The small room was overly smokey. Too many people smoked in this dimension. You could barely see in front of you with these guys puffing away. It was supposedly some sort of eatery, but no one seemed to eat. Rather, they drank tea and smoked. Smoked liked chimneys. A few people were seated to an empty table near a window. They looked like a family. Man, woman, and child. Father, mother, and son.

Family.

Right, okay. So not even the thought he wanted in his head. Not only was he away from his family, but he was away from his world. Away from everything he knew. He wondered about his real dad. Where he was, if he even made it out of the Senior Partner battle. He felt it in his heart that dad was alive. He knew. And it made him smile.

Dad.

Connor loved Angel and he missed him. He recalled when Angel came to him, right before the big battle. They talked, laughed. He even saw Angel smile. That was a shocker. He told him all about his trip to Rome and Buffy with the Immortal, which Connor could tell hurt him. Angel and his lost love, The Slayer. Connor wanted to meet her, after hearing so much about her. He, of course heard a lot more than what Angel had told him, from Cordelia and he remembered being smitten with Faith. It always intrigued him that a vampire slayer would be chosen to fight evil, yet the world around her remained clueless of her sacrifices.

What a sucky existence.

No wonder she fell for a vampire. They were probably the ones that saw her for what she really was. They feared her. Or loved her, whatever. He chuckled to himself at what this one woman did to his dad. The way she turned him into a blubbering fool. Wasn't she in love with Spike now? Well, that's what he had heard, anyway.

He noticed a guy walk in with recognizable clothing on. Clothing that resembled more of what they wore his in his own dimension, then this one.

Vampire.

He could sense them from far away. He had to dust many of them since he'd been here. Spotting them was easy, though. Most of them looked like they were from his dimension. More modern, than Lord Of The Rings. The fact that they could walk in the sun made it harder, but a piece of wood through the heart still worked. At that thought, he clutched his drink and gulped it down. Connor reached under his shirt, where he kept a makeshift stake. He rose, watching the vampire scan the crowd for his easiest prey. Connor stopped, not wanting to cause a scene. Yet.

The vampire eyed a pretty girl sitting alone at a table. She was reading a book, drinking tea. Why she chose this place to relax, he couldn't figure out but this vampire surely thought this was his lucky day. Connor waited for him to try the whole 'let's take a walk' gesture, when he realized that this girl, was no girl, but a grown woman. And not only that, she oozed mystical energy. Now, Connor had been here for a few days, and all of the people in this dimension were pretty ordinary. None of them seemed to have any type of mystical energy at all. Then the vampires and demons were roaming around, making it even stranger, since the locals acted like they have never seen such creatures.

Then who was this woman? She was beautiful.

Connor watched her smiling to someone in the distance, A young girl ran up, holding a small doll. The woman laid her book down and took this young girl in his arms, kissing her head. The vampire saw this, then turned his attention to another victim.

Connor saw the vamp leave, then followed him. Connor turned one last time to the woman, squinting his eyes as if it would help him figure her out. She looked up at him. Connor averted his eyes quickly.

The vampire walked through the street, scanning all the young girls walking about, giggling and gossiping with each other. Connor saw one of the girls respond and walk over to the vampire. They talked for a few minutes then walked away, together.

Connor followed them, keeping a distance so not to alert the vamp he was there. They walked to a small bridge that stretched over a brook. The girl laughed, turning away shyly. The vampire took her hair in his hand, stroking it, smelling it. That's when Connor made his move. He strolled over towards the vampire and his soon to be dead date. The vampire looked at Connor, annoyed that he was interrupting his easy kill.

"Piss off!" the vamp shouted.

The girl giggled, bringing her hands to her mouth. Connor became angry at the obvious density of this girl's mind. "Look, get out of here. He's wants to eat you, not date you," Connor told her.

She gasped. The vampire lifted his arm and swung at Connor. He ducked, punching the vamp in the stomach. The vamp flew back, falling to the ground. Connor looked at the girl again, shaking his head.

"I said, leave!" he shouted.

The girl just stood there, frozen. It wasn't until she saw the vampire actually get all bumpy faced, that she ran like hell.

Connor exchanged punches with him, tiring the vamp out. Connor kicked him clear across the bridge, making him land on the wood railing. It cracked into a few pieces, piercing his... oh yes... his heart.

Dust.

Connor shook his head, smiling at how easy that was. He turned to walk back to the road. Then he thought of that woman and her little girl. He wanted to go back to the eatery and find her. Find out who she was, or more importantly, what she was. Something about her drew him to her.

She was gone. He looked around the entire restaurant, but no sign of the woman or her child. Oh well. It was worth a try. When he turned to leave, he saw her. The woman. She was running back into the eatery, over to the table she sat. She picked up the small doll her girl obviously had left there. Connor stood in the doorway when she brushed against him. She looked up at him, apologizing.

"It's okay," Connor said, smiling.

She gave him a strange look, then ran back over to her daughter. Connor watched her intensely. He realized it probably wasn't mystical energy coming from her. It was just plain old woman magic. Mother magic. All women had it. Whether they knew it or not.

His face flushed when she turned back at him. He must have looked insane, staring at her the way he did. But, she just smiled at him. He watched the little girl run to a vendor and point to the lollipop she wanted. Connor wasn't sure why he was doing this, but he found himself walking towards them. The little girl looked at up Connor, smiling widely.

"Are you gonna get me a lollipop?" the young girl asked him.

"Lily!" her mother scolded.

"It's okay. I'd be happy to. Which one do you want?" Connor asked the young girl.

Kinara watched Connor in awe. Connor could feel her eyes dissecting him, obviously since he was buying her little girl candy. After handing Lily a big sucker, he smiled and quickly spoke.

"I'm new around here. It's why I must look strange to you," Connor told her.

"You dress like a couple I met a few of days ago. They weren't from around here either."

"I'm Connor," he said, extending his hand.

"Kinara, and this is Lily. At least you have a normal name. Buffy and Spike sure sounded foreign to me," Kinara joked, shaking his hand.

Connor's eyes widened. Are they here too?

"Wait, did you say Buffy and Spike?"

"Weird names, huh?" she asked.

"What did they look like?" he asked, beginning to feel like this dimension hopping was obviously somebody's master plan.

"She was a petite, blonde. Very pretty. And Spike, well. He was a hunk. Blondish hair, though it seemed more white than blonde. Chiseled features, strong..."

"Okay, okay. I know them. Well, I know him. Buffy used to date my dad," Connor told her, then realized it may have been a mistake.

"Your dad? She wasn't that old...oh!" Kinara looked at Connor strangely. Buffy didn't strike her as the 'dating older men' type.

"Do you know where they went?"

"No. They mentioned something about being on a road trip, whatever that means. And just to let you know, they weren't too pleased about being here."

Connor let his mind race thinking of all the possibilities of why and how they were here. He had to find them. He wanted answers and maybe they did too. Or maybe they had answers. He wondered since Spike and Buffy were here, maybe there were others. Maybe his dad...

"They were staying in Marno when I first saw them. Spike saved my Lily from these bad men ravishing the town. I think they all came running out of the Gretho Inn," she said.

"All?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, there was a group of them who knew how to fight well. And I know it sounds weird, but I could swear there was a woman painted blue," Kinara told him.

Illyria. Maybe they all were here.

"How could I get to Marno?" Connor asked her.

"It's a day trip. I can take you if you like. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I go there once a week to pick up some yams. They have the best you know."

"Okay. It's a date. I mean..." Connor blushed, feeling like an idiot for saying what he said.

"Got it, Connor. Look, where are you staying?" she asked, taking notice of his worn out clothing that seemed wrinkled from obviously sleeping in them.

"Nowhere. I've just been wandering.."

"I have a spare room. I insist," Kinara told him.

Connor didn't know what to say. Why was she being so nice to him, offering her home. She didn't know him from adam. He could be a killer, or thief. Or the son of two vampires.

He wearily accepted. Connor followed Kinara and Lily to her home, not far from where they were. It was a small cottage with a big yard. Connor smiled at the comfort of it all. It reminded him of a scene from a movie. It was all so surreal.

She'd smile back at him, making sure he was still following them. He returned the smile, watching her body move in front of him. She was very graceful, but her hips would move in such an illegal way. Her body was curvaceous, obviously drawing many men to her. Women in his world didn't get that. The more womanly curves, the better. And this woman seemed to have it down to an art.

The night was here. Connor sat on Kinara's couch, sipping tea she had just made. They finished a hearty dinner, and now Connor felt like he'd burst. Lily had already went to bed, exhausted from her little girl activities of the day. Kinara sat beside Connor and smiled at him. Connor was a little nervous. He felt strange around this woman. He felt desire. Which, I guess wasn't strange at all. But there was something else about her that sent chills down his spine.

"Buffy and Spike were sure one lovely couple." Kinara told him.

Connor shot his head back, looking at her like she just said the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"Really?" he asked her.

"Oh yes. Much love between them. They're going to end up married, you know." She said.

"Great. My dad will love that." Connor sneered.

"Is your dad still..."

"No. Maybe. I don't know. I just used to make fun of him for his feelings for the slay... Buffy," he admitted.

"Well, Connor. That's not very nice," she scolded, playfully.

"You don't know my dad. He's a... never mind. So tell me about the people you saw in Marno, with Spike and Buffy," he said.

Connor wasn't comfortable sharing his feelings about his dad. He got used to the idea of keeping it a secret from his adopted family. It just became the way it was.

"Well, like I said, there were fighters, who seemed very strong. And the blue painted woman. I saw a dark skinned man and a taller one with brown hair. Quite impressive the way his hair stood up on it's own."

Connor knew exactly who that was.

They talked more about Marno and how strange it was that these creatures were about, causing chaos. Connor pretended to be shocked. He was a little weary at the fact that no one in this place seemed to know what a demon was or a vampire. They were only aware of what they had read in books. So does that mean that the demons and vamps here now are new too? Like him? Maybe his world ended. Maybe it did suffer an apocalypse. Maybe when his dad decided to take down the black thorn, it caused some sort of ripple. Maybe they were all sucked into this dimension. A repercussion. A punishment. All things supernatural, maybe. Has to be. Connor smiled at how smart he was. He figured it out. It was some type of punishment. Now they're all going to rot in this world.

Left here to fend for themselves.

Left here to die.