Chapter Three: Not Exactly Paradise
For a moment, silence hung in the air, and everyone looked at each other. Buffy's stomach turned. She placed her hand over her mouth and got up quickly. She ran to the bathroom and vomited again. Buffy flushed the toilet and washed her hands. Something had to be wrong, she thought. Buffy looked at her reflection and shook her head. This was crazy, she thought. She walked back to the dining room and sat at her seat. Jack looked at her and said,
"We believe you."
Buffy sighed with relief. "Good," Buffy said and stood up. "Where is my room?"
Laura looked at Buffy and said, "Wait!" Buffy waited and turned her attention to her. Laura stood up and asked, "Where is my Megan?"
Buffy blinked and shook her head. "I'm not sure." She said, honestly. "I think that she might be gone. I'm sorry."
Laura placed her face in her hands and started to sob. Jack stood up and pulled his wife closer to him. He tried to console her. Buffy looked at Jack and said,
"I need to get back to Sunnydale." She paused. "My room?"
Jack pointed to the stairs and Buffy nodded. She squeezed past the grieving mother and father. She walked upstairs and found Megan's room. The bedroom was easy to find. On the bedroom door was a sign in pink that said: Megan. Buffy opened the door slowly and was greeted by a modern contemporary room. All the furniture looked like it was from Walmart. There was a desk, a bed, a walk-in closet, and a dresser. There was a unique lamp on the desk and the bed sheets were pink.
Buffy guessed Megan's favorite color was pink. She shrugged and walked over to the closet. She opened the door and was greeted with many different types of clothes. There were blouses, some jeans, and summer dresses. Buffy found a pair of tennis shoes and slipped them on. Buffy looked down and noticed that she was actually in a summer dress. She shook her head and closed the door. She changed into more comfortable clothing.
She grabbed the blouses, jeans, and a few of the summer dresses. Then Buffy went to the undergarments section and packed a few things. Satisfied with her suitcase, Buffy closed it and walked to the desk. The desk had a bookshelf attached to it. There were several journals on the bookshelf. Buffy was curious as to whose life she took over so she grabbed a backpack from the closet and stuffed them inside. She had the backpack on and carried the suitcase downstairs. Laura saw Buffy at the front door and put her hand on her shoulder.
"Wait!" She yelled and Buffy jumped. She whirled around and saw Jack behind Laura. Laura shook her head. "This isn't right." Laura paused. "Let us go with you."
Buffy dropped the suitcase. "You want to come with me?" She asked, surprised.
Laura and Jack nodded. "Yes." They said in unison.
"Fine. Grab a suitcase. We travel light. We have to get to Sunnydale."
Buffy had a bad feeling about going back to Sunnydale, but she knew she had to do it. She had to see Dawn and the rest of the scoobies. She hoped that once she was there that they would all believe her that she was Buffy. She was nervous about the whole situation, but she felt a pull that told her she needed to go to Sunnydale. Buffy closed the door and sat on the couch as she waited for Megan's parents to pack.
A few minutes later, Laura and Jack both came downstairs. Laura had one suitcase and so did Jack. Buffy got up and off the couch and grabbed her things. She put the backpack on and held her suitcase. She opened the door and walked to the car. Jack pulled out the keys and locked the door. Once he was done, he got into the driver's side and turned on the car. Laura got into the passenger side and Buffy got into the back. They all put on their seatbelts and Jack said,
"Next stop, Sunnydale."
"I forgot to ask, but where are we?" Buffy asked.
"We're in L.A." Laura told her and sniffled.
Buffy sighed with relief. They weren't that far away. Jack handed Laura a tissue. She was still upset. Buffy hadn't blamed her for being upset. She lost her daughter. Buffy grabbed the backpack and unzipped it. She pulled out a journal and then thought for a moment. Maybe it wasn't her place to read the journals. Buffy sighed and put the journal away. She zipped the backpack back up and crossed her arms. She looked outside the window and said goodbye to L.A.
At the scooby circle, the gang was attacked by a horde of demons on motorcycles. The resurrection spell that Willow had cast got interrupted and failed. She had no idea that she awakened Buffy into another person instead. Willow was so exhausted that she collapsed. Tara tried to hold her, but couldn't. Xander took Willow and assured Tara that they would be safe, but they all had to run. The gang split up and took off in different directions to avoid the demon horde.
Back at the new apartment, the sun had set. Spike opened his eyes and stretched. He threw the covers off of him and sat up in bed. That's when he heard something outside the apartment. It sounded like a fight. Spike quickly got dressed and threw on his coat. He opened the door and found Wes at the table with a journal. Wesley looked at Spike and said,
"Morning."
Spike put his index finger to his lips and said, "Shh."
He listened more carefully and then inhaled. There were demons afoot. He walked over to Connor and noticed that he was awake. Spike walked over to Wesley and said,
"There's something out there."
"What do you mean?" Wesley asked.
"Demons." Spike whispered.
Then, the noises grew louder and closer to their apartment. Wesley stood up and grabbed his bag. He threw the journal into the bag and zipped it. Spike grabbed the diaper bag and Connor. He handed Connor to Wesley and Wesley held Connor close to him. Then there were screams and thuds at the door to the apartment. Spike tiptoed to the front door and grabbed the keys off the hook. He unlocked the door and peeked his head out. He found demons destroying the apartment complex and killing people. He closed the door quickly and turned to Wesley.
"We're going to have to run." Spike told him.
"Where are we going?" Wesley whispered.
"To my old crypt. It's not safe here." Spike said and Wes nodded.
Spike opened the door and the two of them ran out, passing demons and humans. Wesley followed Spike and they ran to the vehicle. Wesley buckled Connor in the back seat and got into the driver's side. A demon saw them, broke from the group, and went after the boys. Spike saw the demon and started to punch the demon.
He got a hold of its neck and snapped it. The demon body fell to the ground, lifeless. Spike got into the passenger side of the vehicle and Wesley turned on the car. They peeled out of the apartment parking lot and headed to the graveyard.
Meanwhile, Willow and Xander were lost in the woods. Willow had to take a break from running because she was out of breath and very weak. Xander wanted to talk to her about the spell that she had just cast, but Willow shook her head. This was not the time or place to talk about that. Xander sighed heavily and continued to help her move through the woods. Then they saw a brilliant light and Willow told Xander that it was Tara. The two of them followed the light to the Magic Box.
Once the gang was there, Xander called his parents to check up on Dawn. Xander asked his parents to drive to the Magic Box to drop Dawn off. In a few minutes, Dawn arrived at the Magic Box. Dawn sat at the table with the rest of the gang and said,
"They know." She paused. "They know that The Slayer is gone."
Willow and Tara looked at each other with concern. Xander and Anya stood close to each other and sighed. Dawn looked at all of them and asked,
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know." Willow said. "We're it gang."
"Where the hell is Spike?" Xander asked.
In Buffy's world, the drive went by quickly and Buffy found herself back in Sunnydale. Something was definitely wrong. The whole town looked like it had gotten torn to pieces. There was trash everywhere and there were little fires on the streets. Buffy asked Jack to stop the car and he pulled over. Buffy unbuckled and got out of the car. She looked around and was astonished at her home town. Buffy got back into the car and buckled her seatbelt.
"I know where we can go." Buffy said. "Let's go to the Magic Box."
"Magic Box?" Laura asked.
"We have allies there." Buffy told her. "I hope."
With Buffy's navigating skills, Jack was able to get to the Magic Box. He parked the car out front and turned it off. Buffy unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. A demon spotted them. Buffy made blows with the demon and then snapped its neck. She looked at Jack and Laura. For a few moments, Jack and Laura stared at the body. They had never seen anything like that before. Jack looked at Buffy and asked,
"What is that?"
"A demon." Buffy replied. "These are demons. Come on, we need to get off the street."
Jack and Laura looked at each other and nodded. They followed Buffy to the front door and Buffy knocked. She heard whispering and then she heard a familiar voice.
"Go away!" Anya yelled. "We're closed!"
"Anya, it's me." Buffy told her through the door.
Anya peeked through the window. "Who is me?" She asked.
"Anya, please let us in." Buffy said.
"How do you know my name?" Anya asked through the door.
"I'll explain. Please let us in." Buffy said.
Anya rolled her eyes and opened the door. When she opened the door, she had no idea who these people were. Buffy pushed past her and the Winters followed her. Anya closed the door and walked over to Xander.
"Xander, do you know who these people are?" She asked.
Xander shook his head. "I've never seen them before in my life."
Willow tried to stand up, but she was still too weak. She sat back down in her chair. Anya looked at Buffy and asked,
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"You guys don't recognize me?" Buffy asked them.
The group shook their heads and Buffy sighed heavily. This was going to be a long night, she thought. Buffy opened her mouth to say something, but her stomach turned. She ran to the nearest trash can and puked her guts out. Everyone squirmed in disgust. Once Buffy was finished, she pushed the trash can and looked at her friends again.
"Sorry guys." She said, "Something happened to me. It's me, Buffy Summers."
Willow looked at her and only saw the body of Megan Winters. She shook her head. "That's not possible." She said, "Buffy is not coming back. She's gone."
"How can you be Buffy?" Xander asked.
"You guys, it's me I swear." Buffy said. "Look, something happened to me. I was put in this body and I've been puking ever since. I think something is wrong."
"There's no way you're Buffy." Xander said. "I agree with Willow, Buffy is gone." He paused. "You're impersonating our friend. Get out."
Buffy sighed heavily. "Look, we all went to school together. We went to Sunnydale High and fought evil together. You mean after all that we've been through, you don't believe that it's me?"
The group shook their heads, except for Dawn. Dawn took a step closer to Buffy and looked at her from head to toe. "I mean, you don't look like Buffy but…" Dawn paused. "I think I believe her guys."
"I swear I'm telling the truth." Buffy said.
Dawn looked at the people behind her and asked, "Who are you?"
Laura looked at her and said, "We're her parents." She paused. "But, she's not our Megan."
Dawn turned to the gang and looked at them. She turned back to the Winters' family and that's when she had an idea. "Buffy, who is the name of your stuffed pig?" She asked.
Buffy's eyes lit up. "Mr. Gordo."
"It's her." Dawn said and ran to her sister. "You're really here!" She hugged her.
Willow stood up. "Dawn, that's not her, come back!"
Buffy wrapped her arms around Dawn. Jack and Laura remained silent. Dawn let go of Buffy and turned to Willow.
"What did you do?" She asked.
Willow swallowed hard. "We tried to bring her back, but we failed." She said, "Whoever this is, is lying Dawnie. Can't you see?"
"Isn't it possible that your spell failed miserably and something else happened to her?" Dawn asked. "I can't believe you. This is Buffy and I'm going with her."
"Dawn, you can't do that!" Xander yelled. "She isn't who she says she is."
"I know my sister when I see her." Dawn told them. "This is Buffy." She turned to her and said, "Let's go."
Buffy sighed heavily, but knew that Dawn was right. She wasn't going to be able to win her friends over. Buffy turned to Jack and Laura.
"Let's go." She said, "We need to get somewhere safe."
Jack and Laura nodded and walked out the door. Buffy and Dawn followed them and got into the vehicle. The gang was astounded that Dawn had left. Buffy turned to Dawn and asked, "You really believe me?"
Dawn nodded. "Of course. I mean you look nothing like Buffy, but there's something in your voice and I could just tell…"
Author's Notes: This was written from season 6 of Buffy and the quote-"We're it gang." Willow Rosenberg was from the series. This is a different take and I hope you guys like it!
