Ties that bind

Author: Stephen Howe <sh01[at]bigpond.com>

FEEDBACK: Sure.

DISTRIBUTION: Ask and ye shall receive!

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss! He created everything!

TIMEFRAME: Set in season 6.

SUMMARY: Xander and Riley talk before Xander's marriage and Xander comes to a decision that will alter his life forever.

RATING: Rated R, for language and violence.

Regardless of Joss's version this IS how it should be.

PAIRINGS: A/X, L/X, X/B.

A BTVS/TOMB RAIDER Xover with a nod to LOTR.


Prologue

BUCK'S NIGHT.

Xander stood and watched his male friends scream and shout as the stripper Joe had hired for the night reached her g-string. She looked at them and said in her southern twang, "If you guys want anymore y'all will have to pay any fines!" Xander smiles and reaches for another coke as Riley slaps his back." Come on Bro' get with the program." Riley took another mouthful of beer then asks, "What is it with you and alcohol anyway?"

Xander places his glass on the table and tells him, "If your parents were obnoxious drunks you"d be drinking just coke as well." He shrugs at Riley's look of surprise, "I'm sorry man I didn't know." Xander waves his apology off, "Forget about it, hell I've known Willow for most of my life and she doesn't know and neither does the great one herself."

Riley places his beer on the table and sighs, "Yeah the Buffster, Gods gift to mankind. He gave her super strength, super healing but zero on the relationship side of things." He snorts, "And you know what? I love her more than ever..." He looks at Xander"s shocked face and says, "Hey I know I'm married and Kathy's expecting our first, but damn! You just don't ever forget Buffy once you've loved her." He turns the glass around on the table as he stares into its amber depths, "The funny way she tilts her head when she's about to laugh..."

"Or the way her forehead crinkles up when she doesn't get something, or the way her eyes twinkle when she's about to make a joke." Xander continues.

Riley grips his beer and sighs, "Or the way the tip of her tongue touches her lip just before she kisses you."

Xander exhales a breath and says, "Wouldn't know about that big guy, wish to hell I did but I don't."

Riley looks up at him, "My God you love her, don't you?"

Xander downs his drink, "So? Don't you?" Riley shakes his head, "Nope, got to move on with your life or you'll be stuck in a rut forever wondering what if. Is that why your marrying Anya... You love Anya right?"

Xander shakes the empty glass at the waitress and he tells Riley, "She loves me so what else can I do?" He says thanks to the waitress for the refill then turns to Riley, "Anya's stuck by me through thick and thin Riley, I owe her this more than I would ever owe myself anything."

"Owing ain't loving kiddo. Sooner or later Anya will find out and she'll hate you for it, maybe even more than you'll hate yourself."

Xander laughs, "Yeah right then I go up to Buffy and tell her to dump Spike and marry me." He doesn't see Riley's reaction to his statement as he continues, "Nah for a guy to make time with Buffy you have to be either a super soldier or a god damned vampire." Xander shrugs, "Never mind by this time next week Anya and I will be on our honeymoon in Mexico City, checking out all the old places she used to haunt as a vengeance demon."

Riley downs his beer and asks, "So she's seeing Spike then?" Xander shrugs, "Yeah it's a whole 'he's dead /I was dead kinda thing."

Riley looks at Xander, "And you haven"t staked him yet?"

Xander shakes his head, "She's her own girl Riley, who am I to tell her who to love and what not to love?" His knuckles turn white as he grips the glass, "I only wish... She had taken my advice and stopped you from leaving."

"You say you love her yet you don't mind her being with someone else?"

"Hah! Like she could ever lower her standards and even think about loving a goofball like me."

Riley placed his arm around Xander's shoulder; "Xan you have managed to keep alive for all these years on the only Hellmouth in existence. You battle demons, vamps and Goddesses and you call yourself a goofball? Jeez Xand anyone with half a brain would have run away the first time they survived a vamp attack and yet you treat it like just another Saturday night in the big city."

Xander nods, "I often thought about joining the army but I ahh.."

"Couldn't bare the thought of leaving her. Man you have it bad big guy." Riley tells him, then sighs as Xander gets up to go to the toilet but as soon as he's out of hearing Riley gets mad, "SPIKE! I told him to leave her alone or suffer the consequences! I guess being a vampire can make you stupid as well as evil." He checks the cross and stake he always carries with him these days and sighs, "Well it's the least I can do for Buffy."

While Xander was standing doing what his bladder demanded he had time to mull over the talk he had with Riley. Xander flushed the toilet then washed his hands, "Maybe he's right? Maybe I am marrying Anya for all the wrong reasons." He hit his head against the mirror, "Or maybe I'm just getting cold feet!" he looked at his reflection and pointed at his reflection, "You will do what you always do, the right thing!"

Xander went back to the party and looked for Riley but he was gone, he looked at the clock and exclaimed, "Well I had better get home before Anya decides to call up D'hofran and ask for her old job back!" He said his goodbyes to his friends and then walked out to his car, making sure to check the cross and stake in his pocket before he left the club.

He walked up to his late model Ford and opened the door, checking that nothing was hiding in back before he slumped into the driver's side. He fed the key into its slot and started his car. He thought about Buffy and what Riley had said, "Man just once I wish lady luck wasn't such a bitch to me!"

Amy's voice made him jump, hitting his head on the roof of his car, "Careful what you wish for Xand, "He rubbed his head and peered into the back, "Aims? How the heck did you..." He shook his head, "Never mind, what do you want?"

Amy shrugs, "Me.. Nothing but I owe you big time for saving me from Rak so I'm about to make you the luckiest guy on the face of the earth." She sucks in the corner of her mouth and winks at him. Then he notices she opens her clenched fist and blows a red powder in his face, "Omni astro vela, Diana Goddess of the Hunt and Fortuna Goddess of luck, I, thy servant Amy, call upon thee to shine thy light on this mortal." She saw Xander collapse, hitting his head against the steering wheel. Amy thought quick as the Gods began to invest their skills in the human called Alexander Harris, "Um I suppose if you're going to fight evil you'll also need fast healing so.. Here goes!" She holds up her hands in supplication, "I finally call upon the great God Apollo may thy healing light shine down upon this mortal and grant him thy power of healing."

The sound of rolling thunder booms across the night and the car rocks to the closeness of the lightening strikes." NGAHHH!!!" She pats Xander on the back." Love to stay, but this elementals crap freaks me out." She fades from view as a lightening bolt strikes Xander's car.

Chapter 1

DO YOU TAKE THIS DEMON?

Xander woke with a taste of cotton wool and paint stripper in his mouth. He ran a hand through his hair and turned his neck to get the crick from it, "Man what a dream., "He looked around and saw he was slumped against the door of his car."...Mmm, My god!" He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up so he could see his watch and his eyes went wide with fear as he tried to start the car, "Jesus Christ she's going to kill me!"

Meanwhile, at the hall, Buffy pulled at the stifling outfit Anya had chosen for the bridesmaids as she sat by Willow. She gazed at Anya's side of the hall, "Ya know what? I'm willing to bet good money that I've had to fight most of these creeps at sometime or another, "Willow glanced at the demons and a green slime demon in a bright puce dress winked at her and waived. Willow quickly looked away, "Um.. I think I'll pass on the reception.. Assuming there's a marriage that is, "

Buffy looked at Anya and saw her in a heated conference with D'Hoffran, "If I were Xander I think I'd be half way to the Vatican by now, "Dawn dropped next to them, wearing a nice cream dress that made her look years older and a lot sexier than either Buffy or Willow. Buffy looked at Willows dress then at hers and glared at Dawn, "How come we get to wear these rejects from a Wal-Mart in Hell while you get to wear that?"

Dawn points to Willow, "Ex-Girl with a crush on Anya's husband to be, "Then points to Buffy, "Girl Anya thinks wants to whisk Xander off to have wild monkey sex, "She shrugs, "You do the math, "

Willow blushes and turns to look at Anya, "Hey Gay now remember!" She turns back to Buffy and sees the green slime demon waggle her eyebrows at her. She lowers her head and says. "Man Xander owes me big time for this!" She looks at Buffy, "As if I could ever have feelings for Xander again, I mean for a start he's the wrong sex and... Your blushing Buffy why?"

Buffy whispers, "Ever since the thing with Spike., "She shivered like something bad had had made her stomach turn, "The thing with dead boy Jr, I started to re-evaluate my life and the people in it, "She glanced sideways at Willow, "And Uhh I guess I kinda noticed Xander."

Dawn slaps her on the back, "Well I knew you had a lousy sense of timing sis but this.. Is cutting things a bit fine isn't it?"

"Hey I'm not going to ruin Xander's wedding! I'll just avoid him till the feelings go away and then join that monastery I found last year, "Buffy drops her head into her hands and shakes it, "Oh no, my life isn't screwed up."

Willow asks, "Have you seen Riley? I thought he was coming to this thing?"

Buffy looked up, "Maybe he's with Xander! It was a bucks night maybe... There he is!" She points to Riley and the three make their way to him. The first thing Buffy notices is that Riley wouldn't make eye contact with her, "Hey Willow, Dawn...Buffy, "

Willow asks him, "Not to be impolite but where the hell is Xander?"

Riley shrugged, "I don't know, isn't he here? I left the party before it finished, "He glances at Buffy, "I had things to do before I left town."

Buffy turns to the sound of a commotion and sees Anya storm off into the back room followed by a smiling D'Hoffran. Buffy turns back to face the guys, "If Xander doesn't get here soon I think we may have a demon problem, "

Buffy had a terrible thought, "You don't think something happened to Xander do you?" They wince at the sound of Anya shouting at her ex-boss, "I mean before Anya gets through with him, "

Several hours later Xander pulls up in a screech of tires and then saw the gang sitting on the steps of the hall. He slammed the car door and ran over to them as he finished tying up his bow tie, "Am I too late?"

Willow sighs, "Not for your funeral, no." She slaps his shoulder, "Xander! Where the heck have you been? Anya waited then cursed you and left taking her family and friends."

Dawn tells him, "And the gifts." She points to someone coming over, "But she stayed." They all look over and Willow yelps, ducking behind the Slayer, "Please Buffy I'll do your housework for a year if you tell her you're my date!"

Buffy slips her arm around Willows waist and says out of the corner of her mouth, "Make it two and it's a deal."

The slime demon glares at Buffy, "So the rumours are true then, that's why you broke it off with William the Bloody." She grins, "Wait till I tell the guys he turned you gay!" Her grin slides off her face when she sees Xander, "Anyanka told me to tell you if she sees you again you'll pray for a quick death! She gets your apartment, bank account and car." She holds out her hand for the keys and when he drops them in her hand she continues, "She also wanted your first born but I told her what woman in her right mind would want you now?"

She handed Willow her card and said, "If things don't work out with the slayer, and odds are they won't, give me a call." She walked off tossing Xander's keys in the air and catching them.

Xander slumped to the ground, "Well that worked out.. Badly. I'm just glad Giles's flight was delayed so he missed yet another memorable moment in my life."

Buffy left Willow and sat next to Xander, "What the hell happened?"

Xander shrugged, "Magic happened, just like it says on the shop's counter. I left the party when Riley did but when I got to my car." He shrugs, "The next thing I know I'm waking up feeling like the floor of a cab and it's two hours past my wedding." He looked at her, "Was she very pissed?"

Buffy pats his back, "Lets just say you must have the luck of the Irish to still be alive! I think you should lay low for a while, "

He turns to look at her, "I still got the tickets and things for our honeymoon, "He sees Buffy blush and wonders why, "I mean Anya's and mine, but I'm really not sure I want to go to South America."

Dawn tells him, "Trust me, the further away from Sunnydale the better. At least until she calms down and leaves." Xander nods then looks up when he hears his car drive off, "Any chance of a lift home to get my things before Anya goes Ivana Trump on them?"

LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

The gang had come to see him off and then had to leave after a phone call from Tara alerted them to some trouble back in Sunnydale, but before they left Xander had the impression Buffy was less than sad at his wedding lying in tatters. Xander was waiting at the bar for his flight to be called. He had another three hours yet to check his bags in, thanks to an overly anxious Willow that wanted her friend out of harms way, and he decided to drown his sorrows in coke. After a while he received a call on his cell phone from Buffy, a very angry Buffy.

He knew when she was mad by the way her voice rose the extra ten decibels when he answered, "Oh I think I know what kept you from your wedding Harris!" He knew he was in trouble when she used his last name with such venom, "Do you remember paying a visit to oh I don't know, say SPIKES CRYPT!"

Xander tried to search his memory, but the time between him leaving the club and waking drew a complete blank, "I.. May have but I'm not sure, why?"

"Because the trouble Tara told us about was due to a couple of his demon friends going on the rampage when they found his dusted remains in his crypt!" He could feel the anger in every word she spoke, "I.. Don't remember, Buffy? But I'm sure if I had I would remember something as joyful as that." As soon as he said the words he regretted them as she replied, "Well now I can see why you're alone and always will be! I told you Spike and I were through but oh no Mr. Macho has to protect my honour and dust the only creature strong enough to be of any help to me…"

Now it was Buffy's turn to regret what she said and as the two tried desperately to salvage their friendship Xander's battery went dead. He held the phone up to his face and yelled, "My life sucks!"

The barman continued to clean the counter down and smiled, "Lady troubles sir?"

Xander replaced the phone in his pocket and shrugged, "Problems? Not me, I find, I love and they dump. No problem at all." He looks at the shelves behind the barman and chooses one of the many cocktails the bar had to offer, "Uhh I think I'll try a Long Island Ice Tea. That sounds like a nice drink. I mean Giles drinks tea so how bad could it be?"

He took out the paper work for his holiday and Anya's passport dropped out. He quickly scooped it up and placed it back in the folder before anyone could see it and tucked it back into his security belt. The passport was one of those 'Specials' that a demon Wiley knew made for him. Whatever details were written inside its covers, the photo changed to match whoever signed the passport in their blood. What with Anya not being on any data banks. After all, how do you put down date of birth sometime in the middle ages? This was the only thing they could think of.

He glanced up from his fifth drink and saw a ravishing raven haired woman that was stacked like some pneumatic blond from Hollywood go running by the window. "Man and I thought Faith was stacked." He giggled drunkenly and sighed as he held up his drink, "To all the girls I ever loved or lusted after... Kiss my ass because the Xandman is swearing off women." He took a mouthful of the drink, "And demon women,"

The woman he had so admired for her.. Running ability came to a halt by the ladies toilets and ducked inside, hiding in a cubicle while she took out a metallic circle from her pocket. She scanned the area for a place to hide it then ruled them out as too easy to search, "Damn it Lara think!"

Chapter 2

SUNNYDALE.

When Willow came back from doing the weekly shopping she found Buffy pacing up and down the lounge room in a state of anger the Wicca had never seen before, "Okay so I got normal Oreo's instead of low fat, so kill me already!"

Buffy glared at her, "Do you know what that asshole did when he had his so called memory black out?" Willow puts down the bag, "Should I guess or was that a rhetorical question?"

Buffy crossed her arms, "I'll tell you what Mr. Wonderful did, he staked Spike!" Willow paused then shrugged, "And that's bad because?"

Buffy looked aghast, "Duh! Because we needed his strengths to help fight the evil that lives on the Hell mouth."

Willow placed the bag on the table, "Buffy I hate to be the one to remind you but up until we brought you back he was the evil that lived on the Hellmouth! Even when he was chipped he still plotted and planned against us." Willow sighed, "Did you ask him why he dusted Spike?" She saw the look on Buffy's face and shook her head, "No, of course not. What am I thinking?" She took Buffy by the shoulders and asked, "Please tell me you didn't call him and rip him a new one before finding out if it was even him that did it?"

Buffy hesitated, "But it had to be him! Didn't you see the way he reacted when he found out about Spike? I mean if it wasn't him then who else could it have been?"

Willow looks past Buffy and at the door, "Riley." Buffy looks at her, "No, he didn't even know." Willow shakes her head and points to the door, "No, I mean Riley's here."

Riley was fidgeting in the entrance to Buffy's home when she turned around and saw him, "Riley! I uh thought you'd be halfway back to Idaho by now?"

He looked angrily at her, "I was, but then I figured I just had to know, Why Buffy?" He glared at her, "I thought you hated Spike! I thought he was your worst nightmare? I mean I still have some contacts here, did his stalking turn you on?"

Buffy shook her head, "No it wasn't like that! When I came back I felt empty, like a part of me was missing."

"So instead of turning to your friends you shacked up with your enemy! Well with a friend like you it's a wonder they're still alive!" Buffy could see the venom literally dripping from his every word and she paled, "It was you wasn't it? You killed Spike!" Riley glared at her, then turned away and began to walk towards his car and his wife, saying, "I did what I should have done before I left!"

Buffy's eyes went wide, "Xander!" She raced over to the phone and dialled his cell phone but all she got was a recorded message. She slammed it down and scooped up her keys, "I have to see him before he leaves! I have to get him to forgive me before its too late!"

LA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

Xander saw three men pass by the bar for the fifth time and smiled, "If I were in Sunnydale I'd be worried about now, but I'm not in Sunnydale am I, "He grinned and watched the men more closely as they scanned the bar and outside area for someone. One of the men manhandled a dark haired women, then just as quickly pushed her out of the way when it proved she wasn't the one they were looking for. Xander snorted then took another mouthful of his drink and smacked his lips, "Man if I had known how good tea tasted I would never have refused Giles's offers!"

He checked the clock and decided it was check in time for his flight to sunny South America and one of Anya's old stomping grounds. He had pre-checked in his luggage at the curbside check-in and hoped there wouldn't be much of a delay when he checked himself in. As he got off the stool the airport suddenly spun around him as if it were caught in a hurricane, "Whoa! I got to lay off that tea!" He started to walk out and he felt an urge, a very great urge, to visit the little demon fighter's room.

Unfortunately he picked the first door he came to and raced inside. He was undoing his fly when he noticed the lack of urinals, "What the..? Who swiped the toilets?" He turned and saw the cubicles and cursed, "Damned uni-sex toilets." He moved as fast as his bladder would allow and pushed on the first door. Unfortunately it pushed back sending him backwards in a drunken sprawl until he hit his head against the washbasin.

Lara emerged from the toilet to find the man she had thought was an agent of the Illuminati turned out to be just a normal holidaymaker, with lousy taste in clothing. She lifted him up by his cheap Hawaiian shirt and placed his back against the wall then tried to revive him to no avail, "This is all I need!" She saw the security belt around his waist and bit the corner of her mouth before making a decision, "I need to know who you are mister." She rifled through his documents until she came across the passports and tickets.

"Mr. Harris.." She grinned, "And heading for a tour of Tenochtitlán by way of Mexico City." She looked skywards, "Thank you daddy!" Then she found his travel documents and smiled even more, "So Mr. Harris why would a single man," She held up his hand and wiggled his wedding finger bereft of ring, "Have his passport and ticket but have another passport and ticket hidden amongst his other travel documents?"

She almost jumped at his blurred response, "'Cuz we never married hiccup!" She looked at him and he sat there bleary eyed, "I shtood her up at the alter an she took everything I ever had 'cept for this crap I'm wearing and the junk I had in the belt!" He rubbed the back of his head and began to sober up, "What are you doing in the men's room?"

Her English accent was like the whisper of angel's wings, "Because my friend you are in the ladies washroom." She helped him stand up and she handed him his things back, "Look I'm sorry about the bump on the head but I'm in a kind of jam." She smiled a million dollar smile at him and Xander grinned back, "I get in jams so often I'm thinking of changing my name to Mr Knotts." He sees her look of confusion and grimaces, "It's a joke. See Mrs. Knotts makes jams. Never mind. So what's your jam?"

She sighs, "Well it all began last year when I had to stop this group of people called the Illuminati; they had this plan to rule the world via a device that could control time. I managed to stop them then and it's been like a career change for me now. Instead of finding rare and very valuable artefacts I now try my damndest to frustrate their plans." She holds up the metal circle, "The latest of which is a race to find the last of the three pieces of the Globe of Elinor. Its believed once joined it will give the holder the power of the old ones."

Xander sighs, "And when you say old ones I'm guessing you don't mean Elvis and Frank?"

She smiles and her bee stung lips part to dazzle him with the sight of her pearly white teeth, "No Mr. Harris I mean as in the old times, you know Elves and Goblins and things that went bump in the night."

Xander places his things back in the belt and tells her, "Well I could direct you to a place where things still go bump in the night. No then.. Is it Miss, Mrs. or Miz?"

Lara shakes her head, "I'm so sorry where are my manners.. Croft, Lara Croft and its most definitely Miss." She offers her hand and Xander shakes it, "Well Miss Croft why are you hiding out in the ladies room of an international airport knocking semi-drunken men on their Asses?"

Lara sighs, "Well I had everything planned and arranged for my trip to Tenochtitlán but I was intercepted by the Illuminati's American section. They took my things." She frowned, "And my guns! Along with all my travel permits." She looks like a lost puppy and hopes it works on the young man.

Xander taps his teeth with a finger then tells her, "Um. Ahh I really need to finish what I came in here for but I might be able to help you. So if you can wait a few seconds?" She grins and says, "Well when you've got to go, you've got to go, and I guess I'll stay here till you're finished."

Half an hour later there was a tap on the washroom door and Xander asked, "Miss Croft.. Are you still there?" The door opened and Lara dragged him inside. Before the door shut Xander placed an 'Out of Order' sign on the door. He held up a small bag and told her, "How do you feel about being blond?"

She sighed and touched her hair, "The things I do to save the world, "Xander helped her with the colour change and when he was finished she looked into the mirror at a new woman. Xander lent on her shoulder and looked at her reflection, "I don't know, I think its something about women that dye their hair blond.. Its a real turn on for me.., "She sees him blush and move away. He then pulls out a small pin and a feather he liberated from the cleaning woman's cart along with the sign. He stuck the pin into the pointy part of the quill and told her, "Now the next part could be a tad painful."

She saw him take out the second passport and mumble some words in a language even she didn't understand, then he held the quill out to her along with a, now blank, passport, "You have to prick yourself and fill in the information in your blood. But you have to keep the name Anya Harris or the other documents won't match, "Lara complied and when she was finished he told her to hold the passport to her face about arms length away and say, "Photographicus producsi inventus."

The passport grew hot in her hand and when she looked at it she was amazed, "How on earth did you do that?" She tried to find fault with it but even the official seal stamped over her photo felt real. Xander shrugged, "You'd be amazed at the things you pick up in a garage sale." He checked his belt and frowned, "Now I haven't got much in the way of money, just the Peso's and a few hundred dollars I had from my pay check, but we need to get you some more clothes otherwise it'll seem very weird., "

She held up her hand, "Believe me, that I can take care of once we arrive in Mexico. Until we do I guess I'm left at the mercy of your fashion sense."

Buffy and Willow arrived at the airport with seconds to spare. Buffy re-checked her watch, "Damn it, we're going to miss him!"

"No you won't, here I am." A familiar English voice told them, "The amazing thing is how you knew I'd be here?"

Buffy turned and saw Giles standing there and she hugged him then ran off pulling him along, "No time to tell you it all but we have to find Xander before he leaves." Giles jogged along beside her while Willow was left to drag his suitcase along behind her. Giles says, "I hope he can forgive me for not showing up on time. Bad form for a best man missing the wedding entirely and all."

Buffy snorts, "Not for that wedding it wasn't. Xander missed it as well." Giles looked bemused, "And I suppose Anyanka is now back in business? Is that why we're racing to stop Xander?" Buffy blushed, "Not directly ...You see Spike kind of got dusted and I may have jumped the gun a bit."

"Oh my god! Xander didn't do it did he?" Giles exclaimed and Buffy grinned nervously, "See that's what I thought, great minds huh, "

The penny dropped and Giles said, "Ahh and you went into your usual mindset and ripped a strip off of Xander and now you found out it wasn't him and are attempting to make things right with a few well placed platitudes." He sees the blank look on her face and sighs, "You're going to kiss his ass so to speak?"

Just as he finishes they arrive at the Aero Mexico desk and Willow tells him while gasping for breath, "And anything else he wants her to kiss!" She smiles at Buffy, "She noticed him."

Buffy tucks a strand of errant hair back into place and grins meekly, "So I had a vision problem but it's all fixed now." She turns to the check-in girl, "Um hi, I was wondering if flight 517 to Mexico City has boarded yet or whether a Mr. Harris has checked in yet?" She sees the look on the woman's face, "I'm his sister and we only just made it to see him off, "

The woman taps the keyboard, "Yes, Flight 517 to Mexico City has boarded and departed on time." She looked up and saw the devastated look on her face and broke a company rule, "And yes Mr. and Mrs. Harris both made it on time."

The Slayer, the Watcher and the Wicca all spoke at the same time, "Mrs. Harris?"

Chapter 3

AERO MEXICO.

Xander felt more tired than he had ever felt before as the plane sped towards Mexico City. The effects of the high altitude on the alcohol in his system meant he could barely keep his eyes open. Lara on the other hand was feeling a lot safer now she was away from the trap the Illuminati had set for her at LAX. However, she was never one to believe in coincidence and a man helping her, a total stranger, by letting her pretend to be his wife while men with guns were searching for her was too good to be believed.

She turned to the dark haired savoir, "So, Alexander, care to explain why you left the room while I performed that piece of passport magic?"

Xander grinned, "You see Miss Croft it's like this. Magic and I never seem to see eye-to-eye." He flashed his lopsided grin at her, "It has a habit of either not working or screwing up like you wouldn't believe." She smiles, "And yet your best friends are Wicca?" Xander shrugs, "One of the mysteries of living on a ...Fault line I guess." He didn't know whether she knew about the Hellmouth or any of the weird things associated with it so he thought best to not mention the fact his other friends were a Slayer and a ball of energy made into the shape of her sister.

He asked, "So, besides being chased through airports, what do you do?"

Lara smiles and Xander is in awe of her beauty, "Well actually I'm in a family business. My father was an archaeologist and I guess it runs in my family."

Xander sensed her tense up at the mention of her father, "Was? Is he no longer an archaeologist?"

He sees a sad look in her eyes as she slumps, "No he was... killed by members of the group that is after me. He was searching for an artefact that the Illuminati desired and they stopped him."

Xander gripped her hand, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know." Lara shrugged, "It gets easier as the years go by." She looks at him, "Enough about me. Tell me the Alexander Harris story? What's the story behind the fake passport?"

Xander sighs, "You see I met this ...girl about two years ago and I thought I loved her, but it turns out she was more like a security blanket than a lover. I met a girl in high school and I guess I loved her from the moment I saw her. The only thing was, she didn't even recognise me as a guy, I was just one of the girls to her. I decided to live my life in her shadow and Anya had been the best thing to happen to me, so I thought I could repay her by marrying her and trying to be the man she wanted me to be."

Lara took it all in and said, "I sense a but coming up." Xander nodded, "On my bucks night an old friend reminded me about Buffy, about how you never really get over her. I sat there and thought about his words and realised it wouldn't be fare to either Anya nor myself if I went through with the wedding." He shrugged and shook his head, "At least that's the only reason I can think of for missing my own wedding, you see I fell asleep in my car and had this weird assed dream and when I woke up it was four the next day and I was two hours late for my wedding. Needless to say Anya was royally pissed and I guess I was lucky to come out of it alive." He grins, "All I have now are the clothes in my suitcase, the tickets and the spending money I had in the security belt. Anya deserved everything else and a whole lot more, "

Lara sighed, "Doesn't life just suck sometimes?" she saw him grin then added, "I have found that when one door closes another opens. There's a big wide world out there Alexander and if you want to live in it you have to learn to roll with the punches. Now just what do you do?"

He shrugged, "Nothing important, I'm just in the construction trade, a glorified brick layer as a 'friend' once told me, "

Lara leaned forward and looked at him, "Oh I think you're far more than that Alexander." Xander blushed and she was amused, "Why the blush? Surely other people have noticed and commented on what you do?"

He shrugged, "Not really, but then I don't do things just to get recognition." He sighs, "In fact, I've done a lot of things that have gone unnoticed for a long time now." She saw him twirling a silver cross that hung around his neck as his eyes began to droop. She waited a short while and sure enough he was out like a light. She debated her next move then sighed as she rifled through his coat and came out with his wallet.

She took out his credit card, licence and several other items and said. "Sorry Alexander.. Xander but I need to speak to Hillary and Bryce and I really have to know more about you." She took the phone from the holder in front of her and swiped the card then waited for the dial tone. She punched up Hillary's private cell phone number and after several rings he answered.

"About time Miss Croft! We were beginning to worry." His cultured tone didn't hide the worry in his voice and Lara joked, "You're just worried about where your next pay check would come from." Hillary replied, "Oh no Lara, you see Bryce and I would simply sell everything in Croft manor and live the life we're not accustomed to. Now what can we do to help you?"

"First off I need my Rover dropped off at the following co-ordinates. " She rattled off some figures then told him, "I'll need some new kit, I had to leave the other one behind." She glanced at Xander, "Make that two, I seem to have picked up a Good Samaritan."

Hillary was immediately concerned, "Are you sure he's a friend? He could just as easily be.."

Lara interrupted him, "I know and I will be careful. That's why I want a hard search of his background. I want both a physical and computer check on, "She held up his drivers license, "Alexander Lavelle Harris. Californian resident. Driver's number 554-9873-201. His address is, or I should say was, apartment 101 Hennessey building Sunnydale, California. Do you have that? I'll need it ASAP."

Hillary jots it down, "Bryce is running his worm as we speak and I'll have the usual team do a background check in the States. He isn't related to the Devonshire Lavelle's is he?"

"No, Hillary I think it's just a middle name... But check that out as well just to be sure." She checks her watch, "We should be landing in a couple of hours, I'll be staying at the Hyatt Mexicana under the name of Anya Harris for a couple of days until we can get a secure flight to Tenochtitlán. Remind Bryce that I'd like the Rover in one piece this time?"

She hangs up then returns his things to his coat. As she replaces his wallet her fingers brush up against a ring box. She takes it out and opens it to find a diamond wedding ring. "Remind me to put this on before we check into the hotel." She returns it and then sits back in her seat. Lara looks at Xander's face and she can see he's in the middle of a dream as his eyes' move behind closed lids and his hands are grasping at something. She tucks a strand of his dark hair back into place and whispers, "I only hope you're as real as you make out Alexander."

Meanwhile Xander is deep in a dream he has been having ever since he can remember. He's wandering through a green and wondrous land where the trees touch the sky itself. He feels content for the first time for what seems forever. His hand brushes over the tall flax and he sees hundreds of people as they go about their daily chores. It's then he hears her dulcet tones calling him to her side, "Laveale your time draws near child of Skone, child of Elrond." Xander looks to his right and sees a woman of ethereal beauty as she glides over to him. Her face is as if the gods themselves drew all that defined beauty and made it into one perfect face. Her every move was pure seduction itself.

He didn't know why but he bowed in her presence, his head downcast as he fell to one knee, "Galadriel, my queen!" His mind struggled, as he had never had this in his dream before. She placed her hand gently upon his shoulder, "Laveale. You were the great experiment. To see whether the likes of man and Elf could ever live as one, once more as they had in times of yore. But now comes a time of great fear. We have felt a stirring in the spirits of your world. A great evil is preparing to return to the plains of man."

Xander kissed the palm of her hand and the words he spoke shocked him, "The world of man is not for Elven kind my Lady. For it is full of the evil spirit that once haunted our kind. My quest is a failure and the experiment doomed, "."

Galadriel smiled, "It was as we expected my child, but we could not, can not, stand by and see the people of our beloved Evenstar fade from this world." She motioned for him to stand and she told him, "Soon enough you will be called upon to perform great things. It is written in our book of books. But one searches out the truth of your life and she needs the help you offer. Go with her and help her find the Globe of Elinor for only with it's powers will you be able to close the mouth of hell for ever more and seal the great evil in this prison for time eternal."

Xander nods his agreement and then feels warmth spread through him at the touch of her lips to his, "My grandson, you will do thy grandsire proud and remember the blood of Elvenland runs through thy veins." She places her palm to his face, "You remind me so much of thy mother Laveale." She looked sadly at him, "When you have the second piece of the globe it is foretold that you will no longer need the pretence the spell of enchantment has over you. Then you may come here and live thy life as thee wishes. But I, and the spirit of thy mother's sister, would prefer you to remain in the realm of man until the sons and daughters of Arwen are safe from the vengeance of the Evil one."

He bows and kisses the back of her hand; "I will do my duty to you my Queen and to the memory of Evenstar. my Aunt. Long may she find peace and happiness." Xander rises up and the Elf Queen is nowhere in sight. He begins to walk back to the mists of Avalon, but pauses at the silver mirrored tree of remembrance. He looks upon the names of fallen Elven heroes and sees his Aunt's name there. His fingers trace her name and he says, "How could you give up all this to live in the realm of man?" He looks upon his reflection and is stunned to see his image. His hair is long and flowing, black like his Aunt's and his mothers. But the ears make him smile as he traces their outline, "Well what do you know? I'm a Vulcan!" He cocks an eyebrow and says, "Fascinating."

"Alexander...Alexander!" He felt himself being shaken and he woke from his dream. "What?" he mumbled and then he saw her, "Oh.. I'm sorry I must have drifted off." Lara smiled, "It's just that we're about to land." She looked at him as he straightened his clothes and tried to fix his hair. She crooked her mouth to one side and told him, "You know wearing baggy clothes doesn't suit you. And the Hawaiian shirt went out with Magnum P.I."

Xander slitted his eyes as he watched her, "You're not related to Cordelia Chase are you?" She shook her head, "Who?" Xander shrugged, "Never mind, just a horrid thought." He suddenly had an idea, "Hey Miss Croft, in your travels have you ever heard of Elvenland?"

Lara nods, "Yes it was supposed to have been where the Elves migrated to when they gave up the earth to man, why?"

He sighs, "No reason.. It's just I've been having these dreams for a long time and now they're changing, "

She gripped his hand in hers and she snuggled up to him. Xander gulped and told her, "Ahh I know this is probably the wrong thing to ask but.." Lara kissed him and moved her hand to his chest. She parted her lips from his and whispered, "There's a man from the airport three seats away from us! We have to pretend we're newly weds."

Lara rested her body against his and she suddenly felt a sense of comfort pass over her. She looked up into his eyes and he planted a kiss on her nose, "So then Mrs. Harris, where to first? I say we explore the wonders of Mexico City by night."

Lara sighs, "And I say we explore the wonders of married life by hotel room."

Xander grins and gulps, "You win."

Chapter 4

MEXICO CITY.

The aircraft landed without a hitch. Xander and Lara went through customs with just one problem. The man behind the counter couldn't believe Lara and Xander would need only one suitcase. "Well my wife plans on buying a lot of clothes here." He leans forward, "Thank god they're so cheap here." Lara threads her arm through Xander's; "I plan on spending a lot of time in the hotel." She leaned against him and made sure the man from the airport heard her, "In fact I don't think we'll leave the room for the whole two weeks we're down here."

The customs officer grinned and stamped her passport and handed Xander his driver's licence back, "Enjoy your stay in Mexico." As they left he whispered, "Lucky bastard."

Lara checked behind them as the cab took off for the hotel, "He isn't following so I guess it worked." She turned back and grasped Xander's hand and squeezed it, "I don't know how to thank you for your help Alexander."

Xander sighs, "Please call me Xander. My mom always calls me Alexander and I like my friends to call me Xander." He squeezes her hand back, "So what now? I mean, do we check in or do we head for where ever you're going?"

Lara smiles, "I think you have done enough for me Xander. From here on in it gets pretty dangerous."

Xander shrugs, "I'm only supposed to be here for two nights and then we planned on heading to Tenochtitlán for the next week." He sees the look Lara gives him and he shrugged, "My fiancée.. Ex-fiancée' used to go down there on a regular basis." He cast a sideways glance at her, "Part of her old job."

Lara nods, "Was she in antiquities?" Xander nods, "Yeah you could say that." He knew he couldn't tell her Anya was in fact Anyanka the vengeance demon and besides he wanted to help Lara, hell he needed to help her. It was as if something was driving him to.

He pats his security belt, "I have the tickets and the hotel room reserved... Damn!" He slaps his head and turns to her, "I'm sorry.. Don't think I did this on purpose, but I didn't tell them we'll now need two rooms."

Lara smiles, "Hey we are supposed to be married, how freaky would it look if two newly weds suddenly wanted separate rooms?" She checked her watch and worked out the time it would be back at Croft manor, "Besides I think I have enough time to do a spot of sightseeing before I have to leave."

"You mean, we leave don't you?" Xander asked.

"It will be far too dangerous Xander. I can handle it, but I'd hate for anything to happen to you because of me." She was beginning to have feelings for this young man that took a risk in helping a total stranger.

Xander gripped her hand tighter, "This is something I need to do Lara. Back home I used to help.. Someone out, but now I think she wouldn't except my help in a pink fit, I need to help you for my own sake." Lara strokes his arm and sighs, "Well if you're coming with me you'll need more than a couple of out of date shirts and some shorts." She smiles, "I know a place in the less travelled districts that might fit you out."

The cab pulls up to the hotel and Xander pays the fare as Lara walks into the hotel. Xander then goes up to the front desk and checks in. "Ah yes Mr. and Mrs. Harris, your room is ready and.," He reaches over and checks his slot, "You have several messages sir." He hands them over with his key card and taps the bell for the bellhop. He tells the man, "The bridal suite."

Xander is flicking through his messages and shakes his head, "Three of the four are from 'Miss Buffy Summers' while the others from Willow. Boy they must all be pissed at me, and this time I didn't do anything!" He threw the messages into the nearest bin and told Lara, "I'll ring them when I get a chance or I can have a good time and wait till I get home to be chewed out in person."

Lara purses her lips, "Maybe she just wants to say sorry?" Xander laughs, "Buffy saying sorry and to me. Phht! Never happen. She can't even say thanks when I save her.. Ugh the last jam donut." Lara looks at him as the elevator takes them to their room. *There's something he's not telling me* She thinks. The bellhop shows them their room and leaves. Xander tries out the couch and tells her, "Yeah this will be fine for me."

She stands by the bedroom door with her hands on her hips, "What makes you think I'd let you sleep on the couch?"

Xander blushes, "Well we could hardly share the bed."

Lara tilts her head, "And we couldn't do that because?"

"I hardly know you..." He stutters, "And, not that I would, but you never know...I could wake up and mistake you for her and.. Just shoot me now and spare me the grief!"

She grins, "And what would I be doing during all this? I mean you are good looking, in a youthful sort of way, but I think I could hold out against your advances. Besides which I am ten years older than you."

Xander snorts, "Ten years Puhlease! The last girl I went out with was over a thousand.. Um yeah ten years does sound a lot. Maybe you're right but still and all you are a girl and I wouldn't feel right sleeping next to you, tempting fate and all."

Lara shrugs, "We'll see when it's time for bed. Right now though I need a change of clothes and nice hot shower." Xander is flicking through the hotel exchange book and sees several dress shops, "Why don't we go downstairs and have a bite to eat, then we can get you some clothes, come back and take a shower." He gulps and looks up, "Not together though."

Lara agrees and they go downstairs to eat. When they are finished, Lara takes him to the outfitters she had told him of, "Louise I need this to be done on the quiet so no telling anyone I was here okay?" The man nods, "Of course Madame, secrecy is our middle name." She points to Xander, "I'll need my usual and some of the same clothes for my partner here. I'll also need a couple of dresses."

Louise looks aghast, "Dresses? For you madam?" Lara smiles, "Yes I know shocking isn't it."

She picks out one dress. The one she saw Xander keep looking at and then watches Xander as Louise outfits him. She looks at the way he moves and then she watches him walk in the black t shirt and trousers, "Why hide yourself in baggy clothes Alexander? You really have nothing to be ashamed of?"

Xander looked at himself in the mirror and he remembered the time the demon had split him in two, he looked just like the confident Xander and he realised that part of him was inside all the time. He pulled at the t and said, "You don't think it makes me look stupid do you?" She stood up and went behind him, running her hands down his chest, "Oh no, I'd say quite the opposite." She placed her head next to his and looked at him in the mirror, "My Mr. Harris you look wonderful. Why have you been hiding this under those gross clothes?"

Xander shrugged, "My mom used to buy my clothes and I guess I just followed her example." She pecked him on the cheek, "Well now you know how to dress properly don't you." Xander nods as he stands back looking at the new him. He looks at the Doc Martins and moves his feet, "Don't know about the boots though."

Lara grins, "Believe me Alexander, the time will come when you will bless these boots." She looks at Louise as he nods to her, "Now go try on the clothes Louise picked out for our trip." As soon as he's out of sight Louise tells her, "Hillary is on the phone for you." Lara nods, "Try and keep Alexander occupied until I'm finished." She goes into Louise's office and picks up the phone, "Talk to me Hillary."

" Right.. Where to start... Well Mr. Alexander Lavelle Harris born on the 6th of July 1980 to Anthony and Helen Harris of Tucson New Mexico. Guess where Mrs. Harris decided to deliver little Lavelle?" Lara shrugs, "Tucson New Mexico?" She can just about see the smugness in his voice, "You'd think so wouldn't you? But no he was born in a small hospital in Mexico just north of Tenochtitlán. The funny thing is when our investigator searched the records he found something.. Peculiar. The midwife was fired for gross negligence, it seems she called the doctor in and told him the child had died during delivery yet when she peeled back the sheet there was a sleeping baby boy."

Lara looks towards where Xander was changing, "So she made a mistake, these things happen."

"Granted, indeed she might have, but I would still treat him with the deepest suspicion. After all it wouldn't be the first time we found a cuckoo in the nest would it?" Hillary told her, "The rest is all the usual stuff, his parents moved to Sunnydale in '84 and settled into domesticity, leaving Lavelle to virtually raise himself. Not what you would call your school scholar but has excelled in the construction field, until he separated from his fiancée' on their wedding day. It appears someone has had a word in his bosses ear and now his services are no longer required."

"He's been fired? How did you find that out?"

"Told the foreman we were a credit agency and wanted to know the usual about a potential client. They said that they had found out a few things about Mr. Harris they didn't like and decided to do without his services."

Lara thinks for a second, "I'll still need the second set of gear for him Hillary. If he isn't what he claims I aim to keep him close."

"You're the madam, madam. Now Bryce has the Rover kitted out and the Air services will drop it at the location you gave us so I guess we'll see you soon.. Oh one more thing, don't forget to bring Bryce a hat. He's been nagging me no end since you left that he wants a Mexican hat."

Lara smiles "Will do Hillary, bye for now." She replaces the phone just as Xander walks out of the cubicle, she watches as the tailor marks the trousers for fitting and asks which way he dresses, "One foot at a time?" Louise looks stupefied, "No sir which way do you, "He motions with his hand to Xander's crotch. Xander blushes and tells him, "I don't know, the damn thing wanders around like it's got a mind of its own."

Louise sighs and measures his inside leg, as he does Xander jumps as the tailor nudges little Xander, "HEY!" Xander exclaims and Louise apologises, "Sorry sir I slipped." He then whispers, "Madam will be impressed!"

Xander turns a shade redder than before, "We're not.. I'm not.. Ahh forget it!"

THE HOTEL ROOM.

Xander deposits the boxes on Lara's bed, then takes his things and places them in the now empty suitcase while Lara takes the one she purchased with his credit card and fills it with the things a woman needs for day to day living, "Right we leave for Tenochtitlán first thing in the morning.. You did call and change the flight times?"

Xander nods then realises she can't see him, "Yes 6.30 in the darned a.m. Just why are we leaving at that ungodly hour for?"

He cries out, "Gah!" As he sees her walking naked to the shower. He keeps his head down as she passes him and Lara smiles, "Anyone would think you've never seen a naked woman before Alexander." He places a hand to his eyes, "Yeah but they were girls I've known for more than a day!"

He hears the sound of the shower running and then looks at the messages light blinking on the phone. He presses the button and hears a rundown of the messages, "Buffy, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Dawn... I guess I had better touch base." He presses the operator button and asks for her to dial Buffy's number. While he's waiting he picks up the deodorant spray he had bought and sniffs the top. "Hello?" He puts the can down and says, "Dawn? Is Buffy there?"

He almost has to pull the earpiece away from his ear, "XANDER! Oh my God, we've been trying to phone you for like ages! Who's this girl you took to Mexico? Is she a hooker 'Cuz Willow says that's the first reaction a male has when confronted by....."

Xander cuts in, "Dawn, breath! No she's not a hooker. She's a woman in trouble and I helped her out. If Buffy's pissed because she thinks I dusted Spike, tell her that if I were going to dust him I would have done so when I found them together!"

Dawn tells him, "It's not that, we found out Riley did the dead; never thought anti-charisma boy had it in him. Buffy tried to catch you at the airport but you had already gone with Mrs. Harris, boy was sis pissed!"

Xander shrugs mentally, "Well tell her I'm fine and I'll be leaving for Tenochtitlán..." Xander stopped as he saw the curtains billow in the mirror. His mind told him 'Danger' seconds before the garrotte tightened around his throat.

Chapter 5

SUNNYDALE.

Buffy sat at the table. Giles and Willow went over the books of the Magic Box. "Hmm it appears that Anya has done well since I left, "Giles looks up and tells Willow, "Yep, that'll happen when you put a go-getter like Anya in charge. Come Hell, or its opening on earth, nothing would stop her from turning a profit!" Willow exclaims.

Buffy was ripping strips off of one of the many wedding serviettes piled on the table, "Yeah and now she's back with Xander she has everything!" She tells them with a sad look.

The bell above the door announces a customer and Buffy looks up, "Anya! What are you doing here?"

Anya gives her a look like Buffy's just escaped from a mental asylum, "Well I do own the place, Gee I would have thought even someone as dense as you would have figured that." She sees Giles and stops mid insult, "Giles! What brings you here?"

"I missed the wedding but from what I've been told I was not the only one." He looks at Buffy, "Didn't you tell me she was in Mexico?"

Willow answers, "Well the check in girl said Mr. and Mrs. Harris had boarded the plane! I guess they meant some other Mrs. Harris?"

Anya turns red as she sees Buffy's smile, "See! That's what I mean! The son of a bitch dumps me at the alter and not 24hours later he's taking some bimbo on OUR honeymoon!" Anya glares at Buffy, "I'm just shocked he didn't take little miss Vampire layer over there! But then I guess he does have a heart beat so I guess that'd rule him out!"

Buffy stands up, "So if he didn't take you then just who the heck did he take?"

Anya shrugs, "Don't know and I don't care." She takes the account books from Willow and replaces them under the counter, "All I know is I have everything he ever liked or wanted." She places a bag of broken china on the counter, "I have decided he can have his stupid Babylon 5 plates back though." She grins, "They did make a lovely noise as they hit the floor!" She looks at Buffy and Willow, "See I don't need to be a demon to get my vengeance!"

Willow tells her, "I'm sure when he gets back he can afford to buy new ones. In fact I'll go onto E-Bay tonight and start bidding for them!"

Anya smiles contentedly. "That's good of you Willow. Don't know how he's going to pay for them though." She looks at Buffy, "It seems someone slept with his boss last night. And that someone convinced him that Xander wasn't a very valuable asset, in fact his severance pay should just be hitting his account about now."

Buffy moves towards Anya and the ex-demon realises she may have gone too far. Giles holds up a hand to stop Buffy as he turns to talk to Anya, "I do hope the affair is a long term one Anya, I'd hate to see you lose that wonderful apartment."

Anya looks confused, "Why should I? I have a good job.." Her eyes go wide, "No! You told me this place was mine!"

Giles shook his head; "No I said you were in charge while I was away. I'm back now and." He looks at Buffy, "Seeing as how my duties as Buffy's watcher also entail her financial security whilst I am her Watcher, I think it my obligation to see she is gainfully employed." He walks over to the till and takes out one month's salary and hands it over to Anya, "I think it best if you leave now before Willow forgets her pledge about magic."

Anya storms off but stops as she reaches the door and glares at them, "I thought you would take him from me Willow but I guess I was wrong. It seems he'd prefer a total stranger to any of you lot!" She slams the door behind her as she leaves. They are about to start to talk when the door slams back open and Dawn races in out of breath, "Xander.. On phone.. Then choking., "She gasps for breath as the others race to her.

Buffy tells her, "Deep breaths Dawn!" When she has calmed down Dawn tells them of the phone call.

MEXICO.

Lara has almost finished her shower when she hears the door creak open. She smiles and turns around and draws back the curtain, "I wondered how long.." She sees two men, one with a silenced gun pointing at her; she looks beyond them for Xander. One man is taking in her beauty when he tells her, "Lover boy is otherwise detained...For the rest of his life!" He motions with the gun barrel for her to get out. She picks up a towel and wraps it around herself, "The disc, where is it?"

Lara nods, "You'll let him go?"

They hear the table crash and a grunt followed by a sickening crunch, "Lady he's gone already!" The man smiles evilly. Lara knew getting mad would just get her as dead as Xander, so she used what she could to survive. She raised her hands and as the men were distracted by the view the towel revealed as it dropped she snapped the curtain rail from it's holder and hit the man with the gun sending him sliding across the floor.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Xander had begun to feel the approaching darkness as the phone was forced into his throat by the garrotte. His mind sought an escape and his hand closed around the deodorant can, then he turned it around and sprayed the contents into the eyes of his assailant. The man released pressure on the wire and rubbed his eyes giving Xander his opening and his mind went blank.

Lara brought the rod down on the neck of the other man but he managed to grasp the end and pull her from the shower. Lara hit him in the solar plexus and then gave him a chop to the throat before she heard the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking. She turned and dodged the first bullet but knew, with the cramped space of the bathroom, the next shot would be a hit.

She prepared for the worse when the man's neck was twisted violently to one side. Lara knocked the other man out then looked to see who her rescuer was.

Xander's mind seemed to kick into gear again as he stood over a strange man and saw Lara shrugging into a bathrobe. He looked down at the man at his feet and saw the open eyed stare of a dead man looking back at him. He jerked back from the body and tried to avoid looking at Lara, but as he turned he saw yet another dead man over by the ruined coffee table and smashed phone, "What the hell is going on?"

Lara picked up the gun and searched the man's pockets, coming up with a wallet and a cell phone; she then did the same with the others and piled the mixed contents on the kitchen table. She handed Xander the gun and started to move away. She stopped and drew him into a deep and sensual kiss that neither wanted to break. She tore away from him and said, "Thanks for the rescue."

Xander could still feel her lips on his and the peppermint taste of her mouth long after she went into the bedroom to dress. He looked at the bodies and wondered what had happened as he moved them all into the bathroom before checking on the one Lara had tied up. He was going through the contents of the three wallets when Lara came out dressed in her Tomb Raiding gear as she called it. She leaned on her elbows as she studied Xander's face.

Xander told her, "It seems they're all local boys, only," He held the licence up to the light and picked at the corner, then peeled the laminate from it, "Fake and a very good one to." He looked up from the other items and Lara looked over at the bathroom and asked, "Not that I'm complaining but do you mind explaining how a 'construction worker' can take out two hired guns like they were a couple of rowdy kids?"

Xander paused and shrugged, "I watch a lot of Bruce Willis movies?" He sees her eyebrow arch and then he says, "Look, to tell you the truth I honestly don't know, unless... Maybe I didn't forget all the memories of Soldier boy?" He sees her look of confusion, "I know you're not going to believe this but a couple of years ago on Halloween a man named Ethan Rayne cast a spell over all the costumes purchased from his store and those people wearing them became whatever it was they were dressed up as. I just happened to be a soldier and for years after I had all the memories of a twenty-five year Marine Corp veteran. I guess I didn't forget everything."

Lara looked at him and she saw that he thought she didn't believe her, "Oh I believe you Alexander, in fact I knew of Ethan Rayne from my days of study at Oxford and my studies at the British Museum before I took a more...Hands on approach to the antiquities."

Xander looked at her as they packed what they needed into two backpacks, "I don't suppose.. Nah it would be too much of a coincidence." She placed her hands on her hips and did the pout thing with her lips and Xander paused, "Well it's just.. I don't suppose you knew a Rupert Giles from the Museum do you?"

Lara studied his face for a hidden meaning, "Yes I knew a Rupert Giles; he was the curator of ancient texts. Seemed like a stuffed shirt but he was very knowledgeable."

Xander smiled, "Stuffed shirt. That's Giles all right. He lives, or I should say, lived in my hometown of Sunnydale. He runs an occult shop on Fifth and Main, man we had us some times."

The two bags were packed and Xander reached across the table for the Glock.45 and tucked it into his bag, "Never know when you might need a persuader."

Lara opened the door and checked outside for any other men the trio might have had for back up, then they moved out taking the stairs down to the lobby just as two policemen exited the elevators and headed for Xander's room.

Xander handed the car rental agent one of the credit cards he took from the table and signed for the Ford Explorer smiling as he did. The agent handed Xander the keys and the documents, wishing him a pleasant stay in Mexico. Xander hopped in the passenger side and Lara drove off of the yard and down the hectic streets till they were on the main highway from the city. She looked in the rear-view mirror, then told him, "I don't know how they found us but I'm assuming they know I'm not Mrs. Harris and we're not on our honeymoon."

Xander looks at the map and shakes his head, "I can't see how we're going to drive all the way to Tenochtitlán."

Lara shakes her head and points to a small airstrip on the outskirts of civilization, "They have a Cessna there." She looks at Xander with a grin, "Did I ever tell you how I learnt to fly?"

SUNNYDALE.

Buffy was talking to the Mexican authorities and by the paled expression on her face the gang knew the news was bad, "Thank you and please could you keep us informed if you find out anything new?" She hung up and turned to the others.

Dawn glared at her, "Well?" Buffy shook her head, "They went to the room and found two dead bodies." She saw Dawns eyes go wide with unspoken fear and Buffy placed a hand on her sisters arm, "They weren't either Xander or mystery girl. They were two thugs that the police had been looking for. A third man told a wild story of a robbery gone wrong but the police seem to think these guys were hired to kill the people in Xander's room."

Willow looks shocked, "I know Xander can be a pain sometimes but enough to kill him?"

Giles tells them, "The woman. The woman Xander took to Mexico as Mrs. Harris, it must be her they're after!"

Buffy sighs, "Great! He can't even go on holiday with out being dragged into some sort of deadly conspiracy!" She looks at Giles, "Maybe we should go down there?"

"And do what? We neither know where they are nor where they are going." He looks at the phone, "He knows we know he's in trouble; and we know he's clear of it for now. He was talking to Dawn when it happened so I suggest we stay by our phones and just wait till he calls. Then we can go down and slap some common sense into the lad."

Buffy crosses her arms and stares at the phone, "Oh don't you worry about that. I intend to make sure he knows how annoyed I am."

Dawn looks at her sister and suddenly she knows, "Would that be because he's in trouble or because he took the wrong bottle blond to Mexico?" She sees Buffy blush a new shade of red and she punches her hand into the sky, "She shoots, she scores!"

Chapter 6

Tenochtitlán Airport.

Lara taxied the Cessna to the end of the runway, then Xander took the backpacks from the rear of the plane and they made their way out of the hanger and out to the main gates, "Thank God it's only a one horse town, otherwise we'd be here for a while filling out forms." She looks at him, "And I hate leaving a paper trail for others to follow." She checks her watch as Xander flags down the dilapidated bus as it draws near, "We've got about four hours to make it to the drop point and pick up our gear."

Xander looks worried and Lara nudges him with her elbow, "Penny for them."

Xander shrugs, "I want to phone Dawn and let her know I'm all right, but what if these Illuminati have my history? I mean if they knew enough to hit my room then surely they know everything about me. What if they have Buffy's phone tapped and they trace the call to here?"

She grins and tells him, "Did you know it's very hard to trace a Cell phone? They have to triangulate the call and even then they can only tell what Cell you're calling from and not the exact location." She reaches into his pack and hands him his phone, "I got Louise to get a new battery for you. Call her."

Xander grins like a kid on Christmas day and dials Buffy's number, "She's probably going to rip me a new one but you know what? I don't care." He waits a few seconds then the phone is picked up, "Hello Buff? It's me Xander."

Buffy is suddenly wide awake and the curse she had on her lips for the idiot that was ringing at this ungodly hour died there, "Xander! Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Yeah we're fine Buff, we just ran into some trouble back at the hotel. Tell Dawn patrol I'm sorry if I scared her but I was scared as well."

Buffy bites the corner of her lip, "Um she was wondering just who this girl was you took down to Mexico was?"

"She's a new friend that was in trouble Buffy and now she needs our help." He places his hand over the mouthpiece, "Can I tell her about the disc and your search?" Lara thinks about it then nods, "There's this thing called the Globe of Elinor. It comes in three pieces that when fitted together gives the holder the power of the old ones." He grins at her reply, "Man are we in sync or what? That's exactly what I said but no she didn't mean Elvis and Frank." He grins at Lara and she raises an eyebrow, "I was thinking that if we do find it we might have an opportunity to seal a certain mouth that keeps opening."

Buffy scrambles for a pen and paper and writes the name down, "Just so we know whom to thank, just who is your new 'wife' Xander?"

Xander looks at Lara, "She want's to know who you are?" Lara nods, "Yeah Buff? Her name is Lara Croft and she's an Archaeologist."

Buffy grins as she imagines what she looks like, "So she'd look like Mrs. Henderson from High school then? All bookish and hair in a bun."

Xander looks at Lara and blushes, "Yeah something like that. Anyway tell the others I'm fine and I'll ring the shop as soon as I can."

Buffy doesn't want him to stop talking to her, "Xan when you get back there's a few things we need to discuss."

"Yeah I know Buffy and I promise the next time I get married I will go through with it.. That is as long as Lara divorces me first." He laughs but senses Buffy doesn't find it funny, "Ahh Buffy are you still there?"

"Just be safe Xander and hurry back, we miss you." Buffy sounds sad for some reason and Xander tells her, "Hey Buff you know me I'm your Xander shaped friend and if the Hellmouth couldn't get me nothing can." Buffy could see the grin on his face and she smiles, "Yeah well if you get hurt I'm going to kick your ass!"

"See ya later Buff, tell Dawnie I might have a couple of gifts for you guys when I get back."

"Just get back here in one piece Xand that's all any of us wants. See you SOON Xand."

"Bye Buffy." Xander closes the phone and hands it to Lara. As he does she asks, "This Buffy is she someone important?"

He nods, "Very, not only to me but everyone..Ahh else she knows." Xander has almost told Lara the truth about Buffy being the chosen one. He had to remember Buffy's secret identity was just that, a secret. He decides to change the subject, "So how far to this secret drop zone then?"

Lara takes out the GPS device Louise had given her, "We should get there soon but we need to go cross country first."

"So we have to hire another 4x4." He looks at her face, "Oh come on you don't mean walk do you?"

THE DROP ZONE.

Xander is standing next to Lara when another of the local bug life decides it's snack time. He tries to reach behind his back and scratch at the bite, "Goddamn it! How come none of these nibblers are touching you?"

She grins as she lowers her binoculars, "They wouldn't dare." Her eyes pick out something in the distance and she checks, "Here it comes! Now be careful this is going to be a low level drop and release job so just stick by me Alexander."

The Hercules comes in low, almost touching the ground as it slows down to release Lara's Land Rover. The small chute opens and drags the cradle out the back of the plane and dumps it on the jungle floor of the long clearing. The plane waggles its wings as it departs leaving Xander and Lara to detach the cradle and get in the rover. Lara guns the motor and the rover jolts off of the cradle and they head towards the Temples of Tenochtitlán.

Xander looks around the modified Rover and sees the cases in the back, "Jeez, your guys thought of everything.. Where's the TV?"

She takes her eyes off the road for a second and grins at him, "I tend to make my own entertainment Alexander."

"So what do we do once we get there? I realise we don't just walk up to some guy and say' hey we're here to rob your country of a national treasure, which way to the Orb of Elinor'. I maybe naive but stupid I'm not."

Lara grins again, "No, we get ready and once it gets dark enough, we use the disc to open a secret passageway in the temple, and that should lead us to the second part of the Orb. Should be a piece of cake."

After several miles of jungle road they come to the newly discovered Temple and Lara pulls the rover into some shrubbery. She gets out and opens one of the cases to reveal her equipment, then taps the other one, "This is yours." She shrugs into her vest and then snaps on her guns before dropping the special backpack into place. Xander does likewise then checks the guns, "Modified Glock .45s..Cool." He checks the vest pockets, "Where are the spare clips?"

Lara presses a switch on her vest and a section of her backpack drops down forming a tree of twelve clips, "Wow! Colour me impressed." Lara presses the switch again and the tree slides back up into the backpack, "Never leave home without it." She tells him.

They walk up to the entrance, but Lara walks around the temple and she searches for something smiling when she does, "Hello beautiful" Xander looks at what she touches and he sees an engraving of the woman in his dreams. Lara takes out the disc and tells Xander, "This should open a secret doorway somehow."

Lara sees a small globe of the earth and she places the disc so it fits around the globe, "And we have lift off." The sound of grinding stones accompanies the opening of a section of the temple. Lara takes out her torch and says, "This way to the hidden temple sir." Xander bows, "Why thank you Madam."

They walk down the stairs and Lara admires the hieroglyphs on the wall as they descend deep into the bowels of the earth, "This language is strange. I mean it's neither Mayan nor Aztec and it's very reminiscent of Sanskrit but much more complex. She takes out a small digital video and gets Xander to hold his light on the writings as she video's it.

While he does Xander gets a chance to look at the writings in more detail, "This looks vaguely familiar. Almost as if I should know it." His full attention is focused on the writings and drawings on the wall and when he comes to the pictograph of the women, a name comes to his lips, "Galadriel!"

At the mention of the Elf Queen's name the passageway was illuminated with an unearthly light, "Well that's never happened before." Lara says as she turns off her torch, "What did you do?"

Xander looked bewildered, "I don't know. I just touched the pictograph and said a name that came into my head."

"How did you know the name Alexander?" She began to become worried. Maybe Hillary was right about Alexander.

He touched the pictograph again, his fingers tracing the outline of the woman's face, "I've been dreaming of her for a while now and in my dreams her name is Galadriel." She watches his features as he continues to stroke the outline of the face, "And in these dreams were you called Alexander?" Xander shakes his head, "No it was Laveale."

At the mention of the name another grinding sound could be heard coming from the wall and another opening appeared. As they entered, a vision appeared before them and began to speak, "Seekers of the Orb of Elinor be warned, the path you choose is a deadly one and should not be attempted light-heartedly. Also be aware the Orcs and Urak-hai have grown and multiplied since the sealing of this tomb of the great Lord Celebron." The vision bowed, "May the Lady Galadriel watch over thee in your times of need."

The vision dissolved into a mist and Lara asks, "Does the name Celebron mean anything to you?"

Xander nods as he tries to take it all in, "I don't know how I know but he was the Lady Galadriel's husband." Lara demands, "What else do you know Alexander?" Xander grips his head and feels a tearing sensation in his mind, as if two halves were coming apart, "I...Don't know! It's all a jumble of memories, whether they're real or just dreams I can't tell."

Lara nods and sees the pain he's in, "Are you all right?" He nods and says, "Just got the Godzilla of headaches is all." Lara looks down the passage and sees a brighter light at the end, "Do you feel up to going on?"

Xander nods and they continue on down the passageway until they come to a large open area. At its centre is a marble and gold sarcophagus with a beam of light shining on it. Lara sweeps the dust from its surface and they see strange writings on its surface. "Any idea what it says?" Lara asks him and he shakes his head. Lara runs her hand over the letters and a sharp point sticks her finger allowing a few drops to hit the writing.

The vision appears once more, "Descendant of man, listen to my words. You are not permitted to have the power that the Orb of Elinor would give you. Seek not the orb lest the rage of the Lady doth destroy thee."

"Great! Remote control bigotry." Lara comments. She then has an idea, "Why don't you try?"

Xander snorts, "Yeah! With my luck it'll probably tell me I'm some sort of inter species butt monkey!" He sees her glare; "Okay I'm doing it already!" He runs his hand over the same spot and the blood drops onto the writing. The vision starts up, "Here we go, welcome to another fractured fairytale!"

The vision bows, "We welcome thee Laveale son of Elrohir, grandson of Skone' and great grandson of Galadriel. Thy Sister Leilani sends greetings and salutations to thee. These gifts are thine by right of birth, use them wisely and with mercy for all creatures." A hidden drawer opens, revealing an unstrung longbow, a quiver full of silver tipped arrows, a large silver coloured sword and two daggers of the same make. Another drawer opened to reveal a sphere with a hollow core and a slit running around the circumference, "This is the second part of the Orb of Elinor. Seek the last piece in what the locals call la Boca del inferno."

Lara takes it from it's resting place and inserts the disc causing the Orb to glow blue. The vision begins to fade and as it does it says, "Thy people await thy return Laveale, but they know your quest is a long and dangerous one. Till then, they send you these to remind you of their longing."

He offers his hand out and Xander gives his. When the vision passes Xander feels a heavy weight in his hand, he looks at it and in the palm of his hand is an intricately designed necklace with a strange pendant on the end. Lara watches him place it around his neck and holds his fist in the air then proclaims, "By the Power of Greyskull!" He stops and looks around then shrugs, "Worth a try." He holds the pendant in his hand, "Nice trinket though."

Lara grins as she packs the Orb into her backpack, "You idiot! Come on, let's get your gifts and get the heck out of here." Xander places the sword in it's scabbard, the daggers fit into the two smaller ones attached to the scabbard, but Lara helps him place it on his back so the handles almost touch the back of his neck. She then helps him shrug back into his backpack. "You place the bow here." She has to use all her strength to try and string the bow but can not, "Man what kind of idiot would make a bow like that? You can hardly move it an inch!" She shrugs, "You'll have to carry it. The quiver hangs by your side to allow for a faster draw." She sees his questioning look, "What? I'm a history major from England that specializes in ancient times for gosh sakes!"

Xander nods then sees other things lying on a shelf behind the sarcophagus. " So 'old lady' are these worth anything?"

Lara takes a look and gulps, "Ugh.. Yes I think they are Alexander. I think this would set you and me both up for life!" She looks at Xander and smiles, "You're a real lucky charm Alex, has anyone ever told you that before?"

Xander blushes and strokes the back of his head, "You're the first Lara." She smiles at him and winks, "Remind me to thank you for all your troubles once we get out of here." She grins as he blushes but then looks puzzled, "Why is that sword glowing blue?"

Chapter 7

TEMPLE OF THE ELDERS-Tenochtitlán.

Xander and Lara explored the burial chamber of Lord Celebron, examining the writings engraved on the chamber's walls, while the sword's eerie blue light grew brighter. Lara has taken out the digital camera and has videoed all the chamber has to offer. She turns to Xander and tells him, "Come on then Tinker Bell time to go home."

Xander blushes, "I do believe Tinker Bell was a fairy and not an elf and as I once told Larry I am not a fairy." Lara walks out of the chamber first, but ducks back in when a bullet ricochets past her head, "Give us the Orb, Lady Croft and we'll let you go free!"

Lara takes her guns out and Xander follows her example, "So milady what do we do now?"

Lara glares at him, "Take the mickey again and I'll show you just how much of a Lady I am not! Now find me another way out of here Elf boy."

Xander touches his forelock and examines the walls while Lara attempts to keep the Illuminati at bay. Xander is getting frustrated at his lack of progress, "No one builds a place like this without including a backdoor." His eyes travelled over the writings and still he could make no sense out of them, "Hurry it up Xander I'm running out of options here!"

Xander's fingertips felt the joins in the stone blocks, "Man they knew how to build, not a gap or any sign of mortar... Hello!" He saw a gap between two walls and moved towards it, "Now why would builders who had this craftsmanship leave gaps this big in just one wall?" He scanned the writings on that wall and saw three figures were well worn. He placed three fingers on the glyphs and stroked them, he grinned as the familiar sound of grinding rock. He pushed against the wall and it continued to slide open revealing a web-infested tunnel.

He turns to Lara, "I found a tunnel but whether it leads out or into more trouble I don't know."

Lara nods then takes out a flat metal disc from her belt and pressed a button on its side before rolling it towards the Illuminati, "Cover your eyes Alex!"

Xander did as he was told and even through closed eyes he still saw a white blob of light, "What the heck was that?" He asked as they made their way to the tunnel. Lara takes her torch out and turns it on, shining the beam into the tunnel before entering it, "A present from an ex-boyfriend in the SAS." She checks her back trail, "Can you close the wall?"

Xander shines his light on the wall and sees another three glyphs that were well worn, "I think so." He slides his fingertips down the glyphs and the wall grinds shut. Lara holds her hand up and feels a breeze against it, "I think this must lead to the outside."

They walk down the tunnel and Xander has time to think of the events that occurred in the chamber. He lifts the pendant up from his neck and looks at the intricate craftsmanship of its design and mumbles, "Why does this feel like it belongs to me?" He drops the pendulum and grips the unstrung bow tighter in his hand as they approach the daylight streaming into the tunnel.

Lara turns her torch off and replaces it in her pack, Xander does likewise, then she parts the overgrown vines from the tunnel mouth and checks the area, "I think we're at the rear of the temple. The Rover is about a five minute walk from here."

While they walk to the transport Xander has a better look at the bow. He tries to match the wood to any that he has worked with and he shakes his head, "This is the weirdest wood I've ever seen!" Lara stops and she examines it with him, "It's almost like it's a combination of woods mixed with some kind of plastic."

Xander raises an eyebrow, "Plastic... From that long ago?"

Lara shrugs, "A lot of things have been discovered and then forgotten as the civilization that found it passed into history. I expect a thousand years from now some arrogant asshole will 'discover' what we know as we no doubt have discovered what others have known before us." She looks at Xander and feels a sense of longing, she licks her bottom lip as she stares at his lips, "You know, I never thanked you for the assist back in our rooms." She grabs his shirtfront pulling him into a kiss that takes both their breaths away. They finally break the kiss to come up for air. Xander exclaims, "Wow!" And Lara grins and then checks the back trail. "Lets continue this conversation when we don't have to keep looking over our shoulders?"

"Most definitely!" Xander grins and follows Lara to the Rover but as they get closer Xander has a feeling of someone watching them. He rubs the back of his head and turns to stare at their back trail. Lara takes the key from around her neck and then sees Xander looking back, she scans the area and asks, "What is it?"

Xander shrugs, "I don't know.. I feel like we're being watched." Before they can continue, an animalistic roar breaks through the silence and an Urak-Hai breaks through the jungle and grips Xander in a bear hug. He can feel his ribs bend under the pressure and feels close to blacking out as the creature from some Hellmouth inspired nightmare digs it's claws into his back.

Xander hears the sound of Lara's guns and he sees four .45 calibre holes drilled into the forehead of the creature before it yells and drops to the ground. He pulls himself from the dead creatures grip, then notices one of his daggers driven to the hilt in the beast's chest. He checks the two he has behind his back and finds one missing. He pulls the dagger from the creature's chest and ponders what happened, "Either I did it and can't remember or these damned things have a life of their own."

Lara helps him up and tells him, "I saw it, but I still don't believe it! You were almost a blur Alex, you drew the blade and sank it into its chest before it drew you into its hug!" They duck as the sound of other creatures comes to them, "Uhh.. Time to go I think." Lara tells him. They clamber into the four-wheel drive and speed off towards the airport.

Xander looks at the dagger and sees the blue glow fade, as they get further away from the creatures, "I think something in the metal reacts to those creatures causing it to turn blue." Lara nods, "I've seen that before in other things in my travels but I have never seen anything that even comes close to that.. Thing back there."

Xander nods as he returns the blade to its sheath before debating on asking Lara a question, "Um.. You don't think that I might be some sort of Demon do you?" He sees her glace at him, "I mean that vision called me Laveale and it looked like I belonged to his race. Then the thing with the gifts and that creature back there went for me instead of the Orb, why?"

Lara shook her head, "Maybe it was a mistake? The burial chamber must be thousands of years old and even some forms of magic would surely begin to break down after that amount of time."

Xander shook his head, "But it reacted to me! Hell it even touched me when it gave me the pendant;" The Rover's wheels squealed as it gripped the tarmac of the new road as they turned onto it from the jungle track, "Maybe it's a genetic memory? Some one in your distant past had some kind of interaction with these beings and it stuck in your genetic memory?" She placed a hand on his knee and stroked it, "We need to get a room with a shower and get cleaned up before we board the flight back to LA. "Besides I don't think they'll allow us to wear these things on board the plane."

Xander nods then asks, "What about the car?"

"There's a special storage space under the chassis, we can hide the guns and things there then send the Rover on ahead while we gat cleaned up and wait for our flight."

Xander notices she hasn't taken her hand from his knee and he places his hand over hers, "Thanks for the rescue back there." He tells her and she turns her head for a second and grins, "We owe each other a 'thank you' now."

Xander sighs, "Yeah, now if I could figure out what all this crap that happened today meant I'd be a very happy man."

HOLIDAY INN- MEXICO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

After watching customs check the Land Rover out ready for it's trip to LA, Lara booked them into a hotel close by so they could clean up and get ready for their four o'clock flight to LA. Xander felt like there was a part of him missing when they packed the swords into the hiding place in the Rover and he was very quiet all through the proceedings and even when they checked into the room. He took out the clothes Lara had bought him only the other day and laid them on the bed, then told her, "I think I'll have a shower then try to get some rest before the flight."

Lara smiles then nods her agreement, "Sounds like a plan to me." She watches him go into the bathroom and then dials Hillary. "Hillary? We managed to get the second piece of the Orb."

"Well-done madam! I take it you will be returning now?" He asked.

"Not just yet. We have to get the last piece and we were told it was in a place called la Boca del inferno." She hears the shower begin to run and she starts to take her boots off. Hillary tells her, "The mouth of Hell...Sounds wonderful Lady Croft, a real holiday destination if ever I heard one."

"Yes, doesn't it just. I need you to find out where it is and also I need Bryce to do a computer search of several names. Galadriel, Celebron, Elrohir, Skone, Leilani and Laveale. Tell him they appear to be from a race of.. Elves."

"Do you want him to check on Santa Clause as well?" Hillary asks in disbelief.

She stands and shrugs out of her trousers, "Just tell him it's a rush job and I need the information like yesterday." She places the phone on its hook then finishes undressing as she heads for the shower and Xander.

SUNNYDALE.

The tremors started to abate and Dawn crawls from under the table at the Magic Shop while Giles picks up his glasses and exclaims, "Yes.. I had almost forgotten about the joys of living on a fault line!" Buffy dusts off her blouse as she tells him, "Giles doesn't this seem a little familiar to you? In a 'someone attempting to open the hell mouth' type of way?"

He straightens his coat and tells her, "I'll ahh research any prophesies and such." Buffy nods then looks at Dawn, "Stay by the phone and let me know the second Xander rings."

Willow tells her, "Tara and I will try to find out from Willy if anything extra creepy is in town." The two Wicca's leave for the bar and Buffy picks up her bag, "Meanwhile I'm going to check out the old school." She looks at Dawn, "Remember, he rings and you ring me 'kay?"

Dawn sighs, "I heard you the first time Buffy, I'm not deaf or blond." She looks at her sister, "Ya know, if you had just told him how you felt before he went James Bond on us he would still be here and you wouldn't be so grumpy!"

Buffy sighs, "It's just that he's so...Human, so normal and I'm frightened he would get hurt even worse than before. If something happened to him I don't know what I would do."

Dawn tells her, "Buffy, he's helped you ever since we came to Sunnydale and nothing has stopped him from doing what he thinks is right. Come Hell or it's opening, Xander will always be by your side." She smiles, "And if you don't grab him when he gets back I might just!"

Buffy glares at her. "Yeah and I'd have you living with dad before his shoes hit the floor!"

"You seem to forget just how old you were when you and Angel did the horizontal mambo!"

"Yeah and didn't that turn out wonderful!"

Dawn grins, "But as you keep pointing out, Xander is a normal human, and if Anya's remarks are anything to go by, he is special in one way! The worst that could happen is you'd be an Aunty and I'd be Mrs. Harris!"

Before she can reply the phone rings and Dawn picks it up, "Hey Xand! What happened?"

Xander sighs and rubs his eyes, "Long story Dawn patrol, is Giles there?"

She looks at Buffy as she stands close to the phone, "Yeah, Buffy's here too, "She places her hand over the receiver, "GILES! It's Xander!" Buffy snatches the phone from her and Dawn grins, "Don't forget to give him my love!"

Buffy waves Dawn away, "Xander! Are you all right?"

Xander nods and grins as he sees Lara begin to dress, "I wasn't before but I'm feeling real good now. So how's it going in Sunnyhell?"

Buffy tried to calm down before she let her feelings talk for her. "I'm missing my Xander shaped friend and we just had a tremor so I think we can expect trouble soon."

"Sooner than you think Buff, could you put Giles on? I really need to talk to him." Buffy nods and hides her disappointment as Dawn gets Giles and Buffy hands him the phone, "Giles? I need you to find out several things for me.." Lara runs a hand down his back causing Xander to yelp as she tells him, "Hurry it up lover boy we need to catch that flight."

Giles asks, "I take it that was the mystery blond that has Buffy and Dawn at each other throats."

Xander replies, "Yeah and she knows you Giles, but before I say anything more I need you to find out a few things.., "

Lara finishes dressing while Xander talks to Giles. She lays out his clothes on the edge of the bed and then gets the rest of their meagre things together and puts them in an overnight bag. Xander hangs up and then dresses. When he finishes, Lara turns to him and tells him, "This is a one-time thing Alex, you do know that don't you? My life is too complex to have anything permanent and I don't need something that my enemies could use against me." Her heart wanted her mind to shut up and enjoy the moment but she knew this was a fleeting moment for the both of them.

Xander nods, "It was nice, real nice, but I've learned to expect this in my life, so it's no problem. I'm a big boy now Lara and I'll survive." He kisses her, "No matter what my heart thinks!"

Lara grips his hand in hers, "You're a very special person Alexander and you'll make some lucky girl very happy." She grinned, "And if you do half as well as you did just now, a very satisfied one as well."

Xander gave her a peck on the lips, "We aim to please Miss Croft."

"Your aim is good Alex I only wish there was some way we could stay together. "She picks up the bag and throws it to him, "Now come on husband. It's time we left for our flight." She opens the door as he places the bag on his shoulder, "When we get to LA and pick the Rover up, you can head off to Sunnydale with your gifts while I try to find the last piece of the Orb in the mouth of hell, where ever the hell that is."

Xander drops the bag, "The mouth of hell? Is that what la Boca del inferno means?"

"Yeah, why?"

Xander pales, "Because Sunnydale rests on the Hellmouth, is why." Then he grins as he picks the bag up and slips on his shades, "I guess we might get to stay together a bit longer after all Lady Croft."

Chapter 8

LA.

Xander and Lara exited the arrivals lounge and made their way through customs. Having nothing to declare, they made their way to the freight area of the airport where they picked up Lara's Land Rover. Lara decided they had better depart for Sunnydale as soon as possible, with a diversion to the nearest chemist to return her hair back to it's natural colour.

Seeing as how Xander knew his way around she decided he should drive and also purchase the hair dye for her. While he was in the chemists Lara made two phone calls, the first to a hotel chains 1-800 number and booked a room in their Sunnydale hotel and she also asked for their fax number. The second call was to Hillary, waking him and Bryce up in the process. She told him to fax everything the two had found to the West Coast Vance in Sunnydale and gave him the number.

When Xander returned to the four-wheel drive Lara told him, "I booked a room at the West Coast Vance in Main Street. I want to get freshened up before we go searching for the third part of the Orb. My father always told me a tired mind is a sloppy mind and that'll get you killed."

Xander nods as he pulls out into the traffic and heads North to Sunnydale, "Our best bet would be to make contact with Giles and get him involved." He looks at her, "He's the best there is when it comes to research and all things Hellmouthy."

Xander saw the radio and tuned it in to K-rock and the music seemed to calm him down. As they hit the 25 miles to Sunnydale sign the three Amigo's 25 miles from home began to play and a smile crept across Xander's face as his hands beat time to the music. Xander thought of the old gang and he really missed the comradery of the old days, the days when Buffy had first arrived in Sunnydale. He took the turn off and joined the thinned out traffic as it headed to his hometown.

Lara smiled as she saw him enjoying himself. She placed her hand on his leg and he glanced at her, "Sorry to tear you away Alex, but we need to discuss what we're going to do."

Xander shrugs, "We get the third piece, seal the Hellmouth and go our separate ways."

Lara nods, "About going our separate ways.. How would you feel about a limited partnership? "

Xander glanced at her, "What do you mean? "

"I mean you come back with me and we make this a more permanent arraignments. The tomb raiding I mean."

Xander felt a shock to his system, "You mean leave her.. I mean Sunnydale? I could never do that! A holiday is one thing but leave." He shook his head, "Sorry, it's just I had never even thought of leaving."

Lara smiled and thought she knew why, "I know leaving your hometown is a big thing Alex but.."

Xander turned to her as the lights turned red, "I can't leave because.." His face is steadily turning red as if he's fighting something, "I can't leave until she leaves or dies." Lara grips his leg, "It's all right Alex I understand." She didn't, but decided it was best to let it lie. They drove and Xander pointed out some sights of interest to her then they saw the Vance ahead. "Right now then, here we are." She declared as they pulled up at the hotel. She told him as she glanced at her watch, "I'll need you to pick me up in an hour. I should be back to my normal self by then." She leaned over and pecked his lips, "See you soon Alex... Go talk to her."

She waved to him as he took off in her car, then she checked in and asked if any faxes had arrived for her. The Concierge nodded and handed her a folder with a wad of fax sheets in it, "I'm doing a project on one of your local sites." She explained to him. He looked at her then told her off handily, "It's best if you don't go out after dark." He looked at her, "We have a serious gang problem at the moment and it's gotten out of hand."

She nodded and said her thanks as she took the key card from him and went to her room. She dropped the bag and the folder on her bed then took out the hair dye and a change of clothes before heading for the bathroom. She came out half an hour later feeling refreshed and looking her usual self. She sat down on the bed and began to read Hillary's report.

The more she read the more her eyes widened until she scrunched the last page in her hand and exclaimed, "NO!"

Meanwhile Xander had driven to Buffy's place and waited outside till he saw Dawn arrive home from school and then he followed her in, "Hey Dawnster how's it goin'?" He told her in his best Joey impression. She turned as she unlocked her door and screamed at him as she jumped into his arms, "Oh God Xander!" She kissed his cheek and then blushed as she disentangled herself from him. She straightened her skirt and flicked her hair back from her face, "So 003 and a half, had enough adventure for one week?"

"Honey I have had enough adventure for a lifetime!" He declares and Dawn blushes at his words. She invites him in and they go into the kitchen, "Buffy's at the shop." She turns to him, "She's pissed! She has to work for Giles now that he fired Anya, "

Xander went red, "What did he do that for? I'm the one he should be angry with! I left her in the lurch and she deserves anything she wants."

"Xander, she got you fired from your job." He shrugged, "She totally dissed Buffy and she broke your Babylon 5 plates!"

Xander had seemed angry when she said Anya had disrespected buffy but he just shrugged, "Buffy can handle herself, the plates can be replaced and the job.." He shrugged, "I'm used to being fired by now so that's not so bad."He glanced up at her, "About Buffy... How is she?"

Dawn smiled, "Well she was angry for a while but now she's just pissed off because she couldn't help you." She drew a breath, "Willow is still angry but Tara has a way of calming her down, Giles is...Well Giles. Ooh! We have a new big bad!" She frowns, "Or at least we think we do. Something tried to open the Hellmouth yesterday, at least that's what Buffy's saying." She sees Xander's confusion, "We had a tremor yesterday and her highness says it's due to something mucking around with the Hellmouth."

Xander looks at her, "About what time did it occur?" She told him and Xander worked the hours out to be about the time Lara had joined the two pieces of the Orb, "Shit!" He exclaims, then tells her, "I need you to get the gang together at the magic box to meet a friend of mine." It's Dawn's turn to be confused but she agrees.

Xander looks at his watch, "In fact I have to go and pick her up now." He stands and for the first time Dawn notices his clothes and the way they define his muscular body. She grins and says, "Nice threads Xand.. They make you look.. Nummy!" he jumps as she pinches his butt, "Hey!" He yelps, "Are you trying to get me in even more trouble?"

"Jeez Xander, chill out! I was only kidding. Besides wait till Buffy and the others get a load of you!" she grinned as he left the room. Dawn looked at the phone on the wall and then dialled the shop, "Buffy? It's Dawn. You'll never guess who's back."

THE VANCE.

Lara was waiting in the foyer for Xander to pick her up; she was re-reading the folder when she heard the unmistakable sound of her SUV as it approached. She stood up and moved outside then climbed in when Xander pulled up. He saw the folder and asked, "So what information did Hillary find out about? Did he find the location of the third piece of the Orb?"

Lara looked at him as if for the first time then nodded, "Yeah he thinks it's hidden in the entrance to the Hellmouth." She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes as he drove to the Magic Box, "He also thinks there's some sort of protector guarding the piece."

Xander nods, "That'd be right, nothing is ever easy in this town." He remembered something and felt in his leg pocket of the snug fitting cargo pants and came up with a large silver cross, "Here." He handed it to her and saw her eyebrow rise, "Believe me in this town that's better than your guns!"

She took it and placed it in her trouser pocket, "Thanks. Now about this meeting, just who will be there?"

"Well Rupert Giles for one, Buffy of coarse and the two Wicca's, Willow and Tara." Xander told her as they turned into the shop's street. Lara asks him, "So, did you manage to find a place to stay now that your ex has your apartment?" Xander struck his forehead with the palm of his hand, "DOH! I completely forgot!"

Lara smiles, "Never mind. I have a double room; you can have the spare bed if you want. Unless you're too scared of what might happen?"

Xander grins, "Of all the things in this town that could scare me, that is the one thing I'm not frightened of Lara." He looks at her as he pulls the SUV up to the curb. "And here we are." He jumped out and helped Lara take out his bag, then opened the door for her, "Hey Giles! Herrrrrreeee's Xandy!"

They heard a bump and a muttered curse as Buffy stood up from under the counter rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry Buff, didn't see you there behind the counter." he grins. "Hey maybe I can lower it for you so you can see over it?"

She glares at him; "If that was a crack about my height I can soon arrange it so you're a head shorter!" She hefted the sword onto the counter from its position just under it.

Xander feigns shock, "Buffy, you wound me! You know I'd never joke about your height! Now the fact you dye your hair or your choice in boyfriends, those two I do joke about."

Giles walks out of the office and takes his glasses off, "Ah yes I thought it might be you. The level of noise has trebled so it was either that or another demon had arrived."

Buffy finally saw the woman at Xander's back and she was suddenly aware of how plain she looked compared to the woman. Buffy felt her hand go to her hair of it's own accord and she blushed, "Um.. And this must be your new 'wife'?" She asked.

Giles saw her and looked spell bound, "Lady Croft I believe we met in London some time ago."

She smiled at him, "Yes Rupert I believe we did. I had wondered what happened to you."

Willow and Tara had come out of the training room and looked between Buffy and Lara and couldn't imagine two more different people. Willow saw the way Buffy's hands kept clenching as she saw the way Lara had her hand on Xander's shoulder, "Alexander was kind enough to assist me in my moment of trouble, then went on to save my life." She looked at Buffy, "For which I owe him a great debt. I mean when a man saves your life you should make sure he knows your fullest gratitude."

Willow sees Buffy's knuckles turn white, "Hi! My name's Willow and this is my.. This is Tara." Tara waves to her shyly, "Hello."

Lara grins, "Alexander has told me all about you, all about everyone."

Giles glares at Xander, "Maybe Alexander and I should have a talk!"

Buffy explodes, "Alexander.. Alexander?" She points at Xander, "It's Xander, Giles! Plain old normal XANDER!"

Giles blushes and glares at Buffy whilst he motions for Lara to come into his office. As she passes Buffy, Lara tells her, "Believe me when I say there is nothing old or normal about Alexander! A fact you could attest to yourself if you had an ounce of common sense my dear."

Buffy's eyes go wide as she snaps her head to look at Xander as he blushes and shuffles his feet. He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced at her, "We kind of hit it off."

"Several times." Lara adds as the door shuts behind her.

The bell rings above the door and a breathless Dawn comes running in, "Did I miss much?" She asks. Willow shakes her head, "Just the warm up. I believe the main event is about to begin though." She tells her as Buffy stalks up to Xander with a death glare in her eyes. She grabs him by his T-shirt and her mind takes in his previously unseen muscles, "You! Training room NOW!"

She drags him into the training room as he yells, "Ow! Chest hairs! Chest hairs!"

Chapter 9

THE MAGIC BOX.

Lara hears Buffy drag Xander into another room and she grins, "If that didn't knock some sense into the girl nothing will!" She looked Giles and said, "Nothing, it's just a pet project of mine. I decided if he chooses to stay here he might as well have a reward." She glances at the folder and hands it to Giles, "there are a few things you might need to know about our Mr. Harris though Giles."

Giles smiles then opens the folder and quickly gets the gist of the documents, "Elves? What as Xander got to do with Mythical figures?"

Lara smiles, "Mythical figures? Like Vampires and demons you mean? Only we both know they are not Myths doing we Rupert?"

Giles blushes and proceeds to deny any knowledge but Lara holds up her hand, "I know all about it Giles. You don't stay in my business without making a few sources. I have a few friends in both high and low places and I managed to find out What the head of antiquities at the British Museum is doing flogging trinkets in a small Californian town... A town situated on a Hellmouth no less." She sees him concede the point then she asks, "So this Buffy, I hear she's good, very good in fact." She can almost see Giles's chest puff out with pride, "She's the best that will ever be." Lara tells him, "And according to my sources you are the best Watcher ever to be." Giles shrugs, "And yet between you, you both failed to see what was in front of your very eyes!" She taps the folder then begins to read from it.

"Galadriel, Elf Queen of the Western Elves, Skone, daughter of Galadriel and first Prime of the new world, Elrohir son of Skone and father of Leilani sister to Laveale, joiner of the two worlds and protector of the daughters of Arwen."

Giles shakes his head, "And this means?"

"What this means Giles is that your so called 'Slayers' are the daughters of Arwen Evenstar. A half elf that forsook her immortality to join with Aragon of Gondor in a time before time itself had a name." She sat down and spoke excitedly, "The daughters of Arwen were endowed with powers far beyond mortal man and in time they were chosen by twelve wise men, the first of your Watcher's, to fight the scourge that the newly evolved Urak-hai had become. What you call Vampires are in fact an evil far older than this world."

Giles is trying to take it all in. He removes his glasses and absently begins to rub them with his tie, "So you're saying Buffy is related somehow to this Arwen? But then why did she, nor any of the others, ever display these powers before they were called? Before the previous Slayer was killed?"

Lara shrugs, "I can only assume that the spirit of Arwen travels from the girl at the time of her death and enters the next child in line of succession."

Giles shakes his head, "This is all very well but if it's true, then where is this Laveale.." His eyes go wide as he hears Xander arguing with Buffy, "Laveale...Lavelle?" He shakes his head, "No! That is impossible! Xander is just a boy a normal human being. He bleeds, he hurts." He points to her, "He grows old! Now how can he be immortal if he can be hurt or age?"

"I said he was immortal not indestructible! Elves too can die from wounds, granted they have to be some hellascious wounds, but they can die! And they age up until their majority, when they turn 21 their ageing slows down to such an extent that they appear immortal to us."

Giles still could not believe her words, "Why?" She looked quizzically at him and he continued, "Why the charade? I mean if Xander is this Laveale why the pretence? Why hasn't he told us any of this and most of all why hasn't he used his powers to aid us in our struggles?"

She glances to where the raised voices could be heard and sighs, "Because I believe their powers do not manifest themselves until they reach 21 and they have learned to control them so as to keep others safe from the violent tendencies of youth." She takes out another sheaf of paper, "However I believe young Alexander was chosen from birth to lead a very abnormal life. Being the descendent of priestesses and warriors he was chosen to watch over this Hellmouth and defend the Daughters of Arwen that were chosen to guard it." She looks at Giles, "I also believe he was swapped for a dead baby to enable him to blend in with our world, he is also the subject of an enchantment."

Giles stands up and moves away from her, "Poppycock! How do you know he's enchanted? I admit there maybe something to this Elf business but it most certainly is not Xander!"

"Tell me Giles does magic have a way of going astray when he is involved in it? Be it as a caster or as a subject?" Giles thinks back to the many times spells have gone awry when Xander has been involved and shrugs, "There has been one or two times."

"Alex is past his 21st birthday Giles. His powers should be active and yet they are not. He also has no knowledge of his true form and I can't understand why not."

THE TRAINING ROOM.

Buffy didn't know why she felt she had to be angry with Xander, she only knew she was, "So you just up and forgot all about your friends and decided to tag along with the big breasted bimbo on an adventure that almost got you killed?"

Xander glared at her, "I helped her out because she was in trouble! She needed my help! It's not like I was needed around here was it? I mean God forbid I help the Slayer! She doesn't need anyone, at least no one with a heart beat!" Xander tried to calm down but Buffy was in no mood for calm.

"Leave my love life out of this Harris. It's of no concern of yours! When I think of all the times I've saved your ass.."

He does a mock bow to her, "For which we're all supposed to grovel at your feet, I suppose? What about the times I've saved yours? Or did they slip your mind? Hell a nice thank you card would have been nice but no! All I get is a 'It's too dangerous for you Xander, Stay out of trouble Xander." He points to Giles's office, "Well she needed my help and she was grateful for it!"

"And now you're her little puppy dog! She gives you a scrap of affection and your hers for life!" Buffy mocks him.

"Why not, it worked for you for six years didn't it?" He yells at her, "Only, all you ever gave me was heartache!"

"Okay then, if all that matters to you is sex then why don't you go? Leave with the bitch and hump each others brains out?" She goes to the door and swings it open, causing Dawn and Willow to slump to the floor. Buffy glares down at them and Dawn points to Willow and says, "She made me do it."

Buffy clenches her fists and her teeth. "OOOOOWWWW!!!" She glares at Xander, "If you want her, then go!" She leaves the room and then the shop. Dawn shrugs then follows her out. Willow picks herself up and tells him, "She's pretty angry at the moment Xand. We thought you were dead and then we found out you were with Miss Pneumatics '99."

Xander glares at her, "After everything that's happened in the past few days she was the only thing I had to return to." He looks at her, "I guess Lara's offer is looking real good about now." he places a hand on Willow's shoulder, "See ya round Wills."

Lara and Giles are still talking as Willow goes to tell Giles about Buffy and Dawn leaving. As she gets closer she over hears Lara tell Giles, "There's a bit of a complication." Giles sighs, "More than all the rest?" Lara nods and finds the relevant page, "It seems that for the enchantment to disperse Alexander has to die."

Giles looks up at her, "You have to be kidding me? So, for Xander to become his proper form Xander has to die? Who thinks up these crazy ideas?"

Lara hits the table with her hand, "Hey! Let's get on track here! I don't like the idea of the man I have deep feelings for dying either, but that's the way it is." She slumps in her chair and looks at the drawings of the Orb, "Maybe if we get the third piece of the Orb we can revive him."

Willow had stopped listening after that. She walked over to the table and slumped in the chair, her head resting in her hands. Tara came over and saw her grief and confusion, "Willow, what's the matter?" Willow looks up at her and tries to control her emotions, "Lady Croft.. She said Xander's going to die!"

Tara takes her in her arms and tries to comfort her, "But now that we know we can do something to stop it."

Willow looks at her, "How? She only knows he has to die, not how or when."

Tara wipes away the tears, "We can perform a spell and see his future death." Willow nods then smiles, "Then we'll know the time and place." Tara finishes, "And we can stop his death!"

SUMMER'S RESIDENCE.

Willow and Tara have everything they need and with Dawn's help they are soon ready to cast the spell. There's a small pot on a gas outdoor cooker and into it Willow, Tara and Dawn are dropping the ingredients as they chant the spell. The door opens and the three jump but then settle down when Buffy walks in, "I thought I told you girls no cooking in your rooms?" She jokes but her smile fades when she sees the serious looks on their faces.

Willow tells her, "Please sit down and try not to interrupt... Oh God of the Underworld grant us a vision of death we beseech thee!" Dawn holds Xander's watch in her hand and she holds it over the pot, "Show us the final minutes of one Alexander Lavelle Harris."

Buffy jumps up, "What! Okay enough is enough.." Willow glares at her and tells her, "We are trying to save his life now will you shut up!" She motions Dawn to continue, "Tell us the time and date of his demise, oh great Lord Hades."

The sound echoes throughout the house, "Five and twenty minutes past the bewitching hour on the first Saturnusday of Junos of this year." Tara tells them, "Twenty-five minutes past midnight on the first Saturday of this month... That's in two days time!"

Willow has to calm them down before she can continue, "Show us his death oh great one, we beg of thee."

Suddenly smoke bursts from the pot until it covers the room and then, as it clears they can see a darkened field with some ruins..And a sign, "Sunnydale High School." Buffy tells them. Then they see Lara, Giles and Xander running into the field. Xander and Lara dressed in black with guns in their hands. Lara sees something glow on Xander's back, "They're here!" She exclaims. Then they scan the area and Xander says, "Maybe they went by.." A branch snaps in the woods and they all hear am inhuman grunting sound, "Over here!" The creature shouts.

Xander takes something from his pack and hands it to Lara, "You and Giles go.. I can hold them off until you have figured out how to assemble the globe." He sees Lara hesitate and he smiles, "Hey I don't plan on kicking it just yet... Buffy would kick my ass if I did! Now go before they surround us." Lara kisses him and says, "She's one lucky girl Alexander."

He waits until the two are well on their way before he starts screaming and making as much noise as he can. He stops when he hears the Urak-hai start to enter the field. Xander takes the two Glocks from their holsters, "This is going to be a massacre!" he grins nervously, "And I sure hope it's yours!" he shouts as the Urak-hai charge him.

Chapter 10

TO THE DEATH.

They see Xander empty clip after clip into the charging hoard and they begin to feel the vision is wrong when Xander ejects the spent clip but as he places the gun behind him to reload he finds the clip tree empty, "Crap! Now that's the luck I'm used too?" He drops the empty gun and continues to fire the other gun till it clicks on empty. He throws that to one side and reaches behind him to draw the sword from his back. The four females see the sword glowing a deep blue and Willow leans in to see if she can read some of the weird writing along its edge but cannot.

There are fifteen of the ugly creatures left and they surround him before two charge, followed by the rest. Xander's swordsmanship impresses even Buffy as he fights like a madman to defend himself. A cracked voice echoes through the night, "Give me the Orb and you live human!"

Xander looks at the huge leader of the Urak-hai and laughs, "My you're a big one aren't ya! I never knew they stacked IT that high!" Xander's eyes grew wide as the creature drew and fired a mighty bow. He staggered back as the arrow imbedded itself in his chest.

Buffy let out a heartbroken sob, "No!" Xander weaved on his feet and laughed with a painful voice, "Is that the best ya got you Urak-hai scum...guh!" Another arrow strikes him in the middle of his chest and he gasps for breath. Buffy tells them, "Enough! I've seen enough!"

Willow nods and they try to break the vision but it holds until his death. Xander struggles to stand up and then something happens. He shudders and grins at the beast, "Urak-hai! Ishnavaleik das netreins!" Xander pulls one of his daggers from its hilt and throws it at such speed, the like of which none have ever seen before. The blade buries itself in the chest of the leader and it growls out in pain.

The rest of the Urak-hai stagger back and begin to leave the field, several helping their leader to leave. Then the tear filled eyes of the four women turn to look at Xander as he falls to his knees blood streaming down his chest and from his mouth, "Sorry... So sorry Buffy." He then collapses onto the damp ground. The picture remains and then a bright light surrounds Xander and grows in intensity till they can watch no more.

The smoke dissipates and the vision ends, "That is the fate of one Alexander Lavelle Harris." The voice booms before the vision fades.

Dawn is the first to speak, "Maybe the arrows didn't hit anything vital?" She asks. Buffy shouts out, "Arrows? More like freaking small trees you mean!" She jumps up and heads for the door. "Right then! We knock him out and take him as far away from here as possible!"

Willow shakes her head, "Destiny won't allow that Buffy. We have to do something small, something that will throw his destiny off slightly, just enough so this doesn't happen."

"Besides the Orb is important and it looked like Giles and Lara needed Xander to get the final piece, and if he wasn't there then these Urak- hey thingies would get Lara, Giles and the orb." Dawn tells them.

Buffy nods and then Tara says, "What if we were there? I mean in the vision we weren't, but if we were there, then it would mean more firepower surely?"

Buffy grins, "Right! The old High School midnight, Saturday. We go, we see, we kick some ass and then help Xander live. Works for me." She stops and thinks, then makes a decision, "I think it's time to let Xander know how I feel."

Dawn grins and tells her, "Well you want to get to Casa Croft before it's snuggles time then." Buffy glares at her and Dawn blanches, "Well I heard her telling Giles she was staying at the West Coast Vance and seeing Xander has nowhere to stay.."

Buffy slaps her forehead, "Damn! He got me so worked up I forgot to ask him to stay at our place." Then she smiles, "Well there's no time like the present."

Willow interrupts her mood, "Uh don't you suppose he would be more receptive if one of us asked? Seeing as how you just about threw him out of the Magic Box?"

Buffy sighs, "What is it with us? I try to be nice to him, to show him how I feel and..." She imitates an explosion with her hands, "Its like World War 3!"

Willow shrugs, "Maybe its because you ignored the fact he's a guy for so long, he's not used to you wanting to talk to him in a pre boyfriend /girlfriend sort of way?"

Buffy raises an eyebrow, "What? I know he's a guy Wills. Phht.! Remember I was there during the Speedo incident and it's pretty hard to forget Xander's a guy after seeing something like that."

Willow grins at the memory, "Yeah, it restored my belief in the Loch Ness monster! It was like.. The Sunnydale Monster, only without the death like a normal Sunnydale..." She blushes, "Stopping the ramble now."

The room goes quiet and then Dawn asks, "Do you think if we got a pool Xander would swim in it?"

Buffy looks at her, "I won't warn you again Dawn." She points to the phone; "I have Dad's number on speed dial now."

Tara adds, "Besides its summer now, we could always go to the beach." Willow looks at her, "Hey just because meat's off the menu doesn't mean I can't admire the prize bull. Besides Dawn and I are the only ones that haven't seen.... Never mind."

"Well that's settled then. Willow you and I will go tell Xander he's staying at our house." She points to Tara and Dawn, "You two are going to check out everything you can find on those Urak-hai freaks and what kills them." She looks at her watch; "We'll meet back at my house in about three hours then?"

Dawn asks, "Can anyone else remember what Xander said? It could help if we knew what language he was speaking."

Willow frowns, "I thought he had enough trouble speaking English and yet he spoke those words like it was his native tongue."

Buffy casts a troubled look back at the casting pot, "He said.. Urak-hai! Ishnavaleik das netreins!" She looks at the others, "It sounds like something I should know. Like it's on the tip of my tongue or something."

Dawn hugs her, "Don't worry sis. We'll find out and then we can kick this thing's Butt back to whatever hell it was spat out of before it can even think about touching Xander."

Buffy brushes Dawn's hair, "He once told me he would never leave me. I'm going to make him honour that promise and make him one in return. I will never leave him."

Dawn looks at Buffy, "How about you tell him you'll treat him like Lady Croft does? Like an equal."

WEST COAST VANCE.

Xander storms into Lara's suite and kicks the couch, "God damn it she gets me soooo!!!"

Lara shuts the door and grins, "Frustrated? Angry? Horny?" She sees the last word hit home and she drops her key onto the table, "Don't be embarrassed by your emotions Alexander. You told me she was both the reason you stay and the reason you can't give anyone else your heart."

"So why the hell can't I just tell her and get it over with for another six years?" He drops onto the couch and begins to chew on his thumbnail.

Lara grins, "Because, my dear, you two are so alike that it's scary! Both as stubborn as mules when you think you're right and can't stand to see the other with someone else. Didn't you see the way she looked at me when we walked in?"

Xander nods then looks at her, "Acting like we have something going didn't help the matter."

"Oh come on." Lara's smile grew, "You loved it, two beautiful women almost coming to blows over you? Don't tell me a part of you wasn't enjoying the look on her face!"

Xander grinned at her, "It was kind of nice to see her feel like I always did when she.." He shook his head, "No that's plain wrong. She doesn't see me like that." He stood up then told her, "I'm going to have a shower and then take a nap before we go back to see Giles." Lara watched him as he made his way to his bedroom and then said, "A woman doesn't act like Buffy did out of friendship. She has deeper feelings for you than either of you know."

Lara waited for him to start the shower before she went into her room and studied the faxes Hillary had sent her for a while before templing her fingers, "Can we trust him to do what's right for us or will his 'true self' over ride Alexander?" She shrugged and then stood up stretching, "Shower and a nap sounds like a great idea." She made her way to her room and the shower it contained.

She had just stepped out of the shower when the phone rang, she grabbed the robe and walked into her room and picked it up, "Hello?"

The clerk at the front desk told her, "Excuse me Mrs. Harris but there are two women down here to see Mr. Harris."

Lara smiles, "Let me guess one of them wouldn't be named Buffy Summers would it?" Her grin widens, "Yes send them up."

Lara walks over to Xander's door and opens it slowly. She tip toes into the room and picks up his clothes and robe leaving just the towel, then makes her way to the front door dropping the clothes off on the couch. She undid the robe at the first knock then waited for the fourth knock before opening the door, doing up her robe as the door swung open, "Hi Miss Summers, was there something you forgot to tell Xander?"

It was hard to miss Lara's state of undress as she turned to call Xander, "Alexander, Buffy and her friend are here."

Buffy tried to control her anger; "He prefers to be called Xander by his friends."

Lara turns as she hears him look for his clothes and goes back to the couch and picks them up just as he pokes his head around the door. She hands him his clothes and he says, "Thanks Lara.. Err Lady Croft." She placed a hand on his cheek. "I've told you before, you can call me Lara, Alexander." She glances back at Buffy, "You don't mind me calling you Alexander do you? It seems more grown up than Xander."

Xander blushes, "No I don't mind Lara."

Willow has to use all her strength to keep Buffy by her side as she mumbles, "Don't do it! This is what she wants."

Lara walks him to his door and stands there as he closes it, she turns and runs a hand through her long black hair, "After being blond I still say it's more fun being raven haired, "She walks to her room and tells them, "I'll finish my shower now." She grins at them, "Something keeps interrupting them." She closes the door, then places an ear against the door so she can hear the response.

Buffy goes red and pulls her arm from Willow's grip, "That...That WITCH!"

Willow replies, "HEY! I resent that!"

"Who the hell does she think she is? She comes into my town, into my place of work and flaunts herself around like lady muck! And worst of all she's trying to steal my...Our Xander!" She strides over to Xander's room and bangs on the door." Xander is on the other side wondering whether he should risk life and limb by opening it. " Xander we need to talk."

"Buffy maybe you should calm down a bit.. Well a lot really." Willow tells her. "Just let your heart tell you what to say."

Buffy takes a breath then nods, "Okay.. Thinking calm thoughts not murderous ones."

Xander opens the door and stands there in the black t-shirt and jeans Lara had picked out for him, "So do you want to talk or is it going to be another shouting match?"

Buffy looks into his eyes and crosses her heart, "Just talk I swear." Xander nods and asks, "So what is it?"

She looks into his room, "We need to talk in private."

He nods and Buffy walks in leaving him mouthing to Willow, "What?" Willow shrugs but as soon as he shuts the door she grins, "And that would be checkmate Mr. Harris."

She jumps at a voice from behind her, "God I hope so!" She turns and sees Lara standing there, "Well, after all the effort I've put into this I sure hope she doesn't blow it now!"

Willow looks amazed, "You mean.." She points to her and then to Xander's door, "You and he didn't. I mean you two aren't..?"

Lara grins, "Oh we did it. Just the one time though, more of a 'thank God we're alive ' thing than love." She walks up to the door, "I mean he's nice and all, but I draw the line at three in a bed and no matter what happens, Buffy would always be there. She is his heart and soul."

Lara places her ear to the door and grins. Willow asks, "What? Are they fighting?" Lara grips her arm and tells her, "I think we should leave them alone for a while." She has to pull Willow from the room, "I hear you're good with a computer..."

Chapter 11

XANDER'S ROOM.

Xander sits on the edge of his bed and motions to the chair, "What do you want?" Xander laughs, "God I sound like ' Mr. Morden'." The name was spoken in an almost perfect impression of Londo Mollari from Babylon 5, "Just don't ask to rule the Universe and I might be able to give it to you."

Buffy looks him in the eyes, "Your heart, I want your heart."

Xander shrugs and shakes his head, "Can't do that Buffster." The words cause a gasp to escape her lips. "You see about seven years ago this strange girl came into this town and stole it from Me. "He looks at her then continues, "The only thing was, this girl treated it like her own personal happy sack and I'm kind of gun shy about handing it out willy nilly now."

Buffy nods and looks sad, "I know how you feel Xand. But that was a girl and she's grown up now. My old heart's been round the block and it's in pretty bad condition." She takes his face in her hands and looks him in the eyes, "How about we make it a clean swap. My heart for yours?"

Xander begins to hope, "Please Buffy don't even joke..." Her lips pressed against his and they both felt the hot spark of life pass between their now open mouths. They both stopped and jerked apart, "What was that?"

"I don't know Xander." She licked her top lip, "But I think it's addictive." She moved towards him and they kissed, this time when the shock came instead of separating, they deepened the kiss and the jolt became a constant buzz that made them feel like they were on the very cusp of orgasm. Buffy melted and poured out of her chair to cover as much of Xander as she could. While Xander felt the want and need a junkie has for his next fix, he was hooked once more on the drug of life, he was hooked on Buffy.

Buffy broke the kiss, "Need.. To ... breath.." She gasped but Xander drew her into another, before their lips met he panted, "Learn to breath through your nose!"

After a while their passion grew and Xander struggled against his wants and wishes to break from her, "No." He told her, "I want to take this slow Buffy. I don't want this to be like any other time in our past." He brushed her hair from her confused look and ran the ball of his thumb gently across her mouth till she sucked it. He grinned, "I want this moment to be special for both of us."

Buffy sighed and released his thumb then rested her head against his chest. As she thought about his words a plan formed in her mind. She trailed her fingertips up and down his chest then looked up at his face with her best little girl lost look, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

He thought for a second, "Nothing that I know of, why?"

She grinned at him, "How does a movie and a dance followed by a romantic dinner for two before..." Her grin turned seductive, "A night we both won't ever forget?"

Xander grinned back at her, "That sounds like a perfect plan." He breathed the final words into her mouth before they resumed kissing.

BACK AT BUFFY'S.

Buffy swung her arms as she closed the door to her house behind her, she placed her hands on the wooden door and sighed as the tip of her tongue traced the outer edges of her lips searching for the taste of his mouth. Buffy was jolted from her daydream by Dawns voice, "I take it you patched things up?" Buffy turned and smiled evilly at her and Dawn's eyes went wide, "You didn't!"

Buffy sighed, "No, but it wasn't for lack of trying " She just about danced into the kitchen, "Saturday night, movie, dance, dinner and children under the age of 18 not permitted to hear what comes next."

Dawn let out a heavy breath, "Saturday! And knowing you we won't see Xander till Monday, if at all!" She hugged her sister, "He's going to be safe!" Dawn cried out. Tara came running into the room and held up a page.

"We know what he said." She looked at Dawn, "Did you tell her yet?"

Dawn shook her head, "It doesn't matter because Xander's not going to be anywhere near that damned Hellmouth. He's got a date with wonder woman."

Tara grinned, "Well about time!" She hugged Buffy then remembered, "While your wining and dining Mr. Harris you might like to ask him how it is he knows High Elfish." She hands Buffy the page, "I found an obscure Web site run by these geeks that call themselves the Lone Gunmen and buried amongst the tripe is a section called, now get this, They walk amongst us."

Buffy is reading the web page Tara printed out and then Tara tells her, "They say a former FBI agent had made CD-R's of a section called the X-files and in one of the cases he worked on he came across a group of people that worshiped an Elf called Galadriel." She saw Buffy take it all in then look at her, "Roughly translated ' Urak-hai! Ishnavaleik das netreins ' comes out as Orc- Goblin! My death is my birth!"

Buffy shakes her head, "That makes no sense what so ever."

Tara nods, "Maybe he's talking spiritually?" She looks from one to the other, "You know my death is my birth in another realm?"

Dawn grins, "It doesn't matter! Because he won't be there, he'll be with Buffy celebrating Christmas in July!"

THE MAGIC BOX.

Giles and Lara stand behind Willow as she retrieves the information they require. Giles takes the stem of his glasses from his mouth and taps the screen with it, "So..."

Lara nods, "The only time the Hellmouth opens enough for us to gain access is tomorrow just before midnight."

Willow looks freaked out, "Why would anyone in their right mind want to go into the Hellmouth for.. Safe or unsafe?"

Lara and Giles look at each other and Lara says, "She's one of yours."

Giles nods and tells Willow, "Have you heard about an artefact called the Orb of Elinor?"

"Something tells me it's not out of the latest Disney movie." Willow says as she looks from one to the other.

"Once assembled the Orb has unlimited power. It can quite easily close the Hellmouth for all time." Lara tells her, "I found one piece in the Simpson Desert in Australia. Xander and I found the second piece in an old Mayan temple in Mexico."

Willow tells her, "Let me guess the third piece is in the Hellmouth right here in good old Sunnyhell!"

Giles nods, "And it would appear the only time we can retrieve it is just before Midnight this Saturday."

Willow smiles, "Fine we get Buffy and..."

Lara shakes her head, "No. Only we four must ever know of this. There's another group, the Illuminati, and they would kill their grandmother for a sniff at the location!"

"Four? You, me, Giles and..." A look of resignation passes over her face, "No!" She turns to Giles, "We did a casting..." She saw the look on his face and held up a hand, "I know I promised no dark arts, but Buffy was worried about Xander and we called upon Hades to show us his final moments."

Lara closed her eyes and prayed her thoughts were wrong, "They showed Xander fighting these butt ugly creatures and one.. And one killed him but as Xander died he said something in a weird language." Willow gazes into the distance, "I'll never forget the look on his face or the words he spoke... Urak-hai! Ishnavaleik das netreins!" She shook her head then looked at Giles with a tear in her eye, "I don't know what it means and I don't care, but I do know that Buffy and the rest of us are going to make damned sure it won't happen!"

Lara shuffles through the paperwork Hillary had faxed her and the printouts Willow had found on different web sites, "In my death I am reborn." Lara looks to Giles, "It's true then! For the.." Giles holds up his hand to stop her then he turns to Willow, "Willow would you be a dear and tell Buffy and the others we need to see them?"

Willow nods and leaves the room to use the phone on the counter. As she leaves Giles shuts the door and Lara asks him, "Why did you stop me? We need all the help we can get."

Giles shook his head, "You heard her, heard what she said. If we tell her everything then they will make sure Xander is nowhere near that place and we need him to be there to open the resting place of the last piece."

Lara shakes her head, "I didn't need him to retrieve the first piece, I may not need him for the final piece."

"The first one was easy but the second one depended on someone of elfish blood to release the artefact. Lord only knows what the third section will require."

Willow knocked on the door and came in before they could continue. She was suspicious of the reason Giles had for getting her to leave the office and she meant to find out what the reason was, "I managed to get hold of Tara and Dawn, Xander and Buffy have gone out on a date for the night."

"What time will they be back?" Giles asked.

Willow blushed, "I kind of got the impression they wouldn't, not until tomorrow any way."

Giles looks at his watch and tells Lara, "Less than 32 hours before we can retrieve the third piece." He turned back to Willow, "We need to contact them Willow, any idea where they were going?"

Willow shrugged, "No but I'm sure the house detective will." She stopped, "Why do you want to contact them?"

Lara tells her, "Giles thinks we'll need his help to gain access to the last part of the Orb." She sees Willow begin to shake her head, "Willow, we will protect him, now we know what happens we can avoid the wooded area and take more people with us to protect him."

Willow hesitates until Giles tells her, "What do you think Xander's reaction would be if we kept him out of this? After what we put him through just before and after you all left high school, can you imagine his reaction? I can and it's not a pretty one."

Willow sighs and then nods. "We will protect him?" Giles nods, "You have my word we will do everything in our powers to keep him from harm." Willow walks over to the phone and dials Buffy's house, "Hello Dawn? Yeah, I really need to contact Buffy, it's really urgent." She placed her hand over the phone, "But we won't call them till the morning right!"

HOWARD JOHNSON'S -8 am. SATURDAY.

The ringing of the phone on the bedside table woke Buffy with a start. She glanced around the strange room in a panic, then felt Xander snuggled up to her. She smiled at the thoughts of what they had done last night then picked up the phone, "This had better be good!"

Dawn grinned, "I bet you said that to Xander last night too sweetie." She twirled the phone cord around her finger, "So how was it? Give me the dirt or I'll call Anya and tell her where you two are."

Buffy sat up and felt Xander's sleeping form follow her every move with his body. She wiped the sweat soaked hair from her face and whispered to her sister, "I'm hanging up Dawn. I'll tell you when I get home." She suddenly grinned, "All I'll tell you is the fourth of July came early this year but we didn't!" She hung up the phone despite her sister's protests then took it off the hook before snuggling down into Xander's arms. She sighed and stretched her aching body and whispered, "If I had known it could be like this, I would have jumped your bones the first time I laid eyes on you Xander."

Xander whispered back, "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure we'd still be doing detention for it Buff. I think Principle Flutie had a very high moral code and he frowned on students making love on the school steps." He nuzzled on her neck, "Not that I would have said no mind you."

Buffy both grinned and let out a sharp breath of ecstasy as he began to work on her weak spots. She was amazed that he knew precisely where to go to get her blood boiling and that moment of first contact last night had seemed as if their bodies had been cut from the same cloth. They fitted together like pieces of a long lost jigsaw puzzle. She had vague memories of their minds joining as well as their bodies and she could still feel the tingling sensation that had swept through her body as they made love.

She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in for a kiss and he moaned, "Help, a woman is trying to kill me!" Buffy ran the tip of her tongue into his ear and whispered, "Do you want me to stop?" He pulled her to his mouth and exclaimed, "HELL NO!"

THE DREAM.

Buffy stirred in her sleep until she felt Xander next to her and then her body seemed to relax as a smile formed on her sleeping features...... They were together, they had always been together in this strange land where the trees seemed to touch the very sky itself and the great houses were built in their upper reaches. She looked at Xander, only he seemed strange, but at the same time he also seemed the same as he always was. His long black hair hung down his back and covered his shoulders like the mane of a lion. Somehow she knew the man she had chosen, as bond mate was as great a warrior as she was. She had no need to hear the songs sung of his valour and deeds, as he no doubt had no need to hear of hers.

The early morning mists had cleared giving them a wondrous view of the valley and the great river of life that flowed through it's centre. She looked once more at her Laveale and smiled as he looked up and grinned at her, no doubt sensing her questing eyes as she watched him at morning meal. She knew his lineage was far greater than hers, her mother being more human than elf; he had descended from a long line of noble warriors and priestesses. The greatest of them all had deemed to pay them a visit only the other day and she had raced around like a skittish colt until Laveale had calmed her.

"Elsbeth, the Lady Galadriel has seen this house covered in filth and me covered in the blood of both my enemies and myself." He grips her by the waist, "Should she complain of a few specks of dust I would take up arms against her."

Buffy looked shocked, "You must never even joke of such things Laveale! She is head of your house, one of the noblest of all the ancient houses, and she has earned your servitude and..." She saw the smile widen on his face and she swept his hair from his ears, revealing the long noble ears of the royal house of the High Elves of Nandor. She subconsciously touched her own more humble ears and Laveale stopped her, "I care not the name of the house of my mother. All I care for is here in my arms and forever in my heart."

He placed a hand over her heart. "Mine." He told her and she placed her hand over his heart, "Mine till time is no more."

The home she had made with Laveale shimmered and faded to be replaced with a darkened field covered with dead and dying Orcs, mixed amongst them were the larger Urak-hai bastard children of Orc and Goblin lineage. She looked down at the body lying at her feet and let out a soul shaking scream as she saw Laveale lying in a pool, no a veritable lake of his own blood. His hair was shorter, his ears seemed strange but it was her Laveale!

She dropped to her knees and held him, praying to the Gods of old to give them more time to love and live together. She almost jumped when his eyes opened and he gasped at her, "Do not grieve for me Buffy. I fulfilled my quest and completed my life's work. The Orb is safe and the Daughter of Arwen still lives." He stroked her face with the last of his energy and she brought the palm of his hand to her mouth where she kissed it.

"Don't talk Laveale, Giles and Lara will be here soon and they can help." He tried to speak but instead his body jerked in pain as he coughed and a spray of fine pink blood erupted from his mouth and flowed down his chin, "Not much time left." He grimaced in pain and gripped her hand in an effort to relieve some of the pain, "My only regret is that we found our love too late." He arched his back and she could see his wound for the first time, a great rend in his side gaped open and exposed a nightmarish site of broken ribs and mashed lungs. She felt the sting of her tears as they rolled down her face.

She held him tight, "Don't leave me please Laveale.. Xander don't leave...You promised me! You said you would never leave!"

He smiled through pain filled lips and told her, "'as right I did and I will stay with you for ever." He placed a blood-covered hand on her heart, "Mine..." His eyes went wide, "Tell Lara ... Once she has closed the Hellmouth to destroy the Orb! Power such as that was never meant for mortal hands.." He gripped her hand and sighed, his voice fading into the darkness of death, "I shall wait for thee Elsbeth in the Western lands..." She saw the light fade from his eyes never to return.

Then Buffy woke screaming his name.

Chapter 12

THE HOTEL ROOM.

Buffy jumped when she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her small frame. She turned in the bed to see Xander trying to calm her; she grabbed him and held him in such a hug he thought his ribs would surely break. "Um Buff not that I'm complaining but I can hear ribs breaking as I speak!" She let up and covered his face in kisses. "I thought I had lost you!"

He held her at arms length and stroked her cheek. "Buffy you could never lose me! I'm going to be a pain in your ass right up until they put us both in adjoining rooms in the old peoples home." He made a face. "Or knowing my luck the mental ward at Sunnydale General."

She held him tight and looked into his eyes. "You have to promise me something." He nods. "I want you to stay away from the Hellmouth tonight. No matter what anyone's says or does I don't want you within a hundred yards of the place."

Xander crosses his heart and kisses his thumb. "I promise you I will not go within a hundred yards of the Hellmouth."

Buffy snuggles up to him and sighs. "Good, because I'd hate to have broken your legs to keep you from it." Xander grinned but then it faded from his face as he realised she wasn't joking.

LARA'S HOTEL ROOM.

Xander used his key to open the door and walked inside followed by a smiling Buffy. He went straight to his room and brought out the bag and the unstrung bow. Handing the bow to Buffy he quickly scribbled a note for Lara and they left. While they were in the elevator Buffy's curiosity got the better of her and she tried to string the bow. She managed to get the knotted end to within an inch of the grove but even her Slayer strength couldn't help her string the bow. "What is this some sort of torture device?"

He grins. "No Buff, as near as I can figure it's a bow that's not meant to be strung." He sorts through his things and comes up with the jewellery he had found on the shelf in Celebron's chamber. "Try these on for size."

Her eyes fell on an intricately designed necklace, similar to the one the image had given to Xander, it looked heavy but felt as light as air. Buffy turned and held her hair up from her neck while Xander placed it around her neck and secured it. He kissed her neck and she turned her mouth to meet his in a passionate kiss. She smiled as they broke the kiss. "Won't Lady Cross be mad if you give this stuff away?"

He shrugs. "It's mine to do with as I like." He ran his hand down the side of her neck. "And I like giving you nice things."

Buffy sees the sword and daggers. "Wow! Did you find these with the non-bow?"

"Yeah." He takes the sword out of the scabbard and hands it to her. Buffy is amazed at the balance and lightness of the sword. She makes a couple of moves with it and tells him. "It's like it's made from aluminium." She asks. "It's not going to bend on you in a fight is it?" She looked at the strange writing engraved along its side.

Xander shrugged. "Haven't tried it out yet, though the odds are I will soon."

Buffy glances at the clock and then a cold shiver runs down her spine. "Xander, you have to promise me you won't go anywhere near the Hellmouth."

Xander replaced the sword and told her. "Okay I will." He turned and then demanded. "I won't go near the Hellmouth if you promise to stop patrolling."

Buffy's eyes snap to Xander's. "I.. I can't do that Xander. You know I have to defend the innocent from the creatures that stalk the night. "She places her hand against his cheek. "You also have to know I don't want anything more than to spend all my time with you and live a nice long life. But I have a responsibility."

Xander kisses the palm of her hand. "And yet you want me to give up mine?"

Buffy pulls away from him. "How, Xander? How is not going near the Hellmouth ditching your responsibilities?"

"I may be the only one to be able to retrieve the last part of the Orb and if I don't that means Lara can't seal the Hellmouth for good. It also means that anyone killed because we didn't seal the Hellmouth, their blood would be on my hands!"

"I take that to mean you will go if asked?" Buffy saw him nod. "And if I told you that I would not see you ever again if you did go, would that effect you?"

Xander looked at her. "It would kill me quicker than any damned monster could. Please Buff don't do this!" He ran a hand through his hair and Buffy knew it was something he did when he was worried. "Look I have never asked you to stop being what you are, hell I even help you to be what you are, can't you just let me do what I can to help Lara and Giles?"

Buffy relents. "Okay but I stick to you like glue! If anything happens to you it happens to me as well." She saw the look on his face and she knew he would never let anything happen to her. "Hey if we do this right we might even get back in time for the re-run of the new Babylon 5 movie!"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and she moulded her body into his as they kissed. "Now I have a reason to come back." Buffy blushed but then punched him playfully when he told her. "Yeah I missed that movie the first time it aired. Hate to miss it again."

He tugged her back to him. "You're my Dellen." She smiled. "And you're my Sheridan...Only you're going to live longer than another twenty years."

Xander smiles as she grabs his ass. "Not the way you've been making demands on my poor frail human body I won't. I'll be lucky to see my 24th birthday!" They kiss and in their passion they fail to hear the door open. Lara coughs and Giles turns away from the floorshow. "There's two bedrooms in this suite and you two pick the lounge!"

The pair jumps back from each other and try to still their desires though it shows more on Xander than it does on Buffy. Xander tells her. "There's this quaint Colonial custom we have over here, it's called knocking, you knock we ignore and you go away."

Lara smiles at them. "Love too Alexander but we need to prepare for tonight and seeing as how this is my room..." She has a pang of regret at seeing the Slayer entwine her fingers with Xander's, "I'd suggest you and the Slayer might be better off taking your floorshow into your room."

Buffy still doesn't like Lara and she knows Lara doesn't like her. "Oh don't worry your majesty, Xander is moving into my house first thing tomorrow."

She sees the shocked look on Giles's face and the smile on Lara's stuns Buffy, "About bloody time!" Lara tells her. "Took you long enough to see what was right in front of your face!" She walks over to Xander and kisses his cheek like a maiden Aunt and then stops, turns around and winks at Buffy before kissing Xander in a passionate way. She broke the kiss and licked her lips. "That has to last me a long, long time Alex... Xander." She holds Buffy's arm. "You be good to him or so help me you won't live long to regret it."

Buffy slips her arm around Xander's waist. "Oh believe me Lara, I have no intention of harming Xander." She looked at Lara with a hardened edge. "In fact I mean to see him come through all this without so much as a scratch and God help anyone that tries to hurt him."

Lara moves to her room as Giles walks up to her, Lara says. "Well if you're joining the quest we had better get this party started."

Giles looks at the two of them and grins. "You know when I first came here as your watcher I had it drummed into my head that the Slayer must remain apart from the normal world, she was to fight and die in that order and nothing else." He looks between the two of them. "I know now that those rules are as inadequate as the men that made them. Because of the support she has received from both friends and lovers, Buffy has become the greatest Slayer in documented history. If they had done this from the start maybe there would be no need for Slayers in this day and age."

Buffy hugs him and Xander tells Giles. "And if it weren't for your courage in telling the Council where to get off you'd be breaking in yet another Slayer." He places his hand on Giles's shoulder. "We owe you big time."

Lara walks out wearing her Tomb Raider gear and throws Xander his. "Time to mount up guys."

HELLMOUTH. (SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY.)

Buffy couldn't lose the feeling of impending doom, even as she walked past the field in which she saw Xander die twice she couldn't shake the memories of the vision nor of her last dream. She set her jaw and stared at Xander's back and made a solemn vow. This creature that has killed him twice in visions would not get within a country mile of her lover.

Buffy motioned for everyone to stop and be quiet, she then pointed straight ahead to the remains of Giles's beloved Library. "I can hear someone talking!" She whispered and then the four of them crept towards the sounds. Buffy jumped and landed in the midst of the three fearsome creatures that then screamed.

"FOR GODDESSES sake Buffy!" Willow cried out. "Are you trying to kill us or has it been a slow day at the funeral home?"

The Slayer looked at the three females as they stood by the front door of the school holding an assortment of weapons at the ready. Buffy pointed to Dawn. "What the hell possessed you to bring her?"

Willow drops her head and shuffled her feet, "She said that if we didn't she would come anyway! So I thought if she was coming at least if she came with us she'd be a lot safer."

Buffy shook her head in disbelief at her sister; she then grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and placed her in the middle of the group. "You move away from this position and you needn't worry about some creature killing you!" She glared at Willow then led the way into the school. As Xander passed the redheaded witch he gripped her shoulder and whispered. "Nice knowing you Wills! If something toothy don't kill you tonight, Buffy will when we get back."

Willow blushed. "I'd like to see you try and keep Dawn from doing what she wanted." Xander shrugged. "Hell Willow, I can't even stop myself from doing stupid things, what hope would I have against a Summers girl?"

Dawn smiled and walked next to Xander. "I take it the night, and most of the day, went well brother?"

Xander glanced at her. "Don't brother me Dawn. If anything should happen to you..." He turned to her. "You will do whatever Giles tells you do, you hear me? If he says run you don't stop till you hit the Canadian border."

Dawn sets her face in a way that reminds him so much of Buffy. "I came here to make sure something doesn't happen tonight Xander, believe me I intend on keeping my head down and my spikes on ready for a quick retreat." She looks at Xander's get up and then Lara's, "The Army having a two for one sale today or what?" She turns to Willow and whispers, "Is it just me or do men in uniform turn you on as well?

Willow looks at Lara as she signals for them to stop and then grins at Dawn, "I'll take that as a yes." Dawn says

Xander checks his sword. "We're about a hundred yards from ground zero and no sign of the dogmen!" He looks at Lara, "I say go for it."

Lara checks her watch, "Fifteen minutes to go, it's lock and load time people."

She edges around the corner than dodges back as a round strikes the remains of the wall. "Um I think we forgot somebody!"

"I'm afraid you've come too late this time Lady Croft. "The man's voice echoes through the demolished school. "Now my men have this place surrounded so I suggest you and your lover boy throw down your guns and step into the light."

She hands Xander two of the 'Flash Bangs' her friend in the SAS had gotten for her and took two out for herself. Xander placed one in his pack and held his thumb over the contact switch of the other. "Is there another way round him?"

Xander looks around then remembers his high school days. "There's a boiler room just under our feet, there's an entrance door back there and one that comes out just the other side of the Library." He sees Giles's look and shrugs. "It seems I can remember things I learned in High school after all."

Giles tells him. "But I think it would have been best if you remembered what was being taught and not the best way to get around Principle Snyder."

Buffy pats his back. "Never mind honey, I for one am glad you know a way around these trained killers even if Giles doesn't."

Lara nods. "I'll stay here with Giles while you take the rest through the boiler room and..." She glances at her watch, "In five minutes I want you to roll your puck down the hall towards me. I'll roll mine towards you, that way we should trap these guys in an enfilade." She looks at Giles. "That'd be like a crossfire to you more genteel folk."

Giles takes his crossbow and readies it. "I'll have you know I studied under the best fencing masters and proponents of the crossbow that the Council could find."

Lara takes out one of her Glocks and operates the slide to chamber a round. "Welcome to the 21st Century Rupert." She hands him the gun then tells him. "Try not to shoot yourself in the foot or me in the arse!"

Chapter 13

THE BOILER ROOM.

As Xander led the gang through the ruins of the old boiler room he started to remember the last time he was here, as his gaze moved to the centre of the large room he grinned at where the bomb Jack had planted stood. "I like the quiet, how lame was that?" He muttered. "I was shaking inside but felt as calm as a windless day."

Buffy crept up to him. "Did you see something?" She asked as she scanned the area. Xander shook his head. "Nope just forgot my new girlfriend had slayer ears is all." He couldn't help cracking a shit eating grin at the mention of the words girlfriend and Slayer in the same sentence. Buffy placed a hand on his hip. "When this is over, I'll show you what else makes having a Slayer for a girlfriend worthwhile." She waggled her eyebrows and made Xander smile.

Dawn tells them. "If you two don't cool it I'm going to have you up for corruption of a minor." Her hands separate the pair and Xander looks at her and sees her eyes dart from his. He also sees her face redden when Buffy tells her. "You know if I didn't know you, I could swear you're jealous."

Xander tells Buffy. "Leave her Buff, she'll be all right won't you Dawn? She just has to get used to the weirdness that is my life." He grins. "And you thought having the Slayer as a sister was weird." He does his best Riddler impression. "Wait till they get a load of me."

This brings a smile to her young features as they near the exit door. Xander checks his watch then takes out a 'Flash Bang' and prepares to toss it out the door. He cracks the door open slightly and peers out. Then he turns to the others whispering. "There are six that I can see and it looks like they've pretty much bought the world's supply of light arms out there." He hefts the disc. "When I throw this out there, we'll have about ten seconds of freedom before the effects begin to wear off so no dawdling ladies."

He takes out one of his guns and pulls back the slide to make sure there's a round in the chamber then does the same to the other, keeping one in his right hand. He checks his watch again then mentally begins to count down the seconds. He presses the recessed button and tells them. "Showtime!" Before he rolls the device out the door and towards the Illuminati. He pulls the other gun then, when they hear the crack of both light grenades go off he motions for Buffy to open the door. Xander knows Buffy will not take human life as a matter of principle, so rather than aim for the chest Xander aims for arms and legs in an effort to put them down and take them out of the fight without killing them.

Between the three of them the battle is fierce but short. Willow and Tara bind the wounds of the survivors whilst Lara removes any weapons they still may have had. She checks her watch and then smiles. "Five minutes till the mouth opens and we can retrieve the final piece. I'd say we deserve a round of 'well done' wouldn't you?"

Xander nods but his smile disappears when he sees Lara's eyes go wide. "We've got visitors!" He turns his head and looks at the blade hung at his back and sees it glow with a ghostly blue light. "Man I hate these guys!"

Lara ejects her empty clip and injects a new one from her resupply tree hanging at her back. "I guess we get to play again." They turn at the sound of a vortex opening and Buffy says. "God I hate that freaking sound!"

Giles looks at the Hellmouth as it cracks open enough to release the stench of sulphur and brimstone. "Yes one can never get enough of that smell either!" He places a hand over his mouth briefly before pointing to the outer edge of the opening. "There!" The gang looks to where he's pointing and they see some weird writing and the pictograph of a woman. "Galadriel!" Xander mutters.

Before anyone can say anything Xander and Lara drop into the opening and make their way to the drawings. The noise is almost deafening as they search for anything that remotely looks familiar. Xander touches the pictograph and says. "Lady Galadriel!" And the image glows causing another line of writing to glow also. As each figure glows a voice tells them. "Here lies the last piece of the Orb of Ellsinore! Once joined together they will afford thee power beyond thy wildest dreams. Do not let it corrupt thy soul lest thee are thrown into the fires of Mount Doom to join the evil ones that preceded thee."

A small piece of the wall pops open to reveal a small core of silver metal. Xander takes it and Lara turns to see a clawed hand begin to emerge from the vortex. "Time to go!"

Buffy stands at the edge of the vortex and turns to Giles. "They've been gone too long Giles!" She moves closer to the edge and tells him. "I'm going in!" Just as a woman's hand grips the outer edge of the dirt covered floor. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to give me a hand?" Lara asks.

Buffy grips her hand and in one jerk she pulls Lara up out of the vortex and onto solid ground. Buffy drops to her knees as another hand appears and scrabbles for a grip. She grips that one and pulls Xander out and into her arms. "What kept ya?" Buffy asks. Xander shrugs. "Well see it was like this, I saw the Mayor and we got talking over the lack of morals in the younger generation..." She slaps his arm playfully and they hug.

Lara slips the last piece into her bag and warns them. "Uh guys you might want to save that for when there's no butt uglies about to come screaming into view!"

Buffy kisses Xander and tells him. "That will have to do till we get home."

Lara tells them. "I'll take point Xander you cover our Asses." He looks at them and says. "And some nice asses they are." he grins until he sees Giles. "I didn't mean yours though Giles."

Willow tells Xander as they head off. "You'll owe him one for that Xand." Xander grins. "I'll make him a nice cup of Earl Grey when we get home."

Lara was setting a fast pace as they left the ruined school; Buffy then Willow, Tara followed her. While Giles held Dawn's hand and Xander brought up the rear. They hit the treed area and were making good time when Lara suddenly turned off the path and led them deeper into the woods. She turned. "Butt uglies on both sides and in front, we have to find another way out!"

The turn had caught them all by surprise and Buffy turned to make sure the others followed, she saw Willow and Tara and then relaxed as she heard the bushes move behind them. "Hurry up Giles!" She stopped as she saw the Orc break through the undergrowth and attack Tara. Buffy charged the beast and made short work of it before she saw the woods alive with the creatures. She then realised Giles, Dawn and Xander were no longer with them.

"Lara! We've lost Dawn and the others!" Buffy shouted out. Lara slowed and told her. "We have to get this piece away from the Urak-hai! If they get it, all will be lost!" She told them. "Xander can look after himself Buffy and I'm sure he'll bring Dawn and Giles out of there with him."

Meanwhile, Giles, Dawn and Xander are running for their lives. "Come on Giles, don't stop to admire the nice doggies just run!"

Giles is almost out of breath. "I'm definitely getting too old for this.. Ooof!" An Orc tackled him to the ground, breaking the grip Giles had on Dawn's hand. Xander quickly shot the Orc and helped Giles up. "Come on man RUN!" He turned to grab Dawn but couldn't find the teenager. "Dawn!"

They both heard her scream as she was being dragged off into the open field. Xander took two clips from his pack device and handed them to Giles. "Go and get Buffy! I'll try and follow them to see where they've taken her."

Giles took the clips and then began to run after the others and it wasn't until he found them that he realised the open field was the one Willow had described to them from the vision.

Xander followed the broken trees and the other signs of struggle that the Orc's left and then he saw the Orc hand Dawn over to a group of Urak-hai. Xander rubbed his sweaty palms down the side of his trousers and sighed. "Well here's where you earn that big pay packer Xander my man." He took out the gun and the remaining 'Flash Bang' and calmly marched into the clearing. As soon as he did he saw the Urak-hai growl and turn to him.

"Hey guys! Nice night for a walk huh?" He told them as he moved closer. "You know I hear Oil of Olay does wonders for wrinkles." They growl and an Orc charges Xander. He places three rounds into its head before it even gets close. "Now then buckaroos we can play this hard or." He takes out the flash bang. "I can give you the Orb?"

More Orc's moved to charge him but the lead Urak-hai growls out. "Stay!" It turns its head towards Xander. "Why would you give it?"

Xander points his gun at Dawn. "You have something I want and I have something you want. In this world we call it a bargaining point."

He holds out his deadly clawed hand. "Give it to me!"

Xander shakes his head. "That's not the way it works bonehead. First you let the girl leave, then I give you the Orb."

Xander can almost see the cogs moving in the creature's brain. "If I let her go you will go to!"

Xander shakes his head. "And then you kill us both? No I stay till she's a long way away then I give you the Orb."

He can hear the Urak's grunt and snuffle amongst themselves before the leader orders Dawn to be released. Dawn begins to run to Xander but he shouts at her. "For Christ's sake not to me! Run home to Buffy NOW! "He sees her look of confusion. "Go on Run and tell her...Tell her I'm sorry but I have to break my promise."

Dawn looks towards where she knew Buffy was heading, but she turns to Xander." But you don't know about this place, this is where you die! I won't leave you!"

Xander closes his eyes to try and gather the resolve to see this out. "I know but I don't plan on kicking it this early in the game Dawnster." He grins and tells her. "Do you really think these shmucks have a chance against the Xandernator?" He looks back at the Urak-hai. "No move your ass before butt face gets wise to us."

She nods as a tear runs down her cheek. "Okay I'm going." She points to the Urak-hai and glares. "My sister's going to kick your ass!" Before she runs off she kisses her palm and holds it out to him. "For luck."

Xander smiles. "See you back at Buffy's, Dawn. "He watches her run off then his face sets into a stony visage as he turns to the creatures. "We'll give her a couple of minutes to get away then you can have the Orb." He sees the toothy grin of the creature seconds before he hears the rustle of the trees behind him.

"I think we take it now human!" The Urak-hai grins and motions his men forward.

Xander depresses the button on the device and counts off the seconds and just before it's set to blow he throws it in a high curve towards them. "Here ya go then take it!"

ON THE TRAIL.

Giles runs into the tail end of Lara's group and calls out to them and they stop. "The creatures have Dawn and Xander's following them.. Come on!" Lara hesitates then takes the final piece from her pack and hands it to Willow. "You and Tara take this back to Buffy's and don't stop for anything!" Lara, Buffy and Giles run off back towards where he last saw Xander.

Willow begins to walk off towards the cars and Buffy's house but Tara asks her as they leave. "Aren't we going to wait?"

Willow is crying as she sobs. "I don't think I could hold it together if I saw him die Tara! We'll take this back and get things ready for the others."

As Lara, Buffy and Giles race towards Xander in an effort to rescue Dawn the teenager barrels into them knocking Giles to the ground in a tangle of legs and feet. She picks herself up after almost screaming the woods down then tells them. "Xander... Holding them off till I got clear... Gotta help him!" She pants out. Just as they turn to go help Xander the woods are lit up by the blast from the flash bang and the stillness of the night is broken by the sounds of gunfire and screams of enraged monsters..

Chapter 14

THE CLEARING.

Just as the disc reaches it's apex the device explodes blinding everything in the area. Xander had turned from the blast and when he looked back he saw most of the Orcs rolling on the ground in severe agony while the Urak-hai are merely rubbing their eyes. "What's their childhood trauma?" He mutters then draws his other gun and shoots the Orcs that had been hidden from the blast of light.

The number seems never ending as they pour from the newly darkened woods. "Man is there a freaking Orc outlet store in there or something?" He says as he ejects the empty clips and replenishes his guns from the device in his pack. His ears pick up a whistling in the air just before he feels like he's hit in the shoulder by the Rock. "God damn it!" He groans then sees the large arrow sticking out of his shoulder. The adrenalin rush is dampening the pain that he knows will come as he begins to shoot at the Urak-hai as they reload their bows.

"Ain't the gift of sight a wonder?" he fires his guns. "Couldn't stay blind for a couple of seconds more could Ya!" He mimics his own voice. "Nah I could never leave Buffy and my friends." He hears the whistling sound again and throws himself to the ground, landing on the arrow. "Jesus! When am I ever going to learn? Hurt on your right, roll to your freaking LEFT!"

He snaps the arrow off at the point where it enters his flash then throws it back before returning fire and taking out several of the larger beasts causing the leader to growl in anger. "Not so freaking funny when you're on the wrong end of a bang, bang stick is it mutt face?"

He can feel his blood covering his shirt and chest. "Man I don't think a band aid and a Tylenol will work this time." Xander ejects the empty clips but finds only one on the tree. He slides the gun over it, and then brings it to bear on the leader, his face red with rage and pain. "Not like this! I'm not going out like this! If I'm going so are you!" He begins to run at the creature firing his gun as he does.

THE TRAIL.

Buffy is running full out as she sees the clearing ahead. She turns and sees Lara, Dawn and Giles struggling to keep up with her and she debates as to whether to slow down when she hears the firing rise in intensity and then stop suddenly. "Come on, he's over here!" She yells then keeps running.

She almost trips over the body of an Orc just before more run at her and then past her. "Look out!" She yells to Lara and Giles but the creatures are more interested in running away than fighting. Buffy enters the clearing with a sense of confusion and foreboding in her heart. She sees the death and destruction litter the field and then she sees several of the large creatures run away from the field leaving the largest lying on the ground.

Lara and Giles join her and Giles exclaims, "Upon my soul!" As he sees the number of the dead that litter the field. Buffy is searching the grounds for any sign of Xander and she grins in relief. "He must have gotten clean away!" But the sudden movement as two of the Urak-hai helped their wounded leader to his feet drew her attention to the far side of the clearing and the body that lay there. The wounded creature kicked the body and growled at it before the three made their way from the battlefield.

MOMENTS BEFORE.

Xander raced towards the behemoth and emptied his gun into it and any creature standing close to it. He dropped the empty gun and drew the sword and a dagger and screamed in anger as he began to fight. "You mother's come here and disturb my life, take a friend and try to kill everything I hold dear! Well, now you've got me pissed!"

Their swords clanged and each dodged the lethal blows of the other as they danced the eternal dance of death. Xander blocked one blow and swept the dagger across the creatures chest drawing a deep red fountain of blood. Xander's sword began to descend on the creature's neck but he suddenly felt a white-hot pain in his arm. His eyes looked on in disbelief as the sword dropped harmlessly to the ground and he lost all feeling in his right arm. He glanced at it and saw the bone sticking from his elbow and then the shaft of an arrow imbedded in his side.

The arrow must have hit his sword arm at the elbow before hitting his side. He grimaced and looked up at the beast as it stretched to its full height in readiness to strike Xander's head from his shoulders. But Xander had other uses for his head and drove into the creature's chest knocking them both to the ground. Xander used the dagger to block several strikes the Urak-hai made and then, whilst his arm was up blocking another blow he saw the Urak-hai glance down to his right and Xander saw the glint as the moonshine reflected off of a wicked looking knife.

Xander felt the blade drive home. And suddenly the world seemed calmer, he laughed as his ears could pick up the sound of his blood as it poured through the wound. He was having a perfect moment of clarity when all things were made known to him. The Urak-hai snuffled at the scent of his blood and licked his lips. "I will consume man flesh tonight!" He growled.

Xander laughed as the blood welled up in his throat and Urak-hai drove the blade deeper into Xander's body. He felt ribs bend then break as the knife was driven up to the hilt. Xander then drove his dagger into the beasts gut and twisted it gasping out. "Urak-hai! Ishnavaleik das netreins!"

The creature balks at the thought that a human knew of the old language and he grins at him but he screams out in pain as Xander begins to pull the knife blade up the creature's body. His vision is fading as he hears several of the Urak-hai survivors lift their leader off of him. He tries to struggle up as they run from the field but then he hears a familiar voice call out his name.

He sees Buffy's face as she drops to her knees and looks over him. "Don't move Xander, Giles and Lara are here and they can help you."

Her eyes are drawn to the pendant as it glows around his neck; from there they drop to check his wounds. "Not much time left." He grimaced in pain and gripped her hand in an effort to relieve some of the pain. "My only regret is that we found our love too late." He arched his back and She could see his wound for the first time, a great rend in his side gaped open and exposed a nightmarish vision of broken ribs and mashed lungs. She felt the sting of her tears as they rolled down her face.

She held him tight as her nightmare was relived in vivid colour. "Don't leave me please Laveale.. Xander don't leave...You promised me! You said you would never leave!"

He smiled through pain filled lips and told her. "'As right I did and I will stay with you for ever." He placed a blood covered hand over her heart." Mine..." His eyes went wide. "Tell Lara ... Once she has closed the Hellmouth to destroy the Orb! Power such as that was never meant for mortal hands.." He gripped her hand and sighed, his voice fading into the darkness of death. "I shall wait for thee Elsbeth in the Western lands..." She saw the light fade from his eyes never to return.

Buffy's heart almost stopped when she saw the light fade from his eyes, the world became a darker place and held little light for her. Then she heard Giles's voice. "Bloody hell!" And then gentle arms were moving her away from the wreck that was once Alexander Harris. Lara guided her from his side and Buffy felt she had no energy left as she saw Dawn and she had to fight to keep her from joining Giles.

She tried to pull away from her sister but she was just too strong. "Let me go! I have to see him!" She screamed. "We have to do something!" She sees Giles stand and then turn to one side and vomit and then Lara tells her. "Come on we had better leave this place before more of them arrive."

Dawn begins her struggles once more. "No! We're not going to leave him to them!"

Lara released Buffy and held onto Dawn as she tells her. "We have to go now or we will join him!"

Giles staggers up to them carrying Xander's weapons and tells her. "It's too late Dawn. We'll come back when it's daylight and ... see to him." He turned at the sound of the sirens and cursed. "Come on we have to go now!"

Dawn turns to Buffy but the Slayer is mute, her eyes have a far away look to them as she lets herself be led from the field by Giles. Lara had to virtually drag Dawn to the cars and force her into one. All through the long drive home Buffy just looked blankly out of the window and whispered. "I will join you in the Western lands my love. And my life." Her hands played with the necklace that Xander had given her only that day.

Giles had to carry Buffy from the car and into the house as Willow and Tara came out to help. Tara asked with a heart already heavy with the thought of the answer. "Xander?"

Giles shook his head as Dawn shouted through her tears. "They butchered him, worse than in the vision, and these." She glared at the three. "Heroes just left his body to rot!" Lara turned her around and glared at her. "What would you have us do? Stay there and die with him?" She gripped Dawn by the arms and told her. "I swear to you we will go back and get him." Her eyes lost any humanity in them. "And then I intend to lay the heads of everyone of those bastards from hell at the foot of his grave!" Her face softened. "But now we have our own people to tend to." she looked at Buffy.

Dawn turned to her sister and saw a shattered relic of the once strong and vibrant girl. Dawn went to her as they entered the home and hugged her. Willow joined them and hugged both Buffy and Dawn. Buffy saw Willow and she began to snap out of her zombie like state. "He's not dead you know." Her hand gripped the necklace and Willow saw it begin to glow. "As soon as the first rays of daylight strike we will go back."

THE CLEARING.

The first police on the scene of the reported shoot out immediately called for major backup as soon as they saw the carnage. The Para-medics looked on as the police checked every body for signs of life. "I ain't going no where near that lot till they've been checked over." The head medic told them. "I've seen one too many freaky things out here in the dark of night to risk my ass on these things."

A policeman waved at them and called out. "We have a human over here!" He looked down and then said. "But I don't think there's much need for you to hurry it's a bag and tag job."

The young officer looked around the clearing and asked. "What the freaking hell are these things?" His partner tells him. "Keep your eyes closed and your mouth shut kid, you'll live longer that way." He takes out a set of gloves. "Besides the Government pays big money for each weird piece of shit we bring in and this." he motions to the number of bodies littering the field. "Is going to give my bank manager a hernia!"

The young policeman tapped Xander's body with the toe of his boot. "What about him?" The officer shrugged. "Take his name, inform the relatives of his being killed by gang members on PCP and then burn the body."

The young officer rolled Xander's body into a body bag. It was then that he saw the expensive looking pendant, yet when he attempted to take it the pendant glowed and burnt his hand. He cursed and zipped the bag around Xander's face.

Chapter 15

BUFFY'S HOME.

Lara motions Giles into the kitchen as the house settles in for its night of mourning the loss of a good friend. She whispers. "Do you think he will return?" She looks at the door and continues. "More importantly should we tell the others?"

Giles looks at her. "Tell them what? That Xander may rise as some sort of protector Elf? If he rises at all. Then what do we do if he doesn't. You saw their reaction. Can you imagine what it would be like if we built their hopes up just to have them dashed by his death being final?"

Lara nods then he sees a tear rolling down her cheek. "I don't want to think of him not returning Giles. "She sniffs back her tears then tells him. "We'll get his things, the ones he was given in the Chamber of Celebron, and make sure they're buried with him. "Buffy walks in on the tail end of the conversation. "Yes we should do that." She looked at Giles. "You took his sword and daggers? I have that stupid bow upstairs I'll go and get it so we can leave first thing." She glares daggers at Lara before departing.

Lara looks at her back as she leaves and then turns to Giles. "Can you tell me that she doesn't deserve to know? Because I doubt I can go on seeing her grieve knowing what I do!" Lara follows Buffy and stops her before she can gather Xander's things. "What? What do you want Lady Croft?"

Lara was taken back by the venom in Buffy's voice. "I only wanted to.."

Buffy interrupts her. "What? Tell me how sorry you are for dragging Xander into this? Or for getting him butchered." Buffy's voice falters but her anger doesn't as she pushes Lara against the wall. "God I'd love it if we could prove you were a damned demon! Then nothing this side if hell could stop me from kicking your limey ass all the way back to where you belong."

Lara looks into Buffy's hate filled eyes. "I did not seduce Alexander..." Buffy yells at her. "It's Xander! God can't you even say his name properly? Not even now he's.. Gone." Lara purses her lips and flexes her hands. "Now I realise you're upset and I'm willing to let things slide but you have to understand a few things about Alex..Xander." Lara held up her fingers to Buffy. "One, he is an adult and could make up his own mind. Two, I did not seduce him into helping me, he came to my aid and I thanked him for it, unlike someone else not too far away from here! And finally even when I told him to go he still wouldn't leave a woman in danger."

Buffy glared at Lara then her eyes travelled up her body. "Yeah I could see what Xander saw in you and just how you said 'thanks' for the help."

Lara shook her head and raised her arms in submission. "You stupid immature girl! You had your chance time and again from what I hear, but instead you just couldn't get past putting it out for the bad boys!" She towered over Buffy and told her. "And yet when I gave him the choice to join me he chose to stay here with you!"

Buffy's mind struggled with this new information before warning her. "Just stay away from his things and stay away from me!" She entered the room where they had placed Xander's things and slammed the door behind her. Lara was about to continue their ' talk' when Giles walked up to her holding a cordless phone. "Um that was the police ringing to request we go to the coroners office to identify ... " He sees the look on Lara's face and stops. "What happened?" He balked then glanced at the door Buffy went into. "My God you didn't tell her?"

Lara shook her head. "She had some things to say to me and we had a little 'talk'." Lara sighs. "Maybe she's right, maybe I did talk him into joining me."

Giles shakes his head. "I knew Xander, I knew him maybe better than anyone else, and I have to tell you that he was without doubt the most stubborn and loyal child I have ever seen." He takes his glasses off and fiddles with them. "If he saw you, or anyone, in need he would do whatever it took to rectify the situation. I think you would have had more trouble on your hands if you refused his help then you had retrieving the last two parts of the Orb."

Buffy came out of the room. "Okay I give up. What did you do with them?" She glared at Lara. "Don't act dumb, what did you do with Xander's things?"

MORTUARY.

The assistant coroner walked by the draws containing the day's victims of man's inhumanity to man until he came to the draw marked. Harris, Alexander L. before hesitating and walking on. "Man the crap that goes down in this city would make Stephen King leave running and screaming like a girl!"

He ran down the catalogue of injuries the man had received and shook his head. "Looks like those freakazoids really did a number on the kid." He muttered as he left the cold room for the safer regions of the outer office. Had he been paying attention he would have heard the doors lock behind him and the shape of something pass in front of the frosted windows.

The regal woman seemed to glide over to the drawer marked Harris and her fingers followed the letters of his name before she moved back and motioned with her hands for the drawer to open. The drawer slid back revealing a black body bag as it opened on it's oiled rollers. She pointed with her right hand and the bag unzipped then folded back on itself to reveal the body of Xander. The ethereal being glanced around the room and her eyes lit upon the safe, she smiled and motioned with her hand causing the electronic display to run through it's numbers until the door popped open. She motioned with her hand and a manila envelope floated over to her.

She opened the envelope and retrieved the pendant then dropped the rest onto the floor before leaning over Xander's body and placed it around his neck, kissing his lips as she finished. "Estention ill lequani est frotinopion ada noplini Laveale."

Small pinpoints of light began to spin and weave a web of energy around Xander's body, moving faster and faster until they became a blur and then...

The Assistant Coroner looked up as Giles, Lara and Buffy entered the sterile world of his office. "Can I help you?"

Giles nods and tells him. "We received a phone call from an Officer O'Rourke and he wanted us to um identify the body of Alexander Harris."

He went to check the records just as the florescent lighting flickered before all power was lost to the building. "Not again!" He exclaimed as he went for the emergency torch. "This happens a lot since we changed over to public power." He happened to glance back towards the mortuary. "Now that's weird!" The group followed his lead and saw the backroom glowing with an eerie light.

Meanwhile, back in the very room they were watching, the bag began to twitch and jerk as the body inside became alive! Xander opened his eyes and took in a lungful of fresh air before he sat up. He looked around until he saw the Lady and then he smiled. "My Lady Galadriel!" He looked down at his nakedness. "I pray this means the enchantment is over?"

Galadriel smiles as he makes his way out of the drawer and body bag, he walks over to the lockers and easily pulls open one of the locked ones removing a lab coat to hide his nakedness from the head of his house. Galadriel then tells him. "We must leave now Laveale, but before we do I have to tell you that your quest has been changed."

He buttons up the coat and nods. "I am your servant my Lady, your will is my command."

Galadriel nods and offers him her hand. "We shall discuss this more when we are at Elvenholme." He places his hand under hers and the white light expands to fill the room before dying down leaving the room in darkness. Shortly after they disappear the mortuary door is slammed open by Buffy just as the lights flicker back on. Giles, Lara and the Assistant Coroner follow her into the room. Buffy races over to the opened drawer and her foot kicks the envelope containing everything but the pendant.

She lifts up the bag before letting it fall back into the now empty draw. "I take it this is where.." She motions with her head towards the drawer and the Coroner nods. "I just checked it before you arrived."

Giles sees the look of fear strike Buffy's face as she comes to the conclusion that Xander has now joined the ever-growing ranks of the Undead. He turns to the young man and tells him. "Well there seems little point for us to be here now." He takes Buffy by her elbow and leads her away. As soon as they were out of earshot she turned on him. "We have to prepare the others, get them ready to perform the curse."

Giles spins her around. "Buffy, Xander isn't a vampire." He glances at Lara. "I was told that we should have informed you earlier but I believed the strain on you would be too much if we were wrong."

Lara tells her. "I know you don't want to hear this, especially coming from me, but Xander has returned to his natural form." She looks to Giles for support and he continues. "We believe, from reports given us, that Xander was under an enchantment that started on his birth."

Buffy placed a hand over her heart. "So he's.." She couldn't bear to even say the words lest she was wrong. "Alive? Yes we believe he is alive and may yet return to Sunnydale."

Buffy closed her eyes. "In a good 'I am a white lighter' way or a 'I'm going to rip your heart out' demon sort of way?"

Lara moves her to the door of Giles's car. "I believe Xander is an Elf and if he's the Elf of the legend Hillary dug up it will be a good thing for us all."

Giles looks around as the car park begins to fill with police and visitors. "I think it best that we continue this conversation else where."

ELVENHOLME.

Lady Galadriel wafts over to the newly revived Xander and hands him a glass of Elvendew and watches him as he drinks it. "It will revive your energies and prepare you for what the elders and I have decided." Xander looks up at her and his long black hair moves, uncovering his elven features. "You know it will be my honour to do thy biding My Lady."

She motions to the table. "We gathered your weapons from the Daughter of Arwen household in readiness for your return Laveale."

He looks at her. "Were the Elders informed of my failure?" He drains the glass and places it on the small table by his side. "My quest was a failure; the lands of man are not a fit place for our people. Maybe in a few centuries, if they haven't destroyed themselves, our people may return to their rightful place and tread once more on Arda's golden lands."

Galadriel smiles at Laveale and touches his hand. "And what of Buffy, the Daughter of Arwen that you found so..." Xander stopped her with a look and tells her." She is but a mortal human and far beneath our contempt." He stands." If we had but used our might instead of meekly engaging on the Journey, then we would have no need to go to the realm of man with cap in hand! We still can conquer..."

For the first time the Lady scowls at him. "Thee maybe descended from warrior and priest alike young Laveale but our people long ago gave up the ways of war!" She calms herself. "We will return to Arda the same way we left, in peace and with love for all the creators beings lest we destroy that which we seek."

Laveale shakes his head. "You do not know them my Lady! They wouldst sooner use our powers to destroy one another in their endless battles for domination over each other!"

"We live as long as this world survives Laveale. Why do you think we needed your sacrifice? All those years spent amongst them when thy mother and father desired your presence here by their sides. "She placed a hand to her chest. "My daughters last words were for thee."

"Their sacrifice was for nought! And of the Daughter of Arwen. I feel they are too far removed from that great Lady to have any of her spirit. They may have strength beyond mortal man but they are easily swayed by a kind word and a pretty face!"

Galadriel tells him. "Which is why you have been chosen to defend the Daughters of Arwen. We too have seen their descent into a shadow of their greatness and have deemed it that you shall defend them as your mortal side tried to do." She pointed a finger at him, as he was about to deny her. "You will also return to us the Orb of Elsinore. You were correct in your judgement. The Orb is too great a power for any mortal to wield."

Galadriel moved to his side and stroked his brow. "I know you think the race of man a weak and vain one but we have hope that they will change. It just appears we need wait a few more centuries, but to immortals centuries will pass as days." She rests her palm on his cheek and sighs. "Come my grandson it will soon be time for your rebirth and we have little time to acquaint ourselves in this world."

Xander is led outside to a wondrous world of sky high trees and fields of lush green grass where animals roam at will secure in the knowledge of their safety. Xander sees many breeds of animals that his human memories tell him are extinct. Galadriel hugs him and says. "All of this we have kept safe for our eventual return to the world outside and we had hoped that man would have curbed his basest instincts by now."

"Bah! As if that day would ever come!" He whispered.

Galadriel tells him. "You know of the Orcs and their devil spawn the Urak-hai?" He answers. "Of course, a more evil creature is yet to walk the land where we may not!" Galadriel then proceeds to shock him. "In the far eastern land of Cuiviénen, on the shores of the Inland Sea of Helcar and beneath the mountains of the Orocarni, the first Elves awoke under the starlight of the Years of the Trees. The Valar at first knew nothing of their coming, but they were soon discovered by the spies of Melkor, who sent his creatures to watch them and harass them."

She saw Xander's eyes widen at the tale of the first ones and like a child learning at his mother's knee he listened with awe as she continued. "How long our forbears existed in this perilous and unprotected state is not known, but the legends of those times, of the Hunter and of a dark Rider, were preserved in Valinor by the Eldar that came there. It is known that many of the ancient Elves were captured by Melkor and imprisoned in Utumno - it is generally thought that these hapless beings were the origins of the race of Orcs. Tortured and wracked by evil magic until they are what we see today." She turned his head to look at hers. "So young warrior doubt not that the evil you see in man is not within us all!"

Xander sighs and he struggles with this knew knowledge. "They have once more risen in the land of man and they seek the Orb for their own purposes."

She stands him up. "Then Laveale your new quest is cast. You will defend the Daughters of Arwen and keep the Orb of Elsinore safe until its return to our hands, also I would like you to open both your mind and your heart to the race of man and treat them with compassion for some of our noblest people were part human."

He straightens his new clothes and shrugs into his weapons, holding his still unstrung bow in his hand, as he walks with his ancient relative. "I will do as you wish My Lady but amongst the race of man I have found but a handful worthy of our protection. "He looks at the trees and tells her. "Shall I live in the woods surrounding the Mouth of Hell?"

She shakes her head. "No my Grandson, you shall live in the house of Arwen's blood kin, but please try to remember that even though she is of her royal blood she is still just a mortal female and subject to their wants and needs."

He shakes his head and whispers. "Living with a house full of human females.. Will my torture never cease?"

Chapter 16

BUFFY"S HOME.

Willow, Dawn and Tara were waiting for Buffy's return, praying that they were wrong, that their eyes had deceived them and Xander was alive and well. The frantic hammering on the door drew the trio from their thoughts and Dawn stood up, walked over to the front door and opened it, "Is it true?" Amy asked and then begged, "Please tell me the papers were wrong, they have to be.. My spells are never that far off!" She was beginning to rant but when she saw Willow stand behind Dawn, Amy backed away and then seemed to gather strength as she held her head up a little higher, "Is it true, about Xander?"

Willow looks solemnly at Dawn then nods, "Yes it's true. He died.."

"NO!" Amy shakes her head then smiles, just slightly maniacally at her, "That's wrong! He can't be dead because I performed a spell on him to keep him safe, make him heal quicker and one to Fortuna to bring him luck."

Dawn looks at her, "My God he was right! It was you that made him late for his wedding!"

Amy looked confused, "No, the spells I cast would have made him sleep for no more than a few minutes."

Tara grips her lover's hand before telling Amy, "I very much doubt our magic could even work properly against, or for, him, Amy."

Amy looks at Tara, "Can you be any more cryptic?" She holds up her hands. "What's that supposed to mean, 'Our magic wouldn't work properly on him' anyway?" She creases her brow, "Unless..." Her eyes widen, "He's a first one isn't he!" She points at her, "If he was one of the first ones then our magic's would bend and become miscast!"

Dawn looks at Tara, "First ones? What the hell are you two talking about?" She becomes agitated as an idea hit her, "Does it mean he's alive?"

Willow shook her head, "You were there Dawn. Do you think anyone could survive those wounds?" She watched Dawn blanch and begin to shiver as if someone had walked over her grave, "No.." She said sadly, "Nothing could have survived that butchery." She looked at Willow, "Nothing of this world any way." She began to tear up and ran off to her room.

Willow's eyes began to mist over as she remembered her friend, "This has hit her bad." she looked at Amy and patted her shoulder, "It's good that we become friends once more, Xander would have liked that." Willow and Amy hugged until Amy told her, "I can't believe he's gone... I keep expecting him to come running around the corner with something either chasing him or him stuffing a Twinkie in his mouth."

Tara chokes back a sob as she tells them, "No one really dies.. As long as we hold their memories in our hearts they live forever."

The three are comforting each other as Giles's car arrives. Buffy jumps out and slams the door behind her trapping Lara inside. She runs up to the others and they can see the tracks of her tears as she brushes past them. Willow calls out, "Buffy?" And she stops by the kitchen wall and slowly slides down it, "He's gone!"

Willow stammers, "So.. so it's true then he really is dea... you know."

Buffy turns to her and cries out, "Oh no, its far worse than that Wills... He's gone!"

Giles walks up to them and tells them, "Xander's body vanished from the mortuary just as we arrived.. ugh.." Giles steps back, "Hello Amy."

Willow tells him, "She's okay Giles; in fact she tried to help Xander. It was Amy that caused him to miss his wedding."

Giles and Lara walk the others back into the house before continuing, "Well it seems we were correct." he looks at Buffy as Dawn walks down the stairs, "Well we're assuming we were correct in our assumption that Xander is indeed an Elf."

Dawn's heart grew lighter and a huge smile light up the room, "He's alive?"

Buffy stands and walks over to her, "Yes but in what form? Giles thinks he's an Elf but what if he's not? What if those things infected him with some thing that turns people into them?"

Lara tells her, "My people are very thorough Buffy and they would never give me information that was either incomplete or wrong. Especially Hillary, he would know I would never let him live it down."

Buffy asks, "Well then if he is this Joiner of worlds then why hasn't he shown himself?"

Dawn tells her, "He will show himself when he needs to Buffy. We just have to wait until he does."

Buffy looks at Lara and asks her, "Well you have what you wanted so I suppose you'll just fly off back to where ever it was you came from."

Lara looks at her and sighs, "I still have one thing left to do." She looked at Giles, "Xander said to close the Hellmouth, seal it off for once and for all." She turned to Buffy, "He wanted you to have some semblance of a normal life."

Buffy nods, "I know he told me just before... He also said that we should destroy the Orb afterwards and that power such as that should not be left in the hands of man."

"Then we will close it tonight in his honour and then we will find a way to destroy the Orb." Lara tells them.

Meanwhile outside hiding in the shade of a neighbour's tree two dark figures wrapped in robes are watching, "The Orb is inside that dwelling." He smiled and showed a mouthful of teeth a shark would have been proud of, "Tell our leader we eat man flesh tonight!"

TWILGHT.

It had taken both Giles and Lara most of the day to work out how to fit the intricately designed piece into the centre hole but when they did nothing happened. Lara looked at it and shrugged, "I at least expected some sort of light show or even a small fanfare." She joked.

Giles pushed his glasses back and examined the Orb, "How do we know its working?"

The four women stood around behind them and tried their best to help. Tara looked hard at it before shaking her head, "I can't sense anything different."

Dawn looked amazed, "I know!" She made to touch it before Buffy told her, "If it's to wish for Xander to be alive just remember that movie we watched on cable last week, "Dawn's hand moved away from the Orb at light speed and she grimaced, "Eew! And thanks for that childhood trauma Willow. Oh its a wildlife movie my ass!"

Giles look quizzically at Willow, "Wildlife movie?"

Willow blushes, "Well it sounded cute, I mean what harm would you expect from a movie called The Monkey's Paw?"

"It was about a Monkey's Paw that granted your wish, in a very twisted way!" She looked at Lara and Giles; "I still have nightmares about that knock on the door!"

Lara picks it up and moves it in her hand, "There's no knobs or buttons." She shrugs, "I guess you must just tell it what to do?" Giles nods to her and she draws in a large breath, "Okay here goes... Orb of Ellsinore I command thee to close and seal the Hellmouth for ever more." She jumped as the orb vibrated slightly then stopped, "I think it's..."

The lights explode above their heads as the power surges through the power grid before blowing every transformer in Sunnydale. The ground beneath their feet begins to ripple as if it were a lake's surface after someone throws a stone into its centre. They grip onto anything as the house trembles with the weird quake and then as quick as it hit the quake stopped, "..... Broken." Lara completed her sentence.

Giles picked his glasses up from the floor and then looked towards the old school." The ripple effect seemed to focus on the school, as if it were moving towards it."

Dawn raises her hand, "Hands up, those that think we should grab all the weapons and hide in the cellar till dawn?" Tara hesitantly raises her arm and Willow follows, "Well it couldn't hurt." She responds.

Lara opens her case and shrugs into her gun belts, "I think a little recon is in order."

"Please tell me Dirty Harriet here is kidding?" Amy asks. Buffy goes to the closet, picks up her sword and crossbow and shrugs, "Who knows, maybe the Hellmouth really has been sealed." She throws the crossbow to Willow, "We'll never know unless we go and look."

Dawn tells her, "Hello! Maybe it wasn't shutting? Maybe it was like one of those revolving doors. You only think you've shut it trapping your friend behind it but in fact all she has to do is push on it and you fall flat on your..." She sees everyone looking at her, "Sorry, I guess you had to be there."

Buffy shakes her head, "Teenagers, lord give me strength." She whispers before saying, "Amy you stay here with Dawn." She hands her a crossbow.

"What? Am I supposed to guard her?" Amy asks. "No, if she tries to leave shoot her in the foot.. What else do you think it's for?" Buffy tells her.

Giles licks his lips, "Um right. I suppose we should get going then.. Unless you want to wait till daylight?" Buffy cocks an eyebrow. "Okay just checking."

Amy and Dawn watched as the others left the house, after Lara hid the Orb in the cellar. As soon as the car was out of sight the two girls closed and locked the door. Amy sat in the chair facing the front door and asked, "So this is what you guys did all through high school huh?"

Dawn looked at her, "Are you nuts? My dopey sister and her friends did, but I stayed at home watching TV and playing 'avoid Mom's questions'."

The noise of something hitting the front door made both girls jump. Dawn asks, "Please tell me you ordered pizza?" Amy looked at her and asked, "Should I go open it?"

"Sure." Dawn tells her. Then as Amy stands, "If you want the Sunnyhell PD to find bits and pieces of you scattered all over the city limits! Jeez where have you been for the last..? Oh sorry I forgot...Um would you like some cheese?"

The front windows explodes inwards and Dawn tells her, "Don't worry as long as we keep our cool and don't do anything dumb like invite them in we're safe."

The head of a Urak-hai peers inside. "Crap! We are so screwed!" Dawn exclaims.

The evil creature grins as it sniffs the air, "MANFLESH!"

Amy and Dawn back peddle towards the cellar as they hear the backdoor crash in. Amy tells it, "Sorry the man left so I guess you'll have to come back."

The creature is followed in by others, "Girl flesh is so much more tender!" It bellows.

Amy exclaims, "Crap! Where's a PC monster when you need one?"

They turn as something runs into the lounge from the kitchen and then they both scream.

Chapter 17

SUMMER'S HOUSE.

Dawn and Amy stood there staring at the man as he pointed a notched arrow at them. Dawn's smile was frozen on her face as she fought differing emotions, here was a person she had trusted with her life, risen from the grave and yet he was pointing a weapon at them. "Duck!" He exclaimed and she dragged Amy down with her. She felt the arrow's path followed in quick succession by three others, and heard the screams of pain from the other room. Dawn was amazed at the speed of his movements; every move was fluid as he continued his ballet of death. He held out a hand to her, "There are too many, we must seek a safer position."

"Whatever you say tinker bell." Amy replies as they stand and begin to run out the back door. As they pass, Dawn sees the five dead creatures grouped around her back door an arrow planted between their evil eyes. She and Amy have trouble keeping pace with the formally dead friend and Dawn tells him, "Hey Peter Pan we humans need to rest..." The roar of the Urak-hai and the Orcs closing in stops her words, "Never mind just run!"

Suddenly he grips Amy and throws her like a rag doll into the air and up into the upper reaches of a mighty oak, he then grips Dawn around the waist, "Hold on!" He tells her and just as she does he leaps up into the high branches joining the startled witch. He places his hand over Dawn's mouth and glares at Amy to be silent as their pursuers pass under them. His eyes track their movements well out of range of both Dawn's and Amy's sight.

Dawn exclaims, "Okay Xander they're gone now would you mind telling me the reason for causing us so much grief? And what's with the hair and the get up?"

Xander grabs both the girls and then drops to the ground, landing with a thump. As he straightens up he tells her, "The one you knew as Xander is gone. My name is Laveale and if you don't hurry we will lose the Daughter of Arwen!"

Dawn begins to run alongside Xander, "Who?" He glanced to the side at her, "You know her in this life as Buffy." Dawn began to run harder as she glanced back at Amy. "Move your ass rat girl!"

HELLMOUTH.

Lara, Willow, Tara, Giles and Buffy approached the Hellmouth with trepidation. Here was the site where they had first encountered both the Illuminati and the Urak-hai; it was also the grounds where they had lost Xander. Buffy was of two minds as to whether she wanted to run into the Urak-hai again, one part was afraid as it would endanger her mentor but the other was pure Slayer. Revenge! A day of reckoning when she would extract vengeance for what it had done to her lover, she would make sure its last hours would be the most painful and longest of the damned creatures life!

Lara held up her hand, "We're not alone!" She looks at Buffy and points to a creature as it limps around the corner and out of sight. "I remember the limp, it's one of the creatures that ambushed Xander."

Giles gripped Buffy's arm as she made to go after it. "First we make sure the Hellmouth is sealed then we think about revenge."

Buffy's senses picked up movement close by, but she couldn't tell from which direction when suddenly a voice told them, "Yes lets talk about revenge shall we?" Lara turned quickly but then saw the men at either side of Reynolds pointing machine pistols at them. "You really should have kept your pretty little nose out of this one Lara. You were always in a no win situation. A fact your partner found out to his detriment." He grinned and orders her to throw away her guns.

Buffy moved to attack but Giles shook his head, "Yes little girl, not now, or even later for that matter. Amon found your playmate quiet stimulating." The Urak-hai leader growled at them as he walked into the area. It touched the wound to its chest and pointed to Buffy, "You cheated me out of my dinner." Reynolds tells her as Amon grinned showing his sharp teeth, "They believe that if you eat the heart of your enemy you gain its strength. I'm sure he looks forward to eating yours Daughter of Arwen!"

Buffy looked at him in surprise, "Sorry, don't know her, now if you had said Daughter of Joyce then that would be me."

"Enough of this chit chat." Reynolds tells them, then points to Lara, "The Orb.. Now before I loose what little patience I have left." He then turned to Amon, "Just how hungry are your men?"

Amon grins, "Hungry enough to scent their taste in the very air we breath."

Reynolds points to Lara, "Leave enough of her to answer my question, the others," He shrugs slipping into his natural tongue, "Bon Appetite'."

Amon growls out an order and both Orc and Urak-hai fill the ruined site of the old school. "I do believe that was the dinner gong!" Reynolds tells them as he backs away.

Meanwhile, close by, Xander stops his unrepentant pace and grips a nearby tree for support. He bends over and a stream of blood vomits from his mouth leaving him feeling weak and very pale. He holds up a hand to the girl's concerned looks. "I am not fully recovered from my wounds." He wiped the blood from his lips then staggers on, "But my injuries are of no concern of yours. I must protect the Daughter of Arwen and the Orb."

His head snaps up and he pulls Dawn and Amy into the shadows, placing a finger to his lips as several Orcs made their way into the ruins. When they had gone Xander looked around and spots a tall Willow tree. He takes them there and places them in its high branches before placing a hand on the trunk and whispering words in a language neither female knew. The branches seemed to curl around them, hiding them from sight and raising them even higher. "I shall return for you."

From their new vantage point they could see their five friends surrounded by the beasts from some hellish nightmare. They could also see their friend creeping up on the ambush and preparing one of his own. He jumped and reached the highest point of the shattered school and looked down upon the five humans surrounded by the old enemy. He drew in a breath and expelled it as he nocked an arrow and prayed, "Lady Galadriel guide my hand so I might do thy bidding, Lord Celebron give me thy strength to complete my task."

Buffy glared at the leader and told him, "Come near us and you'll find it hard to eat anyone with no freaking teeth mutt face!"

Amon grinned and raised his arm to signal the attack but suddenly the air was filled with arrows as Xander launched his attack. The first two took out the men with guns allowing Lara and the others to regain their weapons. The rest of the fusillade struck the mix of Urak-hai and Orc. Xander dropped in front of them and exclaimed, "Come!" As he led the group out of the ambush and up to the tree that protected Amy and Dawn.

He said the words of power once more and the tree revealed the pair, allowing them to drop to the ground. Xander pointed towards Buffy's house, "Go, collect the Orb and take it to Elvenholme and the Lady Galadriel!"

He replaced his sword and nocked another arrow as he prepared to battle the rampant enemy. Buffy looked at Xander and her heart leapt, "Xander!"

Xander looked at her with disdain, "No, Daughter of Arwen, the enchantment is over that name died with the man child, my name is Laveale and my new purpose is to see both the Orb and the Daughter of Arwen are protected until their return to Elvenholme."

Lara tells him as she looks at Buffy's crest fallen face, "Then dying here would be against your lieges orders!" She points her guns at the sounds of the enemy as they approach. "How will we find this Elvenholme if you do not guide us?"

Xander sighs as a feeling of weakness passes over him. He shuts his eyes then tells them, "My bonding is incomplete. The body of Alexander Harris was too badly damaged and I had little time for Galadriel's power to heal the damage."

Dawn tells them, "He's still sick, he coughed up blood just before he went Rambo on the uglies!" Buffy saw the worry in her sister's eyes and she knew they had cause for concern. Buffy touched his arm and told him. "We cannot afford to lose you Xan.. Laveale. Your quest requires you to see us safely to Elvenholme and I don't think you would disappoint the Lady Galadriel."

Xander straightens then tells her, "I am first and foremost a warrior child of the Galadhrim and our forbears lived with the Valar long before man called them Gods!" He turns to Buffy and tells her, "If I am to die better to go to my ancestors with the blood of my enemy upon my hands." He turns from her." But then you are still but a human and what would you know of the concept of honour?"

Giles tells him, "I believe it best you honour the living and let the Gods look after the dead! Your quest is not complete until you have seen the Orb delivered to this Galadriel and the Daughter of Arwen, whoever she may be, is safe. Then why do we dither here? Shouldn't we collect the Orb and be on our way?"

They can see Xander's head move from side to side as if questioning his own actions. "I will need to go into a healing trance." He turns to look at Buffy. "My people may seem immortal to the lesser races but we can still die." He turns to Lara, "Do you know of the tunnels of Rampache'?" He asks as they move out.

He sees her confusion and he tries to describe them to her, "They lay on the coast of western Mexico and head off towards what you call Bermuda?"

Lara nods, "I know of the lava tunnels that the elders of the Aztec's used to hide their wealth in."

Xander grins, "The Dwarfs would have been amused at that had they lived." He looks at her. "Lava tunnels? The Dwarfs carved the tunnels of Rampache' in payment for my ancestors help. The tunnels lead directly to Elvenholme and are one of two ways to get to my homeland."

Giles puts the information together and suddenly halts in mid step, "Towards Bermuda? You're not talking about the triangle are you?"

Xander urges him on, "My people once traded with the humans in an effort to make a place for us in your world. But all your ancestors were interested in was weapons and conquests so we placed in their minds an image of our Islands sinking into the seas after an apocalyptic disaster."

Now it was Lara that stopped and stared at him, "So we are in fact heading for.. Atlantis?"

Chapter 18

SEVERAL HOURS LATER.

Buffy had taken Lara into her house and they saw the dead Orcs scattered around her lounge room. The two women made their way to the cellar and retrieved the orb and then packed some things for the trip. When they arrived outside Buffy saw Xander lying across the backseat of the Jeep and began to panic before Willow told her, "He's in that trance thing he was talking about." She looked worried, "I tried his pulse and it's actually faster than ours and yet he's in an almost catatonic state!"

Buffy saw Dawn sitting with Xander's head in her lap, her fingers tracing the outline of his ears. She looks at Amy, "Don't they just look sexy?" His hand snaps up to grip hers even though his eyes never open. "I would stop that if I were you, an Elves ears are possibly the most erotically stimulating part of their body!"

Dawn grins, "Cool!" Buffy growls at her, "Dawn! Leave his ears, and other parts, alone!" She placed the bag in the back as Lara signalled Giles to move out, "I grabbed your boom box and the cd's, lord knows why you need them?"

Dawn looks at her, "Hey if I have to go on this boring trip I at least want to listen to some cool tunes!"

They drove for several hours until they came to a small airstrip on the outskirts of Sunnydale. Lara got out and spoke to a man hidden by the shadow of the hanger and then walked back to them. "I've managed to get the use of a transport for our trip to Atlantis." She grins at them, "It's a drive on dump off kind of deal."

Buffy shrugs, "What ever, as long as it gets us closer to handing this Orb over." She watches as the Orb glints in the moonlight. "Do we wake sleeping beauty or let him sleep?" She looks at him and she mentally sighs. "I finally fall for him and now he couldn't care less! I'm just another sub-species to him!" She looks at the four faces turned to her, "Did I just say that aloud?" Dawn grins and nods, "Crap!" Buffy tells them before getting out of the Jeep.

The transport was very Spartan but it did allow everyone a place of his or her own. Willow and Tara were going through everything they had seen or heard of Atlantis with Giles while Lara cleaned and checked her guns, refilling empty clips and replacing the ones she had used from her supply. Dawn and Amy spent their time watching Xander breath while giving odds to each other about what he would do or even be like when he awoke from his trance. After several hours they grew tired of their game and curled up by his side and went to sleep.

Buffy knew Dawn was just pulling her chain but she didn't know why Amy was doing what she did. Whatever he had going for him when he was human, Xander now seemed to exude a sense of cool that high school Xander would have gladly traded souls for. These thoughts passed through her mind as the movement of the aircraft slowly lulled her into a deep sleep where she dreamed of trees that touched the sky and great houses that nestled in their tops.

The sound of the engines changing their beat as they slowed brought Buffy back to full wakefulness. She looked around at the sleeping forms of the rest of the group but she saw Lara and Giles talking off to one side. Thanks to her Slayer enhanced hearing she was able to pick up their conversation. Giles asked her, "What do you think will happen if we find Elvenholme?"

Lara shrugged, "Well if Xander's attitude is anything to go by I'd say we were in for a rough time."

"Why does he hold us in so much disdain? I mean he must have Xander's memories?" Giles asks her. Buffy thinks * Yeah hooray for that Giles! After the way we treated him its a wonder he doesn't declare war on the human race!*

Lara tells him as the plane banks to the left and she grips one of the handholds, "I think that when Xander died the 'enchantment' as he calls it ended and Laveale was freed from it's entrapment in Xander's mind. Can you imagine what it must have been like? Wakening from a deep sleep with the combined memories of everyone that had passed before you? Xander must remember what his world is like and what we have done to this world."

Xander's voice makes the three of them jump, "Because Lara, if we don't stop you soon you will destroy this world and we can only survive as long as this world lives!" He sat up, dislodging both Amy and Dawn from their positions at his side. "We, the Elves of Lórien, chose to stay here while the other tribes chose to finish the great journey and travel to be amongst the Valkar."

His mind takes in the sounds of the aircraft and the noises it's human passengers made. "My recommendation to Galadriel will be that we join our brothers and sisters amongst the stars and leave earth to it's unavoidable demise at the hands of the lesser races!" He sees Buffy and bows, "Greetings Daughter of Arwen, soon the orb and yourself will be in Elvenholme and my quest will be at an end."

Willow wipes the sleep from her eyes and asks, "Is it an easy journey to your home Xander?"

Xander shakes his head, "Besides the deterrents my people have placed there are also the Orcs and Urak-hai that search for our land." Willow baulks, "There are Urak-hai?"

Xander nods, "There are always Urak-hai! The orcs we can avoid by travelling during the day and fortifying our camp at night. But the Urak-hai has no fear of the daylight hours. And once we are deep in the tunnels then the Orcs are free to attack us at anytime."

Buffy looks at him, "If your people are so great why don't you destroy the Orcs and the Urak-hai?"

"Because they are our brothers! Humans! You would you kill your brother for a crust of bread!" Xander had a look of disgust on his face that made Buffy blush. She exclaimed, "But you have killed Orc and Urak-hai!"

Xander told her, "To preserve life! I also killed humans to save your lives!" The look in Giles's eyes warned Buffy not to push Xander and so she dropped her conversation and walked over to Dawn as she stretched and woke up. "Are we there yet?" She asked.

Lara came from the cockpit and tells them, "Time to strap in boys and girls." She made sure the vehicles were secured to the drop cages and then preceded to belt the travellers into their seats. As she buckled Dawn in she told her, "No matter what happens do not release the straps until the drop cage has released the Jeep." Dawn nods, her eyes wide with fear, "Um is it too late to say I'm scared of heights?" Lara grins, "Way too late."

She sits in the driver's seat of her Rover and buckles in before she turns to the man she had known as Xander. "The last time I went into the tunnels they were caved in at the end and I can only assume they're flooded, so just how do you intend to get us past that?"

Xander cocked his head at her, "If we implanted the image of our civilisation sinking into the sea how hard would it be to fool your people into believing the tunnels were blocked?"

The tail end of the Hercules opened and she donned her goggles as she said, "Point taken." The loadmaster pointed to her and she nodded, he then pressed the trigger and the drop cage slid off the back of the plane and into the night. The snap of the large parachute was followed by the jerk as it slowed their descent into the jungle. Xander looked around and saw the other vehicle follow their manoeuvre, floating gently to the ground until it landed with a heavy bump.

Buffy looked at Dawn and she smiled, her sister had gripped the seat in front of her till her knuckles where white with fear. Buffy leaned over to her and whispered, "It's okay we've landed sis."

She still kept her eyes closed, "Yeah! Like I believe you? I've watched too many movies with you to be tricked like that!" The Jeep moved forward and drove off of the drop cage and followed Lara's Rover into the jungle.

When the sun began to set Lara called a halt to the expedition and they set up camp for the night. Lara held a hot brew in her hands as both she and Giles talked to Xander, "So how much longer till we reach the tunnels?" Giles asked. Xander closed his eyes and tilted his head back before answering, "If we keep up at this pace we should arrive there midday tomorrow."

Giles looked to Lara and she nods, "Give or take an hour, but I have to warn you that there will probably be delays. I've found that wherever evil dwells so does the Illuminati." She looked at Xander, "You won't have to put up with mere mortals for much longer Laveale."

Xander touched the pendant around his neck and looked at the others. "Of this group there are but two that deserve a place in Elvenholme and they are Dawn and Tara. Two more innocent souls I have never seen and yet they stay in the most evil of habitats!"

Giles coughs, "I know what you did for her, or should I say what Xander did for her." Xander looked at him. "You never called Sweet to this reality did you?" He sees Xander shake his head. "Why? Why take the blame for something you never did?"

He touched his chest. "The one you call Xander knew the folly of delving into the magic's and he also knew the repercussions. He was all ready treated as the useless one so he thought he could save Dawn from hurt if he shouldered the blame, no one could feel any less for him than they already did." He looked to the vast jungle and told them, "I will make sure your sleep is not disturbed." He walked into the jungle and simply vanished.

Giles jumped at Buffy's voice, "So you knew that he didn't call Sweet yet you let him take the blame?" Giles told her, "It was his decision. Why should I deny him his choice?" He looks at Dawn, "What you should be asking is why did your sister not admit to the casting?"

"Probably the same reason she never owned up to being a little klepto." Buffy tells him as Dawn turns her boom box on.

Dawn looks over to the three adults and tells Amy, "That looks bad for someone." she grins as the player starts to play the CD from Coyote Ugly. "Xander bought me this for my sixteenth." She looks sad. "I wish he was back."

Amy grins, "I don't know, I think I like him all tall dark and silent and those ears." She shivers, "Really cranks a girls starter, know what I mean?"

Chapter 19

SUNRISE.

No matter how hard she tried, Buffy could never fully rest until the rising of the sun and all the terrors of the night had returned to the dark shadows. She yawned and then slipped on her clothes, making sure not to disturb Willow and Tara. Buffy then made her way out of the tent and into the early morning sun. She saw Lara and Giles preparing breakfast. "Morning." She told Giles and he looked at her dishevelled state. "Sleep well?" Buffy looked at him, "Was it dark?" She told him as she made her way to Dawn's tent.

Lara tells her, "Dawn went to find Xander, and you can probably find her by listening for that music box of hers." Buffy nodded and then asked, "Did anyone relieve Xander during the night?"

Lara nods, "About three this morning, he went back into the trance state to finish off his recovery. Would you tell him breakfast will be ready soon and that we must break camp shortly?"

For some reason the fact that Lara had relieved Xander annoyed her no end as she barged through the jungle. "For someone who has a disdain for humans he sure likes her!" Suddenly her ears picked up the sound of Dawn's boom box and she followed the sound to a clearing. Dawn and Amy were sitting down watching something and it wasn't until she was closer that she saw what it was that had the two so entranced.

Xander had awakened from his healing trance and was engaged in some sort of ritual, one that looked like a cross between Tai chi and very aggressive martial arts. Just as she began to watch he stepped up the exorcise in time with the song that had just begun. Buffy's mind went back to the first time she had heard Snap's I've got the power ' and she remembered it was during one of their Friday night video fests.

She sat next to Dawn and Amy and watched Xander perform some moves even she had never seen before outside of movies like the Matrix. She gasped when she saw him literally walk on air to avoid some imagined enemy strike, then land catlike to deliver an open palmed strike. Dawn sighed, "You should have been here earlier." She looked at her sister. "He was actually talking to the animals! He's our freaking Dr. Dolittle."

Amy broke in, "And he's hot to boot!"

Buffy sighed, "Yeah, I only wish he would notice..." She looked at Dawn's wide-open mouth then blushed, "That er breakfast is ready." She stood up and brushed the grass off of her shorts. "Yeah that's it. You wish he'd notice breakfast was ready, right!" Dawn told her with a look of disbelief written across her face. "Or could the resident Slayer be having naughty thoughts about Elves?"

The song finished and Xander brought his open palms together over his head and slowly released his breath as he brought them together over his chest. He lifted one hand and brushed it down his face as he did he spoke in a melodic tone in a language none had heard spoken before, "Asi-Dhu'ath U'-orthor Galadriel U' or le u' on Nin dath Lejion u' Arwen!"

Buffy herded the two back to the camp, glancing back at the man she had known as Xander and remembering the words that felt like they had come from his very soul.

When the camp had been broken and everything had been packed away Xander came into the camp and told them, "They come!" he stood by the Jeep and took out his weapons and told them, "They come in numbers beyond my ability to hold back." He looks at Lara. "I will take you to the tunnels and remove the enchantment and give you the words to give you safe passage to Galadriel."

Buffy turned in her seat to look at him, "And you'd be doing this because?"

Giles started the Jeep and began to follow Lara as Xander simply stated, "Urak-hai cannot be permitted to gain entrance into Elvenholme."

"So we stop them." She suddenly realised what Xander was going to do. "NO!" She reached over the seat and forced him to look at her. "We are the humans, you look down on us with contempt so let us do this."

He snorts, "You think I do this for your sakes? The Orb must not fall into their hands, so it must be returned to my people. You must not come to any harm so you too must go with the Orb." He waves his hand at the others. "Would you let the others die for this?"

Buffy tries to think of a way out of the situation then tell him, "It is part of your damned quest to see us all to your homeland. Do you mean to fail?" Lara's rover skids to a halt and they all stare at the sight before them. "Well we didn't plan on this!" Lara tells Willow.

Before them is an archaeological dig, small but still the last thing they needed. "I'll go down and try to find out what I can." Lara tells the others as they get out of the four-wheel drives. Buffy immediately begins to argue with Xander, "I will not permit you to sacrifice yourself for us."

Xander looked at her and he felt his human heritage begin to betray him. He saw before him the girl he had loved when he was under the enchantment and his heart told him to tell her that he still did. But his elven half mocked him for loving a mere human girl child when there were others more worthy in Elvenholme.

He cocked an eyebrow and told her, "I did not say that I would sacrifice myself. Do you doubt I could hold off the Urak-hai till you reached Elvenholme?"

She jabbed a finger at his chest. "Don't you try to Spock me Xander.. Laveale.. Whatever! The others can get the Orb back to your people while we hold the Urak-hai back." Xander shook his head, "Only Elves or the chosen ones may pass through the gates of Elvenholme. You are a daughter of Arwen and therefore are a chosen one. The others would not be able to open the gates."

Buffy grins, "Then we all go, if only Elves or chosen ones may open the gates then how do you expect the Urak0hai to open them?"

Xander shows no emotion, "Because they are a branch of the same tree of life that we came from. They are our fallen brethren, moulded by the hand of Saruman thousands of years ago."

"There must be another way!" Buffy yells at him.

Xander looks at her. "If I didn't know better I would say you have feelings for me."

Dawn leans on his shoulder, "Duh! Brainiac! If she was any more obvious she would be standing there naked with a bright neon sign above her head."

Xander looks at her, "Like Alexander was for most of the time you knew him?" He looked at Buffy, "And you chose to ignore him then so what's changed? Oh I know you haven't copulated with an Elf before and I was next on your 'to do' list?"

Buffy turns red in anger, "BASTARD! Xander was ten times the man you will ever be!"

"Then thank Galadriel I'm an elf." Buffy storms off back to the car but Dawn simply tells him, "It won't work you know." He looks at her, "Pissing her off in the hope she will allow you to do what you want." She begins to walk away, "Been there done that and got the T to prove it. Get used to it and go with the flow elf boy, you'll live longer believe me."

The sound of Lara's vehicle distracts them and they walk up to it. Lara tells them, "They're from the University of Mexico and they're just getting ready to go to town for the night so we should be safe enough, we just have to wait till night is all."

Xander nods then grips Lara by the elbow and takes her to one side, "I have to trust you to complete my mission."

Lara shakes her head, "No way! We all go or none of us do, I will not leave you behind to be butchered. Again!"

He glares into her eyes, "Would you see the Power of the Orb in their hands? They would bring your world back into the slime we first dragged you out of! Take the Orb and Bu.. The Daughter of Arwen and return them to my people."

Lara places her hand on his cheek, "You care for her don't you?" She sees the look of confusion in his eyes then she smiles and tells him, "Race is no barrier for love, you need only look to your own Lady Arwen for the truth, even your great lord Elrond, Arwen's father, loved a mortal and from that love came Arwen herself." She smiles at his confusion, "How do I know this? Because she told me so."

She looks past him and there, standing by a tree was the image of Galadriel. Xander bent his knee to her and told her, "I have brought them thus far but cannot take them further my Lady. The Urak-hai are close, too close to open the gates lest they gain entry."

Galadriel touches his face, "And you fear that we could not stop them? Have no fear my child we will deal with lost ones should they attempt to gain entry to Elvenholme. Bring home the Orb and the Daughter of Arwen so we may see her likeness once more."

Xander looked at her and began to argue, "Why risk our world when I could hold them long enough..." Galadriel glared at him, "I have spoken Laveale son of Skone!" Her features softened, "Do you not think we would like to see thee in the flesh, blood of my blood?"

Lara nods towards the cars and Galadriel smiles, "It is also our wish that thee show thy true feelings for the Daughter of Arwen. It would please me greatly to see our houses united once more. Let not your mind dwell upon this anymore but let thy heart rule over thy mind. After all Elsbeth is of our blood as much as she is of human lineage. "

His heart soared with the news Galadriel had given him but he also knew of the journey that lay before them. "It is still two days journey to our land my liege and we will have to deal with the lost ones every step of the way."

Galadriel begins to fade, "Then I charge you to bring them all safely unto our loving arms Laveale."

Xander touches his heart and then his lips as Galadriel finally vanished. Lara tells him, "You heard your Queen." She touches his shoulder as he stands. "You have your orders now go and obey them."

If she expected him to run to Buffy and drown her in kisses she was disappointed but what she saw gave her encouragement. She saw him help her load a bag that was making the three girls in the back uncomfortable. When his hand touched hers she saw a look of love pass between the two of them and Lara knew the seeds sown by Galadriel and she had taken root and were beginning to flower.

Night came too quick for the two and Giles had to cough and harrumph several times before they stopped talking, and playing silly love games, long enough for him to be heard, "The people from the university have left so it's time for us to make a move." He watched as the pair each moved to kiss the other but stopped and then hesitated. Giles lost his patience, "Oh for the love of God just kiss would you!"

Buffy grinned then gazed into Xander's eyes. "Your the boss." She leaned in to kiss Xander then paused sensing Giles was still there. "I know you're my watcher but I'd rather you didn't watch me all the time Giles. "

Giles blushed and made his way to the car. Dawn shakes her head, "So? Where are they?" Giles blushes again and stammers, "They're ahh umm just." Dawn grins, "Way to go sis!" She turns to Amy and holds out her hand, "That'll be twenty, Aims and never doubt my knowledge of my sister again."

Buffy and Xander were walking towards the car when she saw a glint in Xander's eye and he seemed to have a much happier demeanour. Dawn smiled and rested her head on her hand as she looked out the window at him. "I take it you two have settled your differences?" She asked, trying to keep a straight face. She sat back as they got in the car. "Just remember to name your first child after me." She laughed as Buffy turned red again and then Dawn held out her hand to Giles. "They may not have done it yet but they will, wanna bet on it?"

Giles just blushed as he drove off after Lara as they continued their journey to Elvenholme.

Chapter 20

THE TUNNELS.

They followed Lara down the darkened tunnels as far as the four-wheel drives could go and then they loaded as much as they needed into their packs and hiked the rest of the way. Along the way Giles saw markings similar to those that were engraved on Xander's sword. He turned to Xander and asked, "How long have your people been using these tunnels?"

Xander looked back the way they had come and told him, "Ever since the Dwarfs excavated them for us." He glanced at the roof, "But I must say it doesn't look like anyone has used these for years though."

Dawn unscrews the top of her canteen and takes a long drink then asks, "How much further?"

Xander shrugs, "I think we're about two days from Elvenholme and one from the gates."

Dawn stops in her tracks and turns to glare at him, "Two freaking days! Have you people not heard of Taxis or even motorbikes?"

Lara grins at her, "Walking builds character."

"Excuse me but the last time I looked the only thing walking did was build callosus and ruined expensive shoes."

Buffy smiles then looks at her sister. "Hey! I don't remember inviting Cordelia Chase on this trip?"

Dawn huffs, "Well if I was going to make animal noises with Tinker bell back there tonight I wouldn't care how far we walked either!"

Buffy blushes and then tells her sister, "You are So grounded when we get back!"

Lara tells them, "Personally I can't wait to see how we're going to get past the cave in!"

Tara looks at the roof and grips Willow's hand a little tighter. "Personally I don't like the idea of millions of tons of water being just above our heads!"

Lara turns around and tells her, "Don't worry about it, if the roof did go we'd never know about it."

Buffy sees Xander keep checking their back trail and she tells Tara, "Something tells me the roof caving in is the least of our worries."

THE ENTRANCE

Reynolds tells the new members of his team, "Remember stay out of range of both her Ladyship's guns and the freaks arrows. Let the creatures take the brunt of their attack and then move in for the kill." The five-man team nod and then move out, following the hulking Urak-hai and the smaller Orc's into the mouth of the tunnel. Reynolds stares after them, "This time Miss Croft, I will not make the mistake of underestimating you!"

He slammed the receiver shut on his machine pistol then followed the team into the tunnels. As he did this Galadriel stepped back from the seeing bowl and told a warrior elf, "Tell the others the time draws near." She peers into the bowl once more and see Xander, her finger traces his features as a tear runs down her cheek, "We thank thee for thy gift Laveale and shall miss thee sorely."

MIDWAY.

Lara calls a halt to the journey and they begin to unpack the sleeping bags and prepare the meal. Buffy looks back for Xander but cannot see him and as she goes to check o him Lara grips her arm, "Mothering him will be the quickest way to lose him as you did when he was mortal."

Buffy slits her eyes as she glares at Lara, "And just what's that supposed to mean?"

"Dawn and I have been talking and it was wrong of you to try and keep him at arms length." She cocks her head, "Frey adjacent I think you called it. A man like Alexander would take that very hard, is it any wonder he jumped at the first woman to treat him like he was something other than the Zeppo?"

"Xander's done a lot of 'jumping' lately!" She moved closer to Lara, "But all that will stop now, now that I have realised just what I truly feel towards him."

Lara shakes her head; "Don't make me out to be the scarlet woman when it was your own stupid pride that drove him to others! He was mortal and could be hurt." She dropped the pack, "So what? It was his choice to fight at your side and it should have been his choice to stop. It's about time you grew up little girl, hell Dawn has shown more common sense in the matter than you have. She saw Alexander for what he is, not what you think he is."

"Well we all know what he is now, but I would love him as much if he was normal and I think that is why I wanted him kept safe from harm." she looks at Lara with an edge to her voice, "Now that he knows I love him as much as he loves me, nothing." She moved closer to Lara in a threatening manner, "Or no one will come between us."

Lara held up her hands, "Don't tell me dear, Alexander has made his choice and I will honour his choice. Just remember that if you grip something too tight it will die. I wish you two all the best in the world but you must remember to let him live his life the way he wants." Lara grins, "And the fact he's become an ethereal being should make for some very interesting times."

Xander strode into camp and picked up a canteen of water, taking several gulps before he told them, "The old enemy are camped about five hours from us so I suggest we leave early and move quickly before they have time to catch up with us."

Buffy handed him a meal and sat next to him, his hand finding her knee and resting on it. Buffy smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "We will make it to your homeland Xander.. I'm sorry, Laveale." Xander gripped her knee tighter and told her, "I care not what thee calls me Elsbeth for my heart answers to your call." Xander's mind was no longer confused, he saw Buffy for what she was, a Daughter of Arwen the most revered of the old ones. She who gave up her mortality for the love of a mortal man had passed on her powers to her daughters and their kin. The so-called Slayers were her progeny, her blood was the heart of the Slayers powers, a fact the Council failed to find out. Instead they used a mystical spell to seek them out and bend them to their cause.

When one daughter dies another inherits her powers, the girl chosen by how close she was to the pure blood of Arwen. Xander's enhanced vision could see her aura and it matched his to a t. His mind was set, regardless of what happens to himself Buffy, and her friends, would make it to Elvenholme and safety. He stood up and both felt the loss of contact. He told them, "You should sleep now, I will see that your rest is not disturbed."

He shrugged back into his weapons and then set off for the high rock a few hundred yards from the camp. He sat cross-legged and placed his bow at his side then opened his senses to the trail leading to the Urak-hai. Buffy sat by his side and tucked a long strand of hair back in place before she entwined her arm with his, her hand finding his and gripping it, "I thought you might like some company."

Xander grinned, "You should get some rest, your strength will be needed tomorrow."

Buffy shrugged, "My body tells me it's night outside and you know I can't sleep at night, pesky slayer genes and all that." She rests her head against his chest. "Tell me of your homeland Xander."

Xander sighs, "I have but seen glimpses of it in my dreams and in the visions of Galadriel." He settles his body next to hers and they almost meld together. "The trees are thousands of years old and their limbs almost touch the very sky itself. Our homes are made amongst the upper reaches and are a blend of Elven made and living material." He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "The air is as pure as a high mountain stream and it is surely the nectar of the Valar."

Buffy closes her eyes, "No phones, no TV and more importantly no demons! My kind of heaven." Her eyes snap open as she realises.

Xander grips her hand, "Yes Elsbeth that was where you were when we mistakenly brought you back to life." He turns his head and gazes into her eyes, "I beg thy forgiveness for taking thee from Elvenholme and I owe thee my soul in payment for my actions." His hands move behind his neck and he removes the pendant and places it around her neck, "Now my soul is thine as my heart was before it."

Buffy takes his face in her hands and she moves her lips to within a hairs breadth of his, "My heart and soul are thine in this life and the next Laveale." Her lips met his and their souls bonded and became one as their bodies soon joined their souls.

Giles was settled into his sleeping bag when the still of the tunnel was broken by a woman's cry of ecstasy. A hand tweaked his nose then was held out palm upwards and Dawn told him, "Pay up Giles."

4.55 A.M.

Buffy tried to snuggle closer to Xander, her hand searched for him and then her eyes flew open in a mad panic when it never made contact. She sat up and pulled her top on as she scanned the area for any sign of him. She saw him crouched down watching their back trail for any sign of their pursuers. Her heart slowed down to its normal rate, as she knew he was not in danger and her mind replayed the events of the night before. A smile crept across her face and she placed her thumbnail on the edge of her mouth as she thought *who would have thought he was so.. Enthusiastic. No wonder Anya stayed with him at the beginning.* She knew love soon followed for the ex-demon but she now wondered if she would fall into the same routine as her, badgering Xander for 'the sex' all hours of the day.

She watched him as he replaced the arrow in his quiver and stood up. "Even if it meant not having sex I would still love him!"

"Wow that's real deep for you sis." Dawn told her as she came up to her carrying two mugs of tea, "Sorry it's not champagne, or even coffee, but that's what you get when you let the Brits pack for you." She handed her the cup and placed Xander's on a rock. "So you really love him then?" Buffy grins and nods as she blows on the hot liquid. "So much that it hurts when he's away from me."

Dawn smiles, "Then we had better make sure he doesn't go John Wayne on us again." she then looks around and shakes her head, "I got to ask Tinker bell how come it's daylight down here during the day and dark at night. It's a freaking tunnel for gosh sakes!"

"It is attuned to your body clocks, when you believe it should be night it becomes dark." He picks up his mug and smiles, "Just one of 'Tinker bells' tricks." he gazes at Buffy and he finds it hard to breathe, "God you look so ... heavenly."

Buffy tries to straighten her hair and frowns, "I have bed hair." Xander leans in close, "In my eyes thee will always look a queen!"

They were about to kiss when they both turned to look at Dawn. She blushed and stammered pointing back to camp, "I uh have to go pack my sex.." She blushed deeper, "I mean have some sex." She turned beet red, "oh god kill me now!" She muttered as she turned and ran back to camp.

Lara set a fast pace as they moved out on the last leg of their journey. After six hours she came across the caved-in section and called out to Xander, "Okay now I want to see you make this go away." Her foot kicked at a stone at the base of the cave-in and she turned to Xander." If you can make this vanish I can get you a slot on the strip in Vegas."

Xander paused at the base of the mountain of rubble and then knelt, touching the largest of the rocks, "uni' dael inock Ui lenat se netath al ashook."

As his final words echoed through the tunnel the rocks remained where they were. Xander stood and smiled then saw the look of disbelief on their faces. Willow looks at him and says, "They're still there Brainiac!" Xander walked forward and simply vanished, "Only in your mind human." His voice reverberated through the air. Willow shut her eyes and whispered as she followed him inside. "If this hurts you are in so much trouble mister!"

"You can open them now Willow." Xander told her and when she did she found herself on the other side of the cave-in. "Wow! That has to be the best glamour spell I've ever seen." Tara nods and adds, "I can't imagine the power that it must have taken to cast it."

As the others walked through he told her," Galadriel and the other Ladies of Lórien took months to prepare and cast it, or so my new memories tell me."

Lara stops and looks back at the solidifying image, "So that was the gate to Elvenholme?"

Xander shakes his head, "No that was merely a parlour trick to keep the humans away from our lands." he points further ahead, "The gates are about four hours march from here."

Buffy's finger absentmindedly caress the pendant around her neck. "But that will keep the Urak-hai from following us? I mean they haven't broken in before have they?"

Xander shakes his head, "It may hold them up for a while but we have something they want more than life itself, "He points to the Orb that Giles carries." Besides, their leader has a score to settle with me and only blood will wash it away."

Dawn looks at the Orb, "Why can't we just zap them?"

Giles tells her, "My guess is that for every action there is a reaction, if we 'zap' them, what horror will we create in their place?"

"I'm sure the Elves will be able to handle a few beasts." Lara declares. Xander nods, "Once we are in my land, the power of my people will make short work of them." He turns suddenly and looks at the rocks. "COME! They are at the mirage already!"

Xander sets a hard pace as he hurries his charges closer to home and safety but he continually looks back to where their enemies are surely gaining on them. He slows and talks briefly with Lara when he sees an outcrop of rock. Xander lets the others file past him until he feels Buffy's hand on his arm, "What's wrong?"

He sounded winded as he tells her, "I guess I'm not as healed as I thought I was." He waves her on, "Go on, I'll catch up with you." Buffy hesitates as she sees the others moving rapidly away from them. Xander tells her., "I will be with you Elsbeth, have no fear of that." She grins and said, "If you're not with us in five minutes, sister or no I'm leaving them and coming to look for you!"

"Nag, nag, nag! I hope you're not going to be like this all our lives." Xander told her as he rested on the rock. "Oh you had better believe it Elf boy!" She grins and then takes off after the others. As soon as she is out of sight Xander stands and straightens up, taking the Bow from his back and removing his quiver full of arrows he makes his way to the top of the outcrop and waits.

The group of travellers keep up the pace Xander had set and Lara calls Buffy forward just as she was about to go back for Xander. "Look!" She points to a pair of mighty gates that seem to go on for ever as the tunnel opens out onto green fields. "I'll need your help for a few minutes while I try to find a way in... Or one mother of a doorbell!"

Buffy turns her head to glance back but Lara tells her, "I think I might need you to say the words Alexander told me to say," She looks to Buffy. "When the Orb is safely in her hands we can all go back for him." Buffy nods and approaches the gates and Lara tells her the words and Buffy speaks them, "A si-Dhuath Ney aracinos Delthwait ackned homabardi!"

The great doors strain as they open to Buffy's words and the Lady Galadriel appears with many of her people behind her. Her arms open wide, "Elvenholme welcomes the friends of the daughter of Arwen and defenders of the Orb."

Lara motions for Giles to hand her the Orb and as he does she tells Galadriel. "Sorry to be so brusque your Ladyship but we left one of our group to hold back the Urak-hai until we placed the Orb in your protection."

Galadriel nods as her men file past her then run towards the tunnels. "Yes we know of his actions and would expect little else of one of his blood." Buffy is stunned, "WHAT!" she turns to Lara and demands, "Why did you let him do that? God damn it I should have known he's pull a stunt like this!"

Galadriel tells her, "He was doing what his soul told him was for the best."

She feels like all the energy had been drained from her as she answered, "Because if he didn't we would all be dead!"

Buffy grabs one of her guns and runs as fast as she can after the Elven warriors, her heart calling out to whatever God would listen to spare the life of her love.

As she entered the tunnel ahead of the warriors she heard the sounds of gunfire and the now all to familiar grunts of the Urak-hai.

Reynolds looks at Amon, the Urak-hai commander, and shouts angrily, "Look just let us pass and I promise we will not harm your friends and..." He feels the rush of air as an arrow barely misses his head and plunges into the last member of his team of Illuminati. "Damn him! And damn that bow of his! He must be low on arrows by now." He rubs his chin then turns to Amon. "Get your men to rush him one more time"

Amon grunts, "For a chance to eat his heart I would sacrifice my men to the last man!" Reynolds takes the gun from the dead hands of one of his men and tells Amon, "Just get him to stand up for just one second then you will have your wish!"

Reynolds moved as Amon and his men charged the rocky outcrop one last time. He manoeuvred himself so he could see the top of Xander's head and then waited for the killing shot. Xander fired his last arrow and struck Amon's second in command in the head. He dropped the bow and then drew both his long sword and the dagger. He yelled at the Urak-hai, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

He caught the flash of skirt and the familiar yell of his beloved Buffy as she too joined in the fray. Amon was soon upon him and they battled away in a swirl of swords and daggers. Xander saw an opening and wondered at the creatures sudden stupidity, he stopped mid move, but it was too late, the rattle of the German made machine gun echoed through the packed tunnel and Buffy saw a small line of holes appear across Xander's chest. He had a look of total surprise as he fell from the crest of the rocky outcrop.

Reynolds did not live long enough to taste his victory as Buffy emptied her gun into the Illuminati master as she raced after Amon. Amon arrived at Xander's side and howled his joy as he raised his sword to take Xander's head. However the blade was blocked by another and Buffy forced the monster back, away from Xander's shuddering body. "Go now or die!" She told him and Amon grinned at her, "Why because a human female tells me to?" He charges her and they begin their dance of death.

Xander's body is wracked with pain but he still smiles at her, "She's so fine, and now she's mine, how weird is that?"

The Elven warriors made light work of the remaining Urak-hai and were just in time to see Buffy take the head from the body of Amon. Xander tells him, "Told you that you shouldn't have pissed her off!" He coughed and grimaced as Buffy raced to his side, "Xander, please don't leave me, not again!"

Xander looked at her and smiled, "An angel at my bedside." She took his hand as the others placed him on a litter and carried him towards Elvenholme. She felt him grip her hand tighter as they passed through the gates." I made it home, thanks to thee Elsbeth." The air was filled with a wondrous hymn that sounded like angels singing a lament.

Buffy saw Galadriel approach them and the Lady tells her, "They sing a song of the courage of the Daughter of Arwen and the sacrifice of the defender of the Orb."

Xander saw her look of shock and panic and tells her through blood stained teeth, "Our tale is not ended so quickly Elsbeth... I won't let it end like this..." He slumped back and she felt his hand slip from hers. "NO!" She dropped to his side and glared at Galadriel, "Your so all powerful, save him!"

Galadriel motioned for them to take him to her rooms, "His soul lays with the great Elrond and the other warriors of his house."

Buffy glared at her as they placed Xander in her bed. "You let him do your work and now you will let him die!" She gripped the pendant Xander had given her." You are worse than the humans you profess to look down upon!"

Buffy jumped as she felt Xander's hand on hers. She turned and looked into his eyes. "It was my choice Elsbeth and my life to give. A thing I would give again and again to see thee safe. It seems I have more things in common with my human form than I thought." His eyes went wide and his skin went pale as the pain ripped through his body, "Kiss me, then go my love I wish thee not to see my passing.."

She bent to his side and kissed him, her tears mixing with his blood and then she stood putting aside her wants to give him his wish. As she stood there a white light seemed to grow from behind her, lighting her up like an angel of old. Galadriel stood next to her and joined her hands with Buffy's. "I shall not permit thee to fail in thy mission Laveale."

Her voice echoed through his mind as he lost all sense of sound and sight and slipped into the white light that emanated from the pair and bathed his very soul.

JANUARY 25th 2003.

Buffy watched the dark haired child in it's crib as it slept in the Californian winter sunshine and sighed a contented sigh as only a young mother could. It had been six months since the birth of her child, Xander's child, and like her mother she never seemed to sleep at night. Buffy laid back and took in the blue of the sky as if she had never truly seen it in her 22 years of life. She turned her head to follow the sound of three rambunctious females as they threw a Frisbee to each other across Watkins Park.

Buffy grinned as her sister and the two Wicca's that she thought of as sisters played in the noonday sun. Her mind drifted back, past the birth of her child and to that terrible time in the land of her lover's birth, Elvenholme. Even though little Evelyn Laveale Harris had been conceived within the tunnels she had yet to see the land her father had died to save. She clutched her chest. "God even the very thought of his death gives me pain even after over a year." She spoke.

She knew Xander's original quest was doomed to failure from the very start. The power that the Elves could wield would eventually be their undoing if they had returned to the land of man. Countries, Kings and Captains of industry would kill each other for the power that the elves had and eventually they would decide if they couldn't have it no one should. She could almost feel the cold of a nuclear winter brush over her skin at the thought of the lengths man would go to gain power or make sure no one else gained it.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember the touch of his lips to hers, she brushed her fingers along the nape of her neck where his lips had once trailed. God she missed him, she missed his touch, his voice, the way he would moan as she brushed his ears with her tongue in the heat of passion. She touched his pendant as it hung between her breasts. "Soon my love, I will be with thee soon."

The Orb had been successful and the Hellmouth was indeed sealed for all time. The demons would have to find another reality to torment, but her hands were full with the ones that still remained so she was still busy kicking undead ass 365, 24/7. Giles had remained for as long as he could before he had to return to England and tell the Council just how wrong they were about the nobody they called Harris, Alexander L.

Lara left them as soon as she could and is still thwarting the plans of the Illuminati with the help of a former rat called Amy. It seemed she grew a taste for the life Lara led and she had told them she owed Xander a debt she could never repay and so she helped Lady Croft in place of him.

Galadriel 'pops' in now and then to see how her great, great granddaughter is and often remarks that she is a true daughter of Arwen a fact Buffy prays is not true. Two martyrs in the family were enough for this generation. The two were so much alike it was scary. Buffy could have been Galadriel's younger sister if Galadriel wasn't older than dirt, a fact Dawn had told her on her last visit.

She began to drift off, an ear always open for her daughter's cry, and dream of times long past or was that times yet to come? A voice breaks into her dream. " A si -Dhuath ˜ U' orthor Elsbeth u' or le a u' on Nin."

"Hey sleepy head."

Buffy wakes up and uses her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she looks up at the voice, "Your ice cream's melting."

He licked the drips running down his hand. "Dawn and the others already have theirs." He handed out the ice cream and Buffy grinned as she sat up. "Where did you go to get them Elvenholme?" He sat down next to her and touched the tip of her nose with his ice cream leaving a white blob behind. Buffy quickly licked it off and leant into his chest. "So is the home ready yet?"

Xander rested his arms on his knees, "Just a few finishing touches, then we can move in." He glances down at her, "Are you sure you want to live there?" He waves his cone at the surrounding view." You have lived in this land since your birth. Are you ready to give it all up?"

Buffy snuggled closer to him." Wherest thee goes so doest I my love." Xander grins, "You've got Elvish down pat Buff, it's a pity you sometimes have a problem with English.. You know... Yes Xander I will go to the spring fling with you, etc."

She shows him a mock scowl, "Hey! I'm the mother of your child don't you think that makes up for one lousy dance?"

He shrugs, "I don't know... Ask me again after our third and I'll let you know."

Buffy looks into his eyes, "That day you died, before Galadriel brought you back, I wished that in exchange for your life I would wish I had never seen you or loved you."

Xander kissed her, "Whether I died that day or fifty years from now my destiny is always to be with you in life or death." He stroked her hair, "A si -Dhu'ath ˜ U' orthor Elsbeth u' or le a u' on Nin."

Buffy looks at him and grins." So what is that? Some kind of Elvish pickup line.. Cuz I have to tell you it really works." She dropped the cone and sat across his legs facing him. He placed his arms around her waist and told her, "My soul and thine are entwined for life, and death Elsbeth. Be it this world or the next we are as one."

Her mouth twisted at the edges as she moved her body against his.

"Congratulations Mister Harris you have just won our major prize." she kissed him deep and true.

Dawn lets the Frisbee fall at her feet as she watches her sister and her husband as they make out, "God! Gag me with a silver spoon why don't you?" she turned to the witches and saw them kissing and then shrugs.."It must be the water around here."

END