Xander, Anya, Willow and Amy were grouped together wishing Dawn a happy birthday as Buffy brought the cake in. Xander kept looking at Dawn as she kept frowning every time Buffy tried to hug her so at the first opportunity he walked up to her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Many congrats of the day girl who is having a birthday!" She tried to grin but the frown quickly slipped back into place. "Hey why the long face? If anyone should be unhappy on their birthday it should be 'old fogies ' like us."
Dawn glared daggers at Buffy as she slipped her hand into Spikes. "Oh yeah my life is wonderful!" She looks at Xander. "First you get engaged and then I walk in on my second crush making out with my sister!" Xander makes a face like he just sucked a lemon. "Eew! I knew she was lonely but stealing her kid sister's boyfriend.. That's just sick!" He grinned at her thinking she was imagining things. "Oh Yuk it up Xander! You'd be pissed off too if you walked in on Spike and Anya humping the brains out of each other!"
Xander glanced at Anya who smiled back at him. "He returned to stare at Dawn." Spike's not... "Then the realization hits him." BUFFY! "He yelps." Buffy's doing Spike now! "Dawn sees the anger seething across Xander's face and her heart misses a beat. She grips his arm." Xander don't... You'll only get her angry,"
Buffy's hand slips from Spike's and he nuzzles her ear. "I think it's time we told them lover." He whispers to her but Buffy is concentrating on Xander and Dawn. She sees him slam his drink on the table and stalk over to Anya. They have heated words then the group all stare at Buffy. "Well now looks like a good time." Buffy mumbles.
She looks at the drink in her hand and then looks up to her friends. "I suppose this isn't the right time to tell you..." She stops when she sees Xander's face turn red with anger and he blurts out. "Is it true? Are you 'dating' another bloodsucking freak of nature?" Spike grins at Xander and snorts. "Well at least it shows she's got taste mate."
Buffy flicks her hair back and stands resolved. She grips Spike's hand and tells Xander. "Look you don't own me.. None of you own me and I don't answer to any of you! Spike and I love each other and.."
Xander takes Anya's hand then walks over to Dawn and kisses her cheek. "Anytime you need anything Dawn just give me a call." He turns to the two Wiccas as he and Anya move towards the door. "Wills, Amy don't forget the dinner next Saturday." Buffy looks quizzically at Xander then shakes her head. "Here we go! I pick someone else and hormone boy does a runner!"
Xander pauses at the door and Anya begs him. "Please Xander don't... She's been a friend of yours for six years just let it drop." Xander started to move outside then stopped and turned to Buffy. "I have considered you a friend and yes even my hero. But no more Buffy! I've already been through one of your Vampire lovers rampages and I'll be damned if I'll let your inability to keep your legs closed put the ones I love at risk. Forget I even exist Summers because I have forgotten all about you!" He glares at Spike. "And you! Believe me even if she won't stake you when you turn, and you will, it will be my pleasure to shake your dust off of my feet!"
He slams the door behind him cutting off any possible reply. Buffy's bottom lip trembles as she begins to doubt her own feelings but Spike hugs her. "He always was jealous of any one you were with pet. He's just a damn kid." Buffy looks at the others and then asks. "Is he right? Is it just Xander being Xander or is Xander right?"
Willow looks like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. "Uhh.. He's always been kind of sensitive where your concerned.. But if you love Spike I suppose there's little we can say or do to change your mind." Amy looks at Buffy and curls her lip. "I don't know, a vampire? Don't you have a handbook or something, because I'm pretty sure it says Slay the Vampire and not Lay the Vampire. She turns to Willow." But if you're sure this is okay who am I to argue?"
Dawn turns red as Buffy finally looks at her. "Mom must be turning in her grave, not to mention Miss Calendar!" She turned and ran upstairs. Buffy moved to go after her but Spike stopped her. "I'll go love, you stay and talk with your true friends." He pecks her on the lips. "I think it's just that she has a little crush on me thats all."
Buffy nods and Spike walks up the stairs and knocks on Dawn's door before entering. "GET OUT!" Dawn shouts at him but Spike moves with supernatural speed and pins her to the wall. "Listen here nibblet I owe you one for getting rid of droopy but unless you go with the flow you're going to have an unfortunate accident!"
Dawn's eyes are wide with fear. "Shouldn't your chip have..." He grabs her face and forms her mouth into an O. "Funny thing is I woke up one night feeling my old self. Then Buffy walks in on me setting up my dinner and the stupid bitch thinks it's because she's not human!" He breathes in Dawns fear. "Hmm Angelus was right she bangs like a five pound whore on payday!"
Dawn tried to push him away but he gripped her by the throat. "You try anything stupid and I may just open another gate with your blood ! " He released her and straightened her dress. "Now then go downstairs and play nice with your sister and her friends and I won't tell them it was you that called up the truth demon." Spike grinned as she blushed a deeper shade of red. "I could have laughed my heart out, if I had one, when that moron took the wrap for you. What an idiot!"
She walked stiffly towards her door. "Remember say nothing and play nice or I may have to stop over at Cindy's place for a bite to eat!" He sees her stop and nod before continuing. She walks down stairs and puts on a false front. Spike stands at the top of the stairs and winks at Buffy as she hugs her sister. "That's right pet." He whispers. "We're one big happy family." He takes out a cigarette and lights it, taking a lungful of smoke then blows it out then grins. "Oh yeah un-life is good! The only fly in my soup is droopy and his ex-demon lover but all good things comes to those that wait!"
Willow finishes the soul cursing spell and the orb glows in a ghostly yellow glow as Spike screams profanities at the group from his position. He rattles his chains and curses each of them until the spell takes hold and he looks around. "My God I'm free!"
Giles closes the door and heads for the counter and places the book on it before taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose. The bell above the door rings and Giles looks up to see Xander standing there drenched by the sudden downpour. "Ah good Xander your here I was wondering where Anya has been hiding?" He noticed the young man limp over to the training room door. "Is he in here?"
Giles starts to move towards him. "It's okay they've cursed his soul into his body. We don't..." Giles jumps back as Xander points Anya's gun at him. "I said is he god damned well in there!" Giles suddenly sees the large gash over his eye and the pale complexion. Giles holds up his hands. "Yyes he is. What happened?"
Xander shakes and takes a deep breath. "Spike happened. However, that's all in the past now. Soon everything will be better, I will be with her in a better place." He pushed the door open and walked in on the old gang as they celebrated their success. Spike looked up and saw Xander standing there. "Oh my god I'm so sorry! I ung.." They all heard the twang of the crossbow then the thunk as it struck Spike in his heart. Buffy screamed. "What have you done you murdering bastard!"
She started to move towards Xander but he pulled the revolver from his pocket, wincing as he did, and aimed it at Buffy's head. He began to shake with rage, his trigger finger white with rage. Giles walked in behind him and Xander wiped a tear from his eye. "Stay back G-man! " Giles steps around Xander and asks him. "Let me get Anya she can.."
An anguished cry escapes Xander's lips at the mention of his lovers name. "Anya." He whispers. "Giles nods." Yes Anya. I'll go.. "Xander dips his free hand into his pocket as his anger builds as a tear slides down his cheek." You want to see Anya? "Giles nods then Xander takes his hand out and flings its contents at Buffy." Here she is then ! "Buffy's anger falters as she realizes what the dust means." I came home after work on Thursday and wondered why the Apartment building seemed so empty. I stepped into the apartment and saw Anya asleep on the couch and then blackness."
Xander thumbed back the hammer of Anya's gun and shook with rage. "When I woke..." He chocked back a sob. "When I woke Spike was squatting down in front of me taunting me with the things he had done to the occupants of the other apartments. Twenty people, whole families dead just so you could bang a dead guy! How did it feel Buffy? Hmm? How did it feel to make love to him with the blood of innocents flowing through his veins?"
Willow tells him. "We didn't know until today that the chip had malfunctioned." Xander shouted at her and used the barrel of the gun to highlight his sentence. "She knew! She knew because Spike had told her! He boasted about it as he waited for Anya to rise!" He wiped another tear from his eye as he continued. He saw the evil glare Willow and Amy gave Buffy. "Look at her then tell me he was lying!" Buffy nods as Xander continues. "When Anya began to stir Spike threw me a stake and headed for the door telling me that I should be used to killing my friends, after the second one it will get easier."
Giles saw the trigger begin to move back as Xander pressed down on it. "She called for me and began kissing my chest, moving her teeth up to my neck, and for a second I was tempted to let her do it! But then I thought of all the people Spike would kill before someone other than Buffy ended his reign of terror."
He cricked his neck and his breath began to come in short pants as Giles tells him. "It's over now Xander, please give me the gun." Xander yells at him. "Over? I don't think so Giles!" He looks at him. "Can't you see? Can't any of you see the truth? It's her! She needs the whole sick kill them/ screw them deal and I think we need a new Slayer because this one's been damaged from the start!"
Giles tells him. "It's okay Xander the council knows. That's why they sent me back to study her." He looks at Buffy. "I've recommended she be placed in one of their facilities until it can be discovered whether she came back possessed or if she needs re-education." He looks at Buffy. "I had hoped the stories were false but I'm afraid they're not."
Xander shakes his head and tells Giles. "I'm sorry but I owe it to Anya." He pulled the trigger five times and Buffy winced as the bullets traced her outline against the wall. He blanches as he realizes deep down he still loved the young girl that had transferred to Sunnydale high. Xander cries out. "I'm sorry Anya! I couldn't even do that right!" He placed the barrel to his temple and pulls the trigger.
Giles signed the papers covering the costs of Xander's stay and he then helped Xander into his car. The drive to Giles's apartment was as silent as the grave. He walked into the front room and saw the gang waiting for him. His anger had not abated and they sensed it. Willow went to talk but Xander held up his hand. "Giles? Anya admired you and we both thought of you as the parent we never had so I would like it if you came to the memorial service tomorrow." Giles nods. "I'd be honored." He tells him.
Willow asks. "Where is it being held Xand?"
Xander glared at her and then at Buffy as she stood fidgeting in the corner not even having the courage to look him in the eyes. Xander held up his hand and his eyes hold no emotion, the jagged scar ran from his right ear slanting down to his jaw., and he traced the reminder of that day Giles's actions stopped him from joining Anya. "If any of you show your faces I'll kill you!"
Willow gasps. "But we're friends." Xander snorts at her. "Friends! Friends would have warned me that Spike was chip free." He shook his head and tells her. "No, all my friends died the day I had to shove a stake through Anya's heart!"
Willow begins to sob and Giles just sighs. "So what will you do Xander?"
Xander shrugs. "I have an Uncle in San Francisco that's been after me to work for him." He shuts his eyes and tries to imagine life in a strange town. "I guess I'll take him up on his offer."
Giles nods. "Yes I'll be leaving once the service is over." He looks at the others. "You have until the Magic Box is sold to remove your things." He turns to them and looks lastly at Buffy. "I had such high hopes for this group but I guess the Council was right after all. The Slayer should remain detached from the general populace and if she comes through this I plan to see she does."
Buffy looks at him. "Giles I... Sorry doesn't seem enough, but this group worked well together. It was only after I was returned that things fell apart." She looks at Xander and she began to mist up. "Nothing I could do or say could ever make up for what happened to you Xander. I'll never forgive myself for what happened. I can only pray that in time you'll forgive me."
Xander's eye begins to twitch. "Not in this life Buffy!" He moves towards the door and sighs. "I'll be leaving as soon as I have things settled. I don't want to see any of you ever again!" He steps out of the doorway and into the beginnings of a new life.
Cordelia and Fred were walking past a construction site and Cordy stopped them and began to watch the men as they worked. She grinned as a steel worker glanced up and whistled at her. "God bless the American Builders Union!" She turned to talk to Fred but the Texan beauty had walked over to the permit sign. Cordelia walked up to her and told her. "Listen Fred the whole point of standing in front of sweaty workmen is to gain an appreciation of just how good you look!"
Winifred points to the advertisement and tells her. "Look! We're finally getting one on the West Coast. When I was a child we were in New York when they roasted that giant StayPuft monster."
Cordelia reads the sign. "Coming soon, direct from New York and Boston... GHOSTBUSTER'S INC a wholly owned subsidiary of Ghostbusters of New York. Those seeking a new and exciting career in ghost and demon incarceration please ring New York 555-2368. Open for business this Christmas." Cordelia huffs. "Well there goes our Xmas bonus! Wait till Angel hears of this!"
Cordelia stomps off but Fred takes out her Palm and records the number before joining Cordelia. Angel was drinking his morning cup of warm pigs blood when Cordelia came storming in. "Have you seen the new building going up on Coronado?"
Angel walks towards the chair and tells her. "And good morning to you too Delia." Cordy smiles and tells him. "You wont think it's so good after I tell you. Ghostbusters is opening up after Xmas! There go most of our customers!" Angel holds up his hand and smiles. "No Cordy, I think it will be a good thing." He takes out a manila envelope and throws it to her. "We've just been signed up as their investigation team with a very generous retainer." He glances at the clock. "We have less than eight hours to get this place ship shape before the CEO of their west coast operation arrives for a meet and greet."
Cordelia asks. "What kind of a company waits till sunset to..." She looks shocked. "You don't think they're...Grr do you?" She makes with the animal impression that she knows upsets Angel and he shakes his head but before he can answer Fred tells her. "I would assume they know Angel is a Vampire and are trying to show him a common curtesy?"
She turns to Angel. "Do you think they'll bring a Proton backpack? I'm very interested to see just how they have managed to create a stable nuclear energy device without sacrificing the safety factor and.." Angel grins as Winifred carries on her one sided conversation. He looks at Cordelia and decided to tell her. "I heard from Xander today." He saw her head snap up at the mention of his name.
"Is he all right? Where is he? My god we've all been so worried." She babbled and then stopped, regaining some of her lost cool. Angel tells her. "He'll be coming here with the team from Ghostbusters. Drs. Stantz and Venkman will be coming as advisors to the west coast CEO until the Company is bedded down."
Cordelia asks. "So I guess he's, what? A glorified janitor or something?" Angel nods. "Or something... Hey Fred could you make one of those gizmos of theirs? "He makes an imitation of the backpack and Winifred stops talking and thinks. "Possibly if I had one of theirs I could reverse engineer it enough to copy it."
Angel grins at her. "Maybe you should go to work for them you seem to be wasted here just researching for us."
Winifred beams at him. "Do you think I could? They would have to have technical help in setting up the containment field generator and I hear they're working on a smaller, yet more powerful trap device."
Cordelia rushes into the hotel in the hope of seeing the men from Ghostbusters and trying to get a part in their commercial. She had raced back to her flat, showered, changed and had to spend a good half hour on makeup while trying to calm Dennis down. She shakes her head. "Boy you happen to mention the word 'Ghostbuster ' and you'd think the world was crashing down around his ears." She tip toes over to Angel's office door and presses her ear to it in the hope of overhearing part of the conversation. She hears a familiar voice and shakes her head. "I know that voice." She opens the door and sees Winifred talking to Dr. Stantz whilst Dr. Venkman is talking to Angel. Suddenly the man sitting next to Venkman begins to speak and Cordelia interrupts. "Well gentlemen always a pleasure to see new clients." She sees the man turn and she grins. "Well I see you've brought your own cleaning team, good idea." She sits next to Angel, who by now is stumbling around his tongue searching for words. Cordelia glances at the folder in front of her and her eyes go wide at the large retainer the company was forking over for their services. "I don't know about you but I'd like a coffee?" She sees the other's nod and she turns to Xander. "Be useful for a change and make five coffees...Oh and there's a Dunkin' donuts down the road get a mix of their best as well will you?"
She sees Winifred frantically shaking her head and mouthing no but before it sinks in Angel tells her. "Ah... Cordelia.. Uhh I'd like to introduce our new clients." Doctors Stantz and Venkman.. "They nod, Venkman winking at her." And of course you already know Xander "Cordelia nods at the doctors and then smugly smiles at Xander until Angel continues."... The CEO of Ghostbusters Inc's west coast franchise."
Cordelia does a spit take. "Excuse me but for a second there..." Angel nods as Dr. Venkman tells her. "Yes my nephew has certainly come a long way since you last met him Miss Chase." Cordelia glances knowingly at Xander. "Ahh the boss's nephew! I was beginning to wonder how a... guy like you would become CEO of such a large firm."
Dr. Stantz shakes his head. "Oh no Miss Chase it was quiet the opposite. It was because he was Dr Venkman's nephew that we started young Alexander at the bottom of the ladder." He pats Xander on the shoulder and the young man blushes. "It was entirely due to his efforts that the company has become what it is today. Why the money he earned from the Manhattan Towers project alone..." He heard Xander cough and shake his head. "Well needless to say that when we decided to branch out into the west coast we didn't even hesitate to place Alex in charge of the project."
Xander looks up at her and tells her. "We had several options as to the investigative team we chose but knowing the things I do about your group I felt it the wisest choice." Cordelia is glad when the conversations start up again. Angel whispers to her. "I think you can take that pretty foot of yours out of your mouth now."
She sees Xander talking with Winifred and Dr. Stantz and a sudden flush of jealousy runs through her body as she sees Fred place her hand on his shoulder as she laughs at something he said. Her Texas twang could be heard over the others. "So Mr. Harris just how does the new model compare with the old backpack?"
Xander runs a hand through his hair and smiles at her." I'm no nuclear physicist Winifred, I just use them, but the newer model is more compact and has a pistol discharger instead of the old clunky rifle model.
Venkman tells him. "Hey watch what you say kid! That old clunker saved New York. Twice before we retired them in favour of the newer model." Stantz has taken out a mass spectrometer and switched it on. "Wow I'm picking up some funky vibes from this place!" As Angel walks closer the readings increase and the monitor emits a loud beep. He looks at Angel and says. "Sorry I just had to test it out. First time we've actually come across a friendly vampire."
Angel asks. "This containment unit that's at the centre of your business just how safe is it?" Venkman smiles and places his hand on Angels shoulder. "Well unless some dickless public servant orders it shut down it's a safe as the Bank of America plus the core now has it's own backup energy source so that even if power is interrupted it will still contain the little buggers until its cells run dry in what?" He looks over to Stantz. "A hundred years?" Stantz nods. "Hell we even have plans on the drawing board to fit a containment field over the tear in the space time continuum currently open in Sunnydale!"
Cordelia decides to ask. "Speaking of Sunnydale have you heard from anyone there lately Xander?" Xander glares at her and shakes his head. "Nope everyone I knew there is dead, at least to me they are."
Angel shakes his head. "Xander she made an error in judgment. Giles discovered she had returned with a parasite that really screwed around with her mind."
Xander sighs. "You think I'm pissed at her humping yet another Vampire?" He looks disgusted."
That's not the reason, well not all the reason. "He places his cup down and looks at the two of them." I don't suppose they told you that they never let either myself or Anya know that Spike's chip had malfunctioned? Or that he went on a rampage killing everyone in my apartment block before knocking me out and turning Anya, my fiancée'? "They saw him redden with anger." Or that the un-dead bastard left me in my apartment with her and a stake, telling me I had killed a friend before so it should be easier this time?"
His knuckled were white as he tried to control his anger, he saw the looks of disbelief flash across their faces. "No I didn't think they'd tell you that! Do you know how hard it was to stake the only girl that was so in love with me she was willing to overlook my faults? It would be like you killing Buffy!"
Cordelia was in shock and the words left her mouth before she even knew she had said them. "Yeah but Angel loved Buffy, can you say you truly loved Anya?"
Xander glared at her then walked up to her and angrily said. "I'm going to go now before I do something I should have done in high school!" He walked to the door and told his Uncle. "Peter I'll see you and Winston back at the hotel... I'm going to try and cool down."
Peter nods and sighs. "Sure thing Alex we'll be there as soon as we wrap things up here." Xander nods to Angel and Winifred before leaving. Peter stares at Cordelia. "You know it takes most people a lifetime to work their way up to Queen Bitch but you've managed to do it in such a short time. My you must be proud."
Cordelia places her hands on her hips. "Boy you tell someone a few home truths and suddenly your the bad guy! And it's plain to see where Junior Ghostbuster gets his smart assed mouth from Uncle Venkman!"
Peter is about to rip into her when his phone rings and he walks away. "Hey Dana how's it going honey?"
Winston walks up to Cordelia as the others watch on. "Ahh Miss Chase I think there's a few things you should know about young Alexander and Peter." he steeples his hands. "How can I put this? Peter is more than just an Uncle. To put it bluntly... He's Alex's father."
Cordelia scrunches up her face. "Eew!! Now wonder he's such a looser YUCK!!!" Winston shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. "No he's not Harriet's brother." He holds up his hands palm up as if weighing something. "Peter Venkman, Harriet Sullivan. If he were his Uncle wouldn't he have the same maiden name as Alex's mother?" He sees the light click over Cordelia's head. "There we go! Now we're on the same page. Yes Miss Chase Peter had a relationship with Xander's mother when they went to college together in New York; she split with him when she could no longer handle his wild ideas and theories. Xander is the result of the affair."
Cordelia looks at Peter. "So he got the looks but not the smarts." Winston grins. "Oh Alex's is as smart as Dr. Venkman he just doesn't use his intelligence all the time, but when he does.. Well even I'm amazed sometimes."
Cordelia looks around. "Where did Winifred go?" Peter says goodbye to his wife then flips the phone closed. "She left just after Xander. Smart girl that Winifred." Cordelia blushes then reddens deeper when Venkman tells her. "Yep I think you just blew another chance at becoming Mrs. Junior Ghostbuster."
Willow replaces the receiver just as Buffy returns from another night's duty of keeping Sunnydale safe. Willow tucks a strand of red hair behind her ear as she plans how to tell Buffy the news. "So how went patrolling tonight?" Buffy shrugs. "Saw Vamp, staked Vamp, inhale exhale, repeat. No biggie." She looks at the words Willow has scribbled down in front of her.
Willow moves the pad out of sight then tells her. "Umm Cordelia rang and she thought we'd like to know Xander's in L.A." At the mention of his name Buffy's eyes snapped to Willow's. "so what's stake boy up to now? He's not trying for two out of two is he? Angel's okay isn't he?"
"He's still...undead if that's what you mean. Cordy says Xander's landed on his feet. He ahh works for Ghostbusters Inc... In fact he's ahh the CEO of their new West Coast operations." Willow waited for the bomb to drop.
Buffy went red with rage. "Ghostbusters! The same freaking Ghostbusters that Giles says the council is considering hiring to fit a containment device over the Hellmouth!" She slams her fist on the table causing it to split. "No frigging way! If that bastards involved then they can count me out!"
"Well that would make things a little harder Miss Summers but I think we can work around that problem with a little judicial help." Travers is standing at the doorway surrounded by his helpers. "I'm sure we could call on the Californian authorities to release Faith into our custody. "He sees the shocked look on Buffy's face and walks into the shop with the rest of his group. "This operation has the highest priority from Council Command." He smiles at her. "So I suggest you put your little spat behind you and get on with your job."
Buffy is about to argue when Giles walks in carrying a leather folder. "Hello Buffy." He tells her and she turns to look at the man she once thought of as a surrogate father. "Giles!" She stands in front of him both shocked and over joyed at his return. "After the way you left I thought you'd never return?"
He sits next to Travers and places the folder in front of him. "Well the good of the many and all that.." He straightens his glasses. "The council has been aware of a build up of Psycho Kinetic Energy around the ruins of the old school for some time now and after the way GB Inc dealt with the Manhattan Towers project we decided to bring them in on our problem."
Buffy was confused, here was Giles the man she most admired and he was acting like he didn't even know her. She placed her hand on his and he quickly slid it from under hers. "Miss Summers it would be best if we dealt with this problem as a one off occurrence. When it is resolved I will be returning to the UK as fast as possible." He looks into her eyes and she can see a look of disappointment and annoyance flash over them.
She sighs. "Giles you most of all should know I couldn't control myself when I returned. For god's sake I was possessed! The demon had my mind in a state of utter confusion." She looks at him and then at Willow. "But that still didn't give Xander the right to kill Spike! We had cursed Spike's soul back into his body and then Xander just dusted him for no reason!"
Travers places his glasses on and reads the report before him. "You failed to let Mr. Harris know that the chip in William the Bloodies head had malfunctioned and then blame Alexander for seeking retribution when this 'Spike' turned his fiancée' and left him to deal with her after killing everyone else in his building?" He takes the glasses off and places the tip in his mouth before placing them on the table. "Hell if it were me you'd have all been deader than Elvis by now!"
Buffy shakes her head. "No you don't get it! It wasn't because he killed those people then turned Xander's fiancée that Xander dusted Spike. It was because Spike and I were involved. Ask Giles Xander had this thing about me being in love with Vampires."
Travers laughs then points to her. "And why would that be hmm? Could it be because it is your sworn duty to Slay Vampires and not, I repeat NOT, sleep with them?"
"NO! " Buffy turns to Giles. "It as only when he knew of my love for Spike that Xander suddenly didn't like Spike. Up till then he tolerated him for the good of the group. He did the same damn thing with Angel right up until I slept with Angel and now he can't stand to be near him. He has a problem with anyone I consider my boyfriend!"
Willow tells her. "Except Riley. He liked Riley, he even tried to get you guys to stay together." Buffy holds up her hand. "That was different, Xander has this thing for women he can't have and I was high on his must have list ever since high school!"
Giles tells her. "He grew up, he grew up and learned to put aside childish hopes and live in this world. He started a new life with Anya but even then he couldn't just walk away from the group.. From you. He brought you back then tried to help you when you began to break down." Giles looks at her. "And how did we repay him? We forgot about him in our rush to bend over backwards for you and he paid a heavy toll! The heaviest there is." Giles looks at Travers and he nods, Giles opens the leather folder and slides it's contents over to her. "Before you say no and we have to get Faith out of jail look over the report our investigators did on the Ghostbusters, but more importantly read the report on the Manhattan Towers clean up."
Winifred woke with a fright and sat up in bed, pulling the sheet around her as she fought to remember where she was. She heard the muted sounds next to her and saw Xander caught up in a dream and she remembered the night before. She held a nail to her mouth and bit down on it as she smiled in remembrance. She cuddled up to the man that had swept her off her feet and into his bed. Her mind raced trying to workout the exact scientific formula that had enabled him to do so but her mind was set on a loop of the things she had experienced that night.
As she had drawn the sheet around her she had uncovered Xander's body and she rested her head upon his chest listening to him breath in and out. Her fingers began to trace the rippled muscles of his stomach until they encountered a heavy scar; she followed the deep line from crotch to breastbone and felt him shudder in his sleep.
"MmmBuffymmm. No! Anya...Please don't make me..." He began to thrash in the bed causing Fred to disentangle herself from his embrace. She fought the urge to phone Angel and instead she held him like he was a small child again, stroking his fevered brow and cooing into his ear. "Hush little baby don't you cry.." Her sing song voice cut off abruptly when Xander cursed out. "I wish to hell we had left you dead Slayer! I hate you... I hate you. God help me I love you!"
Winifred scurried back to him and began comforting him. "I don't know what this 'Buffy' has done to you Xander but I promise to help you through no matter what." She almost jumped when his eyes snapped open and he stared at her, studying her like he had never seen her before. "Hello Alexander. I was wondering when you would waken."
Realisation dawned on Xander and he rana hand through his hair and sighed. "Winifred... I ahh...How did you... Did we?"
Fred grinned and snuggled up to him. "We went on a date, you got really drunk and so did I. I never knew such a pretty looking drink could affect me so! And.." She kissed him. "Yes we did.. Several times."
He sighed. "Oh jeez! I'm sorry Winifred. It's just I liked you, I have from the first time I saw you, but ahh." He searched for the right words. "The line of work I'm in kinda makes it hard on relationships."
Fred nods. "And you can't commit, at least that's what Cordy told me. Apart from Buffy, she said you were totally committed to her." She shrugs before he can get a word in. "But that's fine. I just wanted to know what it felt like you know, to be loved and made love to."
Xander finds he can't be angry with this bundle of excess energy and just smiles. "So what was it like?"
She blows a breath through pursed lips. "Tiring! All that energy for so little return, apart from the orgasm thingy." Xander kissed her. "Well that's what sort of makes the whole thing worth while Fred. That orgasm thingy ' has kept the human race going since before time."
She lead back and sighed. "yeah and now I know why. WOW!" She traced the scar that gave him a permanent lopsided grin. "You really have to tell me one day just how you managed to gather so many scars. Oh don't forget you have a meeting with Dr. Venkman this morning in Angel's office." She taps her teeth with her nail and fails to see him slide the sheet up covering his unwanted reminder of the Manhattan Towers project. "But what to do for the next four hours." She glances sideways at Xander then grins seductively. "you know you can never have to much information on a subject?"
Xander walked into the meeting full of energy and refreshed from the night's activities, as he passed Winifred she pretended not to know him. He felt a twitch in his chest as he fought to not storm over to her and at least demand a hello. Fred noticed his look and as they continued during the meeting she finally decided to talk to him when he was alone. Fred told him. "Look Xander last night was good and all and I really enjoyed myself but. It's over I was upset over something Wesley said about me being a stodgy librarian and decided to show him."
Xander nods, trying to hide hid anger and relief. "So I was just something to rub against? Something to show Wesley you're not a female version of Giles?" He shakes his head. "Fine, all taken on board Miss Winifred I wont bother you ever again." He shook her hand and told her. "Glad I could service you.. Oops I mean be of service to you."
Xander shook his head and continued with the meeting. Wesley asked Peter. "Just how big can you make these containment units?" Peter looked at Stantz and then grinned at Xander. "Um actually someone else asked us that just over a year ago and we have plans drawn up for one that would cover...." Xander shrugs and cuts in. "I asked them to design one that would cover the Hellmouth."
Venkman is about to continue when his cell phone rings and a smile covers his face. "Hey beautiful, how was practise? Huh that good? Oscar wants what." He covers the phone. "Hey Xander what's an X-Box2?" Xander chuckles. "About $650 retail." Peter's mouth opens and shuts like a goldfish. "Honey tell Oscar he can have it when I get reincarnated as Bill Gates. Jeez when I was a kid I was lucky if I got an empty box to play with!"
Wesley asks Dr. Stantz. "So how much would something like that cost?" Ray strokes his chin and glances at Xander. "I'd have to say three..." He sees Xander hold up four fingers to his chin. "Four million dollars." Wesley pales at the amount. "Of course there would be a life time guarantee on the unit with monthly servicing at added cost."
Peter calls over to Ray. "Hey Ray! Egon's managed to work the kinks out of the remote traps." Ray nods and says. "Get Dana to Fed-Ex a couple across to us so we can field test them."
Cordelia is watching the way the three men work together, like a well-oiled machine and then she notices something about Dr. Venkman and Xander. She asks Ray. "Hey have you ever noticed how Dr Venkman and Xander have the same sense of humour?"
"And they both look a lot like each other too." Wesley mentions. Ray turns bright red and begins to stammer. "I'm aahh Sure there is a valid and very plausible explanation for that. One that I'm sure Peter will more than be glad to tell you."
The office phone rings and Cordy lets it ring, waiting for an answer until she can no longer wait. She picks it up. "This had better be important! Oh okay." She covers the mouthpiece. "Excuse me Dr Stantz but the hotel has an emergency phone call for the ghost busters. It seems there's a disturbance at the Staples auditorium and they were wondering if you could handle it?"
Ray looks over to Peter and Xander and shrugs. "I don't know? We do have a couple of the new backpacks and a few of the older type traps we brought along for demonstration purposes I suppose we could... Take a look?"
Peter ends his phone call and nods while Xander licks his bottom lip and asks. "Did they mention just how urgent they wanted this to be?" He rubs his thumb and forefinger together and Venkman smiles, whispering. "That's my boy!" But he sees Angel glance at him and Peter wonders if the Vampire had heard him.
Cordy asks how much of a hurry the customer sounded and she smiles. "They said, and I quote ' we don't care how much it costs just get rid of these damned things' I guess you guys have your first case."
Xander had rented an SUV to handle the two backpacks, traps and still leave room to carry everyone. He pulled up outside of the massive stadium and, almost before they rolled to a stop, a security guard told them they couldn't park there. Venkman pats him on the back. "Your doing a fine job there.." He flips up his name tag. ".. Norm but I think your boss might want us to be as close to this place as we can get. Tell him the Ghostbusters are here!" He grins and waives at the crowd as someone shouts out there name.
Xander helps Ray struggle into his backpack and then Ray helps Xander do likewise, leaving. Peter and Angel to handle the traps. Xander grins at Angel and tells him. "You may want to be as far away from that as you can get when it opens dead boy unless you want to spend eternity in an Ecto plasmic containment unit." The Security Guard gets off the radio. "the man says for you to get to the upper levels there's some sort of weird shit going on up there." He opens the door and a blast of music filters out. Ray jumps back and tells him. "Yeah I see what you mean."
The guard looks at him and says. "Not that! That's just the rave party being hosted by Leo Decaprio. The weird craps going on in the upper seating area."
The four men run off towards the area the guard had told them about, as they moved through the thick of the ravers Xander stopped as he heard a familiar voice echo through the stadium. "Hey I know her!" He grins as the DJ announces. "And that was Tara's new single from her hit album, You make me feel!"
Xander grins and looks at Angel. "Always good to hear one of the old gang make it big." Suddenly a voice at his side tells him. "Well if you kept in contact you'd have known sooner. Xander turns and sees an Afro-American that looked familiar. He struggled for her name until she gave up and volunteered it." It's me Cindy.. You know Dawn's friend from high school. "She grinned at him and Xander let out a breath." I have to say you have grown up... A lot Cindy!"
She sips on her drink and moves to the beat as she follows Xander and the others, she tells him. "Dawn's here somewhere, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to see you." Xander's smile vanishes. "yeah well I've got to work.. ya know how it is, I'll see you soon." He jogged off after the others until he caught up.
Peter grins and asks him. "So did you get her number? I'm pretty sure she got yours!" Xander shakes his head. "She's just a kid... Hey wait a minute.." He looks back. "Her drink smelt like liquorice." Ray shrugs. "So maybe she likes the taste."
Peter hits the back of his head. "You don't get it Ray! She's never 21 and if they're serving drinks to under aged kids what else are they selling?"
They hit the upper levels and Angel suddenly stops and sniffs the air. "Blood!" They continue their search and Xander finds a body stuffed into a doorway. He kneels down and checks the neck then looks at the others. "Looks like we've got a tooth fairy with an overbite problem!" He feels a hand run through his hair and he jumps up. "Hey sexy! Long time no see."
He sighs. "Dawn. Look there's trouble here and I suggest you make a hasty..." He sniffs her breath as she gets near, then takes a sip of her drink before throwing it away. "Bourbon? Does your sister know about this?" Dawn sniggers and swats his chest with her hand. "She's too busy training with Giles." She leans in and Xander feels her hand begin to stroke his torso. "You know trying to work off all that excess energy she's got since you dusted her sex toy!"
Pete taps Xander on the shoulder and asks him. "Is it me or does that dude look about twenty years out of date?" Xander looks up into the crowd and sees a man with a mullet cut striding through the crowd. "Damn! It's hard to tell these days, what with all this retro crap!" Ray asks. "Yeah but is he from the '80's or the 1880's?"
Xander takes a small cross from his pocket and shrugs at the look Angel gives him. "Force of habit." He makes his way closer to the guy then calls out to him as he throws the cross. "Hey buddy ya dropped this." The man, instinctively catches the object then screams in pain as the cross burns into his skin. Xander asks Angel as they race after the Vampire. "Is it me or are they making you guys dumber these days?"
Angel grins. "Hey he can't help it he's part of the Ex generation. You know as in ex-human."
The vampire grabs a girl from the crowd and holds her by the neck. "Back of dude or I'll snap her neck like a twig!" Xander claps his hands together. "Pete, trap if you would please." Peter throws Xander a trap and he skids it over to the creature. "Stand back Angel and whatever you do don't look into the trap."
Xander depress the foot control as he tells the vampire. "Say cheese mutha!" The trap opens and a bright funnel of light is directed at the
Vampire. As it strikes him he releases his hostage and a red mist is sucked from him. As soon as it leaves his body it's sucked into the trap and it closes. As soon as the mist had left the creature his mortal remains turned to dust covering the girl in a fine powder. Xander grins and looks at Angel. "Beats the hell out of all that sweaty fighting crap doesn't it?"
Before Angel can answer Xander has gone over to the girl and started to brush the dust from her. He grins at her with his lopsided grin and says. "There we go miss all safe and sound and you didn't even spill your drink." Peter taps him and says. "Leave it till we're sure there's no more lover boy! Remember business first pleasure later." He looks around the stadium. "I'm sure you'll find someone to help you after we're finished." Xander shrugged and kissed her hand. "Till later then?"
At the end of the night they had filled the three traps and had to finish the rest off with the backpacks. The effect of the Ecto stream in pulse mode was similar to the trap only the demon was vaporised instead of just trapped inside a small containment field. The manager came to see them when they had finished and he shook Venkman's hand. "I don't know how to thank you!" He pumped Venkman's hand. Peter told him. "I've always found that money's always a good start."
Xander grinned until he saw Dawn staggering across the floor, aided by Cindy and a strange man. "Ah excuse me guys I'll be right back." As Xander approached the trio he heard Dawn exclaim. "You really know Leo? Wow! Cindy imagine that we're going to see Dicaprio!"
Xander shook his head and weighed up the chances the thirty something guy even knew the name of Leonardo's last movie. he stepped in front of the trio. "Hey Dawn, Cindy, we've been looking everywhere for you." He looks at the man and then wags his finger at the two girls. "I hope you two didn't do anything funny? You know what the Doctor said about not doing it till the rash went away!" He looks apologetically at the man. "I'm sorry about this; man I hope they didn't touch you? If they did I'm sure it'll clear up in a month or two." The man's eyes go wide and he moves off. "They say it only itches for the first week or two!" Xander shouts out to the man's rapidly departing back. "Shmuck!" Xander exclaims as he turns to the two very drunk girls.
"I had better get you two to Angel's Hotel before you get into anymore trouble." Dawn grins and winks at Cindy as she stands closer to Xander, her hand running up Xander's thigh. "Sure you can handle the two of us together Xanderrr!" She ends his name with a sex kitten growl. Xander takes her hand from his thigh and tells her. "Oh you're a ball of laughs tonight sunshine!" He asks them. "Did you come by cab or did you drive?"
Dawn places her hand on Xander's rear and gropes him. "We came by cab, but we'd rather cum by Xander!" Xander takes her hand from his butt and shakes his head as the two teens giggle helplessly. He walks them over to the group and tells Venkman. "Look Pete I have to get these two home before they do something they'll regret and Buffy will kill us for. " He hands him the keys to the SUV and tells him. "I'll take these to Angels and then go on back to the hotel."
Pete nods and watches the three as they stagger off, Xander trying to control two very pretty girls as they head for the exit. Pete turns to Angel. "I take it one of them is this Buffy's sister?" Angel nods. "Yeah Dawn is and he's right if anything did happen to her Buffy would go ballistic whether we did anything or not."
The taxi pulls up at Angel's and Xander tells him to wait as he takes the two girls inside. He finds no one at reception so he grabs a key from off the hooks and then walks the two to the room. He unlocks the door and opens it waiving the two inside. Dawn stops and turns around as he begins to leave. She grabs his arm, spinning him around to face her. "Hey! I thought you were coming in?"
Xander shakes his head. "Dawn your what? 16, 17?" She grins. "No need to worry Xandman I'm legal." She grabs his hips and starts to draw him inside. Xander sighs. "Dawn it's a big bad world out there and if you keep this act up you'll end up as an after school special!"
Dawn takes the necklace she had bought from the sex shop next to the Magic Box out from under her dress and waves it in front of his nose. "I'm always prepared Xander... Are you?" She growls feraly at him and pulls him into a hug. Xander thinks * You want to play at being a goodtime girl then maybe you should see what it's like*
Xander pushes her up against the doorjamb and grinds himself into her hips as he sighs into her ear. "Okay baby you win! " The tip of his tongue brushes against her lob as he sucks it into his mouth and tugs at it. He works his mouth down her throat and nibbles at her pulse point. "Oh God Xanderrrr." She moans. Xander grips the condom necklace and rips it from her neck. He throws it outside and grips her ass lifting her to his hip and moves her inside the room. Cindy is flaked out on the couch as he manoeuvres Dawn to the bedroom.
Xander places her on the ground and pats her ass. "Now get in there and strip off ready for daddy while I get Cindy ready to play." Dawn stops and she realises what's going to happen. "Um I.. I don't.. Know if..."
Xander pushes her against the door and runs his hand over her hips. "You wanted it... You said you were a big girl now! Or are you smarter than you think?" Xander walked away from her laughing as he did. "This is a big bad world honey, not all demons wear a funny face and try to kill you. Some just use you for all they can get then piss you away... Just ask your sister!" He turns around and tells her. "Now get a good nights sleep, sober up and I'll try to get Angel to forget what you acted like tonight!"
He shut the door behind him and locked it. He let out a heavy sigh and tried to control himself as he headed back to his hotel. "Man she's right she has grown up. Mamma she's going to be trouble for some guy!"
Wesley tells them. "Well I have been in touch with the Council and they have agreed in principle to your price. On condition one of their watchers is permitted to oversee the project and of course the resident Slayer is involved in the day to day running of the Ecto containment unit." Xander looks at him. "That seems okay. Just who will this Watcher be?" Wesley moves his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and says. "Mr. Giles." Xander groans. "And I don't suppose you've managed to secure Faith's release?"
Wesley coughs. "Um.. Not at this time." he carries on, trying to regain some composure. "It appears the current Slayer will have to suffice until Miss Williams release date."
Pete looks from one to the other. "And this 'Slayer' would be?"
Xander winces as he hears her voice from behind him. "Summers, Buffy Anne Summers. " She glares at Xander. "But before we go on I have to have a little talk with your over sexed CEO that can't keep it in his pants even when he knows the girl is under aged!"
Xander turns in his seat and tells her. "Well whoever it was you can bet she at least had a heartbeat!"
Xander feels his earlobe pinched as Buffy lifts him up from the chair by it. "We'll talk about this outside if you don't mind! " She turns to the others. "Sorry but I don't like to air my dirty laundry in public." Xander snorts. "That's not what the dust buster kid told everyone!" She marches Xander to the door and outside where she pushes him none too gently against the wall. "Dawn tells me you practically raped her and Cindy the other night!" She glares at him and he returns her glare. "Bullshit! Your sister was acting like a tramp and I decided to let her feel what a tramp was treated like! At no time did I attempt to 'rape' either your sister or her passed out friend!"
Buffy huffs. "And I'm supposed to buy this from some jerk that has yet to keep it in his pants?"
Xander points a finger at her. "Hey! Pot and kettle Buffy. Watch who your pointing that finger at Slayer because if we go by past records you're the current Queen of ' Lays of our unlives!'"
The argument heats up until Xander walks away. "That's right Harris! When the going gets tough the Zeppo starts to run!" Xander stops and turns to face her. "Hey! I didn't run away from you! I walked away before you did something else that would make me even more ashamed to have ever been part of your Scooby gang than I already was!"
By now Cordy is standing behind Buffy with her arms crossed shaking her head in disgust. Buffy turns to face her. "So has he sucked up to you yet? Has he rediscovered the joys of the utility closet with you yet? Or has he matured on up to the fax machine room?"
Cordelia jabs her finger at Buffy's chest. "Listen miss high and mighty before you go blasting him and dragging up the past I suggest you stop and listen for a second, that is if you can do that without trying to kill someone that is." She glowered at the Slayer." I was here that night he brought Dawn and Cindy back here from that rave party the two went to. She just about tried to bang him all the way from the lobby to her room! And I have to say Xander showed more restraint than any man I know would have given the choice. Your darling sister was four sheets to the wind, of her face drunk!"
Buffy shook her head but even so doubts began to appear. "Dawn isn't like that! She's a good hard working girl that's been accepted to Stanford!"
Cordelia looks amazed. "What, have you not seen American pie 1,2 and 3? You most of all must remember your, all so brief, time at college and the crap being offered by the students."
"That's got nothing to do with what happened here two nights ago! He tried it on with my sister! Rather than stay in Sunnydale he ran off and now that he's mister big shot Ghost hunter, he thinks he can do what, and whoever, he likes!"
A light switches on in Cordy's mind. "Ahh now were finally getting somewhere. He ran off did he? He left his precious little Buffy and made something of himself rather than stay behind and watch you sink into the mire your so called life had become!" Cordelia was angrier than she had ever been before. "Listen 'Buffy' I know.. We all know what happened before Xander left! Angel found out from his sources and believe me none of us blame him for dusting Spike, in fact I think he didn't go far enough he should have popped the lot of you!"
Cordy's voice echoed through the building as Buffy ran out of the old hotel. Cordelia smiled. "And I'm still the reigning champion! Bitca thy name is Cordelia."
Xander slammed the door closed behind him. "God damned sanctimonious.... BITCH!" He threw his jacket onto the couch and fumed. "Little miss Vampire fucker has the frigging cheek to tell me I'd fuck anything without a dick! Ha! She's proven she WOULD fuck anything with a dick!" His room phone rings and he tries to quieten his anger before answering. "Hello? Ah Giles, yes, yes I'm sorry and I'll apologise to Dawn in the morning. "He sighs. "I'm sorry, Giles she pushed my buttons and I hit back at her. I didn't mean to scare her but she came on all 'I'm a big girl now so treat me like one'. " Xander shrugged. "So I did and she didn't like it."
Xander sat down and held the phone away from his ear, mocking Giles's voice until he heard an angry watcher shout his name for a second time. "Yeah, okay fine. Look this isn't going to affect the contract with the council, I will have them start construction on the containment unit in the morning." He slammed the phone down and shook his head. He stands up and walks over to the mini bar and takes a small bottle of Jim Beam from its chilled interior. He takes a glass down and cracks the seel, pouring a healthy shot into the glass before remembering the bottle of duty free he had in his bag from the Toronto trip.
Before he reached his overnight bag he was startled by the insistent pounding on his door. "Yeah, Yeah yeah! All right for Christ's sake I heard you the first.. Buffy." He spat the last word out like it was poison. She pushed past him and stormed up to the bedroom and kicked the door open. Having found no one in there she turns and glares at Xander. She raises he fist to him and yells. "You ever try to put a move on my sister again and so help me the next time you see your dick it'll be in a glass jar floating in acid!"
Xander laughs and slumps into a chair. "My god that's rich coming from a slag like you. Jesus even Faith kept it down to people that had a heartbeat!"
Buffy sees him down the glass of alcohol and she searches for its source. She sees the bottle unopened on the table. She rips the top off and takes a glass from the shelf. Xander motions with his empty glass. "Oh be my guest Slayer. Me casa, sue your ass off if you break anything!"
Buffy drains her glass as she tries to calm down. "My sister Xander! You hit on my sister! What would you have done if she'd have said yes?"
Xander refilled his glass. "What do you mean if Slayer?" He sees her eyes narrow and he laughs. "Oh ho! So the innocent little girl didn't tell big sister everything then?" He walked up to her and said huskily. "Did she happen to say that I was proving a point when I kissed her? Or that she just about had my trousers off before I could stop her?"
Buffy knocks back the drink * this isn't as bad as I thought* She thinks of the hard liquor. She laughs. "Oh please Harris! You make it sound like she tried to seduce you! My sister isn't like..."
Xander cuts in. "You?" He slaps his head. "Oh! That's right for you to hump anything they've got to be dead first!" Buffy feels woozy and she begins to lose the thread of the conversation. "Yeah well at least they both loved me! Not like the wham bam thank you mam skank Faith! Or the.. " She plays at being Cordy. "No, no touching below the neckline I'm saving it for someone with money.. Then there was old faithful Anya. Anywhere anytime anyway.... That wasn't loving, you just loved fucking her!" She stopped as she realized what she had said.
Xander went quiet and he walked over to her and looked her up and down with an air of disgust. "Just get the hell out Miss Summers before I call security and have them throw you out."
"Hit the truth there did I? See that's what I mean, you like to think of me as a skank when you're just the same." Buffy smiled at his blank look. Xander shook his head. "You win Slayer! You guessed it! The only reason I was pissed off at you was because you chose another Vampire over me. The fact that you failed to let me know your undead boy toy had turned Lector and he kills the entire population of my apartment house just to get at me and Anya has nothing to do with it!"
He looks at her. "My god why did we even bother? It would have been easier to get Faith released, at least she kept it in her species!" He looks at Buffy as she places her hands on her hips. "And I bet you would have looked forward to another romp in the sack with a Slayer too!" Xander strode up to her, he towered over her and looked down on her. "Why not? She's got a better rack and I wouldn't have to kneel down to kiss her!"
Buffy was red with rage. "You... Fucking Zeppo!"
Xander stood toe to toe with her and replied. "You necrophiliac skank!" She slapped him hard and he returned the favour. Then in a move that surprised even Buffy herself she grabbed him and pulled his mouth to hers and began kissing him like her soul depended on it. Her hands went to his belt and pulled on it till it snapped, she then skimmed his pants and boxers to the ground before dropping to her knees. She took in his scent and her nose twitched at his musky odour. Xander pushed her back to the couch, his mind yelling at him to leave her alone and not to touch the blond bimbo. But seven years of love and lust bypassed his brain and hooked straight up to his dick.
He grabbed her under her arms and threw her onto the couch. He kicked off his encumbering clothes and moves on her. He grips her top and heaves it over her head and then pushes her sports bra till it reveals her mounds of glory. He kisses her as his finger and thumb tweak her nipples like they were radio dials. He pulls them taught until she squeals then he covers her mouth with his, their tongues twisting and twirling for supremacy. His hands moved to her shorts, unbuttoning them and travelled further past her cotton panties, pulling her shorts down letting her kick them off.
She felt his large manhood jutting into her abdomen and all she could think of was. "It's so hot! And fucking big!" she paused as she realised she spoke the words out loud and Xander grinned at her. "Why thank you mam, I aim to please!"
He kissed her nipple, drawing it in and rolling it around in his mouth. He sucked on it and Buffy swore to god she almost came there and then. He moved his mouth to the other one and gave it the same treatment before she felt his finger's follow the folds of her pussy through the thin cotton of her panties. "Oh Christ!" She panted. Xander forgot Anya, he forgot everything that had ever happened in his current quest.
Buffy felt his nose on her bellybutton and then felt his curled up tongue probe it before moving down. "Xan..Der! What... Oh shit! What the hell are you...Don't stop. Never stopGNNNAHHHH!!!!" She felt his tongue lap at her now uncovered cunt His tongue worked around her unhooded clit, never touching it as his finger pumped in and out of her wet snatch. Her hips humped his face as her mind screamed out for a response." No one's ever.. SHITTTTT!!!! Oh god I'm Cumming!!!!
She gripped his hair and he swore she had pulled hunks from his head as she moved his mouth and tongue up and down her wet snatch. "No one has ever done this! Fuck! No wonder Willow went gay!" Xander pulled his head away from her crotch to the sounds of an angry Slayer. His cock head rubbed up and down her very wet cunt until his head slipped into her. The heat from her pussy drove Xander wild but not as wild as his heat drove Buffy. "Hot, warm and fucking big!"
He lifted her up and made his way to his bed. She looked cheekily into his eyes as she slid down his shaft her eyes almost going cross eyed as he bottomed out in her. "God your so tight!" He made his way to the bed and placed her on it and she easily flipped him over, his cock popping out of her as she did.
Instantly he felt Buffy tense up and he felt a sharp pain wash through him as she briefly dug her nails into his belly, whimpering and trembling violently through the sudden flood of sensations pouring through her.
"Ohshitohshitohgod!" Xander heard her whisper. He opened his eyes just as she slid atop him and straddled his waist, gaping like a fish and with her eyes nearly popping out of her skull. Suddenly she spasmed and arched her body backwards, gripping hard onto his thighs and throwing her head back with her breasts jutting forward. "Ohmygod!" she whimpered in a small voice. Buffy lunged forward, grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head as she rammed herself hard against him and began kissing him feverishly about his face, neck and shoulders.
Speechless and overwhelmed at her ferocity, the only part of Xander to give any kind of response to her attack was his dick, now pointing valiantly upwards between her legs like a knight's sword raised before battle and behaving as if it had not already been thrust repeatedly into a warm body. Buffy spasmed again and collapsed against him, her chest almost vibrating as she drew ragged breaths. Releasing his wrists, she rested her forehead on his chest as one hand swooped down between them and began to stab feverishly at her groin, the other gripping his shoulder before moving down to her breast. Whimpered intermittently as she worked at her flesh, Buffy rapidly became oblivious to her surroundings with each passing moment.
Reaching down, Xander made a grab for her shoulders, but before he reached her she leapt back to settle down on his thighs. With one hand on his chest, she stared vacantly at him with a disturbingly primal expression as she suddenly grabbed his prick and began squeezing and rubbing it savagely, cooing and muttering incoherently to herself as she stared at the crown of his shaft with a gleam in her eyes. Growling triumphantly low in her throat, she grinned maniacally at him as his member expanded almost painfully and began to leak pre-cum, before drawing a strangled gasp from Xander as she swooped her head down and wrapped her lips about his dick.
"Gaaah ssSHIT!!" Xander gargled. Gritting his teeth, he clenched fistfuls of the bed sheets and stared down at the sight before him. With her backside raised high over the lower half of his legs, she had the base of his meat wrapped in the delicate fingers of one hand while she slid the head in and out of her hot mouth, swirling her tongue around the head as if it were a Popsicle, a low humming deep in her throat sending tremors of pure pleasure down to the base of his root. Groaning and twitching uncontrollably, Xander collapsed back on the bed and began to thrust his hips up to meet her face, his feet shoving against the sheets and rubbing against her inner thighs.
Suddenly Buffy released him and shuffled forward over him. Showing barely any sign of intelligence, she grinned and gibbered at him as she slid her hips into position, guiding his prick into the slot between her legs.
Then she dropped.
Buffy froze, a shocked look on her face before she shuddered and bucked hard on top of him, an action that drove him fully into her as a low, guttural howl escaped from between her clenched teeth. "So fucking BIG!" Placing his hands on her hips, Xander began to hump up at her as she started to slide back and forth on his member, grunting occasionally as his glans impacted on her cervix.
Dropping her torso low over his own, she reached forward and began to nibble at the skin around his neck and chest while Xander clutched at her head and backside, drowning in sheer bliss. Almost covering an ass cheek with one hand, he ran his fingers down to her sphincter and the engorged folds of flesh between her legs. With a soft cry, Buffy lunged forward and slammed her lips down on his as she shuddered, a violent orgasm that caused her to spasm wildly around his entrenched member.
Thrusting himself up off the bed against her, he enveloped her in his arms and pulled her head forward to meet his in a passionate kiss. Running his hand down her spine to her ass, Xander revelled in the sensations as she continued to impale herself on his shaft, assisted by him as he placed his hands beneath her buttocks and repeatedly lifted and dropped her in time with her rhythm, stretching his fingers to tease at her flesh. A few moments later he pushed her down and away, withdrawing his inflamed meat from her swollen cunt with a slight whooshing sound. Grabbing hold of her as she lay sprawled before him with her mouth gaping wide and her eyes closed tight, he rolled her over and tugged back on her hips. The quizzical look she threw back at him became a knowing grin. Facing forward again, she propped herself up on her elbows and raised her ass, her hips swaying hypnotically in invitation as she parted her legs.
"My god you're beautiful!" Xander mumbled as she ran his hands along her back, settling on the globes of her ass as he shuffled forward. Grasping himself with one hand as he held her hips with the other, he guided himself between her legs and pushed forward, entering her warmth with ease. Groaning in pleasure as he slid deep inside, he finally bottomed out and rested momentarily before slowly pulling out a short distance and pushing back in again. Stroked Buffy's smooth back and marvelling at her flawless skin, he began to slowly thrust into her. A furious growl came from Buffy and she began to thrust hard back against him, her shoulder blades outlined under her skin and her muscles rippling with the effort.
Succumbing to raw lust and her insistence, Xander grasped her hips and increased the pace of his thrust until he was literally hammering himself against her ass. Grunting with each resounding impact, Buffy dropped her head to the sheets and stretched a hand beneath her and began to stroke frantically at her puffed up lips, occasionally brushing against his member as it pistoned in and out of her. "Shit, shit, shit, fuuh, fuck..." Buffy whimpered breathily as she felt herself
Approaching an orgasm. "Not again! FuckI'mcummingafuckengain!!!!!GGGOOOOODDDDD!!!"
Reaching down, Xander felt along her ribs until he held a breast in each hand and began to kiss her back and between her shoulder blades. Taking her nipples between his fingers, he began to rub them vigorously in time with his thrusts, drawing a strangled gasp from Buffy as she arched her back in pleasure.
A short time after Xander began to feel his balls tighten, Buffy threw herself up and against him, curling an arm behind his neck as she bucked wildly. "Ohfuck oh FUUUUCK!" she screamed loudly.
Gripping hard onto her breast, Xander curled an arm beneath her ribs and kissed her as he pulled her to him. "I'm clossse...," he whispered. "I'm... aw gawd!" he groaned as his hips spasmed and his member spewed a second load of sperm deep inside her. Groaning in pleasure, he held tightly on to her heaving body as his dick spat globs of sticky semen deep in her vagina like a machine gun. Twitching violently, he continued thrusting into her for long moments after his orgasm was over, holding her tightly close to him as he revelled in the simple pleasure of thrusting into her.
Finally, he collapsed back on his heels and onto his back, pulling her down with him. Breathing harshly and with his prick still deeply imbedded inside her as it rapidly softened, he ran his hands over her sweaty belly and thrust up breasts, kissing the side of her neck and face. "Jesus!" She panted hoarsely. "That... that was incredible!" He pulled her face around and kissed her again. Then moved her under him. Buffy's eyes went wide as she raced to catch her breath. "Again? Oh god not again!" Xander grinned and grabbed her feet and pulled them till her cunt was a snug fit again. He began humping her slowly at first but he knew she liked it hard and fast she curled her legs across his back, her feet locking by his head. He began to pound into her, his dick gauging her measure as his balls slapped against her ass. She gazed as if in a trance into his eyes and her pearly white teeth snapped shut with each downward stroke. Every time he bottomed out she yelped a high-pitched squeal.
"Fuckme Fuckme fuckmefuckmefuckme." Her grunts kept cadence with his fast deep thrusts. Xander felt her juices flow past his pounding cock and run down to stain the sheets with their passion. She dug her nails into his back as she cried out his name at such a high pitch as she came Xander thought he heard glass shatter in the next room. He felt Buffy deflate like a punctured doll as she kept moaning his name.
Xander relaxed, his cock still rock hard and ready but Buffy gurgled like a little girl then snuffled into his arms. He wiped away the sweat as it streamed down her face and asked. "I've..." He paused, then pulled back and looked at her closely. "Buffy?" He released her and her head lolled back onto his shoulder. She was unconscious. "Aw shit!"
Gently sliding her still form to his side, he enfolded her in his arms and rested her head on his chest. Pushing the damp strands of blonde hair from her face and wiping the sweat from her closed eyelids, he relaxed and slowly recovered his strength.
Peter and Wesley left the elevators and Wesley stopped for a second and turned his head. "Did you hear a scream?" Peter stopped and cocked an ear then shook his head. "Not.. Yeah just then." As they grew closer to Xander's room the high-pitched squealing seemed to keep time to the banging of something against the wall. Peter suddenly grinned and looked innocently at Wesley. "Maybe he's testing for termites?" Wesley blushes when Buffy's voice screams out at fever pitch. "Yes...Yes... YES GIVE IT TO ME NOW!"
Wesley tuts and asks Peter. "And I suppose he's feeding her breakfast?" Peter grins and whispers. "He's feeding her something." A man wrapped in a bathrobe wrenches his door open and shouts at them. "For God sake would you tell them to shut the hell up! How's anyone supposed to get any sleep around here?" He slams the door and they hear something rattle off the wall in Xander's room, crashing to the floor. "Crap there goes the security deposit." Venkman says.
Wesley glances at his watch and taps the face. "He does know we have a meeting at 10.00?" Venkman looks at his watch and shrugs. "I don't think he's in any hurry." He pats Wesley on the back and tells him. "Why don't we go to the restaurant and indulge in a cup of their finest coffee?"
An hour later a bedraggled Xander rushes past the restaurant then backs up when he sees the guys. He tucks his shirt in as he walks up to them. "Sorry I'm late I...Uhh had a rough night." Peter looks innocently at Xander. "Funny about that, the man in the room next to you came down just before and complained of the same thing!" Peter's grin widened as he saw Xander blush. "Never mind, with what we made from the Staples Centre we can afford to set up an apartment now instead of when the office is completed."
"So then we just need EPA approval for the Sunnydale plans and we can begin construction." Peter tells them. "What's the agent's name again?" Xander takes out his PDA and brings up the information as Peter took a sip from his coffee. "It's a Walter Peck..." Peter spits out the mouth full of coffee and yelps. "Oh god not dickless again!"
Xander looked out the window of the mobile office and smiled as he saw the construction workers putting the finishing touches on the Containment building. Less than two years ago he would have been the guy working on the gangways securing the drywalls and other mind numbing jobs. He thought back to those days and sighed when his mind came to Buffy. After the showdown in his hotel room and the sexual Olympics that followed Xander had tried to cool down their so called' relationship. He snorted at the word. "Sure as long as you can call balling each other's brains out till you fall asleep a relationship!"
In fact the more he thought about it the more he knew she treated him worse than Faith had the night she helped him get' up' with people. He looked at his watch and shut down the computer in readiness for his departure. He picked up the phone and dialled the head office in NY and waited for someone to pick up, as soon as she did Xander knew the voice. "Hey Janine, how are things going?"
Her New York twang reminded Xander of all the good times he had been shown in the Big Apple. "Oh you know, same old same old. Ooh! I almost forgot... Did you here the news about Dana? " Xander shrugged then remembered he was on the phone. "Nope.. Don't tell me she's back in the Philharmonic?"
"Nope even betta... She's going to have a baby!" Xander grinned." Well that'll happen when you're married, in fact I'm surprised there's no little Louis or Janine's running around yet. "Janine laughs." Well it ain't from lack of trying believe you me!"
She gets quiet and he can almost hear the wheels turn in her mind. "So...I hear you and a certain blond are a hot an heavy item now?" Xander shakes his head. "It's too weird to get into over the phone. Could you let Dr. Venkman know we're still a couple of days ahead of schedule and we should be ready to fit the containment generator the day after tomorrow."
"Okay sweetheart will do. Just remember to take care of yourself out there... there's far too many weirdos in California for my liking." Janine hangs up and Xander holds the phone over it's cradle saying. "You don't know the half of it Janine." He stands up and shrugs into his coat, then picks up his PDA and slips it into his coat pocket before leaving, and locking the door behind him. He walks over to his car and uses the remote to unlock it before slumping into the seat and starting it up. The radio comes on and is playing some inane song by yet another boy band. Xander thinks back to the meeting they had with Walter Peck before construction had started. Dr. Venkman was worried their past 'relationship' would mean the project was over before it had begun but Wally as Peter had begun to call him, was all for the sealing of the Hellmouth. It appears the run in they had in NY was more than enough to convince the EPA agent to let the Ghostbusters do whatever the hell they liked.
What was odd though was the phone call they had interrupted when they had arrived for the meeting. He was telling someone. "yeah, yeah he's here! I'll do whatever it takes to get him to stay in Sunnydale but I can't hold him there forever you have to get things moving on your end." He blushed. "Of course I checked and yes the money is in my account now don't phone me hear again!"
He had made some jock about it being his divorce Lawyer from NY telling him his alimony money had been deposited. Peter was sure he was up to something and that something was revenge but when Peter and Ray had left to return to NY with out incident they had figured they were wrong.
Xander jumped when his headlights switched on by themselves but then he realised they were automatic and it always seemed to get dark earlier in this town. As he pulled up to his house the news came on the radio and droned on about life's troubles. His mind blanked her words out as he saw Buffy sitting on the hood of her car as she waited for Xander to come home. He watched her every move as she jumped down and sashayed over to him. As his mind focused on the night ahead his ears failed to pick up a late breaking news report... "This just in, there's been a break in at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Enclosure where three of the last remaining endangered Masai Hyena's were killed and the Alpha male taken..."
Xander lay in his bed as Buffy came in from the shower draped in his robe rushing around looking for her clothes. He watched her petite form as she played 'hunt and peck' for the missing items. "Well if you'd just act like a normal girl and not Typhoon Buffy during foreplay..." She glared at him and then frowned. "I think you've put some kind of spell on me!" She looked him in the eyes. "I haven't forgotten about the things you did it's just... I get caught up in the 'thing'." She grins seductively at him. "I can't even train with Giles properly anymore. I start to build up a sweat and it gets me going ya know?"
Xander looked at her, really looked at her and he realized she had him hooked again. She came over, lent over him then brushed back her hair and kissed him before running out the door to patrol the dead centres of Sunnydale. He much preferred her hair long again; the whole 'Felicity' cut had made her look too much like that stick insect Ally McBeal. He sighed and hit his pillow in anger. "Shit! She's done it too me again!" He twirled the engagement ring on his finger and stared at it. "I'm so sorry Ahn! I can't help myself I tried to hate, and for a long time I did, but now? She got in under my radar." He looks outside as he hears her car pull away and he slumped back on the bed. He sighed and as he took in a breath he could still smell her perfume on the pillows and sheets.
He decided there and then he would stop doing this, he would stop letting her do this to him. He knew he had taken the place of Spike as Buffy's sex toy, the only difference being he loved Buffy where as Spike was just using her in his lame attempt to turn her to the dark side. "Right that's it then! She either listens to me and we become real lovers or... I am so out of here!" He figured that if she wouldn't listen to common sense then distance would be the next barrier to her using him. Either way he couldn't handle this situation any longer, sure the sex was great but sex without love, without commitment, was just very good stress management.
Dr. Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddmore were working on the old Ecto 1 station wagon before they retired it to the main foyer of the companies show place headquarters when Winston asked. "So did you end up getting Oscar the game?" Peter looked up at him from under the hood. "You mean the X box 2? Yeah I caved... I mean what can I do he looks so much like his mom and you know I can't say no to her." He grinned and then asked." So what are you getting Al?
Winston shrugs. "I don't know Pete." Winston lent against the fender and hefted the shifter in his hand. "The kid want's a damned Segway but I think there's enough idiots racing around the place on them now as it is." He smiles. "But then he is my kid and if you can't make your own son happy at Christmas then you're not doing your job right. Am I right or am I right?"
Peter stops cleaning the motor as Winston's words bite deep into him. he looks up again and wipes some grease from his hands before agreeing. "yeah.. You're right a man should try to make his only son happy but not just at Christmas." He seems distant as he drops the rag and starts for the office. "I'll be back in a minute Winston."
He walked into the office and ignored Janine's cry of dismay as he traipsed dirt through the office reception, not stopping until he came to the training room where Ray and Egon were inducting the new recruits. He knocked on the open door and asked. "Uh Ray, Egon I need to talk to you guys for a second."
Ray started the welcome to the Ghostbusters family tape and then joined the others outside. "So what can't keep till after the presentation?" Ray asked. "I want your advice about something... Something I should have done a long time ago."
Egon asks. "You're going to apologise to Governor Clinton for letting Slimer loose at her inauguration party?" Pete grins. "No I'm never going to say sorry for that." He then looks seriously at his two friends. "I'm going to apologise to Mary Branson for running away when she told me she was pregnant." He straightens up and sighs nervously. "And then I'm going to tell Xander the truth and try to make up for 23 years of not being there for him."
Ray pats him on the back. "You're doing the right thing there Peter. He's a fine boy and he's a credit to his father so it's about time he knew who his real father is." Peter nods then tells him. "No he's not a credit to me, he's a credit to his mom. Hell I didn't even know about him till Mary wrote me after Xander lost his fiancée! I thought she 'dealt' with the problem and I thank God she did the right thing." He straightens his shirt. "And now I', going home and tell Dana and then I'm going to do the right thing."
Xander arrives at the Summers place and gets out of the car and walks up to the front door. Before he can knock the door is opened by Dawn who looks sheepishly at him. "Oh hi Xander come in." He follows her into the room and she tells him. "Buffy will be down in a second she was just getting ready to go over to your place. Xander nods." yeah I know I thought I'd catch her before she did. "he looks at her." So how goes College these days?'
Dawn blushes. "College is... College?" She shrugs and then tries to build up the strength to say something. "look about what happened... I was drunk and I.." Xander places his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right Dawn. I'm sorry for what i did but you were so damned cocky and I had to take you down a peg or two before you got yourself over your head. " Dawn nods. "Yeah we were just there to blow off steam after the finals, I guess we blew off more than we should have."
Xander grins. "Just remember what happened and what could have happened! I'm not saying you should become a nun or anything just watch what you drink when you're in strange places, there's all sorts of weirdos out there and I should know." He grins as he sees her smile. "there we go! There's the Dawn we all love so much."
She looks at his eyes and asks. "So what about you and sis? Is it still hot and heavy or have you two cooled down?" She sees his eyes glance upstairs and then she knows. "you love her again!" She holds a hand to her mouth. "Oh My GOd you love her!" Xander nods and he slumps into a chair.
Unknown to either of them Buffy is at the head of the stairs listening to their conversation. Her body jerks at Dawns announcement and she looks confused as they continue.
Xander sighs. "yeah and now I have to be 'the man' and tell her a few things." Dawn looks worried. "Such as?"
"Such as I'm no longer her sex toy. If she wants stress relief she had better get herself into Tai Chi because I can't do that anymore."
Her voice makes the pair jump. "Not into what Xander?" Xander looks at her. "Look there's something I have to tell you but it's private."
Dawn nods and goes into the kitchen then pressed her ear to the door. "Look I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just come right out and say it. The past few months have been incredible but I want.. Need more."
Buffy looks angrily at him as she folds her arms in front of her. "You want MORE! Jeez how much more can I give? You already know every inch of my body, my weak spots every freaking button to push and when to push it! So what the hell more do you want?"
Xander looks deep into her eyes. "Your heart and soul!" He stands up and grips her shoulders. "I tried not to, hell I swore I'd never do it again, but somehow you got in under my skin Slayer! I love you and if that means never having to see you again for our little' treats' then so be it. But I can't go on the way we are now, I feel empty, used like something you take out of your draw when you get the urge and then put back when it's served its purpose."
Buffy found she could hardly think straight as he told her his news. She shook her head. "no! We continue like we are, I get what I want and you get what you've always wanted."
Xander shakes his head. "You're thinking of the teenager that first saw you, Buffy he died the night you did. What I want is for you to love me as much as I love you."
Dawn held her breath as she waited for Buffy's reply. Buffy's mind was a mess of confused thoughts as she replied. "Well I can't.. Don't love anymore Xander, so if you can't handle that then I guess this is goodbye?" She looked at him and prayed he'd cave like she knew he would. Xander stood up and, sadly, shook his head.
"Tell Dawn I'll probably see her around before I leave for New York." He gazed at her once more then turned and left. Before he closed the door behind him he said. "Goodbye Buffy, I guess I loved you too much."
Cordelia is watching Angel as he plays with his son Conner she grins and begins to tell him. "You know you should get a gold star from the powers for this Angel, or at the least your humanity back." Angel lifts his son high in the air and grins as he chuckles."
What makes you think I haven't Delia? "He hugs his son and looks at her." Every time I hold him I know he is my salvation, he is my only reward that I want on earth."
Cordelia is about to say something until she grips her head and curses out loud as she sinks to her knees. She gets flashes of a strange place and faces surrounding a weird pattern drawn on the floor. She then sees Xander curled up in a ball screaming for someone to not do this. A face appears and he looks familiar as it taunts Xander. "He made me look a fool! It took years for me to work my way back up the ladder and now I'm going to make him wish he was never born!"
A large African man in tribal costume chants in a strange language until the chant is finished and an unseen person casually rips his throat open, spilling the dark mans blood over the diagram on the floor, his blood soaking Xander in the process. Cordelia feels her heart rate increase until she thinks it will burst as she sees Xander's body jump around as if its being electrocuted, his screams of pain and terror strike ear in her heart and then returns to normal.
She looks up from the couch and into Angels eyes as she gasps. "It's Xander! Someone's doing terrible things to him and.. I think they're going to turn him some how!"
Angel tries to comfort her. "We'll stop them Cordy i promise we will." He tucks her hair away from her sweat soaked face. "Now just who is going to do this?"
Cordelia shrugs. "I don't know but it's soon and I think I've seen the man before but I can't remember where!" She asks Angel for a sheet of paper and pen and then begins to draw the design she saw on the floor of the building Xander was in then hands it to Angel. He looks at it then shakes his head. "never seen anything like this before.. What about you Wesley?" He hands it to the ex-watcher who shakes his head. "I can fax it to Willow, maybe they can work it out."
Cordelia gets up and sees Winifred holding Connor. "Either way we should get to Sunnydale as soon as we can. If we can stop Xander being taken then none of this will happen." Angel goes to the phone and then tells Wesley to call New York and tell Dr. Venkman. Wesley looks at Angel. "I'm sure we don't need to get Xander's boss involved in this mess."
Angel places his hand over the mouthpiece as it rings. "No but I thought maybe his father should know!" He holds up a hand. "Hello Giles. Yes, everything's fine here. Look Cordelia has had a vision … and it's about Xander...."
As soon as Dawn heard the door close she raced out into the lounge. "You idiot!" She shook her sister. "For weeks you've been telling me you feel empty and think this thing with Xander wont work out and then when he tells you he loves you and can't go on seeing you like this you let him walk away!"
Buffy begins to shake with emotions and she yells at her sister. "Can't you see? I can't love him! Everything I love either dies or gets corrupted." She begins to try and work it out. "No, he wont go, you'll see... I... I'll go over to his place tonight before I go on patrol. I'll take my change of clothes with me but I'll wear that dress I wore to the prom." she looked at Dawn. "you remember the drooling that caused him." She grins. "he wont know what hit him." she held a fingernail to her teeth. "He'll never leave me and we can continue like we are."
"Buffy I don't think that'll work. He's changed since then he'. He's grown up, become a man. He wants more than just sex! He wants your love."
Buffy grins as she heads upstairs. "Believe me when I'm finished with him tonight he won't want anything else ever again!" Dawn shouts after her. "But is that the way to keep him? Why not just love him?" Buffy stops before she enters her room and says. "Because I'll lose him! I always lose the ones I love." She closes the door behind her and Dawn shakes her arms in frustration. "Jeez why can' things ever be easy?"
Xander pulls up in his car and angrily steps out before the security grill closes behind him. A voice calls to him from out front. "Excuse me Mr. Harris?" Xander looks over to the man and he sighs whispering. "I thought things were going too good..." Then smiles at him and asks. "Mr. Peck, what brings you all the way to Sunnydale? Nothing wrong with our permits I hope?"
Walter Peck grins. "No nothing like that, it's just that when we did some digging around in the old files I found something interesting." Xander is hooked. "About the site or the project?" Peck grins and motions him to the apartment. "Can we go inside? The information I have is rather sensitive if you get my meaning?"
Xander nods and keys the door. They walk inside and take the elevator to Xander's apartment. All the while Xander is looking at the leather briefcase Peck is guarding as though his life depended on it. Xander invited him in figuring *Its daylight so he's not a vamp* and grinning at the thought. "So Mr. Peck what's so important you came all the way down here?"
Peck looks around for signs of anyone else being there before he asked. "Do you mind if I could have a drink of coffee or something?" Xander shrugs. "Of course, where are my manners?" Xander went to the kitchen and proceeded to make some of his favourite Seattle Coffee. He poured it into two cups and took them into the lounge. He handed Peck his then excused himself when the phone rang." I'll just take that in the other room. He figured it hat to be either New York or Buffy, either way he didn't want Peck to listen in.
He picked up the phone. "Harris." Janine yawned and told him. "Sorry it's just so damned late/early here. I just rang to let you know Dr. Venkman and Stantz are on their way with the final mother board for the containment unit." Xander chuckled. "Thanks Janine, you had better get to bed before Louis starts without you." He heard her hearty chuckle and she tells him. "Well he should be used to that he is an accountant after all. See you when you get back here Xander."
He hung up and then felt strangely good about Peter coming down. He almost looked at the man like he had Giles when he was still at school, like a surrogate father only one far better than his real one. He entered the lounge to find Peck still standing. "Take a seat Mr. Peck. Now what was it you were saying?" Peck waited for him to take a sip of his coffee before he continued. "Well like I was saying I was making the final background checks to verify your company, and it's members, were fit enough to hold a licence to use and maintain a nuclear accelerator when I came across some inconsistencies in your background Mr. Harris."
Xander took another mouthful of coffee and grimaced. "Something's funny about the coffee." He said. "I might have to change suppliers.... you were saying?" He motioned to Peck hoping he wasn't talking about how he and the gang had blown up the school or how he had stolen the rocket launcher from the army supply dump or a hundred other things he had got up to fighting evil in Sunnydale way back when.
Peck took out several sheafs of paper and a photo copy of something. "Well I went back to your birth records when I found what I thought was a mistake in your records." He showed him a copy of his parents wedding certificate and then Xander's birth records. Xander looked angrily at him. "What gave you the right to do this?"
Peck saw Xander begin to perspire heavily and pull at the collar of his shirt. "The EPA has got to be very thorough Mr. Harris... Or should I say Mr. Venkman?" Xander looked at Peck and he felt light headed, almost drunk in fact. "Venkman? What kind of stunt are you trying to pull here Peck? You still pissed at the way you screwed yourself in New York all those years ago?"
Peck watched him slump into a chair and he checked his watch. "She said it was fast... No Mr. Venkman I went past being pissed years ago. I'm now into the 'revenge' stage of my anger management." Xander felt his body become very heavy, like he was made of lead instead of flesh and blood. "Look Peck I don't care what you want. My name is Alexander Harris.. Harris get it! No matter how much I hate the thought my father is William Harris town drunk!"
Peck grinned and slid the birth records across to him. "No Alexander you have been lied to all these years to cover up your mothers.. Shall we say loose morals? It appears she was way too friendly with a fellow student at college who went by the name of Peter Venkman and as a result you were born nine months later. Why the bastard never stayed to look after his bastard I'll never know but then again isn't that just like Peter?"
Xander looked at the coffee cup and then back at Peck. "What did you do?"
Peck grins. "Oh I just started you on the road to my revenge! Don't worry yourself it's not poison. Heavens that would be too quick and I want this to weigh on his soul for as long as he lives. I did this to his son and there's nothing he can do but hunt you down and kill you!"
Xander used all the energy he had and stood up swinging at the man. His fist connected and surprised the older man with both its strength and the fact he managed to do it. "He rubbed his jaw as Xander collapsed onto the table crashing through the glass top and hitting the floor." Impressive! She said you'd be totally incapacitated but you'll need all that and much more my friend. I fear her plans for you made mine pale into insignificants!"
Peck knelt down and checked his pulse before he pulled him into a fireman's lift and headed outside to his car. He placed him in the back and covered him with a blanket, he then searched the area for any signs of being seen then dialled a number on his cell. "Yes it's done! I'll bring him to the agreed location... I still get to watch though right?" He smiles as he hangs up. "What was it Khan said? Oh yeah. Vengeance is a dish best served cold and she is very cold Alexander, as cold as death itself." He laughed maniacally as he drove off.
Buffy arrived at Xander's place shortly after sunset and waited for him to answer his intercom. She paced nervously and checked through the grill for the tenth time that Xander's car was there. She pressed the buzzer again and yelled. "Come on Xander I know you're there your cars in the garage!"
A familiar blue BMW pulled up and Giles came running over to her. "Is Xander inside?" He panted at her and she looked confused. "Yeah... Well I think he is he's just not answering."
Giles lent on the buzzer and said. "Xander it's Giles we need to talk open up!" He looked at Buffy. "Your sure he's inside?"
Buffy nodded and pointed to his car, suddenly she was very afraid. "yeah his cars still here... Giles... What's wrong?"
He hesitated before telling her. "Cordelia had a vision that involved Xander and..." Before he could finish Buffy grasped the door and shoulder charged it open before running over to the elevators. Giles barely had time to squeeze in before the door shut and the elevator sped them to his rooms. The door opened to what looked like a battle zone. Buffy's eyes took in the state of the room then she calmly walked up to the table and dabbed her fingers into the pool of blood next to the demolished table.
Giles saw her shoulders slump as she sighed. "See I was right..." She looked at him. "The one's I finally let into my heart always leave me." Giles looks around the room not sure what to make of her statement and his eyes alight on the paper records Peck had left behind. He scooped them up and reads them. "My god! If this is true then.."
Buffy walks up to him. "Is it about Xander? Does it tell you where he is?" Giles looks up from his discovery." What?
No, unfortunately it doesn't but it does explain a few things. "he sees her unasked question." Like why, out of the blue, one of the leaders in the field of Ecto containment would suddenly ask Xander to work for him."
"He's Xander's Uncle." Giles looks at her and sighs. "He's his father." He hands her the documents she sees a photo of him along with a medical report from the hospital in New York where Xander was treated after the Manhattan Towers case. She grimaces at the details of his wounds before something strikes her. "Giles these wounds he was supposed to have suffered at the hands of a clawed demon." She handed them over to Giles and he looked at them. "Claws never did these! They look more like.." He turns the photo around and motioned with his hands. "These are markings a sacrificial offering would make. Someone or thing, tried to sacrifice Xander!"
Buffy tells him. "This shit is getting weird!" She looks around the room. "Well we're not going to find anything more here I think we should start looking for this place Cordy said she saw him being held in. When do they get here?" Giles looks at his watch. "Any moment now." he folds the documents and places them in his coat pocket. "This is getting frustrating! For every piece of information we find they open another series of questions."
Buffy follows him out. "Like I said this shit is getting weird!"
Willow has spent the last few hours hacking into every major real estate agencies files and showing a very frustrated Cordelia their photographs in the hope something would click. While she is doing this Wesley, Giles and Angel are searching through Giles's formidable collection of demonology. Giles shuts another book and rubs his eyes. "This is getting us nowhere!"
They hear the bell tinkle above the front door and two men walk in. "So where the hell is he?" Peter asks. "I rang his place and received a message to come here." He looks at all the worried faces and his worries increase. "Okay what gives?"
Giles looks at the others then tells him. "Xander has been taken by someone for some unexplainable reason to a location we know but can't find." Peter looks at Ray. "Did you understand an damn word he said?" Ray nods. "Xander's in deep doo doo."
Giles tells him what they found at Xander's apartment and then he shows Peter the documents. Venkman shuffles through them and shakes his head. "Somebody with a lot of pull got these. He flips the pages over to see if there were any official seals on the back and he shows them." E.P.A. Frigging dickless took him! "Giles asks." Who? "Ray tells him." Walter Peck, he was the head E.P.A. agent in New York when we first started. He caused a lot of trouble then got shit canned for screwing us around. "He looks at Peter." Looks like he wanted his pound of flesh."
Venkman looks at Ray. "Well he's going to get more than a pound this time! I'm going to pound his head so far up his..." Ray stops him. "Look we need to find him first." He thinks then grins. "he probably doesn't know we know yet so..." Peter finishes. "We act really nice and say we get his boss to tell him she needs to see him ASAP!"
Buffy tells them. "Surely he's not as stupid as you think he is? " Ray tells her. "Oh he's twice as dumb as that Miss Summers! I only hope we can follow him to where he's holding Xander!"
Xander could hear muffled voices as he slowly came to when the drug worked its way out of his system. He feigned unconsciousness and tried to listen in. "What are you doing here?" A voice asked and then Xander heard Peck's voice say. "I wanted to watch, hell I deserve this after all if it weren't for me she wouldn't get this opportunity for vengeance!"
The next voice shocked him to the core. "Let him stay and watch my kitten be turned into a doggy!" He strained to gauge where she was talking from but her voice next came from right next to him. "I know you're awake kitten Miss Edith told me so." Xander tries to wipe the sweat from his eyes but his arm only moves so far before the chains bite. "What? " Xander looks and sees both his arms are chained to the centre of a pentagram. He glances at Dru. "Now then Druscilla, you have to understand I did what I did because Spike killed my Anya!"
Dru grinned and nuzzled his neck before telling him. "I'm sorry about what happened in New York, my childe was quiet fond of Spiky and when she heard about what you did she decided to act without my consent."
She traced the thin white lines that were a constant memory of that night in Manhattan. "Ooh these must have hurt my Kitten." She licked her lips then ran her tongue along the lines causing a cold shiver to run through his body. "Oh Mommy's looking forward to entertaining you when the nice man is finished."
Xander looked towards where Dru was motioning with her eyes and he saw an African dressed in some kind of ceremonial costume. He moans. "Oh God what now Dru?"
Dru giggles and claps her hands then spins around her arms making flapping motions. "Miss Edith told me you have a very dark aura Kitten and once the nice man has finished you will be a creature far darker than any normal vampire and you will make what Daddy did in our European Vacation look like a Sunday school outing!"
Xander looks at the man and his costume is vaguely familiar, then Dru looked at his feet and Xander looked down and around his feet. He paled as he recognised the design and began tugging on the chains. "Dear God no! For the love of God please Dru no!"
Giles pulled up in his BMW and the others arrived in the hire car and Ray goes over to talk to Giles. Buffy lent across to talk to Peter. "So Doctor Venkman are you sure you want to tell Xander you're his father?" Peter looks at her. "Knowing Peck he's probably already rubbed the fact in so I think it's best if I just beg him for forgiveness and we try to work things out." He looks at Giles and asks. "So this tweed guy is he any good?"
Buffy nods. "He kept our Asses from being toast more times than I'd like to remember." She stops and sighs. "But then so did Xander." She looks over at the old Zoo. "You know we came here once on a field trip with the school." She smiles. "Xander was still trying everything he could to get me to notice him." She stops and turns to look at Peter. "So when this is all over I suppose Xander will be going back to New York?"
Peter shrugged. "That's entirely up to Xander and unless there's something to keep him here I think he will." He looks at her. "I don't suppose you'd know of anything that would do you?"
"At one time I would have said yes but his priorities have changed." Buffy looked at him and she fiddled with her hands. "he... He told me he loved me and he couldn't go on the way we were."
"And you don't love him?" Peter asks and Buffy shrugs. "I can't... You see every time I love someone something terrible happens to them." Peter nods. "And does Xander know this?" she looks at him like he's a child. "Yeah! Of course he does."
Peter pats her hand. "And yet knowing that he still told you that he loved you. Don't you think you should at least owe him to try? If you love him that is. Do you love him?"
Buffy nods then makes up her mind. "We're going to get him out of whatever trap Peck's put him in and then we are going to have a long talk about our feelings and how we should go from here." Buffy looks at Peter and smiles. "Thank you Dr. Venkman." He laughs. "Please Buffy call me Peter, I feel like you're part of the family already."
Ray returns from Giles's car. "I think we should talk about our next move. Angel came back and he says all the other entrances are still sealed except for this one." Peter and Buffy nod then Peter and Ray get into their backpacks.
They all make their way to Giles's car and see Giles trying to work out what the diagram is. "So this is where dickless came." Ray asked. Giles nods but is distracted by the design of the pentagram Cordelia had drawn, he tapped the drawing and told them. "This is quiet annoying! I know this I've seen it before."
Cordy glances at it and says. "I still say it looks like a dumb dog." Giles starts to mock her then grips it across the steering wheel. "Oh My God of course!"
Buffy looks at the drawing and begs him. "What Giles? For the love of Mike what the hell are you babbling about?"
Giles looks at them and says. "It's not a dog. It's a Hyena!"
Xander hears a cage being dragged into the holding pen where Dru has him chained. He tries again to break his bonds but a normal man is no match for hardened steel. "Calm down pet it'll be over soon." Dru croons at him. "Then you and Mummy can go make nummies before I bring you into my family."
Xander looks at the African and then at the caged Hyena. He stops and looks harder. Then Peck tells him. "He's big isn't he." He grins and tells Xander in a gloating manor. "When she found out about your being possessed by the Hyena spirit and how you almost took down the Slayer by yourself she was impressed. But not as much as when she found out about M'Boto and his tribe of Primals. She had him brought here and he told her how there were only five of the great ones left and how three were in captivity in San Diego."
Dru kneels by the Hyena's cage and whispers. "Who's a pretty boy then?" She looks over at Xander. "Did you go all hairy? I like the pretty patterns his fur makes." She turns to M'Boto. "Will he go hairy?"
M'Boto looks at her. "He will be instilled with the spirit of the N'Gata Kree the elder of the pack. His strength will be as if he is the pack! His cunning will not be outdone and his ways of the animal spirit will outshine even your creators Druscilla!"
She claps her hands and giggles. "Then let the show begin." The large doors roll shut and two of Dru's vampires stand either side of M'Boto as he begins the ceremony. He stands next to the Hyena and shouts. "Ubi Bias An Agh Nindando... Ui Bias An Agh Nindando!" He keeps repeating the chant until the Hyena's eyes glow yellow then he walks over to Xander and waives an object made from Vulture feathers and the teeth of the killed Hyena's over Xander. "Ui Na Bias An Agh Narendido Kree! Ui Na Bias AN AGH Narendido Kree..."
Xander felt a tingling in his finger and toes and then he began to lose all cohesive thought as the rhythm of M'Boto's chant became faster and faster until it matched the beating of Xander's heart. He looked at Dru and cursed her. "You had best run Dru! Cuz if this works the first thing I'm going to do is feast on your body!" He felt pain spear through his body. "This isn't what it was like the last time AGHHHH!!!" His body arched and Peck could swear he heard his spine crack.
M'Boto tells her. "Now, to complete the transpossesion we need an act of brutality." He looks at Peck and Dru says. "Yes I agree... Oh I also need to be assured you won't change him back if the damned white hats get you." She grins as one of her vampire's holds him while the other slits his throat. They drop his body and the blood flows into the pentagram and follows the outline of the Hyena head drawn there.
The blood seems drawn to Xander as if by some mystical hand and as soon as it touches his body Xander screams an unholy cry. Dru begins to worry when he starts to shake faster and faster until she can barely follow his movements. Suddenly the Hyena howls and Xander's movements stop. The pen becomes unearthly quiet and Dru thinks the spell has failed but before she can order one of her flunkies to check Xander suddenly sits up and looks around until he sees her.
"Release me... Release me now or suffer the consequences!" Xander's eyes light up and become feral. Peck asks her. "The chains will hold him till you turn him right?"
Xander's neck snaps to look at Peck. "Don't go too far meat bag!" Peck sees the eyes; the eyes that once were brown and human are now a deep shade of yellow and elongated. Xander's arms tug at his restraints and he looks at Dru and licks his lips. "Chains... Kinky." He tilts his head as if in thought. "but way to constraining." He snaps one and then the other as if they were made of tinfoil instead of hardened steel.
He looks down at M'Boto's body and kicks it with his toe. "Someone's been a naughty girly?" He looks at Dru and tuts. "You should have savoured the moment Dru baby." He suddenly sniffs the air and looks towards the cage and the Hyena growls at him as he approaches it. "Now, now, puppy no need to fear me" He kneels by the cage and the Hyena moves to the opposite side its tail planted firmly between its legs and shows a nervous set of teeth to him. "No this won't do at all! A creature like this should be free."
As he stands he sniffs the air again and without a thought tells Dru as he inspects the cage. "You might want to get ready those stupid white hats are coming." He grips two of the bars and bends them outwards allowing him access to the Hyena. He begins to pat it but the Hyena rolls on its back and shows Xander his throat in an act of submission. "Aw ain't he precious." He begins to scratch its neck and Dru turns away to talk to her minions. "Clear us a way out..." The snapping of the Hyena's neck caused Dru to falter and she looks over at Xander.
He grins at her. "Just in case that stuffy Englishman has ideas about returning me! " He looks over at Peck then shakes his head. "No too fresh." He then jumps an amazing twelve feet and lands on one of Dru's minions and begins to devour him. Peck looks shocked but Dru starts to giggle insanely. "That's my boy, that's my little tiger!"
Xander stands up, blood and pieces of meat dripping from his jaws. He licks his lips and sighs. "These are really tasty! " He eyes another one who backs away. "And you can't stop at one!" Dru shouts to him. "We'll need them all soon my pet. Why not come to mummy for some... Comforting?"
He walks towards her, looking her up and down. "Now then what was next on my to-do list?" He pulls Dru to him as the sound of metal hitting metal rebounds through the pen. "Hmm I'd like to leave but I'm still just so damned..." His teeth change becoming razor sharp needles made for rending and tearing. "Hungry!"
Dru slides her body seductively against his. "You're reading my mind kitten." She purrs against his throat and slides her hands over his body. "Come on lets go home and play..." The doors reverberate with the noise of heavy pounding and Dru sees one begin to buckle. "No time for that now we have to go." She points to the others. "Hold them till we're gone!"
She stops dragging Xander when she sees the only other escape being broken in to. "Damn humans!" She looks around but stops when she sees Xander looking up at the skylight. "We can't make that lover. We'll have to fight our way out." She feels Xander's hand slip from hers and she watches as he jumps up and grasps the metal bars crossing the window. He snaps them apart and smashes through the glass, pulling himself up till he's free.
He looks down and shrugs. "If you make it out maybe we'll hook up." He blows her a kiss then says. "Ow and tell the Slayer I'll be seeing her soon...Real soon!"
Dru's attention is taken by the sound of the door collapsing to the floor. She sees Buffy and Angel racing towards her. "Kitten? Don't leave mummy to the nasty people! Kitten!" She hears the sound of her children being dusted and she turns to face Buffy and Angel.
"Hello daddy." She tells Angel, and then glares at Buffy. "You won't let the nasty Slayer hurt your Dru will you daddy?"
Buffy looks at the dead body of M'Boto and the demolished cage containing the dead Hyena. "What have you done?" She demands.
Peck tries to buy his life in exchange for what he saw. "I thought they were just going to frighten him! Scare him and then I would have my revenge but they made that man." He points to M'Boto as the others arrive. "Perform some kind of ritual on him and he went crazy! Then they killed the African and Xander calmed down. He.. He snapped the chains like they were made of paper and then he ate... Ate one of her men!"
Giles checks the cage and tells her. "Well with the Hyena gone we can't transposess the spirit back into It." he looks at Buffy. "Still we managed to handle Xander the last time this happened and we should..."
Dru giggles and they all turn to her. "Not this time you won't watcher! This time he has all the power of the Alpha male! He'll retain his intelligence and be enhanced by the Hyena's cunning and hunting skills." She looks at each of them. "Even without me turning him you're all as good as dead all ready!"
Buffy grabs her by the throat. "Why? Why do this to him?"
Dru glares at her. "Because you took my Spiky and then he killed him when Spike became his normal loving self!" She looked at Peter and smiled. "My other child, Naomi, tried to bring Spike back for me but she failed and Kitten killed her but not before she left her mark on him." She sighs. "This way I kill two birds with one sacrifice. I get him to do my work! And I get to watch the one you love devour you all one by one.." Her face looks shocked as she turns to dust leaving Peter standing there with a stake in his hand.
"You bitch you as good as killed my son!" He turns to Peck and hefts the stake. "Now I'm going to kill you!" Angel and Ray hold him back. "No Peter leave him to us!"
Giles is red with rage." How could you do this to him? After all he had been through, you lead him to his doom as an act of revenge for losing your job? "He is about to strike him when he has another idea." Chain him up, we may need him later. "He looks to Angel." Can you track him?"
Angel nods. "I should be able to but what will we do when we find him?"
Giles shrugs. "Sedate him and chain him up till we can work something out." His eyes go wide as he fishes for his cell phone in his jacket pockets. "Oh my god! We have to warn the others!" He dials Dawn's number as he tells them. "the Hyena considers all other life forms as potential food! And all other members of his species either enemies or..." he looks at Buffy. "Potential breeding partners!"
Xander hunted the old area where Buffy had chased the snake being Glory had created to find the key then used his keen sense of smell to pick up the scent of her minions. He walked into the luxurious rooms where Glorificus once held court and dealt with the few minions that were left. He opened the wardrobes one after the other and shook his head. "Girl's clothes, girls, girls! Where the hell did Ben put his things?" He came to a small closet where he found Ben's change of clothes. "Well this won't do, won't do at all!"
He ripped Glory's clothes from the closets and threw them into a spare room as he did he attracted the attention of a pair of Vampires out for a nights hunting. "Well looks like we've got a new neighbour." The larger of the two stated. "Say hi to our dinner Frank!"
Frank charged Xander and he was amazed when the human just stood there and waited for him to get closer. When he did Xander just dodged out of the way and as the vamp passed by he gripped the vamp's head and twisted. The body made a popping sound as it turned to dust and Xander turned his yellow eyes to the remaining Vampire. "See now you made me waste a perfectly good meal, don't ya know there's people starving in China?"
The large Vampire knelt down and ripped a leg off of a table and began bouncing it on the palm of his hand. "Well one meal less ain't going to hurt 'em none but me.. I like it when my lunch fights back!"
He swings at Xander, who simply ducks. "Ooh a swing and a miss the crowd go wild...." He imitates a stadium going wild as the large Vamp is enraged and takes another swing. "Strike two!" Xander punches his nose and the sound of it breaking echoes through the palatial surroundings. The Vamp covers his bleeding nose with his free hand. "Mother freller!" He yells then points the improvised bat at Xander's head. "I'm going to knock that smart assed mouth out of the Frelling Park!"
Xander looks bored. "Oh please! Like I could take a Vampire that likes Farscape serious!" He grins at him. "Besides what kind of an asshole writer would give the hero the girl and then kill him off?"
The Vampire blinks and then looks bewildered. "Critchton got to bag Aryn? And then they killed him? When the hell did that happen." He begins to get angry. "Man I got to remember to stay in on a Saturday night!"
Xander puffs out his bottom lip. "Oh is da big bad wampire gonna cry now?" He taps his watch and tells him. "Cuz it's gone nine and I'm already running late for dinner!" He charges him and runs right by him tugging it's right arm as he went by. the Vampire looks down at where his arm used to be and cries out. Xander sniffs the limb and his mouth begins to salivate. "Mm! Fresh dead boy! Now if I could only get the Colonels secret recipe!"
He turns as he hears clapping coming from the front of the building. "Wow you put on a really good show there Xandman!" Xander looks at the woman and sighs as his senses tell him the Vampire is trying to sneak away. Xander picks up a length of pipe and throws it backhandedly, impaling the vamp through the chest and into the wall. "Stick around we'll do lunch when I finish with Rat girl!"
Amy laughs. "I always did love your sense of humour Xander, makes me wonder why we never hooked up."
Xander stalks towards her. "Maybe your being a rat had something to do with it? After all a guy has to have his standards..Even if they are low."
Amy brushes some dust off of a chair and sits down her leather pants leaving little to his imagination as she did. "Rak sensed a being entering this plain and he sent me to introduce ourselves. Imagine the surprise I got when I found you here." Amy places a fingertip in the corner of her mouth as she sizes him up. She draws the tip down to the front of her top. "So Xand, what now for the dog boy? You going to try to take the slayer down and rule Sunnyhell?"
Xander snorts. "After six years of watching every idiot with a death wish crash and burn do you really think I'm dumb enough to want to try?"
Amy does her best seductive look. "Rak figured if you hooked up with us we could win."
Xander laughs. "You two couldn't keep Red evil for more than a day and you expect me to risk my existence helping you two take on little miss kiss kill?" He looks over at the moaning vamp. "Now if you don't mind my dinner's getting warm!"
Amy can't believe Xander wouldn't take the bait. "You mean you're going to let that skank get away with everything she's done to you? She led you around by the dick for six years and then when you found someone you cared for she let that asshole Spike do her?" She sees he still moving towards the vamp. "Rak's got it all worked out." Her words tumbled from her mouth before her mind could stop her. "they're building a containment field around the Hellmouth right?"
Xander stops and turns around shrugging as he does. "So? Everyone knows that."
* Gotcha! * Amy thinks. "Yeah but what everyone don't know is me an Rak have a spell that will reverse the field and instead of sealing the Hellmouth it'll open it wide instead!"
Xander grins evilly. "And let Hell walk the face of the earth once more." Xander stamps his foot on the broken table and flips a shard of wood up into his hand. He turns and throws the improvised stake dusting the vamp. "Lunch cancelled dude!" He walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "So tell me more Amy my dear. Did I ever tell you I like you as a brunette?"
Willow and Buffy walk into the shop and collapse into their seats as Dawn asks. "I take it you didn't find him?"
Willow shakes her head. "Nope, we found plenty of signs that we were close but no cigar." She looks at Buffy who's staring at the wall lost in a world of her own. "I think maybe I should try the soul restoration spell."
Giles shrugs. "I doubt it would work Willow, remember he's not a vampire."
Buffy settles back into her chair a heart broken look covers her face. "I'm beginning to think you were right Giles. A Slayer should be alone in her fight. If I had listened to you none of this would have happened!"
Cordelia nods. "You're right, for once, if you had of left us out of this things sure would have been different." Cordy looks at the shocked faces. "What? Look if she did then Xander wouldn't be all dog boy, Willow wouldn't be going through the seven step plan for recovering witch-a-holics, I wouldn't be vision girl!" She sees Buffy sink into her chair nodding in agreement.
Before anyone can rip a strip off Cordelia she continues. "Yeah.. We'd all be dead, or worse we'd be walking around at night looking for our next meal and having to wear last years clothes because Gucci only opens by appointment during the day!"
Giles looks dumbfounded. "Thank you Cordelia, as insightful as ever." He places the dart gun on the table. "Now then while you were patrolling Angel and I have worked out a plan. We dart him with this then we lock him up in the vault at the old First Savings bank on Fourth and Elm until we can reverse the possession."
Dawn says. "That sounds like a plan Giles but how do we find him to dart him?"
Buffy looks at Willow. "I think I know something that'll get his attention."
Willow remembers the last time Xander was possessed and the only thing that he wanted was. "Buffy! You cant... What if he.. You know gets you?"
Buffy smiles at her friend. "Wills he will not get me, besides he didn't 'get me ' the last time he was like this and he isn't going to this time either."
Meanwhile in the back room, Peter and Ray have Walter tied to a chair as they study Ray's lap top. "I knew I had it here somewhere. Riesnecks Tribal rituals and how to negate them." He smiles at Peter and pats him on the back. "All we need to do is gather the contents for the spell and we capture Xander." He begins to read it. "Yep we can get most of the goods from right here and there's even a binding spell that will leave the spirit bound to it's host. "
Peter pulls Rays ear. "Ray unless it's slipped your mind somehow I have to remind you... That would leave us in the same position we're in now!"
Ray rubs his ear and smiles." No, no my friend because you see the binding would freeze both possessor and possessee frozen in time unable to move or do anything for a period of twenty five years, at which time the Hyena spirit will have been so weakened that it couldn't hurt a fly!... Uh oh!"
Peter turns away from glaring at Peck and looks at his friend. "Uh oh is never a good thing Ray, what's going on?"
Ray tries to find the words. "Well uh we have the materials to perform the transpossesion but we're short one item." Peter looks at him and motions for him to hurry. "You see we need something for the spirit to be transferred to. Something alive and preferably human or else the spirit will dissipate." He looks at Peter. "Taking its host with it!"
Buffy walks up to Giles and tells him. "You don't know how much I've missed you Giles. You're my rock in troubled times." She looks puzzled at his dark glare. "Yes well once we've returned Xander to his proper form I intend leaving just as soon as I can." He looked away from her. "And I will suggest to the others to do like wise." He looks back at her with contempt in his eyes. "How could you? I heard.. We all heard what Dru had said you did to him and for the first time in my life I wish I had never become your watcher!"
She took his hand and begged him. "Giles you don't understand.. I felt nothing when they dragged me back from heaven! Spike was the only one to make me feel alive.." Giles ripped his hand from her and stated. "Well if shagging you like some cheap whore made you feel alive maybe you shouldn't have been brought back? But to have allowed Spike to kill all those people then blame Xander for killing the mad bastard is down to you. Your fault entirely Slayer." He closed his briefcase and began to walk away. "I have made arrangements with the council and they're getting Faith released into my custody. As soon as she arrives I want you as far away from Sunnydale as you can get!"
Buffy folds her arms. "I'm not leaving! This is my town and.. I have to get Xander back."
Giles turns to face her but she sees he's all Watcher now and no emption plays on his features. "You will do as you are told or I will invoke the ritual of removal. The council will take you to a retraining unit and there you will be used to train the trainee watchers in what to look out for in rogue Slayers! You disgust me! When I first became your watcher all you ever did was complain it wasn't right that you should have to give up a normal life to fight evil. Well tough shit little girl you're all grown up now and still you're whining! What about all the people that have died because you couldn't do your job? Well now your actions have come back to haunt you. If we cannot save Xander then we must destroy him and that'll be another soul lost because of you!"
Giles's words cut her to her very soul and she looked around for support but she could see there was none to be found. Willow tried to help. "But it wasn't her fault, she came back wrong but now she's better she would no more hurt Xander than she would Dawn!"
Buffy sank to her knees as she realized. "Oh God! What have I done? " She looked at Willow and the others. "He's right it is my entire fault! If I had warned Xander or even controlled my lust for Spike things would have been different! Can't you see? Xander wanted a commitment from me, he told me he wanted more than just sex he wanted into my heart but I couldn't risk opening it to him in case he left like all the others!"
"And now because of me there's a beast roaming the streets with his face!" Buffy looked for Dawn. "i need to go home and try to work this out. Where's Dawn?"
Angel tells her. "She.. Uhh left when Giles started to tell you a few home truths. I guess she couldn't take seeing her hero stripped bare before her."
Xander walked in with Amy almost glued to his hip. Amy tells Rak. "I told you I could get him to come."
Rak grins. "Ahh Mr. Harris such a pleasure to see you at last." He motioned to a chair and Xander sat down. "I take it Amy has told you of our plans?"
Xander looks bored. "yeah you're going to take out the Scooby's and open the hellmouth." He yawned. "I have but two words.. Bore ing! If I had a dollar for every two bit wanna be that's tried it, and died I might add, I would be a very rich man Mr. Rak."
Rak grins. "Ahh but we have three aces up our sleeves. First you know how they fight and what they think, secondly with your powers joined with ours we will be unstoppable."
Xander runs his fingers down Amy's back causing her to grin seductively. "And your third ace?"
Rak snaps his fingers and a minion drags in a girl. "Why we have the Slayers sister as insurance!"
Xander looks over at a very frightened Dawn. "You touch me and Buffy will rip your lungs out!"
Rak pretends to be scared. "oh I'm not going to touch you my dear, but I do fear Mr. Harris will have a good use for you." He begins to laugh evilly as he points to a room. "Mr. Harris we have rooms available for you and as you can see we have provided you with some.. Entertainment. So will you join us?"
Xander looks at Rak then sniffs the air. He caught Dawns scent and she smelt very similar to Buffy, he licked his lips as his eyes began to glow yellow. He stood and walked over to her. He pulled her to him and he smelled her hair as he held it tenderly in his hand. "mm you smell just like her." He moved his lips to the back of her neck and brushed them against her skin. "You taste just like her too." He turned and grinned at Rak. "I think I might join your band of merry men." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. "You said I had some rooms?"
Rak's evil laugh filled the hall. "Yes I did and welcome to the family Mr. Harris."
Xander pulled Dawn close to him as Rak's minions got closer. "Call me Xander. After the fine gift and letting me join your family it's the least I can do." Xander threw Dawn into his room and turned to close the door telling them. "If you hear screams it'll just be me taking the edge off my.. Hunger."
Xander slammed the door closed behind him and turned to search the rooms. Dawn moved back until her legs touched something. She turned and saw it was the bed and she began to freak moving as far from it as possible. "Don't you touch me you bastard! What my sister did was wrong but what you're about to do is just..Evil!"
Xander snorted. "Oh please, as if!" He walked over to the window and checked it. "As much as my Hyena part would dearly love to it would just be too much like doing my sister, very Eew inspiring!" He moved his hands along the bars and bent them up till he was sure she'd fit through them. He motioned her over to him then stopped as he sensed someone at the door. He held her dress in his hands and tore a strip off it causing Dawn to scream. "Yeah bitch!" He yelled. "You're my playmate now so just lay back and scream my name! " He motioned for her to scream again. He used his senses to see if they had gone and when they had he told Dawn to stop.
"Do you know where we are?" Dawn nods and says. "We're about two miles from the college."
Xander checks outside the window. "Good no one in sight and I can't smell anything close by." He turns to her. "Now you must tell Buffy what they're planning and get her to stop them."
Dawn hesitates at the window. "How do I know you're you? How do I know this isn't some plot to get Buffy?"
Xander shakes his head. "I'm not me, I haven't been me since Dru caste this damned spell but even my Hyena spirit knows that if hell is released on earth then the hunting's going to be mighty slim up here. All I want is to be left alone to gather a pack and live in peace." He shrugs. "And hunt."
Dawn climbs out the window then pauses. "Won't they wonder what happened to me?"
Xander grins. "Oh I have a plan and I'm feeling a might peckish."
Dawn drops to the ground and Xander watches till she safely away before he bends the bars back into position. He opens the door and sees a female vampire with the same coloured hair as Dawn. "hey, come here. Wanna have some fun?"
Dawn uses the back entrance to the store and rushes in. "You guys are never going to believe this!" She exclaims. " Xander's with Rak and Amy but he's really trying to stop them from using some spell to open the hellmouth.
Buffy looks at her torn dress and mussed hair then asks her. "What the heck happened to you?"
She pauses and says. "Well Rak had captured me after I got home and he gave me to Xander as a welcome to the family gift."
Buffy rushes over to her. "Oh no! Did he..."
Dawn shakes her head. "No and that's the weird part. I was sure he was going to go Tyson on me and he even acted that way right up until we got in his room. Then he helped me escape and told me to warn you of Rak's plan." She sits down as Buffy tries to fix her dress. "Rak and Amy are planing to reverse the Containment unit and use its power to open hell!"
Giles eyes slit in disbelief. "Why would he do that?"
Dawn tells him. "He said that if they open hell up then the hunting's going to be very slim and that all he wants is to create a pack, live and hunt in peace."
Giles nods. "That makes sense. But when we stop Rak we'll grab Xander at the same time."
Dawn asks them. "But how is he going to explain my disappearance?"
Buffy shrugs. "They keep telling me Hyenas are very cunning, I'm sure he has worked out a plan." She looked into the night. "I hope."
Rak is becoming impatient with Xander's late rising. "For the love of.. Will you please tell that lazy SOB we have things to do today!" he orders Amy. She shrugs and grins. "Don't forget he had a playmate last night Rak. He's probably all worn out." She stood up from the table and went to Xander's room knocking on the door. "Come on Xander time to wake up sleepy head." She bit on a finger nail and grinned before continuing." Leave the poor child alone for a few hours while we go through our plans for tomorrow night.
She hears a grumble and a growl then hears the door unlock. Xander stands there, a sheet wrapped around his waist, his upper body covered in blood. Xander yawns. "Give it a rest Amy! I only got to sleep an hour ago." He went to wipe his face and Amy yelped at the sight of the scalp in his hand. "What?" Xander asked as Amy pointed at the scalp. "This? Well you see I got a bit.. Too play full with Dawn last night." He used a finger nail to pick at something in his teeth. "You know what? I knew Buffy was tough but I had no idea her sister would have been that tough." He sucked on a tooth and spat out a strand of gristle.
Amy went mad. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea what the Slayer will do?" Rak stood behind her, attracted to the sound of arguing. He laughed and told Amy. "Yeah! This will make her even more unstable!" He held his thumb up to Xander. "Good work fido I was wondering how we would deal with Dawn."
Xander laughed and held up the scalp. "What say I send this to Buffy with a little note saying how much I enjoyed having her sister for lunch and looked forward to enjoying her company for dinner?"
Rak looked at him. "You are one sick dude man... I like it!" He scratches his chin. "But we have other plans for the Slayer. You see I plan on opening the Hellmouth on Christmas Eve and I can't afford to have her spoiling my fun." He places a hand on Amy's shoulder. "so I arranged for her patrol to be.. Mmm a lot more fun tonight." He and Amy laugh and walk towards the 'games' room to work on their plans for Christmas day.
Xander looks outside and sees the sun is at its apex. "Buffy won't patrol for another eight or nine hours yet. Gives me some time to come up with a plan... I hope!"
All through out the day Xander had tried to get away from the Warlock and his cronies but each time he had thought he had something always blocked his way. He had to pretend interest in their mad scheme; hell Rak had even conjured a diamond that he swore had enough energy to run the containment plant even if the White hats managed to turn it off. Rak held the jewel between thumb and index finger and mumbled some words in a long dead language and a beam of green energy struck the dining table destroying it in a shower of wood chips. "Is this cool or what?"
Xander went back to his room and slammed his fist into the desk top turning it into kindling. "If I don't warn her soon..." His eyes turned feral and his nose enlarged as he snorted in disgust. "If worse comes to worse I'll rip Rak's head off!"
But then a scenario came to him from the most unlikely source. Rak stopped by his room and asked. "I was just wondering if you'd like to drop of Dawn's... Remains? It would throw off the Slayer and give my men a better than even chance of gutting her!"
Xander grinned. "Oh it would be my pleasure Rak!" He picked up the dead and dusted Vampires scalp and whistled as he left the mansion waiving the scalp like a flag. Amy walked up to Rak. "you know he'll try to stop them from hurting her?" He looked at her and exclaimed. "What?"
She sighed and looked at him like he was a child. "I was there the last time he was possessed and he had claimed the Slayer as the only one fit to be his mate. He's even more powerful now and she's still the strongest alpha female in Sunnydale so nothing's changed."
Rak turned hid head to look at the departing Xander's back. "Well we'll just have to go on a doggy hunt!"
Amy rolled her eyes at his comment. "Why are men so dumb?" She places her hands on his shoulders and turns him to face her. "Say Xander does save her what do you think he's going to do next? He's a hyped up animalistic spirit that's had the hots for the slayer for well over six years." She laughs. "If we're lucky they'll both be walking back here him with a new mate and us with a Slayer on the team!"
Rak asks. "And if we're unlucky?"
She shrugs. "Then we go hire some more muscle to take her out and I score a nice Hyena throw rug for my bedroom."
Angel, Cordy and Wesley were examining the diagrams for the newly completed containment unit that now covered the Hellmouth and Angel told them. "Ray and Peter have agreed not to activate the system till we're sure we've defeated Rak and Amy's plans."
Cordelia looked at Angel at the mention of Peter's name. "How's he taking it?"
Angel looked at her. "About as well as can be expected I suppose." Angel threw the papers down on the table. "I should have dusted her when I had the chance Cordy! Damn it! If I had then Xander would be with his father and we wouldn't be facing off against him!"
"Life's a bitch and she's had puppies! Live with it dead boy!" They all turned at the sound of Xander's voice and backed towards the weapons cabinet. "Oh Please! If I wanted you dead you'd all be stains on the floor by now... Except maybe Cordy." He grins at her. "Never did find out whether they were real or man made."
Cordy blushed and yelled. "Hey! I'll have you know these are as real as life you... You escapee from a dog pound!"
Wesley looks at Cordelia. "He just said he'd something worse than kill you and all you can think about is to defend an insult made at your breasts!"
Cordy waives her hands at Xander. "Duh! Do you think he's seriously going to kill us? Come on he's Xander! He could..." Before she could finish Xander had pounced from ten foot away and landed on her causing her to crash to the ground with his talon's touching her tender throat. He snarled at her and she saw the newly formed razor sharp teeth glinting in the light. "That pussy is dead! What do I have to do to prove it to you? Rip out your still beating heart and eat it in front of you before you die?"
He looks at the others. "I'll only help you to stop them from opening the Hellmouth and spoiling my fun. Once we do that I plan on marking out a high and wide territory for my pack." He snuffles Cordy's neck and she almost faints from fear. "Play your cards right and I might include you..." He slobbered over her neck until a voice tells him.
"Get off of her you idiot!" Dawn looks at the others. "And you lot lower those weapons! Xander's only playing at being Mr. Macho asshole to get a rise out of you."
Xander stood up and growled at her. "If you didn't smell so much like your sister!"
"Just how did you manage to get away with letting me go?" She asks. "Remember Sabina? You know the Vampire that had hair like yours?" Xander throws her the scalp. "She wont be needing it anymore." He looks at the others. "Now where is Buffy? Rak's set a trap for her and I don't have too much time left before they get suspicious."
"She's making sure Willow and Tara have everything ready to close the hellmouth if Rak manages to open it." Angel tells him as he keeps the crossbow aimed at Xander's chest." But it doesn't matter now that Peter and Ray are not going to connect up the power plant till after all this is over."
Xander shakes his head. "Won't work blood breathe; ya see Rak has an alternate power source. He's picked up a piece of jewellery that has enough power to activate the plant so Amy can use some sort of device to reverse the containment unit and open the hellmouth." He asks Dawn again. "Where is Buffy?"
"She's patrolling the south side tonight." Dawn hesitates to tell him. "she's... She's changed, Xander. Giles ripped her a new one and I think what she did finally sank in."
Xander shrugs. "yeah well we'll see." He looks at the others. "You know Xander blamed you lot as much as he blamed her and Spike. If just one of you had the balls to stand up to her none of this would have happened." He grinned evilly. "On a more personal note though I could not be more happy?" He strode from the room and swished out of the door at top speed.
A tear fell down Dawn's face and dropped on to the page she had been reading. "When this is over, if we can't find a way to de-possess him, we are going to have to kill him."
Cordy tried to comfort her. "No, didn't you see? He's the same old Xander, just bulked up that's all."
"Cordelia, you are either blind or living a different world." She found the scalp and shook it at her. "He ATE the Vampire this came from to cover his tracks! All right he might not eat a normal human but that's not to say he wouldn't kill any one of us if we ever got in his way! If we don't find a way to cure him then this.." She swiped the table clean of all the books and papers. "All of this will be useless as we're either chosen to be part of his pack or just another victim in waiting!"
Angel shrugs into his duster. "I had better try to find Buffy and maybe together we can talk some sense into him."
Giles tells him. "Do you think that's a wise choice Angel?" Angel stops at the door and turns to face him. "You once told me that when you were Angelus you tried to force your way into Buffy's hospital room only Xander stopped you and then told you he would be there when you die."
Angel shrugs. "We never did get along, we tolerated each other because of Buffy, but I don't intend dying just yet." He smiled. "Besides he was there when Angelus died so I figure I've got a good chance."
Buffy was passing through the park when all of a sudden her senses went onto overdrive. "Oh boy!" She exclaimed as a gang of undead creatures dropped from the trees and walked out from behind her. "Hello Slayer! Rak sends his regards and hoped you had a nice life."
Buffy shrugs. "Up till now it's had its ups and downs, dying really sucked." She frowned then broke into a smile. "But kicking demon ass was fun!" She takes her stance. "So come on then, lets have some fun."
Buffy realised she was in trouble, she had fought against the odds many times before but it looked like the odds were really stacked against her this time. She dropped one and back flipped away from another's grasp. "Boy what did he do advertise in Vampires-R-Us?" She kicked a park bench, turning it into more weapons, and picked up several makeshift stakes. "So who's next?"
They all charged her from every angle until shear numbers swamped her. The leader had four of his men hold her arms and legs. As she fought against their hold he made his way to her throat. "You are going to make one hell of a childe my dear!" He bared his fangs and she felt the tips scrape along her throat till they found her artery.
Suddenly the leader cried out and turned to dust, as the others looked for whoever was responsible Xander stood in their midst holding a black shrivelled heart in his hand. He looked surprised. "Oh! Was he using this then?" He dropped the wizened old muscle and glared at the others. "Now then boys we can do this one of two ways."
He grabbed the fist before it hit his face and squeezed it till the sounds of bones popping could be heard. "Good! I never did like the other way!" He twisted the arm, snapping it, and pushed the Vampire into the four holding Buffy causing them to fall in a heap. He looked at her. "Are you going to join in or are you going to lay there on your ass all day?"
He pulled her up to him and held her close, Buffy tried to push away from him but he held her tighter. "Thanks for the rescue but I think I can handle it from here." She told him. He grinned and sighed as he straightened her mussed up hair. "You just don't get it yet, do you Slayer." He pulled her face close to his." you're mine! Always was always will be!"
He jumped and they dodged out of the way of the charging Vampires giving her time to break his hold. She moved away and began to fight and when she was finished with the vampires that came for her she told him. "I'm not some piece of clothing you can wear and discard Harris! I am my own person and I do as I want, when I want and WHO I want!"
The more he fights the more is animalistic side comes out. He pulls back the head of the vampire he is kneeling on and decapitates it with one fell swoop of his clawed hand. He stands and looks around the scene of devastation they had created. Dust piles and broken trees littered the landscape. Xander let out a yipping howl of joy. "Man it's good to stretch your muscles!" He looks at her and says. "Now then where were we? Oh yeah."
He stalked towards her and she looked around for a weapon. "Awe what's the matter Slayer? No school desks for you to use this time?" His speed was a blur and he was suddenly by her side before she could move. "Come on Slayer, I want to, you want to, I know you do I can smell it on you like a perfume. You want me so bad it oozes from every pore of your beautiful body."
She pushes against him. "It's not you I want.. Its not you I love."
He laughs then looks into her eyes. "You honestly expect me to believe you love.. Loved that looser?" He nuzzled at her neck and ear as he whispered. "Xander's dead my dear. He died the minute Druscilla had that nice African curse me into his body." he pulled her into his hard body and huskily told her. "Oh he put up quite a fight but even that moron knew he couldn't win. So I made a pact with his spirit before it left. I wouldn't harm anyone he considered close, part of his pack so to speak."
She shook her head. "No, I know Xander and he would fight you to the very end!" She looked into his eyes and pleaded. "Xander I know you're in there please for the love.."
Xander growled. "LOVE! What would you know of love? The boy gave his all for you and you treated him lower than you would if he were a vampire!" He shook her. "Your time is over! It's time for a new species to dominate this ball of mud! " He looked her in the eyes. "I am more than just the embodiment of the Hyena spirit. I am the last of the old ones and the first of the new!" He forced his lips to hers and she clenched her teeth.
"Our progeny will walk this earth as its rulers! Top of the food chain and fear nothing! Inside me is the power to create others of my kind." His eyes glowed yellow and green. "Starting with you!"
Buffy felt her skin tingle and her mind begin to retreat in horror and then the feeling went away as Xander slumped to the ground. She looked up to see Angel standing there with a broken baseball bat handle in his hand. "Kids got a tough skull." He threw the handle away and told her. "We have to get out of here, there's more of Rak's minions coming."
She looked down at Xander. "There's something different about him this time." She looked at Angel. "I think he has the power to create more of his kind!"
Angel grabbed her hand and had to pull her from Xander. "Look we can worry about this after we defeat Rak! But for now we'll just have to let him go! Buffy, that isn't the Xander you knew."
She looked sadly at Xander's stirring body. "I know.. But I owe him a lot more than my life! We have to find a way to return him to us. To me!"
Angel sat Buffy down by the table and gathered the others. "I think Xander maybe starting to lose it." He told them. "If I hadn't have gone out to check on Buffy God only knows what would have happened." Willow went to comfort Buffy and she clutched on to her red headed friend like a life raft.
Buffy looked into her eyes and told her. "It wasn't him, Willow. There was nothing there and it's all my fault! If I had just warned them about Spike or even... Oh God I wish things were different." Willow looked at her. "In what way?" Buffy slumped in her chair. "I wish I had gone to Xander in the first place then none of this would have happened."
Giles tells them. "If Xander has lost all control of the Hyena spirit then we cannot count on his help dealing with Rak and his plan. In fact I think Xander is a far greater threat now than Rak could ever be." He paces the length of the table and tells them his fears. "I have no doubt Xander will do his best to stop Rak from opening the Hellmouth but then what? I fear that his plans are far more insidious than Rak's; Hell is the last thing Xander wants to fight for dominance of this world. Firstly he will need a pack to run with and I think we all know who the first members will be, then he will fight for dominance of Sunnydale and when he has done that his 'Pack' will spread out until it touches the lives of everyone on this continent."
Cordelia looks bewildered. "He wants to rule the Americas?"
Buffy looks up. "No not rule.. Lead and without any controls in place hell will look like a paradise in comparison."
Willow tells them. "I've been doing some research on the Hyena and according to just about every known study it's the alpha female that controls the male. He seeks her approval in every thing he does. The male is the strong arm but the alpha female is the brains." she looks at Buffy. "It's why he went for you all those years ago and why he tried it again tonight."
Cordelia tells them. "Regardless of all that Tuesday being Christmas day that only leaves us tomorrow to deal with Rak's plan. So what do we do?"
Ray enters the shop followed by Peter. "I think we may have found a way to deal with this Hyena problem." Peter drops a remote trap on the table and tells them. "These traps have been modified from their original design. Instead of trapping ectoplasmic energy we have recalibrated them to trap demonic energy. They won't hold it for long but then we only need to get it to the containment unit and dump the bad doggy in there. Call it a demonic dog pound if you will."
Buffy looks at him. "What will happen to Xander?"
Ray tells her. "We believe he will suffer a little disjointed energy as the hyena is drawn from his body but it is better than anything else we can come up with baring using Peck as a subject for transpossesion."
Giles says. "So we plant the traps and wait till we have defeated Rak and then when Xander is unaware we..."
"Suck that nasty puppy right out of him." Ray finishes and then looks at his watch. "It's 3 am, I suggest we all go home and try to get some rest in preparation for tonight's festivities."
Buffy and Willow are walking from Buffy's car and into her house when Willow asks. "You've been awfully quiet Buff, you're not worried about tonight are you?"
Buffy shrugs. "A little but more about Xander and what you said." She looks at Willow as she unlocks the door and enters the house to find Dawn asleep on the couch while Tara sits by her side reading a book. "Do you think if he had a control he would be... Better?"
Willow sits next to Tara. "It depends Buffy. You have to remember the alpha female would be just as deadly as Xander and that would be no guarantee that she would be any kinder towards non pack members."
Willow looks at Tara and smiles, the two ex-lovers have been drawing closer ever since the troubles had started and Willow had hoped Tara had, if not forgiven her, she had at least softened her feelings towards her. Buffy shrugs. "Well it's something to sleep on I suppose." She shook Dawn and helped her upstairs.
As they entered her room Dawn asked. "Did you see Xander? Is he all right?" Buffy nods. "Yes Dawn he's fine and we think we may have found a way to bring him back to us, if not as the old Xander then as a more controllable Hyena." She grinned at Dawn as her sister told her. "i miss him so much Buffy."
Buffy tucked her into bed and kissed her forehead. "We all do Dawn, but none so much as this family." Dawn grips her hand. "Bring him home Buffy, for all our sakes."
Buffy stands up and leaves the room, turning off the light as she does. "I will Dawn, one way or the other I will."
Cordy and Wesley were downstairs trying to get some sleep Angel was sorting out some weapons and his feelings. Suddenly his senses told him something else was in the room and he turned, smiling, towards the darkened corner. "Hello Xander how's the head?"
Xander moved from the shadows and growled. "A damned site better than your's is going to be bat boy!" Xander moved into the light and Angel was shocked by his appearance. His hands had become black claws that would no doubt rip through flesh like a hot knife through butter. His build had become that of some freakish body builder, all muscle and not one ounce of flab. But the thing that caught Angel's eyes the most was his face. The once kindhearted man he knew was gone and in his place stood a demon of legendary proportions. His mouth was distended by the razor like carnivorous teeth, but his eyes!
If the eyes were truly the windows to the soul then Xander's souls was a twisted blackened thing. The spirit had total control now and Angel doubted whether both he and Buffy together could even manage to keep him at bay. "So I guess its payback time is it?" He asked and Xander yipped a hollow laugh in reply. "Oh yeah I'd say it was long over due dead boy!"
Angel had been moving the sword into a better position ever since he sensed Xander's arrival and now he struck out with it. But Xander moved inhumanly fast and dodged the deadly blade with ease. "Strike one!" He crowed then Angel tried two more quick blows before Xander grabbed the hilt in his hands and wrenched the blade from his grasp. "That'd be strikes two and three Angel." He drove the hilt into Angels face before the souled vampire had a chance to move.
As Angel crashed to the floor Xander threw the blade to one side and laughed that evil laugh again. "You like being batter well how about you try it from the balls point of view?" Xander lashed out with his booted foot catching Angel on the side of the jaw with a sickening crunch. Xander sniggered and pretended worry. "ooh that had to hurt big guy? Ya want me to get Cordy to kiss it better for ya?" Xander sniffed the air and smiled. "What's that I smell? Surely not fear? Don't tell me you're afraid of little old me? Not the great and noble Angel!" Xander kicked him again. "Not the creature that stole my mate! Not the unholy monster that killed my favourite teacher before going on a killing spree!"
Each question drew a kick and a sickening crunch of broken bones from Xander. "Not the man who permitted that scum Spike to live longer than it would have taken to drive a stake through the bastards black heart!" Despite his best efforts Xander was easily getting through his defences and Angel curled up in a ball of pure agony praying the others would come soon.
Xander heard the crashing of feet on the stairs and knew he didn't have much time left. He looked into Angels one good eye. "What do you think, should I make my ex part of my pack or just take from her what she refused to give me all those times we spent lip locked in the utility cupboards?" He saw a look of pure hatred in Angel's eye and Xander moved his face closer so he wouldn't miss a word. "Good! Now you know how I felt when you took her from me! And now you will know pure dread as I turn each and every one of your friends into members of my pack."
Xander saw Wesley standing in the doorway with a crossbow in his hands. "Some will make fine gatherers whilst others." He looked lustily at Cordelia. "Others will have no more use than to bare the pack's litters!" Wesley fired the bolt at Xander's heart but he easily snatched it mid flight and broke it in half. "Tell Buffy I will be visiting the Summers residence soon. I have to deal with Rak and an ex rat first but I'm sure with your help it shouldn't take long. And then." He laughed a yipping evil laugh. "Then the real fun can begin!"
The moment Xander jumped from the balcony the two friends raced to help Angel. He shook them off telling them. "I'll heal! But we have to warn Buffy and the others we.. We've lost Xander, maybe for good."
Buffy lay in her bed trying to will herself to sleep but failing miserably. She had heard Willow and Tara make their way to their rooms and she hoped that the two would one day become lovers once more, but the bulk of her thoughts were on one man. Alexander Harris, and just how to deal with him. She knew now beyond any shadow of a doubt she loved Xander, the old Xander, not the demon that wore his skin like a cloak. She heard something land with a thump on the roof outside her window and she knew who it would be. When she opened the window there stood Xander just like she had remembered him, from his messed up hair to the goofy grin on his face.
She offered her hand and helped him into her room. "I know what you're here for and... I want you to do it!" She drew him to her and kissed him with all the passion and love she had in her. She felt him react to her kiss and her roaming hands. "Please." She whispered into his mouth. "Make love to me before you do?"
Xander kissed her deeply then lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. "Anything you wish my love!" She arched her back and pushed her pyjama bottoms to her feet and then kicked them aside as she began to undo the buttons of her top. She watched Xander skin out of his clothes like the hounds of hell were after his soul and she giggled like a teenager at the thought of what the others would say if they could see them now.
She held out her arms to him as he slid into the bed next to her. "I want you to make love to me till the sunrises and then make me whole!" She kissed him hard and deep. "Make me as you would have me."
They kissed and their bodies moved as one in their quest to quench their body's thirst for passion. They went at it like two kids in a candy store and no one to tell them to stop. She was amazed their sounds of love didn't wake the very dead of the city let alone the three women who shared the house with her. Then, as the dawn's early light began to creep into her room they were finally spent. They spooned their sweat-dampened bodies together as they fought for gasps of air.
When she finally got control of her breathing, and her body, she turned to Xander and placed her hands either side of his face and looked him deeply in his eyes. "Do with me as you will!" His eyes glowed yellow and green as he told her. "As my mate commands, so I obey."
Buffy knew that this was what he wanted more than anything else in the world yet a puzzled look crossed her brow when she saw him hesitate. She held his face in her hands and smiled. "I want this if you want this, Xander. My heart is yours and if this is what you want of me then do it."
The beast raged inside of him and yet he stilled its animalistic yearning to take Buffy as it's mate. "No." He closed his eyes and fought against his new nature. He moved away from her and stood before her, his eyes returned to their normal brown. "I cannot do this to you!" He gazed at her as she wrapped the twisted sheet around her nakedness and her brow furrowed in bewilderment. "For seven years I wanted this day but not like this!" He hit himself in the chest. "Not because some dumb brute force wants a mate."
Xander hears a noise by the bedroom door and his senses pick up the cocking of a dart gun. Xander turns to Buffy and tells her. "When they have found a way to take this creature from my body then we can talk about making of you what my heart desires my heart desires you as you are and nothing more."
Xander dives through the closed window just as Giles kicks in the door and draws a bead on him. Giles fires and they hear the yelp as the dart strikes home. Giles is struggling to reload as Cordelia slaps his shoulder. "Again you idiot! Hit him again before he gets away!"
Giles runs to the window and see Xander staggering down the street, he aims but just as he's about to fire Buffy pulls the gun from his hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She glares at Giles as she throws the gun down. "I had him! He was almost back to the way he was and you two had to John Wayne it didn't you!"
Cordelia shouts at her. "You didn't see what he did to Angel did you? She points to the window." That animal beat nine lives out of him before we could stop him!"
Buffy secured the sheet before she told Cordelia. "In the state Xander's in I think if he wanted Angel dead he'd be dust and not just beaten up! Is he badly hurt?" She asks with concern. "Give it a few days and he should be okay no thanks to him!" Buffy looks at her bedside clock and tells them. "We have less than twelve hours before we have to deal with Rak and Amy, now you may have cost us our only ally!"
Cordelia looks at the state of the bed and Buffy's nakedness and shakes her head. "I see you do what you do best, sleeping with the enemy..Again!"
Buffy glowers at her. "What I do, or don't do, is none of your concern. What matters is that I do my job and do it very well."
Giles makes his way from the room and tells her. "Yes well, maybe if you had controlled what you do on your own time then none of this would be happening!"
Dawn and Willow make their way in and when she saw Buffy was unharmed Dawn ran to her and hugged her. I thought you were gone!"
Willow asks. "Did he hurt you?" She takes in the scene of Buffy's room and her nakedness then blushes. "Apparently not."
Buffy slumped onto her bed and picked up the shirt Xander had been wearing and sniffed his scent. She looked at Dawn and Willow then said. "Giles's words, and the thoughts of everyone else had already hurt me enough to rethink my life and those in it. Which is why I have decided to take a good hard look at myself and the people in my life." She smiles. "I love Xander more than I could have thought possible." She bows her head. "And if he wants me as a mate then that's what I'm going to be."
Dawn looks both shocked and happy. "If he was Xander then I'd say go for it but sis he's a creature that takes joy in the hunt and if given free reign he would be worse than Rak ever could!"
Buffy shrugs as if to say she doesn't care anymore when Willow tells her. "I've been working with Peter and Ray and we think there's a way to free Xander from the Hyena spirit without causing him too much pain. We dart him first, that should weaken the hold the Hyena has on his body and then we activate the trap."
Buffy sighs and looks sadly at the window. Willow asks. "Don't you think it will work Buff?" Buffy looks at her and she fights back a sob. "Oh no I think it will work, what I fear the most is that when we have returned him and he is free of the hyena spirit he will go back to hating me."
Dawn hugs her. "Did he have time to turn you tonight?" Buffy nods. "In fact I begged him to." Dawn smiles at her. "There ya go then! If he was all Hyena boy we'd all be standing in an empty room wondering where you were. Buffy deep inside the beast lies Xander's true self and I think it's a lot stronger than anyone has given him credit for!" She feels Buffy sigh and then she pecks Dawn on the cheek. "What would I do without you sis?"
"I don't want to find out." Dawn smiles at her. "Just name your firstborn after me and we'll call it quits." With that the two sisters and Willow begin to laugh.
Rak has the control device Amy and her minions have created to open the Hellmouth as, and when, they wish. Rak places it in the deep pocket of his trench coat and tells them. "Come on, I think its time we opened the Hellmouth for business!"
Amy grins and hands him the Gem of Gomorra and tells him. "With this you will have the power to activate then Containment generators and so bring about the doom of this world!" She tells him. "It is a focus point just hold it towards the generators and it will do your bidding."
Xander staggers up to them at this time and he shakes his body in an attempt to rid it of the lingering drugs. "Man that things got a kick to it!"
Amy yells at him. "Where have you been?" Xander grins. "Repaying some old debts to an even older friend." He looks at Rak. "By the way I don't think Angel will be helping the white hats for some time. It appears he doesn't like baseball as much as he used to! Strike three! And he's out a there!"
Amy places a hand on her hip. "And that took you all night?"
Xander grins and pats her cheek. "No my sexy Wicca, Buffy took me all night!"
Amy grins. "Did you finish her off?"
Xander opens the coat he stole from some one's clothes line and grins as she blushes at the sight of his nakedness. "Oh yeah I finished her off... And then we did it again!" He laughs in that high pitch Hyena yelp and Rak grins. "I hope she's in a fit state to do battle, can't have us opening the hellmouth without its number one defender on site, wouldn't be the same."
Rak holds up the Gem and lets the moonlight sparkle in its edges. "If she, or any of the others gets in the way then she'll taste the might of Rak!"
Peter and Ray have placed the last of the remote traps and are ready to activate them on Giles's say so. Willow, Tara and Wesley are ready to deal with any minions that get too close to Buffy and Giles while Cordelia is looking after Dawn and the injured Angel. Buffy is shifting her sword from one hand to the other while Giles spins the battleaxe he chose. "You don't think we got the wrong night do you?" Willow asks.
Rak has his men move around behind the white hats before he makes his grand entrance with Amy and Xander. Once they are in position Rak steps into the moonlight from the shadows of the rubble that used to be Sunnydale High. "Ah memories!" Amy tells Buffy. "Do you remember the good times we had here Buff?"
Buffy twirled the sword as she watched for any traps. "Yeah I do, why do you think I danced for two days after we blew it up?"
Amy placed her hand on Xander's back and licked her upper lip. "As I remember you had your chance then and blew it just like you did this time." She turned to Xander. "Right lover boy?"
Xander picked the dagger from Amy's hand and tapped the point on her head. "What have I told you about counting your chickens?" He span and through the knife, sending it spinning right into the heart of a demon trying to sneak up on Giles. He looks at Rak and shrugs as he makes his way to the others. "What can I say Rak'y boy? I like the world the way it is, hell free and a lot less demons to mess up my plans!"
Rak is red with anger. "GAH!" He points the gem at Buffy. "First your mate and then you! Anyone for roast dog?"
Xander turns and sees the purple beam rip from the gem and head towards Buffy. Xander simply swivels and places his body in the line of fire. The gem's beam causes his body to shimmer and glow with the power as it attacks his every nerve ending. Buffy sees Xander collapse and she charges Rak. Meanwhile Rak points the gem at the generators and orders the gem to give them power. The beam strikes out and everyone can hear the whine and hum as the generators start up and begin to generate the containment field.
Rak's minions hold off the Scooby's giving Rak just enough time to arm the device and activate it. A vortex appears over the Hellmouth and a terrifying screech of inhuman sounds emanate from within its swirling masses. "He shoots he scores!" Rak shouts. "And now the world you fought so hard to keep is at an end!"
Buffy searches for some way to stop the beasts words from coming true but they can see no way to close it without the controls. Willow and Tara have Amy trapped by the old home sciences department and they both join hands and repeat the spell that sent Amy's mother to another realm. Amy screams as a white light envelopes her and several of the remaining minions. As it blinks out all signs of the Teen witch and her servants is gone. Willow and Tara then drop to the floor, blood pouring from their nostrils. Willow tilts her head back trying to stem the flow. "Oh yeah! Now I remember why I gave up the black arts!"
Tara grips Willows hand lovingly and gazes into her eyes, it seems love on the Hellmouth can survive. Tara looks over to see Giles and the others trying to force Rak into a corner so they can take the control away from him but he just bats them away and moves closer to the hellmouth. "Come my brother and sisters return to this world so I Rak may rule over you!"
Buffy begins to walk towards Rak and Giles knows the only way to close the hellmouth is to wrest the control from him and shut down the generators. Rak turns to face her and holds out the Gem. "Forgetting something Blondie?"
A figure, horribly burnt, staggers from behind Rak and grips him in an inhuman grip. He wrenches the control from him and Xander tells him. "No but I think you forgot about me!" He lifts the warlock and raises him above his head. "You want to rule Hell? Be my guest!" He throws Rak with all his remaining strength towards the centre of the vortex then waives as Rak is sucked into hell. "Give my regards to the Mayor, asshole!"
He then sinks to his knees, his wounds to painful to ignore. He lifts his one whole eye to look at Buffy. "Hey sweat cheeks, how's it goin'?" He grins and Buffy burst out in laughter as she walks towards him. The vortex is winding down and the threat of hell on earth is averted as the generators wind down.
Peter picks himself up from the floor and takes out the trap remote. "Now all we need to do is take care of..." His eyes go wide as he sees his son for the first time. "Oh my god what did he do?"
Xander grins as Buffy is almost at his side. "Nothing a little Hyena healing wont fix pops." He winks his good eye at Peter and smiles through burnt lips. Peter turns to the others. "What do we do? If we sperate them now he'll die!"
But the choice was taken from them as a tendril of energy snaked its way from the centre of the dying vortex and wrapped itself around Xander's waist. He screamed out, fighting against the pull as it dragged him into the maw of the closing vortex. Xander's hand closes over a protruding rock while his other is gripped by Buffy. "You're not leaving without me this time Mr. Harris!" Buffy yells. She wraps her legs around a beam and grips hard. But she can still feel him slipping away.
The others come to help but it is no good the creature is too strong and has too good a hold over Xander. Buffy looks into his eyes and tells him. "Don't you give up on me Xander!" He sees the look in her eyes and he knows she will let go of the beam and join him given the chance. He looks at Peter and throws the control to him. "I wish I knew you better Dad but I guess..." He lets go of Buffy, fooling them all into waiting to hear what he had to say.
Buffy screams out his name as he is swept up in the swirling mass and vanishes before their eyes. "No!" She jumps up and takes the control from Peter. "Start the generators up in one hour and then every day at this time!" She kisses Giles. "Tell Dawn I will be back and I'll bring him back with me!" She swan dived into the mass just before it winked out of existence.
Willow and Tara run up in time to see Buffy vanish along with Xander. "How could you let her do that? " Willow screams. Giles looks at his watch and tells her. "Because she loved him more than life, now then we have an hour to get ready." He points to the hellmouth. "That is going to open in 58 minutes and every day at this time until Buffy returns!"
Willow, Tara, Giles, Wesley, Peter and Ray stand at the closed hellmouth and each says a prayer to their god for the safe return of the two lovers.
Coming this Spring.... UNDERWORLD.. A story of love found on the River Styx.