"An Army"
by Maggie C.
Disclaimer: Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and all the characters in this story do not belong to me, they belong to Joss Whedon and Co. Only the story's mine.
Setting: Season 3, during "Graduation Day"
Author's Notes: Xander's recent speech to Dawn inspired me.
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Angel and Xander stood on the stage of the auditorium, looking out at the class of '99. They had just finished explaining what was going to happen at graduation, and the students seemed less than thrilled.
"Wait just a damn minute!" someone yelled from the back. "You're telling us that the Mayor's gonna turn into some monster at graduation, and *we* have to fight him?" The guy shook his head. "Yeah, right! I'm getting the hell out of here while I have the chance."
"John's right," a girl in front said. "We can't do this."
"I don't want to die," another girl said. The other students started murmuring their agreement.
Angel looked around as the students' discontent grew. "This isn't good," he said. "I thought you guys talked to them already?"
"We talked to some of them, and they said they'd help," Xander said. "But they're not speaking up like they were supposed to." He glared at Harmony and Larry, who were trying to blend into the crowd. He couldn't even see any of the others, and wondered if they had already skipped town.
"Well, if we don't do something soon, they're all going to leave. And then we won't have any chance of stopping the Mayor."
"Tell me something I don't know," Xander said. "So what do we do?"
"I don't know," Angel said. "They're your friends."
"Classmates," he said. "Not friends. There's a big difference, Deadboy."
Angel shot him a look. "Whatever. The point is, you know them, I don't. So say something before they leave."
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Something to convince them to stay," Angel said.
"Thanks, that helps a lot," Xander said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He looked out at the students, and with a deep breath, he stepped forward. "Okay, everybody, shut up!" he yelled. "Just shut up!" Slowly, the students quieted down. "This is serious stuff. We are talking end of the world, okay?"
"All the more reason for us to run!"
Xander quickly found the student who made the proclamation and glared at him. "You are not running, Kyle!" He looked around at the rest of the students. "None of us are running away from this!"
"But we could die!"
"Yeah, Harris, are you gonna tell us we aren't risking our lives here?" There was yelled agreement from all corners.
"Hell no, I'm not gonna tell you that!" Xander yelled back. "This isn't a game, people! We do this and some of us are gonna die!" The entire room fell silent. Xander looked around, and swallowed hard. "I can pretty much guarantee you that. But if we don't do this... I can guarantee you that a hell of a lot more people are gonna die. Our friends. Our families. They're gonna be the first. But they aren't gonna be the last." He fell silent again, and looked around, meeting several students' gazes, including Jonathan's. "You all remember what Jonathan said at prom, right? Buffy is the reason all of us are here today. We all owe our lives to her. Every single one of us." He paused for a moment. "And now she needs our help. And I've got to say, that does not happen often." He smiled slightly, and got a few answering smiles from the audience. "We have to fight. We have to do this." He stood there, looking out at them, waiting for someone to respond.
Finally, Larry nodded. "Xander's right. It's up to us." He grinned. "We have to save the world."
"This is *our* graduation," Harmony said. "We aren't going to let anyone take that from us, right?"
All of the gathered students started voicing their agreement. "It's about damn time they spoke up," Xander muttered. He saw Angel looking at him strangely. "What?"
Angel shook his head, smiling slightly. "Nothing."
He gave him a look, but didn't say anything. Buffy came into the auditorium and went over to Angel and Xander. "How are the troops?" she asked.
"Ready and willing," Xander said with an easy smile. "You've got your army, Buff."
She shook her head. "Oh, no. You're soldier guy, it's your army. Did you get the explosives?"
"Got them last night. They're in Oz's van," he said.
"Good," she said. "Get them to the library. Giles is going to set things up, but he wants you to check over his wiring and stuff after he's done." Xander nodded. She looked out at the students and then back at Angel and Xander. "Okay. You two know the battle plan. Get them ready." She gave them both a look. "Without killing each other, please."
Xander grinned at her. "Who, us?" She just rolled her eyes and left.
"We need a group to come from behind," Angel said.
He nodded. He looked over the students. "Okay, listen up!" The room fell instantly silent. Xander continued. "I need... Masters, uh... Roger, Brian, and, uh, Kyle. Get up here." Kyle glanced at his friends and then they all looked at Xander. "Yeah, you guys too." They all made their way to the front. "Okay. You guys are gonna skip graduation." They were all on the verge of protesting when Xander held up his hands. "You guys are gonna be our reserves. You'll be with Angel, here. He'll explain more." He looked at Brian. "Brian, you think the underclassmen on the wrestling team will want to help out?"
Brian grinned. "Hey, I'm still their captain. They do what I say."
"Make sure they know what they're getting into," Xander stressed. Brian nodded. "And, don't, you know, force any of them into it."
Kyle snorted. "Nope. We sure wouldn't want to force anyone into this."
Xander glared at him, but it was clear from the grin on Kyle's face that he was joking. "Okay, Brian, call the team, get them here. Angel, you want to show them the ropes?" Angel nodded. "Oh!" Xander said. "Almost forgot. Angel's a vampire." They all tensed. "But he's one of the good guys." Xander smiled. "I promise."
They still looked wary, but went off with Angel. Xander turned around and spotted Larry, and motioned him forward. "Larry, there's a bunch of explosives in Oz's van, out back. Go get them and take them to the library." Larry nodded, and grabbed Jonathan to help him. Xander took a deep breath and looked at the rest of the students. His army, as Buffy said. His troops. He felt his stomach twist. And his responsibility. He took another deep breath. "Okay, people, here's what the rest of us are gonna do."
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The End.