jesterladyfic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jesterladyfic) wrote2008-11-19 07:40 pm
jesterladyfic) wrote2008-11-19 07:40 pm
Half a Stranger: Chapter Two: Nothing of Myself in Me
This chapter's title comes from Crawshaw.
Chapter Two:
Buffy could feel her head pounding. She wondered what demon had finally got the jump on her. Spike must have gotten her home. Great, now he’d be all proud of himself and smug about her needing him. She tried to assess any wounds but her body wasn’t working properly. Everything felt wrong. She started to consider that something might have happened that wasn’t your run-of-the-mill demon attack.
“Veronica!”
Somewhere she could hear a male voice calling in desperation. She wanted to
tell him to go away because he was messing with her inner analysis of the situation.
It was probably Spike, that or Giles being all worrywart-ish. Yet, it was definitely
not British, not even familiar.
Buffy fluttered open eyes that felt strange and tried to focus. She was
lying on the floor of what looked like a small apartment. A guy she didn’t recognize
was kneeling over her, stroking her cheek.
“You’re awake.” He sighed as if in relief. “Mars, don’t do that to me!”
“Mars?” she asked slowly. Was he talking about chocolate bars?
“Yes, you, Veronica Mars. What happened? I’m either taking you to the
doctor or calling your dad. Your pick.”
“Veroni-who? My dad’s in Spain. Shagging his secretary.” Where had the
British slang come from? She was spending too much time with Spike. Had to put a
stop to that. Evil vampire and all. In fact she wanted to find him right now and
tell him so.
She could feel more strength flooding her body and she was able to sit up and
take in her surroundings. Her mind started to clear. Apparently something
Hellmouth-y had happened.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in your house.”
“Who are you?”
A flicker of hurt crossed his face followed closely by concern.
“It’s Logan. Your boyfriend. Remember? Tall, rich, witty, a jerk?”
“My boyfriend left in a helicopter. The jerk part sounds right…” Her voice
was different, it was not right. Something was wrong.
Her hands were wrong. She wasn’t strong. Her Slayer strength was gone. Her
movements were slow, clumsy.
“Get me a mirror,” she demanded.
He raised his eyebrows, but did as she asked.
“Ego need more reassurance?” he said upon his return.
Buffy looked into the mirror and into the face of a blonde girl she’d never
seen before in her life.
“Must be Tuesday,” she said and sighed.
***
Veronica felt like she’d been hit with a sledge hammer. Not that she'd ever been hit by a sledge hammer, but they seemed to be the thing that people always felt they were hit by. She appeared to be recovering fast. It was amazing considering the hit she appeared to have taken and now she felt incredibly strong. But her head was fuzzy and she was having a hard time focusing.
“Logan,” she called out.
She wondered if he was okay. Had someone followed them home? In her moment
of passion had she forgotten to lock the door? Was it a PCH drive by or something
else?
“Sh, luv, you’ll be all right. Get you home all snug and let the Watcher
figure it all out.”
“Watcher? When did you get a British accent?”
Veronica opened her eyes and focused them.
A blonde man in a black leather coat was leaning over her. It was dark and
she was in a cemetery.
She’d been kidnapped. That and her voice didn’t even sound like her.
“Who are you and what do you want?”
“Buffy, it’s Spike. Not your favorite person in the world, but I thought I
ranked something above ‘not even memorable.’ What happened?”
“I don’t know anyone named Spike. Who’s Buffy?”
“Great, Slayer can’t remember. Who’re the bloody Scoobies gonna blame? The
usual Spike is who.”
Spike stood up and Veronica backed up against a tombstone. It was creepy but
solid. She glanced down at her legs. They were shaped funny.
“Slayer? Who are you working for?”
“No one’s the boss of me, pet. Come on then, give us your name. Who do you
think you are?”
“My name is Veronica Mars and I don’t care who you are because if you don’t
let me go back to my house I will make you wish you’d never been born.”
“Really?” He seemed to genuinely enjoy her anger. “How you plan on doing
it?”
“Everyone has secrets they don’t want exploited. I’m very good at finding
them, my bleached friend.”
“Take you a long time to dig up all my secrets. Might not like what you
find. Something tells me you don’t know what kinds of things I’m capable of.”
“I’m not easily shocked.”
His eyes seemed to glow golden for a second and that made her start, but then
he shook his head and muttered something about going soft.
“The name’s Spike.” He stuck out his hand, but she didn’t take it.
Seemingly unconcerned, he continued his introduction. “See, you look uncommonly like
a girl I know. She was with me a second ago actually. I’m not going to hurt you; I
just want to figure out what happened. If you’d come with me maybe we can suss it
out. I know some people who specialize in this sort of spell rubbish.”
“A spell? Uh, could you be more archaic?”
“Much more.” He grinned, showing his teeth. “What do you say? Shall we be
off?”
Veronica didn’t like where this was headed, but she didn’t know what else to
do. She slowly stepped forward, keeping stride with the man and watching him like a
hawk.
“Where am I?”
“Restfield Cemetery, Sunnydale.”
“So, I’m still in California?”
Veronica felt odd. Her body was light and super sensitive. She could hear
and see and her entire being was ringing with health. She felt exhausted, but able
to take on the world. It was a strange feeling and she’d never felt it before
physically.
“Right you are, ducks.” Spike startled to whistle then stopped as he seemed
to sense something. “Bloody hell. Just what I need. Move, pet.”
Something jumped over a tombstone and launched itself at Veronica. She
reached for her taser, but it wasn’t there. Spike ran in front of her and started to
fight her assailant. He was amazing. Veronica watched in awe as he twisted,
punched, dodged and finally pulled out a wooden stake, plunging it into the heart of
the…vampire? A dust cloud exploded where her attacker had been.
She sank back against a tombstone. Spike, whose face seemed oddly distorted
for a second or two, had turned back to her and appeared concerned.
“Okay then?”
“What was that?” She tried to keep her voice even.
“Vamp. Barely out of fledgling status too.”
“I’m taking a lot on faith here. And I don’t do faith.”
Veronica didn’t get scared often. She was tough, but she was seriously
frightened.
“It’s okay.” Spike looked like he could sense her fear and probably hear her
heightened heartbeat. Don't ask her how she knew that. “Let’s just get on to
Buffy’s house and call her Watcher. It will all make sense soon.”
Veronica followed him warily, grateful when they passed out of the cemetery
and into normal streets. She decided she was dreaming. It was the only possible explanation.
***
“I’m calling your dad.” Logan walked across the room to grab the phone.
Buffy leapt to her feet to stop him.
“No! The phone! Of course, stupid Buffy.”
She stopped when she saw she was confusing him. She needed to figure some
things out, but without frightening the natives, as it were. She needed to start
thinking.
“Veronica, you’re seriously worrying me. I’m not happy about it.”
He was sweet, protective, sensitive. Why couldn’t that happen to her? Of
course she’d probably run him off too.
“Um, I just want to call him myself. Maybe I could do it with some privacy?”
“Do you want to use your room or do you want me in there?” he asked with a
half grin. “I promise not to go through your underwear drawer.”
“Ew much?”
Buffy stifled a smile and headed down the hall to the only possibility for a
girl’s bedroom.
She quickly dialed her phone number, just to see if it even existed.
“Lo?”
“Spike! What are you doing at my house?”
“Who the blo-Buffy?”
“Yes! Okay, so I’m not in bizarro world.”
She could hear him breathe an unnecessary sigh of relief after hearing of her
safety.
“I’m here with some bird in your body. You just collapsed in the cemetery
and she was the one who woke up. We just made it back to your place cause I figured
the Watcher could figure how to get you back. Where are you?”
“No clue. But I’m guessing I’m in her body because I’m all of a sudden
younger and different and apparently have a boyfriend.”
“Who?”
“Well, her boyfriend, Spike.” Buffy sighed at the tinge of jealousy that
crept into his tone. “Can we stick to the problem here?”
“What do you want me to do, Slayer?”
“Figure out who she is. Call Giles and Willow. Call me back on this
number. I’m going to go stall boyfriend, who doesn’t have a clue about the
supernatural world. I imagine she doesn’t know either?”
“Afraid her first vamp might have given her a trip.”
“Well, I guess she’ll be wanting to call here and talk to Logan, I think he
said was his name. But just figure something out and call me and then I’ll find some
way to get to you.”
“Think she said she lived in California, so you’ll be close probably.”
“Good. And, Spike?”
“Yeah, luv?”
“Thanks.”
***
Warmed, Spike hung up the phone and went into the other room where the girl, Veronica, was wandering around inspecting her surroundings.
“Spike?”
Spike whirled to see Dawn standing on the stairs, a stake in her hand.
“Nearly gave me a heart attack, Bit!”
“You can’t have a heart attack,” Dawn said in exasperation.
“Nonsense. You’d give anyone a heart attack.”
“What’s the matter? Who was on the phone?”
Spike hesitated only a second.
“Your sis has got some Slayer stuff she’s doing, wanted my help. No biggie.”
“Can she be any louder with it?” Dawn complained. “Tell her if she wants me
to keep my grades up she should let me get an actual night’s sleep.”
“Right, word for word.”
Dawn rolled her eyes and headed back up the stairs.
“Who was that?” Veronica asked as he joined her.
She’d found the weapons chest.
“Buffy’s sis.”
“Okay, explain this all to me again and I need to call my dad and Logan’s
probably freaking out wondering where I am.”
“That was Buffy on the phone, she’s figured out she’s you. Bright Slayer and
all. She wants me to help figure out what’s up so that we can get you two all
switched again. But I gotta know some more about you and then I can call Giles.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Name, age, residence, enemies, parents, whether or not your boyfriend’s
faithful to you.”
“Pardon?” Veronica’s eyebrows rose to her hairline.
“Never mind.” Spike stopped thinking about Buffy possessively and got to the
important stuff. “Just the other ones.”
“Name: Veronica Mars, age: 18. I live in Neptune, CA, my parents are Keith
and Lianne Mars, but I just live with my dad. I don’t even know if I’m aware of how
many enemies I have, actually. And yes, Logan’s very faithful, though he hasn’t
gotten drunk in a while.”
“Enemies how?”
“Well, a lot of them are in jail. There’s my ex-boyfriend’s parents who
might get put in jail. A couple of bullies and rich brats at school, the local
Sheriff, and a movie star.”
Spike liked this girl.
“How’d we get our enemies, luv?”
“I got even.”
“Anything to do with those exploiting secrets you touted about earlier?”
“Something to do with it. Now, I’d like to call home.”
“Just let me make a few more calls and then. You want something to eat?
Kitchen’s through there, probably all full.”
“I’ll pass. I don’t think this body ever needs to eat.”
“Should,” Spike grumbled as he made his way to the other room. “Too bloody
thin.”
***
Veronica didn’t know why, perhaps it was the obvious vampire who’d just attacked her, but she was starting to believe in something otherworldly. Spike was odd and British and sometimes she had trouble enough trusting her own boyfriend, so she didn’t know why she was being so compliant in a situation where she’d normally be downright obtuse.
Veronica made her way into the kitchen and then slid down the counters to
cope with the sudden pressure she felt compressing her lungs. She wondered if this
was what hyperventilating felt like.
She was in someone else’s body. She was in some other girl’s body. And
there were vampires. Veronica considered herself an intelligent, able-to-cope-with-
stress girl. But this…this was way beyond the range of her ability to cope. She
suddenly longed for anything familiar. She’d take Madison, anything that didn’t mean
vampires were real.
She told herself to pull it together and stop acting like Madison would
have. There could be up sides to this. Surely, something good could come of it.
She didn’t have to fall apart. But she wished fiercely with all her might that Logan
and her dad were there.
“Breathe, pet,” Spike called from the other room.
She jumped in surprise and banged her head against the counter.
“I kinda don’t have a choice, unlike some things, apparently,” Veronica
called back, irritated to have been caught in a moment of weakness.
“Could’ve fooled me with the rate your heart was going,” he said, mirth
evident in his voice. “Now don’t make me worry about another human. It’s bloody
embarrassing,” he grumbled as if to himself.
***
Spike smiled when he heard Giles’ irritated voice on the other end of the line.
“What? Not up studying demon lore, Watcher? No wonder you were fired.”
“Spike, this had better be a legitimate phone call or there will be dire
consequences.”
“Quaking in my boots. Just thought you should know your Slayer went and got
herself body-swapped again. Bye then.”
“What? Good Lord, not Faith? No, she’s in prison. Buffy's in prison!”
“Get your knickers out of their twist. It's some girl we’ve never heard of.
I was out on patrol with her and she passed out. Woke up as this girl. Buffy just
called letting me know she’s in the other girl’s body.”
“Oh dear. We don’t know why?”
“Nope, but here’s what I know about this girl.” Spike relayed Veronica’s
information. “See if that helps. Call the witch and see what she can do. Buffy’s
going to try to get here.”
“Certainly. Keep me informed, Spike.”
“Sure thing.”
***
Buffy hung up with Spike and inspected Veronica?’s room. A lot of photography, including a snazzy camera, a well-used laptop, photos of one girl in particular. Then others of a middle aged, balding man and one of the girl’s boyfriend. A discarded Neptune High Navigator newspaper.
She sucked in her breath. She didn’t think this was going to get resolved
tonight and this guy had a right to know his girlfriend was in another place
entirely. Another body entirely.
“Logan?” she called as she went out into the other room bringing the phone.
“What’d your dad say?”
“Not much. Usual dad stuff.” Buffy didn’t really know much about usual dad
stuff, but he didn’t need to know that.
“That mean I get to spread it around school that big, bad Veronica Mars had a
fainting spell?”
“Probably not if you want to keep her as your girlfriend,” Buffy advised
wryly. “Listen, we need to talk.”
Logan’s face tightened as if he’d been waiting for her to use that line for
awhile. She sat him down, but he didn’t wait to hear what she had to say.
“I know it’s been tough, okay. But my trial is over and things will calm
down. It doesn’t have to be this way. If it’s because of Duncan or the way you
feel, but I haven’t changed-“
Buffy cut him off.
“That’s great, but actually nothing to do with this and since you’re going to
wish you hadn’t said anything, I’ll pretend you didn’t.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not Veronica.”
“What?”
“I’m not Veronica. My name is Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer. You
probably think I’m crazy, hey, who’d blame you, but I’m not your girlfriend.”
Logan stared at her in silence. Buffy could practically see all the options
running through his head. Did she have a tumor? Or was she making a stupid joke?
Was she trying to break up with him in a totally cowardly way? From what Buffy could
tell from what Logan said and her room, that wasn’t like her. Veronica didn’t seem
to flinch from the hard things.
“Come again, I’ve got gremlins in my ears or something.”
“Actually gremlins prefer to nest elsewhere,” Buffy said seriously.
The phone rang and she jumped to answer it.
“Spike? Hi! What’d Giles say?”
“He’s on it. This girl lives in Neptune. Not far from here actually. She
wants to talk to her boyfriend.”
“Probably a good idea since he doesn’t believe me about who I am.”
Buffy passed the phone to a thoroughly confused-looking Logan.
***
“Hello?”
“Logan!”
“Who is this?”
“I know it’s going to sound weird, but it’s Veronica.”
“It’s not her voice.”
“Cause I’m not in my body. I’m in whoever you’re with’s body.”
“I know I skip class a lot, but I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”
“Hey, I thought so too. But I did wake up in someone else’s body. One
minute we were kissing and then I woke up in a cemetery.”
Logan put his hand over the phone and talked to Buffy.
“What were we doing before you woke up on the floor?”
“I was in a cemetery with a vampire. What you were doing is between you and
your God.”
“What did I think of you when I first met you?” Logan demanded into the
phone. Only three other people knew the answer to that question and one of them was
dead.
“You thought I was hot in my soccer uniform.”
“Who stole the money at my poker game?”
“Sean.”
“Where was our first kiss?”
“The Camelot. It’s me, Logan. Could you just accept it already?”
“So for once I’m the one who doesn’t trust someone? At least you can see
I’ve got a pretty good reason.”
“Logan?”
“Veronica?”
The voice was so unfamiliar to him.
“I’m scared and I want you to come get me. That wasn’t easy to say.” Logan
made a snap decision. He might be going crazy, but there’s nothing he wouldn’t do
for Veronica.
“Where are you?”
“Sunnydale, CA.”
“I’m on my way.”
Logan hung up the phone and turned to the “Veronica” sitting across from him.
“We’re going to get her. You can explain that whole intriguing vampire thing
along the way. Always been interested in them, should pass the time.”
This Buffy-girl didn’t seem like she normally let other people take charge,
but she agreed with him and they got up to go.
***
Veronica hung up the phone and sagged against the couch. So Logan was coming with her body. It sounded insane to her. But now she felt let down. Adrenaline had been pumping while she tried to figure out what was happening to her. Now she had nothing left to go on. Desperately, she clung to the idea that this could all be explained in a believable way.
“Explain to me the whole vampire thing,” she asked Spike who looked as
restless as she felt.
Spike gave her a speech that started with ‘into every generation’ and a brief
account of vampires.
“I’m in the Slayer’s body on a Hellmouth. So I’m a superhero?”
“No costume. But I imagine since you’re in her body you got her powers.”
“So I can do anything?”
“Skill does count, pet. You are still human, after all.”
“You fight well. Show me.”
Spike smiled slowly.
“I've always liked dancing with the Slayer. It won’t be the same as fighting
Buffy, but I can't hurt you anyway. I'll block you, pet, and just try and hit me,”
he challenged. Veronica swung at him with all her might. He easily blocked the blow
but winced. “Easy there. You got more power than you think.” He handed her a steel
rod that was laying next to the window like they needed to keep constant supplies on
hand for repair. “Break it.”
“I’m that strong?”
“That strong.”
Veronica used all her power to break the bar and almost fell forward when she
had too much momentum as it snapped.
“I think that pretty much equals something awesome,” she breathed.
There was a knock on the door and Spike opened it to reveal a middle aged man
who had obviously dressed in a hurry and a small redhead.
“Sh, Joyce is sleeping and don’t wake the Nibblet up whatever you do.”
“Of course,” the man said. He hurried over to Veronica and eyed her up and
down. “Rupert Giles, Buffy’s, er, Watcher. I, uh, am pleased to meet you.
Interesting circumstances. I hope you’re handling it well.”
“Like a champion,” Spike put in.
The redhead came and introduced herself as well.
“I’m Willow; I’m Buffy’s best friend.” She turned to Giles. “Her aura’s all
different than Buffy’s.”
“To be expected.”
They were bustling, kind, and somewhat nerdy, but Veronica felt like she was
under a microscope. She stared at Willow who looked like she was starting to feel
somewhat uncomfortable herself.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, you just look like Tr- someone I know. Never mind.”
The phone rang and Veronica was relieved when Willow went to answer it, but
Spike got there first. Veronica was standing close to him and her new and improved
hearing caught both sides of the conversation.
“Buffy?”
“Um, Spike, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“For some reason I can’t leave Neptune. Logan almost crashed his car when we
ran into some kind of force field.”
“Oh bugger.”
Chapter Two:
Buffy could feel her head pounding. She wondered what demon had finally got the jump on her. Spike must have gotten her home. Great, now he’d be all proud of himself and smug about her needing him. She tried to assess any wounds but her body wasn’t working properly. Everything felt wrong. She started to consider that something might have happened that wasn’t your run-of-the-mill demon attack.
“Veronica!”
Somewhere she could hear a male voice calling in desperation. She wanted to
tell him to go away because he was messing with her inner analysis of the situation.
It was probably Spike, that or Giles being all worrywart-ish. Yet, it was definitely
not British, not even familiar.
Buffy fluttered open eyes that felt strange and tried to focus. She was
lying on the floor of what looked like a small apartment. A guy she didn’t recognize
was kneeling over her, stroking her cheek.
“You’re awake.” He sighed as if in relief. “Mars, don’t do that to me!”
“Mars?” she asked slowly. Was he talking about chocolate bars?
“Yes, you, Veronica Mars. What happened? I’m either taking you to the
doctor or calling your dad. Your pick.”
“Veroni-who? My dad’s in Spain. Shagging his secretary.” Where had the
British slang come from? She was spending too much time with Spike. Had to put a
stop to that. Evil vampire and all. In fact she wanted to find him right now and
tell him so.
She could feel more strength flooding her body and she was able to sit up and
take in her surroundings. Her mind started to clear. Apparently something
Hellmouth-y had happened.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in your house.”
“Who are you?”
A flicker of hurt crossed his face followed closely by concern.
“It’s Logan. Your boyfriend. Remember? Tall, rich, witty, a jerk?”
“My boyfriend left in a helicopter. The jerk part sounds right…” Her voice
was different, it was not right. Something was wrong.
Her hands were wrong. She wasn’t strong. Her Slayer strength was gone. Her
movements were slow, clumsy.
“Get me a mirror,” she demanded.
He raised his eyebrows, but did as she asked.
“Ego need more reassurance?” he said upon his return.
Buffy looked into the mirror and into the face of a blonde girl she’d never
seen before in her life.
“Must be Tuesday,” she said and sighed.
***
Veronica felt like she’d been hit with a sledge hammer. Not that she'd ever been hit by a sledge hammer, but they seemed to be the thing that people always felt they were hit by. She appeared to be recovering fast. It was amazing considering the hit she appeared to have taken and now she felt incredibly strong. But her head was fuzzy and she was having a hard time focusing.
“Logan,” she called out.
She wondered if he was okay. Had someone followed them home? In her moment
of passion had she forgotten to lock the door? Was it a PCH drive by or something
else?
“Sh, luv, you’ll be all right. Get you home all snug and let the Watcher
figure it all out.”
“Watcher? When did you get a British accent?”
Veronica opened her eyes and focused them.
A blonde man in a black leather coat was leaning over her. It was dark and
she was in a cemetery.
She’d been kidnapped. That and her voice didn’t even sound like her.
“Who are you and what do you want?”
“Buffy, it’s Spike. Not your favorite person in the world, but I thought I
ranked something above ‘not even memorable.’ What happened?”
“I don’t know anyone named Spike. Who’s Buffy?”
“Great, Slayer can’t remember. Who’re the bloody Scoobies gonna blame? The
usual Spike is who.”
Spike stood up and Veronica backed up against a tombstone. It was creepy but
solid. She glanced down at her legs. They were shaped funny.
“Slayer? Who are you working for?”
“No one’s the boss of me, pet. Come on then, give us your name. Who do you
think you are?”
“My name is Veronica Mars and I don’t care who you are because if you don’t
let me go back to my house I will make you wish you’d never been born.”
“Really?” He seemed to genuinely enjoy her anger. “How you plan on doing
it?”
“Everyone has secrets they don’t want exploited. I’m very good at finding
them, my bleached friend.”
“Take you a long time to dig up all my secrets. Might not like what you
find. Something tells me you don’t know what kinds of things I’m capable of.”
“I’m not easily shocked.”
His eyes seemed to glow golden for a second and that made her start, but then
he shook his head and muttered something about going soft.
“The name’s Spike.” He stuck out his hand, but she didn’t take it.
Seemingly unconcerned, he continued his introduction. “See, you look uncommonly like
a girl I know. She was with me a second ago actually. I’m not going to hurt you; I
just want to figure out what happened. If you’d come with me maybe we can suss it
out. I know some people who specialize in this sort of spell rubbish.”
“A spell? Uh, could you be more archaic?”
“Much more.” He grinned, showing his teeth. “What do you say? Shall we be
off?”
Veronica didn’t like where this was headed, but she didn’t know what else to
do. She slowly stepped forward, keeping stride with the man and watching him like a
hawk.
“Where am I?”
“Restfield Cemetery, Sunnydale.”
“So, I’m still in California?”
Veronica felt odd. Her body was light and super sensitive. She could hear
and see and her entire being was ringing with health. She felt exhausted, but able
to take on the world. It was a strange feeling and she’d never felt it before
physically.
“Right you are, ducks.” Spike startled to whistle then stopped as he seemed
to sense something. “Bloody hell. Just what I need. Move, pet.”
Something jumped over a tombstone and launched itself at Veronica. She
reached for her taser, but it wasn’t there. Spike ran in front of her and started to
fight her assailant. He was amazing. Veronica watched in awe as he twisted,
punched, dodged and finally pulled out a wooden stake, plunging it into the heart of
the…vampire? A dust cloud exploded where her attacker had been.
She sank back against a tombstone. Spike, whose face seemed oddly distorted
for a second or two, had turned back to her and appeared concerned.
“Okay then?”
“What was that?” She tried to keep her voice even.
“Vamp. Barely out of fledgling status too.”
“I’m taking a lot on faith here. And I don’t do faith.”
Veronica didn’t get scared often. She was tough, but she was seriously
frightened.
“It’s okay.” Spike looked like he could sense her fear and probably hear her
heightened heartbeat. Don't ask her how she knew that. “Let’s just get on to
Buffy’s house and call her Watcher. It will all make sense soon.”
Veronica followed him warily, grateful when they passed out of the cemetery
and into normal streets. She decided she was dreaming. It was the only possible explanation.
***
“I’m calling your dad.” Logan walked across the room to grab the phone.
Buffy leapt to her feet to stop him.
“No! The phone! Of course, stupid Buffy.”
She stopped when she saw she was confusing him. She needed to figure some
things out, but without frightening the natives, as it were. She needed to start
thinking.
“Veronica, you’re seriously worrying me. I’m not happy about it.”
He was sweet, protective, sensitive. Why couldn’t that happen to her? Of
course she’d probably run him off too.
“Um, I just want to call him myself. Maybe I could do it with some privacy?”
“Do you want to use your room or do you want me in there?” he asked with a
half grin. “I promise not to go through your underwear drawer.”
“Ew much?”
Buffy stifled a smile and headed down the hall to the only possibility for a
girl’s bedroom.
She quickly dialed her phone number, just to see if it even existed.
“Lo?”
“Spike! What are you doing at my house?”
“Who the blo-Buffy?”
“Yes! Okay, so I’m not in bizarro world.”
She could hear him breathe an unnecessary sigh of relief after hearing of her
safety.
“I’m here with some bird in your body. You just collapsed in the cemetery
and she was the one who woke up. We just made it back to your place cause I figured
the Watcher could figure how to get you back. Where are you?”
“No clue. But I’m guessing I’m in her body because I’m all of a sudden
younger and different and apparently have a boyfriend.”
“Who?”
“Well, her boyfriend, Spike.” Buffy sighed at the tinge of jealousy that
crept into his tone. “Can we stick to the problem here?”
“What do you want me to do, Slayer?”
“Figure out who she is. Call Giles and Willow. Call me back on this
number. I’m going to go stall boyfriend, who doesn’t have a clue about the
supernatural world. I imagine she doesn’t know either?”
“Afraid her first vamp might have given her a trip.”
“Well, I guess she’ll be wanting to call here and talk to Logan, I think he
said was his name. But just figure something out and call me and then I’ll find some
way to get to you.”
“Think she said she lived in California, so you’ll be close probably.”
“Good. And, Spike?”
“Yeah, luv?”
“Thanks.”
***
Warmed, Spike hung up the phone and went into the other room where the girl, Veronica, was wandering around inspecting her surroundings.
“Spike?”
Spike whirled to see Dawn standing on the stairs, a stake in her hand.
“Nearly gave me a heart attack, Bit!”
“You can’t have a heart attack,” Dawn said in exasperation.
“Nonsense. You’d give anyone a heart attack.”
“What’s the matter? Who was on the phone?”
Spike hesitated only a second.
“Your sis has got some Slayer stuff she’s doing, wanted my help. No biggie.”
“Can she be any louder with it?” Dawn complained. “Tell her if she wants me
to keep my grades up she should let me get an actual night’s sleep.”
“Right, word for word.”
Dawn rolled her eyes and headed back up the stairs.
“Who was that?” Veronica asked as he joined her.
She’d found the weapons chest.
“Buffy’s sis.”
“Okay, explain this all to me again and I need to call my dad and Logan’s
probably freaking out wondering where I am.”
“That was Buffy on the phone, she’s figured out she’s you. Bright Slayer and
all. She wants me to help figure out what’s up so that we can get you two all
switched again. But I gotta know some more about you and then I can call Giles.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Name, age, residence, enemies, parents, whether or not your boyfriend’s
faithful to you.”
“Pardon?” Veronica’s eyebrows rose to her hairline.
“Never mind.” Spike stopped thinking about Buffy possessively and got to the
important stuff. “Just the other ones.”
“Name: Veronica Mars, age: 18. I live in Neptune, CA, my parents are Keith
and Lianne Mars, but I just live with my dad. I don’t even know if I’m aware of how
many enemies I have, actually. And yes, Logan’s very faithful, though he hasn’t
gotten drunk in a while.”
“Enemies how?”
“Well, a lot of them are in jail. There’s my ex-boyfriend’s parents who
might get put in jail. A couple of bullies and rich brats at school, the local
Sheriff, and a movie star.”
Spike liked this girl.
“How’d we get our enemies, luv?”
“I got even.”
“Anything to do with those exploiting secrets you touted about earlier?”
“Something to do with it. Now, I’d like to call home.”
“Just let me make a few more calls and then. You want something to eat?
Kitchen’s through there, probably all full.”
“I’ll pass. I don’t think this body ever needs to eat.”
“Should,” Spike grumbled as he made his way to the other room. “Too bloody
thin.”
***
Veronica didn’t know why, perhaps it was the obvious vampire who’d just attacked her, but she was starting to believe in something otherworldly. Spike was odd and British and sometimes she had trouble enough trusting her own boyfriend, so she didn’t know why she was being so compliant in a situation where she’d normally be downright obtuse.
Veronica made her way into the kitchen and then slid down the counters to
cope with the sudden pressure she felt compressing her lungs. She wondered if this
was what hyperventilating felt like.
She was in someone else’s body. She was in some other girl’s body. And
there were vampires. Veronica considered herself an intelligent, able-to-cope-with-
stress girl. But this…this was way beyond the range of her ability to cope. She
suddenly longed for anything familiar. She’d take Madison, anything that didn’t mean
vampires were real.
She told herself to pull it together and stop acting like Madison would
have. There could be up sides to this. Surely, something good could come of it.
She didn’t have to fall apart. But she wished fiercely with all her might that Logan
and her dad were there.
“Breathe, pet,” Spike called from the other room.
She jumped in surprise and banged her head against the counter.
“I kinda don’t have a choice, unlike some things, apparently,” Veronica
called back, irritated to have been caught in a moment of weakness.
“Could’ve fooled me with the rate your heart was going,” he said, mirth
evident in his voice. “Now don’t make me worry about another human. It’s bloody
embarrassing,” he grumbled as if to himself.
***
Spike smiled when he heard Giles’ irritated voice on the other end of the line.
“What? Not up studying demon lore, Watcher? No wonder you were fired.”
“Spike, this had better be a legitimate phone call or there will be dire
consequences.”
“Quaking in my boots. Just thought you should know your Slayer went and got
herself body-swapped again. Bye then.”
“What? Good Lord, not Faith? No, she’s in prison. Buffy's in prison!”
“Get your knickers out of their twist. It's some girl we’ve never heard of.
I was out on patrol with her and she passed out. Woke up as this girl. Buffy just
called letting me know she’s in the other girl’s body.”
“Oh dear. We don’t know why?”
“Nope, but here’s what I know about this girl.” Spike relayed Veronica’s
information. “See if that helps. Call the witch and see what she can do. Buffy’s
going to try to get here.”
“Certainly. Keep me informed, Spike.”
“Sure thing.”
***
Buffy hung up with Spike and inspected Veronica?’s room. A lot of photography, including a snazzy camera, a well-used laptop, photos of one girl in particular. Then others of a middle aged, balding man and one of the girl’s boyfriend. A discarded Neptune High Navigator newspaper.
She sucked in her breath. She didn’t think this was going to get resolved
tonight and this guy had a right to know his girlfriend was in another place
entirely. Another body entirely.
“Logan?” she called as she went out into the other room bringing the phone.
“What’d your dad say?”
“Not much. Usual dad stuff.” Buffy didn’t really know much about usual dad
stuff, but he didn’t need to know that.
“That mean I get to spread it around school that big, bad Veronica Mars had a
fainting spell?”
“Probably not if you want to keep her as your girlfriend,” Buffy advised
wryly. “Listen, we need to talk.”
Logan’s face tightened as if he’d been waiting for her to use that line for
awhile. She sat him down, but he didn’t wait to hear what she had to say.
“I know it’s been tough, okay. But my trial is over and things will calm
down. It doesn’t have to be this way. If it’s because of Duncan or the way you
feel, but I haven’t changed-“
Buffy cut him off.
“That’s great, but actually nothing to do with this and since you’re going to
wish you hadn’t said anything, I’ll pretend you didn’t.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not Veronica.”
“What?”
“I’m not Veronica. My name is Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer. You
probably think I’m crazy, hey, who’d blame you, but I’m not your girlfriend.”
Logan stared at her in silence. Buffy could practically see all the options
running through his head. Did she have a tumor? Or was she making a stupid joke?
Was she trying to break up with him in a totally cowardly way? From what Buffy could
tell from what Logan said and her room, that wasn’t like her. Veronica didn’t seem
to flinch from the hard things.
“Come again, I’ve got gremlins in my ears or something.”
“Actually gremlins prefer to nest elsewhere,” Buffy said seriously.
The phone rang and she jumped to answer it.
“Spike? Hi! What’d Giles say?”
“He’s on it. This girl lives in Neptune. Not far from here actually. She
wants to talk to her boyfriend.”
“Probably a good idea since he doesn’t believe me about who I am.”
Buffy passed the phone to a thoroughly confused-looking Logan.
***
“Hello?”
“Logan!”
“Who is this?”
“I know it’s going to sound weird, but it’s Veronica.”
“It’s not her voice.”
“Cause I’m not in my body. I’m in whoever you’re with’s body.”
“I know I skip class a lot, but I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”
“Hey, I thought so too. But I did wake up in someone else’s body. One
minute we were kissing and then I woke up in a cemetery.”
Logan put his hand over the phone and talked to Buffy.
“What were we doing before you woke up on the floor?”
“I was in a cemetery with a vampire. What you were doing is between you and
your God.”
“What did I think of you when I first met you?” Logan demanded into the
phone. Only three other people knew the answer to that question and one of them was
dead.
“You thought I was hot in my soccer uniform.”
“Who stole the money at my poker game?”
“Sean.”
“Where was our first kiss?”
“The Camelot. It’s me, Logan. Could you just accept it already?”
“So for once I’m the one who doesn’t trust someone? At least you can see
I’ve got a pretty good reason.”
“Logan?”
“Veronica?”
The voice was so unfamiliar to him.
“I’m scared and I want you to come get me. That wasn’t easy to say.” Logan
made a snap decision. He might be going crazy, but there’s nothing he wouldn’t do
for Veronica.
“Where are you?”
“Sunnydale, CA.”
“I’m on my way.”
Logan hung up the phone and turned to the “Veronica” sitting across from him.
“We’re going to get her. You can explain that whole intriguing vampire thing
along the way. Always been interested in them, should pass the time.”
This Buffy-girl didn’t seem like she normally let other people take charge,
but she agreed with him and they got up to go.
***
Veronica hung up the phone and sagged against the couch. So Logan was coming with her body. It sounded insane to her. But now she felt let down. Adrenaline had been pumping while she tried to figure out what was happening to her. Now she had nothing left to go on. Desperately, she clung to the idea that this could all be explained in a believable way.
“Explain to me the whole vampire thing,” she asked Spike who looked as
restless as she felt.
Spike gave her a speech that started with ‘into every generation’ and a brief
account of vampires.
“I’m in the Slayer’s body on a Hellmouth. So I’m a superhero?”
“No costume. But I imagine since you’re in her body you got her powers.”
“So I can do anything?”
“Skill does count, pet. You are still human, after all.”
“You fight well. Show me.”
Spike smiled slowly.
“I've always liked dancing with the Slayer. It won’t be the same as fighting
Buffy, but I can't hurt you anyway. I'll block you, pet, and just try and hit me,”
he challenged. Veronica swung at him with all her might. He easily blocked the blow
but winced. “Easy there. You got more power than you think.” He handed her a steel
rod that was laying next to the window like they needed to keep constant supplies on
hand for repair. “Break it.”
“I’m that strong?”
“That strong.”
Veronica used all her power to break the bar and almost fell forward when she
had too much momentum as it snapped.
“I think that pretty much equals something awesome,” she breathed.
There was a knock on the door and Spike opened it to reveal a middle aged man
who had obviously dressed in a hurry and a small redhead.
“Sh, Joyce is sleeping and don’t wake the Nibblet up whatever you do.”
“Of course,” the man said. He hurried over to Veronica and eyed her up and
down. “Rupert Giles, Buffy’s, er, Watcher. I, uh, am pleased to meet you.
Interesting circumstances. I hope you’re handling it well.”
“Like a champion,” Spike put in.
The redhead came and introduced herself as well.
“I’m Willow; I’m Buffy’s best friend.” She turned to Giles. “Her aura’s all
different than Buffy’s.”
“To be expected.”
They were bustling, kind, and somewhat nerdy, but Veronica felt like she was
under a microscope. She stared at Willow who looked like she was starting to feel
somewhat uncomfortable herself.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, you just look like Tr- someone I know. Never mind.”
The phone rang and Veronica was relieved when Willow went to answer it, but
Spike got there first. Veronica was standing close to him and her new and improved
hearing caught both sides of the conversation.
“Buffy?”
“Um, Spike, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“For some reason I can’t leave Neptune. Logan almost crashed his car when we
ran into some kind of force field.”
“Oh bugger.”