Chapter Eight: Up and Down
So I heard this really funny rumor about that time that Dracula was in Sunnydale. Like the real Dracula. The Count. Famous vampire guy. Whom I, silly me, thought was just some old horror novel. So, I'm thinking the novel was based on the real guy. Which is kinda cheap, if you think about it. I mean, not creative at all. Anyway, I felt kinda cheated. But I guess I'm getting off topic.
So about this time my life was going pretty good, like I said before, and Buffy's just seemed to start getting weird. I guess maybe I started paying more attention since I wasn't just kinda focused all on me, but I can point out at least two or three completely out there occurrences. Well, okay, example number one. I was walking down Main one day, and I see Xander talking on the phone. Normally, I wouldn't really care, but he looked kinda freaked out. So I was standing there wondering if I should help him or something, and then I see Xander walk by. Like, another Xander, in completely different clothes. So my first thought is time travel. But there's really no way to test that that doesn't get me too involved. I was also considering cloning. Like maybe the aliens really are going to take over the earth in ten years and clones are already amongst us. Anyway, I followed him, just to make sure that he didn't come into contact with himself and make the universe cease to exist or something. I still don't really know what happened. I had to fall back when Buffy and Willow and the others showed up at his future apartment. All I know is, the next day there was just the one Xander again. So either they sent him back to his reality or they killed him. And personally, I don't think they would kill him. Because, you know, protect the innocent and all that.
There was this other instance, I'll call it exhibit B, which involved a troll destroying the Bronze and half the town. I guess Buffy took care of it, but she seemed kinda off her game. I mean, usually the Bronze doesn't get destroyed that much. Or, at least, the catwalk stays, you know, catwalky rather than crumbled debris trapping victims, which it kinda was. I think this is about the time I noticed Spike hanging around.
I knew who Spike was from when he attacked the high school, and pretty much every other week when he would cause some havoc, plus I wrote to myself about him a little that time I did the spell, but this time he seemed a little too chummy. Like trying to be nice chummy. Weird. He was helping out with the troll, and I even saw him playing pool with Buffy a few weeks later. It freaked me out a little bit. I mean, vampires are evil and all. Well, vampires except that Angel guy, right? Maybe it's a weird slayer thing. Like thrall. She has thrall that controls the vampires. Whatever, I don't really know, but we'll get into that later when I tell you about the Trio's meeting with William the Bloody.
First thing's first- Buffy's crappy year.
One thing I would like to say is, if you're reading this Buffy, I am so sorry about your mom. I know that, in my own way, I have been responsible for taking a life, and I wish so much that it were different. I can't imagine what it must be like for you when all you know is to protect people, and then you lose the person closest to you. I met her a few times, and she was really nice.
But I'm sure my condolences don't mean a whole lot. I know Katrina's family wouldn't care about my compassion.
But I'm not trying to complain or go off topic, I swear. Anyway, I heard that Buffy's sister was involved in something. These weird medieval guys were looking for her. People said they were knights, but I don't think knights are still around. Maybe they came from the alternate Xander reality. I have no idea. I do know that Willow and Tara started being way more serious than usual. They were always kind of on edge, like they were waiting for something. And then weird occurrence number three happened. This was the weirdest of the weird.
Tara lost her mind. Okay, maybe not lost her mind, I mean she was still walking and talking, but it was like she wasn't there. She was just kinda vacant. Actually, a lot of people in Sunnydale started getting the vacant look about them. But with Tara it was the worst, because I kinda knew her and then she was just gone. Which, of course, makes what just happened all the worst, but let me stay in the past for a bit.
So Tara's a little on the insane side, and then there's some kind of showdown which results in Tara coming back, but Buffy being gone. Like dead gone, supposedly, but I don't know how that can be since she was back a few months later. Of course, in the meantime there was Warren's creation.
Okay, I don't mean to make light of the whole "Buffy was dead" thing, but I still don't know exactly what happened there, whereas with Warren and his robots I was pretty much in the midst.
See, here's the thing. A guy gets lonely. Some guys, when they get lonely, try to go out and meet people. Some guys, like Warren, decide to use their intelligence to create their own people. I know it's wrong, but when you're that lonely, you don't really think straight. I mean, I was going to kill myself because of my loneliness. How is what Warren did any crazier?
His problem was that he started dating Katrina and thought that his creation would just go away. I don't know why he didn't just reprogram it. It seems like it would have been simpler to take care of it, rather than just leave it. Especially when returning to someplace like Sunnydale, where anything that can go wrong will, and to a spectacular degree.
So Warren's robot comes looking for him, and Warren gets to meet Buffy firsthand. I think that might be when Warren started to hate her. He's really good at holding grudges when he gets his mind set on it, and, no offense Buffy, but you do have a way of messing up every evil plan. But in a good way.
So then Spike shows up in the basement and wants Warren to build him a Buffybot. Which is, well, kinda icky. And most definitely weird. At the time we thought it was some evil plan, but now I think it was residual thrall or something. I mean, he was acting like someone with a crush, but he's like evil vampire guy, so it just doesn't add up.
It got even weirder when Buffy came back.