"Well, Rupert, he seems to be coming along fine with his physical training," Kowalsky said, "and with the whole strength and speed thing going for him, I'm thinking of starting him on unarmed combat and knives by this weekend. He's been eager to start on swords and firearms, but I've held off."
"That's probably for the better until he has better awareness of what he can do without weapons," Giles agreed. "When you think he's ready, I do have some experience with swords and staves."
"Sounds like a plan. And I think having Doyle to suffer with him makes the difference, too," Kowalsky smiled. "On another note, what can we do about his grades? I think he's smarter than he believes, and it wouldn't hurt to balance out his experience beyond killing."
"I-I agree entirely with that sentiment," Giles agreed, then continued, "What are your non-combatant skills like? Perhaps if we have similar language or other experience we could concentrate on those areas with Alexander."
"Kind of an immersion?" the major asked. "Hmmm, I know Arabic, Farsi, French and Spanish, plus general electronics and communication equipment, and basic field medic. Everything else is combat related or classified."
"W-well that would mean French and basic medic experience between us," Giles pondered. "How are you with mathematics?"
"Hated it until I learned the practical applications…trajectories and such, why?"
"That area of study is perhaps his weakest point," Giles cited. "And if we can perhaps push him there, and show progress…"
"…then the confidence boost might carry over into even greater achievement in his fighting and other skills," Kowalsky finished. "But first we need to get rid of this crazy Drusilla to get his mind on the book learning."
"Will he be in after school?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, I have him coming in and studying here and trying to get ahead by a week in whatever studies he can. That way he can write his questions down and hand them to the teachers without feeling embarrassed."
"There's certainly something to be said for that. Also, he might pay greater attention."
"Doyle came up with it," Kowalsky conceded. "He used to teach grade school. He's mentioned to me that Xander should consider getting his GED as soon as possible. That way if the State allows it he can take electives without pressure if he wants to stay in school, or move on to community college a year early. Doyle doesn't seem to have a good opinion of the grades taught in Sunnydale beyond the 8th grade level."
"How is Mr. Doyle settling in?" Giles asked. "I haven't had much contact with him."
"He's training with the kid, and getting into shape as I said," Kowalsky relayed. "If he can get certified in the next month, he might be able to teach rather than substitute."
"Yes, that would be handy," Giles nodded, "certainly to provide justification for his being in the library after hours, and as cover income."
"Well, I gotta go Rupert," Kowalsky hurried as he noticed the time. "I have a few things to pick up for this evening's training. Bye."
"And a good afternoon to you, Major," Giles responded, returning to his tasks. 'Having another adult around does make it easier to remain sane, and enforcing a decent nightly training regimen is much easier now that Xander is participating.'
A man in a suit with a briefcase is walking past a school building at a brisk, determined pace. A school custodian comes out a door with a trashcan.
"Can I help you?" the custodian asks.
"Rupert Giles! I need to see him!"
"Mr. Giles, uh, he's our librarian. Next building over, first door on your left." The custodian shakes his head at the man's brusqueness.
Philip continues at his brisk pace and finds the outside library door. He continues toward it, but stops in his tracks when he hears a twig being crushed behind him and turns to look. He hears a moan, but sees nothing and checks the other way again. Behind him he hears breathing and turns back again, and sees a woman in the shadows.
"Oh, God!" he exclaims, slowly moving back in shock.
Slowly the dead and rotting woman walks towards him, eyes flashing yellow briefly.
"Deidre?" Philip questions.
"Philip," the flat response comes.
Philip quickly backs up and doesn't see the curb behind him, tripping and falling down. Scrambling to his feet, he runs to the library door. He pounds on it and yanks at the doorknob, and races inside where Giles and Kowalsky are watching Buffy and Xander sparring so they know where to begin the young man's unarmed combat training.
"Help! Somebody, please!" Philip yells, entering the Library. "Rupert, Eyghon has Deidre. It's right behind me!"
The four dispense with the sparring and moved over to meet whatever threat has entered the library, Philip on the verge of a breakdown. Through the doors, Deidre slowly advances on him, barely taking note of the others.
Deidre heads in the direction of Philip and Giles, Buffy moving in front of the animated body. She kicks it in the chest, staggering it slightly. Xander picks up a wooden practice sword and leaps over the table and lands to the right of the creature. Buffy kicks at the demon again, but it grabs her leg and twists her over the counter. Xander stabs the demon in the heart two-handed, sweeps himself and the sword to the right at vampiric speed to behead the stunned demon. To the real surprise of the group he repeats it and is cutting half-way through the demon's torso before it turns to goo all over the floor, counter and Buffy, as with her Slayer reflexes catches the head as it turns gelatinous. Eyghon's form briefly materializes on the floor, then dusts.
"Ewwwww!" Buffy whines, then glares at the teen. "Xander…that is SO not right. These were my favorite tights."
"And I will SO help you out of them if you'd like," Xander returned, winking as she walked around to his side of the counter.
"W-e-e-l-l-l, Xander," Buffy breathily purred as she came closer, making Xander blush and back away. "No." Then in a normal voice as she grabbed her gym bag, "but you're buying me dinner."
Xander "eeeped" as the others chuckled both at his expense, and as tension released after the demon gooped and dusted.
Jenny, Willow and Doyle arrived to find Buffy drying her hair and Xander finishing clean-up detail. Giles and Philip had tried to wave off the demon as a private manner, but Xander had quashed that idea by using his vampiric strength and speed to cage them.
"You two ready to talk, Rupert," the major asked. "Everyone's here and the kid ain't likely to let you out soon otherwise."
"I-I suppose now that the danger is removed," Giles replies as Philip nods. The scoobs unlocked the cage and are told part of the misspent tale of 'Ripper' Giles and the unfortunate mess that was Eyghon, "I was twenty-one, studying history at Oxford. And, of course, the occult by night. I hated it. The tedious grind of study, the... overwhelming pressure of my destiny. I dropped out, I went to London... I fell in with the worst crowd that would have me. We practiced magicks. Small stuff for pleasure or gain. And Ethan and I discovered something... bigger. Yes. One of us would, um... go into a deep sleep, and the others would, uh, summon him. It was an extraordinary high! God, we were fools. One of us, Randall, he lost control. Eyghon took him whole. We tried to exorcise the demon from Randall, but it killed him. No. We killed him. We thought we were free of the demon after that. But he came back. A-and I suppose that leaves only us, and I presume Ethan, alive. We were stupidly short-sighted, a-and that's why I stress proper preparation and control in what we do. I *am* sorry how this turned out."
"So," Buffy responds, placing her hand on the forearm of her Watcher, "after all this time, we finally find out that we *do*have something in common. Which, apart from being a little weird, is kind of okay."
"Yeah, hey, G-Man," Xander says, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Is this the same Ethan that caused our Halloween experiences?
"Yes," Giles replies, "I'm afraid it is, why?"
"Well, other than thanking him before I beat him slowly to death," Xander continues without humor, "if this means he's still kicking around Sunnydale, I want to nab him for a Halloween repeat."
"I'll second the beating," Buffy growled almost hungrily. "That bastard killed Angel and a lot of others. Human or not, he has it coming."
"Uhhhhm, uh, Xander," Giles began as he stepped back from his predatory, slayer, "for what purpose would you wish the hated Mr. Rayne to repeat his spell?"
"I was just wondering…if we dressed the Chuckster in his fatigues, would he become human again?" Xander proposed. "Also, I'd like to see what other divinely-dependent magic is in that book of his. Can we re-soul a vampire? Can we then do the Halloween spell again to make them human? And…is there a spell to remove the memories of Angelus' kills… I haven't slept well for two weeks."
"Oh…Xan," Willow nearly cried as her and Buffy moved to comfort their friend, the latter losing her anger for the moment.
"I-I understand, and we'll see what we can do" Giles assured the teenagers, "but that presupposes his presence in town."
"And I sure wouldn't mind being alive again," Kowalsky added. "Would we need my…body? I think it'd be in Colorado somewhere."
"I-I don't really know," Giles admitted, "Philip?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, either," the rescued man conceded, "but I'm certainly willing to help research."
Doyle frowned and spoke up from his perch on the table corner. "How 'bout we do a patrol to look for 'im? After all, if he's involved in all this, it wouldn't hurt to look around."
"Count me in for that! I want him to bleed!" Buffy agreed as she outfitted herself for patrol, looking up to catch the eyes upon her. Begrudgingly adding, "after the mojo first, I know."
"W-well, then," Giles considered, "Major, would you please organize a sweep of the town while Philip and I discuss matters here?"
"Certainly. Any preferences, Xander?" he asked his inexperienced boss as a leadership exercise. "Maybe two teams?"
"Sounds good. How about Buffy, Doyle and Willow in one team," he started, "and you, me and Ms. Calendar in the other?"
"Sounds like a plan," the veteran responded. "Okay, everybody, arm up. Doyle, take the tranquilizer gun with you. Let's go. Xander, how about we start at the shop, then swing toward the industrial area and back? Buffy, if that's alright, how about you swing through your neighborhood, then the Bronze and retail area before meeting us back here, say in two hours?"
Sure, why are you uys getting the shop?" she asked curiously rather than suspiciously."
"Oh, that's the area I know best from patrols," the major replied, hand pressing the door open. "I'll be better able to tell if something's out of the ordinary as we look"
"Okay, see you later…" she trailed off, making sure Willow had her anti-vamp kit ready.
As Team Xander left, they heard Doyle ask, "So, Red, do ya think they'll let us in the power costume thing if it works?
Nearing the costume shop, Xander and Jenny pulled up as Kowalsky stepped just into the mouth of a dark alley.
"What's up, Major?" Jenny asked, "Something in the alley?"
"No," he replied, gesturing them into the alley out of view from passers-by. "Just two things, though. First, Xan, how much of my fatigues do you have on?"
"Only the tags and the t-shirt, why?"
"If you take 'em off, I'll do some invisible recon of the shop."
"Okay, sounds smart," Xander nodded, starting to remove the items only somewhat bashfully. "What's the second thing?"
"I want to know what's between you two? I noticed it when we first showed up with Angel and his sis, and she's been slightly hesitant since."
Jenny looked decidedly uncomfortable as Xander was removing his shirt. "Go ahead and tell the Major what I am as you know it from your perspective, Jenny."
"Well," she started with an exhale, looking around for eavesdroppers. "He is through his mother the sole survivor of House Valerious, the Heir to leadership of the Romani. The reason even our own people laugh at everyone claiming to be our kings, is that the only person closer than five generations of blood, is Alexander, who was confirmed at his birth by the Elders of the Tribes, and through his father's line confirmed Prince by the Elders of the Garoun. His lineage fought invaders of the homeland for two centuries, and then the darkness for over for three centuries more throughout Europe until with his parents he disappeared over a century to go."
"Wow," Kowalsky reacted. "Does that mean we're going to get some gypsy muscle backing us up?"
"I've asked her to keep quiet for now," Xander interrupted, redressed. "Once we figure out what our plan is, *then* we'll figure out how to plug everybody in if they want. Also, I have memories of less than sterling quality regarding the Watcher's, so Giles' folks don't know yet, either."
"Okay, I guess," Kowalsky replied. "That it?"
"Well, depending on how you look at it," Xander sighed melodramatically, "I'm either way too old for her, or way too young." He walked back to the mouth of the alley, ignoring the snickering ghost and stunned gypsy woman.
Buffy and Willow are sitting on a bench, Buffy speaking, "I'm on a beach, but not one of those American beaches, one of those island beaches where the water's way too blue, and I'm laying on my towel, and it's just before sunset, and Gavin Rossdale's massaging my feet!"
"Oh, that's good! Uh, I'm in Florence, Italy, I've rented a scooter that's parked outside, and I'm in a little restaurant eating ziti, and there are no more tables left, so they have to seat this guy with me, and it's John Cusack!"
"Ooo! Very impressive. You have such an eye for detail."
"'Cause with the ziti!" Willow smiles as Xander shows up.
"What are you two up to?" the dark teen asks.
"Just having a quick game of 'Anywhere But Here'."
"Ooohhh," Xander responded. "A redhead, a blonde and a fully-stocked beach house for the week."
"What happened to Amy Yip at the waterslide park?" Willow asked, missing the hair-color references as Buffy rolls her eyes.
"Fulfilled that one last Saturday when The Major had me swimming and climbing and stuff," Xander smirked. "Amy Yip at the waterslide park!"
Willow, looking troubled, "Spill mister."
"Well, I'd just climbed up the side wall of the tower as the major asked, then slid down. When I got to the bottom, Amy Yip and a few other gals asked me over for pizza and sodas. That's all. Other than the fact that they're the ones to braid my hair."
"That's where that came from," Buffy accused. "You could have asked us."
"Yes, but with them it was a pleasant diversion," Xander joked, then added flirtatiously, "but with a certain redhead and blonde it would have been too much even for me to handle."
Xander left the two happily laughing friends and headed in to class.
"So, what's on tap tonight that's so important?" Buffy prodded. "Uprising, prophesied ritual, preordained deathfest?"
"Um, noting quite so exciting, I'm afraid," Giles replied. "a medical transport is delivering the monthly supply of blood to the hospital."
"Mm. Vampire Meals-On-Wheels," Buffy grimaced, Willow nodding agreement.
"Hopefully not," he responded.. "Uh, with Xander and the Major leaving this afternoon for Colorado Springs, we'll meet outside the hospital at 8:30 sharp. I'll bring the weaponry."
"I'll bring the party mix!" Buffy joked.
"Just don't be late," Giles sighed. "I do not relish leaving Ethan singly guarded for any length of time, even if we do have him tranquilized."
"Have I ever let you down?" Buffy asked, straight-faced.
"Do you want me to answer that, or shall I just glare?"
"Okay, gentlemen, we'll be ready at 0230 for the return charter," confirmed the pilot. "The keys to your vehicle are on the front seat."
The 40 minutes around the back route to the cemetery proved uneventful, with no one obvious following them. Having had Willow hack into various databases led to the location of Kowalsky's grave, luckily a little off the beaten path. Surprising to Kawalsky, relatively recent flowers and a pair of nice cigars lay next to his marker. 'Thanks, Jack. Someday I hope to meet up with you again…in the flesh.' Looking nearby, Kawalsky pulled out a flashlight and pointed it at the very recent grave marker just a little way from his own. It shook him up a bit. 'Dammit, Daniel. I guess the Snakes finally got you. Rest in peace you crazy rock digger. Put in the word, huh?'
Getting control of himself as Xander waited for his new friend to recover from an apparent loss, the two men were able to sneak into the shed and accomplish their task in an hour and cover the hole back up.
On the way back, Kowalsky asked, and Xander agreed, that they could at least drive by the houses of his friends Ferretti and O'Neill.
Ferretti's house was dark, and the truck wasn't present; probably meant that he was away on mission or out of town. The two of them raided the house for a few sets of fatigues, and grabbing his address book for information on others. Jack's place had a large number of cars; considering that Daniel's marker had been freshly emplaced, this was probably the wake. Looking for just a few moments, the major gave directions to Captain Carter's place, where they found not only similar items, but also some of Daniel's journals and papers. Kowalsky paused only for just a moment, grabbed an armful and then left, they drove to Kowalsky's old locker. Jumping the fence, the major determined that his paid in advance paranoia had paid off. He proceeded to override the security and within the hour had loaded up a small arsenal for relocation to 'Hell Gate Command' in Sunnydale. 'Maybe I can convince the kids to form up as HG-1 and HG-2?' he snickered to himself.
Bittersweet, bodied and beweaponed, the two fighters made it back to Sunnydale uneventfully.
A very tired Xander Harris wheeled in Kowalsky's body after stopping at the house for a couple of items to find everything ready for the spell.
"Giles, can you run us through this again?" Xander asked. "I'm running low on energy and need to make sure of some things."
"Oh, of course, Xander," Giles replied. "First, we'll open the box and have Charles step into his body. Second, Ethan will raise him as a zombie. Next, Charles will place his fatigues over whatever he has on, while Mr. Doyle will assume those he has been provided. Fourth, Ethan will cast his chaos spell. However, this much magic, even drawing directly from the Hellmouth below the Circle is quite fatiguing. The drain on the caster is too great. Tomorrow night we'll cast the memory restoration spell, then as per agreement Ethan will be freed to leave town permanently."
"I might be able to reenergize Ethan," Xander sighed, "and perhaps ensure Kowalsky's transformation back to human. My…mother left me a few gifts before she left, and it should do the job. Don't ask."
"V-very well, then" Giles begrudged slightly, "Ethan will that be a problem for you?"
"Not really, Ripper, " the chaos mage allowed, "but I'll have to find another Being upon whom to call, we can't simply assembly line divine favors."
Xander paced in thought, turning to the still-caged troublemaker. However, Giles came up with an alternate first. "You will invoke, Hecate, instead of Janus. She, after all, is very much associated with the types of magic we're casting today. I've sent Doyle out to the magic shop for vials of snake, dog and horse blood as additional sacrifices to be flash-matched at the last word of your spell. K-keep in mind that in this instance, falsehood on y-your part will result in your death."
About two hours later had the gathered group in one place, the ceremony proceeding. When the zombie spell reanimated Kowalsky into flesh, Xander tossed a twinkie to the major, nodding that he should eat it. The corpse began to glow as he consumed the cake, even as a wave of magic reverberated throughout the building at the conclusion of Rayne's costume spell.
"I'm human again," Charles Kowalsky began. "And I'm me. No extras. Hot damn! Now what?"
"Charlie?!" Doyle/Ferretti gasped, stunned as he looked at his deceased friend move around, "Wha—" He staggered and passed out as Xander tranquilized him. Turning to face Rayne, Xander cocked a questioning eyebrow.
"Just wait a minute, as that's what I asked of Janus," the mage directed. "I believe Mr. Harr—" He stopped talking as a snack cake cake began to glow as it was handed to him in the magic Circle. Eating it, Rayne felt more energy and well-being than he had since his youth with Ripper and the lot. "What is this, young man?"
"Family recipe," Xander allowed as they watched Kowalsky slump a little, eat a second cake he'd been handed, and similarly declare himself alive and reenergized. "Let's get on with the last of it magic guy. Then you can leave town."
Grimacing slightly at being ordered around, nevertheless the chaos magic was reinvoked, this time through Hecate. Xander, Kowalsky and Doyle prepared themselves quietly in the Circle. The rush of memories forgotten and assumed rushed through their consciousness, good with the bad, and near-eidetically re-experiencing their gifts. Screaming, they passed out.
Lou Ferretti briefly fainted, coming to hours later he had a recollection of seeing the deceased Major Kowlasky, a dark-haired youth, and an older man wearing tweed pointing a rifle at him.
Xander remained immobile as he regained consciousness, hearing the others recovered and discussing various topics. Xander considered what he could and could not do, meditated as he felt his body's expanded capability from the old Xander. Unlike the stresses and tragedy of the first possession, the magics this time had worked to a far greater extent since he was inadvertently wearing many of the same items, plus a few of the gifts of his parents. Xander now fully possessed the knowledge and skills his wish had demanded, and because of the familial rings that jogged his memory, he could now draw upon the mortal experiences of his parents in fighting the Darkness. Now he realized that in months instead of years, training would bring forth skills and capabilities he'd only begun to realize, and had the family and comrades necessary. 'Soon, Drusilla, you will join Spike and Angelus in Hell.'