See Chapter One for Disclaimer and details. Wow, this one has gotten quite a number of reviews and feedback already. We definitely weren't expecting it, so please keep 'em coming! One person asked whether this was going to be a Xander/Giles 'ship; the answer is no. Not really our cup of tea, as the British would put it. Anyway, on with the story...


Chapter Two: The Dark Ages

17619 White Oak Drive, Sunnydale

November 6th, 1997

7:24 pm

The after-effects of the Halloween possession had been a lot worse than he'd anticipated: every night after he closed his eyes, Xander Harris could hear Ripper's voice saying joyously, "Time to go to sleeeep!" just before the axe hit his neck. Over and over again.

"Bloody toffing hell," Xander cursed, the British slang flowing smoothly from his lips before he'd even realized it. As he got up out of bed, Harris cursed again as he stared at the phone in his room. Just like so many other times before, he resisted the urge to call someone about his recurring nightmares.

( Like, who COULD I talk to about this? Willow? Buffy? Forget it, they could never understand. Hell, with Randall's memories, they almost feel like little kids to me now. Deadboy? As if! He likes me just as much as I like him. Giles? Yeah, sure, I bet that conversation would end well. Mm, maybe...maybe Ms. Calendar could be someone to talk to about Eyghon? She knows about this kind of stuff, after all. )

Xander shrugged and went back to bed. It was ridiculously early, but thanks to the nightmares he hadn't been able to sleep much and it was all starting to catch up to him. Besides, his home environment wasn't exactly Norman Rockwell in nature and the boy preferred to avoid his parents whenever he could.

Elsewhere at that moment, while Buffy was doing aerobics in the library and driving Giles batty with the noise of her techno music, Eyghon was stalking his prey at the high school. Somehow, the sleepwalker demon had come back and killed Thomas Sutcliff a while ago before moving on. Philip Henry was running for his life from the possessed corpse of Deidre Page at this very moment. He pounded on the back door of the library but Giles couldn't hear him, Buffy's incredibly loud music drowning out the banging noises and the cries for help.

Eyghon quickly killed Philip and transferred itself into his corpse, as Deidre's body disintegrated into a puddle of slime.


Sunnydale High, Sunnydale

November 7th, 1997

8:43 am

Xander, seeing Jenny talking with Giles, made his way towards the computer science teacher. Willow and Buffy were with them as well, and when they noticed his arrival everyone stopped talking and stared at him.

"Hey, don't let me stop the conversation..." Xander started to say before understanding hit him over the head with a two-by-four. "Unless of course, I AM the conversation?"

"No, uh, we, we were actually discussing a medical transport that's delivering the monthly supply of blood to the hospital. Buffy and I shall be there tonight, uh, eight-thirty sharp," Giles said uncomfortably.

"Good for you," Harris said, ignoring the looks of his two best friends. "Ms. Calendar, can I speak with you in private?"

Jenny Calendar looked surprised at the request. "I'm sorry, Xander, but I can't right now. I have a meeting with the vice-principal in a few minutes." The teacher looked at her watch.

"Later, then?"

She shrugged. "Actually, the whole day's a bit of a write-off as well. We can talk about it tomorrow in class."

"Tomorrow?" Buffy asked. "Tomorrow's Saturday, and not of the days of school the last time I checked."

"I'm reviewing some computer basics for a couple of students who've fallen behind, namely Xander and Cordelia. Willow's helping out for extra credit. Actually Buffy, it might not be a bad idea if you came along too," Jenny told her.

The Slayer looked alarmed. "Uh, I have to go to the mall tomorrow! Errands, y'know! My mom has some things she wants me to pick up-"

"And the fact you've been raving about that shoe sale all week has absolutely nothing to do with this, right?" Xander asked cynically. Buffy glared at her friend, but to her consternation it looked as if Xander wasn't affected in the slightest.

Jenny said, "Well, I'd really like you to come Buffy. Slayer or not, you do still need to keep your grades up."

Miss Summers exhaled loudly, looking for all the world a Christian martyr going into the Roman Colosseum packed full of hungry lions. "Fine. Whatever."

The bell rang and Giles made his way back to the library as the gang split up and went their different ways. Not long afterwards he was paid a visit by the police. Philip's body had been found and Rupert had to take a trip to the town morgue to formally identify the remains. After returning to his apartment that evening, the Watcher placed a number of phone calls back home to England. Learning that both Thomas and Deidre were now also dead, he decided to bite the bullet and telephoned Xander to come over at once.

"Okay, I'm here. What is it?" Xander asked in an unfriendly tone after Giles let him into the apartment.

Rupert tried to be patient in the face of the antagonism. "I've got some bad news: Philip Henry was killed at the school last night. I did some checking today, a-and apparently Deidre and Thomas are also dead as well."

That was enough to break through the belligerent exterior as Xander's Halloween memories of the trio came to the fore. "What? How?" he demanded.

"That's what's worrying me," Giles said uneasily. "Xander...you, you've been having dreams about Eyghon lately, haven't you?"

"Every night." The hostility was now firmly back in place.

"Well, that's the thing: so have I. Combined with all the killings lately, well, I-I-I think it's back – Eyghon's returned somehow to try to kill those of us who, who used to summon him back in our wilder youth. Thomas, Deidre, Philip, Ethan, myself...and, and possibly even you as well. You do have Randall's mark on your arm, after all," Giles explained his hypothesis.

Xander just stared at him, before heading for the nearby table and gulping down some of the whisky in the Scotch bottle.

"Xander, what do you think you're-" Giles automatically began to rebuke him.

"Shut up! Don't you DARE try to lecture me, 'Ripper'," Harris interrupted, hissing at his former role model. "Because I can remember you bragging in the East End back then, how when you were my age you used to drink worse stuff than this!"

That automatically took the wind out of the older man's sails as he recalled the incident. ( I really was one pissed-off young wanker then, wasn't I, ) the librarian mused to himself. ( Good Lord, how do I prevent this boy from making the same mistakes I did? There's got to be a way to get through to him. )

All further thought was cut off as Buffy started banging on the front door. She wanted to know why Giles hadn't shown up at the hospital as planned and help her safeguard the blood supply delivery. Rupert went to the door, spoke to her briefly and then pretty much slammed the door in her face.

"Who was that?" Xander asked, as Giles came back to the table.

"Uh, it was Buffy. She, she wanted to know what was going on. I-I-I completely forgot about meeting with her tonight," the Watcher confessed.

Dismissing that at once Xander grunted, "Come on, let's dig out whatever books you've got here. It's research time. We gotta learn everything there is to know about this demon. I mean, I know whatever Randall knew, but I wanna find out whether anyone's discovered any way since then on how we can finally kill this thing."

Giles looked very dubious about the possibilities, but had to admit that he didn't have a better idea right now.


School corridor, Sunnydale High

November 8th, 1997

9:00 am

Cordelia Chase was extremely annoyed at having to come to school during the weekend and she wasn't afraid to share her views. "This isn't right. School on a Saturday, it totally throws off my internal clock."

"I'm sure you'll manage somehow," Xander replied without even bothering to look at her. He was looking a bit tired and disheveled, as he had spent most of the night on research detail before reluctantly coming in today. "Just try to pretend that you're on daylight savings time or something."

Cordelia glared at him immediately for the wisecrack, but its effect was muted by the fact Harris had his back to her and couldn't see it.

From the cheerleader's perspective, the dynamic between them had definitely changed lately. Ever since Xander had been possessed by that British guy on Halloween, the insults between them had taken on a greater shade of adult suggestiveness. Occasionally Cordelia couldn't help recalling the words spoken that evening: "I would be the best night of your life."

Added to how visually pleasing Xander appeared in his new too-tight equipment manager shirts she had arranged for him to wear, despite herself Cordelia had started thinking of her sparring partner in a different way than before. ( Is it even remotely possible Xander could actually turn out to be more than decent-looking eye candy? As in, date-worthy material? )

Before she could think any further on that, Jenny and Willow went through the doorway into the computer lab, and Cordelia followed behind Xander. They found Buffy waiting for them and, after hearing what she had to say, the gang decided to skip the weekend class and find out what was going on.

Of course, since Xander already knew what was going on, he just silently followed the Slayer to the library. His presence went unnoticed in the background when Buffy captured Ethan, who was unsuccessfully skulking about in the stacks.

"I know you! You were the guy running that costume shop," Buffy glared at the British man.

Ethan smirked, "Oh, I'm pleased you remember."

"You sold me that dress for Halloween, and nearly got us all killed!" the Slayer yelled, infuriated.

"But you looked utterly fantastic in it-" Buffy punched him squarely in the jaw. "Owww! That hurt. So, now we're even?" the chaos mage asked politely.

"I'll let you know when we're even," Buffy said angrily. "What're you doing here?"

"Snooping around."

"Honesty. Nice touch," sneered the Chosen One.

Ethan smiled. "It's one of my virtues. Well, not really."

"I've got an idea: why don't I just call the police and have you arrested for breaking and entering, and then I can get back to my fun Saturday?" Buffy asked.

"I've got a better idea. Hello, Rayne man."

Ethan looked around in surprise, just before Xander's fist crashed directly into the same spot Buffy's had done. "Owwww! Bloody hell!" Ethan looked more closely at Xander. "And what did you call me?"

"So, did Philip ever find out you were screwing Deidre behind his back? You know, while everyone was hiding from the cops - thanks to your idiotic idea of trying to steal the Illuminata diamond from the British Museum?" Xander asked venomously.

Ethan's eyebrows threatened to hit the roof. "How did you-?"

"Halloween. The guy I got possessed by thanks to your nose ring that night? I can remember how you always used to call him horny or desperate for a shag every time someone called him Randy," Xander growled, ignoring Buffy's look of surprise.

Ethan went pale. "Randall?" he breathed in disbelief.

"What's going on here?" Buffy finally demanded. "Xander, what are you-"

"It's not safe for you to be around him. Or me," Xander interrupted her, making a decision that he felt he should have made last night. "Get out of here, Buffy. I need to call Giles."

"WHAT?" the blonde girl exclaimed in disbelief. "Xander, have you completely lost it? I'm not going anywhere-"

"Fine, then we are." Xander seized Ethan by the shirt and started dragging him out of the library.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere until you give me some answers!" Buffy shouted, very upset at her friend's behaviour.

Eyghon chose that moment to come crashing through a window in Giles' office. Ethan instantly stepped behind Buffy and used her as his personal shield, which was perfectly typical of him. Snarling, Philip's Eyghon-possessed corpse quickly came towards the humans after exiting the private office. "Ethan..." Then it looked at Xander in surprise and confusion. "Randall?"

Shocked, Harris unconsciously touched the mark on his arm. He wasn't certain what to do despite his recently acquired Halloween memories. ( Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! )

Buffy knew what to do and started to fight Philip's demonically animated corpse. Exchanging punches and kicks to the head and body, Slayer and demon fought viciously in a fairly even contest, slugging it out and starting to trash the library.

Xander suddenly spotted Ethan edging toward the library door and grabbed his shoulder, "Where do you think you're goin'?"

"Wasn't it the plan just now for us to get out of here? And if you truly were Randall, old boy, you should bloody well know who and what it is we're really up against. Now, I suggest we go find Ripper. If there's any chance of surviving this, we've all got to hang together. Otherwise, we'll all be hanged separately," Ethan said with a smarmy expression.

Xander was tempted to kill him, but at that moment Buffy kicked Eyghon directly into the book cage and slammed the door shut. She then turned to face the two males. While Xander was distracted Ethan took the opportunity to run for it, running straight into Willow, Jenny and Cordelia just entering through the library doors.

Fortunately for everyone except Ethan, Queen C incapacitated the sorcerer with a well-aimed knee to the crotch.


Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale

A short while later

Giles charged straight into the library, having received a phone call earlier from his Slayer. "Is everyone alright?"

"Super!" Cordelia said sarcastically. Then she added proudly, "I hit a guy right where it hurts the most!"

Buffy stared at her Watcher pointedly. "Giles, what the heck is going on around here?" She gestured towards the book cage. "And let's start off with what's behind door number one, shall we?"

Giles looked to be in complete shock at seeing the demon-possessed corpse and hearing its subhuman growls. "Philip? Oh God, it can't be!"

"Yes it can. Hello, Ripper," Ethan said from his seat, where Xander was standing, keeping an eye on him.

Willow suddenly remembered that that was what Randall had called the Watcher as well, back during Halloween. "Why'd he call Giles 'Ripper'?" the redhead whispered to Jenny, only to see the librarian walk over and yank Ethan up off the chair, holding him by the hair at the back of his neck. "Ohhh..."

"I thought you left town," Giles said angrily into Ethan's face.

"I did. Came back after I started having the dreams, strength in numbers and all, right?" Rayne seemed calm enough under the circumstances. "C'mon, mate, I'm sure you've been having them as well, same as the whelp here-"

"Watch who you're calling a whelp, Rayne man. 'Cause I could drop you like a sack of potatoes," Xander promised him.

"Oh please, Xander, I've seen you fight," Miss Chase laughed. "I could take you. Any day!"

Annoyed, Xander walked over to her. "Look, Cordy-"

"ENOUGH, PEOPLE! NOW, SOMEBODY START WITH THE EXPLANATIONS!!" Buffy yelled, sick and tired of everyone ignoring her.

Philip's body suddenly charged forward and broke through the book cage door, throwing it open into Xander and knocking him out when the frame hit his head.

"XANDER!!" Willow, Cordelia and Jenny shouted.

Buffy instantly jumped into action and fought Eyghon again. She kicked the demon in the chest three times, forcing it back against the cage. The human corpse slid down to the floor but quickly got back up again. Before Philip's mystically animated body could resume the attack though, its eyes went wide. The body began to convulse and collapsed onto the floor next to Xander. Just as before, the remains disintegrated into a puddle of slime which spread out along the wooden surface.

Everyone stared as Willow said, "Now, now there's something you don't see every day."

Cordelia looked sick. "I swear, I'm gonna be in therapy 'til I'm thirty!"

"Ethan. Where'd he go?" Buffy looked around. Sure enough, the chaos mage had run for it.

In the confusion, nobody noticed as the slime oozed closer to Xander. The boy's hand twitched once when the essence of the sleepwalker demon infected him and took control of his corporeal form.


17619 White Oak Drive, Sunnydale

November 9th, 1997

7:24 pm

Xander Harris was sitting on the floor of his bedroom in total darkness. His life felt like a complete nightmare at the moment. Despite the fact that Eyghon had finally been defeated and destroyed, Xander still couldn't look in the mirror out of fear of what he would see looking back at him. He knew the demon was gone, but still he couldn't make himself look.

Unlike the situation with Randall, Eyghon had been everything Xander had ever feared and much worse. Trapped and helpless within his own physically altering body, he'd had to listen to the demon's jeers and rants as well as watch himself try to kill the people who meant the most to him.

Still, now that the dust had settled so to speak, at least he was still alive, as were all those he cared about. Young Mr. Harris had survived despite the odds yet again. For the sake of his own sanity he had to believe that eventually he would somehow get past it as well.

Somehow. Eventually.

Not that Xander cared much, but Ethan had disappeared after it was all over, having left town most likely. Nobody had seen him after he'd decided to kidnap Buffy, burn off his own tattoo with acid and tattoo her with the mark to throw Eyghon off his scent. Unfortunately for him, the demon within Xander hadn't been fooled by the trick when the final showdown had taken place in Ethan's shop.

After Giles had confessed everything, Willow had come up with a plan to make Eyghon jump from Xander into Angel, where Angel let his inner van-tal obliterate the sleepwalker demon. Thus, the day had been saved at the last moment with no fatalities to Team Slayer.

Xander stared at the tattoo on his arm, briefly wondering whether or not to have it removed like Ethan had done and Buffy had said she would do. For a while various fragments of thought swirled around incomprehensibly inside his Xander-shaped head, before he was finally distracted by a knock at the door.

"Alexander? Your friends are here," his mother Jessica called out from the other side of the door.

Xander got up and unlocked his bedroom door. He saw Buffy and Willow standing there alone but he made no move to invite them in.

"Uh, uh, Xander! Hi!" Willow babbled. She wasn't sure what else to say now that she knew everything about what Giles, Ethan, and Randall had been like in the old days. There were also no secrets any longer about what Xander did or didn't remember.

"Willow. Buffy," Xander deadpanned.

"We've been trying to call you, but we never got anything except a busy signal," Buffy said, frowning at with the big lack of invitation into his room.

"Yeah, I, uh, I took the phone off the hook. I didn't want to be disturbed."

"But, but you're alright? Is, is, is there anything you need?" Willow asked desperately.

"I'm fine. And no thanks."

"Are you sure?" Willow persisted.

"Yeah. Positive."

"But Xander, after what you just went through you obviously need help-" Buffy started to say.

"Hey, what I need is for you two to stop treating me like I'm made of glass, okay?" Xander snapped, before he apologized at once. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But look, i-it feels like you guys are completely smothering me with all the concern, alright? Just...please, gimme my space for now. That's the best thing, the only thing you can do for me," Xander told his two special girls in no uncertain terms.

Willow turned around and fled, extremely upset and about to cry. Buffy just glared at Xander and said, "Well, I hope now that you're proud of yourself-"

"Don't. I mean it, Buff, don't even start with that crap!" Xander shouted at her, some of Randall's angry temper leaking through due to the stress of the situation.

The Chosen One definitely didn't like being talked to this way. "God, Xander, are you even listening to yourself? This isn't you and you know it! Just...snap out of it already!!" she yelled back at him.

"Yeah, right. Like YOU just snapped out of it before you smashed the Master's bones?"

"That's not the same thing and you know it!" Buffy yelled again, honestly not wanting to think about that part of her life.

"Buffy, I'm not gonna stand here and argue with you about this," Xander said roughly. "Look, I'm not 'the hills are alive with the sound of music' fine, but at least I'm coping a little. So the last thing I need right now is sermonizing or a damn guilt trip! I didn't ask you or Will to come over here, so go home and stay out of this. I get that you just want to help, but you. Can't. Help. Me!"

Shocked at his tone and words the blonde girl turned around and left, thinking to herself, ( I better talk to Giles about this. He'll know what to do. )

TBC...