Ethan Rayne surveyed his masterpiece with all the glee of an 8 year old at Christmas. 'This is absolutely fantastic. You outdid yourself this time Ethan my old son. This is truly the most incredible outfit in the shop. This is really going to stick two fingers up to old Rupert.' He could no longer contin his mirth and began laughing out loud, to rather curious glances from his customers.
One of these customers was the Slayer and her two friends Xander and Willow, who were currently too engrossed in the costume choices to notice. Buffy was transfixed upon the dress of an 18th century noblewoman. "Wow Buffy, that'll fit in nicely with your ideas from earlier." Buffy barely managed to nod in agreement. Xander was fed up with listening to them coo over the puffy dress. God forbid Buffy should ask 'Does my bum look big in this' while wearing that monstrosity! "Yeah Will" replied the L.A. refugee tyrned mystical warrior girl "Angel will love it!"
*Great* snorted Xander *even when the sun is up and he is cowering in his apartment I still get overlooked* Before he thought about it he was already speaking "Oh Yeah Buffster, if he weren't already dead that would surely do the trick." Buffy failed to notice the sarcasm that would have cut anyone else to shreds. Willow however gave him her best glare, to which he responded with a Devil-may-care smirk. Then he turned and walked off to find something for himself. Uncle Rory had recently sold his Bel-Air and had shared his profits with his favourite nephew. Or, perhaps, the only member of the Harris family who could be trusted not to drink it away.
Xander was used to weird behaviour, so when he found the proprietor of the store recovering from a laughing fit that would make the Joker green with envy, Xander barely batted an eyelid. He was far more intersted in the costume that Ethan happened to be standing in front of. It was, in Xanders expert opinion, exceedingly cool. The most obvious part of the costume was a large black trenchcoat. The garment in question had white armour on the shoulders and at the wrists. Black leather trousers were worn on the legs, with a pair of knee-high black boots serving as footwear. The boots had white bands near the top, in keeping with the pattern of the outfit. A katana that was far too big to be wielded properly was in close proximity to the outfit, as was a single gold armlet, and an beautiful ring. a pair of black gloves finished off the costume.
Now Xander understood how Buffy could become catatonic over a costume. Xander had no idea as to who he would dress up as for the evening, until now. He did not know who the character connected to this costume was. He truly did not care. He would have it. He turned to the Englishman whom he had felt eyeing him eagerly. "I'll take it. Name your price." 'Well, I would have given it to you for a modest amount, if you hadnt shown such an interest.' "The fact is I was hoping someone of your physique would enter, sir. This costume requires a height of 6 feet in order to fit. I am inclined to let it go for a song, as we say back home. Two for a pound?" At Xanders blank look, Ethan berated himself for the slip - people who made Americans feel stupid generally lost their custom. "Just a little Working class humour sir. I think Fifty Dollars is a generous price?" Xander was far too shocked to make his body do anything but nod twice, in the universal language of agreement.
Xander looked at himself in the mirror. The trenchcoat buckled at the waist, leaving his pectorals partially open to view. He couldnt decide of the shoulder guards looked cool or stupid. That was often a sign of genius in clothing design - at least half those who saw it would love it. The katana was at his side, without any form of scabbard, but a small clasp near the hilt. The blade was also capable of being worn slung on his back if he so chose. He had noticed small jewels in the blade of the sword and the surface of the armlet. They seemed to be in a pattern; green, blue, green, blue. It was a very nice colour scheme. The boots made a satisfying *clip- clop* sound whenever he moved in them, yet comfortable enough to allow him to run away from vampires if he needed to. (Though the G- man assured him this would not happen tonight.) Finding himself ready, he left for Buffy's house.
Willow and Buffy stared with undisguised lust at the Xan-man's torso, as was shown off by his coat. Joyce cast appreciative glances toward the boy, occasionally trying to decide whether to be disapointed that Buffy had let such an attractive young man eascape, or glad he was still single. Dawn ignored the chest, while she tried to keep an eye on the back of the trenchcoat in case Xander's leather encased butt became available for her viewing pleasure. Well, that and she blushed. A lot. 'He certainly fills the leather outfit better than Buffy's lame boyfriend Angel.' What a perv, the guy had to be at least a decade older than Buffy. 'What kind of a name is Angel anyway?'
Willow was blushing to the roots of her hair (which was hidden beneath her Ghost costume/bedsheet), while Buffy was again reviewing her Xander-shaped friend as possible boyfriend material. Xander just stood there, oblivious to all the various thoughts swirling round the heads of the women in the house. This was an obvious result of his being male, which precluded any understanding womankind in general. "Well ladies, shall we go before Snyder sets his fling monkies upon us?" Buffy and Willow blinked, looked at each other - then Xander - then each other and, as if synchronised took an arm each and dragged Xander off to have their wicked way with him. Or find chocolate, whichever came first.
One hour, two blocks and a short-cut through SevenOaks cemetary Xander was just about ready to hack his own head off with the hilt of his sword. That was the same moment that Ethan finished his little ceremony to Janus and invoked Chaos upon Sunnydale. 'The costume to Ripper's little friend was pure genius. How delightfully ironic - even *I* dont know what He will do. Will we be visited by General Sephiroth of SOLDIER or Sephiroth the man who would be God? Only time will tell!'
Xander collapsed in agony. As was usual for him, he simply dropped like a sack of potatoes. He had not, as was usually the case, tripped over his own feet. The cause was far more insidious and 'Hellmouthy' than that. Every cell in his body burning and freezing simultaneously. His head was thumping, and though he had opened his mouth to scream, but nothing louder than a strangled whisper emerged. Tears were beginning to fall down his cheeks, as white spots danced before his vision. If he had been able to spark two synapses together he would have been ashamed of his tears. He hadn't cried since Tony Harris had beaten him for the first time eight years ago.
Minutes passed as he writhed in agony, but his addled mind percieved each second as a decade. Finally he stirred, standing quickly and gracefully from his supine position. The pain had not lessened, but the mind now in charge of the sixteen-year old body gave no more thought to the pain than an elephant would give thought to a wasp. He dispassionately picked up the Masamune from the ground where it had fallen beside him and surveyed his surroundings. The purpose of this was twofold - locations that could conceal ambushes were noted, while the architecture of the place Sephiroth now stood in was scrutinised.
As every town which spread over the face of his home planet had different architecture, this would tell him where he was. 'Not Midgar, or Wutai. Not Nibelheim, or Kalm. Certainly not Junon or Rocket Town. Not the Northern crater.' 'I am quite glad to be out of that unattractive cave, wherever I find myself' he thought. Strangely, he had already begun walking in his chosen direction before he realised he wasdoing precisely that. Walking on his own two feet such as he had not done in half a decade. 'This is exceedingly strange. My last memory before awakening was preparing to ascend to Godhood. Meteor was hours away from dropping. Holy was constrained...'
He attempted to decipher what could have placed him in this new environment when the thought flashed across his mind like the dawns first rays of sun. 'Cloud, he appeared in the crater, seeking to stop me. He defeated Jenova and then the two transformations I had prepared.' He felt a stab of intense fury. He ruthlessly suppressed it. Unlike the puppet, he knew better than to be lead round the world because of one's emotions. Cloud's anger and hatred had made him a servant incapable of resisting his master's call.
More returned to him then, including a first-person view of Cloud's 'Omnislash' technique. That alone made the defeat almost worth it. What a maneuver. Speed, power and technique wrapped up in one neat package. Perhaps emotion was not such a waste? Certainly Sephiroth had never been able to use the 'Limit Break' abilities that others could unleash during the heights of fury. He was simply too controlled. That was something he would consider at a later time.
At the moment he desired answers to the two questions in his mind. Where was he and how had he gotten here? Certainly not by his own power or of his own volition. Someone was playing games with him. That usually ended in a very painfull fashion. Before he set off he checked his equipment as any SOLDIER was taught - from the green recruits to the hardened veterans, it was a lesson never forgotten. His blade first, then the Materia affixed near the hilt: Revive, Restore alongside Earth and All. Next was Fire. All present and correct. Next the Orbs placed in his Gold Armlet - Ice and All, Lightning and All. His Touph Ring was still on his finger. Everything was as it should be.
Sephiroth was unaware of the fact that anyone stupid enough to stand around in Sunnydale at nighttime rarely saw the morning. When a horde of pint-sized goblins set upon him, he reacted in the fashion common to any member of Shin-ra's SOLDIER unit - he blasted them all with a dose of Magic. In this case he electrocuted them with Thundaga. Then he turned and walked off as if such a thing were an everyday occurrence. The goblins got up and dusted themselves off before running away as far as their admittedly small legs could carry them.
Sephiroth could feel the change in atmospherics that resulted from using magic. There was a notable discrepancy between the amount he had put into that spell and the amount that he could literally feel floating. The thought crossed his mind that he could not still be on his home planet - the amount of energy that he could feel radiating outward from the center of the Planet was too large. The place he came from had far less, thanks to Jenova and Shin-ra. 'Both leeches in different ways' he sneered. Then he once again stopped He should not have been able to complete that thought. He should have been so wrapped up in the twisted form of filial devotedness that *Jenova* had begun and encouraged over the past five years that such thought should have been impossible.
Now that he thought about it, he should also have been a rambling madman. He decided he would test himself. He set up a list of phrases that had previously made him laugh psychotically, then worked his way through it in the dispassionate manner he was famous for. 'Summon Meteor'... nothing. 'Promised Land'...still nothing. Now for the most dangerous one 'manipulate Cloud Strife'...not even a giggle, let alone the usual maniacal chuckling. This was becoming curioser and curioser.
The only option was to initiate contact with Jenova and make the evil space bitch explain this to him. He was preparing the usual method of mental communication when he felt a flash of emotion appear in his subconsious. Closing his eyes, he ruthlessly grabbed hold of the emotion and traced it back to its source. The next time he opened his eyes he was standing in a brightly lit room opposite a tall brunette man clad in a replica of Sephiroth's own uniform. This was the latest in a long line of very strange things, so Sephiroth allowed himself a flash of dark humour. "My dear boy" he began "would you please explain to me exactly what you are doing in *my* subconsious?" The boy looked at once amused and offended. "Sure thing pal, just as soon as *you* tell me what exactly you're doing in *my* Xander-shaped body?"
'What a strange child' thought Sephiroth. 'That isn't even taking into account the strange language use.' "Define for me what a Xander shape is first, boy." 'A-ha!' Sephiroth viciously smirked at the dumbfounded look on the adolescent's face. "Did you get dropped on your head as a child or something there chief? I am Xander. This body is shaped like me because it is mine! That is also the reason why it is not shaped like some silver haired girly faced ladyboy!"
"I would say i was pleased to meet you Xander, but I have never beenpleased anyone in my life. You may call me Sephiroth. You allege that this is your body?" The boy nodded "I was the sole owner and tennant up until earlier this year. Once I evicted the dog, I had assumed it would remain that way."
"It is a simple enough matter to check. I will return to the outside world and gaze at my reflection in a mirrored surface. The face I see will obviously be the correct occupant of this body. Does this solution satisfy you?" Again Xander nodded. Sephiroth exited the white room and returned to consciousness. Casting his glance to the left and right of the street, he saw a well polished pane of glass set in the window of a local shop. Walking up to it, he was surprised by what he saw. He had expected to see his own reflection. He had been prepared to deal with it being Xander's.
What he saw was far, far more disconcerting. Tousled brown hair, strong jaw, prominent ears. Glowing Brown Mako Eyes!
*Flash* "That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako... A mark of SOLDIER." *Flash* Now that he concentrated, he could feel the Jenova cells bonding to the boy at a genetic level. This was what had caused the body to be almost catatonic earlier in the evening. Sephiroth did not remember having recieved Mako treatments. That was to be expected, since he had recieved them while in utero.
He opened a link to the subconcious area and began to communicate with Xander "Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that this is your body. The bad news is that you have been altered at a genetic level. You are now the strongest individual on the face of your Planet." The string of expletives that Xander replied with would have made Cid Highwind or Barret Wallace blush.
"If you have quite finished attempting to warp my fragile mind with your repulsive language, may I suggest we follow the trail of magic back to its caster and commence the torture?" Xander eagerly agreed.
On the floor of his costume shop, Ethan Rayne lay exhausted, having depleted all his magical energy. 'That was bloody tiring. I wont be casting for months. Hopefully the chaos caused by Ripper's donut boy will make it worthwile. Bloody tosser!'
Now that Sephiroth was aware that this was not his own body, he could not help but notice that the weight, balance and musculature of the body was significantly different than his own. 'What was it Xander said... Ah,yes I am a "silver haired girly faced ladyboy". Hmph, Flattery will get him nowhere.'
The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words, is the power of Jenova.
'Of course, that solves all my problems in one fell swoop. Say hello to my Sephiroth-shaped body. Wait, now I begin talking like the boy? When I find the worm responsible for this I will not be my usual charming self. Masamune will be introduced to his or her body Sideways. Now concentrate on changing the appearance of this body. Now the eye colour. Next give the muscles more tone and definition. Next make the skeleton of the body more slender.' He opened his eyes and was pleased to see his own face staring back. Complete even to the glowing green eyes.
Now, to business. It strikes me that I am at a tactical disadvantage in this unfamiliar terrain. It also reaches my notice that I have a native of this place in *my* head. Or I am in the head of a native of this place. The semantics are unimportant. He gave Xander a mental poke 'dont fall asleep on me boy, the fun hasn't started yet. I find myself in need of a guide, so guess who receives the privilege?'
He concentrated, pushing Xander out of the subconscious area and into a magical 'Body'. "Now, take a look around and tell me where we are." He spoke to the ethereal Harris. Xander did so, his head describing a complete circle. When he turned back to Sephiroth to appraise the 'Body Snatcher' of the situation he almost had a heart attack "Holy SHIT, what the Fuck did you do to my body you asshole! I look like you! Damn it, that is not cool. And another thing are your eyes glowing? why are your eyes glowing? My Eyes had better not be glowing when I get them back or i will find a way to hurt you! You break it, you bought lady boy!"
Sephiroth was amazed, he had never seen anyome speak that much without taking a breath. 'It really should not be possible, unless his anatomy is very much different from my own. Even Zack did not babble so incessantly.' "Perhaps now, Xander, I should inform you that the last guide who displeased me was cut from left shoulder to right hip and left to bleed to death on the floor. Do you wish to see if my ingenuity can be tested further?"
He neglected to mention that she had recieved medical attention in time to preserve her life, or that since he was now in an altered version of Xander's body, he could not actually kill the boy. Jenova cells made death a remote possibility anyway.
"In any case, you are still rather amusing. Perhaps I will keep you around as entertainment." He lifted his left arm and pointed in the direction of the spellcaster. "The quarry we seek is contained in one of the edifices in that direction. Take us there in the most direct route you can manage."
They began walking, Sephiroth keeping pace with the angry stomping he had managed to provoke in Xander. He concentrated and listened in on what Xander was thinking. 'What an asshole. First he takes over my body, then he announces that he has good news and bad news, then he starts giving orders like i'm his frikkin' dog. Fetch Xander, Stay Xander. Don't pee on my trenchcoat Xander.' "Touch the leather and I will kill you, Xander." "I wasn't really going to...How the hell did you just do that?" 'It is rather simple, child. We are sharing the same body, so any thoughts you have go through this brain, which I am i charge of.'
Xander was now confused. Well, confused more than he had been anyway. Had he just been *thought at*? Certainly, the ladyboy's lips had not moved, but Xander had heard his voice none the less. 'I am going to be repressing the events of this evening for the rest of my misbegotten life. Oh joy. Hyena boy come back, all is forgiven.' All thought left him then, as he rounded the corner onto the street where Wills had been supervising her group.
What he saw made his heart stop in his chest. What he saw made his heart stop in Sephiroth's chest. Willow was lying on the ground, in her sheet. Completely still. Without movement. She was dead.
The next he knew, he was kneeling beside her corpse, trying to cradle her head in his lap. "Oh no, Willow, no. Not like this. Dont leave me like this. I cant even try and give you CPR, I cant touch you! Wills! Willow Rosenberg, don't you dare die on me like this!"
Sephiroth was of little use at the minute. He was far away, standing over Cloud Strife in the City of the Ancients.
"The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry...... or get angry...... What about us...... what are WE supposed to do? What about my pain?
My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!"
The boy was sobbing now, and Sephiroth searched through this bodies memories to identify the girl. 'WIllow Rosenberg... his friend. His best friend in the world. Xander's grief is beginning to hurt now, Sephiroth's towering emotional walls crumbling under the assault from the boy who, in another time and place would have been named the Heart of the Scooby gang.
"Will cease that incessant howling boy?" The boy in question ceased, turning to observe Sephiroth cooly. The look on his face was...frightening. There was no other word for it. Sephiroth had seen every expression the Human face was capable of. There was no emotion on the face. No anger, no sadness, no grief. It was not the face of a sane man. The eyes were dead and cold, no longer sparkling with mirth and mischief. It was the face of a youth who had just lost the only person in the world who had ever cared for him. It was also the face of someone who had nothing left to lose.
The fact was that the girl could be revived, if they acted quickly. Sephiroth resolved to do whatever it took to make that happen, before the boy got out of control. The former general of SOLDIER could tell that the boy was within moments of retaking control over the body and wiping this town from the face of the planet, simply to ensure that the person rsponsible for Willow's death paid for it. In the most lethal way possible. It seemed wrong though, that smiling, joking Xander should serve as a mask for this cold, lethal individual.
This was the calm before the storm. The emotions that had previously taxed Sephiroth's detachment were now gone. He strode forward purposefully, coming to a stop at the girls corpse. He knelt down and began gathering energy for casting. Xander could see the moving waves of green energy emanating from Sephiroth. "What do you think you are doing, Sephiroth?" The voice was unnaturally cold, filled with menace. Sephiroth remembered he had heard Tifa Lockheart tell Cloud once.
"But to tell you the truth, I thought he was very cold. I remember, I felt a forboding about him."
"I have the means to revive her, if you will allow me to try." Xander looked at him as if he were an insect "Do it." Sephiroth finished gathering energy and cast Full-Life. Orange light shone down from above and a small angel hovered above Wiilow's still form, before disappearing in a shower of golden sparkles. She began breathing again, her eyes flickering beneath the lids as if she were asleep. Sephiroth could feel palpable waves of relief radiating from Xander's temporary body.
Then the boy looked over at him, meeting his eyes. "Sorry about that. I tend to get a little emotional when my friends are in danger." Sephiroth waved the apology aside. "It was not your emotions which concerned me Xander. It was the complete lack of them. I have only ever seen such a look on my own face." Willow chose that moment to awaken, her eyes roving wildly before coming to rest on Xander. She attempted to grab his hand, perhaps to lever herself up with. When she passed right through it, she frowned in consternation "Xander, are you a ghost too?"
At this Sephiroth and Xander stared at each other, both obviously failing to understand the question. "Uhh...Nope?" Xander replied in the only way he could think of. "Then how did I get here? Last thing I remember was talking to Giles about the whole costume thing." "Willow, you were dead, how could you be having a conversation with Giles?" "I dressed as a ghost. Whatever spell is responsible for turning us into our costumes, made me little Miss walk through walls. I was about to tell Giles that we had hired our costumes from Ethan's. Since Cordelia got hers from PartyTown and failed to turn into a Tiger or tabby cat or whatever, I figured that Ethan was responsible."
Again Sephiroth found himself impressed. The girl hadn't stopped for oxygen once. Obviously Xander had learned the ability to 'babble' from Willow. "Then Xander, you will lead me to this Ethan. I will no longer be able to follow the magic to him." "Those pesky breadcrumbs, eh Seph?" Sephiroth merely glared at him.
Xander shivered. 'Damn that is one frightful glare!' Sephiroth smirked in response. 'Hey, go read someone elses brain, Seph' The glare returned. "Hah! now i've got an annoying nickname for you too" Willow was confused, having just missed half a conversation. "Why cant you follow the magic back to him?" Enquired Xander. "I just cast the most powerful spell in my arsenal to revive your friend, which means the only magic I can sense in the air is my own." They moved along quickly, long legs striding with confidence and purpose. Willow tagged along behind, unable to keep up, but not wanting to call that scary guys attention onto her by running.
Giles stared at the spot where Willow had been standing minutes earlier. She had disappeared mid-sentence. He tried to make sense of the evenings events, but was unable to. It was just too strange, even for the Hellmouth. "Bollocks to this." He said to himself. He went and switched on his Record player, selecting a Cream LP and beginning bottle of Glenfiddich Whiskey. "Here's to you Eric. There are some nights when 'Strange Brew' is entirely too appropriate."
Across Sunnydale, Ethan had finally gotten up from the floor. He staggered through to the kitchen and flicked on the kettle. It was about time for a nice cup of Earl Grey. 5 minutes later he was sitting with his finest china on the table while the tea infused with the hot water in the teapot. Little did he realise that time was quickly running out for him.
Ethan Rayne was irate. He was moving into 'Ripper' levels of anger. 'Will nothing bloody well go right for me tonight?' He had reached for the cup of tea he had just finished pouring, wrapping both hands around it to try and absorb some of its warmth. The intense spell casting this evening had left him with a cold ache in his bones, a reflection of his magical exhaustion. Then the hot teacup had touched the sensitive nerve endings of his injured hand. His body had reacted on instinct. He had dropped the teacup on the floor.
The delicate utensil had shattered on impact, leaving him with tea all over the floor. 'It was Royal Doulton china as well. Good luck trying to replace that among these barbarous savages.' He crouched down on his haunches and began picking up the pieces of china. There was a rustle of leather moving behind him, shocking him into action. He stood and spun round, making no overtly threatening actions. His jaw dropped when he saw who was in the kitchen with him. 'Oh Bollocks. Could tonight get any sodding worse?'
Sephiroth smirked. If there was one trick he would be eternally grateful to Jenova for revealing to him, it was the ability to 'phase' through physical matter. Walls, floors, ceilings, anything. Xander followed a moment later, his 'body' flickering in shock. 'Holy Shit Seph, we just walked through a wall man. That is so damn cool' Xander surprised him by deliberately thinking at him. The boy was a quick study. 'It is a very popular party piece. Walls are nothing. You should see the looks I get when I phase up from beneath the floor. What a pair of legs Aeris Gainsborough had...'
"Ethan, I presume. My companion and I have some things we wish to... discuss with you." He laid all the foreboding and menace he could on the last three words. At the same time he hefted Masamune and swung it, thickening the tension. Ethan's eyes widened comically, as he noticed Xander for the first time. The boy glared menacingly. 'What an frightful glare. An excellent student. They grow up so fast'
Ethan was gobsmacked. 'When will you learn not to ask that particular question, Ethan you pillock?' "Well, I'm honoured to make your acquaintance, Sephiroth. I'm afraid that my shop is not open for business at this hour of the night. Is there some more suitable hour we could arrange to meet and discuss business?"
Sephiroth was impressed by the older man's fortitude. Normal men would have thrown themselves on their knees and commenced begging for mercy by now. "What a splendid idea, my good man...There is only one slight problem with that suggestion..." Sephiroth trailed off, as though struck by a thought.
Xander took the hint and stepped forward. "...this is personal, asshole. Your spell had the tiny side effect of killing my Willow. If you hadn't done that, I would have been content to let the Buffster send you on your way with a couple of broken bones. Now my glamorous assistant is gonna make you bleed." Sephiroth snarled at the 'glamorous assistant' remark - He was no-one's assistant. Ethan had the spectacularly bad idea that this was an appropriate juncture to show bravado by laughing. "Please, one of the Slayer's little chums? You can't kill me,I have a soul. Ha ha ha. Best bugger off home lads, before I call your Slayer and tell her you've been annoying your elders."
This did, admittedly give Xander pause for a moment. If Buffy was foolish enough to begin a relationship with a vampire, how could he expect her to understand the necessity of killing this mage? Especially if the Englishman played the 'soul' trump card? It seemed obvious to Xander that, just as some criminals were above the law, some who inhabited the Hellmouth were beyond the reach of the Slayer. Perhaps that was his purpose.
He would remove from the equation those who preyed upon Buffy's optimism and trust, her belief that Humans were better than the things she fought. Her misplaced idealism regarding the soul being a safeguard against Evil. With Sephiroth's assistance he would make Buffy's 'sacred duty' easier for her. He would be the thing that scared the Vampires shitless.
On the subject of Vampires with souls, Xander's thoughts returned to Angel. If it became necessary Xander would take him out. No point making Buffy have to do it. No way that you could trust a woman betrayed by her lover to take him out. Jessica had failed to take any kind of action against Tony, first when she was beaten, then when Xander joined her. Instead she had crawled into the bottle with the elder Harris. Secretly Xander despaired of ever being loved. Sometimes he doubted the existence of love at all. But he knew he loved Willow, and more recently he had grown to love Buffy. When Jessie had died, He realised he had also loved the boy. He lamented never having called Jessie 'Brother' as the boy had been labelled, in Xander's heart. He recalled clearly the first time he had matched his parent's shot for shot of Jack Daniels. The despair and pain had overwhelmed him on the night of the Harvest, after the Master had been thwarted.
'Angel hid in the shadows while we fought. If he had done something we could have saved Jessie, instead that whore Darla invited a demon into his corpse. Then Angel rid me of the opportunity for vengence by staking the bitch. Buffy and Willow have been fooled by the "face of an Angel" like every other one of his victims. Well, not me. That prick had better tread carefully.'
Sephiroth could feel the emotional turmoil, but paid no attention to it. He could see Ethan smirking as though he had won. 'The fool does not realise that Xander is unable to touch him. Consequently he believes Xander's acquiescence will save him. Such a shame that I am in control here, and that I am incapable of showing mercy. If T were, it would not be squanderd on a fool like this, who dabbles in the lives of others for amusement. Perhaps I would have spared Aeris... that girl did have the nicest legs I had ever seen. Shame about her hideous footwear.' Seeing that Ethan was distracted, most likely congratulating himself on his debating skills.
The former General felt Xander resolve his inner conflict and rushed forward, lunging with his right side leading the assault. as he came within striking distance he brought the Masamune up into a stabbing strike. Seconds later it was finished, Ethan was pinned to the wall with six feet of metal getting up close and personal with his stomach, intestines and spinal cord. Sephiroth waaited until the shock had worn off and Ethan began casting slurs on his parentage before twisting the blade, severing the spinal cord and damaging the soft organs in Ethan's torso.
Then he let go of the handle of the balde and brushed his long silver bangs from where they were obscuring his vision. 'Impaling someone is like riding a chocobo. You never forget how. Nice to know I've still got the magic touch.' He regarded Ethan through cold green eyes, dispassionate and without an ounce of emotion in them.
Xander was shocked. Sephiroth had been impossibly fast. 'I've seen demons and Vampires move faster than humanly possible. I thought i'd see it all. Sephroth... he moved fatser thqn is inhumanly possible. I'd stake my life on it. Nothing else on the Hellmouth could possibly match that.'
Sephiroth waited patiently for Ethan to begin swearing again before he withdrew Masamune from the man's midriff... as well as the four feet of blade that had been driven through Ethan into the wall behind him. 'The workmanship just isn't of the same quality these days.' He thought caustically. He drew upon the energy deep within him and cast 'curaga' on the hapless chaos mage. "You see, Ethan, it is perfectly within the limits of my power to torture you all night and then heal you in order to begin the process again. Does that sound like fun? I think it does. Then again, I am not the only person involved here. Xander?"
"I kinda draw the line at torture Seph. Why dont we see if our European friend will disclose how to stop his little spell?" Sephiroth looked at Ethan as if to say 'Don't tell, I'm not finished yet.' Ethan just sighed. "Break the bust of Janus, in the room behind the shop." Sephiroth kicked him in the jaw, breaking it and knocking Ethan out for the count. "You just had to pick now to co- operate, didn't you?"
Then he wandered off to find the statue. As Xander followed, he cast 'Death' on Ethan as if to hide it from the boy. It was a basic piece of indoctrination in SOLDIER. You do not leave an enemy alive after they outlive their usefulness. Especially not a mage with the ability to affect the minds and identities of those around him, which Ethan had proven himself capable of.
Xander would probably see the tactical sense in this, even if he had moral objections to killing 'souled' beings as Ethan had implied. It was a good thing he had ordered the red-head to stay outside, she would not have the stomach for such action. She was a pathetic excuse for a warrior, the proverbial damsel in distress. Apparently she had chosen a costume that would kill her. They arrived at the statue as Ethan had directed them. Sephiroth considered the best way to destroy it, before deciding on the a course of action.
He entered his customary sword stance, right side presented to the enemy, Masamune flicked up to eye-level, held straight and without motion. Both hands were grasping the hilt. He brought the blade down and then diagonally across from lower left to upper right. the sword struck with the usual perfect accuracy, cleanly splitting the bust in half.
The 'Fwaa-Ching' sound the blade made as it rended the stone was as familiar to Sephiroth as the sound of his own voice. Xander watched in awe as the blade cleaved stone like paper, without leaving a mark and with no discernible effort on Sephiroth's part. Then the formerly insane warrior walked out of the shop and out to the street. Xander followed like an obedient puppy, his complaints from earlier forgotten in the display of swordsmanship from Sephiroth. As Xander reached Sephiroth's side, the silver haired man turned and casually set the building on fire.
Willow just squeaked in shock, knowing that discretion was the better part of valour where this tall guy with even taller sword was concerned. Xander was beginning to look increasingly concerned as he remained on the outside of his body. "Uhh, Seph? Wasnt breaking that statue supposed to break the spell?" Sephiroth just nodded, motioning for Xander to look around. The teenager did so, his impressive perception picking up little kids in costumes looking around in confusion. "Hold the phone here! Why the Hell are you still in my body? Why is it still Seph-shaped?"
Xander was really worried now. What if he was stuck outside his body like this forever? He hadnt even had sex yet! This wasnt fair! Sephiroth burst out laughing at that, Xander's agitation having transmitted his thoughts. "Relax, Alexander This body remains in this state and under my control because I will it. The spell Ethan cast was too weak to break through my natural resistance." He had finally found a name that he could call Xander that irked the boy. He was going to enjoy the coming years in this boy's body.
Even if he wasnt always in control. The boy showed promise as a warrior, as wellas a willingness to befriend even the formerly insane, megalomaniacal Sephiroth. 'The last being unwise enough to offer friendship to me was Zack. That did not end well. Perhaps Xander can show me how friendship works, in return for the benefits my company will bestow upon him.' He began to transmit to Xander. 'I will now hand control back to you. Be warned, the changes engendered in you this night will have far reaching consequences. Firstly, my equipment wil remain - Masamune, my Materia and so on are now in your possession. Secondly, as you have probably guessed I myself still remain. We will trade places, you will control the body, while I take up residence in the subconscious. That is all for the moment.'
Willow gasped as the silver haired man changed into to Xander, his head bowed, gasping for air as if trying to remember how to keep his lungs working. She tried to piece together what had just happened. That was when Xander finally looked at her, every coherent thought taking leave of her.
If any of the girls who had ever made eye contact with Xander were asked to name his most attractive feature, the first answer would be his eyes. Most women would kill for a pair of eyes that expressed emotion the way Xander's did. Willow was among the most ardent admirers of Xander's eyes. That was before the 31st of October 1997. Xander's eyes were now glowing, a rich earthy brown. They were so intense that Willow felt herself grow weak at the knees, barely stopping herself from falling down in Willow-shaped heap.
Xander could see the shock on Willow's face, but had no idea what had caused it. Then he felt wicked amusement flare up from his subconscious. 'Thirdly, your eyes will now contain the glow that denotes Mako infusion, the most famous sign of SOLDIER membership. Eyes that glow in this way are known as Mako eyes.'
Xander had escorted Willow back home. Well, Willow had clung to his side and made strange noises whenever he had looked at her. He was unsure if she was afraid of him, or too sleepy to enunciate properly or what. In order to get rid of her he had been forced to drop her off home. Now he was walking through the streets with Masamune held by his side, extending out in front of him by a couple of metres. He took the time to examine it.
The hilt was wrapped in crimson leather. 'That happens to be leather from the hide of a Ruby Dragon', Sephiroth supplied from within his mind. The blade was a dull grey, but for the cutting edge, which was a shiny white. He was still amazed that Sephiroth had been able to stab the blade into Ethan. Masamune was after all a katana. By definition it was a sword designrd for slashing. If Seph had slashed his way into Ethan's torso and stopped halfway in, it would have been perfectly within the abilities of a slashing sword.
He had not done so. He had stabbed the blade in, treating it like a rapier or a broadsword. Xander had seen Highlander. Not once did Connor MacLeod or Ramirez ever stab an enemy with the katana. Kurgan had stabbed MacLeod during their first fight. Later he had stabbed Ramirez before delivering the coup de grace. However, Kurgan wielded a Broadsword of some description.
The only explanation he could come up with was that Seph had used a combination of brute strength and physics to achieve his goal. 'By dashing forward and bringing the sword around before thrusting forward, I was able to use kinetic energy that built up during the strike. Sometimes brute strength is not enough. My own defeat by Cloud and his friends should be an adequate example.' Xander had reached his house during this lecture and proceeded to walk straight through the surrounding wall and into his bedroom.
The usual sounds emanated from the front room. The T.V. was too loud, but above it his parents' shouting could be heard. Eventually he knew it would evolve into fighting - Tony would hit Jessica, Jessica would hit back, which would eventually segue into them fucking. He refused to call what they did 'Love-making'. It was nothing more than the sating of physical lust.
Once upon a time it had hurt,to know that he was the product of little more than the rutting of two animals in heat. Now he had bigger concerns. The worst thing about being Xander Harris was that he waws unable to stop loving someone once he had begun. So Tony and Jessica, though they did not deserve the title 'parents' received it from him anyway. They were the only ones he would ever have. That was where his absolute loyalty and self-sacrificing nature stemmed from.
The number of injuries he had sat and tended to after a night patrolling with Buffy were beyond number. The only comfort he could take was that it was him who had bee injured, not Buffy or Willow or Giles. Sometimes though he had wondered if this self-sacrificing thing was an excuse, that he jumped in front of Vampires or Demons or whatever in an effort to get killed. That had unsettled him, but he had inspected his motives and the reasons for his actions and where applicable, his thoughts... 'Precious little of those!' interjected Sephiroth ... and had come to the conclusion that he felt Buffy and Willow were more important to him than his own life was. That did not make him suicidal, or a thrill-seeker. It simply made him a man who loved "truly, madly, deeply".
'Yeah, move over Alan Rickman. Emma Thomson is mine', his sarcastic side (not Sephiroth this time) put in. He looked at himself in the mirror, coming full circle from the start of the evening. The only physical difference that he could see were his glowing eyes. That was more than enough, though. He supposed he would have to start wearing sunglasses to hide them. 'Just how far will Sunnydale natives go to deny the weird stuff around them?'.
He placed Masamune against the wall by his bed, within easy reach. then he folded his trench doat up and placed it on the floor, to serve as a pilow. It was only after he lay down and closed his eyes that he realised that these were not normal everyday Xander- habits. Then he heard Sephiroth laughing at him in his head. 'How intriguing. It seems you have picked up some of my habits. Perhaps that explains how well you glared at Ethan' That particular memory caused both of them to laugh. Xander felt a strange burst of companionship that he thought had died with Jessie. 'How strange that it should be Sephiroth that understands the things I keep hidden.'
When Xander awoke mere hours later, the Television could still be heard through the paper thin walls of the Harris house. Not a home, you notice. Just a house. 'Why the hell am I up so damn early?' He could see from his watch that it was only 2a.m. Most nights after patrol he was only getting into bed at this time. 'What do you mean early,Xander? All members of SOLDIER require only hours of sleep. What use having an elite fighting force who are too busy sleeping to kill the enemy?'
"Well, at least now I don't have to worry about not getting homework in on time." The possibilities intrigued the 16 year old. 'Hmmm. Requiring only a couple of hours sleep. Plenty of energy to devote to other ...pursuits.' Any future girlfriend would find herself well satisfied. His lecherous train of thought was interrupted by the older man currently taking up space i his head. 'I have been reviewing some of your memories, Xander and i wish to speak with you regarding some of your activities.'
The rest of the time before dawn as spent exchanging what members of the various Armies of the world would have called war stories. Xander gave an account of his months fighting the Demons that remained on Earth. Sephiroth gave an honest and unvarnished account of the things he had done - from the burning of Nibelheim to the manipulation of Cloud Strife to the murder of Aeris Gainsborough. His account ended with the defeat of his various transformations by Cloud and friends.
Xander made insightful comments on his strategies and tactics while disapproving vehemently of the murder of non-combatants and the unnecessary attempt to destroy the world. "I can't say I approve of the whole 'blow up the planet' thing. Though if I found out that I was a genetically engineered super-SOLDIER, I really can't guarantee my sanity would hold. As long as you don't try and blow up my planet, I think we can make this time-share with my body work."
'I have never thanked anyone in my life, Xander Harris. So I will not start now. Instead, I will help you use the power you now possess. Perhaps you would consent to allowing me the use of the body from time to time? It has been some years since I last fought anything capable of challenging me.' "I got no problem with that. Let me put on a shirt and we can go get started. On the teaching thing, not the killing things thing."
Xander stood up from the floor and walked over to his cupboard. When he opened it Sephiroth was quiet for a handful of seconds, before screaming at Xander What are these things? I thought you drew the line at torture! Sephiroth forcibly took control of Xander's body, grabbing every one of the brightly coloured shirts from the hangers they rested upon and wrestled them to the floor. Then he cast Fira on the entire cursed pile.
'Hey!! Those were my best shirts you..you...Philistine!' "I apologise, Xander but such things were not meant for mortal eyes." 'Oh, thanks very much. You liked them so much you didn't think anyone else deserved to see them? No one has ever said such a nice thing about my shirts before. Thanks Seph!' Sephiroth cast one horrified glance at the pile of ashes at his feet and shivered. Then he grabbed a white T-Shirt from the cupboard and hurriedly pulled it on. Then he grabed his trenchcoat from the floor, shook it once and donned it. Masamune leapt into his hand with a thought and he relinquished control to Xander.
Xander looked down at his body and then the blade in his hand. "Gee Seph, all dressed up and no place to go?" 'I intend to go to this Library of yours. If you would be so kind as to take me there?' "Okay. There isn't much chance of me getting back to sleep is there?" 'None whatsoever.' With that, Xander cast a rueful glance toward his bed, then strode through the wall.
The first rays of the rising sun were turning the sky beautiful shades of red and gold as Xander walked confidently up to Sunnydale High. Instead of walking up to the front door as was his habit, he walked past it. He stalked around to the side of the library and phased through the wall. He stopped dead center in the middle of the Library , directly atop the Hellmouth. His trenchcoat flared behind him, not unlike a certain two Aurelian Master Vamps he hated. "Well? what now?" he enquired of Sephiroth.
'Now your training begins, Xander. You are not yet ready to wield the Masamune, so we will begin with an easier blade. Your acquaintance Giles keeps swords stored here, does he not?' "Yeah, in a side room he uses as an office. Will I go fetch one?" 'Yes. Immediately.' Xander went to open the door to G-man's office, but found it locked. He shrugged, then walked through it anyway. He forced open the lock on the Weaponry Cabinet and grabbed a broadsword from inside. He tested its weight and balance, finding it comfortable and easy to wield. He felt Sephiroth's approval at his choice of weapon, while not a word passed between them.
He phased through the door as well, the sword going with him. He had half expected the sword to catch on the door, like in Terminator 2 when Robert Patrick gets his pistol stuck in a prison door. He returned to the center of the room, leaving his trenchcoat lying over a chair and making sure he would not slice through any tables or books when he swung the Broadsword.
'Now, take up this stance. Starting with your feet, point the right foot to a twelve position and the left foot to a nine position, as though you were standing on a clock face. Good, just like that. Now, both hands should wrap around the hilt, left hand at the bottom, right hand nearest the blade. Hold the hilt close, but let the blade incline forward at the enemy.' This was the typical sword stance for a member of SOLDIER. Every member, from First class to Third class was taught it.
The only member of SOLDIER to use a different stance was Sephiroth. This stance could not be used to wield Masamune effectively. Sephiroth appeared bside Xander using the magic projection technique from the previous night. He corrected the flaws in Xander's stance, drilling different techniques into the boy's brain. 'Slash, spin, block, counter, stab, parry, evade, crouch, uppercut'. By the time Giles happened upon the scene at 8 o'clock that morning, Xander was no longer thinking, he had slipped into a form of trance. He performed routines and attack/defense patterns as Sephiroth dictated.
The fact that what Giles was witnessing was not humanly possible did not escape the Englishman's notice. Nor did the fact that Xander had clearly been at this for hours, despite the fact that he was not sweating profusely or breathing heavily. The Watcher surreptitiously checked that the windows were open and that Xander was not avoiding the sunlight. He also double-checked that the boy was breathing. His fears that the boy had been turned were allayed by a little application of intellect. Then he recognised the Broadsword the boy was wielding. 'That impertinent little bugger!' he strode over to the weapons room and unlocked it, before withdrawing his prized Rapier from the Weaponry Cabinet. He walked back out to the Library proper,cast off his tweed jacket and shirt, then began his warm up routine. Fifteen minutes later he was done.
He turned to Xander amd prepared to offer a challenge. His mouth had opened to speak, but then he saw Xander's eyes. His mouth remained open, but his eyes almost popped out in shock. "My word Xander, what the bloody hell happened to your eyes?" "It was a result of the Spell a chaos mage cast last night. If you want to challange me, do so before I begin this little story." Giles saluted, bringing his Rapier up and and around into a stance that would have left him defenseless up against another fencer, but which offered quite some challenge to the broadsword wielding Xander.
They commenced a batle of wills, staring at over their blades. Sephiroth advised Xander quietly from within the teenager's mind. 'You have the advantage here, Mako eyes tend to cause disorientation in anyone who stares at them too long, but only where a person knew you beforehand. Even then, the mind soon makes allowances. For the time being, wait until he makes the first move. I can tell just from his stance he is highly experienced. Experience and technique can defeat strength and speed' Xander sent an emotional pulse of gratitude over to Seph before switching off his emotions. He settled back into the trance Seph had taught him to reach, letting his body do the talking for him.
The stance Xander slipped into was totally unfamiliar to Giles, but it had obviously been created by someone who knew swordplay. It could be usef by a variety of different swords. Angle the blade forward a little more acutely and even piercing weaponry became viable Then he stopped thinking and just felt.
Giles slid forward, his grace and skill belying his age. His rapier was a blur as he probed Xander's defenses. Xander blocked the first two slashes with the edge of his broadsword, then parried the third. Giles used the momentum of Xander's parry to spin once and slash diagonally along Xander's torso. Xander stepped back out of range of the slash and spun, bringing the broadsword around in a slash that would have cleaved Giles in half. The Englishman side-stepped parallel along the path of the blade and angled his rapier in a thrust toward Xander's sternum.
Xander had continued the spin until his back faced Giles, before reversing his grip on the broadsword so that the blade emerged from between his arm and ribcage. Giles halted his forward momentum, just before the blade entered him. The position of his rapier was such that he would have stabbe Xander had he moved further. "Impasse." he stated. Xander nodded, "Mexican standoff." They both lowered their blades, Xander turned and they saluted. "You were bloody good." "Not good enough, G-man." "Have you ever been stabbed before Xander?" "Uhh...No?" Giles smiled in an unkind manner "Don't call me G-man." "Now. I had a rather unusual visit from Ms. Rosenberg last night. I assume this chaos mage was at the heart of her dillemma?"
"Yeah, exactly. I had turned into my costume, a pretty unusual guy, to say the least. He starts poking around in my brain and opens a conversation with me. Eventually we stop trsding insults long enough for me to lead him on his way, when we com ont the street Wills was looking after a group of kids. And she's lying their. Dead. I break down and start begging her not to die, when the body snatcher says he can save her. He does so, and when she gets up, she mentions you. Presumably she left kinda abruptly?" "Yes, quite. Rather a shock, let me tell you. Sometimes i wonder if I'm too old for this line of work."
Xander merely smirked mischievously. ""Any way, turns out that the costume guy, Ethan was behind the whole thing. Shoulda seen the look on this guys face when we just walked into his kitchen. He was really smart, though. Tried to play it cool." Here Xander affects an English accent "'I say, i'm afraid you chaps are out of luck. We close at 6. Come back tomorrow and i'll see what I can do for you.' So Seph just smirks and says 'its not business, its personal.' I come in with 'If you hadnt a killed my Wiilow, I woulda let you off with a few broken bones.' Then he laughs, and tells us to 'Bugger off home' or he'll call the slayer and tell her we've been naughty. At which point seph just pins him to the wall, with this really long pigsticker he's been carryin around all evening.' Then he breaks this statue of Janus and burns the costume shop down." Xander babbles without any stop for oxygen
Xander notices Giles is pale and looks rather pissed "Was it something I said?" "I knew a mage named Ethan Ryne, once. Got involved i some pretty black magic. It strikes me that this is just the sort of irresponsible stunt that silly bastard would have pulled. If your friend Seth did kill him, I owe you both a pint."
"No, Giles it's Seph, short for Sephiroth." "You what? Sephiroth? Soddin' 'ell. What mother names her child that? Y'know what that means?" "Nope, but i'd be interested in finding out." "Let me tell you what it means my lad. In the Kabbalistic teachings of the Hebrews, there are 10 Sephirah symbolised in the Tree of Life. A single Sephirah is called a Sephiroth. Each Sephiroth represents a path of ideas, attributes and concepts that one must realise and understand within oneself. Once this has taken place, one will have reached a state of divine perfection."
Xander fell off his chair laughing.
Giles looked at him as if to ask 'what?'. "Oh he, he, sorry Gi-ha, ha - Giles, it's ju, hu, ha, ha, just that Sephiroth was kind of a Big Bad where he comes from, so once he attempted to absorb the energy of the Planet and become a God. Kinda funny huh?" Xander absently wiped a tear of mirth away from his eyes. Then he heard Sephiroth whisper in his mind 'Child, I was the Big Bad on my Planet, lest you forget.'
"How very amusing. Yes, that's worth a chuckle or two, is'nt it?"
The bell to get to class rang, so Xander picked himself up, dusted himself down and began to move off to his locker. "Giles, can I leave my coat and sword here?" "Of course you can Xander, I'll store them in my office. Will you pop back at lunch time? Buffy and Willow may be able to add their points of view to last nights tale." "Sure thing Giles, see you then." Xander replied over his shoulder, heading for the swing doors all the while.
His shock was so great when the door swung open and struck him, that he fell back onto his ass. He looked up to see who had been so careless and met the glare of an extremely pissed off Buffy Summers.
Willow was hiding behind Buffy, as though scared to get any closer to Xander without having Buffy to hide behind. That made Xander feel a little uncomfortable - His Willow, scared of him? It struck Sephiroth as fairly typical of the girl's behaviour. She was an accomplished manipulator. He had seen the way she treated those around her, without the blinkers imposed by Xander's loyalty and lifelong friendship. He had little hope that she would see the folly of her ways. She was not the real threat at the moment. Not physically anyway. As the Slayer was standing within striking distance and was tensed, as if awaiting commencement of battle.
Buffy was staring down at Xander as if he were a viper about to strike. She could not believe what she had just heard. 'Willow and I were coming along to meet Giles and Xander in the Library as ususal. If it weren't for my Slayer hearing I wouldn't have heard anything. But I did hear something. Something terrible.' "So, Xander. If you actually are Xander. You've upgraded to murder and arson now huh?"
Xander was hurt by the suspicion in her tone. 'Of course I'm me, who else would I be?' 'Perhaps your friend Willow informed her that I remained in charge after the spell was broken?' 'I see. Thanks Seph.' "I wont lie to you Buffy. I did not physically kill Ethan or burn down his shop. Neither did I attempt to stop Sephiroth from doing these things. Whether you condemn these actions or not really doesnt matter."
Buffy was shocked. Xander had never spoken to her like this. "That settles it. You are not my Xander. He would never speak to me like that. You're just some crazy murederer guy." "Of course I'm not your Xander, you ignorant little cheerleader. I belong to no-one. I'm not a possession, or a piece of meat for you or Willow to own."
'Yes! Stand up for yourself! You are the only successful Sephiroth clone, the only one fit to touch my sword or wear my face. None of the failures were fit to clean the sand from my boots.' "Furthermore Buff, if you had wanted me, you could have let me know in time for the Spring Fling. I would have shown you such a good time. I would even have refrained from doing the Snoopy Dance in public."
Buffy was beyond pissed now. This murderer was using Xander's face and talking like him. It was no better than a Vampire! "Don't make me fetch a desk, you Xander-shaped impostor!" 'Seph! A little help explaining this to her please?' Sephiroth projected himself out of Xander's body and into one of the magical projections he was fast becoming fond of. Willow noticed and gave an "eep" of fear. "Buffy, that's what he did last night, except Xander was the shimmery ghosty thing!" Buffy shifted her weight and leapt at the silver haired newcomer.
As she passed right through him and fell to the cold marble floor of the Library, Sephiroth just laughed. "Did I forget to mentionto you that I am intangible? How forgetful of me!" He struck that strange pose of his, one hand to his mouth, the other raised as if to ward off a blow while continuing to laugh. By the time he stopped, feeling the Slayer had been suitably embarrassed, all humour had drained from his eyes. He turned the glowing green eyes on Buffy, with as much warmth as a glacier contained within the gaze.
Giles watched in rapt fascination as Sephiroth appeared. The man was tall, slender, having a definite feminine aspect to his looks. Not a handsome man, but certainly a beautiful one. He held himslf with grace and poise, every movement agile, every change in position made with effortlessness that bordered on feline. This observation gained further authority when Sephiroth turned round and his eyes became visible. They were genly slanted, just the sort of shape associated with Japan or China. Though the silver hair and Green irises did little to continue the comparison.
Then he spoke. Everyone in the room was held at rapt attention as the voice issued forth, even Willow, who had heard it before. "Do you wish me to explain my actions, Miss Summers? Am I expected to justify my actions to you? You may have some skill when it comes to battling Vampires, but when it comes to moral judgement you are sorely lacking. Xander has shared with me some of his exploits, which failed to impress me. Your strategic and tactical planning is non-existant. What power you have, was handed to you on a platter by some cosmic game of chance. What you fail to recognise in this instance is that you are involved in a war."
Sephiroth paused here in an attempt to allow his words to be absorbed. "If there is one thing I understand, Slayer, it is war. You have attempted to limit the combatants in this war by only going after the monsters without souls. I could use this as an opportunity to berate you for falling in love with an animated corpse that has shown itself capable of nothing but cowardice." Again he paused, as if to allow Buffy's mind to fill in the gaps. "Though I will not."
"Now, in the individual case of Ethan, who may or may not be an acquaintace of Rupert Giles named Rayne. My reasons for the actions were simple. Xander was extremely angered at the blatant disregard shown for human life by the mage. He did after all lure children into his shop with the aim of selling them costumes that would turn them into goblins, demons and whatnot."
"He compounded this by killing Willow Rosenberg, whom Xander has long regarded as his little sister, in need of protection from the big bad world. Can you imagine how much more protective he became after your incompetence and the cowardice of your so-called 'soul-mate' made it necessary for Jessie McNally to be staked? You gave Xander no reason to believe you would lift a finger to help Willow should the same thing happen to her. In all fairness, you did later satisfy him that you could be trusted to keep Willow safe.
Buffy opened her mouth to say something, so Sephiroth cast 'silence' on her. ""You were given the opportunity to make your accusations. This is my forum to rebutt them. Kindly do me the courtesy of not interrupting?" The Slayer nodded. He lifted the status affliction with 'Esuna'.
"When we confronted Ethan with the consequences of his actions, he merely told us that the 'Slayer's chums' would not be allowed to kill a being in possession of a soul. That was technically correct. Xander was not allowed to kill him. I killed him, thereby avoiding all the semantics. All Xander did was prohibit me from torturing the Englishman first. He involved himself in a war between Humans and Demons. He used what was in effect a territorial dispute over whom Earth belongs to as an opportunity to amuse himself. He was a traitor to humanity, playing both sides for his own benefit. Such a betrayal in an army is met with harsh punishment. Should I have allowed him to continue? A Chaos mage owes allegiance to none but himself after all."
Buffy could not believe she was hearing this. He had just cooly confessed to and justified murder, like he had squashed an ant or something. He simply could not be trusted not to go on a rampage and kill innocent people. Willow had said that he had retained possession of the body even after breaking the spell. He had also shown some pretty impressive power. If it had simply been a case of Xander having remembered what the guy had done, she could have left it alone. The fact was that this Sephirat could probably take over Xander's body whenever he wanted. He had done so last night, apparently only giving Xander's body back when he felt like it.
So she got up from the floor, decision made. "I don't trust you, Sephirat, so i'm gonna do everything in my power to get you away from Xander." He glared at her. "Firstly, my name is Sephiroth. Secondly, considering that all the power you have is centred around hitting things, forgive me if I don't lose sleep over your unimaginative and pedestrian threats. Thirdly, the reason that I am still here, as I would assume is your main concern. Xander was changed at a Genetic level. He is, for all intents and purposes a Sephiroth clone. As such, his potential levels of skill and power are beyond your comprehension, though I say so myself. Would you prefer I left him without help in understanding his power?" He paused here to gather his thoughts, deciding how much of his story these two females needed to hear.
"My lack of knowledge about where my power came from meant that when I did finally find out, my sanity snapped. It was not pretty. Worse, if Xander was turned by a vampire, there is no telling what would happen. Would the Jenova cells revive him? Would his soul remain? Would a demon take over? Would the vampiric weaknesses be removed by the Jenova cells? Think well, Buffy Summers, before you interfere in a situation you have no knowledge of!"
Feeling the tension was becoming unbearable, Xander decided to break in with a joke "Hey guys, you're locked in a room with Hitler, Stalin and an attorney. There is a gun in the room with two bullets. Who do you shoot?" They stared at him blankly "Give up? Ya shoot the lawyer. Twice. Just to make sure he's dead."
Giles laughed "Bloody right guv'nor. Tossers, the whole bleedin' lot of 'em." Then he looked abashed "Uhm, excuse me, I must go and uh... sharpen my rapier, yes, uhh, good -bye." He walked into his office, Rapier held in the crook of his arm, as fast as dignity and good breeding would allow.
They all looked at him as if he were insane. Then Wiilow and Buffy turned to Xander and stared at him. Then they both smiled and leapt on him. Willow was nonsensical, even Xander could only decipher evey second word. "OhXanderitisyou,itisyou,itis! yourallrightIwassoworried.Donteverdothattomeagainyoujerk!"
Buffy was likewise hugging him, repeating "Xander, I'm sorry" over and over again. He simply smiled and put an arm around both of them and hugged them gently, occasionally rubbing a hand up the back of whichever one was crying hardest at the time. Consoling 'his girls' was a tradition that had begun with 5 year old Willow and her yellow crayon, after all. "Come on girls, no need to waste tears on the ol' Xan-man. These changes just mean you have a big strong manly-man in your corner. That counts for the fighting now in addition to everything else. Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg are not gonna get hurt on my watch. You are both gonna die with grey hairs and walking sticks, or my middle name isn't Lavelle."
Both girls laughed. "Oh, damn! Forget that last part, huh?" Willow shook her head, red hair whipping Xander in the face. She smiled in an expression that was both apologetic and sheepish. Buffy smirked "No way, Lavelle baby". Then they got up, dragging him with them. Xander's smouldering brown eyes came to rest upon each one of the ladies in turn, as if asking 'are you really all right?'. Willow and Buffy both nodded. Sephiroth was almost knocked from his feet by the pulse of love and adoration that Xander felt for the so- called Scooby Gang at that moment.
'This is my family, Seph. I'm offering you the chance to join it, if you so desire. Think about it.' The greatest warrior of his time and place nodded once, fading out of the temporary body and back into Xander's head. He would think on what he had been shown.
As the three teenagers finally made their way to class, Xander's mind caught up with him. "Hey! You mean all this could have been avoided if I had given an example of my razor sharp wit?" His companions giggled at him. Willow replied "Xan, if you were any sharper you would cut yourself!" Buffy nodded and poked her tongue out him. Then the two girls shared a look and broke out in uncontrollable laughter again.
Xander was glad things were approaching normalcy, even if he was the subject of their laughter. Of Course, when Seph began laughing at him, it was too much. 'Shut up in there, will ya!' The laughter only became louder.
*Unplugs Earphones. Dire Straits can be heard blaring at unhealthy volumes*
*out of tune singing can be heard* "Get yer money fer nothin' an yer chicks for free."
"Oh! Hello you motley rabble, all doing well I hope?"
Big thanks to all the reviewers. Also thanks go to Megami-sama *wonders if Kitsune minds being referred to like that?* and Paradigm for making a newbie feel welcome.
Glad that I did'nt go into bashing territory, but I wonder if I revealed too much of my dastardly plan To Red and Keith? The bad guy always has to run his mouth off, doesn't he? *Realises he is running his mouth off* "Oh Bollocks."
Still no idea who I'm gonna put with the Xan-man. The thought crossed my mind that I could put Tara together with Xan if he uses his transformation power to become Alexandra Harris while they... you know. Maybe she'd be interested in learning how to drive stick-shift once she's had automatic, to borrow a phrase from Faith. Not really a serious idea right now, but the idea was planted by Kitsune's Ranma crossing sex-change challenge. (At least I think it was Kitsune.) Will that count as Xander-slash? *laughs insanely*
Also, the crazy idea that 'Aly' or 'Research girl' who posts around here and Jverse sometimes really also Alyson Hannigan in disguise popped into my head today. That raised a laugh. I mean, I laughed at my own stupidity. (Maybe i'll delete that last paragraph before posting.)LOL at me! LOL, damn you!
As Xander, Willow and Buffy entered entered their first class of the day, which was English, rather late, they were stopped by the teacher. Both girls looked pretty scared they were going to get shouted at, so Xander just waved them off to their seats and stepped closer to the teacher, an unpleasant spinster named Ms. Driscoll.
"I very much hope you are going to offer an explanation for your tardiness Mr Harris, as well as your two friends there. As you seem to think that they are not required to explain themselves to me." The entire class had grown eerily quiet, reminding Sephiroth of the times he had dressed down raw recruits for mistakes. 'I have business to discuss with your friend Giles. I shall return later. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Xander.' 'There ain't much that doesn't fall into that category, Seph' Sephiroth's voice floated back to him as if from a distance 'So cold. I am always by your side.' 'Don't you mean in my head?' 'Handle this as we discussed. I wish to see just how far the conspiracy spreads.'
Xander decided that there was only one way to extricate Buffy and Willow from this little problem, which was to play his trump card. He met Ms Driscoll's harsh gaze with his burning Mako eyes. "Well sir, we were late today because last night we had an encounter with... a gang on PCP." The teacher paled at that, knowing full well what the euphemism meant. Best not to piss off someone who had survived a run in with those things. Were the boys eyes glowing? "Thats fine Mr Harris, in fact I'm quite surprised that you bothered coming in at all." The unspoken fact that Driscoll was surprised to see them alive was clear to Xander.
The rest of the day went off with a hitch. Except for lunch. Willow and Buffy were both shocked when Xander simply bought a sandwich and a bottle of water. They had never seen him eat so little. When they asked about it, Xander just smirked "Well girls, I'm eating for two now. Seph really doesn't want his butt to get too big to squeeze those tight leather pants on." His smirk was accompanied by a devilish twinkle in his eye when both girls blushed and avoided looking at him. 'Both you naughty girls noticed how tight the Xan- mans trousers are, didn't you?'
When Sephiroth appeared on the library fllor as a white silhouette, gaining colour and definition as seconds ticked away, his mind flickered back to the other times he had done this. 'Cloud's stupidity amazes me. How could he not realize I appeared in this position in order to look up Aeris' skirt?' The best results he had ever gotten had been when he had reclined on the floor of the Temple of the Ancients., in front of the Black Materia pedestal. He had slowly raised his eyes upward, with an intensity that made the girl blush. She at least had been intelligent enough to realise what he was doing. What a pair of legs. They just don't make them like that anymore. The fact that she had been the last Cetra, meant that this was factually correct. 'I'f I had been sane, perhaps I would have take her on a trip to Mideel. Sun, Sea, Sand and Sephiroth... what more could a girl ask for?'
"Mr. Giles?" he called out. The Englishman's head peeked out from behind a bookshelf 'My Lord, that sounded like...' "Oh, Hello Sephiroth. Was there something you needed me for?" "I wish for you to contact the Watcher's Council. I have an offer they would likely be interested in hearing. Wait a few days until I have created a reputation amongst the Demon population. Then inform them you have been approached by a mercenary who seeks to offer his services. For a fee."
"Exactly what would you be planning on doing with the Council's money? What guarantee can you give me that you won't sell out to a higher bidder?" Sephiroth did not look amused to be questioned. The first answer is that I do not intend for Xander to remain where he is. The money will be used to pay for new lodgings. Far away from the boys parents. Secondly, I have professed no loyalty to your Slayer or you. My only loyalty is to Xander. If and when this changes, I will inform you."
"Very well, then. I can't expect anymore from you, given you haven't even been here 24 hours. Make the Demons tremble in fear at your name and the Council will likely take you up on your offer." "Very well than, Mr. Giles. I believe this concludes our business." Wait a minute, Sephiroth. Be aware that if you hurt Xander in any way I will find a a way to kill you." Sephiroth believed him. Something in the older man's voice made it a very genuine threat. If the Cloud Strife debacle had taught him anything, it was that ordinary people who were prepared to use power to protect something could do great things. That was what Xander had always strived for. The power to protect. Was that where the boys remarkable resistence to injury came from?
'I don't remember the path I walked. Tifa missed her step. I ran to her... but didn't make it in time. Both of us fell off the cliff. Back then, I only scarred my knees but...Tifa was in a coma for seven days.
Sephiroth remebered that Cloud had followed the Lockhart girl up Mt. Nibel when they were young. He had sought to protect her, even though the mountain had kiled older, experienced climbers. Was there some power locked deep withinn the human soul that came out when one person sought to protect another?
That would explain why Cloud had eventually manage to beat Sephiroth, despite the obvious differences in power. Cloud and his friends had sought to protect the life of the very Planet. Sephiroth had desired destruction, power and eventually an ascension. His loss had been assured before he had even begun. Then another memory came to him.
Sephiroth stood in front of the massive monster that SOLDIER had been dispatched to annihilate. Zack was on the ground next to him, terrible burns from the Dragon's fire breath covering his charred, smoking corpse. When the foolish beast had attempted to kill Sephiroth in the same fashion, it's fire had failed to singe his trenchcoat.
Ever since he could remember, Fire had held no danger to him. Neither the magic that was produced naturally, scientifically, or magically had ever harmed him. One strike from Masamune had been enough to mortally wound the Monster. There were two courses of action he could now take. Revive Zack, or kill the Monster. Any longer, and Zack would be beyond saving, yet his orders had been to wipe out the Monsters plaguing Nibelheim.
He considered where his loyalties lay, as Mission commander and General of Shin-ra's SOLDIER unit. He summoned the magic power from within himself, fixed his concentration on the spell he would use and cast it.
'I was not always like this. What has changed? Was it dying? Returning to this strange form of life? Xander himself?' He simply could not decide. There were far too many variables to pin down. It was likely a combination of all three. Or else it was Xander, given the remarkable way in which the boy brought out the best in those around him.
There was no point standing around here brooding when he could be doing it in the comfort of Xander's head. As well as the amusement the boy was sure to provide. As he prepared to leave, he turned to Giles and enquired: "Do you wish to meet again to practice Swordplay in the morning? I feel an opponent of your experience will assist Xander immeasurably."
Giles gave an evil grin that seemed at once alien and terribly at home on his face "I'd be glad to. Fencing with an opponent of your calibre can only force me to improve." "Until Tommorrow Mr. Giles. Oh, there was just one other matter. If you hold back again whilst fighting Xander, you will lose." He smirked at the shocked look on the Watcher's face and disappeared slowly, fading out to a white silhouette, then nothing at all.
"No, Seph. I'm just not cut out for this magic thing. I'ts a bad idea, and I vote we just drop it." 'I do not recall offering you the chance to discuss this venture, Alexander.' "For goodness sake, Seph I don't even understand the theory behind it! What part of I can't do this didn't you understand?" 'If you will not understand through words I will make you understand it in PERSON!'
Xander fell to the floor, hands gripping the sides of his head desperately, as white noise filled his head, his vision turned white to match it.
When the noise stopped and he could see again, he was in a cavern. A strange glow bathed the room in bue light. His eyes went to the source of the illumination. He was shocked to see Sephiroth standing there, watching a a pretty brunette stared in amazement at the glowy fountain of light. An older boy with blonde spiky hair and bright blue Mako eyes stood between Sephiroth and the girl. Their voices floated across to him, as clearly as if they were standing right next to them.
"Materia. When you condense Mako energy, Materia is produced. It's very rare to be able to see Materia in its natural state."
"By the way... Why is it that when you use Materia you can also use magic too?"
"You were in SOLDIER and didn't even know that? ...the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the planet calling up magic...... or so they say."
"Magic...... a mysterious power..."
Then he was lying on the floor, back in his bedroom. "I understand now, Sephiroth. My doubt meant I could not use the power of the Materia. I was preventing it from interacting with the Planet and myself." He called upon the power of the Materia then, green circles of power ruffling his trenchcoat, as though he were standing in front powerful winds. Then a flickering ball of flame was lying in his hand. He had expected it to burn, but it didn't.
'Like myself, fire holds no danger for you now, Xander. Eventually I will teach tou how to use magic without using Materia. That is for the future. You will sleep now, to replenish your strength. Then we will go and create fear amongst the Demons that dwell in your home town. Then you will be expected to dou your homework, young man. I will not be trapped in the mind of an imbecile'. "Yes Mom!" Xander smiled.
It was nice to have someone to take an interest. It was even nicer to know that he would never be alone again. Not with Seph sharing his head. He had been so alone during his first fifteen years. That would never be the case again. He gave control over to Sephiroth, who picked Masamune up and walked through the wall, making his way over to the Bar where Willy the snitch serviced the denizens of Sunnydale. It was time to take the war in Sunnydale to the Demons.
The drunken Demons in who inhabited the only bar in Sunnydale were rather shocked when a the door was kicked in and a rather tall, decidedly feminine looking man walked in. His graceful stride caused his long silver hair to gently shift with each step. Several of the drunken fools had to jump out of the way or risk being sliced in half by the ridiculously long katana he held by his side. Power radiated off of him like slime from a Chaos Demon.
The more sensitive members of the crowd shrank backwards, clutching their heads in pain He stopped by the bar and addressed all the gathered patrons. "I have come to serve notice to you. This town has long been the favourite place for your kind to gather. The Hellmouth attracts you like bees to pollen. This ends now. Humans populate this planet. Humans own this planet. Demonkind initiated a strategic retreat to the various Hell dimensions that exist in close proximity to this Universe. You Johnny-come-latelies were simply too stupid to follow the orders of your leaders."
This was more than enough for some of the stupider Demons in Willy's Bar. They approached, evil intent clear in every motion. The first died as Sephiroth roasted him alive with 'Firaga'. The second was cleaved in half by Masamune. Using the momentum of this slice he dazed the third by striking it with the flat of the blade. Then he followed it up with an elbow to the torso, before kicking off the bar and twisting round in the air to deliver a kick to the 8 feet tall monsters head.
It's neck snapped like a twig under the combined power of kinetic energy and Sephiroth's physical strength. He landed on his feet, Masamune sweeping up to its natural en garde stance. He beckoned to the fourth and final demon, a Vampire by the name of Robert. Too weak and too stupid to ever gain the title of anything other than Slayer bait, the brain-dead corpse rushed forward. Sephiroth calmly waited until it was just outside of his range and swept Masamune around to strike. The Vampire was impaled on the blade, so Sephiroth lifted it up, dangling it like a prize salmon at a fishing contest. 'Arr, ye should 'ave seen the size of the one that got away' Xander quipped from inside their shared mind.
Sephiroth smirked, eyes narrowing viciously. "No one escapes my blade." He stated as much for the Demons watching as for Xander. "Now, answer me a question. Why would a lone warrior wander into a known recreational center for Demons? Is it because:
1) He is suicidal?
2) He has backup waiting outside?
3) He has powerful magical skills?"
A demon standing near the back of the room shouted "Number 3!" Sephiroth cast a baleful glare in his direction and cast 'Break'. The demon petrified and than crumbled into dust. "The correct answer was:
4)Nothing currently inhabiting the Hellmouth could kill him.
The Slayer is the least of your worries, Demons. Tell whoever is in charge of this cesspit of a town that Sephiroth has arrived. This town belongs to me now."
Mayor Richard Wilkins III sat calmly and listened as one of his Demon minions reported on an interesting altercation down at Willy's Place. 'Why did I ever allow planning permission for that incompetent little weasel to go through? Oh well, he'll annoy the wrong demon one of these days. Wonder if Spike would be interested in arranging an accident for my old friend Willy?' Then he returned his attention to the Urkath Demon. Ugly little thing, but let it not be said that Richard Wilkins was not a believer in equal opportunites. "Well golly, what an interesting fella! Lets see how the situation develops. Come back when you've gathered more information. Can't have this wild card interfering with my ascension next year now can we? That just wouldn't do at all."
"No snacking on the hostages, or it's a trip to the woodshed for you boys."
Keith Topping had some really good insights on the guy in 'Slayer- the totally cool unofficial guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.
The basic thrust is that Wilkins is a nice family man who has the unfortunate hobby of wanting to ascend to demonhood. That book is still my main resource for S1-3, the only seasons I would ever watch again.
I'm going to try a different format for this one, so let me know if it is better or worse to read.
That had been fun. He hadn't gotten into a barroom brawl since the time he and Tseng had gone out drinking in Wutai, during the war. The Turks had also favoured the multiple choice question with a sting in the tail.
Sephiroth walked off down the street, blade in hand. Not a drop of blood marred it's flawless blade. He idly wondered what length of time Giles would spend pondering... 'how the bloody hell you got that sword and jacket out of my office without my noticing. The door was locked, for Pete's sake!'
He replied to Xander's amusing mimicry "it will probably keep him awake all night. After all, if we can retrieve this, could we also remove books or access his Watcher Diaries? This is probably a very serious matter for him."
Sephiroth was on the lookout for one demon in particular this evening. He wanted Angel. The vampire was supposed to be the adult in this star-crossed live affair with the Summers girl. He was after all in excess of 10 times her age.
"I will give him one opportunity to leave Sunnydale. After that, he becomes an endangered species."
Xander radiated a pulse of agreement. They were in total agreement on this matter. The vampire with a soul was a tactical liability. If the soul wore off, there was no way Buffy would be able to fight off Angelus. She would probably be unable to even defend herself against him. The most obvious tactic was to pretend there was nothing wrong, that the soul was still in place. When her guard is down, drain her, snap her neck or turn her. By the time she realises wht has happened, she is dead.
He also had an invitation to the house on Revello Drive. Sphiroth had been so incensed at this lack of forethought that he had planned on killing the Vampire just on principle. Xander maintained that the Vampire had seduced Buffy and gained access to her house. If he had not accidentally slipped into game face while wounded, no-one would ever have known. When would he have told them? Did he ever plan on telling them at all? Surely at least Buffy, the woman Angel claimed to love deserved the truth right from the start? What kind of meaningful relationship could be built upon lies?
He made his way across to the apartment that the Vampire rented, traced from memory. When he reached the door he merely walked through it. Just like the night when Buffy had died, the vampire was sitting on his chair brooding. Sephiroth could almost feel the waves of depression and angst rolling off of him. This mystified him. What sort of difference could one make sitting thinking? When it came to unburdening oneself of guilt, action was needed.
'That and an ear willing to listen.' thought Sephiroth. Xander had provided such for him. Angel was too much a coward to even consider admitting what he had done. If he told Buffy, surely she would reject him. Either that, or she would reinforce that flimsy excuse that he had a soul now. Sephiroth found himself liking the Vampire less and less as he observed him. He had power, presumably he had skill, being two centuries old. He should have done something with them!
How many innocents had been drained or turned beacuse this pathetic wretch sat and felt sorry for himself? Buffy was the Slayer, but she could not safeguard every life. If Angel had actually taken positive action before they knew he was a vampire, it would have mollified some of Xander's rage and hatred. The jealousy he also felt could not have been lessened, but Xander was perfectly capable of setting aside something as trifling as that. What had he done? He had played Jeopardy? with peoples lives! How many had Luke and Darla drained in the Bronze during the Harvest? Even one was one too many!
"So, this is the home you make for yourself, Angel? I am most unimpressed."
Angel looked up in shock, dragged from his reverie. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"I am Sephiroth. Remember that name, it will cause your Demon brethern to tremble soon enough, Vampire. As for how I got in here? I merely walked."
He shifted his weight, his long dark coat enclosing gently around him, like the embrace of a lover. He had purposely left Masamune by the door on the outside. If a fight was neccesary he would neat the Vampire down slowly and brutally. He was faster, stronger and far more ruthless.
"I have come to deliver a message to you. You have one opportunity to leave the Helmouth. Do so quickly. This town is no longer to be the dwelling place of you Vampires. You are not evil, simply a coward. That is more than enough reason for you to die in my opinion. All of the Demons will be destroyed. Mercy is not my forte. Will 24 hours be sufficient time? I will return in 48 hours. If you are here at that time I will make an example out of you."
"You can't just come into this town and tell me what to do! I've done good here!"
"I am not here to debate with you. You have done nothing I hold to be of any worth. How does slinking around after a 16 year old schoolgirl like the paedophile you are gain you redemption? Does your incessant brooding redeem you? Then there is your crowning moment, allowing your beloved Buffy to be drained and drowned by your Master of Aurelius!"
That was still a fresh emotional wound to the vampire. To hear it used in a list of his shortfalls enraged him. He leapt at this insolent human, intent on making him take back his harsh words. In truth they were things he had pondered in his own heart often, but for another to speak of them made them seem more real, more painful.
Sephiroth smirked as his words goaded the vampire into an enraged attack. He side stepped the tackle, trenchcoat flaring dramatically behind him. Then he brought his knee up to the Vampire's midriff, halting all his forward motion. He brought his knee back down, eyes alight with dark satisfaction as the ribs on Angel's left hand side snapped. Then he shifted his weight and kicked out with a roundhouse.
Angel's body was thrust across the room, bouncing off the wall and landing painfully on the floor. The pain had driven him insensate, the loss of control absolute. He got up swiftly and made his way carefully over to Sephiroth. Once he was just outside striking range, he pused and took up a combat stance.
Sephiroth took up the basic Close Quarter Battle stance that SOLDIER had developed. He waited for the Vampire to make the first move. He did not have to wait long. Angel leapt forward with a palm strike, which Sephiroth pivoted left to avoid. Angel then transferred the power and momentum of his first strike into a spinning backhand.
Sephiroth saw it coming, though he was impressed at the ingenuity of the recovery. He allowed it to strike. The force of the blow combined with its angle was enough to snap his head around. Had he been a normal human it likely would have snapped his neck instantly. 'He does possess some skills. I have not been struck so hard in many years.'
This just proved he was correct in his assumption that the Vampire had been capable of taking action. Sephiroth spun in the same direction as the strike was sending him. He crouched whilst spinning and extended his leg to sweep Angel to the floor. The Vampire backflipped, neatly avoiding the kick while also declining to use the predictable leaping evasion.
Sephiroth rose halfway from the crouch and then gathered himself. He dashed tward Angel, striking the Vampire with a series of fist and elbow strikes. Then he grabbed the Vampire and threw him to the ground with a hip toss. Finally he kicked Angel in the in the head, sending stars across the prone fighter's vision.
"I trust we understand one another?"
Then without another glance he walked out the door. He picked up Masamune from where he had left it and made his way to his next destination.
When Angel had healed enough to stand, he slowly dragged himself into a sitting position. That was when the banging started. It was like having the entire cast of Riverdance tapdancing on his skull. in Size 14 Steel-toed Boots. "Auggh!" he groaned eloquently.
Then his front door started to vibrate and he realised the banging was some inconsiderate sod banging on his fecking door! "Keep your hair on, I'm comin'" He crawled over to the chair he had sat in and used it to lever himself up. Then he staggered over to the door. He got the shock of his unlife when he opened it.
"Whistler?"
"Hey kid. Grab ya stuff. We got biznis ta discuss. N we gotta get youse outta Slayer Central." The Balance Demon was in no mood for dallying.
Angel stared at the amateur pimp for the Powers That Be totally confused. "Wait, what are you talking about? You sent me here to help Buffy! I can't just leave!"
"You can and you will! She doesn't need your help now, not with the kinda firepower the Harris boy can call on. Sephiroth was not pissing around. You think a bad-ass Mo.Fo. like that was round here for the good of his health? No, he wasn't. Move your keister soul boy."
"But I can't leave Buffy, I lo..."
"You finish that sentence an' I will personally disembowel you. Did you know that it is possible to wear someone's guts for garters? Do you want to find out how I know that?"
Angel just shook his head.
"Then move! I gotta boy lined up to help ya out ovah in LA. Drunk by the name a' Doyle. He'll be yah link to the PTB's. At least you can be depended upon not to try and seduce him! I said assist the Slayer. You were supposed to guide her, watch her back! You weren't s'posed ta try'n get inta her pants ya schmuck!"
He grabbed Angel by the ear and pulled him out side, ranting all the way. The rant continued until they reached downtown LA, two hours later.
Xander had returned to control in order to go round to the Summers house. While he would no longer patrol with Buffy, he still wanted to be her friend. Then there was the added fact that he got to see the Dawnster and Mrs. S. Little Dawnie was a constant source of fascination to Xander. She was so innocent, so unmarked by the world around her. Sometimes he got glimpses of what a childhood should be like through her.
Then there was Joyce. His heart ached with jealousy sometimes, as Jessica Harris did not come out well when compared to Mrs. S in the Mother of the year award.
When he reached their house, he stopped and politely knocked on the door. Sometimes he was afraid that when the door was answered,it would be slammed in his face when they realised it was him. That was simply the effect of Mom and Dad's drunken raving. He knew that Joyce enjoyed his company. Dawn always sat beside him, attempting to maximise Xander-time. There were times when he didn't want to leave. There were nights when the thought of going back to his own house made him tremble in disgust.
That was before Ethan had provided him with this great gift. He laughed at the kind of reaction that would have gotten from dead Mage.
Then the door opened and he had no more need to worry about rejection. An eager Daw had tackled him, forcing him to grab her and steady them both before they fell in an ungraceful tangle.
Sephiroth pondered the meaning of this latest piece of information. Dawn was a bundle of boundless energy. She had been 'utterly adorable' according to Xander. She had squeezed her way in between Xander and Joyce as they sat on the couch watching T.V. after Dinner. Xander had obligingly stroked her hair until she had begun to fall asleep, then put her to bed and read her a bed-time story. She had held onto him so forcefully when asleep that he had needed to phase through her in order to get back down stairs.
Sephiroth grudgingly admitted that he did not actively dislike her. In fact her personality had reminded him of the Cetra, Aeris who had travelled with Cloud.
As Xander now slept in his own bed. Sephiroth went over what he would be teaching the boy tomorrow. The duel wih Giles promised to be most diverting. Likewise, the fight Angel had provided him with had been rather enjoyable.
His first attempt to gain the notice of the Sunnydale underworld had gone well. It was far too small to be anything more than a first strike. Tommorrow would do far more to attract attention to him, thereby taking it off of Buffy. She could not be entrusted with the fate of an entire world. She was not capable of dealing with the stress and responsibilities that went with it.
Give her a Vampire to kill and she performed well, though. He could admit that much.
Xander was tired. He was so very tired. His legs ached and his arms were trembling. Sephiroth had made him hold a stance for hours. Then the different types of strike for each stance. Punches, elbow strikes, knife hands, knees, kicks. You name it, he has practiced it. And Seph had the nerve to claim that these were just the basics!
"I hate you. If you had a body of your own I would kill you." Complained the aching boy.
"That is a perfect way to start." Replied the silver-haired apparition.
Xander groaned. That was the worst Sean Connery impression he had ever heard. Giles sounded better than that. "Have you been watching my videos' Seph?"
Sephiroth had the good grace to look ashamed. He nodded, eyes on the floor. "We will have to start your education in the finer points of mimcry at some point. Right now I just wanna grab some sleep."
Sephiroth felt this was as good a time as any to broach a subject he had been thinking of.
"You do realise that it is not possible for a normal human to learn things as fast as you have done. Or to recover from physical exhaustion as quickly you do. It is also true that you will recover from injury faster than a nnormal human."
"Due to the Jennifer cells, right?"
"Correct. Though the proper term is Jenova"
"M'kay, gotcha."
Xander placed his head on the trenchcoat-pillow and was out in seconds. Sephiroth was satisfied that the boy had learned enough not to be bested in combat by a Demon or Vampire. The more advanced lessons would come later. He would wake the boy in order to prepare for Giles' arrival.
Eighty-two minutes. That was all the sleep Xander had been able to catch. That was apparently all the sleep his body needed, as he jerked awake without having been consullted. Then he realised two things: first, he had fallen asleep on the cold marble floor of the Library. Second, his ass was very cold.
He jumped up quickly, yelping like a dog that just bit it's own tail. Sephiroth watched in wry amusement as the boy tried to slap the warmth back into his buttocks, through the black jeans he was wearing. He ignored it, simply eaiting for the boy to calm down before giving his next set of orders. Xander did so, eventually.
"Go and fetch your customary broadsword. We will begin the warm-ups and swordplay once you have done so."
Xander did so.
He stretched, then took a few practice swings with the blade. Then he practiced the sword techniques that Seph had already taken him through the day before.
Then he slowly worked through the new techniques Sephiroth was introducing, speeding up as he became more familiar. Eventually his mind switched off and he lost himself in the stretching of muscles, the whistle of the blade as it moved from strike to strike.
Half an hour later Giles appeared. He had a hold all in one hand that contained a tracksuit, some towels and some bottled water. He left Xander to it and went into his office to change. His Suit was left hanging on the coat rack as he emerged 5 minutes later, rapier in hand. The fact that it was a Toledo blade, by the famous Spanish weaponsmiths, bothered him not a jot. Swords were created to be used, not placed in a display case and stared at.
This particular blade was enhanced beyond the norm, courtesy of Ripper. It was nigh impossible to break. It hurt Vampires when it struck them. Add this to the slight enhancements that Eyghon had left him with, in that he had the musculature and suppleness of a 20 year old Rupert Giles rather than a 41 year old Rupert Giles and he was rather a formidable fencer. He spent the requisite 15 minutes warming up, also slowly allowing Ripper out of his box. Sephiroth knew entirely too much and far too little for Giles comfort.
Too much in that he knew that Giles had been holding back (only Ripper could use Giles' body to full potential) and too little in that Ripper loved a good fight too much to stop at when he had won, instead continuing for as long as possible.
He coughed politely to alert Xander to his presence, so the boy turned and saluted once with his broadsword. Giles returned the courtesy and took up his stance. They locked gazes, like gunslingers in the old west. This battle was not physical, but mental. Who had the most nerve? Had it been Giles versus Sephiroth, the Englishman would have been waiting a long time.
Eventually Xander grew tired of the wait, his patience drawing to an end. He drove forward, his blade arcing round as he spun and then slashed. Giles stepped in to the strike and deflected it neatly at it's weakest point, before moentum could add to the force that kinetics and astrngth had established. Xander allowed the block to move him away from Giles, thrusting forward with the blade in an attempt to impale Giles upon it's point.
Giles met the thrust with the hilt of his sword, moving it up and to the left while his body slid to the left. Then he released a devastating slice of his own, which Xander barely blocked in time. Xander clashed their swords togther, one crossed over the other. Giles stepped up to him while keeping the blades locked, muscles bulging with effort then headbutted Xander squarely in the face.
Xander grunted in pain and stepped back, abandoning the deadlock. Then he put his fingers up to his lip, where blood from his nose was beginning to gather.
"You fight dirty, G-man. Get down with your bad self." Giles smirked, his expression cruel and angry.
"You want me to fight dirty, mate? I c'n do that."
He pointed one hand out, palm toward Xander and spoke one word.
"Ignis"
A wall of burning flame sprang up and surrounded Xander. He baegan screaming.
"Oh, Ah the pain. Oh please Giles make it stop. Oh God, no more I can't take it any more! Ouchie!"
Then he started laughing.
Then he walked through the burning fires as if they were nothing more harmful than dry ice vapours.
"How pitiful. Cloud could have done better than that. Though the ability to cast without Materia intrigues me. Could this planet be a colony of the Cetra? Or those who came after the Cetra?"
"The Cetra were an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on... At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness."
Ripper was slightly put off by the fact that Xander was standing in front of him, while Sephiroth spoke. The boy's eyes were green, but the rest of the body was entirely Xander.
"You gonna stand there all day or wot, guv? Stop being such aponce and get on with it."
"This is the second time your personality has ubdergone such a shift. This crude, violent persona is intriguing. I like it. Such a shame that I am mmune to all forms of Fire, as Xander was likewise granted immunity. An excellent tactic."
He shifted entirely to Sephiroth then, casting aside the broadsword and calling Masamune to his hands. He took up the stance that was as unconcsious to him as breathing. Ripper smiled like a wolf. This was going to be fun.
He decided to open with a little taunting.
"That wont do you any good, y'know. Once I get inside your guard that overgrown wakizashi will be as much used as an extra nipple."
He charged forward, striking against Sephiroth, probing his guard, attempting to draw him out. Sephiroth was far too experienced to play into his hands. The SOLDIER simply blocked each strike with an efficiency and economy of motion that was driving Ripper to distraction.
Eventually the Wideboy went berserk, screaming "Bollocks!" at the top of his lungs and driving forward at inhuman speeds. While his rage leant him unreal amounts of strength, all technique was forgotten. Eventually he got so sloppy that Sephiroth began evading strikes without even bringing up his blade. The implication that Ripper was not good enough to cross swords with was clear. The formerly insane swordsman danced around the blade with a grace and calm born of the knowledge that it could not hurt him.
Then he smashed the hilt of Masamue against Giles' head, ending the fight. As Giles concentrated on bringing his spiralling heart rate under control, Sephiroth gathered up the blades and returned them to the Weapons Locker. When he returned, he carried Giles' holdall with him. The English man gave him a grateful smile and cracked open a bottle of water, sipping it slowly. Sephiroth cast a 'Cure' spell on the Librarian and then returned control to Xander.
Xander took note of the time and shook his head. "Sorry to up and leave on you like this G-man, but I've got class with Miss Calender in 5 minutes. Thanks for a fantastic match." The boy started to walk out. Sephiroth remained present in that strange magic body.
"You are perfectly welcome Xander. It is a constant source of satisfaction to know I still have things to learn regarding swordsmanship. Say hello to the girls for me, please."
Sephiroth waited patiently for the Librarian to finish recovering, then made his presence known. "Will you tell me the origin of this dark side you possess, Rupert Giles?"
"I would certainly be prepared to exchange the knowledge, if you are willing to educate me as tou your story. I shall begin, as a gesture of good will. This is my Story. As a boy, I had intended either to become a pilot in the RAF or a greengrocer..."
Jenny Calendar had a headache. No, worse than that, she had the mother of all headaches. It had been present ever since some inconsiderate ass had cast magic over on the other side of the building. Now it was getting worse, thumping to the same cadence as the shoes which could be heard moving along the hallway outside.
Then the footsteps stopped and entered into her room, the harsh *click-clack* being replaced with a *swish* that was music to her ears. Still the headache persisted in trying to turn her brain to mush. It reached it's peak as the unidentified walker passed her desk, dying down as the unidentified individual took his or her seat. She opened her desk and popped a couple of Tylenol down with a sip of water. Then she saw Xander Harris sitting in his chair, which had previously been unoccupied.
His arrival had caused gasps of surprise in the female section of her class. Now she saw him, she understood why. The boy looked good. He was dressed in black jeans that flattered his lower body, his upper body covered in a blue button down shirt. His bearing had changed. Now he exuded confidence, the fact that he knew his own worth abundantly clear. This was the most startling change in the techno-pagan's opinion. Xander had always hidden a low self-esteem behind jokes and self effacing jibes. The set of his face and his new dress sense told much, to those who were willing to listen.
Cordelia and her sheep were staring at the hottie (formerly) in geeks clothing. Xander noticed none of it, his attention divided between booting up his PC and the conversation Willow and Buffy were having.
"Really, Buffy? Most Vampires wouldn't run toward you screaming in fear, right? Usually they run away, don't they?"
"Yeah, Will. It makes no sense. I'm the Slayer. What could scare the Vampires so much they don't pay any attention to me 'til they run onto the end of my stake?"
Xander smirked, knowing the answer. 'The Great Sephiroth'
Then he opened up the directory on his PC where he had saved the program they had been working on in the last class.
That night Sephiroth made his way over to Angel's apartment to check on the Vampire. He knew that if the fool had been stupid enough to stay, an extra 24 hours would make little difference. The man who would have been a god walked imperiously into the flat of the souled Vampire. It was empty. The Vampire had chosen discretion as the better part of valour. That was fine as far as Sephiroth was concerned. Vampire ashes were damned difficult to get out of his hair.
He was startled when the telephone in the flat rang. What was a Vampire doing owning a telephone anyway?
'Maybe he uses it to order from Bloodbags R' Us' Xander supplied.
Sephiroth went to answer the phone, his curiosity piqued.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Is dis Sephiroth?"
"This is he."
"Da name's Whistler. I'm a Balance Demon for the PTB."
"Who exactly are the PTB that they would employ a Demon? Also, what do you Balance? Plates on sticks?"
"The PTB ain't none of your concern, kid. For your information I balance Good and Evil. I'm the scmoe who sent soulboy on over to the mouth o' Hell."
"Then I should kill you on principle. That cowardly weakling is your responsibility."
"Why d'ya think I'm talkin' from the other end ova phone box, pal?"
"Very clever of you. Your death will be as painful as I can make it. I have forever, Demon. None have yet escaped my wrath."
"Look, I ain't callin' ta piss you off. You won. My boy's in LA. He finally got his dead Irish ass on the path to redemption. Once he finishes, he's human."
"How wonderful. Xander and I shall send him flowers."
"Just make sure you keep an eye on the demons in that town. They got plans in the offing that even the Slayer can't stop. You may be strong enough to make a difference. That's what my bosse think."
"And you, Mr Balance Demon? What do you think?"
"I ain't paid ta think."
"That is abundantly clear you repugnant little troll. I have had my fill of your conversatioal skills. Goodbye."
He hung up.
When he turned around, he found he was not alone.
"Bloody 'ell. When my Dru said the stars told 'er that the dark angel would be in Peaches flat, I wos 'oping for me souless Grand- poof. Who the 'ell are you?"
"Don't tell me you don't recognise my scent, dear William? You and Angel bent this body over once upon a time. I admit I feared for my behind."
"You smell familiar, but different enough that I can't place you. Are you implying I'm an arse bandit, then? You got balls mate. I'll enjoy feedin' them to my bint."
Spike changed into game face and leapt forward. He had unknowingly followed Angel's course of action from the night before. Sephiroth was not inclined to show mercy to the murderer of two Slayers. Not when Xander had a soft spot for the poor tragic girls. Perhaps he would make such an example of William the Bloody that even the Watchers would hear of it and shudder.
Sephiroth stepped to the left of Spike's bizarre attempt at a flying tackle. Then he clasped his hands tohether, brought them above his head, then smashed into Spike's exposed back. There was a sickening crack.
The Vampire crumpled to the ground, his spine broken. He did not move in the slightest for a full 5 minutes. Then he slowly got up and rubbed his back.
"Pretty good at the old fisticuffs aren't ya, mate. That's fine. Ol' Spike likes a good fight even better than a good shag."
"You have more likelihood of the first than the second with me, Spike."
Spike approached at a more cautious pace, this time. His fists were loose at his sides, his stance relaxed. He was little more than a brawler, relying on physical power and an enjoyment of pain to win battles. He was unpredictable and likely fought dirty.
He had decades of experience, as well as two Slayers notched on his list of kills. Given that Slayers were faster, stronger and more skilled than the majority of vampires, underestimating Spike would not be an intelligent maneuver.
Sephiroth feinted with a jab to the dead man's face, which the Vampire inclined his head to avoid. The super-SOLDIER followed up his feint with a knee to the stomach. Spike deflated like a punctured tyre, so Sephiroth took the opportunity to grab a fistful of platinum hair. He dragged the Vampire up painfully by the hair. Then with his free hand he backhanded Spike into the wall on the other side of the room.
"I;m gonna bury you and piss on your grave, mate. No-one touches the hair."
"Can corpses still produce biological waste in that manner? How curious. We shall see if the blood you steal from others flows as freely from your own veins."
Spike flipped to his feet, then bridged the distance between himself and his victim with a flying kick. He struck the face of the man, snapping his head to the side.
Sephiroth stopped his momentum by bringing his superior strength to bear. This surprised Spike, who had expected a spin and a roundhouse strike. The shocked look on his face gave way to a grimace as the trenchcoated human drove a fist into his gut, then shifted his position to deliver an uppercut to the jaw. Spike staggered back, but did not fall. He responded to the strike by surging forward and headbutting his assailant.
Sephiroth used the backwards momentum to perform a backflip. kicking Spike in the face with both boots. The Vampire's jaw broke in three places. This time he could not avoid falling on his ass.
Sephiroth recovered from the backflip and tooka moment to measure the state of his opponent. The Vampire looked dazed.
"Get up, Vampire. There is still much I wish to inflict on you."
Spike shook his head and stood up. Then he snarled and moved forward, right hand arcing around to deliver a blow Sephiroth grabbed the strike and pulled it further in the same direction, pulling Spike off balance. Then he twisted viciously, breaking the arm. Then he spun the Vampire by the broken arm, once, twice then let go. Spike flew out the window, skidding onto the street below.
Sephiroth watched as the Vampire stood, shook his head once to clear it, then ran off.
'Excellent. He will lead me back to his lair like the incompetent weakling he is.'
Sephiroth did not follow the vampire out of the window. Instead he pushed himself off the floor, levitating up and phasing through the ceiling. When he reached the roof he surveyed the surroundings. A flash of blonde on his left caught his attention. He looked over to see Spike stumbling in the direction of the Warehouse district. Sephiroth took off after him, flying overhead.
When Spike fled into an old Eastman and Laird warehouse, Sephiroth silently touched down on it's roof. He walked silently over to the center of the building and phased through it, gently floating down to the floor. Spike had his back to the intruder, but Drusilla clapped her hands with glee.
"Oooh, 'ello Kitten. You 'ave brought your one winged friend to play also? Miss Edith says you want to show Drusilla and Spikey the meaning of Death."
"The bloody 'ell are you talkin' to now, Dru?"
"You still don't remember me, Spike? I'm hurt. I don't play bait for just anyone."
"FUCKIN' HELL! Where did you spring from?"
"He flew in, Spikey, just like a silver birdy. The stars sing to me that we cannot escape him. Would you like some tea, General?"
"No, thank you. I shan't stay long." He summoned Masamune, which flickered into his hand like the scythe of Death.
He burnt Drusilla to cinders with Firaga. When Spike attacked him, howling in rage and grief, Sephiroth calmly sliced off each of the Master Vampire's limbs. The head he left attached to the torso. The various minion Vampires were dead before they realised what was going on. One was left alive, it cowered in the corner of the building, begging for mercy. No point massacring the entire group then having to deliver the news himself, now was there?
"Go to the place where everybody knows your name."
"Willy's place?"
"Yes. Tell them what transpired here tonight and that the culprit called himself Sephiroth. If you perform this task well enough, I will allow you to continue your unlife. Now leave."
The minion left.
Sephiroth gave a yawn, then decided to go home and have a shower. As he strode across the floor to the exit, he was accosted by the only other survivor.
"Oi, come back here you bloody wanker! You can't just leave me like this! You're supposed to be a bloody white-hat!"
Sephiroth thought about this. "You know, thats quite right. I'm supposed to be the good guy. Oh well." He cast 'Regen' on Spike.
As he walked off, the Vampire's screams of agony were music to his ears.
The next morning Xander came to school with a pair of Sunglasses perched on his nose and a spring in his step. He hummed a jaunty tune that Sephiroth had called 'One-winged Angel' as he moved. The match with Giles had gone well, with both parties suitably exhausted afterwards. Suddenly he was grabbed by the collar and yanked into a storage cupboard by an unknown assailant. When he had calmed his thundering heart, he looked over at the small woman who had assaulted him.
He was surprised to find himself standing opposite a rather unamused Slayer.
"Okay, smart guy. I haven't seen my boyfriend in days. Since you now have powers and have never been what I would call Angel's biggest fan, I must ask if you have hurt him?"
"In all honesty, yes Sephiroth hurt him, though I agreed with the course of action." Buffy's grip on him tightened.
"Did you kill him Xand?" He took off his sunglasses and looked her straight in the eye. The anger in those big blue-green eyes was alomost staggering
"Neither Sephiroth or myself killed him. He was given 24 hours to leave Sunnydale." The anger intensified. If looks could kill, his ancestors would be dead right now.
"Why did you do that? Did you think I would come running to you for comfort?"
"No. Quite honestly I expected you to try and cause me bodily harm. The reasons I had for sending your boytoy out of SunnyD were more complex than mere jealousy, honey. Even you aren't worth that much cloak and dagger crap. Me and Seph are gonna wipe the Demons out of this town." He paused to absorb the shock on her face.
"Unlike you, I have lived here all my life. This is my home-town. This is where I met Jessie and Wilow and this is where I had to watch my Brother dissolve into ashes at my feet. I gave Angel the opportunity to leave before I began killing Demons in earnest. His boss informs me he is now on the path to redemption." He paused to take a breath and got an accidental scent of her, given their close proximity.
'Mmm, vanilla. Yummy!'
"I want the Demons so scared of me they start jumping at shadows. I'm gonna screw with their heads before I send them back to Hell. If they are too concentrated on me to go after you, that's a nice bonus. You should be pleased. Now you can go have that normal life you dream about. If you decide to give warm bodies a try, I'll be waiting."
He leant in and gently kissed her on the lips. It was softer than the last time they had kissed, drawing attention to the fact that this was Xander kissing her, not the Hyena. He was hoping at least to draw a little reaction. He had to know if he had killed any feelings for him that might have been there when the disobedient dog had taken liberties. If he got nothing, he would put Buffy in the mental compartment marked 'Sister' and be satisfied.
She grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. He responded by massaging several nerves in her neck and softly rubbing her lips with his tongue. Then he disentangled himself from her and phased through the doorway, leaving a dishevelled and highly aroused Slayer behind him. Her frustrated groan floated after him, tempting him to go back and finish the job. He resisted, deciding that if Buffy wanted him she would have to make the next move. He pushed his sunglasses back on with the decisiveness he could not summon with regard to his Slayer.
'What was that peculiar flavour she had, Xander?'
"She always tasted like cinmamon, Seph. Always."
By the time Buffy had calmed down and stopped touching her lips incredulously long enough to open the cupboard door, Xander was long gone. 'Good thing too. I don't know whether I would have kissed him back or punched him.' She was unwilling to explore that avenue of thought any further. 'Remember Buffy, Denial is your friend.'
Then she made her way to class, where she thankfully sat far away from Xander. Close proximity to a boy one is having kissy thoughts about is usually not a good idea when your best friend also wants him. 'Complicated much?' Then there was the Angel situation. She was sad he had left, but if it came down to a choice between dusty Angel and faraway Angel, the choice wasn't difficult. She had no doubt that Xander and Sephiroth would have killed him.
Then there was the added complication of the nightlife in Sunnydale. Ther had been a furore last night over something, though Buffy had been unable to gather anything more than the news that Spike and Drusilla were dead. She would have to report this to Giles.
The entire Scooby gang assembled in the library. Giles was rather unsurprised to learn that Spike and Drusilla were dead. The Council had updated him in the very early hours of the morning. They had also said that Sephiroth was responsible, according to the only survivor of the massacre. Giles had mentioned that a mercenary of the same name had offered his services to the council only a day beforehand.
Travers had taken over the other telephone ordered Giles to hire the man. Arrangements had been made to Wire funds to Giles and for such funds to be dispensed to Sephiroth as the opportunity arose. The Council didn't just want to hire Sephiroth, they wanted to keep him on bloody retainer.
Giles had passed the news onto Xander in private after their swordfight this morning. The young man's smile had lit up the room. The money was being left in a secret account that the watcher's would set up. Giles would pass the details onto Sephiroth. Xander had been gobsmacked when Giles had given him the details.
The details still had to be worked out, but Giles had pointed out Xander's young age and suggested that a lawyer be hired to act for him. Xander had thanked him for the advice, then resolved to get down to business in the afternoon. The boy had shown remarkable maturity and calm when it came to dealing with the very adult world of the property market.
No-one else knew any of this, however. Giles had been sworn to secrecy. The boy had arranged for accounts to be set up for Willow and Buffy, as well as Joyce and Dawn. The accounts would recieve a fixed amount every month, being earmarked for the girls when they reached 18. Joyce was of course able to use hers immediately. Xander realised she would probably assume it was Hank trying to relieve himself of guilt by throwing money at her.
In fact Xander was counting on the fact, lest he have to give an explanation to the older woman. Xander Harris looked after his loved ones, but he didn't particularly enjoy the thought of an interrogation by his girls if this became public knowledge.
Buffy had little idea what was happening to the town, but she would eventually make the connection between Sephiroth showing up, Xander telling her he would wipe out the Demons and the massacre over at Eastman and Laird.
Janna Kalederash was worried. She had lost Angelus. How was she to explain to the elders of her clan that she had lost the only souled Vampire in existence?
She walked toward the library, hoping that the so-called 'Scooby Gang' would have news of him. Perhaps he had been killed by the thing that was scaring the Demons in Sunnydale. The magic it was using was so powerful it gave her headaches. She was popping Tylenol like it was candy.
She was stopped abruptly by a screaming argument further on toward the library.
"Damn it Xander, why? Why did you have to get rid of Angel? If he kept Buffy busy it would have given me time to…"
"To what Wills? Ask me out on a date? You've had ample opportunity and never used it. I could never have said no if you asked me, you know that."
"You shouldn't be with me out of obligation, you asshole! You should be with me because you love me!"
Xander was smirking. Angry!Willow was always so much fun. Natural Redhead with temper to match. He took a risk, leaning forward and kissing her soundly on the mouth. She smacked her hands against his chest feebly, then grabbed two handfuls of his hair and got stuck in.
When they disengaged, they were both fit to burst with giggles.
"Guess that answers that question, huh Wills?"
"Yeah. No more Xander smoochies for me. Not that it was bad, but, uh, no, I mean it was nice, uhm…"
Xander shushed her with his finger on her lips.
"It was nice, but it wasn't the kind of kiss that conjures up images of hot sweaty sex. We simply don't have the chemistry. Maybe if we threw in a couple of significant others and the thrill of illicit smoochies, it would be different."
"Yeah. Now you get to be my little brother again."
"Hey! I'm taller and older, I should be the big brother."
She laughed at the indignant look on his face and gave him a hug. Then they turned and walked into the library.
As they were walking, Xander said to Willow:
"Deadboy is off to LA. working off his tab with the PTB. Eventually he'll be human, if he does well enough. Seph and I promised to send a bouquet. Say it with flowers. Think he likes lillies?"
Willow put a hand to her mouth and giggled.
Jenny walked off to find a payphone.
Later that lunchtime, The assembled Scooby gang were discussing the ramifications of Angel leaving, when a rather unhappy looking Jenny was lead into the Library by a totally indifferent Sephiroth.
"Miss Calendar has something she wishes to discuss with you."
She glared at him.
'This is fun! I haven't been so amused since I broke Cloud's psyche into little pieces. Oh happy day!'
Xander chuckled at the thoughts Sephiroth was sending his way.
Jenny launched into her spiel "I am not really called Jenny Calendar. My name is Janna Kalderash, born…"
Xander chose this moment to interject. It was an opportunity he would never have again.
"…in the year 1518, in the village of Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel. And I cannot die."
Sephiroth laughed out loud, Giles gave a polite cough to hide his amusement, while Buffy and Jenny glared at him. Wills gave him a wink to show she had gotten the reference.
Jenny continued after feeling the boy had been suitably chastised.
Sephiroth was not amused. What a waste of his time this had been. He surveyed the reactions of the rest of the rag-tag little group. Xander looked bored. Willow looked shocked. Buffy looked outraged. Giles wa about to break into laughter.
"That's it? That's yer great bloody secret? That was bollocks! What the 'ell are you wasting my time for?"
Sephiroth nodded in agreement. 'Ripper' had underlined the root cause of his annoyance. This was not much of a secret. Sephiroth decided it was about time these fools learned what a real secret was. He looked over at Giles. Giles nodded once, then calmly began speaking.
"Let me tell you a real secret, children. about 25 years ag, in London, the only child of the Giles family had a run-in with a group of youngsters dabbling in the black arts…"
The Scooby gang had reacted in much the same fashion. Xander had been impressed, Willow had been even more shocked. Buffy had known something was up with her Watcher, but a rebellious youth was hardly unique or worthy of angry confrontations.
Jenny had walked over to Giles and they had both gone to his office. The rest of the Scooby Gang had left them in peace to work out their issues. Or to implode spectacularly. Whichever happened first.
Sephiroth had been sitting formulating the next days lesson for Xander when the phone rang. He reached out to answer it, but his hand passed right through it.
"Oh, of course. I'm in the incorporeal body. How silly of me."
Then he concentrated on taking control of Xander's body. The boy remained asleep as he was rudely thrust into the subconscious of the body he shared. Then Sephiroth got up and answered the phone.
"Hello? May I speak to Sephiroth, please?"
"This is he. State your business."
"Ah, Yes, quite. This is Wallace Hardiman-Smythe, of the Watchers Council. We have a job for you."
"Give me the details. I have a finite amount of patience, which you are wearing thin."
"There is a situation that has come to our attention in Siberia. One of the seers we employ has brought to our attention that in the next 24 hours, a Demon will attempt to open a portal by sacrificing a powerful Wiccan to one of the Elders of the Underworld. The massive release of her magical energy upon death will open the dormant Hellmouth that lies under the surface. You must stop this at all costs."
"Very well. I shall leave immediately. Have you any suggestions as to how I should travel? My own means are rather…conspicuous. Presumably you desire discretion."
"There will be a ticket in the name of Seth Ross waiting for you at Sunnydale Airport."
"How amusing. Be aware I expect for Slayer Summers to recieve back- up while I am indisposed. If anything happens to those children or Mr. Giles, I will be most displeased. My displeasure is usually very painful. Am I understood?"
"We have an asset in Jamaica that we can dispatch. There have been suggestions that the active Hellmouth should be allocated our best and brightest. Nothing will happen to them."
"See that you back up your words with action."
"Rest assured. I believe that brings our discussion to an end. Good- bye."
*Click*
Sephiroth looked around the apartment he and Xander had rented with Council funds. There had been ample evidence to prove that the boy should be emancipated from his parents house, but the relevant authorities had waived the usual formalities. There was something wrong with this town, besides the obvious Demon tourism tendencies.
That could wait. He decided that Masamune was impossible to take with him, so he would leave it here. It would respond to his call and be at hand in an instant if it was needed. He had never understood the idiosyncracies of the blade, but it had yet to fail him. He would write a note to Xander, explaining his absence. The look on the boy's face when he realised Sephiroth had absconded with the physical body would be unspeakably amusing. A shame he would miss it.
He would also telephone Giles and explain the situation. He would also mention that Xander would be attending school in the magic body. The boy would have a difficult time doing any schoolwork when he couldn't touch anything.
'The boy will be furious!'
Several hours later, Sephiroth was sitting in first class. He had been convinced by Ripper to change his plan of action with Xander. Sephiroth had left instructions on how to solidify the magical body, temporarily. This meant that the boy could read a book or watch TV, presuming he actually managed to succeed in forcing his will upon the projection. He had been left with the option of going to school or not.
Sephiroth was…feeling something. It was not the first time he had felt, but it was the strongest. He was strangely concerned about Xander's wellbeing. It was a waste of energy, however as the boy had been taking care of himself long before Sephiroth had chanced upon him.
The former son of Jenova shrugged out of his trench coat, folding it and placing it beside him. He had worn a black T-shirt, in accordance with Xander's advice on how to dress in public. The rest of his outfit was the same as always. The leather pants, the boots, even the gloves and Gold Armlet. That had caused some consternation at the metal detector, but the guards had waved him through, presuming it was merely jewelry. The Materia embedded in it certainly geve credence to the assumption.
Xander was walking around Sunnydale with his own personal thundercloud floating above his head. He was really pissed off. He had been attempting to solidify his magic body, but was meeting with failure after failure. He was paying no attention to where he was walking. Then he buped into something, sending the both of them sprawling. Xander was shocked. He had just bumped into someone. Ergo, he was solid. Then he noticed that whoever he was lying on top of was soft, very well curved and exceedingly pissed off.
"Xander?"
"Uh, Yeah?"
"Would you kindly get off of my 800 Dollar Nieman-Marcus dress before I am forced to scream Rape?"
He got up so fast that even Seph's head would have spun. Then he offered a hand to the girl he had knocked over, who promptly ignored it.
"Sorry Cordy, uh, it was my fault. Totally my fault. Absolutely, in no way were you even remotely responsible for this mishap."
She smiled sweetly.
"Did you hear me saying anything to the contrary, you Geek?"
"No."
"What's with you recently anyway? When did you develop a fashion sense? You look, like, totally hot. Using the word hot in connection with Xander Harris has traditionally been a hanging offence. Even the Cordettes have noticed."
Xander smirked.
"Careful Cordy, that was almost a compliment. Is the crown of Queen C slipping?"
"With hair this perfect? Please, get a grip."
They both smiled at that one.
"Well, my favourite shirts met with an accident involving me, a silver haired ladyboy and the equivalent of a really big Zippo lighter. Then I came into some money, which meant that I finally got out from Daddy dearest's bootheel. I moved into the new apartment complex on Ragpicker's Lane."
Cordelia had obviously taken his first comment as a typical Xanderism, but the second seemed to give her genuine pleasure. Her position as daughter of Sunnydale's wealthiest family meant that she was had heard things that others were unaware of. She knew things about him that even Willow had no clue about.
She looked around to check that there was no-one around to see before getting up close and whispering to him.
"I'm glad. Your Dad is an asshole, and it amazes me you could ever be related to such a prick. Let me know when you're having a housewarming, maybe I'll drop by."
His felt a little thrill go through him as she brushed against him accidentally, before she carried on moving right past him.
"I like the new you. Who knew that all this time you were a hottie in geeks clothing ?"
Xander was shocked. All these years, Jessie had been adamant that there was a spfter side to Cordelia Chase. Looks like he had been right.
"Wow"
It took a couple of minutes for his brain to start working properly again. Cordelia's perfume was still surrounding him. He would have to ask what that scent was. It was simply amazing. Then he realized he was standing in the corridor, alone, with a goofy look on his face. He slapped himself out of his Cordy-induced trance and went off to the library.
'I think I like Siberia. It reminds me of the Knowlespole. Barren, but breathtaking. Quite chilly though.'
Sephiroth surveyed the frozen tundra before him. He could feel the Demon far off to the north. The power of the witch that accompanied the Demon, against her will, was shining brightly. He would be able to track the pair by fixing on her location. That was really the only course of action open to him. She dwarfed the Demon in terms of energy output.
He lifted from his feet and floated, before thrusting himself forward. Levitation would allow him to catch up to the Demon in the shortest amount of time. As he travelled, he revelled in the freedom flight gave him. He howled in glee as snowflakes pelted him in the face. Flying had never felt like this when he had been insane. It had been a means to an end, a convenient manner of covering ground, nothing more.
Anastasia Novikova was not having a good day. She had first been kidnapped by a very large, extremely powerful Mohra Demon, then dragged off to the middle of Siberia. Worst, of all, she was Really Fucking Cold! Her feet and hands had long gone numb, and her breasts and thighs were chafing against her clothes in a most uncomfortable manner.
She had thrown the most powerful spells she knew at the Demon, which had either shrugged them off or healed from them at an impossible rate. She had not yet given up hope, though as she had felt an enormous power closing in very quickly. Whatever it was surely couldn't be any worse than this Demon. So she was waiting patiently for a daring rescue. Not very in touch with modern feminism, but at this point she would take what she could get.
The Mohra Demon stopped, as if searching for something. It dropped her on the ground, it's head moving from left to right. Anna heard laughter being carried over the wind, as the Demon continued to scan the ground. She had a flash of insight and looked upwards. There was a man floating in the air, a black coat trailing behind him like a pair of wings. His long silver hair was being whipped around by te wind. He radiated power and confidence. His glowing green eyes landed upon him and she was transfixed. Then he winked at her and the spell was broken.
Sephiroth summoned Masamune and floated to the ground. The Mohra Demon stared at him. It was quite small by the normal Demon standards. It would likely be fast and physically powerful. He expected little by way of magic from it. The strange red crystal on it's forehead was drawing his attention. He could feel it was the center of the Demon's power. That was where he would strike in order to finish it. First he would have some fun.
He began by gathering the energy for a spell. 'Firaga' scorched the Demon, though it was barely phased by the attack. If there was one thing that angered Sephiroth, it was an enemy shrugging off one of his attacks. He abandoned the Materia he had equipped and instead moved into his sword stance. The Demon, who by now showed no signs of damage, sped forward. It stopped just outside Masamune's range, showing more experience and intelligence than Spike and Angelus put together.
Sephiroth dashed forward and slashed at the Demon, before drawing back and slashing again. Then he spun and slashed a third time. before he could get out of range of the Demon's retaliatory strike, it struck, scoring a bloody gash along the human's chest. The wound was numbed by the cold. The injuries Sephiroth had inflicted wirh Masamune were still bleeding, but the blood loss was slowing.
This thing was healing even faster than Sephiroth! There was one other option he had before he was forced to kill the beast by striking the weakpoint on it's head. He began gathering energy for a spell. The waves of green energy emanated out from him, blowing his hair and coat outward also.
Then he brought his hand up, describing a circle with it then thrusting it toward his enemy. The world around them seemed to turn white as black energy converged on the Mohra Demon. 'Shadow Flare' brought the Demon to it's knees, howling in agony. Sephiroth closed the distance between them in seconds, then slashed while passing the Demon. He stopped behind it, sword still extended from the attack. The Demon clutched the gem on it's head, then began to disintegrate.
Masamune disappeared from Sephiroth's hand as quickly as it had appeared. He looked at the… what was she again? 'Ah, Yes, Wicca. What a strange word.' She was of medium height, 5'5 or thereabouts. She had long dark hair, which fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were slanted, almond-shaped. They were a bright hazel colour, almost golden in their intensity. Her lips were full and suited to smiling. She was a rather unhealthy shade of blue, as if fighting off cold. Hoew very fragile these humans were. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her.
She tried to thank him, but her teeth were chattering too much, and she did little more than bite her tongue. He simply nodded as if she had said thank you. He wrapped his arms around to lend her some warmth, then levitated off the ground. He headed toward the town many miles south where she had been abducted from.
The Russian woman, whose name, she informed him was Anastasia Novikova, had insisted Sephiroth stay long enough to eat with her. As his return journey was not scheduled for the next day, he had agreed. The fact that they should not have been able to communicate with each other, as Sephiroth spoke not a word of Russian, whilst Anna neither spoke nor understood English went unnoticed. Sephiroth was intelligent and had a capacity for learning that had always made Hojo jealous. He soon picked up Russian, after conversing pleasantly with Ms. Novikova
They were sitting in front of a roaring fire, each with a bowl of soup and a chunk of black bread in hand. Sephiroth was clad only in his boxer shorts, which had been borrowed from Xander. They contained different characters from Charles Schultz's 'Peanuts' which Xander had been kind enough to introduce Sephiroth to. Linus and his blanket, Charle Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock, Marcie. All of them featured. Anastasia had been most enamoured of them, citing Peanuts as a highly popular import during her youth.
He had caught her staring at his shorts more than once. She had showed no sign of blushing, so he could only assume that she was serious. When she had seen his very well defined torso, she had blushed. She had failed to notice that his wound had sealed up, but for an annoying itch. Sephiroth had always had such an effect on women, due to his exotic features, so he ignored her. His female companion was sitting in nothing but a pair of panties and a bra. They had both been soaked to the skin by the snow, so she had left their clothes off to dry.
She was loathe to wear any extra clothing than Sephiroth, so she remained only in her under-wear. After some time in front of the fire, her skin had returned to the ivory-white colour that it usually was. It contrasted very well with her hair and eyebrows. The purple lipstick she was wearing matched the purple coloured under-wear she had on. She was a study in contrasts. Sephiroth could not tear his gaze away from her flawless pale skin.
The conversation had eventually turned to what had brought him after the Mohra Demon. He explained his link to the Watcher's Council, who had appraised him of the attempt to reopen the Siberian Hellmouth. She had gasped in shock then, claiming that the Hellmouth had only been closed when her great grand-parents had sacrificed themselves in a very powerful spell. Apparently her family had long ago been charged with the task of guarding the Hellmouth. One of the Slayers had actually been called from her family, decades past.
She had been feeling recently that she was very restless, unsatisfied in all her endeavours. Something had been missing from her life. Now that Sephiroth had revealed that there was another Hellmouth, another front to the war her family had long fought in, she knew what she had been searching for.
"Will you take me with you, Sephiroth? I will make my way to Sunnydale by my own means if I must, though I would prefer to arrive in America with a person I trust."
"What? Just leave your home? Do you you have friends, a family here?"
"I have no-one but myself. The vilagers fear me becaude of my power. My family are long dead. If they were alive, they would also be going with me. Our duty and responsibilities have always tied us to the Hellmouth. Where the Hellmouth is has no bearing on this."
Duty was something that Sephiroth had long been acquainted with. She had won the argument with that word alone. He stood, nodded once and then walked out of the room. Now that he had finished the business at hand, he would exchange bodies with Xander. He gently tugged at the connection between their minds.
'Hello? Seph? Is that you?'
"Yes. I am finished here, so I will return the body to you. Have you suceeded in forcing the projection into a solid form?"
"Yeah, at probably the worst possible time. Let's get on with it. I'm in the library."
Sephiroth knelt on the floor and summond the energy necessary for teleportation. Then he opened his eyes to see Sunnydale Library around him. He quickly switched places with Xander. Then Xander swore as he realised he was standing in the library in a pair of 'Peanuts' boxer shorts. Sephiroth laughed and threw the boy the clothes that the false 'body' had been wearing. Xander caught them and hurriedly pulled them on.
"Hey! How did you just throw me my clothes if that is the fake body?"
"I am strong enough in both magic and willpower to keep the false body corporeal as long as I wish."
"Why have we been pissing about with this body-swapping crap then?"
Sephiroth looked down at his feet, his hair hiding his face. Xander didn't need to see his face to know it would have a chagrined look on it.
"I kind of…forgot."
"You have got to be Shitting Me! You kind of forgot?"
Seph got defensive at the angry tone in Xander's voice.
"Sorry, but I never had two bodies before. How can you expect me to remember all the little tricks I pulled off when I was insane, for Planet's sake?"
"Okay, fair enough. You forgot. It wasn't on purpose. I overreacted, but you know what my temper is like. I apologize."
"I accept your apology. In addition, I understand that this new situation is highly confusing. I feel you have held up remarkably well under the strain. Now, I was in the middle of diner witha beautiful Russian woman, so if you'll excuse me?"
"Go, enjoy yourself. I'll see you when you get back home. Bye Seph."
"Good-bye Xander." The false body, now Sephiroth-shaped and clad only in a pair of boxer shorts knelt down. He focused his senses on the bright light that was shining half a world away and disappeared.
The real Xander-shaped body walked out of the library to try and find someone to talk to, while scratching an itch across his chest. The silence in his head was driving him nuts.
Anna was getting worried. There had been a surge of magical energy, then Sephiroth had been gone. Had he left without her? Despite having agreed to take her with him?
'Nyet, he would not do that. He seemed to respect my desire to do something. He would not have left without me.'
She was, despite her inner monologue, rather surprised when a white form appeared on her floor. It quickly became obvious that this was Sephiroth. When he had gained shape and stood up, she leapt on him, throwing her arms around him and hanging on for dear life.
"Oh Seph, you came back! I'm so glad, for a moment I thought you had decided to leave me here anyway."
He stiffened at being called 'Seph' by another person. Once was bad enough. Then his arms came up, one stroking Anastasia's back while the other gently stroked her hair. He dispassionately stared at the traitorous appendages.
'Hn. It seems that some of Xander's habitds are also rubbing off on me. Certainly no one has ever hugged me before, so how else would I know how to do this?'
"Not at all, I simply had an errand to run. Returning something to a friend."
Though she had been reassured, she did not loosen her grip any. Sephiroth was glad, though the physical contact was making him feel strange. She was soft and warm, but also strong and capable. She had just survived an encounter with a Demon that would have scared any other human witless.
Then she had been absolutely unafraid of him, despite his unnatural strength. She had even held a conversation with him as he carried her home. Then she had demanded he stay. Demanded that he, the Great Sephiroth, stay to dine with her.
Now she was pressed tight up against him, softer and warmer than anything he had ever experienced. He honestly desired for this moment never to end. He had no way of describing or understanding what was happening to him, but he liked it. When he closed his eyes, he could still see those golden irises clearly. They were impossible to escape from.
The General had fallen hard and fallen fast. He had begun to fall in love with the shapely Russian witch. Only no-one had bothered to inform him of that.
The proud, quiet ex-SOLDIER had no way of knowing it, but he was engendering a similar response in Anastasia. She had been impressed by his invincible combat skills. His magic was the equal of her own, but in every other measure he surpassed her. He even healed faster.
He was attracted to her, whether he knew it or not, but (despite the fact she had been wearing nothing but under-wear) he had made no comment or move to take advantage of the fact. She was strangely disappointed. She found that she was very unlikely to let go of him any time soon. Those glowing, slitted eyes had worked their magic on her again.
She released him and grabbed his hand. Then she pulled him insistently in the direction of her bedroom.
"It is a little early to retire, is it not? I for one need very litle sleep, so this may not be a good idea."
Anna just giggled.
"I do not remember saying anything to you about sleeping, my dear Seph."
He blushed. The he realised he was blushing and put his head down, obstructing his face with his hair.
"Don't blush, sweetie. I have not even begun yet."
'How did she know I was blushing?'
"It is a woman's job to know these things, honey."
There was no more talking for some time.
Meanwhile, in Sunnyale, Xander was assailed with a wave of shock, then nervousness, then pleasure, then something beyond pleasure. He shook his head, as if to clear it, then blocked off the area of his head that was linked to Sephiroth.
"Sheesh, give a guy a little warning next time, Seph."
His distraction was costly, as he had been fighting a group of Vampires. One grabbed him, holding his arms behind him as others limbered up and started beating him. His broadsword lay on the ground, dropped when he had been struck. He took thehits defiantly, his bright brown eyes burning into the dirty gold eyes of his assailants.
"Is that all you've got you pussy? My dad hits harder than that! Come on, try again."
Before they could, his arms were released, the tell-tale 'poof' sound of his captor informing him of it's demise. He called upon the Ice Materia on his Armlet, freezing all of the Vampires, who the shattered. Sephiroth had called that 'Blizzaga' He turned around to thank Buffy for the help, when he found his own broadsword pointed at his heart. He looked up into the dark eyes of the woman holding a weapon very proficiently toward him. She was sure as hell not Buffy. She had dark hair and chocolate coloured skin.
The words from Sephiroth's conversation with Hardiman-Smythe earlier echoed in his mind:
"We have an asset in Jamaica that we can dispatch."
Slayer. She was a Slayer. Those Council bastards had been sitting on a Second Slayer. Probably since Buffy had died months ago.
"I ain't never seena 'uman do that before. But you don't feel like a Demon. Mind tellin' me wha's 'appenin' roun' dese 'ere parts?"
He liked this girl already. Strength, Intelligence and Beauty. She asked questions before she got into a fight.
"I don't mind telling you at all, Miss?"
"Kendra. De Name is Kendra. De Vampire Slayer."
Richard Wilson was rather unhappy. This 'Sephiroth' had wiped out an entire nest of Vampires over at Eastman and Laird. Worse, he had kiled Spike and Dru. That just wasn't right! Those two were the demonic Sid and Nancy. They were an institution!
The Demon's in this town were scared. Usually they were scared of the Mayor, which was fine. But now they were scared of this Sephiroth. The century old Warlock had felt the power of Sephiroth's magic. It was intense. Neither white nor black, it was in a class all of it's own. He had felt it erupt today in Europe, then it had popped up in Sunnydale, obviously during teleportation. Then 'poof' Europe again. Now he had felt a weaker variant go off in a local cemetary.
He reached out and activated his buzzer, waiting for his secretary to pick up.
"Yes, Mr. Wilkins?"
"Julie, be a dear and phone my assosciate in Boston, would you please?"
"Right away sir."
Two minutes later, his phone rang. He picked up.
"Why Hello, Kakistos."
…
"Yes it has been a few decades, hasn't it?"
…
"I believe we last met in Cleveland. I immolated one of your boys for trying to snack on me."
…
"Well I'm glad you agree, I wouldn't want things between us to get unpleasant between us on account of something so trivial."
…
"I have a favour to ask. I am in need of a new Master Vampire. Spike and Dru recently had an unfortunate accident. We think she invited an unsavoury character to one of her tea parties."
…
"Well those Aurelians were always more than slightly insane. Not to speak ill of the dead."
…
"Mr. Trick? Your lieutenant? Looking to move up in the underworld? Splendid. I'll show him the ropes. Thanks so much."
…
"Yes, the preparations for my Ascension are going swimmingly. Thanks so much for asking. Bye-bye."
…
The mayor hung up his phone.
"It really is good to talk. Apparently this Sephiroth is a mercenary. Let's see if I can make him an offer he can't refuse."
"Basically, I was the subject of a a spell on Halloween which left me with the ability to use magic."
Xander grabbed the sword by the blade and threw it up in the air. It soun several time before gravity took hold and it fell back down. It landed between the SOLDIER and the Slayer, who were currently locked in a battle of wills. Xander kept his expression and body language open and unthreatening. He was in little danger from the Slayer, buy he didn't want to fight her.
Anyhing capable of matching a Slayer in combat was automatically on the suspected demon list. 'After all' Xander thought viciously 'nothing human could ever stand up to the strength of a Slayer or a Vampire.'
Kendra slowly stood out of her combat stance. Xander did the same. Then he smiled brightly and picked up his broadsword.
"Do you fancy making a round of the Cemeteries in town, Kendra?"
She looked at him cooly, assessing his physique. He was muscular enough to suggest some physical strength, as well as showing no signs of the pummelling he had just suffered from the group of Vampires. His magical abilities would be useful against the enemies that inhabited the Hellmouth.
"Okay. I'm willin' to work with you. You would probably just follow me on patrol anyway, if I refused, wouldn't you?"
Then he went and did it. He gave her a strange half-grin that made her knees go week. The blood rushed to her face, but went unnoticed by Xander as the Slayer turned and began walking out of the cemetary. Even if he had noticed, Sunydale wasn't exactly a haven for the brothers, so Xander would have never recognised the blush on the dark-skinned girl's cheeks.
The finished patrol in the early hours of the morning. It was far too early to go and report to Mr Giles as Kendra had intended. Xander offered her a bed at his apartment, as well as the facilites to freshen up after a hard day's night. She accepted gratefully.
Xander had expected to be met with a flat out refusal. The fact was, as soon as he had said the words, he had realised that they sounded like a bad come-on line. He had expected a slap. When he recieved a polite acceptance and a grateful smile, he had been more than a little confused. Then he had realised, she did not have any experience with males. That was how the Council had traditionally worked. The Slayer was isolated, kept apart from the humans she was supposed to protect. Buffy was the exception to the rules.
So he had taken her home to his apartment. She had showered and dressed in a pair of his sweatpants and an old t-shirt. They were usually snug on him but seemed to fit her perfectly.
As she was in the shower, Xander prepared a meal for her. He knew how hungry a Slayer got after fighting. He made cocoa for the both of them, and opened a packet of biscuits. On the way past the cutlery drawer he grabbed aknife and fork. The he put everything on a tray and carried it through to the lounge.
Kendra was sitting on the sofa, with a table in front of her, having left enough space beside her for Xander to sit there if he so chose. He did so, leaning back whilst cradling his mug of cocoa to his chest. Kendra fell upon the food and devoured it with great gusto.
When she had finished, Xander placed her plate back on the tray and handed her the mug of cocoa and a biscuit. She didn't start right away though, instead she looked at him quizically.
Xander studiously avoided her gaze. If she wanted to know something, she sould ask. He wasn't a mind reader.
"Xander, what was wit' de food?"
"I know you Slayers appreciate a good meal after a fight."
"An' how did you happen to stumble upon that piece of information?"
"I know your predecessor. She said once that becoming a Slayer had been good for her waistline, but not much else."
"Knew."
"Huh?"
"You knew my predecessor."
"I really don't get what you are saying here Ken."
She blushed again at that. Then she turned her head away, as if to avoid seeing the effect her next statement would have on her host.
"When one dies, another is Chosen. Dat is how de Slayer line has endured, since time beyond memory. In order for me to be Called, my predecessor must have died."
Xander sniggered at that. Then he broke out into full-fledged laughter.
"Wah hah. Hah hah hah. Hah hah hah hah. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
He laughed so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks. He actually had to put down his hot drink in case he scalded himself with it. His whole body was shaking in aparoxysm of mirth.
Kendra was most unimpressed. She had obviously misjudged the boy, if he was so willing to laugh at the death of Kendra's sister-in- arms.
"Jus' what exactly is so funny, Xander?"
"We…(huff)…didn't…(puff)…even consider…(wheeze)…the fact that Buffy's death might have called the next Slayer. She drowned, but I reached her in time to administer CPR and heart massage and what not."
"So she is alive?"
"Live and Kicking. Still cracking jokes and cracking skulls. You get the picture"
She nodded.
The girl was obviously stunned. Two Slayers was enough to give anyone pause.
Xander got up, taking the tray through with him. He loaded the dishwasher with the plate nd cutlery before making up another round of Cocoa. Then he returned to the lounge.
Kendra was still sitting in a state of shock.
"Well, I guess the Council didn't tell you any of this. No wonder. Wouldn't relish having to change all the stationery to say 'The two girls in all the world.'"
Then he laughed at the fuss the stuffy tweed wearing Englishmen would kick up. Shouts of:
"I say."
"My Word!"
"Now see here."
"Do you know who I am?"
Would ring out across the world. Better for all concerned if the newly called Slayer was left to adjust without the added distraction of a live predecessor.
Kendra chose that moment to awaken from her stupor. Xander appeared to be deep in thought. Then his face cracked itno that half smile that set her pulse racing.
'De Slayer's Handbook never maentioned anytin' like dis.'
She was totally out of her depth, so she decided to see what would develop if she just continued to act in a normal fashion. She picked up her mug and took a sip of the liquid it contained.
'My goodness, that is a very good drink.'
Then Xander, obviously having reached a decision on the matter he had been weighing up, began to speak. Kendra listened in rapt attention as he described to her the adventures he and his friends had been involved in.
Xander had been so glad to have someone to talk to. The silence over the past 12 hours had threatened to overwhelm him. Seph was like the big brother he had always secretly wanted. Someone to show him the ropes, teach him the rules and correct him when he got something wrong.
Kendra's willing ear had been a godsend. He had been so grateful that he had inducted her into the Scooby Gang. There was something that even Seph could not defeat. The mighty Twinkie! Kendra had giggled at the strange shapes Xander's face had contorted into in order to fit entire twinkies in his mouth.
Xander awoke with the sun shining in his eyes. The bright yellow ball was glaring at him, taunting it with it's shiny warmth. Then he found he was unable to move his right hand side. His head whipped round and he began to panic, until he saw Kendra using him as a pillow. The girl was really warm.
Maybe that was a Slayer thing? The aroma of last nights cocoa hung in the air, a pleasant reminder of an enjoyable time. He decided he would wait 5 minutes and enjoy the experience of having a beautiful woman lying on him.
'God himself only knows when the oportunity will arise again.'
He tentatively reestablished his mental connection with Sephiroth, hoping to avoid a rush of images and sensations such has assailed him the previous night. When none came, he let the link snap back into place as it had been straining to do.
'Good Morning Xander. I apologise for the things i broadcast last night, but I was slightly surprised myself.'
"No problem, Seph. I had kind of a close call, as I was on patrol at the time, but the timely intervention of a Slayer sorted everything out. I ended up closing the link entirely. I was kinda lonely yesterday."
'Yes. I wa also affected. Strange, given that we have always been alone, that it should be so painful when separated.'
"We may have been alone, Seph, but I don't believe for a second that humans derive any benefit from remaining alone."
'I would not disagree with such an assertion. I'll be back later today. See you then.'
"Bye Seph."
Xander took a moment to allow the excitement to wash over him. Then he phased through Kendra and went off to have a shower.
Kendra awoke to the smells of food and hot coffee lazily drifting past her. Her sensitive Slayer nose led her to where Xander was eating a croissant and drinking a cup of strong coffee. He had a morning paper spread across the tabletop. He waved her to the table, where a choice selection of breakfast items waited. His body language clearly said:
'Help yourself.'
Kendra did so. After an excellent breakfast, she made her way to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. Xander left a set of clothes out that, while decidedly male, would do nicely. Especially since she had nothing but the clothes on his back. Xander himself was dressed in a blue shirt and a pair of black slacks. A pair of shoes with metal strips across the heel and toe left him looking decidedly smart, while remaining casual.
"It is entirely possible Buffy will not react well to being told you are a Slayer. We'll go to Giles first. He is intelligent enough to grasp the ramifications of the situation. If Buffy attacks you, defend yourself, but don't be too forceful. She hasn't traditionally played well with others. Okay?"
Kendra nodded. She was clearly quite nervous. She had never been in a school before. Perhaps, if the council agreed to post her to the Hellmouth, she would be enrolled here.
"Relax. If she attacks you, I've got your back. Just stay calm. You have more skill and dedication to learning than her. You take your caklling seriously. She trains in between dress-fittings and dancing. You've got the advantage. You'll be fine."
She gave him a smile then, and he thought his heart would stop. When she lightened up, she was stunning.
"Thanks Xander. If you're lookingout for me, I know I'll be fine. Let's go."
"Yes ma'am."
She giggled. Xander was so funny.
The turned the corner and strode along to the library. Xander was holding his broadsword underneath his jacket. He would return it to Giles this morning.
They pushed open the Library doors with a bang. Jenny and Giles, who had obviously been in the midst of some fairly serious kissing, jumped apart like a gunshot had gone off.
Giles turned to look at the intruders who had the nerve to interrupt he and Jenny and was surprised to see a young black girl almost hiding behind Xander. His glare droppe right off his face inj surprise.
'Who the bloody 'ell is she?'
Jenny was blushing a fetching shade of pink. She could feel a strange power coming from the girl. It felt maddedningly familiar, but she could not place it.
Xander chose this moment to speak.
"Guys? I would like to introduce to you, Kendra, The Vampire Slayer."
Sephiroth was lying on his side in a very comfortable bed, with a totally naked Anastasia sprawled across him. They had hours yet until they had to leave, so he was content to just lie here. The recently deflowered wicca was still sound asleep. She had been very tired by the end of the night.
Sephiroth reveled in the tiny movements that her breathing caused as she lay tightly against him. It felt absolutely fabulous. Then he smiled like th cat that had gotten the cream. An impression that was only enhanced by the pupils which split his irises, in a very feline manner.
He was attemptiing to understand how another person's skin could feel so unbelievably soft. He would be perfectly satisfied to lie here with Anna for the rest of his life. Well, if not for Xander. The thought of abandoning the boy did not sit well with the former inhabitant of said boy's body.
So he would be returning to Sunnydale. Not alone though. Anastasia had already begged him to take her with him, to which he had agreed. Let her try and change her mind now. He knew that she would not. Despite her talk of duty and responsibility, she had desired to go to the Hellmouth. She shifted against him, and all rational thought stopped. His brain just switched off.
'5 more minutes, then.'
He attempted to convince himself. Not very successfully, either.
5 Minutes later, Giles had finally regained the use of his brain. He went off to phone the Council, but was already comparing dates and historical precedents in his head. As far as he could remember, there had never been more than one Slayer at a time. It went against the very definition of what a Slayer was. 'The one girl in all the world' and all that. Jenny was finding that she had 20/20 hindsight. Now that she knew the girl was a Slayer, it seemed exceedingly obvious.
Xander was pleased that they seemed to have forgotten about his interrupting their 'alone time.' Kendra realised that Giles would need to check in with the Council to verify her claim. 10 minites later Giles had returned to the Library.
"Ah, Yes Kendra. Your Watcher, Mr Kipling says he sent you here as backup while Sephiroth did something for the Council?"
The girl smiled. Giles was as cunning as his reputation suggested.
"Correct sir. Apart from de fact dat My Watcher is Sam Zabuto."
Giles smiled.
"Excellent. You are who you say you are. Very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Hawthorne."
"I am pleased to meet you also, sir. Mr Zabuto spoke highly of you."
The Englishman smiled politely. Then he turned to Xander, noticing the sword for the first time.
"Do you have class this morning Xander?"
"No G-man. I gotta free period."
Ripper smiled.
"Right. Get warmed up. I have specific instructions to see you don't fall behind while Seph is gone."
"Damn. So much for an easy life."
"Don't think I'll go easy on you, boy. Not after you interrupted my...make-out session, was it?"
Jenny grinned.
"We colonials will loosen you up yet, darling."
"Seph, help! He's gonna kill me!"
He heard laughter in his head. Then Sephiroth communicated to him.
'You can't die, you fool! You're immortal!'
"It was drown, you silver feathered peacock! Drown!"
Kendra and Jenny stared at him. Giles chortled. Xander blushed under the scrutiny.
"It wasn't me, it was the voice in my head!"
The incredulous stares became more intense. Giles just laughed harder.
Diagonal slash. Thrust. Spin. Sidestep. slash-spin-slash-spin- overhead strike.
The swords whistled through the air. Both men were acting and reacting on instincts born of long hours and gruslling practice. Muscles bulged, sweat dripped down their bodies. The blades clashed, again and again. The ringing of steel and the bright sparks that followed was played out again and again.
They stopped, staring at each other, before beginning the final part of the duel. Swords flashed out, while fists and feet also struck. When it was finished, Giles stood with his rapier pointed at Xander's throat. Xander had his broadsword en route to the Librarian's heart.
"You little git! No-one has ever forced me to a draw. You come in and do so 3 times! How the Bloody Hell do you do it?"
"I have a good teacher."
They both laughed at that one.
Kendra and Jenny had watched the fight in awe. This was the first time they had ever seen such skill with blades. Neither had ever witnessed a sword fight before. The Slayer, certainly, had used a sword before. No Vampire had ever displyed the skill or guts necessary to go up against her in kind.
As the two sweaty, gasping men cooled down and started to drink water, Buffy and Willow came in. They stared in shock at the well built man-flesh on display. Then they moved over two stand beside the other females in the room.
They had forgotten, in the midst of the hunk-watching, that they were supposed to be upset with Jenny for lying to them. When Giles and Xander had finally finished, the newcomers finally noticed the presence of a stranger in the library.
Buffy in particular felt a strange familiarity pulling at her. There was something on the tip of her tongue, something wonderful and unique. She saw the way the girl was standing, the awareness in her eyes and the confidence. Then Giles spoke.
"Girls, this is Kendra, she is..."
Buffy interrupted him.
"...a Slayer."
Giles looked miffed at the interruption, but then he smiled proudly.
"Yes. Kendra the Vampire Slayer."
Kendra was oblivious, she and Buffy were staring at each other. Something passed between them, some unspoken understanding. They shook hands, smiling at each other.
Meanwhile, the Mayor was recieving a phone call that was proving very interesting.
"Really? A car-phone? Mr Teick, in my long life I have never encountered a Vampire like yourself. Technology is usually overlooked by the Demon Community."
...
"Yes, the Internet is a fabulous research tool."
...
"Oh? A character from a computer game? Yes, I am familiar with the Playstation. It's all the rage these days."
...
"Well, it probably has some connection to the little enchantment that Ethan Rayne had going on Halloween."
...
"Hmm? Oh, yes people were turning into their costumes. If Sephiroth stuck around after the spell ended, he is every bit as powerful as I had feared."
...
"I was trhinking something similar. I have a different spell we can adapt to do the job."
"Yes, I appreciate that Boston is very far away from California. Oh? A Lincoln with blacked-out Windows? How very clever of you. A Chauffer? Kakistos never used to spend so much on his underlings."
...
"Ah, nouveau riche. Say no more. Good bye Mr Trick. I shall expect you in Sunnydale soon."
He hung up the phone. Then he got up from his chair and walked over to the hidden room he had concealed behind a magical facade. He unlocked the cabinet where he had filed all his spells (alphabetically and chronologically)and sifted thropugh them for the one he was looking for.
"Ah, here we are. Let's see if we can convince Mr. Strife to emigrate to Sunnydale, shall we?"
Kendra and Buffy were in the middle of a training session, whch they had insisted on. Both Slayers were raring to test themselves against an equal opponent. They were fighting tirelessly at impressive speed.
Kendra began with a short kick to Buffy's leading leg. The blonde Slayer intercepted it by lifting her own leg and sweeping both appendages away to the left. Kendra spun in the same direction, leg coming up and around in a roundhouse powerful enough to take Buffy's head off.
The smaller girl ducked under the leg, then grabbed it and began swinging Kendra round by the outstretched leg. Once she had built up speed she threw the girl off in the direction of a wall. Kendra shifted her center of Gravity while moving and began to spin, then she kicked off the wall when she came in range.
She careened back into Buffy and they both went down. Then the Jamaican girl grabbed the elder Slayer's arm and placed it in a joint lock.
"A little more pressure and it snaps. Yield?"
Buffy shifted her legs under Kendra, knocking the girl out from her position of superior leverage. Then she reversed their positions. Buffy then got up, realising that Kendra was superior in terms of groundwork.
The Blonde started the attack this time, leading in with a sword-hand to Kendra's throat. The Dark-skinned Slayer negated the offense by striking at Buffy's wrist. Buffy turned and delivered a side kick which forced Kendra backwards through sheer strength.
Kendra turned the backward momentum into a backflip, taking the time to settle into a different combat stance. Buffy pushed forward, leading with a series of kicks aimed at Kendra's head and torso. The younger Slayer deflected them all before taking hold of the leg during the last strike and moving forward, fixing Buffy into another joint lock.
Buffy struggled, but there was simply no way for her to extricate her- self. She yielded.
Kendra let go of the hold instantly and backed off. Buffy got up slowly and shook the ache out of her leg. Then she smiled at Kendra.
"Great show. I suppose this means I need to practice harder, huh?"
"Better to be defeated by someone who won't kill you afterwards."
Xander chose that time to interject.
"I shoulda sold tickets. Man, why is it you Slayers make physical violence look down right Sexy?"
Both girls winked at each other before going over to Xander and grabbing an arm each and pressing up against him.
"Well Xander, you were looking pretty hot and sweaty earlier. Wanna go and grab a shower?"
"Yes, Xander. I need somone to wash my back. You just got volunteered."
They dragged him bodily out of the Library.
His voice floated back to the three Scoonies left standing there.
"OH MY GAWD! If i'm dreaming, don't wake me up!"
The two Slayers had dragged Xander out of School and off to the Sunnydale Mall. They probably would have given the boy a trip to the shower block, but Kendra didn't have any clothes, other than the ones she was wearing.
They spent a fun afternoon trying on different clothes, as Buffy taught Kendra all about fashion. Xander got himself a new trench coat, due to the fact that he and Sephiroth could no longer share the one they had. Then Xander pid for all the items with his shiny new credit card.
They were on the way back to Xander's apartment with his purchases when Xander slapped his head, then stoopped walking.
"I just remembered, I had arranged to pick up a CD player for the apartment. Why don't you two go on and make yourselves at home."
He tosse the keys to Kendra, who caught them with Slayer reflexes. The two girls looked a teach other, then shrugged. As they were walking off, Xander clutched his head and sank to the ground.
"Thak God I finally got rid of them. Something powerful just arrived."
He felt a tugging in the depths of himself then, as if part of him recognised what was coming.
Sephiroth sat rigidly in his chair. Anastasia, who had been curled up against him, watched him curiously. He looked worried about something.
"Darling? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Can't you feel it? He's here. Someone is playing a very dangerous game."
"There is something ticling the edges of my senses, but I don't know what it is! Seph, answer me. What is it?"
"A spell was just cast. Someone on the Hellmouth just summoned an old enemy of mine. And Xander is the only one there to fight him."
"Why should they nee to fight?"
"The newcomer is unstable. He is also easily manipulated. Then there is the fact that the Jenova cells will lead them to each other. The reunion cannot be resisted."
"Jenova? The same Jenova who was your mother? That is not possible! The kind of power it takes to cross dimensional Barriers is enormous!"
"There have been strange things happening on the Hellmouth. Policemen failing to go out between sunset and sunrise. Failure to folow the usual procedures for legally removing abusive parents. Even the speed with which the Bank and Estate Agent worked for us. There is someone powerful running that town. Someone very clever."
"You believe that they have summoned this enemy of yours in order to stop you?"
"He defeated me once before. Even now he closes in on Xander with the single minded drive that has always spurred him onward. I fear he is too experienced for Xander to defeat. The boy is not ready yet."
"What will you do?"
"If it becomes necessary I will go to Sunnydale via teleportation." He settled back and concentrated on the fight he was about to take place.
Xander felt the comforting weight of his broadsword at his side. Giles had refused to accept it, claiming that it belonged to Xander now.
'A good thing to. Wouldn't want to be caught out here unarmed.'
Then he heard booted feet walking behind him. He spun, drawing his sword and settling into a combat stance.
The sight he was met by turned his blood to ice.
A slightly shorter, well muscled man stood there. Spiky blonde hair. Serious face. Bright Blue Mako Eyes. Enormous sword in hand. Xander's incredulous mind assigned a name to him.
Cloud Strife.
"Mind telling me how the Hell you got here, Chief?"
"My name isn't Chief. It's Cloud. Mind telling me where Sephiroth is?"
"The name's Xander. What makes you think I know?"
Cloud smiled.
"The fact you have Mako Eyes and you are standing in the SOLDIER sword stance."
"Fair enough. What makes you think I'd tell you where Seph is?"
"I plan on beating it outta you, if I have to."
"Then, Mr Strife, we have a problem. I am not the kind of man who is willing to betray a friend because of something as unimportant as physical violence."
"Sephiroth has no friends. Just Puppets."
"You'd know more about that than me."
"Indeed I would. I respect your loyalty, but I can't just let him live."
"You foiled his plans. He just wants to live here, killing the odd Demon now and then. Why don't you piss off back to Costa Del Sol and take Tifa out to Dinner?"
Cloud is taken aback by this.
'How does he know so much? Could it be true? Could Sephiroth be back to his old self?'
He shook his head. It didn't matter at this point in time anyway. Unless he defeated Sephiroth, he would likely be kept here. That Mayor had been kinda sinister, underneath all the smiles an hygiene products.
"If I don't take out Sephiroth, I don't get to go home."
The life in Xander's eyes died out. The eyes that had previously shone with life and laughter were now ice cold. That was when Cloud realised the magnitude of the battle he was about to join. The boy was not going to go down easily. The sword Xander was holding came up by a couple of inches, his stance closing up. He was now ready to fight. There would be no retreat.
Xander dashed forward, blade held high at his right shoulder. He swung, putting his entire body behind it. Cloud brought Ultima Weapon up, allowing the blade to take the brunt of the attack. Then he pushed the biot back and spun, bringing the giant sword around and up in a diagonal slash.
Xander blocked, but the strength behind the strike drove him backwards, right off his feet. He struck the ground halfway across the street, then used the remaining momentum to roll sideways, rising and taking up his stance.
"That hurt, Strife. I happened to like this Shirt."
Xander felt his anger building, choking off all rational thought like weeds surrounding the roots of a flower. It rose in a burning wave, crashing over him. He rushed forward, bringing his sword down, crouching infront of Cloud and then pushing off, uppercutting with the blade. Then, as Cloud was staggered by the first strike, he leapt forward, slashing at his unguarded adversary.
Xander stopped, breathing heavily and trying to stem his anger. Losing control like that was a great way to get killed. Cloud was looking at the cut on his chest incredulously.
'What speed! One strike to crush the enemies guard, then another to wound. The boy has potential.'
The wound was starting to heal already. He ignored it, turning around and facing Xander. He brought his sword up and got ready to restart the fight.
Xander got up again. He was beaten, bloodied, bruised and really tired. He refused to stay down though. He slowly stood up, bringing his sword up into the SOLDIER combat stance.
Cloud was impressed. The boy had tenacity. He had been knocked down more times than could easily be kept track of during the last 20 minutes, but he refused to stay down. He likewise refused to divulge where Sephiroth was.
"I'll ask you again Xander. Where is he?"
In answer, Xander struck out with a slash, then twisted and attempted to stab Cloud. The older man slashed at Xander's sword. the only defense left open. The Broadsword had been outmatched by the strength of the Ultima Weapon in Cloud's hands, finally breaking under the assault.
Xander and Cloud both stared in confusion at the hilt, which remained in Xander's hand. Then at the same time, they turned to look at the section of the blade that lay on th middle of the street.
"Well, you just can't get the help these days, can you?"
"That never happened to me, Xander. Must be something in the water round these here parts."
"Well, I guess we go hand to hand."
Cloud spun his sword in his hand once, then placed it on his back.
They both took up stances. They were about to get started when they were rudely interrupted.
"Fisticuffs, Gentlemen? I thought I taught you better than that."
They both turned, shocked out of their respective stances at the sound of the voice.
Sephiroth sttod behind them. He was dressed in the same outfit as when Cloud had last seen him. Leather coat, pants and gloves. Open at the chest. Green Mako Eyes, long silver hair. Sephiroth came closer, inspecting Xander's condition. He reached out and touched the most prominent wound, a slash across the boy's chest. Xander hissed in pain.
Sephiroth was pissed. It didn't show on his face, but Xander could feel it, inside. They were still linked, after all. Xander limped over to the sidewalk, leaning on Sephiroth for support, gasping in pain. Sephiroth finally understood how 'Limit Break' techniques worked. He could feel his carefully crafted emotional control floating away like leaves on the wind.
He turned, summoning Masamune to his hand and taking up his stance in one fluid motion.
Cloud had already drawn his blade. They stared across the void between them.
"This will be our Final battle Cloud. You have overstepped the mark, by hurting my protege. For that, I will make this hurt."
He summoned the energy burning within him. It surfaced, blazing brightly, a corona of red and yellow.
"This is my ultimate technique. The Wailing Soul Slash!"
Sephiroth stepped forward, striking at Cloud before stepping backwards. Then two Sephiroths slashed at Cloud. They disappeared, only for three more to appear and strike him up into the air. These three spin backward, disappearing. Four Sephiroths then appear in the air with Cloud, converging on his position and slashing him.
Then, a heavily wounded Cloud crashes to the ground, behind Sephiroth. Cloud stood, shakily, breathing heavily. He began gathering magic, placing his sword on his back and thrusting both fists toward Sephiroth.
A sphere of Green and Black energy surrounded Sephiroth, bombarding him. Then it turned into a wave, washing over him. There was a high pitched shrieking noise, then a white flash. Everything was still and quiet.
Cloud fell to his knees, exhausted. He had never been forced to stand against Sephiroth one on one. Certainly, Sephiroth had never employed a 'limit break' before.
"It's over. I can go back home."
Then a blade pressed against his neck.
"This is far from over, Strife."
He gasped, straining to look up at his assailant.
Sephiroth smirked down at him. Then he cast Curaga on them both.
"Let us end this old feud with the clashing of blades."
Cloud got up, and they began.
'Ching. Ching. Fwaa-Shing.'
"Haa!"
"Kiai!"
Xander heard and saw the events of the fight, but he was viewing them distantly, as though from far away. He was probably suffering from shock, or some such malady.
Then he felt a pair of arms wrap round him, holding him tightly.
"Are you the Xander I have heard so much about?"
"Yep. That's me. The Xan-man. Who're you?"
"My name is Anastasia. My friends call me Anna. I have accompanied Sephiroth here to assist in preventing the Hellmouth from opening."
"That's nice. I'm Sleepy. G'night."
She giggled. Seph was right, such an amusing child.
Slash. Block. Parry. Riposte. Thrust. Sidestep.
"You've been practicing, Sephiroth. You were not this good last time we fought."
"Fool. This is the first tiome you have fought me while I was sane. See the diffeence it makes to my tactics?"
There was no more time to talk, as Sephiroth increased the speed and power of his strikes.
It was over. Sephiroth had won. Cloud was unable to even lift his blade in order to mount a defense. With this strike, it would all end.
"Stop! Hold the Phone!"
They both turned to stare at Xander.
"What? Why have you interrupted my moment of triumph?"
"Strife was summoned here. Someone brought him here. If we find out who, we find out the source of this towns troubles."
"Hn. A valid point. Will you tell us, Cloud?"
"Why? I'm Gonna die anyway. You don't leave an enemy at your back, remember?"
Anna chose that moment to interject.
"I know a spell or two that would suffice to send you home. It solves all our problems."
She looked at Sephiroth. He nodded once. She went off to prepare.
Cloud looked doubtful, but the he remembered he had someone to go home to. If he wasn't careful, Tifa would be left all alone. He was all she had left of Nibelheim, as she was for him. Xander had been right. She deserved to be taken out for a nice meal and treated like a Queen. He resolved to do so, if he got home.
"Thinking of Lockhart?"
"Wha? How did you know?"
"Zack told me once that you got this stupid look on your face when you were thinking of her. He was right."
"In any case, your enemy is the Mayor of this town. He is a powerful mage."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about Nibelheim."
"What do you expect me to say to that?"
"Nothing. I just felt you ought to know, I have not forgotten what I did."
"Neither have I. It doesn't matter now anyway. That man died. He could never have inspired loyalty in a person like Xander. Whoever you may be, you aren't him."
There was a green flash behind them, and a portal opened up.
"What will the townspeople say about this?"
"They are too deep in denial to admit any of this ever happened."
Cloud nodded. Then he walked over to Xander.
"Looks like you are going to need a new sword. I kinda broke your old one."
"Yeah. Not much chance of fixing that."
Cloud pulled a sword out from behind his Ultima Weapon.
"This is the Sword I used before Ultima Weapon. It's called Apocalypse. I'd like to offer it to you as an apology."
"Really? Wow, thank-you Cloud. No one has ever given me anything before."
He took a couple of practice swings with it, before sliding it onto his back.
Cloud turned and walked off to the portal, pausing to give the one- starbucks town one last glance.
"Cloud, I recommend the RoastChocobo and Gysahl Greens, with a bottle of White Wine. Lockhart will be putty in your hands. Lets Mosey!"
Cloud walked through the portal, laughing out loud.
Sephiroth and Anna bega walking back to the apartment. Xander began to follow, then ran past them as fast as he was able.
"Shit! Buffy and Kendra are gonna Kill Me!"
"Just arrive home with Dinner. You know what Slayers are like"
"Thanks Seph!"
Anastasia put an arm around him.
"Well, if he is busy seducing his two Slayers."
She traced a finger down his chest.
"However will we pass the time?"
Sephiroth placed his arms on her shoulders.
"Woman, you are insatiable. I like it."
Kendra sat on her bed. Well, to be totally correct, Kendra sat on Xander's bed. Her host had insisted she took the bed, while he slept on the couch in the lounge.
Looking back over the past twenty-four hours, she was shocked at how forward she had been. She had always been a quiet, shy girl. Especially after Mr. Zabuto had taken her away for Slayer training. She was supposed to be separate from others, in order to protect people better.
Emotional attachments only made the Calling more difficult. Save who you can and move on. Eventually the Slayer would die, as they always did. Best not to cause added complications by leaving grieving relatives.
Yet...Buffy was different. She had attempted to balance the sacred duty of the Slayer alongside the life of a regular teenager. It had done little for her fighting skills, though she was supported ably by the 'Scooby Gang'. Without them, Kendra was aware that the elder Slayer would not have survived the first day in Sunnydale.
Then there was Xander. The boy was the root cause of the strange behaviour she had displayed, she was sure of it. His friendliness and good humour, contrasting with his power and skill had interested her.
The first human to be aware of the burden of a Slayer in recorded history. The only human to ever have the audacity to interfere in Council business. Incidentally, the only human silly enough to try and hide the signs of physical violence from a pair of Slayers.
'Honestly. Who did he think he was foolin' by carryin' food back home with him? Did he think we would not notice the sword he was wearing, or the state of his clothes?'
Buffy and Kendra had shared a look, but had decided not to comment on their gracious hosts condition. They would prise it out of him the next day, when his guard was down. Words had not been necessary between the two women.
Buffy had gone home after they had finished dinner. Rather, Buffy had been chased off by an indignant Xander when she had attempted to colect the dinner plates. She had giggled all the way out the door. Kendra had envied her the ease with which she had interacted with Xander.
Kendra had no idea how to interact with anyone, given that she had had so little human contact. She had taken a page from Buffy's book earlier, but it had felt insincere. She would have to learn how to interact with others if she was to have any hope of fitting in here.
It surprised her, the intensity with which she did desire to stay in Sunnydale. The Demon fighting aspect was what she had been weaned on. Her entire life had been preparation for this. The Slayer was, for the first time, not the driving force behind this desire, however. Kendra Hawthorne wanted to stay here, to experience life and to sample the unknown aspects of life.
Meanwhile, Xander was sitting in the living room inspecting his new sword. He had an LP playing on his record player. No-one else knew it, but he was quite the collector of Vinyl. The 'Music of Pain' was a recurring feature, but outside of that he also liked the Blues. The themes contained in the two genres of music were rather similar, after all.
Currently Eric Clapton was winding his way through the intro to 'Layla'. Apparently the Brits had used this as a theme for a car advert.
His attention returned to the sword he was holding. It was wide, heavy and vaguely triangular. The metal was coloured purple. It was weaker than Masamune, but not by an enormous amount.
His train of thought was derailed as the way Kendra had acted earlier returned to his conscious thoughts.
'She was so distant. As soon as Buffy left, it was like she no longer knew how to act. Is that a result of Council training? It seems likely. When your only weapon against the Demons is a teenage girl, you don't allow her to get involved in boys and clothes shopping. Independent thought is a big no-no.'
Buffy was, as much as he hated to admit it, a perfect example of all the reasons why the Council should retain control over the Slayer. Kendra was the textbook Slayer. She was practically perfect in every way that mattered to the Tweed squad.
This train of thought was rapidly making Xander angry. These two girls were not pawns, not chesspieces to be sacrificed for the greater glory of The Watchers Council. If they could be encouraged to learn from each other, they would likely be the Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Slaying.
He threw on his new duster and secured Apocalypse to his back. Then he switched off his Record Player, lifted the needle and replaced the LP in it's cover.
"I'm gonna find a hapless Vampire to vent my growing frustration on."
He phased through the front door, unwilling to disturb his guest by opening and closing it.
He made his way to a local cemetery. There had been talk of wild animal attacks in the papers, so Xander hoped to get some action. The first Vampire he came across was looking for a victim. It leapt on him from atop a crypt.
Xander calmly removed the sword from his back and held it aloft. The Vampire, unable to counteract the laws of Physics, was impaled on the blade. The incredulous Scooby sneered at the Demon.
"Tell me, Captain Braindead. What gave you the idea that trying to assault an armed and pissed off Sephiroth clone with a very big sword and an even bigger dislike for Deadboys?"
"If I do, will you let me go?"
"Gee. Let me think."
Xander removed one hand from the hilt of the blade. He turned to the side, holding the Vampire aloft effortlessly with one hand. Then he tapped his hand against his chin, as if pondering a thorny issue.
"I have deliberated with the voices in my head. We have decided that we're just gonna kill you."
He swung the blade, causing the Vampire to slide off the blade and smack into the side of the crypt they had been in front of. Xander just pointed his hand toward the pathetic corpse and cast Fira. A pillar of flames sprang up around the target, immolating the dead flesh with ease.
Xander turned, replaced apocalypse on his back and walked deeper into the graveyard.
"Just hurry up and make with the ungrateful dead, will ya? I came out here for some violence, not a walk in the park!"
There was a rustling in the bushes behind him, and he smiled.
"Finally. I was getting tired of your childish games."
He had been expecting a couple of Vamps. The more, the merrier as far as he was concerned. What he got surprised him. He loked up at the moon.
'Hn. Full Moon. Guess Werewolves do exist.'
"Grrr!"
"You're a long way from Kansas, Toto."
The Wolf-man sniffed, then growled some more.
"Very eloquent. Do I smell tasty? You want to taste some Xander- flesh?"
"Grrr!"
Xander shook his head. This was going nowhere fast. Then he leapt forward, swinging Apocalypse off his back and into a slash in one easy motion. The Wolf retaliated with it's claws, gutting a series of lines along Xander's torso.
'Good thing i didn't button my coat. If you damage it, I'll have to kill you. The shirt was already a write-off.'
Xander was too close to bring the sword around for another strike, so he spun and thrust his elbow into the Wolf's torso. It skidded back several feet, digging furrows in the grass with its sharp toe-claws.
Now that he had more space, Xander brought the sword back into play.
"Let's experiment. I have a friend who swears up and down that Fire magic works wonders on Beasts. Fancy a Marshmallow?"
He concentrated and created basic 'Fire' magic. The concentration and time that was required was considerably less than for the more advanced spells.
The Werewolf howled as thick black smoke and bright orange flames burned at his fur. Then he turned and ran.
"There's no place like home, huh?"
Xander laughed at his own quip. Then, feeling inexplicably tired, he made his way back home.
When Sephiroth and Anastasia returned to the apartment on Ragpicker's Lane, they found Xander lying asleep on the sofa. Anna quietly walked over and placed the Blanket that had been lying on the back of the makeshift bed on Xander. Then she brushed a lock of brown hair from his face and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Good Night little brother. Sleep well."
"He'll be fine. You are the one who needs more than three hours of sleep per day. I suggest you go to bed."
"All alone? In this strange new land? Will not some big strong manly man come to my aid?"
"If you like, I can make up a hot water bottle. Xander is the white knight of this particular family."
They both smiled, then Sephiroth put his arm around Anastasia and escorted her back to his room.
Daniel Osborne awoke the nexy morning to a rather chilly breeze. He had an itch across his torso, and he appeareed to have picked up a couple of burns. Most unusual was his severe case of nakedness.
He raised both eyebrows.
"Huh."
The he walked off in the direction of his house. That was the last time Devon talked him into an after gig drink.
Sephiroth woke up to an amazing smell. He looked around to try an discern where the smell was coming from, when he noticed something else. His bed was empty. Anna was gone.
He shot out of bed, looking around the room again. Once sleep had cleared, he realised that the smell of a cookibg breakfast and Anna's disappearance were likely related. She had insisted on making all the meals while they had been in Russia.
He walked into the en-suite bathroom and washed himself. Then he put on his trousers and a grey t-shirt. Then he completed the look with a pair of slippers that featured Tom and Jerry.
He walked quietly to the kitchen, long silver hair blowing out behind him. He supposed it was a Jenova trait, that one's hair was always impeccable. She had been very jealous that he spent no time grooming it. Apparently, she had worn it rather long in her younger years, which necessitated two hours of haircare per day.
As he enterd the kitchen, he was urprised by what he saw. His Russian paramour was sitting at the breakfast bar with a cup of coffee, exchanging recipes with Xander, who was preparing a cooked breakfast.
"Well I find that adding a little cinammon helps."
"Really? usually I would just use Vanilla, but I see how the Cinnamon would complement the other ingredients."
"Vanilla is a vital ingredient, certainly."
"I noticed you used cheese in your scrambled eggs. Where did you learn that one?"
"Well, when I was younger, my Mom taught me the basics. Once She and Dad got intimate with Jack Daniels, well. A boy has to fend for himself."
"Ah. I'm Sorry. It always shocks me that some paremts can treat their children like that. Certainly, mine were strict, but never abusive."
"A lot of the whiny assholes at school have no idea how lucky they are. Teen Angst about having parents who don't allow you to sleep around or borrow the Mercedes, is just so much shit."
"Hear, hear. I understand from Seph that you paid off your Parent's debts. That is certainly more than most would say they deserved."
"I ain't like most people. Even before my unusual genetic alterations. As far as Tony and Jessica go, I'm free. I don't pretend it was a pleasant experience, but I wouldn'y be me if it werent for them."
"Your maturity surprises me. I feel I shall enjoy being part of this unusual family."
Xander just gave her a smile. It was nice not to be preached about about how his parents were the scum of the earth. Xander had met and killed some of the scum of the earth. Tony and Jessica just didn't cut the mustard against the Master, or Spike and Dru.
Equally, it was a refreshing experience for someone to listen for a change. Then to be told he was considered family. His smile would have been bright enought to Dust any Vampires in the vicinity. Sephiroth chose that moment to interject.
"Of course you will, Anna. There is no resisiting my charm, humour and sexy black leather."
The occupants of the room turned, both laughing as they saw the footwear of 'The Great Sephiroth.'
"Have you tried getting slippers in black leather? Besides, I happen to find Tom and Jerry most amusing."
The laughter got louder.
Sephiroth sighed and went to fetch a cup of coffee.
He was secretly pleased that Xander hd taken to Anna so quickly. He could feel the acceptance and happiness through the strange link they shared.
"Stop laughing and fetch me my breakfast."
Xander was unable to quiet his laughter for some minutes, but fetched Seph something to eat anyway.
"I had an interesting run in with a Werewolf on Patrol last night."
Anna was interested, but Sephiroth looked bored.
"Wolf? Boring. Vincent Valentine was a far more interesting character, at least in terms of shapeshifting. What a Limit Break that was."
"I meant to ask, wht was that thing you did to Cloud?"
"That was one of my Limit Breaks. Techniques which one can use when anger and adrenaline reach maximum capacity. The Wailing Soul Slash is the most powerful of my own techniques."
"Will you teach me how to do these Limit Breaks?"
"They are an individual skill, Xander. Before yesterday I had never performed one before. Your attempts to loosen me up, seem to have accomplished something positive afterall."
Xander didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing at all.
The rest of breakfast passed quietly as they concentrated on the morning papers. Only the whisper of sheets of newsprint being turned was heard.
When Kendra walked in, dressed in a new set of clothes, Xander waas gobsmacked. They looked so much better on her than they had in the store.
Then he noticed the shy, withdrawn way in which she wished everyone good morning, sat down at the table and ate the breakfast he had left there for her.
'Damn it! What went wrong. I thought we were getting on well. Did I offend her?'
Here can be seen one of the effects his treatment by Tony and Jessica. Xander was always the first to blame himself when something went wrong. In addition, he had always been to willing to judge himself too harshly.
Sephiroth observed his not-quite-little-brother closely. Unbeknownst to the youngest Harris, he had broadcast that particular thought. Deciding the best course of action was subtlety, Sephiroth put down his paper.
"Aren't you going to introduce your guest, Xander?"
"Oh, Sory guys. This is Kendra Hawthorne. She was sent to guard the Hellmouth while you were away in Russia."
"Ah, courtesy of the redoutable Mr. Hardiman-Smythe and the stuffy tea-drinkers Council of Great Britain. What was that Delightful word Mr Giles used?"
Xander smirked at him.
"The Wankers Council?"
"That was it! How marvellous. I take it you were the Jamaican asset my contact referred to?"
Kendra nodded her head slightly, then spoke.
"Yes sir. I was born and raised just outside of Kingston. Generally Vampires do congregate at the most concentrated population centres."
"I feel a certain power about you. In fact, I would almost say you feel like a Slayer."
"I am sir. When Slayer Summers died in the spring, I was called."
Sephiroth smied. He had suspected as much. No-one else had even considered that Buffy's temporary case of Death might have called a successor.
"On account of a slight case of death. How intriguing. Well, to continue the introductions, I am Sephiroth. The lady sitting across from you is Anastasia. She is also recently arrived on the Hellmouth. Perhaps you would consent to show her the sights? Xander and I have a prior appointment with Giles."
"I would be most happy to show Miss Anastasia the sights I have seen."
"My dear girl, call me Anna. So polite, but you make me feel so old!"
Kendra smiled slightly, while Anna giggled. Sephiroth and Xander cleared the table while the two women prepared for a day out. Before they left, Seph handed Anna his Credit Card. He was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek. By the time both men had collected their weaponry and were ready to go to the Library, the two females were gone.
"Oh, Xander, did you kill this Werewolf?"
"No Seph, traditionally the only way to do so is silver."
"Giles will be rather pleades to research such a beast then."
Giles was indeed very pleased to be given such an opportunity. That was after he had been shocked by the size of Xander's new sword, as well as the circumstances surrounding it.
Cloud Strife as a threat was over. The Werewolf was present and unaccounted for. Therefore, it took precedence, as far as the three men were concerned.
"Gentlemen, I believe I have found what we are looking for."
"Oh, great. I mean, American Werewolf in Sunnydale? Break out the Silver Bullets."
"No. No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, i-it's still a human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."
"Okay. We find out who it is and tell them. If the wolf shows up tonight anyway, Bang!"
"Oh, really Xander. How ridiculous. Who would believe us? This is precisely the reason the Watchers are a secret society. You try preventing the apocalypse friom the inside of Shady Acres institute for the mentally insane."
"Don't knock it G-man, I have experience with voices in my head."
"Ha bloody Ha!"
Sephiroth was tiring of this witless banter.
"So we are forbidden from killing it. Very well. I have some abilities which would allow me to subdue the werewolf without killing it. Xander, be on the lookout for anyone acting strangely. It will be useful if we have some idea of who the werewolf is, before we encounter it again."
"Will do."
Xander slowed his pace as he saw Cordelia up ahead. The Cordettes were no-where to be seen, so he decided to take a risk.
"Hey, Cordy?"
"Oh. Xander. It's been an entire day since you last gave me the pleasure of your company. What can I do to get rid of you?"
"Have you noticed anyone acting strange recently? Within the last couple of days, maybe?"
"Except for you? No."
"Well, thanks for your help, Queen C. Maybe I'll go and talk to that wall over there. It's sure to have more general knowledge than you anyway."
"Yeah, but it's colouring is so last season."
They both laughed at that one.
Then the Cordettes came round the corner, all taking a moment to admire Xander, while trying to look as though they weren't admiring Xander.
He and Cordelia shared a look at their stupidity, then shook their heads and walked off in different directions.
"It was nice to escape their bleating for a while anyway. Don't go sliding back into Geekiness now, Xander. Not when you have made such impressive progress."
She looked him up and down.
He blushed, nodded, then walked off.
Twenty minutes later, Xander rushed into the Sunnydale High Library as if Meteor was chasing him.
"Oh My God! Oh Shit! That's it. I am summoning Meteor. That son of a bitch. That butt-monkey! How dare he! 'Xander, you have really pretty eyes' God Damn!"
"What are you jabbering about?"
"One of my suspects in the 'My what big teeth you have' award just tried to make me his bitch!"
"That makes almost as little sense as the sentence which preceded it. Must I make with the face-stabbing?"
"One of the males I was interrogating is in turn attracted to other men. He complemented me on my glowy eyes then touched my butt. It took all my willpower not to incinerate him for his presumption."
Sephiroth laughed.
"It was acutely embarrassing. Stop laughing. I saw the way Strife stared at you."
Sephiroth just laughted harder.
"This is your revenge for the slipper thing, isn't it?"
No response. Sephiroth was howling with mirth.
Kendra and Anastasia were sitting at the only Starbucks in Sunnydale. Neither of the two women were impressed at the alleged Coffee. Anna in particular was getting ready to break out some of her level 9 spells.
She took several deep breaths to calm herself. Then she placed her coffee on the table they were sitting at and looked Kendra right in the eye.
"I am going to be perfectly frank with you."
Kendra nodded, looking slightly puzzled.
"I noticed this morning that you and Xander seemed to have built up an impressive amount of Unresolved Sexual Tension."
The Jamaican girl almost choked on her Coffee.
"What? I don' haf de slightest idea to what you are referrin'."
"Do not play gmes with me. I see you are the shy type. If you like, I could take you under my wing. Xander is a young, attractive boy. His wit, charm and good looks will eventually be noticed by other members of the female community in this town."
Kendra averted her gaze.
"Of course, you have already noticed them, haven't you Ms Hawthorne?"
They shared a small smile at that point. Kendra nodded.
"Believe it or not, I know that the Council hve never been paricularly in teaching the Slayer how to live. They are only interested in how you fight."
Kendra looked ready to argue with her, but for the fact that she was too polite.
"My great-aunt was one of your Predecessors. She was called several decades and many Slayers before you. Still, the Council have failed to change their approach to the Slayer. They wanted my family to relinquish the Slayer. We, of course, refused."
"Communist Russia did not have much, but what we had we guarded fiercely. In the end they left her to her fate. She would have died, were it not for the fact that we knew more than they about the darkness and it's inhabitants. Daniella Novikova is one of the longest lived Slayers in existence, yet her name and her example are never spoken of by the Watchers."
Kendra was shocked. She had certainly never heard of the Slayer she was being told of. The Council had, she was aware, kept meticulous records. The Slayer Spirit within her swelled with pride. It recognised the name and bloodline of fierce, courageous Daniella. She had taken on even the Mad Monk, Rasputin, the Russian equivalent of the Master. It had killed her, but his taint had been removed from the house of Romanov. A hard won victory. Flashes of the battle had played in front of her very eyes.
"She died fighting a Master, Rasputin."
Anna clapped her hands, bouncing with joy.
"The Council suppressed the truth, but the Slayer essence refused to dishonour such a brave girl. I am glad."
"Now, back to the matter at hand. Dani took a lover, you know. Yes, a boy whom she had grown up with. His name was Ilya Kuriaken. He had even gone so far as to follow her out on patrol, despite the danger. When she found out, there were fireworks. They argued for hours, throwing things, even coming to blows. Every time she went out, he would follow her. It got to the point where she found him surrounded by the dust of several Vampires that had hidden from her. She argued with him."
"No one knows how, but they ended up making love right there. Then he took her back to his house. Neither of them were seen for days. When they finally reappeared, she had a very large grin on her face and he had several new bruises."
Kendra giggled, despite her shock.
"There are rumours of a Slayer who had a son. This boy apparently went on to become a Hunter of some skill. It is not unheard of tor the Slayer to be romantically, provided she is not entirely under the thumb of the Council. Are you worried they will disapprove of Xander? OR that they will hurt him?"
Kendra realised that these were two of the problems that were hlding her back, in addition to her shyness and lack of experience.
"Firstly, the Council have noeither the resources or the power to do more than annoy Xander. Secondly, anyone who did hurt him would die at Sephiroth's hand. Then he would probably visit death upon every member of every family of everyone who was ever involved in the affairs of the Council. Then he would follow them to Hell and torture them some more."
Anna could see the shock on Kendra's face.
"I would allow him to make anyone who hurt Xander pay, though any more than that would really be unlikely."
Kendra looked less shocked to hear that.
"So, the only issue is your lack of experience? Well, Auntir Anna can take care of that one for you. Take some time and think about it. If you want him, Xander can be yours by the end of the week."
Then she went off to pay the bill. Kendra just sat, trying to absorb all that she had heard. She was quite dazed by the time Anna returned.
"Don't give me an answer right away. Let's get on with the shopping."
Buffy had been surprised by the news that a real live Werewolf was in Sunnydale. She had been pleased to larn that a humane approach had been agreed upon. E.G. No killing. They had split everybody up into groups. Each group would patrol separate areas, equipped wit the usual Vamp-killing gear.
In addition thay had also gotten ahold of several tranquilizer rifles. Xander, Kendra, Buffy and Sephiroth had outright refused to use guns. The rifles were given to Jenny, Giles, Anna and Willow.
Little did they know, they were not the only hunter's on the trail of the Werewolf. A man named Cain had arrived on the Hellmouth, drawn by Reports of a 'Big Assed Dog' in the Small town.
Sephiroth could feel it. The supernatural tingle of the Werewolf was making his nose tickle. He was not amused. Anna , on the contrary, taken great delight in laughing at his predicament. He heard a twig snap, off to the left, but he knew it wasn't the wolf. Such a beast would be far mor in tune with the woods around it thatn that.
He was proven right a moment later when the Werewolf came running round the corner, with Buffy and Giles chasing after it. He would have laughed, but for the fact that Anna was now with him in a Combat Zone. He leapt forward, striking the wolf in the sternum with a fist, before spinning round and delivering a roundhouse kick to it's head.
Anna then took the opportunity to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart. When a human toting a sniper rifle came striding out of the woods, Sephiroth knew the fun was only beginning.
"What the Hell is wrong with you people? You don't fight a prime piece of stock like this! You'll damage the pelt!"
Summers retorted with the scathing sarcasm that was evidence of her time as a Cheerleader.
"Yeah, like a bullet to the head is so good for the quality of your werewolf throw rug."
"Shut up, little lady. I was speaking to the man of the group."
Sephiroth just waved his hand, indicating Buffy should have at him.
She did so.
When Daniel Osbourne woke up the next morning, he was not baked and lying in the middle of the woods near his home. Oh No, that would have been too much like normalcy. He was lying in what appeared to be a cage in the Library ot Sunnydale High. His roving eyes fell on a pile of folded clothes lying beside him, which he quickly put on.
It was a good thing too, as the Library door then opened, and in walked the British guy who ran the place.
"Ah, Mr Osbourne. I assume you would like to know exactly why you are locked i a cage in Sunnydale Library?"
"Yeah. But first, could you unlock the cage?"
"Oh, y-yes. Certainly."
"Thanks"
They both sat at the table in the middle of the Library.
"The world is far older than you know..."
"Now that you have had your breakfast, we shall resume the trainig you have so wilfully ignored over the past few days."
"Aww, Seph! C'mon, it's too early for all that."
"It's never too early for some Xander-torture."
There was simply no replying to that one. Xander simply stared in amazement.
Sephiroth stood and exited the room. Xander followed, secretly lookng forward to the opportunity to spend some time with Seph and improve the skills he was learning. They walked single file into the room that had been outfitted for training purposes. It was all varnished wood floors and practice dummies.
"We will begin today with a new area of study. I am going to teach you how to cast some of the lower level elemental magic without using Materia."
"You think I'm ready for that?"
"Respect my Authorita!"
Xander blinked. Then he blinked again. Then he stared as if Seph had just grown an extra head.
Sephiroth coughed, then continued as if the previous statement had never been made.
"Yes, I do believe you can do this. If you feel you are unable to, then leave. Self-doubt will only hinder your progress."
"If you think I can do it, then I will do it."
Sephiroth was rather pleased to know his opinion mattered so much to the boy.
They began the lesson.
Anna could feel the immense power being employed, rooms away from the two males. She had felt Sephiroth use such abilities before, far beyond what was presently being done. Xander had been an unknown quantity, but now had presence all his own.
The energy tickled her senses, making her feel faint. It amazed her that they could blithely call upon and control such forces. Sephiroth treated it as if it were as remarkable as breathing, or scratching one's nose. Apparently in his world, Magic was as common as swords. In fact, he had said that Magic was sold in shops.
She found the thought appalling. Abilities such as this were not commodities, to be bought and sold. She had heard of Magicians who had used Magic without regard for consequence. It invariably led to dark magic and abuse of power. Eventually they either called on too much power and were killed, or they pissed off the wrong Demon.
Kendra was sitting on the couch, sipping a mug of Coffee. She was oblivious to the power stirring in the very air around her. She was mulling over the strange happenings of this morning.
'Sephiroth, was eating breakfast. In Xander's apartment. He was acting like he and Xander are family. Then he said that Xander and he would be training. If Sephiroth is as strong as his reputation suggests, how could Xander survive a training lesson with him? Does it have anything to do with the alterations Xander hinted at?'
She decided she would be forced to ask someone who knew the situationn better than she did. Anastasia was the obvious choice.
"Miss Anna?"
"Yes Kendra?"
"Would you mind telling me how Xander and Sephiroth came to know each other?"
"Well. I don't see the harm in telling you the story. Xander seems to trust you, which is a very good recommendation. It all started on Halloween..."
Buffy Summers was confused. Back in her Hemery High days, that would have been no big deal. She had been the equivalent of Queen C, afterall. Queen B, if you will.
That thought about Hemery High was related to the cause of her confusion. Billy Fordham had shown up today. He had been turned, he had claimed, in an effort to avoid death from terminal brain cancer.
She had been really shocked when he had revealed the depth of his knowledge. He knew she was the Slayer.
How?
That was what had her confused. It made absolutely no sense for him to know that.
He stood in front of her, standing in the shade of a building. The sun was behind them, casting a long shadow over them both.
"I'm told you Slayer's taste pretty good. Let's test that little tidbit of information, shall we?"
He struck out at her, catching her in the stomach with his fist. Then he backhanded her across the face when she doubled over.
Buffy cartwheeled, using the force of the blow to launch herself to the side. Then she turned and deflected the snap-kick Ford had tried to land on her. She retaliated with a combination of kicks that landed on the bigger man's chest and torso.
Then she sweeped his legs out from under him. As he fell to the floor, she struck out with her feet in a thrust kick which launched Fordham out into the bright sunshine.
She felt a little guilty as his screams resounded in her ears.
'Well, he threw the first punch. As well as the second.'
Then she resumed her walk to School, trying to ignore the ball of ice in the pit of her stomach.
Xander collapsed to the floor. He had spent the last two hours being taught how to use Magic by Seph. He had succeded in using basic elemental Magic.
'Very basic. Nothing beyond the first levels.'
He had shown greater aptitude for the curative Magic. He had easily mastered Cure, as well as getting Cura to work the majority of the time.
Sephiroth had explained the naming system quite succinctly.
"The basic levels are the root name. More advanced levels of a spell are changed to reflect the higher power. Second level spells recieve the suffix -ra. Fire becomes Fira. The highest levels are suffixed - aga. Blizzara becomes Blizzaga. Really quite simple."
He was so tired. Magic use without Materia was far more draining. It gave the tactical advantage of having more spells at one's disposal. He hadn't been this tired in weeks. Months, even.
Sephiroth cast Curaga on him, then tossed him Apocalypse. The sound of blade and floor connecting echoed in the room.
"We aren't finished yet. This shall be our first swordfight. you may begin whenever you are ready."
Masamune appeared in Sephiroth's hands. He entered his personal stance as if he had been born in it.
Xander swallowed. Then he retrieved Apocalypse from the ground.
'No good can come of this.'
Then he entered the SOLDIER battle stance and prepared to get his ass kicked.
Xander looked at himself before he enterd School for the day. The bruises were mostly gone. The cuts had already closed up, but would take longer to heal than the bruises.
'All in all, I did pretty well. No need for a Phoenix Down or Revive Magic. I went up against Sephiroth and lived to tell about it. I feel kinda special.'
He smiled, glowing wih pride and renewed confidence. The only other person in existence who could say that had stabbed Sephiroth in the back like a coward. Xander had gone up against him, blade against blade, skill against skill. Sephiroth was superior to Giles and Cloud by an enormous margin. Xander had survived only by sheer determination and a healthy dose of irregular combat maneuvers.
And Blind Luck. He had always been one lucky Son of a Bitch.
Kendra had already gone ahead to class, as Giles had enrolled her on Watcher's Council orders. Hardiman-Smythe had apparently been correcct in his assertion that the Council wanted the Hellmouth guarded by their best and brightest.
Then he was bumped into from behind. He spun and came face to face with a visibly upset Buffy. She hadn't even looked up after bumping into him. She kept her head down, apologising even as she moved to walk around him.
"You look kinda upset, Buffster. Dawn steal Mr. Gordo again?"
She kept her head down, shaking her head. Not even a giggle. The last time Dawn had 'borrowed' Mr. Gordo, he had been glared at for even mentioning the subject. If she couldn't even raise her head to glare, something was wrong.
He considered his options. If he couldn't get her to look at him, there was little chance of getting her to talk to him. Therefore, he would have to initiate eye contact. This would likely involve a long, drawn out argument and stubborness from himself and the Slayer. She did so very much enjoy keeping all her problems to herself, after all.
There was another option. One he was almost afraid to take. He could put his hand under her chin and lift her head up. He hadn't done anything more to his girls than the occasional touch of the shoulder unless they initiated it.
Not since the Hyena incident. He shuddered to think of it. It was probably his biggest mistake. He had been afraid to touch either of his girls since.
That had been a different Xander, he reminded himself. A buffoon with no confidence, who used humour to deflect attention away from his real self by focusing it on inappropriate and barely funny comments.
This Xander, who was similar but different, knew the difference between a little physical contact and attempted rape. So before he could convince himself not to, he reached out and gently tipped Buffy's face up toward him.
Tear lines streaked her face, her eyes were red and puffy, her expression anguished beyond words.
'When I find who made her cry I will begin a long and painful process of feeding them their own entrails.'
"What happened?"
"Oh, Xan, it was horrible. An old friend from Hemery popped up today. He knew all about me, the Slayer gig, everything. A..And he.. he had been t-turned. I had to kill him."
"It sounds alright from where I'm standing."
"No, that's not all. I was dealing okay, suppressing it all as usual."
She gave a hesitant smile there, which reminded him just why Xander Harris had fallen in love with Buffy Summers the first time they had spoken. Such strength, but so fragile. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, but Xander thought they were far more beautiful than his own, or Seph's.
"I realised, the only time I ever touch something is to kill it. I never hug, never hold hands. I can't bear the thought of touching Mom or Dawn in case I stain them with the blood on my hands."
Then she looked bewildered. She obviously hadn't expected that to come out.
"You know, if you want, you can hug me Buff. Compared to the guy I share my head with, you got really clean hands."
He gently pulled her into a hug, deliberately leaving it loose and gentle. She could break out of it without effort if she chose to.
He was very glad when she threw her arms around him and squeezed hard enough to hurt his ribs. He returned the fierce embrace in kind.
'This feels so nice. I haven't been hugged in...ever. No, not quite. I think Wills hugged me once. Maybe.'
Buffy was crying against his chest. Now, perhaps, she understood a little better why he had always hated Vampires. He ran a hand through her hair, stroking the small of her back as she released all the pent up tension and guilt.
He noted in passing that her hair felt really soft and silky, before her scent invaded his noses, turning him silent. His thought processes shut down, but for one repeating thought;
'Mmmm. Vanilla.'
His brain slowly returned to normal as Buffy stopped crying and drew back slightly.
"Xan?"
"unngahh?"
She smiled at him.
"Xander?"
"mm-hmm?"
She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, snapping him back into focus.
"Yes, Buff?"
"How did it feel when you had to stake Jessie?"
"It felt like I had just betrayed one of the only friends I ever had."
"How did you deal with it?"
His expression darkened and he looked away from her for a moment.
"I drank my parents under the table and woke up in the morning with the mother of all headaches."
She gasped in shock, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.
"Oh, Xan, I'm sorry. I had no idea."
"Why should you have? You hadn't been in town for more than two days. The Harris family have been denying Alcoholism for alomost two decades. It 'aint even a blip on the Sunnydale Radar o' Denial."
"Do you still drink?"
"Do I hell! I don't need a crutch like that! I deal with my problems myself. Have done since that freak Zoo keeper and his Body Snatcher dogs."
She smiled wryly at that one.
"Sounds kinda familiar, Xan."
"Well, I learned how to deal with isolation early on."
They realised that they were still holding each other. They both stepped back at the same time, embarrased.
Then Buffy's brain caught up with the end of the conversation.
"You mean you remember the Hyena thing?"
"Oh, Yeah. Course I do. A boy's first non-consensual sexual encounter is something he never forgets."
"You never told me!"
He turned his back on her, shaking in disbelief.
"Are you stupid, Summers? I wanted to forget it had ever happened. Rape. Just thinking the word makes me physically sick. Even my Dad never sank that low. Why would I possibly not want to remember that?"
"If you had come to me with this, I would have told you that I didn't blame you for any of it."
"That changes nothing. I still blame me for it."
"You shouldn't. There was no way you could have resisted the Hyena. It was old and very powerful."
"Whatever. Can we just drop the subject please?"
She stalked forward, grabbing him by the arm and spinning him round to face her.
"No, we don't stop till you admit that what happened was not your fault."
"It was my body. Whether it was a Hyena or Drink or a woman wearing trashy clothing, there is no justification for rape, Buffy."
"Stop giving me that crap. I could have gotten you off me at any time. I recall doing so when I wanted to stop."
"Then you should have Damn well done so earlier. If I was gonna kiss you it should have been with me in the drivers seat."
"Then why don't you stop talking and put your lips to better use?"
"Don't be insane. We dont jump from discussing rape to kissing. That's crazy Slayer logic."
"But you already admitted you weren't in the drivers seat. The Hyena was simply following the drive to mate. It was an animal. Throwing Morality into it is like accusing a lion of murder whan it kills an antelope for food."
Xander tried to come up with an argument for that one. He couldn't. Buffy had argued him into a corner. The exile from LA saw the look on his face and knew she had won.
'Time to drive in the stake.'
"Now, I've been kissed by Hyena boy and I've been kissed by Xander. I know which one I prefer."
He smiled. Just a small one. It was best not to jump blindly into a loaded statement like that.
"I started last time, Buffy. If you want to kiss me, you can begin."
He waited, while Buffy debated with herself.
Then the bell rang, and they both realised they were standing on the steps of Sunnydale High, without even having been to their Lockers. They shared a look that spoke volumes, mainly comprised of 'Oh Shit!'
Then they ran off to collect their books and try to get to class.
Sephiroth walked casually across Sunnydale. He had decided it was time that he met this Mayor face to face. There were things they needed to discuss.
Mr Wilkins the Third had better have satisfactory answers to Sephiroth's questions, or the meddlesome magician would eat six feet of steel.
Anastasia had sat down to watch Xander's collectio of 'Peanuts' videos. Sephiroth planned on being finished with his business and back to his apartment in time to take her out for lunch. He suspected that this little rendezvous with the Mayor would be resolved in a quick and painful manner for almost everyone concerned.
'I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down.'
He had read that line somewhere. Or Xander had. The boy's sense of humour was rubbing off on Sephiroth. It both annoyed and pleased him. Xander had likewise become more serious, as well as gaining confidence. He joked only when he truly found something funny now. That was probably the mosyt obvious change to everybody else.
'Except for the Mako Eyes.'
His sense of humour inerjected with a voice that bore more than a passing similarity to Xander. Except for the fact that it was obviously an internal dialogue, which felt different from the mental communication the two SOLDIERs' occasionally shared.
He arrived at the Town Hall, pausing to study the Architecture.
'Such a nice building. It would be such a shame to have to burn it down.'
His laughter echoed down the quiet streets even after he had stepped inside.
Xander was sitting in class. He was sitting there, but his mind was standing on the steps of the High school.
He could still feel Buffy's body pressed up against him. Muscle memory or something, he supposed. She had been so warm, though.
'Guess that's a Slayer thing. Increased metabolism or some such thing.'
Perhaps it was wishful thinking, this memory of Buffy pressed up against him. She was currently in history, while he was in English Literature. Kendra was probably in Math. Wills was sitting in a seat beside him, same as she had done since they were in Kindergarten.
In the old days he would surreptitously snuck a glance at the answers she was writing. Willow knew this, and had developed the habit of writing with the paper slanted toward Xander. Her head was down on the table as her pencil scratched quickly and repetetively. She had this look of concentration on her face that took him back a decade.
He no longer had to look at Will's work in order to get the answers. Sephiroth had made him do his homework, spouting stuff about a true warrior having brains to go with brawn.
Xander minded not at all, if he was honest. After years of neglect, someone actually giving a flying fuck about him felt pretty damn nice. It was the neglect which had hurt more for xander. His parents didn't think he was important enough to give a rat's ass about.
Abuse and physical pain is easy enough to live with, if you start young enough and learn fast enough. Its like there is this switch in your brain that you can just flick, then click no more pain. Came in useful fighting things far faster and stronger than they had any right to be.
Not to mention fighting Sephiroth. When he was pulling off moves that made gravity stiop and scratch it's head in confusion, the ability not to feel pain was the only thing Xander had going for him.
The only advantage that he had over Sephiroth, given that they were essentially equal in most other aspects, was the ability to keep going despite the fact that any other person would have knelt down and started kissing shoeleather. Or else they would have keled over and died.
'Came in pretty damn handy fighting Cloud, too. The look on his face when I got up after taking a beating that would have put a Slayer in a Coma was hillarious.'
He stiffened for a moment as he felt a flash of dark amusement coming over the link from Sephiroth.
'Obviously the big guy is enjoying himself. Wonder what he's up to?'
Sephiroth had walked into the Sunnydale Town Hall as if he owned the place. Most of the staff had made themselves scarce on orders from the Mayor. Sephiroth was unaware of this, though he suspected that the Mayor would be able to sense his presence, especially if he was as good as Cloud had implied.
'Relying on intelligence from Cloud Strife. How the mighty have fallen.'
He floated up to the top of the building, phasing through the ceilings in order to save time.
'Elevators are simply so unreliable'
He felt a stab of dark amusement there. It only intensified when he came across the doors to the Mayoral office. Two Vampires stood guard, waiting.
"We'll get some major respect if we kill you, big guy. So Why doncha come quietly."
Sephiroth brought his hands to his face in a paroxysm of mock terror.
"Wow. Now I truly see the error of my ways. How foolish of me to have resisted the overwhelming power of two pathetic neophyte Vampires. Woe is me."
Then he raised his hands, forgoing Masamune in favour of his fists. He would make these fledglings beg for death.
"Don't speak. Just die."
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third sat in his plush leather chair and winced.
'I hope those two Vampires don't leave any blood lying around. Terribly unhygienic, after all.'
Sephiroth then calmly pushed the heavy oak doors open, stepping in with a grace and dignity that even the fourteen decade old warlock was jealous of.
"I have a question for you, Mr Mayor."
"Sephiroth, I presume? Wouldn't it have been less time consuming to telephone your enquiry?"
"Well, if I were at the other end of the telephone, I couldn't very well massacre you if your answer displeases me, could I?"
"Dismemberment is so much more satisfying in person, Mr. Sephiroth. Take it from someone who knows."
Sephiroth just smirked. Wilkins had so little idea who he was dealing with.
"Of course, I really am talking to the past master, given what you did to that Midgar Zolom. As for the timing with Ms. Gainsborough? Such an impressive piece of work."
Sephiroth's face closed down. His smirk was wiped off his face. His eyes fixed upon Wilkins, blazing with shock and anger.
"How do you know any of that? Did you question Cloud for information?"
"Oh, no. Nothing so crude. I have an associate who is something of a technophile. He came up with some rather interesting results whilst researching Sephiroth."
Wilkins switched on the Television he had sitting beside him, and Sephiroth was gobsmacked by what he saw.
"Midgar?"
It was Midgar, indeed. Though not quite as Sephiroth remembered it. the Planet's energy was being absorbed by the 8 Mako Reactors that encircled the technological city. The plate system was plain to see.
"Yes, it turns out that Ethan Rayne used a character from a well known game named 'Final Fantasy 7' in his Halloween hijinks. Your litle friend Cloud is the protagonist of this little journey. I'm having a lot of fun playing it. That little stunt you pulled in Nibelheim was pretty impressive."
"Is that the rendition Cloud provided in Kalm?"
"Why Yes. Tifa's line of questioning was decidedly odd, though."
"Of course it was. After all, Cloud was never known for mental stability."
Sephiroth had gotten over his shock, as his mind now raced to turn his new knowledge into a viable strategy.
"That sword of yours is rather large. How do you wield it so well?"
"Practice. As well as drinking plenty of milk."
"Oh of course. Calcium is so important for healthy teeth and bones."
Sephiroth summoned Masamune and swung it several times, replaying the psychological tactic he had used in the Temple of the Ancients.
Then he lunged forward, blade poised to stab Wilkins right in the heart.
Masamune passed right through Wilkins, embedding itself in the comfortable leather chair he had been sitting on.
"Oh, come now Mr. Sephiroth. Violence never solved anything. That chair was almost as old as I am. They just don't make them that well anymore. Have you any idea how much that will cost to repair?"
"Oh, I do apologise. Send me the bill once the work has been done."
"The cheques in the mail, baby!"
Sephiroth turned to leave, walking over to the door.
"Oh, there is just one more thing. How did you manage to become incorporeal between switching on the television and being stabbed?"
"Hey, it's a kind of Magic."
Sephiroth smirked again.
"I was hoping you might say that. So is this."
Sephiroth began to gather the energy to cast a spell with. Green energy whirled outward from him as he closed his eyes, concentrating. Stacks of paper in the Mayor's office were blown over, scattering.
Sephiroth finished the casting, opening his eyes and thrusting his hands out toward the Mayor.
A red sphere of energy quickly expanded, burning up the office. The miniature sun burned the walls, the floor and the ceiling to a dark black, failing to set anything alight due to the fact that everyhthing burned to ashes in the heat.
The Mayor and Sephiroth locked eyes through the heat-haze. The former computer game character smirked as he noticed that the Mayor was still incorpoeal, before fading to white and teleporting outof the office before the 'Flare' magic consumed him.
Wilkins smply watched as the spell ran it's course. He had seen and felt a little of Sephiroth's true power here today. Ther was no-one currently on the Hellmouth who could match him. Those who could, such as Glorificus, were not the sort of people Wilkins wanted to sully his fair town.
'If I can stay alive till the time comes to ascend, then We'll see who gets more bang for his buck. Me, or Sephiroth.'
Sephiroth appeared back at the apartment on Ragpicker's Lane. He grabed his wallet from his bedside table before going back out to get hold of a 'Playstation' and Final Fantasy 7. His pride demanded it.
Xander was amaxed to find Seph sitting in front of the T.V. when he arrived home from school that evening. Sephiroth's voice floated out from the living room.
"Damn them. They couldn't even get Gainsborough's legs right. I should sue. I have rights. They can't just depict me as an insane..."
He paused to consider his next statement, before shaking his head ruefully.
"Wait, I was insane. Oh well. Can't win them all, Seph old boy."
Xander clicked on his LP player and set out his homework, to the soundtrack of The Cream.
Sephiroth merely continued to play, already addicted to the Squaresoft game.
"Yeah, I really got down with my bad self. Take two of those and call me in the morning, Midgar Zolom."
"Seph, whatcha doin'?"
"I had a chat with the Mayor. He informed me where Ethan derived the idea for my costume. I am currently playing it."
"Do we get to play as you?"
"I'm the Big Bad. You get to play as the magnificent puppet."
"Damn, that sucks!"
"Preaching to the choir, little bro'."
Xander stopped writing in shock at that statement. Sephiroth stopped tapping the buttons.
"Little Brother?"
"Well, yeah. If you want."
"I'm cool with that."
"Nice."
"Alright."
"Good."
"Absolutely."
Then they resumed their activities, as Clapton regaled them with Tales of Brave Ulysses.
Their outside calm was belied by the intense joy and contentment that was being unknowingly broadcast by both of them.
That, and they both had really goofy grins on their faces.
The adolescent Scooby gang were all sitting round the Bronze. Even Kendra, who had been reluctant to come to the club. She was currently attempting to squeeze herself further into the corner of the sofa she was sitting in.
Xander was receiving appreciative looks from mast of the female clientele of the club, while the males all glared at him.
The youngest Sephiroth clone was totally oblivious to all this. He was attempting to enjoy himself with his friends, but it was proving difficult to get into the party mood. The music was making his ears ring more than usual; the smoky atmosphere was getting up his nose, in the most literal way.
Buffy and Kendra were likewise uncomfortable, though Kendra's discomfort was more obvious. Slayer senses were not created with nightclubs in mind. They were, if anything, more uncomfortable than Xander, given that they also had to contend with the Slayer desire to hunt.
It was little surprise then that when Xander suggested patrol both girls nodded enthusiastically and almost leapt from their seats. On the way out, Xander placed a hand on Oz's shoulder and bent over, whispering in the Werewolf's ear.
"Show Willow a good time. If you hurt her, I will kill you. More than once."
Oz nodded an affirmative.
Xander was satisfied that the older boy was in earnest, and turned to leave.
As he and his female companions reached the outside, they breathed a sigh of relief upon feeling cold night air against skin.
"You guys wanna swing by my place and pick up some Slaying gear? I hafta fetch Apocalypse anyway..."
"Yeah, Ok, Xan. I only have a stake with me."
Kendra smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. The three teens then started walking in the direction of Xander's apartment.
They had gotten only halfway when a group of Demons barred further progress. The Demons were completely unfamiliar to the two Slayers, or the SOLDIER. That meant trouble. Different Demon species have different abilities, as well as surprisingly varied methods of dying. The lead Demon stepped forward and spoke.
"Are you Xander Harris?"
"Yeah, that's me. Who wants to know?"
"I am Kellog. I have been hired to kill you."
"Well, that's nice. Who do you work for? Snap, Crackle and Pop? Coco the Monkey?"
"My race was around long before your puny human breakfast cereals. The last human to mock me begged for his life like the worm he was. Your death is to send a message to Sephiroth."
"Well, I shouldn't be surprised to find that I 'aint considered important enough to kill on my own merits. Will you allow my girls to leave?"
"They are not in the contract. Only you matter."
"Girls, go back to my place and fetch the Slaying gear. Then go and begin the patrol. I'll catch up once I finish the Wild Bunch here."
Both Slayers looked ready to argue, but Xander leapt forward and struck the first Demon with a right hook, cutting off ny argument they could have made.
"If I need him, Seph can be here in seconds."
He spoke while twisting his body around the skewer of a Polgara Demon who had attempted to stab him. He reached down and grabbed the Bone Spike, breaking it off and stabbing it's owner through the sternum and into the heart, killing his opponent instantly.
Giles, if he had been here to witness it, would have sputtered in indignation at this. Polgara Demons are well known for their bone armour, which can only be circumvented from the sides. Xander's strength allowed him to shatter the bone as though it was ceramic pottery.
The Slayers', seeing he was in little danger for the minute, decided to grab some weaponry from his apartment and return equipped for battle. They ran off at full speed.
Xander turned to make sure they were leaving and left himself open to a haymaker from the lead Demon. His head snapped round and he was knocked right out of his fighting stance, but it did not kill him, as it should have. A normal human would have been knocked to the ground with a broken neck.
Xander was still standing, was in fact slowly turning back round to the Mohra Demon who had struck him. He levelled a glare at the beast, waiting for the penny to drop and the Demons' to realise he was no run-of-the-mill human. When they all stepped back and looked at each other in shock, he knew that he had won the psychological battle.
"Gentlemen, the first one is free. The rest you have to pay for. In blood."
Then he moved. The first Demon received a punch to the area that Xander assumed was its stomach. He followed this strike up with a front kick, before snapping into a roundhouse to the Demon trying to assault him from behind.
Xander's trenchcoat flared outward in his sudden movements, whipping around in an audible manner. The next Demon was kicked between the legs, as it doubled over squealing in pain Xander used it's back as a springboard and leapt over the Demons' surrounding him.
Then he started to gather energy for a spell; having already decided on 'Thundara' aimed at all enemies. As the Demon's turned round and stampeded toward him, he split his concentration between casting and phasing. As the first Demon attempted to knock Xander to the ground in a clumsy bodycheck, it travelled right through the boy.
Then the Spell went off and the Demons' screamed in pain as they were burned by Lightning from the sky.
One of the Demons fell to the ground and began dissolving into a puddle of green slime. Only the Mohra Demon, a Chaos Demon and another Polgara Demon remained.
'I have got to remember to equip Materia before I go out at night. These guys are a pain in the ass that could be solved easily with Firaga.'
Xander waited for the next Demon to come at him. He was reluctant to touch the Chaos Demon, so when the remaining Polgara Demon charged, Xander grabbed him by the arm and swung him, building up momentum like an Olympic Hammer-thrower.
When he released the Demon from his swing, his former captive flew into the Chaos Demon and there was a sickening 'crack' as they collided. Then Xander incinerated them both with 'Fira'; watching in rapt attention as the column of flame incinerated his fallen enemies.
The Mohra Demon had already healed from its wounds. It had been studying Xander as he fought, trying to discern attack patterns or weaknesses that could be exploited. Neither were evident. Ordinarily, the Mohra Demon would be assured victory, given the impossibly fast healing that race exhibited, as well as being faster and stronger than a normal human.
Xander Harris had stopped being a normal human some time before this battle took place.
Xander watched his enemy, trying to discern why it hadn't attacked yet.
'It's probably attempting to form a set of tactics for this fight.'
"Hey, Didn't Sephiroth kill one of your kind a few days back? In Siberia?"
The Demon nodded.
"OK lets see if I can beat his record."
Xander made the first move, feinting a strike with his knee, which was turned into a spinning blow with his elbow. The Mohra retaliated with a punch to the stomach, followed by a double-handed strike to the neck.
Xander went down hard, striking painfully against the concrete. This Demon knew a thing or two about fighting that was for sure. Instead of waiting to see what the Demon would do next, Xander surged forward, ramming his shoulders into the legs of the Mohra. Then he rose, uppercutting the Demon in the face.
As the Demon reeled from that strike, Xander spun ad kicked it in the face, causing it to spin and fall to the ground.
Then he leapt into the air and brought both feet down onto the red jewel in the forehead of the Mohra Demon. The Demon cried out in pain, but the crystal failed to shatter. The Demon raised an arm and struck Xander between the legs.
The SOLDIER crumpled to the ground, cupping his genitals in his hands and moaning in pain.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
The entire town heard that scream, though everyone was sensible enough not to go out looking for what made it.
In the apartment on Ragpicker's Lane, Buffy and Kendra arrived and grabbed the weaponry from the training room, each grabbing several stakes, an axe and a sword. Then they turned and headed outside again. They stopped as Sephiroth yelped in pain and sank to the floor; eyes closed and mouth open, not producing any sound.
When he opened his eyes, both girls took a step backwards at the anger that was radiating from his gaze. Sephiroth was almost homicidal with rage. Anna was at his side, but he stood without answering her questions and summoned Masamune, before fading to white and disappearing from the room completely.
Buffy turned and looked at Kendra, before both girls turned and looked at Anastasia. Then Buffy broke the silence.
"We have got to learn how to do that."
It was over in seconds. The Mohra Demon lay in rapidly dissolving pieces after Sephiroth dismembered it.
Xander, who had been rolling around in agony on the floor, was right as rain after a 'cure' spell took care of his injuries.
Both men walked back to the apartment slowly, not relishing the prospect of three powerful and very worried females who would likely demand an explanation for the happenings this evening.
Sephiroth and Xander looked at each other as they walked back, thoughts and emotions flowing freely from one mind to the other.
'Are you alright?'
'I'm fine'
'Very well then. Tomorrow we shall step up your hand to hand combat training. That was a fine battle, until that last Mohra demon. We will also have a long talk about preparation for battle.'
Xander slapped his hand against his forehead.
"Oh, brother!"
Sephiroth cuffed him across the back of the head playfully.
"Don't you forget it."
Sephiroth lay in bed, with Anna curled into his side. He was wide- awake, trying to decide what course of action to take. His enemies had discovered tat he was involved with Xander to some degree. The only person who had the power and resources to hire a band of Mercenary Demons was Richard Wilkins.
Sephiroth had underestimated the ingenuity of the Warlock. All the odd happenings regarding Xander's parents, the Bank, the Apartment sale made sense when you knew who had been pulling the strings.
Sephiroth had been manipulated, which was the one thing he had promised himself would never happen again. Death was too good for Wilkins. He would have to be tortured first. Perhaps some psychological warfare was in order. Yes, destroying Wilkins piece by piece, then destroying him.
"What I did to Strife will look like child's play when I have finished with Richard Wilkins. He will beg for death before the end."
He felt Anna shift beneath him, so he looked down. She was staring up at him, silently questioning him with a raised eyebrow. He smiled awkwardly, gave a sheepish laugh, then shrugged. Anastasia smiled back amused at his embarrassment.
"I have something I feel I should tell you, darling."
He felt a strange tingle run down his spine when she called him that. It felt so nice to be referred to like that. No hero-worship, just an honest statement of what she felt. He was her Darling. Sephiroth smiled, his eyes glittering with happiness.
"Speak then. Whatever it is, I can handle."
"I am not a Wicca. I do not subscribe to any form of witchcraft. No- one ever knew how my power came about, or where I draw energy from, so the Council were informed that I was a Wicca in order to avoid any… complications."
"What was the admission you wanted to make?"
"That was it!"
"Oh, there was no need to tell me about that. I have felt the power that these Wicca possess. There are none in existence that could manipulate energy to the degree you are capable of. In addition, I have never seen you hug a tree or burn foul smelling weeds. Do you think a Wiccan would have been able to create a portal capable of transporting Cloud home?"
Anna was dumfounded, so she merely shook her head.
"Now, if that is all we have to discuss, I must get to the training room and prepare. Xander has been pushing my limits lately, so I will do things a little differently this morning."
He kissed her once, for just a moment before getting up and going to put on some clothes. Anna couldn't help but stare as he padded across the carpet, leaving nothing to the imagination.
"Go back to sleep and stop staring at my backside, Anna."
Soft giggling followed him as he went about his business.
Xander walked into the training room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The girls had demanded to be told what had happened, so he and Seph had been obligated to tell them, going into great detail. The Slayers had been most annoyed at being sent away, but he was more concerned that they stay alive. One-on-one fighting with Demons that were good enough to work as mercenaries would not have been conducive to the longevity of either young woman.
Seph was sitting there on the floor; Masamune cradled across his legs. Xander walked up to the usual starting point, picking Apocalypse up from its customary stand and spinning it one n his hand, getting ready for today's battle.
Sephiroth stood, Masamune flowing up into its usual place at his shoulder. Xander struck first, leaping forward with a spinning splash, which Seph lazily deflected. Xander attempted to follow up with a front kick, which Sephiroth blocked by raising one knee. Xander pressed forward again with a stab, so Sephiroth dodged round the blade.
Sephiroth took the opportunity to strike at Xander, his blade curving up and around in a lethal arc. Xander danced backwards, his clothing being shredded by the strike. A thin line of blood welled up seconds later, which Xander ignored. He used the fact that Sephiroth was open after the attack to get in a strike of his own.
Sephiroth stepped backwards, his hand going to his chest in shock. Xander had actually succeeded in making him bleed! Masamune hung limply at his right side, his green Mako Eyes glaring out from beneath a silver veil of hair. He hissed in pain, the depth of the cut surprising him.
"You have progressed rapidly. As it stands now, even Cloud would fall against you. Perhaps you are ready for a new type of lesson."
Sephiroth straightened up, placing Masamune at his left-hand side, clicking it into the clasp that held it. His right hand closed around the hilt, prepared to draw and strike at any moment.
Xander looked confused for a moment, until Seph dashed forward and slashed at him. He brought Apocalypse up in a block with his right hand, bracing the right arm with his left. It did little good, as the strength behind Sephiroth's blow knocked him off balance and sent him backwards several steps. Seph followed up with a roundhouse kick that struck Xander square in the chest, lifting him from the ground and thrusting him backwards, until he struck the wall.
Then Xander groaned and slumped to the floor. Sephiroth approached carefully, stopping just within Masamune's range, in order to strike when Xander rose. He counted down in his head, waiting for the boy to regain consciousness.
Xander snapped back into consciousness earlier than expected. He was so angry with his clumsy defence that he was barely even thinking. That was the only reason he was capable of performing his next action. He looked up into Sephiroth's eyes, smirked wickedly, then he teleported behind Sephiroth with a flourish of white feathers, before reappearing behind Seph and slashing across his back. Sephiroth was too shocked to defend himself.
'I haven't even taught him normal teleportation yet. How did he perform the combat version?'
Xander felt his brother's shock.
"We share the same mind, remember? I simply pulled that one out of your bag of tricks. Wanna see another one?"
Xander held apocalypse in front of him and gathered energy, before releasing it in a superheated flame
"Flame Pillar!"
Sephiroth stood there, as the boy used another of his abilities.
'Why? Why would he use a fire attack? We are both immune to fire, so WHY?'
He had no more time to think, as he was repeatedly stabbed and slashed by Xander. Sephiroth fell to the floor, his clothing being held together by little more than blood. He gasped in pain, breathing slowly, reigning in his rebellious body, and commanding it to get up and fight.
"It was a diversion. Clever little bastard. You used flame pillar to hide the fact you were teleporting."
Xander nodded in response to Seph's sibilant hiss. Sephiroth cast curaga on himself before standing up. It was time to show the boy the full extent of his power. He drew the hidden power from deep within himself, fuelling it with his Jenova cells, waiting for the reaction to begin.
The air around Sephiroth seemed to glow a dark blue as he stood, causing Xander to step back in shock.
'What the hell is this? What is Seph doing?'
In the blink of an eye, Seph was aflame, glowing with blue light. Xander knew his opponent was about to move, so he brought his sword around to guard. Then he doubled over as Sephiroth appeared in front of him, knee already lodged in Xander's midriff. As Xander bent, Seph smashed his fist into the boy's neck, before backhanding him into the air.
As Xander flew up, Sephiroth grabbed him by the ankle before smashing him repeatedly into the floor. Seph was preparing to strike again when Xander went limp. Seph slowed his breathing and allowed his enhanced power to fade away slowly. Then he waited for Xander to come around.
Across town, Jenny Calendar fainted, a trickle of blood running down her lip. At the same time, Anastasia Novikova was woken from her slumber by an enormous power. Several of the most sensitive of Sunnydale's Demon populace howled in pain, while Richard Wilkins came to the realisation that he had angered a very powerful person.
Worse, he had attacked Xander Harris in the hopes of dissuading Sephiroth from further interference. The pieces of Demon that had been found, indicated that Harris had been underestimated. It was a very complicated situation. Richard Wilkins was no idiot, having been around the block a time or two in the course of a century and a half.
"If you can't overpower an opponent, you have to outthink them."
Xander rose to a crouch, his head spinning. Once the room had stopped blurring in and out of focus, he attempted to stand, only to fall down on his butt. He held his head and closed his eyes, concentrating on not blacking out again.
"Oww! Did anyone catch the number of that truck?"
There was a snort of amusement somewhere to his left. His eyes snapped open and fell upon Sephiroth.
"You A-hole! You've been holding out on me!"
Seph merely shrugged unapologetically.
"You were unprepared for my full power, little brother. If I had not held back at the beginning, you would have learned nothing from our fights. At least feel proud that you have forced me to use the full extent of my power far quicker than I had anticipated."
Xander nodded, lost in thought.
"The there is the fact that you extracted the knowledge of short- range teleportation from my mind. Most impressive."
Xander blushed and ducked his head.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to do it. It just kinda happened when you pushed me too far."
"Well, as punishment, or as a reward, whichever you prefer, we will now work on long-range teleportation."
Xander groaned. He was in for a long day.
Sephiroth smiled wickedly.
"A very long day, little brother."
Sephiroth waited, trying to estimate when Xander would return. If his timing was right, Xander should be reappearing right about… *flash*.
'There he is. Quite impressive for a first-timer. Long-range teleportation is a difficult skill.'
Xander was kneeling on the floor, panting for air. He was absolutely exhausted. Sephiroth was a harsh teacher at the best of times. Today he had been without mercy. The former General had drilled Xander on the theory and applications of long-range teleportation, before going through the practical steps.
When Xander had asked why he couldn't just pull the knowledge from his teacher's memory, Sephiroth had replied that it was cheating. Then he had laughed at the look on Xander's face. His real reasons had been more serious.
"If you don't understand the skill, you will be unable to use it to it's full potential. When you know all that an ability can do, the different applications of that skill are readily visible."
Xander shook his head, finally ready to try and stand up. He succeeded, albeit rather shakily.
'Damn, that was tiring.'
"Are you ready to call it a day?"
"I'll call it whatever the hell you want, if I can just get out of this room."
"Very well, we're finished here. I'm going to get some breakfast, interested?"
"Food is something that always interests me."
"There is something I wish to discuss with you. This is as good opportunity as any."
The two brothers sat in the kitchen, finishing off their discussion over coffee.
"You agree, Xander?"
"Yeah. It's absolutely necessary that we do something about this. What you want to avoid, has already happened once."
"Really?"
"Yeah, Darla did it."
"Ahh. Buffy won't like it."
"Buffy's feelings are, for once, not anything I give a shit about."
"Most unlike you."
"You wanna rethink that, Seph?"
"Hmm. Yes, what was I thinking? Entirely in keeping with your character."
"Then I'll do it as soon as possible. Today."
They nodded once, drained their coffee cups and cleared away the breakfast dishes. It was a Saturday, so there was no school. Xander was going to go over to the Summers' house and see if Buffy wanted to hang out.
Maybe Wills would be interested in doing so, so he decided to swing by the Rosenberg house and have a look. Teleporting was out of the question, as he was still running on empty, as far as Magical energy was concerned.
First, the issue of personal hygiene had to be dealt with. Xan headed for the shower, passing a fresh-out-of bed Anastasia on the way.
"Mornin' sis."
"Good morning Xan."
Then he disappeared into his room, shed his bloody clothing and went to clean up.
45 minutes later, a clean and dressed Xander Harris was walking up the street to Willow's house. He was unarmed, expecting no more trouble after having single-handedly decimated a squad of Demon mercenaries.
The Rosenberg house was very quiet, with no response to his knocking. Xadner shrugged and walked away. If Willow's parents had chosen to spend some time with her, for once, he wouldn't begrudge her.
'Next stop, 1630 Revello Drive.'
The door opened mere seconds after Xander knocked on it. Buffy stood at the door, stepping aside to let him in, before closing the door behind him.
"Hey Xan."
"Hiya Buffster. What's the what?"
"A big fat zero. Nothing happening. Mom took Dawn out to the Grocery store, so I'm here all on my lonesome."
"Fear not, the Xan-man has come to rescue you from your peril, fair maiden."
"Oh? Do tell, kind sir."
"I figured we could go hang somewhere, maybe watch some movies. I've got a pretty nice TV over at the flat. Ken might be interested too. How 'bout it?"
"Sounds good. I'll leave a note for Mom."
The two Slayers and Xander spent an enjoyable afternoon introducing Kendra to the delights of modern cinema. Star Wars was first on the list, other celluloid classics following therafter.
Xander's sunconscious was working over the problem he and Seph had discussed, even as he entertained his favourite warrior-women.
'Just how should I broach the subject with Buffy? Is there any way to do it without a knock-down, drag-out fight?'
Though he tried to find a way to bring up the subject tactfully, he was completely unable to do so. He was just going to have to do it the old fashioned way. Seph would be on standby if needed. He concentrated on sending a message for a few seconds.
'Seph, I may need a little back-up if things turn violent.'
That done, he nudged Buffy to get her attention.
"Buff, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure. Anything urgent?"
"Kinda. I'm not sure you'll like what I'm gonna say, so can we leave Ken here to watch her movie?"
Buffy looked a little confused, which slowly changed into an anxious expression.
"Yeah. Sure, I guess so."
Xander got up and lead them to the training room, before shutting the door. He walked into the middle of the room. Buffy followed, wondering what on earth this was all about.
"I wanted to discuss with you a very important matter regarding Joyce and Dawn."
"Mom and Dawnie? What about them?"
"I'd like to discuss with you, the possibility of revealing the existence of Vampires to them."
"WHAT? No way, no how! That is not going to happen!"
"Would you explain to me why?"
"I don't want them to get involved. If they know about Vampires, they're involved."
"Actually, I'd say that keeping it from them has done more harm than telling them would. They don't know the signs to watch out for, or the invitation rule. How did Darla get into your house? How did Deadboy?"
"Darla pretended to be a friend of mine, or something. I invited Angel in, the same night I found out he was a Vamp."
"Even you aren't immune to being deceived, despite knowing what you do. How much more at risk is Joyce?"
"She's not at risk! I'm the Slayer, I can protect her."
"Not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. For that you'd need the entire Scooby Gang, as well as Seph and Anna to move into your house. Joyce deserves to know the truth and the opportunity to devise a method of protection that suits her. What about Dawn? You know some Vamps like young, tender meals. She's at risk as well."
"I'm not going to tell them about Vamps. That's my final word on the matter."
"Fine. So be it. You wont tell Joyce, that's fine. I'll simply have to step in and do it myself."
Buffy stepped back as if slapped. The look of hurt and shck on her face made Xander feel like an absolute bastard, for all of a second. Then he switched off his emotions. What he was doing was unavoidable, if he wanted to keep Joyce and Dawn safe.
"I won't allow that Xander. I'll do whatever I have to so Mom and Dawn are safe, but I will not allow them to know what lurks in Sunnydale after dark."
"I don't doubt that you would protect them to the best of your ability. That was never in question. What I'm saying is that Joyce and Dawn will be even safer if they know the truth. A normal human can take down a Vamp if they know their weaknesses. It's called strategy. Exploit your opponent's weak points in order to gain victory, even if you are weaker than they are."
Buffy shook her head, unwilling to listen to this anymore. She started to walk to the door, intent on leaving.
"If you walk out I'm going to teleport to Revello Drive and tell them before you take 5 steps."
The Slayer turned, her enraged green eyes burning into Xander's glowing brown Mako Eyes.
"What part of 'they don't know and they will not find out' are you having trouble with, Xander?"
"I understand perfectly well. I'm simply not going to obey you."
"Don't do this Xander. They're the only normal thing I have left. I can't lose that as well."
Xander sighed and shook his head.
"This old chestnut. God, I'm so tired of that bullshit. The only way you will ever have a normal life, is when every single Demon and Vamp is dead. Or, if you quit being a Slayer. That didn't work too well last time."
Buffy smiled, as if something had just occurred to her.
"It's a moot point anyway. You can't teleport. I can just go home and tell mom that you've had a nervous breakdown and started babbling about Vampires. She'll never believe that they exist."
Xander narrowed his eyes, his displeasure at this course of action obvious. He disappeared from the center of the room in a shower of glowing white feathers. Buffy looked around in shock, wondering where he had disappeared to.
'He can teleport. Wow, that's pretty cool! Now where is he?'
She closed her eyes and listened, trying to feel if there was any other presence in the room. Her Slayer sense tingled and she looked upward, only to be greeted by the sight of more feathers. Then she felt a warm form press up against her back. Xander was standing behind her, facing away from her.
"Now do you still think I can't teleport, Buff?"
"Okay, maybe I was a little hasty. That was pretty cool, Xan. I still won't let you tell Mom and Dawn, though."
"If you want to silence me, you'll have to use your fists to do it."
"Don't make me do this, Xander. Just forget about the idea."
"Not a chance in Hell. I care too much about Dawn and Joyce to endanger them any longer."
Buffy became very angry then. She turned to face him, grabbed him by the arm and spun him then pulled him down to eye level.
"Are you saying I don't care about them? Just because I don't want them to know about Vamps? Just so I can make sure they can go to sleep at night without having nightmares?"
She slapped him, right across the face.
"You bastard! How dare you even think such a thing!"
"Are you pissed off enough to fight me yet, or do I need to make remarks about your weight, as well?"
"You bet I'm pissed, mister!"
"Then lets get down to brass tacks. Whoever wins the fight, wins the argument. Don't hold back. Seph can heal any injuries that are caused, after the fight."
Buffy took several steps backwards, settling into an easy stance. Her hands were clenched into fists, her feet shoulder width apart. Her right foot was pointed forward, while her left was pointed to the side.
Xander adopted a similar position, right hand extended in front of him, unclenched while his left was formed into a fist and held by his ribs. His feet were planted firmly and in the same position as Buffy's.
Buffy started the fight, coming forward to deliver a side kick aimed at Xander's midriff. Xander swept it aside using his right hand and punched with his left. Buffy was driven back by the force of the blow, barely even raising a defense.
'So fast…such strength. He's not playing around.'
She cut loose, using her speed and strength to it's fullest. She came in with a jab that Xander danced around, before striking at his knee with her left foot. Xander brought up his leg to deflect the blow, which Buffy had been prepared for. She struck his chest with a double palm strike, striking him with no resistance. Xander flew backwards, the Slayer's strength alone propelling him.
He struck the ground and used the momentum to rise in a backward roll.
'Good girl. That's more like it. This'll be fun.'
He ran forward, cocking his right fist back to deliver an earth shattering punch. Buffy side-stepped, knowing that meeting such a strike head on was likely to cause serious damage. As she prepared to turn Xander's attack back on him, he disappeared. White feathers marked the position he had occupied. Buffy was completely unprepared for the series of strikes that met her unprotected back.
Xander stepped backwards, waiting for Buffy to turn around. She did so, watching him warily for any signs of attack.
"I'm gonna use a new technique on ya, Buffster. It's called Pentastrike. Five successive strikes. It's new, and a little unpolished, so I apologise in advance if it doesn't hurt enough, okay?"
She smiled, waving a hand as if to say 'bring it on'.
"Sure, Xan. You can try it out. I'm always willing to try out new techniques. If it's really good, maybe I'll use it."
"That's probably not possible, unless you can do this."
Xander lifted off from the ground, floating mere inches from the ground.
"Although, Seph knows a spell called 'Float' that would allow you to do this too."
"Cool."
Buffy raised her hands and lowered her stance, preparing for the coming attack by taking a defensive stance.
Xander led with a low left kick, following it up with another. Buffy was driven back a step by each strike. Xander spun and struck with a mid level right kick. Then he spun and struck Buffy with a roundhouse kick. He brought his leg back up and smashed it down against Buffy in an impressive crescent kick. The Slayer lost her footing entirely due to the power behind the final strike, falling to the ground and skidding along it for a few metres.
Her arms were aching from blocking the first few strikes, her butt now throbbing as well. Buffy Summers was not happy. She kicked up, flipping back to her feet in a move that all martial artists and gymnasts are familiar with. Then she changed to a more aggressive stance.
Xander had taken the opportunity to return to terra firma, quite pleased at his new technique's effectiveness. If it could break through a Slayer's guard, there were few who would be able to stand against it. Perhaps if he added an energy discharge with the last strike…
He was brought back to earth with a bang as Buffy's dainty feet struck him. She started out low, kicking him in one thigh, before bringing her leading leg back and striking him in the stomach. As Xander reacted to her second kick, she changed her leading leg and spun, kicking him in the head. He was lifted from the floor and moved to the side by the last kick.
Xander struck the wall at an impressive speed, making a loud thud. It was, however, a weaker strike than Sephiroth had used against him in their earlier fight, so he remained conscious. His right arm had been caught between his body and the wall, so it was injured. He folded it behind his back and looped his fingers into his belt. Then he started to stand, intent on re-engaging with Buffy. The Slayer bit back her instinctive concern for Xander, reminding herself that Sephiroth was going to tend their injuries after the fight.
Xander walked forward towards Buffy, trying to come up with a technique or a strategy that would allow him to beat Buffy quickly and decisively. She was just too good to mess around with.
Buffy was rather surprised Xander was able to get up after she had put him into the wall. She had expected the fight to be over there and then. She moved forward, seeing that was thinking about something. She wanted to end this before he pulled some other weird ability out of his hat.
Xander came to a stop as Buffy approached, waiting for her to make the first move. It was at times like these that he missed Seph's presence in his head, pointing out flaws in his opponent's fighting style, while suggesting tactics and strategies. The young SOLDIER shook his head and focussed on the fight.
Buffy struck at him with a chop, which he narrowly avoided by pivoting out of the way. Then she shifted her weight and tried to strike at him with a boxing-style body blow. Xander stepped around it and smashed his elbow into her stomach, before spinning in a full circle and crashing his other elbow into the back of her head.
As she crashed to the ground, he kicked her back into the air. Then he struck her further into the air with an uppercut, before spinning and delivering another kick to the vulnerable Slayer. She flew across the room, striking the wall.
'Seems to be happening rather often today.'
He was getting ready to continue the fight as Buffy started trying to stand up. When she groaned and collapsed to the floor, he figured she was done. He slowly made his way over to her, just in case she was playing possum. When he reacherd her, he cast 'Cure' on her.
She looked up at him groggily, attempting to get up and continue the fight. He kicked her once in the ribs, (rather gently by the standards they had set earlier) causing her to simply sink back down to the ground. He cast 'Cure' again and lifted her to her feet, beginning the walk back to the sitting room, where they could die painfully in comfort.
Sephiroth watched in amusement as Xander and Buffy hobbled into the sitting room. Kendra sat in the opposite side of the room, engrossed in a lightsaber battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. As Buffy and Xander collapsed onto the sofa, Sephiroth lazily readied a 'Curaga' spell. He was in no hurry, as Xander had held back during the fight.
If the younger man had been serious, Buffy would have been dead in seconds.
Xander had refused to utilize magic, phasing or his most dangerous unarmed combat techniques. Similarly, he had kept his speed and strength equal to Buffy, when he could have gone far beyond her. Whilst the magic limitations were conscious on Xander's part, the limitation of power and speed were not. The boy seemed to have serious inhibitions about hurting his friends, even in serious combat with healing available.
The spell was ready by the time the formerly insane swordsman had finished his mental train of thought. He cast it on Xander and Buffy and smiled a little wider at their sighs of relief.
'I wonder how one goes about proving sanity? Is there some group one can join in order to receive a certificate or something?'
Anastasia was sitting in a similar state of fascination as Kendra, at the lightshow and sword attacks on the television. Sephiroth felt an irrational twinge of jealousy.
'Really, I could do far better with a sword of such length. Not bad for mere actors, however. Perhaps they hired a real swordsman to teach them the skills they needed.'
Buffy had sat and thought about how her life was going to change, now that her mother and sister were going to be told about Vampires. Strangely, she felt it might not be so bad. The worst that might happen was that Joyce would throw her out. If that happened,
Buffy had enough money sitting in a bank account to strike out on her own. An 'anonymous benefactor'(a poorly disguised Xander, the Scooby Gang were convinced.) had created bank accounts and delivered the various cards and access details to the individuals concerned.
So, the consequences of telling Joyce would not be too serious, as well as the fact that the benefits of increased safety for the other Summers women outweighed any and all disadvantages.
"Xan?"
Xander's eyes turned from the television to Buffy, his expression curious.
"Maybe you were right, about the telling mom thing."
He smiled, genuinely pleased at the Slayer's turn around.
"That's great, Buff. We'll do it tonight, maybe give a little practical demonstration. Have a Vamp bend a steel knife under duress or something, then stake him."
"Can you do that while keeping Mom and Dawn safe?"
"Absolutely. I know a thing or two about support magic like 'Protect' and 'Shell'. They'll be safer than Fort Knox, Buffster."
"If that's the case, then go ahead."
Jenny Calendar returned to consciousness slowly, as if emerging from hibernation. She looked around the room, wondering exactly what she was doing on the floor. It slowly came back to her. Flashes of blinding pain, the sensory tingle of magic and then unconsciousness.
Given that Sephiroth using magic in the past had given her headaches, one possible reason for her blacking out would be if Xander and Sephiroth were using magic at the same time. The headaches had been decreasing recently, though. Perhaps it was like exercising a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. Therefore, she would eventually be unaffected by enormous amounts of magical energy being used in close proximity to her.
As she went to get some paracetamol and a glass of water, she found herself eagerly looking forward to the day that she wouldn't collapse when Sephiroth used his powers.
Later that night, Xander stood in front of the Summers' house. He had a Vampire standing off to the side, frozen in time, incapable of movement, speech or anything. It would probably be needed as a demonstration.
'That Stop spell Seph taught me sure has its uses.'
Xander was not looking forward to the training session tomorrow. The match between himself and Buffy was far too close for comfort. It was painfully obvious that he had failed in some way, even accounting for the fact that he hadn't used magic or weaponry. Seph was likely to be displeased that Xander had been given such trouble. One Slayer should be less bothersome than a squad of mercenary Demons.
That was less of a priority right now than making it through the evening. He was going to reveal the existence of Vamps to Joyce and Dawn. It would keep them safe, true. However, Xander was conflicted. Did he have the right to do this? Was he just using the 'it's for their own good' line as an excuse?
The youngster's inner turmoil was so great that Sephiroth was subjected to it, half way across Sunnydale. He slapped himself on the forehead and groaned.
'Have I taught the boy nothing about self-confidence? If I ever come across Tony and Jessica Harris, they had better hope I am unarmed. Things will be less painful for them that way.'
He began trying to contact Xander, whose inner dialogue was making it difficult to gain his attention.
'Xander? Xan? Hello?'
Nothing. Not a flicker of attention from the boy.
'HEY! Throw me a bone here, will ya?'
That got a little attention.
'Huh? Wha? Seph?'
'No, it's Rufus Shinra! Who else would it be?'
'Oh, right, yeah. Only one extra voice in my head.'
'Now, will you do me the courtesy of listening?'
'Okay, go ahead.'
'What you are about to do is something that should have been done a long time ago. You are merely correcting an error. Do not question yourself any further.'
'Are you sure?'
'Yes I'm, sure!'
'Okay Seph. Thanks.'
'It wasn't my pleasure.'
Xander could picture the arrogant smirk Sephiroth would be wearing, after having gotten the last word in a conversation. He looked up, as if beseeching the heavens for mercy.
"Great! As if he wasn't going to be bad enough already, he had to get the last word in! Now he'll be insufferable!"
'And suffer you shall, my brother.'
Xander froze in fear, realising that he had forgotten to stop communication with Seph.
'I'm in trouble'
'Yes. Once you've seen to Joyce and Dawn, perhaps you should consider taking out a life insurance policy.'
'Take you out is more like it.'
'Oh, finally found your backbone, have you Xan?'
'I've always had a backbone. I've simply lacked courage.'
Sephiroth almost laughed out loud at that.
'Courage and stupidity are often inextricably linked. You clearly have plenty of both.'
'Hey!'
There was no reply, as Sephiroth was now too busy laughing.
Xander shook his head, smirking in amusement at the witty banter he had just exchanged with his brother. He didn't mind losing the little competitions, as long as he enjoyed himself. Then the young SOLDIER took several deep breaths and calmed himself, preparing for the evening ahead of him. He looked across at the immobile Vamp standing in the shadows of the house.
"You just keep your mouth shut and let me do all the talking, ok Fang?"
Xander dismissed the Vamp from his thoughts as he knocked on the door. It was opened a moment later by Buffy, who looked both nervous and glad to see him. He could sympathise, as he was feeling the same things.
"You ready Buff?"
"As I'll ever be, Xan."
He nodded, and she led him inside.
It was everything he had expected. Xander's proof of Vampirism was now on the floor in a pile of dust. Screaming, arguing, recrimination, tensions running high. Xander sat back as Joyce and Buffy screamed at each other. The sofa seemed to shift slightly, so he looked over to his left only to see Dawn sitting beside him.
"Hey Dawn-patrol."
"Hi Xan. Was all that true? The Vampire thing?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid so."
"Wow. That sucks."
"In more ways than one."
That got a giggle, so Xander considered his humour quota for the day filled. The war of words in the background continued.
"Buffy Summers! How could you lie to me about something like this?"
"Mom! People who find out about my night shift get killed! I just wanted you to be kept out of it!"
"That's very noble and altruistic of you dear. Xander and Willow seem perfectly fine, despite having been involved in this Slaying business for the better part of two years!"
"Well, that's where you're wrong, Mom! Xander was recently altered at the genetic level, while Willow actually died for a short while on Halloween!"
"That doesn't make me feel any better about having been kept in the dark, Buffy!"
"It's not meant to! It's supposed to help you understand that what do is dangerous and exactly why I wanted you kept out of it!"
"You really haven't thought this through, have you young lady? Can you imagine how much easier it would have been to deal with if I had known about this earlier? The amount of conversations with your school it would have saved alone…"
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that the school have been phoning me up about your poor attendance and bad grades! I had wondered exactly what you were doing instead of schoolwork, but now I know!"
"Oh, please share your wisdom as to how you and Dawn knowing about Vamps would have helped my schoolwork!"
"You silly girl! I could have written you notes excusing you from certain classes, or had you off school after a particularly hard day's night of Slaying! At the very least, you could have discussed our problems with me!"
"And make you share my burdens? Give you nightmares? No thanks!"
"Haven't you ever heard that a burden shared is a burden halved?"
Buffy had no reply to this, as she knew it was true. Just the other day, sharing the incident involving Billy Fordham with Xander had made her feel much better about it. Joyce watched, saying nothing, as her daughter began to consider the words they had exchanged. The older Summers woman was unwilling to jeopardise the re-education of her first-born daughter by talking.
Xander decided that now was probably a good time to make himself scarce. He'd come back tomorrow to see how everyone was taking the news.
Angel sat in his chair in the office of his Private Investigations firm. Doyle had heard some disturbing rumours in the various Bars that he frequented. The Scourge had learned of something in Sunnydale so powerful that the Demons were running from it. They were taking it upon themselves to investigate, moving to L.A out of expediency. Of course, when the Scourge move in, anything they deem inferior to them is evicted. Permanently. Angel was a pretty good fighter, all false modesty aside, but even he couldn't take on the Scourge and hope to come out of it with his hide intact.
The undead Irishman looked at his desk, a thought coming to him. There was someone who may be able to take on an army and come out alive, if he could be convinced of the urgency of the situation. He rifled through the drawers of his desk, searching desperately for the card that Whistler had left him, remembering also the warning that had come with it.
"Angel, I'm gonna leave you the number of a very dangerous man. You get in trouble, you call him. Make sure it's damn serious though, 'cos he don't like Vampires. He especially dislikes you."
"Who is he, Whistler?"
"Sephiroth."
"WHAT? You want me to call the guy who threw me out of Sunnydale and ask him for help?"
"No, I don't. I do, howevah, want you to know your limits and not try to run before you can walk. If you can survive without callin' on him, fine. If you can't, it had better be an end of the world situation, or else."
"Or else what?"
"Or else he'll probably tell you to tuck ya head between ya Ass and kiss it goodbye."
The balance demon laughed at his crude joke, as Angel grimaced.
Now, back in the present, Angel's fingers met with the smooth paper of the card, on which was written the number of the man he would have to convince to help him. Spock had been right. Sometimes the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.
Anastasia watched as Sephiroth paused the Playsation and went to silence the incessant chirping of the telephone. His voice floated back into the room.
"Well, this is an unexpected surprise. Shouldn't you be out riding to the rescue of some helpless maiden? Or stalking a pubescent cheerleader?"
(…)
"You want my help?"
(…)
"Of course Whistler gave you my number, you fool. After he phoned me while I was standing in your apartment, I should think he can find out anything about anyone."
(…)
"Would you repeat that please? I seem to have misheard you. The entire population of Los Angeles?"
(…)
"Oh, you did say that? Very well then. Expect to have company tomorrow."
Sephiroth hung up before his caller could say another word. Then he strode back into the room with a pensive look on his face.
"Darling? What is it? Who was on the phone?"
"Someone from L.A. He has a rather large problem on his hands that threatens to destroy all those in the city with the slightest trace of human blood."
Anna gasped in horror at the news.
"He wanted my help. Unfortunately, the council sent me an e-mail today saying that they have a job for me in the Amazon rainforest. Reports of tribesmen being turned into monsters by some magical artefact."
"What will you do? You can't be in two places at once!"
He smirked, his hair splaying around his head as he turned to face his Russian lover; his eyes alight with Mako and devilish amusement.
"You forget, my darling, that I can do exactly that."
"What are you…do you mean Xander?"
"Yes. He is more than ready for a real battle. I will send him to Los Angeles in my stead, while I conduct the Council's business in the Jungle."
She was, strange as it may seem, not worried for Xander in the slightest. Her faith in the boy she loved like a younger brother was absolute. Sephiroth's evaluation of the boy's skills was obviously high enough to support the decision to send him to L.A.
It was at that point that Xander walked into the door, his coat being thrown with unerring accuracy to the rack on which it hung. As he walked in, both of the occupant's eyes turned to meet him, making him both suspicious and a little uncomfortable.
"Xander?"
"Yeah?"
"How would you like to have the day off school tomorrow?"
"Sounds good. What's the catch?"
When Sephiroth gave him a genuine smile and laughed, Xander knew he was in serious trouble.
'Perhaps life insurance would be a wise precaution.'
Alexander Lavelle Harris was not a happy man. He was being volunteered by Seph to go and pull Deadboy's chestnuts out of the fire. He wasn't unhappy at Seph, per se, and he understood that his brother had an assignment that took priority, or he would have done this himself. The young SOLDIER was annoyed that Angel came running to them when possibility of actually having to take on a powerful enemy arose.
'What, did he think that making restitution for being an evil murderer was gonna be easy? Pfft, I don't think so!'
He walked the streets of Los Angeles, having teleported here merely ten minutes beforehand. Apocalypse was stored in a guitar case in his hand, safe from prying eyes. This wasn't Sunnydale, and expecting no-one to notice a four feet long piece of purple coloured metal strapped to his back was unrealistic at best.
The address he had been given for 'Angel Investigations' was written on a scrap of paper in his hand, underneath which was a street map, on which he checked the names of the streets he was walking on. If he was reading this right, he should only be a few blocks away. If he walked briskly, he could be there soon, and still have time to give Deadboy a heart attack. 'Oh… well, maybe not, seeing as how it doesn't beat…'
Angel was sitting at his desk, brooding as usual when there was a solid knock on the door. He started to move in order to answer it, when he heard the faint strains of Doyle's broad Irish accent talking to someone. Obviously his seer had been closer to the door.
"Let me just go and fetch the boss for ye. He doesn't like to sit out front."
There was an ironic chuckle in response, before the visitor spoke.
"Oh, I know. Pesky Ultra-violet light and all that."
"You know what he is?"
"Oh, me and Captain Forehead go way back." The sarcastic nickname rankled in ways that Angel didn't want to think about.
"Do you tell me?"
"Sure thing, Doyle."
That voice sounded frighteningly like Xander Harris, but Angel knew that he had to be imagining things. Sephiroth couldn't possibly hate him enough to send Xander.
'Well', the dead Irishman amended, 'not when we're dealing with a group about to wipe out the human populace of LA. Under more normal circumstances, hell yes he'd send Xander.'
He stood as the door opened and Doyle walked in, the scent of whisky strong on the other man's person. Bushmills, if Angel's nose was right. And it usually was. When the second figure walked in, Angel heard the familiar *swish* of a long coat. He had a wardrobe full of the things on the basement floor, after all. His shock could not be kept from his face when he recognised the second man.
"Xander?"
The Vampire slapped his forehead, groaning as he did so. Fate was truly evil, sometimes. He took a second look at his one-time rival for Buffy's affections.
There was a confidence to the boy's demeanour that Angel had never seen before. It was as if Xander knew himself, knew his limits and was comfortable with all that knowledge revealed to him. He stood in an unconscious combat-ready position.
Angel had made the seriousness of the situation abundantly clear, so if Xander had been sent, it meant that. He froze for a second, his mind unwilling to finish the thought. It meant that Xander was regarded as capable of doing the job. If that was so, Harris had undergone enormous change since the last time Angel had seen him. It would be necessary to see just how much.
"Sephiroth has lost it. He's gone nuts. That's the only possible reason he'd send you here."
Xander did not look amused, but Angel was too focussed to give a damn.
"I mean, don't get me wrong, you're pretty handy when we need a joke, but unless you plan to throw Doughnuts at the Scourge, we could do with someone actually capable of, y'know…fighting!"
Sephiroth's younger brother was not amused at this little outburst. To insult his brother and dismiss his own skills in one breath, was a sure fire way of earning a painful re-education. He stepped forward calmly, all expression wiped from his face. He looked Angel in the eye, making sure he had the unfortunate soul's attention.
"Actually, I pretty much kicked the Buffster's ass in a fair fight yesterday. You wanna see how you do?"
Angel looked into the boy's eyes, and was surprised to find them glowing gently. A memory tickled at his consciousness, about the last time he had come face to face with glowing eyes. He shook it off as his retort came easily to mind.
"A fair fight at what, boy? Street Fighter? Tekken?"
Xander smirked savagely at the Vampire, before drawing his fist back and delivering a deceptively fast haymaker. Despite its speed, the power behind it was phenomenal. Angel didn't even see it coming. One minute he was standing in front of the boy, the next he was being held on his feet by the timely intervention of a brick wall on the other side of the room.
Xander was quite pleased with himself, while Doyle watched on in bemusement. He had no idea if the history between these two men; or of the recent changes that the Harris boy had undergone. He did know that in the months since he had met the ensouled Vampire, no-one, be he man, Demon or Vampire had ever gotten a hit in on Angel like that.
Angel got up, slightly groggy, before the pain in his face made him slip into Game Face.
With the demon gaining more control, Angel growled out dangerously, "Okay, boy. You wanna try that again?"
Xander watched, amused by Angel's bravado.
'He still doesn't know what he's dealing with. He thinks I got lucky! A lucky punch in when he wasn't looking. Idiot.'
Xander disappeared in a furry of white feathers, determined to show Angel that Sephiroth had not been wrong to rely on the Sunnydale native.
Doyle and Angel were still watching the space where Xander had been in slack-jawed amazement, when the boy rematerialised in front of the Private Investigator and drove a knee into his unprotected midriff. This was followed by another knee, which connected with the dead man's chin, thrusting him backwards and off of the brick wall at his back.
Xander stepped to the side and grabbed Angel by the arm as he passed, spinning him around so they were again facing each other, before the SOLDIER First-Class stepped backward and kicked Angel in the sternum, bringing his leg down again to recover his balance and ground himself, before spinning and kicking out again, catching the Vampire on the side of the head.
Angel had been through so much punishment in the last sixty seconds that the floor was looking pretty comfortable right now. When Xander's kick drove him from his feet, he didn't get up.
Xander, seeing that this fight was over, straightened the lapels of his trenchcoat before walking out of the room. Doyle followed after checking that Angel was alright.
"Man, that was amazing!"
"Thanks Doyle. Is there a hotel near here I could check into?"
"Yeah, there's a nice little place about a block east. We can grab your stuff from the lobby and I'll take you round there."
"Sounds good, thanks."
The Bracken/Human half-breed sat in the bar of the Philadelphia Hotel, which was smoky and empty, but for himself and his companion. Xander found that they had a lot in common, from an irreverent sense of humour, to the fact that they were both demi-humans. There was the additional fact that they both enjoyed the pretty hefty kick delivered by a measure of Bushmills Irish Whisky.
"So, the Scourge are expected soon?"
"There are whispers in the underground community. No definite times, but a lot of demons are scared. They're running as fast and far as possible."
"Well, I gather these guys are kinda the Demon KKK, without the bedsheets?"
"Are ye serious? That's not a bad description, but it's not quite right. These bowsers are actually more like a Demon version of the Nazis, son."
Xander stiffened. That was a very acute fear of his. Willow's Grandfather Isaac had been most detailed on his experiences in Dachau. The young Harris had been unable to sleep properly for weeks afterward. His fists tightened involuntarily, and his knuckles popped audibly. His face became like marble, eyes frigid and blank.
"I'll eradicate them. They can take their final solution back to hell with them."
"Sounds good. We'll help however we can, Xander."
There was no response, as Xander was mentally miles away, a decade in the past.
Sephiroth walked through the thick growth of the Amazon, coming upon the area where disappearances and 'monster attacks' had been taking place. He was dressed very differently than usual, in cream coloured slacks and a short sleeved shirt, a Panama hat protecting his head from the heat. Masamune was currently lying in its customary place in the apartment on Ragpicker's Lane, waiting only for the call of its master.
The once insane computer game character wiped the sweat from his brow with a red handkerchief and swatted absently at the insects that buzzed around him. He could feel powerful magic in the air, emanating from just ahead of him. What he had been sent here to find was within his grasp. He went completely still as voices floated in his direction from ahead. The pitch and accent were clearly inhuman, inciting interest from the former General of SOLDIER.
"Have we found it yet?"
"No. Not yet. We don't even know what it is we're looking for!"
"Look, these ruins were built to hold something. The legends all say that they hold an artefact of unrivalled power. With that, we can subjugate the pathetic humans and then return the Old Ones to this world, forcing even them to bow before us!"
"Well, when you put it like that …"
"We can also take care of this bloke who's been making waves on the Hellmouth."
Sephiroth smirked. Having a reputation was so nice sometimes. He stepped gently over the ground, moving forward through the forest soundlessly. He came to a section of terrain where the ground dipped, revealing the two Demons who had been holding a conversation. They were of a type he had never seen before, one large and orange, thickly muscled with tusks protruding from the sides of his face, the other lithe, blue and almost feline in description.
Deciding to attack them while they were conversing, the silver haired warrior moved silently to ambush the two Demons.
'I'll even give them the chance to fight back.'
He teleported to a position just in front of the two Demons, choosing to make a stylish entrance. The two Demons each took an involuntary step backwards, before overcoming their shock and preparing to fight.
'Hm. These two seem to be experienced combatants. This could prove interesting.'
The smaller Demon sprinted forward, moving with enormous speed toward the human who had appeared before him. Sephiroth casually steadied himself against the ground before pushing off into the air, sailing above the head of the moving Demon and into striking range of the larger one. As he moved he re-oriented himself in the air, one foot bent and folded beneath its extended companion, ready to strike the enemy.
There was a loud snapping sound as something within the Demon gave way upon contact, before Sephiroth twisted himself again and kicked with his other leg, colliding squarely with the head of the large Demon. The former Big Bad of an entire planet landed with a soft thump and an accompanying crash as his opponent fell to the ground. The running Demon had taken this opportunity to stop, turn around and launch himself fists first at the SOLDIER. Xander's elder brother moved his body a scant 45 degrees, slipping in between the outstretched claws of his second opponent.
Then he brought his right arm up, hand open, causing the edge of his hand to strike the Demon on the bottom of the jaw, driving its entire body upwards. Sephiroth crouched, made note of the position of the Demon, and then leapt up to intercept its trajectory. The Demon screamed as Seph came down from above it, his feet extended as he landed squarely on its midriff. Physics kicked in, pulling them both downwards to the ground. The human stepped away from his defeated opponent before calling on his most powerful fire magic and incinerating both bodies, leaving nothing but ashes.
Then he calmly turned and walked towards the building his sharp eyes were now seeing, as if the fight behind him had never taken place. As he came closer to the ancient building, the architecture of the building became visible. It was a darkly coloured stone edifice, which was clearly hidden from view by Magic. As he walked forward, the Council of Watchers' troubleshooter pondered what he had heard.
'What could be so powerful that the Demons would take up archaeology to find it? How powerful must they expect it to be if they believe that the oldest of Demons would submit to them?'
Sephiroth intended to find out. He entered the building; his feet struck the stone floor rhythmically, bringing back memories of the last time he had walked on such a surface. The Temple of the Ancients, a lifetime ago now. He ruthlessly banished the memory; it's relevance to his situation being nil.
Torches lit the path, and the sound of heavy labour floated toward him. The Demons were obviously serious about this if they had deigned to get off their collective asses and work. Sephiroth again felt intrigued at this, and moved forward with a single-mindedness that was legendary in his world of origin.
The advanced scouting unit of The Scourge showed up in LA the next night, and Xander Harris was pleased to see them. The sooner he destroyed these jackbooted pricks, the sooner he could go home. He, Angel and Doyle had come across them almost by accident. The Scourge had been harassing a ragtag group of pacifist Demons, the kind who just wanted to be left alone.
The Scourge had been none too impressed at this. They had already intended on killing the impure Demons, but to find a group of tainted ones trying to fit in, not ruffling any feathers, was enough to piss them off. Again, they saw the need for their crusade restated and strengthened in the face of these cowardly half-breed scum.
They had been advancing slowly, using psychological warfare tactics to make their victims afraid, to reinforce the fact that there was no escape, when Xander and his companions, out on patrol, had come across them. Harris wasted no time in issuing his orders, and Doyle immediately leaped into action. Angel followed a moment later, clearly unhappy about taking orders from Xander. The two LA Investigators were charged with getting the group of Demons to safety, while Xander dealt with the Scourge.
Apocalypse was drawn from its place on his back and in his hand in less than a second. Xander held it in front of him menacingly. The Scourge laughed him off.
"Hey, look boys! It's a human riding in to save the poor half-breeds! Let's run away before he kills us! Ha Ha Ha Ha!"
"Ooh. Look at the size of that sword! You think he's overcompensating for something?"
Xander smirked, content to allow his enemies to have their little joke. They would be dead within minutes anyway. He smirked viciously, lending a sinister aspect to his face. The glowing brown Mako Eyes merely added to the effect. He gathered himself, preparing to attack, as the Scourge continued to chatter among themselves. When his trench coat came under discussion, Xander pushed himself forward, screaming a challenge to the Demons.
As Xander moved in, faster than any present had expected from a human, the red and black visage of his target twisted in fear as his intentions were guessed at. The last though of the anonymous Scourge member, was this.
'Oh Shit! We shouldn't have dissed the coat!'
He was split diagonally from hip to shoulder a mere second later. Xander spared him not a glance, instead moving on to his next enemy. Feet kicked, fists struck and Apocalypse sliced, stabbed and spun in a very one sided battle. When Xander reached the centre of the group of Demons, they thought that they could simply converge on the human and overwhelm him with Demonic strength and the weight of numbers. They thought, for just a moment, that they had won.
Xander Harris, SOLDIER First Class, quickly disabused them of this notion. He raised his blade to the sky and concentrated, summoning the necessary magic energy to incinerate his foes. The first sign of his intentions was the increase in the ambient temperature within a radius of a few yards.
Then, quicker than any present could comprehend, there appeared a pillar of bright flame which expanded outward and caught The Scourge in its deadly wake, destroying them all in a matter of seconds. The flames continued to burn as Xander Harris walked clear of them, dying down as he stopped and looked around. Apocalypse returned to its customary place on his back in a motion that was no longer conscious.
'Now, where did Deadboy and Doyle get off to?'
The open manhole cover gave him his first clue, so he went down into the sewer, closed it behind him and looked around. There were no obvious traces of Angel or the group he was escorting, other than the strong aroma of hairgel leading off in one direction. Xander followed it, displaying an accuracy that would put any bloodhound to shame.
'This is just like Theseus and the Minotaur. Only with haircare products.'
Xander's chuckling could have been heard echoing down the tunnels, if any had been present to hear it. The inhabitants of the sewers had all made themselves scarce upon feeling the intense burst of magical energy that Xander had released. They had gone while the going was good. Little did he know that his exploits were, over the next few days, going to become the stuff of underworld legend.
Sephiroth stood in the middle of a large chamber, taking in the details with a piercing green gaze. Pillars that separated the floor from the ceiling were the only thing preventing a rather painful death, and Seph knew it. He felt a deep excitement in the pit of his stomach, a familiar ache that had been his constant companion on the most dangerous missions. He had fought his way here through a handful of guards, each falling, either to his powerful hand-to-hand skills or his magic. According to the information he had gleaned from the various Demons before killing them, the object they sought was near here, along with the leader of the expedition.
The room opened into a small corridor, which Sephiroth followed carefully, ready for an ambush. The corridor seemed to go on forever, Sephiroth's caution and wariness making each minute seem like an hour. This distortion of one's chronological perceptions was familiar to him, as it happened in the most dangerous stages of combat. Blocks, parries, strikes, evasions, all took place in seconds, but to those performing them they seemed to take an inordinate amount of time.
The corridor finally opened up into a room a small chamber that was empty, save for a small dais which was shielded by a wall of flickering orange energy, the light casting the entire room in the same shade of colour. Sephiroth scrutinised the room, every corner and shadow coming under his intense gaze, before he looked upwards. Nothing lurked up there either. The room was empty save for himself and the object behind the barrier. He approached, his curiosity finally about to be sated.
What he saw within that barrier was a long object, which had obviously been plunged into the stone of the dais. Cracks in the stone radiated outwards from the blade. That was what it was, a longsword with a gold coloured crossguard and hilt, wrapped in black leather. The scabbard that the blade rested in was black, as dark as the void of space, like the gaping maw of a black hole, absorbing the surrounding light. Sephiroth felt a whisper of air behind him then, and a flicker of magical energy. He acted on instinct, teleporting backwards, evading the attack entirely.
A jet stream of blue flame burned the air where Sephiroth had stood, before coming up against the barrier that was protecting the sword. The magical energy was absorbed by the barrier, which seemed to glow brighter as it absorbed the power that had touched it. Sephiroth followed the spell back to it's caster, and found a robed Demon floating off of the ground, his hands aglow with dark blue energy. A cowl that would normally cover the Demon's head, now rested around its neck, looking more like a scarf.
Sephiroth studied the Demon, well aware that Demons who used magic were rather rare. It had dark yellow skin almost brown in colour, it was just short of six feet in height and its eyes glowed with malevolent blue energy. It was obviously powerful, Sephiroth could feel that much. His demeanour and bearing oozed confidence.
'Hm. Let's see him try that fire attack again. His confidence will drop after I survive it.'
Sephiroth stood, his arms splayed wide, as if daring the Demonic Sorcerer to take the initiative. He was rewarded by am arrogant smirk, and a murmured incantation. The energy in the room seemed to rise with every syllable of the incantation, and Sephiroth welcomed it.
'The more energy the fool puts into this attack, the greater his shock will be when I survive it unscathed.'
The attack was ready in short order, and Seph remained perfectly still as it was launched at him. The world turned blue for a moment, as the attack struck him, and the Demon's laughter could be heard even over the rushing winds of air displacement caused by the magic. The silver-haired swordsman smirked, but resisted the urge to laugh. That would ruin his surprise.
The attack ended, throwing up dust that had lain in this room undisturbed for centuries. Out of the dust, much to the Demon Sorcerer's obvious shock, walked Sephiroth, totally unscathed.
'This would look better if I had Masamune with me. My coat would add to the effect as well.'
He tensed his muscles, then leapt toward the Demon, intent on striking it swiftly and decisively. He reached it and struck out with a fist, before spinning and delivering a thunderous kick. The Demon twirled through the air; the strength behind Seph's strikes making it impossible to halt its motion. The problem was resolved a moment later when it struck the ceiling of the cavern and dropped to the floor like a rock.
Sephiroth teleported, closing in on his enemy's position. He kicked it once for goo measure, then reared back and was about to kick it again, when there was an enormous explosion. When Sephiroth could see again, which took several minutes, he looked around to see where the explosion had originated. The stone floor was black and charred, except for the outline of the Sorcerer. Sephiroth was trying to see exactly what this meant, when he was interrupted by a voice behind him.
"Well, it seems you can be hurt after all. That reassures me."
He spun, his hand reflexively seeking the comfort of Masamune's hilt, despite the fact that it was still in Sunnydale. His shock was enormous when he saw the Sorcerer behind him.
"You still live? But…"
The Demon waved his hand contemptuously.
"A simple deception. An after-image filled with unstable magical energy, designed to explode after enough physical damage is sustained."
Sephiroth smirked. The rush of fighting a true challenge heated his blood, sending shivers of excitement down his spine.
"What is your name, Sorcerer?"
"My name? It has been a long time since I was asked that. My original name was forgotten long ago. You may call me Faustus."
"I shall, for the few minutes that life remains in your body. I am Sephiroth."
"You are very confident, human. I like that. It always amuses me when your kind find how misplaced confidence is."
"My kind? Fool, you have never encountered any like me."
Sephiroth began the fight by teleporting behind Faustus, his arm already moving backwards to deliver a devastatingly powerful strike. When he arrived at his destination, his arm moving forward at inhuman speeds, his target was gone. Laughter reached his sensitive ears from across the room.
"Really now, Sephiroth. Did you think you were the only person capable of teleportation?"
There was no answer from the man who had lead SOLDIER to victory more times than anyone could count. His bright green eyes were closed, his hair moving in an unseen breeze. Green energy circles blew outwards, and Sephiroth's hand came up, palm extended toward Faustus. The Demon barely had time to realise that a spell was being cast, before he was encased in a block of solid ice.
Sephiroth smirked again, and settled back, content to see how his opponent would counter. Battles between magic users were like games of Chess. Moves were strung together and countered, counters were reversed, the advantage going to the quicker mind. When Sephiroth felt the tingle that spoke of magic gathering in the air, he knew his wait had come to an end. Blue flames erupted like Mount Saint Helens, the Ice from Sephiroth's spell melting in an instant.
Sephiroth laughed, now certain that this would be an interesting diversion. He braced himself, gathering the power that his cells contained, allowing it to burn brightly, strengthening him, and making him faster and stronger than before. A blue and black flame surrounded Sephiroth's body. Faustus took a step backward in fright, before convincing himself that this was merely an illusion.
His carefully constructed denial was ripped to shreds when Sephiroth appeared in front of him, his fist already buried up to the elbow in Faustus' midriff. A foot flickered out, knocking Faustus off balance, which Sephiroth took advantage of by grabbing a handful of his enemy's robe and striking him square in the face with an elbow, before repeating the strike in the opposite direction.
Faustus was dazed, unable to think clearly, unable to even call to mind the most basic of spells. Sephiroth's knee struck him in the stomach, before a backhand freed him from the grip of gravity and caused him to soar through the air. What neither man or Demon had expected happened next, in one of the little surprises that occur so often in life. Faustus struck the barrier, and instead of merely slumping down to the ground, he hung there.
Sephiroth looked on, bemused, as the Sorcerer stayed glued to one part of the wall, before the barrier began to glow, and Seph belatedly realised what was happening. Faustus' screams of pain merely confirmed his theory. The Demon was being drained of his energy; it was being absorbed by the barrier. Within minute, it was all over. There was one last cry of pain before the desiccated husk that had been Faustus shrivelled up and burned away to ashes. Still, the barrier remained; it's brightness and power only increasing.
'Well, that's not something I'll be trying anytime soon.'
Xander collapsed onto his bed, exhausted. Sewers were not the kind of place he liked to spend time in. He sneezed.
'They smell terrible.'
He was dressed in a t-shirt and boxer shorts, his hair still wet from the shower he had just finished. A towel around his neck was about to be used to dry his hair, when he heard a knock on the door. He was there inside of a second, and opened it to see a face he didn't recognise. A tall female stood on his threshold, her skin a pale blue. She looked slightly familiar.
"Can I help you?"
"Uhm. Yeah. I was kinda in the group of Demons you rescued tonight."
"Oh. Right. No problem."
She looked over his shoulder, seeing he was alone in the room.
"I was kind of hoping to thank you. Personally."
The glint in her eye and the emphasis she placed on the word 'thank' told Xander all he needed to know. He blushed, then stuttered for a minute, before finally getting his brain back in gear.
"That's, eh, that is, uh, what I mean is, oh. I can't. I've kinda got someone waiting for me back home, y'know?"
She leaned in closer, offering him a tantalising view down her top. He blushed deeper and averted his eyes.
"Are you sure?"
Thoughts passed through his mind of Buffy and Kendra. Probably his best friends in the whole world right now, even more so than Wills. She had always been his friend, yes, but she simply didn't know what it was like to have your world turned upside down overnight, and have all these funky powers just drop into your lap. His two Slayer friends did, it was an unspoken foundation of their new friendship. Of course, being a teenage male, Xander had also noticed that the two females were drop-dead gorgeous, and was attracted to them both.
"I'm sure I'm sure. Really sure. Not a doubt in my mind. Plus, if I use having rescued you to sleep with you, I wouldn't like the person I become, y'know?"
She smiled.
"I think the gentleman doth protest too much. I thought chivalry was dead, but perhaps it's simply more difficult to find nowadays."
She ran a hand up his chest, making him shiver at the sensation.
"It's a shame. I could have taught you many things."
The huskiness in her voice was suggestive enough that Xander saw flashes of himself and this woman entwined in a lustful embrace. He shook his head and calmed himself, bringing his imagination back under control.
"Much as I'd like to, I really won't change my mind on this one."
"Okay. I can respect a man with willpower."
She turned and walked away, throwing a sultry glance over her shoulder. Xander shut the door and turned, sliding down it, his breathing heavy.
'Oh boy. That was not an experience I'm ever gonna a forget.'
The blue skinned woman walked down to the lobby of the hotel, then took a cellphone from her handbag. She tapped a couple of buttons and accessed the numbers stored in the memory of the small piece of modern technology.
"It's me."
(…)
"I've found him. Room 125."
(…)
"Yeah. He's little more than a child. Surprisingly cute when flustered."
(…)
"Understood. I'm leaving now."
Se looked back, casting a longing glance in the direction of the boy she had just met. It was a shame he had to be killed. He had a lot of potential.
"Sorry, kid. We could've been good together."
It was night-time when the Demons attacked. Xander was asleep in bed, Apocalypse on the floor within easy reach, when four armed Demons rappelled down the front of the building and smashed their way in through the balcony. Xander was a light sleeper, and he awoke at the first crash of shattering glass. His first instinct was to grab Apocalypse and roll out of bed, and Xander followed that instinct. He rolled and fell out of bed, adrenaline and shock numbing the pain that would usually flare up after falling out of bed.
He stood; Apocalypse held out in front of him, as four Demons in the grey military-style outfits of the Scourge became visible. Xander's sharp vision picked out the black and red skin colour that the Scourge all seemed to possess. Two of the four demons were armed with swords, while the other two were packing crossbows.
"Well, this is a nice surprise. You guys also use weaponry no more recent than the 17th century."
The Demons shrugged, as if to say 'so what?' Then they attacked. The two crossbow wielding Demons opened fire, one of them being deftly swatted out of the air by Xander, the other piercing his torso, drawing a yelp of pain from the boy. He looked down, as if shocked that he had actually been used as a pin-cushion, before he pulled the bolt out of his chest. He stared at it, then brought his eyes up to the Demon who had the audacity to shoot him.
Then he launched himself across the room, sword drawn back and ready to slash. The two Demons closest to the target watched in awe as the very pissed off human soared across the space between them, then they were aware of a purple flash as Apocalypse was brought into play. There was a thud as the first Archer-Demon fell to the floor in two parts. By the time they had recovered their senses, the second Archer was impaled on the wide point of the purple blade that was being wielded by the man they had been sent to kill.
He turned, and even in his t-shirt and shorts, he was an impressive figure. His large blade only added to the effect. What really scared the two Demons was the way his eyes were glowing. His empty hand came up, and green energy swirled around his feet. 'Firaga' burned the first sword-wielding Demon to ashes. The second, despite the fear he was obviously feeling, brought his sword up into a ready position and prepared to fight. He ran forward, his sword coming backwards over his head, in an attempt to cleave Xander in half.
Xander calmly waited for the Demon to come into range of Apocalypse. The Demon's dull grey sword was in motion as Apocalypse came up to intercept it, striking at an angle that snatched the Demon's blade out of it's red and black hands, and into the wall. Apocalypse was quickly brought around and placed at the Demons throat.
"Now, I have some questions for you, Mr Demon. Answer them, and I promise you a swift death. Try and lie to me, and I'll make you suffer for an eternity. Understood?"
The Demon laughed, his expression giving the impression that he knew something his captor didn't.
"Eternity? Poor, foolish human. Your kind have only a day left. We will eradicate you from this city, then we will take the Hellmouth and restore purity to this place."
"Oh? Tell me more."
"I will not speak, human."
Apocalypse hummed twice, it's blade flashing in the murky half-light of an L.A. night. The Demon screamed as his arms hit the floor.
"You wanna take some time to re-think your bargaining position, big man?"
The Demon nodded.
"There's a bomb, set to go off tonight. It's based around a magic spell that seeks out and destroys any human blood in the blast radius. Our beacon will light the path back to purity!"
"Where?"
"Our base is in the warehouse district, but the beacon is mobile. We can move it at any time. You'll never stop our movement. Tiernan is a visionary!"
"Well, he'll be seeing you soon enough, so why don't you go and get your parcel of land in Hell ready for him?"
Xander struck again, the Demon's head bouncing off the wall a moment later.
"First, I get the room cleaned up. Then, I get dressed. Then me and Deadboy get to practice bomb disposal."
Sephiroth stood staring at the barrier, trying to figure out exactly how to open it without destroying himself. Touching it was a sure way of 'donating' one's very life. He had the mental image of poking an electric fence with a wooden stick. Then his brain latched onto the idea. Poke the magical barrier with Masamune!
It was with a miniscule effort that he called the blade from its resting place in his apartment. Then he spread his legs, placed the blade over one shoulder, and struck with all his power against the barrier. A long diagonal line was scored across the surface of the barrier, and Sephiroth, taking this as a good sign, struck again. The barrier wavered for a second, before Seph struck it a third time. The barrier shattered like it was made of brittle glass, and a wave of energy pulsed across the room, the force of it knocking Seph backwards.
He looked at the sword, taking in its details at this closer vantage point. The cavern wall that had been obscured by the barrier, was now revealed to have writing on it.
'This blade is the sword of the True King, Excalibur, left here for the White Knight who upholds the lost virtue of loyalty. Brotherhood shall ensure that the blade finds its way to his hand.'
"Hn. Riddles bore me."
He stepped closer, intending to pull the sword from the prison of rock that trapped it. He placed his fingers around the hilt, and was overcome by a resonance that passed between Masamune and the blade he had discovered.
The over-riding sense of brotherhood that the swords shared in that moment drew him to the inevitable conclusion, that this other blade was meant for Xander. He pulled it free from the stone dais and a rumbling went up around him. He looked at the longsword in his left hand; then, as the rumbling became louder and the roof started to cave in, Sephiroth presumed that the pillars had been tied to the blade. An inventive booby-trap. Anyone who took the blade was crushed under a few tons of rock.
'Obviously, that is no problem for one such as I.'
He faded to white and disappeared; just as the roof fell in and sealed off the room he had been standing in. The only sound that marked his passage, the rushing howl of wind, was drowned out by the angry roar of the collapsing temple. He reappeared outside the temple, only to bear witness as it sank in on itself.
'Now, back to Ragpicker's Lane. I'll have a shower, a bite to eat, then change into more suitable attire and check on Xan.'
Xander Harris was, at precisely that minute, sitting in the basement section of Angel Investigations, recounting his earlier interrogation of the Scourge shocktrooper.
"A bomb?"
"Yup."
"An it's gonna wipe out every human in L.A.?"
"Yup."
"I say we find 'em an' kill 'em."
"Yup."
"Do you plan on answering with more than one syllable any time today?"
"Yup."
Angel threw up his hands in exasperation, while Doyle laughed and Xander smiled.
'I've still got it.'
"So, we go and check out the warehouse district then?"
"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Let's mosey."
As it happened, the Scourge hadn't been too difficult to find. Xander and his companions had simply followed the sound of a thousand Jackboots being marched around. The arrogant fools were practising for their grand entrance that night. When Xander saw the Beacon, really just a big glass case with a magical lightbulb in it, surrounded by 500 Nazi Demons, he decided to rethink his strategy.
'Damn it, I wish I could use the higher level spells. A summon monster would be pretty useful right about now as well.'
He was concentrating so heavily that he missed the telltale sound that signified Sephiroth's arrival. Angel almost shrank back in fear from him, but stood his ground. Seph smirked at him, aware of the Vampire's fear his green eyes sparkling with amusement. Doyle nodded in greeting, unsure as to who this stranger was. Sephiroth walked forward, his long coat rustling softly with the motion.
Xander felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to acknowledge whoever it was. He was shocked for a minute, as Seph was supposed to be on the other side of the planet, but his shock was quickly overcome with joy at seeing his brother back home.
Sephiroth was taken off guard as a Xander-shaped bundle leaped at him and enfolded him in a bone-crushing hug. He smiled, and returned the gesture.
"Looks like someone missed me, eh little brother?"
"No, not in the slightest."
They both chuckled at that one. Truth be told, it had only been two days since they had last seen each other, but they had been maintaining minimal contact even through the mental bond they shared, so even a few days felt like an eternity, given the closeness they shared.
"Hey, I brought back a little gift for you. How do you like it?"
Seph reached behind his back, all the while grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Then his arm reappeared holding a sword, complete with black scabbard.
"Apparently its name is Excalibur. I had a hard time getting that through customs."
Xander took it and drew the blade out of its sheath, revealing half of the golden sword. It was patterned with black vines that looked like they were wrapped around the blade, matching the black and gold pattern that had been started by the hilt and scabbard. Xander removed Apocalypse and handed it to Seph as he placed the new sword at his side, rather than on his back. He looked down to secure it, and by the time he had finished, he looked up to find that Sephiroth was standing there with a smirk on his face and Apocalypse was gone.
"Do I even wanna know where you put that?"
Seph glared at him.
"For your information, I teleported home whilst your attention was elsewhere."
"Oh, okay then. How do you suggest we proceed?"
"Don't expect me to plan this little skirmish for you, Xan."
"What?"
"This was your opportunity to gain victory by your own means. I'm not going to fight the final battle for you now, when you've come this far."
Angel had finally grown tired of being ignored, as well as having put together some of the clues that had been given by the way Sephiroth and Xander acted.
"You're Xander's big brother?"
Seph sighed. Dealing with Captain Forehead was not in his 'to-do' list.
"Yes, Angel I am. Who do you think told me where you lived, or about some of the more impressive acts of cowardice on your scorecard since you arrived in Sunnydale?"
"Xander."
More of a growl than a word, and Angel was obviously very angry. He leapt at Xander, who was too busy planning angles of attack and teamwork to notice. Sephiroth plucked the Vampire out of the air in one hand and sent the other crashing into the private detective's thick skull.
"Foolish bloodsucker, do you really think I would allow you to touch my brother? If we didn't need you for the upcoming sortie, I would take pleasure in making your death long, slow and excruciatingly painful."
Sephiroth's expression almost crossed the line into Evil territory.
"In fact, we don't need you. Oh happy day."
"Seph, put him down. Y'don't know where he's been."
Angel was dropped unceremoniously on his ass. Sephiroth brushed his hands together, as if cleaning them.
"Quite right, Xander."
The senior member of SOLDIER leaned forward, his expression cold and dispassionate. His burning green eyes spoke of homicidal rage kept under control by a titanic force of will.
"That was your last warning. Hell will seem like a holiday destination if you ever even look at my brother in a way I don't like. Understood?"
Angel nodded, his fear of this warrior having increased tenfold. The look in those eyes would have frightened the Devil himself.
"Okay, Seph. You go straight ahead and blast the first wave with a magic spell. Doyle, you take the right, Deadboy on the left and I'll take the flank."
They nodded, then moved off. Xander closed his eyes and teleported himself to the other side of the Scourge's position.
Sephiroth decided to open the battle in a decadent fashion. There was only on spell that would be any fun here, so he prepared it. He stepped from the darkness of the night into the field of vision of the Demons, his hand out and his magic already taking effect.
The world turned green for the Demons, an intense howling and a rush of destructive power, then the mercy of oblivion. Sephiroth called Masamune to hand, then got into the thick of battle. He could hear Doyle and Angel doing the same, while Xander, who had less magic to draw upon, had begun with Firaga aimed in the centre of his enemies.
The younger SOLDIER then began fighting with Excalibur, as if born with it in his hand. The blade seemed to have freed some part of himself that he had kept locked up, and for the first time Xander understood how Seph could inflame his own energy in order to increase his power and speed. The only child of Tony and Jessica Harris actually came close to doing the same thing once or twice during the course of the battle.
They met in the middle, all four of them. Doyle's Axe was covered in thick ichor, as were Angel's two short swords. Sephiroth's Masamune was as clean and flawless as ever, despite having dealt out more than its fair share of death. Excalibur was likewise without blemish. As they stood and surveyed the Beacon, a Scourge stormtrooper who was taking his time to die crawled his way to the activation lever and pulled it, spending the last of his strength to do so.
Xander was the first to feel the warmth caused by low-level exposure to the light cast by the beacon, and he turned to find it glowing menacingly. The glow was increasing rapidly, the light becoming more deadly with every passing second. At this time, the rest of those present turned and saw what was happening. Doyle and Angel stepped back, both knowing that they were exactly the types of being this little box had been created to destroy.
Xander had been busy examining the device, and finally saw how the power was being fed to it. There was a cable that ran into the top of the beacon, and that was where he would have to disable it. The light was now starting to burn gently, and in response Xander's cells were thrumming with energy, all of it starting to pool and gather. Xander released it, but instead of a blue and black flame like Sephiroth's energy created, this was a blood red aura, that pulsed and burned like the hottest of fires. He leaped onto the beacon, feeling its power and intensity increase exponentially as he got closer. By the time he touched it, it was starting to burn him seriously. By the time he separated the thick wire from the device, he was screaming in pain.
When the light had died down, Xander was moaning softly at the intense pain. Every breath was like having a massage with sandpaper. Seph was at his side in a second, a 'Curaga' already in process. Even that spell couldn't heal al the damage, so another was prepared. Xander sighed in bliss as the magic light cooled his aching skin, healing his badly burned skin.
"I'm sleepy, Seph. 'm gonna go t' sleep. Nighty nite."
Sephiroth chuckled; knowing his brother would be just fine. He lifted him in his arms and cradled him gently, as though he were weightless. The he turned to where Angel and Doyle were standing looking in fear at the device. He waved his hand and it was consumed by a 'Flare' spell, leaving nothing but scorched glass and melted steel in its wake.
"Angel, I suggest you learn to deal with your problems by yourself in future. I'm not a charity service."
Then he turned and teleported away, leaving the vampire and half-Bracken Demon to gape at the space he had vacated.
The familiar colours of the apartment in the Ragpicker's Lane complex were a sight for sore eyes for Sephiroth after the green of the amazon, the sandstone yellow of the Temple, and the grey streets and neon lights of Los Angeles. Xander shifted slightly on his shoulder, and the elder of the two men made his way to the younger warrior's bedroom. Comics and combat manuals were strewn about the floor, a stack of papers covered in Xander's messy scrawl in one corner. Homework and school textbooks were stacked neatly in another corner, and stray darts were lodged in a dartboard that had a picture of Snyder on it, holes aplenty.
Deciding it would be best to put his brother in the bed, and allow him to replenish the energy he had used up, Seph gently removed the coat from his brother's shoulders, and the pullover and trousers he had been wearing. All of the articles of clothing were ruined, charred and still smoking from contact with the Beacon.
The bed embraced Xander within its fluffy hold, his raw nerve endings screaming in protest at even this light contact. He let out a groan of protest echoed along the link that the two sons of Jenova shared, causing Seph to wince, then ruffle Xander's hair fondly and turn to leave. Manipulating your cellular energy was extremely tiring the first time you did it, but it would get easier.
The magic that Seph had used to rejuvenate his brother had healed up the majority of the damage, but the body was still left with some damage, and magic was not a cure-all. There were some wounds that even magic could not heal. Time could heal such wounds, if they were left to its tender mercies. Sephiroth went to the kitchen and filled a small dish with ice cold water, and fetched a face cloth, which was then placed into the bowl to absorb the cool liquid. Seph decided to abandon decorum and teleported back to Xander's room.
When he placed the cold cloth on Xander's forehead, he was rewarded with a sigh of contentment and a wave of sheer bliss cascading down the link. Sephiroth smiled softly and again walked silently from the room, closing the door behind him. As he walked into the living room, he was met by the concerned expressions of Kendra and Anastasia.
He sighed, then flopped down bonelessly into a chair, his usual grace nowhere to be found.
"Mr Sephiroth? What's wrong with Xander?"
"He was injured, Kendra, and is now resting."
Kendra was beaten to the next question by Anna.
"Can't you heal him, dear?"
"I have done. Additional rest is needed, in order for him to replenish his energy."
Both women nodded, relieved to hear that Xander was tired rather than injured.
Seph strode over to the TV and switched on the Playstation, hoping to pass the time with a little Role-Playing.
"I suggest you ladies make yourselves comfortable. If Xander follows my timetable, he will probably sleep for a period of twenty-four hours."
The women nodded. Anna went to make a pot of tea, while Kendra went to work out in the training room.
There was a knock on the door, and Richard Wilkins the Third paused his game, looking up from the television screen that displayed his battle with Jenova. He looked most displeased at having his game interrupted. His angry expression was slowly schooled back into his nice guy Politician face.
"Come in."
Mr. Trick walked in, his expression all business, with a hint of unease about it. Wilkins knew he was not going to like the news his Vampire deputy was going to deliver.
"I got news from LA, boss. It's bad."
"Don't just stand there like a lemon, Mr. Trick. Tell me."
"The Scourge were wiped out, to the last man. They're all dead."
"Well golly, that's just awful! What about Kallen?"
"She found Harris, almost gave him a nose bleed, then reported his whereabouts to the Scourge Assassin Squad."
"I suppose young Mr Harris wiped the floor with them?"
"In a word? Yes. They succeeded in pissing him off, and he used magic that he'd shown no aptitude for previously. Firaga."
"Impressive. Most impressive. Young Mr Harris is catching up to his elder in terms of skill. My characters have yet to even break through to the second level of Materia magic."
"Then he interrogated the lone SAS Demon he left alive, taking Angelus and another man off to track down Tiernan."
"Did Angel survive the altercation? Or this third man?"
Trick looked off to the side.
"They did. Sephiroth turned up, gave his little friend a new weapon, and then kicked some ass."
"Mr. Trick, please do not swear in my office!"
"Sorry sir."
"Apology accepted. It is becoming clear to me that there are very few individuals or groups who can be relied upon to eradicate either Sephiroth or Alexander, let alone both of them."
The man who had planned and plotted for a century to ascend beyond Mortality, had his eyes drawn back to the television screen.
"Hold on, Mr. Trick, I've just had a brainwave. Go back to Lovecraft, all that dark Gothic flim-flam. What do the dead fear?"
"Death."
"Yes, Mr. Trick. Find what Sephiroth fears, and bring it out into the open, use it against him, destroy him with it."
On the television screen, paused in the middle of a magical attack, Jenova's hideous countenance grinned maliciously.
Xander slept, his mind blissfully unaware, as his body slowly healed itself and worked at replenishing the energy that he had expended. The Jenova cells that now made up an enormous section of his genetic code, infused with the building blocks of his being, had awakened to their true power during the final confrontation with The Scourge.
He could, if he so chose, stand as Sephiroth's equal in terms of power. The only disadvantage he had was that Sephiroth still dwarfed him in experience. A comparison of physical strength, speed or magic would find them evenly matched.
If Alexander Harris had been awake, he would have realised none of this. As it was, he continued to sleep. The only person aware of the shift in the balance of power between the two brothers was Sephiroth himself, and he was busy completing the Shin-Ra Headquarters in Midgar, undertaking the rescue of Aeris Gainsborough.
It was the next morning, a morning which found a Buffy and Willow who were both worried. Xander hadn't been around for a couple of days now, not even for Scooby Gang meetings. This was exceedingly unusual. Worse, Sephiroth had likewise been nowhere in sight. The possibility that they were up to something innocent like gong on holiday was not even considered by the two young women. In fact, the only possibility that had occurred to them was that something enormously dangerous had come up, and both Xander and Sephiroth had been needed to deal with it.
The only thing holding Buffy back was her pride. It was still rather upset that Xander had beaten her in a fight. Sure, he had all these powers, and Sephiroth as a teacher, and weaponry from another world, but she was...
Wait a minute.
Wait. A. Minute!
Was it any wonder that he had beaten her, given all these advantages? She was the Vampire Slayer, true, but she had none of the things that Xander had. It made perfect sense, then, that he should beat her. It was the obvious result.
'Okay, Pride, meet Fall.'
She and Willow were going to go check up on Xander. Starting at his apartment. Even if the two males were away, Kendra and Anastasia would be there, and they were sure to know what was going on.
Willow simply followed when Buffy started moving, her worry plain for all to see.
Before they could leave school grounds, they were interrupted by Cordy and the Cordettes.
"Hey, you two. What's going on with Xander?"
"What do you mean, Cordelia?"
Before Cordelia could unleash her scathing retort to the blonde Slayer, Harmony interrupted.
"She means, loser, where is Harris and his fine behind, and why haven't they been at school for our viewing pleasure?"
Cordelia's ire had just found a new target.
"Thank you, Harmony. Now we all look like vapid, brain-dead whores, instead of just you. I could have gotten our question across with, like, a hundred times more dignity."
"But..."
"No, don't even speak. You've done more than enough damage as it is."
And so, Harmony Kendall's ranking in the pecking order of Sunnydale High slipped further down.
Buffy and Willow looked at each other, unused to anyone calling Xander 'hot'.
"We don't know."
Buffy smirked, preparing her coup de grace.
"If we see him, we'll let you know that you were concerned about him. And his ass."
That said, she and Willow walked out, as Cordy and her Sheep turned to glare at a cringing Harmony, who decided to try feigning ignorance. Summoning up all the bluster and ire she could manage, she put her master plan into action.
"What? What are you all staring at?"
The glares intensified.
When Willow and Buffy got out of the School building, the redhead turned to her companion.
"Well, I suppose that settles it, huh?"
"Yeah, if Cordy and her group noticed it, things must be serious."
They both giggled, before walking off in the direction of Xander's apartment.
Buffy was obviously considering something, so her friend stayed quiet.
Showing her usual amount of thought on romantic issues, Buffy was considering if Anna and Willow had ever met. If they hadn't, and Willow got all jealous, things could go badly...
"Hey, Wills, have you met Sephiroth's girlfriend?"
Willow racked her memory.
"No, never."
"Well, you better prepare yourself. She's a totally hot woman, and she treats Xander like a little brother. She gave Seph and Xander a first class lecture after they got into a fight with some Demons."
Willow nodded.
"So, strictly platonic relationship?"
"Absolutely, Wills. Nothing to get jealous about. And, by the way, why didn't you tell me Xander could cook?"
Willow looked uncertain.
"I didn't?"
"No! I walked in on him and Anna exchanging recipes one afternoon!"
"I was sure I told you about that! As it happens, Xander is a great cook! His sausage hotpot is to die for!"
Willow's enthusiasm was, as usual, infectious. Buffy found herself getting excited as well, her earlier worry floating away on the wind.
Ragpicker's lane was half a block away, and the girls couldn't wait.
When they reached the door to the building, there was a noticeable change in Willow's demeanour.
"Uh...Buffy?"
The Slayer, who had been about to knock on the door, paused.
"Yeah?"
"I don't have to...y'know...uh...go inside, do I?"
Buffy looked confused.
"Well, in order to ask where Xander is, we will have to talk to the occupants."
"Oh! I know that! It's just...well...Sephiroth still... kinda...scares me."
Buffy nodded.
"I get it. He's got this presence to him, that just makes you think 'Warning, Warning, Danger, Will Robinson!'"
Willow couldn't help but giggle.
"But, at the same time, he's controlled by Xander and Anastasia."
She shook her head.
"No, that's not right. You can just tell, that wouldn't do anything if he didn't want to. And he wouldn't not do something just because he was told not to."
"Um, Buffy? Not really making me feel much better..."
"Well, what I'm trying to say is, if there was any reason to be afraid of him hurting you, he would have done it by now. If he hasn't, he won't, y'know?"
Willow nodded. That seemed a perfectly accurate hypothesis, given her observations. She'd go with it.
Buffy seized the opportunity to knock on the door.
She still jumped a metre into the air when Sephiroth answered the door. In his slippers, he was a marginally less frightening presence. But only by enough to stop Xander's childhood friend from having a coronary.
'Right. Now that I have handed that young braggart Rufus his ass, what comes next?'
After a rather pitiful technological terror had attempted to impede the escape of the AVALANCHE crew, who were escaping by elevator at the time, there was a mini-game where Cloud rode along the highway on a bike, protecting his friends (all riding in a truck) from a Shin-Ra pursuit unit. Strife had actually succeeded in looking 'cool', which was a highly unusual event. So much so that Sephiroth was speechless.
Zack had been described by many observers as cool. Sephiroth, with his aloof, distant personality and icy demeanour, had been more 'absolute zero' than cool. Cloud had always been shy, though he had tried to hide it by being ready and willing to fight anyone, anywhere. In all honesty, even the SOLDIER members had respected his tenacity and grit.
'If only he had been stronger mentally. In every respect bar his height, he was a physically perfect candidate for SOLDIER. It was his mind that held him back. Jenova would have destroyed his identity totally. She very nearly did, anyway, after Hojo had his way with the boy.'
Cloud had fabricated a story based on his discussions with Zack about SOLDIER, and had gotten lost in his own stories. with the assistance of Jenova cells and a heavy dose of extreme mental trauma. At one point Cloud described himself, after Tifa had helped him separate truth from fantasy, as the master of his own imaginary world.
It said much about his character and tenacity, Sephiroth reflected, that Cloud had not been permanently damaged by his experiences.
At one point in time, that thought would have made Sephiroth laugh for hours. He felt severe discomfort at the thought.
'I was completely insane. I was so insane that I thought I was controlling Jenova, using her to gain ultimate power with a little horrific vengeance as an aside, when in fact she was manipulating me. I once claimed Cloud was a puppet, but in truth, so was I.'
His musings were cut off as he heard footsteps come to a stop outside his apartment door.
'Damn it! I'm trying to brood here! Some people are so inconsiderate...'
He pressed start, but the game refused to pause.
'Hm. Apparently I can't pause during Full Motion Videos. How irritating.'
He switched off the Playstation, standing in one smooth motion, and treading silently to the front door. His sharp hearing picked up a hushed murmur of conversation from the other side of the door. He identified the speakers as Xander's friends Willow and Buffy, before the conversation ceased, and the door was knocked upon.
The girls were surprised to see him.
"Oh, you're home."
"Yes. I live here. It's where I tend to be."
"Uhh...is Xander home?"
"Yes."
A moment of absolute silence passed.
"Can we come in and see him?"
"No."
Both girls stared in shock. Another moment of silence passed.
"Why not?"
"He's asleep."
Willow looked like she was about to erupt.
"What? He shouldn't be sleeping in! He should be at school!"
"He is asleep, and will remain that way until this evening at the earliest. He was involved in a battle in Los Angeles."
A look passed between the two females.
"Ah-hah! I knew it! Xander was involved in something Apocalypse-ish!"
Sephiroth shook his head, causing his long silver hair to flow from side to side.
"Not much of an Apocalypse. Only Los Angeles was at risk."
"I-is he OK? He's not hurt or anything, is he?"
Sephiroth's expression softened slightly, his eyes becoming less glacial.
They were concerned about his little brother. He'd cut them some slack.
"Come in and see him, if you like. But you'd better not wake him, or I will be...displeased."
He stood aside and let them in, before closing the door. Then he lead them to Xander's room.