FicWad

A Mirror of Being

Chapter Two: "In the Twilight West Now"

Written by alliterator

Thanks to babies-stole-my-dingo, my awesome beta reader!





Eyes moving under water. Eyelids open, pupils dilating, color seeping out like old film. The water is no longer blue; the eyes are no longer open. The color drains from flesh, from cheeks, and the eyes are still and dead. Then, in a flurry of motion, the eyes open and... and... they are your eyes.



Buffy woke up in her bed, not knowing how she got there. She remembered getting going home and ordering pizza for dinner with Dawn and talking to Willow and then... she... what did she do? She opened her purse to pay for the pizza and there was the mirror, the mirror that she said she would return and she looked into it and she was looking back and what happened?



I must have been really tired, Buffy thought. That's why I don't remember falling asleep. That's why I didn't return that mirror.



She shook her head to wave off the residual drowsiness she had as she got up from her bed. I'd better return it to that store tomorrow, she thought. Yep, that's what I'll do. Now where did I put it?



Looking at the clock on her dresser, she was surprised to see it was 4 a.m. She yawned as she crept into the bathroom, careful not to make too much noise, and looked into the mirror.



She didn't recognize herself at first. She chalked this up to just waking up. She blinked and shook her head a few times, trying to unfog her brain. She was successful and her reflection was suddenly recognizable. But she saw a glint out of the corner of her eye.



Looking to where it came from, she saw pieces of glass in the trash. She picked up one of the pieces and saw it was from the mirror - the one that had come from the antique store. Oh well, she thought. There goes that plan. Now, I'll probably have to pay for it. She looked back in the trash and saw the other pieces of the mirror, including the handle and frame.



Sighing, she dumped the pieces back into the trash.



---



There are many alleyways within Sunnydale, where many things take place - usually horrific things involving creatures that invoke Lovecraftian imagery. Most citizens know to stay indoors after the sun sets (even though they won't hold the idea of vampires and demons within their minds).



However, within this one alleyway, there is no one. No vampire feeding on a helpless victim, no demon stalking his way through the city looking for the Slayer. In fact, this alleyway is absolutely empty - an unusual occurrence for Sunnydale. You could say that nothing is happening within this alley.



You'd be wrong. Something is happening: reality is bending.



Certain laws of the universe cannot be broken; however, they can be bent. Portals can bend the fabric of reality to transport people to different dimensions. A type of demon - immaterial to the touch - can literally create a tear in reality to a hell dimension unlike any other.



But that is not what is happening now. Now, two realities are touching, creating an intricate dance that is unseen by everyone and has many consequences. One of them is a creation of a new dimension that is inhabited currently by nothingness. The other is about to appear in this alleyway.



A portal opens - a strange circle of flowing energy. A woman emerges. Her feet barely touch the ground when the portal closes behind her. She looks up at the night sky and tilts her head and smiles. Her teeth are white and sharp.



Her laughter echoes through the alleyway.



---



Baby moon, 'tis time for bed,

Owlet leaves his nest now;

Hide your little horned head

In the twilight west now;

When you're old and round and bright

You shall stay and shine all night.

Baby girl is going, too,

In her bed to creep now;

She is little, just like you,

Time it is to sleep now;

When she's old and tired and wise

She'll be glad to close her eyes.

- a children's rhyme