Author's Note: obviously a core element of this story is not canon. I wrote this back when it was just barely possible that there was a lot more to Xander Harris than we were seeing.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ETHAN RAYNE?
The middle-aged man sitting behind the wheel of a battered car was an Englishman, a sorcerer, an escaped prisoner, and really pissed-off - although not necessarily in that order.
He was Ethan Rayne and he was in Sunnydale looking for revenge. Ethan knew the old saying that revenge was a dish best served cold. He also believed that saying to be true. But just this once, he was perfectly willing to try the taste of revenge fresh out of the oven.
"Damn him to hell," Ethan muttered to himself. Thinking about what had been done to him in that desert prison made Ethan tremble with rage as his balled fists clenched over the steering wheel.
He had toyed with Ripper up until now. But no more.
Still shaking, the sorcerer closed his eyes and quickly worked his way through a millennia-old Tibetan breathing routine designed to channel rage into calm determination.
It helped a little - enough to stop the shaking and allow him to unclench his fists - but otherwise it didn't do as much as he had hoped. Falling back on a less esoteric approach, Ethan grabbed a brandy flask that lay on the seat beside him and took a long drink. That helped, too.
His plan was simple: hit and run.
Ripper had surprisingly powerful resources available to him in this little joke of a town. The most important, of course, was the Slayer - who was showing a disconcerting talent for living far longer than was normal for her ilk. Then there was a particularly talented young witch who was growing more powerful by the day. And let's not forget that damned mercenary vampire, or those military goons. And of course there was that band of powerless, but still surprisingly useful, yokels who were devoted both to the Slayer and to Rupert Giles - Ripper - himself.
Hit and run. Ethan had said as much to Ripper, just before those damned soldiers dragged him off to that hellish prison. Ethan always made the mistake of staying around to watch the chaos he had created. And that kept getting him into trouble.
But not this time. Oh, not this time, Ripper.
He would start picking off Ripper's people one-by-one. He'd spread out the deaths over a period of months. Ethan's best magics would be devoted to ensuring that the blame would fall upon the vampires. After all, everyone in Ripper's group half-expected to die someday under the fangs of a vampire anyway. So the combination of Ethan's magic and some creative mutilation of the dead would convince Ripper's people to believe what they were already primed to believe.
And this time, Ethan wouldn't stick around afterwards. Instead, he would flee, gather strength, plan, and then return to strike again. Only after everyone that Ripper had cared for - or found useful - was dead or otherwise out of the picture, would Ethan dare to strike at Ripper himself.
Ethan knew that he faced considerable risks. Ultimately, he would somehow have to deal with the Slayer, the Soldier, the Witch, and the Vampire. They would obviously be the most difficult and dangerous to face. Ethan had some plans on how to deal with the more capable members of Ripper's band, but for right now Ethan intended to start small.
Speaking of which...
Alexander LeVelle Harris.
The dark-haired young man walking down the street in his painfully colorful Hawaiian shirt, worn blue jeans, and tennis shoes didn't appear very special. But despite his youth, the boy glanced at the setting sun with a calculating expression that earned a slight nod of respect from Ethan. The boy was learning fast and well. Unfortunately for him, his lessons would all end tonight.
Ethan had parked his car midway between Giles' apartment and the Harris home with every intention of intercepting this young man. Xander was the first of Ripper's people that Ethan planned on killing.
Closing his eyes, Ethan invoked the simple glamour known as the "Golden Lyre". There was a ripple of magic as the spell successfully suffused throughout his body. For the next half-hour or so, anyone who talked to Ethan would tend to seem him as harmless and truthful. Ethan knew that Xander was one of the less intelligent of Ripper's crew. The spell, combined with some smooth talking, should be enough to gain the boy's trust. And a half-hour would be more than enough time to set Xander up and kill him.
Leaning out the window of the car, Ethan waved at the boy and called out, "Xander! Over here!"
The boy froze in place, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Ethan Rayne?!" he said in disbelief.
Ethan carefully got out of the car, keeping his hands relaxed and visible. The spell should be working on Xander, blunting the boy's natural suspicions and appealing to his better nature.
"Hello, Xander," Ethan said calmly. "I was hoping that we could talk."
Xander cocked his head to one side, "You're kidding."
"No. No. I'm not kidding at all."
Xander glanced at the setting sun again. There wasn't much of it left. "Okay, but make it fast."
Leaning against the car, Ethan said, "I want to talk with Rupert."
The boy shrugged, "So go talk with Giles. I'm not stopping you. But I recommend you make sure that your insurance is paid up before you try it."
Shaking his head, Ethan smiled, "That's why I'm talking to you. It's gone too far between Rupert and I. Long ago, we used to be friends. But now... Well, I've had enough of this silly feud. I want to settle things with him. I know that we can't simply forget the past, but I was thinking that perhaps we could arrange a truce."
Xander said nothing, but his expression was skeptical.
"That's where you come in," continued Ethan smoothly. "I was hoping that you would agree to carry a message to Rupert. I want to meet with him. Nothing more, Xander. I just want to talk and I would like you to tell Rupert that."
While slowly shaking his head, Xander said, "Ethan, I don't think there's much of a chance that Giles would say yes to that. And if he did... well, I don't think the meeting would be something you'd enjoy. For some silly reason, he's pretty unhappy about you turning him into a demon."
Ethan sighed in a good imitation of disgust, "That's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. For decades now Rupert and I have been locked into this descending spiral. I freely admit that the fault is mostly mine. But regardless of fault, it will inevitably end badly for one or both of us if we don't end this reasonably."
The boy shoved some dark hair away from his eyes, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Ethan put a touch of desperation in his voice, "Xander, this is a chance to actually settle something peacefully. For a change, nobody has to get hurt in order to accomplish something good. Not Rupert, or Willow, or Buffy, or you. With any luck, Rupert and I will talk things over, come to an understanding, and then we're out of each other's hair forever."
That did it. Xander smiled wryly, "I should have my head examined. OK, what do you want me to tell Giles?"
Carefully hiding his feeling of triumph, Ethan gave Xander a slight smile, "My thought was that we would walk to Rupert's apartment together. Once we get there, you'll tell him that I'm waiting outside and that I want to talk."
A suspicious expression suddenly crossed the boy's face, "Why not just go over to Giles' place yourself?"
Ethan let out a self-deprecating laugh, "I've given Rupert every reason to react first and think later when he catches sight of me. I'm also hoping that the presence of one of his students will control his more aggressive tendencies."
Xander thought it over and then nodded, "Okay. Let's go."
By now, the sun was completely over the western horizon. The man and the boy began back-tracking towards Giles' apartment through a steadily darkening dusk. Xander was now allowing Ethan to walk beside him. Ethan had scouted the area thoroughly that afternoon and he had a good map of the neighborhood in his head. He was now mentally cataloging appropriately discreet places along their route to kill Xander.
The older man was carrying a blade. The knife was tucked into a specially-designed sheath strapped to the small of his back and hidden by the loose shirt he was wearing. A casual movement of his hand, and six inches of fine, deadly steel would suddenly appear in Ethan's practiced fist. He had done it more than a few times before. Chaos demanded sacrifices.
But until they got to a suitably dark place, he had to keep Xander calm.
"I appreciate this, Xander," Ethan said quietly.
"Like you said: it's a chance to settle something peacefully. That doesn't happen very often. I'm not sure if any of us will know how to react."
Ethan smiled blandly, imagining the reaction when the boy's gutted corpse was found. A few carefully planted, but not obvious, clues would point towards Spike.
"How did you and Rupert happen to meet?" Ethan asked idly as he eyed a likely looking alleyway just ahead of them. It would be best to keep Xander talking. And most people enjoyed talking about themselves.
"Giles raised me from the dead," answered Xander casually.
Ethan blinked in surprise and froze. Xander stopped as well, turning to face Ethan. The streetlight was rather dim where they now stood.
"It was just after Giles came to Sunnydale. But before Buffy showed up," continued Xander quietly. "I was caught outside after dark. Even then I knew that outdoors after dark was a bad idea, but I screwed up. Some vampires chased me down. I jumped off the docks trying to get away. I got caught in a riptide and was pulled out to sea. I drowned out there."
In this light, and with his magical senses at work, Ethan could see some very tiny, fine lights deep in the boy's eyes. It was something he'd never noticed previously. Ethan found himself uneasily wondering if that was because he'd never been allowed to see them before.
"Giles found my body on the beach the next day," added Xander. "He cast a divination spell to try and find out what happened. He saw how I died and that my spirit was refusing to go on."
"That's all a lie. You're playing games with me," said Ethan hesitantly.
Xander made no response. But his eyes...
"Very well, " said Ethan, trying to keep his voice steady. "Tell me - what was the spell that Ripper used to return you from the dead?"
Xander didn't hesitate, "It's called 'The Shroud of Persephone'. I did some reading about it. It only works if the spirit of the dead person you cast it on is restless. And it has an interesting side-effect."
Ethan swallowed hard, "Yes. Life returns, but the soul..."
"...is gone forever," finished Xander agreeably, a very slight smile on his face.
Ethan kept talking, but his eyes were now flicking nervously about, trying to find something, anything, that might help.
"The technical term is 'Revenant' - it's a specialized form of the undead committed to vengeance. Biologically, you're alive. But spiritually, you're a corpse. The Xander that everyone else sees is simply an act. I'm surprised that your friends haven't objected."
Xander chuckled, "They don't know. Giles and I have worked pretty hard to keep this a secret. Giles regularly casts a spell on me that simulates a soul."
"At first I was worried that Willow would figure it out. After all, she knows me best. But she... Well, Will may be really smart, but she has a tendency to see what she wants to see and ignore things that are inconvenient. And Buffy never did develop those Slayer senses as much as she should have. Of course, part of it probably has to do with the fact that she never knew me before I died. You should have seen the little skit Giles and I put on when I 'discovered' that Buffy was the Slayer."
The sorcerer didn't really understand the last part of what Xander had said. But he didn't really care. He had to escape. His knife was useless. But if he could keep this thing called Xander talking long enough, then perhaps he could get a spell ready.
"This certainly explains some things that have always puzzled me about you," continued Ethan, still playing desperately for time. "I never could understand why Ripper kept you around - you seemed to have so little to offer his group. And it seemed odd that Ripper never gave you training with weapons or magic. And I was always surprised at how you managed to survive incidents that would have killed much stronger men."
Xander shrugged, "I sometimes call myself, 'Captain Cockroach'. It's hard to kill someone who's already been dead once."
Slowly, Ethan began gathering power around him. He normally did ritual magic, and it was difficult for him to cast a spell in this abrupt, unprepared manner. But if he couldn't manage it, he was dead.
"What does Ripper use you for?"
The boy didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced towards the alleyway that Ethan had earlier considered killing him within.
Then Xander looked back towards Ethan and finally responded to his question, "I do a lot of things. Comic relief. Backing up the Buffster. Protecting Willow. Keeping an eye and ear on what's going on in the Scoobie gang - you'd be amazed at the things people tell good, old, incompetent, big-brother Xander. Oh, and I deal with any dirty little details that Giles doesn't want someone with a soul doing."
Ethan was almost babbling now as he desperately tried to keep Xander talking, "I understand that you have a girl-friend. What about her? Hasn't she noticed anything?"
"Anya? Let's just say that she has a pretty strange background. So strange that she has a lot of problems figuring out that something about me isn't quite right."
"Actually, when you get down to it, it definitely helps that most of the women in my life have always been a little strange. Hell, Cordelia is so self-involved that she never noticed anything wrong except for my fashion sense. And Faith isn't exactly an intellectual giant, either. You'd think she would have wondered how I managed to survive when she tried to strangle me."
"Your family?"
Xander merely laughed in response.
"Ripper has warding spells set up around town," said Ethan. This time Ethan wasn't asking a question. He was stating a fact.
"Yep, good call. After you got busted by the Federal monster squad, Giles and Willow used the clothes that were in your hotel room as a link to you. It took them three days to cast the spell, but it pretty much set up an Ethan-alarm all around Sunnydale. Giles knew you were in town as soon as you got off the highway. He sent me to take care of you."
Ethan knew he was running out of time. He could only think of one final question.
"Xander, how much of you is left in there?"
The boy seemed to think that over.
"Not much. I... I've always wanted to protect Willow. That's why I didn't pass on when I died. I think that part is all that's left of who I was."
There was now a knife visible in Xander's hand. He must have been palming it until then. It was a pocket-knife with a small blade - perfectly legal. I would take a long time to kill a man with that knife. Instead of stabbing, you'd have to carve...
Ethan screamed and raised his arms to cast his spell.
It wasn't even close to being enough.