|
|
While waiting for Giles to arrive, Stefanie had plenty of time to figure out that the young man in the car wasn't Xander. The knowledge frightened her somewhat, and only Giles' presence offered comfort to her. The two of them quickly set in on telling Alex the gist of the matter.
Alex Harris had witnessed many things in the two years since he had met Cordelia Chase. Vampires, both good and evil; the loss of several people he loved; even the fighting prowess of the Slayer he had married. But none of those things could have possibly prepared him for the incredible story the two strangers were telling him now.
Alex sat on the trunk of the ruined car, absently reaching behind him to make sure the pistol he carried was still nestled safely in the cuff of his jeans. He may need it before the night was through.
"So, let me get this straight," he said sarcastically. "You want me to believe that I've swapped universes with some geek who's technically me?"
Giles nodded, looking slightly perturbed. "That about sums it up, yes," he replied, exchanging glances with Stefanie. She stood silently off to the side, nervously chewing her nails. "I can quite assure you, Alex, that in no way does this world mirror the one you described."
Alex paused a moment, considering this, then abruptly began to laugh. "You guys are good," he said, leaning forward. "But I'm not buying... Did Cordy send you to head me off? She didn't want me coming to Sunnydale with her. Did she figure out I was driving up anyway?"
Giles sighed again, seeing that it was not going to be easy to convince Alex that what they were saying was true. He could only hope that the persuading would go faster once Buffy arrived. "I can assure you that Cordelia had nothing to with us being here," he replied gruffly. "Nor could she, as we know her, invent something so outlandish."
Stefanie stepped forward at this, putting on hand on Giles' arm to silence him. She paused a moment, then reached for the wallet in her purse, removing a photo of Xander and Willow. Slowly, she handed it to him, saying, "Maybe this will prove it to you."
Alex sighed, then looked down at the photo. For a long moment, he said nothing, then threw it towards the ground with an angry cry. "Look, I don't know what kind of sick game you people are playing, but I don't like it!" he yelled. "Who sent you guys anyway? Cordy, Angelus, who?!?"
Alex waited a few seconds for an answer that wasn't forthcoming, then added, "I'm betting Angelus. He always got a kick out of tormenting me with the fact that my Willow is gone!" Alex slid off the car, pacing the surrounding area angrily. "Where are you, you sadistic bastard?!?" he screamed to the dark forest surrounding them.
Neither Stefanie nor Giles dared approach him while he was in this volatile state; they were too afraid to. Just then, Giles caught sight of a car approaching in the distance, realizing with a sigh of relief that it was Buffy's.
At least, Giles was relieved until he saw that the Slayer had brought Willow against his wishes. In a heartbeat, he looked from the two women exiting the car to Alex, knowing things were about to get very bad.
Giles' feelings were confirmed when he saw Alex take notice and draw a gun with a yell. Quickly, the Watcher pulled Stefanie out of the way, determined to keep her out of the line of fire. "Buffy, Willow, get down!" he shouted simultaneously, as the first shot rang out...
Upon realizing that Xander (or at least the man she believed to be him) intended to shoot, Buffy went into the race-against-time mode. Faster than the human eye could see, she turned and leaped onto the roof of her car, landing behind Willow a split second later. She then grabbed her friend and hustled her away towards the trunk where she'd have cover. A bullet plowed into the ground at Buffy's feet a moment after she and Willow vacated the spot.
Once she was certain Willow was out of harm's way, Buffy walked back into view, wearing her vampire face. Under normal conditions, she wouldn't do anything to hurt Xander, but these certainly weren't normal conditions. Buffy took a few slow steps towards Alex, driving him to shoot her in the chest. This did nothing to slow her advance; she merely gritted her teeth against the pain it caused. "Give me the gun," she said, holding out a hand, "And no one will get hurt."
Alex, however, wasn't about to relinquish his only weapon and certainly not to her. "Stay back!" he ordered, swinging the gun back and forth between her and Giles. "Both of you, just stay where you are!"
Buffy threw a glance at Giles, noting that Stefanie was cowering behind him, clinging to his shirt. A second later, Giles looked back at her, and a secret message passed between them. Then, the Watcher nodded towards Alex. "Go," he said silently.
Buffy did just that, rushing towards Alex blindly. He didn't see her coming, merely felt her suddenly wrestling for control of the gun. Alex got off one more shot, this at her left arm, before his weapon was lost.
Buffy hurled the pistol deep into the woods with every ounce of strength she had. An instant later, she threw a punch at Alex, only hard enough to render him unconcious.
Fight over, Buffy morphed back into her human guise, picking Alex up in both arms and walking back to rejoin her friends. "Care to tell me what the hell is going on, Giles," she said, slightly peeved, clearly overlooking Alex's scar. "Like why one of my best friends just wigged out and shot me... twice."
Giles reached to take Alex from her, but other than that, he ignored her. His eyes darted to the other two girls instead. "Steffi, Willow, are you all right?" he asked in concern. The two girls in question nodded, although shakily, as they came into sight, putting Giles at ease. "Well, in that case, I suggest we get home... I mean, to someone's home. I'll explain everything once we're inside, Buffy."
Buffy remained where she was a moment, examining her wounded arm. "This explanation better be good," she muttered scornfully. "Otherwise, I swear I'm gonna kill him..."
Given that Alex had already seen Willow in person, Giles saw no reason to tell her to leave. After restraining the young man to a chair in Willow's apartment, he began to fill her and Buffy in on what he knew.
Willow eyed the jagged scar on Alex's face with a sinking feeling. "Giles, how could this happen?" she asked. "Because of the accident?"
Giles shook his head. "I've read of a few cases like this before, but they've only happened due to the casting of a certain spell. The spellcaster is often seeking to get a troublesome person out of the way for whatever reason... I can't say if the person who did this came from our world or his though."
"Then there's only one way to find out," Buffy put in. "What can you tell us about his world, anything?"
Giles paused a moment, adjusting his glasses. "Just that, um... that he's married to Cordelia and that she is the Slayer... Plus, he raised quite a fuss when Stefanie mentioned calling Willow to come and get him. He acted almost... afraid of her."
Willow was startled by this. "Thus the reason he tried to kill me," she whispered frightfully.
Buffy shook her head. "I don't get it," she said. "What could possibly scare him so much that he'd resort to violence?"
Stefanie, who'd remained silent for the majority of the conversation, spoke up now. "Because in his world, Willow is dead," she replied, piecing it together from what she had heard Alex say. "And from what I can figure, Angelus is the one who killed her."
Before Giles, Buffy, or Willow could respond to this, a masculine voice spoke up behind them. "If you're planning to kill me," Alex said, straining against his bonds, "then make it quick... Not that I'm above the physical torture thing though."
Willow stepped forward, a flood of pity in her eyes. "We're not going to do either of those things," she said softly. "We only want to help, Alex..."
Alex recoiled at her approach, truly frightened. "Stay away from me!" he shouted, eyes darting back and forth among the members of the small group. Remembering how he had seen Buffy vamped out earlier, he added, "You wasted no time in adding to your little playgroup, did you, Willow?"
Those words caught Willow, caught all of them, off guard. "What do you mean?" the redhead asked fearfully.
Alex scoffed. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" he sneered. "You've gotten a kick out of recruiting people since the day Angelus changed you! Well, go ahead! Make me a vampire too, Willow! I don't care anymore!"
Stunned into silence, the four friends exchanged glances with each other, suddenly not certain what to say. Finally, Willow spoke. "Buffy, cut one of his hands loose," she ordered. "And give us a few moments alone."
Buffy eyed her friend warily, then reluctantly moved to do so. She grabbed a knife from the counter, hacking away at the ropes around Alex's right arm. Once he was partially free, she said, "If you do anything to hurt her, I swear you'll..."
"Buffy!" Willow snapped, stopping her friend from finishing the thought. "Out!"
Once they were alone, Alex glared up at her, flexing his hand to work out the numbness. "So," he spat out. "What do you intend to do with me?"
Willow took a step towards Alex, holding one arm out towards him. "I'm going to give you proof that this isn't your world, that I'm not what you think I am," she replied. "It's common knowledge that vampires don't have a pulse... Check for mine. You'll see I'm telling the truth."
Alex gave her a wary look. "What game are you playing?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just do it!" Willow said firmly. "What have you got to lose?"
Alex hesitated a moment, then seized her wrist in his hand, wanting to get it over with. At first, it didn't register, but he did feel a pulse, strong and steady. In shock, he looked up at Willow, his eyes wide. "You..." he said, his voice faltering.
Willow merely smiled. "Welcome to my world, Alex," she replied sardonically...
Out in the hallway, Buffy spent the first minute or so feeling bored. She stared at the door to Willow's apartment, wondering just what her friend was up to in there.
Finally, Giles' voice worked to rouse Buffy from her thoughts. "Stefanie, are you okay?" he was asking.
Buffy looked round at her younger friend in concern, noticing for the first time how pale and sick Stefanie looked. The teenager appeared as if she was on the verge of throwing up. "Oh, God," Buffy said. "Steffi, what's wrong?"
Stefanie took a few deep breaths, then looked up, biting her lip. "I'm fine," she said simply.
Buffy shook her head in disagreement. "You don't look fine," she replied. She gestured to the wounds in her chest and arm. "Is it this? Is the blood making you sick?"
Stefanie shook her head weakly. "I don't know. Maybe that... that's part of it," she stammered. "At least... Oh well, you're going to find out eventually, so I might as well tell you... I'm pregnant."
Stunned speechless one more, Buffy could only stare at Stefanie in awe. It was a lot to absorb in one night: the knowledge of Angel's betrayal, Xander's disappearance, Willow's pregnancy and now Stefanie's... It all overwhelmed her, but it didn't stop Buffy from feeling joyful right now. "Congratulations," she said, pausing a moment. "Jared's?"
Stefanie nodded, feeling a twinge of sorrow at the mention of the high school boy she had loved and lost. "Technically, yes," she replied. "But he wants nothing to do with either of us now. I don't blame him."
Buffy had only met Jared a few times and had thought he had been a pretty decent guy. It surprised her that he would do something this cruel to her friend. "After you told me how crazy you were about this guy?" she asked in disbelief. "It really doesn't matter to you?" The Slayer paused, then, without letting Stefanie answer, she added, "Want me to beat the crap out of him for you?"
Stefanie burst out laughing at this, smiling through her tears. Without a word, she stepped forward and hugged Buffy tightly. "You're too much," she whispered.
Just then, the door behind them finally opened behind them, and Willow poked her head out. "You can come back in now... Alex is cool, and he's ready to listen to us," she said softly.
Buffy managed a small smile. "It's about time," she said, following Giles and Stefanie inside to begin story-telling time...