Willow had never been so scared, even in the ten months since she'd discovered vampires were real, not even in the very beginning when a vampire had lured and tried to feed on her. Oh she'd been scared, but at the time she hadn't really understood what was happening. Now though, she was staring at her own body. And it most definitely looked like it was dead. She needed help. She needed Buffy! She experimentally tried to walk off the porch and found herself sort of gliding and somehow moving even though she wasn't feeling gravity or the ground beneath her. She headed toward where she thought she'd find Buffy and sure enough, there she was.

Princess Buffy of Storybook Castle stared, amazed and a bit uncertain if she was being honest, at the chaos happening around her. Just a moment ago she'd been in her father's castle reading a thrilling adventure story and longing for an adventure of her own and now, as if by Magic, it seemed she was embarking on an actual adventure! However, she was missing some very important bits of information, how had she gotten here? Where was she? Were there others caught up in this adventure as well? She looked up as she heard someone call her name.

"Buffy!" A redheaded girl about her own age and wearing a good deal less than appropriate clothing raced up to her. "Buffy, thank God you're alright!"

"I'm sorry, have we met? How do you know my name?"

"You don't know who I am?" The girl asked.

"Are you a Princess from another land? Have you been dragged into an adventure as well?"

"I'm Willow and I'm not so much a Princess as I am a ghost." The girl confessed. "My body is back there, on that porch. I was escorting kids trick or treating and they changed into little monsters, as if by Magic and I...died." The poor girl looked frightened out of her mind and who could blame her, this adventure had killed her before it had even begun!

"Magic? That would explain how I came to be here as well." Princess Buffy looked around again. "I'm seeing many little monsters, do you suppose they are all children transformed?"

"Yeah, they probably are. I don't know what to do." The Willow girl, she looked like she was about to start crying and who could blame her? "What if I'm really dead and not magically dead? What if I stay a ghost or move on before this mess is figured out and stopped?"

"I believe that may be the purpose of this adventure." Princess Buffy told her. "To determine what has caused it and fix it. I hope, for both our sakes, that when we have succeeded and we must hold to this belief and not give into despair, that all will be righted as soon as we have accomplished that goal." Princess Buffy said as reassuringly as she could. "It's the kind of thing the heroine of an adventure novel would attempt to do, is it not?" She tried to sound like she knew what she was talking about, after all she had read many such stories whenever the Traveling Librarian brought his books around to Storybook Castle.

"Probably." Willow agreed. "But I'm not sure where to even start looking. Oh! Xander, we have to find Xander!"

"Who is Xander?"

"He's my best friend, since we were like, two. We need to make sure he's okay and maybe he can help us figure out what's going on." Willow informed Buffy. "He shouldn't be far away."

"Than let us find your friend." Princess Buffy suggested briskly. "The more people searching for answers, the sooner we can get those answers and hopefully you will recover your life. Please show me the way." Princess Buffy picked up her skirts and followed Willow.

"There! That's Xander!" Willow pointed toward a young man their age who was examining one of the little monsters with a rather large monocle held to his eye.

Dr. Strange sent a pulse of Magic at one of the little monsters running around and froze it in place. He held the Eye of Agamotto up and used it to evaluate the creature. To his shock he realized it was a child transformed by Magic! Someone had turned a child into a monster! He was about to attempt to unravel the Magic when two young women, a redhead and a brunette, ran up to him.

"Xander!" The redhead exclaimed. "Someone used Magic to change everybody! Xander, I died, I'm a ghost, a real ghost!"

Dr. Strange examined her with the Eye and saw traces of Magic on her as well. "So I see. I need to study the Magic in order to unravel it, but I need somewhere quiet to do so."

"Oh." Willow realized Xander had been affected too and played along. "You can do Magic?"

"I am the Sorcerer Supreme, Earth's Defender against mystical attacks, it's my job to protect these people from someone doing harmful Magic." Dr. Strange explained.

"Oh, then you're exactly who we need on this adventure!" Princess Buffy beamed, her very first adventure and she'd already found someone to help find the answers. "I'm Princess Buffy of Storybook Castle and this is my new friend, Willow, who unfortunately may be dead, unless we can find a solution quickly."

"Princess Buffy?" Dr. Strange used the Eye to examine her and saw Magic at work on her as well. "Well, I've never worked with a Princess before, although I have encountered ghosts. I need a quiet place to study the Magic and attempt to unravel it, do either of you know somewhere we could go to do that?"

"The Summers home isn't far from here." Willow offered. "Or we could go to the Library, Giles knows some Magic, he might be able to help us."

"Oh, a Librarian!" Princess Buffy exclaimed. "And a Library! The Traveling Librarian is one of my favorite people, he brings me new adventure stories whenever he comes to visit."

"The Library and this Giles sound like the best option." Dr. Strange decided. "Especially if he understands Magic, he can help me figure this out. Can you show us the way?"

Willow nodded and the three set off to find a very surprised Giles.