Friday, July 31, 2015

The Witch, the Demon and the Vampire

WHEN a portal opened in front of me in an alley in Santa Monica, it was a bit surprising, and when a bunch of people from another reality came out it was a curiousity, but when Anyanka walked out onto the street in front of me, it was a pleasant surprise. Anya was happy as could be, when she came out from a large field where she had been since the battle of Sunnydale.

At first she had no memory of her death at the hands of the ugly uber vamps and from her memories I supposed that she had been to the Elysian Fields since Sunnydale, but when a portal opened there to let the inhabitants out and bring them to this world, several of them walked out on to the street and walked around exploring their new surroundings.    
Although I had seen another Anya running about California recently, it became apparent that she was a doppelganger from another reality who was still a vengeance demon. My Anyanka was human when she crossed over, and now with the portal closed behind her, there was no returning to the Fields for any of them.  
I offered to let her stay at my flat and was relieved to hear her accept, and then she asked me if I saw Tara.
"Tara?" I asked.
"You know Tara. The witch. Willow's girl. She was there before me." Anya looked around.
"Did she come out too?" I asked Anya and looked around for her, but she was no where in sight.
"Yeah, you didnt see her?" she asked.
"No, the portal was opened before I got here. Which way did she go?" Being a Malkavian, I am some what of a psy sensitive, but not nearly as good as Dru. I tried to find her psyche, but to no avail.
"There. She went that way, I think," Anya ran down the street about a block and I followed her. No sign of Tara anywhere at first. Then Anya found Lorne and asked him if he knew where Tara was. He hummed a little and pointed us in her direction, then he invited us to visit his new club for the grand opening and gave us cards with the address on them. I slipped the card in my pocket and ran to find Tara.
When I found her, she was in a corner looking for a bullet hole and crying. We took her back to my flat and explained how she had been in another reality where she had no memories of her past life. Anya comforted her as best as she could, but I began to wonder who else had come back from alternate realities and why were portals to other dimensions opening up around the world...
That night, we went to Lorne's new club, the Madhouse, which was only accessible through a magic portal as it was in an alternate reality. I thought the name seemed somehow appropriate looking about at all the demons dancing and drinking and singing karaoke.... We danced the night away and decided to spend more time there in the future...
As the music calmed the savage beasts in the club, I thought for just a moment that I saw a familiar face, Darla, in the crowd dancing, but then she was gone, and I didn't see her again all night.... Lorne needed help at the club and offered us all jobs there. Tara was happy to help out, and Anya was willing to help too, although I could tell from talking to her, that she missed her magic shop...
Lorne offered me a job as a bouncer and promised all the bourbon I could drink as well, and I thought, well, okay,... I mean why not, right?
As Lorne poured our drinks, I asked him, "Whats the name of this dimension you found here." to which he replied....
"Thinking of calling it Sunnydale... Big sign outside...."
"You don't say," I said, but in my head I was thinking small world....
All around us, demons were smiling and laughing and dancing,... and Lorne was responsible. He had tamed the savage beasts. And more importantly, he had brought peace at last to a little place called Sunnydale...
Somehow, this Madhouse of his felt like home.....

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