See the Prologue for the disclaimers. Still don't own anything If that changes, I'll be sure to let you all know.
Thank you to everybody who reads and especially those kind souls who leave reviews..
Chapter 01
Location – Sunnydale
Time – 3 Days Ago
Any ordinary year, take a large number of teenagers, a free period of school, and the promise of free Halloween costumes, and you'd have a happy throng of teens tearing through the racks looking for that perfect costume. Have this take place anywhere other than Sunnydale High, and even this year you'd have much the same if with a bit less joy. But this was Sunnydale High, and the ultimate downer was lurking at the door like a goblin-shaped killjoy. One word… Snyder. The man who could make Christmas depressing, Halloween joyless, and seemed to be on a crusade to banish the concept of 'happy' from the universe.
And he had his clipboard that loathed clipboard, making sure that every single student showed up to experience the full effect of his loathsome glares and surly temper. Some students he mostly ignored, the athletes, the children of those too rich for him to risk offending, but some got both barrels of his hateful gaze.
Of course those unfortunate souls were also quite inured to the baleful effect of The Snyder Gaze, and so it had little to no effect on them. Buffy and Willow breezed into the gym, sliding right past Snyder without even so much as acknowledging the door trolls existence.
"I've got the list Ethan gave me, and I spent last night researching it and I talked with Amy and Ms. Calendar so we're coordinating our selections since Ethan told us to pick from those three and they were sister ships." Willow wasn't quite babbling as they walked, more talking enthusiastically while Buffy grinned and listened a bit absently. "And I know that Ethan told you which ones to pick from, right? That you had to pick one that had never even been laid down so…"
Buffy chuckled and interrupted her best friend. "Yes, yes, yes. I know, he did, and I did as well." She kept on looking around. "When did Marcie come back?" she suddenly asked as she spotted a visible Marcie Ross near the shipgirl costumes.
"Don't know, but she wasn't here yesterday." Willow frowned. "I hope she isn't here to cause any trouble, because that would be bad, her causing trouble I mean. Because she was with the FBI did she run away from them? What if she's here to kill somebody?"
"Wills, babbling." Buffy chuckled, hip checking the redhead lightly. "I'll ask Giles and Ethan about it later." She managed to catch Marcie's eye, though, and nodded slightly without breaking eye contact, causing the other girl to swallow and fidget nervously before grabbing a costume off a hangar almost blindly and fleeing. "But how did she become visible again?"
"Maybe it wore off when people started paying attention to her after those agents took her?" Willow speculated, then shrugged as she too watched Marcie's departure.
"Maybe." Buffy shrugged. "Anyways…" she grinned as she reached a table set up near the back of the room. "Xander! How's life in retail land treating you." She grinned.
Xander chuckled. "Kill me now? It's only been a few hours and I want out, out I say! I'd even prefer… class to this!" he proclaimed. "You made your pick, Buffster?"
Buffy grinned back, then made a show of slowly pulling out the list Ethan had given her, slowly unfolding it, then consulting it dramatically. "While I would really rather indulge my retail therapy instincts…" she grinned as Xander looked momentarily panicked. "Here, circled it."
With a dramatic wiping of the brow, Xander took the paper, looked at it, and then chuckled. "One hot cowgirl, coming up! Spandex, I hardly knew ya!" he volleyed back, causing both Buffy and Willow to chuckle. "You got yours, Wills?"
Willow tapped her chin with one finger, then laughed as Xander made puppy-dog eyes at her and fished out her own list. "Have Amy or Ms. Calendar picked up their costumes yet?"
"That they have, first period. Cordelia got hers as well." Xander replied, taking the list. "Be right back."
He headed to the back room and returned a few minutes later with a pair of costume bags. "Just so you know, Ethan is looking incredibly smug right now, since he won yet another bet with G-Man over what people would pick."
"And just think, in exchange for not having any class, you'll still be here when all the munchkins come shopping this afternoon." Buffy replied, taking her bag as Willow took hers.
"Don't remind me, do not remind me!" Xander declared, waving his hands frantically. "Why I agreed to help…" he shook his head.
"Because you heard 'excused from classes' and swore on your last Twinkie to help?" Willow answered rhetorically.
Buffy joined in "Or maybe because you wanted to look at all the girls wearing spandex?" she grinned, showing she was teasing, then lowered her voice "Nothing's gone wrong yet, I hope?"
Xander theatrically pouted, but in the same low tones replied "Apart from wigging out when the Cordettes trooped over and all picked out special costumes?"
"All of them? Really?" Buffy was a bit surprised, she knew that Cordelia had agreed, but hadn't expected her to recruit her minions, and certainly hadn't expected those minions to be willing to swear the oath that Ethan was insisting on for the special costumes.
He nodded "All of 'em, and Cordelia picked out one like yours, Buffster."
"Well, Ethan gave her the same list he gave me, so I sorta figured she would." Buffy grinned then and waved teasingly "Well have fun with the retail hell! We, on the other hand, are going home cuz we got a free."
Willow joined her in the teasing wave then the pair headed for the exit, once more breezing right past the glowering troll without even acknowledging his petty existence. As they walked down the hallway Buffy spotted Cordelia surrounded by the Cordettes and gave a pleasant nod to the group of popular girls, but didn't say anything to them.
The halls were familiar enough that the pair could navigate them with their eyes closed if necessary, and it almost was considering how deep in thought Buffy was. She and Ethan had spent several hours talking the night before, and Buffy was growing increasingly nervous. It was one thing to agree something was necessary, it was quite another to actually go through with doing it.
Willow, of course, had a fairly good idea what had her best friend so bothered. "Worried about the revelation?" she finally asked softly as they walked outside.
Buffy took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I mean Ethan and Giles both make good points, and they're confident it'll work, but… I can't help totally worrying about it, you know? It's a big step, and I can't stop remembering what happened the first time I tried to tell her. And add this Key thing on top of it, Mom is going to totally wig out."
"Well, maybe a little." Willow responded while waggling her hand a bit. "But what is this about a Key thing? Is that something you talked about after we left?"
Buffy planted one hand on her face, she sucked at keeping secrets from her friends. "Ummm, pretend I didn't say anything maybe?" she asked hopefully.
"Nope, see this?" Willow pointed at her face, set in an expression of rather fierce resolve. "You know what this means, resolve face."
With a sigh Buffy yielded to the dreaded Rosenberg Resolve Face. "Fine, Ethan said that they'd need something a bit more… pertinent to doors, locks, and all that jazz than simple raw power. And there's this cosmic power thingie called the Key that was going to come to me anyways in a few years, so Janus is simply accelerating things." She took a deep breath. "And warned me, because of that whole free will dealie. Tomorrow I'll have a little sister and everybody will remember her always having been there, and since Ethan and Janus know what they are doing, and are blocking the Powers from interfering, they won't 'screw things up royally like the bloody tossers that they are.'"
Willow blinked a few times, walking in silence for a few moments as she considered what Buffy had said. "OK, that's wiggins worthy right there, somehow this key will become a sister and they'll completely rewrite everybody's memories? Or just insert her in?"
Buffy shrugged. "He said it would be more like an insert, and that I'd remember the conversation and thus know. I just don't know, it seems… a bit weird, but I guess I wouldn't mind a little sister out of this mess. It's just… wiggy. And on top of that, tonight I have to deal with Mom being shown the truth and probably flipping out and going ballistic." She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "But it's still the right thing to do."
The pair continued walking to Buffy's house in silence, lost in thought. It didn't take them all that long, and the pair looked at each other in amusement as Giles' ancient car puttered on up, wheezing and banging and amusing both of them immensely.
"It's the Gilesmobile! With extra Ethan action!" Buffy called out as it sputtered to a stop and the two Englishmen climbed out.
Before Giles could respond, Ethan chuckled "I swear, Ripper, this may be a classic but it's in bloody awful shape. Can't you at least take it in to get it worked on?" he was grinning as he joined the teens on the walk with a spring in his step. "So, shall we wait for Ripper to get his voice back or saunter forth while he's still sputtering in defense of his classic car?"
"ETHAN!" Giles snapped, his former friend effortlessly getting under his skin. At least, he thought, the tosser wasn't telling Ripper stories anymore… not that he had any expectation of that state of affairs lasting any longer than the current crisis. "Can you at least try to be serious for once in your life?"
"Nope!" Ethan cheerfully replied, causing the two teens to roll their eyes. "But let's get this done before your dear Slayer loses her temper, yes?"
Buffy was chuckling, but then the nervousness came back full force and she took a deep breath before heading to the door. "I hope this works…" she murmured, almost under her breath, as she opened it. "Mom?"
Joyce was in the living room curled up around a journal when the door banged open and the cavalcade entered. Looking up, she lifted an eyebrow "Buffy, Willow, Mr Giles…" she greeted her daughter, her daughters best friend, and the librarian, while lifting an eyebrow in silent inquiry towards the stranger with them.
"Ethan Rayne, Ms. Summers." He introduced himself with a faint smile. "I am a colleague of Rippers."
"Dear Lord, must you, Ethan? Really?" Giles fretted, shaking his head in resignation before looking over to Joyce. "We have much to discuss, Ms. Summers." He said more seriously.
Joyce for her part blinked then nodded. "Very well. Coffee? Tea?" she asked politely as she gestured for the group to accompany her into the sitting room. Considering that Buffy and Willow had already descended on the kitchen to appropriate sodas she didn't feel the need to ask them what they wanted, and after getting a pair of requests for tea she quickly prepared a pot for her unexpected guests. "So what do we need to talk about?"
Giles took a sip of his tea, suppressing an automatic grimace at the travesty of tea drunk in the colonies, then settled the cup down precisely. "This will be difficult to believe, but you have my word that it is factual, and we shall endeavor to prove to you the truth of what we are telling you." He paused for a moment, then ignored Buffy and Willow as he started on the familiar spiel. "The world is older than you know, and…"
Before he could continue, Ethan snorted. "Do get on with it, Ripper, proof first, explanation second." He suddenly flicked his arm, and a lethally sharp spring-loaded commando knife flashed across the room… straight for Buffy's throat.
Location – Spike and Drusilla's Lair
Time – Yesterday
Spike looked rather grumpy as he sprawled across a couch moodily. The object of his considerable ire hung on a hangar in front of him. Behind him, Drusilla was dancing again while dressing up one of her dolls in a cute little sailor suit, skipping and singing a song that seemed to consist primarily of 'dess' and 'poi' in no apparent order or reason.
"Couldn't you have at least found a bleedin' British costume for me, luv?" Spike complained, eyes never leaving the white uniform. "Do I look like a bloody Colonial?"
Dru just laughed and suddenly was leaning over the back of the couch, planting a kiss on Spike's forehead. "Miss Edith says you have to wear that one or the kittens will claw and the puppies will bite and everything will go bad bad bad." She brightly explained. "And the naughty stars wouldn't be punished! You want to punish the naughty stars with me, right Spike?"
Spike sighed, shaking his head in resignation. "Oh bollocks." He cursed. "I promised I'd wear it, Dru. But that don't mean I have to like it."
"See? Everything will be Right but spelled Wrong, Miss Edith says so!" Dru trilled, going back to her dancing with wild and carefree abandon as she was now making dit dit dah noises like she was some sort of living telegraph.
Spike just sighed and muttered under his breath, still glaring at the costume.
Location – The Summers' Home
Time – Earlier Today
"Hold still…. Perfect." Buffy set the scissors down and looked her best friend over. "That costume looks wonderful on you. The three of you are going to look totes awesome." She continued, as she turned back to the mirror and adjusted her hat and headphones. "While I will look totes sexy, I can't believe Mom is OK with this, but she only sighed and let it go… and Snyder is going to have the screaming wiggins."
A quick adjustment to her halter top, making sure the fringe hung just right, adjusted the small shiny metallic bolo tie about her neck, and then the blonde slayer twirled around. "How do I look, Wills?" she asked, admiring the faux buckskin outfit. A pair of reddish brown bikini style pants with white fringe held up by a steel metallic belt with an anchor buckle, a red and brown top… with even more white fringe… and a hat that looked like a cowboy hat made of steel with some rather oddball attachments that made it look the hat was actually the bridge of a warship. The long brown gloves with yet more fringe and blue starry trim as well as a pair of cowboy boots that also appeared to be made out of metal completed the outfit.
Willow was dressed far more conservatively, for certain values of conservative, in an old World War II WAVES uniform, albeit with a scandalously short miniskirt rather than the long skirt typically worn. The entire outfit apart from the shirt was coal black rather than blue, with gold buttons and a bright white shirt. The skirt was held up by a shiny metallic belt with a large belt buckle featuring a golden trident and cog flanked by two N's. "Looking good, Buff, and yeah, Snyder is going to totally wig out, but he hasn't got any real basis for it since he authorized all of the costumes that Ethan distributed personally." Her grin was a bit vicious, even with her eyes hidden behind a pair of fake welder's goggles. She reached up and adjusted her hat, a rather prim and proper naval uniform cap of the sort once worn by WAVES back in the Second World War with a large red, white, yellow and blue badge adorning it that proclaimed the cap as belonging to USS Newport News rather than the more typical naval insignia.
With a few final adjustments the two girls left Buffy's bathroom, heading downstairs but pausing as they heard a furious argument erupting from Joyce's bedroom. The two of them chuckled, then continued on their way listening as Dawn tried to convince her mom that she totally could wear the blouse of her costume tied instead of properly buttoned. With a wicked grin Buffy eventually called out "That never worked for me, Dawn, it won't work for you."
A minute or three later, Dawn came galloping down the stairs looking disgruntled. Having inevitably lost the argument in the face of Parental Authority ™, she was wearing a WAVES uniform blouse paired with a faux grass skirt and black bicycle pants along with the same sort of uniform hat as Willow, only hers had the proper USN badge on it. Around her neck was a disgustingly cheerful and bright plastic flower lei.
"Have the vial?" Buffy asked her sister, lifting an eyebrow at the younger girl.
Dawn nodded and shifted the collar of the blouse a bit, showing the sturdy necklace that held a small vial of Buffy's blood. "Yeah, and this is so boring, how come you get to wear that bikini and I have to dress like this?"
"Because I'm 16 and the Slayer and you aren't?" Buffy replied with a slight smile. "You still look wonderful." She reached out and made a small adjustment to the uniform tie that Dawn was wearing, tweaking it slightly to make it fall perfectly straight again.
A few moments later Joyce walked in wearing her own costume, jeans that were raggedly cut off just above the knees, a heavy canvas shirt that was rolled up around her biceps, a red and white checked kerchief tied on her head and an extremely heavy looking set of tool belts about her waist. A pair of welding goggles similar to those worn by Willow and a set of heavy construction boots completed the outfit. On her arms were temporary henna tattoos of grape-laden vines that swirled up her arms to disappear underneath the sleeves and she was carrying a rather hefty canvas bag.
"Xander called, they're setup in the library and we're supposed to all meet in Ms Calendar's computer lab." Joyce informed the teens. "Ethan and Giles are arranging to distract Principal Snyder to keep him out of our way until we've gotten this taken care of and the others have all checked in that they are en-route. Ready?"
Location – Sunnydale High Computer Lab
Time – Earlier Today
Buffy, Dawn, Joyce and Willow walked into an already slightly crowded computer lab, as they were among the last to arrive. Willow immediately broke off to join Jenny and Amy, who were wearing nearly identical costumes, the only real differences being a raccoon-tail added to the hat worn by Jenny and that Amy had on a witch's hat rather than a WAVES hat.
Buffy and Dawn, meanwhile, headed over to where Cordelia was holding court with her Cordettes. "Need to talk to you, Queen C." Buffy rather airily pronounced as she passed by.
Cordelia, for her part, was dressed very daringly in an outfit that looked like it belonged on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. Bright red hot pants that laced up the sides, thigh high red stockings that were held up by steel clips attached to said hot pants. She had a belt that was nearly identical in appearance to Buffy's with the same anchor motif but in gold rather than steel grey, and was wearing a twist front halter top that was covered in sequins and long black opera gloves. A closely fitted black half vest decorated on the back with a large gold fleur de lys matched the black and gold sun hat she was wearing and completed the majority of the outfit. She was carrying a matching black and gold parasol over one shoulder and was wearing a rather cute pair of red and black half-boots.
"You have your vial, right?" Buffy asked once Cordy had stepped away a bit from the Cordettes, earning an eyeroll and a nod.
"Of course I do, Slay girl." Cordy snarked, tapping the crystal vial that hung from a heavy gold necklace.
Buffy was about to snark back when Ethan and Giles entered the lab. "Ladies, Snyder is dealing with a minor bonfire on the 50 yard line, so…" Ethan gestured grandly. "Follow us, please, and we shall get this all taken care of."
Pretty much everybody looked at least somewhat nervous, fidgeting and adjusting their costumes, but they followed the two men as they moved from the computer lab to the library where an elaborate circle had been laid out on the floor directly over the Hellmouth. Xander was busily setting out the last of the candles that adorned an altar that had originally been a book cart but had been promoted to hold a fairly substantial bust of Janus.
"Here's how we're going to do this." Ethan explained. "As you can see there are placards bearing your names, find yours and stand on it, then link hands with your neighbors." He paused, looking them all over. "I already told you all this individually, but I'm going to do it again. You are all going to be instrumental in saving humanity from enslavement to a power-mad group of so-called Higher Beings. Just ask Ripper, and he'll confirm that I'm a prankster and a joker who never takes anything seriously, but I must say that I am both humbled and awed at how many of you were willing to step forward and take up a burden that nobody should be forced to bear."
He was about to continue speaking when a dreamy voice floated out of the stacks. "Look, Ms. Edith! Here are all the good stars ready to spank the naughty stars! Just like you told me." Out of the shadows drifted Drusilla, the vampiress dressed in a costume much like the girls and holding a doll dressed in a sailor suit. Following her strode Spike dressed in a rather elaborate World War 2 era admiral's uniform.
Spike smirked, taking a drag on a cigarette. "Indeed, luv." He stepped around his sire and leaned insouciantly on one of the bookshelves. "If I have to wear this ridiculous monkey suit, you don't get to try and bloody stake me. I refuse to kill another slayer in this utterly absurd Colonial get up." he tossed off as Buffy grabbed a stake off a nearby table. He took another drag on his cigarette and snubbed it out on the shelf, ignoring Giles' squawk of outrage. "And before you ask, I may be the Big Bad, but I'm pretty bloody fond of this world as it is, and wiping out all the little Happy Meals on legs just isn't on my bloody agenda. So let's get on with it."
Dru was swaying in place, dancing with herself, then stopped and looked up. "And Ms. Edith says that you'll need us to make this work or the naughty stars will eat the kittens and puppies and put us all in chains."
Ethan just cleared his throat. "I was wondering when you'd show up, old boy." He said drolly to Spike, then half-bowed to Drusilla. "And welcome, Drusilla, I'm glad Ms. Edith led you here." He smiled. "If you would take your places, I'm quite certain you heard the instructions, yes?" he gestured to the circle of placards.
Somewhat hesitantly the girls (and Spike) took their places, although Buffy started glaring daggers at Ethan when it turned out that Spike was standing right next to her. "You try anything, Captain Peroxide, and ritual or not I'll stake your undead ass." She growled at him, then almost defiantly took his hand at the mild look from Ethan.
Ethan then knelt before the altar, spreading his arms wide, and a pulse of magic ignited all of the candles simultaneously. In a hollow, echoing voice, Ethan began chanting the words given to him by his god.
"Rogamus vos, Ianus. Vobis dicimus Ianus. Colligitur coram te in nomine tuo. Sumus coram te ostium apertum. Venimus ad te in nomine tuo immutant. Da nobis virtutem. Dona nobis fortitudine tua. In fortitudine Clavis, ut portas aperirent. In virtute tyrannidem venatricis potest vinci. In visione visus Apollo patebit. Aperi ab hostibus iter signavit, O Iane. Fiat justitia, si aeri incidit. Qui uoluntate sacramentum iuravimus, qui quærunt animam tuam benedictionem tibi dicimus. Ut supra dictum est. Et intendimus. Fiat voluntas tua."
The candles suddenly flared into a bonfire, and the eyes of the idol opened. Eldritch energy seemed to crackle and suddenly a small tremor could be felt. A deep voice, felt rather than heard, experienced rather than listened to, spoke but a single word. "Done."
All was still for a fraction of an instant, then a sudden explosion of energy lanced upwards from below. A pure white crackling column of raw power erupted from what had been until instants earlier the most active Hellmouth on Earth. But this power, this pure, holy power, came from no place that could be fairly described as 'hell'. It cleansed, rather than burned.
In that pulse of power, everything changed. And nothing would be the same. In their cosmic lair, the Powers That Be shrieked in rage and fury as their latest gambit crumbled before their eyes. The torch of humanities progress had been lit, a bonfire of change and progress. And deep in the Abyss, a barred portal shattered. Now, what would have been a massacre would be a war. A war to the knife.
AN: Latin translation courtesy of google. Original text as follows.
We beseech you, Janus. We call to you, Janus. We gather before you in your name. We come before you to open the doorway. We come before you to bring about change in your name. Grant to us your power. Grant to us your might. By the strength of the Key, may the portal be opened. By the strength of the Huntress may tyranny be defeated. By the vision of Apollo may our sight be clear. Open the path sealed by your enemies, oh Janus. Let justice be done even if the sky falls. We who have sworn the oath of our own free will, we who seek your blessing, we call to you. So we have spoken. So we intend. Let your will be done.
