Buffy began feeling uncomfortable under the shocked stares coming from the group around her. What was so shocking that she didn’t know whom this man was? Was he her lover? Her best friend perhaps? Whistler hadn’t mentioned any possibility of the other Buffy having a companion. Her senses screamed vampire and the fact that none of the other people of the group weren’t jumping with stakes ready was the only reason she kept her cool.
Spike sputtered and tried to find the right response, “You—I’m—Who are you?”
“I’m Buffy,” she gave with the sound of disbelief in her voice, “I mean, you said my name when you first got here. You know who I am. My question is: seriously, who are you? You’re a vamp. No one here is jumping at you with stakes so I’m assuming you’re apart of this group, but then again you weren’t here when we started this little meeting so that makes me think that maybe you aren’t a part of the group which just makes my head hurt even more.”
“Name’s Spike. And you should know that I’m a vamp. You’ve known me for years,” Looking around at the faces that were trying not to make eye contact with another he shook his head trying to clear it, “What’s going on here?”
Taking this opportunity to run interference, Whistler stepped closer to Spike, “Why don’t we all just take a nice little break from this meeting while I have a word with Buffy, hmm?” Without waiting for a response from anyone, Whistler grabbed Buffy’s hand and pulled her along with him, just far enough until he knew they were out of the vampire’s super hearing, “So far so good?”
Rubbing her arms to warm herself, Buffy shrugged, “I guess. But, who is this Spike guy? He seemed really out of the loop. Was he this Buffy’s boyfriend or something?”
Wincing a bit and rubbing the back of his neck, Whistler avoided eye contact with her until he knew how to proceed, “Well, not exactly. See, Spike was a part of a foursome called the Scourge of Europe. It contained four of the worst vampires in this universe. Darla was the oldest, turned by the Master himself. Darla turned Angelus so that she could have a companion. Angelus now goes by Angel because once upon a time he killed a gypsy girl and her tribe cursed him with a soul. But before this, Angelus became fixated on a woman named Drusilla who is a visionary. He turned her crazy before he turned her into a vampire. Drusilla then met a man named William in the 1800’s. She wanted him to be her toy. William was a shy man, but had a good heart. One night he was at a party where he declared his love for a woman. She broke his heart and sent him away. In an alley, he met Drusilla who promised him a new world. She turned him and then he became Spike. The vampire you met today.”
Staring at Whistler in shock, she didn’t know what to say. Spike was a bad vampire? Then why didn’t any one try to stake him when he showed up out of the blue? Was he a good guy now? So many questions that went unanswered, “Wow. So if he was this bad ass vampire then why wasn’t anyone trying to kill him earlier?”
“That’s a bit tricky. He’s been sort of helping your little group so I guess you all have a sort of truce going on.”
Deciding that it would be better to just leave that topic alone for now, Buffy changed the subject quickly, “Oh, okay. So what’s going on in this universe? What should I expect when my life here begins tomorrow morning?”
Looking around until he found a small park bench, Whistler walked over and plopped down, knowing this was going to be a bit of a long conversation, “Let’s see. You currently live in a dorm room with the redhead. She’s dating the brunette that was standing next to her. You go see your mom every so often so she would probably not notice if you didn’t see her tomorrow. College kind of sucks for you but then again you never were a bright stude—what? What did I say?”
Whistler noticed the stricken look on her face. Something wasn’t right. She was scared and excited all at the same time. However, instead of pushing her, he waited until she spoke these heartbreaking words as a tear escaped, “My—my mom’s here?”
______________________________
Giles quickly ushered Willow and Xander away from Anya and Spike, speaking low enough not to be heard by anyone but the other two, “This Buffy seems a bit different than the one we are used to. It is plain to see just by the way she carries herself and how she acts around the rest of us.”
Smiling, Xander spoke up, “Well I like her already. She doesn’t know who the Peroxide King is and that is one good check in my book.”
Rolling her eyes at his jealous statement, “Well, do you think that she slays the same? I mean, she’s lived a different life so what if she isn’t as good at slaying as our Buffy is?”
“My God, Willow, you’re right. That is a very good question,” Giles took his glasses off to clean them with his handkerchief, “I suppose I could train her. I could train her like I was supposed to train her the first time.”
Xander bunched his eyebrows together, “What do you mean the first time, G-man? Our Buffy slayed pretty good.”
“Yes well, Buffy was started out training as she was supposed to. Merrick made sure of that. I was merely supposed to continue her proper training after his death. However, she began to seem more like a daughter to me and I took things easy on her, let things slack a bit. Maybe now, I could have a do over. I could train her as she was supposed to be trained by myself.”
A worried look crossed over Willow’s face, “What if she doesn’t want to be trained that way? What if she insists that she is fine the way she is now?”
Xander butted in before Giles had an opportunity to answer, “Will, Giles knows what he’s talking about. If he thinks that it would be better for her to be trained like she was supposed to be then she has to listen. It’s for her own good.”
______________________________
Spike looked at the two groups that had strayed from him and Anya. Apparently they all knew how far to go and just how low to speak so that he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Finally, giving up, he looked to Anya, “So, what’s the deal with Buffy? She some brainwashed bint now or what?”
Rolling her eyes at his stupidity that obviously came with being male, “No, nothing like that. Whistler explained it to us. In another dimension a Buffy died the true hero’s death, and that can’t ever be undone. So when their Willow tried to bring her back from the dead they took ours in her place.”
Growling, Spike’s nose flared in anger, “So we do another bloody spell and get our Buffy back and send this one back to wherever she came from.”
“Can’t be done. Once a trade has been made there’s no returning it. It’s an act that can’t be undone.”
Feeling the familiar rumble of anger in his chest, Spike tried to calm himself, “So where’s this Buffy from, then? Did we rip her out of her life too?” While this new Buffy may not be their Buffy, she was still a Buffy nonetheless. She didn’t deserve to just be ripped from her life, her family, and her friends. It wasn’t fair to a champion to have that happen to them.
Waving it off with her hand, “Oh, no, of course not. Whistler gave her a choice. She’s from some other dimension. She made the decision herself to come here.”
Glancing at this new Buffy from the corner of his eye, he couldn’t figure out why anyone would do that, especially when they knew what they were doing, “Why? What could be so bad in her dimension that she would want to leave it behind forever?”
Seeing Giles, Willow, and Xander begin to make their way back over to them, Anya turned to Spike and spoke quickly, “I don’t know. No one knows. Whistler wouldn’t tell us. He said it was her story to tell, not his. So if you want to know, ask her.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
And here comes Chapter 4! So glad I can keep up with this chapter a day trend! Muse don't fail me now! :D
Chapter End Notes:
So? What do we think?