Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories.
Sunnydale High School Library
Giles' POV
"This is indeed ominous, Xander," he said as he closely examined the ears, looking for any clues as to their nature as well as the likelihood that they were permanent. "Do you feel as though anything else is amiss?"
"Not really. I don't hear Puck talking in my head and I haven't seen so much as a sparkle of magic since you shut down the spell," Xander replied, sounding a bit uneasy but no longer fearful. "Then again I haven't tried dishing out any rhymes. Want me to try?"
Remembering some of the magic Puck had performed since they'd first met hours ago, he considered this a bad idea since the mixing of two different types of magic could produce dangerous results. When added to the fact that that sort of power in the hands of someone completely ignorant of the rules of magic and completely lacking in instruction…
"I believe I have a better method for determining just how deep your changes may have progressed," he said as he moved to enter his office.
His idea was a bit dangerous but it would indeed prove whether or not Xander's changes were merely just a set of pointed ears or something more serious. Carefully he began to sift through the various implements and items on his office desk until he found one that suited his needs. He examined it from all sides and, once he was satisfied, he returned to the main area of the library to see if yet another problem had been added to his dilemma.
"Hold out your arm, Xander."
Trusting him the young man did as asked and so, with as much care as he could without invalidating the test, he'd devised he pressed the metal letter opener against Xander's exposed flesh. Almost immediately he noticed pain on the young man's flesh and smoke began to rise from where the two things met, so he pulled back the letter opener. Looking at the damage done he could see that, while not as severe as what would happen if a cross were pressed to the skin of a vampire, it was still proof enough that Xander was no longer quite human. Indeed there were only certain nonhuman species that had a reaction like the one he'd just witnessed to wrought iron.
"Ow! Anything else you'd like to try, G-Man?" Xander asked somewhat sharply from the pain. "Poking me in the eye with it maybe?"
"My apologies, Xander, but it was the only test I could think of that would produce immediate results." He was genuinely sorry that he'd caused the young man any pain but speed was of the essence. "I would say that this is confirmation enough that you are no longer human. Given the pointed ears that are now yours, I think it is safe to say that you are indeed at least part Fairy."
"HEY! I'll have you know I like the ladies as much as the next straight guy!" Xander exclaimed in defense of his companion preferences.
Giles sighed. Bloody Americans. "I did not mean 'fairy' as it is used in slang but rather the term used in folklore and mythology. Also referred to as Fae and generally perceived as a form of spirit," he said, clarifying his statement before they could be further misinterpreted. "Since your transformed personae identified himself as 'Puck' it is likely that your changes are centered on the cartoon variation of the Shakespearean character. Whether or not you are capable of magic now… it would be something best done under controlled conditions."
He could tell from the young man's expression that he recognized his mistake and was taking the information he'd provided just now as seriously.
"Gotcha. No tossing the mojo without your permission."
"Fortunately there are not many things that are made from wrought iron in modern times. The only places you would likely find it would be in structures or items made in the eighteen hundreds and earlier. True, there are a few things, like my letter opener, that were manufactured after that point but they should be easy enough to avoid."
Still it would mean that until he found a way to reverse the transformation he would have to ensure that any weapons the young man used had as little wrought iron in them as possible. He doubted that he would be able to get Xander to remain out of patrols for the duration of his condition even if it would be safer for all involved but he could still minimize the risks as best he could. He knew better than most how dangerous magic could be in the hands of the ill-trained and inexperienced person even if they had the best of intentions.
As the hours ticked by he continued to sift through the books he had on chaos magic, Janus and transformation magic in an effort to find a way to help Willow. With paper and pen to write notes he began to put down information that, based on his observations, pertained to the young woman's condition while ignoring the rest. Locating or even constructing an effective counter spell depended on thoroughly researching the variables involved from the smallest to the biggest. Like intricate handmade clocks there were so many moving components involved that had to be taken into account both on their own as well as how they all interacted together to produce the desired result.
Hopefully the forces involved wouldn't be too complex or else he would have to contact the Council's mage division for expert consultation.
That could lead to word of what had happened reaching Travers and his faction in the upper echelons of the Watcher's Council.
If that happened… the head of the Council would almost certainly forbid him from 'wasting Council resources' any further.
If he was lucky.
If he were unlucky the man would let him think he was working unnoticed when in fact his personal agents would travel to Sunnydale to investigate the matter personally. He very much doubted that he would be able to undo Willow and Xander's conditions before then, so word would almost certainly reach England before long. Then… then Travers would either evaluate both teenagers as potential weapons in the war against demonkind or he would insist that Buffy sever all contact with them since they were no longer human.
He didn't even want to think about the darker order Travers might pass down.
It was the opinion of many members of the Council that the current protocols for dealing with nonhumans was far too relaxed for the war they were fighting. Even if the species of demon or a member of a supernatural race were far from being hostile towards the human race, those people believed that the Earth should be for humans and humans alone. That only the animals and the plants that fed the human race should be permitted to share space with mankind. If those people had their way, both the Slayer and the wet works teams that Travers thought he didn't know about would hunt down every nonhuman on the planet. Officially the head of the Watcher's Council did not condone this point of view and supported the protocols that had existed for centuries. Unofficially the man did nothing to put a stop to such talk and any who violated the protocols were given the lightest punishments Travers could get away with giving without being suspected of approving of their actions.
It was this that made him unsure as to where the proverbial wind would blow if news of the consequences of Halloween made it across the Atlantic.
In the end by the time the clock revealed that sunrise was five minutes away, he felt confident that his understanding of the transformations had definitely improved. He was still intimidated by the challenge of undoing work enabled by the Roman god Janus, using such unpredictable forces, but he owed it to Xander and Willow to give it his all just the same. He knew well how one magic spell could affect a person's life and how hard it was to adjust when all hope of undoing the damage was lost. He would not let it happen here! Not so long as he had resources to tap and willpower in his heart!
"Should be any second now," Xander said, looking at the library windows. "In the cartoon the transformation began the second the top of the sun peeked above the horizon."
He'd already checked with the relevant sources so he knew as precisely as possible when that would happen but there'd still be a couple of seconds leeway. With one eye on his watch and the occasional glance at the window he waited but it turned out that the first sign of the transformation was a gasp of pain from Willow. This caused Xander, Buffy and himself to lock their eyes on her, but what happened next made sure that blinking became very undesirable. A strong spike of pain hit Willow, almost proving to be enough to drop her to her knees, but possibly on will alone she managed to remain standing. She still cried out, though, and he was not surprised because far from being a battle hardened soldier who could tolerate it she was merely a teenage high school student. The first dramatic change then happened as hands that had been three fingers and a thumb turned into four fingers and a thumb. In a way it reminded him of someone taking clay and forming the four digit hand first then reshaping it with as little effort as possible into a five digit hand. He then watched the same thing happen to the feet as they went from one that made it necessary to move on the balls of her feet to a normal human flat one with five toes.
The most dramatic change happened when both the wings as well as the tail began to spasm as though electricity was being channeled through them. Then her body appeared to suck them inwards, incorporating them into her main body, until nothing was left but smooth flesh that faded into Willow's normal skin color rather than the blue color it'd been up until then.
Then it was over and Willow collapsed to the ground, almost going down all the way if Xander hadn't been quick enough to catch her in his arms. She was panting as she adjusted to the drop in pain but he could tell that it would take an hour or two before she'd be free of it entirely. Nevertheless it was a positive point that the transformation did not appear to have done her any visible harm.
He would have to wait and observe how long it took for her to regain full use of her body, as well as any lingering signs of pain to vanish entirely. Only then would he be able to classify the transformation as something that had to be kept from happening any more than absolutely necessary.
"I know it's stupid to ask, Willow, but: how do you feel?" Xander asked with a voice filled with a mix of concern and awkwardness.
"Y-you remember all those cartoons where the coyote ran off a cliff onto air and only fell once he realized there was nothing under his feet?" Willow asked with a shaky voice as she turned her head of wild red hair.
"Yeah?" Xander replied, sounding like he had a pretty good idea what the young woman was getting at.
"I think I'd like to be the coyote AFTER he's hit the ground instead of this," Willow said, sounding somewhat traumatized but not enough that he would have to consider medication or professional help.
"You're tough, Willow," Xander said with as much confidence as he could manage. "Most people wouldn't have been able to handle finding out the truth about the world never mind make the choice to fight against the monsters from beneath their beds. Not you. Don't ever doubt that you've got what it takes to handle this until Giles comes up with the counter spell."
Willow didn't say anything but the grateful smile made it clear she appreciated her best friend's support.
That support would likely be the only thing that would make her life bearable until he found what he needed.
A Sidewalk in Sunnydale
Xander's POV
I think I'll resurrect Rayne anyways, he thought as he walked to his home. She might not have died but Willow's gonna be put through hell for weeks until Giles can work his mojo. I made a promise a long time ago: anyone hurts my Willow and they get hell as payback!
If he were really being honest with himself he wouldn't actually try to dabble in resurrection magic since he didn't have a lick of magical potential in him plus he'd read enough comics to know that bringing people back from the dead can have unforeseen consequences. It didn't change the fact that he was angry that his best bud had been put through coyote pancake levels of pain less than an hour ago. He never liked seeing her in pain and it was partly because of that that he did his best to lighten up any sour mood and make sure a smile replaced any bad expression on her face. Not that he didn't know that there were certain times that seriousness was required but Willow had a hard enough time with her parents being away with their careers for most of the year. They did their best to make it back for her birthday and the big holidays when families were expected to stick together but they were still away from home more than they were home. This had forced Willow to learn how to do things like cook, clean and do her homework without the support of parents and it was his opinion that that shouldn't happen until mid to late teens, when moving onto college became likely.
Still, the redhead had done admirably taking care of herself and he'd helped when and where he could even though he'd made a few… ahem… mistakes here and there.
Companies really should label those bottles better.
As he came into sight of his home he seriously hoped that his parents were still unconscious from their usual pastime of who could outdrink the other. He'd stayed out later than he'd ever expected due to wanting to be there for Willow when she changed back into a human so he hadn't been able to make his usual 'safe to sneak into the house' time like usual. He definitely didn't want Tony to see him in his Puck costume, even if he didn't have the wig on his head anymore, but unless they all of a sudden decided to stick him in the basement there'd always be a risk of being spotted.
Here's hoping the Harris Luck decides to have pity on me just this once.
When he started walking up the walkway to the front door of his house, though, he noticed something that had him on edge and wishing that he'd had the foresight to carry the usual patrol package home with him this night. Inside his house he could see lights of different colors flitting about and he knew that, outside of Christmas lights, no normal house lights produced the same effect. In Sunnydale that usually meant something Hellmouthy was happening and made him think either magic users or demons that had glowy bits. Crouching down he picked up the baseball bat that Tony often used to threaten the newspaper boy if he had a particularly bad hangover at the time. He knew it probably wouldn't do much against whatever was inside his house but something was better than nothing and, if he was lucky, it'd be effective enough for him to make a break for it.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned the door knob before, at the same rate of speed, he pushed the door open using the widening gap to peer inside.
The more advanced notice he could get of whatever was creating the light show inside the greater his odds of survival.
It was only when the door was almost a third of the way open that he got his first look at the intruders: tiny little people with insect wings that gave off different colored light as they flew about. He'd almost classified them as fairies but for some reason that didn't seem right to him, so he put the label of pixies on them instead. If he recalled the night soon after they'd officially founded the Scoobies, Willow had once asked Giles about every mythological and supernatural life form she could name to find out if they really existed or not. While the redhead had been disheartened to know that many had become extinct due to less than benevolent encounters with humans, pixies apparently were still thriving in various parts of the world. The Watcher's description of them made them sound relatively harmless and at times amusing, so this did much to lower the threat level in his mind.
Then he remembered what he was at the moment and recalled Giles citing how fairies and pixies weren't exactly on good terms.
Then again most of Giles' books were a century or more old, so it was possible the bad blood had disappeared by now.
Just the same, though, he'd keep the bat close.
Fully stepping into the house and trying to act casual, it didn't take long for one of the pixies to spot him and the reaction was SO not what he'd been expecting.
"He's HERE! The PRINCE is HERE!" the pixie giving off red light yelled at the top of her lungs. "Everyone get in here NOW!"
Almost at once two more pixies, one giving off green light while another gave off blue light, and something that at best looked like something that was a cross between a hedgehog and an elf showed up. All of them looked to be in terribly good cheer so, unless they were the sort that enjoyed causing pain, either to themselves or others, he didn't think he had much to worry about.
"Wait! Prince!?" he asked rhetorically after his brain caught up to what the red pixie had said. "You sure you have the right house, ma'am, because I'm fairly sure that if I was royalty I'd know it what with the whole mountains of money and living in a mansion bit."
"Oh we have the right house, Alexander," the red pixie replied with a joyous smile on her face. "We've been living here after a fashion since it was built so there's no chance of a mistake."
"Since it was built? Funny, I don't recall seeing any fluttering red light flying about growing up," he said, poking a hole in the…woman's…position. "It definitely would have been the first thing to catch my attention as a kid."
"Yes, well, there were certain rules we had to follow when we brought you here and one of them was no magic until a certain condition was met," the red pixie said, looking like she hadn't been happy about the condition but had gone along with it. "But now that condition has been met and we're all the better for it!"
Okay. This was getting a little weird for him so, like with all odd situations, it'd probably be best to start from the beginning, especially if he wanted his somewhat fatigued brain to absorb it all.
"Look, howsabout you all introduce yourselves and then tell me, from the beginning, why you think I'm this prince? Okay?" he asked, hoping that things would make more sense in a few minutes.
"Very well. My name is Knotgrass, this is Thistlewit, that is Flittle and finally he is Chortata," Knotgrass replied, pointing to each nonhuman being in turn. "We have been taking care of you ever since the Eternus Curse over you lifted sixteen years ago."
He'd been cursed as a baby? Who the hell would do that?!
"Though if you're asking for the real beginning, then that would involve telling you about Maleficent, your mother." Thistlewit said, bobbing her head up and down making, her blonde hair jiggle.
"O-kayyy… weird names, talking about curses and claiming I'm the son of an evil fictional character." He reevaluated the sanity of the beings floating or standing in front of him. "Have you guys been taking your medication like you're supposed to?"
"First of all she's not fictional and secondly you'd do well to treat that… that… RUBBISH… movie like the feces it really is! It completely rearranges what really happened back then and doesn't portray Maleficent accurately at all!" Flittle exclaimed, looking about as angry as he sometimes got when people got certain Star Wars facts wrong.
The cartoon movie was based on something that actually happened? He tried to picture it in his mind but he kept seeing the Technicolor version he'd first seen as a kid.
"Well then why don't you give me your version of what happened?" he asked, deciding it'd probably be best to hear the pixie out before continuing.
"Very well," Knotgrass said, nodding in agreement. "Well, this all began in the year thirteen thirty-five in the country you know as France. It was in a fairly unknown region of the country divided into the Moors where we lived along with various other races humans consider to be myth and the human area ruled by the tyrannical Marquis Henry."
From there the pixie spun a tale that was completely unlike what he'd been expecting, even if it did contain certain elements from the classic Disney movie; a tale of an innocent Maleficent who protected the Moors from invaders but nevertheless didn't deal too harshly with any humans who wandered in and tended to forgive thieves so long as they returned what they stole. Then came a day when she met a young boy named Stefan, who'd come into the Moors looking for treasure. At first she'd merely treated him like any other trespasser and thief but when he returned to talk to her the next day a friendship began to take form. It didn't last as long as some but it was still strong, making it all the more sad when the boy's visits began to drop in frequency over the course of years.
It wasn't until a few days after Maleficent had succeeded in repelling an invasion by the tyrant Marquis Henry that Stefan returned, claiming he wished to warn her about her enemy's declaration. Whosoever managed to slay the 'evil Maleficent' would be named his successor and marry his daughter to become the new ruler of the realm. This proved too be too big a temptation for Stefan, who'd become one of Henry's servants, to ignore and drove him to use his old friendship with the guardian of the Moors to manipulate her into a position of vulnerability. A bit of sleeping potion intended to put her into a deep slumber mixed in with some drink he'd brought with him. Since their only source of information had been Maleficent, they only knew that when the guardian awoke she found that her wings had been cut off while she'd slept. This caused the woman sorrow and pain unlike anything else, for it would mean that the skies would be forever denied her and it hadn't taken her long to realize who'd done the deed.
This had darkened Maleficent's heart and filled it with rage that only grew larger when she'd learned the reasons why her treacherous ex-friend Stefan had taken her wings. As was often the case in such a magical place as the Moors, the land was influenced by the guardian's emotions and magic leading the place to become decidedly darker and less friendly. It wasn't until news reached her that Stefan had an heir, a girl, that Maleficent took action, arriving with all the other well-wishers who'd come with gifts and the like. Instead of something good being handed over, Maleficent placed a curse on baby girl: on the first day after her sixteenth birthday the then teenage girl would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deathlike slumber. Only some last minute begging on the part of Stefan prompted Maleficent to add an escape clause: the curse would only be broken by true love's kiss.
While I can understand how pissed she'd be after being stabbed in the back by a friend and having the equivalent of her legs chopped off, cursing a child is inexcusable. He did not approve of the form the revenge took in the least. If she had a problem with Stefan, she should've cursed him directly.
In an effort to protect his daughter the marquis had the three of them, who'd come to the castle hoping to build bridges of friendship with the king, to take his daughter into hiding until two days past her sixteenth birthday. Stefan also had every single spinning wheel in his lands taken to the lowest level of his dungeons and burned until they were all destroyed. Unfortunately the three pixies admitted that they hadn't had any experience raising a human child or even hiding from someone out in the middle of nowhere, so Maleficent easily found them. Rather than show herself the dark ruler of the Moors merely observed and occasionally stepped in when the pixies proved dangerously incompetent in taking care of Aurora. The vengeful woman nicknamed the girl 'beastie' and, when she wasn't dealing with Marquis Stefan's efforts to kill her, she watched over Aurora.
It was on Aurora's fifteenth birthday that she finally met Maleficent face to face but, much to the latter's surprise, the blonde revealed that she'd always been aware of the former guardian's presence and aid. Out of curiosity and a lessened dislike Maleficent allowed the girl to spend some time in the Moors with her and, as a result, a mother-daughter bond was formed. This bond became so strong that one night, after putting the teenager to bed, the strongest of the fairies tried to remove her curse but sadly remembered that when it'd been cast she had proclaimed that no power on earth could lift it. No power… including her own.
Only true love's kiss could do it.
Then, as if to make matters worse, on the day before Aurora's sixteenth birthday when she'd intended to officially stay in the Moors with her fairy godmother, she met Prince Philip and love at first sight came into play. Unseen by the two youths Maleficent's servant Diaval saw this as a means by which the curse could be lifted but, still cynical because of her past, his mistress disagreed, believing that there was no such thing as true love. Things took a turn for the worse when Knotgrass revealed that, on the eve of Aurora's return to her father, the three pixies told her the truth about her circumstances and the curse she was under. This drove the young girl to confront Maleficent, who confirmed the existence of the curse while feeling great shame at what she'd done.
It had been when the girl had left for her father's castle that Maleficent had chosen to seek out Prince Philip, since she had sensed the curse coming closer and closer to fruition. It had turned out to be a race against the coming sunset and the powerful fairy failed and Aurora fell under the curse as originally intended. Nevertheless Maleficent still travelled to the Marquis' castle, hoping that one kiss from the prince would break the curse and lift the guilt she was feeling.
It hadn't been easy.
In the sixteen years since the girl's birth Stefan had become quite obsessed and more than a little paranoid where the former guardian of the Moors was concerned. As a result the man had not only outfitted his soldiers with wrought iron weapons and armor but had also constructed a web of thorns about the castle made of the same metal. It'd been an obvious effort to mimic the thorn barrier Maleficent had erected to keep humans out of the Moors and it was quite well done. According to what they'd been told by the former guardian, after everything was over with, it had required impressive contortion abilities and skill to safely enter the castle without a scratch. Once inside Maleficent, Diaval and an unconscious Prince Philip made their way to Aurora's room and, once there, the young man was abruptly woken up before being nudged towards the sleeping blonde. From concealment Maleficent watched the scene unfold hoping that this would indeed break the curse but disappointment turned out to be the theme that night for, even after a romantic kiss, nothing happened.
It was when Knotgrass and her fellow pixies had left, though, that Maleficent, in tears over what she had done and what would now be, bent over and kissed Aurora on the forehead. According to Maleficent, who told the pixies about what'd happened later, a miracle happened because, instead of romantic love breaking the curse, it was instead motherly love that did the job. Aurora awoke and was overjoyed to see her! Together the girl, Maleficent and Diaval moved to flee the castle since it'd been decided that they'd live in the Moors from that day forward.
When they reached a large open area complications arose in the form of Stefan and his men appearing with wrought iron weapons and restraints. A battle ensued and, before she was too distracted to do so, Maleficent had used her magic to transform Diaval into a dragon. The former guardian and her servant put up a brave fight but, with superior numbers and wrought iron weapons, it was only a matter of time before Marquis Stefan had Maleficent at his mercy. Brutally the man had beaten the woman, taunting her all the while with cruel words, but when Stefan moved to end it all hope arrived in the form of Maleficent's wings. Apparently the previous marquis had chosen to keep them and place them in a trophy room of sorts in a glass case ribbed with wrought iron bars. With them free Aurora's fairy godmother had been restored to full strength and easily managed to turn the tables on both Stefan and his men
In the end only Stefan remained and, while the temptation to kill him had been there, Maleficent chose not to. The marquis, on the other hand, was not so wise because he attacked once more and, after a brief airborne struggle, the man plummeted to his death on the stone ground of the castle courtyard. It had been with that man's death that peace finally came to the land because, not only did Aurora inherit the marquis' land and title, but Maleficent also named her the new queen of the Moors. Thus a single ruler governed the formerly separate lands, ensuring nevermore would the two peoples do battle to subjugate the other.
Not a bad story and I can see where Disney changed things to favor the human crowd, but it still doesn't answer one question. "Nice story but what does it have to do with me?"
"Well, you see, during the sixteen years that Aurora was gone Marquis Stefan deteriorated mentally and used up quite a bit of his land's resources and manpower hunting Maleficent. At first his subjects didn't mind this since they could understand why he was doing it and sympathized. However, as his mind weakened, his demands of his people went up until many became worried. Some tried to politely protest and convince Stefan to show a little restraint."
"I take it this didn't go over well with the man?" he asked even though his instincts told him his question was something of an understatement.
"Not at all. He had all the protesters either executed or sentenced to life imprisonment in the dungeons. Once they were gone he replaced them with people who hated Maleficent and the Moors as much as he did, or people who'd follow his orders without question." Knotgrass' look made it clear she thought he was the master of understatement. "When Aurora became queen she gave them one chance to comply with the peace between humans and the species of the Moors. It didn't take them long before they made an attempt to assassinate her so she exiled them from her lands."
"They didn't stay gone, did they?" he asked, knowing that people like that rarely went quietly.
"No. First, though, there are some things to get out of the way before we get back to them," Knotgrass replied, her mood improving. "In the ten years that followed prosperity overflowed in the realm and noble men replaced the hateful ones that'd been exiled. One of them even took a fancy to Maleficent when he saw her and, while it took most of the following ten years, they gradually became quite close."
This caused Thistlewit and Flittle to titter with laughter, likely due to the memories of those times.
He had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going.
"It was during the fall of the tenth year that Maleficent became pregnant with you by the nobleman and we'd genuinely thought that nothing could be better." Knotgrass said with equal joy before her mood took a sudden downturn. "Sadly it was at the beginning of the eleventh year that danger approached the realm. The nobles who'd been exiled from Aurora's lands had returned and they were not alone. Behind them was an army armed for the singular purpose of wiping out the Moors and removing Aurora from power."
"Where'd they get the army? They don't just grow on trees," he said, not liking the direction the story was going.
"The exiles had apparently chosen to go to the capital of France and appeal to King Philip the Sixth for aid. This was in the years leading up to the Hundred Years' War with Edward the Third, so it had indeed been in Philip's interests to get any internal dispute over with quickly," Knotgrass explained, not showing much love for the French king. "When added to the lies, horror stories and the 'nobility' of their cause, they gained what they needed for revenge and conquest. Philip, though, likely was also interested in the stories of precious gems and gold coins that supposedly could be found in the Moors. All lies, of course.
"In any case, Aurora and Maleficent brought forth their own armies, both human and of the Moors, but before the fighting truly began diplomacy was attempted with King Philip's representative. Aurora tried to convince the man that he and his forces were being used and that she as well as those she ruled were completely loyal to King Philip," Knotgrass said as she continued with the tale. "Sadly the man had been quite dedicated to France's dominant religion at the time and saw any sort of peace or alliance with Maleficent and the Moors as consorting with the devil. He vowed to rid France of this land of darkness and all who lived within it.
"The battles in the days that followed were fierce, with warriors on both sides falling. Aurora and Maleficent were greatly outnumbered with the latter hindered by the abundance of wrought iron being used by the enemy army. The struggle went off and on for months, neither side being able to gain enough momentum to bring matters to a close," Knotgrass said with mixed emotions. "It was eleven months after the battles began though that news both joyous and troubling arose: Maleficent was pregnant with her lover's child. As a result she was forced to withdraw from the front lines and support from the rear as best she could. This sudden change only emboldened the invading forces as they saw this as a sign of weakness and as an opportunity to seize victory.
"All efforts were made to hold them back but it wasn't until the battle reached its peak that something happened to make it clear the fighting was merely a distraction. While the warriors loyal to Aurora fought, the original exiles accompanied by a mage slipped into the Moors and approached the clearing where Maleficent was about to give birth. Filth that they were, they actually waited until you had been born and your parents had time to bask in your presence before they made their move." Knotgrass was clearly angry even centuries later about what had happened. "While the exiles dealt with your father, the mage confronted Maleficent with evil intent. Your mother did her best to fight him off with the magic she possessed but the process of childbirth had drained her of much of her strength. In the end she was defeated but not before she used what strength she had left to place protective wards upon you to shield you from harm.
"The evil mage took this as a challenge and, with power rarely seen in humans, he cast the Eternus Curse. The exiles had desired this specifically since they had found it a delicious form of revenge given its similarities to the curse Maleficent had placed on Aurora. The curse placed both you and your mother in a deep sleep, never to awaken until you cast your first spell," Knotgrass said with haunted eyes leading him to believe she might have witnessed the curse being cast.
"But if I was asleep then there'd be no way I could've cast a spell," he said, connecting the dots in his mind.
"That was the point. After the curse was successfully cast the mage even gloated that while Maleficent would endure the curse for centuries, you would not since due to your human half, your lifespan would not be as great as your mother's. It was only after your father was informed of the full ramifications of the curse that the exiles finally slew him, intent on making him a ghost chained forever to the mortal plane by the sorrow of what he'd lost." Knotgrass clearly still felt the pain of that awful day. "While the exiles and the mage had said that they intended to place you and your mother in a secure location where they could amuse themselves with your tragedy at their leisure, neither we four nor Diaval could allow this. Sooner or later hatred of your mother and of you would get the better of them so it was with the gift of transformation that Maleficent had given him that her faithful servant transformed into a dragon.
"With surprise and a torrent of flame he forced the mage away from both you and your mother before taking the two of you gently into his talons and flying away. We followed as quickly as we were able but there were times that I wished we hadn't as we watched as the last of our forces were overrun by those led by King Philip's representative. "With Maleficent and you cursed it was a devastating blow to morale. Nevertheless they all fought bravely and the last of them were able to safely escape with Aurora but the realm as a whole fell to King Philip's forces. Most of the people of the Moors fled to other realms, as did the humans still loyal to Aurora, but at risk of reprisals from the exiles and their allies.
"Some went north to the United Kingdom while others went elsewhere. Generally speaking any place that they thought they could find safe refuge. As for us… we were determined to find a means by which the curse on your mother and yourself could be lifted. We searched far and wide for a mage capable of breaking it but sadly none proved capable of accomplishing the task," Knotgrass said before a small grin appeared. "We did, however, find a means by which you could be kept alive, along with your mother, until the curse WAS lifted though. We encountered a rather famous alchemist known as Nicolas Flamel, who had done what none had before: he created the Philosopher's Stone. It was a magical stone capable of producing the Elixir of Life. The Elixir grants the user an indefinitely extended life for as long as they continued drink it on a fairly regular basis. While it was true that you couldn't consciously drink it, we were able to get it down your throat just the same.
"By extending your lifespan indefinitely we had all the time we needed to undo the curse. All that Flamel asked in return for the Elixir of Life was to ask a few questions when we met about the Moors and the races that lived there," Flittle said, taking over the explanation. "It would take too long to tell you all of what we did but suffice it to say we only rested as much as we had to in between efforts to lift the curse. For six hundred years we scoured the world, each taking turns watching over you while the others searched, but it wasn't until twenty years ago that a seer gave us true hope. She told us that if we brought you 'to the mouth of hell that lies in the dale' half our quest would be fulfilled.
"It was only after we arrived here with you and your mother that the truth was revealed more plainly. You awoke. Whether it was due to the energies of the Hellmouth or the protections placed upon you by your mother, you awoke looking none the worse for wear. All who were present celebrated, believing that it was now only a matter of time before Maleficent awoke as well," Flittle said before the joy soured somewhat. "Sadly it was not a week later that the past caught up with us. We had always assumed that after the destruction of the Moors and the conquering of the neighboring human kingdom that the exiles and their mage accomplice had given up their pursuit. We were wrong."
"Their descendants?"
"Yes. Instead of their hatred dying with them they passed it down to their descendants, charging them with the task of hunting us down and killing the lot of us. The only reason we had not encountered them before then was the sheer size of the world and the fact that we could cover more ground than they could during the run of a day since we could fly." Thistlewit said, sounding unhappy at the memory. "However, with the invention of airplanes and trains, I suspect they were able to keep up with us much better. They attacked without warning during the celebration and we would have lost much had we not been saved at the last minute by… ahem… a concerned citizen. He drove them off but his aid did not come for free."
"No it did not. He told us that in return for his protection only you or your mother could remain on the Hellmouth and that until the curse was lifted in full we were forbidden from performing magic. He even stipulated that we had to take on human forms of his choosing and keep the truth from you as well," Knotgrass said, sounding angry at the terms of their protection. "That is where the true forms of Tony and Jessica Harris came from, Alexander. The man insisted that pretending to be abusive drunks would make it that much more likely to be overlooked should the descendants of the exiles return."
He could see the logic in that even if he didn't like how he'd grown up any more than any other sane person would.
"But now that's all over with and it shouldn't take long for Maleficent to awaken now that the curse has been lifted!" Knotgrass said, all smiles and joyous expressions.
"The timing couldn't be better, too, seeing as how the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed a little over two years ago." Flittle said, sounding just as happy as her fellow pixie.
"Wait. If I'm half fairy then why don't I have wings or pointy ears or anything?" he asked, trying to determine just how much credence to give the story. "I mean, sure, I have pointy ears now but that's because of the chaos spell that got cast tonight."
"Chaos spell?" Thistlewit asked curiously as brow scrunched up a bit.
"Guess it's my turn to make with the story telling."
For the next hour he explained to them everything that happened, from getting 'volunteered' by Snyder to seeing Willow safely home. By that point, though, he was well and truly tired, so with a half-polite goodnight he went to bed, asking not to be woken up for at least seven hours. Naturally the three pixies and the elf hedgehog thing were happy to oblige, given the good mood they were all in, with Flittle promising a good meal would be waiting for him.
He just nodded.
Sleep was more important than thinking was at the moment.
The Mayor's Office, Richard Wilkins' POV
"Well now!" he said as he confirmed through his own means what he'd sensed hours ago. "Isn't this a surprise? I honestly thought the boy would grow old and die before his heritage came into full bloom. Life sure is full of surprises!"
He had to chuckle a bit because, in the long years of his life, he was not surprised very often and that was because he went out of his way to plan for everything, down to the smallest variable. It was necessary considering the end goal he'd set for himself and, when you lived atop a Hellmouth, complications were plentiful. Sometimes all it took was a strongly worded warning to get potential troublemakers to rethink interfering with his plan but sometimes he had to be a little more… graphic. Still, he supposed that even the most meticulous planner couldn't take everything into account and that would be where back up plans proved useful.
Now, up until Halloween he'd intended to use William the Bloody to distract or, if need be, remove Slayer Summers from the game board. However, thanks to Miss Rosenberg's costume personae, all that remained was Drusilla and she was hardly in the most reliable of mental states. Still… she could prove to be a suitable scapegoat. So long as enough clues were left connecting what he would do to the mad vampire seer no one would suspect anyone else. Even if the seer tried to tell them that she had nothing to do with whatever he arranged, no one would believe her given her insanity. It would take time to properly choose a means by which he could remove the latest nuisance to his plans but, since he was thankfully anonymous to all save those he had an 'understanding' with, it would be fine.
He needn't worry about the young man's minders, they were more a threat to themselves than others, especially since the only dangerous one was half a world away protecting his mistress.
By the time she awoke he will have ascended to a form more than capable of slaying her and her half-breed son would be dead.
All would happen as he had foreseen.
Sunnydale High School , Buffy's POV
Two days.
That was how much time had passed since Halloween and only the fact that it'd happened on a Friday had allowed her best friends time to cope with their conditions. Tomorrow, though, school would resume and while Willow would have no difficulties since it was during the day, Xander's pointed ears would attract attention. Sure, for the first few days it could be passed off as a costume complication but when more than a week went by without change, that excuse would no longer work.
I'm sure Giles can work some mojo to hide the ears, she thought as the doors to the library got closer. Either that or Xander can just let his hair grow long enough to cover them.
Daydreaming for a moment she tried to picture how her friend would look with hair long enough to completely cover his ears. Naturally she used the haircuts sported by celebrities she'd seen in her teen magazines or on television and she had to admit the first few hairdos looked pretty good on him. Sure, he'd probably need some styling and hair care tips to keep it looking respectable but she figured that if she and Willow could keep his guy impulses in check, they could teach him to take care of his hair. He'd complain about it, of course, not much caring about his appearance beyond the basics, but maybe if his new look attracted a girl… a CERTAIN redhead, he'd decide to keep it. She always thought that Xander could really stand out if he just took a little time to touch himself up in the right places.
If it's just a cash problem I'm sure I can convince my mom to pitch in just this once, she thought as she reached out to push the library doors open. She's had a soft spot for Xander ever since he first came over.
Sure, she knew that her mom was probably hoping that she hooked up with him, it's what moms did, but she just didn't see her guy friend like that. He was loyal, brave and was always there when she needed him, but there was just no spark between the two of them. So, rather than let her mom pin her hopes on Xander as future son-in-law for too long, she'd hook him up with Willow as soon as was feasibly possible. The only obstacle in her path really was that the idiot had slipped the redhead into the 'sister' column and that made any romance impossible outside of banjo country. She'd tried in the costume store to get Willow to wear something sexier, something guaranteed to get Xander thinking with his lust engine, but it hadn't worked and she'd been forced to accept strong C.E.O. woman instead.
Considering the pain Willow went through every sunrise and sunset, she really wished she'd pressed the sexy lady outfit harder because, whatever the side effects of that might've been, it couldn't have been worse than a torturous twice a day transformation.
"Are you sure about what you were told, Xander?" she heard Giles ask upon entering the library and, when she saw him cleaning his glasses, she knew something had come up.
"They didn't seem to be lying, if that's what you're talking about," Xander said, sounding mostly sure of. "Still, you're the book guy. What do you know about Maleficent? Aside from the cartoon movie, of course."
"Merely stories, I'm afraid," Giles replied, sounding a bit discouraged. "The majority of them don't paint her in a very flattering light but a few give a fairly balanced view of her."
"Any of them match the story I was told?" Xander asked in measured tones.
"A little bit here and there implying that there may indeed be some truth to what you were told," Giles replied, looking like he was devising a plan as they spoke. "I will have to contact some friends I have on the Council who specialize in French folklore and mythology. If anyone can determine the veracity of the pixies' claims, it would be them."
"What's going on?" she asked, not liking one bit being left out of the loop.
"After Xander got home from the library yesterday morning, he encountered three pixies and a Hedgehog fairy. They informed him that he was in actuality the half-breed son of a fairy queen from long ago," Giles replied, focusing his gaze on her. "According to them that is the real reason his Halloween changes have remained instead of vanishing like most of the others who've changed."
"Okay, so Xander's got some nutso pixies feeding him a load of nonsense." she said, not particularly caring about what'd been said. "Give me the right weapon and I'll clear them out of Xander's place while his parents are at work."
"WOAH! That's a little extreme, Buffy," Xander exclaimed in objection, "They didn't look all that dangerous and one of them made the best breakfast I've had in years! Let's do the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing and not try to slay them until they do something to deserve it."
…Fair enough.
If the pixies had really been up to no good, they would've tried to mind whammy her friend into believing whatever they said. Bad guys usually didn't bother letting their victims do themselves in on their own when they could stack the deck in their favor. Only someone incredibly confident in their ability to scheme would even attempt such a thing in the first place.
She sort of liked those types since they always had such a funny look on their faces when they realized they were going to get their asses kicked.
"So what're they doing now?" Willow asked, her curiosity obviously piqued.
"Cleaning the house from top to bottom," Xander replied with a half-smile. "Now that they're not bound anymore to act like Tony and Jessica Harris they refuse to live in a dump anymore. I saw them starting before I left for here this morning. I'm really looking forward to seeing what my house looks like clean and tidy."
She didn't like the sound of that.
She'd never been to Xander's house before and, whenever she'd asked about doing it, either he or Willow came up with a reason why it'd be a bad idea. She'd gone along with it but that didn't mean she wasn't suspicious since, in her experience, no one was that opposed to someone visiting their home unless they had something to hide there. To hear that it was dirty enough that someone would refuse to live there implied that either the people there were negligent or didn't have the money to buy cleaning supplies. Neither painted a pretty picture for her so she put it out of her mind since there was no point thinking about something that would soon be no more.
"How goes the search for a cure for Willow?" she asked, moving things along to something a little more important than the changing state of Xander's home life.
"It proceeds apace. I have almost finished the ground work and will soon begin narrowing my search." Giles replied, sounding optimistic about his future efforts. "I would prefer not to give a precise amount of time but I would hazard a guess that an attempt could be made to undo her changes in roughly six to eight weeks. I realize it is not as soon as you would prefer but meticulous care must be taken to ensure that nothing is amiss."
"Couldn't you just focus on teaching Xan to control his magic and then have him cast a spell?" she asked as an idea came to her. "I mean I… I heard about the 'Gargoyles' episode so I know Puck cast the original spell. Couldn't Xan just learn how to control his power and have him rhyme up a counter spell?"
"Magic is not that simple, Buffy. Even if Xander does have magic akin to the cartoon character, for it to exist here it must now obey the local rules of magic." Giles said, shaking his head in the negative. "As such it takes a great deal more than a well worded rhyme to achieve the desired effect."
"He seemed to be doing pretty good Halloween night," Willow said, sounding like she was interested in giving the plan a try.
"I imagine that was only because Janus was facilitating matters," Giles pointed out, no doubt trying not to get the redhead's hopes up. "With his spell ended there'd be no telling what might happen if Xander attempted to cast anything."
"Couldn't he at least TRY?" Willow asked, sounding like she wasn't going to back down easily.
"I suppose we could find someplace outside of Sunnydale to test the theory," Giles sighed, obviously realizing that it was better to agree and be present then to object and be caught unawares. "However we shall only do so ONE time. I will not risk tempting fate more than that."
"Fine by me," Willow said in complete agreement as she got out of her chair. "Let's go."
"Now?" Giles asked, sounding somewhat surprised by the suddenness.
"Why not? It's not like we've got a demon to kill and it's the weekend so we've got plenty of time," she said, pointing out that there was no reason not to.
With an aborted roll of his eyes the Watcher nodded in agreement.
"Very well. Let me gather a few things and we'll be on our way." Giles said as he turned to his office.
Watching her Watcher walk away, she wondered what form the attempt would take. Would it be something simple like levitation or would it be something flashier like a bolt of lightning? As someone who took a certain pleasure in seeing things go boom, she hoped it was the latter.
It would also mean that Xander would have a way to protect himself against the vampires and the demons, something that would take a load off of her mind and that would be quite welcome.
Outside of Sunnydale, Willow's POV
"Alright then," Giles said as he finished arraying a set of rune stones around what would be the testing area for Xander's magic. "Now the rune stones I've laid about will absorb any stray magic that does not strike the desired target. They have limits but, so long as you show some restraint, Xander, I do not foresee any problems."
"Don't worry, G-Man. I know the drill." Xander said, looking like he was looking forward to what he'd be doing in a few minutes. "Crawl before you walk and walk before you run."
"Precisely," Giles said with an approving nod of his head.
While she understood what the Watcher was getting at, she had confidence that Xander would prove more than capable at performing magic. Many people didn't realize this but Xander actually took ADVANCED classes with her and those were not for the timid or dull witted. Sure, he didn't get top grades like her but he hadn't been reassigned to a regular class since the two of them started at Sunnydale High School together. That meant he was smarter than he portrayed himself as and more capable than Buffy gave him credit for. So if her best friend and crush's first spell proved successful, she would do her best to persuade Giles to let him do more. If it could be proven that the risk of Xander doing magic was minimal then her friend would finally be able to make the contribution to the fight he'd always wanted. He did a good job of hiding it but she knew it bothered Xander that he was the odd person out with no significant skill to contribute to the big fight. Buffy was the Slayer, she was super good at researching and Giles had his training as a Watcher but, up until Halloween, Xander had been the normal one. Sure, he tried his best when the fighting began but having no other move than 'throw yourself at the demon and hope for the best' was not conducive to good health.
With magic and potentially flight, it would be much harder for any demon or vampire to get ahold of him without getting knocked clear off their feet.
"Now, Xander, what I want you to do is cast a spell to levitate THIS apple…" Giles said as he put the red object in the center of the area surrounded by rune stones, "…off the ground. Nothing else. JUST levitation. Understand?"
"Gotcha! Pull a poltergeist with the apple," Xander said, doing a few warm up stretches even though she doubted they'd be necessary.
They all waited with anticipation for the rhyme and they weren't disappointed.
"Little orb I am a nice guy, rise into the air and please do fly!" Xander chanted before thrusting his dominant hand towards the target.
At first failure seemed to be the outcome but then, almost faster than she could, see a bolt of emerald energy leapt from the tips of the extended fingers. Most of it struck the apple as intended but small arcs did strike the ground around it as well. Nevertheless the spell had the desired effect as the apple rose up into the air, with only a faint green glow to give a hint as to why. Looking deeper she could see that the apple was indeed moving in synch with the hand that had cast the spell strongly implying a connection.
"Oh yeah! Working with the mojo now!" Xander declared, looking like his mood was soaring higher by the second.
"Yes. Very good, my boy," Giles said sounding and looking approving. "Now set it gently on the ground."
"Sure thing!" Xander said, looking like he was ready for the next test to be sent his way.
She watched as her best friend began to lower his spell arm but, by her reckoning, he was going just a little bit too fast and the apple impacted the ground, shattering on impact. The pieces of apple didn't fly far but she along with Buffy and Giles still stepped back to make sure they didn't get hit. Looking back at her friend, she could see that he was a little embarrassed by the slip up but not enough to call off the tests.
"Ooops?" he said, scratching the back of his head briefly before letting his hand drop. "Guess I need to be a little more careful."
"I should say so. If that had been a person rather than an apple they could very well have suffered serious bruises or perhaps even a broken bone," Giles said in a somewhat reprimanding tone of voice. "Let us try it again but this time be more careful."
With that another apple was placed in the center of the circle right beside the one that'd been shattered. With visible care he repeated the chant and this time there was no delay between the final syllable of the final word and the emergence of the emerald energy. It wasn't completely perfect since tiny arcs did fly off the main bolt but still the desired effect was achieved as the second apple rose up after the ground. This one achieved the desired elevation a few seconds later but this time there was no prompt before her crush lowered the apple but a great deal more carefully than before, thus it was that that the item touched down with only a slight bounce.
"Much better," Giles said with a nod of approval. "Well it would seem that the volatility and reliability of the magic you have gained is better than I had thought. Nevertheless, let us progress slowly. It is possible that more complicated spells could prove out of your reach but we shall see about that when we get there."
This was promising since it seemed as though Giles was no longer quite so opposed to further lessons for the young man. It made her smile and she made a personal promise to herself to be there for each and every one to encourage the holder of her heart and perhaps learn a few things herself. True, she was no fairy but, just as Giles had said back in the library, all magic followed certain rules that could not be broken. If she could learn a few of them, it'd be a good start to her using magic as well.
After all she remembered from the cartoon that Demona had been quite the spellcaster herself after a thousand years of travelling the Earth. If her hunch was right then, along with the gargoyle form by night and the dusk/dawn transformation, there was a good chance she had inherited the former 'Angel of the Night's' magical aptitude. Sure, Demona was evil and wanted to wipe out the human race, but that didn't mean that she couldn't take her skills and use them for good. Unlike 'Dominique Destine' she had no ancient obsession over revenge to cloud her mind.
Hours passed as Giles had Xander try to lift heavier and heavier objects with his magic before moving on to lifting multiple objects simultaneously. There were, of course, limits to how many objects could be put inside the secure area but by the time Xander's control over the objects began to show signs of strain he proved capable manipulating seven heavy objects without too much trouble. When he'd tried to do eight, over half of them wobbled in the air.
"Well, it would seem that where levitation is concerned my worries over your magic were unfounded," Giles said, sounding a little proud of what Xander had managed thus far. "Still, levitation is a relatively simple bit of magic to perform. We shall have to tread carefully with the more complex spells since they have been known to… have unpleasant consequences if done improperly."
"Right…" Xander said with a somewhat distracted tone of voice.
"Something wrong, Xander?" she asked, knowing that a distracted Xander was a thinking Xander.
The number of times that proved to be a good thing only just barely outweighed the number of times it turned out to be a bad thing. She just hoped this time it wouldn't cost him his eyebrows. Or her hers.
"It's just that in the cartoon Puck was able to fly about like most people walk," Xander replied, sounding like he was trying to work out a conflict in his head. "That's sorta like self-levitation, right?"
"I suppose that is one way of thinking about it," Giles replied, taking a moment to clean his glasses. "However it is as I said earlier: the rules of magic in our reality are not the same as the ones defined in the cartoon. Just because 'Puck' could fly…er, self-levitate… that does not follow that you will be capable of the same."
"I know… but… ah hell! Only one way to find out," Xander said before he closed his eyes, seemingly focusing his thoughts inward.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what her best friend was trying to do and, while the others looked a little concerned, they didn't take action to stop him. When a minute had passed and the only thing changing being the level of focus Xander was showing on his face, she feared that he would be as tied down by gravity as the rest of humanity.
She should have known better.
Just as so many thought that the prophecy last year proclaiming that Buffy would die at the hands of the Master was absolute but it was overturned by one young man's stubbornness, so too was this hurdle overcome. With only a faint glow about his body Xander rose up off the ground ever so slowly and with a bit of instability but nevertheless her friend had once more proven himself capable of beating the odds. Still, her smile was big indeed as Xander managed to ascend three feet into the air before coming to a stop, though whether it was because he'd reached his limits or had chosen to stop she didn't know.
It was then that Xander opened his eyes and, for a few brief seconds, he was able to take in the fact that he could fly… before dropping to the ground most abruptly.
"O-kay… a little work needed on the landings but still… flight achieved." Xander said as he picked himself up off the ground.
"I wouldn't exactly call floating off the ground flying," Buffy pointed out from her observation position. "Still, VERY cool."
She couldn't have put it better herself.
Sunnydale High School, Xander's POV
So far, so good, he thought as he walked down the halls of the school. Two days of school and no one's looked at me twice, much less called me on my pointed ears.
Indeed Giles' glamor amulet had been working out brilliantly and so things were pretty much back to normal for him as far as school went.
Well, as normal as life on the Hellmouth ever was.
He was on his way to meet with the others in the student lounge because apparently Buffy had something she wanted to discuss with him and Willow. The Slayer hadn't said what precisely it was but, when the killer of demons and vampires had something to say, it was generally in your best interests to listen.
Turning the corner he saw that, as he'd expected, both Willow and Buffy were waiting for him on one of the couches arrayed about the lounge. Both of them were talking animatedly about something but he was too far away to hear anything.
Despite what some might think, pointy ears did not equal improved hearing.
Striding up towards them, he determined that whatever they were gabbing it was so important that they didn't notice his arrival until he was right on top of them.
"I don't know. I don't think so. They seemed pretty friendly," Buffy said, sounding worried about whatever it was she'd seen.
"Who's friendly?" he asked as he sat down on the couch across from them.
"No one," Buffy replied a little too quickly for him not to be suspicious.
"Angel and a girl," Willow blurted out, much to the Slayers disapproval.
"Willow, do we have to be in total share mode?" Buffy asked, her voice ringing with the disapproval that was also on her face.
"Hey, it's me. If Angel's doing somethin' wrong, I wanna know. 'Cause it gives me a happy!"
"Mm, I'm glad someone has a happy," Buffy grumped before taking a sip of her soda.
"Aw, you just need cheering up," he said, not liking the moody look on her face. "And I know just the thing! Crazed dance party at the Bronze!"
"I dunno." Buffy said, sounding less than motivated.
"Very calm dance party at the Bronze?" he asked, hoping that it'd get a better response, only to see more of the same. "Moping at the Bronze?"
It was times like these that his dislike of the undead corpse reached an all-time high because, in his mind, causing Buffy to be all mopey was just another crime on top of indulging her romantic tendencies. If the man had even an inch of decency about him he'd crush her little 'Romeo and Juliet' fantasy and encourage her to date someone her own age, as well as with a pulse. Still, he knew it was pointless to try and bring it up in front of Willow and Buffy since they'd just fall back on the old 'you are just jealous' line.
"I'd suggest a box of Oreos dunked in apple juice, but maybe she's over that phase." Came an unfamiliar voice from their left.
Turning his head he saw a guy about the same age as him with dark hair and wearing an orange sleeveless shirt on top of a white short-sleeved shirt but he didn't recall ever seeing him around school before. This made him feel suspicious but it was when a look of recognition appeared on Buffy's face the suspicion lessened but did not vanish entirely.
"Ford?" Buffy asked as though she believed she couldn't quite accept what she was seeing.
"Hey, Summers!" 'Ford' said with a smile on his face.
As if they were old friends Buffy stood up and embraced the newcomer, hugging him tightly before letting him go.
"How ya been?" Ford asked, looking like he and Buffy had never stopped being friends.
"Oh, my God! What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, her face all smiles.
"Uh, matriculating." Ford replied after a moment's thought.
Typical guy tactic. he thought with a mental roll of his eyes. Use an intelligent sounding word to make yourself sound more mature than the rest of the guys.
"Huh?" Buffy asked, clearly not knowing the definition of the word.
He didn't either but was glad that the Slayer asked the question rather than him.
"I'm finishing out my senior year at Sunnydale High," Ford replied, looking at the Scoobies each in turn for a moment before returning to Buffy. "Dad got transferred."
"This is great!" Buffy exclaimed, sounding quite overjoyed at her old friend becoming the newest member of the student body.
"I'm glad you think so," Ford said, sounding like he approved of the response.
Definitely playing at something.
"I didn't think you'd remember me." Ford said, moving the conversation along.
"Remember you? Duh! We only went to school together for seven years," Buffy said as though forgetting Ford was impossible for her. "You were my giant fifth grade crush."
Great! It's not just her current choice of boyfriend I have to put up with but her old crush too!
"So! You two know each other?" he asked, hoping to speed things alone to a more desired end.
"Oh!" Buffy said, as though realizing that she and Ford weren't the only people present all of a sudden. "I'm sorry. Um, this is Ford! Uh, Billy Fordham, this is Xander and Willow!"
"Hey!" Ford said, moving to take a place on the couch next to Buffy.
"Hi," he said, deciding he could at least be that polite.
"Nice to meet you!" Willow said, sounding quite happy to be learning something about Buffy's past.
"Uh, Ford and I went to Hemery together in L.A.," Buffy explained before turning to Ford. "And now you're here. For real?"
"Dad got the transfer and boom, he just dragged me outta Hemery and put me down here," Ford replied, definitely doing good putting on the 'I am an okay guy' façade.
"This is great! Well, I mean, it's hard, sudden move, all your friends, delicate time, very emotional, but let's talk about me!" Buffy said, trying to cover up her initial emotional outburst. "This is great!"
And failing. Badly.
"So, you two were sweeties in fifth grade?" Willow asked, clearly fishing for information.
"Not even. Ford wouldn't give me the time of day," Buffy replied, dismissing the notion.
"Well, I was a manly sixth-grader," Ford explained, never losing his smile. "I couldn't bother with someone that young."
"It was terrible," Buffy said, bemoaning her past at Hemery. "I moped over you for months. Sitting in my room listening to that Divinyl's song 'I Touch Myself'."
That caught his interest and also sent his mind a LITTLE into the gutter at the possible interpretations.
"Of course, I had no idea what it was about," Buffy said, trying to convince everyone present of that fact.
He couldn't help but smile and nod at the statement since it let him see the blonde from an angle he hadn't known existed until then.
"Hey, are you busy tonight?" Buffy asked her old friend. "There's this place, the Bronze, it's the local club, and you have to come."
A good enough reason to avoid going to the Bronze for a few nights if he ever heard one and the best part is he had no shortage of excuses to provide. He could say that he wanted to spend more time talking to Knotgrass, Flittle and the others, learning about his true mother. He could say that he wanted to get some magic practice in. Hopefully the novelty of Ford's return to Buffy's life will have worn off by then.
He hoped.
"I'd love to!" Ford said, sounding all for it before getting an awkward look on his face. "But if you guys already had plans… Would I be imposing?"
"No, only in the literal sense," he said, unable to check his mouth before speaking.
"Okay, then! I, I gotta find the admissions office." Ford said getting up off the couch. "Get my papers in order."
Definitely suspicious behavior and it's not just him seeing things.
"Well, you know what?" Buffy asked rhetorically before getting up from the couch. "I'll take you there, and I'll see you guys in French!"
With that the Slayer left with her old classmate, leaving only him and Willow in the student lounge alone together.
"Jeez! Doesn't she know any fat guys?" he muttered under his breath.
Luckily Willow missed that less than positive comment as she realized the hidden meaning of the song's title, going tomato red in the process. Not surprising considering her relatively innocent life she'd led and the fact that not everyone reacted to… acts of intimacy… the same way. Still, in a way he liked the fact that she reacted so because in a way it meant that she hadn't been changed in irreparable ways. He knew that having your parents being away from home so often couldn't have been easy for her and, after learning the truth about the world as well as choosing to fight against it… such things could change people in unfortunate ways.
As such every day that Willow remained as she'd always been since the day they met was one he treasured.
He knew it wouldn't last, not so long as she fought the good fight, but he would take what he could get for as long as he could get it.