Part 2

First there was nothing except blackness, quickly replaced by a blinding light as Tess’s eyes slowly fluttered open. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision, before squinting into the light, trying to make out her surroundings.

Slowly she sat up, and groaned, her hands flying to her head, rubbing her temples in slow circles to try and ease the headache that crashed over her mind.

Tess’s vision finally cleared and she found herself lying on the floor in the middle of the UFO Center…

The UFO Center…

Suddenly it all came back to her. Brody…Liz…the weird device, and the sudden power surge that knocked her out. Why her head ached though she didn’t fully understand. She had never had a headache before…it just wasn’t something that happened to aliens.

Sighing Tess stood up and headed towards the door. She needed to get out of the damn UFO Center and get on with her day.

"Oh, you’re up!" Tess glanced to the side to see Brody peeking out of his office. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine, no thanks to you." Tess snapped. "You should make sure those things are safe next time before you attach them to somebody’s brain."

"I’m sorry. It should have been fine." Brody replied, scratching his head in disbelief. I’m not really sure what went wrong. I’m going to run some tests to see what happened."

"Yeah, you do that." Tess replied shortly.

Your friend in here is still unconscious." He continued, glancing to the side at Liz, Tess assumed. "I’ll keep my eye on her until she comes to."

"Yeah…you do that." Tess smirked, thinking about the other girl who she felt absolutely no love for. If she stayed unconscious it wouldn’t bother Tess in the slightest. "I’m out of here."

Tess squinted as she stepped outside. The sun was bright in the afternoon sky, which was normally a good thing, but right now it was just making her headache worse. Freezing outside the UFO Center, she squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her head in irritation, before opening them again, and crossing the street towards the Crashdown. Maybe she just needed something to drink…some tea, or cherry coke with lime.

Stepping through the door into the restaurant was like walking right into chaos. The room was bustling with the early dinner crowd, half the tables full. Agnes was running around in circles, trying to handle everyone, with no luck and Liz’s dad was manning the cash register with a stormy expression on his face. The moment she stepped into his sight, his entire attention was suddenly on her.

"Where the hell have you been?" He demanded loudly. "You’ve been gone for hours, and it’s been busy! Can you please get back to work? Table 10 needs their order taken."

"Excuse me?" Tess asked incredulously.

"Don’t kid with me now." Jeff groaned. "I don’t have time for this. Now in case you didn’t notice, it’s a madhouse. Just get to work."

"Work?" Tess huffed. "No! You’ve got the wrong girl. I don’t work here. I just came in for a soda."

"Not funny Liz!" Jeff growled, irritation slipping into his voice. "Get to work."

"Did you just call me…" Tess’s voice trailed off as for the first time she glanced down at her attire. Her heart froze and she gasped out loud at the sight of the horrible, turquoise of the Crashdown waitress uniform. Without a second glance at Jeff, Tess whirled around and rushed towards the Crashdown’s bathroom.

Bile rose in Tess’s throat as she stared in the mirror at the familiar reflection staring back at her…the familiar reflection which wasn’t her own. Mousy brown hair, dark eyes, and a face that she loathed with all the passion within her was the face she staring back out at her.

The face of her worse enemy…

The face that her destiny loved…

A small smile crept across Tess’s face.

This could be used to her advantage.

~~~ ~~~~ ~~~

Liz’s eyes quickly shot open, and she sat up quickly, staring at her surroundings in shock as she pushed herself to a stand.

"Oh God!" She exclaimed. "What happened?"

Brody’s voice answered from behind her, surprising her, as she whirled around to face him. "Something went wrong…there was an energy surge of some sort, and you both lost consciousness. I’m sorry, I should have run a few more tests before trying it out on actual people. Your friend was quick to tell me how wrong I was, and I’m very sorry."

"It’s okay Brody…these things happen." Liz comforted him before quickly shooting another question his way. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours…your friend just woke and left about five minutes ago."

"She’s not my friend." Liz corrected quickly. "God…I’ve got to get back to work. My dad is going to kill me. Sorry, Brody."

Liz whirled around and rushed towards the door, and immediately felt herself slip and fall to the floor. Groaning, Liz glanced down at her feet and gasped, at the teeny tiny platform sandals donning her feet…not her normal style. Usually she wore comfortable sneakers to work. And her Crashdown uniform had suddenly grown awfully tight and revealing.

"Oh God!" Liz cried. "Brody…do you have a mirror?"

"What?" Brody asked in confusion.

"A mirror! Is there one anywhere in here?" Liz pushed insistently.

"There’s one in the bathroom by the front entrance." Brody directed.

"Right…of course. Thanks Brody!" Liz walked a little more carefully in the awkward shoes this time, and quickly made her way toward the bathroom. The moment she stepped into the room, she felt her heart stop as she glanced at the face reflected before her.

"God…no!" Liz cried, shaking her head in agony as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall from the crystal blue eyes staring back at her in the mirror. Liz reached up and with one swift movement she ran her fingers through the platinum blonde hair reflected in the mirror.

Her heart beating wildly as she accepted the impossible, Liz turn and rushed out the door of the bathroom, out of the UFO Center, and across the street towards the Crashdown. The sight before her was enough to make her heart freeze nervously.

She was standing right inside at the front cash register, smiling warmly at her father.

And when she opened the door and stepped into the restaurant, her words instantly were ringing in her ears.

"I’m really sorry about that, dad. I had a bit of a headache and I just needed to splash some water on my face. I’ll get right to work. Which table needed their order taken again."

"Table 10." Jeff pointed across the room. "And it’s still no excuse for disappearing for half your shift. We’re going to have a talk about this later."

"Of course…I’m sorry."

Without a second thought, Liz rushed towards her and stood face to face with her.

"We need to talk." Liz insisted quickly. She noticed the irritated look that her father was directing at her, and quickly ignored it, meeting Tess’s eyes…her eyes…with even more determination. "In the back." She directed quickly.

"I’m sorry, Tess." She replied with a wicked smile that made Liz’s stomach cringe. "But I really have to work right now. Can we talk later?"

"Actually it’s really important." Liz insisted, glancing at her father quickly. "Please Mr. Parker? We’ll just be a minute?"

Jeff sighed. "Make it quick, Lizzie."

~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~

The moment the door closed behind them Liz whirled around to face Tess, rage filling her as she lashed out at the other girl.

"You’re trying to take my life!" Liz exclaimed angrily.

"Well, look in a mirror, Liz!" Tess replied smugly. "In case you didn’t notice I am you right now."

"But…how did this happen?" Liz sputtered in frustration. "We have to fix it! I can’t be you!"

"What am I really that awful?" Tess drawled in amusement.

"This isn’t funny!" Liz cried.

"I know." Tess suddenly replied, her voice flattening seriously. "But I don’t know how this happened and I don’t know how to fix it. And until we figure it out we don’t have a choice other than to play along with it. Wouldn’t you prefer it if I didn’t cause a huge rift between you and your father for you to deal with when things get back to normal?"

"Yeah…I suppose you’re right." Liz mumbled, the seriousness of the situation finally penetrating her emotionally torn mind.

"I am." Tess replied with certainty. "So why don’t you run along and I’ll go ahead and work your ‘shift’ for you." Tess’s voice darkened in disgust.

"We should let everyone else know what’s going on." Liz suggested. "Maybe someone would have an idea how to fix this."

"Why don’t you do that…we could all meet here after closing." Tess suggested.

"Yeah…I’ll call everyone." Liz decided, as she turned to head upstairs. Her foot barely hit the first step before she realized that this wasn’t her home right now. She wasn’t Liz, she was Tess. Disgust filled her mind at that thought…they really needed to get this fixed, fast, because she didn’t know how long she’d be able to stand that. "I’ll just…uh…go to the Valenti’s."