Continuity: Takes place in season 4 of Buffy. Everything remains the same, with the following exceptions; after the death of Maggie Walsh, Riley is made head of the Initiative and given the task of hunting down and eliminating Adam. For a back story reason I have yet to decide, the Scoobys' are aware of Tara as a witch and friend of Willow, but not of their growing relationship.


Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer, any associated characters, places, events and any other materials related to it. They are the creation of Joss Whedon. I thank him for creating this marvellous universe, which we can all enjoy. I also do not own StarTrek The Next Generation, including characters, places, objects, institutions and other materials related to it. It is the property of Paramount Pictures. I thank Gene Roddenberry for creating such a fantastic playground for the mind.


Spoilers: Anything up to the end of "The I in Team" of season four of Buffy.





Chapter 2: "Illogical Explanations"



Willow moaned softly as she rolled over onto her side the phone rang sharply, startling them both. Buffy looked over as Willow reached for the phone.
"H-Hello" she managed to get out, a little breathless still.
"Willow, it's Giles. Is Buffy with you?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.
"Yeah, she's in bed." she answered him. She looked at Buffy and mouthed "G-I-L-E-S"
"Good. Riley would like us all to come to the Initiative immediately. He's arranged visitor access for us all, we just have to enter with an agent." with that he hung up. Willow looked at the phone for a moment and then placed it back on its cradle.
"I'd better get dressed" she said, "Giles wants us to meet at the Initiative."
"Okay, what's with that?" Buffy asked "Even though Riley's in charge of the Initiative now, he still doesn't trust them after Maggie created Adam there."
"Guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?" Willow answered, pulling on her jeans as Buffy quickly changed her top. Ten minutes later they entered the frat house that served as the cover for the massive underground complex of the Initiative. Softly they walked the corridors until they came face to face with a full-length mirror. As they stood there, a green light played across their faces. A soft beep and then the mirror slid across to reveal a hidden elevator. They entered and the door slid closed behind them. Buffy leaned close to a small grill on one wall and spoke, glancing at Willow.
"I wonder what the surprise is?"
"Initiative vocal code confirmed. Agent Summers, Buffy" A computerized voice replied. Buffy spoke again.
"Record visitor vocal code for Guest Rosenburg, Willow."
"Ready." the computer replied.
Willow leant forward.
"Maybe it's a coming out party?"
"Initiative vocal code confirmed. Guest Rosenburg, Willow" the computer replied.
Buffy looked at her sharply and was about to speak when the lift door opened and they walked out onto a catwalk overlooking the complex sprawling out beneath them. As they trotted down a flight of stairs, Riley and Giles approached.
"What's up, Giles?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy, Willow. Good." The watcher replied "I think you'd better come with us to the human detention cells. The others are already there"
"Err, okay" Buffy replied tentatively. "What's up?" but Giles remained silent as he led the way through to the detention area. Riley spoke for the first time since they had arrived.
"Me and Spike were, ahem, on patrol when an aircraft of some sort passed overhead and crashed nearby." They reached a security door and he pulled a swipe card from his pocket, feeding it through a reader, which beeped and then they heard the solid THUNK of a lock releasing. Passing through the door, he continued.
"When we investigated, we found three survivors…" he gestured towards a single cell. Buffy looked at the three individuals within. She started to speak, then stopped in shock, drawing in a sharp breath.
"My god…" she managed eventually, taking a step towards the barrier, staring at the people within. "Are they…" her question hung in the air, unfinished.
"We've run checks" Riley stated, "all of the actors are confirmed as being at their respective homes, with the exception of Stewart, who is filming on location in Egypt."
"So who are they?" Willow asked, stepping up beside Buffy to look into the cell. "Hey, this ones' got a small magickal force about her." She said, pointing to Troi. Troi stood and spoke.
"I'm empathic. I can sense emotions." She looked over the group "You're all puzzled by something, what is it?" Now Picard stood, placing a hand on Trois' shoulder.
"Yes, what is puzzling you? And why are we being held here?" He asked.
Now Xander spoke up,
"We're puzzled because of you. I mean, what are three characters from a TV show doing in Sunnydale, complete with a vehicle that can't exist. I've watched EVERY episode of The Twilight Zone, but…"
"Xander, that isn't something I'd admit too." Interrupted Buffy.
"Do you mind!" he said indignantly "I was going to say something informative!"
"What? That you'd never seen anything this strange?" Buffy countered.
"Well, yeah. But still…" Xander protested for a moment, before falling silent and flopping down into a chair. Buffy turned to face Willow.
"Will, could they be from another world? You know, one where fictional characters exist instead of real people?"
"I suppose. We all know about the one created when Anya granted a wish, so I suppose anything is possible." She answered. Now Dr. Crusher stood and approached the barrier.
"If I can have access to one of our devices, I might be able to tell you if your hypothesis is correct."
Riley glanced at Buffy, a dubious look on his face.
"I don't trust them." He said. "They might try to escape."
"It's okay," she said "I'll stand guard." Riley looked at her and sighed.
"I don't suppose it won't do any harm. Which device do you need?" he asked Crusher.
"My medical tricorder" she answered, " It's about thi…"
"I'll fetch it!" Xander said, jumping to his feet and bolting through the door to stores. He returned a minute later holding a small grey box, about the size of a cigarette packet. He handed the tricorder to Buffy, who waited for Riley to release the lock. With a gentle hiss, the barrier slid open and Buffy stepped inside, holding the tricorder out towards Crusher.
"How did you know what to look for?" She asked in astonishment. Buffy glanced at Xander.
"We'll explain later." She said "Now, about our idea…"
"Oh, of course." Crusher said, flipping the tricorder open and removing a small cylinder from one end. "Hold still," she said, holding the cylinder a few inches from Buffy "This won't hurt a bit." The small unit hummed for a moment and then the tricorder beeped. She checked the result and then turned the sensor on herself. Again it hummed and then beeped. She looked back down, comparing the results. She turned to face Picard.
"Their RNA is different from ours. We ARE in another dimension." She said.
"Very well," Picard answered "but how did we get here?" he asked. Buffy looked to Willow.
"Magick?" She asked.
"Probably." Willow answered. "We know it was used to create at least one other dimension."
"Magick?" Picard said incredulously "Magick doesn't exist." Willow held out an open hand.
"Librum Incendreai" She said and a small ball of flame appeared in her palm. As she shook the flame out, Picard took a step forward, staring in wonder.
"How did you do that?" He asked. Willow smiled slightly,
"With something that doesn't exist." She stated, a hint of humour in her voice.
As Picard started to reply, the whole ground began to shake violently, tossing everyone to the floor as a small cloud of dust rained down on them. Then the lights flickered and died.

**********

Commander Riker paced the bridge. The Captain, Doctor Crusher and Counsellor Troi had been missing for nearly two hours now.
"Any sign of them, Data?" he asked the android.
"None, Commander. I am unable to detect any Starfleet comm - signals now and I cannot isolate their patterns, there is to much interference."
"Interference? Of what kind?" Riker asked.
"Unknown. I have never encountered anything like it before, but it is blocking all my attempts to isolate the location of the away team or the shuttlecraft." Riker sighed.
"Well, we'll just have to send another team down there to search for them. Have Geordi meet myself and Lt. Matzo in the shuttlebay. You'll be in command until myself or Captain Picard Return."
"Yes, comman..." Data paused as more information appeared on the console in front of him "Commander, according to scans, there is none of the fallout present we would expect to see in this timeframe, given historical records are accurate."
"In English, Data." Riker replied.
"Sorry Sir. According to records, Earth at this time should be recovering from the devastation brought upon by the Eugenics Wars. However, scans indicate this world has not suffered such a calamity."
"You're sure this is Earth?" Riker asked, doubt filling his voice. He knew this was Earth, he just had to be certain.
"Positive, Sir."
"Well, that's just one more mystery to solve, isn't it?" He sighed. "Data, transfer the last known location of the Captains shuttle to Shuttlecraft three." He stood and strode towards the lift.

**********

Deep underground in the core of the Initiative, emergency lights came on as soon as the main power died, leaving the base bathed in a perpetual twilight. Suddenly, the air was split by a deafening wail. Riley head snapped round as he staggered to his feet.
"Crap! The power to the demon detention area has failed. Everyone, follow me!" he shouted, darting from the cells and running towards the armoury. Buffy turned towards the new arrivals.
"You'd better come with us - it'll be safer." With the Starfleet officers in tow, she followed the others out of the cell area.
On the far side of the central area, she could see demons pounding at the security door that isolated the primary complex from the detention area. Already it was starting to give way, creaking and groaning in its frame.
"At least the locks are still working." Giles said as they ran to the armoury.
"Yes," Riley answered "After Adam escaped I ordered a full review of base operations as he no doubt had full details on the facility, we don't want him sneaking in. It was noticed that if main power failed, the locks would release. It seemed a bit risky, so I ordered a change to the system so that they would remain active even if main power failed." Other troops were already at the armoury by the time they arrived, each taking an assault rifle and ammunition.
The door gave way with a crash and two dozen demons and a half dozen vampires poured through, all rushing towards the soldiers before them. The air was filled with the sound of gunfire as eight M16's opened up. As the demons rushed forwards, the head of one erupted in a fountain of blood and brain, another was cut in two as a soldier set his rifle to full automatic and sprayed it across the oncoming hoard like a hose. A vampire was thrown to the floor as a dozen rounds slapped wetly into his chest, but he staggered back to his feet, laughing. Another demon went down as Willow propelled a foot long knife through it's chest. A crate of highly volatile Quasli' Ak spleen samples exploded as a stray round hit it and a vampire exploded into dust as a piece of the crate passed through his chest.
Buffy and Spike charged forwards. Buffy leapt high into the air, delivering a flying kick that knocked a seven foot tall demon to the floor. As she landed the demon struggled back to its feet and she knocked it to the floor again with a sweeping kick that took his legs out from under him. In a blink of an eye an incredibly sharp and wicked looking dagger appeared in her hand and in one swift movement she stabbed him in the heart. Spike whirled through the crowd of demons, his fists and legs flying, connecting solidly with a demons face, breaking his nose and pushing the fragments into his brain, killing him instantly.
Despite the combined efforts of the Initiatives troops, Buffy and Spike, the tide was turning against them. Picard looked at his crew,
"We have to help," He said, "Find our phasers." He said, looking around him.
"There, Captain." Troi said, pointing to a table in the armoury. Arrayed upon it was all their equipment, including their communicators, tricorders, medi-kits, two type-two phasers and four type-three A phaser rifles. Amid the chaos of the raging battle, the three starfleet officers were easily able to slip into the armoury. Picard picked up a phaser rifle and checked its charge - full! Quickly, he passed the rifles around.
"Set them to heavy stun." he said, tapping a command into his own rifle. It chirped a response. "Lets go." He said, leading the way from the armoury.
Buffy pummelled an eight foot demon with a wicked three punch combo, following with a roundhouse kick that snapped his head back. He staggered back a couple of feet and growled at her. Suddenly he flew backwards ten feet as a bolt of red energy struck his chest, accompanied by a high pitched whine. He crashed into a pile of crates and slowly got back to his feet.
"What was that!" Buffy cried. Looking around, she saw Picard stood at the entrance to the armoury, his phaser to his shoulder.
"Merde!" he muttered, "Try a higher setting." He tapped at his rifles control panel again. He squeezed the trigger again and another bolt of energy, this one slightly brighter than the last, flashed through the air again, throwing the demon back to the ground. He didn't get up this time. Buffy looked on appreciatively,
"Yay. Cavalry."
Bullets, phaser blasts, fists and feet flew through the air and slowly the battle turned in favour of the defenders. A vampire flew through the air, propelled by a blast from Trois' phaser rifle. As she watched on in disbelief, he got back to his feet, a small wisp of smoke rising from his chest. Buffy turned from the demon she was fighting and shouted over the din,
"Those ones' are already dead! You have to destroy the heart!"
"Dead?" Troi muttered to herself, puzzled yet knowing that the girl believed what she said to be true. Tapping the phasers power setting higher, she fired again, the bolt striking a vampire in the chest and leaving a hole the size of a football where his heart had being. He looked down in shock and let out a strangled scream as he exploded into dust.
Buffy whirled through the melee, leaving a trail of bloodied demon corpses and piles of ash behind her, stake in one hand, a combat knife in the other. Xander squeezed off a round from a S.P.A.S shotgun into a vampire at point - blank range, turning its head into a cloud of blood and brain and, moments later, a cloud of dust. Finally, only one vampire remained, alone in a sea of blood, the drained corpse of a soldier hanging limply in his grasp. Slowly, he let it drop to the floor, looking at the people arrayed before him. Buffy stalked slowly towards him. He looked at her pleadingly,
"N-No. P-Please. D-Don't do it." He managed to stammer.
Buffy smiled innocently, twirling a stake in her hand, getting ever closer to the vampire who was slowly backing away. He tripped over the cooling form of a decapitated demon, staggering back to his feet whilst still backing away from her. Suddenly she darted forwards, pressing her body against his, her face mere inches from the vamps.
"Do what?" She breathed in his ear. Almost imperceptibly, he whimpered. She brought the stake up and trailed it slowly from his navel to the base of his neck and back down. As it reached his heart she whispered "Oh, this?" and plunged it deep into his chest. As the stake entered him, the vampire was shaking, his eyes squeezed tight shut. He didn't make a sound as he vanished into dust. She turned on her heels and stalked back towards Picard, brushing the dust from her top.
"Welcome to my world." She said flatly.
"You're world?" Picard asked.
"Yeah." Buffy answered "You've probably noticed its different. Magick, demons, vampires. They're all real."
"Fine, temporal and inter-dimensional physics I can understand. But I do have one question." He said.
"Shoot. But lets go to the briefing room." she said, leading the way with Picard and Riley falling into step with her.
"How did you know who we are? And about our ship?" Picard asked her.
"Simple. You're a TV show." Xander said from behind them, before Buffy could start to talk. They passed through a door and took seats in a military briefing room, with an overhead projector and screen at one end of the room and a map of the United States at the other. Picard looked at Buffy.
"What does he mean?"
"Its simple. Here, in our world, there are a series of Television programs that chart the voyages of your own ship, Captain Kirks', the U.S.S Voyager and Deep Space Nine." She answered. "We think you must have been drawn into the real world by some spell that went wrong." Picard looked at her,
"What do you mean, the real world? This world must be the fictional one, magick DOESN'T exist."
"So, how do you explain Willow, or those demons or vampi..." Her counter-argument was stopped by a voice from the back of the room,
"Actually, both are real." Together, the group whirled to face the intruder. A handsome, dark haired man lay on his side on the far end of the table, his head resting in one hand and an impish smile playing across his features. A look of recognition flashed across Picards face, followed by anger.
"Now, now, Jean-Luc, play nice with the nasty demons."



Who is the strange visitor? All will be revealed in Barriers 3 - Of Time and Television.
Feedback: Of course! Any comments, including constructive criticism are welcome. Please don't send abusive comments if you don't like the story - tell me WHY you don't like it. Politely. Cheers.