Where should I begin? My name is Xander Harris and I have lived my entire life in Sunnydale, California. Today I am leaving and I do not know when or even if I will be back.
Up until three years ago, I only had two friends, Willow and Jesse. That makes me sound like some sort of loner, I was and am friendly with a lot of people but only Willow and Jesse would be classified as my friends. Then all that changed when Buffy Anne Summers arrived and my world was turned upside down. From the moment I saw her I was in love. My first words to her were 'Can I have you?' and those words repeat in my head every time I see her. I never say it out loud as I know the answer would be 'No'.
In the past three years since Buffy arrived, my life has changed a lot; I find out that Vampires, Werewolves and every other thing that goes bump in the night are all real, apart from leprechauns. I find out that I have been living in a demon hotspot all my life. I also find out that Buffy has been chosen by, well I guess it was God, to kick demon ass. In every generation a slayer is born, chosen to fight the darkness and Buffy was it.
Less than a week after we met Buffy, Jesse was killed and turned by a vampire called Darla and I was the one to stake him, which ranks as one of the most painful experiences of my life. I know that it wasn't actually Jesse, it was a demon with his face, but it doesn't make me feel better. Almost every woman that has been interested in me since I met her has either turned out to be a demon, tried to kill me, or in most cases both. I have faced more life threatening situations than any one person should, especially for someone who isn't even legally allowed to drink alcohol. But none of that accounts for why I'm leaving.
Even though it wasn't our job, Willow and I helped Buffy and Giles, her Watcher who helps her develop her fighting skills, with fighting the good fight. We help, not because we had to but because we want to. Over time Willow started to take an interest in magic, and has slowly but surely grown in experience and power. I have also dabbled with magic and the results were anything but promising. Another thing that started to change was how the others in our little band perceived me. They slowly started to believe that I was nothing more than a burden to the group and that I would end up getting hurt, or get others hurt. They even went so far as to tell me to stop helping with patrols.
I don't see that Buffy has any reason to be pushing me away, saying that I am getting in the way and she is just trying to protect me. If she only knew what I have done, she wouldn't be able to use that as an excuse. She knows that I saved her life after she first faced the Master, who was a vampire that wanted to rule the world. She doesn't know that I had to force Angel, the vampire with a soul who said he loved her, into showing me the way to the Master's lair. She doesn't know that I stopped Angelus, who Angel becomes without a soul, from killing her when she was lying in a hospital bed. She doesn't know that I stopped a gang of zombies from blowing up the high school while she and the others were fighting the sisterhood of Jhe. They don't know because I haven't told them, partly because I don't like talking about what I suppose would be called good deeds and pertly because I know that they would only rip me a new asshole if they found out. They wouldn't care that I got out of it safely, only that I got into it in the first place.
There is another reason why I don't tell them, especially Buffy. I want to know that they want to have me around because of what they do know about me. I still love Buffy and every time she pushes me away my heart shatters. This is also the reason that I need to leave. If I stay, I know I will either tell her exactly how I feel about her and what little relationship we have will go, or I will eventually hate her for never returning my feelings and I love her too much to allow that to happen.
There is another reason why I need to get away from Sunnydale and it has to do with Willow. We were caught kissing by Oz , who is Willow's boyfriend, and Cordelia who, at the time, was my girlfriend. I have no idea why it started and I don't know why we repeated it. When we were caught, she had to stop being around me to try and fix things with Oz and I do not blame her for that. I tried to fix things with Cordelia but she wanted nothing to do with me and I can't blame her for that either. I'm not even sure why I tried to patch things up with her; I knew that it would never go anywhere all the time I had feelings for Buffy. What has annoyed me is that everyone blames me for what happened. I did not force Willow to kiss me the first time any time after that. What we did was wrong but it was something WE did wrong, both of us equally. It seems however that everyone has forgotten that it takes two to tango. Willow and are back to talking to each other and Oz is finding it easier to be around me, but I don't even know that we could be classified as friends anymore. If I stay and nothing changes I will die inside.
I cannot stay in a place where the two most important people in my life don't want me around. I have told them that I am going on a journey of self-discovery and that I'm planning on driving to all fifty states. They just say to have fun. They don't even bother trying to tell me that Hawaii is an island. What does that tell you?
They are the only people who could make me stay and they just don't care enough to try. I just need to find somewhere I am needed.
It has been four months since I left Sunnydale. I spent the first couple of months driving from state to state, either staying in dingy motels or in the back of my car, getting work wherever I could. At night I would patrol, not because I had some destiny to fulfil or a past to atone for, but to make sure that anyone who was unlucky enough to be chosen as a vamps meal gets to see another sunrise. I've actually gotten rather good, on a couple of occasions I've had to take on three vamps at the same time and gotten through it well enough to go to work the next day. I think that knowing that Buffy and the others won't arrive has helped me a lot. I have always had good survival instincts but knowing that those instincts are all that I have, I've been forced to get better.
My Lone Ranger bit went on until I got to the town of Oxnard, where the engine of my car decided to spread itself along the highway. I didn't have enough cash to pay for the car to get fixed, so I got a job at a male strip club as a barman. I pretty much kept myself to myself, working during the day, patrolling at night when I wasn't working a double shift. After a month I could afford to get my car fixed but even when my car was finished, I decided to stay. There was quite a large vamp population when I got there and I decided to try to bring that down. This was a place I could make a difference. I wanted to make a difference.
And I did make a difference. It wasn't long before I heard that vamps were leaving town so they didn't become dust in the wind. There were even rumours floating around that the slayer had decided to visit Oxnard with a mission to kill every vampire in residence. I liked the fact that I was making the town safer again, but I still had a void inside that I wasn't able to fill.
I was starting to settle down and think of my motel room as home, when my boss had a stripper call in sick and I had to fill in for them. I got up there, did my thing, collected my tips and went home. When I got in I decided I was going to quit and go back to Sunnydale. It wasn't because of what I did, it was because I didn't care that I did it. I got away to stop feeling unwanted and ended up not feeling anything. I realised that the void I had would only be filled by my real home, Sunnydale.
I realised that I had run away from my problems when I should have tried harder to fix them. What was worse was that I was acting like the rest of my family and I had always promised myself I would never turn out like them. Even if I never get things back to where they were before or even if things get worse than, I know that I have to try. Tomorrow, as soon as I gave in my notice I was making my way back home.
I got back to Sunnydale a couple of days ago. My parents didn't really notice I had gone, but they did move all of my things to the basement so they could use my room to store a load of bootleg whiskey they had acquired in my absence. At least they hadn't hocked my stuff. They also decided that I was to pay rent, which was just another way of getting out of actually working for a living themselves. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to afford to rent a place of my own, they had me over a barrel. The first thing I did the morning after I returned, I went out and got a job at the local bar. It turned out that my new boss knew the owner of the club in Oxnard. He said that anyone who could stand to work for them as long as I did deserved a chance.
Once I had my employment situation sorted, I decided to go round and see Giles. Although we never had a close relationship, I still looked to him as a kind of mentor, something I hadn't really experienced before. His opinion of me matters a hell of a lot more than my father's I can tell you.
When he opened the door the first thing I noticed was that he wasn't wearing tweed. The second thing I noticed was that he actually seemed to have missed me.
"Xander how the devil are you?"
"I have seen better days Giles but I'm good. How has everything been going for you?"
"I must admit that I am getting used to being a gentleman of leisure"
He didn't invite me in but I knew that was just because it was nighttime and I could have been turned since the last time he saw me. When I stepped inside he actually hugged me, which was surprising but not unwelcome. It certainly helped to know that someone knew I hadn't been around.
"You may not believe this Xander but have been greatly missed these last few months."
"You're right Giles, I don't believe it. You may have but I know a blonde and a redhead who probably haven't."
"I won't insult your intelligence by trying to persuade you otherwise. I must admit that I am surprised by their actions towards you of late."
"No offence but you weren't exactly trying to keep me in the group either."
"You're right and I have no excuse for my actions. You may have been a little reckless in you actions at times but you were never a danger to yourself or others. I'm afraid that I allowed my duty to Buffy cloud my better judgement."
"I'm not going to say that it didn't hurt being ostracised from the group but I realise that you did what you felt was right at the time."
"Thank you for being so forgiving."
We spent the next hour or so talking about what we did during the summer. It turns out that I wasn't the only one who felt left out by Buffy and Willow. He has hardly seen either one of them since graduation and when he did it was only so they could borrow something from him, which he always allowed. He also told me about his girlfriend Olivia, who was on old flame from England who had been over here in America for the last couple of months due to her work. I told him I was happy for him and that it was good to see him having a normal life as he had sacrificed so much being here. I could tell that not having Buffy around hurt him a lot, he was also concerned that Buffy may have been neglecting her training. We both knew that was a very dangerous situation.
I told him about the different towns I had been to and even my very short career as a male stripper, which he found extremely amusing, having sworn him to secrecy before doing so. I told him about patrolling the towns that I had stayed at and what had happened in Oxnard. Although I could tell he was impressed, I knew he was thinking I had embellished my achievements.
"I don't want you to think I don't believe you, but you were never exactly known for your fighting skills Xander."
"I'll have you know that my fighting skills have come a long way since the last time you saw me G-Man."
"Don't call me that." I could tell he was no longer annoyed by the moniker I have given him but the British in him will not allow him to admit it.
"Don't you think that you may be wrong in your opinion of me?"
"I am certain that you have improved since the last time I saw you but for you to be able to achieve what you have told me…"
"If you don't believe me I could prove it to you."
"And how exactly are you going to do that?"
"You have a training room here in the basement don't you?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Well then, lead the way and I will show you what I can do!"
"You're suggesting that we spar?"
"You don't have a problem with that do you?"
Giles actually had a smirk on his face as he led me to the training room he had installed in his basement. I know he didn't want to show me up but he did want to deflate the 'ego' he feels I have acquired. We go through some warm up exercises before we begin. We each have a rubber stake so we can simulate a real fight.
"I am ready when you are G-Man!"
"Don't call me that"
He started his first move before he finished his sentence. Now I know that Giles has been training far longer than I have and because of that I keep it to the basics, deliberately passing up chances that could have won me the match that were risky. He underestimates me and leaves himself wide open for a moment, which I take full advantage of, earning me a successful shot to his chest. If this were for real I would have been getting the dust buster out now.
He learns from his mistake and a few minutes later he catches me with a leg sweep and evens the score. We continue to spar, he has the advantage of experience but I have youth and stamina so we are pretty even. I am sure that had been a real fight Giles would have probably won, I know that he can fight dirty but hasn't with me. Ten minutes later and we are still level with neither one getting a clear kill shot. He eventually indicates that he wants to stop and I can tell that he was pleased with what he saw. I was pretty glad that he called it first as I wasn't sure how much longer I would have been able to go on myself.
"Xander I apologise for not believing in your fighting ability, you have improved a great deal from the last time I saw you."
"I had no choice but to improve fast as I would have been nothing more than a meal if I hadn't. I guess I have to thank the soldier's memories for that"
"What do you mean?"
"I've noticed that during a fight, his memories become clearer and the fighting styles he possessed are quite extensive, although I have only been able to master the basic fighting principals. I can sometimes access the more advanced techniques but only momentarily"
"I had noticed during our session that you would be performing some advanced moves one moment and then only the basics the next."
"I was actually going to ask you about that."
"Yes how so?"
"Would you consider training me? Not just physically but mentally as well so I can have more control over the memories? As you saw the techniques are there but I don't have enough control to consistently use them"
"Of course Xander, it would be my pleasure." I knew that he wouldn't have refused me; I could tell that he was missing his training sessions with Buffy. I also knew that he would see trying to find a way to allow me better access to my soldier memories as a challenge.
"That's great Giles, I want to get as good as possible because I have no intention of stopping patrolling now. It's my choice and I choose to fight"
"I had a feeling that was your motivation Xander and I do not intend to persuade you otherwise. You do realise of course that Buffy may have something to say about that?"
"I know she will but her main reason for keeping me out of the whole slayer thing was that I was a liability; she won't have that excuse anymore, not that she ever had it in the first place. Anyway, what makes you think I was going to tell her?"
He tries but fails to hide the smile on his face.
"I guess you do have a point Xander. I do have two conditions that you have to agree to before I will train you."
"And they are?" I had a feeling what they would be but I thought I'd let him say them anyway.
"The first is that you ring me as soon as you get back from a patrol."
"I would have done that anyway Giles. I know how important it is to keep up to date intelligence and I wouldn't want to add to your worries."
"Quite, the other condition is that you learn more about Demonology, you know as well as anyone that you will encounter a lot more than just Vampires and knowing what you are fighting will help in defeating it."
"As I just said I know how important intelligence is, the more I have the longer I'll live so I have no problem with that. You know I am not exactly strong with the academia but I will do my best."
"That is all I ask but I'm sure that you'll do fine. Now that we have everything sorted, would you like a cup of tea?"
"Actually I would love one, I developed a taste for it on my travels."
I spent a couple more hours with Giles before I needed to get back to get back home. Before I left I said to him that this was probably the longest amount of time we had ever spent together without having to research and that it was a shame we hadn't do it sooner. We shook hands and I left, thinking that if nothing else works out, I have at least mended one fence.
The next day I went round to Willow's to say hello but her mother said that she has moved into the dorms at the college. I considered asking for the address but decided against it, I doubted that she'd want a 'townie' disrupting her college life. As it wasn't far, I then decided to go round to Buffy's but Joyce, Buffy's mother, said the same, although she did say that they weren't sharing. I'm surprised that Willow didn't hack in to the college computer and set them up. She invited me in and we talked for a while about what I had done during the summer, I left out the stripper story and about the fact I had been patrolling just in case she told Buffy when she saw her. She told me that Cordelia had left for LA to become an actress; I asked her if she had a contact number but she didn't.
It wasn't long before she started talking about Buffy and what she had been doing, she asked me why I hadn't let them know how I was doing.
"I don't know Mrs. Summers."
"How many times have I told you Xander to call me Joyce? I'm also not stupid Xander, you know why you didn't tell them"
"Ok, Joyce, I guessed that they were not really bothered what I was doing."
"Xander you have to know that isn't true, they have both been worried about you."
"Please don't think I am being mean Joyce, but I bet it took them both a long time before they realised they hadn't heard from me didn't it?"
"Well…"
"I thought as much. I didn't contact them because I truly didn't think I was ever coming back."
"Why ever not?"
"What did I really have to come back to? Last year both Buffy and Willow started to grow more distant from me. I know that Willow had her reasons and I respect them but Buffy just stopped wanting me around. They all blamed me for what happened between Willow and myself, which I was but Willow had an equal part in it and yet she's seen as the innocent party"
Joyce knew all about the whole 'Fluke' incident between Willow and myself and she knew that I never intentionally hurt anyone.
"Buffy just wanted to make sure that you were safe, she was worried that you would get seriously hurt helping her with her 'other' activities."
Joyce knows all about Buffy being the Slayer but she still finds it difficult to say it out loud. I can't say that I blame her.
"I know that Joyce but I have been helping her out since the first day I met her. We spent most of our time together during those 'other' activities; when they forced me out of the group I felt like a leper. They only included me in the whole Graduation episode because they needed my military experience and none of them could come up with a better plan. I stopped being their friend and became nothing more than a tool. Also Willow isn't exactly a black belt and it takes her a while to build up the power required performing her spells and during that time she's vulnerable to attack. Oz maybe a werewolf but in human form he had the same level of fighting skill as myself. I didn't hear Buffy asking them to stop patrolling. Add in the fact that I have spent the least amount of time in hospital out of all of us you can see why I hadn't made definite plans to come back."
She could tell that I didn't want to talk about it anymore so she changed the subject.
"What have you been doing since you came back?"
"I have got a job tending bar to pay the rent my parents have decided to charge me and I have asked Giles to help me with my training. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Buffy or Willow about that, they'd only have a go at Giles and force him to stop."
"I won't tell them anything Xander I promise."
"Thank you."
I finished the drink she made for me, thanked her for the talk and went to leave. Before I do I turn around to face her.
"If you see Buffy or Willow before I do, could you say hello for me?"
"Of course Xander." She gave me a hug and told me to come round anytime.
My final chore for the day was to go on patrol. It was my first patrol since I had got back and I had almost forgotten how many cemeteries Sunnydale had. I decided not to be out too long; as I didn't want to bump into Buffy and get into the inevitable argument my presence would cause. I still managed to stake five vamps before I decided to go home. The other thing I forgot was just how many other demons lived here. As I was nearing the cemetery exit, I spotted a group of four men, all in camouflage, carrying weird looking guns. I had considered following them but decided against it. Although it wasn't the weirdest thing I had seen by a long shot, I still thought it would be a good idea to tell Giles about it when I ring him. I doubt that they were going to a fancy dress party.
It has been a month since I got back to Sunnydale. My training with Giles has been going really well, he is surprised at how quickly I am picking things up. He has been training me in several different meditation techniques and I have been able to access more and more of the soldier memories I possess. I have progressed enough that Giles has started me on weapons training and I am getting to be quite good with most, if not all, of the weapons in Giles arsenal. My demon knowledge is improving but not as fast as I would like but Giles says that he knows I am doing my best. It feels strange to have someone other than Willow compliment me on my progress. It also feels good.
I had told him about the men I had spotted and although he had no idea what they were doing or why they were there, but he said he would get his contacts to look into it. I had seen them a few more times since that night and reported it to Giles each time. What I found strange was that they were hunting demons but weren't killing them. They were capturing them and taking them somewhere, I had tried to track them a couple of times but I always lost them near the college campus. Wherever they were going it was in that area.
On a couple of occasions I had taken Giles with me on patrol so he could watch me under battle conditions. He said that he had been impressed with the efficiency in which I took out the vampires and other demons we encountered. Buffy always likes to soften them up first before making the kill; he says it has something to do with the slayer essence as opposed to Buffy herself. I know that I don't have the strength and speed of a slayer so I can't fight in the same way. I actually try to steer clear of a fight if possible; I use a sword to take out their legs if possible and then killing them once they were incapacitated.
I've also got on in my job, it may not be the best paying job in the world but I enjoy talking to the customers, the sober ones at least. My boss is nice but he does like to cut as many corners as was legally possible and probably a few more on top of that. I don't like it but I really need the job so I just ignore whatever I don't like.
I decided to take a night off of patrolling and work a few days ago and decided to pay the Bronze a visit. I actually felt a little old, something I never thought I would feel, and considered leaving when I spotted Buffy sitting alone at one of the tables. I just watched her for a few minutes, unsure whether I actually wanted to see her yet or not. Finally my need to be close to her again overrode else so I decided to talk to her. When I got there she was standing up to go when she spotted a couple dancing. I could tell that she wasn't happy and because I hate to see her unhappy I decided to bite the bullet and try to cheer her up. Due to the noise of the club and the fact I am not a member of the demon community I was able to get behind her without her spotting me and tap her on the shoulder.
"What are we looking at?"
She jumps sky high and instinctively grabs me and throws me to the floor. She's too shocked to notice that I controlled my fall and got right back on my feet. After a moment she finally recognises who I am.
"Xander!"
"That's my name." It was at this point that she put me into a rib-cracking hug; she still forgets that she can lift a small car. I tried not to but I really started to enjoy being this close to her again. It was only when breathing became a difficulty that I had to say something.
"Buff, breathing becoming difficult"
"Sorry." With that she releases me and I feel the loss of her touch immensely.
"No sweat, so how is my favourite slayer then?" I can't believe it, I've only been around her for a minute and I was already falling back to type.
"Fine." There was no way that the tone matched the word.
"Right, now tell me how you really feel."
"Lets see, I was kicked out of my easiest class as I didn't sign up on time and the other classes are going so far over my head it's crazy. My roommate is a Celine Dion fan who will explode if she gets any more chipper. Willow is annoyingly happy and taking to college like a duck to water. Oz already knows half the campus as his band do regular gigs at the different frat houses. Oh and I had my ass handed to me by a Vamp called Sunday and all of my stuff has been taken."
I didn't have a chance to respond to her rant as she started to cry so I held her in my arms for a few minutes, repeatedly saying that everything was going to be fine. Once she stopped crying I released her and made sure that her eyes met mine.
"Buffy you are the strongest person I know and I don't just mean physically. You have met every challenge you have ever faced head on. Whenever I am alone and scared the first thing I always think is 'what would Buffy do?' You are my hero Buffy."
The look she has on her face right now is worth more to me than anything.
"You really mean that?"
"Of course I mean it. Now let's find where these vamps live and stake them good."
The first thing I did after giving Buffy her pep talk was to ring Giles and tell him the situation, asking if we could raid his weapons chest. Of course he said yes so I told him we would be round in an hour.
"OK Giles is expecting us so we'll be able to grab some weapons once we know where Sunday's hideout is."
"And how are we going to do that?"
"There is only one place to go when information is needed and that's Willy's Bar. We'll get him to tell us what we need to know, we'll stock up on weapons at Giles' and then we'll go and then we'll put that bitch in the ground."
We walk to Willy's in silence, I'm still conflicted over how I should feel around her and she's just focusing on what she's going to do to Sunday when she finds her. When we get there, Buffy goes to break the door down but I manage to open it before she has a chance and walk inside. There aren't that many in the bar tonight as the sun hadn't gone down that long ago, which meant that if there was any trouble we would have a good chance of getting out with all of our limbs attached. Noticing that Willy is behind the bar with his back to us, I call out to him.
"Hi there Willy, how you been?"
"Hey kid, feeling fine. What can I do you for?"
"Well I need some info Willy and I'm a little pressed for time, aren't I Buff?"
This is the first time that Willy notices that Buffy is with me, his face quickly drains of all blood.
"Hey everybody, the Slayer is here!" It was at this point that every patron that was sober enough to do so left. Knowing that Buffy was in the right frame of mind to do serious damage to Willy, making it impossible to get anything from him, I decide to speed up the proceedings by grabbing Willy and slamming him into the bar.
"Now Willy, you know that normally I am a very patient person but tonight is an exception. I need you to tell me everything you know about a Vampire called Sunday before the urge to shove a stool up your ass overwhelms me." I decide that this would be a good time to throw a stool across the bar and feel satisfied when it breaks into several pieces.
"Hey kid there's no need to get like that. Sunday and her crew are holed up in an abandoned theatre just outside the college campus."
Knowing that he's told me everything he knows, I drop him unceremoniously to the floor.
"Thanks Willy, now that wasn't that bad now was it? I do hope that you told us everything, as you won't want to see me again if you haven't. Do we have an understanding?"
"Yeah kid we have an understanding. I'm guessing the stories I've heard about you during the summer are right then." Before he can elaborate, I leave and luckily Buffy follows. I don't need her asking me questions until I'm ready to answer them. Of course my luck never really holds out for long.
"When did you get so Charles Bronson?"
"What are you on about?"
"Grabbing Willy, throwing the chair, threatening him. Where did all that come from as it wasn't the Xander I know?"
"I have changed a lot over the last few months but now is not the time to talk about it." She didn't seem to like that answer but she could tell she wasn't getting another so she didn't push it.
The journey to Giles' was quiet, I could tell that she wanted to press me for more information but I really wasn't in the mood to give any answers. When we got to Giles', Buffy was going to walk straight in but I stopped her and knocked.
"It's rude to just enter someone's house without permission, not to mention illegal." Buffy glares at me but I just ignore her.
Giles opens the door to let us in, Buffy says hello as she walks past him, I said hi and hugged him before coming in myself. Giles and I have gotten quite close over the last month; he has been more of a father in that short time to me than my dad has my entire life. Buffy looked a little surprised with the exchange but said nothing. Just another thing to add to the list of questions she will eventually ask me.
We all go down to the basement; Buffy goes straight to the weapons cabinet. While she's working out what to take with her she starts to talk to me, although it feels more like she's talking at me.
"OK here's the plan, I'll go in and take them all out while you wait outside until it's safe to follow"
"Do I need to point out that you're still injured from your last encounter with Sunday, we don't know the layout of the place and we have no idea how many vamps there are in there. Going in on your own is stupid."
"I need to focus and I can't spare time protecting you as well as myself."
"Keep acting like this and you'll have to protect yourself from me." Before she could argue, I went to the cupboard, took out a few stakes, a broadsword I was fond of and a crossbow out, told Giles I would call when it was over and went upstairs. I could hear Giles and Buffy talking and decided to listen in.
"Who does he think he is? All I want to do is keep him safe and he threatens me!"
"Have you thought that maybe Xander is actually more capable than you give him credit?"
"This is the same Xander we're talking about isn't it? I mean he's my friend but he's always getting himself hurt and we have to bail him out."
"I don't know many people who would treat their friends the way you and the others have been treating Xander, which I am daily thankful for. I agree that he has a tendency to act rashly at times but that only occurs when he sees one of his friends in trouble. He may not have been the best person in a fight before, but that is as much our fault as it is his own as we should have taught him how to fight from the moment he and Willow started assisting you."
"But…"
"No buts Buffy, Xander has changed a lot over the summer and for you to just dismiss his offer of help so vehemently, you should act like the friend you claim to be and give him the benefit of the doubt, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed."
A few seconds later she came up, closely followed by Giles. She didn't look happy and went straight out the door.
"We had words and she isn't exactly in the best of moods. Although it probably wasn't the best time, I said what needed to be said. I just hope that she doesn't do anything rash."
"I'll be there to make sure nothing happens to her Giles so don't worry, I will call when were finished."
"Thank you." With that I left to catch Buffy up.
We didn't talk on the way to the theatre but I could tell that she was letting what Giles had said sink in. When we got there, she looked as though she was going to say something, probably that I was to stay here, but stopped herself. She just kicked the door in and went inside. I quickly followed behind her, crossbow at the ready.
There were twelve vamps in total inside, before they could do anything I got one with the crossbow and decapitated another with my sword. Buffy went straight for who I guessed was Sunday, staking two vamps on her way. She was so focused on the head vamp that she didn't see one come at her from behind. I managed to throw a vial of holy water at him before he jumped her and staked him before he had a chance to recover. I was going to help her more but I was suddenly surrounded by four of the remaining vamps. One of them, I'm guessing the second-in-command, starts talking to me. I never have worked out why they like to taunt you before they try to kill you.
"For killing so many of us we're going to make this extremely painful, we may even turn you to bring our number back up."
"Looking at your ugly face is torture enough overbite and the turning you'll be doing is turning to dust."
"You're dead bloodbag!"
"No, you're dead and I'm going to make it permanent."
He goes to rush me but I sever his lead leg at the knee at he screams in pain and falls to the floor. Two others charge me, I decapitate one but the other gets in a kick to my head and I'm sent flying into a pile of boxes. He goes to jump me but I throw my last vial of holy water at him, catching him square in the face. He covers his face with his hands, which gives me the chance to stake him. I get to my feet in time to block a punch from another vamp. I dropped my sword so I had to get in close with my stake, he gets in a couple of shots, which feel like being hit by a truck, but I manage to stake him with a lucky strike. My vision is blurring slightly but I'm otherwise fine so I go back to where I landed and retrieve my sword. I go over and finish off the vamp I disabled and look to see how Buffy is doing.
By the time I had a chance to see how she was getting on, Buffy had finally staked Sunday and was making quick work of the two vamps that were left. I have to admit we were lucky, we had the element of surprise and only Sunday and a couple of others were experienced vamps, the rest were newly turned. If they had been older we would have had more trouble, but we would have still kicked ass. We would have had to make a detour to the ER before going home first but we would have kicked ass.
I gave Giles a quick call to let him know that we were alive.
"Hello, Rupert Giles speaking."
"Evening Rupert, Xander Harris speaking."
"Are you both alright?"
"We won't be running a marathon tomorrow but otherwise we're good. We got Sunday and all of her entourage."
"That's good to hear. Make sure you rest up and thank you for ringing."
"No sweat, I'll bring the weapons back tomorrow. Bye."
"Goodnight." Once I put my cell away, we collected Buffy's stuff and started back to her dorm room. Silence reigned once again for a couple of minutes before Buffy started speaking.
"When did you become related to Bruce Lee Xand?"
"I'm not sure what you are on about Buff?"
"Don't try that with me, when did you learn to fight like that?"
"I'm guessing between patrolling whatever town I was in during the summer and Giles training me when I got back a month ago, my skills have improved."
I didn't want to tell her that I still had the soldier memories; she'd probably try to get Giles to find a way to remove them. There was silence again for a couple of minutes and then Buffy once again broke it.
"I'm sorry about earlier Xand, I shouldn't automatically assume that you couldn't help."
"Don't worry about it Buff, I'm getting used to it now. I may have been a liability in high school, but I am now more than capable of handling myself."
"Hey I've just thought of something. If you have been back for a month, why didn't you come to see me or Willow?"
"I went to Willow's and I went to yours. Both your mum and Willow's parents told me that you had moved into the dorms at the college. I told them that if they saw you to tell you I said hello. I didn't come to find you as I doubted that you wanted a 'townie' showing you up on campus."
There was more silence until we reached her dorm room. The silence was only broken only by Buffy telling me where she wanted me to put her stuff. I could see that she was mulling over what had happened tonight, I could also tell she was waiting for me to start the conversation she needs to have with me to make her feel better. I know it makes me sound like a very small and petty man but I don't want her to feel better. Knowing that if I stay any longer I will cave in, I quickly say goodnight and leave before she has a chance to respond. I love her more than anything but she needs to make the effort in the friendship.
The next day after my shift at work ended, I went to the coffee shop just outside campus. After about ten minutes, Willow and Oz walked in arm in arm. Willow spots me and runs over to give me a hug.
"Oh my god Xander! How are you? How was your trip? Where did you go? What did you see? When did you get back?"
"First things first, hello Will nice to see you. Now in response to your questions: I am fine, my trip was eventful, I went to a half dozen states before staying for an extended period in Oxnard, most of the time I saw vampires that turned into dust when I shoved wood through their non-beating hearts. Oh, and about a month ago"
"A MONTH!" I'm almost certain the veins in her head would explode if she said that any louder.
"Easy Will, I already had this conversation with Buffy. I went to your houses and I was told that you had moved into the dorms, knowing that 'townies' aren't welcome on campus I asked them to say hello to you when they saw you." She was visibly shocked at what I said but says nothing. Not enjoying the silence I turn to OZ.
"Oz man how is everything?"
"Cool."
"It is nice to see your conversational skills have improved during the summer."
"I try." I think the only way to get a reaction out of him would be to shove a cattle prod up his ass.
"I missed you both." With that, Willow becomes the happy Willow I saw when she first came in and she starts to tell me about hers and Oz's summer.
We spent the next hour talking about what we have been doing since the last time we saw each other. Willow has of course taken to college life like a duck to water; she loves all her courses and is loved by all her tutors. Oz has also made the transition to college life seem easy, he and his band have been having regular gigs at frat parties so he knows his way around and also knows almost every student there. I was glad to see them happy together.
"I missed you Xander, and I'm not just talking over the summer."
"I understand that you did what you had to, I'm not saying it didn't hurt that I couldn't talk to my oldest friend but I do understand. I'm glad you're both happy and I would like to get to know both of you better."
"Of course you can." Willow gives me another quick hug. I was glad that we were able to talk about it in front of Oz, it proves that they are finally able to let what happened in the past stay there.
I left them in the coffee shop and went home. Maybe things will turn out better than I thought.
It was a couple of weeks before I saw Buffy or Willow again. I had work and they had college, so I knew they weren't actively avoiding me. My training with Giles continued and he came out with me for a couple of patrols so he could check my progress and to let off a little steam. Which is understandable considering what he has just gone through.
Ethan Rayne, the man who caused the Halloween incident that gave me the soldier memories, as well as making the adults act like children last year, turned up last week and turned Giles into a Fyarl demon. Giles has known Ethan since his Ripper days back in Britain and they have a hate-hate relationship.
I went round to Giles to report on my patrol and to have another one of our talks when I saw him. Not seeing Giles around, I put two and two together and made five and started to attack him. I nearly killed him before I recognised it was Giles by looking into his eyes. Once I worked that out, the next problem we had was that Fyarl demons don't speak English and I definitely didn't speak Fyarl. Luckily he could still understand and read English so we worked out a way for him to let me know what happened. I soon found Ethan and had him change Giles back; as soon as he did he had a discussion with Ripper and I. He left soon afterwards, and was left under no illusion that if he ever tried anything like that again or even set foot in Sunnydale again he'd be sent back to Blighty in a matchbox.
Giles has been researching the men in camouflage I told him about but hasn't come up with anything. With the precision that they are doing things, I have worked out that they are professionals and not some vigilante group, what we haven't worked out is what they do with the demons they capture. Whatever it is cannot be good.
When I did see Buffy and Willow it was at their dorm room, they had invited me over. That is itself was strange as they weren't sharing a room last time we spoke.
"Hey guys, how come you two are roomies? Last thing I remember Buffy telling me was that your roommate was a Celine Dion groupie."
"Well it seems that she was actually a runaway demon who decided to go to college against her father's wishes. I should have known really, only evil could enjoy Celine. Anyway, her father came for her, hence the circular scorch mark on the carpet. To ensure that my next roommate wasn't going to try to kill me, I convinced Wills here to adjust the college computer system that she was to be transferred here."
"Well that certainly explains it. Who would have thought your hacking skills could be used for something other than working out where evil dwells?"
"I'll have you know Xander that my hacking skills have a multitude of skills, of course none of them being entirely legal hence the reason I only use my powers for good."
We continued with the banter we had all honed to a fine art. Buffy didn't seem to be very happy but when I asked her what was wrong, she wouldn't say anything and Willow indicated with a look that I shouldn't ask further.
That night we did what we always used to do, watch movies, eat popcorn and make idle conversation. It was heaven. It also felt like a lie. Before I left them to go home, I told them it would be nice if they made more of an effort to see Giles, he's missing them both and is feeling left out.
"Yeah, we both feel bad about it, we just got so preoccupied with the whole college thing that we kinda forgot everything else."
"I do understand how that can happen, but you both know that we are the only family Giles has here and with losing his job the moment we blew up the high school, he really hasn't had a lot to do before he started training me. Look, I'm going over there tomorrow to train, why don't you both come along. You can see me wipe the floor with the G-Man and worship my manliness."
"You seem to have a very high opinion of yourself Xand."
"Just telling it as I see it Buff."
"Fine, we will come over tomorrow and watch you beat up a middle-aged librarian."
"I'll tell him you called him that Buffy."
"And I will deny it."
"Fine, as it seems that you think I shouldn't fight Ripper, why don't you and I have a little sparring session tomorrow."
"I wouldn't want to hurt you or your ego."
"Don't tell me the that the Slayer is afraid of a mere mortal like myself?"
"The only thing I am afraid of is breaking you."
"Just bring it, short stuff." This was of course said in conjunction with the universal hand sign for 'bring it'. I even did the People's eyebrow just to show how serious I was.
"Oh, you are so on Harris."
"I can't wait, tiny."
Before Buffy could respond, Willow stands up and gets between us.
"Guys, can we please leave this for tomorrow, I just got my side of the room how I want it, I don't need you two messing everything up." She knew we were only mucking about but once she put on her resolve face, we had but one response.
"Sorry Will"
"Yeah me too Wills"
"Good."
"Right then, now as much as I want to stay here with you lovely ladies I must now depart."
"Bye Xand."
"Goodnight Xander."
After the customary hugs, I left. It felt good to just hang with them for the sake of hanging, it means so much more when you do it for no other reason than you want to. I couldn't help but think that they have just forgotten how they had been treating me, which makes me think that they'll probably do it again. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it
As suggested, they both turned up at Giles' place the next day. We had already finished our hand-to-hand training by the time they arrived so they watched us during our sword-fighting practise. Both of them looked surprised that I was holding my own, I guess that Buffy thought that night in the theatre was a fluke.
"That will be enough for today Xander. Your style is improving, you do not have to think about where you should place the sword which is allowing you to move more fluidly."
"Thanks Giles."
"You're pretty good Xand."
"Yeah Xander, when did you earn to fight like that?"
"Practise. You better do some warm ups Buff, I wouldn't want you to try to use that as an excuse for when I kick your ass."
Then came the highlight of the day, sparring with Buffy. Even though she had seen me in action a couple of weeks ago, she was still sceptical about me being able to compete with her. I knew that in reality I shouldn't be a match for her, but I knew that she hasn't been training that much for the last few months so I would use that to my advantage.
"Now Buffy I do not want you to hold back against Xander, you haven't done much in the way of training so I want to see what you can do."
"Come on Giles, if I don't hold back I'll put him in hospital, I doubt he'll come out unharmed even if I do hold back."
"You'd be surprised."
Shaking her head, she turns to me and gets into a fighting stance. I match it and we circle each other for a few seconds before she decides to make the first move, probably thinking that she'd finish it quickly. Her lack of confidence in me was advantageous and I surprised her when I flipped and pinned her to the floor, although with her slayer strength she wasn't there for long. The fight went back and forth and she slowly started to use more and more of her true strength and speed. After about five minutes she finally had me beat.
"I've got to admit that you're pretty good Xander. I did win though."
"Buffy, the only reason you won was due to your superior strength and endurance. If this had been a real fight and Xander was a vampire you would have already been drained."
The tone in his voice was unmistakable. He was proud of me like a father would be of a son and knowing that makes me feel good. Buffy looked a little annoyed at how good I was and about the relationship I have with Giles. Not wanting her relationship with Giles to get worse, I take her upstairs to the kitchen to get a drink and have a talk with her.
"You do realise you have nothing to worry about?"
"What?"
"You will always be the most important person in Giles life. He sees you as the daughter he never had and I know you look up to him like a father."
"I know it's silly but I was feeling a little jealous of the way he was talking about you."
"Giles and I have got closer since I got back to Sunnydale, and I wish my real father was half the man he is. But you have to know that you will always be his top priority."
"Thanks Xander, I don't know why but I really needed to hear that."
"I do think that you need to let Giles know how you feel about him more, he was really hurt when you stopped coming over and was getting worried that you were going to get hurt on patrol."
"You're right. I seem to be making a habit out of taking people for granted."
She gives me a hug and then goes downstairs to talk to Giles about joining me on some training sessions when she doesn't have classes. Willow comes up a couple of minutes later.
"Giles and Buffy are having a bonding moment and I thought I would leave them to it."
"Right. Now we are alone are you going to tell me what is wrong with Buffy? Don't forget that I can tell when you lie to me and if you don't tell me you will never again see the snoopy dance."
"Hey that's not fair!"
"I don't care, spill."
"Fine. Last week, Buffy went to a frat party with some guy called Parker. He seemed like a nice guy and at the end of the evening, they spent the night together at our place. When she woke up, he had gone and she hasn't seen or heard from him since"
"When you say 'spent the night together' you mean they were both very tired and they fell asleep, Right?"
"Afraid not."
"And he hasn't called or anything?"
"No. She now thinks that it must be something she has done and feels that there is something wrong with her."
"Where does Parker live?" I can't help the growl that accompanies that question.
"Xander, no!"
"Will, I won't ask again. Tell me where Parker lives." I can tell that she realises not telling me would not be the way to go.
"He loves at the Kappa Omega frat house. Promise me you won't do anything silly."
"Believe me Wills, doing something silly is the last thing going through my mind. Tell Buffy and Giles I'll be back in an hour and make sure she stays. Don't tell her where I've gone."
"You're still in love with her aren't you?"
"Tell me something I don't know. I'll be back in an hour." With that I leave with a mission, to make Parker sorry I found out he existed.
I reached Parker's frat house in record time. I walked in and calmly asked where Parker was. One of his frat brothers, who looked as though had had a few too many the night before, tells me he's in his room and says it's on the third floor. I say thanks and walk up the stairs. I knock on his door and tell him that I was there to inspect the room. As soon as he opens the door I shove him to the floor and put a foot on his chest so he can't get up.
"Hello there, Parker. It seems that you've been a very naughty boy. Listen miss, Parker and I need to have a little chat so it would be best if you leave, NOW." The half dressed woman who Parker was entertaining ran like a bat out of hell.
"Who are you?"
"I am a friend of Buffy Summers."
"Who?" That little remark earns him a kick to the stomach.
"The woman you met at the party last week and slept with."
"Which party last week?" That earns him another kick to the stomach.
"To be honest I don't care that you don't remember, she does. Now I am going to give you a once in a lifetime offer. You are going to come with me and apologise to Buffy for treating her badly and for being a bastard. You had better be sincere when you apologise because if she doesn't believe you I promise they will never find you. Well all of you. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes."
"Good now get up you have an apology to make." Parker slowly get up and I frog march him over to Giles'.
When we get there, Giles, Willow and Buffy are all in the living room. I throw parker on the floor.
"Hello everyone. I was just out having a stroll when I meet Parker here. He asks me if I know a Buffy Summers as he has something to say to her. Don't you Parker?"
"Yes. Buffy, I want to apologise for the way I treated you last week. I shouldn't have just left like I did and I apologise if I have made you feel anything other than the wonderful woman you are. I have been a bastard to you and I hope that you accept my apology." During our journey back, I gave Parker a few pointers. I have to give Giles a look to tell him not to say or do anything. I could see that Ripper was slowly coming to the surface.
"Well Buffy I don't know about you but I think that he is sincere. Anything else you need to say Parker? No? Good." Before anything else can be said I throw him out the door.
"I'm afraid Parker couldn't stay, he had things to do, people to see. I'm going to get changed." I shut the door and go straight upstairs to get changed. Everyone is still there when I come down.
"Buffy, before you say anything I know that you aren't exactly happy with me but when Willow told me what happened I had to do something. No one should be allowed to make you feel the way you have. I am not sorry for what I did and I would do the same thing again. You, Giles and Willow are my family and I will do whatever it takes to protect you." With that said, I leave. I know that I would do exactly the same thing again if I had too but I hope that I haven't destroyed our friendship.
Although I had still seen Giles, Willow and Oz quite regularly, it was a few weeks before I saw Buffy again. I was out on patrol when I heard fighting, I run to where the noise was coming from and I see Buffy surrounded by six or seven vampires. There are several dust piles around so I know that she has already killed a few. I have a few vials of holy water on me so I throw them at the vamps closest to me to clear a path and shout at Buffy to run. Once she gets close to me I throw her my sword while firing my crossbow and dusting the vamp closest to catching Buffy.
Five minutes and half a dozen piles of dust later, Buffy and I are both leaning up against a crypt getting our breath back.
"Are you ok?"
"I am now. You always seem to be there when I need you most." She looks at me strangely, it must be that she's a little tired.
"It is what I am here for milady."
"I'm not angry with you."
"Huh?"
"I know why you did what you did with Parker. I was shocked that you did it, but I was never angry at you."
"I'm sorry that I have been avoiding you, I just wasn't ready for you to tell me we weren't friends anymore."
"Nothing would ever make me say that to you." She hugs me and kisses me on the cheek.
"Are we good?"
"Yeah, we're good"
I offer to walk her home and she accepts, she then puts her arm in mine and we head for her dorm room.
When we got outside of her dorm room, I realised that I was going to have to let go of her arm and found it the hardest thing I'd ever had to do.
"Would you like to come in for a while?" I know she doesn't mean it the way I want, but even so it was almost too tempting for words.
"Sorry Buff, I can't. I have to be in work early tomorrow and I promised I would go round to Giles' once I finished on patrol." I knew I shouldn't have said it as soon as it left my lips.
"Oh, ok." If I didn't know any better I would have sworn that I saw disappointment in her eyes. Just wishful thinking I guess.
"Goodnight Buff, see you tomorrow?"
"Goodnight Xander, See you tomorrow." I kiss her on the forehead and leave.
When I get outside of her dorm, I punch the wall. I knew that this was the closest I was ever going to get to have a relationship with her and the thought was burning a hole into my soul. I don't think coming back was such a good idea if every moment of happiness I have earns me the same amount of pain.
For the next month or so I saw Buffy and Willow quite regularly and it started to feel like old times, we would go on patrol and then go to the Bronze or to Giles' place. As I wasn't alone with Buffy for long, I didn't feel the pain I had felt that night.
Strangely, it also helped that she started going out with a guy called Riley, he was the TA in her Psychology class. I could tell that she liked him and he felt the same. I had managed to push a lot of what I was feeling for her down so I didn't need to deal, it was something I was very good at, as I have had a lot of practise.
I was even enjoying my work, even if the pay wasn't great and all, so life was good.
Then one night when I was working, Buffy and a few of her college friends came in. I knew that they weren't old enough to be in here but my boss had told us that all he cares about is that they can pay for their drinks. I also didn't want to embarrass Buffy in front of her friends by asking them to leave.
"Hi Buff, how you doing?"
"Fine thanks, I just thought I'd let my hair down a little."
One of her friends comes over and puts an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey Buffy, how do you know the barkeep?"
"He's a friend of mine from High School." I'm not sure I liked the fact she added on the 'from High School' to that.
"Not everyone is smart enough for college I guess."
When Buffy says nothing, I can tell that she hasn't really changed that much from before I left. There was no point making an issue out of it in public so I just pushed that down with everything else.
"Anyway what would you like to drink?"
"Three pitchers of the cheapest beer you got, thanks barkeep."
"Coming right up."
I must admit I wasn't too keen on her friends, mainly as they kept calling me 'barkeep', which soon became the second most annoying nickname I ever had, 'Zeppo' still holding onto the top-spot. They seemed to enjoy the new beer my boss got in on promotion, the fact it was the cheapest drink we had probably was the main factor. Buffy made it a point to never look in my direction, every time I brought the drinks over she would turn away, giving me more to push deep down.
They had been in a couple of hours and were getting well and truly plastered. The way they were acting felt strange to me. I know how to spot a drunk from a mile away; I have an entire family of them after all. I knew that there was a problem when one of Buffy's friends came to order their latest round of drinks.
"What can I getcha?"
"We want beer, beer good."
"It sounds like you have had enough for one night"
"No, we want beer. Beer good, want beer now!"
"Hey man, there's no need to shout. I think it's time for you to leave."
"BEER GOOD, HAVE BEER NOW!"
"Uh uh I'm cutting you off."
That was when everything went into chaos. Everyone, including Buffy, started jumping around shouting that they wanted more beer. It was at this point that I noticed that their physical features had changed slightly. They all looked more primitive, like they were the missing link or something.
When I went round to try to calm them down, one of them jumped me and threw me into the jukebox. I must have passed and when I came to, they were all gone. knowing that there was something Hellmouthy going on, I called Giles.
"Hello Rupert Giles."
"Hi Giles."
"Evening Xander, is everything alright? I thought you were working tonight?"
"I am but we have a situation. A group of college students, including Buffy, have gone loco after drinking some beer. One of them knocked me out and when I came to they were gone so I rang you."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
It took about ten minutes for him to arrive.
"Xander are you alright?"
"No, but I will be."
"How could you be so foolish to let them drink? Did you not think…"
"Listen Giles, I do not need a lecture from you on the evils of drink. My entire family are alcoholics so I am more than well aware of what alcohol can do. I also know that you have to allow people to find those things out for themselves. Buffy came in with a few of her college friends and I didn't want to embarrass her by not allowing them to stay. They hadn't had a lot to drink. When one of them came up to buy the last round I said they couldn't have anymore and they went postal. They are not normally drunk Giles. They looked like they had regressed to Neanderthals or something. You know full well I would never intentionally let anything happen to her."
"Ok Xander, I'm sorry it's just that I am worried about Buffy. What could have done this?"
"The only thing that they drank was this new beer my boss got in as a promotion."
"Have anyone else drank the beer?"
"No, he only got it today."
"Good. The first thing we have to do is see your boss and find out where he got that beer."
We got to my boss' house about half an hour later.
"Xander what are you doing here, who's looking after the bar?"
"I've shut the place up boss, we've got bigger problems at the moment."
"What could be more important than making me money?"
"We've got a group of college students, one of them a good friend of mine, running round acting like they just came from the stone age. We need to know where you got the beer."
"You don't get to tell me what to do, you work for me!"
"I don't have time for your shit, tell me where you got the beer."
"Keep this up and you're fired!"
Knowing that this wasn't getting anywhere, I punched him in the gut and he falls like a sack of potatoes. Between Giles, who let Ripper out to play, and myself we managed to convince him to talk and he told us that he got the beer from a demon that owed him a favour. After we suggested that he dispose of the rest of his stock, we turned to leave; he shouted to me that I was fired just before I got to the door. Not that I was that surprised, it still meant that I was out of a regular pay packet.
"Well that's just great, he is the one that got the damn beer in the first place and I am the one who gets fired!"
"I am sorry that you have lost your job but can we focus on finding Buffy and the others?"
"Sure Giles. So how will we get them to turn back?"
"I have heard of this type of thing before. Once the beer has got out of their systems they should be fine."
"Ok, we better look for Buffy first, with her Slayer strength she could be a real danger."
"You're right. Where would she go?"
"The first thing we should do is check her dorm room, she may well want to go somewhere that feels safe."
"Good idea."
Luckily my hunch pays off and we find her at her dorm room. Luckily Willow was round at Oz's place otherwise she would have freaked. Buffy was drawing cave paintings on the walls with lipstick and had thrown her clothes all over the place.
"Buffy, are you ok?"
"Buffy want beer, beer good, give Buffy beer."
"No Buffy, beer bad, beer very bad." Giles looks at me like I have grown a second head.
"Xander, why are you talking like that?"
"Simple Giles, if I talk like her, she'll be more inclined to trust me. I'll keep her busy here, you go find the others."
"Are you sure it is wise for me to leave you two alone, she might turn violent."
"Giles, no matter what is happening to Buffy, I know that she would never hurt me."
"Ok then, just be careful." I can tell that he doesn't have the same amount of faith that I do.
"As always."
With that Giles left to find the others. That just left me with the wonderful task of keeping Cave Buffy occupied until the beer wears off. I walked over to her and her head snapped round and she started asking for more beer. When I got closer to her, she looked at me strangely.
"Buffy want beer, beer good."
"No Buffy, beer bad." While I am talking to her she is slowly walking towards me.
"Boy smell good."
"Huh?"
"Boy smell good, Buffy want boy."
"Buffy want boy?" If she had said that to me at any other time I would have been jumping around for joy. The trouble is Buffy only ever shows interest in me whilst under the influence of the paranormal. First it was that damn love spell and now it's tainted beer. Will she ever be interested because she wants to?
"Buffy want boy, boy smell good. Boy want Buffy?" She is right in front of me now, looking at me with such innocence that I don't even realise that she is holding me for a few seconds. It took me a few minutes before I was able to get Buffy to let me go, once she did I went to the other side of the room.
"Buffy want boy, boy smell good." She is repeating it like a mantra while slowly walking over to me. It takes every ounce of will power I have to stop her.
"Buffy, you don't want to do this, you're not thinking clearly." She starts to cry. If there was one thing I hate above all else is seeing Buffy cry.
"Boy not want Buffy?" The tears are really streaming now and I can't help but bring her into a hug.
"Yes, boy want Buffy. Boy want Buffy very much, but I know that Buffy doesn't want boy. You aren't thinking clearly Buffy, you don't want to do this and I wont take advantage of you."
I held her in my arms and slowly rocked back and forth until she stopped crying. I try to move but she holds me tighter. Knowing that she wouldn't allow me to leave, I picked her up and carried her to the bed and lay beside her, hoping that I can leave once she falls asleep. Once she had got to sleep, I tried to move away but she held onto me tighter. I tried to leave a couple more times but each time she wouldn't let go, so resigned to my fate I went to sleep.
When I woke up, from what I have to admit was the most peaceful nights sleep in my life, I realised that she was still holding me. When I looked at her sleeping, she was back to her old self and she looked so beautiful. All the feelings I had pushed down came rushing right back to the surface. I didn't have long to think about it, as at that moment Riley and Willow came in.
"What the fuck is going on!" Riley's loud but not altogether invalid question woke the vision lying in my arms.
I knew that this looked bad and the look on Riley's face proved it. Not knowing exactly what to say, I said the first thing that came to mind.
"Riley, it isn't what you think."
I barely had time to move before Riley grabbed me and threw me up against the nearest wall. Willow was still in the doorway, I don't think she had moved an inch since she opened the door. I knew that I could get away from Riley but not without hurting him and he hadn't done anything wrong.
"I am going to fucking kill you Harris!"
"Lets not be hasty Riley, I can explain." This was where my mind realised that I was in trouble. I knew that we couldn't tell Riley that Buffy had drunk something that turned her into a Neanderthal, and I couldn't think of anything that would justify what he walked into.
Luckily, Buffy had come to her senses.
"Riley, put him down." He reluctantly did so and I slumped to the ground.
"Xander is right, it isn't how it looks. I had a few drinks and I think someone must have slipped something into one of them. As I was walking back, Xander saw the state I was in and walked me home. I was jumping all over the place and it took everything Xander had to stop me from hurting my self. I had no control of my body so he had to hold me down. All Xander was doing was being the friend that he always has."
He seemed to buy it and not wanting to rock the boat, Buffy suggested that Willow and I leave them to it. I quickly agreed and dragged Willow out the door with me before she could argue.
As we were walking to the coffee shop, I filled Willow in on what really happened last night as I could tell she didn't buy Buffy's version of events. Once I had told her everything, she said to me that she understands how hard it must have been to resist temptation.
"Xander I saw the way you were looking at Buffy when we came in and I am sure that Riley saw it too."
"I couldn't help it Wills, I woke up with the woman I am in love with and she looked so beautiful in my arms. I forgot about the outside world for a few seconds and I allowed myself to believe that it was real. Then you and Riley come in and I am back in the real world. I can see that Buffy and Riley like each other and I am not going to do anything to damage that. As long as Buffy is happy I can manage. I think."
"You know I will always be here for you don't you?"
"Yeah Wills, I know. I love you."
"I love you too."
It was about a week since the Cave Buffy incident and it seemed that whenever Buffy and I were in the same room, or even in the same building Riley would be in the way. We haven't had a single conversation that consisted of more than hello and goodbye and whenever we tried, Riley 'remembered' they had to be somewhere I wasn't and practically dragged Buffy with him. I knew that she wanted to talk but she felt that she had to side with Riley, just like Willow had to side with Oz last year. The only difference is that I haven't done anything wrong other than to help my friend when she needed it.
One thing that I had managed to rectify was my employment situation. I decided to check with the local construction companies to see if they had any jobs going and luckily they had. It seems that a lot of their workforce either move away or get added to the missing persons list. I told them I had no intention of doing either and they took me on straight away. It's day work, which means I will be able to patrol more often and as it is physical work it will keep me in shape and even help build muscle. Not that I need to improve on the temple of Xander.
A couple of days ago, I was walking to the coffee shop on a break when I saw Willow and Oz and it looked like they were arguing. I decided to keep my distance until I saw Oz storm off and Willow start to cry. I hate to see Willow crying as much as I hate to see Buffy cry. I walk up to her, tell her it was me and then brought her into a hug. When she had stopped crying, I released her slightly so I could angle her face to look at me.
"Wills, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me don't you?"
I managed to hear the words 'Oz' and 'Veruca' before she started crying again.
I took her to the coffee shop and made sure we got a table in the far corner so we had a little privacy. By the time our coffee's were brought over, Willow had managed to calm down enough to tell me what was going on.
"No pressure Wills, but if you talk about it to someone on the outside it might help. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Yeah. Ever since the new band started playing at the Bronze, Oz has been fixated with the lead singer. Her name is Veruca and whenever she is on stage, it feels like I have to practically force Oz to talk or even look at me, all he seems to want to do is stare at Veruca. I try to talk to him about it but he just changes the subject. Today I was trying to get him to talk to me about it and he shouted at me. Oz never shouts, I didn't even know he was capable of shouting. What have I done wrong?"
"I may not have all the answers for you Wills, but I do know that you have done nothing wrong. It seems that Oz is going through something and until he has it clear in his own head, he wont be able to talk about it."
I honestly didn't know what to say. I remembered that tonight was the night before full moon, one of the three nights that Oz needs to be locked away so his werewolf form doesn't hurt anybody.
"Listen Wills, one of the reasons he may have been more agitated today is that tonight is the night before full moon."
"Oh my god, I can't believe I forgot that!"
"Don't worry about it, you have a lot to think about. What I suggest is that you wait until after the lunar cycle is finished, that way when you try to talk to him about it he will have more control on his emotions." I pulled her into another hug that she readily accepts.
"Just remember that I will always be here for you, as are Buffy and Giles. Whenever you need to talk, just come to one of us." When I mentioned Buffy's name, Willow's expression changes.
"Speaking of Buffy, how are you coping? I know it has to be hard for you."
"Don't worry about me Wills, I'm fine. It isn't as though I'm new to this sort of thing." As soon as I had said it I knew I shouldn't have. She started to tear up.
"I'm sorry Wills, I wasn't getting at you. You had your reasons for what happened, it was something you had to do."
"It doesn't make me feel any less horrible when I think of how I treated you."
"As I said, you did what you had to. The only thing getting to me is that this time I haven't done anything wrong. I may have wanted to more than anything, but I didn't."
"I know you haven't done anything wrong, you were just helping out your friend like you always do. The problem is that Riley knows that you wanted to and is threatened by that."
"Believe me, I get that. What I don't get is why Buffy is going along with it. He barely lets her say two words to me and she does nothing about it."
"Xander, I think she is doing it because she remembers how she was that night and feels guilty about how she reacted towards you."
"She has nothing to feel guilty about. That wasn't her that night, it was the beer that caused her to act and feel that way."
"That's the problem. In a way she does feel that way about you. The beer brought out a more primitive Buffy, not a different one."
"I really didn't need to hear that Willow."
"What?"
"I was finding it easier to deal with my feelings for her when I was sure she didn't feel the same way. Now you're saying that in a way she does and you have given me hope. I managed to bottle this up before because I knew there was no hope. Now this time there is hope, no matter how small. This is going to drive me insane Wills, I don't know if I will be able to stand it."
"Oh, Xander." I glance at my watch and realise my break finished five minutes ago. I quickly finish my coffee, give Willow a hug and run back to work
I met Willow at the Bronze that night; she said that Oz was secure in the cage we set up for him in a nearby mausoleum. She usually stays to keep him company but she couldn't face it. I decided it was my mission to make her forget her worries. This task included lots of joking and dancing.
I was being successful, until we saw Riley and Buffy. Once he saw us, he made a beeline for the table furthest away from us, once again I could tell Buffy wasn't happy but she didn't stop him. Willow reached over and held my hand, she could tell that I was hurting over this and she felt bad that there was nothing she could do.
There was something I could do. I decided to go over and talk to them both and try to resolve this before it goes too far. I got half way when I heard a crash and screaming coming from the balcony section. I looked up and saw a werewolf attacking the people up there. I first thought was that it could be Oz, but Willow caught my eye and shook her head to tell me it wasn't. The next thing I saw was Buffy racing up the stairs to tackle the werewolf.
Willow and I started to get the rest of the people out of the building, I looked round but couldn't see Riley anywhere. Buffy goes and tries to stop help and the bastard runs away. I ring Giles and ask him to bring the tranquilliser gun so we can stop but not kill it. I ran up to help Buffy out, taking a couple of pool cues with me.
"Buffy, catch!" With that I threw one of the pool cues to her.
"Thanks! Is it Oz?"
"Willow says that it isn't, she says that the fur is the wrong colour."
"I don't want to kill it."
"Neither do I Buff, I rang Giles and asked him to bring the tranquilliser gun."
"I hope he gets here soon!"
During our little conversation we had been trying to keep the werewolf at bay with the cues but weren't being very successful. Luckily the people that were up here were smart enough to make a run for it and got out of the way.
We eventually managed to back the werewolf up and it jumped through a nearby window. I looked out and saw it running from a group of those military guys before I lost it and them in the shadows. Buffy and I made our way out of the Bronze to wait for Giles.
When we got outside, Giles was pulling up and Willow was waiting for him.
"Is everyone ok?"
"Yeah Giles, Willow and Xander got everyone out, then he came and helped me keep the werewolf busy. The only problem is it got away."
"And G-Man, those military guys went after it."
"Huh?" I just remembered that neither Giles nor myself told Buffy and Willow about them.
"On my patrols I have seen groups of guys in army gear capture vamps and other demons and take them somewhere, I've never managed to find out where they go."
"How come I've never seen them?"
"I guess that it takes military to follow military."
"Uh, guys I know that this is interesting and all but don't we have a werewolf to catch."
"Sorry Wills, before we go after it we should check on Oz."
"Why Xander? I told you it wasn't him!"
"Hey Wills I know, but I still think it would be an idea to check on him, if only to be certain that it isn't him."
Willow just nodded in reply; she knew we had to check, it didn't mean she has to like it. It wasn't far so we decided to walk but we barely started to move when another werewolf came charging at us.
"Giles, get it!" Giles got it with the tranquilliser gun before it got too close.
"Is that the same one?"
"No, it's Oz." Willow started to question whether he was at the Bronze.
"Wills, don't worry the werewolf at the bronze had different fur, it wasn't OZ. I wonder how he got out."
"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" We decided to check the mausoleum, Giles and I were volunteered to carry Oz. When we got there, we saw that the cage was busted.
"How did Oz manage to break out?"
"He didn't."
"What are you talking about Xand?"
"Buff, the cage has been busted in, which means that someone or something broke Oz out."
"What are we going to do with Oz now?" Willow was looking nervous
I can't help thinking what would want to let a werewolf run loose. We decided to keep Oz sedated until morning and come up with a plan to capture the other werewolf. Willow volunteered to stay with him and Giles stayed with her in case anything happened.
I asked if I could walk Buffy back to her dorm and she agreed. As we started walking neither of us said much, well nothing at all actually. Finally I wasn't able to take it any longer.
"Can I ask you a question Buff?"
"Sure."
"Has anyone cast a spell on you that makes it almost impossible for you to talk to me?"
"No."
"Well that was the only thing I can think of for the silent treatment I've got from you recently. I want to know how much longer I'm going to be shut out of your life before Riley allows you to be within six feet of me again. I've gone through this with Willow, but there were valid reasons."
"I feel guilty about what happened that night."
"Nothing happened Buff."
"I know but that doesn't make me feel any better. Riley is a nice guy and I want to make a go of it with him. At the moment he can't be around you without wanting to rip you apart."
"Maybe you should let him try."
"WHAT!"
"If the only way he can get over this is to have a pop at me, let him. You know that I am more than capable of handling myself. I'll let him think he's won and he won't feel threatened by me anymore."
"I' not going to allow my boyfriend to try and beat up my joint best friend. I don't see why he's threatened by you anyway." I tried but failed badly to not look hurt by that statement and she notices.
"Don't worry I know what you meant. I don't see you that way anymore, but it doesn't mean I enjoy hearing something like that."
"Sorry."
"No problem." We spend the rest of the journey in silence.
I walked her to her dorm room, said goodbye and went to walk away. Buffy put a hand on my shoulder and turned me round so I was facing her again and pulls me into a hug.
"I'm going to talk to Riley and tell him that I'm not going to stand for his attitude towards you anymore. I miss having you around."
"I miss you too Buff, just make sure that you're tactful when you talk to him. I don't want you ruining your relationship over me." on impulse I kiss her on the top of her head.
"I better get in."
"OK Buff, goodnight."
The next day I was walking to Giles' place so we could plan how to catch the other werewolf. The site where I was working had to be closed for a couple of days due to a gas main that had been ruptured during drilling. I decided to get there earlier than necessary to get in a training session with Giles as work had prevented me from training as often as I had done before.
When I got there I talked with Giles for a while over a cup of tea, something else I hadn't been able to do as regularly as I wanted. After we had finished our tea, we went to the basement and began training. We were still training when Willow and Buffy arrived. They just sat and watched while Giles and I completed our hand-to hand training and then went on to sword fighting.
"OK that's enough for me. Buffy, why don't you get warmed up and train with Xander for a while. You do remember what training is don't you?" Buffy stuck her tongue out and smiled, then proceeded to get herself ready to beat the crap out of me.
"Very mature of you Buffy. Willow why don't we go upstairs and have a cup of tea."
"Sure Giles." Willow then follows Giles up the stairs while Buffy warms up for our sparring practise.
As we were sparring I felt that she was having a little too much fun throwing me about, so I caught her with a leg sweep and pinned her to the ground. I gave her a smile that glowed with smugness, then I realised that I had Buffy pinned to the ground beneath me. For a moment I looked at her the way I always wanted to and then realising that it wasn't a dream, I quickly got up. I held a hand out to her and surprisingly she took it, normally she would just roll her eyes and get up by herself.
"Ok I think I've had enough for today, how about we go upstairs?"
"Sure." I suggested that we go upstairs and she agreed.
When we got upstairs I asked Willow how Oz was.
"He seemed to be OK but when he woke up he just got dressed and left without saying a word to me or Giles." I went over and hugged her.
"Don't worry Wills, I'm sure that everything will be OK." I didn't know that but I did know that she needed to hear it.
"Where is Oz staying tonight now that the cage is busted?"
"I suppose we could use the mansion, Angel still owns it and I'm sure he won't mind."
"That's a good idea Buffy, Willow could you let Oz know?"
"Sure Giles." Willow goes to phone Oz.
"OK, what are we going to do about this other werewolf we have running around, as I personally don't want those military guys getting their hands on whoever it is."
"Well the best places to track it would be either the Bornze or the 'Lovers Lane' area as they will have the largest concentration of pheromones."
"We better split up into two teams to ensure we can catch it. Willow and Xander can check out the Bronze and Buffy and myself can check out the 'Lovers Lane' area."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
"What sounds like a plan?" Willow comes back in after phoning Oz.
"You and I are Bronzing tonight, for purely professional reasons, while Buffy and Giles go to 'Lovers Lane'."
"What will Riley say Buffy?"
"Shut up Willow. Anyway, was Oz fine with his accommodation for tonight?"
"Yeah, there are no problems on his end. We better get going Buffy, Professor Walsh loves to show up people who are late for her class."
"Don't I know it, the first time I was late she made me stand in front of everyone while she did a profile on me just by what I was wearing."
"The first time you were late?"
"Her class is normally first thing in the morning and you know how I hate mornings. Anyway Willow is right, we better get going. We'll see you both later OK?"
"Sure."
I spent the rest of the morning training and researching and I left Giles' place about two in the afternoon. I went home to get changed and then had a spot of lunch, after I had satisfied my hunger I decided to meet up with Willow and check she was ok. I didn't get there though as I caught Oz talking to Veruca. I kept out of sight but I could just make out what they were saying.
"You know that we should be together, you cannot deny the chemistry we have."
"That isn't me Veruca it's the wolf. I'm in love with Willow."
"What you don't get is that you are the wolf Oz."
"Why did you break me out of my cage last night?"
"We weren't meant for captivity Oz." I guess we know who the other werewolf is now.
"I don't want to be responsible for killing people."
"You have to embrace the beast within, if you don't it will consume you. We're meant to be together Oz and I'll let nothing stand in our way." With that she ran off in the direction of the college, I watch her leave and then I catch up with Oz.
"Oz."
"Xander, listen…"
"It'll be sunset soon, you better get to the mansion."
"What about Veruca?"
"I'll deal with her."
"But…"
"Right now it would be wise to do what I suggest Oz, I'm not in the right frame of mind right now to argue civilly." He could tell I wasn't kidding and started off towards the mansion.
Thinking over what they said to each other, I realised what Veruca meant when she wouldn't anything get in her way, she was going after Willow. I started to run as fast as my legs would allow towards the college. Knowing that time was against me, I rang Giles.
"Hello Rupert Giles speaking."
"Giles it's Xander, I need you to meet me at the dorms with the tranq gun and the revolver we took from that werewolf hunter."
"What's going on?"
"The other werewolf is Veruca and she's gunning for Willow so she can be with Oz. she's going to kill her Giles."
"I'll get there as soon as I can."
I put the cell away and continue running towards the college, I knew that I was catching her up, it was a good thing that during the day she was just as fast as a normal human or I wouldn't have had a hope in hell. I managed to get there just as the sun went down and saw Willow and Veruca together. It was clear that Willow didn't know what Veruca was, but that changed quickly as Veruca started to transform into her werewolf state.
"Willow get away from her!" Willow was paralysed with fear so I grabbed her and ran towards the dorms, thinking that if we could get to her dorm room, I could use the weapons Buffy has to hold her off until Giles arrives.
We were at the entrance to the dorms when Veruca caught up with us.
"Willow, keep going, I'll slow her up."
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Willow GO!" She knew not to argue with me so she continued running to her room. I had grabbed a branch on the way there and spun round and hit Veruca as hard as I could in the head with it. She was stunned for a few moments but it wasn't long before she was charging at me again.
I knew that I had no chance of surviving but there was no way I was letting her get to Willow. She knocked me into the wall and started clawing at me. I knew that this was it but suddenly Oz in his werewolf form came from nowhere and charged into Veruca, throwing her in the air. They charged at each other and started biting and clawing at each other. Oz, being the stronger of the two, soon had the upper hand and it wasn't long before Veruca was dead. Oz then turned round to look at me and as he was about to lunge at me, Giles appeared and shot him with the tranquilliser gun.
"Xander are you alright?"
"Nothing a bottle of Advil couldn't fix."
"Were you bitten?"
"No, thrown into a wall and mauled but not bitten."
"Is everyone OK?"
"Yes Buff, apart from Veruca of course. You better check on Willow while Giles and I deal with Oz?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean we'll take him to the mansion and shackle him up nice and tight. He may not be on my good side but Willow is."
"OK." Buffy goes up to look after Willow, leaving Giles and I wolfsitting.
"OK Giles, Heads or Tails?"
"Ha ha."
The next day I got a phone call from Willow.
"Hey Wills what's up?"
"Oz has gone."
"What do you mean he's gone?"
"He came over this morning and told me that it was too dangerous for him to stay around me until he had control over the wolf in him. I tried to get him to stay but he didn't listen."
"I'm so sorry Wills, is there anything I can do?"
"Could you come over, I don't feel like being on my own."
"Of course I will, I'll be right there."
"Thanks, bye."
When I got there about thirty minutes later, Willow was crying on Buffy's shoulder and Riley was sitting across the room looking very uncomfortable. I guess he hasn't had to deal with too many women before. That looked quickly changed to anger when he saw me, but I just ignored him and went over and hugged Willow. That meant that I was indirectly hugging Buffy, which immediately sent him into his normal routine of making an excuse for him and Buffy to leave.
"Buffy I just remembered that we were going to meet Graham and Forrest for coffee."
It didn't work how he wanted this time though.
"Riley I'm not going anywhere, Willow needs me here so here I'll stay."
Realising that the normal tactic won't work, he tries something else.
"As we're staying with Willow, Harris isn't needed so he can get lost."
Having him suggest that I leave was the final straw and I'd finally had enough, letting go of Willow I got right in his face.
"Listen to me Finn, I don't care if you have a problem with me but if you try and come between me and my friends, they'll have to surgically remove my foot from your ass!"
He takes a swing at me but I duck it, landing one of my own to his gut and then pin him to the wall.
"Willow doesn't need to have any further stress at the moment so I'm going to leave before I do something I'll enjoy. I promise I'll ring you later Wills." I looked at Buffy and gave a small nod and then left.
The next couple of weeks were hard for Willow; every time she went out she saw something that reminded her of Oz and started crying, when she wasn't already crying for the sake of crying. I was with her as much as I could to make sure she knew there were people who wouldn't leave. The only times I weren't there was when I had to work or when Buffy and Riley were there. I didn't want to cause Willow any more stress, having Riley and I in the same room would definitely classify as stressful. Riley was making sure that he was there as much as possible knowing I wouldn't go over. I'm really starting to wonder what Buffy sees in him.
There had been a couple of times that I was there with Willow and then Buffy and Riley would show up. Willow knew that I would be leaving and would hold onto me even tighter than she had before. After a couple of minutes I would look at my watch and 'remember' I was late for something, tell Willow I would call her later and leave without even looking at Riley or Buffy. When Willow would call, which was probably about a minute after Riley left, I would apologise to her and she said she understood. She would then put Buffy on and we would chat but it was nothing more than saying hello and asking how each other were. I couldn't pretend to be happy to talk to her, she said that she would talk to Riley but she hadn't and I didn't think she ever would. Once again she has chosen someone else over me and was slowly cutting me out of her life. I know that Willow wants us to reconcile but that is up to Buffy not me.
A couple of days ago I was with Willow when suddenly neither one of us could talk. It was a strange feeling; one minute we were talking normally then all of a sudden we couldn't talk. You never realise how much you communicate verbally until you can't. Luckily I was with one of the smartest people around and she gave me a pad and pencil, giving herself the same. We both wrote the same two things; 'are you alright?' and 'spell?' and we both went to laugh but realised we couldn't do that either so we just smiled. After a few more written messages we decided to check and see if it was just us that were affected.
We soon found out that we weren't alone; everyone in the dorms was affected. We looked at each other and could tell we were thinking the same thing; to find Buffy and Giles. We found Buffy coming out of her class, clearly trying to work out what the hell was going on. We just looked at her and nodded letting her know we were aware of the situation. It also allowed her to know it wasn't just her class. Willow wrote a message saying we were heading to Giles so she came with us.
When we got to Giles' place he was already looking through books trying to work out what had happened. As soon as we came in he could see that we were also affected so he simply motioned us to help in the research.
During all this time something about what was happening felt familiar to me, as if I had heard about something like this before. Then I remembered that I had read something about a group of demons called The Gentlemen that I researched during one of my training sessions a couple of months ago. I find the book it was in and give it to Giles with a note saying 'The Gentlemen'. His look of realisation that I'm right turns into a look of pride, a look that I wished I would see on my fathers face but never have and never will.
The next couple of hours were spent researching all information about The Gentlemen, focusing on their MO; we worked out why they were here and how to stop them. The Gentlemen are a group of demons that trap the voices of everyone in the location they are in, so that it is easier to harvest the seven hearts they require. It seems that it is very difficult to get help from anyone when you can't scream or shout. They trap all the voices into a small wooden box that they keep with them at all times. The other reason that they trap all the voices is that the only way to kill them is by screaming at them, they're one of the few types of demon that don't die from decapitation. The only way to win is to destroy the box that holds everyone's voice and scream.
We worked out that they had to be holed up in the Sunnydale clock tower as they needed to be at a certain height to perform the ritual and it was the tallest building in town. If I am honest I didn't even realise that Sunnydale had a clock tower until that day and I have lived here all my life. Buffy as always wanted to go it alone but I was in no mood to argue, if she wanted to kill herself it was up to her. I don't really mean it but I know that she will hate it if I turn up and I can't keep taking the pain of her rejection.
Of course, being the complete idiot and masochist that I am, I followed her anyway. I kept my distance to make sure she didn't spot me, those soldier memories coming through for me once again. She finally reached the clock tower and went inside, I was about to follow her as backup when a group of those military guys show up. This time however they aren't wearing balaclavas and the group leader is none other than Riley. They head inside and I don't hear anything for a few minutes, not that I was expecting to. Suddenly I hear a scream and then about ten seconds later I see three of the military guys flying through the door and Buffy dragging Riley out behind them. I may not have been that close and it may have been dark but I could tell that Buffy Anne Summers was a very pissed off Slayer.
I decided that if she found me here she would have moved every part of me from every other part of me so I high-tailed it back to Giles' place. Luckily as Buffy was dragging Riley along with her, I was able to get back and sound like I hadn't been running. When she did come in my earlier assumption was correct, Buffy was pissed.
"That lying rat bastard!"
"I'm guessing that as we can talk again you got the bad guys?"
"Deceitful son of a bitch!"
"What have I done?"
"Not you, him!" it's at this point that she throws Riley into the living room.
"Buffy, what happened and why is Riley unconscious on the floor?"
"I go into the clock tower and find those demon mime artists. I manage to get through them and find the box holding all of the voices and break it, allowing me to scream and kill them all. Their head's literally exploded from the noise; it wasn't a pretty sight I can tell you. Suddenly Riley and three other goons barge in and try to shoot me with those Tazer thingy's you told me about. I dodged the first blast and put Riley in the way of the second. For military types they didn't know how to fight that well so I knocked them about a bit, leaving the other three sparko on the ground and dragged the dickless wonder there back with me so we could get some answers."
Giles and I drag Riley into a chair and tie him up before bringing him around. It takes a few more minutes before he able to talk.
"Good evening Riley, how are you feeling?"
"Mr. Giles why do you have me tied to a chair in your living room? You do realise this is kidnapping don't you?"
"I have a feeling that you won't be pressing any charges Riley, seeing as you would have to explain how you were abducted. So why were you at the clock tower tonight lieutenant Finn?"
"It's Captain… shit."
"How the hell did you get through boot camp?"
"Shut up Harris!"
"I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. This is what's going to happen; we are going to ask questions and you are going to answer them."
We spent the next hour 'talking' to Riley, making sure that Buffy didn't get too involved. She was very pissed and could accidentally knock his head off, literally. Willow isn't very good at the whole interrogation thing so that left him to Giles and myself. Between Giles bringing out Ripper and my soldier memories of interrogation techniques and countermeasures we soon had Riley spilling his gut, not literally unfortunately. We found out that he belongs to a secret government agency called the Initiative and Maggie Walsh, Buffy and Willow's Psychology professor, was in charge. They capture demons and perform experiments on them to see how they tick and how they could be used in combat situations. The majority of Riley's fraternity are members of the Initiative and their headquarters are situated below it. We also found out that Walsh knew all about slayers and asked Riley to 'befriend' Buffy and relay any information he finds to her.
Once we were sure that he told us everything that he knew, we went to release him but Buffy wanted to tell him a couple of things.
"Before we let you go I need to make sure you're aware of a few things. Firstly I can safely say that we're over, if I never see you again it'll be too soon. Secondly if you or any of your Initiative buddies try to come after my friends, or me, you'll find out first-hand just what a slayer can do. Now get out of my sight!" With that we kick Riley out and Buffy begins to cry.
I rush over to her and wrap my arms around her, as I have said before a crying Buffy is my Kryptonite. It takes her a few minutes to calm down and able to talk.
"This proves that there's something wrong with me."
"What are you on about Buff?"
"Men keep using me; Ford, Parker and Riley all used me. why do all the men in my life use me?"
"Angel never did." They all looked shocked at my comment and to be honest so was I. It is a well-known fact that Deadboy and I were never friends; in fact I hated his guts most of the time. There are only two things that he and I agree on; if he ever loses his soul again he gets dusted and that we both love Buffy.
"Giles, Willow and myself would always be there for you and we would never use you, unless you wanted us to of course." That last comment got me a giggle and a slap on the shoulder from Buffy. She had calmed down quite a bit but I could still see that Buffy was a little shook up.
"It's been a rather tough night, why don't I take you and Willow home. Now when I mean home I'm talking about your dorm room, not my home."
"I'm actually staying over at my parent's tonight, they've realised that they have a daughter they haven't seen for a few months so they want me over for dinner."
"That's fine, we'll escort you to your parents place then I'll take Buffy back to the dorms. Before you start I am more than aware that you're capable of walking by yourself, I just think that now the Initiative are aware of who we are it'll be wise to stick together for a while."
"I have to agree with Xander that it would be prudent to refrain from venturing out unaccompanied."
"Huh?"
"Oh dear god, Xander's right we should stick together. I try to use English the way it was meant to be used and all I receive is 'huh?'"
"Come on Giles I'm only playing with you. You know you'd start to worry if I understood everything you said, it would be a sign of the apocalypse."
"Very true. I'm sure that things will start to look better after a good night's sleep."
The walk to Willow's place was quiet; none of us were in a very talkative mood. When we were about halfway to Willow's, I had a sudden impulse to put my arms around their shoulders. I gave in to that impulse and I was a little shocked when they both leaned into me and started to cry. Now when one of them cries I can't stand it, but when they both cry at the same time I get an almost irresistible urge to kill the causes. I stop and bring them into a group hug.
"Hey everything's going to be fine, it may not seem like it now but things will get better. As long as we're there for each other we can face anything."
When they both eventually calm down we start off again and by the time we get to Willow's, she looked a lot calmer.
"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Rosenburg, how are you?"
"Very well thank you Alexander."
"Thanks for walking me home guys, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course." After we said our goodbyes, Buffy and I went on to the dorms.
"Xander I want to apologise for cutting you out of my life, I should never have let Riley sway me like that." Although those were the words I wanted to hear most in the world I was still bitter about everything.
"I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give me an honest answer. If you hadn't found out about Riley would you have continued to cut me out of your life?" When she didn't answer right away, I knew that she would have.
"I guess I've been given my answer haven't I?" She tried to say something more to me when we reach her door but I just turned around and walk away.
There is no way that I am letting her off that easily. I know that it sounds bad but if she wants me back in her life she has to work for it, I've let her back too easily too many times. If she wants me as a friend she needs to fucking act like one.
The last few days Buffy has been trying to get our relationship back on track. I tried to resist for a day or so, but she started to use that bloody adorable pout of hers and I caved in big time. We had gotten back to where we were before Riley showed up, but nowhere near what it was at it's best. I knew that it would only be a matter of time before we got back to where we were. Then once again events came to screw with my life; Faith woke up from her coma.
I had gone to visit Faith a couple of times since I came back, I knew that no one else was going to and I didn't like the thought of her being alone. I doubt that she knew I was there but I went anyway. We didn't find out that she was awake until Buffy and I saw her on the college campus. Due to the crowd of people, neither Buffy nor Faith wanted to get into anything but I could tell that they wanted to see each others head mounted on their wall.
"Hey B how you doing?"
"What do you want Faith?"
"I just wanted to see how the old gang was, I'm guessing that the mayor isn't around anymore?"
"We trapped him in the High School and blew him up, the highlight of a memorable graduation."
"That's five by five with me. Hey BoyToy, feel like going another round with me?"
"No offence Faith but you have a tendency to want to kill me, that doesn't make for a working relationship." After we had our little heart to heart, Faith managed to lose herself in the crowd.
I got on the phone to Giles and Willow, letting them know that Faith was out and to be careful. I also decided to call Joyce and let her know, she would probably be as much of a target as the rest of us. Of course I didn't let Buffy in on that little nugget of information, she would worry too much and lose focus on stopping Faith.
Giles, Willow, Buffy and myself met up later that day to work out where Faith might go.
"Why don't we check the places Wilkins owned, she would probably feel the safest there." Once again I got looks of surprise from Willow and Buffy and a look of pride from Giles. It still hurts that they cannot believe that I have working brain cells. Giles didn't look too impressed with their reactions either.
Once we have worked out the most likely places Buffy goes to check them out. We offered to go with her but she says that it is safer if she goes alone, as she is the only one that can deal with her. I didn't like the way she said that and I could tell that I wasn't alone.
A few minutes after Buffy left, a group of men arrived on Giles' door, deciding to break it down instead of knocking.
"Hello Rupert, we've come for Faith."
"Well Michael she's not here so you can piss off!"
They didn't believe Giles when he said she wasn't there so they decided to try and take a look for themselves. They didn't get very far as I disarmed Michael, who seemed to be their leader, and put a knife to his throat. I pass the rifle Michael had to Giles who points it at the rest of the group.
"Now listen here you stupid bastards, I want you to drop your weapons or Michael here gets his throat cut."
"You do that boy and you won't live to see another day."
"I've lived on the Hellmouth my entire life and faced some of the most dangerous things on the planet. There's no way a bunch of limey bastards will intimidate me, no offence Giles."
"None taken. These gits make me ashamed to be British. If you don't want to get any extra holes in your bodies I suggest you do what Xander says and drop your weapons."
After a couple of seconds they finally drop their weapons and Giles ties them up and gags them.
"OK Giles who are these clowns?"
"They're a Council wetworks team. They get sent to retrieve slayers that go against the councils orders, generally to take them back to Britain for trial. The verdict is always the same and the punishment is death."
"Faith did some bad things but I don't really think that she was in the right frame of mind to work out right from wrong."
"What are you talking about?"
"From the first moment we met her we compared her to Buffy. Joyce hoped that now there was a second slayer, Buffy could retire and have a normal life while Faith took on the fate of the world. None of us bothered to ask how she could afford to live at that motel when she didn't have a job. When she staked Finch, she only did so because Buffy threw him to her. That meant that neither of them knew he was human, we never worked out why the deputy mayor turned up in the middle of that fight in the first place. We treated her as nothing more than a tool and when I tried to get through to her it was too late and she tried to kill me. she was so mixed up it was no surprise that she sided with the mayor, he was the only one that treated her like a person."
"Once again I have to agree with you on your assessment. I must admit I had never really thought about how we treated her."
"Don't worry it seems to be a habit around here. I'm going to see if I can find her, I doubt that Buffy has the same opinion as myself. Those two just rub each other up the wrong way. That's probably to do with them both being slayers; having two alphas in the same area is always going to cause trouble, it's one of the things I remember from my hyena period."
"Just be careful; she's tried to kill you once, she may try again."
"Don't worry I'll be fine."
I decided that the only place that we hadn't thought of earlier was the motel where she had stayed when she first arrived. Only Buffy and myself had been there and I wasn't surprised that Buffy didn't mention it. She has always taken Faith's turn to the dark side personally and feels that it is her and her alone that should deal with Faith. I hate to think how she would deal with her, seeing as it was Buffy that put her in the coma in the first place to try to save Deadboy. I could understand that she did what she felt was right, but I have a problem with trying to kill a human to save a vampire, no matter who the vampire was.
When I got to the motel, I saw Buffy walking out of the room that Faith had stayed in. when she saw me she walked over I could see that she had a few bumps and bruises.
"Are you OK Buff?"
"I found Faith here and we fought for a while, she clocked me with a lucky shot and before I passed out I saw some men drugging her and throwing her into a van." Something was off about the way Buffy was talking to me and her body language was different to normal. I began to think it was just from duking it out with Faith.
"That must have been another wetworks team from the council. They've come to take her back to Britain for trial and execution. You sure you're OK?"
"I'm just feeling a little out of it."
"Can I walk you home?"
"Sure."
While we were walking I made an attempt to put my arm around her like I have done a thousand times before but she reacted by spinning round and almost smacking me in the face.
"Whoa there Buff! Did I do something wrong?"
"No, I must be more out of it than I thought."
The way she looked at me was nothing like the way she has looked at me before. It was as if I had just tried to do something I cannot even imagine doing, the thought is enough to make me want to violently throw up. I could tell something was up and that she wasn't going to talk about it so we just kept walking. It took me a little while for me to realise that we were walking to Joyce's not to her dorm.
"How come we're walking to Joyce's, has she asked you to stay there instead of the dorms?" She just looks at me with a puzzled look.
"If you don't feel like staying by yourself I could stay with you if you like?" Again, normally she would have taken this as just my way of helping but she looked at me like I was making a pass at her. The way she was acting felt familiar and yet I couldn't place where.
"What's with the look, was it something I said?"
"Sorry, I'm just feeling a little off. I'll get back by myself." She then takes off at a run, I knew better than to run after her and the way she had been acting towards me I wasn't sure I would escape intact if I did.
I decided to go to Giles and talk to him about it but when I looked at my watch I saw that it was very late and although he probably wouldn't mind I didn't want to disturb him so I went home. I was laying on my bed trying to work out why Buffy would be acting so strangely, the only person I have ever seen react like that was Faith. Why would Buffy act like Faith? They've never been close and with their colourful history, I doubt that imitation would be seen as the sincerest form of flattery. The only reason I could think of why Buffy would be acting like this was if Buffy wasn't actually Buffy. As strange as that sounded, it did make a strange kind of sense. It also started to make me very worried; if Buffy was actually Faith that meant that Faith was Buffy. Somehow Faith found a way to switch with Buffy, which means that the council have taken Buffy with a guaranteed death sentence at the end of their journey.
The problem I now had was trying to prove it. I knew that Giles and Willow would have a problem believing me, even though they both should realise that I would never make something like this up. The other problem was that although they were against giving Faith to the council I couldn't see them actively trying to rescue her.
The first thing I had to do was find out where the goon squad was and rescue 'Faith'. Even if I was wrong I would not be able to live with myself if I could have saved her life and did nothing. This was where all those soldier boy memories came into play. I knew that they would keep away from planes and trains, as an unconscious teenage girl would lead people to ask questions. They also wouldn't go anywhere by car as it would take too long. As I knew they were going to try to get back to dear old Blighty, the only way left was by ship and that meant the docks.
One of the things that I never told anyone was that the time I broke into the army base to get the bazooka to destroy the Judge was not the only time I did so. In a chest by the side of my bed I had a small arsenal. I hadn't used any but I always knew that one day it would all come in handy and I now knew that I was right. I got changed into my combat gear and checked to make sure everything was in working order. I then took my car and made my way to the docks.
I got to the docks about an hour later and found the goon squad and 'Faith' waiting for their transport. I didn't want to kill anyone but I knew that if it came down to it I would not hesitate. I decided that I couldn't wait until the ship was here as there would probably be reinforcements. I knew the only way to do this was to hit them hard and fast so I threw in a couple of canisters of tear gas and went in. During the confusion I managed to untie 'Faith' and gave her my extra gas mask. I then made sure that they didn't follow us by shooting them all in the kneecaps. If they can't walk, they can't follow. I relieved them of their weapons and then I got her to safety. Once she was safe I decided to go back and have a little word with them.
Xander: "Hi there boys, I'm the guy that just took out your entire team. I told the other team and now I'm telling you; you come after Faith, Buffy or anyone else, the council will receive you one piece at a time. This is the Hellmouth, there are a hundred different demons out there who would love to take a bite or two out of some council flunkies and I'd have no qualms about feeding you all to them. Sunnydale's out of bounds from now on gentlemen so pass the word around. Do we have an understanding?"
Wanting to make sure that they understand, I stand on their leader's knee, causing him to scream in pain.
"I understand."
"Good, have a nice journey back to England."
I make my way back to the car, finding that 'Faith' is still there, looking a little out of it so I strap her in to the passenger seat and start driving back to my place. Once we got back to my place 'Faith' was almost out of it, they would have given her a pretty strong sedative but her slayer metabolism was making it wear off fast. Once she came to fully and realised where she was she gave me a hug.
"It's OK Buff, you're safe now. The council are leaving and won't be back anytime soon."
"You know it's me and not Faith?"
"Of course, there's only one Buffy Anne Summers. Do you know what happened?"
"Yeah, I found Faith at her old motel room and we got into a fight. I went to hit her with a right when she caught my hand and there was a flash of light, which caused us both to black out for a couple of seconds. I guess that she was prepared for it as she got to her senses before I did and cuffed me to the radiator before I had a chance to stop her. She told me that the Mayor gave her a device so she could switch bodies with me. She was starting to explain all the things that she wanted to do when those bastards from the council turned up and drugged me. The next thing I know I see you going all Rambo on them and save my life, again. So how did you work out what happened?"
"I decided to look for Faith as well, remembering the motel where she stayed at was the only place we didn't consider looking. When I got there I found out from 'you' that the council had taken 'Faith'. As we started walking, she wasn't acting like you and when she suddenly bolted when I said something, I came back here trying to work out what up. That was when I had the idea that you and Faith had switched so I came to get you so we could sort everything out."
"What if you had been wrong?"
"Either way I wasn't going to let the council kill someone just so they could get another slayer that would be easier to handle."
"Thank you for saving me."
"That's what friends do for one another, you would have done the same for me wouldn't you?"
"Of course. Oh my god! Faith is still out there, she could be doing anything and I would shoulder the blame!"
"I doubt that you really have anything to worry about. She did this so you would be the one on the run, she wouldn't risk that."
"What are we going to do?"
"I'll call Giles and get him to come over. Between the three of us we'll work something out OK?"
"I want to go and get her now!"
"If you go after her, the others will just assume that Faith has come to have another go at Buffy and won't listen to reason. They'll just think that I was taken in by Faith to help her out."
"Of course they wouldn't."
"You're kidding me right? No matter what I do or say, you all have this block in your minds that doesn't allow you to see me as anything other than a liability. Giles has managed to get over it only because he has been training me and has seen what I can do. You and Willow are the ones that can't get past the 'Xander needs to be protected because he can't protect himself' thing in your heads."
She goes to try and deny it again, but when she thinks about how they've been treating me she stops herself.
"You're right, I'm sorry for all the times we've treated you badly. I don't know why we do, we just got it into our heads that we were keeping you out of patrolling to keep you safe. After what I've seen these last few months I know that we were wrong to do so."
"Thanks Buff."
I finally realised that we've been holding on to each other the entire time. I reluctantly let her go so I can ring Giles and get him over here. When he gets here fifteen minutes later and sees 'Faith', he gets very defensive.
"What the bloody hell is going on here Xander!"
"Calm down Giles, let me explain. The Mayor left a device for Faith that would allow her to switch bodies with Buffy. She did that and left Buffy here to be taken by the council. I found her and got her back and came here to talk about what needed to be done next. We decided that we needed to talk to you first to work out what to do next."
"Don't get me wrong Xander, I realise that you wouldn't lie to me about something like that, but I find it hard to believe."
"I know that it's hard to believe and if I weren't actually living it I would be right there with you. But what Xander just told you is the truth Faith switched bodies with me. Take a good look at me Giles, surely you can see I'm telling you the truth?"
Buffy walks up to him slowly and they look into each others eyes for what seems like an eternity but what was probably no more than a couple of minutes. It only took a few minutes before he was hugging Buffy.
"I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you, I should have been able to tell."
"You know now and that's all that matters. What we need to work out now is how to get my body back."
"I have an idea but I'm not sure how to say it."
"What is it?"
"Do you have any of the potion you used on Buffy during the Cruciamentum?"
He knows that we had all forgiven him for what happened but I don't think that he has fully forgiven himself yet.
"Uh yes I do, you realise that it takes a while to be effective?"
"I know but if we were to mix it with a strong sedative, by the time she wakes up it would have taken effect."
"That would work but there's still the problem of actually injecting her with it. We will of course cross that bridge when we come to it, I'll get everything ready."
"Good, I think that we should keep this just between us three. Willow needs to act normally around her, something she simply won't be able to do if she knows."
"I agree, I love Willow but she can't keep a secret to save her life."
"Let's just hope that particular situation never comes up then."
"How will you act normally around her Xander, she did try to kill you?"
"I have had a lot of practise hiding how I really feel towards people Buff, I'm sure I'll manage." She didn't seem to like my answer but didn't say anything.
Once we had worked out what we were going to do, Giles left and I suggested that Buffy stay here as it would be risky to go anywhere else, adding that I would sleep on the floor. She was too tired to argue so she just nodded and was asleep about a minute later. I covered her with a blanket and then went to sleep myself.
As soon as I woke up I went and made breakfast for both of us. By the time I came back Buffy was awake. I gave her breakfast to her and she almost inhaled it, it didn't really surprise me as the previous night had taken a lot out of her.
"While I wash everything up, why don't you take a shower? You can borrow some of my clothes, they should probably fit."
"Thanks, I suppose that's one thing I can be thankful for."
"That and the fact you would be half way to England by now if you hadn't been rescued by a charming and handsome hero." I just managed to dodge the pillow that was thrown with deadly accuracy at my head.
Once I had washed and dried everything I returned, I made sure I knocked before going back in so I didn't catch her undressed. It was still a shock to see Buffy's mannerisms in Faith's body and I was glad that it wouldn't be for much longer.
We had arranged to get to Giles' at eleven to get everything ready for the meeting at noon. With a change of clothes and the fact that she didn't act like Faith, we felt that no one would really take much notice of us but to be sure we took the scenic route there. When we got there, Giles had worked out how to reverse the switch and prepared everything.
"The ritual doesn't take very long to perform so there won't be any need for the potion."
"I know you don't want to use it Giles but we'll need to speak to her once everything has been fixed and it would be safe if she wasn't a risk to us or herself. We can wait until after you've performed the ritual but we will need to use it."
"Xander…"
"Listen Buff we know that she did wrong, no one can deny that including me. What I did last night would have happened either way, as she did not deserve the punishment we all know she would have received at the hands of the council. I feel she deserves another chance, but if she doesn't want to take that chance we could turn her into the police and let them deal with her." They could both see that my mind was set so they agreed.
"I think it would be best that Buffy stays out of sight until after we have knocked Faith out, we don't need a confrontation if we can avoid it."
Once she went upstairs Giles asked me what really happened the previous night. I hadn't told him all the details of how I got Buffy away from the goon squad and he wasn't buying the story I gave him. Knowing that I had no other choice, I told him everything and I could tell he wasn't happy. He was about to start lecturing me when I cut him off.
"Listen Giles there are going to be times when I do things that you may not agree with, that's what happens in real life. If there had been time I would have contacted you and we could have worked out something between us but with the circumstances the way they were I had to make a decision which I did, a decision I stand by. If I had stood by and let them take her, whether she was Buffy or Faith, it would have been tantamount to me signing her death warrant myself. That was something I just couldn't live with."
"You are right that there are times that we'll disagree and I'm sorry that I didn't handle it a little better. It's a Giles family tradition for the father to admonish the son when they think they've done something wrong."
When he said that, I couldn't help myself I had to hug him. Knowing that he cared that way about me was a little overwhelming. I soon managed to compose myself and let him go, he looked a little embarrassed but he understood my reasons. Once I let go he cleaned his glasses and asked if I wanted some tea to which I said yes.
Noon soon came and Willow and 'Buffy' came in. As Willow was listening to 'Buffy' going on about what she did the previous night, I slowly walked behind her and before she knew what was happening I injected her with the sedatives. She was out before she even knew what happened and before I knew what was happening I had Willow shouting and screaming at me. Giles managed to drag her off me once he could see that I had no intention of fighting back.
"What the hell are you doing Xander! And why are you letting him Giles?"
"I want you to listen to me very carefully Willow, last night Faith used a device given to her by the Mayor to switch bodies with Buffy. I managed to get Buffy away from the council but we couldn't say anything to you earlier as it was safer that you acted naturally around Faith until we could drug her, which we've just done. You must have noticed that she wasn't exactly acting like herself?"
"I did notice a couple of things but I thought that was due to the fight with Faith."
"I give you my word that we are being completely honest with you Willow. Now if I let you go do you promise to contain yourself?"
"Uh huh"
Once Giles let Willow go, we went about tying Faith up we called Buffy down. While Giles prepared to begin the reversal, Willow and Buffy had their little emotional moment where Willow babbled about being sorry for not noticing earlier. Just as he was about to begin I realised something.
"We need to tie Buffy up."
"WHAT!"
"Who's body are you in?"
"Faith's… oh."
"Exactly."
"I can't believe we didn't think of it before."
"I know that if we suggested that we thought about tying Buffy up before we may well lose a very important part of our anatomies."
"You're probably right."
"Come on and tie me up already."
"That's like music to my ears OW!" Sometimes she needs to remember that I'm not a vampire so there's no need for her to use slayer strength to hit me.
We tied Buffy up and then Giles started the reversal ritual. The ritual was over in a couple of minutes, culminating in a flash of light that covered the two slayers. Once it was completed I injected Faith with the potion and untied Buffy. Giles and I decided that we should be the only ones to talk to her as we had the best chance to get through to her and get her to change her ways, so Willow and Buffy decide to go grab some food and maybe catch a movie. They both promise to return afterwards to ensure we're still alive. It takes a while minutes for the sedative we gave her to wear off and when it does Faith realises she's been caught out.
"So Jeeves worked out what happened huh? How long do we have to wait before the council turns up?"
"Firstly it was thanks to Xander that your ruse was discovered and secondly there won't be anyone from the council coming for you, again thanks to Xander."
"What did BoyToy do, suck their dicks so…"
"SHUT UP!" I didn't really expect that to work but for some reason it did.
"I saved your body last night from those council yahoos, telling them that if they come after you, Buffy or step foot in Sunnydale they'll get returned to England piece by piece."
"When did you grow a pair BoyToy?"
"About the same time I saved your ass and slept with you. The first thing that you need to know is that it won't be Buffy, Giles or Willow or even myself that decides what happens to you, that pleasure goes to yourself."
"In that case I decide to be let free."
"Doesn't work that way. We're going to offer you a choice, the choice I tried to give you the day you tried to kill me. We know you've made mistakes, we all have. We want to give you a second chance and I think you deserve one."
We spend the next few hours talking and she starts to open up to us. She opens up to me, as I was the only one who had tried to help her before, she opened up to Giles because he apologised for not taking better care for her and that he wanted to make it up to her. She could tell that we only wanted to help her now and more importantly she wanted to be helped. We explained to her that we have to keep her here for a few days until we know we can trust her, she said she understood but we could tell she didn't like it.
"Giles has said that you can have free reign of the house but we'd prefer it if you didn't go out unless one of us was with you. We still may have some council bastards around. It won't be for long, you stay honest with us and everything will be fine."
"Listen, I aint expecting an easy ride and I know that it'll take a whole lot for B or Red to even consider trusting me. All I ask is that you give me the chance to try. I'm feeling a little tired, is it OK if I go up and catch a few z's?"
"Of course it is Faith. I shall see you in the morning."
"Night G, night Xand."
Buffy and Willow come back about fifteen minutes later, they both make a point to avoid talking about Faith. Knowing that this will not work if they keep this up, I decide to put my life on the line.
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course we do Xander, why do you ask?"
"Do you trust Giles?"
"Again yes we do. What's all this about?"
"If you trust us both, then you should trust us when we say that Faith is deserving of a second chance. I have told her in no uncertain terms what will happen if she fucks it up so all that I ask from you is that you don't go out of your way to antagonise her."
"What are you on about?"
"You know full well what I'm on about Will, even before she went bad you made little comments about her. The same went with you Buff. I'm not saying you need to be all pally with her but try to hold back the insults, at least try not to start a slanging match. Do you think you could do that for us?"
Buffy and Willow look at each other for a few seconds, using their version of silent communication that Willow and I perfected years ago.
"Fine, we won't start anything with her but if she does all bets are off."
"That's all we ask."
After a cup of tea and a chat, Buffy and I take Willow back to her parents house and then I escort Buffy back to her dorm. Once we reach her door she turns to me.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life, again. I know I haven't really said that to you before, in fact I threw it in your face that time I danced with you."
I couldn't help but flinch as that memory resurfaced. When she danced with me like that it was as if all of my prayers had been answered. For her to do that to show me up hurt more than any physical blow ever could. Buffy must have noticed my reaction as she pulls me into a hug.
"I never did apologise for doing that to you did I?"
"I enjoyed the dance Buff, it's right up there with the best experiences of my life. It was the reasons behind the dance that caused the damage. I forgave you a long time ago, I know that you weren't exactly thinking clearly back then as you were suffering from PTS."
"PTS?"
"Post Traumatic Stress. Coming back from the dead can't be the most relaxing experience."
"If you hadn't come along with Angel I wouldn't have." I couldn't help it, I flinched again.
"What's up Xand?"
"Nothing." I must have said that too quickly as she lets me go and looks me staright in the eye.
"Spill."
"You're not going to like it."
"I don't care, spill."
"I didn't come along with Angel, he came along with me."
"Huh?"
"Everyone, Angel included, had accepted that you were going to die at the hand's of the Master. Being the stubborn SOB that I am, I didn't see it the same way. I went to Angel's place to convince me to lead me to the Master's lair. He told me that there was no point as you were destined to die and there was nothing that could be done. It was at that point that I shoved a cross in his face and told him that if he didn't lead me to you I'd dust him. The rest you know."
She was shell-shocked for a few moments and when she looked up at me she had that look that I had only seen from her a couple of times before. The first was during that love spell incident and the second was when I saved her from Teresa. She looked so beautiful and in a moment of weakness I let my instincts take over and leant down to kiss her. What surprised me was that she returned and even deepened the kiss, and soon our tongues were fighting for dominance. It felt that time stopped still and we were the only two people in the world, I had never felt so happy. We only stopped when oxygen became extremely necessary and it took every bit of strength I had to stay on my feet.
"Buffy, I…" Words failed me; there was no possible way of describing just how I felt at that moment. Knowing that Buffy would try to play this down, I decided to leave so I could have one night of contentment before reality kicked in and my heart shattered once more.
I decided the next day that I would go see Buffy and work out what happened last night as I know she could have stopped the kiss if she wanted to and she didn't. That has to count for something doesn't it? I had to work during the day so I decided to catch her on patrol. As I reached the cemetery she was supposed to be patrolling, I get hit over the head and blacked out.
When I come to, I'm in a basement somewhere chained to a wall. I know that this is not a good place to be. The situation had got worse when I heard a familiar voice in the background; Spike. Whenever Deadboy Jr. is in town I know things will take a turn for the worse. The last time he captured me, things didn't end how I had hoped and I know that this will be no exception.
"How are you Billy, Dru take you back?" The fist in my gut tells me he didn't like that question.
"You got spunk Whelp I'll give you that."
"And mine works as well." That gets me a second fist in the gut, I'm glad I hadn't eaten in a while otherwise I'd be seeing it again. Not that my body isn't trying anyway.
"I guess you're wondering why you're here as opposed to being dead or turned?"
"It did cross my mind."
"I've changed professions and have become an Archaeologist. I'm looking for an artefact and I want to keep that slayer bint busy and I figured having to look for you would do the trick. That and if she does get lucky enough to find me you'd be my insurance policy."
"When she finds you there's going to be a Dust Buster with your name on it."
"Once I find this artefact that bitch won't stand a chance." he decides to hit me full in the face and the darkness claims me once more.
I come to a few hours later and instantly wish that I wasn't as I have a pounding headache. A couple of Spike's cronies come in and take a few pop shots at me, making sure not to cause too much damage as Spike wants to keep me alive. I resist the urge to make my usual comments, realising that it would only get me a few more bumps and bruises. I overhear a couple of vamps talking about what Spike was looking for, some mythical gem that will make him unstoppable. Not liking the idea of having an unstoppable vamp, especially Spike, I needed to let Buffy know what was happening. The problem was that unless she was going to be walking past, I doubted I would be able to do so.
I must have drifted off again as when I came to again I could see that a few vamps were in here with me. Things really turned bad when I heard another familiar voice. It seems that Harmony, one of Cordelia's sheep at high school, was turned during graduation. It seems that vampirism hasn't done anything for her intelligence.
"I can't wait until my blondie-bear finds that gem and kills that Buffy bitch. He's been so tense that it takes ages for me to get him properly relaxed."
My life just gets better and better. I cannot believe that Harmony was Spike's new girlfriend; I thought that even he had better taste than that. I mean Drusilla was as loony as they come but at least she was interesting. What's worse was that he was leaving her to guard me. After half an hour of non-stop talking on her part, I couldn't take it anymore.
"Spike! I can't stand this any longer! You need to either kill me or gag her!"
"What are you talking about Harris?"
"If you don't shut up Harm I swear I'll gnaw my way through these shackles and stake you myself!" When he came in to see what was going on, he immediately told her to leave.
"I'm sorry mate, I didn't ask her to stay in here, she must have taken it upon herself to keep you company. I may be an evil bastard, but not even I would inflict her upon you."
"I gotta ask, why the hell are you with her?"
"She gives good head."
"Ah."
"Anyway I'll make sure she don't bother you anymore. Make yourself comfortable, you'll be here for a while."
He wasn't wrong; I was still there three days later. I was feeling weak as I was only getting fed when they remembered I existed, I was starting to think I was back at home. The younger vamps were taking turns using me as a punching bag; I've made a mental list of which order I will dust them and how. During my periods of consciousness I had heard them talking amongst themselves about Spike's progress, and how they would like nothing more than to stake Harmony to shut her up, something that I would wholeheartedly agree with. I was about to pass out again, when I hear Spike whooping and cheering. He bursts through the door and starts jumping about and he keeps looking at a ring he has on his right hand.
"I've got good news for you Whelp, tomorrow I'm letting you go. Even better news is that I get to kill my third Slayer. Isn't that great! And to top it all off you're going to help me." The thought of helping Captain Peroxide sickens me so I spit in his face, which earns me a right cross and I black out.
When I finally come to, it takes me a few seconds to focus but I see Buffy about 10 feet away. She looked concerned for me but I let her know that I was fine as best I could, finding it difficult to speak. I go to move towards her and that was when I realised that Spike had me by the throat, that explains why talking is difficult. The last thing I noticed is that it was daytime. We're out in the open, it's daytime and Spike isn't bursting into flames. Why do I think this is a bad thing? I was still a little out of it by I heard the usual vamp-slayer banter and I can see that Buffy was starting to get into a fighting stance.
"Let him go Spike."
"Snoopy and I have been getting along famously, I might even turn him. After I drain you dry of course."
"You do realise that you're full of shit?"
"You do realise that there's no way that you can kill me. I suppose you could try sunlight? Oh that won't work now will it?"
Knowing that Spike will probably kill me to distract Buffy, I knew that I had to get away from him. I kicked the side of his knee as hard as I could, which was just enough to unbalance him and release his hold of me. I dived out of the way and landed roughly on the ground. It took a couple of minutes to get my senses and when I turned to see the fight, I could tell that Buffy wasn't winning. She was starting to tire and I knew that it wouldn't be long before she was at his mercy. That was when I remembered the ring, which I guessed was the gem he was looking for.
"Buffy! You need to remove the ring!"
Knowing that he has just lost his advantage, Spike increases the tempo, hoping to finish Buffy off before she has a chance to take the ring. The problem was that now Buffy had a way to stop him she became like a dog with a bone; she relentlessly went at him, doing whatever she could to grab his hand. Eventually she gets him in a wrist lock and manages to remove the ring from his finger. Spike completely freaks out and tries to escape the now very deadly sunlight. His luck had finally ran out however when he realised that there wasn't anywhere for him to hide. After about a minute filled with screams of agony and rage, all that was left of William the Bloody was a cloud of dust.
After watching Spike blow away in the wind, Buffy comes running over and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. Although I loved being this close to Buffy, oxygen was seriously becoming an issue.
"Buff, believe me when I say that I would love to stay this way but breathing is just a little bit more important." She releases the hold slightly but keeps hugging me.
"I was so scared that I would never see you again!" she keep babbling on along the same lines for another minute or so, never giving me a chance to enter the conversation.
"Buffy, I don't know if you've noticed but you've been hugging me for the last few minutes. I can't say that nothing will ever happen to me, but it will take a lot more than a fucking Billy Idol wannabe!"
I kiss her on the forehead; she looks up at me and pulls me into a kiss that was so warm and tender that my entire body felt like it was melting. We lay back onto the grass, kissing each other tenderly, and remained that way for several minutes, although to me it felt like an eternity. When we finally break apart, she rests her head against my chest.
"You know Xander you should always kiss like that." I couldn't help but laugh and soon we were both in fits of laughter.
"I hate to ruin the mood but I'm not exactly feeling April Fresh at the moment. Do you mind if I go and get showered and changed?"
"I have to admit that you have smelled better, I guess a shower and a change of clothes would be a good idea. You need a hand?"
"No I'm fine." Of course as soon as I tried to stand everything starts to spin, the only reason I don't hit the ground is because Buffy catches me.
"You sure you don't need a hand."
"After careful consideration I've decided to take up your kind offer of assistance."
When we got by to my house, my dad opened the door and started shouting at me.
"You look like shit boy, where've you been? I bet it's nothing more than you deserve, you've always been a worthless piece of shit. I should have had the bitch cut you out as soon as we found out she was expecting." It must be Thursday.
"Just ignore him Buff, I always do. It makes living here that much easier." I could see that she was itching to throw him through a wall but my words somehow calmed her.
"Hey boy who's the bitch? I hope you didn't pay too much for her, I don't mind sloppy seconds so send her my way after you're through." The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor with my foot against his neck. How I was able to keep upright was a miracle, as was how I managed to not crush his neck.
"Listen to me you sack of shit, if you ever speak about Buffy or any of my friends like that again, you'll be begging me to kill you before I'm through. Do you fucking understand?" He manages to nod and I release him, he quickly gets up and goes upstairs to his room. The adrenaline begins to wear off and I stumble backwards, Buffy once again saving me from hitting the ground.
"Are you OK?"
"Not really but I hope to be soon. I'm sorry you had to see that, he's not normally that lucid." I meant to say he's not normally that bad but I'm too tired to lie.
"You didn't need to do that you know."
"Nobody gets to talk to you like that without having to deal with me, not even my father." She kisses me gently on the lips in gratitude and helps me down to the basement, otherwise known as home.
We eventually get to the basement and I tell her to make herself at home while I went to take a shower. Once I got out of the shower I realised I had made a terrible mistake, I forgot to bring a change of clothes with me and the towels in the bathroom aren't the largest in the world. I bite the bullet and wrap a towel round me as best I can and go to my room. When Buffy sees me she quickly turns around but I can see her looking at me using the mirror on my wall.
"Don't turn around until I say alright?"
"Uh huh." I decide to throw caution to the wind so I whip off my towel; I hear a gasp from Buffy and inwardly smile. I then put on a pair of boxers, quickly followed by a pair of faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt.
"You can turn around now." When she does I can see she's a little flushed, it is always good to know that you can get that sort of reaction from a woman.
"Did you enjoy the show?"
"I don't know what you're on about?" Even as she says it her blush increases.
"I've lived down here a while, I know where the mirrors are."
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"
"Hey I'm not mad, it isn't as though you're the first person to ogle the Xan-Man." I go on to tell her about my very short-lived career as a male stripper. It takes her a good ten minutes to stop laughing. That does not do a mans ego any good I can tell you.
"Shit! I've just realised that we haven't let the other know that we're fine!" I get on the phone and ring Giles to tell him what happened, he keeps asking me if I'm ok and after a few minutes I eventually convince him that I'm fine. Then Willow gets on the phone and it takes me a few minutes to get her to calm down before I can even tell her anything. Once she is convinced I'm ok I tell her I'll see her and Giles later.
"I don't know about you but I could definitely go for some food now."
"I'll go to the kitchen and…"
"There's no point doing that, all you'd find is mould and booze. Why don't we go out somewhere to eat?"
"I know exactly where we're going, we're going to my mom's." I know better than to argue so I agree.
"It might be wise to ring her and prepare her for us." She agrees and once she does we leave. As we're walking to Joyce's, I ask her what is going to happen now.
"We're going to my mother's house to have dinner."
"You know what I mean, what's going to happen with us? Is there even an us for things to happen?"
"I want there to be, more than I've wanted things for a while now but I want to take it slow. I don't want to ruin what we already have."
"That's fine with me, a little of you is miles better than a lot of anyone else." That comment earns me a hug and a kiss, which I more than happily return.
"What are we going to tell Joyce? We will need to work out a way of explaining why I'll be looking at you all night. Does she know where I've been the last few days?"
"I was a wreck when Spike got word to me that he had you and I went to mom's for comfort. I told her what was going on then. I'm glad she isn't a slayer or there would have been a sizable crack in the coffee table when she hit it." It feels good to know that Joyce was worried about me, something I know my real mother wouldn't have even crossed her mind. I realised that I hadn't asked about Faith but I didn't want to ruin the mood so I decided I would ask later.
We got to Joyce's and she was at the door waiting for us. The motherly love and concern I could see in her eyes for me almost starts me crying. I've never been known to be open with my emotions but seeing someone look at me the way I've wanted my own mother to all these years was too much. She pulls me into a hug that caught me by surprise but I returned it anyway, blinking furiously to try and fight off the tears that are welling up. When Buffy joins in the hug I give up trying to fight it and let the tears fall, the stress of the last few days finally catches up with me. We stay like that for a minute or so before finally going inside.
Joyce tells us that she has dinner ready so we go straight to the dining room. I love Joyce's cooking and tonight was no exception; she had made the most wonderful stew and dumpling, home made rolls and apple pie. I tried to control my hunger but I was unable to and I started eating as if I hadn't in days, which I realised was pretty accurate as when the had fed me it was almost not worth it. After three servings of stew and six rolls, followed by four slices of pie, I was finally sated.
"Sorry about eating like a pig Joyce, combine food fit for a king and an extremely large appetite and that is the result."
"There's nothing to feel sorry about Xander, it's nice to see someone enjoy their food as much as you do. I doubt you were fed properly the last few days."
"Spike wasn't exactly the perfect host. Although I would have had it a lot worse if he'd left Harmony as my guard."
"Harmony's a vamp? I thought that she died during Graduation?"
"She did, but I'm afraid that she must have been turned in the process. There was so much going on that it would have been impossible to check on every body there. There wasn't anything we could have done Buff"
"I know but that doesn't make me feel any better." I take her hand in mine and give it a little squeeze and she almost instantly relaxes. Joyce watches our little moment with a raised eyebrow.
"Do I take it that there's something you two want to tell me?"
"Actually Joyce I would like to ask you a question. Would you mind if I started dating your daughter? Your opinion is very important to me and I would hate to do so without your approval." You could have heard a pin drop for the next minute or so, both Buffy and Joyce have 'deer caught in the headlights' looks plastered on their faces.
"I don't quite know what to say."
"That's fine, I understand." Of course she'd object. She likes me as a person but as soon as she has to look at me as a potential boyfriend for her daughter everything changes. "I'm feeling pretty tired, I better be going." I get up and make my way to the door but I stop when I feel a hand land on my shoulder.
"Xander I didn't mean that I didn't approve, in fact it's quite the opposite. It's just that none of Buffy's other boyfriends ever thought to seek my approval first."
"I would never want to cause any friction between you and Buffy Joyce. You are both far too important to me to ever do that."
"I know and that is why I would never have a problem with you dating my daughter. I couldn't think of anyone more suitable." She then pulls me into another hug which I return happily.
"Thanks Joyce. You have no idea how that makes me feel. Anyway it is late and I better get home."
"NO!" The shock of Buffy shouting causes both of us to jump, Joyce looks over her shoulder at Buffy who has the good grace to look embarrassed she shouted so loud. "I feel like a drink, mom could you come with me to the kitchen please?"
The pleading look in Buffy's eyes tells me exactly what is going to be discussed. I knew that she was telling her about the incident with my father, I also knew that with two Summers women against me, there was no chance in hell of me being able to leave this house tonight. I have to be honest and say that I wouldn't have put up much of a fight anyway but it is the principal of the thing.
When they came out I was given a glass of orange juice and ordered to stay. With Joyce looking at me like I wished my own mother had so many times and Buffy using that damned adorable pout of hers I caved in record time and agreed. The smile I received from Buffy warmed me to the core.
"If you could get me a blanket and pillow I'll set myself up on the couch."
"There's no need for that, you're staying in Buffy's room. You've been through an ordeal and it wouldn't be wise to be left on your own." It took a couple of seconds for my heart to start beating again and for my brain to get into gear and by the time it had I was already upstairs and in her room. I went to get on the floor but Buffy stopped me.
"What are you doing?"
"I was getting ready to get to sleep."
"You're not sleeping on the floor, you're sleeping with me." Once again all of my organs shut down for a couple of seconds before I could respond.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure, we're both too tired to do anything other than sleep anyway." I had to ask, it wasn't as though I was going to try anything as I was barely able to move, but I had to be sure. I was so out of it that once she said that she was sure I just took off my top and jeans and got into bed. About five minutes later I felt an arm wrap around me and the little bundle of perfection lying next to me whispered goodnight. I returned it and went to sleep.
I woke up to the sound of buzzing and for a couple of seconds I couldn't remember where I was. Then there was a murmur next to me and I saw a very beautiful and very asleep Buffy lying next to me and I started to wonder if Spike had killed me and I had gone to heaven. I tried to get up without disturbing her but those slayer instincts of hers noticed.
"Morning beautiful." I got a mumble that resembled good morning in reply. I went and had a quick shower, remembering this time to take my clothes with me, and when I returned Buffy was more awake. She was only wearing some tartan pyjamas but she still looked beautiful, I walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead, which was rewarded by another heart stopping smile. She then went and had a shower and then we went downstairs.
Joyce wasn't up yet so we just sat at the kitchen table. It was at this point I thought I better ask about Faith as I guessed she hadn't told Joyce we had her.
"I didn't want to speak about this before, but how has Faith been?"
"She's been fine but she hasn't been talking to anyone unless she had to. She didn't believe us when we told her what was going on with you. She definitely didn't like it when we said that she couldn't help us look for you."
"I know I shouldn't ask this but why wouldn't you let her help?"
"And let her use it as an excuse to escape?" I was starting to realise that Faith was going to find it almost impossible to get on the right track if she stayed here. Giles and I were willing to give her another chance but I could see that Buffy and Willow were less willing. I can't really blame them but I would have thought that they would have been a little more compassionate. That's also not the only problem we have at the moment. We also had the ring that Spike had found to deal with. If we kept it here every vamp in Sunnydale would be after it. I then realised that we could kill two birds with one stone, although I hated to admit it.
Once we had our breakfast I suggested we go to Giles' and discuss what to do with Faith and the ring with him and Willow. She agreed so she rang willow and asked her to meet us there. Once she did that she said she had forgotten to do something today and kissed me. We only broke when we heard Joyce coming down the stairs. I thanked Joyce for allowing me to stay and for the lovely dinner before we left. All the way to Giles' I knew that what I was going to suggest was for the best but the fact that I thought that kept giving me shivers.
When we got there, Willow had already arrived and had brought donuts, which got her hugs from both Buffy and myself. I left them talking and went to see Faith. When I went in I could see that she was happy to see me but she was trying very hard not to show it. "How are you Faith?"
"Five by five."
"Bullshit, try again."
"Why wouldn't they tell me where you were?"
"They told you the truth, Spike kidnapped me for insurance while he was looking for something. He found it and yesterday he tried to use it. Between Buffy and myself we managed to beat him and he's now blowing in the wind. I'm sorry that I haven't been around."
"I can't believe that you're apologising for getting kidnapped and probably tortured."
"I don't want you to think that it was because I was avoiding you." I decided that I needed to go over my idea with her first because if she were against it the whole thing wouldn't work. Once I went through the idea with her and explained why I thought it would be the best for her, she was actually agreeing with me. She knew that the only way to truly make up for what she did she needed to do it somewhere else. She would also need someone who understood what she was going through, as well as someone who could handle her.
There was one other person that I had to check with first and that was a telephone call I was not looking forward to. I rang and we talked about it, he was surprised I suggested it but after some discussion and a talk with Faith he agreed. Once I knew that they were on board I just had to convince the others.
"Listen, before you all start I have an idea that you all need to hear. Faith has given me her word that she will not do anything and I believe her. If you trust me you will give her the benefit of the doubt." Knowing that doing anything else would show they didn't trust me they calmed down and waited for me to continue.
"Faith wants to make up for everything that she has done…"
"How can she make up for what she did!"
"Willow I want you to listen to what I have to say, please?" Once again she relented but I knew that I had to speak fast. "Faith will find it almost impossible to do that here as she would always feel that we were waiting for her to slip up. The only way she can truly make a new start is to go somewhere else and I suggested to her that LA would be the best place."
I could see the shocked expressions on their faces; they knew what I was going to say before I even said it. "I have suggested that Angel take her in, I have already run the idea by him and he has agreed, but only if you do as well." Their faces looked even more shocked when they heard I had actually talked to Deadboy, which also proved how serious I was about this. I wasn't surprised who talked first.
"You can't be serious about this!" Buffy knew how serious I was but the logical part of her brain always shuts down where he was concerned. "She tried to kill him!"
"I know that Buffy but she also tried to kill me and I still believe that this will work. She deserves a chance and Angel is the best person to do that. If anybody understand redemption it's him." Everyone could see that I was trying very hard not to list the things that Angelus did a couple of years ago and that he wasn't known as the Scourge of Europe for nothing. The fact that I didn't seemed to calm Buffy down and even convince her. I thought that the next thing would seal it. "I would also be able to take the other item that only Angel should take care of." She knew I was talking about the gem of Amara. I knew she had been thinking about sending it to him since she took it from Spike. Any ill feeling she had towards me left her in a second and that look she had been giving me for the last few weeks returned. This time I knew what it meant.
"What do you mean you'll take it?" Giles was the first to pick that up and the concern I heard in his voice warmed my heart.
"As I am the only one that Faith trusts there is no other choice."
"I am coming with you." I knew that Buffy would say that. Between not trusting Faith, wanting to protect me and wanting to see Angel again I knew that to argue would cost me a very important part of my anatomy. I could also tell that she didn't want to leave Faith and myself alone together. I know that it shouldn't but the fact that she was a little jealous made me feel good.
"I wouldn't want it any other way. I just want you both to promise me that I will survive the journey. That does of course mean that I will be doing all the driving." I quickly turn around and silently suggest to Faith that whatever comment she was about to make would not help the situation at the moment and luckily she took the hint.
During all of this, Willow had been silent. I went up to her and asked her to follow me outside, hoping that everyone would still be alive when I came back. "Everything alright Will?"
"Yeah, it's just I can't believe that you thought of this."
"What, I'm not smart enough to think of a plan?" I can't believe this!
"No! That's not what I meant! I know how much you dislike Angel. I can't believe that you would trust him with Faith."
"I may not like him but I do trust him and even respect him. Of course if you ever repeat that to anyone I shall have to kill you."
"Are you sure you can keep those two in check? I mean you do realise that Faith has the hots for you?"
"WHAT!" Oh, my life just can't go easy can it?
"Did"
"Did not"
"Did"
"Did not"
"DID!"
"DID NOT!"
I am slowly going insane. We have only been on the road for ten minutes and they haven't stopped bickering from the moment I turned the ignition. I don't even know what they're arguing about. Hell, I doubt if they knew what they're arguing about. I must have been out of my tiny little mind when I suggested this, I actually thought that they could act like civilized adults for a couple of hours. My god was I wrong; the only reason they aren't trying to knock each other out is because I told them what would happen if they did. I'm just glad that my threat of throwing them out of the car without stopping was taken seriously. I know that if they keep this up too much longer…
"DID!"
"DID NOT!"
"FOR FUCK SAKE WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP!" OK my patience was a little shorter than I thought but can you really blame me? "Will one of you please tell me what you are arguing about?"
"She started it!"
"No I did not"
"Did too"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" I slam on the brakes making the car screech to a halt. I get out of the car, taking the keys with me. I then open the hood and take out the spark plugs. By this time Buffy and Faith have come to their senses and come out of the car.
"What the hell did you do that for Xander, you could have killed us!"
"You two have been bickering non stop since the moment you first met, let alone since everything that happened the last year or so. I think it's high time we cleared the air"
"What's there to talk about?"
"Are we going to discuss all of Faith's victims?"
"Back off B"
"SHUT UP! My god you're supposed to be adults so fucking act like it!" That manages to shut them both up so I decide to take advantage of the situation.
"You two never got on, probably due to you both being slayers. Two alphas vying for dominance will always cause problems. The rest of us didn't help as we were always comparing Faith to you. I can see how that would piss you off Faith, although I've never experienced it myself in that way, I can understand how it feels to never quite meet expectations. We didn't really take much interest in you outside of slaying, only Buffy and I knew where you lived and neither of us really commented on it. Of course neither did you, if you had said you were unhappy where you were I would like to think we would have sorted something. We didn't really offer much support to you when we found out about your watcher and Kakistos, although again you could have made some attempt to talk to us about it. I shouldn't have slept with you that night during the Sisterhood of Jhe problem, although I doubt I could have resisted if I tried. The problem was that when I tried to help you after the whole Finch thing, you just assumed I was there for round two and didn't take my offer of help seriously. I would have preferred it if you hadn't tried to kill me, but that does seem to be a habit with the women I get involved with. Joining the mayor was definitely not the smartest thing you could have done, but he was very good at saying and doing just the right things to get people to trust him and he caught you at your lowest ebb. We can't condone what you did whilst with the mayor but I can understand how it got to that stage"
"Don't forget that she killed two people"
"Nor can we forget that you were willing to kill Faith to save Angel and in fact you thought that you had for a while"
"He was dying!"
"He has been dead for over two hundred years. I don't deny the good he has done but I doubt I will ever think that killing a human to save a vampire is the right thing to do"
"You're just jealous!"
"Yes I was, I was in love with you and you were in love with Angel. There is no way I would want someone dead just because I was jealous and for you to think that hurts me more than any physical wound ever could. Killing someone to save someone else is wrong no matter what the circumstances. He nearly killed you when you made him drink from you, if you hadn't managed to push him away you'd be dead now. The fact you didn't die was the only reason I didn't dust him on sight. If you had to do it again would you still try to kill Faith to save Angel?"
"Yes" I find it a little disturbing that she didn't even have to think about it.
"Would you kill me?"
"WHAT!"
"It's a simple question; if you were told that Angel was dying and the only cure was to kill me, would you?"
"No" I am so glad she didn't have to hesitate.
"Giles, Willow, Joyce?"
"No"
"But you would kill Faith?"
"Yes"
"Even though killing humans was wrong?"
"Huh?" I really believe that she doesn't think through her decisions and I guess that just proved it.
"You've said on more than one occasion that killing humans is wrong, and yet you would be willing to do so. Isn't that something of a double standard?"
"…"
"It looks like you problem has more to do with Faith than you thought. You have said twice without hesitation that you would kill Faith to save Angel and yet you would be unwilling to do the same with anyone else you know. Have you considered that the slayer part of you doesn't like the fact there are two of you around and is influencing your opinion?"
"I hadn't thought of about it" I leave her to think about that and turn to address Faith.
"Faith, your recent actions were to remove Buffy from the picture, but you in no way shape or form tried to remove the rest of us. Did you even consider trying to get rid of us?"
"Not really. Even when I was working with the mayor, I never liked it when I had to do things to the rest of you but I never worried about hurting B"
"I'm not saying that you two should become best friends, or even that you have to speak to each other regularly. All I'm suggesting is that the reason there's so much animosity between may not be as justified as you both believe"
"I never felt like this around Kendra"
"She wasn't around that long Buff and your lifestyles were poles apart. Kendra had been trained to be a weapon not a young woman. I guess that those two things caused the feeling to be less prominent"
"OK lets say that I believe that our problems with each other aren't as bad as we believe, Faith still killed two people and we can't ignore that" Before I have a chance to respond Faith already begins.
"I'm not asking you to B, I know that it may not mean much to you but I want to make up for the things that I've done"
"No one is saying we should be ignoring it Buff but nor should we keep reminding her of it, she will be living with it every day of her life. Faith can do a lot more good outside of prison than in it" Buffy is deep in thought for a while before she speaks again.
"OK, Faith gets her shot at redemption. You need to know something Faith, if you fuck up again, no more chances"
"Don't worry, Xander explained to me exactly what would happen"
"And that would be?"
"Put it this way, I'm far more worried about what he'd do to me than what you would do"
"Now we have that sorted why don't we get back on the road, grab some dinner and head on over to Angel's?" They both nod in agreement so I replace the spark plugs and get back in the car, Buffy deciding to run shotgun and Faith lying down in the back.
We arrive at Angel Investigations a couple of hours later and the first person we see is Cordelia. I cannot tell you how much I was not looking forward to this, meeting your ex is never going to be a pleasant experience. When the ex is Cordelia Chase, if you get out alive it'll be a miracle.
"You no good son of a bitch!" It always amazes me how her voice feels just like an impact drill against my skull.
"Hi Cordy how are you?"
"You've got a nerve coming here you know that? You're a waste of oxygen" Why don't you say what you really mean?
"I'm good, thanks for asking. How are you enjoying working for Angel?"
"How's that bitch Willow? Are you two still going behind Oz's back?" Just ignore her, she's just trying to bait you.
"Still a vampire hey? Well at least he's consistent"
"Why aren't you fighting with me?"
"What would be the point? Yes I did cheat on you with Willow which gives you perfect right to hate me for as long as you see fit. There's no defending what I did so why would I fight you about it?"
"You're just no fun at all are you?" She then comes up to me and gives me a hug, which I return. My previous statement is true, however I already had that meeting with her when I was in LA during my road trip. What? You thought there was going to be some knock down, no holds barred, row to end all rows? Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I know that it's only for show, I'd actually be worried if she didn't insult me.
"How have you been, got any acting jobs lined up?"
"A few, but as I actually have morals I doubt I'll be getting them. I cannot believe how many times I've been told that if I sleep with them they'll give me the part. They must think I'm an idiot if they think I'll do that!"
"Don't worry Cor, you'll get there and because you deserve it" She just nods and goes to talk the Chosen Two.
"Hi Buffy, like the hair" She actually sounds sincere.
"Thanks Cordelia you're looking pretty good yourself" I have to agree with Buff, Cordelia still looks good.
"As if there'd be any doubt. You've got that hooker look down Faith"
"We can't all be tramps can we?" I feel a fight coming on and I really don't feel like getting in the middle.
"OK now that the intros are over, is Angel here?" Hearing Angel's name, Cordelia's expression softens a bit. I don't even want to think about what that could mean.
"His broodiness is downstairs, I'm sure he heard you and will be right up" As if on cue, Angel appears at the top of the stairs.
"Buffy" I guess I forgot to mention that she was coming along, not that I actually knew. His surprise showing momentarily on his otherwise emotionless face.
"Angel" I wish I just hadn't heard the emotions in that one word that I just did. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.
"Faith. What? That was far too hard to pass up" I'm just glad that I wasn't the one to do that, this time at least.
"Hiya DeadBoy" I just love the face he pulls when I call him that, it's the little things like that which validates my existence.
"Xander. You look like shit" The bastard has the cheek to have a little smile on his face when he said that.
"Your Grand-childe seemed to enjoy using me as a punch bag. Must be a family trait"
"Darla always did enjoy torture"
"She also enjoyed killing my best friend as I recall" He actually had the good grace to flinch at that. It's been three years but I can still remember those first couple of days as if they just happened, and they do every night when I sleep.
"Boys, play nice or no sweets for you"
"Sorry Buffy" Damn it if we didn't say that at the same time.
"Oh my god, you're both whipped"
"I am not" I swear if he does that again, I shall not be held accountable for my actions. Now all three of them are laughing at us. The laughter dies down a little when some bloke who dresses worse that I ever did walks in.
"Hello princess, what're we laughing at?"
"Hi Doyle, I'd like you to meet Buffy, Xander and Faith" Doyle nods towards the slayers then walks up and puts himself in my personal space.
"Are you the same Xander that cheated on princess?" He's trying to look menacing but he's got nothing on Angelus or Spike.
"Yes I am" He takes a swing at me which I just manage to dodge and take a few steps back. He's faster than he looks.
"If you haven't noticed, I have all my limbs attached which means that Cordy and I have got past what has happened. She will always remind me of what I did at inopportune moments, as only she can. I appreciate that you want to defend her honour but she can do that far more effectively with a glance than you could ever do by pounding me into the ground. I would like to add that I know both slayers and they might not like to see me smeared across the walls"
"Leave him alone Doyle, he may be a cheating scumbag but he's still my friend"
"You say the nicest things"
"Shut it dweeb"
"You sure princess?"
"I'm sure, if I wanted Xander hurt I would do it myself"
"Fair enough"
"Now that the pleasantries are over, can I have a word Angel?"
"Sure Buffy, follow me" Angel leads Buffy to his office and shuts the door. Feeling a little mischievous, I decide to eavesdrop. It is the best way to find things out after all; I would have never found out about vampires and slayers if I hadn't eavesdropped all those years ago.
"It's good to see you Buffy" The tone in his voice is screaming 'kiss me', the bastard leaves her yet expects to carry on where they left off.
"Same here" I'm still not enjoying the tone in her voice, it isn't the type of thing a boyfriend likes to hear used by his girlfriend to her ex.
"What did Spike do to Xander?" I know he isn't asking out of concern, he just wants details of how I got brutalised by his family.
"He basically kept him as insurance while he was looking for the gem of Amarra"
"What!" Giles had told us that the gem was like the vampire holy grail and most believed it to be nothing more than a myth.
"He found evidence that it was in Sunnydale and was using Xander as a distraction. It took him a few days but when he found it, he decided to come out and play in the sunshine. Had Xander with him and was using him as a human shield while he described how he was going to kill his third slayer. Xander managed to break free of him and we started trading blows but Spike had the advantage, not being able to kill him and all. He would have killed me if Xander hadn't shouted to me about the ring, I managed to take it off of him and after a minute of being the human torch he dusted" I guess that she walks over and hands him the ring.
"Why give this to me?"
"If we keep it in Sunnydale we'll always have vamps pulling stunts to try and get it from us. I also thought that you would be able to do some good with it. I do have to say that it was Xander that suggested that we give you the ring, although I was going to suggest it myself"
"That must have hurt him"
"I must admit that I didn't expect him to suggest it. I wish that you two could get on better" She knows that isn't going to happen.
"You know that isn't going to happen" OK I am now getting seriously creeped out.
"It would just make things a lot easier if you did"
"Oh god, you can't be serious!" I guess he's just worked out what she's getting at.
"What?"
"You and Xander?" Why does he have to make it sound so incredulous?
"It's a new development, we're taking it slow. I didn't want you to find out from someone else" Ten to one she thought I would rub it in. I can't say that it never crossed my mind, but if I did I would be no better than he was during the whole Angelus thing.
"I can't believe that you're going out with Xander Harris"
"Why not?"
"We are talking about the same Xander Harris aren't we?"
"He's changed a lot since High School. Why do you have such a problem, if my memory serves, you were the one who left me" You tell him sister! Hey, I can't help it if Ricki Lake is the only interesting thing on when I get home from work.
"I left so you could have a normal life, something that you'd never have with Xander"
"You don't get to tell me who I can and can't see, you lost all rights when you ran off"
"I didn't run off" What would you call it DeadBoy?
"What would you call it?" Now I don't mind it when she does it.
"I can't deal with this right now I need to patrol"
"Want any help?" I can tell that she doesn't like the way he's acting and wants to try and smooth things out.
"No I got it, I'll find somewhere to stow the ring for a while until the heat is off" Hearing him walk towards the door, I ensured I was out of the way. He storms out of his office, not bothering to look at anyone in the room, he just grabs a couple of stakes and a sword and walks out. Buffy comes out of his office a minute later.
"What crawled up his ass and died?"
"He just needs to blow off some steam, he'll be back once he's killed something"
"I'm pretty tired, is there anywhere I could use to sleep?"
"Sure, there's a couch and a bed downstairs"
"Buff, I'll let you and Faith fight over who gets the bed and who gets the couch, ill sleep in the car. If need be we can rent a couple of rooms tomorrow OK?" They both nod in agreement so they go downstairs and I head out to the car.
I rise along with the dawn, enjoying the sunrise I rarely got to see these days. There was a time when I would wake up to watch the sunrise every morning, always amazed by the cornucopia of colours that came from it. I waited until the sun was fully visible before leaving my car and walk over to Angel's office. When I get there I find Cordelia and Buffy pacing the floor and Faith watching them.
"What's up?"
"Angel didn't come back last night, B and Queen C have been acting like this since they woke up"
"I wouldn't worry too much, he probably lost track of time and is stuck until sundown"
"Anything could have happened to him, we need to find him!" Not for the first time, the emotions coming through when Buffy talk's about Angel is a lot more than I would like to hear. I know that they have a history, I was there for it after all, and I know that there will be residual feelings for each other; Cordelia and I felt that when we met up during my road trip. The amount of feeling I've been hearing in her voice is far more than you would expect, unless she's still in love with him. That thought is not a very nice one. How can I stay in a relationship when I know she loves someone else? I guess I know how Cordelia feels now, she always knew that she came second in my affections, something she didn't deserve but you can't help how you feel. I'm certain that Buffy has more-than-friendly feelings for me, you don't kiss like that if you're just friends. What I'm no longer certain about is whether that is enough.
"Calm down Buff, he can take care of himself"
"He could be hurt, or trapped or…" She then breaks down in tears, Cordelia going over to her and giving her a hug, tears in her eyes as well. Yet another woman to fall for the tall, dark and brooding one. Faith pretty much looks bored with the whole thing so she just goes downstairs. Not being able to stay around the 'We Love Angel' club, I walk out without saying where I was going or when I'd be back. As soon as I did I felt bad for not being as supportive to Buffy as I should be, but with everything I've had to put up with from her my bitterness stopped me from returning right away. I just walked around for a few hours, not really knowing where I was going and quite honestly not really caring either. I did stop at a café to have some breakfast, I may not be thinking clearly but some things are done on pure instinct. I was walking past what appeared to be a vacant lot when I had a sudden urge to walk into it. As I got closer I realised that it wasn't vacant at all, there was in fact a bar there. I walked inside and a chill suddenly runs up my spine. I see at least a dozen different types of demon in here, only a couple human-friendly. I was about to freak out completely when one of the demons comes up to me, wearing something Liberace wouldn't be seen dead in.
"Hey sweet cheeks calm down, nothing's going to happen to you in here"
"I happen to be the major food group of most of the demons in here!"
"You're right but in here that isn't something you have to worry about. I have the most powerful no-violence spells available in this place; anyone or anything that starts something in here will have the biggest headache of their lives for weeks"
"I take it that you own this place?"
"You're quick on the uptake sweet cheeks, I'm the Host, but you can call me Lorne" He extends his hand and I take it. Even though he was a demon I had no feeling of mistrust I get when around them. Normally I feel uneasy even if I know that they're friendly, to humans anyway, but with Lorne I felt nothing.
"It's nice to meet you Lorne, I'm Xander"
"Well Xander, what brings you to my humble bar? It isn't often that we get humans in here, the masking spells I've got on this place make it almost impossible for them to know it even exists"
"I know when I first walked by all I could see was a vacant lot. Then I had this sudden compulsion to walk into it and that's when I saw the bar and came in"
"Ah, in that case it seems you have need of my assistance. What would you like to sing?"
"Huh?" why the hell would I want to sing?
"Here's the 411; I'm an Anagogic Demon which means that I can read people's destinies. I can only do this when they sing, hence my asking you what you'd like to sing"
"I'm not really sure I want to sing, not only because I can't really sing, but I really don't like the thought of knowing my destiny"
"Xander, you came in here for a reason, you wouldn't have been able to find it if you didn't. Whether it's to know your destiny or not I won't be able to say until I actually read you" As soon as he said it I knew he was right. I had been looking for something, something I thought I had finally found but had lost again. I had to know if I would find it and this time keep it.
"Fine, I'll sing for you but I get to choose the song"
"Sure thing sweet cheeks"
"One more thing, don't call me sweet cheeks. The name is Xander" I walk up on stage and select my music. When my cue arrives, I start to sing.
"We're caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you too much baby
Why can't you see
What you're doing to me
When you don't believe a word I say?
We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds
So, if an old friend I know
Drops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicion in your eyes?
Here we go again
Asking where I've been
You can't see these tears are real
I'm crying
We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds
Oh let our love survive
Or dry the tears from your eyes
Let's not let a good thing die
When honey, you know
I've never lied to you
Mmm yeah, yeah"
I'm surprised when I get a round of applause, I guess that a not very good human singer is a lot better than the best demon singer. I come off the stage and walk over to Lorne who just ordered a very large and very potent drink.
"Well?"
"Gimme a minute swee… Xander, reading you was a very painful experience. I'm telling you that I have seen some dooseys in my time but that takes the biscuit"
"You're not exactly making me feel more easy over this whole thin you know?"
"Sorry, it's just taking a while for my mind to figure everything out. First of all, you have no destiny"
"Huh?"
"Almost everyone I read has a destiny of some sort; anything from owning a restaurant or dying in an attempt to destroy the world. Very rarely however I meet someone who has no written destiny, you are one of these people. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and in your case it's probably a very good thing as I could feel your disdain for destiny"
"Is that it? All you could see was that there was nothing to see? How could not seeing anything hurt so much?" I can't believe this!
"No! Destinies aren't the only thing that I can see when I read someone. Other things that I see are to do with the heart and I know that is what you really want to know about isn't it? As for how it hurt so much, imagine getting the equivalent of white noise being directly connected to your brain"
"I can see how that would hurt. Your right that there is a question that has been bugging me but I both do and don't want to know. This question has been the most important one in my life, but to receive the wrong answer would literally destroy me. I've come too close now for me to be left unscathed. Screw it, I have to know either way, no matter the cost to my sanity"
"OK I'll tell you what I can…"
"What you can! Are you trying to drive me insane!"
"Are you going to shut up long enough for me to tell you?"
"Sorry, please continue"
"She still loves Angel…"
"Just fucking great! I finally get close to her, she starts to see me as more than her Xander-shaped-friend and a few minutes around Captain Forehead and it all gets blown out of the water!"
"XANDER!"
"Yes?"
"I hadn't finished, interrupt me again and I will have all of my non-violence spells removed and let the demons rip you to shreds, understand?"
"Understood 100%"
"Good. As I was saying, she still loves Angel but she's no longer IN love with him. He was her first love so there will always be a place in her heart for him but he is no longer the main occupant. You now fill that position. The problem she's facing at the moment is that she's remembering how she felt for Angel and mistaking that for actual feelings. Once she works that out she'll realise who it is she really loves"
"I really messed up leaving like that didn't I?"
"It hasn't exactly helped matters, she's in a very confused place right now and she needs your love and support now more than ever"
"I better get back, she doesn't need to be worrying about me as well as DeadBoy. Thanks for everything Lorne"
"The pleasure was all mine, as is the splitting headache"
"I'll see you around Lorne"
"Of that I have no doubt" I leave the bar a lot happier than when I left it and I hadn't even had a drink. I suddenly realise that I haven't a clue where I am, how the hell am I going to fix things with Buffy if I don't even know where the fuck I am?
"Hey sweet cheeks, I called you a cab it'll be here in a few minutes"
"Thanks Lorne" I let the sweet cheeks remark slide, he did call me a cab after all. After waiting about ten minutes the cab arrived and I make my way back to Angel Investigations. As soon as I'm through the door I get belted by Buffy.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"I needed to take a walk to clear the air"
"Was that air in a bar? There's no point trying to deny it I can smell it on you"
"I give you my word that I have not had a drop of alcohol the entire time we have been in LA" I'm glad that my word still means something around here as she nods.
"OK if you weren't drinking what were you doing?"
"As I said I went for a walk and found myself outside this bar and had an impulse to go inside and I did. The owner and I had a talk and I then came back here. I am sorry for walking out like that, I should have spoken to you first" I was going to ask if we could have a quiet word when suddenly someone with a blanket over their head comes running in. Once they reach the shadows of the office, they take the blanket off revealing Harmony.
"Sometimes being a vampire sucks, I was never this sensitive to sunlight before!" The moment I saw her I started to see red. I pin her against the wall with a stake pressing up against her chest.
"Harmony you bitch, give me one reason not to stake your ass right now!"
"I know where Angel is" I hesitated for a moment before dropping her to the ground. As much as I would love to kill her, if I did so now Buffy would never forgive me.
"Talk fast"
"It's like this; you have something I want, I have something you want" she throws a piece of paper at me "You have 24 hours to contact me on that number saying that you'll give me the ring. If you don't ring, Angel dies" Before we have a chance to say anything, Harmony grabs her blanket and runs out of the office.
"Buffy, didn't Angel say that he was going to find somewhere to stash the ring when he went out last night?"
"Yeah he did"
"The fact that she's asking for the ring tells us that Angel didn't have it on him when they grabbed him, which means that he already hid it somewhere. The problem we have is that we haven't the faintest idea where that is. Cordelia, you better call Doyle and let him know what's going on. Where's Faith?"
"Downstairs; we were slowly getting on each others nerves, although we weren't actually doing anything. I guess your theory about slayers are right"
"Seems that way, I'll go down and see how she's holding up" Once again I'm feeling like the Xander-shaped-friend I was, instead of the boyfriend I supposedly am. Not wanting to get into it, I walked downstairs and looked around for Faith. She was in the training room beating seven shades of shit out of the punching bag that was there.
"And what did that poor defenceless bag do to you?"
"It looked at me funny. I can't let things like that go, where would it end?"
"Let me take a wild stab in the dark and say that you're feeling a little cooped up?"
"I don't know how I fucking allowed myself to be persuaded by you to come here. I should just make a run for it; Buffy and I can't stay in the same room for more than a few minutes before we feel like beating the shit out of each other, Cordelia can't say a single sentence to me without having an insult in there somewhere and Fang isn't even fucking here!"
"I'm going to try to answer those questions in order; there is no way I could have persuaded you to do anything without you actually wanting to do it in the first place. Buffy and I both now agree that it's the slayer part of you that's causing the conflict, I know that it doesn't really help matters but at least you know that it isn't Buffy that wants to kick the shit out of you just the slayer part of her. Cordelia couldn't say an insult free sentence if her life depended on it, so again at least you know that it isn't you. Angel is not here because that bitch Harmony kidnapped him, once again meaning that it isn't your fault. Are you seeing a pattern emerging here?"
"Nope"
"Faith, do you want to do this? Don't think about what I or anybody else wants, just think about what you want"
"I want to be able to make a difference and I have the best chance of doing that here. I'm just starting to go a little stir crazy"
"Don't worry, it won't be wrong before you're patrolling the mean streets of LA, killing all demons in your path"
"You say the nicest things"
"I try. Are you going to be OK?"
"I'll be fine, the sooner we have this shit cleaned up the sooner I'll be kicking ass and taking names. I might even get laid as well"
"Of that I have no doubt"
"Are you saying that I could have any man I want?" There is no way that I could miss the flirtatious tone in her voice.
"I'm pleading the fifth on this one"
"You can plead to me all you like" Oh yeah, she's flirting.
"Doyle will be here soon so we can work out how to find this ring and get Angel back"
"I'll be up in a few, the punch bag is still attached" I leave her to her destruction and go back upstairs. Cordelia and Buffy were talking about something or other but I wasn't really that interested. A few minutes later Doyle arrives.
"So what's the situation princess?"
"Angel's been kidnapped, they want the ring in exchange for his release. The problem is we don't have the ring as Angel was the one to hide it"
"So what are we going to do about it?"
"Knock every building down until we find it of course" Faith's suggestion as she walks up the stairs isn't exactly the most efficient but it does sound like a lot of fun.
"The best that I can think of is that we split up into teams; Myself and Doyle and Buffy and Cordy"
"What about me?"
"I was thinking that you would like to make your presence felt in the local neighbourhood and nothing does that like killing vampires"
"I definitely like this plan, I'm just itching to dust some bloodsuckers. By the way X, you do remember how I get after patrol don't you?"
"I'll bring back some take out"
"I wasn't talking about that" I felt some small amount of pleasure at the flash of jealousy that crosses Buffy's face.
"Why should we go with your lame ass plan?"
"Well Cordy unless one of you have a better one…" Her silence, along with everyone else's gave me my answer.
"Why can't the princess and me join up?"
"You two have lived here the longest and will probably know more of Angel's hangouts than us" Doyle says nothing more as he knows I'm right. I know he has a thing for Cordelia and just wanted to spend some alone time with her. I can't really blame him; there was a time when I felt the same, although nowhere near what I feel for Buffy.
We decided to wait until sundown before we headed out, allowing us time to work out which areas we would each be checking and sorting out the weapons we'll be taking with us. As soon as the sun descends below the horizon we leave. Doyle and I walk in complete silence for a few blocks, neither one of us really knowing what to say. There is one thing that I want to discuss with him but I don't quite know how to bring it up.
"So you're half-demon?" I never said I was the most tactful person on the planet. He has a shocked expression on his face for a few seconds, probably trying to work out what to say.
"How did you find out?"
"You sneezed and switched faces. I'm guessing you only recently found out otherwise you'd have gotten that under control"
"I didn't even know until a couple of years ago. It was a shock I can tell you"
"I'll bet. Do you know what type you are?"
"Yeah, I'm a brachen demon"
"Non-violent, good trackers" I can see that he's a little surprised that I knew "Giles insisted that I learned as much about demonology as possible 'knowledge is power' and all that jazz"
"Are you going to tell Cordelia or the others" That's the first time I've heard him use Cordelia's real name.
"That means that she doesn't know. I'm guessing that Angel knows, his senses being sharper. You do realise that if you want to have a relationship with her she needs to know, this sort of thing always comes out in the end"
"I know that I just want to be the one to tell her"
"You have my word that I won't tell her, unless it's necessary. Another promise I'll make to you is that if you hurt her I promise I'll leave no stone unturned until I find and kill you in the most painful way possible"
"You have no right to tell anyone not to hurt her"
"I know that but the promise still stands. She is still one of my friends and I am extremely protective towards my friends, ask Angel if you don't believe me. now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, I'll give you a few tips; her favourite colour is blue, her favourite ice cream is cookie dough, her favourite film is Pretty Woman and her favourite singer is Whitney Houston"
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Cordelia deserves to be happy and you have as good a chance as anyone. I know you will do your best to keep her safe in the world she's decided to live in"
"If you know all that why did you just threaten me?"
"I didn't threaten you I made you a promise, one I will make to anyone who decide to date my friends. I find it easier to state things from the beginning, it saves misunderstandings later on"
"You're a very strange man Xander"
"Aren't we all? Now that's out of the way, why don't you let your demon side out so you can track where Angel has been?" Doyle does as I suggest and reverts to his demon form. I must admit that he doesn't look that bad this way, he may be green and spiky and look like an extra from Hellraiser but I've seen far worse.
"He was in this area last night, his scent trail leads to the sewers"
"Sewers, it had to be the sewers didn't it? Will you be able to track down there with all the other smells down there?"
"I guess we'll find out won't we?" Two hours later and we were still dredging through the sewers looking for this blasted ring.
"We're getting close"
"You've said that four times in the last hour"
"Well this time I mean it"
"You've said that three times in the last hour"
"Over there!" We both head to a broken piece of sewer wall; behind it we find the ring.
"At last we can get out of this fucking sewer, I doubt I'll ever get this smell off me"
"You have nothing to complain about, you only have a normal sense of smell. I'll be smelling this shit until I'm in my forties"
"OK you win, let's just get the fuck out of here"
"No need to tell me twice" We make our way out of the sewers and make our way back to the office. When we get there, Buffy and Cordelia were already back but there was no sign of Faith.
"Did you find it?" Hello Xander how are you? I'm fine thanks Buffy how are you? Oh yeah I'm really feeling the love there.
"Yeah we did. You've known Harmony the longest Cordy, you make the call"
"Yes oh masterful one" Cordelia goes to make the call leaving Doyle, Buffy and myself alone. Neither Buffy nor myself really want to talk to the other and Doyle doesn't know us enough to make idle conversation. We all breathe a sigh of relief when Faith bursts in the door with a very content smile on her face.
"Oh yeah being a slayer rocks!"
"I take it that your patrol went well?"
"You bet your ass it did! I thought that Sunnyhell had a lot of vamps but LA beats it hands down! I must have dusted twenty easy!" I can tell that the confinement that we had imposed on her had taken more of a toll than I first thought, as I don't think I've seen her this happy in a long while.
"I'm afraid that we weren't really near any restaurants but I'm sure we can order you something…" I felt bad that I hadn't gotten her anything as I said I would.
"No sweat X I had a bite on the way back, you can help me with the other if you like" I don't think I've ever seen her do it before, but she practically glided towards me with the most seductive look on her face that if I was a year younger would have had my knees turning to jelly and making me totally speechless. This isn't a year ago though.
"I'll take a rain check on that" I get a very dirty look from Buffy, probably from the fact that I didn't outright turn her down. If she doesn't treat me a little better I might even say yes.
"I'll keep you to that"
"I'm sure that you will" Any further conversation is interrupted by Cordelia coming back into the room.
"I just came off the phone and they've set up a meeting at a warehouse at 13th and Madison tomorrow at 10 AM"
"Right that gives us a few hours to work out a plan to get Angel and keep the ring. There's no way we can allow that ring to fall into the wrong hands, we got lucky with Spike we don't want to push it"
"If the only way to get Angel back is to give that bitch the ring we will" Cordelia is one of the most stubborn women I know and I know a lot of stubborn women. Knowing that this is a fight I won't win I don't bother trying.
"Fine" Needing some time to myself, I leave the others and go downstairs. Finding Angel's drinks cabinet I find a nice scotch and pour myself a large glass and downed it in one. Living with alcoholics for parents meant that I had access to it from a very young age and have developed a high tolerance for it, although part of it could be a genetic trait as alcoholism is a Harris family tradition. After several more large glasses I have a nice warm sensation flowing through my veins and my earlier problems begin to melt away. I don't know how long it is but after a while I see Faith coming into the room.
"Enjoying yourself there X?"
"Absolutely, Angel has a wonderful selection of spirits" Faith walks up and takes my glass and downs the liquid inside.
"You're right there, this isn't the cheap shit you'd find in the local store. What's made you decide to drink tonight then?"
"I'm celebrating the Fonz's half birthday"
"Huh?"
"No one remembers the classics" I fill my glass once again and drain the contents in a single motion. Faith then comes up to me, sits on my lap and starts to kiss me. She never has been backward in coming forward. It takes a second for me to realise what's going on and when I do I push her off of me.
"What are you doing Faith?"
"I think that would be obvious"
"I'm sorry if I've led you on but I just want us to be friends Faith, nothing more. There's only one slayer that I'm in love with and she's not you" I don't see her hand move but I definitely feel it impact on my face. A slap from a normal girl stings, a slap from a slayer hurts like fuck.
"What is your precious Buffy going to say when I tell her that you came onto me and wouldn't take no for an answer?"
"She'll say that you're talking out of your ass" Neither one of us saw that Buffy was standing in the doorway.
"Fuck this, I'm out of here" Faith pushes her way past Buffy who goes to chase after her.
"Don't Buff, she's not used to being turned down. She meant nothing by it she was just venting"
"I would say kissing my boyfriend is more than just venting"
"Is that what I still am? Since we've arrived in LA I've had the distinct impression that I'd been downgraded to acquaintance"
"What do you mean?"
"From the moment you laid eyes on tall dark and broody I've been nothing more than part of the background" She opens her mouth to deny it but stops herself, realising that I'm not exactly lying.
"I've been rather confused since I've been here I must admit. Seeing him again brought back a lot of feelings that I thought had gone and I'm sorry if that's effected the way I've been treating you"
"I should have known better than to get my hopes up really, the thought that I'd finally make my way into your heart was just too tempting"
"What are you on about?"
"Angel left because he said you deserved someone that could walk in the sunshine with you, that ring will allow him to do just that"
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I'm in love with you and want you to be happy and I know that Angel can do that. I won't stand in the way"
"You really would do that wouldn't you?"
"Of course" She walks over to me and straddles my lap and kisses me with a passion I never thought possible before that moment.
"I love you. As I said a lot of feeling that I felt for Angel did come back but they are all in the past. You are my future Xander Harris and don't you ever doubt that"
"I'll do my best but I will always wonder what I have done to deserve you"
"Some people are just lucky I guess" We stay in that position for a while, alternating between kissing lightly and as if our lives depended on it. She soon notices the sensations she's causing me to feel as my trousers begin to bulge from my growing erection. She starts to rub herself against me causing my erection to increase, making me feel uncomfortable in the position I'm sitting in. She begins to moan, quietly at first but quickly increasing in volume, causing her to quicken the pace. If she keeps this up for too much longer I'm going to lose it.
"Are you two coming or what?" Cordelia's question brings us out of our little world and we begin to laugh.
"Yeah Cordy we'll be up in a minute" Buffy stands up and I'm already missing her even though she's still in the same room.
"We got a bit carried away there didn't we?"
"Not half as much as I wanted to Buff, not by a long way"
"I still want to take it slow Xander"
"I know and I understand that, I just want you to know that I'll be more than ready when you want to take the next step"
"I am more than aware of that fact"
"I need to know Buff, if Cordy hadn't shouted down…"
"I would be screaming your name to the heavens by now"
"Remind me to kill her when we go up" She laughs and holds out her hand which I take into my own and we ascend the stairs together.
"What did you guys do to Faith, she ran out of here like a bat out of hell"
"She asked for something she couldn't have and didn't like it. Don't worry, she'll be back in time to help. Have you two worked out anything for a plan?" Doyle and Cordelia look at each other for a second.
"We have but it might be a little risky…"
Cordelia, Buffy and I arrive at the warehouse a little before ten. We were all thinking that this smelled like a trap but we had no other choice. I knock on the door and a small slot in it opens.
"Who is it?"
"The Avon lady. Listen we're here to see Harmony" After a couple of bolts are undone the door swings open and I walk inside first, followed by the girls. The warehouse is sparse except for several boxes around the perimeter of the walls. Cordelia and Buffy walk in. Cordelia is shocked to see Angel in chains.
"Angel!"
Angel looks up and sees Cordelia.
"Cordelia?"
Angel has definitely seen better days, no pun intended. On top of the fact that he is suspended by his wrists in the middle of the warehouse by chains, he has several spikes protruding from his body. It looks like they've been using him as a dartboard.
"Do you have the ring?" Harmony had come out of her hiding place and was trying, and failing miserably, to look menacing.
"Yes we do. You let Angel down and Buffy and Cordelia takes him out of her, I give you the ring and everybody's happy" I hear a loud metallic bang as the door to the warehouse slam shut.
"What makes you think that we'll be letting you go?" With that statement, around three dozen vampires appeared from the shadows. There was one who looked more refined than the rest and he came forward to speak.
"That will be quite enough Harmony" She looked down and took several steps behind him. "My name is Marcus and I will be your host for the rest of your lives. You have already seen my handiwork on your friend Angel there, I know I'm going to enjoy torturing you. I must ask you; what do you want?"
"For all demons everywhere to spontaneously combust. By the way, I thought that Harmony was in charge?"
"I thought that you would be more willing to cooperate if you were dealing with a familiar face. I became leader after the untimely demise of Spike, which I must give my thanks"
"Seeing Spike turn to dust was a pleasure to behold I must admit, just as watching you all turn to dust will be"
"Don't you think that you're a little outnumbered?" His smile was so cocky in nature I just wanted to run over and swipe it off his face.
"Not anymore" A screech of tires is heard a second before a van comes crashing in through the front of the warehouse. Doyle and Faith burst out tossing us all weapons. Seeing the odds were against us, Doyle decides to shift into his demon form, causing a gasp from the girls. Deciding not to wait, I charge the vamps head on, decapitating one whilst shoulder blocking another. The problem I had was that I hadn't fully healed over the beatings I had taken from Spike and the others. I had hidden how hurt I really was from the others for fear that they would try to keep me out of the fight again, something that I wouldn't have been able to survive again. I had managed to dodge several blocks but once I got hit, every injury that had been inflicted on me over the past week all suddenly began to hurt at once. I collapsed to my knees and was barely able to defend myself from the onslaught of punches and kicks that came my way. I thought that I was a goner when the blows suddenly stopped and I was showered in dust. I looked up to see both Faith's and Buffy's concerned faces looking down at me.
"Are you alright?"
"I will be once I've taken a few dozen Advil. Did we get them all?"
"Harmony and that Marcus prick managed to skulk off, all the others are dusted" with two slayers and a brachen demon on our side, I didn't expect the fight to take long, although I did think I would take a more active role.
"Cool, if you would be so kind as to wake me when the world stops spinning…" The last thing I hear is Buffy shouting my name.
When I wake up I find myself on the couch in Angels office with a head of blonde hair on my chest. I try not to wake her but her slayer senses must have felt me move.
"Xander?"
"I was the last time I checked" In a blur of movement Buffy descends upon my lips, kissing me with fevered abandon, only releasing me when breathing became a necessity.
"You really worried me Xander, why didn't you tell me you were hurt so badly?"
"I didn't want you to keep me from helping to protect me from harm again" I couldn't help but ad a little bitterness into my tone, the memories of that time were still raw. "How's Angel?" Where the hell that came from I have no idea.
"About the same state as you are, although with his vampiric healing he'll be up and about in no time"
"Some people have all the luck"
"I thought I was going to lose you Xand and that terrified me more than I care to admit" tears that have been threatening to fall from the moment I woke up begin to fall and I pull her into a hug, trying valiantly to hide the pain that lances through my body.
"I'm sorry that I worried you and I promise to be more honest about my injuries from now on as long as you do the same" I've known for a long time that she often downplays her injuries after a patrol to stop us from worrying.
"It's a deal. Faith did really well today, she caught one vamp that was coming at me from behind before it had a chance to jump me" I know that it must be hard for her to say that and it warms my heart that she's saying it for my benefit. "I'm still not entirely convinced that I'll be able to trust her again but I think that she can do a lot of good here"
"You and me both. Has Angel made any decisions on what he wants to do with the ring?"
"He's decided to destroy it, he says that it's just too risky to keep it around as every vamp on the continent will have heard that it exists by now and will be gunninf for him and the others to get it"
"I hate to admit it but I have to respect the fact he's putting their safety over his own well being. I don't think he would have been able to do that if he had stayed in the dale"
"I hate to admit it but I agree with you" I can't help the look of surprise that appears on my face. "The temptation to keep it so that we could be together would have been too much for him, the same as if you hadn't lied to me that night I sent him to hell I wouldn't have been able to do what was necessary" My look of surprise quickly turns into one of fear. "Angel was told during his time in hell what you did. Oh I was mad at you when I found out what you had done, my first thought was that you did it purely out of jealousy. Angel however corrected me, saying that he would have killed me if I had held back, sending the entire world into hell"
"You have no idea how badly I felt when I did that Buffy, I was just so scared that if you knew, you would try to stall until it happened and die in the process. I honestly didn't thin it would work; Willow had barely done any magic before that, the fact she had not long ago come out of a coma when she attempted it"
"I know why you did it and you were right to, I would have done anything to have gotten Angel back, even at risk to everyone on the planet. If I had the same decision to make again, I wouldn't have waited so long before confronting him"
"I honestly hope that you never have to find out. I forgot to ask how the others are?" She knows it's just an attempt by me to change the subject but she doesn't call me on it.
"Both Doyle and Cordelia are fine but she's having a hard time over the fact that he's half demon"
"Brachens are peaceful types, he's no danger to any of us"
"You knew didn't you?" her tone wasn't accusing, just inquisitive.
"He has trouble keeping his human form when he sneezes. I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone unless it became necessary. As for Cordy, she'll soon get over it. I mean if she can date me she can date anybody"
"Hey! If you've forgotten I'm dating you now!"
"Ah yes but you're the exception that proves the rule"
"That's alright then" She kisses me again and then gets off of me and I suddenly feel colder. As she gets to the door, Doyle comes in and nods to her in greeting. He was about to come in and see how I was when he suddenly collapses in pain. Although it hurts like hell, I get up and check on him. Before he falls into unconsciousness, I manage to hear two words.
"The Scourge"
Doyle takes my place on the couch, I'm not exactly feeling in my prime but at least I'm conscious. Cordelia comes in and has a concerned look on her face; at least she's starting to get over the whole 'he's-half-demon' thing.
"What's with Doyle and the whole passing out in pain thing?"
"Dunno, his visions never usually get this bad"
"Visions?"
"Yeah, he gets visions from the Powers That Be about wrongs that need to be righted. They normally give him a headache but they've never made him pass out before"
"They've never been about the scourge before" We look over to see Doyle sitting up, holding his head in pain. Cordelia rushes to get him a glass of water and a couple of aspirin. Hearing the word 'scourge' I have to ask the question.
"We're not talking about the scourge of Europe are we, because he's in the other room" Buffy gives me a look but knows that it wasn't a dig at her ex. Well not completely anyway.
"No, we're talking about the demon version of the Nazi party. They're a group of pureblood demons that hate humans and half-breeds like myself. They believe in 'Ethnic Cleansing' and will die for the cause"
"Shit there's nothing worse than fighting fanatics" The others look at me a little strangely. "Soldier Guy's memories; he did a couple of tours in 'Nam and knows first hand how difficult it is to defeat an enemy who believes in what they're fighting for"
"Not difficult, impossible" The way Doyle's talking I think he may have had experience with them before.
"Nothing's impossible; a couple of years ago I thought that the existence of vampires were impossible. A few weeks ago I thought that Buffy wanting to go out with me was impossible. Anyway, what else was in your vision?"
"I saw a group of demons cowering in a basement and a general location. Once we're there I should be able to track them"
"OK, what I suggest is that you and Faith go find these demons and check to see if they're alright while Buffy and I go meet someone I met during my road trip who might be able to help us against the scourge. Cor, will you be alright here looking after Angel by yourself?" Before she has a chance to answer, a voice from behind us starts to speak.
"If she isn't maybe I could help out?" We all turn round and see someone we never thought we'd see again, let alone want to see again.
"Wesley?" I ask that as a question as the person standing before us looks like a completely different person. Biker gear, crossbow strapped to his back, unkempt hair and stubble all hiding the former tweed wearing prick we all knew, well apart from Doyle that is, from Sunnydale. Only the accent gave it away.
"Yes Mr. Harris it is me"
"I thought that you went back to the council?"
"Actually, after everything that I experienced during my time on the Hellmouth, I realised that the councils approach to things was out of date and decided to leave their employ. I'm now a rogue demon hunter"
"What's a rogue demon?" I can't believe Cordelia got that out before I did. I really must be losing my touch.
"I mean I am a demon hunter that is not sanctioned by any official body"
"Ah. Not that we're not glad to see you, but what exactly are you doing here?"
"I was on my way through LA when I remembered that Angel said that he was moving here. I thought that I would check in and see if there was anything that I could help him with"
"Wes, what do you know about the scourge?" Seeing his face pale, even through the face fuzz, told me everything I needed to know. "Can you help Cordy research their methods and tactics? Forewarned is forearmed and all that" My god I'm starting to sound like a watcher now!
"Of course, I'll do whatever I can" Cordelia shows Wesley to where Angel keeps his research materials. Buffy turns to me.
"So Xand, who's this person we're going to see?"
"As I said, just someone I met while I was here during my road trip. He may have some people that can help us if things start to get out of hand"
"I feel that there's a story here"
"I'm sure that Gunn will be more than willing to tell you all the sordid details of my adventure here"
"So there are sordid details?" The mischievous grin on her face is a sight to behold.
"No but I'm sure Gunn will make some up. Come on, lets go while the goings good" I get up, a little too quickly, and stagger forwards a bit. Luckily, Buffy stabilises me before I fall on my ass. "Thanks Buff"
"Think nothing of it"
"OK I won't" We continue on our way, deciding against taking the car as I'm not well enough to drive and there's no way I'm allowing Buffy to drive my car. I love her more than life itself but her driving skills scare me more than any demon I've ever faced. I also thought that the walk would do me some good. We arrive at the building around about an hour later, it's by no means the nicest place to live but it's better than some of the places I've seen. As we get closer, a couple of people come out to meet us; probably working out why the hell we're here.
"What the fuck do you want white bread?"
"Tell Gunn that Harris is here" They must recognise my name as their pose suddenly becomes a lot less hostile.
"Be back in a minute man"
"Xand why did they act like guards at an army barracks?"
"Because for all intents and purposes it is. This part of the city is notorious for it's high vamp population; these guys are the ones that try to keep that population down. A word of advice Buff, these guys have become extremely paranoid and may not like your normal approach"
"What do you mean my normal approach?" Danger Will Robinson! Buffy bomb armed and ready to blow!
"No offence Buff but your normal approach in situations like this is to act like you're in charge and start to give orders. You're a stranger here and they have no idea about slayers, apart from Gunn and Alonna. Not only will that not work, you'll ensure that they won't give us any help. I'm not saying this to be mean but you do have a tendency to believe that as the slayer you should be in charge all the time"
"You're right, and I honestly don't know why I do it sometimes. I just feel that if I call the shots, no one else has to feel responsible if things go wrong" Buffy bomb diffused, for now at least. After a couple more minutes, I see Gunn come out with a few others flanking him. He comes over and we perform a long and intricate handshake that he taught me when I was here.
"Harris, how you doing bro?"
"About the same as last time Gunn"
"Shit, things can't be that bad can it?"
"Before I go any further, I'd like to introduce you to Buffy Summers. Buffy, meet Charles Gunn"
"Call me Gunn, everyone does. So Alex what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Thought I'd give you a heads up that some major shit is going down soon with some major league demons called the scourge. They hate anything that isn't pureblood demonic in nature and prefer to use a scorched earth policy to get rid of anything that gets in their way"
"Do you think we'll meet under normal circumstances? Last time was bad enough…"
"We don't need to get into that Gunn" I must have said that a bit too fast as Buffy gets a gleam in her eye.
"Gunn, Xander here hasn't told me what went down when he was here last time but he said that you'd be more than willing to fill in the gaps" I give Gunn a warning glance but he completely ignores me.
"As Alex may have told you, we have a high vamp population in this part of LA and we try our best to ensure that their numbers don't grow too high. They act like organised crime and are very coordinated. We must have staked the wrong suck head one day as they sent around thirty vamps at us along with a few other types of demons that I had never even seen before. We managed to hold our own for a few minutes but they soon started to overpower us. Then your boy shows up and saves all our asses by causing a distraction and allowing us to regroup. He taught us a few tactics that work better on vamps than humans. He also clued us in on the different ways to kill them, my personal favourite is my super soaker filled with holy water. He was only with us for a few days but without him most of us would be dead or turned now"
"Hey I didn't really do that much"
"Don't sell yourself short; we were unorganised and unprepared. Your ideas have helped us not only kill a shit load more vamps but also reduced the amount of casualties we incur. We owe you a lot"
"You owe me nothing; you and your crew help keep this neighbourhood safe, that's all that matters"
"Whatever you say man but if you need any help, we'll be there"
"Thanks man, that means a lot. I will give you some warning and this is something I told you last time; not all demons are evil and not all humans are good. We'll be protecting some refugee demons who only want to live peacefully and a couple of the people on our team are demons themselves" I remember that Gunn's outlook was a lot like mine when I first started out; humans good, demons bad. The problem in this world is that there isn't any black or white, only grey.
"A lot has changed in the last year Alex. We've changed our opinion on a lot of things, including that we leave the demons alone that do the same to us and we've even helped out a few from time to time and vice versa"
"That's good to know. We're not sure what's going to happen but it's always nice to have contingencies in place"
"Have you always been such a boy scout?"
"Have you always been an annoying bastard?"
"I can definitely answer that in the positive" I look behind Gunn and see a familiar face.
"Alonna!" I rush over to her and spin her round, receiving a mock-glare from Gunn and an all too real one from Buffy.
"Uh, Buffy this is Alonna Gunn's sister. Alonna, this is Buffy Summers…"
"Xander's girlfriend" The tone in her voice that screamed 'he's mine!' actually felt good. It was also the first time I heard her call herself that and it sounded music to my ears.
"Knew it had to happen one day, when he wasn't helping Chucky here with 'Vamp Killing 101', he was talking about you" Shit, that was something I had forgotten. I thought that as I would probably never see the people I met again I didn't have to hide my feelings for Buffy. Looking back I did talk about her quite a bit and on more than one occasion on my travels I got the distinct impression I was boring people to tears.
"Oh really? What things exactly?" Great, this is just great.
"Come with me and I'll tell you all about it" Alonna led Buffy away from us and I couldn't resist the shudder the consequences of that would be. It was a shudder that Gunn noticed.
"Don't worry man, sis won't say anything bad"
"The problem is I told her some things about what I did that Buffy and the others don't know about. Nothing bad but I doubt Buff will be happy I didn't tell anyone. By the way Buffy's ex-boyfriend has been here in LA for a few months now, set up a detective agency called Angel Investigations"
"Yeah I heard of it, talk was that they were dealing with the more surreal of cases. Thanks for the heads up, I doubt your girl would be happy one of us staked him thinking he was just another bloodsucker"
"You'd be right there but personally I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. If you do ever cross paths he does have a tendency to want to take charge of a situation, it's all part of that 'Champion' thing"
"Duly noted" We continue talking about less serious things for the next half an hour or so until I notice Buffy and Alonna coming back arm in arm and laughing, although I do receive a glare from Buffy as they get closer.
"I think we'll need to have a chat when we get back to Sunnydale Xander" Knowing the tone in her voice, I simply nod knowing that if I tried to say anything I would probably say something stupid and get my ass kicked all over LA.
"We better get back to the others, Gunn it was a pleasure as always"
"Same here man, don't wait so long to see us next time. Also make sure that it's not a business trip"
"Do my best but I won't promise anything" Buffy and I finish our farewells and start to make our way back to Angel's. We didn't say anything all the way back; I'm guessing that she's still thinking about the conversation she had with Alonna. There are a couple of events that I haven't told any of the Sunnydale gang, not because I was ashamed, but because I simply didn't see a need to tell them. This of course doesn't mean that they won't think that I should have told them.
When we get back we find that Angel is up and about at last, his vampiric healing the worst of his wounds. He had to drink a pot of blood to speed up the process so he's going to have to re-stock the fridge. I have to say I'm a little pissed that he's almost back to 100% after only a few hours but it's going to take days before I'm able to get back to training full time, although I'm sure that Giles and Buffy will try to insist that I wait longer. My middle name should be stubborn instead of Lavelle, hell anything should be my middle name instead of Lavelle. My relationship with Angel has always been less than friendly and I doubt that will change too much but since we've been here I have the distinct impression that he wants to rip me apart, Buffy's little revelation about our relationship didn't help matters in the slightest. I know that Buffy isn't happy about it so I guess I'd better take one for the team and try to clear the air with him. I also want to ensure that he doesn't transfer his anger for me to Faith once we've left, as I doubt that things would go well if he did. Faith and Doyle are still out and Buffy has gone over to Wesley and Cordelia to catch up, giving me the perfect opportunity to speak to Captain Hairgel.
"Hey Angel, I take it you're feeling better?" His usual expressionless face gives way to one of surprise for the briefest of moments before returning to normal.
"Yeah, although I have had better days. Yourself?"
"I won't be running any marathons in the near future but otherwise I feel like shit. Do you think we can have a chat?"
"I thought that we already were?"
"I mean in private" He nods and we make our way to his office. I know that Buffy is listening in to our conversation and his office will allow us a little bit more privacy, not that I'm going to say anything to him that I wouldn't want Buffy to hear, it's just that I've always thought that this type of conversation should be kept to the people involved.
"So what didn't you want Buffy to hear?"
"To be honest nothing, if she asks I'll tell her whatever she wants to know. We had a surprisingly civil conversation on the phone before we came here but since we've been in close proximity to each other we've both been acting downright unfriendly towards each other. As for my part I'm sorry, I should have taken out my anger at Spike out on you"
"Is that all you wanted to say?" I didn't expect him to apologise, not that I would have cared if he did.
"No, I think that it's high time we finally tried to work out our differences, for Buffy's sake at least" I can tell that he really doesn't want to continue being this close to me but using Buffy as an excuse he nods.
"Fine. Tell me Xander, why do you hate me so much?"
"Whether you believe it or not I don't actually hate you, I won't lie and say I like you but I don't hate you. As for why we never get on, they have changed over time. I admit that my initial dislike for you was based purely on the fact that Buffy was taking notice of you and not me. The main one now is that whether you have a soul or not, you're a vampire and I don't particularly like vampires, they have a nasty habit of killing and/or turning my friends. Your soul makes you different from the rest but we both know that you can lose your soul, not that having a soul guarantees that you're a good guy, my parents have souls and they definitely don't fall into the good guy category. The fact that you and your family have caused me the most pain, the last week or so being a fine example, doesn't help your cause. Your sire killed and turned my best friend, your soulless version tried to kill me and everyone else on the planet, your childe killed Kendra and wanted to turn me and your grand-childe has kidnapped me not once but twice, both occasions nearly leading to my death" I stop for a couple of moments to order my thoughts and to calm down the anger reliving those memories were causing. "I think that the thing that has always stopped me from trying to make more of an effort with you is the way you acted the first few months we had dealing with you in Sunnydale. You're a skilled and powerful fighter and yet you did nothing but give cryptic clues to Buffy about what was going on, the Harvest being one example. The biggest example of course is when I had to force you to take me down to the Master's lair to help Buffy as you had given up any hope of being able to save Buffy from that curse from the Codex coming true. You say that you love Buffy and yet you weren't willing to try and save her life. I know that you have changed in that regard but they say that first impressions stick" I decided not to bring up the time he nearly killed Buffy when he had been poisoned by Faith. Combine his weakened mental state and Buffy's stubbornness and I can't exactly put the blame all on him, Buffy has to have at least equal billing on that one. I wait for Angel to respond, I can tell that he's not entirely happy with my little monologue but is at least allowing himself time to consider what I said before responding, something I'm not known to be able to do often.
"I have to admit that your reasons are far more reasonable than I though they would. I basically thought that Buffy was the main and only reason you didn't like me"
"I forgot to mention that you use too much hair gel" Angel actually laughs at that one and I think it's the first time I've heard him laugh. I heard Angelus laugh several times but never Angel. Yes I do see them as different, but I see them as different personalities of the same person as opposed to different people. "I've had my say, so what is it about me you don't like?"
"Initially it was the same as yourself; Buffy. I knew how you felt about her and that you were the closest challenge for her affections, even if she didn't see it the same way. You could be there for her when I couldn't and that annoyed me. You were always rushing into the fight, never thinking of the consequences and usually getting thrown across the cemetery or getting knocked out. Your constant little comments about me, and your ability to turn everything into a joke rubbed me up the wrong way. I was also jealous"
"Huh?" That one came out of left field.
"Even though you couldn't fight or had the special abilities of the rest of us, you never shied away from the fight or backed down when the odds were against you. That time in the hospital, Angelus could see the determination in your eyes and realised that he may have been able to kill you but you would have taken him down with you. You scared him" What do you know, the Zeppo scared one of the most feared vampires in history. Only on the Hellmouth.
"You're right that I did, and still do, throw myself into a fight. Up until recently I've always seen myself as cannon fodder; if I won the fight it would be a bonus but even if I died the distraction I caused whatever killed me would be enough for Buffy or one of the others to kill it. I'm not sure you'll be happy to hear this or not but I've stopped seeing myself that way; I'll still willingly sacrifice myself for my friends but I'm not fighting recklessly anymore. Before I left on my little road trip, I could take on a vamp or two and come off the winner, not bad when you think that I'm fighting something four times faster and stronger than I could ever be. I got a lot better during my little journey around America…"
"I heard about Oxnard"
"How?"
"One of the smart vamps that left described you to me before I dusted him a few weeks ago. You do know that the rumour was that Buffy had moved towns?"
"Yeah I did, I couldn't help but laugh at that one. Anyway as I was saying, when I came back I asked Giles to start training me, including techniques that would allow me to access the soldier memories from Halloween" I stop as he puts a hand up indicating that he wants to speak.
"Don't get me wrong but why are you telling me this?"
"I'm trying to let you know that I'm capable of keeping Buffy safe"
"I wondered when you might bring her up. You have to be happy that you've won" The bitterness in his tone wasn't a surprise for me, I expected something like that.
"Won? I've won nothing; Buffy isn't some sort of a prize in a game show. Who she loves or does not love is completely up to her and for some strange reason I've been blessed. I know that you're not happy with the thought of our relationship…" I'm suddenly cut off by a snort of derision from Angel.
"That's putting it mildly"
"But there really isn't anything I can do to change that, but you need to know that there isn't anything you can do to change it either" He's doing that thinking before talking thing that I need to work on. His shoulders slump slightly after about a minute of silence.
"I know that" He then takes a step towards me. "You do anything to hurt her…"
"Believe me, if I do you'll have to line up to kill me behind Joyce, Giles and Willow" Not that there would be a lot left of me after Joyce has finished with me though. "You know that I wouldn't consciously hurt her feelings. Before you bring it up, I am more than well aware how my relationship with Cordelia ended. There is no excuse for how Willow and I acted, we were wrong to do what we did. Buffy knows about everything that happened and yet she still for some strange reason wants to be with me" I still wonder sometimes why she has decided to give me a chance but for once I'm not going to think too much about it, 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth' I believe the phrase is. Deciding that a change of topic is called for Angel brings us back to our original subject.
"Just because we now know why we don't like each other, that doesn't mean things will change between us"
"I know that, but at least we finally know where we both stand. We may never like each other but it might be wise if we could actually try to curb the animosity, even if it's only when Buffy is around. Deal?" I hold my hand out to him, which after a few moments deliberation he takes.
"Deal"
"Good. Another thing I wanted to talk to you about is Faith"
"What about her?"
"She may well want to change but her first instincts will be to lash out at people. If he's going to be staying around, it might be an idea to keep an eye out for Wes. He looks like he may have changed since Sunnydale, but he was her watcher and he did capture her for trial, which we both know would have been very short and ending with her execution. She may not have friendly feelings toward him"
"Does she for anyone?" I have to smile at that one.
"She did make a pass at me yesterday, didn't take it too kindly when I turned her down"
"Does Buffy know?"
"She was there but didn't make her presence known until after I turned Faith down. I guess she was waiting to see what I did"
"I'm glad you made the right choice" Of course you are Angel and I left High School with an A+ average.
"There was no choice as far as I'm concerned, Buffy is the only one for me"
"There may not be much I can do about your relationship but that doesn't mean I have to talk about it with you" I can't blame him, I never really wanted to hear about his relationship with Buffy either.
"Fair point and I'm sorry. All I'm saying is that Faith will need to know that she has a place that she can call home and people she can count on, something that we didn't give her the last time. I just want to know that she'll be given the best possible chance to make something of herself as I don't want to fulfil my promise if she loses it again"
"What was that?"
"Let's just say that one of the reasons that she is so willing to make a go of it here is to do with what I said I would do if she fucked up again. No I won't tell you what I'm going to do but Faith might if you ask her"
"I give you my word that I'll do everything I can to ensure she stays on the right side of the line this time"
"I know otherwise I'd never would have suggested it. Well we better get back outside before Buffy decides to come in and check that we're both still alive, or solid in your case" I allow him to go first as we leave his office, Buffy looks over to the both of us and her eyes flick from Angel to myself and back. I simply smile at her and she replies in kind, realising that I was fine. An hour or so later, just as the sun begins to set, Faith and Doyle return from looking for the demons in his vision.
"We've found them but they're scared stiff of getting discovered by the scourge. We have to get them out of here before that happens" Angel steps forward.
"There's a captain of a ship that owes me a favour. I'll arrange for him to take them somewhere they can blend in" Wesley then decides to add his voice to the conversation.
"We do still have the small matter of the scourge to deal with. A full on attack would not be wise, as we would basically lose. There are simply too many of them and they are too well organised. Our best bet is to lead them away from the demons so we can get them to safety" Buffy now goes into 'Slayer Mode'.
"And how are we going to do that?"
"Have you and Faith run interference"
"Why would that work?"
"As you were told by Doyle, the scourge hate all half-breed demons and especially vampires. What is less known is that they hate slayers even more, as they are called with the sole purpose of killing demons. Ever since the second slayer line was created, their hatred for slayers has increased and they have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack them. Seeing you both here at the same time will simply be too tempting to pass up. As long as you stay ahead of them you'll be perfectly fine"
"And if we don't stay ahead of them?" Wesley looks from Buffy to Faith and back again before responding.
"Stay ahead of them" I don't like the thought of Buffy acting as bait but I do know that there's no other way. On impulse I take her hand in my own and she turns and gives me a small smile in thanks.
"You'll be happy to hear that's one command I'll actually obey Wes"
"I'm with you there B, just don't think this is going to be a habit Wussley" Wesley actually smiles at that, before he would have got all British and indignant about it.
"I have learned to expect the unexpected" Cordelia then decides to add her two cents to the conversation.
"So while Buffy and Faith lead the scourge on a wild goose chase, the rest of us will be escorting the demons to the docks where Angel's friend will be waiting. Is it me or does that sound just a little too easy?" For once she makes a valid point.
"I have to agree with Cordy, an organisation like the scourge will have contingency plans in place. Do we know what types of demon we'll be up against if we do face the scourge?"
"They are made up of a wide range of different breeds of demon, each requiring a different method of killing"
"To quote Ash from the Evil Dead movies 'I haven't met anything that doesn't die from decapitation via shotgun', I have a few weapons in the trunk of my car but unless you know how to shoot it'll be better if you don't get one"
"Weapons training was part of the training a Watcher is given before they can be assigned to a slayer or potential" Both Angel and Doyle indicate that they know how to shoot as well.
"OK, everyone who doesn't know how to shoot make sure you have some sort of bladed weapon with you as well as the usual toys. Those who do if you could follow me" Angel, Doyle and Wesley follow me outside to my car. I open the trunk and take out a few shotguns, generously donated by the watchers that came to take Faith away, and a box of shells for each one. "Angel you need to take care when using these shells as I've had all the ammo blessed by a priest who knows what goes bump in the night. As I got these from those wetworks bastards, they are council specials so they pack a far more powerful punch than regular ammo so they should take care of the majority of demons that we might face. Aim for the head and if they don't go down take out their legs, if they can't walk they can't fight" They all nod in response, seeing the logic in my suggestion. Wesley looks at me with a questioning gaze.
"Xander, I must ask how you became so knowledgeable in this, as well as where this newfound confidence came from"
"The knowledge came from possession, the confidence was always here I simply had to show it. Angel, as this is your turf and you're the one with the Captain in your pocket, that puts you in charge" A momentary flash of surprise at my remark is lost in the commanding expression that appears on his face.
"Right, while I sort contact my friend, I need you Doyle to get something so we can transport them to the docks. Once I know when and where, can you Xander contact your friends and let them know where we'll be and that Buffy and Faith will be leading the scourge around the city and that they may run into them at some point"
"Sure, I'll make sure they know to stay out of the way if they do meet up with them. I don't know how many people Gunn will be able to spare but any help will be useful. I've got some normal shells in the trunk as well, it might be an idea for you to get a bit of practise in, I may have never been a boy scout but I still believe in being prepared. I'll then suggest that Buffy and Faith get some training in"
"Sounds like a good idea. Well we all know what to do so let's get to it" Wes goes off to find somewhere to use as a firing range and Doyle goes off to 'borrow' a van that will hold everyone. Angel and I go back inside and he goes into his office to call his friend, leaving me with the task of getting two slayers who really don't like each other to do a little training so they don't get their asses kicked by the scourge. As you can see I always get the easy jobs. Not seeing them around, I guess that they must be in the training room downstairs. When I get down there I find that my task had been completed for me as they were already training. Of course when I say training I mean trying to kick seven shades of shit out of each other. They're both moving so fast it's like a blur, both of them getting as many hits in as the other and it looks like they're going for the kill. Faith gets in a kick to Buffy's midsection that sends her flying and I use that as my opportunity to get between them.
"Hey now ladies I think you need to…" The rest of my brilliant and calming rhetoric is knocked out of me as Buffy hits me with a palm strike to the sternum, sending me crashing into the wall with a sickening thud and I pass out. When I come to I see both Faith and Buffy standing over me with extremely worried expressions on their faces.
"Hey Boytoy you OK?"
"Oh my god I'm so sorry Xand I didn't mean to…"
"You didn't mean to hit ME that hard but you had every intention of hitting Faith that hard didn't you?" Buffy looks away and Faith has a smirk on her face. "You've got no reason to look so smug Faith, it wasn't a light tap on the shoulder that sent Buffy flying across the room was it?" I was surprised to see that Faith actually looked guilty. "I know that you've got a lot of issues, but we don't have time for all of this shit. In a few hours you'll be going up against the scourge and if they catch you they will KILL you. I've been to too many friends' funerals already in my life, I don't want to go to anymore for a very long time. Buffy and I will be going back to Sunnyhell after we've sorted out this mess and unless there's an apocalypse I doubt you'll be seeing each other again for a while so until we leave try to keep your anger focussed on the bad guys alright?" They both have the common sense in them to say nothing and just nod. "Good, now can one of you help me up, I seem to be having trouble using my legs" They both offer me a hand, Buffy glaring at Faith who, for once, decides not to argue and walks off and starts to pound away on the replacement punching bag after she obliterated the last one. I take Buffy's hand and she gently pulls me up onto my feet and helps me upstairs and onto the couch as Angel comes out of the office.
"What the fuck happened to you?"
"As a vampire I doubt I need to tell you this but never get between two pissed off slayers, it tends to be bad for your health" He winces and nods.
"Are you going to be OK for later tonight?"
"No but as there are now three of you there shouldn't be any problems" Cordelia comes out with a glass of water and a couple of painkillers.
"I overheard what happened and figured you might need these" I take them from her and promptly take them.
"Thanks Cor you're the best, as are your two sisters" She gives me a bemused look but bites back the comments that I know are running around in her head and sits at her desk.
"I've arranged for my friend to be at the docks at 03:30 at pier 13, he say he'll be leaving at 04:00 whether we have got there or not. Do you think you can let your friends know?" Buffy glares at him for a few seconds.
"At the moment I doubt he knows he has any friends Angel"
"I'm right here you know"
"You maybe be here but you're not all here yet, you took a bad knock"
"You should know, you're the one that knocked me"
"I said that I was sorry"
"I wasn't being nasty Buff, I know you didn't mean to hit me I'm just a little out of it" I can see the tears building in her eyes so I pull her to me and she wraps her arms around me and begins to silently cry. I guess the realisation that she could have just killed her boyfriend has sunk in and she isn't feeling too great. I do my normal thing of whispering comforting words in her ear until she calms down and she begins to fall asleep and I let her, she'll need her energy for later tonight. About half an hour later Wesley comes in and notices my condition.
"My word Xander what happened to you?"
"I bobbed when I should have weaved. I'm afraid I won't be any help tonight" He acts as if he's not sure about something for a few moments before speaking again.
"That may not be the case; I know of a spell that can rejuvenate you, healing most of your injuries. I'm afraid that there is some risk"
"In that case his answer is no" I knew that she had been awake from the moment Wesley came in to the office, I wish that he had been more tactful and talked to me alone.
"How about I answer for myself Buff? What are the risks Wes?"
"There would be some risk to the caster as this type of spell is rather powerful and the recipient of the spell would lose a few years from their natural life span"
"How many years?"
"As little as two, as many as ten"
"How long will you need to prepare the spell"
"NO!" By this point Faith has come upstairs and both she and Buffy voiced their opinion in a rather loud manner, doing nothing for the migraine that has been slowly building since my attempt at being peacemaker between the unstoppable force and the immovable object.
"You're risking your lives by acting as decoys tonight and I want to be there to help"
"We're slayers, we were chosen to do this…"
"Don't you even try that shit with me Buffy! I've been fighting the good fight for nearly four years, if I wanted to stop I would have by now. You and Faith may have been chosen but I chose this and nothing and no one will change my mind, not even you. How long do you need Wes?"
"There are a couple of ingredients that I need and I will need to centre myself, an hour should suffice"
"Will you have time to do it?" I can see that Buffy, Faith and Cordelia are all sending death glares his way but he is somehow managing to withstand it, or he simply doesn't notice them.
"I would think so, once the spell is complete you'll feel the full effects within a couple of minutes"
"Do it" Buffy releases me and storms off into Angel's office. It takes me a few minutes but I manage to get up and follow her. when I get in there she's looking right at me, tears running down her face.
"Why are you doing this?" I move to hug her but she moves away.
"I have to"
"NO YOU DON'T!" I make another move to embrace her and this time she doesn't resist.
"Buffy I love you with everything I have and there is no way I will let you face the things that you do alone if there is any chance that I can be there with you. You know that if the situation was reversed you would be doing exactly the same thing, it's what you do for the ones you love"
"I can't bare to lose you Xander"
"I don't want to lose you either, which is why I want to be there to make sure. Everything is going to be fine"
"You can't promise me that"
"In this situation I can; I'm not stupid enough to piss off a slayer" I can feel her smiling into my chest and even in my weakened condition that effects me in a very stimulating way. "I may have to stay in here for a couple of minutes before going back out there"
"At least I know that part of you is working"
"When you're around it's always on duty" She giggles and lets me go, walking out of the office with a slight sway of her hips. "Make that five minutes" That girl is going to be the death of me, but at least I'll be smiling when I go. Once I had calmed down I go back out to the others, sitting down next to Buffy on the couch. Wesley had gone to collect the ingredients that he didn't have while I had been talking to Buffy. Faith and Buffy were still exchanging glares but were trying their best not to say anything to each other, more for my benefit than to actually make peace with each other. At least it's a start. Angel is reverting to the 'silent and brooding' mode he uses when he doesn't know what to say; Cordelia is reading a fashion magazine while trying to ignore the rest of us. About twenty minutes later Wesley returns with everything he needs for the spell and goes downstairs to meditate so that he can perform it. After about another twenty minutes he calls for me to come down to join him. I do so and Buffy follows me as does Faith, but at a safe distance from her sister slayer.
"Xander I need you to sit in the middle of the circle I have put on the floor and try to calm your breathing"
"Giles has taught me some meditative techniques, will it be OK if I use one of those?"
"That will be perfect. I will need complete concentration so I will have to ask that Xander and I are left alone" Both slayers revert their posture to 'try and make me'.
"No way Wes, you do it with us here or you don't do it at all" Buffy looks over to Faith and actually smiles in agreement, it seems that they've found common ground; my safety.
"Fine but you'll need to stay quiet otherwise the spell may go wrong and we don't want that do we?" They both shake their heads at that and take positions at opposite corners of the room, utilising their stealth capabilities to blend in with their surroundings. I begin to meditate, centring my body and mind in preparation for whatever sensations I may feel during the spell. I vaguely hear Wesley chanting in a language I have never heard before, that in itself having an almost hypnotic effect on me. After a minute or two I begin to feel a burning sensation from within my body, quickly going beyond mere discomfort to agonisingly painful. I redouble my efforts to keep myself centred and I can feel the sweat pouring off of me due to the pure concentration I'm having to exert to prevent myself from screaming in agony. As I'm about to buckle under the pressure, the pain disappears and I collapse in relief. I hear both Buffy and Faith shout my name and rush over; I open my eyes to see Buffy coming to me and Faith surprisingly going over to Wesley, who had also collapsed.
"Are you OK?"
"I am now, that spell wasn't exactly pain free. How's Wes?"
"He's five by five, a little out of it though"
"I am fine Xander, the spell was a success but it took a little more out of me than I expected. I have not used a spell of that power for quite some time"
"Do you know how many years it's taken from him?"
"Honestly there's no way to tell for sure, but knowing our luck we'll have to put up with him for a very long time"
"If I didn't know better I would think that was an insult, but as I know that to know me is to love me I'll take it as a compliment" I get up without needing help and I find that the pain that I had been enduring for the past week or so had all gone, the spell not only curing me of the injuries that Buffy accidentally inflicted upon me but also the treatment I had received from Spike and his cronies had been alleviated as well.
"Whatever allows you to sleep at night" Wesley is also able to get up unaided, although Faith had given no indication that she would have helped him in any case. We all go back upstairs to find that Doyle had returned. He's just started explaining what he's been doing.
"I've acquired transport but it'll be wise to get it back before it's missed, that is if you want me to keep my dashing good looks" Cordelia snorts at that comment but he ignores her and continues. "Are the arrangements in place?"
"Yeah, I've arranged it. We need to get them to the docks by 04:00 or he'll leave without them. I've explained who he'll be carrying and he has no problem with it" By now Doyle has realised that we're in the room.
"Hey Xander, you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, have you been told what went on in your absence?"
"Princess gave me the Cliff notes version. The spell work?"
"Absolutely, I haven't felt this good in a while. I do need to ask you another favour Wes"
"Yes?"
"I appreciate you using that spell but it would be a very good idea not to use it on anybody else unless absolutely necessary"
"That's a bit of a double standard isn't it Boytoy?"
"If you combine the beatings I got from my father from as far back as I can remember, getting knocked from one side of Sunnydale to the other by vamps and demons and the meditation techniques I've been using for months I've acquired an extremely high tolerance to pain" the gasps of shock from the majority of the room remind me that I may not have told anyone about my home life before. Oh well. "Given all that I have never experienced as much pain as that spell caused. Anyone who isn't as mentally disciplined for that sort of agony would not be able to keep the focus the spell requires to work correctly. I'm not saying to never use the spell again; I have no right to do so. All I'm saying is that you firmly label it 'Emergency Only'" Angel decides to add his weight to the conversation.
"Xander's right, that spell is too risky to use too often. Not to mention that the spell takes years off a person's life, if it was used too much it would become more dangerous than the injuries you're trying to heal"
"I agree that the spell should only be used when necessary. I'm sorry Xander I was unaware as to how much pain you would experience"
"Don't worry about it, I know that you would have explained it if you were aware. It may have had something to do with the amount of injuries I've incurred and the time period in which I attained them" Everyone begins to look at me strangely, especially Buffy.
"Xander, when did you become British?"
"My dear lady, using the English language in the way it was intended does not mean that I have changed nationalities"
"You're really starting to freak me out now Xand" I look at her emotionlessly for a few moments before cracking up with laughter.
"Don't worry Buff, I'm still me but with all the studying Giles has got me doing my vocabulary has increased quite a bit. To be able to translate a demonic language into English you need to have a better understanding of English first. It's a price I'm willing to pay, especially when I get to see your faces when I start speaking Watcher to you" Wesley looks at me.
"Should I be insulted by that?"
"If I were insulting you I'd also be insulting Giles, something I really wouldn't do. If I were you I would think of it more as friendly ribbing. I've just remembered that I haven't called Gunn and let him know what's going on" I go to the phone and dial his number, only to find that no one is answering. "Damn, he must be out. I'll have to go and wait for him to come back and then bring them with me. That going to cause any problems Angel?"
"That shouldn't be a problem; Buffy and Faith will be leading the scourge on a merry dance, Doyle and Wes can go and collect our demon refugees and Cordy can come with me to the docks to ensure everything is OK that end. Once you've let your friends know what's happening, meet us at the docks and we can work it from there"
"Well it's 11:30 now, we won't need to make a move until 01:00. Why don't you, Doyle and Wes get a little practise with the guns to remove any rust you may have while I run through my usual routine with Cordy, Faith and Buffy"
"Why me?"
"I know that you handled yourself well in the warehouse, but it's about time you started to learn how to defend yourself properly. Looking back on it one of the things that disturbs me is that we never learned self defence during High School. We spent three years fighting vampires but never learned how to actually fight; I may have halved the amount of concussions I got if I knew how to land properly. I'm sure that with the rest of the Fang Gang's help, you'll soon be kicking butt with the best of them"
"Fang Gang?"
"Yeah, back in Sunnydale we're the Scooby Gang so I thought that you'd be the Fang Gang" Angel glares at me for a moment before turning to Cordelia.
"I'm not sure about the Fang Gang part but Xander's right that it would be a good idea for you to know how to defend yourself in a fight Cordy, even if you don't come out with us that often this is still LA"
"Fine, but if I break a nail we'll be having words dweeb, you too Angel" We both just nod. Angel, Wesley and Doyle leave to practise their shooting while the rest of us go and start training. Buffy and Faith spar some more but with the memories of the last time fresh in their memories they take it a LOT easier on each other. I take Cordelia through a simple kata, her years as a cheerleader making it a lot easier for her to pick up the moves. I put the pads on and let her smack me about; the predatory smile on her face as she lands a kick is a little disturbing but I ignore it. Once we had all finished, we go upstairs and wait for the others, an uncomfortable but not entirely unwelcome silence descends upon us until the other return, allowing us all time to compose ourselves.
"How did you get on?"
"Fine thanks Xander, Angel got a slight burn when he forgot to put his gloves on before reloading but other than that everything went as expected"
"These pack a powerful punch mate, I wish I had one of these years ago"
"Doyle it would have been easier if you didn't get into a situation where these were necessary"
"True but they still would have come in handy. Everybody ready?" We all nod our heads. I pull Buffy to one side before we all leave and pull her into a hug.
"Stay safe"
"You too, if you get yourself killed I'll bring you back just to kill you myself. I love you, you know that right?"
"Absolutely, and I love you. I'll see you later" I kiss her softly on the lips and release her, leaving to meet Cordelia at my car. "You ready Cor?"
"As I'll ever be. She'll be fine you know?"
"Won't stop me from worrying about it. Doyle is going to be OK as well"
"What makes you think I care?"
"Don't try that with me, I know you like him and that it's in a more than friends way"
"I don't want to talk about it"
"You don't have to, just know that if you DO want to talk, I'm here for you"
"Thanks. We better get going" we get in the car and drive to Gunn's, finding no one at home. It's almost 03:00 when Gunn and the other's turn up, by now Cordelia is more than a little impatient. I send her a warning glare to indicate that she better not start anything and for once she takes my advice. Of course after all this is over I'll probably be getting it both barrels from her to compensate.
"Yo Alex, what's up bro?"
"Alex?"
"Not now Cordy. My friends are trying to get those demons out of the country but I have a feeling that things are going to be FUBAR so I was hoping that you and a few others may want to give me a hand?"
"When do you need us?"
"That's the problem, it's going down right now. I tried contacting you earlier but you were out"
"Sorry, we heard about a vamp nest that was nearby and had to deal with it before it grew"
"Everyone OK?"
"A couple of guys had to go to the ER but other than that nothing but the usual bumps and bruises. I can spare about a dozen of us, that do?"
"Yeah that'll be great. How long will you need to prepare?"
"We can come right now, all our weapons are in the trucks anyway"
"Beautiful. In that case follow me" Gunn goes back to the others and sorts out the troops while Cordelia and I go back to the car.
"Alex?"
"Xander was the goofball that everybody knew in Sunnydale, I was trying to escape that so I started using Alex" A car horn tells me that Gunn and the others are ready so I start the car and using the directions that Angel gave me I drive to the docks. I stop just out of sight of the docks and wait for the others to catch up.
"Why stop here?"
"I have a bad feeling" Cordelia and I get out of the car and go to the trunk, retrieving my shotgun and a few other items. I only have one bulletproof vest so I give it to Cordelia.
"You'll need this more than me Xander" I say nothing but she can tell from my look that arguing further will not be a good idea so she simply nods and put the vest on. By now Gunn has got out of his truck and has come over to us.
"What's the deal?"
"I feel a disturbance in the force, feel like checking it out with me?"
"Sure, beats having a normal life"
"Cool, I've a little toy for you" he hands him a shotgun. "This way you don't have to get close to the bad guys. Alonna will kill me if I let anything happen to her baby brother"
"I'm older than her, you know that!"
"Physically maybe, mentally never. Cordelia, I want you to stay here with Gunn's men. If we're not back in 10 minutes I want you and the others to make as big a diversion as you can without actually engaging anything. I have a few things in the car that will help"
"You sure?"
"I'm as sure of this as you are of fashion"
"Right. Be careful"
"Always. Lets go" Gunn follows me to the pier and my suspicions are confirmed; a couple of demons are standing guard at the ramp. Judging by the way they're dressed, they must be members of the scourge. "OK Gunn, we don't want to get into a fight with these guys so stealth is the key. Can you swim?"
"Why do I think that my answer will get me into a lot of trouble?" I simply smile at him and begin to walk over to the edge of the pier out of sight of the boat and lower myself into the water. Once I'm in I look up to Gunn who after a moment's deliberation follows me in. We swim up to the other side of the boat and using the towrope I took out of the trunk of my car, I manage to lasso it to a hook. Testing it to ensure that it will support my weight I begin to climb up and then once I'm on deck I signal for Gunn to follow me. Once he is up I gather up the rope and we make our way inside the boat. I contemplated suggesting that we split up but I had seen enough horror movies to know that the outcome would not be of the good. We manage to make our way to the hold to find that the scourge had the demons we were trying to protect captive, along with Buffy, Faith and the Fang Gang. My first thought was to rush them guns blazing, but these days I manage to resist acting on those sorts of impulses, knowing that the outcome would be my death and probably everyone else's as well. One of the demons, I'm guessing the leader, is talking to the others and every now and then looks up at something being suspended from the ceiling by chains.
"What are we going to do Alex?"
"We wait until our ten minutes are up and use the distraction to our best advantage. It will also give me a chance to think of something that doesn't end up with our heads disconnected from our bodies"
"You aint gonna get an argument from me on that one man. Can you hear what they're saying?"
"If you stop talking I can"
"Sorry" I smile at him and then start to focus my mind, allowing me to focus on what they're talking about.
"How did you know we were coming here?"
"It seems that the captains crew were less happy to have demons as cargo than he was. We let it be known that we would pay handsomely for the whereabouts of those demons and one of his crew decided to take us up on the offer" Several of his men bring in the lifeless bodies of the captain and his crew. "Some people were simply born stupid" Buffy and the others look in shock as the bodies are simply dumped into the corner of the hold, the scourge showing them no respect. Before they have a chance to say anything the leader begins speaking again. "You humans and half breeds have been a bane to our existence for far too long, but with our new weapon will change all that"
"How's it going to do that Adolf?" Faith always seems to know what to say doesn't she?
"Our scientists have designed a weapon that will kill anything that is not pureblood demon and we believe you're the ideal test subjects" He pulls out a small black object out of his pocket and presses a button. The device hanging from the ceiling then begins to hum and a light slowly begins to appear. "In five minutes the device will be at full power and when it activates, every human and half-breed in a five mile area will vaporise; the first step in the cleansing of the impure will begin!" He then begins laughing, an extremely cliché laugh that all Bond villains have.
"Gunn, we have five minutes before everyone in LA who isn't a pureblood demon goes the way of the dodo"
"Shit, what are we going to do?" We suddenly hear an explosion outside and one of the leaders sub-ordinates comes rushing in. "Never mind" I begin to listen in once again.
"There is a group of human scum outside throwing grenades at our troops!"
"Well don't just stand there, send the men to eradicate them!" Taking this as my chance, I fire my shotgun at the chains holding the device, sending it crashing to the floor. It doesn't stop humming however and the light continues to get brighter. Using that as a diversion, Buffy and Faith leap into action, each having loosened their bonds during their conversation with the latest maniac. Angel also manages to break free and begins to untie the others. Gunn and I use our shotguns to cover the refugee demons escape while Angel and the others battled the remaining members of the scourge, fighting with a fury I'd rarely seen before. We make our way down to meet the others.
"We need to stop that device" Angel finishes off the demon he's fighting and turns to me.
"How?"
"Simple; when in doubt, blow the fucking thing up. Angel, take the others and get out of here, I'll be right behind you"
"I'm staying"
"We don't have time for this Buff, it's going to go off any moment!"
"I'M STAYING!" Not having time to argue I simply nod. While Angel and the others all make their way out, I go over to the device and place explosives either side of it. As soon as I've armed the trigger mechanism, I grab Buffy's hand and run for dear life. As soon as we reach the deck of the boat, I set off the explosives while jumping over the side, dragging Buffy with me. As we hit the water the boat explodes, destroying the device in the process. We both swim for our lives, trying to get away from the sinking boat and the falling debris caused by the blast. We stop swimming and look each other over.
"Are you OK?"
"I've been chased, captured, tied up and almost blown up. What do you think?"
"That you look cute when you're pissed at me" She tries but fails to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside her. "Come on, we better let everyone know that we're still in one piece, as well as help them kill whoever of the scourge was stupid enough to stay around" We swim to the pier and get out, immediately running towards the sounds of gunfire. When we get there we find that only one or two members of the scourge stayed behind, obviously to keep us occupied so the rest of them could retreat. Angel and the other were holding their own, the shotguns I provided being effective in at least injuring the demons, although not actually killing them. Swords however did work as proved by Faith and Angel as they decapitated two demons almost simultaneously. I use my shotgun to hold off the last of them while Buffy rushes in and literally rips off its head. We all just stare at her for a few seconds, Faith being the first able to speak.
"Hey B, you couldn't have tried using a sword?"
"I had a lot of anger I needed to release, I released it. Everyone OK?" Cordelia walks up to join the rest of us.
"We're definitely better than the alternative. I'm afraid I used all of your grenades Xander"
"I can always steal more, it's harder to get into Harmony's pants than it is to get into the armoury at the Sunnydale Army base"
"Firstly, eww. Secondly, that's cold"
"So is she. I don't know about you guys but I really feel sleep is necessary right now" All I receive is a Mexican wave of nods. Gunn and his people leave, I give him the address of Angel's office so he can come round later today to say goodbye. We all then make our way to our respective places of rest, Cordelia offering to put Buffy and myself up for the night at her apartment as we still hadn't had a chance to go to a hotel. We graciously accept and I drive us there. We get to meet Dennis, the resident ghost and Cordelia's roommate who after trying to scare the living daylights out of us seems to be a decent fellow. Buffy takes the spare bedroom and I take the couch, I barely manage to undress and lie down before I pass out from exhaustion.
I wake up just before noon and once the other two are awake we make our way to Angel's, making a detour to grab some breakfast for us and donuts for everyone else. When we arrive I see Gunn and Angel standing toe-to-toe, Wesley and Doyle trying to keep them from fighting. Faith is just sitting back and enjoying the show, when her senses pick up the aroma of the donuts, she comes bounding over and snatches them from my hands and returns to her ring-side seat, stuffing a glazed donut in her mouth. Seeing that no one is going to calm down very soon, decide to let my presence known.
"What the hell is going on?" Finally the others turn round to face us, well me as Buffy and Cordelia had gone off to share the donuts with Faith. Wesley decides to answer my question.
"Angel was trying to discuss with Gunn how we could help him with his patrols" Realising that Wesley was trying to be diplomatic, I decide to translate that for him.
"Let me guess; Angel's way of discussion was for him to tell Gunn what he wanted him to do and when Gunn told him to shove it, he tried to intimidate him?" realising that I knew exactly what had happened he decides to go with the honest approach.
"That about sums it up actually, yes"
"Angel what I'm about to say is in no way meant to insult you but you've got to pull your head out of your ass" He glares at me but decides to stay quiet. "It may be called the city of angels but that doesn't mean that it's your city. You can't expect for everyone to bow down to your way of thinking just because you say so. Gunn and his people have been doing this for a long time now and are pretty damn good at it; that in no way means that they can do everything by themselves and although I can't believe I'm going to say this, you can be a big help to them" Gunn goes to say something but I signal for him to shut up and he reluctantly does so. "Gunn, I said HELP not take over. I know the reason you went on the offensive so quickly was because you thought that he was trying to take over your turf and I respect that, the hyena taught me all about being the alpha. Angel and the others can help you a lot, not only with patrols but in intelligence as well. He has a way of finding out information; something we both know is vital to staying ahead of the game. He has a tendency to want to take charge as I told you yesterday, but I have a feeling that's a Sunnydale thing… OW" Buffy really needs to remind herself that using slayer strength to hit me is just plain mean, as was her sneaking up on me. Angel is silent for a few moments before finally talking, facing Gunn as he does.
"I really can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with Xander. You've been here longer than I have and I shouldn't have expected to just come in and take over. Can we start over?" Gunn just looks at him for a couple of seconds before nodding once.
"Alex trusts you so I'll give you a shot, but this is going to be a partnership. We help each other when we can and give each other the heads up if we hear something we think the other will need to know. Everything else can be worked on as things go on. Deal?" He extends his hand to Angel who takes it.
"Deal" They step away from each other and Angel turns to face me. "So when do you have to leave Xander?"
"Pretty soon I'm afraid, I hadn't expected to be here this long and I have work tomorrow. I've found sleep allows me to last a full day of work; I've been pretty lucky with them so far but I don't want to push my luck" I had hoped to have a little time alone with Buffy as we really hadn't had any quality time since we started being a couple. The look Buffy is giving me indicates that she's feeling the same.
"Not only that but I have missed some classes and Professor Walsh has been looking for a way to kick me out of her class"
"She better not if she knows what's good for her"
"That's a bit over the top even for you isn't it Xander?"
"Not in this case it isn't" I go on to give them a brief version of what we found out about Walsh and the Initiative.
"If you need any help…"
"We know who to call, but we don't want to run the risk of them finding out about a vampire with a soul, I doubt they'll just want to meet up for tea and biscuits"
"Good point but if they decide to step up whatever they're doing, call and we'll be there"
"Thanks" We spend the next couple of hours sitting and talking, I try to integrate Gunn with the others as much as possible so things can run more smoothly between them after I've gone. What I found strange was that Gunn and Wesley hit it off almost straight away, although I have to admit that if Wesley had been like this when he first showed up in Sunnydale I probably would have liked him as well.
Finally it was time to say our goodbyes, Gunn being the first to leave as he had to get back to base and check on his crew. Buffy and Angel go and talk privately for a while, they need to have some closure to everything. Cordelia simply gives me a hug and tells me to keep up the fashion improvements. Doyle shakes my hand, I tell him to be patient with Cordelia as she's worth the effort. I give Wesley Giles' number so they can compare notes and that they can try to reconcile their differences. Faith keeps her distance from me so I decide to go over to her instead.
"Hey Faith"
"What do you want Boytoy?"
"I wanted to say goodbye and to check how you are"
"Goodbye and how I am is no fucking business of yours"
"Listen Faith…"
"No you listen, I've never backtracked before but you've somehow managed to make me feel something for you and when I make my move you fucking turn me down. If you didn't want me what did you help me for?"
"I helped you because I felt you deserved it. The only thing I would have liked in return is your friendship. I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way as you do, but you can't help the way you feel. I'd still like to be friends if that's OK with you?"
"Right now I doubt that a friendship will work but I'm not throwing the idea completely out of the window" I hide the disappointment I feel, knowing that it's the only way Faith knows how to deal with emotions. At least she's not trying to choke me to death this time.
"That's all I'm asking, that you think about it. I know how annoying Cordy can be so if she gets too much just count to ten and then if all else fails find a demon to kill that isn't named Angel" she actually laughs at that, an honest laugh that lights up her face. It's something I hope she starts to do more often, it means that the walls she's built up are falling down and the real Faith will start to come through.
"I'll do my best but I won't promise anything" I leave it at that; if I actually thought she'd hurt Cordelia or the others I'd have fulfilled my promise by now. We join the others, including Buffy and Angel who have returned from their chat. He doesn't look happy, no change there then, but I can tell that they've sorted things out between them. Buffy says her goodbyes to everyone and goes out to the car, as it's daytime Angel stays inside so I decide. As he's the only one I hadn't said goodbye to I walk over to him.
"You've got a good thing going here Angel, don't fuck it up"
"My sentiments exactly. If anyone asks I'll deny it but take care of yourself"
"My sentiments exactly" I hold my hand out to him and he grasps it. We shake hands briefly before I make my way out to the car and begin the drive back to Sunnydale.
After our little adventure in LA, we drove back to Sunnydale to Giles' apartment to tell him, and Willow who was there, what happened. After recounting the details, both Willow and Giles were a little lost for words.
"I must say that trouble does have an uncanny way of following you"
"Giles I would like to point out that Buffy was there as well"
"I was talking to Buffy" The annoyed grunt from Buffy and the wolfish smile from Giles said it all.
"How are you feeling Xander?"
"To be honest Giles I'm not feeling 100% but after a couple of days I should be fine, of course if Wes hadn't used that spell you'd probably been visiting me in the hospital right now. What have you two been doing while we were fighting the forces of darkness in LA?" Willow is noticeably silent but Giles decides to answer us.
"Enjoying the peaceful silence that comes with your absence"
"Two jokes from Giles in the space of five minutes? That must be a sign of the apocalypse or something equally as bad"
"Shut up"
"Yes Mon Capitan!" I'm glad that I have started to rub off a little on Giles. Since I've toned down my humour, he's found it a lot easier to digest and is slowly coming around to joining in. Of course he'll never be as masterful of the one-liner as myself but nobody can. After we've all finished laughing, Willow decides to finally join in the conversation.
"Actually guys, there's something I wanted to talk to you about" I can tell that she's nervous about something so I try to ease whatever it is that's bothering her. I move so that I'm sitting next to her and place a hand on her shoulder, trying to convey that everything is OK.
"You can tell us anything Wills, you know that"
"I know that but this is quite important to me and I'm not entirely sure how to bring it up" I can tell by the look on her face that this is something she doesn't want to talk about around Giles so I help her out.
"It's getting late so how about Buff and I escort you back to the dorms and you can tell us all about it?" She nods and gives an appreciative look, so we all bid farewell to Giles and make our way back to their dorm room.
When we get there, Willow takes a seat on her bed while Buffy and I take a seat on hers. There's silence for a couple of minutes, Buffy and I not wanting to push Willow and Willow not knowing where to start. Eventually I decide to cut to the chase, patience being low at the moment.
"OK, we're here Wills so what do you want to tell us?" She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, probably trying to start but not being able to, until finally she speaks.
"Well, it's just that for the last few weeks I've been starting to have feelings for someone and now I've finally told them I wanted to let you know"
"That's great! Who's the lucky guy?" Willow suddenly gets a very panicky look and I start to wonder what I said.
"Well uh, you see, her name is Tara, Tara Maclay" That wasn't something I was expecting to hear. I knew that Willow must have some Bisexual tendencies, due to meeting Vamp Willow last year. I just never thought that she would actually act on them, it takes her long enough to talk to boys. I look over to Buffy and she has her patented 'deer caught in the headlights' look plastered on her face. Realising that she's going to be out of it for a while, I decide to speak on her behalf.
"When do we get to meet her?" The panicky look converts to one of shock and once again I wonder what I've said.
"Xander, you do realise that I just said that I'm going out with another woman, as in a relationship kind of going out? How come you're not shocked?" I don't know why, but my complete lack of outrage seems to have hurt her feelings. I will never fully understand the workings of the female mind.
"As far as I'm concerned, as long as you're happy I don't care who you're happy with. If Tara makes you happy, then I'm happy too" The high-pitched squeal and the bone crushing hug that I get gives me the impression that I must have given the right answer. What is starting to worry me is Buffy's complete lack of, well, anything. She's still sitting next to me with the same look on her face. Willow must have spotted it as well, as she lets me go and sits back down on her bed, facing Buffy.
"Buffy? Are you OK?" It takes a couple more seconds before Buffy realises that she been asked a question.
"No, uh I mean yes, I mean I'm not really sure. I mean I never really thought that you were into girls; I mean what with Xander and Oz and everything. It's just a bit of a shock is all" I can tell that this was not the response Willow was expecting, in fact I'm betting that our responses are the complete opposite of what she expected. When Buffy sees the hurt look on Willow's face, she realises that she may not have explained herself very well. "Don't get me wrong Willow, I have no problems with this. As Xander said, your happiness is what matters here. I was in love with a vampire after all, so I'm not exactly closed minded when it comes to less than conventional relationships. It's just that of all the things I was expecting to hear from you, this wasn't among them" Willow is visibly calmer but nowhere near her normal, seeing this Buffy goes over to her and wraps an arm around her before she continues. "I'm really OK with this Willow, I'm simply going to take a little time to get my head around"
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely, I'm happy for you" Willow looks a little uncertain for a moment but after seeing the conviction in Buffy's eyes she brightens and pulls her into a hug as well. "As Xander said, when do we get to meet her?" She thinks about it for a few moments before answering.
"How about the day after tomorrow at Giles'?" Buffy and I look at each other and nod in agreement.
"Sounds fine to me, what about you Buff?"
"Absolutely. You do realise Willow that you'll need to explain who Tara is to Giles before then? You know how he gets when it comes to personal issues, this will most likely give him a coronary or at least a permanent stutter"
"Do I have to?" Just as Buffy and I do, Willow looks to Giles as a father figure. Her parents are always out of town at one convention or another. To that end his opinion is held very highly by her, and the thought of his rejection starts to get her panicked again. Seeing that I try my best to calm her down.
"You know that Giles will be fine about it, he just wants you to be happy like the rest of us. He will stutter and clean his glasses as he always does when he's been thrown for a loop but he'll not be anything other than happy that you're happy. Tara may not understand that about him though so it would be wise to tell him before they meet, so she doesn't get the wrong idea" She nods in understanding, still not happy that she needs to tell him. I suddenly yawn and when I look at my watch I see just how late it is.
"I hate to leave like this but I have work in the morning and if I have any more time off I'll get fired and I actually like this job" I hug Willow and kiss Buffy goodnight and make my way home. The moment my head hits the pillow I'm fast asleep.
Deciding to concentrate on my work, I don't see any of the others until the meeting although I do phone Buffy at least three times just to hear her voice, not really talking about anything deep but just allowing each other to know how we feel. Although I was still in a bit of pain due to recent events, although it's more aches and pains than actual injuries, I actually found the work relaxing in a weird sort of way.
I get to Giles' place early and do some training, Giles not allowing me to train fully due to my injuries even though I said I would be fine. I don't argue too much as I know he's only looking out for me, something I'm still having trouble getting used to By the time I had showered and changed, the others had arrived. When I saw Tara I could see straight away why Willow liked her; she was roughly the same height as Willow, although with a rather fuller figure, hidden behind baggy clothing. Her shoulder length mousy brown hair covers most of her features, telling me that she is shy around strangers.
"Everyone, this is Tara"
"H-hello" She doesn't make eye contact with any of us and my suspicion of her being shy is confirmed. Seeing as she will not make the first move, I decide to.
"Hi Tara, I'm Xander. It's a pleasure to meet you" I gently walk up to her and take her hand, kissing the back of it before releasing it. She blushes a shade of red that almost perfectly matches Willow's hair; something I have to admit is rather cute. Buffy gives me a look at my actions but realises I was just trying to be extra nice so doesn't call me on it. Another thing I realised about Tara was that she seemed to stiffen at my closeness and contact. I take a few steps back and Giles then introduces himself, receiving the same reaction from her but there was no such reaction when Buffy greets her. She seems to do it almost instinctively and it makes me wonder who has made her react to men that way.
"So Tara, how did you two meet?" I thought I would try to get her talking, thinking that she would begin to loosen up around us. This didn't work though when Willow began to speak before she had a chance to herself.
"Tara and I had been going to the same Wicca group and both realised that it was nothing more than a social club. We started to meet up away from the group as we were the only ones who had a real interest in witchcraft and things sort of progressed from there"
"Not only are you into witchcraft but also ventriloquism" Tara actually giggles at this, especially when Willow sticks her tongue out at me. "Seeing as no one else is offering, would you like to sit down?" Tara nods and we all take our places in the living room; Tara and Willow sitting on one couch, Buffy and I sitting on the other and Giles sitting in his chair. Silence reigns for a few minutes, as nobody knows what to say. Again I try to jump start a conversation with her. "Tara, do you by any chance like tea?"
"Actually I love it, it has a much nicer flavour to coffee" I can see Giles perking up at the prospect of having another willing tea drinker in the group. I've become to enjoy the drink, as much due to the fact it makes Giles happy as much as it is to the taste itself. Buffy and Willow however are still averse to tea, preferring coffee whenever possible.
"Excellent, would you mind helping me in the kitchen, Giles allows me to make the tea but won't allow me anywhere near his crockery alone, especially the quality stuff he keeps for special occasion like this" After looking to Willow who smiles and nods her head, she accepts and we make our way to the kitchen. Once there, Tara has a problem meeting my gaze, eventually doing so but with a look of resignation in her eyes.
"I-is this where you tell me to keep away from Willow?" I should have known she would have thought that.
"No, quite the opposite in fact. It's been a while since I've seen Willow glow like she is at the moment. I can tell that you are responsible for that, which has given you a guaranteed pass in the 'best-friend inspection' you were expecting" She brightens a bit at that, probably thinking I wanted to be alone just to warn her off. "I'm also not going to do the 'hurt her and I'll hurt you' speech either; I could never hurt a lady and Willow is more than capable of taking care of herself. I asked you out here to help because I wanted to speak to you without going through your avatar" I see her look so I explain. "I've known Willow a very long time, she knows that you're shy around people so she was trying to help by fielding your questions for you"
"W-why would you want to speak to me alone?" She is starting to look scared so I try to alleviate her fears.
"Hey there's nothing to be worried about, I simply wanted to speak to the person that has brought back the Willow we all love and to thank you for it. I've been worried about her but seeing how happy she is I'm not worried anymore" She smiles gratefully at me before once again getting a worried look on her face.
"A-are you OK that I'm a woman?"
"I am if you are" I get another giggle from her and its nice to hear. "I've always believed that you don't fall in love with a person you fall in love with a heart. Willow's fallen in love with yours and I can tell by the way you look at her the feelings mutual. That's all I care about" Her eyes brighten up and she smiles, somehow making the room feel brighter. "Now that is more like it, you have a lovely smile and should use it more often" She blushes and her hair falls in front of her face, as if it's been programmed to hide her face when she does.
We spend the remainder of the time in silence until the tea is made, I allow Tara to choose the blend of tea that she likes the most so she feels more comfortable. While we're preparing everything, I decide to try out a spell that Giles has had me practising. It's a spell that allows me to read aura's; I was a little apprehensive when he first brought it up, magic and I never seem to get on but Giles assured me that this type of spell cannot have any adverse side effects, it will either work or not. He said it would be useful when dealing with non-demon problems like witches as I'll be able to tell whether they're lying to me or not, it would also allow me to tell if a person could be trusted or not. I begin chanting the spell in my head, I guessed that Tara would know what I was doing if I said it out loud and luckily this is one of the few spells that allows the spell to be cast without an aural incantation.
Once the spell is working I can see from Tara's aura that she is naturally a very honest person, telling lies is an almost foreign concept to her and if she did lie she would feel a deep sense of guilt about it. All in all, she has one of the purest auras that I've ever seen. The one discrepancy is whatever has caused her extreme shyness and discomfort around men. I have a feeling that it has to do with her childhood, I'm pretty much an expert on dysfunctional families so I can guess what it must have been like for her to act this way. I decide right then and there that she is now labelled as one of 'my girls' and will get all the privileges that entails, including doing whatever I can to bring her out of her shell.
I'm brought out of my thoughts as the kettle begins to whistle so I pour the water into the pot and once we have everything ready, we head back to the living room. When we enter, they all suddenly become silent and look directly at me, telling me that I was the topic of conversation. "I'm guessing that Buffy has been relaying the information that Alonna told her"
"Yes 'Alex', it seems that you've become quite adept at keeping secrets from the ones you care about" I put the tea down onto the table before I say anything more, just in case I drop everything and have Ripper coming for me.
"OK, it looks like we're going to have this discussion now. Before we do, Tara how much has Willow told you about us?" Tara looks at me curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"You know that Willow is a witch, as I guess you are too" She hesitates but gives a brief nod. "Don't worry Tara, there's nothing wrong with being a witch, if I'm fine about my best friend being one why would I have any problems with anybody else being one? All I was getting at was that you must know something about the supernatural right?" Again she nods but this time without hesitation. I look over to Buffy and Giles who both nod in answer to the unasked question. "What do you know about the Slayer?"
"There's myths about a girl being chosen to fight vampires and demons but I don't believe them" Buffy can't help but laugh, Tara however takes it that she's laughing at her and starts to go back into her shell again. I cast Buffy a quick glare before continuing. "Buffy wasn't laughing at you Tara, she simply found it funny that you don't believe she exists"
"Huh?"
"Tara, meet Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Tara turns to Buffy who smiles and waves at her. Tara blinks a few times before fainting, I manage to catch her before she hits the floor. "I think she took that rather well" I gather her in my arms and take her over to the couch that Willow has vacated and gently lay her down, making sure we don't crowd her so she can get some air. After a moment or two she comes round.
"Why am I on the couch?" Willow comes round and gently holds her hand.
"You fainted. What's the last thing you remember?" She takes a few moments to think about it before answering.
"I-I'm not sure, although I did have a dream where Xander said that Buffy was the Vampire Slayer" We all look at each other in amusement before Willow responds.
"Uh, sweetie she IS the Vampire Slayer"
"Oh" It looks like she was going to faint again but she manages to get her head around it this time. We then spend the next couple of hours explaining to Tara just what deciding to move to the Hellmouth to continue her education does her. We decide to go with brutal honesty as it means that there won't be any sudden revelations later on. The only things that aren't talked about are the events that brought this about in the first place. That of course doesn't last long as Buffy turns to face me.
"Now that everyone is caught up to speed, I think that 'Alex' has a few things he wants to tell us?" Hearing the way she says that name, I have to consciously reign in my anger before I respond.
"Don't take this the wrong way but you'll be lucky for me to speak to you at all if you address me like that again. By the time I decided to leave here last summer, I honestly had no intentions of coming back EVER. I had been cut out of all your lives, as I was a 'liability'. You all saw me as Xander the Zeppo, well I didn't want to be that anymore so I decided that Alex would suit me better. Every person who has called me that did so with respect so you either do the same or don't us it at all" I honestly didn't realise I was still that angry about what happened, but I guess I had done what I always did and put aside my own feelings, I just never realised it this time. They all look shocked at my outburst, Giles less so as I've already spoken to him about how I feel. "Giles, I'm going to go and train for a while and calm down. I'm sorry our first meeting didn't go so well Tara, I'll take you out for coffee tomorrow at lunch to make it up, if that's OK with you?" She seems shocked that I would be worried about her impression of me, let alone that I would want to take her for coffee. After a couple moments deliberation, she responds.
"I-I can't see why not" I give her a warm smile to indicate that she's done nothing wrong tonight.
"Great! I'll see you then" Now that was sorted I go downstairs without a second look to the others. After a quick warm up I begin to attack the punching bag, releasing all the anger that's been released in the last few minutes. I hear Buffy coming down the stairs but I ignore her, concentrating on the spot I'm hitting and nothing else. I alternate between punches and kicks, each time hitting the exact same spot, the sound of the impact resonating around the room. Knowing that I'll have to speak to her eventually, I use whatever anger I had left to fire one last punch into the bag, bursting it on impact and sending it flying across the room.
"Feel better?" I turn round to face her with a small smile on my face that doesn't quite meet my eyes.
"Not so much" She walks up to me and wraps her arms around my waist, my arms instinctively resting on her shoulders. I can feel that she's shaking slightly.
"I'm sorry Xander, I knew that you were unhappy about how we treated you but I thought that we were past that. I never thought you were still this angry"
"Neither did I. That's because I did what I always did; I suppressed it. I hadn't meant to, but I've gotten so used to it that I'd done it without thinking. Having you use that name to mock me opened the floodgates I guess"
"I don't know what to say" I can sense that she's trying to fight back tears, probably from thinking how she and the others treated me.
"What is there to say? I shouldn't have bottled it up the way I did, I should have spoken to you sooner about how I really felt"
"That's as may be but you wouldn't have been feeling that way if we had treated you with a bit more respect last year"
"I can't deny that as to be perfectly honest it's true, but you can't change the past you can only try to ensure you don't repeat it in the future" She doesn't say anything, she simply nods and holds me a little tighter. After a few minutes she loosens her grip and moves to look at me, although she doesn't actually let go.
"Are you ready to come back up? Tara is still here, it seems you've made an impression on her and she wanted to make sure you were OK before she and Willow left"
"That's nice of her. I can tell that she has a big problem with trusting men, I guess with the way Willow talks about me she's decided to give me the benefit of the doubt. What do you think of her?"
"I like her, I know that I freaked when Willow told us about their relationship but now I've met her I can see why Willow likes her so much"
"I know what you mean, I've only just met her and I already consider her a friend. I need to help her get out of her shell more, especially if she's going to start helping us out" She pulls away from me, giving me a subdued but no less effective glare.
"Why would she do that? Why would we let her?" I match her glare with one of my own for a moment before responding.
"I won't even bother to answer the second one but as to why; combine her love for Willow and her desire to make a difference using the skills she has, I can almost guarantee that she'll want to help out" Seeing the way she's looking, I decide to compromise. "I don't suggest we let her go out on patrol, at least not straight away, but Giles will always like more help with research. I can give her some lessons in self defence, which will make getting Willow to start training a lot easier, and then after a while we can begin to take her with us on patrol" She takes s few moments to think through what I said before allowing herself to relax her posture.
"We can always use more people with research and getting her and Willow to learn how to defend themselves is a good idea for the same reasons you and Angel gave Cordy" She's silent for a couple of moments before she continues. "I'm sorry about saying we may not want to let her help, I know that we can't tell people whether they can fight or not. I just hate seeing more people fighting a war that I'm supposed to be fighting alone" Seeing tears begin to form in her eyes, I pull her into an embrace, trying to show just how much she means to me.
"You should never have to fight this alone, it's those bastards at the council that wanted you to think like that, that way they could control you better. You have to realise that you're not alone Buffy, we're all with you on this and that's how it's going to stay" She nods but makes no move to leave my embrace, which is more than fine by me. Eventually after a few minutes she moves away from me, not before standing on tiptoes and kissing me lightly but lovingly on the lips.
"Lets go back up, we still have your little adventures to talk about"
"I didn't think I would get away with that" We go back upstairs and sit down in the living room with the others. I go to drink my tea, it's cold but I'm too thirsty to care and quickly drain the cup. I'm left alone for a minute or two before Giles tries to get the second part of the conversation started.
"Now we're all here, why don't you explain how you managed to stand down the most feared vampire still alive without any weapons?" I can tell he isn't too happy that I did that, but as it happened two years ago there isn't a lot he can really do about it.
"That was something that I had wondered about since that night, I didn't actually know how I did that myself until our trip to LA. Angel and I had a little chat to finally clear the air between us and it came up" I turn to Buffy. "I always thought that he had just turned up to leave the flowers to torment you some more. Angel told me different; he said that Angelus had gone there with the intention of killing and probably turning you, I'm guessing that he then planned to use you to get to the rest of us. Angelus knew that he could have killed me, but realised he would have gone down with me had he tried, and that scared him enough to leave" There's stunned silence for a few seconds, Giles being the first to retain the power of speech.
"You SCARED Angelus?"
"That's what Angel told me, I see no reason why he would lie. Strange huh?" He just nods absently before the shock fully wears off.
"Bloody hell!" That sentiment is quickly supported by Buffy and Willow, Tara looks dumbstruck that I would do such a thing, I'm guessing she isn't used to dealing with men that try to protect women. She does look at me for a couple of seconds before putting her hand up, very tentatively I must add, as if she's in class.
"I-I have a question" I smile warmly at her to try and reassure her.
"Go right ahead Tara"
"Why were you there at the hospital?" I should have guessed it would be someone that barely knew me would ask that.
"Honestly? I was worried that Angelus or some other vampire would try to use it to their advantage and I wasn't going to let that happen. One of my friends was at risk and that's something I couldn't just ignore. The problem was that I was so focused about being there to protect her I forgot to bring any weapons to do it properly" I chuckle a little bit but no one really finds it funny. True genius is rarely recognised.
"You could have been killed" Buffy's voice sounds very small, more like a child than the strong woman that she is. I hold her hand in mine and give it a little squeeze before I say anything.
"Over the last few years we all could have been killed at one time or another. Hell Buffy, you DID die for a couple of minutes, the longest minutes in my life I have to add. What we do is dangerous by nature, and if we stopped doing things that could get us killed then we might as well leave town and take up knitting. I have to admit that I would make sure I had a weapon of some sort if I had to do it over again, like a twelve-gauge, but I have never thought that I shouldn't have gone, especially considering the alternative" They all have to agree that although I hadn't exactly thought it through, it was a very good thing I was there. Giles decides to keep the conversation going.
"Enough about that, how did you get involved with a group of zombies?"
"Jack O'toole and I got into a little bump and he decided to introduce me to Katie"
"Who was Katie?"
"His knife. He made me his chauffeur, one thing led to another and Bam! Xander and the zombie gang" Buffy takes my hand in hers,
"Why didn't you try to come to us?"
"I did, I talked to each of you that night, trying to ask for help and finding that I was in the way, as usual. The only one who took any notice of me was Faith when I saved her life, although not in the way I initially intended, but even she was too busy to actually offer me any help once she got what she wanted. In the end I had to deal with it myself and that included the bomb I eventually worked out they were making. I got one of them to tell me where it was, although he did lose his head over the whole thing, literally. I got to the High School and I saw what you were dealing with while I was dealing with my own problems. Eventually, after taking out the other members, I got Jack to disarm the bomb that was in the boiler room, as I didn't have the time or the full memories to do it myself" There's silence for a few moments before Giles starts up the conversation again.
"What about the bomb?"
"What about it?" Giles glares at me for several seconds, I can almost see him counting to ten, before he continues.
"What happened to it?"
"The next day, after listening to you all telling me that it was a good thing I stayed away from the action that night, I went into the boiler room and dismantled it. I was surprised that it was still there as I thought that the janitor checked the boiler room daily, not that it makes much difference now. I kept the components and used them when we made the bomb to blow up the mayor"
"Why didn't you tell us the next morning?" I look at him as though he'd grown a second head until I saw him smile. I know why Giles asked; he's aware of why I probably said nothing but he wants me to spell it out for the girls.
"The way you had all been acting towards me? Not a chance, you would have used it as more evidence that I needed to be kept out of the slaying for my own good" Willow immediately tries to protest.
"I'm sure that…"
"Come off it Willow; it wouldn't have mattered to you all that I had saved all of your lives, and in effect the world's, by doing what I did" Buffy looks like she was going to correct me on my saving the world. "If that bomb had gone off, you would have all died and there would have been no-one to stop the Hellmouth from opening, meaning end of the world. All you would have thought is that I had gone and got caught into more trouble that wouldn't have happened if I had just stayed out of the action. I'm hoping that you would think differently if the same thing happened again but I know what the outcome would have been last year" We all sit in silence for a few minutes allowing everything that's happened tonight to settle in. "Now that my past has been brought into light, why don't we leave Giles to have some quality time alone, I'm sure that he would like to ring Olivia and let her know she still exists in his eyes" It's been a while since he's seen her, she had to go back to England for work reasons and has had trouble getting back. I know he's missing her but doesn't want to admit it.
"Its early morning over in England right now Xander"
"I'm sure it will take you enough time to work out what to say to her that when you do call it will be at a reasonable hour" Giles is looking at me with a look that tells me he's worked out what I was doing.
"You do realise we haven't talked about your road trip?"
"Yep"
"Well?"
"There's not a lot to talk about" He does that counting to ten thing in his head again and then continues.
"I think that you should tell them about Oxnard" Tara perks up at the mention of the town.
"Oxnard? I come from Oxnard"
"Really? Well I was living there for a while during the summer, nothing much happened and then I came back" Once he can tell that I'm not going to say anything more, he speaks up again.
"Fine, if you won't tell them I will. While Xander was there, he notices that they had a rather large vampire population so he decided to stay around and patrol more extensively than he had at his other stops. He was very effective at it and soon the number of vampires around to prey on the townsfolk went down. Rumours started being spread throughout the town in the underworld; the most believed one was that a slayer had moved in and was on a mission to kill anything without a heartbeat. Needless to say, with their numbers dwindling rather quickly, they started leaving in droves. From what I've heard, they still haven't returned in anywhere near the levels that they once were for fear she will return" Buffy looks at me with an incredulous look on her face.
"They thought that you were a slayer?"
"It's not my fault that I look hot in a skirt" She giggles for a moment but quickly suppresses it.
"You know that's not what I meant"
"You meant how could a lowly human be mistaken for the almighty slayer?" She goes to nod, but realising what she would be nodding to, she decides to do nothing. Not wanting to turn this into another argument, I decide to change tactics a little. "Do you know that vampires that don't live on a Hellmouth are not as fast or as strong as those that do?" Everyone but Giles shook their heads.
"I do, vampires on the Hellmouth are sometimes double the speed and/or strength of those that do not. However even those away from a Hellmouth have strength and speed much greater than a human, you did extremely well and shouldn't try to downplay your achievements" His praise makes me sit a little taller, once again I think that my life would have been a lot different if I had a father like Giles.
"Sorry, force of habit. You shouldn't forget that my tactics were/are different to normal fighting tactics, well normal slayer tactics anyway"
"What do you mean 'normal slayer tactics'?" I can see that she's taken it the wrong way so I elaborate.
"All I mean is that a slayer can go toe to toe with a vamp and know they can win, Hellmouth enhancements or not. I will never have that certainty, and I didn't have the training back then that I do now, so I had to do things differently. I mainly used sneak attacks and hit and runs, rarely having to get into any sustained fights with vamps. As I said before the vamps that live away from a Hellmouth aren't as fast or strong so I actually had an advantage, having fought Hellmouth enhanced vamps for three years made them look like they were slower than normal. If I did have to duke it out, I usually managed to get through it unscathed, especially as I fight dirty and had the element of surprise. My win/loss ratio was definitely of the good, but I have had more than one close call and the first aid lessons I got during High School definitely came in handy" I can see Buffy's expression so I try to soften it a bit. "There was nothing too serious, I just don't want it to sound like I was finding it easy. It was hard and tiring but as strange as it may seem, I enjoyed it" Buffy smiles and nods, understanding my sentiment. Fighting for your life is, well, like fighting for your life but the rush you get from winning is very, very nice.
Tara looks at me for a few moments, turning her head from one angle to another and then talks to me.
"I remember you I think"
"You do?"
"Yeah, I think you saved my life" You could hear a pin drop for a couple of moments.
"WHAT!" Both Buffy and Willow vocalise their shock, I'm unable to say much of anything. I know that I've probably saved some lives, it's the reason I do what I do after all, but it's not often that I actually meet one of them after the fact, let alone one that recognises me. Realising that everyone is now looking at her, Tara decides to explain.
"I was walking home with a couple of friends when several vamps came out from nowhere and surrounded us. I tried to do a spell but I was too scared to focus properly. As one of them went after my friend Julie, it suddenly turned to dust, causing all of us to jump, including the remaining vamps. A figure suddenly came running at one of the vamps and before it had a chance to move, it had been hit with something large and had gone flying through the air. The figure then threw something at another vamp, dusting it in the process, as the last vamp standing ran away. The figure then went over to the vamp that was lying on the ground and staked it before it could do anything. He then came over to check that we were all right, none of us had moved an inch we were so frightened. As he approached, the light from the streetlamps illuminated his face and who I saw was you" She then slowly gets up and walks over to me, and after a couple moments hesitation, bends down and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you" She whispers before quickly straightening up, her hair once again falling over her face to try and hide the blush that has appeared on her face, Willow hugging her close.
"You're more than welcome. I'm sorry that I didn't recognise you before, but I used to get so focussed on killing the vampires, that anything afterwards was pretty much done on autopilot until I calmed down. Were your friends OK?"
"Yeah, I told them that they were muggers and they believed me. I'm not entirely sure whether that's was a good thing or not anymore" Giles nods in understanding, and seeing her look of worry, decides to put her mind at ease.
"Don't worry, even though they don't realise what happened consciously, their sub-conscious will ensure that they take extra precautions when they're out at night; keeping to well lit areas, staying in groups, that sort of thing. You'll notice that the longer you're in Sunnydale, everyone has had some sort of experience with the supernatural here but apart from the people in this room and a handful of others, no one remembers anything. However, they mostly follow the rules that I've told you, although on the Hellmouth those things aren't always enough"
"I did notice that they were more careful when going out, I jut hope that's enough" We all sit in a comfortable silence for a while as Giles going to make us another pot of tea. When he returns, we keep to more light-hearted topics for the next hour or so, just enjoying each other's company. Tara opens up a little more, her shyness around Giles and myself waning a little but she still acts a little uncomfortably when she's in close proximity to us. When I see Giles yawn, I realise that we've been here long enough; Giles may be a man of leisure now but that doesn't mean that he likes to stay up all night.
"I think that it's time to make a move, as it's dark we better escort Tara to her dorm first, then I'll leave you and Willow at yours and make my way home, of course ringing when I get there so you know I'm fine"
"Cool with me. Have a nice night Giles, I'll ring to let you know we're safe" Giles nods in thanks then writes his number on a piece of paper and hands it to Tara.
"Here is my number, for my own piece of mind would you ring me to let me know you got home safely?" She takes the paper and gives him a small nod.
"O-of course Mr. Giles"
"Please call me Giles, all my friends do" Both Tara and Willow smile at him, a small tear forming in Willow's eyes at the open acceptance of Tara from Giles. Looking at my watch, I realise that it'll be morning soon in England.
"I may have used it as a diversionary tactic but it would be an idea to ring Olivia, I know you've been putting it off"
"I will, Goodnight Xander" After another round of goodbyes we take our leave.
On a silent agreement, Buffy and I lead the other two the longer way to the dorms, not using the usual short cuts through the cemeteries, that way ensuring that there was less chance of running into any of the undead. Neither one of us is too worried about dusting a vamp or two to get home, we've done it plenty of times before, but Tara hasn't and we'd like to keep it that way.
Once we get to Tara's, I leave Buffy and Willow there as they decide to have a 'girlie chat', that way allowing Buffy to get to know Tara a little better. I take Tara's number so I can ring them once I get in, and after kissing Buffy, hugging Willow and a smile and wave to Tara, I leave them and make my way home.
After checking to see whether I have my usual supplies, I decide to take a detour through Restview cemetery, thinking that taking out a newbie or two would be fun. After half an hour with no luck, I begin to make my way home until I hear a man yell out in pain. I run towards the sound and find that Riley and a few of his Initiative colleagues had been pinned down by a group of vamps and a couple of T'homp'nar demons. No I didn't make that name up. Honest. The vamps weren't going to be too much of a problem, however only certain mystical items could kill a T'homp'nar. As I didn't have any of those items on me, I knew that helping them retreat was the best I could do. Seeing that Riley was about to be eaten by a vamp, I throw one of the vials of holy water I have on me at it. He may not be on my Christmas card list but he doesn't deserve to die. It screams in agony, bringing its hands up to its face on instinct, making it easy for me to stake it. I don't bother to check on him, I may not have wanted him dead but that doesn't mean I care whether he's got a boo boo or not, and start charging towards the other vamps.
"Riley! You need to retreat!"
"Get out of here Harris, you don't know what you're doing!" As he's telling me that I'm taking on two more of the vampires, annoyed that I had killed one of their own. Knowing that I need to make this quick, I use the momentum of one of the vamps to throw it into the other, causing them both to fall to the floor. I stake one before they can get up, kicking the other in the head to keep it dazed so I could stake that one as well.
"I can't fight them all Riley and none of your men have any weapons that can actually KILL demons, so you can either order a retreat or watch them all DIE!" He looks like he is about to start on me but realising the situation he and his men were in, he nods.
"Fall back!" His mean are more than happy to obey that order, making a run for our position as we start to make our way to their frat house as fast as possible. Realising that the vamps will probably catch us up, it was time to even the odds.
"Riley, it'll be wise to try and grab a branch or something to help fight off the vamps; don't even try to take on the others, unless you have a Quintotha blade on you?"
"What's a Quintotha blade?" Question answered.
"Just keep away from them if you can, telling the others would be a good idea" Riley nods and relays the info to the others. I take out my phone and call Giles.
"Rupert Giles speaking"
"Giles, it's Xander. I have a slight demon problem that requires special attention, do you have any Quintotha blades?"
"I have two, please tell me you're not dealing with T'homp'nar demons?"
"I wish I could. There are four of them, teaming up with a group of vamps. I've taken out a few vamps but without those blades…"
"Quite. I'll contact Buffy, she'll come over here and then meet up with you"
"She'll probably still be at Tara's, she and Willow stayed to chat as they don't have classes until the afternoon. It'll be wise to tell her that I've got Riley and some of his men with me and we're heading towards their frat house"
"Couldn't you leave the bugger there?" I can't help but shiver whenever Ripper comes out to play, this being no exception.
"I could but that bloody conscience I've go won't let me. Remind me to find a spell to remove it later"
"I'll make a note on my calendar. Be careful Xander, don't take any unnecessary risks"
"I give you my word. Bye"
"Godspeed" I put the phone away and turn to Riley.
"Buffy will be meeting us on the way with weapons to kill the demons chasing us"
"Walsh wants one alive for studying" I almost stopped to glare at him, but remembering why I was running in the first place I managed to stop myself.
"I don't give a fuck what she wants, what I want is to live through this in one piece and for some strange reason I don't want to see you or your men get eviscerated, which means they die" He goes to nod in agreement but stops himself.
"We still need to complete our mission"
"Is your mission worth the lives of all your men, because if you try to go up against them with the tinker toys you call weapons they won't find enough left of you all to fill a single matchbox. Choose" He speaks before I even finish.
"My men"
"So there is a good guy hidden behind all of that cloak and dagger bullshit you've been pulling" We don't say anything else to each other as we have to deal with the vamps that have finally caught up with us. Riley and his men must really like eating their spinach as we've been running flat out and they aren't even breathing hard. I'm not gasping for breath myself, but I've been fighting with and against things faster and stronger than myself for years and the meditative techniques I know help to regulate my breathing.
As we get closer to the college grounds, I spot Buffy running towards us at almost a blur. I go to speak to her but she suddenly jumps in the air over our heads and lands a vicious kick to the chest of one of the T'homp'nar demons behind us. As she's jumping over our heads, I hear this thud beside me and as when I look down I notice that Buffy had dropped one of the blades next to me, so I pick it up and join her in the fight.
Riley and his men keep the vamps busy while we take on the T'homp'nar, leading them away from the others so we don't have to worry about them. Buffy and I fight back-to-back, making sure that neither one of us gets blindsided. The blades aren't that long so we have to get in close to make them effective, something that doesn't cause Buffy too much of a problem but I'm finding that I'm taking more than my fair share of lumps and if I don't take these things out soon I'll be a Xander-shaped corpse.
Deciding that I've been fighting too conservatively, I change tactics to classic Xander fighting; the ancient art of dumbass. As one of the demons charges at me, I baseball slide between its legs and thrust the blade into, if it were human, its groin. I didn't expect too much to happen as I'd been running out of ideas, but it must have been more important than its groin as it drops lifelessly to the ground and then dissolves into a puddle of turquoise ooze. "Buffy, you have to go for the groin!"
"Can I channel Cordy for a moment; eww!" I don't know whether to smile or roll my eyes so I go for option three.
"You can channel Liberace for all I care but stab them in the groin while you're doing it!" She shudders slightly but takes my advice, quickly taking out one of the demons, before starting on the second. I in the meantime have been trying desperately to dodge the barrage of blows that the other T'homp'nar has been raining down upon me. I can see its tactic; by constantly keeping me on the move I don't have the opportunity to get in close for the killing blow. The vamps that had been helping the T'homp'nar have all been dealt with by Riley and his men, who are now watching how you're supposed to deal with demons, by KILLING them not capturing them. Seeing that Riley still has one of those fancy tazers with him, I run over and take it from him.
"Give that back!" Not having time to think of a witty retort, I simply ignore him and continue running, taking a quick look back every now and then to make sure I was being followed. Relying on my soldier memories, I reconfigure the gun so that it will overload, realizing that one of these blasters will give me a nice diversion when it goes boom. When it begins to glow and crackle I have to suppress the urge to throw it away too soon as I only had one chance at this working. When it reaches critical, I spin round and I throw the gun at the demon chasing me, the gun exploding on impact and sending the demon flying several feet in the air before landing unceremoniously on the ground. I chase after it and before it has a chance to get up, force the blade into its groin right up to the hilt, watching it die and then dissolve, wiping the ooze off of the blade.
I allow myself a few moments to get my breath back before I make my way back to the others. When I get there I see that Buffy had taken out the other T'homp'nar and is now talking to Riley and the others. When I say talking, I mean she's verbally ripping them all a new one and trying not to beat them all into mush.
"You stupid son of a bitch! It's one thing to try and capture demons, but to come out with nothing but those stupid… lightning thingies when you have no idea if they'll work!" Riley and the other are all looking like they're being told off by their parents, but the testosterone in his body decided to make Riley argue the case.
"Listen Buffy, we know what we're doing and how we do things is none of your business" Seeing that this is going to degenerate very fast, I decide to try and calm down the situation. Not because I'm trying to save Riley, but I just don't want to spend the next couple of hours digging four graves.
"Riley, you want to use the tinker toys that's up to you but it might be wise if you keep some stakes and crosses with you as back up, maybe some of the more mundane weapons the army can provide like pistols or shotguns. We're not telling you what to do, we simply don't want to have to deal with the fallout of having US military personnel dying in our town in droves, something that would have happened tonight if we hadn't helped you guys out and you know it"
"Fine, I'll suggest it. We need to get back and report in" He turns and begins to walk off but after a few steps he stops and turns to face us again. "Thanks for the help, I owe you one" He then continues to walk away, his men following him after giving their thanks to us as well. After they're out of sight, Buffy starts to hug the life out of me, balancing it out by kissing me senseless.
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine Buff, a few bumps and bruises but nothing serious. How are you?"
"Nothing that my slayer healing can't deal with by morning. How exactly did you get into this mess?"
"I took a shortcut through Restview, thinking that I could wind down with staking a newbie or two. I had almost given up when I heard one of Riley's men shout out in pain. I went over to find the vamps and T'homp'nar working together to take them out"
"Why would they work with thumper demons?" I know she does it on purpose but I always smile when she mispronounces
"No idea but Giles might, I won't be asking until tomorrow but I better ring and tell him everything's fine now" I get on the phone and after I explain the situation to Giles and to promise that I would come in and see him tomorrow I end the call and go to put the phone away, only for Buffy to take it from me.
"I promised to ring Willow and Tara to let them know we're OK" Realising that she'll probably be on the phone for a while, I take Buffy's hand in mine and indicate that we better walk while she talks, standing around in the middle of a cemetery at night is never a good idea, and doubly so when that cemetery resides on a Hellmouth. By the time she's off the phone, we're at the proverbial fork in the road as we're midway between the dorms and my humble subterranean apartment. "Willow's decided to stay over at Tara's tonight so they can talk some more about the 'real world'. That means that I'm going to be all alone in my dorm room. Whatever shall I do?" The innocent smile on her face contrasts with the wicked gleam in her eyes.
"I might have an idea"
"And that is?" She tries to sound innocent but the hitch in her voice gives her away.
"That I, being the caring and thoughtful boyfriend that I am, keep you company"
"What about work?"
"I don't have to be in until 10 tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have time to go back to mine and get changed"
"If you're sure?"
"Spending time with you is on my top 10 list of things I enjoy most, joint first in fact"
"Joint with what?"
"Thinking about spending time with you" She kisses me deeply, her face looking flushed when she pulls away.
"Good answer"
It's been a couple of weeks since our encounter with Riley and his men and since then we've helped each other out a few more times; demon activity has shot right up and we're all finding it difficult to keep up with it all. The other thing that's worrying us all is that they're working together, including demons that despise each other.
Although there is nothing official, an alliance has been formed between ourselves and Riley and the other men; they've started to realise that without taking the necessary tools to kill demons with them when going out on retrieval missions, there's a good chance that they wouldn't come back. It seems that they've had a pretty high turnover of recruits in the Initiative, either because they request transfers after their first mission or they don't survive their first mission. Since our assistance and suggestions, their mortality rate has gone down and less transfer requests have been put in. A few of the men weren't too happy our little alliance hadn't been cleared with Walsh, but once they'd been brought over the coals when they barely return from a mission without the demon they were sent to retrieve, they soon came around to our way of thinking.
Walsh still doesn't like that we are still running around unleashed; Buffy and Willow are finding it extremely difficult to get passing grades in her class, something that does NOT make for a happy Willow as she's never had anything lower than a B+ in a class, and that was because she had the flu the week before the assignment and was physically incapable of doing it until the night before. She'd also left orders that if we interfered or obstructed them in any way we were to be detained. I did not want to know what would happen if they had, nor would they want to know what I would do if they tried. Luckily Riley and the others understood the hidden meaning in the orders; they have no problems retrieving demons for the scientists but were not happy at the thought of doing the same to humans.
We've been trying to work out what has got the demons working together and so far we haven't come up with a lot. Giles has been frantically looking through his books looking for prophecies or anything that might indicate what we're dealing with but so far he's come up a blank. Tara has been helping him out a lot; research seems to be a speciality of hers. She has quickly become a close member of the Scooby Gang, I gave her the initiation ritual of the proper way to eat a Twinkie a couple of days after our first meeting; no one saw any reason to put off the inevitable. It turned out that she loves Twinkies almost as much as I do and already knew how to eat them properly. If I hadn't already made my mind up about her, that moment would have definitely sealed it, I almost kissed her I was so happy. I haven't really had anyone since Jesse that had the same appreciation for the golden snack as myself.
I've met with her for coffee half a dozen times at lunch, talking about anything and everything. I'm hoping to get her used to the fact that not all men are dangerous and its beginning to work, she's no longer uncomfortable when around either Giles or myself but she still finds it difficult when we're at the Bronze and are around men she doesn't know. I know that it will take time, it's only been a fortnight, but once she builds up her self-confidence she will be fine. It turns out that she has quite the sense of humour and has on more than one occasion rendered me speechless with a perfectly timed comment during a conversation, the first time she did that Giles couldn't stop laughing for a full five minutes when he saw the look on my face, that was after he sprayed the mouthful of tea he was drinking across the room. The fact that she manages to maintain her innocent expression only increases the power of the pun.
Another change is that both Willow and Tara are now included in the training sessions. Willow was against the idea at first but once we explained why we wanted to do it, she began to waver. Once we pulled our trump card, Tara's safety, she caved faster than a dieter in a chocolate factory.
We were winding down a research/training session a couple of days ago when the buzzer indicating someone was at the door went off. Giles goes upstairs to see whom it is, leaving us to practise by ourselves; I normally practise with Tara while Willow pairs off with Buffy. I decided that this would better help Tara with her confidence around men, having the chance to beat me up on a regular basis without any repercussions. The other reason was that I knew that willow would have a very hard time sparring with me, we've been friends for far too long. Giles comes back a couple of minutes later and I can tell that whoever it was at the door has come as a shock to him. He looks at each one of us in turn, his gaze resting on Willow.
"Um, Willow there's someone here to see you" I can see she was about to ask who it was when the person in question comes down the stairs.
"Oz"
"Willow"
"Xander" Yes I know it was lame but it had the desired effect; it removed a little of the tension that was swirling around the room in waves. I was still annoyed that I missed out using that joke back in LA. Silence reigned in the training room for a few moments before Oz walks up to Willow.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Sure" Willow goes to leave with Oz, barely sparing enough time to look at Tara.
Tara is understandably upset that her girlfriend would so willingly leave with her ex, without so much as a word to her. Seeing that she's trying to hold back tears, I go over to her and place a hand on her shoulder, aware that she is still wary of me touching her. She surprises me by spinning round and grabbing hold of me, silently crying against my chest. Buffy comes over and joins the hug, trying to comfort our newest member as possible. After a couple of minutes she calms down enough for me to talk to her, I gently raise her chin so that she's looking at me. Her eyes are puffy and red, her face wet with tears.
"Tara, I know that this looks bad, but seeing Oz again has probably brought back a lot of memories to the surface for Willow. I'm not condoning how she left here, but I know Willow, she's probably shocked to see him again and is running on autopilot right now. As soon as she has her wits back she'll contact you and apologise for how she left, I'm sure of it"
"What if she wants him back?" She asks it as a question, but I can see the defeated look in her eyes, she's already made up her mind as to whom Willow has chosen. I hug her a little tighter, maintaining eye contact with her at all times.
"She doesn't. Yes, Oz was a part of her life but he was the past, you're the future and nothing is going to change that" She turns to Buffy who simply nods in agreement, her eyes conveying that she believes the same. At her indication, we let her go and after she wipes the tears from her eyes, she looks at us both and gives a small smile of gratitude, the defeated look replaced with one of hope.
"Thanks, I needed to hear that. I think I better go home, I'm not really in the mood to finish my training tonight, if that's OK with you?"
"Of course it is. Why doesn't Buffy take you while I stay here and finish up"
"You won't say anything to Willow will you?"
"I promise that I won't have a go at her but I will talk to her" Tara knows that I would talk to her one way or the other but she also knows that I keep my promises, I won't make things worse by speaking out of turn.
She walks off with Buffy, after giving me another quick hug and Buffy giving me a kiss, and I continue with my training, that way allowing any anger I have to be burnt off before I see Willow. I know that she'll come back here before going home as she has left her books here, she came to Giles' right after college, and she'll need them tomorrow. Giles comes down a few minutes after they leave and spars with me for a while, he doesn't hold back as he also has a little anger to drain away. He's seen how happy Willow is with Tara and doesn't want anything to ruin that, especially not the person who caused her a lot of pain.
I have to admit that my anger towards Oz has gone; I can't exactly stay angry at him for cheating on Willow when she cheated on him with me. I could also see why he had to leave; his fear that the wolf inside could take over is something I can sympathise with, my little stint as Hyena Boy giving me a good insight into what he's feeling. I used to think that Willow and Oz could go the distance, but seeing her with Tara I couldn't imagine her with anyone else.
By the time that Giles and I had finished putting each other through our paces, sparring in both armed and unarmed combat, and changed an hour has passed. We go upstairs and sit down to a pot of tea, talking about the current demon situation.
"I think that these demons aren't just working with each other, they're all working for someone or something that's hiding in the background"
"What makes you say this?"
"They have no personal agenda as far as I can see; they either go straight after Riley's men or they cause problems in areas they know will be patrolled. They're acting as though they've been sent on a mission, although I can't really see any objectives to them. At the end of the day, they were sent and until we know why, we won't know how to stop it"
"I have to say I hadn't looked at it from that standpoint"
"Well you don't have the soldier memories that I do"
"Good point. Have you discussed this with Buffy or Finn" Giles agreed that we were better off working with Riley and the others but he still hasn't forgotten how they acted before. Even though he has been told them several times, he insists on calling them by their surnames. I do find that somewhat ironic.
"No, you're always my first point of call when it comes to this stuff" He smiles a little wider at that; I know that he sometimes feels a little out of the loop these days, our lives had been drifting apart with our non-supernatural activities, but we've been doing things together more recently, as the family that we've become and I think that we're as close now as we have ever been.
"If your theory is correct then that means that there won't be anything in the books that will be of any use"
"Not necessarily, you might just need to look for any demons that can hold power over other demons"
"Good idea, I shall have Tara look at that tomorrow"
"It might be an idea to let Tara and Willow have a couple of days off when it comes to research unless they volunteer, they may have some things to deal with"
"You're probably right. You're not going to say anything to her are you?"
"I can't not talk to her Giles but I'm not going to do or say anything that will make things worse, Tara already made me promise her that"
"Good" At that moment, there's a knock on the door. I go to answer it and find Willow standing there, a smile plastered on her face. I stand aside, the normal practise of those in the know, allowing her to come inside without being invited. She comes in as if she's walking on air.
"Everything OK Wills?"
"Everything's wonderful. Did you remember what night tonight is?"
"What are you on about?"
"When was the last time you had to think about whether it was a full moon or not?"
"I haven't given it a second's thought since Oz left…" I stop thinking as I suddenly get what she was on about. Ensuring that I have a stake on me, I step outside and look up. There in a cloudless sky is a full moon. The importance of that hits me straight away. "Oz has found a way to control the wolf"
"Yep, he found his way to Tibet and with the help of some monks he's free of the wolf" I have to say that I'm happy for Oz, realising that you have control of your life again must have been a deeply gratifying experience. The thing nagging me was that I wasn't aware that there was a cure for a Lycanthrope.
"He's not a Werewolf anymore?"
"Yes, but he doesn't transform anymore, something to do with some meditative techniques he's mastered. Isn't it great!" Willow is almost bursting with happiness for Oz, which is understandable as he was her ex. I was worried about the amount of happiness and whether he was STILL her ex.
"Yes it is, I'm happy for him. I'm sure Tara will be as well when you tell her" I know that it was a cheap shot but the longer I was looking and talking to her I was just getting more angry on Tara's behalf. It had the desired effect of reminding Willow of her current relationship, something that she probably hadn't done a great deal of since Oz showed up earlier this evening. I decide that I need to do this away from Giles, he means well but sometimes his protective nature over his 'children' makes it difficult for him to be objective. Not that I'm exactly the pinnacle of reason myself. I lead her down to the training room where we can have some peace.
"How is she?" She's no longer full of joy for Oz; instead she's full of worry about her girlfriend. I decide to tell her the truth. I find it extremely difficult to be angry with Willow when she's actually in front of me, so I'm able to tell her without sounding angry about it.
"I won't lie to you, she's not entirely happy about the situation, especially the bit where her girlfriend walked off with her ex without so much as a word said to her. I explained that you were probably in shock and were acting on autopilot, not consciously intending to hurt her feelings. You're not going to make me a liar now are you?" She immediately shakes her head.
"Of course I was in shock, I hadn't seen Oz in months and for him to just turn up out of the blue without so much as a phone call beforehand did cause me to mentally shut down for a few moments. I shut down again when he told me to look up and I saw we were walking under a full moon" She pauses for a couple of seconds, trying to find the best way to say what she wants to. I can guess what she's about to tell me. "I was so happy for him that I hugged him out of instinct. When he went to kiss me, initially I didn't resist, until I realised that his lips weren't as soft or as warm as Tara's. Once I thought of Tara, I was firing with all cylinders once again and broke the embrace, saying that I couldn't do this as I was seeing someone else" I was happy about that, we both know what it's like to get caught up in the moment and was pleased that she hadn't allowed it to happen again.
"What did he say to that?"
"He said that he wasn't surprised that somebody else had seen the same thing that he did and that they were a lucky man" I tried my best to not smirk at that, especially when I could tell that she hadn't told him about her recent change in sexual orientation.
"I take it you didn't elaborate that it was a lucky woman?" I couldn't help the slightly humorous tone in my voice. She notices and has a slight smile on her face, obviously seeing the humour in it herself, even if she doesn't want to right now.
"I didn't think it would be the right time to bring that up" Although I found it funny, I was a little worried about why she hadn't told him about Tara.
"Don't think that I'm judging you here but why not? It's not as though it should make any difference, you haven't tried to hide your relationship in public and we're all happy for you, should it matter what you ex thinks?" She glared at me for a second before she realised I really wasn't trying to judge, I was simply trying to figure it out.
"I could tell that he was more than a little disappointed that I had moved on and I didn't think that telling him I moved on to another gender would help the situation"
"Fine, I understand how it wouldn't be the easiest thing to talk about at a time like that" Seeing that she was a little distressed about it, I decided to spare her and change the subject.. "How long is he staying?"
"He said that he'd be around for a few days, but I'm guessing that now he realises I'm not going back to him he might leave sooner" It's now that I realise that she's gone through a lot tonight. I place a hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze.
"I know how hard it must be to see him again, how are you holding up?"
"I'm not entirely sure just yet, seeing him has brought up a lot of memories, both good and bad. I'm glad to see him and annoyed that he just turned up unannounced at the same time" I can understand that feeling, having felt similarly confused myself at times. I can see that she wants to go but there's one more question I need to ask her before she does.
"Don't jump down my throat, but are you having second thoughts about being with Tara?" She throws off my hand and sets me with a glare that could melt steel.
"No! I could never have second thoughts about Tara, I love her more than life itself!" The sheer conviction in her voice makes me smile.
"That's good to hear. I just wanted to make sure you were certain before you talked to Tara, she has an uncanny way of telling whether she's being told the truth or not, and saying what you think she wants to hear instead of the truth would not be of the good"
"And how do you know I'm telling the truth?" Her glare has lessened but it is still a sight to behold. Knowing that I would need to tell the truth, Willow is one of the few people who can tell when I'm lying, most of the time anyway, I have the common decency to look a little sheepish.
"Two ways; one, I kinda activated my aura spell to see whether you were lying…" Seeing the glare starting to increase again I quickly continue. "But more importantly is two, you're my Willow" The glare disappears after a moment and a smile replaces it, I'm very relieved when she comes over and gives me a hug.
"And you're my Xander" She releases me and begins to collect her things. "I better go and talk to Tara, thanks for going easy on me Xan, I know you probably weren't happy with me" I smile at that understatement.
"I have to admit that both Tara and Giles made me promise not to revert to form and go for the jugular. Another facet to the new and improved mature Xander; tact and diplomacy" Her smile falters a little.
"Just don't change too much; we all like the original version of you, a lot, and wouldn't want to lose him" I go over to her and place a hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.
"I'm not going anywhere, but I can't stay exactly how you knew me either. I don't think I could stand what my life would have been like if I had" My strategic skills were sometimes a big pain in the ass; I had worked out that if I had stayed how I was before my road trip, I would have been kept out of their lives once again, and this time I wouldn't have argued. I simply didn't have any more fight left in me. Willow can tell that my mood has changed.
"What do you mean?" This really isn't a conversation I want to have right now so I decide to change the subject.
"You better go see how Tara is Willow" She must have switched to friend-mode as she puts on her resolve face.
"You're not getting out of it that easy mister" One of the good things about having a lifetime of military training is that I have now become more resilient to her.
"Willow" She recognises the 'don't push it' tone in my voice and decides to let it go for now.
"Fine, but we will have this talk" knowing that she'll only continue to hound me until I agree, I save time and nod.
"Deal" Willow grabs the rest of her stuff and leaves, normally I would go with her as escort but now the Initiative no longer actively hunting us I know she'll be safe for one night. Anyway, with her physical and magical skills, she's no slouch in the dusting department.
I go upstairs and after saying goodnight to Giles, I also make my way home. I decide against using the cemetery as a short cut as I really want to go to sleep and wasn't really in the mood to get into it with any vamps. When I finally get there, as it takes an extra ten minutes not using the short cut, I notice that there are a few black bags outside, by the looks of things thrown out of the front door. When I try to get in with my key, I find that it doesn't work anymore. Now normally I don't allow what my parent's decide to do to get to me, if I had I would have gone insane a long time ago. This time though they've gone too far, and in the process, seriously pissed me off.
After nixing the idea of knocking the door off the hinges, I didn't want to wake the neighbours, I decide to use some of the more 'grey area' memories from soldier boy, namely lock-picking. After a few seconds, I'm inside and have quietly closed the door behind me. I walk silently through the house to the basement, to find that all of my stuff had been removed, probably into those black bags outside. In it's place is uncle Barry's stuff in place of my own and his unconscious form on what was until a few hours ago my bed.
Now I say uncle, but it's more like 'friend of my father's', he's been in and out of jail ever since I can remember and whenever he was out he would always stay with us. I definitely did not enjoy those times, having one male authority figure beating seven shades of shit out of me was one thing, having two was completely another. The last time he was out was about a year before Buffy showed up in Sunnydale, I spent five days in hospital due to the beating I took at their hands. I can't even remember what I did to get the beating, only the fact that they both kept saying that it was 'for my own good'. I just stand there staring at him for a minute, not quite believing what was happening. I knew that my parents weren't exactly the nurturing types, I doubt they could spell it let alone explain what it meant. I just never thought that they would actually kick me out, not without at least telling me. Of course in their constant drunken state they probably thought that they did.
Not wanting to have three counts of murder on my plate, I leave the house as quietly as I got in. I gather the bags that they threw out together and then make a call.
"Rupert Giles speaking"
"Hey Giles, it's Xander. Can I ask you a favour?"
"Of course, what is it?"
"Can you pick me up at my parent's place, it seems that I no longer live there"
"What!" I had to move the phone away from me for a second, his sudden outburst almost deafening me.
"I turned up and found all my stuff dumped in the front lawn and the locks changed" I could hear him take his glasses off and clean them before he spoke again.
"Where are you going to stay?" I hadn't actually thought of that, I just want to make sure that my stuff stays my stuff, not thrown away with the rest of the garbage.
"Haven't a clue" Again I could almost hear him think things through in his head.
"Well you're staying here with me until you are ready to find somewhere else" I thought that he might suggest something like this, out of some sort of obligation. I don't want anyone to feel obligated o help me.
"I wouldn't want to be any trouble…"
"No trouble at all, I mean it. I won't argue over this, you're staying here and that's final" I know that tone, it's the one he's used during training when I've disagreed with him over something. It means that if I continue to argue, he'll allow 'Ripper' out and play with me for a while. I called his bluff once and walked with a limp for two days. I may not be the sharpest tool in the woodshed but I learn from my mistakes.
"Yes sir" I can hear him sigh in relief, I guess he was gearing himself up for further argument, in spite of his tone. I guess I have a reputation as being a little stubborn, completely undeserved of course.
"Good, I'll be along shortly. Be on your guard until I arrive"
"Always" I slip a stake out from within one of the secret pockets in my jacket. I won't tell Giles this, but with everything that has happened tonight, I had actually forgot what town I live in, and in this town that is a mistake that can cost you your life. It would have just been my luck to have those bastards be the cause of my death, even if it was indirectly. I was kind of disappointed when Giles had turned up about ten minutes later and I hadn't had to deal with any vamps, having something to beat seven shades of shit out of is a great stress reliever.
"How are you coping Xander?" I suppress the urge to roll my eyes at that. One of the things that annoyed me so much over the years is dealing with people who try to 'handle' me when they find out just how shitty my life has been. It isn't their fault, but when they start on the platitudes I feel like digging a hole and throwing them in. the fact that I can tell that Giles' concern is legit, I decide to take the odd, well odd for me, route of telling the truth.
"The way I always do, I repress" The look he gives me is a clear indication he didn't like that answer.
"Xander…" I put a hand up to stop him from going any further.
"I know, not the healthiest way to deal with things. It's just that I would have been found hanging from my ceiling or in a bath full of blood if I hadn't repressed what I had to deal with in that place. This is just the latest in a long list of occasions when my parents showed their true feelings towards me" He just stands there for a few moments, allowing what I said to seep in before responding. I can see the anger and sadness my words caused him on my behalf flash across his face before he manages to regain his composure. He walks over, puts a hand on my shoulder and ensures that I'm looking into his eyes before he speaks.
"There isn't a lot I can do to change what has happened, but I promise you this; you will always have a place to stay with me" It takes all of my mental discipline not to start crying; his simple statement shows once more that he cares more for me then my parents ever have. It takes me several moments before I'm able to speak.
"Thank you, that means a lot" We gather my things and put them in the trunk of his car; what does it say about you when everything that you own can fit in the trunk of a Citroen CV? We drive back to Giles' in silence, although not an uncomfortable one, we simply feel comfortable in each others presence.. Once we get there, I take my things and place them in Giles' spare room, now mine for the foreseeable future. I put the picture of myself, Buffy, Willow and Giles on top of the dresser facing the bed, as I have always placed it since the photo was given to me by OZ a couple of years ago. Once I've put my clothes away and placed the other photos that had survived my parent's unique style of packing where I wanted them, I go downstairs to find Buffy waiting for me.
As soon as I'm at the bottom of the stairs she comes over and envelops me in an embrace, making me feel better almost immediately. If I could bottle the feeling I get from one of Buffy's hugs I could make millions, but knowing me I would keep it all to myself anyway. We stay that way for a few moments; just enjoying the fact that I'm doing this and it's not a dream. I feel Buffy move slightly so that she can look up at me.
"Are you OK?"
"I'm definitely better now than I was, something to do with having one of the most beautiful women on the planet holding me I guess" The gigawatt smile and the slight blush on her cheeks makes me feel even better than I did from holding her. She closes her eyes and after squeezing me a little, releases a small moan of pleasure that does some very nice things to me.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, but that doesn't answer my question does it" Not wanting to break my promise and lie to her again, I have no choice but to speak the truth.
"I guess I'm shocked; having your parents chuck out all of your stuff and change the locks isn't exactly an everyday occurrence" I seem to shock her with the lack of anger that's in my voice. I have to say I'm shocked as well, especially since not less than an hour ago I was running plans through my head to see if I could kill three people without getting arrested.
"You're not angry are you?"
"I was, when I first realised what had happened I was a hairs breadth away from completely losing it. Now I don't really feel any anger towards them at all, it's been a long time since I've cared about them enough to allow their actions to anger me. I suppose the closest I can get to pin down what I'm feeling is disappointment. Yeah, disappointment and closure"
"Closure?"
"All the time I was living there, I had a glimmer of hope that they would finally treat me like their son, instead of a piece of shit they stepped in by accident. This has put the final nail in the coffin that was my relationship with them" She puts her head back on my chest and I can feel that trying not to cry. After a couple of minutes she looks back up at me, her eyes red and full of unshed tears.
"I'm sorry"
"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, you aren't my parents, which is a good thing considering the dreams I have. Especially the one where…" The sound of glass breaking causes me to whip my head round to find Giles stooping down to pick up the broken pieces of the glass he had been drinking from.
"For the love of god Xander, I didn't want to know that!" I can't believe that I had forgotten where I was, that is until I look at Buffy again. I can feel the blush appear on my face as I turn to look at him once more.
"Sorry Giles, I kinda forgot you were there"
"Really? I hadn't noticed" I chuckle lightly and decide that it might be an idea to change the subject. Not having to let Buffy go made it a bonus.
"Anyway, not that I'm unhappy to see you Buff, but why are you here?"
"Giles rang me straight after talking with you and gave me the rundown on what happened" I look over to Giles and give him a thankful smile which he returns. "I also wanted to know how it went with Willow; I was still at Tara's when she showed up, I wanted to know what was going on but I felt a little like a third wheel as soon as they locked eyes on each other" I nod in understanding; I've felt that way a couple of times when those two first see each other and I have felt a little pervy on occasion, as it sometimes felt that I was watching something that I shouldn't.
"It went OK, she told me what happened with Oz and I explained that she could have handled the situation a little better. I won't go into too many details as I'm sure she'll talk to you herself, but the main thing was that Oz has found a way to control the wolf"
"What?"
"How?" Both Giles and Buffy talked at the same time, I smiled as they turned to look at each other, Buffy almost having to do a Linda Blair. I stopped myself from saying 'you forgot when, where and why' and decided instead to cut to the chase as I was feeling tired.
"Both excellent questions; did either of you notice that tonight's a full moon?" From their looks of surprise I'm guessing not. "Don't worry, I had forgotten as well. It seems that whilst on his journey of discovery Oz met some monks have taught him some meditative techniques that allow him to control the change to such an extent that he doesn't have to transform at all anymore" Both Buffy and Giles' eyes bugged out at that. I can see the wheels beginning to turn in Giles' head, trying to think of any books that might have information on it. After a couple of moments, Buffy has come round enough to continue talking.
"How was Willow taking it?"
"She was happy for him, as I guess we all are" They both nod in agreement; they may not have liked what happened before Oz left but they still cared. I can see that Buffy isn't happy with the answer I gave.
"And?" I can tell what she's getting at, she wants to know what happened between them during their talk, but it's not really for me to say.
"As I said before, I'm sure Wills will talk to you about it tomorrow" I yawn loudly and give them both an apologetic smile. "I hope you don't mind but I have to be up early tomorrow as we're trying to get ahead of schedule at work, we've been offered a nice bonus if we finish early and that's something I could do with" I can see that she doesn't want to, but she reluctantly agrees. After grabbing my ass, something that caused me to yelp in surprise, she lets me go.
"I need to do a quick patrol anyway before I turn in myself, I have Walsh tomorrow morning and I don't want to give her any excuses to lay into me" The thought of that bitch doing anything to Buffy makes my blood boil with rage.
"If she touches a hair on your head I'll…" She smiles at my outburst but stops me before I build up a head of steam.
"In a student-teacher way not a slayer-nutty professor way. I can take care of myself you know, slayer here" I know she can, she's faced some of the most powerful beings in the world and came out on top. The trouble is I don't care.
"I know that, but I reserve the right as your boyfriend to do serious harm to anyone or anything that hurts you or thinks of hurting you. I know I don't have to but I want to, I love you. Anyway, it isn't as though you wouldn't do the same for me"
"Of course I would. Believe me, it would take weeks before I would get bored enough of torturing them to actually kill them" The cold look in her eyes and the utter conviction in her voice would have worried anyone else, but I know I'm exactly the same so it's actually a little comforting. I lean down and kissed her on the tip of her nose, causing her to wrinkle her face but she couldn't suppress the grin that appears on her face.
"You say the sweetest things. Be careful and call me as soon as you're home, I won't be able to sleep until you do"
"Of course I will. Goodnight Giles"
"Goodnight Buffy" She smiles at both of us before walking out the door.
"Is there anything you need me to do before I go to bed Giles?"
"No, you get to bed. I'll sort out a spare set of keys for you tomorrow and will bring them in to work for you". There's a phone in your room so you won't have to get up when Buffy calls"
"Thanks, Goodnight"
"Goodnight son"
When Buffy said that she was going to make a quick patrol she wasn't kidding. Half an hour after she left she was on the phone letting me know that she was fine. We talked for a few minutes before we said our goodbyes and I went off to sleep. I got up with the sunrise and after having a shower and getting dressed, I went downstairs and did some tidying up before heading to work. We were so busy that by the time I knew what was going on it was already lunchtime. The good thing was we were well on the way to finishing early. I really wanted that bonus as I wanted to do something special for Buffy, I had realised that we hadn't actually gone on a date yet, something I wanted to change as soon as possible. The other good thing about lunchtime was that it was time to meet up with Tara, I wanted to make sure that she was OK after the events of last night. She puts up a good front but I know a front when I see one, having used one myself since I knew what one was. I had just got to the café and found a table when Tara shows up, right on time as always.
"Hi Tara" she smiles, brightening up the café, and sits down.
"Hello Xander" The waitress comes over and takes our order almost instantly, we've become known to all the staff and get special service. We sit in a comfortable silence, but when our coffees arrive, I decide that I might as well cut to the chase.
"How are you feeling?" She automatically increases the size of her smile, but seeing the look I give decides against trying to cover up her feelings.
"I-I've felt better, Willow explained everything that happened last night and although I'm not happy about it, I can understand" I can see that she's telling the truth, I've been able to work out whether or not she withholds anything or not. She never actually lies, she really isn't capable, but she is a master at telling you the truth without telling the whole truth. I know it sounds like there isn't a difference but there is to experts like myself. Wanting to be certain that she isn't being lied to herself, I decide to press for some more information.
"Everything?"
"If you're talking about the kiss then yes, everything" It's surprising me that she's able to talk about her girlfriend kissing her ex without the slightest hint of anger, especially so close to the event.
"You're taking this well"
"I guess that I am. I allowed myself to think about how I would have reacted if it had happened to me, and I couldn't say that I would do things differently"
"I'm not sure I could have acted that logically after only a few hours" She reddens a bit and her hair begins to move in front of her face. I'm sure that she must have put a spell on her hair for it to do that.
"Well I m-might have cheated a bit" I raise an eyebrow at that. I can't conceive using the words 'Tara' and 'cheat' in the same sentence.
"Cheated?" I smirk at her and her blush increases, her hair moving over her face more. When she speaks I could hear the embarrassment in her voice.
"I used a spell that paused time for a bit" I don't know a lot about magic but that sounds like a pretty powerful spell.
"Paused time?"
"Well not paused time exactly, I was allowed half an hour to think through things in my head, when actually only a second had passed" That sounds like something I could use.
"Useful spell, think you could teach it to me?" She looks at me strangely for a moment.
"I thought that you didn't like magic?" I haven't kept it a secret that I feel magic and myself don't mix, but Giles has said that although I have very little power magic-wise, I am able to use what I have to it's full potential.
"I don't but the soldier in me can see the advantages of having thirty minutes to think during spur of the moment decisions, especially in the line of work we're in. Do you think I would be able to make it work?" She knows that I wasn't talking about my ability to learn it but whether I have the power.
"Very little power is required to perform the spell, I'm sure that I can teach it to you" I had just noticed that she hadn't actually told me that she would teach me the spell.
"I know you CAN, but WILL you?"
"Of course I will" She smiles at me but it's the smile she uses when she's been playing with me. Her subtle blend of humour always slips under my radar.
"Great!" we both smile at eac other, until Tara becomes more sombre.
"I saw Buffy this morning and she told us what happened at you parent's house last night. I'm sorry" I can see how sad she is for me so on impulse I take her hand in mine. I'm happy to see that she doesn't flinch or shy away from me.
"As I told Buffy last night, there's nothing for you to be sorry about. It's not as though you were the one that kicked me out"
"I know, it's just that I can't really think of anything else to say" I think I know why she's acting this way an as this is the best chance to bring it up…
"Don't take this the wrong way but you're acting as though you've had a similar experience" The 'deer caught in the headlights' look told me all I needed to know.
"W-what do you m-mean?" She moves her hands away from mine and I can see that I may have torn down some of the bridges I that had been built between us. Not wanting that to happen I decided to stop that topic of conversation there, after laying the groundwork for possible later discussions.
"I can tell a person who's had a bad childhood from a hundred paces, the saying 'it takes one to know one' is more than a saying. I won't say anything more if you don't want me to, but I'm always here to talk to if you want. I'll never speak about anything you tell me, unless you give me express permission. All I want is to help"
"T-Thank you" She smiles at me and I'm happy to see that it's genuine. We finish our drinks in silence and when I go to call a waitress over to order refills, I notice Oz coming in. Not having the chance to speak to him before, I wave him over.
"Hey Oz" I extend my hand and after a moments hesitation he takes it, the smallest of smiles appearing on his face. I guess he must have been worried about how I would treat him, our last talk not exactly being the most friendly.
"Xander" Oz takes a sniff in the air and suddenly whips his head round to look at Tara. She squirms slightly under his gaze, but realising that I was there, summons the courage to speak.
"H-hello" His gaze continues and I begin to get an uneasy feeling about it. I had never seen Oz act this negatively towards someone.
"Hi" The tone in his voice is barely concealed rage. Wanting to try and diffuse the situation, I try and start a conversation.
"OK, I'll do the introductions; Oz, this is Tara, Tara, this is Oz"
"You're Willow's girlfriend" his voice is not longer hiding the anger and I'm now starting to get very worried.
"I-I thought that Willow didn't tell you"
"She didn't, I can smell her all over you" As he finishes his sentence, I see his eyes flash and he starts to convulse. My first instinct is to help him, but I stop when I hear the growl coming from him.
"Oz?" He looks up at me and I can see that he's starting to transform.
"Run, I can't control it…" He then collapses onto the ground and I begin to see fur covering his body. Realising that we don't have much time, I grab Tara and run out of the café, telling everyone to get out. The staff know that I wouldn't say that without reason so they begin to shepherd them out. Once we get round the corner I stop and turn to Tara.
"Tara, run to Giles' and let him know what's going on. I'll stall for as long as possible" Realising that I'm not going with her, she begins to shake her head.
"I'm not leaving you!" Not having time to get into an argument, I grab her by the shoulders and force her to look at me.
"Tara, there is no way I'm letting one of my girls get hurt, now GO!" Seeing the determination in my eyes, she gives in and nods. I let her go and after giving her a little smile, she starts running. It wasn't more than a couple of seconds later that Oz, now in full wolf form, comes charging towards me. He stops about six feet away from me, but is growling angrily and his stance tells me he's ready to strike at any time. Not wanting to take him on, I can't see a way to stop him without killing him; I try to calm him down, hoping he can regain control.
"Oz, you've got to listen to me man, calm down and concentrate on what you've been taught…" I can see that I'm not getting through to him so I begin to go for my gun, hoping to slow him down enough so Giles can get here with the tranq gun. Oz must sense my shift and pounces, but before he reaches me he lets out a howl of pain and drops to the ground, twitching several times before going completely limp. I turn to see Forrest, Riley's second in command, and a couple of his men walking up to me. As Forrest reaches us, he kicks Oz violently in the head.
"Shit Forrest, he's out there's no need to kick him when he's down!" Forrest spins round and trains his Tazer rifle on me, cold fury clearly visible in his eyes.
"You help us with the vamps and demons and I'm grateful, but you try to tell me how to act again and I'll forget our little arrangement and let Walsh know what's been going on" The other men look surprised at him for a moment, but say nothing as he's in command. I knew that he wasn't happy with the arrangement, he was one of the few people against it from the beginning but a close call with a vamp changed his tune somewhat. He is a real stickler when it comes to the rules and definitely believes in what Walsh is doing, something that is becoming less common. I never thought he felt that strongly about it though.
"Are you nuts?"
"No, I'm perfectly sane. Now you've got two choices; back off and allow us to do our job or prepare yourself to find the military at yours, your friends and your family's door very soon" I didn't want them to take Oz, I knew what they did to the demons they captured and didn't want him to go through it, but I can't risk Buffy's and everyone else's safety. I keep my mouth shut, not allowing my mouth to run away with itself for once, and take a couple of steps back. I do however send a glare towards Forrest that has the other men falter in their step slightly but Forrest ignores it, just looking at me with a smug grin. The other men pick up Oz and they all go to leave. Just as they are about to turn the corner, I call out to him.
"Forrest!" He indicates for the other two to keep going as he turns to face me.
"What do you want Harris?" I take one step towards him but go no closer when I notice him reach for his rifle.
"This isn't over" He just laughs at me.
"I'm shaking in my boots" He walks away laughing and I try to ignore the impulses telling me how many bones I could break before he passed out from the pain. Knowing that I couldn't leave Oz to whatever fate he has with the Initiative, I head over to Giles'. I meet him halfway, narrowly avoiding becoming another victim of vehicular manslaughter by jumping out of the way of his car. I never thought It could go that fast!
"Jesus Giles, you practising for the Indy 500?"
"Bloody funny, I think not! When Tara told me what was happening, I came to help as fast as I could"
"And I thank you for that, I really do, but killing yourself on the way wouldn't have been the most productive of doing so, would it?"
"I wasn't exactly thinking clearly I have to admit" I could see it in his eyes, the same thing I had whenever I thought that Buffy or the others were going to die. He was going to do whatever it took to save me, even if it meant sacrificing himself to do it.
"Don't worry about it, you were still driving better than Buffy" He said nothing to that but the smile gracing his lips told me everything I needed to know. Buffy had gotten him to give her a driving lesson after Joyce had said in no uncertain terms that if she didn't improve her driving skills she would have the DMV revoke her licence. To be honest I don't know how she got one in the first place. Anyway, when he came back he was looking worse than he did after Drusilla and Angelus had finished with him. He had said in no uncertain terms that he would NEVER get in a car with herself as the driver, to the point that if it was a choice between getting drained by a vamp or driven by Buffy he would bare his neck to the vamp.
"Are you OK? Where is OZ?" I got into the passenger seat and relayed what had happened while he drove us back to his place. When we got there we barely got in the door when I had Tara launching herself at me, trying to squeeze the life out of me whilst simultaneously trying to drown me in tears. She may not be a slayer but she still made it difficult to breathe. I didn't say anything however, I simply held onto her and tried to calm her down as best I could, which after a few minutes was enough for me to get her to let go and sit down on the couch.
"I'm sorry I worried you Tara" I couldn't really think of anything else to say, I knew I had acted harshly towards her but it was the only way I could get her to safety. I just hoped she understood.
"I know, you were just trying to protect me and didn't mean to be so harsh" She was speaking very calmly considering the gibbering wreck she was a minute or two before.
"You used that spell again didn't you? Cheater" She laughs and slaps me gently on the shoulder. She then sobers up when she notices that Oz wasn't with us.
"Where's OZ?"
"Forrest and a couple other guys shocked him and took him away" She looked startled for a moment.
"Why didn't you stop them?"
"Stop who from doing what?" Buffy and Willow come in at that moment, unaware of what has happened. I go on to inform them of what went down, including the threat that Forrest made.
"I knew he didn't really liked us, but I never thought he'd shop us to Walsh"
"I don't really believe this, but it could be that he was just having a bad day and didn't like me telling him what he could and couldn't do. The problem is we don't have the luxury to think about it too much; the first thing we need to do is think of a way to get Oz out" I already had an idea, but I wanted to hear what they may be able to come up with first, as I know my plan will not be well received.
"Couldn't we just explain that it's Oz?"
"Not really; I'm guessing that only Walsh has the authority to release a captive and I can't see her doing it this side of ever. I'm not sure about Riley but I think that most of the guys that work there have a strict 'humans good, demons bad' belief that won't change just because we know one"
"What do you suggest?" I could see that Giles was on the same wavelength as myself; he was also far too smart to suggest it himself.
"The only thing I can think of is that I go in there and get him out" Buffy whips her head round to face me so fast I was surprised it didn't snap.
"Don't you mean we?"
"Unless you can look like a man and act like a marine, I'll be going alone" She goes to argue, but realises it would be pointless. Instead, she decides to suggest someone else to go with me.
"You said you're not sure about Riley, do you think he would help?"
"Even with the way he acted before, I think that Riley is a good man, but that is the reason I can't ask him. I doubt that he would aid and abet the infiltration of a secret military installation and liberate one of its captives. If we told him what we were planning, he would have to make a choice, and although I'm sure he would choose correctly, I'm not willing to bet Oz's life on his decision. Are you?"
"No. I don't like this, if you get into trouble there's no way we'll be able to help"
"Believe me, I don't like the idea too much myself. I would take Giles in with me, he's more than able to take care of himself, but most of the soldiers there are my age and they would recognise that Giles, well, isn't" Luckily Giles doesn't take offence, he knows that he was on the top of my list to help. "There might be someone who could help. If he's willing and able of course"
"Who?"
"Gunn, he's got the right look and he has the right attitude. The only problem is that he might take a day or two getting here and I'm not sure we can afford to leave Oz in there that long" Forty-eight hours is a long time to be left with military scientists. Buffy and the others were thinking the same thing.
"We can't wait. Are you sure you can do it?"
"There is no such thing as a certainty on the Hellmouth but I know I have to try" Buffy suddenly gets up, walks over to me, sits on my lap and kisses me senseless.
"Fine, but if you get caught I will take that place down brick by brick to get you out and then kick your ass" I just make out what she says, my mind temporarily shutting down with the surge of emotions I got from her.
"Duly noted" She stays seated on my lap but changes position so she's sitting side saddle, the movement providing uncomfortable, but not unwelcome, sensations in my crotch. She keeps her arms wrapped round my neck and I instinctively wrap mine around her waist.
"Xander, do you know how you're actually going to get in? I know that you'll be able to convince them you're a soldier, for all intents and purposes you are. But as you don't know their security systems, I don't see how you'll do it"
"You're forgetting the most recent spell you taught me Giles" A flash of realisation appears on his face, followed by a very Ripper like grin.
"Ah yes, that should do it quite nicely" Willow then turns to face me, a look of eagerness on her face.
"What spell?" She's really getting into magic and whenever she hears I've learnt one, she's like a dog with a bone until I tell her.
"Giles has taught me a spell that will help when I need to go on recon missions. It's a bit like an invisibility spell, but far easier to use and even more safe. It basically makes it so that the people around me ignore me" It fells a bit like high school.
"How will that help?"
"I simply follow one of the Initiative teams on the way back from one of their patrols and into the base. Only someone extremely sensitive to magic will be able to sense my presence and none of those military men seem sensitive to anything" Both Willow and Tara giggle at that, but both Buffy and Giles are both still worried about my safety.
"That's how you're getting in, how are you getting out?"
"You know I have this slight obsession with blowing things up? Well I thought that I would use it to cause a slight distraction and slip out with Oz in the confusion" I can see that Willow doesn't like the thought of that by the look on her face.
"Can't you cast the spell on the both of you?" She knows the answer almost as soon as she asked the question, but I felt I needed to ram it home.
"I have made a promise not to use spells on others, only myself. That is a promise I'm going to keep" They all know how adamantly I was about learning magic in the first place so they know not to press any further.
"What if Oz is still wolfy?"
"I'll have to talk to him and calm him enough so he can revert back. I'll take some clothes for him and an extra set for myself so I can blend in better once we're out in case I am spotted in my fatigues"
"I don't think anyone could say your fashion sense allows you to blend in"
"I wasn't the one with a fluffy pink jumper Willow" Giles cuts in before we can build up a head of steam.
"We don't have time for these petty squabbles right now. Once Oz is safely out of the Initiative's hands we can all comment on the atrocities that Xander tries to pass as clothing" I decide to ignore the barely veiled jab at my fashion sense and the smirk he has on his face.
"Yah Herr tweed" Well maybe not completely ignore. "I'll need to go and get my fatigues and some supplies before I go, I intend to go after sundown. Luckily last night was the night after full moon so Oz should be able to control it enough to transform back, if he hasn't already"
"I didn't see any of your military gear with the rest of your stuff, where do you keep it?"
"As I can't honestly say that it IS my stuff, having 'requisitioned' it from the army base and that wet works team, it is probably wiser if I don't tell you" Willow looks hurt by that.
"Don't you trust us?"
"Of course I do Wills it's just that it's safer for you to not know" I know better than to think it will never be noticed the stuff is missing and I want to keep them as safe as I can.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"I can't think of anything I want more, but I don't think it would be wise" Buffy then puts on her version of the resolve face Willow mastered at an early age.
"Let me rephrase that; I'm coming with you" I caved in faster than a dieter in a chocolate factory.
"Yes dear" That gets me a slap on the shoulder.
"Don't call me dear"
"I thought that was supposed to be 'don't call me babe'?"
"I can't believe you like that film"
"I can't help it, Pammy is hot" I suddenly get the Slayer Death Glare. "Of course she's positively plain in comparison to you" I hear a groan coming from Giles.
"Bloody hell I think I'm going to wretch" Looking at my watch I notice that I really need to get ready otherwise I'll be cutting it close.
"We better go, it'll be sunset soon and I don't want to leave Oz in there a minute longer than necessary. You ready?"
"As I'll ever be. I'll come right back here Giles OK?"
"Of course Buffy. And Xander?"
"Yeah Giles?"
"Be careful son" I simply smile at him.
"Always" After getting a change of clothes for myself and saying goodbye to Tara and Willow, Buffy and I leave and I take her to the hiding place for my goodies, stopping on the way to get a change of clothes for Oz. She almost laughs when she sees where it is; it's a crypt on the edge of Happy Vale Cemetery.
"A crypt?"
"It was the best I could come up with on short notice; I used to keep a few things in my room but I decided it would be safer not to have firearms near my parents" It was to ensure that they didn't find them whilst they were drunk, and to ensure I didn't give in to the urge to use them when they were drunk. She walks in behind me and gasps at what I've got there; along with the equipment she has already seen, I have a range of other guns and rifles as well as grenades, flash bangs and explosives. I also have several crates with USMC markings on them, which I won't be explaining to her just yet.
"Are you preparing for war Xan?"
"We've been at war for years now Buff, we've simply never said it out loud before" She nods, realising the truth in my words. "I have been raided the army base a few times, not including the time Cordy and I got the rocket launcher. I also acquired a few things on my travels, a friend I met had it all shipped here apart from a few things I asked them to keep there in case they need it themselves" I can tell that she's warring between being impressed and feeling uncomfortable, I know that she has a real distaste for guns but she knows that they can come in handy, the Judge being the obvious example. I leave her to have a look around while I get myself ready, mentally going through the plan and making sure that I have contingency plans in case things go wrong. Once I've changed into my fatigues and assembled everything I need, including a couple of gadgets I made myself, I'm ready to go. I look over to Buffy and I can see that she's nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you sure I can't go with you?" It isn't the slayer that's asking me now, it's the almost nineteen-year-old woman who stole my heart from the moment I saw her. her voice made her sound so small and unlike the way she normally speaks, I wouldn't have known it was her if she wasn't in front of me. I instinctively walk over to her and envelope her in an embrace, hoping that my closeness will help abate the fears she has.
"I wish you could, I really do, but there just isn't a way of doing it without greatly increasing the risks of things going wrong" She says nothing but she does nod her head slightly. We both know that this is different to what we've had to do before; normally I would be able to just go in and simply fight anything that was in the way. When you're dealing with human threats you have to do things differently; you can't just kill a human because they're in the way. We stay this way, just holding onto each other, for several minutes before she moves away but not out of my embrace.
"I love you" I kiss her on the tip of her nose and smile.
"I love you too" Knowing that I have to go, I release her and lead us both to the exit. "I'll see you soon. Oh by the way, can you ring my work and try and explain why I'm not there"
"Of course, making up excuses is a speciality of mine" We part ways, Buffy going back to Giles' and I go off in search of the Initiative.
I perform the spell almost immediately, making sure that it still works and to ensure that they don't see me by chance. Luckily the spell works, I knew that it would but I still have doubts in my abilities, especially the magical ones. I walk through the park, watching the sunset and allowing myself to get used to the spell. I don't feel any different but what with everything that I'm wearing I would expect for people to notice I'm there. Remembering to get out of the way is also something I have to get used to, being ignored means people walking into you. Luckily as it's nearly dark everybody is going home, their subconscious knowing not to stay out at night unless necessary.
About an hour after sunset, I finally find one of the squads out on patrol. Although they don't notice me, I though it would be a good idea to keep a distance between us, I didn't want to get caught up in the middle of anything if they encountered any demons. Strangely they don't run into any demons during their patrol and they were soon heading back to base. I got closer to them then, knowing that there security doors that would probably close quickly after they enter. We go to an entrance outside the college grounds, near the frat house that they use as a cover. To be honest I'm surprised that we hadn't seen it before, it is pretty close to where Spike and Buffy had their final confrontation, although I wasn't exactly feeling very observant at the time. Once we're inside I notice that there is another group that had only recently got back and they had a couple of vamps with them. I leave the group I came in with and follow where they are taking the vamps. I'm so worried about trying to remember the way back that I forget to look in front of me for a moment and knock into someone.
"Hey Riley, how are you?" Instead of answering me he drags me into a supply closet. "Last person to pull me into a closet was Cordy and I have to tell you I don't swing that way" Riley keeps switching between anger and laughter for a couple of seconds before he goes for the third option of resignation. His shoulders slump a bit and he shakes his head.
"Xander what are you doing here?"
"You guys always talk about this place so I thought I'd come and have a look" He glares at me, but as I've been glared at by the best, it doesn't phase me in the slightest.
"Xander…" Knowing that I don't have time to play about, I decide to tell him.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Do you remember OZ?" He looks confused for a moment before he answers.
"Of course I do, he went out with Willow. What does that have to do with anything"?"
"What did you think of him?" I see him about to ask something but I cut him off. "Humour me will you?"
"Nice guy, had no problems with him until he cheated on Willow. Never thought he was the type to stray like that"
"If I were to tell you that he was captured and brought in here what would you say?"
"I'd say you were talking out of your ass, we don't capture humans"
"But you do capture werewolves" I then give him the Cliff Notes version of how he got bit and why he left.
"I can't believe he's a hostile"
"Using the word hostile to categorise demons is like using the word 'dumb' to categorise blondes" God I hope Buffy never hears I said that. "He is only a werewolf three nights a month, on the full moon and the nights before and after. Oz has found a way to control the change but if he loses control he'll transform no matter what day it is. He's my friend and I cannot, will not let him get cut open and experimented on just because he's different"
"He's a demon, evil"
"Being a demon doesn't mean you're evil, in the same way being human doesn't men you're good. If you let them do this you're no better than the Ku Klux Klan"
"This is different"
"How?" When he doesn't come up with an answer I decide to go for broke. "Because of the minority you are condemning the majority, Oz included. You need to make a choice Riley; follow the rules or follow your conscience" I was putting it all on the line now; I knew that if he decides against helping, the commotion I would make in knocking him out would alert everyone I was here. it takes a full minute before he speaks.
"Follow me" I follow him and he leads me to the containment area where we find Oz still in wolf form. He's being shocked at random intervals, causing him to stay angry and making it impossible for him to focus and start his meditative techniques. I guess that someone knows their stuff concerning werewolves.
"Can you shut that off?" He doesn't answer, instead he simply walks over to a console and after tapping a few buttons the shocks stop. Oz stops growling but I can see that he's still pacing and unable to think clearly. "OK, Oz I need you to concentrate on my voice. I need you to relax and take control like you've been doing for the past couple of months" I continue to talk to him in as soothing a voice as possible, saying anything and everything I can think of to calm him down and help focus his mind. After a few minutes I can see that he's beginning to gain control and revert to his human form. Once he's transformed completely, I indicate for Riley to open the door and I take in some clothes for him. "You OK?"
"Nothing an Advil can't fix. Why did you come for me?" I look at him in shock.
"You really have to ask?" He looks at me for a second before smiling slightly and shaking his head.
"Not really. Thank you" I simply wave the thanks off.
"No problem. We better get out of here"
"You're not going anywhere Harris!" Forrest and half a dozen other soldiers come out of nowhere and grab us before we have a chance to do anything.
"Forrest, always a pleasure" He walks over to me and punches me in the face. Having been hit by things several times his strength, I barely flinch from it.
"Shut it! I expected better of you Riley, never thought you'd go turncoat" Not liking being called a , Riley tries to go for him but is restrained. "How can you let that… thing walk around free? His kind is like a virus and we need to wipe them off the face of the earth! You are betraying your species, you don't deserve to live but Walsh has said we can't kill you" He then punches Riley full in the face. "She didn't say we couldn't hurt you though" I can see that the men hiding us aren't liking this one bit but have no choice but to follow orders, otherwise they'll be treated the same way.
"What we're doing here is wrong Forrest, we're acting worse than what we're trying to fight. You have to see that!" Forrest goes and punches Riley hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.
"Who are you to judge what is right and what is wrong?" I speak up before Riley can as he's having trouble saying anything.
"Same could be said for you" That rewards me with another punch to the face and this time I do react to it. It hurt a hell of a lot more than it should; normal humans don't normally have that much strength, I should know.
"I said shut up Harris before I throw you in with a vamp" Hearing that, Oz tries to go for him, his eyes flashing in anger.
"You'll leave him alone!" Not wanting WolfOz to deal with along with everything else, I try to calm him down.
"Oz, you need to stay calm and focussed OK?"
"Don't worry, I can control it enough for my wolf self not to go for you and Riley, these guys however will be fair game" A plan begins to form in my head but I need to keep the others distracted.
"You didn't stop yourself for going for me before" A flash of guilt appears on his face before it returns to normal.
"You were trying to stop me from reaching my target. Have I said sorry for charging at you yet?" I smile at him.
"Have now" Forrest points a Tazer rifle at Oz, but unlike Riley or myself, he doesn't get too close. Something else I can use.
"I see you begin to change and I'll shock you so bad you'll fry from the inside out" I look over to Riley and he can tell what I'm thinking. After a moments hesitation he nods. I do the same to Oz who also nods, realising what I was doing earlier.
"You won't get the chance" I suddenly smash my head back into one of the soldiers holding me, causing him to release me. Before the other one has a chance to react I spin round and throw him into Forrest, causing them both to fall to the ground. In the meantime Riley has knocked out the two holding him and OZ has transformed into the wolf and has thrown the two restraining him flying down the corridor. It seems that he has quite a lot of control in wolf form, as he doesn't go for the kill, only to incapacitate.
"Oz, you better stay in wolf form until we get somewhere safer, we may need the extra muscle" He nods, which is more than a little unnerving. Needing another way out, I turn to Riley. "I'm guessing they found how I got in, know of a way out?" He nods and starts running down a corridor, Oz and myself close behind. As we head to the exit, the sirens start to go off and when Riley tries to use his security card, it doesn't work.
"Shit!" I indicate for him to move aside.
"Don't worry, I came prepared" I pull out a card and tear off the plastic strip, before placing it in the slot. The acid under the strip reacts with the electrics and shorts it, opening up the door.
"How did you do that?" I smirk at him.
"Ask me later" We let Oz out ahead and he clears us a path until we're outside of the facility and in one of the multitude of caves that travel the breadth of Sunnydale. About a minute after we started walking through the cave, a figure comes out of the shadows, the moonlight glinting off the metal it was wearing. When it came further into the light I could see that it wasn't wearing the metal, it was part of it. It stood a good seven feet in height and looked like it was mishmash of robotics, demon and human parts. I thought that I had seen some weird shit in the years since I met Buffy, but this takes the biscuit. "Riley, have any idea what the fuck that is?" He looks to me and starts shaking his head.
"I was hoping you would know" We both turn to look at whatever it is as it comes closer to us, we both take a step back on instinct. I see that Oz is seriously having to restrain himself from charging at it, but I doubt he would come out of it in one piece if he did, that thing looked like it could rip us all apart without breaking a sweat.
"Alexander Lavelle Harris, Riley Augustus Finn, I am ADAM" I think we both heard the capital letters in his name. We managed to be mature enough not to snicker at each other's middle names, given that we were facing a very large and very deadly looking… thing. I didn't like the fact that it knew who we were, that did not in any way mean good things for either of us.
"What do you want?" He turns to look at me, although it looks like he's looking through me.
"I want nothing, from you at least" He then turns to Riley. "Mother will not be pleased with you brother, going against her wishes, her plan. Apart from me, you are her favourite, made to be the strongest. I will not stop you brother, you are far too important to the final phase to be hurt. I will come for you when the time is right" With that he disappears back into the shadows. We look at each other and, realising that we're still not out of the woods yet we make a break for the exit. We come out of a cave entrance on the outskirts of town, miles from anywhere.
"Looks like we got ourselves a nice little run before we're safe" Wanting to make sure that we have time to get away, I place a C4 charge at the mouth of the cave and once we're far enough away, detonate it, causing the cave entrance to collapse in on itself, sealing the entrance under several tonnes of rock.
"Was there any need to do that?" I just look at him and he relents from asking me further. We continue to run, Riley on my right and Oz on my left. After a couple of minutes silence, I turn my head to Riley.
"I'm sorry it went that way Riley, I was hoping I would be able to get in and out again without detection. I never meant for you to get involved"
"I know that, but I am involved now, a traitor"
"You did what was right, we both know that what's going on there is wrong. I find it hard to believe that everything that you're doing is sanctioned, you can't be done for betraying illegal orders"
"We are a black ops operation, there are probably only two or three people outside the facility that would have any idea we are actually here, Maggie Walsh has free reign to do as she wishes"
"No one gets that much free reign, and if I'm wrong, that's something we'll just have to change" He nods but I can tell he's not taking a lot in. I can't really blame him, everything considered. We stopped when we reached the warehouse district, I knew of a few hiding places around here that Riley could use for the time being. I knew that his 'retrieval' would be on the top of the Initiatives priorities. I hand him a second set of clothes, the ones I was going to wear once I got out with OZ. "Change into these"
"Why?"
"We have no idea whether you're tagged or not. I wouldn't put it past Walsh to want to know where you all are at all times" He can see the logic in it and changes clothes. I give them to Oz and he runs off with them. I indicate for Riley to follow me and I lead him to the warehouse that Spike had used to keep Willow and I captured last year. "I'll come over tomorrow and bring you some clothes and some supplies until we can work out something else"
"Thanks. I can't believe it's gone down like this. I had considered requesting a transfer or simply quitting once I knew what was going on. Now the best I can hope for is a dishonourable discharge"
"If we can prove that what Walsh has been doing is against orders, we can have her shut down"
"As I said before, she has free reign"
"We both know how many demons you capture and the amount of experiments that have been conducted. She should have been able to prove or disprove all of her theories by now and yet she continues. On top of that, there is no way that ADAM could be part of the remit; working out how to subdue demons does not include making a human/demon cyborg"
"You can't say that it was made by the Initiative" I can see that he's trying to convince himself more than me. One look at him and he simply nods, no longer trying to hide from the truth.
"So now what?"
"I haven't wanted to do too much about it, not wanting to risk Buffy and the others. Now they'll be coming for us anyway we might as well go for broke, especially now we have Frankenstein's grandson roaming round. Willow is the best when it comes to finding information on computers, Oz is the only one I know that could challenge her to the title. If there's a way in she'll find it and she'll also find whatever it is that Walsh is doing"
"I doubt she'll leave any evidence"
"She's intelligent definitely, but she's also arrogant and overconfident. She's too sure of her own power to worry about being caught out. You've said it yourself she's got free reign when it comes to the Initiative, and a group of college kids won't seem like much of a threat, even with recent events. I just hope it won't take too long"
"Why?"
"I don't want to give her time to reach the final phase" I have no idea what it is, but I know it isn't a group picnic.
"Anything I can do?"
"Stay low and don't get caught, they need you for something so we have to make sure they don't get you"
"I don't like being out of the fight"
"I know how you feel, but if you get caught then it could be all our asses. I also doubt that they need you to make up the numbers at poker night" He nods his agreement. I have a feeling that Riley has been earmarked for the for the same upgrade as ADAM.
"I'll keep out of sight, I know their procedures so I can keep ahead of them. Make sure you and the others stay safe as well, you can't save the world if you're dead"
"Will do" At that moment I hear a howl, indicating that Oz had returned. "I've got to go" I leave Riley and meet Oz outside. "When we get to Giles', you can use my training gear to change in" He nods and we make our way back, not stopping until we got to Giles' place. As soon as I open the door, Oz bounds down to the training room to transform and change into my workout clothes. They would be big on him but better than being butt naked in front of everyone. Buffy comes running up to me and also knocks me over when she leaps at me. I barely catch her in time but I don't care, seeing that beaming smile is worth it. The others keep themselves at a distance from us, realising that this we need our moment. After a couple of minutes, Giles catches our attention by clearing his throat. I carry Buffy to the couch as she seems to have no desire to get down and carefully sit, placing Buffy on my lap before turning to Giles.
"Xander are you alright?"
"As well as I can be Giles but I'll talk about it in detail later" Willow and Tara come over and give both Buffy and myself a hug before sitting down on the other couch. When Oz comes back up he notices that Tara is in the room. This time, instead of acting out of anger, he looks extremely guilty at how he had acted before. I think it is the most expressive any of us had seen him, Willow included.
"Tara, I'm so sorry about how I acted. If I knew that I would act that way, I swear I would have stayed away" We could all see that he was almost dying inside at the thought of what could have happened. I'm guessing that it takes a while for him to have the control on his emotions that he normally has, especially what he's been going through the past day or so.
Tara had initially looked terrified of him when he came in, which I couldn't really blame her for as he was in full werewolf form. She was also scared when came back up, that was until she looked him in the eyes. She slowly gets up and walks over to him, stopping slightly when she sees him flinch and take a step back. She continues after a moment and eventually is right in front of him. She tentatively puts a hand on his shoulder.
"I-I forgive y-you" This is probably the boldest I had ever seen Tara and I was immensely proud of her. Oz looks in her eyes for a moment, and when he can see she was genuine, he gets the largest smile on his face I have ever seen, he's smiling so wide it looks like his face could split in two at any moment. It actually began to freak me out seeing Oz seem so expressive; it was just so not like him. Tara moves away and is caught in a sideways hug by Willow. He watches them for a moment before his smile disappears and he returns to his normal stoic self.
"I have to leave. I thought that I had control but I don't, and this is the wrong place to be if I lose it" Willow look at him with sadness, I know she doesn't have feelings for him anymore but he is still a friend.
"You don't have to…" He cuts her off with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, I do. Until I can control myself enough to be able to deal with real life without wolfing out, I'm a liability to everyone around me. Believe me I don't want to go, especially with what you're having to face at the moment, but I have to for everyone's sake" I can see how it's affecting him and decide to speak up.
"I know how hard this must be for you Oz, and I can tell that this is something you feel you have to do. I understand but I want you to know that you will always have friends here and if you ever need anything, we're just a phone call away. Phoning in every month or so wouldn't be a bad idea either" It wasn't until he came back that I realised that we had all missed Oz, whether we always get along or not, he'll always be a Scooby. "Don't worry about leaving because of what happened tonight either, it's probably better that you're not here in case things turn nasty" I didn't want to say it, but with him not being able to control himself fully, he could be a liability to us if he stayed.
"Thanks, for everything"
"Not a problem, what are friends for?" We shake hands and he then goes to the others and says his goodbyes, promising to stay in touch more than he did. He goes to the front door, and after taking one last look at us all, leaves Sunnydale for the second, but hopefully not the last time.
"What did Oz mean when he said he didn't want to go 'especially with what you're having to face at the moment'?" I go on to explain everything that happened tonight and the possible ramifications. I also explained what I wanted to do.
"I'm not sure how much I'll be able to retrieve Xan, government agencies are known to use the best security programs available, not to mention I haven't been keeping up with the latest technologies"
"They're only the best because you haven't designed one yet and you at your worst is still better than most at their best. We need to try and get Walsh and the Initiative shut down, and if that fails, we need to find as much information on that thing as we can so we can destroy it" They all just sit there in silence for several minutes, mulling over everything I've told them. Giles is the first one able to speak.
"You do realise that you're suggesting we take on, in essence, the US government?"
"We're teenagers, that's the sort of thing we should be doing, 'power to the people' and all that jazz" He laughs at that, surprising everyone but myself.
"I knew I should never have told you about BBC America"
"Well it might come in handy, if everything gets FUBAR we can always relocate to merry old England. Giles can show us Big Ben and Stonehenge, eat jellied eels, and maybe even visit the Queen"
"Yes Xander very droll. What is FUBAR by the way?"
"Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition" Everyone can see that particular phrase sums up what would happen if we failed.
"Ah"
"In all seriousness I know that what I'm suggesting is big but we've never let that stop us from doing what's right before. Knowing what people like Walsh are like I doubt she'll leave us alone, especially once Forrest is finished telling her how we've been helping her men without her knowledge. That's not taking into account ADAM and this final phase. I know that this is a lot to take in but we need to make a decision; we can either wait for them to come after us, or we take the initiative, pardon the pun, and go after them first" I look at them all, waiting for their decision. They all look at each other and after a silent communication they all nod their heads. Buffy is the one who speaks.
"We're in"