~*~*~
"Xander..."
"Yeah, Wills?"
"The movie you rented..."
"Great isn't it?" The young man practically bounced with energy as he
waited
for the tape to be put in. He looked up at his red haired friend with
wide
eyes, smiling into her confused face.
"Xan...its the Power Rangers."
"I know!" Xander grinned. "Isn't it great? I had totally forgotten about
that
movie until this morning when I saw it at the store. Remember the fun
we used
to have making fun of how cheesy it was?"
"No…" Willow laughed. "I remember how much fun -you- had commenting
on the pink
ranger and how she looked in her uniform." She giggled, sitting down
on the
couch next to her own bewildered lover.
"Power Rangers, pet?" The vampire whispered, watching as the opening
credits to
the movie started. This would be the first time they had invited Xander
and
Xander alone to their movie night and he hoped it didn't end up in
a total
flop.
"They're a bunch of super heroes that wear different colors and fight
bad guys
from outer space with the help of this big talking head guy."
"Translation!" Xander chimed in, never taking his eyes from the screen.
"Billy,
Aeisha, Rocky, Kim and Adam fight the evil forces of Rita and her Putties
with
the help of Zordon and Alpha." He threw a smirk at his best friend
over his
shoulder.
Willow laughed. "Hard to believe that we haven’t actually watched this
show in
about six or seven years, isn't it? Not since the season after they
got rid
of..."
"Zack, Jason and Trini and replaced them with Aeisha, Rocky and Adam?"
Xander interjected again, his mouth half full of popcorn. He shook
his head,
smiling at both the movie and the memories he was reliving. "Back then
we
wanted to -be- superheroes…now we are. Sort of."
Chuckling, Spike pulled his red head tighter into his arms, kissing
her
forehead softly. Maybe this night wouldn't be all -that- bad, after
all.
** ** **
"That was the absolute worst movie I think I have ever seen."
Willow and Xander looked at Spike with equal expressions of amazement
on their
faces. "How can you say that?!?" Xander cried. "Its the epic tale of
good vs.
evil with a little bit of outer space mischief mixed in."
"It was meant for ankle biters!" Spike smirked. "Not a one hundred and
Twenty-something year old vampire." He gave the two humans a condescending
look. “Nor for two twenty year-old humans, I would have thought.”
“It wasn’t –that- bad, Spike…” Willow pouted, crossing her arms and
sticking
her lower lip out. She allowed a small forgiving smile to creep across
her face
when he leaned in to kiss that same pouting lip. She watched as Xander
stood
and began pacing, tossing an orb of some sort he had grabbed from one
of the
bookshelves. “Be careful with that, Xan…”
The young man nodded absently, continuing to toss the orb back and forth
in his
hands. “You gotta look at it from our point of view, Spike. Me and
Wills were
like…twelve or thirteen when it first came on. It was before we knew
there were
vampires and werewolves…”
“And witches and demons...”
“And lions and tigers and bears, oh my…” Spike laughed. “Still, Chubs,
it’s a
bloody kids movie. Not something I would’ve pegged the two of you for
watching.”
Xander paused in his pacing, gripping the orb tightly in his hand. “Yeah,
yeah.
I know. Its nice to relive our more innocent days, though.” He sighed.
“Sometimes I wish the Power Rangers were real – certainly would make
things
more interesting.”
“Like having a best friend that’s a vampire slayer isn’t exciting enough?”
Willow grinned. She looked closely at the orb in Xander’s hand, convinced
for
one brief moment that she had seen it flash. She shook her head slightly,
rubbing tiredly at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Sleepy, ducks?” Spike asked, leaning in to kiss his mate on her lips.
“A little.” The red head admitted, giving him a soft smile.
“Guess that’s my cue to leave.” Xander joked. He grabbed the movie case
and
replaced the cassette in its depths before turning back to the seated
pair.
Bending quickly, he hugged Willow tight before giving the vampire a
small wave.
“Talk to you tomorrow, guys.”
Willow watched until the goofy youth had disappeared out the door. “Now
that
wasn’t that bad, was it?”
The bleached blonde smirked, scooping his sleepy lover into his arms.
“Nope. Could’ve gone a lot worse.”
** ** **
“So, how’d movie night with Xander and the Bleached Wonder work out?”
“Movie night with Xander and Spike,” Willow emphasized her lover’s name
to the
blonde beside her with a teasing tone. “Went fine. Xander chose just
about the
most childish movie he possibly could have. But it was fun. I think”
“What’d he chose?” Buffy asked, licking absently at the sucker in her
hand as
they wandered in and out of the tombstones. She didn’t honestly expect
to be
doing any staking that night – things had been rather ‘dead’ as far
as vampire
activity went in the past few weeks.
“Power Rangers…their first movie.”
“Power whatsis?” The Slayer asked, confused.
“Power Rangers. They’re a kids’ superheroes show.” Willow hid a grin
at the
look of absolute puzzlement on her friend’s face.
“Ah…not something I would have watched then.” She grinned. “And look…here
comes
the King of Cartoons now…”
“Huh?” Xander asked, completely lost. He sipped at the drink in his
hand,
looking back and forth between the two girls for an explanation. “Talking
about
me?”
“Was telling her about the movie last night…”
“Power Rangers.” Xander grinned. “Wasn’t a cartoon though, Buff.”
The Slayer arched an eyebrow, giving him a grin. “Well, excuse me all
child-like knowing one.”
“OoooOo snazzy title, there, Xan,” Willow giggled. She grabbed his soda,
taking
a long sip before handing it back to him with a smile.
“Hey…that’s my…”
“Hold on.” Buffy shushed any further speech with a wave of her hand.
Her eyes
were round and alert as she scanned over the group of headstones nearest
them.
“I could have sworn I just heard…”
Willow’s head snapped up and suddenly she was looking too. The noise
was
altogether too familiar, though she couldn’t place it. Definitely not
the sound
of a vampire breaking free from its grave. But still…something she
should know.
Like a weird gurgling type of noise. She heard a branch break in the
woods
bordering one side of the cemetery and instinctively took a step back
towards
Buffy. “Do you hear that, Xan?”
The young man tilted his head to the side, his eyes distant and thoughtful
as
he listened for whatever it was that had the girls’ so fidgety. All
at once he
heard it. Too close for comfort, the distinct sound of garbled gurgling.
A
sound so familiar it made him at once excited and fearful.
“Putties” He exclaimed as the first of the gray creatures burst from
the trees.
In moments they were surrounded, Xander and Willow staring with wide-eyed
shock
as Buffy looked around with confusion.
“Um…okay.” The blonde haired Slayer smirked, giving one of the creatures
a wry
grin. “You’re not a vampire, but…” She thrust the stake into the chest
at what
she could guess should be its heart.
With an enraged gurgle, the Putty threw Buffy out of its way, yanking
the stake
from its chest and tossing it aside.
“Xander…this is too weird. I’m still dreaming, right?” Willow whispered,
watching as the Putties not moving in on Buffy advanced on them instead.
“No. They’re really here!” Xander bounced with excitement. With a move
he had
seen on television too many times to count, the young man kicked out,
sweeping
the nearest Putty’s legs from beneath it. Falling to the ground with
another of
its trademark gurgles, the thing put up its hands as if to ward off
the blow
that Xander suddenly pounded into the center of its chest. With another
gurgle,
the Putty flew apart. “I dusted a Putty!!!”
“Aim for the center of its chest, Buff!” Willow called out, turning
her
attention to the creature nearest her. She still felt as though she
were in a
dream. How else could there be Putties in Sunnydale? Looking around
as the gray
humanoid exploded in a disappearing mass of limbs, the red head knew
they were
in trouble. Nearly two dozen Putties were waiting for their turn to
take a
swing at the three humans – even one at a time there was no way they’d
have the
stamina to take all of them out. Not with the way they dashed and darted
like
hamsters on speed.
“Holy crap…” Xander whispered.
Following Xander’s startled brown eyes, Willow and Buffy watched as
six beams
of colored light coalesced into human shapes.
Xander swallowed, pushing the Putty off of him and staring with awed
wonder as
the figures began to dispatch the gray creatures with an efficiency
he had only
seen on TV before. “Its them, Wills. Its really them!”
“I know, Xan…” Willow whispered. Her chest was tight with fear. How
had these
people managed to be here? A fleeting image of the orb flashing in
Xander’s
hand chased through her mind and she gulped. This couldn’t be good.
“Who are they?” Buffy asked in confusion, thankful for the newcomers
help, even
though their presence was a worry in itself.
Turning to look at the Slayer, Xander mumbled in shocked awe,
“The Power Rangers…”
Green stepped forward. "You know us?" he asked proudly.
Xander stepped back instinctively. "Are you evil, man? Cause if you
are,
Buffy'll stake you, whether you are human or not, cause she does that.
. .you
know, stake evil. And you, my friend, were *evil*."
"They are human?" Buffy asked, reaching out to touch Black, who was
standing
beside her. He stepped away from her, instinctively not letting anyone
touch
him.
"I'm *not* evil, thank you," Green said, the sound of his voice coming
through
clenched teeth. "Where the hell are we? This doesn't *look* like Angel
Grove."
"Wills!" Xander said excitedly. "Angel Grove! They are from *Angel Grove*!"
"I think. . .um, I think I'm going to wig out here for a bit," Willow
said
softly, leaning against a tombstone. She turned to Xander. "Damn it,
Xander,
I told you to be careful with the orb! How are we going to get them
*back*!?"
"Orb?" Red asked, stepping forward. "Back? Where are we?"
Buffy smirked, covering her mouth with her hand. "Welcome to Sunnydale."
"OH MY GOD!" Xander exclaimed, it suddenly *completely* sinking in.
"Willow,
it's the *POWER RANGERS*!" He dropped to his knees in front of Pink,
grabbing
her hand. "Oh god. . ."
"Uh. . .Tommy. . ." Pink said, tugging her hand, trying to get it away
from
Xander.
"Oh, please, Kimberly Hart, let me have your children, please, please,
please,
marry me. I *loved* you when you were a Power Ranger, and then when
you became
Felicity's friend, I loved you then, but as a Power Ranger. ..please
please
PLEASE!"
"You know me?" Kim asked softly, jerking her hand away. She stepped
away from
the funny looking man that dressed *way* too much like Ernie for her
liking,
with his loud Hawaiian shirt. "Uh, you aren't supposed to know my name.
. ."
"Oh, that's not hard," Willow said, deciding she might as well go along
with
it, since she figured the Scooby Gang was their only hope of getting
home.
"Tommy Oliver," she said, pointing to Green. "Billy Cranston. . ."
she nodded
to Blue. "Kim. . ." She studied the last three. "Now. . .are you guys
Jason,
Trini and Zack, or are you Rocky, Aiesha, and Adam?"
Adam removed his mask, staring at her in shock. "How did you *know*
that?" he
whispered.
"Oh my *god*, what a *hottie*!" Buffy said, smiling. "Hi, my name is
Buffy
Summers, I'm the do-gooder around here. It is *so* nice to meet you."
Willow nudged Buffy. "Wait till you see Tommy," she whispered. "I just
hope
his hair is. . ." She grinned stupidly when Tommy removed his helmet,
sighing softly as he shook his head, letting his long hair lay against
his
back, ". . .long."
Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Damn. Now *that* is a fine man. I mean,
we are
talking. . .Angel fine."
Willow giggled behind her hand. "Spike fine even."
The rest of the Rangers unmasked themselves. "Wow, you guys are my *heroes*,"
Xander said. "Even more than Buffy, and she stakes vampires." He thumbed
towards a glaring Buffy. "But I have a stupid question. If the Stone
Canyon
kids are here, Tommy, why are you Green again?"
Tommy glanced down with a frown, realizing that he wasn't wearing his
normal
White uniform, but the Green he'd started out with. "I.. .I don't know."
** ** **
“So let me get this straight…” Giles sighed, taking off his glasses
and
pinching the bridge of his nose. “Xander made a wish last night and
now…” He
gestured towards the six young people huddled near one side of his
living room.
“Now these six are in our world and apparently their foes are too?”
“Lets not forget that Tommy is green and not white.” Xander interjected
helpfully.
“Oh yes,” Giles rolled his eyes. “We mustn’t forget the important things.”
Taking off his glasses, the former librarian pinched the bridge of
his nose,
trying to gather his thoughts. “Do we have any idea how this happened?”
“Well…” Willow said softly. “Sort of. You see. Xander was tossing around
this
orb in my apartment last night…and then he made some wish…I forget
what it was
exactly but it had to do with the Power Rangers.”
“So…Xander –wished- them here?” Buffy snickered. “Couldn’t wish for
the vamps
to go away or the Hellmouth to close, could ya Xan?”
“How was I supposed to know this would happen?!?” The teenager cried
dejectedly. He sneaked another glance at the pink ranger, losing himself
in her
beauty for one moment before the sharp sting of someone’s hand came
down on his
arm.
“Pay attention to me and not her.” Anya growled. “Or I will find some
other
vengeance demon to make you sorry you ever watched that show.”
“Children…” Giles sighed.
“But Anya…its like a dream come true. You know I love you. I just want
to enjoy
it while they are here…” He took her hand in his, giving her his best
puppy dog
eyes.
“Children..” Giles sighed again, this time a little louder.
“So…do those costumes get hot?” Buffy asked coyly, batting her eyes
at the
nearest male ranger, who just so happened to be Tommy. She was oblivious
to
the glare from her boyfriend, who’s arm suddenly found itself around
her, as if
stating that she was his and his alone.
“Um…I think you should listen to what Mr. Giles is trying to say…” Tommy
smiled
softly. He was well aware of the turmoil his little group was causing
in the
lives of these young adults and hoped that they could find a way home
soon. It
was eerie enough to think that, in this world, they were nothing more
than a
children’s tv show.
“Oh!” Buffy shut her mouth. She turned to see Giles glaring at the entire
room,
as conversations had sprung up quickly. She cleared her throat. “GUYS!”
Slowly
every head in the room turned to her. “I think Giles wants to talk…”
“Thank you, Buffy.” The Watcher smiled semi-appreciatively. “Now...as
I
was
about to ask. When you were wishing for them.… how did you picture
Tommy?”
“As the green ranger.” Xander said quickly. “Oh…wait. I get it! You’re
saying
that since that’s what I was thinking when I wished them here, that’s
how he
showed up?”
“It would appear that way, yes.” Giles smiled.
“Excuse me…but how are we going to get home? I’m sure Angel Grove needs
us.”
Aisha spoke up quietly, pushing herself a little more forward than
the rest of
her group.
The assembled Sunnydale crew, with the exception of Spike, looked at
each
other, smiles creeping across their faces. “Research party!”
~*~*~
“Hey Bulk?”
“Yes, Skull?” The larger man hissed, annoyed. His dark eyes roamed over
the
strange place they were in.
“Where are we?”
“You’re in Sunnydale, morons. In a cemetery no less.”
The two teens turned, mouths dropping open at the pretty blonde haired
girl
standing behind them. Her hands were set firmly on her hips, eyes glaring
in
annoyance. “Sunnydale?” Bulk stuttered. He flashed her what he hoped
was a
charming smile.
“Yes.” The girl smiled, casting off her disdain for the two in front
of her and
taking a step forward. “My name’s Harmony and its lucky for you two
I came by!”
She gave them her best helpful smile.
“Why’s that?” Skull asked warily.
“Because now you won’t live to get into anymore trouble.” Her face shifted
in
an instance, ridges appearing and eyes glowing yellow with hunger.
“What the…!?!?!” The larger of the two teens stammered, taking a few
quick
steps backwards. He had seen a lot of weird things happen in Angel
Grove, but
nothing like this.
“Oh no you don’t!”
Harmony looked up at the shrill voice that rang through the empty cemetery.
Her
eyes grew round with surprise as she took in the middle aged woman
standing not
too far away, hair done up in the weirdest style she had ever seen
and wearing
a dress more out of date than the things on the classic movie channel.
“And who
the hell are you, telling me what to do? You are –so- insignificant.”
The
blonde growled, balling her hands into fists at her sides.
“I am Rita. And –you- are the one who is insignificant, my dear.” She
raised
her staff to the sky, calling out “Putties! Goldar! Come!”
Inching slowly away from the scene before them, the two human males
watched
with fear as the monster was confronted with creatures they were at
least a
little more familiar with. Suddenly hands wrapped around them from
behind,
pinning their arms to their sides with inhuman strength.
“Not so fast.” Rita hissed, taking her eyes off of the scene before
her long
enough to come over to where two of her putties held the terrified
youths.
“Those Power Rangers have sent us all to this hell. You are my hostages.
Either
they take us back to our world or you two die.” She stepped closer,
turning
her back to them and calling out across the cemetery. “Goldar! Make
some
trouble. Get those pesky do-gooders to come out of hiding wherever
they are. I
want to leave this place!”
“Yes, my Queen.” The genetic freak responded. He let go of the blonde
haired
vampire he had been about to crush and gestured to the Putties. “Follow
me!
Lets make this town scream!”
** ** **
The quietness of Giles’ living room was almost undisturbed as every
man and
woman within the walls searched anxiously through the reference books.
They had
been looking for hours, trying to find any sign of the orb Xander had
used or
even a way to just make everything right again.
“Willow?”
“Yes, Giles?” The red head looked up, her eyes questioning.
“Is this what that orb you had looked like?” He passed a book to Tommy
and
watched as it slowly made its way to its intended recipient.
“Oh! Oh!” Willow grinned, bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement.
“This is it. I got it from a flea market a couple weeks ago…hadn’t
had a chance
to identify it.”
“My God.” Giles sighed, sitting down firmly in his chair. “You had an
Orb of
Khalkhara in your possession for weeks and it ended up being used for
such a
frivolous wish?” He shook his head. “Bloody marvelous, that is.”
Xander looked at the former watcher, mouth slightly open as he waited
for any
further explanation of what they were dealing with. When it was obvious
the
watcher was lost in his meandering thoughts, the youth spoke up. “Hey
G-Man?
Wanna clue the rest of us in on it?”
“Oh, yes.” The older man stood, retrieving his book from Willow before
starting. “The Orbs of Khalkhara are very rare. Only about a hundred
are known
to exist at this time. They allow the one holding it to make a wish
if their
heart is pure and their soul is innocent.”
“Chubs? Pure and innocent?” Spike laughed. “I thought the demon chit
had solved
that whole problem.
“Oh shut up you…vampire.” Anya glowered.
“Demons….vampires?” Rocky whispered to Adam, suddenly feeling a little
less
secure where they were.
“Don’t worry,” Buffy whispered, leaning in close to the two now-worried
youths.
“They’re both on our side. And Anya isn’t a demon anymore…just a normal
bitchy
human.”
“Fascinating.” Billy grinned, trying to move behind Spike as inconspicuously
as
possible so as to get further observations.
“So how do we get home? Find another orb?” Kimberly asked, squeezing
Tommy’s
hand.
“I would imagine that once the wish runs its course everything will
be returned
to its rightful place.” Giles said reassuringly. “Xander wanted a little
excitement featuring your lot. As soon as that happens I would think
you would
all return to your world.”
“Watch it, four-eyes.” Spike growled, just loud enough for the curious
blue
ranger behind him to hear.
“S…sorry.” Billy stammered, backing up a few steps. Though his scientific
curiosity was peaked he somehow knew it just wouldn’t do to annoy the
blond
haired creature. “Are you really…?”
“Really what?” Spike snapped, turning around and glaring at the human
standing
so close to him.
Billy looked towards Tommy for help, suddenly feeling very much out
of his
depth with a pair of angry blue eyes focusing on him. Giving his more
timid
companion a smile, the green ranger questions. “Are you really what
she called
you? A vampire? Like on TV? Blood-sucking creature of the night and
all that?”
Stifling a giggle behind the back of her hand, Willow waited for her
lover’s
response. Spending the night with a bunch of television superheroes
wasn’t her
idea of a romantic evening, but it certainly was –fun-.
“Yes, twit, I really am a vampire.” He let his demon slide into place
– ridges
appearing on his face as the gasps of the newcomers rippled through
the room.
His eyes glowed gold and he spoke around his fangs with a growl. “Happy
now?”
The assembled newcomers nodded hastily.
“Thank you, Spike, for yet another display of…”
Giles’ lecture was cut short – a large crash echoing through the quiet
night
outside. Screams and sirens could be heard – in the distance yet still
close
enough for them all to hear clearly.
“Looks like that excitement Xan wanted might have just showed up.” Buffy
grinned. She shook off Riley’s arm, grabbing her jacket and heading
for the
door. Throwing open the wooden exit she didn’t even look back – her
final
words drifting back to her friends on the cool night air.
“You guys coming?”
~*~*~
The scene that greeted them when they ran the few blocks from Giles
house to
one of Sunnydale’s quieter commercial districts was beyond anything
the
Sunnydale crew could even contemplate.
Except for Xander and Willow, that was.
“Hey Wills…isn’t that…?”
“Rita. And look, she’s got Bulk and Skull.” The red head observed quietly,
her
eyes surveying the rest of the scene around her. Putties ran rampant
in the
streets, breaking windows, trashing cars, littering. And at the center
of the
entire riot was Goldar and Rita. Biting her lip and giving Spike’s
hand a quick
squeeze, she turned to the Angel Grove members of the group. “You guys
have got
to save them. I mean – not even Bulk and Skull deserve to be held captive
by
that crone.”
Tommy nodded, his eyes never leaving the scene before him. “You all
should stay
out of the way. This could get dangerous.”
“Huh?”
The group turned almost as one, the sight of an annoyed slayer greeting
their
eyes.
“We’ve fought vampires, a demon who tried to suck the world to Hell,
and more
other baddies than I can even name right now, and you want us to ‘stay
out of
the way’?” Buffy shook her head. “Sorry. Not gonna happen.” With a
quick flip
of her hair she took off, charging into the streets, oblivious to the
gaping
stares that followed her.
“That’s my girl.” A goofy smile plastered across Riley’s face before
he
followed after her.
“Wait for us!” Xander cried out. “C’mon Wills, this could be our last
chance to
dust Putties.” He grabbed his best friend’s hand, racing out into the
streets
with an annoyed ex-vengeance demon and vampire following.
“Shouldn’t we go help them?” Aisha asked quietly, a small smile on her lips.
“Nah.” Rocky smirked. “Let them fight and we can get Bulk and Skull
away from
Rita. She won’t dare call down a giant monster while she’s still standing
in
the cross fire.” Smiling and chuckling, the group made their way slowly
towards
the evil sorceress and her hostages.
In the end, the fight didn’t take that long with the two groups working
together. Rita retreated soon after her captives were freed by the
once again
uniform-wearing power rangers. As the last Putty exploded the night
suddenly
became much quieter and finally the Sunnydale gang had a chance to
look around
again.
“They’re …” Willow whispered, looking around at the destruction and
not seeing
any of the faces she had thought she’d see.
“Gone.” Xander mumbled sadly. His eyes followed the same path his best
friend’s
had done a moment before, hoping against hope to see any sign of the
legends
that had graced his life for those brief hours.
But they were no where to be seen.
“Well, Xan, think of it this way…” Buffy grinned, draping her arm around
her
distraught friend’s shoulders. “You got to meet them and even fight
with them.
That’s more than most people can say.”
“Hey…that’s true.” The dark haired young man grinned slowly. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Yes you did, Chubs.” Spike snickered, taking a long drag off of his
cig before
throwing it to the ground and extinguishing the glowing embers with
the heel of
his boot. He snaked an arm around Willow’s waste, leering at her suggestively.
“Can we go home now? All that fighting made me want to…”
“SPIKE!” The entire group yelled.
“What?” The blonde asked, blinking in innocence. “Was just going to
say that it
made me bloody hungry, is all.”
“Uh huh.” Xander grinned. “Guess we should get going then so Junior
can go home
and eat.” Grabbing Anya’s hand in his, he led the group down the street,
humming slightly under his breath. The night truly had been one for
the memory
books – something to cherish and tell his kids one day … if they’d
even believe
him, that is.
“What are you humming? And will you stop?” Anya asked, giving her boyfriend
an
exasperated look.
The young man merely grinned, the humming ceasing as he broke out in
song –
“Go! Go! Vampire Slayer!”