Identity Mistaken

by Kathryn A

Buffy / VR5 ( 200 words) [2010-01-31] Rupert Giles

Giles has an identity crisis.

Done for tthdrabbles challenge #93 - Mistaken Identity

Notes: I bent the prompt again, but it was irresistible. Apologies to those confused by what I'm crossing with.


It started after the band candy incident. Regressing in mental age had stirred something up; something buried deep. Little things at first: a doodle of a labyrinth; a spike of fear when the telephone rang; a state of heightened alertness when patrolling.

The leather jacket, he rationalized away. He couldn't explain buying the gun, or how comfortable it felt in his hand. Yet there it was, sitting on his desk. He shoved it in a drawer and took out a pen and paper. Think!

Curse?
Possession?
VR?

What was VR?

Virtual reality is real.

Something was messing with his head, with his self. Write it down.

He wrote another line, then gaped at the page: I am Rupert Oliver Giles.

What? His name wasn't...

The phone rang. He eyed it with trepidation, then snorted. Sure, there had been the demon Willow had scanned into the internet, but he didn't think they could travel down phone lines.

"Hello?"

A strange, familiar voice. "Oliver! I found you!"

A second of electronic noise, then a dialtone.

Sydney. She'd messed with his head again. No. She'd helped him remember. He was Oliver Sampson, not Rupert Giles. The Committee had a lot to answer for.