Warnings: Nothing in this first chapter, but believe this is coming in like a lamb but going out like a lion. It will get wilder.
**A/N: I realize that WoW wasn't released in the year the Halloween episode would have happened. But for the purposes of the story, it came out earlier. Live with it. If you can buy vampires and demons, early release of a computer game shouldn't be such a stretch. Enjoy.
Giles stood in the library, idly thumbing through a text on possessions to see if the effects of Ethan s spell would be long reaching. Xander still hadn t shown up and while Buffy s sudden ability to speak French was not dangerous, there were several very dangerous costumes out there and if their wearers retained anything, it might develop into a situation the Scoobies would have to deal with. And *Good Lord*, they had him thinking like they talked Giles thought with a grimace. A small noise in the back of the library drew his attention and his hand slipped down to grasp the axe he kept hidden under the library counter.
Whoa, Gman, no need for the axe, it s just me well us, Xander said from the shadows of the stacks.
Xander? My word, what happened? We couldn t find you last night. The girls and I were worried sick and what do you mean we?
He he, Gman, you re babbling. And by we, I meant me and my friend Kyle. And he s here because, well, just look Xander explained. Then he stepped from the shadows.
Good Lord
Xander was taller than before. If you counted the tips of his longed pointed ears that stood straight up off his head, he stood at almost seven feet. He was broader too, more muscular. But the most striking feature was his glowing green eyes. He wore the same costume clothes as last night, only where there was once plastic and nylon, there was now gleaming metal, leather and good linen.
My word, Xander, what happened? Giles was in shock.
I was hoping you could tell me. We were caught as our costumes last night too, but when it ended, we stayed changed, Xander said coming forward to sit at a table. He had to turn the chair around to accommodate the great big sword hanging in its scabbard on his back. Giles noticed another figure with green eyes still standing in the shadows of the stacks.
Kyle, you can out, it s ok, Gman won t hurt you, Xander said softly.
I dunno Xan, you told me about him and the Slayer and their kill anything non-human and we both qualify. Besides, you know what humans of the Alliance have done to us, a soft voice answered him from the shadowy figure, who made no move to come forward.
Xander sighed. Kyle, there is no Alliance here. Don t let the memories rule you. And Giles won t hurt us. He can help.
Giles watched as the figure moved forward slowly. Another young man, with features similar to Xander s, was revealed. But unlike Xander, the youth, Kyle as it were, was more lithely built. He had the physique of a runner, which was put on display by the tight dark leather armor he wore. Across his back was a longbow and quiver of arrows, looking as real and as lethal as the sword across Xander s back.
My word. You re elves.
Xander laughed, but unlike his normal cheerful laugh, this laugh had a dark edge to it.
Giles, we aren t just elves, we are Sin dorei, Blood Elves.
A gasp signaled the arrival of Buffy and Willow and Xander s friend drew his bow and knocked an arrow with speed that would (and did) make the Slayer jealous. Giles sighed. It was going to be a long day.
**A/N 2: To get a quick low down on Sn'dorei and WoW in general, visit these sites:
.com/Main_Page - WoWWiki . - Blizzard's main World of Warcraft Page
Chapter Two Kyle watched impassively as Xander, the librarian Giles and the two newcomers argued, cajoled and generally babbled at each other. Xander had convinced him not to Arcane Shot them as they walked in like he wanted to and as soon as that was completed, the recriminations and drama began. He wondered how long Xander would hold out before snapping and letting them all have it. He may be a Paladin, but unlike the weak Light-users of the Alliance, Blood Knights were not known for their diplomacy and patience.
Kyle sighed as the redhead, Willow - from Xander's description of her, started blubbering again. Other than Xan, he didn't know the group and none of them were endearing themselves to him. He had met Xander six months ago when World of Warcraft's expansion had first come out. Kyle'd had to drive down from Oxnard to get the game because there wasn't a story in the small town that carried it (or any computer stuff for that matter). He and Xander had met over the last two copies of the game and expansion in the Sunnydale Wal-Mart. They got to talking while walking around the store and had become fast friends. They had started playing the game together, both creating Blood Elves and playing as a team. Xander was a Paladin, a Blood Knight, and Kyle played a Hunter. Together, they gained levels quickly at first but then petered out to occasional play. Both of their characters were only level 20 after six months of play, but he and Xander had both vowed to not let WoW rule their lives. Besides, they got together for other things. Movies, hanging at arcades and comic book shops and other things whenever Kyle could come down from Oxnard. He had come for Halloween because they had wanted to dress as their characters and didn't feel like it would be right to dress up separately. Of course, Kyle had an ulterior motive for coming down, that in all the confusion, was never discussed. It was even more important now, with all the changes.
Speaking of the changes, Kyle could hardly believe he was a Sin'dorei now. He had all the memories of his character, the backstory he and Xander had created, experiences they never thought of and knowledge of his Hunter abilities. He was suddenly an excellent Marksman, knew how to channel *his* magic (and wasn't that freaky) into his arrows to create magic effects like the Arcane Shot and all the Beast Mastery skills he learned.
That thought brought him up short. Kyle remembered Tevbryn (his WoW character) calling his pet last night and the black and red Scorpid showing up. He wondered...
Kyle let loose a shrill whistle and almost immediately, a chittering noise sounded on the tile of the library floor. He looked down at Vhaerun, the black and red Corrupted Scorpid he'd tamed at level 10 and had been his constant companion other than Alek'ande (Xander's character).
The arguing had stopped at Kyle's whistle and now the girls were freaking at the sight of Vhaerun and Giles had fainted. Xander looked a bit shocked, but that quickly morphed into a smirk at the others' reactions. Kyle reached into one of the pouches on his belt and pulled out a piece of dried lynx meat and fed it to Vhaerun.
He looked at the others and said, "Holy shit."
**A/N 3 - A Scorpid is the World of Warcraft version of a scorpion. It is the size of a medium to large dog and is much more intelligent and lethal than a real scorpion. Look it up on WoWWiki (address on first chapter page) to see a pic and get more info. Vhaerun is the name of a Drow god in the Forgotten Realms series owned by Wizards of the Coast and no infringement nor claim is meant on the name. I am just a fan expressing his, uh, fanny-ness. Wow, that could have come out better. You know what I mean. No money made, no harm intended.
Chapter 3 Warning: Naughty language ahead, also Buffy and Willow bashing ~Denotes speech made in Thalassian, the blood elf language~
The commotion in the library had died down finally. Giles had been revived, Vhaerun dismissed and Kyle was still contemplating putting an Arcane Shot right between Buffy's eyes. He'd wanted too when the bitch had tried to slay his pet, but Xander had talked him down. Now he was listening to more whining and recriminations and watched as Xander was slowly losing his temper. A Sin'dorei's temper was never long, and as he remembered, Alek'ande's was shorter than most. As he expected, Xander finally had enough.
"Just shut-up, already! Fuck, you act like I wanted this to happen! You think I wanted to end up not human tonight? Jesus! Giles, look into this. Me and Kyle are going to go find a place to get some rest. Buffy, Willow, get your shit together and try and help instead of screeching and blaming or fuck off. I've had it. We'll be back later Giles," Xander said, initially shouting but quieting towards the end.
Buffy and Willow looked stunned and Kyle watched Giles try hard not to grin. The librarian must have been waiting for Xander to stand up to the girls for a long time, something Kyle had wanted from the beginning of the evening.
~C'mon brother, let's go get some food and sleep, Giles will research for us.~
Kyle was startled out of his musings by Xander's use of Thalassian.
~Alright Alek, let's go. I have to talk to you anyway.~
Xander raised an eyebrow at him, but Kyle just shook his head and indicating the back exit where they had come in. The two blood elves left the rest of the Scoobies standing befuddled, angry and satisfied (in Giles' case).
A/N: Ok, short chapter update, but with Orientation at my new job (YES! I got one!) going, it's all I had time for right now. I may add more to this chapter later or move on to the next. I haven't been able to find a whole lot of Thalassian but I did find some translations and will add actual words into the story later. If anyone has a link to an actual Thalassian dictionary I'd appreciate it. Also, here's a link to a straight up pic of the Scorpid so you get a better idea of what he looks .net/images/skin_ .
More coming, including Kyle's secret, introduction of Deadboy, Spike and Oz to the story and more beating on Buffy and Willow. I really didn't like either one of them much, lol.
New A/N I know I haven't updated this in like forever, and frankly, I won't be updating this at all. I lost the thread and things went south from there. However, I am beginning a new version of the story, changing certain details and putting in a new OMC. Look for the first couple of chapters in the next few weeks.