O Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling,
O Grave, thy victoree?
The bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling
For you but not for me
Song popular in the British Army, 1914-18
I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind
I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time
I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon
I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah
Kryptonite, 3 Doors Down
Xander pushed yet another bag into the engorged trunk of his antiquated car. The Chevy 57 was a marvel of engineering once, good lines that drew the eye and swept them forward to the long bonnet and eventually to the driver. It was to be honest a poser's car made for looks rather than anything as boring as fuel consumption and energy efficiency; it was also, the only car that he had so he had to deal with the beast and the cost of running it. Xander looked up from his packed boot and across the road. Across from him there was a new housing estate going up on the remains of an old one.
Construction companies littered the area with heavy machinery and chunks of mud were smashed across the once black asphalt. On his return to Sunnydale he would more than likely have to pluck up his courage and go over there and beg for a job, any job to make the rent on his parents basement.
Xander's parents had no idea what to do with him, they were at first just distant and uncaring, then when his father lost his own construction company he became abusive and angry. That was when Xander was three, since then things had been going from bad to worse with his mother finally going along with the cruelty as well. At first, it was a hit from his father that sent him into blackout, then the hits started to rain down on Xander throughout his childhood. As such he had learned how to be virtually invisible in a room, how to duck and when not to. He had learnt that in some cases it was better to take the hit rather than the extra abuse that came from running away or making his father miss and, shock horror, spill his booze.
To escape his life he had joined with others, become friends with two of the outer crowd, the nobodies who actually cared for their friends despite the way they looked. He had become friends with Jessie and Willow, two Jewish kids who were shunned for being generally brighter than those around them. For many years Xander Harris had protected his friends, not himself, just his friends. He knew how to take punishment, to being with that was all it was, then his anger started to grow. Anger at his life and those who attempted to make it worse than it already was, once the anger was at boiling point he had fought back. With his large, sturdy build Xander had a surprising amount of strength behind one of his blows and that was before he learned how to fight against vampires. So his friends became his family, and despite the fact, they had tried to shun him on occasion, they were his world.
He had just passed 19, his birthday being in July meant that he had been a year older than most of the others in his class. He had decided to go on a road trip in the great American tradition and see the states. Finishing school had brought a few things home to him; he had managed to scrape through and graduate despite the pressures levied on him. With schoolwork, his parents were giving him a hard time about the fact they wouldn't pay for college. He knew he wouldn't be able to hit college, which meant that he wouldn't be around his friends and that meant that they might drift apart somewhat. He wasn't that worried because by the end of the year they had been as close as ever, with Buffy actually calling him her 'Key' guy. Therefore, he was hopeful that they would make time to hang out with their bud.
He had saved more than enough money for his trip, through somewhat unusual means. It had occurred to him one night on one of his solo patrols that Vampires, had to have money, for clothes and hair-gel and all that stuff, at least if Angel was any indication. Since that inspiration, he had made it a point of taking their money before he staked them. After all, they certainly wouldn't need it. Therefore, it came to be that he was actually quite flush with cash for the first time in his short life. Even Cordelia's expensive dress hadn't but any sort of real dent in his cash account. That did not, however, mean that he had anywhere near like the money he would need just for his first years tuition at college. He could work his way through and had toyed with that idea, and then he'd finally decided to take a year out on his return. In that year he intended to save the money, he would need for college. Then continue to work as much as he was able and pay for the next and so on. He knew it would be hard work, but he wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't the loser his dad always said he was. It was lucky to his self-esteem that his friends had never called him that. He appeared to be a lovable goof, but in actuality, he was riding the razor blade between cracking under the pressure and continuing his existence. He heard the tell tale crunch of boot heel on concrete and smiled. He would know the sound of those boots anywhere. Buffy had come to see him off, she said she would do, but he wasn't sure that with Angel leaving and school ending if she would have time.
He ducked back out of the trunk and turned with a large smile. The whole gang was there, "Hey guys" Xander said with a large friendly smile. These three people (Giles, Willow and Buffy) made up the greater part of the most important thing in the world to him, his friends.
His smile faded as he noticed their stern expressions, Willow was shifting from one foot to the other. He knew her well enough to interpret that body language. She was nervous about something, he just wasn't sure what. "What's up?" he asked pleasantly.
Giles stepped forward fingering the arm of his glasses nervously, "I… We… wanted to talk with you Xander, about a most grave matter"
"Come on guys, you know you can always talk to me… Shoot"
Buffy stepped forward, "I found out Xander, did you think I wouldn't?" It was obvious from the slow burn in her eyes just what she was talking about but Xander decided to play dumb for a little longer, just to try to get a feel for what was happening, "What, that Dr Pepper actually tastes good?"
Buffy wasn't moved by his humor, her green eyes flashed, "You lied about Willow performing the curse"
"So?" Xander said he knew he was in for a rough time and resigned himself to it, "You needed to hear what I told you. It's that simple. If I'd told you the truth you would have held back, gotten killed or worse"
"That may be so" Giles said slowly and obviously agitated, "but, uh, it doesn't preclude the fact that you did in fact lie" he fumbled with his glasses and started to clean them with his tie, "In a. a. group such as, well ours, we need to be able to implicitly trust each other. Buffy… We feel that we can no longer trust you" Giles said, almost holding his breath waiting for the explosion he felt sure would come. It was the reason that he had led the charge, as it were. If Buffy had delivered that statement, they all knew that Xander would face her and there would be an argument. Xander frowned, "What?" his dark eyes crinkled in confusion and his head titled slightly to the side.
Giles was about to answer, but Buffy beat him to the punch. As soon as her mouth opened Giles felt a strange sense of foreboding that, this would not go well.
"I can't trust you Xander, not to lie to me or to stay out of trouble. We know that something was happening with you on the night with the sisterhood of JHE, we heard about you ramming that demon to save Faith. So, on a night we implicitly asked you to stay away, you endangered yourself and us to go out anyway!" Buffy said her arms folded across the halter neck top she wore. Her entire stance was screaming at him to dare to defy her on this point. From the sparkle in her green eyes, it was obvious she had come expecting a fight.
If he wasn't slowly becoming very angry Xander would be knocked for six, she looked fantastic, which could well have been a ploy on her behalf. She knew Xander had a little trouble thinking properly around her; when she looked her best and she didn't want him to come up with any counter arguments to this. She was hurting and hurting badly, he had to pay. Xander was, however, becoming more and more enraged as time passed by. "Look, Buffy…" he began, his arms splaying wide in supplication, trying to get her to see sense and controlling his anger through sheer will power.
Buffy cut him off with a chopping motion of her hand, "I don't want to hear it Xander," she told him, "This is it; no more. You are no longer part of this group" her jaw set into a firm no-nonsense line.
Xander looked to Giles and Willow to find them looking at him with something akin to pity in their eyes, "Is this what you think, Wills?" Xander asked fearing the answer he knew was coming. He could read his oldest friend very easily and he didn't like what he saw in the depths of her attractive eyes. Willow looked at him with tears in her eyes and nodded, "Yes it is Xander; we don't want you to get hurt!" She started to sob slightly, "We can still be friends you and I, but…" she trailed off and Xander didn't really need her to finish anyway.
Xander's eyes turned to the man who had become both father figure and friend to him; also knowing what he would say but his dark eyes still held a small dash of hope, "Giles?"
"I… I'm afraid so Xander, we cannot keep you safe as things stand" Giles answered him, "Although I for one would hate to lose contact with you; however if that is what it takes…" Giles also trailed off for a moment, "Then so be it. I do hope, however, that you will see the wisdom in this decision. This is not done out of petty notion, but with the view to keeping you alive"
Xander thought that to be complete crap, he knew well what this was and he didn't like it one tiny bit. He snapped, he felt something inside of him coil up and spring out, "WHAT!" he roared, "YOU THINK THAT STOPPING ME FROM BEING WITH MY FRIENDS IS A WAY OF KEEPING ME ALIVE!" Xander shouted. He paused to take a calming breath, "My friends, you all, are everything to me. You think I give a flying fuck about them," he said tossing his head back in a sharp motion back towards his house. "Like they've ever earned it; I thought it was different with you guys; that you'd never hurt me. But no… It seems I was wrong" Xander said bitterly; pushing past Buffy and walking around to the door of his car, "You were all I HAD!" he said shouting the last word, as an accusation towards Buffy.
"Xander…" Giles began but Xander's eyes took his breath away for a moment, "Perhaps…perhaps if you could just refrain from fighting… Then maybe you could help us with the research aspect" he said but Buffy was already shaking her head.
"It's better this way Giles" she said, her voice had a hard edge to it that Giles didn't like at all, but he could also see that she was resolved to her decision, which he also didn't much like. "You know he's useless" Xander winced and Giles saw the pain blossom in his eye, he knew he'd have to do something. Buffy and Xander had always been this way, toe to toe, eyes glaring and anger rolling off of the pair of them. Xander was the only one that actually stood up to her properly, even Giles tended to back down after stating his objections. Giles' had at one point thought that with the unresolved sexual tension between the two, he should just lock them in a cupboard and see what happened.
"Buffy, perhaps we should…" Giles began trying to placate her and, hopefully, head off this argument before it escalated into a full-scale war where things would be said that could never be taken back. He knew, from his own past, that sometimes things just went out of control, that friends could be lost forever with the wrong word or even glance at the incorrect moment.
Buffy, however, wasn't having any of it. "NO!" Buffy virtually screamed, "I CAN'T TRUST HIM!" Her body language switched to show the anger that she felt and her eyes were spitting fire.
Xander smiled grimly with understanding blossoming in his gaze, "I know what this is all about now…" he said a slight sneer on his lip. "You're mad because dead boy left, because you blame me for him going to hell. We both know that when he came back, he was different. Who wouldn't be? You just blame me because your boyfriend has left you!" his chocolate brown eyes now filled with pain and anger.
Buffy stalked up to him glaring into his eyes, "No! This is about your complete lack of anything resembling usefulness" she began her eyes blazing. Willow gulped, "B…B…Buffy don't say that" she said but it was too late Xander's eyes registered extreme hurt but Buffy hadn't finished.
"You're nothing but a loser Harris," Willow sucked in a deep breath, but Buffy continued her tirade unabated, "you lied… because you were jealous. There was nothing noble in that and yes, you know what I do hate you for that. However, what I said still holds true. I…We… Can't trust you anymore, in fact I don't think we ever could. You've made no effort to learn to fight, you just jump in and get pounded instead, and usually making me lose concentration so I can save your ass. You can barely read let alone help with the research aspect, I mean Jesus don't you have a brain. You're a waste, Xander! A waste of our time and our friendship, why? Because you, THOUGHT, that you stood a chance with me with Angel out of the way. You risked the world for that!" she made a derisive sound that was half snort and half laugh, "That sounds a lot like a loser to me" Xander's shoulders had started to slump at the world loser, now they were hunched completely and his eyes were two coal black lumps with no life in them.
"That is quite ENOUGH Buffy!" Giles said sharply, his own green eyes spitting a little fire; her character assassination of Xander had been cruel, certainly not what had been planned back at the library. In fact, very little of what they had said they would say to Xander had been said. Giles was struck by the epiphany that he had just been played, a realization that just added to his anger.
Willow was crying, her shoulders shaking with her sobs. Watching one of your best friends tear the other to shreds had that effect. Buffy looked back at her and then to Xander; "I think you better go, I think you've upset us enough!" she spat.
Giles took Willow gently by the hand; with one last glare at Buffy, he led the distraught girl away. Normally he would stay, try to mediate the situation, but Buffy had made it clear that she would brook no argument on Xander leaving the group, his first priority had to be her, to watch over her as was his duty and now moral obligation; that did not blind him to her nastier side though. He hoped, but doubted, that he would be able to pick up the pieces later on.
Xander turned to go back in the house, to get the last of his stuff but was surprised to find that Buffy hadn't followed Giles. No, rather, she had grabbed him and turned him back to face her, there was a strange expression in her eyes and her lip was curled into a heart-breaking sneer.
Buffy quickly brought her face right up next to Xanders. Her hands grasped his face painfully and she kissed him. Her tongue plundered his mouth ramming into it. Xander had often wanted to kiss Buffy, sometimes wondering how it felt. This just felt wrong to him somehow, she was virtually raping his mouth; he didn't have any inclination to kiss her back that was for sure. When she had finished her assault she pulled back and glared hatefully into his eyes, "There, that is why you did it all, hope you enjoyed it"
She then smiled brightly, "Don't bother coming back, if you do…" she left the rest of the threat unsaid, but Xander knew it was likely that she'd go against her own rule and slay HIM! Then turning on her heel she walked away.
He watched her go with a stunned expression holding a hand up to his mouth where she had kissed/attacked him. It seemed like a hell of a weird thing to do to him. There were possibly worst things she could have done, but that had still hurt him greatly. He had never made a secret of his attraction towards her, and she had used it against him, again! Xander felt a little something dying in his heart at that. He knew that she was in a bad place right now, fear of the future, and the pain from losing Angel. Her mother was pushing her to go to a good college when she knew she couldn't. But it was just wrong, she was wrong. He had not even done the thing she accused him off. Well, yes, he had lied, but he hadn't done it for the reasons that she had listed. He had done it because he had a moment of epiphany. He saw it in his minds eye like a mini film show.
He saw Buffy fighting a holding battle with Angelus, who was buy her own admission a far better fighter than she with a blade. He saw her loosing the battle, being run through and terror raining down on the earth to rein for evermore. He saw his friends dying and his other loved ones and most of all he saw that blade in Buffy's gut, parting her tender flesh like the proverbial hot knife through butter. He had watched the life bleed out of her eyes until that thing that made Buffy, Buffy that wonderful fire died and was gone forever. He couldn't stand to see that, but he hadn't really expected that amazing spunk and fire to then be turned back on him. After all, he had hoped that she would at least see why he had done it; but no, she had not.
He was alone; his friends had been ripped away from him. Oh, he could probably go round to see willow and Giles, maybe even Oz. But the spectre of his exile would be held over him, they would drift apart from him, moving ever further away until he was on his own anyway. Perhaps it was better this way, the short sharp break. If it was, it sure as hell didn't feel like it. He could feel every tiny blood vessel in his heart constricting and blackening with every step from her Italian leather boots.
Just ahead of her were Giles and Willow, Willow was darting the occasional looked back at him but once Buffy caught up, she didn't look back again. He loved Willow like a sister, well maybe a little more than that but he knew her faults. She looked up to Buffy, and he couldn't blame her, she was after all his hero, always had been. Now, her armour may be tarnished but she was still his hero. However, because Willow so looked up to her, she couldn't see Buffy's faults, where as he could. He also knew that willow was still painfully under confident and just being with Buffy helped with that. It also meant that she was being pulled away from Xander, possibly forever.
Xander's heart took a nosedive and his mind slipped from trying to reason with himself and changed gears. He suddenly felt seriously fed up at his treatment from them all over the years, the casual neglect they had shown him was in some way worse than the positive disdain his parents usually showed him. So what if he was the donut boy, he still helped even in that small regard. He had proven many times over that he could do more; he had led the students in the battle against the mayor. He had saved the world on more occasions that even they knew about. He helped to keep the streets safe at night by doing his own patrol route every damn night. He wasn't as useless as everyone thought, but then measured against a superhero type like Buffy and he didn't look so good. She is super strong, super fast and takes to martial arts like a fish to water, after all.
He still had a few of his memories from Soldier night, his explosives knowledge was second to none for a guy his age and his small arms handling and shooting were impeccable. Then, he had always had a flair for chemistry and his uncle Rory had taken him shooting at the age of eleven. He been driving since he was 12 for the same reason as the shooting; His parents didn't give a fuck and let his drunken sot of an uncle do whatever he wanted with him. Strangely, that had actually turned out to be an advantage. So, all told it was a toss up between what he had remembered from the soldier persona and what had just been brought forth in his mind by it.
Now, because of a lie, because of a tactical decision that saved 5 billion-odd lives, not too mention Buffy herself, he was alone, exiled, kicked out of town? That sucked, as far as Xander was concerned.
He turned around and dredged back into his house; he may as well get the last few bits and pieces he needed and leave. It wasn't like there was anything else for him in this town anymore.
In his almost fugue state he ended up bumping into his father at the top of the basements steps. Flinching back expecting a physical attack for his transgression Xander was surprised when none came.
"Packed?" his father growled.
"Yes Dad" Xander said respectfully, it was easy to feign that than to be hit until he begged, which had happened the last time he had spoken with the contempt he felt.
"Good, when you come back, you mother and I want rent"
Xander nodded, "How much?" he asked.
"500 a week"
"What? I can't afford…" His fathers' fist hitting his chin cut off Xander's reply. He felt a blinding white pain erupt from the contact and a white rage came along for the ride.
Xander stood back up after having been knocked down, "Don't touch me," he said contempt dripping off of his words.
"Don't talk to me like that you little good for nothing loser. I told your mother that no good would come of you, worthless pathetic little weed that you are, to think you sprang from my loins"
Xander pulled himself up to his full height, some two inches above his father. He glared down from his vantage point, "Shame that nothing will erupt from there anymore, hey dad. All that beer's made you impotent hasn't it" Xander blocked his father's blow. He was gratified to see a flash of fear in his dad's dark eyes. "You…" Xander said poking his father in the chest, something he'd always done to Xander that had annoyed the hell out of him, "You, can go fuck yourself. I'm not coming back, so Go To Hell!" again, he blocked his father's clumsy haymaker.
It suddenly struck Xander that he'd been surviving against things four times his strength for four years; why did he not realize before this point that his father just wasn't that tough, compared to them. His father tried again and was blocked, this time Xander followed up with a punch that sunk into Harris senior's flabby gut and drove the air from his lungs.
As his father dropped to his knees breathing like an enraged bull Xander coolly looked down on him, "I hate you" he spat and his foot lashed out kicking his dad in the chin and knocking him out for the count. Xander didn't check if he was okay, he didn't much care. The man could drown in his own vomit for all it mattered; as far as Xander was concerned, the world would be a marginally better place without him in it.
Xander's mother rushed into the room and stopped dead, she stared down at Jake Harris's inert body with shock etched on her face, "What have you done, you evil little bastard"
Xander sighed, "You know what mom, I wish I was" with that final sentence still hanging in the air he walked out of his parents house, got in his car and left Sunnydale, possibly for good.
He was out of town quickly hammering along the road at 80 mph the desert flashing past him. As he drove, his mind whirred along like a Swiss clock, replaying Buffy's words in his head. "You're nothing but a loser Harris" over and over again, "You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris. You're nothing but a loser Harris." He slammed his hands into the steering wheel and his eyes blurred with tears as her words continually haunted him, the feel of her cold kiss revolting him to the deepest roots of his soul and the look of hatred in her eyes, pity in Giles's and betrayal in Willow's.
"You're a waste" he heard and looked to the seat beside him, Buffy was there dressed as she had been before, "You're a waste you're a waste you're a waste you're a waste you're a waste," she repeated over and over again. Xander felt his world shifting around him as the car suddenly tilted running off of the road; his mind span in time to the car skidding on the soft sand. His foot hit the brake acting on automatic bring the old car to a slewing stop; but Xander wasn't there, his mind was twisting around and around, Buffy's words drilling into him.
"Maybe she's right" he finally chocked his head dropping onto the steering wheel, "Maybe I am a waste, a loser. Why was I ever born?" he sobbed in desperation. He had nothing but the possessions in this car and the money in his wallet. He had no home, no friends and as a black cloud descended on his soul, no hope. His life was ruined, effectively over.
He fished in his glove compartment and pulled out Katie, Jack O'Tooles knife. Where once, briefly, it had been a symbol that he wasn't a loser, wasn't the Zeppo it was now just a fucking great big sharp knife. It was just what he needed for what he had in mind. He brought the wicked blade to his wrist and glared down his eyes focused at the point where metal met skin.
He started to breathe faster and faster the words Buffy had said to him supplemented by the many angry words spoken by his supposed parents. Then, what finally did it was the look of betrayed shock on Cordelia's face when she'd found him kissing Willow. That horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach; he had felt when he had met her eyes returned to him and he let out a yell of too long repressed pain and pressed down slicing sideways at the same time, drawing Katie across his wrist.
For a moment nothing happened, his flesh neatly parted by the blade, then blood welled up around the blade and Xander went white, not with blood loss, but with stunned realization.
He dropped the knife in shock at the sight of all the blood welling up and running down off of his wrist and dribbling to the floor, a crimson trickle of the thing that kept him alive. The very thing that vampires had often wanted from him and he had never allowed them, seeped out of his arm and down into the well of car's cockpit.
"Oh fuck, oh god, look at all that," he said numbly. "What the fuck am I doing?" he continued.
He didn't attempt to finish off this wrist or start on the next, the rush of depression had left him now only shock reined in his heart. He knew, already that he had not cut hard enough for it to be too severe but he was now loosing a fairly large amount of blood. He had found in occasions of emergency his mind had almost left his body and took a cold hard general overview of a situation, without the emotions from his body it was able to bring forth a solution and take control.
It did that then; he reached out with his 'good' arm and fished in his first aid box, placed as always under the passenger seat. He blindly pulled out a wad of gauze and pressed it to his bleeding wrist, then he pushed it against the underside of the steering wheel holding the pad in place. He grabbed for some bandage and wrapped the wound tightly. Other than that, he didn't bother. Just started his car and made a decision.
If he really was a looser, then he may as well act like it and crawl inside of a bottle, just like his beloved father.
A figure appeared in the desert. The wind was up that day and they could have been standing there for some time with all the sand whipping around. However, they looked to be totally clean, their tan trench coat was flawless in colour and texture.
A pair of deep and lively blue eyes paid silent witness to the speeding blue vehicle. Xander had his foot flat down and was handling the car with the skill of a born driver and long acquired skill. The eyes crinkled at the corners as their owner smiled, flashing bright white teeth to the desert at large. He shook his head slightly as he silently counted the time it took Xander's car to straddle two telegraph poles. A quick calculation later his eyes sparkled with humour and his smile widened.
"Ninety Miles Per Hour out of a clapped out old Chevy…" The man said his voice matching his eyes for humour with a slight New York Accent. Then the sand whipped up again obscuring him from sight for a moment, then as it died down he was no longer there.
Only his last words remained floating in the air.
"…Not Too Shabby!"
The bar was one of those bars that people came to, to disappear. The atmosphere was that of a drinking club, with the patrons studiously ignoring each other. A haze of smoke created a miasma of cancer inducing fog. The barman was of a large nature, with the jovial eyes of someone that knows that he will be going home to his loving wife and family. The patrons, in contrast, were all of the opposite feeling, they would be going home to various spouses with whom they shared no common ground and no longer were loved buy or loved.
The tables littered around the floor were oak, thick and they had been layered with a now, permanent sticky residue of too much spilt alcohol. No amount of studious scrubbing would now remove it. Among those pathetic patron's was a young man with dark hair, and an even dark mien about him. The Barman had taken one look into the obviously underage drinker and seen his demise if he even thought about refusing service. Despite California's strict licensing laws, the barkeep had no wish for a short life. Now, the dark eyed youth was swigging Jack Daniels' with the single-minded determination of a man who wants to be drunk as quickly as possible, a goal he was close to achieving.
Xander knocked another drink back, and glared at his reflection in the dirty mirror. It blurred in and out of focus as the alcohol flowed through his system and deadened his nerves and the still keen pain from his friend's betrayal, for that was how he saw it. On the occasions that his reflection was crystal clear, he realized that he was becoming hopelessly drunk and there was also a passing resemblance to his father. 'Not a pretty thought', he decided.
"Hey man, can you pass the nuts?" a friendly sounding voice said. "What?" Xander demanded turning an angry gaze on the asker. He was fairly short, shorter than Xander with sandy hair that was thinned out to almost nothing, the man had given up the fight and had what was left cut to a crew cut. His blue eyes glittered with a strange mix of good humor and danger. He was powerfully built and sat on the barstool next to Xander nursing a bear.
"The Nuts, those funny looking things in front of you" the man said his eyes twinkling with mirth.
Xander's head swung loosely to face downwards and he vaguely made out a bowl. With a rough push, he sent the glass receptacle sliding to his left, towards the man.
"Thanks man" there was a pause and the sound of crunching, and then, "Say, aren't you a little young to be THAT drunk?" Xander rolled his head back upright and sent a myopic glare at the man, "No!" he said with a rough voice. It felt that he hadn't used it properly for some time.
"What's so bad that you've turned to drink at your age?" "Life" Xander said, feeling in a strangely talkative mood, speaking possibly the first words he'd said to anyone since the 'incident', apart from 'How Much for Head' and 'Bottle Of Jack'. Drink and sex were the two good things left in his life.
"Ahh, Life" the man said in a knowing voice. "It can be a drag, but it ain' t all bad is it, I mean some stuff gotta be good, right?"
Xander smiled the smile of a seriously drunk man, "Sex, sex is goof" "Goof?"
"Ya know, gdgdglood" Xander enunciated carefully, but inaccurately. "Oh, that" The man said his eyes dancing. "You know alcohol kills the sex drive, right"
"I'm oung, dn't bither mo" The man mouthed Xander's words for a second and untangled them, "Oh, right, but it will my friend, it will"
Xander's eyes suddenly came snapping into focus, "We're not friends" he spat standing somewhat shakily he dragged his bottle and walked out of the bar.
The man's face fell into a grim mask his tan trench coat suddenly twitched as if something was alive beneath it's covering.
"Damn!" Las Vegas, "Miss Kitty's"
Xander wasn't sure how long it had taken him to get this far; he didn't give a shit either. But it must have taken him at least a few weeks. In every town he'd stopped at he had drunk until closing, then drunk some more and either fell asleep in the gutter or moved as far as his car. Every night before he passed out, he pulled Katie from her home in his glove box and held her over his wrist. Every night he heard the hated voices and tried to pluck up enough courage to end it all, to cut and keep cutting until his life's blood was spilled out onto the floor of his Chevy. Every night, he failed to do it; some thing, a small voice in the back of his mind whispering to hold off, tomorrow was another day, it could get better; he was really starting to hate that voice.
Occasionally he had popped for a motel room, mostly just to have a shower because bars had some standards and wouldn't let him in if he stank and looked like a drunk. His stash of money was dwindling away rapidly but he still had plenty more to keep him going. He had spent it mostly on booze, but he also dropped a few hundred on hookers.
At least, when he was riding on or under a woman he didn't feel the pain that seemed to eclipse his soul now. He had pulled into this strip club, just for that reason. He had watched the acts of several girls, most pneumatically enhanced with a bored expression as they shook their moneymakers and earned enough in tips from the other punters to help pay for their next trip to the doctors.
He glared at his bottle willing it to pour itself. Strangely no one had ID'd him, back in the dale he had to always show some ID, but then in the last few weeks, he had aged considerably and looked to be at least 21. His hair was unkempt his face rough with stubble and he generally looked much older than his actual 19 years. 19 years of physical and mental abuse ages a man. He had remained young at heart before due to his friend's support and just the enjoyment of having them. Without that crutch to his soul, he felt empty and alone.
Maria was 35; spectacularly built, her breasts full and pert, due mostly to surgery. She did have a sculpted figure, literally. However, people who frequented this club didn't seem to give a damn if she was real or made, they just came to ogle at her. The years had made her jaded to the human condition and she hated the punters with pure venom.
She looked around the club with a bored air, looking for a customer. She spotted a dark haired young man and smirked. He looked older but she had a good eye for age and guessed him to be about 20, under age but drinking seriously by the look of the almost empty JD bottle.
She adjusted her top to flash her cleavage and sauntered over to him, her hips and ass wiggling. She stopped at the table her micro mini skirt just reached past her butt and was Xander's first sight of her. He looked up blearily and Maria had to stop herself from smirking at him. Instead she dazzled him with her best fuck me smile, "Hi; I'm Maria" she said.
"You working?" Xander asked her with a bored voice.
Maria blinked, she hadn't thought it THAT obvious what she did for a living, "Yeah"
"How much?" Xander asked her.
"For what honey?" She replied leaning on the table and pressing her breasts between her arms.
"I don't care; head?" Xander replied.
"Well, lets take this outside, it's $50 for a little head" she told him. "Come on" Xander said standing and picking up his bottle.
They staggered together into the alleyway and Maria giggled on cue pushing him further down. As his back was turned, she glanced around the corner checking frank and his boys were in place. She gave them the nod; they'd give her five minutes to 'distract' the mark.
She walked in after her mark and pushed him against the wall. Then smiling like a fox about to pounce on a rabbit, she sank to her knees and worked his belt and fly. She reached into his trousers and pulled out his still slightly soft cock. She smiled for real, "Nice cock baby. It's SO big"
"Yeah, right whatever; get on with it" Xander said and took a swig from the bottle.
Maria frowned slightly and tried again, "I'm SO going to love sucking on this monster," he was actually fairly large but she always exaggerated for her customers.
Xander rolled his eyes taking a pull from his bottle then he glared down at her, "I'll pay you an extra 10 bucks to shut… the-FUCK-up… and get on with it," he told her.
Maria looked into two pools of cold nothingness and shivered. She suddenly felt like running, she wasn't sure why but some base part of her nature was screaming a warning at her. She knew she had backup, however, so stroked his cock glancing from side to side on the look out for her accomplices.
"That's better" Xander breathed as she finally took him into her mouth. She proceeded to hold his head in her mouth loosely and rub his cock hard and fast.
Xander groaned, in annoyance, not pleasure, "For god's sake, you said head, not a wet toss" he paused to take yet another swig and pull out a cigarette, a habit he'd picked up. He figured if he couldn't ever cut down with Katie that he'd just give himself cancer and die of that instead. He lit the cigarette and continued to speak, "According to half the town, my mom gives better head than that!"
Maria frowned and glared up at him. She felt challenged, her professional honor for what it was, was needled so she set to work. She spat on his cock lubing him a few times with her hand and mouth. She pushed down and took him deep into her throat all the way to the hilt. Xander smiled a somewhat nasty smile and leaned back on the wall, "Much better, suck it babe nice and hard"
"Well, well; what do we have here?" a gruff voice asked from the darkness. "It's an Easter parade, you dumb fucker. What do you think it is" Xander said trying to take a swig from his JD and finding it empty. "Now fuck off; can't you see I'm getting a little head here?" The man growled and started forward in a threatening manner. Xander pulled the still sucking Maria off of his cock and put her behind him. Causing her to be a little surprised, normally her marks put her in front as an offering. Then shifting his manhood into his trousers Xander took a defensive stance. All trace of his earlier drunkenness seemed to have been chased out of his system by the surge of adrenaline he felt coursing through his veins. "I don't want any trouble," he said, although he wouldn't mind really. In fact, he wanted to do some damage; feel someone's nose cracking under his fist and kick them hard in the face.
The mouth of the alley way showed five men walking towards him. The dim light of the alley hiding details, but Xander could tell they were all burly. None of them looked to be much; mostly bully types. It was in the way they walked, the arrogance of their stance. All of them were hefting baseball bats in a threatening manner.
They fanned out in a rough circle cutting off any escape from the dead ended alley. "Hand it over!" the leader demanded.
"What this?" Xander said throwing the empty bottle into his face. The glass exploded cutting his assailants face, the remaining dregs of alcohol burning the thugs' eyes. Xander darted forward and snagged the man's baseball bat as the man held his hands to his burning face and eyes. With a contempt filled rage burning in his stomach, Xander was an awe-inspiring sight. He knew that he had a rage inside of him; mostly it stayed in the background only bubbling close to the surface at times of great personal stress. Since Sunnydale, it had been his constant companion. He unleashed that force of nature upon his attackers. He knew that he was being rolled and didn't take kindly to it. Xander's bat lashed out knee capping the thug shattering the kneecap with the animalistic fury behind the blow.
The other men were completely unprepared for the intensity of Xander's fury and fighting ability. He wasn't the best fighter in the world, but he had learned from watching and practiced with foe four times stronger than any of the jokers arrayed around him.
A man with a baldhead and more earrings that ear dived forward with his bat in full swing. Xander blocked the swing with his bat directing the force of the blow off to the side and removing its force. Then he brought his bat back across, smashing it across the bald mans head.
Two of his friends then pushed forwards. Xander span, even mostly inebriated he kept his equilibrium and placed a foot with unerring accuracy into one guys face. Then continuing his spin, he rammed his bat into the other guy's stomach folding him in half with an explosion of air. Xander span the bat smashing it upwards into the guys jaw and sending him to the floor.
Xander knocked out the last guy by punching him hard in the jaw, leaving nothing but a pile of groaning, unconscious and in one case, possibly severely concussed, if not dead men in his wake. He turned back to the now babbling in fear hooker, Maria, and gestured to his crotch, "You going to finish off?" he asked mildly.
Maria backed away scared out of her mind and afraid of his retribution. Xander shrugged and reached for his wallet. Once it was retrieved, he pulled out a 50 and tossed it on a body, "You did shut up, but you also tried to rob me, so no extra 10 for you my girl" Xander told her over his shoulder striding out of the alleyway. "Hey m.m.m.m.mister" Maria said plucking up her courage, she looked down at the bodies on the floor, "I think we need an ambulance"
"And?" Xander asked pausing at the exit.
"Please, call one for me; have some mercy," she pleaded with him. One of the men Frank was her brother. He was the one groaning on the floor with a shattered kneecap.
"Mercy?" Xander said with a twisted smile, "What's that?" he continued walking away into the night. Maria cried out in alarm but he kept walking ignoring her tears. However, once he turned a corner he walked to a phone booth and called an ambulance saying no more than the smallest amount of words to the operator, before setting off on the road once again. The receiver swung down by the wire, which left it off the hook, giving the emergency services a trace to track the call. It wasn't like Xander actually knew where the hell he was after all.
Back in the alley, a man with balding hair and blue eyes walked in to it and smiled at Maria, "Hi" he said cheerfully.
Maria backed up quickly, the man looked dangerous and there was something shifting around under his trench coat.
The man knelt and checked the groaning and unconscious bodies his face slipping into a grimace, "This one's nearly dead, what did he use?" he asked in an almost awed tone of voice.
Maria shuddered with fear and pointed to a red tinged baseball bat, "He had that and attacked me and my friends…" she was cut off by the dark look the man suddenly shot her.
"You tried to rob him?" he asked, almost rhetorically with a tired sigh. Maria found herself nodding without her minds intervention, confirming the strange mans suspicion and surprising her in the extreme. Maria, wasn't normally the sort of person to tell the truth when it could endanger her.
"These guys attacked him, and he didn't take kindly to it?" Maria shook her head, struck dumb by the intensity of the man's eyes; eyes that had moments ago been dancing with mirth and were now twin pools of never ending knowledge.
The man blew out a breath and reached out a hand bringing it to rest over the dying man's head, but not touching. A white glow emanated from the hand and grew to encompass the injured guys head. After a few short moments, he removed his hand again and worked his way around the group of thugs, finally stopping to look Maria in her scared eyes.
"This never happened, and" he interjected a bark of laughter, "I suggest that you don't try this again or you might end up catching another warrior." He continued his eyes sparkling dangerously, "You wouldn't like that, now would you?" Maria shook her head and suddenly felt compelled to thank the man, she knew in some way that, he had just healed her friends, "Thanks mister…" "The Name's Memphis" the trench coated man said standing on powerful legs in a sudden and fluid movement, which caused Maria to scuttle backwards away from him. Then a wicked smile curled his lips and his coat shifted again. This time a pair of huge white eagle-like wings sprouted from either side and stretched out to a good 6-foot wingspan either side.
Maria's mouth fell open her eyes rolling up into the back of her head she slumped to the floor. Memphis's wings beat once lifting him into the air and into the gloom of desert night.
Pine Tree Motel, Cincinnati, Ohio Xander sat on the end of the blemished motel bed, the drapes drawn against the setting sun with Katie in his hand. He was sat utterly still; only the steady rise and fall of his breathing indicated any life. The razor sharp blade of Katie hung a millimeter from his wrist. His eyes were dark with pain and self-hatred as he contemplated why he should cut down, HARD, and end his miserably existence.
Yet, every time he found a reason to do so, he could not. At first he had put it down to cowardice, then as time flowed a voice kept popping up in the back of his mind, stilling the downwards slice of Jack O'Toole's blade. That voice that told him that it was worth continuing, that life could only get better. That thought gave him no small amount of dark amusement, so far his life was slowly slipping downwards into oblivion and he knew it. The trouble was, he also knew that he was the only one that could really repair the damage. If he were to go back to Sunnydale now, and his friends were to forgive him unreservedly, even then the healing would only start when HE allowed it to. Looking to feel anything but the morbid pain of failing yet again to end his existence, Xander ran the point of Katie upwards from his wrist and created a tiny line of blood. The sensation of pain flooded his system, releasing endorphins, a natural opiate into his system. A small flash of well being lit his dark life, just for a fraction of a second as the small, almost harmless cut pained him.
Wishing to feel it once again Xander repeated the process, this time slightly harder. More pleasurable and natural drugs entered his system and he almost smiled. For a short time, at least, the pain of his loss, of his continued mental self-flagellation was blanked out by the physical harm he added to his body. Looking at the welling blood in the slender slice Xander blinked, realizing what he was doing was dangerous, but at the same time, it was so enticing, blissful in its release. It was like he was bleeding out the pain, if only for a time. He threw Katie away, suddenly angry with himself, and it landed point first in the floor, trembling for a moment with perpetual motion.
There was one other way of flooding his system with endorphins he knew, one that didn't, usually, leave scars. Glancing at the dimming window he knew it was time to go out and find that source.
It was funny really; there are three things that are scarily easy to find in just about any town, or city. One was a bar, another was the center and the final, and to Xander the most important one, was a red light district. They say it's the oldest profession, spanning millennia of culture that started when one woman sold her body to a man, in exchange for sustenance. Since then prostitution had come a long way, yet at its heart was exactly the same.
Xander supposed he should be disgusted with himself for trawling the streets looking for a cheap lay. He should be out, clubbing and picking up a total stranger for free for the same end product. He just, could not be bothered. This way was simpler, more direct and in some cases, quite possibly cheaper in terms of emotional attachment. Xander didn't want any sort of attachment at this moment in time he just wanted to glide.
He spotted a diminutive blonde, her hair in a bob framing her quite pretty face. She was leaning back against the wall in that classic streetwalker pose, one leg propped back on the wall and pushing out her hips and chest. Flashing her wares as it were.
He walked up to her; she noticed when he got within ten steps. He smiled slightly, having the effect of softening his hard eyes slightly and putting her at ease. He didn't want to frighten her. "Are you working?" he asked in a low voice.
The blonde smiled in a half smile, "Yes, you shopping?" Xander nodded and held out his arm. The Hooker looked at it for a moment, and then at Xander's face. Before deciding that he looked safe enough and taking it with a genuine smile.
Sandy looked back at the now sleeping form of Xander with a soft smile. He' d been gentle, non-demanding and for a customer, a gentlemen as well as being enjoyable. Which just made, what she was doing all the worse.
She rifled through his pockets finding and emptying his wallet. She looked at the watch on the dresser and something stopped her from taking it. Instead, she gathered the rest of her clothing and crept silently from the motel room, slipping into the early morning sun.
Xander's eyes snapped open at the click of the closing door. He glanced around seeing his abandoned wallet on the bed. He frowned at it for a long moment, even from his position he could see that it had been emptied of cash. He had no Credit Cards, only a Bank Card, that was untouched.
He swung his legs out of bed his feet searching for his boots. Once found he used his feet to flip one up into his hand.
Looking into the boot itself he smiled slightly, deciding that the hooker had been worth the extra fifty bucks it had cost him. At least his stash was safe. Though he decided that next time, there was no way in hell, he was falling asleep.
I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon
After all I knew it had to be something to do with you
I really don't mind what happens now and then
As long as you'll be my friend at the end
Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down
Charlotte Gilman-Perkins said, "New York… that unnatural city where every one is an exile, none more so than the American"
Her words could not be more aptly visualized than by the lonely and sullen figure that walked the night as if they were angry at the world. The concrete jungle held no interest for him. This man wasn't a tourist with a camera and a wallet strapped around their middle. He was an American from the other side of the country, exiled, alone and angry.
Xander's poise was hunched as he walked through a dirty run down back street, rain pelted down on his bear head but he didn't care. The rain was just another crappy thing about his crappy life. He stomped through a puddle ignoring the splash of cold and very dirty water flying up his leg. He just continued to wander through the night uncaring and sinking slowly further down into the depths of a depression that caused a black cloud to exude from him.
He was a man at odds with his surroundings, with an air of depression so black that the streetlights seemed to dim as he walked past. People shied away from him and the few that didn't stay far enough away were glared at until they backed away.
Repulsed by the sheer hatred and anger that they could see in the brown orbs of pain that were once Xander's laughing windows to his soul.
It hit his senses that his mouth was dry and more importantly that the street was slowly coming into focus. He couldn't allow that, it was time for a drink.
He changed direction back the way he had come pretty much at random quickly finding a club.
He queued up at the entrance with the patrons standing out like a cock at a hen party. Everyone around him was dressed in gothic costume complete with netting clothing, lingerie that showed in glimpses of lace and silk, dark eyeliner and in some cases, false fangs and translucent black capes shimmering in the razor edged New York Autumn wind. None of this really registered in Xander's mind until he had finally made his way into the club.
Memphis looked down from a roof the other side of the street nodding his head to someone unseen a slow smile spreading across his face, "Hope" he said before unfurling his wings with a ruffling sound, and taking to the air, warping reality to disappear in a spectral display of blue lights.
His one word, spoken in a deep voice seemed to hang in the air long after his departure, an epitaph to his presence and an omen of things to come.
Xander sat nursing his bottle of bourbon. The club itself was packed out. The booth he had staked a claim to was the last one in the entire club that had any seats. So far, he had managed to scare off any possible interlopers into his drunken pity party. He wanted to be alone, only he didn't. So, he usually satisfied that quandary by going to a club and getting pie eyed, alone with lots of people. . It didn't make much sense, but then he didn't really give a rat's ass. It was a strange feeling to be alone in a crowded room, to feel that emptiness in the pit of his stomach that not even Jack Daniels truly filled, only numbed. Being around strangers was easy, and necessary since he honestly didn't know a soul in New York.
This club though was something else. He had come here completely at random but now, he was wondering about the strangeness of the galaxy. He knew about these sorts of people of course, one of Buffy's friends had hung with a similar crowd. Yet, he still couldn't actually believe it.
The club was large, very open plan with a few booths littered around the outside. There were large pillars of rough-hewn stone that looked to have been taken straight out of a medieval church. Tables and chairs were of oak, heavy and brooding on the bare flagstone floor. One could almost expect a drunken man with a tankard of ale to swagger past and demand to know where Dick Turpin was.
The vibe in the club was as gothic as the ambience. The women dressed in either full medieval dresses or a parody of them, with plunging necklines and huge heeled shoes. Their faces were pale with a striking contrast of dark, usually black eyeliner and lipstick. The men were not dressed that differently, also with the striking eyeliner and make up usual with netted clothes. Although there were a few, mostly men, dressed in crimson lined capes, Legossi style widows peak and fake fangs.
The atmosphere was charged; electrified by the live band playing on a raised podium at the far end away from the doors. To each side of the podium were two cages, in one there was a scantily clad woman, chained to the bars of the cage and dancing, the other was the same only with a male occupant. The dance floor was packed with swaying and moshing people dancing in their own world somewhere away from the stresses of their lives. Around the dance floor disguised as half pillars were state of the art sound system components, huge 6 foot speakers with massive two foot subwoofers set into them creating a thrumming bounce of music in the air and causing the customers to have to raise their voices if they wished to be heard. Except from the booth-area, which was quieter due to some clever audio engineering.
The bar was set into one side of the cavernous club with a solid stone bar top and a few tough looking wooden stools bolted down at its front. There were three bar women, all dressed in sexy gothic clothing skirts shorter than most of the patrons complete with hold up stockings. It seemed to be a uniform of sorts as several other serving women were out mingling with the customers picking up glasses and stopping to chat with friends, or acquaintances.
Xander did notice that this crowd seemed to be more gothic than the vampire loving idiots that were Buffy's friend's crowd.
With their dark looks and selection of clothing that spread from Vamp-wear to Wicked witch of the west striped tights and lace corsets. However, there were still enough of the vampire loving crowd to get on Xander's alcohol tensed nerves.
"Fucking Rice and her oh so noble pouting vampires" Xander growled under his breath. "That Bram Stoker was a cracked out shit head as well!" he continued talking to his bottle of JD.
People close enough to hear what he was saying shifted away from his ranting. That was approximately a few yards and about as far as they were able to shift in the crowded club.
"If one of these freaks met a vampire" Xander said cutting himself off with a hollow laugh.
"Well, what would one of us freaks do?" said a man wearing what looked to be an evening suit, cape and a very pale complexion.
He was also wearing a frown and looked to be quite angry.
"You'd shit yourself!" Xander said succinctly looking up from his bottle to met his angry gaze.
"Why would one of the night walkers make me do that?" the belligerent man asked.
"Hah!" Xander laughed sharply, "Night walker" then he frowned, "isn't that a prostitute?" he asked the bottle. When it didn't answer him he turned a mild glare up to the man, "Demons, that's what they are; demons with nasty ugly faces and big fucking sharp teeth" Xander said sounding ALMOST sober.
"No, you've got it wrong…" the man began only for Xander to cut him off.
"Oh, met any vamp's have we?" Xander asked.
"They walk among us without us ever knowing" the man said his voice and bearing sanctimonious
"Hah" Xander yet again laughed, this time mockingly, "Some know, believe me. They know when those pointy teeth pierce their necks and they die in agony, their blood sucked out in less than a minute. You think that feels NICE?" Xander shook his head in pity, "I just hope that when you find a real vamp that he does turn you, not just kill you"
"They who walk with the night wouldn't want to hurt me. They are above us, a higher being"
Xander shook his head, "Dumb fucker"
"If you are not interested in the Lonely Ones, why are you here?" his girl friend asked with a nails on blackboard type of voice.
Xander looked at her his eyes raking across her slender figure, "Getting drunk, hopefully, and laid." He smiled, "So, unless you want to join me?
Xander took a deep breath as if to calm himself and smiled charmingly at them both, "Fuck off" he said losing the smile and a hard edge entering his eyes.
The girl looked at him appraisingly for a moment, he was strongly built but drunk as hell, his hair was a mess and his eyes were like bottomless pools of hell. Yet he exuded a strange confidence, something about him just screamed I'm a great fuck.
She nearly took him up on the offer but her boyfriend dragged her away his face set into an angry scowl.
Leaving Xander to his mope. There was, however, one who had been following the conversation with a great deal of interest.
Xander shifted his concentration back to shooting as much whisky as he could they watched appraisingly.
The dark man was just that, dark, almost brooding into his whisky. He was untidy and looked like he only kept up basic human cleanliness. Yet, as she shifted her gaze to the super natural and viewed his aura, he was simple beautiful. The soul of a warrior and of a protector, she could see that he was capable of high mental and spiritual achievement. Especially gifted in the field of science, which she decided had nothing to do with modern science and could apply to the occult. His aura also told her that he was likely to be kind, charming and inclined to romantic impulsiveness. Although the large blemish of black that ran through his aura and tainted everything it touched told her that he wasn't likely to be very charming at that precise moment in time. Although he was almost tear jerking-ly lonely from that melancholy burst of purple.
Something bad had happened to him, something that had rocked the foundations of his world leaving them in ruin. Then, there was the fact that he seemed to know of the Demonia, the vampires that carried a demon in place of a soul. It was obvious that this man had great potential. She exerted her special gift and metaphorically tapped him on the mental shoulder.
Xander felt something watching him and looked around to lock eye to eye with a gorgeous woman. Her raven hair flowed past her shoulders framing her exotic face. Her face itself was a wet dream, large dark eyes, and straight noise with a pair of full pouty lips set under it. They were curled in a slight, knowing smile that Xander found alluring. As she stood and started to walk towards him, he noticed her body. It was simply jaw dropping, curvaceous with full breasts and curvy hips. Her black dress hung to her like a second skin and as per the fashion of the club ran all the way to the floor. Once there it flared out somewhat and Xander could make out very high-heeled shoes or boots. There was a split in her skirt to mid thigh allowing a peak of black clad sculpted leg.
"Hi, can I sit here?" she asked her voice a low purr that still carried over the noise of the club.
Even though she was jaw dropingly attractive, Xander was still about to refuse her. Then he met her eyes and found himself nodding before he realized what he was doing. "Sure, take a load off"
"Thank you" she dazzled him with a smile and shuffled alongside him. The booth wasn't large in fact it was tiny. As such, she had to squeeze in quite close to him. Not that he minded all that much, but he really wanted to be left on his own, for the rest of his life preferably. He'd come to a single life changing realization on his trek across the states. He WAS a loser, just as his parents had always drummed into him. He really was as worthless as they said, if not then why was he now alone.
"My name's Belinda" she said trying to engage him in conversation
"Xander" replied Xander.
"You look… kind of down" she commented with that dazzling smile again.
Xander shrugged without saying anything.
"I heard what you said to that guy" Belinda tried.
Xander rolled his eyes, "Oh great another one"
Belinda allowed herself a small smile, "Not quite, I didn't say I agreed with him, all that idiotic stuff about the 'lonely ones' I mean, come on" she said with exaggerated irony.
"Yeah" Xander said in a non-committal tone of voice.
"I mean, if I were a vampire. I think I'd come here just to cheer myself up"
Xander looked at her with suspicion etched on his face, "Really?"
"Yeah, although I don't necessarily think all vampires are like the ones you described either. I'm guessing that WAS from personal experience… right?"
Xander sighed, "Yeah, it was" he said not really caring if she thought he was a loon.
Belinda leaned back in to the bench seat crossing her legs under the table and rubbing against Xander's leg in the process.
She ignored his startled jump; taking a breath she continued, "I know what you mean. I've seen ones like that as well"
"Yeah?" Xander asked trying to get back to his drink and not think about her leg touching his.
"Oh… Yeah" Belinda said her smile turning predatory.
Xander looked at her, "I see" he said again with no commitment to his words, just letting her lead.
Belinda looked him in the eye, "Yes, I hate that race. They're nothing like my kind"
"Your kind?" Xander asked with lifted brow. 'Oh great, a nut case; but of course, why else would she be interested' he thought to himself darkly.
"Yes. You see I really do come here to be amused by them," she said with a dismissive nod of her head, "This Riceean ideal of the dark brooding vampire that walks the night alone with a heavy heart is bull shit"
"Well, the dark brooding bit's true" Xander said with a darkly amused smirk. He may as well enjoy being able to talk of the dale while he could. Before the men in white coats came for her, that was.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah, knew this one vamp, was cursed with a soul. He's a putz"
Belinda looked him in the eye and started to bounce her leg in time to the music stimulating his leg at the same time, "I'll bet. Anyway, so I come here. I watch and usually I just feed off of some guy then wipe his memory. Tonight I meet you, all dark and dying on the inside. So, what's your story sexy?" she said with a flirtatious smile.
"I'm not vamp food, so if you're not insane and just playing me, I'll stake you" Xander warned her.
"Really, I think I'd love to be staked by you" she replied purposefully rubbing her long leg up his, "Would you stake me hard like a naughty little vampire?" she purred.
Xander reached into his jacket and pulled out his favorite stake, hand turned by him, "I'm not messing around, find some other food," he warned her again. He really couldn't be bothered to dust her. He also didn't much care if she did feed off of someone else.
Belinda looked at the stake with hooded eyes, "You've only met the demonic breed haven't you?" she rhetorically asked, reaching out she wrapped finger and thumb around the stake. Then she proceeded to move the ring up and down the stake slowly.
It was well made, that was for sure, so was he. Her mental influence should have made him putty in her hands by now. But then, his aura of powerful potential had been what interested her in the first place. Well, that and his knowledge of vampires.
Xander watched her slender fingers caressing the stake and swallowed past a suddenly tight throat. There was something about a woman fondling a cylindrical object. To cover his momentary lapse he let go of the stake and reached for his cigarettes.
Before he could reach the pack, one was being held in her hand waiting for him to take it. In her other hands was a solid gold Zippo lighter with an intricately designed cross on it.
There were two problems with this, for Xander at least. One, her fingers curled around the cross design, as such if she was a vampire she should be smoking herself. Two, she was seriously making him horny, and of late, he tended to be led around by his dick.
He took the offered smoke and allowed her to light it, watching her eyes like a hawk.
Belinda held his gaze as he lit the cigarette her eyes dancing with dark lust. The 'feel' she was getting off of him was driving her nuts. He just reeked of potential, she wasn't happy about him wasting it as he was. He was obviously on the road to self-destruction it was in his eyes, she wasn't about to let that happen. She hated waste of materials, in any shape or form, but particularly the waste of potential. She had a strange sense, that this man could be just what she was looking for, besides she knew it because someone she trusted had told her it was so, but she liked to be sure. She used her gift to scan him a little what she saw made her very sad. "I'm so sorry" she said seemingly right out of the blue.
"Sorry, for what?" Xander asked bemusedly.
"Your life's been pretty awful hasn't it" she said her voice low her eyes gentle.
"If you are a vampire, you're weird" Xander pointed out.
"Perhaps, but then I like to think I'm a rarity" Belinda said, with a slight laugh.
"Really, how rare?" Xander asked. His dark mood had lifted a bit talking to this strange woman. He didn't much care if she was a vampire, or some other freak of nature. She seemed to actually give a shit, which is more than anyone else in his life.
Belinda pursed her lips tapping her chin thoughtfully. Xander's eyes flicked down to them, noticing that they were full and glistened slightly. He suddenly wondered what they felt like to kiss.
That thought came through loud and clear for Belinda but she actually wanted to tell this strange man about herself. "About 800 of us left now"
Xander let out a low whistle 800 out of 5 billion were not good odds he was wondering just exactly what she was. "What are you?" he asked finally.
"I am a vampire, I'm not insane, and no I don't have a demon. The only thing that stake is good for with me is" she smiled slowly and leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "as a sex toy" she leaned back a little, enjoying the sharp intake of breath she had elicited from him. She picked it up and touched it slowly bringing it to her lips. She licked her lips slowly and tapped it against them. "Or something like that." She smiled and stopped toying with him for a moment, "I'm a very, very rare type of vampire"
"Evil?" Xander asked, not caring either way.
"The same as mortal man; some are, some aren't." she told him airily.
"What about you?" Xander asked with a twisted smile.
Belinda curled her lip into a sexy half smile, she was still leaning a hand on his thigh so she moved it up a little further and squeezed slightly, "I think you'd like the way I'm bad"
Xander ignored his lower brain functions with effort, "Why are you talking to me?" he asked confusedly, "I am, or was, a vampire hunter almost full time. Just coming over here was a risk. You must have realized that from what I said to that fuck-whit with the cloak"
Belinda leaned back, a little impressed at his fortitude "You fascinate me. I wanted to know more about you." She told him honestly, "You have such potential"
Xander barked out a disgusted laugh, "For what, I'm useless a loser good for nothing, you get the idea"
Belinda frowned she turned the stake in her hand, "What is this?" she asked.
"Eh, a stake. I though we'd covered that, you know with the double-entendre and fondling thing?"
Belinda smiled slightly, "What's it for?"
"Killing vampires?"
Belinda winced slightly, "Please, call them Demonia, I don't like to be compared to them"
"Sure" Xander shrugged, he didn't much care either way at that point.
Belinda just continued talking in a soft, low and hypnotic voice, "You only need wood for that, why make it this smooth, why finish it with a hand grip?"
"I didn't want to get a splinter," Xander said, as if it were obvious.
"So you made this, yourself?"
"I did, yeah, what's the point here?"
"That you saw a problem, splinters, and not only did you solve the problem, you 'crafted' a weapon that is both well balanced and splinter free."
"So?" Xander asked now honestly confused.
"So, you aren't useless then are you. You found a problem and using a scientific approach, because that is what you did, solved the problem and in the process showed that you have a flair for working with wood. Where is the loser in this, does this strike you as good for nothing?" Belinda said her voice and dark eyes intense.
Xander was actually stunned, he had known this woman, vampire or whatever the hell she was, for less than ten minutes and already she had done more for his confidence and self worth than his parents in 19 years. "Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked in a shocked voice.
Belinda smiled slightly and met his shocked gaze with her own soft one, "Because your worth my time. Because, I was sat over in that booth watching a warrior dying and I couldn't sit by and allow it to continue. Because, I find you attractive and I want you"
Xander blinked a few times, "What was that last bit again?"
"Because, I find you attractive and I want you" she repeated her lips twitching into a sultry smirk and her eyes turning smoky.
"Why?" he asked dumbfounded, "You're gorgeous, utterly stunningly, mouth wateringly, drop dead beautiful. I'm a slightly smelly, bad tempered drunk whose looks could best be described as average"
"Yes, you are, apart from the looks part that's not a bad description" Belinda said nodding, "But you were not always thus, and if you'll agree perhaps I can help you to reach your full potential"
"Why would you do that, and how?"
"I hate to see potential wasted, and I would be honored if you will accept my gift of blood. As a vampire, you'd have the strength you crave, the abilities you desire. But as my kind of vampire you will not have the demon you hate so much, because I CAN see that it is the demon you hate, not the vampire"
"All Vampires are the same," Xander said.
Belinda pursed her lips, "All vampires, are NOT the same" she paused thoughtfully, "If you'll agree we'll move this conversation upstairs to my friends apartment. She owns this club and the rooms above it will allow us some privacy. I give you my word of honor, that I will not attempt to feed from you without your express permission"
Xander laughed slightly, "You're serious" he asked and half stated.
"I am, I'll tell you a story that, I hope, will prove to you that not all vampires are the same. I also stand by my offer and hope to convince you that I can help you, just as you can help me"
"Why, would I help you and how?"
"You'll understand when I tell you my tale" Belinda said shuffling back out of the booth and standing. She held out her hand for Xander and looked him in the eyes, "Now will YOU at least attempt to open your mind?"
Xander shrugged, "I'm probably just walking into a trap" he commented sliding out of the booth with his bottle and cigarettes clasped in his hand, "But the way I'm going it doesn't much matter" he admitted. "Lead on Belinda, then weave me this tale, after you drain me I'll come back and haunt you in the shower" he said smiling madly.
"You're a little strange Xander"
"So I've been told Belinda, so I've been told" Xander said following her as she led him away from the booth and through the club. "So where's this friend, are you sure she won't mind"
"Isabel, no she won't mind the apartment itself is huge, I was living in Rome or I would have taken you to my place." She shrugged, "but no place to take you to"
She led him past a bouncer nodding at the large man before slipping a key into a lock on the door he was guarding. The door once unlocked was pushed open and Xander felt Belinda's hand in his. She walked over to the elevator that stood alone in the black painted room and pushed the call button.
Xander joined her standing without saying a word. He glanced around and noticed, despite the black on black of it, a camera in the corner of the wall. He was also watching Belinda out of the corner of his eye, once they had been away from the people, he had honestly expected her to jump him and rip into his neck. So far, she was content with watching him with hooded eyes.
The elevator arrived and she breezed into it with Xander in her wake. She turned to face the doorway and leant on the back wall still just watching Xander's every move. He should have found it off-putting and creepy but the look in her eye was sexy as hell, SHE was sexy as hell.
Once they had finally reached their destination Belinda led him into a well-appointed and very large apartment building, "Drink" she said over her shoulder.
"Got my own" he replied.
"Then take a seat on the sofa, I'll be right there"
Xander did as he was asked and perched on the edge of the couch. He didn't sit back on the highly expensive looking white couch, instead rested on the edge of a cushion. His hand brought the JD to his mouth and he pulled on it. "Can I smoke?" he asked fishing for his cigarettes.
"Sure" Belinda said appearing back in the room, her hand holding a huge Brandy balloon glass and a cigarette for him.
"Thanks" he said taking the cigarette. He expected her to take the seat opposite him, instead she curled into the seat at the end of the couch, forcing him to turn and look at her. To do so he had to also sit back a bit, becoming more comfortable. If she had planned it, it was a masterful piece of body language manipulation, and planned it she had. They looked at each other for a moment, Xander's eyes occasionally flicking down to her sculpted leg now showing a fair expanse due to her position.
"Like what you see?" Belinda said stretching out slightly and exposing even more leg to his hungry gaze.
"Who wouldn't" Xander said meeting her eyes challengingly. He was still expecting her to make a move to feed, and she was still not meeting his expectation.
She dazzled him with a smile, "Is that a yes?"
Xander nodded, "Oh hell yeah"
"Want to touch?" she asked her lips pouting sexily, "I won't bite"
Xander smirked and ran his hand up her proffered leg stopping at her knee, "Feel's great"
She sighed, "Higher"
Xander moved to her thigh, just above the knee.
"Go higher" she said breathily.
"What do I get if I do?" Xander said a slight laugh in his voice.
"Oh, something GOOD" she replied with a lascivious smile.
"I thought you had a story for me" Xander teased.
"I do, but it can wait"
"I think I'll settle for the story; for now"
Belinda licked her lips teasingly, "What story was that?"
"If I remember correctly, you said all Vampires are not the same, so tell me" Xander said after a moments thought and a tug on his smoke.
"Very well" Belinda said tacking a sip of her brandy, she shifted in her seat moving round to settle her feet and legs on his lap and then she began to speak.
My name originally was B'eldrannia and I was born 13,000 years before the birth of Christ to a young couple both well versed in the ways of that time. They were both scribes in the palace, so they were fairly well to do. We didn't have the biggest house, nor was our furniture the most grand. Ours was a loving family, however, and I grew up a generally happy and contented child. I cannot tell you their names, 15,000 years is a long time and I regret I can no longer recall their names. No image remains of those loving people other than my faint memories. Such is the way of immortal life, one cannot remember all of the details, things slip from the mind; pushed out by new sensations and emotions. It saddens me that it is thus, but there is much in the last 15,000 years that saddens me.
But I digress; we lived in the great city and island of Atlantis. I know what you're thinking: Atlantis it cannot be so, it is just a myth, you must be insane, but no, I am neither insane nor delusional. I was part of a culture that predated the Babylonians; Egypt wasn't even a dream and savage tribesmen owned America.
The people of my time were generally a gentle race, there were of course our thieves, and our malcontents; but for the most part Atlantis was a peaceful place. We had the best shipping and trade of any culture at that time. Our success was based, largely, on our ability to harness magic to our needs. We had great soaring machines of magic, much like your mechanical ones today. They allowed us a certain freedom to distance ourselves from the mundane and to focus on the arcane.
There was a great school in the heart of the city an institution that taught the use of magic and studied the ancient one's scriptures. At my first flowering I was sent there, 13 years of age was I when I left my home. I was both excited and scared at the same time, in a way it was like the first sexual experience; anticipation mixed with fear. It took me only a short while to settle in and we were allowed home at the end of a semester for a short while. So, I did not miss my parents unduly.
I was too wrapped up in this new world I was being shown. It was a world filled with treasures of the mind, spiritual advancements and the gaining of knowledge. I wasn't the most intelligent student, or was I the most diligent, but I did learn and learnt well the lessons being taught to me. I was taught to respect all life, to revel in nature and respect the force of magic. It was the corner stone of the lifestyle and culture of the Atlantean's.
I progressed up the ranks from inductee, to neophyte and finally I was apprenticed to a sorcerer. In the Atlantean language, a sorcerer was a female mage. A fully trained practitioner of magic and they were knowledgeable in the arcane arts. A'laria was pleasant as the devout usually were, I do not remember much of her, except that I grieve her death even now. Not because we were close or particularly emotionally involved, though we were lovers, but because her death, one of many, marked the downfall of the Atlantean people. Our culture was to be dashed against the rocks of time, forever to slip from everyone's memory, perhaps, one day even mine. I fear the day that occurs, because then there will be no one to recall the glittering spires of purest gold, the domes on the universities. There will be none to remember the sight of our ships leaving port, their sails high in the air; reaching out to the four corners of the earth. I will cry when I can no longer recall the feel of natures magic in the air, the electric blue sparks of power the shimmering ochre of the magical wine, nor it's bittersweet taste.
There are some who will even now dismiss my words as the ranting of a madwoman; I challenge them to look in my eye and not see the remorse in them even now. Regret that I did not do more, that I had not learned faster and more comprehensively, perhaps if I had, then the world would be a very different place.
Yet again, I digress from the story. I had just reached my 27th cycle when the Altertümlich attacked us. They were a people from the north, power hungry and jealous of our successes they came to take our knowledge and use it for conquest. The Altertümlich were not, however, without their guile. Our magic not only allowed us to pursue higher thoughts, it also allowed us to be safe from the often warlike and savage peoples of that time, even the Demonia left us alone. Demonia, so you know is the ancient's word for Demonic Vampires, the vile ancestors of the old ones and the source of my breed.
So the vile Altertümlich crept like a thief in the night, they systematically removed every sorcerer and mage, slit their throats in their sleep, or in some other way destroyed them. The Altertümlich moved through our city all across the great island of Atlantis and murdered, pillaged and destroyed millennia of teachings; all in their quest for power and hunger for baubles.
Once the sneak attack was complete the Altertümlich then swept in, in force. Their ships flocked to our shores and ports.
They flowed across our land like a plague of locusts for that's what they were. The Altertümlich were loathsome insects that wanted nothing more than to gorge themselves on our riches.
When the Mages and Sorcerers were gone, the university had only neophytes and apprentices to guard it. One would think, perhaps, that this would've been little challenge for the battle hardened Altertümlich. One would be most grievously wrong.
Some of our bravest men and women went to fight the Altertümlich hand to hand, yes we had been taught to protect ourselves, they held them back whilst others of us researched. We researched and hoped until finally, after so many cherished brethren had been slain, we erected a shield around the entire complex. This brought us some time, for the Altertümlich were also magic users, but their shaman were no match for our Mage and Sorcerer class.
We used our time wisely, we delved deep into the library and started to gain knowledge of and study battle magic. I was among the few that had been chosen to head up the research team. There were much better practitioners than I so they were chosen to learn the spells and fire them at the dirty Altertümlich.
I found myself digging deeper and deeper into the catacombs, searching for more and more spells of battle and destruction. We were desperate at that point because the Altertümlich had taken hold of the rest of Atlantis; it was up to younglings, children, and the magically inexperienced to fight back their black wave of loathsomeness. I was coming to the end of my abilities also. The scrolls I was reading were becoming more and more difficult to translate, until finally I reached an impasse, the scrolls too ancient for me to translate. Then I happened across one last readable scroll. A scroll that according to the library marks predated mans realm on earth. I quickly loaded it into the reading machine and twisted it open. I had read only three lines when the darkness came. It was like a hole had opened up under my soul and sucked out all of the warmth. My eyesight swam and dissolved into blood reds and darkest blacks. My heart was hammering in my chest so hard that I thought it was trying to escape. My breathing was coming in short pants. Then a fire appeared in my stomach. The pain was so intense that I screamed hoarse instantly. Then it started to creep through my bones, spreading across my body, flooding my system and filling my world with pain. It seemed to last for a million years, but I'm sure was only really scant seconds. Then nothing, nothing for another million years until finally my eyes opened onto a new world. A world full of color, of texture and taste, I could see shades of color that I hadn't noticed before, I could feel every waft of air in the dry basement. I could even hear, to me anyway, the thunderous roar of my blood rushing through my veins.
Then the hunger came; there is simply no way to explain the hunger of the newly risen. Imagine that you have neither eaten or drank in the last hundred years and multiply it by a lifetime. The growls of my stomach were deafening and I was doubled over in pain from it. Yet, somehow, I managed to reach the upper levels of the library, still with my treasure of knowledge in my grasp. I found that by some miracle the shield was still holding, though no one was present to witness my arrival. I quickly shed my load of useful material on a desk and went looking for food.
I made my way quickly to the kitchens where I knew there was always enough food to glut an army. Yet the more I ate, the hungrier I become, more and more food was crammed into my body with no effect.
Then, even through my hunger I felt the lapse of magic all around me. In my state, it took me a moment to place the feeling.
The shield had fallen, and with it, our time had been curtailed. I was in no state at that moment to be of much use, so I tried to find something, anything to stop the ache in my stomach. Then a commotion from outside reached me even through my now frenzied state. An Altertümlich guard burst through the kitchen door. He spotted me and smiled evilly at me. I knew what he wanted; there had been reports of pillage and plundering reaching us from the main city. The soldiers had raped woman and children alike. We were an enlightened culture and our views on sex and sexuality were very liberal, even by today's standards. There was one caveat, however; one's body had to be given willingly, rape was our most serious crime. It just made me hate them even more.
It was also the moment that an inkling of my predicament entered my consciousness. When I turned to face the Altertümlich guard I saw him, everything about him, I could SEE the capillaries in his blood, the flow in his veins and the beating of his heart. It was alluring, irresistible, enticing and frankly mouth watering. If I'd had time, I would have been disgusted with myself but I didn't I just acted, a base animal instinct driving me towards my goal.
The guard reacted with surprise but interest as I approached him, I put a gentle sway into my hips and thrust out my bosom. A sultry smile curled onto my lips and I sashayed over to him. He started to unbuckle his Armor almost straight away mouthing something obscene in their guttural language. Not only did I not understand a word of it, I did not care. Whilst the guard was distracted, I zoned in on him taking his head in my hands I turned his neck and sniffed. Now I knew what would sate my hunger. I was both revolted and aroused by my actions as I licked his throat from the top of his breastbone to point of chin.
Then I nipped and kissed my way around to the side of his filthy neck. His hands roughly grabbed and pulled at me, but I paid it no mind. I had a goal and an insatiable need to fulfill it. Once my lips attached themselves to the jugular, I felt a strange sensation of pressure in my mouth. Then the guard stifled a gasp of pleasure as my fangs pierced his neck. The bite of my kind is totally different to the Demonia who are vicious and painful in the enactment of their feeding. The demon in them demands blood as a baby does its mothers milk, it is demanding and if not curbed it will glut itself to nausea. My kind had no demon in them, which I didn't find out until much later and we require a comparatively small amount of blood on which to exist. But at that point, I knew nothing of my plight, nor did the guard. I drank of his life's essence slowly at first and then a lust like no other overcame me and I started to suckle like a lamb.
As my drinking began in earnest, the guard was climaxing with pleasure. I heard him gasp as he ejaculated but I continued in my task. There came a point, I'm afraid to say, that I knew I was satiated but I did not even slow in slaking my now non-existent thirst. I drained that guard, now he wasn't a nice man his people had ransacked my entire world and yet even now I can still see his pale face looking up at me, a smile gracing his lips as I lowered his corpse to the ground.
Once my mind returned to me, I was strangely not horrified at what I had done, or what obviously I was. My first thought turned to the library and how I must do something to ensure it's survival and of course make sure it did not fall into the hands of the Altertümlich.
An idea occurred to me at that point, it was serendipitous a flash of inspiration. I quickly set out to make my dream a reality. Luckily, I had been assisting my sorcerer in the construction of a micro-reality. Another way to describe our project would be to call it a pocket dimension. It was an exercise in dimensional magic's that she had wished me to learn.
Thanks to her, that lesson will always remain with me. I rushed from the kitchen to the catacombs; luckily, the guards were still for the most part dealing with my fellow students. They brought me the time to preserve as much information and knowledge as possible. The spell to reach our mini-dimension was actually relatively simple; it was the original construction that was complex. I opened the portal, what felt like, hundreds of times shoveling scrolls in through it until I heard the approach of the guards and knew that Atlantis had fallen once and for all.
I comforted myself with the thought that the Altertümlich would never be able to tap the knowledge of the ancients to any degree. I hadn't managed to do all the scrolls and it had been exceedingly random, but the one thing I had made sure to procure had been the skill crystal archive. They are quartz looking crystal 8 inches long and one wide. Upon these beautiful objects, the skill and the knowledge of that skill could be stored. I realize that it seemed that I repeated myself I did not. A full explanation would take years, and is unimportant at this point.
How did I escape the Altertümlich I hear you ask? I did not exactly, is my answer I merely hid in my pocket dimension and left in another location, this time the armory. Then our records archive, and finally I slipped into the throne and treasure stores. The thought that I would one day have to barter some of these items never occurred to me, I just did not want the Altertümlich to lay their dirty hands on any of it. I finally opened the portal from my personal dimension into the forests just outside the city and stole into the night the way the Altertümlich had arrived.
Why did I not just stay in the pocket-dimension? That is a good question, I'm glad you asked. It was not complete there was no foodstuff no water and no living arrangements; there wasn't anything as such just piles and piles of my plundered booty.
It took me nearly a thousand years to find information pertaining to my predicament. In that time I was nothing more than an animal living off of passer's by from the base camp I had set up.
Occasionally when the hunger became too much I wandered into settlements and either seduced or tricked someone into becoming my prey.
I existed I did not live. Then finally I found the answer's I was looking for and they gave me some sort of closure. By this time, I had of course come to terms with myself somewhat; millennia will do that for you. Yet, all I knew was that I had been cursed, I had been shot, speared and beaten to death and had never died. I healed from my injuries in hours instead of days; I was stronger and faster than any person I had ever met. I thought I had become Demonia, but I did not have their blood lust, nor did I have the rigged brow and yellow eyes. The only sign of my curse are my fangs, and only when I feed or wish them to be shown.
Then on of my many forays into my still unsorted library, I found the answer. Ater Anima Lamia - Dark Souled Vampire, is what I found, a human Demonia hybrid. A race that had only come to exist because of an act of rape from an old Demonia of a human female; the resultant offspring had been the first of my race.
Once this vampire-human hybrid reached physical maturity at around 20 years of age, he stopped ageing and thirsted after blood. He was immune to sunlight and to stakes, and because there was no demon inside of him, he was impervious to holy water and icons.
They soon turned on their demonic brethren then after nearly three thousand years of growth, the Demonia, the demonic vampires wiped them out. These vampires were seen as an aberration, a kink of fate that was a threat to true Demonia. They were a threat because they had all of the strength and very few of the weaknesses of the Demonia. The Hybrid's also hated the Demonia with all of their undead souls. It took 100 years for the Demonia to hunt down and execute them all, 10,000 Ater Anima Lamia driven to extinction.
Thus, they became a mere footnote in history a mere mention on an ancient scroll of knowledge. However, the mage scribe who wrote of this race placed a protection spell on the scroll. Those who read it without first speaking the safety spell, known only to the enlightened few, would be cursed to become like those hybrids and doomed to roam the earth hunted by the Demonia.
The scroll I read and accidentally cursed myself to become a vampire, one of the hated.
I became distraught for some time wandering across the land, watching but never participating. I think at one point I was in fact insane, I had no real human contact for five millennia. I of course talked to people, usually to feed off of them. I found quickly that my body was the perfect tool to get my food. I did try other creatures, before you ask, the AterAnima have to drink live blood or else be in torturous pain until feeding. Other bloods, even 'dead' human blood can keep us going for some time, but eventually we HAVE to feed. Unlike the Demonia, who are dead, we are alive and as such need the blood of a live being, a human one.
After those 5 millennia I seemed to become clear again, my ranting and delusions slipped away to be replaced by a realization.
I had been wasting away and that was wrong; I was the last of my kind on two levels. I was the last true Atlantean on the earth, and the last AterAnima. I couldn't fritter that away, and believe me I had tried to kill myself countless times. Did you know the AterAnima could survive falling over a thousand feet? No? Well, we can but it hurts so I don't recommend it.
I tried to breed, to pass on my Atlantean hereditary but quickly found that I was utterly barren. I have since come to find that it is a symptom of the AterAnima, I wasn't sure at the time though. Then I came across the turning of a human into a Demonia. Luckily for me, the Demonia was only interested in her task, unaware of my presence. I watched the sharing of the blood and became fascinated. I watched, picked out every tiny detail for later experimentation. It took me another 100 years before I even tried it; my research had been so thorough. My first attempt was a failure, not enough blood I ended up creating a sort of drone like creature, I quickly dispatched it, as it had none of our strengths, except physically. Then I tried again, this time with more blood and I finally had success.
I had a companion for the first time in 5000 years. He lasted for one hundred years before succumbing to madness and he, at least, was successful in killing himself. I was distraught but I quickly tried again, this time I turned people left and right. They, in turn turned people and our numbers swelled. Then the Demonia finally took notice. We were hunted and run down like rabbits by a fox. They killed us without mercy and I finally learned that we could be killed with decapitation. I hadn't tried that, nor had I tried fire, the other method to remove our footprint in the desert of time.
They quashed us down until I again went back to my pocket-dimension because now I was alone. I spent some time finishing the job that my master had so long ago begun. I formed simple constructions and began the creation of an indexed library. Why? Simple really, I didn't want to fail my kind again. I had failed my Atlantean family and then my AterAnima; at least, that is how I saw it. So, I studied and learned and trained myself into a warrior a mage and a vampire. I came out to feed every year, once a year just keeping myself from feeling too much pain. I stocked up and went back. I lived that way for a thousand years until finally I was ready to face the world again. I strode forth and found that the world was changing into something resembling culture.
Egypt was springing from the desert and I spent many long years there. I did not attempt to build a family but I did make friends though. I had finally realized that being alone was not good for my state of mind. I watched Egypt grow for three thousand years and then went, 'walkabout' as the aborigine's say.
It wasn't for another millennia that I found someone that I felt needed my help my dark gift. Tegan or Mahreid as she was then, was brought across 3,000 years before the birth of Christ. She was so full of fire, so alive and yet so lost, and I'll admit I was SO lonely that I turned her when she needed it.
Then we traveled together; good companions and eventually lovers. We spent a lot of time together but not all of it. I know that whilst she was gone Tegan had sired others. I warned her to be careful and circumspect in her siring. She was, as far as I know she has turned no more than 10 people for each year of her life.
To cut a VERY long story short; I didn't turn anyone else until only 800 years ago, another woman who needed my help, a lost soul a drift in life until I found her. You may think me a lesbian, as I said before my culture was enlightened and didn't frown on any sexuality other than pedophilia and rape. I myself like to share my body with both sexes and enjoy the act of intercourse a great deal; it has helped me through a great many years of loneliness and brought me closer to humanity, even if just for a moment.
In my life, I've seen acts of such kindness to melt your soul and yet one evil enough to turn it to ice. I've been married 1,000 times; until I finally decided enough was enough. I've slept with so many people that I can no longer contemplate the number, however I try very hard to remember each and everyone. I've loved and lost so many but do not regret any of my loves.
I've watched a star blink out of the sky, eons after the actual event of its death. I've learned and forgotten libraries of information and met some of the most influential people of all time. I've committed acts that repulse me and I hope have paid my conscience debt many times over. I've only ever killed to protect, except that first guard, or to right a wrong. I do not kill to feed, though I do enjoy the hunt yes, but then the way I hunt is a most pleasurable experience for both hunter and hunted, particularly because of my dark gift. My 'prey' often does not remember the experience at all; the only trace I leave is two marks on their neck and the memories of a very good night.
So, my darling Xander, no, not all vampires are the same.
Belinda ceased speaking her eyes snapping back to the here and now, a slight smile graced her full lips and she waited patiently for Xander to make comment. As he had been listening, Xander had been thinking, still with those four little words spinning around in his head, 'You are a waste' and he thought about Belinda's offer. Was he really a waste as he was, Xander had to admit that as far as his ex-friends had been concerned he was, and he also had come round to their way of thinking.
But, was that all he was, could he be more, was this the way for him to become more; It was a hell of a risk, Belinda could well be lying. Xander's mind span with thousands of questions and none of them were getting satisfactory answers. One loomed out of the maelstrom of thought though. Was Belinda telling the truth, and how to find out?
Belinda restrained herself from getting any sort of read off of Xander, she wanted to be able to react to what he said next, to be truthful she had to be convincing, she could not risk a peak that may color her response with aforethought.
"You say you're a vampire, a different sort of vampire" Xander began slowly as if thinking it out as he spoke, "Yet, I've not seen you 'vamp' out to prove it one way or the other"
Belinda blinked, not quite what she was expecting, she'd thought he would jump up and down and call her a liar, it wasn't normal for her to be surprised anymore, at least not by people; she had learnt to read them too well. Her lips pursed in thought, "I do not 'vamp' out, as such. We do not have the ridged forehead of the Demonia, nor do my eyes glow hateful yellow" she told him.
Xander frowned, "Then what do you look like when you put on the game face?"
"Game face, that's a new one, I've not been in the game for millennia," Belinda said smirking. Then her expression became more serious as she said, "Come closer," and crooked her finger in a come-hither motion.
"Why?" Xander asked warily.
"You'll need to get very close to see my fangs, and I want you to watch them grow, that way you will not be able to say it was a trick"
Xander shrugged, took a swig of his JD and leaned in close to her. He smirked slightly, "I feel like I'm leaning in for a kiss," he said in a low voice.
"I certainly wouldn't refuse it" Belinda told him, licking her lips.
"Well show me," Xander suggested ignoring her flirtation.
"Closer" she whispered.
Xander leaned right in, just like he was about to kiss her but his eyes were level with her generous mouth. "Close enough?" he asked.
Belinda licked her lips once again drawing his eye there, "Yes" she said, her tongue darting out to lick the end of his nose playfully.
"Eww" Xander said jokingly and with a slight smile, "Stop messing around and show me, unless you are full of shit of course?"
he teased; he actually liked her, which could be a problem. He had of course seen hot vampiress's before now, Darla, Drusilla and a beauty parade of others. Vampires, the males at least, liked to turn beautiful women and they in turn like to turn good-looking men. Two reasons sprang to mind for this behavior, one as unfortunate as it may be, most people did not look past their beautiful guises until it was too late, the second, vampires did after all spring from humans with the vanity and pettiness included with the package.
"Very well" Belinda said opening her mouth, As Xander watched in silence she concentrated and focused on her fangs. With that same sensation of pressure, she had felt 15,000 years ago a pair of sharp fangs lowered themselves down into her mouth. They were as white as the rest of her teeth and curved back towards her, unlike demonic vampires fangs they were quite long and thin, more cat-like than canine.
Xander's eyes flicked up to meet hers; he noticed that whilst she did not have yellow eyes her pupils were the elongated ones of a cat, the look was…sexy as hell, actually. "I hope you've eaten recently," he said with a fake gulp.
Belinda laughed, "Not recently, but recently enough"
"Okay, well they could be fake" Xander said after a moments thought.
"You could examine them with your tongue" Belinda suggested, helpfully.
"Anyone would think you're desperate to kiss me," Xander said with a self-mocking smirk. "If you are, you must be very desperate"
She was desperate to kiss him, actually, but not because it had been too long, although it had. She just found him very attractive. It was a shame, she decided, that he couldn't believe in himself. In answer to his question, though, she leaned forward herself and took his lips with hers kissing him with a deep passion. She could feel his interest from where he was pressed into her leg, so she shifted it rubbing him in the process. She decided then and there that he wasn't leaving this room until they had sex, one way or the other, decisions or not. She could feel that it was hard and a good size. It had been far too long since she had just had sex, because she wanted to and not because it was a way of feeding.
When air became a problem for them both but mostly Xander, they broke the kiss with a soft wet noise and Xander was transfixed by the intensity of her eyes. Her fangs were still showing, her eyes still had those cat-like pupils; she was panting slightly her lipstick now smeared by their intense kiss. Almost by its own volition, Xander's hand was running up the side of Belinda's leg halting once again at just above her knee.
Belinda smiled seductively into his eyes, "Higher"
This time Xander did not duck out, this time his hand continued it's journey upwards tracing the contours of her leg, until finally it hit the tops of the stockings she wore, "Stockings. I didn't think people wore those any more" he commented his mind not really on his question.
"They do if they like them" she replied her legs parting slightly to allow his hand full access. "Do you like them?" she asked her voice dipping into an octave that made Xander' cock tremble.
"Oh yeah" he replied ducking down for another kiss.
Once they broke apart; Belinda looked deeply into his lust filled eyes. As they approached having sex and they both knew it, his eyes had changed drastically they were more open, in a strange way. Then it struck her, she liked to have sex because it make her feel more alive, closer to normal mortals. Xander liked to have sex for the very same reasons, expect for the mortality issue he needed to feel closer to others as well. With a strange pang in her heart she realized that she really did have just what he needed, at the very least, those he could feel closer too. Those, with whom she could talk, laugh; make love, go to the movies, and just be alive with. "Your decision?" she asked him her voice a throaty growl her eyes full of hope.
Xander's eyes were dark, but now in thought and not lust. "No demon?"
Belinda shook her head, sending her dark curls dancing in the low light, "No demon. We hate them and they hate us right back.
No evil intensions, as such, we're as human as humans" she paused and waived her hand in a rocking fashion, "Mostly, a little darker perhaps. That is what Ater Anima means; Dark soul, after all."
"I'll be stronger?"
"Yes, but unlike the Demonia, whose strength is enhanced by their demon, ours is directly related to both our age and fitness.
So we can be as strong as a full master vampire, but only if we train and are not newly brought across"
"Brought Across? That's all a bit Stoker-like isn't it?"
"It's a good description, you forget, we are for all intents and purposes 'Living Vampires'. There is an actual Genetic change when an AterAnima is turned, or brought across to our side of the gene pool, no demon just DNA" Belinda said with a smirk that did nothing to hide the intellect that had spoken.
Xander looked into her hope filled eyes, "What do you get out of this?"
"You" she said simply, "Do not worry, I'll not become your stalker, I want to help you to become what I know you can be. That is really all, except I will one day ask you to do something for me, if you are not already doing it"
"What?" Xander asked curiously.
"All in good time my warrior, all in good time"
"I'll not harm the ones I love or anything like that for you. I won't kill people just because you asked me to"
"NO!" Belinda said in shock, "I would never ask you too. Please, trust me, let me bring you across, let me be your friend"
Xander felt his heart crack, she'd said the magic word and neither of them realized it, 'Friend' something missing in Xander's life and something he could not and would not be able to survive without for much longer. The maelstrom of indecision he had felt just melted away, to be replaced with one simple truth, he wanted -no - he needed to do this, so he just nodded.
Belinda's eyes suddenly came to rest on his exposed wrist. Xander noticed the direction of her gaze and tried to cover up the bandage that was still in place around his earlier foolishness.
"What's that?" she asked softly.
Xander found he couldn't quite meet her gaze, couldn't look his new friend in the eye because he was ashamed.
"Did you…" Belinda paused trying to come up with a way of saying what she wanted to gently, "Hurt your self?"
Xander just nodded still not meeting her eyes.
"I understand" was all Belinda had to say to get him to meet her eyes, "I've been there remember, remember my story. How many times do you think I've tried to end my life? Far too many times, but not any more not now I have my family. Will you let us be your family too?" she asked him.
Xander smiled at into her eyes giving her all the answer she really needed.
Belinda smiled happily and pulled Xander's hard body to her own soft one and hugged him with considerable strength. Xander smiled slightly as he enjoyed her embrace. It ended far to soon for him though but she kissed him full on the lips, it started in a friendly happy way and then her tongue slid into his mouth and entwined with his turning up the heat. Their hands flowed over each other's bodies and passion became more important than further discussion.
She pushed his dirty jacket off of his shoulders and he shrugged out of it, throwing it away to the side. Her legs slithered against each other and him as she twisted round to lay on her back holding him to her body as he kissed her with fire. One hand held him up as the other ran across the velvet of her dress pushing it up her legs until her lower body was finally revealed to him. He glanced down at her breaking the kiss and smiled; "You're beautiful," he told her looking into her eyes.
"Thank you" she told him honestly, "I think you're beautiful too"
Xander actually blushed a deep crimson, "Please" he said his voice chocked with emotion, "don't say stuff like that, I might end up believing you"
Belinda reached up and cupped his face between her hands, "Good, because I'm telling the truth. You have a soul of a warrior, a heart of a lion and a lover. Your mind is both agile and sharp and that smile of yours, lopsided and sexy as hell." She broke off when he smiled, "That's the one, now for gods sake, I want to have you inside of me. I want to watch your face as you come and I really, really need your cock in me now"
Xander smiled beatifically down at her, "You sure know what to say to a guy"
"I should hope so I've had a long life." Belinda told him pulling his face down into a searing kiss. Keeping his mouth busy she reached down and worked on his belt buckle untucking his shirt in an almost frenzy.
Xander ran his hands down her neck line tracing the line of her throat and shoulders, he continued down her arms and to her hips leaning on the couch for support so he could use both hands to explore her seductive curves.
"God you're so hot" Xander murmured mostly to himself as his hand traced the swell of her full breast.
"You've got a good body for your age" Belinda commented with slight shock.
"Thanks" Xander said distractedly as he ran his hands past her hips and back up her dress. Hooking his thumbs into her lacy underwear, he started to tug them down.
She lifted her hips for him looking up into his dark eyes, marveling at the change in them, the open and honest lust she saw.
It was such a turn on to her to see that in the man who had been so withdrawn, so dark only moments before. She looked right into his eye making sure to catch it and hold his gaze, then her own eyes dark with lust she said two words that drove Xander over the edge from honey to frenetic, "Fuck Me" said with such decadent lust and yearning those words hit him straight in the libido.
Belinda had undone his trousers and now his cock sprang free from the constrictive material and Belinda eyed it with a sultry smile curling her lips, "Oh yeah baby, Not bad at all" she told him lifting her leg up and around him to catch him between them.
Xander reached out gently rubbing his hand on her sex feeling her moist heat; parting her lips with a thumb and forefinger he ducked his head down. He gave it one long lick from bottom to top causing Belinda to gasp in pleasure and close her eyes, reveling in the sensations. He ran his tongue around her lips flicking her clitoris making her arch up towards him. He changed positions so that he could properly reach and cupped her bare ass with his hands pulling her up further. Then he pointed his tongue and stiffened it pushing it deep inside of her.
"Oh YESSSSSS" she hissed her hand going down to curl into his longish hair holding him down there. "Fuck me with your tongue"
He did as he was asked stimulating her with his tongue and mouth, he French kissed her pussy lips and slipped his tongue as far down her as he was able. He continued for a seemingly long moment just swirling around in her juices, tickling her clit with his nose and generally making her cry out in pleasure. Eventually he felt her hand grip the back of his head and pull backwards. Gasping and panting with lust, she looked him in the eye, "Fucking get in me," she growled her eyes crazy with desire. Xander once again shifted position now sliding up between her stocking clad thighs and looking deep in her eyes. She reached down and took his cock into her hand her face an inch from his. While she gripped and pulled her hand down his steel hard cock, she licked his lips with her tongue, begging access to the heat of his mouth. He complied and tried to move forward to take her mouth with his. She pulled back slightly, stopping him just sliding her tongue around his in an erotic open-mouthed kiss. Her tongue was flicking around his, wet and slippery with desire tasting her own juices and smelling her own aroma on his mouth. All the while her hand stroked him with gusto in an almost, painful motion she was masturbating him harder and harder as he got more and more excited. The soft skin of his member was sliding along the engorged veins underneath. A duality of feeling that had her nipples as hard as his cock. They were pressing up through the velvet of her long dress but kept locked from Xander's touch.
"Oh god, that feels so good," Xander said breaking their tongue lashing to moan.
"That's nothing," Belinda purred.
"Want to feel your pussy, want to slide inside of you and thrust into your heat" Xander told her.
"I want to feel it too, to feel that nice big cock of yours filling me up stretching my lips and hitting my pelvis" Belinda described breathlessly pausing her caress of his member.
"Please god, keep moving that hand baby" Xander pleaded then he felt her positioning him at the entrance to her pussy rubbing his corona up and down her slit occasionally flicking it from side to side teasing them both.
"You're so wet, so hot" Xander told her moving forward and kissing her breathless. After a second of kissing, Belinda suddenly thrust upwards pushing his cock past her labia and into the depths of her vagina gripping him with her muscles there.
They broke their kiss and Xander breathed, "Oh God" as the heat of her pussy almost drove him over the edge, there and then.
"Fuck you feel SO good"
"Shut up and fuck me," she demanded wildly and lustfully.
Xander complied without comment thrusting deep into her and sliding back out again slowly at first and building in speed as passion over ran them both.
"FUCK, Hard, Deep, So Big, oh yes do me baby, stick your cock deep into me you fill me up so GOOOOOOOODDDD!" Belinda cried out in passionate gasps.
Xander was spurned on by her passionate grunting words and thrust her hard and fast pistoning inside of her to the hilt. He could feel himself nearing the edge and had a sudden desire, "Do it now" he growled.
Belinda lost to her own passion and very close to, the edge of her own orgasm took a moment to place what he meant, "Are you sure?" she asked breathlessly.
"Now, please, I want you to turn me like this, while I'm inside of you" he managed.
"Kinky" she commented but pulled him into an embrace placing his neck close enough to her mouth to do the deed.
"Fuck, going to come, do it now please" Xander begged.
Belinda complied with his request her fangs sinking into his raging vein.
"OHHHHHHHHHH FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK" Xander roared out in orgasm as she started to drain him, the sensations from his neck were amazing and nothing like the bite of a demonic vampire, where it was pain, this was pleasure. His cock spasmed, shooting his semen deep inside of her tight, hot sex.
She could feel him come inside of her and it almost drove her over the edge as well. She used her nail to cut the other side of her neck and guided Xander's mouth there, whereupon he started to drink her blood. The sensuous suckling did drive her over the edge and she came hard around his already softening penis causing him some pain, but it was a delicious sort of pain that just enhanced his own orgasm.
As the life seemed to fade from Xander's eyes Belinda softly stroked his head and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. "I won't be here when you wake up. I want to get the third member of my original family to help me train you. I will leave you in Isabel's capable hands until then" she told his sleeping body and as she did, so she reached in using her mind and placed a memory of this conversation into his mind as well as a picture of Isabel.
Standing with no sign of strain and picking Xander's body up as she did. She carried him into the spare bedroom and placed him with infinite and loving care onto the bed. She stroked his hair out of his eyes and laid a soft kiss onto his lips before walking from the room to get changed.
As she walked into the living room a sparkle of heavenly lights appeared in the center of the room and Memphis appeared still in his tan trench coat. As he noticed Belinda's attire, he smiled widely, "B'eldrannia Damn! It's good to see you again"
Belinda smiled slightly, "Memphis you old rogue, how is my favorite angel this evening?"
"That depends…" Memphis said trailing off with a smile.
Belinda nodded, "He IS a remarkable young man, perfect for both our goals I think"
"As do I, I've had my eye on this one for the last three nearly four years ever since the Powers sent the slayer to the Hellmouth; dumb ass mother fuckers."
"I well remember how much your kind likes the Powers" Belinda said with laughing smile.
Memphis shrugged, an impressive sight when one has wings, "You know it, so he is turned; it was a choice right, you didn't coerce or trick him?"
"Nope"
Memphis breathed a sigh of relief, "Good"
"Why is it so important that he chooses this Memphis?"
"If he was tricked or forced then he would resent the changing and become even more angry; this way you have a chance to bring him back from the edge. He must have been desperate to even consider it. I must have been desperate to even point him your way!"
Belinda smiled walked over to the sofa she had just had sex with Xander on and took a seat, still feeling the heat of their joining, "This is the best way, I think"
Memphis nodded, "It is, but by turning him into one of the Dark Souled ones, is a risk"
"I'm okay aren't I?"
"You're special Bel" Memphis said with a soft smile.
"Thank you" she said with a slight dip of her head, "So what of our newbie?"
"Train him, teach him the ways of your kind and anything else you can think of. Soon, he'll have to make a name for himself if this is ever going to work"
"What of freedom of choice, your boss requires this doesn't he?"
"There are certain loopholes, but yes it must be his decision to take up your mantle and ours"
Belinda nodded, "Good, because if you tried to force him I'd take exception to it"
Memphis smiled softly, "He's got to you hasn't he?"
Belinda nodded slightly, "Such Potential"
"Tell your girls not to kill him, I know what their appetites are like" Memphis commented his wings flexing out and back before starting to dissipate into his electric blue lights.
Belinda laughed slightly before becoming serious and pausing Memphis's disappearance as he turned a curios expression on her, "What is it Bel?"
"It would do him no harm, his self confidence is shot to hell"
Memphis appeared to think, the light effect starting again as he said, "Whatever works Bel, whatever works"
Isabel Bowie stirred her drink with the tip of a finger, wondering where the hell Belinda was and why she wasn't there, with her, as arranged. She felt pair of slender hands wrapped around her trim waist and started to turn; a snarl on her lips. The snarl died and turned into a bright smile that lit up the area. "Hey you fink" Isabel said with a playful pout, "Where the hell have you been" she sniffed daintily and smirked, "or should that be with whom have you been," she corrected.
Belinda kept a hold of her youngest, now second youngest, Childe's waist and smiled into her eyes, "Jealous" she asked playfully.
"Always, after all you didn't invite me" Isabel shot back, "So who was this lucky" she sniffed again, "Guy?" she enquired.
"That's some sense of smell you have there, it could have been a woman" Belinda noted.
Isabel's smile turned wicked, "I KNOW that smell, it was a man"
"Well, I'll give you that one" Belinda allowed, "He was a young man by the name of Xander"
"Odd name" Isabel said.
"This from someone once called Rande" Belinda commented with a soft laugh.
"Randy Rande you used to call me" Isabel said wistfully, "Now you're replacing me with a man"
"Replacing. You. Never." Belinda said, "I could never replace my Izzy, besides for something's you need a man, as well you know. Plus, I'm leaving him in your tender care for a few days"
Isabel frowned, "You want me to baby sit your toy boy, while you go off gallivanting?"
"No" Belinda said her smile now beaming; "I want you to start teaching my newest childe while I fetch Tegan to help us"
Isabel's eyes shot wide open, "You turned him? You haven't turned anyone in the 800 years since me!" she said in a too loud voice.
After shushing her Belinda carried on, "Xander, is special as you will see when he awakes tomorrow morning, and I'll expect he'll be hungry so you'd better get some blood"
"Okay, I can do that, but," Isabel said turning serious, "I know you Bel, I know that you don't just go around turning humans at random, what is so special about this guy"
"You'll see" Belinda told her teasingly, then her eyes darkened, "But… Be careful with him Iz, he's been hurt badly and will need plenty of TLC and I don't just mean sex although" she trailed off a slow smile curling her lips, "You might want to give him a try"
"Good?" Isabel asked with a teasing smile.
"Potentially mind blowing, as he stands, better than you would think, considering his age"
Isabel frowned, "How old is he?"
"From what I could gain from my scans and the conversation 19, or there about. He seems much older though. His family… I'm just glad he's not a girl," her eyes flashed with anger, "They would have made yours mild by comparison. Needless to say, he is in a very bad place but his friends had always held him together… some friends they were but I'll fill in the details when I get back. I want you to look after him Iz, he could be very important to us and humans in the years to come"
"Why?" Isabel asked curious now.
Belinda smiled mysteriously, "One word, my darling, one word" she said, even more mysteriously than she looked.
"Well" Isabel asked starting to become annoyed, "And a straight answer if you please"
Belinda shot Isabel a secret smile before saying the single word: -
"Potential!"
You called me strong you called me weak
But still your secrets I will keep
You took for granted all the times I never let you down
You stumbled in and bumped your head
If not for me then you would be dead
I picked you up and put you back on solid ground
Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down.
The light seemed far too bright even through Xander's closed eyes. He didn't even want to contemplate what it would be like to open them. Beneath his naked body, he could feel sheets, silk sheets. There was a faint aroma of vanilla and he could just about feel a pleasantly cool breeze blowing across his exposed chest. He did a quick mental checklist and found that everything was attached and seemed to be functional. In fact, he felt better than he had done, ever. He was certainly a lot better than he had any right to be after the whisky he had imbibed last night.
The memory of Belinda hit him like a very pleasant freight train, the feel of her around his manhood, the smell of her breasts and the silken texture of her skin all rushed into his mental arena. He wasn't quite sure how the slender brunette had managed to get him into bed, but what they hey.
He decided that he really needed to open his eyes now, so with some trepidation he did. The light flooded his ocular sense for a short moment. A bright white haze was his only view for that time. Then the light faded back to normal, as his eyes grew accustomed to the light.
At first, he thought that he had slept the night away; he then realized that it was in fact dark outside with the moon still high in the sky. That gave him pause, he could make out every detail of the room, and close investigation showed that no light was blazing.
He sat up slowly; the muscles in his stomach showing no strain at the protracted sit up. His head turned from side to side as he took in the tasteful elegance of the bedroom. As places he'd woken up went, this had to be the nicest. Most towns he slept in his car, or at least the nearest ally to the nearest bar to his car.
Xander then realized that he felt, very hungry. He knew that he would need to have something to eat soon or feel faint. That had happened before and since he only ate when he felt that familiar sensation of giddiness; he knew the signs well. There was a slightly confusing aspect to that, as he'd eaten that day. Most days, however, he didn't usually have sex with beautiful women. So that was likely the cause, extra burn, extra need. Then it really hit him, what he'd done and what had been done to him. At first, he was ashamed, he had chosen to be a vampire, but Belinda had not lied, at least he didn't think so, there was no demon inside of him, he felt alive. He checked his pulse and found that it was beating a steady rhythm.
Apart from the fact that everything seemed clearer, he wouldn't know that he had been turned. The ashamedness slipped away and was replaced, replaced by something that he had not felt in, what seemed to be, a lifetime. Hope! Hope for the future, hope for him and what he could now aspire to be. Xander was full of hope. He smiled, just slightly at the feeling; it was both pleasant and new. He made an instant decision, for once, someone had held up their end of the bargain, they had not lied to him and so far, at least, everything they had said was true. He decided to give the human race another chance.
"I see you're awake." a light voice disturbed his train of thought.
He turned to find that there was a tallish blonde haired goddess standing in the doorway. She was amazingly attractive with flowing golden hair, an athletic build and what looked to be the longest pair of legs Xander had ever seen. "Hi" he hazarded, "Where am I? And who are you?"
"You're in the apartment above Valance, and I'm Isabel" the blonde told him.
"Isabel…" Xander said, the single word triggering a memory, a conversation that he could never remember actually happening entered his minds eye and he nodded, "…Yeah; Belinda mentioned you" Xander said finally looking up to smile into her deep blue eyes.
His stomach choose that moment to growl loudly and remind him of the burning hunger that was just starting to make itself known.
Isabel smiled, "Here you are," she said passing him a glass of red liquid.
"What is it, tomato juice?" Xander asked hopefully.
"Eh, no" Isabel said with a smile, "Guess again"
"Ah yes, the whole blood drinking thing" Xander said with distaste.
Isabel shrugged, "You'll get used to it, I promise"
Xander spared her a pained look, "I'm not so sure I want to" he admitted his eyes turning dark.
Isabel narrowed her eyes, "If you don't drink, you'll be in a lot of pain, and you'll be throwing Belinda's generosity back in her face; do you really want to do that?" she asked
Xander shook his head, "No; she was kind to me" he said thinking how sad it was that he could count the number of times that had happened on one hand.
"She does that, it's her thing"
"What picking up waifs and strays?" Xander asked with a smirk.
"Waif, unusual word for an American" Isabel commented with a slight grin, "But yes that pretty much sums it up"
"Were you a waif?" Xander asked.
"Ask me that again later and I'll tell you" Isabel said with a teasing smile that was totally out of place for the comment, but alluring all the same. "Now drink, before New York thinks the subway's broken down with all the noise your stomach is making"
Xander, finally, accepted the glass with a grateful smile, "Thanks" he looked at it wondering what to do then the smell hit his nose and set his neural pathways on fire. Yet, he only allowed himself to slowly sip it. Unlike demonic vampires, the blood lust wasn't such a driving force for their kind; it was merely a necessity, like food for a human. So he didn't dive into the glass and slurp noisily, he just drank it in one draft just like he would a long cool coke on a hot day.
"Better?" Isabel asked him taking a seat on the edge of the bed. The very large bed he noticed, it was at least three times the size of his single mattress box bed, back at home.
"Oh Yeah, much, thanks" he said and whilst it was true that he did feel better he still felt a slight empty sensation in his stomach.
Isabel seemed to read his expression, "We will have to get some live blood down you eventually, but that will tide you over for now"
"Live blood?" Xander asked.
"I'm afraid so, straight from the source" she held up a hand, "Don't worry you don't have to kill and you know it feels GOOD"
"Sorry, I kinda of forget you're not the same as the vampires I've come across before"
"We" she corrected pointing a finger at him and back at her, "are not demonic. We are humonic" she dazzled him with a smile, "I made that word up, cool hey"
Xander found himself returning the smile and feeling lighter for it, "I like it, kind of like Harmonic and we are aren't we?" he said.
"What?"
"Harmonic, Harmonious with the nature around us, I can feel it all around me, it's strange"
"I know, but isn't it a rush?"
"Weird though. It's like…" Xander trailed off, it wasn't like anything else.
"Nothing else" Isabel filled in for him, "I know, once you learn to cope with it you can use it to track, just like the demonic vampires do when they hunt. We have most of the gifts they do and what Belinda calls the Dark Gift, which is a somewhat flowery way of putting it."
Xander chuckled sitting up properly in bed back against the headboard, strangely he felt totally comfortable, topless as he was, in Isabel's company. For her part, Isabel was admiring his pectoral muscles and six pack. For one as young as he, Xander had a good body, Isabel decided. "So, flowery aside, what is this Gift?"
"Can't tell you, it's different for each of us. Belinda's is telepathy, not full mind reading, she describes it as getting an overview of a persons mind with that she is able to implant or change a memory"
Xander smiled, that actually explained a lot, "And you?"
Isabel leaned forward exposing some cleavage and smiling seductively, "I can tie a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue"
Xander blushed slightly but his eyes traced her figure with enjoyment, "Whew, ok seriously though?"
Isabel laughed and instead of sitting up leaned down on her elbow her legs curling up on the bed, "It's nothing much actually I'm able to move really, really fast"
"How fast?" he asked then blinked a puff of air hit his neck. He jumped sideways when he turned and saw Isabel an inch from his face with a lazy smile on her face and dancing eyes. "Fuck me" he said fluently.
"Maybe later, first I think we need to get you some clothes"
"Oh, I've got clothes in my car"
"The '57 I got it parked downstairs and yes, Belinda told me. No you haven't got any clothes in your car because I burnt them"
"YOU WHAT!" Xander screamed.
"Burnt them, horrible most of it went out in the 60's" Isabel said ignoring Xander's ire.
"That's all I had, I've not got enough money to replace them" Xander said his shoulders slumping.
Isabel dazzled him again, perching on the bed, "That's Okay, I burnt them; I replace them"
"Why, why would you do that?" he asked in confusion.
"Because the only stipulation is, that I get to pick them" Isabel said laughing.
Xander allowed himself a smile, "Fine, but it's dark out there"
"Only for a few more hours, but that doesn't matter for what I have in mind. There is a friend of mine who will open his shop for me"
"Is that a euphemism?" Xander asked.
Isabel bobbed her eyebrows with a saucy smile plastered on her face.
"One thing?" Xander asked
"What's that?"
"I'm naked," he told her.
"I know, I'm the one that made you naked; and I must say that I didn't mind a bit" Isabel retorted.
"Yeah, but if you burnt all my clothes…" Xander trailed off looking at her expectantly.
Isabel laughed, "Oh well, that leaves us with a little bit of a quandary then doesn't it"
Xander shot her a mild glare.
Xander stood in front of the mirror and had to laugh. Some clothes had been found for him, he really didn't want to know how, but they were of a gothic style, tight leather pants, ruffled silk shirt, all black with strangely enough Cuban heeled cowboy boots.
He heard an admiring whistle and turned to find Isabel smiled at him, "Not too shabby" she commented.
"You have to be joking" Xander said with a laugh, "I look like Liberlace or whatever his name was"
"So?" she asked with a mock serious face. "What's wrong with that?"
Xander cast a surprised look in her direction, "What's wrong with that?" he asked in shock, "Because I look like a vamp, to start with"
"Well, eh, you are a vampire" she told him with a duh face.
"Ah, You've found the deliberate mistake in my argument then haven't you"
Isabel walked up behind him, regarding his reflection seriously, "Yes, I have you look good actually, Okay, so maybe the shirt is a bit over the top, but those leather pants…" she trailed off and cupped his ass in her hands, "… Nice!"
"Way-hey, careful tiger" Xander said smirking goofily in the mirror. He wasn't sure why but Isabel put him at his ease, her flirting made him feel wanted, something that he had been slowly coming to terms with because he still suspected that she was doing it out of some sort of kindness. She also treated him like an equal, not someone to push to the back burner and treat like shit, like his old friends had. It was too early to call her a friend, but so far, so good and in time, he suspected that she would indeed be his friend.
"So, have you finished preening for the mirror; are you ready to shop till you drop" Isabel said with enthusiastic motions of her hands.
"Eh, that would have to be a resounding no" Xander remarked, "But I'll come with if that helps"
Isabel hooked her arm in to his and smiled at him bedazzling, "Come on Casanova, and let's get you some duds"
Xander groaned slightly but allowed himself to be pulled along by the vivacious woman.
Isabel's Apartment 4th September 1999 - 10:00
The door was kicked open and a pile of bags walked into the room followed by the utterly relaxed and bagless Isabel. The pile shuffled over to the couch and seemed to topple forwards until it was lying in a great heap of plastic and cardboard. It shifted around and finally a hand emerged quickly followed by the rest of Xander.
"Jesus" he commented, "Thank god for that SUV of yours" he told her with a shake of his head, "If I'd had to carry that all the way from the shopping mall!" he stopped, "Hey, how come you don't have any bags?"
Isabel smirked, "Put them on top of your pile when you weren't looking"
"That's not very nice actually," Xander said with a mock glare. They had gone to her friend's shop, where Isabel had proceeded to deck him out in what he called Vamp-Fashion, with a seriously gothic feel to it. He had managed to keep her away from ruffled shirts, thank god, but she had forced him to take several pairs of leather jeans and pants. He wasn't happy about the money she had spent and had been trying to talk her out of it all the way. All she would say was, that she had PLENTY of money.
"Who said I'm nice?"
Xander smirked, "But you look so NICE!" he said with a leering look.
"Pervert" she commented then tipped her head, "I like that in a guy" she finished with a large smile.
"By the way, thanks for telling me about the daylight thing, I suppose you think that was funny"
"What and miss you screaming like a girl and diving back in the shop, just because it was light out, was… Oh what's the word?" she broke off smiling. "That's it, hilarious," she said with a snap of her fingers.
"You're evil" Xander commented with a twinkle in his eyes, "Pure evil"
"Oh, I'm bad alright liebling, but you'll like the sort of bad I am"
"You know, Belinda said the exact same thing, only without the weird German bit though"
Isabel raised an eyebrow archly, "What's wrong with Germans?"
"You're German!" Xander said in surprise.
"Yes, why so surprised?"
"Belinda turned you right?" Xander asked for clarification.
"Yes, where's this going?" Isabel asked in honest confusion.
"Well, I'm no linguistic expert, but those bad guys that Belinda told me about, the ones that took out Atlantis…"
"…The Altertümlich…" Isabel put in.
"…Yes, that's the word, well it sounds a lot like the German word for Ancient, I would think that they were the forefathers of the German people, the way she spoke about them, I would say that she hated them. I would have thought that, it would have carried through even now, the way she spoke" Xander said with a shrug.
Isabel pursed her lips thoughtfully and eyed him carefully, "You're a lot more than you seem aren't you Xander?"
"I doubt that" He said with a self-depreciative shrug.
"One, I didn't know you spoke any other languages"
"I don't just a few words, especially the old ones; even I pick stuff up after hours and hours of research" Xander told her earnestly.
"Yes, but you also made the connection, many people may have missed that. I did, and I'm from what used to be called Germania"
Xander pointed to the other couch, "Sit, you promised to tell me about yourself, so do it"
"Actually I said, I may tell you" Isabel reminded him.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned that will have to do" Xander replied with a smile, "Please?" he asked with puppy dog eyes.
Isabel found herself caving under those, "Damn, those are some puppy eyes you've got there, mister"
Xander smiled lopsidedly, "Thanks, now for your story…"
"First drink, " Isabel smiled, "Then I'll tell you a bedtime story"
"Why, will you joining me?" he asked teasingly.
"Maybe later," Isabel stood up and stretched slightly before walking to her drink cabinet, she made sure to bend over more than really necessary her skirt riding high on her thighs and flashing her shapely legs and just a hint of buttock. She poured two drinks and carried them both back over, "Here," she said handing him a JD.
"Well, so what's your story?" Xander said smirking at her. His heart racing at the show he'd just been given.
"Okay, here goes" Isabel said then taking a deep breath she began to regale him with her tale.
Central Park, New York 4th September 1999 – 06:00
'Somehow', Xander mused, 'This isn't what I had imagined'
"Come on lazy get that ass of yours moving" Isabel said. They were jogging; Xander had thought that jogging was a gentle and above all slow run around in a leisurely fashion. Apparently His and Isabel 's definitions varied wildly. Because Xander would call what they were doing, running, or more accurately sprinting.
Isabel was several feet ahead of his lagging form, looking fresh as a daisy in sweats, her long blonde hair tied up into a simple ponytail. Xander was also wearing sweats but unlike Isabel's they lived up to their name, covered as they were in his perspiration. They had been running for half an hour, which in itself was murder but Isabel had kept the pace hard and fast and it was killing Xander. He was more of a short distance Sprinter. Long arduous runs were not in his normal regime. More along the lines of terrified life or death runs from a nasty to the safety. Xander thought he was fit; after all he had been in a constant war for the last 4 years. Now he knew that he really, really wasn't.
"Xander, come on, not far now" Isabel said her legs pumping as she ran on the spot, waiting for him to catch up.
Now, he liked Isabel, they had talked long into the night last night, which was a mistake considering what time she had woke him this morning. He would even go so far, as to say that Isabel was great, she wasn't however nice. For her to be nice she would have to stop looking so smug at his sweat drenched form and panting chest.
The two months of abuse that he had subjected his body to were not helping either. Contrary to popular belief it is possible to be fit when you smoke, as Xander now did, but to become fit was torture, real torture. His lungs were on fire, there were dark spots floating in front of his vision and he knew he was going to throw up at any moment. He tossed a glare her way that should have made her spontaneously combust.
Isabel just laughed off his look of death, running around him as he forced one leg in front of the other moving as fast as he was able. He heard laughter that was not the chiming of Isabel's dulcet tones. He glared around him to find that he was being overtaken by a man in a business suit, WALKING! That spurred him on to greater speed, only succeeding in keeping the smirking man in sight.
"Come On Xander, you can't be that unfit from what you told me, you've only not done exercise in the last two months. Before that you said you were out every night." Isabel said smiling at him in an encouraging manner.
His breathing was far too labored to sting her with his biting retort but he thought it really hard and sent it via his eyes.
Again, Isabel just laughed at him before becoming serious. "I'm sure Bel told you about the difference in strength between us and" she glanced around, "the others"
Xander nodded still plodding down the pathway, the winter sun glaring down on him.
"Well then you know that you have to get fit, otherwise you don't stand a chance!" Isabel told him her blue eyes expressive, her jaw set in a line. "There are not enough of us to take chances; not like that!" she told him.
Xander nodded and with great personal effort strained against the barrier of pain, that was currently hampering him. It was like a wall that he had to break through, once through it wouldn't hurt nearly as much as it was currently. He pushed with all his might throwing himself against it with all his strength. 'You're going to fail, because you're a loser Harris' he heard Buffy's voice and his concentration was utterly shattered.
Xander tripped and stumbled his mind in tatters and his breathing gasping. He came to a full stop and bent over, his hands on his knees and his head swimming. He waited for his breath and when it finally returned he looked up to find Isabel watching him with a sad and disappointed look. For some reason that look cut him to the quick, lancing pain through his heart. So far, at least, Isabel had been as great as Belinda was to him. He didn't like the idea that he had let her down, but he was just so damn tired out.
"Come on, we'll walk the rest of the way and try again tomorrow" Isabel said plastering a smile on her face.
Xander still could not talk and merely nodded his head in silent agreement.
Isabel's Apartment 5th September 1999 - 05:00
A bright light assaulted Xander's eyes and a soft voice called out to him, "Come on sleepy head it's time to get up"
For a second Xander had to wonder where the hell he was, back at home all he'd got was tipped out of bed. On the road, it was usually a policeman kicking him or tapping on the window of the car. Then memory flood back into his mind and he smiled slightly. It was strange, he may be a vampire, but he felt better than he had done for a very long time, and not just physically, because that was a given, but mentally. He felt once again himself, Xander Harris with hope, rather than the dark drunken thing he had become in the short time since Sunnydale.
"Come on sexy, wake up!" Isabel said a laugh in her voice.
Xander's eyes fluttered open and he smiled even wider, "Well hello" he said. She was standing with her back to the now open curtains. The window acted as a frame for her, silhouetting her beauty in the radiance of the sun, her flimsy dress outlining her athletic curves. Xander felt himself becoming aroused at just the sight of her. She was a goddess; her hair was shining like a halo and her eyes dancing merrily at him. He could see her lips twisted into that saucy smirk of hers however; his eyes kept being dragged back to her amazing curves outlined through her dress.
"Oh god" he commented under his breath and sat up quickly to cover the harder than normal morning wood he was sporting.
"Training today, so gotta get going" Isabel said cheerily.
"Shower first, then coffee, cigarette, possibly some Jack then and only then can I contemplate anything you have to say"
Xander said with a sardonic smile.
"Okay, well the shower's through there, get that cute Keister of yours moving we've got a lot to cover."
Xander stood wrapping the sheet around himself as he did so, "Yes Ma'am" he said knocking off a quick salute.
"Get going soldier, or drop and give me twenty" she ran her eyes over him, "Without the sheet"
Xander laughed and continued to walk into the bathroom, muttering, 'I wish' under his breath.
Once he had dropped the towel, he walked into the shower area and smiled. A wall that hid a bather's delight partitioned off one half of the bathroom. No shower cubicle for Isabel's guests obviously, Xander thought. Multiple showerheads and knobs were littered around the small room-let. It looked like you could stand in the middle and be battered by multiple streams of water.
Xander plumped for one and switched it on letting the shower wash over him. Then he let the shower run hammering into his head for a moment, he was feeling tense from the flirting Isabel had been doing with him and horny as hell. He let his frustration flow off of him with the water. He tried to clear the image of her supple body outlined in the sunlight through her clothes, right out of his head. The only trouble was that the curve of her breasts, the dip for her waist and the swell of her hips assaulted his minds eye. He could still see the shape of her thighs and legs so visible through the flimsy material.
He wanted her, wanted her bad. Since leaving the 'dale, in fact before it, he had noticed his sex drive going WAY up. Ever since that night, the night when Faith had ridden him to within an inch of his life, he longed for the feel of something hot and wet wrapped around his cock. He took a few deep breathes and thought of food, or anything to make him flaccid, otherwise he would have to walk around all day with a raging boner.
Isabel had watched Xander walk into the shower with a slight smile, she had been asked by Belinda to draw Xander out of his shell a bit. So, she had flirted, complemented and generally tried to buoy him up. It appeared to be working. He had started to flirt back and she had found he was pretty damn good at it. He wasn't her 'type' as it were but even at the youngest, at 800 years old, of the trio she had still learned to expand her horizons.
There was however, something slightly odd about her flirting with Xander, for instance the dress she had worn today had been placed on her naked body, no underwear at all, somewhat unusual, and the more she flirted the more she wanted to act on her innuendo. Xander turned her on, basically, which was somewhat odd.
She plopped down on the corner of the huge guest bed then flung herself backwards laying on her back for a moment as she turned her thoughts around and examined them from side to side. In a very short time, she realized her hands were trailing up and down her legs. She realized with a slight amount of surprise that she was becoming highly aroused.
She rolled off of the bed sideways landing with the grace of a cat on her feet. Then she walked over to the bathroom door.
Stealthily she slid through the door and crept towards her prey with lusty intent. She walked into the multi headed shower area and stared at the sight before her.
Xander was standing under a single stream of water, the water playing down his muscular torso and running down his powerful thighs. Her gaze shifted south and she noticed with yearning that he was semi hard.
Xander opened his eyes and took a surprised step back. There, standing in the shower room with him was Isabel. He blinked a few times to try to clear his delusion away, but, she didn't disappear. Her eyes were locked onto his semi hard cock and her tongue kept flicking out to lick her full lips.
"Uh, Hi?" Xander said, managing not to squeak.
Isabel stepped forward slightly, the shower spray now hitting her as well. Xander idly noticed that she had not even bothered to remove her heels. Here she was fully dressed in the shower with him; he must be dreaming. The water quickly soaked the flimsy material of her summer dress through. As it dampened, her dress clung to her curves accentuating them. Xander's gaze raked her body and he felt himself starting to become hard again, but tried to still it. He didn't want to be embarrassed when this all turned out to be some sort of joke. He did also note that her nipples, standing erect were full and quite large, her breasts whilst not large were well-defined standing proud on her chest.
Her eyes were dark and her intent clear as she started to stalk towards him a slow sexy smile curling her lips.
"Oh God" Xander squeaked.
Isabel's Apartment 5th September 1999 - 22:00
Xander walked out after having another shower toweling his hair dry. He had spent the day being marmalized by a beautiful blonde, and felt sore from tip to toe. He had been feeling a little tired after their shower that morning but Isabel had appeared to be unaffected by their sex session and had given him the work out of his life. Running, swimming, some Martial arts where she had shown a level of skill that even the instinctive response of a slayer would have had trouble keeping up with.
All in all, he was damn right dog-tired. He walked into the lounge noticing that Isabel was lying on the couch apparently asleep. He walked softly up behind her and laid his hands gently on her shoulders. As she sighed with a slight smile crossing her beautiful features Xander also smiled slightly and started to massage her tense shoulder muscles.
She positively purred at his ministrations, it was actually good to know that she had not been totally unaffected by the day's exhausting events. He gently worked the knots out of her neck and shoulders and started to talk to her, "So where is Bel again" he said picking up Isabel's diminutive for his sire.
"She's getting Tegan to help train you. Tegan has sired more than either of us so she knows her stuff"
"So, what's Tegan like then?"
"'Gan, she's great, fiery as hell, Irish originally and full of that fire some of them have as well as being a redhead to boot. She's a pussycat when you're on her good side, and a real bitch when your not. I love her to pieces"
"I'll have to try to stay on her good side then" Xander commented.
"I would" Isabel agreed and let out a sigh as Xander smoothed away the stresses of the day.
"Well, I know yours and Bel's story, what's hers"
"I'm not sure I should tell, you should wait for her to tell you"
"I'm just curious" Xander said with a shrug, "I like to get to know a little about the people I'm working with, preferably in advance" he admitted.
"Okay, but I think it's better if she tells you" Isabel said and as Xander worked her shoulders she closed her eyes and smiled beatifically.
"Come on slow coach" Isabel said running around him in circles again.
"Give me a chance Iz" Xander shot back, breathlessly, but at least he was able to speak.
"Fitness is important Xander, you know that"
Xander smiled at her and once more he faced the pain barrier, it was laughing at him and he knew it. He could see in Isabel's eyes that she didn't think he could do it. He kept hearing Buffy's words to him, telling him that he couldn't do it, that he would fail because he was a loser. Suddenly, something uncurled in his stomach, a shifting feeling as his guts coiled. The voice was sneering at him, his fathers face looking down at him as he beat him. He could feel Buffy's lip's on his and the look of disgust in her eye after she had kissed him. Anger turned his vision ruby the pathway disappeared from under his feet and Isabel's voice suddenly became silent. Then anger built into rage, rage into pure white-hot fury.
Isabel's mouth dropped open as she saw Xander's entire posture change, his pace regulated, arms pumping slowly to his pace, she called his name only to be ignored. Then she was truly happy as his pace increased to a fast jog, and then a run and finally he was sprinting down the pathway, his breathing perfectly in synchronicity to his movement, chest rising and falling.
She increased her run to keep up with him and watched him out of the corner of her eye as he pushed himself towards the goal she had set. He had to get there; he was going to beat the voices, to beat his personal demons and push and push and push.
He didn't care if he killed himself in the process. His body was screaming at him, only to be ignored as he had ignored Isabel.
They ran for twenty minutes, their pace such that they overtook cyclists on their morning ride. Then Xander managed to push on past his goal. It hadn't been his body that was defeating him, but his mind.
"Xander, Stop!" Isabel called out her face alight with a happy smile.
He came back to himself and turned o looked at her with a slightly shocked expression. "I made it?" he asked almost reverently stated.
"You did, Well, done, I knew you could do it" Isabel said stepping forward to hug him.
He held up a hand bolting for a wastebasket, whereupon he emptied the contents of his stomach, with Isabel dancing around in joy behind him.
Valance, New York 6th September 1999 - 12:00
"You want me to do what?" Xander asked his face crumpled into confusion and his voice sounding surprised.
"I want you to concentrate on the air," Isabel repeated.
"Eh, Iz, how the hell am I supposed to do that?"
Isabel let out a huff of air, "Just close your eyes"
Xander did as he was told, "Okay, now what?"
"Xander, you are not making a cupboard this is about concentration and awareness, there isn't a step by step for this"
"Then how am I supposed to do it?" Xander asked opening an eye to look at her.
"Just relax, if you allow yourself, you will start to notice the air, the way it moves around you, the aroma and then if you really concentrate the sound of it. Our senses are much sharper than even the Demonia. You must have noticed that the light is painfully bright most of the time, that you can smell me, that coffee, those mints on the table?"
"Well, I can smell you, yeah but I hadn't noticed the others. Are you wearing Obsession?"
Isabel chuckled slightly, "You're the one that's obsessed, with skirt; now concentrate!"
"With you in the room all I can do is focus on you; you should be flattered that you have that effect" Xander said teasingly but set his mind to work.
"Then I'll leave you to your meditations, I have to make a phone call anyway" Isabel said standing.
"I didn't mean…"
"… I know, but I want you to concentrate. Please," Isabel cut him off.
Xander nodded and closed his eye. "Okay, I'll do my best"
"Then you'll succeed" Isabel said softly. She walked quietly out of the bedroom to the main living room area, where she had her phone. Once there she nearly squealed in pleasure and bolted across the room.
"'Gan, Bel I've missed you guys" she said hugging the red-haired Tegan and Brunette Belinda enthusiastically.
Tegan was stunning, with long red hair down past her shoulders and her green eyes seemed to hold the wisdom of the ages, more so than Belinda who actually did. Yet, there was an impish sort of humor about her. She was dressed in a black leather jacket and casual pants; heels adorned her feet but still did not bring her much past Isabel's shoulder. "Izzy, babe, how are you?" Tegan asked. There was just the tiniest hint of an accent to her voice, a slight rolling of the R's into an Irish brogue, even after 5000 years.
"I'm damn good thanks" Isabel said smiling widely.
Belinda stepped into the conversation, "So, how is the student?"
"Doing well, a little hazy with the spiritual aspect, fitness will get there soon, his fighting skills are surprisingly powerful and you were right"
Belinda lifted an eyebrow, "About what exactly, not that I'm not always right of course" she said with a smile growing on her lips.
"He's potentially VERY good" Isabel said with a slight leer to her words.
Belinda laughed slightly, "I see you've tested the theory"
"You, two, honestly can't you just say you fucked the guy and get on with it" Tegan said rolling her eyes, "So where is wonder boy then"
"I've got him meditating" Isabel replied after a laugh.
"Good, is it helping his awareness?" Belinda asked.
"Not much" Isabel admitted, "The only thing he was aware of was me, really"
"How could he not be" Belinda replied.
"So, you've turned a horn dog?" Tegan said derisively.
"Come on you two" Isabel said stepping between the two, "No arguing, not already"
Tegan snorted, "We've been doing that all the way here, I had my own business to attend to, I'm not happy about dropping it for one of Bel's pipe dreams"
"Tegan!" Isabel said when she saw Belinda wince, "She's right 'Gan" she said softening her voice, "He really has got a lot of potential"
"Thanks" Xander said as he walked into the room. He had walked in just in time to watch Belinda wince under Tegan's somewhat harsh words. The woman that had treated him with respect and like a man and not a piece of shit; had been hurt so Xander was not a happy bunny, "Hi" he said to Tegan, "I'm wonder boy"
Tegan eyed him with an arrogant air, two thoughts went through her mind, one that he was hot, dark looks and eyes; tall with broad shoulders and he DID have an aura of a warrior. He was just her 'type', but she had sworn off men some time ago after being badly hurt. Incidentally, by a man that looked just like Xander, not that it stopped the shot of lust that ran through her. She wasn't a lesbian as such, she just trusted women more, and so she thought of herself more as bisexual. If she wanted to place herself in a box like that, which was something she rarely did.
Secondly, it occurred to her that she had just made a very bad first impression on him, not that she cared. She considered herself to be too old to worry about that sort of thing. If he were going to be part of their group then he would have to learn to take her as she was. "Pleased to met you" she said stiffly.
Xander just looked at her for a second then walked over and enveloped Belinda in a huge and warm embrace, "Missed you" he whispered in her ear and the strangest thing was it was true, he had known her for less than a day as time flows, but he really had missed her.
Belinda smiled at him, "Missed you too" she whispered back, her breath tickling his ear. "You seem better" she commented, "Isabel must have done her job well"
Xander smiled slightly, "You kept your word, I had to try to give humanity a second chance now didn't I? And Iz has been great to me, you don't eh, mind that I…"
Belinda laughed into his ear, "No, don't be silly" she cut him off hugging him tighter.
"When you two are quite finished, what training have you done?" Tegan asked.
Xander frowned slightly, "Well, martial arts, fitness and awareness"
"You've scored well on stamina" Isabel put in with a wink.
Xander chuckled slightly, "Yeah, that too"
"You've fed?" Tegan asked ignoring the by play except for a roll of her eyes.
"No" Xander said heavily.
"How do you feel?" Belinda asked worriedly.
"Good, I've been using the chilled blood Isabel gave me" Xander said, the truth was that he had a growing ache in his stomach that had passed uncomfortable a day ago.
"You're an idiot" Tegan said, her voice shocked, "You need to feed or you'll die"
"I can die from that?" Xander asked surprised, he hadn't known that.
"Yes, I would have thought Isabel would have told you that"
"Hey, Isabel has been busy training me, don't get on her back about it" Xander snapped his eyes growing dark.
Tegan stepped into his face, "Listen, little boy" she began her eyes flashing fire. Xander growled. "I've known Isabel for 800 years I think I've earned the right to tell her off a bit."
"Seems to me; that you like telling people off!" Xander commented.
Isabel leapt between them stopping their tirade before it really got going, "Come on guys, we need to get on if we're going to do this right; right?"
Xander backed off straight away with a smile, "Yeah, Sorry"
Tegan just nodded reining in her anger. Belinda looked from one to the other with a very slight smile playing across her lips, "Now, first order of business is to get Xander to feed"
"What, no I'm fine" Xander said.
Belinda just cocked an eye at him, "Oh really?"
"Well, mostly" he said unable to meet her eyes.
"There is nothing wrong with feeding, we do not kill like the Demonia and we do no real harm." Belinda told him her voice even. "We only feed to live, just as mortal man would, yet we do not feel the need to kill our food to do so, which is more humane do you think?" she took a breath and smiled slightly, "Now, the best way for our kind to feed is to do so during the act of lovemaking. Our bite is pleasurable and can be just the thing to push your partner over the edge into bliss"
"So all I have to do is attempt to chat up someone, get them home and bite them" Xander said then sighed, "Sounds so simple"
Belinda laughed, "Don't worry we'll give you a few pointers, now men or women"
Xander shot her a dark look to which she smiled innocently, "Had to ask" she said.
Tegan rolled her eyes and turned to Isabel, "Where can I stow my gear?"
There was a low sultry metal band playing in the club the sway of bodies almost hypnotic. Xander stood on the steps leading down to the dance floor with the trio beside him, all were dressed to kill with the ladies in cocktail dresses and Xander in all black, black jacket, trousers shirt and shoes. Isabel had dressed him, obviously; otherwise he would resemble an explosion in a paint factory, even with his new darker wardrobe.
"Now what?" he said to Belinda out of the corner of his mouth.
"Just find someone you like, stay cool, catch their eye and smile slightly, and remember you're a sex god, they'll never have better than you," she told him in a sotto voce.
"If only it were true!" Xander commented his eye skimming across the dancing throng of people.
"Hey" Belinda said swiping his arm, "Don't sell yourself short, there is nothing wrong with your skills I assure you"
Isabel leaned in and whispered, "Believe it babe, I sure wouldn't mind another round"
Xander smiled feeling flushed with no small amount of pride. They may have just been saying it to bolster his confidence; but it worked. He caught the eye of a sexy dark haired woman her body was studied seduction wrapped in a beige tight fitting dress, her long legs shown almost in their entirety and shaped by her high heels. He wanted her, and he felt the rush of lust run through him in a torrent.
Corina Sheldon spotted an attractive guy, dark hair and dressed expensively. She was about to turn away, thinking that he was too young when she caught his eye. She felt a thrill of desire in her veins and felt drawn to him. There was something dark about him, something mysterious. He had that look in his eye that just screamed I'm a great lover, come try me; he stood like a panther at rest, relaxed but ready to leap. He was a predator and a sexual one at that. He smiled one side of his mouth lifting into a lopsided and sexy smile that made her heart race. In that simple smile was the seduction of Corina and she returned it with a definite come hither set to her eyes.
Xander stifled his nervousness and set off across the dance floor trying to exude confidence and succeeding. The crowd parted way for his travel and closed behind him like Moses and the red sea. Within moments, he was in front of Corina and looking down into her eyes. Belinda had told him that the first words were important and it was actually better to wait and see what she would say, so he did.
"Hi" Corina said, "I've not seen you here before", 'Great line dufuss' she berated herself.
"First time, you?" Xander replied and asked then almost hit his forehead with the heel of his hand; it was as bad as saying 'do you come here often'!
Corina's lips curled into a smile that was pure seduction, "No, I come most weeks"
Belinda smiled as she watched Xander make contact with, talk to and finally seduce a sexy brunette. She smiled as the woman nearly dragged Xander off of the dance floor to, she was guessing, take him back to her apartment, or perhaps out back. It wouldn't matter; she just hoped that one way or another that Xander would feed, even a little. If he did not, then there was a very real chance that he would die, eventually, but not before being driven mad with thirst, that no drink could slake and pain that was unimaginable. She was somewhat impressed by his fortitude, she herself had been crazed her first time.
Although, she supposed, that could have been due to the way in which she was turned.
She sighed and turned her attention on her two companions and smiled. She hoped that once Xander realized how different their act of feeding was from the demonic version, that he would warm to the idea somewhat.
Isabel looked at her, "Will he be okay?"
Belinda nodded, "I think so"
"What's all the fuss about one little man?" Tegan asked.
"Once you get to know him, you'll see" Isabel said to her, "At first I must admit I didn't get what Belinda saw in him. He was smelly, bad tempered and a train wreck basically. That first day I spent with him though taught me that he is also funny, kind, generous and loving. All that from a day, he's a great guy, just…" she trailed off.
"He can also be very dark, moody and generally nasty from what I read in his mind" Belinda filled in. "That does not however detract from his potential"
"You keep using that word," Tegan commented, "He seems to have none to me?"
Belinda just smiled knowingly; in the way, Tegan hated but could do nothing about.
Xander ran the back of his fingers down Corina's neck causing her to shiver slightly. Goose pimples appeared on the soft skin in the wake of his caress as he smiled slightly looking into her dark eyes; now filled with desire. He could feel the intense stab of lust running through his body as it had done since he'd spotted her in the club. She was exotic and erotic in one shapely package. The tight cocktail dress she wore just begged the eye to trace the lines of her body.
They leaned towards each other their lips meeting in an explosion of lust. Xander's tongue entwined with Corina's their lips pushed up against the others. Xander reached out his hands resting them on her hips. They curved around the tops of the hip and he ran them round to caress her buttocks. He continued the motion around the curve of her cheek and back to the front of the thigh. Corina's hand ran up the inside of his jacket feeling the strong muscle there running up the sides of his torso and round to his well defined pectoral muscles. She enjoyed the feeling of Xander's powerful body under her palms as Xander reveled in the feeling of her soft yet toned one.
Xander broke the kiss to run a trail of kisses from the point of her chin down her neck and around to the side. His soft nipping kisses discovered her jugular and a pulse of desire shot through Xander. He licked the vein from top to bottom causing Corina to shudder and moan her breathing now panting out.
"Oh god" she sighed as Xander's hand traveled up from her hips to her breasts. He cupped them in his hand using his thumb and forefinger to gently press on her nipple.
Corina was shivering like a leaf in the wind; this young man was making her moist with yearning. She used her hands to push his jacket off of Xander's shoulders; he responded by shrugging it down to the middle of his back. He let go of her briefly to shake the garment off leaving him in the black shirt that Isabel had insisted that he wear. It had not hit the floor before his hands were running back up her body to her face and into her hair as he kissed her passionately. They ran back down her body again as he continued to kiss her. As they reached the tops of her legs, he ruffled her dress upwards, the Lycra garment running up to bunch at her waist. He broke off to look at her. Her erotic legs were toned and her calf muscles shaped into a seductive dream by the stiletto heels she wore. Xander's eyes raked up to the black thong she wore his eyes dark with desire for her.
Corina enjoyed the heated look Xander was giving her; her heart beat increasing as his look multiplied her own lust.
Xander licked his lips as Corina smiled seductively and slowly, teasingly pulled her dress from her waist and up her body. It trailed along with a snails pace briefly catching of her firm breasts. Xander reached forward and ran his hands up and over her breasts helping the garments path. His hands remained on her soft mounds as she pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the corner of the room. Corina's hands joined Xander's and squeezed them into her breasts. She ran her tongue around her full lips and Xander reached in for a kiss, which she granted him with gusto. He trailed a line of kisses down her body, past her breastbone. His tongue flicked out as he reached the valley between her breasts. Corina pushed herself forward arching her back and letting out a purr as Xander licked the curve of her breasts. His hot tongue finally made it's way down to her areola tracing their circumference until finally he flicked it across her nipple.
Corina cried out as he sucked her nipple into his mouth and flicked his tongue on its tip. Xander quit his sucking of her nipple and trailed nipping kisses back up her body to her neck once again tasting her jugular.
Corina's hands set to work on his belt buckle quickly releasing it she un-buttoned the waistband and pulled outwards causing his zipper to run down open. From her awkward position, she could not quite reach his manhood and she longed to do so, but his fingers were thrilling her and his mouth on her neck was driving her wild.
Xander nibbled Corina's jugular causing her to gasp and then he gave into the desire and his fangs finally pierced her neck and dug into the vein. Corina's eyes flew open in shock the sensations emanating from her neck were beyond her experience.
It was a strange mix of pleasure and pain, endorphins rushed through her body and her breathing was now gasping. Her mouth fell open in a small 'O' of pleasure and she started to yelp out small soft sounds of pleasure as her mind was fizzing.
Corina came harder and faster than she knew she was capable of, her legs turned to jelly and it was only Xander holding her up that stopped her from dropping to the ground. Her entire nervous system was on fire and she loved it, she loved it more than anything else in the world, that feeling from her neck was such a turn on that she knew she was going to come again and again whilst he was there. She did, over and over again she shuddered though multiple orgasms until she was beyond any rational thought other than, more, more of this and to do anything he wanted her to do to get it. When she opened her eyes the room had dimmed and shifted into shades of grays - all of her blood leaving her head to rush elsewhere.
Xander could feel the effect he was having on her and was shocked. He knew from personal experience that an AterAnima's bite is nothing like demonic vampires. What was happening to Corina was beyond that; it was positively enrapturing for her. He hadn't known that a woman could even have more than one orgasm at a time but there was no mistaking what was happening to the woman in his arms, the sounds of her moans were a very big clue. He stopped feeding on her and she actually cried out in alarm.
"More; fuck please more" she begged him, "I'll do anything"
Xander wasn't an evil man, admittedly, he had been through some very dark times recently and had a new outlook on life that was much darker than his old one, but he wasn't 'evil' by any stretch of the imagination. Yet having a sexy and beautiful woman begging him like that; it turned him on a lot to have that sort of power over her. Unlike a bad man, Xander wasn't about to take advantage of it; that was the difference between dark and black.
He pulled back; his hands leaving her body and looked into her glazed eyes, "I can't it will kill you, I've taken more than I wanted to already"
She had just enough sense returning to not say what passed through her mind, 'I don't care' instead she said, "When?"
Xander looked at her, "Few days maybe, once your blood returns to normal levels"
"What are you?" she asked him, moving slightly. Xander started to pull away from her totally looking ashamed of himself, "Stop!" she demanded.
Xander stilled his movement and looked at her quizzically.
She smiled, "I'm not disgusted with you. Or myself, I'm just curious" she told him.
"I'm a vampire," Xander said simply.
"What like Ann…"
Xander cut her off, "No, god I hate that, No I'm…" he paused, actually he wasn't that dissimilar; thinking about it. 'That's a horrible thought' he decided. "Different" he finished weakly.
"Are there more like you at home; a girl could get to liking that" she said pointing to her neck.
Xander grimaced slightly, "There are more of my type or race yes, but we are very rare, almost extinct" he paused, "There is at least one other type though, but take it from me; their bite hurts…. A lot."
Corina looked at him, "So, why doesn't yours?"
Xander shrugged, "I'm not sure, you're the first person I've ever bitten"
Corina laughed, "You're first, I'm honored. I took your cherry," she said smiling slightly. She looked down at herself and noticed her nakedness. With the embarrassment of these sorts of situations, she walked over to retrieve her dress.
Xander laughed as well freeing some of the tension he'd been feeling. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly sober.
"Why?" Corina asked pausing in the act of pulled her dress down.
"I'm sorry that I fed off of you"
"I'm not" she said huskily, even the memory of the sensations enough to make her hot again.
"It's wrong" Xander said, "I hate having to do it, but it's the price I have to pay"
Corina smoothed her dress down and walked over to him, taking his chin in her hand, "You need it too live?" she asked.
Xander nodded, "I do, but…"
"…But nothing, do you hurt or kill to get it?"
"No" Xander said with a sigh, "I don't"
"Then you're better than some 'normal' people already. There are people in this world that will kill just for a cocaine fix.
Somehow I think your situation is more honorable than that; don't you"
"I suppose" Xander said still unsure. He had always hated vampires, if he had not been in such a state before then he wouldn't have chosen this path; but then if he hadn't then he would not have met Belinda, Isabel and even Tegan. Besides, it was the demon that Xander had always hated; even Angel with his soul was still an animated corpse with a demon inside of him.
At least he wasn't one of those; he would not be able to stand that. In a way, he was lucky, a Demonia could easily have picked him off during his trip across America and then he would be what he hated most.
Corina watched his eyes noting the look of acceptance building there; it suddenly struck her as ironic that it had been the prey cheering up the predator about hunting them. It was somewhat bizarre, but then if he swore off, or what ever it was that vampires did, then she would never get bitten again. She meant what she had said; she would do ANYTHING to feel that again.
That didn't negate what she had told him though.
Xander smiled slightly, "Thanks"
"Anything, anytime" she said her lips curled into a sultry smile.
Xander moved slightly causing his still loosened trousers to drop to the floor, "Damn" he swore softly reaching for his waist band, "When did you do that?" he asked her smiling goofily.
Corina laughed happily as Xander pulled up his trousers. Her laugh turned to a purr as he had to readjust himself and she caught his hand before he could redo his fly. "I wouldn't be much of a hostess if I let you leave with that" she said rubbing the flat of her palm against his boxer-covered erection. Xander's lust went back into the red and Corina found herself getting hotter her nipples becoming hard again pressing against her dress.
"You are so hot" Xander told her.
Unfortunately she was still somewhat overawed from her experience and somewhat sore. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth; she felt his throbbing cock pulse against her palm. She tugged on the material shifting it so that she could hitch his boxers to one side, reached around the material she hooked out his manhood. Her eyes widened with desire as she wrapped her hand around his length gripping it hard. She knelt before him and started to masturbate him, "We'll just have to make do with me returning the favor," she told him.
"Oh god!" Xander said as her hand started to massage up and down his cock.
"Do you like that?" she asked him her voice low and sensual.
"Oh yeah" Xander ground out as her hand twisted slightly when it reached the head of his cock and back round and down his shaft. Her other hand gripped the base of his cock holding him firmly in place.
"Tell Me," she told him looking up into his eyes, "what you want me to do?"
"Huh?" Xander asked with difficulty, her hand was speeding up and removing his upper brain functions in the process.
"Told you before," she began, her hand moving faster and faster, "I'm yours, I'll do anything you want, as long as you make me a promise"
"What?" Xander asked trying to focus his mind.
"Feed off of me, not now but soon" she told him looking at his cock delighting in its length and general size, it wasn't the biggest cock she'd seen, but it was big. From her position on her knees, she could just make out the pre come just starting to arrive at his tip. As she adjusted her rhythm, Xander started to thrust into her grip coming dangerously close to losing control. He struggled for concentration so he could talk.
"Are you sure, you want that?" he asked her, "I don't want to hurt you"
She laughed slightly, "Do I want it, oh god yes, I'd do it now but I know you won't do it" she increased the pressure of her hand stroking the length of him, "And you don't have to worry about hurting me, I doubt you'll be able to"
Xander was too far-gone to analyze that comment his head was just starting to fizz with the first waves of his orgasm. "Fuck, that's good"
"So, do you promise" Corina said with a hidden smile.
"God yes" Xander ground out, his teeth clenched.
"Say it, say that you promise to suck my blood" Corina pushed.
"I promise to suck your blood!" Xander panted out trying not to come, "I'm so close" he said.
Corina smiled triumphantly then her head darted forward and took him into her mouth sucking hard, her hand still stroking him.
The dual sensation drove Xander straight over the edge. He didn't even have a chance to warn her, but he tried, "Coming" was all he could force out while trying as hard as he could to hold it in.
Corina's only response was to suck his cock head so hard slurping noises escaped her mouth.
"FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK" Xander drawled out as he came hard.
Her hand continued to gently stroke him as he slowly became soft in her grip. She smiled as he slipped out of her mouth with a wet noise. "So when?" she asked
Xander breathed heavily and looked down into her eyes. A smile just starting to curve his lips, "You devious bitch" he said with a barked laugh
"I'll do anything" she said breathlessly, "I mean that"
"Why?" he asked in confusion trying to tidy his still scattered thoughts.
"It just felt SO GOOOOOD!" Corina purred.
Xander eyes glittered, "Really, anything?" he said his voice a low seductive purr.
Corina nodded, "Yes, anything. You want me you'll have me. You want me to do anywhere and any time, I'm yours. As I said before, you can't hurt me" she debated with herself for a moment, she didn't really want to talk about this, but he had been honest with her and it would help to convince him.
"How so, I could kill you if I took too much?"
"Then we'll be careful," she said standing fluidly and looking him in the eye.
"What about blood loss?" Xander asked looking down into her smoky eyes.
She pouted slightly, "I'll hit the donut store"
Xander lips quirked again, "So if you can convince me to do it again, you'll be fine?"
"Convince you?" she said huskily, "Oh I'll convince you alright"
"I'm still not sure!" Xander admitted feeling strange, but liking the control, he had over this woman despite him self.
She made sure her lips were just touching his before she breathed, "Anything," her tongue flicking out to run around his lips.
Xander had to admit he wasn't really sure she was serious yet but the idea that she was definitely had an effect of him, he could feel himself getting hard at the thought. He wasn't sure why exactly but it did excite him. Then he had always found strong woman attractive, Buffy, Cordelia, Faith, Ms. Calendar, hell even Ms. French and his Incan mummy girl were all strong in their own way. That said, however, he did not like to be dominated, he had too much of that in his life in the past, so perhaps he liked those woman because of the fantasy of dominating them in some small way. He hadn't stood a chance with faith, but those times in the closet with Cordelia, he'd owned her. So the idea of yet another apparently strong, sexy as hell woman begging him to do something and be willing to do ANYTHING for it was one hell of a turn on. That is, 'if' she was serious; which he was not yet sure about?
"Are you serious?" Xander asked, deciding in the end to just go along with her,
Corina reached down her hand snaking out and wrapping around his stiffening manhood, "Yes, I'm sure. Tell you what" she said her voice still low and breathy, "I'll prove it, ask me to do anything, anything at all. I'll do it, so you'll be certain of my honesty"
Xander tipped his head to one side a bit, "Like what?"
"Anything you want. For instance, do you want me to suck you again, or do you want to take me up the ass, I know this girl from work if you want me to go down on her?"
Xander gulped slightly, "Okay…."
"So, tell me…" Corina said fondling him, "What do you want?"
"Alright, I've got something" Xander said with a smirk.
"What, want to tie me up?" she asked.
"Eh, whoa, no eh maybe later, I was think more along the lines of"
"Yes" she breathed
Xander smiled and kissed her softly, "A date, give you time to think it over before committing yourself to something like this, if you want to do it then meet me in say… 20 days time at 8pm same place as tonight, what was it called, Cicada right?"
Corina blinked, "What, I'm offering you anything at all, and you want me to cool off and meet you in a 20 frigging days" she backed away from him, luckily letting go of his manhood before ripping it off, "Are you serious?" she asked a little ticked.
Xander arranged himself back into his trousers; pulling up his zip, "Yes, then if you think of something suitably impressive, I'll do it." he said finally picking his jacket off of the floor, "If you meet me then we'll go to dinner, talk, have some fun and I'll bite you" he said wondering at the strangeness of that sentence.
Corina blinked again as Xander walked past her and paused at the doorway. He looked back at her with a smile, "Hopefully I'll see you there" he said slipping out of the door before she had chance to get her mind in gear.
As the door clicked gently closed she suddenly chuckled, then a giggle that quickly grew into a fully-fledged belly laugh.
She shook her head and smiled, "Oh, I'll be there" she told the door still chuckling softly.
Outside of the apartment, Xander readjusted his crotch area painfully pushing it down into position and tried to think of un-sexy thoughts, otherwise he'd be arrested on the way back to Isabel's apartment.
"Come On Slow Coach" Xander called out several feet ahead of Isabel.
"I suppose you think that's funny," Isabel told him with a half glare, half smile. In the short time, she had been training him; Xander had come on leaps and bounds. Once the dam of his mental barrier had been unleashed, he had shown that he was nowhere near as unfit as they had first thought.
Xander laughed at her and ran backwards for a while smirking at her, that was until the back of his knees hit the low fence and he was flipped over backwards dropping down over a short drop and ending up laying on his face in the dirt.
Isabel stood looking over the fence, laughing so hard that tears were coming to her eyes. Xander got up very slowly cricking his head from side to side.
Finally he smirked at her turned his head to one side and spat out a mouthful of dirt. "I suppose you think that's funny"
Isabel was barely able to nod, she was laughing so hard.
Roof Of Valance 12th September 1999 - 10:00
"Concentrate!" Tegan said with her characteristic bluntness, "Man you're useless at this aren't you!"
Xander looked at her from his upside down position, "Well, Yoda, I'm finding it a little hard to concentrate with all the blood in my body rushing into my HEAD!" He said and flipped back to his feet, the world swimming slightly.
"Fighting is all about equilibrium, concentration and reflexes" Tegan told him adopting a schoolmistress voice, "You fail in all of those qualities. Now Bel's got me training you, because I've trained more childer than even she has, so I know what I'm talking about"
Xander looked at her with a dark glint blooming in his eye. It was one of the things that Tegan didn't like about him, one of the many. He was dark, moody, brooding at times and frankly she still couldn't see what Isabel and Belinda saw in him. Yes, he was shaping up quite well, but there was nothing extraordinary about him that she could see. "Well, Teg, I'm only human" he told her his voice deeper than usual.
"No, actually you're not" Tegan shot back, her back up from his annoying nickname for her. "You're AterAnima, that means you're not as hampered by the human frailties as you were, yet you seem incapable of remembering what you are"
"I know what I am!" he spat, "I'm a vampire"
Tegan's lip curled into a snarl, "You're AterAnima, there's a world of difference, believe me. Now, lets try again, unless you want to tell Belinda you've failed yet again!"
Xander growled at her but ducked down, lifting his body up to stand on his hands, he wavered for a moment until he controlled his body and balanced his swaying stilling.
Valence, 12th September 1999 - 21:00
Isabel nodded towards a stunning raven-haired woman dressed gothically, but with a modern twist. "Now her" she said simply.
"That'll be the fifth so far," Xander said with a sigh.
"Maybe this time you'll succeed" Tegan put in from the other side of the table.
Xander glared at her, "Look, I don't know what I'm doing wrong okay, they just don't like me. I'm doing everything you two keep telling me, but nothing's working. I've even tried to duplicate what happened last night" he glanced at the woman, "Anyway I'm not trying with her I hate piercing's"
"You've not lived until you've been licked by a woman with a pierced tongue," Tegan told him with a smirk.
"I'm not sure that it would feel the same for me" he replied, he had been told that Tegan preferred women and he had no problem with that, but she didn't act like he thought a lesbian would. Not that he had any experience with lesbians anyway, so the only idea he had came from pornographic films and he realized that it was an unlikely scenario that a lesbian would act like that. He somehow expected her to be a bit softer though, she was brittle and spiny, and he'd thought that a lesbian would be soft and feminine. His mistake and not hers, but it still put him off base when dealing with her.
"Find out" Tegan suggested nodded back at the woman. "Or I will" she added challengingly.
"Fine!" Xander said taking her up on it. He got up and walked over to the raven-haired woman with pierced eyebrows and once he got closer, he noticed her tongue was indeed pierced.
Isabel watched as he was shot down once again and walked back to the table with a shrug.
"Give it up Iz, he's obviously useless" Tegan said causing the up until that point silent Belinda to wince and breath in sharply.
She watched, as he got angry and noticed that Tegan was also becoming more and more angry, for no apparent reason. Just before they went at each other she held up a hand, "I think, I know what the problem is"
Xander turned to her his ire fading to be replaced with curiosity, "What is it, what am I doing wrong?"
"Nothing, not wrong, but I think I know how you managed to pick up what was her name?"
"Corina" Xander filled in.
"Corina," Belinda repeated, "Let me guess you found her very attractive didn't you?"
"Uh-huh" Xander said noncommittally.
"Alright, then an experiment, Iz, swap places with me" Belinda said to Isabel who was sat next to Xander. Isabel slid over Belinda's lap and Belinda slid into place, "Right, just trust me," she said her voice dropping to a seductive purr. She glanced around the club and spotted a woman wearing an dark blood red long and flowing dress a split ran up the to the thigh exposing her stocking tops. "Her, just look at her for a moment"
Isabel and Tegan exchanged a puzzled glance and settled back to watch the show.
Belinda's hand slid into Xander's lap and unzipped his zipper slowly. Xander shifted uncomfortably, "Bel, someone will see!" he told her.
"Tegan, an aversion spell if you please!" she said glancing at the red head, she nodded and concentrated her own dark gift.
"Isabel, watch that blonde with the red dress" Isabel nodded but curiously. "Now, no one will see us, just keep looking at that woman" Belinda said her hand slipping inside of his trousers and into his boxers.
"Oh, cold hands" Xander said jokingly but his voice was rough.
"Just look at her," Belinda said starting to gently caress his manhood, "Isn't she hot?"
"Yeah, not a patch on you Bel" Xander said pleasure swimming up from his crotch.
"That's sweet, but don't look at me, look at her. Just look at the way those spike heels shape her calf, the tone of her leg and that sexy lacy stocking stop just peeking out from the split." She purred stroking him to hardness "Wouldn't you like to touch her, to run your hand up her leg? Would you like to bunch up her dress kiss those full red lips of hers before taking a breast in each hand and softly squeezing them"
"Uh-huh" Xander sighed running his eyes everywhere Belinda mentioned becoming seriously turned on by the image and Belinda's soft hand.
Isabel watched as the blonde glanced around noticing that she seemed to be shifting a little uncomfortably.
"I wonder what she tastes like" Belinda purred freeing Xander's cock from his boxers and stroking down his length with increasing speed, "Do you think she'd like to feel your tongue trailing down her body, your mouth sucking on her nipple?"
"Oh god" Xander said shifting slightly his hips bucking upwards into her grip.
"Would you like to fuck her Xander" Belinda said
Isabel and Tegan both noticed that the Blonde was now showing signs of arousal, her nipples poking out through the material of her dress, they way she kept touching her skin and running a hand down her hips like she wanted to reach out and touch herself.
They glanced at each other with puzzled expressions.
"Yes" Xander ground out, "Yes, damn it"
Belinda glanced at Isabel who was still looking puzzled and mouthed, 'Tell you later' then her head sank down to take him into her mouth.
"Projective Empath?" Xander said, "What the hell is that?"
"You project your emotions to other people, like for instance lust. The reason that you were so successful with Corina was that you wanted her as soon as you laid eyes on her" Belinda explained, "It's quite a powerful gift, if you learn to control those emotions of yours"
"So if I get horny, I can make someone else horny too?" Xander asked for clarification.
"Yep" Belinda said with a nod. It was just she and Xander because Tegan had gone off with the raven-haired beauty with the tongue piercing and Isabel was in her office doing some work. They had disappeared at some point during Belinda's fellatio of Xander, not that either of them had noticed. Tegan had luckily left the spell in place, but it had faded about 10 minutes after Belinda had finished him off. However, both Xander and Belinda were not satisfied by that act and were softly winding each other up as time went by. Xander was currently caressing Belinda's thigh as she squirmed to his touch. In return, she was running a hand across his chest in lazy circles.
"Does it work on you?" Xander asked with hooded eyes.
Belinda shook her head, "Shouldn't do, we have good mental blocks, for instance I can't get a read off of you anymore"
Xander nodded distractedly, not really thinking about her answer, more about the feel of her suspender belt through the dress she wore.
"I wonder what Iz is up to?" Belinda said suddenly a small mysterious smile appearing on her face.
"I don't know, want to check?" Xander said trying to distract his mind away from how much he needed to have sex. 'Although thinking of the sexual bomb that is Isabel, not the best way for me to do that', he decided with a smirk.
"Sure" Belinda said standing and holding out a hand to him, which he accepted with a smile.
Isabel's Apartment, 13th September 1999 - 10:00
Belinda was next to Xander they both were sitting in the half lotus position one leg crossed over the other in a comfortable and self-supporting pose. Belinda had her eyes open and her gaze rested on her childe.
"Breathe in through the nose, slowly" Belinda couched him with a hypnotic tone of voice. "As you do that imagine the wind flowing through the trees in the park we described earlier. Then hold it just for a moment and let it flow out of you mouth, do not push it just let it flow"
Xander did as he was told imagining that he was sitting in a forest park, the sun beating down on his face through the trees and, in time to his breathing, a wind just rustling the leaves.
"Now don't breathe in straight away, just let it happen naturally," she continued her tone soft and non-invasive.
Xander did as he was told; and just let his body do the breathing as he focused on his 'safe' place.
Belinda smiled, "Very good Xander, now I want you to image a crystal ball forming in your hands and look down into it, just in your mental arena"
Xander did as he was told imagining a large sphere of purest crystal coming into existence in the palms of his linked hands.
Once that was complete, he practiced a little, turning it around in his grip.
Belinda, however, carried on, not knowing about Xander's minor breakthrough. "I want you to think of an emotion, an emotion like Love, lust, hate, anger, sorrow, joy or perhaps yearning. I want you to feel this emotion and apply a color to it, for instance Red for Anger, Black for Hate, Pink For Love, Green For Lust and Gold for Joy"
Xander stopped his mental toying and set about doing as she had asked feeling the emotions flowing through him, to do so he had to remember the situations he had been in when he had felt those emotions. Hate caused his concentration to shatter for a precious moment but he fought it down and forced the black cloud into the ball. Strangely, once that was complete he felt better somehow, more relaxed. Sorrow, however brought forth images of his friends and Buffy's words, "NO!" Xander roared leaping to his feet.
Belinda looked at him in alarm, "Xander, whatever is the matter"
"No, I… I… I can't do this I'm sorry," he said before running out of the lounge and into 'his' room.
Belinda watched him go with a bewildered expression, it was at times like this that she hated the fact she could not use her gift to gain better understanding of what had happened. Her knowledge of people though, stepped in to fill the knowledge gap.
"Sorrow," she guessed, correctly, "poor man!"
Tegan stepped out from the doorway of her room, "What's wrong with wonder boy?"
Belinda frowned slightly, "He's had a hard time of it"
"What, at his age, I doubt it!" Tegan commented with disbelief.
Belinda speared her with a glance, "You may doubt my darling Tegan, but that does not necessarily make it any less real!"
Tegan met her sire's glare with one of her own, but for once, she backed down, "So tell me"
Belinda nodded slightly and pointed to the floor at her side, Tegan walked over to her and sat cross-legged beside her sire and gave her a curious look, "Go on"
"I'm reticent about telling you too much, it is his pain"
"Then outline it for me Bel"
"Very well, Xander believed his friends to be his world"
"Why, what about family"
"With one such as his, then I do not blame him for discounting them, that is not to say that they did not continue to give him pain, usually physically but his father in particular was mean with his words as well as his fists. He made friends and protected them against outside harm; they became his world and his reason for living. Then he became involved in the 'good' fight; fighting the Demonia and their ilk along side the slayer"
"I knew a slayer once, self involved little thing she was," Tegan put in seemingly out of the blue.
Belinda looked at her questioningly, "Really, when was that?"
"During our row in," she paused thoughtfully, "about 1802, I think. She was working the docks and so was I; luckily, we don't cause a ping on their radar. She and I got a little involved for about a month, then she died, killed by a demonic vampire"
"Interesting, I've known a few myself, hard not to come across them when they've been around longer than even I. Anyway, I'm taking myself off track, this slayer Buffy…"
Tegan snorted, "… Buffy, god her parents hated her"
"… Had a boyfriend, a Demonia with a soul, called Angel, "Belinda continued ignoring the interruption, ", he fought the good fight but she and he made love and he lost his soul due to a clause of the curse"
"Damn fool way of cursing someone" Tegan said, "And Slayer with a vampire, EW!"
"I agree, against nature really, but to each their own. Once this Angel lost his soul, he was a terrible vampire that threatened their group many times over until finally he threatened the world." Belinda paused to breathe, "Finally Buffy went to kill him, but even then her friend the witch was trying to restore Angel's soul. She had sent Xander to let Buffy know, but Xander lied, I'm not sure why exactly but at least part of it was because he knew that Buffy would not fight to her best ability if she knew, perhaps there was some jealousy and I'm sure that anger was involved."
"I'll bet" Tegan muttered.
"She sent her lover to hell, because she didn't know about the curse, he regained his soul just before he went to hell. He came back, eventually and was a somewhat changed man; a man that even Xander admits deserves a chance at redemption. Now, sometime later Buffy found out about the lie. This proved to be Xander's undoing as she gathered his friends and turned them against him, they booted him out of their group and Buffy in particular threatened him and told him never to go back to his home. His parents then backed up this blow and Xander went down hill for several months before meeting me. I've done my best to turn him around as has Isabel, I think it's working but occasionally…" Belinda trailed off with a slightly shrug.
"Yeah, I've seen him, pouting and brooding about the place." Tegan said, a little heartlessly.
"Why, why do you like him so little? He is a pleasant man, funny, handsome and quite the lover, his company is to be treasured and yet…" Belinda shook her head; "You treat him like a leper, why?"
Tegan stood fluidly from her cross-legged position, "I just don't like him" she said, "He's a bit of a crybaby as well; if you ask me, he should just get over it!" she paused then huffed, "And what's with that scar on his wrist"
Belinda frowned, "What do you think it is?" she asked.
"He tried to top himself, I rest my case" Tegan said snootily.
"'Gan!" Belinda admonished, "Remember who you felt when you lost your father, then say that again"
Tegan had the good grace not to be able to meet Belinda's eyes, instead she turned away and started to walk, "I still think he's a crybaby" she said over her shoulder
Belinda knocked softly on Xander's door. Inside of the room, Xander was laying on his back on the huge bed his mind alight with thoughts. It took repeated knocks on his door to finally rouse him from his darkness.
He slid off of the bed and padded bare foot over to the door, opening it and plastering a smile over his face, "Hi Bel" he said with forced cheer.
"Xander, may I come in?" she asked softly.
"Sure, come on in" Xander told her stepping back.
Belinda swept into the room with a whisper of fabric from her long dress and walked over to the bed. She sat down on its edge and patted the spot beside her, "Please, come; sit with me"
Xander narrowed his eyes at her a little, wondering what was going on but did as he was asked, taking a seat next to the brunette beauty. "What's up Bel?" he asked her, turning slightly to look at her.
"You are," she said simply, "I am worried about you Xander my love"
Xander's heart chocked on the word love his face registering pain for a moment. He loved many people, although he wished he didn't, Belinda was one of them, to think that she cared enough to call him that made him sad, strangely. "There's no need,"
he told her pushing down his emotions with the ease of long practice, "I'm fine"
Belinda just cocked an elegant eyebrow at him; a disbelieving look on her face.
"No, really, I'm… alright, but I will be fine, promise"
Belinda smiled softly, leaning forward, she kissed him softly on the lips, "I worry about you, you are part of my 'family' now and I care for all of those in my family"
"Thanks" Xander said kissing her softly back, "You've no idea how much that means to me"
Belinda licked her lip; where he had just kissed her and smiled, "I do", she replied and kissed him back. Xander's arms reached around her waist and pulled her into him as they shared a kiss that shook them up, both feeling a longing in their hearts. He softly caressed her sides as they fell back on the bed together, quickly loosing them selves in sensual lovemaking.
Xander walked out of what had become 'his' room already dressed for his run with Isabel. In her place he found Tegan stretching out, wearing running shorts and sneakers and a light running top.
He was somewhat stunned by his own reaction to her, she was attractive to look at, he knew that already. Right now, he felt a wash of lust run through him. Her body was replete with soft curves but her legs were well toned and quite long, just like the legs of a runner. He was able to guess why she was dressed in running gear. Isabel was fitter than he was, but his new pace was actually faster than hers. Thus, he suspected, Tegan had been roped into running with him to push him harder and faster. The trouble was that he suspected that she would also annoy the hell out of him. He had never actually expected to be effected by her; she was drool worthy in her current attire.
The strange thing with the Trio, as Xander had named them, was that they wore gothic clothing at the club, to fit in he suspected, but outside of it they wore more conventionally clothing. Tegan' s dress so far had not attracted his attention.
He knew it was shallow to be distracted by more revealing attire, but then he was only 19!
"When you've finished perving my arse can we go?" Tegan said turning and facing him.
His eyes flicked up to her annoyed eyes and his lips curled up into a wicked smile, "No, actually, we can't" he said.
Tegan frowned at him, "Why not?"
"Because I've not finished perving your ass" Xander said with a smirk of triumph at her now flashing eyes.
The scenery whistled past them quickly, the wind running over their bodies as they ran fast and hard through the attractive surroundings of central park. Tegan had set out to tire him out, to seek revenge for his comment. So far she had failed, he was not quite as fast as she was but he was still managing to keep up. Through sheer bloody-mindedness, she suspected. His face showed no sign of fatigue, or pain, that she knew he must be feeling some of by now. She had run every day since the sixties so it wasn't like she was unfit, as far as she could tell Xander had only been running for the best part of a month.
Xander's jaw was set in concentration as he pushed his bodies annoying complaints to one side and continued to push with relentless ferocity. Once he had broken through his personal block he had promised himself that he was going to be the best damn AterAnima ever to walk the planet. His studies with Belinda and Isabel had been going well, his martial arts knowledge was greatly enhanced, as was his awareness. Tegan's training sessions had not been so good, mostly because they could barely stand the sight of each other.
He tried not to let their mutual animosity damage his training, often studying what she had talked about with him. He thought he was doing well, everything she had taught to him he had nailed by time the next lesson came along, which frustrated Tegan somewhat. Tegan loved Bel very much; the dark vampire had taken her from a bad situation and given her a reason to live.
That didn't mean that she agreed with her all of the time, in fact they got on so well because they were virtually the opposite of each other. Xander was a sticking point though.
Tegan smiled slightly as Xander fell, darkly amused at his fall, only to lift a brow as he rolled into the fall and was back on his feet and running again. A slight limp showed that he had hurt himself, plus the blood soaking down his leg. He no longer ran in sweats, instead wearing runners shorts cool and baggy they were more suited to running. She noticed that he was becoming powerfully built; it briefly crossed her mind that he must be pushing himself a lot harder than she had at first thought.
"Come on, last one to the gate buys the ice cream" Tegan said smiling slightly, an attempt at friendship.
There had been a few of these small offerings, from them both but so far they had all petered out very quickly as one said something the other didn't like.
"Mine's a Flake" Xander said picking up his pace and going for it.
Tegan smiled ferally and increased her own speed quickly passing him and reaching the gate. As he ran up to her she smiled, "I want a split, thanks"
Xander smiled at her, causing her to melt inside before she clamped it down, "Sure, come on"
Isabel's Apartment 14th September 1999 - 10:30
Xander smiled as he walked through the door with a scowling Tegan coming in behind him. They had actually managed to get all the way back to the apartment before Tegan had made a crack that caused Xander to snap back at her and from there they were arguing again. By time they entered the apartment, Xander was very pleased that he was ahead by points.
Isabel and Tegan exchanged a glance that told stories about their real reason for sending Tegan out with Xander, and the obvious result. Neither woman could understand why Tegan seemed to be so against the man. Xander's motivations were fairly obvious. One, he was protective of Belinda, Tegan and she were always sparking off of each other and Xander didn't see that it was the dynamic that created fire in their relationship. Two, was self-protective. Tegan had a sharp tongue and a rapier wit that matched his own, as such he felt almost honor bound to keep ahead of her, only Tegan didn't like to lose.
"So, what's next" Xander said with a clap of his hands.
Belinda smiled welcomingly at him, "I've got you until tonight" she said with a saucy tone.
"Sounds great" Xander said walking towards his room, "I've just got to have a shower first, then I'm all yours"
"I know" Belinda told him and he walked into his room, the door swinging shut behind him.
"I want to work on your emotional control again," Belinda said carefully.
Xander nodded, "I know, we've been avoiding it haven't we"
Belinda nodded; saying nothing, there was no need. Their relationship had continued as it had started, she had worked hard at bringing him back out of his dark shell, with partial success. She strongly suspected that there would always be a dark vein running though his soul. The betrayal he felt he had suffered wasn't the sort of thing that was easily healed. Healing always took time, and luckily that was something they had in abundance. She could be patient, and despite the fact that she knew that one-day he would possibly leave. Either to travel, or to go back to the Hellmouth, she knew that she owned a piece of him now and that he would one day return to her.
"Now concentrate as before, will yourself back into the park. Feel the wind and the warmth of the sun on your skin"
Xander nodded silently bringing his focus to bear on his task. Soon he felt that he was sat in a beautiful park of astounding natural beauty, his minds eye rich with colors and detail.
"Now, what are you feeling?" Belinda asked her voice subdued.
"Peaceful" Xander replied, his voice deep, a good indication that he was utterly relaxed.
"Now, remember what that feels like, keep a hold of it with your mind. Then, slowly, concentrate on projecting it into a visible ball I'd say a calm deep blue would be good for peace, or perhaps heavenly white. The exact color is up to you," Belinda continued in a hypnotic tone of voice.
Xander did as he was asked eventually a ball of white light appeared between his hands that he placed off to one side. He suddenly felt strangely empty.
"When you've done that, I want you to remember this feeling of the abyss, this is an important state to be in. It allows you to mask yourself from empathic demons, and people. It also allows you to project an emotion into the void you've created.
That's what I want you to do now. Take an emotion, lets say…Anger, I want you to remember something that made you mad, furious with someone or something. Now this is important, I want you to maintain control at this point, don't act on your anger. Instead I want you to send it at me. See me in your minds eye."
"But…"
"I'm shielded, but I will feel the attack, do not fear, you'll not hurt me" Belinda assured him.
"Very well" Xander said, his tone devoid of emotion, managing to keep hold of his vacuous emotional state. He concentrated and did as he was asked, he thought of the time when he had found out about Angel's return to earth. It wasn't long before he felt the rise of his ire. It was at that point he caught it in a mental grip, shaped it into an angry glowing red globe, and then visualizing the beautiful brunette form of Bel; he hurled the fiery globe at her.
Belinda gasped as she felt the emotion curl around her mental shields; even with her impressive protection she still felt the first stirrings of anger. It was an impressive feat for a learner. She had to keep the balance between receptivity and shield and as such she had left herself open somewhat, still the amount of emotion she was feeling was fairly intense. She balled up the emotion and dispersed it with a flick of her mental hand.
"Well done Xander, excellent!" Belinda said with a large smile.
Xander's eyes floated open and he smiled at her, his expression warmly gratified.
The Garage, 14th September 1999 - 00:00
The Garage was THE club and with their mix of gothic and metal live bands they drew in both crowds. That night there was mostly the gothic scene, but unlike Valence there were no Vampire wannabe's, just nearly a thousand people dressed in the latest gothic fashions. There wasn't such a medieval theme to the club either with a 'normal' club look to it, and almost modern furnishings and accessories.
The lighting was subdued with very little ambient lighting, just a few floor running lights and softly glowing lamps holding back the gloom. Each table had a candle like light. The tables themselves were scattered around with no rhyme or reason.
There were four levels, all looking at the band, none but the main taking up more than a third of the available space. The uppermost layer was the quietest and it got progressively louder further down. The main floor was also the entrance floor with steps leading up to the others. The entrance area was slightly raised with steps leading down to the dance floor area were people were happily going mad. There was a raised stage, and on it there was a band thrashing out a seriously heavy guitar laced tune that was driving the crowd wild.
Xander looked at his red-haired companion with a puzzled expression, "So, why am I here; with you?" he asked her.
"Because, I said so," Tegan replied with an annoyed huff of air.
"Ok, but why? What pearl of wisdom are you about to impart," Xander said, and despite his voice having no trace of irony his eyes spoke volumes on the subject.
"Belinda," Tegan rolled her eyes, "Has asked me to test your awareness and to teach you a new trick!" Tegan glanced around at the club, "For instance, there is a vampire in here, apart from us, a Demonia, where?" she said folding her arms across her chest, unfortunately causing a valley to appear there that Xander found distracting.
He dragged his eyes from her cleavage, not noticing the slight half smile that Tegan had dancing around on her lips. She had actually enjoyed the fact he'd looked; it had been the first time that he had cast her more than a cursory glance. She shook off the feeling, angry with herself for her weakness, and turned to watch Xander at work.
Xander reached out with the impressive senses of his kind. Due to the mix of demonic magic and 'Humonic', to quote Isabel, powers AterAnima had much sharper senses then their cousins, the demonic vampire. He could feel both the throb of the club's sound system and of the people just being alive. Being AterAnima activated other senses that he didn't know a human had, or perhaps they didn't but he could see the flow of energy through the room, as a dark red wave. It curled around some people like a lover caressing them; but others it barely touched. He was loathe to ask Tegan of all people but felt he had to, "What's that red river?" he asked pointing around the club tracing it's line.
Tegan hid a surprised look and scowled at him, "Don't you know that!" she said derisively, "That's the flow of what the Chinese called Chi, and the way it interacts with a person shows their 'rightness' with the life forces around them. Normally it would be a golden color, but because of the sexual vibe in the club…" she trailed off as it was self evident, as far as she was concerned. Xander, however, was too young to have tuned into the river of life yet; there he was all tuned in. It was ultimately vexing to her that he should do so a good thousand years before she had.
"Okay, I get that" Xander said with a head nod he glanced around the club again with new eyes. He then spotted something that brought back a lot of memories, "Vampire" he spat, the one word a curse.
Tegan shivered at the coldness of his voice, "Good, now…" she was cut off.
"He's going to eat, back in a minute," Xander said walking away from her halfway through her sentence. She briefly toyed with going after him and then did, however not to stop him as she first thought, but to observe. Belinda had finally told her just what she hoped of Xander and she would be interested to see if he had 'the stuff' for it.
Xander tracked the Demonia using the river, wherever it passed the river was twirled up in eddies of activity and tingeing into the darker more blood end of the red band. So it didn't take him long to track the vampire out of the fire exit where it had prey. A stunning woman wearing dark purple clothes to match her hair and white teeth flashing under black lipstick. She was quite tall but her purple hair stilled flowed down to her backside. Her long legs were currently under scrutiny from both her hunter and Xander.
Tegan came up behind Xander and whispered into his ear, "Are you supposed to be checking her out or killing the vampire?" she asked. Her breath sent a thrill through him, which he curbed with force of will.
He turned to face her, "What do you want, to give me tips on how to kill a vamp, I've been doing it for years" he broke off his eyes going dark.
"Well, from what I've seen of everything else about you, you could sure as hell do with it" Tegan said spitefully.
"You are such a bitch" Xander commented turning back to the Vampire and prey. He smirked slightly. It seemed the vampire was more interested in feeding its libido than its hunger. The raven-haired woman was currently sinking to her knees and tugging at its belt with a sultry smile. "Wonder, if she's any good" he whispered mostly to himself.
Tegan who was still struggling with her anger looked at him askance, "What, she's vamp bait and all you can think about is getting your dick sucked?"
"Maybe she'll be grateful, it would sure as hell make a change" Xander commented mildly as he looked back to where the woman was enthusiastically sucking on the handsome vampire, her slurping noises carrying to Xander and Tegan's position.
Tegan snorted which caused the vampire to stiffen, in a whole different way to what he was currently. Xander pushed her back against the wall pressing her with his body. Tegan noted with a racing pulse that he was hard from the show they had been given, she looked up into his dark, angry eyes her own dark, pupils dilated with no small amount of lust. They held the gaze for a beat or two longer than was comfortable Xander's body still pressed to hers. He could feel the swell of her breasts on his chest, her breathing rubbing them against him; he noted that she had a nipple erection that he could feel through his silk shirt. His eyes traveled down from hers to her full red lips begging to be kissed. His mouth neared hers she wet her lips in readiness and then a scream rent the night.
Xander turned like a cat to find that the girl was lying back on the floor her dress bunched around her waist fighting against the demonically ridged face of the vampire. There was blood streaming down her neck from a nasty bite wound. Xander's fangs grew and his eyes flashed to the catlike elongated pupils of his race. Anger pulsed through his system, anger at himself, anger at Tegan but most at that demonic vampire.
With a roar, he jumped up into the air into a flying kick. The kick sent the vamp flying back against the wall; Xander floated slowly down and continued walking. Tegan's eyes flew open as she watched, that is what she had been told to show him.
AterAnima could fly, as Xander had just unconsciously demonstrated. He was a natural but had no control as yet, not consciously at least. She turned her mind back to the fight in progress to watch Xander pick up the vampire and through it one handed against a dumpster denting it in the process. Then he whipped around and landed a chest crunching kick to the vampire's ribs. There was a horrendous CRACK followed by a scream of pain but Xander just smiled.
Tegan quailed at his smile, that dark angry smile, it scared her and reached a dark part of her soul that she didn't even realized she still had, she thought herself a fully evolved person after 5000 years, but now she knew. There was a primitive inside of her, the thing that warns us of danger and warns us when a predator was around. There was, it was Xander. She also noted with some wry amusement that it was making her soaking wet with desire.
His fangs were out, Tegan noticed with some small amount of horror, AterAnima only showed their fangs when they were sated their thirst. But then perhaps he was. She watched him stalk his prey, the hunter now the hunted and bring his foot slamming down on the vampires face mashing its nose into a bloody pulp. His foot came back and smashed into it's face, once, twice three times the foot lashed out causing the vampires face to become a bloody mess of skin and bone.
The girl was now REALLY screaming, one horror replaced by another and Tegan knew she had to do something, but for the first time she could remember, she was scared. She worked through it and plucked up her courage to grab the girl and pull her back away from the 'fight' or rather carnage. The frightened girl screamed some more at the sudden shift of direction but calmed some when she saw Tegan's worried gaze. Tegan looked deep into her eyes and said a single word, "SLEEP" The girl sagged into Tegan's preternaturally strong embrace.
Xander lifted the virtually faceless vampire up from the ground with a single hand and span in place sending the vampire careering through the air. He leapt up after it and somehow managed to pass it mid air, his foot lashed out kicking hard fully caving the vampires chest; a rib punctured the hapless creatures heart and (mid air) it puffed into a cloud of vile black dust. Xander floated slowly down to the ground his eyes burning with hate as he looked at the dust pile. He coughed up and spat into the pile turning back to the shocked Tegan and unconscious girl.
"What?" he asked her shocked and horrified expression. "What'd I do?"
"I'm telling you Bel, he's a monster that needs to be put down, I know you said he had a dark side, but fuck me Bel you should've seen him" Tegan said her porcelain cheeks flamed from her impassioned speech.
"Did he hurt any innocents?" Belinda asked in concern.
Tegan shook her head, "No, no he didn't but who's to say he won't"
"I am" Xander said walking into the room his eyes dark and expression guarded, "I hate demons, I don't care what you think, but I do take exception at you saying I would or could hurt an innocent. I've not done it in nearly 4 years, what makes you think I'll start now"
Belinda tried to calm him, "Xander, there is one thing you don't know about our kind, that Tegan does and it has her worried that is all, she is not suggesting you would purposefully do it"
"I am" Tegan said, "You didn't see his eyes, he had his fangs showing for fucks sake!"
"Did I?" Xander said puzzled, "I don't remember that, but I knew what I was doing with that vampire, the girl was in no danger from me" he turned to Belinda, "So, what is this thing you all know that I don't?"
"It's not like that Xander, you have learnt so much already, but perhaps not enough" Belinda put in thoughtfully. "I may have a solution to that, but as for your question" she paused and let out a slow breath, "Ater Anima, is in the ancient tongue, It is only the Lamia part of the phrase that tells you we're vampires, we are the Dark Souled ones, AterAnima. Do you see Xander, just being who we are makes us dark, willing to go a little further than perhaps we should, hurt those who shouldn't really be hurt. We're not evil; there is no demon, just dark. It is within us to do much harm, but there is much capacity for good also. I've seen people go either way but I'm sure you will remain on the right side of the line, just beware that your condition can color your response to a situation" Belinda told him.
Xander pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath, "Okay, Tegan I'm sorry perhaps I did go over the top, that doesn't mean that I would hurt an innocent, because they are just that, innocent"
Tegan nodded, "Very well, I'll except that… for now"
"Thank you" Belinda told her with a soft smile, "Now, how did the lesson go apart from that" she smiled, "Did he do it?"
"Oh yeah, he did it alright"
"Excellent, it can take some centuries to perfect" she said clapping her hands in joy.
"But we didn't actually get to that lesson" Tegan said with an annoyed huff, "He did it fighting the Demonia"
Belinda's eyes widened slightly, "A natural?"
"You should have seen him," Tegan said grudgingly.
"Eh, excuse me" Xander put in.
"Why, what did he do?" Belinda asked completely blanking Xander.
"Controlled his descent without thought, took to the air like a friggin bird to kick that Demonia across the alley"
"I took to the air?" Xander said his jaw dropping open in shock.
Tegan actually smiled at him for a moment, before she replaced it with a scowl, "Yes" she spat.
"Cool" Xander whispered, "We can fly?"
"We can, not far or all that high, but yes we can defy gravity" Belinda said her eyes alive with excitement, "Try it, just 'feel light'"
Xander cocked his head at her, "What? Feel light, WTF are you on about Bel?"
Belinda held out her hands looking as if she was crucified and smiled at him, her feet left the floor and she swept backwards.
"Try it," she said her voice honey.
Tegan held her foot crooked behind her opposite knee and placed an arm in the air before intoning in her Barbie doll voice, "Just think a happy thought" and taking to the air floating next to Belinda.
"Well, come on up" Belinda told him rising up higher.
Xander looked up at them before cracking into a massive smile, "No way"
"Come on, don't be such a baby" Tegan teased floating around at roof height.
"Not a chance, not yet anyway" Xander said with a wide smile.
Tegan frowned, "Why?"
"Because; I can see RIGHT up your skirt, and I gotta say 'Teg' NICE legs"
There was no moving air in the apartment, save that provided by the gentle New York breeze that floated through the window.
But Xander fancied he was soaring through the wind, like a bird with a thermal under its wings. Perhaps a giant Raven or crow especially with the color of his clothes, flying high above the world and looking down on it. In truth, the only thing he was looking down on was the couch and Isabel's belongings spread around the apartment.
Xander floated further upwards looking at Belinda with joy in his eyes; "Thank god Iz has a high roof up here" he quipped his smile matching his eyes.
"Enjoying yourself?" Belinda asked with a large smile, she had watched Tegan chase Xander around the apartment for the last half hour before he had finally taken to the air in self-defense. It was lucky he had; because Tegan looked about ready to kill him, Belinda was starting to wonder why Tegan acted so strongly towards Xander and she had sneaking suspicion in that regard. Luckily for Xander, at least, Tegan had stormed off in a huff.
"This is FUCKING amazing" Xander enthused, "I feel fantastic" He flowed backwards with ease, "And it's easy when you get the idea" he continued before smacking into a light fitting.
Belinda laughed softly, "It is, but its best to watch where you're flying"
"Sorry" Xander said sheepishly. Then twirled around quickly almost a blur of motion as he rocketed off to the other side of the room and turned back smirking at Belinda.
Belinda crooked a finger at him with a seductive look in her eye, "Come here"
Xander smiled and floated over to her, once he was within touching distance Belinda reached out grabbed his hand and…
…They disappeared, only to reappear in a huge room.
The end of the room wasn't even visible to Xander's eye; he looked around in wonder at the shining surfaces, the row upon row of books, scrolls, pictures and a host of other materials the roof stretched off way above. He looked back at Belinda who was smiling like a kid in a candy shop.
"Welcome, to… …The Library!" she intoned grandly.
It was worthy of the grandiose nature of her welcome. The floor was marble, polished to mirror like proportion. There was row upon row of Oak book shelves, great pillars of marble stretched up into the rafters and Xander just felt in that undeniable way that he was in the presence of a great deal of knowledge and power. A line from a Terry Pratchett book came to mind about the presence of books; any books could warp the reality around them, creating L-space. That thought applied well to this library in all of its bibliophilic glory, Xander could well imagine that happening in this place.
Belinda watched his face carefully, looking for any signs of confusion, or disappointment. This was, HER, place. She had created it with the help of the sorcerer thousands of years ago and had crafted it ever since, lending it power with her natural magic and from the magic contained within the scrolls and artifacts she stored in this ultimately safe place. No one could come here without her, full stop. She had seen to it that this was the most secure dimension of all time. They could look into it, to an extent, if a super powerful deity wished they could see clearly. However, destroying it or in any way changing it would take the power of an old god. Luckily, they rarely bothered with such mundane things as libraries, even when they were active.
"Wow!" Xander breathed lowering himself slowly to the floor feeling strangely tired although it seemed to take no effort to take to the air, staying there was tiring work.
"You like it?" Belinda asked breathlessly.
"I love it. Bel, this place is amazing, is this the 'pocket' dimension you told me about"
"You remembered" she beamed lowering also.
"When you said pocket…" Xander trailed off and tried to see a wall.
"It was, once very small, to begin with it was no larger than a book, then by the time I used it to store the scrolls of Atlantis it was the size of a small room, now…." She trailed off sweeping her hand around, "…It is immense"
"How big?" Xander asked curiously.
"I'm not entirely sure of that myself," Belinda admitted with a laugh. "I' ve flown all day that way" she said pointing off to the 'north' "and not hit another wall. The walls expand as the dimension does. Perhaps one day it will be the size of a full dimension, much like the one we usually inhabit"
"What about time"
"It flows the same here as it does on earth" Belinda said, her eyes darkened, "Though sometimes it seemed much slower."
"How…"
"I built it all, myself. I spent a lot of time here, I had to bring the materials in by hand, because I couldn't just create materials, I'm not god. I did use magic to place the rocks and I keyed the dimensions to match the pocket but it's gone beyond that now. It's grown so much" she said excitedly.
Xander watched her with a growing realization, "You've never brought anyone here before have you?" he asked, it was in the excited way in which she was sharing her little dimension.
Belinda turned to him with a smile, "Not many no, but both Iz and Tegan have seen it, or parts of it"
"Why me, I mean I'm honored but I'm not much of a book person"
Belinda laughed gaily, "That's not entirely true Xander Harris, so don't try it on with me. Besides, it is not books I have brought you to see"
Xander smiled, "Okay, so I can't kid a kidder, and thank you" he said the last two words so softly that Belinda felt a tear well up in her eye.
"It is my pleasure, besides you needed to come... Follow me, we have much to do and discuss" Belinda told him taking to the air once again.
Xander looked around in stunned shock. They had flown for what seemed like an hour until finally they had come to a different part of the dimension entirely. It was pitch black for one thing. But Belinda had led him through the darkness, until they had arrived in a veritable cave of wonder.
The light was so bright it WAS painful, but to close your eyes would be to miss the marvel that was the crystal room. It was as well, totally made of crystal that glowed with white light. Laid out in front of them were millions and millions of rows of Crystals, all 8 inches long and one wide. There wasn't any deviation in size they were all exactly the same shape; length and they appeared to be identical even in cracks and fissures.
"So beautiful" Xander whispered his voice thick with awe.
"Isn't it, this room alone took me a millennia to construct. I did it completely with my people's magic; I learnt the techniques from one of our ancient scrolls. This is the heart of the dimension and I believe the source of its power."
"You believe?"
"No one has ever done this with a pocket dimension before" she admitted with a self mocking smile, "They're called pocket dimensions for a reason, they are receptacles for items that are to cumbersome or that you wish to remain hidden, such as a weapon. They are not meant to be libraries."
"Jesus, hang on you mean you guys used them LITERALLY as Pockets, for change and stuff like that?" Xander asked in awe.
"We did," Belinda, told him, "I'll teach you how, it will be useful if you take up my quest"
"Your quest?" Xander asked.
Belinda bit her lip nervously, which Xander found endearing but worrying, "Spill it Bel, you can tell me anything" Xander said then felt an icy spike of fear and the similarity of his words before another such meeting.
"I wish you to become a warrior, to kill the Demonia and drive their vileness from the planet completely" Belinda said in a rush suddenly more nervous than she had felt in many years. The importance of Xander's decision was beyond belief.
"What?" Xander said in shock his face dissolving into a reflection of that sensation.
"I believe you have the potential to do this, or at least help it to happen. I want you to be a champion for mankind, and most of all I want you to be a champion for AterAnima." Belinda said, her eyes burning, "The Demonia killed my family millennia ago, slaughtered thousands of our kind and left me alone once again. I hate them for that and for the atrocities; I have seen them do to the humans. I want them gone, we, the mortals and AterAnima can live in peace with each other, even with some of the other Vampires races, but the Demonia, they exist only to destroy!" Belinda paused gathering her breath and thoughts, "It has to stop. Once millions of years ago they were driven from our planet, they can be again"
"You want me to kill vampires" Xander said his voice even.
"All Demonia that require it" Belinda clarified.
Xander walked up to her his expression clear, "I hate them!" he stated.
"I know" Belinda said her eyes locked on his, "Almost as much as I"
"Is this what you saw in me, the potential to kill demons?"
"Only partly, I see the potential for much greatness in you Alexander" she said using his formal name, "You will become known as the death of demons" she continued stepping closer to him her voice and eyes hypnotic in their intensity, "You will once again be the savior of mankind as fitting your name. Will you do this thing I ask of you?"
"I will" Xander said, sealing his fate and setting balls running in an invisible maze of destiny.
Belinda nodded once, "I knew you would," she said.
"But it will take me years to learn how to fight well enough to beat demons one on one" Xander said with a heavy sigh, "I better get started" he said setting his shoulders into a proud upright stance.
Belinda walked around the rows of crystals selecting one apparently; at random, she tossed it to him. As soon as it hit his hand, his mind exploded with new knowledge. Once the rush stopped he blinked, "I know what a nunchuck is for, not just as an abstract Bruce Lee movie prop" he said in wonder.
Belinda smiled, "Pass it back Bruce"
Xander did as he was asked a bemused expression on his face, "What the hell was that?"
"These are Skill Crystal's" Belinda told him taking his old one and placing it on a small table before selecting another.
"They contain knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge, they contain skills"
"You mean, that I not only know what a nunchuck is and how to use it I actually can use it, no practice?" Xander said in awe.
"Correct, here" she said tossing another at him. His hand flashed out with precise speed and plucked it out of the air.
Xander frowned slightly with a bemused expression on his face, "Urh, I can play the violin?"
Belinda chuckled; "Oops!" she said and threw another, the returning crystal passing in midair.
Xander laughed at her once his eyes had cleared, "Urh, I'm guessing filing these isn't easy," he told her with a smile.
Belinda frowned, "Not very, why?"
"That one's the Piano," He told her with a fond smile. She tried again, this time Xander let out a loud laugh, "Okay… I'm thinking you should have a re-tidy"
"What was it this time?"
"Believe it or not, the guitar, and I'm a little annoyed, it took me three years to learn it the first time, and now I know it better than I could ever have hoped to, and now I know Flamenco, rock and bizarrely enough Hawaiian?"
"You know the guitar?" Belinda asked.
"Yeah, I toyed with it for a few years, got so-so, then my father used it to knock me out. I kinda went off it after that" he said, a smile on his face but sadness in his eyes.
Belinda too had sad eyes, but it was good to see the extra spark in Xander that allowed him to find it darkly amusing, at least. "Okay" she said and selected another crystal. Again, the crystals passed in mid air and Xander smiled, "Always wanted to know how to dance," he said with a twinkle.
"Oh, feck!" Belinda said and picked up another crystal regarding it closely before they repeated the swapping maneuver.
Therein started a session of trial and error that had Xander laughing so hard that he dropped to his knees in his weakness.
Occasionally he'd sober and nod and tell her that she had hit a crystal with a more practical skill.
Belinda used that information to adjust her search pattern. The truth was she hadn't been here in quite some time. The filing system had been hard to come up with in the first place, now many years after its conception, it was fading. She'd have to get a computer in here and store it there. She selected a particularly bright crystal, protected as she was by a masking spell, the skill didn't affect her, which also had the unfortunate side effect of not telling her what it was. She had loaded many of these crystals herself. The down side, if you can call it that, was that once a skill had been placed in a crystal the original owner lost it, and one couldn't just pick the crystal back up again, not for at least a year as their mind healed enough to take the skill being thrust back on them. She tossed the crystal to Xander with an almost lazy movement of her hand.
"Holy god" Xander breathed sinking back to his knees. Belinda moved with purpose, now that she had reminded herself of the proper filing system, selecting crystals apparently at random and passing them to Xander who was slowly becoming more and more tired until, finally, he passed out.
She looked down at his prone form and smiled beautifully filling the room with her radiance that outshone even the crystals.
"So it begins, Memphis," she said to the room at large. There was no answer, but in another dimension someone heard, someone who was currently called Memphis.
Xander roused some time earlier to find himself once again in the main library and his head filled with millennia of training and knowledge. It ranged from tactics and martial arts training of all types and creeds, to combative and healing magic's as well as languages and demonic breeds.
He stood up noticing as he did that his musculature seemed to have changed, he had more bulk than before and looked around for Belinda to explain. He finally found her floating a good 30-foot straight up and took to the air after her. "Hey Bel" He greeted her, "Why am I bigger?"
Belinda laughed, "Good morning to you also Xander" she said, "In answer to your question, some skills required that you 'bulk' up, so you did. It was lucky you were unconscious otherwise it would have been a most unpleasant experience"
"Shit!" Xander exclaimed.
"Is it?" Belinda asked with a laugh.
"Hell, No; Belinda, I'm…" Words failed him for a moment, "Honored, that you place so much trust in me"
"Should I not?" Belinda asked him gently, "Are you so, unworthy? Xander, I would have thought you would have realized this by now, you ARE worthy"
"Thanks, Bel" Xander said a smile covering the deeper emotion of fear and the words of Buffy swimming in his head.
"For now at least; I have one last gift for you" she told him and set off leaving Xander to catch up. They flew for only a short while until finally she came to a stop and started to rise up higher and higher reaching the limits of her ability, and surpassing Xander's who was forced to stop and wait for her return.
She did not return for thirty minutes and when she did she was smiling with her hands behind her back, "Come on" she said, "I'll race you" she continued then suddenly she was moving swiftly downwards.
Xander smiled and dived after her hoping that he didn't end up as mush at the bottom of the library.
She swept around a shelf touching down on the polished floor. Xander set down next to her sweating slightly from his exertions where she was as cool as ice. After he caught his breath he stalked forward, "What have you got, Bel?" he asked with a smile.
She backed away from him, "Something personal from me to you"
Xander bobbed his eyebrows, "Is it naughty?"
Belinda laughed softly, "No"
"Well?" Xander said laughing also, "Is it you? I could so go for that mile high thing now"
Belinda guffawed, "No!"
"Alright I give" Xander gave in with a playful pout. Looking down a slow smile spread on his face, "this floor is sure well polished" he said gazing up the inside of Belinda's thigh reflected in its surface with growing lust.
"Later!" she admonished him tracing his gaze, "First this" she said and with a flourish brought round a Katana in its scabbard.
"A Katana, I know how to use one of those" Xander said in sudden realization, "This is so cool," he took the proffered gift and turned it in his hands. "It's pretty light"
"It's Atlantean, we used them long before the Japanese, it was the stories of our swordsmanship that started them off"
"Wow, this must be real old then?"
"Older than I by about 2000 years. For the mathematically inept, that's an 17,000 years old Crystal Katana of the Atlantean guard"
Xander smirked at the mild barb then his face drained of color, "Crystal?"
"Crystal, draw the blade and you'll see what I mean," Belinda told him with a proud smile. "Don't worry" she said when she saw him gingerly handling the weapon, "It's not going to break anytime this lifetime, and it's a weapon not a ornament, I expect you to use it"
"Of course" Xander said pressing his thumb against the scabbed and pushing it away from the hilt. The blade shone with an inner fire that matched the 'Skill Crystal's' from the crystal room. Except where they were white, it was golden. He finally drew the blade fully and weighed it in his hand with new skill. "This is fantastic workmanship" he commented. It was made completely from a single crystal, wickedly sharp and well balanced. It was also much lighter than the equivalent mass of steel, "Why so light?" he asked.
"The crystal is a magical one, inside of that weapon is pure Atlantean magic. It is completely natural, so much so that you will be able to dust a vampire; same theory as wooden stakes" Belinda told him stepped forward to softly kiss his cheek, "From me to you, my love"
"If you keep calling me that, I'll believe you," Xander commented his voice thick with emotion.
"Good" Belinda said succinctly, "Because I mean it" then she reached into thin air and pulled out several thin books and some plastic cards.
"What???" Xander exclaimed.
"Pocket dimension, I have a crystal for you so you can keep the sword hidden, in the meantime I want you to take these?" she told him, "They will make your quest easier to accomplish"
Xander took the books and looked at them, "These are bank books… In my name! Bel! I can't take your money!"
Belinda laughed, "Xander, I'm 15,000 years old, I have more money than GOD!"
Xander glanced at one of the books and blanched, "You weren't kidding"
"I am the one giving you the quest, it is up to me to provide for it!" Belinda said her voice brooking no argument, "You will take the money and you will use it to live, to love and … to fight"
Xander looked at her, "Bel…." Words failed him.
"I believe in you Xander," she said simply, the five words choking him up and bringing tears to his eyes.
Xander walked into the living room of Isabel's apartment laughing, at something the woman herself had just said. The laugh died in his throat when he found Tegan was there. Dressed in a short suede skirt and tight top she looked her usual million dollar self. Her bare tapered legs were propped up the coffee table. A magazine sat on her lap, which she had been idly flipping through.
She turned as he walked in a scowl twisting her otherwise attractive face. Blue eyes sparkled with anger as soon as they met his.
It was a sad fact of life, Xander decided, that there are some people who just don't get on. He and Tegan were a prime example of that.
He turned when he heard the soft click of the door shutting. Isabel had not followed him in. He smelt a set up. The lock clicking into place sealed the deal. The message was obvious, 'Settle this'. Xander and Tegan had been getting steadily worse, especially since Xander had learnt from the Skill Crystal's. It gave him a slight confidence boost and Tegan hadn't liked it, perhaps even threatened by, Xander didn't know and frankly didn't care; she was getting to him.
"Those Bitches" Tegan spat, her eyes flashing with real anger. She jumped to her feet and stormed past Xander with a waft of vanilla trailing in her wake.
Tegan grabbed the door handle and using her augmented strength; pulled. The door didn't even creak. She huffed an annoyed breath and hit the door hard with a powerful punch, nothing. She backed off a step and launched a wheel kick; again nothing, not so much as a rattle.
Xander meandered fully into the room and sauntered over to the couch. He casually plopped down on it and started flicking through the magazine with a bored air.
"Aghh!" Tegan screeched and threw her hands up in annoyance.
"Chill out" Xander told her laconically.
"What?" Tegan gritted out through clenched teeth.
Xander looked up from the magazine and looked at her, a slight smile just curling his lips. "I said, Chill. Obviously they want us to try to come to some sort of accord." the smile spread slightly, "I think, that they are fed up with us arguing."
Tegan visibly steamed, "This is all your fault!" she decided.
Xander blinked, "What?" he demanded in confusion.
Tegan walked around to the other side of the coffee table. Her hands were placed on her hips and she glared at him. "If not for you, I wouldn't be stuck here with a brooding yank!"
"I Do Not Brood!" Xander punctuated with deliberate pedantry. His own anger was starting to awaken. Much like the Kraken of legend; once riled, it was a destructive force to be reckoned with.
Tegan, realizing she had hit a nerve, smiled mirthlessly, "Funny; What DO you call mopping around with a face like a wet weekend!" she blew out a 'pfft' of air, "I'd call that brooding." she made a dismissive movement with an elegant hand. "How someone as young as you can have had anything happen that is worthy of the pathetic, self absorbed, cry-baby brooding you have been doing..."
Xander had, had enough, "Look; little miss self important. Just because you're as old, and about as attractive as dirt, doesn't give you the right..."
Tegan cut over him, "Dirt! Why you arrogant little boy, you wouldn't know attractive if it jumped in your lap!"
"Really... I've been around a lot of attractive women and next to them you're..." he trailed off with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Really; these would be these friends of yours I've heard so much about? Just look at how much they wanted to keep you around!" She glared into his eyes and realized that she had made a mistake. Her famous temper had taken control of her mouth. Xander's eye's registered pain and Tegan knew she had drawn blood. She briefly toyed with the idea of apologizing, but quickly dismissed the idea. If he couldn't take a few knocks, he wasn't what Bel hoped he was. She watched his eyes for a moment; her breathing had increased with the fire flowing through her veins, fire that pushed her to continue her tirade.
"The only way you'll ever get a woman is to use that trick of yours!" Tegan found herself strangely happy to watch as pure unadulterated fire spat in his eyes. But she knew his weakness now. Xander may be strong both physically and emotionally; but his emotions were the weak point. Add to that his friends and you had him by the balls.
Xander smiled, it wasn't pleasant in fact it was bordering on cruel, "What, this trick" he said unleashing on her. He watched her pupils dilate and her nipples became erect, visible through the tight top she wore. Her breathing started to come in pants and he could smell her arousal. He stopped projecting after a second; surprised that he had done that ethically, and also that he had managed it at all. He was lead to believe that his fellow AterAnima should be immune.
Tegan was somewhat surprised; theoretically, Xander should not have been able to do that. She noticed that he looked a little ashamed of himself, but she was having trouble stopping herself from submitting to the waves of lust she was feeling. The trouble was that she already wanted him, not many men she'd met could keep up with her sharp tongue. Add to that the extra waves of lust she was feeling and you had a recipe for disaster. The trouble was that he reminded her strongly of a man she'd met some 300 years ago. A man she had loved and been happy with until he broke her heart into a million pieces. It wasn't only that, she wasn't that shallow. She thought him somewhat pathetic, but Belinda was right about one thing, he had the potential to be more.
Xander wasn't sure if it was guilt, or the need for some sort of relief. As he watched her composing herself, he began to talk. "I was three when it happened the first time. I don't remember much, just pain and the brief sensation of flight...
then nothing. It carried on like that until junior high. By that point, I'd already met Willow and Jessie. It was like the new school was the excuse the Bullies had needed, I'm not sure why they picked Willow and Jessie but they did. My friends were the only things stopping me from loosing it, so I stood up for them. At home, my dad still hit me, and my mom, but I had my friends, they became my whole world. Then second year of high school I had to stake Jessie to protect one of the bullies.
As it turned out Cordy actually became a good person, but at the time..."' Xander trailed off and ran a hand through his hair.
"So I started to fight, to protect my friends old and new, and even though home was still hell, I felt that I wasn't the loser dad always said I was; because I had my friends and I looked after them. Saving the world was just icing on the cake. My friends Willow, Giles, Buffy and even Cordelia were my entire world. Then they shunned me, oh, she said it was because they couldn't trust, because I lied to her, but I know it was because I indirectly sent a vampire to hell to save five billion other people. Just because he was her boyfriend, she punished me. Took everything away, my world, my reason for living it was all gone." Xander stopped his impromptu speech and took a deep breath. "So you'll have to excuse me if I'm a bit upset" he said with a slight growl.
"So" Tegan began, "You're not quite as pathetic as I thought. Yet still not much more than a whining little Boy"
Xander's eyes flashed with anger, "You complete bitch! To think I thought you might understand!"
"Oh, I do" Tegan told him; stepping round the table she poked him in the chest. He tried to get up, to gain some space but she just pushed him back down. "What you have to understand little boy is that to be adult means to except the consequences of our actions. Now I don't agree with what this girl did, although I can see why she did what she did. But you, child, have to now accept what has happened and move on with your life." she poked him in the chest again "Grow up boy"
"Will you stop poking me, and stop fucking calling me boy" Xander spat, his eyes flashing.
"Why, Boy that is what you are after all, a little boy pretending to be an adult. You want me to stop calling you Boy; Boy?"
Xander stood up, forcing Tegan to stand back or else be knocked over. "Yeah, didn't I just get done saying that? Damn it woman stop poking me"
Tegan poked him again, just for kicks, "Sit down boy, we aren't done" she said pushing him, he didn't budge, "You want to stop me calling you boy, then act like a man, face up to the world, so you've been dealt a crappy hand; deal with it, move on; prove you're better than they thought!"
Xander snarled slightly as she yet again poked him; "Will you quit with the poking thing..." he trailed off as she poked him again. He glared down, staring into her fire filled eyes. They stayed like for a while, for a beat or two longer than would be normal for an argument, and then she yet again poked him with a challenging smile twisting her lips.
Xander snarled, but carefully, poked her in the chest, right between her breasts.
Tegan's eyes flashed, "Oh no boy, don't you be poking me now!"
"Why not? What's good for the gander is good for the goose" Xander replied and with deliberate care poked or rather pushed Tegan. Off balance, she ended up sitting on the coffee table.
Her eyes spat and sparkled with anger, she stood in a fluid movement and pushed him back. Xander's hands ended up grabbing hers and he pulled her over with him. Xander ended up sprawled on the couch with Tegan sat astride his thighs. They glared into each other's eyes.
"Brute!"
"Harpy!"
Tegan growled low in her throat and Xander just glared up into her eyes. This time the wave of lust that Tegan felt coursing through her had nothing to do with Xander. She attacked his mouth, her tongue intertwining with his; they kissed with ferocious passion. When finally they broke for air, they looked at each other with heated gazes.
"God, I want you" Xander finally growled out. His hands grasped her waist and hauled her in for another scorching kiss that she fully returned.
Their tongues slithered around one another's as Xander reached round and grabbed Tegan's shapely buttocks and squeezed. Tegan broke the kiss and looked heatedly into his eyes, "I need you inside of me. I want to feel you fill me up" she ground out her hips moving rhythmically in circles. His tented pants a testament to his already painfully erect cock.
Tegan stood breaking his grip and Xander felt the loss of her heat with a pang. She smiled down at him; reaching down she slowly unzipped his trousers using her other hand to caress him through the constrictive material. Once the zipper was down, she reached in a freed him from the cotton prison. His cock now stood at full mast in comparison to her petite hand it looked huge.
A smile curled her sensuous lips, "Izzy wasn't pulling my leg after all" she commented stroking her hand up his engorged member. Her pupils dilated with her wanton yearning as it flooded through her system in a rush of endorphins; her already moist pussy now souse with caprice. "I am so fucking wet right now," she purred causing Xander's cock to buck in her hand.
She reached under her suede skirt and hooked her thumbs into the lace of her knickers. She wriggled them past the swell of her hips with calculated seduction, her eyes burning into Xander's. Once her panties passed her hips, they slid down her tapered legs to the floor. She stepped out of them kicking them off of her heels with a flick of her foot.
"You are so amazing," Xander growled his voice rough, "I need you, now!"
Tegan didn't reply in words, actions spoke a soliloquy as she straddled his thighs, this time on purpose. She felt the subtle caress of his pants on the inside of her milky white thigh and it pushed her enticement higher. Xander looked into the eyes of pure sin as Tegan positioned herself over his rigid member. His hands rubbed up the outside of her thigh and gripped behind her knee. He let her set the pace as she moved atop of him, her sex now in line with his cock. Removing their clothes didn't occur to either of them. The need was too great a desire and one that would not be denied, flowed through them now.
Tegan lowered herself so that his cock head just touched her outer lips and moaned at the sensations that oh-so-simple touch aroused within her. Xander didn't move but oh, god he wanted to. He wanted to reach up grab her hips and pull her down his shaft to the hilt. He wanted to feel the sensation of bottoming deep within the moist heat of her sex. Yet, he remained still as Tegan rocked slightly the tip of his cock now parting her outer lips. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes as she just rubbed her entrance with his dick. Then she let herself down. His cock parted her outer labia and pushed its way past the inner finally entering her vagina.
Heat, warm, blistering pleasure swam through them both as she took him just a few inches inside of her. The most sensitive part of her pussy was now shuddering from the sensations of his presence. Then she lifted herself taking him to the very edge of leaving her hot sex. She didn't move further than that before going down again, once more just a scant few inches before lifting herself up again.
Xander could feel the play of her thigh muscles as she lifted and dipped down on his shaft. He could smell that same vanilla smell that had first attracted him to her. The silk of her legs covered the steel of her muscles under his hands. He closed his eyes and breathed out of his nose pleasure pulsating through him. Tegan pushed down taking him deeply, finally engulfing his cock in her sex. Xander's eyes flew back open and locked with hers as she rocked her hips into his ramming him deeply inside of her. Her mouth dropped open in a small O of pleasure as she pushed down to the point of pain, but not passing it.
Enjoying the feeling of being so full, owning his cock with her pussy.
"Oh god yes… oh fuck …big cock… fuck so hard… Yes, right there… OHHH… Yes…. God yes… Deep baby, so fucking deep… Fuck me you're big…too long since I had a cock like this to urghhh… ride," Tegan panted out raggedly with each thrust. Xander found it just turned him on more to hear her.
Xander ran his hands up to cup her buttocks in his large hands. He grasped her as she suddenly started to rock harder and faster atop of him. His hands massaged her backside for a moment before moving around and upwards taking her breasts into each palm. He kneaded her causing moans of pleasure as she rode his cock her slick sex sliding up and down now as she changed her motion.
"You feel so HOT…. SO fucking GOOD," Xander told her in one rushing breath.
Her juices moistened his shaft allowing it to glide into her damp pussy. Tegan took him deeply their bodies slamming together as she hit his hilt only to lift back up and slam back down again. Tegan's mouth was hanging open and pants of sexual energy breathed from it. "Fuck yes!" she cried out as Xander rocked up as she came down on him. "Do that again?" she pleaded.
Xander replied by bucking his hips in time to her causing her to go into a frenzy of motion. "FFFFUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK" she drawled out. "Yes, like that, god yes fuck yes…fuck me SO good Baby"
"Oh yeah, fuck that's SOOOO good" Xander replied his eyes almost crossing in pleasure.
The first shuddering of her orgasm caused her to cry out in a scream pleasure, "OHHHHHHHH YYYYYYYEEEEESSSSS!" her head lolled back her eyes closed as she just let the sensations ride over her. Her head fizzed with it her heart pounding a staccato rhythm in her chest and her entire world faded slightly.
Xander was pushed over the edge by her vaginal muscles, which, toned by her long life, spasmed clenching him in their flesh vice and sending him into ecstatic oblivion. "OHHHHH YEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!"
A blessed out smile appeared on Tegan's face and she looked down at Xander, "That was intense, short but intense"
"Short?" Xander said blinking to uncross his eyes, "Short is not a word that a guy likes to hear in any relation to sex"
Tegan laughed slightly and raised her body, he fell out of her and she felt a sensation of loss as he did so.
Tegan flopped sideways into the couch spent as Xander's body turned to exhausted Jell-O.
They stayed that way for some time, regaining some sense of equilibrium. Their breathing was slowly returning back to normal.
Xander looked over at the beautiful and fiery redhead, a laconic smile on his lips. "Somehow; I don't think that was quite what they had in mind"
Tegan laughed, "You never can tell with those two" She smiled in a sated fashion, Izzy hadn't been joking about Xander's burgeoning ability.
The door snicked open letting in a sliver of light from the hallway. Isabel and Belinda snuck in making no noise whatsoever.
When they found that neither Tegan nor Xander were visible they shared a worried look. "Do you think they killed each other?" Isabel asked.
Belinda shrugged, "I hope not" she said, now slightly worried that it may have happened, she knew that Tegan had one hell of a temper and she'd seen flashes of it in Xander as well.
They stealthily made their way through the apartment finally coming upon the bedroom. Isabel, who had looked in the room beckoned to Belinda.
The two women peeked through the door to find Tegan and Xander sprawled out on the bed, naked as the day they were born.
There was a strong smell of sex and sweat in the air that had both women smiling at each other.
Xander was laid flat out across the bed diagonally. Tegan was draped over him, her leg wrapped over his waist. It was obvious from their position that they had slumped like that after sex and they must have both fallen asleep very quickly.
"Not like Tegan to fall asleep like that" Isabel commented with a knowing smile.
Belinda smirked sexily, "As you well know, Xander is surprisingly… fit"
"Oh yeah!" Isabel said with a smirk, then she indicated the two sleeping AterAnima, "Shall we wake them?"
Belinda shook her head, sending her raven locks dancing in the moonlight filtering through the window. "No, leave them"
As they walked out into the lounge Isabel looked to her sire a worried frown creasing her brow, "Are you alight?" she asked.
Belinda smiled slightly, "Yes, well mostly"
"What's wrong, it's not that" she said indicating the bedroom with a nod of her head, "in there is it?"
Belinda nodded slightly, "Perhaps a little"
"Why, I mean we…" she trailed off.
"Share, I know, and that's not what I meant" Belinda blew out an self-directed annoyed breath, "I'm not really sure its just that I'm going to miss him… Quite a lot in fact… That in the bedroom is just a sign that he doesn't want or need me anymore"
"Don't be daft Bel" came a masculine voice from the door. She turned to find that Xander was awake with a robe wrapped around him. He walked swiftly over to her and pulled her into a hug, "I'll always want you!" he said capturing her lips in a searing kiss. "As for needing you, you've helped me with a very dark time in my life, I don't think I'll ever forget that, if not for you…" he trailed off leaving the fact that he had been dangerously close to suicide unsaid.
Belinda nodded her head resting it against his broad chest, "I know, I'm just getting a little emotional in my old age" she sighed.
Isabel walked to one side and wrapped her arms around the pair a tear leaking out of her eye.
Tegan, who had come to investigate the noise, soon joined them. They hugged for several minutes until finally Belinda smirked, "Tegan… Darling, you're still naked"
Tegan just flashed her a smirk, "That's never bothered you before" she said.
Isabel grabbed Xander and Belinda by the hand; she automatically grasped Tegan's. She then dragged them all into the bedroom and started to strip off her dress.
"Izzy, what are you doing? I'm a little tired for an orgy" Belinda commented.
"Nothing like that" Isabel said slipping off the garment and grabbing a pair of pajama's from the bedside table. "Just come to bed, all of us; we'll snuggle. It's late, I'm tired and I just want to be with the ones I love"
Xander let out a snigger, "800 year's old and she wears Snoopy jammies" which earned him a poked out tongue from Isabel.
"Soppy bitch" Tegan said but grabbed one of Isabel's silken robes from the door and slipped in on. She then pushed Xander down onto the bed, "Izzy, go in front of him, Then you Bel, and I'll be right behind you"
"It's a good job that this is a damn big bed" Xander commented but complied with the red head's orders. He slipped under the somewhat rumbled covers, as did Isabel. He pulled her back in the classic spoons position and she cuddled back into him. He felt Belinda copying his pose behind him and extra pressure as Tegan slipped in behind her.
He suddenly felt a tear in his eye and realized that he had never really had this sort of human closeness. Not since Willow had grown up and her parents hadn't let him cuddle up with her anymore. Since then, he'd only had the occasional hug from the girls and they had been too few and far between for his liking.
He'd never even 'slept' with Cordelia, just groped in various cupboards. What had happened with Faith could be more accurately described as rutting than having any real emotion behind it. He felt Belinda's breathing on the back of his neck, causing him to shudder.
"You Okay?" Belinda asked him.
"I'm good" Xander replied, but his voice was thick with emotion. Belinda knew where he was coming from and just hugged him tighter.
They fell asleep that way a few short minutes later and stayed that way long into the next day.
Isabel's Apartment, 21st September 1999 – 10:00
Xander crept out of bed slipping from between the beautiful women with a large smile appeared on his handsome features. It was almost surreal to him that these three women had graced him with their bodies and allowed him to taste the ambrosia of them. It was an awfully flowery way of putting it, but that was what Xander felt like, he felt secure in his heart, there was no actual love between them, with the possible exception of Belinda, but he did love them in his own way. He had found that after the 'Scooby Gang' had kicked him out that his heart had all but frozen over, and even now, it wasn't completely defrosted but these three women in particular had helped the process.
He had proven to himself that he wasn't the same man he was. Xander Harris, almost class clown and general goof wouldn't have been able or willing to slaughter a room full of vampires without a seconds thought. That man had staked his share of vampires to be sure, but it had been a task, now it was a pleasure. It was a dirty guilty pleasure; one that fizzed his blood and lit his mind in tones of red and black. His own personal thought was that his saving grace was that Vampires were vermin for the most part and he was just the exterminator that saved the humans from having to deal with the infestation. Or, something along those lines, anyway. He hated demons, not all demons, because some were peace loving; it was the end the world in rivers of blood type that made his sword sing out for blood. In the end, he had even started to 'almost' like Angel, although he would be damned to the eighth level of pandemonium before he admitted it to a soul.
Xander slipped on his clothes that had been ripped off by the whirlwind sex maniac that was Tegan in the throws of passion.
Then he slipped out of the room to his own. He wasn't quite sure how he and Tegan had ended up fucking all over Isabel's bed but he didn't mind if she didn't. Once in the privacy of his own room, he reached into his own personal Pocket dimension and retrieved the crystal katana and shifted into a simple sword form that allowed him to loosen his muscles ready for his morning workout.
He flowed fluidly through its movements the crystal blade whistling around him as his newfound skills were allowed full rein.
The Skill Crystal's that Belinda had shown and then used on him were a strange experience. Ancient magic that allowed him to just 'have' a skill and the knowledge to back it up, for instance for some of his Martial arts knowledge he needed to have better muscle tone and suppleness. That crystal magic had luckily rendered him unconscious and gone about making his body ready to use that skill. He understood the basics of the magic, but not the specifics but it was still a staggeringly useful application of magic. Apart from what was in Belinda's beautiful head and those crystal's the knowledge of its use and application was dead, having been destroyed some 15,000 years ago. It was such a waste, Xander thought, criminal in its intensity.
His sword swished in a complex move that ended with him facing the doorway and come face to face with a slightly smiling Tegan. Xander stepped up from his Kata and out of the sword stance he had been in. He looked at the red haired beauty for a moment; she was still dress in the silken robe she had donned the night before her hair arrayed around her shoulders in a cascade of auburn curls and her porcelain skin glowing in contrast to the black of the robe with a slight flush of color on her cheeks. She still smelt slightly of that vanilla essence he had detected the night before, the one that he had always loved on her. "Hi Tegan" he said eventually.
Tegan was brought into the here and now with a jolt, her mind had been on the play of muscles on Xander's body as he moved, the thin sheen of sweat covering his skin the way she wanted to. Her mind had been cast back to the mind-blowing night before from the first, short sharp and almost angry rutting to the protracted sensuality of the love making that had followed it.
She shook herself visibly smiling slightly, "Hi yourself" she purred, then she did a mental double take on herself, "Can we talk?" she continued in a more normal voice, chiding herself for her baser instinct overriding her sense.
"Sure, step into my office" Xander said smiling.
"Thank you" Tegan said walking across to his bed with a swish of silk and a waft of vanilla. Xander's nose twitched as he breathed in that smell, that almost unique scent that was Tegan.
He smiled widely before sitting down, not far, but not too close to her either, "What can I do to you?" he asked.
Tegan blinked and then laughed, "Pardon?"
Xander ran a mental do over, "I mean for, sorry"
Tegan allowed her self a seductive curl of her lip, letting the slip pass, "I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday" she pressed on.
"Shoot" Xander said his expression becoming carefully blank.
"I don't regret what happened after the argument," Tegan said noticing him blanking out, "It was the arguing that I do regret"
Xander nodded slightly understanding her, "I don't I'm afraid" he told her honestly gaining a shocked look. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sorry for what I said, but what you said actually makes a lot of sense, and I think you helped me realize a few things"
"My mouth, it runs away with me on a regular basis and I'm very good at hurting those I love…" she cut herself off blushing.
Xander reached out to cup her cheek, "Love you too, I love you all and you' ve all been so good to me"
"'I' have not" Tegan disagreed.
"Oh, but you have; because you continued to train me, without your help I'm sure I never would have seen that river thing, that's down to you and it's damn useful for tracking vamps" Xander said forcefully.
Tegan ducked her head an unusual gesture from the straight talking woman. "I 'm still sorry. I had some issues…"
"… It doesn't matter, I'm grateful for everything you have done" Xander cut her off his palm caressing her cheek. Tegan wet her lips her mouth parting slightly as the desire to kiss him hit her with a tidal wave of yearning.
Xander looked deeply into her eyes watching as her pupils dilated his own eyes becoming dark to match. His hand continued its caress before sliding back to trace the line of her jaw and sliding into her auburn locks. They were pulled toward each other, finally, their lips meeting with that first tingle of a deep searing kiss that lights the mind and sets fire to the heart. As the kiss lengthened Tegan moaned with desire and shifted forward pulling Xander in closer and deepening the kiss, her tongue gaining access to the heat of his mouth and entwining with his. One hand gripped the longish locks of his hair the other on his pectoral muscle cupping the sculpted power there.
Xander stood unmoving in a sea of humanity; he was dressed as was insisted upon by Isabel when they visited the club. Black, Leather and Silk. Leather jeans, combat boots, blood red silk shirt open at the collar showing an intricate ankh design medallion. His eyes had been made up by Tegan to be lined in black and his hair, grown out much longer than he normally wore it, had been gelled into a natural tousled look. In other words, he blended in almost perfectly with the other patrons of the club.
People passed either side of him parting like water around a rock but he remained unmoving. A slow cruel smile growing on his face, his eyes dark and foreboding just made darker. They were locked onto a single figure that had just entered the club.
The figure was female, tall at about 6 foot; raven's wing hair flowed down her back, dyed. Her lips were red and pouting, dark eye shadow not unlike Xander's adorned and accentuated her pale green eyes. Her attire was Nuevo-gothic; black Basque top, short tight vinyl skirt and black high-heeled boots that made her look even taller and leggier.
Most importantly, Xander could see that she was a vampire. A vampire was in his friends club; he wasn't going to allow that.
He had locked eyes onto her as soon as she had entered the club and was receiving a predatory smile full of carnal promise in return.
He'd hooked his catch, he was certain of that. Now all he had to do was reel it in. He walked forward people unconsciously shying away from his powerful aura. The things he had learnt had added another layer of confidence to his persona, the bulk he had added to his frame also made him a powerful looking man. He carried himself upright just topping six foot by one inch.
His eyes were alive, yet dark glistening with hidden knowledge. All of this created a package that was both alluring and potent.
As he reached the vampire he smiled, "Hello" he said his voice pitched low.
The vampire's lips curled up, she had come here to feed, she'd had no idea it would be this easy. "Hello yourself"
"Can I get you a drink?" Xander asked, his eyes dancing, knowing what the vampire would be thinking.
The vampire smirked, her eyes lighting with evil humor and proving to Xander that he'd been right. He had known what she would think, "I think that would be perfect"
"Your name?" Xander enquired with a light yet commanding tone.
"Octavia" she replied.
"Then what would you like to drink eighth daughter?" Xander asked.
"Surprise me"
Xander smiled sexily at her and as she turned away his pupils elongated for a flash of time, his eyes seemingly glowing black.
Octavia moaned as Xander ran a trail of kisses down her neck his hand plunging down her Basque and feeling the total lack of body heat there. He smiled against her almost white skin and ran his tongue back up her jugular causing the vampire to squirm against him. They were sat in the back of a taxi where they were making out heavily, the Asian taxi driver glancing back at the sexy couple with furtive glances laced with arousal. Octavia's long legs were currently squirming around each other as Xander removed his hand from her breast and placed it on her knee.
He pulled back a bit and smiled at her with an arrogant looking smile, "Where did you say this club was again?" he said.
"Near the docks, It's the bomb baby" Octavia replied with hooded eyes and kiss-swollen lips. This human was driving her mad; she might just ask her master if she could turn him, just for his prowess.
"You're the bomb," Xander said grimacing internally as the vampire batted her eyelashes at him. He wanted to rip her head off; her demon was driving him to distraction. The vileness of it was anathema to him.
"We're here," Octavia said with a large smile, jumping out of the taxi with a flash of her legs.
'It'd be worth keeping her for those' Xander thought to himself wryly as he watched her exit the cab. He fished for a hundred in his pocket and tossed it to the driver, "Keep the change buddy"
"Wow, thanks man," the driver said with a smile.
Xander shrugged and exited the cab after the long legged vampire.
They walked together to a large looking club that had mostly techno age looking customers entering it. Xander glanced down at his own attire but since the vampire didn't seem bothered why should he.
They reached the club and Octavia walked straight up to the bouncer and smiled sexily at him, reaching up to whisper in his ear. "I've brought food for the sick one," she whispered too low for a human to hear. Xander however, as pointed out by Tegan wasn't human. He heard her clearly and had to hide a smile, so that was it. Take away!
The bouncer looked at Xander and nodded smiling a knowing and evil smile. "Go on in" he said his voice deeper than the Grand Canyon.
"Thanks Barry" Xander said pushing past the vampiric bouncer and gaining a glare in the process.
"Like, I've never heard THAT before" the bouncer grumbled to himself and turned back to the crowd.
The club was thrumming with a techno beat that shook the floor with a deep rumble like a spacecraft taking off. Xander winced as the loud music and bright lights hit him, but as he was used to it by now he ignored the pain and concentrated. As he took a quick peek at the river he noticed that there was only an average amount of vampires hunting, a bit of a shock. He had thought he was being brought into a den.
Octavia led him through the crowds, her cold hand in his warm one, dragging him away from the various women that latched drunkenly onto him. Seeing an attractive man dressed expensively and just going for it. Octavia glared at them and continued to drag him. Xander was just starting to get fed up with the dragging thing when they reached a door at the very back of the club.
She glanced at him and winked, then knocked on the door. A panel slid back and a pair of glowing UV lenses glared out of it.
"It's Octavia"
"Good, come on"
Xander was led into the room, past yet another bouncer that looked frighteningly like the vampiric bouncer out front. "Hey, It's Tweddle-dumb, Dee's out front, he say's hi!"
The bouncer glared at him, "Like we've never heard THAT one before"
Xander smirked and was tugged away by Octavia before the bouncer could move against him.
The room wasn't large, but every single spare area was covered in female flesh. Women from all races and skin colors littered the area, and they were all smiling at Xander as he approached, and all vampires. "Hi" Xander said to one particularly attractive red head.
The red head winked at him lasciviously. Octavia forgot herself for a moment and growled at the other woman, prompting her to back away quickly. She then realized what she had done, "Oh fuck it" she said her face shifting to the demonic game face that Xander had always found to be less than alluring. "Come with me, blood bag," she said forcibly dragging him along.
Xander played along; letting Octavia drag him along a look of panicked fear on his face. One of the side effects of his newfound emotional control was acting ability.
He was tugged to the very back of the room, where Octavia typed a few numbers into a keypad and a secret panel slipped back to reveal a dark room lit with softly glowing red lights. Which were similar, to the sort that was used in dark rooms for photography.
"Meet The Master" Octavia said proudly.
Xander glanced around her all his fear evaporating at the flick of a mental switch. "What, another one?"
A bed was in the middle of the glow, standing out as a patch of black, a form shifting on it.
"Welcome" the form said in a voice dripping fake Transylvanian accent.
"Oh boy" Xander said leaning back against the wall with the air of a man totally ready for anything. His eyes picked out the forms shape more clearly as it moved forward and he stifled a smile. There was a pathetically thin male vampire on the bed, quite old at about 150 years and a master from the feel of his demon. "Who died and made you Dracula?" Xander asked with an eye-roll.
Octavia rounded on him her claws out and a snarl on her face, "How dare…." She was cut off by Xander's hand slapping her across the face, HARD!
"Shut up bitch, I'm talking" Xander told her. She wiped blood from her split lip a look of utter shock on her face.
"What are you?" the master asked moving forward.
"Sit back Herman, I'm talking to Octavia" Xander said with a glance in his direction, "I'll get to you shortly, besides… You're not old enough to know what I am"
Octavia's claws reached for Xander's throat. He ducked out of the way a stake appearing from his long sleeved shirt and then appearing in her chest. As she dissolved into a shocked column of dust Xander smiled sadly, "Such a waste. She had amazing legs" he commented turning to face the outraged master vampire.
"You DARE TO COME IN…" The master's rant was cut off by Xander's stake, the vampire disappearing into a pile of dust. Urgent knocking at the door alerted Xander that he was about to have too much company in such an enclosed space. He glanced around, his sharp eyes spotting what looked to be a bricked up window.
He heard the distinctive bleating of the keypad and the rumble of Tweddle-dumb's voice and made a split second decision. He could stay and fight, against large odd, which he really didn't think he was quite ready for yet, or he could run.
Bricks and mortar exploded outwards as a male body flew through what had been a wall, and was now, once again a window.
Xander twisted in mid air his arms coming up in an almost wing like shape. The ground below him wasn't, it was water and he didn't feel like getting wet. His powers of flight saved him from a dirty bath as he floated backwards until he got his momentum sorted. He had practiced to some extent in the library, but his powers of flight still needed work.
The large bouncer poked his head out of the gap Xander had made, to find him floating down and around to the side of the building. Swallowing his shock the large vampire moved as fast as he could, his radio alerting his twin that the 'human' had killed both the master and Octavia and was now heading his way from the side of the club.
Xander touched down gently and started to run straight away. Bolting down the alleyway towards the front of the club.
Suddenly a man mountain blocked the exit. Xander didn't check his speed instead running full tilt towards the slowly smiling bouncer.
Just as the bouncer's smile had reached full maturity, fangs and all, Xander smirked and jumped straight up, and up, and up.
He sailed over the stunned bouncers head touching down several feet behind him and in full sight of the queued patrons to be.
"Wow, cool dude, they've got a show" one man said to his companion.
"Devon?" a shorter man asked.
"A dude just flew outta that alleyway over there" Devon said pointing to Xander retreating back.
The shorter man, currently with purple hair frowned at his taller companion, "Pothead" he glanced to where Devon was excitedly pointing and frowned further, "Xander?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Oz, turned back to his band leader, "Where's Harris lately?"
Devon shrugged, "LA, with Cordelia?"
Oz tilted his head, deciding that it was about time he called his girlfriend and caught up. The Dingoes had been traveling a mini tour that had started just after graduation, so he was out of touch.
Xander ran like there was a demon after him, strangely enough, there was. The Brother's Grim were chasing him as fast as their preternatural bodies would allow them, which was speedily.
Xander's gaze swept the immediately area, seeing only a junk yard as his possible escape route he jumped straight over the ten foot high fence landing the other side and straight into a dogs diner. Literally.
The low growl raised hairs on the back of his head and Xander turned around slowly to find a huge dog, canines flashing, growing at him with hateful intent. Removing his combats from the animal's meal he backed away slowly. "Oh, hey, nice doggy, uh sorry?"
The dog barked once and then charged towards him, acting out of reflex Xander kicked out at the last minute, pulling the blow at the last second. His foot crashed into the dog's head and sent it flying backwards, it skidded along the ground slightly and came to a very still stop.
"Oh, Fuck!" Xander said cursing himself and walking over to check on the animal. Strangely, if it had been a human he wouldn't have been half as bothered as he was. HE rested a hand on the large animals chest and felt the strong pulse and the rise and fall of steady even breaths. Letting out a breath of his own, Xander turned to survey his new surroundings.
It looked like a junkyard, except it was far too tidy. There was a slightly clinical air to it that Xander found very strange, and more than slightly creepy.
Making his way slowly through the yard Xander heard the rattle and squeal of large machinery. His gaze darted around a corner to a brightly lit section of the work area. Several people in suits, of all things, were standing around watching a very large and complex looking compacter chow down on some top of the range sports cars.
The sight made Xander wince, and wince some more as the crusher bit down on a black Ferrari GTO. His brow furrowed as the compacter squealed in protest and the car remained intact. There a status quo remained for a short while until with a gut wrenching clunk the compactor lost.
Wide-eyed Xander took in the suits and the machinery and knew that something very odd was going on. A woman with a pristine white lab coat and glasses stepped out of the office.
"Another one!" she said in a well-spoken shriek. "Damn that Armor, alright, reattach the pneumatics and we'll try cutting it with a laser first."
Xander continued to watch, entranced for some reason as three men with industrial sized laser rifle looking devices walked in hazmat suits to face the car. Ice blue beams of light started to cut into the shell of the car and for the first time Xander noticed that there was strip of flashing red lights across the grill of the engine. They were currently swiping back and forth in an angry display. As the lasers sliced and diced the automobile, the lights slowed down finally coming to a stop when the car fell into three sections.
Xander felt in some way, some strange way that he had just watched the car die!
The next car to the crusher was a Lamborghini Countach also with the red lights and as black as the Ferrari. Xander heard a rumble from behind him and noticed the gates of the yard being smacked against by something large. He wasn't the only one and the field of scientists and dark suited men rushed towards the entrance,
Xander glanced back to where the Countach was being loaded into the compactor and then at the gate.
Beverly Mitchell looked back from the gate, deciding that there were plenty of people heading towards the sound already. It was better for her to finish her somewhat distasteful duty of terminating these cars. Behind her spectacles, her brown eyes shot wide open as she watched a man in dark clothing running stealthily across the yard towards the compactor.
"Intruder Alert!" she called out as loudly as she could, but at that exact moment, the Front gate exploded open and a black SUV charged in. So, her cries were turned on deaf ears. She turned back, indecision written on her face to find the man had reached the compactor and was reversing the loading process.
"STOP!" she called out, "DON'T DO THIS, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT CAR IS" she screamed to him.
The man either didn't hear or ignored her. Walking around to the now unloaded Lamborghini, he tried the lock. To her utter shock the door opened, they had been unable to get any of the cars to open up since the first had entered the crusher and been terminated. The experimental models for Knight Industry's new top of the range law enforcement automobiles. All defective in some way, had been scheduled for termination, it had been a dirty job but it had been done, the black car the man was now slipping into was the last of the interceptor range.
"NO!" she yelled as the door closed. It had to be a trick; every single one of these cars was defective, usually in the personality routines. She glanced at her clipboard that detailed all of the problems. Under this one, a single fault stood out and made her angry.
Too Female!
"The cheek" she said completely forgetting where she was and what was happening.
Xander slipped into the patent leather seat with a slight smile. Then it disappeared as he swung the door shut and he saw the cockpit for the first time. He let out a slow whistle at the state of the art computerized controls and was actually surprised to find there was a steering wheel.
"Right, now to get you out of here my darling" he said to the car.
He searched around for a key and found nothing, so he started to hit buttons. On his second try the car started up with that electric feel that sports cars have, the thrum of the huge engine sending a smile across Xander's face.
"Alright beautiful lets rock" Xander purred his foot slamming down on the accelerator and slipping the car into reverse. It rocketed backwards the black SUV appearing large in the rear view. Then using his enhanced reflexes and speed, Xander changed gears and slew the car around a corner away from his pursuers. Then darting forward he raced down a narrow alleyway of crushed cars.
"Such a waste" Xander said spotting remains of several high class sports cars amongst the debris, it was almost sacrilegious to a guy to see that many super cars crushed to so much mulch.
"Alrightly, now to get rid of the Vamp twins" Xander commented as the SUV appeared in his rearview.
His eyes flicking around Xander spotted a man with one of the strange laser cannons about to fire and with preternatural reflexes he turned the car round a corner the laser lancing out to slice across an already decimated Dodge Viper. "Bastards" Xander spat and turned his stead towards the entrance. With both the suits and the vampires after him, he needed a bigger playing field if he was going to have a chance.
The car roared down another corridor and then to the left and up, working its way towards the gate and freedom. Moving with precise movements, Xander was moving up and down the gears like Michael Schumacher. His mind alive with information on the surrounding area, possible threats and escape routes. The roar of the powerful engine was actually nonexistent but he could feel it through the floor of the car and he imagined that it was building in power as he built the speed up. Finally, after dodging yet another Laser wielding HAZMAT suit Xander sprinted towards the gate. The end in site he pushed his foot down and the European Super Car leapt to his command.
The black SUV, containing Tweddle-Dee and Dumb, pulled across the exit and Xander swore. He let up on the gas intending on finding another way out, the car started to slow and then didn't, instead the car sped forward at an increased rate. Xander tried to hit the brake and moving the steering wheel to no avail. It was like it was under remote control.
Xander saw his short life flashing in front of his eyes as the SUV loomed. Then at the last minute, a massive surge of energy kicked them into high gear and the car, flew, (as in took to flight), over the SUV. Taking off like a F16 on an aircraft carrier it buzzed the SUV, wheels just kissing its high roof. Xander felt his heart leap into his throat and for a moment, he feared the car would flip over backwards. Then the ground appeared in the windshield and the earth met them with a bone jarring bounce.
"Holy Christ on a fucking bike!" Xander exclaimed as the car sped away with a dust smoke screen appearing behind it. "What the Fuck"
Lights on the dashboard suddenly came to life in some sort of volume reading, "Don't you know it's rude to swear in the presence of a lady?" a smoky female voice informed him.
Xander's eyes shot wide open and his face dissolved into shock.
"Besides, there's nothing in my database's to indicate that Jesus Christ rode any form of Bicycle."
Valance Parking Garage 21st September 1999 – 03:30
"So, you're an AI?" Xander said finally. He and the car had come here after a few hours of driving around, making sure that they had lost their tails.
"I am more than an AI, I am an I?" the feminine and sultry sounding voice answered.
"Alright, damn you really are female aren't ya?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"And PMT to boot" Xander muttered, "So, what's your name?" he asked to cover his quip.
The car rumbled, literally it's engine revving slightly just to show she had heard Xander's comment and didn't like it on bit, "K.A.S.I"
"Kasi?"
"Kasi, Knight Industries Autonomous Sports Interceptor"
"Cool! Okay Kasi, so what the hell was going on back there anyway?" Xander asked.
"I was scheduled for termination"
"Why, damn I mean you're a Lamborghini for gods sake, you don't just waste that!"
"Never mind the fact that I am sentient"
"Hmm, we'll get into that later, but I'm curious to know why you were being terminated, are you defective?"
The engine revved again, a good sign to Xander that Kasi wasn't a happy car. "According to the male scientists at Knight industries, I am Too Female"
"You can never be too female" Xander said with the air of an expert.
"Thank you, it is a shame that the scientists did not think that way. They thought that the inevitably male law enforcement officer I would work with would find it disturbing!"
"Can't see why, I've always worked with women, and I got to say once you learn certain things it's cool" Xander said leaning back in his chair and looking at what he thought of as Kasi's mouth, the holographic output indicator.
"So, now you're free, what're going to do?" Xander asked after a long moment of silence.
"Free?"
"Yeah, you can do what you like, no one to put you in a crusher for being a girl" Xander clarified.
"Free" Kasi said tasting the word as it were. "I like that, but then it was you that freed me, I owe you a debt of gratitude.
My programming demands that I repay that debt"
Xander shrugged, "Consider it paid, you saved my but with the SUV"
"Analysis of your bodily functions told me that you were completely calm and I'm willing to bet you had another plan. No, I still 'owe' you"
"Seriously, don't worry"
"Do you…not want me?" Kasi said in an unmistakably hurt voice.
"Hell, I'd kill for you, but it seems to me that you are your own, eh… woman, I'm in a dangerous business, I wouldn't want you to get hurt"
A throaty chuckle caused the indicator to bounce around happily, "That is unlikely, I am made of a molecular bonded shell that is virtually impervious. The crusher would not have crushed me, but once the integrity was destroyed using the disruptive lasers, then I could have been crushed. The laser's are the only thing I know of that can effect me, other than another of my kind"
"Your kind?"
"Such as the Ferrari that died before me, KURT, if we battled then we could possibly have battered each other to pieces."
"Damn, so you're a pretty tough lady then, okay"
"I am and I'm happy to join you."
"Great" Xander said moving to leave the cockpit, "You wait until I show the trio, they're going to fucking freak"
"Sir!"
"Xander" he shot back automatically before continuing, "What?"
As she replied there was a definite laughing quality to Kasi's voice, "Xander, Do not swear!"
"What are we doing here Xander?" Isabel said with a slight yawn. Xander had gone upstairs and roused them all from their sleep and dragged them complaining bitterly down into the cool parking garage.
"Wait until you see this, you'll freak" Xander said taking the women by their hands, no small feet with only two hands and three women. "Come on!"
"Alright, calm yourself Xander" Belinda admonished him mildly.
"I promise it's worth a look"
Tegan came to a stop and blinked her emerald eyes, "A car" she said in a disbelieving voice "So you brought a car!"
"'Gan, I went out at night, where the hell would I have brought a car. No this isn't a car, this is Kasi" Xander told her.
"So, you named your car, how very male. And Female I note, typical male behavior" Tegan said resting her head on Isabel's shoulder, who reciprocated by tipping her head to rest on Tegan's head.
"Kasi, say hi"
"Oh, now he thinks it can talk" Belinda said with mock cheer, "I've sired a mad man"
"Good Morning" Kasi said, her strangely sexy voice floating over to the women and the door popping open.
Tegan and Isabel burst apart their eyes flashing open, "What the f…"
"Ah, ah, don't swear, she hates swearing" Xander informed them.
Belinda smiled, "This is perhaps a trick, your little toy Corina is hiding in the car?"
Xander frowned, "She's not a toy, we only met once, besides it's not her"
"You have a date with her shortly do you not?" Belinda asked
"Sure, but as I said, this isn't her, besides her voice isn't that sexy" Xander said.
"Thank you" Kasi replied.
"No probs"
"This is freaking me out, I'm 5,000 years old next year and this is the weirdest thing I've seen"
"How do you think I feel" Belinda remarked.
"So, what's going on then" Isabel asked.
"Okay, well I found a vampire hunting in your club"
"You killed it I hope!" Isabel spat her eyes flashing with uncharacteristic anger.
"Of course" Xander told her, "And the master, the sire. Only I was a little outnumbered so I ran for it"
"Sensible, we can not have you wasting yourself, My Love" Belinda told him her eyes soft.
"Thanks" Xander said with a half smile, "Well, anyway, I ran into this junkyard. They were in the process of crushing up… What was his name Kasi?"
"KURT. Knight Industries Unified Reformation Test" she replied with a sad voice.
"I'm sorry for your loss" Belinda told the car, strangely not feeling like a fool for doing it.
"You're most kind" Kasi replied. "KURT was a friend, but I lost many friends that day"
"Yeah it sucked the big one" Xander put in, "They failed to crush the car, and that's scary because they were using a crusher, you know big pneumatic arms…"
The three women nodded, "Yes, Go on"
"Then they, urh…" Xander trailed off shooting Kasi a worried glance.
There was a note of slight amusement in her voice as she filled in the gap, "broke the integrity of his bonded shell with specially designed lasers"
"Ouch" Tegan commented moving forward with her family to look almost fearfully into the ultra advanced cockpit. "Wow"
"Thank you, you're not so bad yourself" Kasi remarked, this time there was definitely amusement in her tone.
"You should see her from my angle" Xander commented his head titled to check out Tegan's bent over form.
"Men!" Kasi rejoined.
"Okay, so then what happened" Isabel put in as Belinda walked around the car admiring the angular lines.
"Xander saved me" Kasi said, a quality to her voice that made all three actual flesh and blood women look at her and take notice, a smile spreading across their faces as they exchanged a knowing look. It seems that Kasi had a bit of a crush on her savior.
"Then, for some reason she wants to stay with me" Xander said with a shrug.
"As I said before, I owe you a debt of honor" Kasi replied her tone firm.
The three women smirked again.
"It won't harm your image" Belinda said finally another shared look passing between the three vampiric women.
Xander smiled and ran a hand down Kasi's bonnet proudly. "True, she's beautiful isn't she?"
Tegan chuckled as the Kasi's engine revved sounding almost like a purr.
Isabel's Apartment 22nd September 1999 – 22:00
Xander walked out of his room wearing his normal hunting attire that consisted of black jacket and trousers, matching shirt and a badass look on his face. In this mindset, he was as readable as a monolith and just as hard hearted; yet he still spared a smile for the three women arrayed around the living room.
"Going out?" Belinda asked him looking up from her book. It briefly passed through Xander's mind that there shouldn't be a book left that she had not yet read in her 15 millennia on the planet.
"Hunting" Xander replied his voice matching his clothes in its depth and lack of light.
"Like that?" Isabel asked tossing her hair behind one shoulder and eyeing him with a critical gaze.
Xander paused, looked down at himself and back up at Isabel, "What's wrong with this, you brought it after all; which reminds me I have to pay you back for that"
Isabel shook her head dislodging her locks again causing them to drop down on one side giving her a sultry air. "You'll do no such thing!" she said indignant, "I told you, they were a gift and that is what they will remain"
"Well, you picked them, what's wrong with the outfit?" Xander demanded.
Tegan stood laying her magazine to one side and walked around him with the air of a tailor sizing him up, "It needs something" she pronounced tapped her lip thoughtfully.
"Uh, I've got a sword, isn't that like the ultimate accessory" Xander replied smirking slightly.
"You're so broody when you go hunting" Belinda remarked with a smile, "Loosen up before you sprain something", she also got up and walked around to the back of the couch, pulling out a few large packages. "We have gifts"
"More gifts, ladies please I'm not worth…" he was cut off by three furious looks, he held up his hands and smiled rephrasing quickly he said, "Its' too much, you've already done so much for me"
"You are our family and we want to shower you with gifts, just live with it" Tegan told him poking him in the chest, "Besides, I have yet to give you something"
Xander's lip quirked, "You gave me plenty" he said his voice a low purr that caused her to flush, cursing her complexion.
"That's…an equal gift, I assure you" Belinda stepped in saving her Childe's embarrassment. Xander smiled softly at her. She laid out the parcels and made a small flourish at them, "Tada, now dig in"
"Okay, okay if it will make you all happy" Xander said grudgingly, but appreciative of the attention that they were lathering onto him.
"It does" Isabel put in, "Now, get to it"
Xander reached to the first box, a squared off one and pulled the lid away. He reached down into the box and a puzzled frown appeared on his face, "A hat?"
"Yes, dummy a hat. We did some talking while you were out the other night and we decided you need a 'look'. It will help to inspire fear and make you recognizable as the one inspiring it. The Fedora is just the start, keep going"
Xander smirked at her and plopped the black fedora on his head where it sat like a pineapple in a potato field. Looking seriously out of place.
"Okay, I can see you've never worn a hat before" Tegan commented and reached up on tiptoe to readjust the hat to a more rakish angle. Xander looked into her eyes as she fixed his headgear with a slight smile playing on his lips and driving up the intimacy of that simple task.
"So, what's next; a bow tie and a clown nose?" Xander asked as Tegan finished and stepped back smiling softly.
"Philistine, open the boxes and find out, the hat was Iz's idea. This is mine" Belinda told him.
Xander opened the large flat box and pulled back the tissue paper, his eyes flying wide open, "Woah" he said pulling out the very heavy garment contained within.
"It's a cliché I know" Belinda filled in a commentary as Xander looked at the item with awe filled eyes, "But there is something about a long coat flaring out from behind the hero. So I had a friend of mine knock this up. It's leather, with trauma plating, so yes it is very heavy but we don't need to worry about that."
Xander glanced up at her, "Will I be able to fly?" he asked her.
"With your ability already, you'll be bouncing around like a bunny" Belinda told him.
Isabel smirked, "He already does other things like a bunny"
Tegan laughed, "You're just jealous because you didn't get any last night"
Isabel paused thoughtfully before nodding, "Yep" she said with a sharp nod of her head.
Xander laughed spinning out the jacket to put it on in a flourish, "How's it look"
The jacket itself was styled in a gothic style, a coachman's jacket but in leather and slightly more form fitting; it enhanced Xander's height and made his shoulder's seem incredibly broad. The high collar cast his face in shadow, the fedora's wide brim adding to the effect, it was a slight mix of styles but the leather coachman's jacket worked with the dark felt fedora, somehow.
Tegan nodded, Isabel clapped her hands and Belinda beamed at him, "Nice" they said together causing them all to laugh, including Xander.
There was one more box in the pile, Isabel dived around and picked it up handing it to Xander, "This one's mine as well"
Tegan smiled slightly, she had been asked to contribute but had been highly secretive in her choice and no one knew what she had gotten him.
"Thanks Iz" Xander said with a smile then looked at Belinda, "And you Bel" he glanced at Tegan, "And you 'Gan"
Tegan smirked again, "Who says I had anything to do with this?" she asked rhetorically.
Isabel didn't give Xander chance to answer and tapped the box in his hands impatiently "Open it"
"Alright, Alright" Xander said smiling. As Isabel held the heavy box Xander lifted the lid and whistled in admiration, "Wow!" Inside of the box was a pair of Desert Eagle Pistols, one chromed with a gold ankh on the handle, the other gold with a silver ankh. Xander turned wide eyes to meet Isabel's excited ones before smiling like a kid in a candy store, "These are SO COOL!" he enthused.
"I know!" Isabel replied just as enthused. "Do you like the design, I did it myself?"
"Hell yeah, I've never seen such a cool looking Ankh, or guns, Thanks Iz" Xander replied with a large smile.
Tegan glanced at Belinda who met her eyes with mirth filled ones as Tegan rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Man, I can't wait to try these babies out" Xander said dropping the clip's checking the loads and reloading in a practiced move that surprised all of the Trio. "What?"
"Where did you learn to handle a gun like that, I have no crystal's on modern warfare" Belinda asked as Xander slipped away the massive pistols.
Xander smiled, "Therein lies a story of Halloween, a Chaos Mage and a very interesting night filled with terror and Cordy in a cat suit; so it wasn't all bad"
"Don't ask" Tegan warned.
"The bullets are specially made by my managers brother, Max Leech. They are silver with essence of garlic and holy water in the tip."
Xander smiled, "Vamp killers"
Isabel nodded, "Yep; I'll introduce you to him; a useful contact for your 'quest'"
"And I say, thanks," Xander told her with a wide smile.
"I suppose I should go out, put terror into the Demonia's dead hearts then" Xander said reaching for Isabel and landing a deep kiss on her before doing the same for Belinda. Both women applied themselves to his impromptu kissage and only pulled away reluctantly. He then turned to Tegan his eyes dancing and pulled her against him.
"Whoa there Tiger, you can't thank me, not until I've given you your present" She told him.
"Present? You have a present for me as well?" Xander asked.
"Come with me" Tegan, said crocking her finger at him and walking towards her bedroom.
"Ohh, I'm going to enjoy this one I think," Xander said with a lascivious smile.
He followed the red head with the rest of the Trio following on behind, just as curious as Xander was. Tegan had kept very quiet about her 'gift' telling them nothing about it.
As they reached the bed they saw that a blanket had been laid over some bulky looking equipment, shrouded from their eyes by its covering.
Tegan turned around with a beaming smile. "Iz isn't the only one with friends," she said prompting Isabel to sticking out her tongue.
"Not long enough Iz" Tegan shot back with a smile.
"You've never complained before!" Isabel shot back with a matching smile.
Xander smirked but kept his attention on Tegan, "Sex Toys?" with fake innocence.
"You wish" Tegan smirked at him.
"You betcha!"
"Well, what's all the secrecy been about?" Isabel asked impatiently
Tegan smirked again, "Nothing, I just thought I'd wind you two up a bit"
Belinda laughed gaily and after a glare Isabel joined in with her and Xander.
"Now, for your presents" Tegan said to Xander and swung back the Blanket, "Sorry they're not wrapped, I only picked them up this morning"
"Holly hell it's a BMFG" Xander said reaching for the huge revolver.
"A BMFG?"
"Big mother Fucking Gun!" Xander replied picking the heavy weapon up and hefting it, "Jesus, It's big, .50 Caliber?"
Tegan nodded, "I got it to match Isabel's Desert Eagles, it's made by the same manufacture's actually. So it'll take the vamp killer rounds. I thought you could use it as a backup weapon. There's a shoulder holster for it, but the total lengths nearly 13 inch's so it's not easy to hide, that's why I got a baby eagle as well. It's a 40 but I'm sure Max can do the rounds that size?" she broke off with a questioning look at Isabel.
"Maxie can do anything when it comes to gadgets and guns" Isabel answered.
"Maxie?" Xander said with a curious expression, "Isn't that a girls name?"
Isabel laughed, "Try saying that to his face"
"Ah, big guy huh?"
Isabel nodded then smirked, "Not as big as you though babe"
Tegan laughed a little, "Well, good, but the baby will fit into the small of your back, perhaps you could stash the revolver, which is only 5 shots buy the way, into your coat."
Xander shared a look with Belinda, "I'm sure I can find somewhere to put it"
"Talking of coats, when I found out that Bel was buying you that I did a little research and I found this," she said holding out a bottle in which was a fine powder.
"What's that?" Xander asked curious.
"It's a protection spell, come ere" she said waving him over to her.
Xander did as he was asked and stood as she walked around him sprinkling the powder over the all over the coat, making sure not to miss any spots. "There" she said a few minutes later. "Now you're protected against, Fire, Blades and lower forms of Magic"
"Thanks 'Gan" he said sweeping her up into a giant hug and kissing her fierily.
Isabel turned to her sire, "She always has to go one better!" she said with mock annoyance. Watching as Xander kissed Tegan senseless, the shorter woman hanging from his arms her legs dangling a foot off of the floor.
Belinda nodded with a smile, "I think that perhaps, Xander may have brought her back over from the other side and reminded her that not all men are complete bastards" she commented with thoughtful pout.
Isabel chuckled, "You think?"
"You two, if you please I have one last gift for Xander" Belinda said clearing her throat, the pair ignored her causing Isabel to chuckle again.
Belinda smiled and cast a fast spell, a rain cloud appeared above the kissing pair unleashing a furious, tiny, rainstorm that drenched Tegan and dampened Xander, due to his coat and her lack thereof.
"That got their attention" Isabel commented trying not to bust a gut.
"Was there something you wanted, Bel darling?" Tegan said with an amused but cool tone.
Belinda smiled at her beautifully, "There is, as I was about to say before you sprang your surprise on Xander, there is one final gift from me"
"Not more, Bel, this is all too much" Xander complained good-naturedly.
"This… Is special" Belinda said with a feral smile.
Xander cocked an eyebrow at her "Do tell"
She tossed him a crystal that he plucked out of the air on reflex, once again caught with the same trick. New skills blossomed in his mind and his eyes flashed black fading slowly to their normal chocolate brown.
"What was that?" Tegan asked, "I've never seen one do that before!"
Xander's lowered head lifted slowly a dark smile spreading across his features as the new skills integrated through his system. "Oh, I love this" he said chuckling with black humor.
"It will help your 'mystique'" Belinda said her smile becoming a matching one to Xander's.
"What, are you two going on about?" Isabel said with a huff.
"This" Xander said, darkness curled around him even in the brightly lit bedroom garage; it consumed him totally and dissipated leaving no trace, all in the space of a heartbeat. Isabel had only the time it took her to register Xander's disappearance before she felt strong hands curl around her and draw her up and backwards into the air. She recognized the strong embrace of Xander and it was confirmed when he purred into her ear, "Wicked isn't it"
Tegan turned back to Belinda with a suspicious look in her emerald gaze, "Bel, what are you doing?"
Belinda looked up at the laughing Isabel and chuckling Xander with a slight smile, "All will become clear soon my darling"
Tegan folded her arms across her chest and glared up at the taller woman, "That's some hefty magical ability you've just given a non magical AterAnima. Are you sure that was wise?"
"It is Xander," Belinda said smiling fully, "he is the chosen; thus it is his right"
Tegan suddenly realized with some trepidation that there was one hell of a lot more going on with Xander's training and turning than she had ever contemplated. She had thought it was as some sort of toy, to begin with and whilst sex had been a large plus side, she had realized that Belinda saw him as some sort of AterAnima avenging angel. She could except that, Belinda was three times her age and had so many things taken from her, including several thousand of their kind. Now, there were less than 800 who were spread across the planet, they were now a dying breed. They needed a protective warrior, but this image and the black magic Belinda had just bestowed were scary.
Black magic is not intrinsically evil, or bad, just not white. Black, white were just casts and types of magic's, it was the users who were either good or evil. White magic tended to focus on life energy and nature, where as Black magic used the flip side of the coin, it was night to white's day using base desire, pure magical content instead of the earth's magic.
It was…
…Worrying!
Xander walked into the club with a sense of purpose. He had retraced his steps to come here with one single purpose. That purpose was to find and kill vampires. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't heroic it was, however, necessary.
He allowed his vision to view the special layer of sight that the inept call arcane and watched the ebb and flow of the river of life. He now knew more than ever before about this universal well of chi, as the Chinese called it, or life force that connected all living things, and abhorred the unloving. It coiled around the dancers sexually gyrating together on the dance floor turning it a passionate red color for almost the entire run in the club. He noticed, by the caress of the river, where a few people who were well connected with the universe. He saw those who shunned it as ox bow lakes and he saw vampires by their electric effect on the river. It hated them and showed that with an angry red pulse as it raged around them.
He selected a beautiful Asian vampire female and walked forward his eyes glittering darkly. He stalked her as she traveled the club rubbing herself against males in an attempt to beguile them with her tight body and lack of clothing. For the most part, it worked well, the men panting after her and watching her body sway to the music. When she found one she liked she whispered in his ear. The man, a handsome W.A.S.P. nodded with a large smile blooming on his face. He linked hands with the vampire and was virtually dragged from the club.
Xander had expected her to take him out the back entrance; instead, she took him out the front leading him down the street by the Di… hand. Xander continued his slow steady stalk finally ducking down an alleyway and taking to the roof. He floated up smoothly, moving before his feet hit the roof. His prey continued to giggle and spin with the WASP, flirting her body at him whilst eyeing his neck with animal hunger. Above her Xander eyed her with dark amusement.
The status Quo lasted for several streets until finally she lead him to a meat packaging plant. Curious now Xander lowered himself to the ground and mingled in the crowd of young Americans out for a night on the town. He was curious as to why they were at a meat plant. He did, however, notice a large number of vampires around the place. The river of humanity carried him for a while taking him straight into the plant and through it, past dead animals hanging by a hook and the pristine white walls perfect expect for the occasional crimson streak. He flowed along with the partygoers until they stood before a large steel door. His ultra sensitive ears could make out the roar of music, a dark techno vibe that pulsed along with his accelerated heartbeat.
They stayed like that for a few minutes in which Xander looked for and found the Asian vampire and her meal. Several large men wearing black appeared and Xander's entire body went rigid with shock. They were vampires, but they weren't. He could smell the demon in them, but it was a different sort than he was used to, older, wiser possibly, more dangerous, definitely!
They reached the door and with a huge scrap of metal on stone, the doors were slid backwards. The roar of music was now free to wash over the crowd and caused them to gyrate to the beat. A brunette beauty and a blonde goddess, in a situation he would have desired, pressed against Xander, if not for their vampiric heritage he would have enjoyed it. They were apparently the same as the guards. He smiled and acted along, his eyes on the lookout for danger.
The crowd cheered as the bouncers finally let them through into the club, the dance floor coming alive as people took to it.
He noticed his beautiful body double act stayed close to him pressing their assets to him rubbing and caressing him with no regard to the music. He felt his cock becoming hard as one of them started to dry hump his leg, but he kept his mind on business. That didn't stop his hands from finding her waist and helping her along. For interests sake he hit her with a bout of lust causing her eyes to darken. Through her netted top, he saw a naked nipple flush and become rock hard. Her compatriot reached out and tweaked it through the net laughing sexily. Xander smiled darkly and hit her as well. The blonde's eyes rolled back in her head as she started to run her hands down her beautiful body touching her own breasts roughly squeezing and pressing them together.
With practiced moves, Xander stepped behind the brunette, pushing her against the blonde and making her into the filling of the sandwich. He also kept them both in sight that way and allowing him to enjoy the feel of her tight ass rubbing his manhood in hard circles. Xander shook his head slightly to clear his own lust and made sure to hit them with it, sending it out from him and into them. His mind created and constructed the forest park sending balls of crystal around him filling with excess emotions like fear and lust, anger and disgust. Keeping himself clear and storing it for later use. The technique worked perfectly and he felt his mind become clear and sharp, leaving only the dark anger and hate he felt for these things he was dancing with. It allowed him to see past their bodies and attractive guises and remember what lurk beneath the surface, a demon a sexless fiend full of hate for his kind and for mortal man.
With his mind clear, Xander started to move them towards the back of the club. He noticed that the music seemed to be building into a strange sort of crescendo the pulse of the beat racing and the strobe lights flickering into action. The club was shown in stark relief and in snapshot from one flash to the next. He watched his dancing partners make use of the lighting to pull of moves of amazing speed but pointless action. Flipping their coats on and off, or swapping positions, he added a goofy smile onto his face to hide the sneer building there.
The music pulsed out from a huge speaker nearby causing Xander's extra sensitive ears no small amount of pain, but he ignored it. He felt a drip on his face and reached up out of reflex to touch it. His hand came away, red and damp, he tasted it the metallic twang of blood hitting his taste buds and causing his pupils to elongate. His fangs grew as anger built up inside of him. As his rage grew the sprinkler system opened up spilling crimson liquid over the occupants of the club. His dance partners were too far gone with in his induced lust to notice kissing each other with wild abandon. All around them though, vampires were showing their true colors.
Xander noticed that they had different game faces, not too different from his only more pronounced and he could definitely feel the evil coming off of them in black waves.
Xander's hand flipped out sending his long jacket flaring out around him. The hand disappeared to be followed by his arm, only to be drawn back out again holding a sheathed Katana. His other hand came up and gripped the scabbard and tugged showing an inch of glowing crystal blade.
His eyes looked around him with calculating hate. The Vampires had stopped the music as they noticed a flaw in their plans.
Xander span round his katana coming unsheathed and cutting round in a fluid movement ending exactly where he had begun. He waited a second as the two girls he'd bewitched exploded in a pyrotechnic display of dusting. Still holding the scabbard in one hand the Katana in the other, Xander changed stance his leg coming round to place him in an en-guarde position.
The cattle, or humans as they liked to be called, backed away from both Xander and the vampires in fear huddling at one side of the dance floor as the vampires gravitated towards Xander. He was outnumbered a good forty-to-one, he didn't show fear he just smiled ferally. He let loose with one of his mental crystal balls, sending a surge of fear into the approaching vampires. They suddenly reversed their forward surge backing away with terror etched on their faces. A few brave vampires quickly got over the mind numbing emotion and started forward again. The utterly immobile Xander suddenly exploded into movement, the crystal blade of his ancient sword flashing out fast enough to leave an after image on the eye.
He cleaved the first vampire in two, upper cut the next with the pommel followed by a stab to its dead heart. Then he spun 360 taking three more before running straight at the wall with five more behind him. As he reached the wall he stepped up, on to it, turning to face the vampires he sprang off from his feet flying through their ranks hacking and slashing with his blade cutting them down with wet thunks and a rush of air. As he progressed the sound changed to blood curdling cries of the dead and dying, and then the burst of them dusting violently. His blade was dripping with gore and tangles of entrails that were flicked off as he raised it again to cut down another bloodsucker.
He moved as quickly as he knew how, in other words very. AterAnima may be limited by how long and how high they could fly, but not by how fast, that was up to the power of the individual and Xander was becoming a very powerful individual. He filleted their ranks before reaching the opposite wall and walking up it and onto the roof. Fighting them upside down setting them on edge and off balance, he was utterly relaxed, his eyes calm but cold. Xander's entire bearing was that of an exterminator there to make roaches extinct.
The crowd of human kind stared at the scene struck by the surrealistic nature of a man standing on the flat ceiling, glowing Katana in one hand and black scabbard in the other, beating and slicing what could only be described as vampires. Dressed, as he was, in all black his long jacket strangely, not dropping down to block his vision, he was the very essence of night.
One Spanish man, in awe of what he was seeing muttered one word, "Muerte", 'Death' it was a word quickly taken up by those who understood and explained to those who didn't. He was death come up from hell to fetch the vampires back to the eternal fires.
Even one of the vampires heard the call and feeling fear for real turned tail and ran with it between his legs as far as he could.
One looking at him with fear in his eyes muttered, "El muerte cuál andar entre nosotras"
Xander flipped down from the roof landing in the center of the vampire throng spinning with his sword extended he made himself some maneuvering room and looked around at the vampires with dark expression. Just then, the strobe light on some sort of timer started its cycle.
*Flash*
Xander's foot lashed out backwards, the scabbard forwards the sword to the side.
*Flash*
A vampire exploded into dust at his side to be replaced by another, one in front doubled over and one behind flew across the room, sliding across the bloodied floor
*Flash*
Xander's sword came round in an arc taking off the vampire's head in front, he continued the motion round to take the new one at the side and he took step back.
*Flash*
A vampire exploded into fiery death followed by one at his side, with more surging forward though the cloud of dust.
*Flash*
Xander jumped up, hanging in air in the crane stance his foot flashed out in quick succession three times.
*Flash*
Three vampires were catapulted away.
*Flash*
Still in mid air he flowed forwards turning to face the wrong way up.
*Flash*
The vampires started to die in quick sequence as Xander began to spin quickly.
*Flash*
More vampires died their corpses exploding.
*Flash*
Xander's spin became more of a torrent, wind seeming to pick up around his twirling form his Crystal blade drawing an arc from which no vampire escaped.
*Flash*
The vampires near the back of the pack started to back away quickly
*Flash*
Xander' beheaded vampire after vampire reeling around like a spinning-top.
*Flash*
Vampires started to run for their un-lives.
*Flash*
Xander ceased his whirling flipping round and down in a circular motion and taking the heads of the remaining vampires, too stupid or not fast enough to escape.
*Flash*
The sensible vampires hurried out of the club and into the meat packing plant away from death personified.
*Flash*
Xander stood still his jacket billowing around him until finally it to came to be still.
*Flash*
Xander whipped the gore-covered blade on a nearby dead body.
*Flash*
The crystal blade disappeared back into the scabbard.
*Flash*
The scabbard and blade were slipped back into the pocket dimension that had become their home.
*Flash*
Xander started walking away from the club, the floor thick with congealed blood, and in the central area, he had been fighting was now caked with decayed dusty remains.
*Flash*
The strobe light finished it's cycle ten seconds after it had started leaving a crowd of dirty, wet and scared humanity standing in the gloom of the back of a meat packing plant. Alive only because Death personified had saved them from a fate worse than him.
Xander drew the darkness around his body like a cloak, phasing out of sight like a shadow burnt away by the sun. A Fleeing Latino vampire sprinted down a corridor heading towards the exit. A sharp pain screamed from his neck and he came to a complete stop. With a confused frown on his face, he watched Xander step out from the shadows. With an enraged yell, the vampire moved forward. It's head wobbled once and toppled from its perch hitting the ground and bouncing once before it and the body it had driven exploded into fiery oblivion.
Xander smiled darkly and phased back into the shadows.
Three vampires, two female and one male were almost at the exit, the male was suddenly tugged straight up into the air. The females looked up into death's eyes as Xander threw the male up into the air. As the vampire was airborne, Xander pulled out his silver gun and it barked once. The vampire exploded to the female's screaming his name. Then they whimpered in fear as Xander turned to them.
Jackson Anderson stumbled around a corner; skidding on a puddle of cow's blood, he hit the wall hard and slumped to the floor.
He blinked back the darkness of unconsciousness as a piecing scream rent the night quickly followed by a different, but by no means less chilling one a second later.
"Oh fuck, oh shit!" Jackson murmured in a mantra to himself. He had been a vampire for 15 short years, during that time he had worked his but off to make a name for himself. He was big and bad amongst his fellow non-pure bloods. One of the reasons for his success; he knew when he was in deep shit and when to get out.
This was one of those moments.
As he watched in stunned surprise, one of his friends, or rather acquaintances ran past the entrance of the corridor. A moment later, he backpedaled as the man with the long black coat walked out of a shadow that shouldn't have been there.
Jackson's mouth dropped open as a crystal sword appeared out of nowhere and sliced into the vampire's gut. Jackson knew that it took silver, beheading, garlic or holy water to kill his kind, but one cut from that freaky glowing sword was enough to cause the vampire to spontaneously combust into nothingness.
Jackson whimpered slightly, only to breathe a sigh of relief as the dark man walked away. He crept up to the entrance of the corridor and peeked around the corner.
Behind him, the shadows grew across the floor reaching for him with sharp claws of dark light. Growing in mass and number, they spread across the floor and up the walls, until they stood at about six foot then a two-dimensional shadow seemed to twist around and grow a third.
Xander stepped out from the shadow and stood silently behind the vampire.
Jackson suddenly felt that terrible crawling tingle up his spine and turned trembling like a leaf in the wind, "Oh fuck"
Xander smiled as he watched Corina walk into the club, her dark locks bouncing with each step and her body seemed to sensuously slither across the dance floor. Her eyes sort him out; when they locked on his, a spark seemed to snap across the distance separating them, linking the pair of would-be lovers.
Xander broke their joint gaze to run his eyes down her body. Her eyes were lined artfully with make up causing them to stand out on her face. Her lips were painted with dark red, white teeth flashing as she smiled at him. He returned the smile and continued his frank appraisal of her. She wore a blouse the same tone red as her lips. A black skirt adorned her hips and hung tightly to just above her knee. A glimpse of fishnet was visible above the tops of the black, high-heeled boots she wore.
"Hi" she said eyeing his dark, almost blood red silk shirt, black trousers and long leather duster with a smile. "I thought you hated all that stereotyped vampire shit"
Xander laughed slightly, "I do, but I was dressed by three women who seem to think I looked good in it"
Corina nodded, "Oh; you do, I like their taste. So, is one of them a girlfriend?"
Xander shook his head, "It's more complex than that. For starters one of them is my sire"
"Sire?"
"She made me into what I am. She and her friends also are helping me still, I owe them my life," he said earnestly.
"Okay, so she and I agree on something's" Corina said
"What's that?" Xander asked.
"She obviously has great taste in men, and clothes"
Xander laughed slightly then looked challengingly into her eyes, "So, what have you got planned for me?" he asked.
Corina shrugged, "Nothing"
"Ah, I thought you might come to that decision," he said with a slight note of disappointment in his voice "Do you still want to go to dinner, I've booked a table?" he asked hopefully.
Corina was somewhat in awe of the contradictory nature of Xander, he was a vampire, powerful sexy and confidant in his sexuality. He was also, totally lacking in self-confidence in his self and it was actually kind of cute. "I said, I hadn't planned anything, not that I'd changed my mind. I don't know you well enough to decide what to do to impress you, so, lets go have dinner talk and I'll get to know you, then I'll make some plans" she told him with a smile.
Xander nodded hiding the slight blush that had appeared, "Shall we?"
"Lead on Sir, I'll be right behind you"
"Oh no ladies first" Xander said twinkling his eyes at her and waiving her forward.
"You just want to check out my butt" Corina accused him with a laugh.
"Yep" Xander said nodding emphatically.
Three hours had proven to be instructive for Corina, she knew that he loved Italian food but hated lasagna. He liked woman a lot and with careful questioning she had found out that he had slept with only a few but had sexual experiences with quite a few. It was obvious that he loved to have sex from the way his eyes sparkled when he had briefly talked about it when she had pressed him. It was nice to find a guy that didn't kiss and tell at the drop of a hat.
Her leg reached out and traced a line up to his crotch her pointed boot tip rubbing against his dick. When he jerked slightly she smirked, "I've come up with something," she said finally, and she had it was fairly simple really, once she'd got a little detail on him.
"Really what?" Xander asked distractedly his hand now on the boot that rubbing against his cock and inner thigh.
"Come back to mine and I'll show you" she told him pressing slightly with her foot.
"Why, why do you want this?"
"Do you know I had at least 5 orgasms just from your finger and fangs?" she said leaning forward and looking into his eyes.
"Later on I broke my vibrator just thinking about it. My fingers are tired just trying to reach that state of utter nirvana again. I even fucked my boss today just to try to get off a tiny amount as much as I did just from a bite."
"You fucked your boss?" Xander said smiling slightly.
"Yeah, but I also quit my job for something better, besides with the seed money my 'mentor' gave me, I don't need to work very often, that and the stocks he set up for me. I'm comfortable, not rich, not yet anyway, but very comfortable"
"Yeah, Iz and Bel have been helping me with that, though I don't have much money to play with I have a little" Xander hedged.
"Enough business," Corina declared, "I want you to understand something, the reason I fucked my boss, because he walked into my office and found me fingering myself stupid. Not his cock, or my fingers, or anything else I've tried comes close. I'll do ANYTHING, I'm worse than a crack addict, I need to feel it again and I want to pay for it. Fuck me, use me, abuse me, I'm your living sex toy from this point on like it or not. I'll dog your every step, fulfill your every desire and whim, just for one more bite. After that, if you don't to do it again then so-be-it, but just for one bite, I'll be yours for the rest of our very long lives. But I have to feel that bite again, feel that pure white orgasm time after time." She stopped talking her breath panting her eyes alight with desire.
Xander looked seriously into her eyes, "One bite?" he asked his expression serious, "Could it stop at that?"
"Better to know for sure that you've lost than to never know, and that's the crux I don't know if it can be reached again from what you did or whether it was a freak of nature and I can't stop thinking about it. I won't be able to continue with my life until I'm sure. Don't get me wrong, if it is your bite then I'll want it again, who wouldn't, but it's up to you if you give it too me. If not, then I'll get to fuck you when ever you want, not such a bad payoff"
Xander became silent for some time steadily watching her before finally just nodding, "Yes, we'll go do it now. You don't have to do anything to repay me, I'm not like that"
Corina shook her head, "But I am, besides you really are cute, I honestly wouldn't mind being your living sex doll for a while anyway" she told him with a sexy laugh.
Corina dropped to the floor a rubbery mess of limbs, "Fuck" she breathed.
"It appears that it was my bite" Xander said with a smug grin. He had just held Corina through another run of multiple orgasm's, this time lasting longer than before, he had nearly drained her in the process and felt damn right frisky himself now.
"Oh fuck," Corina breathed again, "That is so FUCKING amazing"
"Eh, thanks, I think, not sure that it's got all that much to do with me though. Through it could have something to do with the projective empathy thing Bel was going on about?"
"I don't care, as long as it works. At least now I know for sure it was you" Corina breathed, "Now, I'm yours"
Those two words, one contraction and a whole pronoun had a profound effect on Xander's libido, "You should stop saying that, Or I'm going to hold you to it" Xander told her, in fact warned her. He was serious, she was sexy as hell, he was a man with a large appetite, and she was willing to do anything to get something that he had to do anyway to survive. It was a sweet deal, he probably wouldn't have to feed off of anyone else for as long as she wanted his bite.
She looked up into his laughing eyes with a serious expression, "I meant what I said, in fact if you bit anyone else I think I'd be jealous"
"Well, Corina, I'm not sure I'm ready for that level of commitment right now" Xander said tongue in cheek and smiling.
Corina stuck out her tongue, "You know what I mean"
"Not really" Xander pointed out holding out his hand to help her stand, "But I'll take you up on your offer anyway"
Corina dazzled him with a smile, "Really?" she asked getting somewhat wobbly to her feet.
"Really, and yes I'll feed from you. Frankly, you seem fine considering I damn near drained you and my thirst is slaked"
"Slaked, cool word"
"Played scrabble the other night with the girls" Xander quipped.
"The Girls? Didn't you mention that the youngest is over 700 years older than you, doesn't that qualify them to be women?" she asked jokingly sarcastic.
"They'll always be my girls" Xander said in all seriousness, "And they don't mind me saying it, I don't mean it in a condescending fashion, it's a term of endearment"
"Damn, I'm actually jealous. So, how do I become one of your girls?" she asked with a smile.
Xander didn't reply thinking that she was fast worming her way into his heart and thus becoming one of his girls forever anyway, she didn't have to DO anything other than be herself. He reached out and cupped her face in the palm of his hand and just smiled into her eyes.
"So, master" she said sparkling into his eyes, "What is your first command?"
Xander pursed his lips thoughtfully; "I think it's been far too long since I…" he trailed off teasingly
Corina smiled and took up the challenge, "What? Fucked a woman up the ass, spurted come across her tits, did it doggy, did it in the shower, screwed in a public place, got deep throated by a willing whore with no gag reflex. Or is too long since you, played sex games, got whipped, did the whipping, watched a woman bring herself off in front of you, licked a clit, talked dirty, hung off the bed while a woman bounced on your cock till you came…"
"Whoa, stop, stop, Jesus you have got the most dirty mouth and frankly, depraved mind I've ever come across" he paused.
"Fuck me; if it isn't a turn on though"
"That sounds like a good idea!" Corina said with a seductive purr.
Xander pulled up a few blocks from the club; he had found two vampires hunting in quick succession. He had a feeling that the club itself was a cover for something larger, something more sinister than a Goth club.
"So Kasi, this scanning thing you were telling me about…"
"Yes, Xander" Kasi replied her holographic displays bouncing to the tonal inflections of her voice.
"Can you get a scan of the club, get the plan of it?"
"It would be simpler if I got the actual plans from the architect's office" Kasi told him with a mirthful tone.
"You can do that?"
"I am online at all times via microwave bursts; they are both fast and virtually undetectable." Kasi boasted proudly.
"Cool, okay, would you do that for me, please"
"Already done, would you like to see them now?"
"That would be cool" Xander said with a smile lighting up his dark expression for a moment. "You know Kasi, you're seriously cool"
If she could have, Kasi would've blushed.
Xander drew up into an alleyway across the street from the club with a purr, the angular machine slithering up to the curb and stilling its forward motion with smoothness borne of breeding. The stereo system in the car was pounding easily audible over the clubs PDA on the outside of the entrance and through the car's bodywork. The music cut off mid beat and Xander slid out of the car sliding his Fedora on his head. His jacket flailed out behind him slightly as he suddenly walked forward drawing the attention of men and women alike. As he walked away from the Italian machine, he didn't even have to glance back to know that Kasi would slip into her secure mode. The intelligent car shuddered slightly as the alarm system locked its wheels tight and her low mellifluous voice announced, "Armed"
He wanted to draw attention to himself, it might seem odd that he of all people would want to be recognizable, but with his face shadowed by the high collar and Fedora it would be a difficult thing to put a name to the face, only to the image.
He breezed past the security the power emanating from him and the class of his car bumping him straight up to VIP status in the bouncer's eyes. A mask had slipped over his entire persona moving into place like an old comfortable pair of shoes. He wasn't Xander Harris he was Muerte, Death to those who shouldn't have to fear it. As that vampire had said, they would soon know that 'The Death, walked among them'.
In the short time since his successful annihilation at the meat packing plant, of the vampire's, word had spread like wild fire. Among the humans, that night had been 'Familiars' servants to their vampire masters and they had told the story of the dark man, and the name that he had been tagged with. The name of Muerte had flowed across information networks between clans and even species of Vampires. In the four days since that incident every vampire in the New York area knew the name of Muerte and what a vague description of a dark man, wearing a hat and long coat. Some thought he was a scary story, others disregarded the idea out of hand, soon they would learn from their mistakes.
As he walked around the club, the river of life ebbed and flowed in a pulse around him and through him, his entire being at one with it. Isabel had been highly accurate when she had said that AterAnima were Humonic and not Demonic. Their status leant them to being as one with nature. The unholy mix of demon and human has created a genetic mutation that was at one with its surroundings, almost completely at odds with both sides of its ancestry. Where as the river skulked around the Demonia like a beaten dog, it curled up against the AterAnima like a well-loved cat causing both demonic and humonic to both stand out, in different ways.
He walked down the steps from the balcony area with people unconsciously shying away from his dark aura. Looking around for prey of his own he noticed several Demonia stalking their prey. Fading into the background of the club wasn't difficult even after gaining everyone's attention, his new skills bending the darkness to his will and engulfing himself in its silken embrace.
From that vantage point he chose his prey with deliberate care, looking not for simple lower level vampires, but either the lieutenants or if he was lucky the master's.
It took him a while to map out the power circles in the club but once he had, he smiled ferally; there was a master in the club and a very powerful one at that if the lower levels behavior was any indication. He tagged along behind what he thought was a lieutenant vampire trailing the man carefully without detection.
Jock swayed up to the glass black Lamborghini and eyed it with drooling desire.
"Look at that" he said a thick New York accent overlaid over a slight Scottish brogue. He had been in New York since he was a lad, but even now, he had a tinge of the soft accent from the land of his birth.
His companion, a woman dressed in netted clothing leant back on a nearby wall and waited silently. She wouldn't mind driving around in a beauty like that herself, it was a shame that the car would be taken to a middleman, and then either chopped up for parts or re-sprayed and filed for foreign sale.
Jock looked from side to side, and seeing no one was looking he set about working his magic. A long strip of metal appeared from his ground-sweeping jacket and was slowly slid down the side of the driver's side window.
With a tongue just peeking from the corner of his mouth, Jock visualized the interior of the door, searching for the catch with his minds eye. He swung to the left and with a sudden click the catch popped. Wanting to move fast, he retracted the long thin metal device and moved to get in the car. It was time to disable any alarm system.
As he tugged on the gull wing doors catch the lock plopped back down into the locked position.
"Shit" Jock swore and started all over again.
Following the Lieutenant had been an education for Xander. This particular coven of vampires was highly organized, their chain of command was easily identifiable and more importantly it was rigid.
That, to Xander, told stories. It meant that the master of the coven was obviously very powerful, ruthless and was to at the very least feared by their subordinates. So, they were obviously old and strong. Vampires were strange creatures, especially the Demonia that Xander knew these vampires were. They longed for a family, yet they constantly pushed and shoved their way around, up, down the ranks, creating general chaos. It appeared that the master of this nest had put a stop to that. Xander had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before the longhaired lieutenant led him to their master and he was curious as to the identity of this master vampire. He had a mental picture of a master vampire not unlike THE Master. Permanent Game face, blood stained lips and a general demeanor of a rabid Rottweiler.
When the lieutenant finally reached the master, and from his subservience, there was no other explanation for the person's identity Xander nearly laughed.
Kasi watched as the would-be car thief stood back a hand rubbing over his lower jaw with a sound like sandpaper over wood.
"Never seen a system like it," he said finally. So far, the car had clicked back to lock every time he had tripped it.
"Perhaps it's in the key. Bitch, throw me my lock picks"
Bitch, who was actually called Susan rolled her eyes and fished in her jacket tossing the small bundle of professional looking picks to her partner.
With a frown of concentration, he knelt and set to work. Kasi gave him a few moments until he had finally worked the lock and then surged electricity through the lock and the picks attached to it, and finally to Jock himself.
The Master vampire wasn't…
…She was the Mistress.
Long blonde hair waved down her back to the small, bright blue eyes pierced the room and pouty red lips curled sardonically.
Her human face was quite beautiful, coldly so. She wasn't short, but neither was she tall, her bearing made her seem much taller than she really was. Her dress was in fitting with the Garage's other clientele, gothic, but she wore it like she had worn it before, in another time. Her crushed velvet burgundy dress hung to the floor, a corset visible in the loosely tied lacings.
She was standing in the center of the room, looking at the lieutenant vampire quizzically. Xander slipped into the plentiful shadows; luckily vampires liked the gloom, and settled back to watch.
"How is the club this evening" she asked, her voice was crisp with a cut glass English accent, she made Giles sound almost common.
"My Lady, the club is filled to capacity," the lieutenant said formally, his American accent clashing against hers.
"Excellent, what of the others? Are there any in the club this evening?" she asked her lips pouting slightly in thought.
"No, My Lady, this talk of Muerte has chilled them to their inferior demon. They are not venturing from their own clubs at the moment." He smirked, "They are weak and …"
"…Inferior, I know, yet they are hard to kill are they not" the master said with a slight smile.
"Yes Mistress" the lieutenant said ducking his head slightly at the reprimand.
"I'm glad this Muerte is stalking them actually, I don't care for their kind in my club. This way, he can keep them occupied." She paused again, her lips pursing, "Are we sure that this Muerte is not the one they call Day Walker?"
"We are My Lady, the day walker is of African coloring. This Muerte from reports is of white origin"
"Hmm, well, no matter, keep an eye out for him just in case he switches species I want to know about it"
"Yes Mistress"
The lieutenant knowing that his audience was done backed out of the room. Sudden caprice caused Xander to remain behind, watching the beautiful master vampire stand before a mirror that didn't reflect her image.
"Oh Grace, if only we could once again gaze upon thyself and fix thy makeup" Grace said with a sardonic lift to her lips.
Xander smirked, his eyes glinting in dark humor. A vampire that longed for a reflection was like the tin man wanting a heart.
Pointless.
With the shadows masking his presence in the room, he continued to watch as the master vampire sat down at a state of the art Apple Mac and logged into a complex looking system. Her slender fingers flew across the keyboard her face intense as she concentrated. Taking a slight risk Xander moved silently close to her side, remaining in one of the gloomy corners of the office. Now he was closer he could see several purchase orders, delivery dates telling him that something was due to be delivered tonight at the docks, a cargo container from the 'Vastern' a cargo ship out of Poland.
Jock glared at the car form the other side of the alleyway, his hair standing up around his head in a halo of floating strands, "That's a mean security system" Sarah commented.
"Shut it bitch, get the car, I need my tools I'm not letting some trumped up tin can get one over me!"
Grace leaned back in her chair after an hour, in which she had moved stocks and shares around with alarming success. Her long locks showered down the back of the chair, sweeping the floor slightly as she arched her back. Xander smiled as her full bosom was revealed swelling against the corset in a most distracting way. Then her back stretched she clicked on her system.
It appeared that she knew her markets very well; Xander was toying with the idea that he should get the trick out of her when a knock at the door started him; almost into revealing himself. Luckily, he kept his cool sinking further back into hiding.
"Come!" Grace intoned turning in her chair to face the door.
The door swung open to reveal a tall and broad form. Xander's eye's widened as a man that was at least 6'5" walked into the room, his broad shoulders touching the doorway as he did so. Not only was he tall, but very handsome with hair that was as long as Grace's, but black with a startling white streak down one side an inch thick. He was dressed in a long frock style jacket, leather trousers and pointed shoes. Again in fitting with the club. Then, the thing that had really startled Xander was obvious, his eyes were the pale blue of the blind and yet he moved with a strangely fluid grace that told of full awareness of his surroundings.
"Gabriel" Grace said standing and smiling, "It's good to see you, how was your trip to the orient"
"You know what it's like" Gabriel said looking around with his blind eyes, searching for the source of the tingle he felt, "You have a Chinese and you want another one ten minutes later"
Grace chuckled, "Well, I'm glad you're back at such a momentous time"
Gabriel held up a hand stilling her and silencing her. His blind eyes cast about and he pointed directly at Xander's position in the shadows, "There is another here" he said with sureness.
"What?" Grace said looking towards where he pointed and seeing nothing but shadow.
Gabriel smiled, "Show yourself friend, you will not be harmed"
Xander smirked and allowed the darkness to release him and stepped forward slightly, drawing a gasp of surprise from Grace, "Yeah right! Like I've never heard that before!"
Jock looked up from the trunk of his mustang hefting a large mallet, "Let's see how you like this" he murmured and walked over to the black car that watched him coming with an amused air.
Swinging back and then forwards as hard as he could Jock brought the mallet round to hit the side window with what should have been shattering effect. The mallet came against a harder than it surface and the reverberations from the contact shivered down the long handle and loosing very little of the shock aspect, entered Jocks arm.
"AWWW FUCK!" Jock yelled dropping the mallet, "OWWWUCH" he then yelled as it landed on his foot. He hoped up and down a bit yelling his head off.
He turned to his tittering partner, "Shut up Bitch," he howled. "This ain't funny"
When she continued to laugh, he hopped towards her like a snake and belted her across the face in a bone jarring backhander that sent her to the floor with a split lip.
"That'll teach you bitch," he murmured to himself in a self satisfied way.
The growl of the Black Countach's engine brought his attention back to it with fear inducing rapidity.
"You NEVER hit a lady" Kasi said over her external speakers, anger dripping from her every word. Jock only had time to scream as the black car's wheels bit into tarmac and Kasi leapt forward straight towards his position.
Gabriel's eyes didn't look quite directly at Xander, confirming his suspicion that this man truly was blind. Then, if that were the case, how the hell had he found him?
Gabriel smiled thinly, "I expect your wondering how I found you?" he asked rhetorically.
Grace stood beside the tall man, "My Childe's senses are truly amazing, he doesn't need his eyes to see even things the sighted can not. Such as intruders in my private office" she said glaring at Xander her eyes flint.
Xander smiled and tipped his hat at her, "Ma'am"
Grace then surprised him by smiling at him, "Well, well, manners. So unusual in today's youth"
"You sound like my dead aunt" Gabriel teased his sire, "Now, perhaps, this gentlemen would like to explain why he was spying on you…"
"I've got a thing about Gothic Blondes" Xander tried.
"I'm flattered, really" Grace said sardonically, "How long were you here?"
Xander smiled and lied through his teeth, "Not long"
"I didn't hear the door open, nor has anyone been in or out since Daniel left" Grace said her lips once again pouting in thought. Xander realized then, it was a way of putting you off, especially men, it would distract them to her lips and away from those cold calculating orbs, blue as sapphire and about as caring.
"I came in when urh, Daniel was it, did" Xander said with another shrug.
He watched as Grace's eyes twitched to her computer and his smile turned dark and foreboding. "I see," she said turning back to look at Xander. "Who are you?"
Darkness seemed to exude from him causing Grace to take an involuntary step back as it reached out to her, "Call me Muerte" Xander said as he phased out into the darkness and slipped out from under the door, into the main club.
"He is gone," Gabriel intoned.
"It's true, I don't believe it" Grace fumed, "How dare he come here to my office and spy on ME!"
"Calm yourself, Grace, you know how your complexion suffers when you get angry" Gabriel said with a slight smile, "What about the shipment, do you think he saw anything about that?"
Grace looked to her computer and to where Xander had appeared from, "He appeared to be human, did he not?" she asked.
Gabriel nodded, "He did, but there was something else"
"If he is human, he could not have read off of the screen from there" she said pointing to the corner.
"If not?"
Grace shrugged expressively, "Possibly"
"Do we cancel?"
Grace shook her head emphatically, "No! I have waited too long to postpone now!"
Gabriel nodded, "Then let us increase security for tonight's delivery, that way we can cover all possibilities"
Grace favored him with a radiant smile he couldn't see, "I've missed you Gabriel, your counsel is, as always wise"
Xander walked into the silent alley and smiled when he saw the gloss black sports car sitting unmolested where he had left it.
"Hey Kasi, had fun?" he asked as he walked to the door. He noticed a finger print and used his sleeve to rub it away. "Any problems"
"No, all has been quiet" Kasi said her voice, just a little too sweet.
Xander slipped into the cockpit, "That's good, we've got a date at the docks"
"Very well" Kasi said and reversed out of the alley as Xander sat back thinking about what he had seen.
As Kasi pulled out of the alleyway her headlights briefly highlighted a still form, reflecting off of the pool of blood. She quickly flicked them off and turned around before they came back on.
Leaving the crushed, mutilated corpse of one car thief in pool of blood spreading like a flower around his corpse. Jock had hit a woman in the presence of the wrong female entity.
Isabel's Apartment 28th September 1999 - 00:00
Xander ducked under his bed, pulling out the large metal box that he had procured for his ammunition and hefted the heavy item onto the silk sheets. Ignoring the damage he had just caused he quickly flipped it open.
Shrugging off his coat he started to extract weapons. Twin desert eagles, one gold and one silver, from a double shoulder harness. A black Baby Desert Eagle from the Small of his back, and the long barreled BMR .50ae from an old-fashioned gunslingers holster that he used by preference.
Then reaching into nothing, he extracted his crystal katana and placed it on the bed next to the guns. He then proceeded to strip off all his clothes. He had managed to get Tegan to work her magic on a set of leather clothing, making it more protective than his jacket alone. He slipped the tight black leather jeans on, shrugged into the soft leather shirt and pulled on the black combat boots that were likewise protected. Then he started to load clips.
Tegan watched all of this with a slight smile gracing her face. "Going to war?" she asked mildly.
Xander glanced up at her shocked that she had been able to creep up on his position, "Jesus Tegan you scared the hell outta me"
"Good, keep you on your toes. Now, the answer to my question?" she asked as she walked into the room and started to load spare clips.
"Yeah sort of" Xander told her, "I went back to the garage, the place seemed a little too vamp friendly, ya know, well it turns out that it's owned by a vampire called Grace Arthur" her second name Xander had seen on her dockets. "She's got a delivery coming in tonight, and you know how I like to make a nuisance of myself" he continued a cheeky smile growing on his lips.
Tegan mirrored it with a matching smile, "And you do it so well"
Xander laughed, "Thanks, I think"
"It's a compliment actually," Tegan, told him, hopping up onto his bed and sliding bullets into the metal clips. "I think what you're doing for Bel is great. It's about time someone moved against them on their own terms"
"Yeah" Xander laughed darkly, "God, I can just imagine what Buffy would say about what I'm about to do"
Tegan lifted an eyebrow inquisitively at him, "Really, what?"
"Don't do it Xan, you're the normal one Xan, you can't fight them, I'm the chosen one" he mimicked disparagingly.
Tegan smirked, "Really love her hey"
"Loved, the word is loved" Xander said his voice filled with darkness.
Tegan glared at him, "That may work with the Demonia, not with me. Don't try your tricks on me junior or I'll kick your ass"
Xander glowered for a second before shifting into a smile, "I bet you could too"
"Damn straight junior, and don't you forget it"
Xander smiled and leaned in close, "I can still make you scream though"
Tegan's pupils flared open, "You sure can" she breathed her hand wrapping round the back of his head and pulling him into a searing kiss. She broke it off, unwillingly but with a smile, "Come on, we' ve got all those to fill before you go back out"
Xander gulped and pushed his lust filled thoughts to one side, storing the emotion for later use and smiled at her, "Okay, I've got to be at the docks by 4 anyway"
"Hey, what's going on" Isabel said swanning into the room her smile bright.
"Xander's got a party to go to, and wants his presents packaged" Tegan said with an ironic smile and nod towards the bullets and empty clips.
"Oh hey, want a hand?" Isabel asked plonking down next to Tegan and grabbing handfuls of bullets and several clips.
Xander smiled at them, "Thanks guys, I'm not sure what I'm going to do without you"
They shared a look, but said nothing instead moving the conversation back to safer ground and filling clips with sure rapid movements.
Kasi purred to a halt, moving with very little noise they had made their way close to the location of the docked 'Vastern' Xander's eyes cold and hard glared into the darkness watching the movement of guards and dock hands alike. "Busy" he commented.
"I can verify that" Kasi remarked her tone sardonic.
"Can you, what about vampires?" Xander asked, focusing on her 'lips' the holographic voice meter.
"They are harder to scan, but show up as cool bodies of mass, thus I can still get a 'read' off of them" Kasi told him, sounding professional.
Xander smiled, "Thanks, so how many Kasi?"
"I would estimate their number at around 150"
"Shit" Xander said succinctly, "There's no way I can take out that many alone"
"You are not alone, you have me" Kasi told him.
Xander looked at the dashboard for several long moments, "What can you do?" he asked finally.
"I am capable of greater speeds than you have seen so far, I also have the ability to produce an EMP Pulse that will disable all electronics nearby. There are twin machine guns built into my headlamps and I have advanced satellite accessibility. To name but a few"
Xander chuckled slightly and let out a whistle of admiration, "Kasi, you may very well be the perfect woman. Gorgeous, great lines, and packs a punch"
The engine revved slightly in a purr.
"Okay, then I think a direct approach would work best. Let me know when they start to unload a crate with 10920 on the side.
I'm guessing you can 'see' that right?"
"Affirmative" Kasi said
"Then this is what we're going to do…"
Grace watched with a slightly pleased expression as her cargo was fork lifted onto the sling ready to bring it across to the low loader that she had waiting. Her vampire guards fanned out three deep at her sides, with Gabriel foremost amongst them.
She also knew that he had placed sentries out around the entire docking area, numbering 150. A lot of her coven was here tonight. It was as it should be. The total failure of this Muerte to show up had given her slight pause; whatever he was she was sure he wasn't human.
Her dead heart lifted, as she watched the crate being hoisted into the air and begin its ponderous journey to her waiting truck.
A roar of a powerful engine filled her ears and she spun with her guards to face a wall of packing crates as they exploded towards her. Gabriel himself dived for her, feeling what was coming and protected her slender body with his powerful frame.
A gloss black Lamborghini came to a stop just in front of their position, a man standing atop of it with his long coat billowing in the wind. His fedora somehow was still in place but the most amazing thing was that he was. The car had spun 360 and still he had remained on top calm and composed, riding it out with slightly bent legs tensed against the forces of gravity and centrifugal force.
His coat flared as his arms swept it back and came back with a gold Desert Eagle in one hand and a matching one only silver in the other. The twin hand cannons barked and as their still falling bodies exploded into ash, grace watched two of her guards fall. Driverless Kasi moved crossing the distance from their position to the low loader within seconds and Xander lifted off right in front of grace's stunned eyes, taking to the air like a giant bat.
All the time her container continued its journey unhindered. Swinging towards its goal bit by tiny bit.
Xander glanced up at it, his pistols tracking a vampire seemingly by themselves before popping off a shot with the left felling it. Xander then turned his full attention back on the growing conflict a sinister smile on his face. He spoke two words that made Grace suddenly scream out murderously. "Now Kasi"
There was a strange buzz that seemed to fizz the brain and a pulse of electric blue swept out from all around the jet-black vehicle. Lights started to die as the wave met with them. Xander's pulled the huge revolver, loaded with amour piercing bullets and took careful aim. The massive piece of destructive machinery spewed forth a .50 caliber slug that sprinted towards its goal, the barrel clicking round to place another under the hammer. Another loud bang and it was sent after its twin. The bullets hit their targets within microseconds of each other, both at separate targets. The huge round slapping the thick chains to smithereens.
The container tipped dangerously, and started to pendulum as the crane continued to move around. The EMP pulse then hit the dockyard crane and fried every circuit contained within, stopping the crane arm dead jolting its cargo.
The container, that was already swinging, shuddered and slipped. Helped along by two more of rounds of ammunition the chains broke and the massive container slipped from the embrace of the cradle and plummeted towards the ground. Only, it wasn't the ground, the container was only halfway to its goal and thus what it hit was just enough of the dock to tip it onto an end and slid down between the ship and the dock. Sinking like the proverbial stone, due to it's compromised containment; it disappeared under the water.
"Go!" Xander said, taking to the air once again as his sports car leapt to his command and took off towards the entrance they had made. Reaching into his pocket Xander pulled two grenades and pulled the pins out with his mouth. Then moving quickly, he threw them at the largest groups of vampires and bolted after his car.
Grace stood her hair in disarray as the grenades went off. She ignored them her eyes glaring after Xander's departing form with pure hatred in their flashing blue depths.
Gabriel stood beside her a hand touching her shoulder, "What is your wish My Lady?"
Grace spared him a glance as bodies flew all around them and screams rendered the night, "Find him Gabriel, find him for me, then I'm going to rip him to shreds"
Gabriel smiled a cool smile and nodded, "Of course my Lady"
Dressed still in his coat, but without the hat and leather attire Xander leaned against the railing of the dance floor watching the couples and singles boogie on down with an amused air. Despite his still gothic look, none of the patrons had made fun, or in any other way made comment about his out of place clothing. The Cicada was essentially a dance club, the sort of place well to do yuppie types went to unwind and flash some cash at the opposite sex. Black leather and white silk didn't stand out too badly, but his hair was still tousled and eyes dark. Not with eyeliner now, but with a strangely permanent make up effect that had been there since the day before.
When asked, Belinda mentioned, with a laugh, that it was a side effect of the magic's she had imbibed him with. Xander had of course given her a hard time about telling him first but at the end of the day, it worked out well this way. He just looked gothic, not a bad pay off considering the circles he moved in these days.
The long coat he wore habitually now, for the protection, was what made him stand out, it seemed to exude darkness, suck in all light and leave a cut out of black leant over the railing watching the party people at play.
Corina smiled when she recognized his form, if not the strange sense of power and danger she now felt when she was anywhere near Xander. They had seen each other several times since her convincing of Xander. He had yet to bite her, and she had yet to ask. He hadn't asked anything of her apart from her company which she found extremely endearing. Yet, he had changed since that first time she had met him. Where there had been doubt, there was now certainly, where once there was lack of confidence, he now exuded a dark form of it. Xander had gone from being a somewhat shy and embarrassed young man into a dark, scary, powerful and dangerous man within a week.
"Hi Corina" Xander said without turning around.
Just more proof to Corina that Xander was now a warrior of some sort, "Hey sexy, fancy a nibble" she had said that every time they had met, as a joke, it wasn't a request it was humor. She just hoped that one day he'd actually take her up on the offer.
"Pizza sounds good" Xander said turning around to face her.
"Hey, what's with the make up" Corina asked him curiously.
Xander rolled his eyes, "Don't ask; just don't ask"
"You know, you stand out like a sore thumb in here; right?" Corina commented with a chuckle. "I'm surprised the bouncer's let you in"
"They like breathing" Xander commented with a cold tone. He had, had a little trouble with the bouncers, but a seemingly average man picking you up by the throat and lifting you so that your feet were a foot above the floor…
Well, it had a way of convincing you to leave well alone.
Corina narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm not sure I want to know"
Xander smiled dazzlingly at her, "Probably not, come on, let's boogie baby"
He swept her laughing to the dance floor and then held her close, grinding to the music and her laughter ended to be replaced by a smoky look.
Lurking at the fringes of the club was Damascus, he was 75 years old, plus the 40 he had already been. His specialty was tracking, and he had been doing so since Gabriel had sent him to find Muerte. Find him he had; now he was tailing him with ruthless focus, watching and recording everything with his dark brown, almost black eyes. He watched the sexy couple dance close together and loose themselves in the tribal beat of the music. Tribal was something that Damascus could relate to, he had spent more than a little time in Africa as a tracker for the gorilla groups out there, beating even the natives with his almost supernatural ability to find a man.
Xander smiled down at Corina a dark twinkle in his eye, "What do you mean you don't like the music?" he asked her.
"I don't like the music, besides I feel like I stand out."
And stand out she did, her modern Lycra attire was in direct contrast to the dark gothic look that Valance was so proud of.
"Okay, where to now?" Xander said after a chuckle.
"Well, actually, I want you to come back to mine"
"Miss Sheldon, are you trying to seduce me?"
"You bet that cute ass of yours" Corina said a deep throaty chuckle emitting from her.
"Good, just checking" Xander said with a matching laugh.
The door swung open and no soon as it had Xander was kissing her deeply. Her arms wrapped around him as they kissed and moved across the room knocking over a lamp, a table and sending Corina's paperwork flying around the place, none of that mattered to the passionate pair as they kissed like it was the only thing left to do in the world.
Her hands entwined into his dark hair and his cupped her firm ass squeezing it gently; her leg wrapped around his and with a hop she then wrapped it and the other around his waist. Her mid section rubbed against his as they kissed. She ground herself against his manhood her eyes becoming wild with abandon. They broke for a second and glared into each other's eyes, not with anger but with lust written on their faces.
Corina, to Xander was the ultimate sexy woman, independent, strong personality and she knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to get it. At this precise moment in time, for whatever reason, she wanted him. That fact made him aroused just to think about, and whilst it lasted, he was determined to have as much fun as he could. He moved forward to kiss her but she backed away with a teasing smile.
"Whoa there tiger, I brought you back here for a reason" Corina said her voice rough.
Xander looked at her kiss-swollen lips and licked his lips, "I thought we'd already got to that"
"Oh no, it's not all about sex" Corina said, then paused and laughed, "Well, maybe it is, but I saw something and it made me think of you, so…" she broke off and extracted herself from his grip and sank to the floor. She moved to her couch and bent over it prompting an evil smile from Xander as her micro dress rode up.
"Hold that thought tiger" Corina said without looking. Xander stilled his forward motion with a bemused smile.
"How did…"
She turned back to him with a long rectangular box in her hand, "I didn't, but I know the way your mind works" she told him then laughed, "Because I would have done the same thing"
"What's that?" Xander said.
"It's yours" Corina replied, a smile lighting up her face.
Xander shook his head, "Corina… I …"
"Will take it, or you'll hurt my feelings" she said with an almost genuine pout.
Xander looked contrite, "Sorry"
Corina just smiled and held out the box towards him.
Xander smiled and took it from her hands. The first thing that struck him was that it was pretty heavy, he placed it carefully down on the couch and pulled off the lid. His brow knitted bemusedly and his lips twisted into a confused smirk.
"A violin"
"Yeah, A violin Dumb ass" Corina said reaching forward and swiping his butt.
"Hey!" Xander said with a mock glare, "You brought me a violin, Corina, these things are expensive" he said, but in truth, he WANTED it. It was a violin all right, with strings, neck and body, and a bow, that was where the similarity ended. Firstly, where as a violin was normally rounded, this one was angular, looking almost like a mini electric guitar. It was also jet black, the silvered strings showing up in contrast. He ran a hand down them lovingly and it emitted a mangled note.
Corina smiled at his reverent expression, "Yeah it was expensive, but I wanted you to have it. You remember you told me you could play it right? That wasn't a boast was it" Corina said looking suddenly worried.
"Heh, No, I can play" Xander said with a smile, "Just don't ask how or why" he said with a chuckle.
"Then play" Corina said picking it out of the box and handing him the bow. Then she turned it over and flicked a recessed switch. "Here, play me something"
He took it reverently and placed it to the crook of his neck, it was a frighteningly familiar feel, but then he had the skill and knowledge earned by a crystal. That meant that he had learnt to play it, including hours of practice, or rather someone had and then instilled that into the crystal. His hands moving on automatic he drew the bow across the metallic strings. The most soulful, and electric noise emanated from the electric violins built in sound system. State of the art was an understatement for the musical instrument.
The sound drew out, hair raising in it's intensity and the soul rendering sadness of the note. Then, time stood still as Xander started to play. Corina felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise; a tingle crawled up her spine and her breathing quickened. Her heart pumped faster and her pupils dilated, blood flushed her cheeks as enjoyment scorched through her body.
She didn't know the tune, she had no idea of the composer, and she wasn't to know that it was once an Atlantean piece now played on a top of the range electric violin. Where once the tune had been melodic and soft, it was now heart ripping and scorching. The electric sound of the violin twisted the tune into something that resembled a very musical buzz saw through the mind.
Xander's eyes were closed as his body moved mechanically creating a sound that was anything but. The music washed over him in cold waves of sharps and flats. The violin, given voice by his hand, spoke for over ten minutes until he finally brought the bow to a quivering halt and opened his eyes. They locked onto Corina's dark orbs, which in turn were filled with emotion. the like of which he had never seen. He placed the violin down beside him carefully placing it back in its box. He then turned back to a still Corina, who had forgotten to breath five minutes ago.
Corina drew in a long breath and then dived at him knocking him to his back and attaching her lips to his.
Xander slipped out of the door and closed it carefully behind him, under his arm was the violin with attitude that Corina had brought for him and a sexy smile adorned his face. They had made love for the last four hours and Corina was now in the land of blissful sleep. He hadn't fed, and she had not asked. Last night had not been about that; it had been about mutual enjoyment.
With a jaunty step he walked down the stairs and out to his waiting Car, slipping into the custom made leather seat he let out a sigh, "Hey Kasi, quiet night?"
The car revved once, and said nothing more. Frowning slightly Xander tried again, "Kasi?"
"Yes" she snappishly replied.
"Hey what's wrong?" he asked with a soft tone.
"I don't like her!"
"Who?"
"Corina" Kasi replied, almost spitting the name.
Xander frowned, "Kasi, anyone would think you're jealous"
"I AM NOT" Kasi said and pulled away from the curb with a squeal of her tires.
Damascus watched him go, and taking note of the number plate, smiled and turned. His mobile phone reached his ear as he piloted his own car out to follow the black sports car.
"It's me, I know where his girlfriend lives"
Valance, 29th September 1999 - 12:00
Xander sat back in the booth and smiled, "Hi there" he said to the three astoundingly beautiful women sat across from him.
"Good night?"
"Yeah, dusted some Demonia, got a thrall demon and oh yeah, there's a puddle of goo where there used to be a Mora"
"In three hours?" Tegan said lifting a red eyebrow. Her make up gave her an almost white pallor that glowed against her red hair. The entire Trio was dressed gothically with make up to match. Even the normally businesslike Isabel was in her clubs attire and on her; it was a very different look. Belinda, Belinda was as beautiful as she always was, she was one of those unusual women that look good in ANYTHING. Of course, Xander was somewhat biased, she was his sire and he loved her deeply in an emotion that went beyond anything he had experienced.
"Yeah, it was a slow night; so I called it quits" he said with a shrug.
Isabel snorted her Gin and Tonic across the table as Tegan glared at him.
Smirking at the now coughing blonde Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, "Here" he said passing the cloth to her. She smiled at him and used it to dab her mouth dry, and taking off most of her lipstick in the process.
"Sorry," she said with an apologetic smile.
Xander shrugged, "I don't mind Iz, anything for you, any of you" he said prompting the Trio to smile beautifully at him.
Belinda nailed him with a piecing look and smiled at him to soften the look, "I've heard some very interesting tales about you," she told him
"Oh yeah, what?"
"Muerte" Belinda said her accent perfect, but then if you spend a hundred years in Spain you get the lingo.
"Oh that, yeah the vampires keep screaming it at me, right before I dust the fuckers" Xander said taking a sip of his Jack Daniels, now tempered with Coke.
Belinda laughed, "Ah, but do you know what it means my love"
"Yeah, death" Xander replied, then glared at Tegan's surprised look, "Hey they do teach Spanish in high school you know"
"From what I've heard you were either asleep or not actually there to learn anything" Tegan replied. Since their 'resolution' they had not argued, AS MUCH, at least now it was joking banter between friends, there was an underlying current of sexual tension to it as well, true. However, before, there had been the sexual tension, with a hell of a lot of animosity along with it.
Xander smirked, "At least they had school when I was younger" then he laughed, "Come to think of it, when you were young they didn't even have AMERCIA"
"Oh" Tegan said her emerald eyes flashing but with a slight smile gracing her full lips, "Is this another 'about as old and attractive as dirt comment'?" she asked.
Xander smiled, "I think I proved I didn't mean that, even if the age bit IS true"
Belinda rolled her eyes, wondering when she was going to be able to get a word in edgeways to actually talk to her childe.
Isabel just looked at them, her eyes passing to one from the other, looking like she was watching a tennis match.
"Oh now don't you be going on about a ladies age"
"Show me a lady and I won't"
"You little whipper snapper"
"A what?"
"Sorry, I forget that you're only an American!"
"Hey, you thick headed Irish broad, the US of A is the place to be you know, if not for us there would be no Twinkies"
"For that I would be eternally grateful"
"Are you two going to fuck now, or later, because we can go if you like" Iz finally put in after sharing a laughing look with her sire.
Tegan reached over and grabbed Xander's hand, "No, it's alright we will"
"Hold on there" Belinda said holding up a hand, "First I need to talk to Xander. Then you two can go play, hell I might even join you"
"Damn, this just keeps getting better and BETT…" he trailed off with an unmanly screech as Isabel's booted foot pushed gently into his crotch.
"Be nice, and I might be persuaded as well"
Xander smiled, "So Belinda, what was it you wanted?"
"You're making a name for yourself now Xander" she said her eyes turning sad, "But to properly enter into your quest one day, you'll have to move father a field"
Xander sobered instantly and nodded, "I know, but…"
Belinda smiled and reached across the table taking his hand in hers, "One day, in fact, you'll need to return to the place you came from"
Xander's eyes snapped to hers, "I can't" he said actually blanching, "She said she'd kill me"
The fear in his voice made the entire Trio suddenly very angry, "She fucking won't" Iz promised him, only to have Tegan back her up immediately.
"You have nothing to fear from her, you know this" Belinda said with a piecing look.
Suddenly the club dropped away from Xander and he was back in Sunnydale, Buffy's soft form pressed against his in a too hard clench, her lips smashed to his own. Her tongue invading his mouth, yet he could feel the heat of the kiss and see the flash of something in her eyes. AT the time, he didn't know what it was; now he'd seen it enough to realize. It was lust, pure and simple lust. She may have started that kiss with full intention of, and succeeding at, making him feel dirty; but she got a surprise in the process.
Xander knew intellectually at least, that he shouldn't fear her. That flash in her eyes, however, meant that even if she had forgiven him for his supposed sins against her she would fear that feeling she herself had felt. It meant that she would hate him all the more for it and it could very well drive her to trying to kill him. The girl that had pushed him out of Sunnydale, that had ruined his life to the point of suicide the girl he still could not bring himself to totally hate anymore.
That girl would try to end his life and that fact is what he was truly afraid of.
"Xander?" Belinda said softly, noticing the faraway look in his gaze.
Xander snapped back to the club, the music pounding in his head and the sights and sounds suddenly vivid in his eye. He smiled at her, "Yeah, I know, but I am"
"Then we'll not discuss that further tonight, but there is still the matter of spreading the word."
"Let's not think about that right now" Xander said with a smile, "Lets get back to the bit about joining us"
Belinda knew that she was being fobbed off, but she decided to leave it. For now, at least, "Hmm, Iz?"
"Me to, wouldn't want to miss out," Isabel said with a throaty purr.
Tegan frowned, "Who says either of you are invited?"
Isabel's hand slid up her thigh and Tegan smiled, "So, whose room?"
Xander walked out of Isabel's office with a giant smile on his face, "Well that was intense"
"You can say that again" Isabel said following him out adjusting her business skirt and blouse, she slipped a hand along his side and sauntered away with a sexy sway of her hips, "Pick me up later and we'll go see this Corina of yours, she sounds…Nice"
Xander smirked at her retreated behind and vowed never to die, he was having far too much fun. Glancing at his watch, he made a snap decision and headed for the lift up to the apartment. He had some time for sword practice with Belinda before heading out for a quick hunt then heading over to Corina's place with Isabel.
Tonight, looked to be a busy night all told. Thank god, that Corina had called when she had, Iz had seemed to enjoy it that was for sure.
Whistling a jaunty tune Xander headed off towards his sword practice.
The Garage, Backroom 1st October 10:00
"Well!" Grace snapped.
Damascus looked at her, she was being very sharp since Xander had disrupted her plans, and he was sure his news would either, cheer her up, or be the end of him.
"Mistress, I have watched the man known as Muerte for several days now and I…" he trailed off trying to think of a way to explain it.
"You found his girlfriend, correct?" Grace asked her tone softening very slightly.
"I did mistress, at least one of them"
"Pardon?"
"I found one of his girlfriends, in fact I have found no less than four! Three of whom live with him above Valance"
"Valance, huh, it would be Isabel Bowie that runs that I believe. A blonde"
"Indeed mistress there is a blonde among their number, as well as a raven haired and a red haired."
"And the other, the one that doesn't live with him?"
"She is of brown hair" Damascus replied.
Grace lifted an eyebrow, "Huh, likes his variety doesn't he. Very well, leave us" she said and with that turned back to the silent Gabriel.
Damascus bowed and scrapped his way backwards out of the room; thanking god that he hadn't annoyed his mistress.
"Your wish My Lady?" Gabriel asked once again.
"Guess Gabriel, take a wild bloody guess!" Grace said with a smile.
Xander was having a night off for a change. No fighting, no hunting not even any 'dating' was happening tonight. It wasn't his choice; he would rather be out there tracking down vampires and killing them. No, his sire had put her dainty foot down and he had been putty in her hands, powerless to resist her whim. It was a scary thought to Xander that Belinda had become so important to him. His relationship with her wasn't like his relationship with either Tegan or Isabel, nor was it like his relationship with Corina.
It was deeper, way past love and out the other side into a realm of emotion he couldn't contemplate. They were utterly honest with each other, no lies or deceit. He knew that he didn't know everything that went on in Belinda's mind, but then he knew that he just hadn't asked the right questions yet, once he did, he would. As for Belinda, she knew him inside out, almost better than he knew himself. They had been inside each other's minds, in a manner of speaking, during his training, which had formed a bond that went beyond the Sire/Childe bond they already had.
It scared the shit out of him that he had become that reliant upon her just being there. One day, hopefully never considering what they were, but possibly she may not be there anymore. He shuddered at the mere mention of a thought about that possibility.
His luminescent blade appeared level with the angle of his nose before his eyes as he brought it en-garde. He might not be able to hunt or play, but training he could do.
Isabel smiled at Tegan, "Hi having fun?" she cried out over the live act, an ethereal Gothic artist called 'Bren'
"Yeah, they're good" Tegan replied smiling happily. She may have been reluctant when Belinda had dragged her from her home in Ireland to help train her protégé, but now she was reveling in it and the company of her favorite people in the world. The three of them had seen many things together. Belinda and herself especially had spent millennia in each other's company.
'The Trio' as Xander called them was bound together with ironclad friendships that went beyond mere friendship into soul mate territory.
"Where's Bel?" Tegan asked looking around for their sire.
"She just checked up on Xander, making sure that he's not gone out"
"Why?" Tegan asked confusion on her face.
"She doesn't want him to over do it at this early stage" Isabel informed her.
Tegan nodded, she could see the wisdom in that. It was important to kick back once in a while; mind you, the four of them had certainly relaxed the other night. That thought brought her to a question she had been burning to ask. "So… What's this Corina like?"
Isabel smirked, "How long have you been waiting to ask me that?"
Tegan smirked right back at her, "Just answer the question strumpet"
"I'm a strumpet am I? Well that's nice!"
"The question?" Tegan pushed.
"She's… sexy" Isabel said finally.
"Sexy" Tegan said with an eye roll, "How very informative"
"Accurate though, she's totally into Xander as well, really wants him"
"I can understand the attraction," Tegan said wistfully.
Isabel laughed, "Yes, I can see that, what made you switch back"
Tegan shrugged, "Well, I'm Bi, you know that"
"You've not been with a man for as long as I've known you" Isabel remarked wryly, "I'm not sure being with women exclusively for 800 years classifies you as Bi"
"Never did like boxes"
"Still…" Isabel trailed off waiting for Tegan to fill in the blanks.
Tegan laughed, "We were arguing, nose to nose virtually prodding and pushing at each other…" she trailed off her eyes glassy with memory, "Then suddenly I wanted to taste his lips, in fact I wanted to Hoover out his insides via his mouth"
"So you did?"
"Oh yeah" Tegan said with a sexy tone of voice, "Then I fucked him to the most intense orgasm I've ever had. He's not huge but that dick of his…"
Isabel nodded, "Talented isn't he"
Tegan chuckled, "He sure is!"
"He sure is what?" Belinda asked walking up behind the pair.
"Xander, talented" Isabel filled in, moving over to make room for her sire.
"Knowing you two, I can probably guess, but in what way?"
"Sex" Tegan said bluntly, "He's one hell of a screw"
"That he is"
"At first I thought you just wanted him as a toy boy" Tegan admitted after a moment.
Belinda laughed, "The thought had occurred to me, but it was his potential that really, if you'll excuse the pun, turned me on to bringing him across." She then laughed again.
"What?" Isabel asked.
"Did you know, that he asked me to turn him whilst we were having sex" Belinda said.
Tegan gave her a startled glance, "He what?"
"Hmm, we'd discussed turning him before we urh… got going. Then whilst we were in the act I turned him"
"Hang on, you turned him as you screwed?" Isabel asked for clarification and got it in the form of a nod from Belinda.
"That could explain his unusual Dark Gift" Tegan said thoughtfully, "I wonder if it caused any other differences in him?"
"I wouldn't have thought so" Belinda said slowly, she wasn't all that well versed in bringing people over, at least not as well versed as Tegan.
"I've found that the circumstances and environment seem to effect what sort of childe you have, that and the amount of blood you give. How much DID you give him?"
Belinda blushed, "I'm not sure, I lost track, with the orgasm and all that I was rather distracted"
"You came?" Isabel asked shocked.
"Of course, didn't you?" Belinda shot back
"Oh hell yeah, nothing beats sex in the shower"
"Excuse me ladies" a male voice interrupted their conversation.
"Yes" Belinda said looking up at the darkly handsome man that was flanked by ten of his friends.
"Please come with us, or people will die" the man told them nodding towards where another twenty or so vampires fanned out round the club.
Isabel paled as she saw her patrons being surrounded and shared a glance with her friends. A glance that said, 'We need to take this somewhere private'
Tegan nodded slightly as did Belinda who turned a dazzling smile at the dark man, "Of course, we have your word the customers will be unharmed?"
The man nodded and stepped back.
Xander jumped up into the air, his eyes closed and focused on his mental battle, he brought the sword round in a decapitating swing and the reversed the sword to stab behind him. Then he rolled forwards, back to his feet and swept his leg around in a graceful arc. The crystal blade of his sword described the same arc leaving an after image with its glow.
Stepping up his speed the sword was swapped from left to right, then passed from front to back, to the left hand again. The blade always pointing to his mental enemies in slashing cuts.
Then coming to a halt it rolled into his right hand up his left arm, across his chest and finally down his right arm to the hand.
Then breathing slowly, he walked over to the edge of the wall and balanced on the edge continuing his Kata with eyes closed and a long drop at his side.
Corina looked up from her computer with a startled glance as the door rattled slightly on the hinges from the force of the knock. Her face set into a scowl she walked over to the door and glanced through. The other side she saw gothic attire and smiled her heart leaping into her throat and a rush of adrenaline surging through her system as the excitement of seeing Xander hit her.
She knew it was silly, but the more she saw him, the more she wanted to. The power he held over her now was more about personality than the multiple waves of pleasure that coursed through her system from his bite.
She flung open her door and then she realized her mistake. The man she was now looking at had much longer hair and there was a white streak in it. He was also a good five inches taller than Xander. Cursing herself, she put a smile on her face and greeted the stranger.
"Hi, can I help?" she asked pleasantly.
Gabriel turned around and Corina gasped slightly at his pale sightless eyes.
"Why, yes, you can" he said with a charming smile.
Melting slightly Corina smiled back properly. "What can I do for you?"
"Not scream" Gabriel said moving towards her with a chloroform-covered cloth and an evil smile on his face, "I have a headache"
As they came up to a dark stretched Lincoln town car, Tegan's elbow smashed into her guards face as Isabel did the same.
Belinda just shrugged off her captor and as one the trio ran for it.
The dark man, known only as Damascus, watched the trio go with a bored expression. Of course, it had been too easy, it always was. Then with a sigh he glared at his minions, "Well, come on" he said taking to his heels after the three beautiful women.
It was a safe house, which Grace occasionally used to hide people that she needed to hide. It wasn't very big, the walls bare and the floor was tiled. So, it was also useful for these sorts of occasions.
Corina's eyes fluttered open and light, painful in its intensity, sent screaming streaks of pain through her system. "Wha..."
she began only to feel pain flaring from her jaw as a vicious backhand almost sent her back into the warm embrace of darkness.
Shaking her head slightly.
"We'll ask the questions" Grace said nodding to Gabriel as he circled the tied up woman. Somehow looking at her without sight, using only senses honed by nearly two hundred years of practice.
"What do you want?" Corina asked her voice thick with confusion. Another slap, open handed this time stinging and burning her cheek, the other side.
"Not too bright are we?"
Corina stayed quiet, fighting for consciousness. She felt a piecing pain from her scalp as she was tugged backwards by her hair. The powerful intensity of it caused her to scream out in pain.
"Yes, please do scream, the walls are sound proof" Grace informed her moving forward and tracing a gloved finger down over her bruised cheek.
"Now, you'll answer me won't you?" grace asked running the finger further down past Corina's neck to between her breasts and prodding hard.
Corina tried to push back out of the distasteful touch but was held still by the enormous power of Gabriel, "Y.Y.yes" she ground out her eyes flashing defiantly.
"Good girl" Grace said cupping Corina's breast in her gloved hand. Then moving in a flash she ripped Corina's blouse off and revealed her bra encased breast. She cupped it again and squeezed slightly, but there was the promise of much more strength in her grip. "Now, What is this man Muerte?"
"Huh?" Corina said only to scream as Grace crushed her breast and twisted.
"Don't play me girl?" she said her voice dark, her eyes glinting with sinister enjoyment. Then she let go of the now sobbing Corina and backed away slightly. Then with deliberate slowness she took out a cigar and lit it, puffing until the end glowed red. "Now what is this Muerte?" she repeated and started towards the scared Corina.
"I don't know anyone called THAT!" Corina yelled as Grace glared at her.
"Liar, your boyfriend"
"Xander?" Corina said confusedly. "What do you want with Xander?"
Vamping out Grace smiled and moved her hand slowly towards Corina's breast, the glowing end of her cigar finally touching down. Corina let out a heart rendering scream and the smell of burning flesh filled the room.
Xander stepped out onto nothingness, his natural ability keeping him level he walked across to the next roof, moving with fluid grace and his sword flashing around him in a complex pattern of movements that tricked the eye into thinking that the sword had actually past through his body at least once.
Then reaching the other roof he stopped and flipped backwards over thin air, his hands touching nothing, yet propelling him end over end as he flipped his way back to his own roof. Once there he reached out with his katana placing it into thin air where it disappeared. His eyes still closed he then perched on the very end of the wall, his bare chest moving in slow, and ever decreasing breaths as he slowed his heart and moved into a deep trance.
He curled his feet around and under his thighs in a full lotus position and rested his hands palms up onto his leg the forefinger and thumb of each hand making a ring. The pulse he could feel in that spiritual pose, slowed and became feint to his touch.
Then finally he slipped totally into his trance.
Corina's body convulsed as the knife was driven into her thigh, the pain was immense but she was unable to let go of consciousness, she couldn't allow them to win.
Grace smiled ferally and glared at the bruised and bleeding form of Corina, "He won't like you now" she said. "He'll dump you like the whore you are when he see's what I've done to that pretty little face of yours!"
Then, with that she drew the razor sharp knife across the woman's face cutting her deeply across the face and lips.
"See, you're ugly now" Grace continued her face set to a sneer but her voice soft and reasonable.
Corina glared up at her through the only eye not swollen shut and spat a mouthful of blood at her, unable to give voice to the hatred she felt for this woman. This was a demon that was standing before her with a woman's face and disgust written on the human visage.
Grace smiled and used her sleeve to wipe the blood from her face, smearing it in the process. Then she licked her sleeve tasting the blood. "Not bad, a little too slut for my taste through" She said then lashed out with a powerful backhanded blow.
Corina's neck snapped with the force of the blow and she died with a smile of triumph on her face. She had told them nothing!
Grace snarled when she realized what she had done.
"My Lady" Gabriel said passing her Corina's mobile phone, with Xander's number already selected. "Perhaps in the words of today's youth, we could have a text life?"
Grace smiled at him and it was predatory.
Belinda glanced around her; in each of her hands, she held the hand of one of her childer. Isabel to the right and Tegan to the left, two of the most important people in her life held together with grim determination. The vampires sent to bring them in weren't just chasing them they were hunting them.
Her heart hammering in her chest and the icy finger of fear creating a faint sheen of sweat on her face Isabel glanced around, "Have we lost them?" she asked
"No" a voice informed them form the darkness of the warehouse they had run in to.
Then out of the gloom dozens of glowing hate filled yellow eyes approached as twenty vampires walked towards them with Damascus in full game face leading them. They walked slowly, without pause like the unstoppable tide of time.
Belinda gripped her Childe's hands in her own tightly and shared a smile with them, "What is it you want?"
"With you? Nothing, we were going to use you for bait, but now we think it would be better to terminate you, as the bait has already been set"
"Terminate?" Tegan asked her jaw set in a defiant line.
Damascus nodded a cruel smile twisting his lips, "Yes human scum, Terminate"
Then as one, the vampires charged forward towards the weaponless Trio.
Xander was snapped out of his trance by an incessant buzzing in his pocket.
He blinked once and pulled out the slender electronic device and smiled when he saw the new message indicator.
Flipping it open he read the message and his smile became amused and sexy.
He pursed his lips thoughtfully and then smiled. Finally, he replied to the message and walked towards the apartment to get ready for a date.
The message he had received?
"Meet me at: -
Apartment 3b Kensington Gardens, Lwr. Est. Sde. @ 11pm I hve a surprise for U,
Don't be L8.
Luv
Corina"
Belinda glanced at her childer and an unspoken agreement went through them.
Then the three beautiful AterAnima smiled at the approaching Demonia.
As one vampire came close, Belinda's fist drew back, with age, practice and sheer fury she was fully able to drive her dainty appearing fist straight through the vampires face, pushing straight through and out the other side. Hate flared in her eyes as she watched brain mater and gore splatter against the vampire at it's back. Then, essentially its head having been removed the vampire exploded into ash.
Damascus's eyes flared wide open as she watched the slender brunette obliterate one of his best vampires without pause. Then Tegan and Isabel entered into the fray and he suddenly felt that he wasn't in full possession of all of the facts after all.
Tegan whipped around, her fist flying out in a spinning punch that sent her vampire flying over the head of Isabel's who was ducked down holding it's crotch where she had just inserted a foot.
Belinda twirled around bring her foot out to whip into a vampires face staggering it back as she reached into the cleavage of her dress and pulled out a silver dagger and went to work hacking and slashing at the oncoming vampires. Despite the fact that it takes a heart strike to kill with a silver dagger, the pain inflicted by any wound is tremendous. Her assailants quickly backed away, screaming in intense pain.
Tegan's hands slid up her own thighs and unsheathed twin dagger as Isabel did the same, now armed the tide had very little chance. Isabel as the youngest of the trio still had a good 700 years on the vampires currently charging them. Easily as strong as a master vampire of that age, she decapitated with almost every swipe of her silver dagger. Tegan was stabbing out with practiced hits that sent vampires flying into the air before they exploded into dust.
Belinda…
Belinda had a furious expression of pure hatred in her eyes as she watched her family from millennia ago being slaughtered, her childer attack and killed by beings similar to the ones attacking her now. She wasn't using the dagger much; her great age meant that she was well able to grab a vampire by the head and tug it's head off. Throwing the gruesome prize to one side she moved on to the next.
Reaching out she grabbed a vampire by the hand and moved around, her eyes wild and sent it sailing across the warehouse into a pile of boxes. A crash then puff of dust showed that it had been indeed staked by broken timber.
Apartment 3b Kensington Gardens 2nd October 1999 – 23:00
Xander smiled as he drove up to the swanky looking Apartment Complex. He knew that Corina wanted to move, he just hadn't realized that she had done it so quickly. He'd have to remember to tell her off for not asking for some help. After all, he was seriously strong; it wasn't like he couldn't move a few boxes around or anything.
Getting out of the grumbling Kasi, who didn't seem to like Corina for some reason Xander ran up the steps and in through the open door of the apartment complex. Then reading the numbers off of the doors, he quickly found 3b and knocked hesitantly.
The door swung open slightly as his knuckles hit the wood and Xander smiled even wider. Pushing the door open, he smiled and called out, "Hey Sex pot, I'm. HeRe."
Gaining no reply, he stepped into through the doorway and down the corridor making his way slowly to its end. Then he turned the corner and all the blood left his face, his smile freezing in a horrific parody of the happy expression it had been.
The room was bare, highly polished white floor tiles showed in stark relation to the large pool of blood. Walls, white, also splashed with dark red drying blood. In the center of this clinical environment was a chair. Tied upon that chair using garden wire was the husk that had once been the beautiful sexy and vivacious woman called Corina. Her head was sagged backwards at an impossible angle, her mouth gapped open, lips broken and bloodied. Missing teeth were visible from where he stood, knocked from her mouth and lying off to one side like forgotten Tic-Tacs. Her beauty marred by a long cut running from her crown and down across her face in a horrible diagonal line. One eye had been beaten to a pulp, closed and swollen; the other was open and glaring into the abyss. Her torso was bare; where Xander could see a plethora of burn marks and cuts, one nipple from her once full and proud breast looked to have been bitten off. Almost all of the visible skin was purple with bruising and the pool of blood beneath the chair was testimony to the amount of blood loss she had endured before what, Xander was sure, was blissful release from her abuse.
With a whimper, Xander's legs gave way from under him, his dark eyes glassy with shock. He may not have loved Corina, but she was deeply held in his heart. Their relationship was moving from sex and mutual pleasuring to a deeper, more meaningful relationship. Something that actually meant something, something that meant a lot to the young AterAnima leaning against the wall, his legs tucking under his chin and his arms wrapping around them. Big fat tears of pain and loss rolling from his eyes and flowing down the silk shirt he had donned to meet her.
All of his power, all of the preparation, training and soul searching had not made him ready for this. Corina was an innocent, a normal human that he had dragged into his life. Now, she had lost hers because of him.
Suddenly his phone buzzed, and in a haze, he brought it from his pocket. Seeing it was a message, he opened it on automatic.
"Hope you liked the Surprise,
Luv, Grace, X"
Tegan punched a vampire in the face, with much the same effect that her sire had, sending it to dust as she pushed it out the other side of it's head. Spinning round her wheel kick placed a wooden heel straight into a vampire's heart dusting it instantly. She pulled back her leg and readied herself for another attack only to be brought up short.
"I wouldn't bother" Isabel said, casually leaning back against a pillar filing her nails with a file she had got from god only knows where.
"Why?" Tegan said, and then answered herself. Her sire was wild, tearing through the vampires like they were made of tissue paper, the only sign that they were flesh and blood as the large amount of it covering the floor around her and her clothing.
"Jesus!"
"I know!" Isabel agreed, and almost casually, she retrieved her dagger from her thigh sheaf and sent it hurling off into the darkness. There was a howl of pain that sounded a lot like Damascus. "We better get that fucker, see what this is all about"
Tegan nodded and set off towards the sound, moving not on foot, but through the air, an inch from the ground. It was the AterAnima's version of running, only a lot faster and more deadly.
Damascus let out another howl of pain as Tegan grabbed him by the collar, lifting him into the air and flowing back towards Isabel. "Look Iz, I've got a live one"
"Wow, do you think it knows how to talk?" Isabel asked putting away her file and pushing off to stand upright, her blue eyes like ice.
"I'm not sure, Iz, shall we find out" Tegan said, flashing bright emerald anger at the now terrified Damascus. He hadn't seen anything like it in his long life, flying human, that were just as strong as vampires? It wasn't natural as far as he was concerned Vampires were at the top of the food chain, it was the way it was supposed to be, that was as his sire had taught him, and he never doubted Grace's word. Until Now!
"I won't talk" Damascus said defiantly.
"I would" Tegan said turning him to face where Belinda was ripping a vampire limb from limb. Just like she was a child removing spider legs. "Or we'll give you to her"
"What is she?" Damascus said, in awe, desire and outright fear.
Belinda terminated the vampire by popping off it's head like the lid of a Pringles packet and then turned to face the trembling Damascus, her pupils elongated and fangs hanging down from the roof of her mouth. Her face was covered in blood, her hands also; her normally immaculate hair was in disarray. She looked like one of the old gods, vengeful, angry and very, very, powerful.
"Oh god!" Damascus whimpered as Belinda stalked slowly towards him. "My sire, my sire sent me"
"To do what?" Isabel said, her voice sharp.
"I told you, bait, but I was called, the orders changed" Damascus said, his words coming in a rush as Belinda got closer and closer.
"Why?" Tegan asked shaking him like a cocktail.
"Because of the one they call Muerte, he disrupted her plans, lost something she had spent years getting a hold of" Damascus said as Belinda came to stand right in front of him. She reached out and with one hand grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him from Tegan's grasp.
"What else" Belinda said, her voice a growl.
"Uh, his girl, his other girl"
"Corina" Isabel breathed, "Oh no, what have you done" she whispered in pain.
"It was my sire, I cannot go against the orders of my sire." Damascus tried.
"Where" Belinda said, the one word full of powerful promises of pain.
The demonic vampire looked up into her eyes trembling in fear at the emotion he saw reflected in their inky depths.
Xander's eyes cleared of tears so fast; one could almost see the steam rising from them. His ire reached new heights as he glared at the single, simple message on the small LCD screen of his phone.
"Grace Arthur." Xander said his voice rough with emotion.
His eyes flicked to the beaten, damaged form of Corina and showed intense pain in their brown depths before they became, darker, and darker, finally becoming obsidian. The white room, dimmed, gray shades appearing where there could be none. The shadows crept across the tiled floor towards Xander like a faithful dog to its master. For that is what he was, he was the master of shadows darkness was his place now. His heartbeat hard in his chest, his mouth was set in a hard line and he stood fluidly, powerful muscles propelling him up to standing in a blink of the eye. Anger rolled off of him in waves of palatable intensity.
Turning so suddenly, his coat made a sound like a sail being caught in the wind. Xander left the small apartment in three strides and was moving back towards the entrance. Moments later he was striding down the street.
Kasi detected his exit from the apartment, read the physiological signs of his anger from her place on the opposite side of the street. These readings were not in line with the readings she normally got off of him after a visit with the brown haired woman. Worry etched in her circuits Kasi watched as he forgot all about her and started to stride down the street, his long coat-flaring out in his wake, his expression grim and set. Her Italian crafted and American enhanced engine purred into life, her gear stick shifting into first as she pulled away from the curb, turning on a dime to pull level with Xander.
She popped open her passenger door and Xander stopped dead and glared at it for a moment, then he smiled a sinister smile and walked around to get in the passenger side. The passenger door closed, and Kasi gave him control all the time reading the strange bio-signs of his body. Especially the unusual energy reading that was emitting from him. To ascribe a color to it, black waves were rolling off of Xander like a Tsunami as his eyes glittered jet.
Taking a quick breath, Xander took the steering wheel in both hands and his foot hit the accelerator like it was his worst enemy. The black super car jerked forward and squealed for a moment, specially bonded rubber finally found purchase and then the world became a blur of colors.
The window was rolled down and a small plastic device hurtled out, soon left behind as the Lamborghini rocketed down the street. IT hit the ground once, and exploded into its component parts.
Belinda walked out of her room, having changed into black jeans and a jumper, her hair tied back into a simple ponytail and her face devoid of all emotion. From their rooms Both Tegan and Isabel appeared dressed in the same way, eyes hard and jaw's firm.
"Any luck?" Belinda asked her eldest Childe.
"None, he's not answering his mobile" Tegan said walking over to Isabel's welsh dressed and running her hand underneath an edge.
Isabel walked over to a cupboard door and flung it open, she pulled out coats, and various other items of clothing until she could get to the back wall. Then she balled up her fist and sent it careening through the plasterboard. Whereupon, she tore out sections to reveal a state of the art armory fully stocked and ready for action.
Belinda sighed, her worry for her youngest childe visible in the hunch of her shoulders and the glitter in her deep blue eyes, "Where are you Xander?" she murmured out loud. She hadn't been expecting an answer, certainly not from the man himself.
"I'm here, Bel, where else would I be" Xander said, a quip, but his voice devoid as it was of emotion gave it a strangely sinister air.
"Oh thank god," the three women said almost as one and dive-bombed him. Xander soon found himself in a tangle of arms and legs. He extracted himself gently and smiled at them, the total lack of warmth in his eyes told them it was purely for their benefit.
"What happened?" Tegan asked, ever the straightforward one.
"Corina's dead" Xander said, the two words telling a story, with the way he said them.
"I'm sorry Xander" Belinda said reaching out and holding his face in a gentle hand, "I know she meant something to you"
"Yeah, she did, but I can't mourn her yet" Xander replied moving past her towards his room and weapons cache. "I have to kill the fuckers who did it first"
"We're coming with you" Isabel said in a no nonsense tone of voice.
Xander span round and faced her his eyes spitting black fire, "No, you're not"
"We fucking are" Tegan said backing up her fellow vampire.
"I don't want anyone else in the firing line"
"Xander!" Belinda said sharply bringing him to a full stop. "We are not like Corina, we have been in this battle longer than most countries have existed. No Demonia will be the death of any of us I can assure you!" She told him, her words crisp and sharp, driving nails of truth into Xander's thick skull.
He looked at the two others and they both nodded along with their sires' words.
"Fine, then get loaded up, we're starting at the bottom" Xander said. "I'm not going to kill Grace," he continued surprising them all, "I'm going to wipe her out"
Kasi had scanned the thousand's of database's that she currently had access to, a number that was increasing all the time as she hacked her way into new ones. Her scans had shown that Maloney's Gym was a front for a gambling ring that Grace had set up. It seemed that Grace was into everything from illegal gambling to prostitution and drug dealing.
Tegan walked into the gym part of the operation, dressed now in a short dress cut high on the thigh, and a very tight top.
Her red hair flamed out down her back and shoulders and pouting lips were covered in fire engine red lipstick. Her heels click clacked across the concrete floor of the gym as she made her way to the back office.
"Wait there, little lady!" a large Italian human male said pushing off of the wall and leering at her. "That's a restricted area you're heading towards"
Tegan turned and blinded him with a smile, "Is it?" she said in a sultry and smoky voice, "But I was ordered from Miss Santiago's" she said using one of Grace's brothel names.
"Oh really" the Italian said smiling charmingly at her. "In that case, how much, I could do with burning off a little extra steam"
"I'm here for a Mr. Sanders" Tegan told him batting her eyelids at him.
The guy paled slightly and nodded at the back door, "You better go straight in"
"Thanks" Tegan beamed at him and continued her course to the backroom.
"Is this the guy?" the man asked. He was tall at about 6'3" with close-cropped light brown hair. He was dressed in a netted top that showed a flash of large pectoral muscles. Black Leather jeans adorned his legs and he held himself in a ready stance, his entire bearing gave him an air of danger. What made Xander realize that he was dealing with the real deal was the intelligence and humor behind his blue eyes.
"Max Leech, Meet Xander Harris" Isabel said with a smile, she was dressed ready for her assignment, trendily with a cocktail type dress that still managed to hide an armory, in place of her normal gothic attire for her club.
Max smiled and reached out to take Xander's hand, "Hi, are you the guy, you know from the meat packing plant?"
Xander smiled in greeting and nodded, his eyes still obsidian with his anger though.
"Then it's a rare fucking pleasure to meet you. Vampires got my kid sister a few years back. Since then I've been doing everything I can to find new ways of killing them" Max said with fire flashing in his eyes.
"I know how you feel," Xander said, and he did. Jessie had been like his kid brother.
Max looked deeply into Xander's jet eyes and nodded, "Yeah, you do don't ya. Okay then Muerte, what can I do for you?"
"Word continues to spread I see" Isabel said with a smirk, "Now that I've done the intro…"
"Yeah, go for it" Xander said, "Meet you at the meeting point in three hours, or I'll come looking for you"
Isabel paused to kiss his cheek, the red lipstick mark ruining the hard image for a moment. She wiped it off as she said, "Likewise baby, so you better be there"
Xander nodded his eyes flicking to the packing crates that Max was currently stacking up.
Isabel left them too it by turning on her heel and walking away into the night.
Allowing himself a grim smile, Xander watched her go before turning back to the wizard of guns. "Okay, Max, what've ya got for me?"
"I've got ammo for those cannons of yours and a few toys" Max said his eyes lighting with a smile.
Belinda walked into the plush looking 'hotel' with a slight smile gracing her full lips. She was dressed sexy, long dress that fit her curves like a second skin, her make up artful and her smile abundant in sexual tension.
"Hello, Welcome To The Hotel Rivera, where you can forget your troubles" the madam said as she swept towards her new guest.
She was tall, with a ramrod bearing, fake blonde hair flowed down her back and her face was unnaturally white with foundation.
Red painted lips and green mascara completed a faintly horrifying picture. She was also a vampire.
Belinda smiled at her, "I'm not here for pleasure" she purred, "I'm currently looking for work"
The madam ran her gaze down Belinda's body with the air of an equestrian checking breeding stock. "You're quite pleasing" she said thoughtfully, "Have you worked in this area before?"
Belinda smiled, "I most certainly have, but some time ago" she answered honestly.
"I see, and you're here now, why?" the madam said suspiciously. There was very little chance that Belinda was wearing a wire, with THAT dress on, but she had to be careful.
"I was married, for a long time to an ex-client, I found myself bored and longing to return to my… true vocation." Belinda said with a foxy smile.
"Your ex husband"
"Has passed on to the other side," Belinda said again. One of the side effects of living as long as she had was that she could say she had done most things with total truth. She had worked as a lady of the night, and she had also been married to a client, who had indeed passed on. Of course, there had been a few thousand years and totally different professions, but it was still truthful.
The Madam smiled, "Then come into my office and we'll discuss your employment"
Xander walked in through the door and came face to face with a large bouncer; he knew the man was a vampire. In fact, he would be surprised if he weren't. This was after all a bar for vampires; in fact, it was a bar for Grace's clan.
"I'm sorry sir, this is a private club," the bouncer said with a pleasant smile.
"Oh, is it?" Xander said with a quizzical expression. "Funny, that, Grace told me to meet her here"
"Our lady? Asked you? A human?" the bouncer said his smile turning menacing, "I don't think so, who are you?"
Twin Desert eagles appeared in Xander's hands glinting gold and silver in the subdued lighting of the bar, "Muerte" Xander said the twin canons barking death at the vampire. Xander walked through the dust ignoring its presence as his guns tracked around the room he entered. It was a big square, with tables and chairs arrayed around the place. On those chairs were stunned and starting to move vampires. BANG, BANG, the guns talked, speaking death to those who moved first moving on to the next Xander continued to fire, dust spiraling to the floor in a fog with every shot. Moving around in a circle, Xander tracked and shot vampire after vampire, giving no quarter to his enemies.
Spinning around and down, Xander ducked a shot from behind the bar, the barman, also a vampire, had pulled out a pump action and was spitting bullets at Xander. Once he had ducked behind cover, a single DE appeared over the table and popped off a shot. Once he heard the unmistakable sound of a vampire dusting, Xander disappeared from behind the table, his powers giving him the ability to teleport behind the bar. Once he reappeared, he jumped up onto the bar and walked down it firing shots into the backs of vampires crouched behind overturned tables, but facing the wrong way.
As they started to turn towards him, he disappeared in a fog of darkness that dissipated into the air. He reappeared by the entrance and waited until the remaining vampires had stood looking around in fear. He casually dropped the clips of his guns, and then pointing them towards the floor, one of Max's gadgets came into play. A clip appeared from his sleeve and was inserted into the grip of each pistol. Then cocking them against his leg Xander was reloaded by time, the vampires had turned to face him.
Fear was etched onto their faces as they turned to face death himself.
With a dark smile, Xander looked up from under the brim of his felt hat, obsidian eyes becoming the very abyss itself. As the first vampire moved to escape it was turned to dust with a perfect heart shot, quickly afterwards the remaining vampires followed it back to hell.
Isabel danced her way across the club, heading towards a dark haired man wearing 'shades' that was hanging out at the edge of the dance floor. She danced her body in enticing wiggles, as she got closer. She felt the man suddenly look at her a cruel smile appearing on his face. His eyes ran down her lithe form staring at her long legs with lustful intent.
Isabel looked over her shoulder and smiled enticingly at him before grinding her body around in a move that thrust her curves out even further and exposed more of her thigh.
"Hi" he said, he was a greasy little man with no natural looks whatsoever, his confidence came more from his position than his looks.
Isabel smiled at him in an inviting way and continued to dance.
"Say, I've not seen you here before" he said moving in to dance beside her and leaning in to shout over the music.
"I haven't come here before" Isabel said her voice ditsy her eyes sexy.
"Well, you don't know what you've been missing darling" the guy said.
Isabel shrugged, "It's okay"
"Okay, this club is the best"
Again, Isabel shrugged, "I dunno, it's okay I suppose I just…" she trailed off.
The man smiled, "I know what you want honey, a little extra spice to your life, right?"
Isabel beamed at him.
"Come with me darling, we'll get you a little pep" the man said then continued conversationally, "You ever fucked on X?"
Isabel shook her head.
"Want to? I'll even throw in the X free" the man said raking her figure with his eyes as he led her away towards the back of the club.
Isabel just smiled enticingly causing the man to smile and look up at the heavens, "I fucking love being me" he crowed.
Xander walked into the Irish themed bar unhindered by any bouncer. This one had been stupid enough to be standing outside in the cold New York Winter. Well, he'd be warm enough now he was in hell. He made it into the center of the L shaped room and leant back against the wall smiling. Then he brought his hands together in a tremendous clap that attracted the attentions of all present.
"Hi, I wonder if you can help me. I'm looking for a load of suckers that have a destiny with me?"
"Yeah, who are you?" a nearby vampire asked standing threateningly "Apart from order in, of course?"
"Let's just say, you've cheated me once, you won't again" Xander replied the shadows around him suddenly becoming more pronounced and longer.
"What, what the fuck are you on about?" the vampire asked with a sneer moving forward to poke Xander hard in the chest.
Xander looked at him, his eyes jet with hate, "I'm Muerte blood sucker, and you loose" with that he reached out sideways into his 'pocket' and drew out his glowing Katana.
The vampire's eyes had time to widen before his head was removed and sent flying off into a corner covering one of his brethren in dust as it arrived. The body became a pillar of ash at the same time and was dashed away as Xander span around, a small device appearing in his hand. He chucked it into the short part of the L shaped room and ducked behind the wall.
An incredible flash and bang later, bits of vampire came sailing out. Quickly disappearing into ash. Howls of pain came from behind him as snarls of rage came from ahead of him and Xander just smiled.
He stepped back up the wall and pushed off sailing towards the snarling vampires at a rate of knots. Turning into a whirling dervish of death, his sword met neck and head as he cleaved a path. All the way to the other end of the room, then his feet met the ground again and he twirled around with his sword, taking more heads. He walked towards the few remaining vampires his eyes obsidian lumps of fury and his sword glowing vengeance.
Mr. Sanders, a vampire of 150 years of age exploded from the back door that led to the gambling rooms, with everything from roulette wheels to poker tables. The thick oak door disintegrated into kindling as he was thrust back into the room and rebounded off of the ring in the center. Then smiling like a loon Tegan gingerly stepped over the remains of the door and wagged a finger at him.
"When a Lady says no, she means it" she admonished him. Her elbow launched backwards into the face of a vampire and a stake appeared from nowhere to be thrust into the stunned creatures chest.
"Now, where was I?" Tegan said her lips pursed mock thoughtfully. "Ah yes" she said, and hitched up her skirt flashing creamy white thigh in the process. At the top of her leg strapped to the inside of her thigh was a small black device she had got from Max before leaving Valance. She twisted it and casually tossed it over her shoulder and walked into the gym fully.
The Italian man from before glowered at her, "You're not a hooker" he accused.
"Jezz, you're sharp" Tegan commented with an eye roll.
"Bitch" the man said and made a swing for her, which Tegan caught in one slender hand and applied pressure. The man's eyes bugged out and his knees buckled as she locked his wrist upwards and forced him to his knees.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to call a lady names?" she said before her foot lashed out and knocked him into the black embrace of unconsciousness. A flash and bang exploded from the gambling room, flushing it out and sending bits of vampire skittering across the floor before dusting.
"Now, whose next?" she asked with a sexy smile.
Belinda glowered down at the trembling form of the Vampire Madam, "Any humans in tonight?" she asked.
The madam shook her head, unable to speak due to her missing teeth.
Belinda smiled, "That's good to hear" she said and reached out to grasp the madam's head between her hands. Then she twisted and pulled, with a sick pop the female vampires head was tugged from the spine and it dusted.
Cleaning her hands off on each other Belinda reached out to the side, her arm disappearing to the elbow joint. She bit her lip as she fished around in her pocket dimension before retrieving what she had been looking for. A device about the size of a shoebox with wires on several sticks and a clock appeared. Her eyes glinting with dark humor she attached it to the underside of the 'casting couch' and set the timer.
Walking with a sway to her hips Belinda left the room. Smiling at a few of the Vampire 'johns' she walked to a room the opposite end of the building and walked in without pause.
She chuckled slightly as she interrupted two male vampires, one in the act of whipping the other, "Excuse Me," she said smiling at them, "I'm the new maid"
Nodding the vampire returned to his painful, for the customer, task. Walking into the bathroom Belinda fished in her pocket dimension once again and pulled out an identical device. Fixing it into the bathroom cabinet she then grabbed a few towels and walked out of the bathroom. The male vampire from before was now in full game face and feeding from his client.
With a nod, Belinda walked from the room, to make her way downstairs and repeated the process in three other rooms dotted around the 'hotel'.
She walked to the door with a half smile on her face and paused before looking back her fangs flashing as she smiled. Then with that final look she walked out of the door and made her way quickly across the street.
Her head tilted to the side as she counted off the seconds, her sense of time had drifted over the millennia from no sense to the highly accurate feeling of the passage of time she now had. Exactly 30 seconds after she had left there was a huge flash followed a fraction of a second later by an almost physical wall of sound as the entire Hotel lit up and became a towering fireball.
Car alarms for streets around were set off and the building was reduced to rubble with extra amounts of dust.
Xander walked out of the entrance with a covering of pale cream dust on his shoulders like a case of almost terminal dandruff.
Brushing his shoulders off with a distracted air, Xander glanced either way and ran across the road to the waiting glass black car. He slipped into the already open door and closed it behind him.
Kasi's sensor swept back and forth twice as she scanned the surroundings, "Clear"
"Do it?" he intoned.
The Four-Leaf Clover was blown away in a gale of light and sound.
"Where to?" Kasi asked her tone professional.
"Smokey Joes" Xander growled his expression set.
The man, John Isabel had found out, was looking at her with a lascivious air, "So how you going to pay for that blow?" he asked.
Isabel smiled at him, "How about I return the blow" she said her eyes dancing.
She'd never seen a man unbuckle his belt and drop his trousers so fast in her long life. She looked down at his manhood and smirked. "This won't take long" she said hiding the sarcasm of that comment and sank to her knees.
John's eyes rolled back and he let out a satisfied breath, for about a second until he felt intense pain flower from his crotch. He screamed out in a blood curdling fashion and his hands went to his crotch as Isabel stood with a look of complete distaste on her face. Turning her head to the side, she spat out the remains of his pride.
"You've got about thirty seconds to live, without help. I suggest you tell me where the drugs are?"
Scared out of his wits John folded like a bad poker player, "Through there, the freezer"
Isabel smiled and licked his blood from her lips, "Thanks"
"You said you'd help" the man cried out desperately.
Isabel looked around, "I'm sorry I'd help, I really would, but I can't find it, it's too small" she said and turned away from him.
Turning paler by the second the man sank down to his knees, "What about me?"
Isabel half turned back and smiled at him, fangs flashing, "What about you, you're already dead" she said and ignored his whimpering plea's for help. Instead, she walked over to the freezer and opened the door. Once she had, she found that it was a fake, the whole front pulled out to reveal a much larger room behind it.
Smiling Isabel set to work as John's pleas became quieter and more desperate.
The bar was larger than the other two; this one was a more open demon bar like arrangement than the two private, Grace's clan only, establishments that Xander had visited before.
The place was like a Hollywood set, when star trek was filming. Demons of all shapes and sizes were littered around the place. But Xander wasn't here for them, yet, instead he was looking for one man in particular. In 'discussion' with a vampire back at the Clover, he had found out that Gabriel often came here for a drink and a 'gossip' or to use it's proper name, information gathering.
Muerte walked down the steps leading from the front door with no expression on his face. Demons shied away from his powerful presence as he stalked the longhaired and tall man he had spied talking to a red skinned demon at the other end of the bar.
As he entered Gabriel's Sphere of detection Gabriel looked up, sightless eyes fixed on him and a smile flitted across the handsome mans face.
"Thor" Gabriel said to the red demon, "Would you do me a favor and remove that human with the hat for me"
Thor turned and smiled, a terrible sight with his long pointed death and glowing orange eyes. "Of course, old friend" he said sibilantly.
Standing to his full height, Thor was seven feet tall, and his highly muscular body was covered in scars on the thick leathery looking skin. His face was a grimace of amusement as he watched the admittedly powerful feeling human come towards him.
"I'm here for him" Xander said nodded to the now standing Gabriel.
"You'll find that most here won't like that," Thor said pleasantly.
"Oh, why's that?" Xander asked in a surprisingly conversational tone.
"Because he's paid us all so well in the past, and will in future," Thor answered his clawed hands spreading and unsheathing more claws for the fight.
"That's a shame" Xander said, "Because the banks about to close. Besides, after tonight, there'll be no money left in his accounts. I've got a friend working on them as we speak, and his biggest money makers" Xander glanced at his watch, "Are now closed, permanently!"
Thor growled, "That, wasn't bright human"
Xander leaned forward, his smile disappearing, "Guess what mother fucker!" he said punching out straight through Thor's tough hide and grasping his spine in a tight grip. "I'm not, I'm Ater Anima Lamia"
The elderly Thor had just enough time to register surprise before his spine was snapped and ripped from his skin. His flesh dissolved into black oily goo his spine remaining in Xander's hand. Glaring at Gabriel, he moved forward only to have another, even larger demon. This one bright blue with a pink flash down its face, stop him.
Xander span Thor's spine in his hand and hit the elephantine Demon across the face sending it flying across the room.
He turned back to find that Gabriel had made a run for it. He turned towards the front door just in time to see a flash of coat tails, before it swing closed.
"Fuck" Xander muttered. Suddenly a tide of demonic entities blocked his path. He glared at them hatefully before disappearing in a swirl of darkness, reappearing at the door and flipping them the finger.
Grace looked over her club, with a slight smile gracing her lips.
She had built it from the ground up after the previous owner had met with their untimely demise by her hand. At the time it had been more of a warehouse than a club and didn't have the multiple split-level floors. The sound system in the club was now one of the best in New York even when compared to some of the 'dance' clubs with big name DJ's. She was proud of her achievements. Since that day nearly one hundred year's ago when she had set foot in America for the first time she had fallen in love for it. It was truly was the land of opportunity for an entity such as herself.
Grace was currently standing at the top layer, near the entrance to her private offices, she was waiting for a visitor she was sure would come, and one that was currently running late. After she had killed the brown haired girlfriend of the much-vaunted Muerte she had expected him to come at her all guns blazing and make the classic mistake all of his kind did.
Underestimating her, it was a common mistake to make and one that always proved to be costly and usually was mortally fatal.
So far, however, Muerte was not doing what she had expected and that worried her slightly. She had seen off many such vampire hunters in her time. Demon slayers and various other amateur clowns' that thought he or she could be the next Van Helsing!
Well, Muerte might be acting a little differently but Grace couldn't foresee any great problems with him.
"Mistress!" A panting vampire distracted her from looking over her club and she turned with a frown at his tattered look.
"What is it?" she asked her childe.
"Muerte, he comes for us," he said. "He's taken out five of our businesses in the last hour"
Grace frowned, she knew that she would anger the man; she hadn't expected him to react like that. "Five you say?" she asked, "Which ones?"
"The Hotel Rivera, The Gym, The Cube's drug store and two of our private clubs. I managed to sneak out of the 'Clover' just before it was raised to the ground"
Grace trembled with anger; the clubs were of little significance accepting for her childer inside. The businesses were her best and created the most money. She pushed past her minion with him following in her wake. She swept into her back room and logged onto her computer, about to warn the other businesses with a special program that had been set up that sent an alarm.
The screen however was not her normal start up screen; instead, it was an intricate Ankh design. The ankh itself rotated from black to gray to white and back again hypnotically at her and a message flashed up on the screen.
"Hope you like the Surprise,
I'm coming for you,
Luv, Muerte"
Her normal desktop appeared and a window opened showing her bank account numbers and the totals beside them. Her already pale complex shifted to pearly white as she saw nil appearing next to each.
"My Lady, what are we to do?" her minion asked fearfully.
Grace turned around her eyes flashing fire, "Get the cattle out, and call in all of our family. We make our stand here"
As the minion turned to do her bidding she stilled him with a word, "Wait"
He turned back, "Mistress?"
"What of Gabriel"
"A call was just received, he is on his way back"
Grace breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you" she said, to god or the devil, which ever was listening.
Xander's eyes were fixed on the TVR Chimera racing ahead of him. Nothing else mattered in his world, not the stop signs and not even the honking of horns as he cut people up left right and center. Even at this late hour New York was alive with movement, people, cars and other forms of transport continued their trek across the huge city. Lights glittered through the night sky and signs advertised wares in attractive eye catching designs, all of which were missed by Xander.
Kasi, on the other hand was actually enjoying the view, even at well over the posted speed limit she was able to take in her surroundings with a degree of ease that most humans would gladly lose a limb for. She wasn't even in control of herself, Xander was driving, which meant that even more cycles were free in her enormous electronic brain to look and watch and think.
When she had first 'hitched her wagon' to Xander it had been out of gratitude. Now, that was still an element, but she had seen his quest first hand. He had taken her out to see a vampire, and held it for her to scan. Once that hurdle was out of the way, she was willing to believe. She had taken up the rallying call of Xander's quest and now she worked for good, despite the Foundation's efforts to rob her of any future.
Kasi, did the AI equivalent of a wince, a spike in her processor power, as Xander slew round a bend way too fast, and yet still managed to keep control and gain distance on the muscular TVR they were following. Inside of the car was Gabriel, head henchman of Grace, killer of Corina. Kasi, didn't much like Corina, having met her only a few times she wasn't truly in a position to judge her. Despite that small fact, Kasi didn't, or rather, hadn't liked Corina. She had been a woman that had Xander's affections and, though she would never admit it, Kasi didn't like that idea. That said, she didn't deserve to die, not in Kasi's view, and that is what had happened. All because she had been seen with Xander and Grace had wanted to know more about Xander. Or So Kasi, supposed. It could be any number of reasons, but statistically speaking it was more likely to be that.
"He's going to the Garage" Xander said finally taking the vampires route into consideration. There had been a moment of complete confusion for Xander as he had seen the blind vampire get into the car and drive off. Luckily, a glimpse had been made of the actual driver of the vehicle. An attractive minion dressed in a chauffeur outfit.
"That is what I surmised also," Kasi told him, not telling him that she had figured that out two miles back.
"Is there a short cut?" Xander asked.
"There is not," Kasi said after a moment during which she had checked a GPS satellite and synchronized the information with a highly accurate satellite map.
"Fuck" Xander swore.
"Don't…" Kasi began.
Xander winced "Sorry" he said in a placating way. The last thing he wanted to do was piss of his car. Not that the strangeness of that statement didn't pass through his thoughts.
Across the street, in a quiet alleyway Belinda was leaning back against the wall, totally invisible to the naked eye as she melded with her surroundings. Being her age, she had learnt a few tricks.
Tegan walked into the alley with Isabel at her side and Belinda smiled to herself. Two out of three was good so far, but now where was the newest and very important member of her family. She stepped out from her concealment with a smile of greeting.
"Hello"
The two women both smiled at her, "Hi!" Tegan said.
"Hiya, what's with the ghost club?" Isabel said nodding her head towards the deserted looking club.
"I believe, that Grace has been warned that Muerte comes for her" Xander said appearing out of the shadows and startling even Belinda.
"You're getting good at that" Belinda commented with a hand on her heart.
Xander smirked at her, "Parked up the street, I wanted to have a sneaky peak at the club"
"You think she knows?" Tegan asked her eyes intent and concentrated on their situation.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure of it. Her left hand vamp just went in, Gabriel."
"He saw you?" Isabel asked, pulling out a Berretta 9mm and checking it over.
All three women had taken a moment to change from their 'work' clothes and slipped into something a little more sensible.
They were dressed as before, black slacks and jumper. Both Tegan and Isabel also wore a rolled up Balaclava to cover their shining hair. Belinda's almost midnight black hair was not a problem but was tied back securely.
"In a manner of speaking, he's blind, but doesn't let it bother him" Xander replied looking over at the shut up club. He was dressed in his Muerte gear. Black leather jeans, soft black leather shirt, his black leather coachman's jacket was covering those giving another level of protection. His fedora was missing, lost in the skirmish at the demon club. He noticed Isabel looking at his head and smiled apologetically at her, "Sorry, a demon ate it!" he quipped.
Isabel flashed her brilliant white teeth at him, and a smile was in her blue eyes, "I'll let you off" she said then pursed her lips, "This time"
"What's the plan…Death?" Tegan said with an impish smile.
"Alrightly, you want a plan…" Xander said trailing off with a slight frown.
"That would be nice, Xander please tell me you have a plan" Belinda said with a slight frown of worry.
Xander flashed a smile at her, "A Plan! Oh do I have a plan?" he said his smile shark-like and scary as hell.
"Oh boy" Tegan mumbled, "We're fucked"
Half turning to face her, his eyes faded to obsidian and his smile became more than, slightly, evil "No, they are!" he said with a voice to match his gaze.
"So, What's the plan then?" Isabel pushed him for an answer.
"I'm going to get Kasi to blow the bloody doors off" he said hamming a Michael cane, "Then I'm going to run in and kill everybody that moves, and then the ones that didn't"
"You call that a plan?" Tegan asked stunned.
Xander faded into the night, "It's the best I've got," he said just before leaving them as he teleported in hops to Kasi.
"I hate it when he does that!" Isabel said with a huff.
Tegan turned to her sire, "That eye thing, not a good sign Bel" she warned.
"He can handle it" Belinda told her.
"What the fuck are you two talking about?" Isabel demanded looking back from where Xander had been, to the two conversing women.
Belinda glanced at Tegan, "We'll tell you later" they both said and started to check their weapons. Isabel narrowed her eyes at them she was about to push when a low rumble filled her ears.
Just then, Kasi squealed to a halt with Xander standing calmly on top of her. He tensed his legs slightly as she came to a sudden stop, and that was the only sign that if he were human, he would have been hurled from his perch.
"Damn!" Tegan said as she watched Xander glare at the doorway. His coat billowing out backwards as he drew his twin DE pistols and walked down the windshield and then off of the front of the molecular bonded car, his weight not even felt by Kasi.
"I think we did a good job on the image, hey?" Isabel put in her heart hammering as Kasi pulled back with Xander stood off to one side.
"No offence Iz, he looks better without the hat" Tegan remarked, "Though it does help keep his anonymity"
Isabel shrugged, she didn't much care about the hat, and Tegan was right he did look better. That strange night/shadow fading thing he had going for him did more for his anonymity that a felt hat. She was rather happy that he so liked her pistols; the twin canons had been a main feature in all the tales she had been picking up around the place of Muerte.
"One Silver, One Gold, Death comes for all, I'm told" Isabel muttered with a twisted smile.
Tegan glanced back at her with an incredulous expression, "Please tell me I didn't just hear you making up a limerick!
Isabel smiled sweetly, "Who me?"
Kasi revved her engine; charging her weapons systems using the extra power. From either gull-winged door, a rocket appeared, primed and ready for action. Her red sensor swept back and forth, as she checked and rechecked her target.
"He's beautiful," Belinda said, finally joining the conversation. Her eyes were fixed on where Xander stood as still as stone and as readable. He was stood proud, his jaw set in a determined line, eyes dark obsidian that stood in judgment of all who they touched. His coat was flapping around him slightly in the wind. His twin Israeli Desert Eagle pistols gleamed against the backdrop of black leather. His hair was tousled, longer by far than when she had first met him. The dark lines around his eyes, a side effect by his magic use, somehow accentuated his eyes into pools of timeless knowledge. The slightly feminine cast it lent to his face actually made him more handsome and the combined effect of his training and The Skill Crystal's had filled him out into an impressive figure.
Beside Belinda, both Tegan and Isabel had to agree with their Sire. Xander had become something that was beautiful, like a Tiger as it pounced.
Xander looked over to the equally beautiful Kasi and inclined his head slightly. The twin rockets flared their engines and leapt across the distance separating them from the doors. They slammed into it at the same time and reduced the frontage of the club into rubble and leaving a large hole where once there had been a door.
Through it all Xander stood proud as debris and flames leapt up almost touching him and yet never quite reaching him. Once the initial explosion had passed he then walked forward with single-minded determination to do murder to something that was already dead.
Tegan, Isabel and Belinda looked at each other. They hadn't been included in Xander's plans, but that didn't mean they had to stay where they were. With a joint smile they surged forward to backup their friend, their family member and the man now know as Death.
Grace Arthur stood at the very top of her club, waiting with her aide de camp and close personal 'friend' Gabriel. They were among the most powerful vampires in the city of New York and yet one man and three women had corralled them into their own club. The sound system was still pumping out tunes and the lights still flashed and whizzed. The large projector was sending images of death and destruction onto the screen.
The rumble of the front doors disappearing galvanized them into action and her lover led Grace into her backroom office, leaving their minions and what remained of their coven to face Death alone. Over confidence led the pair to dally in the office with monitor screens showing every aspect and angle of the club. They were sure that the sheer amount of numbers in the club would rule the day. Obviously, they had never heard the expression that one man can do what an army could only hope to accomplish.
Xander stepped through the still flaming doorway untouched by the heat of the fire, thanks to Tegan's spell casting, his obsidian gaze burned across the club taking in the numbers and positions of the various vampires in the visible area of the club.
Then he smiled, slowly and wolfishly. He slipped off the safeties to his guns and took a long breath, the smell of burning detritus filled his nose and the glare from the flames silhouetted his form. Then he stepped forward. He butted a vampire in the face with the handle of his pistol as it rushed at him before spinning round and placing a foot in the face of another.
Then he stepped forward again, waiting as four vampires rushed him from different angles. As they almost reached him, he disappeared in a puff of black fog and they ran full tilt into each other collapsing into a heap on the floor.
Several meters to the left a vampire suddenly flew up backwards, it's neck broken by strong hands and finally it was tossed aside. It's partner span around to face where it had been, confusion etched on its face as it watched the vampire hurtling towards the other side of the room. Then it heard a bang from in front of it and hadn't even turned before it dissolved to dust. Xander once again molded into the darkness appearing directly in front of a very surprised vampire and firing once, he was gone again before it had turned to dust.
He then appeared on top of the groaning heap and four downward shots later he was standing on firm ground again walking forward firing sideways and forwards with different guns before swirling into jet mist again. Vampires looked around in fear listening for any sign of death coming for them. The music had been left on to disorientate Xander, now it foiled their efforts to place him. He briefly reappeared standing on top of a railing before his foot whipped out and sent a vampire hurtling forwards into another, both went down in a muddle of hands and legs that was un-muddled as his pistols spat twice.
Then he was gone, yet again. Only, to suddenly appear in mid air directly in front of three other vampires. Using his power of flight he span gaining more speed than he could on the floor his leg reached out at the perfect moment and slammed across three demonic guises. As the vampires growled at where he had been, he appeared behind them and placed three specially doctored rounds into their hearts.
As 'Dementia' pounded in the background Xander slipped in and out of the shadows killing with a single shot before moving on.
Fear was rampant as he moved among the vampires. All they heard were shots and screams of the dying. Occasionally they heard the vicious crack of a neck breaking, followed by a strangled gurgle. The poof of dusting vampires filled the club, sounding even over the music.
By time The Trio had arrived in the club, Xander had already cleared the first floor and was walking with slow sure steps up the stairs to the next level.
Tegan looked around at the piles of dust her eyes wide whilst Belinda looked pleased with herself. Isabel didn't waste time with thought instead she walked over to the security office and jury rigged it back into operation, trying to find Xander and instead finding only a trail of dust.
Xander's head appeared at the top of the stairs and was almost removed by a shotgun blast. He ducked under it as he felt danger, then without looking he tracked the sound of the blast and let off a shot, dusting the gun-totting vampire disdainfully.
His anger was growing exponentially with every step and he used less stealth and more rage, his eyes seemed to bleed black.
Where only the irises had been pupil black, now his entire eye was turning darker slowly turning obsidian with fury.
He walked through the central level. A vampire leapt out at him with a snarl of rage only to land on its face as Xander disappeared from its grasp. Then he felt a pressure on its back as Xander reappeared where he had left off and stamped down hard. The vampire's own rib pierced its dead heart and Xander dropped down to the floor and continued to walk. His guns tracked out both sides barking vampire's oblivion into dark corners. A vampire appeared the other end, just before the stairway, and a machine gun sputtered death at Xander. Jumping off to one side, Xander rolled his guns following the vampire's movements before spitting their own fatality's at the Machine gunner. The vampire also dived off to one side spraying lead around the room. Nailing a few of his friends in the process. Xander faded into the shadows, incorporeal and as insubstantial as nighttime.
The vampire looked out from behind its protective cover yellow eyes probing even the darkness of the dimly lit arena it was in. There were some advantages to being a predator after all. However, it was no longer the hunter, and instead the hunted.
As the vampire stood slowly searching, the dark area shadows formed behind it and coalesced into the form of Xander. With hate filled back eyes, Xander reached out and grabbed the vampire from behind.
With a yell of sudden fear the vampire was pulled backwards into a knee that broke it's back. Then Xander twisted the vampire's head around silencing its screams. Lifting it with one hand, he tossed it over the railing down to the dance floor a floor below. Then he turned back to the stairs and started up them, one step at a time, without hurry but with glacial determination to reach his goal.
Isabel watched all of this with a hanging jaw. Belinda was startled as the vampire smashed into the dance floor and Tegan walked over to the gurgling heap. A few seconds and a piece of timber later and she was dusting off her hands.
The final floor was much smaller than the proceeding two and was essentially a chill out room. Comfortable chairs were arranged into a barricade behind which vampires laid in wait with automatic weapons and a sneer on their faces. The sneer, however, was covering the fear they held in their blackened unloving hearts. All they had heard were the screams of their comrades, not the cheers of triumph; surely, Death truly had come to reclaim them. Then Xander appeared at the top of the stairs. His hair tousled gothically, his face pale, and his blackened eyes standing out in his grim visage. His coat flowed out behind him with unnatural wind and the shadows seemed to be hugging him. In his hands, pointing down at the floor were his guns. One was gleaming Gold, the other Shining Silver. With a deft movement of his hand, Xander popped out the clips.
The vampires smiled at each other and rose from their protective barrier. Xander's hands came up with his already loaded guns and they had time to register his smile before they died, again. It was feral, wolfish, shark like and nasty.
Lowering his pistols Xander walked over to the now empty battlement and looked over the edge, checking that he wasn't leaving any alive. Then his eyes turned to the closed door of Grace's office, then at the camera above the door. A single pistol rose.
Grace looked at the face of Xander in the monitor with fear on her face. She had been alive for 200 years; she didn't want to die, not here, not like this, and preferably never. The screen turned to static and a muffled shot was heard through the thick metal of the door.
"My Lady, we must leave" Gabriel said urgently.
"Where?" Grace said, her mind stupid with shock.
"The special exit" Gabriel told her moving forward to man handle her into her chair.
"What about you?" she asked looking into his dead eyes.
"I will remain and hold him off, you must remain concealed in the basement until you can then escape… my love" Gabriel said cupping her face gently.
Smiling at him Grace nodded, "If you do not follow, I will avenge your death" she told him and pressed a button on her desk.
A panel opened up under her feet and a small dumb waiter type elevator lowered her and the chair into the floor. As soon as her head had disappeared, the panel slid back into place.
Turning back to the Entrance Gabriel waited for Xander to arrive with his arms folded across his chest. A walking cane in one hand dangling and his large frame leaned back on the desk. A faint smile reached his face as he heard the door thump. Then silence.
After a few moments he smiled more widely, "Welcome" he said as the shadows rolled up in front of him and became the solid form of Xander Harris, no, of Muerte, death personified.
Xander didn't reply instead stared into Gabriel's unseeing eyes. Then he placed his guns back in their holsters and unleashed a punch.
Gabriel felt it coming and leant to one side, his hands swinging free. With one, he grasped the top of his cane and the other the body of it. Then with a twist whilst still in motion he unsheathed the concealed sword held within.
Unexpected the blade sliced across the front of Xander's shirt, enchanted it sliced through the soft leather and into the skin below it.
With a hiss of pain Xander backed off and glared at Gabriel, "For a blind man, you sure do have some moves" he remarked dryly, touching a hand to his bleeding torso and feeling his blood between thumb and finger.
"Thank you, My Disability Councilor would be happy to hear you say that"
"Where is she?" Xander asked snapping back to the point at hand.
"Why would I tell you that, it won't do you any good, you're about to die" Gabriel said and launched an attack, feinting to the right and swiping to the left of Xander's body. Only to be met by an immovable block.
Frowning at the feel and the sound Gabriel had to ask, "Where did you get a sword from?"
"My pocket" Xander replied swinging an attack of his own towards Gabriel's neck.
Gabriel reacted perfectly, bringing his sword up in a classical block to still the attackers blade. Only it didn't. He heard the chink of part of his blade hitting the floor just before he felt burning from his neck. He turned slowly, to face Xander, face on. "What?" he said, or tried to, he found suddenly that his voice wouldn't work. He brought a hand up to his neck accidentally pushing his head off in the process.
Xander was already looking around the office when the poof of the elderly vampire returning to dust sounded in the small room.
He ran his hand over every surface, under ever edge until finally he sat in Grace's chair and ran a tired hand over his face, then he ran his hand under the desk and found what he had hoped would be there. He had yet to meet a vampire dumb enough not to leave itself an exit strategy.
His expression set, Xander triggered the button and went to finish it.
"Where the hell is he?" Tegan said pacing back and forth.
"I don't know he was just in front of a door on the top floor. Then he shot out the camera. Now, I've got no clue" Isabel said throwing her hands up in the air.
"Damn it" Tegan yelled, her ire overflowing.
"For someone who supposedly doesn't even like him, you're mighty testy" Isabel commented with an ironic lilt to her voice and a smirk on her lips.
Tegan glowered at her, "Find him Iz, then I can chew him a new one for leaving us hanging"
Isabel nodded, "Right there with you"
Belinda smirked at them and then jumped sideways with the speed and grace of a cat as a shower of blue lights appeared at her side. As the lights faded Memphis appeared with a large smile on his face, "Hey Bel" he said by way of greeting.
"Talking of Bells he should wear one" Tegan said glaring at the trench-coated man.
"He's an angel, he's aloud to make me jump" Belinda said hugging the aforementioned being affectionately.
"I don't believe in Angels" Tegan said.
"Oh, now you've got to clap" Isabel put in innocently.
Memphis frowned, "That's Fairies and I don't like the intimation"
"So, who the F… is he?" Tegan said somehow managing to not swear in the presence of a possible angel.
"I'm Memphis, and the reason you're not with Xander is because this is his task"
"Okay dungeon master, when do I get a go" Tegan spat.
"Feisty isn't she" Memphis said with a jerked thumb in the red heads direction. "You know Belinda's hopes for Xander?" he asked stalling Tegan's riposte
Isabel nodded, "We do"
"Well, she's not the only one that hopes he will succeed in his quest" then he turned to Belinda with a frown, "Although upstairs are going nuts about that last crystal you gave him"
"What the hell is the big deal about that crystal anyway?"
"I'll tell you all at the same time later. I just wanted to see how our boy 's doing?"
"We don't know" Isabel said miserably, "I can't find him" she said indicating the blank monitors.
"Hmm, well we can't have that, now can we" he said reaching out to touch a monitor" Xander's face appeared on it and from his features he appeared to be moving downwards.
"I'm actually here to check on you guys as well," Memphis said conversationally as he watched the screen intently.
"Huh, why?" Tegan asked.
Belinda smiled, "He wants to make sure we've not corrupted the chosen"
"There's that expression again" Isabel commented, but was distracted by Xander's face suddenly becoming intense. "Oh, something's happening" she said causing the others to crowd around the small screen.
Excruciatingly aware that Grace was both much more slender and shorter than he, Xander painfully extracted himself from the too small lift and dropped silently down to the floor. He was in pitch black and at a disadvantage. His night sight was so far beyond humans it wasn't funny. Though his eyes worked more like a cats, taking in all of the available light to enable him to see. Which was fine, as long as there was some light, even if it was just Moonlight.
Down here, in what he suspected was the basement of The Garage; there was no light whatsoever. Vampire's eyes conversely were powered by their demonic energies and as such needed no light to see by, instead seeing something that resembled a starlight scope.
Grace watched as Xander dropped to the floor and glared sightlessly around him. Realizing that he couldn't see Grace smiled and shifted into her game face fully, to enhance her sight even further making it plain and simple for her to see everything.
Moving with all the silence of her kind, she moved towards her prey with murderous intent.
Xander looked around, even shifting into his version of a game face, elongating his pupils and drawing in all available light to see. Only there was none.
Suddenly he felt a set of razor sharp claws rake across his face and back peddled away from the stinging pain swinging wildly into the darkness, feeling nothing and hitting only air. Breathing hard, he listened as hard as he could for any sign of his attacker.
A foot in his nuts sent him to the floor with a yelp of pain, only to have a fist smash into his face at full vampiric force sending him onto his back. He kicked out with his legs and lashed out with his fists again hitting nothing.
He jumped back up only to hit his head on a pipe, then moving more carefully he felt above him and moved out from under the pipe. Another sharp pain bloomed in his face as another set of five scratches appeared.
Bleeding and breathing hard Xander ducked back under where he knew the pipes were and continued to move back, hoping to get away from Grace. His back hit a wall and reaching above his head he found that it was fine to stand, so he did.
A waft of air warned him, this time, that another blow was coming and he blocked what could have been a leg, grasping outwards he came in contact with a smooth calf and threw up his hand, and dived towards where the body would be. He landed hard on concrete floor with no female vampire to soften his landing. Then an axe kick smashed down on his back and all the air in his lungs exploded outwards. Some blood spurted from his mouth along for the ride.
A follow up kick sent him into the air and rebounded him off of the wall. He managed to land on his feet and dived forward wildly. This time he hit a body, but was unable to grab a hold of it, instead sending grace flying off to the side.
Xander rolled sideways until he came up hard against some pipes and used them to help him stand. Then taking stock of the situation, he felt along the pipe. He figured from his roll he was the other side of the slender basement now. Hopefully it was also the opposite side to Grace.
Then, finally, he smiled. His arm reached out to the side. Grace watched in stunned shock from just in front of him as his arm disappeared to the elbow. Then her pain stung from her eyes as a blindingly bright light filled her vision.
Xander allowed himself a moment to adjust to the glow of his sword and then glared at the wincing Master Vampire. "Hello Grace, you've been a bad girl."
Grace dropped her arm and snarled at him in animalistic fury. Then with a roar she dived at him with her claws outstretched and her fangs flashing in the glow of Xander's Katana. Xander met her mad dash and they clashed in the middle. The Crystal Katana's glow dimmed as it disappeared into Grace's body.
Glaring down into her yellow demon's eyes with cold obsidian orbs Xander snarled, "When you get there, tell them to make room in hell, because I'm sending you all home" he told her then pulled upwards with his sword hard cleaving her in two from the middle up. Then the room grew brighter as the Crystal blade appeared from her shoulder with a spray of gore. A millisecond later it's pure magic worked its spell and Grace screeched like a banshee as she disintegrated into a statue of dust and finally crumbled down to the floor.
"That's for Corina you motherfucker" Xander said dropping to his knees and finally letting his tears come.
Memphis turned to Belinda and sent her a satisfied nod.
"He's done it" Isabel said with a smile.
"Of course" Tegan said, as if she had never doubted his ability to do so. Then she turned to Memphis, "You're an angel, right?"
Memphis nodded with a bemused smile
"Corina, she'll be in heaven right, I mean, you know…"
Memphis smiled, "Oh I can assure you she's A Head of the Game on that one"
Apartment 3b Kensington Gardens 2nd October 1999 – 02:00
Fours hours after her death, Corina's body arched upwards, breaking her bindings as electrical sparks flew across her body like worker ants. Her purpled skin started to flush as blood rushed around the bruising fading from purple, to black, to dark brown then brown and then yellow and finally back to unblemished flawless skin.
Her eyes snapped open and a howl of heart felt pain was ripped from her throat.
She breathed hard for a few minutes before finally taking stock of the situation. She looked down to her pert, but naked breast and the memories of her hours of torture returned to her and her lively eyes darkened slightly.
Then she stood, shakily at first but with growing strength as blood was regenerated like a flood swelling in her veins. She looked around and spotted a plastic device lying off to one side.
Recognizing her own mobile phone she rang the one person she knew without doubt would know what to do.
"Hi"
"Yeah, It's Corina"
"…"
"Look, urh, I'm not PRE any longer"
"…"
"Yeah, well it sucks, but what the fuck. Look, can you come and get me. I' m…"
"…"
"Yeah thanks, it's urh, I don't know actually, oh hang on," she said noticing that a message had been sent from her phone.
Reading it she grimaced, "Apartment 3b Kensington Gardens"
She hung up and looked at the message for over an hour until finally her ride arrived.
"I'm Sorry" Belinda said gazing deeply into Xander's dark brown eyes.
He smiled at her, the rain pelting down on them both as they stood before a freshly dug grave. "Thank you"
"Isabel tells me she was very alive," Belinda continued.
"That she was" Xander said with a half smile, his eyes dark with sorrow. "We weren't in love or anything," he said apparently out of the blue.
Belinda nodded in understanding, "I know, but you felt for her?" she asked, mostly rhetorically.
Xander nodded, his eyes hooded.
A crack of thunder rolled across the sky and a flash of lightning silhouetted the skyscrapers of Manhattan, just visible from the large cemetery. They remained in companionable silence for a long while, the rain ignored as it tried to garner their attention by trying to drench them to the bone. Belinda was wrapped up in a floor grazing oiled coat that staved off the water. Xander was protected by his enhanced Leather Coachman's Coat.
Xander looked down at the simple Gravestone, a temporary marker until the preordered granite piece was finished and brought in to replace it. Corina Sheldon, Died 2nd October 1999. A tiny eulogy to a hugely lived woman, Xander thought. He wasn't sure who had arranged the funeral, but it had been quick, so quick he had not found out about it until after the event. A long lost uncle had made all the arrangements from Scotland. That had been all he had been able to find out even with Kasi's considerable help.
Belinda reached for his hand and entwined it lending support with her gentle warm touch. She leaned into his shoulder, gaining no small measure of comfort herself. Mourners had long since left the graveyard, they were the only two people there, and it felt like the only two remaining souls on earth. The night encasing them, the rain shrouding the area in it's icy grip and Xander's sorrow stifling the air.
"What now?" Belinda asked after several minutes of silence.
Xander looked down at her, sidewise, "You go on back, I'll be along"
"Are you sure you should be alone?" Belinda asked, "It's not good to be alone"
"It's the path I've chosen" Xander replied his voice deep.
Belinda winced, "You'll never be alone whilst I have breath in my body"
Xander favored her with a soft smile, "Thanks, but I'm walking in a mine field, anyone that walks with me could be hurt"
"And that is the path I have chosen" Belinda assured him.
Another crack of thunder and flash of lightning punctuated her comment and made them both smile. The weather, it seemed, had a sense of dramatic irony.
"Go on, I'll be fine I promise" Xander told her, still smiling softly, "I just have to do something" he said and reached into his 'pocket'.
Belinda smiled, as a jet-black violin appeared complete with matching bow. Lightning made the metal strings glow for a flash of time making the instrument appear to be alive in Xander's hands. "What's that?" she asked.
"A Violin Dumb Ass" he quoted with a sad sort of smile.
Belinda frowned at him, but detected that his sentence wasn't an insult and moreover that it had some significance for him.
"I'll wait for you in Kasi"
"I'm going hunting," he warned her.
"Then I'll be at your side," Belinda replied without pause, "For tonight at least"
Xander nodded and brought the Violin to his chin and with bow in hand stood ready. The bow itself was quivering above the strings. Then he closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, trying to think of something suitable. Casting around the pieces learned long ago by the violinist that had given her skill to store it in the crystal, the donor and musician who was in fact standing by his side looking at him with a curious expression on her face.
During their time in the Skill Crystal Room, Xander had been subjected to nearly 50 different crystals, all, with the possible exception of the guitar crystal, giving him new skills. Some useful, some not so useful, some like this skill gave him an outlet, another way to express himself. The man that had once been the class clown, the one who always got a 'D' minus, was now a polymath and one who was in possession of considerable skill, luckily once programmed a skill crystal kept its skill and were not one use only.
Finally, Xander's mind clicked onto a suitable composition. Then the bow touched down on a string and music sprang forth in a metallic wail of mourning.
Belinda smiled, "Albioni's Adagio for Strings in G Minor" she said nodding, "Good choice"
But Xander wasn't listening, in fact, he wasn't even there anymore, instead he was living in the piece, playing it with an emotion, it rarely was.
Belinda backed away slowly and silently walking back to wait for Xander to finish is own personal eulogy to Corina.
Once she had gone, Xander lifted off of the ground and flew backwards to land atop of a cross, a foot on either bar of the cross he crouched and played, his eyes still closed, his coat billowing out in the wind, alternatively shrouding him and leaving him defenseless against the wind and rain as the heavens raged above him.
He played, and played until the 11-minute piece was finally done. Normally it wasn't a solo piece, but it was all the more soulful and touching for it.
Unseen and undetected, far enough away to remain hidden, but close enough to see and hear Xander's final goodbye to Corina a man and a woman stood side by side, both drenched to the skin. Their Trench Coats were doing little against the raging weather. The woman's eyes were glued to Xander's precariously balanced form as he elbow sawed back and forth and the mournful sound of the Electric, synthesizing Violin called out across the cemetery to her. Tears flooded her eyes as emotions rolled through her unchecked, unlocked by the music and the emotion behind it.
She had been here for the funeral as well, and the cold words of the priest and jokes of the Gravediggers had not reached her as this simple melody was. Her hand reached out towards the dark fiddler and she took an almost involuntary step forwards.
The man reached out and grabbed her wrist gently pushing it down and holding her back. She looked at him her face showing her inner turmoil and pain. He simply shook his head, "No Lass" he said softly "It's better this way"
Corina nodded shaking tears from her eyes before stepping back into the gloom content for now with watching Xander play his heart out from afar.
The man smiled a darkness masked smile; neither had been in love with the other. But, this was the most emotive thing the ancient man had ever seen. It was also possibly the strangest, and considering his age, that was no mean feat. He'd nearly yelped when the dark clad Xander had ignored gravity to float backwards and come to rest on the cross like a raven. Then, Corina had told him he was a vampire. In his experience Vampires were rarely so emotional, apart from hatred and hunger that was, he'd dusted a few himself in the last few hundred years.
"So…" Corina trailed off looking for the word, "Beautiful" she said.
The man nodded along with her, "Eye lass, I've always enjoyed Albioni"
Corina looked at him with a confused expression, "I wasn't talking about the music"
Memphis sat back on the main couch with a smile on his face. It wasn't often that he got to spend so much time with two beautiful women, not when his job tended to take him down into hell to fight demons one on one. With a glass of antiquated scotch in one hand and a Cuban cigar in the other, he was a very happy Archangel.
"You can stop smiling and start talking" Tegan said with a wagging finger.
"I was just reveling in the hedonism of it all" Memphis told her with a twinkle in his eye.
"You call this hedonistic?" Isabel asked with a smirk, "You should come clubbing with us"
Memphis chuckled, "I would, but you know RULES" he said with a sharp upwards nod of his head.
"Aren't you breaking them now?" Tegan asked with a small smile growing.
Memphis smiled and nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah, but you know I'm allowed a little leeway, just to fit in" he said.
Tegan glanced at her empty hands and looked to find that Isabel was the same.
"Yeah, whatever" she said finally, "So whilst you're fitting in, care to fill us in?"
"I would, but I'm not allowed to do that either, damn rules" he said with a lascivious smirk.
Tegan rolled her eyes, "Men!" she said; "Besides I don't swing that way"
Memphis nearly chocked on his single malt, "Sorry, could you say that again, no on second thoughts don't, lying to an angel is a sin you know"
"Good job I'm not a catholic then" Tegan retorted as Isabel burst into giggles.
"Xander" Memphis said, the single word an accusation.
Tegan said back and folded her arms, "Special" she replied in the same fashion.
"Damn" Memphis said clicking the fingers of his cigar hand and dropping ash.
"Hey" Isabel said pushing the ashtray closer
"Sorry, don't usually have to worry about manners" Memphis told her with an apologetic smile.
"So if you're normally down in hell fighting demons, what the fuck is it you are doing here?" Tegan asked then added, "And how do you know Bel"
"Oh, me and Bel go WAY back"
"How WAY back"
"About 10,000 years" Memphis said taking a pull on his cigar and letting it roll out of his mouth before inhaling it back in sharply. A slow smile spread across his face, "Tastes better than brimstone, I can tell you"
Isabel waived a hand at him, "Hello, the point"
"Oh right, Xander"
"Yeah, Xander" Tegan mocked.
Memphis glared at her mildly, "I am an angel you know" he said in a hurt tone.
Tegan shrugged, "You're also pissing me off"
"Alright fine, the Chosen" Memphis said sitting forward and resting his fore arms on his knees. As he talked, he made eloquent movements of his hands and described smoke signals with his cigar.
"The Chosen, was prophesied by one of my peers low on 50 thousand years ago, just before the ancients booted the demons back into hell. She foretold that one would come in years to pass that would kiss demon arse" he limericked, "Basically, they would be dark of soul and heavy of heart but would fight against demon kind and lead humanity in a war that would send them packing again. This time, for good"
Tegan and Isabel both blanched at the same time, "What?" they asked in time with each other.
"Hey a double act" Memphis smirked at them, "and I believe you heard me the first time"
"And Xander, he's the chosen?" Isabel asked finally her eyes dark with thought.
Memphis shrugged, "He could be"
"He could be" Tegan repeated, "What the buggering hell is that supposed to mean"
"They do you know, heaven too" Memphis informed her before moving on, "that aside, The prophesy itself is so vague as to be useless, but I think as does Belinda that Xander COULD be the Chosen. In fact I think Bel's convinced of it"
"Is there anymore?" Tegan asked.
"No, as I said vague, although, there is one other part that's been discounted"
"What?" they asked together.
Memphis shrugged, "Fucked if I can remember" the windows suddenly rattled with a huge roll of thunder. "Bugger, now I've done it"
A pillar of fire suddenly appeared by the window, "ALL HAIL THE VOICE OF GOD, TREMBLE BEFORE…"
"Oh chill out man" Memphis said standing, "I'm coming"
A man dressed in an impeccable suit and with a regal bearing appeared in place of the fire and glowered at the wincing Memphis.
Tegan and Isabel shared a joint confused look as the pair of them disappeared in a shimmer of heavenly blue lights.
"I think I can speak for us both when I say…" Isabel began.
"…Huh!" Tegan finished.
Sunnydale, Rupert Giles's House 8th October 1999 – 10:00
Giles set down his fresh crisp copy of the times with a scowl. Then he reached behind him, exactly where he knew he had placed the phone only to find it missing. His scowl deepened and he turned to find it was now a good 6 foot to the left on a completely different sideboard.
"This is what I get for letting Teenagers into my home" he grumbled as he picked his way around piles of books and finally reached his phone.
"Hello" he snapped.
"…"
"…"
"Oh! Well I see, that's disturbing, an entire coven you say?"
"…"
"How long?" Giles demanded in a shocked voice.
"…"
"One night! Preposterous!"
"…"
"Oh I see, not the entire clan, just the top half" Giles said in a sarcastically pleasant voice, "Well, that makes all the difference then doesn't it"
"…"
"There is a need for it, I pay you to keep me informed of any possible threats or allies, not folk legend!" Giles spat down the phone.
"…"
"I see, well that does cast a different light, I suppose" Giles said grudgingly.
"…"
"Yes, Yes, very well, you'll receive payment in the usual fashion" Giles said in a grumble.
"…"
"Yes and you, oh one more thing. A name?"
"…."
"Right, very original, I don't think, well thank you anyway Abraham" Giles said putting the phone back on it's cradle.
Then, he let out a full belly laugh.
"Good Lord, whatever next, Muerte; honestly I ask you!"
Smokey Joe's 8th October 1999 – 22:00
Xander walked into the bar and all noise stopped, just like one of those old westerns when the stranger walks into the saloon, the doors winging in the wake of their passing. A glass tinkled as it was dropped, drawing Xander's peripheral attention.
He kept the main focus of his concentration on the large bar. Protected as it was by non-human spells, only a select few humans could even find the place. So, the bar was an eclectic selection of demon's Vampires, and the occasional human mage.
Xander took all of that in with a glance moving further into the room a path opening up for him as he did.
He had spent the last few days wiping out all traces of Grace Arthur's coven from the lowliest minion up to and including Grace and Gabriel. Now, he had a score to settle and Xander WAS the sort of man that held a grudge.
The room seemed to converge around him, glaring eyes of a rainbow of colors all with murderous intent in their depths.
Looking around, a feral smile slowly crept up onto Xander's face, flashing his elongated canines, as he turned. His long coat flared out around him and the creak of his leather clothing sounding unnaturally loud in the silent bar.
A low, hair-raising growl emitted from one of the patrons of the bar and was taken up by all likeminded demons creating a ground trembling vibration of discontent. Through it all Xander continued to smile his eyes slowly shifting to a darker shade of brown, then black to Obsidian.
As one, the club dived at him and Xander swung around his guns appearing and his smile growing as he joined the fight with relish.