Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Sweeney Todd. They both belong to their creators and whoever else holds copyright and licensing. I'm just borrowing them for my own attempts at a YAHF. This is for entertainment purposes only and no moneys will be made from this fanfiction.

Razor Cut Smile

By Colleen

Part Four

'What living hell is this?' Sweeney asked. He hadn't been paying much attention to Xander's life for the last few days and the sudden swirl of activity running through Sunnydale High surprised him.

Xander's expression matched Sweeney's tone. "The Hell that is a career fair."

'Is this why Cordelia was asking you for hair tips?'

Xander growled. There was too much of Sweeney leaking through for him to be shocked that his so-called aptitude test listed him as a barber or hair stylist. Annoyingly, Cordelia found the whole thing hilarious and was getting good mileage out of it. Still, he supposed he should be grateful. Looking at Todd's later life, butcher wouldn't have been far off the mark and there wasn't much about that that would ever be funny.

He gave himself a shake and sighed. He had a barbering workshop to get to.

"Xander." Giles caught his attention just as he was turning to head to his own personal hell.

"G-man." He nodded to the Watcher and raised an eyebrow at the annoyed Slayer standing beside him.

"I'm afraid something's come up." Giles started.

It seemed the vampires had forgotten the careers they'd signed up for. Instead of running around killing people, they were running around stealing things from mausoleums. It was out of character enough that Giles felt he and Buffy should check it out.

"So, field trip." Buffy explained with a shrug. "Can you run interference with Principal Snyder?"

He gave her a sloppy salute. "I'll do my best."

Xander watched as they slipped out of the school, then turned and headed towards the library. The chance to get hold of the Watchers journal was more important than a possible future in cutting hair… or throats.

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He expected to have to pick the book cage's lock, something Sweeney was certain he could do. He'd learned any number of interesting things in prison all those years ago.

As luck would have it, they didn't have to call on that knowledge. Giles must have been working on them before he went out with Buffy, because the journals were piled on the desk in his office.

It took him a couple of minutes to find the journal in the haphazard piles and another fifteen to photocopy it. He stuffed the copies into his backpack and returned the volume, mixing it in with its brothers. As he left the library, he dodged Snyder and managed to sneak into the rest of the careers in barbering workshop unnoticed.

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'You could simply find a barber and apprentice to them.' Sweeney mentioned as they left the lecture.

:A two year class program or a two year apprenticeship, not much to choose from and you get experience with both.: Xander shook his head. :And it hardly matters either way, as I am not going to become a barber.:

Running into Willow forestalled what would have been an epic argument and Principal Snyder's presence drove the last of it from Sweeney's mind. By the time the teens finished with him, Sweeney had tendered several offers to kill the irritating man. Xander did his best to ignore the barber.

It was difficult.

He turned to the photocopied watcher's journal, but didn't have time to get very far into it before Buffy and Giles came back with some less than good news.

In short order that news lead to research, Buffy ice skating, assassins, having to deal with Cordelia when it was way too early in the morning and being chased through Buffy's house by a bug man. A bug man that in Sweeney opinion, only permitted the two teens to escape because he hoped they would lead him to Buffy. Only the fact that Cordelia's driving defied description and some physical laws allowed them to lose him.

The arrival of Kendra, who was also a slayer, was a bit of a shock. Watching her, Sweeney and Xander saw a young woman who appeared to have been raised in a way similar to what they'd read about in that damn journal. Similar, but perhaps not exactly, as her interaction with Giles proved. She at least had confidence in her knowledge as far as slaying went. Still, the way she reacted to members of the opposite sex, in this case Xander, was… Disturbing.

Xander wondered if Buffy would be like this, if Giles had trained her from an earlier age. He wasn't sure if the fact that he hadn't tried to mould her into a traditional slayer was a good mark or a bad one.

'Good, I'd say. Traditional doesn't seem to keep them alive very long. They were past due to try something new.'

Xander could only nod in agreement.

Then came the kidnapping of Angel, rituals, bug stomping fun and burying Spike and Drusilla under a church before the new slayer headed home and Xander finally got to sit down and read the journal.

It was as bad as he remembered, and even worse when he got to the new parts. Several times during the reading he stood, almost making for the door. Sweeney stopped him, insisting that he know everything in the blasted thing before doing something about it. Each time had Xander pacing like a caged animal, trying to walk off his anger and not really succeeding, but cooling down enough to continue reading.

When he finished, he sharpened two of Sweeney's razors and went looking for Giles.

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They found him at the school, working on his indexing of the Watcher's guides. Xander suspected there was some irony in that.

Giles looked up at him, his expression tired.

"Xander, what are you doing here?" He looked around. "Something hasn't happened, has it?"

Xander didn't reply. Instead, he looked through the journals Giles had spread out on the desk before picking up the one he knew all too well. Giles sat back in his chair at the pure fury in the boy's eyes.

With a thud, Xander dropped the book onto the table in front of Giles.

"Tento di Cruciamentum."

Giles blanched, looking down at the book Xander had chosen.

"You couldn't have read that there…"

Xander verbally cut him off. "Want to know a fun and interesting fact about Halloween?"

Giles blinked at him… "Uh…?

"The barber I became when Ethan set off that spell had Welsh as a second language." He pointed at the book. "I didn't even realize I wasn't reading English until you told me."

"Oh… dear."

"Oh Giles." Xander said, shaking his head. "This is way past 'Oh dear'."

Carefully the Watcher stood up. "Xander."

"Cruciamentum, Giles. I mean, okay, maybe it doesn't still happen…"

Giles closed his eyes briefly.

"Well, fuck me."

Giles looked at Xander, shocked. The boy didn't usually resort to such words, preferring to come up with things to say that were much more imaginative.

If Giles knew the content of the conversation going on in Xander's head at that moment, he might have understood. And if he knew why Xander's hand was edging towards his belt, he might even have said something comparable.

"Yes, it still happens." Giles said instead. "It's an archaic exercise in cruelty, but it still happens."

Xander's hand paused in its movement towards the razors.

"What possible use could there be for it?" He asked, shifting his hand away from quick death, much to the annoyance of the voice in his head.

"It's supposed to be a test of a slayer's cunning, imagination, and self-reliance."

Xander snorted. "And dumb luck." He waved a hand towards the journal that started it all. "I can read between the lines. A fluke would be the only way she made it through the test."

Giles sat back down and looked at the journal. "I'd always thought something not un-similar myself." Frowning he looked up at Xander. "But how did you come to that conclusion?"

"He didn't raise and train a cunning, imaginative, self-reliant slayer. He forged and tempered a weapon, and he was the one who wielded it. So I'm pretty sure the only way she got through the Cruciamentum was because the vampire they locked her in with went and tripped and fell on the stake."

"Actually, I always suspected Huws fixed the event somehow."

Yeah, that sounded like something the writer of that book would have done.

"I thought he was one of the most well respected Watchers of his time?" Xander asked, none too innocently.

"Not by me." Giles looked at the journal angrily. "He is however, held up to Watchers in training as an example of what they should strive to be."

"Cold, arrogant, manipulative bastards?"

Giles made a sound that was almost a laugh. He'd noticed, now and again, that Xander had a gift for seeing what others were missing and presenting it in a way that cut through all the bull it was buried under.

"Unfortunately, yes." He looked at all of the Watcher's journals spread out on the table. "There are things in these books I wouldn't want Buffy to ever know and not just because it's against protocol. I'd never want her to believe that I think of her like that." He pulled his glasses off and dropped them to the table, rubbing at his face. "I've been able to read between the lines as well. The Cruciamentum isn't just to test the slayer. The Watcher is judged as well. The few times a Watcher has seriously protested or attempted to interfere, they've been removed from active duty."

"So you bitch about it and they'll pull you out and set her up with someone who doesn't give a shit about her." He frowned at Giles' startled expression. "What?"

"You don't usually swear so much."

Xander let out a deep breath. "Sorry." He couldn't tell the man how close he'd come to killing him. The swearing was equal parts him upset about what he and Sweeney would have done and his relief that he now wouldn't have to kill Giles.

'Keep the option open.'

And some of it was Sweeney being pissed over losing a kill.

'One I'd been looking forward to.'

:Too bad.:

"So, is there anyway to derail this puppy?"

"Short of killing off the Senior Council and any of their hanger ons?"

'I do have to like the way his mind works though.'

Xander knew he ought to be horrified, because while Giles probably meant what he said flippantly, the barber was quite serious. And yet, he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

"We can save that as the back up plan."

Giles laughed, but only because he didn't realize that Xander was at least sixty percent serious.

Maybe even seventy-five percent.

"The slayer isn't to know about the Cruciamentum or it would invalidate the test."

"So, you tell her about it and no test." Xander winced. "And they yank your aa …; they pull you out and assign a new Watcher to Buffy, who will probably get her killed."

He thought for a moment.

"Well, that's easy then."

"How could it possibly be easy?" Giles asked.

Xander stood and started to move slowly towards the doors.

"Because I, a non-Watcher, having discovered the dastardly deed the Watcher's council wishes to commit against my dear friend, will immediately go inform her of that deed." He smiled.

"Bye."

By the time Giles stood, the doors were already closing and Xander's running footsteps where quickly fading down the hall.

Not sure if he should be horrified or relieved, Giles burst into shocked laughter. Once he had control of himself, he moved to chase Xander down and stop him.

And if it took him five minutes to find his keys, and if he had trouble starting his car, and if he somehow got lost on the way to Buffy's place, well, surely all of that was far too tedious to bother putting into his next report to the Watcher's council.

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"Xander, it's late." Mrs. Summers stated as she opened the door.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I've got to talk to Buffy about this upcoming test. Both of our grades depend on it."

Joyce blew out a breath. "I haven't seen her studying for it."

"She has, in the library at school. I was just talking with Giles tonight and realized there was a whole section we didn't cover."

Stepping back, she let Xander in. "Alright. Just don't be at it all night."

"Thanks."

"She's upstairs, in her room." She paused, as if fighting against saying something.

"Don't worry Mrs. Summers; we'll leave the door open."

She laughed and shook her head. "And I swore I'd never say things like that when I got older."

He smiled back at her before jogging up the stairs to knock smartly on Buffy's door.

"Xander?"

"Hey Buff, we need to talk."

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Mrs. Summers gave Giles a little half smile as she opened the door. "Is this about the test, because Xander is already upstairs talking with her about it?"

Giles started slightly, then calmed himself. Whatever test Joyce believed they were talking about; it wouldn't be the Cruciamentum.

"Ah, the test, yes. There are just a few items they need to know about."

Mrs. Summers let him in. "They're upstairs in Buffy's room."

"Thank you."

He took the stairs sedately, not wanting to make Buffy's mother suspicious by bounding up them.

Outside Buffy's room, he could hear the slayer talking in an angry, but controlled voice. Probably to keep her mother from coming up to check on them.

Steeling himself, he pushed the already ajar door further open.

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned to look at him, fire in her eyes and her fists opening and closing as if she wanted to punch something but didn't have a good target.

At least, not until he walked in.

"I see Xander told you."

The pain in her face was so sudden Giles felt it like she had buried a fist in his gut. She hadn't wanted it to be true. In fact, she'd wanted him to deny everything and have that be the truth.

"Told me? Told me that as soon as I turned eighteen you were going to poison me and set me up to be killed by the worst vampire the council could get a hold of at the time?"

"It's not quite like that."

The look she gave him screamed 'you've got to be kidding me'.

"Although I'll admit, it's not a lot different."

"Giles, I… I can't even look at you right now."

"Of course." He turned to Xander. "I'll have to inform the Watcher's council of this. Now that the slayer knows of the Cruciamentum, it is invalidated…" His lips quirked up in a smile, which he shook off to give Xander a worried look. "They will be unhappy with me, although I believe I may weather the situation. They may be very unhappy with you."

"Bring it." Xander said, only just managing not to flinch as he heard Sweeney chuckling in his head. He was enjoying even the thought of killing something other than a vampire just a little too much.

Buffy was looking from Giles to Xander and back again, as she suddenly pieced together what was going on.

"It's invalidated? As in, they can't do it?"

"Yes."

"Giles? Did you...?"

"You should probably stay pissed at him for a few days." Xander said. "I don't think the Council is spying, but if it comes up later, having people remember you were angry with him will probably play better." Xander understood quite well how much of a lead the Librarian must have given him in getting to Buffy's house.

She smiled, her eyes lighting up for a moment before she forced it all down. "Right, soooo angry with you."

"Of course. I still expect you to patrol," Giles told her. "Although I won't be surprised if you blow off one training…"

"Two." She stopped him before he could argue. "Nobody would believe I was mad at you if I only skipped one."

He sighed. "Very well, two."

"Just be extra mean to the vampires for the next few days." Xander suggested.

"Gotcha."

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Xander and Giles where outside Buffy's house and heading down the walk when Xander spoke.

"Giles, are there any other big Council secrets you're keeping from us?"

"If there are, I'm not privy to them."

"Good, good, because Giles, if there are any and you don't tell us about them…"

"You're not really going to threaten to kill me, are you Xander?"

They stopped by Giles' car and Xander gave him a hard look that had the man shuffling back a step.

"It's not a threat Giles, it's a simple fact. One that came close to already happening." Xander turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Watcher leaning against his car.

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'So, are you going to tell him?'

:Who, what?:

'The Watcher, are you going to tell him I'm here. The only reason you didn't before was because you felt you couldn't trust him.'

:Not sure I can yet. Besides, with any luck, maybe Rayne can do his job and get us separated:

'Perhaps.'

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At that moment, Ethan Rayne was in a silver shop in London, showing the owner a picture of Sweeney's razors. He'd found a photo of them with the name of their maker on the back when he'd gone through his records.

"Ah yes, I remember those, why do you ask?"

"I purchased them a while back. Was hoping to find out something more about them. The papers I had with them said a theatre commissioned them?"

The man gave him a surprised look. "Must be terrible papers. No, not a theatre. A young woman. Course, I can't say what she did with them once she got them. Still, I got the feeling she was trying to recreate a family heirloom. Originally, she brought in a handle. Wanted to see if it could be fixed." He shook his head. "Thing was cracked and missing a couple of chunks as well as its blade, but it was a beauty in its day.

"Did you fix it?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I could have, but the cost… Told her I could make her an entire new set for the price of fixing the one." He shrugged. "So that's what she had me do. We took the original handle and melted it down with the silver for the new ones."

Ethan felt a headache coming on.

"So, they all have a part of the original handle in them?"

"Yep. Turned out nice. I enjoy getting to do hand chasing."

"Chasing?"

The silversmith nodded. "The design is pushed into the silver with a small pointed tool and a small mallet. That way you don't lose any of the silver, like you would with carving."

Of course, couldn't risk losing any of the original metal. Whoever this woman was, she'd been up to something. There was no way this was a coincidence.

"You wouldn't happen to still have her name, would you? I'd like to discuss the razors with her if at all possible."

The silversmith shook his head. "Not comfortable giving out client information. If you like though, you can leave me your name and number. If I can get a hold of her, I'll ask if she's interested in speaking with you. I'll pass on your number if she is."

Ethan thanked him and gave him the phone and room number of the hotel where he was staying. It was the best he could do for now, and he'd wait and see if it would play out. If it didn't, then in a day or two he'd simply have to resort to a little B & E.

He looked around the shop. It could be profitable for more than just the number and his finances were running a little low.

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Giles was looking forward to and yet loathing the idea of making this call. The loathing came mostly from the foaming at the mouth haranguing he would be put through. Some of the looking forward part strangely enough, was also the foaming at the mouth part. As much as he was glad to have given up the ways of his youth, sometimes he really did want to stick it to the Council.

"Down Ripper." He reminded himself as he picked up the phone.

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Ethan e-mailed Sweeney/Xander a few days later, informing them that he'd tracked down who made the razors and what he'd learned of their history. He also told them that he'd had to do a little after hours B&E to get the contact information on the person who'd commissioned them. The effort was pretty much wasted. The address and phone number were bogus and the name proved untraceable by both magical and mundane means.

"A. Emerson."

'The name is not familiar.'

Xander had to agree. He e-mailed the Mage to keep looking.

"So, going out tonight?"

'Yes. Do you intend to sleep through it?'

"We'll see how late it goes."

'Very well.'

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The vampire dusted in an almost gentle fashion, though the fight with him had been nothing as nice. Sweeney breathed deep, enjoying the moment.

It was Xander that notice the sack. The one that was moving.

:Do I really want to know what a vampire was doing with a bag of kittens?:

"Well, pies come to mind."

:Gack.:

"Mrs. Lovett's biggest competitor used them in her pies."

:And double gack.:

"Oh hey, are you going to the game too?"

Startled, Sweeney turned to see a demon standing behind a gravestone, holding a sack similar to the one they had.

:He looks like one of those wrinkle dogs.:

Sweeney wasn't sure what Xander was talking about, but wrinkle did describe the demon.

"The game?"

"Yeah, you know, the poker game?"

Sweeney gave it a thought, then picked up the squirming bag of kittens.

"Yes, I am. I've gotten a little turned around though; you wouldn't know the way, would you?"

"Sure, just follow me."

:They play poker with kittens?:

'So it would seem.'

:We are not playing poker with kittens.:

'If you really think that bothers me just remember the pies. Both kinds.'

Sweeney smiled as Xander was verbally sick in the back of their mind.

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Kitten poker was… Kitten poker. In a demon bar, in the back room. Sweeney followed the wrinkle demon, whose name turned out to be Clem, because he though it might be a good place for a few kills. However, there were more demons around than he wanted to try dealing with all at once and then… He just got involved in the game.

Not that he needed or wanted the kittens, but he did enjoy winning.

He was also amused with the sulking going on from Xander.

'Go to sleep if you don't like the game.'

:I can't, I'll have kitten nightmares.:

'Now or later, what's the difference?'

:I hate you.:

"Ante up." Sweeney pulled a kitten out of his growing pile and put it in the basket in the middle of the table with the others.

It was about then that the shark headed demon came in, flanked by a couple of vampires.

:Okay, haven't seen that before.:

"Teeth. It's… It's nice to see you." One of the demons, something spiky and purple, said.

:Well at least it wasn't Jaws.:

Sweeney grunted in agreement, having seen the movie Xander was talking about during one of the boy's film fests.

"I'm surprised you're so happy to see me, given you've been avoiding me the last few days."

"Hey now, would I do that?"

"You would if you owed me fifteen assorted kittens." He looked at the other demon's sack, and it was obvious that there weren't more than two in there. The guy had been losing steadily all night.

"Hey Teeth, I promise, you'll get them. You know I'm good for them."

"Yeah, I know you're good for them, but not usually until after I break something."

Sweeney wasn't one for altruism, but he stood and passed his sack of kittens over to the purple demon. "Here, should be enough to cover."

:Oh, you did not just give kittens to a demon, who will give them to another demon, who looks like a shark!:

'Pies.'

Xander made an annoyed sound, but let it go, for now.

The purple demon looked beyond shocked. "But…"

Sweeney shrugged. "Good game, but if I take those home the missus will know where I've been." Truth was, he hadn't known what to do with them. If they got him a bit of good will here, it would be worth it. The talk while playing had filled him in on a lot more of what was going on in Sunnydale than any three days of research at the library would have.

Purple guy paid off the loan shark, with interest. Sweeny couldn't tell if shark head was happy or annoyed about it. He folded on the hand he was playing and called it a night.

"Hey." Purple guy gave him a business card. "You ever need anything I could provide, just let me know."

Sweeney looked at the card, and smiled.

Sunnydale Butcher and Fine Foods. We do meat like no one else.

"Thank you. I may take you up on that sometime."

:Erg.: Xander thought, continuing before Sweeney could say anything. :I know, I know. Pies. Oh… erg.:

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It took Ethan a while, but eventually he tracked down the person who made the blades for the new handles as well as the antique store that sold the original broken handle. Neither find helped him though, as it still didn't net him a real name to track.

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Life in Sunnydale moved on. Sweeney hunted vampires and they both sent snippy and impatient messages to Ethan Rayne, who still hadn't gotten anywhere.

Buffy's mom dated a homicidal robot, which Buffy eventually destroyed. This was very much of the good as even Sweeney found the bodies of the things previous wives sickening and horrifying, and he was a sociopath and a serial killer.

The monster eggs that came latter may have been deadly, but they were also just… silly.

Shortly after that, Ethan came back and attempted three rituals that should have separated Sweeney and Xander.

They did bupkiss.

"I don't understand." Ethan said after the third ritual. "At least one of them should have worked. You're possessing that body. It should be a simple matter of exorcising you from it. And I've never seen anything stand up to that last one."

Sweeney wasn't happy. In fact, he gave some serious thought to taking up that favour from the demon butcher and having the Mage rendered into something tasty. Xander wasn't much happier, but he made a good argument for keeping Rayne alive, reminding his lodger that their other option was to talk with Giles and Sweeney still didn't trust him. He didn't trust the mage either, but he was certain that the man believed him when he said he'd kill him and have him processed into sausage.

Ethan left on his search again.

And Buffy had sex with Angel and Angelus took his place.

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For once, Xander and he were in complete agreement. Find the bastard and kill him. Unfortunately, Angel was managing to stay out of his way.

The whole Judge thing had been a pain, the name alone sending Sweeney into teeth gnashing ramblings that sounded a bit like singing and a lot of pacing, both mental and physical. If Xander thought the razors would do much to kill the guy he'd have let the barber at it, but the whole, 'no weapon forged by man' thing kind of killed that. Eventually, they realized the best way to take him out was with something modern and explosive. Xander suggested the Council get off their collective butts and get them something that would work on the demon.

They really hadn't liked helping out, which made no sense to any of the Scooby gang. What the hell were they supposed to be doing, other than helping the Slayer?

They did come through in the end, having enough connections to get them a rocket launcher from the near by army base, along with someone to show Buffy how it worked.

'That was impressive.' Sweeney admitted as they went about sweeping up bits of Judge and making sure none of pieces touched each other.

"Yeah, that was cool."

Willow looked up from the bits of blue demon and frowned. "Xander?"

He gave her a crooked smile. "The rocket launcher, it was cool."

"Oh." They went back to putting the Judge into separate bags as quickly as they could. The middle of a mall was not the best place to try bagging up a demon.

Buffy came back from chasing Angel, depressed, but not depressed enough.

:Damn, he's still alive.:

'Perhaps we can fix that, eventually.'

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Oz, who was pulled into everything around the same time as the Judge fiasco, turned out to be a recently infected werewolf.

Ms. Calendar turned out to be a member of the gypsy tribe that originally cursed Angel and was later killed by same.

Giles was devastated and pretty damn kick ass when he got truly angry.

And despite being the Slayer, Buffy got sick enough that she actually ended up in the hospital.

Xander was camped out on a chair outside of Buffy's room, making sure nothing tried to take her out while she was ill. So of course the one time Angel ends up in their sights is when they're in a crowded hospital and he really shouldn't attack him.

Shouldn't.

Xander stood as he saw the vampire heading down the hall, carrying flowers.

'I'd be happy to do the honours.'

:He's mine.:

'Very well.'

"Visiting hours are over."

Angelus smirked. "Well, I'm pretty much fam…" The vampire barely managed to jerk back out of the way. Even then, Xander's razor managed to scratch across the surface of Angel's neck. The blessed and Holy water treated blade did its work, making even that minor wound smoke. The vampire slapped a hand down on it and moved back a little further.

Teeth exposed in an angry grimace, Xander checked down the hallway. It looked like no one had seen that, though the sound of the scuffle had been enough to catch the attention of one of the orderlies, who was now focusing his attention on them.

"Huh, so the little kitten has claws."

Xander gave in and rolled his eyes. Could the vampire be any dumber?

"Like I said, visiting hours are over. Why don't you come back during the day?" He tapped the blade he was holding close to his body against his leg. "Oh, gee, no, I guess you can't."

"If I decide to walk into Buffy's room, do you think for one microsecond that you could stop me?"

"I think I've got even odds." He shrugged. "But, maybe not. Maybe that security guard couldn't either." He nodded towards some of the people who had just come off the elevator down the hall. "Or those cops... or the orderlies... But I'm kinda curious to find out. You game?"

"Buffy's White Knight. You still love her." He started to lean towards Xander, halting when the hand holding the razor twitched. "It must just eat you up that I got there first."

Xander's eyes held the promise of death in them. "You're gonna die. And I'm gonna be there." With any luck, he'd be the one killing him.

Angelus dropped the flowers where he stood. "Tell her I stopped by." He turned and walked away.

Xander quickly closed the razor and slid it back into its holder before he completely lost the cover Angel's body had been providing.

"I really want him dead."

'It is always nice when we agree on things.'

Xander let out a quick bark of laughter, and then pulled himself together, settling down once more on the crappy hospital chair to continue guarding Buffy through the night.

Other than a passing janitor glaring at him as he picked up and binned the flowers, nothing else seemed to happen.

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Seemed, turned out to be the appropriate word.

If it wasn't vampires, it was a freaking child-killing monster hunting in the hospital. Xander had taken a lot of pleasure in hearing Buffy snap its neck, even if to him it looked as if she were fighting thin air.

He shook himself. Sometimes, he thought sharing space with the barber was starting to change him. At least, he didn't think he use to be as ruthless as he was becoming.

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"Ethan, you had better have good news for me."

The mage swallowed. "Not really, though I have another ritual we can try."

Sweeney glowered at him. "In the last few weeks, we've dealt with love lost ghosts, wasps, snakes and the boy almost being turned into a fish. This had best work."

It didn't.

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It was an act of desperation when Rayne tracked the razors to the dissolved theatre company in Los Angeles he originally believed had commissioned them. The theatre itself was gone, destroyed in a fire. Several members of the group had also died in the fire, the rest of them scattering to new jobs and new cities. Ethan had bought the costumes and props the theatre kept warehoused off site along with anything salvaged from the fire. They were sold at auction when the troupe's assets were seized for debt repayment once they folded.

It took him a bit, but he managed to track down the Props Manager, who was still alive and in Los Angeles. The only problem, the man wouldn't return his calls. That was why he came home one night to find Ethan sitting in his apartment.

"Who the hell are you?" The man took a side step to the umbrella stand by the door.

Rayne chuckled and held up the baseball bat the man was probably going for. "Names Ethan Rayne." He set the bat down on the couch beside him. "I would think you would know it, as you've been ducking my calls."

Ethan held a hand up before the man could say anything. "No denials, please. I've been avoided by the best and you're not it."

The man fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone.

Ethan smiled. "I wonder if the police would be interested in anything about the last theatre you worked at?"

The man paused, then put the phone away. Ethan thought it was a long shot, but one he'd put money on. Something very wrong had been going on in that theatre.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know about a set of silver razors that were going to be used in a production of Sweeney Todd."

The man turned and reached for the doorknob, intending to bolt. Ethan was prepared for that and had spell trapped the door. Anyone could come in, nobody but Ethan could go out.

Oh, it was also somewhat painful.

The man reacted as if he'd touched a live wire and dropped to the floor, vibrating. Ethan smiled.

"Just breath, your muscles will unlock in a minute." Then he sat back and relaxed until the man managed to pull himself up into a sitting position on the floor.

"Who are you?" He croaked the question out.

"Ethan Rayne." Ethan said slowly, as if to someone with scrambled wits, which in this case was probable. "I'm the man who bought the razors at auction."

The man's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out. Ethan sighed, got up and slapped at the man's face until he came to. Then he hauled him off the floor and into a chair.

Ethan sat back down. "When I bought those things, I thought I'd gotten a good deal. Instead, all I've gotten is a good deal of trouble."

"How are you still alive?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to clarify that statement?"

"The razors, they're cursed. All the bad luck, everyone who died, all because of them."

"Hmm." Ethan nodded. A curse might explain what was happening with Xander Harris and Sweeney Todd. Whatever spell was originally on the blades may have reacted badly with the Halloween spell, but he still needed to know more.

"They weren't commissioned by the theatre, I've found out that much."

The props manager shook his head. "No. They were a gift." He shook his head. "Dumb bastard."

"And again, clarity please."

The man sighed. "Our lead actor. He was cheating on his wife and his girlfriend."

"His mistress had a mistress?"

He nodded. "All three of them found out. All three of them wanted him dead. And then a couple of days later, all three of them told him they forgave him and gave him the gift of those razors for the show. Dumb bastard believed them."

"Did any of the women have Emerson as a last name?

The man shook his head. "No. Never heard… Oh, wait."

"Yes?"

"There was this set dresser. She was only in for a couple of days." He frowned. "I can't remember why she left. Anyway, I think that was her last name. She did good work, but she spent a lot of time with the two actresses and the staff manager."

At Ethan's questioning look, he explained. "The two mistresses and the wife."

Ethan's mouth dropped open. "He was sleeping with three women who all worked together?"

"Yeah, like I said, Dumb Bastard."

"Indeed."

"Anyway, she let them vent at her. Then a couple of days later she was gone, and the three of them were giving him the razors." He shook his head. "Should have known something was up."

"So, what happened?"

"The deaths weren't all from the fire, it just covered them up. He killed three people with those razors, the actors playing the Judge, the Bailiff and the woman in black. Then he started the fire and killed himself. His three women were trapped in the building with him and died in the fire. The razors where in there too. They were one of the few things that came out of the rubble completely intact." He gave a huff of laughter that had nothing funny in it. "Hell, they shined like they'd been recently polished.

"How did the blades not end up in police evidence?"

"Because we couldn't talk about it."

Ethan frowned at him.

"Not because we didn't want too. We were able to talk about it among ourselves, but if someone official or a journalist asked, nothing. I think the only reason I can tell you about it is because you've got the blades."

Ethan shook his head. "I had them."

"If you've lost them you don't want them back."

"True, but the person who has them has given me a great deal of incentive to find out all I can about them."

"Just tell him to get rid of them."

Ethan shook his head. "I'm afraid it's too late for that."

Ethan got him to describe the set dresser, then left, being nice enough to undo the spell on the door on the way out. He spent the next two days in the theatre world, trying to find her.

Ethan was walking back to his car from his latest strike out when a young woman fell into step with him. She smiled at him, her face twisting demonically as she did.

"I believe you've been looking for me. It's lucky for you I actually need someone with your abilities in the next few days, or you'd be dead already."

Ethan tried to set off some of the defensive magic he kept in reserve, but he was unconscious before he could voice the spell.

xxxxxxxx

Sweeney watched as the Slayer went to town on a couple of vampires. Xander tagged along on her hunts the last few of nights as she made a concentrated effort to flush Angelus out of hiding. Watching the girl deliver death came close to making up for the lack of killing he'd had.

She finished with the vampires and while Xander was talking with her, Sweeney surveyed the area as best he could. Something was out there watching them. He would bet his razors it was Angelus. He kept on high alert as the boy and the slayer left the graveyard, but nothing happened.

Once they left the cemetery, the feeling disappeared.

The next day at lunch, Sweeney groaned as Xander gave a description of the night's evens using a fish stick and a toothpick. Snyder stuck his nose in shortly after and Sweeney started making plans to kill the man, deal with the boy or not.

He'd be upset at first, Sweeney was certain, but believed he'd get over it.

He rethought that a little after the argument Xander had with the rest of his group over the find the girls made in the computer lab. The gypsy had recreated the soul curse that would return Angelus to Angel, but the boy was firmly against it, citing the fact that he was a killer. Everyone, even Giles, who had the best reason to see the vampire dead, was surprised at him.

'Is this jealousy or something else?'

:He's a killer. Why don't they see that?:

'They do. They wish to cage the killer by giving the body a soul. The situation isn't much different from… ours.'

:I don't let you kill.:

'Neither did Angel when it came to the demon. That he was expelled from the body was unexpected and unplanned for.'

Xander made an annoyed sound and tried not to listen.

'If I trapped you in this body, so you couldn't interfere, then went off on a killing spree, would you feel that your friends should condemn you as a killer?'

:That's different.:

'How?'

Xander made a strangled screaming sound that answered a lot as far as Sweeney was concerned.

'I don't have a problem with you wanting him dead, you know. In fact, I'm all for it. I just don't believe you should lie to yourself about it. You want him dead and out of your lives, both because he's in the way when it comes to Buffy, and because even if they do re-soul him, he will always be a potential danger. That is fine, but at least admit the real reason. Blaming Angel for the actions of Angelus is… wrong and beneath you.'

:Angel blamed himself for what the demon did before he was cursed the first time.:

Sweeney snorted. 'That merely proves that the man is over emotional and an idiot, nothing more.'

Xander chuckled, then shook his head. :I don't think it's jealousy, at least I hope it isn't. I just really hate that guy.:

'For me, that would be reason enough.'

:Yeah, but I'm not you.:

'Even so.'

xxxxxxxx

Buffy went patrolling shortly after the group fight with Xander and returned with the other slayer, Kendra, in tow. Xander missed this, as he decided it would be best to step out. He let Sweeney have at the vampire slaying while he tried to figure out his feelings.

He didn't get very far with it.

The next day, Angel, or rather, Angelus, sent Buffy a self-destructing message by way of a vampire who delivered it in class, then stepped into the sunlight.

'Meet Angelus, tonight, sundown, at the graveyard… It seems a little vague, given the number of graveyards infesting this town.'

"We're assuming he means the main…" Xander snapped his mouth shut as he entered the library. Buffy, Kendra, Giles, Willow and Cordelia were already there. Xander nodded at them, sat down, grabbed a book and started to research.

Sundown approached and Buffy had to leave. She asked Kendra to stay and guard, while Willow attempted to re-curse Angel. Giles gave her some last minute advice about the fight and Xander asked her to be careful. Kendra gave Buffy her lucky stake, Mr. Pointy.

"Remind me to get you a stuffed animal." Buffy said as she accepted the stake, looking it over. She smiled. "Thanks."

Kendra nodded. "Watch your back."

Buffy gave her a sharp nod and left the library.

A very grumpy Xander watched Willow prepare the spell.

'I don't like this.'

Xander frowned at the voice in his head.

:I thought you'd be happy; they're going to re-soul the bastard.:

'Not that, the set up.'

:I think we all know Buffy's probably walking into a trap.:

'That's what I don't like. I am feeling… uncomfortable given they've drawn Buffy away from us. She is the group's main strength.'

:But Kendra is here.:

'They may not know that.'

Xander shook his head. :It's Buffy he's after.:

'But he has constantly attacked her though her friends. That may not have changed.'

Grimacing, Xander caught Kendra's eye. After a short conversation, they left Giles and Willow working on the spell and made a search of both floors of the library, finding nothing.

:Maybe you're wrong.:

'Yes… Maybe.'

XXXXXXXX

Xander, or rather Sweeney, was standing on the second level of the library, tapping a stake against his leg. Kendra was below, guarding at the doors. Willow and Giles were just starting the spell, with Cordelia working around them, smudging the area.

The first vampire came out of the upper stacks, proving there was some way into the library they hadn't found. He moved to tackle Xander. Sweeney turned and met the move with his stake, the vampire dusting almost immediately. At the same time, two vampires burst in below, taking Kendra's attention. Another vampire came out of the upper stacks, leaping down to the main floor to attack Giles. Willow and Cordelia ran up the stairs, Willow running behind the bookcases. One of the vampires from below jumped up to the second level and shoved the closest bookcase over. Sweeney heard Willow scream as it set off a domino affect to drop a heavy-laden bookcase on top of her.

The vampire turned towards a panicking Cordelia. Sweeney came up behind him, intending to put a stake in his back. The vampire moved and the barber ended up getting him in a shoulder. It caught the vampire's attention and Sweeney yelled at Cordelia to run. She took off through the stacks and out the fire door, the alarm going off as she opened it.

Below, Kendra killed the vampire she'd been fighting, failing to retrieve the stake before it dusted with it. Having given Mr. Pointy to Buffy, she resorted to throwing the next one, who had just knocked Giles unconscious, through the viewing window into Giles office.

The vampire Sweeney was closing with tried to evade so he could go below to help, but Sweeney had a razor in hand by then and raked the blessed silver blade across the vampire's throat. Bleeding and smoking, the vampire turned to run. Sweeney used the creature's momentum to help push him into a wall. Retrieving the stake from the vamps shoulder, he made sure to plant it in its heart this time.

He let the stake dust, pulling out his back up.

"Slayer Kendra." He tossed the stake down to her. She caught it easily, shoving it into the vampire's chest as it stepped out of the office.

Then Drusilla and two more vampires came in the main doors.

"That's enough."

Sweeney began to regret not retrieving the first stake.

xxxxxxxx

Drusilla focused on the slayer while one of the vampires that came in with her moved over to Giles. The other one went up after Xander.

Or whom they thought was Xander.

As soon as they walked in, Sweeney pulled out and opened a flask of Holy water (never leave home without it), tossing the contents into the vampires face. Then he closed with the creature. If, according to Xander, Buffy admitting to once beheading a vamp with an exacto knife, then he would do no less with one of his razors.

It took a bit of sawing and he took few hits to the head, but he got the job done.

Covered in a mix of blood and dust, concussed, their minds such a slippery mess at the moment that neither could say who was in control and barely conscious, Xander and Sweeney looked down on the main floor. Kendra lay dead at Drusilla's feet and the last minion was dragging Giles towards the door. They started down the stairs to stop them, but on the first step, their legs gave out and they tumbled down, finishing the job of being knocked out that the last vampire started.

"Oh, poor thing." Drusilla pause a moment then shook her head. No time to play. Slayer would be back soon.

xxxxxxxx

And she was, just in time for the police and Snyder to show up. If Sweeney and Xander had been conscious, they would have come to an agreement on the principal's death that night.

Buffy had no choice, not with Angelus still out there. She gave the police the slip (only somewhat violently) and ran.

Xander found her hours later wearing a semi disguise and wandering the hospital halls. He himself was being kept overnight due to the concussion, but was out of bed, because Willow was in far worse shape.

"The doctor said it was head trauma." Xander told her as they stood by Willow's bed. "She can wake up at any time, but, um... the longer it lasts, the... less likely it is."

"I never should've let her try to do that curse. Angel must've known." Buffy reached up to Willow's face to brush back a lock of hair. "Where are her parents?"

"With relatives in Phoenix. I gave them a call. They're... they're getting on a plane back."

"Does Oz know?"

Xander went to smack himself in the forehead, stopping just before he did. He didn't need the extra damage. "Oh, man. I didn't even think. I'll call him."

Cordelia came in quietly.

"How is she? The doctor told me that…"

"Yeah. We're, uh... still waiting." Xander said.

Buffy looked the cheerleader over. "You okay?"

"I ran. I think I made it through three counties before I realized nobody was chasing me. Not too brave.

"It was the right thing to do." Buffy looked around. "Do you know where Giles is?"

'The vampires took him.'

"Ow." Xander's eyes shut and his face screwed up in pain as he cradled the side of his head with his hand.

"Xander?"

"Damn, I'm sorry Buffy. The head thing. Until you said that, I didn't remember." He opened his eyes to look into hers. "They took him."

"The police?"

Carefully he shook his head. "No, the vampires."

xxxxxxxx

Buffy left to search. Since Xander's last few memories where fuzzy, she checked at Giles' house, briefly meeting an annoying balance demon.

Back at the hospital, Xander and Cordelia stayed sitting by Willow's bedside. The two of them were unusually cordial to each other. Oz arrived just in time to see Willow wake up.

A while later, Buffy called from her house. Willow apologised for not being able to cure Angel. Buffy told her it wasn't her fault, it just wasn't meant to be.

She also told her that she'd gotten a lead on where Angel had Giles. She didn't bother to explain that the lead was Spike, as it was more unbelievable than most of the things in their lives.

Xander took over the phone.

"Xander. Angel and the others are holed up outside of town. You remember that funky-looking mansion you showed me that time?"

"On Crawford Street. Sure. That makes sense. What's the drill?"

"I'm gonna hit it come daybreak."

"You'll need backup."

"No. You stay there. I'm covered. Xander "

Xander didn't like the idea and Sweeney, who'd been very quiet, even for him, liked it even less.

Then Willow, despite her injuries, decided to retry the soul spell. Xander attempted to talk her out of it, but she had her resolve face on. Oz and Cordelia went back to the library for the spell equipment and Willow asked Xander to go to Buffy to tell her what they were doing.

Once again, he tried to talk her out of it. Once again, he was treated to the resolve face.

'Accept what she says. You can not win this argument.'

Sighing, Xander nodded to Willow and the voice inside his head.

"Be careful." He told her, before leaving.

'We need more weapons. You only have the two razors left on you and one of them has become quite, dull.'

"I could stop by the library."

'A bit crowded, what with young Oz and Cordelia already going there.'

"Well, it's that or a rock."

'Hmm. I was wondering. Do you think the Watcher has weapons at home?'

"You want me to raid Giles' house?"

'He isn't there, and it is on the way. Besides…'

"You still don't trust him."

'I am somewhat neutral on him these days. But I would still like a look at his home while the chance presents itself.'

Xander shook his head, but angled off slightly towards where he knew Giles lived. After all, he did need some better weapons than two razors and a rock.

'By the way, when this is over, I'm killing Snyder.'

Xander stutter stepped, but kept on going. He knew he should say no. He knew he couldn't say yes.

He knew, with a sick feeling, that part of him wanted to anyway.

"We'll discuss it later."

'Hmm.' Xander would swear he could feel Sweeney nod. 'Yes, we will.'

xxxxxxxx

Xander slowed as he approached Giles' place. The door was open, and he thought he could hear voices inside.

He moved in carefully, keeping to the side of the door to avoid being seen.

"…Nun." He heard a male voice say. "You're never gonna get the good stuff."

"Tell me how to use it Whistler." That was Buffy.

A careful peek and he could see the demon, drinking from a bottle of beer. He ducked back without being seen.

"Angel's the key."

Xander heard the slight sound of someone closing the fridge.

"His blood will open the door to Hell. Acathla opens his big mouth, creates a vortex. Then only Angel's blood will close it. One blow will send 'em both back to Hell. But I strongly suggest that you get there before that happens, 'cause the faster you kill Angel, the easier it's gonna be on you."

Xander slipped away, before Buffy could come out and find him.

On the run over to the mansion, Xander could feel Sweeney taking apart the conversation they'd heard.

He left him to it. The most important thing was to kill Angel before he opened Acathla.

On the way, he picked up a rock. At the very least, it was something he could throw at someone.

Buffy made slightly better time than Xander, even though she left after. Xander however knew the area a little better and took a shortcut, hoping to get there before her. He didn't, but it is why he came out of the brush at the side of the street, startling Buffy.

"Xander!"

"Cavalry's here. Cavalry's a frightened guy with a rock." He said panting and holding up his rock. "But it's here."

Buffy passed him a stake and he happily discarded the rock.

"That's better."

"You're not here to fight." She started walking towards the house. "You get Giles out, and you run like hell, understood? I can't protect you." She pulled the cloth off of what she'd been carrying. "I'm gonna be too busy killing."

Xander looked over the sword she was holding.

"That's a new look for you."

"It's a present, for Angel."

"Willow." He paused. "Uh, she told me to tell you... "

"Tell me what?"

He hesitated.

"Kick his ass."

Eyes hardening, Buffy said nothing; she just continued walking towards the mansion.

'Are you sure that's wise?'

Xander paused a moment, but didn't reply. He followed after the Slayer.

Inside, he left Angel to Buffy and went searching for the Watcher. He found him in another room, tied to a chair and obviously tortured.

'Damn.'

:Sorry you didn't get the chance?:

A very frosty feeling came across their connection.

'I am an unrepentant killer, not a torturer. I suffered too much at the whims of others to enjoy doing it to anyone… Well, sometimes I considered spending extra time on the Judge, but in the end, all I wanted was for him to know that I held his life in my hands before I killed him.'

Xander cringed slightly at how pissed off Sweeney was at the moment, and knelt to help the Watcher.

"Giles.'

He started to untie the ropes.

"Giles."

"Xander?" The Watcher's voice was weak and broken.

"Can you walk?"

Giles shook his head, but not in answer to the question. "You're not real."

"Sure, I'm real."

"It's a trick. They get inside my head; make me see things I want."

Xander finished untying the rope and stepped around to look into Giles' eyes.

"Then why would they make you see me?"

Giles gave that a moment of thought. "You're right. Let's go."

Xander got an arm under him and pulled him up out of the chair. As fast as they could, they started to hobble to the door.

Xander got him out the door and down to the street before the Barber spoke.

'So you intend to do it.'

:What?:

'I killed the one I loved unknowingly and couldn't live with it. Now, you have set her up to kill the one she loves, intentionally. Do you really believe she can live with it?'

Xander twitched. Yes, there was definite guilt there. :But if he opens Acathla:

'If he opens it, his blood will close it. What disturbs me is that the demon intimated that Angel himself would have to be pushed in as well. His blood opens it, his blood closes it, why should they need his body? Why should she need to kill him?'

Xander's eyes went wide. :It's a set up.:

'Yes, of what kind I am not certain. They may want Angel dead, but more than that, I think they want Buffy… damaged or suicidal.'

"Son of a Bitch."

"Xander?" Giles gave the teen a bleary look.

Xander dragged him over to a light post and leaned him against it. "I'm sorry Giles, I have to go back."

"Xander, wait."

The boy ignored him, racing back to the mansion as fast as he could go.

:He may still be Angelus.:

'Perhaps, but I doubt it. Not only is your friend Willow tenacious, but the Slayer would weather killing a soulless vampire. I cannot say the same if she had to kill the man she loves. And if it is a set up…'

Xander poured on the speed, crashing through the doors and into the scene he was trying to prevent. The slayer was pulling her arm back to ram a sword into Angel as a vortex formed behind him.

"Buffy, no."

Xander's call didn't stop her, but it threw her aim off. The sword went into Angel, but not all the way through and into the vortex. Buffy turned, her face wet with tears and a disbelieving look on her face. Xander reached them, grabbed onto the hilt and pulled the blade out. With a choked cry of pain, Angel fell forward and onto his knees.

"Xander!"

"It just needs the blood." Xander whipped the blood-covered sword at the vortex, intending to let it go. Tendrils snaked out of the vortex, up the sword and over his hand before he could.

"Oh, for..."

Buffy's voice screaming his name was the last thing he heard as it pulled him in.

And the vortex closed.

xxxxxxxx

Sweeney grabbed Xander's gibbering mind and shoved it deep within their shared body. Hell surged around them… and he welcomed it. This, this was where he belonged.

As they fell, Hell tried to seep past the barriers he set, searching for the boy's mind to crush the innocence there. Sweeney shoved him deeper, even knowing that in a matter of minutes they'd both be stripped bare of any mental protections. He fought against it, though it went against everything he wanted. Without the boy here, he would have given himself over to it gladly.

It was pain and horror and never ending guilt. It was what he deserved.

Therefore, he was somewhat surprised when a second rift opened under him, swallowing him whole.

He was even more surprised when it spit him back out in the school library.

The tables had been pushed aside to clear a space on the floor and he dropped into the centre of a chalked circle. Dizzy, Sweeney staggered to his feet, his senses sloshing back and forward. He hadn't hit his head, but the landing did nothing for the previous damage to Xander's brain and skull.

A man in a cowled robe stood outside the circle. General magical paraphernalia lay at his feet. With both hands, he reached up and pushed the hood back.

"Rayne?" Sweeney blinked at him, swaying slightly.

Ethan gave him a pained smile. "First thing, this wasn't my idea. Second… I know why you're stuck."

Sweeney shook his head and regretted it immediately. "If it were just me, I would kill you for pulling me back out. But as I don't wish that place on the boy, I won't. Now explain what you mean.

A woman he'd never seen before was suddenly just there. Her face deformed and demonic, even though she wasn't a vampire. "You're stuck here, because I made it so."

Growling, Sweeney moved to break the demon's neck. Ethan held up a hand, and yelled his name in warning.

"Todd!"

Sweeney hit the edge of the circle and discovered it was more than just chalk on wood as a surge of energy knocked him off his feet.

"You are trapped." The Demon said. "And you cannot affect the circle from within it."

Sweeney stood, being careful not to move his head around too much. One more hit like that and he'd be unconscious. Even the glare he sent Rayne's way hurt.

"He can't help you either. At least, not without my leave."

Ethan grimaced again and lifted the hem of his robe. Sweeney raised an eyebrow at the metal cuff around the mage's ankle. Attached was a length of chain. He followed it with his eyes to a spike driven hard into the floor and no doubt into the support beams beneath. Ethan was well and truly stuck.

"When I found out he was looking for me, well, men who do that tend to come to bad ends. Still, a little birdie told me that after working so hard to get you here, you might go and escape the power of the Wish before it was completed."

"Wish?"

"She's Anyanka, a vengeance demon." She glared at Rayne. "I mean the patron saint of scorned women. She grants wishes." Ethan clarified, looking somewhat ill.

"Yes." Anyanka smiled. "I don't usually grant wishes to those already dead, but for over a century, her pain called out until I could no longer ignore it."

"Her." Sweeney swallowed. "My wife."

The demon rolled her eyes. "You're kidding me right? No, not your wife."

A sense of horror mixed with the coldest anger came over Sweeney.

"Mrs. Lovett."

Anyanka smiled.

"What did she wish?" He asked her through clenched teeth.

"A second chance. She wished that everyone could live once more."

Ethan winced. "Lot of loopholes."

She smiled. "Yes." Then she focused a glare at Sweeney. "Everyone else was easy. Even from the depths of Hell, the Wish allowed me to free their souls for reincarnation. All of them lived again. I even found them… 'human' lives." The glare became a glower. "All except you. You they would not let go. I finally had to settle for this. It took me years to find the last of your razors. I had them recreated, then further tied them to you though that play. She smiled. "The actor was a fun wish."

She walked the perimeter of the circle, looking him over. "Hmm. I just realized. It's not fair that your body buddy is missing out. With a wave of her hand, the circle's energy jolted him again. Xander was awake and aware in the back of his mind.

"Anyway, the actor turned out to be the first domino in the line that led to you. That spell…" Here, she smiled at Ethan, who shuddered. "Was unexpected, but it did get you topside."

"Why does it still hold?" Sweeney asked.

"It holds, because the young man you are in is family."

Of any answer, that was not the one he was expecting.

"What? How?"

The demon laughed. "In the usual way. Your daughter survived. She had children; they had children, and so on. Alexander Harris is currently your last existing descendent. He was enough to hold your spirit once it was caught."

Xander was babbling in the background, but Sweeney was too stunned to listen or understand. A moment later and the boy was holding their body.

"So, if you did all that, why the get out of Hell free card?" Keep the scary thing talking and maybe they could get out of this.

"Harris." She smiled, acknowledging the shift. "That's simple. You see, the Wish isn't complete yet. Won't be until Sweeney is truly alive."

He shook his head, not understanding.

"Silly boy, do you think your mind can survive him? Eventually, all that will be left is Sweeney Todd. When that day happens, the Wish will be complete."

For a moment, she seemed to bask in the glow of Xander's horrified expression. Then she turned to Ethan, holding up a key.

"It unlocks your ankle cuff."

He reached for it and she tossed it over the library checkout desk. "I hope he does you up in a puff pastry, it would suit."

And then she was gone.

Ethan looked to where the key had gone, then back at Harris, who'd fallen to his knees.

"Break the circle."

And Sweeney was back.

"You are chained, but close enough to break it. If it can't be effected from inside, then it can be broken from without. Break it and I'll get the key to release you."

Sweeney looked up at him, his eyes crevasses of darkness within the boy's face.

Ethan tried to swallow the dryness away. "If it's all the same, I'd rather wait for someone else to come by." It had to happen eventually. It was a school after all. Lots of teachers and students to call out to.

.

"Rayne, if I have to wait and hunt you down later, I will mine the last 150 years of torture I experienced in Hell for the best bits to use on you. Understand, I will not enjoy doing this, but I will spend whatever time Xander has left making you suffer for it."

Ethan broke the circle.

He flinched when Sweeney walked past him, and again when Sweeney came back with the key and handed it to him.

He unlocked himself and would have bolted, but he'd been standing a long time and was exhausted from the casting that had opened a way out of Hell for Sweeney.

In other words, when he tried, he fell flat on his face.

Hands grabbed him, hauled him up and sat him in a chair.

"So, how long do I have?"

Ethan peered at him. "Harris?"

Xander nodded.

Ethan glanced over at where Anyanka had stood. There was something wrong about what she believed would happen. He turned back to Xander, and carefully looked over his and Sweeney's auras.

He wasn't surprised by what he saw, not when he remembered why he thought the razors would be a good match for him.

"I don't think she got it quite right."

"Wanna explain that?"

"The reason I gave you the deal on the costume to begin with, was because you meshed well with it."

Xander frowned at him and Ethan sighed.

"I was reading auras, trying to fit people and costumes together. Yours went with the gun you were going to buy all right, but the razors were better. It was like putting two broken pieces together. There were a couple of cracks and a few chips missing, but the fit was still amazing."

"And now?"

"You still fit… and the cracks are smaller and some of the chips have filled in."

"So it's happening." Xander took a couple of short, panicked breaths.

Ethan shook his head. "No, there's still a big piece that's you and a big piece that's Sweeney and it doesn't look like that will ever change. It's just that at the points where you meet, you are both… merging a little."

"That still doesn't sound good."

Ethan shrugged. "I admit, I can't say for sure. It could happen like she believes it will happen. I just don't think it will."

"You could just be telling me what I want to hear, hoping it will keep you alive."

"I'm not."

Ethan watched as a hand reached down to a belt and pulled out a razor.

"Ah, Sweeney's back I see."

"Yes."

Ethan swallowed the lump in his throat. "Going to kill me?"

"I should." He opened the razor and studied the blade.

Ethan tensed, his body ready to try for a second bolt.

Sweeney closed the blade.

"I'll give you your life for an… errand."

"E…errand?"

"Yes, well, that and you continue o keep and eye out for something that will separate us." He held up a hand to stop the Mage from saying anything. "I understand it is unlikely. If, however, you should find something."

"I'll bring it to your attention."

Sweeney nodded.

"And the errand?"

Sweeney blew out a breath. "She said they had all been reincarnated. Mrs. Lovette, the Judge, the Bailiff." His gaze turned surprisingly soft. "My wife, I am lead to believe."

Ethan nodded.

"Find them for me, and our business will be done."

"So… no killing me?"

Sweeney gave him a sharp nod. "No killing you, if you do this for me."

"Gee, let me think… Yes, of course."

Sweeney grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. "Good, now let's get out of here before we are found."

With a grunt of pain, Ethan followed him out.

xxxxxxxx

A shell-shocked Buffy walked into Willow's hospital room, Angel trailing along behind her. They'd found Giles outside the house, near unconscious. Thankfully, Angel had a vehicle and was able to drive it, despite the sword wound to the abdomen.

"Buffy! And… Angel?"

Angel nodded.

"I knew it worked. The spell I mean. I was sure I felt it work." She looked past them, frowning when no one else came in. "Did you find Giles?"

"Y..Yeah."

"He's down in emergency." Angel told her. "Banged up pretty bad, but he'll be okay."

"Oh. So, Xander's down there with him?"

Buffy's face crumpled and she staggered to a chair, sitting down in it hard. "Willow… oh God… Willow, Xander…."

"Buffy?"

"Willow… Xander."

"Would have brought donuts, if, you know, I'd have brought donuts."

Xander stood in the doorway.

"Xander?" Buffy's voice was a squeak. Beside her, Angel looked startled. Then she was up and pulling Xander into the hall, leaving Angel smiling uncertainly at Willow.

"You… You… Xander."

"Buffy?"

She punched him in the arm.

"Oww."

"Don't do things like that. I was going to have to tell Willow that you'd been sucked into Hell." She blinked. "Why aren't you sucked into Hell? Not, that I want you sucked into Hell, but you were definitely sucked into Hell and…"

"Buffy. Whoa. Willow's the only one who's allowed to babble."

She took a deep breath. "Talk."

He smiled. "I don't know what happened. One minute I was falling, the next I was waking up in the library."

Buffy thought furiously. "Over the Hellmouth."

He nodded. "Best I can guess, when it closed on your end, I got spit out the other one." A sudden crushing weight enveloped him as Buffy tackled and hugged him.

"Don't ever do something like that again."

"I'll try my best." He looked towards the room. "And let's not tell Willow, okay."

Buffy nodded, then pulled away from him. "I better make sure Angel doesn't either. Oh, Giles is down in emergency."

"I'll go check on him.

"Thanks."

xxxxxxxx

Whistler followed the boy down the hallway, pausing at the corner to let him get a little way ahead before rounding it himself.

"Gerk."

An arm across his throat shoved him back against a wall and an open razor blade tapped against his cheek.

"Hey," he choked out. "Name's Whistler, balance demon."

The boy, Xander, raised an eyebrow at him. Then he stepped back, letting the demon go. Whistler brushed himself off, noticing that the razor had disappeared. He also noticed two nurses walking past and suspected they were the only reason the kid let him go.

Not that he couldn't have made him let go. Maybe he couldn't currently take the slayer, but someone at Angel's power level would be possible and that wasn't this kid.

"I didn't see you, you know?" Not with whatever happened with Angel, hell, not even with him waiting around the corner for him.

"Why were you following me?"

Whistler shrugged. "Just curious. Things didn't fall out the way they were supposed to."

"And how was that?"

"Oh look, Cordelia's in the buff." He pointed down the hall.

The boy started to look, but stopped before his head turned fully.

"Was that supposed to distract me?"

Whistler frowned at the sudden shift to an English accent, then mentally shrugged, chalking it up to the kid spending too much time with the Watcher.

"Kinda hoped." Then he stomped on Xander's foot and tried to make a break for it. A line of cold and heat scored across his throat. Shocked, he stumbled away, clutching at his slit throat for the few seconds it took to heal.

Behind him, the kid sighed. "I was afraid that wouldn't work." He said, still using the freaky English accent.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked as soon as he could.

"It was an attempt to repay you for setting up Buffy."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Your masters then. It's probably impolite to kill the messenger… But I'd feel safer with you gone."

Whistler narrowed his gaze at the boy. "The feelings somewhat mutual." He considered it. The snot nosed kid would be an easy take down, blades or not.

But the kid had his part to play, and if he took him out then things might get even more screwed up.

"Well, it's been pleasant, but I have other things to do. See you around kid." Whistler ducked around the corner. In the few seconds it took Xander to follow him, he was gone.

xxxxxxxx

:There are some really bad words I want to say right now.:

'I won't stop you.'

Back in control of his body, Xander muttered a litany of swear words all the way down to the Emergency ward.

xxxxxxxx

The balance demon with bad taste in hats took a half step out of the room he'd hidden in and watched as Xander walked away.

He wasn't lying when he told the kid he hadn't seen his part in things and it worried him. First, he was wrong about Angel's good guy role. Then he was wrong about what the slayer had to do to fix it. Now, he wasn't even sure how the kid who screwed it all up wasn't in Hell, having his insides relocated to his outsides.

Maybe the Hellmouth messed with precog the longer you were near it?

He mulled that thought over for a moment, then shrugged. It couldn't be helped. It was done and he had places to be and people to see. Buffy's father for one. The plan was for the Slayer to be in LA over the summer, so they were going to have to drop a bug in her father's ear. After all the work they'd done (discretely) convincing the man to step out of her life, they needed him back in.

Well at least Mrs. Summers throwing her daughter out of the house was the perfect incentive for him to reach out and ask her to spend the summer while her mother got over her snit fit.