Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, everything is owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and TNT. I am making no profit from this work.
Sequel/Prequel To: Chapter 87: YAHF: Xander, The Librarian
Xander and Willow could only look bewilderedly at the slayer turned noblewoman.
"She is going to be embarrassed if she remembers this," Xander said.
"There's a chance she could?" Willow asked.
Xander shrugged. "It greatly depends on the type of possession, really. And how powerful the entity doing the possession is. In all likeliness, unless she represses, and she'll likely wish she did, she'll remember this. Most of the time when someone doesn't remember being possessed it's because they were possessed by a higher being or an extremely powerful sorcerer. Chances are good she'll remember every detail of tonight and be properly horrified by the fact."
"What about primal possessions?" Willow asked the Librarian.
"It's possible, but unlikely, that any possessing primal spirit would be powerful enough to suppress a consciousness to that degree. And even if they were that powerful, it's still unlikely as the primal wouldn't really care about domination of the host- at least not as we'd think of it. Unless the host was extremely weak willed or did something so horrifying that they repressed the memories, it's unlikely they'd not remember the possession- why do you ask?" Xander asked.
"We encountered a group who'd been possessed by primal spirits last year- hyenas," Willow explained, while hiding the fact from the Librarian that he, the him that he was possessing, was amongst those possessed.
"Rough, but not terribly difficult to deal with," Xander commented as he crossed the street to where the noblewoman who used to be Buffy Summers was screeching at nearby automobiles. "Milady, you need to calm down- those things, they are not demons- they're machines called cars."
"What do they want?" she asked.
"Nothing. They have no more willpower than a carriage- which is, for the most part, the function they serve," Xander explained.
"But they have no horse, ox nor ass driving them," she pointed out.
"Welcome to the World of Tomorrow," Xander declared.
"Excuse me?" she asked with a haughty sniff.
"Just trust me when I tell you that you are a long way from home, but we'll very soon be working on a way to get you back," Xander assured her.
"My father will reward you greatly for your service," she declared as she suddenly changed her demeanor once more. It was almost enough to give both Xander and Willow mood whiplash.
"I'm honored, but that won't be necessary. It's sort of my job to deal with these types of things," Xander answered assuringly. "My name is Xander Harris. I'm The Librarian."
"Librarian?" the noblewoman asked skeptically.
"Trust me, what I do is far more impressive than it sounds," Xander replied. "Now, can I get your name? It'll be easier to get you home if I know where to bring you."
"I am Lady Elizabeth Buffy," she declared. "My father is Duke Henry Buffy."
"Okay, Lady Elizabeth, this here is Willow, she's... A guardian spirit… Of nature," Xander introduced the red headed ghost.
Willow gave him a strange look as if to ask whether or not he was still sane.
"A-A spirit?" Lady Elizabeth said frightfully.
"Guardian Spirit," The Librarian corrected. "She is charged by the Maker himself with protecting his Earthly realm."
"Truly?" Lady Elizabeth asked in astonished skepticism. "How can you be sure?"
"I'm a man of learning, a scholar," Xander pointed it. "It's my job to know such things, milady."
"Then you know what is going on? You know how I came to be here?" Lady Elizabeth asked eagerly.
Xander winced. "Sort of. I'm aware of the broader details if not the specifics."
"Can you tell me?" she inquired.
Xander was quick to note a few goblins nearby scrounging through some trash. "Once we get somewhere more safe."
"Buf- A friend's house isn't too far from here," Willow said as she cut her eyes to the noblewoman. "We can go there."
"Maybe..." Xander said as if thinking something over.
"What are you thinking?" Willow asked.
"I'm thinking… We need The Library," Xander stated.
Willow thought it over. "The school is further away, but I suppose..."
"No, no, no," Xander shaking his head. "I'm not just talking about just any library, I'm talking about The Library."
"What's so special about this library of yours?" Lady Elizabeth asked.
"Simply put, I am The Librarian," Xander explained. "I protect the world from wild magic and those who would use it to harm others. The Library is the largest repository of magical knowledge and artifacts in existence."
"But magic is evil!" Lady Elizabeth declared.
"Sometimes," The Librarian acknowledged. "Especially when in the hands who would use it for evil. But not really. Magic is magic. It is both good and bad. And while it is often used to do some terrible, horrible things, it can also do some amazing, wonderful things. And right now, I need The Library to help me do an amazing thing to help us undo a terrible thing."
"S-So the reason why I'm here… Y-You think it's because of magic?" Lady Elizabeth asked fearfully.
"I think it's a strong possibility," Xander admitted. "But don't worry, I deal with this sort of thing all the time."
"How will you get there? You're not exactly from here," Willow pointed out.
"For starters, The Library isn't a part of this plane of existence, but is it's own pocket dimension. It should be just a small matter of summoning the back door, which I can do from anywhere, so long as there is a door to connect to The Library," Xander replied.
"But what it you can't connect to your Library?" Willow asked pessimistically.
"Then I'll have to get help from The Librarian whose Library I do connect to," Xander answered. Willow and Buffy followed him to the nearest house. "This should do. Though it'd be a lot easier if I had my cell phone with me." He muttered a few phrases and Buffy cringed as the door began to glow. "And for the final touch..." He then knocked on the door three times before opening the door. When he did, Willow was astonished to see the high school library behind to the door. "Ladies first."
Lady Elizabeth looked ready to bolt and shook her head. Willow rolled her eyes and stepped through the door.
"See, harmless," Xander assured Lady Elizabeth. The young noblewoman steeled her resolve and hesitantly stepped through the door and Xander followed quickly there after. He then took a moment to look around. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a school library."
"That's because it is," Willow told him. "Let's see if Giles is here."
"W-wait!" Xander replied. "Giles, as in 'Ripper' Giles, Head of the Order of Eyghon, Giles?"
"No..." Willow responded. "Giles as in Rupert Giles, librarian and Buffy's Watcher."
Xander rolled his eyes. "Ripper is his nickname."
"Where'd you hear THAT name?" Giles inquired.
Xander stepped in between Giles and the girls and drew a stake out of his pack. "Stay back, Ripper!"
"Xander, stop!" Willow stated. "Giles is one of the good guys."
"I'll believe that if this Giles is free of the Mark of Eyghon," Xander replied while not taking his gaze off of Giles.
"This Giles?" Giles asked. "Willow, what's going on?"
"We were out escorting children when some sort of spell started turning people into their costumes," Willow replied. "I became a ghost, Buffy a noblewoman and Xander a librarian."
"The, THE Librarian," Xander insisted. "I protect the world from the weird, the strange and the things that go bump in the night."
"And here, we have the Slayer- usually," Willow stated. "You said in your world she doesn't exist. Well in this world, she does."
"No, I said Buffy the Slayer doesn't exist. However, Buffy the woman does, or at least did," Xander said with a pained expression.
"So see, other things could be different," Willow insisted.
"Not entirely. There are some parallels," Giles reluctantly admitted as he rolled up his sleeve.
Xanders' eyes narrowed. "The Mark of Eyghon."
"G-Giles?" Willow asked heart-brokenly.
"That was an unpleasant time of my life, one I've worked hard to forget and atone for," Giles replied. "A friend died and we stopped calling upon him. Since then, I've been a member of the WATCHER'S Council in mostly good standing."
"Mostly?" Xander asked, relaxing slightly.
"My view point since becoming Buffy's Watcher is a bit more progressive than some of my more conservative compatriots would like," Giles replied honestly. "However, I have been and continue to be
a loyal member of the Watcher's Council, whether I wholly agree with their politics or not."
"So if it came down to it, who would your first loyalty be, to Buffy, or this Council?" Xander inquired.
Giles scowled. "Admittedly, I don't know. I only pray that such a situation doesn't come up," Giles admitted hesitantly.
Willow looked extremely uncomfortable with that admission. Xander, however, shrugged it off. "Fair enough."
"You said you were a…"
"THE."
"Librarian, who fights against evil magic," Giles stated. "Correct?"
"Yeah," Xander replied.
"Any clue as to what caused your's, Willow's and Buffy's transformations?" Giles inquired as he broke out a few texts and manuscripts.
"I have an idea of what happened, but not who or where," Xander replied as he picked up a book. "This is a good one. Lots of useful information that is largely irrelevant to our current conversation, but useful all the same." He then put the book back down.
"So what are your thoughts on the matter?" Giles asked.
"Well… It's Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, a night were dimensional barriers are particularly weak. Most supernatural baddies stay in because spirits in general are stronger than the norm, whether they're good, evil or something else."
"Something else?" Willow asked.
Xander shook his head. "A conversation for later. Anyways… My guess is, whoever our sorcerer is, they used this night as a way to boost his spell and likely called on a higher power. Given the nature of Halloween in general, both past and present, I'd say some sort of greater trickster spirit, likely a god, but not necessarily. Of course a god of change or chaos could be the power behind the spell as well."
Giles frowned. "Knowing which spirit or god or even demon could potentially help us dispel the enchantment, but is not something we could figure out from here. Was it just the three of you who were affected?"
"I don't recall coming across anyone other than yourself who wasn't possessed. As far as I can tell, it affected everyone wearing costumes given the number of mini-demons are out there," Xander replied. "Willow?"
"A couple of kids in my group weren't changed, but I couldn't tell you why," Willow replied.
Xander frowned. "So the spell isn't targeting costumes specifically…"
"Was there anything different about their costumes?" Giles asked Willow.
Willow shook her head. "No, I saw other kids with similar costumes that were transformed."
"Something had to be different… But what could it have been..." Xander mumbled. He looked up at Giles. "Maybe we should come at this another way..."
"How do you mean?" Giles asked.
"Do you have any magical artifacts?" Xander inquired.
"A couple. But none of them are particularly powerful or useful to our current situation," Giles replied.
"They don't need to be, they just have to be magical in nature," Xander stated. "The enchantment we're all under is extremely powerful. It would have to be, to be affecting so many people at once. With a simple spell, we can use the artifact as a dowsing rod and trace the magic back to its source."
"That's brilliant!" Willow exclaimed.
"Except or the fact that his plan doesn't take the Hellmouth into account," Giles responded dryly.
"Hellmouth?" Xander asked.
"A semi-closed interdimesional rift that sits beneath this very building, that leads to any number of Hell dimensions," Giles explained.
"H-Hell…?" Lady Elizabeth asked frightfully.
Seeing her terror stricken expression, Giles smiled at her reassuringly. "Fear not, milady, we are guardians of the rift and while we breathe and remain vigilant, nothing shall harm you. Nor will just being near it affect your spiritual salvation, for it is a holy calling to guard against the creatures that reside there."
"What if, instead of a spell, we use a ritual?" Xander suggested. "Same purpose, but we design it to specifically filter out malevolent energies."
"That… That could work… But it would take time we don't have to create one," Giles said pessimistically.
"True, but we don't have to create it from scratch, we just have to modify an existing ritual. We already know what we want it to do, so from there it's just a simple matter of modifying it to meat our needs," Xander said.
"True, but I might not have everything on hand to complete this ritual once we've modified it. I only have the most basic spell ingredients on hand and even those are running low," Giles warned him.
Xander frowned. "We'll have to keep it simple then. The Ripper I know and hate wouldn't have been so careless as to let himself get so low on spell components."
"That Ripper hasn't existed in a long time," Giles told him. "In fact, I haven't truly practiced magic since Randal died. A depossession spell here, an exorcism there, and the occasional locator spell is the most I've done over the years."
Xander sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… In light of nights like tonight, you might want to let Ripper out a little more often," Xander stated. "Letting your magical potential go to waste like this is just as bad as abusing the gift of magic you were given. Atonement is all well and good, but ultimately futile it you can't learn to trust yourself."
"I'll take that under advisement," Giles said grudgingly as he and Xander began sorting through different types of magical rituals they could modify to find the source of the enchantment on the town, as well as filter out the Hellmouth energies.