"Four Times the Fun! Yeah RIGHT!!"

BtVS/Multiple X-Over

Note: This drabble was inspired by the works of Joe Hundredaire with emphasis on his "Trigamy" fanfic and his more recent "The Other" fanfic. Both were highly entertaining because of their funny little quirks and overall interesting plot. So when I read the latest (chapter 2) chapter of "The Other" plot bunnies by the dozen began to pop into existence demanding to be written in one form or another. Since they were so decidedly cute and/or adorable I decided to give in. Once you read them I think you'll understand why I just HAD TO write this. In the BtVS this takes place about a year or two after the series finale. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

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Arashmahaar, Palace of D'Hoffryn, Throne Room

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" D'Hoffryn roared as he brought back his right hand and threw a ball of infernal flame at the avian minion kneeling in front of him.

For a few moments all he did was stand in front of his throne and let his fury play itself out but eventually he reigned in the emotion regaining his sense of reason. Looking down at the pile of smoking ash in front of him he sighed remembering what he had done and how ill advised killing his minion was given his current situation. With a casual call to his palace servants to clean up the mess he allowed his thoughts to drift back to his current situation. His minion, the one he had just killed, had returned from a scouting mission to a neighboring realm to determine if the rumors he had heard were true. What were those rumors? Simply that a fellow demon lord was plotting to launch an invasion of his realm and take it for his own. The potential invasion alone wasn't what had set him off, not completely, but it was the straw that finally broke his self-control. It was just the latest bit of bad news in a long line of bad luck that he had been cursed with for the last few years. Bad luck mixed with a steady decline in the quality of the vengeance inspired wishes his subordinates had been bringing in lately had left him in a foul mood. Looking through his memories and recollections he tried to determine when it had all turned so rotten and ultimately who was to blame. If he had a person or even a group of people to focus his rage on he'd kill fewer servants and perhaps be able to concentrate better. In the end though there was only one person, one human, whom he could safely blame for his recent streak of bad luck.

XANDER LAVELLE HARRIS!

The very name was enough to stoke the flames of his fury almost to be point where he felt like reducing his entire palace to rubble just to vent his pent up rage. However he knew well enough what the situation was and knew that nothing would be served by throwing a temper tantrum. In fact making up such a fuss over a single mortal human male would likely be seen as a form of weakness and would only encourage his enemies to move ahead with their plans. So with much difficulty he restrained his anger and forced himself to look at matters from a more objective point of view.

One could say that the whole matter had begun after the failed wish granting assignment Anyanka had taken on in Sunnydale answering the furious anger of one Cordelia Chase. On the surface it had been a routine case of a human male cheating on the female that he supposedly had given his heart to. He had been fully aware of when the realm of Earth had been altered by the power of the wish and he most certainly aware of when Anyanka's power center had been destroyed. He'd immediately used his abilities to review what had happened and was most disappointed to see that it had been pretty much his favorite's own fault. She'd gotten careless and sloppy when she had underestimated the human Rupert Giles' resolve in destroying her power center. Mistakes like this could not go unpunished or it would encourage others to be less vigilant in their duties so he had pretended to cast her out and remain human forever more. In truth he had just intended to let her wallow through the misery of being a mere human before 'taking pity on her' and welcoming her back to the fold. THAT plan had been obliterated the moment Anya, as she was called by the other humans, asked the mortal Xander Harris to the senior prom. From there matters had gone from bad, to worse to outright maddening as Anya not only was not suffering as a human but actually seemed to be enjoying herself. This forced him to prolong her 'banishment' in the hopes that she would fall back into depression and misery so as to be in the proper state for him to recall her.

However that didn't happen did it!? He thought sarcastically as he remembered the events that followed.

No Anyanka's happiness continued until just before it would have reached its peak at her failure of a wedding to Mr. Harris. He had almost smiled with glee when Anya had come back to him on her hands and knees begging to return to the ranks of vengeance/justice demons. Of course he had put on airs that he had only just barely decided in favor of granting her request but on the inside he had been quite pleased. He should have known better than to take something at face value and decided he should have let her anger towards Alexander Harris stew for a while before welcoming her back. Instead he had jumped at the chance to get his favorite back in the business and thus was forced to watch one pathetic attempt at vengeance wish granting after another. In the time she had been human Anyanka had lost her edge and no longer wreaked the pain and suffering she had prior to her initial fall from grace. It even got so bad so as to cause her to BEG him to undo a wish she had granted despite the fact that his people had a strict no return policy on such things. Rather than let her continue her sub par performance he granted her request but not without the punishment of having her watch her best friend incinerated before her eyes. While she did not find out until later but he also stripped her of her powers rendering her human once more. It had been his plan at the time to wait until she grew old and decrepit then on her deathbed offer her youth and the powers of a vengeance demon. After all what human wouldn't want their youth back along with enough power to elevate them above their fellow man?

That plan went out the window though when she died in that pathetic battle with the First! He growled mentally as he recalled the most annoying fact, Not only did she perish but she also died in such a way that places her soul out of my reach forever!

It bothered him to no end to know that in the space of less than a decade he had lost the two vengeance demons that had set the standard for all their comrades to follow. He had lost them for good and the one person that bore the most blame for that was indirectly protected from any form of painful retribution. True he was not a champion and thus did not fall under the watchful eyes of the Powers That Be nor did he worship any god or deity with the power to stand up to the Lord of Vengeance but he didn't need to. Just by living with the Slayer Buffy Summers and her friends he was protected! As long as he stayed with them and was considered important enough the deities/gods and Powers that protected them would also protect him by association. It drove him near to madness that the one mortal he wanted to exact painful retribution against was kept from him.

If I didn't know better I would say Xander Harris had already read the universal bylaws and had planned it this way! D'Hoffryn thought with a snarl as he gripped the armrests of his throne tightly, Hells knows that there are quite a few loop-!

It was with that last word that he experienced a brief moment of clarity in which the answer to all his problems was laid out before him. With a wave of his hand he summoned his own personal copy of the universal bylaws and swiftly opened it to the section he believed his happiness lay written. In under two minutes he found what he was looking for and with every word he read a smile began to grow and grow on his face that would have sent even the bravest warrior running for the hills. With utter glee he laughed loud and hard as he found the answer to his unholy prayers and began to formulate in his mind the revenge he would take on one Xander LaVelle Harris. Throughout the realm his subjects could hear him laugh and it caused them to shudder with fear for they knew that when their Lord laughed like that some poor fool was going to suffer forever.

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Cleveland, Ohio

Headquarters for the New Slayers and Watcher's Council

Christmas Day, Living Room

"Uh… Xander? What is this?" Willow asked as she held out in front of her what had been inside the box from her best bud since pre-school.

The 'this' in question looked like a cross between a crossbow and a chandelier because parts of it were shaped like a crossbow. However at set places both on the stock and the curved bow part there were crystals of different colors embedded into the metal to make for a rather impressive decorative effect. However since all the Scoobies knew that Xander had about as much talent decorating as any other twenty-something American guy they didn't think he'd made it beautiful on purpose. So with no feasible ideas themselves they all looked to the former carpenter for some sort of hint as to what it could be. No matter what of course the redheaded wicca would act like she loved it and use it whenever she could so her Xander-shaped friend wouldn't think she didn't like it but that all depended on finding out what it was in the first place.

"It's a magic crossbow." Xander replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "The stock and bow itself is made out of the strongest lightweight materials I could get my hands on and the cord has some serious tensile strength to it. As for the crystals I kinda looked through some of G-Man's books to find out which ones would help a super talented wicca like become an elite archer and voila!"

"Oh! Yeah now I see it! Thanks Xander!" Willow exclaimed as she finally managed to identify the crystals as well as their positions on the crossbow.

The former Zeppo smiled as he saw his bestest bud's face light up but there was a part of him that was a little disappointed that she hadn't picked up on it right away. After all next to Giles Willow was the person to talk about all things magicky and supernatural and that was saying something considering how many years G-Man had on her. The disappointment didn't last long though because it was Christmas day and on this most wonderfully present filled day nothing could get him down. Buffy had gotten him a completely functional and authentic katana straight from Japan that she had purchased during her 'vacation' from slaying. Giles' present was a combination of all three Lord of the Rings books and an offer to teach him how to use the katana Buffy had given him. Dawn's gift had surprised the hell out of him and caused him to immediately close the bag it had come in and put in behind his back just in case he had to make a run for it. No way was he going to let either Giles or Buffy find out what was in there or else not only would there be arguing this Christmas morning (something he'd had enough of with his own parents) but he'd probably get blamed for it somehow. Faith's gift thankfully was a little easier to take since it was pretty much expected that she'd get him something with both shock value and distinctly naughty. Nothing serious though since both she and Robin Wood were still dating but everyone had a good laugh at the membership card for a local strip club/bar. She'd said something to the effect that he'd probably need some way to release the UST with all the newbie Slayers around and a strip club was safer. Most of the remaining gifts were the standard clothes and DVDs but all were welcome since they had come from friends both new and old.

They were all about to get up and head into the dining room for a Christmas style breakfast when unexpectedly a knock came from the front door. The reason no one was expecting this was because everyone that had said they'd be here for Christmas was already here and had been so for the past three days. Some might think that this was just someone who thought that they wouldn't be able to make it arriving after all but the rest of the gang new better. Each of them were fully aware of the responsibilities that had kept some of their other friends away from HQ this holiday season and knew there was no way they would suddenly get a big enough break to come home for Christmas. With this in mind just about everyone grabbed a weapon from a concealed compartment near their current position while Xander approached the door to answer it. It was risky but he knew that Willow would have her new magic crossbow loaded and aimed at the door if it turned out to be some demon crashing their Christmas. So after taking a deep breath to calm himself he put on his best 'I am just a normal guy' face and opened the door.

"Is there a Mr. Alexander LaVelle Harris home?" asked the Fed Ex delivery guy standing on the front porch.

Okay. This guy looks normal enough even though I think he'd be better off in the army as a drill instructor. Xander thought as he took in the man's features and formed an opinion, Still nothing screaming 'I am Demonic' so better play it cool.

"I'm Alex Harris." He said cringing internally at the use of his name in that form rather than the usual 'Xander'.

"Sign here please." Mr. Fed Ex said handing over a clipboard with a form on it with the spot for him to sign pointed out with a large X.

Giving the form a quick once over, just to make sure it wasn't one of those hell contracts or something, he noticed several things that seemed rather odd to him. The first was the fact that the return address for the delivery was some place in Sweden of all places and the name given was a Mr. D. Hoffman. For some reason that name sent of some minor alarm bells in his head but for the life of him he could not figure out what was wrong about that name. In the end though the form turned out to be exactly what it appeared to be so he took the offered pen from the delivery guy and signed his name on the form. He was just about to ask the guy what exactly it was he was delivering but by that time the guy had already turned around and started gesturing to someone in the driveway to come forward. The former carpenter didn't have long to wait as far as finding out what was being delivered was concerned since less than a minute after the form was signed four more Fed Ex delivery guys wheeled four crates into the house. They were coffin shaped and were wheeled in vertically so they kind of looked more like old fashioned phone booths but other than that they were your stereotypical crates right down to the 'this side up' markings. One by one they were wheeled in and placed side by side in front of the fireplace with nary a word spoken by the delivery guys that had placed them there or the drill sergeant that had signaled them to proceed inside. After a brief nod that seemed to be Mr. Fed Ex's version of 'goodbye' all five of the delivery guys walked out the door and slammed it shut. With no one but friends and family once again in the building all eyes turned to the four crates with a single question in each of their minds.

What is inside?

Well, okay, there were actually two questions in Xander's mind but they were along the same lines as the rest of the gang's inquiries.

"Well are you gonna open them up Xand?" asked Dawn who was clearly the most curious of the group and thus the most in favor of cracking the crates open.

"You think I should? I mean sure the hellmouth here in the city is smaller than the one we had back in Sunny-D but still 'Hellmouth' ya know?" he asked not certain if it would be the right thing to do to open up some unknown boxes considering past experience.

"I'm not getting any dangerous vibes off of it Xander so they should be okay to open." Willow said after a thirty second stare in the direction of the crates.

"Indeed. Well if neither Willow's nor my own senses can pick up anything unsavory about them then I suppose opening them is the logical next step." Giles stated with only a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Buff'?" he asked the blonde Slayer since he both valued her opinion and she was in the best tactical position of the group in case the old Harris luck kicked in.

"If both Giles and Willow think its safe then I say go for it." Buffy replied trying to reassure the obviously wary former Key Guy, "Who knows? Maybe it's a new state of the art entertainment system or something."

Xander just looked at her like she had said 'maybe Michael Jackson will stop looking and sounding like a girl'.

Yeah.

Right!

Still he couldn't just let the crates sit there forever especially if whatever was in there was capable of going bad if left unused for too long. So without further adieu he grabbed the metal poker from beside the fireplace and began to work the first of the four phone booth shaped crates open. It wasn't easy because whoever had nailed it shut must have used twice the recommended amount of nails when he hammer the thing shut. After five good wrenching motions with the poker though he managed to yank enough of the nails free that the lid was one second away from falling to the ground from gravity alone. However it wasn't given the chance because just as the Xan-man was about to deliver the final yank another force took over disassembling the crate into its individual parts causing the top of the crate to shoot up towards the ceiling and the others to fall to the ground. Also it didn't just happen to the first crate that he'd been working on but rather it started a chain reaction in which all the crates exploded apart and revealed what lay within.

"Oh boy!" was all Xander could get out in a whisper as he saw and recognized the contents of the crates all too well.

In crate number one there was a woman in her late twenties or early thirties with wild red hair wearing only a loincloth and halter-top with golden accessories to top everything off. Needless to say he was NOT looking forward to dealing with her when she woke up regardless of whether or not she came too in a good or bad mood. Next was a person that looked like a young girl but if his hunch was correct she was actually several hundred years old and had the ability to alter her physical appearance at will. He hoped she didn't wake up because he knew that knowing his luck he'd probably a substitute for Tenchi in her lab experiments. Crate number three had a serious hottie with orange skin, red hair wearing something that looked like a cross between armor and something from the red light district. He wouldn't be too upset if she woke up but depending on which universe and which timeline she came from she could be as painful to introduce to humanity as Anya had been starting out. Lastly there was someone who he figured would probably the least troublesome due to her ice queen personality and logical approach to everything. In fact the only problem with her that he could think of was what to do if she somehow got hurt during her stay in this dimension. After all there couldn't be too many docs that could take care of her or a suitable replacement for her green blood.

All in all there was nothing he wanted more at the moment than to get these four women back to the dimensions/realities/existences they came from.

So of course this was when the tops of all four crates just HAD TO respond to the call of gravity and drop right on the heads of all four women waking them up in a very painful manner.

"Whoever DARED to strike me will pay dearly!" growled Demona in her human form since it was daytime outside.

"OW! Keep it down will ya!" exclaimed Washu Hakubi as she massaged her sore head, "My head hurts enough already without you making it worse!"

"Ohw era uoy elpoep? Erehw ma I?" asked Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran a.k.a Starfire who obviously hadn't assimilated the English language yet.

"I would suggest we postpone any irreparable actions until we properly ascertain the situation." T'Pol recommended showing only minimal proof that her head hurt as well.

Two parts calm or at least rational along with two parts upset or testy. Xander thought as he took in the scene before him tried to come up with something intelligent to say.

"So do you want some Tylenol first or breakfast?" he asked casually looking at the four unexpected guests.

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Dining Room, One Hour Later

"You humans cannot seriously expect us to believe this?" Demona asked sounding like someone had just tried to sell her a bridge in Brooklyn.

"We know it's a lot to take in Demona but given your experience with magic and the Third race in particular I'm surprised you're not more open minded about this." Xander said trying to keep his voice diplomatic and honest.

"Don't pretend to think you know me human! I am more knowledgeable about magic than anyone here and am quite aware of what it is capable of." She stated with simmering hostility, "I'd sooner believe this a trick of that fool Puck than actually believe that I've been transported to a world where my life is nothing more than a TV program."

Can't argue with her there. Xander thought as he realized that this was indeed something the trickster of Avalon would pull to get a few laughs from Demona's misery.

"I do not believe that these people are lying to us Demona." Starfire stated using almost perfect English showing that why she could now be understood her grasp of the language was only basic, "They have been nothing but kind to us since we awoke and have not asked anything of us in return."

"Yet." Demona pointed out making it clear that her trust would take the longest to gain if she chose to give it at all.

"Look Ms. Cranky, it's going to take me at least a month and a half to construct a working dimensional gateway to get us back to our home dimensions, so let's at least try to behave towards our hosts." Washu said as she continued to work on the holographic computer she had somehow created out of nothing, "If I had access to my lab back home I could do it in a week but with these limited resources you'll have to wait a little longer."

"While I admit that I am hesitant to believe their claims I can find no evidence to disprove them." T'Pol stated making her opinion known in typical Vulcan fashion, "Therefore it would be prudent to attempt to coexist with Xander and his friends for the duration of our stay here."

Staring at Demona as if to dare the human by day gargoyle to argue the point further all T'Pol got in return was a snort of contempt before the scantily clad redhead got out of her chair and stomped out of the room. Xander hoped that she didn't go too far because while he couldn't honestly say he liked her he wasn't about to let a human hating gargoyle run wild on the hellmouth. With no one really knowing her as well as the people around him and all the potential trouble she could get into he wanted to keep her where he could see her. Still he was reasonably reassured by the fact that Demona had to know that while few people knew anything about her she knew next to nothing about how this world worked as well. That meant that unless she wanted to go around stumbling in the dark as it were she would stick close and learn a bit before striking out on her own. Given the way that T'Pol and Washu were talking it didn't sound like they stray very far as both wanted to get back to their proper realities as soon as was possible. Add to that that they were among the most intelligent people he could think of, fictional or not, and he was sure they could see the wisdom of keeping close to Council HQ.

As for Starfire though he doubted very much that they'd have any trouble from her given the air of innocence about her which seemed more in keeping with her cartoon self than the comic book version her physical body matched better. It was when his thoughts settled on her body that he floated dangerously close to the infamous blue screen of death due to the sensory overload. Fortunately a quick jab in the ribs from Buffy knocked him out of it and back into the land of the polite and discreet.

"While it is fortunate that you all have chosen to remain here there is still the issue of who sent you here in the first place." Giles pointed out wanting to figure out the mystery of the rather outrageous situation sooner rather than later, "What was the last thing you recall before waking up here?"

"Well I was in my lab working on an instantaneous transit system so Ayeka could travel back and forth to Jurai faster." Washu replied as a contemplative frown appeared on her face, "I remember I was entering some quantum equations when I thought I heard something behind me and the next thing I know I wake up here with a headache."

"My memory unfortunately is no more helpful I am afraid." Starfire replied sounding sad that she could not put forth any useful information, "I was making my escape from my Psion captors in a shuttlecraft when a shadow fell over me from behind. After that I remember nothing until the hard piece of wood struck me on the head."

"It seems then that I am the only one who may be able to shed even a little light on the situation." T'Pol stated managing to sound smug even with no perceivable arrogance in her words, "I was aboard Enterprise shortly after our mission with the Xindi had concluded and was on my way to Engineering when I sensed a presence behind me. When I turned to look I managed to catch a glimpse of an alien wearing dark red robes and two horns on the top of his head. I demanded that he state his intentions but was rendered unconscious by some kind of energy discharge. I then awoke here and the rest you are aware of."

"Red robes and horns on top of his—" Xander repeated as he wracked his brain trying to figure out what kind of demon it could be when all of a sudden the answer hit him right between the eyes.

Not even bothering to explain his abrupt departure from the dining room table he ran to the living room and quickly picked up his copy of the sheet he signed for the Fed Ex guy. Skimming past all the other information he zeroed in on the info concerning the name of the person that had sent the four crates and saw that his suspicions were dead on.

"What's wrong Xander?" Willow asked as the others by this time had caught up with him.

"Take a look at the name on this invoice Wills and tell me what demonic 'friend' it reminds you of?" he asked knowing that it would take the girl genius only moments to figure it out.

Looking at his oldest friend as she read the invoice he could tell exactly when the proverbial lightbulb clicked on and she realized what he was trying to show her.

"D'Hoffryn!" she exclaimed as all the pieces fell into place.

"Give the cute redhead a prize!" he exclaimed half with humor and half with sarcasm considering what this event likely meant for the Scooby gang's future.

"Who is D'Hoffryn?" T'Pol asked with scientific curiosity.

"The demon you saw on the Enterprise and most likely the one that kidnapped all of you and sent you here." Xander replied as his mind began to review the possible scenarios, "He's lord of a hell dimension called Arashmahaar ruling over an army of vengeance demons. We've had a few run ins with him or his people over the years and if he really is responsible for all this then he's got some serious not fun in the works."

"More accurately, given the fact that the delivery was made to Xander in particular, it is safe to assume that the demon Lord's revenge is meant primarily for him." Giles stated as he aided in the assembling of the problem, "Not surprising considering that D'Hoffryn lost Anya and indirectly Halfrek through Xander's intervention. Though I must admit I am somewhat confused as to what sort of vengeance he could gain by sending four, at least to us, fictional characters here."

"If this guy's a lord then he probably wants us to stew a little here until he drops the next part of his 'big plan' on us." Washu theorized as she crossed her arms thoughtfully, "Too bad he didn't take into account that he was dealing with Washu the GREAT! By the time I'm done I'll have him begging for mercy! Hahahahahahaha!"

Oh no! Xander thought realized that the self-proclaimed greatest scientific genius in the universe was getting excited.

Not of the good!

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One Month and One Week Later, Washu's Pocket Laboratory dimension

"Ya know sometimes I amaze even myself!" Washu exclaimed as she brought the inter-dimensional gateway online, "Finished a whole week in advance! Pretty impressive huh?"

"Definitely little Washu! Then again I expect nothing less from the greatest scientific genius in two dimensions!" Xander replied hastily as he had long since learned it was never a good thing to annoy the short pink haired genius.

"If you're quite done? I want to be free of this cursed dimension as soon as possible and back home where I belong!" Demona said with contempt and anger at anything prolonging her stay in a dimension she had come to detest.

To say that it had been a long and difficult five weeks with Washu, Demona, Starfire and T'Pol in the house would have been an understatement of biblical proportions. Of the four he had been correct in assuming that the two to make the most trouble had been Demona and Washu but that didn't meant that either T'Pol or Starfire didn't start their own little bit of chaos themselves. At first it was Washu's experiments and efforts at getting some payback on D'Hoffryn which of course led her to include him, the Xan-Man, since he was the established target of the demon lord's ire. While in watching the Tenchi Muyo Animes and OVA he had found the scenes involving Tenchi and Washu's lab to be amusing it was another thing entirely when you were the one being experimented on. Fortunately the small scientist was able to quickly determine that there was nothing about Xander that could help her in her plot against D'Hoffryn so she let him go.

That of course dropped him into the trouble that Demona had been causing the Slayers both on patrol and around the house. On patrol the dilemmas came in the form of the gargoyle interfering with the slaying of a few magically gifted demons that the millennia old woman no doubt thought would help her get home faster. For the most part the Slayers that had been messed with had done their best to kill their target without hurting Demona but it was clear they were beginning to get tired of her interference. Around the house it was a case of the former second in command's high and mighty attitude getting on everyone's nerves as well as the few instances when she had deliberately made an effort to humiliate the others. He knew that Kennedy was still fuming over the defeat the long-lived gargoyle had handed her in the basement gym during one moonlit night. It had been one of the few nights that the C.E.O of the fictional Nightstone Unlimited had stayed in and of course she had to push Willow's on again off again girlfriend the wrong way. This had led to a challenge, the challenge had led to a sparring match, and that had led to Kennedy unconscious on the other side of the room with several nasty bruises and cuts. The core Scoobies had done their best to lecture her but naturally the gargoyle had treated them as if they were peasants and she herself was a god.

So it was understandable that no one was exactly heartbroken that the female gargoyle was leaving today.

In the cases of Starfire and T'Pol on the other hand he knew at least four people that would seriously miss the duo including him. For the former it was a case of it be refreshing to have someone so innocent and yet at the same time so capable of battle around the house. Being that she wasn't exactly human looking the woman of Tamaran couldn't go outside without Willow putting a small glamour on her to make her appear human but that was just a small detail at best. With that taken care of each of his girls took an the task of trying to make Koriand'r's stay here as comfortable as possible which meant numerous classes of 'earth females 101'. While they hadn't been able to cover everything Buffy believed that the emerald-eyed alien knew enough that she wouldn't stick out too much in public.

As for T'Pol the Vulcan had stayed inside the HQ despite numerous efforts to get her to join the others when they showed Starfire around town. Apparently she was choosing to adhere to her people's policy concerning the contamination of a culture less advanced then their own. Instead she had grown interested in the subject of demons and magic which led to Giles going into lecture mode along with Willow who would provide empirical proof when she could at least where the existence of magic was concerned. From that point on the library was always the one place in the building where you could be reasonably sure you could find the Vulcan. It was also educational for the redheaded wicca since T'Pol was apparently willing to at least advance Willow's scientific knowledge a little bit. The secrets of energy weapons and warp drive were kept locked away but once his bestest bud proved that she had sufficient knowledge of a subject the science officer tossed her a few kernels of knowledge to help her along. All in all it would be enough to keep the founding female member of the Scooby gang buried hip deep in books for at least a year. SO naturally Willow didn't want her new favorite source of scientific knowledge to leave and Giles, though he wouldn't admit it, would likely miss her as well since she actually listened to him when he lectured on demons.

All in all it had been an interesting experience to have four characters that two months ago had been considered nothing more than fictional characters.

"Well since Ms. Happy Pants here is in such a rush to leave I'll open a portal to her world first." Washu said obviously not happy with her shining moment of genius being ruined by Demona's foul mood.

A few keystrokes on the holographic keyboard and a golden portal opened ten feet in front of the self-proclaimed greatest scientific genius in the universe.

"This has truly been the worst visit anywhere that I've had in a long time." Demona said not wanting to leave without at least one parting shot, "I shall be thankful if I never see any of you ever again."

With as much arrogance as the gargoyle/human could muster she strode towards the portal fully intent on leaving them far behind both literally as well as figuratively. However just as she reached the five foot mark between her and the portal she suddenly collapsed to her knees in pain gripping her stomach and only her own pride keeping her from crying out. Naturally he did what he always did when someone was in pain and moved to carry her away from the portal since in his mind it was connected with her sudden bout of agony. His theory was proven right when the moment she fiery woman was returned to the ten foot distance the pain vanished and her well being physically proven when she violently freed herself from her grasp to stand on her own.

"Are you alright Demona?" he asked not taking the woman's attitude too seriously given that he knew the main reasons why she'd turned out like this.

"I'm fine. I didn't need your help human!" she snarled as she tried to regain her aura of strength after such a show of weakness.

"Hmmmm. Interesting." Said Washu as she aimed her holo-computer at the human/gargoyle and began to scan her thoroughly, "From what I can tell from these scans the energy that allows a living thing to maintain molecular cohesion was severely disrupted. If she'd gotten any closer to the portal it's quite possible she would have disintegrated like a staked vampire."

"Any idea what might've caused it?" he asked not willing to even bother asking the centuries old genius if her portal might have been the cause.

"It could be many things but until I've found the answer I'm afraid we're going to have to put our travel plans on hold ladies." Washu replied with a sigh as she shut down the portal as well as her holo-computer.

This of course got a growl from Demona, a look of glee on Starfire's face and a raised eyebrow from T'pol while the tenants of the HQ had just as many mixed reactions. Personally he wasn't sure what to think because on the one side he was glad that both Kori and T'Pol were sticking around since it made his girls happy. On the other hand keeping someone as ill tempered as Demona or someone with self-control issues like Washu around was like watching a fuse burn away. It was only a matter of time before something exploded and knowing his luck he would be sitting right next to the proverbial stick of TNT when it blew.

"Oh that won't be necessary Ms. Washu." Came a voice the core Scoobies recognized all too well, "I'll be happy to explain why Demona was unable to pass through your portal."

As one the entire group turned and looked towards the source of the voice and found the culprit standing not twenty feet away looking at them with a smile on his demonic face.

"Well, well, Lord D'Hoffryn, just the guy I wanted to kill…I mean see." Xander said with a politeness that was seriously transparent.

"Still consider yourself the joker aren't you Mr. Harris?" D'Hoffryn asked rhetorically with emphasis on the name Xander hated to be called, "Well we'll see how long that lasts won't we."

"Get to the point horn head." Xander demanded with a voice as cold as the arctic.

"Well as you have no doubt surmised I am the one behind your four new tenants here. A gift, I suppose you could say, for the excellent way you treated Anyanka." D'Hoffryn explained giving no sign that he noticed the Xan-man's hostility, "The first feature you just witnessed was just a precaution I took to make sure these lovely ladies didn't run off before they got a chance to get to know you better. You'll find that that each of them will experience the same unpleasant sensations if they attempt to return to their home dimensions. Basically it means that they will have the rest of your natural life to get to know you better."

"Wretch!! I'll tear your head off!!" Demona yelled as she dove at the demon lord with hands outstretched like claws aimed right for the head vengeance demon's throat.

Sadly the conclusion of such a dramatic act was a little anti-climactic as instead of the satisfying sight of seeing the currently human gargoyle pound D'Hoffryn bloody she passed right through him as though he were a ghost. The only plus side of the failed attack, that Xander could see at least, was that unable to stop herself Demona collided with the wall directly behind the magical projection knocking herself unconscious. That would at least allow the others to keep the situation from devolving into mindless violence that would hopefully lead to some more answers.

"Quite the fiery redhead isn't she?" D'Hoffryn asked with the same interest as one would an unusually colored dog.

"Doesn't this break any sort of cosmic rules?" Dawn asked with some uncertainty, "I mean I might not be the TV geek that Xander is but T'Pol, Demona, Starfire and Washu are pretty important characters. Won't their home realities get messed up with them missing?"

"Such a clever girl! To answer your question Key made flesh no it won't break any rules." D'Hoffryn replied with false praise, "As you are no doubt aware there are an infinite number of dimensions and realities that exist to form a multi-verse of sorts. Some of these realities are so alike that only a true expert could tell them apart while others are at the opposite side of that situation. I just plucked these four from the realities were their lives were destined to take a different path from the one you likely know."

"Destiny is an illusion constructed by races desiring to possess a measure of certainty in their lives." T'Pol stated an aloof scientific manner.

"Perhaps in your reality my dear but here it is very real as I'm sure Ms. Summers could tell you." D'Hoffryn declared before turning as if to leave even though he wasn't actually there, "Oh! There is one more feature attached to each of these ladies that I thought I would wait to activate until the right moment. Enjoy Alexander Harris!"

With a crack of energy and a flash of light the demon lord vanished leaving the present members of the newly reformed Council wondering what new 'feature' D'Hoffryn had been talking about.

"Oooohhh Xander!" Starfire said playfully as she slipped her arms around him from behind, "Since it appears that I am stuck here perhaps you can teach me more about humans. Particularly any mating rituals you know about. I promise to be a very good student!"

"Hold your horses green eyes! Xander will be too busy helping me around the lab to be bothered with such trivial things." Washu said as she approached from his left in a distinctly more adult form, "In fact I think I'll see what I can do about assembling a prosthetic eye to replace the one he lost. So I'll need to keep him close in order to make sure it's a proper fit and all."

"Ms. Washu, it is highly unethical for you to abuse your intellect employing such underhanded tactics, so I cannot let you manipulate Mr. Harris like that." T'Pol stated trying to maintain a façade of objectivity despite how her eyes were spitting fire at the pink-haired genius, "As such I shall remain close to Xander as much as possible in order to ensure you do not abduct him."

Looking back and forth as well as behind trying to figure out what the frilly hell was going on he wondered where these ideas had come from and why they had taken up residence in the heads of these three ladies. They sure as heck hadn't seemed interested in him during the past five weeks and their sudden attraction to him right now certainly looked unnatural from his point of view. It was then that the truth hit him square in the face like a sledge hammer and he realized that this was the feature D'Hoffryn was talking about. Somehow the jackass had put a spell on the four women very similar to the botched Valentine's Day spell he'd attempted to payback Cordelia for dumping him earlier in the day. While a few quick glances at the other females in the room told him thankfully that they weren't affected it was a small comfort given how powerful the ones that were affected were known to be. After all Starfire was powerful enough to demolish half the city all by herself and Demona could claw through steel doors like cardboard. Even worse was that with the intellects that both Washu and T'Pol had there potential for destruction was far greater than the two warrior women were capable of combined.

In short, as Giles would no doubt say soon, he and the Earth were doomed!

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