Christopher Angel Presents: GOD'S TOY Cycle 2.3 - Odinborn *** ASSAULT WITH A MEDLEY WEAPON *** An Oh! My Brother! side story. A Yggdrasil Production inspired by: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series Property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and a whole bunch more people. _\|/_ Later that day... _\|/_ "I don't know what's worse: the fact that I'm being made to sing, or that it's not really all that bizarre to me." Chris watched glumly as the redhead puttered around on a work table in the oddly decorated classroom, preparing various and sundry reagents for the spell she planned to cast. At the start, he had been honestly interested in the spell - in his native incarnation, Chris was exceptionally inept at magic, while in some of his others he dimly remembered a surprising proclivity for the art. The witch, 'Willow,' somewhat flattered by his interest, began to explain the materials she planned to use, and his interest quickly waned, the 'ick' factor of the native magic being far too high for his tastes. Chris also had to admit the audience that was developing was freaking him out as it grew, more because of the sheer hostility that he was sensing. His client was clearly close to the hearts of many of the people here - most particularly the people who seemed to be in charge and the various young women - and they all seemed to have the opinion that his presence and purpose wasn't a good thing. Said women were in and of themselves quite a mystery - all teenagers or young women, all highly attractive, and all of them exuded a peculiar confidence by the bucket. It was the sort of thing he expected when he dealt with experienced warriors, not teenagers as he towered over everyone here by at least several inches, in some cases by well over a foot, and he out massed every individual substantially as well. He may not have been fond of it, but he was damned *used* to having that sort of physical intimidation factor over people he met, and it wasn't present at all. In fact, he'd swear they *wanted* to fight him. Further, he'd swear he'd get his rear handed to him. A brunette sauntered up to him, and looked him up and down with a clearly intrigued manner. She unusually tall among the young women, just under six feet, with full dark eyes and lips, and a full, albeit athletic, figure. She looked up to his face and grinned suddenly, and Chris sighed, suddenly knowing what was coming. "Say it," he muttered resignedly. "You're really tall," she pointed out. "That I am." "Are you that big...*everywhere*?" she continued, her grin turning salacious, and Chris flushed and suddenly began to sweat. That was *not* how that conversation usually went! The blonde he met earlier, 'Buffy', stormed over. "Terry! Cut that out!" She gave Chris an apologetic glance. "Sorry about that, she does that to everyone." "I'm flattered," he admitted. "About as uncomfortable as I could get, but flattered. I think." *Damn,* he swore mentally. *Why couldn't I find girls like that in high school? Figures.* Xander, who had been watching the exchange with thinly veiled amusement, chuckled. "Terry does *that* to everyone, too." He laughed at the dark look he received. "Hey Will, we ready?" Willow started something foul-smelling burning and replied. "Yup. Hit it." The audience turned to look at the uneasy man, who cleared his throat and hummed a bit before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. As the first lyrics of the hymn began to fill the room, the shocked reactions from the assembled people were nearly uniform. Many had come expecting to see a grown man make an ass of himself, and instead he stood there, his eyes closed, as his deep voice rang with the words of peace and fellowship. Giles merely gaped, recognizing the song from his childhood. Father Masado, not familiar with the song itself, but approving of the sentiment, began to smile widely. A few of the Slayers gasped. Willow shook herself out of the reverie she had fallen into, and began to run through the words that would temporarily supply her with the sort of anagogic empathy Lorne possessed. Finishing the last phrases of the chant, she turned her focus to the singing man, using the flow of the music as her vessel to view his soul. *Mmmm, what is this?* Frowning as a chorus of voices entered her mind, the witch shook her head and concentrated harder. *Wouldn't you rather listen to his voice? Would a bad person sing a song like this?* Willow grit her teeth. *It's a nice song, isn't it? Peace, and love, and brotherhood. Isn't that a nice thing?* She bit her lip. *Mmmmm. Such wonderful power you have, dear.* As the final notes of the song died, Willow cursed. "Willow," Giles asked quietly. "What did you see?" "Nothing," she huffed. "A bunch of someones or somethings are watching over him, and they blocked me. Wasn't a 'grr, no look here' thing, it was more a 'you're silly, cut that out' thing." Father Masado began clapping enthusiastically, disregarding the fact that he was the only one. "That is a wonderful hymn, Mr. Angel! Where did you learn it?" "It's the Remembrance Day song!" Carolyn blurted, and blushed darkly as she became a center of attention. The girl, of mixed Eurasian descent, ducked her head and explained, speaking to the floor. "In my school back in Toronto, they used to sing that every Remembrance Day." "Indeed," Giles agreed, polishing his glasses to stare sternly at their bemused guest. "I remember it from my youth as well. I'm curious as to why you chose it." Chris shrugged and smiled. "Everything else I know requires accompaniment, or I have to be far more blitzed to sing." "Wow," Buffy said, impressed. "You're good." "Thanks," he replied with a grin. "Eight years of choir tend to stick." "Then what was your problem with singing?" she demanded. "Lady," he groused, "honestly, how inclined would *you* be to oblige people who treated me the way you did?" Her response was pre-empted by the sudden ringing of a cell phone from Buffy's pocket. "Hockey Night in Canada?" Carolyn asked out loud, recognizing the ring tone. "Gimme," Chris snapped, holding out his hand for his phone. At Buffy's reluctance, he threw hid hands up with a frustrated gesture. "Oh come *on*! You've already kicked my ass once, you have my oh-so-lethal tonfa, and I'm surrounded. What am I going to do?" When she still didn't respond, only giving him a hostile glare, he turned to Xander. "Look, I've done nothing but deal with you people in good faith. I've attacked no one, *hurt* no one, and I just want to answer my bloody phone and find out what my sisters want." Behind his shoulder, Giles began to make gestures to Buffy, indicating that she should relinquish the phone but use her Slayer hearing to listen in. "Show's over, folks!" Buffy called out authoritatively, and people began to leave the room. "Here." She sullenly handed over the phone, which Chris snatched and answered. Buffy, Willow, Giles, and Xander gathered, and the Slayer quietly relayed the details of the conversation. _\|/_ "Uncle Albert's Auto Stop and Gunnery Shop?" he chimed into the phone, eliciting several odd looks. came the slightly difficult to decipher trivocal response. "That's-a me!" "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. Bad day making me punchy." Chris looked around at the people watching him. "Uh, yeah, you might say that," he replied uneasily. The tone brooked no argument, and coming from three voices at once only enhanced its authority. "Uh...you kinda have to promise not to do anything rash, I'm in a trust building situation here." He pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it incredulously for a moment, before returning it and asking, "How exactly did you three get my middle name?" A wordless sound of irritation, in triplicate, came down the line. "Whuh oh. Okay, there may have been a bit of an altercation during my arrival, uh, that is to say, I might have been knocked out, interrogated, and forced to sing." "Yeah, but that's okay, 'cause I like singing, and I'm making friends and you have no reasons to be concerned!" "Can I not tell you?" Chris begged plaintively. "Ratting on someone is not going to make my life easier here." "Crud." "Some witch who lived here." Chris eyed the young woman in question critically. "Red hair, green eyes, has a magical aura even an arcane dunce like me can feel. Named Willow, I think." "I decline to answer on the grounds that...oh screw it, yes, most definitely." Chris stared at the phone again. "Riiiight." "Uh girls? Basic brotherly rules, I never help you hook up with people, and how do you know she's batting for the home team anyway?" _\|/_ "...he thinks you're hot, Will. Now they're arguing over whether Chris should introduce Willow to his sisters, because he doesn't think you're gay," she relayed, and frowned. "And he's claiming some sort of weird brotherly principle." Willow slugged Xander's arm weakly as he giggled helplessly over Buffy's latest revelation. "Buffy," Giles asked insistently, "are you sure there were three voices on the line?" Buffy held up her hand for a moment. "Okay, still arguing about his sisters wanting to meet Willow and how he needs a date," she reported with a snicker, and then frowned. "Yeah, it's really weird. Either they're talking all at once, or they do this wacky finishing-each-other's-sentences thing." Giles grunted as he considered that. "I've come across that before," he mused. "I don't recall where." "Wouldn't they be the Norns?" Xander suggested. "You know, with the whole 'Norn's Brother' thing." "Well, yes," he admitted reluctantly, "but we have additional evidence right here - these Norns are clearly not nebulous beings of mystery to this young man, they're very real and very personable people. For Heaven's sake, he's talking to them on a cellular phone!" He began to shift restlessly like he wanted to pace. "I suspect that we likely know of these 'Norns' in other guises." He paused and peered at Buffy, who had a glazed look on her face, and then looked over at the young man on the phone, who was blushing furiously. "Are they still discussing dating?" Buffy blinked and shook her head. "Actually, they're giving him sex advice," she admitted, and shuddered. "So if these Norn people aren't like big Powers That Be things, then they can't be that big a threat, right?" Giles looked at her with dismay. "These are likely three individuals who have been mistaken for deities, Buffy. They're apparently connected with Odin, who *is* a known greater Power. We're likely dealing with beings of the like of Glorificus, without her...limitations." Xander raised his hand timidly. "I vote Will doesn't date them," he proposed, and then yelped as the witch hit him again. "Talk later, he's getting off the phone now. He has some stuff to tell us. Oh, and the fact that tonight's a full moon is important." _\|/_ "My sisters are reprobates," Chris muttered as he shut off the phone, and then turned to Xander and company. "Thanks," he said sincerely, and held the cell out to Buffy. She stared at his hand blankly, and then met his eyes with her mystified gaze. "Call it a gesture of good faith," he offered, and smiled encouragingly as she took the phone. Giles stepped forward. "Mr. Angel, would you be willing to answer further questions?" "I will, but," he held up a finger, "my sisters want me to tell you that they're *really* sorry about blocking your scan, and if you want to do it again they won't interfere this time." Buffy gave him an expectant and amused glare. "And don't you have something to say to Willow?" "No," he said flatly. "I don't know what you're talking about, and eavesdropping is a very bad habit." Snickering, Buffy eyed the redhead who was blushing furiously, much to her and Xander's amusement. "Can you cast the spell again, Will?" "No," she admitted. "I only had enough materials for one spell - unless Lorne wants to let me shave his horns again." "Man, magic in this world is really gross," Chris commented. Giles' eyes narrowed as he took note of that. "Mr. Angel, if you will follow me to somewhat more comfortable surroundings, I'd like to speak with you further." "Hold on, Giles," Buffy ordered, and walked out of the room, returning moments later with two trainees who she spoke to in a low tone. "No offence." Chris peered quizzically at the young girls, and was nonplussed by the clearly challenging glares he got back. "Uh, none taken," he replied, and walked out of the room, Giles and the girls on his heels. "Oh, I think there was some taken," Xander said smugly as he watched them leave. They stood in silence for a few moments, before Willow, with a bit of chagrin, began to clean up her work area. Xander sat on a table, his gaze blank as his mind ran through what they had discovered. Buffy paced the room furiously, wringing her hands and watching Xander out of the corner of her eye. "I hate this," she finally announced. "I hate mysterious figures, I hate mysterious forces, I hate not knowing if I should be scared." Xander hopped to his feet and reached out to grab her shoulder. "Buff..." "No!" she sharply pulled away. "Don't use any of that mojo on me!" He stared at her with a hurt and bewildered expression, and clasped his hand to himself like it pained him. "What mojo?" "There's a charm," Willow softly supplied, "for giving comfort to others." "You mean... before, when... and when... just now..." Xander babbled, and then stopped and swallowed suddenly, his face pale. "No. No way. I don't buy it. I'd know if it was some stupid magic thing. I'd *know*." Willow shook her head. "You said yourself, Xander. You knew what people needed to hear, to help them and give them comfort." "But..." "And earlier, when Willow was freaking out?" Buffy suggested. "You knew how to make her feel better." Xander shook his head furiously, a low groan of refusal coming from his throat. "But she's *Willow*. I *meant* that," he protested desperately. "Every word. It wasn't just some bullshit, I really meant that." He locked his eye to those of Buffy, pleadingly, hoping that from his gaze alone he could make her believe him. "It's not that we don't believe you, Xander," Buffy returned helplessly, "but..." He overrode her, his voice growing thick with emotion. "Whatever it is, it doesn't change how I think. It doesn't change how I *feel*, it can't." He took a hesitant step towards her. "I love you guys. That isn't magic, it isn't some thing, it's *real*!" Buffy felt puzzled as Xander grew more and more agitated, and a quick glance at Willow showed the same confusion on the redhead's face. Xander was taking this far more seriously than Buffy felt was really needed. She knew that Xander loved her and Willow, with a furvor that was somewhat scary at times. He was fiercely protective, both of them and his relationship with them... Blood running cold, Buffy almost gasped as she realized Xander's fear. He wasn't afraid that his feelings weren't real. He was absolutely terrified that *he* was somehow manipulating *them*. Xander's history was rife with less than stellar episodes, things he had done that he regretted almost pathologically. From one of her rare heart-to-hearts with Anya, she knew the one he hated himself the most for, next to how he handled his wedding (she supposed), was the misfired love spell. While she would enthusiastically agree the spell itself was not his finest hour, on the other hand, his words to her were: 'It's not that I don't want to. Sometimes the remote impossible possibility that you might like me was all that sustained me. But not now. Not like this. This isn't real to you. You're only here because of a spell. I mean, if I thought you had one clue what it would mean to me... But you don't. So I can't.' She blinked at the sudden stinging in her eyes, and grabbed Xander by the shoulders. "Xan, listen to me. We believe you. You won't, you *wouldn't* use this to mess with people's heads." Willow gasped as she made the connection. He sagged as his panicked energy left him. "Never you. Never Willow. Never. I'd rather die than do that to someone. To you guys." Buffy enfolded him in a hug, and made a beckoning gesture with her head to Willow to join them. The three remained like that for a while, until Xander regained control. Buffy moved to release him, but was stopped as he gripped them both with sudden ferocity. "Guys," he said with quiet determination. "Promise me, if I ever start going on a power trip," he left the words 'like Faith or Willow' unsaid, "you'll stop me. No matter what it takes." "Xander," Willow groaned, "don't..." "Promise me, Will," he insisted. "You too, Buff." "No, Xander," Buffy snapped. "It's not going to happen." She hoped. _\|/_ "I must say, Mr. Angel, I find your story hard to believe. Alternate realities? Gods living as mortals?" Giles shook his head. "Unbelievable." Chris shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, I'm part of this world now." "But this changes *everything*," the older man exclaimed. "If individuals can travel from one of these universes to another, they could alter the very fabric of-" "Nothing," Chris interrupted firmly. "I've done this sort of thing before, Mr. Giles, I *never* carry my own rules with me. I always go native, I guess you'd call it." He slumped in his chair. "I'm here, I've got my job, and that's all that really matters." "Nonetheless," Giles mused out loud to himself, but then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Very well. Perhaps we should move on to this Odinborn situation." He pulled out a tome, and began to peruse its contents. "There have been instances before of individuals gaining aspects of patron deities, but I don't believe what seems to be happening to Xander has ever been encountered." "Probably because until that stupid spell was cast, it wasn't needed." Giles looked up with a bit of an angry glare at the tall young man. "Hey, it's true. I mean, I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to buff all those girls, or for what reason, but that's why. From what I was told, balances are very big in this world." "I fail to see how a few hundred young women could disrupt a balance so severely." "Neither do I," Chris agreed. "We must be talking about a *big* boost." Giles coughed, cleared his throat, and flipped through the pages of his book. "What can you tell me of the powers of the Odinborn?" "Honestly, Mr. Giles, the only ones I know for sure is the Charms, and I don't even know which of those he's getting. I'd guess that he may start showing a bit of foresight, since that one's connected to him losing an eye. I'm told he has the ravens, but I don't know if those really do anything," he said apologetically. "I'm partially guessing here, I've never gone training people in new cosmic powers before. I remember the Edda because someone," he rolled his eyes meaningfully upward, "saw fit to dump it in my head." "Shall we run through each Charm, then?" "I'd rather not." "Why?" Chris sighed. "Because I don't even know what half of them will do. All I have is the Edda, it's an incomplete image of the truth, and frankly, some of them sound *bad*." "Such as?" "The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Charms." He nodded towards the book. "Look for yourself." Giles did so, and his eyes widened with shock. "Good lord," he swore, and whipped of his glasses to clean them. "If these allow what I suspect, then we're most fortunate Xander's such a good man." "Is he?" Chris questioned sharply, and held up his hand to forestall the other's retort. "If we were dealing with the Odin *I* know, I'd agree with you, since in my world Odin was merely a persona of the ultimate power for good, but here, he's different. For one, there's Einheriar here - one of them asked me to do her a favour. *My* Odin didn't do the whole harvesting the slain thing, so I'm thinking your Odin's different. More like the stories." He stood and began to walk around the room. "I'm not saying your Xander's not a good guy, but in the mythology, Odin's a pretty damn ruthless being, willing to do some downright horrible things to fulfil his goals. There must be more than just that eye and a sojourn on some gallows your friend and Odin have in common, there's got to be something in his very make-up that Odin respects." Giles replaced his glassed, and said glumly. "I was afraid of that." _\|/_ "So where is he?" Xander asked as he, Buffy, and Willow filtered into the meeting room once again. Giles was seated at the head of the table, a mound of books nearby. Dawn sat beside him, going through another tome, a frown on her face as she worked her way through the unfamiliar runic script. Each had a small journal besides them, which they had clearly been using extensively. They had two small desk-lamps lit near them, which they had turned on as the sunlight through the window dwindled with the setting sun. Gives turned a page and looked up absently, and made a startled noise as he noticed them standing there. "Excellent please, take a seat," he instructed, waving his hand at the chairs. "Did you say something?" Buffy rolled her eyes. "Chris. You know, the big guy with the name that gives me the wiggins? Where is he?" "Hmm? Oh, Mr. Angel," he paused as Buffy shuddered slightly. "Oh *do* grow up, Buffy. He comes by the name rather more legitimately than your former paramour. It's Italian, shortened from 'Angeli', to be precise. Never the less, Mr. Angel claimed he was feeling a resurgence of the effects from your encounter this morning, and felt the need to lie down. Having had my own extensive experience with blows to the head, I felt rather sympathetic. He's being watched by Tanya and Carolyn." As they took their seats, he closed the tome he was reading, opened another, and leaned forward in a businesslike fashion. "On a hunch, I contacted Lorne and relayed the information we had on Mr. Angel's sisters, and he recognized the description," he half-spood to place the book in front of them. The trio peered at the open pages, which showed woodcuts of three beautiful women, one set of women Greek, the next Indian, the third Japanese, a fourth Scandanavian. He picked up his journal and began to read from it, "Lorne knows them as The Transuding Furies, witches of immense power. From what I've gathered from my research, his viewpoint is, to say the least, incomplete." "Oh," Willow gasped, eyes wide. "They did the non-violence spell on Caritas - they're *really* strong." "Stronger than you?" Buffy asked. Willow's voice quavered as she answered. "They're a perfect, synchronized trinity. I couldn't break that spell unless I went all out, and even then..." "I'm afraid it's somewhat more than that," Giles interrupted reluctantly. "The Furies are indeed Powers, albeit lesser ones. Lorne, when I pressed him for more information, relayed that they were formidable enough that the Senior Partners had them on a 'do not interfere' list, based on their own experiences with crossing them." He tapped the book. "They've been incarnated several times, taking on different aspects each time, each time more powerful than the one before." "This isn't happy news," Xander moaned. "You're telling us Buff just pissed off three chicks with the power to squish us like a bug." Willow thumped his arm. "Oww!" "Chicks?" she echoed acidly. "Thankfully," Giles overrode with a bit of force, "Lorne has assured me that these Furies have been allies, if only unofficially, of the forces of light. However, Buffy, I would recommend that you apologise. Better safe than sorry, after all." "Uh, right," the Slayer agreed uncomfortably. "On a mayhap more amusing light, Angel - the vampire that is - has also employed the Furies services on multiple occasions. Lorne insists that Angel is their, for lack of a better term, *favorite* customer." He began to stammer as he continued speaking. "It appears that his, uh, payment methods were most... that is to say..." Dawn giggled and dropped the book she was translating to the table. "Angel traded them sex for services." Xander fell backward in his chair. Buffy palmed her face. Willow blushed scarlet. Giles removed his glasses and began to clean them. "I'm betting Chris doesn't know," Xander called from the floor. "And I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going to be the one to inform him of the 'Deuce Angel, Male Gigolo with his sisters' thing," he said as he righted his chair and reseated himself. "That... would be an extraordinarily good plan," Giles agreed, and replaced his glasses. "Okay," Buffy huffed, "aside from finding out that my ex-boyfriend is a man-whore-" "Wouldn't that be vampire-whore? Oww!" Buffy paused to glare at Xander, who was rubbing his arm where she had hit him. "As I was saying," she grated. "Did we get anything else important?" "Yes. Mr. Angel claims that he was brought to this world from another," Giles held up his hand to forestall comment. "In which many fundamental rules were very different. It's quite interesting actually..." he stalled at the impatient visages before him, "from an academic viewpoint, that is. Of the information I received from Mr. Angel, the most valuable was a cautionary note." "Of?" Willow asked. "The Edda, or poems, that he's been quoting are an interpretation of Snori Sturlson's 'Elder Edda', a compilation of Norse myths. In them, he lists the Charms of Odin, of which I believe it's safe to conclude Xander has acquired the First and Fourteenth." "Giles," Buffy pressed, "the point?" "As written by Sturlson, the original verse suggests that the First Charm lessens pain, comforts grief, and cures sickness, yet Xander has only manifested the emotional or psychological aspects of that, as shown by his great proficiency as a counsellor for our organization. The Fourteenth Charm suggests a mere knowledge of the names of 'Gods and Elves', which I suspect implies a mere identification of magical beings. In this, as well, Xander has acquired that, but I suspect he has acquired more - an intuitive grasp of the nature of these beings," he stared piercingly at Xander. "As you displayed this morning with your revelation about Carolyn. She never wore the ring, nor told anyone, yet you knew about her engagement." Willow reached over and patted Xander's hand, and as he locked eye to hers, she nodded knowingly, as if to say 'I told you so.' "This brings us to the point behind these examples," Giles continued, and smiled thinly at the blonde as she rolled her eyes, "much to Buffy's great relief and impatience. As these two cases exemplify, the reality of the Charms Xander will gain can vary from what was recorded in the literature. It is essential you three keep this in mind as this process continues." "Are some of these things bad?" Willow asked worriedly. Giles cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable, and put his hand to his glasses to pull them off, before realizing what he was doing and dropping his limb to his side. "That would be one way to put it, Willow," he replied uneasily. "The Charms both Mr. Angel and I are most concerned about are the Sixteenth and Seventeenth." "Which do what?" Xander demanded. "Prevent any young woman from forsaking you, and," he took a deep breath before speaking again, "take any woman you choose to your bed." Xander stared back at him in disbelief, his face first flushing deeply and then turning pale. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a strangled noise escaped. "Giles!" The door to the room slammed open, revealing Carolyn as she rushed into the room. "Come quick!" "We're busy," Buffy snapped, her eyes on Xander and Willow, the former now trembling and the latter watching him in horror, "it can wait." "No it can't!" the trainee insisted, shaking her head furiously. "That guy, I think he's dying!"