The Chosen Ones

Author: Cyclone <cyclone[at]citynet.net>

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966 or http://fanfiction.net/~cyclone

Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whirlwind-productions/

Rating: I'm gonna go say PG.

Spoilers: For Buffy, one could argue that there are some for Helpless or Intervention, but that's a bit of a stretch. For the other... well, that's a secret.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to an idiot and a genius. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: How do you know the chosen ones?

Author's Note: Talking with Yorath stuck this scene in my head, and I had to write it.

Chapter 1

"Stop!" he bellowed. "If you're going to kill someone, kill me."

"Very well."

Xander ground his teeth in pain as the energy began to course through him.

He'd had a hunch. When Giles had sent Buffy to be "tested," Xander had discreetly tagged along. He'd found the man going all Emperor Palpatine and blasting Buffy, and he hadn't hesitated.

Finally, after what had seemed like hours, the pain stopped, and Xander realized he was still breathing. He blinked and looked over to where Buffy was picking herself up.

"Huh?" he mumbled.

The man spoke with a clipped British accent, his voice cold, "You have failed, Miss Summers." He looked at Xander, "You, on the other hand, Mister Harris, have passed with flying colors."

"HUH?!" they chorused.

"How do you know the chosen ones?" the Inquisitor asked calmly. "'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother.' Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame. For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know... or see."

*****

Author's Postscript:

Never was there a better description of why Xander's a hero.