Something in Common Part VI: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction

See Part one for disclaimers.

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After placing their order with the guy at the counter, Mike, someone Xander vaguely remembers as being a year behind him in high school, Faith and Xander made their way over to a table that they, almost subconsciously, had both chosen after first walking in. It is up against the far wall of the pizzeria and has a good view of both the front entrance and the kitchen door. Both of the brunettes had maneuvered their chairs so that they were sitting with their backs to the wall. Faith had a clear field of view over the entire restaurant and Xander's field was only slightly impaired by a hanging potted plant. After they had sat down, Xander and Faith had simultaneously noticed their positioning in the room and of their chairs and Xander, after looking at Faith for a moment, laughs at their shared sense of caution and said, "Paranoid much? Us?"

"Just because your paranoid..." Faith begins

"...Doesn't mean they aren't after you." Xander finishes with a grin.

"You pretty much have to be paranoid on the inside Xan," Faith said with a small shrug. Then with a smirk on her face she says, "Besides I was paranoid way before going to the joint." And with that being said she settles herself back in the chair and looks at Xander out of the corner of her eye. "You said earlier that your only corroborating information about... us, was from some people that had tried to off you? What's all that about?"

"'Corroborating'?" Xander asks with a smile "What, did you have a word of the day calendar in prison Faith?" Ignoring the finger she flipped his way Xander starts back into what little info he had on the situation. "Ok, besides your ravishing self, I have meet a grand total of three people that have set off my little proximity alert. The first time was at...

~~~~~
Flashback
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The Bronze
Sunnydale, CA
November 8, 1997 21:05 PST

The crowd at the Bronze was fairly large tonight. The milling crowd of High School and college students leaving little room for movement, unless you wanted to risk getting stepped on or slapped. Xander had gotten to the Bronze early enough to snatch a stool at the bar where he is sitting now, unwilling to move and risk losing the seat he was saving for Buffy. He absentmindedly sips from a glass of cola while waiting for the girls to show up and scans the crowd for vampires or other creatures of darkness, like Cordelia. Buffy said that she was going to make a quick sweep of the cemeteries before headed over to pick up Willow who was at the high school working on a computer project with Ms. Calendar. He hoped that Buffy was in a better mood tonight after taking out some of her aggression on the local night life, he and Willow had been trying to cheer Buffy up for the last week ever since Ford had blown into town with his whole vampire cult thing. She had been in a funk ever since and there just didn't seem to be much that he and the perky hacker could do to cheer her up.

Looking up at the stage as the band starts up their second set for the evening he notices that it's the "Dingos ate my Baby" a local band that he had heard play here a few times and had liked, even if their sound was a little rough. They showed some promise. Although he never really had liked Devon he had to admit, they had some good songs.

Scanning the room again before looking up at the door for the girls, Xander casually reaches around to the small of his back as if to scratch himself and minutely adjusts the item under his shirt at his waist so that it stops digging at him. The metal had warmed up awhile ago, but in his mind it is still shockingly cold.

Ever since last months trip down Fantasy Boulevard, courtesy of Mr. Ethan Rayne Xander had been having some really weird urges. Urges he is pretty sure that come to him via his brief stint as Solder-Boy. The spell, mixed with the weird memory thing that he's had ever since that night last year in the park, lets him remember the whole of Halloween night and also all of the things that his alter-ego knew. His head had hurt for 2 weeks while the memories had sorted themselves out. It's still not all together finished, every once in a while he notices his friends giving him weird looks, well weirder then normal anyway, as something he says or does comes across as not-Xander.

Some of the strange urges he had been having he refused to give into, like his craving for a stogie. He used to hate the smell, but over the last few weeks he had been jonesing for a cigar something fierce. That and sometimes he had an overwhelming urge for a good shot of whisky. But he knew where that would lead him and he didn't want to turn into his father. Drunken Bastard.

Some urges though he had given into, like the urge to start saving money for 'rainy days'. He had always tried to save money, but never really had the will power to avoid buying comics or candy or whatever. But with his newfound memories he also got some of Solder-Boy's mannerisms and traits it seems. Saving money had been easy this past month, and he is surprised at how much he earned doing odd jobs for his neighbors, never really noticed before because it was spent almost before he had it.

But other urges, urges just a little darker in nature, had arisen also. Like never going anywhere unarmed. And he is not just thinking of the wooden stake that's in his back-pocket either. He is thinking of weapons just a tad bit more modern. Which of course leads him to the Glock 17 in a holster at the small of his back. It is a good sidearm, holding 17 rounds of 9mm Luger ammunition, 18 if you want to go all Rambo and chamber a round first. Also it is very lightweight only weighing in at 680 grams fully loaded, or about a pound and a half, due to its having a polymer (or plastic)frame. He had permanently borrowed the Glock from his Uncle Rory without his uncle knowing about it. Ok, ok he stole it.

He and his uncle used to go out to the police firing range, outside Sunnydale, about once a month to shoot and do the whole male bonding thing. It had been some of the more enjoyable moments of his life. His uncle was a better father to him then his real one; that is, he had been, up until his uncle had gone through a nasty divorce and basically buried his life in a bottle of rum, when Xander was fifteen, then Xander was pretty much on his own.

Xander had known where his uncle stored the weapons and had known the combo to the gun safe, and once his paranoia had grown to epic proportions, and he was jumping at shadows, he had gone and appropriated one of his uncle's 26 handguns. Also he had taken three different holsters for it, one underarm holster, a tactical holster like swat guys or MP's have and the one he is wearing now. That and 6 boxes of ammunition. Xander was pretty sure that Rory wouldn't notice the loss of the Glock or the equipment, since he had 3 others just like it, and judging from the dust in the safe he hadn't opened it in a year anyway.

Xander pretty much carried the gun everywhere now, if he didn't have it with him at all times he got all jittery and paranoid, jumping at shadows and getting snappish at people. So he basically had to carry it everywhere to calm himself down, even Willow had said something to him about how he seemed much more relaxed lately. He was always careful with it but he still had to take it to school with him, he hoped that he never got caught with it. If Snyder found out about it, he was sure to get expelled, probably face jail time, the way the little troll hated him. There were hundreds of good reasons not to carry the gun, yet he ignored them all and continued to take it everywhere. No good reason other then it made him feel better, just instinct on his part.

Glancing down at his watch Xander frowns at the time he reads there and is starting to get concerned for his friends, when out of nowhere a headache comes on. His head feels as if it is about to explode, like someone had hit him in the forehead with a 5-pound sledgehammer. There is a tingling, buzzing sensation that rips through his head and tears a burning trail down along his spine to his stomach, which begins to roll and churn with impending nausea.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder Xander looks up to see a young man looking at him with a concerned expression on his face. Raising his voice to be heard over the din the young man says, "You need some help to get outside. Get some air." It was more of a command then a question, but Xander didn't feel like arguing at that and accepted the offer of the mans shoulder to lean on as he gets up and stumbles towards the door. Looking back to where he was sitting, Xander curses under his breath as someone from the football team took his stool that he was saving for Buffy. As they reach the side door to the Bronze, Xanders self-preservation instinct kicks in and as the young man helps Xander outside into the alley Xander stands up and away from the stranger. Taking a deep breath Xander straitens his shirt and surreptitiously checks his gun in case he needed to use it soon. The man was warm to the touch and seemed to have a pulse, so he wasn't a vampire, but there were other hunters out there and Xander wasn't feeling up to playing prey tonight.

"Thanks, I feel much better now." Lying through his teeth Xander starts to edge his way towards the mouth of the alley, as the side door has no outside doorknob. Ignoring the disquieting feelings rolling through his stomach Xander is about to bolt off down the alley when the man asks him a simple question.

"So your not curious at your sudden headache?"

"Nah," Xander replies. "It was just to crowded. Heat got to me or something. Thanks for the assist, but I was waiting for some friends inside so I should, uh, go back there and... wait, yeah, thanks again." Xander says while backing away from the man.

"When was your first death?"

"My first dea... How did you... What? How did...? What are you talking about?"

Grinning the man steps towards Xander and says, "A newbie huh? You truly have no idea what is going on. This is delicious." Reaching up and under his jacket the blond man pulled out a sword. A sword god-damnit. The light from over the door to the Bronze gleams brightly off the blade of the longsword that the freak in front of Xander just drew out of nowhere. It looks intimidating, that and real sharp. Looking at the sword Xander is pretty damn sure that it wouldn't have fit under the jacket without sticking out. "Let me explain so that your mind can know peace for these brief few moments before your death." Grinning at Xanders startled look the man continues, "My name is Michael Thacher and I was born in the Year of Our Lord 1538, in London, England. I am Immortal, as are you. And the only way to for us to truly die is to lose our heads, literally I mean, well the figuratively usually proceeds the literally so I guess it could be both." And as he finished his little dissertation he grins, bows and then charges at Xander with his sword raise. "There can be only one!"

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End Flashback
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"Hey Harris, your pies are done." Mike the guy at the counter yells out interrupting Xanders storytelling.

Faith who had been listening raptly to Xander weave a tale of his first encounter with these so called Immortals, was sitting on the edge of her seat with her chin propped up in her hands and was giving Xander her total attention. That is, she was, up until Mike interrupted him. If looks could kill Mike would be down on the floor bleeding and convulsing from the glare Faith throws his way. Even from across the room he sees it and flinches. Chuckling at her Xander lightly slaps Faith on the shoulder and says, "Don't scare the kiddies, Faith." Getting up from the table Xander and Faith go over to the counter to pick up their order, five pizza pies and four 6-packs of soda. Faith gave Mike another glare and then picks up the sodas and tucks them into the crook of her left arm comfortably.

The two brunettes leave the pizzeria and head back over to the truck. "So?" Faith asks eagerly. "What happened next?"

"Humm?" Xander asks as he looks up from the pizza he was sniffing. "Oh, I shot him."

"You shot him?"

"Yep, two to the chest and one to the head."

"And that killed him?"

"No, not permanently. He woke up about three hours later. I had dragged him off before anyone from the Bronze came out asking about the gunshots. I knew how long it usually took me to come back from dying and was wondering if it held true for him as well." Opening the passenger door to the SUV Xander flips the seat forward and puts the pizzas on the floor in the back seat. Taking the sodas from Faith he put them in the back as well. "When he woke up I had him tied up in a warehouse near the Bronze and he started bitching and moaning about what I had done and it not being fair and all." Shaking his head Xander looks at Faith with an annoyed expression on his face. "He was going to chop my head off with a sword and he thought it unfair that I shot him." And in his best Bugs Bunny imitation Xander grins at Faint and says "What a maroon." Snorting at the stupidity of some people Xander flips the seat forward again and offers his hand to Faith to get up in the truck.

As she is about to accept his hand, Faith's 'slay-dar', she likes the term even if it is a little hokey, kicks into high gear as seven vamp presence's enter her 'passive range', which is about a three block radius, her active range being near two miles.

Looking at Xander she asks, "You got any stakes handy? We've got incoming." And nods up the street to where she can see the group of vamps walking. Glancing up the street Xander nods in confirmation and closing the passenger door he heads around to the rear of the Ramcharger and unlocks and lifts the tailgate to show Faith four large toolboxes and three duffel bags. Without saying anything he opens one of the toolboxes. Reaching in he looks at Faith and silently asks her how many she would need with a raised eyebrow. "Gimme seven just to be on the safe side, X-man." Nodding he hands her the desired number of stakes and starts to gather some for himself.

While sheathing five of the stakes inside her jacket, Faith notices Xanders look as he sees her holstered gun, but he doesn't say anything. "Picked it up at Angels, the guy has more ordnance then anyone else I have ever seen, way more then G-man used to have." She says, just to stave off any doubts Xander has about her. She doesn't want X-man to start worrying that she is holding back info. She needs him. Needs him to trust her so that she can trust him. Life is getting too weird and she needs a rock, an anchor, someone that she can rely on no matter what. And the way to do that, supposedly, is to be honest. Not that she isn't usually brutally honest anyway, this time she is just going to make damn sure that nothing comes between her and Xander. Nothing. Sighing to herself, Faith scratches her nose while looking at Xander outfitting himself with stakes and holy water after nodding to her confession about the gun. There and then she admits to herself that love sucks. It is both the most wonderful thing that has happened to her and the most annoying. She is having problems knowing what to do, what to say. And that is so unlike her. **I mean fuck, while he was telling the story I wanted to crawl into his lap and friggin cuddle. Shit! That is not the girl I used to be.**

Xander finishes his preparations and closes the tailgate on the SUV. Smirking at Faith as they walk up the street towards the vamps who are in turn walking towards them, Xander asks "What's the plan, Stan?"

" Full frontal?" She asks.

"Nudity?"

"Ahhh, no. Assault."

"Liked mine better." Xander says with a leer.

Faith answers "So do I truthfully." Leering back at him she then shrugs and says. "Kill 'um all then go eat pizza?"

Laughing at that Xander says, "That's a plan I can sink my teeth into."

Faith just groans at his pun before smacking him on the arm.

Both brunettes are still laughing as they come up to the advancing vampires.

"Well, well, well lookie what we got here boys. Did anyone order take-out?" the vampire in front says with a leer as he morphs into his game-face. The other vampires laugh as they follow his lead and morph out.

Stopping to stare at the vampires Faith says "Please don't tell me they are still using that old line X-Man." Faith turns to Xander and comments in a disbelieving tone. When he just shrugs apologetically with a lop-side grin, she grimaces and continues. "You'd think they could come up with something better then "Look at we got here." Jeeze and here I thought my first fight out of the clink was gonna be something special."

Shaking her head in mock dismay Faith turns back to the vampires and while shrugging says "Let's get it on!" The seven vampires leap forward and bum rush Faith.

The shrug drops the stakes that she had hidden up her sleeves into her hands. Faith then crouches and lunges forward all in one smooth movement, staking the lead vamp with her left hand and quickly withdrawing the stake before it could crumble into dust with the startled vampire. Coming out of the lunge she plants her left foot on the pavement and spins to her left avoiding the second vamps head long rush. Completing the spin her right hand stake quickly impales and then jerks free from the vampire as he stumbles to the ground and explodes into dust. Continuing into a second spin she bends at the waist and her following leg sweeps up and around. Her roundhouse kick catches the third vampire in the ribs with a snapping of broken bones. With the combination of the speed of the attack and Faith's supernatural strength the vampire is sent flying over thirty feet across the street and head first into a brick wall.

The next vampire seems to not know what is going on or just can't stop his rush as Faith uses the momentum of the two previous spins to go into a third. Tapping her foot on the ground to gain more momentum, her right leg sweeps up and around and her heel connects with the vampires neck, smoothly decapitates him. As he explodes into dust his follow up is subjected to a devastating foot sweep as Faith crouches down and sweeps her leg out once again. He does a sideways somersault in mid air as his feet are ripped out from underneath him with supernatural power. Coming back up from her crouch Faith seems to tire of her whirly-gig approach to vampire slaying and she dusts the vampire before he even has a chance to hit the ground.

The last two vampires are just now reacting to the death of the first vampire, the death of the other three not having registering yet on their minds. Opening their mouths to roar a challenge they instead scream out as Faith's hands flicker forward and embed a stake in each of their unbeating hearts.

Xanders mouth is hanging open at the display he just witnessed. Faith's movements are reminiscent of comic book heroes, 'The Flash' or 'Quicksilver', it's like they took a normal fight and over-clocked it, speeding it up past all sense of normalcy. All he sees is Faith charge in and 6 seemingly simultaneous explosions of dust and one vampire that rockets away from the fight to land head first against a brick wall across the street. The fight took a grand total of three seconds.

"Great," he says "I get the memory of an elephant and she gets to be 'The Flash', I think that I got the short end of the stick here." Xander shakes his head ruefully as he trots across the street to stake the last vamp as it is moaning on the ground, looks like Faith had broken its spine with the roundhouse.

Going back across the street he sees Faith frowning and pointing to each of the dust piles and making movements with her fingers as if replaying what had happened in her mind. Looking up as Xander stops next to her she asks "Why the hell did they just stand there and let me kill um? They didn't even fight back."

Xander looks at Faith in disbelief, trying to figure out if she really doesn't know what she had just done. After a few seconds Xander comes to the realization that she doesn't have a clue as to why the vamps just seemed to stand there waiting for a stake. "Faith, you just tore into them like the Tasmanian Devil. You moved faster then anything I have ever seen, outside a cheesy sci-fi flick. I mean shit that fight lasted three seconds."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Faith, I am talking about you going after those vamps and within three seconds they were all dust bunnies. You moved like someone had hit your fast-forward button. Just 'POOF', I barely caught the fight at all, and only because of my so-called 'training' I got for Halloween and having watched Buffy fight more times then I can count allowed me to catch what I did."

"So your saying I moved faster then normal? For a slayer?"

"Hell yeah. Way faster. You ever catch that old TV show 'The Flash'? It was like that."

"I take you can't do that?"

"Ahhh, no. I mean I got a little faster after that night in the park. I could maybe have kept up with you or Buffy before. But now, no way."

"You think whatever it is that makes us unkillable linked up with my... slayer essence or whatever, and that's why I'm all hyper-charged like?"

"Maybe, that's as good an explanation as any I could think up."

"We really need more damn info... What happened to that guy at the Bronze?"

"It's a bit of a long story."

Snorting at that thought Faith says sarcastically "He said 'Year of Our Lord 1538', I think that time is not all that big a deal to us anymore."

"True," Xander concedes "Come on, lets get the pizza back before it gets cold."

Turning around the two Immortals return to the truck and the still warm pizza. Unlocking Faith's door in silence he holds it for her until she is seated. He walks around to the drivers side and opens the door after Faith had reached over and unlocked it and gets in and starts up the Dodge.

Pulling out onto the street he looks over at Faith and sees her worried expression on her face and after a few seconds he asks softly "Do you want to meet them tonight? I mean we could meet them later, tomorrow maybe, after sorting some of this out and after I have time to explain what little I do know."

Looking up and seeing Xanders concerned expression Faith nods her head in agreement and says "Maybe later is better. I am still a little weirded out about what just occurred."

Pulling up in-front of the Magic Box Xander stops the vehicle and reaches into the backseat, he then hands Faith a pizza and a six-pack of Coke. Grinning at her he says "I remember how you get after a fight. Take one of these and..." Reaching forward under the dash he pulls out a magnetic key holder and hands the keys to Faith. "You remember where Lakeview Cemetery is?" Seeing her nod Xander says, "I live in the Emerson Apartments next to that on Harrison Street. Apartment 232. Go ahead and go over there and eat, drink and crash. I am gonna be here for a few more hours. Take the bed, the couch tends to leave one with a few to many bends in the morning."

Looking at the pizza Faith grins up at Xander from under her fall of hair and with a husky, sultry tone that leaves his knees weak and... other parts hard, asks "Well this will take care of half of my problems stud, and when you getting home to take care of the other?" Faith asks with a leer.

"The couch."

"The couch?"

"Umm, yeah I was... planning on sleeping on the couch tonight."

Ignoring Faiths pout he gets out of the Dodge and after she gets out as well he walks her over to her Harley. Bending over he kisses Faith gently on the lips and says "Seeya." Before walking back to the Dodge to get the rest of the food and soda, and heads into the shop.

Faith smirks to herself and says quietly, "Xand luv, there is no way in hell you are sleeping on the couch tonight."

~~~~

Motel 6
Room 312
Los Angeles, CA

The cellular phone breaks the silence of the room. Without a light being turned on the phone is quickly answered by Wilhelm. After listening for a few seconds he replys with a differential "Yes Elder." Flipping the cellular phone closed he reaches over and turns on the light.

Shaking Visak roughly to wake up the little demon, Wilhelm then heads over to the other bed and gently wakes Lea. "Looks like you got your desire Lea. The contract was renewed."

~~~~

TBC...

DaBear