Xander Harris stood with his friends: Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles, Daniel Osborne, and Cordelia Chase.
But there was one person missing, one person that meant a whole lot to him…Buffy Summers.
He saw the whole thing between her and Angelus. After the vampire opened the portal, Buffy sent him through. Then she walked away slowly and crying. Xander would've gone after her, but he had to take care of Giles.
The young man turned around and saw Buffy standing at the other side of the school near the bus stop. A grin appeared on his face, but before he could try to talk to her, he had to make an excuse.
Xander turned back to his friends, and said, "Uh…guys?"
Willow looked up at her best friend, "Yeah?"
"I'll be right back."
And before Willow or the others could say anything, Xander ran away and toward the bus, but by the time he got there, the bus already left. "Shit," he cursed.
Buffy watched her friends at the school and knew that she couldn't face them.
There was too much pain in her heart. She had to send her lover to hell, and she even saw the return of Angel.
Angel's face was burned in her memory as he got pulled into the portal, and as soon as he left, she broke down crying. Buffy loved him, and he was gone.
The horn sounded, and she turned back around and walked into the bus. After giving her ticket, she found a spot and sat down. The blond looked out the window and could see Xander heading toward the bus.
A tear emerged out of her eye as the bus started to pull away. She placed her hand on the window trying to get her last touch of her friends.
"Goodbye, guys." She said to herself, "take care of yourselves. I love you."
Xander stopped as he watched the bus.
He was too late, and watched it go over the horizon.
The teenager looked back at the school and could see his friends heading inside. Xander had to decide. He could either go back to school with his friends, or he could try and get Buffy back into her life where she had friends and a mother that loved her.
And Buffy needed a friend now. She was a mess and was in no shape to fight vampires and demons. His friend would be an easy target, and that's something he didn't want.
Xander figured out what he had to do. Buffy was too important to him. He loved her, and he didn't want to see her die.
So, Xander would go home, pack, and go to the bus station. There he would find out where bus number, 309, was going and go after her—hoping beyond anything to bring her safely home.
Xander swung his bag over his shoulder and walked over to his car. He jumped inside and drove toward his home thanking god that he knew his parents weren't home.
Xander slumped back into his seat and roared the engine back to life. On the dashboard was a piece a paper that he just received at the station. On it was the information he needed.
Bus 309 was on it's way to Los Angeles, and that's where Xander was destined to go and bring back his love.
Buffy Summers walked off the bus to an old yet familiar setting—Los Angeles.
She took a deep breath and looked at her surroundings. The last time she was here was two summers ago with her father. She glanced back at the bus and watched it depart.
As soon as it was gone, Buffy walked out of the ally and wondered what she was going to do. Before she could do anything, the Slayer had to get a place to live. That and a job. After all, she had to survive.
"Buffy?"
The tone of the voice made Buffy stagger a few feet back. She looked at where the voice and saw a tall man. It was Angel, and he was standing in broad daylight.
She took a few steps toward him, "Angel?" She whispered.
"You killed me. I loved you and you killed me."
Tears started to emerge from her eyes. "I didn't mean to."
"You killed me, Buffy," he repeated.
A nod was made, "I know."
"Why?"
"Because," she whispered, "I had to save the world."
He glared at her, "Well, congratulations, Buffy. You killed me and you saved the world. And now you're alone. You're alone, and you'll never find anyone. I was your chance at happiness, and you lost it. You left your friends. Now, you'll die alone with no one that cares for you. No one. No Willow, no Giles, no mom, and no Xander. You're good as dead."
With that said, Angel disappeared and she crumbled to the ground. She made her way to a nearby ally, and started to cry for the life that she left behind.
Xander walked up to a nearby counter. "Excuse me?"
A man turned around and saw a young teenage with dark hair. "Can I help you?"
He nodded, and went inside his walled. Xander showed him a picture of Buffy. "Have you seen this girl?"
The man shook his head, "Sorry, son. I haven't seen her before. Kind of a cutie though. She you're girlfriend?"
(I wish,) he thought to himself. "No, she's just a friend I'm trying to find."
The man shrugged, "Sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Xander looked around and spotted a sign in front of him. On it were the words, 'Help Needed.' "Yeah, maybe you could. Can I get an application?"
The man smiled. He liked this kid. "Sure thing," he said as his hand slid underneath the counter and pulled out a piece of paper. "here. Fill this out, and give it back to me."
The Sunnydale resident took the paper and flashed him a smile, "Thanks."
The clerk said, "I'll tell you what, son. I like you, and you obviously care about that young girl enough to ask a stranger if I've seem her. After you fill out the form, I'll give it the manager and put in a good word for you."
He beamed, "Thanks. And you are?"
The older man replied, "The name's Ralph Furely, but you can call me RF."
"Nice to meet you, RF. My name's Xander."
The clerk said, "Well, Xander. Please fill out the form, and give it back to me. It shouldn't take you that long."
Xander nodded, took the form, and went to the far table by the entrance of the store and started to fill it out.
Buffy started washing her hands in the bathroom of the restaurant she was in. Her hands were covered in soap and she began rubbing them together.
Then she looked into the mirror and there were traces of tears that were left from her crying earlier.
The whole scene was so burned into her memory. She could remember every detail of her Angel and how she sent him to hell. The portal opened and Angel came back. She could see his face change from that demonic one that Buffy loathed to the innocent one that the Slayer loved.
So much emotion was in her soul at that moment. She lost her love—the one person who could understand her…or so she thought.
Then she remembered the school from just this morning. She looked at her friends one last time and went on the bust. As it departed, she saw her friend, Xander Harris, running toward her.
Xander was always the one person that could see through her. Even though it has been two years, Xander knew her to the core. He knew everything about her, and she truly missed him.
She missed the sound of his laugh as well as his voice. The way his eyes always looked at her. He cared deeply for her, and she knew it. But, she didn't feel anything for him.
It was Angel that made her heart skip a beat, and now he was dead.
"I guess the watchers are right," she sighed to herself. Slayers aren't meant to find happiness. They're meant to be raised as vampire slayers and nothing else. They're not supposed to find happiness or enjoy the time they spend on this Earth. They're only meant for killing demons and vampires. Nothing else.
Soon teas started to remerge. "Can't I ever stop crying?" She sad aloud.
She went into a nearby stall and closed the door. After sitting on the toilet, she sat there waiting for the tears to stop, and then she had to move on.
When her crying would stop, Buffy would have to take a deep breath, compose herself, and go out into the world to try and find a job and a place to stay.
One thing was for sure, Buffy Anne Summers couldn't return home—back to Sunnydale.
Her past was full of pain, and she didn't want to revisit that. She didn't want to see her mother who told her not to return home if she left that house, and she left that house. Now, she can't return home.
Xander sat in a white office. In front of him sat the manager.
"So, Xander?"
He gulped, "Yes, Mr. Brundle."
The man chuckled, "First of all, Xander. Like I said earlier. Call me Mike."
Xander nodded slowly, "Sorry, Mike."
"So, you just graduated Highschool, huh?"
A deep breath was made, "Yes, I did, Mike. Now, that I graduated, I want to start fresh. So, I moved away from Sunnydale and came here."
(A fresh start is always nice,) he thought to himself as he marked it down on the application. "Everything seems to be in order here, Xander. Resume looks good, and nothing else seems to be wrong. RF gave you a good recommendation. And if anything ever comes up, which I doubt, I'll just call Rupert Giles here."
He smiled, "Does this mean I get the job, Mike?"
Mike nodded, "Congratulations, Xander. You're the new cashier here at S-Mart."
Xander smiled, "Thanks, Mike."
He said, "You're welcome, Xander. You start tomorrow. Be here at 9:00 and we'll show you the ropes to this store, then you can start cashiering."
The now employed teenager offered his hand, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
Mike shook his hand; "I'll see you tomorrow. We'll go over the paper work and everything else."
With that said, Xander left the office and headed for the exit.
He was about to leave when he heard a voice, "How'd it go?"
Xander turned around, "I got the job, RF."
The landlord grinned, "That's great, Xander. When do you start?"
"Tomorrow, RF. Tomorrow. Now, if you don't mind. I'm going to go try and find my friend."
He nodded, "Sounds like a plan. I'm afraid though, I can't help you, my young friend. Y'see, I'm what as known as a ladies' man. She won't stand a chance from RF."
He chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you tomorrow."
With that he was about to leave when Ralph spoke up, "Since your new here, Xander. You're going to need a place to live and I happen to own an apartment building in Santa Monica."
An apartment in Santa Monica? True, it wasn't Los Angeles, but the two were neighboring cities. Plus, it would an area for him to create a headquarters for his Buffy search.
"How much is the rent?"
Normally, Ralph would charge 600 dollars a month, and he would make sure that his tenants paid that. He always had trouble with his tenants: Jack, Chrissy, and Janet. Although they were good people, and paid to the best of their abilities.
Xander on the other hand, was in a tight situation. From what he's learned from him, Xander was only here to search for his friend and recently found himself a job. So, that means he didn't have that much money. He needed to sound reasonable.
"Here's the deal, Xander. Normally, I'd charge people 600 a month, but given your current situation, I've decided to drop it down to 200 a month. This is only for the first few months however. Once three months go by, I expect you to pay the full 600."
He smiled, "Thanks, RF. I got 200 in my bank account, and I'll pay you as soon as I get to the bank. And don't worry, I'll have your 600 after the three months."
"Good. Now, wait ten minutes, then I'll show you your apartment. I only got ten minutes left on my shift."
"I'll be waiting." With that said, he went over to an empty chair and sat down.
Buffy needed to stop and do something that she was used to—something that was so normal for her, that she could get the night off. And that idea was slaying.
Today has been extremely hard for her. For the first few hours in Los Angeles, all she could do was cry over Angel, over the life that she left behind and all she wanted was for it to stop.
After a number of attempts, she got a job as a waitress at Helen's Kitchen. She applied at numerous restaurants and stores, but it was at that final restaurant she got lucky. Her pay was somewhat decent and that was enough for her to afford a place to live and get some food in her system.
To make her past something unremembered, she had to create a new identity. So, Buffy Anne Summers had to die for the time being, and in her place was now Anne Phillips.
Her living situation was also going somewhat well. She managed to pay for a low-rent apartment, but that's all she needed.
But no matter how hard she tried to move on with her life at that moment, her heart still was broken, and she needed time to heal.
"Slayer…"
She heard that word and she immediately went into Slayer mode. The Slayer turned around and spotted three vampires.
"You're dead." One of them hissed.
She withdrew her stake, "Want to bet? Because, personally, I don't think you should bet on something that you'd most definitely lose."
The other vampire said, "Oh, but I do want to bet. I bet we take you and turn you."
As a response, she plunged her stake into that very demon's chest. "That's why you shouldn't bet with the Slayer, you'll lose every time."
The last vampire chuckled, "I don't think so, Blondie." Then he swung a roundhouse across her face, and she easily ducked the demon's attack.
But one thing she didn't count on was that the other vampire used that time to his advantage. While Buffy was in a crouching position, he foot swept the Slayer and she landed on her back. "This is not what I needed."
"Oh, but it was what you needed." The vampire that did a roundhouse said. He then straddled her with his hands pinning down her arms keeping her in place. He lowered his face, put on his vampiric face, and licked his lips.
Buffy could feel the end coming. She tried desperately to move any limb, but with her arms pinned down and her legs held in place by the last demon, she couldn't move. In short, Buffy felt helpless.
Suddenly the vampire that had her arms pinned down was lifted from his position. "Get the fuck off of me!" the demon yelled.
With her now free arms, she grabbed the other vampire from her ankles and somersaulted them both over. Now, she was on top. With her stake, she jabbed him in the heart, and the vampire exploded into dust.
After that, she sat back up and saw a shadow of the stranger that rescued her from that vampire. "Who's there?"
But instead of answering, the stranger staked the vampire and ran off leaving one perplexed Slayer. "What kind of guy leaves without saying anything?" Then she thought of Angel, "Stupid question."
Ralph Furely led Xander up the stairs leading to some rooms. As soon as they reached the second floor, Ralph said, "Before I let you look at your room, Xander. There are some people I want you to meet. But if I were you, I'd stay away from Jack."
"Why Jack?"
The landlord chuckled, "Because Jack's a girl."
"Huh?"
"He's gay. That's the only reason why I let him live with two girls."
Two girls and a guy? That sounded like Xander, Buffy, and Willow. Same situation, he thought. But it's not a living situation yet. And nobody thinks he's gay. Well, accept for Larry.
Before he could further think of anything else. Ralph knocked on the door.
Soon the door opened and there stood a blond woman. "Hi, Mr. Furely."
Ralph smiled, "Hi, Chrissy. This is Xander. I thought you, Janet, and Jack might want to meet him."
"Sure. C'mon in." She said as she opened the door further.
RF and Xander walked inside only to find a brunette and a guy Xander never thought he'd see again. With his eyes glaring, Xander yelled, "Get away from them, Ted!"
Without another thought, Xander ran into the room and tackled Jack. After pinning him to the ground, he said, "Going after Mrs. Summers wasn't enough for you, Ted. Wasn't it? Now you're going after these two girls. You make me sick!"
Jack looked at him confusingly, "Uh…my name's not Ted. I'm Jack. Jack Tripper."
This didn't move Xander, "So you changed your name? I'm not totally surprised."
The chef looked at his friends, "Guys, help me."
RF chuckled, "You sure want help, Jack. I thought Xander would be right up your alley."
"C'mon, Chrissy." Janet said to her roommate, "let's help Jack."
She showed a confused look, "Help him with what?"
The brunette sighed, "Help me get Xander off of Jack."
Jack said, "Xander. Like I said before, my name is not Ted. Ted's my uncle."
"Uncle?" He asked out loud. It made sense. Ted did seem to look older than Jack here and he realized something else. This 'Ted' was breathing. Robots don't breath.
A soft chuckle was sounded. "Sorry," he said to Jack as he stood back up. The same time the girls were helping the chef up.
Jack got back to his feet after losing his balance temporarily. "It's alright, Xander. Uncle Ted has bad relationships with women. The only thing I got from him was my good looks."
"Again, sorry about that. But, it's nice to meet you."
Janet left her friend's side, "You should know better than to attack people at first site."
"Yeah." Was Chrissy statement.
(Well, when you live on the Hellmouth, it's kind of hard to do that, Janet.) he thought to himself.
"Xander," RF said, "I want you to check out your room, because I got a hot date tonight."
"Oh, you do, Mr. Furely? That's great news. I'm sure you'll have tonight."
He nodded at Janet, "Of course she'll have fun tonight. She's going out with me, isn't she?"
"Right you are, RF. Right you are." Jack said.
Xander stated, "Yeah, I'll check out the room and go see if I can find Buffy."
"Buffy?" Chrissy asked, "who's Buffy?"
"She's my friend from Sunnydale, Chrissy. She ran away today and I found out that she's staying in LA somewhere. I ran into RF at S-Mart today, and he offered me an apartment."
"Good luck with that," said the chef.
"Thanks. We better get going."
With that said, Xander and Ralph left apartment 201 and went to apartment 202.
Buffy dusted the remaining ash off her pants as she walked out of the cemetery. "I wonder who that was back there?" She asked herself.
She quickly placed her stake into her purse and headed back to her apartment. Even though it didn't last that long, it was somewhat of a workout, and she did need that to keep in shape.
As she headed for the apartment, she realized something. She needed a knife to make more stakes. All she had on her was one…Mr. Pointy. And she needed spares
But where do go? Then she remembered Helen mentioning a department store that was near the diner, and it might be the best place to get one. (S-Mart here I come) she thought to herself.
Buffy walked into the store and walked through the aisles looking for a knife. Where to look? The Slayer passed clothes, house wares, electronics, and so on.
Soon she came to sports. That might be the perfect place. Buffy went down the aisle and saw the normal stuff…baseball bats, soccer balls, basketballs, and the usual stuff.
Then she came to the fishing aisle.
"Can I help you?"
Buffy looked from where the voice came from, "Yeah, maybe you can. I'm looking for a knife."
"A knife? Aren't you a little young for carrying a knife?"
Buffy glared at the man, "I'm old enough. I might look young, but I assure you. I'm old enough. It's not my fault I look younger than I am. I don't go out in the sun that much."
"That's a shame. A pretty girl like yourself deserves to go out into the world," he said with a lopsided grin.
Buffy blushed, "That's sweet. But if you don't mind, I got work tomorrow, and I just want the knife that's all."
The man nodded, "Right. This way."
For the first time Buffy looked at the man. And her eyes widened. This guy looked like Xander. (God! He looks like Xander!) she thought to herself. (I miss him so much. I wonder what he's doing right now? Probably looking after my mother. He's the kind of guy that would do that.)
"Here we are…the knives."
That brought her back to the here and now. Buffy looked through the display counter; (No…no…no…bingo.) "I'll take that ones," she said as she pointed to the one she wanted.
"So what do you need it for?" The man asked as he opened the case she put the innocent look on her face.
"Whittling, a girl has to have her hobbies. Thanks…Mister?"
He smiled, "Just call me Ash."
RF opened the door to the apartment and flipped on the switch, "Welcome to room number 202, Xander. It's not as big as 201, but there are two rooms with two beds. A kitchen and a living room. Nothing special, but it should be able to fill your needs."
Xander smiled, "Thanks, RF. This isn't that bad of an apartment." Then he walked inside and took a look around. The apartment was all what the landlord said. It was a nice place, better than he thought it would be.
"So, I give you 200 dollars a month for the first three months, and then it goes up to 600, right?"
"Right. So, will you take it?"
A grin appeared, "How could I not?"
"Great. I'll give you the paperwork tomorrow at work. See you then."
He nodded, "Sure, tomorrow."
Then the elder man left the apartment and Xander flopped himself down on the couch. "This is better than my house in Sunnydale!" he exclaimed out loud.
He turned around and spotted a telephone by the kitchen. He got up and went over to it. After taking it in his hand, he dialed a number, and placed it to his ear.
It rung a few times when the phone was picked up. "Hello, Buffy?"
Xander sighed knowing it wasn't whom she was suspecting. "Sorry, Mrs. Summers. It's not Buffy. It's me…Xander."
"Xander?"
He nodded, "Yeah, it's me, Mrs. Summers."
"Where are you?"
Xander decided to be completely honest with her. Knowing the truth will only help Buffy in the long run. "I'm in Santa Monica."
"Santa Monica? Why Santa Monica? Is Buffy with you? Please tell me she's alright. Please, Xander. I want her back. I want her back home with me."
He could hear the emotion in her voice and it could only make him want to cry now. But he had to hold it in, he had to be there for her mother even if he really isn't in Sunnydale. "Sorry. Buffy's not with me. That's why I'm in Santa Monica. I'm looking for her."
"Please find her Xander. Please bring my baby back."
A deep breath was made, "Mrs. Summers, I saw Buffy going on a bus from school this morning. I found out that she's somewhere in Los Angeles. So, I got in my car and headed for LA. I already got myself a job and an apartment. My whole purpose for being here is to find Buffy. When I find her, I'll talk to her, and bring her back home."
He could hear a sigh over the line. "Thank god, Xander. Just promise me to stay safe and take care of her when you do find her. I know everything. Mr. Giles and Willow told me everything. Just bring her back to me—tell her that she has nothing to fear. I love her. We all do, and I know you do too."
A small smile appeared on his lips, "I do love her, Mrs. Summers, and I'll bring her home."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"I'll talk to you later, and I'll keep you in on everything I find out. After I'm done talking to you, I'm going to talk to Giles, and then go to bed. I'm dead tired, and I'm no good tired. But tomorrow after work, I'll try and find her."
"Don't overstrain yourself. But, thank you. Good night."
Then she hung up the phone.
Next, Xander called Giles and told everything that he told Joyce to him. He also told the Watcher that Xander gave him his name on his resume. And the elder man was fine with it.
Xander hung up the phone and started to prepare for bed.
As he was about to slide into bed, he felt something. Basically, hunger hit, and he didn't have any food yet.
With a yawn, he got out of bed, got redressed, and headed for S-Mart.
"I'm Buffy." She said with a smile.
"Well, let me get that knife for you, and then you can leave."
The blond nodded, "Sounds good to me."
With that said, Ash retrieved the knife from the display case and rung it up on the cash register.
Shortly Buffy came up to the register and asked, "How much?"
The former promised one looked at the digital display and then back at the young woman. "17 dollars and 99 cents."
Buffy opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. After pulling out her money, she gave it to him. "Here you go."
Ash nodded, and put in the money into the register. After getting her change, he said, "There's your change. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart."
With taking her money, she showed a confused look.
"They make me say that," he said sheepishly.
"Uh…huh." The young woman said slowly as she grabbed her bag. "I'll see you around, Ash."
She was about to leave when Buffy noticed his hand, "Whoa!" Xander's friend said aloud.
The clerk noticed the tone of her voice. "What?"
Buffy pointed to his hand. "What happened to your hand?"
His hand? Why did people always have to ask about his hand? Stupid question. People always ask about unexplainable things.
He'll never forget what happened to his hand. When he was at the cabin, the evil that was let out by the tape got into his hand and it became processed. The hand started to try and kill him.
After looking around the cabin, he noticed the chainsaw. So, he cut his hand off at the wrist.
Flash forward to when he got transported to medieval Europe. After defeating some deadites with his shotgun and chainsaw arm, he asked the blacksmith to retool a gauntlet from an armor to fit his limb. That's how he got his metal hand.
He looked back at her, "Long story. Just let it go."
Buffy looked at the man and saw the numerous scars and a haunted look in his eyes. One look that she recognized all too well. She said in an almost voice knowing that he wasn't going to go into that story. "Sorry Ash."
The taller man smiled softly, "It's alright, Buffy. It's been a long day."
She agreed, "I know that feeling all too well. I too had a long day. A very long day."
A nod was made, "I'll see you around."
"Yeah, see you later, Ash." Then she headed for the exit.
As she was leaving the store, she failed to notice a young man in the food aisle.
Although there was this one thought in the back of her mind. What was Ash hiding? What hurt him so much in the past? With a sigh, she thought, (I'll figure it out somehow. That much I'll know. One thing is for sure, Ash is going to find himself one friend richer.) Then she left.
As Xander grabbed his snack of potato chips, he failed to notice a young blond walking toward the exit.
He quickly left the aisle and headed for the cashier at the front of the store.
After work, Xander searched for his friend, but came up empty handed.
He hated this. Xander would take the time to try and find her, yet he never did. But Xander couldn't give up. The teen would never give on her.
Buffy was extremely important for him. Not only because he loved her, but she helped shaped his whole existence. After Jesse died, turned, and later staked, Xander made a promise to help in the fight against evil.
He loved Jesse like a brother, and with him gone, he learned to cherish the friends that he had. Willow soon became his best friend, and he never would change that. Xander wouldn't be himself, if Willow weren't around. The two of them were the best of friends and they'd stay that way. To him, Willow was his little sister, someone to look after, and keep away the darkness.
Giles soon became his father—a better father than the one he owned. The Watcher treated him with respect and Xander valued that. There was this unspoken bond between them, and they learned to be grateful for that fact.
Cordelia was the girl that he loathed since preschool. Willow, Jesse, and him created the 'We Hate Cordelia Club' in which he was treasurer. But he had to face facts. With Buffy never returning his feelings, he tried to move on. After saving Cordy a few times, the two began sneaking around and making out in broom closets, which led to dating.
But one thing that Xander learned since yesterday is that he couldn't make it work with her. Cordelia always wanted to be part of the in crowd and that became her main goal within this past year.
No matter how hard he tried, his love for Buffy was still strong. She was the person that he dreamt about for the last two years, and even before that.
Xander never told anyone, not even Willow, but when he was younger. Years younger in fact, he had this dream where he was Peter Pan. And his Wendy was someone that he never met before. Someone who had the cutest smile, amazing blond hair, and the brightest hazel eyes.
The male Scooby spent years trying to figure out that one person, but he never could. Then in Highschool during his Sophomore year, he met the girl that was his Wendy. Buffy was Wendy, and that proved it. Buffy was his soul mate. She just didn't know it yet.
Even though he wanted to tell Buffy his love for her, he couldn't. Not yet anyway. She just lost her boyfriend and this point she'd still be grieving. So, he'd have to be her friend. That's what Buffy needed. And if that meant telling her the truth of his lie, then so be it.
What took top priority was to get Buffy back home safely, and if he could try to help her heal, to become the girl that he first met—the one so full of life. And that meant he had to bring Buffy back foremost, and the Slayer part second.
Xander walked down the sidewalk with a stake in his hand searching.
All of a sudden he felt a gust of wind go by his jacket. He turned around and spotted the back of a guy wearing a trench coat and fedora. "What's his problem?" He asked himself.
For some reason Xander just watched the guy heading down the street to a neighboring park. Xander looked at the park and saw children playing on the jungle gym and swing set.
"Great," he said to himself, "that's just what I need, a stalker."
But was he sure? Sure, this character looked strange, but that doesn't mean people in trench coats and fedoras watched children.
But that sure did sound extremely weird.
So, he decided just to watch from a safe distance for a while. If he saw anything strange he would intervene, or call the police.
Xander continued to watch.
Suddenly, the guy turned his head around, and Xander hid behind the nearest alley. After the guy took off his hat and scratched his head. He had horns. Horns? "Demon," he said under his breath.
He glanced around his shoulder and noticed a baseball bat behind some trashcans. Placing the stake in his pocket, he grabbed the bat and tightened his grasp. Cautiously, he walked over to the demon and placed the bat on his shoulder. "Move away from the children, and nobody'll get hurt."
The demon tensed at the touch of the wood on his shoulder. He turned around slowly to face whatever was behind the bat. There in front of him stood a normal looking teenage boy. In the demon's defense, he said, "Take it easy, Baby face. My name's Lorne. I'm an Anagogic Demon."
"Anagogic Demon?"
"Yeah, Sweetcheeks. That's me. I read auras, and I enjoy watching children play. Innocence is so rare in this world its wonderful to watch. Is that a crime?"
Xander didn't know if he was telling the truth. He didn't know that much about demons yet. It's only been a year and half since he started fighting the supernatural. But he knew who would know.
The teen grabbed Lorne's arm and said, "Come with me."
"Where we going?"
He said in an uneasy tone, "We're going to talk to a friend of mine. If he says that you're what you say you are. Then you have nothing to fear. If not, then we have some trouble. Don't we?"
Lorne didn't want to start trouble. Far from it, and he had nothing to hide. This boy didn't really seem that fearful. "Alright, but you're wasting your time, Sweetcheeks. I'm just a demon who runs a bar, Coritas. I'll bring you over there."
Ignoring the statement, he said, "Just come with me."
With that said, Xander pulled Lorne into a phone booth, and quickly closed the door. With his hand still holding the bat, he took his other hand and placed it under his ear, deposited money, and dialed a number.
It rung a few times, and then it was picked up, "Hi, Giles."
"Oh, hello Xander. How are you? Any news on Buffy?"
"I'm fine, but Buffy's not here. Anyway, the reason I called is because I need some info if you would."
"Information? What kind?"
Xander could picture Giles right now sitting up straighter going into as Buffy called it 'Watcher Mode.'
"Have you ever heard of Anagogic Demons, green skin two red horns, ring any bells?"
"Well yes they're generally peaceful and...Xander, why are you asking about Anagogic Demons!?"
"Because I'm currently holding one hostage after I found it watching a group of children play."
"Your holding a demon hostage where?"
Xander smiled. "In the phone booth."
Shocked, the elder man asked, "The phone booth?"
"Yep. That's what I said." Xander said as he heard a sigh and knew he was cleaning his glasses.
"Put him on." Giles said.
The boy breathed easily, "Are you sure he's friendly?" Lorne smiled in response, "He's showing his teeth."
"Yeah, he's friendly. Let me talk to him."
"If you say so." Then he took the phone and gave it to the demon. "He wants to talk to you."
The bar owner nodded, and spoke to the phone, "Hello?"
"This is Rupert Giles. I must apologize for my young friend. He used to live here on the Hellmouth..."
Lorne interrupted, "Say no more, Rupert. I completely understand. I get that a lot. Y'know, with being a demon and all. But I got the solution for him."
"And that is?"
A bright smile came on his face, "Caritas."
There was a chuckle over the line, "Well yes, that would do."
After that was said, Lorne said his goodbye and as did Xander. Then they hung up.
The teen cleared his throat, "I guess I owe you an apology, Lorne."
The demon smiled, "As I told your friend earlier, Sweetcheeks. Don't worry about it. So, what brings a kid from the Hellmouth to come out to LA."
He decided to be honest, "Well, Lorne. My friend is the resident slayer of Sunnydale. She ran away after sending her boyfriend to another dimension. It's my job to try and find her."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks. All I know is that she somewhere is in LA. I already got myself a job and an apartment."
He grinned, "It looks like you got yourself going," a pause was made remembering the conversation he had with Rupert, "why don't you come with me to Coritas? Have a drink and sing a song."
A confusing look was made, "Sing a song? I don't think so."
"Ah, c'mon, Sweetcheeks," he said as he wrapped his arm around Xander's shoulders. "A song is the perfect way for me to help you."
Xander looked at him strangely, "How does a song help me?"
"Walk with me. Talk with me."
The two of them left the phone booth and started walking down the street. Of course Lorne put back his hat on and tightened the belt around his waist.
"Here's the deal, Sweetcheeks. I'm an Anagogic Demon. I read your aura from your singing voice. With that, I can predict the future and hopefully it would lead you to your Slayer friend."
The teenager shrugged, "Why not? Anything to help me find Buffy'll be great."
"Great," the bar owner said as they turned the corner of one street to another.
Buffy was sitting on her bed with Angel showing his back to her. He's was pacing. " I did a lot of thinking today. I really can't be around you." The blond looked up at him, "Because when I am?"
She said, "Hey, no big. Water... over the bridge, under the bridge..."
After facing her, "When I am all I can ever think about is how badly I want to kiss you."
"...over the dam..." Then she paused, and continued, "Kiss me?"
"I'm older than you, and this can't ever... I better go."
Older? "H-how much older?" He looked a little over twenty.
"I should..."
Buffy approached him, "...go... You said..."
They kissed. They kiss again. They kissed passionately. She put her arm around him. The kiss went on for several moments. Angel suddenly pulled back and looks away.
A confusing look was made, "What? What is it? What's wrong?"
He turned to face her and growled. She saw he had his vampiric face on and screamed.
A flash of white light filled the room and after it dissolved.
Suddenly she found herself in the master's lair. She stood still with her white gown on and a crossbow in her arms.
"You're not going to kill me with that thing."
Buffy founder herself saying, "Don't be so sure."
"You still don't understand your part in all this, do you? You are not the hunter. You are the lamb."
She slowly walked around, searching for the Master. The blond came upon a dead and rotted body. She continued her search.
"You know, for someone who's all powerful, you sure do like to hide."
"I'm waiting for you. I want this moment to last."
"Well, I don't."
She searched for a few moments longer, then the Master suddenly came to stand right behind her.
The Master said, "I understand."
Buffy turned around and the Master knocked the crossbow out of her hands. He grabbed her by the neck.
His hand was around Buffy's throat. She swung up with her arm, knocked his hand away and started to run. He held his hand out toward her and she froze, caught by his hypnotic powers.
She looked back at him and couldn't move. He approached her, making slow twisting motions with his hand. He came up behind her, gently took off her leather jacket and lets it fall to the ground. Buffy was panting hard with fear.
"You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was about to break free and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything," then he started to whisper, "You're the one that sets me free! If you hadn't come, I couldn't go. Think about that!"
Buffy was frozen with fear. The Master waited a moment longer and then bent down and bit her at the base of her neck. He drank a few sips and lets her go.
"Oh, God! The power!"
Buffy fell to the ground and her face fell flat in the water. He headed for the exit when suddenly he got an idea. The Vampire turned back around and grabbed her by the neck and held her in front of him.
"At first I wasn't going to do anything with your body. Just let if stay in the water, but then I thought. What I need is a protector, and that's you."
He laid her down on the ground and cut a slit on his wrist. With one hand, he held Buffy's mouth open, and the other was a mere few inches from her mouth. "Bottoms up."
His blood then dripped freely into her system, and with no gagging reflex. Buffy was as good as turned.
"Oh, and I like your dress."
Lorne and Xander entered Caritas, and the teenager's eyes widened.
"What the?"
The bar owner said with a chuckle, "Welcome to Caritas, Xander. This place is a bar for both humans and demons," he pointed to the front of the bar, "over there is the stage. That's where you're going to sing for me later."
"Uh huh." Was Xander's statement.
Together they made it to the bar. Xander sat on a stool while Lorne went behind the counter. "What can I get you?"
Xander gave a chuckle, "A beer?"
Lorne looked at him, "I don't think so, Sweetcheeks. How about a Coke?"
A smile crossed his lips, "Can't blame a guy for trying."
"I guess," he said as he poured Xander the drink. "so, Xander, what are you going to sing for us?"
Suddenly Buffy walked into the Masters lair. Her eyes widened in shock. Down on the ground was the Master and he was kneeling over?
over?
?over her body?
"What the hell is going on?" She screamed aloud.
But the Master didn't move.
"Get away from my body, you Bastard!"
Again, he didn't move.
"He can't hear you, Buffy."
She knew that voice.
A big smile crossed her lips. She turned around and saw the very person that she thought it was.
"Xander?"
He nodded, "Hey, Buffy."
Without another thought, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. "My god, Xander. You're here. You're really here!"
He returned the hug.
"I'm not really, Xander, Buffy,"
Buffy pulled away slowly and looked into his eyes. They were the same brown pupils. Nothing seemed different, but then she looked closer. She shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand. "You're not, Xander."
He smiled, "I just picked this form so you could easily talk to me. Y'see, I'm your spirit guide."
"Spirit guide?"
He nodded, "Yeah, that's me, Buffy."
"Does that mean I'm?"
The Spirit guide cut her off, "No, you're not dead, Buffy. But your body over there is," he said as he pointed to her body that was lying on the ground. "This is a dream, Buff. The Master here just drained you and rather than leaving your body to rot like what happened in your real timeline, he turned you."
She whispered, "Turned me?"
He continued, "Yeah, y'see. The Master turned you so your vampire self will become his protector. My job is to help you."
"Help me with what?"
Xander searched his brain thinking of a song. What could he sing? He didn't know any song at the moment. Country was something, but he didn't want to focus on that type of music.
Definitely anything but country.
One thing that has been on Xander's mind a lot lately was Buffy and the way he felt about her.
Then a song hit him.
"Alright, Lorne. I got the song. What do I do now?"
He smiled, "Tell me the song, you go the stage, I play the karaoke machine and you're good to go."
"And you can read the future from my singing voice?"
The demon nodded, "You got it, Sweetcheeks. So, tell me. What's your song?"
Xander told him the title and the artist.
He grinned, "I've always loved that song."
The teenager shrugged, "It's a good song." Inwardly, he didn't want to tell the reason why he was singing it. Not at this moment anyway.
"Come with me, Xander."
Together, the two went to the stage and Lorne went to the microphone. "Well let's hear a round of applause for Xander Harris as he performs (Everything I Do) I Do it For You."
Then the crowd erupted in applause.
Then he goes to the karaoke machine and set up the song. When it was selected, he said to Xander. "Go for it."
Xander nodded and went to the microphone. He picked it up and said, "Here goes." After taking a deep breath, he sang:
"Look into my eyes - you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart - search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you
Look into my heart - you will find
There's nothin' there to hide
Take me as I am - take my life
I would give it all I would sacrifice
Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it there's nothin' I want more
Ya know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you
There's no love - like your love
And no other - could give more love
There's nowhere - unless you're there
All the time - all the way
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it there's nothin' I want more
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you
Walk the wire for you - Ya I'd die for you
Ya know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you."
As he concluded his song, he felt a little better about himself. It was a way to finally get his feelings out of his system, and Buffy wasn't even there.
Lorne chuckled, "Sweetcheek's got a hell of a destiny."
Xander placed the microphone back in it's position and looked at the crowd. They were applauding.
He grinned, "Thank you, thank you very much."
The teenager chuckled to himself, and jumped off the stage. He saw Lorne over at the bar cleaning some glasses. The Sunnydale resident approached the demon and asked, "What you think?"
Lorne stopped cleaning his glass and looked at the boy. "Not bad, King. You don't seem to have a bad voice. It's better to what I usually hear."
Xander got the reference, "Cute."
"Thanks."
"What was different about me, beside the fact that I'm human and not demon?"
The bar owner chuckled, "For one thing, Xander. The demons seem to sing off-key?way off-key."
Xander laughed a little too, "I guess I can understand that."
He nodded, "Well, they do. So, when you got up there, it was actually a treat to hear someone with a half way decent voice."
He blushed, "Thanks, Lorne. So…"
"So…?"
The brunette cleared his throat, "Did you read my aura?"
"Sure did, Sweetcheeks."
"And? Do I find Buffy?"
Lorne smiled, "You don't have to worry about that, Xander. You and your Slayer friend definitely will see each other again."
Xander sighed in relief, "Thank god."
"But…"
The boy didn't like that tone he had, "But what?"
Lorne answered, "You have some things to do before you find each other."
He showed a confusing look, "Like what?"
The bar owner answered, "Well, there is a ghost involved, but you will get help."
Xander showed a confusing look, "Ghost?"
A nod was made, "Yeah. A ghost is going to cause trouble."
"When does this happen?"
He sighed, "That I don't know, Sweetcheeks. But after you defeat the ghost you'll be closer to finding your friend."
"That's good to know." Then he remembered what the demon said, "Who's going to help me?"
The Spirit Guide answered, "Y'see, Buffy. The timeline that you saw is what would've happened if you staked Angel when you first got the chance."
"Huh?"
Xander's doubleganger replied, "You see, Buffy. Angel was never supposed to be your lover. What should've happened is that Angel was supposed to be your guide. With him as a guide, you would've never fell for him, gone after him when your mother was in the hospital, and staked Darla. With Darla still around, the Master wouldn't have thought to use your body as a protector."
Her eyes narrowed, "But Angel and I are soulmates! I love him, and he loves me! That, and why would I even stake him to begin with?"
He shook his head and leaned against the stalagmite next to the blond. "In this timeline that you just witnessed you were raised by Watchers. In that timeline, you had no friends like Xander or Willow. You would've only had Giles. You need your friends, Buffy. Without them, and you're as good as turned!"
She showed a confused look, "But how do my friends help me? I'm the Slayer…the Chosen one."
The Spirit Guide nodded, "Yes, you are. But I remember what you were thinking yesterday. You thought that it might've been better that you were raised only by the council. Well, the PTB sent me to show you what would've happened if your life was like that, and this version that you just dreamed about is the product."
She glanced at the ground and whispered, "I remember that…"
The guide smiled, "Good. But before we you wake up and start a new day. We're going to learn some things about your friends and see how much they want to be a part of your life. You have to realize that Xander and Willow love you, and how much of an effect that you have on them."
"How do we do this?"
"First, I'm going to show you what would happen in this timeline. And I promise you won't like the outcome."
"Why won't I like the outcome?"
He sighed, "Because I know everything that will happen, and I know how you think, and feel."
A determined look appeared on her face, "What could be so bad?"
The Spirit Guide took a deep breath, "Before I tell you, I want to say this. After we see those images. I'm going to show you what your friends have done for you, and show you how much they make a difference for you."
"Oh, ok," she paused, then continued, "but what's so bad that would happen in this timeline that I'm dreaming about?"
"It concerns William the Bloody."
Her eyes widened, "What does Spike have to do with this?"
"Let's just say this, Buffy. Without friends like Xander and Willow you'll be very lonely."
"What could happen with Spike?"
Lorne was about to answer when he heard a voice.
"So, Lorne? Where did you find this character?"
Xander turned around and looked at the person standing right next to him, "You're…you're…you're…"
The demon chuckled, "He gets that a lot, don't you?"
The new visitor nodded, "Yeah, I do, Lorne." He then turned to Xander, "The name's Kevin Sorbo."
Xander gasped, "Do you have any idea who you are?" He then glanced at Lorne, "Does he know who he is?"
Kevin chuckled, "As I told you before, I'm Kevin Sorbo."
His eyes widened, "You come here?"
The demon nodded, "And why not? Caritas is a bar for everyone, Sweetcheeks. Kevin must of heard of the place."
Xander chuckled, "Narcissist much?"
Kevin eyes widened. Narcissist. He knew that term. It came from ancient times. Narcissus was a young man that fell in love with himself. He had to be very careful and not let his secret identity come out.
After years of practice, it became second nature, but there were times when things did slip up and some of his old Herculean strength came through.
Lorne shook his head, "Nope. Not a narcissist. Just stating from the obvious. Caritas is a very well known place in Los Angeles."
His words cut Hercules off from his musings. "Yeah, the executive producer talking about this place. I've come here a few times, and I must say. You're not that bad of a singer."
Xander blushed, "Thanks, Mr. Sorbo."
Kevin smiled, "Call me Kevin."
A nod was made, "Alright, Kevin." (That feels weird to call him that,) he thought to himself.
"So…" Sorbo said, "where'd you find this kid, Lorne?"
The bar owner said honestly, "We met at Henson Park. I was watching children play, and he pulled me into a phone booth and called his watcher friend making sure I was a safe demon."
Xander shrugged, "Well, yeah. What else was I going to do? When I first saw him, I thought he was a stalker and maybe a pedophilic."
The television star chuckled, "You actually pulled Lorne into a phone booth?"
"With a baseball bat." Lorne added.
"A baseball bat? You mean to tell me that you were going to hit him with a bat?"
The teenager nodded, "I didn't know what to expect. So, I called a friend of mine, and we straightened it all out. So, Lorne invited me here, and then I sang."
Hercules stated, "Not a bad song. Tell me…," he drawled out, "what's your name again?"
"Xander."
"Alright, Xander. So, where are you from?"
The brunette answered, "Sunnydale. I'm just visiting."
Lorne interpreted, "He's trying to find his friend."
"Anything I can do?" Was Kevin's question.
"I don't want to get into it." Said Buffy's guide.
She narrowed her eyes. "Listen, Sprit Guide Xander Clone, you just told me that Angel and I weren't to be, in this universe I end up being turned all because I never had Xander and Willow, and something that has to deal with Spike. Why on Earth would I do anything with Spike? He's a vampire that trying to kill me!"
The guide winced, "Because…"
"Because why?"
"Because you two end up together romantically. Spike and your vampire self get together and take over Sunnydale."
She shook her head, "There is no way that I would ever hook up with Spike!"
He gulped, "You got to remember, Buffy. This is your vampire self. With your soul long gone, your body is an empty shell," the guide stopped.
"Why did you stop?"
The Spirit Guide walked over to her, and said, "It's going to be easier if I show you what happens. Like I said, you may not like it, but you have to remember, this is a warning to you. This is going to show you what would happen if you became the council raised Slayer."
"I understand."
A smile appeared on his face, "Good. We better go."
And with that, the room was engulfed in white, and everyone disappeared.
Buffy Summers and her Spirit Guide appeared in the middle of Main Street in Sunnydale.
Buffy looked around and could see that the town was in shambles. Nothing from her Sunnydale was the same. Flames of fire decorated the street. Lampposts were on the ground along with live wire from the telephone posts.
"How'd this happen?" She asked herself. "This place looks like Hell."
Xander's doubleganger replied, "As I told you, Buffy. This place is what would happen if were turned by the Master. Remember, Willow and Xander never existed. Darla is gone and you became the Master's protector."
She nodded, "I know all that. You told me. But what I want to know is how could my vampire self do this?"
"It all has to do with the death of Drusilla, Buffy"
Buffy turned around and faced him, "What happened to Drusilla?"
"You dusted her so you could get together with Spike."
Her eyes widened, "What?"
Xander shook his head, "Not at the moment. Thanks anyway."
Hercules smiled and went inside his pocket and pulled out a card. He gave it to him, "This is my card, Xander. It's to my direct line. I'll help you in anyway I can."
He nodded, "Thanks, Kevin."
The son of Zeus said, "Keep in touch. I'll help you in anyway I can." Then he left.
Xander sat on his bar stool and looked at the bar owner, "I can't believe I just met Kevin Sorbo."
Lorne smiled, "Well, you're easily liked, Sweetcheeks. Kevin's the kinda guy that willing to help in anyway possible. That is of course if it doesn't interfere with his show."
Xander's eyes widened, "Did you just say help?"
Lorne showed a confused look, "What?"
The teenager repeated himself, "Did you just say help?"
"Yeah, I guess I did."
"I'll see you later, Lorne."
And before Lorne could say anything, Xander left in pursuit of Kevin Sorbo. (I hope I'm right about this.)
The Spirit Guide replied, "Yeah, you did, Buffy. When the Master sired you, you had a hard time obeying orders. Apparently, since your soul was long gone, your vampire self lost all the humanity and you became a wild animal. And what do wild animals need?"
Wild animal? Of course she realized that vampires were basically enraged animals, but there was something else.
Something else that made her eyes widened? Wild animals needed a mate. Then she remembered Xander as the hyena.
He practically raped her, and he would've too if it wasn't for her throwing the desk. But she couldn't help having a smile appear on her face. Xander was a wild animal and so gentle.
Her dark side craved him. She wanted him to take her. Well, a small part anyway. Then she realized that he wasn't the true Xander. And he would never forgive her if she had her way with him.
Her body still craved the darkness. And since Xander was Willow's territory back then, she had Angel to move on with. The Vampire was the safe bet.
"Buffy?"
His voice brought her back to reality. "Sorry. Mind wandered."
The Spirit Guide glared at her, "Listen, Buff. I'm trying to help you and you're not even paying attention."
She said innocently, "Sorry."
Xander's doubleganger shrugged, "Forget it. Now what's your answer?"
A confused look came upon her face, "What was the question?"
He shook his head, "And what do wild animals need?"
Buffy grinned getting an idea, "Food."
"No!" He said with his eyes narrowing.
"Actually, they do. Animals need food to survive."
A chuckle was made, "Right. But that wasn't the answer I was looking for."
"I know…..uh?"
"What's wrong?"
"What do I call you? I mean you're my Spirit Guide, and you look like Xander. But you aren't Xander. So, what do I call you?"
He shrugged, "Dunno. Never thought of it."
"Let me think," she said to herself as she walked over to him and took a good look at him.
He in fact looked very much like Xander. They had the same hair and eye color. And his humor was the same. Which she did like, and only made her miss him even more.
But he also was a Spirit Guide. The problem with that was though that she didn't have any thing to compare his behavior too. He was strange, but like she just thought. Maybe that was the way Spirit Guides were supposed to act.
But what to call him? He had the Xander qualities and he had the spirit guide qualities too.
Then one name came up.
It was something that Buffy always thought Xander should've stayed with. It was the perfect name, and illustrated him perfectly.
With a smile, she suggested, "How about, Alex?"
"Alex, huh?"
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, Alex."
A weird look appeared on his face, "But isn't Alex the name that Xander hated." He opened his mouth to take a breath, and then closed it. The she said, "We're getting off topic. Now, Buffy. What do wild animals need?"
She continued the joke, "Water?"
"Your impossible you know that?"
Buffy smiled, "I know. I know. Wild animals need a mate."
A sigh was made, "Finally. You're right. Vampire you needed a mate. And Spike fit the bill. Now, I'm going to take you to see something."
"What are you going to show me?"
Xander ran out of the club real fast and saw Kevin Sorbo walking to the parking lot.
"Kevin! Wait up!"
The son of Zues was about to turn around when something came out of the shadows.
"Don't you ever leave me alone?" Kevin asked them.
"Why would we do that?" One of the vampires asked.
Another vampire said, "Think of it. We kill a celebrity, and we become celebrities."
"Nice thought, but it won't do any good."
Kevin and the five vampires looked turned to their right and saw someone coming.
"Get out of here, Xander! These guys are bad news!"
Xander smirked, "I'm used to it." He then went inside his pocket and pulled out his stake. "C'mon, overbites. Let's dance."
And with that, one of the vampires ran to Xander and grabbed him by the arm, then flung him to the back of a parked car.
"That's gotta hurt." Said the first vampire.
Xander slowly rose from the car, and said, "You're going to pay for that." But before he could do anything, his eyes rolled back, and fainted.
Hercules smiled, "Well, at least he won't see anything."
With that said, the demigod ran over to Xander and grabbed his stake. "Hope you don't mind, Xander."
After taking the stake, Hercules launched the wooden weapon at one of the undead demons and it immediately shattered into dust. "One down, four to go."
"Lucky throw." One of the vampires said.
A smile crossed his face, "Nothing lucky about it." He grabbed the demon and flung him to where the other three vampires were. They all fell to the ground.
As they were about to get up, Hercules picked up the fallen stake and jammed it into the demon that lied on top of the undead heap. It soon crumbled into dust.
But before it vanished, it said, "This sucks."
He then grabbed another vampire by the collar and held him close to his face, "Look what you made me do. You made have to dust you, and these are new cloths. Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost to get clean?"
The vampire spit in response.
"That's disgusting." Then he staked him.
The two remaining vampires soon got to their feet and circled Kevin. "You're dead," one of them said.
"Yeah, what he said," the other one said.
"I don't think so." He then threw the one of them and landed on the car that Xander fell. "Crap." Kevin saw where he was about to land, and noticed Xander wasn't there anymore.
"Where'd he go?" Hercules asked himself.
"Right here." Xander said as the last vampire became dust.
The demigod turned around and saw Xander standing right behind where the demon stood. Xander approached Hercules. "Two things, Kevin."
He gulped, "Yeah?"
"One. Can I have my stake back?" The son of Zues nodded and handed his stake back.
"Good. Two, what the hell are you?"
Hercules looked at the young man in front of him. He thought Xander was out and was safe to use his superior strength against the vampires. But apparently, he was wrong.
But he couldn't tell Xander the truth. He couldn't tell anyone that the name, Kevin Sorbo, was just a cover for him to use to keep his identity as Hercules safe.
If anyone knew the truth, it would be chaos. People would think that he was crazy, and put him in an insane asylum.
"I'll ask you again. What the hell are you?"
Xander's voice stopped his inner musings. With a straight face, he said, "I told you, Xander. I'm Kevin Sorbo. I just happen to work out a lot. Y'know, I have to have a good body to play Hercules on the show."
"Sure…" he said to himself and to the actor. Xander wasn't buying that excuse. His time on the Hellmouth taught him to look for the inner truth. "Listen. I just saw you throw vampires as if they were nothing. I know the Slayer and she's strong. But, you're obviously stronger. Buffy has the strength of ten men. You have something more."
He took a breath, and continued, "Working out doesn't make you that strong. You're the strongest person I ever saw, and I've seen bigger men then you. And I don't mean Thing, Hulk, or the late Andre the Giant."
Xander was right. There was no way his excuse of exercise would give him the answer that Xander wanted. True, Andre the Giant was bigger, but Hercules had something more. He had the strength that his father gave him. And when you have godly power, you don't need to be bigger to be stronger.
Apparently, Xander knew about Slayers, demons, and vampires. So, he certainly knew about the world around him. If he knew about that, maybe he would be able to understand Hercules' past. Plus, it would be nice to be able to talk to someone about this kind of stuff.
The last person he really was able to talk to about this was his friend, Iolaus. And that was centuries ago.
"I well…I don't know how to say this." He said with a chuckle at the end.
"I'm waiting." Xander said determinedly.
Hercules decided that he should tell him. Even though that they just met, he felt that his secret was safe with him. He couldn't understand it, but for some strange reason, he felt Xander would be trusted.
"We better go somewhere safe and talk."
Xander nodded, "Where do you want to talk?"
Kevin smiled, "Somewhere that won't be crawling with fans. We could go to my house."
The teenager shrugged, "That could work, or we could go to my apartment in Santa Monica?"
"Santa Monica?"
"Well, yeah. I just got the place yesterday. And we do need to talk."
He shook his head, "We better go somewhere private. Let's just go to my house."
"Works for me."
"Good. Let's go, my friend."
And with that, Hercules and Xander jumped into Kevin's car and drove off.
"What are you going to show me?"
"This," Alex said as the area around them flashed white.
When the whiteness dissipated, Buffy and her Spirit Guide found themselves in the Factory. It was just the same as always. Nothing seemed different in the way it was decorated.
Buffy looked at Alex, "What am I supposed to see?"
Xander's doubleganger pointed to the other side of the room. "What do you see, Buff?"
Xander's friend looked at the direction she was pointed to and saw Spike pacing back and forth. "What are we going to do now, Luv?"
"I dunno, Spike. What do you wanna do?" A voice asked.
"Who said that?" Buffy asked.
"Take a look around."
She nodded and started to walk around.
"Oh, by the way. No one can see or hear you in this universe. So, you can't intervene."
"Let me guess. It's a It's a Wonderful Life kinda deal, huh?"
Alex nodded, "You got that right, Buff. Take a look around."
Buffy crossed the room and saw Spike walking in the same fashion. "Well, we already own Sunnydale. First, you staked your own sire. Then killed my Dru. Granted, I love you. But what do you want to do now?"
Buffy looked to where Spike was staring. And that when she saw the source of the voice.
It was her.
It was herself as a vampire.
"I'm hungry, Spike. Give me that bitch we got from the Bronze an hour ago."
He nodded, "Sure thing, Pet. Hold on."
With that said, Spike disappeared from Buffy's view and left. But Buffy wasn't watching. She was watching her doubleganger.
Her vampire self had her hair let down. And she was wearing black leather that seemed to be sucking the life out of her. Then again, her vampire clone didn't need to breath. "Gawd."
"What is it, Buffy?"
Buffy glanced at her guide. "I'm so thin. Remind me to eat more when we get back."
Alex chuckled, "Well this representation of yourself isn't that far from another version of yourself. In another timeline, your skinny as hell and you don't even come close to what you are now. So, actually, this version of you that was talking to Spike a second ago is a fresher version of you. Dead nevertheless though."
"Doesn't matter. I don't want to be that skinny. I'm definitely going to eat more."
"That's your call. But keep watching."
She turned back to her undead version. "She's feisty."
A smile crossed the undead vampiress face as she walked over to her lover. She kissed him on the lips. "Thanks, Spike."
"That's gross!" Buffy yelled out loud. "I'm actually kissing him!"
"Keep watching, Buffy."
Buffy glanced back at them as Spike handed her the girl.
Her eyes widened at whom she saw. "Cordelia?!"
Xander and Kevin satin the living room of the big house.
It was big, white, and it housed some windows. Not that many, but it still had some.
The two of them sat in opposite tan cushioned chairs with a clear coffee table in between them.
Xander took a sip of his bottled water. "Thanks for the water, Kevin. Can we get back to what happened at the parking lot?"
He nodded. "Right. Tell me, Xander. How much do you know about Greek Mythology?"
"A good amount. Combined between your show and the research that I do regularly. Why do you ask?"
He sighed, "What if it was true? What if all those myths about Medusa, Minotaurs, Aphrodite were all true? Would you believe it?"
He shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. Of course there has to be good evidence supporting that theory."
"Well, I do have some evidence, Xander." Then he sat back down.
"What are you talking about?"
"Xander, I don't know how to tell you this. But I'm…"
"You're what?"
He took a deep breath, "I'm Hercules."
"Huh?"
Of course Cordelia didn't answer Buffy.
Buffy turned to Alex and asked in a worried voice, "What's going to happen to her?"
Alex sighed, "Take a look."
She nodded slowly as she glanced back to the two vampires and the frightened human.
"Get your hands off me!"
Spike chuckled, "I don't think so. Y'see. My Buffy here is hungry, and she's in the mood for a real pain in the ass!"
Cordelia looked at the blond vampiress, "If you lay one finger on me, my boyfriend is going to go all OJ on you."
Vampire Buffy laughed, "I don't think your boyfriend will help you."
The brunette showed a confused look, "How come?"
The bleached blond demon smirked, "I killed him before we came got here."
Her eyes flared, "You bastards! I'll kill you for that!"
Buffy's doubleganger showed her vampiric face. "I don't think so." Then she opened her mouth and let her fangs glisten in the light. "Say nighty night."
Then she lowered her fangs and punctured into her vein. Soon, she started to suck her blood.
Buffy went to her pocket to pull out a stake. "Shit," she cursed as she realized that she didn't have a stake with her. Then the blond watched in horror as Cordelia's body became limp.
"Cordelia! I'll kill you, you bastards!" Buffy yelled as Cordelia fell to the ground.
When no one answered, she yelled, "What are you death? Answer me!"
"Buffy…"
She didn't answer.
"Why won't you answer me?" She asked with tears soon appearing in her eyes.
"Buffy?"
Anger filled her voice as she turned to face Alex, "What?"
"They can't hear you remember? This is a dream."
"Oh," she said in realization. "Sorry. Once I saw Cordy fall, I lost it."
Her guide smiled, "Well, it looks like I'm definitely not wasting my time. There's hope for you yet."
A confusing look appeared on her face, "What hope? What are you talking about?"
Hercules repeated himself, "I'm Hercules."
"I see." Xander said drawling out the word.
Kevin chuckled, "I'm serious. Remember that episode where I played myself in the current timeframe?"
The teenager nodded taking in the information. "Yeah, I remember that episode…" he said. Then his eyes widened, "you mean that episode was real?"
The demigod nodded, "Where do you think I got the idea. All the actors on that show resemble the real people I remember from Greece."
"So, that means Ioulas and Autolycus actually existed?"
The son of Zeus nodded, "Yeah. Ioulas lived to be 100. Autolycus only lived to 92. But they had good lives and children. Ioulas was able to settle down with Nebula after. "
He showed a confused look, "Nebula?"
Hercules chuckled, "Yeah. I forgot. The show didn't cover her yet. But, she will be on it."
"Oh," was his response. Then he started to go back into the show's history. "I bet you miss Deianeira and the kids."
He sighed, "Yeah, I do. But, I know Hades is keeping them safe. The whole deal with him and Persephone happened too."
"Cool," was his statement. "It looks like you retired the hero business, huh?"
Hercules shrugged, "I tried. But, I couldn't stay away. After realizing that what Zues gave me, I couldn't just forget about it. It's a part of who I am."
Xander grinned, "I understand. That's why I'm trying to find Buffy. She sent her boyfriend to hell, and ran away. I just had to go after her. I just had to."
"I understand, Xander. It seems to me that you're a very caring person."
He chuckled, "Yeah, it's a curse. I've got a good heart."
"Yeah, you do."
Changing the subject, he asked, "So, how's the search going?"
The brunette sighed, "It's going okay. It's only been a few days. But at least I know I'm on the right track."
The demigod showed a perplexed look, "How do you know? Lorne?"
The boy nodded, "Yeah, Lorne. He read my aura. And all I have to do first is defeat a ghost."
"A ghost?"
Xander cleared his throat, and said in his best Lorne voice, "That I don't know, Sweetcheeks. But after you defeat the ghost you'll be closer to finding your friend."
The actor chuckled, "Good impression. It sounds like him."
He went back to his normal voice, "Thanks. That's what he told me. All I have to do this, and then I'd find her. That, and I'm going to need some help trying to stop this."
"Help huh?"
"That's what he said." Xander said with a sigh and clapping his hands together. "So, I was hoping."
"Hoping what?"
He gulped, "Now, that I found out that you're actually Hercules."
"Yeah?" Hercules asked getting the idea.
"Hoping that you could help. Having the son of Zues will definitely help."
"Uh, huh." He said as he got out of his chair.
"I mean, you don't have to help if you don't want to. You do have the show and all. Not to mention you're about to start that Kull movie."
"Xander…"
He didn't answer.
"I mean, you have a public image to hold up with, your busy and you just married your wife."
"Xander…"
Xander stopped his talking, and glanced up at Hercules, "Yeah?"
Alex smiled, "This proves that you actually care about your friends."
She showed a confusing look, "Well, yeah. Of course I care for them. What do you think I am? A self riotous bitch?!"
Her guide immediately shook his head, "Of course not, Buff. In other timeframe, you practically push all your friends away. And you also at one point believe that Spike was the only person that watched your back. I'm just trying to reinforce your caringness, so your future self won't become that person."
"Oh," she said in realization, "you mean to tell me that I become a bitch?"
The guide nodded, "Well, bitch may be too strong of a word. But you did start losing your humanity. As your slayer half became stronger, your human half became weaker."
She crossed her arms around her chest, "So, what am I supposed to do?"
Alex approached her, "Before I answer that, I want to show you something. I want to show what effect you've had on Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and Giles. I want to show you what they're doing in response to your departure."
Buffy nodded, "I guess that means we're not done seeing things, huh?"
The Spirit Guide smiled, "Not yet. But what I'm going to do is let you have one more experience tonight, and then I'm going to leave you alone. Get a good night's rest, have a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow night. But, right now we're going."
"I guess I'm ready to go then."
He nodded, and soon the room filled in white, and they both disappeared.
Hercules smiled, "I'll help you, Xander. Don't worry."
Xander felt better at that moment. Now, he had the help of the great Hercules. "This ghost is as good as toast."
The demigod smiled, "Where do we start to find this ghost?"
The teenager shrugged, "You're guess is as good as mine."
Hercules leaned against the far wall, "Do you know anything that might help find Buffy?"
Xander picked up his bottled water and walked over to his new friend, "All I know is that Buffy is somewhere in LA. I found out from the bus station in Sunnydale before I left."
An idea popped into his mind, "Maybe the local bus station might know something."
He shrugged, "I asked them earlier. They didn't know that much. All they told me was that they saw her walk down the street. So, I followed her, but never found anything. There were times when I thought I was close, but something always happened. Either there was a flower pot falling from above, or a lamppost falling down in front of me."
The big guy chuckled, "Weird."
The brunette chuckled as well, "Weird's the word that would describe it."
The actor crossed his arms, "So, what do we do now? I could try and get the media involved."
Xander shook his head, "I don't know. I don't want vampires to know that she's alone. It might give them the upper hand that they need. Buffy just sent her boyfriend to Hell. She's a total wreck."
"I agree with you there, Xander. So, now that that idea is scratched, what do we do?"
He shrugged, "We could try and look for her the old fashioned way."
Hercules looked at his watch, "Well, it's getting pretty late. I've got work tomorrow, and so do you. Meet me at the studio, and I'll show you around. Then, we'll try and search for your friend some more."
Xander smiled, "Thanks, Hercules." Then his eyes widened, "Woah."
"What's wrong?"
He chuckled, "I just called you, Hercules. That just felt so weird?extremely weird."
"I can understand that. But, when we're in public, call me Kevin."
Buffy and her guide appeared in the middle of the street.
She looked around, and recognized her surroundings. She was back in Sunnydale. "What am I supposed to do?"
Alex pointed down the street, "The answer you seek is down there."
She showed a confused look, "When did you start channeling Yoda?"
With a shrug, he said, "Since ten seconds ago."
Buffy smiled, "You definitely sound like Xander."
He smiled, "I should hope so, Buff. I chose this form because it's the best way for us to relate.'
She showed a confusing look, "But why Xander? Why not Willow, Giles, Mom, or even Angel?"
Her guide shrugged, "Do you really want to get into that?"
A new look of determination appeared on her face, "Actually, I do."
He sighed, "The thing is Buffy. It's getting pretty late. In the awake world, it's 1 o'clock in the morning, and you got work at 9. I realize being the Slayer you don't need much sleep. But, you really should get a good night's sleep. It will only make your day more tolerable."
She sighed this time, "I know you're right. It's only my third day of work."
Alex smiled, "Good. I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, in the words of Snagglepuss, 'Exit Stage Left.'"
Buffy giggled, "You're sounding more and more like Xander."
"Is that a problem?"
She looked at the ground, "It's just…"
"Just what?"
In a whispered voice, "It's just that I miss him."
Alex approached her, "I know you do, Buffy. But this proves me being here even more. You care about your friends."
Buffy grinned, "Yeah, I do care."
"Good. Now, according to my watch. We'll run into your friends in about five minutes."
Her eyes widened, "Five minutes? What are they doing out at night?"
"They're on patrol."
Anger filled her voice, "What?"
Alex said in a calm voice, "You're friends, Buffy. Ever since you left, someone had to take over your patrolling. Angel's gone and Kendra's dead. What would you think would happen?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe another slayer would come."
Her guide stated, "Well, there is another Slayer coming, but that's not for a while. Or until later this summer at the earliest. If I'm correct, she's actually in Los Angeles. But, it's not her time yet. She's still a potential."
Her eyes widened, "You mean there's another slayer in Los Angeles? How do you know this? Hell, how do you know all these future happenings and about my friends?"
He sighed, "As I told you before, Buffy. I was sent by the Powers. I was sent because you're in a fragile state?a very fragile state. And before I was sent here, I was told everything about you."
"Oh," she said, "but why isn't this potential sent to Sunnydale yet?"
Alex answered, "Because you need to be taught some things."
She nodded, "You mean like why my friends are on patrol?"
Her guide smiled, "Right. With you no longer in Sunnydale, your friends have taken up your cause."
With that said, lightning flashed, and soon a battle emerged out of nowhere.
Buffy looked around, and she saw Willow, Giles, Cordelia, and Oz. They were fighting some vampires, and she and Alex were standing in the middle of the chaotic horde.
She automatically went to her pocket looking for her stake, "Leave them alone, you assholes!"
No one responded.
"C'mon. I'm the one you want! I'm the Slayer!"
Alex sighed, "Nobody can hear you, Buff. Remember, no one can see or hear us."
She whispered, "I know you're right, Alex. But I hate this. I hate them having to fight. I want them to live. They don't have to do this. They could die, Alex. I don't want that to happen. I love them. I don't want to lose them."
"Well," Alex began, "I know you don't want them to die. And I know you love them. They know you love them too. It's just that they can't stay away from this. They can't just ignore all the demonic activity. They want to put a stop to it. Throw in the love they have for you, and they'll never leave Sunnydale."
Buffy nodded, "I know you're right, Alex. It's just they don't deserve this. It's my destiny to fight. They could lead normal safe lives."
"They could do that, Buff. But like I said, they want to help. Just look at what you did for them. You opened their eyes to the supernatural. You let them into your world, and they're not going to leave."
She looked around the area. Her friends were fighting with everything they had. True, they didn't have the strength that she had, but they had the heart that was needed as well as the spirit.
A smile crossed her lips, "Well, at least Xander was smart enough not to fight. I bet he's at home watching television."
"You wanna make a wager on that?"
She showed a confused look, "What are you talking about?"
"Xander's not in Sunnydale, Buffy. He left."
The teenager stormed right up to her guide, "What are you talking about? Xander would never leave Sunnydale. It's not like him to just up and move without telling anyone."
"Normally, you're right. Remind me. When you left Sunnydale a few days ago on the bus, and you looked out the window. What did you see?"
After giving it some thought, she answered, "I saw Xander running after the bus."
"Right. Now, knowing Xander, would he just go back to class or would he…"
Her eyes widened realizing the truth. She may not know that much about her friend, but she knew that he cared about her. "You mean that he's looking for me?"
Alex smiled, "Give the girl a prize. Xander left Sunnydale right after and is searching for you in LA."
She shook her head, "He can't find me. I'm not ready to go back to Sunnydale. I don't want him to find me."
He said in a calm voice, "He won't find you yet, Buffy. He has some stuff to do before that, and he won't until your ready to go home. This won't happen for a while. He needs to go through some self discovery too."
She showed a confusing look, "What does he have to go through? Does he have a guide too?"
The Spirit Guide shook his head, "Nope. No guide. His journey is something for himself to go through. I have no right to tell you. But, even when Xander finds you, you two still have a big adventure to accomplish. That's all I can say to you, Buff. Remember, I'm going to leave you in a few minutes. Tomorrow. We'll talk some more and answer some more of your questions. And you'll learn something else about Xander that you might not like. But, he did it for the right reasons."
She showed a confused look, "What did he do?"
"I won't tell you tonight. You went through a lot, and you should get some sleep."
And before she could say anything, Alex disappeared. Soon, her friends and the scenery faded as well. All that was left was a white room, and an echoing voice saying, "Until tomorrow night, Buffy."
Two hazel eyes snapped opened, and two ears heard a loud ringing noise sounded.
Tiredly, Buffy hit her alarm clock, and turned off the sound. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up in bed.
(What a night,) she thought to herself. Buffy got out of the covers and went to the bathroom to do her morning activities.
After showering and wrapping a towel around her waist and head she looked into the mirror.
Traces of water covered her face. "What happened last night?" She asked herself.
Buffy remembered everything about her dream. She remembered her Spirit Guide, Alex, and witnessing some extremely weird events. Her turning, staking the Master, kissing Spike, draining Cordelia, showing up in Sunnydale and seeing her friends fight the undead with everything they had.
Then she found out that Xander too was in Los Angeles. Where, she didn't know? Did he find his own apartment and job? Or was he living on the streets like a homeless man.
She immediately shook her heads, Xander may be a slacker when it comes to schoolwork, but she knew he could land on his feet very easily. Xander was that type of guy. He was a survivor, and she knew it.
Xander put himself in danger numerous times these past few years and he was the one person that always looked out for her. He always put her in front of him. He saved her from Teresa and the fish people.
Was that the reason why Alex took the form he did? Was it because Xander cared about her and watched her back? Maybe. She didn't know, but she could ask Alex tomorrow night.
She didn't know what to do with her life at this moment. All that matter to her was to keep herself alive and hope that her friends were alright. But one thing was for sure. She wouldn't run away from Xander.
If he found her and when he did. Buffy would talk to him and make sure he's alright. She missed him, and it was nice to know that someone out there actually took it upon himself to search for her.
Buffy had no idea how much he cared for her, but with what Alex said, it made sense. Xander was a person that could take care of himself.
She just hoped that she could take care of herself too.
With that thought, Buffy walked out of her bathroom and stopped when she saw someone standing in her room.
"Angel?"
Buffy approached her visitor with tears in her eyes. "Is it really you?"
Then she saw something sticking out of the center of his chest. Her eyes widened in terror as she recognized the handle of the object.
Before she could say anything, Angel said in pained voice, "Look what you did, Buffy. You ran a sword through me."
Her tears started to drip down her cheeks, "I didn't have a choice."
He glared at her, "Yes, you did. You should've staked me when you had the chance."
She shook her head, "No, I couldn't. I just couldn't."
"Because you love me, am I right?"
All she could do was nod.
"We never should've gotten involved. All I ever did was cause you pain."
Buffy only wanted to do one thing. She went to grab the sword handle, but her hand went right through. "You're not real."
Angel said, "No, I'm not. I'm in hell because you couldn't end my suffering. If you staked me, Jenny Calendar would still be alive. Her and Giles would've been engaged with a baby on the way."
Tears continued to pour down her cheeks, "No. I love you, Angel. I couldn't stake you. I just couldn't."
"Doesn't matter, Buffy. Because of your selfishness, Jenny Calendar and Kendra died. If they were still alive, you would still be in Sunnydale with your friends and mother. You would've had a better life. But, now look what happened. You let me torture people and you paid the price."
"No! No! Noooooooooooooooooo!" She cried. "I loved you with all my heart, Angel. I couldn't live without you."
He glared at her, "It looks like your going to have to live by yourself. If you staked me when I first lost my soul, you're heart would've healed by now and maybe found someone new. But you didn't. You had to stay with my soulless counterpart."
Continuingly to cry, she said, "But I wanted you back. I kept hoping that there was a way. Some way to get the old Angel back."
He sighed, "I admit Jenny found something. But, look at what happened."
She said, "I'm sorry, Angel. I'm so so sorry. I love you."
"You love me? If you really loved me, you shouldn't have of kept me in pain. Instead, you let me suffer and your friends. What we had wasn't love. You loved the idea of being in love. Of finally having someone in your life that wouldn't leave you. Well, look what happened. I left you, and you're alone. You'll always be alone."
Buffy couldn't take it anymore. Angel…her Angel just unleashed a lot of pain. And rather than saying anything, she crumbled to the floor and cried her heart out. The whole time realizing that she was living a lie. That she never was in love.
She cautiously looked back up and managed to say, "Angel."
But Angel didn't respond. He disappeared. All that was left was his voice repeating, "You'll always be alone."
Xander walked up to the front gate and saw a person in a booth next to the gate. He walked up to it and saw a man wearing a black security guard uniform. "Excuse me."
The man looked up, and smiled, "May I help you?"
He nodded, "I should hope so. I've made arrangements with Kevin Sorbo. He said that he would show me around."
"Let me check," he said as he picked up a yellow pad of paper, "and your name is?"
Xander smiled, "Xander Harris."
"Right." The security guard said as he looked at the paper, and said, "I got your name right here, Mr. Harris. I'll call Mr. Sorbo and let him know you're here."
The teenager smiled, "Thanks."
"Not a problem." He said as he picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Mr. Sorbo? I've got a young man at the gate looking for you. His name is Xander Harris. Right. That's what he told me too. I'll get Eric to send him your way. Goodbye."
He then hung up the phone, and picked it back up. After dialing another number, he waited for the other phone to pick up. When it did, the man said, "Hey, Eric? It's me Kirk. Y'know, Kirk Smith. Kevin Sorbo wants you to escort his friend, Xander Harris, to him. Xander's standing here with me. Alright. Thanks. Goodbye."
He then hung up the phone, "Eric is on his way. He'll take you to Mr. Sorbo."
"Good."
They stood in silence for the next few minutes when the gate opened, and a blond young man came out. "Hey, Kirk." He greeted.
Kirk smiled, "Hi, Eric. Xander Harris meet Eric Matthews. Eric Matthews meet Xander Harris."
Xander smiled, "Nice to meet you."
Eric smiled, "Nice to meet you. C'mon. I'll take you to meet the big guy."
"Go on, Xander. Mr. Sorbo is waiting for you."
The brunette nodded, "Thanks, Kirk. Let's go."
With that said, Eric and Xander left booth, walked passed the gate, and headed down the studio lot.
"So, how do you know Kevin Sorbo?"
Xander replied, "Met him at a bar and we hit it off."
Eric smiled, "Mr. Sorbo is the that type of guy. He's a nice guy. I met in Philadelphia at a convention. He gave me a job offer."
His eyes widened, "Right off the bat?"
The Guard shrugged, "I just got out of Highschool and couldn't find a job. We talked some, and he offered me a job. He found out that I liked to act. We talked. I told him about my family, brother, and sister. We hit it off."
The Sunnydale resident grinned, "Cool. So, what's it like to work here?"
Eric answered, "The pay's good. It's better than working for your father at a grocery store."
"I should hope so. I just got a job at S-Mart."
"S-Mart's cool. I've been there once or twice since I moved here."
"Yeah, it's a good place to work. I lucked out. The manager was a nice guy."
Eric was about to say something when they got to a door. "This is my stop, Xander." He knocked on the door, "Mr. Sorbo will take you from here. You want to grab a bite or something sometime."
"Sure why not. It was nice to meet you by the way."
Before Eric could leave, the door opened and out came Hercules, "Hey, Xander. Hey, Eric."
Eric grinned, "Hi, Mr. Sorbo. I brought Xander to you."
Kevin chuckled, "I see that. Thanks."
"Not a problem. See ya around, Xander."
Then he left.
Xander walked into the room as Kevin smiled, "What's up, Xander?"
He smiled, "Not much. Work was busy. Haven't found Buffy yet either. I'm really worried about her, Herc. It's been four days, and I haven't come up with anything."
Kevin walked over to a couch that he had by the far left wall. "Sit down, Xander."
The brunette shrugged, "Sure." Then he sat down.
"I know you're worried about her. Ever since I met you, you haven't really stopped talking about her. She means a lot to you, huh?"
The teenager sighed, "More than you ever know."
Hercules knew that tone. Maybe not from Xander per say, but from other people. He wanted to be sure, "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer, if you don't want to."
Without thinking, he replied, "What do you want to know?"
The actor smiled, "You love her, don't you? I hear the way you talk about her. You're in love with her?"
How did Hercules know? Xander never told anyone about his feelings for the young blond woman. But did he want to tell him?
Telling someone might be a good thing. True, he didn't want to get his feelings hurt, but with Hercules it was different. The demigod actually told Xander his true identity. He was actually willing to trust Xander with that information, and that meant a lot.
So, with that conclusion, he decided to be completely honest. He said in an almost whisper, "Yeah, I do."
Kevin smiled, "Since when?"
"Since the day I met her. During my Sophomore year, I was on my skateboard and saw Buffy for the first time. She was walking up the stairs, and I was caught off guard. Staring at her, I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings. I hit the handrail, and fell on the ground."
Hercules chuckled, "That's a way to make a first impression?"
He smiled, "Oh, I didn't tell you when I actually talked to her."
"What happened?"
"She was coming out of the Principal's office, we bumped into each other with her dropping her book on the floor. Being the gentleman I was."
The son of Zues chuckled, "Gentleman? You a gentleman?"
He glared at him, "Yeah, that's what I said. I'm a gentleman." Xander eye's softened, "alright. I may not be a total gentleman, but I try to be.
"I'm sure you try."
"You bet I do." Xander said with a smile.
He nodded, "So back to your story."
"Right," the boy said right away, "after bumping into her, I helped pick up her books, I spoke to her. I said, 'Can I have you?' Can you believe it? I said to the girl of my dreams, 'Can I have you?"
Kevin smiled, "The subconscious mind does things without us ever knowing."
The young man nodded, "Don't I know it. Anyway, she smiled in response. I quickly covered myself by saying, 'Can I help you?' Which by the way is what I meant to say. We introduced ourselves, and she left shortly after. Forgetting that she dropped a stake by the way. Later I find out that she's the Vampire Slayer. As time went by, I learned new things about her, and I fell in love with her even more."
"Did you ever tell her?"
"I tried. I asked her out at our Spring Fling, and she turned me down. She told me that I was her friend and that she didn't feel that way about me. But I couldn't stop my feelings for her. Even though we never happened, I still had feelings for her. I'd gladly give up my own life to save her to only see her smile again."
"You got it bad, don't you?"
"I guess I do," he paused, and quickly continued, "is that the way you felt about Deianeira?"
He nodded, "Deianeira made the whole hero gig worth it. True, I only was her husband for eight years, but those eight years were the best of my life. We had three kids, and Hera took them away from me in one night. All it took was a fireball. I lost it. If it wasn't for Ioulas talking to me, I would've given up the hero job for sure."
The name of Ioulas reminded Xander of his friends, "I may not of known Ioulas. But, I have Willow. Willow, Jesse, and me were best friends. After Jesse was staked by myself no less, I made a promise to myself. I promised that I watch out for Willow and Buffy. They became the most important people to me. And, I intend to keep that promise."
Hercules grinned, "Well, from what I just heard proves what I said earlier. You have a good heart. And, I'll help anyway I can to find Buffy."
"Thanks, Herc."
The actor got off the couch, "No problem, Xander. C'mon, I'll show you the set."
"Cool," was his response.
With that said, the two newly close friends left Kevin Sorbo's dressing room.
"Thanks for the tour," Xander said as they exited the set.
Hercules said, "Glad you enjoyed it. So, now that that's done with, you wanna go try and search for your friend?"
"Sure. Sounds like a plan." The demigod's friend stated.
Buffy typed the keys to the cash registered and exchanged money with her customer. "Have you a good day."
The customer smiled, "Yeah, you too, Anne." Then he left.
Buffy sighed and sat down on a stool behind the counter. She placed her head on the top. "Gawd," she said in a tired voice, "today's been hell."
"Tell me about it."
The teenager looked up and saw her friend. "I had one hell of a night, Danielle. And my morning was a wreck too. I recently broke up with my boyfriend and it's killing me."
Danielle nodded, "Boyfriends would do that. So, if you don't mind me asking. What happened?"
Buffy always had to be careful about her past. Nobody knew about her slayage, and she preferred it that way. So, she tried to convert her past to normal human life. "He changed. Angel wasn't the same guy I knew. Things got bad between us and the old Angel was never coming back. I couldn't be with him anymore, so I dumped him. But, it hurts y'know?"
Her friend smiled, "I know the feeling. The same thing happened with Matt. We just couldn't get passed the kissing. Don't get me wrong, the kissing was great, but I wanted more. He didn't. We broke up."
Anne smiled sadly, "Sorry."
She smiled the same way, "Yeah, I'm sorry too."
The blond got off her stool and took off her apron. "I'm just glad the day's over. I couldn't serve another piece of apple pie."
Danielle said, "That pie was popular tonight. So tell me, Anne. What do you want to do tonight?"
Buffy shrugged, "I'm not in the mood to do anything social at the moment, Danielle. I'm not over Angel yet, and I won't be for a while. So, I thought I just go home."
Her friend nodded, "That's alright, Anne. It's only been around four days since you came here. I understand. Why don't we do something later this week? See a movie maybe?"
She smiled, "Thanks for understanding. And a movie may be what the doctor ordered."
Buffy went to the closet and grabbed her jacket and purse. While she was doing that, Danielle shouted, "What time do you get off tomorrow?"
As Anne walked back to the counter with her jacket on, she said, "It's a half day for me. So, that's about 1:30. Y'know, just after the lunch rush."
Danielle got off her stool and joined her friend as she was headed for the door. "That's cool. Come over to my apartment. You really need to get out of yours. You can't just spend your time working and being all hermit crab like at your apartment."
It was true for Buffy. All she ever seemed to be doing since she ran away was work, vegetate, and cry. She needed to get out of the apartment. "Sure. Tomorrow I'll come over. Until then, later."
"Later, Anne. I've got to close up anyway in an hour."
She smiled, "See you later, Danielle."
With that said, she left the diner and headed her way home planning on what to ask Alex that night.
"Hey, RF."
Ralph Furely smiled as he saw his younger friend enter the store. "Hi, Xander. Thanks for coming in."
Xander sighed, "Remind me why I decided to come in tonight?"
The landlord answered, "Because you're trying to get on Mike's good side, remember?"
"Oh," he said in realization. "Good answer. But, tell me. Why did you call me?"
Ralph said, "Well, it seems that John and Danii couldn't make it in tonight. Something about an emergency. So, thanks again for coming in."
"Not a problem, RF." Then it hit him, "If I'm here to cover one of them, then who's coving the other one."
He shook his head, "Dunno. Mike made the arrangements. Just go to the locker room and change. When done, bring yourself and whoever the other person is back here. I'll clock you in."
"Thanks. I'll see you in a little while."
Then Xander headed for the locker room.
Xander walked into the locker room and spotted a man across the room. "Called in?"
He turned around, "Yeah. Mike called me in. Needed the extra money."
Xander chuckled, "I know that feeling. I just got the job a few days ago."
With that said, he went over to his locker and opened the door. While leaving it open, he grabbed his uniform and started to put it on.
The S-Mart employee walked over to Xander and peeked into his locker. He was about to meet up with Ralph when he stopped, "You know Buffy, huh?"
Xander's eyes widened. How did this guy know? Maybe he's seen her. So, the young man turned around. "How do you know, Buffy?"
"She came here the other night. Saw the picture of her in your locker and put two and two together."
"Oh, ok. Wait. She was here?"
He replied, "She came in the other day buying a knife. Seemed a little preoccupied, but I didn't bother asking her. Not my style. By the way, the name's Ash."
The Sunnydale resident offered his hand to him, "Xander is me. Hi."
Forgetting about his hand, he immediately shook the kid's one. "Nice to meet you, Xander. As I said before, you know that Buffy girl?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I do. I'm trying to find her. She ran away from home. I've got to find her. I know I'll find her eventually."
Ash showed a confusing look, "How do you know you'll find her?"
The boy chuckled, "Let's just say a little green friend told me."
"Little green friend, huh? Sounds kinda weird. Then again, you never know."
"Have to agree with you there. This world is a strange place."
(Only if you knew the half of it, Kid,) he thought to himself. "So, you just started working here? Why S-Mart?"
Xander shrugged, "Was looking for Buffy. Came here and asked RF. Saw the sign, and decided to apply for the job. Got it after meeting Mike."
The promised one said, "Yeah, Mike's a good guy. He's the one that approved my transfer. "
"Transfer, huh? Where you from?"
"Michigan. And all I can say is thank God for that. I wanted to be in a place where nothing could happen."
Xander chuckled, "You made a mistake there, Ash."
His eyes widened, "What are you talking about, Kid?"
Xander couldn't believe that he said that. One thing Xander hated to do was tell people about what went 'bump in the night.' So, naturally, he tried to cover it up, "I just meant that no where is safe. There's always something around the corner."
Ash shook his head, "That's a load of bull, Xander. One thing I learned in this world is that nothing is normal. Now tell me what you meant!"
He shook his head this time, "Trust me, Ash. You don't want to know."
The clerk glared at him, "I don't think so. Tell me what you're talking about."
Xander sighed, "All those folklore creatures?vampires, werewolves, and mummies. There all true. They all exist."
"No! They can't be true. They just can't! Deadites are more than enough!"
"Deadites! What the hell are you talking about?"
Ash sighed, "Never mind, Kid. Deadites are something I want to forget about. And I really want to forget about them."
Xander recognized that tone. It was something way too familiar to him. It was the way Buffy spoke whenever she talked about vampires. "I know the feeling, Ash. I feel the same way about vampires."
The taller man sat down next to him, "Listen, Xander. It's obviously we both have troubling pasts. I've dealt with deadites and it appears that you've dealt with a lot more."
He nodded, "You can say that again."
The former Michigan resident smiled, "Tell you what. After our shift ends. Let's take a walk and talk."
Xander grinned, "Lucky for you I got two stakes with me."
"Stake huh? I prefer my chainsaw."
He showed a confusing look, "Chainsaw? The only way that you can kill a vampire with that is by decapitation."
Ash grumbled, "Decapitation is nothing new to me."
"Why do you say that?"
The metal handed man said, "We'll talk about this after our shift."
Xander shrugged, "Sure. Whatever you say."
Ash and Xander walked out of the store and started down the street.
The night was calm and tranquil. The sky appeared to be a black blanket that was speckled with small bright white lights. There was also a full moon suspended. Traffic was on the low side as the two S-Mart employees walked down the sidewalk. Cold wind blew through the night allowing the leaves of trees to dance.
Xander went inside his pocket and pulled out two stakes. He tossed one to his new friend, "Take this, Ash. No clue when any vampire will show up."
Ash accepted the stake, "So, besides deadites and vampires. What else exists?"
He shrugged, "Just about anything you can think of. I've been luck to come across vampires, werewolves, demons, mummies, zombies, and witches. But that doesn't mean that that's all that exists.'
"For the love of God! Is there anything in this world that doesn't exist!?" Ash screamed into the night.
The boy chuckled, "Leprechauns?"
He turned to him, "Very funny, Xander. But seriously, why do all these things have to happen to me? Can't I catch a lousy break?"
Xander saw the pain in his co-worker's eyes. "What exactly happened, Ash?"
Ash knew nobody really believed his tale. But with Xander it might be different. It seemed that Xander would believe in it. Especially if vampires and all the other crap exists.
He took a deep breath, "It took place about five years ago at a cabin with Linda."
Xander showed a confused look, "Linda? Who's she?"
A sigh was made, "Linda was going to be my wife, but it never happened."
"Why?"
Ash glared at him, "I'm getting there, Kid!"
Xander took a step back, "Obnoxious much?"
He took a deep breath, "Sorry, Xander. My life's been a living hell."
The teenager looked around and spotted a bench at Henson. "C'mon, Ash. Let's talk about this over here."
He nodded and the two sat down.
Xander leaned against the back of the bench and started playing with the stake in his right hand, "You told me that you went up a cabin with Linda. What happened next? And I won't say anything until you're done."
Ash smiled, "Thanks. Anyway, when at the cabin I found a tape cassette. Not knowing what it was, I played it. And that was a big mistake. On it was Raymond Nolby and he was reading out of a book called the Necronomicon Ex Mortis."
"Neconomicon Ex Mortis? Never heard of it."
In a calm voice he said to Xander, "Remember. No questions until the end."
Xander laughed a little under his breath, "Sorry. But what kinda book is that?"
Ash slumped in his position, "I'll let it slide this once. Anyway, the Necronomicon is a Summarian book that was inked in human blood and bound in human flesh."
Continuing with his story, "Back to the story. Nolby read the book aloud off the tape and the evil started to rise from the ground. It soon took over Linda, and the only way for me to free her was to dismember her. That's when I used my chainsaw the first time. It killed me inseide, Xander. I buried her outside. Shortly after the evil got into my hand and it went bad."
With that Ash looked at Xander making sure he was understanding. It look like he was, so he continued, "In order to stop it from taking over the rest of my body, I took my chainsaw and cut it off at the wrist. That's why my hand is now made of metal. It took the place of the old one."
Xander listened as Ash continued his odysee. He listened as Ash defeated Nolby's wife, Henrietta, then traveling to medievel europe in the year 1300 AD, turned a gauntlet into a new hand, battled the army of darkness when he took the Necronomicon from the graveyard, and drinking a posting which restored him to his own time.
When Ash concluded his story, Xander simplified, "I guess you went through a lot."
He nodded, "I did go through a lot. And on the top of it I lost my girlfriend. Do you have any idea how that feels?"
Xander said in a quiet voice, "No. But I know someone who would know how you feel."
Ash looked at his younger friend, "Who would that be?"
"Buffy. She's been through a lot too. A large amount of shit."
"What happened to her?"
"Buffy ended up killing her boyfriend too. But, she did it to save the world. And he was a vampire."
His eyes widened, "Vampire? You mean to tell me that she was involved with a vampire?"
The teenager nodded, "Yeah, it's true. But she started to fall in love before she knew he was one. When she first found out, she tried to fight it. But her heart wouldn't allow it."
"Wow. That's gotta be hell."
Xander chuckled, "Yeah I bet it is. After killing him, she ran away. She's somewhere in LA too. I took it upon myself to try and find her. Like I said before, no such luck yet."
Ash smiled, "I'm sure you'll find her. And I'll be glad to help."
This time he smiled, "Thanks for the help."
"We'll help too."
Xander looked at the new visitors. And he could easily tell what they were. All the times with Buffy came in handy when fighting vampires. They always looked pale, lousy fashion sense. Although, Xander wasn't the type of guy to judge fashion. But the teenager was usually wearing the newer styles. Vampires sometime wore ancient styles.
Another easy giveaway was that there was blood on the mouths. "I don't want your help." Xander said with a smirk.
Ash showed a confusing look, "Are they what I think they are?"
Xander nodded, "Yeah. You're looking at the ole great American vampire times four."
"Where'd you get four?" One of the vampires asked.
The former promised one smirked, "Gee, I don't know." Then he started to raise his voice, "Could it be because they're four of you?"
"Oh," he said trying to understand. That demon the turned to one of his friends, "I don't get it."
Xander sighed, "You're pathetic." He then leaped from his seat and jammed his stake into his heart. "C'mon, Ash. Let's kill these assholes!"
He smiled, "Right behind you, Kid." Ash then jumped off his bench and grabbed one of the remaining vampires. "So, I just stake them, huh? Right through the heart?"
The boy showed him a look.
He nodded, "Right. Stupid question." He then staked him, and watched them settle to the ground.
"Easy enough," he said with a lopsided grin.
"Shut the fuck up!" Another demon yelled as he tackled the scarred man.
Xander shook his head and shot a roundhouse across the last undead creature. "Less talking. More staking."
"Gotcha." Ash said as he jumped back to his feet and pushed his attacker off me. "Get the hell off me!"
Then he shot a punch on his cheek. "This isn't so hard." He said as the vampire staggered back a few inches. Next, he picked his assailant up by his collar. "C'mon, Jerkface. Take this."
"Take what?"
He shook his head, "God, you really are stupid!" He then staked the undead demon.
Ash dusted himself and saw Xander staking his opponent. "These guys weren't too big in the brain department, huh?"
Xander glanced at his new friend, "Normally vamps are somewhat average. But these guys were complete dumb fucks! They make Harmony look like Einstein."
Williams showed a perplexed look, "Harmony?"
He nodded, "Airhead extraordinaire."
"Oh," he smirked, "popular girl with no brain capacity."
"Exactly."
Ash approached him, "So, now that that's done. What do you want to do now?"
"Hey, Buff."
Buffy Summers turned around to see her Spirit Guide. "Do you have to sneak up on?"
Alex smirked, "Nope. Just fun. So, you ready?"
She shrugged, "I guess. Don't have anything else to do tonight except sleep."
"Good point. Now where were we?"
Buffy answered, "Last night we saw what a complete bitch I could be?"
Alex shook his head, "Buffy, You're not a bitch. I'm going to make sure that you're not, or my name isn't Alex."
"Uh, Alex?"
"Yeah?"
She smiled, "You're name isn't Alex. I gave you that as something to call you."
He chuckled, "Right. In actuality I don't have a name. I've been called 'Hey you!' and 'Move it!' Not a lot to go on, I know."
Buffy shook her head, "Oh, c'mon. You've got to have a name! Everybody has to have including Starvin Marvin! And that name is just wrong."
Alex gulped.
She looked concerned, "What's wrong?"
He answered solemnly, "My name is Marvin."
All of a sudden Buffy couldn't stop what she was about to happen. She just started to laugh hysterically.
Alex glared at her, "This is why I never told you. Now shut up, and grow up."
But Buffy couldn't stop. She tried to, but couldn't.
He narrowed his eyes, "Stop it, Elizabeth."
The mention of her real name made her stop. "Alright, alright. I won't call you Marvin if you won't call me Elizabeth."
Alex nodded, "It's a deal, Elizabeth."
She glared at him and said in a determined voice, "What did I just tell you, Marvin?"
He sighed, "Right. Sorry, Buffy. Won't happen again."
Buffy smiled, "Good. Now, where we off to?"
Her guide asked, "Before I say this. Tell me what did Xander say to you the night before you left Sunnydale?"
The Slayer replied, "Uh, Willow told me to tell you to kick his ass."
The Spirit Guide nodded, "Right. But that's not what Xander was told to tell you."
She showed a confusing look, "What?"
Alex nodded, "You heard me correctly, Buff. I'm fraid…well, actually, maybe I should just show you."
The room filled white as usual, and Buffy and her guide disappeared.
The two of them appeared in a hospital room. Willow was lying in bed. Oz, Cordelia, and Xander were standing around her.
But nobody was moving. It was as if time was frozen.
"What are you trying to show me?"
Alex said, "I'm going to show you what happened after you left for Crawford Street. Look at Xander. Keep your eyes on him."
She showed a confused look, "Why?"
He sighed, "Just do. Oh, and remember like last time. They can't see or hear you."
Then the scene started to play out.
Cordelia said as her friend was sitting up, "So Buffy's going for the big showdown, huh? Wish we could help." Then she turned to her boyfriend, "You know, without dying."
Xander sighed, "I don't see how."
Buffy walked up to her friend and studied his face, "What are you thinking, Xand?" She asked herself.
Willow suddenly spoke in a determined voice, "I wanna trying again."
"Try what?" Buffy asked as Oz asked the same thing.
She turned around to face Willow as she said, "The curse. We never got to finish it. Maybe we can restore Angel's soul."
Xander spoke up again, "I don't like it. You're talking about messing with powerful magic, and you're weak."
Buffy smiled weakly, "Always looking out for us, huh, Xan?"
The redhead shook her head, "I'm okay."
"You don't look okay," he then turned to the other brunette, "does she?"
Cordelia said, "You should listen to him. The hair, it's so flat, and the lips…"
He asked, "Could we stay on topic here, Honey?"
Buffy couldn't help but grimace. She never really liked the idea that Cordelia and Xander were together. It just seemed wrong to her. Two opposite people with nothing in common.
Then it hit her. That's how she could describe relationship with Angel. Two sworn enemies, vampire and slayer, and they were together.
She turned back to Alex, "Is that what I'm supposed to learn? To know that two opposites don't belong together."
"Good lesson. But that's not it. Watch my counterpart there."
Buffy nodded and turned back to her friend.
"What?" Cordelia asked.
"Look. It's not a good idea."
Willow looked at him. "There's no arguing with me. Do you see my resolve face? You seen it before. You know what it means. This can help Buffy. If we turn Angel back soon enough, we can stop him from ever awaking Acathla."
Oz got up, "Okay, I pretty much missed out on stuff, didn't I? Because this is all making sense that's…not."
Willow looked at the werewolf, "Go with Cordy to the library and get my things. She'll fill you in."
He nodded, "Sure," then he kissed her hand, "I'll drive."
Oz walked out of the room with Cordelia close behind him. Xander gets out of his seat.
"Xander, go to Buffy. Tell her what we're doing. Maybe she can stall."
"But I…"
Willow pointed to herself, "Resolve face."
Xander sighed, "Be careful…"
Buffy stared at him, "You lied to me. You told me to kick his ass! You never told me that Willow was going to try and do the spell again!"
Anger started to rise, "Why? Why did you do it?"
She turned to her guide, "Why did he do it?"
Before he could say anything, the room filled in white, and they disappeared.
They soon appeared on Crawford Street.
"Will you stop doing that, Alex? Will you stop changing the scenery like that? You shouldn't do that to people. It confuses the hell out of them."
He smiled slightly, "Part of the job."
She shrugged, "Whatever. Just try not to keep doing it, ok?" Then she looked at the street, "Where are we and where's Xander?"
Alex replied, "We're on Crawford Street. Now, from what we know about what you experienced and what you just saw at the hospital, Xander lied to you."
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, thanks for reminding me."
He sighed, "Now, let's think about this. Why would he lie to you?"
"Gee, I dunno. Could it be because he was jealous of Angel?"
Her guide gave her a look. "What do you really think?"
"Alright, alright. So it's not jealousy. But, he still is going to lie to me."
Alex nodded, "Yeah, he's going to lie to you, but not for the reason you just asked. Think about Xander and what we learned about him. He obviously cares about you, or he wouldn't be in LA, and he obviously made an impact on your life that would keep you alive longer than any other Slayer."
She glared at him, "But he lied to me!"
He asked, "Alright, so he lied to you. But you're not focusing on the reason. Why would he lie to you?"
Buffy shrugged, "Dunno."
"Think."
Buffy started to pace up and down the street. Why would he lie? Why would he lie? Because he has feelings for me, and I didn't return them.
She shook her head. That can't be right. He may have had feelings for her, but knowing him. He's got to have a better reason.
Could it be?
No, that's not it.
How about?
Nope not that either.
She sighed, "I don't know, Alex. I just don't know."
Then it hit her, "Oh, I got it. It's because he didn't me to lose my focus?"
Alex nodded, "Yeah, you got it right, Buffy. True lying is never a good thing, but if Xander didn't, you would've stalled, and Angelus would've taken the upper hand killing you in the process."
She whispered, "But he lied to me, Alex. I mean, he actually lied to me. Xander's my friend, and he lied. I know he did the right thing, but it hurts. Y'know?"
He answered, "I know it hurts. But you've hurt him too. You used him in order to get back at Angel. You took advantage of his feelings for you, and you hurt him."
Buffy gulped and whimpered, "I know, and I'm sorry I did that. I was a mess back then. The Master killed me. I mean he actually killed me. If Xander didn't come down to the cave, I wouldn't of come back to life."
Alex smiled, "I know all that. But, he was able to forgive you for the pain you caused. He may not of said it directly, but he has always put you in top priority. You have to understand that he holds you very close to his heart. You're one of the most important people in his life."
She looked up into his eyes all teary eyed, "What do I do? I should be furious with him. I should be angry, but I can't. I just can't."
He grinned, "This only proves that you're realizing the truth about Xander. You're realizing that Xander Harris is person that you care deeply about, and you're realizing what he does for you."
She said, "And he cares enough about me to lie to my face."
"You're right. He wanted you to live, to come back next year and go to your prom. To maybe finish high school and go to college. Which is why I chose this form, Buffy."
Buffy looked up at him confusingly with her eyes still glazing tears, "What form?"
Alex smiled, "The form of Xander Harris. Of all the people you know, he's the only one that you can mostly relate to. Giles is your watcher, and the one person you look to as a surrogate father. You're mother…is well…you're mother. Willow's your best friend, but she's too involved in other things between school, Oz, and now, magic. Angel was your boyfriend, who has a great connection to you, but he is a vampire. There's not that much for you to have in common. The only thing is that you two have destinies?a purpose to fight evil."
"And Xander?"
"Xander and you at this point are close. You spend a lot of time together and have fun. He and you have that carefree friendship that is so hard to find. There's no outer purpose. Giles is your watcher, Angel is a vampire, and Willow is an upcoming witch. Xander doesn't have anything like that. He was the first to find out who you really are and wasn't scared away about it. Instead, he stuck by you and gave you the extra encouragement that you needed to make it through another night."
She glanced at the pavement, "Wow. Xander really does care about me a lot, doesn't he?"
Alex walked up to her and cradled her face in his hands so she could look into his eyes. "More than you'll ever know, Buffy. More than you'll ever know."
Buffy took a deep breath, "Does this mean I'm all better? Does this mean Xander's going to find me now and take me home?"
He answered, "Not even close. You're heart is still broken, and it's going to be for a while. You've learned a lot these past two nights and you're still absorbing the information. Right now, just work through your days at work and slowly rise from your ashes. That night Angel died, Buffy Anne Summers died too of a broken heart. When you come back to Sunnydale, you'll be stronger and in a better frame of mind. Let's face it, Buffy. You'll be a phoenix. Beautiful and so full of life."
She said in a quieted voice, "I'll be happy again? I'll be able to move on? But it hurts so much. Angel? My Angel is gone, and I'll never see him again!"
Her guide nodded, "Yeah, you'll find your heart again, and be able to give it to someone again at some point. Who, I don't know, but he's out there somewhere. But you have to keep your friends with you. You have to be a team player. Can you do that for yourself? Can you stop being a lone wolf and start being the leader in a team?"
"I can try."
Alex smiled, "That's all I ask, Buff. Now I got one more thing to teach you tomorrow night, and that's it for me. After that, just live, Buffy. Continue to work at the diner, go to Danielle's apartment tomorrow, and you'll eventually meet Xander. You'll talk about a lot. But when you do find him, you'll be in a better place?a much better place, Buffster."
Xander shrugged, "Dunno." Then he thought of something, "how comfortable would you be seeing demons?"
His eyes widened, "You mean there are more than just the types you listed? Just how many freakin' demons are there in this world?"
The teenager chuckled, "A lot, Ash. Basically, the two main species that run this world are demon and humans."
Ash asked, "And I bet demons are all bad? What I'm saying is humans good, demons, bad."
He shook his head, "Not in the least. In fact, I made a friend with one a couple of nights ago. He gave me an aura reading, which helped me find some information on finding my friend."
"Something tells me there's something special about this girl, Xander. There's something you're not telling me."
Xander said honestly, "I don't think so. Buffy's a friend who ran away after sending her boyfriend to hell. When I find her and bring her back, we'll both be seniors. That is Snyder will let us back in. Buffy's the Vampire Slayer, and she means a lot to me. That's pretty much it. Oh, and she moved to Sunnydale a couple years ago from Los Angeles."
"Oh," Ash said in realization. "Wait. What was the last thing you said?"
Xander gulped and answered, "Oh, and she moved to Sunnydale a couple of years ago from Los Angeles."
He shook his head, "No, before that. What was first thing you said?"
"Um, Buffy's a friend who ran away after sending her boyfriend to hell?"
Ash glared at him, "After that."
Xander laughed nervously, "Buffy's the Vampire Slayer?"
He started to say calmly, "That's what I thought you said. What the hell is a vampire slayer?"
The boy decided to be completely honest, "A vampire slayer is a chosen girl by the Powers that Be to fight the vampires and the demons that are in this world. She's given powers like strength, speed, heightened senses, and can heal really fast."
"Damn. Wish I had a slayer back when I was back in Medieval Europe. Could've saved me a lot of heartache. And even before that, there might've been a way to save Linda."
"You miss her, huh, Ash? Linda I mean?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I do. I loved Linda with all my heart, and then that damn book took her away from me. All I can say is good riddance. I am done with that book, and I never want to see it again!"
Xander sighed, "I can understand that. Do you know where the book is now?"
Ash shook his head, "Don't know, and don't care."
The younger man put his stake back in his pocket, "Well, c'mon Ash. Let's go to Caritas."
"Did you find it?"
The Jaffa turned around and looked at his god, "No, my lord, we have not. However, we have learned that the Necronomicon is on Earth."
Xander entered Caritas and stepped to one side. "Welcome to Caritas, Ash." He said as Ash walked in from behind him.
Ash's eyes widened, "What the hell? What kinda place is this?"
The teenager answered, "This is a karaoke bar, Ash. As I said before, it's for demons and humans. I'll introduce you to someone."
Automatically, Ash's hand went for the stake that was now housed in his pocket.
Xander noticed this, and stopped his arm. "Don't go there. The last thing we want to start is trouble."
He slowly took back his hand, "This is too much, Kid. This is totally unbelievable. How could I never have known about demons? I mean, I've seen more demons within the last hour then I've ever seen in my whole fucked up life!"
Xander said calmly, "Take it easy, Ash. C'mon, I'll buy you a drink."
Ash looked down at his young friend, "Aren't you a little young?"
He replied, "By drink, I meant something of the soda variety."
"Oh," he said in realization. "I'll take a Coke."
The younger man smiled, "Follow me."
With that said, Ash and Xander walked up to the bar.
"You're back, Sweetcheeks?"
Xander looked up at the smiling bar owner, "Hey, Lorne."
Lorne noticed the man next to Xander, "And who is this? Is this your uncle?"
Ash smirked, "Hardy har har. The name's Ash."
The demon chuckled, "Ash, huh? You don't look like an Ash. You look like a crazy person, Ashy Boy."
Ash glared at him, "I'm not crazy. You try dismembering your girlfriend! See how you take it!"
Lorne took a few steps back, "Take it easy, Ash. Didn't mean anything by that."
He sighed, "Sorry. It's been a crazy night?a way crazy one."
The demon was about to say something, when Xander whispered, "Don't go there, Lorne. Just don't. Trust me."
The bar owner said calmly, "Consider it done. So, Sweetcheeks, what's new? How goes the destiny search?"
Xander sighed, "It's going so so. Haven't made really any progress, but I was able to get some help. So, I know I am making process."
The two horned demon smiled, "That's good to know. I assume that the help your talking about is from Kevin Sorbo."
Ash's eyes widened, "You know Kevin Sorbo?"
Xander laughed slightly, "Yeah, Lorne introduced us a couple nights ago. He agreed to help me find Buffy."
"Lucky bastard. You meet Kevin Sorbo, and all I get to meet is Ralph Furely. True, Furely isn't a celebrity, but he looks like that character from The Andy Griffith show. "
Xander paused realizing the truth, "Yeah. Now that I think about it, you're right. They look oddly identical."
Ash nodded, "Yeah, you got that right."
"So, what can I get you, Sweetcheeks?"
Xander smiled, "Coke."
He nodded, "And you Ashy Boy?"
Ash grunted, "Don't call me that."
"May I ask why? I always call people names. It's my thing. I call Xander Sweetcheeks, and he doesn't have a problem."
Xander sighed, "Actually, I kinda do."
His eyes widened, "What? You never said anything before?"
He replied, "Didn't want to seem annoying, but it is kinda gay."
"Gay, huh?" Lorne snorted, "how about I call you Baby Face then?"
The boy gulped, "Nah. Sweetcheeks is fine. Just try to keep it down to a minimum."
Lorne chuckled, "Consider it done, Swe….I mean Xander." He then turned to the clerk, "so, what can I get you, Ash?"
Ash took a seat at the bar at the same time as his young friend, "I'll have the same. Coke. But add a little Rum to it."
The demon nodded, "Be right back with your drinks."
Then he left.
"Groovy." Ash said with a smile.
"Hey, Xander."
Xander turned around and smiled, "Hey, Kevin."
Hercules looked at the man he sat with but only saw the back of his head. "Who's your friend?"
Ash spun around as Xander introduced him, "Kevin Sorbo, meet Ash Williams. Ash Williams, meet Kevin Sorbo."
"So you're the famous Kevin Sorbo, huh?"
Hercules' eyes widened, (Autolycus? It can't be him, can it?)
"Yeah…I guess I am."
Ash smiled, "You look taller on TV."
Xander smirked, "Everyone looks taller on TV."
"Uh, Xander?"
He nodded, "Yeah, Kevin?"
"Can we talk?"
Xander shrugged, "I guess."
Ash was about to get off the stool.
"In private."
Xander turned to his friend, "This will only take a second."
Ash shugged, "Sure. Talk for all I care."
He smiled slightly, "Thanks, Ash. Be right back."
The demigod nodded, "Yeah, thanks, Mr. Williams."
The scarred man said, "No problemo. Just call me Ash."
"Sure." Kevin said and turned to his young friend, "C'mon, Xander. We got to talk."
"About what?"
Hercules and Xander went over to the other side of the bar where the bathroom was located. They went to the farthest corner to make sure that they were by themselves.
When satisfied, Hercules asked, "Where did you find this guy, Xander?"
Xander answered honestly, "We work together. It turns out that he saw Buffy and we got to talk. You should hear this guy, he is a real character."
Hercules nodded, "Don't I know it. You should've seen his soul."
The teenager showed a confusing look, "What are you talking about?"
The demigod sighed, "Unless I'm wrong, which I probably am not. Ash is Autolycus reincarnated."
His eyes widened, "Reincarnation?"
A nod was made, "Yeah. They look exactly alike, and I think I even spot some of the same behavior patterns."
"So, let me get this straight. Autolycus and Ash are the same person?"
He shook his head, "Not the same person. Reincarnation. I have the idea that Ash is the reincarnated form of Autolycus."
"How do we know for sure?"
The actor shrugged, "That I don't know. But I have this extra feeling in my gut. I really think Ash is the reincarnated version."
"Weird," the boy said to himself, "will he recognize you?"
Hercules sighed, "That I don't know either. But, if he does, I won't hide it from him. If Autolycus suddenly finds himself in the 20 century, he's going to go completely insane. He'd be better off knowing that he had a friend in this time frame."
Xander smiled, "Make that two friends."
The son of Zeus grinned, "Good."
Changing subject, he asked, "So what do you wanna tell me?"
Hercules looked to make sure the coast was clear again, when content. He said, "I've been asking people about Buffy and some have seen her. She's definitely still in LA. I was asking some demons before you came in here. You saved me from calling you."
"Cool. What do we do now?"
"Xander?"
The two friends looked at each other with widened eyes and turned around.
"You go out first." Hercules whispered to his young friend who nodded in acknowledgement
Xander left the hiding spot to only see Ash walking through the bar.
"You called Ash?"
Ash turned around, "Well, yeah. Listen, we got work tomorrow, and I was hoping that we could do one more patrol before bed. You game?"
Xander looked back in the direction to search for his friend, but he wasn't there. "Weird. Thought Deadboy was the only one who did that."
"I'm game."
Xander and Ash both turned to the direction to spot Kevin Sorbo.
Ash asked, "You wanna patrol? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're really strong, Kevin. But you're just an actor."
Kevin chuckled, "I can take my chances. What do you say, Ash?"
The former promised one shrugged, "It's your funeral. C'mon. "
The two of them started to walk toward the exit. Ash turned around, "You coming, Xand?"
Xander smiled, "Right behind you."
With that said, the three new friends left Caritas into the nightlife of Los Angeles.
"So, Kevin. How'd you get started in the whole acting gig?"
Hercules chuckled, "Just needed a change, and acting hit me. So, I went on a few additions, and got a couple jobs doing commercials."
Xander chuckled this time, "Yeah, I remember. Didn't you do that commercial for Dove Soap?"
The actor blushed, "Yeah, I did. It was a small acting job, which led to me to try an audition for Lois and Clark. Missed it to Dean Cain, but everything worked out for the better. I got the Hercules show instead, and I couldn't be happier."
"Yeah, I bet." Xander said under his breath.
Hercules heard what he said, and couldn't help but smile.
"Ash?"
Ash looked up at the demigod, "Yeah?"
"What happened to your hand?"
The S-Mart clerk told him the whole story. Pretty much the same spiel that he gave Xander earlier. Nothing special.
"You really have been through a lot?"
He sighed, "You have no idea. And it's that damn book's fault. Every damn horror that I've had to face in my life. That is until I staked my first few vampires this evening."
All of a sudden, his cell phone rang.
"Sorry, guys. This'll take a moment."
"Sure. Take your time."
Ash smiled and answered his phone. "Hi. What's up? Sorry. But I met this kid earlier tonight and we've got to talking. I really think you'll like him. I know your not in the mood to meet anyone, but I really think you two would get along. I'll invite him over tomorrow for dinner, alright? Oh, and wait till I tell you I just met. Alright, you get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning. Bye."
Then he hung up the phone and turned to his friends, "That was just my niece. Hey, Xander?"
Xander looked up at him, "Yeah?"
"Wanna come over for dinner tomorrow night?" He then realized Kevin was there too. "You can come too if you want?"
Hercules chuckled, "Thanks, but no thanks. I've got a charity event to attend to."
"That's good. So, what do you say, Xander? You wanna come over and meet Faith?"
Just as Xander was about to say something, he heard, "Well, look what we have here. Three happy meals on legs, and look who it is. How ya doin, Droopy?"
Xander growled, "Spike."
Ash looked at his younger friend, "Spike? What kinda name is that? It sounds like a dog's name."
The teenager chuckled, "I've got agree with you there. Spike does seem like a bitch."
The vampire glared at the three of them, "I am not a bitch, Harris!"
The scarred man snickered, "I get it. He wines a lot."
"I do not wine." He said in anger.
Xander continued to chuckle, "Yeah, you do. You're Drusilla whipped."
The bleached blond was about to say something, when he noticed the other man with the boy and his friend. "Since when did you meet?"
Hercules' eyes widened. He remembered Spike from years ago. Over a century ago. Before the vampire could say anything, he whipped a roundhouse across his face. "I met Xander a couple nights ago. That's all."
Spike jumped back to his feet, "No. You're bloody…"
Xander smirked, "Yeah, that's Kevin Sorbo. Now be a good boy, and get the hell out of here!" Then he punched his left cheek.
"No. He isn't Kevin Sorbo! He's Hercules!"
The teenager gulped when he heard this and looked at his demigod friend who sighed in acknowledgement.
Ash chuckled, "What the hell are you smoking? Hercules is a fuckin TV show! He's just an actor."
Spike shook his head, "You don't understand, you wanker. That really is Hercules!"
"Sure," Ash said calmly, "and I'm Princess Dianna." He then took his metal hand and punched him in the stomach. With his other hand, he grabbed the stake, and was about to leap onto his prey.
But before he could do anything, another vampire got his arm and kicked the wind out of the former promise one's chest. Ash fell to the ground in ease.
"You leave my Master alone!"
Xander and Hercules exchanged looks, "Master?" They asked in unison.
"Since when is Spike a Master Vampire?" Xander asked the undead demon.
Five more vampires appeared out of the shadows. "Since Spike said he would find the ring of Amara for us."
"Crap," Xander said under his breath as the other vampires came out. "I so don't need this right now."
Hercules chuckled, "This time you got me with you, Xander."
"And me." Ash said as he got back to his feet. "How many?"
Xander quickly counted, "Six. We would've had seven, but it looks like Spike left."
The son of Zeus said, "Doesn't matter. We'll get Spike later. Let's focus on these guys."
The taller brunette agreed, "I'm with you there, Kevin. I just wish I had my chainsaw with me."
Xander looked at his two friends, "Are we going to talk or we going to beat the crap out these guys?"
"What does this tell you, Xan?" Ash asked as he grabbed one of the demons by the collar with his gauntlet hand and staked it with his other.
The actor withdrew his stake from his pocket and ran off one of the other vampires.
Ash looked at Xander, "Since when do television actors carry stakes?"
Xander shrugged, "I guess since he found out about vampires. We talked the other day, remember?"
He nodded, "Right. Forgot." Ash stated as he punched one of vampires with a right cross, followed by a left, right, left, right, and finally staked him with his other hand.
The scarred man turned to his younger friend who was already in a struggle with one vampire. He turned to Kevin, and he was off fighting two of them. "I guess Kevin really is strong."
Ash was suddenly tackled from behind and landed on the ground. He was able to turn around and look at his attacker.
The vampire showed his 'game face' and extended his fangs. "How'd you like to live forever?"
The former promised one flipped him over so that Ash was on top. "I don't think so. Living forever's got to be hell!"
"It has its advantages. Look into my eyes."
Ash couldn't help but look into his eyes, and couldn't move.
The vampires smiled, "Excellent." He then flipped them over again, and lowered his head for Ash's neck. "Time for a change." The vampire said.
"I don't thing so." Xander said as he grabbed the demon off his friend, "Get the hell off my friend, Overbite!"
"Look into my eyes," the demon said at Xander.
Xander immediately shut his eyes so he wouldn't give into the thrall.
The boy couldn't see what was going on, and could feel coldness approaching his neck.
Suddenly, the temperature change was gone.
Xander opened his eyes, and saw Ash standing in front of him. "Thanks for the save, Kid."
He smiled, "Ditto."
"You didn't do half bad, my friends."
Xander and Ash turned to face their other friend.
"You did well, Kevin. Playing Hercules really gave you an edge, huh?"
Hercules chucked, "Yeah. It's all that training I put in."
Xander chuckled too, "Yeah. It's a real Olympic effort."
The demigod smiled.
"So," Ash said as he dusted himself. "Mind telling me why Spike kept calling you, Hercules?"
The Sunnydale resident shrugged, "I guess Spike watches the show too much. I mean, c'mon. He's in love with Drusilla."
He showed a confusing look, "Drusilla? Who's she?"
"She's just a vampire who loves Spike. Y'see, apparently, Spike, Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla used to part of a gang."
"How do you know all this?" Ash asked him.
Xander shrugged, "Buffy. Y'see, when Buffy went out with Angel, she learned all about his family. Then she told me. Angelus was sired by Darla who sired Drusilla. Then Drusilla sired Spike."
He showed a confusing look, "Sired?"
The young man answered, "Sired is when a vampire drains you, cuts him or herself and feed their victim their blood. The blood turns them, and becomes him or herself's childe. Basically, siring and childe making is their way to procreate. Since, y'know, vampires are sterile."
Ash asked, "First you tell me that Buffy went out with Angel. Then you're telling me all this Angelus stuff. Are they brothers?"
He shook his head, "Nah. The thing with Angel is that he is an ensouled vampire?cursed by a group of gypsies. Before that, he was known as Angelus. Angel is his ensouled self, Angelus is without soul."
"Oh," Ash said in realization, "what was the curse?"
The boy answered, "Basically, the gypsies gave him a soul so that Angel could feel all the pain that he's caused as Angelus. The soul curse isn't exactly permanent. All it takes is a 'moment of true happiness." He said the last words with venom in his voice.
Then Xander told him all rest he knew about Angel, Angelus, their family, and Angel's relationship with Buffy. That and his hatred for vampires and the staking of his best friend the first day Buffy came to town.
"That's quite the tale." Hercules said with a smile.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Xander asked with venom once more.
The former promised one look at his watch, "It's getting really late. I better turn in." He then went inside his pocket, and pulled out a card. Ash gave it to Xander, "This is my address. Be at the house at 6:30."
Xander accepted his card, "Thanks, Ash. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Night."
Then Ash left leaving the demigod and teenager.
"That seemed like old times."
The mortal asking confusingly, "What did?"
"Fighting with Autolycus."
"How do you know if that's Autolycus, Hercules? You don't have that much to go on."
He replied, "True, but they had the same fighting method. There are trace comparisons between the two of them, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ash was Autolycus' reincarnated version."
"Oh," he said with the information sinking into his brain, "I think Ash was right though. It is late, I better go home too."
The actor nodded, "That it is, my friend. Tell you what, after dinner tomorrow, call me up. We'll see what we can do about your ghost problem."
"Thanks, Hercules."
Xander took a deep breath as he approached the log cabin.
"Here goes nothing," he said to himself as he knocked on the door.
Soon, it opened, and Ash stepped out. "How ya doin, Kid?"
Xander smiled, "It's going okay, I guess."
Ash smiled, "C'mon in." Then he allowed his guest entrance.
The boy looked around the cabin and it was well let out. A fireplace was by the west wall with a chainsaw hanging just above.
With a television in the center of the living room, a couch and two chairs sat. The floor was carpeted in dark brown. On the other side of the room was the kitchen. A hallway came from the living room, and could only guess that that was where Ash and his niece's beds were.
"Nice place you got here, Ash."
"Thanks, Xander. Take a seat. I'll get Faith."
Xander nodded in acknowledgement, and sat down on one of the chairs.
"Be right back, Xander."
With that said, Ash left Xander to his thoughts.
The last few nights have been so surreal to Xander. The thought of meeting Hercules was completely insane. To actually know that all greek mythology was the truth. It was so intense.
The only thing that was normal that Xander saw within the last week, was meeting Eric Matthews.
Then he remembered RF, Jack, Chrissy, and Janet. They were also normal, and could obviously tell that Jack wasn't gay. RF only based his conclusion on stereotypes. Jack wasn't gay. Larry on the other hand was. There were complete differences between the two of them.
Ash seemed like a nice guy, but he really was rough around the edges. He's been put through hell within the last few years. Xander could only imagine what it was like to live through the army of darkness?to battle an army of skeletons led by his evil self.
God, that was a lot for him to go through.
"He's here, Faith."
Faith looked up from her bed and smiled at her uncle.
'I dunno if I'm going to like meeting this guy, Uncle Ash. Meeting people was never my strong suit back in Boston. Y'know, after everything happened with my parents."
Ash sighed and walked over to her. He sat down beside her, "My sister had always a lot of trouble growing up. Y'know, since our elder sister died when she was a teenager. Muggers my ass though."
She showed a confused look, "That's what the cops said when they found her, Uncle Ash. She was found dead in an ally alone."
"I know, Faith. But it hurts sometimes, and I can't help but wonder. What if I was there? What if I wasn't hanging out with my friends? Maybe Leah would still be alive. I loved her so much, Faith. We all did. For the first thirteen years of my life, your mother, Hilary, Lisa, and I were always close."
His niece nodded, "Yeah, I know, Uncle Ash. Leah's death really struck all of you?especially you and my mom. I also know that you don't like to go into that kinda stuff."
He nodded, "Yeah. I've told Xander all about that book and Linda. I don't think he needs to know about Leah. Not now anyway."
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Are you going to tell him?"
Ash shrugged, "Nah. He already knows about Linda and that damn book. He doesn't need to know about Leah, and I prefer that you don't tell him either."
Faith nodded, "Don't worry, Uncle Ash. I won't tell him."
"Good," he said with a smile, "c'mon, let's get out of here."
"Right behind you," she said as her uncle left the bed.
"Sorry about that," Ash said as he entered the room, "I just had to talk to Faith for a second."
Xander smiled, "S'okay."
At that moment, Faith walked out from behind her uncle and smiled, "Hi."
Ash cleared his throat, "Xander, this is Faith Williams. Faith, this is Xander Harris."
Xander got out of the chair and approached the two Williamses. "Nice to meet you, Faith."
Faith grinned back, "How ya doin', Xander?"
He shrugged, "I'm doing so so."
She showed a confused look, "Why so so?"
Before Xander could say, Ash asked, "Why don't we sit down?"
Xander replied, "Sure…I guess."
"Coolness," Faith said in response.
The three of them went back to the sitting area. Xander sat in the chair while Faith and Ash sat in the couch.
Ignoring what his niece said, Ash asked, "Find anything new on your slayer friend?"
Xander sighed, "Nope. After you left last night, Kevin and I went our separate ways. And I came here right after work. So, there really wasn't anything to do, y'know?"
She showed a confused look, "You never told me what happened last night, Uncle Ash? Why?"
Ash shrugged, "You were asleep. When I was getting ready for work, you still were sleeping. So you do the math."
"Makes sense." Faith said to him. "So, now that Xander is here, why not tell me what's been going on?"
"Ok with you, Ash?"
"Sure. She knows everything about my life. So, I have no problem with it."
Xander smiled, "Cool," and then he told the whole story between him, Ash, and Kevin Sorbo. Of course not mentioning who Kevin really was, but that was alright. Faith didn't need to know.
"Wicked." Faith said with a smile, "you three sound like you had fun last night. Wish you had invited me."
Xander shrugged, "Didn't know about you until you called your uncle on the phone. Maybe next time."
Ash shook his head, "No way in hell!"
She looked at him with venom in her voice, "Why not?"
He glared at her, "Y'know very well, Faith. I've lost too many damn people in my life. I don't want to lose you."
Faith sighed, "But, what if you need help. What if a vampire jumps you, and you can't fight back. X told me what happened. If he didn't get that vamp off you, you would've died! I lost my parents. I lost a lot too. I don't want to lose you!" Then she started to cry. "You're the one thing in my life that hasn't left me. Please, don't leave me!"
Then she ran out of the room.
Ash immediately got up, "I'll be right back, Xander."
Xander shook his head, "Let me, Ash. I'm closer to her age wise."
Ash looked at his, "I don't know, Xander. Faith doesn't open up to people that well. She keeps to herself a lot."
He said calmly, "Let me try. Maybe I can get through."
The taller man shrugged, "It's your funeral."
The teenager sighed, "Thanks for the vote of encouragement."
With that said, Xander left.
"Go away!"
"Can I come in, Faith?"
Faith immediately knew that voice. It wasn't who she expected.
She slowly got off her bed and walked to her door. Unlocking it, Faith said, "Come in, but you only got five minutes, X."
He nodded, "That's all I need." (I hope so anyway.)
The female brunette sat down back on her bed. "What do you want to say to me? Tell me a reason why I shouldn't help. Tell me a reason why I should just let Uncle Ash go out there night after night fighting for his life!"
Xander sighed as he sat down, "Listen Faith. You're uncle is worried about you. I should know. You're his only link to a family. It's obvious that you he lost more than a fiancée from the way you're talking. Did he lose a brother or a sister?"
Faith didn't answer knowing what her uncle's wishes were.
He said in a soothing voice, "C'mon, Faith. You can tell me."
She glared at him, "Why should I open up to you? I don't even know you!"
Xander replied, "No you don't know me. For all you know, I could be a complete stanger. But, like I said before, I'm only in LA because I'm trying to find my friend. She ran away, and it's partly my fault. When she left, I had to make a decision. I could either go after her, or go back to class. I decided to go after her."
The female looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "You really care about her, don't you?"
He nodded, "Yeah, I do. Buffy's an easy target right now, Faith. She's the Slayer, and she has a broken heart. That's a very dangerous combination. I'm lucky to have Kevin Sorbo and your uncle to help me."
She stared at him, "I now know that you really do understand how I feel. I may only be sixteen. But I can handle change. I want to help, Xander. If you help me with my uncle, I'll help you find Buffy."
"I have to think about that."
Faith nodded, "I understand, but can you answer rather quickly. Uncle Ash is going to want to patrol again tonight. At least this time, he'll have his chainsaw."
"That he will, but I have to meet with Kevin after dinner."
"I can see why. So, can you get me an autograph?"
Xander chuckled, "I don't know, Faith. But I guess I could ask."
Faith smiled, "That's cool, Xander. Now, what about my uncle? Do you think you can get him to let me help?"
He sighed, "I don't know. If you want, give me some time after dinner to talk to him, and I'll see what I can do. But, I'm not promising anything."
She grinned, "I understand, and appreciate it."
Xander smiled and clasped his fingertips together. "In the immortal words of Montgomery Burns, 'Excellent.'"
Faith got off her bed and headed for her door. She put her hand on the knob and looked back at hin, "You're wacko."
The boy shrugged, "People tell me that."
"So, how about we go grab some dinner?"
Xander got off the bed, and shortly joined her, "Lead the way, Faith."
Faith nodded in response, and twisted the door know. Pulling it open, the door flew off the hinges and the knob remained in her hand. Her eyes widened, "What the fuck?!"
Xander chuckled, "I guess somebody's been eating their Wheaties."
"What the fuck?!"
Ash quickly placed the last plate on the table and ran to the direction of the call.
When he got there, he asked in concern, "What happened, Faith?"
Faith looked at her uncle, then at Xander, then back at her uncle, "I dunno. I was going to open the door when I ripped it off its hinges."
His eyes widened, "You what?"
She immediately dropped the door from her hand, "What the hell is going on?"
Xander shrugged, "Weak hinges?"
Ash replied, "Could be. I bought this place from an old married couple. The husband said he built this place with his own hands."
Faith breathed easily, "Makes sense."
"Right." Xander said to them, (I wonder…) he thought to himself. (Nah. There's no way. Or is there?)
Ash looked at Xander who exhibited a confused look. He turned to his niece, "What do you think he's thinking about?"
His niece shrugged, "Dunno. Ask him?"
He nodded, "Xander?"
Xander looked at his two friends, "Yeah?"
"What are you thinking about?"
The boy replied calmly, "Nothing. Just worried what else could happen in this house."
Ash said with uncertainty, "Uh huh."
The female looked at the two males, "How about that dinner?"
Her voice brought Ash back to the conversation, "Right. Dinner. Hope you like stake, Xander?"
He grinned, "Stake's just fine."
"Hey, Giles?"
"Why, hello, Xander. How are you?"
Xander couldn't help but smile. He missed his friend, "I'm doing okay. No Buffy yet, but I'll find her."
"I most definitely believe you will, Xander. So, what can I do for you?"
The boy looked around him to make sure the coast was clear. Ash and Faith were in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. Xander was by himself which was the perfect time to call Giles. Of course, Xander asked permission, and was allowed.
"I need to you ask you something about slayers."
"Very well. What do you need to know?"
"How are slayers called?"
"Well, they're usually called after a slayer is dead. When Buffy died last year, Kendra was called."
Xander sat up and placed the phone closer to his ear, "I understand that, Giles. But, if Kendra died, who is the next slayer? Shouldn't there be another slayer? One that is in action at the moment."
"In most situations, there should be, yes."
His eyes widened, "Most?" Why not all?"
"Believe it or not. According to myth, there have been two slayers before. Buffy and Kendra weren't the first two slayers to coexist. It happened over three centuries ago. Anyway, back then; one slayer was in an emotional state and not ready to fight. So, the second slayer wasn't called. She was called when the first slayer got better though. Of course, it was never proven though. Why do you ask?"
"Because, Giles…I think I just met the other slayer. Tell me, if there were two before, how did the slayer line go back to one after that?"
"That I don't know. But, I think it has something to do with the Powers that Be."
He nodded, "If that's true. Would the powers allow this to happen again?"
"That's hard to say, Xander. Not unless there was something or someone that could help in maintaining these slayers."
"Council related?"
"No. Not council related. The help needed would be someone close to the slayers. And that means both slayers."
Xander sighed, "Like me?"
"It's plausible, Xander. But the other slayer doesn't know you."
"As I said before, I think I just met the other slayer."
"How can you be sure?"
Xander answered, "Long story short. I'm visiting a friend from work for dinner and met his niece. She easily ripped the door off its hinges."
"That necessarily doesn't mean that she has super strength. The house itself could not be as strong as it was back in the day.
The teenager nodded, "True, Giles. It's just that I want to keep an eye on Faith. I still can't forget that she did rip the door off its hinges. She could very well be the next slayer."
"Right you are, Xander. Only tell her what she needs to know. Make sure she actually is a slayer before you tell her. You don't want to subject her world to vampires."
"Uh, Giles…"
"Tell me you didn't."
He chuckled, "I did. It turns out her uncle has fought worse things than vampires."
"Worse things than vampires?"
Xander answered, "Ever hear of deadites?"
The boy could hear his older friend sitting down with a plop. "You mean to tell me that you're friend is Ashley Williams?"
He gulped, "How do you know about Ash, Giles?"
"Well, when I was part of the Watchers' Academy, we learned a great deal of ancient books. The Necronomicon had a picture inside its pages and there was one where a 20th century man stood in the middle of nowhere with people of medieval Europe around him. His name was Ashley Williams. He is the promised one."
Xander sighed, "Just be careful around him. That book really messed up his life, and he doesn't want to deal with it ever again. I don't blame him. But I still believe Faith may be the next slayer. And I'm going to keep an eye on her. That and of course find Buffy."
"I certainly believe that you'll find Buffy. We know you, Xander, and we know that you will not rest until you find someone you care about."
He nodded, "Damn straight. Damn straight. So, if Ash and Faith know about deadites and vampires, is it alright that I tell them about the possibility of her slayerness."
"That's your call, Xander. But, be warned. If you tell her, and she isn't the slayer, she might want to fight still. And a person with no ability is likely to survive."
He couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "Um, Giles? What do you think I am?"
This time Giles chuckled, "Yes, of course. I know that you're the perfect example to contradict my hypothesis on normal people, and for that I apologize. Tell Faith what you think is right. If you need any more help on slayers, don't hesitate to call."
Xander smiled, "Thanks, Giles."
"Not a problem, Xander. I'll tell Joyce you called."
The boy nodded, "I'll call her later when I get back to the apartment tonight. I'll definitely call you if anything comes up."
"Alright, Xander. Talk to you later."
Then he hung up, as well as Xander.
Xander sat back in the couch and waited for his two friends to come out of the kitchen. He didn't want to tell Faith she was a slayer yet. Not until he was completely sure.
But part of him disagreed. Knowing she was a slayer might help Ash give her an excuse to help. And plus, knowing now will help Faith in the long run. This way she could be more prepared for the trouble that awaits her. She already knew about deadites and vampires, so she wouldn't freak out about that.
He nodded. Xander was going to tell her. The boy just hoped Faith and Ash would take it well.
Ash placed a dish in the dishwasher and looked at his niece who was busy clearing the plates.
Faith was extremely important to him. Ash just found out about more things that went 'bump in the night' then he ever suspected. Deadites were something that he knew about too damn well.
Vampires were new to him, but they seemed easier then deadites. They were strong and powerful. But with a stake, they could easily be treated. His chainsaw wouldn't be able to take them down, unless he decapitated them.
Xander told him and his niece a lot about them during dinner, and it was weird. Ash always knew that this world had its problems. Deadites only being a minor part, but now there were vampires, werewolves, witches, mummies, and a ton of demons.
Then he learned that all demons weren't bad. Lorne was a perfect example. He may be annoying, but he certainly was friendly. But why did he have to call Ash, Ashy Boy? That name was something he would like to forget.
One thing Faith wanted to talk about through dinner was her trying to help fight the undead. Ash already lost his sister and girlfriend. He didn't want to lose his niece too.
But, she did care about him?a great deal in fact. And she wanted to help. Ash could understand why she wanted too. She also wanted to try and make the world safe, to try and make people live longer and have more happier lives rather than worrying during the night that when would a vampire would jump.
"Uncle Ash?"
Her words cut him off from his inner musings. He turned around and asked, "Yeah?"
She approached him, "What do you think of Xander? He really seemed a little distant during dinner?"
He agreed, "Yeah, he did, didn't he? I wonder what's going on in that crazy head of his."
The teenager shrugged, "Don't know. But this Buffy character really has him worried. I really hope he finds her."
Ash put another plate in the dishwasher, "I hope he does too. Other than that, he reminds me of me when I was his age."
Faith nodded, "I can understand. You two both lost a lot, and you both have that sense of humor thing going."
He smiled, "I guess we do."
Changing the subject a little, she asked, "Who do you think he's talking to?"
"It could be anyone, Faith. It could be Mike, RF, Kevin, or someone else."
Nothing was said for the new few minutes, until Ash interrupted the silence, "So, how do you feel? Any better?"
She answered, "Nothing new has happened if you're asking about the door thing. Maybe Xander was right?weak hinges."
He nodded, "Make sense. You're probably right."
The door opened, and Xander's head poked in, "Ash, Faith. We need to talk."
Faith looked at her new friend, "What's the what, X?"
Ash asked, "What do you want to tell us?"
Xander took a deep breath and said, "Let's just go into the other room."
With that said, the three of them left the kitchen and entered the living room. Xander sat in one chair while Faith and Ash sat on the couch.
Faith looked at Xander's face and could see that he had something on his mind, "You're scaring me, Xander. What's up?"
He answered, "I just called Giles."
They showed a confused look.
Xander laughed slightly, "Sorry. Giles is Buffy's watcher. Anyway, I told him about meeting you two. And I discovered something that can explain Faith's sudden power surge."
This caught their attention. "What did he say, Kid?"
Xander took a deep breath, "I told you about Kendra, right?"
Ash nodded, "Yeah, somewhat. You said Kendra died and Buffy ran away."
He said, "Right. But when a slayer dies, a new one is called. And I have reason to believe that Faith might be the next vampire slayer."
His eyes widened, "She's a slayer?! Faith's going to be a fucking vampire slayer!?"
Faith looked at both of them and stated, "Cool. So, I get slayer abilities? Wicked!"
He shook his head, "No, not wicked! Faith, you could be the vampire slayer! I've been through the 'chosen one' bit, and it ain't fun."
Xander showed a confusing look, "Don't you mean 'promised one'?"
Ash gave him a look, "Right. Promised one. Doesn't change a thing. I don't want Faith to have that destiny crap!"
Xander sighed, "I went through this with Buffy, Ash. Yes, you and her both went through that, and it's not fun. But there's a difference."
He stood up from the couch and glared at him, "What kinda difference, Xander? Tell me!"
Xander stood up and stared at him, "Buffy has her friends working with her. And Faith will too. She has you, the rest, and me in Sunnydale. We can become a family. Believe, it's a family that means a lot to me. Trust me on that, but Faith is going to have the best slaying life any other slayer has had, and you and I'll make sure of that!"
Ash knew Xander was right. True, being the promised one was shit. But Faith will be better off. She'll have her uncle and Xander. Two people who obviously care about her. He said calmly, "I know you're right. It's just that I don't want Faith to through what I went through."
Faith stood next to him, "I won't Uncle Ash. X and you can train me. I mean, who's not better than you to train me. You're time fighting deadites will come in handy."
He smiled, "Yeah, you got that right, Faith. I won't let anything happen to you. So, I guess being a vampire slayer won't be that bad."
Xander grinned, "And there's also a chance that Faith might not be a slayer. But, Faith will be in better hands with the both of us."
Ash slumped down on his couch, "How do we know that Faith is the slayer?"
Xander shrugged, "Dunno."
All of a sudden, a sound came from the door.
"One second." Ash said as he went to the door. He opened it, and saw a man standing in a suit.
"Hello?" Ash asked.
The man smiled, "Ah, Mr. Williams. I hope that your niece, Faith Williams is in."
The scarred man asked, "Who wants to know?"
The man answered, "I'm sorry. My name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. I'm Faith's watcher."
Xander grinned, "That answer your question, Ash?"
PHEONIS RISINGS: INTRODUCTIONS COMPLETED
I know that there should be more to this fic, but after talking to a friend I realized that the first fic in this series should be divided into parts. So this was the first part. Tomorrow or later tonight, I'll start Phoenix Risings: Ghost Busting. This will be the second part of this trilogy.
I want to thank a ton of people. The main people being Silent Bob Foley, BMT, X-Lander, and Tenhawk.
Honorable mentions are Canadian Satan, Teri, Greywizard, Boxerman, Hatten, Pointer, Gerber, Bill, Chorlton, and the others who left reviews. Thanks a lot. It means a lot to me.
I hope you enjoy part 2. Be on the look out.
Here's a list of crossover characters used thus far.
Phoenixverse Crossover Character List
In order of Appearance
* Xander Harris Main Character
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Willow Rosenberg
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Rupert Giles
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Daniel Osbourne
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Cordelia Chase
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Buffy Summers Main Character
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Angel/Angelus
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Ralph Furely
Three's Company?Phoenix Risings
* Chrissy Snow
Three's Company?Phoenix Risings
* Jack Tripper
Three's Company?Phoenix Risings
* Janet Wood
Three's Company?Phoenix Risings
* Ash Williams
Evil Dead/Army of Darkness?Phoenix Risings
* Joyce Summers
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Lorne
Angel: the Series?Phoenix Risings
* Hercules
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys?Phoenix Risings
* Eric Matthews
Boy Meets World?Phoenix Risings
* Faith
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
* Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer?Phoenix Risings
Hope you enjoyed this fic. I know, I did.