SquidgeWorld Archive

Kendra had been asked to stand guard over Willow as the red haired girl attempted her spell. If it worked, Angelus would be re-souled, and once more Angel. Honestly, it seemed like a great deal of work to go through when staking the vampire would have been much simpler and faster. But she was standing guard, and if any vampires attacked, she would do her best to
kill them. Even if it was Angelus, or Buffy's precious Angel.

Willow had encircled herself with herbs and salt, and was starting to chant. She could feel the air changing, and it made her skin prickle. Kendra looked back towards the door, nor convinced that she'd rather not mess with magics if it could be avoided. She shivered again, realizing that this time, it was the presence of vampires, not more magic.

The door was kicked in, and a group of vampires entered the library, fanning out in an effort to either surround or intimidate her. The one in charge was an almost fragile looking dark haired woman in a blood red dress. "Kill the nasty witch. Leave the Slayer to me."

The vampire approached, one hand outstretched, crooning some little melody as she swayed. "Look at me, be in me, pretty slayer. Be in me..."

Things almost seemed to slow, and the air felt thick, warm and comforting. It would be so easy to just relax, to sink into that warmth... NO! The vampire was trying to enthrall her!

Kendra lashed out, her fist connecting to the vampire's jaw and sending her flying backwards. The vampire screamed strange words, and then hit the air above Willow's circle.

There was a flash of green light and the vampire bounced.

Snarling more words, the vampire began drawing more magical energies, making the air feel cold and almost slimy. Kendra began staking the minions, their efforts not really enough to protect them, but enough to keep her from reaching the chanting woman.

More light flared just as she stabbed at Drusilla with her stake, and everything seemed to dissolve. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, and all that she could feel was cold. She had no awareness of her body - had she become a disembodied spirit? What had that spell done?

Awareness returned in a single, dizzying moment. There were bright lights dazzling her eyes, and she could hear several high pitched whining sounds, like electronics. She was falling towards pavement, and a group of what looked like ninjas were moving towards a red haired woman in what appeared to be flexible body armor. She twisted her body so that she landed on her feet, and attacked the ninjas from behind, hoping that she'd be able to sort everything out afterwards.

From behind, she could hear a man's voice squawking something about a script, and demanding to know what was going on. The ninjas were easily dispatched, and she rather doubted that she'd broken much. Looking at the red haired woman, she asked "Where am I?"

The woman was smiling, and she looked very amused. "PackMedia studios, actually. I'd ask where you thought you were, except that I saw how you arrived. Maybe you and I should have a talk somewhere more privately?"

"That might be good." Kendra agreed, wondering where this studio was in relation to Sunnydale. She had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be quite that simple, but it would be best to get the information first.

Following the redhead away, Kendra realized that what had looked like a street was in fact a set at some sort of filming studio. That probably meant that the 'ninjas' were actors, which would explain their unimpressive fighting skills. "I hope I have not caused too much trouble."

"Not too much. We can re-shoot the scene, or change the storyline a little if need be. So, who are you, and how did you end up falling from the air back there?" She led Kendra into a little dressing room, with barely room for the two of them to sit down. "And I'm Fox."

"I am Kendra. There was an attack, and she... I think the spell that my enemy was attempting interfered with the spell that the other witch was trying, and then I was... falling." Kendra shrugged, feeling a bit sheepish that her explanation was so lacking. "I know very little about magic."

"Sometimes magic can be pretty unpredictable." Fox agreed. There was a pause, and she drummed her fingers against the make-up table, her arm reflecting as she tapped. "I have the feeling that you didn't just mean an enemy as someone who didn't like you. Maybe you could work with us. The Pack, I mean. We're sometimes a mercenary task force, dealing with unusual situations. Considering your arrival, I'd say that you definitely know how to fight."

Kendra considered the offer and some of the implications. It sounded unlikely that she would be able to get home, if this wasn't the same world. Fox wasn't panicking over the magic, but she seemed to be attempting to find a way to explain things without it, so it was something that she had some measure of experience with, but not commonly known of in the world. As for occasional mercenary work... That could mean a lot of different things, from Turakan assassins to rescue work, to kidnapping to demon hunting. And her resources were very limited. "I think I should attempt to see if I am able to get home, but your offer... I might be accepting that if I am stranded here."

"I can understand why you'd want to try to get back to where you had been, I suppose. But you're welcome to stay. I'll make a few arrangements for a temporary room, and we can take care of everything." Fox was smiling, as if everything would be perfectly fine one way or another for her.

There was something odd about this whole situation, Kendra realized. Perhaps if she could make a few quick checks... But what was the protocol for finding yourself in an alternate dimension? The handbook hadn't covered that at all. "Is there a globe, or perhaps an atlas that I could look at?"

"Of course." Fox opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a slightly battered book. Handing it towards Kendra, she continued, "It's a bit out of date, and some of the countries in Africa and Eastern Europe have changed since it was published."

Glancing at the table of contents, Kendra made a few quick checks to things that she knew were important locations from her own education. Certain towns that were demonic hot spots, or places where historical Slayers had fought key battles. Some of them were there, others were not, or had different names. There was no Sunnydale, or Trivakandi near Bangladesh, or
Kratorium in Italy. All of which could only mean one thing - "This is not my world."

"Then stay with us. At least until you get well situated in this world." Fox's smile reminded Kendra an awful lot of her namesake animal.

Shaking her head, Kendra handed the book back to Fox. "I do not see any better option. So, what do I do?"

"For a start, you can help me with my workouts. I have the feeling that I could learn a lot from you." Fox smiled, holding one hand towards Kendra.
"Very well." She tried to smile, hoping that she hadn't just struck a bargain with someone close to a devil.