2's a Crowd 2

Part 1: More Fragments Chapter 25

Standing outside the Prestige Theater, Whistler examined the marquee and saw it was only showing movies made in the last couple of decades, like Back to School and Caddyshack. Closing his eyes, the balance demon reached out and willed an addition to the theater, a fourth screen that would show black and white movies. Opening his eyes he saw no change but noticed an alley off to the side that hadn't been there before. Entering the alley he spotted a heavy metal door against the wall across from the dumpster. He tried to open it but it appeared to be locked.

A slot in the top of the door opened up and a pair of eyes looked him over. "What's the password?"

"Please?" Whistler guessed, knowing Xander's sense of humor.

The door opened and Whistler was allowed in. The inside looked like a 1920's speakeasy crossed with a very swanky theater. Whistler was in heaven, and not just literally.

A martini in one hand and a cigar in the other, that he bought from a girl in a low cut top with a tray of smoking supplies, Whistler settled into his plush and roomy seat and waited for the movie to start. A couple of people arrived and took their own seats just before Casablanca began.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

The thirteen wings all lined up inside the dojo. Xander, being the odd man out, especially now as the angels were all female.

Ed looked upon the thirteen rows of thirteen angels and Xander's position off to the side of the first row with approval. "Today, you will all be issued your basic weapon. This of course is a lie, what we are actually doing is issuing you an illusionary item that will help you focus and bring out your own weapon," he explained as he paced back and forth in front of them. "So everyone in order, step forth, receive your lie and return to ranks."

Everyone received a simple katana, fitting with the black robes they wore and the Asian theme that had developed.

"Now, we will step out into the Plains of Discontent and you girls will sing up some enemies to fight. I understand that none of you have been warrior before, or rather most of you," he corrected himself. "So I will give you a hint. You must channel your faith and belief into your weapon for it to have any effect, you must make your lie the truth."

Filing outside they found themselves standing in ankle deep mist that obscured the ground across the featureless plain.

"I would suggest starting with something small," Ed suggested. "I'll be watching." There was a flutter of wings and Ed vanished.

"How do we sing up enemies?" Xander asked.

A short, curvy angel with bright red hair and a name Xander couldn't pronounce, so she said to call her Rose, laid a hand on his arm, so the others would know she was going to explain. "This place isn't stable, it's more shadow than substance. If you visualize something here, you give it shape, and by singing you tap into what substance there is and give it a knowledge of self."

"So I just sing about a monster," Xander said, racking his brain for a suitable song.

"Something small enough to train on without overwhelming us," Rose reminded him.

"Zombies are pretty easy," Xander decided. "It's close to midnight," Xander sang, surprised at how easy it was. Normally his voice could charitably be called average, but now… Michael would be proud.

The sky darkened and the girls turned their attention to their surroundings, swords held nervously.

"And something evil's lurking in the dark!"

Everyone felt a cold cloying presence manifest just outside their field of vision, but it didn't cause fear instead it kindled a spark of anger in their hearts, that something so foul could exist.

"Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart!"

Rotted and decaying corpses shambled out of the dark.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Whistler noticed the change almost instantly as he and the dozen or so tourists on vacation in the demi-plane that was Xander's soul, helped channel the energy needed to bring forth the weapon Xander required without consuming the changes they'd put in.

Yes, Xander's soul had attracted a small tourist population, mostly composed of beings that had at least a tenuous connection to him. Mostly…

"Lord Raiden?" Whistler asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hiding out from my ex," Raiden replied. "Plus, where else can you find a movie theater that still allows smoking?"

"And drinking," Whistler said, raising his glass.

Raise clinked his glass against Whistler's. "I'll drink to that."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

It took three days of non-stop battling to put down 'the evil men call the thriller' and the angels resolved to never ask Xander to call up what he'd consider a small foe again.

Ed nodded in satisfaction. He's expected it to take months to get them to where they were now, but Harris made a damn good call, take away their voice so they had to rely on their weapons, and have them attacked relentlessly so they'd have to pull it together. Ed himself had only had to intervene a couple of times to keep them from being overrun and managed to do so in such a way that they'd never seen him.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"What you are doing is wrong," Cordelia told Buffy with a glare.

"Look," Buffy said, "this is a once in a lifetime chance. Angel hasn't seen the sun or eaten human foods in centuries. It's not like I'm sleeping with him, we're just making out and such until Willow figures out how to put things right."

"And if Xander was doing anything with your body without you conscious, you'd scream rape," Cordelia replied, not at all happy about the 'and such' or about the dreams she'd been having where girls with flawless skin and perky breasts were asking permission to have sex with Xander and kept knocking over the lamp next to her bed with their wings.

"Which would be completely different because I'd still be in it not giving consent," Buffy argued.

"How's the research into reversing the spell going?" Cordelia asked, realizing she wasn't going to change Buffy's mind.

"Slow," Buffy admitted. "Apparently shoving a soul into the wrong body and displacing the original soul with a forgotten Gypsy curse isn't a common problem. Plus, we got word Angelus is planning a major offensive using the Judge and we still don't know where."

"No weapon forged, takes an army, yadd yadda." Cordelia waved it off. "I want to know when you'll be removing your hands from my boyfriend's pants and working on returning him."

"I tell you what," Buffy said, glaring at the irate brunette, "you take care of the Judge and I'll be more than willing to devote all my time to help research a way to kill Angel, I mean fix things."

"Newsflash, blondie, Angel's been dead since before the Mayflower set sail, he's just been haunting different bodies, but fine, I'll find a way to kill your unkillable demon, and then you'll find a way to return my boyfriend to me or we'll see how you do against whatever I use against Mr. No Weapon Forged!" Cordelia turned and stormed off. She needed help on this and that meant brains which meant she had to corral a couple of geeks.

Typing by: Bailey Matutine