Between Shadows

Episode 1: The Pugilist

Title: Between Shadows (Episode I: The Pugilist)

By: Scb047 ([email protected])

Summary: Based a few years in the future. Xander now lives in New York and attends NYU. He's left his past behind, but the world he thought he walked away from is just about to catch up with him.

Distribution: Distribute away, no permission required.

Feedback: Please do.

Disclaimer: If you want to sue me, first you gotta catch me.

Author's Notes: This is my first story, and I hope it won't be the last. What I wanted to do was create a series for Xander, set a few years in the future (after my theorical end of BTVS). This is the first episode of many to come. I am at heart a F/X fan, but she won't be featured prominently right away. So until the happy ever after, please indulge me.

The sound of his own breathing seemed to muffle all other noises around him. Heavy. Rapid. Relentless. He seemed to be caught in one moment of pure silence. As if he was trapped in a snap shot. His long dark hair, one white streak, flapping on his face, obstructing his vision. His muscles begging for rest, but his spirit resilient. One last push, one last chance. He refused to give up, to let it end like this. With one quite audible grunt the silence was broken. He departed the ground, the ball leaving his hands. As he crashed onto the asphalt, his left shoulder absorbing most of the impact, the ball dutifully went into the basket.

"Wo! Nice shot, man…. Hey you alright, Xander!" said Gabe to his adversary and part-time best friend Xander Harris whom now laid on the neighborhood basketball court, clutching his shoulder.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I just thought it be easier to stare at the pretty stars in the sky from a non-vertical position," Xander answered.

"Xander, it's mid-afternoon."

"Then I guess I'm not so fine," he said with a wry smile.

"Come on, shake it off you big baby!" shouted Sanaz from the bench, where she had been watching the game until Xander had scored the winning shot. Sanaz brushed back a strand of her light brown hair, and gave her half-brother's best friend a smile.

"What! Can't handle a little pain, Oldman?"

Sanaz could be a real source of discomfort sometimes, but Xander had to admit he kinda liked the closet brainiac, plus she wasn't exactly bad to look at.

"Oldman! You best learn to respect your elder young lady, or alcohol might become a rare commodity for you. Understood, she-who-is-still-underage," he responded feigning anger. Sanaz playfully glared at Xander. Shy of just one year, Sanaz was the youngest of the group.

"Well you are the elder here Harris. Perhaps I should fetch you a cane" was the sly response of Xander nowadays nemesis, Garret. Skinny but rather good looking, he came from a rich family and was never afraid to take airs of aristocracy. Overall, arrogant but harmless.

"Just hand me the stick you keep up your ass, that'll do nicely." Shot back Xander.

"Well the geezer over here, with my heroic, fantastic, indispensable help, of course, just whoop both your butt to kingdom come.", Marcus said as he helped Xander up to his feet.

"That's right. Now hand over the doe. How ya like that?" Marcus extended his hand to receive their money. Marcus was Black and damn proud of it. He was also the shortest of the group but he never let his size stand in the way of basketball though.

"You know, you guys are really starting to hurt my feeling here, I'm only twenty-five." Xander said, clutching his heart in a fake gesture.

"Yeah but for us, young, twenty or twenty-oners, you're already a foot into the grave." threw Sanaz.

Xander sighted and looked around as he was rubbing his shoulder. The Bronx, New York. It still felt as if he'd only moved here yesterday to attend New York University. In truth it had been two years. Two years since he'd befriended Gabe Shiraz, a fresh faced idealist who'd never seen violence in his life. Two years since he had moved in with him and the rest of the gang in a house in the better part of the Bronx. Two years since Xander had walked away from everything. From all the violence, all the pain. Yet sometimes it seemed so close.

"Hey there. California, you're dreaming or something?" asked Gabe.

"Huh!? Sorry, just comatosing for the sake of melodrama."

"Hey checked that out!" Marcus pointed a girl sitting on a bench in the park across the street. Even across the distance, the word gorgeous came to mind. Creamy skin, short blond hair. Though dressed for necessity her feature betrayed her beauty, and they were not alone noticing. Though some gaze were also directed to her large gold necklace. Gabe suddenly found himself in awe.

"Yeah! She got curves from here to eternity, you've got a good eye Marcus" said Sanaz.

"Your brother certainly seems to agree" said Garret.

"You should go and talk to her New York" said Xander. Gabe remained silent, half in awe, half in hesitation as the girl flipped through the classified of a Newspaper. 

"O.k. Can't stay to see how this is going to end. I gotta motor guys, I'm late for my Class, said Marcus before he sprinted away with the loot.

"You know Gabe, this no place for a girl like that to be hanging around alone" said Sanaz connivingly, "You should go there to keep her company, just to make sure nothing happens to her."

"You think so?" her brother responded softly in an half daze.

"She knows so." Xander answered.

"Yeah. Suddenly, I remember, Xander, Garett, we have to go back home to do that thing, right Xander?" Sanaz contined.

"Five by five."

They slowly slipped away while Gabe was still in his trance. Gabe finally woke up and gave himself a look over, he was dressed simple but fashionably, as always. Light brown skin, athletic, curly dark hair. "Lookin' good and off we go".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

             

"This sculpture entitled "The Pugilist" is a very powerful work.  It is a true masterpiece, an ode to fortune and the everlasting struggle that is the life of a warrior. The body positioning of the Greek pugilist suggest he is resting, but is just about to be called back into the ring. Which is no small thing, for in these ancient times, the Greeks would tie two people's feet to the ground, within reach of one another and then the fight that occurred would be to the death," said professor Kawolski. A fat tweed wearing man that somehow always managed to catch Xander's attention. Art history actually fascinated Xander. Fascinated. That's a word Xander had never thought he would associate with any type of schooling. Well, things had changed a lot since he started attending NYU. Then again maybe Giles did end up rubbing off on Xander after all.

"So in fact, our dear friend the pugilist, even in his moment of rest, keeps in mind that he must soon fight again. What we derive from this are many different ideas. One who wins, lives only to fight another day. One can no more escape the next fight than he can escape death, and therefore every victory demands that one remain ever vigilant, for defeat waits for you at every corner. More important thought is the idea that there is never an end to the struggle, only brief pause," he continued. Xander smiled. The sculpture appealed to him. So much so that he didn't noticed when professor Kowalski wrapped up the class and dismissed the students. Instead Xander just stared at the white marble projected on the screen.

"Xander?" said Katrina. She grabbed his arm and shook it. Xander broke from his trance. The cute little blond was smiling sheepishly at him.

"Fascinated much? ".

 "I don't know, I guess this one just gets to me," he responded as they both packed up and started leaving.

"Yeah? Well figures, it's always the though looking lone wolf that end up weeping at the movies." she replied.

"Hey! I'll have you know that whoever wrote Benjii was a sick psycho! Think about it, what kind of freak writes a movie for kids where you kill the protagonist? That doesn't even happen in most adult movies!" Xander shocked expression and the fake outrage drew a giggle out of Katrina. She was a very pretty girl: long hair, great legs and a smile to entice sailors with. She also happened to like Xander, or so he thought. A few years ago he would have been in heaven, but now he just tried to figure out a way not to lead her on, which was fairly hard considering they lived in the same house with Gabe, Sanaz, Garret and Marcus. Avoidance was therefore not an option, but he managed.

"So, you gonna attend Marcus, super jam tonight?" she asked.

"Nah! I'm gonna do the Xander and stick to my room. Study, maybe try to sleep."

"Too bad, I'm starting to think I'm never gonna see you dance."

 

"Annie Peterman, I want you to meet my very best friend, Xander Harris!" said Gabe, with a touch of pride in his voice.

"Showing off the new honey," Xander thought as he shook hands with the same woman he'd seen earlier today.

"Xander is the resident responsible adult" added Garret, making Xander wince at the comment. Annie seemed a bit uncomfortable facing the whole gang at once in the living room. "I hope me staying here for a while isn't too much of a bother?" she said. She seemed truthfully embarrassed by the situation, but the glitter of desperation in her eye told Xander she had welcomed the opportunity when Gabe presented it. Desperation was a thing Xander understood very well.

"Nah! You're welcome to stay girl. Garret's dad pays for the crib anyway." Responded Marcus. "There's just one condition."

"What?" she asked.

"You have to come to my party tonight, girl. You know, grace us with your fine presence."

Annie smiled, and Xander could tell it had been a while since she had done that. She reminded Xander of himself when he had first arrived in New York. It was a pretty smile though. He could see what had so fascinated Gabe earlier. She had grace, and a quiet and subtle presence. Something suddenly struck Xander, an eerie feeling of déjà vu, a spark of wild almost incontrollable emotions.  She reminded Xander of somebody else.

"Well I guess I'll see you guys when the party starts" she said, as Gabe pulled her away to bring her to her new room." Once she was gone the gossip started.

"Well that was fast! Especially for Gabe" Sanaz started.

"Relax! He didn't say anything about them being together, girl." Marcus responded.

"No, he's just 'helping her out, cause we got talking, and she's new, in town and she has nowhere to go'." Sanaz continued in her best Gabe imitation.

"Well it's not like we don't have room for another roommate, and she seems nice."  Katrina shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh1 She's definitively nice, and if there ain't room, one of your looser best start packing." Garret had a grin that spoke volumes.

"What do you think Xander?" Sanaz asked.

After pausing for a second, Xander answered, "I think I need to go study."  

"Tell me you didn't, girl!" Marcus said as everybody was cracking up.

"Well, you know it's not like I had a choice. There comes a time in every teenage girl life where… you know, she has to pull the principal's pants down in front of an auditorium full of students." Annie answered. Everybody was laughing. Annie had turned up to be quite charming once she had gotten past the awkwardness of meeting so many people. She was the evening's attraction.

The Party was a real hit. A dozen or so students form NYU had showed up and they now crowded the living room which pulsated to the alternating sound of rock, R&B and alternative. The whole gang was there, with the exception of Xander, whom was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is your friend with the beard?" Annie asked.

"Xander? Is probably still in his room studying," answered Gabe.

"Why isn't he joining us? Big test tomorrow?"

"Nah, Xander sort of keeps to himself most of the time," said Gabe.

"Really? What's he like then?" she continued.

"I don't think any one really knows," said Sanaz, "when he does grace us with his presence, he's usually this Mr.Funny Man thing, but every once in awhile, he gets like this sad drepressed thing going. Overall, I guess you could say he's cool."

"Sad and depressed/"

"Yeah. A regular Mr. Dark and Broody" said Sanaz.

"I am not!" interjected Xander with theatrical outrage. He stood dressed in jogging pants and a sweater, in the middle of the stairway. "You best take that back or I'll introduce you to Mr.20-To-Life. Don't listen to them Annie, they know nothing of moi." He said smiling as he walked down the few stairs he had left.

"What are you doing, listening in, just to see if we were gonna talk about you?" asked Garret. "

"Well, usually yes, but today, I just came down to get a glass of water." Xander said.

"Why don't you join us? Sit down have a beer. Give me a chance to get to know my mysterious new roommate" Annie asked. Xander was tempted, he had been spending all evening staring at page 322 of his psychology book, trying to figure an excuse to come down and see her.

"Well first thing you should know, is that I don't drink. Second is, I'm not big on sharing much," he said.

"C'mon California. Respect our new guest whishes. We're playing a game, Truth or Dare, without the dare part," said Gabe. Xander took a step back and started shaking his head in a sign of refusal. He was interrupted by a synchronized plea from the girls: "Please!!!"

"C'mon Xand, we just met Annie and we already know more about her than we've lean about you in the last 2 years. Sit down! It's time to dish out the dirt, dog!" said Marcus.

Xander looked at Annie, she smiled and turned away. He sighed and to the surprise of all, walked over to the leather couch and slumped down. "Fire away." Suddenly, everyone was at each other's throat trying to decide who was going to ask the first question, and in the end, Marcus won.

He didn't take long for Marcus to come up with his question: "Alright! I think I'll ask the question on everyone's mind, especially the ladies. How d'you loose it, dog. And please be as descriptive as possible. Of course, that's if you lost it, Mr.Celibacy."

"Mr. Celibacy?" Xander said.

"Well, you haven't brought a single girl home in the last two years, but don't try to side-step the issue. Fess up." Marcus said.

"Okay," there was a long pause, "her name was Faith."

"Faith? What kind of name is that?" Katrina said.

"I think it's a pretty name," said Annie.

Xander smiled, a bit embarrassed by the situation. "Well, what kind of freak of nature was she, to stoop to your level Harris? Fat? Grossly deformed?" Garett asked.

"Actually. She was more like a goddess. Sultry, gorgeous face… great body, and wild as hell. A bad girl, you know, totally your type Marcus."

"How was she?" Marcus asked, licking his lips. Xander laughed. He rearranged himself on the couch as everyone stared attentively. He lean his head on one side and then the other, cracking the bones in his neck. That was an habit he had developed over the years. He took deep breath and answered: "Best, I've ever had. Three words: Stamina, flexibility and know-how."

"Girlfriend?" Sanaz asked.

"Nah, just acquaintance. She just gotten into a fight and I rescued her. When I drove her home, she lived in a cheap motel, and she… needed to relax."

"Cheap motel with a fast women? I can't believe there's a wild side to you California , I'm starting to ask myself what else you've been keeping from us?" Gabe said.

"So, you ever saw her again?" asked Katrina

Xander opened his mouth to answer but never had a chance to finish as the doorbell came to his rescue.

Tommy Masterson. The door had open to reveal Tommy accompanied by his little group of followers. Xander hated Tommy. Mr. National Karate champion., Mr. Big Man on Campus. Tommy loved to pick on Xander, but that wasn't what really bother him. It was the way Tommy pushed around other people. "One of this days…" thought Xander, but he managed to suppress the anger.

"Oh my god! What is this? Xander's hanging with you guys? I thought you said this party was gonna be cool Marcus?" said Tommy.

Xander got up. The reaction quickly prompted the taller martial artist to step up to him in a threatening manner. "What? You wanna tussle looser?" Tommy said. Xander stood there for maybe five seconds. Their face only inches apart. Tommy's eyes were arrogant, defiant. They were inviting Xander to take a swing. Xander's on the other hand were just distant, cold. Though he did not let it show, it perturbed Tommy, Xander had absolutely no fear in his eyes.

Marcus started to say something but he was cut short by Xander, "Don't worry Marcus, I was just going to get myself  that glass of water, that's all." Xander turned around and walked toward the kitchen. The room had grown silent, as they were all under the spell of awkwardness that had fallen upon them. Tommy smirked and waved his hands menacingly, "That's right! Walk away! Don't you get any idea to start acting like a man or anything." Tommy then slumped into Xander's place as his own little gang laughed at what had just transpired. He smiled at Annie, "Hey you! Haven't seen you before." Annie, looked away, visibly upset.

A hand rasped at Xander's chamber door. It was soft, polite knock. Xander spoke evenly as he continued to read page 322, "Go away. There's been a horrible accident, a nuclear accident. In fact a bio-disease nuclear accident, with horrible rotting flesh and whatever else might disgust you enough to stay out of here."  The door slowly opened and Annie stepped into the small room. Xander glanced at his desk clock as she quietly closed the door. 2:30 am. The music downstairs had died about 15m ago. Xander never turned away from the desk he was sitting at. He let out a sight and spoke, "Guess your fond of the idea of being disfigured."

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for horror movies, I just had to see this rotting flesh you were talking about," still standing in front of the doorway, she did a theatrical scan of the room. "No rotting flesh, I'm disappointed. I was tricked." Xander smiled. "Yes, all part of my plan." He turned to face her now. God did she look like her. Not in a twin kind of way, of course. More in the way she handled herself. The way she smiled. The way she played nervously with her hair. Xander couldn't believe he hadn't picked up on it when he was on the court.

"So what can I do for you?" he managed to say. She looked down, a bit embarrassed. "You know, that guy Tommy, you shouldn't let him push you around like that." She said.

"Oh! Not the stand up for yourself speech again," he put his hand on his forehead. "Listen, what good would it do if me and him went at it? Somebody would leave in an ambulance. For what? For a little thing called pride that really isn't worth the medical bills it's gonna cause."

"I guess you're right, but anyway, I didn't come up here to give you a lesson about life. You left without finishing the game," she said, perking up.

"I thought I did my part," Xander brighten up as well.

"I didn't get my turn, and I'm sort of obsessive-compulsive, and I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep if I don't get it. You wouldn't want that, would you?" she said, a conniving smile on her lips.

"Alright, what's your question?"

She thought about it for a second, her eyes scanning over Xander muscular body.

"The scar. How did you get the scar?"

Xander straighten up, clearly surprised as he put his hand to his left cheek. The thick beard he had worn for the last two years concealed a large scar running from his mouth to two inches below his ear.

"I'm impressed. Nobody ever noticed it before."

"Thanks. So what's the story?"

He sighed again, looking away for a second, "Car accident. When I was in high school."

"Nah, I don't think so. I think you're lying mister, and that's not part of the game. Here, let me see it." Before Xander could protest, she had moved across the room and had sat on his bed. Her hands were running down his face, pushing away the facial hair that hid the old wound. "That looks like a knife wound, I'm right aren't I?" Xander was mesmerized by her  touch. It was as if the air in the room had suddenly grown thin. His heart was racing and could barely keep himself in check, much less come up with a lie.

"Sword. Actually."

"Sword? I'm intrigued now. So what's the story?" she spoke softly now, her hand still on his face.

"Got in a fight, don't really want to talk about it."

"Ok, guess it be your turn then." There was a long moment of silence, and then Xander reached inside the top of her blouse. She closed her eyes and gasped, only to open them again, as Xander pulled out her pendant. A two inch in diameter golden medallion with the image of a wolf embossed on it. Two very small, but authentic ruby served as it's eyes and the image was frame by strange engravings that Xander had never seen before. "What's this?"  he asked. She quickly grabbed it and put it back inside her blouse. "My medallion is all."

"Where did you get it?"

"Someone gave it to me, don't really want to talk about it."

Their faces were only inches apart, their eyes scanning each other's face.  Another moment of silence, broken only by Xander's resilience to fall to his baser instinct, "Annie, what are you doing here?"

"You're a mystery, Xander Harris, and I think I'm a sucker for that too," she started to lean  toward him but he stopped her by pulling back into his chair. "Annie, this isn't a good idea. If you haven't noticed, New York… I mean Gabe, likes you, and Gabe's my friend. He saw you first," he said softly, looking away.

"The guy code," she shook her head sadly.

"Yeah. The guy code," he swallowed hard and faked a smile, god did she look like her. "That and I'm Mr.Celibacy these days."

"I understand. Disappointed, but… I guess I should be going."

"Yeah."

She quietly got up and went to the door. Xander watched her walk away, which only made it harder. When she opened the door, everything became even more awkward as Sanaz stood there intrigued as she watched Annie walk past her, embarrassment drawn by her features.

"Nothing happened, don't tell a word of this," he shook his finger at Sanaz.

"Don't worry, slick.  I ain't saying nothing," she responded. "I was on my way to take a shower, but you might have more urgent need of it," she said.

"Ice cold shower it is." Xander was up and about faster than Sanaz could crack a smile.  

Women.

Always had trouble with women. Keep your mind off women, Xander. Don't think about it. Don't think about Annie. Don't think about her. Just listen to your breath, let it flow, let it control you…

Xander tried as hard as he could to concentrate, to keep his mind empty as he jogged through central park at a speed that made the other jogger's feel out of shape, more of a sprint really than a jog. Eighteen clicks, still kicking, going for  twenty-five.  His muscles were aching but his breath was still controlled.  He did this everyday coming back from the gym, except on Mondays and Fridays, those were his swimming days. He usually did twenty kilometers in an hour, but he added five clicks when he was in a foul mood.

It had been a little over a month since Annie had moved in with them. Her and Gabe had started going out only a week ago and he was always unintentionally rubbing it in Xander's face. The looks continued though, the secret, unspoken innuendos. She even dropped by the Steppin' Razor, the bar where Xander sang every other night for pocket money, sad songs of his own composition mostly.  She stopped by and they hung out all night, just him, her and Giles' guitar. 

Don't think about her, Xander. No women. No booze. No drugs. No violence.

Faith.

 No! Don't start thinking about Faith, she's all four of those. No Faith. Faith bad.

Images started flashing before his eyes. Waking up in a cheap motel, three miles from Detroit, hung over, Faith lying naked next to him. The sight of her naked body, glistening with sweat, straddling him into near unconsciousness. Images of Faith giggling as she ripped open a bag of cocaine and poured it on her breasts, Xander's face burying itself after it.

Fatih is behind you now. The violence is behind you. You're a different man now. A better man. Don't think about the past. Don't think about Faith. Don't think about Anya,, Cordy or Willow. Don't think about women, Xander. Don't think about Fatih… don't think about Buffy.

"So after I graduated with a double major in applied mathematics and physics, I decided to move here and finish my graduate studies at NYU," Sanaz said as leaned against the kitchen counter. She was wearing a sexy little outfit that revealed her intentions. Her and Katrina had really bonded with their new roommate and were now engaging in the traditional kitchen-girl-chat.

"Really, you turned down MIT for NYU?" Annie almost couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yeah, I wanted to spend time with my little-older half-brother.  Plus New York is kind of a fun filled city."

The doorbell rang and the grin on Sanaz's face grew into a wide smile, "My cue, girls." She rushed to the front door, high-fiving Katrina as she went. She checked her breath before opening the door to reveal a spectacle wearing man in his early thirties.

"Who's that?" asked Annie, as she snuck a peak through the kitchen doorway.

"That's doctor Carl Henry, professor of Mythology. We have a class with him, the gang that is, minus Xander," Katrina responded.

"And that's her big date?"

"Sanaz has a thing for older guys. Now, what I'm not sure of is if Professor Henry has a thing for younger girls though," she said now peering at the two as well.

"Well I'm pleased to see you too, Miss. Shiraz. Now about that manuscript you told me about," doctor Henry's body language spoke of discomfort. "There is a manuscript, right?"

"Of course, it's… in the basement somewhere. Maybe you'd like to go look for it… with me!" she said, flaunting all she had working for her.

"Euh… I suppose it would be more appropriate if I waited for you in the living room."

"Oh, ok. I'll go get it myself then, I guess," she said disappointed.

Annie and Katrina managed to close the door to the kitchen before they burst into laughter. Both of them were now sitting on the ground, their back to the door.

"Love, ain't it a strange disease." Katrina said.

Annie suddenly grew a bit quiet, "I guess you could say that." Katrina picked up on the remark, but then again that's what she was looking for all along.

"Things are alright between you and Gabe?" she asked.

"Yeah! He's a really sweet guy, I like him a lot."

"Just not as much as you like Xander." said Katrina smiling. Annie's sullen outlook was transformed into stupefaction.

"What do you… am I really that transparent," Annie said, watching Katrina get up to her feet. Katrina turned around and leaned on the counter so she could face her friend. She had a soft sympathetic smile on her lips.

"Nah, a little green-eyed monster told me. I just happen to like him too, if you haven't noticed, and don't worry I'm not marking my territory or anything. I just though you might want to talk about it," Katrina said. Her face was calm and understanding.

"There's not much to say. I don't know what it is, but I'm just attracted to the big guy. I mean, he's funny and good looking, great looking actually," they both smiled, "but it's more than that."

"Well, he does have the dark and tortured thing going for him," Katrina added.

 "And he wears it well, but that's not it. Just being around him makes me feel safe. I don't want to sound melodramatic or anything, but I feel as if I was meant to meet him or something. You know," she paused, "I feel really weird talking to you about this."

"Don't think too much of it, I just thought we could start a group therapy or something. You know, XAA, Xander Addict Anonymous!" said Katrina, they both laughed at the idea.

Suddenly, Katrina's face showed a hint of sullenness, but she quickly dissimulated it. She looked down and away from Annie, "You know, I think he feels the same way." She swallowed hard.

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter. The guy code, you see? Plus, I like Gabe, I really do."

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by three loud knocks at the front door. Katrina watched as Annie sprung to her feet. She looked uneasy, like a Gazelle sensing a predator nearby. Annie flung the door to the kitchen open and yelled out to Marcus, "No don't!!!" Unfortunately it was too late. Marcus turned away from the four men that stood at the entrance. All were dressed in dark suits and looked as if they were government type: clean cut, clean shaven, sunglasses and everything. They looked almost identical.

Marcus and Katrina looked in shock as Annie turned around to try to bolt, only to be rapidly grabbed by another one of the four men. He grabbed her hard by the hair and violently slammed her into the wall, forcing her arms behind her, binding her wrists with cuffs. "Wo! Why you tripping like that man!" Marcus yelled in outrage. The ruckus had caught everyone else's attention and they all appeared into the lobby. "What the hell is going on?" yelled Gabe as he rushed toward his girlfriend. He was stopped short by one the agents and shoved back toward the stairs.

"Hey you can't do this!" Gabe yelled.

"FBI she's coming with us," one of the man said.

"Help me! They're lying, they're not FBI!" Annie pleaded.

"Hey! If you're the FBI, where's the warrant?" Sanaz asked.

The man who seemed to be in charge didn't respond, instead he motioned to the man holding Annie and he started dragging her toward the exterior.

"Help me! They're gonna kill me, please!!!"

"Ok, that's enough," Gabe moved forward again to be punched square in the face by the leader of the group. The blow came as a surprise and Gabe fell to the floor clutching his nose. He was still conscious but the blood flowing from his nose and the searing pain made him wonder at the chance that it might be broken. As Marcus moved forward to take a swing at the agent closest to him, the leader pulled out a pistol and waived it in everyone's direction.

"Your not the FBI!" said Doctor Henry, shocked by what was going on.

Chi. I am the mountain. I am the earth. I shall let its strength flow through me. Violence is pointless. Violence is….

The leader of the group was smiling as he backed away, his pistol still in his hands. Annie tried like mad to shake herself loose from the two agents dragging her toward the open side-door of the van. There were two other men waiting inside, that the gang could see anyway. Annie kept screaming.

"Shut her up!" said the leader.

"Let her go! You won't get away with this!" yelled Gabe.

"Well it looks to me like we are," the leader said before his ear caught the sound of footsteps coming from his left. He had just enough time to turn his head sideways to see Xander jump effortlessly over the short wrought iron front fence that separated them. The impact that occurred reminded the onlooker of Monday night football. As Xander's shoulder connected with the man's mid section, a loud gasp escaped the agent's lips. It formed a strange melody that harmoniously matched the bone crushing sound. The agent flew back a few feet in the air and crashed violently behind the other side of the short fence, his gun disappearing among the bushes.

Before he hit the ground however, the other closest agent to Xander drew his weapon as everyone else watched in a strange mixture of fear and disbelief. The second man, much like the first, never had the chance to fire his weapon as Xander step out of the arc of fire and struck with both hands at his opponents wrist, twisting and breaking it, sending the pistol flying. He then yanked hard on his arm, pulling the agent toward him as his left leg departed the ground and connected with the agent's hip. The man then folded in two, falling to the ground while clutching his shattered hipbone.

One of the remaining men, let go of Annie as the other one shoved her in the vehicle. He quickly tried to blindside Xander with a right hook, but Xander spun around with grace and blocked the incoming hit. He then let out a devastating hook of his own on the man's face, it seemed almost to explode under the shock. Teeth breaking and flying around, blood splattering. There was no question the man would be unconscious when he would hit the floor.

"Shit!" was all Marcus managed to say.

"What the hell is going on here?" said doctor Henry, as they all ran into the street.

"Jesus, Xander!" Katrina exclaimed as she watched Xander hanging on the door of the speeding vehicle.

"What the hell has gotten into Xander?" Marcus said.

"Garrett, go get your jeep quick! Sanaz call the police," Gabe said as he grabbed the gun that laid at his feet.

"Why don't you just let me kill you?" the man in the passenger seat said as he struggled to point his pistol at Xander whose bloodied hand now grasp the man's wrist, pushing the gun away from his own face. The windshield was shattered and tainted with blood, a bullet hole as evidence as to why. The driver struggled to keep control of the vehicle with one hand, the other mangled by a pistol wound.

"You don't really expect me to answer that, do you?" Xander said.

"Ram him into a car!" the man yelled to the diver. Xander's eyes widened as the driver did exactly that.

 "Dear lord!" the doctor said. Xander's body went crashing into a park car, tumbling over it with a gigantic crash as if he had been run over by it. One bounce, two bounce and over into the following car's windshield. Blood flew into the air, spelling terror in the eyes of the gang.

"Xander!!!" Marcus yelled. Katrina was petrified.

Silence. Darkness. And then the sound of the wind, a gentle breeze like the one that blew that morning he woken up two miles off Dublin, Ireland. There was a buzzing sound as well, a high pitch sound, a pounding headache.  Flashes of light, stars he thought, blurry ones anyways. A familiar voice, sexy and enticing, smoky even. Memories of pain and pleasure rushing in. Smells of jacinth, sweat and blood.

 "You ever played Russian roulette, boy toy?" she smiled. "You'd like it. I know you got the balls for it, I've seen 'em… " she kissed him. Her lips, so soft and moist, the memory of her tongue entangled with his. How he craved for her touch. "So what do you say? I promise you a wicked prize if you win."

Darkness again, and then pain. Xander's back arched in pain as his senses were infused with sudden input. He gasped loudly as air rushed into his lungs. His mind had just caught up with what had happened to its body. The light was almost blinding, he turned his head and saw the van turn the corner. He had blacked out for just a second.

Get up Xande!. You can't let them get away. Be a man,, get up! Get up!

"I don't believe it, " Gabe said, watching in amazement as a bloody Xander slid off the car and started running after the van like nothing happen, tearing around the corner.

"Who does he think he is, the Terminator?" Marcus said.

"Where the hell's Garrett?" Gabe said, turning around and looking for a sign that the jeep was on his way.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" said doctor Henry.

Sanaz came running out of the house, "Police says they're on their way."

Within moments, Garrett pulled over in his jeep, and without saying a word, everyone jumped in, including the professor who was still very confused.

"Sanaz, remind me never to fuck around with Xander alright?" Marcus said as the jeep sped after the van.  

Don't think about the pain Xander.

Xander was running full sprint, he had just turned the corner, his face trickled with blood. It obstructed his vision a bit, but that was the least of his worries. There were still many fragments of glass in his back and every stride probably made one or two tear deeper into his skin. It was a miracle he hadn't broken any bones, left arm was severely sprained though and his entire body was cover with bruises and Charlie horses.

That wasn't his problem right now though, he had to catch up to that van, he had to save Annie. The van was still picking up speed and Xander yelled in frustration as he came to a few meters away, only to see it slowly pull away for good, having reached that amount of velocity he couldn't compete with. Suddenly, fortune smiled for the wicked once more as he spotted a motorcyclist getting of his Ninja 500.

The poor biker never saw it coming. All he could remember when he woke up, was a stern voice saying, "Sorry," and then the searing pain in the back of his head.

"C'mon Garrett! Faster!" yelled out Gabe.

"Chill, will you! I have the pedal to the metal, here," Garrett responded as the jeep turned the corner.

They could see the van speeding away now, about two blocks from them. It had just burned a red light and seemed to be headed for the highway. In between them was a man on a black motorcycle, he wore a gray and red jogging suit with a strange texture to it. He sped, hanging low on the bike, his back reflecting rays of the sun.

"Is that our action hero over there? Where the hell did he dig up a motorcycle from?" said Marcus.

"I don't know but we're definitely gonna have to have a chat with him. If he survives," Sanaz added.

"Shut up, Sanaz! Nobody's gonna die, we're not loosing anyone!" Gabe was almost hysterical.

Xander wiped away the blood from his eyes as he swung around another of the cars that was separating him from the van. He was fairly certain they hadn't seen him since they  had slowed to match the traffic when they got on the highway. This was going to be wicked tricky.

He slowly drove around the last car separating them and then slowly placed himself straight behind. His front wheel couldn't be more than a foot from the back of the van. He knew that if they hit the breaks, he'd go slamming into them at a 100 km/h. If that happened, Xander would be quite displeased, displeased in a permanent fashion. Now, for the real tricky part.

"He's lost his mind!" Katrina said as the jeep pulled right behind Xander's motorcycle. Xander was climbing onto the front of it, his left hand reaching for the door handle. His fingers almost touching it.

"Oh Christ! This ain't gonna be pretty," Garrett grabbed tightly on to the wheel, preparing to steer out of the way of the bike.

Xander flung the back door open, revealing three very surprised man, and Annie who lied on the floor, tears in her eyes. He proceeded to jump as the bike buckled over, he grabbed onto the roof of the van and swung himself inside, feet first, kicking the closest man to him straight in the chest. The man gasped and went crashing into one of his pals at the front of the van.

The sound of screeching tires resounded, as Garrett managed to maneuver around the bike. "Get us as close as you can!" yelled out Gabe. The air currents muted every sounds, it was like continual white noise. Yet he could hear the horns of the cars behind whom had barely managed to avoid collision with the bike as well

Annie stared in amazement, "Xander?"

"Get up!" he yelled to Annie. The remaining man, the one that was still standing, was now pulling out his gun. Xander slammed his right hand and clutched at the man's wrist. He then elbowed him hard in the face and pivoted with the momentum while controlling the man's arm, sending him crashing face first into the van's interior chassis.  Like a whirlwind, he continued spinning breaking the man's arm, and giving him a final back elbow to the back of the head. Introducing the man to the finer pleasures of a massive concussion.  The gun fell to the floor, producing a metallic clatter. Annie's eyes reflected surprise with a hint of wonderment.

Xander took a second to catch his balance when he heard the horn from the jeep behind them. He cracked a quick smile at the gang and then spun around and gave a powerful push kick at one of the man that had managed to get up, sending him crashing again into his buddy. Xander then grabbed Annie by the arm and said one word that instantly terrified her, "Jump!"

They both landed hard onto the hood of the jeep. Xander pulled Annie closer to him as she almost slipped off the car. He looked up to see the bewilderment in his friends' eyes. He whipped a sly grin. Garrett slowed and made a u-turn as Xander helped Annie into the roofless jeep and jumped in himself. "Having fun?" yelled out Marcus sarcastically, the sound of cars honking and tires screeching accompanied him.

"Wicked, man!" he said. "Wicked fun."

"Annie are you alright?" Gabe was checking her everywhere for injuries. She smiled, barely containing her enormous relief. "Ouch! Cuffs! Cuffs!" she said as Sanaz hugged her too tight.

"Xander! What the fuck's wrong with you?" said Katrina.

"Plenty. Now Garrett, take that exit over there" Xander said.

"I ain't taking orders from you, plus that area's totally deserted it'll be impossible to loose them," as Garrett answered, the van did a u-turn on it's own, barely avoiding a few collisions.

"We can't loose 'em, they know where we live," Xander said. "Now just do as I say."

"Garrett, do what he says!" added Sanaz.

Garrett groaned and took the exit, following Xander's instruction he made a few more turns, the van always in chase but a way behind. He then parked the car in an alleyway and Xander got out. They were in the middle of an industrial neighborhood. Tall dilapidated buildings, mysterious fumes coming out of oddly shaped pipes, and wet filthy roads, full of cracks and potholes. Bad place to die.

He looked at Gabe who still carried the gun. "Where did you get that? Don't matter, gimme, gimme, gimme." Gabe, a bit confused, handed him the pistol. Xander didn't say a word as he turned and walked toward the middle of the street, checking and readying the weapon with a professionalism that perturbed the gang. The black van turned the corner and stopped a street away. Xander stood motionless at one end of the street, the van at the other. Only the brief sound of the engine roar, broke the silence intermittently. The hand with the pistol, hung relaxed at his side. His eyes were fixed on the van. They were as two gunslingers facing high noon in an industrial setting.

"Xander! Do you know what you're doing?" asked Gabe, but Xander didn't react.

The van started accelerating, gunning straight for Xander.

"Jesus! Do something Gabe!" said Sanaz.

"Xander! You alright there?" Gabe continued.

There was a moment of silence, Gabe started walking toward Xander, intent on pulling him back toward the car and then he answered, raising his hand to signal Gabe to back away, his tone cold as ice.  Still staring at the speeding vehicle

"Five by five."

Xander raised the pistol and started discharging the weapon, the first three rounds hit the windshield, the increase of blood splatter on it where the driver's head should have been and the sudden, erratic change of direction of the vehicle indicated that his bullets had found their mark. He lowered the gun and started firing at the engine. Suddenly, one of the rounds found the fuel line and the van exploded only meters from Xander. Everyone was terrified and backed away for cover while Xander remained still, watching the flaming van tumble towards him. He turned only his face away as it tumbled past him, missing him only by a foot. It finally slid to a stop and Xander as well as the others started to walk toward it. The van was now a mangled piece of metal and fiery inferno, lying on its side, a burnt black and lifeless hand, sticking out of its now absent windshield.

"What the hell was that!?" yelled Garrett rushing to Xander.

"Making sure they're not following us home," Xander was calm his eyes on the wreckage.

"What's wrong with you? You're Mr. Psycho now! Huh? You just killed these people Xander!" yelled Marcus.

"What's your point?" Xander still stared at the burning van.

"Leave him alone! They would have killed me, they would have killed all of you!" said Annie.

"Yeah, well this is still murder, these were still people" said professor Henry, uncomfortably aware that Xander was still holding the pistol.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Xander, puzzled at the presence of the professor. The question was never answered as a demonic roar came out of the wreckage this human flame of an agent sprung out holding an oddly shaped dagger. He branded it, pointing it in Xander's direction yelling something incomprehensible in a long dead language as the flames died down, revealing melted skin all over his face and eyes that glowed an eerie red.

"Dear god!" professor Henry said, summing up the reaction of the group. The thing started running toward Xander but was pushed back by three rounds penetrating his chest. Xander held the gun out toward it, his face was emotionless. The thing waved his arms in an arc and roared at the sky, obviously unarmed by the bullets. Xander rolled his eyes and adjusted his aim at the thing's head. A sudden look of fear and embarrassment came to its eyes as it grew quiet and its arms were slowly lowering down.

Click

The pistol was empty, Xander stared at it and threw it sideways as a malevolent smile grew on the thing's lips. It rushed him. Xander pulled his head back enough, barely dodging the first slash. When the second came, he was able to sidestep it. Everything froze, the moment came, Xander saw it, even before it began. Everyone was yelling, helpless, frozen, as if they were in a different dimension, an other timeline. The third strike was a thrust to his chest. He spun just out of the way, along side the thing's arm and slid his right arm across its throat, the left went around and grabbed its forehead as Xander's feet landed behind the thing.

Snap

It was over, the body fell lifeless on the floor and all eyes on Xander, his face bloody and his body battered, and yet he looked perfectly composed, like all of this had been the most natural of things. The only emotion that could be read was a hint of sullenness.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on" the professor swallowed audibly.

"There you go," said Xander as he jammed the needle into the locking mechanism and released the second cuff from Annie's wrist. The blood stained metal fell to the ground. She rubbed her wrists; the handcuffs had been dug deeply into her skin. Gabe slung his arm around her shoulder, not sure what was the proper boyfriend thing to do in a situation like this.

"Hey! Try not to bleed on the couch, please!" said Garret, annoyed, as he handed Xander another towel to seat down on. That was the third. Xander winced as Katrina, using a pair of tweezers, pulled out another piece of glass out of Xander's shoulder. They were back at the house, but suddenly, for the first time in the last two years, it didn't quite feel like home to Xander. All he had done in the last hour was becoming real to him. He had been running on adrenalin, on instinct, old ones at that. Now he had time to think and his emotions seemed to surface, guilt, pain and disgust. All he wanted to do was step out of his skin and into the carefully fabricated illusion he had created for himself the last two years.

"You know what? You're gonna have to take your shirt off, this is too hard with it on," said Katrina.

"Manage," he responded coldly.

"Hey! Now, I know that you've just been through a highly tense situation and you might have, what-you-might-call-it post-trauma tic stress syndrome, but you best start getting yo act together and show some respect to the girl, alright?" said Marcus forcefully. Xander responded with a glare.

"Or you might settle for not bashing my ass down?" Marcus added, backing away stylishly from him. 

Xander paused for a second, still staring at the floor, his face showing quiet anger. He lifted the torn remains of his sweatshirt and threw them on the ground. 

"There, happy?"

Garrett opened his mouth to yell about the irreparable damage done to his carpet, but stopped once he saw Xander's chest. The gang had never seen Xander without a shirt on, in fact that was something he was known for, especially since he would always wear one at the pool. Everyone was surprised at what they saw. Their eyes were not trained enough to pick up the numerous scars and old battle wound, but it wasn't hard to see the large black pentagram on Xander's chest, drawn around the area of his heart and the strange foreign lettering under it. The markings were black and deep in his skin, as if they had been carved there, or rather burned.

"Hey, those aren't tattoos, what are they? Burns or something?" asked Garrett, always the diplomat.

"What?" Xander looked at his chest, "This? Don't worry about it, just a game me and your mother are playing." Garrett's jaw shifted as he tensed up. Yesterday, he probably would have decked him for saying something like that. Today, things were different. Xander didn't have time to smile before wincing again as Katrina purposely made that piece of glass extra painful to pull out.

"Be nice, will ya? That bad aura is throwing me off my game" she said. As she moved down his back, she realized something. Beneath the blood, the cuts and the bruises, were old scars. They were deep, large, and repetitive. Whip scars. Her face showed a hint of awkwardness, but she said nothing.

"Were you in a cult, or something?" asked Sanaz.

"Nah," answered Xander, a bit calmed down, "but I don't really feel like sharing the how to and why In case you can't tell, it was kind of a bad experience. Anyway, I don't see how this is relevant to the situation."

"That's right, so let's talk about what is. Fess up, boy1 Where did you learn to fight like that?" asked Marcus. Everyone was dying to hear the answer.

"I think I saw a Bruce Lee movie once," he said, the only one smiling at his bad joke.

"Oh, and handling that pistol, checking the magazine and the chamber like a pro, taking out a person's head at fifty meters, that was what? Clint Eastwood?" Sanaz added. Xander was the one shifting his jaw, this time.

"So I know how to fight big deal. I studied martial arts and my uncle Ron used to take me out shooting when I was a kid. You guys are still sidestepping the real issue here." He looked at Annie and everyone grew quiet and uncomfortable. What he had said was true, actually, most of it was half-true, but not the last part. Everyone had been hesitant to ask, all afraid of the answer.

Garrett rolled his eyes, "Alright, I'll bite the bullet. Why were the bad men after you, Annie?" he asked patronizingly, acting as if did not care.

She lowered her head, "Listen, you guys have been really great and all, but I think it'd be just better if I just got out of your hair. I'll start packing." As she headed for her room, Xander could see the tears coming to her eyes, but he said nothing. He just looked away. Gabe grabbed her arm, and pulled her back.

"Wait! No, you're not leaving. You got people who care for you here. I… more than just care for you. I'm not letting you walk out of my life. Whatever  this is, will work it out," he said.

"Gabe, you're sweet, but you don't understand," she answered.

"Well, I believe that's the whole point, your friends want you to explain," the professor said. He was sitting in the corner, smoking his pipe, a silent observer until now. "I know I wouldn't mind."

"You're never gonna believe me, this is all so crazy and…" she said, but was interrupted by Sanaz, "Crazy? I just saw my bro's best friend, whom I thought to be a wuss until today, no offense Xander, pulverized three armed guys, not to mention the Terminator act that followed. I am about ready to believe anything, and am sure everybody feels the same."

Annie swallowed hard and started shaking her head in affirmation Slowly. Resigned. "Alright, they're not human. The people after me, they're demons.," she said, clearly expecting them to burst in laughter. No one did.

"You, mean like, real demons, right? Not metaphorically, right?" asked Sanaz, she as most people in the room, had a strange resemblance of a deer caught in headlights. Annie didn't respond, she just stared at the floor quietly.

"You trippin' right?" asked Marcus.  

"Well, makes sense to me," said Katrina, pulling out the last of the glass out of Xander's back. "I never met someone who could walk away from an explosion, be burned into a crisp and then get shot three times like it's nothing. Plus those eyes, brrrrr!" she shivered.

"I guess you have a point there," continued Marcus.

"Wait, so you believe me?" Annie asked, incredibly surprised.

"Annie, I think we all agree that the flaming man that would not die was kind of on the Eerie Indiana side. Plus, on a personal note, I'm your boyfriend, it's kind of in the job description that I believe you," said Gabe, earning a big teary smile from Annie, followed by a long hug.

"So, you gonna fill in the blanks for us, or do we have to take out the torture kit?" asked Garrett. 

Faith's hands were around his neck. Squeezing. She was choking him and he couldn't believe it. The smell of her, her touch. Her taste, still on his lips. Her face, hovering above him. He didn't understand, fear overtaking him like it never had before.

The stake plunging in Jesse's chest.

The blood. The warm blood splattering on his face. The loud pop of the Browning 9mm in his hands. The horror. The guilt.

The sword in his hands, blood dripping slowly from it. Everything was in slow motion. The pain in Xander's jaw. The blood flowing from his wound.  The face, full of anger and fear, a face too familiar. The sword at its throat. Then the words, spoken from Xander's mouth, words he had waited long to say.

Her face, blood again, trickling from her mouth. Her expression. Surprise. Disbelief. Then  the strangest serenity. He yelled out her name, tears flowing from his eyes. She turned toward him and said his name, as he watched the blood, pouring from the wound in her belly. "Xander?" Soft. Distant. A question never answered.

    

"My name's Annie Jefferson, not Peterman. Pretty much everything else I told you about myself was true, growing up on the farm in Minnesota, the strange fascination I had with cows growing up, the stories of my first boyfriends, and pantsing the principal when I was fourteen, everything. I just omitted the whole demon thing" she said. She looked at the floor intermittently She was relieved to finally share this with them, but it was hard to relive the memory.

His face flashed before her eyes. Old, tired, but friendly. "What's your favorite?" she asked, handing him a bowl of soup.

"I guess I would have to go with New Orleans. But, New York is pretty, what you youngin call it these days? Cool?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I understand New Orleans, but why New York? Isn't filthy and full of crime?"

"Nah, its exaggerated. There's trouble and danger everywhere you go in this life, darling. New York just wears its problem on its sleeve. The lowdown is, it has gigantic buildings and it's always alive. It's easy to get lost there."

"Sounds like a nice guy," said Katrina.

"He was," answered Annie smiling.

"Nice guy who needed to get away from something," Sanaz added.

"Yeah," the smile vanished, "that too."

"Good night, Marcy."

"Good night, dear. Now, you watch yourself out there Annie," she said.

Annie drove away from the shelter in her father's red pick up. Not the most stylish of vehicles, but it did the job. She was always amazed how beautiful it was at night, it was as if the small town turned into something entirely different. She was the captain of starship Chevrolet, sailing the night sky with her high beam's light. Suddenly, as she turned a corner, she fell upon a sickening sight. Rick lied on the ground, hunched in a fetal position as three men kicked him hard in the face and the stomach. One of the men, had a gun in his hands. He lifted it, pointed it toward Rick's head. Annie pressed hard on the accelerator.

"Ouch! That must have hurt," said Marcus.

"I didn't bother to stick around to find out," she said. " I kept wondering what dad would say when he'd see the man shaped dent in the front of his truck.  We were probably a mile or two away by the time I noticed that Rick was bleeding all over my daddy's prized possession. They'd shot him in the chest and it didn't look good."

"I got to get you to the hospital," said Annie as she turned the vehicle around another corner. Rick was hunched over the passenger seat, writhing in pain. His face was drained of color and that made him look older than he ever had. He pressed hard on his wound, but blood kept pouring regardless of the pressure. The bullet must have hit a vein.

"Annie, take this, put it around your neck," he said, his bloodied hand was stretched forward, shaking as it held a golden necklace.

"What are you talking about Rick?" she said. "We need to get you to a hospital." She kept driving only throwing a quick glance at what he was holding. A two inch in diameter golden medallion with the image of a wolf embossed on it. Two very small, but authentic ruby served as it's eyes and the image was frame by strange engravings.

"Annie, it don't matter now" he said calmly. "Ain't no man can save me now, I lost too much blood already. I'll be buying my farm in a minute or so." He coughed hard, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Take this, please. It's important," he said. Annie looked at him seriously, a frown on her face.

"I took it, to shut him up, I guess. I though he was delirious or something. When I put it on though, everything changed, and I regretted not stopping the car like he told me to. I almost ran into a wall. Suddenly, it was like the world had unwrapped before me, I couldn't breath. It's hard to explain, but it almost felt like being electrocuted. I hit the breaks and parked the car along side of the road. Something inside of me changed, it's really hard to explain, but I knew what he was gonna say, I knew he wasn't delirious, that what he was about to tell me was true and that it would change my life forever."

"I'm sorry, darling. I'm sorry to do this to you, but there ain't no other choice, now," he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Annie looked at him, terrified and confused. Crickets played their music in the summer night, as life was escaping the old man's body, and his curse was passed on to her.

"I've been guarding the medallion, all mah life. As did the man before me, and the one before that. But, you already know that, huh? Well now it's your job. I know it's weird, but you'll get use to it," he said.

"I don't want it, take it back!" she handed him the medallion, but he waved her hand away.

"Darling, I'm sorry, but it's too important for you to have a choice," he said. His head started to waiver back and forward, as he was dancing to a melody only he could hear.

"Those people, they… they aren't humans, are they?" she asked.

"That's right little darling. They demons, and soon they'll be coming after ya, now," he stared at empty space, his voice slow and soft. "Ya can't let them git it. No matter…

"I left him by the side of the road. Drove away as fast as I could," she had tears in her eyes.

"You don't have to…" started Gabe but she quickly interrupted him.

"No, I want to" she answered.

"So, what happened after that?" asked Garrett.

"I went home and tried to forget what happened, tried to pass it off as bad dream, but it didn't take them long to find me. I went home one night, about two weeks later and I knew instantly that something was wrong when I drove up to the farm." She took a long pause, licking and biting her lips. "The medallion, it kind of gives me, not a premonition, but something like it. Every once in a while."

Annie crept up to the window, the one at the side of the house. There was light inside, it was deem, but she peered into the kitchen. Her eyes were full of tears and she gasped when she took in the gruesome sight that lied before her. There seemed to be men all about the house, the same who had attacked Rick, the demons. Her mother's French tiles were stained with blood, and her body laid gut open next to her sister's. A large demon looking thing held her father by the throat. It looked like a tall man, about six foot, rugged gray skin and red glowing eyes. He had one horn above the left eye and two above the right. His teeth were long and sharp, protruding from his mouth and into constant view. He had a bloodied kopesh in his hand and a sheathed scimitar at his side. Suddenly, he threw her father hard against the wall.

"This your last chance, monkey. Where is she?" he said. His voice was an echo of death itself.

"CaLyiah! The girl!" yelled one of the man, pointing straight at her. Panic was suddenly overtaking her as the demon turned to face her.

"Annie! Run!" yelled her father. Rage, drawn all over CaLyiah's features. He snapped around again and Annie yelled as loud as she could. It happened so fast it felt unreal. The kopesh danced in the air, and slashed Annie's father's stomach open. Letting his guts spill onto the floor.  She would never forget the look of sheer horror on her father's face, somewhat similar to the one of her own reflection in the window.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" asked Katrina.

"Yeah, I guess. It's been four years. It's a bit painful to remember, but I guess I'm fine now" she answered.

"So you've been running ever since, girl?" asked Marcus.

"Yeah, had to keep moving, they were always on my trail. Caught up with me once or twice. I lived in New Orleans for a while, then I came up here. This is probably the first time in four years that I feel like I have a home," she said.

The memories refused to leave Xander alone. He could hear Annie's every word, but they were distant. He kept remembering. It was as if the pressure had built up for years and now Annie had flung the floodgates open. There was no stopping it now.

The ambush. Their screams, as madness broke everywhere. The sound of battle in darkness, mp5s being discharged wildly as arcs of light from the mounted flashlight revealed the horror that was taking place. The humidity in the air, the feeling of his skin, sticky with sweat and blood. His eyes scanning the swamp while he tried desperately to retake control of the situation. His heart rate higher than it ever been. The mouths, hungry unforgiving.

Anya, the arrow protruding from her chest. She looked so peaceful in his arms, lying there in the middle of this room full of dead demons, as his tears turned into a look of blatant hatred. Buffy stepping in between him and Angel. Deadboy, looking as if he was about to apologize for the accident.

The flaming whip, licking his skin with its sweet pain, his wrist bleeding as the iron shackle dug ever so deeply into his skin. His body swung with every blow, swinging over the flaming pit. The heat. The branding. The day he thought he'd lost the last of his humanity.

  

"So what does it do, the trinket?" asked Marcus.

"I don't know, and I don't think Rick knew either, I just know they've been trying to get their hands on it for ages. We're supposed to guard it until the day comes," she answered.

"What day?" asked the Professor.

"Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I don't know. I suppose that when 'the day' comes, whoever is guarding it by then, will just know, like I knew everything when I first put the medallion on," she answered.

"May I see it, the medallion that is?" the Professor asked.

"Yeah, I guess, but it needs to stay in contact with me, or it'll burn you," she held it toward him, keeping a finger curved around the chain.

"So, it can't be stolen, how interesting?" the professor said as he observed meticulously the markings on the medallion, there was a hint of excitement in his voice. "And this demon, you said his name was CaLyiah, with one horn over the left eye and two over the right," she nodded her head in agreement. "How positively exciting, huh I mean… in a fearing for our lives kind of way, I suppose."

"Huh, Doc, do you mean, you can find something out about that thing. Something we could use to fight it with?" asked Gabe.  

"Well, I can't promise anything. My knowledge of these things is purely theoretical, though I must admit, I've waited for something like this to happen all my life." He answered, smiling.

"Wait, Gabe. You can't be serious? This is way too dangerous, the best thing for me to do is to leave," said Annie.

"No! We are not having this discussion, if taking out that Cali-Calais or whatever its name is, is all I need to do to keep you here, well that sucker's going down," he said, putting each of his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm down with it," said Marcus, punching emphatically in his own hand.

"General sentiment here, I believe" Sanaz added.

"Thanks guys," she said overwhelmed by the friendship they were showing.

"Plus don't worry, with Terminator here, that son of a bitch is as good as dead… again or for good, whichever one applies in this situation. What do you think California?" asked Gabe, looking for a show of support from his best friend.

Xander looked as if he was in a trance, the images still coming to his eyes. He had heard every words of the conversation but he'd been busy with his memories. He stayed silent for a moment, then he got up and stared straight in Annie's eyes.

"What?" Gabe asked in disbelief. Summing up in one word the reaction of the entire gang.

"You heard me. I want her to pack up her shit and disappear, the faster the better," he said calmly. Annie expression showed an overwhelming sense of betrayal, of heartbreak. Tears, were slowly coming down her face.

"Xander!" Gabe said, starting to get agitated.

Xander exploded, "Don't Xander me! Are you out of your mind, Gabe. She has demons after her, Gabe. Demons. You can't protect her. Even if you could do it for a little while, which I seriously doubt, your luck wouldn't last forever. She stays here she kills you all."

"Well it's a risk I'm willing to take! Plus we only need to take out this CaLyiah dude and we're good to go," shouted Gabe.

"There will be others Gabe. Maybe you should stop thinking with your hormones! They know where we live! They're just gonna keep coming. What are you going to do New York, stay with her 24/7? Stop sleeping? How long before one of them gets to her? You don't even know how to fight Gabe," Xander yelled. He paced around the room shaking his arm violently, and pointing a finger menacingly in his best friend's face. Gabe slapped it out of the way.

"No, I don't, but you do," he replied.

"What? You think that I'm going to protect her? Fuck that! I'm not going to be responsible when one of those things gets to her. And if what you meant is that I was gonna teach you, you're even more insane. I'm not going to help you get yourself killed, because you want to get laid," continued Xander.

"You son of a bitch," said Sanaz.

"She's better off running! Why can't you guys see that? If she leaves, she has better chance of surviving and we can go on with our lives. It's best for everyone if she just keeps running," said Xander.

"And you'd know about that, wouldn't you Xander. Running," Annie suddenly spoke up, forcing herself hard to show as little emotion as possible. "That's how you deal with all your problems, isn't it? I just can't help wondering if your concern for my safety is the only reason you want me out that door," she said. Xander glared at her. The exchange puzzled everyone, with the exception of Sanaz and Katrina who chose to remain silent on the matter.

"What I don't understand is, you didn't seem to have a problem with this earlier, when you were doing the whole action hero thing," said Garett.

"I wasn't thinking, alright. I don't want a part of this anymore. I want her to leave, I want her to leave right now," said Xander.

"Well though break, 'cause she's staying," said Katrina, crossing her arm in a resolved fashion. The room grew quiet as Xander, calmed down. He stared at the floor for a moment, his jaw shifted.

"Fine. I'm leaving," said Xander, and he silently started heading for his room.

"Hey Xander!" said Marcus. "I really don't know you anymore, dog."

Xander didn't say a word and slowly continued toward his room.

"Are you sure this is it?" asked Gabe as he scanned the room with his flashlight. The beam didn't reveal anything that wasn't known to the gang already. A old decrepit warehouse, barely larger than a regular house. Dust flew through the light as the sound of waves, beating on the close-by harbor, kept echoing through the open windows. It seemed to be totally deserted, with the exception of a few boxes and crate that seemed to have been forgotten there years ago.

"I told you already, the computer gave me the address of all buildings rented or bought in the last month that matched the description Doc gave me. This is the strongest match," said Sanaz. She sighed and shifted through the many pages of addresses she brought along. She looked at her half-brother who stood in the middle of the room, waving the flashlight and the shotgun around like he was in a movie. It was strangely adorable to watch. Her and the two other girls, hung back by the door. Marcus, pistol in hand, guarded them closely. The professor stood somewhere in between, his other shotgun in hand.

"Well, if the information I researched can be trusted, this is most definitively the type of place a Moorak demon would wish to reside in," said the professor fondling with his glasses. The light suddenly went on. Everyone jerked and Gabe and the Professor spun around wildly, scanning the mezzanine above them.

"Chill, guys. I turned on the light," said Marcus, standing by a series of light switches. Sanaz gave him a stare as everyone turned off their flashlight.

"You know, Marcus. Maybe you don't understand the concept of covert operation," said Katrina as she nervously kept brushing her shoulders, always expecting some bug to be there.

"Well, I know what it don't involve, girl. It don't involve talking loudly in a dark room while waiving around a flashlight to attract attention," he said smiling.

"So what do we do now," asked Annie. Gabe shrugged is shoulders and looked around once more. Suddenly the lights went out, filling the room with utter darkness.

"Cut it out, Marcus!" yelled Gabe.

"Huh, would everybody get horribly terrified if I just said I didn't do it," Marcus responded, as his hand felt it's way up the cold concrete wall. He found the switches and flicked them numerous times, but nothing happened. The little light that seep through the painted window, spelled out dancing shadows. The air around felt as if something in the darkness was on the move. A moment, only moment passed, as fear started to rise inside everyone.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sanaz, as she felt something cold and metallic brush her skin.

Light.

Blinding light, and then the revelation of the jeopardy they had placed themselves into. The polished blades of scimitars were at everyone's throat. The gang was surrounded by men in black suits, their mirrored shades reflecting the gang's terrified expressions.

"Properly dramatic, wouldn't you agree Annie?" An echo, deep and hoarse.

Garrett listened to the radio, singing along with the lyrics of the latest R&B sensation. His head weaved and bobbed, as he danced by himself, sitting at the wheel of his jeep. The roof of his car was up, protecting him from the cool evening breeze. He looked across the street from which he was parked and observed with surprise that two men in suits were walking out the door of the warehouse where his friends had gone in. Garrett instinctively reached out and turned off the radio. His face denoted confusion.

Xander sat alone in his room. The wooden chair creaked under his weight as he shifted repeatedly his position. He looked over to his bed, were his bags had been resting for the last two days. Two days, and one of them was still open, still waiting and demanding that he finished packing. Xander turned away.

His eyes fell upon the framed photo on his desk. The golden rectangle held a picture of the entire gang, marking the day the girls had managed to convince Xander to take one with them.

His second birthday here in New York. They had surprised him, Sanaz having secretly pulled the date of his birthday out of the school computer. He came home one night from the Steppin' Razor, to find a gigantic cake waiting for him in the living room.

Everyone had on these silly hats, they were all laughing. Even Xander smiled. Xander, with his long hair, one white streak, pulled back into a ponytail as usual and his thick beard. He could barely recognize the boy he used to be. He had been running from himself these last two years, and he had come a long way.

Xander put the photo down, face first on his desk. His hand continued down and opened the bottom drawer. The wonders that slept there, had done so for long now. He reached in and pulled out a dusty CD case. His hands moved slowly as he pressed the buttons on his stereo and the sound of Lorena McKennit's voice vibrated through the speakers. She sung softly the words to Kellswater. Xander closed his eyes, a sense of longing overcoming him.

He remembered the first time he'd ever heard this song, and why it would haunt him for the rest of his life. He remembered that evening, standing on that cliff near the Irish sea. The breeze was gentle and cool, as waves flung themselves hard against the cliff-side. Their music harmoniously dancing with the sounds of the small fair not too far away. The voice of Lorena McKennit, singing the words to "Kellswater" in the distance, as the stars softly illuminated Faith, standing there barefooted in the long grass. That evening near that small town near Portmamock, about two miles off Dublin. That evening everything changed.

Xander reached into the desk once more, and pulled out an old leather bound photo-album. He flipped through it slowly, revisiting the faces he'd left behind.

Buffy, Willow and him, wrestling around in the grass.

That one photo, of the old Scooby gang, the way he liked to remember it. Giles. Buffy. Willow and Oz. Him and Cordy, still together. Faith. And Deadboy, still in hell, burning somewhere.

Multiple photo's of him and Cordy, even more so of the same with Anya.

That one black and white photo of him with Faith, taken probably three years ago. He looked his coolest then. Leather jacket and small stylish sunglasses. His hair short and his face clean shaven, showing off the scar proudly. The short white streak on his left temple. He smiled a wicked grin as Faith leaned in sexily against him. She, as usual, was dressed to kill. She had a sawed off shotgun in her hands and he had a mp5. The cigar in his mouth let out a small film of smoke.

Xander flipped through many empty pages, until he reached the last one, the last picture. The small fair near Portmamock. Faith and he were dressed in borrowed clothes, courtesy of the old farmer they had been renting a room from. He wore a thick gray cotton shirt and brown corduroy pants. Faith wore a simple gray dress, with a long brown skirt. It was simple, but it looked everything but on her. She was splendid. She had no make-up on, something he'd never seen before. She had an arm wrapped around his, her head pressed on his shoulder. They both smiled softly, the Velvet Strand as a backdrop.

Xander stared at the picture intently, sadness in his eyes. He stared at it for perhaps an hour, though it didn't seem that long for him. He finally took his eyes off it, and onto the polished curved blade of Faith's knife. A beautiful weapon, perfectly balanced. Part of the back of the blade was jagged, giving it an evil look.  The blade was sharp, the chrome of the pommel chipped. The weaved leather handle creaked under Xander's hand. Holding it felt right, as if it was an extension of his being, one that had been missing for a long time.

"Xander!" yelled Garrett as he burst into Xander's room.

Xander shook his head, an angry look on his face. The leather creaked once more as his grip tightened around the knife.

"What the hell was Gabe thinking?" he said.

"It doesn't matter, now. C'mon we got to go save their butts," said Garett. His arm made a 'waiving in' sign toward the stairs. He kept bouncing from one leg to the other, clearly panicked.

"And what makes you so sure I care?" Xander asked, still very composed compared to his friend. Garrett stopped moving. A serious look came over him.

"You want to know why I think that? Listen, you and me Gramps, we don't get along so great. We're not the best of friends and will probably never be, but I have always called you one of my buddies. I've let you live in the house my dad pays for, for free, for the past two years. You want to know why that is? 'Cause I've always known you to be the kind of guy that would rather die than stab a friend in the back. 'Cause you're the kind of guy that would probably give a bone transplant to a mere acquaintance, on a moment's notice. Try as you may, deep down inside, Xander, you're a good guy. And I don't think you're gonna let our friends die, I don't think you're gonna abandoned them, when they need you the most. That's just not you, no matter what it is that's bothering you, Gramps," he said.

Xander looked at his desk, thinking about what Garrett said, and another million things. Suddenly, his eyes caught something on his desk. His art history book lied there wide open, inviting his gaze. It was open to a very familiar sight, a marble statue, a muscular body, sitting on a bench, its head turned as if it had heard something. The Pugilist. His eyes wandered to Faith's knife once again, he still held the blade in his hand. He paused for a second.

"What do you say, Gramps?" asked Garrett, swallowing hard.

"You had me at 'hello'," said Xander sarcastically, as he quickly got up to his feet and headed for the door, jamming the knife in the back of his blue jeans.

Garrett drove as fast as he could, burning lights, taking shortcuts. The tires screeched as he made tight turns and swerved out of the way of upcoming cars. His hands were wet on the wheel, and he nervously glanced at the clock, it would soon be thirty minutes since he had driven away to get help. Xander sat comfortably on the passenger seat. Motionless. Listening to the sound of the CD player that blasted  "Mansion on the Hill" by A3.

"Relax Garrett, if they're dead, they're dead. We'll know once we get there," he said. "Look on the bright side, we might be joining them." Xander grinned wickedly.

They pulled up to the Warehouse. The two men still stood on top of the stone stairway, smoking cigarette and staring straight at them.  Xander coldly stared back.

"O.k., what's the plan, Gramps?" asked a nervous Garrett. Xander didn't take his eyes off the two men.

"Plan? Well Garret, as a friend of mine once said," he took off his seat belt and opened his door, "I'm the plan."

Xander stepped out of the Jeep and stood there for a moment, looking around as the guard observed him, they were getting increasingly tense. The street was totally deserted. Xander took a second to crack his neck from side to side, and then grinned as he started walking toward one of the man. He was soon followed by a nervous Garret that stumbled about a pace or two behind him.

"Hey there buddy," Xander said as he walked decisively up the stairs, "You got a smoke?" The ruse was old and Xander wasn't fooling himself into thinking it would work, he just hated starting a fight without saying something first.

His fist landed hard on the first man's jaw, he had been going for his pistol. Now instead, his knees were buckling as his unconscious body was about to roll down the stairs. The man on Xander's left took a swing, which Xander blocked at the shoulder. He then rushed and bodychecked the man, tripping him over the side of the stairway. The man let out a small shriek as his body impaled itself on the small wrought iron face next to the stairway. Blood dripped along side the chipped wrought iron and onto the asphalt, quickly forming a small crimson pool as the man feet twitched their last dance.

"You ready slick?" Xander said turning to a very nervous Garrett, "Because things are about to get wicked serious." His hand grabbed onto the doorknob as he pressed his shoulder against the massive oak door. Garrett watched, pale and swallowing hard.

"Here's a few pointers," Xander continued, "Keep your head low, keep moving and whatever we see or happen in there, you barf on your own time. Understood?"

Garrett shook his head slowly.

Xander smiled and flung the door open. Inside were two other men who sat around the small plywood box of an office. Playing around with the Professor's shotguns. They looked astounded, looking back at Xander's devilish grin.

Annie stood shaking at the back of the warehouse. She looked at the gang, they now sat against the wall, their hands bound behind their back with thick ropes. CaLyiah stood before them, smiling. They all trembled before his horrifying presence.

"So, which one of you monkeys gave my men such a hard time?" he asked smiling.

"I did," said Gabe, trying poorly to sound defiant.

"You are lying," he replied calmly. "But perhaps I should cut off your head, just to be sure." He motioned one of his man, who instantly stepped forward with his scimitar raised.

"Wait!" interjected Annie, "He's not here." CaLyiah instantly waved to the man to back off. The gray demon seemed saddened by the news.

"A pity. 800 years I've been exiled to this 'earth' of yours. Dreaming of my sweet Pandemonium. And to make matters worst, I haven't had a good fight, a worthy opponent, in the last 200," he was growing angry. "What's wrong with you monkeys? It's as if you were devolving, breeding out the warrior spirit out of your race. Like those… hippies, brrr!!!" The word came from is mouth as if it was a terrible curse. He twitched as if the thought had chilled him to the bone.

"Enough small talk Annie, you will relinquish the medallion and you'll do it now," he said, his long gray talons extended toward her. She looked away.

"No," she said weakly.

"Why? Why do you have to make this hard," he said, visibly disappointed. "You know what I'm going to have to do now," his hand waived to one of the man again. He violently grabbed Katrina by the hair, and stood her up to their feet as he unsheathed his kopesh.

"Yo man, don't do that! Annie give him the thing," said Marcus, very agitated. His legs were coiling back as he tried unsuccessfully to stand up.

"Sorry, I can't" she sobbed as tears flooded her face.

"Why don't you just take it?" he yelled, despaired. Gabe started trying to get to his feet as well.

"It's useless to me that way. Last chance Annie?" CaLyiah asked almost politely. "Ah well, maybe you'll change your mind once you hear some of your friends scream."

He raised his hand but never completed the motion, as the sound of a scuffle drew everyone's attention to the front of the warehouse. Suddenly, a shotgun discharge was heard and a headless corpse crashed through the plywood wall of the manager's office, its head rolling after it and beyond.

Xander strolled into the warehouse, stepping through the opening in the wall. In his hands was the Professor's pump action shotgun, smoke still escaping its barrel. Garrett followed him close, shaking nervously, the double-barreled single action in his. Xander, dressed in blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt, his hair pulled back in a ponytail and his thick beard, didn't have the looks of a bad ass superhero, but his body positioning, his entire being, resonated the attitude. He took a second to assess the situation, a dozen or so scimitar wielding men, stood between him and his friends.

"Hi there," said Xander, his jaw shifting. "You guys wouldn't happen to have bubblegum, would you? We're all out." Xander pumped a new shell into the chamber of his weapon, as CaLyiah smiled at the joke. A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"Sorry, you're out of luck."

The twelve men started rushing Xander and Garrett, unfortunately for the frontrunners, scimitars stand poorly against shotguns. Xander unloaded three slugs, the first two men's head exploded and the third man was split in two. Then things got complicated. A fourth man was now in striking range of Xander, he swung and Xander barely managed to dodge. However, the man's skull was promptly introduced to the butt of the shotgun. He fell to the ground, never to rise again.

Xander threw a quick glance at Garrett who stood petrified, his finger twitching at the trigger, but hesitant to pull. A man was but three meters from him, scimitar raised high. Xander whished he could turn to save his friend, but another sword was coming down for his own head. Xander blocked, using the shotgun to prevent the blade from reaching his skin.

"Shoot him Garrett! Shoot him!" yelled Xander as he struggled against the demon's strength, the latter pushed hard on his weapon, hoping to muscle his way past the shotgun, and into Xander's throat.

Garrett swallowed hard and closed his eyes. His finger tightened and the shotgun fired. Hot blood splattered over Garrett's face, as his skinny body was thrown backward by the recoil. He landed hard on his back, but the pain that concerned him was the one in his shoulder, which seemed to have dislocated under the blow. His breath was rapid and shallow, he raised himself up in time to watch the headless body of his adversary topple over to the ground. He was stunned, he couldn't believe that he actually had pressed the trigger. It felt unreal.

With a loud grunt, Xander pushed off his attacker, pumped another slug in the chamber and blew the poor sap to kingdom come. A strike came from his left side, he parried it with the shotgun. A new attacker came at him even before he had finished deflecting the blow. Xander dodged under the swipe that was intended for his head. He pumped the last slug into the chamber as he spun around to stand almost right between his two immediate adversaries. He raised the shotgun, holding it sideways in one hand, it was perfectly lined up between the two men's head, the butt of the weapon only inches from one of the men's horrified face. Xander pressed the trigger, one man's head exploded, the other one whipped backward as the recoil cracked his skull open and more than likely broke his neck.

Xander dodged again, this time a thrust to his chest. He pulled back and rushed forward, like a wave receding and striking once more. He used the empty shotgun as if it were a baseball bat and swung hard. The man started spinning on an oblique axis, blood flying from his mouth. His sword hung in the air for a second, it was an invitation that Xander could not refuse, especially with a man behind him, only a pace away. Xander dropped the shotgun and grabbed the scimitar, he then quickly spun and dropped to one knee as his opponent ran past him, slashing were his head had been a moment ago. The man stopped and slowly looked down at the large gash across his stomach, blood over-flooded his mouth as he slumped to the ground. Crimson tears dripped from Xander's scimitar.

CaLyiah smiled even though he could see this was far from going well. He watched as the longhaired monkey was surrounded by his three remaining men, minus the one that still held Annie's female friend. The newcomer to the party was more than a match for his three trained warriors, his swordsmanship was a thing of beauty. His style, old and arcane, melting attacks, parries and dodges all into one fluid motion. A style CaLyiah seemed to recall having seen before, a long time ago.

"What are you waiting for?" he said, turning to the man holding Katrina. "Kill her!"

The man raised his kopesh high, about to stab a horrified Katrina into the neck. Everything seemed to be frozen, the glint of the blade reflecting the light hanging above, Katrina's terror filled eyes, Annie's tears as she looked away, and CaLyiah's evil smile. Suddenly, as the blade was coming down, the man found himself thrown backward and onto the floor. He had just been shoulder rushed by Marcus, who even though his hands were still bound behind his back, had managed to squirmed himself up. His knife fell with a clash, a few feet away, he reached for it but never laid a finger on as Gabe came sliding out of nowhere and kicked it toward the center of the room.

"You little…" the man said as he grabbed onto Gabe about to pound him into the ground. His fist stayed high in the air as his chest exploded, seemingly from within. The man looked down at the hole in his chest, just as if he could not believe it was there, and then his lifeless body accepted the laws of gravity. Marcus looked in disbelief at Garrett who was prodded against a column in the middle of the warehouse, smoke escaped the second barrel of his shotgun.

"Yeah, you the man, dog!" let out Marcus, Garrett smiling back at him.

Sparks flew as blades clashed. A parry, two dodges and three attacks, all blocked. Xander spun wildly, and bounced from one stance to the other, trying to break himself out of the deadly triangle he found himself in. Suddenly, he saw it. A mistake, a flaw in one of his opponent's stance. Without thinking, he exploited it. Xander lunged low, thrusting his scimitar into one of his opponent's thigh. A minor wound, but it was only meant to bait him anyway. Two more parries, and the idiot took the bait, Xander spun and cleaved the man's head clean off, his blade continued the motion and slashed another man's throat open. The movement still continued sweeping the last man's blade, raising it upwards as Xander grabbed the man's arm, and then drove his scimitar straight into his heart. In one motion, one spin, Xander had killed his three opponents. The second man still hobbled about for a moment, grasping his throat as an ocean poured out. He abruptly sat down in a pool of his own blood as his hands fell lifeless by the side of his body.

"I was wondering if you had seen that mistake," said CaLyiah. His voice was relaxed, without a hint of fear or disappointment. Xander looked up, the demon now stood behind Annie. He held her tight, kopesh at her throat. He was cool and relax, in total control. Garrett was freeing the last of his friends, cutting the ropes that bound their hands together. The Professor, unfortunately, seemed unconscious, a large gash on the side of his head. Gabe bounced to his feet as Xander walked carefully toward them.

"Let her go!" yelled Gabe as he stepped forward, only to be stopped short by Xander who extended his arm in front of his friend.

"Relax Gabe, this isn't how it works," he said, looking straight into the demon's eyes. Never wavering. "Your move."

"I will consider letting all of you live, if Annie releases the medallion into my care, that is," said CaLyiah.

 "No." said Annie weakly. Her eyes told tales of terror and despair. She looked at all of her friends, as if it was her last chance to do so. 

"Annie! Give him the medallion," yelled Gabe. She shook her head in negation.

"If you kill her, you won't get what your after," said Sanaz, hoping logic would save the day.

"I hope you can appreciate my despair," CaLyiah spoke directly to Xander as if they were alone and the rest of the gang was irrelevant. "Always with the "no" and the "won't", I must say I've grown quite tired of running after this medallion. It is, after all, only a mean to an end for me." He pressed the kopesh hard against Annie's skin, a small gash of blood started to flow. "I watched you fight, I must say I'm quite interested in seeing how you would fare up against me. I haven't killed a real warrior in the last 200 years."

"All right, I'm sure we can work something out. Maybe there's something else we can get or do for you, that would make the medallion useless in comparison" asked Xander, a bit tense, fully aware that CaLyiah was ready to kill Annie.

CaLyiah smiled at the offer. His hand slowly lowered the kopesh.

"Perhaps…"

Everyone, including Xander sighed in relief. He even closed his eyes for a second, just a second, as the tension seemed to flee his body. When he opened them up again, he realized in horror the depth of his mistake. Time slowed and the words from CaLyiah's mouth seemed nothing more but the distant echo of the past. Xander was helpless to prevent what was taking place.

"… but I don't think so," CaLyiah finished with a wide smile as he plunged the kopesh deep into Annie's stomach. Before a hateful cry left Gabe's lips, CaLyiah had already slashed her wide open. Annie fell to the ground, gasping, grabbing on to her stomach as she tried to keep her bowels from spilling onto the floor. Gabe and the whole gang rushed to her side as Xander stood still, his face twitching in anger. Memories flashing back again.

A overpowering smell of sulfur. The sword, plunging through her body. The horror. The disbelief. The face of her murderer, a face he could never forget. White bone twisted in the baroque shape of a face, flames surging from its empty left eye socket. Tall. Hideous. He pulled the blade out laughing. She turned toward Xander, saying his name. Her disheveled blond hair moved with the breeze as she slowly knelt, beaten. He rushed to her side, disregarding the danger to his own life. He caught her before she fell backward into the red dirt. The sky's eerie red glow tainted her features ever so slightly. The Fields of Blood, the Styx only a few paces away. "Buffy?" 

  

"Shall we?" invited CaLyiah as he discarded his kopesh and drew his scimitar. The gray demon made a little respectful bow and then raised his weapon high. There seemed to be a tempo in the air, a rhythm of death. Xander raised his own bloody scimitar, placing it leveled next to his temple. He shook his head only an inch, an answer to CaLyiah's show of respect.

"Oh my god!" managed to say Annie as she stared at her wound. She felt faint as she realized that almost half of her intestines had spilled onto the floor. There was a numbing pain down deep in her belly, yet somehow, watching the bloody tubes sticking out of her own body made her feel like laughing. Everything sound around her seemed to be muted, as if the endless panicked chatter of everyone around her, formed this distant white noise from which nothing escaped. Suddenly, Annie could hear the sound of Sanaz punching 911 on her cellular phone.

"What do we do? Katrina, you're pre-Med, what do we do," said Gabe panicked, as were they all. Katrina was baffled, she was not quite sure as to what the correct procedure was and the tension made her ever the more confused. All she knew is that this was bad, very bad.

"Huh? I think… put some pressure on her stomach, try and keep her intestines from spilling" she said, her voice was shaking as were her hands as she reached toward her friend's stomach.

"What do we do with the ones that are already out? Put them back in?" asked Marcus.

"No! Don't touch them," said Katrina. She stared at the blood that coated her hands. There was blood everywhere, oozing from the wound at a terrible rate.

"Please don't die, Annie," said Gabe. "Just hold on, I need to go help Xander kill that son of a bitch." He looked up, Xander and CaLyiah had moved past them. They were still entangled in their dance of death. It was truly amazing to watch, better than any martial art movies he had ever seen. They moved as one, moved faster than he would have ever expected possible, and without ever breaking momentum. Annie grabbed on to his hand.

"Don't, stay here with me, please," she had trouble speaking, as if she was running out of breath.

"Gabe, there's not much any of us can do, just let them fight it out," Garrett added.

CaLyiah grunted as Xander's blade grazed his side, Xander continued the motion with a hard bodycheck that send CaLyiah backward, completely off balance but still on his feet. CaLyiah dodged under the slash that followed and ran up steel staircase to the mezzanine. Xander was hot on his trail, swinging wildly at the demon's back, the blade missing its mark by only half an inch. When he reached the top of the stairs, CaLyiah spun and made a swipe at Xander's head, as the latter dodged under and away from the blow. 

Then there was a pause. As they both stood on the mezzanine, staring each other down, they moved slowly. They observed each other's stance, switching repeatedly their own, looking for a weakness to attack. Then CaLyiah's lips, formed a wicked grin as he lunged forward. A brief exchange, of attacks and parries occurred and then suddenly, Xander spun halfway as he winced. His left biceps hurt like hell. He glanced down at the gash on  it, which was unfortunately all the time his opponent needed to punch him hard in the face and then lay a powerful kick to his mid-section. Xander hit the ground hard and his scimitar spun away from his reach as a grunt of frustration escaped his lips.

"You fought well, it's been long since one you monkeys has wounded me," said CaLyiah as he walked up to a now crouching Xander. "I shall remember our fight in the centuries to come, it will be one of my dearest memories." He raised his sword high.

"Thanks, that's real sweet…" answered Xander, his right hand sliding down his back. CaLyiah brought his scimitar down, but it never completed its intended journey. Xander had pounced to his feet and grabbed the pommel of the scimitar with his left hand, terminating its travel downward. CaLyiah felt a strange searing pain in his chest, he looked down slowly, feeling drained of energy. A knife protruded from his chest, a curved blade with a jagged edge on the back, Xander's right hand wrapped around the handle.

"… and I want you to know," Xander continued, twisting Faith's knife in the wound. CaLyiah's knees gave under him and he knelt as Xander withdrew the knife. "It was good for me too" said Xander, as he spun one last time, taking away CaLyiah's scimitar as he did, and using an underhand grip, cleaved the demon's head off.

"Where the hell's that ambulance!" yelled Gabe to Sanaz, as Annie grew paler by the moment.

"Calm down Gabe, they'll be here any minute now," she answered, a hint of sadness in her voice. "How's Terminator doing, Marcus?" Marcus who had been watching the fight opened his mouth, but before he could answer, CaLyiah's head came bouncing down from the mezzanine above.

"Pretty well, I'd say. But you know, I'm not an expert at that sort of thing," answered Garrett, rubbing his shoulder.

Xander came slowly walking down the stairs, dropping the bloodied scimitar as he went. He came up to Annie and looked her over. She was pale and sweaty, her lips turning bluish as her body vibrated with tremors. Katrina was leaned over her, pushing hard on her stomach, helpless to stop the growing pool of blood around Annie. He looked in Katrina and Annie's eyes and saw that they both knew what he had known the second the kopesh  had buried itself in Annie's flesh. Gabe held Annie's hand, he had tears in his eyes, as did most of the gang as they started realizing what Xander's stern expression meant.

"Don't worry Annie, the ambulance is on its way," said Gabe, smiling nervously.

"Gabe," said Xander softly. "Make your goodbyes."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Gabe, as he turned to face his friend. Xander sighed.

"She's dying Gabe, the ambulance won't be here in time. She's already lost too much blood," he replied.

"No! You're wrong, you're…" said Gabe as he was suddenly interrupted.

"Gabe," said Annie, "he's right." Everyone grew quiet as no one knew what to say. Xander stood composed, fighting back the urge to reach out to her and take the last chance he would ever had to embrace her. Rage boiled inside him, a desire to push his best friend out of the way and press his lips against Annie's and kiss her madly. Not one second did his cool exterior betray his emotions, not one second.

"Guys," she begun, she looked resigned, peaceful. "I want you to know, you've all been the best friends I've ever had, and I wish I had more time to spend with you all."  She smiled, sweetly, softly. She looked so beautiful, even now. Sanaz started crying, putting her hand over her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. Everyone else was going down that path as well.

"Annie, I… I don't want you to go. I think I'm in love with you, and…" said Gabe, almost sobbing.

"Listen Gabe, I want you to know that you've been by far the sweetest boyfriend I've ever had and," she quickly glanced over at Xander who shook his head in response, "I want you to know, Gabe. That I love you too." Gabe leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Xander slowly turned to walk away, but didn't make it three steps before he heard Annie's voice calling out for him. He swallowed hard, and then turned again.

"Xander." she waived him closer and he complied, kneeling at her side, his legs lying in her blood.  "I don't want you to blame yourself for this. And… " she stopped and smiled at him in a way that expressed all the things they would never get a chance to tell each other. He nodded, smiling back in acknowledgment as blood started flowing from her mouth.

"Xander, take… this," she held the medallion toward him. He pulled back, shaking his head in negation.

"No, I'm sorry Annie, but I won't take that responsibility," he said. She smiled.

"No… I'm not asking you to guard it…" she paused as if she heard something that wasn't there, as if the angels were calling her away. "I understand now, it's all so clear." She smiled at him, sweetly, pausing again for a second.  "This was meant for you."

As the words left her mouth, her hand slumped to the ground. Her eyes stopped blinking. Her chest stopped rising. Her lips were frozen on a calm little smile that made her death all the more unreal. Katrina's bloodied hands went to her face, cupping her mouth as Sanaz had been doing for a moment. Gabe, almost hysteric, grabbed on to Annie's body and held her tight as he rocked back and forward. Everyone else just sort of started breaking down. With the exception of Xander whose exterior reflected nothing of his terrible pain.

As they all tried to console each other, Xander reached down and took the medallion into his hand, it didn't burn, in fact, it felt rather cold to his touch. He looked at it for a moment, debating with himself. Then, he came to the only conclusion he could ever really have come to, and slung it around his neck. Suddenly, pain overtook him. He felt as if he'd just been set on fire and a large gasp escaped his lungs, as everything went black.

Xander stood in the middle of the Fields of Blood, once more. He looked around at the red sky, the red dirt, at the Styx that now laid about a mile behind him. The smell of sulfur was strong in the air, stronger than he remembered. The breeze softer. This was no memory. He spun around wildly, looking for some explanation. And suddenly, he was surrounded by two armies, enormous armies that seemed to stretch as far as the horizon. He turned to the one on his right, the one closest to him.  They were demons, millions and millions of them, standing there on the slope of the Mountain of the Bones. Various races, various kinds. They all shouted one word in unison, a battle cry, as a man dressed in black leather rode back and forth in front of them, sitting on top of a horse of bones.

"I am the pale rider," the man said. "And today, all hell rides behind me. "

And the hordes still repeated the same word, over and over again, "Ka-roosh! Ka-roosh!".

"His eyes are moving!" yelled Garrett, almost bursting with joy. Xander felt someone's lips pressed against his, air being forced into his lungs. His vision was obstructed by blond strands of hair, brushing against his face. Katrina's bloodied face appeared as she pulled back from him.

"Thank god," she said checking his pulse.

"You had us scared real bad, dog!" said Marcus, also quite overjoyed.

"What happened?" he managed to say.

"We don't know, you just collapsed and, when I got to you… well, you had no pulse," Katrina continued.

"How long?" he asked.

"A minute, maybe two" answered Sanaz, still quite shaken.

"You alright, dog?" asked Marcus.

"Peachy," he answered as he raised himself on his elbows. He looked over to Gabe, who still lied there crying as he rocked Annie's lifeless body. "Just peachy."

      

Xander stood alone on the balcony, leaning over the wooden rail, his hands out of Katrina sight. He stared quietly at the evening's sky, the lights from the skyscrapers of Manhattan, replacing the stars he must have been used to seeing as a kid. She observed him from the door, thinking he looked rather attractive in the dark suit. A beautiful song she'd never heard before, played on the stereo he'd brought up there with him.

"Can I help you with something, Katrina?" he asked without turning around. She smiled, one of these days she would have to find out how he always managed to do that. She stepped onto the balcony. He now turned to face her, one of his hand staying hidden behind the railing. His shirt was open a bit and his tie undone.

"I came to see if you were alright" she asked. She was dressed in a respectful black dress.

"I'm fine," he responded with a hint of perkiness.

"Okay," she said, she paused for a moment. "Why didn't you come inside the church for the service?"

"I didn't mean any disrespect, it's just me and god haven't been on talking terms for a while," he said. "I'm betting a couple more years and he'll cave in first." A smile drew itself on his lips as he said the last part.

"Yeah, well Gabe is kind of pissed at you now. Plus you know, he kind of blames you a bit for her death."

"It'll pass. The first one to die in your arms is always the hardest," he paused a moment, looking straight in her eyes. "Trust me, it'll pass. So will your pain. Take it from a guy who's lost a few."  She looked away into the night sky, toward the buildings that illuminated the night. She hesitated, and then ginned mischievously.

"Care to enlighten me on these concepts with real life examples taken from your own personal experience? You know, purely for medicinal purposes of course. My emotional recovery might very well dependant on it. So c'mon, 20 ccs of Xander's past. Chop. Chop." She offered her wrist in a theatrical gesture. Xander smiled, clearly amused but stayed utterly silent.

"Alright, what's on? It's pretty. Sad, but pretty," she said referring to the music

"The song's called Kellswater. It's by this singer called Lorena McKennit."

"Cool," she started backing away toward the door. "Hey Xander, when you said in the living room that day, that you 'didn't want a part of this anymore', you meant more than just helping Annie, right?"

"Good night, Katrina," he said simply, still smiling at her. She shook her head in defeat.

"Okay, I'll be going now. You sure you're alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, don't sweat it. I got my own way to deal," he answered convincingly. They both said good night as she disappeared the way she came. Xander turned back around, looking at the towers of light again, listening to the sweet melody coming from the speakers. His right hand rose from behind the railing, holding an open 40 onz. of Jack Daniels. And as the music played gently, Xander resumed dealing with the pain the only way he knew how.

COMING SOON!!!

            BETWEEN SHADOWS episode II  ONCE WE WERE WARRIORS