Part Two
~**~
"Definitely not the work of vamps," Buffy declared, kneeling
beside the body. "Although I'm surprised the smell of all this blood didn't
draw any of them."
"Must be a big meeting at the Hellmouth or something," Willow said,
trying hard to keep her eyes away from the parts of the dead girl that normally
wouldn't be visible in public – like her stomach lining. "They're all busy.
Does she look familiar to you?"
Xander bent down and picked something up. "I think she's like, a
sophomore or something. She hangs with the druggie crowd." He glanced briefly
at the corpse. "Uh, used to hang with. I'm sure I've seen her around school."
Straightening, he held out his discovery. "Take a look at this."
A strange medallion on a heavy chain hung from his fingers. The
two girls moved in to study it more closely. "You think it has anything to do
with who or what carved her up?"
Willow frowned, her research and study look. "Those look like
runes of some kind around the outside. Wasn't there a break-in of some sort
over at the museum last week? Pieces of a Feudal Japanese collection missing?
Some of this writing could be Japanese, I think."
"We could check the police records, but remember, this is Sunny-Hell. Even if there *was* a report filed, if this thing has any magical properties at all, the report has now mysteriously disappeared." Buffy shrugged. Their town seemed to give the phrase "Turn a blind eye" a new intensity of meaning. Between the mystical powers that battled over the Hellmouth, and the citizenry's ability to ignore almost anything out of the ordinary, if it weren't for Giles and his monitoring of unusual happenings, even the Scooby gang themselves would be clueless about many of the major supernatural events in their hometown. "Xander, hang onto it. We can show it to Giles when we get back." Obediently, the young man stuffed the medallion in his pants pocket.
~**~
Unfortunately, there were other things of more importance to
occupy the trio before they could return to Giles', and once they got back
there, it took a while to stop the bleeding. The Watcher applied ice to
Willow's bruises, and bandaged Xander's arm, and they were all exhausted.
Really, an apparent *regular* murder of a girl with questionable
associates and a funny looking necklace were the least of their worries, and it
was no big surprise they'd completely forgotten about it. Xander only
remembered the thing when he emptied his pockets before shedding his pants and
collapsing on his bed. He tossed it onto his dresser to be dealt with in the
morning.
~**~
Somehow, even with the stitches and bruised ribs, Xander always
felt better in the morning. He stretched like an overgrown cat, only wincing
slightly at the pain that reminded him what parts he had injured *this* time.
*Sort of a self-renewing self*, he thought sleepily. *Stupid optimism, new
every morning*.
The medallion on his dresser arrested his gaze. It didn't look
really broken, but the catch seemed stuck open. He dug around in his top
dresser drawer, pulling out at last a paperclip and a small screwdriver. After
a few minutes of futile fiddling with an unbent paperclip, he took the
screwdriver to the catch, and then – *voila*! – fixed medallion.
After showering, he pulled on his favorite baggy cargos, a tee
shirt and a loose button down, and ran a comb through his wavy hair, making
little real difference. He looked again at the medallion – if he stuck it in
his pocket, he'd probably forget it again, and they really did need Giles to
look at it. The most logical place to carry a necklace, Xander reasoned, is
around the neck. Fastening the catch, he tucked the medallion into his tee
shirt. Something odd sort of vibrated through his body, and as he looked down
at himself, he heard his own voice asking, in a strange cadence, "Don't you
ever iron your clothes?" He sat down hard on his bed.
~**~
"So, let me get this right," Willow said slowly, looking askance
at her childhood friend. "You've been possessed by the spirit of an old lady,
who seems to be channeling Cordelia Chase?"
"Excuse me, but I was only 48 when I died. I really resent that.
Just because I'm not a teenager, like you are…" It was Xander's voice, but not
really. It was slightly higher pitched, and just a hair short of singsong. "And
'possessed' has such a nasty ring to it. I'm just borrowing Alexander's body
for a little while, to get a last message to my daughter. I was on my way to
talk to her when the accident occurred, and I waited a long time to get through
the portal so I could finish that trip." She almost seemed to turn and look at
herself. "I'm sorry, dear, but they don't seem to be getting it, and I'd really
like to be on our way." For a moment, the expression looked more like Xander's,
and he nodded.
"And you came through this 'portal' and into Xander exactly how?"
Buffy's patience was never kept on a very long leash, and had just about
reached the end of its tether.
The woman inside Xander's body sniffed and looked down his nose at
her. "The portal opened; I was waiting; I came through. I have no idea what
opened it, not do I care. I want to go see my daughter."
"Excuse me, um, madam," Giles interrupted, "But I've never know a
possessed person to be conversant with the spirit within them, nor to have
*any* control when possessed. How do we know you're not a, um," the watcher
cleared his throat and had the grace to look uncomfortable, "uh, mental
aberration?"
"Thanks a lot, G-Man," the younger man protested. "Next time I get
possessed by a nice old, uh, a neat lady, see if I tell *you*." The other three
stared as Xander patted himself on the knee. "Thank you, dear." The spirit
within looked at the Watcher with disdain, an expression he'd really never
thought Xander himself capable of, then settled into a patient smile. "I'm
afraid I'm not a very strong personality, unlike most of the others waiting for
the portal to open. The one time I stood
up for myself in life, I ended the day dead, so I haven't had much practice. It's one of the reasons I need to talk to my Kelli, but that's for
her ears only. I simply happened to be the only one of the waiting to be
present when the portal opened this time, so I got through. I couldn't fight my
way ahead of the others. I really can't wrest control of his body away from Mr.
Harris, either, but he's been nice enough to share with me." She patted him
again, and the expression went from her benignly tolerant smile to a purely
Xander sheepish blush and grin, and back again, in seconds.
Willow heard unknown information hinted at, and immediately wanted
more. "Excuse me, Mrs." She stopped – the spirit within Xander had yet to
identify herself.
"Oh, where are my manners?" Xander fretted in that other voice. He
stood up prissily. "Sarah Jamison, pleased to meet you all." She began to
extend her hand, but reconsidered and curtseyed, the already awkward gesture
made all the more so when performed by Xander's body. Then she sat back down.
After a moment of stunned speechlessness, Willow recovered. "Mrs.
Jamison, you said there are others waiting to return. How many?"
She frowned. "Bunches. Lots of people die with unfinished
business, you know. Although, after ten or twenty years, some of them give up
and go on. That's what I've been told, anyway. The portal doesn't open very
often – it's been several years since the last time - until that Ancient
Chinaman – wait, no, he was Japanese – left a few days ago."
Giles appeared to also be intrigued. "And you don't know what
causes this portal to open?"
She shrugged eloquently. "The Jap seemed to know, but he wasn't
sharing anything, outside of the fact that he'd soon be leaving. Then he did.
There are rumors, of course. They say there are several controls that can
switch the portal open, but most of them are only activated by accident. That's
why there's no waiting list or order – if it opens and you're there, you go. I
was there; I came." She turned sort of inward again, and her voice grew
plaintive. "Could we go see Kelli now?"
Xander nodded, and his body language changed again. "I promised
her we'd find her daughter, and it turns out her son-in-law's listed in the
local phone book." Sarah's demeanor reemerged. "Once I complete my mission, I
go back, and Alexander can have his body to himself again." Xander's expression
again. "Not that I don't like you, but I would appreciate that."
Buffy shook her head – it was like watching a game of ping pong
all played in a single spot. Her mind was having trouble bouncing between the
two personalities. "Can we come along?" Not that Xander seemed to be in any
trouble with the spirit, but this WAS Sunnydale, and you just never knew.
The slayer could have sworn she saw them *both* nod at the same
time.
~**~
