Something Witchy This Way Comes
(this was written as a challenge fic - the characters couldn't leave the library until the problem was resolved)
“What do you mean – 'we can't leave the library'?” Buffy demanded.
“Just that. People can come in, but the door is one way only right now. No one can leave.” Giles repeated for the fourth time in ten minutes. He ran an agitated hand through his hair and resumed the pacing he had ceased upon his Slayer's entrance.
“You couldn't have said something before I came in?” the Slayer looked at her Watcher incredulously.
“Well, I didn't have a chance, did I? You were in and sitting on the table before I had a chance to even say hello.” He responded testily.
“Uh, guys, shouldn't we find a way out instead of yelling about being in?” The redhead asked, causing the other five people in the room to look at her.
She flushed almost the color of her hair but was undeterred. “I mean, it doesn't really matter why we're in – well, it does cuz we can't find a way out until we know why we're stuck but we are stuck so we need to not yell at each other until we're done with the stuck.” Willow finished in rush, the heightened color in her cheeks not subsiding as she grew embarrassed after her babble. Her boyfriend Oz smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head but said nothing. 'That was nice,' she thought, wistfully. 'But, it wasn't . . .” she shook her head. Lately she'd been out of sorts and didn't know why. Well, part of the why was sitting at the other end of the table and she wasn't currently speaking to him.
“Willow's right,” Xander said. “We need to keep cool heads. The phone!”
Willow refused to look at him but noted that the others in the room were gaping. “We haven't tried the phone,” she said, understanding her oldest friend despite their current estrangement. “Maybe we can call someone for help?” She asked.
Giles nodded thoughtfully. “Ms. Calendar, perhaps.” He said, hesitantly. Jenny Calendar was, at the moment, out of the Slayer's inner circle having betrayed their trust. “She may be of some assistance.”
“But if she comes here, won't she just get stuck too?” Buffy asked, frowning. Willow could tell her best friend wasn't loving the idea of calling Ms. Calendar but the techno-pagan probably was their best chance.
The Watcher sighed. “Yes, I suppose she would if she came in. Perhaps if we let her know what's going on before she . . .”
“Phone's dead.” Willow said, staring at the instrument in her hand, unaware that she had just interrupted Giles.
“Well, that certainly doesn't help.”
“Thank you Captain Obvious.” Buffy said sarcastically as she began to prowl the library. Willow recognized the 'caged' behavior, having seen Oz go through it. She frowned as the feeling of warmth that usually accompanied an 'Oz thought', didn't.
“Hello, Ms. Calendar? It's Cordelia, we have a situation and Giles wants to talk to you.” Cordelia handed her cell phone to Giles who gaped at her. “What? Just because the school phone doesn't work doesn't mean my cell phone wouldn't. I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Why are you all staring at me? Is there something wrong with my hair?” She asked, apparently clueless why the Scoobies were all looking at her like she'd grown a second head. Willow knew why she was looking at Cordie that way – she couldn't believe Cordelia would think of it.
Willow shook herself mentally. 'No uncharitable thoughts about Xander's girlfriend.' She thought. She was still upset with Xander for performing that love spell and making a fool out of every girl in school, including her, in the name of love for Cordelia. She snorted as she thought about it.
They all looked at her and she turned bright red again. “Sorry, involuntary snort.”
Giles had moved away from the group while on the phone but now came back toward them. “Yes, that would be of some help, thank you, Jenny.” He said, hanging up. “Ms. Calendar is going to put a sign up saying the library is closed so no other unsuspecting person comes in. She's also going to contact her, erm, online coven to see if they can be of assistance.” He absently handed Cordelia back her phone. “Willow, can you get on line in here? Ms. Calendar suggested that if we could communicate with her directly and immediately, it might help solve our dilemma that much quicker,”
“I'm on it, Giles. But with no phone that probably means . . .” She trailed off, frowning at the library's computer screen.
“What is it, Will?” Buffy asked as she stopped prowling.
“Nothing. I mean, it won't power up.” She looked up at her best friend. “It's like the phone, only it' s the computer.” The redhead shrugged her apology at her friend's frown.
“Okay. We have no connected phone. No computer with a modem or power, for that matter. Why does the cell phone work?” Buffy resumed prowling.
“Wait. Something . . .” Willow frowned as she tried to think of the thing she was thinking. “Hey – how come Ms. Calendar's phone and computers are working?”
They all gaped at each other.
“Well, it would seem as though we're being targeted. I suppose the question isn't so much why as who and how.” Giles said, removing his glasses and polishing them with his handkerchief.
“That's two questions.” Buffy snapped. Willow looked at the Slayer and could feel her anxiety.
“Uh, Buff? Can I, uh, talk to you for a second? Up there? Privately?” Willow pointed to the stacks. She got up and started up the stairs, Buffy close on her heels.
Once they were safely out of earshot of the others, Willow turned to Buffy. “Okay, what gives? You're usually pretty cool in a crisis and you're getting ready to slay Giles.” Willow's face was set firmly and was meant to let Buffy know that avoidyness would not be tolerated.
Buffy sighed and Willow waited, knowing her friend had gotten the non-verbal message. “I'm just scared Will. Angel sent me roses with a note that said 'soon' – what if he did this?”
Willow stared at her friend. “Angel sent you what with which that said what when now?” She asked.
Buffy grinned at the redhead. “Roses. A note. 'Soon'. And for Valentine's Day.”
Willow processed the information then asked “And you're just telling me this now?”
“Will, you were . . . uh . . . not really, um, available to talk around that time.” The Slayer blushed and Willow realized that Buffy was trying to spare her feelings by not reminding her of the Xander love spell fiasco.
“Oh.” She said simply. “Okay, I got it. But why would he trap us in the library?”
Just then Xander came up and interrupted them. “Giles said to see if we can get out through the stacks. We, uh, never thought about that.” He ducked his head, unable to meet Willow's eyes.
She sighed. He'd apologized about a million times and she was getting kind of tired of not talking to him and being all mad and stuff took a lot out of her. “Xander . . .” she said.
“Yeah?” He looked at her, faint hope showing on his face.
“I'm sorry. I've been a little hard on you.” She said.
“No, Will, I'm sorry. I didn't . . . I just . . .” he fumbled for the words.
“I know.” She grinned at her childhood friend and was rewarded with one of his goofy smiles. She extended her hand. “Friends?” He took her hand and she caught him off-guard, pulling him into a hug.
“Well, I'm glad you two got that straightened out. If we can get back to the crisis at hand, now?” Buffy said, her words softened by the big smile on her face.
“Right. Stacks. Me. Go. Now.” Xander said with another goofy grin and headed to the door. He was rewarded for his efforts by walking into an unmoving door. “Guess not.” He shrugged and headed back down to the lower library.
“What were we talking about? Oh, yeah, Angel. Why would he trap us in the library?”
“To keep us out of the way? So we can't leave and he can swarm us with vampires? Is a group of vampires a swarm?” Buffy stopped and looked lost in that thought for a moment. “Anyway, we're sitting ducks here and I just – I don't like it.”
“Okay, I get that. But you really need to bring it down a notch or two. You're making the rest of the group all twitchy.” She told Buffy.
Buffy sighed. “Okay, Will, I know you're right. Let's go back down and see if there's anything we can think to do so we can help ourselves out of this.” She linked her arm through the redhead's and they headed back toward the group. “Thanks, Will. And I'm glad you and Xander made up, too.”
“You're welcome. And thank you. I don't like fighting with him or you. It's not in the natural order of things.” Willow responded.
Buffy laughed as they rejoined the others, Willow taking a seat next to Oz and smiling when he took her hand.
“Okay, so what do we know?” Buffy asked.
Giles frowned. “Not much, I'm afraid. I called Ms. Calendar again and let her know that the library is sealed, we can't get out. We also have no, er, what she called a 'land-line' telephone or computer. Willow, she asked if you had your laptop with you. Perhaps you can use that, as Cordelia used her cell phone?”
Willow nodded and went to retrieve her backpack from the library's counter top. Extracting the laptop, she turned it on and was pleased that it did, indeed, boot up. “Cordelia, let me borrow your cell phone? Thanks,” she said as the brunette gave it to her with a puzzled look. “I still need a way to connect if the phone lines in here aren't working,” Willow responded to the unasked question as she extracted the proper cable from her backpack and plugged into Cordelia's cell phone. After a moment, she turned to the others and said, “Okay, we're linked to Ms. Calendar.”
“Progress is good. But we still have no idea what we're dealing with.” Buffy said.
“Okay, Ms. Calendar says that it sounds like a dampening spell but it can't be very powerful otherwise the cell phone and the . . . laptop. Wouldn't. Work. Which they don't now.” Willow frowned. “Whatever it is, I think it's getting stronger. We've lost contact.”
“Did the batteries maybe die?” Xander asked hopefully.
“No. At least . . . my laptop was fully charged. Cordie?” Willow looked at the brunette.
“I took it off the charger this morning.” She answered, shaking her head.
“Now what?” Oz spoke for the first time, causing Willow to jump. She had forgotten he was there. 'What's that say about our relationship?' She pushed that thought away and turned to Giles.
“Giles, Ms. Calendar said she was going to contact a member of her cyber coven who's in town touring UC Sunnydale with her daughter. Hopefully, the three of them can think of something cuz there's power in three and there's three of them if the daughter practices and I would think if the mother does the daughter does cuz look at Amy . . .” Willow stopped mid-babble and frowned. “Amy wouldn't? Would she? I mean, we got rid of her mom, Xander did that spell with her. Would she be looking for, I dunno, revenge?”
The group looked at each other.
“I suppose it's possible,” Giles said, looking skeptical. “I would think it's unlikely, though. This is pretty powerful spellcasting and I wouldn't think Amy is adept enough.” He frowned. “Hang on.” He said and headed into his office. When he returned, he had a book in his hand and was flipping through it.
“Catherine Madison tried to send you,” he said, indicating Buffy, “to 'the dark place' calling on Corsheth, while I invoked Corsheth and Gilail to reverse the spells that she had cast upon you all.” He frowned as he studied the passage in the book. “Amy invoked Hecate and Dianna during Xander's love spell fiasco.” He removed his glasses and, chewing on the earpiece, his frown deepened. “It's possible that Amy's invocations of Dianna and Hecate created a rift between 'the dark place' Catherine Madison ended up in and here.” He put the book down and place his glasses back on his face. “It would seem, Catherine Madison is attempting a comeback. Apparently, trapping us was her first step. Damn! If only we could let Jenny, er, Ms. Calendar know.”
“Let Ms. Calendar know what?” The pretty techno-pagan asked as she strolled through the door and into the library carrying a satchel.
“Jenny! You're trapped now. Why did you come in here?” Giles demanded.
“Because someone had to and it's better me than Jenna or her daughter. Now, what do I need to know?” She asked.
Giles just looked at her for a moment, then shook his head and filled her in on their suspicions. She nodded as he related the information. “Cool. That makes it easier.”
“Jenny? What's going on?” Giles asked.
Willow watched her best friend's face as Buffy watched the two adults go back and forth. She could see Buffy was struggling with trusting the teacher who had betrayed them. Yes, they needed her help but it was hard not to wonder if they were just setting themselves up for further betrayal. Buffy seemed to sense her friend's gaze and shifted her focus from the two adults to the redhead.
'You okay?' Willow mouthed.
Buffy smiled and nodded in response. Willow nodded back and turned her attention back to Ms. Calendar and Giles.
“So we do a generic sort of anti-magic spell to remove the dampening and unseal the door. Then when I get out Jenna and I can seal the dimensional rift. Easy stuff, Rupert.” She checked her watch then opened the satchel and took out what looked like several bundles of sage, using a lighter, she lit them one at a time, blew them out and handed them to the kids and Rupert. “Okay, windows and doors – each of you be near one of them and wave the sage across the edges like this,” she demonstrated on the main library door. “If you're at the high windows, just go back and forth so the sage rises toward the windows.”
They all followed her lead and waved the sage over each entrance and exit. Willow was on the library stairs near the higher windows and did as she'd been instructed, waving the sage back and forth under the windows, letting the pungent smoke waft upward. The techno-pagan and the librarian were at the main doors and Willow could hear Ms. Calendar chanting. She couldn't make out the words but the cadence was right for a chant as opposed to a spell. After what Willow judged to be about seven minutes, Ms. Calendar stopped chanting. When Willow looked at the main library doors from where she was on the staircase, she saw Ms. Calendar sprinkle something from the satchel across the bottom of the door, then spray something else on the hinges. Gazing wistfully at the doors, Willow couldn't wait until she was able to do stuff like that.
“Okay, everyone,” Ms. Calendar called, getting their attention. “Moment of truth.” Placing a hand on the door, she pushed on it and, much to everyone's relief, it swung open allowing her to exit. Coming back in, she exited again, then re-entered with two women that Willow guessed were Ms. Calendar's friend Jenna and Jenna's daughter.
'Pretty girl.' Willow thought, looking at the blonde. 'Her mom doesn't look well, I hope she's all right. She must have been beautiful when she was younger.' The blonde peeked out from under her bangs and smiled at the redhead, causing a strange sensation somewhere low in Willow's abdomen. She smiled back and was rewarded when the other girl's grin widened.
“Everyone, this is Jenna Maclay and her daughter, Tara. Lucky for us they were in town visting UC Sunnydale. Otherwise, you may have been stuck in here for quite awhile.”
In a brief flurry, introductions were made and thank yous were given. Tara looked a little lost and Willow could understand that. This group could be a little intimidating.
“Jenna, can you help me seal the rift? I have everything set up in my classroom. Tara can wait here with the other,” Ms. Calendar said.
Jenna nodded and turned to her daughter. “You'll be okay for a few minutes?” she asked softly, receiving and affirmative nod from Tara in response.
“She'll be fine.” Willow volunteered, smiling at the blonde girl. “We'll take care of her.” The smile she got in return suffused her entire body with warmth. 'Wow.' Willow thought. She then pushed the thought and the feeling far from her mind as the two witches left the library to seal the rift, ensuring that the library doors would no longer be 'one way'.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the hallway, unseen and unnoticed, a fissure in the small, gold cheerleading trophy slowly started to seal up. The eyes first narrowed in angered then widened in fear as the fissure completely sealed, leaving no hint that it had ever been there.
The End