The bus sat parked many feet from the edge of the pit that was
Sunnydale. Xander Harris threw a rock into the pit before starting to turn
away. He stopped in mid-turn, when the rock caught his eye. It sat there,
frozen in mid air. His eye widened when his mind caught on with what he was
seeing. He heard a clapping from behind him and he turned so quickly that
he almost fell, only the years of battle experience keeping him on his
feet.
All his friends, and all his not-friends, were frozen in time all looking weary, but happy. And there on top of the school bus sat a man. He appeared to be in his mid twenties, no older than twenty seven. His clothing was a little bland, white button up shirt, blue jeans, dusty brown leather jacket, with hair that was slightly longer than it probably should have been. His face was rather unassuming, brown hair, brown eyes, mildly tanned skin. All in all he was the kind of person your eyes almost slid over. But Xander knew that face it was a face that alternated between his dreams and nightmares. The face of the man that was responsible for his existence, but also for all the pain that he had went through.
Xander looked at the face and his already slumped shoulders fell more.
"It's time, isn't it?" Xander asked with a voice that already knew the answer, and accepted that he had no say in it.
The man's voice was slightly raspy when he spoke, like he had walked through the desert, or had not spoken in a while. "Yes Alexander it is time. But not yet, you still have a week left to be with them and do as you will." His voice held no malice, or anger, it just told Xander it was time, the voice almost conveyed a sense of, loss? "I have also come to give you a gift, the first of many." His hand flashed behind his back and pulled out a sword that couldn't have possibly fit behind him. The sword was tossed with a contemptible wave of his hand.
The sword landed at Xander's feet point first, it cut into the ground despite it still being in its sheath still. Xander's eyes had traced its arc and he prepared himself for the blow but it never came. When he looked up he saw that the man was gone but time was still frozen. He picked up the sword and belted it on. When he was finished the sword morphed into a simple belt knife. Xander was simply beyond caring though, and barely noticed but to see it. With a sigh he straightened his shoulders.
"Well then I guess that was the greatest victory against the dark I would have on this Earth."
"Xander did you say something?" Buffy asked. His back was to her and the rest so he hadn't noticed them returning to normal speed. He turned around to face her.
"Nothing Buff, just talking to myself is all." He gave her a small smile that showed that he was feeling better, but wasn't fine right then.
"All right." Just two words, that could say so much, but didn't. He just felt tired right then, more tired than he had ever felt before in all his years on the Hellmouth. He just wanted to lay down to sleep and never wake up.
"Oh, and Alexander." The man was back. He shouldn't be back, he couldn't be in front of all the people that mattered he shouldn't be here. Xander's mind went into an ever tightening spiral until the man spoke again.
Xander turned around to see all the new Slayer's ready to face off against this new possible threat. Xander knew that if they went against him bad things that he couldn't even imagine would happen.
The man went on like didn't see the pissed off and tired Slayer's in front of him. "Two more things before I go." He sounded almost blasé about it. The first thing is that I don't like the pirate look on you, and aesthetics matter to for my students, lose the patch." No other part of him moved when he talked he didn't even blink, it was unnerving to be the focus of that gaze.
The rest of the group looked confused at his words, Buffy and Willow each latching onto a different part of his statement.
"What do you mean student?" asked Willow. Confused and worried that Xander did something he shouldn't have and wondering if he did why he did. Xander shouldn't take any more chances than he had to, or else he might get hurt.
At the same time Buffy said "he can't lose the patch he's missing an eye, not that it's any of your business, hey, just who the hell are you any way?" Buffy was pissed she was tired and she didn't want to get into another fight, why couldn't the world just let her have some time off for once. As her mind ranted, her anger bubbled under the surface coloring all her thoughts until she almost convinced herself that this was a threat that needed to be taken out.
While all this was going on in the two women's minds the stranger still hadn't taken his eyes off Xander. "Again Xander remove the Patch, I don't like it, and for now that should be good enough."
Xander then made a mistake, but to be fair he didn't think it was a mistake at the time. He said emphatically "You can't tell me what to do, I still have a week, before it starts." But when he thought about what he said his eye widened. Now everyone was staring at Xander with looks that ranged from shock and fear on Willow's face to disgust from Wood.
The stranger didn't give them a chance to question him severely, he simply went on talking, again like no one else was there. "Be that as it may, for now I have an ulterior motive. So remove the patch." His voice rose a little at the end showing that he was slightly losing is temper.
"Fine but if it gets infected . . ." Xander let the sentence hang because he knew how useless his threats were against the man sitting fifty feet from him. Xander removed the eye patch slowly as if he truly didn't wish it be off. Just before the eye patch came off he turned away from everyone so they couldn't see his disfigurement, the hollow space where once there had been flesh and warmth.
When the patch came off his world exploded into color and light. He fell to his knees but didn't hear the concerned voices of his friends. It was still fuzzy but he could see. His eye had grown back! How? Xander pulled himself to his feet when he realized he'd been staring at the Pit that he thought would be the physical manifestation of his wound for over a minute and no one was helping him. He turned around to see he was surrounded by people trying to help him but they couldn't touch him. They saw his eyes when he turned around, and they saw the tear marks down his cheeks. They were talking, at least Xander thought they were talking, all he could see was their mouths moving, but no sound came out. They were all smiling, smiling at him, with him. He let himself go and laughed like he hadn't done in he didn't know how long. It made his entire face light up and he seemed younger, almost back to his innocence.
But his laughter stopped when he remembered how this had happened. Xander turned to face the Stranger. The Stranger just nodded, as if to acknowledge the sudden silence and it's cause. "the second thing is that you, Xander though while well trained, stronger than average, and have great stores of speed, you, are to old. I'll still teach you, but first we have to something about the age. Oh and I apologize this is going to hurt quite a bit." The Stranger finally moved something besides his mouth. He lowered his head as if to hide his next words, or to show repentance.
Then Xander's world exploded in pain as his body melted and twisted and reformed. The pain went on for an eternity for Xander, pain rolling on in waves that caused his body to spasm and convulse. When he came to he shakily lifted his head and dribbled out some spit and sand from his mouth from where he lay on the hot desert earth. He tried to use his arms to lift himself but he couldn't summon the energy to do it, his muscles were beyond jell-o beyond water, beyond any kind of bone weariness he had ever experienced or hoped to experience.
Then the hands lifted him. He looked around with almost dead eyes at those that lifted him. Willow with her hair like fire, and scent like lilac, Buffy with a shock of blond hair and smelling of sweat but in a good way, he didn't think that Buffy could ever smell bad. Giles with his strong face and smelling like pipe tobacco, and books despite his not being around them for so long. Dawn's face was next with her beautiful hair that was much lighter than his own. She looked so serious the last time she looked this serious was, when did she look that serious last? And the next face belonged to Faith of all people, mmm, he always liked her smell, so earthy and strong, like a clean park or a freshly dug grave.
They all lifted him to his feet and heard them all gasp. He groggily lifted his head to the Stranger land five feet away from them, when he started over fifty feet away. He actually seemed concerned for him, before his form got covered by the ranks of Slayers that formed in front of them. He simply walked through them. He didn't fight them, he didn't push them he simply walked through them all. To stop in front of Xander.
"I'm sorry I couldn't take away more pain, but as it is you'll only be weak for a day or two instead of dead. I have only one last thing to say, the sword I gave you is one of the last Excaliburs left on Earth, it belonged to Galahad the Pure and is still endowed with great magic, you are the only one who can wield it, the sword has deemed you worthy as I knew it would. Know this Alexander, that sword chose you over people that you would feel deserve it more but it passed them by and chose you to be it's bearer, for however long it allows. But it will only work on Earth and in a week you will have to choose it's next bearer, and choose wisely for in the wrong hands, that sword could potentially subjugate a large portion of humanity before it is stopped, if it could be stopped at all. Think well and sleep well Defender of Man." And with that last statement Xander fell asleep.
All his friends, and all his not-friends, were frozen in time all looking weary, but happy. And there on top of the school bus sat a man. He appeared to be in his mid twenties, no older than twenty seven. His clothing was a little bland, white button up shirt, blue jeans, dusty brown leather jacket, with hair that was slightly longer than it probably should have been. His face was rather unassuming, brown hair, brown eyes, mildly tanned skin. All in all he was the kind of person your eyes almost slid over. But Xander knew that face it was a face that alternated between his dreams and nightmares. The face of the man that was responsible for his existence, but also for all the pain that he had went through.
Xander looked at the face and his already slumped shoulders fell more.
"It's time, isn't it?" Xander asked with a voice that already knew the answer, and accepted that he had no say in it.
The man's voice was slightly raspy when he spoke, like he had walked through the desert, or had not spoken in a while. "Yes Alexander it is time. But not yet, you still have a week left to be with them and do as you will." His voice held no malice, or anger, it just told Xander it was time, the voice almost conveyed a sense of, loss? "I have also come to give you a gift, the first of many." His hand flashed behind his back and pulled out a sword that couldn't have possibly fit behind him. The sword was tossed with a contemptible wave of his hand.
The sword landed at Xander's feet point first, it cut into the ground despite it still being in its sheath still. Xander's eyes had traced its arc and he prepared himself for the blow but it never came. When he looked up he saw that the man was gone but time was still frozen. He picked up the sword and belted it on. When he was finished the sword morphed into a simple belt knife. Xander was simply beyond caring though, and barely noticed but to see it. With a sigh he straightened his shoulders.
"Well then I guess that was the greatest victory against the dark I would have on this Earth."
"Xander did you say something?" Buffy asked. His back was to her and the rest so he hadn't noticed them returning to normal speed. He turned around to face her.
"Nothing Buff, just talking to myself is all." He gave her a small smile that showed that he was feeling better, but wasn't fine right then.
"All right." Just two words, that could say so much, but didn't. He just felt tired right then, more tired than he had ever felt before in all his years on the Hellmouth. He just wanted to lay down to sleep and never wake up.
"Oh, and Alexander." The man was back. He shouldn't be back, he couldn't be in front of all the people that mattered he shouldn't be here. Xander's mind went into an ever tightening spiral until the man spoke again.
Xander turned around to see all the new Slayer's ready to face off against this new possible threat. Xander knew that if they went against him bad things that he couldn't even imagine would happen.
The man went on like didn't see the pissed off and tired Slayer's in front of him. "Two more things before I go." He sounded almost blasé about it. The first thing is that I don't like the pirate look on you, and aesthetics matter to for my students, lose the patch." No other part of him moved when he talked he didn't even blink, it was unnerving to be the focus of that gaze.
The rest of the group looked confused at his words, Buffy and Willow each latching onto a different part of his statement.
"What do you mean student?" asked Willow. Confused and worried that Xander did something he shouldn't have and wondering if he did why he did. Xander shouldn't take any more chances than he had to, or else he might get hurt.
At the same time Buffy said "he can't lose the patch he's missing an eye, not that it's any of your business, hey, just who the hell are you any way?" Buffy was pissed she was tired and she didn't want to get into another fight, why couldn't the world just let her have some time off for once. As her mind ranted, her anger bubbled under the surface coloring all her thoughts until she almost convinced herself that this was a threat that needed to be taken out.
While all this was going on in the two women's minds the stranger still hadn't taken his eyes off Xander. "Again Xander remove the Patch, I don't like it, and for now that should be good enough."
Xander then made a mistake, but to be fair he didn't think it was a mistake at the time. He said emphatically "You can't tell me what to do, I still have a week, before it starts." But when he thought about what he said his eye widened. Now everyone was staring at Xander with looks that ranged from shock and fear on Willow's face to disgust from Wood.
The stranger didn't give them a chance to question him severely, he simply went on talking, again like no one else was there. "Be that as it may, for now I have an ulterior motive. So remove the patch." His voice rose a little at the end showing that he was slightly losing is temper.
"Fine but if it gets infected . . ." Xander let the sentence hang because he knew how useless his threats were against the man sitting fifty feet from him. Xander removed the eye patch slowly as if he truly didn't wish it be off. Just before the eye patch came off he turned away from everyone so they couldn't see his disfigurement, the hollow space where once there had been flesh and warmth.
When the patch came off his world exploded into color and light. He fell to his knees but didn't hear the concerned voices of his friends. It was still fuzzy but he could see. His eye had grown back! How? Xander pulled himself to his feet when he realized he'd been staring at the Pit that he thought would be the physical manifestation of his wound for over a minute and no one was helping him. He turned around to see he was surrounded by people trying to help him but they couldn't touch him. They saw his eyes when he turned around, and they saw the tear marks down his cheeks. They were talking, at least Xander thought they were talking, all he could see was their mouths moving, but no sound came out. They were all smiling, smiling at him, with him. He let himself go and laughed like he hadn't done in he didn't know how long. It made his entire face light up and he seemed younger, almost back to his innocence.
But his laughter stopped when he remembered how this had happened. Xander turned to face the Stranger. The Stranger just nodded, as if to acknowledge the sudden silence and it's cause. "the second thing is that you, Xander though while well trained, stronger than average, and have great stores of speed, you, are to old. I'll still teach you, but first we have to something about the age. Oh and I apologize this is going to hurt quite a bit." The Stranger finally moved something besides his mouth. He lowered his head as if to hide his next words, or to show repentance.
Then Xander's world exploded in pain as his body melted and twisted and reformed. The pain went on for an eternity for Xander, pain rolling on in waves that caused his body to spasm and convulse. When he came to he shakily lifted his head and dribbled out some spit and sand from his mouth from where he lay on the hot desert earth. He tried to use his arms to lift himself but he couldn't summon the energy to do it, his muscles were beyond jell-o beyond water, beyond any kind of bone weariness he had ever experienced or hoped to experience.
Then the hands lifted him. He looked around with almost dead eyes at those that lifted him. Willow with her hair like fire, and scent like lilac, Buffy with a shock of blond hair and smelling of sweat but in a good way, he didn't think that Buffy could ever smell bad. Giles with his strong face and smelling like pipe tobacco, and books despite his not being around them for so long. Dawn's face was next with her beautiful hair that was much lighter than his own. She looked so serious the last time she looked this serious was, when did she look that serious last? And the next face belonged to Faith of all people, mmm, he always liked her smell, so earthy and strong, like a clean park or a freshly dug grave.
They all lifted him to his feet and heard them all gasp. He groggily lifted his head to the Stranger land five feet away from them, when he started over fifty feet away. He actually seemed concerned for him, before his form got covered by the ranks of Slayers that formed in front of them. He simply walked through them. He didn't fight them, he didn't push them he simply walked through them all. To stop in front of Xander.
"I'm sorry I couldn't take away more pain, but as it is you'll only be weak for a day or two instead of dead. I have only one last thing to say, the sword I gave you is one of the last Excaliburs left on Earth, it belonged to Galahad the Pure and is still endowed with great magic, you are the only one who can wield it, the sword has deemed you worthy as I knew it would. Know this Alexander, that sword chose you over people that you would feel deserve it more but it passed them by and chose you to be it's bearer, for however long it allows. But it will only work on Earth and in a week you will have to choose it's next bearer, and choose wisely for in the wrong hands, that sword could potentially subjugate a large portion of humanity before it is stopped, if it could be stopped at all. Think well and sleep well Defender of Man." And with that last statement Xander fell asleep.