Xander could feel his heart trying to beat out of his chest.
He raced up the stairs of the large tower towards Dawn. He could hear Buffy shouting for him from behind, but, he was too far gone to try to stop now. He could hear Doc's insane ramblings from a few feet in front of him and he charged the little man. Doc turned and slashed at Xander with his knife, catching him on the wrist. Xander jerked his hand back and grabbed the wound. He gritted his teeth, squared his shoulders, and hit Doc with a flying tackle that would've impressed any high school football coach. Doc went tumbling head over heels past Dawn and over the edge. His screams followed him down into the portal. Buffy finally caught up to Xander, her breath barely coming to her.
"How do we stop the portal?" Xander yelled over the wind that had suddenly kicked up. Buffy looked over the edge as Xander untied Dawn. None of the three noticed when some of Dawn's blood ran down Xander's arm and mixed with his. Xander had just gotten the restraints off Dawn's arm when he felt the tower shift. He looked over the railing and saw a bunch of demons pulling on the tower. The demons rammed the tower again, and Xander lost his balance. He felt Buffy make a desperate grab for his ankle but, she was a fraction too slow. His vertigo went haywire as he began free falling to what seemed to be his death. He fell for what seemed forever until white light filled his senses.
Buffy watched it terror as Xander gracelessly tumbled over the railing. She tried to catch him, but could only watch helplessly as her hand came back empty. She heard Dawn cry out beside her but could do nothing except pray for some sort of miracle for her friend.
Xander hit the pavement, hard. But, not as hard as he expected from a hundred foot fall. He thanked whatever God was out there that he wasn't dead. But, when he opened his eyes, what he saw was almost like dying. It was Buffy, her eyes dark and ringed, like a drug addicts, and Willow, her hair black as coal with black veins marring her once pretty face. They were both staring down at him with matching smirks.
"Aww, did poor wittle Xander fall down, go boom?" Willow asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She raised her hand and Xander was pulled into the air by an unseen hand. "Maybe you should drop him from a bit higher," Buffy added her eyes fixed directly on his, "I've been itching to break something of his all night. And he makes the most wonderful sounds…"
Willow stared up in horror as she watched Xander fall towards the portal. She tried not to watch as her best friend fell to his death but found herself drawn to his falling form. She witnessed Xander's almost literal fall from grace as he passed through the portal…but, didn't come out the other side, like Doc had. The portal shimmered, as if in pain, and collapsed in on itself, sucking all the demons back into it from whence they came. The portal blinked out of existence, and with it, Xander disappeared.
Xander could almost feel his insides turning to mush as Willow gleefully threw him around the alleyway with her magic. Buffy clapped in unison to his body hitting the walls around him. He prayed to God for a quick death, but, was not expecting to be dropped again as a shot rang out. Willow jerked backwards when the bullet caught her shoulder and Buffy hissed at the new combatant. Her short blonde hair was the only thing visible as she strode in from a side street. She pulled the hammers back on the pistols in her hands and leveled them at the two women. Willow grabbed Buffy with her good arm and together they teleported away. The woman holstered both weapons and knelt down next to Xander. Xander opened his eyes long enough to see the girl who had saved his life. He thought he recognized the girl, but, was too beaten to say anything.
"'ello, mate. The name's Saibryn. That bloody girl t' my enemies." She finished with a mutter, as he passed out at her feet.
Xander's vision swam back into focus as he slowly awoke. As he sat up, his mind was bombarded by images of Buffy and Willow…evil…tossing him around like garbage. He closed his eyes as tears leaked out from the sides of them. A door opened behind him and a few steps echoed before they came to a startled stop.
"Well, look who's finally awake. Did you have a good night's sleep? Or should I say, a good two weeks sleep?" Xander whipped his head around and saw a man carrying a tray with medical supplies. He tried to leap out of bed when the sheet wrapped around his leg and nearly sent him sprawling. The man set the tray down and tried to help Xander but Xander swung at him in an attempt to get him away.
"Ok, ok, sheesh, you want to re-break your ribs, you go right ahead." The man said, his hands up in a sign of surrender. The door opened again, and Saibryn, the girl from the alley, walked in. "Drake, what're you doin' t' the poor kid?" "Hey, don't look at me, sweet thing. He just woke up and tried to get in his brisk morning jog. I just didn't want to let him hurt himself."
Xander stared out the window, the sunlight barely filtering through the clouds of smoke billowing from somewhere in the town. He turned to Saibryn and lowered his eyes, "What is this place? Is this…Sunnydale?"
"'s kinda hard to name a place that don't exactly exist anymore. T'ain't many of us left." She said her voice low.
"What the hell happened here? Why…" Xander trailed off. 'Why did my best friends attack me like that,' he thought to himself. Sai looked away. "A decade or so ago, a powerful warlock appeared. We figured 'e was just another one o' the cannon fodder villains we always seem to face. He proved to be a minor pain in the arse. His daughter, 'owever, was a different story." Xander swallowed hard. "Willow." It wasn't a question. "Her name is Autumn," Sai said, shaking her head. "Her partner, we aren't too sure who she might be, but, 'round 'ere, we call her 'Slayer'. Drake thinks that she was meant to be called, but it never 'appened, for some reason." Xander stared at the wall for a few moments more before setting his shoulders. "I want to help. In any way possible."
In the six months since he'd appeared in the hell dimension, Saibryn and Drake had been trying to teach Xander some self defense, just in case he ran into one of the Girl's goons, or the Girls themselves. And Xander, always the "eager" learner, was trying his hardest so not to let his new friends down. Day in and day out was spent learning martial arts and sword katas from Drake. Nights were spent out with Sai on patrol.
Tonight, they were in what, in his reality, would have been near the Bronze. "Sai, I've been meaning to ask…how do your bullets kill vampires?" Xander said, looking at the large guns in her hands. Saibryn smirked and, with a flick of her wrist, pulled the slide back, and pulled out a bullet. She tossed it to Xander and said, "Look at the tip." Xander rolled the smooth cartridge in his fingers and glanced at the top. He grinned when he noticed the cross carved into the round nose, and glanced up at Sai. "That's a bit clichéd, isn't it?" "Not when it works, luv."
A glint of steel, the soft cutting of air, that's all that was seen and heard. Drake's hands were a blur as he slashed and parried invisible opponents. He dropped into a crouch, and kicked upwards, pin wheeling back to his feet before spinning the swords, kneeling and stabbing down. He stood slowly and dropped into a loose horse stance, before bowing and sheathing his twin wakasashis. The calm of the large room was suddenly shattered by the door bursting open. Saibryn walked in, letting off every single obscenity she knew and a few she made up. Across her petite shoulders was an unconscious Xander. Drake ran over and pulled Xander down off of Saibryn and laid him down. "What in the blue hell happened?" Drake asked, checking Xander's pulse. "Bleedin' fool 'as an 'ero complex! He pushed me out o' the way an' took a hit from a Lamna demon." Drake's eyes widened a bit. "Musta been a love tap then, cuz he's still breathing." "Love tap, my arse! 'e was aimin' ta take my 'ead off!"
A low moan cut off any further shouts from the two as they focused down on the prone man on the floor. "Ow! Damn…I hate it when things try to eat me…makes me think they know I'm moist and delicious…" Sai breathed a sigh of relief and half grinned. "Oh, yes, you're a nummy treat, aren't you?" Xander's head shot up at this and he suddenly regretted it as pain shot down his spine. He rolled over and tried to bury his face in the bare floor. "Someone stop the room, I want to get off." Xander said, his eyes squeezed shut. Through the pain, Xander could hear Saibryn's words echoing through his head. His head shot up again and he looked at her, and before he passed out again from the pain, one word passed through his mouth. "Spike?"
Under Drake's tutelage, Xander successfully turned himself into a fighting machine. The effects were not immediate, but, his body, already tough from his construction job became honed and tighter and his eyes lost the hollow look they had held since the day that he fell.
"So, Drake, what the hell am I doing up here?" Xander asked from his perch in the rafters. Drake smiled up at Xander and shook his head, "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Xander glared down at him as he mocked him. "'it wouldn't be a surprise now would it' I hate these 'big surprise' training sessions…"That was all he could get out as the board snapped underneath him. Xander reached out and snagged a nearby bar and swung neatly down to the floor where he barely rolled out of the way of a kendo shot from Drake. He popped up and ducked to avoid another shot. Xander jumped over a low slice and throwing out his legs, kicked away from Drake, sending the other man sprawling.
Xander rolled backwards to his feet and dropped into a fighting stance. Drake too rolled to his feet and charged at Xander. He steadied himself against Drake's charge and at the last moment, snapped his hand down, catching Drake's wrist and, at the same time, snatched the kendo from his limp grasp. Xander spun from a late kick and ended with the kendo across Drake's neck. "I'm impressed. That's the first time you've beaten me. I think you know all you need to…" Drake backed up slowly and walked over to a sheet covered table. "C'mere. I have something for you." Xander strode over slowly and Drake pulled the sheet away. Sitting on the table was a sword, sheathed in a black onyx scabbard with a dragon etched in gold on it. Xander hesitantly reached over and picked it up. As he did, Drake's expression turned from a smirk to surprise. "I was afraid of this…" Xander looked up quickly. "What?" "The sword picked you…" Drake said, looking a bit dejected. "That's a special sword. It's called the Ankoku Doragon. Quite literally, the Darkness Dragon. Only someone the sword itself picks may wield it. You're it. Enjoy." As he finished speaking, Xander could feel heat on his arm. He pulled up his shirtsleeve to see a tattoo on his inner forearm of the same dragon that was on the hilt of the scabbard. "Well, this is interesting." Xander said, his voice low.
The moon crept slowly over the horizon, its faint glow. Two figures crept silently between the buildings. The first stopped and held out its arm to stop the second. Xander's eyes darted around, searching quietly. "I thought I heard something." Sai rolled her eyes and looked heavenward. "Xand, you've been sayin' that for the past ten minutes…lighten up a little, huh?" Xander shook his head. "You can never be too cautious. Especially around here." He lowered his arm and they started walking again. She shook her head and followed him around a corner. "Sai, I've…I've been meaning to ask you…what is the deal with your name? I mean, it's pretty and all but, you're parent's actually named you that?" Sai smiled a bit and looked at the moon. "My real name is Brina. I…I can't believe I'm telling you this, but…my parents were the first ones to go up against Autumn's father. They were also tortured and murdered in front of me…" She trailed off as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Xander unsheathed the Doragon and stepped into a fighting stance. All of a sudden, demons attacked from all sides.
Saibryn pulled up her guns and began firing and Xander leapt at the closest monster. Sai's guns roared in all directions as she spun in a tight circle, trying to take down as many as she could. She could barely see Xander, who was slashing and carving demons left and right. He jumped over a low sweep from one fiend and neatly sliced the head off of another. He heard Saibryn scream and he turned to see her slip to her knees and keel over. His vision ran red and he charged the demons surrounding her. A flurry of slashes and gouges came from the middle of the circle and at least twenty of the monsters fell dead. Xander turned his head slightly and he looked out at the remaining demons. He turned to go after them and was thrown aside by a hard blow. He hit a nearby wall headfirst and slid down. Xander looked up and saw Autumn and Slayer staring at him evilly. One last thought went though his mind before unconsciousness fell in.
'Oh, shit.'
I tried to kill the pain
But only brought more
I lay dying
And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal
I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost?
My god my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My god my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
Do you remember me?
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side?
Or will you forget me?
I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost?
I want to die!
My god my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My god my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied?
Christ
Tourniquet
My suicide
Was I too lost?
Was I too lost?
A light misting of rain fell on Saibryn's prone body. She inwardly groaned and slowly pushed herself into a kneeling position. As memories of the fight slowly crept into her brain, she took a look around. Her guns lay nearby, the clips ejected; the slides racked. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and realized that she didn't see Xander in her quick scan. Panicked, she stood up shakily and did a slower spin, taking in her surroundings completely. Xander was nowhere to be found.
Slayer looked from Xander's blank face to Autumn's madly grinning one. She took in a slow breath, and spoke. "Mistress, why are we taking the little bastard and not slaughtering him and bathing in his blood?" Autumn looked at Slayer, her grin growing even more sinister. "Why? You've watched him as long as I have. He hates evil. So…I am going to turn him into what he hates the most."
Xander's vision slowly came back into focus and immediately he noticed several things. First was that he was strapped to a table of some kind and he was naked. Second was that there were numerous books surrounding him. One that was open caught his eye. It was filled with arcane words and symbols. He moved his head slightly, and he heard a sinister voice near his ear. "Oh goodie, the boytoy's awake!" Xander stiffened as he looked over his shoulder and saw Slayer standing no more than three inches from him. "Mistress, he's awake!" she called over her shoulder. Xander swore under his breath as Autumn floated into view. She grinned evilly down at Xander and snapped her jaws playfully. "Don't you look…yummy. But, something isn't right. Not yet, at least…" With that, Autumn picked up a sacrificial dagger and stared at it for a moment. "I think you're going to like your new change, my little toy. "
Standing over him, Autumn pulled the book closer to her and began reading the text. "Tres tria pravus infuscomus caecux cruento pestis acerbus-shartuex," she said, her eyes turning blacker, "geropayati pallex hatanoceo invisux domus praaNsilenux!" Autumn's hands darted down and slowly, painfully carved the sign of Diablo, the pentagram, into Xander's left pectoral, directly over his heart. His screams followed him down into darkness.
Slayer clapped her hands as she watched Autumn drop the dagger next to Xander. On his chest were two other symbols, besides the pentagram. That of a crescent moon and that of a sun rising, the signs of Mephisto and Baal, respectively. Autumn whispered a small incantation and Xander jerked awake, the burning in his chest blindingly evident. "Before we welcome you into the family, darling, I'm going to have some fun…" She pointed her finger at him, "Arsum." A trail of fire lit across Xander's torso, cauterizing the wounds almost immediately. Xander arched his back off of the table and screamed again. She started to level her finger again when he snapped the bonds on his right hand and grabbed her wrist. "Manus morsus." He said calmly. The extreme pain that ripped through her whole hand almost brought the witch to her knees. Xander sat up slowly, snapping his bonds as if they were paper. He stood and turned to Slayer. "What are you looking at, boyto…?" Her question was cut off as Xander struck like a serpent, seizing her by the throat and lifting her straight off the ground. "You dare talk to me in such a manner?" Xander boomed, growling loudly. Slayer struggled uselessly, her face beginning to turn blue. Autumn stood and laid her good hand on his arm, "Xander put her down now!" Xander whipped his head around and glowered at her. "My name is Alexander, and I am your master now." He dropped Slayer on her knees and backhanded Autumn, sending her to her knees as well. "Bow before me!"
Saibryn stumbled into the safehouse and collapsed into Drake's arms. Drake cradled her gently and laid her in bed, carefully avoiding the large lump on her skull. After quickly checking for a concussion, he slowly let out a breath he had no idea he was holding. "Thank god you've got a hard head, Sai… Thank god…"