her fight today. She fought those demons like Scarlett, like a pro. If she's not a Slayer, than what is she?" a voice Buffy recognized to be Shigure's demanded.

Buffy got annoyed with the lack of the visual, and moved closer to the curiously open room. She peeked inside to see Shigure and two other strange men sitting in a circle in front of a blazing fireplace. The room was lavishly decorated with an array of royal blues, golds, and ivories with beautiful paintings adorning the walls. Buffy didn't have much of a chance to study the room in detail, as she was more intent on the people resting inside.

"Just some stupid freak who knows martial arts?" the orange-haired owner of the rude voice offered, looking annoyed as he trained his dark eyes on Shigure, who was sitting with his profile to the doorway. "I could have killed those demons easy, so I'm betting anyone with any sort of extensive training with fighting could do the same."

"She was tiny," the gentle voice mused, belonging to a silver-haired pale man with piercing violet eyes. "Her strength did seem unnatural."

Shigure laughed low in his throat. "You haven't heard the rest of it. Hari thinks she's a Slayer from a time long ago, before the hellmouth opened. The Slayer who caused it to open in the first place, to be exact. Apparently, in her world, she was brought back to life somehow and managed to kill the Master and close the hellmouth."

"No damn way," Orange-o scoffed. Buffy had pulled back out of sight, but could recognize who was speaking now from the voices. "She's just some fighter chick."

"I would like to talk to her," Violet-Eyes said softly.

"She passed out once Hari and I told her about the other Slayer. She's in the guest room a few doors down the hall, and I think we should let her rest for a bit and let all of this information absorb."

"I think we should kick her the hell out of the house," the Orange Jerk interjected. "Sounds to me like you're asking for trouble, taking her in like this."

Buffy couldn't let his asshole remarks stand. "I think I'll be leaving now," she said, entering the room and placing her hands on her hips. "Just tell me where Tohru is, and we'll go."

The boy with orange hair seemed to freeze in his seat. "T-Tohru?" he stammered.

"Oh, let me guess at this one," Buffy said sarcastically, pretending to think deeply. "You knew the Tohru from this world, the one who died some time ago, right?"

The boy's mouth closed, and he glared at her wordlessly.

"Listening at the door, hmm?" Shigure asked, turning his head to gaze at her. "Doesn't surprise me, really."

"Whatever. You were right, there's really nothing you can do for me and Tohru. I need to speak with someone who knows magic. Thanks for the hospitality and all, but we're gonna jet. Where's Tohru?"

"Miss Tohru Honda is sleeping," the boy with silver hair said, catching Buffy with his lovely eyes. "She ate dinner and retired for the evening. She seemed exhausted." His eyes left Buffy and slid over to OJ. "I guess you shouldn't have skipped dinner today, cat. You may have seen an old friend had you come. Where do you know Tohru from?"

Shigure held up his hands. "Kyou, Yuki, don't start. I'm sure it isn't important." He looked at Buffy. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Yuki. It would be best if you let Tohru rest and left in the morning, though I can assure you I have no objections with you staying."

Rolling her eyes, Buffy snapped, "What do I have to gain by staying here again?"

"Understanding," a voice of chilled wind whispered at her back. "Why you were brought here."

"Akito," Yuki breathed.

Buffy stood, surprised as a pale wisp of a man slithered from behind her to stand before her, smiling eerily in the flickering firelight. His dark hair and eyes were vortexes of despair, his skin a blank canvas, his smile devoid of humanity. She remembered Shigure's words from earlier, "Akito made a deal with the demons..."

She had no doubt he had sold his soul.

"You know why I'm here?" Buffy asked skeptically, not backing down even as Akito leaned closer to her.

"I know a lot of things," Akito replied cryptically, peering at her with the cold calculation of a snake contemplating the taste of its dinner. "But this isn't the time or the place to discuss them. Not in front of... outsiders." His smile turned in Kyou's direction, and the boy of odd orange hair flinched under the weight of it.

"Fine, you can play the cryptic, I really don't care what seemingly useful, in fact useless things you want to tell me. As soon as Tohru's up, we're gone." Buffy's strong words were dissolved instantly as her stomach chose that time to growl loudly in hunger.

Yuki and Shigure laughed at her, while Akito and Kyou seemed to preoccupied to notice. "We will talk, Miss Summers. Tomorrow, before you leave," Akito said, whisking himself out of the room.

"Yuki, do be so kind as to take Buffy to the kitchen. She can eat Kyou's leftover meal," Shigure said.

Yuki stood as Kyou snapped out of his daze and yelled, "I don't think so, you damn bastard! I still have to eat!"

Shigure smiled innocently. "Well, you shouldn't have brooded up there on the roof so long, then."

"I was about to eat when you called me in here for this stupid meeting!" Kyou exclaimed, his cheeks flaming with anger. His hands were balled into fists as he towered over the reclining Shigure.

Buffy sighed. "I'm not hungry," she insisted, her ears tiring of the shouting.

"Your growling stomach betrays you," Yuki said quietly. Buffy was surprised to find him next to her, staring at her intensely. She had the unsettling feeling of being dissected by his gaze.

"I don't want your damn food anyway, it tastes like crap!" Kyou said, changing his tune so fast it made Buffy's head spin. He started to stomp out of the room but stopped when he found Buffy blocking the door. "Move!"

Oh. She hated being talked to like she was someone's pet.

Buffy smiled warmly at him. "What's the magic word?"

Kyou looked at her humorlessly. "Out of my way," he ordered coldly.

"Nope, not it. Try again later," Buffy replied, pushing him hard and causing him to fall back on the floor on his ass. "Jerk. Next time say please."

"Kyou doesn't know the meaning of that word," Yuki explained, taking Buffy's arm and trying to lead her out of the room. She shook him off.

"I don't need an escort," she said.

"What kind of a crazy bitch are you?" Kyou grumbled, picking himself up off the floor and brushing at his clothes.

Buffy glanced at him. "Just the Slayer."

"Yeah, Scarlett's insane, too," Kyou conceded, walking forward. He stopped in front of Buffy. "Planning to not block the doorway any time soon?"

"Where's the kitchen?" Buffy asked, figuring she would need to satisfy her hunger in order to keep her strength up.

"I'll show you where it is if you move," Kyou said reluctantly. He may not have been used to making such deals.

Buffy moved aside and let Kyou pass, following him as he walked down the hallway. She almost bumped into him when he stopped and whirled around abruptly. "What?" she asked.

Kyou shocked her by laughing. It was odd to see such a happy expression on his normally stormy face. "You just totally ditched Yuki. That was great!" he exclaimed.

"Oh," Buffy said, unaware she had done such a thing. "Oops."

"Whatever. The guy's a loser," Kyou said sourly, continuing his walk. "You'd do best to realize that now."

Buffy followed Kyou, ignoring his 'advice'. What did it matter, really? By the next day, she wouldn't have to deal with the Soumas anymore.

She instantly worried. Tohru knows them from her other world. Maybe she won't be so eager to leave.

And what of Akito and his supposed answers? Should she entertain the idea that he could offer help?

Where would she go when they left?

She realized she had nowhere else to go.

"Watch out for the stairs," Kyou warned, sprinting down the two flights of stairs quickly. Buffy followed suit, her mind only half-focused on the task. She did fine until the final five steps, when she overstepped and began to fall forward, barely registering the fact that she was heading down.

"Oh, crap," Kyou muttered, watching as the blonde fell at him.

He caught her as she fell, cringing in anticipation of the 'poof' sure to follow.

"Sorry," Buffy mumbled into Kyou's shirt, straightening herself and trying to move out of his arms.

His grip was tight.

"Um, you can let go now," Buffy said, looking up at Kyou's face. She was surprised to find an expression of pure shock there. "Kyou, what is it?"

His eyes met hers (upon closer inspection, they were a pretty sepia color), and he asked, "What are you?"

Buffy's brow furrowed in confusion. She was amazed at the change in his demeanor. "I'm the Slayer," she answered.

"Human?"

That earned him an eye roll. "Uh, yeah."

Kyou moved his arms from around her, stepping backwards quickly. "Right." He whirled around. "The kitchen is over here."

Buffy walked behind him, still puzzled. Kyou sure was playing the part of Mr. Mood Swings beautifully.

"Do you know how to cook?" Kyou asked stiffly.

"Well, if your definition of 'cook' entails placing items in the microwave and pressing the power button, yes. Anything more complicated than that, then no." Buffy shrugged. "Just call me a modern girl."

"Shigure doesn't own a microwave, damn cheapskate moron," Kyou grumbled, rummaging around in the refridgerator. He pulled various items out and tossed them onto the counter. "I guess I can make something."

"Oh! I can make Kraft dinner!" Buffy exclaimed cheerfully, getting a blank look from Kyou in response. "Oh, what? You don't have Kraft dinner in Japan?"

Kyou yawned at her. "Nah, just that anyone can make Kraft dinner," he replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of real food."

"So you're a guy who can cook, then? That's pretty amusing," Buffy said, leaning back on her heels and grinning at the sullen boy.

Kyou began ripping into the packages he had removed from the fridge, pulling out pots and pans from the cabinet above his head. "When you have to fend for yourself, it's something you have to learn."

Buffy lowered her eyes to the floor, her thoughts returning to her life back home. How close had she come to being on her own? If not for Giles...

She sat down at the kitchen table and rested her chin on her folded hands, staring down at the polished wood. Her mind was becoming hazy again with the weight of the unusual situation. It was too surreal, to be in this place, with these strange people, so far from home. For the first time since her arrival, she faced the very real possibility that there might not be a way back.

She faced the question of what she was so eager to run back to.

I've been in this sitch before. Another Slayer there to take the blows, to guard the world. I'm free again, free to try and live a normal life.

But what was normal about any of this?

"Hey." Startled, Buffy looked over at Kyou, who was watching her with an eyebrow raised. "How did you know about Tohru?"

"You mean that you knew her?"

Kyou nodded. "Yeah."

Buffy shrugged, returning her gaze to the bare table. "It was just an educated guess. Your reaction to her name, I dunno, was kind of similar to Hana and Kyoko's reaction. You see, Tohru knew all of the Soumas in her world, but none of them have batted an eye at her, except for you."

"She was just a friend," Kyou said quickly. "It's not important."

He was a terrible liar.

"I'm sorry about pushing you down earlier," Buffy said listlessly. "I was pretty irritated by the things you three were saying behind my back."

"Watch out for Akito," Kyou said seriously, ignoring her apology. "Guy's been even crazier since he made that deal with the demons. He was supposed to have died from his illness by now, but he seems to be healthier than ever. It's pretty frightening."

"I can take care of myself," Buffy said curtly, rubbing at her face tiredly. The exhaustion had hit her out of nowhere. She was really starving.

Kyou was silent for a moment before speaking, "I'd like to ask you a favor."

Buffy looked at him expectantly. "Don't get your hopes up," she advised.

"I want to talk to Tohru before you leave tomorrow," Kyou said, turning his back to Buffy. "I just... have to."

"Okay," Buffy said hesitantly. She brightened. "It's the least I can do, since you're being so kind to make me dinner."

"I'm supposed to be making something for you, too?"

Buffy's mouth twisted in annoyance. She was about to say something when Kyou turned to face her again. The teasing smile on his face destroyed any part of her that felt anger.

He was a new person when he smiled.

She looked at him wonderingly, his sullen face appearing dark and dead in the moonlight. She reached out hesitantly to touch his neck, and he flinched when her fingers neared his cuts.

"Let me see it," she said.

"I'm fine," he insisted, moving her hand away.

"Don't be so difficult. I just want to make sure it's not serious." She tried again, this time stopping when his hand covered her own.

"I'm fine," he repeated, gently this time. He looked down at her, his reddish brown eyes softening as they lit upon her face. A smile crept over his lips that brightened everything. "You're here."

Buffy shook herself out of the vision to find Kyou raising an interested eyebrow at her. She had the feeling that was to be a familiar gesture between them. He thinks I'm weird.

She was weird. Where the hell had that vision come from, and what the hell did it mean?

Kyou confirmed Buffy's suspicions about his sentiments. "You're an odd girl."

Buffy sighed. "That's right. I'm Oddball Buffy."

Kyou shrugged, stirring the substance boiling in the nearby pot. "At least you're not boring."

"Yeah, that's what I used to think," Buffy said, gazing out the window at the black, starless night. "Right now? Wishing for boring."

"I can't stand being bored," Kyou said. "I hate it."

She thought she saw a star twinkling somewhere in the endless nothing outside, but when she blinked, it was gone. "I feel like I've met you before, somewhere. Some time," she murmured dreamily, only half-aware that she was speaking at all.

Buffy felt Kyou watching her. She could tell he was puzzled. "I don't see how that could be possible."

"I know," she said gently, staring down at the table once more. A smile came from nowhere to lift her lips. The sadness that hit her then had no discernable source, just like the force that had brought her into this new world. Her voice fell to a whisper that never reached Kyou's ears. "I remember."