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Note 1: As usual positive reviews will be greatly appreciated, constructive criticism will be considered but not necessarily acted on and negative/venomous/trolling/bashing reviews will either be ignored or burned as fuel to keep this story going.
Note 2: Sorry it took so long to post something new. My muse is fickle but fortunately watching the newest Doctor Strange movie greased the wheels enough get me interested again.
The Skies Above Sunnydale, Xander's POV
~What am I going to do?!~ He thought as he continued to follow the trail of emerald energy.
Ever since he'd mind spoken to Tala he'd tried to come up with a plan to get Eyghon to the ritual site without doing irreparable harm to Buffy's body. Hell, he'd prefer to not do it any harm whatsoever but he somehow doubted that the demon inside of her would be so obliging. It'd determinedly sought out Phillip and Giles, even with an ocean as well as a country to cross. It wouldn't just leave Buffy's body because he asked it to or step inside the ritual area, so force was bound to be necessary.
He just hoped that it wouldn't require more force than Buffy's body could endure.
There was just one other thing on his mind at the moment: the trail he was following wasn't heading towards where he knew the ritual site was located. He'd presumed from the beginning that the demon was homing in on the two from the minute it entered Sunnydale. However, now that it'd acquired a new host body, he'd expected it to go all bloodhound and seek the two Brits immediately.
So what was it doing?
It was only after he found himself above the section of Sunnydale that had the roach motels and apartment buildings where the landlords could be bought for the right price that he remembered something. There was one more acquaintance of G-Man's that might be in town and could be a target of Eyghon as well.
Ethan Rayne.
According to Giles the man was the one responsible for the Halloween spell and was a self-proclaimed servant of chaos.
He didn't particularly mind the upgrade he got but it was also thanks to that spell that Buffy had wound up in the hospital in the first place. While a part of him was tempted just to step back and let Eyghon kill Ethan, he knew that neither Giles or the others would approve of such inaction. More than that, he figured that it was probably something that Tony Harris would do and that pretty much decided matters for him.
As he cleared some trees he spotted the source of the emerald energy in the form of Buffy's body, still clad in a hospital gown, just before she kicked in the door of a motel. Descending like a swooping hawk, he touched down outside the room and entered to find Eyghon stalking Ethan, who looked like he'd been thrown into a wall.
"You know, normally I'd just sit back and admire the view but it's a little too easy for people to think I'm some kind of voyeur," he said in order to get Eyghon's attention away from Rayne.
Turning around to look at him, he saw the green glowing eyes, the pointed ears and, unless he was mistaken, the blonde Slayer's fingernails had grown into claws with pitch black tips.
"Sorcerer. I had a feeling you would show up," Eyghon said with a dual voice that was a mix of Buffy's and something inhuman. "However you won't stop me. With the power this form possesses I am more than protected against anything you might try."
"I only showed you one of my tricks before Eyghon," he said, doing his best to sound confident. "I've learned more since then."
"Then let's see what they are!" Eyghon yelled as it leapt across the room at him, clawed hand ready to slash at him.
Deciding to go with the move he had the most proficiency with, he reached out with both hands to grasp the attacking form telekinetically. He managed to stop Buffy's body before it could enter his personal space but almost immediately Eyghon used it to fight against him. It was amazing as well as horrifying the kind of strength Buffy had as the Slayer. He'd seen her do plenty of impressive things but feeling it first hand as he strained to maintain his hold on her proved that his blonde friend had been exercising a lot more restraint than he'd thought.
Deciding to keep Eyghon on the defensive, he threw Buffy's body out of the room's window and onto the walkway. Moving quickly to follow he ignored Rayne, figuring that there'd be time enough to deal with him AFTER Buffy had gotten Eyghon kicked out of her body.
Throwing a telekinetic punch at Buffy's head, he knocked the body back to the ground just as it regained its footing from going out the window.
"Looks like even with a special body you're not much of a challenge for me, Eyghon," he said, intent of provoking the demonic entity. "Don't know what Phillip and Giles were so worried about."
"Then let me show you," Eyghon said before executing a swipe with Buffy's right arm.
An unseen force that he peripherally recognized as a telekinetic attack sent him over the railing on the motel's second level walkway but he was saved from a messy impact thanks to the Cloak of Levitation's semi-sentience. However he didn't have long to feel relieve as a form tackled him from behind, causing him to hit the pavement hard.
Knowing that a follow up attack was coming, he made his move.
"Induit idemque inviolabile!" he commanded, activating another of the canned spells Tala had armed him with.
In the space between seconds he became ghost-like even as one of Buffy's altered clawed hands shattered the pavement that'd been beneath him. Using the Cloak to get clear he managed to get a little over thirty yards away before the spell of intangibility ended. According to what Tala had told him, each piece of canned magic could only be used once before disappearing for good and that meant he had six more spells that could help him before he'd have to rely on his own magic.
~It's gonna be tough to get Eyghon to the ritual site from here~, he thought before taking a look at his watch. ~Especially with the time frame the ritual needs to be done in.~
By his reckoning the ritual site was a little over ten blocks from the motel and his watch said he had less than half an hour to get Eyghon there before the window of opportunity passed.
"Nice try, but this isn't my first rodeo," he said, showing zero fear. "Show me something I haven't seen before."
"As you wish," Eyghon said as it hunched Buffy's body over and began to growl.
For a few moments he just thought that the possessing demon was trying to psych itself up for some kind of berserker run at him. This changed as he began to see the tanned Californian skin Buffy usually had begin to shift towards a more crimson hue most people would associate with blood. The claws on each hand and on the toes that he could now see clearly had the blackness on each tip begin to spread back towards the increasingly crimson flesh. Take all of this and add it to a mild increase in muscle mass and he could only surmise that Eyghon was pouring more of its power into changing its host body.
Preparing for a burst of speed or strength, he was caught completely off guard when the possessing demon opened Buffy's mouth wide before a stream of fire erupted from it.
In response to this the Cloak of Levitation threw much of itself in front of him to act as a shield, intercepting the fire and keeping it from harming him. Nevertheless he could feel the heat the flames were putting out even with the cloak in the way and when he spotted little specks of burn black beginning to form he willed himself into the air. It took a few seconds to get out of the range of the fire stream but once he had the cloak got out of his line of sight in time for him to see Eyghon close Buffy's mouth, visible blackness around the edges, implying only partial immunity to the flames. The blackness seemed to retreat into Buffy's mouth before disappearing from sight entirely.
"That's some nasty morning breath you got there, Eyghon," he said as he settled on the ground half a football field's length away. "I'd offer a breath mint if I had one."
"You talk big but you're still the one who backed away due to the danger," Eyghon said with a toothy, malicious grin.
"The only danger I was backing away from was passing out from your bad breath," he said, dismissing the provocation. "You got anything else in that bag of tricks?"
The answer came with a puff of brimstone smoke first engulfing Buffy's body before a second mass of blackness popped into existence not two feet from him. Instinct alone along with the semi-sentience of the cloak caused him to quickly move backwards away from the threatening smoke. This proved to be the right course of action since from the inky black smoke came a crimson hand with black claws tipping each finger along with the thumb. If he'd stayed where he'd been he'd have been torn up pretty badly, if not impaled, depending on how the variables had played out. As more of Buffy's possessed body came out of the mass of brimstone he added teleportation to the list of abilities that Eyghon was somehow manifesting through his friend's body.
A few more attempts were made by the possessing demon to catch him or kill him via short-range teleportation but, now that he had a better idea of what to look out for, he was able to handle it. With a stray thought he began to choose the direction he'd retreat to be the same direction that the ritual site was located in. If he could provoke Eyghon into staying focused on tearing him apart, the demon wouldn't realize it was being led someplace and with a bit of luck everything would go according to plan. Glancing at his watch he could see that he had about forty minutes until the stroke of midnight when the ritual needed to begin but to him that was just enough time to get things done.
"That's your next trick? Fart up some smoke to hide and then attack?" he asked rhetorically from a relatively safe distance away. "If you're going through a list of stinky super powers, the next one's probably going to be smelly sweat poison or something. LAME!"
Hearing the feral growl that most demons gave, he could tell that he'd wounded Eyghon's pride with that one and that it'd be interested in kicking his ass as a result. He figured that with how angry it looked to be with Buffy's normally human body, it wasn't going to be looking for any new angles or hidden purposes just yet. He needed to keep this going for as long as possible and hope that, by the time the possession demon got wise, he'd be close enough to the ritual site that he could fling it the rest of the way.
In the blink of an eye Eyghon teleported again, but instead of reappearing in front of him, the end point puff of smoke manifested off to the right. But as soon as he focused on that location it doubled in size and his mind almost didn't figure out what that meant until the very last second. Spinning in place while also pushing off the ground with his feet, he saw confirmation that his foe had performed a double teleport to get behind him. As he watched the clawed hands, both of them, reaching out for him, he realized that due to his lateness in realizing what was going on it didn't look like he'd be able to escape getting hurt this time.
~This is going to hurt!~
Then, out of nowhere, a blurred form came flying through the air and struck Eyghon with an airborne sidekick that sent it tumbling off course. Sensing his life was no longer in danger he used the cloak to cease his backward motion so he could more easily assess the change to the situation. The blurred form that'd saved him at the last second turned out to be this dark skinned Jamaican girl about his own age. However, given how far she'd managed to kick Eyghon off course, there was no way that she was an ordinary teenage girl and to him that meant either demon or she was the new Slayer he'd heard about from Giles a day or so ago. If the latter turned out to be the case then this was a spot of good luck since between the two of them herding Eyghon towards the ritual site would be relatively easy, especially if they could knock out the demon. Then all they'd need to do would be to carry Buffy's body the relatively short distance and place her in the circle.
When the second Slayer, however, took out a wicked looking short sword, he began to worry about her what the girl was going to do next. He was pretty sure that there had to be less lethal tools for subduing a possessed ally. With a bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, he'd need to figure out whether she truly was a new ally or just another obstacle getting in the way of getting rid of Eyghon without getting rid of Buffy.
"Um… just what do you plan on doing with that?" he asked, hoping things weren't as bad as he thought they were.
"I t'ought I'd separate it's 'ead from its body," the Second Slayer replied as Eyghon began to regain footing in Buffy's body.
"Normally I'd be happy with seeing a demon's head rolling around on the floor but, seeing as how it's Buffy's head with Eyghon behind the wheel, I'm gonna have to say no to that," he said as he began to think up ways of winning a two against one fight. "Besides, I've got plans of my own and killing Buffy would put a big crimp in them."
"T'en I guess dere'll be two heads rolling on the ground tonight," the Second Slayer said, adjusting her position to better attack both him and Eyghon.
"It doesn't have to be this way," he said, wanting to avoid a three way fight. "There's a way to get rid of Eyghon without killing anyone. Just give me a chance!"
"Me Watcher has ordered Slayer Summers' body slain and de demon wit' it," the Second Slayer said with no sign of consideration. "Dat is all I need to know."
"So you're basically the Council's wind up doll? A puppet?" he said angrily at the possibilities of how this Slayer had been made to think that this was okay. "You aren't the champion of humanity if you give up your humanity in the process."
"If de prize is savin' de world den I'll do what I must. Dat is my duty," the Second Slayer said, bringing her short sword up into a ready stance.
"If it's the ONLY way to save the world I'd probably go that far, too, but that isn't the case here. Not by far!" he yelled as he mentally went through his list of stored spells before choosing two. "Right now it's all about saving my friend and sending a demon screaming out of this dimension. Let's see who has the stronger purpose!"
Looking at Eyghon, he could see that the fully recovered possession demon wasn't planning on running away while he was otherwise occupied. This was a good thing since it'd save him having to track it down but it also looked like it was still interested in tearing him a new one.
Lucky him.
The Ritual Site, Five Minutes to Midnight, Giles' POV
"It sounds like the fighting's stopped," he said as the sounds of clashing steel the sights of flashy flame came to an end.
"Yes, but to what outcome?" Phillip asked as he waited with Tala to do their part in the ritual. "It certainly sounded like Alexander was having a hard time of it."
"I'd never say this to his face but Alexander has a resourceful mind and the makings of an iron will," Tala said, looking at her watch. "I have faith that he'll make it here in time."
Indeed, one of the things he'd noticed about Xander since their initial meeting was an unwavering loyalty to those he called friend as well as the ability to think quickly on his feet. True the tactics the boy employed didn't always work out but that was just a sign of inexperience and lack of knowledge. With time and the right teacher he was sure the lad would become good enough that his actions would no longer fall to pieces when you least expected it. Until that day came it was his duty as the adult to provide what aid he could and keep the teenage boy from doing anything ill advised.
A trying task if there ever was one.
Nevertheless, he's be lying if he said that he wasn't worried at all because, as far as he knew, Eyghon didn't have the ability to produce plumes of flame. As for the steel clashing, he supposed that the demon might've found a lead pipe or some other makeshift metal method of battering Xander. He did not know what prepared spells Tala had provided Xander with and that lack of knowledge left him a bit uneasy since he couldn't contemplate potential scenarios as well as outcomes. Being a man of knowledge, the lack of it kept him from being completely at ease.
It was only when he spotted an airborne form advancing towards him that he allowed himself a measure of relief. Only Xander had the ability to fly and the fact that he had the strength to do so meant that he had not suffered serious injury. However it was when the flying form got close enough for him to see more that he realized that the young man was carrying TWO bodies towards them rather than just one. Confused by this, his gaze sharpened as he tried to figure out the reason behind the anomaly but it only came when the sorcerer-in-training was beginning his descent.
"BLOODY HELL! Xander, what have you done to Slayer Young?!" he exclaimed as his mind imagined the potential ramifications of what he was seeing.
It'd been his plan to keep Xander's magical power a secret from the Council for as long as possible in order to prevent the youth from being taken advantage of, or worse targeted for termination. To that end he'd put nothing in his reports and impressed upon the young man the need to stay under the metaphorical radar. What could possibly have happened to cause his plans to blow up in his face?
"Just knocked her out and wasn't THAT tough to do. Slayers really are built Tonka tough," Xander said as he touched down on the ground. "Besides, it's not like I had a choice. Her Watcher had ordered her to kill Eyghon."
"While that certainly would have delayed our plans until tomorrow night, you know that no mortal made blade can kill Eyghon. At most it would only slay its host body, forcing it to seek out a new one," he said, now understanding how Slayer Young had come into contact with Xander.
"Yeah, but this is one host I'm not going to let die," Xander said before stepping out of the way so he could see the host Eyghon had chosen.
"Buffy! But how? When?" he asked as the gravity of the situation tripled in less than a second.
"I followed the trail to the hospital and it led right to Buffy's room. The doc tending to Buffy confirmed she wasn't in her room anymore. I went after Eyghon and found him deciding to add Rayne to his body count," Xander replied before dragging Slayer Young to a nearby tree. "We fought and then the Jamaican Slay-gal butted in, saying she'd kill Buffy because her Watcher told her to. She wasn't even willing to consider saving Buffy! What kind of Slayer doesn't even try to rescue her sister-in-arms?"
"Sadly it is the belief of the traditionalist faction that Watcher Zabuto belongs to that Slayers are soldiers in the war against the darkness. To them the mission must take top priority over everything else, even the life of a Slayer," he explained, recalling one of the things he didn't like about Travers and his ilk. "It is likely that Watcher Zabuto believed that Buffy remaining in Eyghon's possession represented an unacceptable breach of security and therefore ordered Slayer Young to resolve the problem. In their defense, I spent years researching Eyghon after my first encounter and never did I find a safe way of extracting it without killing the host. They likely believed that saving Buffy was hopeless."
"Then it is good that the Sanctum Sanctorum has access to magical knowledge found nowhere else in this world. While I will need to make some adjustments to the ritual, I believe it is possible to pull Eyghon out for banishing without harming Buffy Summers," Tala said with a measured tone of voice. "However dealing with the rest will take further research."
He was a bit puzzled by what the sorceress meant so he approached Buffy's unconscious body to find an answer and was shocked at what he saw. It'd been difficult even with the lighting that the various ritual elements provided and, since they hadn't had the luck of a full moon being out, he'd only seen the barest of details. Now that he was closer though he could see much more and it made him wonder just how big a knowledge gap truly existed when it came to what he knew about Eyghon. Buffy's skin had turned to a crimson color akin to what you'd see on roof tiles, both toe and fingernails had changed into black claws, her musculature had also been enhanced and through her open mouth he could see that her incisors had become decidedly more fang-like in shape. Add to that the pointed ears that were only just small enough to be concealed beneath her blonde hair and he realized all too well what Tala meant.
During the terrible night when he and the others had foolishly summoned Eyghon for fun, he'd seen what the demon did to a human host that was still alive. The physical changes were significant but they did not match what he saw now, leaving him to wonder what third element was in play that he had not been aware of.
"We can worry about that later. Tala, can you do something to tie up the stone cold Slayer here?" Xander asked, looking at his instructor. "We don't need her waking up at the wrong time and interrupting the ritual."
"What happened to the binding spell I provided you with?" Tala asked even as she used magic to manipulate the wood of the tree Slayer Young was propped up against.
"I kinda… fired it off in a rush and missed," Xander replied, looking a little embarrassed at his error.
"Clearly I'll have to work on your mental conditioning," Tala said as the wood of the tree finished wrapping around Slayer Young securely. "Magic users who intend to enter into combat must be able to cast their spells accurately and efficiently no matter how tense or chaotic the situation. It's not like you're both going to stand perfectly still and just trade shots back and forth."
True enough.
Usually when two users of magic fought one another they took the time needed to stack the deck in their favor beforehand and even brought some obstacles with them to slow their opponents down. In a very real way a duel between sorcerers was like a chess battle mixed with battlefield board games, both of which could be quite tense depending on the skill level of your opponent. He remembered sweating quite profusely when he proceeded to the semi-finals of the chess tournament back at the Watchers Academy. He was facing a man a year ahead of him, who was considered to be the odds on favorite to win the tournament and had a reputation for playing mind games with his opponents. He'd given it his all, of course, but as he'd moved his pieces every choice he'd made had been assaulted with a moment of indecision as he wondered if his choice was truly his own or not.
In the end he'd lost but it'd been much closer than any of the spectators had been expecting the match to be.
"Put Eyghon and its host in the center of the circle," Tala ordered, pointing at the spot with her finger. "Midnight is upon us."
With simple application of telekinesis Xander levitated Buffy's body into position while the rest of them took their assigned places. He and Phillip took up nine and three positions on the circle since the ritual would be using the marks on their arms to target Eyghon precisely with the energy. Tala and Xander would take up the twelve and six positions since they would both be contributing power to the ritual while also chanting the incantations. Based on what he'd read of the incantation as well as the ritual details, the whole process shouldn't take any longer than thirty-five minutes even if Eyghon resisted the entire time.
He prayed that the ritual could be carried out without interruption.
"Let us begin," Tala declared before magical energy began to gather about her raised hands. "Mali spiritus ipse minatur, ex daemonium ac tenebras; defluit aqua ignis, aquam ae'r, roditur caeli terra et terra ignem; nos eiciant vos ex hoc mundo, rapto essential ad ultimum, fugere a orbis, numquam redire! Numquam redire! Eyghon!"
Power unlike anything he had ever felt before thrummed through everything as the Latin was spoken lighting up the circle, causing some ingredients to glow while the others were almost rendered invisible by the bright luminescence. While not as impressive as his instructor, Xander's performing of the ritual wasn't as shoddy as he'd expected with so little instruction time under his belt. The energy around the young lads hands was less coherent and lacked a sharpness but there was no mistaking the potency visibly apparent.
It was on the third repetition of the incantation that there was a visible response to the ritual as Buffy's eyes shot open to reveal an odd combination of red sclera, green iris and white pupil. Immediately thereafter the thrashing began as Eyghon no doubt tried to physically escape the circle only to be held in place by some unseen power.
"NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE!" Eyghon screamed with an odd duality voice. "I WILL HAVE MY PREY! YOUR SOULS WILL BE MINE!"
For all the demon spirit's protests and efforts it was little more than a bug caught in a spider's web, helpless before the threads that held it in place. When the chanting reached its crescendo the energy that'd been gathered around the hands of Tala and Xander shot forward like a viper attacking, striking Buffy's body. At that point Eyghon proved incapable of coherent speech and instead screamed as it was attacked by the torrent of energy intent on removing him from his current host. The thrashing and the screaming was hard for him to endure even amidst the magic using his tattoo, but he did his best to reassure himself that it would all work out in the end. The resources of the Sanctum Sanctorum were impressive and watching Tala prepare the ritual site convinced him that she was a practitioner with experience. He did his best to use these things to keep his hopes for a favorable outcome alive but it was like watching candles flittering about in the breeze.
You never knew when they might be blown out.
It was only when he began to see a green ghost of a form begin to rise up out of Buffy's body that he realized that the ritual was actually working as he'd hoped it would. As more of the demonic spirit was separated from Buffy's body he could almost make out Eyghon's attempts to keep its grip on the blonde Slayer's body. This worked against the foul being for, every time it released a slipping grip to gain a better one, the other one was forced to shoulder the strain of keeping everything in place. As a result there was an unending circle of a loosening grip and an attempt to reestablish it but consistently being able to do the latter was almost impossible to do consistently.
Thus little by little Eyghon was drawn out of Buffy's body until the last thread of demonic emerald energy snapped, completing the separation. With the absence of the demon Buffy's body relaxed and he even saw to his gratification that some of the inhuman physical traits that he'd spotted earlier were receding to match human norm.
Without a grasp on a physical host body, the energy that Tala and Xander had ensnared Eyghon wrapped itself around the demonic spirit like a boa constrictor. Over and over again the energy wrapped until nothing of the demonic spirit Eyghon could be seen. Then, at the exact same time, both Tala as well as Xander brought their magic-engulfed hands down to chest level before clapping them together like a gunshot. In response to this the ball of energy that contained Eyghon shrunk at the same speed as the hands of the sorceress and student's hands and, when they impacted on each other, it popped out of existence.
Thus concluded the banishment ritual and, when he looked down at his arm, he felt profound relief as he watched symbol of Eyghon crumble off as though drawn with ash. Looking over at Phillip, he watched as tears of joy trickled from the man's eyes at the terrible knife that'd been hanging over both their heads for so long. As the light from the arcane circle and some of the ingredients faded, he found pleasantly that they to fell apart like the symbol of Eyghon before being blown away.
~At least this will save us some time with clean up~, he thought since it was not very responsible to leave arcane items and ingredients laying about even if they'd already been used.
"Whew! That guy did NOT want to leave," Xander said as he slumped as a result of the exertion he'd just been through. "If he wasn't such a butterfingers we'd have been in real trouble."
"Indeed. However I sense it was not just a difficulty in maintaining its grip that let us expel Eyghon," Tala said with consideration in her voice. "There was something… else, something that belonged and yet at the same time didn't belong, but I cannot define it as of yet. It is likely that this element is what contributed to Eyghon's defeat and what it used to alter Buffy's body."
He pondered these words but the only think he could think of that matched what Tala was saying was the Slayer essence that he'd confirmed still resided inside the girl. He'd been a bit concerned that Buffy's comatose state might've been enough to cause it to leave her but the tests he performed daily confirmed a strong presence. How Eyghon could have tapped into it and used it to change Buffy's body he did not know. Indeed the Slayer essence was chiefly responsible for the Called girl's resistance to injury, regardless of the source. Either his former nightmare's state of being allowed it to bypass this resistance somehow or something else was at work.
~No sense fretting before gathering all of the facts~, he thought as he walked over to Buffy's unconscious but breathing side. ~For the time being I will count this as a victory. The rest can wait until later.~
The nightmare was over.
That was all that mattered.
The Sanctum Sanctorum
Xander's POV
"Are you sure it is wise to bring her here, Xander?" Giles asked from his position in the room while Tala used magic to give Buffy a check up.
"She already saw me fighting Eyghon and using magic," he replied, looking to where the Jamaican Slayer lay restrained and unconscious. "If we just let her go she'd go running back to her Watcher and he'll dial up your bosses in the land of tea and crumpets. Not something that'd be of the good."
"Granted, but at best this will delay her informing Samuel of what she saw," Giles pointed out, still looking worried about the potential consequences.
"Not if Tala can work some mind mojo to make Jamaica girl forget everything we don't want her to remember," he pointed out, figuring there had to be spells or potions that could mess up the second Slayer's recollection of the night.
"Xander! Mind magic is notoriously dangerous both for the one using it as well as whoever it is used on!" Giles exclaimed, clearly against the idea. "It takes extraordinary mental discipline and focus to keep your own mind separate from the target's mind! The level of care and skill needed to precisely alter someone's mind in a way that avoids collateral damage is-"
"-not that difficult, Mister Giles. While I am not sure what school of magic you graduated from, mine made it clear that memory alteration or erasure was only dangerous to the untrained," Tala said as she concluded her examination. "Now do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"Bad news. We can use the good news as a pick me up after," he replied, figuring the bad news couldn't be too bad seeing as how Buffy was alive.
"The bad news is that the changes still visible in Miss Summers' body will not be going away any time soon. Whatever Eyghon did that changed her is showing no signs of reverting." Tala said, sounding like she took a good look. "Based on what we saw earlier and what we can see now, Eyghon might've been drawing out the power that fueled the change but once he was exorcised the transformation lost much of its power and regressed. Mostly."
"What do you mean 'drawing out the power'?" Giles asked, sounding concerned. "You mean the Slayer essence?"
"Perhaps. What is known about this 'Slayer essence'?" Tala asked without giving anything away.
"Not much, I'm afraid. While supposedly there are records deep within the Council's main vault detailing the origin of the Slayer line, nothing but crumbs has reached your average Watcher," Giles replied, taking his glasses off to clean them in response to an uncomfortable topic. "It is taught that the First Slayer was born in the century that followed the expulsion or imprisonment of the last of the Old Ones. The Earth was still rife with the leftovers of the Old Ones, as well as the hybrids they spawned, and something was needed to deal with both. Most of the retellings I was present for claim that the Powers That Be created the First Slayer by implanting a pinch of the essence of a slain, unnamed fallen archangel into a young girl before putting in place the cycle referred to as The Calling."
"And the fact that there's a second Slayer now?" he asked, looking at the unconscious dark-skinned girl.
"It was as much of a surprise to me as it was to you, Xander, to find out about Kendra Young. This has never happened before in all the Watcher diaries I've read," Giles replied honestly, though the expression implied that the gears were turning in the librarian's head.
"Not surprising considering how few demons and vampires likely kill Slayers by drowning or suffocation," Tala said, sounding unimpressed with the Watcher's Council. "However they are wrong about one thing: it was not a pinch of an archangel that was used, but a demon's essence."
"WHAT?!" he exclaimed, not expecting this revelation in the slightest.
"Impossible!" Giles yelled, rejecting such a dark proclamation.
"Nevertheless, it is the truth. It was buried deep but the changes it wrought on Miss Summers and the powers it gave her as the Slayer allowed me to find it in order to learn the truth," Tala said with no uncertainty in her words. "Do not worry, though. There is no sign of sentience or infernal will in the demonic essence beyond some heightened predatory instincts. Nevertheless, its power is still potent and explains how Eyghon was able to give Xander so much trouble beyond superhuman strength or speed."
"Well, that explains a lot," he said as he took the pieces provided and placed them next to moments in his memory. "Is there any danger with this demon essence getting a little more rope?"
"No. As I said, with Eyghon's exorcism the demonic essence no longer has anything to draw it forth, allowing the arcane architecture of the spell that implanted it to reassert itself," Tala replied with a shake of her head. "The nails, the slight point to her ears and perhaps slightly sharper teeth will be all that Miss Summers need worry about physically."
"And mentally?" Giles asked with some concern.
"Shorter temper and perhaps a somewhat more aggressive response to provocation than she had before," Tala replied after a moment's consideration. "We'll have to wait until she wakes up in order to be sure."
He hoped the shorter temper and overkill weren't too flashy otherwise Buffy'd get herself expelled, to say nothing of how Missus S would probably react. Maybe it'd be best if they came up with some excuse for Buffy to get some alone time so she could get a grip on the new her. It shouldn't be too hard so long as they played up her Halloween injury a bit more and used Missus S's overprotective motherly concerns to their advantage. The only real problem would be ensuring that Buffy's mom didn't pick up on anything too odd.
After all, who knew Buffy Summers better than her own mother?
Hearing muffled sounds and struggling he turned his gaze to find that the Jamaican Slayer had awoken and was trying to free herself from her restraints. Fortunately her bonds were no mere links of metal or piece of cloth but rather conjured objects created by Tala in order to ensure the new Slayer didn't start anything. Slayers were alpha females after all and he had little doubt that the Jamaican girl would classify all of them as enemies, making reasoning with her somewhat 'difficult'.
"Looks like it's time to make with the mind mojo," he said, looking to Tala. "Just blurring her memories from just before she saw me and Buffy fighting to now should be good enough. If that Zabuto guy asks, I'm sure you can suggest some demon that MIGHT be prowling Sunnyhell that could be responsible."
"And Buffy's miraculous recovery?" Giles asked, pointing out a real problem, "Samuel knows Buffy was possessed by a demon and was worried enough to order her assassination. It will take something substantial to convince him that she no longer needs such extreme action to be taken against her."
"Isn't there some Watcher spell or ceremony that'll give Buffy a clean bill of health?" he asked, hoping that the answer was 'yes'. "Something good enough for Zabuto?"
This caused Giles to dip into thought, no doubt to review all the book learning he'd undergone as a Watcher. It took a few minutes but there was no mistaking when the light of an idea sparked in the Brit's eyes.
"There is one spell that might suit our needs," Giles replied even while his brain worked out the details. "It has been used in the past whenever a Watcher had gone missing for an extended period of time in 'enemy territory' as a way of ensuring they were not under foreign influences. If this is performed in front of Samuel and shows that Buffy is free of demonic possession, it might be enough to convince him to rescind his previous order to Slayer Young."
"And the odds of this spell letting him know that Buffy's inner Slayer is a little stronger than it should be?" he asked, seeing it as a very real possibility.
"While I cannot say that it is impossible, to my knowledge this spell has never been performed on a Slayer, or at least not in his presence," Giles replied with a little less confidence than before. "So long as the… spread of the Slayer essence inside Buffy is not too significant, there should be no cause for him to be concerned."
"Then it is settled. It shouldn't take too long to muddy this one's memories and teleport her to the last place she will have clear memories of," Tala said, walking over to the Jamaican Slayer, who only struggled harder at the sight of this. "I suggest you two think of a way to get Miss Summers back to the hospital with a believable cover story. I doubt 'we just found her lying on the ground' is going to work."
"Actually, with a little bit of imagination, it actually might," he said, a story already forming at the hands of his imagination.
Tala looked at him in curiosity.
Giles looked at him with dread.
Neither of them would underestimate the power of his imagination ever again.
A Couple Hours Later
Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, Private Room
Willow's POV
"I… I almost can't believe it," Joyce said, stunned by the explanation Xander had delivered about how they'd found Buffy.
"It is a sad fact that for every ten people desiring to do good there is at least one willing to use their expensive education for evil," Doctor Nelson said with disappointed bitterness. "I've already contacted the hospital director and we'll be launching a full investigation. If any member of the hospital staff played a part in this, they will be dealt with. If there are flaws in hospital security they will be fixed. This will not happen again."
"I hope not or I'll make sure someone pays for it," Joyce said with a look that did not bode well for whoever that someone turned out to be.
Honestly she could barely believe that Xander's story had worked out so well with both Buffy's mom and Doctor Nelson. She hadn't thought that there was a chance in hell of the tale being believed but apparently Sunnydale Syndrome was in full effect. Present a story that had the tips of its proverbial fingers on the truth and those not already in the know about the supernatural would buy it hook, line and sinker. While a part of her didn't like the fact that there was something keeping the people around her from seeing the truth about the Hellmouth, in this particular instance it'd been useful.
What'd also been of use was the fact that, from the moment Missus Summers had set eyes on Buffy, there'd been no sign that any of the modifications had been noticed. Granted they were small and easy to overlook but if anyone could've spotted the differences, it should've been Buffy's mom. If the person that brought the Slayer into this world was unable to spot anything different than the odds were good that complete strangers would also miss the changes.
If luck stayed with them then they'd be able to put all this behind them and, once Buffy woke up, things would be back to normal, or at least as normal as it ever got for them.
After a few pleasantries with the doctor, they plus Missus S left the room so Buffy could get some rest.
It was only after the eldest Summers left, though, that things took a serious turn when an African man stepped out of the shadows and into the light of a lamppost just outside the hospital. She didn't recognize him but she could tell that Giles did. The atmosphere was polite for the most part but the newcomer looked like he was prepared for an argument.
"I trust you know why I am here, Rupert?" the man asked with a firm tone.
"I do. You need not worry. Whatever possessed Slayer Summers apparently abandoned her shortly after making her leave the hospital," Giles replied, doing a damn good job of making his words sound like the truth. "While I was only able to use basic methods, I detected no lingering traces of demonic taint."
"While that does prove that there is no immediate danger, it could also mean that the demon has some means of concealing his presence within Slayer Summers," the man said, sounding unwilling to dismiss Buffy as a potential danger. "It might also have left a nasty surprise within her to be used to devastating effect later."
"A bit cynical but, yes, I thought of that as well," Giles said, showing he had not overlooked such possibilities. "That is why I propose we perform the Ver'lea spell. It should be enough to dispel any lingering doubts regarding Slayer Summers' trustworthiness as well as whether or not there is still a need for extreme action."
"True. However some of the ingredients required are not very common," the man said, sounding like he was willing to consider the proposal. "Are you certain you can acquire them while the spell can still be of use?"
"As part of my briefing on Sunnydale I was made aware of all local suppliers of arcane ingredients and I have found a few more that were for some reason overlooked," Giles replied without faltering. "I am certain all that we require can be purchased from them."
To this the man before them merely took on an expression of contemplation but after a minute he nodded in agreement.
"Very well. She's your Slayer and, so long as there is no immediate danger, we can do this your way," the man said in a tone that made it clear that he would not be moved on this matter. "We will cast the spell tomorrow night after visiting hours. I will make my own preparations in order to ensure that we won't be disturbed by the uninformed."
With that the man stepped out of the glow provided by the lamppost and off into the night.
"I take it that was that Zabuto guy?" Xander asked, jerking a thumb in the direction the guy had gone.
"Yes. While a member of the traditionalist faction of the Watcher's Council, it appears that he is not beyond reason," Giles replied, sounding mildly optimistic about their future. "Nevertheless I believe him when he said that he will wait no longer than twenty-four hours. Like most of the traditionalist faction, he likely believes that it is the cause that matters most, not the soldiers who fight for it."
"But that's… that's so…" she said, unable to think of the right word to describe her feelings at the moment.
"Cold? Ruthless? Inhuman? All of the above?" Xander asked with stern disapproval. "There's no point in fighting for a cause if all it leads to is lives wasted."
"Too true. The modernist faction to which I belong is of a similar mindset as you, Xander," Giles said with small smile of approval. "Sadly we are in the minority as far as the ranks of the Watcher's Council is concerned. While we can influence and at times sway support to our side, it is the traditionalists that hold governing power at present. Still, if we can convince Zabuto that Buffy is in control and no longer a threat, the rest who believe as he does will likely leave it at that."
"Then let's get going. What do we need to pick up?" Xander asked, sounding like he didn't care if it took them all night and all day to get ready.
"Most of what we need already exists amongst my personal supplies," Giles said before taking a notepad out of his jacket pocket. "These are the things we need to procure from the local magic shop as well as a few other suppliers. However it is this, Xander, that I will need from your inventory, given that its use will only further cement the results of the spell in Samuel 's mind."
"My inventory?" Xander asked sounding a little confused.
"From your Sanctum Sanctorum. During our efforts to deal with Eyghon, Tala illuminated me on some of the ingredients that were stored in the house," Giles replied with a slight roll of his eyes. "One of which, sacred sand said to have been taken from the path Moses took leading the Jews away from Egypt, would prove quite useful as a catalyst in the spell."
"Awesome. I'll go grab it and meet you at your place," Xander said, taking the note with the ingredients from Giles and smiling at how useful his new property was going to be.
"We will be waiting," Giles said with a nod. "However do travel using more conventional means. Despite the limited number of witnesses, the spell we cast in order to expel Eyghon from this dimension will not have gone unnoticed. Best not to give any watchful eyes reason to suspect that you may have been involved."
"No problemo, G-Man," Xander said as he began to jog away. "Keeping a low profile is my specialty!"
"Is he making a joke or does he actually believe that?" Giles asked, watching as the rising sorcerer went off to get what they needed.
"A little from column A and a little from column B," she replied honestly since, in all the time she'd known Xander, he'd never been completely serious about anything.
At the same time, though, she had a feeling that the progress he'd been making in his magic classes might've given him enough confidence to actually believe what he'd just said.
However believing that keeping a low profile was your specialty and it actually BEING your specialty were two very different things.
~Please don't do anything stupid, Xander~, she thought before following Giles to his car.
Somehow she couldn't help but think that the universe was having a good laugh at what she'd just thought.
At a Motel Room That has Temporarily Been Warded
Samuel Zabuto's POV
"Are you certain you can't remember anything?" he asked Slayer Young while considering the conversation he'd had with Rupert a short time ago.
"No, Watcher Zabuto," Slayer Young replied with her eyes lowered in disappointment with herself.
She was not lying to him.
One of the things that he had done his best to impress upon her from an early age was the trust that Slayer must have in her Watcher. A Slayer needed to trust that her Watcher knew what was best for her and to act on what she was told without hesitation. In their struggle you often had only seconds to act and hesitation could very well lead to defeat. Given the stakes were the planet Earth and every human life on it, they could not risk a moment's hesitation or a moment of immature defiance. It was harsh, he was willing to admit that, but the alternative was too horrible to even consider leaving up to chance.
The Council was the most ancient of organizations dedicated to protecting humanity from the lingering remnants of the Old Ones. They were the only ones with the necessary knowledge and experience and tools to keep things from devolving into total anarchy. Yes, there were other groups that had discovered the truth of the world and had chosen to fight against the darkness but their knowledge, experience, and tools were but a fraction of what the Council possessed.
What sane person would trust in a child to protect the world when they could have an experienced adult to guide them?
However, with the truth coming from Slayer Young, a more troubling possibility had arisen where before there had only been an incapacitated Slayer possessed by a demon.
Somehow between when his Slayer had gone in search of her possessed predecessor and returning, something had happened to muddle a little over two hours of memories. He had performed every spell he was capable of performing with what he had to determine what had happened but to no avail outside of some vague impressions. This alone was troubling enough since he had done his best to train the girl in the martial arts, improve her awareness of her surroundings and hone a strategic mind. For something to have managed to overcome all that without leaving any identifiable signs on her person made him worry.
Then, of course, there was the arcane tremor that he'd felt while she had been out seeking her target. It was unlikely that the two events were not related somehow and he was even considering the possibility that Slayer Summers' supposed exorcism of the controlling demon was connected. While magically inclined individuals weren't anything new atop Hellmouths, almost all of them were beholden to various demons and dark deities. It showed in everything they did but the magic he'd felt hours ago had been different; he could not put into words HOW, but it had been different. Sadly sensations and feelings were not considered appropriate for official reports to the governing body of the Council, so he had not put his thoughts to paper yet.
It was also the core reason why he had agreed to Rupert's proposal.
If he was right and Slayer Summers' exorcism was connected to the unknown magic and what had happened to Slayer Young, he could gain a vital clue through the Ver'lea spell. While he had never performed the spell himself or witnessed it cast by another, every Watcher had been instructed in its use. They were taught how certain magics, certain energies and the like, would manifest once the spell took full effect, with several books detailing past uses as reference sources. So long as he stayed focused and did all he could not to miss a single detail, he was certain he could learn what he did not know, allowing a course of action to be taken.
If he was right then a new power had come to Sunnydale following the apparent vanquishing of whatever previous authority figure had kept the Hellmouth under control. Previous patrols of the town by Slayer Young indicated that there was still a struggle ongoing to establish a new hierarchy amongst the various factions but that might soon change. If the magic practitioner responsible for what he'd felt had indeed used their power to free Slayer Summers of her demonic possession, it might in fact be the opening move of someone intending to seize control of the Hellmouth. He doubted that anyone capable of sensing the arcane had failed to detect the magic cast this night and, if the act expedited Slayer Summers' return to duty, it meant this unknown could change the playing field in a single move. This would intimidate many of Sunnydale's inhuman residents and make the top ones vying for dominance to seek information before proceeding with their efforts.
Action without information, after all, had a tendency to lead to disaster.
Properly taken advantage of such hesitation amongst the top contenders could lead to drastic changes in the local landscape of power.
Did Rupert know who or what this new variable was? Possible, but then again possibly not. The unknown could've exorcised Slayer Summers before placing her someplace her friends would find her, allowing them to carry the ailing Slayer back to the hospital. It was also possible that the mental tampering might well extend to Rupert and the children who followed him in order to obscure the identity of the true mastermind.
~Perhaps I should try to amplify the effects of the Ver'lea spell~, he thought, turning away from his Slayer. ~Properly cast it is only intended to engulf one person but with some small changes an entire room could fall under its influence. Suspicion could be allayed with claims of lacking experience while also allowing me to see if a Council task force was needed.~
If Rupert and his charges had had their minds tampered with then, even if Slayer Summers woke and resumed her duties, nothing in the reports that made it back to the Council could be trusted. Worse, any power that sought to control a Hellmouth might well seek to extend their roots into the very halls of the Council using mentally altered pawns. At the very least if it was discovered that Rupert's mind had been tampered with he would be removed from field duty and another Watcher assigned to Slayer Summers, presuming she was proven to be salvageable. At worst the governing body of the Council would order Blank Slate protocols be put into effect, resulting in not just the elimination of Slayer Summers and Rupert but all those that might possess information of a sensitive nature.
A bloody outcome but one that may be necessary in order to preserve the security of the Council and its efforts to fight the darkness.
~Hopefully it will not come to that~, he thought with disfavour towards the more extreme tactics the Council was sometimes required to employ.
Nevertheless, it was a Watcher and would do his duty as one for the sake of the human race and the planet Earth.
"Very well. Retire to your room for the night," he said, looking his Slayer right in the eye. "Rest. Depending on how my meeting with Watcher Giles goes tomorrow night, I may need your strength."
"I will be ready, Watcher Zabuto," Slayer Young said with a half bow before leaving for her own room.
The weight of protecting the world and the people who lived on it was heavy beyond measure but, with the resolve cultivated over millennia, the Council would do their duty to the very end.
The House of Strange aka The Sanctum Sanctorum
Tala's POV
"Are you certain you do not wish me to 'guide' the results of this spell they plan on using on your friend?" she asked, preparing the ingredients in the amounts Mister Giles specified. "I doubt the spell so very complex. For one of my skill and experience, it would be child's play to make Slayer Summers look completely 'normal' as far as Slayers go."
"And you know what that looks like?" Xander asked from his position leaning against a nearby wall. "Besides, even if it worked, we don't know what else the Council might try."
"You think they might try to force her elimination even after it was proven she's clean?" she asked, closing one container before opening another empty one.
"No. More likely they'll take a peek at his memories and when someone who has used the spell before looks at them, they'll be able to tell if something's off," he replied with a shake of his head. "I get the feeling that Buffy's not in many Watcher's good books. Too independent for them. They might not have the stones to kill her without probable cause but Buffy being possessed or being dangerous after being freed from possession changes things. The only way they get stonewalled is if they don't have a leg to stand on and that includes signs of someone messing with the spell."
Logical but flawed.
While it was true that rational and trustworthy people would be kept from acting if they didn't have a leg to stand on she had experience with different people. Waller, Grodd and Luthor didn't need a rational leg to stand to do what they thought was right. If one didn't exist, they'd either repurpose something that was close enough or they'd fabricate one from scratch that'd fool everyone. To them, while the truth and following the rules had its place, if either got in the way of doing what needed to be done none of them would sweat ignoring them outright.
If Buffy wasn't the sort of Slayer the Watcher's Council preferred, they might well throw their weight around metaphorically speaking in order to make her disappear. Maybe they would insist that she be flown to their headquarters to be examined there 'just to be safe'. Maybe they would dispatch a team to keep an eye on things while also looking for an excuse to justify her elimination.
Or maybe she was letting her past 'employment history' impair her judgment.
From what she could tell the whole superhero/supervillain thing was more or less in its infancy in this reality. The Justice League or the Super Seven or whatever they eventually decided on calling themselves had formed less than a year prior, foiling an invasion. She didn't know if it was by a race she'd encountered before since all of the pictures and video recordings of the event released to the public were of poor quality. In any case, each 'hero' only had a few members of their so-called Rogues Galleries compared to the League back home but she had little doubt that that'd change.
Power attracted power but not everyone used that power for benign goals.
Plus, when the heroes started to thwart crimes, expose corruption and turn into general busybodies, it would inevitably lead to the criminal element working to empower themselves. The whole 'fight fire with fire' approach was a very common way to react when under threat from a powerful force. Then, of course, there'd be those who'd see how useful super powers could be either personally or in the hands of trusted subordinates.
Times were changing.
Still, if nothing else, since she was here at its infancy she had the chance to become one of the founding players once she got a body of her own and was free from her 'employers'. Assuming some of the babble she'd overheard the more scientifically inclined talk about was true, this was a parallel reality with a great many things similar to her own. If so then she knew where a great many powerful mystical artifacts could be found as well as many sources of arcane knowledge that perhaps no one else did. With enough of both she wouldn't have to ally herself with major players to get by.
She could BECOME one herself.
A powerhouse of magic that few would stand a chance against.
~Perhaps I should weave some extra loyalty into Xander~, she thought offhand as she considered the future. ~Every major player as a loyal lieutenant, after all.~
She'd have to correct his worldview, of course, or at least make her shady actions seem necessary in the long run. He didn't strike her as the straight arrow type of guy like some of his friends were so all she'd need to do was provide a line of reasoning he'd accept and come to believe in. Indeed, if she could convince him that following her lead was the best way of making sure his friends stayed safe and would lead to a better world, he'd probably agree without hesitation.
Still, that was a ways away in the future.
She'd need to train him up to the point where he'd be able to create a body for her to inhabit and be powerful enough to help her break whatever metaphorical leash she had around her neck.
And so she would wait.
"Maybe, but I think you all should make plans for the possibility that the changes made to Buffy will be revealed," she said, considering it a possibility. "Judging by how Mister Giles reacted to my revelation, the Council either doesn't know themselves or it's a closely kept secret. Neither possibility would bode well for you."
"One thing at a time," he said as another container was successfully filled. "Sometimes prepping for trouble causes trouble."
"But if you wait for trouble you might not be ready to deal with it," she said in counter to his statement. "What was it I heard on the TV a few days ago? 'Flying by the seat of your pants is not a plan'."
"Oh, we'll be doing prep work, but it'll look like prep work for the local night life," he said, not sounding worried. "Lucky for us what works on a demon'll work on a human, too."
True.
Granted, most things designed to work on a demon tended to be lethal to a human and, if the Watchers Council did take action to either harm or worse kill a 'Scooby', she doubted Xander would care if they died. The only thing that would prompt him to reign in his methods would be the fear of how the others would would see him and that it might cost him his ties to them.
It would need to be a dire threat indeed for him to be willing to sacrifice his bonds with them, even if it'd mean they would get to go on living their lives in peace.
"If things go completely crappy we'll just pull back here," Xander said, sounding confident in this tactic. "No way do they have the abra kadabra needed to get in here without an invite. Plus, you said the House of Strange can teleport anywhere, right?"
"Anywhere on the planet as well as most connected realms, barring unforeseen complications," she replied, laying out the specifics.
"So if the shit hits the fan, the Scooby gang piles in here and the house teleports us someplace safe," he said, making it sound perfectly safe. "We can think about what to do next once we're there."
It was a decent plan and it could work.
While the House of Strange hadn't 'teleported' anywhere since it first appeared Halloween night, she had been able to glean much of its properties with the spare time she had. For one thing it was slowly developing a consciousness of its own and apparently recognized her as an ally, explaining why it hadn't ejected her from its interior or gotten in the way of instructing Xander. When added to the fact that exploration had confirmed the involvement of dimensional magic, the inside being much bigger than the outside, it made for a formidable stronghold.
The key would be succeeding in their retreat from Sunnydale to the House.
If they couldn't get there or if too many of them fell behind, then it'd all fall apart and depend on just how well prepared each side was.
She made a mental note to prepare more stored spells for Xander to use with a special focus on aiding in an escape.
Soon.