Sliders: Part 7
by Fire Girl
As always these characters and some of the things they say belong to Joss Whedon. Except for Kayla, she's mine!
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Part Seven
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When they got there, Angel2 was no where to be found. They each went around a different side of the building. Buffy1 found nothing, but when they met at the back of the mansion, Angel1 said, "I found something."
They walked around to the side that he had covered. They came to a small doorway by a window. On the ground in front of the door was a pile of dust.
"I think he went in." said Angel1.
They went in. They soon realized that whenever they got lost, all they had to do was follow the dust. When they came to the lobby of the mansion, they found two doors. Both were shut, leaving Buffy1 and Angel1 with no choice but to split up. They divided up the stakes in the bag then went their separate ways.
Buffy1 crept through the hallway carefully. When she got to the end, she found that the door was slightly open. She stuck her head into the room and saw what she'd been looking for. Spike, Drusilla, and a number of other vampires occupied the room. They all faced a giant stone creature, which Buffy1 guessed was Acathala.
Buffy1 gasped at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Angel2 behind her.
"Hey," he greeted her, "When did you get here?"
"A few minutes ago. What are we gonna do about them?" she said, pointing to the room.
"I'm way ahead of you."
Buffy gave him a questioning look, "What did you do?"
"I sabotaged their spell. The portal will only open for a few minuets, just enough time to send everyone in the building to hell. So, we need to get out of here." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the other door.
"Wait." She said, "We can't go yet."
"Why not."
A door slammed in the other room. Buffy1 rushed to see what had happened. She slapped her forehead.
"That's why." She said.
Angel1 had been caught. Two vampires forced him into the room and threw him to the floor in front of Spike.
"Somebody's in trouble." Spike sang mockingly, "My friend, you're just in time for the fireworks. If you didn't know already, and I'm sure you did, I'm sending this world on a little trip, straight to hell. Would you like to help?"
"No thanks." Said Angel1 in a bittersweet tone, "I like this world just the way it is."
Drusilla, who had been smiling slyly ever since he'd been brought in, dropped to her knees in front of him and put a hand on his cheek. He tried to turn away, but she made him look at her. Her smile remained as she leaned close and whispered, "You've been a naughty boy. I'm going to have to reform you myself."
She kissed one of his cheeks quickly, while scratching the other. Angel1 held the side of his face. Luckily, the cut wasn't deep; it didn't bleed long. The same two vampires who'd brought him in, forced him to his feet and held him as Spike continued with the ritual.
Buffy and Angel2 watched this scene with unhappy expressions.
"What's he doing here?" asked Angel2.
Buffy narrowed her eyebrows at him, "What are you asking me for? You're him. Don't you know?"
Angel2 tried to say something but stopped. Finally, he said, "I hate it when you're right. So, what are we gonna do?"
"We're gonna raid their party. I'll do my best to distract them, but I need you to get Angel out of there. If he has any sense, he'll follow you."
"If he doesn't?"
Buffy1 was quiet. Her expression seemed to say "Uh…"
"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something. Knock him out if you have to, just make sure he leaves." With that, they silently entered the room.
She listened as Spike worked his spell and wondered how Angel2 had messed it up.
Oh well, she thought, it's about to get worse.
She walked up behind the vampire on the farthest right, and, with her sword, decapitated him. Within seconds, he was reduced to a pile of dust, leaving a gaping hole in the circle of vampires. All eyes turned to her.
Buffy1 flashed Spike a sweet smile, "Hi, Spike."
"Hello, cutie." Said Spike, folding his arms, "Where were you when I had time to kill you?"
"I was waiting for you at the graveyard. I don't even need to ask where you were."
"So, you found you're friend and, let me guess, you want revenge."
"Oh, I want more than that." She said pointing the sword at his face. He pushed it away, saying, "You think you can do this alone?"
She answered simply, "No."
Angel2 came from behind and hit Spike over the head with his fist. Spike tried to get up, but found it very hard when Angel2 kept hitting him. Eventually Spike passed out.
A vampire attacked Buffy1. She blocked his punch, then kicked his side continuously until he fell over in pain. She cut off his head, then moved on to her next opponent.
Angel2 was now having his share of problems. Without even seeing who he was, Drusilla had attacked him. When she finally got a good look at him, she jumped back. She looked over at Angel1, who was now loose and fighting his restrainers. She didn't understand what was happening, but she really didn't care either. She attacked again. He smacked the side of her head, causing her to hit the floor. He ran over to Angel1 and helped him with the vampires he'd been fighting.
The plan had been to run as soon as Angel1 was free, but they both decided that Buffy1 needed help. It seemed that every time she killed one vampire, there were two more waiting to fight her. Both Angels helped remove the clutter that surrounded her, by taking her opponents on, themselves.
When she saw that they were still in the room, she said, in between the punches that she was ensuing upon a vampire, "You…guys…should be…gone…by…now!"
Angel1 stood back-to-back with her, while he fought, "You're right, we should." He threw the vampire he'd been fighting into the one she was and added, "But we can't let you have all the fun."
"No." said Angel2, "She's right. You shouldn't have come here, in the first place. You both should-"
Before he could finish, Drusilla attacked him again. Buffy1 grabbed her around the waist and threw her off of him.
Spike, who just woken up, was about to help Dru, when he realized that were two Angels. At first, he held his fingers in front of his face and wondered exactly how hard he'd been hit. When he decided that his vision was correct, he ran to Acathala and pulled out the sword.
This caused the fighting to stop. All the vampires, with the exception of Spike and Dru, ran from the room. Dru looked at Acathala and said, "Oh, here he comes."
Angel2 snatched the sword from Buffy1's hand. With his free arm, he picked up Dru by her waist and dragged her to one of the many doors of the room. This one happened to be a closet. He shoved her in and locked the door.
Spike made no move to stop him.
Angel2 then turned to his friends and said, "Out, both of you." Buffy1 took a step towards him, "What are you-"
Angel2 stopped her advancement by putting the sword up to her throat, "Do not tempt me, Buffy. Just get out, now."
The look she gave him was something he knew he would never be able to shake. It was hurt and surprise, question and confusion. She hadn't heard him sound like that since the night she realized that his soul was gone. Angel1 put a hand on her arm, just above the elbow.
"C'mon" he said. He began to pull her from the room. She went willingly, but she kept looking back until the door was shut.
The sounds she heard through the door were enough to make her want to rush in. From screams to swords clashing, it was a non-stop action sequence that she wanted to get in on. Too bad, she couldn't if she tried. Angel1 had a hold of her by the waist, which she admitted was for the best. When the noises ceased, she put her hand on the knob to go inside. Angel1 put his and on hers. She thought he would try and stop her, but instead, helped her turn it.
The room was empty. The statue of Acathala stood alone in the room and the sword that had originally been in its heart now lay on the floor by its feet. Buffy1 picked it up.
"What happened?" asked Angel.
"I don't know." Buffy1 looked around at the many piles of dust in the room and tried to figure out if one of them could be Spike or Angel2. She didn't know. Angel could see the turmoil in her face. He put an arm around her and gently led her from the room.
They walked to Giles' house in silence. They were each trying to figure out exactly what had happened and both were disappointed to find that they had only theories.
When they got there, Kayla was there and Buffy1 was downstairs. She was sitting on the couch looking as good as new, but not quite feeling that way. She practically jumped up, when Buffy1 and Angel returned.
When she saw that Angel2 wasn't with them, she gave Buffy1 a questioning look.
"Where is he?" she asked.
Buffy1 explained, to everyone, what had happened. Buffy2 had tears in her eyes by the end.
"He's went in." she said.
"In the vortex?" said Willow.
Buffy2 nodded.
"How do you know?" asked Angel.
"I just know." She wiped away a tear, "Um… Kayla, am I well enough to travel?"
"You should be, but take it easy for awhile."
"Alright, I just wish I didn't have to go alone."
"You gonna be Ok?" asked Xander.
"I think so, but I need to get going. The portal will open in the same spot, it did originally and it's gonna open soon."
"You need a lift?" asked Buffy1.
Buffy2 shook her head, "No, it's right around the corner. I'll be fine."
She picked up the sword, "Can I keep this?"
"Uh.. well- yes, go ahead." Giles stammered.
"Thank you. Thank you, all."
She got up and headed toward the door. Buffy1 decided to go with her.
"I'll walk you." She said.
Buffy2 smiled, then proceeded out the door.
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"So they were from different worlds?" Xander asked as he walked down the hall. They had just arrived at school and this was the first time that the three had really had the chance to talk.
"Yeah. He picked her up as he went along. The thing is, their worlds were practically identical" Explained Buffy.
"So, she really thinks he went back into hell?" said Willow.
"She said that if he's out there, she'll find him."
"How long do you think it'll take?"
"I don't know. When I was walking with her, I couldn't thank her enough for coming here. I said that if she ever found him, to tell him that we're thinking of him."
"So how's Angel doing?"
"That's right, where's dead boy living now? " Said Xander.
"Didn't he ask you to stop calling him that? He's staying at Giles' house for the day, but tonight, we're gonna see what we can salvage from his apartment and move him into the mansion. As for how he's doing, he's- he's fine. Well, he's about as fine as Angel's gonna get. One thing that she and I agreed on is that Angel, no matter what the world, has a guilt streak a mile long. If the one from her world is in hell, I think he feels he deserves it and I think the one from here wants to join him."
"Why?"
"He's the one who stabbed the other Buffy. It was dark and she got in between him and the other Angel. It was an accident, but of course, he's taking it upon himself. As for the other one, he feels like he's the reason Kendra died. He said that if he hadn't left the room, then he could've stopped it."
"I guess no one told him that Spike would've killed him too." Said Willow.
"It's true. I mean, Spike wasn't alone. He couldn't have been if he was able to tie Kendra down, like that." Said Buffy.
They reached the library but didn't go inside. They decided that, for the time being, they would avoid it. There were police everywhere, all wondering about the mysterious girl, who had been brutally murdered in the school library and the strange phone call that had tipped them off.
They went into the lunch court and sat down. Giles found them a few minutes later.
"I suppose it's useless to ask how everyone is this morning." He said.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Said Xander.
"Last night was just one senseless tragedy after another."
"At least some good came from it." Said Buffy, "Spike is gone and if we're lucky, he won't find a way out."
Although the news was good, Buffy had a troubled look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asked Willow.
"You ever get the feeling that you're forgetting something? If I ignore it, now, I know I'll remember it eventually, but- Oh my God!"
"What?" asked Giles with concern in his voice.
"How much time do I have before school?" she asked quickly.
Giles looked at his watch, "Twenty minutes at most." She was already halfway across the room, yelling, "Xander, I need a ride."
The four of them piled into Xander's car. Within five minutes, they were back at the mansion. Buffy ran in and went straight to the room where the spell had been cast. She walked around to the doors, opening each one. When her friends walked in, she didn't even notice. Finally, she came to a door where she stopped.
"Damn!" she said as she stared into an empty closet, "She got away."
THE END
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