Future Imperfect
By Noggins
Disclaimer: All this belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing around with the characters!
Chapter Three
The blond woman walked around the two Slayerettes, eyeing them up carefully. She smiled a little as her gaze finally settled on Willow. She walked forward causing Willow to jump a little then stroked her hair aside. "I like what you've done with your hair, witch... takes years off you."
"W... w... witch?" Willow stammered as she began to come out in a cold sweat at the woman's touch and tried to shy away. "I... I... I don't kn... know any witch..."
"Sure you do honey... now... you're looking for the Slayer and, well, imagine the coincedence! So am I..." she flashed a set of pristine teeth as looked Willow all over. "That outfit really doesn't suit you. You're not your usual sassy self." After going off on that tangent she continued. "Now... are you gonna help me or do I rip you both to pieces?"
Xander grabbed the woman from behind and tried to pull her down to the floor. Before he could realise what was going on he hit the hard concrete road with a violent thump. He looked up a little dazed before the woman turned her attention to him, grabbing Willow's arm to make sure she didn't get away. "Last time you tried that you had the sense to use weapons... what's happened to you, boy?"
"L... last time?" he stammered as he looked over to Willow wishing he could be able to help her. "We've met before? 'Cause y'know I've had enough trouble with evil chicks who wanna kill me in the last few months... you don't happen to be some giant insect do you?"
"You little weed... you mock a god?" The woman seemed really pissed off now. Xander noticed she was tightening her grip on Willow who's eyes began streaming with tears as she tried to ignore the pain. She tried to break free but it was useless. Xander realised it was time to use tact.
"Yeah... weed... I'm a weed... you're a god... right... now... let her go..."
"You think you can tell me what to do? Something is definately wrong wit..." The woman's head jerked forward suddenly and Willow managed to escape her grasp, running straight into Xander's arms. When they were finally able to see what was happened they realised who had come to their rescue.
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed as the Slayer fought hand to hand with their attacker. Her attention was entirely taken up by the fight as she punched then ducked, kicked then ducked. It seemed a shock to Xander when he realised that Buffy was barely able to hold her own. He looked around to find something he could use as a weapon. His hand came across a loose brick on a nearby wall and he flung it straight at the woman's head. It shattered on impact but it got her attention. She span around angrily but this gave Buffy the opportunity to fling her across the street. She looked up at her friends. "Run!" she called out urgently.
They didn't need to be told twice. Xander was the first to take off, grabbing Willow's arm and dragging her after. Buffy look one more glance at the woman before doing the same. "This way!" she called out as she jumped over a hedge into her own garden, pulling the door open with a hard thrust. She made sure Willow and Xander were carefully in before slamming it behind her.
"She knows where I live but I'm hoping she doesn't bother to come after us now... At least we can hope..." Buffy gave Willow an unnerving look. "What've you done to your hair, Wil?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" the young redhead exclaimed. "First mom... then that freaky woman... now you! I... it's the same hair I've h... had for years!"
Before anymore could be said there was a voice from upstairs. A girl came down and she didn't look amused. "So you're back?" she frowned at Buffy.
"Yeah... and you could try smiling... it doesn't make your face crack..." Buffy replied but received an even angrier glance for her efforts.
"Are you going split personality on me?" the girl retorted. "An hour ago you were trying to kill me!"
"Kill you... wha?" Buffy looked from the girl to Xander and Willow who stood around looking a little sheepish. "And you with your... youngness... what the hell is going on here?"
"You're not the only one who wants to know that..." another familiar voice stated as the door opened behind them. Buffy turned to find herself face to face with... herself. They both looked wide-eyed at each other in silence.
"Okay, confused now," the young Willow remarked as she looked at a not-quite-so-mirror image of herself.
Giles was the last to walk in as old Buffy shot behind him and slammed the door shut. He jumped before glowering at her. "We just saw Glory out there... I don't know whether she plans on following us but... well, just..." she noticed everyone was staring at her. "What? I'm just as baffled as you by all of this..."
"Oh, we're not baffled," her younger twin informed her. "Giles worked it out with a little help from... uh, what was your name again?"
"Anya. You'll know me when you get back by the being all demonic and by creating another reality... kinda like the situation we're in now which I have to say is almost ironic don't you think?"
"Riiiiight..." both Buffys nodded before looking at Giles to explain.
He adjusted his glasses before finally speaking. "It's quite simple really. Buffy... that Buffy" he indicated the younger of the two. "...was attempting to prevent a ritual being performed to raise the Master who still exists in her world. I can only surmise it was supposed to bring forward a version of him from the past, thereby preventing him from ever being trapped in the old caverns... of course the vampire who finally cast the spell was unable to perform correctly and not only got the flow of time incorrect but also resulting in hurling you into our dimension."
"Gotta say, it's nice to know not all dimensions are full of demons," the older Xander smiled as he looked at the confused version of himself. "and that in one I'm still sixteen and have no idea what's going on."
"Hey!" his counterpart exclaimed before whispering, "so, uh, do I get to have sex?"
The older Xander grinned and leant closer to his twin. "Oh yeah... You won't know what I mean yet but one word... Faith."
"What was that?" Anya quickly asked him.
"Nothing, honey," old Xander grinned back.
Willow went pale upon hearing the older version of her crush calling someone else that. She looked over to her own duplicate with a look of horror. "So... we... I mean he... d... doesn't...?"
The older Willow looked over to Tara who just shrugged. "Well... kinda... but no."
Young Willow seemed to brighten up as her eyes asked for more information. "But there's someone out there for me right? Because unless I start dating Giles I don't see who... oh..." Her words were followed by a slightly more high pitched "oh" as the relationship between her future self and the other woman suddenly made sense. "G... good f... for me..."
Old Willow giggled a tiny bit as she smiled at Tara. "I used to be like that," she said a little too proudly as she observed her rather flustered and red face past self.
"Right... now we've got the introductions out of the way which, might I add, will probably yield disastrous results, shall we try to find a way to get these people back home?" Giles stated in a commanding voice to get everyone's attentions.
"You're just jealous you didn't get to meet yourself," old Buffy grinned.
"No... of course not... I..." Giles stopped for a moment. "Well, I could have had the opportunity to tell him to dress properly but... but that's not the point. Buffy..." they both looked at him before he nodded at the younger of the two. "...when the vampire cast the spell he was holding the amulet, am I right?" She nodded. "If the three of you were affected then he must have been... but because he was such close proximity to the charm itself he could have appeared anywhere."
"So we find the vamp, dust him and get the thing back?" the young Xander asked. "We can do this! Right?"
"Yeah, *we* can," Buffy replied turning to her twin. "You guys better stay here."
The other Buffy quickly indicated her own Willow and Xander. "My God. Was I really that domineering? Seriously?"
"Hey!"
"You, uh, you didn't want us to get hurt..." Willow replied a little slowly. "And we would have. Y'know pre-witchyness and, um..." she looked over to old Xander. "pre-..."
"Okay... can we forget pointing out my inadequecies and get us home?" the young Xander blurted out. "Before that amulet thing gets into the wrong hands..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The young vampire ran at the first chance he got. The Slayer was distracted and despite the painful stinging of his eyes knew that now would be a good time to get away before he ended up the same way as all the others - a pile of dust on the floor, used to fertilise the grass in the cemetery. Call him strange but after only two years of undead life he wasn't planning on ending it. The Master had promised him centuries of existance if he brought him back but then the Slayer decided to arrive!
The Slayer was only a kid. After all the rumours he'd heard over the past two years of her he'd expected something a little older... she was strong though. She'd killed the others performing the ritual in several minutes. He was the only one who was left to finish the spell but he must have overheard the elder's words and got something wrong. The Master wasn't here and the Slayer and her friends were still alive.
He continued to run until he found himself at an old haunt before the Master took him in. The small warehouse was falling apart. It wasn't this bad when he was here last. Something was wrong. There was no life here. He stepped through the door and was dismayed. It looked like no one had been here for at least three years. There was dust everywhere and not just from age. The vampire realised that some of the dirt here were the remains of his old friends. He stepped out in fear.
Before he could come to a stop he found himself in the middle of a well off area. The apartment blocks in the distance were unfamiliar. They weren't here when he was in this area last. Something was wrong and he wanted out. Now. As soon as possible. He turned around and saw a woman in his way.
"Why hello little vampire creature..." she grinned. There was something about her. The vampire tried to back away but she grabbed him. "You're not supposed to be here are you." She smiled even more when she noticed the amulet around his neck. "And what's this?"
The vampire said nothing as the woman's fingers traced the jewels that covered the front of the amulet. "It's pretty. Too pretty for something like you. Where did you get it?"
"The Master... but the... the Slayer... she..."
This piqued her interest. "The Slayer? Could this be important to her?"
"I..." the vampire stammered. The woman kicked him across the floor. He skidded across before coming to a stop at the bottom of a tree. She stepped towards him and looked down. Her eyes seemed to repeat the question. "Yes! Yes it is! She'll need it t... to do s... something..."
"Something, huh? But it's important, right?"
"Yes..."
"Ooh... maybe I can do some bartering. Think this could be more important than my key?"
"I..."
"I'll take that as a maybe. Either way it's kinda pretty." She yanked the amulet violenlty. The chain ripped through the vampire's neck easily before he slowly turned to dust. He didn't have much time to think of a last word but if he had it would probably have been "damn". Not entirely original but had he the opportunity to consider things it really summed up the moment. Glory held up the amulet and smiled. "Here Slayer Slayer..." she laughed.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
By Noggins
Disclaimer: All this belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing around with the characters!
Chapter Three
The blond woman walked around the two Slayerettes, eyeing them up carefully. She smiled a little as her gaze finally settled on Willow. She walked forward causing Willow to jump a little then stroked her hair aside. "I like what you've done with your hair, witch... takes years off you."
"W... w... witch?" Willow stammered as she began to come out in a cold sweat at the woman's touch and tried to shy away. "I... I... I don't kn... know any witch..."
"Sure you do honey... now... you're looking for the Slayer and, well, imagine the coincedence! So am I..." she flashed a set of pristine teeth as looked Willow all over. "That outfit really doesn't suit you. You're not your usual sassy self." After going off on that tangent she continued. "Now... are you gonna help me or do I rip you both to pieces?"
Xander grabbed the woman from behind and tried to pull her down to the floor. Before he could realise what was going on he hit the hard concrete road with a violent thump. He looked up a little dazed before the woman turned her attention to him, grabbing Willow's arm to make sure she didn't get away. "Last time you tried that you had the sense to use weapons... what's happened to you, boy?"
"L... last time?" he stammered as he looked over to Willow wishing he could be able to help her. "We've met before? 'Cause y'know I've had enough trouble with evil chicks who wanna kill me in the last few months... you don't happen to be some giant insect do you?"
"You little weed... you mock a god?" The woman seemed really pissed off now. Xander noticed she was tightening her grip on Willow who's eyes began streaming with tears as she tried to ignore the pain. She tried to break free but it was useless. Xander realised it was time to use tact.
"Yeah... weed... I'm a weed... you're a god... right... now... let her go..."
"You think you can tell me what to do? Something is definately wrong wit..." The woman's head jerked forward suddenly and Willow managed to escape her grasp, running straight into Xander's arms. When they were finally able to see what was happened they realised who had come to their rescue.
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed as the Slayer fought hand to hand with their attacker. Her attention was entirely taken up by the fight as she punched then ducked, kicked then ducked. It seemed a shock to Xander when he realised that Buffy was barely able to hold her own. He looked around to find something he could use as a weapon. His hand came across a loose brick on a nearby wall and he flung it straight at the woman's head. It shattered on impact but it got her attention. She span around angrily but this gave Buffy the opportunity to fling her across the street. She looked up at her friends. "Run!" she called out urgently.
They didn't need to be told twice. Xander was the first to take off, grabbing Willow's arm and dragging her after. Buffy look one more glance at the woman before doing the same. "This way!" she called out as she jumped over a hedge into her own garden, pulling the door open with a hard thrust. She made sure Willow and Xander were carefully in before slamming it behind her.
"She knows where I live but I'm hoping she doesn't bother to come after us now... At least we can hope..." Buffy gave Willow an unnerving look. "What've you done to your hair, Wil?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" the young redhead exclaimed. "First mom... then that freaky woman... now you! I... it's the same hair I've h... had for years!"
Before anymore could be said there was a voice from upstairs. A girl came down and she didn't look amused. "So you're back?" she frowned at Buffy.
"Yeah... and you could try smiling... it doesn't make your face crack..." Buffy replied but received an even angrier glance for her efforts.
"Are you going split personality on me?" the girl retorted. "An hour ago you were trying to kill me!"
"Kill you... wha?" Buffy looked from the girl to Xander and Willow who stood around looking a little sheepish. "And you with your... youngness... what the hell is going on here?"
"You're not the only one who wants to know that..." another familiar voice stated as the door opened behind them. Buffy turned to find herself face to face with... herself. They both looked wide-eyed at each other in silence.
"Okay, confused now," the young Willow remarked as she looked at a not-quite-so-mirror image of herself.
Giles was the last to walk in as old Buffy shot behind him and slammed the door shut. He jumped before glowering at her. "We just saw Glory out there... I don't know whether she plans on following us but... well, just..." she noticed everyone was staring at her. "What? I'm just as baffled as you by all of this..."
"Oh, we're not baffled," her younger twin informed her. "Giles worked it out with a little help from... uh, what was your name again?"
"Anya. You'll know me when you get back by the being all demonic and by creating another reality... kinda like the situation we're in now which I have to say is almost ironic don't you think?"
"Riiiiight..." both Buffys nodded before looking at Giles to explain.
He adjusted his glasses before finally speaking. "It's quite simple really. Buffy... that Buffy" he indicated the younger of the two. "...was attempting to prevent a ritual being performed to raise the Master who still exists in her world. I can only surmise it was supposed to bring forward a version of him from the past, thereby preventing him from ever being trapped in the old caverns... of course the vampire who finally cast the spell was unable to perform correctly and not only got the flow of time incorrect but also resulting in hurling you into our dimension."
"Gotta say, it's nice to know not all dimensions are full of demons," the older Xander smiled as he looked at the confused version of himself. "and that in one I'm still sixteen and have no idea what's going on."
"Hey!" his counterpart exclaimed before whispering, "so, uh, do I get to have sex?"
The older Xander grinned and leant closer to his twin. "Oh yeah... You won't know what I mean yet but one word... Faith."
"What was that?" Anya quickly asked him.
"Nothing, honey," old Xander grinned back.
Willow went pale upon hearing the older version of her crush calling someone else that. She looked over to her own duplicate with a look of horror. "So... we... I mean he... d... doesn't...?"
The older Willow looked over to Tara who just shrugged. "Well... kinda... but no."
Young Willow seemed to brighten up as her eyes asked for more information. "But there's someone out there for me right? Because unless I start dating Giles I don't see who... oh..." Her words were followed by a slightly more high pitched "oh" as the relationship between her future self and the other woman suddenly made sense. "G... good f... for me..."
Old Willow giggled a tiny bit as she smiled at Tara. "I used to be like that," she said a little too proudly as she observed her rather flustered and red face past self.
"Right... now we've got the introductions out of the way which, might I add, will probably yield disastrous results, shall we try to find a way to get these people back home?" Giles stated in a commanding voice to get everyone's attentions.
"You're just jealous you didn't get to meet yourself," old Buffy grinned.
"No... of course not... I..." Giles stopped for a moment. "Well, I could have had the opportunity to tell him to dress properly but... but that's not the point. Buffy..." they both looked at him before he nodded at the younger of the two. "...when the vampire cast the spell he was holding the amulet, am I right?" She nodded. "If the three of you were affected then he must have been... but because he was such close proximity to the charm itself he could have appeared anywhere."
"So we find the vamp, dust him and get the thing back?" the young Xander asked. "We can do this! Right?"
"Yeah, *we* can," Buffy replied turning to her twin. "You guys better stay here."
The other Buffy quickly indicated her own Willow and Xander. "My God. Was I really that domineering? Seriously?"
"Hey!"
"You, uh, you didn't want us to get hurt..." Willow replied a little slowly. "And we would have. Y'know pre-witchyness and, um..." she looked over to old Xander. "pre-..."
"Okay... can we forget pointing out my inadequecies and get us home?" the young Xander blurted out. "Before that amulet thing gets into the wrong hands..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The young vampire ran at the first chance he got. The Slayer was distracted and despite the painful stinging of his eyes knew that now would be a good time to get away before he ended up the same way as all the others - a pile of dust on the floor, used to fertilise the grass in the cemetery. Call him strange but after only two years of undead life he wasn't planning on ending it. The Master had promised him centuries of existance if he brought him back but then the Slayer decided to arrive!
The Slayer was only a kid. After all the rumours he'd heard over the past two years of her he'd expected something a little older... she was strong though. She'd killed the others performing the ritual in several minutes. He was the only one who was left to finish the spell but he must have overheard the elder's words and got something wrong. The Master wasn't here and the Slayer and her friends were still alive.
He continued to run until he found himself at an old haunt before the Master took him in. The small warehouse was falling apart. It wasn't this bad when he was here last. Something was wrong. There was no life here. He stepped through the door and was dismayed. It looked like no one had been here for at least three years. There was dust everywhere and not just from age. The vampire realised that some of the dirt here were the remains of his old friends. He stepped out in fear.
Before he could come to a stop he found himself in the middle of a well off area. The apartment blocks in the distance were unfamiliar. They weren't here when he was in this area last. Something was wrong and he wanted out. Now. As soon as possible. He turned around and saw a woman in his way.
"Why hello little vampire creature..." she grinned. There was something about her. The vampire tried to back away but she grabbed him. "You're not supposed to be here are you." She smiled even more when she noticed the amulet around his neck. "And what's this?"
The vampire said nothing as the woman's fingers traced the jewels that covered the front of the amulet. "It's pretty. Too pretty for something like you. Where did you get it?"
"The Master... but the... the Slayer... she..."
This piqued her interest. "The Slayer? Could this be important to her?"
"I..." the vampire stammered. The woman kicked him across the floor. He skidded across before coming to a stop at the bottom of a tree. She stepped towards him and looked down. Her eyes seemed to repeat the question. "Yes! Yes it is! She'll need it t... to do s... something..."
"Something, huh? But it's important, right?"
"Yes..."
"Ooh... maybe I can do some bartering. Think this could be more important than my key?"
"I..."
"I'll take that as a maybe. Either way it's kinda pretty." She yanked the amulet violenlty. The chain ripped through the vampire's neck easily before he slowly turned to dust. He didn't have much time to think of a last word but if he had it would probably have been "damn". Not entirely original but had he the opportunity to consider things it really summed up the moment. Glory held up the amulet and smiled. "Here Slayer Slayer..." she laughed.
TO BE CONTINUED.....