"Who cares?"
"I do. Angel can have his soul back."
"I can do this spell, Buffy. Everything is here."
Xander walked around the counter in the library. There were three things he had hidden there, and only Giles knew about it. He whispered, "To the both of you, I'm sorry. But there is just no other way." They weren't paying attention to him, so Xander took out two tranquilizer pistols and shot Buffy and Willow. They both went down.
"What did you do, Xander?"
"What I have to do." Cordelia stopped talking when she noticed Xander had a syringe in his hand and was approaching Buffy. He swabbed her arm, and injected her.
Xander was helping Giles move into his office. One of the small boxes fell out, and it opened when it landed. Inside it was a syringe and a vial of liquid. "Hey Giles. Are you on any medication?"
"No. Why do you ask?" Xander held up what he found. "That, I am ashamed to say, is for Buffy should she reach her eighteenth birthday. You can not tell her this, or anyone else. It's for a test. The liquid temporarily strips her of her power. It lasts a week. I beg of you not to tell her."
"Don't worry about it, Giles. We might need this stuff before then."
"Giles, is my duffle bag still in your office?" Giles nodded, entering his office and retrieving the bag. "Thank you, Giles. These letters are for the girls. This video tape I want you to deliver personally to Mrs. Summers. It will explain everything. I already have my high school diploma which I earned through the mail. The days after we clear out a nest, I went in and cleaned them out. I have over $100,000 in the bank. I have been offered an apprenticeship in construction by a man named Leo Wyatt. He lives in San Francisco. I will be living there. Cordy, after you graduate next year, I want you to move to San Francisco with me."
"I'll think about it." Her body language told him that she would.
"Giles, when the girls wake up, tell them I had to do what they would not. Kendra, I want you to keep an eye on them. I want you to make sure they do not leave the library until tomorrow. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, sir." With that, Xander grabbed his bag, shook Giles' hand, kissed Cordelia on the cheek and left the library. For some reason, he knew where Angelus was. Buffy never told him where he lived when she went to fight the Master. He just knew. He never thought about it, he thought she had told them once. It was daytime, noon actually, so the vampires are not expecting an attack now. I bet you they will be surprised when they are attacked by 20th century weaponry.
Xander spent an hour looking over the Crawford Street Mansion that was their lair. Ok, I don't have enough explosives for all the windows on the ground floor. But I do have enough for most of them. I have flash bangs that will stun them, smoke bombs which will hide my entrance and blessed bullets for my guns. That should keep them busy while I deal with Angelus.
Xander quietly walked to the windows and put a small amount of explosives on the western side windows. That took him thirty minutes. He checked his guns and saw that they were fully loaded and ready to kill. He took a moment, to let the feeling rush over him. The anticipation was exhilarating. When the moment was over, he threw a smoke bomb through an eastern window, waited for it to start smoking then hit the button that detonated the explosives and all hell broke loose. Figuratively speaking.
With his pistols in hand, Xander entered the Mansion. He stayed in the sunlight and watched as the vampires tried to attack him, but stayed out of the sunlight. He shot the minions in the brain. For some reason, and Xander would think about this later, the vampires dusted. Nobody is above a bullet to the brain, and Angelus will know that first hand. Evil overlord rule #4 states Shooting is not too good for my enemies.
"Oh, Angelus." Xander sang, "You can't hide forever, and there are still four hours left of daylight. And Buffy is not here to save you. If you want to end the world, you have to go through me. And right now I'm not liking your chances."
"What did you do to Buffy?"
"Nothing. They think I'm on another donut run. By the time they figure out something is wrong, you'll be dusted and the world will be safe for another day."
The first sound that Xander heard was Spike's wheelchair. Xander turned to the chair and shot it. "One down, two to go, Angelus." Little did he know, Spike wasn't in it. He knocked out Dru and took her away. He put her in his car and drove away like a bat out of hell.
To see where Angelus was, he threw a flash bang into the darkened area. Xander turned his head and closed his eyes as it went off. Angelus, being the arrogant bastard that he is, just stood there thinking that whatever grenade Xander was using wouldn't hurt him. Well, arrogance breeds stupidity. While Angelus was screaming in pain due to temporary blindness, Xander walked up to him and shot him in the head, dusting him.
"All too easy." Xander said in his best Darth Vader voice. "Evil overlord rule #6, I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them. If you had just followed the rules, you would have won, you asshole." Xander looked around the mansion, "Man, I hope there are bags here for me to carry the loot out of here."
All was quiet in the library for three hours. Willow was still out, when Buffy woke up. Her Slayer healing made the sedative wear off faster. At her first groan, Kendra went over to her to help her get into a chair.
"What hit me?"
"Xander hit you with a tranquilizer dart. He also injected you with something. I'm not sure what, but I think Giles does. He grabbed a duffle bag and left to fight and kill Angelus."
"There is no way that Xander can kill Angel."
"Angelus, you bottle blonde. That monster killed Giles' girlfriend. And by the look in Xander's eyes, there is no way Angelus is going to survive."
"We have to stop Xander so Willow can do the spell."
The phone rang, and Giles picked it up. "Hello? Yes? Really? That's good. I'll be sure to get that. I'll be sure to let them know. Good-bye. That was Xander. Angelus and Spike are destroyed. I have to call the Watchers Council and tell them about Acathla. You need not try to find Xander, he called from a cell phone. He took all his money from the bank and was out of town before he called. I do not know where he is headed. He said something about too many bad memories."
"I'll kill him! When I find him, I'll kill him."
"If you do, the Watchers Council will have you killed. They have snipers and you will never see the bullet they put in your brain. You will not harm that young man because he did the right thing. Now Kendra, since we have two Slayers, I have a spare bed that you can use. I have a feeling that Buffy will not have her head in the game."
"That is good, sir. What I would like to know is why is Buffy upset about Angelus being destroyed."
Giles sighed, "When we first met him, he came out of the shadows and helped us. She did not know he was a vampire until after she had feelings for him. American girls, well a majority of girls in the culture of television, movies and romance novels have a thing for guys that work in the shadows. I take most of the responsibility. I knew he was cursed, and I never researched it. His soul was cursed to his demon infested corpse until he felt a moment of true happiness. They made love to each other. She could not kill him because the demon had the face of her love. He almost killed us many times, and it seems Xander had enough. He took the fight to them. And apparently he won."
Buffy tried to stand up. She lost her balance. She grabbed the table to hold herself up. She felt weak, but she had to get to Angel before he killed Xander. The message that he was dead never got to her. She had to stop Xander before he does something stupid that will end up getting him killed.
"I don't feel so good."
"And you won't for a week. After Xander hit you with a dart, he injected you with a serum that the Watchers developed. You will not have your powers for seven days. The only reason that you woke up is because of your healing. Willow will be out for another couple of hours. So you might as well sit down and rest." She didn't want to, but Kendra made it impossible for her to do anything else.
Giles handed Buffy the letter Xander had written to her. She opened it thinking it would say that he was still in love with her and now that Angel was gone, she would fall into his arms. Fat chance of that happening. She read.
Dear Buffy,
I know that you are extremely upset right now. But I had to do what had to be done. I could not trust you with the fate of the world. The choice was either the world or my friendship with you and Willow. I chose the world.
I did not do this out of jealousy. I am happily involved with Cordy. I have not had those feelings for you since you returned from Los Angeles last fall. You were like a sister to me, until you broke Angel's curse. After you willingly laid down with a corpse, I knew I had no chance with you. You made a mess and I had to clean it up. Again.
I am not telling you where I am headed, and those that are still awake in the library don't know either. If I find out you harmed one hair on Cordelia's head because you can't get to me, I'll call the Watchers myself. I'm sure Giles had told you what would happen if you harmed a normal human.
Xander
Buffy reread the letter three times. "Yeah, right. He didn't go after Angel because he wasn't jealous. He's always wanted me. I don't believe him for a minute. When I get my strength back, I am going to find him and kill him. And I know Willow will help me."
"What are you? A skipping record? Kill Xander. Kill Xander. Kill Xander. Is that all you can think of? I read your letter, and I believe him. Think with your head and not your heart. He did the right thing. It was either you or the world. He chose the world. Now if you will excuse me I am heading home." She grabbed the video tape for Mrs. Summers and put it in her purse. With her eyes, she told Giles she would give this tape to Joyce. Giles nodded his head.
"She's right, Buffy. He did the right thing and I approve. Not just because it was the right thing to do, but also it is revenge for what he did to Jenny."
The room was silent for two hours. There were death glares from Buffy aimed at Giles. Her Watcher was to support her in everything she does. He was not supposed to agree with the killing of her boyfriend. How could HE be that mean to her? She thought he saw her as a daughter. Just then, Willow started to wake up. "What happened?"
Willow's question made everyone in the library turn to face her. Buffy walked over to her, kneeled down to be eye level with her, and answered with enough venom in her voice to make a python jealous. "Xander killed Angel because he was jealous of my relationship with Angel."
Willow was laughing hysterically. She could not believe what she heard. After catching her breath, Willow finally asked, "Are you telling me that XANDER killed Angel? Are you sure Angel didn't kill Xander?"
Buffy was about to respond, when the library doors flew open and her mother stalked into the room. "ELIZABETH ANNE SUMMERS! YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW!" Everybody in the room backed away from Mrs. Summers. Giles was about to enter his office, when Mrs. Summers saw him walking away. "Please stay there, Mr. Giles. I have a few words I want to say to you when I am done talking to Buffy." Giles nodded, dreading what was going to happen to himself. He was not going to defend Buffy against her Mother. Every man for himself, as it were.
"What's wrong, Mom?"
"Don't Mom me, Elizabeth. What is this I hear about you being a Vampire Slayer? I received a videotape from Xander two hours ago. It showed me everything about what you had done at night for the last 3 years. I believed the tape because Xander has never lied to me. He told me about Angel. What were you thinking falling for a much, much older man. You are no better than those tramps your Father is with. I thought I raised you better."
"But, Mom…."
"Don't but Mom me. You knew he was older than any man you've ever met. And you still fell in love with him? And you, oh God I can't even say it, that turned him into the monster that killed Miss Calendar? And you would not destroy this monster? And Xander had to save the world? I am disappointed in you, young lady. I am very disappointed."
Buffy felt ashamed for the first time all day. She had disappointed her Mother. She did not know what to think. All of her anger at Xander had evaporated. In it's place was the dread of driving home with her Mother. She'd much rather be fighting a nest of vampires then being alone in a car with her Mother.
Giles opened his office door for Mrs. Summers. She accepted his offer and entered his office. The door was shut and the blinds were drawn so they could have some sense of privacy.
Giles gathered his courage at the glare that Mrs. Summers was giving him. He had never been more afraid of anything in his life up to this point. He had seen many things that would frighten man. But nothing in heaven or hell compares to an angry mother. He had forgotten what that fear felt like.
"Mrs. Summers, I will answer all the questions you ask. I'm certain you won't like them, but they will be the answers you want."
"Why Buffy? Why my little girl?"
"I am uncertain. Buffy's Calling was an event my organization was unprepared for. When we found out the previous Slayer died, none of the other girls were called. It took us months to locate Buffy. When we did, a man named Merrick trained her. He died defending Buffy. I have read his journals. She was a very good Slayer before she came here."
"What organization are you talking about?"
"We are called The Council of Watchers. We have been around since before the first written word. We have trained and guided Slayers for many centuries. There are some who think that Slayers should be nothing more than a tool for their own personal or political means."
"What does that mean?"
"In England, since we guide and train the Slayers, and Slayers fight the darkness, it gives a lot of leeway in politics and finance. These individuals have never even seen a vampire. They have no clue how things work in the real world."
"Ok. Why Willow and Xander?"
"Well, Willow was kidnapped by a vampire on the first day of school last year. Buffy and Xander saved her. Xander's best friend named Jesse was caught by the vampires and eventually turned. The following night, Xander killed the demon that had his best friend's face. I believe Xander does this because he doesn't want anyone else to lose a friend or a loved one the way Xander did. I believe Willow does this because it is a challenge to her intellect. She saw a world that frightened and yet fascinated her. It became a puzzle for her to solve."
"Now what?" Mrs. Summers didn't know what to do.
"Now, we do what we have to. Without Xander's help. He has gone away. To prevent Buffy from hurting him. Buffy will try to hurt Xander the first time she sees him. I have warned her what would happen if she did." Giles looked at Joyce intently and she figured out what would happen if Buffy hurt Xander.
"I'll do my best to make sure that that never happens. By the way, is that a new exchange student in there?" Giles looked for his brandy.
It was a nice quiet day. The Charmed Ones were enjoying a much needed day off. They were happy, until Leo orbed into the living room with a concerned look on his face. For some reason, the sisters were nervous.
"Hello, Leo. I just made some fresh donuts. Would you like one?" Piper asked hoping Leo had good news.
Leo sighed and gathered his strength. "I wish it were. It is but then again it isn't. The Elders have told me that there is another warrior headed this way. Now before you say anything, and jump to conclusions, he is a warrior for our side. That's the good news."
Prue was hesitant to ask. "What's the bad news?"
Leo did not want to say this in front of Phoebe. But she had to know. "When he finds out, and he will find out, that Cole is part demon, he'll kill him. His name is Xander. He is from Sunnydale, also known as the Hellmouth. He fought at the Slayer's side for two years. She fell in love with a vampire. He had a soul, given to him by a gypsy curse. He kept his soul as long as he never experienced a moment of pure happiness. I think you three intelligent women can figure out what happened."
Piper answered first. "They made love, he lost his soul and she wouldn't kill him because he had the face of her one true love. What's that have to do with Cole?"
"Xander felt like he made a mistake by not stopping the relationship between the Slayer and Angel. He won't make the same mistake twice. Now Phoebe, I know you and Cole love each other, but you two will have to work really hard in getting Xander to trust him. And the three of you. The Elders want this guy to protect you in ways I can't. You may not like this, but he uses guns. On the plus side, he's fiercely loyal to those he thinks deserves it. Once you have his loyalty, he will fight to the death to protect you. Unless you do something that makes him lose respect for you."
Phoebe pleaded with Leo. "How do we get this Xander to trust us? Especially Cole."
Leo thought about it for a minute. "Never lie to him, when Cole shows up, tell Xander who he is and his history. When he finds out the truth, he will threaten Cole. It is important that you do not defend him with a unified front. Next, never freeze him, by the way the Elders have made him immune to that." That was a lie, but they don't need to know that. "And most importantly, don't get on his case about his use of guns. He's not a Slayer and he's not a witch. He's a normal guy doing what needs to be done."
Prue thought over what Leo said. "I have no problem with it. I wouldn't mind learning how to shoot. I don't agree that Phoebe is seeing Cole, so when Xander threatens him, I will not help defend Cole. Sorry Phoebe, but you're on your own when it comes to your boyfriend."
Phoebe was upset. "Well thanks a lot, sis. What about you, Piper? You'll help me save Cole. Right?" Phoebe was hopeful that Piper would help.
"Well, I'm not sure. Before I can answer, there is one thing I need to know." She turned to Leo. "Leo, what was the final straw in Xander killing the Slayer's vampire boyfriend?"
"Angelus found a demon named Acathla. He wanted to suck the world into Hell. Buffy just wanted her boyfriend back. She did not care about the world. Does that help?"
"Yes it does. Thank you Leo. I'm sorry Phoebe. But, should Cole decide to end the world, I will not defend him against this new guy coming in. That's my decision."
Phoebe was stunned. "I don't believe this! I love Cole and he loves me."
Prue interrupted. "But he is part demon and has tried to kill us on several occasions. You have a lot of work to do in convincing this guy that Cole is on the level. And since Piper's freezing ability doesn't work on him, then I guess you two won't be friends. And if this guy is anything like what Leo said, that's your loss." The sisters sat in silence as they heard a motorcycle stop in front of their house.
Leo spoke up without looking out the window. "That's him. Now please, be nice and remember what I said." The doorbell rang and Prue went to answer it.