Chapter 1.
'Willow? Are you ready to go?' Tara called up the stairs. Willow appeared at the top, wrapped in green towels.
'Not so much. You go ahead, I'll catch you up,' she said.
'Fine.' Tara turned and went out the door.
'Hurry up though, Will,' said Dawn before following Tara. 'You don't want to miss the low-down on our latest featured creature.'
Willow smiled, waited till the door was closed, then dressed herself magically and ran downstairs. She had a little something to do before she joined the rest of the Scooby gang at the Magic Box.
She quickly took a bag from behind some books in the cabinet by the fireplace and knelt down next to the unlit fire. Then she carefully took one flower from the bag and placed it in the hearth.
'For Buffy and Tara, this I char, let Lethe's Bramble do it's chore,' she struck a match and set the flower alight, 'purge their minds of memories grim, of pains from recent slights and sins.' Then she took a crystal from a pouch at her side and held it in the flames. 'When the fire goes out, when the crystal turns black, the spell will be cast. Tabula Rasa, Tabula Rasa, Tabula Rasa.' Replacing the crystal in its pouch, she got to her feet and left for the Magic Box.
The spell would have probably worked, but Willow had been in such a hurry that instead of taking the bag of Lethe's Bramble from the cabinet, she had taken a bag of Thasmana's Bloom, a flower used for closing gates between dimensions. Combined with a spell of forgetting, who knew what the effect might be? The Scooby gang was about to find out.
'Why don't you just jump to the chase? You've got a full audience now too,' Buffy was saying harshly to Giles. The atmosphere was tense, but Willow was happy - the crystal by her side had just turned black.
'Right. I will, uh, jump to the, uh, chase.' Giles said awkwardly. I'm heading back to England, and I plan to stay. Indefinitely.'
Everyone looked at each other in shock, except Buffy of course, who already knew. But before anyone could say anything on the matter, the room grew dense with a thick black fog.
'What the.' Xander muttered. Willow grabbed his sleeve, completely confused. Dawn slid to the floor, mumbling 'oh god oh god oh god,' under her breath, Tara grabbed Anya's hand and Anya grabbed Giles'. Buffy, however, just crossed her arms and sighed.
'Oh great. Let's have an apocalypse to see Giles off,' she muttered.
There was a sound like a whip cracking followed by a rumble of the thunder, and the fog turned to smoke, making everyone choke.
'Xander? What's going on?' Willow whispered.
'Not a clue, Will.'
Willow had a very bad feeling at the pit of her stomach telling her that this was her doing. Something was saying to her that her spell had gone wrong. Shaking her head slightly, Willow called through the smoke.
'Buffy? Tara? Dawn?' she said. 'Anya, Giles? Are you all ok?'
'Been better, Will.' Buffy replied dryly. 'But I'm not dead.again, so it's not too bad.'
'Buffy, this isn't the time for jokes!' Dawn cried, panic in her voice.
'Dawnie, calm down. We'll work this out,' Willow said.
'Oh, now I get it,' said a slurred British accent. 'This isn' real at all. This is a dream. Too much rum again. And any minute now, this smoke'll clear an' I'll be surrounded by lovely lasses, all-'
'That is highly unlikely, Jack,' said a female voice, which sounded like that of a well-educated, upper-class English woman. 'For on thing, Will and I seem to be going through the same experience as you here, so I doubt that this is one of your rum-induced flights of fancy.'
The man she had called Jack swore.
'Xander, I don't like this,' Willow whispered. 'Why are these people here? Or are we just hearing things?'
Xander put his arm around her. 'It's ok, Will, we'll work out what's going on.' He told her.
Just then, the shop bell tinkled as the door was slammed open and closed.
'Bloody hell. What happened here?' It was Spike.
'We don't know, Spike. And what are you doing? Here?' said Buffy through the smoke.
'I'm on the run. Just so happens there's a guy I don't want to see right now. You met him, Buffy. Toothy bloke with the baby seal breath.'
'Ok, this is starting to weird me out now. I don't like not seeing the people who are talking around me,' Willow said, panic rising in her voice. 'Dissape.'
The smoke vanished instantly and the gang had to blink as their eyes readjusted to the light. Once they had, they got a shock.
Right where Tara, Anya and Giles had been sat were three complete strangers. One was a young woman of about 18 or 19, dressed in a silken gown embroidered with gold, the other two were men in their twenties. The older of the two had to be the one who had spoken earlier, Jack. He was clothed in what could only be described as pirate clothes. He was covered in trinkets, and his face looked somewhat dazed; his brown, eyeliner- smeared eyes were out of focus.
The other man was much more presentable. His shoulder length dark brown hair was tied back with a ribbon, his tanned face was washed and his simple clothes were clean.
All of a sudden, Xander laughed, but he wasn't looking at the new arrivals. He was looking at Spike, who was dressed in a tweed suit, not unlike the ones Giles used to wear.
'What? It's a disguise!' Spike said in his defence. 'Anyway, I'm not the only one in weird gear - what's with Long John Silver and his mates?'
The man in the pirate clothing got to his feet. 'The name's Jack Sparrow. Capt'n Jack Sparrow,' he said, whipping his hat off his head with a flourish and bowing. 'This is Miss Elizabeth Swann, Guv'nor's daughter, and that over there is Will Turner.' Putting his hat back on his head, he flashed them a toothy grin. Three or four of the teeth were gold.
'It's, uh, nice to meet you,' Buffy smiled. Jack eyed her up and down, making her blush slightly. 'I'm Buffy Summers,' she added, trying to take his eyes off her chest.
'The pleasure's all mine, Miss Summers,' Jack grinned. Buffy just rolled her eyes.
'Uh, hi!' Willow ventured. 'I'm Willow Rosenburg. Hi.' Jack turned to look at her, examining every inch of her body like he had with Buffy. Luckily, Xander stepped in front of her, hand outstretched.
'Xander Harris,' he grinned. Willow could tell he was trying to stop the pirate gawking at his best friend, and she was thankful. Jack shook Xander's hand slowly.
'So. Where are we?' Jack said, glancing around at the shelves full of magic item, spell books and other magical aids.
'Sunnydale, California,' Buffy replied. 'America's very own Hellmouth town. Full of fun, supernatural evils.'
Jack's eyes widened.
'Sorry luv, but ye lost me around "Sunnydale". Now, bearin' in mind I'm just a humble pirate, where are we?'
'On the west Coast of America,' Buffy laughed. Willow hadn't seen Buffy laugh like that in a long time.
'Ah, alrigh'. And we're in a town called.?'
'Sunnydale.'
'Which is full of.?'
'Stuff that comes straight out of old, dusty textbooks. Weird creatures like vampires and demons and stuff.'
'Hey!' Spike piped up. 'I take offence to that!'
'Spike, you've got to face facts. Most sane people class vampires as weird. And most insane, come to that. So get over it. You're a vampire, so you're a weird creature,' Buffy said stonily. At the table, Elizabeth Swann was looking worried.
'He's a vampire? And you're talking to him?' she said. 'I didn't even know vampires were real, but from the tales I've heard, they don't sound like something you want to be talking to.'
'Spike's not like other vampires. He has a.thing in his head that stops him from hurting humans. It's impossible for him to harm a human without hurting himself more.
'Oh, just bloody rub in, Slayer, why don't you?' Spike grumbled.
'Not that we particularly want to talk to him. He tends to just hang around us while avoiding direct sunlight,' Buffy carried on, throwing a nasty look at him.
'So! Where are you from?' Willow said before Spike could retaliate. She couldn't cope with a Slayer/vampire slanging match just at that moment.
'Willow? Are you ready to go?' Tara called up the stairs. Willow appeared at the top, wrapped in green towels.
'Not so much. You go ahead, I'll catch you up,' she said.
'Fine.' Tara turned and went out the door.
'Hurry up though, Will,' said Dawn before following Tara. 'You don't want to miss the low-down on our latest featured creature.'
Willow smiled, waited till the door was closed, then dressed herself magically and ran downstairs. She had a little something to do before she joined the rest of the Scooby gang at the Magic Box.
She quickly took a bag from behind some books in the cabinet by the fireplace and knelt down next to the unlit fire. Then she carefully took one flower from the bag and placed it in the hearth.
'For Buffy and Tara, this I char, let Lethe's Bramble do it's chore,' she struck a match and set the flower alight, 'purge their minds of memories grim, of pains from recent slights and sins.' Then she took a crystal from a pouch at her side and held it in the flames. 'When the fire goes out, when the crystal turns black, the spell will be cast. Tabula Rasa, Tabula Rasa, Tabula Rasa.' Replacing the crystal in its pouch, she got to her feet and left for the Magic Box.
The spell would have probably worked, but Willow had been in such a hurry that instead of taking the bag of Lethe's Bramble from the cabinet, she had taken a bag of Thasmana's Bloom, a flower used for closing gates between dimensions. Combined with a spell of forgetting, who knew what the effect might be? The Scooby gang was about to find out.
'Why don't you just jump to the chase? You've got a full audience now too,' Buffy was saying harshly to Giles. The atmosphere was tense, but Willow was happy - the crystal by her side had just turned black.
'Right. I will, uh, jump to the, uh, chase.' Giles said awkwardly. I'm heading back to England, and I plan to stay. Indefinitely.'
Everyone looked at each other in shock, except Buffy of course, who already knew. But before anyone could say anything on the matter, the room grew dense with a thick black fog.
'What the.' Xander muttered. Willow grabbed his sleeve, completely confused. Dawn slid to the floor, mumbling 'oh god oh god oh god,' under her breath, Tara grabbed Anya's hand and Anya grabbed Giles'. Buffy, however, just crossed her arms and sighed.
'Oh great. Let's have an apocalypse to see Giles off,' she muttered.
There was a sound like a whip cracking followed by a rumble of the thunder, and the fog turned to smoke, making everyone choke.
'Xander? What's going on?' Willow whispered.
'Not a clue, Will.'
Willow had a very bad feeling at the pit of her stomach telling her that this was her doing. Something was saying to her that her spell had gone wrong. Shaking her head slightly, Willow called through the smoke.
'Buffy? Tara? Dawn?' she said. 'Anya, Giles? Are you all ok?'
'Been better, Will.' Buffy replied dryly. 'But I'm not dead.again, so it's not too bad.'
'Buffy, this isn't the time for jokes!' Dawn cried, panic in her voice.
'Dawnie, calm down. We'll work this out,' Willow said.
'Oh, now I get it,' said a slurred British accent. 'This isn' real at all. This is a dream. Too much rum again. And any minute now, this smoke'll clear an' I'll be surrounded by lovely lasses, all-'
'That is highly unlikely, Jack,' said a female voice, which sounded like that of a well-educated, upper-class English woman. 'For on thing, Will and I seem to be going through the same experience as you here, so I doubt that this is one of your rum-induced flights of fancy.'
The man she had called Jack swore.
'Xander, I don't like this,' Willow whispered. 'Why are these people here? Or are we just hearing things?'
Xander put his arm around her. 'It's ok, Will, we'll work out what's going on.' He told her.
Just then, the shop bell tinkled as the door was slammed open and closed.
'Bloody hell. What happened here?' It was Spike.
'We don't know, Spike. And what are you doing? Here?' said Buffy through the smoke.
'I'm on the run. Just so happens there's a guy I don't want to see right now. You met him, Buffy. Toothy bloke with the baby seal breath.'
'Ok, this is starting to weird me out now. I don't like not seeing the people who are talking around me,' Willow said, panic rising in her voice. 'Dissape.'
The smoke vanished instantly and the gang had to blink as their eyes readjusted to the light. Once they had, they got a shock.
Right where Tara, Anya and Giles had been sat were three complete strangers. One was a young woman of about 18 or 19, dressed in a silken gown embroidered with gold, the other two were men in their twenties. The older of the two had to be the one who had spoken earlier, Jack. He was clothed in what could only be described as pirate clothes. He was covered in trinkets, and his face looked somewhat dazed; his brown, eyeliner- smeared eyes were out of focus.
The other man was much more presentable. His shoulder length dark brown hair was tied back with a ribbon, his tanned face was washed and his simple clothes were clean.
All of a sudden, Xander laughed, but he wasn't looking at the new arrivals. He was looking at Spike, who was dressed in a tweed suit, not unlike the ones Giles used to wear.
'What? It's a disguise!' Spike said in his defence. 'Anyway, I'm not the only one in weird gear - what's with Long John Silver and his mates?'
The man in the pirate clothing got to his feet. 'The name's Jack Sparrow. Capt'n Jack Sparrow,' he said, whipping his hat off his head with a flourish and bowing. 'This is Miss Elizabeth Swann, Guv'nor's daughter, and that over there is Will Turner.' Putting his hat back on his head, he flashed them a toothy grin. Three or four of the teeth were gold.
'It's, uh, nice to meet you,' Buffy smiled. Jack eyed her up and down, making her blush slightly. 'I'm Buffy Summers,' she added, trying to take his eyes off her chest.
'The pleasure's all mine, Miss Summers,' Jack grinned. Buffy just rolled her eyes.
'Uh, hi!' Willow ventured. 'I'm Willow Rosenburg. Hi.' Jack turned to look at her, examining every inch of her body like he had with Buffy. Luckily, Xander stepped in front of her, hand outstretched.
'Xander Harris,' he grinned. Willow could tell he was trying to stop the pirate gawking at his best friend, and she was thankful. Jack shook Xander's hand slowly.
'So. Where are we?' Jack said, glancing around at the shelves full of magic item, spell books and other magical aids.
'Sunnydale, California,' Buffy replied. 'America's very own Hellmouth town. Full of fun, supernatural evils.'
Jack's eyes widened.
'Sorry luv, but ye lost me around "Sunnydale". Now, bearin' in mind I'm just a humble pirate, where are we?'
'On the west Coast of America,' Buffy laughed. Willow hadn't seen Buffy laugh like that in a long time.
'Ah, alrigh'. And we're in a town called.?'
'Sunnydale.'
'Which is full of.?'
'Stuff that comes straight out of old, dusty textbooks. Weird creatures like vampires and demons and stuff.'
'Hey!' Spike piped up. 'I take offence to that!'
'Spike, you've got to face facts. Most sane people class vampires as weird. And most insane, come to that. So get over it. You're a vampire, so you're a weird creature,' Buffy said stonily. At the table, Elizabeth Swann was looking worried.
'He's a vampire? And you're talking to him?' she said. 'I didn't even know vampires were real, but from the tales I've heard, they don't sound like something you want to be talking to.'
'Spike's not like other vampires. He has a.thing in his head that stops him from hurting humans. It's impossible for him to harm a human without hurting himself more.
'Oh, just bloody rub in, Slayer, why don't you?' Spike grumbled.
'Not that we particularly want to talk to him. He tends to just hang around us while avoiding direct sunlight,' Buffy carried on, throwing a nasty look at him.
'So! Where are you from?' Willow said before Spike could retaliate. She couldn't cope with a Slayer/vampire slanging match just at that moment.