Xander was hunting.
Not humans of course – luckily he hadn't yet inherited Darien's bloodlust. Giles took that as a hopeful sign. He figured it meant they still had the opportunity to reverse what was happening to the teen.
Xander, on the other hand, had given up hoping. He'd settled himself to the fact that he'd probably end up fully becoming a vampire and was thankful it was Darien's type not the one they fought. After all, he'd finally figured out fire calling and was working on the shape shifting also inherent in the vampires. And his speed had increased nearly three times in the months since the incident with Buffy's old friend Ford, which meant he could move about as fast as Buffy could. He had gotten control of his increased strength fully and during almost every spare moment he had, he was working on further control of it and everything else.
So, whilst Buffy was off doing whatever, he was out prowling the town with a sword borrowed from Giles and a stake in the inner pocket of his jacket. Ironically the same jacket he'd not worn since the thing with the Pack but now…well, now he was a hunter again so why not bring back out that jacket?
Though he wasn't exactly sure what he was hunting looked like.
The Order of Taraka was in town and had their sights on killing Buffy, so Giles had told him. Which was the reason he was out hunting and just what he was out hunting.
He paused abruptly on a rooftop, one foot in the air to continue his leap to the next as he saw someone below him. The woman was dark-skinned and she knew how to handle herself…he could tell that from how she moved thanks to Darien. She also had something of that same presence as Buffy twisting around her, he noticed.
Though what was someone like her doing in Sunnydale? And leaving Willy's no less? Was she a Slayer?
Frowning, he waited until she was gone and bounded over the rooftops to Willy's, dropping off the roof to land in a crouch in front of a demon. It stared at him blankly for a moment, cigarette dangling from its tusked mouth, before taking off with a shrill scream of panic when he growled threateningly at it. He watched it go for a moment then stepped into Willy's, heading straight for the weasel of a man behind the bar.
"Hello, Willy," he said with a smirk, leaning casually on the counter. "Out of curiosity, who was the beauty that just left your humble place of business here? She definitely wasn't a vamp and I know no vanilla human is welcome here. Except you, of course."
The bartender grimaced at the youth leaning on the counter then set down the glass he'd been polishing. Being on the up and up in the demon world gave Willy information…and he just exactly what was happening to the youth in front of him. He wasn't certain what the kid was turning into but demons had been telling stories for about a month of a male Slayer. And the vampire's were starting to get antsy too, saying that something new was in town and it scared them more than the Slayer because it wasn't at full strength yet.
"Dunno, kid," he said, hoping he could make the brat leave. "Probably was a vamp. You just mistook her for a human."
"Heh."
Willy figured the kid would leave then, letting the night end in peace. No such luck. He abruptly found himself with his face smashed against his bar, held there with an iron grip as the kid bent over him with a grim look on his face.
"I really don't have time to mess around tonight, Willy," growled the youth. "The Order of Taraka…oh, yeah, you've heard of them…are after Buffy. So tell me who the woman was and I'll be out of your way after you then include on whatever you know about the Order."
The weasel of a man gave then and spilled everything, saying the woman was a Slayer and anything he knew about the Order. Then he paused and mumbled something about Angel and the backroom.
Xander frowned for a long moment then released the man, tossing a pair of twenties on the counter. Darien had learned over the years that paying people who knew things meant they'd come to you sometimes with stuff they knew. It also helped if they were scared of you, which the youth was fair certain the bartender was now.
"Thanks, Willy. I appreciate the information."
He then strode into the backroom and was mildly surprised to see Angel there, huddled in a corner as the first shafts of sunlight began to spill in. The vampire looked up and paled before gasping, "Xander…great."
"Hey, give some love, Deadboy," growled the youth. "I'm the only one that knows you're here and, despite the fact that I hate your guts for more reasons than I care to count, I'm gonna help you out."
He pulled back to kick open the door of the cage the vampire was trapped in then froze as he heard, "Why?"
Xander stared stonily at him and replied, "Because Buffy would hate me if I didn't." He then snapped out a kick, throwing the steel door open and partially off its hinges. "Damn," he muttered afterwards, admiring his handiwork, "I didn't mean to kick it that hard."
Angel stared for a moment then scrambled up, moving swiftly out of the cage to escape the approaching sunlight. He then turned to Xander when he was safely away from any current approach of the rising sun and asked, "How did you do that?"
"Karate." Which was true enough. Darien had learned it at some point during the 1700s during a trip to Japan – he never fully put it into use, though, preferring to just implement it into his own fighting style. And it was a good enough explanation for his increased strength that he could think of.
The vampire didn't look convinced and was going to continue questioning him but Xander snapped, "Look, don't worry about it. I didn't do anything stupid and its nothing to worry Buffy over. Now if you don't get moving, you're going to get scorched when the sun comes fully up. Then I'd have saved your butt for no reason and Buffy would still be pissed at me even though your stupidity killed you."
Angel stared at him and he was about to snap again when the other man asked, "You don't want Buffy to know."
"No, I don't. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her. I'm going to but I'm going to do it my way and at my own sweet time."
"I can respect that."
Yay, respect from the dead guy, thought Xander, now overly annoyed that he'd been delayed from his hunt and that he was in his least favorite person's presence. It didn't help either that he could feel the unholy presence of the demon in the vampire burning just at the edge of his senses and making him antsy. "Whatever. Just get out of her and find someplace you won't burn to a crisp. I'm gone."
With that he stalked out, leaving Angel to stare after him and blink as he snarled and punched a Polgara demon in the face as the thing tried to kill him, sending it staggering. The vampire frowned after the youth and muttered, "Something's not right," before he turned and headed down into Willy's basement where there was an entrance to the sewers.
---
"So no Angel, no making Drusilla what she once was, right?" asked Willow, looking curiously at Giles.
The Watcher cleaned his glasses as he nodded, responded, "Correct. We are very lucky that Angel was able to keep himself out of their grasp. Drusilla was quite a terror when she was at full strength – having her back there could be disastrous."
Angel, standing in a dark corner, shrugged, saying, "It was nothing." He then glanced briefly over at Xander, who was reclining in one of the library chairs with his feet propped on the table. The youth didn't turn to meet his gaze but he knew it was there.
"So now what?" asked Xander. "I mean, the Order is still out there. Plus I think Spike's going to be pissed about not getting Deadboy in his slimy little grasp."
Buffy waved his comments off with a, "The Order doesn't matter. Giles, can Spike use anyone else to bring Drusilla back to full strength?"
"No, it has to be her sire," replied the Watcher. He then looked at Xander, who appeared annoyed, and added, "Also, Buffy, the Order is nothing to scoff at. Yes, one of them has been felled but there are still others out there. They are a very real threat."
"So let's take care of them," said the blonde. She looked at Kendra standing next to her and continued, "Two Slayer's should be enough, right?"
Xander almost found himself staring at her, his brain numbed into shock. Did she think herself immune to the danger of the Order? They were assassins for God's sake. What did she think they were, a bunch of freshly risen fledglings she could get an easy stake out of?
Giles slammed a book down on the table, making everyone in the room jump. He glowered at Buffy then growled out words with Ripper in his voice.
"Under no circumstances are you – either of you – going after the Order. They are dangerous and we stand a much better chance against them by staying together and not going off on some fool's crusade!"
Buffy pouted and said, "But, Giles, that'll put Willow and Xander into danger."
"Danger's no problem!" piped Willow, her face marred by a frown. "We've faced plenty of dangerly dangerous things."
"Exactly," growled Xander, rising to his feet. He placed both hands on the table and leaned over, locking gazes with Buffy. "We're not going anywhere, Buffy. You should know by now that we're here for the long haul and no matter the danger we're gonna stay here."
"But…"
"No buts. That's it. That's how it going to be. Us, behind you, no matter what. Right, Wills?"
"Right!" chirped the redhead, bobbing to her feet next to her best friend. She stared at Buffy and asked, "That okay?"
The blonde stared at them then smiled tightly, nodding.
"Thanks, guys."
Xander shrugged at that and said, "We're here to knock sense into you. So, G-man, we going to camp out here and wait for the bad guys or elsewhere where we don't have to watch out for the Hallway Troll?"
"We won't have to go anywhere," said Angel abruptly, moving out of the shadows. "They're here."
There was silence then everyone sprang into motion, minds sliding into battle mode. Buffy and Kendra both drew their stakes whilst Angel took up a post behind them, ready to fight from the shadows of the sunlit library. Giles grabbed a short sword and retreated behind the library counter with Willow, who had a magic book clutched to her chest.
Xander scowled mildly and tried to look like he'd used to before he'd started working on getting his body into shape and relearning how to fight via Darien's memories.
The remaining assassin's exploded into the room from the back of the library then and battle was joined. Between the two Slayer's, the vampire, and Xander occasionally getting in a hit at full-power when the others weren't looking, the Order of Teraka went down pretty easily.
With a beating of an enemy was an all right way to end the day.
---
"Slaying isn't a job. It's who you are," muttered Buffy as she stood outside the Bronze waiting for Willow and Xander to arrive. "What's that mean?"
"Means you've been going about it all wrong, Buff."
The blonde jumped at the voice and spun, exclaiming, "Jeez, Xander, put some bells on your pants next time." She didn't even wonder about how he'd managed to sneak up on her without her noticing.
Her friend frowned and looked down at the ragged ends of his jeans, which hung over the tops of his battered sneakers. "Y'know, I don't think I can put bells on these." When she laughed, he grinned and said, "Anyway, who told you the Slaying job you are thing?"
"Kendra," replied the Slayer. "Right before she left. I've been trying to figure out just what she meant."
Xander sighed and said, "She meant just what she said, Buff. For as long as I've known you, you've treated Slaying like it's a job. Like its something you just decided to up and do one day. But its not…Slaying is what you're meant to do. That's how she treats it."
Buffy stared at him for a long moment then smiled and asked, "When'd you get so smart, Xan?"
He shrugged and replied, "Always had 'em. I just prefer to not use them."
"Why not?"
"Well, for one, I'd have been competing with Willow then and she's disliked competition since fifth grade, so that was out. Two, Jessie would've been completely left behind. I didn't want him to be lonely."
The blonde looked at him for a long moment at that and he was about to start fidgeting nervously when she moved forward and hugged him. He blinked in confusion then grinned and wrapped an arm loosely about her shoulders.
"What's this for?" he asked, looking curiously down at her.
She looked up at him and replied, "For being a good friend. Don't ever change."
Xander paled a little but was certain she never noticed. He smiled down at her and said, "I won't, Buff."
I won't ever change, he thought, a cold feeling slipping into his gut as Willow arrived and they made their way into the Bronze. And one day you'll notice.
