Portal

The alley has opened out around us. There is space to turn around, but not the time.

The two black cars file down the alley behind us, and they pull into the loading bay. They screech to a stop and both of the passenger-side doors open. The windows roll down, all manner of firearms poking through the open space.

"Shit," I whisper to myself.

"You drove into a dead end?!" The strange blonde chick is screaming at me again. Didn't we have an agreement?

"Can we not say the `D' Word please?" I say calmly, my eyes scanning the small space around us. Do I have the space? Guess there's only one way to find out. My palm closes around the butt of my gun as I pull it from its holster and flick off the safety. "Everyone better hold onto something." Both the electric windows descend and I have to take a deep breath. Buffy is looking at me terrified; I may have been compromised, but she's an innocent civilian who just sort of got caught up in all this. "Get into the foot weld. Keep your head down. It's the safest place."

Her tongue comes out to wet her lips and for a moment I think she's going to refuse. She stares at me for a long moment before unclipping her seatbelt and slipping down into the passenger-side foot weld.

Placing my firearm into my lap for the moment my fingers reach over and press play on the vans CD player. Can't think about it, just have to do it. The heavy guitar riff of Taproot's "Poem" filters through the speakers. "Hold on!" I use my shoulder to force the van hard into reverse and push the accelerator down to the floor. The van gains enough speed and I pull hard on the parking break turning the wheel round to the right. The bulky van J-Turns in the small space and I throw it into first gear accelerating towards our pursuers.

Quickly I reach into my lap and point the muzzle of my gun out of the driver's side window. I discharge four shots in their direction while I accelerate towards them.

They dive away from their cars and the front of the van slams into the one blocking the exit, spinning it around. I hear the side of the van knock loudly as it slams into the side. As I exit the alley onto the busy street, my foot presses against the break as I bring the van round ninety degrees. This time I don't pull away at high speed. I bring the vehicle to a complete stop, shifting my position in my seat and point the muzzle of the gun out of the passenger side window. Aiming down the barrel I squeeze the trigger three times lodging the bullets in the fuel tank.

Just one spark from my bullet hitting the bodywork and the Subaru explodes, pieces flying everywhere. Try following me now. "Reload, Pop." I hand him my spent firearm and gently pull away from the carnage, heading for the hotel, and away from all of this chaos.

The key to the hotel room slides into the lock and I open the door. Mom is doing her usual trick. Wearing a trench into the carpet, wringing her hands.

She flies to me the moment I step into the door, engulfing me in a hug, pulling my face against her breasts. "I was so worried about you." This is so embarrassing. Her voice turns stern as she addresses my dad. "And you, Harry. You let her drive!" Her voice raises a few octaves at the end of her sentence so she's effectively screeching down my already sore ear.

I push against my mom and exit her embrace before they start. "She is old enough." Damn right I'm old enough, but I am not getting involved in this discussion. Not this time. I turn on my heels and head for my bedroom. They don't even notice me leave; seriously these kinds of arguments are like foreplay to these two.

My back lands heavily on the bed as each of my muscles begin to relax. Safe.

My door opens with a creak and closes again just as quickly. I don't open my eyes. I need these few moments to just unwind. The bed next to me depresses and I pull a lung full of air into my lungs. One eye cracks open to find Buffy looking down at me. I'd almost forgotten about her. "Hey," I say immediately feeling lame.

She smiles tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Hey." She looks around the small room for a few moments. "Are all of your days this exciting?"

I have to chuckle at that. "Most of them." Last time I had a nice quiet day was Thanksgiving.

"I thought my life was hectic."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You dropped into the room though a green pulsating light and you think my life is exciting?"

"That was just a portal." Just a portal? Just a rip in space and time. "That kind of thing doesn't exactly happen every day."

"Right." I sit up, pushing my head to the side and cracking the muscles in my neck. She's fidgeting with her hands in her lap. "Spit it out."

"It's just..." She turns her gaze towards me "Why did you call me `B'?"

Why is that important? "At that moment, I couldn't remember your name." I answer honestly. "Just sort of slipped out."

"Oh." That almost sounds like disappointment. "It's just..." I cut her off by placing my lips on hers. I didn't even think about it. I didn't even know I wanted to do that, it just happened. Immediately her lips begin to move against mine. My fingers thread into her blonde tresses and I pull her closer against me. Her tongue pushes out and runs across my bottom lip.

I regain my senses and rip my lips from hers. "I'm sorry." Space, need space. I stand from the bed and lean against the wall. "I was acting on impulse; I didn't mean to do that."

"It's fine, Dana." She doesn't understand.

"No, no it's not." I run my fingers though my hair. "I'm trained not to act on impulse... but you just. Who are you?"

"I'm..." Her words are cut off as the air shifts around us. Picking up speed. What the fuck? "Looks like I have to go." She turns sad eyes toward me as the pulsing green light is back again, sucking her back through the barriers of space and time. I have no choice but to stand and watch as she is sucked into another dimension without answering any of my questions.

Just as quickly as the portal — as I now know it to be called — appeared, it is gone. And I'm left alone in the room.

My knees bend as my back slides down the wall. I hug my knees close to my chest.

How the Hell am I going to explain this to my dad?

Chapter 6: The New Girl

Author: Hera

Rated: PG-13

POV BUFFY

"Ouch!"

This time I land in the bushes. Head first. Someone up there must really hate me. I mean, come on! And I ruined my favorite jacket. This night just keeps getting better.

Oh, and I still don't know how to get back.

Great!

Where am I now? I don't even know my current location. I stand up and brush myself off. A plan would be great, but first I need to find out about this place. It could be a Hell Dimension for all I know. It definitely won't hurt to know where I am this time.

I look around. Nothing special. Just another small town, Sunnydale-style. Well, I hope not too Sunnydale-y, because Hellmouth is so not on my priorities list right now. But maybe I can find a witch to get me back.

Hey, maybe I'm in the alternative version of Sunnydale! In that case I'll find Will and she'll send me back!

Yeah, right, genius. This ain't Sunny -D and you know it.

I take in my surroundings and sigh. My inner Faith-voice is right. This town is not Sunnydale.

What? Don't tell me you don't have an inner voice that sounds like your former arch nemesis!

Well, I won't be able to gather much information if I just stay here all night. I guess I better get going... somewhere. Now where do I go?

I just stand here looking like a moron. Cemetery, maybe? Or high-school building. All evil things are down there. I should know all about it: burned down two schools, it's saying something.

Yeah, and that you and education don't really mix. Don't call you Blondie for nothing... Blondie.

Arghh!

Faith can really get under my skin even without being here. How does she do that?

Okay, actually it's me talking in Faith's husky voice in my head, but... She so would have said that if she was here. No, don't talk like that, Buffy. That last part sounded like she's dead. She's not dead. She's a fighter. I bet she kicked that thingy's ass and now is coming to my rescue.

And now I sound like a girl waiting for her prince to come and sweep her off her feet.

Whatever. I need to do something. Cemeteries? No, I'm in no condition to fight. After I fell through the portal (again), my landing wasn't exactly the best. I think I cracked a rib. Now where's that damned Slayer healing when you need it?

So cemeteries are out then. And no schools for me, either. So it leaves only... Local bars!

Why not? I can take a good look at people and hear some rumors that might help me.

And also have a beer and shake that ass off on the dance floor...

Shut up, Faith.

So here I am, standing in front of some kind of Mexican rodeo bar. I don't really feel like going in, but it was the nearest, and also the only decent bar, I could find. By decent I mean a place where all the Baddies come to. I still need info.

First thing I notice when I enter the bar, is its lack of clients. Like, seriously. There's no one here except for a black woman busy with a control panel, and Faith who's riding a mechanical bull and seemingly enjoying herself.

"Oh shit."

So there is another Faith. What's her name in this one? Jessie? Joe? Tru? I'd better ask her. But how do I approach her? `Hey, you don't know me, but I know you. Your name is Faith and no matter what you say, you are her. Now let's take a ride on that thing together, shall we?'

Whoa!

Where did that last part come from?

It's all Faith's doing. Just look at her. She's practically raping the poor thing. The way her body rises up and down in sync with the bull, the way she bites her lip and throws her head back a little... It's so...

Admit it girlfriend. You want me, and you want me bad.

I choose to ignore that annoying voice inside my head and just concentrate on Faith. I mean concentrate on how to talk to her. Maybe she knows something. Even if she doesn't have a clue about my Faith, I could always ask her to show me around or something, and oh my God did I just say "my" Faith?!

Told ya.

Whatever! What I meant to say was "Faith from my universe." So that doesn't count.

I need to be careful and not let my guard down. She could be an insane Faith who kills people because they look at her wrong. Or not Faith, but still insane. And if I want to make a good first impression, I need to check myself — which means I need a mirror.

I tear my eyes away from Faith's slender form and head to the restrooms. Time to make myself presentable enough so this Faith look-alike doesn't run off screaming.

I enter the filthy room and cringe. God, this place smells disgusting. Don't people in here take care of their hygiene at all? I don't think I can stand the stink any longer.

I turn and am about to leave when something catches my eye. A little pretty blonde teen with hazel eyes is staring at me... from the mirror.

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

I slowly come closer. Yes, that is definitely Buffy from high school. An innocent face, a lighter shade of hair... I'm back to being my 17-year-old self.

Jesus Christ. I need to get out of here. I need to find this Faith and ask her some questions, like, now.

I even talk like my young self now! Okay, don't panic. Just go find that girl already.

When I leave restroom, Faith is nowhere to be seen. This is bad. I don't even know her name, and I'm too tired to look for her. And who knows where she'll be tomorrow? What if it was her last day in this town?

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a piercing cry that comes from the street. I forget about my injuries and run out of the bar, hurrying to the source of the sound. What I see makes me stop dead in my tracks.

Faith... no, a girl that looks like Faith, is kneeling on the ground and clutching her ribcage. She's crying and whispering "God, no. Please don't." over and over again. She looks so vulnerable and exposed... And she looks like Faith. Like it's Faith's big brown eyes that look at me, begging for help. Like it's Faith who is hurt and sobbing. The cause of her fear, a big blue-skinned demon, is slowly making its way towards her. It's smiling, if something as ugly as this could be called a smile. It `s enjoying itself way too much.

And it makes me angry beyond belief.

I can feel The Slayer in me growling. For a moment I just freeze, thinking of ways to defeat this ugly thing. And then all Hell breaks loose.

Fuck rational thinking. I lash out, punching in its nasty mug. It sails through the air and lands in a pile of wood, looking dazed. Then it sees me casually approaching with a smile. He snarls at me, but more out of fear than anything else.

Because I'm in a full Slayer mode. And I look really scary when I'm letting my inner Slayer free. Faith told me that once.

More than once, Twinkie. Cuz usually that scary smile was for me.

I'm going to kill that stupid thing for... well, for being an evil creature of darkness. Duh.

I walk up to the freakish demon and prepare myself for a good long fight. Except that there seemingly won't be any fight. That sneaky bastard already made his escape.

Wait. If that thing fled, then who's trying to tear my head off?

OW! That shit hurts!

Damn it! The demon didn't run away, he hid and then snuck up on me from behind. And now he's holding me in the air by my neck. Next thing I know I'm being tossed away. Ironically enough, I land on the same pile of wood where I threw that thing before. Not sparing me so much as a second glance, it strolls off to the girl who was stupid enough to stay here all this time. Oh hell no, you ugly moron. I'm Buffy Summers. And you are in so much trouble.

I shakily get up and run to the demon. I jump high in the air and tackle it to the ground. And then I just let loose.

I'm beating it up like it was the demon that caused it all. I beat him for me being stuck God-knows-where, for Faith who was left behind possibly bleeding to death, for the girl that was sitting there horrified... I even throw in a punch for the poor Haiti people. Yeah, I'm mad.

It stopped breathing long ago, but I stop only when I see that I'm beating pieces of bones and the ground. Breathing heavily, I try to stand and walk to the girl, but I fall on my ass as soon as I attempt to get on my feet. Guess I got carried away a little bit.

Or a lot.

My whole body is throbbing with aftershocks of being thrown and from the beating I gave. My head feel heavy and big. I decide not to try anything and just lay here for a day or a hundred. But somebody has other things in mind. Because I'm picked up and cradled in someone's arms.