Title: Dime

Author: Shin Willow.

Spoilers: S-4 The Initiative.

Category: General.

Rating: PG

Summery: Vampire with a soul…

Dime

Xander remembered begging, he didn't know who to, but he remembered begging. And he remembered thinking about the last person he should have been thinking about right then at that moment. He was thinking about Angel. Willow, Buffy, Dawn, hell, even Giles would have inspired more comfort during his last moments on Earth. But no, he had to be pondering the broody magnificence that was Angel.

The vampire, the one tearing through his neck, was going to turn him. Said it'd be, like, funny to turn one of the Slayer's friends. Harmony. For Christ's sake, turned by Harmony Kendall! What insane, villainous vamp would turn Harmony in the first place? They obviously wanted the world to suffer untold horrors by letting the former bimbo princess of Sunnydale High walk the Earth for all eternity. Okay. Wait, she did help during graduation, which is probably when she got turned—no, wait, what about me? Getting killed here!

Fading away now, Xander couldn't see Harmony's blonde, oddly sweet scented hair draped over his face. Do all vampires take such good care of their hair? I mean do they sit around thinking about strawberry scented shampoo, bleaching and industrial strength styling gel? Xander ceased feeling her teeth in his throat, or the precious blood she sucked out of him. Xander believed he finally knew what shock felt like.

When Harmony finished chowing down on Xander, he was so close to death he didn't have the strength to turn his mouth away from Harmony's flowing wrist as she let her blood pour down his throat. And that's when he thought about Deadboy (and no, oh no, Xander wouldn't be able to call him that anymore! Damn Harmony!). Angel had a soul, other vampires didn't. It saved Angel from Buffy-stakings on several occasions, and probably kept the bloodsucker from letting nature take its course—probably. Willow's definitely gonna get me one if Buffy don't stake my ass on sight, because of course I'll probably be a moron even as a vampire. One of those new booties who thinks they can take on Buffster. And god only knows how many people I'll kill before Willow does her thing…

Oh, please! Please, don't let this happen! I don't want to be like one of them, don't let me hurt my friends… I don't want… I want to be me… I wanna keep my soul…God help me, I wanna be like Angel!

And then Xander was dead. And then, after a time, he wasn't. Though he might disagree.

"Good morning, sleepy-head!" the cheerful, annoying voice dragged Xander out from the most perfect rest he ever had.

"Mhaaha, Mom, let me sleep s'more."

"Oh, yuck! I am not your mommy, Xander Harris!"

Xander's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He was on a cement floor in a dark room. Except, it wasn't really dark. But it was very dark. "Uh? What? Uh?"

"I guess not everyone gets smarter after being turned. Except me, of course."

Xander finally turned to confront the owner of that annoying voice. He was in no way shocked the annoying voice belonged to an equally annoying person. Wait, no, not a person… a vampire. The dumbest bleached blonde vampire in all existence, with Spike coming a close second.

"Oh, it's you. Why, oh, why haven't you fallen on a stake yet?" Xander wanted to know not only from Harmony, but also from the universe itself.

"Gee, why didn't you stake me yourself? Wait, I know the answer to that one, because you fight like a sissy-man," Harmony said.

Xander whipped his head around and pinned the vampire bimbo with an angry stare. "Hey, we agreed never to speak of that night again."

"No we didn't!"

"It was a silent agreement!" Xander exclaimed getting to his feet, raising up with unexplainable speed and grace. "No words needed to be spoken!"

Harmony fluttered her hand at Xander in a familiarly dismissive manner and turned her head like Xander was totally beneath her notice. "Whatever, Harris. Sissy-man."

"Why you… if you weren't a girl…"

"You'd run to Buffy even faster."

Xander was livid now. Balling his hands into fists Xander felt his body vibrating with the need to jump across the room and throttle Harmony. Sure, she was a vampire and oxygen wasn't really an issue for her kind, but god, even the symbolic satisfaction he'd get out of it would make the effort worthwhile. Xander restrained himself however, and decided he was going to be the bigger person. "You know what? I am so out of here! I hate you!"

With that very mature declaration, Xander looked around the dark-but-not dark room found a door and strode purposely over to it. Screw Harmony! Anyone with the bad taste to date Spike should never ever be listened to. I so do not run to Buffy all the time. Just occasionally, but definitely not all the time.

"Hey! Wait, don't go--"

Xander firmly plugged his ears with his fingers. "LaLaLaLaLa! Not listening!" Xander shouted. When Xander reached the door he removed his left forefinger from his ear and grabbed the curved handle and immediately wrenched the heavy steel door open and started to scream once the bright, searing rays of the sun poured over his body like acid.

Xander burned forever, or at least that's how he perceived his last moments in the sun. In reality he only roasted in the light for a few seconds before Harmony yanked him away from the open portal. She used enough strength to send Xander's smoldering form all the way to the other side of the room. Xander landed hard on the concrete floor but his cries of pain were all reserved for his blistering flesh. His skin, Xander could literally sense his skin bubbling and popping open with blood and fluids. The worst part was his eyes. His eyes received direct exposure to sunlight and they practically sizzled like egg yolk on a hot skillet inside their sockets. Xander writhed on the floor, his screaming having died down to pathetic, keening wails—his back arching and arms and legs jerking with epileptic fervor until, finally, Harmony walked over to him and kicked him solidly in the head with one stylishly booted foot.

After Xander fell silent Harmony crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at Xander with obvious superiority, and said, "I can't believe I sired you."