-1

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Xander's Room

The entire room was in dismay: the couch was flipped over; the dresser was in a heap of broken wood; the mattress of the bed was crooked from being overturned; the curtains were torn and only half hanging on one side, allowing light to stream into the otherwise dank room; and the television had had its screen smashed in by Xander's fist at some point during the devastation.

Xander, showing his red eyes and claws, picked up the nightstand and threw it towards the counter.

It hit the counter and slid to the floor with a loud clatter, falling apart.

Xander, finally near exhaustion, sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall where the nightstand, clock, and lamp had been.

Buffy knocked on the door. "Xander?"

"Go away!" he yelled in reply.

"No," she said calmly, reaching into her pocket for the card key. She put it into the lock, and opened the door. She was surprised to see the state of the room, but took a step inside anyway.

Xander stayed where he was, a little confused about why he didn't feel like attacking her as he had in the other room. He was shocked that he was able to see, hear, and smell her only as well as any human might be able to; he couldn't hear her heart, smell any blood, or see her as though she were standing in a spotlight within the dim room. "Is Willow alright?"

Buffy nodded. "She's fine, and I'm sorry I hit you." She could see his slight confusion. "Willow did a spell." She picked up the charm, showing the small crystal then letting it drop back into her chest. "So is it all right for me to come in, now?"

Xander nodded slowly, still not sure how to act. He somehow didn't feel like making the effort to look human again, so he remained the way he was with sharp teeth and dark eyes even though he was feeling a little more human.

She closed the door and came farther into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. "I love what you've done with the place," she said sarcastically, looking again at the mess.

"I was going for the lived-in look," he joked back, getting to his feet. In stead of passing her at the foot of the bed, he walked over the crooked mattress and went to the couch, righting it as easily as he might have picked up the small wooden chair. The broken curtains allowed light to flow onto the wall where the couch had been.

Buffy was still surprised by that show of strength.

He slid the couch back into it's old spot, squinting a little as he entered the light, and then turned back to her. "Have a seat," he gestured to the couch, but sat near the head of the bed by himself.

Buffy went over to the couch and sat, a little nervous about going any farther into the room. "Why did you do this to the room?" She looked around at the extent of the damage. "Except for a fist through the wall of Willow's dorm room a few years back, you've never done anything like this before..."

Xander nodded calmly. "I've never felt anything like this before."

"Well," Buffy began. "Willow's working on some magic to stop some of the things you're feeling. She didn't mention the specifics of what it will do, and doubts that it will work, but it's to break Addictions."

"It's worth a try," Xander agreed quickly. "I won't be any use to anyone unless I don't feel like ripping people apart." He sighed, looking away from her towards the broken curtains. "It's weird. Like all reason leaves me and I just act. I understand what's happening, but I can't stop it... And sometimes I don't even understand that much; I'm just suddenly doing something."

Buffy looked at him sadly. "Have you tried to do what Spike mentioned: use your mind to win against what you feel like doing?"

He nodded, quickly looking back to her. "But if I could do it very well, my room wouldn't look like this."

The crystal that Buffy was wearing suddenly shattered with a pop. Just then, a ball of light shot through the wall, hitting Xander so hard that he was thrown sideways into the air and roughly into the wall above the headboard.

Xander fell at the head of the bed, slamming his back into the cushion of the blankets, unconscious.

Buffy rushed over to him, kneeling next to him on the bed.

The door to the room next to them opened quickly in the hall, and there came a fast knock before Spike, Dawn, and Anya rushed inside.

"Is he all..." Dawn began before her jaw dropped and she looked around the room. "Wow..."

Willow trailed in slowly after the group, stumbling a little. "Did it work?" she asked weakly.

Spike went to Willow's side, helping her to balance as she walked farther inside. The curtains allowed some light into the room, but thankfully, for Spike, it only shone in over the couch and no farther.

"I don't know," Buffy explained, getting off the bed. She pulled the leather cord off her neck and dropped it to the all ready trash-strewn carpet. "Whatever happened was strong enough to break this charm." She looked to Xander and the dent left in the wall. "And to throw him around like a doll."

"M-Maybe that's a sign that it's working," Dawn suggested nervously.

"Or the magic could have hit him so hard because it couldn't be absorbed into him," Anya suggested pessimistically. "If that's the case, he'll be his crazy self again when he wakes up with us standing over him."

Willow nodded. "The rest of you should go. If it didn't work, I still have enough magic on hand to knock him out again..."

"I'm staying too," Buffy protested. "Slayer strength is the only brute-force to match how strong he's become, and noticing how tired you are right now, it might be what we need."

The others agreed a little reluctantly.

Spike picked up the wooden chair from next to the counter and righted it so Willow could sit safely near the door while they waited.

Xander began to stir and sat up quickly. His eyes were brown, and both his teeth and fingernails were at their human length. "What was that?" he asked quietly, not quite noticing the group. He was looking to his slightly purpling elbow, the only injury caused by his impact with the wall. Finally hearing the quickly beating hearts of the people in his room, he turned to look at them.

"Since you're probably still crazy..." Anya grabbed a hold of Dawn's sleeve and began to drag her as she backed away, "we were just leaving."

"Wait," Xander called, then looked to Willow with a very relaxed expression that was nothing like the panic he'd been in throughout that afternoon. "Whatever you just did..."

Anya and Dawn stopped in the doorway to hear.

"It was something to cover up the cravings that come from an addiction," Willow smiled. "You feel better?"

Xander nodded. "It's all still there, but so deep down that I feel completely like my pre-monster self again... When it comes to thinking, anyway." He looked back to his now flesh-toned elbow. There was no longer any sign at all on his skin to suggest that he was the one who had just dented that badly damaged wall.

"Now what?" Spike asked the group. "We got Xander back to his not-gonna-kill-us state-of-mind, but it's still day and we don't know how we're really gonna handle the science-vamps, especially when it comes to Xander's one hundred percent restoration, if that is even possible."

Xander nodded in agreement. "We need a plan."

Dawn couldn't help but allow a yawn to escape.

Xander noticed everyone's sleepiness. "Or rather, the rest of you should sleep; that's all I've been doing this whole time while the rest of you actually worked on things."

"We should all try to get some sleep..." Buffy agreed after a few moments.

"That breaking-out, time-freezing spell, followed by one as effective as this, has really drained me..." Willow admitted. She stood, swayed dizzily, and suddenly began to fall, unconscious.

Before anyone, including Xander, realized it, Xander was at Willow's side, catching her before she hit the floor. He lifted her up entirely, ready to carry her to a place to lay down.

They all made a small sound of shock and jumped a little, disturbed by the speed at which Xander had moved.

Xander ignored their reactions and brought Willow over to the couch, gently setting her down.

Buffy snapped out of her trance and followed Xander's path to Willow's side. "Is she all right?"

Xander nodded. "Just exhausted, as far as I can tell," he explained, trying to adjust the curtains so they darkened the room more completely. Satisfied with the results, he sat on the floor next to Willow's feet with his back to the curtains.

"I-I guess we all need to go back to the other room and rest up for the fight," Anya reminded, heading out without another word.

Spike gave a quick nod. "I'll leave you guys to your talkin'. If you need anything, or the experienced demon-with-a-soul perspective, just give a holler." He headed out the door and back to the other room.

Dawn stayed near the door. "Can I stick around? I've been kinda out of the loop on some of this... but would really like to be in on whatever's next."

Xander nodded. "If you want to, it's fine with me." This time he yawned. "But sunset will come soon enough..."

Buffy turned to her and continued. "And all of us will need to be ready to fight if we're going to exterminate all of them."

Dawn shook her head. "I'm fine; ready to rumble! Can I stay?"

Buffy nodded.

Dawn came in and sat at the foot of the bed.

Willow began to wake up, looking to Xander with a mellow expression. "What just happened?"

"You kinda passed out," Xander said. He gave her a very light pat on the shoe for reassurance. "But you're ok..." He made a move to stand. "I'll help you back to your room..."

"That's all right," Buffy interrupted, motioning for him to remain seated, then went over to Willow. "Dawn, give me a hand and we can get Willow back to the room."

Dawn came over quickly.

Willow began to sit up on her own, but didn't argue as Dawn and Buffy helped her to her feet.

"We'll wake you at sunset," Buffy told Xander as they all began to leave the room.

"That wasn't much talk time..." Dawn complained.

"Sleep now, talk later," Willow explained.

The trio left without another word to Xander, closing the door behind them.

Xander stood and adjusted the curtains again before finally falling to the bed, too tired to bother taking off his shoes.

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Xander's Room, 6:20 PM

A quick knock came to the door.

"Xander," Dawn called, "It's time to get up."

For the first time since all of the terrible things had happened, he woke feeling no desire at all to do violence to anyone; he wasn't even hungry. Sitting up in bed, he felt a little light-headed.

Dawn gave another knock. "Are you up?"

"Yes," Xander called back, putting his feet on the floor.

"Willow said you wouldn't have much of an appetite, but that you still need to eat something to keep up your strength," Dawn relayed through the door.

Xander staggered to the door and opened it a crack before heading towards the kitchen. "It's all right if you wanna come in," he called to her, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a package.

Dawn opened the door a little more and stepped in, turning on the light switch instinctively; only one small light came on. All the other lights in the room seemed to have been broken or unplugged when Xander destroyed the room.

Xander gave her a small smile and brought the package to the desk again. He used the pair of scissors to cut the corner, just as he had earlier that day. This time, though, his teeth and fingernails remained human as he drank the red liquid.

Dawn continued inside and sat on the bed where she had been before. She could see him silhouetted against the illuminated curtains and she knew he was drinking something. She kept her head turned away from him, still uneasy about Xander falling into the category of demon. "The spell still workin' ok?"

The blood tasted a little blander than it had before, but he continued drinking even when he felt his strength returning. Stopping just before finishing the bag, he looked back to her. "It's working." He brought what was left of the package back to the other room and set it inside the frig.

Dawn looked to him, still uncomfortable.

He turned back to her. "How are things in the world of Dawn?"

"All right, I guess" she said with a bit of a squeak. "I finished my history report, but still have a little biology to do… Not much else." Her voice wouldn't work properly. Despite the knowledge that it was really Xander, and that the magic was keeping him from being violent, she was still more nervous than she thought she would be.

He sighed, easily able to see, hear, and practically even smell her fear. He quickly gave up on the idea of small talk. "Let's get back to the others."

They headed back to the other room.

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Room 305, 6:30 PM

Dawn and Xander came into the room.

The others were gathered around the computer, looking at blueprints of the building and discussing their plans as they drank some coffee. Willow was sitting at the keyboard and the others were just standing.

Xander closed the door and joined the group. "So, how is everyone and what's the plan so far?"

"We're all fine," Buffy answered for the group, sipping from her coffee cup.

"And so far we're all gonna patrol the park, like last night, and dust as many as we can," Spike explained.

"Then, when enough of the grunts are dead, we'll go to the lab," Willow finished.

Xander gave a nod, terribly nervous about fighting the vampires. "When do we head out?"

Buffy went to her bag which was still next to the loveseat. "As soon as I gather up the weapons."

Willow looked up at Xander. "Is the spell working all right? Any side-effects or big changes?"

"Sanity is the biggest change," Xander began. "It keeps getting easier for me to control what I'm feeling. I don't know about any side-effects, but almost anything would be better than the way things would be without this spell. But what about you? You were in pretty bad shape when you left my room. Are you all right now? Does keeping the spell going affect you at all?"

Willow smiled. "I was just really tired, but even though the spell seems to be working better for you, it's not any worse for me. The initial spell was the only drain."

"But you're ready for patrolling?" Xander asked.

Willow nodded, giving a shrug. "As ready as I can be if it all has to happen tonight." She picked up the backpack she'd been using to store the Vampire's paperwork. If they managed to survive the night, she figured she might need to look over the papers a few more times to decide what would be best to do in the case of the other creations.

Buffy got up, bag in hand. "I'm ready."

They all headed out.

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Park, 7:00 PM

The large group walked slowly down one of the paths.

"Maybe we should split up a little," Dawn suggested.

Buffy gave a small nod. "Then I'm thinking one super-strength per-pair? I'll go with Dawn; Spike can go with Anya; and Xander, you can walk with Willow."

Everyone agreed.

"We'll all meet back at the car to re-group and take a dusted-body-count around 9 PM, ok?" Buffy continued. "That should give us time to make it around the park a few times, and, considering there are dozens of them, we should be able to get a lot done."

"Sure," Spike and Dawn agreed, but the others were silent.

Buffy looked to the rest due to their lack of enthusiasm. "Anything wrong?"

The others shook their heads.

"I'm just not sure how ready I am to do a patrol alongside a person," Xander commented. "Willow mentioned side-effects, and if there are any, and I don't know what will happen, I just don't know what will happen."

Willow nodded. "That's kinda still my concern, but I know plenty of those rapidly-recite-able spells to counteract any strange behavior."

"And at least you'll have a witch," Anya spat. "And you have plenty of strength of your own. I'm stuck with the washed-out vampire and I barely have any demon powers at all these days!"

"Anya, just quit complaining," Spike snapped. "I've dusted plenty of vamps, and can handle whatever they throw at me tonight."

Anya turned to him. "You mean just like last night? That was you, Buffy, and Super-Demonic-Xander all in one group, and you and Buffy got your asses kicked badly enough to let them capture Xander! Don't even try to assure me that you, alone, could stop them from capturing us both!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, considering.

"It wasn't their fault; I was drugged," Xander snapped back in defense of his friends. "We were practically in their building, but I asked them to leave me and come back later. If I don't blame them, then how can you?"

There was another moment of stunned reflection.

Xander gave a small laugh. "Besides, they can't drug me now, they said so themselves when I was in the cell. I'm actually stronger than before, so I won't let anything like last night happen again." He suddenly heard a faint cry near the center of the park.

Spike turned to Xander. "I thought I heard somethin'..."

"Screaming," Xander said. "Whoever is in my group, it's time to go." He began to run towards where he'd heard the screams.

Willow rushed to Buffy, reaching for the bag.

Buffy helped her, opening the bag quickly.

Willow grabbed a couple of stakes, some holy water and a cross, then followed Xander through the park.

Spike looked to Anya. "Screw this," he said to her blankly, and then followed after Willow.

"Come on," Buffy called, also following.

Dawn and Anya did as instructed.

Xander passed a playground, spotting the group of Vampires.

There were seven, in all, attacking a man and woman. Five were the smaller workers, while the other two were the larger guards.

Xander looked quickly over his shoulder as he ran, hoping to find more than just Willow to help him take on the large gang. He was happy to see the entire group trailing behind.

The Vampires spotted the approaching army. The workers picked up the unconscious couple and began dragging them away. The guards began to follow, both with smiles and willing to fight when the people arrived.

Buffy pulled out the crossbow as she ran.

One of the two guards turned to the fast approaching Xander. "The docs said you were all such trouble that we get to kill you if you tried to stop us," it called.

"Give it a try, and see how far you get," Xander taunted, tackling the one who had spoken.

Willow uncorked the bottle of holy water as she ran, then threw it like a grenade at the group carrying the girl.

The water landed on the girl and splashed everywhere, forcing two of the workers to loose their grip on the girl.

Buffy fired the crossbow at the second guard as it headed for Xander and the other; it turned to dust.

Xander grabbed the guard around the neck, his hands beginning to feel warm.

The guard punched Xander hard in the face, knocking him off balance and reversing their positions.

Buffy dropped her bag and grabbed the guard by the arm, pulling him off Xander and then kicking him towards some bushes.

Spike attacked the trio of remaining vampires who held the man, taking one by surprise and turning it to dust.

Buffy delivered one more kick and the guard landed hard in the bushes, a twig in the heart.

Dawn, Willow, and Anya ganged up on the two vampires who had been burnt by the water.

Xander got quickly to his feet, helping the girls.

Willow jumped on the back of the vampire as Anya staked it.

Buffy went after one of the two still attacking Spike.

Xander took a swing at the second of the girls' opponents, but missed and was kicked off balance.

It pinned Xander to the ground and found the stray arrow, aiming it over Xander's chest.

Xander grabbed onto the vampire's hands, trying to change his fingernails to claws, but it was unsuccessful. As an alternative, Xander settled for making them become warm in an attempt to burn the hands away, rather than to tear.

Smoke began to rise from the vampire's hands.

Suddenly a wave of weakness passed through Xander and he felt the tip of the arrow cutting through his skin very quickly. He let out a cry of pain.

With Anya helping Willow off the ground and Spike and Buffy still fighting, Dawn came quickly to Xander's attacker, pulled out a stake, and slammed it into the vampire's back.

The vampire turned to dust above Xander.

The arrowhead was buried in Xander's chest. Xander pulled it out quickly, putting his right hand over the wound as he stood, panting a little from the pain. "Thanks, Dawn..."

In unison, Spike and Buffy staked their remaining opponents, both falling to dust before them. They turned back to the others.

"Everyone all right?" Buffy asked.

"Xander's hurt," Dawn announced quickly, looking worriedly at him.

Xander shook his head a little, pulling his hand away from the now painless wound. All that remained was a slightly red mark behind his torn shirt. "I think I found a side effect, though."

"Oh, God, what is it?" Willow asked quickly.

Xander shook his head quickly. "I don't think it's anything to worry about that much but I can't do the fire thing as well. That last close call with the arrow needed strength and claws, neither of which seemed to work. I think the spell might be doing that."

Willow thought a moment, then looked back to Xander. "Maybe it's working on you by blocking the aspects of you that make you want blood; namely, suppressing the demon-y-parts."

"But he can still heal," Dawn pointed out.

Willow nodded. "Healing, heightened senses, and tolerance to sunlight seem to be the only harmless parts to the demon thing... Teeth, strength, claws, and fire can all do harm to someone, the type of harm that his demonic part has been trying to get him to do."

"So if he wants to be Super Demonic Xander, as Anya put it," Spike began, "you'd have to block the spell, but that'd make him Super Crazy Xander again?"

She gave a nod. "That's my logic so far."

Xander gave a small laugh. "So much for not letting myself be captured again."

"Since you can heal, maybe the drugs still won't work on you," Buffy suggested optimistically. "That drugging was the main problem with the last time we were in this park..."

"I'm useless and now they have the all-clear to kill us," Xander continued sadly.

"This isn't looking very good," Anya agreed. Her face suddenly lit up with an idea. "We could use Xander as bate, and when they're on the ground struggling, with Xander being impaled or strangled, we could just kill the vampire the way Dawn did!"

"I'm not a pincushion," Xander complained to Anya. "That was painful."

"Too bad! That was effective!" Anya protested.

Buffy stepped in with a laugh, looking to Anya. "That's not an option. None of us will be bate unless it's a guarantee that it won't result in a skewering, strangling, or harm of any sort, regardless of healing ability."

The man and woman began to wake up, startled by the group of new people.

"This park isn't safe," Dawn called to the couple. "So you guys should probably just head home."

The couple stumbled to their feet without a word, then ran for the nearest border of the park.

Xander looked back to Willow. "How is the spell broken?"

Everyone was a little shocked.

"You've been non-Super for long enough to stay that way right now," Anya protested. "Either that or you'll want to tear us to pieces again."

Xander shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant is it an incantation, or a do I do something? I don't want to inadvertently break the spell, but if it gets down to an I'm re-captured situation, I might need it to get away. I just can't believe that after all the fuss they went through to do this to me, that they'd just give up."

She hesitated a moment before answering. "A-As sane you, I never thought to mention the breaker because you would never do it, but you say a few words, then..." Willow paused nervously. "...You bite a person."

"What are the words?" Xander asked quickly.

Willow paused again, then took a breath to relax. She didn't know if it was a good idea to tell him how to break the spell. "Solutae curae."

"Which means what?" Dawn asked innocently.

"Releasing cares," Spike translated. "If he didn't care about anything, he'd be fine with an addiction, so to state it, then give in, would be the appropriate breaker."

Willow nodded. "An alcoholic would say it, then take a drink of beer, and a drug user would say exactly the same, then take some drugs."

"Now that we've cleared that up, can we get back to killing the Vampires?" Buffy asked, more motivated than ever to kill as many of the creatures who hurt her friend as she could.

This time everyone agreed with ease, and the entire group began through the park.

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Park, 10:40 PM

The group rested on the benches near the fountain, the same place they'd gathered that morning. Everyone was slouched or slightly slumped in their seats.

"What's that final count, again?" Anya asked, very tired.

"Forty-three, I think," Xander answered, feeling as weak as a regular human again. By vampire number twelve, the fire-starting effect of his hands was completely absent. His healing ability, however, was as speedy as ever, coming in handy several times during the evening.

"That makes about two-thirds of what we saw in the building," Buffy commented.

"And how many humans did we keep them from getting? Was it seventeen or eighteen?" Dawn asked with a tired sigh.

"Twenty-six," Spike answered, as tired as the others. "Busy night."

"It's gotta be after midnight by now..." Anya commented with a yawn.

"Nope," Willow answered. "Not even eleven."

Buffy gave a sigh. "We can't just turn in for the night, but I have to say this is the most we've taken on in one patrol since pretty much ever."

"And I think another record I broke was the number of stabbings received in one night," Xander added. "We gotta make sure the enemy doesn't score the discarded weapons..."

"Tired makes sloppy," Willow rationalized, in favor of a rest.

"We could head back to the hotel for a decent meal, take a nap, and hit the place sometime in the AM," Spike suggested.

Buffy wasn't sure. She'd feel guilty about leaving the park if any more people were in danger. "What do all of you think?"

"We could keep this up all night," Anya began, "and it wouldn't..." She was cut off by screaming in the distance.

"Break's over," Buffy called, hurrying to her feet and then quickly down a path.

Everyone followed.

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Sunday - Glenn Medical Center Parking lot, 3:05 AM

The battle-worn group headed across the lot, each of them freshly armed with stakes and holy water.

"Everyone's ready for this?" Buffy asked as they went.

"No," Spike answered easily, "but if we let up now, more people will be recruited and their forces will be a few more dozen deep by sunrise."

"One more deep would be too high a cost just to take a break," Xander pointed out.

They'd reached the door. Buffy pulled the door open quickly and the group slowly began to file inside.

Xander stopped in his tracks, just a few feet inside with Dawn and Anya behind him, waiting to come inside. A wave of weakness swept through him.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked quietly.

"Nothing; just dizzy," he said plainly and continued inside.

The door slam loudly behind them. The latch clicked, followed by an electronically triggered thud as all of the lights dimmed. Everyone looked back to the door.

"This can't be a good thing," Dawn said in her small voice.

Anya tried to open the door. "It's locked."

Xander put a hand to his head and leaned again the wall, feeling dizzy again.

"Are you sure it's nothing?" Spike asked him.

This time Xander shook his head no. The urges, which had been so completely masked by Willow's magic, seemed to be creeping back.

A set of loud-speakers suddenly clicked on: "Hello, again, Alexander. I am sure you have brought your friends," Joseph's voice taunted. "You have triggered this recording and, since we are concerned with science, you have entered a newly improved, Anti-Magic Facility..."

The group quickly headed down the hall that led to the lab, Xander forcing himself to keep up. They were all shocked by what they saw. The entire lab was empty.

"Therefore," the recording continued, "you will not be escaping by means of the Witch, Wizard, or magical bring in your company. Of course, this little distraction gives our diminished group sufficient time to retreat."

Xander let out a sudden call of pain, falling to his hands and knees. The stabbing pain of hunger hit him in the stomach and the sound of the hearts around him became deafening. "Stay away from me," Xander begged quietly, looking at the tile floor. His teeth and claws had returned, and felt he was very near to loosing control.

"Xander," Willow cried, dropping her bag rushing to his side. She went to her knees beside him.

The others backed away from him a little, knowing that "Anit-Magic" must have meant that the spell Willow had done was now being broken.

"As a reward for your persistence," Joseph continued, "I have left behind an experimental cure for Alexander's condition. It is completely effective on the other patients, but it has never been tested on those with other demonic traits. After this was administered, it polluted the patient too greatly to subject them to another transformation with un-tainted results..."

Everyone looked around the room, not seeing any sign of anything being left behind. Buffy went over to the door of the room the vampire workers had stayed in. She tried to open it but it was locked. A key hung on a hook beside the door.

"Alexander's new physiology requires he drink only fresh human or vampire blood, lest he be faced with needing a greater quantity of pre-packaged blood to survive. Given this need for blood directly from a human or vampire's vein, we have decided to leave two appetizers from which he may take blood. You will find the two young ladies in the Staff Housing, through a door in the lab."

She picked up the key and opened the door to the room; it was empty except for a few loose newspapers and a couple of stray pillows… Then she saw the two young women, bound, blind-folded and gagged, laying in the far corner. She rushed in to untie them.

Xander laughed suddenly, eyes on the floor. "How nice of them."

Buffy led the two, frightened girls into the lab.

"...Also remaining behind are the unsuccessfully engineered patients that came before him. The only magic being maintained here is within their cells; each cell contains a small box protected by a force field, impenetrateable by all demonic creatures. To cure your friend, a human must remove the box from the cell. Your only obstacle is the other patients. When all four of the vials within the boxes are combined, they form enough of the serum to completely cure all but one of them..." Joseph laughed.

"Great," Xander panted sarcastically with his teeth clenched and his concentration still on the floor. "That just leaves me un-cured."

"...Now comes the test of a true hero. The cure requires an injection of no less than 8 c.c. in order for each of them to be completely returned to their human forms. There are exactly 36 c.c. available to you; only 4 c.c. will remain after four individuals have been cured. To split the mixture between all five ensures unpredictable side-effects, leaving residual vampiric traits in each. If you kill any of the others while attempting to get the vials, you will not have to make that terrible choice." He gave another laugh. "But you may as well be killing a human because it is a guarantee that they can all be changed back to a normal person; Alexander's transformation is the only one without a guarantee..."

Xander sat up a little, resting on just his knees with one hand across his stomach as he waited for the pain to hit him again. He felt a surge of energy as he looked at his friends and the two women, wanting to jump at the nearest one of them; this time Willow. It was the same thing he'd wanted to do the last time he felt this hungry, and he had given in before.

"...Alexander didn't stay with us long enough to be introduced to his other cell-mates. Lee is in room number one, Stephen in number two, Tess in number three and Olivia is staying in number four. There is a key on the hook outside each cell which will open the corresponding door. The doors leading out of this building will open on their own tomorrow at noon. At that time, you may again use magic. This is all I have to tell you. Good luck and I hope you all have a very good time." Joseph started to laugh heartily again before the recording turned off.

Buffy sighed. "Xander, how are you holding up?"

Xander stood, relieved for the moment. "Not great."

Willow got to her feet, too.

"I know I can't last until noon," Xander continued. "I'm strong enough without the spell on me to force the exit open and then..."

"No," Buffy interrupted quickly. "If we open that door and can't contain the others, we can't risk letting them into the city."

Xander shook his head quickly. "Then you'd better lock me back in good old number five, chains and all, and hope the door holds. If I don't get some blood, or some of that cure, pretty soon..."

"I'll get you the blood," Anya volunteered quickly. "I found plenty before. I'll be back in a few minutes." She made a small movement with her hands, straining to leave by way of her demonic power. It was no use. "I-I can't leave," she admitted nervously.

"Then we still have the problem," Dawn commented, a little more bravely than she though she could have.

There was a moment of silence and then they heard noises coming from the cells; several of the prisoners were either pounding on the walls or kicking at them.

Xander caught himself with a hand against the counter as the pain hit again. He looked suddenly at the two girls who had just been untied. There was something about them that wasn't right…

"Maybe you should lay down," Willow suggested, noticing the strange way he was looking at the young strangers.

Buffy suddenly had a thought. She hoped she wouldn't regret it in the long run, but it seemed to be a solution for right now. "Xander, come with me; Spike, watch them." She started down the hall.

Xander followed slowly, feeling a mix of pain and anxious energy. He forced himself to head down the hall. "Tie me up then stay away from me," he told her when they'd reached the end of the hall.

"I don't think this is the answer," Buffy explained.

"Crap," Xander called, seeing the state of the door. It was still off its hinges from the way they'd broken him out the morning before, and one of the two restraints had been ripped from the wall. "And there's no number six." As the pain passed, he looked back to her. "Then what is the answer?"

Buffy thought a moment. "How much blood do you need to feel normal?"

Xander shrugged. "Before it was a pint; less when we came to the park, but I wasn't feeling any of this then. I might have needed more if I had been."

Buffy took a deep breath and then gave a small sigh. "Give me your shirt."

He was wearing both a long-sleeved, flannel shirt and a white t-shirt. Xander unbuttoned the top layer and handed it to Buffy.

Buffy tore the shirt into a few strips, dropping the remains to the floor. She looked back to him seriously. "Spike and I are the only two here who heal more quickly than the average person, and he'll be in almost the same boat as you if..."

"No," Xander said quickly, and then he began to ramble. "I don't want to hurt you... Surprisingly, over the years, I've never been bitten, but I already know the equation of bites equal bad. And then there's my own, personal equation of blood makes me crazy. How do you know I would stop? I barely know if I would stop. I didn't even really know the girl was dead when…"

"Then make a small cut with one of those claws and take what you need because if you don't, you're be worse than a normal crazy," she reminded. "Slayer blood is more potent and might last longer. You'd do worse than take a little from all of us if you don't do this now. Besides, when it comes to talking with the other... creatures... that are here, you know what they're going through and might be able to relate to them and talk."

Xander stared blankly, considering what to do.

"Yes, which will help everyone, or still no?" Buffy continued.

Xander nodded, "Yes." He was a little pleased that this was turning out for the better: he could satisfy his urges without actually unleashing them.

She held out her left hand for him.

He took it in his eagerly, using the edge of his thumb to cut into her wrist. The scent of the first droplet sent his mind racing with a guilty pleasure. Almost before he realized he had, his lips were locked around the wound, careful not to use his teeth.

"You all right back there?" Spike called from the lab.

"In a minute," Buffy managed to call.

Every drop Xander took in made him feel stronger than anything from the packages had.

With every heartbeat, she felt a little weaker. She reminded herself that every drop kept him from losing control, so she'd give him a little more if he needed it.

As soon as he remembered what he was doing to her, he quickly pulled away, not exactly sure how much blood he'd taken from her. Looking away to made it easier for him to stop thinking about it, so his eyes focused on the floor again.

Buffy took the strip of shirt and tied it around her lightly bleeding wrist, weaving it in and out of the strip to create a more secure bandage.

His claws had disappeared along with his teeth, and, now that the bandage smothered the open cut, he turned back to her. "Are you ok?"

She gave a little laugh. "Strong as ever."

He could tell she was a little paler. Xander looked to the floor, embarrassed by what he'd had to do to his friend. At least it wasn't a murder this time he reminded himself futilely. There was still one part of him disappointed that it hadn't been murder. That same part wished he'd taken blood from the two women so he could have just killed strangers. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," she replied with surprising cheer. "We'll get back to the others and make a plan."

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4:15 AM - The Lab

Buffy put the key in the first cage they'd agreed on opening: Tess in room number three. They'd discussed what Xander remembered when he'd gotten a glimpse of them all and the only one who seemed to just be scared, as opposed to violent or crazy, was Tess. From the notes Willow had read, this also seemed to be true.

Xander waited by her side while Spike and Willow remained a few paces back. Dawn and Anya were still in the lab.

Buffy pushed the door open.

In one corner was an oily bubble around a small wooden box, and in the other was Tess.

Tess was on the floor with her arms and legs tethered to the wall in the same fashion Xander's had been. Her clothing was tattered and a little spotted by blood on some parts of the material. She looked to them fearfully with her yellow eyes.

"It's all right," Buffy assured. "We're not working with the Vampires who did this to you. You do know that they were vampires, right?"

Tess nodded.

Buffy sighed, a little relieved she wouldn't have too much to explain. "We're here to help, and maybe even change you back to a regular person."

Tess nodded again. "I-I heard the recording... I've heard everything all of you have been saying," she explained in a weak voice. Her top canine teeth were slightly pointed. She looked to Xander. "So you're the infamous Alexander that Joseph and Bernard were going on about?"

"Just Xander," he replied with a nod.

"I wish I had friends that would have gone through so much trouble to get me out of here..." Tess said sadly.

Willow stepped closer to the door, watching Tess. "Where did they take you from?"

"Miami," Tess answered quietly, in a bit of a daze. "It was summer vacation at my college; my boyfriend and I drove there from Indiana..." She was on the verge of tears. "They killed him and took me."

Everyone felt sorry for her.

Xander stepped into the room. "Do you know what they did to you? Do you have to drink blood; can you stop yourself from acting on what you feel?"

Buffy looked to Xander, a little surprised by the bluntness. She looked to the girl. "The basic translation is that if we untied you, would you try to hurt us?"

Tess still looked a little apprehensive. "I-I haven't been around many people since they did this," she admitted. "But they've been giving me bags of blood..."

Xander thought a moment. "They tested me to see if I'd kill the girl they threw into the room with me. Did they try anything like that on you?"

Tess thought a moment and then brightened up a little as though she were glad to have remembered but that the memory was painful. "Yes, and I didn't... I mean I didn't hurt him... It seemed like such a long time ago..."

"Do you know how long you've been here?" Spike asked, finally joining in.

Tess shook her head a little. "Not really... The last calendar I saw was from August... I've heard some of them talking. It's after Thanksgiving, isn't it? I could hear Christmas music outside, and in another building."

Willow nodded. "It'll be Christmas in about a week."

Xander finally walked over to Tess, kneeling beside her. He looked back to Willow. "Get the box."

Willow came inside, and went over to the bubble, reaching into it and lifting out the small box. When the box was removed, the bubble popped with a sharp crack.

He looked back to Tess. "Since you heard the recording, you know that you'll have to get a shot from us after we've gotten the other boxes."

Tess nodded, a little worried about the portion of the recording concerning making that terrible choice.

Xander reached for the straps that held her hands and began to unbuckle them. "If you can promise to not try to hurt any of us, we'll let you out of this room, but if you're going to hurt my friends, you're in for a surprise and another lock-up." He untied the straps to her legs and stood, offering his hand to her.

She took it with a nod of understanding and was pulled to her feet.

They all trailed back into the lab. Dawn and Anya had the girls sitting on the steps. The girls, Renee and Lily, had said little but their names, and seemed to be in a state of shock as they watched what was going on.

"Do you know much about the others?" Willow asked Tess as she went to the counter to see what was included in the box.

Tess folded her arms and shook her head. She noticed the two girls sitting on the steps, and momentarily found herself thinking like a predator. Shaking off the feeling before she began to focus on their hearts, she answered, "Not too much, but I could always hear bits and pieces. Stephen was a cop, I think, and they picked him up in Texas just after me. They always had to give him shots to calm him down..."

"Do you think he can control what he does, the way you can?" Dawn asked innocently from near the steps, staying as far from her as she could.

Tess shook her head, trying not to look at the pair on the steps. "I don't think so. When they put someone in with him, within a day he'd almost beaten him to death." She could remember every moment. "All Stephen did was growl and shout, and... I don't think Stephen wanted to do it because he kept yelling at the person to stay away and stop making noise..." Finally she stopped herself from rambling on about the incident, shaking her head a little. "All the guy was doing was breathing, but Stephen kept attacking him."

Buffy looked to Xander. "To get the box out of his room, and ultimately give him a shot, we'll probably have to knock him out."

Xander gave a nod. He was starting to feel a little restless again as he imagined what Stephen had done, and remembered exactly what he had done.

"What about the other two?" Spike continued to Tess.

"Lee's been here the longest of us all. They picked him up from somewhere in the Northeast. He's strong, fast, and always brags that he killed his person within two minutes," Tess answered more objectively. "He'll kill all of us if you open that door."

Xander was finally a little glad of his extra abilities. The only good to come of this may be his ability to protect his friends.

"Olivia is a little crazy and she came here just before me... They tested her a few times to see if she'd kill someone. When I got here, she refused to hurt anyone, even though she was starving... After they gave her another shot, she kept fighting... One more and she still fought until finally she killed the girl... Just to make sure, they gave her another, and that's why she's like this now..."

"Multiple personalities, schizophrenic, or something else?" Willow asked.

Tess shrugged. "If any of you went in there, she'd probably let you get the box, but by the time you were ready to leave, she'd be as bad as Lee."

Xander thought a moment. "Why didn't they keep pumping you full of Instant Vampire until you were willing to kill someone?"

She gave a slow shrug. "They did, but it didn't have any effect. I heard them talking because I was wondering the same thing. They were blaming each other for it, but they said they tried to change too much in just one injection. They gave some scientific excuse that I didn't really understand. I get the impression that it was like trying to put little bits of gravel through a funnel: you can get the stones through slowly, but if you put too much in at once, it clogs. That's why they started splitting things up into three and four shots again... They'd pretty much stopped bothering to do that before, finding nothing wrong with doing it all in one shot, and then I happened. Now they've pumped me full of more shots than you can imagine, but I still won't kill a person." Again, Tess looked like she was going to cry.

Buffy looked around at the others. "We'd better get started. The sooner we get the rest of the boxes, the sooner we can get things back to the way they were."

Tess and Xander both shook their heads, disagreeing with Buffy's assessment.

"Things will never be the way they were even if we're normal people again," Xander answered, looking at Buffy. Even though he'd had some of her blood less than an hour ago, it didn't change what he thought about every time he looked at a person. He looked quickly to the floor, hoping that it would help him think of something else.

Tess looked to him with understanding. "Drinking blood and actually having a part of you who would enjoy hurting another person isn't something that can be shrugged off, even after the feelings have left. The memory will be there forever."

Xander calmed himself and risked looking back at the others as he continued. "Besides, being part of the Hero's Team, I'm going to be the one who stays this way."

"You shouldn't be worryin' about who gets this possible cure 'til we've snagged all them little boxes," Spike suggested. "Even then, the creeps might 'a been lying; they could have left poison."

Willow nodded. "I don't know if we can trust them."

Xander started for the hall, towards the other cells. "We really need to finish this; one way or another. The sooner I can get the door open, without the risk of something escaping, the better off everyone will be."

Spike, Buffy, and Willow followed.

Xander stopped in front of room number two, picking the key off the hook next to the door. "We'll make this fast." He looked into the room through the small window.

Stephen had broken his restraints and was pacing back and forth in the cage, muttering to himself and gesturing emphatically as though he were giving a passionate speech to a large audience.

"I'll go in and see if I can talk to him," Xander began. "And when that doesn't work, I'll try to either knock him out or pin him against the wall while one of you," he looked to Buffy and Willow, "gets the box from the corner." He looked to Spike. "When they have the box, be ready to shut the door as soon as I'm out."

The others nodded, and Xander put the key in the lock, opening the door.

Xander took a step inside.

Stephen stopped where he was, looking at Xander but remaining otherwise still.

"Hey, Steve..." Xander began slowly. "If you're anything like Tess, you heard what we've been saying."

Stephen nodded slowly.

"Do you want to be human again? To go back to your old life?"

Stephen nodded again.

"Are you gonna make it easy?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head as though it were extremely painful to give the answer. "It's too hard to stop what I'm feeling; the things I want to do…" he said quietly. "And I'm so hungry…"

Buffy took a step inside, joining Xander.

Stephen looked at her quickly, glaring at Buffy as though he were a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse.

"I'm not going to let you touch her so you can just stop acting like you even have a chance," Xander told him flatly, feeling his teeth change as he prepared to let his true strength surface. From Tess's description, he though he might need it.

Stephen ignored him and tried to run at Buffy.

Xander caught him quickly, with one hard push, Stephen flew through the air and hit the wall.

Buffy ran for the corner, reaching into the bubble.

Stephen stood up, a little disoriented.

Xander rushed to Stephen again, pinning him against the wall with one arm. Just keep him in place. Don't do anything else. I can't let myself do anything else, he thought to himself.

Buffy pulled out the box and ran back out the door.

Xander heard the pop of the magical bubble, released Stephen, and ran out the door.

Stephen fell to the floor, winded.

Spike slammed it behind him and turned the key.

"That was easier then I thought it would be," Xander commented, his teeth and claws still long.

Buffy handed the box to Willow.

"I'll put this with the other," she volunteered, heading back into the other room.

"Ready for another?" Xander asked them.

"You're the one doin' most of the work," Spike reminded.

Xander went to room number four, taking the key off the hook. He looked inside.

Olivia was on the floor, asleep, with her arms and legs chained to the wall.

He looked to Buffy. "It looks like she's asleep, but keep close."

She gave a quick nod, not used to Xander being so assertive and focused on his goals. She was used to the Xander who would joke about things, and even tend to put off action when faced with dangerous situations.

Xander put the key in the lock and opened the door, starting inside with Buffy behind him and Spike manning the door.

Olivia remained where she was.

Buffy made her way to the bubble with Xander between her and Olivia. She reached inside and began to lift he box out.

With a shriek, Olivia sprang to life and lunged at both of them. The tether left her a foot short of touching Xander and at least three feet from touching Buffy. She stood there flailing and pushing against the restraints, trying with all of her strength to touch them.

Buffy and Xander left quickly, avoiding her reach.

Spike locked the door and hung the key.

Willow had returned for the third box.

Buffy handed it to her and she went back to the other room.

"Lee is the last," Xander said gratefully, walking back to door number one. He was a little winded from his heart beating so quickly, but he was desperate to get out of the building as quickly as possible. He looked inside the room.

Lee was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, sleeping as Olivia had been. His legs were unchained but his hands, which were behind his head as though he were lounging peacefully, seemed to be bound to the chains that were sprouting from the wall.

"The same as with Olivia?" Buffy asked.

Xander gave a nod, picking up the key and swinging the door open.

Lee didn't move at all.

Xander and Buffy started inside quietly, Xander, again, staying between Buffy and the prisoner.

They'd nearly reached the bubble when Lee sprang to his feet. His hands were unbound and he'd been holding a thick, jaggedly broken, wooden chair-leg behind his back to trick them into entering. "Lookie what they let me play with," Lee called with a big, fangy smile as he rushed at Xander with unnatural speed.

Before Xander could defend himself, he was on the floor.

Lee stabbed Xander through the heart with the piece of wood, and then jumped quickly for Buffy.

Buffy delivered a kick to Lee's stomach, followed by a quick right hook to his jaw, sending him off balance.

Lee was on his feet again, ready to fight.

Xander was on the floor, gasping for air through the pain. The chair-leg had gone all the way through his body. He managed to grab Lee around the ankle, burning through the bare skin.

Lee cried out in pain, kicking at Xander and forcing him to lose his grip.

Spike rushed in, grabbing Xander by the other arm and dragging him out of the room. A dark trail of blackish red blood streaked the slick-looking padded white floor.

Buffy delivered two more pinches to Lee's face, disorienting him long enough to follow Spike and Xander out of the room. She slammed the door and turned the key, looking down to Xander.

Spike pulled the stake out of Xander's chest, the blackish blood flowing quickly out of the wound.

Xander let out a call of pain, feeling weaker than ever. He couldn't feel his heart beating and this alone sent a wave of panic through him. The demon in him was more desperate than ever for fresh blood, but he was suddenly grateful that he could barely move.

Buffy fell to her knees beside him. Close to tears, she took one of his hands. She didn't know what to say. "This is all my fault… If I could have stopped them from getting you in Sunnydale…"

Willow came rushing down the hall, letting out a gasp of horror.

Inside all the occupied cells came sadistic cackles of joy.

Xander felt that the wound was healing, but he was in too great of a state of shock to really understand what was going on. "I-I..." he was struggling to speak, but ended up coughing up a little blood. He managed to shake Buffy's hand loose from his. One clear thing in his mind was that he didn't want to hurt any of his friends and as soon as his strength had returned, that was the first thing he would do.

Willow sat down beside him, tears streaking her cheeks out of worry that this might kill him.

Buffy understood what he needed, as well as what he was trying to warn. She found the earlier discarded shreds of Xander's shirt, pressing it over the wound. "Willow, hold this," she said. "Keep pressure on it."

Willow pressed the cloth over the wound.

Xander was feeling dizzy from the blood-loss. Black spots began clouding his vision until everything went dark. He closed his eyes.

"Oh, God..." Buffy whispered out of fear. Regaining her senses, she shook him by the shoulder. "Xander! You have to stay awake... Xander..."

Willow continued to press the blood-soaked cloth against the solidifying hole. She watched anxiously, tears falling again.

In an instant, Xander sprang to life, grabbing Buffy around the throat as he stood. He pinned her against the wall. Suspending her by the throat a few inches off the ground, he viciously sank his teeth into her neck.

Buffy, stunned, tried to push Xander away, but he was too strong.

"Xander!" Willow shrieked as she and Spike both grabbed a hold of him, trying to pull him away.

Xander roughly dropped Buffy, who was now unconscious, and easily pulled free from Willow and Spike. He looked at them with glazed, angry eyes, almost as though he didn't know them. All that seemed to be present was a senseless predator in need of one thing...

"Xander?" Willow questioned fearfully, backing away from him.

He rushed at Spike, pushing him hard with both hands.

The shove sent Spike sailing down the hall, and crashing into the doorframe of cell Number Five. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Xander turned slowly to Willow with a wild, almost excited expression. He stood like a statue, glaring. The wound on his chest was shiny with blood but all that remained of the hole seemed to be a deep dent over his heart.

Willow slowly backed away from him, finding a wall. She was almost crying out of fear. "Xander... You need to calm down..."

He took a step towards her.

She slid along the wall, and finally turned to run.

Xander blocked her path in an instant, faster then Willow's eye could follow, and grabbed her by the shoulders, bending to bite her as he had Buffy.

She let out a squeal of fright. "No, please! Xander! You don't want to do this..."

Xander finally felt his heart beginning to pump again, but he was still feeling that he needed more blood. Regaining some of his senses, he released her, turning away with his eyes closed and his expression softening.

Willow pulled away quickly, rushing to see if Buffy was still alive.

Xander slid to the floor, leaning his shoulder against the wall as he collapsed in pain. Drawing his knees towards his chest, he hid his face in his hands.

Noticing the silence, Dawn, Anya, Renee, Lily, and Tess all ventured down the hall. Tess had relayed to them the bits she'd been paying attention to, but all of girls were still horrified by the scene they came upon.

"I'll get the bandages," Anya offered urgently, running back into the lab.

Lily and Renee took a few steps away from Xander, shaken but not really frightened.

Tess reacted almost the same way, withdrawing a few feet. Her aversion to the scene didn't concern her safety, but rather the safety of others. Buffy and Xander had left quite a bloody mess on the floor, and the scent was less than calming.

Spike began to wake up, crawling to Buffy as he realized that Xander had stopped trying to kill them.

Anya came back with the dressings and handing them to Dawn.

Dawn rushed past Xander, going to Buffy and passing the bandages to Willow. "What happened? Was it Lee?" she asked, looking between Willow and Spike.

Willow took the medical supplies from the bag and began to treat Buffy's injury. She was still breathing, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

"I did it," Xander confessed, taking his hands away from his face and twisting to rest his back squarely against the wall. He looked to Dawn, his eyes brown and teary from the guilt and lingering pain. He knew exactly what he had just done to Buffy and had almost let himself do to Willow. He hadn't even realized what he was doing until his heart started beating again, and he was about to bite Willow. He put his hand over the bloody indent in his chest.

Dawn looked back to him, rage in her eyes. "You?" she asked in disbelief.

Keeping his hand over the hole in his chest as he spoke, Xander continued with a slight nod. "I did it, but she'll survive."

"Why did you do this? How could you do this?" Dawn demanded.

"Lee stabbed him," Buffy explained weakly as she woke.

Xander looked over at Buffy, so guilty he could barely speak. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Buffy excused as Willow helped her to sit up, against the wall. "I shouldn't have let this happen to you in the first place."

Willow put the last piece of tape in place, securing the bandage.

Xander scoffed at her comment. "Yes, it was my..." Dizziness hit him again, cutting off his sentence. He put a hand to his head, leaning back against the wall and looking at the ceiling. The urge to jump at any of them suddenly gave him another unfounded burst of strength. There was no question that he needed more blood and if he didn't get some soon, what just happened would happen again.

"Is he going to be all right?" Buffy asked Willow weakly.

"I guess," Willow commented. Her voice was a little shaky. She could have just been killed "Most of the demons that are part of him have to be killed by magic, certain weapons, or other obscure circumstances... The Vampire is the only one who dies from the wood, but luckily it didn't kill him."

"Did you get the box?" Xander asked suddenly, looking back to them. The pain still tore at him with every breath, but remaining fairly still reduced it to a bearable amount.

"I couldn't," Buffy answered sadly. "But it's still protected. If I'd have gotten a hold of it, then had Lee attack me, it would have been destroyed."

"Are either of you going to be able to handle another round with him?" Anya asked.

Buffy nodded. "He won't have a weapon, and now that we know he's unchained, he doesn't have the element of surprise."

"And Xander?" Anya continued, looking down at him. "When you're healed up, will you still need more blood? Buffy seems a little tapped out."

Xander gave a weak smile. "If I didn't feel like there was a hundred-pound weight on my chest, pinning me against this wall, I'd be needing a minute to say the least... And when it feels like I can move, I'll be far less talkative."

Buffy got to her feet, feeling her strength returning quickly.

"All right," Spike said, standing. He looked to Dawn and Willow as they, too, got to their feet. "Grab his legs and I got his shoulders. We'll put him in the empty cell 'til we can figure out our next move."

Dawn and Willow were both apprehensive of coming so closer to him.

Xander nodded a little, his eyes half-mast. The beating hearts of his friends were sounding a little too inviting. "That's the best suggestion I've heard yet." He sat up straight, looking right at Lily and Renee. There was something about them that wasn't right… It suddenly occurred to him what was wrong. "They're vampires!" he accused loudly.

Renee and Lily broke into laughter as everyone looked at them.

"So what?" the taller girl asked. She nodded towards Spike. "He's one, too."

"They left us here to die," the other girl admitted. "We just started working for them last night because they offered such a good paycheck. They stiffed us and now all we want is to make it out of here."

"They're lying," Xander said simply, his eyes still glued on them.

Renee sighed. "All right, we were supposed to put up a fight and try to kill all of you when your guard was down. We knew that wouldn't work, but when it was working we figured we'd just play human and let you get us out of here. They'd have kill us if we didn't agree to stay here."

"We're just as eager to survive this as you all are," Lily finished

Xander suddenly had a thought. He hoped he wouldn't regret it in the long run, but it seemed to be a solution for right now. "Buffy and Spike, take them back into the Staff Housing and lock the door. Everyone else should just stay back here." He forced himself to his feet, wobbling a little and not standing completely straight.

Spike and Buffy did as suggested, heading past Xander and towards the lab. The vampire girls didn't argue with the idea and willingly went into the empty room.

Xander followed slowly.

Buffy took the key off the hook and locked the door, putting the key back on the hook.

"You seem to of come up with a plan so: now what?" Spike asked.

Xander began slowly, his posture slumping a little from the remaining pain in his chest. "The recording said that a vampire's blood would work, and that blood from a package wouldn't work as well."

Buffy understood where he was going, and, seeing how labored his speech was, continued for him. "Those Vampire girls were left here for you to get your blood from, and we all know I'm not going to let them leave this building."

Xander nodded slowly. "I know I shouldn't do it, but I…" Even though he'd just had more than a pint of Buffy's blood, a hunger pain hit Xander, forcing him to his knees. He was taking deep breaths, trying to drown out the new pain as well as the one in his chest.

Buffy crouched beside him, and Spike joined her at his side.

He looked right into Buffy's eyes, feeling his own eyes and teeth becoming more frightening. "What I did in that hall… I didn't even really know what I was doing… I-If I do that to one of them, if I actually gave in and got blood by biting the way I just attacked you…"

"That's exactly what you have to do," Buffy agreed suddenly.

Xander was panting a little, his instincts suddenly focusing on Buffy's beating heart. "You have to understand at least one thing first: if I bite them there's nothing to keep my brain from saying 'Why not just bite everyone else?' and I know that's the way it would work out."

Buffy nodded. "We'll have to risk it or you will start biting everyone."

"You sure this is a good idea?" Spike asked her.

Xander stared blankly, considering what to do.

"Yes, or he might hurt one of us," Buffy continued. "We can't open those doors until we've cured Lee, at least, because he poses the greatest risk if he some how escaped into the city."

"No offense, Xander, but I don't think you can handle what'll happen afterwards," Spike began to explain. "It's like throwing raw meat to a starving dog; you'll get a taste for it and the canned stuff might not do the trick."

Xander finally nodded, shifting his eyes to the floor. "I have to do this or I'll kill someone rather than something." He was a little pleased that this would end by destroying a pair of vampires rather than by hurting any more of his friends. He pushed himself to his feet, a little frightened by how eager he was to be locked in the room with the vampires.

Buffy went straight to the door and pulled the key off the hook.

Xander stumbling a little as he followed, stopping beside the door.

Buffy put the key in the lock, and opened the heavy, metal door.

Xander went quickly inside, his mind racing as he spotted the girls sitting at the back of the spacious room.

Willow and the others agreed it was time to return to the lab and find out what was being planned. They caught sight of Xander slipping into the room.

Buffy shut the door quickly, and threw the lock.

"What are you doing?" Willow demanded, the others wondering exactly the same thing.

Buffy turned back to them. "I'm doing what has to be done."

They heard a crash from inside the room, and suddenly someone was beating on the door.

They all took a few steps away from the door, staring as the metal began to dent from fist marks.

"C'mon! I told you we just wanted to make it out of here!" Renee shouted, continuing to pound.

Lily began to scream, then her voice faded.

The beating suddenly stopped.

"Stay the hell away from me!" Renee yelled.

They continued staring at the door as everything fell silent.

Xander stared for a moment at the motionless vampire laying on the floor. He crouched down beside her. He rested his right hand on her throat, just as he had the first, and let his hand become as hot as fire.

Renee's body fell to ashes, her head effectively removed from its body..

He felt stronger than he ever had, and the strong taste of blood in his mouth was more satisfying than he could have imagined. The scientist were right: his fill of fresh blood had been exactly what he'd needed. The pain in his chest and stomach had completely faded.

Buffy took a step towards the door. "Xander?" she called. "Are you all right?"

It suddenly felt like something had slapped him in the face, waking him from the fabulous dream. He realized what he'd done to the two vampires, and how much his body was wishing he'd get another chance to do the same thing to a human. This reality made him slip to his knees as he began to feel numb. Images of his actions flashed before his eyes… The fear in their faces… I'm not that type of person he told himself.

"Xander?" Buffy called again, holding the key tightly in her hand.

He took a deep breath. His face and hands fell back to their human form as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm ok," he called back weakly, realizing that his hands were shaking a little. It hadn't been like this when he'd attacked Buffy. This time he'd been fully aware of every gesture he'd made, deciding every movement as though he were doing some sort of a waltz.

"Can I unlock the door, or should I wait a while?" Buffy asked, happy that he'd finally replied. Even though he had replied, it was easy to tell that something was wrong.

"You're all safe," he assured, this time his voice was shaking a little. He was too preoccupied by what he'd just done to over-think how he felt about coming face to face with a person. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wasn't hungry anymore. "Unlock it when you want and I'll be out soon."

Buffy put the key in the lock, turned it, and placed the key back on the hook.

"Why'd you two let him do that?" Dawn asked after a moment.

Spike shook his head. "I was against it, too, but now that it's done, it's done. If anything changed with him, we'll just have to deal with that."

Anya wasn't happy with that answer. "Now that he's gone through the motions, doing something like that again will seem easy, and we're all out of evil vampires for him to do that to."

"Xander and I talked about that, and…" Buffy began to argue, but cut off in mid sentence as the door opened.

Xander took a step into the lab, some dried blood still near his mouth and on his cheek. His hands were still shaking a little, but he tried to hide it. "I…I'm…" His voice shook. He wasn't really sure what to say, or if he could speak properly even with the words on the tip of his tongue. Some horrible part of him was overjoyed that he'd been given the opportunity to kill those vampires, but whatever was still him inside felt like hiding in a dark room until they could leave the building.

Dawn and Willow seemed to be the most frightened by him at that moment, their eyes a little teary and wide with shock.

He cleared his voice, hoping that it would work, and then folded his arms. "I'm ready to go up against Lee."

Buffy looked at him, able to see that he wasn't feeling very good. She put her hand on his shoulder.

He jumped a little and pulled away, his arms falling back to his sides. "I'm fine," he lied quickly. "We can all discuss how much of a monster I've become once this is over."

Buffy nodded. "All right," she said as though she were humoring a small child. "We can do that."

"But I-I guess I better get cleaned up first," Xander decided, changing his mind. His skin was crusted with blood, and the paper towels near the sink would be good enough to clean himself up.

No one made any argument.

Xander went over to the sink, tearing off a few paper towels and getting them wet at the faucet. He started to wipe at the sensitive, blood encrusted skin. Flinching, he wiped at it again. He decided it would be easier to clean away the blood if he took off his shirt, so he slowly pulled the torn shirt over his head.

Everyone but Buffy headed towards the stairs that led to the hallway and exit, wishing to keep well away from Xander. Buffy, however, went over to him, stopping a few feet away as she figured he'd request if she got any closer. "Can I give you a hand?"

Xander shook his head. It was easier to concentrate on wiping away the blood than it was to look at one of the friends he'd been willing to murder. "I can handle this." His voice was still shaking a little. He tossed the soaked sheet beside the sink and the new sheet under the water, cleaning again and still avoiding eye contact.

"Can I at least help you with your back? Unless you can pull an Exorcist move on top of everything else, you can't reach it."

Xander finally gave a small nod, looking to her sadly and handing her the towel. He turned his back to her.

She ran it under the water again and easily cleaned away the blood.

All that was left of the wound was dried blood over normally colored skin.

"You're all healed, as far as I can tell," Buffy said cheerfully, still gently wiping. She tossed the towel on top of the old and wet a new square, cleaning again.

"I just can't apologize enough," he said suddenly, in a quiet voice. "I've had to take blood from you two times, and with the way I was feeling, I could have actually kiledl you... I could have killed you like I did that girl and I just did those vampires…"

"And I can't seem to forgive you enough," Buffy pointed out. "There's nothing permanent; I'm alive, you're still my friend, and those vampires needed killing, anyway. Besides, you've only acted on what your were feeling as a last resort, so you're not just a demon. "

"I-I didn't just kill those vampires," Xander confessed quietly. He could tell his hands had started shaking again. He rested his hand against the counter. "I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and it was so easy that it scares me."

"That's why you're not really a monster," Buffy decided. "I mean, because it scared you…"she amended quickly, "not the liking part because that is a little creepy."

Xander shook his head. "All these years I've been saying that even if a demon acts like a human, they're still just a demon that should be killed. Anya, I thought, was an exception. With Angel, and even Spike, I couldn't believe that a vampire was anything but a demon. These days that philosophy makes me a hypocrite; I'm in that situation right now. Some little part in me is still really human and has all that human logic…"

"That's what I'm getting at," she interrupted.

He continued, "…But everything else... just makes me really twisted and no better than any other monster you've killed in your vast career."

"Twice you've needed my blood, and, despite what you were felling at the time, you've twice let me live," Buffy corrected, wiping the very last of the blood away. "Turn around."

He turned to face her.

She began to wipe away the blood from his chest. "Even if we can't give you a portion of this cure, none of us will stop until you're all human again and..."

Xander suddenly caught hold of her towel-holding hand. Looking at her was too distracting.

She paused, a little alarmed by the gesture.

He took the towel from her as he released her hand and began wiping away the blood by himself, looking to his work again.

Buffy understood and took a step back, continuing. "And... And then we'll kill all of those vampires."

The others were resting on the steps that led to the exit. None of them had gotten much sleep the day before, and just waiting gave them a chance to realize how tired they really were.

Xander had wiped away all of the blood, tossed the sopping towel by the sink, and put on the stained shirt.

"What's the plan now?" Tess asked Buffy and Xander, noticing that he seemed to be done cleaning up.

"Now, we head back into Lee's room," Xander answered.

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5:30 am-- Outside Room #1

This time, Tess agreed to man the door so both Spike and Xander would be free to hold Lee. Buffy would again be in charge of getting to the box. Dawn, Willow, and Anya were left to wait in the lab.

"So you two just grab him, and…" Buffy began to plan.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" Lee shouted to Xander, his face pressed against the small window. He looked out into the hall at the four of them. "Just letting go?"

Buffy stepped away from the door, surprised by his presence.

Xander acted as though he didn't understand what Lee was talking about.

Lee gave a short laugh, looking to Buffy but still talking to Xander. "I could smell her blood from in here." His eyes shifted back to Xander. "And the two other vampires that were here? I'd like to know exactly what you did to them." He smiled eagerly. "Every detail."

"Get away from the door," Xander ordered him. "We don't want to hurt you, we just want to make everyone human again."

"Everyone but you…" Lee reminded with a cheerful laugh. "Why is that fair? You get to keep this gift while the rest of us are just sitting ducks for you to pick off?"

Xander didn't reply. He was still shaken by what he'd done to the girls, and realized that Lee may actually be right about what would happen when he was the only real monster in the building.

"If you tell me what you did to them, I won't fight back," Lee said, still smiling through the window. "I could hear what happened, but I want you to tell me what they looked like… And what they tasted like…"

Xander turned back to Spike. "When I was in the Staff room, I noticed there were some locks on the inside, too. Go back into the lab and tell the girls to lock themselves in there until we've finished with Lee."

Spike nodded, heading back to the lab.

"I could break down that door in a second," Lee taunted.

This time Xander laughed. "Then why are you still in this room?"

Spike returned. "They're safe."

Lee's smile faded. His bluff had been called and they weren't as frightened by his threat as he thought they'd be. He still had one piece of ammunition: what Xander was so ashamed of doing to those vampires. His smile returned. "You're dying to tell someone, aren't you? You can't tell the rest of them, or they'd think you were some sort of monster. But I'd understand… I know what it's like."

Xander stared at Lee unflinchingly, determined to keep his brown eyes and human teeth. "My friends probably already think I'm a monster, so now comes the time to see if they're right." He knew Lee's only way of escaping was if Xander was distracted when they opened the door. His mind was suddenly clearer than it had been all week. He looked to Tess and gave a nod.

Tess put the key in the lock, suddenly too frightened to turn it.

Xander reached up quickly, turned the key, and rushed inside, grabbing Lee by the throat with his right hand and by the arm with his other. He slammed him hard against the wall, holding him in place.

Buffy rushed past the struggle and went to the bubble, reaching quickly inside.

Spike followed, grabbing Lee by the free arm and helping to hold him against the wall.

With one, quick kick, Lee freed himself from Spike, knocking him into Buffy and both of them to the mat.

Spike was hit with an electric shock when his arm brushed up against the bubble during the fall.

The bubble was still in tact and both got to their feet, a little shaken.

"That wasn't smart," Xander warned, getting a better grip on Lee and then slamming him into the wall again with just less than all of his strength. He wanted to stun Lee, not break bones.

Buffy reached into the bubble again as Spike rejoined Xander, punching Lee in the stomach.

Lee, barely stunned, punched Xander in the face, and then again in the chest, hopping that it was a sensitive spot. He kicked Spike again, sending him back to the mat.

Buffy pulled out the box and hurried for the door.

Xander was a little off balance, but kept his grip. "I'm all better," he explained quickly. He pull Lee away from the wall, suspending him in the air with one hand, and then threw him violently at the wall.

Lee was propelled so hard into the wall that he slid to the floor, unconscious.

Buffy, Spike, and Xander went back into the hall. Tess slammed the door behind them and locked it.

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5:55 AM - The Lab

They silently headed back into the lab. None of them felt it was necessary to mention Xander's behavior, finally accepting it as the norm.

"You can come out," Xander shouted at the closed door.

A latch was thrown and the girls trailed back into the room.

"Everything go all right?" Dawn asked as everyone went to the counter.

Willow had opened each box and spread out the contents: vials, each filled with a different colored liquid; syringes; and one large beaker, likely meant to be used when mixing the liquids together.

Buffy handed Willow the last box.

Tess answered. "Fine. Xander held onto him while Buffy got the box."

"Hey, I helped, too," Spike said quietly.

Willow opened the box: one more syringe, a glass vile of green liquid, a glass stirring wand, and a piece of paper. She unfolded the paper and read aloud:

Combine each bottle of liquid in the larger beaker in a specific order: Red, Blue, Green, then Yellow; mix for 30 seconds; fill syringe with just over 8 cc. Let mixture set in syringe for at least 2 hours and administer through an injection in the arm, torso, or neck. Also, when administering the shot, be sure that the recipient is given no less than the 8 cc or symptoms may not be completely cured. Remember to clear the air bubbles before giving the injection; an air bubble in their vein could be fatal when it reached the heart.

"They're such a ray of sunshine," Tess complained.

"Aren't they, though?" Dawn agreed.

"It sounds like a cake mix more than science," Xander said.

Buffy thought a moment. "This could still be poison," she reminded. "Maybe we should start with someone in the rooms." She looked to Tess and Xander. "That's not really to say that their lives are expendable, but..."

"...They're too dangerous to live the way they are," Tess interrupted, finishing for her. "If it turns out to not be a cure, you would probably have had to kill them anyway."

Buffy nodded, looking back to Willow. "Ready to give it a try?"

Willow nodded, uncorking the bottle with the red fluid and pouring it into the glass beaker. She continued by pouring in the blue, green, and yellow. Then, as instructed, she picked up the stirrer and began to mix the colors together, looking at the generic, hospital-style wall-clock mounted over the door to the worker's barracks.

Anya went back over to the steps and sat, bored and knowing they were in for a long wait.

The time had passed and Willow filled the first of the needles, tapped it, and sparingly squirting out a few drops out of the tip to get rid of the air bubbles. She filled the next three in the same manner with a little more than 8 cc, and put the remaining 2.5-3 cc of liquid in the last. She put down the last of the needles. "It's 6:05 now, so can start on them as early as 8:05," she announced to the room.

"Since we have two hours to wait, we should all try to get some rest," Buffy suggested.

Xander nodded before speaking calmly and quietly. "You guys can grab the pillows that are in there and lock me in that Staff Room again if you want; I don't mind."

"That sounds good," Anya announced loudly. "Having some barricade between you and us is exactly what will let me get a little sleep."

Xander didn't wait for any of the others to comment; he went into the empty room and began to gather the pillows in his arms to take out of the room. No one made a move as he opened the door again, threw all the pillows out, and shut the door."

Anya got up quickly and locked the door.

Nobody was very happy with the way Anya was showing her opinion, but they realized she was just being brutally honest; she was acting the way they all actually felt.

Xander heard the door being locked. There were still a few pillows he'd been wanting to leave with them, but he decided to gather them up for himself. He went to the far end of the room, hoping that his distance from the activities of the other room may help him rest more comfortable. He laid down on the floor, positing a pillow under his head.

The others each grabbed a pillow and did the same, all attempting to find a comfortable position within the cold, hard room. Tess left the group, going back into room number three. She, like Xander, hoped staying away from everyone would make it easier for her to rest.

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