Cordelia knocked on the door of the house Professor Dormer and Faith lived in. Faith stood behind her with the still unconscious human draped over her shoulder. Professor Dormer opened the door.
"Great timing, Xander just called and explained what happened. Faith, it was an accident and most definitely not the first of its kind. Humans have gotten caught in the crossfire before."
"Is Xander okay?" Cordelia asked, even though she understood intellectually what had happened, it was still a shock seeing Xander's powers manifest like that.
"Yes, Piper Halliwell mixed up a cleansing potion for him. But this means it's time to put the contingencies into action. Xander will not be able to return to Sunnydale. Not for more then a few minutes at a time anyway. Just that small exposure to the Hellmouth while using his abilities made him quite ill. But Piper's potion fixed him up. They're putting him up at the Manor for now. Thanks to Leo apprenticing him in carpentry, finding a job once he's completed his senior year will not be difficult. Such jobs are always in demand. Come, put the human on the couch. I'll need to check him."
Relieved, Cordelia and Faith followed her into the house. Faith laid the human on the couch and Professor Dormer assessed him. First conventionally and then magically.
"He's fine. No sign of injury. He appears to be in shock and just shut himself down for a time. Understandable, he did walk into a battle with vampires and accidentally get a stake in his chest, after all. You girls go get cleaned up. Cordelia, if you wish to call Xander, you can use the phone in the kitchen."
Faith went upstairs to shower and change and Cordelia went to the kitchen to call Halliwell Manor.
After assuring her, he was fine, just tired, Xander promised to call the next day as he wasn't able to keep his eyes open. Leo took the phone from him and handed it to Piper and orbed Xander up to his new room.
"Cordelia? It's Piper. No, he really is tired. It takes a lot of energy to heal a near fatal wound, especially in the vicinity of something like the Hellmouth. He'll sleep for awhile and then he'll be fine. We'll keep an eye on him, I promise. Call if you need anything."
When she came out of the kitchen after talking to Xander and Piper, Cordelia saw the human was waking up. He spotted Professor Dormer first. "Oh, good. I found the Slayer."
"You know about the Slayer?" Professor Dormer asked.
"Yes, I was looking for her, for your group. We've got a big problem and it's only getting worse. I've been so scared, I didn't know what to do. He's so scary, everyone thinks he's a nice guy. He's not, he's a monster."
"Who is?" Professor Dormer asked.
"Mayor Wilkins. He's the only Mayor Sunnydale has ever had. He's been pretending to be his own father and grandfather. He sold his soul for immortality. He built Sunnydale on purpose, so he could have ready made victims to sacrifice. He's spent a century preparing for his Ascension."
"Ascension?" Professor Dormer questioned.
"He wants to become an Old One."
Professor Dormer went stiff.
"What's an Old One?" Cordelia asked.
"Demons that ruled Earth before humans evolved." Professor Dormer said. "Monsterously sized creatures. How long do we have?"
"The final transformation will occur on Sunnydale's centennial. Which is also the day, the current class graduates. But we have even less time then that. Exactly one hundred days before the final transformation, he will do a ritual that makes him invulnerable to harm, of any sort."
"So, about twenty days from now." Professor Dormer said, making some quick calculations. "He's a human right now, soulless, but human. I will contact the Council. This is not the first time a human has conspired to cause harm to the human race. There have been many who have tried to activate portals to Hell dimensions, for instance. We have protocols for dealing with such individuals."
"What kind of protocols?" Cordelia asked.
"Practical ones. He's killed many people and would kill many more as an Old One. The Council will investigate these claims. If they prove true and I don't believe he is lying, they will eliminate him. The survival of the human race may depend on it."
"They're going to kill him?"
"If this information proves accurate, yes. Preferably before these hundred days of invulnerability begin or he transforms and consumes the town."
"Except for Ethan Rayne spiking the band candy so those vampires could kidnap those babies to feed to that demon, we've never dealt with a human working with or being the big bad." Cordelia said softly. "We're trying to protect humans and now here's one trying to kill humans so he can be a demon."
"He's the one who hired Ethan Rayne actually." The human, who'd told them he was Deputy Mayor Allen Finch. "That was the third sacrifice to Lurconis in the last century. All of them babies."
"I'll call the Council now." Professor Dormer said, going to her office. A long while later, she came back out. "The Council will begin their investigation immediately. There's isn't time to waste. Cordelia, why don't you take the guest room for tonight. Mr. Finch, the Council investigation team will be here tomorrow. I expect you to tell them everything you know."
"I will. I want this nightmare to end. I've never understood how my family could get mixed up with him. My father and grandfather served him faithfully. I was raised to believe, he would be a god once he transformed. I just think he's a monster."
"So do we." Professor Dormer said.