Xander woke up slowly; his mouth was dry and gritty. Standing up he ran a hand absently through his hair, blinking he looked into the mirror. As he stared into his changed reflection it finally struck him, his room was almost pitch black yet he could see perfectly.
Walking over to his bathroom, Xander stripped out of his PJ's; grabbing his robe he went to take a shower. Twenty minutes later Xander was trying to find something to wear, he had weighed himself and found he gained over one hundred and fifty pounds. He hadn't been small before but with the added muscle and almost twelve inches he was a giant. The realization hit him when he could find nothing to wear; full panic mode hit him like a ton of bricks.
Running out of the bathroom Xander ran over and grabbed the phone, sniffing the air Xander could smell Buffy's lingering scent. She had been there recently, all of his friends had. Sighing Xander forced himself to calm down; as long as he could get a hold of Giles he would get his answers
Spike looked down the table at his new family, the time was quickly approaching for the to destroy their enemies. When he had first regained his soul he had wandered aimlessly, a month of confusion found him in Asia Not paying attention he walked straight into and ambush, after a long vicious battle he won, and made his first new childe.
Using the lessons he had learned as a White Hat he quietly gathered his power and remained hidden. Taking his time he sought out the perfect people to turn, Spike's plan was brutally simple, yet unheard of. The twenty gathered vampires had gone out to create families of their own; each leader was part of a new council.
Soon they would spread out and capture key points in the city, sparing the useful demons and killing the rest. Within a month Spike would have complete control of Hong Kong, no more vampires would be made or tolerated. Spike and his family would be ready for the opening of the new portal to hell.
Willow walked by Xander's still form, rambling as she passed him. In the weeks that followed the almost apocalypse he had only gotten worse, today was her turn to watch her dear friend. Shrugging off her clothes Willow got into the shower, her mind was far away... on the letter she had received earlier. The coven that sent Giles had sent her a strange letter.
They had requested she travel to England, to attend her trial and education. Mentally sighing she got out of the shower and put on Xander's robe, she was terrified. Willow knew she was guilty, yet the idea of judgment terrified her. Opening the door she let out a squeal of alarm when she saw who waited with Xander.
Cordelia sighed and looked down at Xander, bending down to kiss him on the forehead. When she had ascended, her gift had changed, yet the world still needed someone to bear the cursed visions. Cordelia wished it could have been someone else... yet she couldn't think of anyone she trusted more. She had been ordered to give the visions to someone that could handle them and there were boundaries that Cordelia wouldn't even think about crossing and going against the PTB was definitely one of them.
When she heard Willow's soft gasp, Cordelia was shaken out of her silent musings. Turning, she ran over to Willow and hugged her. Even with all their differences, Cordelia still considered Willow to be one of her closest friends. The news of Tara's death had shocked her, and Willow's reaction both shocked and pleased her. Shaking her head, Cordelia concentrated on the present and convincing Willow to go.
"The trial is just a formality; it's important though." In typical Cordy fashion, she jumped straight to the point. "It's almost as important as the training." Taking Willow's hands into her own, she stared into her friend's eyes. Willow tried to look away but she felt compelled to stare into Cordelia's eyes. Finally, she jerked her hands away and turned away crying.
"I killed Warren, Cordy, and almost killed all of my friends... and let's not forget the world." Nervously, she brushed her fingers through Xander's hair. To Willow's surprise, Cordelia lay down beside Xander and began stroking his forehead. Together they just sat in silence for a minute. Finally, Cordelia had had enough.
"You killed something much worse then a vampire," the half-demon seer stated. "If he had survived, he would have made an 'excellent' serial killer." Cordelia said angrily. She had a mission and very little time to waste. "Granted, ending the world may have been a bit drastic, but you didn't."
Willow looked up with shock written clearly across her face.
Looking down at her best friend, Willow shook her head once more; she wanted to believe but, to her, Xander's condition demanded her guilt. All she wanted to do was find a way to make sure Xander got better, and then spend the rest of her life making it up to him.
"I didn't this time, but what if Xander dies... will I succeed that time?"
Pissed off, Cordelia cut Willow off.
"If you let yourself be trained, there won't be a next time. As for Xander, he made his Choice a long time ago."
Xander could sense the vampires outside his apartment long before he could see them; throwing down his phone, he prepared to meet the oncoming threat. Grabbing two stakes out of his weapons chest, he ran out. The first thing he saw was Buffy running towards him, carrying Dawn.
"Get Dawn inside now!!" he shouted to Buffy as he passed her, heading towards the oncoming vampires.
Giles had been sorting stock when he heard the phone ring; looking at his caller ID, he picked up the phone. The first thing he heard was the phone hitting the floor. When, seconds later, he heard the sound of weapons being gathered and Xander screaming to Buffy, he, too, dropped his phone and ran. Nothing was as important to Giles as the well-being of the family they had created.
Buffy ran by Xander and into his house, gently putting Dawn onto the couch she then quickly turned to the large weapon's chest they had begun storing here and got ready for war. To Buffy's surprise, the fight was almost over, Intent on keeping Xander safe; she staked a vampire and was shocked by Xander's actions. He was still weak from being bedridden for so long, but Buffy could see his potential. The first thing he did was tossing his two stakes dusting two vamps, and then, strangely, he reached behind him as though to grab a sword.
When the giant two-handed sword suddenly appeared in his hands, every else jumped back. Throwing himself in to the center the group, Xander spun on his heel, decapitating three of their foes. "Time to dance with death, beotch," Xander was screaming, his movement's quick and savage.
Blinking in surprise, Buffy watched the small army flee Xander... and run right into Giles. The three friends quickly dusted the rest of them.
Distracted, Xander walked into his room, completely unaware that Buffy had followed him in. Setting the sword aside, he took off his robe and got ready to get dressed. Turning around, he noticed for the first time that the Slayer had followed him into his bedroom. When he noticed that Buffy was checking him out, he smirked as only he could.
Amused, Xander watched as Buffy turned all kinds of interesting shades of red.
"Checking out the merchandise, eh, Buffy?" Xander puffed out his chest a little, and struck a few weight lifting poses. "Thinking about making a purchase?"
It was Xander's turn to blush when Buffy replied, "I've been thinking about it for a while now, Xan," as she gave him a lascivious grin.
Buffy began circling Xander like he was a pork chop and she was a hungry lioness. Pushing him back onto the bed, Buffy prepared to pounce.
As Xander fell back, he arched his back as the pain of his first vision stuck him like a bolt of lightening. In an instant, dozens of images invaded his mind: Doyle and his history with the fang gang, Doyle giving Cordelia the visions, then Cordelia giving them to him. What shocked him the most, however, was when he saw Willow in England, her trial, and then her beginning her training, and then her sudden disappearance.
Forgetting his nudity, Xander ran out to talk to Giles; they all needed to know about the visions. Giles' voice broke him out of his trance. "I could have lived without this particular image, Xander."
Dawn, of course, had to pick that moment to wake up and look over the couch. "Don't get dressed on his account. I don't mind and I'm sure Buffy..."
"Doesn't want her best friend exposing himself to her younger sister," Buffy interrupted Dawn, as she helped Xander back into his robe. Buffy couldn't help being amused by Xander's embarrassed look. She also couldn't help getting in a few cheap thrills... to his intense pleasure.
When Xander sat down on the love seat, Buffy sat beside him.
"Visions. Cordelia gave me her visions. "Looking down, Xander watched as Buffy took one of his hands in her own. He couldn't think of anything else but the petite blonde when Buffy began stroking the back of his hand, and he nearly fainted when she edged as close as she could.
"Yes, Cordelia told us she gave them to you," Giles said as he walked into Xander's kitchen. While his store was being repaired, this apartment had become the gang's new headquarters. "She said the first vision would be mostly to orient you."
"They also need to introduce me." The thick Irish accent surprised everyone but Xander. The half-demon almost seemed to form out of the shadows as he stepped into the light. Nodding in his direction, Xander held Buffy back. She had immediately gone into Slayer mode when she felt the demon's presence.
Captain Riley Finn paced in front of the three prisoners. He didn't like the position he had been put in by his superiors, but if this mission was to succeed, they needed some back up. Surprisingly, out of the three, he trusted the rogue Slayer the most.
"The deal is this: you join my team and your records are wiped clean; you listen to my order and you become unofficial members of the US Military."
Almost shyly, Faith spoke up. "I get why I'm here, Riley, but where do they fit in?" Faith pointed to Jonathon and Andrew, who sat on either side of her.
"R&D... Research and Development," Riley said as he opened one of the files in front of him, and then continued, "With the assistance of Warren, Jonathon was able to create a very unique set of amour."
"It never worked though," Jonathon protested. "I couldn't find a stable power source that could last for very long." Pointing over to Andrew, he continued in an annoyed manner. "And loser over there used the gems that may have worked for his improved Play Station 2."
"We believe a substitute has been found, and the armor is en route to its new owner." Riley cut off Andrew's retort before he could begin. "We also believe the two of you could do allot of good for us. Otherwise... " Riley looked over their shoulders at the M-16 wielding MP's behind them.
Without another word, Riley slid three forms in front of the prisoners. Each of them quickly read them and signed. The implications were all too clear. It didn't take a bullet in the head for them to figure it out.
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