** Disclaimers in Part One **
Part 4
Buffy smelled the delicious food before she woke up completely. She got out of bed and started walking toward the smells. Something seemed out of place, but her mind wasn't fully awake yet. She stopped for a moment and considered checking her appearance in the mirror before she left her room, but her stomach rumbled just then and she reasoned that food was more important than her appearance.
"Besides," she said to herself. "It's not like anyone who hasn't seen me like this before is gonna be here."
She walked out of the room, walking toward the familiar voices of her friends. She stopped briefly just before she was about to join them. Again, she felt something in the pit of her stomach indicating that there was something that she should remember, something important, but she couldn't quite grasp it. She shook it off, attributing it to hunger, and started toward the dining area again.
"Did Rick check in with you?" Buffy heard Xander ask.
"Yeah. He called this morning," said an unfamiliar female voice. "They haven't figured out exactly what went wrong with the spell, but they're very close. He said that he'd fill us in when he got here. He would've said more but he didn't want to miss his flight."
"He's very anxious to get here, isn't he?" Xander asked in a light, teasing tone.
Everyone broke out into laughter. "Well," replied the unfamiliar female voice. "You know how he is about Buffy." She paused. "Oh, they figured out a way to keep an eye on Sunnydale."
"How is that possible? Wasn't it supposed to be temporary?" asked Giles. Buffy walked in quietly and saw Xander and Giles at a table eating Chinese food. There were three other people at the table, two female, one male. The man seemed familiar, but the girls had their backs to her and she didn't recognize them.
"That's one of the kinks they're working out. So to maintain control, they uhh... *modified* one of the large surveillance systems." Everyone nodded with understanding and continued to eat. Buffy took in the scene before her. She could feel the now familiar sensation of shock slowly course through her.
Her stomach rumbled, breaking the silence and everyone turned to look at her.
"Buffy!" Xander said. "You're awake. Are you alright? Do you need anything?" He walked toward her, not with his usual Xander walk, but with a smooth, confident stride and suddenly Buffy remembered what had been bothering her.
"Oh my God," she said. She felt the blood drain from her face and her knees get weak.
She stumbled toward an empty chair and plopped down into it.
"Please don't faint again," Nick said. The others gathered around Buffy to make sure that she was alright.
"Oh my God," she repeated. Her mind struggled to maintain control as all the things that had happened in the last 24 hours rushed into her head. She closed her eyes, took a big calming breath and opened them again. Slowly she looked up at the people around her. There was Xander, Giles, Joss, a young girl about her age with sweet dark brown eyes, and... her. Buffy closed her eyes immediately, took another big calming breath, and slowly opened her eyes again. She stared into the same hazel eyes that she had been looking at in the mirror for the past 20 years. She blinked rapidly, but they were still there. She closed her eyes again.
"Okay," she whispered to herself. "I can handle this. I'm the Slayer. I survived high school. I've saved the world a bunch of times. I defeated a god. I can definitely handle being in an alternate universe where everything is different and someone that looks exactly like me exists. This is just like the Buffybot thing all over again. If I can handle that, I can handle this. Get it together, Buffy."
"Done with the pep talk there?" someone asked. Buffy opened her eyes and saw herself smirking down at her.
"She's a robot, right, Xander? Willow fixed the Buffybot? Reattached her head?" Buffy asked Nick.
"My name isn't Xander, remember? It's Nick," he paused and gulped as Buffy glared at him. He'd been on the receiving end of a Buffy-glare as Xander on the show, but somehow this was a whole different kind of glare. He looked to Tony for help.
"I'm afraid that this isn't a dream, Buffy," Tony said. "And she isn't a robot, she's a person. Her name's Sarah. Sarah Michelle Gellar." Buffy turned her glare on Tony, and he took a step back with a bit of fear on his face.
"Buffy and I are gonna go have a little talk," said Sarah. Buffy glared at her and was surprised when her wannabe twin returned one full blast. Sarah raised an eyebrow at Buffy as if issuing a challenge, turned around and started walking toward one of the bedrooms. Buffy followed wordlessly as the three men stared at them openmouthed. Buffy grabbed one of the bigger cartons of food on the table, and a pair of chopsticks before she entered the room that Sarah had gone in to and closed the door.
The others walked back to the table and sat down. "Do you think we should..." Nick started, looking toward the closed door.
"You guys stay put. I'm going in."
"Be careful, Kath. Buffy IS the Slayer. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you now," Nick said with a crooked smile.
"Ha! Just stay away from my dumplings if you want to guarantee YOUR safety, Nick." She tossed her hair and walked toward the room that the other two girls had entered. She was halfway there, when she turned around and walked back. She grabbed her container of dumplings, the chicken fried rice, and a couple of bottles of diet sodas.
"Hey!" Nick said.
"I just remembered that I don't trust you with food… especially mine," Kathy retorted over her shoulder as she walked toward the room again. The three men heard the door click behind her and looked longingly at the door.
"Hey Tony," Nick said. "Don't you know a spell or something?"
"I wish," said Tony with a smile. "If only Rick was here. He'd figure something out."
"Well, he's not the surveillance expert for nothing," said Joss.
"Anyone call?" they heard someone say behind them. The three men turned around and wide smiles broke out on all their faces.
"Rick!" said Nick. They walked toward their newest arrival.
"You got here just in time," said Joss. "Buffy, Sarah and Kathy are in the bedroom uhh... discussing things. They just went in." Rick's smile slowly turned mischievous and the four men walked toward the room.
"Now, what do we have here..." Rick started to say. The four men exchanged mischievous smiles. Rick put his palm on the door and started to say something when suddenly, the door opened and shut very quickly and something crashed against it on the other side.
The door opened again and Kathy and Sarah peered out. "If you guys even think about eavesdropping on us, you better prepare to say goodbye to your most precious assets," Sarah said. Sarah gave a quick glance downwards, and Kathy smirked before slamming the door in their faces.
"How do they do that?!" Rick said. The four men sadly walked back to the dining table.
"So," said Joss, trying to break the silence. "Seen any good TV shows lately?"
1 End of Part 4
Part 4
Buffy smelled the delicious food before she woke up completely. She got out of bed and started walking toward the smells. Something seemed out of place, but her mind wasn't fully awake yet. She stopped for a moment and considered checking her appearance in the mirror before she left her room, but her stomach rumbled just then and she reasoned that food was more important than her appearance.
"Besides," she said to herself. "It's not like anyone who hasn't seen me like this before is gonna be here."
She walked out of the room, walking toward the familiar voices of her friends. She stopped briefly just before she was about to join them. Again, she felt something in the pit of her stomach indicating that there was something that she should remember, something important, but she couldn't quite grasp it. She shook it off, attributing it to hunger, and started toward the dining area again.
"Did Rick check in with you?" Buffy heard Xander ask.
"Yeah. He called this morning," said an unfamiliar female voice. "They haven't figured out exactly what went wrong with the spell, but they're very close. He said that he'd fill us in when he got here. He would've said more but he didn't want to miss his flight."
"He's very anxious to get here, isn't he?" Xander asked in a light, teasing tone.
Everyone broke out into laughter. "Well," replied the unfamiliar female voice. "You know how he is about Buffy." She paused. "Oh, they figured out a way to keep an eye on Sunnydale."
"How is that possible? Wasn't it supposed to be temporary?" asked Giles. Buffy walked in quietly and saw Xander and Giles at a table eating Chinese food. There were three other people at the table, two female, one male. The man seemed familiar, but the girls had their backs to her and she didn't recognize them.
"That's one of the kinks they're working out. So to maintain control, they uhh... *modified* one of the large surveillance systems." Everyone nodded with understanding and continued to eat. Buffy took in the scene before her. She could feel the now familiar sensation of shock slowly course through her.
Her stomach rumbled, breaking the silence and everyone turned to look at her.
"Buffy!" Xander said. "You're awake. Are you alright? Do you need anything?" He walked toward her, not with his usual Xander walk, but with a smooth, confident stride and suddenly Buffy remembered what had been bothering her.
"Oh my God," she said. She felt the blood drain from her face and her knees get weak.
She stumbled toward an empty chair and plopped down into it.
"Please don't faint again," Nick said. The others gathered around Buffy to make sure that she was alright.
"Oh my God," she repeated. Her mind struggled to maintain control as all the things that had happened in the last 24 hours rushed into her head. She closed her eyes, took a big calming breath and opened them again. Slowly she looked up at the people around her. There was Xander, Giles, Joss, a young girl about her age with sweet dark brown eyes, and... her. Buffy closed her eyes immediately, took another big calming breath, and slowly opened her eyes again. She stared into the same hazel eyes that she had been looking at in the mirror for the past 20 years. She blinked rapidly, but they were still there. She closed her eyes again.
"Okay," she whispered to herself. "I can handle this. I'm the Slayer. I survived high school. I've saved the world a bunch of times. I defeated a god. I can definitely handle being in an alternate universe where everything is different and someone that looks exactly like me exists. This is just like the Buffybot thing all over again. If I can handle that, I can handle this. Get it together, Buffy."
"Done with the pep talk there?" someone asked. Buffy opened her eyes and saw herself smirking down at her.
"She's a robot, right, Xander? Willow fixed the Buffybot? Reattached her head?" Buffy asked Nick.
"My name isn't Xander, remember? It's Nick," he paused and gulped as Buffy glared at him. He'd been on the receiving end of a Buffy-glare as Xander on the show, but somehow this was a whole different kind of glare. He looked to Tony for help.
"I'm afraid that this isn't a dream, Buffy," Tony said. "And she isn't a robot, she's a person. Her name's Sarah. Sarah Michelle Gellar." Buffy turned her glare on Tony, and he took a step back with a bit of fear on his face.
"Buffy and I are gonna go have a little talk," said Sarah. Buffy glared at her and was surprised when her wannabe twin returned one full blast. Sarah raised an eyebrow at Buffy as if issuing a challenge, turned around and started walking toward one of the bedrooms. Buffy followed wordlessly as the three men stared at them openmouthed. Buffy grabbed one of the bigger cartons of food on the table, and a pair of chopsticks before she entered the room that Sarah had gone in to and closed the door.
The others walked back to the table and sat down. "Do you think we should..." Nick started, looking toward the closed door.
"You guys stay put. I'm going in."
"Be careful, Kath. Buffy IS the Slayer. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you now," Nick said with a crooked smile.
"Ha! Just stay away from my dumplings if you want to guarantee YOUR safety, Nick." She tossed her hair and walked toward the room that the other two girls had entered. She was halfway there, when she turned around and walked back. She grabbed her container of dumplings, the chicken fried rice, and a couple of bottles of diet sodas.
"Hey!" Nick said.
"I just remembered that I don't trust you with food… especially mine," Kathy retorted over her shoulder as she walked toward the room again. The three men heard the door click behind her and looked longingly at the door.
"Hey Tony," Nick said. "Don't you know a spell or something?"
"I wish," said Tony with a smile. "If only Rick was here. He'd figure something out."
"Well, he's not the surveillance expert for nothing," said Joss.
"Anyone call?" they heard someone say behind them. The three men turned around and wide smiles broke out on all their faces.
"Rick!" said Nick. They walked toward their newest arrival.
"You got here just in time," said Joss. "Buffy, Sarah and Kathy are in the bedroom uhh... discussing things. They just went in." Rick's smile slowly turned mischievous and the four men walked toward the room.
"Now, what do we have here..." Rick started to say. The four men exchanged mischievous smiles. Rick put his palm on the door and started to say something when suddenly, the door opened and shut very quickly and something crashed against it on the other side.
The door opened again and Kathy and Sarah peered out. "If you guys even think about eavesdropping on us, you better prepare to say goodbye to your most precious assets," Sarah said. Sarah gave a quick glance downwards, and Kathy smirked before slamming the door in their faces.
"How do they do that?!" Rick said. The four men sadly walked back to the dining table.
"So," said Joss, trying to break the silence. "Seen any good TV shows lately?"
1 End of Part 4