Pure black clothing doesn't really work for burglary in the normal world, despite what all the movies and television shows try to convey. During real life, there's often too much contrast between the murky illumination at night and this completely dark garb, making it much easier to observe anyone attempting a felonious entry. Besides, the cops are remarkably deaf to any excuses offered by someone they've detained while that character is wearing a monochromatic outfit which only needs an empty cloth sack and a domino mask to finish off the whole ridiculous cliché.
Silently making his way through the darkness of Faber College's grounds well after the midnight hour, a confident Xander Harris strolled down the dimly-lit campus sidewalk, all while dressed in his ordinary attire of jeans, sneakers, and a maroon sweatshirt. *Hello, officer, just taking a walk around the block to try to get some sleep. It's the only thing I've found that helps with my insomnia. Say, you got any ideas on how to doze off more easily?* The oddest part was, people were at any time more than eager to offer advice about someone's wakefulness. The only thing that brought forth even more suggestions from them was on how to deal with a serious case of hiccups.
The man also wearing his eyepatch kept on walking, ignoring the rubbing of his sock against the several small steel implements taped to the inside of his left ankle. A few minutes' work earlier today on his own in the Delta House garage after rummaging through the piles of junk in there had produced a fair enough set of lockpicks. These were sure to be needed, given his task tonight of searching through the shut-down buildings of Faber College.
Xander was ruefully aware he could've simply asked around the fraternity. Without a doubt, inside five minutes, someone would've produced a complete collection of duplicate keys to every locked door, file cabinet, cupboard, and security device in the entire school. However, by then, all the brothers in Delta would also be genuinely curious on why the man they knew as Silver wanted the keys in the first place. Xander really didn't think they'd buy his explanation that he had to thoroughly investigate the school for demons and other supernatural creatures.
Or maybe they would. Mulling this over, Xander shuddered slightly at the very thought of the more crazier guys in Delta ever getting their hands on some real magic. It'd been bad enough years ago back at Sunnydale U, what with those various college jerks there being involved in human sacrifices and the other weird Hellmouth stuff the Scooby Gang had to deal with at this California university branch near the Boca del Infierno. Xander was reasonably sure that Bob, Boon, Otter, et al, wouldn't go that far, but they'd certainly insist on doing something previously impossible and seriously humiliating to those stuck-up dipwads at Omega House. Like, say, turning 'em all into beavers or some other ridiculous animal. Actually, Xander himself was honestly in favor of this, but right now, he had to start looking around the campus for some hint as to why he was stuck in the Animal House movie. So far, while he'd already managed to discover the presence of demons (well, one demon), there seemed to be no specific reason for his presence in this comedy film.
So, where to go first? Maybe there'd be some clues in the cafeteria, or he could check out the lair of supreme evil known as the gym, or how about the Administration Building, where there were now a couple of guys leading a white horse towards that place…
Waaaait a minute.
Halting in his tracks in the shadows, but not otherwise moving (motion attracts the eye), Xander felt a sudden grin tug at the corners of his mouth. He continued to gleefully watch what was taking place at the front of the building ahead. After getting the main doors open, the three guys which he managed to recognize even this far away as Flounder, D-Day, and Bluto eventually persuaded the suspicious horse to enter the structure, and then someone closed the doors behind themselves.
Jogging forward, Xander headed right at the Administration Building, sniggering quietly under his breath during this short journey. Oh, yeah, he remembered that exact scene in the movie. Tonight, the two senior Delta brothers had found Flounder in the school stables glumly cleaning out the stall of the hated horse ridden by his equally despised ROTC commander. A few minutes of fast talking finally convinced the pudgy college student to join in with the other pair to pull off a glorious prank by sneaking the horse into the Dean's office. Of course, the movie had skipped over the minor details of how this had actually happened, which was why Xander had just decided to go over there. Not that he'd announce himself to the guys or anything else; why should he spoil their fun? But Xander did want to see how things were working out with the horse. It'd probably be hilarious, too, which was as good as a reason as any.
Stopping in front of the closed main doors, Xander gently tugged on the left-side handle, causing this panel to slowly swing open. Fine, the Deltas hadn't locked it after themselves. Leaving the door only a few inches ajar, the New Council member pressed his face to this gap, and he peered through it with his remaining eye into the illuminated entrance hall. It was completely deserted, but as Xander lowered his gaze, he spotted a clear and evident clue, right at the foot of the landing of the main staircase set in the center of the room. Wryly shaking his head, Xander pulled the door fully open, and he slipped inside the building, carefully closing the door behind him afterwards.
Now that he was in the entrance hall with various offices and other rooms at the sides of the corridors running beyond the stairs, the sounds coming from the upper floor were easily distinguishable. Particularly the stomping hooves, the incessant cursing, and a nervous equine's whickering. Grinning at the staircase, Xander had to admire how the Deltas had already gotten their escorted beast up to at least the second story. From what he was hearing, they were still determinedly making their way to the Dean's office on the next floor. Still, even if a night watchman now showed up and somehow ignored the unusual noises coming from on high, that security guard was surely bound to notice the still-steaming mound of horse droppings on the floor in front of the stairs.
Rolling his single eye in sheer exasperation at his Delta brothers' carelessness, Xander looked around. Yep, there was an utilitarian-style door tucked away at an inner wall at the right side of the building. Striding over, the man grabbed and twisted the doorknob, only to find it was locked. No problem. Xander bent over and slipped his hand into his left sock. Wincing slightly as some leg hair came loose, Xander ripped free the lockpicks from the tape holding them, and he straighted up with his hand full of several short steel rods with oddly shaped heads.
Giving the locked door a considering gaze, one specific pick was chosen, but not for its intended purpose. Xander instead used the slimmest head as a jimmy, sliding it down through the space between the vertical edge of the door and the jamb. A quick twist of his fingers successfully forced the door bolt back into its socket. When the door popped ajar, Xander absently tucked away the lock picks into his front jeans pocket, and he pulled the door completely open, only to peer into absolute blackness.
Putting a hand past the doorway and groping against the inside wall, Xander's fingers found and flicked on a light switch. This revealed a short corridor with another, equally prosaic door at the end of the passageway. Going inside, the man again tried the newest door, which this time was unlocked. Again turning on the lights in there, Xander nodded in satisfaction at discovering a janitor's closet. A few seconds of rummaging around in the closet resulted in finding a broom and a dustpan. Carrying these cleaning tools while stepping out of the corridor into the entrance hall, Xander abruptly came to a dead stop.
The one-eyed man slowly turned around to stare in disbelief at the still-open doorway from which he'd just left. It'd been totally unexpected, and Xander had felt only the most fleeting of familiar tingles, but when he'd passed through that corridor, the Sunnydale survivor had sensed…magic.