Xander sat up and groaned at the pain coming in from the window. "Stupid sun," he grumbled as he walked over to his dresser and thought about last night
//Me and Faith and… umm… me and Faith and…. Well… me and Faith// he thought silently as he frowned at the voice in the back of his head that sounded oddly like his father
//Yeah, but she kicked you out too// it thought as he picked up a pair of pants, a white T-shirt and a Hawaiian floral print shirt to go over it
//Yeah, but I saved the world// he thought when the voice returned //But you can't tell anyone stupid// he thought as he went into the bathroom and turned on the water for the shower
//O'Tool is dead now// he thought before he stopped
//umm… why can't I remember past that point?// he thought more then a little disturbed as he pulled his toothbrush and mouthwash out of the cabinet and shut the door before letting them clatter to the floor in nerveless hands
//WHAT THE HELL!// he thought as the snide voice returned quietly
//Yeah… real great way to clarify that// the voice thought back as Xander stared at the inch wide stripe of dirty blonde hair running from just over his right eye to the back of his head. Thinking desperately Xander forced himself to relive last night
//okay… Bronze… Driving… O'Tool… Raises buddies… Makes bomb… I kill them… O'Tool standing over bomb… O'Tool disarms bomb… O'Tool opens cage for… OzWolfie eating O'Tool… OzWolfie attempting to get out… me forcing OzWolfie back… me going home… Bandage…/
he stopped in mid thought as the realization stuck him //ooh God Oz bit me// he thought as he stared at the fogging over mirror in front of him he sees the green veins forcing their way into the brown of his eyes
//ooh this is bad… ooh this is hellmouthey bad… umm… Giles yeah that's it G-man will know how to stop this// he thinks as he turned off the water and pulled his clothes on before rushing out of the house
//thank God it's Saturday and I don't have to deal with school// he thought as he rushed to the library, at the first stoplight he thought for a second before slamming his head against the steering wheel //Oh damn it's Saturday… the school's closed// he cursed as he pulled a U-turn and speeded to Giles's house.
On arriving Xander quickly picked up a ball cap from the floor of the car and slipped it on his head
//Okay… that's gonna have to work for umm…. I don't own any ball caps and the only ones who had one were the…// he shuddered as he realized he was wearing a dead mans hat before he got out and headed for the apartment, opening the door he rushed in.
"Giles I need your hel…" he stopped as the rest of the Scooby's stared at him "Umm… Xander why are you wearing a hat?" Willow asked as Xander tried to think of an out in this situation
"Umm… just supporting my favorite team Wills… I've always loved the umm… whatever the hat says" he stuttered as he backed up to the door
"Umm… I g-got to ummm… go use… the bathroom yeah that's it" he said before he bolted from the apartment leaving a very confused group behind
"But Giles has a bathroom" Willow said to the door her friend had just exited through. "And the Hat said John Deere?"
Xander was walking down the sidewalk in a vain attempt to think the problem out //Okay… I have the whole I'm changing deal and all, but what the hell is with the Changes? Did Oz's hair color change when he first became a werewolf… not that he could tell with the multitude of different hair colors he's had… but did his eye color change? Did he get these urges to// his thought was cut off by the sound of an old car coming to the corner ahead.
Without a thought he stepped into an alley and waited for Giles's junk heap to move off before he leaned back against the wall.
"I am so totally fucked," he said before a cold laugh pulled him out of it. "Yeah well most people wait for us to show up before they say that, not that the sentiment ain't true mind ya," the figure said as three men stepped out of the shadows in the early morning.
Xander took in their appearance with an uneasy eye before he chuckled.
"I don't believe it, you dumb shits actually thought you could start a gang in Sunnydale?" he said as he took in the ragged jeans, white T-shirts, leather jackets and mismatched bandanas wrapped around each of there heads before his chuckle turned into snickers before a full laugh ripped its ways past his lips.
When he was done he looked back up at the enraged faces of the gang bangers as they finally got up enough courage to attack him
//Aah hell// he thought sullenly as the speaker's right cross connected with the side of his head. He'd been hit plenty of times before by Vampires, Demons and his dad, but for some reason this sent him over the edge.
As his head turned, so did the rest of his body and he quickly turned the hit into a spin that ended with a heavy backhand to the kids face. The kid stumbled and slammed into the second wannabe gangster that had rushed Xander and the two went sprawling into the garbage pile.
Out of his peripheral vision he saw the fist of the third kid swinging towards his head and, instead of ducking it, he angled his head to the blow so that it landed on the top instead of his jaw.
A cracking sound echoed as the kid screamed and collapsed holding his hand. Xander grabbed the side of his face and brought it into his knee, the screams of pain fell with the unconscious kid.
As he turned back to the other two he could not help laughing again as they struggled to exit the garbage pile and get at him.
As the speaker got up Xander stepped forward with a heavy uppercut that quickly sent him back into the trash where he lay with a groan. Turning to the last one standing he started to laugh again.
"You only have one option," he said nodding behind the kid to the open mouth of the alley.
"Come on kid… I can smell you're about to piss yourself so why don't you act smart for a change and just run? You can come back and help your friends to the hospital later," he said before laughing again as the kid tripped over himself as he ran out of the alley.
"God it feels good to be back," he said as he stepped over to the first unconscious kid and stripped him of his jacket before checking his pockets.
"Folding knife, some small bills and a bag of weed," he said with a chuckle before he threw the bag away and pocketed the rest. He then stepped over to the speaker and grabbed his lower jaw in a vice grip and gave it a slight jiggle,
As the pain in the kids jaw doubled and then tripled Xander saw the kid's eye open as he slapped his hand over the kid's mouth.
"Shhh… don't want too much commotion around here do we?" he said and smiled when the kid shook his head slightly.
"Good… okay kid I'm going to ask you do donate your jacket and any money you have to my Fund for… Psychological Damage and Emotional support," he said before he frowned at the kid's blank look. Tightening down on the kids jaw he tried again.
"I'm going to take all of your money and your jacket and leave you here as a warning that you're in the wrong line of work kid… get me?" he said and grinned as the kid slid his jacket off and pulled a roll of bills out of his pocket,
Finally letting go Xander picked the items up and smiled again.
"Remember kid, this life will get you hurt real quick… I suggest you find yourself a nice steady job and let other people be," he said before he pulled on the leather jacket and stepped out of the alley
//two jackets and some spending cash for three minutes worth of work, as well as the feeling I get for doing a good deed for the civic community. Ooh yeah… it's good to be back//
Xander was in a good mood as he walked down the street and stopped in front of a shop window, after a moment's thought he grinned and walked inside and was promptly greeted by a smiling man
"Hi, I'm Sunny, if there's anything you need I'll be glad to help you anyway I can," he said as Xander grinned back
"Thanks, but I'm just Kinda browsing right now," he said as Sunny nodded and went back behind the counter and casually watched the young man walk through his store for several minutes.
Sunny had just gone back to categorizing the stock when the young man walked back up to the front counter. "That nice piece in the window over there, how much?" he asked indicating the one he wanted to Sunny.
"From two seventy five to three fifty, depends on what you want to come with it," he said as the young man nodded.
"Got a place I can try it out? I'd hate to buy it and find out it's not right for me," he said as Sunny laughed.
"Yeah, got a place outback you can try it out," he said led the young man to the back and turned to him with a grin.
"What model," he asked as the young man looked at him like he had grown a second head "Forty Five? What else is there?" he said as the two laughed.
Sunny opened up the cabinet and handed the young man the pistol. Xander took the weapon from Sunny and smiled for several seconds as he walked to the firing range and slid a clip into the HK USP Match pistol.
With a grin he took up a modified weaver stance and quickly emptied the clip into the target downrange. When the slide locked back Xander hit the clip release and let the empty clatter to the ground as he quickly slid another empty clip into the gun before re-aiming downrange.
"Five seconds firing and three reloading, twelve round mag and one in the pipe," he said as he stripped the gun and checked the firing pins and double checked the barrel.
"No visible wear on the barrel after twelve rounds, no grime or wear on the firing pins or workings," he said to himself as he reassembled the gun and handed it back to Sunny and thought for a second before he dropped a hundred on the table.
"Let me try the Arcus 98 there," he said as Sunny just shook his head and handed the pistol to him with a clip of nine millimeter ammo.
Xander stepped back to the firing line, waited a five count and brought the gun up. Emptying the clip in the following seconds Xander again dropped the empty as the slide locked back and slammed a new clip home before retaking aim.
"Hmmm… Fifteen rounds and one in the pipe, six second firing time but a bit less then three for reload," he said as he again stripped the pistol.
"Pins and workings are clear and no visible wear on the barrel, a good feel and a steady shot," he said to himself again as Sunny watched from the corner. After a second Xander took the pistol back over to him.
"I'll take two of the Arcus and the USP… Match model," he said as he dropped three hundred dollars on the desk with his ID and looked at Sunny.
"Run the checks you need and I'll be back in three days to pick them up and pay off the rest of the debt," he said as Sunny nodded and picked up the cash before he wrote him out a receipt.
"You're not gonna go crazy or anything are you kid?" he asked as the young man grinned back.
"Nhaa, I sold my pistol when I moved and now I need a new one to enter the State Pistol Championship in December," he said as Sunny nodded and grinned.
"Then I hope to beat you there kid," he said as the young man walked out of the store and down the street.
Sunny called up the young man's target and swallowed heavily before sending back one for himself and loading a clip.
//if that's the kind of competition I'm gonna deal with I need to practice a hell of a lot more// he thought as he looked at the centered grouping of the kid's target before he took up a similar weaver stance the kid had been using and started shooting.
Xander walked down the street with a smile, at the first crosswalk he stopped and considered things.
//How am I gonna come up with a grand in three days,// he thought as the light changed and he continued down the street //Strip dancing? Too young. Get a job? Take too long. I could take out insurance on myself before I commit suicide? Illegal and very hard to pick up the insurance.//
He thought for a minute before a smile broke through. //First I have to 'Convince' Willy to help, but with Willy that will only take two or three broken bones, before he turns them in,// he thought
With the smile still plastered on his face, he changed course and took a side street to Willy's. As he approached Willy's bar Xander shook his head at the simplicity of the situation before he looked over the door.
//Willy you really need to put a deadbolt on this or anyone can get in and do baaad things to you,// he thought as he forced the latch open and entered the quite bar with a grin, //anyone like me.//
Xander walked to the back and quietly walked down into the basement apartment where Willy lived. As he made his way into the small run down basement Xander shuddered at the view; ragged furniture, clothes on the floor, dirty pots in the sink and a half eaten casserole on the stove that looked like it was halfway to the next evolutionary step.
All was taken in at a glance before he finally spotted the bar owner lying half off the cot in the far side of the room. With an evil grin Xander quietly walked over to the sink and picked up the pots before he made his way over to Willy. Throwing the pots against the wall succeeded in creating a most satisfying crash as Xander bellowed out the second most terrifying thing the bar owner had ever heard.
Willy was smiling as he rolled in uncountable millions while large 'No Slayer' signs floated around him and supermodels brought him free drinks. His dreams came to a halt as a thundering crash and a scream of "BAR FIGHT!" woke him from his slumber. Starting up Willy immediately started to scream and leap for the back of the bar.
As he impacted with the floor of his room he lay there wondering why the back of the bar looked like his cot and the sounds of a bar fight had been replaced with hysterical laughter for several seconds before he rolled over and glared at the slayer's friend sitting on the floor several feet away wiping tears of mirth out of his eyes while he tried to stop laughing. Gripping his chest to hold his heart in place Willy finally moved back up and sat on his cot while Xander got control of himself once more and after wiping a stray tear from his eye he got his breath back and looked at the irate bar owner.
"Good god kid, I should have your ass arrested, breaking and," he got out before Xander cut him off with a wave.
"Sure, breaking and entering, assault and battery, destruction to private property and…" he said with a smile as he pulled out the knife and flicked it open. "Attempted murder through castration," he said with a grin as he watched Willy's eyes grow bigger before he chuckled and started to clean his fingernails with the knife.
"But I'm not gonna do any of those Willy, in fact I'm here to do a favor for you," he said and watched as the sleepy bar owner fought to figure out the meaning of his words.
"Wha… what kind of favor kid?" he asked hesitantly as Xander finished his nails and flicked the knife closed before he leaned forward.
"I'm going to take a list of everyone in this town that has not paid their bill to you and I'm going to collect it for myself," he said with a grin as Willy thought about it for several seconds.
"Umm… how's that gonna help me again?" he asked.
Xander responded with an evil grin. "I'm going to hurt everyone that has not paid you and make them come back here and pay for walking out on you… they will be hurt and have to pay double what they would have if they had just paid you the first time. Word will get around and real soon people will stop walking out without paying," he said and waited for Willy to come to grips with that before he continued.
"Look at it this way, if I succeed you get paid and people stop walking out on you. I fail… and I stop breaking up your bar and you lose nothing anyway," he said with a shrug.
Willy finally just nodded and pulled a pad from the mess on the floor and wrote down several names.
"These are the first couple that owe me money and the amount," he said passing the page to Xander who folded it up and stuck it in his jacket before he headed towards the stairs.
When he got to the bottom of the stairs Willy called after him. "You be careful kid… I really don't want that slayer on a rampage again," he said as Xander continued up the stairs and out of the bar. With a sigh, Willy rolled back onto his cot and tried to get back to that dream.
With a smile still on his face Xander opened the door and stepped in to the shock of the same crowd he had seen several hours before plus one.
"Hey Oz man, you still doing the wolf thing?" he asked and broke into a grin as the werewolf just rolled his eyes and went back to the books.
Willow was the first to break the silence as Buffy, Giles, Faith and herself stared at the blond streak in Xander's hair. "Umm… Xander, are you okay? We went and looked for you this morning but never found you so we came back here and waited and how did you get that hair?" she asked before taking a breath.
Listening to his long time friend babble he just smiled and watched as she ran out of questions before he started to answer.
"I'm fine Wills, I left to sort some things out and you didn't find me because I didn't want to be found. I'm actually here to pick up a sword and a crossbow from Giles before I head back out and start my new job and I got this hair from Toto," he said and chuckled at the blank looks he drew from the last statement.
"Toto? And what do you need a sword for Xander? You are NOT patrolling," Buffy said in a matter of fact tone.
Xander's smile was gone when he responded. "Actually Buffy I am patrolling, just not with you anymore. You don't want me to fight with you then I'll fight alone," he said as he stepped around the living room and went to the weapons closet. "Hey G-man you mind if I borrow the saber and crossbow… and I think I can put the tomahawks to good use too if you don't need them for a bit," he said to the shocked Englishman.
Xander was just pulling down the crossbow when he was shoved aside. "I said you're not patrolling Xander," Buffy growled out as Xander picked himself up from the floor and started to laugh.
"Buffy, if you truly believe that by saying NO to me in a mean voice is gonna get me to stop doing anything," he said as he walked up to the slayer and looked down at her. "Then I think you need to seriously drop back on the dog training for Oz, it's not for me," he said before he turned back to the weapons.
Picking up the rest of his gear Xander smiled at the group before he headed towards the door. "Giles, I think I need to talk to you for a bit," he said before he walked out and waited for the older man to follow.
When Giles finally closed the door Xander held his finger to his lips. "Shhh… G-man have you ever known someone that is just too stubborn to let something drop?" he asked and smiled at the confused look on the Englishman's face.
"Cuz I know someone like that… and she really should just let something's slide," he said as he turned the handle and threw the door open.
On the other side of the door Buffy was trying to figure out what they where saying when she had an abrupt run in with the door. As she stumbled back Buffy looked in shock at Xander as he leaned in to close it once again and pressed his finger to his lips.
"Shh… Buffy this is sort of a private conversation, so until you're invited… butt out," he said as he slowly drew the door closed, leaving an altogether stunned group behind him.
Giles followed Xander as the young man lead him to the parking lot before he slowed to a walk.
"Giles I need you to understand something, when I here last time I didn't have the memories that would allow me to… live in a civilized world, I had a few emotions from Xander and memories of the Hyena and that was it" he said as they entered the park before Xander sat down on a bench and watch the older man work through what he was saying before he continued.
"Yeah I'm the hyena, or at least I WAS the hyena, but over the years I've had the advantage of watching and learning from Xander and even from the warrior he was possessed by. I've learned that what I did was wrong and why, I've learned to trust you more then I did my pack from Xander and I've learned to Track hunt and kill from the warrior, I've learned that you respect Xander and would do anything to protect him and just recently I've learned exactly how dangerous a threat you could be to me if I don't explain myself" he said as the watcher sat down beside him and watched the people in the park for several seconds before he continued
"I'm telling you this because I'm back to stay" he said before he held out his hand to calm the older man down
"No I didn't do this, last night Xander was at the school when Oz got out, while forcing him back into his cage Xander was bitten by him" he said while he worked through what had happened again.
"When someone is bitten they are infected with a Virus that allows the Shift to happen, when there bitten the virus come in with the wolf and merges with it to make the Lycanthrope known as a werewolf, in Xander's case I was already there, the Virus merged with me and let me out, Like a werewolf I believe I will shift during the full moon but unlike them I am a permanent spirit… which means I will have control of both forms" he said before Giles interrupted him
"But if you're the Hyena then… where is Xander and how do we get him back?" he said as he watched the Body of Xander sit back and Sigh
"I don't know Giles, if it were up to me I would give up control until he shifts, but he could always feel me when I was in him… I'm sorry but I can't, I don't know where Xander is but he's not here" he said as a look of disbelief came to the Englishman at these words
"if you want to run tests I'm more then willing to go through them, but I'm telling you this so you can help me explain to the others, I don't know think Willow will take it well but I'm actually more concerned with Buffy or Faiths reactions, if they attack me I will have to respond, and I really don't want to hurt them, you remember how strong I am?" he said and continued when he got a nod.
"Well now I have the complete combat knowledge of the Warrior, imagine what would happen if they attacked a super strong human with twenty years of Special forces combat knowledge" he said before he smiled again
"If we can get Xander back in control I will give it up, until then… I'm going to do what he would have done, what I 'should' have done" he said, the two sat quietly for several minutes before Xander checked his Watch
"I know you have a lot of questions to ask and tests to run, but right now I have a job to do, Xander is moving out of his parents house and I need to do this job so I… so he has enough money to do it" he said before he stood up and offered his hand to the watcher
"Rupert Giles, it's a pleasure to meet you, I hope your willing to help me and explain this to your slayers" Waiting for the older mans response
After several seconds Giles stood and took the young mans hand "Very well, if I will help you… but if I find out you have harmed Xander" he trailed off and left the threat hanging
With a nod Xander turned and headed out across the park towards the Address Willy had given him earlier.
Xander walked down the street and double checked the address before walking up the walk to the small house
//how the hell did a bunch of Vampires get a house in the suburbs// he thought with a shake of his head, as he neared the house he quickly took in the setting and decided this was definitely the right address.
//hmm… Windows with paint on them// he thought as he viewed the painted pictures of the rooms inside the house //Ooh yeah… these fang heads have way to much time, then again if they hang out at Willies and spend there time trying to pass for normal I guess there not out draining the locals// he thought as he finally came up to the door
Knocking quickly on the door he listened until he heard the doorknob shift slightly before slamming into the door with all his weight, as the door flew open he heard the scream of pain as the vampire dove back into the shadows of the house and started cursing him in several separate languages.
"LUCY I'M HOOOOME!" he shouted as he lifted a small item in his hand and smiled.
"I'm guessing you people aren't to smart so let me explain how this goes, in my hand I'm holding a standard can of Fix a Flat that I have filled with Gasoline, I then added a detonator to it and am now holding it in the middle of your house" he said to the small gathering of snarling Vampires
"What this means is if anything happens to me this goes off, the Fix a Flat is under pressure so when the detonator pops it the entire thing will explode… throwing flaming foam in a twenty foot radius from here… as the house burns you will have two options, stay here and toast or run outside and do the same thing" he said as the vampires finally seemed to realize they where stuck when one from the back shrugged.
"So what human, you gonna kill us all? I'll take my chances with the flame and the knowledge you go down with us" he said as he vamped out and started to snarl
"Nope, not here to kill you Fang face, I'm actually here to pick up the money you owe Willy" he said as he pulled out the paper and looked it over "The sum of two hundred and seventeen dollars and forty seven cents, as I have had to come all the way out here to collect it I will be taking the same amount for my troubles" he said before he put the paper back in his pocket and smiled.
"if you pay Willy while your there you only pay the amount, if I have to come out here to pick it up you pay double" he said as he watched the Vampires growled among themselves for several seconds before the same Vampire finally walked over to a small safe and opened it, counting out exact Change he put it onto a plate and slid it over to Xander.
With a Smile Xander nodded his thanks and pocketed the money before stepping back and closing the door. //Yup, Gonna enjoy this job// he thought before he looked down at the paper and started to laugh "OOH HELL YES!" he shouted before he continued towards his next target //if I get to do this I think I'm gonna love this job// he thought as he headed towards the second contestant of the night.
Xander grinned as the large door creaked open and he quietly entered the large house.
//Okay Deadboy… where are you?// he though before he swung the door open again, as the hair on the back of his neck tingled at the sound he slowed how fast the door opened.
At forty- five seconds the souled vampire flung the doors to his room open and stormed out in full game face.
"WILL YOU STOP THAT ALREADY!" he screamed at the insensitive figure, which continued to grin.
"What's the matter Deadboy? Vampiric hearing kinda off today?" he said as he gave the door another push and grinned even wider as it reversed course and started the same slow, creaking journey again.
Angel massaged his forehead for several seconds after the door closed until he felt the ridges slide away and he could control himself once more.
"What do you want Xander?" he asked as he walked across to the Scooby that was the current cause of his displeasure.
With a smile Xander stood up and looked at the souled vampire. "What I want? I want you in a clay pot growing something that smells nice," he said and grinned again at the vampire.
"But that's not WHY I'm here. I'm here because last year your roommate spent quite a bit of money at Willy's and I'm here to collect," he said as Angel looked confused.
With a sigh he tried again "Okay Wormbait here's the deal. Last year you, or at least Angelus, spent a lot of money at Willy's," he said as he pulled out the paper and looked it over.
"The sum of three thousand, two hundred, eleven dollars and fifty three cents. Now as I can't imagine how the hell he was able to rack up three grand and personally I really don't care. You or HE never paid Willy, so I'm here to collect… double," he said with a grin at the shock the vampire showed.
"Yeah, if I have to come all the way out here to get you to pay your debts then I sure as hell ain't gonna make Willy pay it. You're the one at fault you're the one that pays," he said before he looked back at the paper. "In this case you owe six thousand, four hundred, twenty three dollars and six cents," he said before he replaced the paper and stood expectantly.
"You can't be serious about this Xander, there are a lot of very powerful demons that owe money to Willy, what are you going to do if one decides not to pay?" Angel asked and got concerned when Xander smiled.
Putting his hand in his pocket Xander pulled out a small device. "I'll kill them and take the money out of their lair," he said as Angel looked the small device over.
"Xander… that's a bomb," the vampire stated as Xander sat back down.
"Yup… afraid so Corpseling, they kill me they burn. That's kinda why I do this in the middle of the day, they stay inside and cook… or run outside and pick up some wicked sunburn," he said and grinned again.
"So what are you waiting for Dusty… get the six grand," he said leaning back and playing with the makeshift explosive.
As Angel walked away Xander lay his head back and closed his eyes. // Smell… Dust, mold age, death and pain,// he thought as the multitude of scents slowly came to the forefront. //Sound… Air shifting, the foam moving in the can, and the slight scrape of someone approaching,// he thought as he opened his eyes when Angel re-entered the room with a roll of cash.
"Before I give you this I need to know something… are you really Xander?" Angel asked.
As he watched the young man in front of him he confirmed that he seemed to move and act differently than the Xander he had gotten to know and dislike over the years.
With a smile Xander shook his head. "Nope… seems you're not the only one with a timeshare deal going on around here," he said as he stood and took the money from the vampire.
As he walked out Xander stopped at the door and thought for a second before he turned back and said,"Hey Deadboy… catch."
Xander walked outside as the muffled pop echoed through the house followed by the vampire's screams. After several seconds the yelling ended and Xander turned to stare at the foam covered vampire.
"Geez DB… you'd think you where going to die the way you keep carrying on," he said with a final grin before heading for the last name on the list.
Xander walked into the bar with a grin and simply ignored the looks the patrons shot him as he made his way to Willy
"Hey kid… I see you're still breathing which I will take as a good sign" Willy said with a chuckle as Xander sat down at the bar
"Then you'll take it correctly" he said as he dropped a large roll of bills on the counter and pushed it towards Willy
"That's the money owed to you by the Vampire nest, the Ba'Then demon and Angelus" he said and quickly noticed the conversations die in the bar
"If any one decides not to pay you tell me Willy… I'll get the money" he said before standing up and heading for the exit
The door opened and Xander grinned as a Large demon limped into the and quickly shied away from him "Don't worry pal… I got the money you owed Willy so I don't have any problems with you" he said before smiling and walked out into the night
Xander had a smile on as he walked through the graveyard at one in the morning //if that dumb shit doesn't attack me soon I'll have to worry about the sunrise killing him before I do// he thought with a chuckle as he thought about the vampire that had been trailing him for several minutes, when the wind changed and he smelled several corpses ahead of him his grin turned to a sneer
//my my my… we may actually have a semi-intelligent Vampire, guess that means I have to kill him// he thought as he put on a pair of heavy gloves and prepared to test a new weapon
As the vampires charged Xander slammed his fists together and was rewarded at the sound of cracking plastic
As the vials on the glove cracked the fluids contained within seeped into the gloves, nitric acid from the left glove mixed with the phenol from the right glove and with an almost evil glow Xander's gloved hands caught fire
Within moments the battle was over and Xander looked around with a grin before he started to curse and quickly threw the gloves off
"Damn it that's hot… good thing I decided to forgo the magnesium powder" he said with a grin
The slow clapping from behind him quickly drained all mirth from his face as he spun around with the two Tomahawks appearing in his hands
Faith stared in surprise at the speed Xander was able to pull off as he spun before a sheepish grin spread over his face
"Ooh… hi Faith, I thought Dead boy had this patrol tonight?" he said as he quickly made the weapons disappear as quickly as they had arrived
"Angel said he had to look into something and he'd be back by tomorrow night, I have to fill in for him" the slayer said with a shrug "So I get his patrol while B headed home"
Xander caught the tone and smiled quickly "Hey no sweat, this place seems pretty dead now. How about we go grab a bite and I'll tell you about some new toys I've been thinking of to keep you alive" he said and watched the emotions on the slayers face
"Okay, food sounds good… and you promise to tell me how you did the whole flaming hand deal?" she said as the two walked off
"…out of his pocket and said… TEA TIME" Xander finished the jokes as faith had taken a drink and was pleased as she snorted a considerable amount of the carbonated beverage and proceeded to cough and snort
As Xander finished up his laugh and faith succeeded in removing the excess fluid from her sinus she glared at Xander, this succeeded only in sending him off on another round of laughter as she tried to keep the mirth from affecting her
"That was a sick joke X man… I'm gonna love telling it to Giles" she said with an evil grin before she thought for several seconds "Okay boy toy… explain what's going on here" she said as the laughter quickly died from Xander
"What do you want to know Faith?" he asked and hoped she would not ask what he thought she would
"First, how did you do the flame thing back there, after that you can go into why Buffy and Willow where asking if you were acting weird and finally you can explain the whole leather and hair deal" she asked and watched the young man across the table
"Okay Faith, the flame deal is simple, nitric acid and phenol react to each other by starting a flame, I had a vial of each on the gloves. When I snapped my fists together the chemicals reacted and caught fire, the gloves kept it from burning my hands." He said and watched as the slayer nodded
"the last two questions are interconnected so I will try to explain, do you remember me explaining about the whole 'Hyena' deal and the death of principle flutie?" he asked and smiled when she nodded again
"Well when they dealt with the that the Hyena was removed from everyone but me… since the Zoo keeper never finished and I was the strongest I remained inside of Xander, over the last two years I have been learning from him and I learned quickly enough that I'm no longer an as Savage as I was back then… well after a while the whole Halloween incident came along and I learned something else, I learned about protecting the weak instead of killing them, I learned that there are times that I would need to sacrifice myself for others" he said and took a sip of his drink as he waited for Faith to catch up
"You… you mean you're the Hyena? How the hell did that happen" she asked before her face fell "It's not like the whole Angel and Angelus problem is it" she asked with a look of fear
"no… what we did together had nothing to do with this, what happened is I was bitten by Oz last night… when he did I was released and Xander… well I don't know what happened to Xander" he answered as a look of relief passed the dark slayers face for a moment before she darkened again
"What do you mean you don't know where Xander is?" she asked as Xander rubbed his temple's to remove some of the headache he was building up
"Faith, Xander always knew I was there… within him, he knew what I would do and he fought to make sure I learned what I needed to… when he was bitten he just sort of… faded away, I have asked Giles to look into it but as of right now I don't know if I'm going to be able to get him back" he said as a small amount of despair worked it's way into his voice
With a shake of his head he puts a grin back on "So… what's up with your life?"
Xander walked down the empty street and glanced at his watch.
//Three-thirty on a Sunday morning, one more patrol through the graveyard and then I need sleep,// he thought as he slipped into the memories the soldier gave him before he headed for the closest graveyard on his way home.
Several hours later Xander slipped into his house and moved quietly upstairs and locked himself into the bathroom.
As the door swung closed Xander moved over to the sink and spit out a mixture of blood and teeth into the sink before he rubbed his jaw to get rid of some of the pain.
//Note to self… When a Bolgara demon swings at you, letting yourself be hit so you can kill it belongs on the bottom of the list of 'ways to kill a Bolgara,'// he thought as he wiped the blood off his chin and started to tape up his ribs and put a cream on the bruises.
Fifteen minutes later Alexander Harris was finally asleep.
The next day Xander walked into Giles's apartment with a grin.
"Hey G-man, what's u..." he got out before an enraged slayer attacked him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO XANDER?" Buffy screamed as she launched herself at her possessed friend.
Xander sidestepped her first charge, catching her with strike to the face. Buffy's momentum was halted by the strike just before her legs were swept out from under her. She hit the ground solidly on her back.
"Don't attack me Slayer," Xander growled before the hair on the back of his neck started to rise.
//Ooh hell… I forgot the witch,// he thought absently before the spell slowed his body down.
The last thing he saw was the Slayer's fist, before everything went black.
Xander awoke to find himself looking through the bars of a cage at his warden.
"So Oz… Wanna go kill a pig, howl at the moon, pee on a hydrant… Chase the mail man… Come on, let me out and we'll do all those amazing dog tricks, who knows… We could even end up on Letterman," he said and just chuckled when Oz shook his head.
"Ooh well… Guess I gotta do this the hard way."
Xander smiled to himself as Oz finally drifted off, he had been awake for close to three hours and none of the other Scooby's had shown up //okay… now//
Xander smiled as he moved over to the door of the cage where he pulled out two vials of the same liquid as last night along with some powder //only an someone arrogant locks up a soldier without checking them for items and weapons// he thought as he poured the powder in first before he quickly mixed the two chemicals and poured them into the lock
Oz could smell something burning, hear it sizzling but when he actually felt the heat he decided it was no dream
As the werewolves eyes opened he saw a fist, before he went back to his dreams
Xander winched as he saw the young musicians head hit the floor but he quickly shoved the feeling aside as he opened the window and swung a leg out "Damn I'm sorry for that Oz, but I couldn't let you call the others" he said to the unconscious werewolf before he let himself slide out and fall out of the second story window.
Xander walked down the street in a far different mood then he had the day before, now he was wondering if he should try to explain again or just avoid them in general
//Well Buffy pretty much made it plain she does not like me, but these are Xander's friends... and knowing Buffy the way I do I know she will try to hunt me down, I'll be luck if she does not dif a pit trap and bait it with meat… of course a Twinkie would work better but I doubt if giving her hunting tips would help my case much// he thought as he heard the Piece of junk Giles drove moving down the road again
As he slipped into an alley he watched the car drive by and pause at the corner before it pulled off again
//Damn it, why the hell did Murphy have to fuck up Xander's life more then he already had// he cursed at the patron demon of soldiers before turning around and stopped in shock.
The last sight Xander had was of the punks from the day before carrying a pistol like gun his soldier memories quickly placed
//God a hate the Tec nines// he thought as the gang members opened fire
Several hours later a phone rings
*Click* "Hello?"
"Yes may I speak to Rupert Giles?"
"Yes, how may I help you?"
"Mister Giles, Do you know an 'Alexander Harris' by any chance?"
"Yes, but he is not here at the moment, could I take a message?"
"No sir, you see… this is the hospital… do you think you could come down here?"
"Why, is something wrong with Xander?"
"Sir we believe we found him this afternoon… I'm afraid he's dead sir, we need someone to identify the body and he had you as next of kin, would you mind coming down for a few moments"
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes" Giles said before he set the phone down on the base and looked at the wall, only one word kept being replayed //Dead//
As he stepped back out he listened to the two continue there tirade for a minute before he broke in
"I'm… I'm going out for a moment… if anyone calls please take a message" he said before he picked up his coat and numbly walked out, leaving a confused Witch, Werewolf and slayer behind.
As Giles walked into the hospital a young intern greeted him "Excuse me sir… can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for the…" he paused as he cleaned his glasses "I'm looking for the Mortuary" he said as the intern grew sober
"Yes sir, please follow me" he almost whispered as he led the older man down several halls, at the end of the last one Giles looked up at the brightly lit number's of Room 22 under the bright letters where the white words 'morgue'
The intern told him to stay in the hall as he went to find the mortician
as Giles stared at the swinging door his mind wandered //you unlock this door with the key of imagination, Beyond it is another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind//
His trip was stopped short when a man exited the double doors in a white lab coat "Mister Giles?" he asked
Giles looked the other man over and nodded "May I… can I see the body?" he asked and the man nodded sadly I'm sorry you have to do this sir, but we have to make sure it's him" the doctor said before he turned to the door "This way please"
Giles entered the cold room that held the intern and a younger man in a trench coat.
"This is Detective Trilby, he is looking into the young man we had brought in" the doctor said as he lead Giles over to a table "He was shot at close range" he said as he carefully pulled back the sheet covering the body
Giles looked at the body for several seconds as he tried to find his voice, after several failed attempts he shakily removed his glassed and nodded slowly "How… how did he die?" he asked the doctor when the detective stepped up
"He was shot with an automatic pistol at close range, the ballistics say the gun in his hand was the same one that killed him so we're ruling it a suicide" Trilby said.
Giles had turned away from the corpse and was cleaning his glasses when the detective made his statement, the sound of breaking glass preceded the impact of Rippers fist into the Detectives jaw
"Ya bleedin git, how dare you piss around and say something like that" he snarled as the detective held his jaw and stared up at the Englishman as he continued to stand over him "If you ever say anything about him again I will make damn sure I feed yer bleedin corpse to the biggest… 'Gang member on PCP' I can find" he said as he took a step closer "and be damned sure of this you wanker, I can find a big damned Gang member to feed you to" he told the downed man before he turned back to the two Doctors
"That's Alexander Harris, do what you must and I'll arrange funeral proceedings for the body" he said before he turned back to the man on the floor "And you had better piss off before something other then running into a door happens" he said before he left the now deathly silent morgue
the ride back to his apartment was spent forcing the ripper back into his dormant state, the sun was down and night had fallen once again on Sunnydale when he pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car, he quietly climbed the steps and opened the door to a very concerned group, Faith and Angel had arrived and he stared at the small group around him //Buffy, Angel, Willow, Oz and Faith// he thought as he looked closely at the small group "I'm afraid I have some… bad news" he said slowly.
Xander sat on the headstone and watched the small procession of people pay their respects, he had watched as the new watcher, a Mr. Wesley Whyndham Price had come on the scene with an arrogance long born of the social elite and he had watched the confrontation as Willow, Faith, Buffy and even a restrained Ripper had voiced there displeasure at his shrugging off the "Harris Boy."
"I Do understand that this may be a difficult time slayer but you must remember that people die, and if you don't want more to do so you will continue your job as-." He got out before the growls from the group where broken by a screech.
As he flew back into the wall Wesley looked up into the black eyes of an enraged witch
"If you ever speak of Xander so lightly again I WILL make sure an eternity in hell would seem like a vacation to what I will do to you," the witch said in a disembodied voice before a touch from Oz snapped her back and she relaxed her powers "Let's go Oz, I have nothing left to say here," she said before the duo left, Oz barely kept his temper in check enough to keep willow from doing something drastic.
"Well," Price got out as the two left the apartment "I do believe the two of them will not be helping any slayer from this day forth," he continued blindly as he ignored the glares of rage from the three remaining figures in the room, Faith was the next to move.
As the dark slayer closed the distance it was Buffy that forced her back "Faith STOP! The jerk's not worth it," she said as Faith's grip closed around the Watchers throat
"Why should I care what he's worth?" she snarled as the young watchers face started to change colors from lack of oxygen.
"Because it's not how Xander would want to be remembered." Giles said in a low voice that both slayers heard.
After a moment Faith threw Wesley to the ground and looked at him, "You're damn lucky he was here to save your ass, come near me again and even he won't stop me. You have nothing here, get the hell out of Sunnydale and don't even think about calling me, your Slayer again!" The Bostonian said with distain before both slayers left to prepare for patrol
As the door closed for the second time Wesley picked himself up and rubbed his throat "I Say, is everyone thi…" he got before the Rippers fist slammed into his jaw. "You better bloody well listen you worthless milksop, you have just managed to piss off everyone you will be working with as well as pissing on the name of a young man that has saved all three slayers he's come in contact with," he snarled and lunged for the man as Wesley tried to mount a defense.
"Shut the bloody hell up, Alexander saved Buffy in the sewers, he brought her back in the Masters lair and even though she may not know it he saved her life when it came time for her to face Angelus. He saved Kendra by being the friendly young man he always was and he blamed himself that she died and then just recently he saved Faith from the Sisters of Jhe," he told the younger Britain "He brought this group together to keep back the darkness and even though he is 'JUST' a human he managed to get the rocket launcher that allowed us to bring down the Judge, so I'm warning you right now Mister Price, if you want anything to do with the slayers ever again you should try to salvage this in any way possible or else I'll send what's left of your worthless corpse back to Travers in a tea cup" he said before he walked over and opened the door. "I'm going to comfort the young people you just hurt, don't be here when I get back!"
Wesley stared at the shut door for several minutes as he tried to reassess the situation Travers had sent him into. //Bloody hell, you would have thought the boy was Saint Peter himself,// he thought as he pulled himself up and staggered towards the door. //Mister Travers is going to have to fill me in on this boy's exploits,// he thought as the door clicked shut on a finally quiet room.
Xander watched the group purposely ignore Wesley as they silently said their goodbyes to his grave.
"Kinda sad ain't it bro" the voice startled Xander's personal thought as he turned and smiled at the figure.
"Jesse? I… I'm sorry about kill…" he got before the image before him waved it off. "Wasn't me bro, I was just watching from the background." he said as he moved up to stand besides Xander and watch the proceedings, after a few moments Xander turned to him
"So are you here to take me away?" He said as the image wavered for a second "Wish I was bro, Seems me and you have a lot to catch up on…" he said before he was interrupted by a Accented voice.
"But that is not why we are here," Kendra said as she stood beside him.
"You see, a while back your name was put on a list by the powers that be for 'Champion' Status," Jesse said as he nodded to the deceased Slayer. "Seems my job in this world was to make sure you made it to that status," he said with a shrug as Xander tried to work what Jesse was saying into English.
"You mean the powers that be… the 'Good Guys' had me kill you?" Xander growled as the words sunk in.
Jesse nodded at Xander's rage "Yeah, sucks to be me, but on the plus side you brought about the activation of the second slayer and the survival of all three of them" he said as he nodded to Kendra's form. "It was her time to go Xander, there was nothing you could do," he said as Xander kept burying the rage he felt
"So what are you saying? The powers that be can fuck around with our lives and we can't do anything about it" he grated out as Jesse just smiled
"Nope, I'm saying that the rules are set by the bad guys, the PTB just try to make them work out the best." he said as he nodded to the group "The prophecy said that the Slayer would die at the hands of the Master" he said as he turned back to Xander "The Powers changed it as much as they could without breaking the rules… she did die and as such fulfilled the prophecy, you brought her back to life," he said as he debated on how to broach this subject with his childhood friend
"There is another prophecy that was of a lot of concern to the Powers, it said that the 'Dark Slayer would be the end of an innocent life' and as such everyone though it would be Kendra here," he said as Kendra just nodded and continued to watch the funeral "But again the powers changed it, the dark slayer is this new girl Faith," he said as he indicated the Boston born Slayer.
"Well that messed up the darker forces good so they wanted to mess with her, she has cared for three people in her life. The first was her older sister who was 'Rented out' by there step-father, she died of a Drug overdose when Faith was eight, the second was her first watcher, she was tortured and killed by Kakistos while Faith was forced to watch, the third and most recent was a stubborn jerk that kept trying to help her even when she tried to push him away" he said staring at Xander.
"She recently lost him too… and tonight she will kill an innocent who walks up on the Slayers during a Vamp fight." He said as Xander grew a shade whiter. "She is gonna break Xan, and we don't know if she will ever make it back," he said as Xander turned to him with a snarl.
"Then what the hell are you doing here… stop her already" he said as Jesse shook his head.
"We can't Xander, like I said the Powers can't change what's been written, so we changed what wasn't… we had you bitten by Oz the other night so you can come back and help her through this. There are a few problems," he said as Xander watched the two slayers move off through the graveyard. "You can't let any of the other Scooby's know you're back, you have to let Faith work for the Mayor and you have to leave after the next big bad is taken down. You'll know when you're allowed to return," the ghost of Jesse said as Xander looked after the two Slayers before he turned back to the two ghosts
"Fine, but I want nothing more with these assholes after this, them saying I had to kill you, them saying Kendra had to die and now all this with Faith... no after this I'm done. If they want somebody to jerk around they can find someone else!" He said as the pull of mortality slowly forced him back into his body.
As the ghost finally disappeared two other forms appeared beside the two already there,"Will he continue to fight?" One of the figures asked as Jesse turned to look at him.
"Yeah… after all it's what Xan's destined to do," he said as they made out the sounds of a coffin lid being broken open and the slight depression as the ground caved in to fill the space left by Xander foring his way out and to his destiny