Summary: Certain books have found their way to Sunnydale, pre-Buffy.
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* * *
The Spirit of the Hyena, summoned by the circle and ceremony, leapt into the bodies of the six who looked at it's chosen ones. Well, it leapt into five of them.
The sixth was... being difficult.
It felt the sixth drawing on it's substance somehow, a gentle tugging that it could not stop. The Spirit sent another tendril specifically to the mind of the sixth, then could not pull that tendril away either. It decided to cut it's losses and restrain itself to those two tendrils, choosing skill over brute force for this one.
* * *
Xander gasped as he felt a Presence try to force it's way into his head. The teenager pressed his forehead as the pain dissipated.
A faint yellow glow flickered in his eyes momentarily.
Kyle growled as the possession struck deep roots in him.
"/I/ lead this pack!," Xander snarled. "I am more powerful, I am more knowledgable, and I can beat you any day!"
The other five whined, acquiesing to his leadership.
* * *
Later that night, Xander was at Jesse's house. He handed his friend the Wand of Oemac, and a sheet of paper he had been working on for many months now.
"Continue what you've started. The Pack must grow in power."
* * *
Giles blinked as he saw Xander and Jesse walking towards him.
"Ah, Xander! I've been meaning to ask you about--"
Xander pushed the librarian out of the way. "I'm busy."
The motion revealed more black metal lines under the gloves that Xander habitually wore now. Giles could also see more lines than what he had drawn on Xander's neck as the youth walked away from him. A star inside a figure had been inlaid with that metal on Jesse's hand, too.
"Oh, dear," the Watcher mused.
* * *
Later that day, Giles managed to grab Willow and Buffy. Jesse was with Xander and the four bullies and, well... for some reason, the Watcher didn't trust them at the moment.
After a brief discussion where the hypothesis that Xander and Jesse were turning into /normal/ sixteen year old boys was disproven, they reached the conclusion that their condition must be connected with the zoo trip, and the hyenas.
They settled down for some research into animal possession.
* * *
Buffy had left partway through to get some donuts and Coca Cola, and had been... approached for... favours... from the possessed bookworms.
While Xander's patterns were powerful, they weren't resistant to a sharp rap on the noggin. Especially when his mind and the Runes were dulled by the constant fight with the Spirit.
"Okay, I got Jesse and Xander," the Slayer announced as she returned to the library. "Hurry up, we've got to get them locked up before they wake up."
"Oh, my God!," Willow gasped. "What happened?"
"I hit them," Buffy responded.
"With what?"
"A desk."
"Boy, is Principal Flutie gonna love you," the redhead observed as they dragged the two boys into the bookcage, locking it.
"Xander tried his hand at felony sexual assault," Buffy said.
Buffy and Giles left to consult with the zookeeper looking after the hyenas, while Willow kept watch on the possessed teenagers.
* * *
In another part of town, Elizabeth was applying for a job as a secretary with the Mayor.
She had gotten it easily, thanks to having the mind-warping Dominate ability. Combined with her natural Presence ability that came with all Ventrue vampires, it was quite efficacious.
"Thanks, Elizabeth!," Mayor Wilkins the Third said. "That's brilliant of you, to crossreference these reports for me!"
"It's nothing," the Ventrue said. "But I would like to point out that Mr Olson isn't really a good choice for taking care of the sewage disposal committee."
She carefully applied pressure to Wilkin's psyche -- too hard, and the man would know that something was wrong. The vampiress was leery of anyone finding something amiss with her.
"Gosh, you're right," the Mayor blinked. "I knew something wasn't quite right with him! Could you take care of it until I find a replacement?"
* * *
Her boyfriend, Lasombra, was on the other side of town and on the other side of the law.
"Listen to me," he snarled as he lifted the drug dealer into the air. "You don't pay Davey any more. You pay me. You so much as piss anywhere but where I tell you to piss, you'll be pissing blood. Got me?"
The small, thin, smelly man nodded so hard Lasombra thought his head might fall off. "Yeah, I understand, it's just that Davey--"
"Ain't around anymore," the vampire snarled. "Tell all your friends. And if any of you even think of crossing me, I'll know."
Lasombra's figure turned black and smoky, falling into the flat plane of shadow cast by the warehouse. The drug dealer crossed himself, feeling religious all of a sudden.
He hurried to get home when he heard a noise down the alley. Some nights, it didn't pay to get out of bed.
* * *
"Listen," said the zoo-keeper. "Just get the pack leader here, and the rest of the pack will come for him. You do that, while I set up the ceremony."
* * *
Post-fic comments:
According to the V:tM sourcebook, the Dominate discipline is surprisingly common. (It's similar to what Drusilla used on Giles when Angelus was torturing him.)