I'm back with another chapter. Hopefully I will wrap up this story in the next week or two. Thanks for all the reviews.
Chapter 25 Mirror Mirror
Willow turned suddenly toward Giles. "Giles, I think I have it. I think I have found something." They had been searching for nearly an hour with no luck. Trying to replace the books as they looked through them and keep one eye on the door. They were both exhausted.
"Thank God. I thought we were going to have to quit and go back empty handed." Giles was rubbing the bridge of his nose as usual. Willow ripped the pages from the book and put it back in its place unnoticed. Giles gave her a disapproving look and then remembered their situation.
Willow noticed his look. "Don't have a heart attack Giles. I don't rip books without a good reason. I think this classifies as one. I will have more time to study them back in our room."
They carefully exited the room and climbed the stairway. They had no idea where Buffy and Spike went so they decided to go back to their room just in case someone came looking for them. They had been gone long enough as it was. Hopefully no one had noticed.
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Xander was angrier than ever now. He hadn't come all this way to fail now. No way was he letting his friends die. Oz was tying Mr. Hargis to the chair while Xander paced and became more frustrated.
"You better start spilling buddy. You have information that we need and we need it now. You won't have to worry about the king killing you because we will." Xander meant business now and even Oz looked up from his task at hearing that last part.
"Really, you cannot save your friends. The ritual will begin and there will be no turning back. The king will have his Anne and your friends, if they are still alive; will not be able to return." Xander had stopped his pacing now and was standing directly in front of Mr. Hargis.
"Wrong answer". He removed the tazor from his pocket and put it near Mr. Hargis' face. Mr. Hargis flinched. Things had suddenly taken a different turn. Maybe he had underestimated these boys.
"Ok….now; there is no need for that. I can tell you what I know but it will do you no good. You are here with no way to get the information to your friends. Even if you could, they can't stop what will happen." Mr. Hargis was clearly afraid now.
Oz was standing and listening. He suddenly remembered how Mr. Hargis had talked to the mirror. He got Xander's attention and then gestured toward the painting on the wall. "What about the mirror?"
Xander looked at the wall and then back at Mr. Hargis. Mr. Hargis was looking a bit more nervous now. "You were using that mirror behind the picture to talk to someone. Who was it?"
Mr. Hargis didn't answer and Xander zapped him once quickly on the arm. Mr. Hargis yelled loudly and Oz took a step back. Xander decided to try again.
"Who were you talking to?" It was obvious that if he didn't answer he was going to get zapped again. "All right, I was talking to the king. I use it to communicate with him when I need to." He was rubbing his arm now and watching Xander carefully.
"Can we use it to communicate with our friends?" Mr. Hargis didn't reply and Xander started toward him again only to stop short as words came from his mouth. "Stop, wait, I will tell you. I have only used the mirror to communicate with the king. I know that the prince has one as well. Your friends would need to be near the mirror for it to work. I am sure that the king is making sure they have not found one."
"We have to try. It's our only chance. You are going to tell us how this ritual thing is supposed to work and then we are going to contact our friends." Xander was dead serious and Mr. Hargis knew it.
Mr. Hargis took a deep breath and then decided to tell what he knew. "The ritual will happen tomorrow. The slayer is needed to restore Anne who was cursed along with the king. He will have the prince give her a necklace that belonged to Anne. She will then willingly put the necklace on, say some words to the prince and the ritual will begin. The prince represents the king so the words must be spoken to him. He believes that he is Anne's brother and he is under the kings spell. Buffy will merge with Anne to awaken her and the curse will be broken. The king will then be restored to his original form." Mr. Hargis was forthcoming now. He wasn't going to be tortured for someone who didn't even pay him for a job completed.
"What happens to the others; to our friends?" Xander was getting answers but he needed more. "Who knows? The ritual may kill them. The king chose the prince and he needs him for his part of the curse to be lifted. If he lives he will most likely be imprisoned. Same goes for your friends. The king is very angry and will take revenge on everyone." This caused Mr. Hargis to remember his original plan to get out of town.
Xander went immediately to the picture and removed it to reveal the mirror. Mr. Hargis hadn't locked it back. He was too busy concentrating on his next move to get out of town when he had been attacked.
"What happens if I get the king instead of my friends?" Xander had turned back to look at Mr. Hargis now. Mr. Hargis looked concerned at that question. "You will be very sorry boy. Let's hope that doesn't happen."
"Well, here goes nothing then. "Buffy, Giles, Willow. Anybody there? This is Xander. Answer me if you can here me." He kept repeating this hoping that he could contact someone in time.
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Spike and Buffy were still standing in the middle of the prince's room kissing. They were caught up in the moment when Buffy suddenly pulled away. Spike looked at her puzzled.
"What's wrong love? I was just get'in started here." Buffy shushed him. "I think I hear Xander." Spike rolled his eyes. "What a thing to say to a bloke your kiss'in. Gotta say slayer, that's a deal breaker." She shushed him again.
Just then the mirror turned a milky white and Xander's face appeared. "Buffy, do you hear me. Giles, Willow, anybody there?" Buffy and Spike were both amazed and approached the mirror.
"Xander is that you? How did you get in the mirror?" Buffy was confused. She felt around the back of the mirror. Xander continued. "I'm not in the mirror Buffy. I'm in Sunnydale and I have information. Oz and I found Mr. Hargis, the guy who sent you on this bogus mission. He has a mirror where he contacts the king and we decided to give it a try."
Buffy wasn't sure what to say next. "Great Xander. Good Work." Xander was pleased with himself and then continued. "I have to hurry. I'm not sure how this mirror works or if we are going to run out of minutes or what so here's the gist. The king is using the prince to get to you so he can use you in this ritual to restore Anne. He is going to give you a necklace tomorrow and you have to say something and then you will merge with Anne and restore her. The curse will be lifted and the king will return. He's not a happy king Buffy. After the ritual no one will be able to get back."
Spike chimed in now. "Ha, I knew he wanted Buffy right from the start. I could tell how he was look'in at her all the time. He's go'in to use her to save his precious Anne." Buffy looked at Spike and responded. "I told you it wasn't Julian. It's the king who is behind all this." Spike just mumbled under his breath a little.
This caused Xander to pipe in again. "Is that Spike's voice I hear Buffy?"
Buffy paused and then responded. "Yes, Spike is here with me as well as Giles and Willow. It's a long story and I will tell it to you when we get back. I have to find Willow and Giles and see if their research turned up anything we can use.
Oz heard Buffy mention Willow and interrupted. "Is Willow ok Buffy?
Buffy heard Oz and her heart melted. How hard it must be for him worrying about her. "She's ok Oz. She's with Giles and they are both ok." Buffy was pleased with the job Xander had done for them back home.
"Thanks for the information Xander. You have been a great help. Is everything ok there?"
Xander held the mirror to reveal Mr. Hargis tied in the chair. "We are fine here Buffy. You just concentrate on figuring out how to stop this thing and get home." With that the mirror turned white again and Xander was gone.
Buffy turned to Spike. "We need to get out of here and find Willow and Giles. Hopefully they have something we can use." Spike nodded in agreement. The ritual was tomorrow and they still didn't have any idea how to stop it.