Chapter 3

Abandoned warehouse, Industrial district, afternoon 11/2/1997

"What's it going to be?! What's it going to be?!" Cordelia exclaimed in complete shock before stuttering into incoherency. Which is where Xander picked up her rant. "Do you really think we're going to take the word of a self admitted soulless demon for any of this? There will be no doing anything before we talk to the G-man. So take a hike…leave a number and we'll call you in a couple of days."

"That's not how this works Seer…You've got until I leave to make your call. If you don't choose one of the three options on the table, well then it'll be made for you. And no, that wasn't a threat…and no I'm not the one who'll decide for you." The demons said before muttering. "That crap is way above my pay grade."

"Wait…THREE? I thought you said there were only two choices." Cordelia asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure neither of you considers death an option."

"You would be right. Good call on the death not being an option. Really wanna keep it that way too." Xander babbled.

"I tell you what; because I'm such a nice guy I'm gonna help you out a bit. I can't take you to see your friends but we should be able to call them." He said while reaching into his jacket and pulling out a cellular phone.

"Why?"

"Because neither of you can be trusted around humans yet. Your bloodlust is too powerful. Normally that wouldn't be an issue but blondie and the others have destinies and I'm not cleaning up the mess after you turn them into paste. And because your 'Scoobies' are at your tweed obsessed friend's house worrying about where there 'Xander-shaped friend' is you can talk to them all at once."

As the demon finished speaking he'd already begun to dial. While the two newly risen blood drinkers waited impatiently each began to think over what they were going to do.

Cordelia was only peripherally a member of the Scoobies…she wasn't friends or close with any of the people they were about to speak to. 'But Daddy's out of town on business and he took Mom with him so other than Harmony and the others from school I don't have anyone I can talk to…and if I tried to talk to Harmony and Astra about all of this they'd think I was insane. So I guess Giles and those two losers are it for advice. UGH!' She thought to herself.

Xander on the other hand considered the three other Scoobies to be his family. Willow was his uber-smart sister and yellow crayon buddy. Long story. G-man was the closest thing Xander had ever had to a male role model. And other than the tea drinkage, tweed wearing, and general Britishness of the guy Xander respected and looked up to him. And Buffy…ah Buffy. The Slayer, the Chosen One, she of the blonde and perky. Once upon a time he'd been in love with her. Then she used him as a stripper pole to make a vampire jealous. Which crushed his already subterranean ego and killed any passion type feelings he'd had for her but she was still his Buffinator. The girl he'd walk to the end of the world to help in any way he could…even if that help was only a shoulder to cry on and a box of donuts for comfort.

"Hello?"

"Giles I've got a big problem here. Cordelia and I have been turned into vampires and a balance demon named Whistler is saying we either need to leave this reality or evil is gonna get a major power boost. What do we do?" Xander babbled all in one breath as soon as he heard the older man's voice, not even noticing that from where he was standing it wasn't humanly possible for him to have detected Giles' voice.

"Hello? Whoever is there you are going to have to speak up…this infernal device must be malfunctioning as I can barely hear you."

"Oh for the love of…" Cordelia exclaimed as she took the cell phone from Whistler. Gently holding the fragile device up to her ear she said. "Giles its Cordelia. Put me on speaker phone."

After a moment Giles said. "Go ahead." At the same time Willow could be heard babbling in the background as Cordelia continued.

"Xander and I had something happen to us on Halloween and now we've got major trouble. Have you ever heard of something called a balance demon or somebody named Whistler?"

"Cordelia? Oh thank God! We were so worried when neither you nor Xander checked in yesterday. Wait, Balance demon? A balance demon named Whistler is there with you right now?"

"Yes." She replied at the same time she and Xander could here Angel's voice in the background, amidst the eruption of babble from Willow and Buffy, saying something. "Whistler?"

"We're at the warehouse where we rescued Lady Useless and there's a mob extra from Starsky and Hutch standing in front of me saying that he's a Balance Demon named Whistler."

While Giles was busy quieting down the panicking teen girls and didn't catch the cheerleader's comment, thanks to the vampire's enhanced hearing he did and said. "That's a perfect description for the guy that found me in New York and told me the Slayer would need my help on the Hellmouth. He told me that his name was Whistler and that he worked for the Powers that Be."

"I see..." Giles said in a thoughtful voice. "Balance demons are generally nonviolent messengers for the higher powers called simply the Powers. I'm afraid I don't know much about them beyond that. I do know that the Slayer is considered to be a champion of the Powers, but not much else that would be relevant at this time."

As Cordelia and Xander thought over what they'd just learned the British librarian continued. "What exactly has happened to you and Xander, Cordelia? And why is a balance demon involved?"

"Apparently a bunch of people turned into their costumes on Halloween, including us. We'd just rescued Buffy and Angel had run off with her when we were attacked from behind. The only other thing I know for sure that happened between then and now is that whatever it was it was REALLY painful. We woke up here in the warehouse only we're obviously not human anymore. Whistler said that a couple of people had turned into a different kind of vampire and were feeding on us when the spell ended. But apparently that kind of vampire is…venomous?" She trailed off as she looked to the badly dressed demon to make sure she was right. When he nodded she continued. "Right, venomous. Apparently you get turned into their kind if you're bitten and survive. When the spell ended, they went back to human but the venom was already in us, and got with the changing or whatever. Anyway, he's saying that our kind isn't supposed to exist on this world and if we stay then the evil side gets to add some big bads to balance us out. Or we have to go to the world where our kind of vampire does exist."

"VAMPIRES!" Willow cried. "OHGodOhdGod!" With Buffy crying right along with her and a "Good Lord!" from Giles rounded out the cacophony. After a moment Willow could be heard in the background.

"Cordelia'salwaysbeensoullesandevilbutXander!Xandercan' 'tbeavampirewe'resupposedtogetmarried!"

Hearing Willow's voice in the background and with his years of practice he was able to understand her babble voice instantly. And then he wished he hadn't. While the Xander from before Halloween was flattered that any female was interested in him, he was repulsed that it was the closest thing to a sister that he'd ever had. The Bond memories, with their greater understanding of human nature and especially female nature also supplied the fact that, more than likely, Willow was the reason he'd never stood a chance with Buffy. Another problem was that with the addition of the new memories to filter his life as Xander the adorable babble of his Willow had become the ear grating whining of an immature, selfish, intellectually arrogant and a whole bunch of other adjectives person who's chance that he would ever date let alone marry could be summed up with three little words… 'No way in hell.'

"Apparently we are biological vampires from an alternate world. We need to drink blood and have an unquenchable thirst for the red stuff but in every other way we are nothing like the vamps around here." Xander chimed in.

"What do you mean evil gets to add 'big bads' to balance you out?" Buffy asked from the background. "What's to balance? It's not like either of you are any good in a fight." She finished with an unconscious arrogance that appalled Xander.

"Apparently we're something no Slayer could ever hope to fight. We're too strong, too fast, and pretty close to being invulnerable and yes that includes sunlight, not too sure about holy water, crosses, and the need for an invitation before entering a home…we also don't need to sleep apparently." Xander answered.

"None of that works. Neither do stakes. The only way to stop a vampire like you kid is brute force, and A LOT of it. I'm talking ripping you limb from limb, a bomb, or something else that'll do catastrophic damage to your body all at once. Anything else you either wouldn't notice or would heal from before it could effect you." Whistler said from where he was standing next to Cordelia.

"And we're neither dead nor soulless Willow." Cordelia said still annoyed at Willow's comments from earlier. "We're biological vampires…not demonic."

"If we stay, in order to balance us out, evil would have to bring in something that was our equal. Including the ability to make more of its kind, since technically we can too." Xander added.

"So apparently a major league demon species or something." Cordelia chimed in. "What should we do?"

"You shouldn't go. We can fix this, Giles and I can research and then we'll find a spell to undo it and you'll be human again and we can all go back to normal. Stay Xander! Oh, I guess we can fix Cordelia too." Willow cried in the background.

"Yeah, Xand you should stay. The baddies adding a new big bad is just another week on the Hellmouth. I don't buy what this Whistler dude is telling you. I'm the Slayer, any new baddie that shows up I'll deal and with Will, Giles, and Ms. Calendar workin the mojo it'll be okay. We'll have you back to human and you'll be fine in no time." Buffy chimed in.

"I'm afraid in this situation I am unsure what to advise the two of you." Giles said after taking a moment to compose his thoughts. "From what you are telling me, both of you are not only a threat to humanity if you lose control of your bloodlust, you are also far beyond Buffy in your combat capabilities. No Slayer would be able to stop or contain either of you if you fell into evil. By the same token, in order to achieve a cosmic balance you are telling me that the forces of evil will gain immensely powerful minions, your equal in point of fact, if you remain here. To remain would mean a whole new level of threat to the world. To go would place two teenagers in a world they are wholly unfamiliar with. As a Watcher I should tell you to go as the lives of seven billion outweighs the lives of two. As your teacher…I want you to stay for selfish reasons but would still tell you to go. I am just not very proud of myself for doing so."

Both Xander and Cordelia were silent as they processed what their mentor had just told them.

"I tell you what kids…since this is a screwed up situation I'm gonna throw you a bonus. Choose to go, and I'll send you to some people that have learned how to survive without killing humans. They'll show you the ropes of your new world and help you out."