God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover
By: Sam Lincoln
Rating PG-13
Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow
Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline. Also this is a sequel to my earlier story, The Ghosts that Haunt Me. So you should probably go read that first.
Disclaimer: All characters from Buffy and Angel are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from Alias are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.
God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter One
-Sunnydale-
"Alright girls, listen up, I've got your patrolling schedules for next week...uh, girls?" Xander told the collection of potential Slayers sitting in the Summers' living room. "Great," Xander muttered. "My one chance to be a cool desk sergeant like on Hill Street Blues and my 'cops' won't listen to me."
"Hill Street Blues?" Buffy asked in bemusement.
"I was feeling old school," Xander glanced at the collection of teenaged girls, "Well old at any rate." Xander glanced over at Buffy. "Help?"
"Quiet people!" Buffy snapped. The room fell silent. Buffy held out her arms. "They're all yours," she told Xander.
"Okay, now that I've once again been emasculated beyond all reasonable measure let's get started." Xander held up a clipboard. "I've got your partner and patrol assignments right here. Willow and Anya have your equipment. Don't forget periodic radio checks and if you find anything call for backup. Let's be careful out there people, dismissed." Xander dropped the clipboard on the coffee table and the potentials filed past looking for their names.
"That was very Hill Street Blues Xander," Buffy told her friend after all the Potentials had left. She was getting ready for her own patrol when they heard someone knocking on the door. "Could you see who that is Will?" Buffy asked as she checked the balance of a stake.
"Sure thing," Willow replied. She stood p and walked over to the front door. "Oh it's you..." they heard Willow say. "Yeah, I'll get her." Will re-entered the living room. "Uh Buffy, there's someone here to see you."
"Who is it?" Buffy asked.
Just then Agent Vaughn walked up behind Willow, "It's just me Ms. Summers."
"Agent Vaughn, what are you doing here?"
"I need your help...Sydney needs your help," Vaughn said.
"What happened?"
"Sydney was on assignment in Sri Lanka when she was attacked and captured by four assailants."
Buffy frowned, "That's horrible, but why do you need my help with the spy stuff?"
"Because of this picture," Vaughn handed Buffy the eight by ten. "It was taken by a camera Sydney was wearing. I thought it was something right up your alley. So do you know who did this?"
Buffy looked up from the picture. "Yes. It's a Bringer, a minion of the First."
"First? The First what?" Vaughn asked in confusion.
"Evil, the First is evil personified."
"But why would evil personified want Sydney?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Xander, call Giles, get him back here. I'll need the two of you and Spike to keep an eye on the Potentials and the Hellmouth while I'm gone."
"Where are you going?" Xander asked.
"Sri Lanka," Buffy replied. "The First wanted Sydney for some reason and whatever the First wants I want to keep the First from having. Hey Will, want to come with?"
"Sure, I've never been to Sri Lanka," Willow replied.
Buffy looked at Vaughn, "When do we go?" she asked.
-Sri Lanka-
Sydney slowly regained consciousness as rays of sunlight hit her face. She sat up and took stock of her situation. She was sitting on a threadbare cot in a stone-walled cell. The room had just one door and a single, iron-barred window. She stood up and looked out the window to get her bearings. All she could see was jungle, and not a hint of civilization anywhere.
Suddenly the cell door opened and a cloaked figure entered the cell. "Who the hell are you?" Sydney demanded. "And why are you holding me?"
"Why Sydney, such harsh words. I thought you'd be happy to see me," the figure said in a voice Sydney thought she would never hear again.
"No, it can't be..." Sydney stammered. The figure threw back his hood. "Danny?" Sydney asked in stunned disbelief. "But you're dead. I saw your body." She stood there, her feet rooted to the ground. Part of her wanted to rush into his arms, but another part was screaming that something was deadly wrong.
"Well I could tell you that looks are deceiving, but no, I am dead," Danny replied. "And you killed me. So now it's my turn." An evil smile crept across the specter of her fiance's face. The cell door clanged opened again and a pair of mutilated guards entered the room. "Take her downstairs," Danny ordered the guards. "We have a lot of catching up to do."
-Los Angeles-
Vaughn lead Buffy and Willow into the CIA Operations Center. "Wow," Willow said, "This place is really...ornate."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "I would've thought it would be darker and less...train stationy."
"Agent Vaughn!" A voice boomed from across the room.
Vaughn turned to face the balding man approaching the trio. "Yes sir?" he asked.
"Agent Vaughn what in hell are you doing bringing two civilians into this room? I thought I was clear, a secure meeting room only."
"Assistant Director Kendall, I'd like you to meet Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Buffy, Willow, this is my boss, Assistant Director Kendall," Vaughn said, ignoring Kendall's outrage.
"Nice to meet you," Buffy told Kendall. "If you want Willow and I can go home."
"No, that won't be necessary Ms. Summers. I'm sorry, my nerves are a little frayed. My counterpart over at the NSA says you can be trusted. We're just waiting on one other person and we can begin."
"I'm sorry I'm late," Jack Bristow said. "I was briefing Derevko on Sydney's status." Kendall glared at Jack. "Irina Derevko is many things, but she is Sydney's mother and Sydney would want her to know."
"Fine, what's done is don. Come on, we're in Conference Room A." Kendall lead the group into a smaller room with a large table dominating the center of the space. Already seated at the table was a man about Vaughn's age with a wild shock of brown hair.
"Ms. Summers, Ms. Rosenberg, this is Marshall Flinkman, one of our technical experts. Marshall, these young women are Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg; they're experts on the organization that's holding Agent Bristow."
"Nice to meet you," Marshall told Willow, "And it's good to see you again, though we weren't formally introduced last time."
"You're saying we've met before?" Buffy asked. "I don't think so. I would've remembered that."
"Well, you were unconscious at the time," Marshall explained. "I used to work for SD-6, but when the CIA took down the Alliance I started working here."
"So you were one of the people who tortured me?" Buffy asked, anger flashing in her eyes.
Marshall took a step back, "Torture? No, no torture. I just designed your holding cell." Marshall saw the look of rage on Buffy's face. "I...I'm sorry?"
Buffy stared at Marshall, then punched him in the face. Knocking him to the ground. "Apology accepted," she said sweetly, then sat down at the table.
"Are we done with the vendettas?" Kendall asked.
Buffy nodded, "Yep, unless you have that creep Sloane locked up around here. I'd love to do more than give him a little tap."
"As much as I would like to grant that request no, Sloane's evaded capture," Vaughn explained. "That's what Sydney was doing in Sri Lanka."
"If I may, I'm still a little unclear as to who it is who's responsible for this," Jack interjected. "The First, what exactly is that?"
"Just what it sounds like," Buffy replied. "The source of all evil in the world."
"That seems a little hard to believe," Jack protested.
"Believe me, I've talked to it enough times to know it exists."
"Ok, so let's say that evil does exist in some personified form. How do we fight it?"
"You can't," Willow said. "Not directly at least. The First is incorporeal and can't be hurt. Nor can it hurt anyone...physically."
"But will talk your damn ear off," Buffy added. "Plus it can take the form of anyone who is dead."
Jack considered what Buffy said, "So it attacks you psychologically, saps your will to fight then has its followers finish the job?"
Buffy nodded, "The First is harmless if you don't listen to it."
"Easier said than done," Willow muttered under her breath.
"So why does the personification of evil want one of my agents?" Kendall wondered aloud, unknowingly echoing Vaughn's earlier question.
"There is one thing," Willow admitted, "The First is trying to eradicate the Slayer. Maybe Sydney is a potential?"
Buffy shook her head, "I doubt it Will. She's too old to be a potential Slayer."
"I know that, but maybe Sydney was a potential Slayer, and she never got called, but maybe she can still pass the Slayer potential along," Willow persisted.
"Wait, back up," Vaughn said. "You're saying Sydney could be a Slayer like you Buffy?"
"No," Buffy said with a shake of her head. "It's possible she could have been, but there's no way she could become a Slayer now. Besides, the First has potential Slayers killed on the spot, not captured."
"Does the reason matter?" Jack asked. "We know who has Sydney, and we need to get her back. Nothing else is relevant."
Kendall nodded, "Agreed. Agent Bristow, have you assembled your team?"
"You're looking at it," Jack replied. "Agent Vaughn and I talked this over earlier sir and we both feel that a small team has a better chance of success," Jack paused. "Agent Vaughn also felt very strongly about the inclusion of Ms. Summers and Ms. Rosenberg."
"If you think I'm going to authorize the use of civilians on this mission..." Kendall spluttered.
"With all do respect sir..." Vaughn began to protest.
Kendal held up a hand, "Save it Agent. I've read the reports: 'they can handle themselves in a fight,' 'they're not really civilians,' 'we're not equipped to handle this threat.' Have I missed any?"
"They didn't rat Sydney out," Vaughn added.
"Uhm, ok, question," Buffy interjected. "I know I'm all for helping out Sydney, but why not have the Initiative and Faith find Sydney?"
"Politics," Jack replied before Kendall could answer. "The Initiative is a Department of Defense project. The CIA is not part of DoD so when an agent goes missing we usually try to handle things in house. That and this Faith is currently deep in Africa on assignment."
"Oh, that'd explain that," Buffy said, mollified. "Now about Willow and I going to find Sydney. She helped get me out of SD-6 and saved my life. If you think I'm going to leave her to the First then you're nuts."
"Hold on Ms. Summers. I can't authorize it because I don't have the authority. That has to come from the top. We don't normally let civilians, no matter how qualified take part in our operations."
Jack slid a piece of paper over to Kendall. "I took the liberty of explaining the situation to the Director already. He agrees with me that we need to use these two ladies to retrieve Sydney."
Kendall looked down at the piece of paper and smiled. "Don't get between you and your little girl eh Jack?"
Jack coldly stared at Kendall, "Precisely."
Kendall nodded, "Fair enough. Ok Marshall, show us what you've got."
"Well, we don't have much. The capture, which you've all seen and after that they just went poof."
"So we have no leads?" Vaughn asked.
"I didn't say that. We've been keeping a very close eye on Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it used to be known. Anyway an infrared satellite picked this up." Marshall pushed a button and a grainy image appeared on a television screen.
"What s it?" Buffy asked.
"A heat bloom," Marshall replied. "The satellite used to be used to track Soviet naval ships, but it's proven pretty handy tracking down terrorist in remote locations. This one was pretty hard to get what with it being in a jungle, but we managed. Anyway, if we take a map of the region and overlay this bloom we get this." Marshall adjusted a few controls and a map appeared on the screen. "It overlaps the location of an ancient Hindu temple to Shiva, the destroyer."
"If I was evil incarnate that sounds like a place I'd visit," Buffy quipped.
"Alright people, get your gear and get to that temple," Kendall ordered.
"Ah, so my noble opposition is gathering its forces, how inspiring," a cheerful voice said from behind them. They turned and saw a middle-aged man with orange-red hair and an open, friendly face standing there. "I so did love team-building exercises."
"Who are you?" Kendall demanded.
"Oh how unspeakably rude of me, but come on Director Kendall, you're a smart man, figure it out for yourself."
"It's the First," Jack said, his voice a tight ball of rage.
"You're a bright one," the First said, "I can see the apple didn't fall from the tree in your family's case. You have a remarkable daughter Mr. Bristow, you should be proud."
"You know, I never liked you when you were alive," Buffy commented. "And I like you even less as the First's face."
"Besides, we blew Mayor Wilkins up, so you're not that scary," Willow added.
"Oh really, not that scary? Fair enough, as a politician you have to be palatable to your constituents...at least until they become palatable to you." He chuckled slightly at his joke. "Maybe you should explain things to your new friends," he told Buffy. "They don't seem to get the joke."
Buffy grimaced, but did as the First asked. "Laughing boy here tried to eat the town in an attempt to become a demon; we blew his ass up for his troubles."
"Sad but true, on the other hand it was nice to see the people of Sunnydale rallying behind a common cause."
"Get to the point already," Buffy demanded.
"The point? Quite simple really. I have someone you want, and you're not getting her back."
"You son of a bitch!" Vaughn fumed. "If you do anything to hurt her..."
The First turned and faced Vaughn, "You'll do what..." Suddenly the First's form shifted to a completely different one that Buffy did not recognize, "Son?"
Vaughn took a step back, "Dad?" he managed to splutter.
"That's not your father Vaughn," Jack said, "Your father is dead."
"You would know that wouldn't you Jack, after all, it was your wife that killed me."
Buffy stepped between the First and the rest of the group. "It's long past time for you to leave," she growled.
The First sighed dramatically, "Very well, but I'll be seeing you all again soon." The First vanished in a flash of light.
Buffy faced the others, "That was the First, any questions?"
-Sri Lanka-
Sydney lay strapped to a table in the middle of a large chamber. Her body was bruised and cut; various torture devices sat on a surgical table next to her. A group of disfigured minions ringed Sydney and chanted in a language she did not recognize. All through her torture session they had stood there, chanting. The pain that had wracked her body receded slightly and Sydney took the opportunity to test the leather straps that held her down.
"It won't do you any good to struggle Sydney," Danny's voice said.
Sydney looked up and saw her supposedly dead fiancŽe standing over her. "Danny, why are you doing this? I loved you."
Danny laughed, it was not at all like the laugh Sydney remembered. "You loved me, that's rich. You lied to me for as long as I knew you, and your lies put a bullet in my brain."
"That's not fair. I was lied to as well. If I had known was SD-6 truly was I never would have joined."
"Don't give me that, you would have joined, it's who you are Sydney, it's in your blood. Just look at your parents." Danny looked at one of the servants. "Take her back to her cell. We don't want to wear out our sacrifice before her big night."
Sydney waited patiently for the servant to finish untying her before she lashed out and knocked it to the ground. Sydney marshaled all of her strength and sprinted for the door.
"Catch her!" Danny roared at the hooded minions standing there.
Sydney burst out of the chamber and found herself in a dark stone hallway. She quickly glanced up and down the hall in an attempt to figure out which way the exit lay. The sound of her pursuers convinced her that direction was not as important as motion and she ran down the right hand side of the hall.
Suddenly Danny appeared in front of her. Despite her shock Sydney didn't slow down and ran right through him. "Going somewhere?" Danny asked as Sydney tripped over a loose piece of stone and fell to the ground.
"You're...you're not Danny," Sydney insisted. "Danny loved me and would never hurt me." She grimaced, she sprained her ankle in the fall, and the pain was intense.
"Yes I loved you, but that was before you betrayed me. I'm lying in the ground molding away and you're gallivanting across the world with your new boy toy."
"There's no way the real Danny would say that. He'd want me to be happy, to get on with my life."
"That's just a lie the living tell themselves to assuage their guilt. Can you imagine the pain of seeing the person you love and know that you can never touch them again?" To emphasis his point Danny passed his hand through Sydney's face.
By that time the guards had caught up to Sydney. She stood in an attempt to fight them off, but the pain from her ankle and other assorted injuries was too great and she fell to the ground.
"Take her back to her cell," Danny said in disgust. "We want to make sure she's well rested for tomorrow when we get to do this all over again."
Buffy, Jack, Vaughn and Willow sat in silence aboard an Air Force Gulfstream as it flew over Africa on its way to Colombo. As Buffy drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair she noticed that she seemed to be the only member of the party bored by the flight. Willow was staring out the window in rapt attention as the earth spread out below them. Agent Vaughn was sleeping and Agent Bristow, Sydney's father, was reading a report of some sort. He obviously was used to long flights. Buffy tried, once again, to take a nap, but found that sleep eluded her. She sighed in frustration and stood up to run through a few training exercises.
"Would you mind not doing that?" Jack Bristow murmured. "Once we're on the ground sleep is going to be hard to come by."
"Buffy sat down in her chair, "I know, but I'm not a person who handles long periods of boredom well. If it wasn't for the daily threat of the apocalypse I would've gone crazy in high school...actually I almost did go crazy in high school, but that's a different story."
Jack stared at Buffy. "You've lead an interesting life haven't you."
Buffy shrugged, "No more than anyone else, I mean if you look past the vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, and other assorted creepy crawlers. But hey Sydney was probably running around with little kids versions of James Bond gadgets, so who's to say what's interesting?"
"Sydney first learned of my work with the CIA last year. For a variety of reasons it was the most expedient way to deal with the situation. Personally if I had any say in the matter Sydney would never have become a spy. Danny would still be alive and he and Sydney would have started a family by now. Sydney would be happy and would still believe her mother had died in a car accident."
"But at least now she has her mother," Buffy pointed out. "Not everyone can get that second chance."
Jack shook his head, "Irina Derevko is not the woman Sydney knew as her mother...you did not hear that name," he cautioned Buffy.
"Right, just like I didn't hear that name back in LA when you were defending yourself to Kendall."
"Yes, well, I stand by what I said. Sydney would want her to know." Jack looked down at his hands. "It seems Sydney believes in second chances."
"We're going to get her back Mr. Bristow," Buffy insisted.
"I hope you're right Ms. Summers. I don't think I could forgive myself if we didn't."
-Sunnydale-
Will Tippin checked the address he had written down against the one on the house in front of him. Will was not even entirely sure why he was there. When Sydney had not come home he had tried to call Vaughn.
Vaughn had proven to be his usual inscrutable self. "Sorry Will, I can't tell you much. Why don't you go talk to your friend in Sunnydale. I'm sure he's got some amusing stories that a journalist like yourself can put to good use." Vaughn has then given Will and address then hung up.
Will stared at the house. He didn't know the full story behind Sydney's last visit; just that it ended with him being punched out and getting a massive hangover. Will sighed, he knew Sydney was in trouble and Vaughn thought he could help Sydney by coming here. Will got out of his car and walked up to the front door. He range the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.
After a short wait the door opened to reveal an attractive blonde. "Can I help you?" she asked in a terse voice.
"Oh hi, my name's Will Tippin. I'm a friend of Xander's is he here?"
"Will? Xander doesn't know anyone named Will. Except for Willow who sometimes gets called Will, and Spike who's real name is William, but other than that no Will. Nice try hellspawn." The woman started to shut the door in Will's face.
Will shoved himself into the door frame. He winced slightly as the door hit him in a sensitive area. "Look could you please tell Xander that I'm here, my name is Will Tippin."
"Anya, is something the matter?" a male voice with a proper British accent asked from another room.
"No problem, just a pushy demon trying to eat Xander," Anya replied.
"A what?" the man with the British accent asked as he walked into sight. "Hold on, I know you," he told Will. "You were in LA during the Rambaldus unpleasantness. Anya let the poor man in the house, he's not a demon," the man ordered Anya.
"If you insist Giles," Anya said. She swung the door open and Will stumbled into the house.
"You'll have to forgive Anya. We're all a little jumpy right now. Hello, my name is Rupert Giles." He held out his hand to Will.
Will glanced at Anya who still looked ready to slow roast him over a fire. "Will Tippin," he replied. "Where's Xander?"
"At the lumber yard getting supplies. I must say Mr. Tippin you've arrived at a singularly poor time."
"It can't be helped. A man named Vaughn said I should come here."
Giles arched his eyebrows, "Indeed, and why did Mr. Vaughn send you to Sunnydale?"
"He said you could tell me what's happened to Sydney."
"Oh yes, that we can do. Why don't you come into the living room and have a seat. This could take a while."
-Colombo-
Jack lead Buffy Willow and Vaughn through the crowded streets of Colombo. Willow looked around the busy market in wonder. "This is so cool, I be we could find some amazing herbs."
"Ms. Rosenberg, may I remind you that we're here to rescue Sydney, not to indulge your desire to find a better high," Jack snapped.
"I wasn't talking about drugs. I was talking about herbs with magical properties that we could use in spells," Willow shot back.
"It would also be a good place to find out more about this temple we're looking for," Buffy pointed out.
Jack stared at Vaughn who shrugged. "Alright let's find a...magic shop." He finished his sentence in a strangled voice. "You wouldn't happen to know where to start looking?"
"Maybe that guy does," Buffy said, pointing to an elderly Indian man standing in front of a small crowd of onlookers.
"Oh cool, a fakir, I've always wanted to see one in person," Willow said before running over to the man.
"A what now?" Buffy asked Vaughn.
"A fakir," Jack said, cutting off Vaughn, "Roughly translated a street magician. There's a purported mystical element, but fakirs are just that, fakers."
"Cool," Buffy replied, "Sounds like the kind of person we're looking for." She caught up with Willow just in time to see the fakir lie down on abed of nails.
"There's actually no magic involved," Willow explained. "It's just good old-fashioned physics. See the nails are so close together that even though they're individually quite sharp your weight gets evenly distributed across all of them. So no one nail has enough pressure being applied to it to break the skin. Pretty cool huh?"
"Yeah, cool," Buffy said distractedly. Throughout Willow's explanation the fakir had been staring straight at the pair.
"Say pretty lady, would you mind helping me demonstrate my control over my body?" the fakir asked Buffy in heavily accented English.
Buffy shrugged, "Sure, why not." She figured it would be the perfect opportunity to ask about a magic shop.
"Well step closer so I may instruct you," the fakir ordered. "Now what I want you to do is take that board, cinder block, and sledgehammer..."
"But you'll get impaled!" Buffy protested. She could see where the fakir was going.
"Don't worry, it's all part of the illusion. The board softens the blow, I won't feel a thing." He reached out and patted Buffy's arm. "On second thought, you'd better hold back Ms. Summers."
"How did you know my name?" Buffy warily asked the fakir.
"Not every fakir is a fake; I have been gifted with a touch of second sight, and the vampire slayer has so much power she is easy to spot. Now let us do this trick and then we can discuss what brings the Chosen One to Colombo."
The fakir returned to his bed of nails and motioned for Buffy to place the wooden board and cinder block on his chest. "Just remember my dear that I am not a vampire," the fakir said with a smile.
Buffy took a deep breath and swung the hammer as softly as she could. The cinder block shattered from the force of the strike but the fakir quickly stood up and showed off his unmarked back. The crowd applauded and tossed money at the fakir.
As the crowd dispersed the fakir looked at the four Americans. "Follow me, the streets of Colombo are not safe and we have much to talk about." He saw the looks of doubt on the CIA agent's faces. "Unless of course you want to let the First win," he added.
-to be continued-
