Frozen in place, I see Fred running in my direction, calling out my name. But I can't look at her long, because soon I'm blinded, shielded in white light all around me, and then, just as quickly as it came, the light source is gone, leaving us in darkness.
Blinking, I focus my eyes as the light returns.
“Fred?”
She doesn’t answer me. My vision finally clears, and I’m still standing in the middle of the mirrors in the lab, the generator connected to them humming - though in strange half-broken way - but Fred isn’t there. The last thing I remember was her running toward me. Where is she? I pray that nothing happened to her.
“Fred?” I call again, only to receive no answer again. So against my better judgment... “Knox?”
He doesn’t answer either. What the hell is going on? I start wondering if I’ve been caught in one of those science fiction shows Fred likes to watch. Or maybe I’m like Spike was when he first arrived at the firm, non-corporeal, in-between worlds.
Or maybe I’m just reading too much into a power outage.
I go into Fred’s office to see if she went in there, and the minute I touch the door, I immediately know I haven’t gone the route of the ghostly. But she isn’t there, so I still don’t know what’s going on. I quickly head for the main office level - it’s late, so most of the employees have gone home, but Harmony is still at her desk.
“Harmony, have you seen Fred?” I ask as I come down the stairs. “We were just in the lab and-.”
Her eyes look they’re about to pop out of their sockets. “She left a little while ago. With Angel, Spike and...you.”
“Me?” She must be winding me up. “You must be mistaken, considering I’m standing right in front of you.”
“No mistake. She left with you!” she insists. “This isn’t like, Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something is it?”
Shaking my head, I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. “This is nothing of the sort. Just a very bad practical joke, obviously.” I reach for her phone, hoping that Fred has her mobile on her, wherever she is.
Angel and Spike are so caught up in their arguing that they don't notice me and Wesley holding hands in the car. Spike already knows we're together now - he caught us kissing in the elevator this morning - but Angel doesn't know yet. Wonder how long it'll take him. It might be fun to just wait and see.
When we get back to the office building, Wesley takes my flame thrower for me while I take the wrapped remains of the bug I got from Angel. This almost more than makes up for Knox screwing up my Quantum Mirror experiment. I have an almost perfect specimen, which allow me to study how their body chemistry creates the crystals they use to attract microbes and mutate them into eggs for laying their young. This should keep me busy for a while though I still need to access the damage to the mirrors. Maybe I can salvage something, but it might be a while before I can.
In the elevator, we stand in front of Angel and Spike, who have given up arguing and are now glaring at each other. I don't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes - those two are such children sometimes.
Just before we reach the reception level, my cell phone starts going off. Wondering who it could be, I fish it out of my coat pocket and flip it open.
"Hello?"
"Fred, where are you?" Wesley's voice asks me. "What happened in the lab? One minute you were there and then you disappeared."
What the hell? He's on... But he's right... I feel like my eyes are about to pop out - I'm hearing Wesley's voice on the phone, but he's standing right next to me, rubbing slightly against my arm. I look over at him, not knowing what's going on.
"I'm at the reception desk with Harmony," he continues.
This has to be joke. Someone is playing a joke. But he sounds exactly like Wesley!
"Fred?"
The elevator reaches the reception area a moment later, and as soon as the doors opens, I practically jump out, turning toward the Harmony's reception desk. The phone falls from my hand when I see him standing there, and I look back toward the elevator.
Fred and I are standing in the elevator with Angel and Spike, when her cell phone chimes. I concentrate on the staring contest in front of me, giving her privacy in case it has to do with the lab. And, it better not be Knox, because I'll strangle him myself if he's done anything else to her equipment. She turns to me with wide eyes, but before I can ask her what's wrong, the elevator reaches our destination, and the doors slide open.
I start to walk out, but Fred seems frozen in place. With a tentative hand on her shoulder, I ask, "Fred, love, are you all right? What's-", but I don't get to finish the rest of what I'm saying, since I apparently am already standing at Harmony's desk.
I blink a few times, but every time I look, he/it is still there.
I'm brought out of my introspective by Spike's reaction.
"Bloody hell! Who cloned Percy?!"
I groan at his overuse of that horrible nickname, but nevermind that. Fred looks like she just saw a ghost...er...my ghost, rather. I move to her side, taking hold of her hand to ground her, for I know she is as confused as I am.
This has to be a shape-shifting demon, or some such thing. Surely, that's not me.
Cloned? I don't know who the bloody hell that is standing next to my Fred, but that certainly isn't me. I'm standing right here! Did something take my place when the blackout happened in the lab? I don't know how, but it's the only explanation.
The other Wesley...or demon...or whatever he is takes her hand, and I'm rushing foward to pull her away.
"That's not me!" I tell her. "Stay away from Fred!"
I hold onto Fred, watching this other me with a cautious eye. Suddenly, he comes towards us, and I feel the urge to hide Fred behind my back. Instead, however, I stand my ground.
"That's not me! Stay away from Fred!"
When, whoever this is, comes a bit too close, I finally speak up. "That's far enough. Stop right there."
Behind me, I hear Spike say, "This is more bloody entertaining than Passions!"
Ignoring his sidebar, I step up to our "visitor", crossing my arms across my chest, and ask, "Who are you?"
It feels rather odd asking myself who I am? Good lord, this is getting confusing.
Who am I? Coming from something that looks like me, that's both rich and bizarre at the same time. Although I have to give him credit. He definitely stands and sounds just like me.
"I'm Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, but you should know that, considering you're impersonating me," I tell him, ready to get Fred out of the way if this turns violent. "Who--or should I say, what are you?"
Wesley. And Wesley. Asking each other who the other is, both of them obviously trying to protect me from the perceived threat of the other. Spike is throwing out jokes, and Angel looks like he wants them to figure out who the bad one is so he can run them through with his sword.
My head is about to go all explodey from this!
I find myself shifting toward the Wesley I've been with for the last several hours, the one that I kissed at the bug's nest and held hands with in the car. I know he's Wesley. Can feel it. This one standing in front of me...something's not quite right about him though he has the voice and the mannerisms and everything else about him is perfect.
I stare at him and then look back at Wesley, and then suddenly, I realize. His scar.
"His scar is on the right side!" I suddenly cry out, causing everyone to look at me. "He's a mirror image of Wesley!"
Blinking, I focus my eyes as the light returns.
“Fred?”
She doesn’t answer me. My vision finally clears, and I’m still standing in the middle of the mirrors in the lab, the generator connected to them humming - though in strange half-broken way - but Fred isn’t there. The last thing I remember was her running toward me. Where is she? I pray that nothing happened to her.
“Fred?” I call again, only to receive no answer again. So against my better judgment... “Knox?”
He doesn’t answer either. What the hell is going on? I start wondering if I’ve been caught in one of those science fiction shows Fred likes to watch. Or maybe I’m like Spike was when he first arrived at the firm, non-corporeal, in-between worlds.
Or maybe I’m just reading too much into a power outage.
I go into Fred’s office to see if she went in there, and the minute I touch the door, I immediately know I haven’t gone the route of the ghostly. But she isn’t there, so I still don’t know what’s going on. I quickly head for the main office level - it’s late, so most of the employees have gone home, but Harmony is still at her desk.
“Harmony, have you seen Fred?” I ask as I come down the stairs. “We were just in the lab and-.”
Her eyes look they’re about to pop out of their sockets. “She left a little while ago. With Angel, Spike and...you.”
“Me?” She must be winding me up. “You must be mistaken, considering I’m standing right in front of you.”
“No mistake. She left with you!” she insists. “This isn’t like, Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something is it?”
Shaking my head, I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. “This is nothing of the sort. Just a very bad practical joke, obviously.” I reach for her phone, hoping that Fred has her mobile on her, wherever she is.
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When we get back to the office building, Wesley takes my flame thrower for me while I take the wrapped remains of the bug I got from Angel. This almost more than makes up for Knox screwing up my Quantum Mirror experiment. I have an almost perfect specimen, which allow me to study how their body chemistry creates the crystals they use to attract microbes and mutate them into eggs for laying their young. This should keep me busy for a while though I still need to access the damage to the mirrors. Maybe I can salvage something, but it might be a while before I can.
In the elevator, we stand in front of Angel and Spike, who have given up arguing and are now glaring at each other. I don't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes - those two are such children sometimes.
Just before we reach the reception level, my cell phone starts going off. Wondering who it could be, I fish it out of my coat pocket and flip it open.
"Hello?"
"Fred, where are you?" Wesley's voice asks me. "What happened in the lab? One minute you were there and then you disappeared."
What the hell? He's on... But he's right... I feel like my eyes are about to pop out - I'm hearing Wesley's voice on the phone, but he's standing right next to me, rubbing slightly against my arm. I look over at him, not knowing what's going on.
"I'm at the reception desk with Harmony," he continues.
This has to be joke. Someone is playing a joke. But he sounds exactly like Wesley!
"Fred?"
The elevator reaches the reception area a moment later, and as soon as the doors opens, I practically jump out, turning toward the Harmony's reception desk. The phone falls from my hand when I see him standing there, and I look back toward the elevator.
What is going on?!
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I start to walk out, but Fred seems frozen in place. With a tentative hand on her shoulder, I ask, "Fred, love, are you all right? What's-", but I don't get to finish the rest of what I'm saying, since I apparently am already standing at Harmony's desk.
I blink a few times, but every time I look, he/it is still there.
I'm brought out of my introspective by Spike's reaction.
"Bloody hell! Who cloned Percy?!"
I groan at his overuse of that horrible nickname, but nevermind that. Fred looks like she just saw a ghost...er...my ghost, rather. I move to her side, taking hold of her hand to ground her, for I know she is as confused as I am.
This has to be a shape-shifting demon, or some such thing. Surely, that's not me.
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Cloned? I don't know who the bloody hell that is standing next to my Fred, but that certainly isn't me. I'm standing right here! Did something take my place when the blackout happened in the lab? I don't know how, but it's the only explanation.
The other Wesley...or demon...or whatever he is takes her hand, and I'm rushing foward to pull her away.
"That's not me!" I tell her. "Stay away from Fred!"
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"That's not me! Stay away from Fred!"
When, whoever this is, comes a bit too close, I finally speak up. "That's far enough. Stop right there."
Behind me, I hear Spike say, "This is more bloody entertaining than Passions!"
Ignoring his sidebar, I step up to our "visitor", crossing my arms across my chest, and ask, "Who are you?"
It feels rather odd asking myself who I am? Good lord, this is getting confusing.
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Who am I? Coming from something that looks like me, that's both rich and bizarre at the same time. Although I have to give him credit. He definitely stands and sounds just like me.
"I'm Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, but you should know that, considering you're impersonating me," I tell him, ready to get Fred out of the way if this turns violent. "Who--or should I say, what are you?"
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My head is about to go all explodey from this!
I find myself shifting toward the Wesley I've been with for the last several hours, the one that I kissed at the bug's nest and held hands with in the car. I know he's Wesley. Can feel it. This one standing in front of me...something's not quite right about him though he has the voice and the mannerisms and everything else about him is perfect.
I stare at him and then look back at Wesley, and then suddenly, I realize. His scar.
"His scar is on the right side!" I suddenly cry out, causing everyone to look at me. "He's a mirror image of Wesley!"
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