Chapter Four

BTVS: Builders pt 4

While the hallways and classrooms and offices glistened with renewal and awesomeness, the library was still, quiet and the same; except for the heavy table and rug upon which the table sat. Those things had been moved, shoved to the side and away to reveal a pentagram to the sight of the Builders. The pentagram took up plenty of the floor, and wasn't near as pretty as the Razorback mascot in the gym. It was dark, creepy and, from the Builder's perspective, leaking like a sieve.

"It's amazing that things don't just pop up out of there all the time," Willow commented. Like the other two, she looked as if she'd been very busy. Grime and sawdust marred her outfit and face. Her hair hung even more limply than usual. She wasn't quite wobbling on her feet from tiredness, but she definitely felt stretched and she knew she wasn't the only one. She held a small book in one hand. She thumbed through it quickly, with the other, eyeing it and then the blood-markings on the floor and then the book again, speed reading, even as she continued to comment. "Not only that, the runes are all wrong. Nothing here closes anything. It's like someone just decided to leave the door cracked."

"Which may not be far from the truth." Xander shook his head. "I don't see an easy way to fix this. We can't just dissolve the block, because the chance of it resulting in bad consequences is too steep."

"Which may be why Mr. Giles had it covered with a rug. If anyone would know what this is, it would be him and he'd likely have fixed it. I mean, if he could."

"Yeah, Willow, you gotta point."

"Well," Dawn offered, hesitantly. "We could try and deconstruct around it and then, maybe you know, when we rebuild, put it in a vault or something, you know, less… open."

"That's an idea with merit. I'd rather close it completely, but if we can't then it should be made as inaccessible as possible." Willow said.

"The problem being, even deconstructing around it, is risky. If I'd realized how …" Xander waved wordlessly at the ground before them, "I would never have suggested we repair and rebuild the school."

"Just because the key was left in the car doesn't mean that the car will just drive away by itself. We knew the Hellmouth was here. We just didn't realize how… precariously set it was." Willow reassured her friend. "Besides, what we did worked. The school is both realistically and metaphysically in better shape than when we started. The repair and renewal was legit, Xander. Don't second guess. We did good. And I don't say that out of pride."

"Mostly." Dawn teased, bumping Willow's shoulder.

"Heh. Yeah. Mostly." The other Builder owned.

"Well, it's not fair to do the whole school and not the library," Dawn said. "It's a matter of depth, really not width. If we shield up top, and then 'dig' around it, the portal itself should remain closed. We can wall it up, then set a gate that's not just, you know, wood flooring, on top. Or, you know, maybe miniature wizard towers at the corners and then let them do the work." She paused for a beat, "But that might mean miniature wizard units and I'm not sure the world is prepared for that."

Xander stood, arms folded, staring down at the markings. He grimaced and then nodded. "Okay. I call a Team Commune for some temporary shielding and then we'll wall this sucker up and re-build the library around it. Giles will want to guard it anyway." Once decided, his body language became much more confident. He clapped his hands together. "Okay, my lady friends, hands out. We're gonna do this the old fashioned way."

"Ooh. Hand holding and chants. My favorite." Willow grinned and reached out a hand to her friend, who took it with familiar ease..

"I thought that was chocolate double-fudge ice cream," Dawn commented, as she grasped Xander's other hand and then reached for Willow's..

"Well, that too." Willow's eyes glazed a bit. "Dang. Now I got a craving."

"We'll take care of it after. I'm pretty sure the cafeteria is fully stocked." Xander grinned.

"Awesome!"

"Okay, ready?"

With affirmation from the two young women, he exhaled and then he reached inside before extending his senses outward, letting his impressions of his companions be enfolded into himself; even as they did the same for him. Their hands blurred together, as light emanated from them and then they seemed to blur into the light, which grew brighter and brighter until they disappeared in the glow.

The minions, which had been in various states of examining the library and its books, faded from view too, dissolving into the light. Then the energy sparked and unknowable words shook through the room, jolting through the air with power. A forcefield shimmering like a bubble rose just outside and around the Hellmouth sigil, rising high and sinking low into the ground. The force shifted through colors of the spectrum before turning completely invisible.

The Builder's words slid to a close, deepening in pitch and slowing in speed. Their forms began to take familiar shape again within the light, as they became more solid within it.

Then the Chaos energy, that which had brought them into being, abruptly stopped and shattered, hard and fast like stone against cement floor.

The light that surrounded Dawn, Xander and Willow flickered roughly, undulating in crashing waves around them and through them and changing into wild hues; most of them bright green. If they screamed, no one heard.

Then the lights, all of them, ceased and everything went black.

- BTVS -

The library doors crashed open.

"Dawn! Dawn! Are you okay?"

The school lights had come back on, almost immediately.

Buffy, no longer Lady Elizabeth, slid to the floor on her knees and then carefully lifted her sister into her lap, struggling with the urge to crush her to herself in haste. She nearly cried in relief when the younger girl's eyelids fluttered. "Eerg." Dawn's hand lifted lazily up. "Wha…? Where?"

"Oh thank God," exhaled the Slayer. A quick glance told her that Dawn was dirty, not bruised. Dirt, Buffy could deal with. Apparently it just took her sister a little longer to come out of the spell.

Once assured that Dawn was at least moderately okay, she turned to her friends, who were in varying stages of recovery.

"Ouch. I feel like the first day of Gym. Only grittier," Xander groaned into a sitting position.

"Tell me about it," Willow grimaced and blinked several times. "Next time, I say we skip Halloween and just go straight to the candy."

"Agreed," Dawn and Xander said in unison.

- BTVS -

November 1 - After Halloween - The Library - Out of Game

The table and rug had been returned to their original location, hiding the seal once more. No one mentioned it when they took their usual places. The only thing new was the presence of Dawn and Cordelia who refused to be excluded from the afternoon meeting.

Mr. Giles had scrubbed his glasses clean several times during the conversation as they talked about what was remembered and what was not; not that some things could be forgotten. Ms. Frizzle had returned to herself and the bus had turned back into a cat in a bus costume, but the adults had been so grateful that they'd thanked the woman effusively. The children, anyone sixteen and under, had all been returned, some a little worse for wear, but none of them expired, thank all Higher Divinities. Apparently Ethan wasn't so far gone, which made Giles glad he hadn't actually killed the man. The chaos mage had left protections in the children's suits, which kept them alive and mostly unscathed. Not the adults, mind. They had some serious casualties.

Meanwhile, the high school and its environs had been completely renovated overnight and the coaches were still fighting over whose office belonged to whom, though the cheer coach had hers firmly called and had stacked the deck accordingly. The Principal was walking around with dollar signs in his eyes and declaring the wonders of the Mayor for finally providing security and a faculty room with a new flatscreen TV and cable, while also providing funding without penalizing the school's budget. He was so happy he hadn't called Buffy a hooligan or similar name once. Ms. Calendar had yet to emerge from her classroom since she entered it at 8am that morning. Usually she at least said hello at lunch time when they worked, even if it was on a weekend.

"I'm definitely passing French class," Buffy said proudly, and with no small amount of relief. She had other cool new skills too, but she didn't want to mention them in front of the others, and maybe not ever. When it was time, she'd speak to her Watcher, if necessary. After all, Lady Elizabeth had been one..

"I almost wish I'd got a magic costume too, but Ethan's just didn't have the quality I was looking for," Cordelia commented.

"Yeah," husked Willow, who had been surprisingly friendly to the cheerleader, considering their past. But she had a different perspective on things now. "Gotta go with quality when you can."

"Then why do you insist on wearing …"

"Cordy, be nice. I'll explain later" Buffy said, and like a miracle, the cheerleader did ease back. As a compromise, the Slayer continued, "We can address fashion later. I'm sure Willow would be up for a bit of shopping. Maybe next Friday?"

"That would be great." Dawn said. "Wait. I can come, right?"

"Yes," Willow said firmly. "I'll expect to see you."

"And what about the goofball?" Cordy pointed at Xander. "Of all of us, he needs a makeover."

Xander, whose attention had wandered as soon as the word shopping had entered the conversation, snapped back. "What about me?"

"Coming with next Friday?"

"Um… I was thinking about maybe going to talk to Uncle Rory about a job." He clenched his hand and hammered it forward a little. "I kind of miss having… something constructive to do."

He glanced at Willow meaningfully.

Willow sat up straighter. She propped her hands on the table, clasped together. Her eyes widened as she leaned forward. "Really?"

"Yeah." Suddenly he was smiling even more. He continued, "He mentioned he wanted to do a little renovating. And he's willing to pay for help."

"Well, that would help pay for shopping," Buffy said brightly, sounding oblivious even though she was highly aware of the body language of her friends.

And her sister. Things had changed for them. Dawn had redecorated her room and there were new shelves; very nice shelves. Buffy had plans to ask for help with her own closet. She wanted a place that would allow for plenty of new… shoes.

"It would. Wouldn't it?" Dawn said thoughtfully. "Feel like company, Xan? I may be young, but I can use a tape measure."

Xander nodded and knocked on the table with is knuckles. "Every little bit helps and I don't think Uncle Rory would mind, though we better ask your Mom first."

"Cool." She sat back, looking pleased.

"Is there anything more of which I should be aware at this point?" Mr. Giles inquired.

The young people glanced at each other and then shook their heads, offering variations of "no," in response.

"In that case, I call this meeting adjourned. Go find somewhere else to be. I have to clean this library up. Unless, of course, you want to help."

As they scattered out in a rush, leaving the library door swinging emptily, the librarian sighed. He went and picked up an ancient tome, gently stroking its spine. Then he smiled in relief and affection. "Thank goodness they didn't have a chance to change anything in here."

Underneath the table, underneath the rug, the sigil for the Hellmouth pulsed and brightened, exactly once before fading back to its original colors.

- BTVS -

The End