Willow Rosenberg was not use to failure and not use to being told she was wrong, especially when she was sure she was right. She knew she'd done everything needed to make those spells work - so why weren't they working? Why could she do Magic in Sunnydale but not in England? It didn't make sense. And why was Ms. Harkness so sure she was doing everything wrong? She was deep in her thoughts and didn't immediately register the identity of the visitors. Not until she realized one of them was Faith. Faith, tbe murderer who helped Mayor Wilkins try to kill them all, who poisoned Angel and caused Buffy so much pain. Not stopping to think, Willow cast a spell at the murderous bitch and was shocked by what happened next.
The young man standing next to her threw out his hands and a shield appeared around them, consisting of red energy in sliding geometric patterns.
"Miss Rosenberg, how dare you attack our guests!" Agatha said angrily.
"That bitch tried to kill us!" Willow defended her actions.
"Actually, no she didn't, Willow." Giles told her. "This Faith comes from another reality and there are things you are currently unaware in regards to our Faith. Kindly do not attack anyone else." He instructed sternly.
"But, Giles -."
"Willow, I saw them arrive from another reality, I tested them myself to ensure they are not demons or shapeshifters, they are the counterparts of people we know and we are here to see Ms. Harkness, so please, do not attack anyone."
"It tends to annoy me," The young man told her. "when people attack my friends." Willow focused on the young man's face as he lowered the shield and was shocked to realize he was Xander Harris. But that was impossible - "Giles, Xander can't do Magic! It has to be a demon or a shapehifter."
"Everyone can do Magic." Agatha told her. "If they know how and obviously he knows how, he's become quite powerful. How long have you been practicing?"
"About a year and a half." He replied. "I am Alexander Harris, Guardian of the Sanctum Sanctorum. It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Harkness. A question, if I may and it's a personal one, I'm afraid, since I'm trying to determine if you're the Agatha Harkness I heard about in my reality."
"Go ahead." She answered, curious. "If it's too personal, I'll just decline to answer."
"How did you survive the Salem witch trials?"
"Xander! That's rude, to threaten a witch -!"
"I'm not threatening anyone, Willow." Xander answered. "If she's the counterpart of the Agatha Harkness I've heard about, than she survived the Salem witch trials, I'm curious as to how."
"Guile and a willingness to do what was necessary to survive." Agatha answered. "And actions that I'm not proud of, but was willing to do in the name of survival."
Willow gaped. "But that would make you hundreds of years old -?"
"Did you wrestled death?" Xander asked, curiously, wondering if witches had those tests too.
"I'm not certain what that ritual entails, I've never heard of it, but there are many ways to use Magic to keep oneself young." She smiled. "Some dark, some not. Such as the ankh that is bound to you, I can see it. A shield against death?"
"A messenger sent by the Greek gods told me I'd passed a test and been granted the ankh and its gifts as a result." Xander replied. "And it seems," he looked at Willow. "we've found yet another Willow with dark power in her, this one reminds me of the Hellmouth."
"Which explains how she could do Magic in Sunnydale, but has struggled to do it here and why she was able to cast that spell at your friend." Agatha said grimly. "Dark power, dark intent. Somehow she was drawing energy from the Hellmouth to do her Magic, that's very disturbing. Especially given that she has no understanding of Magic. Mr. Harris -."
"Alexander or Xander, please."
"Alexander, perhaps you could explain to Miss Rosenberg what Magic is."
"Magic is the harvesting of energy from other dimensions in the multiverse, accessed and drawn by the mind. Shaped by intent, will, imagination, emotions, beliefs. It answers to the spoken and the unspoken. Or as our Willow explains it, it's psychokinetic metaphysic dark energy. Dark as in scientifically unknown or unmeasurable at present."
Willow stared blankly at the young man who couldn't possibly be a counterpart of Xander Harris, Xander couldn't do Magic, she was sure of that and Xander couldn't understand something better than her, she was equally certain of that. But that explanation - it made sense in a way nothing anyone else had said did.
"Any idea how she could have gotten Hellmouth energy into her?" Agatha asked. "What kind of spell could she have done that opened her up to be able to draw dark energy in the first place?"
"She cast a curse on a vampire." Xander answered grimly. "Ripped a soul from wherever it was, at rest or reincarnating and turned it into a cage for the demon. Her very first spell, she failed the first time, was severely injured and desperate the second time because she'd convinced herself - or been manipulated into believing - that it was in some way helpful."
"But, it gave Buffy back Angel, it did help!" Willow insisted.
"You cursed a soul to rot in a dead body." Agatha said flatly. "And you actually believe it was helpful in some way and you never bothered to mention it when I questioned you on your previous experience? I was right, you have no idea what you're doing. Your ignorance makes you dangerous."
"We believe it's part of a larger scheme." Xander told her and explained everything they'd learned in their journeys about Twilight, the fallen Power and the actions of all the counterparts they'd met so far.
Agatha Harkness was not happy.