Title: Episode X-IV: A New Force

Author: DhampyrX2

Genre: Halloween remix, the sequel to Halloween, Episode X(ander)

Series: Xander: Twilight Lord of the Sith

Rating: PG-13, just to be safe

Summary: Here's the beginning of my 'Xander: Twilight Lord of the Sith' sequels.

Timeframe: Surprise/Innocence

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't sue me, I'm poor.

Xander was grinning like a madman as he watched the beaker full of blue liquid in front of him. As it had with the red beaker before it, everything was going perfectly. Of course, that was ignoring the fact that the first red success too over three dozen tried to work out the kinks. But still, he was now minutes away from synthesizing another focusing crystal for his lightsabers. Once he got the matrix for this color perfect, he could begin to work out the green and yellow ones he intended for his four training sabers.

It said something about him that he wanted the fully functioning blades completed first.

As he waited out the chemical reactions, making sure the monitoring equipment he had cobbled together from junkyard scraps was functioning properly first, he went back to another of his little projects. In this case, it was a fully functioning, military grade, blaster rifle.

Xander knew he had to hide his burgeoning talents in the Force that his possession, and instruction, at the hands of Darth Vader had brought about. Buffy would either try to make him teach her about the Force, or more likely, try to convince Willow and Giles to somehow remove his powers. She'd never believe that he was born with Force potential, and that master Anakin had just helped him learn how to tap it. No, it was better that he trained in the shadows for now. The Sith half of his teachings taught him that much.

That didn't mean he couldn't find ways to help, however. He just had to make them small and explainable enough to keep the Slayer and her Watcher from reaching Defcon-4. He had carefully mentioned several times that he had developed a liking and talent for mechanical engineering and tinkering that he suspected had come from Vader. Therefore, making a few inventions could be overlooked, maybe even praised.

Xander smiled as he put the last resistor circuit into place. Other than charging the battery packs that were the blaster's ammunition, it was done. He slapped in one of the pack with a practiced ease, and moved to an open area of the old CRD lab he had commandeered as his own.

"Got to love how willing they were to sign everything over to me on the free, with a little application of the Jedi mind trick." he said to himself with a smirk, as he powered up the rifle, and took aim down his makeshift firing range. He had set up scavenged ceramic heat shields in front of powdered cement bags as the impact zone behind his cardboard targets, each with a picture of Angel glued to the face.

"Hasta la Vista, Deadboy." the padawan learner said in his best Terminator voice, as he tested the three power settings of 'stun', 'kill', and 'disintegrate' on three separate targets. He was pleased with the results of each, although all he could really do for the stun setting was test the sight and sound of the blast amplitude until he headed out to Mr. Johnson's farm to test it on the cattle like he had for the hand and wrist blasters he had built earlier.

"Thank you again, Master, for making me actually want to use my brain." he said as he watched the ashes fall from the disintegration blast. He then checked the power readings on the gear, and frowned. "Way more drain in the cell at this size. Until I can get some fusion based cells together, it won't handle more than five, maybe six shots at maximum yield. Bummer." he mumbled to himself as he set the safety on the rifle, and went to check his crystals.

He was smiling proudly as he detached and checked over the now completed blue crystal. After a long battery of tests, including making a sub-standard blade for a few seconds using the lab's live current, he found not a single flaw in it. His grin was something to behold as he placed the crystals into their saber, then crouched down to eye level with the work table they were on to look then over.

"Beautiful. After two months of work, you're both finally done. Now, I just need to find something I actually hate enough to make me throw Force Lightning, and I can charge you babies up." he whispered.

His reverie was cut short by his alarm clock going off, alerting him that it was time to head home, so that he and Willow could walk to school. "Well, guys, time to head to Sunnyhell high, and offer the Buffster a pre-birthday spanking." he said to the sabers with a grin, as he stowed them into a hidden pocket in his backpack. From there he made sure his wrist blaster was strapped in place and set for stun, before covering it with one of his traditionally loud long sleeve shirts. His sidearm was tucked into a pocket sewn into his brown suede jacket.

As he left, Xander used careful applications of the Force to telekinetically turn off all the lights and equipment he had used that night. It was good practice for his control, after all. Once that was done, he headed out, using the Force to barricade the locked doors behind him from the inside.

Good thing Force meditation actually lets me get by with so much less sleep. I'd never get anything dome if I needed a full eight hours a night. he thought to himself as he made his way home in the breaking dawn, whistling the Imperial March the whole way.

Once at school Xander amused himself with planning for Buffy's birthday, as well as teasing her with his promised spanking, at least until Miss Calendar warned him off from that. He also took the time to persuade Willow to ask Oz to the party they had planned at the rented out Bronze. For some reason, all his force senses insisted that he should be included whenever possible. And who was Xander to ignore the will of the Force?

As he walked down the hall, Xander glanced at Cordelia Chase, and had to stifle a sigh. That was one time when he wished he wasn't so dedicated to the Force. They had been feeling an undeniable attraction lately, and had spent more time talking in private than arguing recently after a heated kiss in Buffy's basement after the debacle with the Order of Teraka. But, Xander had nipped any romance that might form in the bud. Try as he might not to, whenever he meditated on the subject about he and Cordy together, all he could feel was inevitable pain, loss, and eventual death. He would prefer to spare them both that dismal future. Still, he couldn't help but be at least friendly to her.

"Hey, Cordy. You still coming to Buff's surprise-o-rama at the Bronze tonight." he asked as he sidled up next to her locker.

Cordelia thought of five or six different responses to that, most centered about asking why the adorable dork in front of her was keeping a prime woman like her at arms length, before she nodded and replied, "Yeah. I'm bringing the onion dip, like I said. With all that Buffy risks her ass to save us, it's the least I can do, I guess."

"Cool. I'm trying to convince Wills to bring Oz along so we'll have you, me, Wills, G-man, Ms. Calendar, Oz, and Deadboy, if all goes as planned." Xander replied with a grin.

"You're still trying to get them together?" Cordy asked idly. Xander had confided his intent to do so to her on more than one occasion over their most recent conversations (where, instead, they would have been making out in a utility closet in another reality).

The hidden Force user in training nodded as he answered, "Yeah. He's head over for her already, and she's half way there. I just need to figure out how to make her look away from me, and into an Oz-wardly direction." After a small pause playfully added, "Any advice on how to ignore my astounding manliness you can give her?"

Not recently. she thought to herself, and Xander had to suppress a sad wince as he inadvertently picked up on the strong thought, as she replied, "Yeah, she could try looking at you face and your dress sense. That always worked for me, dorkhead." Until recently, anyway. she added mentally.

"Why Lady Cordelia, you slash me with your words. How ever shall I recover from so potent an insult as dorkhead?" Xander asked with a laugh.

Cordy had to suppress her own laugh as she responded with a fond "Doofus." before heading off to hold court over her sheep.

Xander smiled sadly as he watched her go. It's better this way, man. You know that. The future is always in motion, but being with her will be one hell of a wall for you both. Just trust in the Force. he thought to himself as he made his way to the Library, and more planning with Giles.

"Oh Spike, can I open up on of my prezzies before the party." Drusilla asked with glee as one of their minions brought in another box.

For his part, Spike was just glad she had stopped mumbling about light and shadows together, and 'her Kitten' having new claws and teeth. Whatever that meant. She had been muttering about it at one time or another since that damned Halloween where Spike had almost met his hand at the hands of Darth Sodding Vader. If that hadn't made him want to stay home on All Hallows eve for the rest of his days, then nothing would. Spike was now a confirmed homebody for every October 31st.

He wheeled up next to her, still in a wheelchair after his recent tangle with the Slayer and her cronies over that mess with the poof and that DuLac cross, and smiled indulgently. "Well, Maybe just one, pet. We have to save the big show for the party, you know." he said, as he rubbed her arm in reassurance.

"Oh thank you, Spike!" the insane vampiress said with an excited giggle and clap, as she rushed to one box and opened it.

"So, pet. Do you fancy it?" he asked with a grin as he saw her reaction.

"It reeks of death." she replied in an almost euphoric state. "Oh Spike, this party will be ever so special." she said in a whisper.

"And why is that, love?" as asked, as he lit up a cigarette.

"Because it will be the last." she replied with a saucy grin, as she closed the box with the finality of sealing a tomb.

"Sounds right good to me, Dru." Spike responded with a grin, while he took a drag from his smoke.

"Oh, I just hope my shaded little Kitten doesn't get too involved. The stars warn he might get very cross in the days to come. Sometimes their warning is alls I can 'ere." she said, as she looked off into the distance, as if in a trance.

Spike fought and failed to avoid rolling his eyes at her words as he thought, Well, that was a good ten minutes without the shady kitten nonsense. What the buggerin' hell does that even mean?

END PART 1