A/N: First and foremost, thanks to everybody that read and left some feedback. I found out a few interesting new things and got a new book to read so thanks! But, as someone pointed out to me, and hit me on the head for, the things I thought were hints weren't hints so it was dumb of me to have people guess. So, I'm going to go back and fix it in the description. Well, here ya go. Hope people stick with it and thanks again.
Chapter 2
Looking around wildly, Xander tried to get his bearings but couldn't calm down enough to concentrate. Wherever he was, it wasn't the desert he had been in only moments before. The whole landscape from what he could tell looked like no part of Sunnydale he had ever seen. Hell, it didn't even look like anywhere in Southern California. It seemed like some kind of hybrid between a forest and a jungle more anything. Trees were in every direction, an odd mix of Evergreens, Maples, and Oaks as well as some type of Palm Tree and some trees that he couldn't name. A few of them were so big and ancient he couldn't see the tops of them from his position.
In the distance, through the trees, he could make out an expansion of rolling hills that looked as if it could rival some small mountain ranges. In fact, if he peered past them, he could make out what looked to be actual mountains surrounding the whole area, their peeks so high that clouds obscured them from view. No matter what, he should be able to remember leaving Sunnydale and coming to a place like this, unless of course his brain was being messed with again. Though if that was the case, anything possible. There weren't any demons around or his friends though. It didn't make any sense.
Scrambling to his feet, Xander tried to think clearly. "OK, calm down. Don't freak out. Just keep breathing." Taking a few deep breathes Xander broke out in a nervous smile. "That's it, air is good. Keep breathing, calm down, and think this through."
"Well, that's usually a good start," a voice said behind him to his right.
Slowly, Xander turned and tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever he might find. He didn't think his mind could take much more but he'd prefer to do what he could to hold onto what little sanity he might have left. If he was going to come face to face with some hellish beast then he'd rather go down fighting or running rather than foaming at the mouth and babbling. What he saw, though, didn't terrify him but only added to his confusion.
Sitting crossed legged on a rock was some kid who couldn't have been more then twelve or thirteen years old. He wore a pair of faded yellow pants made from a cloth Xander had never seen before and a brown sash across his chest along with a necklace made of yellowish beads with a large circular pendant in the middle. He didn't have on shoes but he looked more comfortable that way. Without a real shirt on Xander could plainly see the tattoo that ran up and down the boy's arms in the shape of arrows. The whole thing disappeared behind his back and reappeared at the top of the kid's bald head. All he could think was how painful it must have been to have that done.
He wasn't a big kid, almost too thin really. But when Xander took a better look he realized that the boy had extremely well toned muscles all over his body. His arms, chest and legs would rival any Olympic gymnast or swimmer his age, and most older ones too. There was power in his small frame as well and not just because of his definition. It came off of him in as a calm, quiet, sort of power. Something that if needed could be unleashed with terrifying consequences. But he was just still just a kid.
"I, uh, don't suppose you're just in my head, are you?" Xander asked with a small bit of hope in his voice.
"Nope. I'm as real as you are." The kid told him.
"Oh. OK then," Xander said before beginning to pinch himself.
"Um...why are you doing that?"
"Just hoping you were wrong," Xander said feeling a nervous laugh threatening to escape from his mouth.
The boy stood up from the rock and hopped down to the grass. "Listen, this isn't going to be easy for you but you have to listen to me. We don't have a whole lot of time and there's a lot to talk about."
"There is?"
"Yes." Standing straight, the boy made what looked to Xander to be some sort of martial arts bow, folding his fist in one hand. "My name's Aang. I'm, uh, sort of responsible for all of this."
"You?" Xander asked the boy, Aang, who was looking slightly sheepish. "How in the world is this your fault?"
Standing up again, Aang rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it's not exactly my fault, not really. I didn't make it happen or anything, it just sort of...did. I don't even know how it happened."
"Well, that makes two of us. But then again, it might help if I knew what you're talking about." Xander felt his head begin to hurt and rubbed his temple. "Alright, let's start with something simple. Where are we?"
"The Spirit World," Aang responded.
"The...the what?"
"The realm where the great spirits of the universe live. All of this," Aang spread his arms out, emphasizing his point. "Was created by them, for them. They reside here when they aren't in the human world."
Blinking once, Xander closed his eyes. "OK, when I open my eyes, this hallucination will be over and I'll wake up in a nice safe, sane, desert being attacked by a goat demon...thing."
Aang grabbed Xander's arm and stopped him from covering his face. "Xander, cut it out. We don't have a lot of time. Really, you need to listen to me!"
"Ah ha! If I'm not crazy than how do you know my name, huh?"
"Because I was you. I am you," Aang stated. "I'm you just as much as you're me."
"What does that even mean? That makes no sense!" Xander cried out, yanking his arm free from Aang. "As far as I'm concerned this is all the result of a nice concussion."
Throwing his arms up in the air, Aang let out a frustrated noise. "I became you! My spirit somehow ended up in your body. I didn't even think something like that could happen."
"Hold up." Xander stood back a little and looked Aang up and down. "You're him, aren't you? You're the wizard that took over my body last Halloween?"
Pausing, Aang asked confused, "What's a wizard?"
"You know what? That's it." Xander turned around and started walking away. "I'm completely lost here and officially don't care. I want out of this place and I want to go back home, right now. You got me? My friends are in danger and that's all that matters right now."
Without warning the sun that had been in the sky vanished. Darkness descended the whole land for a moment before a bright white moon appeared in the sky, giving light to the area. The sudden shift from day to night made Xander falter in his steps and, bracing himself on a nearby tree, he stopped. A beam of moonlight, brighter than the normal pale light it was giving off, shone down through the tree tops onto a spot a few feet in front of Xander. In the moonbeam a woman stood.
It was hard to explain, to Xander the woman didn't just appear. It was more as if she had always been there but he was only now seeing her which didn't make much sense. How could he have missed a whole other person who was so close to him? Then again, not many things made a lot of sense at the moment. Still, it was only a passing nagging thought at the end of a long list of other problems.
The girl, Xander could see that she was about his age, had white hair done up in with two intricate braids that formed loops on the side of her face while the rest of it flowed freely and billowed in a breeze that only she seemed to feel or be effected by. Her skin wasn't just pale, but glowed in a soft, soothing light that seemed to be due to the moonlight bouncing off of it. No, not bouncing off of it. The moonlight was coming from her. She wore a flowing robe that flared out from her arms of dark blue and bright white.
To say the least, Xander was stunned. She was pretty, that was obvious. But like Aang, there was power in her. No, that wasn't right. She was power. He knew it on an instinctual level the same way he knew how to use his eyes to see. What made the whole thing even more incredible, more mind blowing to him personally, was that she was looking at him with sympathy. A beautiful, powerful, girl seemed to care about him. It showed in her eyes and in her face as she looked at him, looked in him.
Something started to stir within Xander, something deep that he had long thought buried. Whatever the girl was doing broke something inside of him, something that he had locked away long ago. All of the pain he had suffered over the early years of his life at the hands of his father, the pain of being forgotten and shunned by his mother, to be replaced by her with alcohol that let her ignore the violence that went on around her. The torment and ridicule he endured by his peers just for being who he was and, later, taking as much of it off of Willow as he could, taking as much of it as he could to spare her.
There was the weakness of not being good enough for Buffy, not just romantically but as a friend and ally. He didn't have the physical strength to stand beside her and recently she had realized that and tried to push him away. He was weak but he didn't let it show, he used that weakness to be beaten by the various denizens of hell so that way it was one less hit or pain that she would have to put up with.
All of this, all the pain, suffering and feelings of inadequacy that he had fought so hard to lock away came pouring out of him just because this girl was looking at him. It was too much for him. Everything that was happening, everything that had ever happened to him, it all broke down inside of him. Falling to his knees, Xander wept. The only thing that kept him from falling over was that the girl, amazingly, was there with him. Holding him, gently stroking his hair and making soothing noises. The tears were a release of all the pain that he had felt in his life. All of the confusion, the hardships, and the quiet dark burdens that he shared with no one. In her arms, though, he was safe and that's all that mattered to him at the moment.
Xander didn't know how long he stayed like that. A few minutes, a few seconds, he couldn't tell. The girl seemed to sense his sudden alertness and gently pushed him back so they were now looking into each other's faces. Apparently, she had been crying too. Silver tear marks trailed her pale face.
"Alexander," she said softly. "I'm truly am sorry for everything that has happened to you. It's unfair that you should have to shoulder this burden, but we can't change that. If Aang is to blame then I am even more than him. But you must listen. The world, your world, depends on it."
Something in her voice made him listen. It wasn't magic. There wasn't any mind control factor to it. There was simply truth in her voice that couldn't be denied. Also, when a pretty girl asks you to do something, it's hard to say no.
Nodding his head, Xander wiped his eyes dry as she stood up, extending a hand to help him up. She was happy to see that he accepted it without any hesitation, a gesture that spoke more than words could.
Turning, Xander found Aang facing the opposite direction, giving them as much privacy as the kid could without actually leaving. Noticing that they had finished, Aang faced them and bowed once again, this time to the girl.
"Yue," Aang said respectfully.
"Avatar Aang," Yue replied. "It's unfortunate that we meet only under these circumstances."
Xander was still sniffling slightly but he felt better, lighter, then he had before. Taking a steadying breath, Xander looked Aang in the eyes. "Alright, so what's going on here?"
Aang looked to Yue questioningly. When the girl nodded, Aang began to speak. "It's kind of complicated. Like I said, I don't even know how it happened. No one seems to really know. Somehow, my spirit entered your body about a month ago."
"What are you talking about? I got possessed over a year ago, not a month ago."
"Really? About a month passed for me since that happened for me." Again, Aang looked over at Yue.
"La and myself have talked about this in great length," Yue said. "Time is trickier than any bending, almost any subject there is. We can only begin to guess at why things progresses differently in one area and differently in another."
"So, time moves differently for us? Alright then," Xander said nodding his head. "Makes as much sense as anything else," he said dryly.
"It's not important," Aang stressed. "When it happened, I was so confused. It happened at such a powerful moment for me...I was lost. I didn't know what was happening or where I was. I...I ran. When I got somewhere quiet, where I could think again, I meditated and entered the spirit world to look for an answer. Yue found me and together we were able to piece some of it together."
Yue spoke up. "You have to understand, Xander. Aang is a very powerful being. He's the bridge between our worlds, the Avatar. Removing his spirit and transporting it would take either a very powerful spirit or a past life of his.
"Before we knew it, we felt his spirit begin to leave and be pulled back to his own body. But something was wrong. Aang said that it felt as if a part of him was being left behind, a part of the Avatar."
"I've never felt anything like that before. Someone or something was trying to keep a part of the Avatar and use it. I knew that it wasn't you doing it. I saw inside of you, Xander. I knew that you wouldn't do something like that, couldn't do it, but someone was. You have to understand, we couldn't let them do that. We had to do something to stop them."
Xander listened to the exchange intently, trying to make sense of it all. So far, nothing seemed to. It sounded as if they were having a conversation and they expected him to know things that he didn't. If he wasn't still reeling from the emotional dam breaking he went through before he probably would have interrupted. Whatever it was they were talking about though seemed to be very important and this Aang kid was at the center of it all. Something about being an Avatar, whatever that is, meant he was special somehow. The girl, Yue, was special too. He didn't need them to tell him that, though. Appearing in moonlight after it had just been day was a good sign of that.
Both of them, Aang especially, looked worried as well as sad. They had said that they had come to some kind of decision but hadn't told him what it was they had decided. Did they figure out that killing him was the safest bet of keeping whatever the Avatar thing was away from him? Maybe he was dead, that might begin to make some sense of the world right now.
"OK," Xander said holding up his hand. "I hate to interrupt, really, I do. But...what in the hell are you two going on about? No of this makes any sense. The only way I could understand less is if you started speaking in Chinese or something."
"Xander, that's what I'm trying to say. You wouldn't understand any of this, you couldn't. That's what we did. Yue took away your memory of that night and locked away the power of the Avatar," Aang said getting agitated with every word.
"I didn't mean it to hurt you, Xander," Yue said softly. "I only meant to protect both your world and yourself. But I should have known that even my power wouldn't be enough to contain that of the Avatar."
"You...you wiped my memory?" Xander cried out.
"Yes, I did. I did what I thought was best to keep the balance. I've had only limited contact with the people from your world and even I can tell that they wouldn't be able to handle the power and responsibility that comes with being the Avatar."
"What's the Avatar? Why the hell is he so important?" Xander countered, his anger and frustration getting the better of him. Who were these people to decided that they could take away his memories? Even though they were just a few hours they were still his. They could have let him keep them and then locked away whatever the Avatar thing was.
"That's what you're here to find out," Aang said. The boy took a deep breath, and moved forward with more grace and speed than Xander had seen anybody move.
Aang struck out with both hands at once giving Xander no time to defend himself. One of his hands went for the temple, the other for his chest. Instead of striking him, Aang simply placed his open palms on the areas and pressed firmly. At first, nothing happened and Xander was starting to feel really uncomfortable. Before he was able to move, though, he felt it.
It started as a tingle in his chest and head, the exact spots that Aang was touching. It felt as if something inside of his very being had fallen asleep and was just now waking up. The sensation started to spread out to the rest of his body reaching his fingers and toes. It felt as if even the very tips of his hairs all over his body were experiencing it as well. It wasn't pleasant but it wasn't bad either. Xander had felt worse in his time, much worse. It began to intensify though and started to hurt enough so that Xander wished that he could move just so he could grit his teeth against the pain. Whatever was going on, however, had him frozen in place, unable to move even a muscle.
Suddenly, the pain and discomfort vanished and a feeling of warmth began to creep into him. It started in the reverse direction of the previous feeling, instead of radiating out of him in was entering from outside and heading into his chest and head. With the warmth came a pressure that started to build within Xander at several different points on his body. The base of his spine, his groin, stomach and chest all developed an unbelievable amount of pressure within them, moving upwards. The feeling progressed up to his throat making Xander feel like he might suffocate despite having no problem breathing. His forehead felt as if it would explode at any moment yet still it continued. Finally, the pressure went even further till it reached the crown of his head and stayed there making his whole body ache without any release.
It felt as if something was trying to claw its way out of his body. No, that wasn't the feeling, Xander determined through the intense pressure. It didn't want to break out of him so much as break open within him. When he came to this realization, he relaxed somewhat unconsciously and that ended it. The pressure swelled to a crescendo before flowing out of the seven points on his body spreading relief throughout his body.
If Xander had more time to think about it, he probably would have been able to come up with a better description of what happened next. There were people that could have done so with eloquence and style befitting the experience but Xander knew he wasn't one of them. Still, he thought he would be able to think of something that could do it justice. As it was, the only thought that went through his mind at the moment was, 'Gah!'
It would be wrong to say that he was inundated with memories of Aang's life. Xander didn't experience any of it. He couldn't tell what the boy had been thinking at any one time in his life. There wasn't any kind of mental connection linking both of their brains or anything like. Still, Xander knew what had happened in his life. He knew what Aang had done and been through and what he was. He understood who he, himself, was, as well. There was more than just information, more than just power. It was knowledge, sure, but so much more than that.
Instantly, at least in real time, it ended and Xander found himself laying on his back panting. Aang was on his knees, breathing heavily, but in better shape than Xander.
"Sorry about that," Aang said after a moment while calming his breathing. "I didn't expect it to be quite that intense."
"Buh," was all Xander was able to reply. When Aang offered him his hand, he took it without hesitation. "I think it would have been easier if I was crazy."
"Yea, I thought something like that at first too. It's a lot to take in, no matter how old you are," Aang said. Then, in a way that only he could, Aang grinned hugely. It was so infectious that Xander couldn't help but smirk as well.
"There isn't much time," Yue said. "Time may be slower here but you must return."
"Crap!" Xander exclaimed. "The demons, Ethan! What do I do about them? I don't know what to do with...with this," Xander said looking lost.
"Relax," Aang told him placing a hand on his shoulder. "I can help."
Looking skeptical, Xander still nodded his head. He trusted Aang. He had every reason in the world to do so, but he was still frightened slightly.
"Good bye, Avatar Aang ," Yue bowed her head slightly before turning to Xander. "And to you, Avatar Alexander, good luck. I only wish I could do more." Before Xander could say anything, Yue lowered her head and gave him a kiss on the head, filling him with a cool sensation, before fading away in a burst of moon light. Before Xander got say anything, he too faded away from the Spirit World.
BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK
Slashing back and forth with the sword, Buffy was barely managing to keep the demon from taking her to the ground. Its skin was tough and dense making it nearly impossible to do anything but give the demon a shallow cut. She was almost certain that she'd be able to cut further but like most things she encountered, the creature wasn't being kind enough to stand still and let her try. Stabbing it seemed to be a good way to go since every time she tried, it would jump back keeping just out of reach.
She could see the fights going on around her but was powerless to do anything about it. They hadn't been ready for this. They didn't think that Ethan would act like this, work with demons. Vampires, yes, but not these things, Giles had been so sure of it. They were tough, well trained and just fighting one of them was a challenge that Buffy was hard pressed to meet. Angel and Giles were barely holding their own and without Oz in werewolf mode she doubted that Willow would be alive right now. Hell, she probably wouldn't last if two of them decided to rush her all at once so how well did Willow fair?
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Xander sail through the air and tumble on the floor. She wanted to get to him, make sure he was OK, but there wasn't any way she could make it past her opponent to do it. Gritting her teeth, she redoubled her efforts, swinging the sword in hard, wild arcs that helped put some breathing room between her and the demon. There wasn't enough of an opening to lunge, but with a few feints she had the demon backing up hastily. Before she could press the advantage, a yelp that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than pain caught her attention followed by a scream from Willow.
Forgetting the problem in front of her, Buffy glanced over to the direction the sound came from. Willow was running out into the open and Buffy saw why. Oz, who seemed to be able to fight off the half goat demon all on his own, had ultimately lost his fight. He was laying limp on the floor, clearly injured if not dead. Ignoring her own safety, Willow was trying to make her way to him but was stopped by the same creature that had wounded her boyfriend, grabbing her by the neck. It was easy to see the anguish and fear on Willow's face. Even though she fought for all she was worth, there was no way she was going to be breaking free of the demons hold on her.
The second that Buffy spent taking all of that in, the demon she had been fighting got inside her defense, knocked her sword away, and followed it up with a vicious backhand. Even tense with the fight, she had been too distracted in the one moment to keep her defense up. The blow knocked her to her knees and making her see stars. Whatever these things were, it felt like she ran face first into a brick wall with that one hit.
Attempting to get the thing away, Buffy kicked out and pushed off the demons stomach. That had been the plan anyway. Instead, the thing didn't budge an inch, grabbed her by the ankle and growled at her. Realizing her mistake too late, she could only prepare herself for the inevitable strike to come. Only it never did. Something stopped it from following up on the countless of attacks it could come after her while in this position.
The wind picked up suddenly and fierce. Shielding her eyes from the dust being kicked up Buffy focused on the center of where the wind was coming from and would have opened her mouth in shock if the raging wind didn't keep it closed. Xander was floating a good six inches off the ground in what she could only describe as a sphere of air. The only reason she could even make it out was because of all the dust that was circling it. His eyes were open but instead of his brown eyes his were glowing with a bright white light that cast his face in harsh and frightening relief. Everyone in the desert seemed to be focusing on Xander as he floated there.
With a roaring gust of air, the dust completely obscured Xander from view for a moment and when it cleared slightly he was no longer there. In his place was a young, bald, boy dressed in what looked to be some sort of monk garb. Despite his age and appearance, he looked more frightening than Xander had. His eyes also glowed as well as arrows that ran down his arms and on his head. The wind never stopped ragging and the boy never touched the ground as he surveyed the area.
Faster than Buffy could believe, the boy circled his one arm and thrust it toward the demon holding Willow. A blast of air flowed past the boy's hand and slammed into the creatures head sending it reeling backwards and dropping Willow, who promptly curled into the fetal position, on the ground. Turning smoothly, the monk then swept both arms over his head, directed his palms at the demon holding Buffy, and continued the movement till he was facing the opposite direction. A current of air that Buffy wouldn't have believed possible dragged the demon away from her and sent it flying well past Ethan's car.
The young monk spun around again, thrust out an arm, and pointed his fingers out. Swiftly, he started moving his whole arm in a tight circle causing all of the air that was still continuing to roar around them, to be directed from his rotating shoulder and out through his fingers. If Buffy wasn't witnessing it, she probably wouldn't have believed it...at least not without a lot of convincing. The kid, just by moving his arm, had created a freaking tornado!
The twister formed in the space of two seconds and had already began to suck dust, dirt and rocks into it with such force that when a few of them spun out of it, the struck the ground and created large holes. More than a few buzzed past Buffy's ears and one even went across her face, cutting her above her left eye and caused her to see white for a second.
The wind was too much and the dust was making everything hard to see, Buffy flattened herself on the ground and closed her eyes tightly. The noise that the tornado created was deafening and she swore that her ears were going to start bleeding any minute. Fortunately, the wind started to die down to the point that she could look up again. The tornado was gone but there was enough wind that dust continued to fly around, though at this point it seemed to be content with circling the kid and not moving and flesh flaying speed. None of the demons were around and Ethan was hiding under his car from what she could see and clearly not getting up anytime soon.
For a second time the air and dust encased the boy with blinding speed. The dust fell to the ground and the wind settled again to what it had been before anything had started. The boy was gone and in his place, Xander was on the ground, panting. Even though he looked worn out and tired, he was still the first on to his feet and making his way over to Willow who was hovering over Oz's still form. Buffy jumped up second and stood next to Xander, looking down at their friends.
Oz was no longer in his werewolf form but Buffy had no idea if that meant that he was dead or if he the moon had finally set fully. Willow seemed near catatonic as she kneeled over her boyfriend. The scene was heartbreaking but Buffy knew that they couldn't hesitate for an instant if there was going to be any chance of saving Oz.
"Dear, God..." Giles spoke softly as he and Angel came to check on the young man.
"Giles, we need to get him to a hospital, fast." Buffy's voice was tight as she forced herself not to break down. It was a near thing but she managed to pull herself together when she felt Angel put a hand on her shoulder.
"He's alive, barely," Angel whispered to her. "I can hear his heart but it's faded, slowing down. He needs to be seen."
Giles bent down, careful not to disturb Oz too much as he inspected him. "Damn. I can't tell if the neck's...I can't tell if it'll be worse to move him or not."
"Get a blanket," Xander said. "Wrap him in a blanket. Get something to support his neck."
Blinking, Giles took a moment before nodding and hurrying off to the car, but Buffy shared his shock. It wasn't that the advice wasn't solid and the best thing they could do at the moment but the fact that Xander was the one who was being calm and collective. Not to mention what had happened less than a few minutes ago, it was enough to rattle anyone's nerves but Xander was simply making a list of what had to be done instead of freaking out.
"The sun's going to be up in a shortly. Angel, do you have another blanket in the car?" Xander asked the vampire.
Opening his mouth slightly, this time it was Angel who seemed surprised. Shaking it off, he said, "I should have a spare in the trunk. It'll be a tight fit but the important thing is getting Oz to the hospital. He'll need to be laid out in the back for the ride."
Shaking his head, Xander replied, "Don't worry about that, I'll get Oz to the hospital."
"Wait. You'll what?" Buffy asked in disbelief. Maybe the whole tornado wind thing had given Xander a concussion.
"No time to argue about it Buffy," Xander said rolling his shoulders as Giles came back and carefully wrapped Oz in a blanket. "Meet me at the hospital after you guys get back into town and drop Angel off."
"Xander, you're not making any sense. What do you mean you'll get Oz to the hospital?" Buffy looked at Xander for some kind of response but instead she saw him look down at Willow. She still hadn't moved from her spot watching over Oz even as Giles did his best to wrap a towel around his neck to keep his head from moving too much.
Looking up, Xander met Buffy's eyes with equal amount of sadness and sympathy. She didn't know what he was planning on doing but he seemed resolute in whatever it was. Without another word, he bent down, gently picked up Oz's still form and settled his body in his arms. At first, Buffy thought he was simply going to try walking Oz back to Sunnydale. It certainly looked that way when he started towards town, quickening his pace with every step. Buffy was about to stop him when there was a sudden whoosh of air and a large amount of dust kicked up where Xander had been walking with a trail of it heading into town.
The only thing Buffy could do was blink at the slowly settling dust in front of her. She probably would have stayed that way till Giles put a hand on her, urging her towards the car. As they drove away, Angel hiding under the blanket in the backseat next to her, with Willow, still dazed and silent up front, Buffy could only wonder what had happened to Xander and what it meant. It never even crossed her mind that they had left Ethan out there, still hiding under his car.
BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK
Sleep came easy to Xander as he sat in the hard plastic chair in the waiting room of Sunnydale General. The ER doctors had taken Oz from him the moment they had arrived and promised to let him know as soon as they had any news. They gave him forms, which he didn't bother filling out and had instead sat down wearily. It hadn't taken long before his eyes closed and he drifted off. The past twenty-four hours had been more than enough to wipe him out. What surprised him was how easily he fell asleep and that he didn't get assaulted with nightmares as he slept. For the first time in a long time, he was resting. Naturally, this couldn't last.
Waking up to someone gently shaking his shoulder, Xander's sleepy eyes gave him a vision of a blurry Giles kneeling way to close for his comfort. Jumping back in the chair caused him to knock it over and he probably would have went with it had Giles not grabbed his arm and held him up.
"Sorry about that," the older man said quietly. "I hadn't meant to startle you."
Shaking his head, Xander regained his balance. "No, no. It's alright. Just didn't expect it was all."
Righting the chair, Giles motioned for Xander to sit down and took the seat next to him. Once they were settled, Giles handed him a cup of coffee and received a large smile for it. "You would think that we would be more used to these damn things given how much time we spend here," Giles said as he tried to find a comfortable spot on the plastic seat.
"Yea, or at least get one of those little frequent customer cards. 'One free trip to the ER with every ten visits.' Though I think that the hospital would probably go under given the rate that this town uses it." Xander's smile quickly sobered as he looked around. Xander and Giles weren't the only ones waiting to either be seen or hear about loved ones. At least ten other people sat around them, two of them holding bloodied clothes to their necks and looking paler than was healthy. A clear testament that no matter how many things Buffy and the rest of them fought and beat back, there were always more out there and that meant more victims.
"Quite right," Giles said heavily.
Both men stayed quiet for a moment. Xander knew that Giles was giving him a moment to get the sleep out of his brain and get his thoughts together, something that he was grateful for. If it had been Buffy had woke him up then he would have been hit with a barrage of questions before he even knew where he was and what was going on.
Right, best to get down to business first.
"I haven't heard anything from the doctors yet but it's only been," Xander glanced at the clock on the wall and was shocked. "FIVE HOURS?"
"Yes, well, the first time we tried to wake you, you didn't move an inch. We thought it best to wait till we knew something." Giles looked off in the distance for a moment. "They took Oz up to surgery by the time we got here which was...almost three and a half hours ago. We haven't been able to reach his parents. Willow said that she doesn't think that they stay in town much. Luckily the surgeon was willing to talk to me when he came down earlier."
Xander held his breath waiting for the news. Apparently, Giles wasn't too anxious to tell him how Oz was doing. The older man took several breathes before his face went neutral, almost as if he didn't trust himself to show any emotion.
"There was massive internal bleeding by the time he was brought in. The doctors repaired what they could when he was first brought in but the extent of the injuries needed more operations. There were some bruising to his liver and kidneys. But the worst...the worst was his neck.
"There was some swelling to the spine but they won't know until he's awake how bad it is, which, unfortunately, may not be for some time."
Taking it all in, Xander could hardly believe it. They had all ended up in the hospital a few times over the years for various injuries but nothing like this. The worst had been Willow last year when she had been in a coma but even so, this was...different. It was too much, too real in a way. None of them had ever been put through any injury that had required surgery to fix. Hell, they didn't even know if Oz would walk again. What if he was paralyzed for life?
Images from Aang's life flashed across his mind. The war had taken many lives, destroyed people body and soul. Aang had seen people hurt just like Oz had been, worse in fact. But that had been war. This was...different, wasn't it?
"What about Willow? Buffy?" Xander asked.
"Willow and Buffy are both fine. Buffy dragged Willow downstairs to the cafeteria to get some food in her. To be honest, I'm more concerned with you, Xander. I saw how badly that Hessing demon was beating you yet you don't have a mark on you. I don't suppose you have an explanation for what happened back there, do you?"
He knew that the question was going to be asked sooner rather than later but still he wasn't ready for it. How was he even going to begin explaining to Giles, to any of them, about Aang and an alternate dimension where all of this would make perfect sense? They had seen a display of Airbending already so there was at least a chance that they wouldn't take too much convincing. Still, would they get it? Could they understand?
"What's a Hessing demon?" Xander asked stalling for no reason other than not wanting to talk.
"The demons that Ethan foolishly brought with him and don't stall. Xander, what happened? Who was that young man that appeared?"
Damn it. He should have known that Giles wouldn't let him put it off. Best to just jump into it now anyway. If he could get Giles on his side, maybe it wouldn't be too hard to get Buffy to listen to him.
"Remember Halloween?" Xander asked, continuing after he saw Giles nod. "Well, there's been some...consequences of from it. I didn't mention them to anyone because it wasn't that big of a deal, just some bad dreams, ya know? But they've been getting worse. It's gotten to the point where I hardly sleep anymore because of them, Giles. But I know what they've meant, what they've been trying to tell me."
"You're saying that you've been having...prophetic dreams? That they're somehow tied in with what happened tonight?" Giles asked. He didn't sound like he was ready to start yelling at Xander for making things up. Xander took that as a good sign.
"No, not really. More like it was a part of me that was trying to let me in on a secret. Maybe it had something to do with the future, I don't know. But, the dreams aren't really the important part." Xander decided that if he just didn't say it he was going to run around in circles and make absolutely no sense. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I was taken over by the current incarnation of the Avatar and him and the spirit of the moon locked away my memories of it and the fact that I'm part of the Avatar cycle."
Blinking once and looking completely lost, Giles opened his mouth and tried to speak. Xander almost laughed but kept himself in check. It seemed like the Watcher was having a hard time lately with keeping himself composed and speaking. Saving him the trouble, Xander started before he was able to string even two words together.
"Trust me. I thought that I had been hit in the head a few too many times when I was told about it too. But, Giles, trust me, this is real. Somehow, some way, I turned into Aang that Halloween. I don't know how since I dressed up as a wizard but that's what happened. That's who you guy's saw. He helped me out with the demons." An image of Yue kissing his head flashed across his mind. "And Yue…she must have healed me somehow. I mean, I guess being the Moon Spirit has its benefits."
"The Moon Spirit healed your injuries?"
"I'm telling you, Giles. It's the truth."
"Do you...do you have any kind of proof?"
Casting a look around to see if anyone was watching, Xander was glad that everyone was too wrapped up in their own problems to pay him any attention. Taking a few coins out of his pocket and placing them in the palm of his hand, he gave it a gentle swirl Xander produced a miniature cyclone that spun the coins a few inches above his hand. Once Giles got a good look, Xander put his hand into a fist, ending the mini-tornado and catching the coins.
"Dear lord," Giles whispered. "How did you do that?"
"Um, Airbending," Xander replied sheepishly. "It's part of what makes the Avatar who he is."
"This, uh, Avatar can control air? Just like that? No incantation or spell?"
Shaking his head, Xander said, "Not just air, all the elements. Water, earth and fire too. It's not magic, Giles, but it's hard to just...make it happen. There's movements involved, technique. But the better you get at it, the less the movements are needed. It's like martial arts, actually."
"Are you telling me that you can control all of the elements, command them at will?" For whatever reason, Giles voice had a hard edge to it. There was a question within the question, Xander sensed.
"Yes. I haven't tried anything else yet. Things have been a bit hectic and now isn't the time. But you have to understand, the Avatar isn't just some powerful being. It's more than that. He's a balancing force, a peace keeper."
"Who's peace?" Giles asked, his tone not changing.
"The world's," Xander said catching his eyes. The two men stayed like that for a moment. Xander felt Giles measuring him, weighing what he said in his mind. Xander just made sure that he didn't back down, didn't look away. If he did he felt that he would be confirming something that Giles was wondering and that it wouldn't end well. Finally, Giles nodded his head and the tension drifted away.
Rubbing his eyes, Giles shook his head. "I almost wish that I was mad."
"You and me both," Xander snorted.
"I'm not saying I believe you, not entirely. I'd like to do more research on the subject but...it's clear that there's more going on. Things have obviously changed. I would wait until we hear any word on Oz before going to Buffy and Willow with this. I'll let them know that I spoke with you and that everything is OK for the time being. But you have to understand, just because Ethan was stopped this time, doesn't mean that he'll stop completely. It's a good bet that he knew about whatever is going on with you and that's why he sought you out. He'll come for you again and frankly, I don't know what his next step might be."
Xander understood what a relentless pursuer was capable of. Suppressing a shudder, he recalled the image of Azula hunting Aang and his friends. Nothing stopped her. Nothing had deterred her from her goal. The most frightening thing about it was that she had almost succeeded. Hell, she did succeed. If it hadn't been for the intervention of Katara and a lot of luck, Aang would have been dead. He doubted that Ethan was anywhere as bad as Azula. For one thing, he wasn't as smart or as cunning. Azula wouldn't have messed up as badly as Ethan had. When Azula lost, generally it was due to outside forces. Ethan had been sloppy by comparison.
Turning fully to Giles, Xander started to talk but stopped when he saw a glint of something sticking out of the older man's sleeve. Squinting, he nearly fell out of his chair again when he realized what it was. "What the hell? Is that a knife?" Xander sputtered in shock.
Quickly putting his hand in his pocket, Giles tried to deny the allegation, badly. "What? No, not at all. Why would you think that?"
"Were...were you going to stab me?" Xander nearly shouted.
"Calm down," Giles said looking around nervously. "I wasn't going to stab you...not if it wasn't absolutely necessary."
"Oh, well, that makes it OK, doesn't it?"
"Xander, do you have any idea what it looked like from our perspective? Out of nowhere you had your body taken over and what that...boy did, the things he was able to do, they were some of the most destructive and amazing things I have ever seen. Air shouldn't be able to pick up four demons as heavy as them and toss them about as if it was nothing. I have seen some fairly frightening things in my time, Xander, but what I saw earlier this morning...I had to be certain that you were still you. That you weren't..."
"A threat?" Xander provided. There wasn't any hostility in his voice anymore. He should have expected them to think something like this, but he hadn't. Blame it on too much going on at once, but Xander simply was too concerned with getting his friends to believe him and hadn't really thought about what they might do if they did. "This amount of power can be dangerous, I know. Through Aang I've seen the amount of damage that people that can bend even a single element can do let alone an Avatar. What you have to understand is that the Avatar isn't a force for evil, it's a force for good, for balance."
"So you say. But I've heard that line before from people who only sought to help the world. People don't start out as evil, Xander. Well, not usually," Giles added as an afterthought.
"Do you really think that I could be evil, Giles? I have a D average and get confused when people start spelling things. Evil genius I'm not."
Xander's attempt at levity failed. Giles suddenly became much more attentive and sat up a little straighter. Following his eyes, Xander also started paying attention to what was going on
around him. Nurses and orderlies were hustling about carrying various packages of medical supplies. Everyone seemed tense and a few people shouted orders to people, mostly to set rooms or get supplies ready.
In the distance, Xander could just start to make out the sounds of sirens getting closer. "Accident?" he asked out loud.
"No, there's far too much going on for a simple accident," Giles said standing up.
"Vampires?" Xander asked quietly.
"Possible, but the sun's up. It has been for the hours."
Giles moved closer to the television that was on. Changing the channel from some infomercial to the local news, the screen flared with a picture of City Hall, or at least what was left of it. The building was in ruins, most of it collapsed in on itself and on fire. Even the rubble was burning. If anyone had been in there, no one would have survived it.
Xander looked at the screen and frowned as he read the ticker at the bottom, saying how an early morning gas explosion was the cause. He had seen some fairly impressive displays of pyrotechnics through Aang and if City Hall had truly exploded this would be a new one to him. Buildings go outwards with an explosion, not inward.
The television switched from the onsite camera and back to the studio. The anchorman looked slightly nervous and pale as the camera focused on him.
"Again, we interrupt this morning's programming with shocking footage from the terrible scene at City Hall. While the offices weren't fully staffed at the time, there are reports of several injured. We have just received word that there has been at least one fatality. Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third was in his office at the time of the incident and responders on scene have confirmed that his body was found at the scene. Once again, the Mayor of Sunnydale, dead this morning."
Tuning out the rest of what the newscaster was saying, Xander turned to find Giles looking at him. They both knew that things had changed now. Wordlessly, both of them left to go find Buffy and Willow. They didn't know what this meant, but it couldn't be good.