Summary: Certain books have found their way to Sunnydale, pre-Buffy.
Disclaimer: I dun' own nuttin'!
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Pre-Fic Comments:
No Moloch in this fic. If I'm gonna have a temptation demon, it's gonna be a red-hot succubus chick, intent on wild sex. Butt ugly horned dudes only work in Doom. (Except for the Cyberdemon, that might work.)
* * *
After much discussion between themselves, the gang minus Buffy had decided not to worry about the Slayer's relationship to Angel too much. Angel had demonstrated restraint, and the recent influx of humanly moraled vampires had blurred the black and white world of demonic vampires and holy humans somewhat.
"Uh, I'm not gonna be able to help with Metal Night," Xander said. "Unless you're willing to let my uncle come along."
"You've got relative visiting?," Willow asked. "I thought they only came at Christmas?"
"Special case," Xander explained. "Uncle Iori is cool."
"Iori Yagami?," Buffy asked. "As in King Of Fighters, Insane Orochi Warrior Iori Yagami?"
Xander nodded, grinning like mad.
"I've got his autograph!," Jesse said, digging up a photograph with a signature on it.
"Is he capable of taking care of himself in the event of supernatural disturbance?," Giles asked.
Everyone looked at him blankly.
"Ah, Giles, you have watched TV recently? He's Iori Yagami. One look at him and the vamps will either run screaming or faint," Buffy explained, annoyed.
"I'll ask him," Xander said. "So, Jesse, learnt anything on what's planned tonight?"
Jesse blinked, then pulled out a notebook he'd written his notes in.
"Well, it's a different backer this time. I haven't found out who the caster is. The backer is someone called Ethan Rayne--"
"Ethan!," Giles snarled. A scowl crossed the normally serene Watcher's face.
"You know this loser?," Buffy asked.
"Yes. Go on, Jesse," Giles said.
"Uh. Anyway, it isn't Twelveheart's Final Rite tonight. It's... Baxter's Messy Reversal, whatever that is."
Jesse closed his notebook with a flourish.
"That's it?," Willow asked.
Jesse looked sheepish. "Well, I tried going to Carl's house to ask what music he was gonna do, but he was asleep. And his Dad kept looking at me, then laughing."
"Bummer," Xander said. "Maybe we'll just get Weird Al all night."
"Oh!," Buffy said, remembering something. "I snagged a promo poster. I can't believe we forgot to grab one -- I mean, they've been up all week."
"And?," Giles asked.
"Come As You Are Night," Buffy read from the A4 poster. "Prizes for the best costumes."
Xander looked up from some books he'd brought with him. "I found Baxter's Messy Reversal, guys."
"That was swift," Giles blinked. He'd expected to have to dig through some indexes first.
"It's a pretty recent spell," Xander shrugged. "Baxter died just last year."
"So what does this thing do?," Willow asked.
Jesse looked over Xander's shoulder, reading the page. "Ewwwww. Gross."
Xander thwapped Jesse with his baseball cap, before he put it back on his head. A faint fuzz of hair was growing back over where he'd shaved it off to put the Rune to control the Tarbaby Rune.
"That's the description, doofus," he said goodnaturedly.
"What's the what?," Buffy asked.
"It brings out what people want to be, and makes them into that," Xander said. "The name comes from the idea of physically turning someone inside out. Skin inside, fleshy stuff outside."
"Ewwwww," Willow said. "That Baxter guy needed to get out more."
"No argument from me," Xander said.
"Wonderful as that is," Giles said, "we're running out of time. Why did no one think to remind us ahead of time?"
The teenagers looked at Giles again, with that 'duh' expression. Buffy finally spoke up for them.
"You keep telling us, you're the Watcher. You're supposed to train me and plan and stuff."
* * *
>
Willow looked around. The Bronze was /packed/; there had been less at the last Metal Night. She blushed madly as the song began with feminine passioned moaning, before spiralling down.
"Why are there so many people?," she hollered in Xander's ear. He'd managed to come; his uncle was chatting with Carl.
Giles looked miserable in his tweed jacket, huddled over a beer.
"You can't buy publicity like the last Night," Xander yelled back. "And people want to show off their costumes!"
Buffy got back from the bar, Slayer-enforced elbows helping her make way through the packed crowd of people. She handed everyone their drinks.
"There are people from New York, Chicago... all over, here!," she yelled.
And there was. It was somewhat possible to identify groups of people -- the headbangers were congregated in one section, engaging in brain damage, the Goths were dotted through the crowd like well dressed mourners...
"Who on earth are the people in black with the white hair?," Giles yelled.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Drow!," he screamed back.
The noise was getting louder, somehow. Carl was surpassing himself, and his speaker stacks.
"Have you found the caster?," Giles shouted.
"Not yet!," Xander replied.
"Well, get busy! Because something's starting!"
* * *
>
>
>
Iori was having a blast. He had decided to travel east for no particular reason, and was glad he had, now. He always enjoyed seeing his nephew Xander again.
He looked around, as all the costumed people shivered slightly. Attuned to power, he felt something shiver across his skin.
* * *
Kevin Grant of San Fran was having a blast as well. His friends had heard about an unbelievable club in a small town in Calif, and the group of them had spontaneously decided to road trip. The slim, slender Kevin had decided to crossdress, and was currently costumed as a Priestess of Eilistraee -- quite a feat, since they wore as little as possible.
He was going to be in quite a bit of pain the next day, but he intended on being tanked by then. His friend, Karen, was dressed as a Priestess of Corellon Larethian. Kevin thought that was a bit... normal... but it was her choice. Yvonne was costumed as a Jedi, with two plastic horns glued on her head, four smaller horns in a row below those, and faint fake tattoos drawn on her face.
He had already had a bit to drink, was mildy tanked already, and thus didn't realise when the power shivered over the crowd.
Correction. /She/ didn't realise.
* * *
Xander's head shot up, following the now obvious lines of power. They all emanated from a bust of a Greek woman, suspended from the ceiling.
"There!," he shouted.
Giles raised the crossbow he had brought along, and shot the bust with it. The plaster statue fell apart easily, the lines of power dissipating into the atmosphere.
"Well, that's that," he shouted.
"Can I do a speech again?," Jesse shouted.
"NO!"
* * *
Post-Fic Comments:
Sorry Luis, no exotic mummies or Cathayans yet.