Four disaster worlds had been experienced by the new crew, different variations on cometary damage. In the first they'd found a Greater Los Angeles flooded to the point where buildings in the downtown area were islands, the 1980 Indian Ocean and East China Sea impacts eliminating much of the populations of those bodies of water to a depth of 50-250 miles inland. Now, the world recovered and was doing quite well, but it was efficiency-obsessed and very document oriented. Given the sheer number of children, the Cometites chose to pass.
The next three worlds were recovering from nuclear winters, all pretty grim, but none quite lived up to the hype of the alarmists, the major cities of the Western Alliance having managed to take out the Nazi and Maoist enemies with them in the early seventies. St. Clair and the police went forth and found a surviving Darpanet node and had gathered information on the nascent North American Federation based in Cheyenne Mountain and Colorado Springs. The second had degenerated into nominal Americas similarly based, but with executive orders that told everybody to just do their best every two years and go through the (nominal) process of elections until they could be a real country again, and the other two seemed to be scavenging nations based on the various Pacific Islands, Australia, and South Africa, though from radio traffic a bunch of plucky Newfoundlanders and Bermudans were trying to get something going along the Gulf Stream.
None of the worlds had a Sunnydale, but the fifth world seemed promising enough. Well, they'd found Sunnydale, but no one was home it seemed. They found a newspaper at a store and found the date had been December 11, 1996, and the only thing of real note to them was that the World Link was going to be activated that day, about three in the morning California time, a big honkin' system of solar power, microwave beam electrical, full sat-link and dish-download Internet at 50mbps. All the networks and content providers were advertising their own features and encouraging the Two hundred fifty million pre-subscribed households world-wide and two thousand stadium-sized units to tune in, even as the solar reflective components were supposed to light up the nights of major urban areas like it was a morning after daybreak, and Doyle had not been able to find anything on bands from shortwave on up the normal scale. They were alone.
"Looks like something really went wrong," Dawn noted as she finished her paper, "But I'm going to want all the specs we can find on it before we slide." Willow and Tara both nodded along, appreciating both the upsides and downsides.
"I think you're right, Dawn, and if we can diagnose the difficulties, only then will we present it to the SGC and Capricans for analysis, to avoid whatever caused everybody to disappear."
"Do you think vampires or demons survived?" Joyce asked, watching as Maggie and the male police officers headed into the mall.
"If the masters turned on their minions, maybe for a while, unless they found a way to hibernate," Xander speculated, "But who knows about the others, though I'd expect to have seen some wandering the streets by now."
Arturo and the techies were dropped off at CRD, a much bigger complex in this universe, with the Romanos as security detail, then moved the manta-ship into the main area of town the new best.
Leaving the vessel with Joyce and the girls, Xander and Doyle went on their own 'away mission' to the S-Mart that had opened a month before the disaster, removing usable cash, hunting rifles and camping gear, smaller shotguns, some easily prepared canned food, and a few bottles of hard liquor. Joyce when they got back looked disapproving at the liquor until they set some of it with the weapons, and seemed to be putting some in with the first-aid. Doyle caught her looking.
"Ah, Molotov cocktails, fire starter that's non-poisonous, a light disinfectant, and of course the better stuff for celebratory libation we're sorta lackin' right now."
The core group talked things over, and decided to check on the Harris and Rosenberg homes, where Willow had found that she'd owned a very nice laptop at least a step above the technology of their own alternate, but that the software was about the same, a case of real hard engineering development outpacing the markets. She found a diary, and it very closely paralleled their own, except that she'd noted that Xander here had developed a real liking for hands-on computer tech work and woodwork of all things. He'd finally asked her on a date, and would be over any minute and they'd go see this big video thing going to happen. That's where the diary ended, the girls in the group getting all teary-eyed and bittersweet that the other Willow and Xander had gotten together, even if tragedy meant they'd died together. Xander and Doyle just looked a bit disturbed at the line of thought and checked magazines, catalogs and such for information.
"So where do you think we should look up such stuff?" the Irishman asked, "I'm thinking the University might have computers or something we could check, and maybe they'd at least have the info on the nearest substation or whatever. That'd be the place with the information."
"You're right, but we should also stop at a computer store and upgrade our capabilities a bit, at least more RAM and bigger drives." The girls came down the stairs and Joyce came in with her M-16 over her shoulder.
"Area seems safe," the modern Wonder Woman remarked, "So if we're careful, we should be able to avoid any demons. Any plans yet?"
"Doyle and I were thinking computer store, University and a substation of this system thing they deployed," Xander presented, "Anybody have anything to add?"
"Yeah, how about the School Library and Giles' house," Willow chimed in, "We might be able to put together our own Watcher's Library and start up our supernatural studies." Tara smiled and nodded thoughtfully.
"H-how about the magic store," the blonde beauty added, showing more confidence now that she considered herself a member of a real family, "They might have materials we could stock up on for practice, a-and maybe books too."
"Cool Tara!" Dawn enthused, realizing that much as Xander had done in the San Francisco alternates, Tara and Willow were in the Sunnydales, making the best of things so that when they made it back, they'd do so ready for almost anything, "And if we have time, maybe we should head to mine and mom's house in LA to double-check our stuff there. Who knows? Maybe my big sis made it, being the Slayer and all?"
"Dawn, good thinking," Joyce hugged her daughter, "An excellent idea if the city hasn't burned from this…lighting thing."
The mall, the business district, the University and some on-the-spot stops had pretty much filled up most of the holds not being set aside for tech, magic or training, including a bunch of Willow and Xander closeted baby stuff when they reached the Sunnydale School Library. Entering the premises, they were almost surprised that nothing had moved in so close to the Hell Mouth, and noticed it looked like Rupert Giles had just shown up at the school the week before and would start after that Winter Break.
They retrieved the Mall group, stowed a few things away, then as the families prepared for a late lunch, set down near the playground before Xander and the two Summers hot-wired a truck and it actually started.
They moved up to Giles apartment with trepidation. Whereas the other places were public or at least 'theirs' by association, they would be entering the premises of some one else.
They approached the door of the place, carefully looking about for ambush, then knocked on the door as pro forma. Dawn rolled her eyes and Willow smiled until they heard faint sounds inside, a surprised shuffling, and then silence. Alexander gestured at his girls to step back as he called into the house from a few steps back. Doyle and Joyce took up positions of support.
"Hello in the apartment!" he called out, "Is anyone alive in there, we heard you!" He paused but continued to hear nothing.
"I am stepping back about three yards from the door, please respond. You don't have to open the door. Are you Rupert Giles of the Watchers Council?"
A moment went by, then they heard the clicks of multiple locks being drawn back. After a moment a voice called back through the door.
"Yes this is Rupert Giles, please identify yourself," the familiar voice responded.
"I am Alexander Harris, of an Alternate Dimension, with others of my family," the young man responded, "A world where this wiping out of people didn't happen. I'm with the Joyce Summers and Dawn Summers of my world, family of Buffy Summers, who might have been Called as Slayer in this world." The door opened slowly, and someone dressed more like an older Ripper greeted them, leaving the door open as he backed into his place.
"Just holster or secure your weapons, and it'll be fine," the man warily but curiously greeted them.
"So, we all knew the Alternate you from our world, Giles, and as it has been weeks since leaving our own world, you'll forgive us if we seem very glad to see a familiar to us face."
"I-I myself have only come across four surviving humans since the Day," Giles demurred, "So while I don't necessarily trust you, I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. It would put me at ease if you'd tell me your story first, but would anyone like tea, it's been a while since I've had guests." They smiled and accepted
They spent an hour amazing him with an outline of their experiences, and he in turn explained how he'd had the flu and was verging on death in the hospital when he awoke the next morning to find everyone gone.
"I knew those infernal devices needed better testing first," he asserted, then continued. Apparently, after looking about Sunnydale all day, he'd had the sense to head for Los Angeles, maybe an out of the way place, to avoid the vampires and others that might still be around. Four days and nights he listened as demons in LA tore into each other for ascendancy even as they in fact sparked a war amongst surviving beings of power who thought it best to take control of the crumbs. The southern half of Los Angeles ceased to exist within two weeks, and Giles postulated similar experiences elsewhere, vampires suffering from lack of human blood and the presence of the solar reflection light in most major areas.
"I found myself the only human left at that point, and decided to see if the last Slayer, er Buffy Summers, had made it through the troubles. I found her, a young man named Pike, and a woman named Brandi living in Miss Summers house, but planning a road trip of sorts. I told them I was heading here because of the Hell Mouth, to make sure they and any others had a chance to gather and rebuild. Four months later, they showed up for a while, helped destroy the few remaining vampires driven nearly insane due to lack of blood. They come by every three months or so to check on things; I believe there are four or five small villages of people that have come together to survive and regrow. Now that there are very few demons left, except for the occasional stray, they are as few as humans."
"So when was the last time your friends came through..." Joyce asked with concern, speaking p for the first time, "I know she's not my Buffy, but I'd like to offer her and the rest of you a chance to come with us."
"I agree," Xander confirmed as the others looked to him, "Giles, we will be leaving after four days, and we'd like you to come with us. And your friends if you think we can contact them."
"Well, um, I guess I can check with them, they're in Los Angeles, and as it's noon I was about to contact them."
"We were intending to find a substation for that system, in hopes of correcting the problem for others, and then heading into LA. If you hadn't survived, we'd be loading up your books, which we'll do anyway, but with you here, perhaps we could find components and such by the time we rendezvous with your friends in Los Angeles. Oh, and tell them to pack their stuff, after which we'll retrieve technical information and examples for trade back in our own world, magic supplies we'll avoid buying in ours, extra camping gear and food."
"D-do you have a final destination?" Giles asked as he sat in front of his communications center.
"Actually, either back up toward the hills from here, or out at sea, to avoid possible exposure and collisions, that way we'll be able to tell when we get home," Dawn supplied as she watched him ready his gear.
"I-I already have gone through the suppliers, so they'll be no need to head for Los Angeles, and I have a sizable set of resources beyond which you may believe I have."
"Okay, why don't you call 'em up, then we'll get your stuff ready for the move," Joyce suggested, "And I'll call the others and have them prepare the last three rooms for occupation."
"Three rooms?"
"Well, they're more like the double-bunk rooms on submarines with a small desk, built-in drawers and some clothes hooks," Joyce conceded, "And you said it was you and four others, right?"
"That's right, pretty lady," a dark-haired man at the top of the stairs responded, coming down with a shotgun crooked in the arm ending with a prosthetic of some sort, "Name's Ash, by the way, and your story checks out, at least as far as the funny ship goes. What's she called anyway?"
"Well we were going to call her the Sunnydale Slider, but after the girls have started telling a few off-colored jokes when they thought I wasn't listening, I've decided that just before the next slide, we'll have a little christening ceremony and I already have a name in mind."
"What's that?"
"The Capricorn One."
"You and I'll get along just fine, kid."
"That's…Captain Kid to you, Ash-Can."
"Hey!"
"Hey yourself, padawan, you've not yet felt the power of the Xander side of the quip."
"Good Lord, two of them," Giles sighed and shook his head, Joyce patting his shoulder in commiseration.