The sky was just beginning to darken over the northern Californian town of Sunnydale as Buffy Summers and her companion searched for their missing friend. Xander Harris had failed to show up to the meeting that night and her friends were concerned.
"Where could he be?" Buffy asked as she scanned the street ahead of them for signs of their friend.
Her friend willow just shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know I haven't seen Xander all day. He's still upset about Anya dumping him. I think he's kinda down."
Buffy nodded, "Yeah I guess that's it, but why would he miss an important Scooby meeting, that isn't at all like him."
"Buffy he's had a lot on his mind lately. I think he's feeling kinda left out.
He thinks that we don't want him around anymore."
Buffy sighed, "I just don't want him getting hurt or getting in the way. You know how Xander is. He jumps headfirst into danger. One of these days it's going to get him killed, or us killed.
"He probably just lost track of the time. I bet we'll find him at his apartment just lying around in his underwear."
Buffy saw her friend start to blush at this last statement, "Will I thought you were over Xander?'"
Her friend readily nodded, "Oh I am, I really am…" she paused as if in thought then added, "He still is totally hot though. I still have flashbacks of the infamous Speedo incident.
Buffy nodded and replied almost dreamily, "Yeah!" She stopped when she saw the quizzical look that her friend was directing her way," I mean I can see what you mean" she added a little too quickly"
Willow studied her for a minute suspiciously then seemingly satisfied with her friend's response she merely nodded and continued walking.
Buffy heaved an inward sigh of relief. She didn't want anyone to know that her feelings for Xander were beginning to change, into what she didn't know. She was pretty sure that she didn't love him, at least yet, but she felt as if her feelings had gone beyond friendship. Not that this was the first time that that had happened. There were several instances in the past where she had felt her feeling toward Xander begin to deepen, but something would always come between them and she would temporarily forget those thoughts. Now though the feelings didn't go away as she had almost been hoping they would. It wasn't that she was repulsed by thoughts of him and her it was just that she was afraid of what it might do to their friendship. She didn't want to lose her Xander-shaped friend to a hasty romantic fling, but she was certain that things couldn't keep going the way they were. I was making things uncomfortable between them, and Riley was getting suspicious. She resolved to have a talk with Xander after they found him. Then hopefully they would get this mess sorted out.
"C'mon buff were almost to Xander's place" willow called out bringing buffy out of her thoughts. "Yeah" buffy replied to her friend and then added silently to her self' "And when we get there Mr. Harris me and you are gonna have a little talk.
Xander Harris was not having a good day. He was dateless, since his girlfriend had left him. Jobless, since he had been fired earlier in the day. And now he was with out a means of transportation, since his car had broken down on the way home from being fired and subsequently been rammed by and out of control semi. The damage was total, he'd barely been able to retrieve his duffel from the backseat. His insurance was declining to pay the majority of the cost because they said it was his negligence that had caused the accident in the first place. And to top it all off he had missed the meeting that Giles had called that was supposed to be important. And now he was stuck walking from the bus station to his apartment <They probably don't care that I'm absent anyway. I bet they're happy that I'm not there to get in the way> he thought as he passed by one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries.
Over the past few months Xander had been feeling more and more left out of the gangs activities, As if they didn't even need him anymore.
They always claimed that they were just trying to keep him safe, but what they didn't realize is that it was his decision to help. He understood the risks and he still chose to help, and they refused to honor his decision.
<If they knew of even half the thing I have done for them…>
He trailed off on that train of thought. He wasn't going to tell them what he had done. He didn't do those things for praise. He just wanted to be included, to be needed again.
<As if they ever needed me in the first place> he thought bitterly.
He sighed, "At least things can't get any worse" he said aloud to himself.
That was when he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him <OH GREAT. I had to go and open my big mouth>
He fished a small cross and a stake that he kept with him just incase from his pocket and swung around to face his attacker.
The man in front of him was in his mid-twenties, finely dressed and was without a shadow of a doubt a vampire. When your friends with a slayer you tend to develop a nose for these things and that was indeed what gave it away. The man stunk of freshly turned earth and he had dust in his hair and on his clothes.
<That would explain the fancy dress. He's just risen>
Xander eyed the newly risen vampire for several seconds before he spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Shouldn't you be back at your plot. The suns coming up in a few hours and you wouldn't want to get caught without your sunscreen would you?."
The vampire merely glared at him for a few seconds before responding, "I'm going to kill you" it coldly stated.
"Ooh I'm sooo scared" Xander flatly replied. Though in truth he was a bit nervous, this was something about this vampire that didn't seem right. Xander wasn't the slayer so he couldn't sense anything. He just got this really weird feeling that this guy was more than he seemed. Still he put up a brave front.
"Alright ugly let's get this over with so I can be home in time for supper, actually make that breakfast, gee I have been out for awhile haven't I?"
"Prepare to die!" the vampire screamed as it lunged for him.
Xander immediately went on the defensive as He withdrew the cross from his pocket and thrust it into the vamp's face.
The creature recoiled in disgust and promptly knocked the cross from Xander's hand with a powerful swipe.
Xander attempted to strike the vampire with his stake but that too was knocked from his grasp.
A powerful blow to the chest took him off his feet and he felt several ribs snap break from the force of the attack.
The vampire kicked him in the back several times and Xander could swear he heard vertebrae cracking.
When Xander felt as though all the strength had left his body he felt a pair of powerful arms lift him to his feet and hold him in the air.
<So this is how I'm gonna die huh figures> he felt a sharp pain as a pair of fangs sank into his neck and began to drain him.
Just before he slipped into unconsciousness he thought he heard someone shouting his name.
They were more than halfway to Xander's apartment when Buffy's enhanced slayer senses picked up the sounds of a struggle coming from up ahead. Buffy sped up ahead of her friend and towards the corner where the sounds were originating. As she rounded the corner she saw what was making the noise. A vampire had a man by the neck and was draining him.
Buffy pulled a stake from her coat pocket and stepped from the shadows. "Let him go fangboy."
The vampire looked up from his meal and eyed the slayer for several moments, "Why not" it finally responded, "I have all the blood I need. Besides your friend hear is completely drained." As he said this he casually threw the body to the ground.
Buffy winced at the sound it made as the head impacted the concrete. "You're gonna pay for that buddy" she said as she got into a fighting stance.
The vampire smiled at her and then leaped forward swinging his fists. Buffy quickly brought up her arms to deflect the blow and cried out as his left hand impacted her right, snapping her wrist. She brought her left hand up, palm out to slam into the vamps face driving it backwards. She tried to follow up with a kick to the stomach but the vampire was too fast and avoided the blow.
The creature backhanded her in the face, sending her flying. She landed in a pile of garbage and quickly got to her feet, ready to attack again.
She was about to leap at her opponent when she heard her friend cry out, "XANDER!" <Why did she say that. What's going on over there. I hope it's not…>
She quickly shook that thought from her mind to concentrate on the battle at hand.
She looked up to find her opponent staring behind her at her friend kneeling next to the body on the ground. A smile slowly spread across his face. "I told you he was a friend of yours. You think I don't know who hangs out with the slayer. It's a shame though, he put up a good fight. I was tempted to turn him, not my decision to make though."
As the meaning of the words sunk in, Buffy felt like she had been kicked in the gut. Her heart filled with a murderous rage and she leapt at the vampire, driving him into the ground. She began to furiously pummel the vampire until he was nothing more than a bloody pulp. Then, she lifted her stake above her head and drove it into the creature's chest with such force that it was imbedded in the concrete.
She rose to her feet on shaky legs and slowly made her way over to where her friend was hunched over the form that the vampire had said was her other friend.
She hoped with all her being that he had been wrong but she knew judging from the state of willow that that was not true.
As she neared the two forms she slowed down to almost a snails pace, trying to hold off the moment she knew was coming as long as possible.
As she finally reached her friend she knelt down and saw the sight that made her heart stop beating for a several seconds.
The body of AleXander LaVelle Harris lay unmoving on the cold ground, drenched in blood. Two tiny puncture marks were visible on his neck.
His once warm chocolate brown eyes now dead stared up at the night sky.
Buffy didn't recall Willow leaving to call an ambulance. She didn't recall the ambulance taking away the body of her friend. She didn't even remember the ride home in Riley's car. All she could think about was seeing her best friend lying cold and dead on the ground.
<I never told him> was the thought that kept repeating in her mind <I never told him how I felt. I never let him know how much I appreciated his help and support. I never let him know how much I needed him> she kept beating herself with those thoughts <And now he's dead. He died alone and scared. For all the times he's been there for us when we needed him, we weren't there when he needed us>
Buffy felt the onslaught of tears once again and buried her face in her hands as she wept for her lost friend.
She couldn't be sure how long, but sometime later she heard the car door open and felt herself being enveloped by loving arms.
She slowly lifted her head and found herself looking into her mother's face, which was awash in a flurry of emotion. The most prevalent of these was concern.
"He's gone mom" Buffy choked out in a hoarse whisper. "Xander's gone" She repeated.
"I know honey" her mother spoke softly to her daughter as she held her close and let her cry away the agony that was tearing at her heart. "I know"
The time between when a death occurred in Sunnydale and when the body was buried was incredibly short. Most of the time the police didn't even bother to perform an autopsy.
So it was a mere two days later that the friends of AleXander LaVelle Harris gathered at Sunnydale's largest cemetery to mourn the passing of their friend and watch as his body was recommitted to the earth.
The day was appropriately dreary and dark, as stormed clouds seemed to glare Down at the gathering below. The wind whistled in between the buildings and the gravestones and made the scene almost eerie.
The small number of people who gathered at the burial site for the funeral were pathetic Buffy Summers thought.
A man who deserved a hero's ceremony, A man who had risked his life for others on countless occasions wasn't even to be honored with the presence of his parents.
The thought of Xander's parents made Buffy sick and filled her with rage at the same time. They hadn't even bothered to show up at their own sons funereal.
Not for the first time Buffy wondered how someone as wonderful as Xander could have come from an upbringing as painful as he had apparently had.
Her friend never thought of himself. He always went out of his way to cheer up those who were down, he always had a smile on his face, always a joke to tell. He never let anyone stay down in the dumps for long.
He had brought Buffy out of a deep depression more than once, and if it wasn't for him Buffy was sure she would have lost her sanity long ago.
But it wasn't just her that Xander had a strong affect on. It was the entire Scooby gang. No one had ever realized before just how important he was to them all. Buffy had once jokingly called him her "Key Guy" but now she knew just how true that statement had been.
He was the Heart and Soul of their team and now that he was gone she didn't know if she could go on.
She listened as the priest finished the eulogy and the casket was slowly lowered into the ground.
At the sight of this finality the scope of what had happened finally hit her like a sword in the gut. She felt her knees start to buckle and she desperately wanted to lay on the ground and cry her heart out. But she didn't for the sake of her friend.
She steeled herself against the pain and slowly turned around to look at the expressions on the others faces.
Giles expression was decidedly un-British. The ex-watcher looked to be on the verge of tears. Buffy had rarely seen Giles cry but was not surprised by the sight. Xander had had an impact on all of their lives. Buffy had always felt that Giles viewed Xander as a son, since Xander had never really had a father. Despite the fact that Giles always looked exasperated around the young man, she knew that he cared for Xander deeply.
Cordelia, who had driven up with Wesley and Angel was standing near the back of the group with a damps tissue in her hand. Her eyes were red from crying. She looked like a nervous wreck. Despite what Xander had done to her she still cared about him.
Angel's expression was almost unreadable, but buffy could swear that she saw a hint of sadness behind the vampire's eyes. She knew that the two had never really gotten along but she suspected that they had a mutual respect for each other. <It was strange. In the past when I looked at Angel my heart skipped a beat and I felt weak kneed, but now those feelings are almost completely gone>. A part of her would always love Angel, but she had moved on with her life and now he was just a good friend. Angel caught her gaze and merely nodded as if he knew what she was thinking and accepted it.
Her gaze wandered over to Willow. She was surprised at how well the red headed Wiccan was taking it. She had been friend's with Xander for most of her life, and Buffy was sure that she was hurting more than anyone, except maybe herself. Willow was standing with a solemn expression, near the casket. She was not crying but she looked devastated. Buffy knew that Willow would need time as she would.
Buffy looked over at Riley and wasn't surprised to see that his eyes only held a hint of sadness. It made sense, Riley hadn't really known Xander that well and it was obvious that they never really got along.
If Buffy didn't know any better she would have thought that Riley felt threatened by Xander. Buffy had always felt something for Xander but she had never really what it was. She had assumed that it was just friendship but now she wasn't so sure. However, Buffy still thought that Riley had no reason to feel threatened. She loved Riley and she wasn't planning on going anywhere just yet.
The service ended and the small group said their good-byes Giles slowly approached the Grave of his friend and knelt down next to the marker.
"I never told you this Xander" the watcher spoke with a strained whisper "But I always respected and admired you greatly. You put your life on the line time and again for the sake of your friends and I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for the many times that you have saved Buffy's life." The ex-watchers voice began to crack as he spoke "Goodbye Xander. I hope you can find the peace that you so richly deserve.
Giles patted his hand on the tombstone, slowly rose to feet, and walked away from the grave of his friend.
Cordelia walked up to the grave and stared sadly for several seconds at the marker. "Goodbye Xander" she spoke in a whisper. She paused for a moment and then added, "I forgive you" this said she turned around and walked back to Angel. When she reached him and collapsed in her arms.
Angel held her while she cried her heart out. After a minute she composed herself and whispered to Angel, "Can we go home?" Angel stared at her and nodded.
He delivered her into the arms of Wesley before he turned to Buffy "I have to go now Buffy" he said in a somber tone Buffy nodded before enveloping him in a tender hug.
Angel returned the embrace, trying to give her some of his strength.
After a moment he pulled back and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Goodbye" he whispered before releasing her and walking after the retreating forms of Wesley and Cordelia.
Willow walked slowly and uncertainly towards her friend's grave.
"Hey Xand" she squeaked out after several seconds. "It's me Willow"
She paused as if waiting for a response then continued "I, I just wanted to say how sorry I am. Not just for what happened, but because I realized that I haven't been there for you this past year" a tear slid down her cheek, "I was just so wrapped up in college and Tara that I didn't really think about you. I started to forget how much I needed you. I thought you would always be there" the emotions threatened to overwhelm her but she forced them down, "And now that you are not I don't know what I am going to do. I really miss you"
Willow turned around and slowly walked over to Tara who enveloped her in a hug as the walked away.
Buffy waited until everyone else but Riley was gone then she turned to him, "Could you give us a few minutes?"
Riley slowly nodded and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before walking away.
Buffy approached Xander's grave and felt her resolve start to leave her. She shook off the desire to run away and walked up to her friend's marker.
She knelt down and slowly traced the outline of the marker. She felt tears run down her face as her finger ran over her friend's name. His tombstone was very simple. His parents had been extremely cheap. They had only paid for a simple tombstone. Buffy and the others had to chip in so their friend could have a proper epitaph. "Hi Xand" she spoke in a soft tone as she gazed at the tombstone. "It's me Buffy"
she paused for a second to squash the outpour of sadness she felt building "I bet you think it's funny that I finally start to realize how I feel about you and you die" she gave out a soft laugh "I'm sorry that it took so long. I'm sorry that I didn't let myself see it earlier. And I'm sorry that you're gone" she felt a fresh stream of tears pour down her face. "I'm going to miss you" she spoke as she stood up. She kissed her hand and touched it to the cool stone. "By Xand" she said as she slowly walked away, leaving her friend to rest.
Now I know that this is going to be hard on everyone" Giles spoke to the remaining scoobies as they sat around the table in the back of The Magic Box "But we still have an urgent matter to deal with. The vampire that attacked Xander appears to have been operating under orders" Giles paced back and forth as he informed the teens "We have to assume that he will send more vampire after the rest of us. We need to discover his motives and find out where he is operating from, then we can organize an offensive." As he finished he studied the reactions of the others to gauge their responses.
Buffy looked up from the table where she had been aimlessly staring and fixed Giles with an ice -cold glare.
"I am not going to let them get away with this Giles" she spoke with steely determination and her gaze dared Giles to contradict her.
Giles looked at her with fatherly concern and slowly shook his head, "I have no intention of letting them get away with what they have done buffy. I assure you that they will pay. I am merely trying to insure that what happened to Xander doesn't happen to anyone else. You know that that would be his primary concern."
Buffy's glare softened and she slowly nodded before looking away.
Riley at his position beside Buffy looked uncomfortable as he contemplated the seriousness of Buffy's response to what happened to her friend.<She is taking this really hard, more than a friend should>
He looked at Buffy with a quizzical expression on his face.
She caught his gaze and he offered her a small smile of sympathy. She returned the smile before looking away again.
Willow chose to speak up at this point, "You know guys Xander wouldn't want us to be so gloomy. He would want us to remember the good times. If he were here he would tell a joke to break of out of this stupor"
Giles nodded at Willows statement and gave her a grateful smile, "Quite right Willow. Let us try to remember Xander as the kind and caring person that he was." He turned his attention to the slayer, "Buffy I think you and Riley should go see Willie and see what you can find out about this new enemy. The rest of us will stay here and see what we can dig up from research"
Buffy gave a slow nod and stood up to walk out the door, but Riley put his hand on her shoulder to hold her back. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
Buffy nodded again and shrugged his hand off. She turned around once again and walked out the door.
Riley stood studying her and after a moment shook his head and walked out after her.
Giles turned back to the rest of the group. "Alright then let's get to work."
Without another word Giles stood up and walked upstairs to the bookcase to begin his search, leaving the others to look after him in sorrow.
The first thing that he became aware of was the intense pain. It coursed through his body like blood, shocking him to his very core.
The pain kept increasing until it seemed to much to handle, and then it slowly ebbed off to a dull ache.
He tried to open his eyes and the pain returned again. He gave up and waited a few minutes until the pain subsided, then he tried again.
His eyes slowly opened and he took in the sight around him, which was absolutely nothing. At first he thought he had gone blind, until he realized that the reason he could not see anything was because it was pitch dark, He tried to move and was immediately assaulted with the pain again, as if his limbs had never been used before and were frozen stiff.
He repeated the method he had used with his eyes and presently he found that he could move a bit.
He tried to get up, when his knees hit something solid. He quickly realized that he was inside some kind of box, like a …A COFFIN!!! This revelation sent a chill to his soul and he immediately panicked, madly clawing at the lid with his hands.
He was surprised when after a bit of effort, his hands punched through the wood and he could feel the cold soil beneath his fingertips.
He quickly redoubled his efforts as he struggled to free himself from his wooden tomb.
After a few more minutes he managed to break out of the casket and he set to work digging his way to the surface.
About what seemed like an eternity he burst through the soil and felt the cool air assault his senses. The air burned his nostrils and he felt like he had never taken a breath before in his life.
He pulled himself the rest of the way to the surface and collapsed to the ground, shaking fiercely.
Everything felt new to him, like he had just been born and were experiencing incredible sensations.
He was unable to concentrate on any one thought as the horror of what he had been through overwhelmed him.
After several minutes of lying on the ground he was able to calm himself enough to stand up. He looked around to see where he was and caught sight of his tombstone. He stared unbelieving, at his grave marker with wide eyes.
"No"
The single whispered word escaped his lips and he felt as if his entire world was crumbling around.
He turned around and took off in a panic.
He didn't know what was going on but he knew who might be able to find out.
He increased his pace to an almost breakneck speed, leaving the cemetery and the now empty grave alone in the night.
Willy the bartender was not having a good day. But then again were the days ever good when the slayer came looking for information.
Willy picked himself up off the ground where Buffy had thrown him and looked at her with a passive expression.
"I don't know what you're talking about slayer. I haven't heard anything about a new vamp in town.
Buffy expression was cold and hard as she answered, "That's too bad Willy. I was planning on letting you live but if you can't help me out I…" Buffy trailed off as she pulled a nasty looking dagger from her belt.
Willy looked at her with barely contained fear, "You…you wouldn't" he stammered.
Buffy crossed over to him and in one motion lifted him off the ground and stuck the dagger to his throat, lightly grazing the skin, "Try me" her voice was firm and unwavering.
Willy shrugged his shoulders in defeat, "Alright, alright I'll tell you. The word is that there's a new big bad in town, a vamp that goes by the name Julius. He's supposed to be real powerful, and he has it in for you"
Riley smirked, "Aren't you the popular one" he commented.
Buffy fixed him with an icy glare and he immediately clamed up. She turned her attention back to the sniveling barkeep, "Where is he?"
her tone left no room for stalling.
"I, I don't know honest. But he has been having his men do nightly sweeps of the town. If you can catch one of them, maybe they can tell you."
Buffy stared at him for a moment, before she let a cold smile cross her face, "Thanks for the info Willy, you've been most helpful" with that she released her grip and he crashed to the ground.
She turned around and walked out the door without saying another word. Riley hesitantly followed her.
Buffy was fuming as she walked down the street. Someone had stalked Xander with the direct intent to kill him. Her friend had been murdered to get to her and now her other friends were in danger.
<I'll be damned if I', going to let anyone else get hurt. That bastard is going down>
"BUFFY" the voice rang out in the night. Buffy turned around, "What is it Riley?" she snapped and impatiently waited for him to answer. Riley spoke nervously to the raging slayer, "Don't you think that we should just slow down a bit. We need a plan of action. We can't just go off half cocked."
The slayer fixed Riley with a deadly glare, "Fine, you can go back to Giles and you two can come up with a plan of action. Meanwhile I'm going to find who did this and kick the crap out of them."
She didn't give riley an opportunity to answer as she turned back around and stalked away.
She was nearing the end of the street when she caught sight of a figure off in the distance. She couldn't sense anything, but the figure moved sloppily, as if not quite in touch with the world.
As the figure came closer she could tell that it was a man, and he appeared to be in pain. She quickened her pace and as she neared the figure she gasped in shock.
The man looked up at her through pain filled eyes and spoke in a hoarse whisper, as if the mere effort was almost too much.
"Help me Buffy"
Buffy felt her knees go weak and she closed her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God, XANDER?"
Buffy just stared at the man before her, a man that should by all rights be dead. She was too shocked to speak.
Xander looked at her with his pain filled eyes and pleaded with her again. "Buffy, help me. Please?"
Buffy found herself again and moved toward Xander. She didn't know whether to be overjoyed or scared out of her wits. Her friend had most certainly been dead, but here he was, alive,. How was that possible? The scope of what had happened had not hit Buffy yet. She pushed down the part of her mind that shouted <HE'S A VAMPIRE. HE'S A VAMPIRE>
she din't care. All she knew was that he had come back to her and she was never going to lose him again.
Before she could reach out and embrace Xander, a pair of strong arms grabbed him from behind.
"BUFFY, stay away. He's dangerous." she heard Riley command her.
She moved to pull him off her friend but, before she could, Xander's eyes flashed a ruby red, literally. He reached behind him and grabbed Riley, lifting him into the air with an inhuman strength. Riley cried out in surpise and struggled to loosen Xander's grip on him.
Despite the situation, Buffy couln't help but smile at the sight of the high and mighty commando being held up like a rag doll, while he pleaded for his life.
Buffy shook off that thought and looked deep into Xander's eyes. She thought she saw the old Xander in their depths, so she decided to try something. "Xander, put him down>" Buffy commanded gently.
Xander stared at her for a minute before his eyes turned back to their normal chocolate brown. He loosened him grip on the commando and riley fell flat on his butt.
Xander looked at Buffy again, the pleading returning to his eyes, "Help me Buffy." he reapeated again before the weight of his recent experiences became too much to handle and he passed out, leaving a confused slayer, and a very much humbled ex-commando to wonder just what the heck was going on.
One very on edge Buffy Summers, paced nervously back and forth, in the front room of her watchers apartment. The events of the night were very weird, even for the hellmouth. She had discovered that an ancient and poerful Vampire named Julius, wanted her dead. On the way to confront this demon, she had run into her friend, who had died several days earlier and hadn't even been in the ground a full day. To make matters worse, he seemed to have acquired some new abilities, like the fact that his eyes glowed and he was about as strong as she was. She was the slayer, she was supposed to be strongg. Even if he was a Vampire, she was supposed to be stronger than them. It just didn't add up.
After she had convinced her friend Xander to put Riley down, he had collapsed, and hadn't woken since.
When they had gotten him back to Giles place, all hell had broken loose. Willow, upon seeing her friend, had muttered something about Sandalwood and had fainted dead away, followed closely by Tara. Giles had stood, open mouthed, for several minutes before he said something about research, and dissapeared to retrieve some books from his private library. Riley, it seemed, still hadn't gotten over the shock of Xander lifting him as if he was a featherweight, and looked towards the room where Xander slept with a mix betwwen hate and fear.
Buffy herself, still hadn't fully acknowledged everything that had happened tonight, and she really didn't care. All she knew was that Xander was back and that was all that mattered to her.
She was extremely worried about him though. He hadn't moved or made as much as a peep since he passed out. That had been nearly eight hours ago. He had gone completley catatonic. She was starting to worry that he might never wake up.
"Hey Buff" Willow spoke softly behind her.
Buffy absently returned the greeting.
"How are you doing? Willow pushed.
Buffy shook her head slowly, "I don't know. I mean, it's all so much to deal with."
Willow nodded, "I know."
Buffy turned her gaze to the room where Xander slept, "But, he's back and isn't that the most important thing? Willow nodded again, "Yeah it is, but there are other things to worry about. Like, how did he come back? And, what's with the glowing eyes and the super strength? "I know Will, but we'll figure all that out. For now, let's just be happy that he came back to us."
Willow nodded a final time before she went silent again.
Buffy yawned and stretched her arms and legs. It had been a long day and it was far from over. They had no idea what had happened to Xander yet, and Giles was determined to find out.
She sttod up and walked over to were her watcher sat at the table, reading through some ancient text. "Find anything yet, Giles."
Giles looked up as he dropped back into the real world. He smiled sadly and shook his head, "I'm afraid not Buffy. There is no information in here about Vampires with glowing red eyes, and given that Xander did not drink any blood, I find rather difficult to believe that he could be one ot them.
"I wouldn't have belived it either Giles. But, I saw it with my own eyes. His were glowing a deep red. I swear." Buffy sighed in exasperation and wrung her head in her hands.
Giles gently touched her shoulder, "I believe you Buffy. It may be that we this type of Vampirism has never been catalogued. That amy turn out to be rather good news. Perhaps we can come up with some sort of cure."
"I seriously doubt that Rupert."
The voice startled them both, and Buffy immediately switched into slayer mode.
She eyed the figure before her. A man who looked to be in his mid thirties. He had spiked, red hair, a goatee, and he was dressed in black. He smiled a strange smile and Buffy didn't know whether to be charmed or scared.
Giles spoke up behind her. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The man eyed Giles for a minute. At last he spoke up. "My names Dimitri and I came to help your friend in there." he gestured to the guest room where Xander lay.
Buffy immediately went into full attack mode. "You aren't getting near him." she yelled as she leapt at the man.
Dimitri simply smiled and sidestepped her, almost too quick for the eye to follow.
"Easy slayer." he gently warned, trying to diffuse the situation, "I din't come here for a fight."
"Then just what did you come here for?" Giles challeneged.
Dimitir smirked. "I told you, I came here to help your friend Xander." Giles looked stunned." how did you know his name."
Dimitri just laughed, and, placing a finger to his temple, he tapped it softly. "I'ts a family trait"
"Telepathy?" Giles questioned.
Dimitri nodded.
Buffy spoke up, "How can you help Xander?"
Dimitri looked at her sadly, "By helping him deal with who he was, and what he has become."
"And that would be?" Giles questioned again.
Dimitri turned his gaze on all of them, "A Vampyr."
All others present in the room looked shocked. Despite what had happened they had never believed that there friend was actually a Vampire. The information was just to overwhelming.
"A Vampire?" Willow chose to speaqk for the first time since Dimitri had entered.
"Vampyr." Dimitri corrected.
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to assimilate the information. "What is a Vampyr, Mr Dimitri if you don't mind my asking." he said sarcastically.
Dimitri looked at them all and sighed. " you had better sit down." he told them, "I'ts a long story."
The Vampyr sat and eyed the group with quiet interest. After a few minutes, the slayer grew tired of this and growled out "Are you gonna just stand there the entire day or tell us why you're here?"
The man simply smiled at her "You're reputation precedes you, slayer." Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them, which is of course Giles talk for "Everyone calm down and let me think". After a minute, he put them back on and turned to address Dimitri, "We would greatly appreciate it if you could tell us what you know of Xander and his condition Mr. Dimitri."
The Vampyr nodded at him and began to address the group.
"I suppose you all know about how the world began in darkness and how demons walked the planet?" The gang nodded their heads, "Good, well we fast forward a few thousand years to just after the first vampire was created. This vampire fed on a human, who in turn fed on another human, and so on and so forth."
He waved his hands as if fast-forwarding history. "These first vampires were the most powerful and there were seven of them, each representing a clan. These were very special vampires who possessed extraordinary abilities."
He smiled at the scoobs "No one exactly knows how this came to be, but each had magical energies contained within there bodies. It is believed that the last demon on earth held some kind of magical power and when he fed on a human, it transferred that power. He in turn transferred the power to the man he fed on until there were seven in total. This first vampyr did a very strange thing, he refused to feed after he had had his sixth victim. You see, this vampire, when a man, was a very deeply religious individual. When he was turned his twisted mind somehow decided that he would create a clan that was the exact number of the days of creation, as some sort of twisted statement to god. He and his six victims refused to turn another individual at that point. This insured that the magical power remained solely within the group.
Giles picked this point to cut in, "Just exactly what were these powers that the seven possessed?" he asked curiously.
Dimitri threw him a mock-annoyed look, "I was just getting to that Rupert" he smiled and continued, "The first vampire possessed an incredible fighting prowess since he was a powerful warrior when he was alive. There was a woman who possessed telepathic abilities since she was a clairvoyant. Another woman had the ability to heal since she was a Wiccan healer. There was a male who had extraordinary telekinetic abilities, it was believed that he was a latent telekinetic. One was a powerful sorcerer, as he was in life. There was a female vampire that had the ability to control minds. Finally, there was another male who possessed almost the same amount of combat skill as the first."
Giles decided to interrupt again, "How is it that I have no knowledge of any of this?"
Dimitri let out a little chuckle, "Did you know about us?"
Giles looked away sheepishly.
Buffy looked at Giles with an annoyed expression, "Hey Giles, stop interrupting."
Dimitri nodded in response, "Don't feel bad Rupert. There are many things that you don't know about. Most of these records were kept hidden by the parties involved. I doubt the council has any knowledge of them."
Giles seemed to think about that for a moment, then he reluctantly nodded.
Dimitri looked around him before he continued, "These seven vampires, or vampyr as they were known at the time, were the scourge of the world. They plundered and pillaged for hundreds of years, killing thousands. Then one day they made the mistake of attacking the wife of a very powerful sorcerer."
Buffy cut in, "Where was the slayer during all of this?"
Dimitri smiled that smile of his and said, "I'm afraid she had just recently been killed my dear?"
Buffy looked a little pale and simply said, "Oh!" No slayer wanted to hear about the death of another, especially from a vampire. It was like rubbing the conquest in their face."
"As I was saying" the vampyr continued, "They attacked the wife of a very powerful sorcerer. The second warrior had fallen in love with her and wanted her for his own, so he turned her. The sorcerer learned of this and in his rage he concocted a spell that would vanquish the demon from her body and return her humanity. The vampyr discovered his plans and sent an assassin from the order of Taraka to kill him. The assassin found him just as he had reached the midpoint of the spell. The demon killed him, thus interrupting the incantation. The spell was activated with the massive release of magical energy from the sorcerer's death. But, since the spell was only half completed, it was only half-successful. The enormous outflow of energy turned what should have been a person specific spell, into an area affect spell. Those closest to the sorcerers wife where affected. They had their humanity partially restored. They gained the ability to walk in sunlight. They were immune to some of what killed vampires, like holy water and garlic. Their souls were restored and they had almost complete control over the demon.
Giles felt he had to say something, "Mr. Dimitri, it is evident that your kind possesses preternatural strength and speed, even for a vampire. The spell you spoke of wouldn't seem to account for this."
The Vampyr grinned, "You're quite right Rupert, and therein lies the most interesting of our abilities. We can have offspring."
Giles scoffed, "Vampires are not capable of having children."
Dimitri merely nodded, still with that grin plastered on his face, "You're right. Vampires can't have children, but vampyr can."
He waited for everyone to soak this in before he continued, "It was part of the humanity restored to us. I must say it is rather strange, but true nonetheless. Anyway, since we can have children our clans remain of the pure blood."
Willow chose to speak up, "Pure blood?"
The hybrid nodded, "When the last demon fed on a human, he mixed his blood, thereby diluting it by just a bit. The difference itself is negligible but over time it adds up. Throughout the centuries vampires have been diluting their blood by mixing it with humans. The power of the demon lessens as the blood is contaminated. The demons of the past were significantly stronger then those of today."
"So how are you so much stronger then normal vampires?"
Dimitri looked at her with a quizzical expression, "You did take biology did you not?"
The slayer still looked clueless, as did the others.
The vampyr sighed, "If you had paid attention in class you would know that the characteristics of the parents are encoded in DNA and passed on to the offspring. The demon actually alters the persons DNA when it takes over them. Since our females are able to conceive, the information as well as the effects of the spell, which altered our DNA, are transferred to our children. The vampyr blood is still diluted, but the effect is far less then with a normal vampires, so we are only slightly less powerful then the vampyr of long ago.
"What's with the name?" Buffy questioned "That is quite simple my dear. Since we are the most ancient of vampires we choose to use the original spelling of Vampyr."
Giles was very curious about this whole thing. He had never heard of any of this, and yet he found himself believing this man, or demon. "Do you mean to tell me that the first of your kind are still around?"
Dimitri shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid the answer is no. Along with the gifts of being half-human there are some disadvantages. We age at a reduced rate, but we do age. The oldest of us lived to be 600 before he passed on. The average life span is somewhere over 400 years."
Giles nodded in understanding.
"What does all of this have to do with Xander?" The slayer demanded.
She may be buying this guy's story but she still didn't see how Xander fit into any of this.
"I told you, Xander is one of us."
The slayer shook her head, "No way! I've seen Xander's parents, they're not vampires."
"You have seen his adoptive parents. Alexander was not born in this country. He is a member of one of the most prominent households."
Giles decided to query their guest some more, "Mr. Dimitri. There is something that has been nagging at me. If Xander is indeed one of these Vampyr as you say, then why have his abilities not presented themselves before now?. How come he has not shown super strength and speed? Why was the vampire able to kill him?"
The demon smiled approvingly at Giles, "I was wondering when you were going to mention that. That was his first death."
"First death?" Riley, who had finally decided to join in, spoke up.
"Yes, his first death. The children of the vampyr are born human.
Their vampiric traits lie dormant until the day they die. After death occurs, the demon is able to surface just enough to revive the Childe. The soul then reasserts itself and the demon is forced back into the recesses of the mind. All vampyr must experience this first death for their powers to activate."
Buffy asked the question that had been plaguing them all, "What's wrong with Xander."
Dimitri looked sadly at her, "The death of the vampyr children is a very detailed ceremony. When they reach the age of eighteen, their life is terminated."
Giles looked disgusted, "You mean, ritual suicide"
The Vampyr nodded, "In a way yes, but it is done in a very humane and painless way. The child undergoes years of conditioning for this.
There is mental training as well as spiritual preparation. The sensation experienced at rebirth is very painful and so all that can be done is done to insure that the individual experiences the least discomfort possible. Unfortunately, Alexander never underwent the conditioning. He was completely unprepared for his rebirth. I imagine the pain must be quite terrible."
They all looked horrified for their friend, Buffy more than any of them. The thought of Xander in pain caused Buffy to feel like part of her had died.
"On top of the other mental anguish he was experiencing, this proved to be too much. He was so out of it that the demon was able to slip in and take control for awhile. Hence what happened to your friend Miss Summers."
"How do you know so much about us?" Giles asked.
"Because, I am a member of the house of Xerxes and as such I am a latent telepath."
Willow looked squeamish, "You mean, you can read our minds?"
Dimitri nodded and smiled at her, "Yes, and I must say that now is not the time to think about having sweaty sex with your girlfriend."
The Wicca turned about six shades of red and buried her head in her hands.
Buffy patted her shoulder reassuringly, "It's okay Will."
The redhead nodded but did not remove her face from her hands.
The slayer sighed and returned her attention to Dimitri, "So, what were you talking about when you said he had mental anguish?"
Dimitri smiled at her, "That's exactly why he has it. His friends are unaware of his deep pain."
Buffy looked dumbfounded, "What pain."
He stared at her for a moment, "The pain of having friends who push you away. Who try to keep you out of the fights because they don't think you can handle yourself. Who believe that you are a useless part of the team. Friends who try to move on with their live without you, despite all that you have done for them." He paused for a moment, as if considering. After a moment, he softly added, "The pain of having parents who beat you."
Everyone gasped at this. "What are you talking about?" Buffy demanded.
"Its quite obvious if you actually bother to pay attention. You were all aware that his parents drank, were you not?"
Everyone nodded. "You were also aware that his parents were never concerned about their son, and that he often had to remind them who he was?"
More nods as the truth began to sink in.
Dimitri looked accusingly at Buffy and Willow. "and you two were aware that at Christmas, Xander would sleep outside in order to avoid his families drunken fights?"
Both Buffy and Willow looked away guiltily at this reminder. "Of course you can't be expected to remember this since you Buffy, were too caught up with Angel, and you Willow, were too caught up with Oz."
"I…I didn't think…" Buffy tried feebly as tears began stinging her eyes.
"According to your memories it was Xander who later offered to help you with the Angel situation despite the fact that you had taken the news that you 'friend' slept outside at night, with all of the vampires and various demons out there. Not to mention that he couldn't even feel safe in his own home. You chose to ignore all of this so you could concentrate on your Angel." Dimitri shook his head in disgust, "I don't even know why he bothered to stick around.
Giles felt that it was time to step in, "Now see here Mr. Dimitri! I admit that we have all been rather lacking as friends to Xander, but casting blame will not accomplish anything. We need to determine how to help him."
Dimitri smirked at him. "That's simple. All I need to do is mind-meld with him."
Giles stared at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Sorry. I'm a star trek fan. What I mean is that if I can get into his thoughts. I can help to ease the pain and fear. If he can fight those off then he can suppress the demon."
Buffy jumped to her feet, "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!"
The predator crept silently between the stone crypts in the dark cemetery, stalking its prey. Moving like a wraith through the quiet night, it scanned the area. Acute ears picked up the slight movement from behind one of the nearby pillars. Muscles tensed, fangs bared and claws extended. The predator struck., launching itself through the night air with a carnal proficiency.
The prey noticed its attacker only too late. Claws tore through flesh and fangs dug into the throat, gripping the victim as it slowly ceased its struggles.
The being that was once Alexander Harris watched the act with a dark fascination. The vampyr looked on with interest as the black cat proceeded to rip the head off the mouse and dig out the innards.
"Remarkable creatures these cats." He observed as the cat finished its meal and quietly walked off, leaving the remains out in the open. "It would be nice if they cleaned up after themselves though."
Taking a minute to absorb things around him, the demon reflected on its new existence. It had never actually been in control before. Like all demon of its kind, it had simply existed, barely even aware of itself or events taking place. The demon fed off negative emotions, hate, fear and the like. Surprisingly, it had found all of these in abundance in this young man it now possessed. The feelings were almost delicious in their intensity, allowing it to thrive and gain strength over the years. The moment it felt the boy's control begin to slip, it had attacked full force, overthrowing the soul and placing itself in control. Now it could do as it pleased. The possibilities were endless.
Letting out a primal yell, Alex leapt easily onto the roof of a nearby crypt and thrust his hands into the air. "Ah, it feels good to be alive!" he shouted into the night. The blood that ran through his veins invigorated him, acting like some kind of powerful aphrodisiac.
He sniffed the air, his enhanced senses picking up the smell of humans nearby. "My first victims!" he rubbed his hands together in anticipation Eagle sharp eyes scanned the cemetery, looking for the humans. "There they are!" He shouted in glee as his eyes fixed on the group of people.
Using his powerful leg muscles, Alex leapt off the crypt into the air. Landing a good distance away in a crouched position, he let out an inhuman roar. His eyes flashed brilliant red, fangs extending as he rose to his feet just as his quarry came into view.
Clacking his fangs together, Alex stalked towards them, "Party time!"
Buffy gasped as she caught sight of the being that had once been her best friend, "X-Xander?"
"Not quite my dear, "The demon cackled, "Though he is still in here somewhere. His pain is delicious. It is too bad you can not partake of it. His smile turned feral, "Though I can assure you that I have a unique pain planned just for you."
"I can hardly wait." Buffy muttered as she sized up her opponent.
Alex seemed to sense something as he sniffed the air and smirked, "Ah, there is another of my kind here. Come out, come out wherever you are?" he said in a demented sing song voice.
Dimitri stepped out of the shadows, appearing as if out of thin air. "Hello young one. It seems we have a problem here."
"Indeed we do." Alex remarked, "The original occupant of this vessel is quite rebellious. He is proving to be most aggravating."
"Good!" Willow remarked from her place beside Giles, her eyes fearful yet defiant. The watcher glared at the newly formed vampyr from behind his glasses.
"I assume it was you who led them here?" Alex questioned the older Vampyr.
"It was my duty." Dimitri informed him.
"To hell with duty!" the demon countered, "What of fun?"
"There is a time and place for that, but not at the expense of others!"
Alex ignored him as he looked over at his attention focused on his former friend. "Now, now Will." Alex pandered in a gross imitation of Xander's voice, "It'll be alright, just you see. You know your Xandy pandy wouldn't let 'anything' happen to you."
"Let him go!" Buffy commanded in a fierce tone.
"But Xander doesn't want me to go. We're having 'ever' so much fun!" he began to dance around in a maddening display of carnal joy, "The sensations are almost overwhelming! I just love it!"
"Stop it!" Buffy shouted, tears running down her face. The sight or this gross parody of her friend was playing havoc with her emotions.
Here was Xander, her dear friend, acting almost exactly like he normally would, except that his actions belied an evil that scared her to the core.
Ales eyed her with a twisted smile, "Buffy, Buffy, Buffy. There's no need to cry. I haven't forgotten about you, not by a long shot. You hold a very special place in the boy's thoughts. He cares very deeply for you. I can feel his pain as he looks at you. The agony is delicious!"
Buffy looked on the verge of emotional collapse, so Dimitri decided to intervene.
"Enough of this, trickster!" Dimitri commanded, "I see that the boy has inherited one of the Harlequin breeds."
"Harlequin?" Buffy questioned in confusion.
"A breed of demon tricksters. They prefer the games of mischief over a direct attack."
"It fits his personality, don't you think?" Alex countered in delight, "Always making jokes, never being serious, and all in a pathetic effort to mask the real pain deep within. It really is quite lovely in here!"
"I cannot allow you to control this boy any longer." The older Vampyr insisted as his hand tightened grip on the handle of his sword.
"Yes, but you must catch me first I cannot allow you to claim your prize without a challenge." The demon stroked his chin as he considered the situation. Finally, his red eyes lit up with a demented mirth. "A game then! Oh, I do so love games!" Alex rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "But what 'kind' of game?" He began marching back and forth in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back, in mock concentration. Shall it be a test of intelligence?" he suggested, casting a look at Giles. "Perhaps one of spirit?" his gaze fixed on Willow for a moment. "No, no, that's all wrong! How about a test of strength?" he turned a feral grin on Buffy, his eyes roving over her shapely figure. "Yes, that sounds most fun, a battle between Vampyr and Slayer. The winner gains authoritative command over this vessel." For the first time since they had seen him, his gaze turned dark, without a hint of mirth. "I warn you not to underestimate me slayer. I may act the fool but I am quite capable in combat."
He once again assumed the gleeful expression as he addressed those assembled. "Shall we begin then?"
Buffy faced the creature who used to be her friend, still unable to wrap her mind around what had happened. He looked so much like Xander, and yet he was completely different. His once warm chocolate brown eyes now burned with an intensity that frightened her to the very core of her being. It was joy that she saw there, and mirth, but not the kind that her friend possessed. No, this was a dark glee that found its roots in murder and torture, and a thousand other things that she couldn't even begin to consider. His eyes spoke of what he reveled in, and what he would do to them if he had the chance.
Buffy could see it all very clearly in her minds eye. Willow, strapped to some kind of table, a gag in her mouth to silence her cries of agony. The blood soaked into her fiery red hair to such an extent that it was indistinguishable from her own hair. A ghastly array of tools, covered in fresh blood, lay on a small cart next to the table. A cold hand reaching for a hideous bladed instrument. The sound of steel cutting through flesh, more cries of anguish… and then… silence. The tool, now covered in dark blood, was placed back on the cart. More silence… then… the wet, squishy sound of flesh being pulled on, followed by what sounded like a pop. The person at the table turned around and Buffy could see his face.
It was Xander, his eyes cold and dead, and in his hand… he held Willow's still beating heart.
He looked right at her, opened his mouth, and proceeded to let out the most hideous and bone chilling cackle that she had ever heard.
"Buffy!"
A voice was calling her, but she couldn't listen. She was so entranced by the sight before her that she could do nothing but stare in grim fascination and abject horror.
"Buffy, snap out of it!"
The voice was more forceful this time but she still couldn't listen.
It wasn't that she didn't want to, quite the opposite in fact. It was just that the intensity of the stimuli she was receiving had overloaded her sensory functions, much like someone who is blindfolded and placed in a tank of water, though what she was experiencing didn't come from sensory deprivation but sensory overload. Her mind was telling her to respond but her body wasn't receiving the signals. She kept hearing that same insane laugh as it peeled from the back of her friends throat. He looked so much like her Xander, he had to be her Xander. He couldn't be anyone else, it just wasn't possible! One of this was real, one of it! It just couldn't be! "BUFFY, LISTEN TO ME!"
The voice finally snapped her back to reality and she found herself facing her possessed friend as they circled each other in a clearing in the cemetery. <What the hell was that?> She wondered. <Could it have been a vision? It felt so real.>
"He's trying to attack you telepathically!" The other Vampyr present, Dimitri, informed her after reading her mind and detecting her confusion.
"I thought you said that Xander wasn't a telepath!"
"Xander himself isn't, but the Harlequin demon possesses many abilities and that is but one of them. He is trying to use your fear against you! You cannot let him succeed!"
"Check!" Buffy responded sarcastically, "No giving in to fear."
She turned back to face demon Xander, making a conscious effort to not think of him as her friend, but as the evil demon who now controlled him. It was so hard though. He was her best friend. He couldn't be evil. He wouldn't let some demon spirit get the better of him.
"Did you enjoy my little… treat?" Alex queried with that sick smile in place. His red eyes flashed briefly as he mentioned the vision that he had sent her.
"You won't win!" Buffy replied defiantly, "I won't let you. Xander won't let you!"
Alex cackled in glee, "Oh my dear? But you see, I have already won! Your friends soul is mine. HE put up little resistance, especially once I sent him a vision, something I picked up from his past. Would you care to see it? I bet you'll just love it!"
Without waiting for a reply, Alex fixed her with his dark gaze and his eyes flashed. Buffy felt dizzy, her eyes closing against her will. She felt herself falling and could do nothing to stop it. She felt she was about to hit the ground when everything suddenly stopped. Like waking from a dream where you are falling. The sensation so abrupt that you lose balance and fall over. Buffy suddenly found herself in the kitchen of some house. She quickly reached her arms out to steady herself on the counter as she regained her equilibrium.
She vaguely recognized the place. It was Xander's house. She hadn't been there often, mostly because Xander very rarely brought anyone over here. Buffy had always suspected that he was ashamed of his parents, yet she never asked him about it. She had always told herself that if he wanted to talk about it he would, but she knew that was far from the truth. People didn't talk about things that bothered them. In fact, they deliberately avoided those subjects.
Buffy herself had done this many times before, with the situation with her mother, the one with Angel, the slaying. The only difference is that Xander wouldn't let her keep those things bottled up. He would force her into talking about her feelings, even if it angered her, which often it did. He never let her bottle anything up and as a result, they had been at each others throats more than once. In the end however, it helped to create the foundation of a friendship that Buffy had always taken for granted yet could not live without.
She felt ashamed that she had repaid his kindness by ignoring him.
She hadn't been much of a friend.
<Now isn't the time to think about this! I've got to help Xander!>
She looked around the kitchen, taking in the visage of a poorly kept house. The sink was filled with dishes that looked like they had been there for some time. Half eaten cartons of Chinese food sat on the kitchen table, along with cereal bowls that looked to have been from that morning. The floor was in desperate need of cleaning, as were the walls and the windows. The place stank of mildew and Buffy forced back a wave of bile that rose in her throat.
<This is how he lived> She thought to herself glumly, <I had no idea>
A noise from the living room drew her attention and she cautiously made her way there.
"You lousy brat! How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my way!?"
Buffy heard the unmistakable drunken voice of Xander's father.
"I'm sorry dad… I- I didn't mean-"
"I told you NEVER call me dad! I don't want anything to do with you! Who would?"
Buffy emerged in the living room and saw something that caused her heart to clench and her throat to seize up. A young boy, who must have been a younger Xander, cowered before a man of about average height and build. The mans clothes looked liked they had been on him for weeks and were in severe need of washing. The man held an empty beer bottle in his hands and smiled evilly down at the boy who had tears in his eyes. The look that Buffy saw in his face though was what got her. It was a look of absolute fear.
"P-please don't say t-that!" Young Xander pleaded.
"Why not! Its true Y'know. Ya weren't even supposed to be born!"
"Please!" Xander said again.
Xander's father ignored him, "It was a mistake. Yer mother an I got drunk and I forgot at use protection. If I had known what would have come out, I woulda broken her neck that night! It was a mistake." He repeated with that evil grin, "YOU were a mistake!"
Young Xander's tears intensified and Buffy could do nothing but watch, once again in awe of what she was seeing."
"Why are you saying this?"
"Cause its true. Everyone knows it. That's why no one wants at be around ya."
"B- but Willow…"
"Ha! That Bitch? I don't know what she sees in ya, but she's obviously as messed up as you are. That's why no one loves ya. I don't love ya. Yer mother don't love ya. Hell! Even that bitch Willow don't, and she never will. Cause ya ain't worthy of love. Yer useless and ya always will be. Ya won't ever have any real friends cause as soon as they learn what ya are, they'll abandon ya"
"T-that's not t-true"
"Are ya call'n me a liar!? Don't you ever talk back to yer father boy! I'm gonna teach ya a lesson ya won't never forget!"
Buffy watched in horror as Xander's father pulled back and brought the beer bottle across his son's face. The resounding THUMP that the bottle made as it impacted Xander's skull sent a surge that made Buffy sick to her stomach. The older man pulled back and let him have it again, and again, each impact echoing the last. Young Xander sat curled up in a ball with his hands over his head as he tried to deflect the powerful blows.
Finally, when Buffy felt as if she could take no more of this sight, the man stopped his assault on his son. Buffy felt a surge of relief that quickly turned to absolute horror as he reached for his zipper.
<He couldn't> she thought through her tears, "He couldn't have! Not to Xander!>
"Yer gonna learn just how worthless ya are boy!" Xander's father spoke as he pulled his zipper down and removed himself from the restriction of his underwear.
"No! Not again!" Xander cried as he clumsily pulled himself to his feet and tried to back away.
<Again!> That one word kept repeating in her mind, <Oh no! Oh please god no!> she felt the bile make its way back up her throat and she could do nothing to stop it. This couldn't have happened. Something like this could never happen to anyone, much less her friend. No one could do this to someone as kind and loving and wonderful as Xander.
She knew that was ridiculous to think however because things like this did happen. They happened all the time, and apparently they had happened to her friend.
"Ya got nothing this time. I didn't get ta do nothing cause ya kept squirming around an fight'n me. Ya remember how bad I beat ya last time though don't ya? If ya do it again it'll be that much worse."
A strange sense of relief came over her.< Nothing happened last time, so Xander's father had never actually… done THAT to him before.> She couldn't even bring herself to say the word rape. The thought that someone could do that to a person was unthinkable. To think that it might have happened to Xander ripped into her heart and soul. She was extremely proud of her friend for fighting back, knowing that he would be beaten for not obeying. She couldn't even begin to imagine what that would feel like. To have your own parents, people who were supposed to love you. To have them do something like that, she couldn't fathom it. Buffy had never really been close to her father but she knew that he loved her and would never hurt her. The relationship she shared with her mother was one of absolute love. She knew that she could go to her mother in times of sadness and that she would be there for her. Both of her parents would put themselves in harms way to keep it from Buffy, yet Xander's father was the one who initiated it. She was surprised that her friend hadn't suffered a nervous breakdown long ago.
"I won't let you!" Xander's words brought her back to the present and she watched as the old man advanced on his son.
"Ya don't get a choice in the matter little boy. Ya ain't gonna stop me. Ya haven't got the guts."
"I. Won't. Let. You." The boy repeated more forcefully this time, "You can beat me all you won't but you will NEVER do that."
Buffy was a bit surprised the intensity in Xander's eyes. He might have to deal with the beatings but he would NOT let his father, or anyone else, do that to him. Buffy was even more surprised when the Xander's old man hesitated, then sighed.
"Okay boy, "Have it yer way"
He zipped himself back up but pulled off his belt buckle as he continued toward the boy. Xander for his part, slid to the floor in the corner, wrapped his arms around himself and buried his head between his legs as he waited for the pain to come.
Buffy stood there as Xander's father brought his hand back to start the 'lesson', but it froze in mid air just as it was about to descend on the helpless child. Buffy was shocked and confused by what had happened, yet grateful; that it had, as she didn't want to see anymore. <What's going on here?>
"Wh- who are?"
Buffy was startled by the timid question, she moved her eyes to see that young Xander had lifted his head and was staring at her curiously. Buffy regained her composure and gave the boy a small smile.
"I'm Buffy."
"Buffy." The boy repeated, "That's a pretty name."
Buffy found herself blushing at the young Xander who was even at this age, quite charming.
"Thank you."
"My names Xander."
"Its very nice to meet you Xander."
"Are you an Angel?"
Buffy smiled at him and leaned down to touch his cheek tenderly, "No" she replied softly, "But I am here to help."
"Why would you want to help me? Daddy says that no one would want to help me. He says that no one cares about me, and he's right. No one could care about someone like me."
Buffy shook her head furiously as she felt the hot, salty tears fill her eyes and pour down her cheeks. She reached out and pulled the boy to her, cradling him against her chest.
"That's not true! Don't say that! You're daddy is a very evil man and he's lying to you. You can't listen to him. He just doesn't have anybody who love him so he tries to take it out on you."
She felt Xander tears soak into her shirt as she held him, "Why does daddy… Why did he try to make me touch him?"
The tears were coming unbidden now as Buffy heard how young Xander described what his father had tried to do, <He doesn't even know what it is yet, just that its wrong>
"That's because you're daddy is a sick, sick man, who needs help."
"I don't want to be here anymore."
The statement caught her off guard. She wasn't sure what he was talking about. She gently pulled back and framed his face with her hands.
"What do you mean?"
"I want to go but the bad man won't let me leave. He keeps me here. I tried to run but he always catches me."
It suddenly occurred to Buffy, <This isn't just a memory. I'm in his mind! Maybe I can reach him and help him to regain control.>
"Listen to me Xander, you have to fight back, against the bad man.
You can't let him win."
"I can't. He'll hurt me."
"No, no he won't. I won't let him, you hear me? I won't let anything ever hurt you."
"I'm scared Buffy."
"I know you are, but you can't let him win. Promise me you'll fight."
The boy looked at her and mustered up his courage, "Ill try… for you." Buffy pulled him into another hug and held him tight as she tried to force the tears back. "I love you Xander." She whispered against his back.
"Y- you do?"
Buffy pulled back again and nodded at him, Uh huh, I-"
Buffy suddenly shuddered as she instantly snapped back to reality.
She struggled to maintain her balance as her head spun. Gradually, the effects faded and she felt that she could stand on her own. She pulled herself to her feet a bit shakily and looked in front of her to see her possessed friend. She reached her hand to her face when she felt something wet and found that they were tears.
"Ah, Buffy! Good of you to join us! Did you enjoy you're little… trip?"
Buffy fixed him with a glare, "What the hell do you think?"
"Well it seemed to me that you were having fun, but you began to step out of line there at the end. We can't have you trying to reach your friend now can we? Besides, as I told you, he is broken. Completely and utterly! There is NO reaching him." He settled back into his fighting stance, "NOW, enough talking! Let's fight!"
Alex didn't give her a chance to respond once more as he charged at her and leveled a kick at her head. Buffy ducked out of the way at the last second and back flipped to avoid a sweep. She shot her palm out and struck Alex right in the face, the force of the blow causing him to flip over. He landed on his feet however, and launched into a somersault kick that caught her in the chin, knocking her on her back. She rolled out of the way as Alex brought his foot down in a crushing blow. Using her legs for leverage, she jumped to her feet and threw a vicious right hook that slammed into Xander's cheek. She followed up with a nasty uppercut that sent him flying up and back several feet.
"Not bad slayer." The Harlequin complemented as he wiped blood from his lip, "But I think its time to stop playing around."
"Almost faster then Buffy could follow. He leaped to his feet and shot at her. His right hand grabbed her hair and forced her stomach into his knee, knocking the wind out of her. He brought her up and back down once more before she grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air.
"Buffy!" The others cried out in horror. They started to rush forward when Dimitri commanded, "Stay back!" Giles turned to glare at him, "We cannot just stand around and watch as that THING kills Buffy!"
"We cannot interfere. If we do he will kill you all and Xander's soul will be forever lost." "We must do something!" "I'm afraid that we cannot, but do not give up hope just yet. The battle is not yet over." Giles reluctantly pulled back and watched as The thing that had once been Xander taunted his slayer.
"Did you really think you could stop me slayer? I'm not some pathetic vampire that you can just kick around and then stake. I have no master. I am no one's child."
He tossed her hard into a nearby crypt and Buffy winced as she felt a few ribs break. She slid to the ground and struggled to rise as Alex stalked towards her. She made it to her feet and threw everything she had into a punch aimed right at the smug face of her possessed friend. The blow caught him by surprise and he was sent staggering backward.
Buffy pushed her advantage as she charged at him and walked up his chest to deliver a powerful spin kick that flipped Alex onto his back. She dropped to her knees and gripped his throat.
"I'm no ordinary slayer." She hissed as she withdrew her stake.
The Vampyr her curiously, "No… you're not are you?" The smile returned to his face, "But you won't do it. You can't. Not to poor wittle Xander." Alex did an imitation of Xander's puppy dog eyes, his voice sounding like her friend, "Please help me Buufffffy!" He pleaded in a gross imitation on her friend.
"Stop it!" She commanded as she brought her fist down on his face hard, the blow driving his head back into the ground.
"I grow tired of this game." Alex sighed as he suddenly reached up and grabbed the hand that had a hold of his throat. Almost effortlessly, he twisted and Buffy bit back the scream of pain as she felt the bone snap.
"I bet that hurt!" Alex commented as he dealt her a vicious back hand that sent her flying back into the clearing. Pain lanced through her as she landed on the wrist that had just been snapped. She didn't even have enough time to catch her breath before she was roughly pulled to her feet. She looked up into Ale's cold dead eyes and knew that this was it.
"Time to end it all!" Alex proclaimed as he brought his hand back for the killing blow.
"XANDER, WAIT!" Buffy cried out.
The Vampyr paused as something flickered in his eyes. Something chocolate brown and warm. It was there for just a second and the gone again, but the effects had already been felt, "Buffy?" he asked in Xander's voice, a wave of recognition washing over him.
"No!" Alex cried out as he released Buffy, dropping her ceremoniously to the ground. He back up as his hands gripped his head. "NO! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! I DEFEATED YOU!"
Buffy quickly realized what was happening. It was Xander. He was fighting back just like she had told him to. She had to help him. She promised that she would.
"XANDER, FIGHT!" She shouted out to her friend, "YOU HAVE TO FIGHT!"
"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME. I AM A HARLEQUIN! I CANNOT BE DEFEATED! NO" his protests dissolved into a fit of giggles that was incredibly disturbing. His eyes began to flash intermittently as he fell to his knees.
"THE MADNESS! HAHAHAHA! THE MADNESSS! HEHEHEHEHE! ITS SO WONDERFUL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
He continued on in the tangent as he collapsed to the ground and began to roll around, giggling and screaming all the while.
"DIMITRI NOW!" Buffy shouted at the other Vampyr.
Dimitri nodded at her and closed his eyes in concentration, his hand going to his temples. His eyes flashed a brilliant blue and the effect was mirrored in Alex's eyes. The cackling Vampyr suddenly went limp and lay on the ground motionless.
"Xander!" Buffy cried out as she rushed to his side. She cradled his head against her chest as she stroked his hair. She looked over at Dimitri. "Is he okay now?"
The other Vampyr was recovering from the intense ordeal but managed to reply, "I forced the demon back."
"So he's gonna be okay?" Willow spoke up as she hurried to Xander's side.
The older Vampyr shook off the rest of the effects and turned to address them all.
"No."
Buffy was incredulous, "No!? What do you mean 'No'!?"
Dimitri eyed them sadly, "I managed to force back the demon as I said, yet the effect is temporary. Its hold is too strong."
"So what to we do?"
Dimitri hesitated for a moment, "There is only one way to help Alex."
Buffy could feel the dread creeping up on her, "Ant that is?"
"He must return home."
Buffy dreaded the answer to her next question but had to ask, "Where is home."
The immortal faced them, his eyes filled with an unexplainable sadness as he replied.
"Wallachia, Transylvania."
Buffy looked at him blankly for a moment. Finally she recovered enough to say, "Oh."
Buffy Summers stared quietly out the window as the jet soared over the darkened waters of the Atlantic, her thoughts a mirror to the turbulent space below her. She absently brushed a golden lock out of her eye as she pressed her face against the cool glass. The constant hum of the planes engine provided small comfort for the troubled young woman.
Her thoughts kept replaying the events of the past few days with a sickening clarity. She just wanted to forget, and would pay any price to be able to do so, but it was not possible. The memories were forever burned into her mind and she could no more forget them then she could forget her own name.
It all seemed like some kind of twisted nightmare. Of course, her entire life had pretty much been that for the last five years. No reason it should stop now.
She had hoped to spare her friends the pain of her life though. After all, they weren't chosen. They had a chance at a semi-normal existence. They could have something that she never could, peace. Of course, in her subconscious she knew that was not the case. They were as inexorably tied to her fate as she was to theirs. Like some kind of string that linked their destinies together. They could not escape it any more than she could. And now it seemed "fate" had caught up to one of them. Xander. The boy she thought couldn't get any more normal if he tried. Xander was a Vampire.
Well, not really a Vampire, he was a Vampyr. Which is to say that he was stronger, and faster than normal vampires and he retained his soul. Not to mention the fact that he could walk in sunlight and hold a cross. Essentially a hybrid, half alive and half dead. And that was just a summary of the differences.
She kept seeing him in her minds eye. His face, so much like the one she remembered, but his eyes were dark red and pulsed with an evil energy. It was Xander, and yet it wasn't. The demon, who should have been expelled right away, had managed to wrest control for the newly awakened and weak Xander and had gone on a rampage.
Her hand went to the side of her face, her fingers softly touching the bruised skin from where the demon possessed Xander had struck her. A tear was borne from the anguish of the memory and slowly trailed its way down her cheek where it dripped onto her jacket. Her eyes fixed on the sight and she watched, mesmerized as the tear continued to run down the leather coat till it reached a pocket where it disappeared.
She, they all would have been killed if Xander hadn't managed to wrestle control away from his dark half long enough for Dimitri to use his telepathic abilities to imprison the demon spirit. Even then, they were not entirely successful. The demons influence was too strong, and Xander too weak at the time. They couldn't expel the evil spirit.
The only way to save their friend, Dimitri had told them, was to seek out those who were more capable in magic and telepathy then he. That meant going home. Xander's home. Not the place where he had grown up, but his real home.
So here they were, Buffy, Willow, Giles, Riley, Spike, Dimitri and Xander, on a plane flying over the ocean, on their way to Wallachia, Romania. They were in search of the answers to Xander's past, and the cure for the afflictions of his present.
Buffy had recruited Faith, who had recently been released from prison, as well as her… Angel,to take care of things in Sunnydale while they were away. Buffy knew Faith was a very capable fighter and Riley could handle himself as well. Sunnydale was fine.
What concerned her, was the troubled young man sleeping behind her.
Well, you couldn't really call it sleeping. Xander was moaning softly and she could hear him toss and turn in unrest, his mind and soul plagued by a dark presence, one that threatened to steal his very being. Buffy wanted to go to him, to take him in her arms and hold him, to rock him softly and tell him that the nightmares were gone.
She couldn't though. She was confused by her feelings. Xander had always been just her friend. She never had any romantic thoughts about him. Well, that wasn't really true. Back when Angelus was around and Xander had just saved her from Theresa, she wanted to badly to kiss him then. She could almost taste his lips, feel them against her own, the firmness of his body pressed against her. She wanted him so badly right then. It was sad but true. She wanted him right then and there in that funeral home, with Theresa's ashes around them. She wanted him to take her and ravish her. It was a bit of the slayer darkness seeping in. The same darkness that had wanted to hump his brains out when he was possessed by the Hyena, the same darkness that had wanted to do naughty things to him when she saw him in a Speedo.
In the end though, she didn't even kiss him. She wouldn't allow herself to. She kept telling herself that he was just friend and that was all she wanted from him. She knew what the truth was though. She was afraid, afraid that she would fall desperately in love with him and threaten her bond with Angel if she ever gave them a chance.
Buffy couldn't let that happen! Angel was her all, her everything, nothing else mattered. This is the attitude she had taken when he was around and it had hurt her friends, Xander especially, quite dearly.
Now Angel was out of the way and there was Riley to think about. She cared very deeply about him and was still unsure of her feelings for Xander. For now, she could only concentrate on helping her friend.
She would deal with the other matters when there was time.
"Hey."
The soft voice woke Buffy from her tangled mass of thoughts and she looked up into the concerned face of Willow Rosenberg.
"Hey Will. How are you doing?"
Willow quietly took a seat next to her friend, her fingers strumming on the back of the seat. "I'm okay I guess, just a little worried." "I know."
"Its just… Xander has always been the normal, goofy one. Now he's all, super human guy. We're learning all this stuff about him and its like I never knew my friend." her voice broke a little, "It hurts."
Buffy put a comforting arm on her shoulder, "Its okay Will. It will be okay. Xander is strong. He can fight this"
The red head sniffled a little, then nodded, "I know it will be fine.
It always is. You're super hero girl and I'm witch woman. Giles is watcher man, and now Xander is vampyr guy." A smile brightened her face, " We're the original misfits. Now there's nothing that can stop us!"
Buffy laughed with her friend, "That's the spirit Wills!"
The smile quickly disappeared, "Yeah that's me, spirit girl."
"Will-"
"It looked just like him Buffy! It was him! It was Xander! How could he do that to you, to us!?!"
Buffy turned her friend to face her, "Listen to me Willow, that was NOT Xander. The thing only had his face. Xander was not in control.
He saved us all by fighting back. Xander would NEVER hurt us, you have to believe that."
Willow quietly nodded, "I do."
Buffy gave the witch a hug, "Trust me Willow, things will get better."
"But when?" her friend asked in quiet misery.
"… I don't know" Buffy answered as she held her friend, each trying to give and receive comfort from the other.
The plane continued over the turbulent waters of the Atlantic, the loud engines igniting the are with noise, before returning to silence, leaving no trace as it swept through the night.