Chapter 10

Xander was waiting for Giles in the baggage claim area of the Sunnydale Regional Airport.   He figured he was the best one to do it, since Buffy didn't have a car and Willow didn't need to miss any of her classes.  Being a supervisor had its' advantages, his boss had a lot of trust in him and he was allowed to take time off to run errands and such.   Giles flight had been delayed in LA about an hour due to some kid who had tried to bring a rather realistic looking water pistol through the gate.  They'd actually shut down the entire airport and prevented any flights from landing or taking off because of it.  It seemed like no one had any common sense these days…. and of course this had to happen today.   Xander was already anxious to see Giles and find out what he knew about the current menace, and with the delayed flight, he was about to go stir crazy.   Finally after what seemed like a year, a garbled voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing the arrival of Giles' flight.  Luckily, since Sunnydale's airport was pretty small, it was only a few minutes before he saw Giles walking toward the baggage claim area.

"Yo Giles!" Xander called to the older man as he walked toward him.

"Xander, thank God you're here.  That was the most dreadful flight."

"Yeah, those wacky 10 year old terrorists, ya gotta love 'em."

"Right.  Well, unfortunately we have more weighty matters at hand."

"They lost your luggage too?"  Xander joked.

"Bloody well better not have.  I paid quite a sum for that set."  Giles then spotted his bags coming around the carousel and breathed an audible sigh of relief. 

"You're a little on edge aren't ya Giles?"

"That doesn't begin to describe it.  Xander, we have serious problems."

"That bad huh?"

"As bad as it gets I'm afraid.  I assume you came alone?"

"Yeah just me, everybody else is pretty tied up."

"Good.  I was counting on getting a chance to talk with you before I saw the others."

Giles grabbed his bags off the carousel as they came past.  Xander took the largest of them from him as they headed out of the airport.

"Guess we're really in trouble if you're counting on me, right?"

"Indeed."

*************

Giles waited until he and Xander were out of the airport traffic and back on the expressway before broaching the subject at hand.

"How is Buffy?"

"Buff… well, she's actually not too good.  She's sick or somethin.  Will and I had to patrol with her last night and that was definitely a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, she's just not feelin well and she probably woulda ended up as a vamp snack if we hadn't been with her.  She's weak.  I don't ever remember her being this sick.  She couldn't even make it to her other jobs, but she insisted we not patrol without her.  She's got this thing about her being the chosen one."

"Dear Lord, I was hoping my suspicions were wrong."

"Are you talking about that imposter thing again?  Giles, something is up, completely on board with that, but Buffy's not an imposter.  I tested her last night."

"What do you mean you tested her?  You didn't say anything to her did you!?"

"No, no… I just asked her questions.  You know, things only she would know.  She passed too…got pretty annoyed with me, asked if I was trying to sell her life story to the Enquirer… but she passed."

"Xander, that unfortunately doesn't prove anything.  I've done some research and if there is an imposter in Buffy's place, it would know intimate details of her life, things you'd think no one else could possibly know."

"Okaaay…then how are we supposed to know who the *real* Buffy is?  Does the imposter have a '666' tattoo?"

"I've searched for information on any demons or spirits that can mimic human form.  Spirits are non-corporeal, they don't have solid form, so…."

"Well, Buffy's corporeal alright.  I practically had to carry her home last night."

"As I was about to say, it could not be a spirit.  However, there is one demon that fits, a Shapeshifter.  It's rarely been seen in this dimension since the Middle Ages.   It can take solid form and can also access the memories and even the mannerisms of the person it is portraying.  Luckily for us all, it does have a weakness."

"Which is?"

"It needs to revert to its' true form after a certain time or it will start to appear ill and weak."

"You mean like Oto on Deep Space 9?  Do we need to see if she has a bucket hidden somewhere?"

"Xander, for God's sake, will you please be serious for once in your life!  I cannot take this to the Council, I don't know what sort of mind frame Willow is in, and I certainly cannot talk to Buffy about this… so, I need you to try and act like a grown man and quit turning everything into a bad joke!"

"Uh…sorry.  I was just trying to….okay, I'm an idiot.  But, I'm king of all seriousness now, so just tell me what you want me to do."

"Well, I'll need to see Buffy of course…and Willow, how is she?"

"She's doing good.  She really is.  I mean I know she's still sad over Tara and *everything*, but I think she's dealing.  I don't think she's about to go all veiny if that's what you're asking."

"I just don't know that it would be wise to bring her into this Xander…with the forces we're dealing with.  It could be extremely advantageous for us to have a powerful witch on our side, however, on the other hand I don't know if she's ready for this.  This power wants to end the world and we cannot forget that Willow tried to do the same less than 6 months ago."

"Giles, that's not Will anymore.  I mean, you saw her in England, you know how sorry she is for what happened. It was just a crazy, bad situation.  That bastard killed Tara right in front of her!  I can't believe you think she'd…"

"Xander, I am not questioning Willow's remorse or.. or intentions, but…."

"So what are you questioning?"

"This entity we're dealing with….we don't know much about it…but we do know it is a master manipulator.  From what I heard at the Council meeting, it could be working to trick us in a number of ways, even making us believe we are doing the right thing, when in actuality we are playing right into its' hands.   The kind of power that Willow holds could be very useful to us, but it could also be very useful to those working against us."

"The Council says this?  Giles, I know that's your little club but I've gotta admit, I'm not putting a whole lot of stock in what they say."

"Yes Xander, I understand why you distrust the Council and I do believe they know more than they are telling.  That is why I didn't bring the prophecy to their attention.  But even though they see things differently than we do, they are still on the same side.  They don't want the world to end any more than we do and they are a valuable source of information."

"Then why all the secrets?"

"The Council sees the Slayer as a mere tool.  She is expendable to them.  They wouldn't hesitate to kill her in a second if they even suspected that she was not what she seems to be.  They know of my affection for her, so it's fair to say that they don't completely trust me.  For all I know they already know about the prophecy.   So, we have to find out the truth of what's happening here before they send some dimwitted  henchmen over to do God knows what."

"Shoot first, ask questions later."

"Once again you have reduced a complex situation to a pop culture reference, but that does about sum it up."

"Glad to help.  I like to consider myself the Cliff's Notes of mysticism.  So, are we headed to la casa de la Summers?  Buff should be home soon and Will gets out of class pretty early today."

"Yes of course, whatever is going on I think I should be as close to Buffy as possible."