Between Shadows

Episode 2: Once We Were Warriors

Title: Between Shadows (Episode II: Once We Were Warriors)

By: Scb047 ([email protected])

Summary: Xander's spin-off series, set a few years in the future in New York. This is the second episode in the series where Xander must finally come to term with who he is to save a young woman's life.

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 story has two arcs to it, one is set in NY with Xander and his gang trying to rescue a young woman, the other is set a few years in the past and follows one of Xander's early adventures, away from Buffy. Hope you enjoy!

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Her wet fingertip brushed the yellow paper, she could feel the thin film of dust on the pages. The sound of paper, rubbing on paper. The smell of dust reached her nostrils, as she began to feel a stinging sensation in her eyes. She didn't move, didn't try to rub away the sensation. She just lied there on her back, reading. A little pain was good sometimes.

"I really don't understand why Rebecca doesn't just take Ian? She should grab him, shove him on the floor and jump his bones, you know," said the brown haired girl, holding a decrepit copy of a book. A Fabio look-alike was embossed on the cover. In his arms was a crying red head with long hair and exaggerated curves. Hanging in the blue sky above them, were the words "My Sweet Divine", painted in bright red.

"Faith, that's the whole point," answered Cindy, rising to her feet to meet gaze with her cellmate. "Ian is interested in Rebecca, but he's still married and he doesn't want to hurt Felicia's feelings."

"Who cares about what he wants? I say my girl Rebecca is wicked due for some bump and grind and if he doesn't like it, it's nothing a good punch to the head won't cure," answered Faith, still lying on the top bunk, still reading.

"Want, take, have, right?" commented Cindy, rolling her eyes at the younger inmate.

"Damn right," said Faith, shaking her head in approval. "This smoochie-talky stuff is seriously putting a downside on my downtime, C." Faith squirmed, trying to dig herself a comfortable spot in the hard mattress.

"Really?" said Cindy, a mischievous smile on her lips. "So why are you still reading?" Faith's jaw shifted as she raised herself on her elbows. The book fell half open on he stomach.

"For the record C, I plea lack of better things to do," said Faith in a stern voice. A pause and then a smile. "That plus, I can't wait to find out if Jamie is gonna end up with Duncan or Sean."  Cindy laughed, a deep almost baritone laugh that resembled nothing of the skinny mulatto girl she was. Faith watched in amusement for a moment.

"Just so we're five by five, remember that I will kick your ass from here to cell block B if you ever repeat word of this," she added with playfulness shaking a finger in her friend's face. Suddenly, their discussion was interrupted by a shadow cutting its way through the floor of their cell. Faith looked up at square-chinned red head that stood tall in the hallway, rhythmically tapping her nightstick in her left hand. Even though she was of considerable size, the brown uniform she wore looked a size too big on her.

"Faith" she said in a commanding voice that did not attempt to conceal her contempt for the woman she was staring at. Faith barely reacted, she was slouched on her side and made no attempt to adjust her position.

"I didn't do it," said Faith, shoving a piece a gum in her mouth. Cindy adjusted her stance so she would face the guard, however there was no hint of respect in the way she stood. Her arms were crossed on her chest, her head leaned on her left shoulder and her hips swayed away toward the right. She grinned at Faith's joke. The guard's jaw shifted.

"You got visitors Faith, let's go," she said, her voice was dry and hurried. Faith slid off her bed, a distrustful look on her face, a look her cellmate shared.

"You serious, Big Bertha?" Faith asked incredulously. "'Cause, if this another attempt to turn me out, things are gonna get wicked ugly. We wouldn't want a repeat of the broken-arm incident, you know."  Big Bertha rubbed her elbow, the cast had came off two weeks ago, but her partner Billy was still eating out of tubes.

Faith walked the halls of the California Institution for Women like she owned the place, in a way she did. There weren't many people in the high security wing of CIW that wouldn't respect Faith's expressive whishes to be left alone, inmates and guards alike. She walked stylishly to a rhythm of cheers that followed her as she passed, sounds of inmates yelling her name and banging metal against the bars of their cells. Everyone was still hyped about the fight she'd had with Big Bertha, Billy and a dozen or so guards last month, when they suddenly decided to try and make a punk out of her. Even though Faith had avoided being raped, and ended a few careers that day, she still caught a bit of a beating and ended up spending the last month in solitary. She had gotten out just yesterday, to find herself the new local hero.  She smiled and continued strolling, chewing her bubblegum loudly .

I wonder who it is? Can't be Angel, not less he's gotten himself some wicked sun block. Maybe it's B. Hopefully not, I wouldn't know what to say.

Faith looked puzzled as she peered beyond the separation glass of the unit she had been directed to. There waited a medium sized man, dressed in a brown jacket and not so fashionable clothes. Long brown hair that hadn't been washed in a while, three days old beard, his face buried in his hands as he seemed to be sleeping while waiting for her, his phone was prodded against his ear. He looked like a vagrant. There was something strangely familiar about him though, as if she knew him from somewhere. Faith sat down and picked up her phone.

"Hello?" she said. The man's eyes slowly opened and as he straightened himself up, still leaning on his left, more of his features came into view. Still Faith did not recognize the man before her, what she did recognize was the dazed look in the man's eyes. He was drunk, probably had been so for a few days straight.

"Hey there Faith," the man said, his speech slurred. The sound of his voice made everything click.

"Xander?" she said in disbelief. The wreak of a man that was before her, looked very little like the cute schoolboy she had taken for a spin some three years ago.

"How have you been, Faith" he said her name with emphasis, as if it were a joke. He straighten himself up, suddenly revealing a long line of bloodied gauze running from his mouth to two inches beneath his left ear. She jolted in surprise.

"Gee, Xander, what happened to you?" she asked, genuinely concerned. The emotion surprised her. She actually thought of him as a friend again, or something like that anyways.

"That?" his hand brushed the wound. "Cut myself shaving." He started laughing, almost uncontrollably. She on the other hand, rolled her eyes at the witless joke.

"That's real original Xand," said Faith. Then, there was a long awkward silence as Xander stared at Faith checking her over as she grew more uncomfortable.

"Listen, Xand," she said, swallowing hard and licking her lips. She spoke quickly and was unable to meet his gaze.  "Why are you here? 'Cause if it's about the strangling you thing, I know I never apologized about it. We never really talked afterwards, you know. And if that's what you here for I want you to know that I feel very sorr…"

"Nah," he interrupted. "That's not it.  You were in bad place, I understand. I've had my share of those."

"So what brings you to Frontera, then?" she asked, using the prison's nickname. He hesitated for a moment and then his lips traced a soft smile.

"I guess I just felt like talking to a friend," he said. Faith froze, studying his features, looking for an angle. Slowly, she relaxed. Her elbows fell to the table in front of her. Her body slumped forward toward the glass, her hand brushing away a strand of hair from her face. She smiled.

"That and I have a thing for women in prison uniform," he joked. Faith laughed at this one.

Xander stirred in his bed as memories flooded in from his subconscious. He dreamt dreams of blood and fire. He heard a hellish music, a symphony of dying shrieks and of bone being crushed. Before him was the psychedelic display of memories best forgotten, they rushed in and out so fast that he was in the latter stages of motion sickness.

The face. Asmodeus' face. White bone twisted in the baroque shape of a face, flames surging from its empty left eye socket. His laugh, a deep echo of death.

The blood. The warm blood splattering on his face. The loud pop of the Browning 9mm in his hands. The horror. The guilt. Her body falling lifeless to the ground, never to hear him complete his sentence, "… but I'll learn to." The look of disbelief on her face, blood starting to flow over her features. Buffy, standing frozen across the room, tears in her eyes.

The fight. The anger. The thirst for vengeance. Pain, all over his body. Bruises and cuts. Dizziness from the lack of blood. Suddenly, the moment, almost spoiled by his own disbelief. Xander's blade plunging in his opponent's chest, a grunt escaping form his  lips. A last slash on his opponent part, a last ditch effort, easily blocked by Xander. His opponent's blade sliding away into the shadows. And then the sword in Xander's 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. His sword at his opponent's throat. Then the words, spoken from Xander's mouth, words he had waited long to say, "Told you I'd be there."

Suddenly, Xander stood in the middle of the Fields of Blood, once more. Again this was no memory, and he could barely stay on his feet, the motion sickness overcoming him. He looked around at the red sky, the red dirt, at the styx that again laid about a mile behind him. The smell of sulfur was strong in the air and the breeze soft. As before, 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 and started walking toward it.  The multitude of demons seemed as one, a giant living monster of discord and hunger and the hordes still repeated the same word, over and over again, "Ka-roosh! Ka-roosh!" The man dressed in black leather rode back and forth in front of them, still sitting on top of a horse of bones, his back always to Xander. He wore only one black leather glove, over his left hand. While his right hand reached for the pommel of a sword, a dark blade. Xander could tell by the shape of the handle. As he turned one last time, Xander caught a glimpse of his face, fire was shooting out of his left eye socket.

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

Xander woke with a start, his bed dripping with sweat. His senses were shot out by a pounding headache, and a powerful nausea. Xander slapped the empty bottle of whisky away from his bed as he turned and vomited by the side of his night table. He turned back and fell on his bed, the taste still in his mouth. He suddenly noticed that the medallion felt hot on his skin. He took in his hand and brought it close to his face.

"Best not start doing this every night buddy, or it's pawn shop time for you," said Xander before he turned his head to the side and coughed up some more vomit.

The moon shone upon the graves of the Woodlawn cemetery. The light, filtered through the layers of smog created an eerie glow on the white marble mausoleums that lined one of the Bronx most famous sites. It was as if the graves seemed to resonate the very souls of the people they held. In the darkness of night, one could easily forget they were in a cemetery and instead imagine themselves in a magical garden whose splendor was mesmerizing. The reality however was that despite all its beauty, with its tall trees, its thick bushes and its 400 acres, the Woodlawn cemetery could be a virtual death trap.  

"Did you hear that," asked Katrina , she jerked as she heard the sound of a twig snapping. When she turned around to meet Garrett's gaze, he had a horrified look on his face. He turned his head from side to side searching for the source of the noise.

"It sounded…" said Garret. "It sounded just like… me stepping on a twig." A big smile appeared on his face. She shoved him hard.

"That's not funny Garrett!" she yelled. Katrina shook the wooden stake in her hand menacingly at Garrett, making a little fake attack at his heart. Meanwhile Garrett could not stop himself from laughing as Sanaz watched in amusement.

"It looked pretty funny to me," said Sanaz as she scanned the area. Katrina glared at the tanned brunette, she looked rather out of place with her pink coat and her blue pants, holding a cross in one hand and a stake in the other. Then again, neither herself nor Garrett were much on the blend-in side, with them carrying similar armament.

"It thought it was pretty funny too," said a voice out of the darkness. They all turned toward the source. Their heart started pumping, the adrenaline started rising. The trio stepped closer to each other, their hands tightening on their weapons. A snarl, and then a man dressed in blue jeans and a heavy metal T-shirt stepped out from behind one of the mausoleum, he had long dirty hair and the built of a starving man. He would not have continued to arouse fear in the group if it had not been for his unusual skull shape and the protruding canines.

"And jokes makes me hungry," the vampire continued, as he walked menacingly toward them.

"Oh my god, it's a real vampire. Okay, what do we do?" said Sanaz, as they all raised their cross to defend themselves. The vampire stopped in his tracks, as if he had hit an invisible wall. He snarled at them. They looked nervous.

"I think we should stake him or something," said Garrett, licking his lips as he started stepping very carefully toward the vampire, which just laughed at his pathetic display.

"You're gonna have to come a whole lot closer, if you want to stick me," said the vampire, a smile on his lips. He raised his hand forward and invited Garret with his finger. A drop of sweat slid down Garrett's face, as he observed his opponent. The fangs. The accentuated skull. His mouth curled into a wicked smile. His eyes cold, total lack of compassion. Garrett was overwhelmed with fear, but did not waiver. His breathing grew faster and faster, as he prepared himself to attack. Suddenly, Garrett yelled out a battle cry and started rushing forward, but was quickly stopped in his tracks as the vampire exploded into a cloud of dust. Where the fiend had been, Xander now stood, one hand held a crudely fashion stake, the other was quickly reaching for his forehead.

"Damn, that sound they make when they poof is way loud, isn't it," he said simply, standing there in his gray sport jacket and blue jeans. His hair in a pony tail and his beard thicker than usual. They all looked at him with this strange mix of surprise and relief.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Sanaz, she almost looked peeved, feeling ripped off from bagging in her first vampire. To Xander, her words seemed to be as piercing nails, hammering away at his brains, his hangover still in high gear.

"Well, I couldn't sleep and to make a long story short, Marcus ratted you out," he answered. "Told me you three were all hyped up on something the Professor told you about vampires, and you were down here playing feed the wolves."

"Hey we knew what we were doing," said Katrina, her confidence quickly wavering. "In an improvisational kind of way."

"Wait, that doesn't explain how you found us, this is a pretty big place," said Garrett.

"I didn't. I followed dusty here, figured he'd find you guys, considering Sanaz is having her periods," he answered, as the petite woman drew a look of outrage on her features. She opened her mouth but Xander interrupted her, "Listen, I hung out with an unhealthy amount of women in high school. Kinda have the PMS radar built in."

"While we're in a sharing mood, mind telling us how come you know so much about vampires?" asked Katrina, giving him a look that meant she was onto him. "And don't tell me you saw "Dracula" once." Xander winced.

"Please don't mention the mast.. I mean, that name," said Xander, as he rubbed his eyes. "You guys shouldn't be out here, this is way too dangerous." Sanaz looked even more outraged.

"Hello? Crosses, we got it covered, believe it or not," she said waving her weapons.

"Guys, this is still the Bronx. You're two beautiful women with a skinny white guy walking around a poorly lit area. Can you say 'brutal gang rape'?" said Xander. They all suddenly grew uneasy.

"I'll buy a gun for next time," said Garrett and the two girls shook their head in agreement, all of them swallowing hard. Katrina suddenly noticed Xander's odd behavior.

"You alright Xander, you look… slow," she said. He took in a deep breath, taking care not to meet her eyes.

"I think I'm getting the flu or something, and like I said, I can't sleep," explained Xander, pausing only a second as he checked if she bought the lie, and it didn't look like she did. "C'mon, let's motor." Xander started walking away but all of a sudden, his headache grew stronger, so strong his body started shaking as he grasped a firm hold of his head. A high pitch sound resonated in Xander's ears as he grunted. He could see Katrina's mouth moving but no words seemed to be coming out.

A white marble mausoleum, glowing with the eerie light of the moon. The visions blurry, hard to understand. A little boy, no more than seven. Blond hair. Blue eyes, eyes that reflected terror. Fear, Xander could feel the little boy's fear. A bush. Must hide in the bush, can't let them find me. Green reptilian skin. Black beady eyes. Talons and forked tongues. Hunters in the dark, searching for him. The white marble mausoleum, a name, Roxburry.

Xander sat up suddenly, sending everyone jumping back with a start. The medallion was hot on his skin. The look on his friends faces shifted quickly from surprise and relief to an annoyed anger. Xander's hangover seemed as if it had been multiplied by three and all he could think of was the name Roxburry, he remembered crossing the grave on his way in. He knew where it was.

"Now, I know how Cordy felt," he said breathless as he got to his feet.

"Are you getting a sick kick out of scaring us half to death?" yelled Katrina, as she watched Xander take off running into the direction from which he came. "Where's he going now? I wasn't done yelling." The trio rose to their feet, now quite puzzled by the display.

"I'm not sure, but I guess we should do the sidekick thing," said Sanaz, as she broke into a run.

His perfectly polished boots made a loud and constant rhythm on the cracked floor of CIW. As the man passed through an open gateway, hearing the metallic clash of the bars closing behind him, he realized that as many time as he had been here, he had never seen the inside before. There was a constant clamor and it looked much more dreadful and dirty than he'd imagined. It had several mezzanine, all lined with open cells. The paint on the walls was chipped and there was barely any windows or natural light.

The man adjusted the collar of his light green shirt and then resumed his journey as two guards led him on his way. A briefcase in his left hand, his cap hanging in the crease of his right elbow, he walked decisively. The medals on his green dress uniform reflected the sunlight coming from above. It didn't take long before a group of women spotted the suave young officer, making his way toward the gym area.. Suddenly, a wave spread through the prison as the inmates got increasingly excited. They hollered and banged metal objects against the bars of their cells.

"39…40…41…" counted Cindy, as Faith pushed the metal bar in her hands with increased difficulty. A grunt intermittently escaped Faith's lips as the soreness in her arms and chest grew by giant increments, three hundred pound load was pretty heavy to bench press, even for a slayer. Her face was sheer determination, but her concentration started breaking as the sound of hollering reached her ears.

"What's up C, somebody fightin'?" she asked, never stopping her workout. The inmates around her were all turned toward the source of the problem: a young man in army dress uniform, accompanied by two guards, walking straight toward them.

"I don't know what this is baby girl, but this way better than fightin'," responded Cindy as her and the rest of the women around checked out the young officer who came to a stop right behind Faith's bench. Faith was finishing her forty-ninth rep, with only one to go she breathed in and out slowly and audibly, trying to muster the strength needed to finish the fiftieth.

"Need a spot, Faith?" he said, a wry smile on his face. She didn't respond, just finished her last rep and let the bar fall heavily on top of their resting place. She slowly sat up, looking up at the man that addressed her, though the voice had already told her who it was. She was surprised by the uniform, but it was him. Short hair, clean shaven and a large fresh scar on his left cheek.  She got up, trying to look jaded.

"It's alright, I just finished, boy toy," she said simply, throwing a white towel over her shoulder.

"Well, it's Lieutenant Boy Toy, nowadays," he smiled, but her face stayed emotionless as she crossed her arms on her chest.

"I can see Xander. Is that why you're here, came to show off the new duds?" she looked very serious. A frown drew itself over Xander's features, as he failed to understand where all the aggression was coming from.

"Actually, I was hoping we might talk, the warden has a room set up already, so?" he said, stepping to the side to invite Faith to lead. However, she did not move.

"Funny, but I can't think of anything I'd like to talk to you about," she said dryly. Her head turned a little faster than the rest of her body and she was soon walking away from him, heading in no particular direction. Xander was taken aback for a second, and then came to his senses.

"How about your immediate release," he yelled after her, "think you might want to talk about that." The brown haired girl in the orange uniform slowly came to a full stop.

She sat quietly, her hands drawing imaginary circles on the cold metal table. She stared at the piece of paper presented to her, she fought hard not to show any emotions. She stiffened and grabbed it from Xander's hands, as he leaned, half-sitting, against the table, staring at the guard in the small room with them.

"What's this?" she asked, as she scanned the pages of the thick document. Xander turned back to watch her with intensity. It had been two months since he saw her last, two long months.

"Like I said, it's your ticket out of here," he said. "It's a full pardon, provided you agree to work for a certain non-officially recognized special unit, of which yours truly, belong to as well." He smiled at her. She didn't smile back and instead she threw the document on the table.

"Oh, I get it. You just figured it's time to capitalize on little old Faith, right?" she said bitterly. He sighed as he got up and signaled the guard to leave the room, which he did.

"You sure you want to be in a room alone with me," she said, cracking her head from side to side. Xander paced for a moment and then leaned in real close to her, one hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table. His face hanging over Faith's by an inch, she looked back at him defiantly.

"What's with the attitude Faith? I thought you'd jump at the chance to get out of this place," said Xander as he reached for the document and shoved it once more in her face. "This you redemption, this is what you wanted. A chance to do some good." Faith turned away, speaking without looking at Xander or the document. She exuded total disinterest.

"Well maybe I don't want to leave, maybe I made some REAL friends in here," she said, emphasizing the word real, giving Xander a clue as to what her foul mood was about. Xander sighed and closed his eyes a second as he leaned once more against the table.

"Is this what this is about? You're pissed because I haven't come to see you in the last two months," he paused and then continued. "I'm sorry, I've just been busy with boot camp and then they sent me out right away on two mission abroad. Hell, I've just spent the last two weeks in a Bolivian jungle, dodging Fury Demons."

"And the Oscar goes to?" said Faith, rubbing her fingers together, playing the world's smallest violin. Xander looked away for a moment, his jaw shifting.

"I had to leave without saying anything, that's the way things are done. I swear every chance I had, I was arguing to get you this," he continued, throwing the document on the table. He suddenly knelt by her side and cupped her hand between his own. She stiffened, looking as if she might deck him. "Listen, that month I came visiting you here everyday, well… you turned my life around. If it weren't for your friendship, I'd still be a drunken alcoholic wreak of a man, just like my father. You saved me and I am eternally grateful for that. All I want to do is give you the same chance you gave me. So, are we five by five?"  She smiled, hearing him use her token expression for the first time. She was more relaxed now, his words had somehow gotten to her. She slumped back in her chair, pulling away her hand from him, and sighing as she did. She looked away for a moment, biting her lip as she shook her head.

"Alright, but one condition," she said, she looked serious at first, but a smile grew slowly on her lips. "No way I'm callin' you sir, or salutin' you, Boy Toy." Xander smiled back as he got up, snapping his fingers in disappointment.

"And I was looking forward to that," he said as he handed her a golden pen. She signed slowly on the dotted line and got up, stretching herself as she went.

"So I'm a freewoman, right?" he nodded his head only once as Faith suddenly swung him a powerful right. Xander spun and landed on the ground, toppling over a chair as he did. Xander looked up, blood trickling from his mouth, at a grinning Faith.

"Now we're five by five," she drawled. She swayed her hips from one side to the other, as the rest of her body shifted in the opposite direction. She was obviously proud of herself. A mischievous smile on her lips.

A hand plunged into the thick of the bushes, which suddenly seemed to come alive. The hand receded, now attached to a young boy's blond hair, as the later kicked and screamed. The boys' small hands made scratching attack at his aggressor, but his nails simply slid along side the thick green scales.

"OW! Let me go! Help!" he yelled kicking his opponent in the shin as he finished. The demon that restrained him jerked with the blow, rubbing his shin as he balanced himself on one leg, still holding on tight.

"You little monster. Saraudak, let me eat him," said the demon, turning toward the tallest one of the three. Saraudak looked rather imposing, broad shouldered, straight posture and a composed appearance.

"No," he spoke calmly, "swallow your pride Dimuar, there is no need to kill him. Let's just bring him to, his majesty, as was requested." His eyes rolled at the mention of the word majesty, but none of his men noticed. He took a moment to stare at the boy, he was no more than nine years old. A pity he thought, if it were up to him, he would let him go. They started dragging their little prisoner away when a voice spoke up.

"Is it kid hunting season already?" someone said cheerily. They turned toward the source, a few meters away on their left, a man with a beard and a gray sport jacket was leaning against a tree. Xander started stepping forward.

"Wait, I forgot, there is no such thing," he continued, sounding more serious. He looked at the three demons, they looked like giant lizards, most of their features were hidden though by large dirty frocks, which they all wore with the hood up to conceal their appearances.

"This none of your concern, human," spoke Saraudak, staring his opponent straight in the eyes. The sounds of footsteps coming up the trail announced the arrival of Sanaz, Katrina and Garrett, who lurked a few feet behind Xander, surprised by the sight of the demons.

"Wait, isn't what you just said bad-guy-talk for I'm gonna do horrible things to this kid," asked Xander as he took another step forward. "You'll have to help me out my 'coward' is a little rusty."

"Help me, mister, please!" yelled out the little boy, as Dimuar tried to shut him up by placing his hand over the little boy's mouth, which instantly led to the kid biting down on it hard. Dinumar yelped as the kid continued his attack by punching him hard in the groin. Dinumar's grip finally weaken and the boy ran and hid behind Xander. Garrett leaped forward brandishing his cross.

"Get back!" he yelled at the trio of dumbfounded demons. Xander rolled his eyes and slapped him behind the head.

"That's not gonna work, hero," he said. Garrett pulled back slightly annoyed as the third demon walked up real close to Xander. Saraudak, stayed perfectly still, continuing to try to stare down Xander, who reciprocated.

"Give us the kid, he's ours," said the third demon as he reached around Xander. Suddenly the demon felt a sharp pain and everything went black as Xander threw him a simple backfist to the face, while never taking his eyes off Saraudak. There was a long pause, as the third demon's body fell unconscious to the ground. The wind blew gently through the graves, giving voices to the dead, voices to sing an eerie music; the sound of the wind, brushing against the marble.

"Xander, what do we do?" asked Sanaz, finally breaking the silence. A incredulous look fromed itself on Saraudak's reptilian features.

"Xander Harris?" he enunciated the last name slowly. Xander never answered, raising a hand instead toward his friends, to signal them to wait quietly. There was another long pause.

"Dinumar," he said, his friend just getting back to his feet. "Grab Sarina and let us be on our way."

"But…" started Dinumar, but was quickly quieted by a glare from his leader. He then carefully walked forward and collected his friend, as Xander watched cautiously.

"Xander, we're not just gonna let them walk away, are we?" asked Garrett, outraged.

"I am. If you want to take them out, feel free," said Xander as his arm made an inviting gesture for Garrett to do so. There was a moment of hesitation as the three demons slowly walked away, but ultimately Garrett did nothing.  Xander felt a thug at his right leg, he looked down to see the young boy, smiling at him.

Faith mouth fell open and stayed that way for a moment, as Xander let the awkwardness build itself inside the small office. The setting was rather futuristic, the walls were made of steel, the furniture was colored chrome, and there were no windows. The only things that brought contrast were the two large plants in the corners of the room, as well as a few pictures and posters, all with a military theme to them. Faith turned around as the sound of the automatic doors sliding shut behind her offered the distraction she needed. She turned back and squirmed uneasily.

"Private Wilkins, meet your new CO, Major Riley Finn," said Xander grinning. "I believe you two know each other." Faith looked briefly at Riley who sat quietly behind a metal desk, readjusting his uniform and sighing as he did. Blond hair, muscular, he looked just as she remembered, though maybe a little more serious.

"I would tell you to be at ease private, but I don't think there is any way to make this situation easy on either of us," said Riley as he tried to suppress the twinge of anger boiling deep inside of him. Faith glared at Xander, who looked rather amused by the situation. The expression on his face looked positively weird in conjuncture with the big bruise on his jaw.

"Well… sir," she used the term tentatively. "First, I'd like to say I'm sorry about… the thing, you know. That and thanks for springin' me out, kinda big of you, I guess."

"Save your thanks for lieutenant Harris, private. He's the one who's been bugging me day in and day out to get you into the outfit. Hell even when we were under fire that's all he would talk about; ' bet we could use Faith right about now', 'too bad we don't have slayer on her side', 'hey, you know what would be really useful right about now, a freaking slayer'. I swear he almost made me regret recruiting him in the first place, hell there was time I thought of putting one in his head," said Riley as he squeezed his fist in mock anger. "Anyway, as for your apology, as far as I'm concerned, the unpleasant incident never took place, and that better be your version of event as well. I hear you talk about this to anyone, I will skin you alive."

"Gee, unpleasant. You're the first to complain," said Faith, regaining her usual bravado. It earned her a glare from Riley, as he got up and walk to the front of his desk. He leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alright, enough pleasantries, let's get to the low, down and dirty, shall we," he hit a few buttons on a small control on his arms, the lights went out and a panel slid open, revealing a large flat screen high definition television. "First off, you are now a member of an officially non-existent special unit operating under NATO authority, and sometimes even under UN sanction. Our official designation is Dragon-12. Our mission, to track and appropriately deal with any supernatural threat to national or international security." The Dragon-12 insignia was displayed on the screen, a black dragon wrapped around a sword buried obliquely in a large rock.

"You will work as a direct field agent under Lt. Harris' command. You will have the rank of private, until and if you reach the desired level of excellence and reliability that is required for me to assign to you the field commission of 2^nd lieutenant, that Xander here has been requesting on your behalf." She turned to Xander who was leaning slickly on a small bookcase, polishing his fingernails against his dress uniform.

"Cool," said Faith. "thanks, boss."

"The unit you will be part of, the one Lt. Harris is in charge, is referred to around here as the Black Crows. You will meet the rest of your teammates after the completion of your training and of your first assignment."

"Training? I'm sorry, but I was born for this gig. Chosen one, you know," she said, an incredulous look on her face.

"I know, but we want to familiarize you with certain weaponry and tactics that you might not have been exposed to before. The training will be extremely concentrated, since we're taking into account your natural slayer's skills as well as our own time crunch."

"Time crunch? Oh, I see, you need me for somethin' special, don't you. That's how Boy Toy convinced you," she said smiling, having finally found the angle she was looking for. Riley's jaw shifted, and then his head started nodding.

"We are a new outfit, and are grossly undermanned. Even worse is our lack of female agent," continued Riley, "our total lack of female agent, actually."

"Feels good to be wanted," quipped Faith, a little more relax now that she knew they needed her. Riley pressed a few more buttons and the screen displayed a series of words, "Operation Siberian Hawk-23, Top Secret, Case # ALR345-089T". After a few warning prophesizing an eternity of torment for those who would dare access the document without proper authorization, an image of a young couple came into view. A jet set couple. The woman, fabricated look, expensive diamond necklaces, gorgeous red Versache dress, clearly intoxicated, leaning amorously against the man. For himself, the man looked rather like a kid snorting daddy's money away. His clothes alone, Armani of course, probably had cost more than some people earn in a year.

"Merryl and Simon Reddick," said Riley, "Simon's father is a famous industrialist who though disapprove of his son's way, continue to finance his various habits. Those include of course drugs, women, constant partying, as well as an unhealthy penchant toward the occult and the collection of ancient artifact. Merryl is very much is equivalent, she's a born party girl and a witch wannabe. They met six months ago, love at first sight. They were married a month ago in Greece."

"You want me to kill 'em, is that it?" she asked nonchalantly. Riley and Xander glared at her. Riley then, pressed another button and the image switched to an extremely good looking man. Short blond hair, green eyes, late twenties, well groomed. He had an arrogant air to him, and a defiant grin.

"Cute," said Faith.

"His name is Mason Konnig, he's a rich artifact dealer, whose just acquired a very sensitive item, called the Key of Dagon," Riley pressed a new button, a picture of the key appeared, an oversized golden key, with a large ornamented orb on the handle. "It's said to be able to open a portal into hell. Needless to say, it is attracting many rich buyers who will make a bid for it at Mason's private auction two weeks from now. Invitation only. Too bad the Reddicks won't be able to use theirs, they are currently held in quarantine in one of our facilities, for their own protection of course." Faith closed her eyes for a seconds, her smile widening.

"Let me guess, me and Xander here are takin' a trip down matrimony road," she said.

"We're to infiltrate, posing as the Reddicks. Our primary objective is to recover the artifact, secondary is Mason's capture, think you're up for it?" asked Xander, walking over and behind Faith, speaking right into one of her ears. She turned her head toward Xander, giving him a sexy look, her eyebrow raised high.

"Five by five."

"How could you let him go!" roared a voice out of the darkness. Saraudak knelt before the immense statue of a serpent, an obsidian throne, laced with gold and priceless gems. Its concave shape created and impenetrable darkness at its center, to which a series a small stairs led. Two glowing eyes stared at him from high up in the darkness.

"There was a demon hunter, my lord," responded Saraudak, anger in his voice but his eyes still fixed firmly on the floor. "Xander Harris, your majesty." His two companions knelt a few feet behind him, trembling in terror. There was a large black marble altar, right behind them, the image of a multiheaded serpent, embossed on all its sides. Beyond laid an audience of nearly thirty people. Half of them humans, the other demons, all dressed alike with their brown frocks. They were all aligned perfectly, bowed in reverence.

Samuel Simmons had a big smile on his face, as well as close to half his ice cream bowl. He sat on one the kitchen's wooden chair, barely reaching the table, struggling to dig his spoon in the chocolate delight in front of him. Xander observed him with almost visible annoyance. Incidentally to that emotion, the young boy reminded Xander of Riley for some reason. Xander leaned back in the lzboy and dropped two aspirins, washing them down with a large sip of water. He rubbed his eye as he grunted.

"So who's Cordy?" asked Katrina, squinting her eyes theatrically.

"An old girlfriend," he conceded, still rubbing his eyes. "What's with your obsession with my past anyways? Stalker much?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the one whose name seems to be known among the demon community," she said. She raised an eyebrow to further infuriate Xander, whose eyes seemed to want to jump out and bite her in the throat.

"So what we do with the kid now," asked Marcus as he slumped down on the couch, right next to Garrett. Katrina paced around the living room as Sanaz filled up Samuel's bowl once more, the boy responded by grinning wildly.

"Well we should probably try to find his sister," answered Katrina.

"What I don't understand is, those demons, according to what he told us, kidnapped him and his sister by using this weird mind control whammy, right. So why didn't it work on him? Why didn't they use it on us?" asked Garrett.

"Maybe only that Serpent King, has that ability," said Xander. "As for why it didn't work on him, I have an idea. Hey Samuel!" The little kid turned around as Sanaz stepped into view as well.

"What color is Sanaz's jacket?" asked Xander. The pink coat hanged on the chair behind Samuel.

"It's red," said the kid, as if it was obvious. Everyone looked at it, making sure he was mistaken. There was a look of sudden understanding on everyone's face, an understanding that Xander's proceeded to voice.

"He's color blind," said Xander. "Noticed it when he asked for the blue bowl. That hypnotic power must only work with colors." Samuel continued to eat his ice cream, digging the spoon deep into it as he pulled the purple plastic bowl toward himself.

"Listen guys," said Xander, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke. "We'll go to sleep for tonight, and tomorrow, I want Garrett and Marcus to take the kid around that area. Try and find the demon's lair, but no heroics, I don't want to have to pull a rescue again. Sanaz, you can go ask professor Henry if he can find any information on those things." Sanaz smiled widely.

"Wouldn't it be safer if you went with them?" asked Katrina.

"Nah, if they're back before dark and they stay in the car, there shouldn't be a problem," said Xander. "Anyways, I have something to do." Xander got up and started heading up the stairs toward his room

"What's that, dog?" asked Marcus. Xander answered without turning or even loosing a step.

"Get in touch with my bad self."

The manor was lavish to say the least, nestled into a remote area of Russia. It had been built into a cliff side and stood impressively above the river below. It was as if it were a natural outgrowth of the large chains of mountains that spawned as far as Xander had been able to see. Xander now stood in front of a gigantic window, staring at the wild landscape. Beyond the Yenisey lied a thick coniferous forest that stretched on a bed of snow for what seemed like an eternity. It had taken them a full day's travel from Igarka, riding down the glacial waters of the Yenisey on a fantastically beautiful shuttle boat, to arrive to this place. They were dangerously close to the artic circle and steam escaped intermittently from the river. If things were to turn ugly, which they surely would, it would be hell to try to get back to civilization.

Xander sipped once more from the crystal wine glass in his hands. He had sworn he'd never touch alcohol again, but Mr. Reddick had reputation for his vices, and when else would he get a chance to drink red wine of that quality. He would have to deal with the repercussion afterwards; he had gotten himself clean sober once, he would do it again.

He turned and faced once more the overwhelming beauty of the manor's interior. The thick burgundy carpet ran everywhere with the exception of the dance floor's French tiles that lied in the dead center of the immense room. The walls were of paneled artwork, alternatively carved or embossed, sometimes even encrusted with amber.  A large balcony hanged above the back of the main room, stretching its way around it to slowly become two different staircases. There was an extensive amount of flora as well. Green plants, flowers banks and even trees lined every room. Small quartets were strategically placed around the manor, playing in synchronicity chamber music of the like of Schubert "The death and the maiden". They were demons of some sort, with long ears and feeble bodies. Demons with an affinity for music obviously, but Xander couldn't name their race. He did recognize a few polgara demons that served as some of the mansion's many bodyguards.

Xander stood on the east stairs leading up to the balcony. There was a small portion of it that served as a half-way balcony, and it opened onto a long corridor with vaulted ceilings. He had time to readjust the tie to his expensive Armani suit, as Mason Konnig approached him with a hand extended and a warm smile.

"It is a honor to meet you Mr. Reddick, I am Mason Konnig your host," he said warmly as he shook Xander's hand. Firm grip.

"Please, call me Simon," said Xander smiling back. This was his first undercover mission and he couldn't help but feel as if he were in a James Bond flick.

"Very well, then you can call me, Mason," his host replied as he did a small turn to face the crowd of demons and businessmen downstairs, all of which were accompanied by a multitude of beautiful young women.

"So many beautiful women," continued Mason jokingly. "So many old farts, it's disgusting, isn't it?"

"You should get out of the artifact business, start selling viagra," responded Xander. Mason laughed at the joke. It was an elegant laugh, always controlled. He then turned back to face his guest, that was without a doubt the youngest man in the room.

"I'd probably make a fortune, wouldn't I?" he said before pausing a moment. "Where is your wife, if I may ask? I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet."

"She's changing into something a little less warm, and… a little more hot," said Xander, earning another smile from his host. Mason looked away for a moment, as if he was thinking about something and then slowly brought his eyes back to Xander.

 "I am a man who speaks his mind Simon, and I also consider myself a quick judge of character. If you'll allow me to say, I rather like you. I sense you and I could have a very interesting friendship, if not only business relationship," said Mason. "Perhaps you and you're wife would consider joining me for supper tonight?"

"I'll have to ask the old ball and chain, but I'm sure she'll be all for it," replied Xander, shaking his head slowly. A smoky voice, suddenly interrupted him.

"But of course I would love to, darlin' " finished Faith as Xander and Mason turned toward her. She stood there in the entrance of the hallway, her hips swaying sexily.  She was stunning. She wore a red versache dress that accentuated every curve of her body, revealing her smooth legs almost in their entirety. She wore her hair up and her lips had been painted the most luscious red. Xander was breathless, as were half the men in the room, the other half having their back to her. Xander caught glimpses of wives slapping their husbands' chest for staring, and young models glaring aggressively toward Faith. She made her way gracefully toward him and kissed him softly on the lips. Xander was dazed, forgetting where they were.

"Honey, where have you been?" she said emphatically in her best ditz impression. "I've been lookin' all over the place for you, there are just so many rooms, you know. I was afraid I had like, lost you forever." She snuggled herself against him, wrapping an arm around his, pouting her lips. Xander looked as if he were a deer caught in headlights. He quickly saw that his expression was arousing concern in Mason and forced himself to say something before concern turned to suspicion.

"Oh, Merryl… honey. I'd like you to meet my good friend and our host, Mason," he said fumbling for almost every word. Mason had a look of delight on his face as he took Faith's hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it. Faith didn't seem to mind either.

"How delightful to make your acquaintance," he said, as he disrobed Faith with his eyes. "I can see your husband has… excellent tastes. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make a speech." Mason gracefully departed, heading toward the top of the balcony. Faith's eyes followed Mason, taking notice of his ass. Xander observed with amusement as she licked her lips.

"You're not thinking of cheating on me, are you honey?" he asked jokingly. She faked outrage, her mouth and her eyes wide open.

"I would never!," she said, still in her fake voice and then switched to the normal as did her body language. "Okay, maybe. But remember Boy Toy, this is for show. Don't loose yourself in the fantasy."

"Don't worry, I'm in control," he said as he took another sip from his wine. Faith suddenly pressed herself close to him. Her face raised toward his, an enticing look on it. Fierce. Primal. Her left hand slid down Xander's chest, the other grabbing his ass. Xander's heart palpitated, and he wondered if she was noticing that it wasn't the only part of him that showed his excitation. Her left hand continued its travel as it slid along the inside of his arm. The moment was intense, their breath seemed to become one as she smiled sexily at Xander. It was harder and harder to resist the moment, but Xander fought as best he could until suddenly, Faith pulled away. She had a big grin on her face as she took Xander's glass with her. She swallowed the rest of the wine in one great gulp as Xander sighed angrily. He looked away at the floor and then glared at the giggling slayer.

"In control, right? Just make sure you keep your boozehound genetics in checks, loverboy. We got a long chow ahead of us and we haven't gotten to the cocaine yet.  I don't want any Freudian drunken slip, you know?"

"Is it okay if I make an ass of myself and then pass out on some strange women's breasts?" he asked raising an eyebrow. She smiled.

"Just keep it pro," she answered, her eyes wandering to his pants. "By the by, you should really sit down, hon. Captain's on the bridge."

His hands slid alongside the polished pole of wood. It was light. Well balanced. Six feet long. It felt natural in his hands, just as Faith's knife had. Xander started slowly twirling the bo between his fingers, switching hands every few motions. The grass of his backyard felt cold under his bare feet, as he stood there dressed only in his sweat pants and a white t-shirt. The long pole of wood formed a constant figure 8 as Xander stared straight ahead, concentrating on his breathing.

Xander wandered the streets aimlessly, her blood still on his clothes.  He didn't care where he was, or who he was bumping into. He knew how dangerous the streets of Sunnydale were at night, but right now he couldn't care less. With Anya still in England at some ex-demon convention, Buffy had insisted that he'd sleep at her house tonight. She didn't want him to be alone after what happened. He'd agreed and then snuck out when she had let her guard down. She was probably roaming the streets for him, right now. Xander didn't care. Didn't care at all.

He stopped for a moment and stared at his reflection in a darken window. The shade looked remotely like him. The telltales' signs of tears were all there. His face was clean-shaven. There were no scars, no wounds. None that could be seen. Thoughts of suicide were running around Xander's head but suddenly, movement in the reflection caught his attention. Xander spun around. Three vampires in an alley were beating on an Asian teenager, looking as if they were getting ready to make lunch with the boy. Xander clutched his fist tightly, as he found himself enraged. Rage. Pure rage.  

Xander's hands started moving faster and faster. He twirled the bo more menacingly for a moment and then suddenly stopped. He caught the pole in the middle of one of its rotation, it was now perfectly horizontal in front of him. Xander stance slowly shifted to a wider one, his legs bending to form an almost perfect 90 degrees, his back straight. He stared straight ahead with intensity and concentration. He seemed immovable.

Chi. Earth. I am the mountain. I shall let it strength flow through me.

The Sunnydale general hospital. Bob the orderly was making his rounds. Xander nodded to the fat man as he walked past him, acknowledging his presence with a smile and a nod of his own. Xander was becoming a regular here. How did the song go? "Sometimes you wanna go to a place where everybody knows your name." This wasn't exactly how he used to picture it, but that's what he got. He looked at Sonnie, the asian teenager he'd saved a little earlier, the kid slept quietly. He didn't look too bad, a little bruised, a little broken, but still good. He'd live. The fanged trio wasn't so lucky.

Xander still couldn't believe he'd taken all of them at once and not only survived, but won. Sure, he had gotten better at fighting over the years, "clocking field time" as Buffy had put it. But last night was a surprise. Xander turned around and started to walk away when suddenly an aging Asian man stepped in his way. He was slightly shorter than Xander and had graying hair.

"Hello, you must be the man who saved my son," the man said, extending his hand toward Xander. "My name is Hojiro, Hojiro Kateda." Xander shook the man's hand, forcing himself to smile.

"Please to meet you," he replied "I'm sorry, don't take this the wrong way, but I have to go." Xander tried to sidestep the man and walk toward the exit, but his path was quickly blocked by Hojiro's arm that stretched across the doorway. Hojiro seemed determined to speak to him.

"I am sorry too, but you see, I have a debt to you," said Hojiro. "One that you must allow me to repay, you see, honor demands it." The man smiled at Xander who wasn't in the mood for this sort of thing. Xander tried to push his way past the man's arm and suddenly found himself pinned against the wall. He had a hard time breathing as a sharp pain surrounded his throat, just as Hojiro's fingers did. The Asian man smiled.

"Would you like to know how I did that?" he asked knowing full well that Xander couldn't respond. "Let me teach you, as repayment." He released Xander, who gasped for air.

"Why… why do you want to teach me so bad?" asked Xander.

"I told you already, you saved my son. Also, you look like you could put it to good use."

There was a soundless tempo in the air, as suddenly Xander broke his apparent trance and started twirling the bo rapidly. His feet shifted in an aggressive stance as he accelerated the motion of the bo until it became incredibly fast. Xander started advancing aggressively, striking the air rapidly and using a dazing array of hand switching techniques. Never retreating, never blocking, never pausing. He was pure momentum. Xander fought legions of imaginary opponents coming from every side.

Ka. I am fire. I am aggression.

The two strikes had come at impressive speed. Xander had managed to deflect the first punch, and block the other at the shoulder. Xander raised his right knee almost up to his shoulder, blocking a devastating roundhouse with his shin. Two more punches, Xander backed away as he dodged the first and blocked the second. Suddenly, a sharp pain formed itself in Xander's lower chest. As he folded in two, Xander had time to catch a glimpse of the foot quickly retreating from where his stomach had been moments ago. That image was quickly replaced by that of a fist rushing to Xander's face. The left uppercut sent Xander's head straight up and into the trajectory of a powerful right lunge punch. There was a flash of light and then darkness. The sound of something crashing onto the floor.

Xander opened his eyes, spitting out the blood in his mouth as he prodded his battered body against the wall. Hojiro stood smiling, calm and fresh, only a few meters away.

"Would you like to know what you did wrong, Xander?" he asked. Hojiro wasn't the stereotypical martial art teacher that Xander had expected him to be.  He never quoted anybody, never knew any proverbs, not to mention that he wasn't too keen on having Xander wash his car or paint his fence. Hell half the time his teaching was rather… unconventional. There were both dressed in everyday clothes, and their arena was a rather filthy warehouse. 

"I tried to block with my face?" he joked, wiping the blood from his mouth. Hojiro smiled.

"Funny Xander, but no. See the problem is two fold, in the end though, they're pretty close to one another," said Hojiro as he helped Xander up to his feet. "First, nobody can block forever Xander, I know you're scared of me, you're scared of getting hit, but you have to take chances if you want to win. Second, you're not taking this seriously."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I take my nonchalance very seriously," answered Xander, "It's part of my o' so called charm."

"Again with the funny," Hojiro paused for a moment. "Xander, how is it you think, that when it comes to defending yourself, you're pretty much DOA, but when it comes to saving someone else's life, you're a regular Fight Club card carrying member?"

"Let me guess," Xander said, rolling his eyes. "Low self-esteem." Hojiro grew quiet for a moment, thinking about what Xander said. He nodded slowly.

"Actually that's not what I meant but that's pretty good, you should work on that," said Hojiro, puzzling Xander once again with his un-Mr. Miagi attitude. "When someone else is attacked, especially one of your friends, you get pissed. Rage Xander. Rage is your friend. You should let your anger control you more often."

"Euh… isn't this, a bit, against you know, every martial art philosophy out there," asked Xander a bit taken back by what his teacher was saying.

"Hey! You want to win or you want me to give you a colored belt? The fact is, you have heart Xander, it's something that's very rare, even in top notch fighters. To be frank, you probably have more heart than anyone I've ever met. Now, you let that heart rule you, you let it drive you, you fuel it with rage and hatred, and you will defeat any opponent. Rage will give you focus, it'll give you confidence."

"But doesn't rage lead to hate, and hate to suffering? Or at the very least isn't it gonna pull a Mr.Magoo on me and make me blind or something?" asked Xander.

"Learn to use it, then will work on when to use it and when to step away from it."

Xander stopped for a moment, catching his breath while leaning on the bo. His shirt, damped with sweat. His body radiating heat, even in the early fall temperature. Unbeknownst to him, Sanaz watched him from behind the sliding glass door, as he seemed to think about something for a moment, and then took off his shirt. She was surprised, not only at the fact that Xander was suddenly getting comfortable with walking around without his shirt on, but by the whips scars on his back. She continued observing quietly as Xander started spinning wildly, twirling the bo like a madman, exchanging hands position behind his back or while in mid-air. He was as a tornado, attacking imaginary enemies for all sides. Blocking and attacking in one fluid motion.

Fu. I am the wind. I am everywhere. I am overwhelming.

Xander deflected the first two punches easily, and violently blocked the third by smashing his elbow onto Hojiro's incoming fist. Xander spun an attempted landing a back fist to his teacher's face. When the later dodged it, Xander followed by advancing aggressively, throwing three punches at his retreating adversary. Hojiro blocked them easily and threw a roundhouse, which Xander ducked under, sweeping at Hojiro's only grounded leg. Hojiro jumped over the attack and when he landed, both him and his pupil were facing each other in aggressive stances. They stood still, only a meter away. Xander was grinning. He was learning fast, it only had been a month and he could actually fight. One month. One month of coming to the warehouse every evening after work. Two hours everyday, unless, of course, duty called. Anya was furious, it was taking time away from their sex time. Buffy for herself, was delighted since the Xan-man could now stand his own against most vampires. There was mutual bow between Hojiro and his student, who quickly proceeded to lean against the wall, catching his breath.

"You're getting better, but don't let it get to your head," said Hojiro. "The hardest lessons are still ahead."

"Bring 'em on, I'm ready," said Xander smiling. Hojiro however, did not look so cheery. He suddenly pulled a knife and before Xander knew what happened, he was pinned against the wall, knife at his throat.

"Quiz time, Xand. You mess up and there's gonna be an opening at Hojiro's school of martial arts, got it?" said Hojiro. Dead serious.

"What happens if I forget to form my answer in the form of a question?" quipped Xander, trying to secure a grip on Hojiro's arm. The blade slid on Xander's throat and made a small incision. A twinge of pain. A trickle of blood.

"How did you save my son that night?" asked Hojiro. Xander closed his eyes, searching for the answer. He fought to control his fear, he knew that Hojiro wasn't just playing.

"Rage?" he answered tentatively.

"Good, but not exact. I'll give you a clue, what was missing that night. What is it that stopping you from freeing yourself, right now."

"Fear," answered Xander. "I was suicidal that night, I didn't care if I lived."

"No Xander, it's not that you didn't care if you lived," said Hojiro, still pressing the blade. "You wanted to die, and that gave you a strength that I will never be able to teach you." He released Xander who quickly grasped for breath.

"Remember this Xander, no matter how strong your opponent is, if you go into a fight with total disregard for your life, you will always succeed in defeating your enemy," continued Hojiro. "You might not live through it, but you'll not die alone."

"So how do I get there? More meditation?" asked Xander.

"Meditation helps, but it's only when life will have taken away everything you love, that you'll truly reach that state. You'll be a man with nothing to loose."

"Gloomy," said Xander.

Xander started slowling down until he came to a full stop. He waited for a moment, and then blocked and imaginary attack, riposted and then reapeated. He would back away and come back immediately with an attack, as if he were a wave, receding and coming back in fury. His moves were fluid and calm though. He seemed peaceful.

Sui. I am water. I am fluid. I will adapt, I will react.   

"Catch," said Hojiro as he threw a katana at Xander. The summer was drawing to an end. Two months now, and he could actually spar with Buffy. Of course she would always kick his ass, and pull back on the strength a bit, but every once in a while he'd trip or throw her. Sometimes he would even land on top of her, which wasn't a bad place to be. Xander observed the sword for a moment. The blade and the mounting were recent and it lacked any special feature, but it was well balanced.

"It's a gift," continued Hojiro. "There comes a time in every martial artist life where he must specialize in the weapon best suited for him. The sword will be yours."

"Why the sword?"

"Well, many reasons. I've observed you have a natural talent with it, a significant one. Then, it would certainly help you against these demons and vampires your always fighting with. Doesn't matter how much stronger or tougher your opponents are, a good sword strike, ends it all. It also happens to be my specialty as well. Finally," said Hojiro smiling, "the Japanese believed strongly that the sword was an extension of the soul. Since you seem to have a particularly strong will, perhaps your swordsmanship will reflect it." Xander suddenly grew uneasy as he wielded the sword.

"Hojiro," he spoke, his voice troubled "You told me yesterday that for someone to defeat the strongest of enemies, that person first had to know and accept himself totally."

"Correct," said Hojiro.

"What if that someone, which is of course a friend of mine, and not at all a false persona that really is me. Anyway, what if I don't like what I know about myself, how do I change it?"

"You don't, " answered Hojiro. "People change on the surface, but not deep inside. Plus ca change, plus c'est la  meme chose, right? Anyways, you have to accept who you are, because you'll never really be able to run away from it."

Xander came to a sudden stop. His eyes were closed and his breathing loud but controlled; he was slowly calming himself down. He had hoped it would all go away. He knew the medallion would attract trouble sooner or later, but he wanted so bad not to fall back into that world again. There was no stopping his exposure now, he either accepted it or turned a blind eye. Whatever was left of his conscience had made the choice for him. He would not hesitate like last time, when it had cost Annie's life. It was time to accept who he really was.

"So what did the professor have to say, Sanaz?" he spoke without turning around. Sanaz had been approaching quietly from behind, hoping to be the first in two years to surprise him. She sighed as he turned around.

"He'll call tonight," she answered. "By the way, I'm kinda new at this, but where do I slip the twenty bucks? And if I added a little extra, is there anything else you can do with that pole. Maybe a little sliding, a little griding. Think you can handle that?" She smiled teasingly. Xander smiled back.

"You'd be surprise."

 

The sound of metal scratching on metal persisted in the dark room for a moment. Suddenly, the tumblers fell in and the door unlocked. Light pierced the room as the massive oak door swung open. Faith stood in the doorway supporting most of Xander's weight as he had a hard time keeping his balance. Not that Faith was much better, they both laughed and giggled together in a haze of fatigue and drug induced happiness. They entered their magnificent bedroom, the best guest room in the manor according to Mason. It was impressive indeed. Xander closed and locked the door behind himself, as Faith headed straight for the large Victorian bed. She turned around to see Xander was leaning against the wall laughing, slowly slumping down to the ground.

"That Mason was something," said Xander. "Really like the guy. Knows how to party." He meant every word. For some weird reason, him and Mason had really hit it off. Even though he wasn't too discreet about his attraction to Faith, but could he blame him? She was magnificent in those clothes. Xander felt a little weird knowing tomorrow he'd have to arrest him, but those thoughts were quickly deterred by the sight of Faith smiling sexily at him. She leaned against one of the post, her arm was extended toward him, a finger signaling that she request his presence.

"Xaaander…" she purred, her voice was honey. Xander pulled himself to his feet and stumbled toward Faith. He lost a step, somewhere along the way and found himself falling straight in her arms. She pulled him up, they were both giggling.

"Wo, that cocaine's the stuff. Makes Xander a dull boy.. euh I mean… it doesn't," said Xander, but Faith wasn't paying much attention. Her head tilted from side to side as she stared Xander in the eyes, lowering her head, throwing feline glances. She undid her hair in one slow motion, and soon her hand brushed Xander's face, as her entire body made inviting gestures. Xander's heart rate was racing, as their body seemed to enter into that synchronicity that passion brought to two lovers. Their breath accelerated as one.

"Boy Toy, you wanna help me out of my dress? It's getting' wicked hot in here," she said, drawing closer to him. Xander swayed back and forward, looking quite out of his faculties. He swallowed hard.

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," he said, his voice had no conviction in it. He looked helpless as Faith started hovering over Xander's neck. Her soft breath caressed his skin.

"Well, we're supposed to be newly weds, and we should keep it as real as possible, you know," she said, one of her hand sliding to the back of Xander's head, grabbing his hair. Xander tried unsuccessful to pull away, Faith had ensnared him.

"It might ruin the friendship," he said, finding his own resistance wavering.

"So, will start a new one in the morning," she said. Her lips hovered over his. Xander drew himself closer and closer, ever so slowly.

"I'm your superior… it's inappropriate," he said not believing a single word out of his own mouth. His hand was sliding up alongside her hip, making its way toward her face. Meanwhile, she slowly undid his tie and tore his shirt open.

"Xand, I've spent the last year in jail. I'm wicked due for some R&R," she said, smiling predatorily. "If you don't want me, well you're just gonna have to order me to stop… sir." She pulled Xander toward her, his hands enveloped her and their mouths met in a passionate embrace.

The television hummed its electrical poetry as Marcus and Katrina watched intensely. Images of a beautiful brunette, running away breathlessly from her demonic pursuers. She tripped and fell in pool of water. She got back to her feet immediately as her wet shirt gave the male audience a glimpse of heaven.

"Now that's what I call quality television," said Marcus emphatically. He bit his lip as his head nodded in approval. He suddenly stopped as Katrina slapped the back his head.

"Marcus!," she said in exaggerated annoyance. "I actually like this show, it has some of the most original writing out there."

"Yeah, well girl, after what we've been through, I don't find no demons original no more," he answered. "What I don't get is how she always know where the trouble at."

"She psychic, she gets visions. Kind of like the one Xander had of Samuel being attacked," she responded, as Xander walked down the stairs holding a sledgehammer.

"I don't know, I just think that Cordelia Chase is hot girl, loved her in that movie, what was it called?"

" 'My Sorrowful Angel' " said Xander in an annoyed voice as he positioned himself in front of the living room's wall.

"Yeah, that's it. 'My Sorrowful Angel'. That was the bomb," said Marcus, before he suddenly noticed Xander winding up with the sledgehammer. "Watcha doin' with the sledgehammer dog? Whatcha doin'?" Xander didn't answer Marcus anxious plea and instead sent his sledgehammer straight into the wall, starting to tear it down. Garrett came running out of the Kitchen, horrified.

"What the hell are you doing to my wall!!!" yelled Garrett as Xander reached in to the breached and pulled out a large dusty duffel bag.

"Remember when I did up this wall two years ago. Well I, quite obviously to the not blind with rage, hid something there," said Xander as he dropped the heavy black bag onto the floor.  The sound of metal banging on metal rang out from within.

"What's in there?" asked Marcus as he knelt by the bag.

"Toys," said Xander as he unzipped it, revealing enough weaponry to take out a small country. Handguns galore. Grenades. Sub-machine guns. Sawed-off shotguns. Xander reached in right away and pulled out a Japanese sword as well as an old leather jacket that had been sown and repaired many times. "Help yourself. Ammunition is deep down inside, in the metal boxes."  Marcus reached in pulling out a H&K Mp5, staring at it in awe. Garrett was starting to calm down as he stared at the pistols in his own wonderment.

"I knew it!" yelped Katrina, proud of herself. "I knew you had some kind of dark past!" Xander was loading up two Sig Sp 2340 with .357 SIG caliber rounds at expert speed, smiling to her as he did.

"Yep," he said. "But you're still not gonna find out what it is. Marcus, no machine gun, no shotgun either, unless you're using slugs." Marcus dropped down the Mp5, visibly disappointed.

"Why not?" he asked, picking up a Glock 34.

"Because, from what you guys told me, there is gonna be about 15 people down there that don't deserve to die. People who unfortunately are under that Serpent King's control. Now you bring either one of those weapons, especially since none of you guys are used to them, and you're gonna splatter a few innocent, " answered Xander, who suddenly turned toward Garrett, glaring. "By the way, I thought I told you to stay in the car."

"You ain't the boss of me," replied Garrett, staring down the sight of a Taurus PT111.

Xander woke up with a headache and an intolerable thirst. He stared at the antique grandfather's clock. 2:30. There was light outside shinning in through the windows. A feeling of warmth over his skin forced him to look down to see Faith, snuggle up against him. Her dress hung on a windowsill as his clothes were thrown against the room. Last night had been wild, wild and unexpected. He tried no to think too much of it as he slipped out of bed, waking Faith in the process. She smiled at him.

"Good morning.. sir," she said teasingly. Xander didn't respond as he downed a bottle of water he'd taken from their mini-fridge.

"Well… you've improved," she continued, trying to spark up a conversation by teasing him. "Not that you were bad to begin with, just a bit quick to the finish line, you know."

"Is that why you haven't thrown me out of the room yet?" he asked, half-joking.

"You're not still jonzing about that, are you?" said Faith as she sighed. "If it's any comfort, you're one of the chosen four whose made it past round one." Xander smiled.

"I guess I'll live," said Xander, as he watched Faith get up and start running for  the bathroom. "What are you doing? I call shower! I call shower!"

"Welcome to the jungle baby!" she said smiling as she slammed the door in his face.

Faith lied on the bed quietly, watching Xander as he fumbled around with his tie. She was already fully dressed in a sexy black number, very similar to the Versache she'd worn the day before. She lied there, chewing on a piece of bubblegum, Xander's scar grabbing her attention once again. She had been hesitant to mention it ever since she had gotten out, and now seemed as good of a time as ever.

"B.came to visit after you disappeared, you know," she said simply. Xander froze, staring himself in the mirror, his hands still up by his collar. He tensed up, his breath accelerating, his heart rate probably doing the same. After a moment, he continued arranging his tie.

"Really," he said, his voice was trembling, even though he tried to mask it. Faith sat up, throwing her bubblegum away as she did. She bit her lip and took in a deep breath as she tried to muster the words that were jammed in her throat.

"She was lookin' for you, she was worried," she said.

"Really," there was a strange anger in her voice, a hint of disgust. Finally Faith found the strength to say what she had been holding back for the past two weeks.

"Boy Toy… Xander… she told me how you got the scar," she said. She tried her best to look and sound non-threatening, understanding even. Xander froze once more, closing his eyes as he let the memory come to him.

The sweet taste of alcohol. Strong. Irresistible. Filling his sense with warmth and comfort. Xander swung the bottle upward as he chugged another large portion of Jack Daniels. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his leather jacket, almost tripping the sword on his lap as he did. He sang, "Time is on my side" as he sat his legs tucked in on top of an old industrial conveyer. The old abandoned manufacture was a lonely place, it was dark, filthy and cluttered with useless junk. It was multileveled, immense, it stank of rat feces. It was perfect. Suddenly there was a metallic cry, followed by the sound of fresh air rushing in. Xander continued singing as he heard footsteps on the steel staircase.

He stood before Xander, now, as if he had come out of nowhere. He wore his long dark coat as always, in his hands were a sword. His expression was a mix of anger and hatred.

"Deadboy!" yelped Xander, almost cheeringly. He took one last gulp of whiskey and then threw the bottle sideways. The sound of glass shattering against metal echoed throughout the manufacture. Xander pushed himself and landed on his feet. "So glad you could make it."

"Where is she, Xander," said Angel angrily. He stood a few meters away, glaring intensely at Xander who burst into laughter.

"Funny, I thought you came looking for this," said Xander as he held out a small bottle of green liquid. "You know, your redemption. Your precious reward, the one thing that can give you your mortality back."

"Where is she?" Angel continued asking, angrier by the second.

"How is Gunn by the way? When I left, he didn't look too good," said Xander. "I think I broke his arm."

"Where is she!" roared Angel, changing to his vampire face. Xander never flinched, instead he smiled widely.

"Who Darla?" asked Xander, as he reached over to an ashtray, slowly spilling it's large content onto the floor. "She didn't make it to the party. You would have love it, man. She went out screaming for me to stop, but hey, you must know what that's like." Xander's expression was devoid of all emotions. Angel looked away for a second, then brought back a murderous glare onto Xander.

"I didn't mean to kill Anya, it was an accident!" said Angel, his hand tightening around the pommel of his sword. Xander seemed disturbed at the mention of her name, but he quickly got back to exude an air of malice.

"What does it matter? You and me, we always knew it would come to this," said Xander as he unsheathed his katana. "But you know what, all this talk has made me thirsty. Bottom's up, " Xander suddenly swallowed the green liquid, as Angel leaped forward, slashing at him.

"No!" yelled Angel.

Xander slipped under the blade, laughing at the attempt as he did. He positioned himself a few meters away, his sword aligned by his temple. Angel spun around, still enraged. Xander took out a small pocket knife and made a small incision on his throat. A trickle of blood came sliding down.

"You want your reward, Deadboy?" asked Xander, smiling. "Then come and get it."

Faith smiled sheepishly at Xander, it was an expression that she used rarely but he saw none of it. His eyes were still staring emptily into the mirror, as his trembling hands tried to slowly complete the knot.

"So you and Angel went at it for real, huh?" she said, as Xander continued to try to ignore her in his silence. "Can't say it surprise me too much. You two were bound for somethin', sooner or later. Sorry to hear about your girlfriend though, tough break." Xander's hands fumbled as anger drew itself on his features. He angrily undid the knot and started all over again.

A large rat sneakily made its way alongside the old brick wall of the manufacture. It suddenly stopped and raised his head, scanning the wall with his beady eyes. The brick were of a decayed brown with green moist climbing its way upward. The rat tilted his head side to side, hearing something in the distance, trying to sniff it out. He suddenly squealed and darted for safety as the wall exploded in an array of broken bricks and dust. Xander and Angel crashed violently on the metal grid of the bridge, two floors above the ground, their bodies locked in a clench. They struggled for a moment, their weapons still in hands, the blades dripping with blood. Xander aptly rolled away as Angel swung his sword after him, missing his back by an inch.

Xander managed to spring to his feet slightly before his opponent did and rushed toward him. Using his sword to push away his adversary's, he came in close, kneeing him in the face. Angel staggered backward with the blow, but managed to deflect the two sword strikes that Xander aimed at his head and leg respectively. The third one slipped through and sliced a large gash across Angel's chest. The pain was excruciating, and Angel barely managed to slip under the fourth swipe, which would have cleaved his head clean off. Summing up all his strength, Angel went on the offensive, making Xander loose ground as he did. Xander dodged away from the first slash and parried the two that followed. He prepared himself to riposte, but suddenly Angel closed in and threw him hard against the railing. A grunt escaped Xander's lips as his spine almost broke with the shock. Xander's eyes grew wide with horror as he watched helplessly his sword slip out of his hands and fall toward the ground floor.

Angel pulled Xander forward, his sword traveling in opposite direction, aiming straight for Xander's belly. The tip of the blade must not have been more than an inch away from its mark, when Xander slapped Angel's hand out of the way, freeing himself from his grip. Xander spun alongside the blade at an amazing speed and back-elbowed Angel in the face, sending the vampire half-spinning with the devastating blow. Before Angel could do anything, he felt Xander's arms wrapping around his, and suddenly, the pressure, the sudden pain. His sword went flying after Xander's, as with a loud crack, his arm was bent into an unnatural position, the bone sticking out through the interior of his elbow. Angel's yell of pain was briskly halted by two equally devastating back-elbow strikes, the first to his chest, the second two his face. He started staggering backward when a powerful sidekick to his chest sent him flying back into the debris. If he had been human, the blow which had broken his solar plexus, would surely have killed him. Xander stood there watching him squirm in pain for a moment, and then let out a maniacal laughter.

"How the wheels turn, Deadboy," he said, his face was full of blood. The crimson liquid dripping from a gash on top of his head. The rest of his body was covered with wounds ranging from many scratches to shallow sword wounds. "I'm not the geeky kid you used to push around anymore. I grew up." Angel scrambled himself to his feet, looking as if it was taking a lot out of him. He took a moment to reset his bone in place.

"No, you're not," Angel responded as the leaned painfully against the railing. "You're just a pathetic drunk, just like your father. That must really eat you up inside, that you ended up just like him." Xander expression became serious, Angel's words at hit their mark.

"C'mon Deadboy," said Xander as he invited him with his hand. "Let's finish this."

Angel pounced forward, stopping short of a kick Xander threw toward him. He took advantage of Xander's mistake and started throwing a barrage of punches that his opponent barely managed to block. He had Xander on the run; with a sword in his hand Xander could hold his own, but Angel's vampire strength gave him a terrifying advantage when it came to hand to hand. Every punch, even though they were blocked, inflicted damage on Xander. A kick landed, followed by a powerful right hook to the head, sending Xander spinning, blood flying everywhere as he did. Xander managed to catch himself on the railing as his knees buckled. Angel charged in and wrapped his arms around Xander's waist, squeezing him with all his strength. Xander couldn't breathe, his arms flaying in pain as the bear hug crushed his lungs. Suddenly, he plunged his thumbs deep in Angel's eye sockets. The vampire yelled, letting go of Xander as he did. His knee exploded in pain as Xander broke it with a powerful kick he executed as he fell from Angel's grip. He continued his attack by grabbing hold of Angel and using his shoulder to throw him over the railing. Angel's body fell for a moment before crashing into a pile of wooden crates. Xander leaned over the railing and watched the vampire squirming in pain, once more.

"Be right down, honey!"

Faith tapped her foot nervously on the ground, her eyes darting from there to Xander, who still struggled violently with his tie, still not responding to her. She swallowed hard, once more.

"I don't blame you, you know," she said. "I kind of bonded with the guy, right before I went to Frontera. He saved me, gave me hope at redemption. But I've had time to think about it, after B. gave me the low down." She paused for a moment. "I don't blame you. You were in a dark place, and that's something I can understand."

Xander whistled the tune to "Time is on my side", as he made his way through the darkness. He was completely calm, amused if anything. Intermittently, he would switch to singing the actual verse, as he would walk past the large columns, or around the abandoned machinery.

"Time is on my side… yes it is!" sang Xander, as his sword scratched the cement floor. "Come out, come out wherever you are. C'mon, hiding? That's not the Deadboy I remember, with his 'I'm badder than thou attitude'. What happened? You only pick on teenage boys, is that it?" Xander caught a glimpse of metal on his left, it saved his life. Angel pounced from behind a column, striking twice, both of which Xander barely blocked, before he tripped over a piece of wood behind him. He managed to maintain his balance, but not enough to completely dodge the strike that followed. It had been intended to sever his head, instead it sent Xander spinning half-way as it opened a severe wound on his face. The sword dug deep around the area of his mouth and slid down all the way to two inches below his left ear, leaving a large gap in Xander's jawbone. It didn't stop him though, didn't slow him down. Xander ducked from another slash intended to behead him and ran. He jumped onto a column, pushing himself from it with one leg and rolled over the top of a tall machine.

He landed, his hand grasping the wound on his face. Blood was pouring profusely. He made a few steps and turned around as Angel landed a few meters behind him.

"Try singing now, Xander," he said smiling wickedly. "What's the matter you don't have anything funny to say?" Xander attacked before he finished his sentence. They exchanged a few attack, parries and counter-attacks when Xander suddenly yelled in a mix of pain and frustration as Angel's blade slashed his left quadriceps open. Xander fell violently to his knees as Angel starting circling around him like a predator confidant that is prey was beyond hope.

"Too bad you don't heal as fast as I do," he said as Xander struggled to his feet. He limped around trying to face Angel, rising his katana high above his head, the pommel resting on his forehead. He had a resolved look on his face.

"Angel, take a good look, 'cause I'm your death," he said, anger in his voice.

"I doubt it," said Angel as he attacked. They crossed blade once more, another series of exchange. Xander jumped around, poorly keeping up with Angel who tried to overwhelm him with fast footwork. Suddenly, everything froze.

The thirst for vengeance. Pain, all over his body. Bruises and cuts. Dizziness from the lack of blood. He saw it, the moment, the flaw. He almost lost it because he couldn't believe it. He swung his sword from the floor to the sky, deflecting Angel's blade as he did, and he followed up. In one swift moment, his blade plunged deep into his opponent's chest. Angel grunted loudly, his eyes spelled disbelief. As he fell to his knee, Angel made a last desperate strike at Xander's leg. It was blocked easily. Xander grabbed a hold of Angel's wrist and twisted the sword away from him, sending it sliding away into the darkness. Everything was in slow motion, now. The pain in Xander's jaw. The blood flowing from his wound.  Angel's face, full of anger and fear. Xander's sword at his throat, blood dripping from it.

 "Told you I'd be there," said Xander, grinning evily.

She got up to her feet and made her way slowly toward Xander. She hesitated for a moment, and nervously put a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, you and me we're a lot alike when you think about it. So, if you want to talk about…" she managed to say before Xander turned around, gazed in her eyes for a moment and slapped her hand off his shoulder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily. She stepped back, surprised.

"I was just…"

"What? Thinking 'cause you just jumped my bones, it gives you the right to pry. You wanna be my shoulder to cry on, is that it? You wanna be my shrink? Sorry to say Faith, but that ain't you," his voice was bitter. Faith tried to show no emotion to his verbal attack, but her breathing betrayed her growing anger. "Don't try to fool either of us into believing last night meant anything. You're the girl guys pick up at bars 'cause it's cheaper to buy you a few drinks than to pay the hooker on the corner for a blow job. Don't loose yourself in the fantasy, it's not 'cause you're wearing a fancy dress that you ain't white trash."

"Are you done, sir?" she asked coldly.

"Just as long as we understand each other." She shook her head slowly in acknowledgement. Xander glared at her for a moment.

"Five by five."

Xander turned around and walked out the room without saying anything. As the door closed behind him, Faith's features displayed a hurt expression. She gathered up her face with her hands for a moment. When she came back up for air, she took a long deep breath, calming herself down. Her eyes were watery, but she had managed not to cry. She threw a glance at the grandfather's clock and headed for the bathroom to freshen up.

Xander looked over the old tome the Professor had handed out to him, there was a picture of a serpent like humanoid that resembled the demons he'd encountered earlier. He scanned over the text for a moment, as he lowered himself into one of the kitchen's wooden chair.

"Sarakis. That looks like them, but it can't be, says here they've been peaceful for 500 years."

"You read latin?" asked Sanaz surprised.

"I picked it up a bit in high school, it was another of my unhealthy habits."

"Well yes, in theory you're correct," responded the Professor. "But it seems there's been a resurgence of their old ways over the last fifty years."

"Which are?" asked Garret.

"They used to be a violent warlike people that worshiped the Hydra as a god; they would sacrifice a woman to it every full moon. Fifty years ago," answered the Professor, "other races started hunting the Sakaris. I suppose they did so out of fun or because they could not withstand their preaching ways. Anyways, this forced them to go back to their ancient traditions, in order to survive."

"Great," said Sanaz, "they're having a murderous renaissance."

"Wait, ain't the full moon tonight?" asked Marcus, his eyes twitched from side to side as he made the connection. "Shit! That means they gonna kill the kid's sis tonight." He raised to his feet in a hurry, Xander waived to him to calm down.

"Relax Marcus, they won't kill her till midnight. Trust me, these things, it's always the full moon at midnight." Suddenly, Gabe appeared in the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe, sipping from a beer.

"What is this?" he asked. They all turned toward him with the exception of Xander who kept his eyes on the floor.

"Gabe!" finally said Sanaz, "I told you about this. Remember, the little kid. We're gonna save his sister." Gabe took another swig from his bottle. He wasn't intoxicated, but there was nothing friendly about his demeanor.

"Oh, I see," he continued. "Annie wasn't good enough for his help, but this one is."

"Gabe," said Katrina, "You know Xander didn't…"

"Katrina don't," interjected Xander, his voice was calm as he finally stared Gabe in his eyes. "I would trade my life for Annie's if I could, but it doesn't work that way. You want to blame me, fine. I'm gonna do what she would have wanted and make sure I never turn a blind eye again. Now you want to brood or you wanna come with?" Gabe stared at Xander for a moment as the tension built in the room. He looked as he was about tosay something when all of a sudden, he spun on his heels and without saying anything, walked out.

"Dammit, Gabe!" said Sanaz, preparing to go after her half brother.

"Let him go Sanaz," said Xander. "He'll come around. Now Garrett, you told me there's a skylight, right?"

"Yeah, right above the sacrificial thingy," answered Garrett.

"Make sense," said the Professor. "They would want the moon shining down on the sacrifice."

"Good, all you guys go on ahead. I want you to storm the place through the front right before midnight. Sanaz, you have the secret weapon ready?" She waved the small portable stroboscope in response; a translucent red filter had been placed over it.

"Lock and loaded."

"Where you gonna be?" asked Marcus as Xander headed for the bathroom, the leather coat folded underneath his arm.

"Don't worry, I'll just be fashionably late." The bathroom's door closed behind him. As the gang gathered their stuff, preparing to leave, the sound of an electric razor started humming from behind the bathroom door.

Xander stood on top of the main balcony overlooking a crowd of businessmen and demons, all waiting in palpitation for the auction to begin. He was some 20 feet away from a heavily protected podium on which stood a small pedestal, covered up with a beautiful silk fabric. The key was most certainly under it, but Xander couldn't concentrate on that right now. He had calmed down and felt a horrible tinge of guilt over what he had said to Faith. Sure it was none of her business, but he had been harsh on her. He knew last night had meant nothing to Faith, but they were still friends. He had to find a way to make it up to her. His thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of an arm wrapping around his. Xander turned to see Faith, smiling at him, looking fresh and a little too happy. He was at lost for words for a moment.

"Faith, I… about what I said in…"

"Save it, Boy Toy," she said smiling respectful at a few couples passing by. "You didn't say anything that wasn't true. Now, concentrate on the gig." Mason stepped on to the podium as they were speaking. Everyone started applauding as he approached the microphone.

"Remember the plan, we wait to steal it from the buyers," he reminded her. "We grab Mason afterwards."

"What? You want to hold my hand, too?" she asked sarcastically. Her head suddenly jerked a bit to the side as she noticed four bouncers positioning themselves about three meters behind them. Two humans and two polgara demons.

"5-80" she said casually. Xander recognized the prison term, though he had no need to.

"Saw," he replied simply, staring casually at Mason.

"Welcome everyone," said Mason, his voice reverberating through two large speakers on either of his sides. "I first would like to thank everyone for attending this very special auction. I know you are all quite anxious to start the bidding and without further ado." He made a small gesture and the veil lifted, revealing the key of Dagon in all its splendor. The applause started again.

"There is just one more thing, before we start," said Mason with a smile, turning toward Xander. "Lt. Harris, or may I call you Xander, since we're such good friends? Perhaps you would like to make a futile attempt at capturing the key, perhaps arrest me in the process? I would prefer we get this out of the way." Xander heard the sound of guns cocking behind them as he shook his head in annoyance. Faith was calmly kicking off her high heel shoes. Xander titled his head from side to side, cracking his neck, as the four bouncers moved in straight behind them.

"What do you think honey?" he said emphatically to Faith as she watched the bodyguards around Mason. There were three polagra demons and two men who had yet to draw their weapons standing between her and the key.

"I think military precision is worth shit," she answered. Xander turned back toward Mason.

"I guess this is a good a time as any," said Xander as he suddenly pushed himself off his front leg and slid backward to land side by side with one of the human guards. As he slid, he delivered a powerful back-elbow to the man on his right, the guard's body arced backwards, about to fall unconscious to the floor as Xander reached in and drew one of the guard's two pistols, the one still in its holster.. Xander caught a glimpse of one of the polgara rushing toward him, poles drawn. The demon started jerking as Xander aimed the pistol under his left arm, and unloaded three rounds, two in the chest and one in the head. The crowd below became agitated as the shots rang out loudly and the other human guard went flying over the railing, his face bloody, having fallen prey to a surprisingly devastating back spin kick to the face from the attractive brunette he had thought defenseless.

Faith had no time to rejoice as she barely dodged out of the way of a pole thrust, intended for her heart. She ducked under the following slash and blocked a punch, before sending her opponent staggering back with a sidekick to the head. Her back was to Mason now, but she caught Xander out of the corner of her eye, rapidly emptying the magazine of the pistol at what seemed like numerous targets. The polgara demon came at her again with three strikes; she dodged the first two, and blocked the last as she got in real close, rendering the creatures natural weapons useless and clumsy. All her strikes made contact as the creature made no attempt to block. Three hooks, a uppercut, followed by a devastating spinning backhand, and using the same momentum, she threw a last roundhouse kick that sent the demon staggering backwards a few feet. Suddenly Xander came out of nowhere and shoulder-rushed the poor bastard, sending him crashing through the railing and into the crowd below.

"Faith!" yelled Xander, his eyes telling her what to do. She dropped and spun, sweeping for the leg of an oncoming polgara demon. The creature tripped and crashed onto the floor, embedding its poles deep in the ground. It looked desperate as it tried to pull itself free only to watch helplessly as Xander wrapped his hands around its head and quickly snapped its neck.

Faith watched the tableau of dead bodies in front of her; she was impressed. The two humans, the three polgaras and two more beyond the now toppled pedestal, lay dead with a single bullet wound to their heads. Xander wasn't the clumsy teenager she remembered. She had no time to ponder on the matter as she spotted Mason running for an elevator with two polgaras bodyguard following him closely. He had the key of Dagon in his hand. She bolted full speed after him as more guards were starting to run up the stairs to join the fight.

Mason pressed the button for the elevator calmly. He turned a moment seeing Faith closing dangerously upon them. A melody rang out, announcing the arrival of the elevator. He slipped as the door opened.

"Stop her," he said calmly, as he started to methodically go through his key chain, looking for the proper key to operate the elevator. The two demons never had the time to turn around as Faith jumped and spread her legs wide, kicking them both in the head at the same time. She quickly went after the one on her left. He was still staggering backwards, when she landed a devastating combination of punches and elbows, assuring he'd be dazed for a moment. She then grabbed solidly onto one of his arms, and lunged to the left, dodging out of the way of a slash the other demon had tried to blindside her with. His face contorted in pain, as a current of blood flowed out of his throat, where his buddy's pole was now buried, Faith controlling the arm. She withdrew it, spun, using pressure and momentum to break the pole and in one fluid motion, plunge it in the last polgara's own throat. The bodies fell to the ground as the door to the elevator closed. Faith's eyes widen and she sprung for it, getting only an image of a smiling Mason before the door were completely sealed.

"Fuck!" she yelled, banging her fist on the metal door. It left a deep imprint. She heard shots and turned around. Xander was on top of the stage, crouched over the body of one of the human guards. He held two pistols, firing intermittently in the direction of one staircase and then the other, dropping all guards trying to assault the balcony.

"C'mon cowboy," she yelled. "We got to hit the staircase, he's heading for the roof!"

Saraudak felt a wave of disgust coming over him as he watched the ritual dagger dangling over the young woman's body. Satra waved it over her in grandiose gestures as she lay still, her eyes open and a smile on her face. He spoke the ancient language, his words repeated in unison by his followers as tradition demanded. The Serpent King's eyes shone from the darkness, as he watched quietly. Suddenly, the massive oak doors swung open behind the thirty so followers, the chanting stopped. The entire room was turned toward the group that held up pistols and baseball bats toward them.  They all wore sunglasses. There was a moment of silence, a long eerie silence that soon became ridiculous.

"Yes, may we help you?" asked a voice in the darkness from under the giant throne. Everyone from Garret to the Professor were nervously looking at each other, not sure what to do. Finally, Marcus spoke.

"Yeah.. euh… were here for the girl, and we ain't leaving without her!" he yelled, trying to sound menacing. Nobody seemed impressed.

"Kill them," replied the Serpent King. The whole room rushed toward the terrified group that felt helpless to react, as most of the font runners were humans. Sanaz jumped forward holding the modified stroboscope and started an array of flashing red light, that seemed to send any humans she pointed it at into a form of seizure. It was working, the light seemed to be breaking through the Serpent King's mind control. She managed to halve their ranks before she was blindsided by one of them. She fell to the floor the box knocking itself open, the batteries rolling out of reach.

"Now would be a good time to panic," she said as Katrina helped her up. The melee was on, with flaying bats keeping both demons and humans at bay, those who didn't laid on the floor bleeding and unconscious. Saraudak stood calmly at the back of the room, watching the fight. His eyes scanned for Xander as Satra and his two aides continued the ritual. A shadow came over Tina, as Satra raised the dagger high. Saraudak immediately went for his weapons as the sound of broken glass echoed through the room, fragments fell over a screaming Tina, which turned away and closed her eyes to protect herself. A man dressed in dark clothes landed right above the young woman, a foot by each side of her throat. Black jeans. Black leather jacket. White T-Shirt. The man had short dark hair, with one white streak. There was an empty scabbard hanging obliquely underneath his jacket, the pommel would have been hanging by his right hip. Blood dripped from the sword in his right hand, as one aide clutched desperately at his throat, blood pouring out. A cry escaped from Satra's lips as both his arms fell off at the elbow. He stumbled backward for a moment and fell to the ground, crying as he rapidly bled to death.

The whole room came to a stop as the man made a quarter turn, drawing a large black pistol as he did. He quickly placed the muzzle on the other aide's forehead; the Sakaris was sweating profusely, fear stricken. The man wore a pinch, and on his left cheek was a scar running down to the side of his throat. The stylish round sunglasses on his nose were lowered enough for everyone to see his hazel eyes staring into the aide's own. It was as if he was striking a pose, a heavy metal beat surging out of nowhere. Katrina watched in awe, recognizing Xander. Suddenly she realized something. He was it. Every bad ass she'd ever watched on TV growing up. Every  one-lining, led-pumping motherfucker that ever graced the silver screen. He was pure attitude. He was fearless. He was to the bone.

"The big bad's back, baby" he said, as with a loud pop, the demon's brain shot out of the back of its head. Xander then turned his attention at two Sarakis that broke from the pack, and were running toward him. Two more pistol discharge and Xander rolled off the altar as Saraudak, a short sword in his hands, bounced after him. In one swift motion, Xander holstered the gun and reached in the back of his jeans, pulling out Faith's knife as he spun out of the way of three attacks. Saraudak then brought down his sword once more and Xander blocked with the knife while attacking with his katana.  The two started a violent exchange that looked like a mix between Chinese stick fighting and the Spanish circle of death. It was poetry in movement, a deadly dance that looked as if it would go on forever.

"I do not wish to kill you," said Saraudak between strikes, he was retreating.

"That makes you and me both, pal," replied Xander, "but I'm not gonna let you butcher that girl." Saraudak had a sad expression on his face that puzzled Xander for a second.

"I do not wish for her to die either," said Saraudak continuing to fight as he did. Xander locked blades for a moment before pushing his opponent away. Saraudak stumbled a bit, catching himself on the altar. Xander stood still, his blades lowered.

"So why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Because I was ordered by the eldest, because it is the way."

"Ways change. They did for your kind five hundred years ago. Maybe you need something new. Your were warriors once, maybe you should be again, but that doesn't mean you need to go back to sacrificing young women, or enslaving humans. You could do good, you know. Lots of evil to fight out there," said Xander. Saraudak looked like he was thinking it over, lowering his weapons too.

"Saraudak! What are you doing? Kill the human!" yelled the Serpent King from his darkness. When no response came from his warrior, he turned his attention toward Xander, his eyes starting to play all the color of the rainbow.

"Kill Saraudak for me," he said. Xander didn't move for a moment and then motioned to the sunglasses on his face.

"Hello! Sunglasses here, can't really see colors properly with them."

"Stop!" yelled Saraudak motioning to his men, who immediately stopped fighting, letting go of a very relieved Marcus who was about to be impaled. The whole gang looked rather shook up, a little bruised, some cuts, but overall they were all alive. The humans that had been freed from the Sepent King's control had helped overcome those that hadn't. A few more Sakaris lied motionless on the floor, some looked like they would never get up again. Xander wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed his weapons.

"There will be no more fighting today," continued Sardaukar. "It's time to let go of the past."

"Sardaukar!!!" yelled the Serpent King. Some of the Sarakis were agitated.

"Sardaukar, it's not that we don't agree or that we don't want to follow you, but…" started one of the Sakaris.

"You are not the oldest," finished another.

"Are you the oldest after him," asked Xander as he shook his head toward the Serpent King. Saraudak shook his head only once in affirmation as Xander quickly drew his pistol.

"No, wait!" yelled the Serpent King before Xander unloaded a round straight between the two glowing eyes in the darkness. There was a grunt and the sound of blood splashing on concrete.

"Seems to me, you just got yourself a promotion, mister," he said smiling to Saraudak.

"Seems like I'm the new boss," he said in a serious voice. "Kill all the humans." Xander, as the rest of the gang jumped back in surprise, reaching for a weapon. However, Sardaurak raised his hands, signaling everyone to stand down. He had a wide smile on his face.

"Just kidding."

 

The door broke and Xander came pouncing out, pistol raised. The roof was deserted else for a Hind-d helicopter whose engine was still warming up. Xander advanced quickly toward it, scanning the roof around him as he did.

"Guard my six," he yelled out to Faith. She stayed behind a pistol in hand, a few feet from the door. Xander reached the helicopter and without waiting jumped inside. He spun wildly, searching everywhere. It was completely empty, no one was in the piloting seat either. The key of Dagon was propped against the passenger seat.

He exited the Russian helicopter to find himself in a tight spot. Faith had an embarrassed look on her face as Mason stood close behind her, an arm wrapped around her throat, the other holding a gun to her head in a manner that made it unlikely she would be able to escape.

"I suggest you drop your gun, Xander," he said. "I don't think either one of us want to see me mess up that pretty face."

"Fuck him Xander!" yelled Faith. "You put your gun down, we're both dead." Mason cocked his pistol, letting her know it was time to shut up. The rotor had started accelerating, and creating a powerful air current that forced everyone to yell to understand each other.

"Maybe your dead, or maybe if I had wanted that, both of you wouldn't be around right now," yelled Mason. "I had planned to have you both killed when you first arrive here, but the fact is that I do enjoy your company Xander, and her looks. I sense we could all be friends, about you both drop Dragon-12 and come work for me. You've both created a few job openings down there. I could use a seasoned demon hunter like you Xander, and I don't know what type of demon she is, but she sure can handle herself. What do you say, Buddy?" Xander didn't move a muscle, keeping aim at Mason's head.

"Boy Toy, I don't know if I get a say in this, but I say the offer's looking wicked fine to me from this perspective." Xander still didn't move.

"One way or another you should drop the gun," continued Mason. "Because otherwise, she's history. I guess what you need to ask yourself is if her life is worth risking yours." Xander hesitated for a moment, and then threw his pistol sideway.

"For her," answered Xander, "any day." He started walking calmly forward, and Mason slowly relaxed his grip on Faith.

"That's close enough for, now," Mason indicated as Xander stopped about a meter from Faith. "So, let's have it. What is it gonna be? Money or honor?" Suddenly, the sound of the elevator doors opening, made Mason turn around for an instant. Everything froze. Xander's right eye was aligned with Faith's left. It was as if they had a moment, as if Xander realized he'd go the long way for her. He bounced forward before she could react, terror spreading on her features. He shoved her violently out of the way of Mason's gun, trying to grab it with his left hand. The pistol went off as Mason turned his head back. Xander went flying, landing hard. He clutched his chest in pain as blood poured profusely from the wound.

Faith roared as she rushed Mason, elbowing him hard in the face. She then grabbed the arm holding the pistol, prodded it against her shoulder and pull down hard, breaking it. Mason then crashed into the three guards coming out of the elevator, as Faith delivered an enraged wheel kick to his stomach. She wanted to continue, she wanted to grab Mason and throw him off the roof, but then she glimpsed at Xander and the overall situation.  One of the guards with a sub-machine gun was rising to his feet. She bolted grabbing Xander as she did. They heard the shots. They heard the bullets ricocheting off the helicopter's armor plating as they jumped in. But it felt unreal, as if the world had stopped and everything stood still as they escaped. It was as if everything was muffled but the sound of their breathing.

The helicopter was on its way to an LZ five clicks south-west of the Manor where Riley would be waiting with a medical unit standing by to receive Xander. Faith stirred nervously as Xander talked her through flying the hind-d, his voice getting weaker by the minute. She turned around to see him; he was growing pale. He had managed to rudimentary patch up the wound as he talked her through the take-off, but the bullet had exited through his back forcing blood out, both ways. They had the key but Xander had lost a lot of blood. He wasn't looking good and that was worrying her. He closed his eyes.

"Boy Toy!" yelled Faith. "Stay with me Xander, or by god I will kick your ass!" Xander opened his eyes with anger in them.

"I was trying to meditate Faith, slowdown my heart rate so I don't bleed to death before we get to the RV point. Keep lower, we don't want to show up on any Russian radar screen." She lowered the helicopter once more as Xander closed his eyes a moment, to snap them back open a second later.

"What the hell were you thinkin' Xand? Pullin' a hero like that?"

"I was trying, and mind you succeeded, in saving your ungrateful life."

"That was a stupid way to go about it. I'm not worth your life, Boy Toy."

"Yes you are," he took in a deep breath before continuing. "Faith, you're my friend, except for Riley right now, you're my only friend. And I'm gonna hang on to you. Now, I'm sorry about the things I said back there, and I'm actually even sorrier that I let you agree with me. Whether you see it or not Faith, you're a fantastic woman. You're the stuff of fantasy. You're gorgeous, wild and funny. You're a hoot and a half to hang out with, fact is you're probably two or three hoots, easy. Finally Faith, you're not white trash, you got more class than I'll ever have, and if you ever let anyone tell you that again without beating the crap out of them, by god I will kick your ass and die trying." She smiled at the joke.

"Don't be so hard on yourself either, killer. Trust me, you're a catch. Plus I understand your whole deal, I stepped on the bad part of memory lane back there." She paused for a moment and licked her lips.

"Thanks, for the save I mean. And you know, I was thinkin', last night didn't mean anything to either of us, but you have to admit it was wicked fun. So I was thinkin', as long as were friends, we might as well screw each other's brains out every once in a while," she said casually to Xander as he suddenly jerked himself awake with surprise.

"Wait, you're offering me free sex, without any catch attached to it?" he asked stupefied. She nodded her head in response.

"Yeah basically, but you know, we'd be just friends so totally non-exclusive. What do you, think? Not that you have much choice."

"I think you just gave me a reason to live," answered Xander already thinking of the possibilities. Faith chuckled.

"Boy Toy, live through this, and I promise you, I'll make it worth your while."

Katrina smiled, staring attentively at Xander as they walked around the streets of the Bronx. The worn out black leather jacket. The pinch. The scar. The short dark hair, with of course the white streak. The medallion hiding underneath a white T-shirt. The sunglasses. It was a bit of a shock, but she was quickly getting use to it. He wore no weapons of course, else for his knife that she had seen him shove in the back of his jeans before they went to get some fresh air.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing," she replied. "It's just your new style… it seems to suit you."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Don't worry," she continued, "I'm not gonna ask about the scar. Though I should mention the whole gang think it looks real cool. You know, Real tough guy." He smiled at her comment as they turned the corner to their street. She suddenly became more serious, stopping him in his tracks by grabbing his arm softly.

"What I am gonna ask about is the empty bottles of whiskey I found underneath your bed." Xander sighed and then opened his mouth, about to say something when she interrupted him. "Listen, I think the never drinking alcohol thing, I mean for as long as I've known you, is a fair indication of a perhaps major dependency problem, and I'm worried that Annie's death might have…" Xander put a finger gently on her mouth, she stopped speaking.

"Katrina, you're right. I do have a problem, but after tonight it's nothing to worry about," he spoke decisively. "I think I drink to get away from myself, and tonight has kind of forced me to accept who I really am. So thrust me, I'll be fine now." She glared at him theatrically. 

"You better or I…"

"Stop it," he said cheerily. "You're just pissed 'cause I spoiled your Emmy moment." They started walking as Katrina shook her head in defeat.

"So what do you think is gonna happen with Saraudak?"

"I think he'll do fine. He's gonna revive the warrior spirit in his race," said Xander.  "He'll just make sure to turn it toward helping others instead of…" Xander stopped as he saw a familiar face coming out of his house. Tommy. Tommy Masterson. Mr. Black belt.

He was strolling out of the place with the rest of their posse. As he saw Xander, he made a sudden stop, pointing him out to the rest of his group; they all seem perplexed and amused. A smile appeared on Xander's lips as he started marching quickly toward Tommy.

"Hey looser!" exclaimed Tommy as he made a small gesture, pointing from Xander's feet to his shoulders. "What is this, is there a carnival in town or are you getting in touch with your inner fag?" It got a chuckle out of everyone, until Xander threw a powerful hook to Tommy's face. Xander never broke stride, never slowed down on his journey toward the interior of his house. He never turned back to watch Tommy fall unconscious to the ground, he just heard the change of attitude of his little gang, which suddenly seemed quite concerned with their hero's health.

Katrina came running after Xander, a bright smile on her face, reflecting every bit of how impressed and happy she was.

"What the hell was that about? Not that I'm complaining."

"I told you yesterday," said Xander, cracking a smile as he did. "Getting in touch with my bad self.

The phone rang four times before someone picked up.

"Hello, Arcanum Book Depository, how may I help you?" The accent was British.

"I heard you were in the market for old manuscripts." There seemed to be a slight delay in the conversation.

 "Yes, we are indeed, what is the work in question, if I may ask?"

"It's an old Sumerian book, it translates as 'Twelve steps to being less stuffy'."

"Bloody hell, who is this?"

"What's wrong G-man? Can't recognize the annoying sense of humor, I'm must be loosing my style in my old age."

"Xander? Oh, my dear lord. I can hardly believe it."

"Hey relax, you sound as if you just seen a ghost," said Xander swinging the window to his room open as he did. He reached in between his leg and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. Xander stared at it for a moment and then cracked it open.

"Well I did believe you were dead and… wait, are you?" asked Giles.

"Nah, don't wet your knickers, I'm not a ghost, I'm not a vamp, I'm quite alive. Just been in retirement for the last two years, sorry I haven't kept in touch, but total isolation was sort of the plan." Xander turn the bottle upside-down, letting the whiskey pour out his window.

"Thank the heavens. I mean, I do apologize for thinking otherwise, but I have not heard from you since you disappeared in Ireland two years ago."

"How do you know that? I haven't spoken to you in three years."

"Well we do have our spy network. Traveling with the slayer brought a certain level of attention to you, Xander."

"Anyway, how have you been Giles? Those filthy English treating you okay?" he asked, pulling out the drawing he had asked Marcus to do for him.

"Everything is fine, Xander. Nothing much has happened since I moved back here, else than I've been promoted head of the council."

"Oooh! Moving up in the world, pencil pushing seems to be working for you. Well I've got a scoop for Watcher Central, I'm back in action and I need your help with something."

"Right down to business, I see."

"You got a fax machine, 'cause I have a drawing I'd like you to take a look at."

"What is it?"

"It's a long story but to give you the reader's digest version, this girl gave me this necklace as she was dying, said it was meant for me. Before you ask, it definitively has the magic wacky on it. It gives me visions, like Cordy."

"I'll see what I can do, then. Anything else?"

"Yeah, I thought we could talk for a while, catch up."

"Of course, what have you been up to Xander. How's old Betsy?"

"Your guitar's fine G-man. Well I'm in New York now and…" Xander sank back into his chair, putting up his feet on his desk. He stared out into the late night sky of Bronx, feeling himself for the first time in as long as he could remember.