Chapter 3

“You really shouldn't walk around alone at night in this town.”

Buffy smiled patronizingly at the chivalrous young man who’d suddenly appeared at her side. “Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“Nuh-uh. My mother raised me better than that. Where are you going? I'll walk you.”

“Oh, ah...” Buffy briefly thought of lying, but she figured she could just ditch him somewhere along the way. “I live on Revello. That's awfully nice of you.”

“I’m Tim, by the way. You’re Buffy, right? I think we had a class together last semester.”

She smiled at him, in that way people smile when they have no idea what the other person is talking about, but feel they should play along anyway. “Oh, did we?”

“It was art history. It’s okay if you don’t remember me. I mostly sat in the back and slept.”

“That pretty much sounds like me, too.” She glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder and quickened her pace.

They walked on for a little bit, Tim completely oblivious to the way Buffy kept scanning their surroundings, always tense and ready to spring at any moment. Without warning, she pulled him into a dark alley. “Let’s stop here for a minute.”

“What? We really shouldn’t stop…”

“Shh!” She pressed him against the wall so that he was hidden in the shadows. “I heard something.” She crept to the alley entrance and peered out. No sign of anyone, human or demon, in either direction.

“See anything?”

“No one.”

Tim breathed a sigh of relief and willed his heart to slow down to normal. “Good. Okay, then –”

Buffy silenced him by slamming him against the wall again, this time with more force. He couldn’t see very well in the dark, but he thought he detected a yellowish glint in her eyes.

As she leaned in toward him, he realized the pretty girl he’d been escorting had morphed into a fanged, lumpy-foreheaded monster and he screamed. With her hand still planted on his chest, Buffy sighed and tilted her head girlishly. “I was going to say, ‘So there’s no one to hear you scream,’ but you probably wouldn’t have listened anyway.” She reached up and gripped his throat until the scream faded to a whimper.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” From the alley entrance, Buffy stared at her vampire double, disgusted at the sight. Instinct told her to attack, but she hesitated, struck by morbid fascination.

Vamp Buffy suffered from no such paralysis. She flicked her wrist, breaking the boy’s neck, and let him drop to the ground.

Buffy flinched at the noise and a strangled sound escaped her. She fought down the bile that crept up into her throat and tried to focus on the demon at hand, even though she was looking at herself.

“Who the hell are you?” snapped Vamp Buffy.

“Buffy. The Vampire Slayer.”

“That's funny. I'm Buffy… the Vampire.”

“Glad to see I'm still quippy, even when I'm dead,” Buffy muttered. Then, louder, she said, “You're also in the wrong dimension, dumbass.”

“You know, I thought something seemed different.”

“Yeah, well, now I'm gonna have to kick your ass.” Buffy planted her feet and put her hands on her hips.

Vamp Buffy laughed. “I'd like to see you try. I already wiped the floor with your vampire.”

Oh, was that the wrong thing to say. Buffy’s face turned red with anger. “He is NOT my vampire!” She ran toward her double at top speed and tackled her to the ground. She got in a couple good punches, perched on the vampire’s chest, but then she was thrown off and slammed into the side of a building. She heard something crack, and she wasn’t sure if it came from her body or the wall. Vamp Buffy was on her again before she could even stand up, and she went catapulting down the alley and smacked into a dumpster.

“Is that the best you can do?” Vamp Buffy mocked her. “I'm ashamed of myself!”

*****

Spike skidded to a stop at the entrance of the alley and Willow nearly slammed into his back. He’d traced Buffy’s scent this far, and he spotted the two of them going at it in the alley. He winced as he noted the body slumped on the ground. And from the looks of things, their Buffy wasn’t faring much better. They had to act fast or Vamp Buffy would kill her.

Willow glanced at Spike. “You sure you’re up to this?”

“Don’t worry about me, Red. You work the mojo; I’ll get Buffy out of here.”

They watched as the vampire threw Buffy against the wall again. She crumpled to the ground and lay there, unmoving.

“Now, Red!” He hurtled himself into the alley, his black duster flapping behind him. He caught the attention of Vamp Buffy, who, at least for the moment, halted her attack on Buffy.

“Come back for more, lover?”

“Came for my girl.” He squared off with her and waited, hoping Willow would come through with the magic before the vampire decided to attack him. Just as she started to lunge at him, the dumpster came flying through the alley and pinned her against the wall. Spike quickly scooped up the unconscious Buffy and ran for the alley entrance. The dumpster narrowly missed them as it careened back across the narrow passage when Vamp Buffy shoved her way out.

Spike reached Willow and turned back to check on Vamp Buffy, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “’Nother spell would be good about now.”

“Working on it.”

Willow muttered some quasi-Latin, gathered energy between her outstretched hands, and then hurled it at Vamp Buffy. Just before it hit her, it flattened out, forming a shimmering transparent force field all around her. She threw herself against it in a bizarre parody of the mime-in-an-invisible-box routine, but she couldn’t get out.

Spike nodded approvingly. “How long will she be stuck like that?”

“Not sure. But I’d suggest running fast.”

*****

Dawn peered out the window for about the eighty-seventh time since Spike and Willow had left. “What’s taking them so long? They should be back by now.”

Giles pulled her away from the window and into a chair. “There’s nothing we can do but wait, so let’s just try to be patient.”

“I could try a locator spell,” said Tara.

“And then what?” Anya replied. “Go after them? Good, then we can all get killed.”

Xander sighed. “Ahn, no one’s getting killed.” After a beat, he added, “I hope.”

“Oh, great, it’s the optimism squad,” Dawn grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Xander jumped up off the sofa. “I’m gonna make a sandwich. Does anyone else want a sandwich? I’m making sandwiches.” He started to head for the kitchen but stopped dead in his tracks and spun around when the front door swung open.

They all heard, “Buffy!” followed by a loud grunt as Angel ran full-force into the invisible barrier preventing him from entering the house.