Xander was frantic. "C'mon Giles, lets grab some weapons and find Buffy,
she can't have gone far. Better still lets find this demon and kill the
heck out of it before it can hurt her".
Giles' reply startled Xander. "No" he screamed. "Whilst Buffy is under the control of the demon we cannot kill it. As Buffy is under the demons spell, she has a mental link with the demon that it uses to control her. Because that link was created mystically it has to be removed mystically. If that link is severed physically it may result in Buffy being rendered catatonic for the rest of her life."
Giles attempted to calm Xander down. "Look Xander, you said yourself if the demon wished to harm Buffy, it had ample chance earlier tonight. Therefore I have to believe that it wants Buffy for some other purpose. Meanwhile, we need to work on finding a counter spell that will sever the mental link between Buffy and the demon in such a way that Buffy will return to her normal self."
"Ok Giles, I just don't like sitting here feeling like I'm not doing anything to get her back. I, we - we can't lose her Giles" said Xander. Giles came over to Xander and said "and we won't lose her. Now lets get started with finding a way out of this".
Now that Xander had a task he seemed to calm down by several orders of magnitude. Inside his blood was still boiling at the possibility that something could happen to Buffy, and he put that anger and rage into finding a solution for the girl he was falling in love with all over again.
Xander and Giles began before midnight, and as the night wore on the minutes segued into hours as the unlikely pair swapped ideas and discussed options until they found the answer. The sun's rays licked at the windows of the library as Giles finished making the substance they would need to reverse the spells effects. It involved blowing more powder into Buffy's face, but the two men who both loved Buffy in their own way were confident she wouldn't hold it against them.
Willow and Oz came through the library's double doors in a panic. Xander had phoned Willow at home while she was eating her breakfast and described the events of last night, ending with Buffy's late night sojourn courtesy of the demon. Leaving the spoon in her bowl of half eaten Coco Pops, Willow had called Oz and they had made their way to the library post haste.
Willow ran to Xander and hugged him "Oh Xander, I'm so sorry". Oz walked up to Xander and lightly grasped his shoulder and said "It'll be ok. We'll get her back."
Emotions came flooding back into Xander after he had put them aside while finding a solution to the demons spell. Now with nothing to occupy his mind all thoughts turned to Buffy and how much he missed her already. He would not entertain the possibility of Buffy not returning, not that Xander was an eternal optimist, just that the alternative was too grim to contemplate.
Giles began to explain to Oz and Willow what their plan was, while Xander headed to the gym so he could shower and change. "Basically we blow this powder into Buffy's face, much in the same way as the demon did, then we recite the Latin incantation I've got here and that should do the trick. It will also work on the demon as the mental link can be broken from either end, but given a choice I would prefer to find Buffy and do the spell on her."
The trio turned to face the entrance as a new voice said "I'll say you need to find Buffy, and fast. I've been waiting for her to come and beat me up, 'specially since there's a new guy in town who wants to open the Hellmouth."
Giles tried to keep his voice even as he said "The Hellmouth, opening? Willy what are you talking about? Why are you here, I've never known you to come running to us before."
Willy shrugged "Yeah that's true. Normally the slayer comes round and pretends to hit me and I tell her what I know. Only this time I've just spent a fortune on doing the place up, and if the world ends before I can get my money back, well that would really suck. Besides, there ain't much time, it's gonna happen this afternoon I think. Word is there's a big guy with horns who is going to try and open the Hellmouth, and I know where he can be found."
Giles wasted no time in gathering weapons and giving instructions. "We'll have to leave now. If the Hellmouth is going to open then we have no choice. Willow, Oz.."
"We're coming" stated Willow. There was no way she was going to sit around and do nothing. "Give me the incantation. I'll recite it while you, um, do your stuff with the demon."
Oz spoke up, "Come on, my van's out front, we'll take that." With that, Willy, Giles, Oz and Willow gathered their things and left in a rush.
At the same time that Oz was racing his van down the road Willy had directed him to, Xander pushed through the doors to the library and stared in disbelief. "Where is everyone?" said Xander, more to himself than anything.
Giles muttered a profanity under his breath. Shocked, Willow looked over towards him and Giles explained the thought that had just occurred to him. "Willow we didn't leave Xander a note, he's going to wonder where we all went to."
"Giles he'll be okay. And just think, if we get killed by the demon and he opens the Hellmouth then Xander won't have a chance to be angry at us!"
"No, because at that stage Xander will be right next to us in Hell swimming in a lake of fire for all eternity. He'll be able to remind us countless times that we left him behind. I don't know what would be worse. So lets try and avoid that if we can" said Giles with a wry smile.
Nodding her head emphatically, Willow agreed "Gotcha Giles. Check one for no lake of fire."
Driving through the outskirts of Sunnydale, Willy points out to Oz an abandoned building approaching on the right. "There, that's it. That's where this demon guy is supposed to be holed up." Oz veers off the road and the van skids to a halt outside a dilapidated red brick building with a faded 'Bob's Auto Supplies' sign at the front.
Surprisingly Willy enters first, the others follow closely but their eyes cannot penetrate the dark after being out in bright sunshine. Gradually they start to make out details and Willow spots an open doorway in the far corner with a stairway leading down.
The sound of a door being slammed shut makes everyone jump, Willow, Oz and Giles all turn to the direction it came from to see Willy locking the front door, and then flicking the key outside through the gap between the bottom of the door and the ground.
Realising they had been double crossed, Giles is about to confront Willy when his eyes roll back in their sockets and Willy falls to the ground in a slump. Quickly they all rush over to him and Giles checks for breathing and a pulse. However before Giles can locate the carotid artery Willy wakes up obviously disorientated and confused.
"What. Aww crap" said Willy. Giles is about to ask if Willy was ok but gets interrupted. "Geez sorry guys, that green horned demon guy came into my bar last night and blew this powder in my face. Next thing I wake up and I'm tied up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Then it gets really weird when the slayer comes in and he shackles her." Willy sits up and rubs his head, then continues, "I remember everything that happened while that guy was controlling me, so I'll understand if you are angry with me about being locked in here, but it ain't really my fault, I swear."
"Willy is there more you can tell us?" enquired Giles.
"Yeah, there's a real problem. The demon is going to use the slayer to open the Hellmouth. I was sent to the library to get you guys out of there. You see he can only control one person at a time, so thankfully the slayer has been chained up while he was controlling me, but now we might as well kiss our asses goodbye."
Back at the library Xander looked for something that would tell him where everyone had gone. There didn't appear to be any struggle, although books were strewn over the table the library was in otherwise normal condition. No chairs had been overthrown and there was no blood, so Xander had to conclude the gang had left under their own steam.
Xander noticed that Giles had taken the ingredients and the incantation for performing the counter spell, and so he could only conclude that they had found out where Buffy was and were going to rescue her. He slumped down in a chair and waited.
Xander had been daydreaming that Buffy had come back when something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Swinging around he saw Buffy walking towards him. Xander blinked and rubbed his eyes, Buffy was still there. He rushed out of the chair and ran towards Buffy, the relief evident in his voice "Buffy! You're ok! I missed ..". Xander was so excited he never saw the punch that floored him.
Buffy walked straight past Xander who was dazed and hurt but not unconscious. Buffy sounded as though she was her normal self, but the content of her speech lifted any remaining doubts Xander might have had. "Sorry Xand, but I have to do a ritual that will open the Hellmouth. So please, don't try and stop me" , and with that began to draw a large pentagram on the library floor.
Still on the ground, two thoughts occurred to Xander. One was that he was alone in this. Wherever Giles, Willow and Oz had gone, it was highly doubtful they would return in time to stop Buffy performing whatever ritual it was that would open the Hellmouth.
The second thought was that if it came down to it, could he kill Buffy to stop the world from ending? The answer to that came in memory of Angel, who Buffy had sent to Hell to save the world. Although Xander disliked Angel rather intensely, even he could concede that Angel was not responsible for the actions of Angelus. Similarly Buffy was not responsible for her actions here, but did he have the capacity to kill the love of his life?
Yes.
Ok, so that was decided. Xander would do everything in his power to stop Buffy without killing or maiming her, but if it came down to a choice between Buffy and the world, he would choose the world. With that realisation also came a new respect for Buffy, as Xander realised what an enormous sacrifice she had made to kill Angel.
Xander vowed to himself that should they get through this he would leave no stone unturned for ways to lighten Buffy's burden. He would learn martial arts, weaponry and combat techniques so that Buffy would not have to face evil by herself ever again. Never again would Xander be labelled as the Zeppo.
As Xander picked himself up from the ground he joked to himself that it was one thing to decide to stop Buffy, another thing entirely to actually do it. Still, Xander walked over to Buffy who had just finished drawing the pentagram on the floor. "Buffy, you don't want to do this. You're the slayer, it's your job to stop evil, not be part of it."
Buffy turned and immediately attacked. Xander was still congratulating himself on blocking the first two punches when the third smashed into his face and broke his nose. Blood poured from both nostrils and drenched the front of his shirt, bringing Xander to his knees. Seeing that Xander had been incapacitated, Buffy continued with her preparations to open the Hellmouth.
In 'Bob's Auto Supplies' on the town fringe Giles was hacking away madly at the door without much success. They had quickly discovered that the stairs leading down terminated at a steel door that had been locked and bolted from the other side. The front door was a thick hardwood and for now was withstanding all that Giles could throw at it.
Xander crawled over to Giles' weapon cabinet and found a baseball bat, something he could use to knock Buffy out without doing serious damage. Grimly Xander also thought that should Buffy disarm him, he would rather be hit with a bat as opposed to an axe.
Xander stood up and took the bat in both hands. Knowing there was no way he could sneak up on Buffy, even with her attention focused on preparing the ritual she would still feel him coming. So he said "Buff, I don't want to do this. There has got to be some other way. Fight this thing, you're stronger than that."
Nothing seemed to register. Reluctantly, Xander moved forward to attack Buffy.
Giles' reply startled Xander. "No" he screamed. "Whilst Buffy is under the control of the demon we cannot kill it. As Buffy is under the demons spell, she has a mental link with the demon that it uses to control her. Because that link was created mystically it has to be removed mystically. If that link is severed physically it may result in Buffy being rendered catatonic for the rest of her life."
Giles attempted to calm Xander down. "Look Xander, you said yourself if the demon wished to harm Buffy, it had ample chance earlier tonight. Therefore I have to believe that it wants Buffy for some other purpose. Meanwhile, we need to work on finding a counter spell that will sever the mental link between Buffy and the demon in such a way that Buffy will return to her normal self."
"Ok Giles, I just don't like sitting here feeling like I'm not doing anything to get her back. I, we - we can't lose her Giles" said Xander. Giles came over to Xander and said "and we won't lose her. Now lets get started with finding a way out of this".
Now that Xander had a task he seemed to calm down by several orders of magnitude. Inside his blood was still boiling at the possibility that something could happen to Buffy, and he put that anger and rage into finding a solution for the girl he was falling in love with all over again.
Xander and Giles began before midnight, and as the night wore on the minutes segued into hours as the unlikely pair swapped ideas and discussed options until they found the answer. The sun's rays licked at the windows of the library as Giles finished making the substance they would need to reverse the spells effects. It involved blowing more powder into Buffy's face, but the two men who both loved Buffy in their own way were confident she wouldn't hold it against them.
Willow and Oz came through the library's double doors in a panic. Xander had phoned Willow at home while she was eating her breakfast and described the events of last night, ending with Buffy's late night sojourn courtesy of the demon. Leaving the spoon in her bowl of half eaten Coco Pops, Willow had called Oz and they had made their way to the library post haste.
Willow ran to Xander and hugged him "Oh Xander, I'm so sorry". Oz walked up to Xander and lightly grasped his shoulder and said "It'll be ok. We'll get her back."
Emotions came flooding back into Xander after he had put them aside while finding a solution to the demons spell. Now with nothing to occupy his mind all thoughts turned to Buffy and how much he missed her already. He would not entertain the possibility of Buffy not returning, not that Xander was an eternal optimist, just that the alternative was too grim to contemplate.
Giles began to explain to Oz and Willow what their plan was, while Xander headed to the gym so he could shower and change. "Basically we blow this powder into Buffy's face, much in the same way as the demon did, then we recite the Latin incantation I've got here and that should do the trick. It will also work on the demon as the mental link can be broken from either end, but given a choice I would prefer to find Buffy and do the spell on her."
The trio turned to face the entrance as a new voice said "I'll say you need to find Buffy, and fast. I've been waiting for her to come and beat me up, 'specially since there's a new guy in town who wants to open the Hellmouth."
Giles tried to keep his voice even as he said "The Hellmouth, opening? Willy what are you talking about? Why are you here, I've never known you to come running to us before."
Willy shrugged "Yeah that's true. Normally the slayer comes round and pretends to hit me and I tell her what I know. Only this time I've just spent a fortune on doing the place up, and if the world ends before I can get my money back, well that would really suck. Besides, there ain't much time, it's gonna happen this afternoon I think. Word is there's a big guy with horns who is going to try and open the Hellmouth, and I know where he can be found."
Giles wasted no time in gathering weapons and giving instructions. "We'll have to leave now. If the Hellmouth is going to open then we have no choice. Willow, Oz.."
"We're coming" stated Willow. There was no way she was going to sit around and do nothing. "Give me the incantation. I'll recite it while you, um, do your stuff with the demon."
Oz spoke up, "Come on, my van's out front, we'll take that." With that, Willy, Giles, Oz and Willow gathered their things and left in a rush.
At the same time that Oz was racing his van down the road Willy had directed him to, Xander pushed through the doors to the library and stared in disbelief. "Where is everyone?" said Xander, more to himself than anything.
Giles muttered a profanity under his breath. Shocked, Willow looked over towards him and Giles explained the thought that had just occurred to him. "Willow we didn't leave Xander a note, he's going to wonder where we all went to."
"Giles he'll be okay. And just think, if we get killed by the demon and he opens the Hellmouth then Xander won't have a chance to be angry at us!"
"No, because at that stage Xander will be right next to us in Hell swimming in a lake of fire for all eternity. He'll be able to remind us countless times that we left him behind. I don't know what would be worse. So lets try and avoid that if we can" said Giles with a wry smile.
Nodding her head emphatically, Willow agreed "Gotcha Giles. Check one for no lake of fire."
Driving through the outskirts of Sunnydale, Willy points out to Oz an abandoned building approaching on the right. "There, that's it. That's where this demon guy is supposed to be holed up." Oz veers off the road and the van skids to a halt outside a dilapidated red brick building with a faded 'Bob's Auto Supplies' sign at the front.
Surprisingly Willy enters first, the others follow closely but their eyes cannot penetrate the dark after being out in bright sunshine. Gradually they start to make out details and Willow spots an open doorway in the far corner with a stairway leading down.
The sound of a door being slammed shut makes everyone jump, Willow, Oz and Giles all turn to the direction it came from to see Willy locking the front door, and then flicking the key outside through the gap between the bottom of the door and the ground.
Realising they had been double crossed, Giles is about to confront Willy when his eyes roll back in their sockets and Willy falls to the ground in a slump. Quickly they all rush over to him and Giles checks for breathing and a pulse. However before Giles can locate the carotid artery Willy wakes up obviously disorientated and confused.
"What. Aww crap" said Willy. Giles is about to ask if Willy was ok but gets interrupted. "Geez sorry guys, that green horned demon guy came into my bar last night and blew this powder in my face. Next thing I wake up and I'm tied up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Then it gets really weird when the slayer comes in and he shackles her." Willy sits up and rubs his head, then continues, "I remember everything that happened while that guy was controlling me, so I'll understand if you are angry with me about being locked in here, but it ain't really my fault, I swear."
"Willy is there more you can tell us?" enquired Giles.
"Yeah, there's a real problem. The demon is going to use the slayer to open the Hellmouth. I was sent to the library to get you guys out of there. You see he can only control one person at a time, so thankfully the slayer has been chained up while he was controlling me, but now we might as well kiss our asses goodbye."
Back at the library Xander looked for something that would tell him where everyone had gone. There didn't appear to be any struggle, although books were strewn over the table the library was in otherwise normal condition. No chairs had been overthrown and there was no blood, so Xander had to conclude the gang had left under their own steam.
Xander noticed that Giles had taken the ingredients and the incantation for performing the counter spell, and so he could only conclude that they had found out where Buffy was and were going to rescue her. He slumped down in a chair and waited.
Xander had been daydreaming that Buffy had come back when something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Swinging around he saw Buffy walking towards him. Xander blinked and rubbed his eyes, Buffy was still there. He rushed out of the chair and ran towards Buffy, the relief evident in his voice "Buffy! You're ok! I missed ..". Xander was so excited he never saw the punch that floored him.
Buffy walked straight past Xander who was dazed and hurt but not unconscious. Buffy sounded as though she was her normal self, but the content of her speech lifted any remaining doubts Xander might have had. "Sorry Xand, but I have to do a ritual that will open the Hellmouth. So please, don't try and stop me" , and with that began to draw a large pentagram on the library floor.
Still on the ground, two thoughts occurred to Xander. One was that he was alone in this. Wherever Giles, Willow and Oz had gone, it was highly doubtful they would return in time to stop Buffy performing whatever ritual it was that would open the Hellmouth.
The second thought was that if it came down to it, could he kill Buffy to stop the world from ending? The answer to that came in memory of Angel, who Buffy had sent to Hell to save the world. Although Xander disliked Angel rather intensely, even he could concede that Angel was not responsible for the actions of Angelus. Similarly Buffy was not responsible for her actions here, but did he have the capacity to kill the love of his life?
Yes.
Ok, so that was decided. Xander would do everything in his power to stop Buffy without killing or maiming her, but if it came down to a choice between Buffy and the world, he would choose the world. With that realisation also came a new respect for Buffy, as Xander realised what an enormous sacrifice she had made to kill Angel.
Xander vowed to himself that should they get through this he would leave no stone unturned for ways to lighten Buffy's burden. He would learn martial arts, weaponry and combat techniques so that Buffy would not have to face evil by herself ever again. Never again would Xander be labelled as the Zeppo.
As Xander picked himself up from the ground he joked to himself that it was one thing to decide to stop Buffy, another thing entirely to actually do it. Still, Xander walked over to Buffy who had just finished drawing the pentagram on the floor. "Buffy, you don't want to do this. You're the slayer, it's your job to stop evil, not be part of it."
Buffy turned and immediately attacked. Xander was still congratulating himself on blocking the first two punches when the third smashed into his face and broke his nose. Blood poured from both nostrils and drenched the front of his shirt, bringing Xander to his knees. Seeing that Xander had been incapacitated, Buffy continued with her preparations to open the Hellmouth.
In 'Bob's Auto Supplies' on the town fringe Giles was hacking away madly at the door without much success. They had quickly discovered that the stairs leading down terminated at a steel door that had been locked and bolted from the other side. The front door was a thick hardwood and for now was withstanding all that Giles could throw at it.
Xander crawled over to Giles' weapon cabinet and found a baseball bat, something he could use to knock Buffy out without doing serious damage. Grimly Xander also thought that should Buffy disarm him, he would rather be hit with a bat as opposed to an axe.
Xander stood up and took the bat in both hands. Knowing there was no way he could sneak up on Buffy, even with her attention focused on preparing the ritual she would still feel him coming. So he said "Buff, I don't want to do this. There has got to be some other way. Fight this thing, you're stronger than that."
Nothing seemed to register. Reluctantly, Xander moved forward to attack Buffy.