Chapter One: Down The Rabbit Hole

Pain. Body shredding pain was the last thing she remembered. Body shredding pain and bright lights blinding her vision. She knew the sun had just rose, signaling a new day for those that she loved. From the moment Buffy Summers leapt off the shaky man made tower and into the portal of energy, she knew she would die. It all came together and stuck like glue; death was her gift and the only way to save her friends and her sister. As odd as it sounded she'd reached a sort of peace in those last few brief seconds as she told Dawn to keep living. Naturally she would die young; that was the curse of being a Slayer.

Yet as she laid on the cold, hard ground and stared up at the star filled night sky, one random thought filtered through her brain. Man, Heaven looks kinda crappy.

There had been no white fluffy clouds or angels with soft wings to welcome her to her final resting place. Nope, nothing cool and interesting like that. Just wet grass and a cramp that was steadily moving up her leg to her ass. And here she'd thought Heaven was a place of good feelings and fluffy fluffiness. Where she could eat all the cheese she wanted and never gain a single pound. Where she'd always have the latest fashions and her hair would never do that weird thing it usually did.

"If I'm in hell, someone is getting a strongly worded letter." Groaning, she slowly sat up and rubbed at the back of her head. 

Her muscles were aching, her heart thudding loudly in her own ears. She glanced around with big green eyes and frowned slightly, standing on wobbly legs that nearly made her topple back down. She brushed off her beige pants and sighed, wondering if she was in the midst of a strange concussion. Or maybe she was indeed dead but this was the afterlife waiting room, and any minute now some chick named Doris would call her name and show her through some gates that better be pearly. Hand her a halo, a coupon for free fries and wish her a good day.

Otherwise her spirit guide had totally lied to her. How could death be her gift  if she were in fact standing in the Sunnydale park? Unless she was doomed to be a ghost. Float around for eternity while going oooh until she found a good house to haunt. She could haunt Giles, that would probably turn out a lot funnier than someone would think.

Making sure that she didn't have a case of the dizzies, she slowly began to walk along. She made her way past the small shrubs and that circle thingie the kids like to play on, listening to the sound of leaves crunching under her stylish shoes. She stepped off the curb when she came to it and continued strolling, wrapping her arms around herself to keep off the slight chill. A small breeze fluttered her long blonde hair, sending strands dancing across her cheek. She pushed them to the side and bite her bottom lip, looking to the eerie silence that was the Restfield cemetery.

Once upon a time it had been so many vamps, so many different headstones to get tossed over. Who knew it would finally end at the hand of a scary Hell God with a bad home perm? Or that it was supposed to end at the hand of a scary Hell God with a bad home perm. She wasn't quite clear on the how do yet, considering she was in fact on solid cement and not enjoying out of body-ness.

Exhaling deeply, she rounded a corner and the familiar sound of fighting flowed into her ears. Great, on the night she died she couldn't even get time off. How unfair was that?

Quickening her pace, she weaved between a thick over growth of bushes and stopped to see what was going on. A brunette with shiny corkscrew curls and dressed in leather pants was fighting off a vampire. Her foot connected with his face as she delivered a hard kick, sending him flying to the ground. She jumped on his back and grabbed his head, slamming it down into the dirt and making him growl. Slipping to the side, she yanked him right side up and punched him in the face repeatedly until it was likely cartoon birds were swirling around his head.

Jerking the wooden stake out of the pocket of her denim jacket, she plunged it into his chest and smirked as he poofed into dust.

Buffy blinked, her mouth falling open. Was she really seeing what she thought she was seeing? Because what she was seeing was supposed to be in jail. Locked behind bars and sharing showers with women named Bertha and Mad Maxine, not slaying vamps all la di da.

Snapping back to attention, she frowned. "Faith! What the hell are you doing here?"

Faith looked over, her brows shooting up. "Scuse me?"

"You heard me! What are you doing here? How did you get out?"

"Outta where? Do I know you?"

"Oh don't even try  it. The amnesia thing--so not gonna work."

"Look lady, I got no clue what cha babblin' on about. I suggest ya get home though before somethin' messes up that pretty hair."

She started to walk by but Buffy grabbed her wrist, meeting her gaze. "Did Angel get you out? Was it a good behavior sort of thing?"

The brunette wretched her arm free. "Who? I don't know any Angel..."

Pressing her lips together, the blonde just stared at her for a moment. She was usually a good judge when it came to the crazy, or when people were lying to her. So standing there getting all intense gaziness with Faith, she saw no recollection in her deep brown eyes what so ever. Not even a smidgen, and someone doesn't just forget massive fights where fists connected with faces on a daily basis. That rhymed.

But back to the matter at hand. "You really don't know who I am, do you?"

"Not a clue." Faith replied slowly. "Are you aight? You look kinda trashed."

Pouting, she rubbed at her bicep. "I--I dunno. This is Sunnydale right?"

"Yup." A beat. "All day long."

Now she was confused. "Bu--but if this is Sunndyale then..." Trailing off, she gestured wildly with her hands. "I was just  here like five minutes ago! The guys and I had defeated Glory, bu--but the portal was open so I had to jump. I was right up there!" She pointed up to...nothing. The large tower that you could probably see from space was gone. "Whaa..."

Faith clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Was this chick mental? "Maybe you should go catch some zees. Come down from whatever you're on."

Dragging her fingers through her hair, she shook her head from side to side. "It was right there, I swear. What is going on?!" She was right; this was hell. "Where is everyone? Where is Dawn? Where is Giles?"

"You know Giles?"

"Yes. We both know Giles. He's...Giles."

"O...kay. C'mon we'll go see if he can make heads to what you're sayin'."

Without waiting for a response, she turned and started walking off. Buffy whimpered but followed along, replying the last events she remembered in her mind over and over again. Glory. Beating. Tower. Portal. Death. Sense; it wasn't making it. Even if she could suspend the wacky and figure that maybe the tower had collapsed, it didn't explain Faith or why she had no idea who she was.

Unless all the steel had hit her in the head as it came down. Though a concussion did not seem a normal reaction. Giant gaping head wound, that she could understand.

The streets were quiet and the buildings were closed as they strolled along. The town looked exactly the same as always. The Espresso Pump had just finished pumping; the boss pushing out the last of his customers. People chatted and went about their business, jumping in cars and speeding away or jogging down the sidewalk. Everything was peaceful.

Folding her arms over her chest, she glanced to Faith and noticed that she did look different. Older maybe. The last time she had seen her as she gave her statement to the police, there'd been a repose to her body. Like she'd finally learned to accept herself. That was missing now. Granted she didn't look like she wanted to get stabby with it, but she looked like there was no weight on her shoulders at all. No reason for her to atone.

"Like what cha see?"

Good to see that hadn't changed. "No. I--I mean yes...I mean...things are way wiggy right now."

Smirking, the brunette nodded. "Well no worries. I'm sure G will straighten out whatever is up."

"God I hope so." Buffy sighed, taking the steps down to his home two at a time.

Faith knocked twice and then twisted the knob, pushing the door open. "Yo G!" She stepped to the side and let Buffy in, then did the same and closed the door. "Look what followed me home. Can I keep it?"

The blonde scowled and Giles appeared out of his bedroom with a cup of tea in his hands. "Dare I ask?" He moved into his living room and picked up a book, then turned to see what she was talking about. He blinked and visibly jerked, the pretty mug in his hand falling to shatter into a thousand pieces on the floor. His eyes grew wide behind his thin rimmed glasses, his mouth working but no sound coming out.

Buffy swallowed, his reaction making her slightly nervous. "Giles? D--do you know who I am?"

"Yo--you're B--Buffy Summers." He stammered out. "But you can't be. It--it's not possible."

She wet her lips. "Why not? Why can't I be me? Is someone else me?"

Removing his glasses, he cleaned them. "Faith, where did this woman come from?"

The girl in question shrugged as she sat down on the arm of the couch. "I dunno. I was patrolin' and she walked up with a major 'tude. Said she knew ya and since I didn't get demon vibes, I brought her over."

"Hello, still in the room." The blonde replied. "Giles please, why can't I be me?"

He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Because...Buffy Summers died nearly four years ago at the hands of the Master."

Suddenly everything tilted and she would have hit the corner table had Faith not steadied her. She was lead to the sofa and sat down, and the brunette moved into the kitchen to get her a glass of water. She covered her face with her hands and tried to gasp in air, feeling a panic attack coming on. If it were possible for things to be worse than hell, then she'd found them. Go team her!

"I--I..." Stuttering, she took the offered beverage and sipped lightly. Too fast and she'd end up yakking on the carpet. "Th--there must be some mistake. I--I did die bu--but Xander, he--he brought me back to life. I was only gone a minute."

Giles eased down hesitatingly beside her. "Those are not the events that I remember, like they were yesterday. You--uh Buffy went down to fight the Master but she did not survive. He bit her and then left her to drown in a small fountain of water."

"But Xander gave me CPR!"

"No. He was too late. There was nothing he could do."

"I--what's going on?"

"What is the last thing you remember?"

Sniffling, she took another sip. "I--we were fighting Glory and the portal opened before we could stop it. Da--Dawn was going to jump to stop the energy fro--from leaking out but I--I jumped instead. Everything went white..."

He stood and moved to his bookcase, thumbing through the volumes. "You jumped into a portal? Hmm..." A pause. "I suppose it is possible. It's not unheard of though this is truly extraordinary."

"Giles, English." She whispered. "What the hell is going on? Am I not...Buffy? Am I losing my mind?"

Smiling warmly, he slipped his spectacles back on. "I believe that you are Buffy, but not the one that belongs here. It is not uncommon for portals to lead to other dimensions; there are hundreds that border our own."

Her lashes fluttered. "So wait, this is another dimension? But I--the energy was supposed to kill me. Everyone said so. You said so."

"Perhaps I was wrong. Energy is volatile and unstable at best, no one can be quite sure what shall occur when it is unleashed." He explained. "It could have caused uh--uh tear in the fabric of worlds, and instead of killing you, it sent you here."

That did make sense with Dawn being the key and all. Keys did open doors and doors did lead to places. "Jeepers." And suddenly she was tired, but sleep could wait. She needed answers. "So the me here, she died?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He answered.

"But who defeated the Master?"

"Angel. He was so upset over your uh, her death that he made it his mission to kill him. Luckily he succeeded."

"An--and then, Kendra came, right?"

"That's right."

"Did--did Angel lose his soul? Did he unleash Acathla?"

"No, that was Spike and Drusilla. Drusilla revived him, and then Kendra killed her to seal his mouth before he could suck the world into hell."

"But if Faith is here then Kendra died, right?"

"Yes, at the hands of Spike. Revenge for killing Drusilla."

Okay, piecing it together now. "And then what?"

Faith took this time to chime in. "I rolled into town and did what I do best. Kick ass."

"Yes." Giles said wryly. "Angel left a few days before she arrived. And with her Watcher dead, I took over those duties and she has been here ever since."

Buffy looked to the brunette, who winked at her. "What about the Mayor? Did he turn into a giant snake at graduation?"

"Actually it was the Deputy Mayor, Allan Finch. He tried to frame me for murder and then turned into this big ass bat thing." The other female cracked her knuckles. "We doused his ass in gasoline using a fire truck water hose and boom, homeboy went up like a roman candle."

So she hadn't went evil and killed people. That would take some getting used to if she were here long. "And Adam the robot boy..."

The brunette frowned, then snapped her fingers. "Oh you mean Riley? Walsh's pet science project? Yeah we killed his ass."

Riley. Poor Riley.  "Wow. This is a lot to take in. Things were--are different where I am from." Sighing, she itched at her cheek. "Are my--Willow and Xander? Are they alright?"

"Five by five." Faith drawled out. "Will's doin' the college thing and Xand's around."

Buffy smiled at that, glad they were okay. "Is Willow a witch? Or gay here?"

"As tinsel on a Christmas tree. She's datin' some chick named Tara, and Xander hooked up with an annoyin' ex demon." She stretched, her shirt riding up over her flat stomach. "Yeah she works the magics from time to time."

"Wow..." Was her reply. "What about my mom? Where is she?"

"She moved a few months after the funeral." Giles said softly. "I am not sure where."

Least she was alright. Alive.

When Buffy didn't say anymore, Giles folded his arms over his chest. "You look tired, perhaps we should talk more tomorrow. Look into ways to uh--get you home." He turned his attention to Faith. "Would it be alright if she stayed with you tonight?"

She nodded, stifling a yawn. "Aight. Let's go, Blondie. I wanna get a shower before I hit the hay."

Getting up, the blonde went with her impulse to hug Giles. He might not be the one she was used to but he would always just be Giles no matter what. "Thanks."

He returned the embrace. "You're welcome. It's good to see you again, Buffy."

Squeezing his hand, she then turned and followed Faith back out into the night air. Her mind was going a hundred miles a minute. She'd never thought that there could be another Buffy running around out there somewhere, or in this case one that hadn't faired as good as she had. Guess that meant there could be an evil Buffy or vampire Buffy or Barbie dream house Buffy. And if so, who was really the original?

"My brain hurts." She announced. "Bed has never sounded so good."

Faith cut her eyes over but didn't respond, instead drifted into her own thoughts. She'd heard stories about Buffy Summers, especially in training exercises and stuff. Chick had been bad ass for someone so young, yet still got snuffed out by the Master. Made an impact though on those around her; changed their lives or some shit. To her she'd been just a name, just an image in her head, just a grave she'd pass by sometimes.

Yet now here she was. Alive and well and pretty hot. A little whiny but things were ample in all the right places.

"So this like other dimension thing, who was I there?" Asked the younger Slayer. "If I was some perky cheerleader, lie to me."

Buffy chuckled. "No you were a Slayer. Pretty bad ass." Biting her lip, she scrunched up her face. "But you um, you kinda went bad and joined the dark side of the force. You got better though...but went to prison."

"Damn." Faith snorted. "Mama always said drinkin' Jack would get me in trouble."

"You seem to be doin' pretty nifty here though." She fiddled with the bottom of her dirty blouse. "Slayer in charge..."

"Guess so. G keeps me on the straight and narrow." The brunette said idly. "Heh or tries to anyway. I still do my own thing when the mood hits."

"And you're friends with Willow and Xander?" She inquired, trying to get a feel for things.

"More or less." The younger Slayer remarked. "We don't have sleep overs and shit but they come patrolin' with me sometimes."

"How did Willow get into the magics if Angel didn't lose his soul?"

"I dunno. I think Jenny helped her."

"Jenny? You mean Miss. Calender? Oh my God, she's alive?"

"And kickin'. She's in Romania visitin' family, otherwise she'd be shackin' up with Giles. You think fightin' demons is gross? Try walkin' in on them two doin' the ditty. I wanted to bleach my eye balls."

The blonde giggled, then stuck out her lower lip. She couldn't help but wonder if her death hadn't worked out better for those around her. Well except her mother of course. And Dawn since she didn't seem to be anywhere around. Two outta like five wasn't bad though.

The two young women entered a rather swanky looking building, and took the elevator up to the top floor. They came to the door at the end of the hallway and Faith finagled her keys out of her pocket, twisting it into the lock. She kicked the barrier open with her boot and fumbled along the wall, flicking up the light switch and flooding the room in light.

Buffy instantly remembered the apartment; it'd been the location of their final battle. Or her final battle with the other Faith. "Nice place."

Faith removed her jacket and tossed it onto a chair. "Thanks. The Mayor was so glad that I saved the day, he set me up in these classy digs. Make ya self at home." Kicking off her shoes, she waved around. "There's left over Chinese in the fridge and cable on the tv." Flashing a grin, she headed off towards the bathroom. "I'll get cha some clothes when I'm done."

Huffing, she slowly sat down and untied her sneakers, pushing them neatly under the coffee table. So she wasn't in hell which was of the good, but alter Sunnydale wasn't that much of a picnic either. Was it too much to ask to get a little death for a change? She'd been looking forward to a permanent vacation in ultimate paradise. Instead she found herself in the Twilight Zone where carbon copies of everyone she knew were skipping around.

It might be a bad idea but tomorrow, she was so going to find the Willow and Xander of this time. She needed her Scoobies, now more than ever. Besides the part of her that was curious and loved shinies really wanted to know about their lives. And she had to pass the time somehow while she was here.

Wiggling her toes on the fluffy carpet, she scratched at her neck and glanced towards where singing was coming over the running water. Faith; the dark  Slayer being not so dark threw her head for a loop. Faith not trying to kill her didn't seem natural as retarded as that sounded. It was hard to bend when you were set in your ways. God, she sounded like an old lady.

Though day was young. She may still find a knife in her back yet. The point was to keep hope alive.

Snorting at her own off kilter thoughts, she padded into the kitchen and peered in the fridge, seeing the aforementioned Chinese. She plucked out the carton and smelled what was inside, then stuck it in the microwave. She leaned to the clean marble counter and arched a brow as the door swung open and a pretty girl with bouncy black curls hurried her way inside. She was dressed in a waitresses uniform, with something brown stained on her apron.

When she noticed Buffy, she blinked and looked around. "Um, hi."

"Hi." The blonde said.

"Where's Faith?"

"Shower."

"Oh really?"

"Um, yes..."

Just like clockwork the brunette appeared in boi shorts and a tank top, her wet hair up in a towel. She smirked, showing off those impressive dimples. "See you two have met. Good, now we can get right down to the threesome."

"What?" Both girls said in unison.

She laughed. "Chill, geeze. Carly, this is Buffy. She's a friend of Giles. Buffy this is Carly, my bitch."

Carly pushed at her, rolling her almond shaped dark eyes. "You wish. Well any friend of Giles is a friend of mine. It's nice to meet you."

As she turned to give Faith a rather intimate kiss on the lips, Buffy suddenly felt her mouth go dry. "Ni--nice to meet you too."

"Buffy's gonna be crashin' here for a bit." The brunette explained.

She heard Carly's reply but it sounded muffed as if she were under water. So this Faith had a girlfriend. A friend who was a girl, who kissed her with tongue. That was...it was something that she didn't know what. Not that it was bad because it would never be bad. It was...different. Interesting different, like a giant ball of rubber bands or tin foil.

If Xander's ex demon was a guy she'd give up cheese for a month.

The funny part? She could cruise past the Buffy here being dead and everything being topsy turvy. What bothered her the most was something she never knew  would bother her. Something that she always used to brush off or scoff at cause brushing and scoffing seemed appropriate. Now? Not so much. It shouldn't bother her but it did. What did?

Hearing Faith call her anything other than B.

Chapter Two: Meeting The Alters

The next morning came too fast for Buffy, who woke up slightly disoriented and ready to pummel when she didn't recognize her surroundings. But once she calmed down and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she realized it hadn't been some wiggy dream brought on by too much yogurt. That she was indeed in a strange world with strange yet not strangers.

After eating her Chinese and making slight conversation with Carly and Faith, she'd showered and put on the clothes Carly lent her since they were the same size. Then she'd crawled up onto the couch and tried to rest. Tried to think about anything other than what she couldn't stop thinking about. Her mind kept swinging back around to the fact that leather clad, finding the fun Faith had found her fun in a member of the same sex.

And they probably had that. Lots and lots of same sex sex.

It was not of the norm, because the Faith she knew didn't like to be tied down to just once person. Her motto was all get some and get gone not get some and cuddle with her on a chaise lounge. But this wasn't the Faith she knew and the sooner she remembered that the better off she would be. Of course that begged the question, could this have been the Faith she'd known if things had went differently? If there hadn't been punching and kicking?

On the off moments when she'd thought about Faith, they were always what if scenarios. What if she hadn't killed Allan Finch? What if Wesley hadn't spooked her right into the creepy arms of the Mayor? What if she hadn't said the hell with her as soon as things got too hot to handle?

Would it have been like this now?

Would they have become fast friends who stood the test of time?

Would she be back in her right universe because Faith had helped her take out Glory?

The smell of waffles invaded her nose and her tummy gave a growl, alerting her that her brain should shut up so she could pay it some attention. Swinging her legs around and putting her feet on the floor, she smoothed down her hair and stood to see Faith piling down a plate with breakfast. Carly must have left early for work.

"You cook too?" She inquired as she slowly walked over. "This just gets weirder and weirder."

Faith laughed and reached into a cabinet for syrup. "Take it I'm a train wreck in your neck of the woods?"

"Yeah." She chuckled, sinking down at the small table. "But well--it wasn't so much your fault as ours. I could have handled stuff differently."

"No worries." The brunette shrugged. "Wasn't my life so I got no bones to pick."

"Right. Right."

"Still it's fucken weird to think there's like, another me. Always thought I was often imitated but never duplicated."

"Haha well if it's any conciliation, you're still pretty original."

Smirking, Faith opened the fridge and pulled out a jar of strawberry jam. "So what's your story?"

Buffy picked up a fork. "Oh um, I dunno. I--I mean I guess the only difference from here is that I didn't die." She pushed around her eggs. "Xander gave me CPR and I went on to kill the Master. Then I just kinda killed everything else too."

"Wicked." The younger girl voiced. "Gotta say it's cool to actually be able to meet another Slayer. This whole one girl in all the world shtick ain't all it's cracked up to be."

"You're telling me." She shoved the eggs into her mouth, savoring how good they were. So fluffy. "Um--so Giles took you under his wing when you got here?"

"Yup. My Watcher was toast and all I wanted to do was hit shit. Last thing I wanted was someone tellin' me what to do, but G wouldn't give up. He let me stay with him and made me train. We fell into a routine." The brunette explained, wiggling her leg underneath the table. "He--he's kinda like the Pops I never had, ya know?"

"Yeah." Buffy said softly. "I really do. He's been like that for me too--especially since my mom died and my dad stopped coming to visit."

"That's rough, yo. Sorry."

"Thanks. So umm, what are you doing today?"

Faith poured syrup over her waffles. "Workin'. I got a job bartendin' at the Bronze. I switched shifts with Mark yesterday though so I could patrol tonight."

Next she'll be saying she saves orphans from burning buildings. "Oh."

A nod. "Yup but, I'll drop ya off by Red's dorm room so that you guys can get reacquainted. And afters we can slay together if ya want."

Buffy smiled. "Sounds like a plan." Now to be curious. "You and Carly huh? Ho--how did that happen?"

She smirked, chewing her food and swallowing. "We met at this Halloween frat party that was bein' haunted by some baddie. She got attacked by a scarecrow and I got it off her. We just clicked after that and the rest is what it is."

The blonde sipped her orange juice. "She's really nice. Not really your type, no--not that I know your type. I--I mean she could be your type. Not that you even have to have a type... I'll just shut up now."

Faith chuckled. "What? Is it cause she doesn't have a cock?" When Buffy nearly choked, she chuckled again. "I don't really label myself. I dig guys but I dig chicks too; besides she's smokin' hot. I'd have been crazy not to go for it."

Paging my brain. Now would be a good time to check in. "I'm sorry I--I shouldn't have said anything."

She shrugged. "I don't mind. Got nothin' to hide."

That's a first. "I'm glad you're happy, Faith. Really. It's nice to know that at least somewhere things worked out for you."

"Heh thanks Buffy." The other girl replied. "Glad you're not six feet under."

They both laughed and continued to eat, while Buffy continued to wonder why hearing her name and not her nick name from this woman rubbed her the wrong way.

It was just a stupid nick name she never really liked in the first place. B. Bees. At the very least she could have called her Buff like everyone else.

At the very least she didn't have to make it so Faith. So...special. So damn hard to forget.

~*~

Standing outside of Willow's dorm room, Buffy pulled at the bottom of the short red pleated skirt she wore, courtesy of Carly. She hadn't worn something so short since she was seventeen and trying to impress people. But apparently most of Carly's clothes were either very wintery or very summery, and since it was a nice day outside she'd opted for summer. Flashing thighs and legs summer.

Faith however had on black jeans and a matching wife beater, with a tiny silver cross around her neck. Obviously bad ass was not a term for leathers only.

Exhaling deeply, she stared at the door and swallowed thickly. She was nervous which was odd because she knew Willow. Or she knew a Willow, which was not this Willow. Even though Giles acted like Giles, Willow could act totally different. She could be fake and annoying like Harmony had been, or an outcast like Amy. Speaking of, was Amy a rat here too? Focus. Okay. Willow. Old reliable Willow.

"I changed my mind." She announced. "Let's just go."

"Calm down." Faith mused, knocking on the door. "I'm sure she's just like the Red you hang with."

"Bu--but what if she isn't? What if she's--she's mean or a blonde? I can't handle a blonde Willow."

"You're kinda twisted. Relax."

"I can do that. I can relax. I can relax until the cows come home."

The door opened and she actually meeped. Willow in her long skirt and frog colored blouse smiled, pushing shiny red bangs out of her bright blue eyes. "Hey Faith." She turned to..."Ooh. Yo--you look just like someone I--I used to know."

"Buffy Summers, right?" The blonde inquired. "You went to high school with her but she...died. Cute little thing, deadly with pieces of sharp wood."

"Wow you're good." Willow replied, slightly confused.

Buffy giggled, wetting her lips. "Actually Will I--I'm Buffy. No--not the one you know; I'm from another dimension where I didn't die at the hands of the Master."

Anyone else would have called the men in white coats at a sentence like that, but it sounded plausible to her. "Oh--whoa. That--that's a lot to take in while you're still standing in the hallway. C'mon in."

"Well you're in good hands now. Gotta hit the bricks. Catch ya later, Buffy." Faith pointed her fingers like a gun and then walked off.

It's not Buffy! Sighing, she slipped into the room and glanced around. "I'm sorry to just spring this on you bu--but I'm so used to hanging out with my friends, and you're a friend so..."

"It's okay." The Wicca said smiling. "If you're anything like the Buffy I knew, we're gonna get along fine. Besides I'd really like to know more about this other dimension." A brow rose. "Though if I'm a leather wearing vampire mama, don't tell me."

She laughed. "No. You're just as sweet are you are now."

"Good. So another Sunnydale? That's kinda freaky."

"Yeah. But it's just like this one, at least from what I have seen. Well, except for Faith it is. She's more structured here."

"Ooh. What about me? Does coffee make the me there, jittery?"

"Hah yeah it totally does. And you're really good with magic. And you're dating a great girl named Tara."

Willow smiled and sat down on her bed. "Hehe neat. Man, so what have you been doing all of these years? Oh! Is--is there a Xander there?"

Buffy nodded with a chuckle. "Yup. I think pretty much everyone you know here is there. Or w--was if they didn't die. But Xander is alive and of the good. He's in construction."

"Oh here he's a tip top mechanic. Even thinking of opening his own garage." The Wicca explained with a proud grin. "Though his girlfriend leaves something to be desired."

"Anya?" When she said yes, the blonde snickered. "Yeah she's the same where I come from. Loves money, Xander and not much else though oddly she comes through in times of fightin'." Chewing on her bottom lip, she continued. "As for me I--well I've been slaying. I dated Angel for a while but that ended badly. Then I did the college thing for a while, but dropped out after my mom got sick."

"Sorry to hear that." Willow replied gently. "Hehe you and Angel huh? Sounds dishy. After you--erm--she died here he went all mopey and made it his mission to finally kill the Master. Then Spike and Drusilla came, so he helped us with their craziness along with Kendra."

Sighing, the Slayer places her hands in her lap. "What happened to Spike?"

A snort. "He took off after Dru was killed, but of course came back to doll out the vengeance. The army guys put a chip in his head though, so now he can't bite people. Haven't seen him in a while."

Good. "Did you date a guy named Oz?"

Willow grinned. "Yup. He was in a band; Dead Men Don't Bite."

"That's a weird name." Buffy made a face.

"It's a quote I think from Plutarch."

"In my dimension they called themselves Dingos Ate My Baby."

"Oh. Yeah that's--well it's defintely not Plutarch."

The blonde wanted to inquire as to just who Plutarch was but she decided against it. It would probably lead to her learning something new and who needed that?

Giving a amused smirk, Willow pulled a stuffed animal into her lap and made it dance. "How did you end up here anywhere? Faulty spell?"

"Rogue portal." Buffy said slowly. "It was supposed to kill me but...I dunno. Here I am instead."

"Well th--that's good. Cause death is...bad. Icky." The Wicca tilted her head to the side. "Wanna go freak Xander out?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Ten minutes later both girls were strolling out of the elevator and down the hall of Xander's spiffy apartment. It was one of his few days off, so Willow was quite sure that he was going to spend it lazying about the house eating pancakes and watching soap operas, though he would always claim otherwise. Instead of knocking, she used her spare key and padded inside. There indeed sat Xander Harris on his sofa, staring intently at the tv while the noise of a vacuum filtered out of a back room.

"Hey." Willow called out. "Another VH1 behind the music special on NSync again?"

He glanced up. "No. And for the last time I..." Trailing off, he looked to Buffy and blinked quickly several times. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed the pillow he was holding to the side. "Who? What? Huh?"

Buffy gave a little wave. "Hi."

"But, you're dead! You died! Demon; is it a demon?" He stood abruptly.

"Nope. Just other dimension Buffy." Willow said in a sing song voice. "Other dimension us, not included."

He arched a brow. "Other dimension? Jiminy crickets." A pause. "Well um, hello. I'm Xander. It's nice to meet you." He spoke slowly as if she were slow or possibly deaf.

The blonde sent him a look. "I'm from another dimension. I don't ride the short bus to school." Smiling, she moved to a chair and sat down. "And I know you who are 'cause there is a Xander where I come from. We've been friends for a long time now."

"Ooh. Were we ever...more than friends?"

"Sorry, no. You've always been one of the girls."

Before he could reply, Anya swept into the room all blonde hair and bright eyes. She put the vacuum into the hall closet and sighed, noticing Buffy. "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy." The Slayer responded. "Distant friend."

"Ah. Well I'm Anya, Xander's girlfriend." She said proudly. "I suppose I should offer you something to drink since you are a guest. Would you like anything to drink?"

"No thanks."

"Good. Now I don't have to tax myself making something. Yay."

Buffy grinned; yup she was most totally Anya. "This might be an odd question but, are you by any chance scared of bunnies?"

Anya stared at her like she had three heads. "Bunnies? Well that's just stupid. Who in the world would ever be scared of bunnies?" As Buffy lowered her head, she continued. "Squirrels on the other hand, with their evil little beady eyes and hoarding of nuts; I hate them. Furry little demon seeds...if I had a car I would not brake for them."

Yup, most totally Anya.

~*~

The vampire in the ripped leather jacket rushed Buffy but she darted out of the way, tripping him as he went past. She then kicked his red pants wearing friend in the face and sent him stumbling back into a headstone. Swirling her stake from where she sat on the brick wall watching the petite blonde handle two creatures who were very much taller than her, Faith smirked. It was hella cool to see another Slayer in action, especially the first Slayer the Dale had ever had. Giles had often talked about Buffy; usually he was stone drunk though and mopin' about like a homeless person. Saw a lot of that after he got fired from the Counsel.

But back to Buffy, she was a gorgeous thing in action or maybe especially in action were the right words. Perfect high kicks and so flexible. Like a big cat playin' with a bumpy faced mouse. "Need any help?"

"No!" Buffy shouted as she punched Leather Jacket in the face. "I'm good."

"Aight." Faith chuckled. "Gotta say this is wicked, watchin' ya move. You don't just fight, ya got style."

"I--" She ducked a hit and grabbed Red Pants, tossing him into a tree. "Thanks. Never heard that before..."

The brunette grinned, swinging her legs. "Can't wait til we train tomorrow. Never went head to head with someone who could actually take me. Gonna be interestin' when I get my hands on ya."

"What? Ooh..." She jerked back a few steps after being hit in the face by Leather Jacket. "Excuse you!" Grumbling, she stalked up to him and began to pummel him. "We are trying..." Punch. "To have..." Punch. "A conversation..." Punch.

"Ahh!" He growled. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

Smiling, she whipped out her stake and plunged it into his chest. "Slayer comma the. Look it up."

Just as he started to poof into dust, his face contorted into confusion and he pointed to Faith. "But I thought she was the..." And he was gone.

As the brunette laughed, Buffy turned her sights on Red Pants who was just getting his wits about him. She flipped over to where he stood on wobbly legs and delivered a rough round house to his jaw, sending him spiraling over a low bush. Next she pounced on this waist, hit him once more for good measure and then staked him.

"Woo!" Faith clapped. "That was awesome. Do ya always pun when ya slay?"

Giggling, the other girl nodded. "Force of habit I guess." She sniffled and glanced around, then arched a brow. "Surprised you didn't jump in. Work up the double Hs."

"Eh to be honest, I don't need to slay to be hungry or horny. It just amps it up when I am."

"I fear you and your calmer attitude."

Faith snickered. "You're a real trip, Buffy."

The blonde felt herself get twitchy; she could literally hear the name floating around in her head. Over and over like a giant floaty head person, mocking her with its sharp tongue that knowing her name-ness.

"Okay I can't take this anymore!" Buffy shouted, throwing up both hands. "Enough is enough!"

Faith arched a brow. "Are you havin' some sort of mental crisis I should know bout? Do you need some pills?"

She sent her an are you kidding me look. "No it--the Faith I know doesn't call me Buffy unless something major is happening. Usually there is fighting or stabbing involved. She--well she calls me B."

"B?"

"Yeah. An--and I know it's a really stupid thing to--but--I like it. Call me, B."

The brunette gave a slow grin. "Aight, B. C'mon let's go get some grub."

Chapter Three: Paying Respects

A few days passed and Buffy found herself right at home in alter Sunnydale. It was hard not to when it was nearly like her Sunnydale except for a few odd changes. The biggest non difference however were her friends who still acted very much like friends. They hung out with her and shared things with her; if it weren't for Dawn she would have guessed that the past year had been a dream and now things were right again.

Still she hoped that Dawn was okay back home. That the others were taking care of her. That she wasn't being a huge pain in the ass like she'd been to her. Not that she didn't love her sister because she did. Totally did. But, well it was nice to be an only child again even if it weren't real. It was nice to just...relax.

Oh...though there was Faith. Miss. Stable, lemme cook you dinner Faith. Man she was of the freaky here. She did her own laundry and she didn't live large on any vampires. She just fought them, staked them and moved on to the next. It didn't make sense!

Would she prefer the out of control wild child who tried to kill her? ...maybe. Hey she never said she was coloring with every crayon in the box. Just the really pretty ones.

Walking down the sunny streets, dressed in a pink halter top and white pants, she turned down a familiar road and slowly came to stop in front of a house. Her house. Or what would have been her house had she not went swimming with the fishes. 1630 Revello Drive. It was just the way it was supposed to be, perfect. Warm. Moderately safe depending on what day it was.

Idly she just stared at the structure; at the pretty curtains and the newly planted flowers around the walk way. The front door opened and two little boys ran out carrying dump trucks. They parked themselves in the dirt and began to play, not noticing her at all. She smiled and felt herself getting choked up but she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because even though it was just a house, it still felt like her house. And it was nice to see her house happy.

Moving on before someone accused of her being a would be burglar or something, she strolled along past parked cars and then jogged briskly, rounding the twin iron gates of the cemetery. Carefully she treaded across the green grass and around graves before stopping to face a lovely gray headstone.

Buffy Anne Summers

1981-1997

Beloved Daughter

Total weirdness to be standing at her own grave. To know that under the ground in a hopefully stylish coffin, was a girl just like her. Was a girl that was her in many respects. The one who couldn't make it. But for the grace of Xander and his blowing air into her lungs.

Wetting her lips, she traced her name that was carved into the stone with her fingertips. Of course she was thinking it. It was hard not to think it when it was staring her in the face like giant clown head. That could have been her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, not completely sure why she was apologizing.

Perhaps because there was guilt over living. Over being able to walk and talk, to eat yogurt. Over being able to take things for granted cause one assumes they have all the time in the world. Just more strange facets that were Buffy Summers in the realm of many.

She stared at the grave for a long while, letting her thoughts run rampant before finally moving on. No need to become Miss. Dwelly and cry over spilled milk. Who would cry over spilled milk away? Maybe a baby, though would a baby even be able to grasp the concept that its milk was spilled?

Rubbing her forehead, she snorted and strolled on the side walk and found herself entering the expansive Sunnydale Park. Two figures caught her eye near the middle, surrounded by Tupperware filled with an assortment of different goodies.

"Hey!" Willow smiled as Buffy walked up, waving to the spread blanket. "Want a cookie? Tara made them."

"No thanks, though I'm sure they are very yummy." She replied sitting down. "Still burnin' off the three course breakfast Faith made."

Tara smiled, tucking hair behind her ear. "Sh--she's a very good co--cook. I--I love her spaghetti." Pulling the sleeves of her blouse down over her knuckles, she cleared her throat. "So um, Willow told me about your um, ho--how you got here. Are you okay?"

Buffy nodded with a sigh. "I--I'm dealing. I mean it's not hard to be here considering I still got my buds, but there is other stuff. Not...bad stuff but stuff." She played with a few blades of grass. "I stopped by my--her old house and then I went by her grave."

The red head blinked. "That's kinda...morbid-ee."

She nodded again. "Yeah, it is. But I felt like I owed her or something. Five minutes are all that stand between us."

Willow rubbed her shoulder. "But ma--maybe things were supposed to be this way. I--I mean considerin' you're still alive and kicking. Destiny is a funny thing."

"I'm not sure it was destiny. I think it was more chance. I mean I did die, just like her. The only difference is that I got back up."

"You can't beat yourself up over that though. If some freak portal hadn't dropped you here, you wouldn't even know the what's what."

"True. But if I--she'd lived long enough, you'd know this is kinda modus operand-Buffy."

She smiled and leaned back on her elbows. "Well I think you should just relax until you can get home. Think of it as a vacation."

The blonde shrugged. "I guess I could. Do a little sunbathin', a little shoppin'." She lowered her voice. "I think Carly is sweet for letting me borrow some of her clothes but, I'd rather have my own."

"Still into fashion, huh? Sounds like the Buff I knew." Willow itched at her wrist. "But it's cool Carly is bein' nice to you. She's a peach to the gang."

Buffy nodded, then chewed on her bottom lip. Since curiosity killed the cat and not the Slayer, it appeared that it would be alright for her to pry. Prying was harmless. "It's weird to think of Faith with her. I--I mean it's weird to think of Faith all serious with anyone. Really reminds me that I'm in this Twilight Zone of a Sunnydale."

"They are so cute together." Tara replied with a smile. "Yo--you can tell they really li--like each other."

Willow flicked an ant away. "Remember how Xander freaked out, thinkin' he'd be next to 'turn' gay? I told him that was my master plan, gay up the world."

"Have they been together long?" Buffy asked, mostly making conversation.

"Um kinda. Almost a year or somethin' like that." The Wicca mused. "We can't really be sure cause they broke up somewhere along the line."

"Why?"

"Well, um, Faith had a wonderin' eye. Once."

Sounds more like the Faith I know. "Oh. It--it happens."

"True. And Carly forgave her so I guess things are even stevens now."

"Do you think they will like, last or whatever? Be together for oodles and oodles of time? Own tea cozies?"

"Honestly? Naah. They mesh well bu--but from what we know of Faith, she needs pop. Says that's where the fire comes from."

~*~

Training in the back of the magic shop had been Faith's idea, and Buffy had thought nothing of it considering it was just training. She also figured that she'd beat her if the past was any indication to their usual behavior. However she found herself more or less pleasantly surprised.

Alter Faith was much more poised in her actions. She telegraphed moves and threw no punches. She was much more controlled as well, and not simply letting loose with the fury. There was fury of course because that was one of the points of being a Slayer, but Buffy could tell the difference a decent upbringing made. She could always pick out the things that Giles had instilled in Faith, because they were things he'd hammered into her head as well.

Yet here she was, flat on her back with her knees to her chest, her arms being held down on either side of her head. Faith was on top of her and looking down with a smirky grin, flashing those cute dimples in her cheeks. Her long dark hair was pinned back in a messy bun and her attire was less bad ass today; a simple white tank top and tight yoga pants. They had only been sparring for about twenty minutes, but both females were panting, their chests heaving but their muscles not even a bit tired.

Ignoring the odd butterflies that had just entered her stomach, Buffy kicked her leg up and flipped the brunette off of her forcefully but gently. In seconds they were both on their feet, taking their fighting stances. Faith lunged at the blonde and delivered a punch which she ducked, smiling and tossing the hair out of her bright green eyes. She spin kicked, feeling her foot be batted away before it connected with a strong shoulder.

"You're good." Faith replied, holding her hands up in the time out gesture.

"Thanks." She chuckled, wiping at her sweaty neck. "So are you."

"Ya seemed surprised."

"Um, well uh, I guess I just didn't expect for you to be so good."

The brunette stretched and cracked her knuckles. "Is that why ya agreed to take me on?"

She had the decency to be embarrassed. "Maybe a little. I thought we'd train and then I could regal you with techniques or something. I've been told that I am weird."

"Yeah." Faith moved over to a bench and sat down. "But it's aight. I ain't exactly normal myself. And it was still hot to go up against someone like me."

Sighing, Buffy sat down beside her and fiddled with her gloves. "Yeah. I forgot how much fun it can be when you don't have to hold back."

"Who do ya think would win between the two of us?"

"I--I dunno. Really don't wanna find out."

The brunette noticed her expression and nodded, touching her shoulder. "No worries. Got no plans to bitch smack ya."

She smiled, trying erase the scene behind her eyes from that night on the roof. "So um, what happened to Cordelia here?"

"She's in L.A. tryin' to do the actin' thing. I've seen her on a couple of commercials."

"Guess that means she doesn't work with Angel."

"Wouldn't know. Never talked to him. Though I bet if ya gave him a call he'd freak the hell out."

"Although that would be fun, I'll stick to Sunnydale."

"Heard Giles say he's not sure he can get cha home. Must be rough."

"Not really. I've got really good company here to keep me busy."

~*~

The alter Bronze was just like the one she knew, expect everything was on the opposite side she was used to. It was as if someone picked it up and sat it around ass backwards. But the music was the same and the people having fun were the same, so things were good.

Maneuvering through the crowd with Faith holding to her wrist and pulling her along, she couldn't help but think about the last time they'd danced together. No. The last time she'd danced with Faith from her side of the other world tracks. The night had started out so good and then...badness. One wrong move sent them spiraling down into a vat of doom. Who knows what things may have happened if that had not happened?

Frowning at that weird thought, she continued to follow the brunette until they were at a suitable location in the mix of the people. One thing that hadn't changed was Faith's love of dancing and blowing off steam. They'd both agreed to rip it up after the training session. To just relax and have a bit of fun. Seeing no harm since nothing bad could occur this time, Buffy'd relented and here they were.

The song thumping from the speakers was loud and angry, with a hectic yet underlying techno beat. Faith wasted no time with words, instead just jumping into the dancing. Her long brown curls swung across her face as her body snaked and curved to the music. So far it was the only thing that didn't have Buffy's head doing the wacky. Faith plus dancing equaled her understanding, the rest didn't amount to a hill of beans in this one horse town.

'I think too much.' She thought idly, then shook her head. Dancing. Right. Doing that.

Wiping her mind clean, she fell into step with the brunette and it felt like old times. Their bodies fit so well together, even though it was very much unintentionally. It was like they just gravitated closer until skin rubbed skin, causing small electric shocks. It all felt so natural, especially for Buffy. She would have found being pressed closed to any woman that wasn't Faith strange, but because it was her in a way, there was no strange-ness about it. Just a deep rooted nostalgia that she had not even realized existed before.

Kinda like with the whole not being called B thing. You don't miss something until it's gone...forever.

And even though it had never truly occurred to her, she knew quite clearly that some part of her missed Faith. Probably the crazy part that helped her block out the idea of Giles and her mom having sex on the hood of a police car. Twice! Yeah Faith had did bad stuff but not all of it had been bad. Some of it had been down right...amazing.

A voice off to the side however broke her thoughts. "Can I cut in?"

Buffy looked over to see Carly with a cute smile on her face. "Oh--oh sure. I--I'm gonna get a soda." She then hurried towards the left, only to have to make her way to the right. Stupid opposite Bronze.

Leaning against the bar, Buffy ordered a Coke and then turned her attention to where Carly and Faith grinded with each other. They looked...she wasn't sure how they looked. Sexy would have been a good word, because they were both very pretty. But something was just off. There was an off-ness about them that she couldn't put her finger on. Sure they obviously liked each other, that was a given. Still...off-ness.

It was most likely because she wasn't used to alter Faith and her alter Faith ways. Or maybe it was because she could feel the ugly pig head of guilt wanting to rear itself whenever she thought about how stable Faith was here. And all because the Scoobies here gave a damn, pushed her to be the best person she could be. Even Giles was being like a Pop to her.

Maybe not killing Alan Finch was just one colored square on the rubix cube of their relationship. She could have came back from it. She was on her way until Wesley screwed it all up. All Faith had ever wanted was to be accepted, but she'd been too jealous to notice or to care. Yet with her dead, everyone else noticed and cared.

"I suck." She murmured, sitting down on a stool.

Well it was time to make up for all she had lost. This was like her second chance in a way to get to know what was under the abrasiveness she'd gotten from her Faith. To be her friend for a change instead of her enemy. She wasn't sure why that was suddenly so important now but it was.

After all, maybe that was the whole point of her trip to Oz in the first place. A total life do over. Didn't seem so bad when she thought of it that way. Too bad she hadn't went back to her pre Parker days though. She could have stopped herself from sleeping with him and saved herself a lot of money, what with not buying tons of ice cream to ease her pain. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Chapter Four: No Hurry For Home

Faith sat in a chair in the basement of the magic shop, her feet propped up onto the table in front of her. Idly she flipped through the pages of the glossy magazine, circling the weapons that caught her eye. She could hear the others above her as they moved around, or as Anya forced them to help with the incoming customers. Hence why she was hidin' out. Retail was never her gig, and she didn't want a repeat of last time when she told some lady to stick her chicken's feet where the sun don't shine.

She nodded her head to the music drifting from her ipod, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to decide on which cross bow would be the most effective against a demon. The big one or the really big one? She tapped her pen on her jeans covered thigh, her brown eyes shifting to the wooden stairs as footsteps broke though the sounds of Deftone's cover of No Ordinary Love.

Buffy jogged down into the room, pulling at the tiny straps of her baby blue camisole. She headed over to an old shelf and stared at it, dragging her hands up and down along the sides of her tan pants. She gawked at the weird things in the various jars, her face scrunched in concentration.

The brunette smirked and turned back to her magazine, ripping out the order form in the back. She could tell that the blonde was trying to be all discreet and look at her, though to be honest she was failin'. And is wasn't the first time of course. She'd watched her and Carly for the rest of the night at the Bronze, sipping her coke and pretendin' to be looking elsewhere when she glanced over. Must be hard for her though...dealin' with a new world and shit. Seein' people she knew act different. Seein' people she'd written off all...normal.

The whole idea of other dimensions and shit really interested her, though not enough to like study them or whatever. But it really made her think about her life and how different it could be. How she could have easily freaked the fuck out if it hadn't been for Giles and his crew layin' the responsibility on thick. She'd never exactly admit it, but she was glad they'd stepped up. Glad she had people she could count on in a tight fix.

Pushing those thoughts away since they weren't really her deal, she yawned and stretched her arms over her head. She filled in the blank spaces on the form, giving Giles' addy for where she wanted the stuff to be delivered. Just needed to get the cash part down.

She heard a dejected groan and snickered, putting her feet on the floor. Itching at her cheek, she cleared her throat and pulled out her right ear bud. "Lookin' for somethin'?"

Buffy glanced over and nodded. "Um yeah. Do you know where the crocodile eyes are?"

"Top shelf." She motioned with her head.

The blonde looked up, then pouted. "I think Giles discriminates against short people. Is there a step ladder around?"

Cracking her knuckles, Faith put down her things and stood, strolling over to where everything was. She crowded Buffy's space, but it was her own fault for not movin' out of the way. She just pressed back to the shelf with eyes like a deer caught in massive head lights.

Being an inch or so taller than the other Slayer, Faith stood on her tippy toes and finagled the container down, catching it before it hit the floor. "Here ya go."

Buffy took it and smiled, quickly moving to the side. "Thanks. I--I'll just um...yeah." Turning, she rounded the staircase and headed back up into the main area.

She didn't look back because she knew if she did, Faith would probably be smirking like the smart ass she was, with those smart ass-y dimples. What had that even been, anyway? Okay so yeah she couldn't reach the eyeballs and yes she'd needed help. And maybe it didn't cross her mind to actually move, but it wasn't like she had to press against her to get them. She could have used a stick or...yodeled.

'You're making a mountain out of a mole hill'. Her mind told her. 'Or is it a glacier out of an ice cube?'

Point; well she didn't really have one to be honest. It was just odd to have Faith so close and there be no ulterior motive. No knives or punches. Just Faith, smelling good and looking good and...being good.

"Buffy, do you have my crocodile eyes? The customer wants them and if she doesn't get them, she won't give us money. And we need money. It's money." Anya said expectantly as she wandered back onto the main floor.

Snapping back to attention, she placed the jar onto the counter. "Here ya go."

"Yay." The other blonde smiled. "We are very busy today; I love it so much."

"Yeah it's nice." Buffy chuckled. She walked over to the round table where everyone was and sat down. "What cha guys doing?"

Willow gestured to all of the books. "Just looking into portals and such. There are like many ways to open one but...well...it being the right one is the tricky part."

Tara nodded. "Yeah. We could send you home or t--to Guam. Or a world of nothing but shrimp."

The Slayer made a face. "Could you send me to a world of nothing but designer clothes?"

"Not sure that exists. Bu--but there is a world of nothing but shiny stuff." She grinned, tucking hair behind her ear.

"That could work too." Buffy drummed her fingers on the table. "I wanna get home but, I dunno. Not really worried. I--I mean it's not like I'm burning in hell or floatin' around without a head. I'm...comfy."

Xander spoke up. "But what about the 'us' back there? Don't cha think they are worried about you?"

Probably. "Yeah, I'm sure they are. But I know them. Will is no doubt trying to find a way to get me back from wherever I might have went. They are all probably in research mode or whatever."

"Sounds to me like you like it here."

"It doesn't suck."

"Didja hear that guys? We don't suck! To non sucking!"

"Ha ha."

"I--I think it's okay if you li--like it here." Tara related softly. "Maybe it's cause of Faith."

Buffy's head jerked up. "What do you mean? Why would she make me like it here?"

The shy blonde bit her bottom lip. "Cause--cause you can just sit back and let her do all the work."

"Oh." That made sense. "I guess. I do enjoy gettin' to be a bum for a bit. Especially after everything that I went through before I got here."

Willow pulled at her earring. "Then don't let us poop on your party. Yo--you relax and enjoy yourself. You'll get home...eventually."

"And if not, you might get to enjoy some tasty shrimp every day for the rest of your life." Xander mused, then caught their expressions. "What?"

~*~

Sitting on the couch at Giles' apartment, Buffy yawned loudly and closed the incredibly boring book. She placed it on the table and sighed, rubbing the back of her sore neck. It wasn't that she didn't wanna go home because she did. She totally did but, she just wasn't stressing it. Which was not of the norm since she could stress like no one else on the planet. But everyone she knew was here, and they weren't pod people. She didn't feel left out or unloved at all, so it made it hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Especially since things were more or less how they used to be now before Dawn showed up. If she closed her eyes and pretended Faith was a figment of her imagination.

Although..."Hey, Faith?"

The brunette poked her head out of the fridge. "Hey, what?"

"You guys didn't happen to have to fight some kinda Hell God, did you?"

"Heh yeah. Dude was like, psycho. But makes sense I guess, what with him eatin' dog brains."

"Was his name Glory by any chance?"

"Nope. They called him Honoricon."

"And he was looking for a key that monks turned into a human?"

"Um, no. He was lookin' for a lock that turned out to be the hellmouth."

Buffy arched a brow. "Wait, what?"

Faith straightened up and closed the refrigerator door. "He wanted to make our world into his world, but he needed the hellmouth to do it. So we opened it, let it loose on his ass and then fought it back down after it ate him."

She blinked slowly, processing the news. "The lock was the hellmouth itself? Wow that's so weird. I mean, no it's just really weird." She paused, turning and leaning over the back of the sofa. "Where I'm from, it was this nut job named Glory. And these monk dudes turned the key into--well my little sister because they knew I'd protect it with my life. Gave her memories and all sorts of things. Her blood opened the portal that sent me here."

"She bite it?" The younger girl asked, and Buffy shook her head no. "Hm."

"I've been thinking about my death here, and how much it's changed things. Everything is going good; kinda makes me wonder if I really made a difference with the whole living thing." The blonde replied, seemingly out of nowhere.

The brunette popped open a can of soda. "Sure ya did. And do. Don't really think ya can compare the two anyways. The things that went down here weren't like the Dale where you live. Apples and oranges, babe."

"Aha!" They heard from the bedroom. Giles emerged with what else but a book, flipping the dusty pages quickly as he skimmed over them. He glanced at the two girls and smiled. "I think I may have found a way to help discover which energy will get you home, Buffy."

"Oh?" She didn't sound too enthusiastic. "What's that?"

"Well it uh--it's a spell of course, and I shall need a few things. One being the bones of a corpse at least one hundred years old." He explained matter-of-factly. "A skull preferably."

Faith tilted her head to the side. "You want us to go grave robbin'?"

He shrugged slightly. "It's not grave robbing. You can return it after I am done with it. Besides..." He trailed off. "...not like whoever is still using it."

Buffy chuckled. "That's one of the reasons why they called you Ripper, wasn't it?"

He blushed and cleaned his glasses with a handkerchief. "Be that as it may, there are quite a few mausoleums around Sunnydale so it should not be hard to find at least one skull in uh...moderate condition."

Swigging down some of her drink, Faith shook out her shoulders. "Aight, G. Might as well hit 'em up since we got nothin' better to do." Grabbing up her leather jacket, she headed for the door. "Ya comin', B?"

She nodded and pulled herself up, smoothing down her top. She slipped on her own khaki colored coat and they were off. They walked in silence for the most part towards the cemetery that was the nearest. In a town with more than ten, they didn't have to be picky. Which was disturbing in more ways than one.

The grass was soft underneath their feet as they entered the wrought iron gates and looked out at all of the many headstones. The moon was high above, mist rose up from the dew drop ground, giving the area a higher creep factor than usual. Buffy jerked when Faith hit her shoulder and started for a large mausoleum with the name Evans carved into the smooth marble. She mumbled and followed her, keeping her eyes alert for any vampires that may be around. She didn't see any fresh graves, but that never stopped the undead.

Faith forced open the heavy door and stepped in, waving gnats out of her face. She slid up beside the stone coffin and jimmied the lid to the side, peering down at some dead guy. Or what was left of some dead guy. "Least he doesn't smell like pork and beans."

Buffy fought off a long spider's web that had attacked her hair. "Why would he smell like pork and beans?"

"Dunno. But I've met a few corpses that had a bean like quality to 'em." She reached inside and yanked up the skull, then turned to the blonde and made it talk. "Wanna come over here and gimme some head? Get it...head..."

The blonde snorted at the lame joke, but laughed in spite of herself. "You should take that act on the road with Carrot Top."

"Ouch." She smirked, grabbing her chest. "Your words cut like knives, B."

Hehehe. B. "Uh, let's go. The sooner we get that back to Giles, the sooner I can eat those cookies he has hid in the back of his cabinet."

"Yeah, aight." Faith agreed. She made for the door, then cursed and pushed it closed the best she could. "We got a problem."

"What's that?" Buffy inquired slowly. "Vamps? Demons? Security?"

"Demons. Four."

"Why are they a problem? We kill them, remember? Punchy punchy, stab stab."

"These dudes are wicked rowdy, and they don't play fair. Best to just chill here and let 'em pass for now."

Buffy was shocked to see Faith wanting to hide from anything. Usually she just jumped in with guns blazing and decided the out come at a moment's notice. In fact she remembered the whole "if you don't come in after me, I might die" spiel she'd spouted off a few weeks after they'd met. And it couldn't be because she was scared--that just did not compute in her brain. Yet there she was, trying to wedge the lid off the crypt more so that she could fit into it.

"You're hiding? Am I missing something?" She asked, confused. "It's two against four. Two Slayers against four demons, we could kick their asses."

"Believe me B, the last thing I wanna do is be layin' in this crap. Trust me though, they aren't just regular demons." Faith replied as she dragged her over to the coffin. "Giles doesn't know the deal with 'em yet, but we know they hit like hurricanes and break bones on contact. I'd rather not have my jaw dislocated again til I can figure out the master plan." She crawled over into sarcophagus, kicking bones out of her way. "C'mon. Get in."

The blonde balked. "I am not gettin' in there. Eww factor aside, I'm pretty sure we should just try to beat them anyway."

Faith scowled, making lines appear between her brows. Not bothering to respond, she simply grabbed Buffy's arm and pulled her over the side like a rag doll. A struggling, bitching rag doll but a rag doll all the same. She then edged the lid nearly back into place and listened carefully as the demons stalked around outside of the area speaking in their odd language.

Buffy was--she was pretty sure she was mad but with the whole being on top of Faith, she was finding it hard to concentrate on just one emotion. She'd never been this close to another girl before, not even in a joking way. And it didn't help that her shirt had rode up, so she could feel the hot softness of Faith's stomach against her own. She knew that it was illogical to actually be slightly nervous. There was nothing to be nervous about! Couldn't a girl lay on top of another girl in a platonic way?

Yes. Yes she could if they were friends. Though she didn't know many friends who did that. She'd certainty never laid on Willow like that. She'd never laid on Xander like that either for that matter.

Grumbling, she tried to lift her head but the back hit the lid. "Oww..."

"Shh..." Faith shushed her, her hands on her lower back. "The whole point of hidin' is to not be found. Runnin' ya trap kinda defeats the purpose, ya dig?"

"Whatever." She whispered, trying to stay still. If she moved she could feel the material of the other girl's jeans rub against the crotch of her pants, and although it wasn't unpleasant by any means, she couldn't justify thinking it was right either. "Can't believe we are doing this. The Faith I know would be out there right now, putting her foot in their faces."

"No wonder she ended up in jail." The brunette remarked, her voice husky and low. "Chick needs to practice restraint. 'Sides you think I wanna be in here? Hell no, but I also don't wanna get my ass kicked again."

"So why am I in here?"

"See no reason to let you get yours kicked either."

The theme of the Twilight Zone suddenly popped up into her head, but she ignored it. It wasn't all that strange to think of Faith, any Faith looking out for her. Even after her Faith had killed Alan Finch and decided to skip town, she'd still stopped Trick from biting her. And in the whole dream scape thing, she'd given her the knowledge it took to bring down the Mayor. So it sort of proved that the emotion or ability for her to care was there, maybe just buried deeply beneath a host of other things. Rage and depression being at the top of the list.

Raising her head the best she could, she stared at the girl under her, tracing her face with her eyes. She'd always found her pretty; Faith had always had defined yet delicate features. Especially her lips. Her supple, pouty lips. And her eyes had always been so dark unless she was standing in sunlight, then they'd flare to a warm honey brown. She couldn't count the time those eyes had looked at her with nothing but trouble swimming around, though not always the bad kind.

Yet right now they were dusky, reflecting the glow of the small shaft of moonlight that just barely hit them.

"You aight?" Faith asked.

Actually, suddenly her mouth had went dry. "Um, why do you ask?"

"I can feel ya heart racin'." The brunette pointed out. "Claustrophobic?"

Buffy shifted despite the friction it caused, her lashes fluttering. "No..."

"Want me to get on top?"

"What?"

"Would you feel more comfortable on the bottom? Less squished..."

Brain. Refusing. To. Work. "No I--I'm good." Something was happening. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was here and it was happening, making the air in the small enclosed space even warmer. Thoughts she'd never had before were whizzing through her head, clouding her mind and dancing behind her eyes. Stupid thoughts.

She wet her lips slowly, the action drawing Faith's attention to them. They were so close...much closer than the dancing they'd did the other night. And there was no music to deflect the situation. Just body against body and flesh against flesh. Maybe it was the atomosphere or the threat of danger outside the door, in any case it was causing the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.

She blamed them for her next move, pushing shiny locks out of Faith's face and tucking them behind her ear.

"I think they're gone." The brunette said several seconds later.

"Who?" Buffy questioned. "Oh! The demons. Right."

Faith smirked and reached up, pushing the stone lid to the side to give them enough room to get out. Buffy all but leapt out and stumbled into the open. The younger girl jumped out, pulling cobwebs off her clothes. "Gotta say B, I don't usually get horizontal with a chick til she buys me dinner first."

The blonde tried to play down the butterflies in her stomach. "What makes me the exception?"

She shrugged. "Dunno really. Guess I got a hidden jones for lil blonde things. Anyway let's go before they double back."

Nodding, Buffy watched her walk out and then exhaled, trying to get her bearings. There had to be some kind of explanation for the wackiness that had just ensued. Yeah. The portal--it had did weird things to her. Things that she was totally gonna look into tomorrow.

After all, if Giles didn't have books on spontaneous and unwanted attraction, the magic shop probably did.

Chapter Five: Feelings Of Oddness

Tinkering in the kitchen the following morning woke Buffy from an interesting dream where she was on a beach in Hawaii, and there was a Faith on either side of her. One was rubbing suntan lotion into the skin of her back while the other fed her strawberries. As she wiped the sleep from her eyes and yawned loudly, she couldn't decide if it had been a good dream or something on the verge of a nightmare. She groaned, sitting up on the couch and pushing blonde strands of hair out of her face.

Carly stood at the stove dressed in lacy hipster undies and a matching camisole, her pretty black curls up in a perky ponytail. She appeared to be making breakfast, but it didn't smell like anything Buffy had ever had before. She watched as Faith sauntered out of the bathroom, dragging her fingers through her wet hair. She walked up behind the other girl and kissed the exposed skin of her neck, her hands sliding around her stomach and down towards her crotch.

Carly giggled and tried to wiggle to the side. "Faith...I'm cooking."

"Never stopped us before." Faith snickered, still nibbling. "Just spread ya legs and I'll do the rest..."

"Faith!"

"Carly!"

"Buffy!"

Both girls turned and glanced at the blonde, who cleared her throat. "Oh, I--I thought we were playing a game. My bad."

The brunette chuckled, slicking her tongue along her bottom lip. "Mornin', B. How'd ya sleep?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Pretty well. You?"

"Same." Her lips curled into a smirk. "Had a kick ass dream..."

Even though she didn't know this Faith that well, she totally picked up on the meaning that was hiding behind the simple sentence. It was all in the smirk--the I have a secret smirk that humans had perfected over the years. Sure Faith had a girlfriend who was standing no more than three feet away, but Carly didn't know about what had happened last night. The...incident...as she was going to start calling it. Or what she would call it if she thought about it anymore, which she so wasn't gonna do.

There was no reason to cause--cause there just wasn't. If they hadn't hid from the demons, there would have been serious pummeling. She could be all bruised and maybe even dismembered right now. Though whether she could be alive and dismembered, she was not sure. Yes. A lot of people survived without their members.

Wait...

Shaking her head, she folded her arms over her chest. "So um, I need to go to the magic shop. I guess I should be doing that then."

Carly smiled cheerily. "Aww don't you have time for breakfast?"

"I--I'll get a muffin on the way. I like muffins, they are muffiny." Buffy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thanks anyway." She then headed into the bathroom and closed the door, leaning against it.

Whenever something remotely wiggy happened to her, the wires connecting to her brain and her mouth always tended to short circuit. It really was a miracle that she had managed to stay alive this long, especially when she played up to the blonde stereotype. And yes there were days when she'd tripped while trying to chew gum and walk at the same time.

Wetting her lips, she turned on the shower and hoped there was some hot water left. She then stepped under the warm flow, letting it wash away her crazy and everything else that might be clinging to her skin. Try as she might, she couldn't get away from the feelings she'd had while stuck in that coffin. Those fluttery in the stomach feelings--if there had been a mirror around she wouldn't have been surprised if she'd discovered she'd been blushing.

From mortification of course...and nothing else.

Certainty not the sensation of that denim zipper rubbing against her private areas. Or how good she'd smelled, surprisingly more girlie than was to be expected.

"I take it back." She said to no one but the running water. "Being that close to Faith and not getting punched is way scarier."

Why it was scarier? Well that is what the Magic Box would help her find out.

~*~

Willow stood off to the side with a brow raised, her big eyes studying Buffy from where she stood, surveying the books. Her forehead was creased with lines as she read over the titles, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. It was obvious that she had no idea what she was looking for or looking at for that matter. Which made a little sense because the other Buffy had not been very good with Latin either.

"Um, need some help?" She asked after a moment.

The blonde itched at her cheek and nodded. "Uh, well, kinda. See I--I kinda have this...question."

"Wh--what kinda question?"

"Could--could say the portal have um, did somethin' to me?"

"Like what? You mean like psychically?"

"Uh...okay."

The Wicca chuckled lightly. "Well you seem to have all of your limbs and opposable thumbs. What's wrong?"

The Slayer glanced around slowly to make sure no one was listening. "Let's say hypothetically that, suddenly I were having feelings of oddness. And I'm pretty sure they weren't there before I took my giant leap. I--I mean I was never aware..." Trailing off, she shook her head. "I think I have a point. No I--I do. I guess I just wanna make sure I'm still normal."

"Do these feelings of oddness make you dizzy or have shortness of breathe?" Willow inquired, and the blonde shook her head. "Have you blacked out since coming here? O--or seen little green men trying to steal your underwear?"

Buffy blinked. "Um, no." She twiddled her thumbs. "I'm healthy and I have no boo boos. I wonder though if I'm still chocked full of sane like I was before."

The red head grinned. "Maybe if I knew exactly what you were talking about. Exactly."

A pause. "Erm. It's nothing. Just me being strange again. Haha strange Buffy."

Willow tilted her head to the side. "Okay. But if you ever wanna talk about stuff, lemme know."

The other girl nodded and watched as she descended the black staircase, back out onto the main floor. She sighed and mentally kicked herself for being such an idiot. She knew she could talk to this Willow about anything, just like the other one, but she wasn't sure how to even begin to brooch the subject. Gee, last night I had warm fuzzies for Faith just seemed hollow. That's why she had to prove it was some side effect of being thrown into another dimension. Yeah, that's it. Whose to say she wouldn't get the warm fuzzies for anyone that she was on top of?

Did that sound as wrong in reality as it did in her head?

Leaning over the railing, she gazed down at the few customers. At Anya frittering from person to person, telling them about the latest sales on chicken feet and different kinda herbs. Xander sat at the table with his feet on top, flipping idly through some magazine. Tara was being her usual helpful self, dusting off shelves and putting things in their rightful places, while Willow looked on lovingly. And Giles was behind the register, ringing people up and bagging their purchases.

'Sometimes it's hard to tell I'm not home'. She thought absently. 'Everything is just so...familiar."

That of course also made it slightly scary. Although she didn't want to think about what the others had said yesterday, she couldn't help herself. She was comfortable here, and the more comfortable she became, the less she would wanna go home. Why return when she had everything she needed here? She could be selfish and only have to worry about herself; not Dawn or anyone else for that matter with another Slayer already protecting the streets. Yes she loved her little sister with her whole heart, and would do anything for her, but temptation was not an easy vice to kick.

Especially when one day you just wake up with a sibling, and then another you wake up without one. It things feel like a dream.

It was horrible to think, but she couldn't stop the racing of her brain. As long as it didn't make her a bad person however, wanting that bit of something for herself. She figured it didn't since usually she was more or less alright with sacrificing for the greater good. That was just how the life of a Slayer was; the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few.

The bell jingled over the front door and she felt herself tense up. Speaking of temptation... Faith breezed in mid yawn, covering her mouth with her hand. She nodded to everyone inside and plopped down at the table across from Xander, commenting on what he was reading. Her expressive brown eyes glanced around as if she were searching for something, and as they lifted to the small balcony area, she grinned. Obviously she'd found it.

Buffy scowled before she could stop, but not because she was angry. Far from it actually. She scowled because that adorable grin made her wanna grin. Made her happy that Faith was happy to see her. Which was normal because shouldn't a person be happy when other people were happy they like, alive?

Tucking hair behind her ear, she turned and stared at the books. Books were good. They brought forth the knowledge and pushed away the dumb. They did not however, push away the other Slayer.

"Sup, B." Faith mused with an armful of said books. "Anya wants these back in the restricted section."

"Hi." The blonde nodded and began to put them away. Thank goodness for alphabetical order.

"Didja get what cha came here for?"

"Not really, but I decided not to worry about it for a while. It was just a fluke."

"Really? Cause...seems to me like you're a little amped."

"What? No. How did you get that from what I said?"

The brunette shrugged rather harmlessly. "You're a lil twitchy. Have been since last night."

She wasn't twitchy! She had never been twitchy. "I don't know what you are talkin' about."

And then something happened that she had never expected. Faith started to apologize. "Look, I'm sorry if I freaked ya out, aight? With the coffin and bein' close thing. I know not everyone is down with non opposite sex touchin', not that it was like that." She drug her full bottom lip from between her teeth. "I want ya to know, I wasn't like, comin' on to ya or anythin'."

"Oh." Was that disappoint in her voice? "I mean oh, I knew that. It was all about being safe and stuff."

Tilting her head to the side, she smirked. "Well, it wasn't all about bein' safe." Winking, she headed back down to join everyone else.

Ooh boy.

It was statements like that one that made Buffy a bit uncomfortable. And confused. It totally had a double meaning, which sucked because she didn't even know what the first meaning was. Also was she being serious or was it just a thing?

Curiosity kinda made her wanna find out. Common sense told her she should just leave it alone.

Yeah...like she was gonna listen to that kill joy.

Chapter Six: Who Are You?

Buffy stood in the doorway of her home, staring into the openness of her room. The sun was shining through the window, hitting off the pretty shiny things on her vanity. Mr. Gordo sat in the middle of her bed as happy as ever, leaning back against the pillows. The carpet was soft beneath her feet, and she dug her toes in, wiggling them with a small sigh. This wasn't real of course. There was no way she was in this house, because this house was occupied by a nice family with cute children. And she didn't remembering breaking in and kicking them out. So that could only mean one thing.

She was dreaming.

Since arriving in Alter Sunnydale, she hadn't dreamed of her home once. She barely thought of it if she could help it, because she knew dwelling would make her feel all mopey. And she didn't need to feel mopey when her comfort level was higher than it had ever been. This was her vacation, and who in their right mind thought of sad things on their vacation? So she was looking at her adventure in this dimension through rose colored glasses...so much so that she didn't wanna ever take them off.

It's just...everything was so easy here. For most of her life she'd had it hard, fighting off the forces of darkness sometimes two at a time. Here, she didn't have to do that if she didn't want. She could sit back on a tombstone and watch the other Slayer take 'em out. Odd; but she was perfectly fine doing just that for a while.

Smiling, she sat down on her bed and smoothed a hand on the white bed spread. "I miss you. You were so much more comfy than Faith's sofa."

"Ouch. I'm hurt." A husky voice chuckled.

Buffy glanced up, blinking. "Faith? Wha--um--whaaat are you doing here?"

The brunette shrugged as she strolled inside, looking around. "Dunno. I was dreamin' that I was like spinnin' records at some party, and then poof. Next thing I know I'm out in the hall." She tilted her head to the side. "Question; how do I know I'm dreamin' and where are we?"

The blonde sighed. "This would be a Slayer dream, but joint. And this house would be my house--at least back in my world."

"Usually my 'work' dreams are less...mellow." Faith smirked, shoving her hands into her back pockets. "And less coherent. Sometimes I'm fightin' a giant Elmo."

"You're disturbing."

"So I've been told. But dude, he's kinda scary. A little red monsta that sounds like a baby...just sayin'."

Buffy laughed lightly. "The last dream I had with yo--with Faith was about three years ago. She helped me defeat the Mayor."

The other girl nodded. "Good to know I'm not all bad."

Green eyes lifted, and for a moment she had a weird feeling. A sinking feeling. "N--no. I think the bad times were neck and neck with the good. But you know how things go, you always end up remembering the bad better than the good. Plus people tend to focus on their own pain rather than what someone else is also going through."

"Yeah, I get that. It's easier." Faith mused idly. "But, didja ever wonder what could've been? If she hadn't screwed up..."

"Honestly? I did, more now after seein' the other side of the tracks. And it wasn't just her who screwed up..."

"Mostly her."

"It takes two people to ruin what could have been...nice."

"Well yo, maybe you'll get a chance to make amends."

"I doubt she'd accept a 'sorry' from me. The last time she tried to apologize to me I told her I'd beat her to death."

"You're wicked rowdy. Time changes people though. So does prison."

"I guess. I don't even know where to begin..."

"How bout with, 'hey'."

"You think that would work?"

"Don't see why not. You could start with sorry I kicked ya ass all those times, but it lacks flare."

Buffy chuckled and stood, running a hand through her full hair. "I'll admit, I feel kinda guilty for gettin' along with you so well, when things between her and I were so...meh."

A slow snicker. "Heh, somethin' tells me that ain't the only thing ya feel guilty for."

The older female arched a brow, her cheeks growing hot. "Wh--I don't know what you are talking about."

Faith shrugged nonchalantly. "Aight. But cha will soon enough, if ya really don't."

It got very quiet all of a sudden, yet there was something distant in the air, a small static sound that burned her ears. She couldn't make out what it was, but it was defintely there. Humming gently in the back of her head like the soft melody to a song whose lyrics she couldn't remember. Slowly she looked up at Faith, meeting her dark brown eyes. They were watching her intensely, neither shifting or blinking. Her stance was neutral and non threatening, but her gaze held a deeper meaning that swam below the surface.

Swallowing hard, she wet her lips. "Faith..."

"Yeah, B?" The brunette inquired naturally.

"Is this--I mean are you...her?" Buffy asked, stepping closer. "My Faith?"

"Your Faith?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. Prob more so than you do."

"Wh--can we just not do the riddles thing for once?"

"But that's how it goes, ya know? That's how it always goes."

"No. It doesn't have to. Just gimme a straight answer please. Who are you? Or which are you?"

The brunette's lips curved into a slow grin. She reached up with her right hand and touched Buffy's cheek. "You ready?"

With a gasp Buffy jerked awake, nearly tumbling out of the hard wooden chair. She blinked and glanced around, surprised to find herself in the Magic Box. Then she remember that she'd come over to hang out with Willow and Tara while they researched spells. Afterwards they were all going to get hyped up on sugary drinks and then troll the mall for outfits they liked but couldn't afford. She must have fallen asleep while waiting.

Rubbing discreetly at her mouth to make sure there was no drool, she exhaled and frowned slightly. That had been quite the wig of a dream. But now she was seriously wondering just who had she been talking to? Faith or Alter Faith? Or maybe a weird match up of both? Though the end had totally fit with the whole 'how to defeat the Mayor' dream from years back. Except for the location and everything.

Usually her dreams were meant to tell her something. Or they were prophesying something that was going to happen. But there was no apocalypse on the horizon, no need to be on guard--that she knew of anyway. Plus the dream had been too mellow. No flashes of past deeds and such. They hadn't made a bed either, not that something like that really mattered.

"You okay?" Tara asked concerned, breaking her thoughts. "Bad dream?"

"Uh no. Just odd." She replied, shaking her head. "It was nothing."

"Yo--you sure? Not that I--I'm prying." The other blonde stammered. "Ju--just helping."

Buffy cut her eyes; no one was around. And she trusted her. "Well I--I dreamed about Faith." Noting her expression, she waved her hands. "No! It--not that kinda dream. We were in my old house and we were talking. There was nothing but talking going down."

Tara nodded, relieved. "What's strange about it though?"

"I couldn't tell if it was this Faith or, the one from my home." She admitted. "And I feel like I need to know. That it's important..."

"You could always ask Faith if--if she remembers anything."

"Yeah...I could. Maybe I will."

Jumping up from the table, she smiled at Tara. "Um, tell them I'll be back in a jiffy." She then hurried out of the shop, jogging down the street.

A few minutes later she was at Faith's apartment, stopping at the door to go over in her head what she was going to say. It wasn't weird at all, asking someone if they'd just shared a dream with you. Okay it was weird, but she was gonna pretend it wasn't. Over the years she'd gotten pretty good at repressing things. Hopefully if this went wrong, it would be another notch for the repressing post, right under her mom having sex with Giles on the hood of a police car. Twice.

Using the spare key she'd been given, she slowly unlocked the door and stepped inside. She'd expected to find the place either vacant or maybe with the girl in question training. Instead she found the girl in question with her head between her girlfriend's legs. And said girlfriend was loudly showing her enjoyment.

She gaped for a moment then snapped back to attention, quickly whirling around. "Oh God! I--I'm sorry. Sooo very sorry."

"Buffy!" Faith laughed, righting herself as Carly swatted at her. "No biggie..."

"No I--I--bad. I didn't see anything. Well I--I mean I saw something but it--I'm not sure what it was." Buffy babbled incoherently. The image was already digging itself a nice cushy hole in her brain.

The brunette snickered and climbed out of bed, watching as Carly pulled the blanket up and over her head. She was totally red and mortified. "Chill, B. It's just sex. You aren't the first person to walk in on me doin' the ditty."

"She's the first to walk in on me!" Her girlfriend groaned. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Buffy."

"N--no I should have knocked. Knocking it good, it keeps your eyes from wanting to kill themselves with a spork." The blonde cringed. "I--bye." She all but ran out of the room.

Faith grabbed up a t-shirt and threw it on over her black panties, then followed her. "Hey, really. Everythin's is five by five."

Hiding her face in her hands, Buffy managed a small smile at hearing those words. "Um, I--I just wanted to ask you somethin'."

"What's that?"

"Well now I don't think I need to. You obviously weren't like, sleeping a few minutes ago."

"Nah I'd been workin' out a little. Why?"

"Oh um, it--it's nothing. Weird Slayer stuff."

Tilting her head to the side, Faith ducked in front of her. "Like good weird or bad weird?"

Buffy avoided her gaze as if her life depended on it. "I--honestly I'm not sure yet. " She paused, her cheeks crimson. "I'm gonna let you get back to...um...yeah. Tell Carly I'm very sorry."

"Eh, she'll get over it." A grin. "Laters, B."

The blonde nodded and power walked to the elevator. She sprinted in the moment the doors opened and leaned against the back, sighing deeply. Why did things like this always happen to her? Not only was she like a demon magnet, she was also an uncomfortable situation magnet. Was it some cosmic joke that she wasn't aware of? Because if it were, it was so not funny! Her eyes had seen things they would never unsee again.

Carly naked.

Carly naked on the bed.

Carly naked on the bed with her back arched and her legs open. Her hand in Faith's hair.

Faith.

Faith half naked.

Faith doing things with her tongue that looked really--no!

"Supid brain." She mumbled, frowning. "If you don't stop it, I'll assault you with a Q-tip!"

Just one more! Her brain giggled. Didn't Faith have amazing breasts? Round and probably squeezable. Didn't cha just wanna squeeze 'em!

"That's it! I'm getting a lobotomy!" She shouted, just as the doors opened and an elderly couple filed in. Looking at her as if she were insane. She just stepped out and made her way outside, heading back towards the magic shop.

Focus. So it was more than likely that her dream had starred her Faith, which just confused her even more than she was. They had a bond but it seemed strange that such a bond could stretch across into an alternate dimension. Stuff like that only happened in bad sci fi tv shows, not real life. Not to mention, what was the point? Why now? She was happy and had a chance to be as normal as the fates would allow.

Grumbling, she stopped at the corner and watched the cars pass. Knowing Faith, it was her way of once again trying to screw with her head. Of trying to freak her out when she was more or less in a stably place. Cause really, what else could it be?

Maybe she wants you to come home. Maybe she misses you. Maybe she can tell your energy is gone and misses it.

"I thought I told you to shut up." She said through clenched teeth to her head.

Maybe she's in trouble.

"Okay! Where's an axe!" Stalking across the street, she busted through the doors of the store and headed straight into the basement. She was rummaging through the many boxes when Tara came down.

"Um ar--are you alright?" She inquired slowly.

"No. I'm looking for an axe so I can chop my head off." Buffy replied in total seriousness.

Tara just stared at her for a moment. "I--I don't think that is possible. You might need like, help."

The blonde groaned. "So it wasn't this Faith in my dream. I dunno..." Trailing off, she sighed. "Why would the other Faith--how could the other Faith be in my dream? I'm not even in my world anymore."

"Yes bu--but dreams are funny like that. They ca--can cross boundaries that normally couldn't be cr--cross because the brain is on a different frequency when you're sleeping." The witch explained lightly. "It--it's kinda like when you dream about someone who is dead. Who's to say they aren't dreaming or thi--thinking about you too."

"I guess. Why would she be thinking about me though?"

"Well you're both Slayers. Ma--maybe you being gone somehow affects her."

"How could I find out for sure?"

"Hmm we--well we could try a spell. If you want."

"What kinda spell?"

"A dream walker spell. It--it would allow you to enter her dreams, providing she is asleep of course."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Not usually. But as always with magic, things can become unstable."

Buffy nodded slowly and sat down at the dusty table, biting on her bottom lip. So the question was, did she wanna find out what was going on back home bad enough to risk becoming a head of cabbage? Curiosity had always been her heel thingie, or whatever it was called. Even if things were fine, that little voice would keep nagging her with the thought that maybe thingsweren't fine. That maybe some giant Godzilla monster was stomping around destroying everything in sight. Or maybe her friends were in danger. Or maybe Faith as in danger.

Do I care if Faith is in danger? The answer? Yes, she did care. She surprised herself by caring more than she previously thought.

She wasn't sure if it was repressed guilt or something else entirely, but she knew she couldn't just sit back with her feet up if the brunette somehow needed her. Any other time before falling into the land of Oz she might have, but there was no way she could now. She'd seen what life could have been like if the dice hadn't been against them. How they could have truly got along. She owed it to her to do all that she could to help, if that were in fact the case.

Glancing at Tara, she smiled. "What do I need to do?"

Patefacio Luminis

"I feel like we're being naughty. Doing something we shouldn't be."

Willow's eyes were round and bright as she watched her girlfriend scribble symbols on the clean floor with washable black marker. She was practically bouncing in her cute sandals.

Buffy stood off to the side with a small smile, her arms folded over her simple tank top. It was one in the morning and they were at the Magic Box...after stealthily stealing the keys from Anya so that they could get in. It seemed like the best place to do a spell where they needed peace and quiet. She just hoped it was a perfect time back in her dimension for Faith to be asleep. She wasn't sure when bed time occurred in jail, but she really hoped it was about nowish.

She'd asked Tara for help, and in turn Tara had requested that Willow come along since she was more the accomplished witch. At first she wasn't sure that had been a good idea, but she later supposed it didn't really matter. No one here knew her history with Faith so they wouldn't have anything snarky to say about her sudden interest in the other girl's well being. And if they did it's not like it would matter. She just wanted to know if she was alright.

Mostly.

"Okay so the spell will last as long as one of you are still asleep." Willow flicked with the lighter in her hands, trying to light the four candles that surrounded the large circle. "But you know how dreams are. Five minutes there is like an hour in the real world. So I--I'd talk fast."

"Noted." Buffy nodded, itching at her cheek. "Thanks for helping with this."

"Oh don't mention it. Any time I get to do magic, I'm one happy camper."

"So just so we're clear, this isn't dangerous right? I'm not gonna end up in a coma or something, am I?"

"No. If she wakes up in the real world, you'll wake up here and vice versa. You won't get trapped in a scary nightmare where your socks try to eat your feet."

The blonde arched a brow. "Good to know. I guess."

Tara giggled, tucking hair behind her ear. She straightened up and rubbed her lower back, glancing at her artwork. "Alright I--I think we're ready."

Wetting her lips, Buffy sighed and slowly laid down on the drawings, careful not to set her pajamas on fire from the candles. She clasped her hands on her stomach and stared up at the ceiling, running the different ways things could go in her mind. She hoped things didn't end on a bad note, with the kicking and the punching. And she really hoped those strange dream things didn't happen, like suddenly being in class naked or suddenly being on a date with that Jonathan guy.

"Choose a place where she feels safe." Tara whispered. "Somewhere familiar. It--it'll make things easier."

"Okay." The blonde closed her eyes. "Safe..."

The room fell quiet and Willow began the spell. "I call upon Hypnos, god of sleep. Take the deserving one and bid her entrance to your castle of forever night." She sunk to her knees beside her friend and picked up a brown bowl, dipping her finger inside the solution of crushed poppy flowers and oils. She waved them under the blonde's nose and continued as her eyes began to droop. "Morpheus, god of dreams, guide her through your endless maze to the one that she seeks. Dim lux lucis. Rector via. Tollo veil."

Yawning loudly as tiny lights started to dance in front of her eyes, Buffy felt a thick fog enter her mind. It sucked away her energy and the walls of the Magic Box began to fade and contract, throbbing like a sore thumb. The voices of the two witches grew deeper and then more distant as she was pulled away from consciousness into a black void of silence.

The apartment was nicely furnished, with clean hardwood floors and decorative paintings on the walls. Across from the cement stairs to the right was a bed with brass posts and two flowered pillows, with a large chest at the foot. Beside it was a small dresser with some odd sculpture on it and a single lamp with a yellow lamp shade. To the left was a small kitchen with a square green table and pale colored fridge.

Buffy was surprised by how much she could remembered about the place, considering she'd only been there for a few moments. Maybe it didn't matter though. Maybe the blanks filled themselves in now that the spell was in full affect.

At first everything had been blurry, and for a moment she thought she'd lose her non corporeal cookies. But then the edges evened out and she'd suddenly found herself standing in Angel's basement apartment. Or his apartment in her mind at least. Tara had said some place where Faith would feel comfortable, and considering everything Angel had done for her, it seemed like the logical choice.

She just hoped it didn't bring back bad memories.

Smoothing her hand along the banister of the staircase, she wet her lips and tried to calm down. She wasn't sure why she felt so...wiggy. There was no reason to but she couldn't shake the wig that was running up and down her spine. Maybe it was the whole dream aspect; too bad they couldn't just use a phone. Did they have outer-dimension calling plans? The bill would probably be through the roof if they did.

Here goes. "Faith? Ar--are you here?"

Silence.

She waited a moment, peeping into the elevator. "I um--I kinda need to talk to you. Again."

Silence.

"What is it with us and beds?" Asked a whiskey on the rocks voice after a few minutes. "We make 'em. They're around. Ya stab me in front of one; think they're tryin' to tell us somethin'?"

Buffy whirled around, surprised to actually be surprised to see her. Faith smirked up at her from her place on said bed. She was leaning back on her elbows, dressed in a white tank top and blue sweat pants. Beside her was the matching coat for the pants, and she noticed the numbers across the pocket.

"Hey." She smiled, folding her arms across her chest. "Didn't know if this would work. If you were asleep or not."

Faith shrugged slowly. "Ya caught me durin' our lights out. Kinda surprised ya summoned me and all that."

"Yeah well, you showing up in my dream out of nowhere made me wonder if everything was alright."

"Five by five."

"So why--I mean that was you right?"

"Yup. Not unless there is another me runnin' around out there. Oh wait, there is."

"You know about that, huh?"

"A little bit."

"How?"

"Dunno. Must be one of our weird connection things." The brunette chuckled and stood. "Freaky, ain't it? Makes ya wonder how many others are around. And which are the real ones." Cracking her neck, she rocked back on her heels. "Yet you seem to be right at home."

The blonde arched a brow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothin' really. Just, well ya know ya don't belong there." She replied matter-of-factly.

"What?" Buffy blinked in confusion. "Am I really hearing this? I--I mean here I am thinking you are in trouble and I'm actually worried, yet you're what? Jealous that I'm in another dimension? Or is it that the Faith 'here' is normal?"

"Didn't say I was jealous. Said you don't belong there." She tilted her head to the side with a little grin.

"Oh. Right. Alright then, enlighten me. Why don't I belong here?" The older Slayer asked with a scowl. "Why shouldn't I just hang up my six shooters and rest in a world where Buffy Summers isn't needed?"

"Cause Buffy Summers is needed in 'this' world." A pause. "You think evil's took a day off cause you ain't around? Think again sweetheart. If anythin' it's gonna step up its game, and I can't exactly do jack from behind bars. Not that ya Scoobs would want me to..."

Chewing on her bottom lip, the blonde waved a hand. "I'm sure Willow and the others can handle it. They're smart and she is very good with the magics now."

Faith appeared amused by that statement. "Oh, aight. Whatever you say, B." She strutted into the kitchen and peered in the fridge. "If you're sure and all..."

Frowning, the older girl grumbled. "Since when do you care about how my friends are doing? Once upon a time, you tried to kill them! And me. What? You spend a few days in the big house and suddenly you're Mother Teresa?"

"Wanna know what the definition of insanity is? Performin' the same task over and over, and expectin' a different outcome." The brunette recited. "I can't change the shit I did, but a part of me hopes I can make up for it. Someday. Givin' a damn bout the people I wronged seems like a good a place as any to start."

Buffy watched her for a moment, trying to figure if she were being sincere. "You wanna be Miss. Stable?"

Faith snickered and hopped up onto the counter, swinging her legs. "Somethin' like that." Then she smirked. "That's what you dig, ain't it? A more 'normal' me?"

Um... "Why would you say that? Wh--why would you even think that?"

"Dunno." Running a hand up through her curls, she sighed and changed the subject completely. "I miss you."

Okay that was not something she'd expected to hear. "I haven't seen you in like nearly two years, yet you suddenly miss me?"

"I didn't say I missed seein' ya. I said I missed ya." The younger female met her gaze. "Might surprise ya to hear B, but I can feel you. Even when you're like, not around."

"What?"

"You didn't know?"

"I--um--huh?" The blonde stammered. Nobody would know a thing like that!

"Not sure what it is, but bein' locked up didn't change it. I could sense somethin'. Now? Not so much." Faith revealed idly.

Buffy swallowed hard; was it possible to pass out if technically you were already out? "An--and you miss it?"

She gave a dimpled grin. "Yeah. It tingled."

Alright this was getting to wiggy, even for her. She needed to wake up and get back to civilization, because being stuck in her mind with Faith would surely drive her to the brink of crazy town. "I--um--well this has been fun. And I--I'm glad you're not in horrible pain. So I--I'm just gonna go..."

Faith jumped down and walked up to her. "Since when did you become a runner? Aren't cha the one who usually faces shit head on?"

Usually. "And what am I supposed to be facing here?"

"I'd think it was obvious." The brunette's expression was stoic. "Check the signs."

"What signs?" She asked, irritated. "I want you to explain to me with in depthy detail what 'signs' I should be looking for. No double talky crap."

"But that's how it goes, ya know? That's how it always goes." The other girl chuckled, bringing back her words from the earlier dream. "I can't draw ya a map, B. I'll give ya a hint...three libras."

"Hints are supposed to make sense. That doesn't make any." Buffy threw her hands up into the air. "You're useless."

Snickering, Faith glanced over her shoulder at something and then made her way back to the bed. She put on the long sleeved shirt and fiddled with the draw string to her pants. "You're all about control. You have no idea what it's like on the other side. Nothin's in control. Nothin' makes sense. There's just pain and hate, and nothin' you do means anythin'." Her voice was soft, just above a whisper. "Just tell me how to make it better..."

Her words cut through Buffy's brain like a knife, and that night on the roof flashed before her eyes. She stared at her fellow Slayer as different emotions swelled in her chest, confusing her even more than she already was. Reaching out a hand, she jerked when a loud clanking sound suddenly filled the air. The room filtered with bright lights and she shielded her face, shouting out the question of what is going on?

"Time to go make license plates for seven cents an hour." Faith remarked peacefully. "See ya around...B."

And just like that the dream was disappearing, breaking a part like misty rain.

Buffy woke up feeling sluggish with heavy limbs. She groaned and slowly rolled over, resting her face to the cold tiles of the floor. She had wanted to talk to Faith and hopefully shed some light on the Pandora's Box that was their relationship. Instead she was left with even more questions and even more feelings that she felt like she shouldn't be feeling. Just tell me how to make it better; those words hadn't meant much back then because she'd been consumed with anger and rage. She'd decided the moment that she walked in on Angel hugging the brunette that there was no possible way for her to ever make anything better.

Now, especially considering her new circumstances and seeing how Faith could have turned out, she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Well except that sinking feeling of dread that she usually got before something scaly or slimy tried to kill her. Funny how that sensation was totally the same to the ones dealing with mid terms and running out of her favorite lipstick.

~*~

"I did not have a lot of luck with the spell I performed. It became more of a uh--uh information source at best. However I did learn that the energy which sent you here is called spadsere and loosely translated it means 'walk'. Which I would think signifies a journey or some sort." Giles explained, his glasses hanging between his finger tips. "Could it be possible that the portal was not a doorway home, but a manifestation to a plane of enlightenment?"

Silence.

"Buffy, are you listening to me?" He cleared his throat. "Buffy?"

"What?" Snapping to attention, she blushed. "Oh um--yeah. Planes."

He sent her a perturbed expression. "Should I repeat myself?"

Shaking her head, she managed a little smile. "No I heard what you said. But I don't see how I--I mean this isn't--where's Buddha? Or Ghandi or someone in a robe with a bald head to explain..."

"Perhaps it does not work that way. Perhaps you were sent here to learn a specific lesson." He sat down on his couch. "I have been pondering what you told me about Glory, and it appears to me that a God with her power would be very much capable of creating the correct portal to send her home. The energy it takes to travel through dimensions is highly extensive--it should have killed you."

"That's what I said!" She agreed with him. "So--wait. You're saying that since I'm not dead this is some weird questy kinda thing?"

"I am saying that it may be possible."

"What am I supposed to learn?"

"That I do not know."

"Great."

"I will consult my texts. Do not worry, Buffy. I will uh--help you discover what it is if that is what we are dealing with."

Nodding, she ran both hands through her hair and lapsed back into staring into space. She already knew that death was her gift; that had been way more than enough knowledge for her. She didn't need to learn anything else. As a matter of fact, she'd be happy spending the rest of her life never knowing anything new. Why did the universe insist on the cryptic? Couldn't it just write down everything she was supposed to absorb and fold it between the pages of a fashion magazine? Or put it on the bottom of a yogurt cup! Problem solved.

The kick in the pants this time however seemed to be that her Faith knew the answer to the question. Hell she probably knew the question, but apparently she was not going to tell. Or couldn't tell if that were to be believed.

I was right. I am in hell. I'm in hell with none of my own clothes. She thought, rolling her eyes.

The front door opened and Carly breezed in, wearing a yellow sun dress and carrying a cotton bag full of food. She smiled at Buffy and headed into the kitchen, putting things away. "Giles I went on a grocery run for you while I was at the mall. I saw you were out of stuff."

"Oh um, thank you..." He said absently, now reading a thick book with a black stem.

She chuckled, sticking a box of Wheatabix up in the cabinet. As she opened the fridge and stuck in the carton of milk, she started to sing lightly to herself. "But I threw you the obvious...just to see if there's more behind the eyes of a fallen angel, the eyes of a tragedy..."

"That song sounds familiar." Buffy related. She stood and moved to the counter, leaning over it. "Vaguely. Like one you haven't heard in years, then you hear it and can't remember anything but one verse. Gah it's gonna get stuck in my head." Pausing, she thought hard but couldn't come up with anything about it. "Who sings it?"

"Oh, A Perfect Circle. It's a lovely song, kinda sad I guess. I heard it in the car on the way over."

"Ah right! I was thinking square for some reason..."

"Haha. I can see how the two would get mixed up."

"Don't mind me, I'm a spazz. Um, what's the name of it?"

"3 Libras."