xxxxxx

Time: Three weeks after Buffy left
Place: Sunnydale Motor Lodge

xxxxxx

It had been months since Xander had moved out of his parents' house and into the Sunnydale Motor Lodge. He was tempted to grab a flame thrower and roast his current place of residence.

This place was unfit for anyone, human or demon, to live. The paint was peeling, the rooms were in horrible condition, not to mention the smell. It was a good thing that Xander stored most of his things, clothes mostly, at his Uncle Rory's home.

His Uncle Rory was among the few family members Xander liked to hang out with. Unlike the others, and pretty much everyone in Sunnydale, Rory knew of the things that happened after the sun set. Being in the Special Forces and all, he'd seen a lot of weird things. That was one of the main reasons Xander liked him; Rory didn't pussy foot around with you.

His thoughts drifted back to his parents for a second. The last he'd heard, they had sold the house and left for parts unknown, without telling him. All in all, Xander couldn't care less.

Months into his solo missions (which had become more and more frequent since Buffy left) he'd ran into a slight problem. A few nights ago a pack of demons had gotten away by car, no doubt stolen. He was fast, but not that fast. Also, with his luck, there would be other demons or vampires with cars or motorcycles.

In the end, there was only one way to resolve this new dilemma.

"I need a car," Xander said to himself as he looked through a buy and trade car magazine. The problem was that though was the fact that it usually only had standard import or cookie cut cars. He was half tempted to get a motorcycle but was worried his long coat might get caught in the rear wheel. In the end, a car was the best way to go.

With a sigh, he tossed the magazine aside and stretched out. It was a good thing that today school had been closed for some unknown reason. With it being Friday he had a long weekend to look forward to and could put his thoughts solely into looking for a ride.

Easier said then done

xxxxxx

Few Hours Later

xxxxxx

Blinking a few times, Xander wished he had brought a pair of sunglasses like his uncle had. The glare coming off the scraps of metal wasn't really all that bad, just annoying.

Standing before him in all its glory, was quite possibly the biggest junk yard he had ever seen. Though, from the looks of it, it was almost entirely made up of old junked cars. The yard, located a few miles outside of Sunnydale, was owed by an old friend of his uncle's from his military days. 'Sam's Yard' as it was called, was huge, easily the size of a small town, maybe a little bigger.

From what Rory said, this was THE place to go for used classic cars and parts in the state of California. Everyone came here to get shells, parts, or whole cars for projects.

"Alright," Xander said looking over at his uncle, "I give…What are we doing here?"

His uncle smiled and slapped him on the back hard. For an older man he could still hit hard, though it didn't hurt Xander.

"We're here to get you a new car, boy."

With that the older man walked away, leaving Xander standing there blinking.

"I just HAD to ask, didn't I?"

With a groan, Xander went after his uncle, wondering what he had gotten himself into this time.

xxxxxx

Sam Foster was a simple man with simple needs. Since retiring from the Army Special Forces, he had returned to Sunnydale and opened his business. Oddly enough, said business was a gold mine, despite what his old crew used to say. California was known for not only its sunny beaches, but the place to get parts for classic cars, or the cars themselves.

It was roughly half past noon and the day had been somewhat slow. Not slow enough to be considered a bad day but not busy enough to be considered a good one either. The only high point of the day was that he was going to see his old friend Rory Harris.

The two men went back a long way. They had started out in the same boot camp and were stationed in the same squad together. Yet, even before that, they were close friends.

Rory had called a few minutes ago saying that he was coming over to visit along with his nephew, Xander. From what Rory told him, the kid was looking for a car. Lucky for him, they were coming to the right place.

His train of thought was derailed by the light knocking at his office door. Pulling his feet off the desk, almost knocking over a small pile of papers, he yelled, "Come in!"

The door opened, revealing his long time friend, Rory Harris. With a laugh, the two embraced in a big brotherly hug.

"Rory," Sam almost yelled, "were the hell have you been?"

"Yeah, yeah, you always say that! We just saw each other about, what, a month or so ago?"

"Details, old man, details."

The two laughed again and you could hear the years of friendship rolling off of them.

xxxxxx

Xander stood back and watched the two old friends laugh and joke with each other.

As he looked on though, he felt a slight stab of pain in his heart. It was moments like these, among others, that reminded him of his own friend, Jesse, who was no longer alive. He wondered if Jesse had lived, what would have happened.

"Hey, kid," he heard his Uncle say, "ya still there?"

Blinking his thoughts away, the young Devil-Hunter looked up to see both older men looking at him. He had spaced out again.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Went into my own little world for a second there."

"So we noticed," Rory responded dryly.

Xander had the good grace to blush slightly under the slight glare of his Uncle. With all that behind him, he was quickly introduced to Sam. He instantly liked the older man; he reminded him in many ways of his uncle.

They sat down and Xander explained it all to Sam, from Halloween night and the spell to him leaving his parents, changing his last name, and now hunting on the side with his new powers. All in all he took it rather well.

"YOU GOT TO BE SHITTING ME!"

Well…more or less.

xxxxxx

After the shock wore off, Sam was more then happy to help out. It would also give him time to show off his place to Rory, who rarely came by.

He led them through the towers of slightly rusted and twisted metal. The place was even bigger than Xander had thought. Each tower was roughly the size of a small three-story house, each car from a different era.

As they walked, Xander listened to Sam explaining how his business worked. He specialized in high-end classic cars, ranging from 1965 all the way up to the mid 1980's. Once and a while he would get a special order for super rare cars or parts. That's where the money really came rolling in.

"From what ya tell me," Sam started, "I think what you need is a muscle car. Something like a Cuda or Challenger. Something with enough power and muscle to out race anything out there. Let's go see what we have, shall we?"

Now in almost every male there is, what most people call, the 'car gene'. This little gene that is part of the male DNA is responsible for things like wanting to see things blow up, always wanting sex, and (you guessed it) a love of cars. Today, Xander's car gene exploded into full existence.

He passed several cars, all of which were unique and incredible, but nothing caught his attention. There was a Judge that would have been perfect, if it wasn't missing most of its parts. Next was a Roadrunner but it was in even worse shape then the Judge so he moved on. What he needed was something good, something that wouldn't take up too much of his or anyone else's time to rebuild. Xander was just about to give up when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

It was slightly rusted but compared to the others it was in better shape. The tires needed replacing desperately and the rims were rusted and dented. The body of the muscle car had patches of rust where the pale pea green paint wasn't covering it. All in all it looked like crap. Yet, it looked as if it was solid enough.

"Good eye, kid," Sam said, coming up behind him. "That right there is a 1969 Boss Mustang. I just got her the other day. Been thinking of keeping of fixing her up and keeping her."

Xander moved over to the car, and slowly moved his hand along the hood scoop of the muscle car. Peeking inside, he saw that the interior, which was an off white, was still mostly there.

"Honestly, it wouldn't take too long to fix up. About a month and some change with the improvements I'm thinking about."

"Improvements?" Xander asked, not taking his eyes away from the car.

Sam popped in a stick of gum into his mouth and smiled. "Yeah, new engine, new suspension to handle the power, new paint job, and some body work here and there. Though for you we might need to add a few more things."

"Wait…for me?"

"Yeah kid, for you. I was just thinking of driving her around on the weekends but a car like that needs to be used hard. Besides, it was one of the best muscle cars around back in the day. And I think it can be again with a little TLC."

Before Xander could say anything more, Rory slapped him on the back and with Sam, went over to the soon-to-be-his muscle car. Between the two of them, they were able to start the car up and slowly wheeled it into the garage, Xander following behind them in a slight daze. He did have to admit, the car would look cooler after it was all fixed up.

In the end, it would be one of a kind.

xxxxxx

A month and some weeks later

xxxxxx

It had taken a few extra weeks, some luck, lots of paint, and a ton of new parts, but the Boss Mustang was finally finished.

It was panted a glossy black with a red stripe running down the side and around the back. On the back was a wing that would have originally been on this type of car. Seventeen inch rims wrapped in racing tires made the slightly lowered Mustang look more aggressive. The hood carried a scoop to let air into the rebuilt monster engine.

The rebuilt 429 engine, a trademark of the Boss, sported a super charger so it could kick out even more horsepower. Honestly, Xander didn't know just how fast and powerful it was, though he couldn't wait to find out.

The suspension, chasse, and transmission were all new and ready to handle the extra power. Oddly enough, though it looked like it would be, the car wasn't all that heavy. Light armor was welded into parts of the Mustang for added protection.

"Ok," Xander said, not taking his eyes off the car, "how the HELL did we do this? And in only a month or so?"

Sam and Rory simply laughed at the young Devil-hunter's slacked jawed expression.

Smiling, Sam rubbed his rag along the side of the car and opened the door for the young man. "The question isn't how we did this. The question is why haven't you gotten in yet?"

"Yeah, why haven't I?" asked Xander to himself more then anyone else as he got in.

The inside was a work of art. Everything was black and trimmed in red to match the car. The racing seats had a five point harness seat belt system. He gripped the brand new steering wheel tightly and looked over the brand new shifter and radio.

"Alright, son," Rory said as he crouched down, "you're going to want to be real gentle with her at first. After all, it's her maiden voyage."

"Aw, come on. Gentle is my middle name," Xander replied as he turned the engine on. The roar of the engine was like a dragon waking up. It was so powerful, the whole car shook. Rory and Sam gave a whoop and a war cry as Xander revved the engine a few times, shaking the car even more.

Xander looked over at the two men and smiled just before putting the car into drive and peeling out of the garage, leaving behind only skid marks.

"I'm not going to see that car for a while am I?" Sam queried as he took off his cap and saw the car ride off.

"Nahh, I don't think so," Rory smiled.

"Yeah, didn't think so."

xxxxxx

Xander gunned the engine again as he turned a corner. The rush of the powerful rebuilt muscle car was addicting. So much so that Xander didn't even notice the tuner car he passed easily. When he did, he let out a laugh.

"Hmm…I need some tunes here."

Stopping at a light, Xander hit the button on the radio, starting up the sound system. He bobbed his head to the rock music as the song began to play.

xxxxxx

I've got that feeling deep inside
Well what it is I don't know
My vengeance starts to change
My mind gets filled with rage
I raise my fists up to the sky
xxxxxx

As he was waiting for the light to turn green, an expensive looking BMW convertible pulled up beside him. Inside were a sexy blonde and her boyfriend. The boyfriend, thinking his car was better, revved the engine a few times. Xander did the same. The entire muscle car shook from the pure power of the cars engine. The boyfriend's eyes went wide. With a shake of his head and a wink to the girl, Xander pulled out, leaving one pissed off guy and one blushing blonde.

xxxxxx

Whatdaya see?

The fear I see when I look in your eyes
Makes you believe I'm one of a kind (one of a kind)
The fear I leave in the back of your mind
Makes you believe I'm
One of a kind

Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind

And Now I feel like I'm alive
Don't know just how I got so low
These voices in my mind
Tell me it's killing time
It is a thrill I can't describe
xxxxxx

He stopped at a 'STOP' sign and let a couple of people pass. Each one of them were pointing and whispering at him and his car, especially the girls. As soon as they all passed, he gunned it again, leaving a few of the girls holding down their skirts. The wind the car kicked up was more than they expected.

xxxxxx

Whatdaya see?

The fear I see when I look in your eyes
Makes you believe I'm one of a kind (one of a kind)
The fear I leave in the back of your mind
Makes you believe I'm
One of a kind

Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind

The fear I see when I look in your eyes
Makes you believe, makes you believe
The fear that I see in the back of your mind
Makes you believe, makes you believe

The fear I see when I look in your eyes
Makes you believe I'm one of a kind (one of a kind)
The fear I leave in the back of your mind
Makes you believe, makes you believe

The fear I see when I look in your eyes
Makes you believe I'm one of a kind (one of a kind)
The fear I leave in the back of your mind
Makes you believe I'm one of a kind

Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind
Hey, Hey, Hey, One of a Kind

xxxxxx

As the song ended, Xander turned the car around and headed back to Sam's. This was more than enough of a maiden voyage. It was time to head back.

xxxxxx

Rory and Sam were sharing a case of beer waiting for Xander to get back when they heard the sound of an engine. They turned to see the Boss Mustang roll up to them, coming to a dead stop. Xander stepped out of the muscle car with a huge grin on his face.

"I want to help old people, I want to see the world, but what I REALLY want to do is drive this CAR!"

The two men laughed, Sam tossing Xander a beer. With a nod from his uncle, Xander popped it open and took a swing of it. As one they turned back to the Boss and raised their bottles to it.

"To the rebirth of this muscle car," Xander started. "It truly is one of a kind."