A dangerous sorcerer named Felix Faust has come to Sunnydale, intent on raising an ancient demon to subjugate all of humankind. To succeed, he must perform a powerful curse to displace his enemies, transporting them from one time and place and exch...
Buffy stood ready in a fighting stance within the cave, flanked by Batman on her right. Facing the strange old woman, Avurkana, and her pack of upright werewolves, along with the Scarecrow and Felix Faust. Beyond them, Xander and Willow remained trapped inside the giant hourglass, in which sand had started to seep. A deadly illusion created by Faust, the deranged sorcerer who had brought them all to this dark place.
All for the sake of a BB gun, it seemed.
Faust frowned at her. "No, not that Red Rider," he said.
Within the hourglass, Xander and Willow were equally perplexed.
"Red Rider, the band?" Xander called.
Willow knit her eyebrows. "Or the cowboy?"
"No," Batman said with finality. "The enemy of the Lycanthru. A young woman who started her own war to annihilate them and save her province."
"Precisely, detective," Faust said.
Buffy squinted up at Batman. "Red Rider is a girl?"
Batman kept his eyes on Faust and his associates. "She started fighting them when she was about the same age that you started staking vampires," he said. "Except that she volunteered."
"Seriously?" Buffy asked, confused. "Well, I might have volunteered, too, if – no, forget it. I wouldn't have volunteered."
Avurkana shook her head, still eliciting a cruel smile. "So you've come from a future time with your own Champions," she said to Faust. "This tall one with the cape is impressive, but the other three hardly seem formidable."
"Watch who you're calling formidable," Buffy said. Then she thought better of it. "Or – who you're calling not formidable. – Just watch your mouth. Or I'll punch it."
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Smooth recovery, Buff."
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"They're formidable enough for the task we've assigned them," Faust said, fixing his attention on Batman. "You'll find the Red Rider is quite young at this time, detective. You should have no trouble procuring her for the sacrifice."
Buffy's eyes popped. "Sacrifice?Forget it, Ali Baba!"
Batman grit his teeth. "You honestly think we'll help you murder a teenage girl?" he demanded.
Faust struck his fists on his hips with a smug grin. "You can deliver an unknown girl from a forgotten time, or you can sacrifice your two young friends. Your choice."
"Fine," Buffy interjected, stepping forward. "You want her, you've got her. But you give Xander or Willow so much as a nosebleed –."
Faust waved off her threat. "Yes, yes, you'll pummel me or some such nonsense. Spare me your theatrics." He struck a thumb over his shoulder at Xander and Willow in the enchanted hourglass, where a thin layer of sand now coated the floor. "Your friends' time is running out."
