It's all AU.

Martha had to admit, it was far easier shopping for dresses when she didn't have to worry whether she could afford the dresses she liked. It didn't make it any easier to find the right one, though, or make a decision about which of the ones she liked was more suitable and oh, God, she was probably making too big a thing out of it and should just...turn up in jeans or something.

She stood outside one store, studying the dresses on display in the window, and addressed the nearest person passing by out of sheer desperation. "Is it better to wear a shorter skirt, or a long one with a slit? Or is that just, you know. Trashy?"

Faith stepped out of the shop, looking up at the sun, and frowning. She turned to look at the building behind her, and raised an eyebrow, snorting softly. "Well, damn. Someone has a fucking nasty sense of humor."

She turned back to the street, and spotting a blond, checked traffic before crossing, calling out, "Hey! Got a question for you, might sound crazy. Where the fuck am I?"

He came tearing out of an ally in 'New York'.

He didn't slow down when he spotted someone so much as leap into their arms. "There's a rat in there that's at least the size of Nessa's hair. Maybe even bigger."

He wasn't a rat person.

Buffy stumbled towards home, shocked and numb. She'd just had sex with Spike. She'd just had sex with Spike! She had no idea how she was going to face anyone – including herself – ever again.

She wouldn't admit it but it was quite a relief, really, to look up and discover the road she was walking down was no longer road in suburban Sunnydale but instead a main road outside a very familiar hotel.

"Great," she said, staring up at it, hands on her hips. "Back in Nowheresville."

Buffy was in a clearing in the woods, training. She'd gone for a run and knocked on the door of Corwen's little house to see if she was up for joining in, but she didn't appear to be home.

So she'd just run a bit further then stopped for a breather. She was practising twisting and thrusting, a stake in each hand.

After leaving the restaurant, Corwen had set out for a walk in the early evening air. She was pleasantly merry from the wine at the meal, and, well, wanted to make the most of the gorgeous frock the Doctor had rustled up for her. It was about time she got to explore a little, and see what and who else was around here. So when she saw someone up ahead, she caught them up, and dropped into step beside them.

"So, fancy a drink?"

Buffy came into the hotel restaurant late in the evening after patrol, tucking her stake into the back of her waistband, and glancing round with an ironic gaze.

"So. Any cute guys around here who are a) straight and b) available?" she asked glibly.

The Master pauesd outside the library, regarding it for a long moment before stepping inside. He had a large collection of books back at the office building he'd taken over, but they were all books he'd read.

He was looking over some interesting books on supernatural phenomena when he caught a glimpse of blond hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned, raising an eyebrow at the young woman standing nearby. "May I help you with something?"

Feeling restless and a bit guilty for his recent laziness, Lane had changed into track pants and a t-shirt for a run. It was good to feel the pound of the pavement beneath his running shoes, feel the air in his lungs as he worked his way through the empty streets.

The lack of moving obstacles had lulled him into a false sense of security - so when he turned at the corner of a low brick building and came face-to-face with someone, his only option was to shift right and hope they stayed on their predetermined course.

But Lane misjudged and he stumbled, his momentum sending him glancing off the someone and into an undignified sprawl on the sidewalk.

Buffy pouted at the notice on the board in the hotel lobby.

"There was a vampire that needed subduing and nobody told me?"

Buffy wandered out into the warm evening, tossing a stake idly over and over in her hand.

"Anyone seen any vampires that need staking?" she inquired lightly.

Quite frankly, she was bored.

"I'll just be a minute," Buffy called over her shoulder to Spike as she fled through the crowds in the Bronze, heading for the Ladies. She was starting to react to the fact that she'd just been kissing Spike - again - and she needed a moment. Possibly several moments.

She was through the door and leaning back against it before she realised that she wasn't in the Ladies.

She was standing in the corridor of a hotel she'd stayed in once, long ago. Three years ago.

She tipped her head back against the door and raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Perfect. Just perfect."

Buffy had started patrolling again after the party where she'd met Spike and the Doctor had told her about someone getting attacked by something that sounded very much like a vampire.

To be honest, she was quite glad to have something to do that gave her a sense of purpose. Not that it stopped her moping over Angel too while she was wandering about trying to find something to kill.

So when one night she decided to try using the hotel's roof as a vantage point to scope out the town and found herself staring at the back of someone tall and dark with a long dark coat, standing feet apart and hands in his pockets, gazing out over the town, it was hardly surprising that the first word out of her mouth was a shocked, "Angel?"

((A place to put more threads, since some people are having trouble with loading large pages))

The Master was sitting at one of the tables savoring a shot of whiskey as he waited for people to show up. He'd traded out of his usual politician's suit, for a longer, more closely tailored knee length jacket, and had actually lost the tie. The white rose remained pinned, of course.

Everything was set up. Tables, large enough for 4 or 5 people to sit comfortably, around the outside of the room. Food and open bar at the far wall from the doors. And still a fairly large space in the middle for dancing. It was going to be interesting to see how many people showed up, because frankly he wasn't sure what the population of the town was. He couldn't help but wonder, given the malleable and mind bending nature of the this place - if more people showed up then could really fit, would the room mysteriously seem bigger? It wasn't a completely absurd idea, here.

As predicted, there were no Doctors with red roses and black converses in sight, yet.

It was late but Buffy couldn't sleep. To be honest, she'd more or less given up trying to sleep. She couldn't bear the dreams of Angel any more.

Instead, she'd slung on some jogging pants and a hoodie and wandered out into the hotel grounds, wishing there were some vampires around to stake. She actually missed patrolling. But despite various mentions of dangerous beings here, she hadn't come across any.

Then she caught a movement amongst the trees and she went still, listening, stake raised at the ready.

Harriet was restless. It had been a long time since she had had an opportunity to do nothing and it was taking some adjustment. For the moment, she was wandering along the streets with a book in her hand; something which she had never heard of but seemed utterly fascinating.

She wasn't really paying much attention, then, and only caught sight of a person in front of her a second before almost bumping into them. She had to do a quick side step and instantly lowered the book, eyes wide. "Oh, I'm really very sorry," she said. "I'm afraid I should pay more attention when I'm walking."

Buffy swung through the door from the kitchens with a serving of peach pie, and stopped dead. The diner had... changed. It was still a diner, but it wasn't her diner.

She stood there, staring round her, a faint frown on her face. "Huh."