Chapter 10
-AU-
"It looks like a squirrel, Faith."
"Shut up, B."
"How is this supposed to help us out if the figures look like squirrels with little... What are those?"
"Stakes."
"Those are stakes? How hard is it to draw a stake? It's practically a LINE !"
"Shut up, B. Seriously."
"You have no future as an artist."
"And you have no future at all, if you don't shut up now."
"Okay, jeez, no need to look at me like that."
Buffy plopped back onto the ground folding her tiny hands over her lap as she stared at the brunette in front of her. Faith was laying over a big piece of white paper, crayons around her in disarray and her forehead scrunched up in a small frown as she drew.
The brunette suddenly tilted her head, bit her lip in an adorable way and then...
"Fuck!"
Buffy jumped a little at the loud outburst. A second later, she leant over to see what Faith had drawn and faltered.
"A teddy bear?"
"It's a vampire!"
"Uh, sure, vampire," the blonde nodded quickly. "Yeah, I can see that."
"I can't," Faith threw her crayon down breaking it into two. "I can't draw a fuckin' vampire."
"It's not that hard. You just draw a head, and a body and tiny fangs," Buffy spoke supportively until a black crayon was practically thrust at her face.
"Go for it," Faith mumbled, dropping the crayon into Buffy's hand. "If you manage to make something even remotely similar to a vampire, I'll..."
"You'll what?"
"Anything," Faith gestured towards the papers. "If you make it look like a vampire, I'll do anything."
Buffy rolled the crayon between her fingers, before grinning widely.
"Oh, you're on."
How hard could drawing a vampire be?
-'bout two minutes later-
"What the hell is wrong with these crayons?" Buffy, tremendously irritated, looked at her vampires – or teddy bears with Elvis haircut actually - and just like Faith had done a few minutes ago, she threw the crayon against the floor with hatred.
"Pretty sure it's us," Faith murmured, still flat on her back and her eyes closed. "For some reason we can't speak, we can't write and we can't draw to communicate either."
"You couldn't have told me that sooner?"
"What? You seriously thought I was all about drawing fluffy animals and shit?"
"No..." Buffy stood up, tugging down her shirt. "I just thought you were 'artistically challenged'."
Faith's sound of resentment never reached the blonde's ears as Willow and Xander could be finally seen in the kitchen, having previously gone away to "chat." Since so many things had been questioned about their humanity and their demonic versions had gone M.I.A, their little ears weren't privy to any information anymore.
At least not if the Scoobies could help it.
Like a miniature version of a kickass spy, the blonde practically melted behind the armchair near the doorway so she could listen in on what the Scoobies were talking about.
She had to get some new information. Any kind of information would do at this point.
"See, Anya has this weird rash..."
And no more information was needed.
With her hands firmly stuck over her ears, Buffy dashed back into the room, surprising Faith when she plopped down next to her and closed her eyes as well.
She was totally willing to live in blessed ignorance for a few more minutes.
-REALITY-
"The faster we do this, the better," Willow nodded, once again referring to something on her scribbled drawings. "If we open the portal now, we will see for sure which reality our Buffy and Faith are in as we will use their essence this time. If they're not in fact in yours, we will have to find a different way to open yet another portal just to get you home."
"But wouldn't we have noticed our doppelgangers running around?"
Willow pursed her lips.
"Maybe they didn't reach you yet. We pulled you out pretty fast after we lost them."
Faith hmm-ed.
"Is anyone else feeling a bit afraid of another spell?" Xander spoke up hesitantly. "Last time we ended up with a big – and naked – problem! What if now..."
"Yes, thank you, Xander, especially for stressing the nakedness," Buffy groaned from the couch, interrupting the boy's rant before it even got to begin properly. "But if this might give us a chance to contact the guys in our universe, we have to take it."
"Red's probably going nuts." Faith murmured. When Willow glanced at her she shrugged. "Ya know what I mean. Plus they gotta take care of the runts now."
"Runts?" Giles asked, from his position by the doorway, where he stood with Joyce by his side. "I beg your pardon?"
"Two little kids appeared out of nowhere. Will found them on the streets and they were all... odd." Buffy shifted on the couch, pulling her knees to her and practically burrowing to Faith's side as she talked.
"Odd in what way?"
"They speak a weird language for one, but understand English," the blonde explained. "And when Will cast these translation spells on them, they didn't work at all. Instead the kids were like turned into weird stuff." She tilted her head to look up at her girlfriend. "Was there anything else?"
Faith scratched the back of her neck.
"Well there was the whole part where they interacted with each other unlike any kids I know. Seemed to have real deep talks and stuff. Oh and one of them scared the hell out of X-man by holding his hand or something."
"By holding my hand?"
"Or something," Faith clarified with a small smirk at the guy's injured tone. "I don't know. Someone," cue a look at Giles's direction, "Sent us after a huge nest of slime demons before their sitch was taken care of."
"Yeah, thanks a lot for that, Giles," Buffy sniped. "Now I have to have my shoes dry-cleaned. Again."
"Uh, I apologize?" the British man spoke, confused. He slid into the room now, taking a seat in the armchair. His eyes never wavered from the Slayers. Soon enough, Buffy started to fidget, feeling his intense gaze on her.
"It's not that big of a deal, Giles. I forgive you."
"It's not that."
"Oh," the blonde, burrowed ever more into the brunette next to her, who, with an amused grin on her face, wrapped a hand around her shoulders in return. A moment later, Buffy fidgeted again, still bothered by the heated gaze on her. "Okay. Seriously, Giles. Stop looking at me like that; you're creeping me out!"
Giles blinked for the very first time in what seemed centuries for Buffy. Then a bashful look crossed his face. True to himself, he removed his glasses and proceeded to rub them against his shirt, even thought there wasn't a speck of dust or fog on them.
"Sorry, it's just... this is rather weird to see."
Buffy, still a bit freaked out from earlier, looked between her Watcher and her friends, to see if any of them knew what he was implying here. When she noticed the blank looks, one that was most likely mirrored her on her own face, she took it upon herself to ask.
"What is?"
"This relationship you two share. It's... new for me."
"Isn't old news for us either, Giles," Xander spoke looking between the two Slayers and munching on a doughnut. "We're right there on the weirdo-wagon with you."
"Choo-choo," Willow spoke with a smile.
"It's going to take forever for you guys to get past this, isn't it? Well... you being this iffy about this is new for me too. So I'm starting my own personal weirdo-wagon. What d'ya say to that?"
"I say... make room on that damn thing for me, B," Faith replied, looking between the roomful of people she'd in normal situation call her friends, hell practically family, but now had no word for. "But wasn't Red like about to cast a hugeass spell or something? What happened to that plan?"
"Oh, right," Willow shot up. "Tara's supposed to be here any moment with the supplies and I promised to set up for the spell."
"Okay, we're casting the spell then," Xander spoke, look of apprehension still on his face.
Faith shifted in the couch a little, getting comfortable with the petite blonde curled up to her.
"I'm thinking that all we do is watch, ya know."
"True," Xander nodded slowly, before grabbing another doughnut. "And finish the doughnuts. They're good comfort food."
"Shouldn't Faith and Buffy be eating those then?" Anya asked a moment later, looking at her boyfriend. "I mean they were ripped from their universe and thrust into one, where everything they are is questioned by the ones they call the closest. Shouldn't they have the right for the comfort food? Or maybe Willow, the one who has the fate of not one Buffy, but also another Buffy and TWO Faiths on her shoulder? Or maybe even Mrs. Summers, who is worried for her daughters – both versions of them? Shouldn't those people get the comfort food... Wouldn't it make sense..."
"Anya!"
"Yes, honey?"
"There's enough doughnuts to go around for anyone who wants them."
"Not if you keep up this rate there isn't," the blonde sniped. "It's not like you need the extra weight anyways. I saw that grimace of pain last night when you were holding me up against the wall and pu-OMGH."
"Enjoy your doughnut, Anh," Xander, once again slightly red in the face, spoke slowly, removing his hand from the jelly doughnut he had shoved into his girlfriend's mouth. He looked at the curious slash amused faces of the people around him, put a big smile on his face and spoke, "So, Will, let's get cracking with the Wicca already!"
It didn't take long for the redhead to finish her preparations and Tara, arriving just in time, took even less to add her ingredients.
Soon enough the two Wiccans were in the middle of the room holding hands in front of everyone. Of course, they were doing so just because it was required in the ritual, but that made Willow feel not at all better when she found Buffy and Faith grinning at her identically.
Slightly flustered, the redhead squeezed her friend's hand a little as they continued chanting.
A small light started to swirl in front of them, growing in time.
Xander wordlessly picked up the box of doughnuts and held it out towards the couch. Both Slayers took one and bit into them, as they all stared into the pit of white light that was beginning to slowly look like a portal.
They could already start to make out figures...
-AU-
"If we throw them with armchairs they'd see that we had super strength."
"I am not letting you throw them with armchairs, Faith," Buffy chuckled softly, staring at the ceiling. She and Faith were still lying side-by-side, listening into Will's and Xander's hushed conversation that this far had given them unfortunatelyno info on them and luckilyno further info on Anya's rash either. "Besides, wouldn't lifting one get the same results."
"No, because then I couldn't express my love for Xander and his awesome theory on how you have invisible wings," Faith groaned loudly, placing her forearm over her eyes. "How this dude has managed to survive in Sunnydale, I do not know."
"I have him covered. Anyways, the demonstrating our powers thought isn't that bad. However, then they might think we're the cause of their missing fake-Buffy and fake-Faith."
Faith lifted her arm off her face and hmm-ed. A moment later, she spoke up,
"You have a point there."
"Of course I do. I'm brilliant," Buffy rose onto her elbow. "Do you think that we could like find a dictionary or a book and point out words we wanted?"
"See, B, these are some of the rare moments, during which it makes sense that you fuckin' beat me on that roof," Faith rubbed her hands together with glee. "That could actually friggin' work."
"I beat you because I'm a kickass fighter," Buffy sat up now. "And I know. I told you I'm brilliant didn't I? All these things come right from here,"she tapped her tiny forehead with her index finger.(A/N: See note 1 for a dedication) "If only we could get them to understand us."
"Yeah, that'd be an obstacle," Faith wrinkled her nose together in a way that made the blonde smile down at her and her incredible five-year-old cuteness. "'Cause you know, X-man might think that we're trying to point out words for a recipe for the potion that will grow you invisible wings or maybe a way to help the Teletubbies take over the world OR..."
Buffy couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out.
"Come on, Faith, give him a break. He's not THAT bad."
"Will, but Spike said they beat a vampire and when the brunette one held my hands outside the bathroom she was crazy strong! And the blonde one can fly! They must have a secret plot to take over the Hellmouth or something!"
The small brunette on the floor gave Buffy a look, raised one eyebrow and gestured towards the kitchen from where Xander's voice had floated in from.
"Not that bad?"
"Okay, fine, he's kinda bad. But you did creep him out with your Incredible Hulk act."
"Incredible Hulk act? I kept his hands together! When I turn green and start ripping my clothes off, then you can freak out. If a tiny kid holds your hands, you friggin' deal with it. However, still, that pointing words out might work for Red."
"And the strength demonstrating is also a plan," Buffy added. "You know, we might actually be able to get ourselves out of this mess."
"Oh!" Faith shot up, opening her mouth to announce her next brilliant idea, when she froze and her eyes fixated on something behind the blonde. Buffy, who had noticed the brunette sit up suddenly – it's hard to not notice being only a few inches from her – asked,
"What?"
Faith didn't reply, choosing to keep staring instead. Understanding now that something had to be happening behind her for the brunette to be speechless, Buffy turned slowly. Her mouth fell open a moment later.
"What the...?"
"I don't..." Faith murmured.
"Me neither."
"Hey, Will, I'll go check..." Xander's voice reached the Mini Slayer's ears louder for a moment, before it stopped. The man had entered the room and seen the scene in front of him. It took him oh, about five seconds to bellow,
"Will, I told you they were trying to END THE DAMN WORLD!"
XxXxXxXxXx
Note 1: The dictionary thing? Awesome idea, eh? Totally not mine. It came from an anonymous reviewer named SkyCaptain a while ago. Cheers, mate. You made this chapter whole :D
If anyone else has any suggestions, ideas or just random thoughts of what they think could happen, feel free to drop them off to me in a review, PM, email, by call or by an OWL. I do not however respond kindly to faxes. I am very confused by those.Really, don't be shy, because even tho I know where this is going, there's never too many adventurous pit-stops you can do (PS: Writer's block might be a b*tch sometimes, so any sort of advice might be the key for me to break it down the next time.)
Cya at the end of next chapter, guys.
Hopefully, soon ^^