"I just realized something." Alexander said suddenly, he'd been meditating for nearly an hour while the others talked quietly and his mind hurt. Aside from Xander, who had managed to dim the emotions he was broadcasting and Giles, who had years of mental discipline, none of them had been able to turn down their thoughts. "I arrived before the creature shot his device at Xander."
"What?!" Giles said sharply, looking up from the reference he was reading.
"I saw it point that device at Buffy, get tackled by Xander and then Xander get shot by it."
"But that doesn't make any sense." Buffy protested. "I was facing where you were standing before the device went off, I would have seen you."
"Unless I didn't arrive first, but saw you though a weakness between realities. This dimensional portal you said was open, may have weakened, hopefully only temporarily, the borders between realities."
"What do you mean hopefully?" Faith asked. "If they close before we can get you back, that would mean you're stuck here. I don't imagine you'd want that, you'd be trapped."
"A weakened barrier between realities or dimensions can cause those worlds to bleed together. Eventually collapsing in on each other. It could wipe out both of our realities if it's not closed. If it's a choice between me being stuck here or closing that weakness, I'll take being stuck here. Preserving life, is the ultimate purpose of the Anla'Shok."
"Oh dear, it's a possibility I never considered. But it is one we need to explore because if he's right, a weakness like that could expand. The device may have pulled you here across that weakness, you being another Alexander Harris and essentially the same as him. Whatever that device is meant to do, it may have been affected by the excess of energy in the library that's still disapating. We need to figure this out soon, because such a weakness could be expanding even as we speak."
Alexander stood up and looked at the area he'd first stood in. A human telepath could read minds on a line of sight basis if necessary. Just because he was better able to do it with a touch didn't mean he couldn't do it over a distance. He looked and 'saw' other minds. "I see it or rather I see other minds, I can't see them with my eyes, just the colors that make a mind and an occasional thought. People on the other side are scared, something is going on back there." He reached out with his hand. "Damn, I was hoping maybe I could just pass though, but I guess we need that device."
"I'm still researching." Giles said. "Perhaps the rest of you could help me, it would go faster." The four teenagers dragged themselves up from the floor and moved to the table and each grabbed a book. Alexander returned to trying to meditate, even though it wasn't really helping.
"I should be able to block you out better than this. Xander and Giles are able to block, at least to an extent, their own output of thoughts and emotions, but you girls are broadcasting so loudly it's giving me a headache trying to keep you out. Thing is, I should be able to keep you out anyway. It's the first thing we're taught. So I don't understand why I'm having such a problem with it."
"How are Xander and Giles able to keep you out?" Willow asked curiously.
"Giles has a great deal of mental discipline and he's relying on it now and Xander, as I've said, has a strong mind and may have abilities of his own. The rest of you have no mental discipline or natural ability and you know what, I'm also being affected by your emotional states and that's difficult for me to deal with too. I don't want to read your emotions and I doubt you want me knowing what you're feeling any more then you want me knowing your thoughts."
"No, we don't." Buffy agreed.
"On the other hand." Xander said. "I, for one, would like to know what those spots of influence are that you saw. I want to know who and why someone has been messing with us."
"I'd have to do a scan of your mind, as I said. That would open your mind to me and allow me to sort out what's you and not you. Normally I'm restricted by rules imposed on us to only surface thoughts, which is part of why I'm having a problem. When I say you're broadcasting every thought, I mean every thought. Even ones you don't even realize you're actively thinking about."
"Could you give us an example?" Giles asked.
"That would be up to them if they want me sharing their thoughts."
"Ah, go ahead." Faith said. "I ain't got nothing to hide."
"You're sure? Because your thoughts have touched on some deeply personal things."
"I want you to prove it, that we're broadcasting like you say."
"And if I reveal that information in front of the others?"
"Go ahead, I give you permission."
"Very well, not even Rupert Giles, who's supposed to be taking care of you, knows your last name or your age or how you're surviving. And you're thinking Xander might be worth having sex with a second time and that trying that cuddles and conversation thing he mentioned might be worth it. That particular line of thought might be something he's interested in, in the abstract, but given that he very much misses Cordelia and how happy they were together, may end up causing you pain yourself if you tried to pursue it."
"Oh, boy." Xander said, as everyone stared at him.