DISCLAIMER: All characters portrayed, except Lissa are owned by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
TIMEFRAME: Set after Season 6 - I haven't seen any of Season 7, because I live in the U.K.
CHAPTER 1 - A VISITOR
The Magic Shop looked like a bomb had hit it. At the very least, a whirlwind. The ceiling looked ready to fall down. There was rubble everywhere, books were strewn about the extremely dusty floor. It was what you'd expect considering what had taken place here between a witch-gone-bad and the Slayer. 'At least', thought Giles, 'the place was still standing.'
He stood in the middle of the shop, leaning heavily on a cane as he surveyed the damage, his face cut and bruised. Three days before, the world could have ended, again. It had been averted, though not by the Slayer this time, but by Xander and his love of Willow, his best friend.
"What a mess," said the all too familiar voice from behind him. Giles turned slowly, taking in the sight of Buffy, stood by the door, her sister, Dawn a little behind her.
"Quite," he murmured, taking off his glasses for a quick polish, before putting them back on.
"Best get started clearing this mess up then," Buffy said walking into the shop. He noticed then that she had on her dungarees, her sister was wearing a similar pair, they looked ready and able.
Throughout that day, between the three of them, they began clearing up the debris, storing the salvageable items in boxes, which they took down to the basement. At around 4pm, Giles had managed to get the phone working and was busy talking speaking the phone, getting quotes for the repairs to the building itself, when Xander walked in. He took one look at the situation, "better get my tools," he murmured, going back to his car, stepping back as a delivery man arrived.
"Is there a Mr Rupert Giles here?" The delivery man looked hopefully at Xander. He indicated Giles, sat at the circular table, next to the bookcases, before jogging out to his car.
Giles duly signed the receipt for a large, oblong box, wrapped in brown paper, then sat it on the table, dubiously looking for the return address, there was none. Buffy was also looking at the package with curiosity.
"Whatcha order Giles?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"What? Oh nothing, maybe something Anya ordered while I was away," he started unwrapping the box, meticulously preserving the wrapping for use at a later time. Inside was a plain cardboard box, and he lifted the lid and gasped. Buffy leaned over to see.
"Wow, a sword," she stated with obvious boredom.
"Not just any sword Buffy," he lifted out the sword carefully, sheathed in a tooled leather scabbard. Carefully, he tried to make sense of the writings worked carefully into the scabbard.
"What does it say?" Buffy was restless, "hey there's something else in there!" She lifted out a soft beige suede pouch, opened the drawstring carefully and poured the contents on the table. Eight strange stones scattered across, the table, four white, four black.
"Buffy, put them back," Giles almost shouted, backing away from them, "they're wards, dangerous and magical." Quickly Buffy scooped them up and put them back in the pouch, acting like they were hot coals.
"Who'd send us these?" Xander had walked in and was staring at the sword and pouch nervously. Buffy reached forward and took the sword out of the box again. As she tried to pull the sword out of the scabbard, a jolt of violet light snaked out of the hilt. Yelping, she dropped the sword.
"Ow! That Hurt!" Lifting it gingerly, Giles put it back on the box.
"I thought it was a gift, sent by the council," Giles stated, sitting down, "apparently not. Nor would it seem to be for any of us." He replaced the lid on the box and went over to the safe, behind the counter, opened it and placed the box inside carefully.
"Well, back to work," Buffy said, jumping up and quickly looking at her watch, "well, wrong work, I'm due at the Happy Burger in half an hour, so I gotta fly. Come on Dawn, lets go. Later Giles." "Goodbye Buffy," Giles stated, evidently distracted, as Buffy and Dawn rushed out of the shop, heading home. He sat back down, deep in thought, suddenly standing, then hobbling quickly to the steps, almost running up them in his haste. He scanned the bookshelves, before deciding on a thick leather-bound volume, before settling down on the stool nearby to read. Its title, Mythical Creatures and Magical Legends.
Two hours later, he dropped the book in shock, "oh Lord." He looked around, carefully, before picking it up to read the passage again. Then, marking the page carefully, tucked the book under one arm, his cane over the other, before slowly climbing back down.
He carefully took the sword and pouch out of the safe again, checking against the volume laid open on the counter-top, before quickly putting the box away again and reaching for the phone. As he did so, Anya orbed into the shop.
"Giles, hi, what's happening?" She took a look at this concerned frown, before walking over and scanning the book, still laid open on the counter, "Dawn? It's Giles, yes is Buffy back yet? Well, when she does, tell her she must get to the Magic Shop straight away, there may be trouble. Yes, thank you, and I think you ought to get her now, give Xander a call, tell him to bring you in his car." He listened to the answer from Dawn, "no, I'll go and get Buffy myself," took in Anya's appearance, "Anya, would you mind staying here and waiting for the others to arrive, don't let anyone else in, please?" Anya looked at Giles weirdly.
"But Giles, you don't…." He never heard the rest of what she said, because he was out the door and getting into his car.
Twenty minutes, later, the whole Scooby Gang was assembled, including an obviously doped-up Willow, sat around the table, the cardboard box in the centre. Anya looked at each of them, as she surveyed the table - itching to make a statement, but never getting a word in edgeways.
"So you think someone sent us this sword and bag for safekeeping?" Buffy stated.
"That would appear to be the case, its quite ancient and an extremely powerful weapon, Buffy, only wielded by one person for one reason." Giles looked around the table.
"And that is?" Buffy looked at his questioningly. "I believe this is the sword of the Elven Kings, Buffy," Giles stated, his eyes not straying from the box.
"Like Elves? Come on Giles, Fairy Tales now? You've got to be kidding, right?" Buffy looked at him dubiously, "next you'll be saying that fairies exist, or even Leprechauns, come on!"
"I have checked, but we're limited, as none of us can take the sword out of the scabbard to verify its markings. You'll just have to trust me on this." Giles looked again at the sword, "and in the meantime, we need to place a guard on this sword. Who knows who'll come looking for it, it's magic is extremely strong.
"I can feel it Giles," Willow murmured, her eyes never leaving the box on the table, "its drawing me, asking me to touch it!" Giles jumped up.
"Willow, stay away, you're too unstable at present, p-p-please stay away from it. It could be dangerous for you in your current er condition," Giles said, alarmed. Anya, sighing, looking flustered, said , "is anyone going to hear what I have to say on this? After all, I am over one thousand years old, and do know about it?" Giles looked up at her, a furious looking vengeance demon.
"You're right about one thing Giles, it's the Sword of the Elven Kings, " she started, "but you're wrong about it needing to be guarded, it has it's own protection. No-one can touch it but the Elven Royalty, not even you Buffy. No demon or anything else, is going to want to touch it. It will poison them if they try to use it." Giles looked at her dubiously, before checking back to his book.
"Well it appears Anya is correct about this," he stated, "however, I still feel we are missing something here."
" Like who would send it here and why?" Buffy said.
At that instant, there was a glimmer of light, in the middle of the shop. Xander saw it first, and gesticulated wildly, mumbling incoherently. Buffy ran across, shielding her eyes from the glare, but at the ready to fight whatever was orbing in. Slowly the light grew, changing to a bright lilac, with flickers of brighter lilac seeming to fall down within it. Its slow pulse increased, the Scoobies shielding their eyes against the increasing brightness.
Abruptly, the light vanish and in its' wake, a figure crumpled up in a heap on the floor.