Xander outlined the plan once more with everybody present, just in case any of the 'stable' people became Resetters and could help out. The clock struck 2:30 PM…
…And the next cycle began. Xander ran into the office and grabbed Giles' keys and headed for the weapons locker. He grabbed a few stakes and swords, and then noticed that the crysknife had still cycled through as did Phil the Tree-cat.
"Jon, Willow, Buff, I have the weapons ready," Xander said as he attached the crysknife to his belt, "Anybody let Buffy know what's going on?"
"Not really," Willow responded as they headed for the door, "But I'll explain it on the way."
Having pretty much cleared the room, William suddenly felt excruciating pain, but managed to keep conscious by the barest of margins. Looking around, he found it all familiar, but unattached emotionally. He was still dressed in his Spike-way but something was wrong other than the cool temperature of the building. Looking at Dru he was relieved she seemed to have regained some color, and, taking her hand, seemed…to…have a body temperature…and now that he thought about it…and checking…he and she both had heart beats.
Jesse hit the floor with if not for the grace of a pile of dirty clothes, would have been a painful crash. Looking around, he realized he was back amongst the living, though the last day still seemed like a confusing dream…and the memory of Xander's stake piercing the heart still brought the shock of it back to him. Quickly he found the clothes where Xander had told him to look, and then dressed. He heard his friend's parents moving around down the hall, and waiting a moment, rushed down the stairs and out the front door. 'I can't believe the first place I go after I get back from the dead is the high school library,' he grimaced as he made his way down the street.
At 2:30 PM, Angel coughed a little in his sleep, rolled over and began to snore horrendously for the first time in nearly two and a half centuries.
Only fifteen minutes after the Reset, a small car pulled up out front of the warehouse as two running slayers simply crashed through the door with tree branches as weapons.
The dyed-blonde man struggled to carry his girlfriend toward the door, nearly getting there when two young women barged into the place, rousting minions in the next room and that had been sleeping near the doorway. He stopped in surprise and shouted out to everybody.
"Minions, Retreat to the other rooms!" the now-human shouted in bluff, "These two are mine!" He gave it his all and charged the two girls as the not-very-awake vampires scurried to get out of the way. Facing the two young women and nearing them as they lunged with their improvised stakes at two lagging vampires, he added, "Get out of here! These blokes are vampires!"
The black girl stepped forward and grabbed Dru from him, turning to race back out into the sunlight as the gypsy-looking girl seemed to provide cover.
"Come on," William gasped to the girl as he raced pass toward the door, "Something stranger than two teenage girls rushing in to help us is happening."
Lilah and Lindsey were heading to their again-waiting helicopter for their third loop into Sunnydale. So far, they'd managed to determine some type of chaos magic at work that transformed people into the costumes worn, but that was it.
"What is it?" Lilah demanded of the pilot as he reset the helicopter down again without really taking off, "Why aren't we going anywhere?"
"Your orders are changed, ma'am," the man replied, "Report to Mr. Manners immediately, something about the Partners."
Linda and Wesley arrived moments after the warehouse evacuation to find the new humans collapsed and unconscious.
"What happened?" Linda asked as they helped the former vampires into the backseat, "Are they…alright?"
"They seem to be out of it from lack of food and water," Faith reported, "I guess the mojo powered them up last time, but he didn't even seem to recognize us."
"Well then, let's get them to a hospital and take it from there, shall we?" Wesley added as they saw the high schoolers show up in Giles' car.
"W-we'll be there after we tell them w-what's going on," Tara responded, and then check on the other two."
Jonathan, Xander, Willow, Doyle and Dawn crammed into the Libarian's car and they headed to Ethan's. They'd discussed going as Star War characters because of the whole Jedi meditation perspective Jonathan's brief time as Yoda provided him. The others had agreed mainly because the young man had it owed him for their necessary safeguards when he'd become aware of things, but nearly as much because he still hadn't run away when he could have.
He'd made his case, that Xander dress as Yoda in human form or as Qui-Gonn Jinn to give him the meditation, control training and the ability to divert or fend off the dark side influences even in adversity and cited Yoda experience as why he could control much of the confusion and conflicting feelings by force of will. Willow she thought would make a very good Mara Jade Skywalker, the skills would be good, but the trip through darkness to light might provide her with the balance Yoda felt she needed to pursue in the short contact they'd had. Doyle was told he should dress as Anakin Skywalker at the end of 'Jedi' because the grayness of his experience needed to have greater contrast to appreciate the struggle of the others as well as for the skills. Dawn didn't really want to wear pants or such, and opted for the safe Leia Organa-Solo, kidding Xander about how he'd already dressed as her husband Han Solo. Jonathan would go as Obi-Wan Kenobi to humanize his Jedi and other experiences without giving up any of the Jedi meditation memories. The costume shop experience, mentioning Giles in hearing of the proprietor, had assured them fullest mojo being placed on the costumes as they then changed into them and left, Xander not going as Yoda.
The approach to nightfall proved not too problematic, the humanization of the four vampires being shock enough to those not in the Resets. Buffy was handed a generic Jedi Knight costume before she went off with her kids, and those not dressed either on hospital or library duty until the time of the spell. At that point, the library crew of Jenny, Giles, Jesse would deal with the Janus statue. The Jedi would protect and such until rendezvousing afterwards at the library. Willow wrote their costume characters notes and mapped out routes for the Jedi to follow back to the school from wherever they found themselves.
The six Jedi divided themselves into three pairs, Buffy and Dawn together, Jonathan and Xander, Willow and Doyle. Finishing up quickly and returning the kids to the school, the triads headed out to their agreed positions in order to help friends and hopefully exact a preemptive toll on many of the known threats.
The magic swept over Qui-Gonn Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, upsetting their force balance, but quickly recognizing the feel of Master Jedi in each other.
"Who are you, Jedi, and how is it I do not know you?" asked Obi-Wan of the young man next to him, and how is it I am amongst the living once more?"
"To answer your second question first, I do not know as I similarly am unable to account for my being in a different body than I am accustom," the Jedi Master answered, "And to the other question, I'm Qui-Gonn Jinn." To this he received a shocked look and a few direct and piercing questions to which only he and one other person should have an answer.
"Good tidings to you, my former Master," the shorter man then bowed slightly, "I am your former padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and it is with great pleasure I meet with you again."
"Well Obi-Wan, I'm surprised to find us in such strange circumstances, but I suppose not too different form many we'd been sent into," the Jedi Master smiled, "I seem to have in my hand a note of some type, and what appears to be a crude map. Are you able to read this language? The characters are of a different script than any I've studied."
"I'm afraid it looks nearly identical to one I have and also can't read," Obi-Wan conceded, "But perhaps if we compare the scripts on the map to what appear to be street markers over there, we can reach the indicated destination."
The two dear friends in spite of the oddity of their situation, Obi-Wan filling in his former master with regards to the fall of the Republic, the rise of Vader and Anakin's redemption as the New Republic took its first breaths. The outline of events lasted for nearly half an hour, and thrice they drew light sabers and chased off mongrel non-humans before they could cause ill.
Cordelia was running for her life, quickly turning toward Buffy's house. Having heard earlier in the day that Halloween was suppose to be quieter, it was Cordelia's hope that she could find refuge there as the thing that used to be Tucker Wells seemed intent on eating her for dinner.
"Help! Help!" Cordelia cried out as she neared the place, hearing what seemed to be a big bug zapper ignite.
Swick-Zack came the crackle of a blue light saber on a training setting making contact with the back of the animal's right leg, knocking it painfully to the ground. Doyle/Anakin struck the animal again in the forehead to stun it, then turned to where the rescued girl and Anakin's… companion gathered, the dust of another strange dark-creature poofing onto the sidewalk.
"Is the girl safe?" Anakin Skywalker in his dark robes but without helmet or respirator asked.
"Yes Lord…Skywalker," the former Emperor's Hand responded, her address still that to Vader than to the Jedi she knew him to have reclaimed at the end. That had been a shock, her to find Vader/Anakin and quickly be disarmed by him, then to have him find out she was his daughter-in-law. After quickly dusting several dark-creatures with Force gestures, Anakin had freed Mara, insisting he knew naught of the goings-on, and found her explaining what she knew of his children since his death on the Emperor's Death Star.
"Willow, what are you on? I can't understand most of what you're saying," Cordelia questioned, "And who's the lite-brite guy?"
"You seem…to know the…identity of this body…I find myself in," Mara Jade-Skywalker remarked slowly and deliberately, "But I am not this… Willow, though with concentration I am able to understand your words. Now, if…you could tell us…why we might have been…brought here…then maybe we can figure how to return your…friend to you."
Leia and the young Jedi girl had taken a couple of minutes to figure out they were no longer where they'd been before, and managed to quickly thwart several dark-force life forms from eating strangely dressed children and adults. The Ambassador was careful not to allow damage to her precious cargo, choosing mostly to use her blaster for offense and hold the activated light saber to discourage attempts. The young blonde Jedi, however, leapt forward with great enthusiasm, switching settings depending on if the aggressors were dark-force or other. They'd so far managed to save a young woman from a blade-wielding ruffian's unwanted attention, and many groups of frightened towns-dwellers, but still remained unsure of their purpose here.
It had taken awhile for the three on 'Ethan' duty to reach the costume shop, Jesse needing to eat and drink a fair amount before being ready to go along. Giles directed the young man, exhausted from apparent resurrection and the confusion involved with the better part of a year missing form his life, to wait in the car while Jenny assisted in the store effort. Entering the premises, Giles and Jenny both drew revolvers from their jackets, expecting Ethan to make trouble. Carefully moving into the back room, they saw the chaos mage weeping and sobbing, trying to make his way toward the statue of Janus. As Jenny covered the proprietor, Giles walked over to the statue and kicked across the room, shattering it and the spell only a little later than planned.
"R-R-Rupert, Janus…is…dying…" Ethan gasped as he fell into deep unconsciousness.