Buffy awoke lazily as the mid-morning sun shone through her window. Sighing, she sat upright and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She stayed still for a few moments, eyes still closed. Her thoughts felt fuzzy, but she passed it off as not enough sleep. She stretched as she let out an irrepressible yawn. She opened her eyes fully and looked around her room trying to decide whether she should go back to sleep or get up. Suddenly without warning she leapt from her bed and with fear looked more closely at the room around her.
"What the hell is going on?" she said in a whisper.
It sure looked like her room. It was the same space and shape just ... different. For one thing Buffy had never seen so much black in her life. From floor to ceiling, every inch of every wall was covered in midnight black wallpaper. The only shred of color in the room was the blood red drapes that hung over the windows. Taking a full 360 she noticed that all the furniture was in the exact same place as the furniture in her room was placed. A rack on the wall caught her attention. From it hung a plethora of hand weapons. Stakes, knives, small axes - even a few garlands of garlic and vials of holy water. She looked to the amour beside the rack. She had to know what was inside, and she had a feeling it wasn't filled with stuffed animals. What kind of person was she dealing with? She opened it only to find it filled, every space and drawer, with even bigger weapons. That kind of person, Buffy thought to herself. She closed the amour, then grabbed a small axe that hung from the rack. Whatever was going on she wasn't going to be completely helpless. She made her way to the door, then stopped suddenly when she reached the doorknob. She looked down at herself, in her white tank undershirt and flannel pajama pants, with a look of annoyance. Clothes would also be useful, Buffy thought. She locked eyes on the closet, and threw the axe in her hand onto the bed. Beggars can't be choosers. She rummaged through the small choice of clothes that waited in the closet before finally deciding on a simple gray shirt with khaki cargo pants and tennis shoes. Not her first choice in daywear, but it was this or the ever-stylish camo. She'd take her chances on the former. After pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail, she grabbed the axe that lay on the bed and happily left the room.
Buffy soon found that the rest of the house was no more different than her room. The big things were the same. Rooms and furniture were both where they had always been. It was the details that made Buffy's usually bright and welcoming home dark and foreboding.
To Buffy's dismay, she couldn't find her mother or Dawn anywhere in the house. She could tell by the un-messy bed that Joyce hadn't slept here last night; and from the look of the trash-covered living room, she hadn't been home in a while. Dawn's room was in its usual mess, but it looked like she had been there recently. The fact that she was out, most likely alone, worried Buffy the most. I don't like this Buffy thought as she padded her way down the stairs and out the front door. Whatever's going on, Giles will know what to do.
* * * *
The only thing normal about the Magic Box, Buffy noticed as she walked through the front door, was that is was open. The cast of darkness that had fallen over all of Sunnydale was apparent in the shop just as it was in Buffy's home. There walls were the now common black, and the usual stock of magic supplies were much more icky and gruesome. When no one came at bell that sounded as the door opened, Buffy called out.
"Hello? Giles?"
She walked slowly, cautiously down the steps and towards the counter, laying the axe beside the cash register. As if on cue a man popped out from the back storage room. Buffy jumped slightly both from the surprise and the sight of the man before her. Physically it was Giles, but he was dressed completely different than the Giles she knew. The first thing that caught her eye, was the tacky golden earring that hung from Gile's ear. She noted his loose fitting jeans and red t-shirt covered by a leather coat. His glasses were gone, which made him look even more disturbingly unlike his normal self.
"Buffy?" Giles said almost as if he was as surprised with the way Buffy looked as she was with him.
"Hey what's with the new look? Not trying to get all hip with the youngsters are ya?" Buffy smiled.
Giles looked at her confused, "I haven't the slightest idea what you’re talking about. If your going to prattle off nonsense, you might as well leave." Buffy paused a moment before continuing their conversation. Usually Giles found her jokes humorous. He never got mean about things, even if he was a little annoyed with her.
Trying to ignore the uncomfortable situation, Buffy went on as if nothing had happened. "I just wanted to stop by, check out the what the sitch is with the new and not so shiny Sunnydale. Any ideas about what's going on?"
"Are you quite sure you're feeling well? The only thing different I've noticed today is the way you've been acting. Even if there was something going on, I'm shocked that you would come here to ask for help." Giles scowled at Buffy, turning away to begin work on something behind the counter.
"Giles --" Buffy was cut short by the sound of the bell ringing. She looked up to see a trio walk through the door. Like Giles, the three looked like Willow, Xander, and Anya but not the way Buffy knew them. All three were dressed in various black leather apparels and had similar dark looks on their faces.
Noticing that Tara wasn't with them, Buffy silently hoped that Dawn was out with her. Dawn out alone bothered Buffy. Dawn out alone in this Bizzareo Sunnydale bothered her even more.
"Hey guys." Buffy said making her way to Willow, as the others took a seat at the table in the middle of the room. "Will, Have you seen Dawn this morning? I noticed she wasn't in her room." Willow gave Buffy a confused look; similar to the one that Giles had given her. "What...is Dawn ok?" Buffy said, trying to decipher Willow's look.
Willow pushed pass Buffy making her way to the ladder that led to the loft where the serious magic books were kept. "How would I know? I wouldn't be surprised if she was halfway to LA to find your mom after you kicked her out last week. But then again, I don't make it a habit of caring about what happens to you or your family." Buffy was shocked silent. Not only was Dawn and her mother "supposedly" in LA, but what was up with everyone's new 'tude. If had been anyone else, Buffy would have ignored the hurtful words. But coming from the people she loved, especially Willow, cut her deep. Buffy cleared her throat, trying to think of what to say. Something told her that she better not test her luck with these people.
"W-where's Tara?" Buffy realized what it must have felt like to be Tara the moment she mentioned her name. Alone in a circle of people, afraid to speak up because of the looks that you received. Everyone, except Willow, looked at her as if she was worse than grit. They said nothing, but she could feel their animosity. "Not that it's any of your business, but was acting weird this morning and split. Didn't say where she was going or when she'd be back." Willow said, as she climbed the ladder, not even bothering to look at Buffy.
Buffy held back tears as she walked to the back of the store toward to training room, thankful that everyone's eyes were now off her. As she reached for the door, she heard a small sound. "Pssst, Buffy." Buffy looked to the door beside her that led to the back alley. Her eyes caught Tara peeking out from the crack of the door.
"Tara, what the..."
"Quick just come with me. Don't worry." Tara reached out and grabbed Buffy's arm gently guiding her through the doorway to the alley, shutting the door behind her. Tara smiled slightly at Buffy, "Good to see a friendly face." Buffy smiled back. She had never been more thankful to see Tara in her life. The moment was cut short when Tara suddenly took off walking, and Buffy did her best to try and keep up. She noticed that Tara was wearing a dark tie-dye shirt with a long gray skirt. Like Buffy, Tara had chosen an outfit unlike her normal choice of clothes but not drastically different.
"Wait, where are we going?" grabbing her arm, Buffy stopped Tara. "Tara, I need to know what's going on?"
"W-we can't talk here. I'm taking you back to your place. There's no one there to, w-well..." Tara lowered, cutting herself off and turned to continue her walk. This day can't possibly get any stranger Buffy thought to herself as she jogged to catch up to Tara.
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