Chapter 4 – Nightmares Out of Mind, Into Sight

"There's no time, we have to go after it now!" yelled Buffy.

"But, but, but…" stammered Willow.

"Come on, Willow, we need you to identify the thing so we know how to kill it, now get in the car!" said Xander as he dragged Willow into the backseat of Giles' Citroen, "Step on it Jeeves!" Giles grumbled as he brought the car up to speed.

A few blocks later, Xander couldn't help but comment, "Hey, is it just me, or is that old lady in the Moped leaving us in the dust?"

"No, it's just you," said Buffy before adding, "On the other hand I think that kid on the bike just lapped us." Giles ground his teeth and his car's gears.

"Maybe it's like an optical illusion and we only appear to be standing still?" suggested Willow weakly.

"Or maybe we really are standing still and the earth is merely rotating beneath us!" said Xander.

"I am driving as quickly as possible," ground out Giles through clenched teeth.

"Giles, I could run faster than this rust-bucket," stated Xander.

"This is a classic car!" protested Giles. Xander stuck his head out the window and examined the car's exterior for a few moments before sitting back down.

"Giles, be glad you live in southern California because this car is one downpour away from being rust-orange instead of antique-gray." Giles slammed to stop at an small intersection.

"That is enough! If you really think you can chase this demon faster on foot then be my guest!"

"Thank god! C'mon Buff, let's go!"

"I'm getting out!" Buffy stepped out of Giles car then called back to Giles and Willow, "Catch up you two!" Xander and Buffy then set off to catch the fleeing demon.

Giles stared incredulously at the two teenagers. He didn't think they'd actually get out and pursue on foot! Giles slumped back into the seat. Maybe they did have a point about the speed of his transport?

"Um, Giles?"

"Uh, y-y-yes, Willow?"

"You, you should probably step on it if… if you want to catch up to…" Willow trailed off nervously under Giles' gaze. Giles snapped out of his trance and accelerated.

"Yes, quite right… quite right."

Xander and Buffy quickly gained on the fleeing demon, which was hampered by a bleeding wound on its leg from Buffy's short sword. Xander only had time to arm himself with the nearest weapon he could find, which happened to be a… Xiphos! Yeah, that's what Giles said it was called. Xander was adamant that the sword looked like a skinny leaf.

Running past a pizza place, Xander grabbed an empty pizza tray from a curbside table. He tossed it to Buffy, who caught it and threw it with incredible speed and precision at the demon's head, causing it to fall. Buffy put on a burst of speed, stabbing the rising demon through the torso with her sword.

"Buffy!" She turned at Xander's cry, left her sword in the demon and stepped aside. Xander ran past, cleaving the demon's head from its shoulders as he went. He stopped and came back, picking up the demon's head along the way. He and Buffy shared a smile as he took several deep breaths to help with his falling adrenaline levels.

Xander looked at his watch, careful not to get blood from the demon's decapitated head on himself. Giles' Citroen pulled up later. "16 seconds," Xander told Buffy. She tried, unsuccessfully, to hide a smirk. Xander had a little more success. He held the head out to Giles, who was rounding the front of his car. "So what is it?"

"Hmm, humanoid, leathery skin, hmm…" muttered Giles while Willow frantically turned the pages of the book in her hands.

"Oh! It's a Sungoh!" exclaimed Willow. She continued reading the page she was on, "Oh! Uh, Xander, let go of the head."

"What?"

"Let go of the head because-"

"Yeeow!" cried Xander as he dropped the demon's head, which was engulfed in flames. Xander danced around, waving his singed hand furiously. Buffy stepped back from the body, which had also burst into flames. Within seconds the body was completely immolated and the ash scattered by the breeze.

"Are you okay?" asked Willow. Xander cradled his hand to his chest for a moment, and then examined it while flexing his fingers. He had no burns; the skin was simply very red. Xander smiled and showed the gang his unharmed hand.

*BTVS*

"Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all. I decided long ago…" Giles cleaned his glasses and hoped the movement would help disguise his grimace. It seemed that no one had ever bothered to tell Cordelia that she could not sing! Not one note! "...never to walk in anyone's shadow. If I fail, if I succeed, at least-"

"Thank you, Cordelia. Tha-that's going to be lovely," Giles lied through his teeth.

"But I didn't do the part with the sparklers!"

"Um," Bloody hell, there were sparklers? "W-we'll, um… save that for the dress rehearsal. Uh, Lisa!" Giles called to another student on stage. When Cordelia looked like she was going to protest, Giles quickly added, "Please!"

Cordelia grunted in annoyance and stomped away as Lisa stepped up to the microphone with her tuba. Giles rubbed his eyes to help alleviate his frustration. Damn that petty little thug!

"If it isn't the great producer!"Giles looked up at Buffy's exclamation and saw her, Willow, and Xander walk down the aisle and clamber into the seats next to him.

"Had to see this to believe it," said Xander with a grin.

"Oh. You three," muttered Giles sourly.

"The school talent show. However did you finagle such a primo assignment?" said Buffy with false cheer.

"Our new Fuehrer, Mr. Snyder."

"I think they call them 'principals' now," chimed in Willow unhelpfully.

"Mm," grunted Giles. "He thought it would behoove me to have more contact with the students. I did try to explain that my vocational choice of librarian was a deliberate attempt to minimize said contact, but, uh, he would have none of it."

"Giles, unto every generation is born one who must run the annual talentless show," Buffy grinned as she teased her Watcher. "You cannot escape your destiny."

"If you had any shred of decency, you would have participated, or at least, um, helped."

"Nah! I think I'll take on your traditional role... and watch!"

"And mock!" added Xander.

"And laugh!" finished Willow. The three friends chuckled together while Giles stewed in frustration.

"Okay," Buffy patted Giles on the shoulder consolingly, "I think maybe we better leave our Mr. Giles to this business he calls a show." The three friends get up to leave but were confronted in the aisle by "Principal Snyder!"

"So," begun Snyder, "We think school events are stupid, and we think authority figures are to be made fun of."

"No!" denied Buffy, "No, we don't. W- unless you do?" tried Buffy, hoping against hope.

"And we think our afternoon classes are optional. All three of you left campus yesterday."

"Yeah, but we were fighting a demon..." Buffy cut off as Willow poked her in the back.

"Fighting?" questioned Snyder intently.

"Not fighting," denied Buffy vigorously.

"No, we, uh, left to avoid fighting," explained Xander.

"Real anti-social types," observed Snyder with a hint of a sneer. "You need to integrate into this school, people. I think I just found three eager new participants for the talent show."

"What?" cried Buffy.

"No!" yelled Xander.

"Please?" begged Willow.

"I've been watching you three," continued Principal Snyder with narrowed eyes, "Always getting into one scrape or another."

"Well, we're really, really sorry, but about the talent show, please, you can't make us," said Buffy.

"My predecessor, Mr. Flutie, may have gone in for all that touchy-feely relating nonsense, but he was eaten. You're in my world now. And Sunnydale has touched and felt for the last time." Principal Snyder moved past them toward the stage.

"Can I just mention that detention is a time-honored form of punishment?" suggested Xander hopefully. Buffy nodded in agreement.

"I know the three of you will come up with a wonderful act for the school to watch. And mock. And laugh. At." Principal Snyder smirked and continued onto the stage. Xander growled under his breath. He could pop Snyder's head off with one good punch…

Buffy moaned and sat down next to Giles. Willow frowned at the Principal while thinking about her overridden protests as well as her formerly perfect attendance record. Buffy turned to Giles for sympathy only to find him smirking at them.

"Thank you!" he told the student on stage with a large smile.

*BTVS*

"I can't do this!"

"Xander, come on," pleaded Buffy.

"I can't! I have my pride!" At Buffy and Willow's skeptical looks he elaborated, "Okay, I don't have a lot of my pride, but I have enough so that I can't do this!" He walked over to the steps at stage right and flopped down on the seats.

"A dramatic scene is the easiest way to get through the talent show, because it doesn't require any actual talent."

"But we have talent," protested Xander, "we can do stuff. Buffy, uh..."

"What am I gonna do? Slay vampires on stage?"

"Maybe in a funny way!" suggested Willow. Xander pondered that idea. They couldn't really slay vampires on stage but maybe they could… that's it!

"I know what we can do!"

"What?" asked Willow and Buffy together. Xander stood up and pointed dramatically.

"To the A/V Room!" They followed Xander as he marched to the A/V room, he went over to the book case and searched for a particular video. "Ha-ha!" cried Xander as he raised a VHS tape in triumph. "Good it hasn't been rewound, excellent!" Xander placed the tape in the player and rewound it for a few seconds then he turned on the TV, checked to make sure it was on the proper channel, and flopped down onto the A/V room's couch. He looked up to see Willow and Buffy staring at him in confusion. He reached up, grabbed each of them, and dragged them down onto the couch next to him. "Here, watch this!"

"A Jackie Chan movie?"

"Yeah!" replied Xander enthusiastically as he began to fast forward.

"Uh, Xander, how is this going to help us with the talent show?"

"Because, we are going… to do… this!" said Xander as he hit play at the opening of the final fight scene. After a few minutes, Buffy remarked.

"We're going to set ourselves on fire?"

"No Buff, we're going to put on a movie fight!"

"You mean like fake fight?"

"Yeah!"

"Uh, Xander, I know I can do those moves, no problem, but, uh, how will you and Willow…" Buffy trailed off as Xander stood up and executed a perfect no-hands cartwheel. Willow and Buffy stared agape at him. Xander smirked at his two friends.

"How..." managed to squeak Willow.

"Training," replied Xander with a grin. "It does a body good!"

"So we're going to do that whole fight?" asked Buffy hesitantly.

"No, just the parts we like," said Xander as he walked over to the video bookcase, "we can take segments and ideas from a bunch of sources and come up with an entire routine."

"What will I do?" asked a frowning Willow.

"You know the bad dubbing on these tapes?"

"Yeah…?"

"We'll make up some cheesy dialogue for you to say into a microphone standing off stage to set up the scene then me and Buffy'll go at it." Willow contemplated his suggestion. It would allow her to participate without being onstage.

"Yeah, that's great!" agreed Willow enthusiastically. She turned to Buffy who was still undecided. Buffy looked back and forth between her friend's eager faces.

"Well… it is better than nothing. Let's give it a shot."

*BTVS*

Striding up to his house, Xander was pleased with how their brainstorming session had gone. Buffy had some trouble holding back when they really got into the flow of the fight but, overall, they'd probably blow the audience away at the talent show.

Opening the door, Xander steeled himself for usual stench of alcohol. He wasn't disappointed. However, there was one change from the recent routine. Tony was awake.

"Well, look who showed up! 'Bout time you got home dipshit. Where the hell've you been?"slurred Tony as he got into Xander's face. "It's been days since you've been home!"

Xander stared incredulously at Tony. Xander had been fortunate to come home and leave while his parent's slept for the past few weeks! Xander closed his eyes and tried to push away his frustration. "I've been coming home, Tony, You've just been passed out-"

He never saw the hit coming. The slap turned his head. He could already taste the blood from the cuts on the inside of his cheeks.

"Don't talk to me that way you little shit! If I have to put up with having a worthless, spineless bastard for a son you'll show me some god-damned respect!"

Xander grit his teeth turned back to Tony and snarled. "What do you have worth respecting, Tony?"

Tony's bloodshot eyes widened at Xander's tone. He punched Xander in the face this time. Xander let him.

"That's the last time you hit me Tony."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Xander's right hook sent a boneless Tony tumbling to the floor.

"You little bastard!" screeched out his mother's voice. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Standing up for myself. You should try it sometime."

"How dare you! I've sacrificed my life to have you. I could've made something of myself." Jessica sneered at her son, "Tony was right, I should have aborted you."

Xander stared at his parents. Their actions and treatment of him ran contrary to every instinct he knew of, even the human ones, especially the human ones. How anyone could treat their own child like this…

"Fuck this, I don't need to stay here. I'm getting my stuff and getting out of here. Goodbye Mother. And good riddance."

"What? You can't leave!"

"Watch me."

"Don't turn away from me, I'm not finished! You will respect me you little-"

"Enough!" Xander's yell shook the entire house. In his anger, Xander did not notice. As the recipient of Xander's rage Jessica was keenly aware of the effect. "I have put up with the both of you for years, hoping that one day you'd both finally manage to crawl out of the bottle and finally act like parents. That's not happening, is it? We'll I've had enough. I'm getting my things and leaving. And if I never see either one of you ever again, it'll be too soon."

*BTVS*

Shit, shit, shit! Okay, so maybe this hadn't been thought through completely. Okay, okay, it hadn't been thought through at all! But that was the last straw. Xander shifted the duffel bag on his shoulder. It was still a good idea to leave, even if he was wandering the streets of Sunnydale carrying five bags holding all his worldly possessions. Where was he going to stay? God damn his parents!

"Hey you order delivery?"

"Nah, but it seems he brought us some goodies."

Xander turned to the speakers; two men were lounging on a porch. Xander took a deep breath. Vampires!

"Hey meat!" called out one of the men as he stood up, "You ready for dinner?" The man smiled as his face changed.

"No," drawled Xander as he dropped his bags and stepped forward. The second man on the porch stood as Xander came closer. "But I am ready to kick some ass!" The second's man face transformed. The two vampires looked at each other then burst out in laughter.

"You're funny. I like some entertainment when I eat." The vampire grinned and stepped forward. His eyes closed from his large grin, the vampire never saw Xander launch himself forward. The other vampire watched in shock as their meal ripped off his companion's head with his bare hands.

"Oh shi-," the vampire never finished his utterance before Xander was on him. Xander tackled him to the ground and straddled the prostate vampire. Xander's fists were pneumatic hammers and pounded down relentlessly. The vampire curled up in desperation. Xander did not stop until the vampire's head was pulp. The vampire burst into dust shortly after. Xander was breathing heavily when he caught the scents from inside the house. Growling deep in his chest he approached the door. Xander slammed the door open causing the five vampires inside to look up. The closest one, a young-looking brunette in a miniskirt sauntered up from her seat.

"Hey! Don't you know to knock?" Xander turned and plunged his hand into her chest, punching her heart out her back in a spray of tissue and bone. She burst into dust a moment after. The other vampires scrambled from their seats. Xander turned and snarled. The four vampires hesitated. Xander roared as he leapt forward toward the nearest vampire. The vampire put his arms up to defend himself but Xander fell on him like a rampaging lion. In seconds, the vampire lay in pieces on the floor.

The other vampires jumped onto Xander, trying to attack him at once. Xander barely noticed their blows or his injuries as he waded through them. One vampire found himself with a completely shattered neck and fell to the floor. Another bit into Xander's arm. Xander roared in pain, grabbed the vampire by the head and pulled him off. The vampire tried to pull Xander's hand off of his creaking skull but didn't make it before Xander used his free hand to chop the vampire's head off.

Another vampire jumped on Xander's back and clawed at his eyes. Xander grabbed the vampire, brought him over his head and slammed him onto his knee, breaking the vampire's back. The last vampire fell to Xander's kick collapsing his ribcage inward. He burst into dust soon after. Xander ripped the leg off a table and dusted the incapacitated vampires.

Xander stalked through the living room, growling all the while. There had to be more prey, there just… Xander stopped in front of a mirror. He could barely recognize himself, covered in vampire dust, his face contorted in rage and… hunger. He looked himself in the eye and could barely recognize his own humanity. Xander stumbled back from the image, suddenly frightened. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and centered himself, concentrating on controlling the animal instincts and not letting them control him.

"Control, control, have to be in control," chanted Xander to himself. Once he was firmly in control, Xander systematically began to check the house over and stumbled upon the group's stash of petty cash and assorted valuables.

Maybe Giles could move some of this, thought Xander. Hey! Giles can probably help with getting a place, especially one that's affordable! With this new plan in mind, Xander quickly scavenged as much as he could and returned to his bags.

On the other side of the city, at the Zoo, the other animals heard Xander's earlier roar. The animals were now aware of a new predator. The lions, however, acknowledge that there was finally a king on the outer pride lands.

*BTVS*

"Xander? W- Why do you have so many bags with you?"

"Hey Giles. I, uh… I left home."

"You… you what!"

"I left home…"

Giles blinked and pulled off his glasses and began to frantically polish them. "Xander, what on earth possessed you to follow such a course of action?"

"I was tired of being a punching bag." Xander's matter-of-fact tone stunned Giles into immobility. Hesitantly, Giles placed his glasses back on and looked over his student. Giles took in his torn, battered and bruised appearance. Uncomfortably, undeniably, several pieces of the puzzle of Xander fell into place. Giles stepped aside. Xander smiled, said "Thank you," and stepped into the house.

"Did, did they do this to you?" Giles motioned at the scratches and bruises visible through the tears in Xander's shirt.

"Uh… no, I knocked my father out before he could get started. I got these when I attacked a house full of vampires earlier."

"You… you… you…" Giles snatched his glasses off his nose and began polishing them furiously again. "Sit. Now." Giles gave up collecting his patience as a bad job. "What the bloody hell were you thinking attacking an entire nest of vampires? Never mind, it's obvious that you were not thinking at all! Despite what your parent's behavior might have led you to believe there are people that care about you. I know for a fact that Willow and Buffy both would be devastated at your loss and I… I…" Giles began polishing his glasses again. "I would be quite put out if something were to happen to you."

Xander ducked his head and wiped the moisture from his eyes. Damn allergies!

"So…" began Xander after both men collected themselves, "I found a chest full of treasure in the nest. I was hoping you could help me cash it in so I have money to rent a place."

"I would be glad to help you sell your loot Xander but what is this nonsense about renting a place?"

"Uh… I have to live somewhere?"

"Well… I may have a solution. This house is large enough to accommodate the both of us and, truth be told, I would rather have you somewhere I could keep an eye on you. Go ahead and move your things into the guest bedroom upstairs."

"Thanks Giles!" gushed Xander, "I can pay you some rent as soon as…"

"Xander, I never mentioned rent being part of the arrangement," interrupted Giles with a smile. "On the other hand, you would probably like to have some spending money of your own. As it so happens, the last few months of supernatural activity have exceeded nearly all of the council's records, which happen to date back thousands of years." Giles pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "As such, the council has seen fit to release funds for me to hire an assistant. Unfortunately, every applicant that I've had has withdrawn their application once they realized the extent of the… danger involved. You and Willow have already been a far greater help than any of the potential applicants could have been. It would be a simple matter for you to become my assistant and receive a salary from the council."

"Wouldn't you rather have someone trained for this?"

"Actually, Xander, you are already far more experienced in field work than almost every member of the Watcher's Council. And with your abilities, I think you'd be much better help than another academic will."

"Yeah, at least I have some brawn since I don't have any brains…"

"Xander!" Xander jumped back at Giles' harsh tone. "Now that I know some of your home life, more of your personality makes sense, particularly your low self-esteem. Now, are you or are you not taking all the same classes that Willow is?"

"Yes, but…"

"And is Willow not the smartest student in the school?"

"Pretty much, but…"

"So, if you are truly as stupid as you say you are, how do you explain your placement in all the same advanced courses as your genius level friend?" Xander's mouth worked up and down. He'd never actually considered that point. He was in all the smart kid's classes! Maybe he wasn't as stupid as he thought he was? "Now, while you are living here, I refuse to allow you to put yourself down. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No… thank you, Giles."

"You're welcome. Now, upstairs, second door on the left, go ahead and get settled in. We're going patrolling in half an hour or so."

"No sweat, I'll be ready G-man!" called out Xander as he rushed upstairs.

"And stop calling me that infernal nickname!"

"Sure thing G!"

"What the bloody hell did I get myself into?" muttered Giles to himself.

*BTVS*

"Oh my god Xander I can't believe that happened I'm so sorry that they've gotten so bad you should have told me we could have gone to the police and removed you from that awful place sooner but you always said you could handle it and I'm so stupid for not listening to my parents when they said this happened in abuse cases and I ignored it but you can always came to me for help Xander and why didn't you mister-"

"Willow…"

"-we're supposed to be best friends and we've never kept secrets from each other so why are we starting now because I'll have you know I've never kept anything from you that was a danger to me okay maybe there was that Moloch thing but that didn't get dangerous until the end and wait are your parent's demons because that could explain so much especially since they've lived their entire lives on the hellmouth-"

"Willow!"

"…what?"

Xander, Buffy and Giles stared at Willow for a moment, each of them marveling at her lung capacity.

"It's okay Willow. This is just… it was time. I know you'd be happy taking me in but I doubt your parents would be very happy. Plus, now I get paid to do something I already do for free! Oh sure, there's a lot of tea and tweed to get used to," said Xander while he shot a grin at an annoyed Giles, "but it's still loads better than where I was before." Xander turned a serious gaze back to Willow. "I wasn't ready to ask for help before. But I always knew you'd be there for me." Willow almost crushed Xander with her hug. Once she released him Xander spied Buffy over her shoulder, arms crossed and her expression downcast. Buffy's head snapped up at his approach.

"Xander I'm so sorr-"

"Hey," said Xander softly, "don't feel bad, 'k?"

"But I didn't know-"

"How could you when I was hiding it from everyone, even myself?" asked Xander as he grasped Buffy by the shoulders. Her arms flopped to her sides and her entire body sagged.

"I should have done something-"

"You did. You were my friend. You are my friend. Thank you." Buffy looked up at Xander. Sincerity was pouring off of him like sunlight. She smiled at her best male friend and stepped into him. They embraced each other tightly.

"Um, I don't wish to interrupt this moment of, of , of catharsis but we do have a patrol to run."

Buffy and Xander broke apart at Giles' words. Xander turned to Giles and smacked his fist against his open palm. "It's clobberin' time!"

*BTVS*

"I don't understand why I... why I have to follow Brett and his stupid band!" complained Cordelia. Giles took a quick breath to try and keep his calm.

"Because we have to clear their equipment before the finale. I told you."

"But the mood! It'll be all wrong!" Cordelia steps in front of Giles, forcing him to deal with her tantrum. "My song is about dignity and human feelings and personal... hygiene or something. Anyway, it's sappy, and no one is going to be feeling sappy after all that Rock and Roll." Damn the job thought Giles as he opened his mouth. He stopped and instead stared at Cordelia's hair.

"Uhhh, what?" asked an irritated Cordelia.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Um, your hair, uh..." Giles trailed off and continued to stare at Cordelia's hair in horrified fascination.

"There's something wrong with my hair?" Cordelia pulled her hair behind her ears nervously. Giles remained silent and continued to stare.

"Ohmygod!" Cordelia cracked at last and rushed off to the nearest restroom.

Giels watched Cordelia leave with a smile on his face. "Xander was right," he muttered to himself, "it worked like a charm." A few minutes later, after listening to some more of the participants concerns, a grim faced Buffy and Willow approached Giles.

*BTVS*

"So she tripped?" asked Giles.

"No, she was pushed," stated Buffy, "and then something bumped into me."

"But you did not see what struck you?"

"Again, no I didn't!"

"I-I-I know you are growing irritated with my inquiry, Buffy, but I'm trying to understand what happened. The only supernatural beings I am aware of that are, uhm, unseen are ghosts or, or poltergeists. But neither manifests a physical presence as you've indicated."

"What about an invisible person?" asked Xander.

"Well, that may, may fit the facts Xander, but there are not very many means o-of rendering someone invisible. W-why do you ask?"

"Because for the last few weeks I've been, um, sensing, uh, someone who isn't there."

"Sensing?" asked Willow with a frown.

"When?" asked a skeptical Buffy.

"Uh, Giles, you remember when we came by after the big scanning project and I asked you if Ms. Calendar had stuck around?"

"Y-yes, as a matter of fact, I do recall your rather odd question."

"Well, I asked because I smelled a woman's deodorant." Giles' eyes widened at his realization that Xander must have smelled someone with his enhanced senses. Xander turned to Willow and Buffy, who looked skeptical. "It happened again when we were hanging out in front of the school after the whole Moloch thing. The door was open, when I'm sure I closed it and there was a scent of woman's deodorant again. I though it might've been you two, but you both, uh…" Xander blushed furiously, "you both, uh, smell different."

"We smell?" asked Buffy in a dangerous tone.

"What do you mean mister?" asked Willow as she crossed her arms.

"W-w-well, I, uh, I j-just meant that, that, uh," Xander's face felt like it was on fire as he glanced between the two girls. Giles stifled a grin behind his hand. Words suddenly burst out of Xander's mouth, "I meant that you both smell nice and pretty and very attractive, beautiful even…" Xander trailed off as Buffy and Willow burst into giggles. The heat of his face increased another notch. Xander dropped into the closest chair and crossed his arms refusing to meet anyone's looks.

"Enough," managed Giles through his chuckles, "perhaps we should investigate the music room further, if there is, in fact, an invisible person there."

"I'll go," said Buffy. She giggled again as she watched Willow, who had walked over, ruffle Xander's hairs as Xander leaned away from her hand. "Be back in a jiff!"

*BTVS*

"A nest?" queried Giles.

"It looked like she'd been there for months," answered Buffy. "It's where I found this." Buffy laid the yearbook on the table, opening it for Xander and Willow to see. Willow bent over the book to read the signatures while Xander placed a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy smiled at him and clasped his hand with her own.

"Oh, my God!" the group jumped at Willow's sudden exclamation. "'Have a nice summer. Have a nice summer.' This girl had no friends at all." Buffy and Xander nodded knowingly. Giles did not.

"Uh, once again I teeter at the precipice of the generation gap."

"'Have a nice summer' is what you write when you have nothing to say," explained Buffy.

"It's the kiss of death," added Xander.

"You guys didn't know Marcie Ross?" asked Buffy.

"Never met her," Xander frowned, "Why?"

"'cause you both wrote it, too," said Buffy as she pointed to a particular autograph.

"'Have a nice...' Yeesh!" Xander grimaced. How had he missed this girl?

"Where am I?" asked Willow. Buffy pointed out her signature. "Oh. 'Have a great summer.' See, I cared!"

"You guys don't remember her?"

"No, I probably didn't see her except to sign the book. I mean, this is a big school."

"Xander, we each had four classes with her last year," stated Willow as she read Marcy's records, which she had printed up earlier.

"So, no one noticed her, and now she's invisible," said Buffy sadly.

"What, she turned invisible because no one noticed her?" asked Xander. He jumped along with Buffy and Willow when Giles struck the table.

"Of course!" exclaimed Giles as he rose from his sitting position. "I've been investigating the mystical causes of invisibility when I, I should have looked at the quantum mechanical!" He turned to notice the three teens looking at him blankly. "Physics."

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say, huh?" stated Buffy.

"It's a rudimentary concept that, that reality is shaped, even, even... created by our perception," said Giles as he reached for a book on the subject.

"And with the Hellmouth below us sending out mystical energy..." began Buffy.

"People perceived Marcie as, as, as invisible, and, and, and, and she became so," finished Giles.

"This isn't this great power that she can control. It's something that was done to her. That we did to her," said a horrified Buffy.

"No wonder she's miffed," observed Willow.

"What does she want?" asked Xander.

"Cordelia." Buffy turned the yearbook to Willow and Xander to show them the marked up picture of Cordelia.

"Willow, Xander, you'll help me begin our research anew. Unless we find a way to cure Marcie's invisibility, then Buffy will be..." trailed off Giles not wanting to verbalize his fears. Xander stiffened suddenly.

"A sitting duck," stated Buffy. The gang moved to complete their tasks. Xander, however, made a beeline for the weapons cage. He removed a bag of chalk powder that Giles kept for use during practice.

"Hey!" The others turned at Xander's yell only to watch him toss the chalk out in front of him. Giles opened his mouth to reprimand Xander. His jaw widened in shock instead when the chalk settled on the obvious form of a person, who was now coughing and sputtering from Xander's unexpected assault.

"Marcy!" cried Willow.

"Well that was quick!" said Buffy. They all turned when two men burst into the library. They were wearing identical grey suits with black ties, and sunglasses on their faces. One of the men brandished a gun. Xander leapt out of the way as he fired. A dart struck Marcy and she staggered then dropped to the floor.

"Who are you…" began an outraged Giles.

"We watch those that watch," said man without the dart gun as he pulled out a wallet. Giles stilled at the passphrase and the government badge in the man's hand. "FBI, we've come for the girl."

"You think we're just going to let you take-"

"Xander!"

"Good." The FBI agent smiled at Giles while his partner secured Marcie with his cuffs. "We'll take Miss Ross. We already have experience with people in her condition." He turned to the stunned teens. Xander still looked quite rebellious. "Don't worry; she'll be taken care of. Thank you for your cooperation." The two men took the sedated Marcie with them. The library doors swung back and forth and came to a stop before anyone moved.

"Giles, what the hell?"

"Xander, I assure that those two gentlemen were most certainly agents of the government," Giles held a placating hand out towards Xander.

"And how the hell do you know that?" cried Xander angrily.

"The highest levels of government are all aware of the supernatural." At the teens incredulous looks Giles elaborated, "Do you honestly think that with all their, their, their paranoia about security and surveillance that they would be completely unaware of the existence of entire societies within their borders? The Watcher's council is based in England but has contacts in all nations of the globe with almost every government in the world. They used a passphrase and I've been trained to recognize all standard, and a few non-standard, forms of government identification. I assure you, those, those gentlemen were legitimate federal agents."

"But the police tried to convict me for setting fire to the gym?" asked a bewildered Buffy.

"The police are not the highest levels of government, Buffy. I assure that the local police force, or their superiors, or even the mayor is not aware of the supernatural." Willow hugged her downcast friend.

Giles adjusted his glasses then sighed when he saw that Xander was still angry. He walked over and clasped his hands on Xander's shoulders. "There's nothing else to be done. I assure you that Marcy will be looked after. And you've spared us a lot of trouble. As H.G. Wells' book indicates and Ms. Ross' yearbook and actions corroborate, several people may have been seriously injured before she was stopped." Xander's shoulders slumped as he nodded his acceptance. "Good, now, we need to discuss your act for the talent show."

The three teens groaned at a grinning Giles.

*BTVS*

Their act for the talent show was a huge success. Willow wrote a scene of a marital spat that devolved into a duel. Xander thought it was hilariously over the top. The audience agreed with him and was highly impressed by Buffy and Xander's athletic prowess. The ovation they received was a great feeling.

Watching Principal Snyder grumble and sulk was even better.

A few days later Buffy was coming around a corner when she was met by Willow and Xander.

"Oh, Buffy, we've been looking for you."

"We have?" questioned Xander.

"Um, about the spiders, did you talk to Giles about..."

"Oh, the spiders! Willow's been kind of, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Insane about what happened yesterday," said Xander with a wry smile.

"I don't like spiders, okay?" snapped Willow, "Their furry bodies, and their sticky webs, and what do they need all those legs for anyway? I'll tell you: for crawling across your face in the middle of the night." Willow shivered, "Ewww! How do they not ruffle you?"

"I'm sorry!" Xander shrugged unrepentantly, "I'm unruffled by spiders. Now, if a bunch of Nazis crawled all over my face..."

"Mm," nodded Buffy, "it was pretty intense."

"Thank you," exclaimed Willow gratefully.

"Well, the Hellmouth, the center of mystical convergence, supernatural monsters: been there," stated Xander simply.

"Little blasé there, aren't you?" asked Buffy with an arched brow.

"I'm not worried. If there's something bad out there we'll find, we'll slay, we'll party!" The group entered the library.

"Look at you, all Mister Confidence," teased Buffy.

"Who da man, Buff?" asked Xander, taking her teasing in stride.

"Okay," interrupted a frowning Willow, "but we're still caring about the spiders here. Let's not forget the spiders."

"Well, Giles said he was gonna look it up," said Buffy as she looked around the library for him. Not seeing him around, Buffy cried out, "Giles?"

"Maybe he's in the faculty room," suggested Willow.

Giles exited the stalks looking around wildly. He couldn't understand how he managed to get lost in the relatively small library. Or how there could have been so many stacks when there was clearly a limited number of-

"Hey, Giles! Wakey, wakey!" interrupted Buffy.

"I was, uh, in the stacks. I got lost," replied a still clearly confused Giles.

"Did you find any theories on spiders coming out of books?" asked Xander as he reached around to Willow's far shoulder with wiggling fingers. "Big, hairy, crawly..."

Willow jumped as Xander brushed against her shoulder. She spotted his hand, twisted back and struck Xander, who recoiled from her playfully. "It's funny if you're me," he told Willow with an unrepentant grin.

"I couldn't find anything, uh... particularly illuminating. Um, I think perhaps you'd best have a chat with Wendell himself," suggested Giles.

"Okay," agreed Buffy, "if he can still talk." Buffy looked at her watcher, wondering why he was acting so strangely before pushing it out of her mind.

The group headed out of the library as Giles looked back at the stacks. How did he get lost?

*BTVS*

Buffy spotted Wendell sitting morosely on a bench in front of the school. "Hey, Wendell! How are you?"

"Huh?" replied Wendell as he slowly looked up.

"You okay?" asked a concerned Buffy.

"Good talking to ya, man," said Xander as he patted Wendell on the back and began to leave. Buffy grabbed him before he could get away. Wendell finally noticed the three Scoobies gathered around him.

"Do you guys want something?"

"We just thought you might want to talk about what happened," said Buffy.

"You know, yesterday?" Willow shuddered but forced herself to continue, "with the spiders?"

"I don't know what to say about that." Wendell shrugged weakly.

"There's nothing to say. You saw two hundred insects, you Gonzoed, anybody would have!"

"They're not insects," Wendell snapped at Xander, "they're arachnids."

"They're from the Middle East?" asked Xander, deliberately misunderstanding him. Wendell ignored Xander's antics.

"Spiders are arachnids. They have eight legs. Insects only have six. Why does everyone make that mistake?"

"Don't know," said Buffy. "Has anything like this ever happened before?" Wendell hesitantly nodded, surprising everyone. "When?"

"Lots of times."

"Ew!" cried Willow, "You must hate spiders more than I do." She was shocked when Wendell simply laughed.

"I don't hate spiders. I love 'em." His smile turned into a frown. "They hate me."

Cordelia was passing by when she stopped and turned to Buffy. "I hope you studied for the history test."

"What history test?"

"The one we're having in fourth period right now."

"There's a history test?" asked a wide-eyed Buffy. "Nobody told me there was a history test!" she cried in a growing panic "I haven't, I, Okay, I will catch up with you guys later." Buffy ran off to her history class.

"What do you mean, you love spiders?" asked Willow as she sat next to Wendell.

"It is platonic, right?" asked a chuckling Xander.

"I had the best collection in the tri-county area," said Wendell wistfully. "Browns and tarantulas and black widows... then my folks shipped me off to wilderness camp." Wendell frowned. "All my brother had to do was maintain their habitats. Instead he left their heat lamp on for a week. When I came home they were all dead. That's when the nightmares started."

"The nightmares?" asked Willow.

"It's always the same. I'm sitting in the classroom, teacher asks me to read something, I open up my book and then there they are. They're comin' after me. God, can you blame them after what I did?"

"And that's how it happens?" asked Xander, wondering what this new information meant, "Every time?"

"Yesterday in class I thought I'd just nodded off again. But then everyone else started screaming, too."

*BTVS*

"I'm just saying, Wendell had a dream and then that exact thing happened," argued Willow.

"Which is a fair wiggins, I admit, but do you think that ties in with Laura getting KOed in the boiler room?" asked Xander.

"I dunno. Maybe she dreamed about getting beat up. We should ask Buffy when she gets back from the hospital?"

"Oh, there's my little baby!" Xander looked up to see a trio of punkers hanging out in front of the restrooms. One of them looked absolutely horrified at the older woman that was heading straight for him.

"Mom, what are you doing here? Mom.-" He stood there, stunned, as his mother kissed him and pinched his cheek.

"How's my little pookie?"

"Mom, mom, please don't kiss me in front of the guys! It's embarrassing, mom! Please!" he begged her. She laughed at him.

"You cute little rascal, you!"

"Mom..." he blushed furiously, "thanks, but Mom, please, my friends are right here..."

The sound of Willow shutting her locker took Xander's attention away from the funny scene. Her books in hand, Willow walked to their next class, Xander reluctantly pulled away from watching the punk be mortally embarrassed.

"It could be a coincidence," suggested Xander, "Y'know, Wendell finds a spider's nest, and we all wig because he dreamt about spiders. So it may not be connected." Willow hummed noncommittally. She thought that he might have a point. Xander opened the door for Willow, who smiled at him, still unused to Xander's new manners. "If there is a connection," continued Xander, "it doesn't sound like anything…" Xander walked into class behind Willow when everyone began laughing. "What?"

Willow looked around, confused. Willow wondered if they were laughing at her. However, she noticed that they were looking behind her. She turned around to see… Xander! Naked Xander! Naked Muscular Xander!

"Xander!" Willow squeaked out, "What happened to your…" she couldn't bring herself to finish the question. Instead her gaze was drawn downward to Xander's… not so little Xander! Oh my god!

"What happened to my what?" asked Xander. He noticed the direction of her gaze and looked down. At first he wondered what happened to his shirt. Then he noticed that he was missing other, more vital pieces of clothing. "What the hell? I was just dressed!" Xander looked around wildly. He must have fallen asleep somewhere. "Okay, I just have to wake up." Xander pinched himself on the arm. "Ow!" He did it again, with the same results. Holy crap, maybe he wasn't asleep! But that would mean that…

Xander turned around and ran at top speed towards gym and his only spare set of clothes. Willow ran after him but couldn't keep up with him.

"Wow, he's gotten fast. Slaying must keep him in shape." Willow blushed to the roots of her hair as she remembered the rest of Xander's shape.

*BTVS*

"Red alert! Where's Buffy?" cried Xander, now wearing his gym clothes. He was furious. He'd lost his best jacket!

"Uh, she, she just stepped out. Her, her father came by early. He, he needed to talk to her. W- where are your other clothes?"

"Oh, don't I wish I had the answer to that question."

"Xander kind of found himself in front of our class not wearing much of anything," answered a blushing Willow.

"Anything?" asked an incredulous Giles.

"Yeah! It was really..." the still blushing Willow turned to Xander and squeaked.

"It was a total nightmare!" yelled Xander as he threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Well, yeah Xander!" Willow's eyes had gone wide. Surely it couldn't be that simple? "I-it's your nightmare!"

"Except the part with me waking up goin' 'it's all a dream'. It happened."

"Like what happened to Wendell! That thing with the spiders? Wendell had a recurring dream about that."

"I-I dreamt that I got lost in the stacks and I... I couldn't read... of course!"

"Uh, our dreams are coming true?" asked a slightly confused Xander.

"Dreams? That would be a musical comedy version of this," said Giles. "Nightmares, our, our nightmares are coming true."

"So, why is this happening?" asked Willow

"Billy."

"Well, that explanation was shorter than usual." Xander turned to Willow, "It's Billy!" He frowned then turned back to Giles, "Who's Billy?"

"He's a boy in the local hospital. He was beaten. He's in a coma. Somehow I think he's crossed over from the nightmare world he's trapped in."

"And he brought the nightmare world with him." Xander grimaced, "thanks a bunch, Billy."

"How could he do that?" asked a curious Willow.

"These things tend to occur when you live on a hellmouth," explained Giles.

"We have to stop this," said Xander firmly as he grasped the enormity of what was happening.

"And soon," agreed Giles. "Or else everyone in Sunnydale is going to be facing their own worst nightmares." Giles began walking out of the library. "Buffy doesn't know this is happening. And given the sort of thing that she tends to dream about, it's imperative that we find her."

"Probably faster if we split up to look for her," suggested Xander as they stepped into the hall.

"Good idea," agreed Giles as he turned to his left. Xander turned to his right and began running down the hall.

"Oh, uh, faster, but..." Willow stood in place and watched them both leave. "…not really safer," she finished to herself.

Xander turned down another hall and opened the door. He stopped in the doorway, stunned. The hall before him was covered in blood. The overhead lights flickered. Xander cautiously stepped forward. There were sheets of plastic hanging from the ceiling, preventing him from seeing very far. However, after passing two sheets he saw a pair of limbs on the floor. They weren't a matching set.

"What the fuck happened here?" muttered Xander to himself. He stepped forward. The body parts increased the more plastic sheets he passed. Finally he passed the last sheet and looked down the hall. At the end of the hall he saw a man huddled over a corpse. He was spattered in blood and was wearing jeans that were almost completely torn off his body. The man stilled as if sensing Xander's gaze. Slowly he stood up and turned around. His bare chest was drenched in blood and gore. The man's hands were the worst, with pieces of meat stuck to him with dried blood. His grimy and scraggly long hair obscured his face until he looked up directly at Xander. His face looked like a human face that someone had molded to look like a lion. However, Xander instantly recognized him.

It was himself with the Lion spirit in full control.

"Holy shit," whispered Xander. The Primal grinned at him before lunging forward. Xander turned and ran the way he came. The Primal was fast but seemed content to chase him. Xander spotted Willow rushing out of a door, tomatoes following her. She slammed the door shut then saw Xander running toward her.

"I had to sing!" she yelled, "Very bad to sing!"

"Run!" yelled Xander. Willow frowned, until she spotted the Primal that was chasing Xander. She screamed and ran down the hall, Xander a step behind her. They turned the corner and saw Giles up ahead.

"No sign of Buffy?" he asked them. They both grabbed him and pulled him in their direction. Giles saw the Primal turn the corner and started running as well. While Giles and Willow ran through an exit to the school, Xander stopped and turned around. The Primal stopped several yards away from him. Giles and Willow came back through after a moment, having quickly realized that Xander was no longer behind them.

"Xander?" asked Willow tentatively. The Primal growled and leered at Willow. Xander growled at the Primal, having recognized the implicit threat in his leer. No one threatened Willow!

Xander launched himself forward. The Primal, caught off guard by the suddenness of his attack leapt back. Xander threw several haymakers at the Primal. The Primal ducked and dodged. His counterattack was not a punch, which Xander expected, but a swipe with his nails. The nails tore deep gashes in Xander's forearm.

Xander stumbled back, grasping at his forearm in pain. The Primal grinned and advanced. Xander threw another pair of haymakers, completely forgetting everything that Giles had taught him about fighting in his agitation. The Primal ducked, spun, put his hands on the ground, and delivered a double rear thrust kick that sent Xander flying through a classroom door.

Willow squealed as she covered her mouth in shock. Giles finally understood that Xander was fighting his Primal self. He hoped that Xander could defeat him on his own, but it looked like he would have to intervene. He took a step forward as the primal leapt into the room. Giles and Willow stilled as they heard tremendous crashing sounds coming from the room. A figure came flying out of the doorway and crashed into the wall. It was the Primal! The Primal growled as it stood up and never saw the teacher's desk that flew out of the classroom towards him. The desk smashed the Primal into the wall. The Primal roared as he swept the desk aside and stumbled forward.

Willow and Giles stared in shock as a scratched up Xander ran out of the class room and launched himself into a front dropkick that smashed the Primal into the wall a third time. Xander used the recoil from his impact to flip himself onto his feet. The Primal stumbled forward after the attack, now well and truly stunned. Xander grabbed the Primal's head.

"I'm the Alpha," he whispered furiously to the Primal, who stared at him wide-eyed. "Me. Not You. This is my pride. Mine!" Xander snapped the Primal's neck with a sharp twist. He let the limp body fall to the floor. Xander fell to his knees and breathed heavily. His body began shaking slightly as the adrenaline left his system.

"Xander!" cried Willow as she ran up to him. Giles followed behind her, happy for his charge's victory and wondering what this meant for Xander's mentality. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

Xander took a deep breath and stood. He nodded. "I'm fine. C'mon, let's find Buffy." The group ran outside.

"Are you sure you feel alright Xander?"

"I feel good, actually," Xander told Willow, "liberated, in a way." Throngs of terrified people were running wildly all around them.

"You seem to be the only one," said Giles. "Things are getting worse. In a few hours reality will fold completely into the realm of nightmares."

"Well, what do we do?" asked a panicked Willow.

"The only thing I can think is to try and wake Billy."

"Uh, no," said Xander firmly, "we can't leave without Buffy."

"Agreed," Giles nodded, "but who knows where she might have gone?"

"Excuse me, when did they put a cemetery in across the street?" asked Willow as she pointed at a rift.

"And when did they make it night over there?" asked Xander. The group walked forward through the rift. Xander looked around at the fairly standard graveyard. "Whose nightmare is this?"

"It's mine." The two teens turned to Giles, who was staring at a tombstone in dismay. Written on the tombstone was the legend: Buffy Summers 1982 – 1997. Giles knelt next to the grave. "I've failed... in my duty to protect you. I should have been more c... cautious, taken more time to train you. But you were so gifted. And the evil was so great. I'm sorry..." As he moved to stand a hand reached out of the soil and grabbed his. Willow screamed. Xander grabbed Giles and pulled him back, inadvertently pulling Buffy out of the grave. She stood and brushed herself off. "Buffy?" asked Giles tentatively. Buffy looked up at Giles, revealing her vampire face.

"I thought I was dead!"

"Buffy, your face!" exclaimed Willow.

Buffy felt her face and realized what happened. "Oh, God!" she cried as she covered her face and turned away from her friends. Xander walked toward her.

"Buffy..."

"Don't look at me!"

Xander ignored her cries and pulled her hands away from her face. She hesitantly looked up at Xander. Xander wiped the tears from her cheeks then cradled her face in his hands.

"It doesn't matter what you look like. I know you, Buffy, and you'll always be beautiful to me." Xander was rocked back by the suddenness of Buffy's embrace, but managed to keep his feet and returned her hug.

"You never told me you dreamt of becoming a vampire," said Giles.

"This isn't a dream," mumbled Buffy as she buried her face in Xander's chest.

"No. No, it's not. But there's a chance that we can make it go away. This all comes from Billy. Now, if, if we can only wake him up, I believe that the nightmares will stop and reality will shift back into place, but we must do it now! I need you to hold together long enough to help us. Can you do that?"

Buffy stepped away from Xander and looked up at Giles. She turned and smiled at Xander. Despite her vampiric features making her smile look quite vicious, Xander returned her smile.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded at Giles, "I think I can."

"Thank you."

"Well, we better hurry," said Buffy as she started toward the hospital, "'cause I'm getting hungry."

"You ain't the only one," muttered Xander under his breath.

"Are you sure everything will go back once he's awake?" asked a doubtful Willow.

"Oh, uh, positive," said Giles, trying to reassure himself as well.

"Well, how do we wake Billy up? What if we can't?"

"Willow," sighed Giles, "do shut up."

*BTVS*

Xander grimaced as he threw another zombie through a window. He was going to kill George Romero! "Why the hell is everyone in this fucking hospital having nightmares about zombies!"

"The zombie mythos represents disease running rampant and our own bodies being out of our control. Common fears for hospitalized patients."

"Well la-dee-da!"

"Stop complaining Xander! At least you aren't a vampire! What was your nightmare, running out of Twinkies?"

"No Buff," replied Xander seriously, "my nightmare was being possessed by a Primal spirit and becoming a cannibal." Buffy stopped and spun at Xander's statement. How did he escape that?

"Is that what that thing was?" asked a pale Willow. Xander, who was hanging his head, nodded. Giles clapped a hand onto Xander's shoulder making him look up.

"You should be proud Xander. You managed to beat your nightmare. I, I think that very few people have overcome such a great fear as you did."

"Thanks G."

"I, I'm sorry Xander its just…" Buffy motioned toward her vampire features.

"No sweat Buffy. Come on, let's find Billy and end this." They ran down the hall, Buffy and Xander in the lead. They dispatched several zombies and a rabid dog before they finally arrived at Billy's room. A doctor stood in front of the room, looking in. Giles ran up to the doctor.

"Doctor! Is the boy Billy still here?"

"My hands!" cried the doctor, holding his clearly crippled limbs up. He stumbled away, moaning about his ruined extremities. The group watched him for a moment. Then, Giles, Xander and Willow entered Billy's room.

"What now?" asked Xander as he looked at the comatose child on the hospital bed.

"Um," Giles thought for a moment before bending down. "Billy! Billy?"

"That won't work." The group turned to the voice and see Billy standing in a corner of the room.

"Billy! Uh, Billy, you have to wake up," Giles said firmly.

"No," Billy shook his head, "I told her, I have to hide."

"Why?" asked Giles. "From what?"

"From him!" exclaimed Buffy from out in the hall. Xander ran out of the room. He saw a very ugly man with a club-like hand stalking toward them.

"Shit, that doesn't look good. What do we do?"

"I think I know," said Buffy as she removed her jacket.

"Whatever it is, it better be soon!" cried Willow, having looked out the window and spotted giant wasps all over the city.

"Glad you showed up!" said Buffy perkily as she stepped toward the ugly man. "You see, I'm having a really bad day."

"Lucky nineteen!" it growled. Xander followed Buffy towards the monster.

"Scary!" Buffy nodded mockingly. "I'll tell you something, though. There are a lot scarier things than you." She dropped her false smile as her slayer instincts took over. "And I'm one of them."

She roared and leapt onto the ugly man, knocking him down. She started to pound him in the head. The ugly man managed the get his feet under her and kicked her away. Buffy skidded on the slick hospital floor. She saw Xander leap over her and grab the ugly man as he got to his feet.

Xander threw the ugly man into the wall before planting his foot in the man's face, embedding his head slightly. Xander stepped back and launched a right straight at the monsters face. The monster was not stunned, however, and batted Xander aside with his club hand. Xander landed on his side, the ugly man's blow having knocked him completely off his feet.

The ugly man ignored the closer target and charged after Buffy. Buffy, just having stood up again, planted her foot in the ugly man's midsection and rolled with his attack. Her circle throw sent the ugly man through the window of Billy's room. Willow screamed, causing Buffy and Xander to scramble into the room.

Buffy ran in and body checked the monster into a wall. The ugly man roared as he swung his club hand around in a circle. Buffy leapt back to avoid his swing, but the monster continued his attack, forcing her back. Before he could corner her Xander grabbed the monster from behind and threw him against the wall. Buffy ran up to the ugly man and hit him with a spinning thrust kick. She moved aside, having spotted Xander laying himself flat against the wall opposite the monster.

Pushing himself off the wall, Xander took two strides before he leapt up and smashed his knee into the monster's face. Bouncing off the monster, Xander stepped back for another attack but stopped as the ugly man slumped to the ground. Xander held up his hand. Buffy happily gave him a high five.

"I-is he dead?" asked a wary Billy.

"Come here, Billy," said Buffy. Billy shook his head.

"I, I don't..."

"You have to do the rest." Billy slowly walked up to the ugly man with Buffy.

"What are they doing?" asked Willow, only to have Giles shush her. She clenched her mouth shut and looked over at Xander, who was looking at Billy and nodding approvingly.

"No more hiding." Billy looked up at Buffy and nodded. Billy peeled the ugly man's face off like a mask. A bright light streamed out of the man before everything was engulfed in the light. Once everyone could see again they noticed that everything was back to normal. Xander happily noted that his jacket was back. He looked over at Buffy who was feeling her normal face and smiling. Willow and Giles both breathed sighs of relief. Xander then noticed Billy's eyes opening.

"Hey, he's waking up!"

"I had the strangest dream," said Billy as he looked at the Scoobies. "And you were in it, and you... Who are you people?"

"Let's get a doctor," suggested Giles. He and Xander walked towards the door when a man in a cap walked in.

"Oh! Huh. Billy's got company." The man removed his baseball cap. Xander noticed the slight tremor in his hands. "I-I-I'm his kiddie league coach. I come by here every day, just hoping against hope that he's gonna wake up soon. He's, uh, my lucky nineteen." Giles and Buffy exchanged a look. All the pieces were now falling into place. "So, um, how is he?"

Buffy stepped aside so he could see Billy. "He's awake."

"What?"

"You blamed him for losing the game. So you caught up with him afterwards, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You said that it was my fault that we lost," said the now sitting Billy. The coach looked around wildly for a moment before turning around and trying to rush out the door. Xander quickly reached out and grabbed him by the jacket, holding him tightly.

"It wasn't my fault," said Billy firmly. "There's eight other players on the team. You know that."

"Nice going!" said Buffy as she smiled at Billy. Billy smiled back.

*BTVS*

"I just can't believe a kiddie league coach would do something like that," said Buffy.

"Well, you obviously haven't played kiddie league," said Xander with a grimace, "I'm surprised it wasn't one of the parents."

"I'm just glad he's behind bars where he belongs," said Willow.

A car horn drew the groups attention. Buffy's father exited his car and waved to his daughter. Buffy waved back and then turned to her friends.

"Have a killer weekend, guys!" Willow and Xander waved to their friend. Buffy ran up to her father and gave him a hug. As Buffy got in the car with her father, Willow turned to Xander.

"Personal question?"

"Yeah, shoot!"

"When Buffy was a vampire, you weren't still, like, attracted to her, were you?" Xander stared at Willow for a moment.

"She might not have looked her best, but she was still Buffy, inside. Isn't that what counts?"

Willow smiled at his answer. Her smile faded a little at her next question. "What about me?"

"You'll always be my Willow," said Xander as he threw an arm around her. "C'mon, let's get some grub, my treat."

*BTVS*

"Who's there?" Giles looked around. He could have sworn he heard something. After a moment he placed the books in his hand into the cabinet and closed the glass doors. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass. He turned around only to almost run into Angel.

"Good lord!" He spun around. He could see his reflection, but there was no one else in the glass. He turned back to face Angel. "A vampire casts no reflection."

"Don't worry. I'm not here to eat." Giles was not entirely reassured.

"Buffy told me you don't feed from humans anymore."

"Not for a long while."

"Is that why you're here? To see her?"

"I can't. It's, uh... It's too hard for me to be around her."

Giles opened his mouth to remark on the poetic irony of a vampire being in love with the Slayer. He remembered Xander's crush, however. This was Xander's rival for Buffy's affection. Giles made up his mind to try and nudge Buffy away from Angel, toward Xander. "What can I, uh... What can I do for you?

"I know you've been researching the Master."

"Yes, the vampire king. I've tried to learn as much as I can about him for the day that Buffy must face him."

"Something's already in motion, something big, but I don't know what," said Angel grimly. "You've read all the Slayer lore there is, right?"

"I-I've studied all the extant volumes, of course. But the, uh, most salient books of Slayer prophecy have been lost. The Tiberius Manifesto, the Pergamum Codex-"

"The Codex?"

"It's reputed to have contained the most complete prophecies about the Slayer's role in the end years. Unfortunately, the book was lost in the 15th century."

"Not lost. Misplaced. I can get it."

"Truly? That would be most helpful! Uh, m-my own volumes have... been rather useless of late."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Angel turned away to leave but stopped mid-step. He turned back around. "How's Buffy?"

Giles eyed Angel for a moment. "She's well. She's been patrolling with Xander every night." A part of Giles was glad to note the grimace that passed over Angel's face. He decided to twist the knife a bit. "They work very well together. I'm not surprised with how close they've gotten over the last few months." Giles almost smiled at the grimace he spotted out of the corner of his eye.

"T- That's good. She should have someone to watch her back."Giles nodded.

"Do you have far to go to get the codex?"

"No, but… I should go as soon as possible." Without another word Angel turned and left. Giles walked into his office with a smirk. He'd help where he could but the rest would be up to Xander. Now if he could just get Xander to stop haranguing him about that damn Calendar woman!