| DEJA-VU |
| DISCLAIMER: Yup, uh-huh, you know, I really hate this part. They belong to Joss -- I'm sure everyone knows this by now, why do I have to keep writing it? "What is it?!" he heard someone shout as the – THING – came at them full-speed. It was definitely the poster child for ugly. Huge and green and spiky. He shivered. *Something any mother would be proud of.* "I don't know," came Buffy's reply. "But I'm gonna find out!" With that, she extracted herself from behind a tombstone at the Sunnydale Cemetary, and raced toward the monster, stake at the ready. *Guess stakes work with any monster,* he shrugged. *Used to just be vampires, but no, they had to go and change . . .oh no.* "Buffy, watch out!" Xander shouted as he plunged toward the slayer. The thing had suddenly sprouted knife-like talons, and he knew that the blonde was too close to guard herself against them. How he knew, and why he was throwing himself at a hideous beast, was a different story. He just didn't want to see one of his best friends get hurt. "Xander!"he heard Anya scream, reaching out toward him in a sore attempt to get him to stay by her side. But it was too late. He was already face-to-face with the monster, inches from its talons and, unfortunately, its incredibly foul breath. "When was the last time you brushed your teeth?" he asked as the monster roared in his face. "Come on, you can tell me . . . Uh-oh!" Suddenly, the thing lunged at him, throwing him to the ground in a tackle he had once seen on WWF wrestling. "Nice moves," Xander grunted. Or, at least, he thought he grunted it, but he couldn't be sure. At that very moment, a huge whirlwind seemed to stir itself up directly under where Xander lay, extremely out of breath. *What the . . .?* Something was happening. The ground was opening up beneath him. It was as if the dirt was all cascading in on itself, reeling away because of the incredible burden of the monster's weight. Xander's last memory before falling into the hole was of Buffy trying in vane to un-pry him from the monster's grip while Anya and Willow screamed into the night. And then everything went black. *************** He awoke with the strange sensation of deja-vu that he had only felt once or twice in his life. *Where am I?* he wondered hazily as he sat up and checked out the room around him. It looked familiar. Desk in the corner, littered with paper and twinkie wrappers; stereo seated precariously atop a pile of clothes; dirty dishes oozing out from under the bed. He narrowed his eyes as something clicked. *When did I move back into my old bedroom?* Suddenly, a loud noise sounded from under a mess of papers. "Ye, gods!" he gasped. "Good morning, Sunnydale! It's your wake-up call!!" *Just the radio, Xander. Don't have a wiggins . . .* "The weather today will be sunny and in the seventies . . . The mayor has promised to look into the rash of killings centered around Sunnydale Elementary School . . . Don't forget to mark your calendars for the all-important Sunnydale Jamboree. Remember, that's January 26, 1998, NOT 1997 . . . Who will your date b–" Xander fumbled beneath the pile of papers, retrieved the alarm clock, and clicked it off. "January 1998?" he gulped out, staring at the radio in shock and disbelief. "Oh, boy." |
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