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.
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 Three
-Sri Lanka-
"You think your friends are going to save you," Danny said, appearing suddenly in Sydney's cell.
"I know they are, Vaughn won't leave me behind," Sydney said defiantly.
Danny chuckled, "They certainly will try, but my Bringers will take care of them."
"We'll see about that."
"The only real question is whose bed are you going to jump into when your precious Vaughn is dead. Will Tippin's been trying to get into your pants for as long as you've known him. Maybe this is his chance." Danny stared at Sydney who was brimming with rage. "But I forgot, you'll be just as dead as me in a few days, and the rest of the world will follow suit."
"That is so not going to happen. Evil like you never wins."
"So now you think I'm evil? So much for being the love of your life."
"You're not Danny," Sydney snarled. "You might have his face and his voice, but you're not him."
"So you saw through my little ruse, took you long enough. No, I'm not Danny, but I control his soul, just like I control the souls of all who have died."
"I refuse to believe that a good person like Danny is anywhere near you."
"Little girl, your concept of the afterlife is so misinformed. There is no heaven, there is no hell. There is only nothingness, and me."
"Then if you're so tough show me your real face."
"Your feeble mind couldn't comprehend my true form," the First replied. "Besides, I like this face. I think I'll keep it for a while. At least until I can add a few more to my collection."
"You bastard!" Sydney seethed. She lunged at the First. In her anger she forgot about her ankle and she fell to the ground in pain. Before she hit the stone floor she passed through the First.
"You really do have a short memory don't you," the First said with a chuckle. "Sleep well Sydney, by this time tomorrow you'll be dead along with everyone else." The First vanished leaving Sydney lying on the floor of her cell.
Sydney tried to stand up, but found she did not have the strength. Instead she dragged herself over to the wall and pulled herself up into a sitting position.
Sydney raised a hand to tap on the wall but found that she did not have the strength. "What's the use?" she muttered to herself.
"Hello, is anyone where?" She heard a voice with a heavy Indian accent ask quietly.
Sydney stiffened, "Who's there?" she asked.
"It's just me, Mr. Sanjay, your neighbor. I found this hole in the wall today."
"Good, I was getting tired of the Morse code," Sydney replied with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
"How are you doing?" Mr. Sanjay asked.
"I've been better," Sydney replied. It felt like every bruise and cut were throbbing in unison.
"Well don't worry, I'm sure your friends will be here soon."
"I hope your right," Sydney said.
"Of this I am sure. Is not the fact that we are talking to each other proof that the forces of evil aren't omniscient?"
"I suppose," Sydney said, unconvinced.
"Look at it this way, let's say this wall is great evil. At first glance it looks large and imposing, but upon further inspection you find cracks like this one. Holes that you can exploit like how we are taking advantage of this little chink."
"But this thing is so powerful," Sydney protested.
"There is no evil in this world that the power of good cannot overcome. The evil might appear to be stronger, but that is the nature of evil, and like I said, there is always a chink in the armor."
Sydney took a deep breath and felt the resolve seep back into her. Vaughn would move heaven and earth to rescue her. She knew that because she would do the same if their situations were reversed. All she had to do was wait, and endure.
Buffy stared into the small campfire Mr. Gupta had made over Agent Bristow's objections. The old man had finally managed to convince the CIA operative that he could make a fire sheltered from prying eyes. She looked over at the other side of the fire where Willow and Mr. Gupta were engaged in a quiet debate. Buffy couldn't hear what was being said, but she could guess what they were talking about; Willow's attempt to destroy the world. The fact that the fakir knew about the incident seemed to fascinate Willow. Buffy thought it had something to do with the way Mr. Gupta had so easily shrugged the incident off that got Willow's attention. Regardless of the reason Buffy did not really care to involve herself in that conversation. She had her friend back and was what mattered.
Buffy then looked over at Mr. Bristow who was cleaning his rifle. Having met the man Buffy now understood where Sydney got her drive from. Buffy had never met someone who wasn't bent on world destruction that seemed so willing to achieve his goal regardless of the cost. Se figured that was what it took to be a spy. Buffy also guessed that Sydney's capture had something to do with Mr. Bristow's air of hardness. She recognized that if anyone laid a hand on Dawn she would be every bit as ruthless in getting her back.
Buffy stood up and moved over to where Jack was sitting. "So what's the plan for tomorrow Mr. Bristow?"
"We go to the temple," Jack said as he finished putting the rifle back together, "rescue Sydney, and blow them all to hell." He loaded a clip and chambered the first round to emphasis his point.
"Simple and easy to remember, I like it" Buffy's voice trailed off as a faint rustling in the distance caught her attention.
Jack noticed the shift in Buffy's posture, "What is it?" he asked.
"I thought I heard something over there," Buffy said.
Jack nodded and set down his rifle. "Follow me," he told Buffy. He drew his pistol and screwed a silencer onto it, "and bring your gun."
Buffy picked up the machine gun and followed Jack into the brush. They quietly slipped through the forest until they saw a robed figure crouching behind a tree. Jack motioned for Buffy to follow him and the pair walked a short distance away.
"Who's that?" Jack asked Buffy.
"That's a Bringer, one of the First's servants," Buffy replied.
"He's probably a scout," Jack mused. "Stay here," he ordered, "I'll take care of this."
"You don't know me very well do you," Buffy quipped as she followed Jack back towards the scout. She put her hand on Bristow's arm when he aimed his pistol at the Bringer. "Here, let me," she whispered. Buffy set down her machine gun and crept up behind the scout.
She tapped the Bringer on the shoulder, "Hi there, you're dead.," Buffy told the Bringer before grabbing its head and twisting it sharply, snapping the evil minions neck. She let the corpse hit the ground with a soft thud. "Come on, they're going to attack the camp," she told Jack. The pair ran back to the campsite and found Willow and Mr. Gupta still locked in an intense conversation.
"so you see child, Hinduism teaches us that there is good in all things, so even though you did terrible things you can still be a good person if you allow yourself to move past it," he paused, "and never, ever, try to destroy the world again."
Willow smiled, "Alright, I promise." She reached out and hugged the elderly man. "Thanks Mr. Gupta." She turned and saw Buffy. "Hey Buffy, Mr. Gupta and I were talking about the nature of evil and stuffand there's something that's about to attack isn't there?" She asked when she saw the guns Buffy and Agent Bristow were carrying.
"We found a Bringer out in the jungle," Buffy said. "It's a safe bet there are more of them out there."
"Buffy, Willow, I want you to take positions here and here. These are your firezones; if anything enters them, kill it. Mr. Gupta stay in the middle, we'll try to keep you safe." Before Jack could finish his instructions a wave of Bringers came rushing out of the jungle. "Take them out!" Jack shouted as he fired his rifle into the oncoming rush, sending the first line of attackers tumbling to the ground.
Buffy raised her machine gun to her shoulder and pulled the trigger. The SAW barked and a cluster of Bringers fell down in a spray of blood. "A girl could get used to this," Buffy said to herself as she emptied the clip into the mass of Bringers.
In her haste Willow had left her submachine gun lying on the ground. Instead of gunning down the onslaught Willow held out her arms and conjured a mystical barrier around the Bringers attacking her. "I suggest you guys run away before this collapses on you," Willow warned them. Suddenly the barrier disappeared in a bright flashing, taking the Bringers along with it. "Oops, guess I kind of miscalculated," Willow said nonchalantly. She then turned her attention to another group of Bringers.
"How are you doing Mr. Gupta?" Jack asked after he took down a small knot of Bringers that were trying to sneak up on him.
"I would be doing better if it wasn't quite so loud," Mr. Gupta shouted.
Buffy looked around and saw that none of the robed figures were moving. "Hey, I think we got all of them," she called out.
Willow stared at the carnage around them, "I think we need to find another campsite," she commented.
"Where is Mr. Vaughn?" Mr. Gupta asked. "Was he not supposed to be standing guard?"
"That is an excellent question," Jack agreed. "Vaughn, this is Bristow, please report in." He said into his radio.
There was a rustling in the bushes off to the group's right. Buffy and Jack raised their guns and aimed them in the direction of the noise. Instead of a Bringer it was Vaughn who burst out of the underbrush.
"I heard gunfire, what happened?" he asked.
"We were attacked by Bringers," Buffy said. "We're fine, no thanks to you."
"Now Buffy, there's no reason to take that attitude," Willow scolded her friend. "I'm sure Agent Vaughn has a perfectly good reason for letting the forces of darkness slip past him. You do right Agent Vaughn?"
"I thought I saw something so I went to investigate it. It must have been a distraction to draw me away," Vaughn stammered. For some reason he did not think the others would understand his confrontation with the thing impersonating his father so he decided to leave that part out of his story. "I should have known better," he said reproachfully.
"No, you were right to investigate," Jack told the younger agent. "They used a good plan against us, we were lucky Buffy was here."
"I know this is going to sound weird, but where's the First?" Buffy asked. "It's not like it not to show up and gloat whenever it has the chance."
"Did somebody say my name?" Angel asked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Don't you dare use that face," Buffy warned the First.
"Oh why not, Angelus was one of my favorite playthings. He was so evil it was delicious fun to watch him work. No one else had understood the artistry of the slaughter the way Angellus did." The First looked around the camp, "See this is what I mean. Look at this mess, where's the theme? Where are the dangling entrails, the flayed corpses? Bullet wounds are so boring, you get no sense of joy from them." The First sighed dramatically. "That's the problem with the twentieth century, everything became so automated. No one values hand craftsmanship anymore. Except for you Slayer, you still like things down and dirty don't you."
"Oh I don't know, playing Ripley has a certain appeal," Buffy replied as she hefted the machinegun in her hands.
"Please, you know that won't hurt me," the First scoffed.
"Are you here for a reason, or are you just trying to keep us up past our bed time?" Buffy asked.
"I just wanted to tell you two things. The first is that you aren't the only people with guns in this jungle."
Buffy shrugged, "Big deal, I'm petrified of blind sharpshooters. What else you got?"
"The important lesson Angelus taught me. The best way to destroy a person is through her loved one. I'm afraid Sunnydale is about to find itself in quite the predicament."
"So this whole thing was just a ploy to get me out of Sunnydale?"
"No you self-important bitch, the plan is to destroy the world. The destruction of Sunnydale is just an insurance policy. Unlike me you can't be everywhere Slayer. You made your choice and now your friends' lives are forfeit. Be seeing you Slayer." The First vanished before Buffy could say anything.
"Wait a minute, wasn't that Angel?" Vaughn asked.
"Yeah, and Angel's dead, and the First can look like anyone who's died. It doesn't matter if they're now undead." Buffy looked over at Jack. "Can you get on that fancy radio and call home? We need to warn Giles."
Jack shook his head. "The fear is limited to a special encrypted network. We can't dial any random number with it."
Buffy looked thoughtful for a moment, "Alright, I've got an idea."
-Sunnydale-
"This is your idea of tracking down evil?" Will asked Anya and Dawn, "Sit around at a club?"
"Would you rather be out there with all the nasties?" Anya asked. "Besides we're doing good work. Xander is keeping the canon fodder out." She pointed towards the entrance of the club where Xander was talking to a pair of teenaged girls.
"Still, you seem to be taking this impending doom thing in stride."
"Oh we get impending doom's all the time, they've even added them to the weather forecasts, 'partly cloudy tonight with a thirty percent chance of doom,'" Dawn said with a smile.
"Of course without Buffy we really are doomed," Anya grumbled. "So we might as well get drunk now." She finished off her glass and walked over to the bar to get a refill.
While Anya was away Xander finished shooing away the Potentials and returned to the table Will and Dawn were sitting at. "There's nothing quite like forcing a couple of teenagers out to face an unknown evil to work up a thirst for alchohol." Xander looked down at his glass. "What happened to my beer?"
"Anya decided she needed it more," Dawn explained.
Anya walked back to the table and deposited a pitcher in the middle of the group. "I told the bartender to send another one over for the rest of you."
"What is it with you guys?" Dawn asked. "It's not like we haven't dealt with the bad guys without Buffy before."
"But that before 'From beneath you it devours,'" Anya snapped. "This is probably all part of the First's grand plan. What if it releases one of those super vamps? We'd be screwed." Anya took a long drink straight from the pitcher.
"Wait, what's a super vamp?" Will asked.
"Oh Giles has some fancy name for it, but it's just like any other vampire, only stronger, uglier, and meaner," Anya explained.
"Alright, so why aren't we running like hell?"
"Because," Xander said. "If the First does win then nowhere is safe. So we stay and fight, and believe me I'd rather be a casualty in the first battle than live in a world the First controls."
Will stared at Anya's pitcher. "I think I'm going to need one of those," he noted.
Before Will had a chance to get up from the table Kennedy ran up to the group. "What are you doing here?" Anya asked before Kennedy had a chance to speak. "Shouldn't you be out there being cannon fodder?"
"The attack," Kennedy gasped, "it's started."
"Well what is it, bug demons, vampires, giant slugs?" Dawn asked.
Kennedy shook her head, "No it's" before she could finish her sentence the front door crashed open and a slightly decayed corpse shuffled into the room.
"Zombies?" Anya shouted. "I got all worked up over zombies?"
"But they're undead, aren't zombies scary?" Kennedy asked. As they watched the zombie grabbed the bouncer and started to gnaw on the man.
"You're new at this all this, zombies are the weakest of the weak. They're just reanimated meatbags with a hankering for brains. Watch this." Anya stood up and weaved her way through the panicking crowd to the bar. She reached behind the bar and picked up a large carving knife. She then walked over to zombie and tapped it on the shoulder. "Hi there, want to help me prove a point?" Anya asked the zombie. Before the zombie had a chance to react Anya slammed the cracking knife into the corpse's head. The zombie slumped to the ground.
"See, how hard is that?" she asked the group. "The only problem with zombies is that they overwhelm you with numbers" Anya turned around and saw an additional five zombies, including the former bouncer. "Oh crap."
"Anya duck!" Xander shouted. Anya looked and saw Xander throw a bottle of whiskey at one of the zombies. The bottle shattered against the zombies head, drenching it in alcohol, but little else.
"Oh good job, you didn't even distract it," Anya chided.
Bitch, bitch, bitch," Xander replied as he tossed a lit book of matches on the zombie. The alcohol-soaked zombie lit up like a torch and stumbled into its fellow walked dead setting them on fire.
Anya seized the opportunity and sprinted away from the flaming zombies. "Okay," she gasped, "One zombie, no problem, many zombies, problem. But still, no self-respecting beast from the pit would stoop to using zombies. It'stacky and childish, something a person who's watched too many horror movies would do."
"We can figure that part out later," Xander said. "Come on, we'd better go see Giles. He probably knows the best way to get rid of zombies."
"And my life suddenly shifts from a John Le Carre novel to a Roger Corman movie," Will groused.
"Don't worry, if you stay close to use you won't get your brains eaten," Dawn told Will, "After all, we're the good guys."
Will stared at Anya, Dawn, Kennedy and Xander, "That makes me feel so much better."
-Sri Lanka-
"Wake up Ms. Summers, wake up," Mr. Gupta said as he gently shook Buffy's arm.
"I'm up, I'm up," Buffy said as she brushed off Mr. Gupta's hand. "What's up?"
"Mr. Bristow said it's time to move out," Mr. Gupta told the Slayer.
"Alright," Buffy groaned as she pushed herself up off the ground. "What time is it?" She asked Mr. Gupta.
"Early," the elderly man replied. "Excuse me, I must wake up Ms. Rosenberg now."
Buffy nodded and reached into her backpack for a package of moist towelettes. She peeled a towellette off of the pack and used it to wipe off the grime that had accumulated on her over the course of the previous day. It didn't feel as good as a shower, but she at least felt cleaner. After she popped two sticks of gum into her mouth she walked over to where Bristow and Vaughn were standing.
"Anybody want some Big Red?" she asked. "It lets you kick-ass a little longer."
"No thank-you, and please don't blow any bubbles whenwell anytime," Jack said.
"Don't worry Mr. B it isn't bubble gum. You can't blow bubbles with it," Buffy replied.
"Ooh gum, can I have a stick?" Willow asked as she joined the rest of the group.
"Sure thing Will, how about you Mr. Gupta?"
"Thank-you very much. Ah Big Red, it gives your breath long-lasting freshness you know."
"Never let it be said that American marketing is anything less than ubiquitous," Buffy quipped.
"Are we ready?" Jack asked. "We have a lot of ground to cover today if we're going to reach Sydney in time."
"Very true indeed Mr. Bristow, I'm ready," Mr. Gupta said. Buffy and Willow noddedi n agreement.
"Ok the same formation as yeterday, Vaughn at point and myself in the rear. Let's move." Vaughn nodded and slipped into the jungle. Buffy shouldered her machinegun and followed the CIA agent.
They had been walking for a short while when Mr. Gupta caught up with Buffy. "How are you doing?" He asked the Slayer.
"How am I doing? I'm tromping through a jungle on my way to try and stop evil itself from destroying the world, again. And if we do manage to stop the First this time there's still whatever the hell it's planning to do in Sunnydale. I have to be perfect every time, the First only has to get lucky once, so how do you think I'm doing?"
"Does that mean you're going to give up?" Mr. Gupta gently asked.
"No, I decided that the next time I die it'll be from old age, not the boogyman. Still this does get pretty draining, you know? I mean why can't I just slay the dragon and get a happily ever after?"
"Because you balance the scale," Mr. Gupta said. "Existence depends on balance as much as anything, great evil and great good exist in equal proportions in every man. You and the First are just a life-sized representation of that duality."
"But that hardly seems balanced, the First is pure evil and I'm just a person," Buffy protested.
"Look at it this way, why is the First evil?"
Buffy shrugged, "Because it is?"
"Exactly, and why do you fight it?"
"Because I'm the Chosen One."
"But just because someone has the power of the Slayer does not automatically mean a person will do good now does it?"
"Well no," Buffy admitted.
"So you have made a choice. You chose to oppose the forces of evil, and that is where your true power comes from."
"But I didn't choose to be the Slayer," Buffy objected.
"True, but you did choose to take on the mantle of the Slayer, and you're doing a better job of it than any other Slayer I've met."
"You meet a lot of Slayers to make that comparison?" Buffy wryly asked.
"You'd be surprised," Mr. Gupta replied. "Trust me, you are the best Slayer ever, and that's a tribute to your humanity."
"My what?"
"Your humanity, you've clung to it more than any other Slayer and that's what gives you strength. You know what you're fighting to protect."
"Oh but it is," Mr. Gupta replied. "It's the thing that the dark creatures lack."
"You're talking about souls aren't you?" Buffy asked.
"That's one way to describe it," Mr. Gupta replied.
Buffy glanced over at Willow, "If there's one thing I've learned recently it's that a soul does not stop a person from doing bad things."
"This is very true, like I said all people have in them the capacity for tremendous evil, yourself included. But within everyone is some bit of good as well."
"It's all about choice right?"
"Exactly, Willow chose to reject the dark magic; just like to chose to let the darkness take hold. Similarly you choose to use your power to protect, unlike Faith who chose a different path."
Buffy stumbled on an exposed root. "How do you know Faith?"
"The mystical community is very small and word spreads quickly. News of a rogue Slayer spreads quickest of all."
"I can see that," Buffy said after a moment's reflection. "But how does all this choice make me stronger than the First?"
"Humanity is about choice, that is its defining aspect. The Slayers before you lost sight of this, they let their Slayer powers define who they were. You fight because you want to live. You're familiar with the concept?"
"I'veheard it," Buffy admitted. "But you're wrong, I fight because I have to. If I don't fight the world is doomed."
Mr. Gupta smiled, "I never said that both choices were good, but they are choices. Look, you said it yourself, you fight to protect. If you stay true to yourself you will get your wish of a long life."
Buffy stared at the fakir, "Who are you?"
"A simple fakir, I assure you."
"Well you're a hell of a motivational speaker," Buffy said.
"I'm glad I could be of help. Just my own little contribution to your fight."
Buffy didn't reply, instead she watched the elderly fakir thread his way through the jungle. There was something about the man that Buffy couldn't quite put her finger on. She didn't think he was evil, but there certainly was more to Mr. Gupta than met the eye.
-to be continued-
